I make no excuses beyond I'm a lazy bum with little to no motivation who may or may not be clinically depressed, idk.

~x~

Wanna Go Out? continued

~x~

Ichigo paced beside where Grimmjow was lounging on his bed and eating ice out of the bag that he was supposed to be holding against his cheek to reduce the swelling.

"Tell me again what he said."

Grimmjow groaned, crunching down on the shards of ice between his teeth. "I've told ya twice already, he said he can't have what he wants. Didn't say what he wanted or why he thought he couldn't have it. Ya see how much he liked talking to me." The arrancar waved at his bruises.

Ichigo made a frustrated noise in the back of his throat. "I don't get it, I give him days out to do whatever he wants, but as soon as it's a day with you, he hates it. Why?"

Grimmjow shrugged. "Hell if I know. He's hurting though, dunno from what, but he is."

Ichigo himself looked pained, and Grimmjow could tell from his absent gaze that the orange head was reaching inwards. "He's blocking me, I can't even tell where he is right now. Dammit, I thought we'd gotten past this!"

Grimmjow sat up and caught Ichigo's hand before he could begin pacing again, pulling the teen to stand between his legs, looking up at the human from his seat. "Look, he's got some issues, we know that now, but pushing ain't gonna do us any favors considering how he reacted today. We gotta give him a little space, and if he doesn't come back, then we'll push again."

Ichigo looked stricken that his Hollow wouldn't come back again, but he nodded in agreement. He sighed like the world was finally succeeding in squishing the air out of him, slumping over and hugging Grimmjow's shoulders. "I dunno what to do, Grimm, why is he like this?"

The arrancar reached up and patted the orange head on back a few times. "I dunno, Ichigo, best just let him come back to ya. Ya said he always does, right?"

Ichigo nodded numbly, nuzzling his face into baby blue tresses. "Yeah…"

~x~

"Go'way, old man."

Zangetsu ignored the Hollow's surly greeting and resumed lowering himself into the window of the sideways building. He looked absently around the room, observing where claw marks infested the white washed walls, but the two colored walls remained untouched. He sighed sadly.

"Humanity is not affecting you well."

Shirosaki snorted obstinately, drawing another jagged line into the white wall with one black fingernail. "Ya don' say."

"Why will you not tell them?"

"Ya know why."

"Of course I know why you think you cannot tell them."

Shirosaki whirled, black and yellow eyes flashing dangerously. "Don' ya dare patronize me, old man! Th' only thing ya feel is shinigami! Ya know nothin' bout what I'm feelin'! Or wha' King's feelin'! No matter how much ya pretend to! Ya don' have th'parts!"

Zangetsu remained silent against the Hollow's outburst. It was true, he was a zanpakatou, born purely of shinigami origin. He didn't understand the concepts and intricacies of human emotions, probably would never grasp them. He would certainly never experience them in the same form as humans. Shirosaki, on the other hand, half Hollow and half human, raged war between instinct and emotions, destroying his self-image in the process.

Zangetsu retreated from the room, vowing to intervene soon, before Shirosaki irrevocably damaged himself.

~x~

Ichigo sighed, straightening from his hundredth or so crouch, looking into the skyscrapers' windows beneath his feet in search of Shirosaki's hiding place, but yet to no avail. He knew he'd agreed with Grimmjow's plan to wait, the arrancar was reacting favorably well to his humanity, becoming much more relaxed and laid back about things that used to set him off before, but Ichigo couldn't wait. Not when he'd been told that Shirosaki was hurting.

The hand planted between his shoulder blades startled him, and Ichigo yelped with brief alarm and then exhilaration as he fell off the edge of the building, tumbling a few times before landing on the next building below on his feet. He immediately looked up with a broad grin as Shirosaki jumped down nimbly after him, wearing his usual infuriatingly clever smirk.

"Shiro!" Ichigo greeted, not even pretending to be reproachful for the treatment, too happy to finally find the Hollow.

"Sup King." The albino greeted cheekily, tilting his body as if getting ready for one of their races. "Ya here t' scold me for bad mouthin' yer kitty? If ya are, I'm leavin' yer ass to window shop some more."

"Jerk," Ichigo sassed at the revelation that the Hollow had let him look for so long, before shaking his head. "No, I came to talk about what Grimmjow said. He said you're hurting, Shiro."

The albino's smirk lost its playful edge and became a mask. The Hollow crossed his arms and shrugged one shoulder. "Nah, m'fine, King. There ain' been any fights t' get hurt in."

Ichigo stepped forward to cup Shirosaki's elbow in one hand, squeezing comfortingly. "Bleeding isn't the only way someone can get hurt, Shiro." He reached up and brushed hair out of the Hollow's eyes, upset when gold orbs wouldn't look at him. "What's hurting you?"

"I told yer kitty it don' matter, an' it doesn', so drop it King."

Ichigo frowned unhappily. "No, I won't just drop this, Shiro. Something's wrong, tell me what it is, I can help."

The albino closed him off, ignoring the plea. Ichigo found himself missing the playfulness he'd gradually coaxed from the Hollow. Its absence was screaming at him now. And then Shirosaki wouldn't say another word.

~x~

"I told ya to leave him alone." Grimmjow poked the pouting boy in the ribs. "S'yer own fault he won't say nothing now. Ya pried when I told ya not to."

"But he's upset! How could I not help him?" Ichigo defended himself, despite still suffering a headache from when Shirosaki had forcibly ejected him for their shared mindscape when he admittedly wouldn't stop pushing for answers. He knew Grimmjow was right, but sue him for being concerned.

Annnnnnnnd that's all I got so far. We'll see if this can continue anywhere further. Ideas are welcomed!