Title: Stubborn Hearts
By: Thorny21
Pairing: Ichigo X OC
Warning: Language
Summary: Ichigo bumps into a girl at school and knocks her down. They exchange words and part ways. When they are introduced later that day by mutual friends will they become friends or stay enemies?
Aika Hayashi walked down the hallway of Karakura High carrying her books from her last class. School had just let out and she was heading for her locker which she shared with her best friend Ritsuko Yamamoto. All around her the sounds of laughter and lockers slamming shut could be heard. She loved this time of day. The school seemed more lively at the end of the day. Lost in her thoughts, she was jarred out of them when someone ran into her, knocking her down.
"Hey, watch it!" she yelled as she moved to collect her books.
"Sorry, I gotta go," a voice said. She looked up into chestnut brown eyes and her breath caught in her throat. She had never seen such eyes. Shaking her head, she remembered he was the one that knocked her down. Standing up she glared at him. The teen was rather tall and had bright orange hair with a scowl on his face.
"Watch where the hell you're going next time, you fucktard!" she hissed as she pushed past him to continue on her way. The teen watched her storm off down the hall.
"Stupid girl," he muttered before running off. Aika was fuming as she walked down the hall. Who the hell did he think he was knocking her down like that? And not even offering to help her!
"Stupid arrogant….gah!" she growled. The sound of laughter caught her attention.
"Who's stupid and arrogant?" a voice asked. She looked over to see her best friend Ritsuko reclining back against their locker.
"Some fucktard knocked me down back there. Didn't even help me pick up the books," Aika fumed.
"That wasn't very nice of them," Ritsuko mused. She moved off the locker so Aika could put her books away.
"You meeting Chad again?" Aika asked as she put her books in her locker before pulling out her book bag. It was black and silver with little neon pink skulls and crossbones all over it. Ritsuko already had her book bag slung over her shoulder. Her bag was olive green and it said 'ARMY' in bold black letters with different patches from all over the world on it. Her father was in the army and they had been stationed all over until he was given a medical discharge from the military. They had settled in Karakura Town when she was 5 and that's how she met Aika.
"Yea, I'm meeting up with him and his friend Ichigo," Ritsuko replied.
"Where are you meeting him this time?" Aika asked as she threw her book bag over her shoulder and they started walking off.
"Out front of the school," Ritsuko told her. They walked while chatting about the upcoming Senior Dance that was gonna be held in two weeks.
"You still going to the dance with Chad?" asked Aika. Ritsuko nodded.
"Of course! You should find a date too," she said. "Kaien's free."
"No he's not. He hooked up with Kaya a couple days ago," Aika said. They walked down the stairs and out of the school. Ahead of them Chad was leaning against the gate with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Chad!" Ritsuko yelled, gaining his attention. He looked up in time to see the tiny brunette and teal haired girl come running up to him. He caught her up in his arms easily before leaning down to kiss her. Aika started laughing at her friend's antics. She could tell the girl was hopelessly in love with the tall teen. Aika came up to them with a grin on her face.
"Okay you two. Leave the rest for the hotel room," she said. Chad and Ritsuko broke apart to look at her.
"Hotel room? Hell, I'm taking her back to my place," Chad stated. Aika's eyes went wide as she looked from the tall teen to her friend .
"Yup," she said with a smirk.
"You are out of your mind," Aika laughed after the shock wore off. Ritsuko laughed while Chad simply smirked at the pigtailed brunette.
"You done locking lips yet, Chad? We gotta go," a new voice said.
"Keep your shirt on, Ichigo," Ritsuko said with a small smile. "I want you to meet someone."
"Yea? Who?" Ichigo asked.
"My best friend Aika," Ritsuko replied. Ichigo came out from where he was leaning on the wall behind Chad to stand next to him. He and Aika stared at each other.
"YOU?" they yelled in unison. Chad looked back and forth between the two who were glaring daggers at each other.
"You know each other?" he asked.
"That's the stupid girl that got in my way earlier," Ichigo said.
"Stupid girl? You're the fucktard that knocked me down!" Aika growled.
"Did you just call me a fucktard….again?" Ichigo asked darkly.
"Yea so what if I did? What are you gonna do about it?" Aika challenged. Chad and Ritsuko looked at each other and nodded.
"I'll pick you up around 5," Chad said as he grabbed the strawberry teen and led him away.
"I'll be ready," Ritsuko replied as she dragged her friend away. If she wanted to get into college, a murder wrap wouldn't look good on her record.
"He has some nerve!" Aika yelled as she walked towards their run down apartment building with Ritsuko.
"Calm down, Ai," Ritsuko said. "He's a really nice guy once you get to know him."
"I don't want to calm down!" Aika countered. "He's the most arrogant person I've ever met!" Ritsuko laughed at her friend as they entered the building. They both stood silently outside of their respective homes listening for any movement.
"Sounds like your mom's at it again," Ritsuko said.
"Yea and your dad too," Aika whispered. Heaving their bags onto their shoulders once more, they left the building and headed off to Orihime's. Ritsuko would call Chad later and tell him where to pick her up.
Across town, Chad was walking with Ichigo back to his father's clinic.
"Who the hell does she think she is? Calling me a fucktard?" Ichigo exclaimed angrily.
"You did call her stupid, Ichigo," Chad pointed out. Ichigo whipped his head around to look at his friend.
"She was in my way! It's not my fault she fell down," he stated.
"If you didn't bump into her, she wouldn't have fallen," Chad deadpanned.
"Hmph! Stupid girl!" Ichigo huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. They walked into Ichigo's house with Chad following behind him.
"Welcome home, my son!" Isshin yelled as he went to elbow Ichigo in the face.
"Knock it off, goat-face!" Ichigo said as he kicked the raven haired man in the face, sending him flying.
"Well countered, my son!" Isshin said from his place against the wall. Chad shook his head as his friend's father slid down to the floor before trying to get up.
"Shut up, Dad," Ichigo muttered before heading upstairs to his room with Chad.
The next day at school Aika and Ritsuko were heading for gym class. They walked into the locker room and quickly got changed into their uniforms. They consisted of a white t-shirt and red boy shorts with white strips down the sides. After they finished changing, their friends Orihime and Tatsuki came up to them.
"Did you hear? Today is mixed classes again," Tatsuki said.
"We get to play with the boys!" Orihime said excitedly.
"Who's class?" asked Aika.
"Urahara-sensei," Tatsuki replied. Ritsuko's eyes lit up.
"That means we get to play with Chad and Ichigo!" she cried.
"Just great…" Aika said, rolling her eyes. Just then the locker room door opened up and a purple haired woman with gold eyes stuck her head in.
"Come on, girls. We can't wait all day," she said.
"Coming, Yoruichi-sensei!" the four girls called out. They exited the locker room and ran to get in line with the other girls. Across the gym from them the boys were lined up as well.
"Okay girls listen up! We will be playing two on two basketball with Urahara-sensei's class," Yoruichi explained. "It will be two girls teamed up against two guys." Orihime raised her hand and waved it enthusiastically.
"Yes, Orihime?" Yoruichi said.
"Do we get to pick who we go up against?" the large breasted girl asked.
"No, you will be assigned a team," Yoruichi said. "You may pick your partners." Ritsuko and Aika looked at each other and smiled. They were always partnered together when the situation called for it. After Yoruichi explained more what was going on, she sent the girls to run laps as a warm up. As they ran around the gym they passed the lines of boys who were watching them.
"I could watch them run all day!" a red head stated.
"Me too, Renji," a raven haired boy with short spiky hair and tattoos on his face agreed. "Especially that brown and teal haired one." Ichigo came up and put his hand on the raven haired boy's shoulder.
"I wouldn't bother with that one, Shuhei," he informed. "Rits is with Chad." Shuhei turned to look at the tall brunette behind him and visibly gulped.
"I…I just meant she was…pretty?" he squeaked. Renji started laughing at him.
"I wouldn't mind getting to know the girl running with her," he stated.
"Which one?" asked Chad, never taking his eyes off of Ritsuko as she ran past him again.
"The pig tailed one," Renji replied. Ichigo turned to look at who he was talking about and scoffed.
"I wouldn't waste my time," he stated. Renji and Shuhei looked over at him.
"Why not?" Shuhei asked. Before they could get a response from the scowling teen, Kisuke blew his whistle to gain their attention.
"Alright gentlemen! Now that the ladies are done warming up, its time to pick your partners," the blonde teacher said from behind his fan.
"Me and you, Shuhei," Renji said.
"As always," Shuhei replied. Ichigo looked at Chad beside him.
"You and me then?" he asked.
"Yeah," the tall brunette agreed. Once everyone was paired off, the blonde gym teacher turned to Yoruichi.
"We're all set, Yoruichi-san," he called out from behind his fan. The purple haired woman nodded and blew her whistle. All of the girls stopped running and ran to get in line.
"Get with your partners so we can assign your opponents," Yoruichi commanded. The girls rushed to get with their partners and turned back to their teacher.
"Starting with the ladies, count off please," Kisuke said. The girls hurriedly counted off and then the boys followed. By the time they were done, Ritsuko and Aika were paired off with Shuhei and Renji while Tatsuki and Orihime were paired off against Ichigo and Chad. Renji and Shuhei looked over at Chad and Ichigo only to see the brunette scowl a little and cross his arms. Nodding to each other, Renji and Shuhei moved to stand on the other side of them.
"Now get to a basket and have fun!" Yoruichi said. Everyone split off into their groups and began to play basketball. Chad and Ichigo went over to an empty basket to wait. Soon Aika and Ritsuko came over to join them.
"Hey Chad, Ichigo. Ready to play?" asked Ritsuko. Ichigo's eyes went wide as he turned to look. Standing next to the brown and teal haired girl was her best friend Aika.
"You again?" Ichigo exclaimed. Aika raised a brow at him.
"Its not my idea," she retorted. "Afraid you'll lose?" Ichigo bent down and grabbed the ball at his feet.
"There is no way I'm gonna lose to you," he scoffed.
"We'll see. Come on, Rits," Aika said as she grabbed her by the arm. Chad and Ritsuko looked at each other and shook their heads as they were pulled in opposite directions. They got ready to start, letting the girls have the ball first. Ritsuko checked it with Chad who passed it back to her before she took off towards the basket. Aika was guarding against Ichigo who was trying to get the ball from Ritsuko. Ichigo made it around the pig tailed brunette and headed towards Ritsuko.
"Aika!" Ritsuko yelled, passing the ball to her.
"Got it!" Aika shouted as she grabbed the ball. She ran towards the basket with Chad on her heels. Ichigo turned to go after her as well, blocking her in front. Aika smirked, faked left and went right when Ichigo moved off to the left. Jumping up, she did a hook shot and sunk the ball in effortlessly.
"Yes! 1-Zip!" Ritsuko said as she high-fived Aika. Chad shook his head while Ichigo growled.
"Lucky shot," he muttered.
"That wasn't luck, Ichi," Ritsuko stated. "It was mad skills." Chad started laughing at the look on his friend's face as they got ready to go again. Half an hour later the class was over. Ritsuko and Aika had beaten Chad and Ichigo with a score of 56-42. After changing back into their school uniforms, they headed off to their next class. Ritsuko had Math with Orihime and Tatsuki while Chad had Shop with Kensei, and Renji. Aika had Art with Shuhei and Ichigo. When they got to their class, Aika and Ichigo tried to go in at the same time.
"I was here first," Ichigo stated.
"Well I'm a girl and that means ladies first," Aika retorted.
"You? A lady? Not even in your dreams," Ichigo laughed.
"How dare you?" Aika spat as she turned to face him. She lifted her hand to smack him when the teacher came to the door.
"Hayashi, Kurosaki you can finish your lovers quarrel after class," the teacher said. Ichigo and Aika's faces turned red.
"Yes, Kuchiki-sensei," they said in unison. Byakuya moved out of the door and gestured for Aika to go in. She glanced over her shoulder and stuck her tongue out at the strawberry behind her before walking in and taking her seat. Ichigo growled and clenched his fists before going into the class as well. The rest of the day went by in a flash and they all met outside once again. As it was Orihime's birthday, they were all going to meet at Seireitei, a popular night club and karaoke bar. After getting home and seeing their parents were out, Aika and Ritsuko quickly grabbed some clothes and headed back to Orihime's to get dressed. Aika put on a dark blue denim miniskirt with a silver belt and a glittery pink tank top that showed off her flat stomach. On her feet she wore simple black flip flops. Ritsuko was wearing a light blue camo half shirt that went a little below her breasts and a black skirt that went about mid-thigh. Completing the look, Ritsuko donned a pair of black knee-high boots with silver chains wrapped around them. When they were finished they walked out of the tiny apartment with Orihime. She was wearing a black t-shirt with a red and black pleated skirt and simple black flats on her feet. Ten minutes later they were at Seireitei where everyone was waiting for them.
"Hey guys!" Orihime called out upon seeing them.
"Happy birthday, Orihime!" everyone shouted as the girls stopped in front of them. Shuhei bent down and gave his a chaste kiss on the lips.
"Happy birthday, my love," he said. Orihime giggled as he wrapped his arm around her waist. Ritsuko wasted no time in moving to Chad's side. Aika looked around at all the couples and rolled her eyes until she saw a certain strawberry teen. Ichigo could feel someone staring at him and when he turned to look he noticed it was Aika.
"Just great," he muttered. "A whole night with her." Aika stuck her tongue out at him when the others weren't looking and turned away.
"Stupid Ichigo," she blew out under her breath. Orihime looked over at her.
"Did you say something, Ai-chan?" she asked. Aika looked at her with a smile on her face.
"No, nothing at all," she replied. "We ready to go in?"
"Hell yeah!" Renji and Shuhei yelled. Renji wrapped an arm around his girlfriend Rukia's waist and walked into the night club followed by the others. The last to enter were Aika and Ichigo. Ichigo let Aika go ahead of him since it was Orihime's birthday and he didn't want to start a fight.
"Ladies first," he said with a mock bow. Aika raised a brow at him as she leaned in close.
"Fuck…tard," she said simply before walking into the club. Ichigo's eyes widened and an angry anime vein popped out onto his head.
"Stupid girl," he mumbled as he disappeared inside. They quickly moved through the mass of bodies to get to their table in the back.
"About time you two," Renji said.
"What've you been doing?" asked Shuhei while wagging his brows suggestively. Aika and Ichigo looked at each other and scowled.
"As if," Aika muttered.
"Never gonna happen," Ichigo added. Everyone started laughing when they both looked away and crossed their arms over their chests in the same way.
"Lets dance!" Orihime cried. She got up out of the booth with Shuhei right behind her. Renji, Rukia, Chad and Ritsuko joined them as well. Aika sighed and moved away from Ichigo.
"You gonna dance too?" Ichigo asked, turning to her.
"No I'm going to the bar," Aika told him before walking away. Ichigo blew out his breath before plopping into the booth and shaking his head.
"That woman is infuriating!" Ichigo growled. Aika made her way to the bar and waved to catch the bartender's attention. He nodded to her and made his way over.
"What can I get ya, miss?" he asked.
"Smirnoff Ice," Aika said after a moment. The bartender nodded and grabbed a bottle, opening it before setting it in front of her.
"There ya go, miss," he said. Aika gave him a quick smile.
"Thanks," she said. "Kanpai." The brunette drank down two of them before someone came up to sit beside her. She made no move to acknowledge anyone was there.
"Hey there, sexy. What's a nice piece of ass like you doing all by herself?" came the voice of the person beside her. Aika turned to look at who spoke only to be met by ice blue eyes and bright blue hair.
"Drinking, obviously," Aika deadpanned. The man let out a deep throaty laugh.
"I'm Grimmjow," he said as he scooted closer. "Just call me Grimm."
"Aika," the pig tailed brunette returned before turning back to her drink. She motioned for the bartender to bring her another drink. When he placed it in front of her, she pulled out her wallet to pay for it until Grimmjow's hand covered hers. Aika turned to look at him.
"It's on me," he smiled. Aika couldn't help but shiver at the predatory grin on his face. Shrugging it off she smiled back.
"Thanks, Grimm," she said.
"No problem," Grimmjow replied. He looked over to where some of his friends were dancing in the back. Aika followed his line of vision only to see Shuhei and Orihime grinding on each other like Renji and Rukia were doing. She scanned the crowd to see if she could spot Ritsuko and Chad. Over in a darkened corner the two teens were plastered together making out while they moved to the beat of the music. Shaking her head she continued to scan the room and saw Ichigo was still sitting in the booth, with a beer in his hand. Soon the music died away and another song kicked up. Grimmjow turned back to the brunette beside him.
"Wanna dance?" he asked. Aika's eyes darted to his.
"Sure. I love this song," she stated. Grimmjow took her hand and led her away from the bar back to the dance floor. Tonight by Enrique Iglesias was thumping through the club's speakers. Grimmjow pulled Aika close, sticking his leg in between hers, so that she was straddling him. She threw one arm around his neck while the other was in the air. He slung an arm loosely around her tiny waist as he pulled her against him, swaying and grinding to the beat. Ichigo looked around at all the people dancing and a teen with bright blue hair caught his attention.
"I thought my hair was bad…," he muttered. He leaned forward to get a closer look but was surprised when the bluenette turned towards him. In his arms was none other than the pigtailed brunette who drove him nuts.
"Damn woman," he grumbled as he sat back in the booth. He took a swig of beer and watched the dancers until the song was over.
"Thanks for the dance, Grimm," Aika said with a smile as she pulled out of his arms and walked away. Grimmjow stared after her as she left the dance floor and headed back towards the bar. Snapping out of it, he ran after and grabbing her by the arm and yanking her around to face him.
"What the hell?" Aika yelped, glaring at him.
"I ain't finished wit ya," Grimmjow sneered.
"Let go of me. Now!" Aika snapped. She yanked out of his grasp and walked off again, going by Ichigo sitting in the booth. Ichigo looked up as the pig tailed brunette walked past.
"She looks pissed about something," he mused. The bluenette she had been dancing with glanced at him as he brushed past, trying to catch up to the brunette. He grabbed her wrist and stopped her in her tracks just a few feet from Ichigo. Aika whirled around and tried to yank away again.
"I said I ain't finished wit ya," Grimmjow snarled. Aika struggled in his grasp trying her best to free her arm.
"Let go of me," Aika snapped. Grimmjow yanked her forward, tightening his grip on her wrist as he brought his head close to hers.
"How about a kiss?" Grimmjow leered. "In thanks for the dance." Aika started hitting him with her free hand as hard as she could. Grimmjow laughed at her attempts and squeezed her wrist harder.
"You're hurting me!" Aika yelled. At the sound of her voice, Ichigo whipped his head around to look behind him. Aika was desperately trying to get away from the bluenette that held her in his arms. His eyes widened at the fear in her eyes and he quickly jumped out of his seat. He walked up to Aika and yanked her away from Grimmjow.
"What the fuck?" Grimmjow said. Ichigo pushed her behind him, keeping her safely away from the blue haired teen.
"Back the fuck off," he growled.
"I saw her first," Grimmjow challenged. "She's coming with me."
"I'm not going anywhere with you!" snapped Aika angrily. Ichigo glanced over his shoulder at the brunette, his scowl firmly in place.
"Shut up, Aika," he said before turning back to the teen in front of him. "Back off." Grimmjow raised a brow at the teen and shoved past him, grabbing Aika once more and yanking her out the door. Aika struggled to get free, kicking and hitting him anywhere she could. Ichigo growled and ran up to them, pulling Aika away. As soon as Grimmjow felt Aika yanked away he whirled around real fast. Before he could say anything, Ichigo brought his fist back and hit the bluenette square in the face, knocking him back. Grimmjow stumbled back a bit but remained on his feet. Wiping the blood from his lip, he ran at Ichigo tackling him around the waist and knocking him to the ground. They rolled over and over, each trying to get the upper hand. Soon Ichigo came out on top and proceeded to pound on Grimmjow, who hit him back. Aika kept screaming for Ichigo to stop but it fell on deaf ears. Her screams caught the attention of the others and they came running out of the club. Shuhei and Renji were still holding their beers as they watched the fight. Chad went down to break up the fight with Renji. Chad pulled Ichigo off the bluenette while Renji helped him up. Grimmjow glared at Ichigo before yanking away from the red head.
"Keep her. She ain't worth it," he spat before walking back into the club.
"Have a drink, man," Shuhei said, handing his beer to the strawberry teen.
"Thanks," Ichigo replied, taking a swig of it. He had just swallowed when he felt someone hit him upside the head. He turned to look only to see a very pissed off Aika.
"I didn't need your help, Ichigo," she snapped. "I could've handled it on my own."
"It sure as hell didn't look that way!" Ichigo yelled. Aika growled and stepped forward.
"Who asked you to save me?" she yelled back. "I sure as hell didn't!" Ichigo stepped closer to the pig tailed brunette while the others looked on. Ritsuko and Chad nodded to each other with knowing looks.
"Did you expect me to just let him drag you off to Kami knows where?" Ichigo retorted. Aika crossed her arms over her chest and looked away. The nightclub door opened once again and a bunch of people came out, stumbling and laughing while trying to stay upright. One of the men in the group paid no attention to the others already outside. He was laughing and joking with a tall raven haired man with feathers in his hair and on his eyelash. The tall raven haired man shoved the bald one, knocking him off balance. He fell into Ichigo, causing him to stumble forward and spill his cup of beer on Aika. The feel of the cold beer splashing onto her made her head snap around.
"Why you…you…" Aika started. Ichigo saw the anger in her eyes as she advanced on him and he backed off, with his hands in front of him in surrender.
"It wasn't me! Some ass bumped into me!" he yelled. Aika said nothing as she advanced on him. She got right up into his face and started yelling.
"You stupid, arrogant, selfish, no account…." she yelled. Ichigo kept trying to butt in and apologize but she couldn't hear him. Finally growing tired of it, he shouted her name.
"AIKA!" he shouted. Aika stopped yelling to look at him questioningly.
"Wha…" she started to speak again but was cut off when the feel of slightly chapped, rough lips were felt upon her own. She stayed not moving, kind of in shock as the lips moved across hers gently. The feel of his lips against hers snapped her out of her daze and she easily melted into the kiss after a moment. She leaned in to deepen the kiss as Ichigo wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. The sound of cheering and whooping met their ears and they broke apart for air. Aika stared into Ichigo's eyes in confusion.
"Don't you ever shut up?" Ichigo asked softly. Aika's eyes went wide and a smile came across her face.
"If it makes you kiss me like that, then never," she said breathlessly. Ichigo rolled his eyes before looking at her again.
"Stupid woman," he said. Aika laughed.
"Fucktard," she replied. Ichigo cupped her face and brought their lips together once more while the others looked on. The last thing they heard before being sucked into their own little world was the sound of Ritsuko's voice.
"I didn't think they'd ever get together…," she said.
A/N: I wrote this for my lil sis Bloodytears87. I hope you enjoy it sis! Please Read and Review! As always, any flames will be used to light my firecrackers at midnight on New Year's Eve...