A/N: Hey guys, just letting you know that this will be my last update until next weekend. Winter break is ending, unfortunately, and I have to go back to school. But you can expect weekly updates at the least.

Chapter 3

Ichigo felt exhausted and sore, and all he wanted to do was sleep. The recent events had worn him out. He let out a trembling sigh and glanced down at his now plaster-covered leg. It was almost dry, fortunately. He was grateful that his only serious injury had been a broken leg, but he still couldn't seem to wrap his mind around the fact that he had been hit by a car head-on and survived with only that. He must have good luck. Sort of.

"Well," Yuzu said, examining the small clipboard she held in her hands. "I think you'll only have to wear the cast for about five weeks. It's not too badly broken, from the looks of the X-ray."

He gave his sister a weak smile. "You're becoming a good nurse, you know."

"Thanks," She smiled back appreciatively. "I'd like to think so."

"Where's Karin?" He asked.

"Oh, I don't really know. She's been leaving the house for days at a time lately. We can't really say anything to her, because she is eighteen and all."

Ichigo realized that, but he still felt uncomfortable at the news. Karin was never much of a homebody, but she always came home at the end of the day. He had to accept that his sisters were growing up, though. It was bound to happen sometime.

Isshin walked back into the tiny room with a slip of paper. "Here's your prescription, my son!"

Ichigo took the paper from his father's hands and looked at what it said. It was permission to get some kind of painkillers. "Dad, I really don't need these. I'm fine-"

"No, I insist!" Mr. Kurosaki told him. "I will not let my son sit in pain!"

"But I'm not in that much pain. I'm just tired."

"That's because your leg is numb from the shot I gave you," Yuzu pointed out. "If you take these now it won't hurt that much later."

Ichigo gave up and changed the subject. "You guys are gonna make me stay here for the night, huh?"

"Well, I was hoping you would at least stay for dinner," She said. "We never see you anymore. You'll stay, won't you?"

Isshin nodded at him from behind Yuzu, a silent way of telling him to say yes, if only for her benefit. Ichigo saw this and shrugged.

"I guess so."

Grimmjow and Neliel sat on the curb of the sidewalk, waiting for Ulquiorra to arrive. Grimmjow sighed and ran a hand through his thick blue hair. "Shit... I probably messed up big this time, huh?"

Neliel gave him a reassuring pat on the thigh. "It's okay. I'm sure Ulquiorra will get over it eventually."

"No, I didn't mean that. I meant Ichigo and his manager. What if they press charges? That'll fuckin' suck."

"I don't think they will..." She trailed off, looking down at the dirty pavement. "I saw the way you looked at him, you know. You don't even look at me like that."

Gimmjow rolled his eyes at her and tried to cover up his feelings, though he probably would have gotten defensive if anyone else were to voice something like that. "Come on, Nel. We're not together."

"Never said you did," She replied, although you could tell that she didn't believe him.

"No, but you're thinkin' it."

Neliel opened her mouth to speak again, but then quickly closed it when she saw Ulquiorra pull up in Grimmjow's car. He did not look happy. Grimmjow got up and walked over to the car like nothing had happened, like he hadn't just smashed Ulquiorra's car. Like it wasn't sitting there, waiting for a tow truck to come and dump it off somewhere. Neliel got in the front seat and immediately started muttering a string of apologies.

Ulquiorra ignored her and began to drive again, but not towards his house. They rode in silence for a few minutes, then Grimmjow finally decided to speak up.

"Where're we goin'?"

"To get a rental car, imbecile. Then I'll have to discuss this with my insurance company, and go through a big ordeal just because you decided to go on a pointless joy ride with my car." He spoke to Grimmjow like he was just another intractable teenager, and he didn't like it. Not one bit.

"Bitch. I was trying to have fun with my sister, who you never bother spending time with. You're always leavin' her at home by herself."

Ulquiorra sighed. "You know, some people have to do more than just take pictures of themselves for money. I own a hospital, and I don't expect someone like you to know just how hard it is to keep up with something like that, but you have no right to criticize me about what I do with my wife. Shut your vulgar mouth and keep it that way until we can go our separate ways."

Neliel stayed quiet throughout this, managing to stay the most calm out of all of them, but after Ulquiorra was finished speaking she quickly turned and gave Grimmjow a look that was begging him to be quiet so that the fighting would not escalate. He wanted to say something back to Ulquiorra, but settled against it in order to fulfill Nel's wishes.

They were all silent until they reached Enterprise (a company that rents cars) and Ulquiorra got out to go inside and speak with one of the employees. They sat there for about fifteen minutes before he came out with a tall, lanky man that led him to a plain silver car that had the company's name printed on the side. He made Ulquiorra sign something and then handed him the keys.

Neliel got out when Ulquiorra motioned to her, waving goodbye to Grimmjow.

"See ya," He said as he got out and took his place in the front seat. She nodded and gave him one last look before going to her husband and their newly rented car.

Ichigo stuffed a bite of teriyaki in his mouth, feeling like he hadn't eaten in years. Yuzu offered him seconds and he took it, feeling like a pig. Nobody really spoke as they ate.

Karin walked in the house halfway through their dinner.

Isshin didn't even bother saying anything to her about her tardiness. He only gave her a small nod, which she returned while she took off her coat and sat at the table with them. She didn't seem to notice Ichigo until she sat down.

She raised a eyebrow, questioning him. "Why're you here, Ichigo?"

"I was hit by a car." He said simply, like it wasn't a big deal. It really didn't feel like one anymore, the aftershock having worn off hours ago.

Karin stared at him for a few moments. "Really? What happened?"

"Long story short, I decided to go for a jog and a barbarian with blue hair ran over me. I only broke a leg, though." He knocked on his now-dry cast for emphasis.

"Oh... sorry about that, Ichigo."

He shrugged his aching shoulders and took another bite of his food. Karin had changed since the last time he saw her, which was a month or two ago. Over time, she began dressing more like a woman than a boy, and she had even given up her dirty baseball caps. It made him feel strange to see her with longer hair and more womanly assets; It didn't even feel like the old Karin at all.

Yuzu remained about the same, she didn't even grow much taller. She still made dinner every night, still cleaned up around the house. The only difference with her was that she was now working on becoming a nurse to be alongside her father in the medical field.

Isshin had stopped attacking Ichigo every time he saw him, finally giving up after he realized his body was aged a little too much for those things now. The melodramatic personality remained, however.

When Ichigo finished his dinner he got up and wobbled over to the sink to rinse his dishes off. He made his way back to where his old room was, his family looking at him silently as he went. His body was sore and he just wanted to go to sleep.

He opened the door and went inside the room, feeling a small wave of nostalgia as he did. The room hadn't changed all the much, probably the only thing that hadn't in this household. Ever since he moved out they had all begun to change. It was a bit depressing when he really thought about it.

He flopped down on his already-made bed and lie there for a little while before finally falling asleep.

Ichigo tossed and turned throughout the night, sometimes forgetting about his leg and bumping it against the wall. He had nightmares and woke up a few times in a cold sweat, forgetting what the nightmares had even been about. When morning finally arrived, he woke up at the crack of dawn, still feeling overly exhausted. He wandered out into the living room and saw that nobody was awake yet, so he just turned on the TV and sat down.

The TV was on a local news channel, which showed a blond-haired woman reporting something about an accident that had happened the day before. At first Ichigo just brushed it off and was about to change it until he gathered that they were talking about the accident he had been in.

"The car was speeding down the road at an alarming rate," The woman said. "And the driver lost control as he tried to turn. Whilst trying to right the car he over-corrected it and ran into a jogger on the sidewalk. The jogger survived with only a broken leg, but the front end of the car is destroyed. The car is believed to belong to Ulquiorra Schiffer, the owner of a large expanding chain of hospitals here in the city. More details are yet to be released. Back to you, Tom."

The screen flashed over to a man reporting about something else, and Ichigo pulled his attention away from it as he took in what he had just heard. Ulquiorra Schiffer... that man was very wealthy. He used to be a rival to his own family's hospital until he surpassed them in business. Why had Grimmjow been driving his car?

He leaned his head back on the couch. He didn't take very kindly to that man hitting him, and if it hadn't been an accident he would have been severely pissed.

Still, why wasn't he mad now?

He knew he should be, but he just wasn't. He'd even forgiven the blue-haired man already. Ichigo wondered to himself if he really was attracted to him, like Yoruichi had suggested. His cheeks flushed a bit and he was glad that he was alone and nobody could see him. He admitted to himself that he was attracted -just a little- but didn't plan on acting on that feeling. That man was far too immature to even consider talking to. Right?

"Murooowww."

Grimmjow felt something lick his ear, and still half asleep he swatted at whatever it was, not feeling awake enough to even bother with it anymore than that. His hand rested on something soft and hairy, which he then realized was the warm body of his cat, cleverly named Pantera. It purred and rubbed it's face against his head. He swatted at it once again, grunting.

Now he was almost fully awake, but still not enough to realize that the cat was laying its dirty ass on his pillow.

When he finally did come to that conclusion he propped himself up on one arm and chucked the animal off his bed. It hissed and sputtered at him before scurrying off.

"Dumbass," He called after it, his voice thick from sleepiness. "I thought I told you to stay off my fuckin' pillow."

He looked into the empty doorway for a moment before yawning and sitting up all the way. Before he had a chance to stand up, however, the cell phone on his nightstand rang loudly, it's catchy ringtone pulsing in his ears. He snatched it up and answered it, not bothering to look at the caller ID.

"H'lo?"

"Is this Grimmjow?" She asked.

"Yeah, who's this?"

"Yoruichi. Ichigo Kurosaki's manager."

"Oh," He said, suddenly remembering the past couple of days. "Right. What do you want?"

"Well, I've just recently been notified of the little accident you had, and I was wondering-"

"Is Ichigo gonna press charges on me?" He asked, cutting her off.

"I was about to tell you that I'll convince him not to if you go and... apologize."

"What? Are you trying to bribe me?"

"Glad you accept. I'll pick you up in an hour or so!"

She hung up.

Grimmjow cursed and slammed his phone on the bed. She hadn't even given him the option of yes or no. He threw his blanket off of his body and wondered how Ichigo was even going to react towards him. Would he even forgive him? Or would he be a bitch about it like he was at the restaurant?

He decided he didn't really care.

Or do I? Sure, the kid was easy on the eyes, but he didn't seem the least bit interested in Grimmjow. Though the blushing indicated otherwise...

Grimmjow shrugged and decided to find something decent to wear. He was at least going to look good when he saw him, if nothing else.

Hopefully their third encounter would work out a little better than the last two had.

When Grimmjow had finished getting dressed and feeding his cat, he went outside, remembering that Yoruichi didn't know his apartment number. He leaned against the walls of the building and waited, wondering why he was even letting this happen in the first place. Grimmjow doesn't apologize. Ever.

When he saw Yoruichi's Mazda pull up in the parking lot he went over to the car and got in. She grinned at him, a triumphant glint in her eyes.

"So you do care."

"..."

A/N: Review please.