"Um, can I use the phone before you?" Ichigo asked, looking at the bald man.
"...Sure." Ikkaku said, nodding.
Ichigo nodded gratefully, grabbing the phone. He hesitated before dialing the dreaded numbers, putting the phone against his ear and waiting, his heart pounding fast. When someone picked up on the other line, he expected to hear a woman, not an emotionless tone.
"Hello?"
"Um... is Rukia there?" Ichigo asked, tapping his fingers against the coffee table.
"Kurosaki,"
Ichigo scowled, waiting for it.
"A gentlemen does not leave a woman by herself in the city."
"Yes... yes, Byakuya, I'll remember that." Ichigo said, glaring at the wall, clenching his hands. "Now can I talk to Rukia?"
He waited silently, hearing Byakuya say something about him, probably an insult, like usual. When someone picked up the phone, he was going to greet them, only...
"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?"
Ichigo held the phone away from his ear, gaining the attention from the men, waiting for his little friend with a good set of lungs to calm down. He frowned, hearing her continue to yell.
"DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I WAS? I WAS LOOKING ALL OVER FOR YOU!"
"Rukia, Rukia! Calm down! Take a deep breath!" Ichigo yelled, his eyebrow twitching. "I'm okay! I'm..." He turned his head, staring at the three men. "With friends right now."
If he could consider them friends, it'd be a whole other world.
"Where are you?"
Ichigo didn't want to answer that.
"...At a restaurant."
"I don't hear anything in the background."
"It's real quiet today." Ichigo said, sweating, furrowing his eyebrows with worry. "So... did you hook up with anybody yet?" He asked, hoping that she wouldn't pry any further.
"No, nothing."
Ichigo sighed out of relief.
"Well, I have to go... boss said I have to clean up... the joint." Ichigo said, staring straight ahead, a very bad liar.
"Okay."
Ichigo nodded, sighing out of relief one more time, saying good bye to his friend and hanging up. He took a deep breath, patting his stomach and standing up. When he turned around, he saw all three men staring at him, all waiting for something. His eyes flicked to the side before staring at them once more.
"What?"
"Who the fuck was that?" Ikkaku asked, raising an eyebrow.
"A friend! Someone you don't need to know." Ichigo said, walking away with a frown, sitting down on a very comfortable chair, the one where he was told to cooperate with these nuts.
"Remember, Strawberry, I can kill ya if I want." Ikkaku said, scowling, walking over to the phone.
Ichigo paled and kept quiet, pouting like a little girl. So what if he had a gun... and killed people. He could just say whatever the hell he wanted since he was being forced to to work for this guy. He blinked. Hold on.
"How much am I getting paid, sir?" Ichigo asked, turning around, staring at the man who was getting dressed.
Kenpachi stopped what he was doing and raised an eyebrow. Oh, shit. Yeah, that's right. He grabbed the notepad and wrote down a number, walking over to the Strawberry, who was staring at his bare legs before he shook his head out of his stupor. Once he handed the slip of paper to him, Ichigo took it and stared at it, only to double take and gawk.
"I-I'm getting- is this for- REALLY?" Ichigo yelled, standing up, staring at the man in shock.
Everyone stared at him before Yumichika got up and grabbed the paper, looking at the price. He sighed and shook his head and stared at the tall man.
"You're only paying him this much? Even Ikkaku and I get much more than this." Yumichika said, raising his eyebrows, staring at the tall man curiously.
Ichigo's jaw hit the floor, eyes the size of dinner plates. They got paid much more than what was on the paper?
"He's only cleanin' up." Kenpachi said, putting his pants on and sighing deeply.
Yumichika nodded while Ichigo continued to stare at the man like he was crazy. He was getting paid... a lot more than one shift of working at the strip joint. Maybe he should just quit his job there and work for this guy. He paused and thought about it for several moments before shaking his head. Nah, he needed that job.
"Okay! Everythin' set. We jus' need ta call 'em when we're ready." Ikkaku said, standing up with a wide grin.
"So... uh... who's gonna... who's going to die?" Ichigo asked a little hesitant, eyes flicking to the side from being nervous. "Um... just give me his first name."
"Uh... let's see..." Ikkaku raised an eyebrow, looking up in thought. "Name's Luppi. Bastard's tryin' ta gather information on Seireitei."
"...Seireitei?"
"Our name. There's a total of thirteen people." Yumichika said, filing his nails. "You could say they are Captains, because each person has two hundred people working for them."
Ichigo widened his eyes. "Two hundred people?"
"Yes."
"And... who are these thirteen people?"
"You will meet them sooner or later. Maybe." Yumichika said, eyes closed, smiling.
Ichigo couldn't believe it. He was having a conversation with a hit man. He took a deep breath. Calm down, Ichigo. They won't shoot you down because you're worried. Right? He nodded, unsure. Maybe. He looked at the tall man, only to widen his eyes and flatten himself against the wall when he saw the man hold a gun. Shit! Dammit! He looked towards Ikkaku, seeing him hold a gun as well, putting it in the back of his pocket. He looked towards Yumichika next, seeing him put his gun inside his jacket pocket.
He paled.
"Um... I don't need a gun, do I?" Ichigo asked nervously, chuckling.
"Not unless ya want one-"
"NO!"
Ichigo shook his head frantically. The thought of him carrying a gun was too much for his heart. And if his dad or mom ever found out... you might as well bury his grave right now. He chuckled nervously when Ikkaku pointed his gun at a vase, a smirk on his face. Ichigo closed his eyes tightly. Too much.
"S-So... guns, huh?"
Everyone stared at him.
"You ever get worried that... you might shoot yourself?"
Everyone continued to stare at him before going back to what they were doing.
Ichigo frowned.
Bastards.
::
Ichigo was taking deep breaths, eyes wide, standing around a corner. His new boss had rented every room on the floor this Luppi was residing. He was told to stay out of sight. But he was pretty sure he heard something a couple minutes before. He gulped, sweating bullets.
Damn!
He was in his best pants!
He heard a door open, eyes wide, staying against the wall.
"Hey, you! C'mere!"
Ichigo looked around the corner, seeing someone staring at him from a room. He gulped and nodded, walking towards the room. This guy looked miserable. But once he was in the room, the door closed behind him, he stared at the dead body with shock written all over his face. His felt bile rising from the pits of his stomach, running to the bathroom.
Everyone paused, hearing the boy vomiting.
"Disgusting." Yumichika said with a shake of his head.
"Kid doesn't have a stomach." Ikkaku said, rolling his eyes.
"I'M NOT A KI-"
He was cut off by throwing up once more.
After twenty minutes, he walked up to the sink and grabbed a cup, filled it, a swished the water in his mouth. He spit it out and wiped his mouth, walking out of the room. He glanced at the spot where the body was, seeing that it was gone.
"Hey, where did... our buddy go?" Ichigo asked, forgetting the woman, or man's, name.
"Our buddy... left with help." Ikkaku said, rolling his eyes once more, handing the Strawberry a cloth.
"In a... in a bag?"
"You don't need to know, Ichigo. Now all you have to do is clean up." Yumichika said, shaking his head as he stared at the pool of blood on the floor.
Ichigo held the cloth in his hand, bending down, eyes wide, feeling his heartbeat quicken. Several curses went through his mind, everyone staring at him. As soon as the cloth touched the blood, he took a deep breath. It was just like his dad's clinic, when he would clean up the wounds before his dad would stitch them up. He soon found himself mopping the floor, making faces the whole time.
"...A very good try for your first time." Yumichika commented, seeing Ichigo wiping the wall where blood splattered.
"HEY! I don't usually clean up after someone died!" Ichigo yelled, glaring at the fruity man. "Or should I say murdered." He whispered while wiping the wall hard.
"Nobody's on this floor. Ya don't have ta whisper." Kenpachi said, frowning deeply, supervising the kid, making sure he did a good job.
"Don't care."
Ichigo looked at the wall and floor, nodding for doing a good enough job. He looked at the cloth, holding it up, staring at Yumichika questioningly, since it seemed he was the only sane one. Yumichika gestured to the garbage bag, Ichigo immediately throwing it into the bag and going to wash his hands.
"Okay, take everythin' that kid used an' throw it away an' get new ones to replace everythin'." Kenpachi ordered, seeing both men nod.
"Why?" Ichigo asked, looking out of the bathroom.
"Evidence."
Ichigo nodded, deciding to wash his hands when he got home. He glanced at his shirt and pants, feeling his eyes grow to the size of saucers. There was blood... on his clothes. He felt his mouth fall open.
"MY CLOTHES!"
He glared at the three men, shaking in anger. He opened his mouth to unleash hell, when a paper was placed in front of him, making him look up, seeing the tall man glaring at him. He hesitantly grabbed the paper and looked at it, widening his eyes a second later.
A check.
"...Thank you, sir." Ichigo said, about to hug the man with a wide grin.
Kenpachi moved away with a look of distaste. He didn't like hugs. Ichigo frowned.
"Ya can go home now." Kenpachi said, nodding.
"Yes, sir!" Ichigo yelled, grinning widely, going to go to the stores first and go home to get ready for work.
He practically ran out of the room. Ikkaku was quiet.
"...He forgot his other check, didn't he?"
"Yeah."
And why was there another check? Because Ichigo amused them all by his yelling.
::
Ichigo ordered takeout, grinning all the while, looking at the three bags he had. He tried on a dozen clothes, and got a few pots and pans. He sat on the couch and turned on his television, a flat screen TV. He already had that, since he got paid a lot from his job.
He was quiet, not really watching TV, staring into space. The thought of his new boss... made his face burn red.
He was muscular!
He wouldn't mind seeing his body. He shook his head. No! He was probably going to kill him if he came on too hard. The thought of him whipping out his gun and holding it against his- He stopped his train of thought.
Gun.
He shook his head widely once more. It was another word for cock!
Dammit, Ichigo! When was he such a pervert?
He jumped when his phone rang. Looking at the caller i.d. Work. He picked up the phone and held it to his ear.
"Hello?"
"Ichii, where're ya? Yer twenty minutes late!"
"Shinji? What do you mean I'm twenty minutes late? It's only fifteen after seven..."
Ichigo's voice died down when he looked at the time. It was unplugged. He was quiet. Oh, shit.
"I'LL BE RIGHT THERE!"
"Jeez! The hell is wrong with ya? Ya coulda deafened me!"
Ichigo hung up and ran around the room, looking through his thongs, wondering which one to wear. Dammit! Which one? He decided to grab the ones with small strawberries on them, his face burning red, stuffing them into his pocket and grabbing his keys, wallet, and cellphone, in case his new boss called him.
Damn clock!
He slammed his door shut and locked it behind him.
He sprinted down the street, looking at his watch, seeing that he had fifteen more minutes before he was supposed to be on stage. Dammit! Why couldn't his legs go faster?
Shinji Hirako frowned, tapping his foot with his arms over his chest. Where the hell was Ichigo? Shirosaki was almost done. He turned his head when the back door slammed open, seeing Ichigo gasping and wheezing, leaning against the door frame.
"Ugh, look at ya, Ichii. Yer sweating so much." Shinji said, shaking his head. "Go ta Rose an' tell 'im ta put makeup on ya."
Ichigo scowled and closed the door, walking over to another room, seeing Rose reading a book. After the man was done with him, he put on his clothing. It was a police uniform, which he liked. He scowled. He would never put on that tie and pants. He would rather not show his chest when he would go on stage right away. Shinji glanced at him and frowned.
"Yer cousin is almost done. Hurry up an' get ready." Shinji ordered.
"Yeah, yeah. Why are you being so uptight?" Ichigo asked, scowling as he raised an eyebrow.
"'Cause yer late." Shinji said, glaring at the Strawberry. "'M takin' thirty percent of yer pay tonight."
"...Okay."
Shinji had to double take and raise an eyebrow.
"Excuse me?"
"I'm okay that you'll take thirty percent off." Ichigo said with a shrug.
Shinji stared at him. "Are you sick?"
Ichigo frowned, just when his name was called.
"An' here's our next hottest man!" Shirosaki yelled, smirking widely, holding the microphone. Ichigo glared at his cousin. "The Strawberry!"
How he hated it when people called him that.
Shirosaki walked off the stage, smirking at him, Ichigo glaring back. The albino pushed him forward, making him stumble before straightening up, walking onto the stage. Music blared from the speakers, everyone immediately cheering the Strawberry on. Ichigo smirked before he ran his hands over his chest, his hands slowly unbuttoning his shirt, hearing the roars of cheers from the large crowd. He tucked his fingers around his waistband, raising them and showing them off. He danced his way to the pole, grabbing onto it and tipping his hat slightly with a grin.
He bent down, low, arching his back and tipping his head backwards, hearing people yell out vulgar propositions. He slowly moved back up, holding onto the pole, seeing two hundred yen hit the stage. He felt himself glow. He slowly walked towards it, a seductive smirk on his face, turning his back towards the crowd and bending down low to grab the bill and put it in the waistband of his thong. Shinji smirked. He was on fire! He glanced at the crowd, seeing them eat everything up.
Ichigo took the jacket off, throwing it on the stage, grabbing the pole, thrusting his pelvis out and arching his back, hearing people yell out, seeing more bills thrown onto the stage. Someone was gaping, their mouth hanging wide open, eyes wide.
"S... STRAWBERRY'S A STRIPPER?"
The tall man beside him grinned widely, the man next to him raising his eyebrows.
"Well... who would have thought." Yumichika said, tilting his head.
"I... I thought he was an ordinary kid!" Ikkaku yelled, staring at the two other men in shock.
They were dragged there by their friend, again, against their own free will. Both Ikkaku and Yumichika blinked, turning their heads, seeing Kenpachi walk towards the stage.
Ichigo ran his hands through his hair, leaning against the pole, bending his knees and moving down the pole slowly, low once more, licking his lips. He moved back up and spotted someone holding out a bill. He smirked. He ran a finger down his chest, heading for the button on his pants. The button popped open, slowly unzipping his pants, hearing the yells and cheers grow louder. Once the zipper went down as far as it would go, he bent down, on all fours and crawled towards the man, catlike, to the man that held the bill and arched his back with a lick of his lips. The man held out the bill, Ichigo taking it between his teeth with a smirk, getting on his knees and slipping out of his pants, hearing the crowd cheer once more. He turned his head, seeing another person hold out a bill. He widened his eyes slightly when he saw the price.
Ten thousand yen!
He inwardly groaned, his routine almost done. He walked over to the man and bent down, a smirk on his lips. But once he saw who it was... he felt his eyes wide to the size of dinner plates.
"S... Sir?" Ichigo muttered, feeling his heart stop.
Kenpachi grinned widely, waving the bill around. Ichigo felt his face burn red, grabbing the bill and rewarding the man with an up close personal view of his ass and the thong disappearing between his cheeks. Oh, god. He stood back up and made his way to the pole to finish his act. But once he was done, he practically ran off the stage and wiped his head. He saw his new boss stare at him all throughout the act.
"So... humiliating." Ichigo muttered, lowering his head.
He pulled out the bills from his thong, counting them up.
"Nice work, Ichii." Shinji said, walking up to the Strawberry. "Ya can keep all of it fer doin' a fantastic job tonight."
"Thanks, Shinji." Ichigo said with a nod. "Now I have to change and run over to my house and lock the door." Ichigo muttered, running towards the back with a nervous look, taking his hat off.
Shinji raised an eyebrow questioningly.
As soon as Ichigo was dressed, he ran out of the building, his eyes wide with shock. Why? Why? WHY? Why did he have to be there? He turned around the corner, jolting when his cell phone rang. When he looked at the small screen, he raised an eyebrow when it said unknown caller. Flipping it open and turning it on, he put it against his ear.
"Hello?"
"Didn't know ya were a stripper, Strawberry."
Ichigo felt his heart drop.
"Uh... sir." Ichigo said, his voice unusually high.
"Ya should get 'im ta perform for us."
Ichigo scowled, hearing that bald bastard laughing in the background. He heard Yumichika talk, hearing Ikkaku yell at him. He then heard Kenpachi tell them to shut up, which they did.
"Um... well... I have to go, sir. I need to get to bed early in case... I have to clean up after another person is shot tomorrow." Ichigo said, scowling.
"Fine. Ya hafta come ta my house tomorrow."
"Um... okay. Where do you live?" Ichigo asked, listening to the directions. He nodded. "Okay, good night, sir."
"Stop callin' me sir."
"Um... what do I call you then?"
"Call me either Kenpachi or Zaraki."
"Um... okay... Zaraki."
Ichigo was nervous! When the other line went dead, he took a deep breath, trying to calm his beating heart. His boss saw him. He saw him working! He grabbed his hair and put his cell phone back in his pocket, walking down the street. Dammit. Why?
He was quiet.
If Ikkaku said that sentence of him performing for them, did that mean that he was there? Along with Yumichika?
He stood on the sidewalk, quiet.
"Fuck."
I thank RamecupMiso, Carabel, ShuichisBoo, miszxbrii, BonneNuit, MidnightTune36, and SakaSandora for reviewing. ^^ I also thank those for favoring my story.