In the Red, chapter 2

[writerx75]

A/N: Much thanks to my wonderful super hero editor in chief gwoman for her help in always improving my writing. Also, belated happy birthday wishes to the lovely jazz_trousers and fabulous are_sensei - I know I didn't have anything smexy to post for your days, so I hope this makes up for it. :D

Summary: AU, from the case files of Ichigo Kurosaki, P.I. In which a long conversation turns into a short battle, the initial clues for a new case are laid out, late night awakenings lead to steamy conclusions, and a surprise client is met. NOTE: This story takes place after Seeing Red (Part 1 and Part 2), and builds on it.

Warnings: Bad language, juvenile insults, minor violence, threats with a deadly weapon, dirty talkin', explicit good sex (yaoi), dirty thoughts, fluffy thoughts, self-defeating thoughts

Usual disclaimers: I don't own these characters and don't make any money for these writings; I'm just creating these stories to entertain myself and (hopefully) you.

All of the people depicted (or referred to) in sexual situations in my stories are intended to be and considered to be by the author of the legal age of consent in any jurisdiction, regardless of what age these characters may be in the material they are derived from. OK?
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Missed Chapter 1? Click here.

I watched Kenpachi carefully as I let the two of us in and he sat in my client chair. He met my eye as he sat, and his watchfully alert expression reminded me of the fact that I'd been in such a hurry to get to Urahara's that I'd barely had time to eat before I’d left the house and was still feeling sort of groggy.

“You want coffee?” I asked him as I crossed over to my office coffeepot and began getting it going.

“I wouldn't mind,” he replied, something in him seeming to relax just a bit as he spoke.

Once we were sitting opposite one another at the desk, him with his black coffee and me with my cup (with a lot of sugar in it), I got out my notepad. “So, tell me about the case.”

“You like sugar, huh?”

The big man was actually grinning at me now, and I ground my teeth for a moment as I cursed the fact that Renji's love for sweets had rubbed off on me. Holding back the urge to tell him that not only did I like sugar but that I was also the sweetest fucking thing in the room, instead I replied, “Yeah, I have a terrible sweet tooth. Now, about the case?”

Somehow, I think I managed to keep my expression neutral and expectant, not at all what he was hoping for, apparently. Kenpachi met my gaze and looked away, starting to appear somewhat down again, but at least he began talking.

“I work for a family-owned company. I'm in charge of security for the facilities and for the CEO, who's the third generation to run the business. A few months ago, he received an offer from another business owner to buy the family's company.”

I'd only taken a few notes so far, but I looked up at Kenpachi as he revealed the purchase offer. His expression hadn't changed, but something in his eyes had hardened and I waited for the rest.

“The family has no desire to sell, and the CEO told the potential buyer as much. He returned the following month, however, with an even better offer, but the CEO turned him down again and explained that the family wasn't interested in selling, period.” Kenpachi met my eyes again and his were positively steely now. “Not long after that, strange things started happening all over the company.”

“What sorts of things?”

“We started having troubles we'd never had before - shipments of our goods went missing, equipment got broken mysteriously or stolen, that sort of thing. All of my men and I were working overtime to try to figure out what was going on and stop it, but we didn't have any luck in preventing anything; we just ended up fixing it when things went wrong. So a few weeks after all of that started, we got another call from the prospective buyer.”

I watched his eyes narrow before he continued speaking. “That bastard insisted on meeting with the CEO again and repeated his previous offer. When reminded that the family wasn't interested in selling, he said that he was even willing to pay such a high price with the problems we'd been having. Which was pretty fucking strange considering that we hadn't been sharing information about what had been going on around the company with anyone.”

“Did you report the incidents to the police?” I asked, pencil poised to write as I also half-watched Kenpachi to note his reactions.

“Sure. Not that they were much help,” he continued, his look changing to annoyance. “When they found out who was attempting the buyout, they did mention that the corporation that has offered to purchase us is suspected of being mob-connected.”

“What?” I was definitely starting to think that I'd made a mistake. The moment I'd seen him, I should have turned back around and gone out for coffee instead. Not that I didn't want to help, but given that I'm just a one-person shop, the idea of standing up to some organized crime outfit on my own sounded not only ridiculous but practically suicidal.

He grinned a little grimly at my question. “I think you heard me all right, Kurosaki. Anyway, after the bastard let us know that he knew about what had been going on in the company, he said that it was such a shame that the CEO had no clear successor, because if something were to happen to him there'd just be a few older people left in the family, and they'd probably have a much different opinion. He said he'd give the CEO another month to think about it.”

I looked up again from my notes again. “Sounds like that was some sort of veiled threat.”

“Yeah, but since he didn't really come out and say it, there wasn't a whole lot we could do about it...legally, anyway.” Kenpachi stared blackly into his coffee cup for a moment before taking another sip.

“So, what did you end up doing?” I asked.

“Well, I talked to the CEO and offered to go over and clean out the whole rat’s nest of them. After all, if they're criminals, it's not like they're going to report it to the police. It's not too different than a lot of the shit I did in the military, anyway.” He looked up with a rather bloodthirsty grin that I somehow couldn't help returning.

Then he sighed and slumped in his seat again. “Unfortunately, the CEO said that if we were dealing with the mob, it was likely they'd just send more people and do something worse in retaliation. He insisted the best way to take care of it was to go after the root of the problem. So we sent someone in undercover to try to get evidence so that we could get their company shut down.”

Looking up from my notebook, which I'd been scribbling in quickly, trying to keep up with Kenpachi's narrative, I'm sure I had a look of surprise on my face. “Who did you send? Someone with some experience, I hope.”

Kenpachi looked up at me briefly then, almost guiltily. “Well, we thought he did, anyway. We sent one of my security people and told him to get whatever he could on those bastards, enough so that we could turn our problem over to the police and have them handle it. So, he calls us a couple weeks later and says he has good news, that they're going to have this meeting in the next couple of weeks where all of their bigwigs get together and talk about all of their business. From what he said, everything's discussed openly, so that would probably be all we'd need to get all of them busted. He said he'd try to find out the time and place and let us know.”

He paused then and ran one large hand over his very short hair. He blew out a short breath as he looked up at me, I couldn't tell exactly what was going on in his expression, but there was definitely a deep thread of anger in there. “A couple days later, though, we got a call from the police. He'd been found beaten half to death in an alley. He's still in a coma, and they don't know if he's going to make it.”

I sat up in my chair a little, imagining what he'd probably seen, because unfortunately I'd seen that kind of thing before, too. “I'm really sorry to hear that.” I paused for a moment, since it seemed as if Kenpachi was getting his thoughts together. After a few moments I asked, “I'm guessing that brings us to where we are now?”

Nodding, he responded, “Yeah, I got the call two days ago. There hasn't been any change in his condition since then.”

“So,” I asked, and I could feel my eyes narrowing a little as I spoke, “what exactly do you see as my role in all of this?”

“We want you to finish the job my man started,” Kenpachi said, meeting my gaze with an equally hard one. “Find out when and where this meeting is taking place. We'd also like you to figure out some way to be there, and I think the CEO said he was willing to give you some kind of bonus if you could figure out a way to film it.”

I just shook my head as I looked back down at my notepad. Sneak into the lion's den and photograph all the carcasses there. Right. At the same time, however, I felt a little thrill in my guts as I thought about actually being able to help someone avoid a hostile takeover by the mob. Shaking my head again to try to throw off my more suicidal, glory-seeking self, I looked back up at Kenpachi. “I don't know,” I replied. “I'm definitely going to have to give this some thought. What you're talking about is a job so dangerous that it's already almost killed one person, so I'm not sure it sounds like a good risk.”

“Oh, come on,” Kenpachi said, and suddenly his bloodthirsty grin had returned. “I hear you're all about protecting the little guy from big scary monsters.”

I glared at him then. “Yeah, but there's only so much even I can do. Like your boss told you, organized crime rings have a lot more resources than even most companies do. And they don't have to care about operating within the law, something that even the most corrupt of corporations at least has to give some thought to.”

He looked at me for a moment, suddenly solemn, then cracked a little grin as he nodded. “Well, I guess you'd have to be either a stupid fool or a desperate fool to say yes right off the bat to this job, so it sounds like you're smart enough,” he said, and then he was suddenly standing and cracking his knuckles, smiling widely. “I guess we can go on to the next test.”

Next test? I made a sound of disbelief. “Listen,” I said, “sit back down. Are you saying you want me to jump through some kind of hoops to get this job I'm not even sure I want to take?”

When he nodded and his grin started looking decidedly bloodthirsty again, I sighed quietly and tried to mask my annoyance. “Let me explain. Usually, when someone comes out here to talk to me about a job, we're both sizing each other up, and I understand that. People usually make their decision as we talk about the case and my general ideas of how to take care of things, or if they want more reassurance I have some clients that I can refer them to so they can get an idea of what I've done. I take it that's not enough for you?”

When he shook his head, I gritted my teeth before I answered. “So what's this next 'test' of yours?”

Kenpachi's bloodthirsty grin had grown. “The CEO told me that I could run you through your paces to see if I think you're tough enough to take on this job.”

I could feel my eyes narrowing again. “Judging from what I've heard so far, I'm guessing you want some sort of hands-on demonstration?”

“Yeah, that's the idea,” he replied as he stood, but I held him in place with a look as he started to step forwards.

“All right. If you want to spar, I'm fine with the idea, under certain conditions. No conditions, no match, understand?” I glared at him for a moment, waiting until I saw him nod in agreement. “All right. Condition number one, we are not fighting in my office. We'll do it on the roof. Number two, this is going to be a sparring match, by which I mean neither of us should end up with injuries requiring medical intervention to fix. If that ends up being the case, you have two choices - a) you or your company will pay all my bills, or b) I'm filing a police complaint and you're going to jail.”

I paused, waiting to hear some sort of response from Kenpachi before continuing. I didn't have to wait long before his laugh boomed through my office. “I'm really starting to like you, kid,” he said with a smile. “OK, fine. Anything else?”

Although I could feel the hair on the back of my neck standing up after his 'kid' comment, I chose to let it slide and tried not to growl as I kept on. “Yeah, there are a couple more things. If I do end up accepting this job, I'm going to start counting my time on the clock with your company from the minute you walked in to my office today, since you've wasted so much of my time. If you have to clear that with your CEO, do it.”

“No, I think he'll be fine with that,” Kenpachi replied, seeming perfectly calm now, but I could feel a strange sense of energy behind that, as if he was already anticipating the upcoming fight.

“All right then. One last thing - since you're in the security business, I probably don't have to tell you that looking beat up is bad for business. So, when we spar, any part of my body is fair game, except for my face. Do we have an agreement?”

Kenpachi stuck out a big hand to shake mine. “Agreed. Let's get to it.”

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He'd left his coat and tie on the back of a chair in my office, and I now faced Kenpachi across a carpet of tar paper. I glanced to the side as I flicked the rest of my cigarette off the roof and caught sight of the skeleton of the building they'd begun construction on across the street. The view from the roof wasn't overly interesting, since a lot of the neighborhood consisted of squat warehouses and the like, but you could see for a good distance and it was overly warm for a fall afternoon, so I couldn't complain.

I studied my opponent as he rolled up his shirt sleeves to reveal powerful looking forearms. From the way he'd moved and how he looked, I was certain he lifted weights in his spare time, and it appeared to have made him strong. He was at least as tall as Renji, and he looked like he out massed me by quite a bit. As we began to circle one another, I considered the fact that the martial arts taught in the military are usually hard styles, something he could take good advantage of. One way to counter strength is a greater strength, but although I'm a lot stronger than I look, I didn't think I could overpower Kenpachi. In that case, I thought, the best way to defeat strength is by yielding.

Pivoting on one foot, I turned out of the way of Kenpachi's big fist, which had been headed straight for my chest. I couldn't help but grin as he frowned and drew his hand back. The other thing that's deceptive about me on the battlefield is my speed. Although Kenpachi was fast for someone his size, I'm almost unnaturally fast. Tatsuki used to complain about it when we first sparred together, but now she just grins and says that I'm one of the few people who can give her a good workout anymore. These days, however, she's good enough that I think she's just trying to be kind.

I drew back a little as he came at me again and I brought my hands up. As he threw another punch at me, I redirected it to one side and then brought my palm up under Kenpachi's chin, just touching it. I grinned as I drew back a little, seeing the frustration evident on his face. He tried another blow with his fist and I blocked it while hitting out with the end of the blocking arm, softly smacking Kenpachi's neck. Looking positively furious now, he circled me again, obviously trying to find an opening.

When Tatsuki and I’d been in high school together, there had been sort of a legend that circulated for a while about how she had stalked this old man for weeks, waiting outside his door and following him around until he'd finally agreed to take her on as a student. I don't know if it's true, but I did later find out that before Tatsuki learned Wing Chun, there was only one guy in the area that had known it.

The sticking hands she'd practiced with me worked beyond my expectations in dealing with Kenpachi. His movements seemed fairly predictable, so I didn't have much trouble mirroring what he did and evading the force of his blows. I'd only had the equivalent of maybe a year's training from Tatsuki in Wing Chun, so Kenpachi did get a few good hits in on me, but by the middle of the fight I could probably have largely immobilized him, having carefully chosen shots to his kidneys, elbows, knees, and a number of pressure points. I was having more trouble avoiding his kicks because I hadn't had enough training to learn sticking feet, but so far all I'd gotten out of his kicks were bruised shins. That made me grimace, however, thinking of how hard he'd probably be kicking me if we weren't just sparring. Hell, I might well have been on one knee if he were kicking me for real.

Anyway, as we continued the match, I felt myself get to the point where I could follow his movements almost perfectly in order to redirect and avoid them, now pushing his fist away from me so that I could move into his body to deliver a light strike to one of the pressure points along his side. I couldn't really redirect his kicks, but I was getting to the point that I could dodge a lot of them, and I couldn't help but smirk at his obvious frustration. A moment later, however, I gasped at the quick fist coming right for my face from below. I threw my head backwards and to one side and was mostly successful in avoiding the blow, but my head rocked back as the edge of his fist skimmed my jaw, and I knew I'd have a bruise there the next day. I gave him a death glare as I fell back a step and watched his face break into a grin.

May I just take a moment here to say how much I dislike guns? I know, it seems like I'm getting a bit off track, unless you consider that at this point in the story, I'm definitely angry enough to shoot this guy, but don't worry, I'll get back to the fight in a minute. Anyway, guns. I think the reason I don't like them is that I've been in business long enough to see what they take away from people. Spouses, parents, or children injured or killed by people with guns. People killed accidentally, or killing themselves using guns. People threatening one another with firearms - I've seen all of these things at one time or another. I'm not enough of a fool not to own one, given my line of work, but I judge my personal level of danger by whether or not I think I'm going to need one, and try to avoid cases where I'm definitely going to have to carry a gun.

There is something I like a lot, however, and that's knives. Knives and I have been good friends for a long time, and I think we'll be close until I'm too weak to hold one up. There's something simple, clean, and elegant about a knife, plus it never jams or runs out of ammo. The most you'll need to do is occasionally sharpen it and it's happy. Also, although it isn't something I've mentioned up to this point, if I'm clothed, I'm armed.

So, when Kenpachi decided to break our agreement, I have to admit I had a moment where I just saw red. “You son of a bitch,” I snarled, while he grinned.

The next moment, however, I felt only a cold certainty and slipped my hand just inside my pocket as I watched Kenpachi lean his head back with laughter. I thumbed back the quick-release sheath for the punch dagger I always carry on my key ring and when my hand came back out of my pocket, I was ready. The blade is only an inch or so long, but its chunky thickness and flat, spade-like shape make it more than adequate to do significant damage wherever applied.

I quickly moved back in close to Kenpachi's body and raised my fist up as his head started to come back down. “I wouldn't move just now, if I were you,” I said calmly, holding the wickedly pointed tip of the dagger pressed lightly over his jugular.

“Fuck,” he said, and I noted that he was holding his whole body rigidly in place. “You suckered me, kid.”

“I didn't say anything about using weapons,” I replied, still glaring at him as I ran my thumb over my jaw line. “I did specifically say no face hits, though.”

“Oh, come on,” Kenpachi said, his voice rough with amusement and his mouth starting to form a grin again, “that was just to test your reactions.”

Letting out a snort of annoyance, I relented and moved away, quickly re-sheathing my dagger. Sadly enough, I have to admit that the way Kenpachi had growled out that last line had stirred something in me that wasn't anger, but as I reflexively gave him the once over as he relaxed his posture, in my mental comparisons of him to Renji he kept coming up short. Hell, given the fact that it had taken me this long to even give him the once over made it painfully clear to me just how bad I had it for the tattooed redhead.

Shaking my head to get my thoughts back to the matter at hand, I focused on Kenpachi again, watching him move back into his ready stance. “So,” he asked, “you want to continue?”

I shook my head as I straightened up. “No. I figure you must have made your mind up by now as to whether or not you think I'm worthy for this job, so I'm not going to keep on, because you seem like you're the kind of guy who likes to leave a lot of marks.”

“What's the problem, princess?” he asked, a calculating expression now on his face. “You have a big date tonight?”

Refusing to even acknowledge the comment that was obviously designed to throw me into a rage and make me continue fighting the idiot, I tried to even out my breathing even further. “Yeah, actually I do,” I replied, making a masterful attempt at a calm tone, “and I'd rather not look like a punching bag tonight because at least part of it will involve me being naked.”

Kenpachi gazed at me quietly for a moment, the look in his eyes seeming to go through several changes before he spoke again. He shrugged as he finally said, “Fair enough. And yeah, you're right, I have already made up my mind.”

“Oh? And what's the verdict?” I asked as we headed for the door to take us off the roof.

“You're tough enough, all right,” he said with a nod. “I'm not the one who'll be making the final decision, though.”

I let that pass until we got down to my office again and he was shrugging his suit coat back on. “So, what's the next step here? Or are you expecting me to want to take on this job without even knowing who I'm working for or who I'm up against?”

Kenpachi looked over at me, and I thought I saw the ghost of a smile before he answered. “As far as who you might be working for, do you know where Caesar's Cafe is?”

“Yeah,” I answered. Anyone who had any kind of shady business in this town or in Karakura knew where it was. It was actually right along the snaking border between the two towns, and it was a favorite lunch spot for the nearby office and warehouse workers. The real draw of the place, and the reason that it was sort of infamous in both towns was the small curtained rooms along both sides of the restaurant. It was there that the those who ran 'legitimate' businesses and those who could provide the illegal services that those business people always seemed to want would meet, under cover of secrecy. I ground my teeth as I glared at Kenpachi, angry that they were trying to group me in with the people that they were purportedly trying to stop a takeover attempt against.

“Relax, kid. I think when you meet my boss you'll see why he wanted to meet there. Be there at noon. We made reservations in your name.”

“Thanks,” I replied through gritted teeth, and I could feel my eyes narrowing as I looked at him. He and whoever his boss was were really pissing me off.

He grinned a little harder as he saw my anger. “As far as who you'll be up against, I can tell you that. Start looking into a company by the name of Infinium Logistics, if you're interested in this job.”

I snorted, still pissed off. “If I'm not there by 12:15, don't expect me.”

“See you tomorrow,” Kenpachi said with a sly grin and closed the door behind his retreating figure.

After he left, I just sat for a moment, the end of my pencil tapping on my notepad. I made a few more notes and then put the pad of paper in a bag along with a few other things and drove to a library across town that I knew had a large number of computers open for use. As I waited my turn, I looked at my scribblings so far and added a few things. I'd never regretted following my gut when it told me to be paranoid in matters related to cases, and as I'd thought about this one, I decided using a public machine to do research on a company that was known to have ties to organized crime would be wise. I didn't know how many hackers there were working for the mob these days, but I'd have to bet they had at least a few.

A few hours later I left, not much enlightened but newly curious as to the case that I only had partial information about. The website for the company itself seemed like a big red flag to me. The setup was spare, almost as if they'd put up a site only because it was expected. They were a private corporation, so they didn't have to do public filings of their finances or anything like that, but the information they were willing to publicize about themselves, even with that in mind, seemed laughably slim. They did post the names of their top three company officers, however. Sosuke Aizen was their President and CEO, and in his picture he was gently smiling, wearing heavy glasses, and his dark hair was cut a bit long. He was obviously trying for a benevolent look, but there was something in his eyes, however, that chilled me to the bone. Their CIO and Vice President was Gin Ichimaru, a man with light colored hair and a creepy, insincere smile that seemed to swallow up his eyes entirely. The other Vice President and CFO was Kaname Tousen, a handsome black man wearing dark glasses and a guarded expression. He was definitely the least creepy looking of the three, but he still managed to look like a thug.

I'd taken another look at each of them before I closed the website, and the only thing that struck me was that something about Gin was familiar. I couldn't seem to think of where I'd seen his face or heard his name before, however, so I just let it go for the moment to let my brain work on it, thinking that eventually the answer would occur to me.

I had a little more luck as I continued looking at some of the subsequent hits for the company. According to a short article from a local business magazine, Infinium Logistics had been on a bit of a buying spree over the last couple of years, snapping up five smaller businesses during that time. I found it odd that there seemed to be no kind of pattern to the acquisitions they'd made, however. They'd bought three manufacturing firms - one that made computer chips, another that manufactured specialty packaging for new products, and one that made small promotional items - a company that did specialized pharmaceutical research and development, and a chain of local bakeries. I stared at the article for a while, trying to think what might constitute a business strategy that would connect those purchases, but couldn't think of one. Nothing else of much worth came up on the search; a few job advertisements surfaced and there were rumors of the type that I'd already heard from Kenpachi on various disreputable chat boards.

After I left the library, however, I found myself at loose ends. I took time to do some errands, including getting more groceries to fill the refrigerator back up, but shortly after dinner I found myself sitting on the couch, looking at the clock and willing it to go faster, much to my internal embarrassment. Shaking my head at myself, I quickly changed into workout gear and drove over to one of the Arisawa family's martial arts studios. It seemed like I'd timed it just right that day, and I could see Tatsuki over the heads of the students bowing to her to signify that the class had just finished. She gave a sly smile as she saw me and gestured for me to come in.

By the time I got home I felt justifiably tired. We'd sparred hard for a couple of hours, and I knew I was going to have a few new bruises, despite my words to Kenpachi earlier about not wanting to look like someone's punching bag. It had been a couple of weeks since I'd had time to go by, though, so I found I didn't mind. Stumbling into bed after a shower, it didn't take me long to fall dead asleep.

It was the soft kiss at the base of my neck that woke me up; I hadn't even heard him come in. I couldn't help but sigh as a shiver ran through me in response.

“So you're finally awake,” Renji murmured just under my ear, and the sound as well as the sensation of his lips moving on my skin made me shudder once more.

“How did it go tonight?” My voice was low and barely audible, and I could feel my face heating up when I realized I'd said the first thing I could think of because I just wanted to hear Renji's voice again.

“Busy from the minute I got there to the time we closed. Just one of those nights that everyone seems to want to get ink at once.” I couldn't help but moan this time as I felt the little chuckle he gave and his breath against my neck. “How about you? Did you finish the case?”

It was a little while before I could assemble enough brain cells to answer, and I found myself blinking since my eyes had still been closed. As I opened them, I saw that the alarm clock across the room read a little after 2AM, and then my body stiffened as I gasped, feeling Renji flick his thumbnail across one of my nipples, then pinch it tight and roll it between his fingers. I cursed under my breath and tried to focus on what I was supposed to be answering.

“Yeah, it's done and everyone's happy, strangely enough,” I finally managed, breathing way more heavily than such a reply required. “The minute I got back to the office, though, I found someone else waiting for me.”

As I woke up a little more and shifted my body, I pressed against Renji more fully and had to bite back a groan. His naked body was laid out behind mine, and the heat seemed to be coming off him like a furnace. Renji could be uncomfortable to sleep with during the summer sometimes, because he always seemed to radiate so much warmth, but this time of year I couldn't get close enough. I also realized that I couldn't move very far since Renji had wrapped himself around me, holding me in place. I'd been lying on one side, and somehow he'd figured out a way to slide both arms around me, one still teasing my nipples and the other now sliding lower on my chest. I was hard now, hard enough to feel the slight movement of the covers sliding against my cock in vivid detail, and I could feel Renji's dick twitch against one ass cheek, the hard metal of his piercing pressed tight against my skin.

“Oh, so you have a new case?” Renji asked against the back of my neck, and I was hard pressed for a few seconds to remember what the hell he was asking about.

“Mmmmh...uh, maybe. I don't know, though. The guy I talked to was arrogant and annoying and didn't give much detail, so...mmm...I don't know if I'm taking the job. They want me to meet them for...uh...for lunch tomorrow so we can talk about it.” By now, I could barely focus on anything other than what Renji was doing. One of his hands had fastened on to my cock, and he tightened his grip around me momentarily, making me let out another embarrassing noise. He'd started to move one of his legs between mine, and I couldn't help but wrap my top leg around the back of his to pull myself against him more tightly. He growled at this and ground against me, his cock fully hard now, to which I answered by tilting my ass back at him. Renji wound himself around me tighter then with a groan.

“Fuck, you drive me crazy, Ichigo,” he muttered, before sinking his teeth into my shoulder with enough force to make me cry out. I was panting now, and I writhed against him, wanting to grab on to him. Another part of me, though, was shamefully turned on by the fact that I could barely move because Renji was completely wrapped around me, and I groaned low as he chuckled when my cock jumped at my realization.

Unwilling to give myself over to the dark craving completely, however, I spoke up for the sane part of myself. “Let go of me so that I can turn around and touch you.”

“No,” he replied, low and quiet. I mentally cursed my shiver at that and tried to focus as he continued speaking. “I don't want to disturb your sleep too much, because I know you have a big day tomorrow. Just relax and let me do everything, and I'll make you come so hard you pass out again. You can pretend it's all just a dream.”

His hands were still moving as he talked, making me shudder and bite my lip. He'd shifted me from lying on my side to being tilted against his body slightly so that he could move both his hands freely. One hand was lazily spreading the pre-come I'd dripped on myself over my belly, and the other was fondling my balls. I was suddenly glad I was still biting my lip, because the noises I wanted to make now would probably have been more than embarrassing, but Renji started speaking again, and for a moment that was all I could focus on.

“So, since it's your dream, what should I say?” His voice was so low and resonant now that I could feel it against my back as he talked and against my ear just before he paused and caught my earlobe between his teeth, then closed his lips and sucked on it.

I made a thin, high noise that I barely recognized as mine before I heard myself speaking, low and affected. “Tell me how much you want me.” I wanted to hit myself in the face then, for blurting things out before thinking again and for sounding like I was some sort of soap opera star, but the only hand I was at all free to move was currently gripping Renji's waist, pulling him closer to me, and I really didn't want to let go. I was glad the room was dimly lit, however, because my face got so hot that I'm sure Renji wouldn't have missed my blush if it had been any brighter.

To my surprise, however, not only did he not laugh, he groaned and held me tighter, his head dipping to place a sucking kiss and a nip where my neck and shoulder met. “Fuck, Ichigo, I want you so bad that if I could spend every minute here in bed with you, buried in your hot body or just wrapped around you, I'd do it in a fucking heartbeat.”

One hand trailed back up my chest, grazing along my ribcage, and as he kissed me on the back of my neck, I shuddered as I felt what he was saying in the careful way he touched and pleased me, and it left me unable even to moan. He ground his cock against my ass again, and I couldn't help but flatten myself back against him, feeling his dick so hot against me that I swore it was branding my skin.

“It can be fucking embarrassing,” he murmured into my ear as he slowly stroked my cock with one hand and continued to play with my nipples with the other. “I can't tell you how many times I've thought of you at the wrong time and then had a big problem to take care of.” Renji thrust himself against the back of me as he said that, and I couldn't help but smile. “Hell, just looking in the direction of the bathroom at work can do it, when I think about how you were that day, but then when I think of you here, with that look you get just after you come, curled up in bed under the covers...fuck, Ichigo, you're irresistible.”

He was thrusting my cock through his hand with just the right rhythm now, and although he was slowly driving me insane with the sensation, I could also feel myself blushing again at his words. I couldn't believe I'd even asked him to tell me that, but now I was secretly glad I had, even though another part of me felt like a complete and utter sap for doing it. Suddenly I didn't care, though, because Renji was almost growling in my ear again, and I bit my lip against the little noise I wanted to make when I heard him.

“This is your dream, though, so what do you want me to do?”

I was panting now after having heard that, obscene pictures running through my mind at top speed and making pure heat seem to flow through my veins in place of blood, but there was really only one thing I wanted so bad that I could taste it. “I want you in me, Renji.”

Sadly, I'd known what I was going to say even before the words were out of my mouth. In the back of my mind, I knew I should feel humiliated to ask someone to fuck me like that, but I was way too turned on to think too much about it. The thing that really made me wonder about my sanity, though, was the fact that although I'd certainly done my share of bottoming before and liked it, I'd never craved it the way I did before I met Renji. Probably because no one else had ever made me half crazy and nearly pass out from pleasure the way he did.

Somewhere in my fuzzy mind, I realized that Renji was moving away from me now, and I wasn't pleased. “Hey,” I began, and I know I was about to complain, but he silenced me with a chuckle, wrapping his legs tighter around mine.

“I'm not going anywhere,” he interrupted. “I just needed some of this.”

Suddenly, I could feel his slick fingers sliding between my ass cheeks and I couldn't help the muffled moan I let out in response. I lost the power of human speech as he thrust two fingers into me, but unfortunately I didn't lose the ability to make noise. Renji just seemed to love it like always, though, twisting his fingers in me and mumbling into my ear, “Yeah, that's it, let me know how I make you feel, Ichigo.”

Somehow, I managed to glance over my shoulder at him because I wanted to see the look he gets in his eye when he watches me writhe under him as he works me over, but before I could really look at him, his lips were against mine. I gasped at the heat in his kiss and I sucked on his lower lip as he pulled back, which caused him to thrust his fingers into me harder, twisting around to find my spot. My back arched and my head flew back a moment later as he hit it and he growled at the wanton cry I couldn't stop from coming out of my mouth.

“Fuck yeah, that's it, Ichigo. You feel so fucking good inside, so hot and tight that you make me want to come just touching you like this.” He ground his cock against me as he talked, maybe so that I'd know he wasn't kidding, and I felt another jolt of heat run through me as his dick twitched when I tightened around his fingers. “Fuck, Ichigo,” he continued breathlessly, and I cried out again as he pushed a third finger in me.

Renji kept finger-fucking me, strong and so good it took my breath away, until he made me so desperate for him that I wanted to beg. It took me a while to actually be able to form words, though. “Renji,” I finally managed, “I need more. Now.”

I expected him to laugh at me, but instead he groaned and ground his cock against me. He felt so hot I expected it would set my skin on fire. “Yeah, OK,” he finally said, and I felt my own dick twitch as I heard how low and affected he sounded.

But then, after having been completely surrounded by Renji since the moment I woke up to suddenly having my only contact with him reduced to one of his feet loosely wrapped around my ankle, it was too much. I groaned in displeasure and rolled onto my stomach on one of the now haphazardly placed pillows, desperate for some kind of pressure on my cock but unwilling to touch myself because I didn't want to come yet. I wanted Renji to touch me and make me come, and just that thought was almost too explosive. I found myself thrusting against the bed and moaning as I fantasized about it. The friction felt good, but it felt even better as I imagined him touching me and fucking me. I groaned out his name as I thrust once more, but then it occurred to me that Renji seemed to be taking an awfully long time to put a condom on.

I turned my head to look at him and I couldn't help but smile wickedly as I saw his hand on his cock, obviously caught in the act of lubing up but frozen and staring at me instead. Since my inadvertent show had apparently gotten his attention, I thought I'd turn it up another notch. I continued looking back at him as I spread my legs and tilted my ass up.

“Come on, Renji,” I said in the sultriest voice I could muster. “Fuck me.”

“You little tease,” he growled as he grabbed one of my thighs to pull my legs open even farther and settle himself between them. “You'd better believe I'll fuck you.”

As I felt the huge, blunt head of his cock against me, my breath caught for a moment as my body remembered again just how big he was, and Renji must have felt me tense under him. “Relax, Ichigo,” he murmured into my ear as he spread his body over mine, and I felt my tension start to slip away as I sighed and angled my hips up to him.

“That's it,” he almost growled as he pushed, and I moaned as I felt myself open up to him.

As always, it took him a little while to ease into me, and the feeling of being so fucking full almost undid me. I was panting, groaning, and nearly wild by the time I felt his full length in me, and I ground myself back against him.

He swore under his breath as a result. “Just stay put for a minute,” he growled, one hand pinning my hip securely to the bed. I could feel his cock twitch inside me and I held still, a sly smile growing on my face as I realized he was trying not to come. A moment later my mind was blank and I was gasping as he pulled out a bit, only to push back inside me. I cried out as he did, feeling his piercing rubbing something that made my toes curl.

“You like that?” he asked, voice hoarse in my ear, and fuck if that didn't make me moan again. “Tell me.”

“Fuck, you bastard, you know I like it,” I managed, barely able to speak, but the rough words I was trying to choke out got cut off by my own cry as he thrust into me again.

“Tell me how much you like it or I'm going to stop,” he threatened, and then kept very still.

I tried moving against him to encourage him to keep going, but Renji tightened his hold on me, keeping me in place. I ground my hips again, making a noise of frustration in my throat but still enjoying the friction between my cock and the pillow under it. As I turned my head back a little to see Renji's expression in order to figure out why he was being so annoying, I was suddenly hit with the need to see him look the way he had when he watched me before, the desire on his face so clear that it had hit me straight in the gut.

“Yeah, I like it when you fill me with that big cock of yours,” I purred, trying to keep my tone low and enticing. “I like it so much that it makes me want it all fucking day.”

I felt a ragged bolt of heat shoot through me as Renji gave a deep groan and started thrusting into me again, fast and jerky. “Fuck, Ichigo, don't stop,” he said, breathlessly.

Another look at him over my shoulder just fed the spiraling rise of raw heat in me. He looked half gone, biting his lip as his head stretched back, tattoos highlighting his outstretched neck, which was still and visible through the hair hanging down around his face. My eyes lingered on the ink on his chest and arms as I gasped against the sensation of his next thrust into me. I continued speaking when he opened his eyes again, the look in them pleading. “Yeah, if I could figure out a way to interview clients while I had you spread out on the desk so I could ride your cock, I'd definitely do it. I don't know how many people would want to hire me, though, if one of my working requirements was to always have your dick deep in me.”

I couldn't help my evil grin as Renji shuddered at my words and cursed under his breath. He thrust into me a few more times and then pulled out and threw himself down on the bed, yanking me on top of him. “Want to see you ride me. Want to see your face when you come.”

Even though my thighs were shaking now and my body wanted nothing more than to quickly impale myself on him again, I forced myself to go slowly, getting more lube and stroking it over Renji's cock with no particular hurry. “I think you just want to see this huge dick of yours disappearing into my ass from a different angle.”

He was cursing again as he grabbed my arm and pulled me up on him, then used his other hand to position his cock just right. I think we both groaned as I sank down on him.

“I like that, too,” Renji growled, both hands on my hips as he moved me up and down on his cock, slamming his hips up to meet mine. I tried to control the movement and speed more, but his grip on me was too strong, so I just had to move along with him. The pace was so fast that I could barely breathe, much less speak, but Renji wasn't having any trouble with that.

“That's it, Ichigo, let go for me. You look so hot when we're fucking that I can barely hold it together. I want to see you come while you're riding my dick. Touch yourself, jerk off for me.”

He grunted at the shudder that ran through me as I grabbed my cock. The moment I touched myself, the need to get off hit me so hard that I could barely hold it together. I was so far gone that for a breath I thought just that touch would make me come, so I started stroking myself hard right off the bat. Renji had teased me for so long that my cock was already slick with pre-come, and it felt so good as I jacked off that I couldn't help making all of those noises he liked so much. I could vaguely hear Renji talking me through it as my orgasm overwhelmed me like a tidal wave.

I was lying on my side when I could sense the outside world once more, and I groaned as I felt Renji wiping me down with a towel. Rolling onto my back, I grinned drunkenly up at him and felt myself smiling wider as he grinned back. I was about to say something, but forgot all about it as Renji leaned down and kissed me.

I gasped as I felt a jolt when he did, but this time it was in my chest. It felt hot and overfull but I found the feeling easy enough to ignore as Renji deepened the kiss, tasting me with an intensity that said he never wanted anything else in his mouth. His kisses while we fucked made me melt with the heat, but this time I was melting for a different reason. I started thinking about how good I felt when I was with him, and how I didn't want it to stop, but as Renji pulled back, still smiling down at me, I tried to reason with myself. Just appreciate it for what it is, I thought. These sorts of things never last. That didn't prevent my heart from tripping over itself for a few seconds as Renji settled beside me with a satisfied sigh and pulled the covers over the both of us, one arm holding me close while his legs intertwined with mine.

Needless to say, I had no particular wish to get out of bed the next morning, but I finally pushed myself out. After I finished my shower, I tried to get dressed quietly since my closet was in the bedroom. Knowing that I was likely meeting with a business client that day, I decided it made sense to dress on the formal side, so I chose my grey suit and paired it with a royal blue shirt and dark navy tie. As I was looking in the mirror over the dresser to tie it, I could see Renji's reflection stir in bed.

“Mmmmm...you look good,” I heard from behind me, the tone nearly a growl. “Good enough to eat.”

I turned towards him, still working on my tie. “Just go back to sleep, you,” I replied, trying to ignore the quick shot of heat that ran through me and made my cock twitch. As a result, I didn't manage a tone that sounded anywhere near threatening. He chuckled and I watched his eyes slide shut.

For some reason, however, I couldn't force myself to turn back to the mirror, instead sort of mechanically fumbling with my tie while I let my gaze run over Renji's body. The man usually managed to produce enough body heat to warm a small house, so he often got too hot under the covers. That day, it had resulted in only about half his body being under the blankets, so I took a long look up his back to his face. He'd turned it in my direction and I continued looking at his peaceful expression framed with crimson hair that was wild with sleep. The thing that attracted my attention downwards again, along with his strong thighs, was the sight of his delicious looking, muscular ass.

“Are you staring at me?” I heard then, and my glance jerked upwards to meet his one eye that I could see. He was smiling gently, almost seductively, and I could feel my face start to heat up.

“Renji,” I growled, trying to control myself and not ruin the line of my suit. “I'm trying to get ready for work over here.”

His eye slid shut again, and Renji let out a little noise that sounded regretful. I masterfully managed not to continue staring at him as I turned to the mirror to sort out the tangled mess that my tie had become, but I found my eyes continually wandering back to his reflection as I finished dressing.

Hell, if you'd seen him, I don't think you could have blamed me for getting so distracted by his hot body, and those tattoos actually pointing at his ass didn't help in the least. Of course, now that you know how obsessed I am by Renji's perfect ass, I'm sure you're going to ask if I've ever topped him. Normally, I'd tell you to keep your fucking nosy questions to yourself, but, well, the subject just hasn't come up, frankly.

Laugh if you want, but when I found out that he'd previously dated girls, I figured I shouldn't be pushy. I mean, I've been with guys before that were obviously mentally uncomfortable with the idea of dating another guy and didn't want to do anything that they considered too gay as a result. Cause you know, like somehow having your lips wrapped around my cock is less gay than participating in anal sex. Yeah, that's me rolling my eyes. Anyway, you get the idea, so with Renji I figured that I'd just go with the flow and see where it went. Of course, now that I've experienced firsthand the awesome skill the man has, I'd be more than glad to ride his cock from here to the end of time, but every time I see him all splayed out like that, it gives me ideas about that luscious ass of his.

I can just see how he'd look in the half-light, all spread out on the bed for me, his eyes dark and half open as he’d give me a wanton look and run his hand up his chest, one finger traveling along the edge of his ribcage and then along one fang of his tattoos. He'd have his hands behind his head now and his hair would be spread out all around him like liquid sin. He’d bring one knee up as he spreads those gorgeous thighs wider and tilts his ass. And then I can hear him asking me, no, demanding that I fuck him.

Or maybe he wouldn't want to move slow. I can see him pushing me down and straddling me and making me watch as he finger-fucks himself, quick but deep, his head thrown back and biting his lip. Every muscle in his body would be taut with concentration and desire as he touched himself, and my eyes would be glued to him, especially when he started stroking himself, too. Fuck, I'd have to use every bit of self-control I had not to come when he finally sank down on my cock. I just know he'd be as hot on the inside as he is outside. I'd be lucky if he didn't burn me alive.

...Anyway, as you can probably tell, Renji has been starring in the private reels in my head on those lonely nights when I have to get off on my own. I've even had a few dreams with him in them, to be honest. So, as you can probably tell, the answer to the question I tried not to answer earlier is a resounding no. At least for now...

Seeing Renji all spread out like that in the bed that morning had drawn my thoughts onto that track, so I can only vaguely remember stumbling through breakfast and transcribing notes from a few of my recent cases into their proper case files. When I got to the task of putting together a few invoices that needed to go out, I made sure to review them a few times apiece in order to make sure I didn't fuck them up due to my distraction. I'd mostly snapped out of it by the time I needed to leave, since I'd decided I might as well go to at least hear their pitch and eat a free lunch, and I lit a cigarette as I left the office on my way there.

As I'd mentioned, Caesar's is near the border between Rukongai and Karakura, and I could definitely see that as I went in, spotting equal numbers of dockworkers and office workers eating right next to one another. The main dining room is mostly chrome and polished dark wood; the tables in the center, with their chrome edged tabletops, were about three-quarters full now at noontime, but the booths around the edge of the floor were already filled. I remembered the food on the menu going from the completely simple, like grilled cheese sandwiches, all the way up to some pretty gourmet looking entrees, or at least it had been the one or two times I'd been to the place before on business.

What I didn't like seeing when I got there was the look on the guy's face at the front when I told him I had a reservation for Kurosaki. I nearly bit my tongue as I said it because just mouthing the words made me want to grind my teeth at those goddamned assuming bastards. I had to hold myself back again as I glanced over at the man and he was giving me a look like we were both conspirators in some sort of crime. I clenched my fists as I followed him along the right side of the restaurant to the third curtained doorway and he showed me into a small room with a table that would sit four comfortably and six if absolutely necessary. The window that looked out over the parking lot was the kind that you could see out of but not into, as I knew from glancing at them when I parked.

“Can I get you anything while you're waiting for the other diners, sir?” I couldn't help glaring at the guy. His voice sounded like he was happy to kiss the asses of people he thought were probably criminals all day long. Hell, he'd even grabbed a waitress who'd been passing by to take care of seating the rest of the large lunchtime crowd while he brought me here personally. I could feel my eyes narrow as I decided to torture him a little.

“Can you smoke here?” I asked, trying to sound innocent. You can't really smoke in most of the public places in this town anymore, but the guy looked like he'd cave in to the pressure.

“Yes, sir,” he finally said, although I could tell by the look on his face that he'd rather I hadn't asked him that.

Now I was beginning to feel a little sorry for him, but I really did want another smoke right now. “Good. Could you bring me an ashtray, then? And some coffee?” I replied, belatedly realizing that I hadn't drunk as much as I usually did this morning due to my distractedness.

“Certainly, sir.” He disappeared quickly then, as if relieved to go.

I chose a seat where my back wasn't to the doorway or the window, just in case, and looked the room over a little more closely. There were tablecloths on the table in here and cloth napkins, and the silverware looked a cut better than the usual for a restaurant. Another thing I noticed was the way the vent just over the table ran, continuously and quietly. The quiet whir it gave off reminded me of a white noise generator, and it would obviously cover the sounds of whatever conversation went on in the room.

Suddenly, however, I noted that the curtains at the front of the room were moving and then they opened to reveal someone dressed in what looked like an old-fashioned opera cape with the hood up. A moment later, when the person took the hood down, I stood up in surprise to see Byakuya Kuchiki appear. He looked at me calmly as I stared at him in disbelief. A moment later, as I began to say something about obviously being in the wrong place and heading for the door, I was cut off on both fronts as I watched Kenpachi appear through the curtain, grinning his dangerous grin.

“No, Kurosaki, you're in the right place,” he told me, obviously taking pleasure in my discomfort.

“You son of a bitch, no wonder you didn't want to tell me who you worked for.” My glare encompassed both of them, but Kenpachi only chuckled in return. Byakuya sighed as if he'd had a trying day and took the cloak off, hanging it up on the coat rack in the corner before taking a seat.

“Mr. Kurosaki. If you're interested in the job, please sit down so that we can discuss it. If you aren't, please go ahead and leave.” He met my eyes with seemingly calm grey ones, but I thought I could detect a storm somewhere behind that placid exterior.

For a moment I felt strangely indecisive, but after a little while, my natural curiosity won out. “All right, I'll at least hear what you have to say since I've taken the time to come out here,” I finally replied, sitting back down and looking warily at Byakuya and Kenpachi.
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As always, comments about what you liked and what you thought could be improved would be much appreciated. Thanks for reading!

-WriterX

Click here for Chapter 3