"ICHIGO!"

Ichigo winced as another round of pounding started on what he assumed was his door even though the sound resonated throughout his entire body. He groaned and tried to roll over, grimacing at the pain that radiated in his middle. He reached blindly for his phone which was situated on the floor near his bed and flipped it open, dialing Shinji's number. It wasn't that hard to figure out who was trying to knock down his door even if he hadn't shouted. He heard the ringtone his friend used for him and closed his eyes.

"Where the hell are you?" Shinji yelled into the phone.

"Sleeping, shut up, baka." Ichigo mumbled and scrubbed a hand over his face, gritting his teeth when he let his hand fall on his sore belly.

"Sleeping where? I've been knocking on yer door fer five minutes. Do ya have any idea what time it is?"

With another sigh Ichigo slitted his eyes open and turned to look at the clock on his bedside table. He sat up too quickly and let out a groan of pain both from his abdomen and his ass.

"Shit." It was already past noon.

"Let me in, baka. Or I'll break down this door. Besides," His voice lowered to a whisper. "That crazy big breasted lady next door is giving me the eye and I'm scared. I don't wanna die yet, I'm too young."

Ichigo laughed and instantly regretted it. "Give me a sec, okay?"

Ms. Matsumodo, second time widower, lived alone with her teenage son to the right of Ichigo. She was an overly friendly woman, a bit of a lush too, who knew the power that she could hold over men. Unfortunately since her two former husbands had met an untimely demise she was finding it harder and harder to talk another man into giving her his last name for a third time. Ichigo didn't understand what people were so afraid of. If she had killed her former husbands surely she would have done it for money and seeing as where she was living that was far from the case. The apartments were nice, but not that nice.

Shinji had always had a tough time with women, other than his mother of course owing to his rather severe mother complex, and it seemed the bigger the boobs the more flustered he got. Most women thought this was cute, a sign that he was attracted to them, but he was actually quite scared. It was a slightly irrational feeling that even Ichigo had never understand.

With a sigh and more than a few grunts and curses, he pushed himself out of bed and wobbled as quickly and painlessly to his front door as he possibly could. By the time the door opened he was sweating and panting, his face pale and his body nearly doubled over. Damn it, had Grimmjow broken a rib or something? Shinji took one look at him and grabbed him around the waist as gingerly as he could, leading him back to the couch and sitting him down. After shutting the door, locking it for good measure as the woman was still outside sending curious looks their way, he grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator. He sat on the coffee table in front of Ichigo and handed him the water, waiting for him to take a drink before he cocked a worried eyebrow and asked silently what the hell was going on.

"It's nothing." Ichigo said, leaning back and fighting the groan that wanted to escape.

"Bullshit. Ya never sleep in, let alone miss class. Ya look sick and in pain. Now tell me what happened."

Shinji crossed his arms over his chest but not before reaching for the bottle that was nearly falling out of Ichigo's grip. Ichigo closed his eyes and shifted on the soft cushions beneath him. Unfortunately even that was uncomfortable and he wasn't able to hide his hiss of pain this time. Shinji 'ah-ha'd in triumph and uncrossed his arms, leaning forward a little. Ichigo sighed and decided to make something up. Hopefully Shinji wouldn't see right through it like he always did.

"I got jumped on my way home from the club last night. It's nothin' big."

He peaked an eye open to see if Shinji bought it and was rewarded with the exact face that he feared. It was the face that clearly called him a bald faced liar. When he remain tight lipped Shinji sighed and stood.

"I'll go run ya a bath, ya big idiot. Maybe a soak with help with the pain a bit. But yer gonna have ta call Z and tell him yer lame ass story and see if he doesn't force ya to dance anyway."

Ichigo could tell Shinji was pissed but he couldn't tell him what had really happened. It would lead to many more questions he wasn't willing to answer and he was at least smart enough not to be the first to break ground where his grave would end up. Before he was out of ear shot he called out to him

"Shin."

Shinji stopped at the name, the one Ichigo had always used as a form of atonement. He waited for him to continue, tapping his foot lightly and sending a bored looking face over his shoulder.

"Thanks."

He rolled his eyes and continued on to the bathroom. "Baka."

Embarrassingly enough he ended up needing Shinji's help to get his shirt off and the blond sucked in a breath at the sight of the huge bruise on his belly.

"Ya can't dance like this!" He stated the obvious. The bruise itself was larger than his outstretched hand which was saying a lot considering his extra long thin fingers.

"No shit." Ichigo retorted. "No get out so I can take the rest of my clothes off."

Shinji shook his head. "If I leave you'll end up falling and hitting yer head knowing ya. Drop'em ." When Ichigo continued to frown at him he rolled his eyes. "It ain't like I've never seen ya naked before, baka. Think of it like goin' to the doctor, ne? Just trop trou' and I'll help ya inta the tub."

Ichigo glared and lifted one of his hands, pointing two fingers at his eyes. "You look here and nowhere else, got it?"

Shinji's smile was far from what Ichigo wanted to see. The one that didn't hide the 'Oh, I'm so gonna look' face. "I wouldn't dream of catching a peak. Yer my best friend."

"Pervert." He grumbled and he gingerly pulled at his pajamas pants. It occurred to him then that someone must have changed him after bringing him home and after a brief moment decided he didn't want to know who that someone was.

"Ya knew I was like that when we met." Shinji retorted and yanked his boxers down, making sure to hold eye contact.

"We were five."

"Yeah, but I was still a perv."

Ichigo didn't say anything because he knew Shinji was right. He had always been and always would be a giant pervert. Shinji grabbed Ichigo's left elbow and anchored him as he stepped over the side of the tub and tried not to completely saw through his bottom lip with his teeth as he held back any cries of pain. Ichigo was so focused on not crying like a baby that he didn't notice Shinji look down and smirk before he noticed a trail of dried blood. When Ichigo's back was facing him he confirmed where it was coming from. With a frown he bit the inside of his mouth to keep from commenting on it. One of two things had happened. Ichigo either had an advanced case of rectal cancer, or he had been raped last night. Maybe his story of being mugged had been somewhat true. He sent a worried look at the back of Ichigo's head and sighed.

Luckily Ichigo was completely oblivious of anything other than the steaming hot water and searing pain. Shinji was right though, it felt wonderful once he was settled and he sighed dramatically before opening his eyes and smiling up at his friend.

"Ya hungry, I could go make ya somethin'?"

Ichigo smirked and chuckled. "No thanks, I like my kitchen in a non burnt to a crisp state."

Shinji was one of those people that could burn water, Ichigo knew this from their multiple attempts at cooking while still living with their parents. He almost shuddered at the though of loosing his eyebrows… again.

Shinji huffed. "Fine, see if I ever offer kindness to you again, asshole." But seeing a smile on his friends face made him feel somewhat better so he tried again. "I could go to the convenience store down the street for some bento."

With another sigh Ichigo nodded, letting his eyes close once more. "Sounds good, thanks."

As soon as he was outside he pulled out his phone and called their boss. "Yo, Z. It's about Ichigo…."

Grimmjow had had just about enough of the stupidity today but it was hardly half over. He sat behind a large cherry wood desk and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. The man in front of him shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat for the fourth time in as many minutes. He felt the vein in the side of his neck pulse.

"What did you say?" He asked in a dangerously low tone.

"Uh, ya see, boss. That guy said he doesn't have the money yet but he will have it by Friday. He just wants till Friday so…."

Grimmjow looked up and the man in front of him paled visibly. "So what, you thought you had the fucking authority to make that decision? You thought, 'I'll give ya another chance, buddy'?" He placed his hands on the desk in front of him and stood slowly, his eyes never wavering from the dilated black pair he was focused on. "Yer wrong."

He pressed a button on his desk and the door to his office opened, two very large men entering and shutting it behind them. The man began to visibly tremble and Grimmjow smirked.

"What to do about a subordinate that can't take orders?" He linked his hands behind his back and walked around the other side of his desk slowly. "You see, I have an operation to run and things have to go a certain way in order for things to run smoothly. I like things to run smoothly, it makes my job easier." He paused in front of the man and leaned forward. "It makes me very angry when dicks like you throw a wrench in my plans. So I ask you again, what should I do about you?"

He paced away from the man, his hands still behind his back as he continued. "I could kill you of course, but that would be awfully messy. I just got new carpet in here and the clean up along with all the hush hush work would be more than it's worth. I could break your legs and ditch you in an alley some place, but who's to say you won't go blabbin' to the police like a fuckin' bitch? The easiest thing I can figure," He snapped his fingers and one of the men still standing by the door produced a bat. "Is letting these two handle it. Ya see, they don't mind all the work that goes into cleaning up messes like this. They will do whatever I tell them to."

"P-p-p, please boss. I-I-I'll get the money, today. I promise, j-just p-please don't kill me." He was crying now, thick trails of tears pouring down the side of his cheeks.

"Shaddup!" Grimmjow shouted and kicked at the back of his knees causing him to collapse. "You have two fuckin' hours to get me that money." He pulled a large gun from the back of his slacks and pressed it painfully to the back of the man's head. "Or I'll paint the concrete with yer fuckin' head."

As soon as the man left, running and still in tears, he sighed and sat heavily in his chair once more. "Follow him. Make sure he does it right. If not, make sure he can't walk and won't talk."

"Yes, boss."

The two men left and Grimmjow leaned his head back. He hated the responsibilities of his job sometimes. It was so much easier when he was a grunt. All he had to do was follow orders, beat people to a pulp and occasionally shoot them. Now, under the pretense of a money lending firm, he had little choice but to try his best to work around and sometimes with the law. Such a pain in the ass. He set the gun in one of his desk drawers and sighed. When the phone rang he gritted his teeth and barked out a 'What?' when he answered.

"Calling in about your boy, boss."

"Oh yeah, how's the little strawberry doin' taday?" He chuckled.

"Hasn't left the house all day, but the blond one came over just a bit ago. He didn't stay long and left in a hurry. I… wait he's back. Should I do anything boss?"

The pulsing vein was back. "Not yet. Just keep watching."

"Forgive me for saying this boss, but do you think you might have been a little to hard on the boy last night?"

"I don't pay you to think, Shawlong. I pay you to do a job."

"Yes boss."

Grimmjow hung up the phone and ran his fingers through his thick hair. He needed a drink.

Shinji returned to find Ichigo passed out in the tub and smacked him on top of the head to wake him up. After sputtering and splashing copious amounts of water over the side he glared up at him.

"What the hell was that for?"

"Baka, ya don't fall asleep in water. Ya wanna drown?" He paused and felt the water. "It's cold, get out. 'Sides, I brought food."

As soon as he was dried, mostly by himself much to his relief, they sat in the small living room and dug in to their bento meals. Shinji watched him carefully noticing that he did seem to be feeling a bit better after his long soak in the hot water. It was now or never.

"So I called Z and he said ya can work the bar till yer bruise is gone. Can't have a beat up lookin' stripper, he said." Ichigo nodded and sighed.

"Yeah. At least he's lettin' me work though." Not that he needed to anymore, a small voice pointed out to him.

"So…." Shinji started and Ichigo looked up at him in question. "Are ya sure yer okay?"

Ichigo sighed. "Yes, I'm fine. Really." It was starting to irritate him how Shinji just wouldn't let this drop.

With puff of air Shinji set down his chopsticks and closed his eyes. "Sorry, but I'm goin' inta chick mode."

"Wha'! No way. Please don't do that."

When Shinji opened his eyes again Ichigo felt himself cower just a tad. He imagined that this would be the look a mother or an overbearing girlfriend would give and he hated it. It made him feel like shit; like a total asshole.

"Why won't ya just talk to me? Obviously something happened last night. Something bad. Bad enough ta bruise ya. Bad enough ta make ya bleed." He saw something flicker across Ichigo's face but he remained silent. "Something bad enough ta make ya bleed from yer ass."

Ichigo choked on the rice he had been trying to swallow. "Wh-what the hell?"

"I saw it, Ichigo. When I was helping' ya into the tub. Ya didn't get mugged. What happened?"

Ichigo ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. He wasn't ready to explain this yet. He didn't want to ever explain it. It was embarrassing and degrading. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Shinji wouldn't let this go now and he knew it. He had to say something to get him to back off, something that wouldn't completely piss him off.

"Look, I… I can't really talk about it, okay. Just please, trust me. I'm fine and that will never happen again so you don't have to worry about me."

Shinji nodded. "Okay, sure. My best friend gets butt raped and I'm jus' supposed to sit back and believe that everything is okay. Sure." He stood and grabbed their empty trays. "Fuck you Ichigo. Whatever it is ya know I won't judge ya and yer still gonna keep it from me. Fine. I'll see ya at work."

He tossed the garbage in the receptacle and headed towards the door. Ichigo jumped up and grabbed him, pinning him to the wall with a grunt of pain.

"Stop being a fuckin' pussy. I'm sorry, but… I just can't say anything. I can't. Please don't get like that about this."

"Ichi, what the hell. Yer bein' weird."

Ichigo sighed and leaned his forehead against the wall, effectivel pinning Shinji. "Look, I'm in pain, I'm confused, and I just want to sort some things out before I explain it. You can handle that right?" He leaned back and grimaced when his stomach muscles stretched. "Please Shin?"

His large chocolate brown eyes pleaded with Shinji and he all but melted under their attention. He closed his eyes and sighed, shifting slightly at the weight that should have been uncomfortable but was far from it.

"Fine." He said at length.

At Ichigo's genuine smile he couldn't help but smile back. "Yer so easy to please sometimes." He added under his breath as he pushed his friend away and excused himself. "Dress nice, yer on bar duty tonight, remember? We gotta get goin'."

"Yeah, yeah." Ichigo called out as he walked slowly to his room to change.

Even though he knew Shinji had given in rather easily this time he was glad of it. He hadn't been lying when he said he was confused about the situation. So many different and conflicting emotions were swirled round it that he had trouble sorting through them. He had trouble with emotions that were simple. He dressed as best he could, having to change twice when Shinji refused to let him leave the house in what he had chosen, and they left to the club.

Shawlong watched them leave and noticed Ichigo's slight limp and slow gait. Other than that he seemed to be in rather good condition. As soon as they rounded the corner he began to follow them.

The moment they walked in Z cornered Ichigo and demanded to see the bruise. He said he needed proof that he wasn't just slacking off and after seeing it agreed with Shinji that he couldn't work the stage till it was gone. Ichigo had only worked the bar twice before so he was a little nervous about doing it all by himself. That and he was going to have to work full shifts until his bruising had faded enough to get back on stage which meant that he was going to have to work extra hard at school to stay awake during class. The only plus side to this was that he was going to see what the other strippers performed. The only other person he had seen was a man named Yumi and if Ichigo was half as good as him he wouldn't have had to take Grimmjow up on his offer. Shinji had tried to get him to teach Ichigo some things, but being the Prima Donna he was he refused.

"I don't have time to teach such beauty to someone who would never understand it."

Ichigo was interested in seeing what the other's offered. Maybe he could learn something. As he served the customers and eyed the stage the night seemed to fly by. He didn't recognize the man who was performing but it didn't matter as he fully recognized the man who slid onto the stool in front of him. Blue hair slicked back, his casual wear still making him look like he stepped right out of a magazine cover. Ichigo gulped.

"Can I get you anything?" He asked over the music.

"How 'bout a strawberry daiquiri." Grimmjow grinned and watched him as he worked. "I think I like you on this side much better than up there. Means I'm the only one who can see ya like that."

"The only reason I'm back here is because of what you did to me last night." Ichigo said between his teeth. Luckily no one else was at the bar or paying attention to them at the moment. At least he thought so. He didn't notice Shinji peering at them from behind the curtain.

"Aw, it can't be all that bad." Grimmjow joked as he reached for his drink.

"I can't dance till the bruising is gone. But bad news for you, working back here means I have to work later."

Grimmjow frowned at that. "How late?"

"Two."

"Bullshit." Ichigo could tell he was pissed but couldn't do much about it. "When's yer break?"

He shrugged. He really had no clue.

"Find out." The menacing aura that now surrounded Grimmjow made him gulp a little but he knew that he wouldn't act out in a public place like this. At least he hoped he wouldn't. As Ichigo wandered off to sever another drink to a waiting customer Z approached and asked how he was doing.

"Good. I think I remember how to make everything and so far no one has asked for anything too weird."

Z laughed and clapped him on the shoulder making him wince. "Take a half after twinkle toes here is done. I'll cover for ya."

"'K. Thanks."

He turned and saw Grimmjow grin. Apparently he had overheard everything. As soon as the dancer on stage was finished Ichigo took off his black apron and headed for the back door, Grimmjow trailing behind him at a distance so as to not seem obvious that he was following him. Once in the alley he grabbed him by the elbow and pushed him against the wall.

"Let me guess, yer gonna tell me yer too sore ta fuck. Right?"

Ichigo nodded and looked around to make sure no one was out there with them. The last thing he needed was for them to be overheard. Grimmjow pressed him back further into the wall.

"That makes things a little difficult then. I can't pay you unless you service me and I ain't leavin' until I get off."

"What the hell am I supposed to do about that?" Ichigo asked in a whisper.

"Glad you asked." He grabbed Ichigo's elbow once more and took them further down the alley, behind a large dumpster. "Get on yer knees and suck it."

"Next to a garbage can?!" Ichigo wrinkled his nose and looked once more up and down the alley.

"Tick tock, strawberry. Tick tock." He grabbed the top of Ichigo's head, gripping the hair tightly, and pushed him down with one hand, unzipping his pants and pulling himself out with that other.

Ichigo resisted but only slightly. Once he had the member waving in his face he gulped and took a deep breath. He had to be quick; he had twenty minutes left of his break at best. With his knees resting on Grimmjow's shoes and his hands on gripping his thighs he leaned forward and took the head into his mouth, wrapping his tongue around it and sucking before pulling away and tonguing the slit. Grimmjow hummed and let his head fall back. Ichigo moaned at the taste of him and took him further into his mouth, his tongue pressing along the vein on the underside of Grimmjow's cock while his lips pressed tightly as he sucked hard.

"Ah, fuck yeah." Grimmjow practically purred.

Ichigo didn't hear the door to the alley open but Grimmjow did and he looked over with irritation. If the little berry knew he'd flip shit. He almost laughed when he recognized the young man from the description Shawlong had given him.

Shinji looked one way and then the other down the alley and stopped short when he noticed the man Ichigo had been talking to earlier that night. Disturbingly enough the man was grinning from ear to ear and looking right at him. He frowned, realizing that he was probably doing something naughty, and turned to leave when the man spoke, a heated whispered meant to reach Shinji's ears.

"That's a good little strawberry. Just like that. Suck it harder."

Grimmjow gripped the back of Ichigo's head and forced him further down on his cock as the shocked blond gaped at him. He knew he couldn't see Ichigo but the pet name was enough that he should be able to put two and two together. Ichigo's hands slid up his thighs and his fingers hooked into the belt loops of his jeans as he sucked harder and moved faster. Shinji could hear the slight slurping sounds and the tiny whines coming from whoever was at the mans feet.

Grimmjow was having trouble focusing his attention anywhere else but the orange head below him so he was unaware when the blond man decided to hide from him. Ichigo swallowed around him twice and pulled back only to do it again, repeating it a few more times until Grimmjow pressed him close and came in his throat with a low grunt.

"Shit." He panted, pulling Ichigo up by the hair and into a kiss that neither one of them had been expecting.

At this point Ichigo had no choice but to swallow so he did as Grimmjow's tongue invaded his mouth. With a small whine he pushed away from the larger man and wiped his mouth.

"What the fuck was that for? That was disgusting."

"Tch, you loved it my little cocksucker." Grimmjow grinned and reached into his coat pocket. "Here. I'm only payin' ya half though."

"Wha', why. I did what you wanted."

"Yeah, but I didn't get to use that sweet ass of yours tonight. As soon as I can you get paid full." He stuck the wad of cash in the front of Ichigo's pants and smirked. "Might wanna take a trip to the men's room and rub out a quick one."

"Fuck you." Ichigo grumbled as he walked swiftly away and back into the club without a backwards glance.

Shinji stared at the wall in front of him, his entire body rigid with shock. When he heard the blue haired man call whoever was going down on him 'strawberry' Shinji refused to believe his ears. When the orange head had been brought up roughly and forced into a kiss he thought he was seeing things. It wasn't until the man pulled out a wad of cash that he thought he would be sick. He heard the man chuckle and walk in his direction. When he noticed the blond against the wall he smirked.

"Thanks fer not givin' yerself away. Strawberry's good but he can't perform under pressure."

"You bastard. What the hell…."

Grimmjow grabbed him by the front of his shirt and slammed him into the wall, his head contacting with a dull thud.

"You stay the hell outta this, got it?"

Shinji sneered. "Or what? Ya gonna force me to suck ya off too?"

"Tch. Sorry, I don't like blondes." He slammed him into the brick once more before letting go and taking a step back. "Stay out of it or I'll kill ya. Simple ain't it?"

Without waiting for a reply he stuck his hands in his pockets and sauntered away, whistling a little tune as he did so. Shinji growled low in his throat and stalked back into the club, going directly to the DJ.

"Make it Metallica tonight Ikkaku. I'm in a fuckin' bad mood."

A/N *SQUEE* This is a special chapter but only cuz it's my birthday today and I spent all day writing it for ya. I hope ya like it and I hope there aren't many errors. I went over it twice this time so there shouldn't be. Some of you may have noticed that there were some familiar characters hiding in this and the last chapter. I've always wanted to do a story that had extras like that and I will continue to do it because I can, ;p. So, if you can catch them all message me and let me know. I'm interested in seeing just who is paying close attention to this story. Hope you liked this one :D:D