Title: Cutting Edge Charisma

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, I'm just a fan of it. Just like everyone else.

*Beta: Heaven-In-Distress: A special shout out: You're the queen bee when it comes to editing! Keep rockin' out!

Rating: R


Late Date:03

For some reason, Ichigo was feeling quite fine that evening. So fine, he almost felt like skipping, but he didn't, of course. He had his reputation to keep up with. It had been a long while since he had a good conversation with someone from the past.

When he finally reached his doorstep he took out his key out of his pocket. The evening had been a little chilly, making him shiver lightly. He put the key in and jiggled it but nothing happened.

"Hell…"

"Having some trouble there?" Startled, Ichigo held his chest.

"Jeez Ishida!" The redhead turned and found the pale man holding two cute, cuddly stuffed animals in his arms.

"I didn't mean to startle you yet again," The man smiled sheepishly.

Ichigo opened the door, while Ishida still stood outside. "Yeah well, you seem to have a knack for it. Come on in!" The teen went inside and took his shoes off at the door.

The outsider stepped through the threshold, followed the redhead's actions and into the kitchen they went,

where the family was currently getting ready for dinner.

"Uryuu!" Yuzu greeted, hugging him sweetly.

"Yuzu, how are you?"He questioned, still holding the stuffed animals.

"I'm fine… What are those for?" She pointed at a stuffed lion and a stuffed bunny.

"I made these earlier today" He explained, giving one to her.

Karin was busy setting the table, while Isshin slapped the paler young man on the back quite hard, causing him to cough a bit.

"A man with a hobby, I like that!" He grinned from ear to ear.

"Wow, thank you Uryuu, this is amazing!", Yuzu smiled, hugging her stuffed lion.

Uryuu pushed up his glasses, which had nearly fallen from his face from Ichigo's father's charismatic greeting. He walked over to Karin and handed her the stuffed bear with a little bow tie on its chest.

"I made this one, for you" His voice was very soft to her ears.

She looked at the man holding the bear out to her and was instantly intrigued by his eyes. They were dark pools of mystery. "T-Thank you…" She mumbled, blushing ever so lightly.

Yuzu and Ichigo looked at each other with raised eyebrows. They were expecting Karin to diss the man, but she hadn't. That said something about Ichigo's new friend.

"We're about to sit down to dinner, would you like some?"

A slight nervousness washed over the pleasant guest. "I-I already ate, but thanks anyway."Ishida scratched the back of his head as they all went to the table and took a seat. He remained where he was, watching almost carefully.

"Come, sit with us!" Yuzu chirped, gesturing to the table's empty seat.

He felt so much warmth as he sat, witnessing the hustle and bustle of Ichigo's family life. He found it quite charming.

"Ichi-nii, your boss called while you were out." Karin droned, holding a bowl up to her mouth to scoop some rice in.

"Mm? What'd she want?" He asked, mouth full of fish.

"She was just wanted to know if you can pull a late shift again tonight.", Yuzu smiled, a sweet, charming 'ting' to her tone..

"Shit," Ichigo spat under his breath, in which Uryuu heard, and gave him an amused smile. "I'll call her when I'm done."

"So, Ishida, is it?" Isshin bellowed, changing the subject quite rashly.

"Yes, sir."

"Call me dad, everyone does!" He said, smacking his back, earning a slight cough from the smaller man.

Ichigo's eye twitched slightly. He was waiting for the moment his father would say something stupid so he could reach across the table and punch him.

"You seem pretty pale, your nutrition good?" Dad questioned his new "son".

"That's none of your damn business!" Ichigo yelled, slamming his chop sticks to the table.

"Don't talk to me like I'm an imbecile!" Isshin yelled, standing up from his seat, as Ichigo did the same, both glaring daggers. Karin scooted slightly away from the table and Ishida followed her movements while Yuzu sat looking at them worriedly.

"You are an imbecile, stop talking!" Ichigo attempted to punch him in the face but Isshin grabbed his fist and threw him into the living room area. That's when and where their usual nightly dinner brawl started. As they fought, Uryuu leaned in to Karin.

"Is it always like this?" He asked.

She nodded, munching on a cucumber. "Always."

Uryuu looked toward Ichigo's way and winced when he saw the younger Kurosaki get decked in the mouth.

"Don't worry, it's not as bad as it looks." Karin furrowed her brows. "Stop it you two, we have company!"

Ichigo was midway to kicking the man in the face when he stopped and looked at Uryuu. Isshin took that as an opening, and abruptly slammed him to the ground. Uryuu, at that moment, came to a conclusion that Ichigo's family was quite… exciting.


After dinner and chatting, it was bedtime for both the girls and their father. They were all quite sleepy.

Uryuu wished them all goodnight, as he remained sitting at the dinner table.

Ichigo picked up the phone to call his boss. A few rings and he heard her familiar voice.

"Hey." She purred. He could almost see her smiling on the other end of the line. "So, did ya get my message?"

"Sure I did…," he rolled his eyes. "…and, I'll have to come in Saturday"

She made a moan of disapproval, and their conversation was cut short. Ichigo hung up the phone with a small smirk on his face.

"No work tonight?" Uryuu asked, standing from his seat.

The strawberry gave a small gesture in agreement. "Wanna help me with the dishes?" He grinned.

Uryuu nodded and followed Ichigo into the kitchen where he stood next to him, drying the plates and cutlery and putting them away while Ichigo washed. Ichigo carefully reached his hand into the dishwater and pulled his hand back quickly, blood running down his hand.

"Shit!" He hissed.

Uryuu sniffed as he looked in concerned at the younger's hand.

"Let me see?" He asked a bit shakily.

"I think it was a knife, or something, that got me." Ichigo chuckled with clear pain within his voice, holding his hand to the older.

Slightly trembling he held the bloodied hand in his own. Audibly, he swallowed. Ichigo took this as him being squeamish to blood and snatched his hand back.

"I'm going to go fix it, would you mind waiting?" He asked, padding toward the stairs.

"N-not at all," The pale man squeezed his own hand in attempts to push down any hunger he had.

As Ichigo went up stairs the remaining one stared at some of the blood droplets that had fallen on the kitchen counter next to the sink. Running his finger across, he took the red, irony liquid into his mouth, sucking his finger slightly.

"What are you doing?"

Uryuu flinched, startled and looked down at the dark haired girl, Karin.

"Uhmn..I was…"

He took his finger out of his mouth, eyes downcast to the floor. She looked at him questioningly then dropped her stare to go into the fridge to get some juice. She poured some in a cup and then closed the refrigerator.

"Thanks for the bear…" A soft mumble through her cup.

"I-It's no bother." He smiled nervously.

Soon, Ichigo came downstairs, hand disinfected and as good as new. "Karin! What are you doing up?"

"I getting some goddamn juice!" She almost yelled, eying her brother, a little irritated.

Taken slightly aback Ichigo passed her to stand next to Uryuu.

"Wanna head home, or spend the night?"

"I think heading home is the best option," He concluded, staring at the girl as she stared back at him.

"Okay. Karin, since you're up, finish those dishes for me." Ichigo smirked, following Ishida to the door. "And be careful, there's a killer knife in there!"

Going from one porch light to another, the two took the small trip across the street to Uryuu's house, where it was pitch black.

"How is your hand?" He pointed.

Ichigo clenched and unclenched his hand into a fist. "It's like new," He said, showing him the bandaged hand, in which Uryuu took to examine.

Looking down at his face he notice Ichigo had a small cut over his eyes.

"You're just full of cuts and bruises, aren't you?" He mumbled and without a thought, kissed the bruise over the red head's eyes. Ichigo winced, his bandaged hand moving to the paler one's cheek.

"I didn't even know that one was there!" He laughed, blushing at their closeness. "Thanks for helping with the dishes, by the way…" Ichigo took his hand away and cleared his throat.

"It was no problem…"

The two were still in close proximity of each other, but neither looked like they minded at all.

Uryuu leaned down closer to Ichigo's lips, and stopped midway as Ichigo's breath hitched. He pulled back, settling for just holding his hand gently.

"D-do you want to hang out tomorrow night?" Ichigo, face beat red, blurted out.

"Nothing would bring me more pleasure, then to be in your company." Ishida took Ichigo's hand and brought it to his lips to kiss.

Now Ichigo really felt embarrassed. "I feel like I'm in a Jane Eyre novel…"

Uryuu, this time, could not bit back his laughter.

"Tomorrow night, then?" Ichigo's hand easily slipped out of Uryuu's, as he inched back home.

"Yes, I will be by your house." Uryuu assured and off they went, to their separate quarters, without another word. Not even a simple 'goodnight'.


"R-Renji, this is ridiculous~" The red headed young man stared at himself in complete, utter horror in the mirror.

The man was decked out in ripped blue jeans with mismatched colored patches at the knees, and a horrible green shirt.

"This is like the grunge look, right?" Renji held his chin in his hand looking over his work.

"No, this is the shit look, I'm taking this off!" Ichigo retorted angrily, stripping from his shirt and jeans, down to his boxers.

"If he really likes you he won't care WHAT you're wearing."

"Let me borrow your black skinny jeans."

Ichigo was getting a little frustrated at his friend's nonchalant way of getting ready for a nice outing in town, they had already spent all day trying on different outfits.

"Fine, what else do ya need?"

The two were in Renji and Rukia's apartment, rummaging through their big closet, which was located in the master bedroom. Ichigo looked over the many shirts his friend had.

"Mmm, that blue and white small tee-shirt looks kinda nice…" He pulled it out, smiling a bit.

"Remind me to take you shopping for YOUR OWN CLOTHES!" Renji playfully slapped him on the back.

"Hey, I'm a college student with a low paying job, I'm poor!" Ichigo replied, slipping on the shirt and pulling on the jeans.

"You should probably wear some briefs with those tight jeans."

Ichigo took them off and put his street clothes back on. "Thanks, Renji, "He was very grateful to his friend for helping him out at the last minute.

"It's no big thing, I hope you enjoy your date." He grinned maniacally, wagging his fancy eyebrows.

"S-Shut up… It's not a date." The Strawberry blushed, looking away, pretending to gaze upon any other shirts in Renji's closet.

"Uh huh, and these tattoos aren't real." He smirked, pointing to his ink, then folding his arms against his chest.

"I think it's time I go!" Ichigo yelled, throwing a shirt at his friend in a playful manner.

Renji laughed after the tee hit him in the face gently. "Yeah, alright, Princess, take care!" He called, as Ichigo left through the door.

"You too!"

As the carrot top walked down the sidewalk, his cell phone began buzzing off the hook.

"Moshi Moshi?"

"Ichii-niiiiiii, he's here, where are you?" Yuzu, from the sound of the voice.

"Shit! I'm almost home, stall him for me, would you?"

"Okay, just hurry!"

And the call was ended with Ichigo jogging down the street at top speed, taking shortcuts through various yards to make things even quicker. Jumping through bushes, gardens and over stumps, he ran like the wind. He couldn't't be late for this, he just couldn't. Home was so near, he could almost smell it, and with a turn at a small corner, he was there. Up ahead, he could see Ishida talking with Yuzu. She was laughing with him, and he with her. It would have been a darling snapshot moment.

He ran up to them panting. "S-Sorry, sorry, I'm late." He leaned over, hands on his knees. He had practically run five miles to get home at such a decent time. He looked at Ishida, face sweaty and wet, then gave Yuzu a thankful glance. That was her cue to head back into the house.

"Do you mind if I freshen up?" Ichigo had managed to finally catch his breath.

"Sure. Go right ahead, I shall be right here, waiting." Uryuu smiled.

That was the first thing Ichigo had noticed about him; smiling. He always smiled, and he never noticed any other expression on his face when he saw him. He would have offered him wait in the house but he had a feeling the offer would be declined, so he went into the house alone, to quickly freshen up and change into his borrowed clothes.

Charging back down the stairs after a good five minutes, he looked towards his two sisters.

"Yuzu, Karin! When dad gets back, tell him I'm hanging out with Uryuu." He pointed at the now opened door where the man was patiently waiting for him.

"Sure, have fun!"

"Thanks" He said, stepping out of his estate, closing the door behind him.

Once he stepped foot outside, Uryuu gave him a full glance-over. Ichigo was decked in black skinny jeans and the striped white and blue shirt he had borrowed from Renji.

"You look rather ravishing, Kurosaki." The raven complimented.

Ichigo's face was ablaze, as he turned away from his friend. "T-Thanks…" He coughed, trying to be discreet.

Ishida pushed up his glasses, as if to hide some inside intent. "Are you nervous?"

"Huh, me? No way!" The redhead laughed it off.

"That's quite a convincing answer."

"Shut up!" Ichigo's response caused light laughter to emit from the two.

"Where…Uhmn… Where do you want to go?" The nervous twenty three year old asked.

"How about a movie? I heard about a Kurosawa marathon going on at a theatre nearby."

"Ah! I love Kurosawa films. Let's go!"

Ichigo's nervousness was put on the backburner, as he grabbed Ishida's arm. He pulled his bespectacled friend along until the theatre was found. It wasn't very hard because there was a big red and purple sign with 'Kurosawa' written big in Japanese writing in the middle of town. Ichigo had offered, but Uryuu begged to pay for the tickets, and in the end, the raven haired man had won. He bought the tickets and they took their seats toward the back of the theatre.

They sat in complete comfort for about three and a half hours, watching classic samurai action.

As they sat watching, both were glued to the giant movie screen. The theatre they were in was actually quite full and when famous lines from the samurai movies came on screen Ichigo excitedly mouth along with it. He loved Kurosawa films. Sometimes he wished he could have grown up in such a heroic time.

Uryuu, on the other hand, enjoyed the mastery of the director's story telling. It was quite thrilling to watch and it was a plus that he was there enjoying it with Ichigo.

Later on that night, after the movies, they stopped by an ice cream stand.

"I'll buy you a cone, since you bought the tickets." Ichigo smiled.

"Thank you, but I can't." Uryuu waved off.

"Why?" Ichigo looked a bit worried.

"I'm l-lactose intolerant." Uryuu said, stiffening as he pushed up his glasses.

Ichigo seemed to have stared at him for a while before making his reply. "That's too bad…" He ordered himself a chocolate cone and the two walked once more.

"So, do you have a girlfriend, Kurosaki?" Uryuu asked out of the blue.

The strawberry almost chocked on his ice cream cone when he heard those words.

'You just tried to kiss me last night, and you're asking me that NOW!' He thought. "I-I've dated…" He mumbled, chewing on some of the ice cream as a distraction to himself.

"So… No?" Uryuu chuckled.

Ichigo shook his head. "What about you?"

"Oh, I've had a few in my day. But no one now."

"Ha! You sound like an old geezer!" Ichigo laughed jokingly.

Uryuu's lips formed a half evil smirk. "Hnn, maybe I am. " He snorted.

"Psssht! Riiiight."


Soon, and oddly enough, they had wandered their way back into their own neighborhood. Ichigo had just finished his ice cream cone when they strode up to Uryuu's door. The raven breathed a comfortable sigh.

"This was nice," He smiled, eyes narrowed happily.

"Yeah, it was, wasn't it?" Ichigo smiled back.

Uryuu looked at his door as if trying to sense something, then asked, "Would you… Like to come in?

"Didn't your brother want to kill me for touching the place?" Ichigo almost paled as he thought about Byakuya.

"He's not home, he won't be back until tomorrow evening."

He opened the door to the old house and stood aside, beckoning the teen to enter. Ichigo cautiously took one step in and found that it was clear, only then did he take his shoes off respectably.

"Mind giving me a tour of the place?" He asked, now risen and walking to where his friend was, near the living room.

"I would be delighted." Uryuu whispered in his ear. "Follow me upstairs and we will start from there." He gently tugged on Ichigo's hand, beginning to lead him up the stairs.

Nearing the top of the stairs, the young man thought the downstairs area was miraculous, but when they had reached the top steps it was like he was inside an old Japanese home from the eighteenth century. It was amazing, yet strange at the same time. Judging from the outside, one wouldn't't suspect to see anything like this.

"I guess that saying, 'don't judge a book by it's cover' rings true here, huh?" He commented to Uryuu.

"What do you mean?" Asked the second master of the house.

The redhead was too mesmerized by the rooms to even hear what the man was saying. Letting the other's hand go he let him wander from room to room, venturing into each world, and watched him as he gasped at times in awe, or picked something up to let his fingers memorize what it was. He even ventured into the bathroom and found that quite amazing.

Ichigo looked at the clean porcelain bathtub, which was totally out of place compared to the rest of the Japanese style house. He took interest in the porcelain white sink with silver facets, but there was something missing, he noticed, that all bathrooms usually have. A mirror. There was a beautifully embroidered mirror casing, but no actual mirror was there. It was just a wall. He turned to Uryuu, who was smiling at him by the bathroom entrance.

Ichigo looked at him, puzzled. "There's no mirror." He stated, pointing at the silver embroidered casing.

Suddenly the smile grew slightly smaller. "We don't have much use for mirrors here."

"Don't you ever look at yourself?" Ichigo asked.

"No, I don't suppose I need to." Uryuu replied, looking at the younger.

"How do you fix your hair, or know if you look alright?" He pushed on the subject.

"The truth is, I don't really like looking at myself in the mirror."

Brushing the subject out of mind, the carrot continued to explore the house, until he had made it to a certain someone's room. It was all but humble, extremely eclectic, and did not match the theme of the rest of the upstairs. He stepped foot into it and instantly, was hit with such intensity. The room had a bright, almost sunny feeling to it. It felt like a sanctuary.

The bed was medium sized and looked ever so comfortable ,with the bright blue comforters and pillows. All this somehow coming together with the intensity of the large white room. The walls were covered with many drawings of different clothes, and of people wearing them. Another thing that stood out, was the lifeless mannequins that scattered the room with dresses, outfits, and elaborate costumes.

"Did-did you…?" The teen's eyes scanned each mannequin slowly, carefully.

"Yes, I made these." Uryuu's fingers pale and lengthy ran their way through a silken made dress on one of the emotionless, empty dolls.

Ichigo had never seen such amazingly made clothing in his life, it almost felt like he was at an expensive fashion boutique in Shibuya, Tokyo. He was so entranced by the dresses, that he suddenly wished his sister, Yuzu, was here to see them. He was aware of her interest in making and designing clothing. She always made them for her little stuffed animals, and he knew her face would light up if she got a glimpse of these treasures.

"These are amazing Uryuu… You've made so many!"

"I'm glad you're enjoying them, I get bored sometimes so…" He took his fingers from the silken dress.. "…I make clothes."

Ichigo wandered to one of Uryuu's dressers, and found an old record player that looked fairly used. He turned the knob on it and put the needle on the record. Soon, the room filled with a light, whimsical piano music, bring such careful ease to the air.

"Shall we dance?" Uryuu asked, extending his pale hand to Ichigo.

The boy placed his hand in his and soon, the two were dancing slowly to the tempo of the song. Ichigo was pulled into his chest as Uryuu softly hummed the song. He could feel the warmth of the other's chest, and the low rumble of his humming.

The record switched to a more lively song, and Uryuu stopped their previous dance to twirl Ichigo on his toes. The two laughed as the song played it's magical, soon stopping, and having the pair fall to the floor in pointless laughter. It was probably the hardest laugh either had had in such a long time.

"W-Why were we… dancing?" He had to catch his breath as he spoke.

"Tonight felt like a good night to dance." A few strands of Ishida's dark hair fell over his eyes. His dark hair, indeed accented the paleness of his skin. A small glance from Ichigo turned into a gaze and he saw him in a whole other light.

The younger college student moved to brush the hair back in place, until Uryuu reached up and grabbed his hand gently, causing him to blush lightly.

"Thank you for the wonderful dance…" The raven breathed.

Ichigo couldn't stop staring at his lips, he wondered how soft they were. His question was soon answered when he felt them gently press down, ever so softly, on top of his hand.

"No p-problem. I-It was fun…" Ichigo gave a nervous laugh, feeling his cheeks heat up.

Uryuu ran his cool hand down the side of one of his cheeks, making him lean into the comforting touch. The Strawberry felt a bit shaky from the nervousness that was racking his body.

"You're really quite beautiful." The other man said, softly looking down into Ichigo's brown eyes intently.

"I wouldn't say that…." A deathly nervous laugh erupted from his throat.

He fell even more silent as Uryuu's other pale hand caressed his other cheek, and again, he found himself entranced at the other's soft features.

He gave Ichigo a small peck on the forehead, then his cheek, until he arrived at his lips, which he claimed in a fury. A small moan erupted from the redhead, causing Ishida to pull back quickly.

"I-I'm sorry, was I too… forward?" He asked, cautiously looking at the other.

"No…No, I was enjoying it." Ichigo reassured, grasping his hand for added effect. He then looked over at Uryuu's unusual, out of place bed. It was a canopy style bed, with soft white drapes above to cover the outside world from what was inside. Ichigo rose a bit and peeked inside the draperies, deciding to venture onto the bed, disappearing from view. Uryuu smiled to himself, as he followed Ichigo inside his canopy bed.

"This is a good place to play house!" Ichigo joked.

"Yes, a very good place." Uryuu smiled at him.

Ichigo couldn't resist the urge, now, to come back to those smiling, soft lips. He crawled over to the man, the bedding underneath soft like clouds.

"I-I like… Kissing you." He confessed rather quietly.

Uryuu look at him for only a few second before putting both hands gently onto the teen's face, and pulling him onto his lap as he leaned against the headboard of his bed. Ichigo inched in slowly, until Uryuu reclaimed his lips once more.

As the kiss became more heated, with each stroke and each breath, Ichigo found himself smashed against the other, almost as if they had been melded together. Hormones getting the best of him, he gently nudged his hips more into the raven, causing a burst of pleasure to erupt between his legs. Moaning, he relinquished the pair of now reddened lips, parting with a small string of beaded of saliva between them.

As Ichigo caught his now panting breath, Uryuu's mouth wandered to Ichigo's exposed neck, dropping small kisses down toward the nape, breathing in the carrot's scent and savoring the taste he sipped. Suddenly, small white fangs appeared and pierced the tan flesh beneath. Moaning in pleasure, Ichigo did not notice what was going on, as blood bubbled above the surface of the wound. Uryuu 's tongue lapped at the oncoming fluid, unconsciously, before pulling back, almost completely disgusted.

"Why did you stop?" Ichigo whimpered.

Uryuu looked at Ichigo's neck in horror. In all the kissing and lust filled within the air, he did not realize what his body was doing. He held a hand to his mouth as he licked the blood off his lips. The last thing he wanted was to reveal what he had done to the young man before him.

"What's wrong?" Ichigo looked on in concern.

"I… You'd better go, it's late." He mumbled, not wanting to look up.

"What?" Ichigo cried in disagreement.

"LEAVE!" Uryuu yelled, shakily, looking to Ichigo angrily.

The confused redhead slipped off of the bed silently, and headed toward the bedroom door, looking back with concern ridden eyes, then left.

Uryuu turned towards the door, sadness washing over him. He shook his head in disappointment at himself.

The feeling was so overwhelming, he almost felt like crying, he could feel the tears welling up in his eyes. Leaning his head back, his mouth slightly open, he tried to stop them, as his fangs slipped back into place.

A single red tear slipped down and hit the comforter on the bed. It was times like these, that he hated being what he was, and wished nothing more than to be human once again.


Tsuara: Whoa! Whoa! Stuff just got real! Right? Well, girls and boys. I hope you liked this wicked stupid chapter (That means cool in Brooklynese), it was hella fun to write!

I'd like to thank Radiohead for making Idioteque. That song really suites Uryuu a lot! Kubo picked a great song for him, and Nat King Cole for making 'Unforgettable'. I play that song when I write Uryuu's makin' googly eyes at Ichigo.

Anyways, keep it real and let me know what ya think if you want.

Catch you next chapter!