Questions and Answers

Minny arrived at work a few hours later feeling exhausted and on edge. She had returned home after dropping off Gin, falling asleep relatively easily only to be bombarded with nightmares. The nightmare of her brother being alive and trying to kill her, again, was especially real and incredibly terrifying. She woke up screaming from that one. Someone was calling her name as she was walking toward her office, but she ignored it because that someone was her husband.

"Minny!" Grimmjow's voice echoed across the building.

"Oh, god," she moaned, stopping in her tracks without turning around. Her eyes widened when she saw Kenpachi moving her way at a speed shocking for his size. She was a little disturbed at the malevolent grin he wore on his face as if he were looking forward to the impending confrontation with her husband.

"Can I please just talk to my wife for a minute?" he asked the human wall that stood between them.

"Do you want to talk to him, ma'am?" Kenpachi asked without turning his head to look at her. He wanted to keep his eye on the blue haired man. Literally eye, since he wore an eye patch over one. This man couldn't possibly be more frightening and intimidating.

"Sure, just stand behind me," she said and he dutifully moved to stand behind her. She had never felt so small in her entire life, however, she definitely felt protected. Her eyes looked up into a sad pair of sky blue eyes. "Yes. What is it?"

"Here," he said, shoving a vase of blue roses in her face. He was acting like a nervous teenage boy about to ask a girl out for a first date. "Can I take you to dinner tonight?"

"Sorry. I have a business meeting tonight. I'm thinking I'll be taking them to a hostess club since that seems to be a favorite among clients," she retorted hatefully, turning to leave without taking the flowers.

"What about tomorrow night?" he yelled after her. "Saturday night?" he asked as she got further away.

Minny smiled to herself, continuing to walk away. She heard footsteps behind her then a strangled sound like a cat being squeezed. She turned to see Kenpachi's hand firmly wrapped around Grimmjow's neck and his feet dangling in midair as the huge man held him up. She bit her lower lip to resist the urge to laugh as he held out the roses to her.

"You forgot these," he wheezed.

"Kenny, put that down. You don't know where it's been," she muttered icily. She took the vase from her husband before he dropped it. She watched as he was dropped onto his feet, swayed unsteadily, then leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees to take several huge gulps of air. "What time Saturday night?"

This was going to be an interesting experience for everyone involved. Whether it would be good or bad was anyone's guess. Minny walked into the front door of the hostess club behind Kuchiki, Starrk, and Ichimaru. The girl at the front counter was unable to hide her surprised and pleased expression when she saw the three handsome men. Her expression quickly turned to disdain when Minny stepped out from between them.

"I have the presidents from Shinigami Corporation and Espada Hospitality with me. Can you provide us with a private room and your three most gorgeous and polite ladies?" she inquired.

"Of course ma'am. Are you sure you won't need four escorts tonight?" she blond girl asked with a snotty tone of superiority.

Minny stepped around the small podium to get very close to the girl. She cupped the girl's face with one of her hands, bringing her lips very close to the other girl's. She tucked a fifty dollar bill in the blond's generous cleavage. "If I did need a woman tonight, I doubt any of your employees could meet my standards. Now, go!" she ordered, glaring at the bitchy blond as she hurried away. She turned to be greeted with three gaping faces. "Yes?" she demanded, giving each one a withering glance. The three shocked men cleared their throats in embarrassment, hastily gathering their wits before the girl returned.

"Right this way, ma'am," the girl announced with a much warmer and friendlier tone. She led them to a small private room with four black leather couches arranged in a square around a table that was covered with various types of alcohol and glasses. Three pretty girls were already sitting in the room, one on each couch except the fourth which Minny claimed for herself.

"Are you really okay with this? You don't have to be here. I can take you home," Mr. Kuchiki offered as he sat down. He seemed very uncomfortable and searching for an excuse to leave.

"Sir, are you all right?" she asked.

"Of course," he replied, a pink color creeping up his neck as he pulled at his collar.

Minny felt a little guilty dragging her boss through this. She knew this was not something he would enjoy and could barely tolerate. The other two, however, seemed satisfied and happy with their present situation. She actually had ulterior motives for being here. She hoped her memory for voices was good because she would be trying to find a specific one tonight. The woman who belonged to that voice would have some questions to answer. She poured herself a glass of champagne as the three giggling women served the men. After listening to their pointless flirting for a while, she excused herself.

"Hey, Blondie!" Minny yelled at the girl at the podium up front.

"Yes, ma'am, how can I help you?' the girl asked with a plastic smile.

"Wow! Throw a little money your way and it changes your attitude tremendously. Here," Minny said, handing the girl another fifty dollar bill. "Do you remember a good looking blue haired man that came in here a few nights ago? I'm sure he asked for a private room because he had business clients."

"Oh, yeah," she almost moaned, a dreamy smile on her face.

"Wonderful. I have another fifty bucks for you if you can show me the girl he was with," she offered. The mention of more money caught the girl's attention immediately and the smile disappeared from her face. Blondie was suddenly all business and a woman on a mission.

"Right this, my Queen," Blondie said, grabbing Minny's hand. She led her to the back corner of the main room where a woman with long black hair was rising from her knees from between the legs of a drunken, sweating businessman. Just what the hell had this woman been doing to this man? The answer was obvious and nauseating to think about.

"Don't forget my tip at the end of the evening, Leila. I'm sure you don't want word of this getting to the manager," threatened Blondie as Minny gave her the money. The blond extortionist was cleaning house tonight. "Someone wants to talk to you."

Nausea swept over Minny as the raven haired woman turned to face her while wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Her face twisted into an expression of revulsion making the lewd woman smile licentiously. She held her breath as the woman walked toward her, standing so close that their breasts touched.

"You're a pretty little thing," the woman commented, pulling off Minny's glasses to get a better look at her brown eyes.

"I need to ask you a few questions about a man," Minny said, snatching her glasses from the woman's hand. Her body felt like one huge raw nerve. She wanted to get away from this woman as soon as possible.

"Oh, damn," she sighed with disappointment, backing away. "I would have had a lot of fun with you."

"What can you tell me about a customer you had that was tall, very handsome, blue hair?" she asked, watching the disappointed expression turn to anger on the woman's face.

"Oh, him," she snorted. "If he hadn't talked about his damn wife all night long I would have sworn he was gay. He wouldn't touch me at all. He kept shoving me away from him no matter what I did. It was a real blow to my self-esteem, I tell ya."

"Really? He didn't lay a hand on you?" Minny inquired, the sick feeling dissipating.

"No – not once. How could he resist this? I mean, HELLO!" the woman exclaimed, waving her hand over body as if she were the prize on a game show.

There it was! That's the voice Minny had heard on the phone. "You've told me what I needed to know. Thank you," she said, walking away from the woman. She had received the answers to her questions so she was ready to go. She needed time to think and figure this out. "Mr. Kuchiki, I'm not feeling very well. I need to go home," she announced when she walked back into the private room.

"Of course, dear, I'll be more than happy to take you home," Mr. Kuchiki rejoined, nodding to the girl sitting next to him with the bored expression on her face. "I'm sorry gentlemen, but I must take care of my assistant. You are more than welcome to continue your evening here. We will see you at the office tomorrow to finalize the paperwork. Enjoy!" He grabbed Minny by the arm, rushing her back through the door. "Oh, you are a lifesaver. You can have a week off with pay for this one," he whispered, hustling her out of the club with him.

"Mr. Kuchiki, are you all right?" she asked, when they practically ran out of the front door.

"Yes, I just hate places like that. Those women disgust me," he muttered, pulling off his jacket. He pulled the band out of his long hair, running his hand through it. He always kept his long hair neatly pulled back at the office.

Minny bit her lip as the wind caught his silky looking black hair and blew it around his face. She had never noticed just how handsome he was with his dark gray eyes and sharp aristocratic features. She ignored him for the most part, deeming him a snob and not worth her time since he seemed to view most people as beneath him. "Sir, are you gay?" she asked bluntly, watching his eyes grow huge.

"What did you just ask me?" he queried in disbelief, running his hand through his hair again.

"Are you –"

"I actually heard you, I was just shocked. You never cease to amaze me with your frankness. To answer your question, no I am not. I had a wife, but she died several years ago. I know I will never find another love like that so I haven't even tried," he explained, keeping his tranquil gaze leveled on her the whole time.

"I'm sorry, sir. I apologize for being nosey. It's one of my worst habits," she stated, bowing her head slightly as profound embarrassment burned her cheeks.

"It is one of the endearing things I like about you. I prefer to call it an insatiable curiosity," he said, smiling at her.

"Sir – "

"Would you stop that please? Call me Byakuya since we are not at work," he encouraged her.

They strolled to his car in a comfortable silence, each of them deep in thought. She waited patiently as he opened the door to his car for her.

"What did you find out about your husband?" he asked, holding her gaze when her wide eyes met his. "I am not as oblivious or self-important as I act. So tell me."

"He didn't do anything. But why didn't he just tell me that? Wouldn't have been easier for him to just admit nothing happened?"

"Would you have believed him?"

"I-I don't know," she stammered, staring at the ground.

"Minny, now it is my turn to be nosey. I am going to ask you a very blunt question and you can answer me truthfully because it is just between us." He waited for her to return his intent gaze. "Do you really want to be married to him? Were you looking for an excuse to end it? Are you afraid?"

"That's more than one question, sir."

"I know, smartass!" he exclaimed, shocking her by raising his voice. "Answer them."

"I don't know. Maybe. Yes," she replied, answering each question in the order it was asked. She scowled deeply at him as he scrutinized her with those piercing slate gray eyes of his.

"Figure out the answers to those questions, and you'll know if you want to stay married to him."

Minny was unable to stay upset with him because he was right. She was refusing to ask herself the hard the questions because she was too fearful of the answers.