Hey folks, sorry it's been a while since my last update but it was my little boy's birthday at the weekend which meant children staying and making noise and mess, hardly time to be sitting and writing.

And of course my day off was rudely stolen by my work, well the asked if i could come in and i said yes but since it was a horrendous day today i wish i hadn't but it meant i didn't have my usual two updates on a tuesday!

Anyway, here it is and I decided to look at the current situation from a few different sides, four new POV that i have never written from before so I'm a but unsure of them and introducing a couple of new pairings into the story that probably won't be overly mentioned but they seemed to fit.

Let me know if i've channeled the character alright and what you think of whats happening so far. Next chapter should be fairly exciting!

Phoe
xxxxx

Chapter 11

Finding the doctors had been easier than Gin had thought. Getting them to return phone calls was infinitely harder. He'd been unable to get an email address for either of them but had tracked the consultant one to a hospital in a different city about a hundred and fifty miles away and had been attempting to get in touch with him there. The medical secretary attached to his team was very pleasant to talk to; Gin knew that for sure as he'd spent three eight minute phone calls trying to get the man. The girl was adamant she passed along his details each time but the doctor was just that busy. When asking to get a physical appointment to see the man he'd been told the consultant only took on referrals. That of course had led him to trying to get her to understand it wasn't a medical issue but she'd just kept saying he would call back when he had time.

Gin had decided that he was going to head out there and see if he could find out more about the man and hopefully get a personal contact for him someway or find the other man but he had yet to finish another contract and could leave town yet.

He was almost desperate to get resolution for this one, the man's name burning a pit inside him every time he thought of it. Sousuke Aizen had clearly found a replacement for little Momo fairly quickly and was well on the way to destroying another innocent's life. Grimmjow clearly still felt something for the man he was trying to help even if he claimed otherwise and Gin knew if he told him Momo's fate he would not be settling for waiting for proof Aizen was doing wrong.

The saddest part with the Himamori case had been the girl's pleas that she wanted to stay with him and that she loved him, even though she was grievously injured. She'd refused to press charges and the man had walked free as the evidence all pointed to accidental injury. The 'accident' had caused spinal damage, mild brain damage as well as enough peripheral injuries that the girl was basically in a body cast for weeks. The last Gin knew of her after the case was closed and his contract had ended was that her parents were having to get her major psychiatric help as she cried for hours over losing 'her Sousuke' and was wanting to kill herself because he'd abandoned her.

Aizen on the other hand obviously realised he had to cut her loose after the investigation into her fall down the stairs at their shared house and had moved job as well as home, quickly finding her replacement.

Gin had been surprised that his next choice was a male, especially a strong grown man but obviously his emotional weakness had been attractive. Not that Gin didn't see the man's charms, he had observed Ichigo from a distance after the conversation with Grimmjow, just to get a feel on the man and he seemed a genuine, caring individual with a handsome face and clearly bad taste in men. Gin had frowned as he saw the man flinch when Sousuke took his upper arm in his hand just to lead him into the car and he clearly saw Sousuke not noticing it so obviously Ichigo did it frequently. For his height the orange haired man was clearly underweight and was displaying obvious signs of abuse. It was nearly enough for Gin to go straight to the police with his findings but he also wanted to help the man's father. Grimmjow had filled him in on the situation with Ichigo's father recently and that was the only reason Ichigo was still with the man and that gave Gin hope that Ichigo could get through this mentally unscathed.

Little Momo had been a nurse at another hospital and had fallen under Aizen's spell, Ichigo is a patient's next of kin, it made Gin wonder if he'd done it previously, if there was a third or even a fourth innocent person having to get over the ordeal. Or if there was a third or fourth innocent person who didn't survive their ordeal.

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"I assure you Byakuya; I won't need any more time off anytime soon. I am sorry I have been of so much recently."

The dark haired boss observed the younger man in front of him, taking note of the slightly swollen cheek and the sling around his neck. He found it hard to believe the man could actually guarantee he'd not need time off with a straight face. He felt sympathy for the man, he wasn't made of stone no matter what others thought of him but at the end of the day Byakuya had a company of designers to run and they depended on their technology for it.

Ichigo's position as IT technician had been a surprise but after the man had taken an office position rather than just working free lance he had shown himself to be extremely versatile and an asset to the company. Ichigo had just shrugged when praised about his skills saying he'd had to learn to troubleshoot as a freelance as there wasn't anyone to call to help when he was at home. When they updated to new software the previous year, Ichigo's talents were particularly called for as he picked up the package fast and delivered a training scheme based on it for the other members of the team and troubleshot problems after.

That and the fact he'd known the boy for years gave him the necessary patience to deal with him sympathetically. He remembered watching Rukia become friends with so many boys at an early age and maturing around them. Being the big brother Byakuya always felt protective of her and did his best to watch out for her and thankfully it seemed that some of these boys also felt protective, especially Ichigo. When one of the boys asked Rukia out Byakuya took perverse pleasure in making their relationship as uncomfortable as possible. Renji Abarai was not a suitable life partner for his sister even if the man had currently improved his prospects. He could see what Rukia saw in the man, Renji was particularly handsome, very tall and muscular but definitely too crass and rough for Rukia. She needed a more refined individual that would be a good match for her and take care of her in the future, not a tribal tattooed mechanic who spent his day covered in sweat and oil. The last time Byakuya had seen Renji he'd clearly just finished work and was in public in a dirty white vest and grey overalls that were dark with sweat, the white shirt nearly transparent in the centre of Renji's chest, showing how far his tattoos went.

Byakuya had to give himself a shake to get the picture out of his mind; that man was a lot younger than him after all and he needed to concentrate on the young man in front of him.

"Kurosaki I want you to come to work and do your job, you are very good at it and I have at least one client on the books in the coming months that will be interested in your kind of style so I really need you to be here and on top form."

"I understand Byakuya and I really am sorry I've been missing so much work. I've just had a run of bad luck recently and hopefully it's over and things will settle down."

"Hmm, I hope the rule of threes isn't true for you, two major incidents involving injuries usually breeds a third. Anyway, good day Kurosaki."

Ichigo got up and left his office, closing the door after him. He had a barely noticeable limb after he got up which made the older man frown. He knew Ichigo had defended his sister and himself from muggers a few years ago and the boy had been pulled in for questioning by the police with the state of the attackers but he'd been released without charge and the attackers had taken the brunt of the law after feeling the brunt of Ichigo's fists. How the boy goes from that to allowing someone to physically harm him was very puzzling and clearly more involved that it seemed on the surface but Byakuya hoped he'd get out of the dangerous relationship as quickly as possible.

iiiiiii

Urahara finished cleaning the dojo after the last class, waving goodbye to the final families leaving the room and him in peace. He'd felt the sadness radiating from one of his senior students that night, Nel Jaeggerjaques was unfocused and visibly upset but since he knew fine well what the problem was there was nothing he could really do about it.

The name had rung alarm bells in his head when her father had contacted him about a place for his daughter in the dojo. He remembered Ichigo being devastated when the pair had left town and had thrown himself into his training for months after just to exhaust himself out so he could sleep at night. Then one day a pretty girl with long green hair jumps into his arms and Urahara saw the tears in the man's eyes just from holding her again after so long. Ichigo had also found it hard to walk out the room; Urahara had clocked him watching the girl and her overly hot father who'd been signing the paperwork.

"I thought I recognised the name when you called, stupid of me really to not have warned either of you eh?"

Grimmjow had just raised an eyebrow at the blond man, the smirk written on his face telling the blue haired man he was being particularly insincere. "Yeah, a little heads up would have been nice. Good to see him though."

Urahara's smirk had widened as Grimmjow glanced up for another look at his ex. "Yeah, I guess I should mention that he's not been the same since you left, I've not seen him smile like that in years. Especially this past couple of years, they've been hard on him. Try not to make things harder for him now eh?"

Urahara had tried to help the man himself, he'd been his Sensei since Ichigo had been a boy but the boy would barely speak to him let alone confide in him even after his dad fell sick and now with Isshin comatose Ichigo was even more closed off. Urahara had spotted signs of abuse quickly, sore limbs and bruises that didn't sit with the stories the boy told. Urahara knew the human body well and knew what injuries came lightly and which needed more malice behind them. It hadn't taken long for Ichigo to have to come clean, a little but he refused all help and told the older man to just butt out and leave it.

Kisuke didn't know what Grimmjow could do to help the lad if he was refusing all help but he would help him if he could.

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The orange hair that sat up in spikes was always softer than he thought it was going to be. It had the texture of cat fur, fine and thick and very very soft. Sousuke loved running his fingers through it and he knew the younger man liked it as well with the way his head always tilted towards the hand, the warm gorgeous eyes closing and a peaceful look coming over his face.

Ichigo had always been very receptive to physical touches, not the ones that disciplined his poor behaviour obviously but the gentle ones, the ones that showed how much he loved the younger man. Not only was he a stunning man with very expressive eyes but he was kind, caring and as near perfect as anyone would want from a lover. If only he knew how to behave, going outside half-dressed or sometimes dressing like such a slob, he fraternises with anyone, had uncouth friends with crass mouths and Ichigo didn't see them for what they were really were.

The top of the list of undesirables had to be his former partner who had stormed into their home and insulted Ichigo and Sousuke before daring to press his lips to what clearly did not belong to him. Sousuke knew he crossed the line that night; Ichigo had lain on the ground for too long before getting up and running out of the house, tears falling from his eyes. If he'd just stayed in front of Sousuke, he'd have never had to yank his arm back with such force to rip it out of the socket. Then the man still tried to stand up and get away, lifting that firm backside up and Sousuke had to show him where his heart belonged and to whom he belonged.

But the man returned, as Sousuke had known he would, come home to the man he loved and things were right once more. Sousuke knew he had to be more careful with the man; he was clearly more breakable than he looked and would be quite vulnerable for a while after losing the girl.

He looked back down at the sleeping man on his bed, back bare and showing the red welts from their lovemaking and the sheet scandalously low on his hips. He stroked his hand through the soft hair once more before being called away by his ringing phone.

The name on the display drew a frown; they kept their contact to a minimum for good reason.

"Jin, how can I help you this late in the evening?"

"Sousuke, Kurosaki is fighting the sedation, he keeps dropping into REM and the nurses are noting it. If the boy comes to visit then they might say something." REM was normal deep sleep patterns where eyes moved rapidly and was several degrees above comatose.

"Then you need to give him a stronger dose or change his medications to keep him under."

"You always seem so sure that the boy loves you regardless of the father being incapacitated, why not just remove the risk and allow Kurosaki to wake up. He's still got the mass on his brain but we wouldn't be implicated anymore."

"I know he loves me but he loves his father more. He gave up everything for his father and I won't have him giving me up. Do what you have to but keep that man asleep."

"This isn't part of my job and you seem to be getting all the perks from this deal, an angel in your bed who you can smack around and still get to enjoy his hard body. I want some sort of incentive to keeping this man alive but asleep. I think it's time you started to share."

Jin hung up after that, leaving a pale Sousuke sitting on the sofa in his living room. He had never thought Kariya would want Ichigo and Sousuke didn't know if he could let a monster like that touch his precious man.

iiiiii

Three weeks is a long time to have no real news during that kind of situation but Grimmjow was doing his best to carry on without becoming obsessed. Well he was trying to hide how obsessed he was anyway. He only checked his phone for texts and emails a couple of times an hour. And yes fair enough his email was actually open on his desktop at all times at work with an audible noise to alert him to new mail. But he restrained himself from calling Gin every day and the other man had been true to his word at keeping him up to date even if there was no news for him to report.

Grimmjow couldn't believe they hadn't been able to contact the doctors when Gin knew where they worked and Ichigo had been out of sight for too long. One letter in three weeks was not enough for Grimmjow and he had been close to driving up to the block a few times and just storming in but he kept away. If he had a chance to get Ichigo away from that psycho then he didn't want to ruin it by losing his temper.

Three weeks ago Ichigo lay in his arms and they had got to enjoy each other's bodies for a while. Ichigo was even more stunning in his maturity and his lack of tender care recently had created an oversensitive body that started to tremble as hands came close. Those gentle trembles had stilled under Grimmjow's large hands but he'd been able to draw out better motions and noises.

To explore that body again had been amazing and he wanted to spend more time doing it, possibly forever.

iiiiiii

Another message lay on his desk from the same name.

"Are you ever going to reply to that Ichimaru?" Jushiro stood behind the bigger man, wrapping his arms around his broad shoulders and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"I don't know, he doesn't want to see me about a medical issue and Nanao said he sounded a bit creepy. I don't think I want to speak to him."

"You are such a child Shun, here, I'll do it." The older man swept his long hair behind his shoulder before leaning forward and plucking the memo off the desk to read it while pulling his phone out of his trouser pocket and punching the numbers in, sitting back onto their bed as the phone rang.

"Hello, Gin Ichimaru speaking."

Nanao was right, the man did sound creepy. "Hello Mr Ichimaru. My name is Jushiro Ukitake and you have been trying to get a hold of my friend Shunsui Kyoraku for some time now. How can we help you?"

"Thank god you finally called, three weeks I've been trying to get a hold of you and I don't know how many messages I've left for you. I am working on behalf of my client Grimmjow Jaeggerjaques who is trying to get some help for an old patient of Mr Kyoraku and time is unfortunately not with us."

"Hold on for a moment please, I'm going to put you on speaker." Jushiro looked down at his phone screen to find the correct button. "Right we can both hear you now."

"Mr Kyoraku, I do apologise for bothering your assistant so much but my client is trying to help Isshin Kurosaki and I believe you were both close to the man before he went into a coma."

"Isshin's in a coma? Since when?" Jushiro was shocked that his old friend had deteriorated that quickly.

"Over two years and my client has reason to believe that it might not be a natural thing, he is concerned that someone is possibly keeping him like that to control his son."

Shunsui spoke up then, concern written over his face. "Isshin's tumour should not have caused a coma, he could have died before his body slipped into a coma but for him to be gone for two years, I saw him before we left and it couldn't have been long before this happened. I have to ask, is Sousuke Aizen part of this?"

Gin fell silent for a moment. "Yes, he is the one we think is behind all of this, and it's not the first time he's done it. Can you help us out, I don't know if it would change your mind but Isshin's boy Ichigo is involved in this and is in some serious trouble."

"That damn boy, I told him he needed to get some help. Stupid kid trying to shoulder the world. We'll help; we'll come back and see if we can uncover some medical truths at least."

The call ended soon after with the two men promising to be back in the city by the weekend giving them a couple of days to get their work in order to leave it for a while.

"Jaeggerjaques, isn't that the name of Ichigo's ex, the one that abandoned him and took their kid with him?"

Shunsui frowned as he thought about it. He didn't have the same kind of history with the Kurosakis but he'd got to know the boy when he started to come with his dad to appointments. "I don't know, the name rings a bell, you could have mentioned it when they broke up. I remember you taking about that and that Isshin was worried about the kid."

"Yeah, I just wonder why his name is attached to this."

"He probably found out what that stupid kid had been hiding from him for years and came back to claim his man. And now we're part of the romance novel. Getting too old for this shit Shiro."

"If you're too old for that, are you too old for this?" Jushiro peeled his work shirt off his shoulders, his long white hair floating about him like a gossamer curtain, coating his pale skin but not hiding his still firm looking body. His long term chest condition kept him from becoming overly strong and muscular in his youth but he'd been fit as a young man and kept it up enough.

"Never too old for this." He took his lover in his arms, lips attached to the pale shoulder as he held the more delicate man close.

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