I've found the cure to growing older~ it's writing fanfics apparently~ :/ who whoulda thought~ well here's the zombie thing I was talking about, and that lovely song "if it means a lot to you" by a day to remember~ I hope you like it~ :3
Ichigo grunted as he yanked his sword from a walker's head, the (un)dead woman falling to the ground with a sickening splat. The orange haired man ignored the disgusting sounds and turned to sever the head of the walker that was approaching him from behind. The head slowly slid from the bleeding shoulders, Ichigo flicking his blade with a scowl on his face. Ichigo turned when he flicked the last of the blood off, choosing to clean it fully when they returned to camp later, walking in the direction of the rest of his group.
The orange haired man walked into a bloody clearing, walkers' bodies strewn across the russet ground while his friends stood panting in the middle of the chaos. Tired but unharmed, which was all he could ask for. A small smile pulled at his lips as he stepped towards them, moving cautiously around the questionably dead bodies. The first to spot him was Rukia- a petite woman with shoulder-length, black hair tied back by a black bandana, she wore a sleeveless shirt with wrappings covering her arms; her legs were covered by baggy cargo pants while her feet were decked in black combat boots- the woman smiling before rushing over to envelop him in a tight hug.
"Ichi!" The woman pulled away to smile up at him, the others walking over with equally sized smiles on their features- save for Byakuya, he didn't show much emotion. "I knew you would be okay!"
A snort from Renji- a tall redhead with tribal-like tattoos running the length of his upper body, he was dressed in full camo, except for his combat boots which were a dull black- pulled Ichigo's attention to the smirking redhead.
"She sure wasn't actin' like that a second ago. You know how worried she gets."
Ichigo only smiled at the blushing woman, hugging her lightly before stepping away. Hazel eyes scanned the familiar faces of his family for a year. A year. It felt so much longer. It felt like only yesterday he was challenging his boyfriend to a walker killing contest, the brute always won. Shaking those thoughts away, Ichigo allowed his eyes to rove critically over the bodies of his companions.
Rukia and Renji had been the first he found about 10 months ago, the pair travelling together when they happened upon him. Both were well off, but agreed that it would be in everyone's favor to stay together- strength in numbers. It also helped that Ichigo had medical knowledge, and supplies, the guns and ammo helped too. They ended up finding Chad- a tall man of few words. He spoke more with gestures and body language, but when he did speak it was almost law to listen.- about a month later. Uryuu and Orihime came a couple months later, the two were literally with their backs against the wall- more like boulder- when the group showed up and decimated the walkers. Byakuya had actually joined them about two months ago, the man stumbling upon them one night, nearly losing his head when he stepped into their camp one night. It was nice watching Rukia cry and nearly strangle the stoic man that night, her blubberings carried on to the morning until she finally sucame to exhaustion, the woman falling asleep in Byakuya's lap.
Ichigo felt his own heart constrict at the memory, easily squashing the unnecessary feelings as the group continued moving. They walked for about a mile, it was hard to tell with the unchanging scenery of the forest, but finally they came upon their makeshift camp.
Feeling smarter than the usual survivors, the group had taken the time and effort to build a literal 'tree-house'. It was almost comical when the idea was proposed- Renji speaking out loud on a night when the group allowed themselves to enjoy a simple luxury of canned fruit, the food happened upon when they raided a lone house earlier in the day- the redhead brushing off the crazy idea only for the group to agree wholeheartedly. The following day a search for a proper tree was started. The day after that, proper trees. The week after that the trees were found and the idea began to take root in the form of poorly drawn blueprints. It was a miracle they were able to even build the treehouse, even more so when their lack of architectural knowledge came into play- Chad the only person with a smidge of architectural understanding. But the day they finished and took a step back to admire their work, splinters under nails and skin, sweat coating hair to sticky forehead, they couldn't feel more accomplished.
Hidden amongst four different trees was their new home. Large enough for everyone to have their own separate sleeping quarters- though they all preferred sleeping in the same room for safety reasons, Ichigo the only one who distanced himself to his own room when night fell- and room to spare, it was perfect. That night everyone slept easy, no one standing watch because of the security provided by their home in the trees.
But back on track. Rukia climbed the makeshift ladder- really just hollowed out knots in a tree- once she reached the top she threw down a thick rope. The knots were made specifically for the short woman, it being difficult for anyone but her to climb with the small footholds. Each took turns climbing the rope, Ichigo following up the back because he worked better in short range fighting than long range like his companions.
The forest had darkened considerably as the group lit a fire in the pit of their main room, the light illuminating their tired features. Ichigo was the first to break away from the group, complaining about the long day as he went to rest in his own room.
Walking across a wooden bridge, Ichigo walked into his room, shutting the splintered wooden door behind him. It wasn't large, but enough for living comfortably all things considered. The man moved towards his worn sleeping bag and pillows- the group having pilfered any soft things they could find after the tree house was built- flopping face down on the soft material and allowing his mind to drift off.
Dreams of a promise and blue eyes lulling him into a restless sleep.
Grimmjow growled as he trudged through the forest. The darkness was unnerving and that fact that he was alone only made it worse. He cursed his 'friends' for leaving him to find firewood at a time like this. What dumbass went out to find firewood at night by themselves during a zombie apocalypse? Him apparently.
The blue haired man grumbled under his breath as he came into a clearing, eyes scanning his surroundings before widening at the many bodies that littered the ground. Grimmjow's brows furrowed as he cautiously moved further into the clearing, eyes flicking back and forth, hand poised above the hilt of his katana.
His nose crinkled at the smell of decayed flesh and death, Grimmjow pushing the rising bile down as he examined the bodies and clear spot in the middle. Obviously they had been taken down by an armed group, and judging by the smell it was pretty fresh. Grimmjow took a large whiff before grimacing at the smell again- about two to three hours if he guessed correctly.
Blue eyes scanned the bodies until they came upon a strange sight, a headless body. Now it was common for people to carry any weapon they could get their hands on, knives included (but usually only for stabbing), with that in mind, he guessed someone else had a sword of some sort. Turning curious eyes in the general area of the forest near the decapitated walker, Grimmjow stood to enter the unknown territory.
He didn't have to walk far before he came upon another group of dead walkers, their bodies either punctured through the skull or headless. It was a gruesome sight but the smell was the only thing that irritated Grimmjow- damn sensitive nose. Moving closer to the bodies, Grimmjow crouched down to examine the cut marks, mentally nodding when he noticed the precision of each puncture and slice.
Whoever do this knew what they were doing and obviously had quite a bit of knowledge of walker killing. The blue haired man couldn't keep the sad smile off his face as he thought of his own little walker killer, the smile suddenly disappearing as his hand clenched almost painfully on the hilt of his katana.
Standing stiffly, Grimmjow turned and left the area, searching for wood elsewhere. He didn't have time to get lost down memory lane.
Besides, Ichigo was gone, he'd been gone for a year now and was never coming back.
Ichigo shot upright in his sleeping bag, breathing erratic and hair sticking to his sweat slicked forehead. The orange haired man curled up, legs crossing and elbows resting on his knees, his hands covering his face.
He'd had the same dream he's been having for the past year. It was frightening and depressing, how he had lost his last precious person in the span of five minutes. Grimmjow had been like an anchor when he lost Goatface, Karin, and Yuzu, but for him to just disappear during that walker raid was… unreal. It hurt. It still hurt.
Ichigo took a shaky breath before pushing his bangs away from his eyes. Pushing away his frantic thoughts, the orange haired man stood from his 'bed' and slipped his boots on. Walking towards the main room, Ichigo was met with the sight of Byakuya roasting something over the roaring fire, the warmth causing a smile to pull at Ichigo's lips.
"Morning." Ichigo yawned as he went to unwind the rope from its hook.
"Good morning. The rabbit should be done soon." Byakuya didn't turn as he twisted the small animal, Ichigo catching sight of a few more off to the side, already cooked.
Ichigo nodded to show he heard and went to throw the rope down, climbing down and walking a ways off to relieve himself. The one and only problem they had found with their amazing tree house: its lack of facilities.
Ichigo whistled a familiar song as he stepped over the roots and branches of the forest, feeling a bit melancholic as he reached the chorus. Stopping at a random tree, Ichigo did his business, head turning right and left and ears straining for any sign of walkers. When he was done, the orange haired man stepped away from the tree and turned to make his way back to the treehouse. He stopped, however, when he heard a cry. Snapping his head in the direction of the sound- female- Ichigo halted and waited for another sound. The wind blew slowly bringing with it the groans of walkers and another cry from the woman.
Ichigo wasted nary a second as he reached down and pulled the hidden daggers from his boots, racing into the foliage with an unnatural grace. It only took him a few moments to reach a small clearing with a ring of dead and undead walkers surrounding a woman. Her hair was green and there was a bleeding cut across the bridge of her nose, Ichigo winced at the scar that would leave. The orange haired man didn't take the time to take in any other noticeable features, instead jumping at the nearest walker and jamming a dagger into its temple.
The walkers all turned their attention to the new arrival, dead eyes gaining a hint of intrigue as they shuffled towards their new meal. Ichigo allowed a smirk to pull at his lips as he entered his early morning exercises. The orange haired man sliced through the walkers with practiced movements, his daggers glinting dangerously in sunlight that streamed through the canopy of leaves overhead. It took only a few minutes for him to decimate the rest of the walkers, Ichigo flicking the blood from his blades before bending to wipe them against a clean patch of grass.
Hazel eyes glanced at the wide-eyed woman that watched him with wonder, the bleeding cut taking away from the innocent picture. Replacing his now clean daggers in his boots, Ichigo smiled kindly at the woman standing to take a few hesitant steps towards her.
"Hi there. My name is Ichigo. Are you alright?" Ichigo stopped a few feet from the green haired woman, crouching down until he was at her level, off-handedly noticing the startling gray of her eyes. Hazel eyes trailed critically over the woman's curled form taking note of the few scratches and bruises that littered her arms and cheeks, he barely restrained himself from reaching out when he caught sight of her ankle, the skin turning a deep purplish-blue. "I can help you, I'm a doctor."
The woman's eyes widened at the words, her mouth gaping as she stared in amazement at the orange haired man. Ichigo, tiring of her zoned out state, snapped his fingers in her face, smile losing some of its size as her eyes refocused.
"I'm going to take you back to my camp, I have supplies there that can take care of your nose and ankle. From the looks of it, I'd say it's badly sprained. Do I have your permission to carry you back to my camp and fix your injuries?"
The woman only nodded slowly, eyes drooping as the blood loss finally took effect. Ichigo took note of this and cursed as he realized his bandages weren't on him. Stepping closer to the woman, Ichigo put an arm under her bent knees and behind her back, easily lifting her as he stood to his full height. Turning cautious eyes to the forest around him, Ichigo started walking back towards the treehouse, stepping slowly around the bleeding bodies that littered the forest floor.
It took longer to reach the treehouse on account of the extra body, but Ichigo still made it within 15 minutes. The orange haired man turned conflicted eyes to the sleeping woman in his arms and then to the rope that swung lazily about a foot in front of him. Sighing heavily, the oranget turned irritated eyes to the opening in the floor above him.
"Yo Byakuya! Renji! Uryuu! Somebody help me!" It only took a few moments for three heads to pop up around the edges of the square hole, Ichigo raising a brow at Renji's untied hair, Uryuu's lack of glasses, and Chad's usual blank expression. Ichigo's eye twitched as he watched their eyes widen at the woman in his arms, Chad having already stood and grabbed a section of rope, Ichigo shifting the woman higher before leaning against his right leg. "You idiots gonna help or what?"
That seemed to snap Renji and Uryuu out of their stupors, the two men standing to also grab a part of the rope. Ichigo sighed before lifting the woman higher into his arms, grabbing the rope with his right hand as she leaned more into his chest. The three men started pulling the rope to lift their friend and the strange woman, it taking about a minute for the orange haired man to reach the floor and let go of the rope.
Ichigo sent a gracious smile to his friends before moving to a pile of unused pillows and blankets near the fire, no doubt where the men had previously been sleeping if the warmth of the materials were anything to go by. Bending down slowly, Ichigo set the woman on the makeshift bed, reaching for a few pillows and setting them atop each other before putting her injured ankle on the pile. Throwing an extra blanket over the woman, Ichigo finally stood to his full height, nodding at the peacefully sleeping woman before turning to address the confused men surrounding him.
"I found her this morning surrounded by walkers, and no she doesn't have any bite marks." Ichigo rubbed a hand down his face as Renji's mouth snapped shut. Sighing heavily the orange haired man took a mental stock of his medical supplies, mentally noting they would need to go find some more herbs to take some of the woman's swelling down. "As you can see the blood is from her nose and if possible, I'm gonna need one of you to get some water from the stream later. We need to keep her ankle elevated and I only have a few instant ice packs so cold water is a necessity."
Turning away from the silent men, Ichigo walked towards his room, pushing the door away before moving towards a cluttered corner of the room. Rummaging through the many medical supplies and first aid kits, Ichigo smiled when he found an unused ice pack, carefully setting it in an empty kit before rummaging for ace bandages. It took him a minute, but Ichigo finally found bandages and hooks to hold them, also coming across a few packs of pain pills. Proud of his finds, Ichigo turned to walk back towards the main room, eyes widening at the awake woman that currently had a gun pointed at Renji's head.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hey calm down, they're friends!"
Startled gray eyes turned to Ichigo with relief, the woman cautiously lowering her gun as she kept a wary eye on Renji. Ichigo sighed before slowly moving towards the woman, sitting next to her before opening his makeshift kit. Pulling out the ice pack first, Ichigo squeezed it until he heard the pop, moving to put it on her swollen ankle. He watched as the woman flinched at the chill, and pain, reaching into the kit before pulling the bandages out next. Unravelling the beige material, Ichigo took an end and held it to the ice pack before slowly wrapping it with the other hand. Ichigo ignored the eyes that watched him in confusion, instead securing the bandage with a couple hooks and moving to pull the disinfectant and gauze from the kit.
"Are you feeling any pain right now? I have some pills that can help if your ankle is bothering you too much."
Ichigo watched the woman's brows furrow at his offer, a small smile pulling at his lips as her head tilted slightly. Taking her silence as a no, Ichigo uncapped the disinfectant and poured it onto the gauze. Moving the soaked material slowly towards her face, Ichigo went about wiping the blood from her skin. The woman let out a quiet squeak when the material came into contact with her skin, moving away before Ichigo's hand on her cheek stopped her. Ichigo sighed at the pain in those eyes, slowly moving the gauze to the middle of the cut.
"I know it hurts, but please bear with me for a second. I just have a little bit left."
Ichigo turned his attention back to the cut as the woman shut her eyes in resignation, moving the gauze to the final edge of the cut before pulling away. He smiled at the clear tanned skin that stretched across the woman's face, gray eyes slipping open to catch sight of a smiling oranget.
"See? All better, now I'm gonna put a bandage on it, okay?"
Ichigo's smile widened at the woman's small smile, undoing the strip of bandages before placing it on the long cut. Lightly pressing on the material, Ichigo pulled away to see his handiwork.
The woman raised a curious hand to her face to trace along the bandage, tears gathering in her eyes at the care that was shown to her. Ichigo was unprepared for the armful of woman he received a moment later, arms wrapping around the woman as she cried into his shoulder.
"Thank you."
Ichigo smiled at the thanks, patting the woman's back as she gripped him tighter.
"No problem."
"NEL! WHERE TH' 'ELL ARE YA!?"
Grimmjow groaned for the umpteenth time that day at Nnoitra's yell. Seriously, weren't they trying to avoid walkers? Yeah, they're looking for Nel but they could do that quietly. His companions seemed to have the same thoughts, each showing various stages of irritation. Harribel's nails were constantly tapping on the hilt of her serrated daggers, Starrk's lazy eyes were unnaturally sharp- even his wolf of a dog was growling lowly-, and Ulquiorra's finger kept twitching on the triggers of his pistols. This jackass was going to get them killed.
"NEL! SAY SOme...thing… "
Nnoitra froze in front of the group, gun dangling from lax fingers as he stared into the clearing before them. Grimmjow raised a brow at the strange behavior, cautiously stepping towards the volatile giant and setting a supportive hand on his shoulder.
"Nnoi, ya okay, man?"
He didn't answer. Grimmjow's brows furrowed as he turned his attention to the clearing, eyes widening at the many walkers that littered the grass. Grimmjow felt a sense of deja vu at the scene, very much like the one from last night. Turning curious eyes to the silent raven next to him, he shook his shoulder slightly.
"Nnoitra?"
Instead of answering, the lumbering man slumped through the clearing before stopping at a clear patch of grass. Grimmjow watched as he bent down, shaking fingers reaching out to pick something up off the ground. The group was silent as Nnoitra stood, body shaking slightly as he clenched something in his fingers. After a moment, he turned, one eye glowing in rage.
They all gasped at the object clenched in his fingers. Nel's beanie. Splatter's of blood staining the cartoonish skull, shit.
Nnoitra stalked back towards the group, breathing ragged as he shoved the beanie into Lilynette's muzzle. The pure white husky growled at the treatment, readying to bite at the offending object before Starrk placed a comforting hand on her head. Starrk smiled at his dog, scratching her lovingly behind the ear before giving a single command.
"Find her."
Lilynette wasted no time in sniffing the whole of the beanie, stepping around Nnoitra before raising her muzzle in the air and sniffing in different directions. The group watched with bated breaths as Lilynette stopped and turned towards them, motioning in front of her before trotting into the foliage. The group smiled before following the dog, Nnoitra leading with a determined expression on his face.
It took about 20 minutes for the group to find where the scent lead to, each looking around in confusion as Lilynette sniffed around a tree. Nnoitra growled while turning his head to and fro, finally turning a heated eye to Starrk, stalking up to the man before grabbing him around the collar.
"Wha's the big deal, Starrk! I though' yer dog was better' than tha'."
Harribel quickly gripped Starrk's arm to stop him from lashing out at the distraught man, the brunet sighing as he turned confused eyes to his distracted husky.
"I do not know. Lilynette hasn't been wrong in her searches before."
Nnoitra growled again before pushing the man away, moving to lean against a nearby tree as he slid to the ground. Leaning his head against the bark, Nnoitra closed his eye, a heavy sigh passing through his lips. The group watched the poor man with pity, each knowing how far his care for the green haired woman went- even when he himself didn't. After a moment Nnoitra opened his eye, prepared to be blinded by the afternoon sun but surprised to see a wooden something.
Scrambling to his feet, Nnoitra rubbed at his eye to make sure what he was seeing was real. After making sure the giant structure wasn't just a figment of his imagination, Nnoitra grinned, piano teeth glowing in the bit of light that made it to the forest floor.
"Yer dog's not so useless after all." The group stared at the man like he had just grown wings. Was he unaware of the fact that they were in a random section of forest with absolutely nothing around them? Maybe he hit his head on the way there.
Nnoitra ignored their looks and instead pointed up, the group slowly turned their attention to the canopy of trees above only to see smooth wood stretched across the surrounding trees. Even Ulquiorra showed his surprise, finger's loosening their agitated grip around his gun as he observed the strange structure.
"HEY! ANYBODY UP THERE!?"
The group jumped at the sudden shout, turning confused eyes to a grinning Nnoitra before there attention was drawn to a slight scraping above their heads. Looking up they caught sight of a surprised redhead, mouth agape as he observed their group. Nnoitra grinned as he waved happily.
"Hey there! We're lookin' fer a friend a ours, ya seen her?"
The redhead blinked before his eyes widened. Glancing over his shoulder, the redhead talked to someone behind him, the group barely catching the familiar excited voice of Nel before he turned his attention back to them with a smile.
"Hold on, I'll send the rope down!"
They each took a step back as a rope was thrown down, Nnoitra hurriedly grabbing the twisted material and scaling the tree. It took a while for everyone to get up the rope, each staring at the interior of the treehouse in wonder when they were finally inside. It was as they were observing their surroundings that they caught sight of Nnoitra laying with his head in Nel's lap, his arms wrapped loosely around her middle as she ran her fingers through his hair. Starrk was the last to make it up the rope, Lilynette held in his right arm as he, too observed the treehouse.
"Um, welcome to our humble abode. The names Renji." The group turned their attention to the redhead that had tossed the rope down earlier, the man rubbing the back of his hand as he motioned to the many pillows that littered the floor. "Um you can sit anywhere you want. Sorry we don't exactly have furniture, it was kinda a miracle we were able to make this."
"Thank you for helping our friend." Harribel was the one to speak, a small smile on her lips as she moved to sit on a nearby pillow. Starrk moved to sit beside her, Lilynette sitting next to her owner who was already drifting off to sleep. Ulquiorra moved to sit on Harribel's other side, the raven placing his gun before him on the floor. Grimmjow remained standing for a few moments, eyes still roving over the work of the treehouse before he moved to a window near the back of the room. Renji raised a brow at the choice of seating before shrugging as he moved back to his own spot beside the fire. The group descended into an awkward silence before Renji broke it.
"So, where did you guys come from?" Five pairs of eyes, plus one, turned to the redhead in question. Renji blushed under their gazes before turning his attention to the fire. "I mean, ya know, before all this started. I was just a regular guy. Lived on my own, didn't really have any family, my job was pretty pointless… I… I guess I really had nothing to lose."
The redhead smiled sadly at the surrounding people, fingers unconsciously pulling at a piece of loose string on his pants. Harribel was the first to answer, a small smile touching her lips.
"I lived with my younger sisters in an apartment near our college. I was studying to be a marine biologist. I didn't have class the day everything started, but they did. I was able to get out of the city before it got too bad. I wandered alone for about a year before I met Starrk and Lilynette, things steadily got better from there."
Starrk had reached out and grabbed Harribel's hand when she started talking, squeezing reassuringly as she finished. Renji smiled at the small exchange, flicking his eyes to the injured woman and tall man that had fallen asleep on the makeshift bed. Turning his attention back to the two that seemed more open than their companions, Renji tilted his head at the now named Starrk.
"So what's your st-"
"RENJI TOSS DOWN THE ROPE!"
The redhead groaned before flopping back onto the floor. He stayed that way for a moment before rolling over and pushing himself up and walking towards the door in the floor. Lifting the wood, Renji tossed the length of rope down, ignoring the squawking from the small raven as it almost hit her. Moving back towards his original spot, Renji plopped down and kept his eyes trained on the doorway.
It didn't take long for Rukia to come over the edge, a stick of fish held between her teeth. Glaring at the smiling redhead, Rukia moved to stand, reaching down to pull a flustered Orihime. The brunet had leaves and sticks strewn through her long hair, Orihime thanking the small raven as she moved to pull her muddy boots off. Chad came through the hole next, the man standing stoically as he scanned the new faces that littered their home before nodding in greeting. Finally Uryuu pulled himself through the door, pushing his glasses up his nose as he set a bucket of water on the floor.
The new arrivals scanned the people that were in their home before turning their attention to the silent redhead. Renji rubbed the back of his head before motioning towards the sitting people.
"These are Nel's friends, they came looking for her."
Rukia nodded as she moved to clean the fish near a window, Uryuu moving to place the bucket beside Nel's elevated ankle, the other's moved to sit in random areas of the room. The only sound in the room was the scraping of Rukia's knife against the fish. Finally getting tired of the silence, Rukia spoke up.
"So what's your guys' names?"
Everyone's ear seemed to prick up at that, the new group sharing looks before Ulquiorra of all people spoke.
"I am Ulquiorra, this is Starrk, Lilynette, and Harribel. The man asleep on Nel is Nnoitra and the man by the window is Grimmjow."
Rukia stopped scraping the fish at the last name, violet eyes moving towards the figure that was also watching her near the window. Startlingly blue eyes halted all previous thoughts, whatever they might have been, the raven quickly turning away to escape the trance those eyes initiated.
Renji coughed to bring attention away from the exchange, smiling when all eyes returned to him- and also more confident with his own friends so close.
"You guys already know me, but the girl cleaning fish is Rukia. The guy with glasses is Uryuu, the quiet dude is Sado, and the girl is Orihime. I think Byakuya's taking a nap and Ichi's working on some medical thing or another in his room."
Renji jerked his head towards an open doorway that lead to a wooden bridge near the back of the room, Grimmjow's ears perking up at the familiar name.
"Ichi?"
Renji turned his attention to the questioning blunet, nodding happily as he recalled the medical expertise of their neighborhood oranget.
"Yeah, apparently he was almost done with med-school when shit hit the fan. He's been an amazing friend this past year. He's really the one that got us all together, it probably woulda still been me and Rukia had he not stumbled, quite literally, into our lives a year ago."
Renji's tone became a bit melancholic as he thought of their journey as a group. Just the three of them and then Ichigo managed to convince Chad and Uryuu and Orihime to join them, though the last two didn't need much convincing considering their lack of supplies and survival instincts. Byakuya didn't take any convincing, but Ichigo did manage to make him warm up to them all.
Grimmjow felt his heart clench painfully at every little bit of information. This was hitting a little too close to home for the blunet, Grimmjow standing and moving towards the exit.
"Where are you going Grimmjow?" Tossing the rope down, he turned to give Starrk a reassuring smile.
"I just need some air, I'll be ba-"
The sound of approaching footsteps and creaking wood drew everyone's attention to the doorway in the back of the room, a smiling orange haired man speed walking into the room with a bowl clenched in his hands.
"I finally got that..stuff...done…."
Ichigo's hands dropped to his side, swinging uselessly. The bowl clenched in his fingers easily slipped through the lax grip and fell to the floor, its green contents staining the wood. Ichigo's heart hammered in his chest as his eyes roamed over the familiar figure that stood about ten feet away. A choked gasp fell from his lips as the man turned to fully face him, Ichigo catching sight of a familiar scar along the man's right jaw. All was silent in the room as the others watched the strange exchange, the silence finally broken by Grimmjow's breathy whisper.
"Ichigo…"
The orange haired man dipped his head to hide his eyes, slowly walking towards the blunet. Grimmjow watched his thought dead boyfriend approach him slowly, Ichigo stopping about a foot away before he reeled back his fist and punched the dumbstruck man in the jaw. Grimmjow easily went down from the strong hit, the blue haired man watching as Ichigo began shaking from the floor. It took him a moment to realize Ichigo was crying.
Ichigo felt so many emotions run through his body as he saw those eyes- the ones he hadn't seen for a year- fill with worry and love. It was infuriating. He had been gone for a year, a fucking year, and then just shows up out of the blue. With a roar Ichigo jumped on top of the blue haired man and started delivering ground-shaking punches.
And through it all, Grimmjow didn't move.
He didn't fight, he didn't block, just sat there and took it.
Which made Ichigo furious.
"You motherfucker! How could you just do this to me! I fucking hate you!"
Ichigo knew he was crying, could feel the tears streaming down his cheeks as he kept delivering the blows that were slowly losing power. Finally he just stopped, limbs shaking with the sobs that wracked his body. Ichigo gripped his hair with both hands as he leaned down until his forehead was against the familiar plain of Grimmjow's chest.
"I thought you were dead."
The whisper might as well have been shouted, the words striking a chord in everyone's heart at the defeated tone. Grimmjow finally moved at the admission, arms slowly moving to envelop the smaller man in a comforting hug. Placing a large hand on the back of Ichigo's head, Grimmjow guided his face towards his own, mentally promising himself that he would never again make Ichigo feel this type of anguish, this pain- it was inhumane. The blue haired man touched his forehead to Ichigo's own, closing his eyes as he smiled at the warmth of the other, the familiar warmth that came with just being close to the other.
"I missed you so much" Blue eyes opened to connect with Ichigo's tear-filled hazel, Grimmjow smiling as he gently brushed his lips against the other's. Ichigo quickly pushed into the familiar warmth of Grimmjow, fingers releasing their hold of his orange hair in exchange for gripping Grimmjow's blue locks. Pulling futilely at Grimmjow's hair, Ichigo tried to get closer to the man, almost whining in the bruising kiss when neither moved an inch. They pulled away a few moments later, a smile on both their lips from the simple kiss.
"I love you."
Ichigo felt a fresh batch of tears fill his eyes as he gripped both sides of Grimmjow's face and pulled him into another kiss, this time the orange haired man added tongue to the mix.
While all this was going on, the others were watching with varying stages of amazement. First Ichigo's group was in shock that their mild mannered friend would randomly attack a stranger- who they now know isn't really a stranger. Second, Grimmjow's group was about ready to fight the newly introduced man until they saw Grimmjow's reaction and chose to watch how things played out. Third, both groups learned something about their friends as they watched the oranget take his anger out on the blunet. And lastly, everyone just felt pity for the two. It was obvious how much they cared for each other by the way they acted after the initial lashing out, the care that was taken with the emotional smaller male, the kisses they shared. Everyone couldn't help but smile at the two.
After a moment, Grimmjow pulled away with an unknown glint in his eye, Ichigo blushing at the well-known look before cautiously moving to crawl off the blue haired man. He wasn't quick enough however as Grimmjow grabbed his wrist, halting any further movement. Standing to his full height, Grimmjow pulled the oranget closer and threw him over his shoulder, moving towards where Ichigo had entered the room only moments prior. Ichigo blushed as he squirmed in his boyfriend's hold, fearful eyes turning to the surrounding individuals.
"Guys! Help me!"
"Go Ichi!" Rukia and Orihime cheered as the oranget's expression changed to horror, his arms falling limp as they disappeared from view.
The room erupted into laughter when they heard the door to Ichigo's room close, unaware of the two waking individuals until Nnoitra spoke up.
"The hell you guys laughin' at?"
That caused another bout of laughter.
Ichigo cursed as more walkers surrounded him, his sword slicing cleanly through one that had gotten too close to his right. Sweat stuck to his brow as he sliced another's head off before jamming his sword through another's temple. He panted as he leaned against the tree behind him, mentally cursing his boyfriend for wandering too far. Ichigo only had to wait a moment before the dumbass showed up, gun firing with deadly accuracy into the brains of all surrounding walkers.
Ichigo turned an unamused look to the nervously smiling blunet, a gun in one hand and Ichigo's herbs in the other.
"I'm sorry?" Ichigo sighed as he moved closer to Grimmjow, reaching up to peck him on the cheek as he took the herbs from his hand.
"You bet your ass you are. So what's for dinner?" Grimmjow smirked as he followed his retreating boyfriend, falling into step with the oranget as they headed back to the treehouse.
"I think Rukia said rabbit again. Either that or fish." Grimmjow shrugged as he thought about it, food was food and as long as it was meat, he was happy.
Ichigo sighed before smiling lightly.
It had been about a month since their little reunion, it seemed much longer. The groups had merged into one, big, messed-up family, the treehouse growing with the new occupants. They had even added a lift for Lilynette. With the added members and large home, the apocalypse seemed less hopeless, especially for Ichigo and Grimmjow.
The two never strayed far from each other, everyone else finding it cute how Grimmjow would never leave Ichigo's side even when he was doing some boring doctory stuff. All in all, it was nice. The future was a positive promise.
Aww~ I hope you liked this sucky ending~ ;u; just look at how sappy and stupid it is~ and look at how long this thing is~ T^T i am never writing a thing this long again, and if i try to start, stop me… -.- i mean it~
Also if ya wanna see more stuff, drop a review or even like, but ya know reviews are kinda awesome... seriously let me know how i'm doing... i need the support/ constructive criticism~ o- o