Bleach (c) Kubo
"Mizuho~" I sang as I stepped out of the shower wrapped only in a blood red towel. "Can I have your hair brush please?" Getting no response, I wandered in the direction of the living room where I assumed she would be. I ran my hands through my hair absentmindedly, thinking about supper.
"Mizuho, your hairbrush please?" I ruffled up my hair a little, feeling the droplets of water trickle down my back and chest. I winced a little. She closed the refrigerator door before reaching for it from the dining table and tossing it to me.
"Thanks!" I ran it through my hair in long, unbroken strokes until it was shiny. Mizuho sighed as I went through the motions, looking bored.
"Keigo still not back with your juice?" I teased and she grimaced.
"Stupid, good-for-nothing brother! Does it take that long to buy a can of juice?"
"Don't be so hard on him, you know how he's like," I laughed. "Anyway, thanks for letting me stay at your place. I get really lonely when nobody's home. I'm considering staying here for good," I winked and she giggled lightly.
"Sure, stay as long as you want to!" she turned back to the fridge and started raiding it again, sighing in frustration as she looked for the juice she wanted, even though she knew it wasn't there. I set the brush down on the table, and adjusted my towel, securing it deftly.
The door opened as I tucked the last of the partly jutting towel in my cleavage. Mizuho started screaming at Keigo right away; she suddenly halted and I looked up curiously. There was a bald guy who looked badly beaten up, supported by… My eyes widened slightly as I checked my suddenly racing heart. He looked like he was supporting the bald guy without too much effort. Both of them looked bemused by the screaming Mizuho and I snickered silently.
"That's going to happen, huh," I muttered as Mizuho spotted the bald man. His companion tilted his head in confusion at my words and I let Mizuho show him what I meant by agreeing with the proposition of them staying in her house. Keigo looked at me helplessly and I shrugged.
"She likes guys with shaved heads, that's all I can say," I muttered audibly to him. He pulled her to the side for a discussion while I crossed my legs, studying the beautiful man next to the bald one. He had shiny, smooth dark purple mane and a matching set of amethyst eyes. His features were symmetrical and dignified, his eyebrows shaped perfectly. Not to mention the feathers that he had on as an accessory; they suited him aptly. He looked in my direction, his eyebrows slightly creased, as though interested in something, and I cocked a half-smile at him before I stood up and placed the brush back on the table.
I saw the two strangers' eyes widen at what I was wearing – or lack thereof. I smirked and walked deliberately to the room, letting them take in the sight of my swaying body. I popped into Mizuho's room and got dressed in a skimpy black dress that showed off my bust and thighs, then exited. My thoughts were filled with the beautiful stranger at the door. I headed for the living room once again and was bombarded with images of Mizuho fawning over the injured man. I settled next to the attractive visitor on the couch and turned to face him. He tilted his head to meet my eyes.
"Your name…?" I asked, keeping my voice airy and casual.
"Ayasegawa Yumichika, and you?"
"Ren, Akane Ren. Nice to meet you," I smiled brightly at him. He returned it, his smile tinged with a sensitivity that was extremely alluring. I turned my attention to his friend, and asked, "What happened to him? Fight?"
"Mmm," he affirmed. "Ikkaku's good though, so he's pretty all right."
"And do you fight, Yumichika-san?"
I watched as his face tinted infinitesimally when I called him by his name.
"Only when I have to," he replied firmly. I nodded and settled back into the sofa. "Are you related to Asano-san over there?"
"Hmm?" I was thrown off for a second. "Oh, no. I'm her friend. I stay here because I get lonely when nobody's home, which is most of the time…" My voice trailed off as the sinking feeling started plunging deeper. "Anyway, it's nothing. I stay here often. Why were the two of you with Keigo, anyway?"
"Uh… He found us outside and decided to ask his sister if he could let us stay."
"That's not like him at all. You must have done something for him so he couldn't say no," I stated, my eyebrows cocked. He looked away and I decided to give it a rest. They must have their reasons. "Okay, never mind. Do you want food?"
"Ren, I'm cooking for my darling over here, so can you please escort them to the bathroom?" Mizuho cut in. I shot her a really-you're-cooking? face before I stood up fluidly and gestured to our guests.
"This way."
Mizuho's darling stepped in and shut the door, and I gestured to Yumichika to follow me. I led him upstairs to the bathroom in Mizuho's room and watched as he slipped inside and closed the door.
"Let me know if you need anything, I'll be here," I called to him.
"Thank you," he replied politely. I hesitated, then pulled one of Mizuho's shirts and shorts out of her drawer. I walked to Keigo's room and found some new, still-wrapped underwear and took those. I sped downstairs, placing Mizuho's clothes and the new underwear on the sofa.
"Mizuho-chan, your darling's clothes. I hope it fits, though!" I called, and garnered her response, before bolting back upstairs to Mizuho's room. I shut the door, and pulled my drawer open. My hand hovered over the pile uncertainly. I finally decided on an androgynous, tight-fitting top and a pair of worn jeans. The water in the shower stopped running.
"Yumichika-san, do you mind opening the door so I can pass you some fresh clothes?"
"Okay," he replied, and pulled it open a few seconds later. A towel was wrapped around his waist; I blushed as I saw the water droplets clinging on to his skin and his hair all messed up. The feathers weren't anywhere near him at the moment, though. He seemed just as flustered by the observation, however.
"Here," I barely got out, placing the clothes into his arms. "I hope they fit though, they're mine. The, um, undergarment's new. I got them from Keigo's unwrapped pile."
I turned away quickly, but not before noting the noticeable pink on his face. Just as swiftly, he shut the door. I could hear the clothes rustling around as he put them on. My heart thudded wildly in my chest as I took deep breaths.
The door pulled open and he stepped out. He looked absolutely gorgeous in my clothes. The sleeveless top was tight enough to flaunt his impossibly toned physique and the jeans were exceptionally close fitting on him. I tossed him my own hairbrush, which I'd found in the drawers, and he accepted it gratefully with a nod of his head and a smile.
I waited by the door as he brushed his hair straight and affixed his feathers. He turned to place the brush on the bed –
"It's okay, you can have that while you're here," I interjected, knowing that he would probably want to groom himself more. He beamed and held on to the brush. "Let's go, Yumichika-san."
"Yumichika is okay, actually," he said as he walked past me. I pulled the door shut behind me and smiled widely at him. I took his arm; he seemed surprised but didn't resist. His arm was velvety smooth but tense with muscles. It felt wonderful against my own.
"Shall we, Yumichika?" I asked him teasingly. He nodded lightly, a ghost of a smile on his lips. We ambled down the stairs to the dining area. Keigo's eyes popped out of his skull as he noticed my arm entwined around Yumichika's.
"Ren, you too?!" he yelled, his hands in his hair, tugging on it. I reluctantly let go of Yumichika's arm and lightly smacked Keigo upside his head.
"Worry about your sister, Keigo," I said, jabbing a finger in Mizuho's direction. She had wrapped herself all over Ikkaku and was now trying to feed him soup. "Uh… Right. I think I'll just…"
I walked over to the kitchen table and realized that Mizuho had 'forgotten' to cook extra for Yumichika.
"Honestly…" I sighed. I retrieved some food from the fridge and set them on the kitchen table. I turned to Yumichika, "Sorry, Yumichika, she didn't cook any for us after all. Why don't you just take a seat first and I'll prepare some for you?"
"It's fine," he said, flipping his hair back. "I'll help you with it."
"No, you're a guest here. Keigo, go watch TV with Yumichika," I commanded. Keigo started to protest but I cut him off. "Do you want me to tell Ichigo to ignore you?"
"NOOO!" he yelled before pulling Yumichika to the sofa to watch whatever inane show was on that the time. I placed some rice in the cooker and moved on to the other ingredients. I quickly chopped up the vegetables and dumped them into a pot of boiling water. Next, I diced some chicken and pan-fried them with chilli and numerous other spices. I arranged the chicken on a plate before the rice cooker dinged. I poured the contents of the rice cooker out and placed it all in a huge wooden bowl on the kitchen counter. I did a quick taste-test of the soup and added a little more salt before serving it into bowls.
I carried the rice and chicken to the dining table and set them down, before returning for the bowls of soup. Mizuho and Ikkaku were long gone, the former having brought her darling upstairs for a tour of the rooms.
"Here, supper's done," I called and Yumichika strolled over, with as much a dignified air as ever. I settled down next to him and Keigo plopped himself down opposite us and attacked his bowl of soup. Yumichika looked at me and I smiled before nodding slightly at the food. I picked up my spoon and sipped on the soup delicately. I watched from the corner of my eye as he daintily helped himself. Keigo had already finished his second bowl of rice from the wooden bowl before Yumichika was done with his first. I wandered away from the table in search of my textbook.
By the time I returned from my search (the textbook was hidden under the bed in Mizuho's room), Keigo was already doing the dishes. Yumichika was standing next to him, looking bored out of his skull as he took his time to dry the wet bowls. I giggled slightly, settling down at the dining table to start on my revision. I was through to my second line when I felt eyes trained on me. I looked up and found Yumichika looking right over.
"Didn't you hear me come in?" I ribbed, and he shook his head slightly. I laughed lightly and returned to my book. "Selecting a target audience…" I sighed as I continued relentlessly.
"Oi, Ren, what time are you going to study until again? Why do you always study till late anyway?" Keigo asked from across the table. I glanced up at him briefly before my eyes fell back on to the book.
"Because I care about learning, unlike you?" I jested, turning a page. He grumbled for a while before leaving the table. I heard him thumping up the stairs loudly. Yumichika sat next to me and leaned over my shoulder to read the material as well. My breath suddenly felt shorter and my heartbeat faster.
"Interesting," he chimed. I laughed and turned the page again.
"Go ahead and rest up if you want to. I'll be fine on my own. I don't usually get much sleep, anyway," I told him gently as I underlined a sentence. I felt him shake his head next to me and I smiled. He placed his crossed arms on the table and tilted his head to continue reading. His hair tipped forward a little and covered some of his cheeks, further emphasizing his clear, bright amethyst eyes. I jolted out of my trance and pressed on.
-----
It was already three in the morning before I was done with the chapter. I closed the book, rubbing my eyes, exhausted. Yumichika had fallen asleep next to me, his head on his arms. His muscles were flexed in the position and they looked amazing. I touched his triceps experimentally and his muscles rippled under my touch. I suppressed a shiver of delight at the sight. He sat up abruptly and met my gaze.
"Oh, you're done?" he asked, struggling to regain full consciousness. I smiled and stood up, gathering the book in my hand before offering my other to him. He took it without question and we trudged up the stairs. I found Mizuho sleeping in her room with Ikkaku on the floor next to her and I raised my eyebrow.
"Seriously," Yumichika murmured next to me, humor evident in his voice. I sniggered and dumped my book on the dresser before I spread a futon out on the floor right next to my bed.
"Here," I said, gesturing to Yumichika. He nodded and sat carefully on the futon. "Are the jeans too restricting for you? Do you want to change into something else?"
He shook his head. I gave him a final smile before flopping back on my bed and falling asleep almost instantly out of pure exhaustion.
-----
It's been a week since his appearance, and I feel… unexplainable feelings, as if caged butterflies were fluttering around trying to get out of my throat. He'd been spending all afternoons and falling asleep next to me every night as I studied before I woke him up and led him back to the room for proper rest.
"Why do you wait for me, Yumichika?" I asked him one day.
He replied simply, "So you won't be alone. You told me that you don't like to be, didn't you?"
Ah. Swoon.
As usual, I woke up at six thirty in the morning today. The window was opened and I frowned, not remembering it being so a few hours ago. I scrambled up and glanced out, finding Yumichika in mid-jump from the window a moment ago. Wait, what? I looked back on the futon and found him there. I rubbed my eyes again and was greeted with him outside the house with Ikkaku. They were both dressed in black robes, sort of like a uniform. What's going on? I decided not to mind at the moment, since I had to prepare for school. I could spare some time for it later, when he comes back… or whatever that it is he does.
-----
I ran five kilometers back home without breaking too much of a sweat. I checked my time – sixteen minutes twenty-three seconds. I was slower by two seconds today. I sighed and opened the door to Mizuho's house. I was greeted by Yumichika leaning sexily against the kitchen counter, drinking water from a glass. His eyes widened as he noticed my slight breathlessness.
"Something happen?" he asked, concern evident in his tone. I shook my head and dumped my bag on the kitchen table. I walked to him and took his glass of water and downed it straight. I giggled at the shocked expression he had on.
"I'm slower by two seconds today, so I'm quite upset." I handed the glass back to him with a grin and sprinted up the stairs to the room. I stripped and doused myself in the refreshingly cool water. After I was done, I wrapped myself in a towel again and went downstairs.
Yumichika was looking idly at the flower on the windowsill when his eyes snapped back up just as I reached the landing. His eyebrows went up just a little as he took in my appearance. I took my hairbrush from him and ran it through my hair in seasoned motions as I rummaged in the fridge for yoghurt. I finished up with my hair and tossed the brush back to him before tucking into my makeshift lunch. He sat next to me and I looked at him unwaveringly.
"I need to ask you something. Did you go out this morning?"
"Uh… not really?" he replied, uncertain of where this was leading. His eyebrows furrowed, tilting his feather down slightly.
"I saw you this morning, in your black robes. Are you some sort of… soul, or something?"
He gaped openly at me before he quickly shut his mouth to retain the stateliness of his appearance. "Y- you can see me in that form? Well, figures…"
"Well, yes, why would I ask you that if I couldn't?" I quipped and he gave me a look. "So…?"
He got down to explaining about souls and Soul Society…
-----
"Right, so I can see you because I have this huge amount of spiritual energy? And that's why you were looking at me curiously when you first arrived?" I prompted him and he nodded lightly, sipping on his lemonade. "Okay, sounds interesting. And all that Hollow stuff, too."
Ikkaku stumbled into the dining room from the stairs. He was wearing one of Mizuho's cutesy shirts. I burst out laughing at him and he looked beyond annoyed at me. Yumichika looked like he was holding back a laugh and covered his mouth quickly, looking away.
"Mizuho will be back to admire you in that soon," I teased and he ground his teeth together. "Okay, I'm going to change." I stood up and ruffled Yumichika's hair lightly, pissing him off on purpose. I shot him a grin. "Thanks for telling me about that, I really appreciate it."
I bounded up the stairs, leaving Ikkaku behind to ask Yumichika what exactly he'd told me. When I returned in a tight wrap top and shorts, I found the two of them slumped over the dining table. The lock turned and Mizuho rushed into the house, straight for Ikkaku, never mind that I was in the way. I spun away but she caught me against my shoulder and I almost fell over; next thing I knew, I felt Yumichika's toned arms wrapped around me securely.
"Careful now, Ren," he muttered near my ear, sending shivers of pleasure down my spine. I let my arms wind around his waist and embraced him to me. Struck with a sudden courage, I bent forward and kissed him tenderly on the cheek. "Thank you," I murmured into his ear before I let go and sashayed away with a fake calm.
-----
Mizuho had gone out on a 'date' with Ikkaku and Keigo had left to play somewhere outside with his friends. Yumichika was sitting next to be again where I was studying, head buried in his arms, with only his keen eyes visible. He flicked his gaze to me and I smiled for his benefit. I turned the page again. Sighing, I snapped the book closed sharply. After this afternoon's affair I couldn't concentrate on a thing except the feel of his skin against my lips. He straightened up immediately, startled.
I turned to face him and he was giving me such an intense look that I almost lost my thoughts for a second. I stood up briskly and took his hand, enjoying the way he felt against me. I strode to the bedroom, with him keeping in step easily. I sat on the bed and he did the same, right next to me. He faced me and I looked up to meet his beautiful eyes.
"I – I don't think I'm mistaken about what you want to say," he started, and I nodded. I drew myself closer to him, closing any gap between us and he hugged me to him. I enjoyed the sweet but crisp scent that defined him and smiled contentedly. I cantered my head up in his direction and he returned the eye contact unflinchingly; he made no effort to break it. I felt myself float then tumble within the beautiful gems. Slowly, without both of us realizing, our faces drew closer and in the final moment, my eyes slid shut as our lips touched. The electrifying sensation clouded my thoughts and the rest of me that wasn't in contact with his. His lips were moist and soft; His hands slipped under my hair just as mine did his. He drew me even closer to him, deepening the kiss. I let myself drown in the attention of his touch, of his caresses, and reciprocated with my own. I let myself fall back on my bed and pulled him to me, never ever interrupting the physical contact…
-----
I heard Mizuho and Ikkaku outside the room. Crap, we're not even dressed decently yet! Yumichika held my head closer to his chest and I understood what he meant: Just forget it and sort it out later. I bit his chest playfully and he suppressed a gasp. I giggled silently and embraced him closer to me. He kissed me softly on my forehead.
The two of them opened the door and both of them gasped in tandem. "OH MY GOD!" Mizuho exclaimed while Ikkaku was, I presumed, speechless. Yumichika stroked my back tenderly and I smirked against his chest. They left the room just as quickly and slammed the door behind them.
"Oops," I laughed with him. He sat up and drew my head to rest on his shoulder while he gently stroked my hair, both arms safely around me. I let myself melt on him. The words hung on the tip of my tongue but I wondered if it was too soon to say them.
"I love you, Ren," he whispered as he tilted my head, our eyes locking. "You are more than beautiful, you're divine."
"That's what I thought. I love you, Yumichika."
Our lips met, and even though we might be separated soon in different worlds, it didn't matter; he'd always return and I'd die someday anyway. I could feel secure in our love… And in this way, I'd never be lonely again. 3
Yumichika! I think there aren't enough stories with him in it. :D