It's been a rough week where I slit my wrists to bleed time that I use to please people without regarding that I need to be happy with myself...That got dark, I'm so sorry. (I'm not self-harming myself like so many of you believe. The only thing I'm cutting is sleep from my schedule.) On a happier note, kudos to all of you who read this far. I was a total ass with what I pulled last week. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

Chapter 21

Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Ichigo kept cursing in his head, his jaw clenched so shut that it was sore as he analyzed the situation. Right now it felt like his stomach dropped to the floor as he watched his boyfriend claw at the ground in a futile attempt to unpin himself from the shinigami that only pressed him further into the street with his knee. He looked completely amused like some sort of psychopath and it wasn't doing anything good to Ichigo's nerves. It felt like every hair on his body was sticking up in pure horror and his blood ran ice cold.

The madman pressed even harder on Grimmjow which managed to coax a whimper out of the usually tough vampire which didn't sit well with Ichigo.

"Don't hurt him." He shouted and summoned his power causing a large blast in the direction of the shinigami. All he wanted was to break Grimmjow free even if it meant that he would get thrown too. That was the plan, but the man didn't budge. His cloak got whipped around by the wind, but the man himself remained completely unmoved and he wore a, dare he say, bored expression, so bored that it looked like he would be more amused if he spent the day watching paint dry.

"Seriously, if that is all you've got then this is going to be way more boring than I thought it would be." He said lifting his leg from Grimmjow and letting him go. Grimmjow quickly scrambled out from under him and went back to guarding Ichigo. "At this pace the vampire will be a more interesting fight then you. Seriously, spell based shinigami are always so damn spineless."

"Ichigo, find a way to get out of here." Grimmjow said. "I'll hold him off." He said lunging out at the opposing shinigami. The man had a sword strapped to his waist rather than just summoning it like how Ichigo, Ikkaku, and Yumichika did, but he didn't even bother drawing it as he focused on hand to hand combat with Grimmjow.

Grimmjow was able to hold his own somewhat, but it was obvious that the other guy had the upper hand and he wasn't even going all out. He watched as Grimmjow became more and more exhausted and irritated, but he kept pushing forward with the agility and intensity as a panther with furious kicks, punches, and even tumbles, but he was still gaining no ground.

It was obvious that he was wearing himself out too fast, but he wasn't backing down in the least. His will power could only take him so far and he was on a time limit that can immediately run out as soon as the shinigami decided that he just wanted to get this over with and kill him faster.

Ichigo grasped at something, anything, but too his despair he wasn't able to figure out how to shatter the protective space. It frustrated him to no end. He tried so hard to not be useless, to not be a burden, to fight on his own, but he still couldn't accomplish one thing while Grimmjow fought to protect him when he could easily just step aside and let the shinigami take him away. No, he was not going to let Grimmjow get hurt for him anymore.

"Wait!" Ichigo called out. "Don't hurt him anymore. I'll surrender, just leave him alone."

"Oh hell nah." Ichigo heard echo inside of his head and his entire body started to become cold and stiff as if he were being encased in ice. It seemed that time started to slow down around him and Ichigo's eyes were stuck on Grimmjow's clearly upset face. He couldn't tell whether he was angry or depressed, but it was obvious that he didn't like what Ichigo said and Ichigo could see why, but for his own good he's going to have to live with it. "There ain't no way dat I'd agree ta let ya hand yurself over like dat. King, ride backseat fer a bit and hang on tight 'cause it's gonna be a bumpy ride."

Ichigo's scleras started to turn dark again like when he uses that weird healing power. His irises turned a golden yellow and a strange malicious smile that can compete with Grimmjow's took over his face and he let out a loud cackle, but that voice wasn't Ichigo's it was darker, scarier, and sounded like it belonged to something that crawled out of hell rather than anything that came out of Ichigo's mouth.

It didn't take him long to realize that whatever that was it wasn't Ichigo as his opponent's eyes were glued to his face and a smile stretched across that mimicked the one that Ichigo, or…whatever replaced Ichigo had on.

It was weird having Shiro obtain control on his body. It was like he could feel every move he made and he could see everything from the first person perspective just like how he should, but he felt incredibly stiff, and that was probably because he had no control over his body. He couldn't even relax his muscles or blink. Every move that he made was not by his own volition, but Shiro's and he had front row seats for every action he took.

This sensation wasn't new to him. He definitely felt something like this before, but not to this extent. Whenever he was in a fight and his body would move on its own. He always thought that it was just because of instinct, but it seemed that Shiro was the source of it and the driving force that moved him and attacked before anything too bad happened to him. It wasn't even exclusive to fighting. The first time he healed Grimmjow was thanks to him. He moved on his own without him really thinking. Healing Grimmjow wasn't necessary for Ichigo's survival, but Shiro must have taken sympathy since it was Ichigo's desire to see Grimmjow again that helped him overcome vampirism.

He felt his arm stretch out and a large weight in his hand appeared that belonged to the large sword that he was able to summon. Shiro was going to fight. There was no way he was going to just sit back and let Ichigo hand himself over. He was too free spirited and it seemed that he has officially lost patience with Ichigo. He wasn't strong enough and it frustrated him and it only seemed to fuel Shiro's anger even more. Seriously, this guy was so hard to work with. It seemed like they had a lot in common.

"There we go. Now the real challenge starts." The opposing shinigami said shoving Grimmjow to the side and making Grimmjow fly ungracefully across the empty street. After tumbling a few times he was able to land on his feet and watch in horror as he knew that he couldn't stop what was going to happen next.

The Ichigo-look-alike swung the sword around by its scarf like how people do to their keys when it is on a lanyard. Don't parents tell their kids not to do that? Someone can get seriously hurt, but it seemed that was the objective in this case as he threw the sword while hanging onto the other end of the scarf.

The shinigami pulled out his own sword that hung on his waist. It was a lot thinner than Ichigo's and it even seemed to be rusty. You'd think Ichigo's clone would snap that sword in two with a single attack, but the way the shinigami was able to deflect the incoming blade proved that the battle wasn't that easily won just because a sword is in better shape.

In the blink of an eye Ichigo's (possessed?) body was behind the other Shinigami at a speed that could compete with a vampire's. Are all shinigami really that powerful or was it all thanks to whatever that thing in Ichigo's body is? Grimmjow didn't sense any malicious intent from it, at least directed towards him and Ichigo. It wasn't because of Grimmjow that they were able to live that long, but this thing's? It was Grimmjow's job to protect Ichigo, wasn't it? Just staring at Ichigo's body fighting an incredibly strong opponent didn't exactly make Grimmjow feel safe. It made him feel competitive. He wasn't ready to have Ichigo fight for his sake even though that wasn't technically Ichigo.

That emotion didn't last long until it was taken over by the feeling of urgency. As not-Ichigo jumped over the incredibly tall shinigami's head his foot was grabbed in a vice grip causing him to gasped, startled that the extremely tall man was able to read his unpredictable movements. He hung upside-down, his shirt falling down to his chest and revealing Ichigo's flat, muscular stomach.

Not-Ichigo growled and tried swinging himself so that he could kick the tall shinigami, but he was able to take in the impact as if he was getting punched by a toddler. He sighed as he let him hang in his grasp.

"Seriously, Ikkaku over exaggerated big time when he talked about you. I thought that you would be a challenge, but you are a thousand years too early to even be able to leave a scratch on me. This is such a pain in the ass. I came all the way out here just to pick up some trash."

A black door appeared out of nowhere behind him and not-Ichigo's black and gold eyes grew wide and he struggled harder and cursed in his weird voice. He swung and resisted like a fish out of water that was just trying to hop back into the ocean. He acted like his life relied on him breaking free and for all Grimmjow understood it very much could.

"Wa-wait, I ain't ready ta go ta the afterlife yet." He called out, desperately trying to break free. His eyes showed fear like a cornered animal which contrasted completely from what he was just acting like before, a psychotic maniac.

Grimmjow's heart melted. Though his strange voice had a strange accent and talked completely improper, the way he stuttered and cried out somehow reminded him of Ichigo even though Ichigo wouldn't usually show that sort of face. He didn't know who that guy was, but the way he fought and used his powers in Ichigo's stead it must have meant that he was somehow part of Ichigo or he was some kind of alternate personality. Whatever it is, it at least had a reason for protecting him too.

"Yeah, clearly you aren't ready to work yet. You're totally untrained, and you can't control that thing inside you, but that is what Shino Academy is for. I don't see why Central 46 is going completely crazy about a hybrid like you. Oh well, I guess that doesn't matter anymore. I'm leaving you alive for now because I decided to take pity on you, but your execution will probably take place on the other side. Aren't you lucky?"

The black door opened and all that could be seen behind it was a blinding white light. The shinigami started to walk towards it and not Ichigo somehow managed to struggle more than he already was. Wait a few more seconds and he probably would have started sobbing.

Grimmjow wasn't thinking. He was suddenly behind the shinigami that dared to take his Ichigo away. He didn't try to lay a hand on him; he was more focused on something else. He stretched his left arm behind him and closed the door and blocked it with his body.

Grimmjow felt an odd tingling sensation in his left hand that he used to close the door. It didn't hurt or anything, but if felt like what happens when you sit on your hand for too long. It falls asleep and it feels as if there are seeds running up and down every movement you make.

"You aren't taking him anywhere. He's going home with me." Grimmjow growled.

The intimidating shinigami looked at him completely unamused. "How are you planning to take him home when he is going to the afterlife? Do you wish to join him, vampire?"

"Not in this lifetime. Ichigo is going to be my partner forever. I'm claiming it now even though he didn't agree to the contract yet. I didn't let Aizen take him away so there is no way that I am going to let you get away with it."

"I don't care." The shinigami said. "I don't know who this Aizen guy is, but I seriously don't care enough. How were you even able to touch Heaven's door? Did this guy use a healing spell on that hand of yours or something?"

The door Grimmjow just closed must have been the said Heaven's door and he didn't exactly know the side effects to touching it, but it seemed that he had Ichigo to thank again for healing his left arm. If he didn't then touching the door might have done something else to him.

Grimmjow didn't answer, but it didn't seem that the shinigami actually cared what he had to say since he just reached past him to try and grab a hold of the door handle. Without thinking Grimmjow grabbed onto his wrist and squeezed.

"What did I just say? I'm not letting you take him."

The shinigami sighed and slung the struggling not-Ichigo over his shoulder and held onto him with one hand ignoring his futile kicks and punches on his back as he tried to wiggle his way free.

"Since I'm already here I don't mind taking you out either. If you get in my way you are going to regret it."

Grimmjow braced himself for another fight, but now he had fewer options where he can attack with Ichigo being his hostage. It looked like he lost his chance to fight though.

"Let him go Kenpachi." Grimmjow whipped his head around to the man standing behind him. He wore a white lab coat and a pink shirt with a white flower pattern. The way he was dressed seemed goofy, but the way he presented himself said that there was no time for games.

"Wow, my job just became that much easier. Thanks for coming out Isshin."

Not-Ichigo pushed himself off of his captor so that he could get a better view. There was a look of shock on his face like he didn't know Ichigo's father's secret either. The black in his eyes started to deplete and the golden rings in his eyes turned back to Ichigo's copper brown. Ichigo was back, but the look of shock remained on his face. He was so focused on the site in front of him he almost forgot the position he was in.

Grimmjow looked between the two shinigami. These two knew each other? He didn't know what their history was, but damn he felt like he was out of place. He was so used to vampire lifestyle and he thought that that was complicated. Shinigami lives were in a completely different realm of understanding that he has never seen before. It reminded him of what it was like when he first turned into a vampire and he had to learn what everything meant even if his first few years of being a vampire mostly consisted of wandering with his father. It looked like things were about to get a bit more complicated.

"You can save me a second trip if you decide to come with me right now." The invading shinigami, Kenpachi said.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not going to let you take my son away. Ichigo, you might want to brace yourself."

Isshin turned his palm towards him and curled his middle finger in. He looked at Kenpachi as if he were giving one final warning that Kenpachi decided to ignore and flicked his finger creating a large gust of wind that was even larger and more powerful than the one Ichigo can form from his voice.

Kenpachi was thrown back. Ichigo, now back in control of his body was able to take advantage of his unstable footing and by wiggling out of his grasp. Kenpachi tried to grasp at him again, but Ichigo delivered a harsh kick to his stomach while he flailed before falling onto the concrete street with his hands breaking his fall.

Isshin turned to Grimmjow. "Get Ichigo out of here. I'm counting on you to take him as far away from here as possible." He said. He didn't need to say anymore before Grimmjow was at Ichigo's feet, lifting him off the ground and carrying him in a bridal position. For the first time ever, Ichigo didn't complain. Isshin quickly threw his hand out to his right side and something seemed to shatter. "Get going before it closes up. I'll take care of things here."

Grimmjow jumped towards the hole that Ichigo's father created. It didn't seem like he did anything, but Grimmjow could smell fresh air coming from where he threw his hand out. Grimmjow sprinted out before the shattered part of the protective space closed in leaving Kenpachi and Isshin to duke it out.

Grimmjow followed Isshin's orders. As soon as he was outside he quickly put Ichigo down so that they could blend in with the people who were walking up and down the street. "Can you stand?" Grimmjow said while putting Ichigo down lightly. People walked passed them pretending not to care that they saw just a second ago a blue haired man was carrying an orange haired man who was clearly an adult. He really hoped that they didn't seem to just pop out of nowhere.

Ichigo nodded quietly, not saying a word. His mind was a bit more preoccupied with other things. He couldn't believe what was happening. His father was a shinigami too? His goofy father? And he was strong enough to fight that guy that completely whipped him and Shiro? What else has his father been hiding from him? His entire life was a lie, but he seriously didn't have time to think about that.

Grimmjow grabbed hold of his hand and walked quickly as his eyes whipped back and forth to find some sort of place out of sight where he can pick up the pace to vampire speed without being seen. It seemed he didn't have to look for long since Shinji Hirako walked out of the shadows with a grim expression on his face.

"Follow me, quickly." He said. "Feel free to hurry up since no one can see you now."

Grimmjow was already aware of the power Hirako had that allowed him to create illusions where strangers won't be able to see them so he didn't need an explanation. He silently praised him for his weird, but helpful ability and scooped Ichigo up. Ichigo didn't protest again since he knew better than to fight in this situation. Shinji ran at a remarkable speed and Grimmjow quickly followed, causing Ichigo's stomach to lurch. It wasn't like he could complain since they were escaping to safety.

Grimmjow was able to keep up with Shinji's speed, but he didn't expect where Shinji was leading them. In front of them stood a rundown looking, traditional Japanese…what was it, some sort of shop? There was a large sign up from that Grimmjow was able to read as 'Urahara Shoten.'

Urahara, Grimmjow and Ichigo quickly remembered the name and it brought back the memory of a sandy-haired man that was supposedly running the abroad program where they had met. Who exactly was that guy? Grimmjow recognized the name when he overheard Ichigo's dad and Hirako talking about it about a week ago, but he still didn't pick up on what this guy's deal was. What did he have to do with Shinigami and what kind of relationship does he have with vampires and hunters?

"Inside," Shinji said leading them through the front doors. Grimmjow put Ichigo down and they walked inside. They scanned the aisles of merchandise. It looked like an old fashioned candy store, but neither Ichigo nor Grimmjow was able to recognize any of the brands. They were written in weird letters that neither of them has seen before. Was it some sort of shinigami language or was it something else entirely?

They were lead into a back room and Shinji lifted a tatami mat that was supposedly attached to the ground, but hidden underneath it was a metal trap door. Shinji pulled something that looked like a metal rod out of his pocket and stuck it into the hole of the trap door. It immediately swung open with a loud clanging sound. All the young couple could see was a ladder and a hole that looked like it leads to pitch black.

"Don't worry, nothing dangerous is down there. It's meant to be a space that can hide your spiritual presence. Hurry up before they find you guys." Shinji insisted.

Ichigo was the first to follow orders. He grabbed hold of the ladder and climbed down slowly. He couldn't even see his hand in front of his face, much less the next step underneath him so he went down slowly, afraid of falling without knowing where the bottom was and apparently the bottom was pretty freaking far down.

As soon as his foot found the bottom his Converse slid across what felt like dirt, but not a small amount of dirt one would find in an abandoned cabin in the woods, but it felt like a dirt path that lead to that cabin. Not only that, but he could feel a breeze like he was outside even though they were clearly underground. He walked further away from the ladder so that Grimmjow and then Shinji could reach the bottom without stepping on his head.

Shinji sighed. "I guess he didn't bother leaving the lights on after he was gone for so long." Shinji clapped his hands together twice and light flooded the room, if you can even call it a room.

It looked like they were outside in some sort of hidden area of a mountain range. There was even a sky. It made absolutely no sense. They climbed down right? With that aside this area was huge! Wait; if they were underground then they had to have dug an enormous amount underground…underneath street and other people's property. Isn't that illegal?

"You'll be safe down here and your dad will be able to find you. All we need to do is wait for him." Shinji said

"Shouldn't we be helping him? That guy was really strong." Ichigo asked. He looked frantic. He was getting over the initial shock of seeing his father fighting as well as revealing that he too is a shinigami. It somewhat started to make sense, the only question being 'how?'

"You'll only get in his way." Shinji said. "Your dad is leagues ahead of you. There is nothing for you to worry about. Your old man is really strong."

Grimmjow growled. "Okay, I've been keeping his dad's secret for too long. I or at least Ichigo deserves some sort of explanation on what is going on."

Isshin didn't always live in the human world. He used to be just a regular shinigami just like the ones that Ichigo and Grimmjow fought before. The way the afterlife works is brutal. Souls get to live peacefully unless they show signs of shinigami powers. As soon as signs show then they get taken away from their everyday lives, their family they have established, and they are forced to go to a boarding school to learn how to use their powers and become full-fledged shinigami.

The process can be compared to being drafted, except Central 46 doesn't leave anyone with promise behind. It is because shinigami abilities are rare and they believe if one has those abilities then they must be put to work. Some souls hide when they find out that they have promise of becoming a shinigami in fear that they will be forced to leave their homes. They hide, but they are always found and the punishment for hiding is brutal.

Isshin and Kaien were born into the afterlife, never experiencing what life was like in the world of the living. They had parents and a family that was all blood related. They were known as the Shiba family. Both of the brothers started to show signs of immense power and Central 46 quickly jumped at them. They were both young, but they were forced to go to the academy.

At Shino academy they were able to meet two people that soon became their best friends and roommates. Shinji was Kaien's roommate while they were there and they were fast friends. On the other hand Isshin was roomed with a complete nutjob named Kisuke Urahara. Isshin was at his throat every now and then, but despite their complicated relationship they became best friends.

They were able to graduate and they were even excited to work as shinigami since it would allow them to see the world of the living which is something that they would not have been able to do otherwise. They lived in peace for generations, working as shinigami and carrying souls to the other side and eliminating anything that may have been a threat to the world of the living or the afterlife.

They were even promoted to higher seats. Isshin, Shinji, and Kisuke were in charge of their own factions and Kaien worked as Shinji's right hand, his job mostly being to make sure he didn't slack off. They were happy despite being forced into their jobs, but that was until they received an order that was too tall for them to carry out. Eliminate the hunters.

Overpopulation of the world of the living has been a fear of Central 46 and vampires were viewed as humans' natural predator. Hunters have always existed in an effort to get rid of those natural predators and they were over looked. That was until there was a movement that was started by Soken Ishida that said that hunters and vampires should reach an understanding.

One would think that a movement like that would decrease the amounts of vampire deaths, but it was quite the contrary. Hunter guilds that strongly disagreed with his viewpoints retaliated and killed more vampires as compensation for the hunters that took what Soken Ishida said to heart. They tracked down more vampires and even tried to form false alliances with them before breaking their trust and slaughtering them. Soken wasn't discouraged though, he just kept on pleading that peace was needed between the hunters and vampires. It wasn't working out for him though. Even his own son didn't support his beliefs.

Slaughtering all the hunters wasn't a small job so Isshin's, Shinji's, and Kisuke's fractions were appointed to be in charge of going down to the world of the living and killing every last hunter. The faction leaders fought saying that slaughtering such a large group of people is unjust and that it wasn't their job to meddle in the conflicts of the world of the living. It had absolutely nothing to do with them; they were a third party that didn't need to worry about the conflicts between the hunters and vampires. It supplied them more work, but that wasn't really a problem.

Central 46 refused to listen to their reasoning and the three fraction leaders decided to rebel. They no longer wanted to be ruled by Central 46 anymore if they made them perform actions that they did not believe in. That was the day Isshin, Shinji, Kisuke, and Kaien decided to escape the institution.

Kisuke was valued as an inventor and the greatest scientist that was ever in the institution. They never thought that they would need to use his inventions to escape though. Long ago he created some sort of portal that would send them to the world of the living without leaving behind any evidence of them disappearing from the afterlife. It'll look as though they have vanished. He created it in secret just in case something were to happen where they needed to leave in secret.

The only other shinigami that knew about it was Urahara's best friend and love interest, Yoruichi Shihoin. She saw them off as they went through the portal and destroyed it once their presence vanished. They haven't seen her since, but she kept their escape a secret.

Urahara sent fake signals around the world that disguised as spiritual energy to throw them off their tracks and it worked wonderfully, making the institution unable to pin point their locations. They decided that it was best for them to go their separate ways since if they all stuck together they may be recognized by any passing shinigami.

They were all able to have their separate lives. Isshin was able to go to medical school and was able to graduate first in his class with the help of the experience he gained as a shinigami and opened his own clinic. He got married and started a family before he lost his wife.

Shinji never really liked the idea of splitting up. He became a web designer and he moved around a lot. He visited the other shinigami escapees whenever he felt like it. He was more of a free spirit and even though he knew that it wasn't wise to check in with the others he never was really good at playing by the rules.

No one was really sure what Urahara did for a living. They thought that he started to meddle with vampire and hunter business as sort of revenge to Central 46. He helped them thrive and decided to learn what was causing so much tension between them. It seemed that Soken Ishida was not the only person that helped hunters obtain a nonviolent lifestyle. It seemed that Kisuke also contributed in assisting hunter groups cooperate with vampires.

Urahara wasn't the only mystery. It wasn't a mystery what Kaien did, but where he went. He like his brother started a family. He married a woman named Miyako and they lived happily. She was somewhat sickly and died while giving birth to his child. He had to leave soon after in fear that a shinigami will come to bring her spirit to the other side and they would notify Central 46 that they have seen him. He was a single father for a while and he loved his daughter more than anything in the entire world, but then he disappeared. There was no trace of him anywhere no matter how long and how much Shinji looked for him.

The three remaining shinigami were able to live in peace until now. They had no idea what spurred the institution to start looking for the escaped shinigami now especially since they had many chances to go looking for them, but they weren't exactly approaching them with open arms. They came with the desire to take them back.

A/N: It's been a long busy week where I haven't had time to do anything I love. Do me a favor and lift my sinking spirits by leaving a review. I love every review I get and each one does a great deal to make my determination stronger. I know I've been slower than usual in responding this week, but I still love to hear your written voices even if it is just a simple "I liked this chapter."