Hey guys, I just wanted to let all you awesome followers know that even if my updates are sporadic, I will under no circumstances abandon this fic. I started a new job recently so my writing time has become limited, but I promise I will finish this story, if for no other reason than you guys who have been supporting me deserve it. Just try to be patient with me and keep the love you send in the reviews coming. You guys are the best.

- kurokuun

"ICHIGOOOOOO!"

Crouching down as he watched his father fly over him and through the air, Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"What do you want, dad?"

Rubbing his cheek where it impacted the wall, Isshin smiled.

"My darling son, what are you getting all dressed up for?"

Ichigo was unable to hold back a smile, thinking of Grimmjow. This was a terrible mistake because Isshin noticed immediately.

"Ichigo! You're going out with your boyfriend? Masaki," he wailed to the ceiling, "our boy is growing up so fast! He even goes on dates now!"

"Jesus dad, would you stop? I need to get dressed," Ichigo responded, patience wearing thin.

"Would you like daddy to help?"

With that Ichigo could tolerate no more and he shoved his father out of his bedroom door amidst his ungodly wailing. Slamming the door behind him, he sighed. He really could use some help deciding what to wear, but not by his father. Checking the clock and seeing that time was short, he made a decision. He pulled on a pair of tight, distressed acid wash jeans and a dark gray tee shirt before shouldering on his peacoat. Reaching into his desk drawer, he grabbed his mothers wedding band and slipped the chain over his head, tucking it into the coat before jogging down the stairs.

"Nii-chan, dinner's going to be ready soon!"

"Sorry Yuzu," Ichigo said over his shoulder, slipping on combat boots in the foyer as he opened the door. "Dinner with Grimm tonight."

"Tell that big idiot we said hi," Karin called from the table as she toiled over algebra.

"Will do," he called back as he closed the door. Skipping down the front steps he headed towards the center of the city and Karakura's station, his destination Nagoya's Congress Center Event Hall. When Grimmjow told him he had gotten tickets to UFC Japan's Impact, he thought he might die. He took the short ride to Nagoya where he immediately started the search for vivid blue hovering above the crowd of commuters. He found it quickly.

"Grimmjow!"

When his target turned he was gifted with a heart-stopping smile and a brief kiss. The simple contact was enough to flush his cheeks.

"You ready," he asked, deep voice rumbling through his veins. Ichigo nodded before being led out of the station and down the street. Once they got close to the event center the crowd thickened, Ichigo trusting Grimmjow to lead the way. Finally they emerged at the entrance and relinquished their tickets before finding their seats.

"I still can't believe you got tickets for this," Ichigo said as he looked up at Grimmjow, who beamed with obvious pride.

"Where do you think I got them?"

"I don't know. Ticketmaster?"

"No," Grimmjow said, laughing loudly. "I got them from a certain someone who has personally coached a couple of these fighters; someone who I've known for a long time." Ichigo's brow furrowed in thought as he tried to guess. He felt stupid once he figured it out.

"Nnoitra! He used to coach?"

"Yep," Grimmjow nodded, thinking to himself. "He used to coach exclusively, but one time he was sparring with a student and he injured his knee pretty bad. He had to cut back some after that, so he opened the gym and now just coaches part time. He's one of the best though."

Ichigo nodded just as the lights dimmed and the announcer started up. The first two fighters made their entrance and took their places. Ichigo was riveted to the stage, watching with anticipation as the two men bounced, until his concentration was broken by a light from across the arena. He looked past the ring, trying to find the source, but gave up quickly and looked back to center stage.

Then, he saw it again; the silvery light danced across his vision, not like a camera flash but like the reflection of light off a mirror. Unable to ignore his own curiosity, he followed the angle back to its source and felt himself go cold.

He watched the light gleam off of a small, silver coin that the man rolled from one knuckle to the other, juggling it between the joints as he smiled too wide to be normal. His eyes were almost entirely closed, but as he met Ichigo's gaze they opened just a sliver, enough to see that his irises were a pale, chilling blue unlike Grimmjow's. His smile widened to reveal small, sharp teeth as he nodded once, the light of the hall making his silver hair appear to have an almost lilac tint to it. It was like looking into the face of a fox who had just stumbled upon its prey.

It surprised Ichigo how forceful the fear was that welled up inside him in the fraction of a second that he saw Ichimaru Gin standing only a few meters away, across the arena. He felt his rib bones start to ache as a shiver ran up his spine and his throat closed over. His heart started to beat even harder, and reflexively he blinked, like the motion would wipe the man away like a mirage.

When he opened his eyes again, Gin was gone.

Ichigo blinked twice more, the fear of not being able to find him much more severe than his mere presence. He scanned the sea of faces frantically, looking for the mirror-like flash in the crowd, but he saw only unsuspecting fans who were watching the ring. Ichigo had been positive that he had seen him. He stood up quickly, anxiety rising and breath coming faster each second.

The world went black and the smell of blood infected Ichigo's senses.

"I like it when you fight. This will be fun."

His hip hurts. His mouth is bloody, and someone is holding him down.

"You really think you can stop me, kid?"

He looks up into raw, red eyes and is afraid. He knows what happens next.

"Ichigo, can you hear me?"

Please, save me.

"Ichigo?"

Don't let him touch me, please. Hurry.

"Ichigo?"

It was almost like being jerked awake as Ichigo felt a hand on his, squeezing with concern. He looked up into kind blue eyes as the memory faded back into the dark oblivion of his mind. Looking around, he realized that people were staring. He turned back to Grimmjow quickly.

"I'm sorry, but I need to get out of here."

"Ichigo?"

Grimmjow called out to him again, watching as his eyes cleared and he whipped around to face him, looking terrified.

Looking like he did that night.

Ichigo peered around him like he had been unaware that he was standing among the seated spectators, then he stepped into Grimmjow, hands clutching at his shirt like a child.

"I'm sorry, but I need to get out of here."

"Sure," Grimmjow said quietly, wrapping an arm around him before leading him out to the lobby and then outside. He sat him down on a bench and crouched down in front of him.

"What's going on with you?"

Ichigo looked at him, traces of fear still marring his face. But he simply shook his head, forcing a smile.

"It's nothing. I was just feeling sick is all. Needed some air."

Grimmjow could instantly tell he was lying, and he wasn't very good at it, either. During the time that they had spent together, Grimmjow had learned that Ichigo wasn't good at hiding his emotions, a trait that Grimmjow found to be very cute. In the time he had known him, he had seen him happy, embarrassed, shy, angry, sad, excited, turned on, frustrated, confused, scared, and more. But he had only seen him look that terrified when he found him in the hotel. He frowned.

"Ichigo, you can tell me anything. What's wrong?"

He watched his beautiful, red-brown eyes widen before he looked away, chewing on his lower lip. He looked back and opened his mouth, but didn't speak. Appearing almost pained, he let his head fall and looked at the ground. Slipping one hand under his chin, Grimmjow tilted his face up softly. Ichigo's eyes refused to meet his.

It made his chest hurt.

Sighing, he released his chin and stood up, seeing Ichigo looking up at him briefly as he turned his head. He felt hands grab at him again, Ichigo's arms wrapping around his waist before he looked up with another slightly more believable smile.

"Really, I'm fine," he said, twining together their fingers. "Let's go back."

Although he was still worried, he let the smaller man lead him back to their seats. He spent most of the time watching Ichigo instead of the matches. Slowly he seemed to relax as the night went on, but the guarded look in his eyes and his cautious movements persisted until they were on the train, headed back to Karakura.

By the time they finished eating Ichigo seemed to be back to normal, talking freely with genuine emotion. Leaving the restaurant, they walked leisurely to the Kurosaki clinic, standing outside once they arrived.

"Hey, you want to come in? I bet the girls would like to say hi," Ichigo asked excitedly.

"Alright," Grimmjow said, running a hand down Ichigo's arm, "but first I'd like to talk about earlier."

Ichigo's face contorted for a split second before resuming his sweet smile.

"I told you, I just wasn't feeling well. I'm fine," he whispered, standing on his toes to kiss him. Grimmjow placed a hand on his hip reflexively, and was surprised when he felt Ichigo flinch away from his touch. He pulled back immediately, concern growing even deeper.

"Ichigo-"

"Nii-chan! You brought Grimmjow-kun with you!"

The two men turned to the door to see Yuzu standing there, beaming at them in her pajamas. Grimmjow looked back to Ichigo, but he was already headed in the door, swooping down and hugging his sister.

"Grimmjow wanted to say hi to you," he cooed to the petite girl in his arms. She smiled brightly before running over to Grimmjow and wrapping her tiny hands around his.

"Grimmjow-kun, won't you come in and say hi to Karin too?" She was already tugging him inside the door when he looked at Ichigo almost pleadingly, scowl deepening. Ichigo just smiled and shrugged like he was oblivious, clearly happy to avoid the issue. Before he knew it, Grimmjow was at the table with coffee and Yuzu sitting on his knee telling him about a cat she saw that reminded her of him.

When Isshin came in from the clinic and made it clear that it was late enough, Grimmjow was led to the door by Ichigo, still playing the fool.

"Hey," Grimmjow said, trying to get his attention. Ichigo wrapped his arms around him.

"Yes," he replied sweetly.

"I want you to tell me what was going on earlier."

"I told you it was nothing," he said, stiffening a bit.

"Can't you see I'm worried about you?"

Ichigo was silent, squeezing harder and pressing his face into Grimmjow's neck. They stood that way for a few minutes, Grimmjow easing into the embrace and relaxing against his better judgment.

"I promise you," Ichigo said quietly as he looked up with his chocolate-caramel eyes, "I'm okay."

"Whatever it is," Grimmjow said softly into his orange hair, "you can tell me."

"I know," he responded quietly as he kissed him.

Knowing he couldn't to push the issue, Grimmjow released the smaller man and left for his own apartment. He lay awake, unable to sleep and watching his phone.

Closing the door behind Grimmjow, Ichigo sighed. He felt bad for worrying him but knew that the truth would only make things worse. He remembered how upset his lover had been at the mere mention of either Aizen or Gin; if he thought that either was following Ichigo he couldn't imagine what he would do.

Or maybe its that I think I do know what he would do, Ichigo thought to himself, remembering how easily he had wielded a knife in the hotel that night. Shaking it from his mind he turned and walked upstairs towards his room. He had just reached the landing when he heard another door open.

"Ichi-nii?"

"Is everything okay Karin," Ichigo asked, turning around and walking over to her.

"Yeah, I just forgot to tell you that someone stopped by while you were out. They asked for you."

Ichigo frowned. He had no plans with Renji, Rukia, Chad, or Inoue, and he couldn't imagine anyone else who knew him well enough to drop by unannounced.

"Who was it?"

"I forgot to get his name," Karin said as she yawned. "But he said he was your friend. He looked kind of familiar."

Ichigo started to feel uneasy, the image of Ichimaru flashing back from earlier.

You're overreacting, he thought to smiled again, trying to shake off the cold feeling in his stomach.

"Could you describe him to me?"

"Yeah," Karin nodded, " he was about as tall as you, and he had dark hair that came down on his forehead and light brown eyes. He had his hood up, which was a little weird. I think he came over once when you were younger."

Ichigo felt the cold feeling seep into his chest and down his limbs as he listened to her account. There was only one person who fit that description, and he was not a friend.

Ichinose Maki.

Ichigo tried to stay calm and hide his racing pulse. Dread started to bloom inside him and was spreading like a virus. He had tried all night to convince himself that the sighting of Gin was just a trick of his mind, a manifestation of stress and the crowd. But somehow, knowing that Maki had been at his home, he knew that it was real. He focused on keeping his voice even as he spoke to his sister.

"What did he say he needed?"

"He just said he wanted to leave you a message. He said that some of your friends wanted to say hi, or something like that...I'm really tired, I can't remember."

"Could you try to remember, Karin? I think it's important," Ichigo said, fighting his closing throat.

Her dark eyebrows narrowed as she thought. She stifled another yawn before her eyes lit up with recognition.

"Yeah, now I remember what he said," she nodded. "He said that Jin says hi, and that he and Sousuke would see you soon."