Ichigo crouched, panting, as he readjusted his uniform and removed a twig from his hair. He'd spent three hours trying to escape Kenpachi's 'rematch'. Three hours spent racing through the streets of Soul Society, eventually scaling a nearby wall and hiding amongst the plants on the other side. He closed his eyes, trying to remain calm, and focused on hiding his reiatsu. The large number of Captains in the Seireitei may have been able to cover his spiritual energy, but he didn't want to risk his newly found hiding place.

"Kurosaki Ichigo?"

Damn. For a moment at least, he had had peace. From between the leaves he could see the unnaturally feminine face of Yumichika Ayasegawa, gazing at the gardens Ichigo had stumbled into.

"Er… No"

Ichigo winced at the stupidity of his comment. He'd never be good at concealing himself, not while he housed such a monstrous reiatsu. There was the slight chance though that Yumichika would notice his reluctance to be found and maybe leave him sitting in the dirt. He hadn't really had the chance to talk to the fifth seat before, finding it easier to scream and fight with Ikkaku instead of debate the values of beauty with the haughty and narcissistic man.

"No? I must have been wrong. Perhaps you could remove yourself from the bushes then, so I might be corrected? At any rate, you're destroying the plants, Not Ichigo."

Ichigo scowled at the smirking fifth seat as he struggled to free himself and ended up tripping onto the path.

"Hello Kurosaki. I didn't expect to find you in a Kaiyu-shiki"

"Huh?"

Ichigo watched Yumichika as he stood, wiping dirt from his shoulder. The Fifth seat was leaning against a tree, surveying the winding paths and assortment of flowers that seemed to spread endlessly through what Ichigo now realized was quite an extravagant garden. The shade of the tree had cast a dark shadow over Yumichika's face, and his hair drifted lazily with the occasional breeze. Still not looking at Ichigo, his lips raised a slight smile.

"The Strolling garden, this one at least is a most well loved garden, designed under the orders of a former Captain."

"I didn't know. Should I not be here or something?" the silence of the garden and the awkward exchange in conversation had Ichigo feeling as if he had intruded on something private.

"I suppose you wouldn't have noticed. You're not a man of beauty, are you?"

Ichigo frowned. He hadn't thought on his own appearance apart from the scowl and orange hair, and its rebellious connotations. He didn't know if he was supposed to feel insulted either.

"What's that suppose to-

"What I mean to say is... you're not the kind to take a walk in a garden are you? Not come here to admire its beauty… You probably saw this as a place to hide?" his voice was calm, but Ichigo sensed a resentful tone amongst Yumichika's words.

"Guess not"

"Of course, you don't resemble the garden either."

Was it an insult to his appearance this time?

"It's quite unusual" he was confused now, confused and frustrated. He hated ambiguity.

"What's unusual? That I don't look like a garden? Or my face? Oh, the hair. Yeah. I get it. Orange isn't beautiful?" he didn't know why he was taking this conversation seriously. It wasn't like he wanted to be seen as beautiful, and not by Yumichika either. But he didn't see the point in talking about how he wasn't like some stupid garden.

"Oh no, I guess in the masculine sense you're quite fine. But you're right; you're quite the opposite of this garden. That group of flowers over there, the centre piece, is azure. Opposite of orange. They're called –"

"Irises. I know". Yumichika turned to look at him at him and Ichigo felt even more confused. He didn't know what was wanted of him, from the conversation, or the stupid garden, or Yumichika.

"My uh, mother liked them. Guess it kinda stuck in my head. I'm not a flower person, but I guess their okay."

He had thought not being acknowledged was awkward, but the penetrating stare Yumichika was giving him made him more uncomfortable then ever. He looked away, focusing on the trees, the way the sand paths snaked though symmetrical shapes of green.

"We surprise ourselves both then."

Ichigo didn't reply. He'd noticed after a third glance at the same cleft of rocks, that a single white flower could be seen sprouting, small and delicate. If he hadn't been busy trying to ignore Yumichika, he would never have seen it.

"I find myself glad to have come across you. For some time, though I doubt you'd have notice, I've been avoiding you."

He mused over the flower and the design of the Strolling gardens. Sometimes things just needed a second look. That 'hidden and revealed' nature. He turned to look back at Yumichika.

"It makes no sense, really. Maybe I find myself needing balance?"

It was like he was talking to himself almost, some sort of internal monologue. If it wasn't for the way their eyes had locked, Ichigo would have believed Yumichika didn't even know he was still there.

"A flower dulls when placed in a beautiful vase. I guessed it may have been your… lack of beauty, a sort of enhancing of my own? But that doesn't seem right to me. I couldn't find myself attracted to something that wasn't beautiful."

Attracted. Attracted. He hadn't thought of himself in the sense of beauty. And he hadn't thought of anyone else as beautiful. Somehow, he found himself happy with the idea of someone finding him attractive.

"I thought, maybe it was just your name… it's so similar to five, which is the most beautiful of numbers."

His name? He didn't want it to be just a name. He wasn't just a name. Yumichika continued to stare at him.

"No. I didn't think that was it. I've been surrounded by the most sculptured of bodies, so it wouldn't have been that. Or your face? The lines, the shape of your eyes. They're all nice. More than nice. But still…" Yumichika looked down, his eyes almost closed.

Ichigo didn't know what was happening. The way Yumichika's voice slowly softened, almost trailing away, was like a lure. He felt as if he was hanging over a cliff, being pulled by some unconscious force. But still? But still? He didn't like not knowing. He felt as confused as Yumichika seemed to be.

"But?" Ichigo ventured

Yumichika seemed to awaken from his reverie, adopting an impersonal tone.

"Sorry for disturbing your hiding Kurosaki. I will have to visit the gardens some other time it seems" he made to leave and Ichigo unthinkingly grabbed his sleeve, pulling him back.

"Don't… don't go. I mean, I get it, I'm not a garden. But um… you're not a garden either." They both frowned at that, and Ichigo found himself giving a small, nervous laugh. He realized he still had Yumichika's sleeve, and made to let go, blushing unknowingly. Yumichika grabbed his retreating hand, his elegant fingers taking hold of his wrist.

Ichigo looked up, staring back at Yumichika expectantly. The fifth seat seemed to be frowning, his features sharpened. Ichigo continued to look, unabashedly, relearning the lines of his face, the shape of his jaw and the length of the lashes adorning his eyes. In a completely, most definitely not manly way, Yumichika was nice to look at. It wasn't like he wanted to start spouting Shakespeare and write stupid poems, but he could see the attractiveness of the other man.

Yumichika still had a hold on his wrist, but it had lessoned, enough so that if he wanted to, Ichigo could have pulled away.

"Well, not a garden. But, you're kinda like a flower. Uh... well, one of those useful ones though?"

Ichigo winced at his words. He couldn't stop himself and everything tumbled out quickly.

"Wait. No, I mean, you're not a stupid flower. Because flowers are stupid and I mean, they don't fight, but you're like those ones that do? Only, I guess you'd think their ugly. I mean -"

He felt the lightest brush of a kiss against his lips and he stopped trying to talk. The grip on his wrist tightened and he leant into Yumichika. He hadn't been this close to someone before, at least, without violent reasons.

They broke away and Ichigo looked down, face reddened, as Yumichika smirked.

"There's an innocence about you. A naivety. Its…of value."

Yumichika leant in again and Ichigo found the pressure now familiar until Yumichika prized his lips apart, brushing his tongue along his lips before tilting his head and engaging with a passion that left Ichigo breathless. His teeth pulled lightly on Ichigo's bottom lip before pulling away.

"Definitely innocence. To take it away would be beautiful."