"ICHIGO!"
The Strawberry moved to the side, something going past him, turning his head with a scowl. Crazy bastard. The man outside jumped off from the ground, pointing at the Strawberry, tears of happiness flowing from his eyes.
"GOOD JOB, MY BOY! YOU MIGHT PASS ME SOMEDAY!"
"YOU DON'T ATTACK YOUR SON WHEN HE COMES TO VISIT!" Ichigo yelled, glaring at his father.
Both men glared at each other before attacking each other, fists flying everywhere. Three people stood at the door, staring at them. The oldest one sighed and closed her eyes, shaking her head.
"Onii-chan!"
Ichigo stopped, turning around, smiling when he saw his sisters and mother. The man that tried to attack him was his father, Isshin Kurosaki, in charge of a small clinic he owned. His twin sisters were exact opposites, and his mother...
He smiled when he saw her smiling at him.
Before he could greet her, his father jumped him, pinning him to the ground. They started wrestling with each other, ignoring the people that walked by and gave them strange looks. After panting heavily and glaring each other, they walked inside with their heads held up proudly, both Masaki and Yuzu cleaning them up.
"What brings you here, Ichi-nii?" Karin asked, staring at her brother with a bored expression.
"I can't visit?" Ichigo asked, scowling at his sister, his cheek being bandaged by his sister.
"No."
Ichigo frowned.
Brat.
"Karin." Masaki said, giving her daughter a look, cleaning Isshin's face with a washcloth.
"So, why're you here, Ichigo?" Isshin asked, turning towards his son, eyebrows pulled together, looking very serious.
"I can't visit?"
"No."
"Isshin."
"I mean yes."
"I just wanted to see my family." Ichigo said with a scowl. "I can't do that?"
"Of course you can." Masaki said, standing straight with a soft look in her eyes. "It's so nice to see you again, Ichigo."
"It's great to see you too, mom." Ichigo said, grinning widely.
"PREPARE YOURSELF, ICHIGO!"
Ichigo quickly got out of the way, dodging the kick.
"DAMN YOU!"
Once again, both father and son were attacking each other, crashes heard from within the home.
::
Ichigo sat in his chair, staring at the teacher with a tired expression. He was exhausted. He couldn't fall asleep the night before. And he had a feeling it was due to that... body. He shuddered. He remembered how it looked. The way that man, or woman, stared right at hi- NO, Ichigo! Don't go there again!
He remembered staying in the bathroom most of the night.
He looked up, hearing the bell, signaling that college was done. He stood up, grabbing his books and putting them inside his bags, not hearing a single thing the teacher had said. He was too busy with guns and the whole shibang!
He still couldn't believe he was working for someone who owns a gun?
He paled as he walked down, ignoring everyone that walked past him. And someone who kills. Kills! Oh, god! He shook his head, walking out of the room. And what's worse, is that they saw him at work.
He grabbed his hair.
Fucking hell!
He shook his head a second later. No, he had to go meet Zaraki, at... He paused. Where the hell was he supposed to go? He reached into his bag and dug around, looking at the slip of paper he wrote the address on. He nodded.
He raised an eyebrow, checking over the address again.
...
...
...
...
Was this guy rich or something?
He took several buses to get across town, wondering how long he's been riding the bus now. He looked at his watch. Almost an hour now. He sighed and looked up, a deep frown on his face. Facing his new boss.
Who is scary, he had to add.
He grabbed his hair. He didn't want to see him! Sure, he was sexy, but... that gun of his. What if he pissed him off and people heard a gun shot? It'd be a bloody mess! Oh, the horror! NO! Calm down, Ichigo. He won't blow your head off if you...
Rephrase that sentence.
He won't kill you if you piss him off...
Never mind.
Well, they could kill him if they wanted to.
Ichigo narrowed his eyes.
Well, shit.
He was screwed, wasn't he?
He sighed, jumping off the bus, looking up and down the street. Nice place. He nodded. Very nice. He looked at the address on the piece of paper, turning his head, walking down the sidewalk, looking at the tall buildings. Which one of these buildings were the one the tall scary man resided in? He continued to walk, asking people for directions, walking up and down the same street.
Damn.
He was lost.
He looked at his watch. He said to be there at twelve. It was twenty after.
SHIT!
"Kid!"
Ichigo paused and turned his head.
Ikkaku was standing near the front door, glaring at him. Ichigo stared at him before chuckling nervously, seeing the bald man gesture him to follow. They must have seen him walking back and forth or something. He walked into the lobby, looking around, heading for the elevators. Ikkaku spoke to someone on his cell phone, Ichigo hearing him curse and close his cell phone.
"Something wrong?" Ichigo asked, eyebrows raised questioningly.
"No, nothing." Ikkaku said, cursing under his breath.
Ichigo raised an eyebrow. Okay, then. After the elevator doors opened, Ikkaku walked out, Ichigo right behind him, walking down the hallway. Ichigo blinked several times, looking at the doors, seeing a total of thirteen. After they made it towards the end, Ikkaku knocked the door and walked in, Ichigo trailing behind him, looking around the room. A flat screen TV... bigger than his! He gaped. Wow. He looked at the white carpet, the black leather couches, the lights. He was analyzed everything in the room, amazed.
It was so clean.
While he was looking through the room, he had to stop his train of thoughts when he heard voices. Ikkaku, standing next to him, frowned and narrowed his eyes, cursing under his breath once more. Ichigo turned his head and stared at him, looking back and try to locate the voices. He looked towards the window doors, leading to a veranda.
"Get the fuck outta my apartment!"
"Why the hell should I? One of yer men were seen in my area an' I wanna know why."
"It's none of yer business."
"None of my business? One of yer men was in my area, an' it's not my business?"
"Get the fuck out, I have someone comin' over."
"Who is it?"
Ichigo was still looking towards the veranda, when someone... very tall walked through it. Ichigo widened his eyes, seeing the long black hair, the tall lanky body, the white bandana covering his left eye. The one violet eye snapped over to him, making him jump. Whoa. He was tall. He wasn't sure who was taller, his boss or this guy. The man tilted his head and stared at him, making Ichigo's breath hitch and look to the sides, sweating bullets. Who the heck was he? He's never seen him before, and from the conversation he had with his boss, he was guessing he didn't work for Kenpachi either. Ichigo chuckled nervously when the man's gaze lingered on him for a while.
"Get the hell outta 'ere, Nnoitra." Kenpachi said, walking through the window doors, a deep frown on his face.
Ichigo was sure he cried tears of happiness when the tall man, whose name is Nnoitra Ichigo learned, and glared at the other man.
"Shut up! I am." Nnoitra said, walking towards the exit, his eye staring at the Strawberry once more.
Ichigo widened his eyes slightly and looked away, his heart pounding faster. He jumped when the man bent down, his mouth right by his ear. Ichigo swallowed hard and looked towards the man, still facing straight ahead. Nnoitra stared at him before grinning widely, staring at the other tall man.
"Nice hot piece of ass ya got 'ere, Kenpachi." Nnoitra said, standing straight, raising an eyebrow.
Ichigo stiffened and turned his head, glaring at the tall skinny bastard. He opened his mouth to yell at him when Ikkaku wrapped his arm around his neck, taking several steps back, covering his mouth. Ichigo flailed his arms, yelling, glaring hatefully at the tall lanky man. Kenpachi and Nnoitra glared at each other before the latter smirked and headed for the door, waving back. Once the door shut behind him, Ikkaku released the Strawberry and rolled his eyes. Another door opened from another room in the large apartment, Yumichika walking out.
"Ya shouldn't even think of yelling at 'im." Ikkaku said, seeing the Strawberry raise an eyebrow, silently asking why. "'Cause he won't hesitate ta kill anyone, even if it is in public."
Ichigo widened his eyes and looked towards the front door, his mouth hanging open, trembling slightly. He could have died if that man got irritated of him, right? He paled. He was in some serious shit. He shook his head before looking at his boss. Kenpachi frowned and glared at him, making Ichigo cry inwardly. He was mad. Just when Kenpachi was about to open his mouth, something crashed into the Strawberry's side, all the air in his lungs leaving him, hitting the floor. Oh, god! He was dead!
"Who are you?"
Ichigo slowly opened one of his eyes, looking towards his chest, seeing a small pink haired girl. He blinked several times, staring at the hair. Her hair was pink. He scowled. Should he be talking? His hair was orange.
"Uh... my name's Ichigo Kurosaki."
"Ichii?"
"...It's Ichig-"
"It's nice to meet you, Ichii!"
"Um, it's Ichigo-"
"Are you talking to him, Ken-chan?"
"Yeah."
"My name is Ichig-"
"My name is Yachiru Kusajishi!"
Ichigo scowled.
"Nice to meet you."
After she got off of him, he stood up, rubbing his side. She was just a kid, yet she managed to get his side to start aching. He groaned and closed his eyes. Where did she come from? Who was she? What was she? Was that a burger? Ichigo eyed the burger on the small table, seeing that it was untouched, and still looked hot, seeing steam rise from it. He shook his head before staring at the tall man.
"Got another job fer ya." Kenpachi said, sitting down on one of the leather couches.
Ichigo paled.
"You mean... another bloody mess?"
Ichigo felt like passing out when he saw the man nod. He did, however, stare at the small girl when she sat herself right on Kenpachi's lap and turned on the TV with a bright smile. He stared at her then at the tall man, amazed that she wasn't scared of him. He wouldn't mind sitting on his lap- Dammit, Ichigo! Concentrate!
"Uh... who-"
"They'll get rid of the body before ya get there." Kenpachi said, frowning deeply, remembering when the Strawberry got sick when he saw the first body. "All ya hafta do is clean up. Ikkaku and Yumichika will be watching ta see if ya do a good job."
"Got it." Ichigo said with a sigh of relief.
No dead body.
Good.
...Well, good for him, because he wouldn't be getting sick.
He cleared his throat and stared at his boss, both Ikkaku and Yumichika making themselves at home.
"Um... who was that man before?" Ichigo asked, a bit hesitant to ask the question.
"Nnoitra Jiruga." Kenpachi said, sighing deeply. "Fifth Espada."
"Espada?" Ichigo asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly.
There was a lot of stuff he never heard before. Like the Seiteitei, Captains, squads, Espada. What the hell was all this?
"There are a total of ten Espada." Yumichika said, looking at himself in a mirror. "Their number represent their strengths. Unlike the Seireitei, they only have a few that work for them."
"Why?" Ichigo asked as he stared at the fruity man.
"They have trust issues." Yumichika said, looking up with a smile. "It is as simple as that."
Ichigo nodded, eyebrows knitted together in concentration. So, from the sound of it, it seemed that these Espada were enemies against the Seireitei. And these Captains were sort of on war with these guys, right? He nodded to himself. Well... he was in deep shit, wasn't he? He sighed and looked up, freezing and turning red when he saw Kenpachi staring at him. Their eyes connected, Ichigo feeling his face burn red, clenching his hands by his sides. Yumichika looked between them before smirking, chuckling to himself. Just when Ichigo thought his heart was going to explode, the ring of his cell phone made his heart burst. He jumped and reached into his pocket, taking it out, almost dropping it. Flipping it open and turning it on, he held it to his ear.
"Hello?" Ichigo said, blinking several times.
"Ichii!"
Ichigo blinked.
"Shinji?"
"Ichii, I know this is on short notice, but I need ya ta work fer me tonight. Shuuhei's in the hospital 'cause he broke 'is leg, an' I need ya ta fill in fer him."
"Um, sure." Ichigo said with a shrug. "Hold on." He covered the phone with his hand and stared at his boss. "When do I need to clean?"
"Tomorrow."
Ichigo grinned. "Yeah, I can work tonight!"
"Good! See ya later on, Ichii! 'M comin' to yer house later on."
"Okay."
After saying goodbye to his boss and friend, he flipped the phone close, looking up and seeing all three men staring at him. He stared back at them, unsure as to why they were staring at him. His eyebrows drew together.
"What?"
"What do ya mean what? Who was that?" Ikkaku asked, eyebrow raised, motioning the cell phone.
"Oh, that was my boss... other boss." Ichigo said, remembering he now worked for two people.
"What did he want?" Yumichika asked as he raised his eyebrows, standing up.
"He wanted me to work tonight." Ichigo said, putting his cell phone in his pocket.
Ikkaku grinned widely, looking towards his boss, seeing a gleam in Kenpachi's eyes. He started laughing, making Ichigo scowl, yelling at him as to why he was laughing. Ikkaku couldn't talk, wheezing, pointing at the Strawberry and falling off the couch. Yumichika rolled his eyes while Ichigo's face turned bright red, hearing the bald man say something about his job. He started yelling at the bald man, about to curse before stopping himself, staring at the small girl.
"Um... is she yours?" Ichigo asked, pointing to the small girl, staring at the tall man questioningly.
"Adopted." Kenpachi said, staring at the television.
Ichigo widened his eyes and stared at the girl. He said that so openly, in front of the girl, and she didn't even bat an eyelash. Wow. If it had been him he would have stared at him in shock. He sighed.
"Uh... do I leave?" Ichigo asked, wondering if he went all the way there for nothing.
"Nah, ya can stay if ya want." Kenpachi said with a shrug.
"Okay-"
"Ichii! Do you want to see my room?" Yachiru asked, perking up when she heard that the Strawberry was staying.
Ichigo nodded. "Sure."
Yachiru grinned before jumping off the man's lap, running towards the Strawberry and dragging him away, Ichigo almost falling. Ikkaku rolled his eyes, sitting back down on the couch, Yumichika smiling and deciding to follow the two. Kenpachi raised an eyebrow before shrugging, grabbing the remote and looking for something on the TV.
After several hours of playing toys with Yachiru, Ichigo never going to tell anyone, she was sleeping in her bed, toys all over her floor. Ichigo sighed, standing up and picking them up, putting them all in her toy box. He looked at his watch, only to widen his eyes. Shinji was supposed to be at his house in half an hour! He cursed, cleaning up faster, putting Yachiru under the blanket covering it over her, walking over to the door and closing quietly behind himself. He took several steps back, only to jump when he connected with something. He blinked several times, reaching back, not looking, touching what he assumed was a stomach... six pack.
He turned, only to turn red when he saw his boss.
"Sir- Zaraki!" Ichigo yelled, grinning widely.
"She sleepin'?" Kenpachi asked, looking at the door.
"Yep." Ichigo said with a nod. "Uh... I have to go and meet up with my friend, so..."
"Go." Kenpachi said, stepping to the side.
"Thank you, Zaraki." Ichigo said, nodding, walking down the hallway and heading for the exit, waving to the other two men.
After Ichigo was outside of the apartment, he sighed deeply, eyes closed. He was pretty sure his face was red. When was the last time he saw a body as delicious at that man anyway? He probably worked out everyday. A goofy smile came to Ichigo's face before shaking his head, heading for the elevator. A pissed off Shinji was never a good thing.
When the elevator doors opened, he walked into it, pushing a button, leaning against the wall.
Nnoitra Jiruga.
Ichigo scowled.
He didn't like the look he gave him.
I thank RamecupMiso, bloodytears87, Carabel, miszxbrii, ShuichisBoo, MidnightTune36, BonneNuit, Sasuke Uzamaki9999, Messy. Scrawls, Wicked Winter, and sahisdabest for reviewing and those for favoring my story. ^^ I appreciate it a lot.