A Case of Strippers and Stalkers

A/N: Slight change, you don't have to go reread it or anything, but in Sherlock's deduction he identifies Ichigo as asexual, not homosexual. So him and Sherlock have a similarity in that aspect. Of course, they can't stay that way. I've decided on a mixed pairing of the two asexuals. Thought it might be funny and incredibly awkward. Also I've changed it to where it takes place after the Sign of Three, meaning John and Mary are already married. So I guess if you want to reread chapter one for that you can. Anyway, away we go again. Promise, now that I'm feeling better, I should turn out a couple chapters for your porn addicts who are reading Unexpected Kingdom. I get more comments on my smut fics...hrm...

Warnings: See Chapter One.

Flames shall be used to heat the leftovers.

Chapter Two

Dance for Me, and Me Alone

John looked up as the music lowered to manageable level and watched as Shinji came out from behind the curtain holding a microphone. He wore a slick pair of leather pants and a bright pink t shirt with the club logo on it.

"Good evening, Las Noches!" he said with a grin. Cheering went up around him. "Are you ready for tonight's entertainment?" Another round of cheering. "Enjoy yourself on the dance floor, or come over and pay my boys a visit, and few dollars, huh? Again, welcome, and give a round of welcome for our opening performer tonight, giving a hot performance to 'Every Breath You Take', Strawberry Black!"

Shinji disappeared behind the curtain and the music began. Ichigo came out, a strut to his walk, one hand on his hip above the handcuffs, the other hand behind his neck. John had been to strip clubs, but never a gay strip club, so he was fascinated by the way he danced; he was all curves and moves. He pulled moves he was sure were not possible around the pole. The kid's upper body strength was positively amazing… He scanned the crowd and didn't find anything unusual, but he'd never watched a crowd at a strip joint before so he'd have to see if anything changed between now and the next performance.

Finally, he came to rest in a split at the end of the runway, stripped down to a thong with a police badge on the front which was stuffed full of bills by this point. He leaped up with grace and bowed and ran back down to the curtain. There was a rousing round of cheers and then the music switched to the dance floor to wait for the next show. Grimmjow wandered over and smiled.

"Hey, wanna go chill with Sherl at the bar? Get yourself a coke or something while we wait on the next show," he said and John nodded, already getting parched. He headed up to the bar and sat down on a stool, getting Sherlock's attention.

"Can I get a soda?" he asked. Sherlock nodded and handed him one before turning back to a customer.

Sherlock had to lean over as a girl told him her order in his ear, but before she pulled back, John saw her bite his earlobe, giving him a start. He smiled and handed her the drink and took her money. John wondered how often he had to deal with that kind of thing. So he opted to wait there and watch. Sure enough, of few minutes later a man was giving his order and as he leaned back licked Sherlock's cheek. Sherlock fought the urge to grimace and handed over his drink. He rolled his eyes at the blond man, Rose, who had found his shirt apparently. Rose leaned over and said something to Sherlock and John caught the flicker of unease in his eyes as he looked out into the room. A few minutes later, Shinji came over and said something to Sherlock. He rolled his eyes and shook his head but Shinji was pleading, on his knees.

Sherlock growled and threw his towel down and stalked out from behind the bar after Shinji. John waved over Mashiro, a girl with bright green hair. "Where's Sherl going?"

She smiled. "Oh, Shinji is short one tonight. I guess Findorr is throwing up his toenails in the bathroom at the moment, and he doesn't have anyone for the next show. So he asked Sherly. He's done it before."

John swallowed, and glanced across at the stage. Grimmjow surprised him with a clap to the back. "Time's up, bud. Looks like your mate Sherly is going on next. Don't worry; he's doing a tease, not the way down like the regular boys do. Not that you care, eh?"

John went back to his position and wondered just what the hell Sherlock was going to do. Last he knew, he didn't dance, let alone strip… He may not be interested in his friend romantically; he still worried about it because they were after a stalker. He sighed as Shinji came out again.

"Hello again, Las Noches! Another show on the way, with a special guest, someone who hasn't graced my stage in five long years, but who hasn't lost a thing! I think he may have gained some…but here to perform to 'Doctor Love' by Kiss is Sweet Sherly! Don't expect him to strip all the way unless you're really nice to him…" Applause rang out and John blinked in surprise.

Sherlock came out, hips swaying expressively, eyes upturned, wearing a white doctor's coat and a pair of scrubs underneath. He had a stethoscope around his neck, and a badge. He wore a pair of glasses. He got to the end and leaned back against the pole, simply swaying with the music. He got some cat calls, so he tossed the glasses out into the crowd. A few whistles later, and he was wrapping the stethoscope around a guy in the front's neck and moving slowly in front of him. John was still confused by this version of Sherlock. Sherlock removed the coat, stalking around the edge and dropping it to his elbows before shucking it all the way. At the climax of the song, he reached up and ripped down the tear away scrub top and then glanced over his back and walked away as the song died down. He'd acquired quite a few bills in his short trip down. Applause followed him and whistles and cat calls. John wasn't sure how it made him feel. He knew Sherlock was acting…but to do that…. Granted, he didn't do near as much as the other performers, he kind of walked down and removed a few pieces then walked back. Enough to fill a song and get the catcalls.

After the show, when he waited at the bar, he saw Sherlock got pawed and touched a whole lot more by both men and women. He wondered when his friend's resolve would break. Honestly, he was sure it would have gone before then. But he kept up, the only thing showing his irritation was the tight set of his jaw that John noticed now and then. Finally, after all the shows were done and the night ended, or rather the sun was close to rising, John slumped into an empty table as some of the strippers went around helped clean up.

Shinji came out and sat down beside John with a sigh. "How was it?" he asked with a grin.

"Interesting," he said with a sigh. "I think Sherlock might blow a gasket before we get home though."

Shinji looked up and saw Sherlock was talking to Ichigo nearby. Ichigo…who never talked to anyone. Usually, the orangette was out the door before anyone else left, and he was talking to someone he had only just met. He turned to see John looking at the pair talking in the same way. Shinji knew enough about Sherlock's personality to know that he was not generally talkative unless he had to be.

Ichigo caught sight of the new bartender again as he was headed out. He was fascinated by the dark haired man. He was beautiful, that was all there was to it. And Ichigo rarely found anyone attractive. He gave everyone a hard time because they said he was gay, and he refused to agree to it, but the truth was he didn't believe in the labels of heterosexual or bisexual or homosexual. If anything, he was asexual, because he honestly had never been interested in anyone at all, no matter the gender. But he had of course found others attractive, both male and female. Never had he actually done anything about that attraction. But there was something mysterious about this man.

So he sauntered up to the bar and watched him clean for a while and smiled when he turned around.

"What?" Sherlock said in surprise.

"Hey, just wanted to say hi," he said with a grin still. "Sherl, right? You with that new security guard, John?" Of course he'd be taken. No way someone as beautiful as this man would be single.

Sherlock shook his head. "No, John's my flatmate. I'm…not often attracted to others. Not that way." Sherlock didn't know why he'd say that. He was supposed to be playing the part of the gay bartender after all.

Ichigo smiled wider. "So like me huh, more asexual than homo huh?"

Ichigo caught the slight start. Aha, he wasn't expecting me to be observant like that, was he? "Yeah, everyone's on my case that I'm gay. I don't think so. I don't pick someone on gender, is all. Anyway, why are you really here?" he said the last in a lower tone of voice.

Sherlock paused. "What do you mean? I needed a job. I've tended bar for Shinji before."

Ichigo winked. "Nah, you don't need a job. And those clothes are so five years ago, obviously you dug them outta storage, honey, I smell the dry cleaning chemicals on you. And your flatmate over there couldn't be more uncomfortable here if he tried."

Sherlock didn't know what to say. "So why do you think I'm here?" he asked, sitting down the glass he was holding.

"I think that Shinji called you in because of my stalker problem, because he doesn't think I'm worried about it, when I am, of course. My idea of fun isn't being murdered because someone is obsessed with me. But I'm stuck; the cops can't do anything without evidence. So yeah, you and John show up right before the weekend and I think Shinji called you," he said, sitting back and crossing his arms and staring at Sherlock.

"Well, I wasn't expecting such…observation."

"From a stripper?" Ichigo asked, smirking at him. "I did go to school, you know."

"From anyone," he said. "Come on, I see Shinji and John are talking," Sherlock said, grabbing the younger man by the hand and dragging him behind him.

Ichigo blinked at the sudden contact but he went with it. It kind of felt nice; to have his hand wrapped in that long fingered one. They came up to the table and Ichigo dropped into the seat by Shinji.

"It seems, Shinji, your employee is more observant than you believed him to be," he said in his Sherlock voice.

Shinji groaned. "Ichigo…really? It's only been one night."

"Sorry, but John's just too obvious that he doesn't belong. I mean, he oozes the 'stay away I'm straight and married vibe' even if he wasn't wearing a ring. And this one is wearing clothes from five years ago that smell fresh from the drycleaners," Ichigo said with an eye roll. "But I'm not going to fight you on it like you think, Shin, really. You don't think I'm worried? I am. I really am. I don't really want to end up in the alley behind the place with a slit throat."

Shinji sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "Okay, well…"

"Maybe he could stay with me," Sherlock said suddenly. "I mean, Mrs. Hudson is always downstairs, and I'm usually home, and since this is my only case…and since you sleep at the new place now, I'm alone the rest of the time. I've got the extra bed now too."

John frowned. "But what if someone sees him going in with you?"

Sherlock looked at him. "Put him in a hoodie to cover his hair and face, and if anyone asks, he's a college mate of mine staying for a week or two. There's no more danger of him being caught in my place than us being caught going between here and there."

Ichigo's phone beeped and he grimaced. "Right on time," he muttered, pulling out the fairly new smartphone.

Shinji looked uncomfortable. "What this time?"

"He's quite original. 'You can arrest me anytime. But I'm warning you, keep dancing, and you won't make it on stage next week. I've already warned you. You will dance only for me.' Oh great, now he's on about my dancing again," he said with a sigh.

Sherlock took the phone and scrolled through the messages. "So he was either here or he has someone watching the show for him. A good possibility because this kind of obsession is hard to hide. If he employed multiple people to limit the chances of one of them being caught… he would definitely be harder to identify. His aggression is getting progressively worse," he commented as he scrolled. "And it always comes in with no number like this?"

"No idea how he does it, the police weren't able to trace it," he said.

Sherlock grinned. "Well, they might not, but come on; I'll call when I get home. Maybe I have someone that can help."

Ichigo nodded, pushing the phone into his jean pocket. "Where do you live anyway?" he asked.

"Baker Street," Sherlock answered and ushered him and John out.

First they dropped John off and Ichigo watched him stumble into the flat. "So he doesn't live with you?" Ichigo asked.

"No, he got married recently, so I've got the Baker St place to myself now," Sherlock said with a sigh. "And it's Sherlock, actually, Sherlock Holmes."

"Well, you got my real name already," he said with a smile. "And John?"

"John Watson, so not too much different. Best to keep things simple, you know," he said as they stopped in front of the flat. He glanced at the clock as he paid the cabbie. "Almost six am…these hours will take some adjustment," he said softly. "Come on then, I'll let you meet Mrs. Hudson."

They went in just as Mrs. Hudson was coming around. "Oh, hello dear, and who is this?" she asked, glancing at Ichigo.

Ichigo was still mostly made up from the night before with the stage makeup and he was covered in glitter body powder. He wore a grey hoodie over his tight t-shirt and ripped jeans. He'd forgotten to change into regular shoes though, and was still wearing the heeled boots from earlier. He bowed slightly to her.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, ma'am," he said with a grin.

"Friend that will be staying for a bit, Mrs. Hudson. We'll be keeping late hours, though, so don't worry when we come in and out."

"Sherlock, what on earth did you do to your hair?" she asked, looking up.

"For my case, Mrs. Hudson, same as the clothes. Ichigo here is my case. He works at Las Noches club and he's got himself a stalker. So I'm letting him stay here to keep an eye on him, hoping that Mycroft's meddling will help with my case in the end," Sherlock said with a huff.

"Oh goodness, dear, you work at that strip club downtown?" she said. Sherlock blinked, always surprised by the things his landlady knew.

"Yes, ma'am, I do. Been there a year now. Started stripping for the money but it is really quite fun now," he said with a wink at her.

"Oh, that's nice, dear. Now, try not to make too much noise when you come in, in case I'm not up!" she said and walked away.

Sherlock shook his head and took him upstairs. "Well, there is another bedroom upstairs or you can use mine, I rarely sleep on a case, so I doubt I'll sleep today."

Ichigo frowned. "I'd rather stay nearby, if you don't mind…"

"Just down the hall there, past the bathroom. Feel free to use it, there's towels in there. I'm sure you'd like to deglitter…" Sherlock said with an arched brow.

"Yeah, that'd be nice," he said and headed into the bathroom, then leaned out.

"I didn't get any clothes," he said with a frown. "I mean, I don't mind being nude but it's your house, dude."

Sherlock blinked. "I'll get you a dressing gown," he said, going and retrieving a white dressing gown he never wore and hung it inside the bathroom door. "I'm taking your phone so I can see about finding a trace for that number," he called, hearing an affirmative noise among the shower water.

Sherlock sat down with it and pulled his own phone out and texted Mycroft.

Could use your assistance on a case. Phone number the Yard cannot trace. SH

Send it to me. I may be able to help. MH

Sherlock sent it to him and hoped that they could come up with something before he picked his phone up again and texted Lestrade.

Any way I can get case files on a case about Ichigo Kurosaki? I've taken his case, he's got a stalker. SH

I'll drop by after work. That isn't really my division, Sherlock. I'll have to pull it from that division. -Lestrade

Sherlock rolled his eyes and picked up his violin to think. He'd been on the stage, and he'd made sure to take the opportunity to find any people who were out of place, but how could you identify someone out of place among those at a strip club? He was perplexed. The messages were obviously obsessive. And they were getting progressively more possessive of Ichigo. And they went back almost to the day he started working at Las Noches. So what did that indicate? Someone who was a consistant regular for over a year, or someone who followed the new dancer from somewhere else. Well, the answer was in Ichigo's history of course. So that was his first step. He paused and heard clapping. He turned to find a still partially wet Ichigo standing behind him with a towel around his waist.

"I'm sorry, it was beautiful, I just couldn't resist coming out to listen," he said with a shy smile.

"Oh, no problem," he said, putting it down carefully.

"Don't stop on my account," he said. "Violin has always been one of my favorites to listen to. Never had talent myself," he said with a shrug.

"I play when I'm thinking, and I was wondering some things, if you want to answer some questions before you rest?" he asked.

"Sure," he said, flopping down into John's chair in his towel and leaning back, scratching at his wet hair. "I'm an open book, what do you want to know?"

"Well, this guy started in almost as soon as you started at Las Noches, so he is either a regular from before you started, or someone that was already following you. So I need to figure out which is the most likely scenario," Sherlock said, leaning back and watching him.

"Okay, well before Las Noches… Okay, well, my family moved to London when I was about ten. My mom was killed when I was nine in a mugging outside Tokyo, so we decided to move to London not too long after that when I dad was offered a job at that St. Bart's hospital. He's in pediatrics. Anyway, I got into Cambridge, majored in Japanese studies for a while, got bored, changed and studied archeology a bit, but didn't like that, so then I did some chemistry, and finally graduated after six years with my degree in English. That was about a year and a half ago, and I tried working as a teacher, and hated it so I quit, and that's when I met Shinji one night at the club. He asked me what I thought about dancing, and I tried out on amateur night. And that was that. I've been working four nights a week ever since!" he finished with a nod.

Sherlock frowned. "Anyone who you remember from school that you've seen at the club?"

"Oh lots. Well, no one I don't know personally. I went to school with Uryu, and a couple of the other dancers. But as far as the audience, if I don't talk to them, I can't tell you. You know what it's like on stage, the lights do a good job of blinding you pretty good up there," he said with a sigh, scrubbing a hand through his orange hair.

Sherlock sat thoughtfully for a moment and huffed a deep sigh. "So, it could still be either."

"Yeah, sorry, I mean that's not much help," he said.

"Any past relationships that could be coming up again?" Sherlock asked looking up. "Jilted lovers tend to be possessive."

"Nope, would have to have had a lover for that to happen," he said with a shrug. "Never even dated anyone seriously, I think the furthers I ever got was when I kissed Uryu when we were in college, and then a week later we found out we were cousins and that put a stop to that one…"

Sherlock tipped his head thoughtfully. "Cousins?"

"Yeah, the way my dad got the job here was Uryu's dad is my mom's cousin, and he works here at the hospital in cardiology, and got him the position with pediatrics. They didn't really talk much outside work, and Uryu and I went to different schools until we both ended up in Cambridge together. Then when I brought him home one weekend, dad told us about how we were related. At that time he didn't know about my experimenting with both sexes. But neither did much for me," he said with a shrug.

"I can sympathize there," Sherlock said with a sigh. "They can be burdensome attachments."

"But well worth it," Ichigo said with a sigh. "Would be nice if I could find one of those attachments," he said, brows knitting in a scowl.

Sherlock shook his head. "I'm unsure. You should sleep, we'll need to be aware tonight, with it being Saturday night, and the club should be busy."

Ichigo nodded and headed off to the bedroom, grabbing the gown as he went. Sherlock sat down and steepled his fingers under his chin and slipped into thought again.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

"Sir?" a voice came from the door.

"Enter," came the expected response.

"There is no that he has been deterred from dancing as of yet, sir. Who would you like to go tonight?" the man before the desk asked with a blank expression.

The dark eyed man ran a hair through his wavy brown hair. "Yes, yes, I think we should send a message tonight, send Nnoitra and Tesla. Make sure that they catch him alone with someone else, then have them beat their message into his friend, whoever it is. Time to escalate since my presents aren't seeming to attract his attention. Thank you, Tousen."

"Aizen-sama," the dark skinned man said with a bow and exited the room.

Aizen turned and faced the window that stared out over London. He'd followed the Kurosakis from Japan. And he was not about to lose his prize. He had put too much work into the boy to lose him now. Too much time, too much energy, and far too much money. Killing his mother and injecting him with the serum had been tedious, but then to have his father run off with Aizen's only test subject that survived… Very annoying.

He needed the boy for multiple reasons. Of course, it didn't hurt that he'd grown into quite a lovely creature on his own. The genetic enhancements no doubt helped. But most of them should have been to his mental acuity. He looked through the files again. Inside, there were transcripts, copies of his assignments from Cambridge, photos of him at various points, and most annoyingly, his penchant for wasting the mind he had been given on stripping. Granted, it only fed Aizen's own desire. He'd actually desired the boy for his own from his childhood, a sweet child with bright orange locks and those big brown eyes. But he was snatched from his grasp before he could take him and satiate the desires. He had always preferred younger men, and unfortunately, London's age of consent was higher than Japan's, which had caused him great annoyance.

Either way, he had to convince the brat to come to him. He could kidnap him, he supposed, but he would much rather have a willing partner in his endevors. To be honest, he wouldn't have begun trying to influence him to leave the club if he hadn't been afraid he'd gain other admiriers. That was unacceptable. And Aizen had to bide his time. It had taken time to set up his organization and finally things were to the point where he could do what he wanted instead of having to make sure Hueco Mundo was run properly. It was the main front for his underground network. Granted, it was a gentleman's club, and he ran his main prostitution ring out of it as well as his vast drug network. It brought in quite a lot of money.

But of course, before any of this, Aizen was a researcher and scientist. All of this illegal stuff was simply a way to fund his own research. And finally, he had set up his top tier men and women, his Espada as he called them, and they could run things seamlessly without him calling every shot. It had taken nearly ten years, but finally, things were to the point that he could delve into his work without fear of being pulled away for trivial things such as drug raids or weapons busts. London was extremely easy to work in, he found.

He had Nnoitra for the prostitution ring, Barragan for the drug trafficking, and Starrk for the guns. And all he really had to worry about was getting his prime test subject back. Of course, no one knew the reason he wanted the orange headed stripper. They simply thought it was their boss's perverse pleasure. But it was oh so much more than that. He had an experiment to complete. And if he was successful, he would be the most well-known scientist in the world, if the least ethical. He smiled. Infamy was better than dying unknown like his once friend Urahara would do…