Crash Course

Ch 10

Hi everyone! I'm really sorry for the delayed update for CC– there was an emergency I had to take care of. But I won't go into much detail, everything is OK now ^^. And it doesn't help that I've been scrambling to get things together before my study abroad trip. Anyways, thank you so, SO much to the following rad dudes: KuroRaven, Mistress Penelopye, Mesutora, Totoromo, Aerrow, LovefromSlytherin-AMLF, Gypsygrrl, .cake, LazyTurtle, inominatenoname, ichibanseiken, shadowX101, Black Storm Van Pendragon, tyl ashke, AvariceOfTheTulips, DunkinDonutz, DEMONIC BLACKMAGIC, Vardlynn, z e r o, XdesertXRoseX, forevereden, .Yumi, bloodytears87, sblack13, bs49184, Lioange, AlysSaphire, toolazytologin, Sever My Sweet Tooth, S., Olinek, HaruHaruGD, Regulus00, FrozenSunLight, dudeyaoi, SpacedOutGamer, PrincessFuFU, Mina Hikari, and UnforgivingDarkness.

DunkinDonutz: Thanks!

z e r o: Thank you so much for the review! I'm really glad to hear that you're enjoying this ^^

AlysSaphire: -snickers- Poor Hisagi is probably cursing the day Ichigo came into his office. Thank you so much for reviewing!

Toolazytologin: HAHA nice penname ;P Thanks for reviewing! Hope you will enjoy this chapter ^^

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Seriously, I really don't... so don't sue me because I can't give you anything... The amazing Tite Kubo does. But I don't recommend suing him either. Lol

Content/ Chapter warning: Ichigo has some major explaining to do and Grimmjow is trying his best to not over-react haha! More drama and some somethin' or another at the end that will hopefully spice up yer lives! (been listening to Spice Girls, don't judge!) Chapter begins right after last.

"ICHIGOOO!"

Sitting in his computer chair within the safe confinements of his home, Renji was extremely thankful that he was not in the same room as the glaring blue haired CEO. Fuck, he really hoped that Shuuhei would be alright after th-

"What the hell is going on?" Grimmjow shouted, causing Renji to jump some even though he was miles away from the other. Goddamn this man was one scary sonofabitch when he was angry.

At once three voices began to reply.

"Grimm look I honestly didn't think that-"

"It was all Ichigo! I had nothing to do-"

"I was just trying to do what they asked me to-"

Gritting his teeth and balling up his fist, Grimmjow roared. "Shut up! Everyone just shut up!" Grimmjow reached over towards the computer and turned off the monitor.

He couldn't... think! Just that weekend Ichigo had come to him, telling him to be more forward and open. To not hide anything anymore because they were now together and in order for anything to work, there needed to be an open communication line. Now Grimmjow saw Ichigo as a walking irony. The young street racer had went behind Grimmjow's back and now got Hisagi involved in this!

"Ichigo, what did you do to make Shuuhei involved in this?"

Ichigo shivered at the chilly blue gaze. "I- I did- Wait what? Involved in what?"

"Do not play dumb with me Ichigo. I have little patience for people beating around the bush." The older man ran a hand through his cleanly kept hair and tugged some at the ends. "How did you get him involved in this?"

Ichigo's mouth opened and closed but no words formed. Grimmjow's steady glare made him shrink in on himself, like a dog hiding from his master when he knew he did something wrong. He really screwed it up this time... "Grimmjow I..." Ichigo glanced over to a bug-eyed Shuuhei. The dark haired Vice President had asked Ichigo to not blow his cover, to not tell Grimmjow about him but now... Fuck. What should he do?

"It was my fault for getting him involved with this Grimm. Don't be mad at Shu, please."

"Hisagi." Grimmjow walked over towards the wall and braced his arms against the pale paint. "Explain yourself to me." He turned and delivered a bone chilling glare. "Now."

Shuuhei's lips moved instantly. "Sir, Ichigo didn't... I mean he." Taking a deep breath, Shuuhei schooled his features and continued without a hitch. "Renji and I have been in this business for a long, long time. Longer than I have been here working for you Sir. We are not racers... We are more intel and part gatherers. People like Ichigo come to people like Renji and myself for help."

"And why did you not tell me that you and Ichigo knew one another when he first began working here?"

Shuuhei straightened in his seat. "I'm sorry if I'm over stepping my bounds Grimmjow but do you honestly think that I'd inform you of what I did outside of this? I consider this to be a part of my private life outside of work and it wasn't something of concern."

"Not of concern?" Grimmjow turned around, eyebrows pulled together. "What part of being Vice President for my company doesn't seem to be important to you? You are the second most important figure here besides the board!"

"I wasn't expecting anything else like... like this to happen. How was I supposed to know that you and Ichigo- Wait a second, you know?"

The blue haired CEO frowned. "What?"

Shuuhei tore his gaze away from his boss to Ichigo. "He knows?"

He... He knows what?... Oh. "Uhm... Kinda? Yeah?"

"What the hell Ichigo?" Shuuhei shouted. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm sorry I wasn't thinking!" Ichigo waved his arms around.

"Obviously!" Both Grimmjow and Shuuhei cried out in unison.

"What the hell is going on?" Grimmjow let out an aggravated sigh. "Fuck you two are confusing the shit out of me."

Shuuhei narrowed his eyes towards his friend. "Ichigo here needs to explain everything to us because it's obvious that he is the one behind this mess."

When two sets of inquisitive eyes landed on him, the orange haired personal assistant fidgeted in his seat. Fuck, fuck fuck! He'd really, really screwed himself over and made one hell of a mess with everything. He'd lost track of what he'd been saying to them and came up with a million excuses and possibilities to try and work his way out of their questions but now...

He'd woven himself into a tight web of problems and it was up to him to get himself unwound. No time like the present situation to start eh?

Ichigo first addressed Shuuhei's question. "Shuuhei y'know how you've wondered how I landed this job? Well, Grimmjow and I had a little run in about a month and a half ago... Well, it was more literal but I'm not going to get into that right now. He offered me this job even after I told him about my life. Things sorta evolved from there and well, he's now part of all this." Ichigo motioned towards the black computer screen where the card was once displayed. "He's helping me get closer to the inner circle."

The Vice President pursed his lips. "But why would he help someone like you? Sorry Grimmjow, Sir."

There was a few beats of silence, causing both Grimmjow and Ichigo to look at one another then to Shuuhei. Ichigo bit his lip. "Well... we're kinda more than boss and personal assistant now..."

It didn't take long for Shuuhei to understand what was being said. "Woah. Wasn't expecting that... Not that it really changes anything. Well, for me anyways..."

Ichigo waved that off. "Let's not get into that now hm? Anyways, we're now in this thing together and what I gave you was the 'prize' from the last race."

Now Ichigo turned towards Grimmjow and addressed his question. "Renji and Shuuhei have been part of the underground network for a long time. They're one of the most reliable sources but they choose who their customers are. If you're some haughty wannabe street kid then you're not worthy of their time. Well, same goes for anyone else in their field. Most of us take this seriously because it is our way of life. This is how we survive. Remember at the house when I mentioned Ren? Well, Ren is Renji and I know you know who Renji is."

"Tch. I still do not see why you are with him." Grimmjow glanced at the shorter man.

Shuuhei met Grimmjow's gaze evenly. "I could say the same thing for you Grimmjow."

Grimmjow's blue eyes scanned the room and the two occupants in it.

To think that his long time Vice President was part of the underground network... What else did he not know about these two that they were hiding from him? It made sense to Grimmjow now that Shuuhei kept his other life hidden. Hell, he would–does!– too.

Is that why Shuuhei took 'vacations'? Was it to meet up with potential customers or something?

Most likely, it was.

All three of them were somehow connected to the underground...

This made Grimmjow wonder how many others he knew were also part of this illegal network. Was it really illegal? Grimmjow didn't know what was really right and wrong anymore. He had everything set perfectly for him and then it all went to shit as soon as Ichigo came but...

Fuck he'd be lying if he said that he wasn't enjoying himself now.

Enjoying life a little more.

There were two parts of Grimmjow that now continually raged war within his mind: the good side that told him to get out of this mess while he still could, that he was a man of integrity and Ichigo was slowly ruining that clean streak. But there was also that sinister side whispering sweet temptations. Ichigo offered a kind of freedom Grimmjow had never had since he was thrust into the corporate world at a young age. This was a new way, a new path to explore!

What was he going to do?

A swell of emotions arose deep within Grimmjow.

Confusion.

Fear.

Longing.

Those being the most prominent.

He had already given Ichigo his word that he would help him now. There was no way he could just drop Ichigo out of his life after all that had happened. The young street racer had etched a place in the business man's heart and life.

Could he really manage both his corporate life and this new one Ichigo introduced him to?

Grimmjow's eyes connected with Ichigo's honey brown orbs.

Damn you Ichigo Kurosaki... Damn you. Crossing his arms over his chest, Grimmjow leaned back against the wall. Time to put all that behind him and figure out what the hell they were going to do now. "Now that that is all settled... What did you find out Hisagi?"

Ichigo's eyes widened and Shuuhei's eyes mirrored Ichigo's as they both looked at one another. Holy fuck did they just get off the hook?

A huge wave of relief washed over the once frightened pair.

Ichigo directed a smile towards Grimmjow. Grimmjow was like a volcano: the guy steamed until eruption, everyone runs out of the way and then when he simmers down he's more level headed and manageable. But it still didn't leave Ichigo feeling one-hundred percent just yet.

He still felt like an ass for earlier.

"Uhm... is anyone alive over there?"

All present heads swiveled towards the computer.

"Shu? Ichigo? Anyone? It's gotten really quiet..."

Ichigo leaned closer towards the monitor. "What the fuck?"

"Ichigo!"

"H-how...?"

"Just because ya turned off the monitor doesn't mean the speakers don't work."

When Grimmjow was by the computer earlier, staring at the screen, the business executive merely turned off the monitor as opposed to just shutting down the computer or merely exiting out of the call box. Both Shuuhei and Ichigo turned to Grimmjow. "What?" He snapped. "Don't give me that look."

Renji's snicker flowed over the speakers. "For someone so high on the corporate ladder you really can be-"

"I dare you to finish that sentence." Grimmjow growled out, immediately halting Renji's comment.

"Right. Don't mention Grimmjow's technological challenges. Got it."

"Renji!" Shuuhei sputtered.

"Can someone please turn me on?"

Ichigo let out a bark of laughter followed by Renji's own chuckles. "Came out a lot dirtier than I thought."

After turning on the monitor and seeing Renji's still ever smirking face, Shuuhei pulled up the file his red headed partner sent over earlier. "Renji, you want to do the explaining?"

"Sure thing. I analyzed the card underneath a black light and scanned in the shown images. Both front and back of the card each had their own design but the back is more map oriented." The screen split into three separate windows: on small square holding Renji's screen and the other two with the front and back of the card respectfully. An assortment of lines ran across both screens holding the card. The left screen that showed the front of the card had green lines crossing and overlapping one another in a quadrant like formation.

"The back is a map of the city."

"And what does it mean?" Ichigo inquired, critically scanning the screen.

"Getting to that Ichi, chill man." Renji's stylus pulled both images together so that they overlapped. "Watch this..." Both images super imposed themselves on one another. "I couldn't figure out what the hell to make of this thing until I messed around with it on my computer for a bit. I split both sections apart then came at this thing like trying to figure out a puzzle. It worked."

Ichigo gasped as suddenly the lines began digitizing together around the bowl in the number 6. An address, time and date appeared in a brilliant shining blue.

Screen sharing, Renji moved his stylus and circled certain points on the quadrant. "There's no way you could have just held this thing up to a light and pulled the address out. Whoever designed this is a fucking genius." Leaning back in his chair, Renji clasped both hands behind his head.

"I'd really like see the actual card sometime." He added as an afterthought.

"Where is that place?" Grimmjow asked as he scrutinized the image.

"Already one step a head of ya." Another sub screen popped up, displaying the warehouse.

Ichigo frowned. "It looks barren."

"That's because it is barren idiot."

"Shut up Renji." Turning back towards the abandoned warehouse located eight blocks off of the main street through Karakura City, Ichigo's mind ran through scenario after scenario: how many others would figure this out? Would they be there too? What if the next leg of the race is not what they expected? What then?

And most importantly, how long would it be till Nnoitra figured out where Ichigo was and what he was up to?

Word got around fast and Nnoitra was at the center of the network on the Eastern side of the city. Everything that was whispered somehow got back to him.

How was Ichigo going to out run a shadow and find out who framed him all in one go?

A vortex of worry swelled.

He knew what he signed up for as soon as he set wheel on the first race and made contact with one of the representatives.

What was that man's name again? Gin?

Maybe if he could somehow get into contact with that guy... maybe he'd be able to help Ichigo figure something out? Hell, it wouldn't hurt to just ask a simple question. After all, once a thought was implanted in someone's mind, it would slowly morph into an action. Hopefully Ichigo might benefit from that.

He felt eyes upon him and looked up catching Grimmjow's questioning stare before the older man gave him a look that said 'you will tell me what you're planning later.' Ichigo sighed knowing all too well that when they went back home this conversation was going to be brought up again.

Goddammit...

"Yeah, go figure that the next set up is New Years."

Renji's voice snapped Ichigo from his mental conversation with himself. "What?"

"Pay attention Ichigo. The date for the next bit of this thing is New Years."

"Why?"

"Goddamn Ichi what do I look like a fucking Oracle? I don't know!"

"Probably because everyone will either be too drunk to notice what's going to happen or all the noise created by the fireworks display by the waterfront will drown out whatever it is you guys will be doing." Grimmjow said simply as if it was common knowledge.

"That is a valid statement." Shuuhei nodded in agreement. "We have no idea what to really expect from this thing. I mean, from what we heard from others, it's usually your typical race... But now with some things changing, who knows what to expect anymore."

Ichigo collapsed onto his knees with his arms resting on them and his head situated in his open palms. "I still haven't gotten anywhere closer to figuring out who the assholes were who ambushed me and got me into this mess."

From his position standing next to Ichigo's seated form, Grimmjow clapped a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "We'll figure it out Ichigo."

A knock at Shuuhei's office door alerted everyone. "Excuse me? Sir? Is everything alright in there?"

The door handle rattled viciously. "Mr. Jaegerjaques? Mr. Hisagi?"

"Oh sure worry about them and not me. Stupid-"

Grimmjow delivered a quick backhand across Ichigo's head before walking over to the locked door. "Watch your mouth." Opening it, Grimmjow's large form successfully blocked the rest of the office space from his secretary's curious view. "What do you want?"

The shorter woman straightened herself and fixed her glasses. "Sir, I heard yelling and then silence. I was merely wondering if everything was alright in there– I can call security if you need some help."

Grimmjow looked back into the room to see Shuuhei's schooled expression and Ichigo's simmering glare directed at whatever part of the secretary he could see. A small smile tugged at the corner of the blue haired businessman's lips. "We're fine. A few disagreements is all. Thank you for your concern."

She nodded and tried to get some other glance at the room.

"Is there something else you need?" Grimmjow frowned.

"Nothing Mr. Jaegerjaques." Turing around, her lithe form moved back down the hallway towards her station, her black heels clicking against the floor.

Shutting the door again, Grimmjow turned around to face the others. "This needs to end here and now. I cannot risk more that I already have by having you all conducting this sort of business here. If there is anything else that needs to be said, do it outside of business hours. Is that understood?"

All three men felt chastised. All three men drooping their heads some.

"Sorry Grimm."

"Sorry Sir."

"My bad."

After that, the day seemed to go more smoothly. Ichigo wasn't a bouncing floozy anymore which calmed Grimmjow's once on edge nerves. Reports were filed, e-mails read and documents signed. One by one people began clocking out to head home.

Two extra hours past the five o'clock deadline, Grimmjow was still hunched over his desk reading through a final report.

Coming back into the room after running down to the mailroom to drop off a package, Ichigo gave a tired smile at Grimmjow's posture. "That's not good for your back you know."

"Hn."

Making his way over to the older man, Ichigo ran a hand down Grimmjow's back. "C'mon, sit up straighter otherwise you'll get another headache."

Blue eyes narrowed at the babying tone Ichigo took on. "I'm not a child."

Lips breaking into a smile, Ichigo's eyes softened. "You sure as hell act like one sometimes."

"Whatever." Grimmjow said as he shifted his posture, already feeling relief flood across his back and once slumped shoulders.

"Been getting any headaches today after all that went down?" Ichigo was about to run a hand through blue strands but held back. Maybe it was too soon to have more intimate like touches in a social place? As silly as it sounded, that's what flitted across Ichigo's mind. Even though they slept in the same bed now, Ichigo was somewhat reluctant to do more.

Shaking his head, Grimmjow let out a puff of air before leaning his head back against the black leather seat. "No surprisingly."

Ichigo stared down into twin pools of crystalline blue. Eyes are windows to the soul, the saying goes. It couldn't be any more truthful. Ichigo had taken notice of the color changes Grimmjow's eyes go through.

An angry Grimmjow meant a stormy blue-grey twin pools; a happy Grimmjow lead to nearly shining sky blue; a hurting Grimmjow meant a dull sky blue and... Ichigo bit his lip. He was now wondering what a lusting Grimmjow's eyes would look like.

Oh no, do not go there! Ichigo berated himself.

"What are you thinking about, Ichigo?"

Grimmjow's sentence snapped the street racer back to reality. "Huh? Nothing, really."

"Tch. You're a poor liar, you know that?" A twitch of Grimmjow's lips nearly yielded to a smile.

Setting his hands on the arm rests, Ichigo leaned down so that his head was directly above Grimmjow's. "So? What're you going to do about it?"

This time instead of answering Grimmjow reached behind Ichigo's head and pulled down. Lips connecting, the CEO smiled inwardly when he felt Ichigo stiffen some before relaxing into the sudden kiss. Pulling away first, Grimmjow moved to sit upright again and finish off his work. "Something like that maybe."

Large brown eyes blinked. Well fuck if today wasn't filled with spontaneous moments... "Something like that he says."

Shaking his head, Ichigo walked over towards the couch and plopped down, kicking his legs over the armrest. "How much longer Grimm?" Ichigo yawned loudly, trying to emphasize his tiredness and hopefully make Grimmjow work a little faster.

"Give me ten minutes."

"Aaah... ten minutes?" Ichigo groaned. "We've been here since like... the butt crack of dawn."

Blue eyes glanced up from the white paper in astonishment. "It was eight in the morning."

Pulling himself into a sitting position, Ichigo's eyes connected with Grimmjow's. "I rest my case." The young man then fell back against the cool leather, swinging his arm over the front.

A few moments of silence then Ichigo heard Grimmjow's voice. "Earlier Ichigo when we were talking with Shuuhei, what was it that you were thinking about?"

It took a moment for Ichigo's tired brain to filter the question, causing Grimmjow to call out Ichigo's name once more. "Ichigo?"

"Yeah I'm trying to remember..." Fuck, what was it? Oh yeah... "The guy who we met at the end of the last race, the one who gave us the card, said his name was Gin. He must know something about Nnoitra or the bastards who jumped me. If he's the one handing out the directions or whatever, then that must mean he's in contact with the inner circle right?"

That caught Grimmjow's attention and he stopped scanning the papers sitting before him. "Ichigo, you're treading into very dangerous waters now."

Gazing up at the ceiling, Ichigo held up his hand as if reaching for something. "I know but, what else can I do? I need to take risks in order to get some kind of lead Grimm. I can't just sit back and hope something will happen. Being in the races is one thing, but I need to make connections with those who are deeper than me. Gin could be my first lead."

Ichigo's gaze turned outwards, glancing at the city stretched out before them. Small specks fell from the sky, hitting the window and slowly melting on contact. It had begun to snow.

A few more weeks and then the next round would begin and... and what then?

Fuck why couldn't things just happen like they did in movies? Shit goes down, friends of friends show up and they devise a plan of attack and then BAM! Everything is hunky dory afterwards.

"I'll as Szayel if he's come into contact with anyone matching your guys."

Ichigo quickly flung himself upwards, regretting it as the sudden movement brought on a wave of dizziness. "Wait, you can't just ask him! I've dragged you into this, no need to bring him in."

Grimmjow waved it off. "It's just a simple yes or no question Ichigo. If you're so stuck, I might as well offer some more assistance."

"Hey this isn't some donate-to-poor-pathetic-Ichigo fund is it?"

That received a chuckle from the older man. "Who ever said you had a fund?"

"Well I mean no one said anythin' about a f- Hey!" Ichigo caught on to the underlying words. "You're an asshole." He grumbled before falling back down onto the couch.

Ichigo must have nodded off because next he knew he was being woken up by Grimmjow's hand on the side of his face. "Wake up before I leave your ass behind."

"Done already? That was quick." Ichigo rolled over, nearly falling off the side of the couch in the process. He glanced at the clock situated on the coffee table and gave a shout. "It's nine! It's fucking nine at night!" Ichigo turned to Grimmjow. "If that is what ten minutes equates to in Grimmjow-time I need to start bringing crossword puzzles with me."

Grimmjow opened his office door and stepped out. "Move it Ichigo."

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Shit... you're such a hard ass sometimes."

xxxxxxx

Shinji threw back another shot– his third one of the night before slapping down a few bills to cover the drinks and headed out. The day had been a real bitch at the auto shop he worked at. Some bimbo decided that she knew more about cars than he did and practically directed him on how to change the fucking tires.

"Blah blah blah well screw you ya dumb shit..." Shinji, being the cunning man that he was, tried coaxing the woman out of his way but oh no. There was no way in hell she was going to just bugger off and leave him to do his thing. He had snapped at her after she came behind the customer line into the garage itself and began pointing out what to do and what he was 'totally doing wrong'.

The blond was a natural smooth talker but obviously this woman was immune to him and after the usually laid-back Shinji was pushed over the edge... Things just went downhill.

A mad Shinji meant a mad manager and of course the chick got away with a free tire change.

He had to admit it though, she knew how to cheat the system and damn, was she a pro or what? Guess he couldn't be too mad at her for that. It was amusing watching his boss get nattered at by a pint sized tamagotchi.

Pulling on his jacket, Shinji made his way to the exit at the bar. Pushing open the door and heading out into the night, the blond made his way down the street towards his apartment nearly four blocks away.

Convenient eh?

Pulling out his key, the blond stuck it into the lock and turned. Stepping into the dark house, the blond let out a small yelp as his cat skittered around his feet. "Ah fuck! What the hell Ninja?"

Shutting the door, Shinji made his way further into his home towards the bedroom. Flicking on the light in his room, the blond shrugged off his jacket and headed to the bathroom. Finishing up in there, he opened the bathroom door and shouted as a punch was directed his way.

"What the FUCK?"

Dodging out of the way, Shinji tried to shut the bathroom door but the larger man threw his entire body weight against it, causing the blond to loose his grip and footing. The force of the door being flung open by the man had Shinji flying backwards into sink, hitting his head on the white porcelain.

Consciousness fled from him.

TBC

Poor Shinji! He had a really bad day :( Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! The next one will be posted this weekend :) And on that note, as some of you may know, I will be studying abroad for about a month so this will be my last update till I come back in June. Have an awesome month ya'll!

For those of you living in the US and are part of the states which were hit by the tornados, my prayers and thoughts go to you. Stay strong guys :)

Thanks a bunch for reading!

As a humble author, a review is all that I can ask for ^^

Oh and I hope you all received author replies... I know that something's been going on with ff again and some people aren't receiving author replies... :( I love you all! I really, really do!

~ChaosGarden