When They Come For Me.

(Insert fan girl squeal here) I've made it to double digits! Eleven chapters, I'm sooooooo happy! Warnings, this chapter has several POV changes, I'll write then out as they come along, but if there are any mistakes because of it I'm sorry and I'll try and catch them.

Ichigo's POV

"Gun, check. Magazine, check. Sword- polished and sharp, check. Ripped jeans, check. Tight black short sleeved shirt, check. Kiss Shiro…" I pause in my morning check list I'd made last night, realizing that Shiro and I haven't even shared a peck this morning.

"Shiro! Where are you?" I set my gun down and leave the bedroom, deciding to go find the last check for my morning aside from breakfast. As soon as I see the pale figure in the black and grey kitchen a smile crosses my face and I walk up behind him, wrapping my arms around his shoulders and pulling him back slightly so I can kiss his cheek. "Morning, sexy."

"G'morning Ichigo. How do you want your eggs?" I shrug, pressing a line of kisses up and down his neck, just loving the feel of his skin on my lips. "I'll take that as over easy. How's everything in the bedroom going?"

"Good. I was just about to go wake Karin up so we could drop her with Starrk and Lillinette on our way." Shiro looks over his shoulder at me and his eyes make me shiver with delight. I tighten my arms around his waist and set my chin on his shoulder while the eggs cook away in the frying pan.

For a minute or two our eyes remain locked in an intense battle of passion, nothing in the world is there but our eyes and souls. Feeling the overwhelming emotions almost floating off of his body is so calming to me, it's making me forget that it might be my last day on earth. I cant hold it any longer and I blink my eyes slowly, I cant see it, but I know that a smirk is on his face as he shifts his hips a few times then leans his head back against my shoulder.

"Why are you going to wake Karin up so early? It's only six babe, there's no rush." my face blushes red, I cant help but blush whenever he moves in provocative ways.

"Because… she has to get up and get ready. You could always go wake her up and I'll cook more eggs." a smile crosses my face as I look down into the frying pan, the eggs turning brown and burnt as Shiro continues to sway his hips.

"Why cook more? Mine are fine… I'm not that horrible in the kitchen." I let my teeth gently trace and tug at his ear for a moment before whispering into it as delicately as I can.

"Your eggs are burning love." his body jerks in front of mine and he starts fiddling with the frying pan, obviously confused about how to correct his problem. "Here… you go wake up Karin, and I'll deal with this." I gently pry the spatula and pan from his hands, smirking as he grumbles about me being a wizard in the kitchen.

I let another smile cross my face as I toss the burnt and hardened patties of egg into the stainless steel garbage can. I cant help but admire the ring every moment I get to myself, the simple gold and diamond pattern catches my eye and I set the frying pan back down on the stove, grabbing a few eggs and expertly crack three fresh eggs so they fall into the heated non-stick pan and I begin to cook the new eggs that I know wont be burned when they're done.

The sounds of Karin grumbling and Shiro swearing reach my ears and I let out a sigh, wondering how they could have lived the last few years of their lives like this. Hands wrap around my waist and pull be back from the stove suddenly, forcing me to let go of the spatula and squeak.

"Awe… is Ichi-berry nervous?" The low baritone of Grimmjow's voice hits my ears and I thrust my elbow back only to realize it is caught as the blue haired bass-god chuckles in my ear. "I'd say you are nervous. Why'd that be Ichigo?"

"Don't you have a new boyfriend to torment Grimm? Try bugging him." the arms loosen and as I try and step out of the thick arms my hips are grabbed and Grimmjow pulls me back to his chest that way.

"Yeah, but he just doesn't blush like you do. You're too fucking cute Ichigo." anger's boiling in my stomach and I stomp my foot down, making sure that my heel grinds into his toe. The distinctive curse is heard before Grimmjow's arms move and I smile as I return to my cooking task of not burning the eggs like Shiro.

"What the hell you doing here Blueberry-Muffin?" I turn around and see the smirk on Shiro's face as he walks back into the kitchen and bites into a granny smith apple. My mouth begins to water thinking about the sour and sweet taste that would invade my mouth if he were to kiss me.

Granny smith apples are my favorite fruit, then pineapple, pomegranate, and ironically enough strawberries. Shiro and I have shared so many kisses filled with random flavors, the last 'flavored' kiss was the chocolate covered strawberries from last night.

"Ichigo… you look distracted… everything fine?" I have to blink a few times to come out of the retrieve, playing with the gold ring that's hugging my finger as I flip the eggs robotically and smile at Shiro.

"Of course… why wouldn't I be alright? Jeeze Shiro, you always make me out to be an airhead." my smile grows a bit as I notice Shiro literally kicking Grimmjow out of the kitchen before walking over and pressing a kiss to my lips.

"I don't mean to… but you do have a fucking sexy blush. Want me to do anything to contribute?" I shake my head at him and stretch a bit to press a kiss to his lips. With a wink I turn back to the stove and take the three eggs out of the frying pan before cracking another three.

"Nope, but if you wouldn't mind giving those to Karin would be nice." I saw Shiro nod his head from the corner of my eyes and smile as he grabs the plate, rubbing the ring on my finger. My face turns reddish again as I realize that he must have noticed that I have been playing with it nonstop since he put it on back in the restaurant.

I finish cooking off the rest of the eggs for everyone- now including Grimmjow. And walk into the dining room with my plate of eggs, a large plate of toast balanced on my forearm and a large pitcher of orange juice in my right hand. I set everything down and stand up straight, I turn back towards the kitchen and notice Shiro coming out with the four crystal glasses for the juice. I hadn't even noticed that Shiro had gotten up and passed me.

"Here we go! And thanks to my wonderful Ichigo, we have food! God I love the fact he can cook." Shiro sits down beside my chair and I roll my eyes at him as I sit. I feel his fingers brush mine and relax my hand as his fingers interlace with mine. "But I guess just having him here is a good thing for me." my blush is returning as a force to be reckoned with as I try and fight it back.

No matter what Shiro says to me I end up blushing. I hope it's not my fault, but even if it is my fault, I will never change it. My heart beats faster as I wait for Shiro to say something more, even if it's just to see my blush darken again.

"You're a horrible person Shiro… you shouldn't be making me blush because you think it's cute." I can't help but blush a bit more as I take my hand back, while Grimmjow and Karin snigger to themselves.

"I just care, so don't make it seem like I don't Ichigo." I close my eyes and stick my tongue out at him as I used the edge of my fork to cut my egg. "Too cute, no matter what you do." Shiro's voice sounds far off as he speaks close to me.

"Stop it Shiro… you're embarrassing me." truth be told, I love the attention, after getting nothing but negative attention from people over the last few years it is so refreshing to have Shiro just focusing on me, even when I try my hardest to focus on him instead. He's been talking about the wedding since we got back from the restaurant last night, and I try as hard as I can to make sure that he's thinking about himself too.

Apparently me wearing a dress is a cute idea to him and he'll do anything to see me walking down a fucking isle in a long white dress. Well fuck that. He's the one walking down the isle if anyone's gonna do it. I refuse to be walking down an isle to an alter where he's standing there like a god, I'm not about to stroke his ego that much.

"So Ichigo, what are your plans for today?" I look up and turn to Grimmjow, my eyes still slightly fuzzy from the fact that I'd spaced out while I had been looking at the table. The blurred blue slowly turns into Grimmjow's face and I raise an eyebrow, surely he knows what Shiro and I have already planned for.

"Going to kill a bastard- well, maybe just severally harm him. What about you?" thinking about Aizen made me loose my appetite and I set my fork down, allowing the sound of the small clink to just pass through my ears and not really register the sound as a definitive thing.

Grimmjow's eyes go wide before he shrugs his shoulders and sets his own fork down, the food on his plate gone and the juice in his cup half finished. "Going to take Karin and swing by Starrks place to grab Lillinette, I promised them I'd take them to the mall district since I'm going there to get another tattoo. Apparently they both want to pick something out for me. I honestly don't care as long as it's not something stupid."

I cant help but scoff at that "You mean more stupid then the marks under your eyes? Or the 6 tattoo on your lower back? You don't even like the number six Grimmjow."

"I'm thinking about adding a 9 to it… do you have a problem with that?" Grimmjow's eyes turn harsh and I can only smile at him as sweetly as I could.

"Of course… it wouldn't be too weird if you had a tattoo almost identical to Hisagi's… don't you think?" I set my chin on my hand and look deep into his eyes, wondering just what emotion is running through his head as Karin mumbles something about making him get a kitten tattoo.

"Don't you dare question my sanity Ichigo."

"Oh, I question your sanity all the time Grimm." I didn't think before I spoke, I never really do think before I speak, and now was just one of those times. "I hope you don't mind Grimm, but I'd really appreciate if you'd leave me alone from now on. As in: if you touch me again, I'll rip off whatever body part touches me." my lips pull up into a smile as I speak. I hate the feeling of his skin touching me, his hands on my sides makes me shiver and something about his breath on my neck makes me cringe. It may be because Shiro is just an inch or two taller then me and Grimmjow is half a foot taller and his breath is always hot while Shiro's breath is often cool.

"Ichigo… how about we head out now, yeah? I don't really feel like dragging this out for longer then it has to be." I turn my head and look over to see Shiro standing up with a slight scowl on his face. I blink a few times, trying to watch his movements to determine what he's doing. My eyes widen as I watch him grab his gun vest and I stand to follow his movements and I walk into the bedroom. I roughly grab my own gun vest and sword, slipping my arms through the vest sleeves and slipped the sword into the center holster that held it snugly between my shoulder blades without restricting movement.

"Ichigo… do you have everything?" I turn around and see Shiro standing there, magazine belt and harness around his waist and clipped to his legs. I nod my head a few times and look around the room, turning back to Shiro I freeze as I notice him bent down on his knees in front of me.

"Uh, Shiro?" he looks up and smiles before grabbing my calf and gently guiding my foot off the ground. I watch as he gently maneuvers my right leg into the leg of the magazine harness before he does the same with the other, his eyes never leaving mine as he pulls it up my legs and fastens it around my waist.

"The last thing I want, is for my Ichigo to not have enough bullets." my heart beats a little faster as he stands up, his fingers hooked in my pant loops and presses a kiss to my lips. So much passion is there that I scarcely know what to do but grab him, that horrid sinking feeling is back and I know only he can stop it from consuming me.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

We decided against a car- reasonable since neither of us were panning on leaving in a real hurry without our major threat being dead or bound and gagged himself. The sinking feeling is still with me though as we walk, our fingers laced together and his arm hugged tightly to my chest as the passing couples turn their heads in our direction. Shiro is such a good support for me, I know I rely too much on him, but it's not something I can stop- not something I want to stop.

I can see our destination building only a block in front of us and my muscles start to tense, something Shiro seems to notice right away as I tighten my arms around his and as I duck my head into his shoulder slightly. "Ichigo… are you alright?" I shake my head and stop moving my feet, going through with it doesn't seem like a good option anymore, it seems stupid and juvenile.

Shiro turns us and walks into a small alley between two shops, I cant see the building anymore and Shiro turns me so I'm looking at him. "Ichigo, you don't have to do this. If you don't want to, I'm not making you do anything, you know that, right?"

"Of course I know that. I have to do this Shiro. It's my fight I'm just… not sure if I can do that. I mean, sure in the jungle I killed animals, but that served a purpose at the time, they became food and a means of survival… this just seems like justified murder." I hate the fact that I had killed animals, they'd done nothing wrong in the scheme of things and I'd killed them, eaten them, then left them. But killing Shiro's father… I owe the man Shiro's life when I think of it. Without the rat-bastard Shiro wouldn't be with me, looking at me.

"But I'm saying you don't have to do it. I don't know what's going on in your mind Ichigo, so if you don't want to do this, then don't."

"I'm doing it Shiro… I just need a minute, alright?" I watch as Shiro nods his head and strokes my cheek with his right hand. I let my eyes slip shut and started to twist the ring around my finger again, trying to make myself calm again as Shiro's aura begins to overwhelm me again so I can calm down.

My lungs fill with air and I grab Shiro's hands off my shoulders, his eyes scanning my face for something I don't know. "Shiro… I'm fine now. C'mon, lets go get this done and over with." before Shiro can retort and say it's not good for me, I turn and start walking back towards the building, praying to some kind of deity that we both make it out of this little endeavor alive.

With a deep breath I grab the handle for the building once we arrive, Shiro looks as pissed as ever beside me, his brow furrowed and his scowl more threatening then I've ever seen it as we walk into the building.

There are no people walking around doing some kind of business or other, there is just one woman at the front counter, typing away at her computer with a scowl of her own in place. I walk forward with Shiro beside me, no longer holding his hand because I know that no amount of contact with him will calm me now that we're here.

"Hey. Where's my dad." Shiro taps on the countertop twice and I notice as the woman visibly jumps in her seat and as her eyes snap up to us.

"S-Shirosaki-san. Your father is up in his office. What is this about?" Shiro shrugs beside me and grabbed my elbow.

"Nothing you should worry about. Do yourself a favor and take the rest of the day off." I watch as she opens her mouth to retort before Shiro cuts her off "I said get lost." his voice a harsh bark that makes my shaking nerves shiver as he pulls me towards the elevators.

The ride up is going so slowly, I know that it's rising hundreds of feet but it just doesn't seem like it. Shiro's hopping up and down beside me and tapping his leg over and over again, his fingers tapping to the beat of one of his songs. Without paying much attention to it I reach over and clasp his hand in mine.

He's been putting all the attention into me that I haven't had the opportunity to comfort him at all. This has to be harder for him then it is for me, it's his father after all. I look over and see his eyes lower to the floor, something doesn't feel right and he knows it too.

"Shiro… this isn't your fight. There are some things you don't have to do Shiro. This is one of them." Shiro shakes his head and raises our interlocked hands, pressing a kiss to the ring on my finger.

"No, this is one of them Ichigo, if not the only time. Don't even try and talk me out of it." I'm not trying to talk him out of it, I'm only trying to see what's going on inside his head. Because I have no idea what's going on inside his head.

The elevator comes to a stop on the top floor and I take a deep breath as the metal doors open, my right hand twitching to grab my gun just in case he's waiting for us. Nothing is there and we walk out of the metal box, glad that there was no poisonous gas or something to kill us before we even got up to the top floor.

Nothing is directly outside the elevator doors waiting for us so I look from side to side, seeing nothing but glass in every direction I can see. The elevator was in the center of the building, we both knew that before we walked in the front door, but I wasn't expecting Aizen to be behind the elevator.

"I'll go left, you go right." Shiro turns left and I stop him, before he's let go of my hand.

"When did we decide on splitting up?"

"Just now. Love you Ichigo." he presses a small kiss to my lips and I cant help but want to cry. His lips feel so sad as they leave mine, I don't want to separate but he turns left again and starts to slink towards the corner, pulling out his guns at the same time.

I follow his lead and grab my gun and sword before heading for the right corner. My heart is beating like crazy as I try and think of how this might happen. If we break a window, then the street down below with have glass shards falling down on them, and if we kill Aizen too close to a window he could fall out and again cause mass-panic. Aizen certainly chose a good location for this.

I know that as soon as we'd heard about Aizen buying a building to become the next Heuco Mundo industries that it wasn't going to be a good thing for us, but seeing the building now, why did it have to have one hundred floors? Now if either Shiro or I got close to a window he could blow it out and we'd fall. strategic yes, but with the fact that the elevator is in the middle of the room it's a disadvantage for him too.

My eyes scan every possible surface of the room as I walk; the glass walls giving an overview of the city. There are a few scattered desks and chairs, but nothing considerable until I get to the last corner, the one that should make me see Shiro again. I realize now that the elevator shaft must be much more then just an elevator shaft thanks to it's great length, but that doesn't help explain anything either- what could be in there but the elevator.

Taking a deep breath I swing around the corner, my gun pointed to shoot until I see it's Shiro and lower it back to my side. "I don't get this. Where the hell is he?" Shiro runs a hand through his hair as my eyes scan behind him, trying to think of any small place that Aizen could be hidden. None of the desks were of a good quality to actually hide someone, and Aizen wouldn't be that desperate. My guess is he's somehow in the elevator shaft area, hiding like a child.

My eyes rove over the wall beside us, seeing nothing but a slight pattern punched into the metal to make it look indented in several places. I suddenly get a good idea about the shape of the building and smile as I turn towards the closest window. I look down and my suspicion is correct, thanks to the fact that the top of the building is a spherical shape and the rest of the building is rectangular, so all the glass would fall onto the rest of the building and not the people down below.

I raise my gun and shoot at the first window to test how easily the glass brakes. The first window shatters easily and I continue shooting, watching as all the windows burst out and a wind starts to sweep the large room.

"Ichigo! What are you doing?" Shiro rushes over and grabs my wrist, pushing my arm up to the ceiling.

"I'm getting rid of the windows." he lets go of my wrist and grabs my face, forcing me to look at him.

"Why the hell are you doing that?"

"Because now we don't have to worry about Aizen doing it himself and having it take us off guard." I raised my hand and shot out another window, not really caring where the bullet fell once it ran out of momentum. I shoot out a few more windows before I cant see anymore to shoot out.

A heavy wind is now blowing through the room and I take a deep breath, sure, it was a bad idea, I know that- for many reasons it was a bad, bad idea, but I've put it into motion and there is no way to undo that now. I look at Shiro and give a smile.

There is a loud bang and the rest of the windows blow out. I look around for the source of the bang and notice that one of the panels in the center of the room had blown out and Aizen was standing there, a large gun in his hand that didn't look like it shot bullets at all.

My heart rate picks up and I feel like my chest is going to explode as those horrid brown eyes looks up. I know he's looking at Shiro, but it feels like the gaze is killing me as he takes a step forward.

Shiro's body stiffens in front of me and I feel like something horrible was going to happen. Aizen takes step after step and I cant make my arms move, if I can just get my gun up, then that'd be fine. Why the hell cant I move? I trained for this for a fucking month in the jungle. So why cant I move?

Shiro moves and everything seems to happen right away. Aizen raises a second gun and Shiro starts shooting. I raise my gun to shoot but something hits my side and Aizen's no longer in front of me. I try and regain my balance but as I expected because I didn't finish breakfast, I knew I was going to be a little hungry and tired, but that didn't account for why I was so dizzy.

The sounds of gunshots ring through the room and I shake my head to clear it. Looking around I notice Shiro kicking up at Aizen's head, the taller man blocking with his forearms. I finally get my feet back under me and rush at the two, I take care with the angle of my sword and slice at Aizen.

They break apart and Aizen takes a few steps back with a new cut on his arm, a scowl on his face as he glares at me and starts trying to circle us. "So… it seems you've actually got a bit of talent… you were able to actually learn something." Aizen's lips turn up in a smirk and my arms feel like their about to shake.

"Shut up Aizen. I'm tired of you wanting to kill me." Aizen's lips just pull into more of a smirk and I want so badly to just kill him. Seeing his eyes and that stupid smirk it makes me want him off the face of the earth.

"Oh… and is the little gay boy going to stop me Ichigo?" I slant my eyes at the comment and loosen my grip on the sword so I can try one of the maneuvers Starrk tried to drill into my head.

"It's really too bad that 'gay boy' isn't an insult… it means, happy!" I snap my wrist and smirk as my sword flicks forward, making a B-line for Aizen's head. I watch as he ducks and aims his gun at me, twisting my body so the sword doesn't reach him and poise the gun in my hand to shoot him when I spin around.

My shot misses and hits his right shoulder instead of left. I catch a blur of white and realize it's Shiro, rushing at Aizen in another leg and fist attack. I set my sword down on the ground and rushed forward, I grab Aizen's arm that's holding his gun and keep it up as Shiro punches his side.

I hear three shots fire and flinch as pain shoots through the side of my head, and I cant help but let his arm go as the pain grows and spreads. I knew that I should have held his wrist firmer so he couldn't have bent it. I cant feel anything as I fall down, my vision blurring and my hearing gone as I try and make sense of the objects that are moving in blurs in front of me.

Fear is spreading through my body and I know I'm shaking horribly as I watch the black and white masses pass each other. I know Shiro is wearing all black and Aizen is the one in white, but I cant tell who's hitting who and what's happening because it's all blurry.

I cant even feel the pain anymore, no shaking body, nothing that can make me scared. But I am. My heart is racing and the sound of it is pounding in my ears, the only thing I can hear but muffled yells from the two. I don't even know when I must have fallen over, because I'm seeing the blurs moving sideways now.

I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I'm scared of dying, I'm scared of never waking up to see Shiro's face, of never getting to know Karin as more then just a drummer for a band. I'm scared that I'll never feel again and I'm scared that the last thing I'm able to see clearly is that this had to happen. Aizen gets what he wants, and Shiro can forget about me. It's best if he does, isn't it? Isn't it best if Shiro moved on with his life? I've done nothing but get him into trouble since the day I met him.

I know I'm crying, that my face is probably soaked with tears, but I cant stop them from falling. It just wont happen, no matter how much I try. I try to speak, to call out to Shiro to just run and let Aizen have his win, but I don't think I can speak anymore.

I love him, but I shouldn't fight it, it hurts to fight, to think about putting effort into following the blurs that just wont stop moving and wont go back into focus. The sounds are fading, everything slowly turns black for a long moment before brightening again and I realize I blinked. It's odd… I don't even feel like I'm in my body anymore, who knows, maybe I'm not.

If it wasn't for the pain in my chest, I'd say I am already dead. But as the world fades black again, I wait for my eyes to open again… but they don't.

Is this what happens when we die? Our souls and consciousness remain stuck in an unresponsive, dead body? If so, Shiro: save my soul.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Shiro's POV

I cant believe how stupid we were, I'm standing here shooting at my father repeatedly, trying to just kill the rat bastard, and Ichigo is feet away from me, shot in the head and possibly dead. Why the hell wont Aizen go down?

I don't even know if I think of him as my father anymore, I don't know if I've ever thought of him like that. All I know, right now, at this moment is he hurt Ichigo, and hiding behind a stupid desk isn't going to save his pathetic ass from being shot so badly he turns into hamburger meat.

Tears are starting to blur my vision and I know this has to be done with quickly. If Ichigo just keeps lying there I think I'm going to flip, why isn't anyone here to help him? Why were we so stupid as to not bringing anyone to do this with us? Right, I didn't want anyone unnecessary to get hurt. Stupid fucking me.

I walk up to the desk Aizen is cowering behind, using one gun and reloading the magazine clip and still firing with the other, loving the semi-automatic guns before I do the same with the other so I have two fresh magazines.

"Get out here Aizen! Face me like the stupid big-shot you've always thought you were!" there is no sound for a moment, and the moment I hear a gun magazine clicking into place I start shooting again, both hands setting off rounds faster then I thought I could.

I heard the sound of him grunting but don't stop, my fingers pulling the to triggers back again and again as I think of the fact Ichigo's hurt. Aizen hurt him. Ichigo might be dead. Aizen killed him.

I get up to the desk and set my foot on the edge of the tabletop- the makeshift wood did little good as a barricade like Aizen must have thought it'd make. I flip the desk so the four legs are in the air and I glare down at Aizen's form, seeing all the blood slowly growing in the puddle around his fallen torso is little comfort until I shoot his head for good measure.

I had been willing to not kill, I'd been willing for anything but this outcome, but the moment Ichigo was hurt, I refuse to let Aizen live if Ichigo is hurt.

Dropping the guns in my hands I turn to Ichigo and rush over. There is a pool of blood under his head and I wonder for a split second if I can touch him before my instincts kick in. he'd been so scared, there had been such a fright filled emotion in his body that I'm sure anyone could have felt it. But I cant feel anything now, he's cradled in my arms and I can feel nothing.

I see tears falling onto his face, but I cant stop myself as I hold him close. The sound of sirens far blow hits my ears and I know I'm most likely going to be arrested, I'm most likely going to be beaten up in some goddamn jail cell and I wouldn't even try and stop it. I'd let a million people beat the shit out of me right now if it will give me back my Ichigo.

How am I going to face Karin without him? Even if I don't get beaten to death in jail how would I face anyone who ever cared for him? Byakuya's sister- who the hell can remember her name -will just stare at me with disgust, all of his friends would yell at me for not protecting him, and they should. I should be killed for not protecting him.

The events of the hour are all a blur in my mind as it is, there is nothing that is going to make me remember what's happened and how it all happened. I'm never going to get my answer on why the hell Aizen was so against Ichigo and I. He was never going to stop the fact that I was homosexual, that I loved Ichigo and even his death wouldn't stop that- this is proof of it now, isn't it? The fact that I'm kneeling on the floor, clutching an unresponsive body for dear life and sobbing my eyes out, I'm crying harder then I even thought possible and he's not coming back. How am I going to live if he's not?

I hear the sound of the elevator humming to life and I feel my hands start to shake, being as gentle as I can as I stroke Ichigo's cheek, begging him to come back to me. His name coming out of my mouth over and over again as I beg him and beg him to come back to me.

I feel my heart breaking as strong hands come down on my upper arms, hands I know from sparring practice: Zeraki. I try and continue to hold Ichigo, but Zeraki pulls me off and I'm being held by more people now, my legs are caught and held as they pull me back, away from Ichigo and paramedics start to swarm his body.

Zeraki's gruff voice is saying something in my ear, but I cant hear what it is as I watch his wife kneel over Ichigo with a bag down beside her.

"Shiro… calm down. Let her work on him."

"No! give me back my Ichigo!" my voice cracks and I try and claw at his arms to make him let me go before two other people grab my hands to hold me in the air so I cant move, I cant even move my head for some odd reason.

"Shiro… this paramedic is going to give you a shot… you'll wake up in the hospital, alright?" I shake my head a few times, as best I can but the sharp pain of a thin needle entering a tense muscle registers and I stop moving as the drug starts to take effect right away.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I don't want to be feeling, the needle should have been filled with laudanum or something of the sort. I shouldn't feel warm, I shouldn't be feeling something in my arms, something warm and soft.

I try and open my eyes but I cant see anything if they are open, there is nothing in my line of vision and it's all still just blackness. I try and move my finger, but I cant feel anything. I try and see something, anything, but it just isn't happening.

The sound of a steady beeping starts to register and my finger finally moves, I can finally feel a bit of fabric covering something soft under my fingers. The feeling slowly seeps into the rest of my body through that hand, feeling something heavy on my arm and something soft against my face. It smells sterile wherever I am, but the soft thing on my face smells like mint and tea-tree oil, just like Ichigo's shampoo.

I close my eyes, not wanting to see whatever was in my arms, all it meant was I was alive, and Ichigo was most likely down in a cold morgue without me. I should be with him down there. I know I said all that crap about staying alive, but it hurt seeing him like that, it's the only thing I can think of right now, his body, limp on the floor and me trying to cling to him. That same fearful emotion still feels like it's permeating the air, but I know it's me.

"Shiro wake up." go away, I don't want to hear anyone right now Zeraki, I don't want to be alive right now. "Goddamn Shiro, wake the hell up, I know your faking it." leave me alone to die. Let me rejoin my Ichigo with my death. I've already got the scars on my wrists, opening them up and digging deeper wont hurt too much, I know it wont.

"Shiro. If you don't wake up now, I'm letting Shinji into the room." no, please don't, I cant take that right now, I cant feel the misery he's going to dump on me. Just let me die Zeraki… let me vanish. I know I cant have Ichigo anymore, but just let me feel like he's still here, just let me imagine this warm feeling beside me is him for a while longer. Allow my mind to play these cruel tricks on me until I decide to depart for my Ichigo.

I knew giving him the ring would be a bad thing, asking him to marry me would be a horrible decision and I should have listened to my fucking gut and tied him up in the hotel room. But I just couldn't, I couldn't take that time together away from myself and I was selfishly sacrificing him for it.

"Shiro, wake the fuck up right now and get off the bed."

"Go away Zeraki, just let me dream more."

"Cant, Ichigo's gotta get into surgery now if you ever want to see him open those pretty brown peepers of his again." he's bullshitting me, I know it. The comforting sound of another heart beating in time with mine is just a pigment of my imagination.

"Aizen killed him. Now go away and leave me to die."

"Open your eyes idiot… what the fuck do you see?" I do as he said and open my eyes, seeing nothing but the blackness I'd seen before.

"I see darkness, nothing more, nothing less, now leave me to die."

"You see… Ichigo would be very upset if you were to die while he's in surgery, so you really should just move the cover from your eyes and stop being a fucking pansy." I let out a sigh and feel for the eye cover he'd mentioned, I don't feel anything on my face, but as my fingers touch the fabric I pull it off of my eyes and notice the pale white walls.

I look around and wait for something to move, for something to do something, then I notice the machine, the beeping sound from earlier is still here, it's still moving away at the same time as my heart beat. But I realize that the sent of Ichigo's shampoo wasn't a pigment of my imagination and that he's here, in my arms.

I notice next that there are no wires or needles attached to me, their all attached to Ichigo, and the machine is beeping in tandem with his heart! My eyes grow wide and I sit up, half dumping him off my chest. His head had been placed on my shoulder, his ear over my heart. I catch the back of his neck gently before his head hits the pillow and I see the bandages.

His wonderful head of orange hair is wrapped in bandages and his eyes were closed. "Ichigo! What's going on?" I look up at Zeraki and see him shrug his shoulders, his arms crossed over his broad chest and a smirk playing on his lips.

"Well… once we got you knocked out, we came back here… Ichigo's had three surgeries to his head since we got back and he's scheduled for the final surgery in two hours and needs to get to prep. But we figure that you sleeping for three days is long enough, you need something in you." I look from Zeraki back to Ichigo, trying as hard as I can to not jostle his head too badly.

"Three days? Is that how much shit you gave me?"

"No, we gave you enough for half an hour. The rest of it was depression as far as we know. The doctors were just about to label you as a coma patient."

"How did Ichigo get surgery? Did your wife do them? Who signed off on it?"

"I did kid, don't be worrying about it. Ichigo's got me as his next of kin after you." Starrk walks into the room and I noticed Lillinette holding his hand looking shy- something I haven't seen since we first met her at the meet and greet. I take a deep breath and look back down at Ichigo, his face scrunched in a pained expression.

"Has he woken up since… it happened?" I can see Zeraki shaking his head, but the gesture doesn't really hit me as I try and think of what happened three days prior to sitting here on the hospital bed with Ichigo.

"No, Ichigo hasn't woken up, but his brain activity is fine. Unohana is keeping him under tranquilizers right now, but he's not in a coma." I nod my head a few times and let out a sigh. As long as he's alright I'm perfectly happy.

"Zeraki, I think you should leave Shiro and I alone for a minute." I turn my eyes to Starrk and notice the serious tone in his voice and the dull 'I'm not joking' shimmer in his eyes.. I swing my legs off the edge of the bed and grab Ichigo's hand, noticing that the ring I'd gotten him was gone.

I open my mouth to protest and ask questions but Starrk's voice cuts me off. "They had to take it off for the surgeries, it's right here." I turn my eyes to Starrk and see that he's holding it in the same velvet box I'd given it to Ichigo in. His steel blue eyes hold me prisoner for a moment, trying to figure out why he looks so sad as Lillinette and Zeraki leave the room.

"Shiro… there are some things that everyone has decided would be best if I told you." Starrk pauses as he takes a few steps closer and sits in the chair on the far side of Ichigo's bed, looking at my mate with sad eyes.

"Alright… I'm listening." Starrk nods his head and we both take a deep breath before sighing.

"Ichigo, might have… lost his memory. We don't know anything for sure, we wont know until he wakes up… but the doctors don't think it's a good idea to have you there when he does wake up. If his memory is gone, then he's not going to remember you, and having you crying over him could freak him out- especially since we don't know how much of his memory will have been lost. And if he asks for you… then we know it's fine and it wouldn't scare him."

My heart stopped. Ichigo might have lost his memory, that means everything, about me, about him, he could forget me completely… he could have forgotten the fact that he's gay and engaged to me! Oh god… this is not good.

That annoying pain in my chest has come back as I take my eyes away from Starrk and set them on Ichigo. His small scowl making me want to take away his pain. Could he really have forgotten me? If he has, I don't know what I'll do. He's my life, and if he doesn't know who I am… my life's vanished.

I look up at Starrk and notice that he looks about on the verge of tears himself as he looks at Ichigo. "There's one more thing… this last surgery is the hardest. The last three surgeries have been to remove fragments that had come off of the bullet, because they were all threatening his life… but this surgery is the last, and the largest bullet fragment is being removed… if it's not done right, then he'll die… but if it's not removed, he'll die. And since your awake-"

"I'll sign whatever they need me to sign, if there is a chance of getting my Ichigo back I'll do it." I feel like my heart is being ripped up into pieces and then thrown to different parts of the globe. I lower my head to my knees and take a few deep breaths so Starrk cant see my face as I cry. "Just promise me Starrk… put the ring back on his finger when he comes out… it shouldn't scare him too much, and he liked to fiddle with it when he had it."

I look up in time to see Starrk nod his head and I let out a breath I'd been holding, looking down at Ichigo once more before climbing off the bed. "Alright, well, I'm going to find that form to sign and food to scarf."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Thirteen hours, fifty four minutes, and… three seconds since Ichigo went Into surgery, I'm still sitting on the roof, debating on jumping if he doesn't ask for me when he wakes up. The fall would kill me, I'm almost positive, fifty floors of doctors and nurses who cant stop a falling man is a good thing to have. And if I swan dive I'll break my neck and crack my head open on impact- the perfect combination.

Grimmjow and Karin had come up a few times to check on me, Lillinette had stayed and talked about her day a few times, but Renji was busy down in the waiting room apparently keeping Rukia- Byakuya's sister (I finally remembered) sane. Its not even like Ichigo is that important to her, she hasn't even called him once since I've met up with him. I hadn't herd anything about her until they were supposed to meet up.

No matter who kept coming up, it didn't help though, no one seemed to know how I was feeling and I'd even had one of Ichigo's friends: Uryuu come up and yell at me for not protecting him. I shouldn't have had to take that, but I did, and now I'm alone in blissful silence, Ichigo's going to be coming out of surgery any moment and I'm going to stay here so I don't do anything stupid.

The sky is almost pitch black but I cant see a single star, I don't even remember what stars actually look like anymore. The sounds of Tokyo are flooding my ears and I cant help but want to cry I feel so alone. Since he's been in surgery I haven't felt a single emotion from Ichigo, so he wasn't dreaming.

I've forgotten how relaxing it is in the mornings when I wake up before him and just lay there, feeling his emotions as my own before they just manage to lull me back to sleep. He always thinks he wakes up first, but he hasn't seemed to notice how I'm always there and awake when he has a nightmare- something that has happened only a few times, but he never talks about it.

I let out a sigh and look down at the lights covering the city, no word can describe the emotion I'm feeling. Though general confusion would be a good one. An ambulance siren starts to ring through the night and I look down through the metal fencing that covers the whole building- something to stop people from jumping, too bad I could climb it in a heartbeat. My ears hurt with the harsh sounds of the city but I ignore it as best I can as my phone vibrates.

I debate on looking at the text from Grimm, I debate it for a long time, but I don't look at my phone. I'm too scared to look at my phone, so I simply don't.

It takes a few minutes, but the doors to the rooftop open and my ear flicks back to hear the foot fall, trying to determine who it is. It's either Starrk, Renji, or Byakuya… but I don't think it's any of them really… the pace is too quick and seems rushed.

"Dude, aren't you going to be there when Ichigo wakes up? Their going to do it like right now." Shut up Renji… you shouldn't be here if you don't know. It would hurt a lot less if you never opened that big mouth unless you were singing.

"No, I'm not. I cant face him right now." I pull my knees up to my chest and set my chin down so I can look at the cities lights.

"Well why the hell not? He should want to see you. I saw the ring Starrk put on him. And since I'm sure that the old man isn't into marrying his nephew that means you proposed!" stop talking… just stop talking. It hurts too much. The pain in my chest is back because your talking. My hearts starting to beat faster as I feel emotions coming from Ichigo, stronger then I thought they'd be. But I cant pay attention, I cant have emotions or he might get scared… he cant be influenced by me if he's lost his-

"Common, get up and get down there to see him when he wakes up! I'm sure he's dying to see you right about-" That's it!

"He might not remember me Renji! There is a high possibility that the Ichigo I knew is gone! I'm not allowed to see him until he asks for me, because otherwise I can scare the hell out of him and I don't want to! If Ichigo's lost his memories he could have very well forgotten everything about me!" I stand up and grip the chain link fence, trying as hard as I can to not freak out and punch his lights out.

"I cant stand the pain of loosing Ichigo, and if he doesn't remember me, then I'll never see him again. So I don't want to be there when he wakes up." my chest hurts so much when I just think of the possibility that I don't want to think of, if he just didn't know I'm positive that I'll never live happily. I hear my phone go off again and turn away from Renji, chucking the stupid device over the safety fence and wait to hear the screech of cars and a scream of people from the havoc that must have caused.

"Shiro… ever think their calling you to tell you he's asking for you?"

"It wasn't his number. Starrk knows to use Ichigo's number… I don't care, just leave me alone Renji. I don't want to talk to anyone right now." I lower my head and sit myself down on the cold concrete, the spot that was once warm is now cold under me as I try not to think of Ichigo and only manage to think of him.

His name is always in my head, his face is always in the corner of my vision, and I really just cant deal with him not knowing who I am. I can think about what I'll do all I want but it wont change anything. Because I cant live if he doesn't know I exist in the very least.

Renji left a while ago, and I'm still just sitting here, pondering and wondering all the different outcomes. I know I wont know for sure unless I really see him or not, but my feet wont move, I cant stand up, I feel so helpless not knowing if he remembers me.

I give up, I have to at least know if he remembers me. The second call was obviously someone calling about him being awake, there would be no other reason to stay up here and ponder. If he doesn't remember me it wont hurt him, and I can take the pain since I'm the one who did it by not protecting him.

I didn't think I'd make up my mind, but I stand on my feet, no matter how shaky my legs feel and I rush towards the doors so I can see my Ichigo. I don't know when I started referring to him as 'mine' but I know it's been a long time, much longer then he's been marked for sure. My feet trip and stumble as I rush, trying my hardest to see Ichigo and either smother him in a kiss or leave again to never come back.

I stumble into a wall as I make a corner too wide and I pick myself up, mumbling to the nurse who asks if I'm okay, but I just keep going. I don't even hesitate outside the door before shouldering it open.

Everyone I knew are standing in the room and my eyes scan each and every one of them. Nothing but sad faces greet me as I look from one face to the next. My eyes look over ever person before I let them fall to the orange haired figure on the bed. Bright brown eyes look at me like I'm not really there before a smile crosses the persons lips. "Hello."

My heart stops for a moment before a smile breaks out over my face. I take a step into the room before an arm is across my shoulders and both Starrk and Grimmjow 'gently' remove me from the room.

"Shiro… he doesn't remember anything. He doesn't even remember his own name right now." Starrk's voice filled with anger and hurt as he looked at me. The tight feeling is back in my stomach and my chest is staring to hurt again.

I cant help but have tears well in my eyes as Starrk and Grimmjow stop me from re-entering the room. I try a few times, my heart feeling like its broken. I'm too much of a coward to turn and jump off the roof.

Beer. The next thing that popped into my head that could end my suffering… I needed lots of beer… and some meth wouldn't hurt either.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Normal POV

Ichigo rubbed at his eyes and looked around the room at all the unfamiliar faces, brown hair, blonde hair, black hair, flaming red hair… blue hair? Who the fuck had blue hair? He could recognize the blue, it seemed familiar, but his mind was just completely blank, the face attached meant nothing to him. He gripped the thin hospital blanket in his hands and pulled it closer as a doctor walked up, her white coat making him instantly trust her.

"Hello. My name is Dr. Unohana… do you know where you are?" Ichigo shook his head, his large brown eyes looked at the woman with long black hair, coming down around her neck and continuing in a long braid in front instead of behind her head.

"N-no, I don't know… can you tell me?" the people were all from different countries and backgrounds, so it wasn't helping him pinpoint it down.

"Of course I can. Your in Tokyo general hospital. Do you know your name?" Ichigo shook his head and rubbed his eyes.

"If we're in Tokyo, then why are you speaking English?"

"Your name is Ichigo Kurosaki, and its because I don't know which of the three languages you know has vanished… do you still know any Japanese or French?" Ichigo thought for a moment, he had to get it right, he just didn't know if what he knew was right or not.

"I think so… I'm pretty sure that it's French and Japanese." Doctor Unohana nod her head with the same kind smile on her face.

"Alright, do you know anyone in this room?" Ichigo looked around again and squinted his eyes, trying as hard as he could to think of the faces.

"Not really, I kinda recognize the blue… but that might just be a color. The guy's face is completely new." Ichigo looked at Grimmjow hard, hoping that it would be the first name to come back to him.

"Don't push yourself Ichigo… it'll all come back at it's own pace." Unohana gave Ichigo a smile and he returned it before a large bang overtook the room and all eyes turned to the door.

Shiro stood in the door panting and his face almost shocked as he looked around. Ichigo watched at he looked at every other face before he was met with black and gold eyes. He froze for a moment before he allowed a smile to cross his face, loving the contrast of the pale albino's eyes. "Hello." the one simple word made the albino smile and he tried to take a step into the room but was stopped by the blue haired man and a tall brown haired man who's hair was around his shoulders.

Ichigo watched with wide eyes as the white haired man was pulled out of the room somewhat begrudgingly, feeling like he'd done something wrong though he hadn't done anything wrong at all.

Looking down at his hands Ichigo noticed the gold and diamond band around his ring finger. He spent a moment looking at it, scrutinizing the gold and diamonds wondering where he'd gotten such a ring. He looked back up at the door where the albino had vanished through and his eyes went wide.

The first day they met, growing up and learning new things together, their thirteen year old experiments in the safety of his bedroom, the albino moving away without saying so, Ichigo trying to find him, his family dying, finding him, meeting the band, meeting his still living family, it came back like a flash and Ichigo reached up and touched the slight ridge on his shoulder that was the albino's mark.

Shiro.

"N-no! come back! Shit! Shiro!" Ichigo tried to get up off the bed but the people all moved to hold him down, Dr. Unohana trying to take the needles out of his skin as everyone tried to calm the now agitated Ichigo down.

He'd spaced out for close to half an hour trying to think, and he knew he'd just gone through something traumatic, but Shiro was gone, he had to get Shiro back.

"He's not going to pick up Grimm, I told you; I watched him throw his phone off the roof. Get in your fucking car and find him."

"Ichigo, please, you have to calm down. If not, you're going to pass out or rupture one of the stitches that I had to put in." Dr. Unohana tried to keep the teen calm but it wasn't working, he just kept calling Shiro's name and struggling against the hands all holding him.

"Knock it off everyone! Let me go, let me find Shiro! I have to-" Ichigo was cut off as a hand was placed over his mouth and he was turned in the direction so he could see Starrk standing over the bed with a hard glare.

"You, are not, leaving this hospital. I will go and find Shiro, you will get those needles put back in your body and you will wait for me to come back with him. Do you understand?" Starrk knew that Ichigo would freak out until someone took control and that Ichigo would only actually calm down if a few choice people dominated his personality in the right way.

Ichigo nod his head before Starrk did the same and walked towards the door. "Zeraki's in charge until I get back. Lillinette, common. You're with me." Starrk waited for the small blonde, she gave Ichigo a hug and kiss on the cheek before hopping out of the room in front of Starrk.

"So… where do you think we're going to find him Starrk?"

"If my guess is right- and they usually are -he's going to be sitting in a gutter somewhere trying to kill himself." Starrk let out a sigh and rubbed the back of his neck as he exited the hospital with Lillinette at his side. "Just… don't leave my side when we get there, alright?" Lillinette nod her head and allowed Starrk to open her car door for her and then she slid into the seat.

The buildings got worse and worse as they drove, the people walking the streets increasingly greasier and shiftier. Lillinette looked at faces and recognized them from bounty lists she'd looked at over her years. "Wow Starrk… if we could bring in just three of these guy's we'd get at least a million."

"What have I told you Lillinette? We're done with that now. We're going to be a family for Ichigo and Karin, and you, my dear little Lillinette, are going to go to school." Lillinette nod her head, smile still in place.

"I know. I'm just saying… if we ever have a huge bill we need to pay, we could just come here and scoop a few of them up."

"But we don't need to with a ten figure bank account."

Lillinette scowled for a moment before letting out a sigh, "I don't know what that means… but whatever… turn right here and we'll be closer to that bar you said." Starrk nod his head and turned the corner.

Pulling up to the curb Starrk got out of the car and walked around to Lillinette's door and opened it for her. The blonde girl got out of the seat and held onto her father's hand as he turned towards the large bar that had a bunch of men all outside laughing like assholes.

Lillinette got so close that she was half under his fur lined grey coat, their hands still clasped as she looked around at the men growing more timid by the second.

"Oi! Lookie what we've got here boys… a pimp and his little bitch. How much for a few hours there Mr-" Starrk kicked out at the man, his foot connecting with the drunkards face. Everything froze for a few seconds before the men that the downed man had been laughing with rushed at him with swinging fists.

Starrk remained holding Lillinette's hand as he delivered another kick or two before pulling his gun out. He pressed it against the last man's forehead and everyone else looked away like they were seeing nothing.

"Tell me. Where is Shiro?"

"W-who?"

"An albino tiger! Where is an albino tiger?" Starrk pressed the gun further into the mans forehead, making a bit of an impression.

"He-he's around the corner… oh god... please don't shoot, I promise… I-I wont touch the girl! Just don't kill me!" Starrk rolled his eyes and kicked out at the man, foot connecting with the bottom of his jaw and making him fall back.

"I wouldn't waist a bullet on scum like you. Common Lilly, let's go find Shiro." Starrk started walking again, unable to hold the sigh in as everyone parted for them like the red sea.

There was a sniffling sound once they turned the corner and Starrk noticed right away that there was a black and white blob, curled up in a ball against the wall, arms over knees and face hidden. "Wait here Lillinette."

Taking a few tentative steps Starrk noticed the empty needle on the ground beside the albino and let out a sigh, praying to god it wasn't Shiro's. a few more steps and he knelt down. "Shiro… what happened? Is this yours?" Starrk carefully picked up the dirty needle, liking the fact he couldn't see any blood on it, but it was dark in the alley.

"Y-yes… I-I couldn't… I couldn't do it… he doesn't know, he doesn't know me Starrk… what am I going to-to do?" Shiro looked up and Starrk let out a sigh, seeing no physical change in the albino.

"Shiro… what did you inject yourself with?"

"I-I didn't… I'm too much of a fucking chicken! I gave it to a fucking rotted orange." Shiro pointed to a molded orange lump in the alley in front of him as he burst into tears. Starrk turned around and motioned for Lillinette to come closer.

"Shiro… what would you do if I told you that Ichigo remembers? You were his trigger. He remembers you now." Shiro looked up with large watering eyes, his tears looking like silver rivulets as his lips quivered and he started crying again.

"Oh god… he's alright, I-I don't know what to feel… I don't know how to feel."

"Well, just get up and come back to the hospital with me and we'll have it all figured out." Shiro nod his head and got up to follow Starrk back to his car so they could get to the hospital.

The entire ride Shiro was close to silent, just trying to reign in his emotions, he'd tried to kill himself and had chickened out. Turns out a needle filled with laudanum was easy to find in the right back alley, and thanks to books and the internet he knew that one needle in a major vein was all he'd need.

The moment the door opened again the room was virtually empty aside from Karin and Ichigo, the orange head sitting on the bed with no needles in his hand and all the wires were gone from his body. His healing process had picked up the moment he remembered Shiro's name and he was already almost perfectly well again.

"Shiro… why the hell'd you leave? Baka… couldn't give me a few minutes to remember anything, could you?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow as he moved to get up. A pale hand came down on his chest before he could move very far and he was pushed back down onto the bed.

"Don't you ever… fucking scare me like that again berry. Or I'll be the one to make you loose your memory." Shiro bent down and pressed his lips against Ichigo's

"I hope I don't have to file for spousal abuse then." Ichigo's lips pulled into another smile and he returned the kiss, loving the fact that he was free to go as long as he didn't do anything rigorous for a week and checked in with Unohana once a day at three in the afternoon for a physical and general check up.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Ichigo was wiped, three weeks already and he was up to his ears in book reports and essays due in only a few days for midterms… what fucking semester has midterms after only three weeks?

He walked into the apartment and dropped his book bag, taking more care with his laptop bag and sighed, kicking his shoes off and moving into the kitchen as he loosened his tie from his neck and popped a few buttons.

"Ichigo? Is that you?"

"Yeah babe. Got any coffee made?"

"Nah, but I got a cup of tea steeping on the counter for you." Ichigo smiled as he walked into the stainless steel and granite kitchen, smelling the chi tea that always helped him calm down after a day of lectures and bullshit.

"Thanks Shiro. How've you been?" Ichigo walked into the living room of the penthouse suit they'd been living in for a total of two months, as soon as they'd gotten married they'd moved into a permanent building and Starrk was just down the street about a hundred blocks if they needed him.

"Pretty good… working on this new song that's kicking my ass… care to help with some inspiration?" Ichigo looked at the smirking albino as he sat down in his lap and set his face in the crook of the albino's neck, his hand with the tea over Shiro's other shoulder and resting on the side table so he didn't spill it.

"I want to… but I've got two essays due tomorrow and I'm only done one, haven't even started the other one."

"Alright… I'll monopolize you once your done… unless it's going to be an all-nighter… then I'm sure I could help you stay awake with a cold shower." Ichigo rolled his eyes and started tracing random patterns on Shiro's left shoulder over his heart. Their lives had calmed down so much after Aizen's funeral and it was almost mundane, if it wasn't for Shiro still being with the band and Ichigo planning how to kill his instructors then they'd have nothing interesting in their lives but the sex.

Three knocks came at the door and Ichigo sighed, he didn't want to get up to have people bugging either him or Shiro, he just wanted one day were someone wasn't going to bother him.

"It's open!" the carrot tops voice carried out over the apartment and when the sound of several sets of feet hit his ears he regret saying anything, they could have played 'gone shopping' if they had remained quiet.

"Hey… what's up with the two of you? You look close to death again Ichigo."

"Haha, funny Grimm. I'm tired, medical school is kicking me in the ass. Why the hell do I need to do English book reports for fucking medical shit. The book doesn't even have anything to do with medicine."

"It's because you need to learn how to take something and analyze it until there is nothing left to analyze." Shiro smiled as he spoke, running his fingers through the orange locks that had grown into a shaggy mop on the top of Ichigo's head that he quite liked. His hair on the other hand remained short and spiky, he didn't like the long look on himself- the face Ichigo was a hair puller in bed was just a bonus since he had very little to work with.

"What's up Grimm? We've got work to do." Ichigo sat up a little, his body still laying chest to chest with Shiro as he took a sip of tea and sighed as the hot liquid slid down his throat.

"We just came to bug the shit outta you two. We need a lot of shit to get done and the two of you need to help."

"I don't think so Grimm. I'm still on my honeymoon. The fact you bugged Starrk to tell you where we were is not my fault. I've got another month until I have to do anything with the band. And besides, Ichigo's classes started early and he's swamped with work." Shiro looked over at the group and noticed they all looked absolutely annoyed. "What? Don't tell me that just because Ichigo's here you didn't think I'd say no."

"Shiro… stop being a bastard… we need your help with the songs we're working on! You have to help us!"

"I've got my own songs to write. So fuck off and leave me to it. I really don't want to have to get up, but your making it hard to stay still."

"Common Shiro… just this one last thing for us. We'll leave you alone if you try and write one more song… just one." Renji butt in noticing that Ichigo was shifting off of Shiro just in case the man wanted to jump up and kill them.

"Fine Hichigo, we'll leave you and Ichigo to your… honeymoon then. Have a good time."

"Don't call me Hichigo. I've changed it- permanently and legally. I am Shiro Kurosaki and you cant change that. Why the hell would you even call me Hichigo after years of calling me Shiro?"

"Sorry… thought it'd get you attention more. Anyhow, we'll be seeing you. I've gotta freshen up for my date tonight as is." Renji gave the happy couple a smile before grabbing Grimmjow's arm and ushering everyone out of the penthouse so the two could be as mundane as they want.

With a bright smile Ichigo hopped up and straddled the albino's waist, his smile growing into more of a smirk. "Hey Shiro… if I finish my book report early enough… want to go out to the club? I wont be able to drink much because I still have to go into school tomorrow to hand them in. but I really wanna have fun. Whadda ya say?" Shiro gave a smirk of his own and nod his head before raising himself and pressing a kiss to Ichigo's lips.

"Of course… you know I get some of my best inspiration at the club… not as much as our bedroom, but it should be enough."

"Perv."

"You love it." Shiro's smirk remained on his face as Ichigo hopped up and moved to grab his laptop.

Neither of them really cared how filled with excitement their lives were, neither of them wanted to be separated when Shiro went back out on the road, but those hurtles would come and pass. Shiro was a little depressed about having to kill his father, and when his mother was on the stand in her own case she'd basically called him a mistake once again- this time on international television. Apparently he was an ungrateful child that deserved nothing they gave him. It had taken everything in his being to not retort, to be the better man and remain quiet, but it proved hard when he just scoffed, spurring her on further.

Neither really knew what lay ahead of them, but life was like a chess game, wasn't it? Strategic, well thought out, disappointing at points, and fun. So why the hell not live it like a game?

AN:

Me: hello everyone and thank you for reading!

Shiro: wow… you made us mundane.

Me: well I cant write endings well… so yeah. Besides I'm getting up to the reason for that.

Ichigo: I kinda like it… it relaxes everything out again. I like to relax. Though putting me into school wasn't fair.

Me: well you cant be stupid for the rest of your life can you? Besides, university is good for you.

Starrk: yeah… too bad it was my money, didn't bother telling people that, did you?

Me: Sorry Starrk, but you are kind of an extra for the story.

Starrk: I know, so's Lillinette. Anyhow, I've got my two bits in, going to sleep now.

Grimmjow: how come there is no more about Hisagi and me? I hate the guy in real life, but didn't I ask you to give me someone so I could show them off?

Me: you said nothing about showing them off, and in all honesty I felt bad so I complied Grimm.

Grimmjow: you're a horrible bitch.

Me: hey! Sensor that language Mr. or I'll rip you a new one!

Shikamaru: who has to watch their language?

Axel: aren't you going to tell them that thing now Elizabeth? You know, your idea that you were thinking about.

Me: I'm getting there… I'm letting Gaara do it.

Gaara: if Elizabeth gets ten reviews asking for it, she is willing to write a sequel to this story, she has a plot bunny for it and is willing to write one if at least ten people ask for it. So please review and let her know. Have a good morning, afternoon, or night and drive safely.