Letter of the Law

A/N: So for those of you just purely into Shuuhei/Ichigo, you should be warned that Grimmjow has a very active imagination. Anything in parenthesis should be avoided if you don't want into his perverted mind.

Also, some of you are feeling bad for Grimmjow. Honestly, I was too when working on this story, which is why I started "Demonology", my Grimmjow/Ichigo fic (not related to this one).

"Get out of my way, Captain Abarai," Captain Soifon ordered.

Renji was at a bit of an impasse. He hesitated, wondering what he could say to stop her from arresting Grimmjow.

"You are not needed," Captain Unohana said calmly from where she had been hovering over Ichigo.

"What?" Soifon asked with a glare.

"This former espada has surrendered himself to me. We were in the process of cuffing him and bringing him to a more secure area when you entered," Unohana answered.

Soifon moved forward. Unohana put up her hand to stop her. "Isane, will you please restrain this arrancar with the cuffs I had you get and escort him to one of the secure medical holding rooms?" she said. Isane moved forward, pausing slightly to see if Grimmjow was going to make a run for it.

Grimmjow had been watching the big red haired captain the whole time. He didn't know who this new chick was that walked in, but everyone seemed to be walking on eggs shells around her. Besides, he had more or less promised Ichigo that he would allow them to put spiritual regulators on him anyways. He calmly put his hands out and allowed the tall girl to put the devices around his wrists.

"Your squad does not have high security cells and is not equipped to deal with such a high level prisoner," Soifon pointed out.

"He is my prisoner and we have holding cells."

"You are not allowed to hold prisoners unless they are from your own squad. Anyone who is a criminal is under my domain," Soifon argued.

"He is injured and surrendered himself to me, that means that he is under my domain," Unohana explained.

Injured? Grimmjow thought. Well, I am covered in blood I suppose, but saying I'm injured is going pretty far considering none of it is mine.

"He is a war criminal and belongs in the punishment squad prison!"

"Has is been legally determined that he is a war criminal? I won't allow you to take him until I get documents stating otherwise," Unohana answered.

"WHAT? He was part of Aizen's army, one of the highest ranking members! He's a hollow, not only that but an arrancar and an espada. How can you pretend he's not an enemy?"

"I guess you'll just have to wait for Central 46 to decide."

"Central 46 isn't running yet," Soifon argued.

"Well then, you'll have to wait for it to get to the top of Head Captain Yamamoto's list and await his decision on the issue."

Renji had gotten behind the now bound Grimmjow. "I'm going to have to take you away now, but I'll let Ichigo know what's going on as soon as he's awake," he offered Grimmjow as way as an offer to make him come peacefully.

"Yeah, fine," Grimmjow grunted.

Isane and Renji escorted Grimmjow to the doorway. Soifon held her ground, scowling at the group before finally moving aside to let them pass.

"So, what's up with the bitch ninja?" Grimmjow asked as they walked him down the hall.

"That's the question of the ages," Renji said. "Just try to not piss her off."

"You'll let me know if anything…bad…happens to Ichigo, right?" Grimmjow asked the two shinigami.

"Shuuhei should be back here with Orihime soon, he'll be fine. I promise to let you know if anything happens to him before then," Isane promised.

"Are you my guard then?"

"I'm sure we'll be taking shifts watching you on the video feed, but I will mostly be the one watching after you, yes," Isane answered.

They aren't too bad for shinigami, at least they're trying to hold up their promise to Ichigo and not just throwing me to the wolves or anything, Grimmjow thought.

"Orihime?" Ichigo said as he opened his eyes.

"…Ichigo…," she said.

"Hey, why are there tears in your eyes?" Ichigo asked. "I'm fine."

Orihime didn't argue the point, she could feel as she healed him exactly how not-fine he was. "I'm glad you're back," she said simply.

"Ah well, I was tired of worrying everyone so I decided to come back home," he joked. He closed his eyes again. "I'm so tired still."

"You have a lot of spiritual pressure to gain back," Captain Unohana pointed out. "I'm not going to let Orihime drain herself trying to fix you. I think we'll take a break in a couple of minutes and start up again tomorrow."

"No really, I'm fine!" Orihime protested.

"Listen to her, Orihime," Ichigo insisted. "I feel one hundred times better already, don't make yourself sick for me."

Orihime hesitated. "Ok," she reluctantly agreed.

"Shuuhei?" Ichigo asked as he began to drift off.

"I'm right here," Shuuhei said, coming to his side.

"Grimmjow is ok?" he asked.

Shuuhei's face got a little tighter. "Yes. Captain Soifon came while you were asleep and Captain Unohana had to step in and claim him as her prisoner to prevent him from being taken to the Punishment Force's jail. He's just down the hall. He's fine, for now at least," he answered.

"He had no reason to save me, I'd hate to have something really bad happen to him because he felt…felt the need to get me out of there," Ichigo explained.

"I know. We'll try our best to figure something out. He's been very willing so far, not putting up a fight when he was locked up. Renji has been talking with Kisuke about what they can possibly do, and Captain Unohana will keep him here until she's ordered by Captain Yamamoto to do otherwise."

"Thanks, Shuuhei," Ichigo said, drifting back off to a restless sleep.

"Why aren't you happier?" Kira asked Shuuhei.

"I'm happy. I'm kind of upset that Captain Unohana made us all leave though," Shuuhei replied.

Renji sighed and took a big sip of his sake. "I'm so glad he's back. But…but I haven't really had a chance to talk to him. I don't know if he blames me for him getting caught, or if he forgives me for not getting back."

Shuuhei was looking glum as well. Ichigo hadn't really said anything to him at all, at least not that much that wasn't about Grimmjow. That wasn't that odd though, of course Ichigo would want to make sure that his rescuer was doing ok, especially when he was mysteriously gone when Ichigo woke up. Still…Shuuhei still couldn't get the image of Grimmjow's leering face out of his mind, Grimmjow holding Ichigo's hand and telling him that Ichigo had forgotten about him.

Orihime had come with them, with was a surprise but they imagined she didn't want to be alone anymore than any of them did. She seemed to pick up on the wavering emotions of the man next to her. She looked over at Shuuhei. "Ichigo is a very strong willed personality. He's one of those people who never change their mind once it's made up. Just think of when he decided to rescue Rukia, he didn't care at all that he was going to have to go up against all of the Soul Society! Or of when he came after me, straight into Aizen's palace. He's stubborn and has a will like a rock."

Shuuhei looked over at her, meeting her eyes.

"I guess what I'm saying is that if you're worried that he's changed in any way, I'm sure that you're wrong," she continued. "Ichigo is the last person in the world to abandon his friends or…or…" she didn't finish.

Or lovers, Shuuhei supposed she wanted to say, at least according to her blush. He was glad she didn't say it anyways, because if the other people at the table knew he doubts they would probably make fun of him. He had been so wired when he had explained the situation to her when picking her up in the world of the living that he had probably let a little too much information slip out in the heat of the moment. Besides, he thought to himself, she loves him too, or did love him. No, she still does, you could see it when she was healing him when the pain Ichigo must have felt overwhelmed her.

He reached over and wrapped an arm around her. She reddened slightly but accepted it. He almost wanted to offer her an apology, but he could never regret Ichigo choosing him over anyone else. That didn't mean he wasn't sympathetic towards her though. She was a sweet girl and her affection for Ichigo wasn't manipulative in any way.

I don't have any sympathy for Grimmjow though, Shuuhei thought. Orihime would never interfere with Ichigo's happiness while Grimmjow would make a grab at him no matter what the consequences. That smirk…Shuuhei seethed again.

"There's something that I need to tell you," Ichigo said the next day when Shuuhei visited, after Orihime had been healing him some more. Usually those words wouldn't frighten Shuuhei, but his imagination had been concocting all sorts of very bad scenarios all the night before. Shuuhei wondered if it was because before he had never even had a thought that Ichigo would ever leave him. He wondered if he had been too secure in that. He had his reasons for things, but he had never explained them to Ichigo, had never felt a need to.

"What?" Shuuhei eventually asked.

"I promised Grimmjow that I would give him a kiss."

Shuuhei was a little stunned. "What?"

"It was what he wanted for helping me escape. I knew it wasn't really something that you'd be happy about, but considering what he's given up for me, I didn't think it was too much to ask," Ichigo continued.

A kiss? So then… "So, he freed you just because he has feelings for you?" Shuuhei asked, being much too smart to ask, "oh so does that means that you haven't kissed before now?" which even he knew would make him sound like an ass.

"Yeah," Ichigo sighed. "I wouldn't have even guessed it until he was freeing me either. He seemed like the same psychotically manic blue haired espada as he always was while watching over me. Well, I guess he did really help me a lot of times, making me eat and drink even when I didn't want to, and trying to keep me from getting too depressed, or trying to distract me from the pain of being trapped and being…being…well, having all of that stuff done to me."

"He did that?" Shuuhei asked.

"Yeah, he really helped me a lot of times. I still didn't think it meant anything though, until he told me that he was freeing me but that I owed him a kiss."

I guess I'm a little wrong about Grimmjow. When Ichigo was chained against that wall he could have done a lot of things to Ichigo if he had wanted. Plus, he didn't even mention his feelings to Ichigo the whole time. Then why was he so possessive here? Just because of me?

"He…seemed to know me," Shuuhei gently prodded.

"Ha, yeah, I talked about you all the time. He got so sick of it!" Ichigo laughed.

Shuuhei had to smile at that.

"Obviously I'm not thrilled about the idea of my boyfriend kissing someone else, but it seems warranted here," Shuuhei admitted. He looked at Ichigo's face, running his fingers through his hair. "Damn, I missed you," Shuuhei said. He drew himself close to Ichigo, burying his face into his neck. "Ichigo," he murmured, smelling his lover in the first time in forever, feeling the heat come off of him, the softness of his skin. "You gonna keep your hair long?" he asked Ichigo.

"I'm not sure. What do you think?" Ichigo said with a laugh.

"There's something I want to say to you," Shuuhei said, backing off a little and grabbing both of Ichigo's hands. "Back when we first dated and I knew that I loved you…"

"Wait, what?" Ichigo broke in.

"Give me a second," Shuuhei urged. "I only gave in to you in the first place because I loved you and couldn't deal with running away from it anymore. However, I know that I can be a flake, I know that I can hurt people that I care about. I didn't want to do that to you. I told myself that if I went a whole year and still felt the same about you, then I would tell you so, and then we could…we could…"

"And, do you feel the same?" Ichigo asked.

"No," Shuuhei replied. "I loved you so much more at the end of that year that it was ridiculous. I was practically giddy. I even broke my own rules and asked you to move in with me instead of waiting for our anniversary like I was waiting to say I love you. When you went missing, it stung worse than anything I've ever felt. Not only were you maybe gone forever, but you never knew, never heard me say…say, 'I love you, Ichigo'," Shuuhei continued.

"Shuuhei," Ichigo pulled Shuuhei towards him, but stopped short of kissing him. "I…I'm sorry. You've probably been wondering why I've been a little distant."

Shuuhei didn't say anything.

"It's just that I don't want to kiss you and then have to kiss Grimmjow. I'd rather kiss him and then get to kiss you for the first time in six months and not look back," Ichigo explained.

"I…I understand," said Shuuhei.

"I love you, Shuuhei," Ichigo said.

"I love you, Ichigo," Shuuhei replied.

This sucks, Grimmjow thought to himself. This is boring as hell. He stomped around his small chamber again.

Well, at least I can make a little fun for myself, Grimmjow considered with a wide grin.

Grimmjow and Ichigo had escaped the Soul Society and were hiding in the world of the living, cold winds surrounding them and flurries of snow washing across their frigid bodies.

"We need to get some shelter," Ichigo said.

"I see an alcove in those rocks up there," Grimmjow mentioned, looking ahead with his sharp eyes.

It was a full cave, not very deep and fairly snug with the two of them in it.

Ichigo was shivering with cold.

"You really ought to let me warm you up," Grimmjow said, wrapping his arms around Ichigo from behind.

"Grimmjow, we don't have time for your…your fooling around," Ichigo said.

"Oh I don't know, looks like we have plenty of time," Grimmjow whispered into the back of Ichigo's ear. Ichigo shuddered. "I have to think of some way to warm you up, don't I?"

"…Grimmjow…" Ichigo said, leaning backwards into his arms.

"I brought your lunch," someone said, interrupting Grimmjow.

"Fuck you," Grimmjow responded angrily, making the little guy jump.

"S-sorry, I'll just leave it right here!" the kid practically dropped the food and bolted out the door.

Really? I've been bored out of my mind and the second I finally am starting to enjoy myself I have to get interrupted? What the hell is up with that? Grimmjow thought, looking over the food that had been left.

It was probably for the better anyways, didn't that tall chick say that she was going to be monitoring him on video or something? He looked up at the two cameras in separate corners of the room. Oh well, hell if I care, he thought. Maybe I can spice up her day too. He grinned to himself. Let's try this again. He started by taking his clothes off.

"You're going to be late for the Shinigami Women's Association meeting," Kiyone was saying.

"Yeah, I heard that Yachiru got her hand on a whole bunch of sweets from the world of the living and is going to bring them!" Rangiku pointed out.

"Well, I suppose I could ask Hanataro to watch the prisoner for me, he's on duty," Isane considered.

"Wha…," Kiyone pointed at the screen in front of Isane. "Naked!"

"Wow," Rangiku said admiringly. "Not to say that the hollow hole isn't distracting, but I definitely think I could get over it."

"S-shouldn't we remind him that we can see him?" Isane said, blushing furiously.

"Oh, I'm fairly sure he knows. It's not like those camera's are hidden or anything," Rangiku said.

"Grimmjow, I just want to check in on you and…GRIMMJOW!" Ichigo blushed a pleasant red, only a slightly less intense color than his orange hair.

"Something wrong, Ichigo?" Grimmjow asked with a wide smile.

"What do you mean 'is something wrong'?" Ichigo yelled, turning around. "You're naked is what's wrong."

"Well, I doubt there's something wrong with that. Besides, clothes will just get in the way," Grimmjow replied.

"Get in the…Grimmjow! I'm not sure what you have planned but…"

"Don't you," Grimmjow said, burying his face into the back of the strawberry's head, smelling his hair deeply. "Mmm," he moaned.

"Grimmjow, don't!" Ichigo said nervously.

"I noticed you're not running," Grimmjow said, allowing his hands to traveling down the back of Ichigo's body, and then move forward to his hips, pulling Ichigo backwards towards him firmly.

"Awww," Ichigo moaned as he felt Grimmjow's erection pressed into his back.

"Again, louder this time," Grimmjow said his fingers almost claw like as they grasped Ichigo tightly.

"Awww, Grimmjow," Ichigo said.

"You have some clothing in the way…see, I told you it was going to be a problem," Grimmjow murmured into his ear.

"Grimmjow, I can't, they're watching…"

"Let them."

Ha, yeah, let that bitch watch this, Grimmjow thought in his cell. Like I care. God, if I could only get Ichigo in here for real. Ichigo…

"Is he…is he calling Ichigo's name?" Kiyone asked.

"Why are you watching!" Isane said, grabbing her sister and turning her around.

"That's not going to prevent her from hearing," Rangiku pointed out. "And he's quite loud. I wish I could get that into my fantasies."

"Rangiku!" Isane yelled.

"Oh lighten up," Rangiku said, continuing to watch the scene.

"Isane," Hanataro said coming in, "did you want me to watch over the prisoner while you went…"

"OUT!" Kiyone ordered.

"Go away," Rangiku told him.

"DON'T LOOK!" Isane said, panicked.

A/N: Haha, nice to have something funny at the end instead of a cliffhanger, huh? Unless you consider this a cliffhanger. Sorry, I guess you'll have to use your imaginations!