Expressing One's Thoughts to the Moon
Disclaimer: Don't own the characters of Bleach. That belongs to Kubo Tite. I'm just playing with them for a short moment.
A/N: This was done quickly for the ginkira community on livejournal. Prompt was to write anything with kissing and I chose to use academy!Kira for this because I haven't dealt with him younger yet, figured it might be fun.
0000
The moon never changed in Seireitei, however to Kira Izuru the moon seemed to shine brighter than any night he could remember.
In truth though, he rarely stayed up to watch the moon, opting instead to head back to the student barracks as soon as night fell over the grounds. He would barely lift his head out of his course work until it was his eyelids, heavy from a day of activity that began to close. However, even though today had been another rigorous day of kidoh practice and his body ached from the over exertion he found that he wasn't really tired.
He hadn't been very sleepy for the past few days.
So he sat on top of the dorm, opting for gabled rooftops over polished the wood of passageways lest someone find him awake at this late hour and inquire as to why he was out after curfew. The brightness of the moon shone a pale silver light over the brown tiles giving everything a glowing, glittering appearance.
He wondered if the moon looked the same in the human world. He should have had a chance to look; admire the moon on the training mission they had been on just last week but his mind had been on other things; namely the Huge Hollow that had nearly killed him, his two best friends and his senpai. Kira had never seen so much blood as when the monster tore threw two of their leader's bodies. It was all he could do to run without looking back at the hollow following or the newly painted ground colored black with moonlight blood and dark shadows of fallen students. Those long dark shadows had closed around him when all hope of surviving faded and when that imminent fear of death had passed with a bright flash of kidoh and a flourish of polished steel Kira had found himself admiring a different silver sight than the beauty of any full moon he had ever seen.
All glowing silver luminescence and smooth fluidity, like the soft yet biting feel of a crisp January breeze; that had been what the movements of his savior, Ichimaru-fukutaichou, had been like that night. Hinamori-kun had scolded him for calling the silver haired man that; had said that it was Aizen-taichou too who had saved them. Although Kira had relented to the argument his friend had presented it was still firmly in his mind that it had been the spectacled man's vice-captain that he had felt personally saved by.
He had heard about the power of captain's and vice-captains; rumors as to the sheer skill that people like Aizen-taichou or his ever smiling vice-captain possessed. But to see it in cold, harsh reality had been like watching poetry in motion; not the cold hard massacre he had expected such power to embody.
Kira sighed. It was illogical to feel any fondness for the man he called savior. He was only a student, not even having reached the level of shinigami. The accelerated program he was in meant nothing, at least probably not to the man himself. Did Ichimaru-fukutaichou even know his name? Why bother? It wasn't like he was in the Fifth Division or any division yet for that matter.
"Ya come here of'en?" A voice called from behind and Kira nearly fell off the roof in his surprise. He had not seen nor felt his visitor approach and when he turned around to greet the owner of the voice he experienced his second surprise.
The shock was obvious on his face as he scrambled to stand on the slanted roof and then bowed deeply at the waist. "I-Ichimaru-fukutaichou! Please forgive me for being out past curfew!" He stated succinctly although there was a tremor in his voice.
The sound of deep chuckling made him raise his head a bit. "I ain't gonna report'cha, Izuru-kun. It ain't ma style." Kira flinched a little at the use of his personal name, but more importantly—
"You…you know my name?" He asked without even considering his words. It was very unlike him to just ask something without thinking. He'd even had the gall to stand up out of his deep bow in front of a superior officer. He didn't even realize he was acting in this strange way. Perhaps it was the full moon.
Or perhaps it was the man who was now walking closer to him.
"' Course I know it." Ichimaru chided, stopping a few paces in front of Kira. "Yer friends wit' that girl, Hinamori-chan an' that red-head—"
"Abarai Renji" Kira supplied, interrupting the other man. Ichimaru didn't even seem to notice; in fact he chuckled again, that low deep sound that made Kira's heart pound up into his throat again. The mirthful, low sound was a stark contrast to the almost femininely high lilt to the lithe vice-captain's voice.
"Righ', righ'," he relented waving a hand dismissively. Those hands were so thin and tapered; Kira hadn't noticed before. "Like I was sayin', ya sit up 'ere watchin' people sleep of'en?"
Kira blushed heavily despite himself. "I-I wasn't watching people sleep…."He stuttered, eyes downcast at the terracotta tiles that shone grey in the moonlight.
"Hmm?" He hummed softly, "then what were ya doin?'Ya waitin' for someone?" He supplied.
Yes, I was waiting for you. Kira thought but he had enough self control to not say. However the blush shone brighter on his face all the same and he cursed the shining moonlight because he knew his flush would be perfectly visible. "I was just watching the moon…and thinking." His lips betrayed. However it seemed that in this moment in front of this man it wasn't so much a betrayal as it seemed that the explanation had always belonged to him, that he deserved it.
"Really? What were ya thinkin 'bout?" Ichimaru pried, taking a step closer to further affirm his verbal advance.
You. Kira's mind supplied again and he thought for a second that he had said it out loud as the smile on the vice-captain's face seemed to grow wider; or perhaps the smile only appeared to get larger as the distance between them continued to close.
"No-nothing really…"He answered lamely. Kira ran nervous fingers through his short hair trying to shrug off his anxiety like he was trying to struggle out of a warm winter coat upon entering a house with a roaring fire on the hearth.
The fire was settling in the pit of his stomach and why did the moonlight suddenly feel less like a cold glow and more like a heated searchlight?
"It don' look like nothin' ta me…" Ichimaru drawled and Kira wondered how a man who kept his eyes closed constantly could seem to take in all of his body and emotions at once. He felt transparent to this man, but not in a frightening way.
It was like he was looking at the moon through a clean window; it felt like the thin glass wasn't even there and the white orb of the moon would reflect in his pale blue eyes for the world to see.
He wondered if that transparency could run both ways or if the thick tint of one way glass, those ever smiling, squinting eyes were merely observing him but never giving any admission.
Sometimes words failed and poetry struck him at the oddest times. Standing there in the moonlight wrapped in his thoughts all he could see was Ichimaru's face. His hair shone white and luminescent in the dull light and Kira could not speak a word. Ichimaru seemed sick of waiting for an answer that was stuck on the tip of Kira's tongue, he frowned a little.
The hand on his cheek was a surprise, but not nearly as much as the lips that brushed against his own as casually as the man's slurred speech or the use of Kira's given name. Instead of being revolted, pushing away his superior or gently protesting, Kira's eyes slid shut and he pressed back even if it was a little hesitantly.
So strange, perhaps the full moon was at fault for his actions.
Then there was a tongue tracing the creases in his lower lip and those bony, slightly cold fingers were in his short hair and Kira knew for certain that the moon was not to blame. This insanity belonged to the heat that spread from his face like a disease through his veins and all through his body, caused by the man; his savior Kira reminded himself, who was kissing him absolutely senseless.
Ichimaru, he was kissing him, Kira Izuru.
And nothing else had ever felt so unreal and absolute at the same time. His lips parted of their own accord and hot tongue spilled into his mouth with all the flourish and liquid movement of that sword he'd seen the night of their meeting. His hands in Kira's hair were like cold steel and it was then he realized that Ichimaru was a man of stark duality; hot and cold, dangerous but with smile of an innocent child and, all friendliness and all business and –god was he a good kisser.
To Kira it seemed he was pulling away almost as soon as he had closed the distance. The silver haired man licked his lips as if he had enjoyed a favorite snack, smiling his satisfaction.
Kira was beginning to be able to read in that ever present smile the subtleties that showed the faintest glimmer of emotion; like moonlight obscured through a dense forest.
"Seems ya got plenty on yer mind. Maybe yer jus' not sure how ta show it…"He said and the comment seemed late, off topic and completely superfluous after the fact of the kiss.
Regardless, Kira nodded. However, Kira could once again think of nothing to say. Everything that came to the surface of his mind seemed incomprehensible and innocuous in comparison to the simplistic competency that was Ichimaru-fukutaichou.
That clever smile answered for him. "Ya best be getting' back ta yer room tho'. Students got lotsa learnin' ta do first thing in the mornin'." He said and the smile grew a little wider at Kira's hesitant nod.
Kira had been about to say something but that smile vanished along with the man in an instant like an illusionist's trick.
Flash Step? Kira thought trying to explain where the man had gone. He looked right, left and then behind him but there was no trace of silver except the slowly setting glimmer of the moon. Accepting the departure of what had at first been a troubling guest he walked towards the edge of the building and jumped.
The leap was far so as to land in the soft, silent grass as opposed to the hard wood. Kira was bent low to break the fall and stood; looking around the grove momentarily as if still expecting to catch a glimpse of silver out of the corner of his eye.
The grass shown with sparkling dew and what before would have seemed beautiful seemed lackluster compared to the shimmer of fine silver hair in the moonlight.
There was a cool breeze and then suddenly arms enveloped his waist in a backwards hug. Kira gasped loudly.
"Aw, don' be so s'prised, Izuru. Ya knew I was still aroun' righ'?" He asked, brushing short blond hair away from his ear affectionately with his nose.
A reasonable person would have pushed away, would have been angry for the sudden reappearance, but Kira knew already what caused his insanity and his inability to move. Slowly those hands were removed from his waist and the Fifth Division vice-captain circled him to face Kira's front.
"Jus' forgot ta wish ya a g'night." Ichimaru said as if that explained his startling style of reappearance.
Kira stood dumbfounded for a moment, still taken off guard by his return. Slowly he nodded, "Good night, Ichimaru-fukutaichou." He bowed, but perhaps not as low as he had the first time.
Ichimaru frowned. "Tha's no way ta say g'night." He whined before taking a step closer and lifting the blond's bowing head at the chin to steal another kiss right there in the middle of the common grounds.
As those lips receded Kira began to understand that insanity was really more of a perspective thin; a matter of what side of the tinted glass you were standing on.
"G'night, Izuru." The silver haired man said and this time he disappeared for good.
Kira was left standing in the open field, bathed in silver light of the moon knowing that these thoughts of insanity were something he could only share with that glowing orb in the sky.
Everyone else on the other side of the one way mirror would never understand.
0000
A/N: So here's my contribution to the kissing challenge at just over 2,000 words. If a picture is worth 1000 words mine would be worth two right? ::shamelessly pokes artist portion of ginkira lj community:: Hope people liked it, this has a lot more symbolism to it than my usual work. I guess innocent!Kira and the moon will do that to me. Please tell me what you think!!