Started on July 7th.

Completed on July 10th.

Authoress: Desperatembrace

Disclaimer(s): I do not own Bleach. If I did, Byakuya would have a more masculine Bankai. I mean, seriously. Sakura petals?

Warning:

Violence

Language

Sexual Content

Yaoi

Chapter 12

"Officer"


He couldn't breathe. He felt like he was suffocating. Everything was so unclear... He just couldn't think straight. Ichigo's hands shook as he held the knife in an offensive position, blade pointed in the brown haired man's direction. He struggled to keep his mind off of the weapon that he clutched in his hand. There was no time to be afraid. He couldn't let his fear get the best of him. Not with his life on the line.

Not with Grimmjow's life on the line.

He swallowed back the bile that threatened to ascend from his empty stomach, clenching his eyes shut momentarily and trying to hear the noises around him from over his loudly thumping heartbeat. He could feel his adrenaline drop a bit. Things probably weren't going to turn out for the best. He had been drugged and denied any kind of nourishment for over 24 hours. Chances were he wouldn't even be able to put a scratch on Aizen.

Said man had quite the large smile spread across his face. It made Ichigo feel even more sick than he already felt. Swiping a hand through his brown hair, Aizen merely shook his head with a condescending shrug. "I must say... I am quite surprised, Kurosaki. I never expected you to make such progress." He glanced up, locking cold brown eyes onto hazy chocolate eyes. "You never cease to amuse me."

Grimmjow watched the exchange, a sinking feeling grasping at him. Was this fear? Was he truly terrified at the prospect of what was going to happen? He needed to get out of his handcuffs. He needed to get free now.

He hastily glanced around, trying to find any means of getting free. Even if it meant hacking his own arm off.. he paused, cutting off his thoughts that were spiraling out of control. Only five or so inches from his foot, there lay a key. The very same key that Ichigo had accidentally sent his way.

The key to the handcuffs.

Scooting his body slightly, Grimmjow inched forward, stretching his legs out as much as possible to reach the small key. He grunted, leaning his body back against the support beam to allow himself to stretch even further.

Only a few meters away, Ichigo stood rooted to the spot, not moving an inch--a feat that he was partially amazed that he was able to perform. His vision was beginning to blur dangerously, causing him to sway precariously in place. He knew that he was in a majorly dangerous position. Not only was he at a major disadvantage with his condition, but the man before him was the leader of a high-class crime syndicate. While the man himself probably didn't do the dirty work, it was highly doubtful that he was a push-over. More than likely, he would at least know some basic fighting--and by the looks of things, basic fighting would be the only thing needed to take him down in his current state.

Aizen relaxed slightly, letting out a dramatized sigh. "Look, Ichigo. You have made a brilliant, unexpected move. As a pawn, that is highly commended. But the fact that you haven't made a move since then is just... boring." He flashed a chilling smile, tilting his head to the side. "Don't you think it would be interesting if the white pawn would be able to force the black king into checkmate? Of course, the likelihood of that happening..." He glanced off to the side for a moment, his eyes clouding before returning to Ichigo. The moment their eyes reconnected, Ichigo made his decision. He wouldn't regret this. He was going to fight to the death. Aizen spoke once more. "Well, we both know the answer to that."

All it took was a mere second. In one second, Ichigo had hesitated, the angle of the blade descending a fraction. In the exact same second, his brown haired opponent had shot forward, slamming his fist into the younger man's gut, enjoying the look of wide eyed confusion that bloomed on his face before he was propelled backwards. He crashed into a pair of large crates, releasing a choked breath of air. Grimmjow's yell of 'Ichigo!' had gone unheard.

An unsteady trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. He disregarded the crimson liquid, his limbs feeling too heavy to reach up and wipe it away. Chocolate brown eyes were pried open slowly, forcefully blinking the heavy haze from themselves. He couldn't be beat down. Not this fast. Not when more than one life was on the line. Ichigo ignored the thumping pain his muscles exuded, slowly propping himself up and forcing himself to his feet, vaguely surprised that he hadn't dropped the knife. He had been through this much pain before. Such a thing wasn't going to keep him down.

Clacking footsteps drew near him, Aizen's voice echoing around the warehouse as he came closer and closer. "Really, Ichigo. Even though you know it's hopeless, you still strive to continue. Even in such pain? Can you really endure such pain? Can you really survive?" He released a chuckle when he stepped into the younger man's view, watching as kind brown eyes hardened into something much more harsh. "Of course, it's rather entertaining for me..." His pace quickened ever so slightly, barely noticeable to the human eye.

But Ichigo caught it.

The very second that Aizen had shot forward once more, Ichigo had dodged to the side and whirled around, meaning to slash into his attacker as he spun around and started after him, pulling back a forceful fist. When Aizen had caught the glint of the knife, however, he brought his fist in front of him, slamming his hand into Ichigo's to offset the path of the blade and get him to release it. Ichigo maintained his hold of the blade and dodged away, gaining a few yards distance between him and the murderer.

His adrenaline was beginning to die down. He was starting to remember his condition once more. His legs were going to give out any second now. If he had any chance at all of making it out of this fight alive, he had to make a move now. At that thought, Ichigo became a touch impatient, making a fatal mistake.

He threw the knife.

The knife whirred by Aizen harmlessly as the man tilted his head slightly to the side, a clinking noise breaking the silence as the blade hit the ground a ways back behind him. A wicked smile spread across the mans sly lips. "I see. So you have given up hope, have you? It seems it's time for us to end this dance." Aizen rushed forward with all intent of ending everything. Ichigo had a different thought in mind. He ducked down, using the last of his strength to throw himself in the direction of the knife. He flipped over to find his attacker standing above him, pulling back a leg to stomp on him.

Grimmjow couldn't see what was going on in the fight, the two having moved in the direction behind him. He hastily felt around for the slender metal, having finally pushed it around the support beam, close enough for his hands to grab hold of it. When his fingers brushed against the cool metal, he wanted to shout in victory. He fumbled with the key, twisting his hands at an awkward angle to insert it and finally click the cuffs undone. He slid his wrists out of the metal rings, unconsciously rubbing at his chaffed skin. Grimmjow forced himself to stand up, whirling around with widened eyes to see Aizen standing over Ichigo with his foot raised to stomp down on the younger man's stomach. His legs immediately set into action, darting forward. He wouldn't make it in time..!

Blindly reaching out beside him, Ichigo finally grabbed hold what he had been searching for. Grasping the handle of the knife, he rammed the blade into the bottom of the man's foot as it had been descending. The metal tore through the leather sole of the shoe, fully embedding itself through the flesh of Aizen's foot. A low yell tore from his mouth as he stumbled backwards, reaching down to yank the knife out from the bottom of his foot.

No longer was a smile on Aizen's face as he slowly allowed his hurt foot to touch the ground, now holding the knife in a menacing position to use it on the younger man before him. Raising the hand holding the blade slightly, he fixed his crazed brown eyes onto Ichigo's own fearful ones and said, "Playtime is over." Ichigo painfully bit his lip, slamming his eyes shut as he resigned himself to his fate.

It's over.

He heard a loud grunt and clang of metal a few feet away, prying his eyes open to see a blur of blue smash the murderer into the ground. Before Aizen could get back up to his feet, Grimmjow slammed his fist into the man's back, causing the his head to hit the marble floor with a sickening crack. Ichigo didn't even try to look over to where his attacker lay, instead focusing his eyes his companion standing above him. Grimmjow looked down at him in worry for a moment, confused when the orange haired man covered his eyes with an arm. "Shit. Think half m' life was shaved off 'cause o' that.."

Grimmjow dropped to his knees with an uneasy chuckle, gathering the still man into his arms. "I don't believe in God, but Jesus fucking Christ." He pulled Ichigo tight against himself, unwilling to let the younger man go. "Shit. You and me both, god-damnit," he muttered, referring to Ichigo's prior statement. A muffled chuckle was let out against the wet fabric of Grimmjow's shirt. Ichigo lay still in his arms, causing him to worry. He shook him slightly, calling his name. "Ichigo.. hey, Ichigo..!" The younger shook his head ever so slowly, his eyelids sliding shut.

"...'m tired..."

Electric blue eyes narrowed playfully. "Dumb-ass. I'm tired, too." He stood up, hoisting Ichigo up along with him. He pulled one of Ichigo's arms around his neck to ease the support. "Though I s'pose you could rest before I do." Ichigo gave a noncommital groan, already falling into the black abyss of slumber. Grimmjow shook him slightly. "Hey, now. No sleeping yet. I said rest. There's a big fucking difference between sleep and rest. For all I know, you could have a damned concussion. Again." Ichigo's groan of dismay was his only response.

With a tired chuckle, he began his trek to the doorway, stepping around Aizen's unconscious body. When he had made it within a few feet of the door, however, reality reared its ugly head. Just because he had taken care of the person within the building didn't mean that the people outside the building were out of the way.

Before he had time to contemplate the dilemma, the door to the warehouse slammed open. Grimmjow and the limp Ichigo were instantly met with the barrels of two guns. Grimmjow sucked in a panicked breath while Ichigo tensed in his hold before a single word was shouted.

"Halt!!"

He couldn't help but think that the word sounded out of place. What kind of assassin would yell 'halt' instead of taking the chance to shoot before asking questions? Grimmjow released his pent up breath, looking past the gun barrels to the two people holding them.

The traditional black of a police uniform.

Relief encompassed his every nerve, his body relaxing as the panic slipped away. He jolted his head to the side, indicating the space behind himself. "The guy you're looking for is back there." A victorious smirk spread across his features as the pair lowered their guns. The violet haired woman turned her head back to the doorway and shouted outside. "We need medical assistance, now! They're both safe!" There was a clinging heard before someone called back.

"Confirmed, Captain Soifon! You heard the woman! Both of them are okay! Medical assistance!" More clinging was heard before a couple of frightened shouts sounded. The pair standing before them didn't seem concerned about the worrying noises outside, though. Soifon glanced at Grimmjow and Ichigo (who had pried his eyes open at the familiar voice) and tilted her head in the direction of the light outside. "You should be able to get medical help out there. Watch out for flying projectiles though. Kenpachi's having fun. You know how he gets." She aimed the last sentence at Ichigo, ignoring how he seemed to be confused with her presence. She turned to her partner only to see him stalking away, deeper into the warehouse. "Hey! Wait...! Ugh... Damned Byakuya..." Soifon started after him, leaving Grimmjow to stare in a confused silence. Glancing at his companion, he found that Ichigo was just as boggled as he was. Shaking his head in resignation, he hefted the younger man up a bit before stepping out of the warehouse.

Ichigo closed his eyes as they stepped into the daylight of the sunrise. Grimmjow furrowed his eyebrows. Did it seriously take nearly ten hours to perform a rescue operation? Urahara was supposed to commence the operation around 9 pm... and it was already daybreak. Almost the whole area was swarmed with cops, some medical assistants running around like mad to try and find any injured. How long had all of these people been outside? Surely they would have heard so many people... He was jarred out of his thoughts when there was a dull thud against the wall of the warehouse some feet away. Curiously turning to the sound, he spotted a man slump to the ground.

Nnoitra.

Although curious, someone stepped in Grimmjow's way, blocking his view of the scene unfolding mere feet away. A young silver haired woman began to fuss over Ichigo, calling a few men over to take him to the ambulance. A stretcher was brought over, the assistants easily stepping around the unconscious assassin. They hastily secured Ichigo to the stretcher and wheeled it over to the nearby ambulance, sitting along beside a half-dozen police cars. Grimmjow followed the stretcher over to the ambulance, pausing as he saw a pink haired girl run toward them. The girl stopped in front of him and bounced around, trying to see past him.

"Is Ichi okay? Is he okay? Please tell me he's okay! He's Ken-chan's play-mate!" She looked up at him expectantly, making Grimmjow stare at her in confusion. He cleared his throat slightly before nodding slowly. "Yeah. I'm pretty sure he's okay. He's a tough fucker." The girl didn't seem fazed with the curse word tacked on at the end, offering a bright smile. "Of course he's tough! He's tough enough to handle Ken-chan!" She pointed at a tall, burly man, standing over Nnoitra--presumably Ken-chan. Said person leaned over to examine the unconscious assassin for a moment before standing straight and aiming a (not very light) kick at the guy's side. Some of the cops standing by winced, a major difference from the bright smile that the young girl offered.

The same silver haired woman who had wheeled Ichigo away came back and began to fuss over him, repeatedly tugging on his wet sleeves as he smacked her hands away. After multiple repetitions of this, he finally gave in, allowing himself to be pulled over to the ambulance. Ichigo was in the back of the ambulance, the doors wide open. He was already halfway bandaged, sitting up against a couple of pillows and gulping down warm soup broth. His eyes landed on Grimmjow, lowering his cup and giving a tired, yet dazzling smile. The assistant had already begun tugging off Grimmjow's wet clothes (much to his dismay) and began inspecting bruises and such that were left over from the fight a few nights prior. Another woman began to fuss over his head, cleaning off the blood and wrapping him (a little too generously) in bandages. Ichigo allowed himself a small chuckle at the scowl that the blue haired man was shooting the two women.

Grimmjow had been about to retort, opening his mouth only to shut it a moment later when the pink haired ball of sunshine bounced her way over. "Ichi!!" She yelled. "You're safe!" Ichigo blinked for a moment at the girl, and then his mouth dropped open in confusion when 'Ken-chan' stepped up behind the girl. "Kenpachi..? Yachiru..?" His voice was hoarse, but not nearly as bad as what it was. The warm broth must have helped.

The cops bustling back and forth went ignored, Ichigo instead focusing on the two arrivals. "Yep!" Yachiru nodded excitedly. "You didn't get hit in the brain! No amnesia!" Ichigo was about to respond but was interrupted when a familiar green and white striped hat moved into view. Urahara snapped open his fan with a devious smile before he chuckled, coyly hiding behind the paneled fan. "Ohohoho... no need to start in on Kurosaki so fast. Let him get some rest before you all jump on him at once!" Yachiru pouted, tugging on Kenpachi's sleeve, dragging him away after he had declared that 'it isn't over yet! You still owe me a fight!'. Grimmjow watched after them before turning to Urahara with an irritated expression on his face.

"The plan starts when night falls, huh?" His eyes were narrowed, watching the blond's reaction as closely as possible. Urahara merely gave a boisterous chuckle, waving his fan excitedly. "Ah... plans were a bit more delayed than we thought." He gave a cheeky smile, pausing when Grimmjow opened his mouth to retort. He quickly held up a hand and said, "And before you start asking about the police... when I said I didn't want police to be helping out here, I meant uninvolved cops. It's faster to contact them through my means." Grimmjow promptly shut his mouth, scowling at the amusement twinkling in Urahara's to the tired and injured orange haired man, the blond spoke with utmost ease. "Hello, Kurosaki! How are you feeling this bright, cheery morning?" Ichigo merely scowled in response, choosing to ignore the question.

"Care to 'xplain things?" His voice was as harsh as a hoarse voice could be. He was truly curious as to why clothing designers from Soul Society were helping in a police operation. Urahara felt no threat behind it, maintaining his smile. "Yes, you see, your father has quite good relations with many of the people of that company. A good dozen or so of the employees were actually undercover officers with orders to watch over you... and more than half of what was left over were miraculous fighters. So it all fit perfectly! It was a great way to keep you safe!" Ichigo's scowl grew more profound as Urahara clapped happily. Well, at least he knew the reason why he felt Kenpachi didn't really belong. I mean, seriously.

Who the hell could see that man drawing up clothing designs?

There was a bit of commotion a ways away as a man dodged through the many cops swarming the area. He pulled to a stop in front of the ambulance, eyes gleefully landing on Ichigo sitting in the back of the car. He gave a loud (highly unmasculine) squeal and launched forward... only to be blocked by Grimmjow. The older, tanned man hit the ground with a grunt, pausing a moment before standing up and dusting himself back off. "Ichigo! My beloved son!" He threw his arms open passionately. "You're okay!"

Grimmjow restrained the violent urge to punch the man in the gut. It was Ichigo's father, after all. Ichigo just rolled his eyes and smiled slightly. "Goat-face. Good t' see ya too." He coughed slightly, leaning forward in pain. Grimmjow immediately perked up, eyes watching him with worry. A woman came around from the front of the ambulance, her hair in a strange braid underneath her chin. "Alright, now. We have to take the injured to the hospital. They need their rest." Urahara grinned at the woman and pulled Isshin back away from the doors as Grimmjow climbed into the ambulance and took a seat next to Ichigo. "No problem, Captain Unohana." Urahara winked, chuckling. "Just have to restrain the dog from his pup."

Unohana gave a soft laugh, grabbing the handles to the ambulance back doors. As the doors began sliding shut, Isshin fixed a serious smile on his son. "Did you settle things?" Ichigo looked over to Grimmjow before glancing back at his father. A small smile crossed his face as he nodded.

"Yeah. It's settled."

The ambulance doors were securely shut and the injured were driven to the hospital, leaving the cops to deal with the rest of the problems at the warehouse premises.

Handing Ichigo a steaming-hot styrofoam cup of coffee, Grimmjow stepped back and settled into the squeaky bedside chair. Hospital chairs were so uncomfortable. He watched as Ichigo stared into his cup, swirling the dark brown liquid in circles for a moment before taking a cautious sip. Almost instantly, it was pulled away from his mouth, a look of disgust painted on his face. Grimmjow chuckled, glancing down at his own cup of coffee before placing it on the nearby table in favor of saving himself from the taste-bud-mauling drink. Placing his own coffee on the same table, Ichigo glanced around the bland room idly.

Grimmjow yawned lowly, remembering something. "Oh yeah. Seems like all of the assassins were caught. They weeded the fuckers out of the company and arrested them. They're supposed to go on trial in a month or so. Every one of the bastards went down with a fight." He paused, expression turning thoughtful. "Except Starrk. I heard he just put his arms up and surrendered. While yawning." He furrowed his eyebrows, lips turned down in disgust. "I always knew he was strange..." Blue locks of hair were ruffled out of place as he shook his head. "Though, I must say--Gin tops him in the weird department quite spectacularly. It's fitting that he's an assassin... Now that most of the top management of the company is gone, all of us are going to get promotions. Ulquiorra is going to be the president of Espada Enterprise now."

He snorted at the thought, smirking slightly as a devious smile bloomed on Ichigo's face and said, "As if he would even want to. He'd probably hand most of the work off to a secretary." Grimmjow chuckled softly, turning his eyes back onto Ichigo, proceeding carefully. "I also heard Aizen has been apprehended... they expect him to get the life sentence... for his highly elaborate plans of 'manslaughter'." He did the air quotation marks around the word, rolling his eyes at the technical term. Then he said, "They're planning on bringing up your mother's case against him." Ichigo shut his eyes, pain blooming slightly on his features. After a few moments, he gave a nod, opening his eyes once more. That subject was over and done with. No more. The room descended into silence.

Brown eyes returned to glancing around the room, vaguely noting how it was set up. Now that he and Grimmjow were alone, he didn't really know what to do--let alone say. The last time they were alone together was on his birthday in that cafe. Actually, if you wanted to get technical, it was that small span of time after he woke up and before Aizen showed up in the warehouse. Not exactly the ideal situation to be in.

Reminding him of that situation, he turned to his blue haired companion with a scowl. Grimmjow raised a curious eyebrow, wondering exactly what was eating at Ichigo all of a sudden. He continued to glare at him before saying, "Why the hell did you come after me?"

The question hit him like a ton of bricks. He had totally forgotten about this. He knew this conversation was bound to happen... he just conveniently forgot. He averted his eyes, glancing at the random knick-knacks sitting around and fervently ignoring the glare burning into the back of his head. Finally, he heaved a sigh, ruffling his hair before folding his hands together.

"I wanted to go in after you," Grimmjow said with utmost seriousness. Ichigo twitched. What the hell kind of answer was that?! He was about to start a fierce yelling match, but stopped as he saw hesitation in electric blue eyes. He leaned back a bit, waiting for Grimmjow to start up again. "I..." Grimmjow growled at his hesitation. Why was he being such a fuck-tarded girl about this? "I couldn't just leave you alone." Ichigo was instantly reminded of his previous interrupted statement.

It sounds almost like you love me.

Deciding it was unlikely, he shook his head slightly. "Jeez! Stupid dumb-ass. Acting like you're in love! Stranded in the sea of love on a single flimsy ship." He joked. When Grimmjow looked at him in utter seriousness, however, he froze. Why was Grimmjow looking at him like that? As if what he just said... Blue eyes trained on brown, a simple question was asked.

"What if I am?"

Breath caught in his throat, Ichigo could only look at the blue haired man in awe. It was more than a little strange to hear such a confession from such a person's mouth! Even if it was indirect, it carried heavy implications that could point in no other direction. Grimmjow just (however indirectly) confessed his love to Ichigo. He retreated into his thoughts. How did he feel about Grimmjow's feelings? Not even needing a moment to contemplate the answer, he smiled to himself.

It feels great.

He turned his brilliant smile onto Grimmjow, seeing the tension flee from the man's features. He leaned forward a bit, focusing his face into a dramatic thinking expression. "Hmm... Well.." He slipped into a smile. "I think you're going to need a partner on that flimsy ship. Just for support." Grimmjow smirked and leaned forward, white teeth showing as his eyes gleamed predatorily.

"I'm captain of the ship," Grimmjow saucily replied. Ichigo frowned, easily interpreting the underlying meaning.

I'm on top.

He leaned forward, planting a chaste kiss on Grimmjow's lips. "We'll see." Grimmjow raised an eyebrow, schooling his face into a small frown. "Fine." He leaned forward and pressed his lips to Ichigo's, slipping his tongue in between soft lips when he let out a moan. He pressed closer, forgetting about where they were and mapping out the opposite's mouth, detecting the faint taste of coffee. He pulled away, a smirk on his face once more. "We'll see," he said parroting Ichigo's earlier statement.

Not.

-Chapter End-

A/N: Review?