Sorry for the wait. Special thanks to Mer-mer and Blankheart1234 for being the first and for wonderfully excessive praise of my humble fic, it's reviews like yours that make writing worthwhile. And to all my other reviewers, thank you so much. Now, on with the much-anticipated fourth chapter!


Shiro watched as Ikkaku launched at Noba as soon as the words left the red-head's mouth. He heard Haineko scoff beside him, "Tch, baka."

With a smooth roll of position, a step and twist to Ikkaku's left, the shirtless male went right past Noba as if the ninja hadn't ever occupied the spot. The bald man didn't get more than two feet before he stopped himself and about-faced with a glare, lashing out with a punch to Noba's head.

Immediately, the red-head dropped to the floor on his hands and struck out with both feet towards Ikkaku's chest, landing a harsh blow to his solar plexus. The half-naked male went sliding back into the ropes, hand flat to his chest, "Ugh! Heh, that's quite a kick you pack."

The ninja was already back on his feet, silent as ever. Ikkaku launched a series of punches at the red-head, keeping his arms closer to prevent a repeat of earlier, forcing Noba to back up a step each time in order to dodge.

It wasn't long before the blue-suited male was nearly flush with the ropes. Haineko leaned forward precariously and Shiro shot out a hand to keep her from toppling into the crowd below, "He's going for a ring out!" she gasped.

Shiro watched as Ikkaku corralled the ninja towards one of the corner poles, "What?"

Haineko never took her eyes from the fight, "If you're forced out of the quad, it's no contest; you lose."

Shiro watched the footwork of the combatants below, his eyes narrowed when he saw how precisely Noba was matching his opponent's moves, "No, he can't want to go closer, could he?" the pale teen whispered to himself. He'd seen that drop earlier, and the twist-dodge before that, the only way the red-head was going towards the ropes was because he wanted to.

Ikkaku grinned when he'd backed the ninja into the corner, "Where you gonna dodge to now?"

Haineko once again nearly took a header into the people below them when the red-head grabbed the ropes, "Is he really going to surrender?"

Not waiting for his adversary to make a move, Ikkaku aimed a power-packed kick at his opponent. Jaws dropped all around when the blue-suited male flipped up in the air on the ropes. He stayed balanced like that, his entire body vertical, held up by the strength of his arms on the rope, for what seemed several minutes. Even Ikkaku seemed too shocked to move for a moment. It was his mistake.

Noba took advantage of the bald male's distraction and close proximity, letting his body tilt and fall back the way it had come, landing directly behind the frozen man. This seemed to snap the Lieutenant out of his daze and he started to turn around, but not before a swift kick to the back of his legs took him to his knees. In a move almost too quick to see, the blue ninja had the bald male in a choker hold and wrapped his legs around Ikkaku's as he fell backwards, dragging the Soul Reaper's upper body back with him.

Blue-sheathed legs were around the still-folded knees of the Soul Reaper, preventing him from using them or flipping over; and it looked rather painful to boot. They were both laid out with Noba on the bottom but obviously the one in control with his arm locked across Ikkaku's trachea and applying pressure. The bald man was ineffectually clawing at the arm around his throat, but pure arm strength wasn't going to cut it and he had no leverage in a full body-lock.

The red-head looked at the male struggling to get breath in his arms and spoke for the first time since the start of the match, "Submit."

It took several seconds more of useless struggle before the bald man went limp and raised his left hand up in the air, thumb up, "You win!" he rasped out through his abused airway. Instantaneously, the Espada released his grip on the Soul Reaper and Ikkaku sucked in huge gasping breaths.

In a matter of moments, Noba was standing to the cheers and jeers of all those surrounding the quad. Ignoring it all, he leaned over the still-gasping Ikkaku and held out his hand, "Feelings?"

With a surprising smile, the bald male clasped hands and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet, "No hard ones. Good match."

Noba nodded and retreated to his corner. He pulled the lower half of his mask back up and carefully rewrapped his forearms, but left the top half of his mask down, leaving his wild-fire hair free.

Shiro winced when Haineko cupped her hands over her mouth and looked up, "Quick drop!"

He was completely clueless as people below moved and a chain dropped down from somewhere above the beam they were sitting on. Then Rukia stood up and jumped into the open air, grabbing the chain and sliding down to the ground. Shiro stared after her with wide eyes, "Wha' th' hell?"

Haineko stood as well, "It's the fastest way to get down; call up for one of the tenders to throw down a chain. It'd take far too long, and be way too risky, for everyone to try to go down the holds at the end of a fight, not to mention the problem or risk of getting past other people on a beam to get to the hand-holds. So when you want to go down, just call up for a quick drop. Now, are you coming?" she hopped out and grabbed the chain, swinging back and forth abit as she slid down.

"Tch, 'course I'm commin'." he took a deep breath and held it as he stood up and jumped for the chain, so very grateful when he felt his hands close over cool metal. He slid down and joined Haineko and Rukia on the ground, steadfastly ignoring the quivering of his spine, unnoticeable to others.

Haineko tilted her head, "Was that your first time?"

He nodded and Rukia threw him a shocked and admiring look, "Well, I'll be. I can't believe you jumped for it on your first time. You could have reached for it, you know."

"I never run away."

Haineko smiled, "I can see why you and Zangetsu get along so well. Come on, let's go meet Noba." she led them over to the far side of the quad, where said red-head was leaning against one of the supporting beams, his hair making the red girder he was leaning against look dull and rust-colored in comparison. Haineko cocked her hip as they stopped by the ninja, "Hey, Noba."

He nodded at her, "Haineko. Rukia."

"Shiro, this is Noba, Segunda Espada. Noba, this is Hichigo Shirosaki, Shiro, Ichigo's tagalong."

The red-head's blue eyes zeroed in on the crescent pendant Shiro wore. Haineko stiffened next to him when Noba held his hand out, "Akai-tenshi."

Shiro clasped hands with him, "Engetsu."

They turned as someone approached them, "Thanks for the fight, it was great."

The albino looked over at the bald male, "Yer Ikkaku, righ'? Th' one tha' managed t' get Pantera t' paint th' floor wit' a well-placed stomach hit?"

"Ha! That's me. You must be Engetsu. Rukia told me about you."

The pale teen raised a brow at that, "Oh? An' jus' wha' did our lil' Rukia say abou' me?"

"You're a good, though new, friend of Zangetsu's, and that this is your first time here. And that Ichigo likes and trusts you maybe more than he should."

Haineko scoffed, "Big words coming from someone that tried to kill him during their first meeting."

"Hey, as of that moment, he was my enemy. Come on, though, he tends to have that effect on everyone, doesn't he? Turning enemies into friends?"

"Baldy!"

Shiro saw a tic appear at Ikkaku's forehead and he spun away, "Yachiru! What did I tell you about calling people names?"

The albino looked down to see a little girl with pink hair smiling up and the Soul Reaper, "Yo, who's th' shrimp?"

Ikkaku sighed and leaned down to pick the little girl up, perching her on his hip, "This is Yachiru, my Captain's daughter."

The little girl looked up at Shiro with huge red-tinted brown eyes, "Who are you?" she asked in a high-pitched voice.

"Engetsu."

She looked up at her carrier, "He looks like Zanny."

Shiro blinked and looked over at Haineko, she smiled sheepishly at him and rubbed the back of her head, "Yachiru is the daughter of Captain Zaraki of squad eleven, and Captain Unohana of squad four. She's absolutely determined to become Lieutenant of her father's squad when she gets bigger." she looked down at the girl, "Yachiru, where are your friends?"

"With Daddy."

The cat-girl sighed and pulled out her phone. After a minute or two, she put it away and looked at them, "Captain Zaraki is busy. However, Gamuza is on the way, so we'll stick it here for a few minutes." she turned to Shiro, "So, how did you like watching the second strongest Espada in action?"

He was about to answer when what she said registered, "Wait, I though' ya were numbered zero t' nine. Wouldn't th' second strongest be number one?"

"Well, normally, yes. But you see, we're actually short an Espada at the moment."

"Why?"

"Remember when I told you about the last time the Bounts were invited? Well, Primera was one of those involved in the out-of-ring fighting. Got too carried away, and Cero didn't take kindly to it."

Shiro bowed his head and tried to listen to the story under that statement. The first Espada had either done something, or not done something, that had angered their leader. It wasn't too hard to read between the lines from there onward with what Ichigo had said about what the Arrancar dealt in: death. So apparently, there was no more number one Espada. Shiro looked back up at Haineko, "Then, wouldn' everyone get an upgrade?"

"None of the others are strong enough to be Espada. And the Espada have to be strong to protect Las Noches, we won't just accept second best. If someone else shows promise enough before the winter solstice and ranks in the Espada, the new numbers will be assigned then. If not, we may decide to train up one of the numuros to Espada, but we're all hoping it doesn't go that way."

"Yachiru!"

They all turned to see a small girl with -Shiro raised a brow- light green hair. The young girl was taller than the pink-haired girl -not a grand feat, that- by about a head. She had an intricate helmet that covered most of her head and her left eye. She wore an outfit that would probably excite every pedophile on the premises and Shiro felt slightly nervous for her. Yachiru wiggled until Ikkaku put her down, "Lilynette!"

The two hugged and started chattering. A tired looking man with brown hair and a goatee came over at a sedate pace, "Sorry, she got away from me."

The taller of the two girls glared up at him, "Lazy ass!" before turning back to her friend.

Haineko threw her a warning look, "Watch it, Gingerbuck." before focusing her attention on the man, "Hey, Coyote."

The male yawned, "Hi, Growl."

She looked at Shiro, "This is Coyote Starrk, Diez Espada, the unofficial one. He goes by Los Lobos. The annoying little ankle-biter down there is his daughter, Lilynette, who goes by Gingerbuck. She's got a foul mouth on her and an abusive personality when it comes to her father because he spoils her rotten for looking like her late mother."

Shiro looked over at the man, who was leaning against a girder with his eyes closed, apparently asleep. He wasn't the only one that noticed it, the demonic child kicked him in the shin, "Wake up you lazy narc!"

Haineko shoved the green-haired girl, causing her to tumble into Yachiru and go to the floor, "Why don't you go get some sleep in one of the rooms? I'll find someone to watch the terror and text you."

The grateful look in those gray eyes was pitiful as Starrk nodded, "I'd very much appreciate that." he said and walked off.

Haineko glared at the children sprawled on the floor, "Behave yourselves or so help me, I'll sic Zangetsu on your asses." the two nodded fearfully and the cat-girl turned back to him, "Starrk isn't actually a narcoleptic, just an opportunist. Gingerbuck is hyper and an insomniac to boot, so she keeps him up most nights. Back when his wife was alive and he had the extra energy, Coyote was actually the Primera Espada. Now he's downgraded to Diez, but refuses to fall further because this is his main source of income."

Shiro tilted his head, "Ya actu'lly make money on these fights?"

"Of course. That's why the atmosphere gets so serious once all the groups arrive. We're fighting for grounds, here; more territory means more money, or sometimes just more respect, which means more jobs which mean more money. This is our means for survival."

"I nev' realized it was so ser'ous. Sorry."

"Not your fault, and we're doing fine. Oh, and look; here come some people I'm sure you know quite well."

Shiro turned at her urging and saw a large group of people heading their way, Nel, Nnoitora, and Tesla among them. Nel saw him first and launched herself at him in a hug, "Engetsu!"

She was nearly breaking his spine in her crushing hug, and as if that weren't enough, suffocating in him in her cleavage as well, "Can't...breathe."

She jumped back, "Oh, sorry. Hi!"

He righted himself, "Hi... um."

"Oh! It's Gamuza."

"'Muza!" a small, child-like voice called from behind her. As Nel stepped back, Shiro noticed the large ram's skull helmet she wore, undoubtedly her Arrancar Ivory. Nel was wearing a conservative white outfit like Ggio had been. When she turned back around, there was a child in her arms, a very little girl that couldn't have been more than four, and that was pushing it. The child had the exact same birthmark across her nose that Nel did, as well as the same color hair and huge gray eyes. If he didn't know better, he'd say the girl was her daughter.

Shiro stepped forward and bent towards the child, "So this is your infamous little sister?"

"This is her. Verde." Nel whispered, "Praise, this is Engetsu. He's Zangetsu's friend."

The child held her small fist to her mouth and looked back and forth between them, "Engets'! Zan's frein'!"

"That's right."

Shiro took note of the chibi skull helmet on the child's head, "Is she really..." he trailed off with a nod toward the bone.

"Yep, an honorary Arrancar." she said, adoring eyes never leaving her little sister.

"But, she's so young. It's ridiculous."

"My mother and I watch out for her, and we have friends that do the same, but she's always sent home before the Hollows arrive. We don't take stupid chances, Shiro."

Haineko stepped forward, "How about you send her off to play with Gingerbuck and Yachiru?"

"Praise!" two voices intoned at the same time.

Nel smiled, "Looks like I don't have much of a choice."

Verde wiggled in her arms, "Yachi! Ginger! Muza, wanna play!"

Nel set the girl down, "Okay, go play. Just remember to behave and stay close."

Noba stood from his post, "I'll watch them. It's getting a little crowded for me."

"Thank you."

The ninja nodded and walked off with the three girls in tow, stopping within sight, but out of hearing range. Shiro looked back to her, "So, 'troduce me 'round."

Nnoitora came up and Shiro held back a flinch at the scarred visage his left eye presented without his eyepatch. But he seemed proud of the wound, ivory in a mouth-like circle around the faded injury. He was wearing what Shiro was starting to believe was the standard Espada outfit of conservative white, only Nnoitora had a large spoon-like hood on the back of his that Shiro couldn't see him getting away without scorn for sporting. The slender male held out his hand, "Nnoitora Gilga, or Santa Teresa." he stuck out his tongue to show the gothic '5' on the appendage, "Quinto Espada."

Shiro clasped hands with him, "Engetsu."

Tesla waved at him, "Tesla Lindocruz, Arrancar Eleven, Verrugo."

Szayel adjusted his glasses, "Szayelapporo Grantz, Octavo Espada, Fornicaras."

A blonde with deeply tanned skin and odd eyeshadow-like tattoos around his eyes waved, "Findorr Calius, Arrancar Fourteen, Pinza Aguda."

Another tanned male, though shirtless and covered with red tats, gave him a thumbs' up, "Abirama Redder, Arrancar Thirteen, Aguila."

Having introduced themselves, Abirama and Findorr went off to watch some of the matches. Haineko was leaning against the girder Noba had vacated, looking deep in thought as she watched her fingers, "Let's see. Segunda Akai. Tercera Tia and Nel. Quatro. Quinto Santa Teresa. Sexta. Septima, me, Growl. Octavo Fornicaras. Noveno. Diez Los Lobos. Yep; you still need to meet Espada Six, Four, alternate Three, and Nine."

"Wha' 'bout th' Cero Espada?"

"Er, well, he's asked that you not meet him this time. Maybe if you stick around you'll get the chance to be introduced."

Shiro felt oddly disappointed at that, but refused to show it. He shrugged, "Eh, can't really blame 'im. 'F I choose n't t' stick 'round, it'd jus' be a waste of 'is time t' meet me."

Haineko brightened up, "Exactly! I'm glad you understand and don't blame him." she looked at her phone, "Hmm, Zangetsu should be here pretty soon."

"Yachiru! Praise! Ginger!" they turned to look at yet another young girl, this one with long blonde hair and bright green eyes. She had on an intricate kimono under her opened kosode, no hakama present, and Shiro wondered if she really was a Soul Reaper like the black kosode suggested.

The three adolescents raced over to meet her, "Rurichio!"

She looked from one to the other, "Oh, it is so good to see you all again. I have already asked, and Kenryu and Enryu said it was alright for us to play together. You may come with me if you want."

All four girls looked over at Haineko, lined up in reverse order of height: Verde, Yachiru, Rurichio, and Lilynette taking the lead thanks only to the twisted horn on her helmet. Haineko sighed at the four puppy-dog looks she was getting, "Argh! Fine! Go play, but stay with Kenryu and Enryu. No more wandering off."

All four nodded vigorously and ran off to two waiting men. Haineko sighed and started texting on her phone, undoubtedly telling their respective parents where to find their daughters. Shiro watched the ankle-biters go, "So who was that squirt?"

"That was Rurichio. Her parents died when she was a baby and two friends of the family took over guardianship of her: Kenryu and Enryu. She adores them, but they treat her like a little princess and she can be a bit spoiled at times. Also, if you didn't notice, her speech is stiflingly formal and she never uses contractions, but at least she's always polite and well-mannered."

"Ah. By th' way, how'd ya know tha' I knew th' gang?"

She flashed him some fang as she put her phone away and gave him her full attention, "Two different starting points that led to the same conclusion, really. One, Rukia knew you, and you had to meet somewhere, and she never goes to Zangetsu's house so it would have to have been a place on neutral ground: the school. No way would she have found you and not tried to get you adopted by the group there. Two, there are only two highschools in all of Las Noches, and I for damn sure would have remembered seeing you in mine, or even a rumor because, let's face it, you're rather hard to miss."

"'M goin' t' no' take tha' as th' backhanded compliment it cou'd be 'terpreted as."

Haineko was about to speak when her cell went off. She fished it out and looked held it to her ear, "What is it?"

There was a moment of silence as the person on the other end spoke. No one in the group around them, from Rukia to Nnoitora, to Nel, to Shiro himself, had the decency to even pretend they weren't eavesdropping on the call.

Haineko tensed and looked at her phone out of the corner of her eye, "What?! Dammit! We'll be right there!" She snapped the phone closed, "Fuck!"

"Wha's wrong?"

"The Hollows came early and there's an out-ring brawl happening over by the sleeping rooms. The Espada have been called in as security, the others are already there and kicking ass! Some fucking moron drew a sword!"

Noba and the others were off in a second, Shiro keeping up with them as they raced across the warehouse. It took five minutes to get across the enormous amount of open space to where the brawl was happening.

It wasn't hard to spot as they came upon it, there were Soul Reapers distinguishable by their shihakusho and he assumed the Hollows were the ones in all ebony black with the white masks. There were a few Vizards that stood out with their unique masks and rings with their colored clothes. What was surprising was that not a single Arrancar was present in the fight. A flash of blue, however, pointed out that Grimmjow was in the battle, and Shiro got a glimpse of the gothic '6' on his back as he swung two others around and threw them opposite directions.

There wasn't even an instant of hesitation as the rest of the Espada threw themselves into the fray. Shiro stayed on the outskirts of the battle, not sure exactly who was getting beat or who was supposed to. He did, however, get to flip and kick and lay a general ass-whooping on several people that attempted to drag him into the fight. He didn't care if they were Soul Reaper or Hollow; if they touched him, they regretted it.

Someone grabbed his left shoulder and he took sadistic pleasure in spinning around and cracking his right elbow into their face. He was unprepared, though, when somebody literally came flying at him, obviously not of their own free will. Said person's arm was grabbed right before they reached the startled albino and swung back around before being released to fall to the ground several feet away. Shiro glanced up at the silver hair visible above a white hockey-like mask, and the '69' tattoo visible because of the open coat, "Kensei?" The mask looked his way and nodded. Shiro looked from the Vizard to the brawl and back, "Back-to-back?"

Another nod and they moved farther into the mass of bodies and turned so they were back-to-back with each other. They lasted like that for a good six minutes before they got separated. Shiro noticed a ring of non-combatants a little ways away from where he stood and went to go investigate. To say he was shocked when a tuft of orange became visible over the heads of the crowd would be an understatement.

Shiro shoved his way roughly through the people and came to a stop at the scene before him. Ichigo was on the right, a black sword in his hands and wearing an outfit much like Shiro's only in black and crimson like the crescent pendant the pale teen wore. He was facing a Hollow with a bestial mask with a freaking retarded looking bangle hanging from the top to dangle in front of its face, also wielding a sword.

Both blades were locked together and the combatants glared at one another. Ichigo pushed the other blade off with his own and sunk the sword into the shoulder of the Hollow, making it drop its blade and howl in pain. The look in the whisky-colored eye Shiro could see froze the blood in his veins. The pure unfeeling that shone from the mahogany depths was fucking scary as the blood dripped down the sword to the hilt and fell to the floor. Then the berry-haired teen did something that Shiro hadn't thought the soft-hearted boy could be capable of: he pushed the blade in deeper and twisted it, cruelly, making the Hollow scream behind its mask.

Ichigo withdrew his sword then and his opponent fell to their knees in agony. Looking down dispassionately with a gaze like frozen chocolate, the sun-haired male flicked his sword to rid it of the blood and sheathed it. He turned away from Shiro's direction, "Someone get Captains Unohana and Zaraki over here, now! Isane, how is he?"

A voice from someone Shiro couldn't see answered, "I don't know. He might make it, but he might not."

"Fine. Keep an eye on him, I'm going to put a stop to this senseless fight."

"Good luck."

"I make my own luck." he said and disappeared into the crowd.

Rukia's cry brought Shiro out of his stupor, "Kaien! Oh, Kaien, please don't die!"

Snapping out of his daze, the pale teen moved forward and saw Rukia crouched over a man with spiky black hair along with a woman with short silver hair but for a few indian-like braids. Both woman were pressing down on different parts of the unconscious male, trying to stem the blood flow of several wounds.

They turned to look when a woman with long raven hair braided down her front stepped through the crowd and knelt next to the man, Kaien, calmly. She looked at the panicking women with a serene face, "Calm yourselves, young ones. He will survive, I'll make sure of it."

Comforted that the strange Soul Reaper would live, Shiro turned and pushed his way through the crowd to look for Ichigo. There seemed to be alot of people passed out, or, better said, knocked out. Shiro glanced about for any of the giants that he knew, figuring they'd be the easiest to spot. Unconsciously, the pale teen's hand had strayed up to grasp the pendant that hung at his throat. He breathed out a slight sigh when he spotted Kensei overseeing the laying out of those that had been knocked out.

He approached the silver-haired man, "Ne, Kensei, ya 'aven't seen Zangetsu, 'ave ya?"

Mask resting on his head, he smiled down at Shiro and nodded, "Over there." he pointed off to the left.

"Thanks." he mumbled and went looking for his friend.

It was only a few minutes later that he spotted the unruly mop of orange hair, "Oi! Zangetsu!"

Ichigo looked over his left shoulder just enough to spot the albino. A smile graced his lips and his eyes were once again the color of warm honey. Shiro smirked back and interlaced his fingers behind his head as he walked. He then noticed all the others were with Ichigo, in various states of sprawl on several crates and boxes, Ichigo and Ulquiorra the only ones standing.

Haineko was on a particularly tall lightly-colored crate that put her ankles on par with Ichigo's forehead, her elbows on her knees and her chin resting in her hands. She gave a small wave, "Oi, yourself. Where the hell did you get to?"

"Ha! Ya think yer th' only ones can kick ass? I was havin' fun off on mah own. Kensei went an' teamed up wit' meh for abit afore we got parted. Been lookin' fer you lot since."

"Hey, Shiro. How's your experience been?"

Finally coming even with his colored counterpart, Shiro looked over at Ichigo and froze. The entire upper right part of Ichigo's face was covered in a mask. It looked somewhat like the Vizard ring on his hand, which he noticed wasn't present at the moment, but that wasn't what stopped the albino in his tracks. The eye was covered in some sort of visor or sunglasses-like substance that blocked his view of the carmel eye behind it. Not only that, but it was an evil yellow color, and along with the shape of the mask, it looked like the death-glare of a monster.

"Shiro, are you okay?"

Shiro shook his head and looked over to see concern flash in the single visible brown eye, a disconcerting feeling when paired with the mask glaring death at him. He leaned back against the closest crate with his hands behind his head, "'M fine, jus' comin' down off the fightin' high."

Comprehension lit the warm chocolate orb and Ichigo nodded in understanding, "So, how has your tour been?"

"Was fun watchin' Akai an' Ikkaku duke it out. An' I met lots o' people, an' most o' th' Espada."

Haineko sat up straight, "While you're here, now's the time to finish off our introductions, ne?"

The easily recognized tiger-teen jumped down from his crate and stood before Shiro, "I'll go first, then." he pulled down the collar of his outfit to show off the '9' on the right side of his throat, "Ggio Vega, Noveno Espada, Tigre Estoque."

A woman with tan skin hopped off of another crate and presented herself. Her outfit, while white, was far from conservative as the others' had been: it consisted of a top that was so high-collared that it covered her face to her nose, but stopped just below her ample bosom and had full sleeves. A pair of well-fitted hakama like his own rode dangerously low on her hips. Shiro couldn't help the nervous feeling when she reached up and unzipped her top from the bottom up, his face flushing a deep pink as the zipper revealed more and more tan flesh. The top parted against the strain of her bosom and she showed the ivory bustier that was likely the only thing that could contain or support the large globes it cradled. A black '3' was visible on her right breast.

Shiro glanced away, his face so red it was painful. He scratched his cheek with a single finger as he fought his blush, "Um, I imagine tha' ya get challenged regularly." he said, recalling what Haineko said about Espada showing respect to their opponents.

"True, which is why I rarely accept. Tia Hallibel, Tercera Espada, Tiburon."

"I thought Growl said your name was Tier."

"Yes, but few people can pronounce it, and I'm fine with Tia."

"Okay." he said, still not looking at her, "Um, ya can, uh, c-cover up now."

She stepped closer to him, and he would have retreated had he not already been flush with the crate behind him. She reached out a hand under his chin and forced his head up with two fingers to stare in her aqua-colored eyes, "Do I unnerve you, Shiro-kun?"

The albino only just became aware of the large, shark-like jaw-shaped mask that covered her face from her nose to her neck; rather like Grimmjow's taken to the next level. He hadn't noticed until she'd forced his gaze up to meet hers.

Shiro glanced away, "N-no, bu' I was taught t' respect females." She stepped back and he breathed a sigh of relief when she rezipped her top. An' I still remember the softball on the back o' meh head t' teach it ta me.

His blush disappeared as soon as she'd stepped back. Grimmjow jumped from his perch, "Grimmjow Jeagerjaques Kurosaki, Sexta Espada, Pantera." he turned around, showing off his tattoo.

Somewhat unsurprised, Shiro watched as Ulquiorra pushed off of the crate he was leaning against and unzipped his outfit half-way, pulling it aside to reveal the '4' on the left side of his chest, "Ulquiorra Schiffer Kurosaki, Quatro Espada, Murcielago."

Shiro wasn't stupid. He'd seen Ichigo in that battle. He knew that the Espada had been called into the battle. He knew that both of Ichigo's brothers were of that number. And there were the vague hints, like what Ggio'd said when Grimmjow had pulled him away from the dressing rooms earlier, and the way Haineko had reacted to the text she'd gotten from the orange-haired teen.

He was fully capable of putting two and two together and coming up with four. Or at least narrowing the possibilities down. Option one: Haineko had lied/been wrong about there being no Primera Espada, and Ichigo was it. Option two: Ichigo was the Cero Espada and didn't want him to know, likely for the same reason he'd been hesitant to tell him what the Arrancar dealt in in the first place.

Shiro narrowed his eyes on the male dressed in black. Fixing his expression, he straightened up and walked toward Ichigo. Likely noticing the predatory glint in his eyes, the berry-haired teen adopted a wary expression and stepped back until he was flush with a crate, Shiro following the whole way.

Shiro trapped his quarry with his hands on either side of Ichigo's head, noting the look in the single visible eye was something like panic or fear, and leaned forward until his lips were next to his colored copy's ear, "Who knew the nickname I chose for you would be so appropriate, ne? Ichigo. King. Cero." he felt the teen in his arms tense painfully, surely at risk of tearing something. Shiro rested his lips against warm tan skin, "Shh, Ichi-King. Calm down. I won't hurt you, not ever. Not that I could, Mr.-I-control-an-entire-assassination-guild. I'd love a spar sometime, see where I stand from my years of street-fighting." Shiro felt the boy under his lips relax after several more moments of whispered reassurances. He pulled back and chanced a look at Ichigo's eye, seeing so much swirling in the carmel depths. Confusion, relief; trust, and just possibly, longing.

Ichigo leaned forward until his head rested against Shiro's neck, "You mean all that, Shiro?" he whispered into the column of pale flesh.

"I wouldn't lie to you, not ever. It's not in my nature." he whispered, "I'm a bastard and a sadist and confrontational and stubborn as all hell, but I'm honest and direct and loyal to a fault."

"That's convenient: I'm honorable and masochistic and will look for almost any way around a confrontation, but I'm sneaky, devious, and nebulous and protective to a fault."

"What a pair we make, ne?"

"Hai. Know how to seal a promise, Shiro?"

"Hmm, maybe you should show me."

Ichigo pulled back for a moment and stared into Shiro's eyes before leaning forward and sealing their lips. Shiro closed his eyes and leaned into the kiss, running his tongue along Ichigo's bottom lip; asking for entrance that was granted. He took great pleasure in mapping out every crease and dip of his colored copy's mouth, playing with the slick pink appendage and encouraging it to come dance with his own blue tongue.

They broke apart when the need for air became critical and Shiro leaned against Ichigo's neck again, feeling the warm breath on his throat as the berry-haired teen did the same, "I always keep my promises, Ichigo."

"Good, because I intend to hold you to them. I don't trust easily, Shiro, and I never beg, but I'm doing so now: please don't betray me."

"Never."

Someone clearing their throat broke the moment between the two, but they refused to surrender the intimacy to embarrassment. They turned to face the others calmly, completely ignoring the fact that they'd had an audience to their small performance. Ichigo cocked his head to the side, as though he'd been interrupted doing nothing more incriminating than reading the newspaper, "Yes?"

Shiro grinned maniacally at his Ichi while Szayel cleared his throat again, "Well, shouldn't we check in with the others? See how everything's going and if there's been more trouble?"

The albino snapped his fingers, "Oh! Tha' reminds meh, I saw tha' Kaien guy wi' th' Squad Four lady, Unohama or somethin'. She said he'd live, she'd make sure o' it."

Shiro was the only one close enough to see the slight darkening of Ichigo's face and the colored teen leaned close to his shoulder to whisper to him, "I can't believe it; I completely forgot about him."

The golden-eyed male smirked at him, "I'll gladly take full credit fer that one, Ichi." he breathed in his ear.

The pale teen felt satisfaction at Ichigo's hitch in breathing before he was scowled at, "Prick."

Shiro grinned widely, "Yeah, but you already knew that."

Ichigo coughed, "Let's go." he said, grabbing Shiro's hand in his own and dragging him along, not waiting for the others.

Shiro raised a brow as an annoying, though familiar, ringtone started playing from Ichigo's pocket. He wondered idly who had pissed Ichigo off enough to get stuck with the ringtone 'Material girl'.

He was answered as Ichigo held the cell to his ear, "Hi, Yumichika. Yeah, that was it. I don't think you'll mind once you see. Yeah. Yes, you vain peacock, of course." Ichigo's stride faltered for a moment, "I-I don't know about that. Well, yes, but-. No, that's not it at all. Certainly not! NO! We aren't playing to your sick little fantasies! Good bye, Yumichika."

"Wha' was that about?"

"Yumichika caught sight of you when you and the others were headed for the fight. He called to ask if that was indeed his work that had passed by him in a blur of white. Then started in that it might not be right for someone else. Then he wanted to know if you liked it." here he looked down to hide his face in his bangs, "He wanted to know if we were together. If I liked you that. Or if maybe-" he shook his head, "Then he wanted to know if we could pose for him."

"Pose?"

"Naked. For a painting."

"I don't want anyone seeing me naked." he paused for a moment and stared up at the ceiling thoughtfully as he was pulled along, "Actually, for that matter, I don't want anyone seeing you naked either; with us being each other's exceptions, of course." he joked and looked back at Ichigo.

"Of course." he muttered with an eye-roll, nose an adorable pink.

They came upon the scene of the fight and saw Kensei helping move people, accompanied by a shorter man with raven spikes and several facial tattoos. He had a blueish gray strip across the upper part of his left cheek from just in front of his ear, across the bridge of his nose, and ending half-way under his other eye. He also had '69' tattooed on the same cheek, just under the start of the stripe, and three ragged looking scars down his other cheek that went from his temple to his jawline, two of which went directly over his right eye. Shiro couldn't help but think he'd been lucky not to lose the eye. The young man saw them coming and waved, "Hey, Zangetsu."

"Hi, Shuuhei. Shiro, this is Shuuhei Hisagi, Kensei's former apprentice and Kaien's cousin. Shuuhei, this is Hichigo Shirosaki, Shiro, called Engetsu. Shuuhei's a very close friend of mine. He's closer to me than Rukia and Renji, even."

"Yeah, well, that happens when you save someone's life; they tend to get close to you."

"It really wasn't that great. Anyway, how's Kaien?"

"Stable at the moment. I'm really glad that cousin Kukaku and Ganju aren't here."

"Aren't we always?"

"Well, that's true, I guess. Right now, Sensei and I are helping Squad Four with gathering all the idiots, excuse me, infirmed."

"Need any help?"

"Nah, you guys helped enough. Saw you fightin' out there, Engetsu. You've got some skills."

Shiro shrugged, "Years of experience street fightin'."

Kensei layed out another person and nodded, "He fought like you, Zangetsu. He knows how to see his opponents."

Excitement shone in Ichigo's visible eye, "Really?" he looked over at Shiro, "I'm going to hold you to that one part of your promise sooner rather than later if that's the case."

Shuuhei seemed to choke at that, "Promise? Like, a Sealed Promise?"

Shiro smirked as Ichigo looked away, "I don' think it gets much more sealed than that."

Ichigo started coughing and his face flamed, his hand still around Shiro's curling so that his fingernails dug in painfully. Shuuhei smiled blindingly, "Well, well, well. I'm happy for you. It's about time."

Ichigo rubbed the back of his head with his free hand, "Um, thank you?"

Shiro decided to take the, obviously uncomfortable, attention off of Ichigo, "So, Shuuhei, what're ya, 'xactly?"

"Well, at first I was a Vizard, under Sensei. Then I became a Soul Reaper under captain Tousen. Then he defected and I had to rethink what it was I actually wanted to fight for. So, now, I'm an Arrancar. And despite my tat here, I'm actually Arrancar Twelve, called Kazeshini. Ignore my hakama and shitogi, like Zan, I find it rather nostalgic to wear proof of all the places I've been loyalty-wise."

"So wha's yer bone?"

He pulled up the leg of his hakama, "Shin guards."

"Cool. Any other good friends I should meet?"

Shuuhei let go of his clothes and adopted a thoughtful expression, "The only one as close to him as his brothers and I would be Toshiro and Growl. Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya. A close second would be Shunko Shihoin. But both of them are Soul Reapers, so it's kind of hard to get together with all of us. Well, speak of the devil."

They turned around to see several people headed their way. A woman with dark skin and long purple hair back in a pony-tail, dressed in orange and black, stopped in front of them, "What happened here?"

"A brawl between the Hollows and Soul Reapers." Shuuhei answered.

"Well, glad nothing too bad came out of it." she looked at Shiro and he was struck by her eyes being as golden as his own, though obviously without the black sclera. She stepped forward, popping his personal space bubble, "And you are?"

Uncomfortable with yer proximity. was his immediate thought. He leaned back away from her, unnerved, "Engetsu."

She leaned back, much to Shiro's relief, "My name is Yoruichi, Yoruichi Shihoin-Urahara. This is my husband, Kisuke."

A man with a green and white striped hat that shadowed his eyes waved a fan Shiro's way, "Hi, there!"

Shuuhei stepped forward, "I think I should give proper introductions. This is former Captain of Squad Two, Yoruichi. And former Captain of Squad Twelve, Kisuke Urahara. Over there is the current Captain of Squad Two, Soi Fon." he reached out and pulled another girl forward, "And this is who I was talking about earlier, Lieutenant of Squad Two, Shunko Shihoin, Yoruichi's niece. Soi Fon and Yoruichi were friends for most of their childhood, and when Yoruichi decided to retire, Soi Fon took over from her Lieutenant duties."

Shiro only heard about half of what Shuuhei had said, too focused on the girl in front of him. She noticed his staring and rubbed the back of her head, "Heh-heh, I know. Freaky, right?"

Shiro could only nod. The girl was a carbon copy of the woman standing to her left, not that he had any right to talk. Her skin and hair was the exact same color, though she was several inches shorter and her hair only came down to just past her cheeks. She wore standard shihakusho hakama, but her top was different, more like a backless dress in Soul Reaper colors than anything else. He noticed that the silent broody girl, Soi Fon, wore the same thing under her Captain's haori. He noted the brown leather badge with the mark for Squad Two wrapped on Shunko's arm.

He looked down when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye and saw a young girl quickly pull back behind Yoruichi. Said woman looked down as though just noticing the child, "Come on out. I almost forgot to introduce you." she pulled the black-haired girl out and held her in front of her by the girl's shoulders, "This is my daughter, Ururu. And- get over here-" a tan boy with red hair came out from behind Kisuke, looking sulky, "that's her older brother, Jinta."

Shiro crossed his arms and leaned against Ichigo, pleased beyond belief that the teen leaned into him as well, "Name's Shiro, an' I'm Ichigo's boyfriend." he noticed the small jerk from the other teen and the increase in the leaning against him.

Yoruichi clapped her hands together, "Really? I'm so happy for you two! You know, I'm the one that taught him how to drink, so whatever you do, don't try to get him drunk. I can personally guarantee that you'll run out of booze before you get even half-way there. He was my greatest student in that area."

Before Shiro knew what was happening, he was being dragged away, "Well, we need to get going. See you later, Yoruichi. Oh, Rurichio, Gingerbuck, Yachiru, and Praise are all with Kenryu and Enryu. Bye!"

They rounded a container and Ichigo leaned against the metal with a sigh. He tensed when someone called his alias-name, "Dammit." he muttered.

"So, you're the one that's wearing my designs."

The feminine man in front of them with the feathers decorating his right eye could only be one person, "Yumichika, I assume."

"Correct, that would be me. My, my, Zangetsu, you certainly chose well. It really does suit him. I'll have to get to work on other pieces."

"Well, you already have all of my measurements. We're the same, so it shouldn't be hard."

Yumichika clapped, "This is perfect! Colors that wouldn't work on you will look simply beautiful on him. And those eyes..." he started muttering about designs and fabrics that Shiro had never heard of and colors he hadn't known existed. What the hell is mauve anyway? And ecru? What the fuck? Is he speaking in code?

Ichigo apparently thought it was a good chance to escape and dragged a severely confused and glaring Shiro away with him. Shiro pulled Ichigo to a stop after a few minutes, "Will we be leaving soon? I'm beginning to get a little overwhelmed." Actually, I think I passed 'a little' during the quad fight.

"You aren't the only one. I think it's about time to head out. Let me tell the others."

He pulled out his phone only to be stopped by a tug on his sleeve, he looked up, apparently noticing that the albino was looking over at crate farther off, "Um, who's that sucking face with Ulquiorra?"

"That would be his girlfriend, Senna. She's Shunko's cousin. She's one of ours, though not much of a willing fighter and higher in the ranks. She's Mirokumaru, Arrancar Twenty-nine, and the clip in her hair is pure ivory that Ulquiorra got for her. She stays over at our house on the weekends."

Shiro blinked at that, "Just how many people are in your house?"

"As of tonight? Me, you, Grimm, Ggio, Ulqui, Senna, Yuzu, Karin, Shuuhei, Haineko, and Goat-face."

"That's alot of people."

"Yep. Ulqui and Senna crash on the couch, Grimm and Ggio in Grimm's room. Karin and Yuzu share a room. And Shuuhei and Haineko will both crash on one of the recliners. Goat-face has his own room."

"How often do you do this massive sleep-over thing?"

"About once a month, usually after a tourney when everyone's able to come."

"So, where am I sleeping?"

"Well, when Rukia's apartment flooded, she had to stay with us, and she slept in the closet in my room. Or I could pull some pallets from the clinic and we could both camp out on the floor in my room."

Unsure of how comfortable Ichigo would be with him that close, despite how well their newly blossoming relationship was coming, he opted for the safer choice, "Nah, closet's fine. At least I won't have to worry 'bout th' damnable sun waking me up."

"You sure?"

"Yep, now less talkin' an' more textin'."

Ichigo nodded and turned to his phone. Shiro watched as his fingers danced over the keys. He knew he had to be careful with the orange-haired teen. There were deep wounds in his past, and Shiro would have to be very careful to brush over them gently without digging in too deeply and causing them to bleed. Facts evidenced by Ichigo cutting into his palms with his nails enough to draw blood just at a question or two about his past. He had no idea who it was that hurt Ichigo, or just how far that hurt went, but he had the bastard's number and if he was smart he would pray that he never run into Shiro in a dark alley. Not that he would be any safer in a brightly lit room full of witnesses, either... but dark alleyways were so much more satisfying to stalk down.

All Shiro needed was a name, but he knew it would come at a steep price. That was fine, Shiro could wait. Confrontational he may be, but he was also as patient as he needed to be. Besides, the longer it took, the more ways he could come up with to torture him when he found out.

"Shiro? Are you ready to go?"

He looked over at his berry-haired boyfriend and smiled, "Ready and waiting."

"Then let's go home."

"Lead the way, Ichi-King."

He followed Ichigo back to the changing rooms and slipped back into his civilian grab, keeping the pendant on. He came out with the gym bag resting on his shoulder and saw Nel and Tesla waiting for him, "Hi, Shiro."

"Heya, what're you two doin' 'ere?"

"Waiting for you. Can't be too careful around here. When Ichigo leaves, we pretty much all leave."

"All th' gang, 'r all th' Arrancar?"

Nel gave Tesla a look Shiro couldn't decipher and started to fidget, "Um."

"Yea, tha's what I thought. 'S fine, Nel. Chill. Ichi an' I are good an' I'll keep mah mouth shut."

The aqua-haired girl brightened at that, "Good! We were actually waiting for my mom to get un-Arrancar-ed and Ichigo asked us to watch out for you. Tensions are still running high after the brawl and it's not good for anyone to be alone right now. Nnoi's waiting outside with my sister and some of our allied Soul Reapers."

"So, will I get t' meet yer mom? From wha' I caught, Growl's comin' wit' us."

"Yep! You didn't really think you'd get rid of me that easily, didja?" Haineko said as she slung an arm around his shoulders.

Shiro's eyes widened as he turned and caught sight of her. She was wearing a pastel pink top that left her midriff bare and had...paws. Right there, on her breasts, were two black cat-paw decals. The pale teen turned away quickly as he felt a blush rising on his face, "Hi, Growl."

She looked at him closely, "Something wrong?"

A lyrical laugh shattered the quiet, "Back off of him, Growl. He's a gentleman and you're making him nervous." Tia said as she came up to them.

Haineko stepped back and looked down at her chest, "Oh, my bad." she pulled something off her waist, which Shiro noted was a leather riding jacket that had been tied there by the arms, and put it on, pulling it closed but not zipping it up. She looked back at him, "There. That a little better?"

Shiro cleared his throat and nodded, "Much."

"And I, Shiro-kun? Better than before?"

The albino glanced up and saw the tan woman in tight fitting black leather pants that started just below her bellybutton and a matching black top that bared her arms entirely but, amazingly, hid her cleavage while showing off her neck, and giving him his first full look at her face and the two blue lightning tattoos on her cheeks. He nodded, "It suits you well."

"What's with the road-block out here? Surely you aren't all waiting to get changed?"

Nel turned to the new arrival and beamed, "Of course not. We're waiting for our friends and chatting." she looked over at the pale teen, "Shiro, this is my mother."

A woman with pale skin and light blue hair stepped forward, an interesting white and blue hairclip in her hair. She held out a hand to him, "Hello, there. My name is Sodenoshirayuki Odelschwanck, Arrancar Twenty-one, Dance."

He took her hand, "Hichigo Shirosaki, ma'am. Engetsu."

"It was nice to meet you, Shirosaki-san." she said and withdrew her hand, turning to her daughter, "Let's go. Verde needs to get to bed and I'm sure your boyfriend is waiting for you two. Tia, Haineko, are you two coming?"

Tia nodded and followed the woman while Haineko stepped beside Shiro, "Not this time, Dance-sama. I'm goin' with Ichi and the others. See you monday."

When they were gone, Shiro turned to her, "I see wha' ya meant earlier abou' her an' names. Sheesh."

"I told you so."

"Tha' was a mouthful an' a half."

"Not that Grimmjow's so much better with his full name. I'm pretty sure whoever proposed Dance-sama's name did so on purpose considering her already long names."

"Are we all ready?" Ggio's voice came from behind them.

"Hey, G. Not yet, or did you not notice the distinct lack of people around us?"

"I meant you two. It doesn't take me long to change."

"It doesn't take me long either."

"That's because you hardly wear anything."

Shiro glanced between the two and snickered. Haineko looked at him, "What?"

He shook his head, "I got nothin' t' say tha' wouldn't get meh smacked."

She rolled her eyes, "We're not hormonal, temperamental teenage girls, just say it."

Taking a step back for safety's sake, Shiro smirked at them, "Cat fight."

The two feline teens looked at each other before laughing, "He's got us there."

Grimmjow came out next, "What are you three all chuckling about?"

Haineko got herself under control, "Just that Ggio and I got into a little cat fight." she said and burst into giggles again.

Grimmjow grinned and shook his head, leaning back against the wall. The girl Shiro had seen earlier with Ulquiorra came out of a room, adjusting the ribbon used to tie up her pony-tail. She came over to them, "Hi. I don't think we've been introduced. I'm Senna. I left this morning before you got there."

He nodded at her, "Saw ya earlier wit' Ulquiorra. King tol' meh 'bout ya. Yer Mirokumaru."

"That's me. And you're Shiro, Ichigo-kun's new friend. Ulqui told me about you. Your name is Engetsu."

After several minutes, Shuuhei popped up, "Hi, guys. Heya, Shiro, I see you've already met everyone."

"Yea, we're jus' waitin' on King an' Ulquiorra."

"Not surprising; they, along with Grimmjow, always take the longest to get ready either way."

"I take offense at that." came a familiar voice off to Shiro's left.

Shiro glanced over, "Took ya long 'nough, King."

"Sorry, Shiro, couldn't be helped. Now that everybody's ready, let's get going."

x

That's all for now. Next chapter coming, well, at some point in the future.

Important question: Who should I pair Orihime with? This story is all about UNUSUAL pairings (Except for the ShiroIchi, obviously. That's why even Nnoitora's usual haunts are in a three-way.)

Given these facts, pairings that absolutely will NOT be accepted are as follows: Orihime-Uryu, Orihime-Tatsuki, Orihime-Ulquiorra (He's taken!) and under NO surcumstances will I do Orihime-Chizuru (unsolicited stalking should not be rewarded.) Drop me a line to let me know what you think. Until then, CuteCat out!