Dragon's Last Sonnet
Ichigo sighed as he studied the picture to the left of him. He just one more thing and he would be done with his Christmas shopping, but no. This last one had to be the hardest, didn't it?
"Having trouble, Ichigo?" He glanced over at his younger sister. "What do you think?" he growled in frustration. Karin laughed. "You two have been together for over a year now! It should be at least a little easier to shop for each other."
Ichigo opened his mouth to retort when he saw it. The perfect gift. After all, wasn't Karin always saying they were as different as cats and dogs?
Uryù growled in frustration as he glared at the painting in front of him. He had been working on it since last Thanksgiving and just now finished. Glancing down at his watch, he yelped. Ichigo would be here any minute. He hadn't even begun wrapping the present.
Scrambling, Uryù hurriedly shoved his paints in their cabinet before grabbing the scissors, tape, and wrapping paper. A knock at the door came just as he finished.
He opened said door just to be pulled into a soul-searing kiss. Sighing in satisfaction, Uryù opened his mouth to allow the other to restake his property. 'Possessive much?" he affectionately thought, chuckling. Pulling back, Ichigo flashed him a grin. "Merry Christmas, love."
Frowning in mock concern, Uryù placed a hand on the other's forehead. "What, no 'bastard', 'asshole', or even a 'jackass'? What did you get into, Ichigo?" Laughing, the orange-haired teen playfully swatted away his lover's hand. "Can't I be nice to my world once in awhile?" leaning foreword, he ran his tongue around the outer shell of Uryù's ear. "My bastard," he added as an afterthought.
"Entirely yours."
"Good. That means I don't have to kill anybody," Ichigo growled, nipping his black haired lover's neck.
Uryù slid teasingly out of Ichigo's arms. "I have something for you." He left only to come back a minute later with the gift under his arm. Ichigo was waiting for him on the sofa, on small square box sitting on the coffee table. Sliding down beside his lover, the blue-eyed teen handed him the present with a kiss and a soft, "Merry Christmas."
Pulling Uryù closer, Ichigo preceded to mutilate the wrapping paper. Sucking in his breath, he could only stare at the canvas in front of him. A black dragon danced above a clear horseshoe lake, the moon reflecting a silver sheen across the whole portrait. The celestial being surveyed his realm, gleaming midnight scales throwing back the light of the moon in streams and ripples.
Taking his lover by surprise, he pushed Uryù down on his back and, straddling his hips, proceeded to kiss all of the skin within his reach. The dark haired teen let out a yelp as Ichigo's hand slid down his pants. "Ichigo! We – ahh – s-shouldn't be – unnh- doing this – ummh – right now," he gasped out between pants and groans.
His orange haired lover flashed him a grin before nipping at the sensitive part of his neck. "Oh? But it seems like your enjoying this." Despite what he said, Ichigo sat up, allowing Uryù to do so as well. Sighing, his dark haired lover smoothed out his hair before reaching for his own present. The slightly taller teen began to fidget as the other stared at his gift.
An orange topaz dog curled protectively around a small jet stone cat. The feline regarded its surroundings with an air of superiority through half lidded sapphire eyes, while brown diamonds gleamed eagerly from the canine's face.
Uryù turned his blue eyes to his boyfriend. "Ichigo, this most have cost you a fortune. How did you get the money for it?" Ichigo's smile quickly turned to a frown. "What, are you implying I don't have enough money to at least get my boyfriend a gift on Christmas?" he snapped.
The other teen frowned. "No! That's . . ." Before he could finish, Ichigo slammed his hands down on the coffee table. "Fine! Be that way!" Turning he stormed to the door. Just before slamming it shut, he shouted over his shoulder, "Not all of us can have a millionaire for a father!" With that he left, leaving a stunned Uryù behind, wondering what he had done.
Ichigo sighed as he kicked at a pebble on the sidewalk. He was starting to regret yelling at Uryù like he had. After all, he had only asked a simple question. And he most definitely not had the intention of making Ichigo blow up. He flinched as he remembered the hurt look on Uryù's face.
Turning around, Ichigo began to jog back to Uryù's apartment when he ran into Rukia. She had a worried expression on her face. "Ichigo! There's a hollow running around in the park. Most likely a powerful one. Chad's already gone to get Uryù so we can go straight there." Cursing at the world's bad timing, Ichigo allowed Rukia to pull his soul out of his body so he could fight the hollow.
Even as he ran in the direction of the park, he felt its spirit pressure spark before dropping a minute later. Rukia sighed in relief as they slowed down. "Looks like Chad and Uryù already finished it off." Ichigo nodded in agreement.
But when they reached where it had been, near the cliff edge in the park, all they could do was stare. The place was covered in blood. Red human blood. Ichigo turned, desperately searching for Uryù and Chad. He didn't think anyone could survive losing that much blood. God, if anything had happened to Uryù . . .
"Ichigo! I've found Chad!" Rukia's voice broke threw his panicked thoughts. Quickly turning, he sprinted to were they were. Ichigo took one look at Chad's face and dismay clawed at his heart. The big Mexican man was pale, and there was a look of horror and grief mixed together in his eyes when he caught sight of Ichigo.
The orange haired teen scanned the area for his lover, but did not see him. Turning to Chad, he asked the question he was dreading, "Chad, where's Uryù?"
His best friend turned his head away as he answered. "I'm sorry, Ichigo. I – I couldn't save him."
Ichigo began to back away, shaking his head over and over again. "No . . ." Chad could only watch as his friend seemed to break in front of him. "Ichigo, the hollow, it – it came so fast, and Uryù, he seemed more distracted then normal. He – He didn't see it coming."
Minutes past before Ichigo could bring himself to speak. "Where is he?"
"Ichigo, I don't think that's such a - "
"I want to see him!" he snapped, glaring at Rukia. She gulped. It was the first time she had ever seen Ichigo cry. Finally she nodded, glancing over at Chad, whom was shaking his head. "They, the hollow and Uryù, they went over the cliff. I tried to grab Uryù, but - " he stopped, glancing at Ichigo, who was moving towards the cliff. He made to follow him, but Rukia grabbed his arm, shaking her head. "Let him be for now."
Ichigo stared at the black abyss below him. He was gone. Uryù was gone, and the last thing he had said to him had been an insult. He would never be able to apologize. He would never be able to hold him, kiss him, love him. He was gone.
Ichigo fell to his knees, screaming Uryù's name over and over, the tears falling unceasingly from his eyes.