Hello everybody and Happy Thanksgiving! I am back! Sorry for the wait but life has been kicking my butt lately and I haven't been able write. But I finally kicked life down to size and took it back for myself so I'm writing again. Yay! This chapter was a long time in wait but I hope you enjoy. For everyone that reads Strawberry Prisoner, I'll be updating that one soon as well.

Ichigo woke from a surreal world of nightmares and fear, eyes jerking open wide while his body jolted. He lunged forward with a yell into a sitting position and hissed at the pain that tore through his ribs. Breathing harshly he fell back onto his pillows. The orangette fought off the residual images of golden eyes under bright stage lights while he took stock of his surroundings.

Surprisingly, he was in his old bedroom in his father's house. The thin blanket covering his body rose and fell with his breath, slowing as he calmed down. The door to his room slammed open and two people came skidding over the threshold.

"Ichi, man, we heard you scream, you alright?!" Renji shouted. Ichigo winced at the volume that made his head throb. Snatching a book from his bed side table, Ichigo launched it at the redhead's face. Well, he tried to. The second he raised his arm to throw the paper back, sharp pain lanced his ribs and he groaned before dropping the book in favor of holding his side.

Rukia walked up to the orange haired man's bed and leaned down. She easily pried his reluctant arms away, surprised and saddened at the man's obvious lack of strength, and checked his bandages. She sighed.

"You need to be more careful so you don't rip the bandages." She dragged his desk chair to the side of the bed and sat down. Without saying anything, her redheaded boyfriend lifted her petite body up and sat down on the chair before setting her down on his lap. The sight of the happy couple made something twist in his chest that was reminiscent to longing. His mind quickly banished the feeling and latched onto a different topic.

"Hey, that guy from last night, the one that helped me out, what happened to him, is he okay?" Ichigo's memories of last night's attack were hazy; he remembered the pain, fury and fear (though he was loathed to admit the latter) and bright blue hair. A man had bravely jumped in to help Ichigo even though he was out numbered.

Renji pretended to look clueless. "Who? Chad? He's fine, man's a mountain that can't be knocked over-" his words were cut off when Rukia slammed a sharp elbow into his gut.

"He isn't talking about Chad you idiot!" She snapped. Ichigo laughed but it turned into a coughing fit that jarred his bruises painfully. Rukia hopped to her feet to pour Ichigo a glass of water from the pitcher on his desk and handed it to him. He accepted it gratefully and sipped at the cool liquid. Rukia reclaimed her seat on Renji's lap. She looked at Ichigo with large violet eyes.

"You're talking about the guy with blue hair, right? He was still fighting when Renji, Chad and I got outside. We were going outside check on you since you rushed out so suddenly and saw you passed out on the ground by your car. The blue haired guy was losing so Chad and Renji jumped in and they kicked the shit out of your attackers. While the bastards were on the ground, I called the police and your dad came outside and he checked you over. You were really out of it. Isshin decided that you didn't need a hospital; that he could patch you up at your family's clinic. It took a while to convince the paramedics but your dad was stubborn.

The guy lifted you into the car and then got in with you. He rested your head on his lap and just sat there glaring at everyone before snapping that we needed to get our asses moving. Isshin just shrugged it off and got in the car to drive you to the clinic. Chad took the passenger seat while Renji and I followed in my car. The guy held you the entire time, even while your dad patched you up. After we were sure you were gonna be okay, he carried you to your room and left without saying anything.

Ichigo looked angry but Rukia could see a shadow of hurt in the corner of his eye as he snarled, "What the fuck, he saves me and then leaves?" Ichigo fumed and his eyes flashed with fury. He was about to start ranting when the door to his room swung open and Ichigo's sister, Karin, stood in the opening. She held a scowl that was strikingly similar to Ichigo's on her face and her long black hair was pulled back in a ponytail.

"Visiting hours are over, Ichi-ni needs to rest." She was slightly short but slim and athletic like her older brother.

Rukia stood in response but Renji stayed in his seat and spoke to Ichigo as if Karin had never said anything. (Karin sighed in annoyance and went down the hall in the direction of her own room).

"Look, don't worry about it man-"

"Renji." Rukia admonished. She went to say something else but before she could an object blasted past her, the force creating a wind that lifted her hair and slammed into the back of Renji's head knocking him to the ground in a heap. The black and white object rolled away from Renji. While Ichigo snickered at his friend's misfortune, Rukia looked behind her in shock. Karin was back and she had another soccer ball at the ready in her palm.

"I said, 'Ichi-ni needs to rest.' Get out now." She dropped the ball to the floor and prepared to kick it. Renji shot to his feet and hid behind his diminutive girlfriend to make an amusing image.

"Okay okay we're going, chill." Karin nodded at Renji's words and stepped back to wait in the hallway for them to leave.

As he was leaving Renji hissed at Ichigo, "Dude, your sister is fucking scary."

Ichigo snorted at that and responded, "Duh, I'm the one that taught her jackass." He waved as his friends left and snickered in humor again until a hand lightly smacked the back of his head.

Ichigo stopped laughing in surprise and looked up. Karin stood beside him with an affectionate scowl.

"You need to sleep now Ichi-ni or you'll feel worse later." She scolded.

Ichigo nodded and went to lay back but before he did he raised his hand to ruffle Karin's hair lovingly with a small smile. He rested his head on his pillow and turned on his side with his back to Karin. She had pink tinting her cheeks, murmuring, "Stupid big brothers," as she left and closed the door quietly behind her.

Ichigo's smile faded into a scowl as his thoughts went back to his blue-haired asshole of a savior. Anger and hurt bubbled in his chest but he pushed it down. Sleep slowly crawled along the edges of his mind and his face softened gently as he faded into slumber.

Grimmjow's POV

The red punching bad rocked back and forth on its chain, the metal links creaking every time it was hit. Fists flew into the hard material; furious hooks and jabs leaving indents in the cracked surface. The man taking out his frustrations on the gym equipment snapped a roundhouse kick into the punching bag before stilling it with one hand. His breath came harshly in his exertion.

Turning from the abused punching bag, he walked off the mat and headed to the bench where he had left his gym bag and retrieved his water bottle. He chugged the cool liquid down and then rifled through his bag in search of his towel before cursing to himself as he remembered that he had left it at home. A towel appeared suddenly in front of his face startling him. He looked up to see his sister holding it. He gratefully accepted the cloth and wiped his sweaty brow, wincing as it craped over a cut still fresh from the night before. He sat down on the bench and swallowed some more water while his sister sat beside him.

"What's up with you today Grimmy, you look like you lost a fight with baseball bat and you've been beating the crap out of that bag for an hour. Is everything okay?" Nelliel wondered. Her large eyes were filled with worry, her sea green hair pulled back in a ponytail. Grimmjow snorted, he knew he looked horrible; he was covered in cuts and black bruises from fighting. Nell continued to stare at him expectantly.

Grimmjow hung his head at the thought of his older sister calling him out on his misery; he didn't think he was being that obvious. He scratched absently at the back of his head, wincing at a bruise there, and looked back up. His bright cyan colored eyes met her hazel and Grimmjow sighed. He decided to go with the short version of the story.

"I got in a fight last night with a group of punks. Nnoitra and I were at Ulquiorra's bar last night. There was this kid. He sang at the bar and afterwards he was jumped in the parking lot by a couple of guys. They were gonna kidnap and rape him. I…intervened." He groaned. " Shit Nell, I was outnumbered and they were owning my ass." Grimmjow stopped to take another drink of water.

Nelliel was surprised at her brother, he was normally an amazing and vicious fighter; this group must have been formidable if he had had a hard time with them.

Grimmjow continued, "I was so pissed, no matter I did, they just kept beating me back. I didn't want to lose Nell and it pissed me off because I knew I was going to. Finally some of the kid's friends came out to help me. We were able to beat the punks into unconsciousness and then I helped them get the kid into a car so we could take him to a hospital. An older guy took us to a clinic and patched the kid up there. I left after I knew he was going to be okay."

"So what's the problem Grimmy, do you regret saving him?" Nell's soft voice asked.

Grimmjow growled, "Hell no, I don't regret, I would do it again given the chance. No, I don't know why I'm so upset. I've got so many emotions going through my head I can't think straight. I'm pissed because I couldn't protect him, guilty because I let him get hurt in the first place, happy that he's okay, even more pissed at the douche's that hurt him, and. And. I just can't stop thinking about the damn kid!" He explodes. "I dreamed about him Nell! I dreamed about his voice, it was like a bunch of fuckin angels with a heavy metal attitude. I've been thinking about him all day and I don't know why."

Nell giggled. Grimmjow glared at her balefully.

"I'm sorry Grimmy," She apologized, "but it sounds like you're infatuated."

Grimmjow glared harder, "I'm not infatuated, I'm just… worried about him." Grimmjow finished with a sulk bordering on a pout. Nell just giggled harder. It was so obvious that her younger brother had developed a crush, albeit a small one on the male he saved. She was surprised in a sense because he had never developed feelings this quickly for anyone, always taking months to warm up to a person. Nell felt curiosity bubble within her. Who was the stranger Grimmjow had met that had caused affection to bloom in the teal haired male.

She was about to voice her questions when the door to the small gym opened. The gym was a neighborhood establishment owned by Nell. Locals to the area enjoyed the cozy atmosphere that more sophisticated gyms lacked. Grimmjow came by weekly if not daily to work out and blow off steam.

Nell looked towards the door and Grimmjow could see the happiness that lit her eyes. Younger brother forgotten, she launched herself across the room to tackle the person who just came through the door. Well she tried to; the female she had attempted to tackle held her ground and caught Nell easily. Grimmjow chuckled but then pretended to gag as Nell kissed the woman holding her.

The woman was Nell's height, lithe with strong muscle from years of karate and tan skin. Her hair that normally fell in a raven wave was restrained in a ponytail, multi length bangs brushing her dark eyebrows and framing her face. Tatsuki and Nell had been dating for three years and only a month ago the dark haired tomboy had proposed to her girlfriend. Grimmjow was happy for Nell while he tried to ignore the slight pangs of jealousy in his heart.

"How's it hanging Grimm-kitty?" Tatsuki called out. She had her arm wrapped around Nell's waist and they were walking towards him. "I hear you're pining over someone that you met last night. What happened? Confessed your love to them and they ran away?"

Grimmjow scowled, "No. He was getting the shit beat out of him and I helped, end of story. No pining. No love. What happened to you, forget the sun existed?"

Tatsuki was slightly pale and there were dark circles under her eyes. Nell was looking at her in concern but Tatsuki smiled it away.

"It's nothing," she stated. "Just a cold but I'm getting over it. No big deal."

Grimmjow nodded. Although he would never admit it, he actually liked the tomboy that had captured his sister's heart. She was strong and she cared for Nell, he knew she would treat his sister right.

He sighed, in both exhaustion and defeat. The workout wasn't helping to ease his nerves one bit. As he packed up his gym bag, said his farewells and left the gym, Grimmjow thought that maybe a good bottle of whiskey would help.

Ichigo's POV

Ichigo's wounds healed into scratches in a week and faded to bruises in two. Three weeks later, it was like the fight had never happened. The only thing that reminded him of it was the nightly dreams. He would see bits and pieces from that night: the smell of alcohol, a flash blue and a set of black and yellow eyes. He would feel the pain, hear the music and taste blood. Always without fail, at the end, he would feel strong arms lift him up and cradle his body to a hard chest that radiated warmth. Then those arms would disappear and Ichigo would fall, screaming, and wake up. Covered in sweat and more exhausted than when he went to bed the night before, he would wake up.

His friends were worried, the bags under his eyes more noticeable every day. Pale skin and dead eyes made him seem like a zombie. But they didn't say anything and neither did Ichigo.

A day or two after the incident, when Ichigo got up and started walking, Tatsuki and the rest of the band had stopped by his house and offered him a permanent spot in the group, playing guitar and doing vocals. Tatsuki was going to be getting married and had decided to start her own karate dojo so she wouldn't be in the band anymore. Ichigo accepted the job willingly.

Three weeks later, Ichigo and his band, now known as 15, were gaining fame and were even being considered by a famous record label for a contract. 15 was well on its way to hitting it big and yet Ichigo couldn't bring himself to feel happy about it. He was depressed and constantly tired.

He glared dully at Rukia, rubbing at the spot on his head where she had just hit him, demanding to know what his damn problem was.

"I don't have a problem," he scowled. The look didn't hold the heat it normally did though. He got up from where he had been sitting on his couch, nursing a bottle of whiskey and wishing for a drunken oblivion when Rukia had burst through his door. He put the bottle on the counter and grabbed a soda from his fridge for Rukia and tossed it to her. She caught it with a frown and slammed the can on the counter before advancing on him.

He backed up until he met with counter. Rukia grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him down to her level. Wide brown eyes met pissed off purple.

"Look you moron, I know you are depressed about what happened that night, but it's in the past. Yeah you were beaten in a fight but big deal. Grow a pair and move past it." She shouted.

Ichigo blinked before gently removing her fist from his shirt with a sigh. He slid down the counter until his butt met the floor, one knee bent to his chest while the other leg sprawled out in front of him. With a curious frown, Rukia knelt in front of her orange haired friend.

"It's not that I lost," he whispered. "Hell, I've lost to Tatsuki dozens of times. It's that those guys, they were…they were going to…" He stopped with a shudder. He snatched the whiskey off the counter and took a swig before continuing. "Do you have any idea how that felt? To know that those monsters planned on…on kidnapping and raping me. I felt weak and helpless. I wouldn't have been able to stop them. I know I was out numbered and they were stronger than me but it doesn't matter. And then I had to be saved by some bastard that didn't even care enough to stick around." He ended with a hoarse shout. As abruptly as it had appeared, that brief fire in his eyes went out and he sighed miserably. The now empty whiskey bottle rolled from his finger tips and to the floor.

Ichigo nearly groaned aloud as he realized that, he was only slightly drunk. The bottle had only been a quarter full, not even to make him pass out. He looked at the floor in front of him and waited for Rukia to say something.

Rukia sat back on her heels and looked at her friend thoughtfully. She had come over to tell her friend the good news but now, she didn't think it was the time. She thought a moment before standing up and planting her hands on her hips with a determined smile.

"Alright I've decided, you're coming with me to date night tonight." She decreed. Ichigo gave her a look that screamed what the fuck?

"Bull fucking shit I am." He replied.

And that's how 20 minutes later Ichigo found himself in the back seat of Rukia's Nissan while she and Renji chatted up front, on their way to date night.

Ichigo was dressed in black dress jeans, a red silk shirt with a black tie hanging loosely around his neck. He'd barely had time to pull on his leather jacket before Rukia dragged him out the door. They were meeting up with a couple other couples. Including Rukia and Renji, Tatsuki and her fiancé would be there, Orihime and Ulquiorra (the two had started dating a week ago), and then there would be Ichigo, the reluctant third wheel to three pairs of happy couples.

They arrived at a medium-sized house in the suburbs that looked expensive yet cozy. Date night was happening at Tatsuki's and her girlfriend's house. Damn it all to hell, Ichigo thought miserably.

Ichigo stepped from the car, all unconscious grace, and grumbled, "Damn it Rukia, I told you I don't want to be here, date night is for couples and there's only one of me in case you can't count."

Rukia kicked him in the shin and dragged him and Renji to the door. "I can count you ass! Now suck it up, besides Tatsuki said she had a surprise for everyone." She said excitedly as she opened the door.

Ichigo immediately tried to scramble backwards in a panic. He had been on the receiving end of Tatsuki's surprises before and they always ended up a disaster.

Renji grabbed his shoulders and started shoving him through the door and into the house. "Dude you better just get it over with, it's going to happen no matter what you do."

He fought the whole way; swearing and thrashing but it was useless. He was being forced into date night whether he liked it or not.

And that's it…. for now (hint hint: the next part is already up!). I know I said that it would only be three parts but it just got to be too long and I had to break it up. Again, sorry for the long wait, but life sucks and I couldn't do much about it T.T don't worry though, I will start updating more consistently.

Ichi's band finally has a name: 15

Damn, it's good to be back.

(=^.^=)