Just so you know I haven't forgotten you! Here is an update that would have been longer had I had the time to write it all up. Its late and I'm merry on Baileys right now, so this is only edited as much as a drunk person can!

Ukitake opened his classroom door as he waltzed in to load up his presentation for the next lesson. He glanced at the two men sitting waiting for him and then back at the young man he had just passed standing outside the door. Now he looked like a student with his hair that bright and all those tribal markings. But the suave gentleman sitting so poised was most defiantly not a student.

"Ahh Kurosaki." He smiled none the less and looked to the man hoping for an introduction in the least, although he had a vague idea he should know who this man was. Nothing was forthcoming from the austere looking man and so he turned his attention back to his student. "I heard that you were under the weather." He tapped the plaster caste now forced into a sling after being reprimanded by his father. "Or should I say incapacitated? This is a most awkward injury."

"Yeah well sorry about that." Ichigo looked embarrassed and mussed a hand through his hair.

"Well its done now isn't it." The long white haired musical tutor placed his belongings down on his desk.

"I'm going to flunk it now I guess."

"I always find taking the negative view brings us what we expect." He turned smiling to the orange teen. "Its just such hard word to be so pessimistic all the time. Why don't we try looking at this as just another quest for your talents erm?" Byakuya was left with the sense that this man had the full measure of Ichigo and just to confirm it, a gentle hand landed on Ichigo's shoulder with a warm smile. "You don't need to worry about this, of course I can grant you an extension." The pause for his words to sink in left Ichigo nodding with clear relief. "Now let me think." The long white hair trailed down the man's shoulders as he tapped his chin in thought.

Instead of saying what thoughts he had been thinking of, he turned to Byakuya and tilted his head sideways. "Now I don't think I have seen you on the campus before young man."

"I am a friend." The smooth tones came out.

"And taxi." Ichigo added. Whether Ukitake had his question answered or not, he didn't show instead turning back to his desk.

"Well Ichigo, you're a good student I guess its going to take 6 weeks to have you back on form?" The teen nodded. "Well, I'll let you get ahead with the written assignments. You can manage to type still?" Ichigo nodded again. "Right..." He flipped open the programme of lectures and set essays. "I'll jot down what text books you need and get you going...oh can I email these to you? Only they're not printed yet?"

"Hai."

"Good lad. Now just type it all out and email back to me when you're done. I dare say your taxi won't be around to ferry you back and forth." He smiled. "When your fit, we can work on some one to one tutorials and get you back up to speed okay?"

"I really am sorry. I'm glad your not mad at me."

"Mad? Erm well where would that get me hey? Besides, you haven't seen all the assigments yet!" He smirked with that glint only evil teachers possessed.

....

Ichigo sat with the laptop on his lap and his head bouncing away and a smile spread over his face as he loaded track after track onto his ipod. Byakuya watched him amused at the simple pleasure the boy had got from his past hour of unadulterated 'itune' bliss with an open ended account in Byakuya's name.

Ichigo looked up to his boyfriend and grinned as he popped the earphones out.

"Fucking brilliant!" He beamed. "Your really sure about this, I'll pay you back."

"Of course." Byakuya moved from the dining table where he had been pouring over his mail. He sat himself close enough to observe the changing colours of Ichigo's bruises. "But I need to get some work done today." His hands slid over the sleek top of the range laptop and he looked at the huge amount of songs still downloading. "Well you did enjoy yourself."

"Here listen to this one." Ichigo flipped his way through the tracks and slid an ear piece into their closest ears so they could listen together. Byakuya let the modern song filter into his mind as he clicked his open to his emails. He paused the cursor over a few of the newest rubbish he got daily but his mind was not really focused.

Usually he would work without the distraction of a hive of foot tapping and finger clicking and head banging energy going on right next to him.

Usually he would work without the distraction of a hive of bare feet brushing his own, magical fingers lurking only centimetres away and long bare legs that slid right up towards a barely concealed groin.

"Oh damn it." Ichigo stopped all his movement and inhaled slowly as a over enthusiastic jiggle jarred his ribs.

"More tablets?"

"No... I shouldn't. My dad would swing for you if he knew you were just handing them to me when I demanded them. He'd have the kitchen timer glued to my forehead and yelling I had another billions hours to go before I had any more."

Byakuya popped the ear piece out of his ear and placed the laptop back on Ichigo's lap. He gracefully rose and grabbed hold of his briefcase and placed the bottles down on the table.

"I cannot feel the pain so I do not know when you need them, I have been trusting you to tell me. There is little point in hiding these when I know you will not be stupid with them."

"You're just going to leave them there?" Ichigo pointed at the bottles.

"I am." Byakuya nodded. "If you need them, grab them. If you don't there they will stay." He sat back down and closed laptop and stood it on its end against the sofa where it blinked its way into standby.

Ichigo was lost looking at the pill bottles sitting on the other side of the room and felt a sense of awe. It seemed unreal that anyone who knew his history was letting temptation sit within reach. Only he knew himself that the likelihood of wanting them other than for their correct use was nil. He had more than enough reason to stay alive and the one reason sat looking at him with a tender look in his eyes.

"I trust you... Come here." The deep voice asked encouraging Ichigo to lay on his lap. A few grunts and hissing later, Ichigo lay on his back. Byakuya slid his fingers under the edge of the fluffy bathrobe and began to distract the teen with soft massaging fingers.

Someone had faith in him. Byakuya could never estimate how much that meant to the now quiet kid that expected everyone in his life to treat him with suspicion at all times. He wasn't the helpless, village idiot most of them treated him as.

The beautiful soft skin glided under the pads of his fingers and Byakuya watched Ichigo release his bottom lip from his teeth as the pain began to recede back slightly. He didn't know that he was also silently thanking his lucky star for landing such a precious human into his life.

"Does it hurt much?"

"If I just stay still it doesn't hurt, but the moment I move its agony."

"I'm sure dragging me into the bedroom wasn't a good idea."

"Probably not. But some things are worth all the pain aren't they?"

"Yes they defiantly are." Byakuya snorted a smile and looked down at the golden brown eyes that were now frowning up at him.

"You were thinking about me then. I'm a pain am I?" Scratch that precious human idea!

"There is certainly repercussions to our relationship I could do without."

"We're gay, there is always going to be repercussions." Byakuya chose not to answer that one. It seemed that with Ichigo it could not just be limited to being gay per say; no more of it was just Ichigo. "Am I really worth all this bother to you?"

"Of course."

"Really?" Byakuya only answered that with a tut and a flick of his fingers on the boys nose. He was not getting into a pointless row.

"Go to sleep and maybe tonight, the three of us can go out? I'll get Renji to distract attention from us and I'll even let you decide on my outfit."

"Ohh I must have been a good boy!" Ichigo smiled but couldn't hide his yawn. Being injured sure was a pain. His body was just zapped of energy as he healed & an hour napping couldn't hurt could it.

Byakuya sat quietly ignoring his phone that silently vibrated its way over the dining table and the pangs of thirst that tickled his throat. He was content to sit quietly watching the boy beneath him doze. His fingers still slid over the soft skin but the orange locks, free of any gel, called to be caressed and he let his fingers curl around a few strands and take in their silken texture.

The door to the apartment opened and Renji began to shuffle in with several bags with a hands free Rukia following. Renji went to moan loudly but he was soon silenced with an accurate throw of a cushion and both newcomers took in his glare of doom if they woke his lover.

Mouthing the words as he put the shopping down as quietly as the bags allowed him, Renji spoke towards Byakuya. "I found him."

Byakuya's interest peaked. "Grimmjow?" He asked and Renji nodded. "Where?"

Rukia wondered at the quick disappearance of the two men in her life and she looked with a shrug at the man asleep on the sofa. It was bound to be his fault and here she was with orders to baby sit the dummy.

...

Byakuya stood outside the small seedy looking gym and looked at the grim exterior.

"This seems an unsavoury place." Unsavoury but that meant devoid of any devices that would record his presence and a manager open to bribery.

"Just the place for steroid boys to hang out don't you think?" Renji grinned back.

Well, I have only interest in one of them. Byakuya mused to himself.

"There is our man." Renji tapped the display board advertising the gyms facilities and Byakuya studied the man grinning another on a weight bench. The hair and the face fitted the description. "Grimmjow our prized weight lifting expert can sculpt your body into a work of art." Renji laughed reading the blurb beneath the picture. "I think he needs some different kind of sculpting."

"Renji. This maybe one of those times I tell you to take a long walk."

"Yes sir." Renji smiled.

Renji walked to the opposite side of the road and watch Byakuya slide inside. He chuckled as not long after the fire alarm began to ring and sweaty men drilled out in their dozens. All but two. A man clearly the manager apologised to his customers and Renji had to turn his back to not show he was laughing outright as they were all sent home and not allowed back in. The clubs doors were firmly shut and a 'closed' sign appeared neatly on the door.

Grimm stood in his gym room. This was his domain and he took its appearance seriously. He was polishing the wall to wall mirrors with a devout pride and he looked into the glass as the door opened.

"Hey stupid. Did ya hear the bell?" Grimm looked at the man standing there.

"Bell?" Byakuya frowned and shook his head. "It seems I was not the only one though." He walked into the room and look carefully at the reflection of the man's face. "Nasty black eye you have. One of your regular customers?"

"Hey what's up with you?" Grimm angered quickly as stiff fingers dug into his cheeks and turned his head abruptly around. He gripped at the hand hurting his face and growled.

"Just wondering what women would see in you." Byakuya looked the toned body up and down. "Now a man like me however would find these muscles appealing."

"A man like you!"

"Yes. A gay man like me. Didn't you know that these places are a haven for us so we can watch all you men with more brawn than brain flexing those pert little butts." He made a big thing of reaching down and caressing the outraged man's buttocks as his fury filled his face blood red and his mouth readied to spout foul language back. It would have done to had Byakuya not winding him with a quick knee to his groin. Byakuya let no emotion show on his face as Grimm crumpled to a heap on the floor groaning.

"Fucking faggot..." He managed to grunt out before Byakuya swiftly kicked the man onto his back and knelt with his knee on the man's trachea effectively cutting off his air supply. In the past, this had proved to be more effective in subduing assailants as it left his hands free to do exactly what they were now and that was to pummel the guts of his victim.

Suitably coloured in the face and screaming for air, Byakuya shifted his knee and hauled the man dragging gulps of air back up to his feet. He slammed him face first into the glass wall and was satisfied with the way it shattered but held together showing a million Grimmjow getting his arse whipped – one for each single shard.

Grimm had never come across anyone but Ulquiorra who could whip him and this man was not even breaking into a sweat. Punches landed on his kidneys until he was sure to pass blood for a month and he was almost ready to plea for mercy.

A hand fisted into his hair and slammed his face into the glass three times; each landing with a squelshed thud and blood trickled down the glass.

"Oh dear. Looks like a gay man won again. Maybe you should think a little more carefully before you open your mouth or use your hands against another one of us in future."

Grimm yelled angrily as Byakuya kissed his cheek. "Next time. I'll bring my friends and let them play with you too." He said whispering into the shell of his ear and groping his arse again.

"You fucking bastard!" Grimm grunted through his clenched teeth as Byakuya let him go and began walking away. "Don't you walk away from me! This isn't over yet."

Byakuya looked at the hand daring to touch his shoulder and with a fierce thrust with his elbow, he forced the man to stagger back into the mirror again.

Another jab to his ribs and knee to his head as he buckled forward saw the bully fall to the floor unconscious.

"Sorry you were right, but this is over now." He patted the fallen man on the head and stood to look at his blood splattered shirt. He tutted and walked from the room, accepting his jacket from the manager and taking his time to button it up over the evidence.

"You know I don't know about this." The manager looked worried.

"Here. Ring this number. The doctor there will be very happy to treat him." He handed him Isshin's number hiding the smirk on his face. "Feel free to say it was me who sent him and take this for your troubles." He pressed another folded wedge of notes into his hand and slipped quietly from the building. The manager couldn't believe that a weeks worth of smelly gym goers didn't bring him this much money and here it was sitting in his palm. Yeah. He'd sort Grimmjow out. Only once he'd been and banked this lovely bunch of green stuff first hey?