There was the sound of rhythmic beats of flesh pounding against guards when she entered, Ichigo closed the door quietly behind her, noting it was her parents in the ring.
"Dad," she said in a passing greeting, heading over to the punching bags. Her mother stopped mid hit, confused, not sure why she was being ignored by the orange head.
"Good to see you here Ichigo, it's been a while since your last work out. Thanks for dragging Yoruichi home last night. I was so sure that you and Shiro would have left her there this time," he said grinning like a mad man, already realising that she was ignoring her mother. Ichigo just shrugged, sitting down to tape her knuckles. Her father jumped down from the ring, offering to do it for her. A privilege she hadn't had in a long time.
"Tell me why are you ignoring your mama, Ichi-chan?" he asked, trying to look serious, his striped bucket hatband the fan tucked into his belt kind of ruined the effect. He grabbed the punching bag holding it steady for her as she went through her warm-up routines. Ichigo struck the bag twice as hard as the last punch, her father losing his grip as the bag of sand winded him.
"She let slip to some of the other fighters that Shiro almost killed Menoly during her first match." Both stopped their movements in shock for a moment, Yoruichi moving to stand by Ichigo, hovering at the edge of her kick range.
"I'm so sorry Berry-pie," she mumbled looking completely miserable. The twins past was a little shady from what they had told their parents, only Kisuke knowing the full extent of what they had done. But if anyone found out about it they would disappear, leave the country change their names never to be seen again.
"Apologise to Shiro later, never expect us to go drinking with you and the other fighters again though or even talk to you at the ring," she said, moving to another piece of equipment, grabbing her headphones. Jamming the ear buds in she cranked the volume to max settings, losing herself in the music, while her parents watched saddened that they were unable to end their children's suffering.
He sat staring at the finished painting, probably had been doing so for a few hours but he hadn't noticed the time passing. It was probably one of his finer pieces, it had taken little under a week to finish it, the stare of the girl in the painting was hypnotic. His manager would have a field day when she saw this. He had finally finished the painting late last night, now he had several ideas for new pieces losing all interest with his commission pieces.
"She really did pose for it, I'm shocked." Grimmjow jumped at the sound of the loud voice, panicking slightly. He turned ready to attack only to find it was Nnoitra.
"Remember what happened last time ya snuck up on me, ya dick," he mentioned sitting down on his bed. The lanky man shuddered, Grimmjow had been in the middle of a sleep deprived coffee high and had pretty much attacked him like a mad man when he showed up in his apartment unannounced. Nnoitra sat down on his disgusting paint stained bed, tossing the happy meal box at Grimmjow. The bluenette was currently collecting the toys, Nnoitra had no idea why he was just following orders.
"Thanks," he said, smiling before he ripped into the meal, much like a small child.
"How are you liking Silence?" He asked, Grimmjow glanced at him for a second. He grinned briefly, "I have a lot of ideas revolving around her. More than I had with ya dressed as a Praying mantis detective." A knock at the door startled them both, Grimmjow glaring at Nnoitra to open it. He sighed in defeat hoping it wasn't a sales person, they pissed him off to no end, specially when they were really cocky. He opened the door to reveal Silence.
"Hey Silence," he greeted, brows drawn in confusion. What was she doing here? She scowled and pushed past him, slamming him face first into the wall.
"Watch it bitch," he hissed, she turned and growled fist clenched ready to hit him should it come to that.
"Stop squabbling like children, you'll upset the neighbours," Grimmjow shouted, mirth in his voice. The two glared at each other once more before she ignored him and waved to Grimmjow, who surprisingly waved back. Ichigo slid her bag off her shoulder, dumping it at the foot of the bed before going over to the finished piece. She was surprised to say the least, Ichigo didn't think she could look that alive when not involved in a fight.
"Is that how I look in the ring?" The two nodded, shocked by her reaction.
"Normally a bit more feral but yeah, in the ring ya look alive, outta it ya look like a doll," Nnoitra commented, resuming his seat on the bed. Grimmjow stood, dragging the stool to the other side of the room with him.
"Staying or going?" He asked, pulling out one of the larger canvas's. Nnoitra made himself comfy on the bed, showing of his piano tooth grin and nodded. He turned to Ichigo suddenly serious.
"I was wondering if ya would mind going topless for this one?" He asked, lowering his voice to a whisper so Nnoitra wouldn't hear in case she rejected it.
"I want ta paint yer bare back," he explained when she bit her lip, eyes drawn downwards.
"The tattoo," she muttered, "I can't let anyone see it." He nodded, thinking she got it without telling her parents.
"I wasn't gonna ta add it ta the painting anyways." Ichigo sighed in annoyance.
"That's not the problem, nobody is allowed to see it. Not even that idiot lounging on the bed," she hissed, trying to stress the importance of her situation. He rolled his eyes, women were such fussy creatures. Grabbing her wrist he dragged her to the over side of the room, moving a huge picture of dark a city-scape aside to reveal another door. She hesitated at the door.
"It's just a bathroom, I have this great concealer for covering tats and scars i use it with other models." She pulled her tank top off slowly, her bra following as she revealed the tattoo to a virtual stranger, fear coursing through her veins. What if he recognised it? The design of it was odd, she had a mask tattooed on her left shoulder about the size of his hand. The design was nightmarish, in black and white, it actually scared him a little. Worse was the scar that ran through it, almost slicing the tattoo in half. It looked like someone had tried to destroy the image, adding to the creep factor. He grabbed the glass jar of concealer quickly, not wanting to look at that image any longer. She shivered as the concealer came into contact with her skin, it was cold but also bit by bit that reminder of what she had done was disappearing, if only for a while. Something about it made her feel relieved.
"Why the hell did ya get something like this inked on yer back if ya didn't want anyone ta see it?" He asked, curious about what could ever make a girl like her want such an image on her back for all to see.
"It wasn't a choice, it was a life style. One that happened a lifetime ago," she whispered. He barely heard her but got the message behind those words loud and clear. Do not ask. He moved carefully making sure not to cover up the scar, it would enhance the image stuck in his mind greatly. He smirked once he was done, opening the door open, Silence strolled out of the room like she was a queen. Nnoitra's face went bright red from the sight of her with out a shirt, he looked away holding his hands over his eye, not wanting to betray Nel in anyway. Grimmjow laughed knowing he could use this as blackmail later. He moved her to stand, facing the wall muttering, "look over yer left shoulder and pull all yer hair over yer right." Once she did as he asked. He settled onto his stool and began to paint.