Chapter Five
Several Days Later...
Ichigo picked up an easily breakable porcelain plate off of Shiro's bedside table; a lot of things had seemed to collect there lately. It was a pretty plate, white with intricate blue lining around the edges. He traced his fingers along the cold surface, knocking off a few crumbs in the process. Ichigo sighed heavily as he gently sat the plate back down and chose to pick up a plastic dispensable cup instead.
"Hey Ichigo." Rukia walked into the room gracefully. She wore a normal maids dress and a decorative black hairband with white lace spiraling off of it upon her head. The whole outfit was obviously influenced by the thorough designs of french dresses designed centuries ago. If Ichigo was straight he probably would have broke through his jeans with a hard on when she walked into the room, ah too bad.
Ichigo gave Rukia a half wave and smiled at her. "Hey. Come to help?"
"Of course. Why else would I just so happen to be here, and with a broom on top of that?" She walked over to Ichigo and light smacked the back of his head. He winced and rubbed the spot while looking at her through his bangs.
"Aw, come on. Be nice to me, would ya?" Ichigo handed her the plastic cup to throw into the trash bin she had carried with her. The cup made a small sound as it hit the bottom of the white trash can; one piece of trash down, only the whole rest of the room to go!
"Stop complaining and start cleaning. We have a lot of work to do, if you haven't noticed that is."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's get this over with." Ichigo walked past Rukia to a cluttered area on Shiro's dresser. There were a few cups, a plate or two with food caked on them, and a towering pile of waded up paper. Ah, what a wonderful, clean person Shiro was.
Thirty minutes, five trash bags, and 4 sponges later Shiro's room was looking like any other normal household living space. Ichigo groaned and sat down on the couch, Rukia stretching before taking a seat next to him on the black leather.
"Hey Rukia, have you heard about the newcomer yet? He's supposed to be starting soon."
She nodded and ran a hand through her now greasy hair. All of that cleaning had made both of them overly sweaty, and it was really nasty. Ichigo wanted a shower pronto.
"Yeah, he's supposed to be here sometime today; that's what I heard from Shiro."
Ichigo frowned. "Really? What's he like?"
She shook her head and stood. "Who knows? If Shiro's hiring him he must be something special though. That's all I know."
She started off out of the living room, and gently closed the door behind her without even muttering a good-bye to Ichigo. Ichigo sucked a breath through his teeth while he dusted off a pile of dirt on his pants. Shiro was really going to bring someone new to the house? He hadn't done that since...himself. Everyone that was currently here had been hired before Ichigo had, so he was the newcomer still. At least when this new guy came, there would be someone less experianced than him here. That would be a good thing, right?
Ichigo stood around the doorway along with all the other staff that worked for Shiro. Ichigo could see Renji and Rukia standing next to each other on the other side of the semi-circle, and beside them was Ishida. Ichigo himself was standing next to a few people he rarely talked to, like Keigo and Mizuiro, who really just kept to themselves.
Everyone was whispering about this supposed 'newcomer', and how amazing he must be to gain the attention of the master. Ichigo was quite interested too, after all, something like this didn't happen often. He wished he were standing next to his friends, but it was too late to move now. Shiro casually strolled in wearing some sleek jeans and some aviators over his eyes. His jacket collar was pulled up, and the white hair that was normally sticking out in every direction was spiked up by gel. Seriously, Shiro must love this guy or something. He never got dressed up for anything.
"Yo." The albino threw out to the crowd with a shrug of his sholders.
Everyone remaind silent and calm as he slid over to stand next to Ichigo with a grin plastered on his face like usual. He seemed so relaxed, and Ichigo would have bet some good money that he was a overweight cat in his previous life. Ichigo almost jumped when he heard the knob on the door turn at rattle loudly, like the person on the other side was asking permission to enter.
"Com'on in." Shiro gave Ichigo a sly glace from the corner of his eye, and Ichigo, being as perceptive as he is, didn't miss the small movement. The golden eyes had looked at him mockingly, so the orange-headed teen couldn't help but shiver. Shiro had something planned, something that had to do with him.
The crowd tensed together as the doorknob finally twisted completly and the door started to slide open. Air seemed to part ways for the three men that entered, and everyone else started to lean away from the new occupants in the room. The air around them was dangerous, and most of the workers here strayed away from anything too potentially harmfull.
One man was tall, so skinny that it looked like he didn't eat, and a white eyepatch covered his left eye. Ichigo's gut wrenched at the look of him. He was wearing loose clothing, and his stone-washed jeans had a few holes in them around the knees. A few expensive looking rings hung onto the man's boney fingers, but Ichigo only got a glance at them because the hands were quickly stuffed into the man's pockets.
He looks like the kind of man who eats kittens...and children. Ichigo bit his lip as anxiety made his body want to shake. He held strong, though, as he spotted golden eyes watching him with a frown. Shiro didn't need a weak right-hand man, he needed a strong on who refused to cower at the sight of some new guy with an eye patch.
"This is Nnoitra, my new partn'r."
Shiro's voice broke the silence, and Ichigo's trance he had somehow gotten into. With a shaky breath, Ichigo looked at the people standing next to him with a curious eye. Wide eyes were a common look throughout the room, and Ichigo couldn't help but mirror the expression.
The door closed behind the three as they finally made their way into the room. Now that the light was dimmer, it was harder to see, but Ichigo figured his eyes would adjust and he'd be able to see clearer in a moment or two.
Nnoitra glared at the people standing in the room with malice.
"You throwin' me a fuckin' party or somthin'?"
Shiro's smile only widened as he barked out a laugh. "You wish. Ya ain't special enough ta get a party yet."
"Yeah?" The tall man slowly creeped towards Shiro until they were standing side-by-side. Ichigo wanted to run towards the other side of the room, but his fear of the newcommer overpowered any feeling inside of him.
"Who'd you bring with, Nnoi?" Shiro peeked past Nnoitra and locked eyes with one of the other men. Ichigo's eyes slid over them both, and he figured all of them were tired of being eye-raped.
"One on the left's my lil' broth'r, and the other one's my right-hander."
The man indicated as Nnoitra's 'little brother' stepped forward and smiled at Shiro. "Call me J."
"Intrestin' accent ya got there, where ya from?" Shiro was thoroughly pleased with the overall attitude and look of the other man. Heck, Ichigo was too. He looked like the complete opposite of Nnoitra. J was short, maybe 5'2, and weighed about the same amount that Ichigo did. He had the same piercing brown eyes, but the smile was much friendlier looking than his brother's. He was wearing khakis and a sweater-vest, and a pair of glasses sat on his nose.
"Been down in Australia for awhile. It's nice there and all," brown eyes flicked to Ichigo's for a milisecond before making it's way back to Shiro," but, I think I'm starting to like it here."
Ichigo flushed red, and by red he meant deep from-the-pits-of-hell red. He quickly covered his face with shaking hands, and took a breath to calm down. He figured this 'J' guy was smirking at him, knowing that he had hit Ichigo with that look. Why the hell were people always picking on him of all people?
When J stopped talking Ichigo finally found the courage to remove his hands. J and Nnoitra were now standing next to Shiro as the other man decided to introduce himself. Ichigo could barely pay attention as he felt J move over next to him. With a quick jerk of his arm, J successfully brushed his appendage against Ichigo's, and the orange-headed man blushed some more.
The other man was still talking, but Ichigo hadn't registered a word of it yet. His hair was a sandy yellow color, quite the contrast to Nnoitra and J's own black, but his eyes were a rich chocolate brown like the others'. He looked like a calm person, but also like an extreamly submissive person. Nnoitra probably ran all over this poor guy.
"Well, it's nice havin' you all in my humble abode an' all, but I need rest. Ichigo." Shiro turned to his servent and stared at him with a serious look. Ichigo quickly moved so that he was in front of his master, and he bowed before looking at the albino questioningly. By now the crowd of people were moving away from the scene and back to their respected jobs, and some were even leaving for the day. The room was close to empty in no time.
"Show J 'n Tesla to their rooms. Me an' Nnoi have some business to attend to. Go' tha'?" Ichigo nodded twice.
"Of course, Sir." His voice was a little shaky from not using it since earlier, but Shiro smiled at his answer and grabbed Nnoitra by his sleeve.
"Com'on Nnoi!" Shiro bounced off happily with the taller man following closly behind. Ichigo fought off his curiosity with a frown, and tured to find himself face-to-face with the men he was supposed to help.
"Hiya, Traffic Cone." Ichigo's eyes widened. A toothy grin slid across J's pale face, and the look he gave the other man was nerve-wracking. Ichigo couldn't help but close his eyes, and wish these invaders would be leaving the house soon, sooner than soon. As long as these men were in the house, everything was going to be crazy.