I'm not really ready to be posting regularly and if you read my other story, Resentment, then you know that I've been going through some stuff right now. There is a reason why I am posting despite not exactly being ready to post yet and that reason is that the Fairy Tail manga just ended and I know that there has to be at least a few of you that also read it. I hope this can cheer you guys up at least slightly and for the ones that didn't know it ended this is me spreading some awareness for the few people who actually read this story and the even fewer that read what I write before the chapter.

Chapter 17

Grimmjow was right. It was a good thing that he started packing already. He had plenty of time to finish packing, say goodbye to his friends, and shower so that he can process his shame.

He managed to say goodbye to all of his friends minus Izuru who was still knocked out. Orihime didn't remember the night before and was shocked when she learned that Ichigo and Grimmjow were leaving early. Ichigo originally thought that it was harsh that they decided to wipe her memory, but after he saw her and she was her usual bubbly self he thought it was for the best.

She didn't figure out that they were leaving together and that both of them were going to Ichigo's home town in Japan rather than Ichigo going alone and Grimmjow going home to Germany.

She looked very upset to see her crush go before she could confess her feelings. It was a good thing too since he didn't know what his possessive boyfriend would do if she said anything to him and he couldn't find it in his heart to tell her that he was already in a relationship. After getting her memories wiped she didn't manage to remember that he was off limits.

Shuuhei apparently found a teacher to help achieve his new found goal of becoming a hunter. Apparently the guy who scouted a teacher for him was Urahara. That guy seemed to have a hand in everything. It made sense since he was the one who was in charge of the entire program.

Ichigo told him the Aizen threat was gone and that the one that attacked his best friend also escaped and her whereabouts were unknown. That didn't throw a bone into his new passion though. He even seemed more excited to get started rather than being full of remorse for Izuru. Yes, he was still sad for his best friend, but now that he knew about this hidden world his curiosity was spiked.

He wasn't there for revenge. He wanted to make sure nobody else got hurt and learn more about the secrets that no common person knew. He said that he couldn't rest knowing about the supernatural that took place in the world so he wanted to dip his toes in to learn more. Whenever he learned something new he wanted to learn more about it. Being a hunter fit him; he liked to try new things.

Uryu didn't say much he just kind of nodded in understanding and told them to have a safe flight. He was finally allowed to leave the health services building, but he had to revisit every twelve hours to make sure his bandages were in place or if he needed new painkillers. Even though they went through a lot together over the past few days he was still as quiet as ever. He was probably still down about having to wipe Orihime's memories. It was probably going to be boring having dinner with just her, Shuuhei, and Renji. Things were really going to be a lot quieter without him and Grimmjow there.

Surprisingly Renji wasn't upset. Ichigo told him about what happened in the natural science building and that was what upset Renji the most. He was frustrated for not even knowing what was happening and not being able to do anything again. He wanted Ichigo to be safe; he realized when he got abducted the first time that this place was too dangerous, but he didn't want to be left alone. He felt selfish, but Ichigo reassured him that if he didn't go on the program they wouldn't have been able to see each other and he wouldn't have been able to meet Grimmjow.

He told Renji that he was a shinigami despite not knowing too much about it either. He felt crazy saying it out loud. He considered not telling him until he got home and learned more about his powers and about Shiro, but he didn't want to keep any secrets from him and maybe he would have known something. He didn't which wasn't surprising considering Grimmjow who has been around for a lot longer didn't know anything either. He was just as surprised to hear about the existence of shinigami as he was. He wanted to see Ichigo flourish his new found powers, but he knew that it was best if he didn't protest and it was best for him to just go home.

Grimmjow didn't have a lot to pack. By the time Ichigo and Nel got back to the room he was already finished and sitting on top of his bare mattress waiting for him to get back. Urahara knocked on their door while they were talking casually not long after the two arrived. Urahara was going to give them a ride to the airport because the campus shuttle system didn't go that far.

Nel walked with them to Urahara's car and gave Grimmjow a big hug. His body went stiff with the contact that he should have honestly been expecting, but it eventually relaxed under her touch. She broke off of Grimmjow's hug to give Ichigo one too. Ichigo blushed when he saw Grimmjow's annoyed and somewhat jealous expression, but he didn't say anything. He really didn't expect anything else from him.

"I'll see you at home, Grimmy." She said. "I hope to see you there too Ichigo."

He couldn't help feel a little depressed about leaving so soon. He still had questions to ask and he didn't think he would be able to figure them out at home. He was curious about the hunters and he didn't know if Uryu knew anything about what he was.

He wanted to spend more time with his friends and finish his courses, but he knew that going home was the best decision. Urahara was right; it was too dangerous for him. Even with the Aizen threat supposedly gone him being there caused a lot of people and himself problems. At the rate it was going he may even end up exposing vampires unintentionally. They were in too many situations where they could have been seen.

After a long as hell plane ride that was seventeen freaking hours long. They landed in an airport that was close to Ichigo's hometown so it wasn't long till they could sleep in a real bed. It was incredibly hard to sleep in a plane and they were suffering extreme jet lag from the time zones. A thirteen hour time difference was really going to be hard to get used to. Ichigo had a hard time with it when he first arrived in America too. By the time they landed it was bright outside and it was around noon.

Ichigo's shoulders were hunched as he threatened to fall over from exhaustion, but he was quickly shaken awake when a man tackled him with his arms wrapped around his back in a tight hug.

"Ichigoooo, welcome home! I missed you soooo much!" He cheered.

Ichigo's body stiffened against the other man's touch and Grimmjow couldn't help crack a smile at Ichigo's frustrated yet embarrassed reaction from getting smothered by a man that he could only predict was his father.

This man was nothing like his son. He dressed in a flashy yellow shirt with a bright pink squiggly pattern that contrasted Ichigo's plane t-shirt that was his usual choice of apparel. His hair was black and he had a matching stubble rather than Ichigo who had bright orange hair and a clean shaved face. Grimmjow has been Ichigo's roommate for an entire semester, but he has never seen him shave. Even when he was unconscious Ichigo's face has remained completely bare. He bet that if something happened that made Ichigo become two years older without any maintenance the hair on his head would be the only thing that grew and his chin, neck, and chest would still be completely bare. It wasn't like there was a way to prove that though.

"How was your flight?" He asked in an upbeat voice not picking up the tired vibe that resonated off the two people who just landed either that or he chose to ignore it. Ichigo did mention before that his father was crazy. He didn't seem too crazy, just happy to see his son even if it did make him the loudest person in the airport.

Grimmjow wasn't surprised to see Ichigo slump against his dad instead of hugging back. Ichigo had dark circles under his eyes from physical exhaustion and probably mental exhaustion after everything he's been through. A lot of things happened to him since the last time he was home and he had a completely different mentality then what he was like when Grimmjow first met him. It was for the best though, probably.

"I heard that we were having company. Who's your friend?" He asked finally addressing the blue-haired person that he knew nothing about.

Grimmjow perked up ready to introduce himself, but Ichigo cut in before he could say anything.

"This is Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, he was my roommate." Ichigo said.

Grimmjow was only hesitant for a bit and then he calculate the fact that his father may be homophobic or against dating people from other countries. He flashed a winning smile and stretched his hand out for a handshake.

He could be proper when he wanted to and if he was going to meet Ichigo's parents he wanted to make a good impression. Ichigo's father grasped his hand in a firm handshake a smile stretched across his face. "Ah, you're Ichigo's roommate. I've heard a bit about you. It's nice to meet you." He said in English making Grimmjow's ears perk up.

Grimmjow was a bit nervous about what Ichigo told him since they didn't exactly get along too well in the beginning since Ichigo wasn't exactly used to his teasing yet, but he had to think that it wasn't too bad since his dad is letting him stay with them for reasons that he didn't know. Grimmjow nodded. He also wasn't expecting him to speak in English, but he wasn't surprised since Ichigo was able to speak it so well. It wouldn't exactly be unlikely if his parents knew how to speak it too.

"Do you need help with your bags?" He asked the both of them before Grimmjow stepped over to their bags and lifted them up with ease.

"It's okay, I got it." He responded in Japanese with a proud smile, happy to reveal that he was fluent in their language. He never told Ichigo and he was waiting for the day that he was able to surprise him. Ichigo's look of shock was its own reward.

Ichigo looked at Grimmjow awestruck. He didn't know what he expected; it made sense that Grimmjow learned multiple languages since he has been alive for quite some time, but he didn't expect him to learn such a minor language. He should have known better, he did know what shinigami are.

As Ichigo turned his back to his father he received a quick, unexpected kick in the side. Ichigo held onto his side and glared at his father with pure rage evident in his eyes. "What the fuck, dad? We are in public." That was until his father managed to take him to the ground before being thrown off by his squirming son.

Grimmjow observed the two fighting Japanese men with a blank stare along with many other astonished bystanders. Maybe Ichigo was right; his father is crazy. This guy was the complete opposite from his laidback dad and he was starting to learn where Ichigo got his feisty personality from. Having to deal with a crazy family member all the time can make someone a bit more on the impatient side. He understood from experience all too well. He had a few crazy family members as well starting with Nel and ending with Nnoitra.

After a short car ride they pulled up in front of a two story building with glass doors and a large sign on top that read what Grimmjow made out to say 'Kurosaki Clinic.' Grimmjow blinked in recognition when he read the name. Ichigo lived in an infirmary? He connected the dots and saw the probable reason why Ichigo wanted to be a doctor. With that piece of information it seemed predictable that he had a desire to help people and he had knowledge on how to do so. He's probably seen a lot of people who have gotten hurt.

"Go let yourselves in the door should be unlocked since Yuzu and Karin are home." Ichigo's father, Isshin said as he opened the garage doors and popping the trunk so that they could get their bags out.

Ever since Grimmjow showed that he could speak Japanese they swapped back to their native language trusting Grimmjow to be able to keep up. He had no problem doing so and he was glad that he was able to show off.

Ichigo was just glad that he didn't need to be a translator for him. He had no idea how long Grimmjow was staying, but from the way Urahara talked it seemed that he was going to be there for a while. Knowing Grimmjow he was probably not making any plans to leave any time soon either, not that he really minded. He wasn't exactly ready to lose the relationship that they just established.

From Grimmjow's attitude he could tell that he was excited. It seemed like he was going to have to brace himself for all the teasing that was going to come. Having him stay over opened up way too many opportunities for him. He will admit that he was happy that Grimmjow was staying with him, but he wasn't so sure about the bullying that was going to follow.

"My sisters," Ichigo said when he saw Grimmjow looking at him questioningly. "I forgot to mention I have sisters."

He opened the door and took his shoes off calling out 'I'm home.' A head popped out from behind the corner that belonged to someone who looked like she was in her teens.

"Welcome back, Ichigo. Oh, this must be your friend." A girl with light brown hair said. "I was just fixing up lunch. We heard you and a friend were coming home so I made a lot."

Grimmjow was curious when he saw his little sister. He expected to see a household filled with just orange-haired people, but from the people he met so far he saw a very small amount of orange. Heck Ichigo didn't even have that much resemblance to any of them.

He followed Ichigo inside, following his example of taking his shoes off at the front door. There was a large table and what seemed to look like a kitchen. Sitting at the table was another teenage girl who had darker hair that looked like their dad's. Then Grimmjow couldn't take his curiosity anymore and he out right asked.

"Ichigo, where did your hair color come from?" Grimmjow asked making the dark haired teenager look up with dissatisfaction in her eyes. She must have been one of those angsty and cold-hearted teenagers.

Ichigo touch one of the vibrant orange spikes on his head when Grimmjow brought attention to the odd color that he damn well knew that he had.

"My mom I think. Her hair was browner like Yuzu's, but it's the more orange than anyone else in my family." Ichigo responded.

"And where is she?" Grimmjow asked.

The girl with dark hair rolled her eyes and the other, Yuzu gave him a sympathetic look. "She died when I was around eight years old." Ichigo said. He didn't sound too sad, but Grimmjow still felt a little shitty for not knowing any better.

"You go ahead and eat." Ichigo said trying to hold back a yawn. "I'm going to sleep."

He didn't really need to eat since he was a vampire, but the smell of the room almost made his mouth water. Ichigo didn't mention that he had sisters, but it seemed like the brunet one was one hell of a cook. He really wanted to just sit down and eat and maybe find out some embarrassing stories about Ichigo from his family, but he restrained himself from asking questions.

"Hey, can I take some food upstairs for him when you finish cooking?"

Ichigo's sister's directed him to the first room on the left upstairs that had a small door sign that had the number '15.' At that moment something clicked. The number fifteen was written with the numbers one and five, 'ichi' 'go.' A smile stretched across Grimmjow's face. Ichigo had a lot of shirts that had the number '15' written on them and everything started to make sense. Damn that was so cute. It was like he had his own signature.

He pushed the door lightly without knocking to see what he expected, Ichigo knocked out on his bed, not even bothering to change out of the clothes he was wearing before despite them being kind of gross because he wore it the day before and during the plane ride. He left him for about five minutes, but it seemed like it was enough for him to pass out. Grimmjow put their lunches on his desk and climbed on top of him. His smile stretched wide when he heard Ichigo groan underneath him.

"Why?" He groaned squeezing his eyes tighter. He tried to turn over, but Grimmjow was a bit too heavy for him to simply push off. Grimmjow gripped his wrists to keep himself from falling over and laughed.

"God you're too fun to mess with." He said pressing a caste kiss on his lips. "Get up, I brought you some food."

Ichigo moaned and squeezed his eyes shut tighter. "I would get up, but you're kind of on top of me."

Grimmjow reluctantly rolled off of him and Ichigo sat up, and if possible the dark circles under his eyes were more evident. "Is that curry rice?" He asked getting up from his twin sized bed and walking over to his desk and picked up a serving before sitting down on the floor where a low round table sat and a few cushions.

Grimmjow sat down with him taking his own serving with him. One thing stuck out to him though, on the low table there was a note taped to the surface that was written in kanji. It read 'warning: only to be used for jokes like this.'

"Umm-" Grimmjow pointed at the note.

"Don't ask." Ichigo responded, cutting him off before he could say anything more.

There was silence for a while and they ate peacefully. Ichigo seemed to enjoy the comfortable silence though Grimmjow seemed a little put off by it. Isn't silence dangerous for fresh relationships or something? It seemed Ichigo was skipping over the passionate love stage to the companion love stage. It seemed to fit him more, but damn Grimmjow still wanted to enjoy the passionate part even though he would admit the comfort Ichigo had around him wasn't too bad.

A loud pounding could be heard from outside the room before Ichigo's door got thrown open. A small girl with dark hair came storming in. She was short, but her face was mature and Grimmjow could immediately tell that she was a vampire and she looked angry.

Grimmjow immediately got up to defend Ichigo and blocked him with his body, but his more petite boyfriend didn't seem put off by her at all. He just sat down with unaugment written across his face as he shoved another spoonful of curry rice in his mouth.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were coming home today?" The girl asked, her fists were clutched together, not caring how dangerous she looked.

"I didn't exactly have time to tell everyone. I was literally kicked out and sent home on the same day."

"Then message me when you land! Renji had to tell me that you came home." She shouted.

Grimmjow looked between his nonchalant boyfriend and the fiery stranger. "Okay, I'm missing something. What the hell is going on? Who are you and why aren't you burning right now?

Ichigo sighed and put his spoon down and gestured towards the petite woman. "This is my other best friend, Rukia. She's been here multiple times which is why she made herself right at home. My dad or my sisters probably let her in."

Grimmjow examined her closely. "You are aware that your best friend is a vampire right?" He asked. There was no way Ichigo knew about vampires before he met him, but he sure seemed to be surrounded by them.

"As of a few days ago," Ichigo said lying across the floor letting his feet slide under the table. "It was a big shock to me too."

"How are you only now learning about vampires?" Grimmjow groaned gesturing towards Rukia. "I'm surprised that you haven't been killed by this one yet."

"Some people have something called willpower." She grumbled taking a seat next to Ichigo who was lying across the floor with his eyes shut lightly. "You realize that I'm his best friend so you have to get my approval too. I won't give it away as easily as Renji does."

"You don't need to act so much like your brother." Ichigo said turning over. "I didn't meet him, but he sure gave Renji a hard time."

"Wait, what clan are you in?" Grimmjow asked bringing the Rukia's attention back on him. She seemed to be cooling down, but he could still tell that she was a bit angry.

"Oh right, I'm in the Kuchiki. I hope we get along." She said. "But that doesn't mean that I've accepted you just yet. You better treat Ichigo well."

Grimmjow chuckled. "You don't need to worry. I'll treat him right."

"Hold on," Ichigo said. "You were the one that told me that being with him wasn't going so bad. It was before Renji brought up the idea of trying to look at him romantically, but I think it still counts."

"It doesn't count. I didn't say go date the guy I just said that being in a vampire family wouldn't be so bad." She said in a light huff.

It was too late though. Grimmjow already had a grin stretched out across his face. He totally thinks that he won something.

The room seemed peaceful for a while as Grimmjow and Rukia chatted for a bit as Ichigo dozed off where he was lying, somewhat trying to resist the sleep that was taking over him. Don't lie on the floor when you're tired, especially if a bed is right there. Something bugged Ichigo to wake up though as a vein made itself visible on the side of his temple when he remembered an important detail even within the peaceful atmosphere.

Ichigo's body shot back up in a sitting position and interrupted the conversation the two vampires in the room were having, "Hey Rukia, why didn't you tell me that you and Renji were engaged?"

The room was silent for a second and Rukia bit down on her lip and turned her head away from her best friend so that she could hide the uncomfortable look on her face. "Umm, I didn't think you were ready to hear about that?"

"It doesn't matter whether or not I am ready to hear about it or not. I'm your best friend!" He shouted the vein on his forehead becoming even more visible as if it were ready to burst out of his skin and his teeth gritted together so that it was almost grinding. Ichigo never had bruxism, but it looked like he was getting it slowly but surely.

"I wasn't sure if you were going to be okay with it. Honestly, I was scared. I thought we may have had to abandon you or get you to join the Kuchiki clan yourself because we didn't want to leave you behind." She said with a depressed tone.

"She's right, vampires have to eventually cut their human ties or move around a lot since they don't grow any older after their age settles. I've looked the same for around 200 years so I have to constantly move around so that people won't recognize me." Grimmjow noted. "If you become a vampire then you wouldn't need to be abandoned since that means you'll all be sharing the same secret."

Grimmjow looked over and studied Rukia. "Umm, did your age settle yet? I really hope it didn't."

Rukia punched his arm hard causing it to leave an angry red mark. Looks like it did, no wonder she still looked like she was still fourteen though Ichigo seemed to know better than to say that out loud.

Before they realized that time kept passing by as Ichigo and Rukia chatted about the abroad program it was already dark. Rukia looked out the window then checked her phone.

"Looks like I have to go." She said. "Sorry to keep you awake Ichigo get some sleep."

She got up and let herself out. Ichigo didn't even get up to walk her to the front door. She practically lived there so she was comfortable letting herself out.

Ichigo just got up and walked over to his bed, looking out the window and waiting to see her outside. Just like he expected the short vampire looked over to his window and waved as she left. He raised his hand as well in goodbye with a small smile on his face.

Grimmjow got up off the floor, his knees cracking from sitting for too long. "Geez, I forgot what it was like to sit on the floor for long periods of time. What do you want to do now?" He asked hugging Ichigo from behind.

"Sleep," Ichigo said with a blank expression.

"Oh come on, you know what I'm implying. Are you going to be like that every time I suggest having a little fun?" Grimmjow said, nuzzling his face into Ichigo's spikey hair.

"My family is home. I don't need to emotionally scar my sisters and I don't need my dad to know that we're a thing. Seriously, he was too loud the last time he found out that I was in a relationship." Ichigo said. "Also the last time I was here I wasn't exactly out as bisexual. I only dated girls and he scared most of them away."

Grimmjow laughed. "Yeah, how did you even say yes to me? I guess there is a spectrum."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "I just wanted to give it a try."

"How am I doing?" Grimmjow smiled.

"I don't need to feed your already large ego." Ichigo said blushing. That was so like him to try to avoid giving one complement. He's so prideful, but Grimmjow took that to mean that he didn't lose the orange-head's interest yet.

"Do what you want, I'm going to sleep." Ichigo said flopping down on his bed. "I'll unpack later."

Grimmjow wasn't necessarily as tired as Ichigo, but he took the hint. Either he sleeps too or he leaves Ichigo alone. It was only just getting dark and having that conversation with Rukia seemed to wake him up. He was tempted to get in bed with Ichigo even if it was just to cuddle with him and pretend to be asleep.

The jetlag hit Ichigo a lot harder then it hit him so he wanted to let Ichigo have the whole bed at least for now. He didn't need to watch Ichigo sleep either, it was such a vampire cliché that he never understood. It sounded kinda creepy despite him never doing it before. This was the first time he experienced anything like love before.

He hasn't been to Japan for a very long time and he hasn't spent a lot of time in a remote town like this one. Part of him just wanted to go out and go on a walk, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to get back inside without being invited in again. So he settled for exploring the house. He wanted to learn more about Ichigo anyway and this sounded like as good an opportunity as any.

He could hear video games coming from one of the rooms when he walked out of his boyfriend's room. It was probably coming from his sisters' room. The house seemed small since most of it was made up of a clinic that they happened to live in.

He walked through the entryway of the kitchen and he saw a bunch of family photos. He stopped himself so that he could study them. This was the first time he has seen Ichigo's mom. Her hair color was very similar to her son's, but his was way more vibrant and he couldn't help realize that he really didn't have that much resemblance to her other than hair color. He looked more like his dad and even that was pushing it. She was beautiful though, almost as beautiful as her son.

A smile cracked on his face when he saw a small orange-haired boy with large brown eyes and a big goofy smile. He was such a cute kid. Whatever happened? In every photo that featured him he had that same goofy smile, and there wasn't even a permanent scowl yet. Ichigo grew up to be so moody, but he was a child like everyone else at some point.

"He's cute huh?"

Grimmjow whipped his head around to see Ichigo's dad. He didn't even notice he was there and it put him on edge. He stood their proudly looking over his shoulder at the photos that he was looking at.

"I'm proud of my kids and what they've become even if I don't understand all of their decisions." Isshin said. He walked into the kitchen grabbed a glass and a bottle from the cabinet. Grimmjow recognized the bottle as liquor and sat across from him and watched the man fill the glass half way with the warm looking liquid.

"They've been through a lot since their mother died." He said drinking from the glass his other arm resting on the table in front of him. "Yuzu took her place as the caretaker of the house, I never see Karin show any emotion except for irritation, and I barely even see Ichigo smile anymore. He's grown pretty cold as he grew older."

Grimmjow remained silent, not knowing what to say. He wanted to listen and learn more about him, he was curious, but he didn't know how to talk to the man who was for some reason acting completely differently from how he was acting before in front of his son.

"He seemed different from when I last saw him, like he has been through a lot. He seems to be finding himself and you seem to be helping him. I really hope you get to see him genuinely smile. He has a really nice one and you deserve to see it too." Isshin looked up at him knowingly. "You and my son are dating, right?"

Grimmjow's expression darkened and he nodded lightly. Isshin chuckled lightly and held a small smirk on his face and a knowing glance. "I never understood my son's decisions, but I hope you take good care of him. He always puts others before himself so you're going to need to watch his back for him."

Grimmjow nodded. He wished that he could tell him that he was putting Ichigo's wellbeing above his own and he thought of him as his first priority. He did so much for him and Ichigo did his best for him as well.

"Just make sure you don't keep him all to yourself. He has a family and I won't let you take him away from us." Isshin said darkly. "If you decide to turn him and take him away then you're in for a bad time. I'm not losing anymore family. I know who and what you are so there is no need to pretend anymore."

A/N: Sorry, I'm not all here yet. I'm still going through some things so do me a favor and review. You have no idea how helpful those are. If you are too shy to do that then do me a favor and follow or favorite instead.