I originally wanted to save this update for Christmas, or even Christmas Eve, but I realize those two are very busy days, and I might as well update now while I have the chappie done. So I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas, or Happy Holidays for those who don't celebrate it. And a Happy New Year too! We all want to see another one of those.

Anyway, I'm glad this chapter was the one I released around this time of year. Anyway, I really hope you enjoy!

Fortuitous Insight

Shortly after the brutal departure from Grimmjow…

Lying in bed late into the night, trying to think about anything but his unstable and near demolished love life, was Ichigo. He had been up listening to Final Fantasy music for about two hours now, wanting nothing more than to disappear from the world altogether. Then maybe Ginjo would finally get the hint and move on with his life.

The more he tried not to think about Grimmjow and Ginjo, the more he did just that.

"What should I do? How can I get out of this mess? And…how can I stop hurting Grimmjow? I can't keep treating him like I have been. He means too much to me for that."

Ignoring his texts, leaving him wounded in the park, and now having abruptly shut him out when all he had done was reach out and show his devotion to him. How much could Grimmjow take? Was he really that determined?

The whole time they've been apart, Ichigo has regretted ever having to break it off with Grimmjow. Now that he's back here in Karakura, it's even harder to deal with it.

What's worse, he'd be forced to see him every day now thanks to French class.

The boy flipped exhaustedly onto his stomach and glanced through his window to the night sky. The stars twinkled sublimely in it, the place where they were at home.

Home.

Grimmjow was home now. At the beginning of the summer, Ichigo would've done anything to have this happen; for that newly opened branch to have opened at that time. But now, seeing Grimmjow hurt over him was unlike any pain the boy had ever felt before.

"I love you, Grimmjow." He spoke aloud before burying his face into his pillow, "I love you so much it hurts me."

The reason he said what he did was because he felt as though he owed it to said man after the farewell he gave him tonight, even if he couldn't hear it.

The Theme of Love from Final Fantasy IV was the next song to play from the radio station, causing Ichigo to lift his deep brown eyes from his pillow and sigh heavily. He knew that one only too well.

"Thanks universe. That's just what I needed…" he uttered sarcastically.

Tuesday morning.

The sun shined brightly in the sky, beaming its warm rays down on Karakura. A warm front was on its way to a good majority of Japan, and many of the large town's inhabitants were ready for it.

As the other students in Miss Misato's homeroom settled into their seats to begin a new day of school, Ichigo found himself distant from them.

All of them were lucky to not have to deal with Ginjo. To not know Ginjo.

The strangest thing about him was, even without being here, he still seemed to have his undesired control over Ichigo's actions and feelings.

But then something hit him.

Who would know if he had decided to get back with Grimmjow? You can't be in two places at once and there was no telling when Ginjo would return. Maybe it was time to put this to an end and finally be happy with the right person again.

Before he completely made up his mind, he remembered Ginjo saying something about sources having gained intelligence on Grimmjow and even his occupation under Aizen. That thought alone scared him. Was he watching right now? Did he know they had been spending time together?

"Ichigo, are you okay today? You seem a little out of it." Rukia leaned over and whispered to him.

"Oh, I'm fine… Just really tired... I stayed up late doing my math homework."

"If you say so… Get more sleep at night. You can do that by doing your homework early, fool." The raven haired girl smiled.

Miss Misato burst through the classroom entrance with a great big smile on her face, "Well good morning class! Who's ready for some camping tomorrow!?"

After a few groans, and even fewer excited remarks, the woman ignored them and took a large swig from her coffee.

As soon as he remembered the trip, Ichigo realized something. He turned to Rukia questionably, "Is our class the only one going on this trip?"

"No. The other two senior classes are going too. I think it's a collaborative assignment or something. Do you even read the permission slips?"

"Yes, I do! It's just…been a while since I saw it."

Knowing what Rukia just told him made Ichigo sigh. Grimmjow was probably going on this trip too…unless he had forgotten to get his paperwork in on time, which was very, very likely.

"I need the remaining permission slips from a few of you so get those to me by five o'clock today please. Nextly, I had to book two charter buses for the trip to the airport and two more for when we arrive in Hokkaidō since going to Daisetsuzan will be a bit of a trip. And finally," Miss Misato glanced down to a clipboard before continuing, "Bring your own tents since we don't have enough for over ninety seniors."

A girl raised her hand and was acknowledged, "We're camping outside? In the cold?"

"We've already got permission to set up enough log fires to keep the area warm for the night. It's a pretty open area we're going to. The park rangers sent us photos. Besides, the weather reports say it'll be in the upper seventies starting tonight. A warm front is coming in. I think you'll all be more than toasty."

"Are we allowed to share tents if necessary?" Renji asked.

"Hm, I don't see why not. Just so long as the person you're sharing with is of the same sex as you are."

Senna noticed the redhead's scheming grin and was about to spill the beans about him and Shuhei, but he quickly snatched her phone off of her desk as soon as she raised her hand.

"Yes, Senna?"

"Hang on a sec please… Give it back, Renji!"

"Then keep your mouth shut…!" the redhead insisted, nodding towards the window next to him.

"I'm gonna get you for taking my baby hostage… And even worse, threatening to throw it out a window!" the girl hissed.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. At least after the morning announcements were over the class went back to talking for a while. No one was paying attention to these two.

After school had let out, Inoue made her way home in the warming air. She walked carefully, trying not to bump into anyone because she was spaced out thinking about Ichigo.

He had been very down lately. She couldn't help but realize it hadn't really started until they had visited XCUTION a few weeks ago.

Maybe he'd want to talk about it with her. She had something she needed to tell him anyway so she texted him and asked him to come over after he got off of work.

For now, she had someone she needed to go and see and an important matter to discuss with them.

Ichigo had locked the door to Unagiaya's and left the keys on her counter just like he promised he would. She'd be pleased to know that he did a good job holding down the fort by himself today.

Now he was heading to Inoue's. She asked him earlier via text message to come and see her as soon as he got off.

Why not? He wasn't doing anything else today besides moping around about Grimmjow. A friendly face was more than welcome to him right now.

As soon as he got to the apartment complex, Inoue rushed out of her suite and leaned over the balcony, "Hiiii Kurosaki-kun!" she waved eagerly.

Said boy smiled and waved back. He made his way up the stairs to her quickly.

Inoue met him at the entrance to her floor and walked with him back to her open door. She had indeed learned her lesson from Zommari, but she still had her door in sight so leaving it open was okay. Besides, Ichigo was here. No need to fear anything when he was around.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Ichigo asked after entering behind the girl and closing the door.

"Two things, actually. Get comfortable. I'll make some hot chocolate for you."

"Thanks."

Inoue walked into the kitchen and took out the hot chocolate mix and some marshmallows she had gotten from Rukia. The raven haired girl had a slight addiction to them so she was always willing to give some away.

When she finished making the drinks, she entered the living room and handed Ichigo a mug and held out the bag of marshmallows for him to take as many as he wanted.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Oh, well… I'm not sure which one to begin with…"

"Start out with the easier one to talk about."

"Hm… Well, I guess Shishigawara-kun and I breaking up is the easier one of the two."

"What? You two broke up?"

"Mhm. Just today actually. It was kind of a mutual thing. After a while of going on dates, we realized we weren't really a good fit."

"Are you okay? Did he do something he shouldn't have?"

"Oh, no. He was sweet about it. There's a chance we might date again in the future, but only if we're ready…and if he's more mature."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, he kind of wanted a bad girl. That's his dream right now. And since that isn't me, I thought it'd be best to end it."

"So when you say mature…"

"I mean when he realizes he wants someone who he could maybe settle down with, not just date for appearances. But he's a high school boy so he's not looking for something like that right now. Which is why I said in the future, it's possible we might date again."

"That's pretty mature of you."

"Think so? Haha. Thanks, Kurosaki-kun."

"I know I don't want to settle down with Gin-I mean, uh-nevermind."

"What did you say?"

"N-nothing!"

"Hmm…"

"Anyway, I'm here, and Rukia is available if you wanna talk about it."

"Actually, I'm going to spend the night over at her place. We're going to school together in the morning."

"You're taking your camping gear with you, right?"

"Of course, silly goose!"

"Well, I'm sure she'll be able to take your mind off the breakup."

"Oh, and that reminds me of the next thing I wanted to talk to you about. This may be a little personal, but I feel I need to ask…"

"Go on."

Inoue looked down uneasily to her mug and began stirring her melting marshmallows nervously before beginning, "Well… Did you…breakup with Jaegerjaques-kun?"

Ichigo became wide-eyed, "What makes you ask that?"

"Well, it's just that I haven't seen him around in weeks. And you never talk about him anymore… Ever… How's he doing by the way?"

"I- Grimmjow and I are just fine. I don't really know how to say it… I guess we're just giving each other some space right now… But I'm positive we'll be together after… I figure some things out..."

"Oh, that's a relief! I thought you two weren't together anymore… And that's not fair because he makes you so happy."

"What?"

"What do you mean, 'what'? Everyone can tell you're much happier when he's around. Even if you argue and fight, you're still having a good time with him. And even Abarai-kun can see you have a lot of fun with him."

Ichigo sat in downright disbelief. He didn't realize he was so much more different when he was with Grimmjow. If even Renji admitted it, it must've been true. He certainly wouldn't lie about things involving Grimmjow.

"Inoue… thanks... I mean it. You really helped me clear some things up. I know what makes me happiest now."

"I'm happy to help you, Kurosaki-kun. And don't let the space between you two get too big. I'm sure whatever problems you're having you can solve." The girl smiled warmly before sipping her drink.

It seemed the universe was telling him not to give up just yet. First Unohana and now Inoue? It was definitely a sign.

"Who'll be next?" he wondered.

"Want to watch a movie?" Inoue asked.

"Yeah, what do you have?"

The girl smiled and crawled over to her bookcase before looking through her collection.

Ichigo watched her, all the while truly glad he had come over.

Neliel ran her fingers smoothly through her long, silky hair as she made her way out of the donut shop in downtown Karakura.

She was on her way to see Grimmjow at work and bring him some dinner, but she had forgotten to eat before she left the house. Those wonderful, heavenly pastries solved that problem in no time.

As she crossed the street, she couldn't help but notice the familiar orange spikes atop Ichigo's head.

"Ichigoooooooooo!" she shouted merrily.

Said boy turned around and smiled when he saw Neliel sprinting to meet him.

"Hey Nel."

"Hey! How's it going? Haven't seen you over at our house in a while! Hiding from my brother?"

"Thanks universe…" the boy commented sarcastically under his breath.

"Huh?" big hazel eyes blinked in confusion a few times.

"Oh…nothing. What are you up to?"

The girl smiled innocently, "Nothing really, just got something to deliver."

"Oh. What are you delivering?"

"Nothing special…"

"Hm, where is what you're taking?"

"In my booksack. And no peeking."

"Do you need me to go with you?"

"Hehe, I thought you'd never ask!"

"Okay, where are you headed?"

"Follow me!" Neliel said as she skipped on ahead of the other.

"M-matte! You're leaving me, Nel!" Ichigo shouted after taking off after the girl.

Yylfordt stepped into the office of his CEO and shut the door behind him.

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

The man looked up from his paperwork and then took off his reading glasses, "Indeed. Please, take a seat."

"Is there some record you need? I'll have to get it faxed from the other office since my move here was so sudden." the blonde asked.

"No, no. There's an issue I need to discuss. It's about your friend in the repair shop."

"Grimmjow?"

"Yes. It's about his current position and where I'm thinking of moving him to."

"Really? Is he in trouble?"

The man sat back in his chair and laughed, "No not at all! I'm just really impressed with his customer satisfaction and his skills as a mechanic."

"Where would you move him to then?"

"Well, I've had this position open for a while and it's worked out nicely at the other two locations of this company. It's the Executive Mechanical Engineer's spot. I've been looking and looking for someone in this town to fill the position, but I can't deny the fact that Mr. Jaegerjaques fits the bill better than any of the other engineers here. I've seen his work. He's capable of not only repairing, but damned near rebuilding a car with practically twice its efficiency. The customers love him!"

"Then why not move him now, sir?"

"Well, the thing is, I can't just move someone who's been working here for little under six months to an executive position… Not only that, but he simply hasn't had any sort of official engineering training."

"Well, I can promise you he knows exactly what he's doing. Cars, apart from sex, are the things he knows best in this world. He's been messing with them since he was fourteen. Can't you make an exception this once?" Yylfordt asked, sure of his boss's intentions.

"I can indeed. But I'm still on the fence about it. The position can remain vacant for the time being, and the other two executives will pick up the slack until it's filled. For now though, I'll monitor Mr. Jaegerjaques's skills a bit further to make sure I'm doing the right thing. Then, after the coming quarterly evaluation, if he accepts the position, I'll promote him."

"Hm…you're not telling him any of this to make sure he won't just be on his best behavior to impress you, huh?"

"Exactly. And don't you let him know anything I've just told you. I needed a confidant and you seem to know him the best so it was intuitive that I choose you to discuss this with."

"Understood. I won't breathe a word of this to him." Yylfordt stood from his chair and made to leave.

"And if things work out well with him, I'll give you a pay raise just for recommending his transfer. Had you not done so, I'd still be flipping aimlessly through resumes right now and never would've noticed how much talent he has."

"Isn't that why you hired him in the first place, sir?"

"You know what I meant. Anyway, remember to keep your lips sealed about this."

"Yes sir."

After exiting the office and closing the door, Yylfordt took a few deep breaths before he tore down the hallways of the building to the warehouse in search of Grimmjow. If he couldn't say anything, he'd make sure the man was doing his best. After all, they both had a stake in this.

"Hey fellas. Where's Grimmjow at?" Neliel asked as she entered the warehouse.

Ichigo stood at the entrance to the building. He should have guessed this was where Nel was going.

Right now, he wasn't really in the mood to see Grimmjow. He had just started to feel better about him after his chat with Inoue, but seeing him now could bring back all the pain from last night. Moreover, he didn't know how to act about the incident. Should he apologize?

"He's in…repair room six." The man Neliel assumed to be a supervisor said after looking onto his schedule.

"Neliel, I think I'll wait in the lobby." Ichigo called.

"Oh no you won't! Get in here and escort me!"

The orange head sighed. Women could be so demanding sometimes…

"Thanks for the help!" she exclaimed to the man before she and Ichigo headed over to the sixth room.

"Neliel, I could hear you from a mile away!" Yylfordt said as he sat comfortably inside the car and let his legs hang out the door.

"Hi Yylfordt. How are you this evening?"

"Better now that you're here."

"Shouldn't you be working?"

"Got off at four. Hanging around this place for the company. And look, you've even arrived to make it even better."

"Is that so…? Where's my brother?"

"Where do you think?"

Neliel got down on her knees and looked under the car. She could see the top of Grimmjow's head as he lay underneath the vehicle with his legs sticking out the opposite side.

"Grimmjow! I brought you dinner!" she yelled in an unnecessarily loud voice.

"Damnit, Neliel!" said man looked up and glared at her.

Blue eyes moved from Neliel to the backs of Yylfordt's feet, then over to the familiar pair of sneakers on the other person.

"What's he doing here?" the bluenette thought.

Ichigo walked around the car slowly, running his fingers along the shiny coat, until he came upon the lower half of Grimmjow's body.

He was wearing a large, dark blue jumpsuit but had apparently taken the top part of it off given the temperature. It was a little warm in this place, not to mention how toasty it was getting outside.

The boy bent down next to him to avoid Yylfordt's wandering gaze.

"So, is this the strawberry you've told me so much about?" he asked.

"Shut the hell up, Yylfordt!" Grimmjow exclaimed while rolling quickly from under the car on his creeper.

"What? I'm just curious… You were on the phone with me for an hour talking about how you and him-"

"Yylfodt, shut up!"

Neliel, now aware of the person Grimmjow had talked to on the phone when he was talking about Ichigo, shook her head and walked over to her brother, "Here, I'm sure you're hungry. I made this just for you." She said after pulling a large container out of her booksack.

Grimmjow looked it up and down a few times before squinting at the girl in front of him, "What did you do to it?" he asked suspiciously.

"Nothing! I told you I'd get you back for the shaken up soda that ruined my sheets later! I wouldn't bring you a sabotaged lunch! What kind of cook would I be if I did something like that!?"

Ichigo felt his cheeks go warm as he observed Grimmjow's newly revealed top half. He was wearing a tight fitted gray tank top that showed off how well-built his torso was. His chest looked really strong and pokable beneath it and his shoulder muscles flexed appealingly as he took the container from Neliel.

He then noticed the dog tag around the man's neck. It was flipped around to his backside so he couldn't tell what it was, but he was sure he could guess that it was the one he had given him a long time ago. Some band he really liked had come to town and he couldn't go see them. So Ichigo had went and gotten a necklace from one of the band members in his stead.

He had forgotten about it honestly, but it was apparently something Grimmjow really appreciated. Looking at it must have reminded him, every time he put it on, of the boy he wanted back the most.

Grimmjow, who noticed he was being watched, turned and opened his mouth to Ichigo to show him some of his chewed up food.

"Aw, gross!" the other exclaimed.

Neliel bent over the man and smacked him against the back of his head.

"That's not what we do with gourmet food!"

When he started choking, she knelt and started slapping him hard against his back.

When his coughing spell ended, the bluenette turned angrily to Neliel.

"You could've killed me you goat-faced pest!"

When he noticed Ichigo's stare at Grimmjow turn from one of disgust to one full of desire, Yylfordt stepped out of the passenger's seat and walked around the car to the other three.

"Hey Nel, wanna go grab some coffee from the lobby? Let's chat for a bit."

"Huh? Why would I wanna grab coffee with-OOOOH… Um, yeah. Let's go! No chatting though."

Neliel walked past Ichigo and left the room with Yylfordt.

As soon as they'd gone, it became awkwardly silent. The tension in the room could be felt even outside the warehouse if one had been watching the two remaining men.

Ichigo tried to avoid staring at Grimmjow as best he could as he inhaled the food Neliel had just given him. It wasn't as hard considering he was eating like he hadn't eaten in days.

Once he was done, the bluenette placed the fork in the container and put it on the ground. He then took a swig of the soda Yylfordt had left in the customer's car.

"You never did like eating with chopsticks…" Ichigo commented.

"And you always did like staring at me."

"What? I wasn't staring at you…"

"You can say you're not a natural redhead, but we'd both know you were lying about that too." Grimmjow grinned.

"Whatever…" the boy's cheeks were growing hot again.

"So what made you come here anyway? I thought you hated me after the way you acted last night."

Ichigo shook his head and looked Grimmjow in the face, "I'm really sorry about that. I wasn't trying to be hurtful to you. And I really don't hate you." He said as he leaned over and wiped some motor oil from the man's cheek.

"You sure act like it." Grimmjow said before grabbing the boy's arm and pulling him closer.

With his free hand, he took Ichigo by the chin and stared him directly in the eyes.

"You wanna let me go, Grimmjow…?"

"Not really. I want to shut you up by shoving my tongue down your throat."

"Too bad we don't operate like that anymore."

"Kurosaki, you should drop the act and tell me how you feel about me. Like I told you before, and this time you can't run away, I know you still love me. I'm not as stupid as you think I am."

"Let me go, Grimm. I…can't be with you right now… You just have to understand that some things are the way they are for good reasons."

Grimmjow closed his eyes and tensed up.

"Grimmjow? Are you…okay?"

*DAAAAAARPP*

Ichigo pushed the man away with all his might and fell on his own rear.

"Burping in my face doesn't help you at all!" he shouted.

"Hehehehahahaha! I'm sorry! It just came out! I promise! I promise!" Grimmjow said through stifled laughter.

"You are so childish!"

"Heh, and that's why you love me."

Ichigo shook his head. Just then, Neliel and Yylfordt entered the room with their coffee.

"I'll see you later!" Ichigo shouted with red cheeks before telling Neliel it was time to go.

He got up off the floor and headed to the exit of the warehouse as quickly as possible.

"But wait-ugh. Well, I guess I'll see you at home Grimmjow," she turned to Yylfordt and blushed, "and see you…never."

"Aw, don't be like that!" the blonde said with a grin. He looked down to Grimmjow who was also grinning, though his was from ear to ear, "What the hell are you smiling about?"

"I think I'm finally getting something back that I had lost." The man responded dazedly.

Neliel walked alongside Ichigo, who had grown unbearably silent, until they reached her house.

"Good night, Neliel. Enjoy the rest of your week." Ichigo said dismissively.

"Matte! Before you go..."

"Hm?"

"I just think… I really think you should give Grimmjow another chance! I don't know what he's done to make you mad at him, but I'm sure he didn't mean to do it. He's been so lonely lately. And even I can tell he's sad and misses you like crazy. I mean, he works out more than necessary, he goes on long drives over the weekends, and he doesn't eat as much as he used to. I just know something's up, mainly because you never come around anymore…"

"Neliel-"

"That guy has ruined everything. Kinko's…Steamroll…? Ginjo! That's what his name was!"

Brown eyes went wide in shock.

"Wait, how do you-"

"Anyway, I know my brother still loves you! And you should stop by more often to see him. Make him happy again. And me too!" the girl ended the conversation with that and walked quickly to her front door.

"Nel, matte! Neliel!"

After the girl fled into the mansion, Ichigo stayed still at the end of the driveway, completely flabbergasted. He was honestly unable to move he was so surprised by her...knowledge…

Neliel knew about Ginjo?

If she knew about him, then did that mean Grimmjow did too?

After careful, tedious consideration, Ichigo came to the conclusion that he probably didn't. Ginjo would be pushing up daisies if he did.

But how could she have found out about him though? He hadn't told anyone about him, not even his family, let alone his closest friends! He barely saw her as of late so it was unfathomable how she could know about Ginjo.

Ichigo glanced up to the evening sky.

"Thanks universe…You really know how to give a person a sign, don't you?"