-Two months Later-
It had been a very long couple of months for Toshiro. His body had gotten thinner -his silk v-neck shirt hung a little looser on his arms and around his torso, whereas it used to contour nicely against his toned yet slender frame. His skin was pale and washed out and his hair had lost a bit of its silk shine. It was all due to him taking on double shifts at The Storm every night with only every second weekend off –By force from Juushiro, who was worried about his health and how it seemed to be very slowly deteriorating.
He was over working himself to try to forget the events of that day. To try to help give him peace of mind, Urahara had banned the group that had tried to attack Toshiro, but it hadn't seemed to help a lot. Everyone was worried enough that if he wasn't careful, there was going to be an intervention in his future. They were already making sure he was eating, and they were skirting around… certain topics… like it would set off a little Shiro-bomb. He didn't think he was that bad. Tired yes, but not in a constant emotional turmoil, and being tired was good, it meant he had been concentrating on work and that meant not concentrating on Ulquiorra.
Ulquiorra had not been back to The Storm, just as he had said to Ichigo he would. Some days Toshiro was thankful for that, but on others it just made him feel more tired and miserable.
He rested his chin in his right palm as he leaned on the bar. It seemed to be a slow night, even for a Tuesday, his body welcomed the rest and he closed his eyes with a soft huff. He told himself he was working so hard so that he could earn enough to afford going to a good university. Toshiro had been offered scholarships for the marks he had gotten after high school, but none of them were for fields he wanted or they were too far from home. He had few friends to begin with, and no family either, so moving away was not really an option. In the back of his mind though, his subconscious told him he was doing this in case just by chance he would get to see Ulquiorra one more time.
Ulquiorra was doing better than Toshiro, but only just. He wasn't showing any physical signs of exhaustion, but there was definite strain upon his mind. He had thrown himself into his work, trying to please that son of a bitch that had been put in charge. It seemed he had finally gotten the knack of toeing the line and staying inside of the achingly small creative box he had been placed in. Sure, Ulquiorra used to say that he wouldn't pander, but it became blatantly obvious that that was the only way he was going to keep his job. He wasn't about to let thoughts of Toshiro distract him and ruin his hard work.
His natural inquisitiveness left him always wondering what his Toshiro was doing that day in his breaks. Every day he told himself he hadn't lied to the orange-haired roommate those two months ago, and that he wasn't about to make it a lie now… He said that to himself more than once a day usually. Ulquiorra wanted to know if Toshiro was okay, if his rib had healed, and if those men had tried anything more. What if they have? And I wasn't there to stop it… They said they would but they seemed too scared to really try it again… Damn it! After two months of the agony of not knowing he was not going to suffer it a moment longer.
Ulquiorra got up from his desk, leaving the blueprints scattered on it and went out the door, grabbing his coat and keys on the way.
The wind outside was still chilled as it was only just turned springtime, and Ulquiorra pulled his coat around himself tightly to fend off the cold. He couldn't believe what he was doing at this time of night but he could not rest until he saw that Toshiro as alright. It was going to drive him insane otherwise.
Telling himself that he would not let Toshiro know he was there, he went into The Storm concealed from view of the bar by a group of people. It seemed quiet and Ulquiorra wondered if he had made the best decision because if more people didn't come in soon, Toshiro was going to notice him eventually.
He slipped past the bar and up to his booth -the one he had been observing Toshiro from before the incident that night. In the back of his mind he knew it was unlike him to worry about sneaking around, or to worry about someone for that matter, but it seemed unavoidable if he was to stop this sensation in his chest.
Folding his arms over the leather back of the booth and resting his head on them, his deep jade eyes stared down at the bar where his little Toshiro sat. -Little was right too, he had lost weight. Was he ill? On the up hand, he seemed to have recovered from the rib injury and his wrists appeared unmarred at this distance. Ulquiorra let out a soft breathe that could easily have been construed as a sigh of relief.
"He's okay, if that was what you were wondering..." A deep masculine voice sounded softly from behind him. A man with long wavy brown hair pulled back in a long tail and rugged looking facial hair was standing at the end of the booth's table.
When Ulquiorra turned but made no comment he continued to speak. "The name's Shunsui Kyoraku. I am one of the owners here. I believe you are our little Snowflake's saviour." It wasn't a question, and that made Ulquiorra wonder how much they knew of that night. Probably just about the incident in the alley he assumed, but then why would he tell Ulquiorra that Toshiro was alright?
"I am Ulquiorra. Don't tell him I was here." He said in his usual cool voice. It was softer than usual, almost as if saying his own name might summon Toshiro to his side. "That was all I wanted to know. I will be going now." Scooting to the end of the bench seat and standing, he moved up just past Shunsui when a hand halted him by his shoulder.
Shunsui sighed softly and looked out to the bar where Toshiro was serving the people who had just come in. "You know… we're like a family at this place. I don't want people in my family being hurt. You're hurting him more by leaving him without a word, he may be okay for now, but he's deteriorating. I watch him working so hard all day every day; he can't handle it –the waiting for you to come back. He throws himself into his work trying to distract himself but on nights like this, he just ends up having more time to think." He stepped back to look at Ulquiorra. "I don't know how well you know him, but Toshiro doesn't deal well with abandonment. It opens up old wounds in his heart." Shunsui said before leaving Ulquiorra to himself once more.
Abandonment? I… suppose I did abandon him, but I thought I was doing the right thing… Was it really? He thought. Ugh! Again he had so many questions buzzing around in his head. It was strange to Ulquiorra that they seemed to have had the same coping mechanisms to distract themselves. He tried not to dwell on the fact and proceeded to continue his watch. Sure, he had said he was leaving, but just two more minutes could hurt no one.
