An AU inspired by Loid's Burritos and Tequilla(chap20) and Robocracy's Raven.

This is my first serial fic, so do bear with any inconsistencies.

Warning: GrimmjowxIchigo (yaoi), possible M in future chapters, mild swearing, (unintended)OOCness.

Waking up is never easy on a Monday morning--even more so when it's his first day on his job (as an office worker, none the less) for Kurosaki Ichigo. Staring languidly into the stark bareness of his ceiling, the young lad slowly sat up, idly scratching his back and stretching his limbs into wakefulness while kicking his much-too-loud alarmclock permanently silent. How ironically multitasking one can be at such hour of the day but degrade into a single-tasking machine by the end of it is beyond anybody's comprehension, much less his, he thinks to himself with little humour to rival a dead rat.

The floor felt particularly cold and harsh as his bare feet searched purposely for his fuzzy berry-printed bedroom slippers, occasionally kicking his oft-forgotten cellphone and files before they were met with the comforting warmth of his trusty slippers. He cannot help but grimace when he heard his back pop unceremoniusly as he stood up with such fervor of a log and slowly, but surely dragged his appendages across the hall to the bathroom. Wasting no time in relieving himself of his restrictive garments, which was promptly thrown aside, he stared at himself in the fogged glass, tousling his hair somewhat absent-mindedly and was well aware of the morning wood he was experiencing. Relieving himself would be the least of his problems at the moment as far as time (and the effort in cleaning up thereafter) was concerned—it'll subside sooner anyway.

The water was hot enough to ease his growing nerves, but the chilly air bit into him as soon as he stopped the water, reminding him of the reality of today. His today. Promptly grabbing a towel and drying himself, he wrapped the soft material around his hips and headed towards his wardrobe of sizable magnitude and pondered on the choice of garb he ought to present himself in. With all his masculinity of girl-killing proportions, he can be somewhat of a woman when it comes to choosing clothes—much so when it comes to first-impressions in a new working environment, something his father commented on a long time ago but was immediately silenced with a swift kick to his unmentionables. No one said a word on that matter ever since, and for that he was glad. Despite it all, he never once looked remotely off-style; neither garish nor subdued—something he took pride in, albeit unspoken, nonetheless. Momentarily pausing to observe his choice, he finally nodded to himself on his selection and purposely put on the emerald-hued shirt on; a somewhat stark contrast to the noisy, rambunctious statement of his hair and grabbed a matching pair of pants.

Breakfast, as usual was not an easy affair, for he would not settle for anything less than a perfectly golden, diagonally-cut piece of toast and coffee made to his liking: by far, only his sister and himself could make them up to his expectation, nothing less. However, considering the fact that he no longer lives with his family, breakfast has more often than not become a rarity—to which he resents. Putting the piece of bread between his lips, he stalked lazily towards the living hall of his apartment and pulled the curtains apart, basking the dim room in the golden rays of the morn. He winced a little unconciously at the sudden flare of light but plopped himself anyway on the black couch, using his legs to push the button on the answering machine. Bad habits die hard, apparently. So does laziness,for that matter.

"YOU HAVE 3 UNHEARD MESSAGES". Just great.

beep "IIIICCCHHHIIIIGOOOOO!! DADDY..." De-lete.

beep "Uh, Ichi-nii? Otou-san called a while ago, and uh, Karin's still asleep but I just want wish you all the best on your first day at work. Make sure you don't skip your lunch, okay? See you soon!" He smiled. Some things never change, no matter where he is.

beep " Yo, Renji 'ere. Ya better not be late for your job—you don't know what I had to do to even get you this

position, so ya better not get fired or I swear I'll kick your ass big-time. Seeya there."

Sipping the remaining drops of his ebony-colored beverage, he stood up, cracking his knuckles and stretching a little. It is going to be a long day. Making haste in grabbing his backpack, he opened the door of his apartment before he was reminded of his abandoned cellphone underneath his bed. He would've groaned, if he had the time to begin with, but at the moment, time is not on his side. Rushing towards his bedroom and a few trips and muttered oaths later, he found the elusive contraption nestled underneath far ends of the bed, just beyond his reach. Practicing little to no restraint in exclaiming an expletive this time, the redhead snatched a broom and unceremoniously swept the offending device out of the crevice; reaching out easily for the accursed cellphone.

Driving to his workplace, however, was relatively much more uneventful and merciful to the boy's sanity, save for the fact that he ran over a blue cat on the way, which, strangely enough, was somewhat therapeutic to his frayed nerves; cats have nine lives anyway, so he thought. He would deal with the owner later—Renji has already called more than once.

To say he was impressed with the building ahead of him would be an understatement: he was more awed than anything, to say the least. As much as, however, he wished to stare at the megalith ahead of him, reality had to zap him back to earth with the realization that he has a good, solid 8 hours of work ahead of him. In all actuality, he cannot decide if he was excited, nervous, or both—his nerves were dead somewhere between the dead cat and the missing cellphone. He silently passed the two ginger blonde (and astonishingly busty) receptionists, waving a little to them as they greeted him with cheerful fervor. Walking towards the HR department did little to ease the storm in his stomach either, as far as he is concerned. Finally stepping into the department, a gush of cool air fell awash on his tensed-up figure, and he immediately relaxed. Little time was spent admiring his surroundings, and not before long he found himself in front of the manager's office, someone he met during the interviews, and was therefore much more well-acquainted with. Relatively.

"Ah, Kurosaki-kun! Come on in! It's your first day today isn't it?" duh. "Well, we're a little understaffed at some departments for now, so for now we need you to be a PA for the manager of the advertising department, is it okay with you?"

"Yeah, guess so, Ukitake-san. Just leave the rest to me". He smiled.

"Thank you. Now, here are the files—pass them on to your manager, of course, and uh, well the department is on the 6th floor so you can get going now. Oh, and hope you enjoy workin here"

He took the manager's hand and gave a firm handshake, immediately taking off to meet his new employer without further ado. He ran a nervous hand through his unruly hair, trying to tame the wild locks with as much success as taking over Rome with a pair of chopsticks. Taking deep strides towards his office, he finally reached his employer's office—and inhaled deeply as he placed his hand on the icy-cold doorknob. Pushing slowly, he was greeted with the sight of a manically grinning teal-haired man: and he wished he was anywhere but where he is now.

"Yo, Ichi"

By gods, this is going to be a long day indeed.