Chapter 4

Author's note: I'm on summer vacation finally. But there is a whole lot of stuff I still gotta get done. I'm not sure if I will update faster or not.

Hot water rushed from the faucet, steam rising from the sink. Ichigo sighed tiredly as he washed his hands, rubbing hard with his thumb to get the paint off his hand.

After a long day at school he helped Yuzu with one of her many paintings. She wasn't one of the athletic types so instead she turned to literature and art. She was an amazing painter and when Ichigo offered to help her, he was guessing he did more harm than good.

He turned off the water and sighed, drying his hands. He frowned when he realized he hadn't got all the paint off, rubbing a tad harder with the towel.

He swore, paint was so stubborn it was ridiculous. He had only really used green and purple, but already the towel was turning an ugly blackish brown.

Thats when something red fell onto his hand.

He was confused at first and rubbed with his index finger, the red liquid smearing thinly across his skin.

He was confused until he looked up. He gasped when he saw part of his neck and shoulder was covered in blood, the puncture wounds that had been healing progressively now red and swollen. He wiped his neck hard with the towel, closing his eyes tight in fear.

"Ichigo what are you doing?" he opened his eyes at the sound of Yuzu's voice, looking to where she stood in the doorway.

Couldn't she see the blood?

Why was she acting so calm?

"If you want to bathe, do that in the bath with water, not a dry towel."

Ichigo was confused. He looked back to the mirror, but his neck wasn't bleeding anymore. In fact the puncture wounds looked just fine, they were almost invisible now.

Ichigo's hands were shaking as he put the towel back down, forcing a smile. He laughed off his shock, shaking his head.

"Says the woman who cleans her brushes with a towel. Shouldn't you be rinsing them under water?" Yuzu playfully punched his shoulder, giggling at his comeback.

"Touche! Hop in the shower though, we are going somewhere today." Ichigo looked down at himself and saw that his clothes were covered with splotches of colored paint, Ichigo shaking his head at the mess he hadn't realized he made.

"From how I look, I'm guessing I messed up your painting huh?" he asked, Yuzu's eyes widening in shock.

"What no! The painting is still beautiful! You are an amazing painter Ichigo!"

He couldn't help but smile at that.

"But it will need some fixing…" His pride fell. Yuzu noticed his sudden change in mood and laughed.

"I was just joking Ichigo, don't take everything so literal," she teased, Ichigo rolling his eyes. Even though she was the better one of the twins, she still had some of her sister's attitude in her.

After looking at the time Ichigo pushed Yuzu out, closing the door behind her. He removed his shirt and went back to the mirror, pressing a finger to one of the punctures.

He had no idea what had happened right then. That was the first time he had ever imagined something so awful. He sighed and dropped it, shaking off his pants and socks.

He turned on the shower, putting two fingers under the spray. The water was a tad cold so he decided to wait, sitting down on the bath's edge.

When he had met Starrk, no, even before that, he knew something was wrong. He rubbed his palm against his neck, closing his eyes.

Even now he felt like something bad was going to happen. He opened his eyes when the shower head seemed to jet before returning back to normal, steam now rising from the water.

He smirked in relief and got in, closing the shower curtain. He put his head beneath the hot spray, closing his eyes in sheer bliss.

He knew he couldn't stay like that forever though and ran a hand through his hair, slicking it back. He cleaned his body first before picking up the shampoo, an unmanly yelp torn from his throat when the shower curtain was pulled open.

"Ichigo you idiot!" He grabbed the curtain to hide himself, clinging for dear life. His death glare was directed at the small girl named Karin. Who was sadly his sister.

"I'm the idiot! At least I'm not snooping on you while you're in the shower!" he yelled back, Karin raising a can of soda. Ichigo's eyebrow twitched so hard he was surprised it didn't fall off.

"You peeped on me to show me a can of soda!" he yelled, Karin throwing it at his head with a growl.

"That soda is lemon soda! You already know that Yuzu is allergic to it but you brung it here anyway!" she yelled, Ichigo rubbing the sore on his head. That's when he realized the shampoo was no longer in his hand. He looked down and became pale. It was on the ground. With the soda.

"Well answer me!" Karin growled, Ichigo looking to her then to the two items on the floor.

"I didn't buy that."

Karin was about to question him but there was a knock at the door. They both looked with heated glares.

"Um, I bout that."

Once Karin saw it was Shiro she calmed down. Ichigo gaped when she smiled at him.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought Ichigo did it on purpose," she apologized. Shiro raised a hand with a smile of understanding.

"It's alright but um, can we move this conversation somewhere else?" That's when it dawned on Karin and Ichigo that they were still in the bathroom, and Ichigo was still very much naked in the shower, and water was getting all over the floor from the partially open shower curtain.

Karin and Shiro left with a slam of the door, Ichigo left there blinking in a confused daze. His family was weird.

He sighed and looked down to the soda and shampoo, looking back to the door. He bent over to retrieve them, straightening up just as quickly. He cleared his throat and placed the soda on the toilet stool, closing the curtain.

"We are almost there."

Ichigo froze when he felt a hand on his thigh, shaking in terror. He slowly looked over his shoulder, his eyes widening when he saw Starrk. Naked. No clothes.

His eyebrow twitched before he pushed him away, pressing his back up against the tiled wall. It was as cold as ice, just like Starrk's gaze.

Ichigo raised the shampoo as a defense. He was daydreaming and he knew that, he knew Starrk was just a figment of his imagination, at least right now.

Starrk smirked in amusement and grabbed his wrists, pinning them against the wall, the shampoo bottle falling from his hand.

Ichigo felt the draining sensation again, his eyelids getting heavy.

"Good," Starrk chuckled, Ichigo unable to do anything when his body pushed against his. It felt so good when he grinded against him, his breath stolen away from him. He couldn't breathe but it didn't seem to care, Ichigo releasing a moan when one of Starrk's hands slid down to his ass and pulled him closer.

His brain was pounding against his skull and his lungs felt about to burst, but Ichigo couldn't help it as he tilted his head and exposed his neck.

Starrk smirked, leaning in till his hot breath wafted against his neck.

"Good…"

"Ichigo?!" Once again what held him up seemed to disappear, Ichigo falling to his knees with a grunt.

The water was cold now.

"Karin get your father!" he heard Shiro order, Ichigo touching a shaking hand to his face when he felt something warm on his skin.

Blood?

"Ichigo look at me!" His head was pulled to the side, his eyesight blurry, but he could still make out Shiro's face, the warmth becoming heat as his heart pounded away in his chest.

"Breathe Ichigo!" Shiro yelled, Ichigo confused. But then water spurted from his mouth, red painting it to a pretty pink. Shiro turned off the water, patting Ichigo's back as he coughed up gallons of water.

"What happened?!" he heard his father bellow, a towel put over Ichigo's shaking form.

"I heard him fall and came to see what happened. It seems like he had fell asleep in the shower," Shiro claimed, Ichigo shaking in shock as Shiro put one end of the towel to his nose, having him tilt his head back.

"I'll call an ambulance," his father informed, heavy footsteps soon becoming silent. Ichigo blinked a few times before looking to Shiro, his eyesight clearing.

Shiro wasn't looking at his face though, he was looking at his neck.

Shiro raised a hand and touched where the puncture wounds had been, Ichigo trying to pull away when he felt a sharp pain. His finger's came back painted with blood.

Shiro looked to him with cold eyes, Ichigo feeling like he saw right through him.

"What happened?"

Ichigo closed his eyes, a tear falling down his temple. He wouldn't admit it aloud, but at that moment he was afraid.

What had Starrk done to him?

XXX

Ichigo slumped in his seat, Orihime who had just started eating, looked to him with curious eyes.

"What's the matter?" she asked, Ichigo shrugged tiredly.

"I went to the hospital yesterday," he grumbled. At that moment he was surrounded like a caterpillar in a cocoon by his friends.

"Who hurt you?" Chad asked, Ichigo looking to him skeptically. That guy was always so quick to assume someone hurt him. He wasn't that weak!

"No one hurt me. I just apparently fell asleep in the shower and nearly drowned myself," he grumbled. Keigo went into hysterics.

"What's wrong with you Ichigo! You can't go and kill yourself, you're still a vi-"

Ichigo punched him in the face, scowling in annoyance.

"If you want to live be quiet," Ichigo growled, Keigo raising a hand in mercy.

He crawled away, leaving his grumpy friend with the rest.

"You really should be more careful," Rangiku agreed, Ichigo looking to her with a glare.

"And if you are still looking for someone to take that precious purity from you-" she leaned in close, Ichigo's cheeks heating up as her boobs came close to his face. He could almost see her nipples from here. He leaned in just slightly.

Almost…

"I'll be happy to take it."

Ichigo fell out of his seat with a yelp, blood gushing from his nose like a water fountain.

"Ichigo!" Orihime gasped, getting a few tissues from her bag. She held his head as she nursed his bleeding nose, Rangiku laughing at the reaction she received.

Renji rolled his eyes.

"I swear one day those tits of yours will get you into trouble," he grumbled. Rangiku turned to him with an innocent pout.

"Do you only say that because you want them too?" she asked innocently, Renji's cheeks becoming red when she leaned towards him.

"Do you want a… small peak?" With a small pull down of the hem of her shirt, Renji fell victim to his own nosebleed, Orihime nursing them both now.

"Rangiku I think you should at least wait till the end of the day before making them anemic," Orihime interjected sweetly, Rangiku leaning against the table. Chad was next to her, her boobs pressing into his arm.

He didn't even seem to notice.

"But Orihime, it's no fun if men aren't fawning over me," she complained. Orihime shook her head with a giggle.

"Renji's right, they might get you into trouble one day," Orihime agreed, Rangiku smiling broadly.

"Well I do know how to throw a few punches so it'll be alright."

Orihime looked down to Ichigo, smiling softly at his dazed face.

He really was an idiot.

"Hey Orihime?" Orihime looked up to Rangiku, tilting her head to the side at Rangiku's thoughtful gaze.

"If the boys are up for it, I think we four should go on a friends night out," she offered, Orihime gasping in surprise when Renji shot up.

"If you are suggesting we go on a secret double date then I'm out! All because Orihime and Ichigo are kind of hooking up doesn't mean you can drag me into it!"

Renji's outraged yell woke Ichigo from his dazed sleep. He shot up also, pointing a finger at Renji.

"We are not kind of hooking up! We are just friends!" he yelled. He regretted saying that when he saw Orihime's amused smile fall, but he knew it was true.

He just didn't like her that way.

"Yeah? Say's the dude that stares at her breasts twenty four seven!" Renji yelled back, Ichigo releasing a growl before tackling him to the ground.

It was just play fighting so no one thought to interfere, Orihime and Rangiku sitting down in their seats and watching them roll and tumble on the floor.

Chad ate his lunch.

"They are so childish," Rangiku sighed, Orihime nodding in agreement.

"They are," Orihime giggled. She gasped when she realized something.

"Are you and Renji… Together? You know… He said he didn't want it to be a secret double date." Orihime fiddled with her finger's, her cheeks red from nervousness.

Rangiku just laughed, shaking her head as she wiped away a tear.

"No, I'm actually dating someone else, but he doesn't come here. Me and Renji are just friends," she claimed, Orihime releasing a sigh of relief.

It would have been embarrassing if those two got together before she and Ichigo did. They were the worst match in the world!

"What's his name?" Orihime asked, but Rangiku didn't hear her as she cheered on the boys. Orihime became silent after that, watching the boys play fight with a small smile.

She hoped she and Ichigo could become boyfriend and girlfriend in the future.

She knew right now he wasn't ready, but in the future she just knew she would have him all to herself.

"Go Ichigo!"