Started June 4th.
Completed June 11th.
Authoress: Desperatembrace
Disclaimer(s): I do not own Bleach. If I did, Soifon would have been kicking major ass right from the beginning of her fight. (You guys who are up-to-date on the manga should know what I'm talking about.)
Warning:
Violence
Language
Sexual Content
Yaoi
Chapter 9
"Kidnapper"
Ichigo had spent the night with Cirucci, a few floors down. They had become pretty good friends over the months, though many secrets were still kept between them (mainly on Ichigo's part). Feeling too uncomfortable to return to any place that Grimmjow was, Ichigo had called up Nel and asked to stay with her. He felt a bit guilty about the request, knowing that the woman wouldn't turn him down no matter what the situation was, but... he felt it couldn't be helped.
Nel quickly arrived to take Ichigo back to her apartment a few miles away. The drive there was rather quiet before the woman decided to start up small talk. "So..." The green haired woman shifted slightly in her seat and tightened her hands on the steering wheel momentarily before she glanced over to Ichigo. "I didn't know you had a cell phone. When did you get it?"
The orange haired man snapped his eyes from the window that he had been staring out of to see earnest green eyes watching him in curiosity. Somehow, he knew that wasn't what she had wanted to ask, but... he could play along for now.
"My dad kinda forced it on me a few weeks ago. Said it was really hard to contact me since I wasn't always at... home." He said the word hesitantly, unsure if the place that he had been thinking about could really be considered home anymore. Nel just nodded, not knowing what thoughts were going through the man's head.
"Yeah. I know what you mean. Grimm never really does anything for himself, so I could imagine how you would be the one going out for errands all the time." Ichigo twitched slightly. He couldn't help but notice how the woman had blatantly and quite obviously brought the conversation back around to Grimmjow. He held back a sigh, waiting for what was to come. There was a momentary silence before Nel confirmed his suspicions.
"So... do you mind telling me what my brother did to you?" Ichigo was mischievously pleased that Nel automatically assumed that it was Grimmjow's fault. Releasing a sigh, brown eyes turned back to the roadside. Ichigo maintained his silence. Nel didn't push the matter any further, knowing that he would spill sometime soon.
As they turned onto her apartment's road, Ichigo said, "things just began happening a bit too fast." A delicate green eyebrow rose, but she kept quiet. Ichigo watched as the surroundings of the street began to gain a more commercial feel rather than industrial. He blew out another sigh, wishing that he could get over this problem by himself. But he knew he couldn't. He had no experience with relationships and had no idea how to feel about anything anymore. And the stalker problem certainly wasn't any help.
The small car pulled into an empty parking space, Nel and Ichigo both opening up their individual doors. The orange haired man proceeded after Nel, trying to sort his thoughts into sentences. He kept opening and shutting his mouth as they walked along the path and into a small building. Nel merely kept silent, patiently waiting for his thoughts to become words. They made their way to a back hallway, stopping in front of a door. The woman pulled out some keys and unlocked the door, opening it up and then pushing the confused man in.
Not even bothering to observe his surroundings, Ichigo made his way to the couch sitting in the middle of the living room. Nel slowly made her way over to him. "He tried..." He rubbed his forehead, squeezing his eyes shut. "He tried to 'get me into bed'." He turned away, refusing to meet Nel's eyes.
The green haired woman halted in her advance, eyes widening as the words quickly clicked. She scowled slightly, muttering under her breath, "damned idiotic man. Doesn't he know better than to pull shit like this?" Although Ichigo couldn't hear exactly what she was saying, he could figure out the basic gist. He leaned back, hanging his head over the back of the plush couch. "I..." He halted, not knowing exactly what he had been trying to say. Letting out another aggravated sigh, he opened his eyes, viewing the room (the part that was behind the couch) upside down. Nel made her way to the love seat that sat across from the couch, comfortably sliding into the cushions.
"So he came onto you." Ichigo winced at the blunt statement that confirmed Grimmjow's actions. Ichigo nodded slightly, closing his eyes once more. He struggled with his vocal chords, finding it hard to speak in such an odd position. "Yes... and it wouldn't have been so bad if..." Nel looked up, eyes wide once more. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" She waved her hands dramatically, not even thinking about the fact that Ichigo couldn't see her from his position. She sat forward excitedly, eyes shining in glee. "Does that mean that you actually like Grimmjow? Like... like?"
He shot his head up, staring at the woman. Shit. "I. Well. No... just.." He blew out a tired breath of air, exasperated. "Fine. Yes."
Nel let out a short squeal, practically bouncing in her seat. She started talking to herself at a furious pace, unable to contain her excitement. He twitched when he caught the words 'brother-in-law' and 'hot sex'. Ichigo sunk back into the cushions, rubbing his temples. Nel finally slowed in her mini spaz-attack and fixed her eyes back on the man before her. "So..." she let out a breath of air, trying to regain expended energy. "He tried to push things a little too fast." She was back to her serious self. Ichigo almost wanted to bury his face in the cushions. This really wasn't a subject that he was perfectly comfortable with. And the fact that he was speaking to the subject's sister just made it that much more awkward for him.
He steeled himself, nodding mechanically. Nel stared unseeingly at him for a moment, contemplating on what to say. "Well..." She blinked, bringing her sight back to this world. "I suppose that's good for you." Ichigo's face fell into utter confusion. Nel shook her head, a smile gracing her face. "Don't let him push you too fast. Keep the relationship going at your pace--because everyone knows Grimm's pace is way too fast." She laughed lightly, partially at what she said and partially at Ichigo's bewildered expression. She stood up from the couch and made her way to a closet, pulling out a blanket and pillow. She tossed them in Ichigo's direction, the man easily catching them.
"Well, I think it's best that you get some sleep. By the looks of it, you didn't get much sleep last night while you were at Cirucci's," she said, indicating the bags underneath Ichigo's eyes. "I don't think you're going to be here very long anyways." She ignored the man's questioning gaze as she made her way to her bedroom. Stepping inside, she smiled out at Ichigo. "Goodnight," she said before quietly shutting her door.
Ichigo stared at the door for a moment, wondering what she meant when she said he wasn't going to be here very long. He shrugged, unable to come to a suitable answer. Spreading out the blanket over himself and turning over, he gave himself up to the world of dreams.
Ichigo groaned, wishing that he could sleep longer. He was not happy that daylight had already made its appearance. He reached up and rubbed at his eyes, yawning and stretching. When he finally opened his eyes, however, he let out a yelp and sat back quickly, slamming his head on the back of the couch. Green hair filtered into his vision, a bright smile plastered across Nel's face as she looked down on him.
"Have a nice slumber, sleepy-head?" She maintained her wide smile, her eyes twinkling with untold delight. She leaned back with a happy sigh, stretching her arms up and rotating her shoulders. Ichigo leaned forward slightly, having regained his composure. He discreetly rubbed at the newly formed bump on the back of his head.
Nel giggled, having noticed the movement. The orange haired man merely ignored her, unwilling to admit his surprise. She gave a sly chuckle and tugged the blanket away from his lap, throwing it carelessly behind her. This gained Ichigo's attention.
"What?" He asked automatically, his voice thick with sleep. He watched her, feeling the need to be cautious with the smile that she was presenting him. At the one-word-question, her smile grew. "I told you!" She threw her hair over her shoulder, watching for the man's questioning gaze. When she caught sight of his expression, she put her hands on her hips, fingers twitching slightly. "You aren't going to be staying here!" The green haired woman pointed in the direction of the kitchen, where, if one were listening quite closely, they could hear light clattering of dishes. As Ichigo stared at the kitchen doorway in silence, Nel let out a devious chuckle, hidden behind a posh slender hand.
"Big brother came to pick you up." When Ichigo's gaze snapped back to her, she registered the many emotions that were whirling through his head. Fear, anger, joy, and the awkwardness of not knowing how to react. She leaned forward and tugged on his wrist, pulling the surprised man up to his feet. She lightly pushed him in the direction of the kitchen, watching with a small smile as he slowly made his way through the door.
When his footfalls stopped, Ichigo looked up from the floor to find Grimmjow watching him quietly. They both stayed silent, watching the person opposite. Ichigo was unable to make any movements as Grimmjow stood up from the small dining table and made his way to the orange haired man, stopping a few feet before him. Grimmjow released a pent-up sigh, turning his head to the side and running an awkward hand through his hair. "Um..." He rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling the need to move before turning back to Ichigo. "Do you want to... just go get something to eat..?"
Ichigo was floored. He never expected Grimmjow to ask something along those lines at this point in time. Brown eyes glanced off to the side as the shorter man shifted his balance from one foot to the other. Finally coming to a decision, Ichigo turned his gaze back onto the blue haired man, nodding firmly.
"Okay."
Ichigo tugged his hat down a bit further, vaguely wondering how and why the hell they always seemed to end up in the same damned cafe. He glanced around at the very familiar quaint cafe, silently observing the people, desperately trying to avoid the reality of the situation.
The main reality being the man sitting in front of him.
He ignored the way Grimmjow kept staring at him, probably willing him to return the attention. He ignored how the blue haired man would shift, no doubt fishing for words to start the conversation. He ignored how he would brush blue hair out of his face in annoyance. He ignored how the man would tap his foot, impatient with the lack of words being said between the pair.
Okay, so the ignoring wasn't working out quite that well. Big deal.
Grimmjow cleared his throat, having finally found what he wanted to say. Ichigo wanted to curse when his head automatically snapped in the man's direction. He was a little too attuned to the man before him. It was frustrating to say the least.
"Alright." Grimmjow seemed to have lost his train of thought as his face twisted into a grimace. He pulled another hand through his hair, stopping to scratch subconsciously at his neck. "I would like to... apologize." His voice lowered on the last word, almost unheard by Ichigo. But the man had heard it. Deciding to spare him the awkwardness and discomfort, Ichigo nodded and turned away, glancing off in some random direction. What right did he have to be the reason that Grimmjow lost face?
Grimmjow was a bit grateful for the gesture, though, again, he would never admit it. He scratched at his cheek, sorting his thoughts out a bit. He was, in no way, going to make a fool of himself. He was never going to be reduced to a man that was head-over-heels, spouting his confessions of love at any and every waking moment. He would rather be tortured and buried alive before he did that. Grimmjow winced at his train of thoughts. Shit. He thought to himself. Get to the fucking point.
He was about to slam his fists on the table before he caught himself. He shook his hands slightly before lowering them and lightly laying them on the table top. "I fucked up." Ichigo twitched in the seat across from him, showing that he was indeed listening. "I didn't stop to think about all the shit that's been going around or about the situation. I was being a god-damned bastard." Ichigo smirked, seeing his reflection in the glass of the shop. Ah, how good it felt to have Grimmjow being on the guilty side. He instinctively knew that these types of moments were rare if not non-existent. He had to enjoy the moment while it lasted, else he had little chance of experiencing it again.
The blue haired man really wanted to just reach over and smack the smirk off of his companion's face, but he knew that wouldn't help things very much. He just hoped to hell that this was going to pay off in his favor. He wasn't stupid. He knew that there was a major mutual attraction between them. He knew that there was most likely more than just attraction. But either way, if he played his cards right, their relationship would be speeding along nicely. A half-smirk spread across his face.
Ichigo, from his position on the opposite side of the table, deemed Grimmjow's dignity safe, and turned to see the man's expression. He almost instantly knew what was going through his head. Deciding to be a bit of a sadist, he hid a devilish smirk behind his hand.
Due to Ichigo's skillful evading, the topic of their relationship never came up for the rest of the night.
A lightly tanned hand brushed bright orange hair out of brown eyes. As he gazed up at the building, Ichigo couldn't help but feel intimidated. He was a fucking work-at-home fashion designer. The only time he ever stepped into such large buildings was for Rukia--as he would help out the woman's company from time to time. But even then, that building was almost like a second or third home to him. It had always felt that way ever since he had stomped through the front doors, demanding to see Rukia's brother--Kuchiki Byakuya--so that he could punch the man's face in. The guy had been a bastard to his sister for the longest time and it had just continued to escalate. Ichigo was proud to say that the problem was resolved.
"Why the hell should I wait for the bastard here, anyways?" He muttered to himself. He sucked in a breath and stepped through the large automatic doors, heading for the nearest receptionist that he could find. When he stopped in front of the closest desk, the lady behind the computer looked up and stared at him for a moment. Ichigo merely raised his eyebrow.
"You are... Kurosaki Ichigo... right?" She prodded cautiously. He nodded slightly, pulling nervously on his hat. She tossed her brown hair behind her shoulder and tapped the keys on her computer for a second before turning the monitor around to Ichigo with a smile. Ichigo studied the map on the screen as the lady pointed out which room he was supposed to go to. "It's going to be on the 10th floor." He nodded at the information, remembering that Grimmjow had told him before. Floors 1-9 were for customers and guests, floors 11 and up were for individual departments and floor 10 was strictly for meetings between the department heads.
He quickly made his way to the specified floor, slowly working his way through the route planned in his head. Why the hell didn't they have maps sitting outside the elevators or something? He should complain about this...
Ichigo stopped outside of the room and knocked slightly, hearing a muffled 'come in'. He stepped in and shut the door behind himself quietly, feeling unnerved at the instant attention he gained. Every single person in the room had their attention on him--and it wasn't just a couple of people. There was evidently a very large variety of departments in this particular conglomerate. He nodded his head slightly in their general direction, catching sight of a few people he knew. Grimmjow, Aporro and Ulquiorra were there, along with a shitload of faces he had never seen before.
He caught the familiar blue eyes, blinking slightly when the man tossed his head to a small bunch of chairs sitting at the wall of the room. He walked as confidently as he could across the room, picking a random chair before he plopped down in it. After a bit of chaos from the employees (apparently the president of the company had decided it wasn't in his best interest to show up), the meeting finally commenced. Ichigo tuned out the gibberish that he couldn't even hope to understand. After a few minutes of boredom, he turned his gaze to the large window, vaguely noting that it was a lot like the one in their apartment.
Brown eyes widened slightly as he felt a familiar prickly sensation. He glanced out of the corner of his eye to the extended table where the meeting was in full swing. As he sat there and discreetly watched each of the employees, he noticed that three people kept on glancing in his direction. He frowned slightly, not liking where his thoughts were starting to direct him.
I'm being watched.
Ichigo slowly sucked in a shaky breath, willing himself to stay calm. So it really was more than one person. Even more than that, it seemed that they were connected to Grimmjow's company. He shook his head slightly, reprimanding himself. Just because a couple of people seemed to be watching him in this room, it didn't mean that they were his stalkers. They could just be curious as to why he was there... or something.
He blew out a breath, pushing the thoughts away. He wasn't going to think about this. He refused to put a damper on the day. It hadn't even been twenty-four hours since Grimmjow apologized (surprisingly literally) and he didn't want to force himself back into unreasonable fear. But he couldn't exactly help it--his instincts were screaming at him, telling him to just run.
Glancing back at the table with a new determination, he picked out every little detail about the people watching him. A tall skinny man with dark brown, nearly-shoulder-length hair; a large, buff black man (who seemed to have a tattoo, if the dark ink peeking from his dress shirt was any indication) and lastly, an elderly, Mexican-looking man, also a bit large and with scars on his face. He watched them quietly--the lanky one maintaining silence, the buff black man giving a loud, booming chuckle every so often, and the elderly man interjecting a strong, no-shit tone opinion here and there. Each of them seemed very suspicious to him in their own ways, but... he blew out a quiet sigh, willing himself to concentrate on something else.
After another half-hour of maddening panic and boredom, the meeting was finally called to an end. Grimmjow walked up to him, a tall, tan-skinned, blond woman behind him. "Yo, Ichi." He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder, at the quiet beauty. "This is Halibel. She's head of the weapons department." Ichigo's eyes widened slightly at this. He knew that conglomerates were very diverse, but... wasn't a weapons department just pushing it? Grimmjow raised an eyebrow at his odd tenseness, before continuing to speak. "This is him, Hal. Ichigo--the one who moved in with me." The blond woman took no notice of Ichigo's discomfort, offering a nod of the head and a quiet 'good afternoon'. Ichigo gave a nervous chuckle, giving his own polite greeting.
Grimmjow, seeming to be happy with the simple interaction between the two, tugged on the edge of Ichigo's hat. "You know, it isn't polite to wear hats in a meeting room." A lightly tanned hand swatted the darker one away. "Bah. I'm not the one in the meeting. I was just waiting for your bastard ass." Grimmjow gave a feral smirk. "Yeah. I know. Let's go." He waltzed out of the room, ignoring how most of the department heads lingered for minor conversation. The orange haired man gave a slight wave in Ulquiorra and Aporro's direction, followed by one to Halibel before he turned and marched after the blue haired man.
"Alright. I give. Why the hell do we keep ending up at this place?" Ichigo looked around at the cafe, wondering why the hell he found himself at the quaint little place for the second time in two days. Grimmjow shrugged from across from him. "I don't know. I like this place." He gave a smirk to the waitress who set their meals down in front of them, not even really paying attention to how she broke out in a blush. He watched as Ichigo rolled his eyes, picking up his fork and preparing to dig into the fluffy omelette before him.
The blue haired man cleared his throat, reaching down and picking up a box in the seat beside him when he had Ichigo's full attention. He placed the box on the table and shoved it across to Ichigo, careful not to knock anything over. Ichigo stared at the box in question, wondering why the hell the man was looking so expectant. Grimmjow rolled his eyes, poking at the box. "Open it, dumbass." Orange eyebrows furrowed as he reached up and pulled it open. His eyes lit up almost instantly at the contents. "Holy fuck..." he said in marveling wonder.
Grimmjow gave a soft smirk, not quite a smile. "Do you like it?" Ichigo nodded quickly, pulling out an art pack, filled with different kinds of utensils, ranging from pastels to paints to charcoal pencils. Underneath, lay a brand-new leather-bound sketchbook. He stared at the gifts in his hand, sending a questioning glance across the table. "What the hell..?" Grimmjow leaned back a bit.
"Happy birthday, kiddo." Ichigo's eyes widened as he stilled. He stared at Grimmjow, wonder in his expression. The blue haired man continued, not noticing how Ichigo's demeanor seemed to become more and more sullen by the moment. "You never even noticed it was your birthday, did you? I mean, I suppose it's only fucking natural considering the recent problems that have been going around, but... today's July the seventh. It's your--" He stopped. "What?" he asked when he noticed Ichigo had seemed to space out. The man maintained his silence, before his quiet answer was heard.
"My birthday just hasn't been a good day for the past eleven years."
Grimmjow's brow furrowed. Who the hell didn't enjoy their birthday? As he watched the man across from him, he supposed that he had just found the perfect example. The rest of the meal continued in silence after a quiet 'thank you' was heard from Ichigo.
The moment the two entered the apartment, Ichigo knew that they were not alone. As he rounded the corner to the living room, he saw many familiar faces. Aporro sat on the couch having a one-way conversation with Ulqiuorra as Halibel sat off on the leather chair, listening to the chat. Nel spotted Ichigo and bounded over to him with a wide smile. "So. How has everything been going for the past..." She glanced at the clock. "Thirty-five hours since I last saw you?"
Ichigo blinked, glancing around the occupied room and setting down his gift. "Um. Good. What the hell is going on?" Grimmjow stepped out from behind him, rubbing a hand through his hair. "Shit. I forgot to tell you--every time we have a major meeting, these dumbasses like to come over here for a nice chat afterward." Brown eyes blinked once more, glancing first at Ulquiorra and then Halibel. Aporro, he could understand. But Ulquiorra and Halibel? He couldn't really see them as the people-person type. It was actually bugging him a bit, but he voiced a different question. "Then why is Nel here?" Said green haired woman offered him a wide smile. "I used to work in the same company." She ignored Ichigo's widened eyes. "So I like to pop in and chat with my ex-coworkers from time to time. By the way," she directed her question to her brother, "where is that crazy guy? I forgot his name.." Grimmjow looked up. "Oh. Nnoitra?" He shrugged. "I have no idea. He said he was going to be busy or something."
Ichigo settled in to the small space left on the couch, vaguely listening in on the conversation. Soon enough, the talk was hyped, everyone in the room poking in their own opinion at whatever the current topic was. Ichigo very rarely offered his own opinion as he could barely keep up with the constant topic changes.
The night went on with the offhand conversation, each of the room's occupants growing comfortable in their individual seats. Aporro stood from his seat a bit before midnight whilst glancing at Nel, pulling Grimmjow and Ulquiorra off to the kitchen for a small chat of their own. Ichigo watched after them, wondering why they needed the privacy. When he was left alone with the two other women, however, he wanted to gulp at the analytical look that Halibel was sending him and the devious grin that Nel wore.
"So, Itsugo. How is everything? You did a spectacular job of dodging the subject when you first got here." This time, he really did gulp. Dear god, he was like a half-dead rabbit left in the clutches of a starving vulture. He pushed back into the couch a bit, determined to continue avoiding the question. Nel gave him a dirty look, sending a glance to the blond woman in the leather chair a few feet away. Before she could ask the woman to help in the interrogation, a loud banging was heard outside of the front door. All of their attention was then focused on the main corridor, each expression ranging from confusion to worry. "What the hell was th--" Ichigo was cut off as an unmistakable crack resounded through the room.
Someone had just broken the front door down.
The three men that had previously left the room exited the kitchen. Grimmjow had no time to think as someone shot down the corridor, pulling back a fist and sending it flying right at him. He quickly side-stepped the attack, only able to dodge the brunt of the attack. He stepped back a bit, setting his body into a defensive stance and resisting the urge to reach up to his face where a bruise would soon form. Across the room, Ichigo sat there, stunned.
The man (presumably, at least--by the figure) stood in front of Grimmjow. Strangely enough, however, a plain white mask covered his face, only the jaw accentuated. Each little groove of the jaw was so precise, it seemed almost like a masterpiece. The rest of the mask, though, was just plain, blank white. The man himself was quite buff, clothed head to toe in nothing but white. Ichigo felt his heart race as he inhaled quickly.
So soon?
Nel, meanwhile, felt her own fear. Her hands shook slightly as she glanced over at Halibel and nodded. When the blond haired woman nodded back, she turned her gaze back on the attacker. "This couldn't be... right?" She whispered under her breath, denial coating her words.
The man immediately engaged Grimmjow in a fight, Aporro quickly taking a part in the battle, making quick, precise movements. The masked man let out a chuckle, strangely and eerily familiar to all in the room. Before anybody could question the familiarity, two more figures appeared from the corridor, each with the same type of mask. One mask had an accentuated crown at the top, the man himself seeming a bit big. White hairs were visibly peeking from the back of his head, suggesting that he was older. The taller masked man had, oddly enough, an extra attachment to the mask--a hanging jaw. His hair was very much visible, wavy brown hair tied back in a pony-tail. Ichigo nearly felt his heart stop when he found these characteristics, freezing as his mind began to race, zeroing in on all of the details. It clicked when he rewound a bit, going through his memory.
Could it be..?
The masked man with the crown slowly made his way into the room, heading directly towards Ichigo. Ulquiorra stepped in front of the frozen man, applying quick attacks in the man's direction. He blocked all attacks from the quiet green-eyed man, throwing his own blows back every once in a while. Nel and Halibel headed straight for the taller man who had not yet engaged in a fight. The man let out a quiet sigh, barely heard among the ruckus and began lazy attacks at the two women. Grimmjow and Aporro landed fierce attacks on their opponent, striking him in as many places as they could. The burly man let out another chuckle, swinging his arm around. The pink haired man was sent flying backwards, hitting the wall with a loud thump, causing the small table next to him to fall over.
Grimmjow dodged around an attack aimed at him, chancing a glance around. He spotted Ichigo, backing up from his spot on the couch and making his way over the back of it. His attention was so absorbed on the man that he never noticed a punch heading straight to his stomach. He let out a loud groan, clutching his gut as he moved as swiftly as he could out of the way of another attack.
Nel took up the main position of her fight, distracting the man in front of her as Halibel stood back and made surprise attacks every now and then. The brown haired man dodged each attack, readying to send a major blow on the green haired woman before him. Meanwhile, in Ulquiorra's fight, he was sent tumbling into the couch as Ichigo watched in horror. "Shit..." This is all my fault.
Adrenaline began its course through his veins. He wasn't going to just sit here and watch all of this happen. He threw himself over the back of the couch, sending a kick at the man who had previously been attacking Ulquiorra. The man was caught by surprise and stumbled back a few feet when Ichigo's blow hit the man's side. He didn't want to give the man any chance to think, immediately raining blows on the same side. The man of the crown mask seemed to regain his previous tenor and caught a punch, throwing him back and causing his hat to fall off, revealing his orange hair. Ichigo hit the ground next to Halibel and Nel's fight, panic clawing his insides as the man they were fighting noticed him. Nel noticed the crowned man coming after him and yelled, "Shit! Ichigo!!" She immediately blocked an attack from the man, Halibel throwing a swift kick at the man.
They seemed to switch opponents as Ichigo now stared up at the tall, thin man. He pulled up a leg, ready to stomp on Ichigo's stomach. The young man immediately set into action, rolling to the side and swinging a foot under the man's legs. The masked man anticipated this, jumping up and preparing another blow. He aimed a kick at the man's thigh, delighting in the raider's groan. He pushed himself up from the ground, sending a punch at the man, growling as it was dodged. Finally having had enough, he executed a well-aimed high-kick, hitting him in the upper arm. A pleasant snap was heard as the man gave a loud groan of pain. Angry at being hurt, the attacker threw back a blow of his own, kicking Ichigo backwards into the coffee table.
The glass of the table shattered, Ichigo laying in the middle of it. There were major cuts on his legs and arms, small, steady trickles of blood erupting from each cut. Grimmjow, in his fight, was sent flying backwards, immediately getting up to make his way over to Ichigo, having seen him bloodied up. Szayel had already pushed himself back up long ago, taking over the fight with the large man. Before Grimmjow was able to make his way to Ichigo's side, however, the tall, lanky man that had been fighting the orange haired man stopped beside Ichigo, reaching into his jacket. Grimmjow couldn't see what the man was reaching for, though.
He hit a pressure point in the Ichigo's neck, knocking him out. Finally, the object made its appearance, the gleaming metal of the object making Grimmjow's blood run cold. He immediately froze, eyes glued to the man holding Ichigo hostage.
The man cleared his throat, the other two masked individuals halting in their fights. Halibel, Nel and Szayel froze in their spots, confused by the happening. Ulquiorra slowly stood up from the other side of the couch and spotted the gun being aimed at Ichigo's head. He immediately glanced at Grimmjow, seeing the pained expression on his face. He slowly raised his hands in surrender, keeping quiet. The other three finally saw exactly what was going on, a quiet gasp erupting from Nel as she grasped the reality of the situation.
Gun still aimed at the side of Ichigo's head, the man gave a lazy chuckle as each of the occupants raised their hands in surrender. "Well, it's been rather fun, but..." He dug the muzzle of the gun further into orange locks. Grimmjow growled and stepped forward, knowing it was a bad move, but feeling the urgency to save Ichigo.
"Ah, ah, ah." The big burly man behind him sounded, quickly pulling a knife out and throwing it in Grimmjow's direction. It gave a neat slice in the blue haired man's cheek, embedding itself in the wall a few feet in front of him. He turned slightly, glancing at the large man behind him.
A warning shot.
"Oi. Get over here." The burly man that Grimmjow had been fighting seemed to take that as a cue. He stepped over to the brown haired man, reaching down and hauling the unconscious man over his shoulder. As he carried Ichigo to the front door, he looked over his shoulder. "So the kid broke your arm, huh?" He let out another chuckle. The man who had previously been holding Ichigo hostage just stayed silent. The man with the crown mask, made his way to the door after him, pushing him through. As he followed them, the brown haired man stopped in the doorway when he heard Grimmjow ask a question full of malice.
"Why the fuck are you doing this?"
The man paused, looking over his shoulder before facing forward. "It's best that you do not know. This man, Kurosaki Ichigo, has been involved with some pretty deep stuff. Unless you want to end up dead, I suggest you stay as uninvolved as possible." With that, the man took his leave, leaving behind a thick, sorrowful atmosphere.
Nel collapsed to the floor, tears slowly beginning to stream from her eyes. Halibel, Szayel and Ulquiorra stayed quiet, unsure of how to react to the situation. Each of them knew that they couldn't follow--if they did, Ichigo's life would most definitely be in jeopardy.
As Grimmjow observed his damaged living room, he felt fear and anger twist themselves together, burning through his bloodstream. Devastation was working it's way into his body, panic clawing at his limbs as everything slowly became numb. He had promised himself that he would protect Ichigo and wouldn't let anything come between them. He had promised himself that nothing would put Ichigo in the direct path of harm again. He had promised that he wouldn't lose him.
And he had just lost Ichigo.
-Chapter End-
A/N: Review?