The light slap of Ichigo's sandals as he paced the room over and over again was starting to make some of the captains twitch. The sun hadn't even begun to set yet on the Captain Commander's office in the First Division. The light was still a golden glow, but the shadows stretched out over the floor like monsters grasping for a foot from under the bed and Ichigo paced, heedless of their shape.
"Kurosaki, pacing will not make the passage of time go faster." Kuchiki Byakuya said almost impatiently. An almost imperceptible muscle had started to twitch at the corner of his mouth, not noticeable to anyone except those that knew him. Ichigo just lightly growled at him and continued pacing until the Captain Commander once again entered his office.
"Well?" Ichigo asked impatiently.
"The servants of the Raiko household have confirmed that there is an unknown guest staying in the main house. I've mobilized the Onmitsukido. They are simply waiting for the right time to move."
"I'm going with them." Ichigo declared, every inch of his no-nonsense. The chance of him staying behind was the same as it was letting Rukia get executed the first time he'd come to Soul Society.
Yamamoto sighed, "I thought you might say that."
He gestured to his Vice-Captain to come forward. Sasikabe approached Ichigo with a bundle of black clothing in his arms.
"This is an Onmitsukido uniform." Yamamoto said, "You will go with the extraction team as one of their own." He opened his eye to pin Ichigo with a glaring gaze, "That means listening to the team leader and not running off by yourself!"
Ichigo nodded seriously and took the clothes from Sasikabe. This was his one chance to rescue one of his precious people. He wasn't going to screw it up, so he wouldn't go rushing in, no matter how much he wanted to. The situation was delicate. It was fragile. It was as easy to tear as wet rice paper and if it did, the consequences would be suffered by the one who held Ichigo's heart.
"You leave an hour after midnight. Report to your team leader in the Second Division for the details of your mission."
Ichigo nodded again and followed Soi-Fon to her division, all the while thinking of one Hiruma Yoichi and how they met.
Ichigo was being followed. It was very subtle and he doubted that a normal human would have noticed, but Ichigo didn't go through a war and not learn a few things, like being able to tell when someone was tailing him. Ichigo used the reflections in the windows of the shops he was passing to study the guy. The reflection was faint, but it was hard not to notice the spiky bleach blond hair. He's been acting like he's been on his cell phone the whole time, but he was definitely following Ichigo. He stayed an exact ten steps behind him the whole time and no one was that perfect when they were absentmindedly texting on their phone.
Ichigo quickly ducked into a small alley and crouched behind a foul-smelling dumpster, waiting for the guy to follow him in. Ichigo could barely see him over the black trash bags as he cautiously entered the alley. The guy cursed at losing him, no longer playing being on his phone, and rushed towards the end of the tiny alley. He probably though Ichigo had made a run for it. Right when he was about to come across him in his hiding place, Ichigo struck. He grabbed the blond by his dark jacket and shoved him into the opposite concrete wall, almost tripping over an overturned silver trashcan in the process.
"Why are you following me?" demanded Ichigo. Wide green eyes looked at him through a few locks of blond fringe and for a second Ichigo was just a little bit worried that he'd maybe been wrong and an innocent bystander of his war-time paranoia wasn't following him. Then the guy smiled, showing off a mouth full of sharp teeth, and cackled.
"You're more interesting than I thought."
Ichigo glared down at the very pointy teenager and demanded again, "Why are you following me?"
"Because you're interesting."
"That doesn't answer my question very well."
"Maybe you'll get a better answer if you get something to eat with me."
Ichigo's eyebrows went up at that. "What?"
"Get something to eat with me."
Ichigo slowly let go of the spiky teen's black jacket after figuring out that he wasn't messing with him. "Sorry, I don't eat with strangers."
"Kurosaki Ichigo. Seventeen. Third year at Karakura High school. Two sisters and a father. Karate lessons for two years. Always gets into fights." Hiruma listed off with ease, "I know plenty about you. The only stranger here is you."
Ichigo stared hard at him. A lot of what he'd listed off could easily be found out with a bit of snooping, but some of that other stuff, like how he took karate lessons when he was young, only his friends and family knew. Oh, sure there were records, but the dojo he'd attended had been small and without computers at the time. Whoever wanted them would be hard pressed to dig them up.
"How do you know all that?"
"Eat with me and maybe you'll find out."
The two ended up in a small café on the same street their confrontation happened. Hiruma sat sprawled in the uncomfortable metal wire chair while Ichigo rested his elbows on the table, manners be damned. Ichigo could tell the guy in front of him was only acting nonchalant. There was subtle tension running through his entire body. Only his face looked completely relaxed. "How did you know all that stuff back in the alley?" Ichigo asked.
"Personal sources." Hiruma smirked.
Ichigo ground his teeth together, "If you're not going to give me straight answers, I'm leaving."
Ichigo saw a tiny twitch of the head at that. He narrowed his eyes. For whatever reason, this guy didn't want him to leave.
"Who are you anyway?"
"Hiruma Yoichi."
"Kurosaki Ichigo," Ichigo stopped his fists from clenching, no need to give anything away, "but you already know that." He sat back and crossed his arms, trying to calm himself down. This guy couldn't do anything to him that hasn't been done before during the war. "How do you know me?"
Hiruma sat forward and laced his fingers together on the table, deciding to actually be serious. "Do you remember playing in an American football game a week ago?"
Ichigo gave him a look. "It was only a week ago. Of course I remember it."
"Well, I saw that match. I'm the captain of one of the other football teams and I managed to figure out who the mysterious number fifteen from Karakura was. You've impressed a lot of people. Other players are searching for you to either recruit you or go against you." Hiruma explained.
"And which one are you?"
"Neither. I found you for fun, but the more I found out about you the more interesting you got."
"And?" Ichigo prompted when Hiruma didn't say anything else. Ichigo remained nonchalant when the silence dragged on.
Here, Hiruma was stuck. It was one of the rare times in his life when he didn't want to blackmail someone. He didn't need a puppet. He wanted a… companion? Or the dreaded word, a boyfriend? Hiruma didn't know what the fuck he wanted. Only that he wanted to spend time around Kurosaki and really get to know him. He was a mystery and Hiruma loved a good mystery.
But, Hiruma didn't know how to ask Kurosaki out without sounding like a total freak. He's never asked anyone out, really. He's never needed or wanted to.
Hiruma opened and closed his mouth wordlessly as the waitress brought them their food, giving Ichigo an appreciative glance and Hiruma a slightly terrified one. Ichigo didn't notice or care and Hiruma was used to the looks.
"Well?" Ichigo asked as he dug into his food, "Why did you decide to follow me?"
Hiruma just stared at him as he ate and thought 'Fuck it. I'm already a fool and I'll be a fool any way I go about this.'
"Will you go out with me?"
"Will you go out with me?"
Ichigo choked on the food he was about to swallow and coughed harshly. He flailed for a few seconds and grabbed a glass of water, chugging it, forcing the food down. His airways cleared and he panted, relieved at being able to breathe again.
"What?" he exclaimed, slightly hoarse.
"Will you go out with me?" Hiruma repeated. Ichigo could see that despite him being seemingly composed, Hiruma was nervous. A drop of sweat slid down the side of his face and his fingers couldn't stop fidgeting. Hiruma couldn't meet his eyes.
"I don't even know you!"
"Isn't that what dates are for? To get to know each other?"
Well, that was true, but, "You stalked me!"
Hiruma crossed his arms, "I followed you for five minutes." He was silent for a minute and before Ichigo could say anything else, quietly admitted, "I didn't know how to ask you."
Ichigo could see it took a lot for Hiruma to admit that. He knew that it took a lot of courage to ask someone out, not that he ever has, but he was sure it was doubly more so to ask someone you didn't actually know.
The kid at least looked interesting with his spikey blond hair, pointy ears, and piercings. He'd seen stranger looking in Soul Society. Honestly, Ichigo had never thought of accepting someone's offer for a date.
Ichigo thought as he continued eating. Why shouldn't he go out with the guy? No had ever had the guts to actually follow him around to ask him out. Everyone at school except his friends was still kind of intimidated by him. He knew a few girls have tried, but they never managed to get it out and Ichigo just ignored notes in his shoes locker. Something like this, he believed, should be face to face, like this Hiruma guy was doing. Ichigo really didn't care who asked him out was a boy or a girl. What was important was that he liked them and he liked that Hiruma went after what he wanted and didn't let anything deter him.
Across from him, Hiruma was trying, and succeeding, to keep his shoulders from rising up past his ears. He was pretty good at hiding his reactions and emotions, but Ichigo had learned to read people in battle where a simple shift of the leg could change your opponent's whole attack. But Hiruma wasn't an opponent. Ichigo often forgot that his age mates were still just kids, not war veterans at seventeen like he and his friends were.
In the moment of watching Hiruma (subtly) fidget after just asking someone out, Ichigo thought 'what the hell'. There was nothing to lose. Maybe he'd actually gain something.
"Ok." Said Ichigo.
Hiruma stared at him, his eyes widening slightly. He leaned back in his chair again after a moment, feigning ease when Ichigo could see his pulse jumping in his neck. He didn't say anything, just smirked, which Ichigo ignored.
"So," Ichigo said, setting his plate aside, "What did you have in mind?"
Ichigo smiled while walking to the Second Division at the thought of Hiruma mentally flailing as he tried to come up with a date. Back then, Ichigo saw the blankness in his eyes as tried to think of something to do. They'd finally ended up going to see the newest horror movie, that they'd both agreed was stupid in the end.
Walking back to the train station after the movie was going about as well as their talk in the café had. That is, they were barely getting by. They were silent on their walk. The awkwardness of every first date surrounded them in a haze and neither knew what to say to the other. The movie had gone off without a hitch. Both watched it silently, neither looking at the other and hands snatched away when they accidently touched in the popcorn bucket.
"So…" Ichigo said, trying to think of something to say.
"That was fucking stupid." Hiruma said.
Ichigo was silent. Was he talking about the movie or the date? Ichigo really hoped he was talking about the movie. He didn't want the date to be a bust. Hiruma had gone through a lot of trouble to ask him out.
"There were probably a whole bunch of knives in the kitchen they could've used to defend themselves." Hiruma continued.
Ichigo relaxed. He was talking about the movie.
"Worst case scenario, they could've broken a mirror and used the shards as weapons." Ichigo said.
"Or a window. And what the fuck was the blonde girl thinking when she ran out into the woods?"
"Yeah. There was no one around for miles. Where was she going to go?"
"Heh. And when that guy tripped. If you're running from a killer, you should fucking pick your legs up when you run. I hate horror movies. The people in them are so fucking stupid."
Ichigo looked at him curiously, "Then why did you choose a horror movie for us to watch?"
"I watch them for the special effects." Hiruma replied
They walked the rest of the way to the station talking about movie effects and how Hiruma applied them to real life. When they got to the station, both were unusually uneager to part.
Ichigo rubbed the back of his head, standing in front of Hiruma. There was a lot more to him that he didn't know and from their conversation, he was an interesting person.
"Want to ty again?" he asked.
Hiruma was looking off to the side, towards where the train would come in. He was still playing relaxed, slouching with his hands in his pockets, but it was more truthful than in the café.
"Sure." He said, "Coffee?"
Ichigo smiled, "Sure."
A week after the movie saw Ichigo sitting in class, staring out the window on a bright autumn day. He wasn't paying attention to a word the teacher was saying. Instead, he was thinking about one Hiruma Yoichi.
Hiruma Yoichi was interesting to say the least. He looked interesting with his bleach blond hair, pointy ears, and sharp teeth. He talked interesting with his curse words in every other sentence. (Curse words have never bothered Ichigo anyway.) He was just interesting. An enigma. Sure, he scared and shocked people for fun, but the way he did it was genius. It kind of reminded him of Shakespeare in a way. Shakespeare wrote foolish stories and was applauded as a genius. Hiruma does genius things and, well, Ichigo doubted people thought of Hiruma as a fool, but his genius definitely wasn't as recognized as it should've been.
When Hiruma talked about the things he did with special effects, all but the simplest of it went right over Ichigo's head. He talked about the effect of gunpowder in fireworks and how he used it to control his explosions and make them flashier. He talked about FX make-up and setting a 'stage' for a 'performance'. At one point Ichigo thinks he might've talked about something to do with trajectories, but Hiruma was talking so rapidly and enthusiastically that it'd gone right over Ichigo's head and onto the next topic. It was great.
Hiruma wasn't like the girls who'd confessed to Ichigo before. They'd been too shy to even speak to him let alone have a conversation with him. Hiruma wasn't shy in the least. He knew what he liked and disliked and he wasn't afraid to disagree with you and cuss you out in the process. He spoke his mind. He didn't care what others thought. He wasn't afraid of hurting someone's feelings. Ichigo thought that was much better than someone just blushing and stuttering the whole time.
Ichigo caught himself smiling out the window, into the sun's rays and a confused expression replaced it. It'd only been two dates and he already knew he liked Hiruma. He could only wait and see if it was as a friend or more.
Their second date, a coffee date in Tokyo, had gone as well as the end of their first date. At first they'd talked stiltedly, but eventually it started flowing better and better until they were talking easily with each other. Ichigo had enjoyed himself immensely and Hiruma had almost completely relaxed by the end of it. Ichigo was curious about what could make Hiruma so on guard all the time, but he didn't ask. He wasn't even sure if Hiruma was aware that he never relaxed.
They'd talked about school and the idiots in their classes. They'd talked about Ichigo's fighting, how people from even Tokyo came to Karakura just to challenge him, and how quite a few gangs in the surrounding town had made fighting him an initiation rite. (Ichigo hadn't known that. He just beat up whoever came to fight him.) Most of all, they talked about football, which Hiruma very obviously loved. The word 'obsessed' came to mind.
In that one conversation, Ichigo had learned more about football and the high school players than he'd ever learned by playing the few games he had. Hiruma had even shown him some clips on his phone.
"You're really into this aren't you?" Ichigo had asked with a smile.
Hiruma had bluntly replied, "Of course. I wouldn't have been playing it for this long if it didn't like it."
"Oh? How long have you been playing?" Ichigo prompted.
And that had encouraged Hiruma to launch into how he'd first discovered football ("An American military base?") and how he'd gathered each member of his team. Ichigo loved his enthusiasm. He'd never seen anything like it in anyone else. Sure, a lot of Shinigami in Soul Society had their love of fighting, but that was different. That was the fighting spirit of warriors. This was something else. Something Ichigo couldn't quite pinpoint. It was something that made Ichigo himself excited about a sport he'd never cared about before.
"That's amazing." Ichigo had laughed in response to Hiruma's tale about how he had gathered his team.
"It worked out," Hiruma shrugged, "Better than anything I could've planned."
"Sometimes life does that." Ichigo agreed, thinking about how he'd had no idea what he wanted to do with his life and now Soul Society was paying him a captain's wage for exterminating hollows and protecting an ingredient for the king's key- Karakura Town.
Hiruma huffed, "Life's a bitch. Always messing up my plans."
Ichigo chuckled.
"You know they're starting to call you The Comet?"
"Huh?" Ichigo made a confused noise at Hiruma.
"The high school football world. The players, the coaches, the magazines. They're calling you The Comet. Because you suddenly appeared in the world of football and disappeared just as quickly."
Ichigo sat back. "Huh," he stated, "That's—"
Weird. It was still weird that a bunch of people he didn't know had given him a name.
Ichigo's hollow alert on his phone went off, bringing him out of his thoughts. He wondered how long he'd been staring out the window like a love struck fool and raised his hand with one of his typical excuses on his lips, ready to run out of class to protect his town.
That date had gone really well for a second date. There'd hardly been any awkward silence at all. The third date had gone even better.
Ichigo was waiting for Hiruma when his train came into the Karakura station. Ichigo smiled at him under the pasty lights of the station and Hiruma denied that it made his heart beat a little faster. They chatted leisurely as they made their way downtown to the small restaurant Ichigo had in mind for dinner.
"—and then the fucking chibi thought he was going to hang himself with a fucking coat hanger!"
Ichigo laughed, "Well, I'm sure from a distance it looked like a noose."
"…Not even the same fucking shape." Hiruma muttered.
"People tend to panic when faced with a situation like that."
"Yeah, yeah." Hiruma waved him off.
"Here we are." Ichigo opened the door for Hiruma to a small mom and pop restaurant in the middle of down town Karakura. Hiruma was surprised to see the inside of it looking decidedly western. The restaurant was a wide open space with rafters almost like a barn. The wallpaper depicted desert scenes and everything had a rustic look to it. There were cow skulls and horse knickknacks and wagon wheels in odd places and the waitresses were wearing cow spotted skirts.
"Cowboys? Are you fucking serious?"
"Shut up." Ichigo laughed, "They have good food. This has been my favorite restaurant since I was a kid."
Hiruma imagined a little Ichigo eating there with a tiny cowboy hat on his head, like the one a kid was wearing now with a different family, and decided that if he could get a picture of that, he would have very good blackmail material indeed. Then he berated himself. He wasn't supposed to blackmail his…boyfriend? He didn't want just another slave he reminded himself.
Their waitress, who had black hair and a red cowgirl hat, led them to a red booth with squeaky seats. It had a window facing the chilly, lit up streets of Karakura. They were actually pretty empty compared to Tokyo. Hiruma poked at the sad looking miniature cactus that served as the tan table's centerpiece and smirked.
"Shut up," Ichigo said playfully again. Hiruma raised his hands in surrender.
"I didn't say anything."
"You were going to." Ichigo accused.
Hiruma just smirked again. After a few minutes of looking at the old west named dishes on the old saloon door shaped menus, the waitress came back, her loud earrings jangling with her gait, and took their orders.
"So how's that Comet thing? Has it died down yet?"
"Nope," said Hiruma, sipping at his drink, "It's just gotten bigger. American Football Monthly posted videos of you playing in those games on their website."
Ichigo groaned, dropping his head to the table.
"At least they don't know who you are." Hiruma said.
"Yeah. Let's keep it that way."
Hiruma just drank his soda and sat back in his seat, the booth springs squeaking, with a mischievous glint in his eye.
"Hiruma. We'll keep it that way, right?"
Hiruma set his soda on the table with a light 'tap'. The edges of his mouth were twitching.
"Hiruma."
Hiruma shot Ichigo his signature wide demonic grin that showed off every single one of his deadly-looking teeth. Ichigo wasn't fazed by it. He often saw worse on the eleventh division captain's face. Even the hollows he saw everyday had deadly grins worse than Hiruma's. Ichigo crossed his arms at him. The fake grin faltered, then faded. Hiruma gave Ichigo a considering look. He studied him for a minute, then came to a conclusion that Ichigo could see in his eyes. Hiruma knew that Ichigo wasn't affected by how he looked. Still sitting back in his seat, Hiruma also crossed his arms, almost gaining a pouting look if it weren't for the seriousness on his face.
"You're not unnerved by me." He tried to say it nonchalantly, but Ichigo could see his curiousness.
"No." Ichigo said, uncrossing his arms and leaning on his elbows on the table.
"Most people are."
"I'm not most people."
Each tried to star the other down and neither looked away. Hiruma narrowed his eyes at Ichigo, putting up a mask of confrontation to hide his disbelief and confusion.
"Why?"
Ichigo didn't miss a beat when he said, "Because it's just a mask."
Inside, Hiruma was stunned for a moment, but outside he glared at Ichigo.
"It is not—"
"It is." Ichigo interrupted him, "At least, that wide smile is. It's all teeth, it's too wide, and it doesn't reach your eyes. It's too fake to be real. It's used to intimidate people because it's too unnatural. And it usually succeeds, doesn't it?"
Hiruma stayed silent, glaring at Ichigo with his arms still crossed.
"You don't know what you're talking about." Hiruma said.
"I do. I've made enough fake smiles to recognize one when I see one. But I want you to know that you don't have to pretend around me. I hate it when people fake a smile anyway."
Hiruma just stared at him, his surprise almost showing through. No one ever saw through his demonic smiles. Not even Musashi and Kurita, though they were aware that sometimes they weren't as genuine as everyone thought, they never saw through them like Kurosaki seemed to. He'd never run into anyone who could read him like Kurosaki could and Kurosaki could read him like a fucking book. He didn't know what it was. He always successfully hid his emotions behind his demonic looks. It was better that people questioned his humanness, even though he was just as human as everyone else on the planet. But Kurosaki… Kurosaki saw through his looks straight to him. Hiruma wasn't sure if he liked it or not and he wondered what Kurosaki's reaction would be like when he whipped out his guns around him for the first time.
"So on the way here you said you had a game this weekend?" Ichigo asked, changing the subject.
"Yeah, against Kyoshin Poseidon."
"How do you think that will go?"
"Che, we'll win of course. Especially now that fucking fatty jr finally has his head in the game."
They spent a while talking about Hiruma's next game and the hellish training he put his team through in preparation for it. Then, the waitress brought them their food and both fell silent to eat. For two teenagers only on their third date, it was a surprisingly comfortable silence.
Ichigo thought as he munched on his barbeque burger, surreptitiously sneaking glances at Hiruma. He was trying to think of what to say once the two of them were done eating. It's not like they would just stay silent the whole time Ichigo walked Hiruma back to the train station. Ichigo's gaze wandered around the restaurant, taking in the sights and décor he'd known since he was a child. His eyes fell upon a few of the other patrons, a small family of three. A little brunet boy sat with a little red cowboy hat on his head, something the restaurant provided all children, gesturing animatedly with his fork at smiling parents.
"What's your family like?" Ichigo asked once last bites were taken and napkins were bunched into balls on plates.
Hiruma stared at him with an unreadable expression on his face, but Ichigo didn't start sweating or get nervous under that gaze. He just waited patiently when Hiruma turned to stare out the window.
'Okay,' thought Ichigo as the waitress brought the bill, 'that's a topic to stay away from.'
Ichigo grabbed the bill before Hiruma could. He didn't say anything about it like Ichigo thought he would. Instead he just stared out the window, seemingly searching the streets with his eyes. He leaned against it, breath fogging the glass and golden streetlights painting his face in a way the sun never could. Ichigo was mesmerized by it and he still snuck glances at Hiruma as they walked the dark streets after paying their bill and leaving the restaurant. They walked under streetlight after streetlight. Each and every one of them showering Hiruma with a golden glow that made Ichigo's breath stutter in his chest, even as Hiruma seemed lost in thought, until the stark white lights of the train station interrupted the pathway of gold raining down on them.
Hiruma's train to Tokyo rolled in, but he stopped before getting on.
"Look," Ichigo said before Hiruma could say anything, "I'm sorry if the question I asked was a sore topic for you. You don't have to talk about anything you're uncomfortable with."
Hiruma shut his mouth that he'd opened to talk before Ichigo had interrupted him and nodded. He took something out of his pocket and held out a ticket to Ichigo.
"This is a ticket to my game on Saturday." Hiruma said simply. Ichigo stared at it for a minute, taken a little off guard. Then, he smiled blindingly and took it.
"I'll be there." He said.
Hiruma just 'che-ed' and got on the train.
The game had been great. It'd made even Ichigo pumped up for a sport he'd never cared for before, past when he'd been hired to play. Nothing but fighting, real battle, had gotten Ichigo that pumped in a while. He had to admit it amused him when the players in those games referred to them as 'battles' and playing as 'fighting'. It really cemented the fact that the players, his age mates, really were just kids with no idea of the real world. That's what he fought to make sure of though and now Yoichi was being faced with that real world.
The cheerleaders in strange costumes had been the first thing Ichigo noticed when he entered the stadium. Not for the reason most teenage boys noticed them, no, but because of the very tall, very male member in the middle of them. The guy cheered along with the cheerleaders before jumping into the air to do a couple of flips and land in a handstand. The crowd cheered his name.
"Mizumachi! Mizumachi!"
Ichigo was not impressed. He's seen greater feats of physical strength done, but he supposed if he were a normal human, it might've been impressive. Mizumachi faced his side of the stadium to challenge on of Deimon's players, and for the first time, Ichigo saw Hiruma's team. They were a strange bunch, full of mismatched people that seemed to clash with each other, but these were the people that Hiruma had almost proudly told him about.
Hiruma proved that his large pointed ears weren't just for show when he overheard two people in the crowd talking about a bounty on one of the smaller players, who Ichigo guessed was 'fucking fatass jr'. The little player thoroughly impressed the entire crowd when he lifted the pile of people that had tackled him with yen signs in their eyes to capture him for his bounty.
Mizumachi and the small player faced each other with expressions Ichigo would recognize anywhere. They were challenging each other, but not in battle. They were challenging each other on a field, in a sport, in a high school game. In the moment Ichigo saw their expressions, he forgotten where he was for a second and who he was looking at.
High school students. Ichigo reminded himself, it's just a game. His eyes traveled to Hiruma's back. But a game taken very seriously by some.
"Doburoku-sensei!" a shrill voice brought his eyes back to the rest of the Devilbats players and he saw someone else dramatically coming out onto the field, cloaked in shadows. It was…a naked old man with a pig and only a leaf covering between his legs. Ichigo made a face and some other people in the stands made noises of disgust when they saw who had come out.
'Doburoku…the coach they had to get out of debt in America and practically drag him back to Japan?' Ichigo thought. 'That's their coach?'
Poseidon's fans started cheering and the Devilbats huddled up and cried "We'll kill them!" Ichigo chuckled at the shout. Partly because of the seriousness of such a heavy statement coming out of the high schooler's mouths and partly because it was very obviously Hiruma who had come up with the cry.
"The nationwide American football tournament! Deimon vs Kyoshin, collision of the strong newcomers! Game Start!" the announcer's voice rang through the stadium and the fans cheered even louder for the start of the game.
Ichigo kept his eyes on Hiruma the whole game, watching him be a quarterback, a commander.
Mizumachi tore through Deimon's line at first. Ichigo laughed when Hiruma raged at three of the players, being held back by their biggest player, as he threw something at them. Ichigo could hear it all the way from where he sat in the stands.
"Were you all asleep or something, you fucking shrimps?! The plan cards are no use if you all get blocked by Mizumachi alone!"
Their next face-off, little number fifty-five actually managed to get past Mizumachi with strength and determination after a large man that bore a striking resemblance to him had yelled at him from the side of the field. But after that, once again, Mizumachi got past him with that strange arm technique and was able to tackle Hiruma as he was about to throw the ball.
Ichigo scowled hard, scaring the people next to him, and clenched his fists. He took a deep breath through his teeth and reminded himself that it was just part of the game and that Hiruma was wearing protective padding. Hiruma got right back up and started kicking at Fifty-Five, probably for letting Mizumachi through.
Two unsuccessful plays for Deimon later and Hiruma was blocked from throwing by two of Kyoshin's tallest players. In an instant, Hiruma switched from throwing to number eighty to throwing to Twenty-one, and Ichigo almost gaped. To be able to switch targets so quickly, it was almost like being able to change your stance and sword's position in an instant in battle. Hiruma's eyes were sharp and his reflexes quick and Ichigo flashed a blinding smile at him, even though he couldn't see it.
Kyoshin finally scored a touchdown in the next play, putting them in the lead. Hiruma whipped out a bunch of guns and started shooting at his teammates when they blocked Deimon's next play as well. Ichigo raised an eyebrow at that, but no one but him seemed surprised at the action and the bullets just bounced harmlessly off of the players so Ichigo let it go for now. He just chalked it up to another one of Hiruma eccentricities. It was going to take a while to get used to the guns… Ichigo thought. He was used to swords, not guns. Swords were swift and silent, guns were loud and flashy. Right up Hiruma's alley.
The Devilbats played a significantly different formation after they'd huddled up for a few minutes. The number of runners in the back with the quarterback was three. The play started and Hiruma faked passing the ball, running with it himself. Ichigo cheered with the rest of the fans and startled when Hiruma threw the ball to Eyeshield without even looking his way.
'He's good'. Ichigo thought. Hiruma was in his element.
Play by play, Deimon slowly gained back the yards they'd lost to Kyoshin and Ichigo finally caught the name of the technique—Wishbone. It was an amazing play. It was even more amazing once you realized it was all up to the quarterback to make the right decision in the split second of seeing the opponent's play. Ichigo's ears picked up Hiruma's name coming from guy farther down in the bleachers.
"Hiruma Yoichi. He's truly the Deimon Devilbat's hidden ace!"
A wide grin spread out across Ichigo's face, almost hollow-like in its appearance, but for the absence of maliciousness.
'Their hidden ace, huh? Hiruma, you're amazing'. Ichigo truly meant that. He himself could never read a play with that many people so quickly. The usual one-on-one fights he found himself in were much simpler because there was only one opponent, but Hiruma could read all eleven players at once and make a split second decision. Ichigo knew that, had Hiruma received the right training, he would have made a formidable warrior.
'Training…' Now there was an idea.
Hiruma scored a touchdown in the next play and Ichigo cheered with the rest of the crowd. The first half was over a few minutes later and the two teams retreated to their respective benches to rest and rehydrate. Ichigo kept his eyes on Hiruma as he sat on the bench and removed his helmet. He drank from his water bottle and seemed to feel eyes on him because he turned around and looked at the stands. He met Ichigo's eyes and Ichigo gave him a wide grin before Hiruma turned back around to eye the Kyoshin team.
As Hiruma turned back around, Ichigo noticed that he was the only one of the Deimon players that had sat down on the bench. The rest of the players surrounded him like an honor guard, watching the opposing team with him, listening to what he was saying. Hiruma really was their commander.
The first play after half-time was over had everyone in the crowd and even the announcer shocked.
"Th-the Devilbat Ghost has been crushed." He announced over the speakers.
'What's the big deal?' Ichigo thought, 'Just get up and try again. Or try something else. You only lose when you give up.' But Deimon's players, even Hiruma, seemed taken off guard.
Kyoshin gained three more points when the next play started with a kickoff and they successfully kicked the ball into the goal. Deimon's Wishbone failed once again and Eyeshield's spirit was down. He was becoming complacent with the turn of events instead of fighting it with everything he had.
Deimon's manager started waving her arms around, trying to tell them something and Hiruma seemed to be the only one to get it if his devious smile was anything to go by. The next Wishbone succeeded by passing it to a so far insignificant player. The Wishbone after that also worked, leading to Hiruma giving the player who ran a big kick in the ass in…congratulations?
'I've still got a lot of things to learn about Hiruma.' Ichigo thought.
Kyoshin had another technique up their sleeve, it seemed, when their four tallest players took position in the back. During the next few plays, Deimon was completely blocked. Until Deimon's Fifty-One finally broke through and almost tackled Kyoshin's quarterback. The quarterback quickly threw the ball, scoring Kyoshin a touchdown, before he could get to him, though.
'He's a pretty good quarterback.' Ichigo admitted, 'But not as good as Hiruma.' He smiled.
The little voice of Ichigo's hollow cackled in the back of his head. 'You've got it bad, King.' It said.
'Shut up.' Ichigo shushed him, but he couldn't deny what his hollow had said.
Again and again Deimon was blocked by Kyoshin's Poseidon technique, but they tried their hardest. They didn't quit. With eighteen seconds left on the clock, Hiruma addressed Eyeshield with the team standing around them. Ichigo couldn't hear what was being said, but they all had serious looks on their faces. Eyeshield said one last thing to Hiruma and Hiruma got the most pleased and devious look on his face.
Ichigo shivered a little at that look. It brought out all the pretty things about Hiruma. The sharpness of his eyes, the angle of his face, his hair over his eyes, the stretch of his lips in that grin. It brought out a look of wildness and Ichigo loved it.
"Only eighteen seconds left on the clock! If Deimon can't score a touchdown with this offensive, they lose their chance at a comeback victory!" the announcer shouted.
The players lined up in their positions, the crowd was cheering for their respective teams and finally, Hiruma shouted "Hut!" showing off his impressive fangs behind the helmet's guard. Hiruma handed the ball off to Eyeshield twenty-one and he ran straight into Kyoshin's forty-one's path. Every single player on that field was trying their hardest, giving it their all, and putting their whole bodies and spirits into the game. Eyeshield almost stopped in front of Forty-one, he almost gave up. Then he ran right towards him, not even bothering to try to find an alternate route, and put a spin into his run. He spun and ran right by Forty-one and everyone, even Hiruma, thought that he had a clear path to a touchdown.
Then Seventy-One, Mizumachi, made one last desperate lunge for Eyeshield and just barely stopped him.
"Stop the clock!" shouted one of Deimon's linemen.
"Time out!" howled Hiruma desperately.
The clock barely stopped with a few second left and Hiruma addressed his team for the last time during the game with a genuine grin on his face.
'I can't wait till he gives me one of those.' Ichigo smiled. This was what Hiruma loved about the game. The tension, the battle of wills, the spirit. The same reasons why Ichigo loved fighting.
"Set! Hut!" Hiruma shouted. No one moved until the ninth hut and the field exploded in a flurry of activity. Every player rushed toward the center, two immovable forces pushing at each other, until little player number twenty-one jumped over everyone's heads and landed across the other team's goal line, scoring Deimon the winning points.
"Touchdown!" the referee yelled.
Deimon's players smashed through Kyoshin's linemen, cheering, ripping their helmets off and slapping Komusubi and Eyeshield on the backs in congratulations. Hiruma stood back, hands on his hips and smiling, watching his team celebrate.
Ichigo had the biggest smile on his face as he clapped and cheered with everyone around him. Hiruma turned to face him and Ichigo raised his fist above his head in congratulations. Hiruma hefted his helmet above his head with one arm back at him in acknowledgement.
The teams got in line and bowed to each other some shook hands with others and they talked and congratulated each other on a good game. Ichigo looked on from the stands almost sadly. If only his fights could end like this, with everyone making friends and able to go home with a good experience in mind. But his fights were not games. They were war. People got hurt. People died. You don't make friends in war. You fight to protect friends. Ichigo's phone beeped with a hollow warning. Speaking of…
Ichigo left his seat and the stadium with a calm gait and serious eyes, opening his phone to see just where he was needed. Ichigo didn't waste his time on wishful thinking. He had his precious people to protect, a group that Hiruma was quickly becoming a part of.
Ichigo didn't remember the hollow that had dragged him away at the end, but he remembered every minute of that game. He remembered the complete contentedness in the lines of Hiruma's tired body at the end of the game. He remembered the joyful, fang-filled grin throughout playing. It was a real grin, too. Not just a fake one he put up for the sake of other people, but one he wore for himself. That game was probably when Ichigo had really started falling for Yoichi.
The sun was just starting to set as he and Soi-Fon entered the Second Division and the spaces where Shinigami frequently trained reminded him of their first date after the game.
"Why the fuck are we going to a dojo?"
"Because," Ichigo said as he opened the sliding paper door, "I want to see how well you do in self-defense."
"I don't know any self-defense." Hiruma grumbled as he chucked his shoes.
"Well, we're going to change that." Ichigo said simply as they entered the main part of the dojo.
Tatsuki's eyes widened a bit when they entered.
"Ichigo!" she said surprised, usually she had to drag him to the dojo to get him to practice with her, "What are you doing here?"
Ichigo raised a hand in greeting.
"I'm actually here to teach Hiruma here some basics."
Tatsuki stared at the boy next to Ichigo. She stared at the pointed hair and ears, and the piercings, and the demonic fangs, and decided that he was probably another weird Shinigami friend of Ichigo's.
"You? Teach?" Tatsuki said, "The only way you've ever taught was by being a punching bag for me while I taught the kids in the beginning class."
Hiruma raised an eyebrow and Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck, almost embarrassed.
"I've seen you teach. It doesn't seem that hard. Do you have any extra space today?" Ichigo said before Tatsuki could say anything else.
Tatsuki crossed her arms, "Yeah, we do. It's a free day today, so the only ones here are the ones who want to get some extra training in."
"Tatsuki-Sensei! Are we going to continue?" called a younger guy from across the room.
"Yeah!" she called back. She walked away, calling over her shoulder, "Go easy on him, Ichigo! Don't break him!"
"Of course I won't!"
Ichigo led Hiruma over to an empty corner of the dojo.
Hiruma could see some of the other practitioner's eyes following him, some looking respectful, others looking spiteful. So, they knew him, even here.
"Start stretching." Ichigo said, bringing Hiruma out of his observations, "The last thing you need is a pulled muscle before one of your games."
Hiruma didn't say anything. He just started stretching. Ichigo had a point, after all, and if today's workout was going to be as intense as a normal football practice, then he better stretch well.
"So…" Ichigo said much too casually for Hiruma's liking, "Guns, huh?"
Hiruma didn't pause in his stretches. Ichigo would have had to find out about the guns one way or another. At a game was one of the better options. Now, how to introduce him to the blackmail?
"Yep." Hiruma said simply.
"I didn't know they sold guns like that in Japan."
"They don't." Hiruma idly stretched his hamstrings.
"Oh." A pause. "So, how'd you get them?"
"Smuggling and blackmail."
Silence. Ichigo didn't say anything. It'd be a cold day in Hell before Hiruma would admit that that made him nervous.
"How old are you?" Ichigo asked randomly.
Hiruma blinked at him, getting up from stretching out his legs.
"Seventeen. Why?"
"You're seventeen and you know how to smuggle things into the country?"
Hiruma smirked.
"Yep."
Ichigo huffed out a laugh and shook his head. He didn't say anything else about it, but he didn't go running for the hills either, so Hiruma took that as a good sign.
Ichigo was just thinking about how surprising Hiruma was. He thought that Hiruma's looks and tricks had been all there was to the surprise wrapped mystery that was Hiruma, but he'd been pleasantly wrong. Sure, smuggling and blackmail wasn't exactly the best surprise to be hit with, but neither was being an otherworldly Shinigami, either. Not that Hiruma would ever find out about that. He cut off that train of thought before he could think about how a secret of that magnitude would affect a relationship.
"Ok. I'm going to teach you the basics of self-defense for now." Ichigo said. The two of them spent the next few hours teaching and learning, and correcting and being corrected. Hiruma picked it up quickly, just like Ichigo thought he would and by the end of the afternoon, Hiruma could remember all the stances. All that was left was to test them out in real life, but Ichigo very much hoped that he would never need to.
"What do you do here?" Hiruma asked as they ran through some cool down exercises.
Ichigo blinked, "What do you mean?"
"That girl said you help her with kid's classes, but some people here look at you like you've fought them before. And I've heard that your fighting is a mix of a bunch of styles, not just one like you've showed me. That's unusual for a member of a dojo. Most people just stick with one style their whole lives."
"I'm not a member. I just help out here once in a while. And as for what I do here," Ichigo finished his exercises and rubbed the back of his head, "The master of the dojo likes that the members get experience fighting someone who's fought in real life and not just as training. In return, he goes through my sword forms with me and we spar sometimes. He's pretty old, so he doesn't have as much energy as he used to." Ichigo said almost absently.
"You know how to use a sword?" Hiruma asked surprised. That hadn't been in the information his slaves had gathered.
"Yeah. I'm pretty decent at it." Ichigo was more that decent at it. He gave the master of the dojo a run for his money.
"Show me." Hiruma demanded.
"W-what?"
"Show me." Hiruma crossed his arms. A challenging smirk adorned his face, "Unless you're just lying to try to impress me."
Ichigo shot him a small scowl and motioned for Hiruma to follow him. He led him to a back room filled with kendo supplies. The room had protective gear around the edges and a few round containers full of bamboo swords. There some wooden swords on the wall and even fewer real sheathed ones hanging at the front of the room. Ichigo closed the sliding paper door behind Hiruma after he'd walked in and went and took one of the real swords from the front. Hiruma raised an eyebrow at that. He'd expected him to take a bamboo sword or maybe a wooden one, but not a real one.
Ichigo drew the sword from its sheath with the sound of ringing metal, ridding Hiruma of any thoughts that it might be fake or dulled.
"Stay there." Ichigo told Hiruma, motioning to the edge of the room. Hiruma just nodded, watching silently as Ichigo got into his first stance with the sword in the middle of the room, the sheath lying forgotten in the front.
Ichigo made the first swing smoothly, blade practically singing as it cut through the air to come to a sudden stop on the other side of him. He switched to another stance with ease, the next swing coming as naturally as breathing. One by one, Ichigo switched to each stance as easily as Hiruma threw a football. His sword sang and flashed in the light of the room. Hiruma nearly stopped breathing during each graceful arc, until Ichigo was on the side of the room closest to him, having run out of space to move forward. Ichigo turned around and started to move through the stances again until he was once again on the other side of the room. He did it again, even faster this time, and moved to Hiruma's side. Ichigo stopped, suddenly, looking at Hiruma with a thoughtful look, sword held casually by his side.
"Come here." Ichigo motioned Hiruma forward with a wave of his hand.
"Why?" Hiruma stayed where he was, tensing a bit.
"Come on, I know every teenage boy has always wondered what it would be like to handle a real sword."
Still, Hiruma stayed where he was, staring at Ichigo with indecipherable eyes. Ichigo's own eyes softened until they almost melted Hiruma's cold black heart. Ichigo held out a hand towards Hiruma.
"You're safe with me." Ichigo said softly. Trust me the outstretched hand said.
Hiruma walked forward slowly, like that hand would be taken away any second, like those soft eyes would turn to scorn. He set his hand in Ichigo's patiently waiting one and Ichigo drew him in gently. He turned him around until Hiruma's back was facing Ichigo and he brought the sword in front of them both.
"Place your hands where mine are." Ichigo murmured.
Hiruma did and Ichigo covered his hands on the hilt of the sword with his own, light enough not to strangle Hiruma's hands, but firm enough that Hiruma definitely wasn't handling the sword on his own. The steel blade was firm in Hiruma's hands and heavier than he thought it would be. The hilt was thin and the covering was rough against his skin, not at all like the wideness of a football. Ichigo's front against Hiruma's back was hot. It burned into his skin through the thin workout shirts and Hiruma could feel a flush creeping up his neck at the firmness and heat and alive-ness of it. Hiruma hadn't had another person this close to him since he was a child. Football didn't count. Tackling was a part of the game and you couldn't feel another person's every breath through all of the padding.
Ichigo slowly moved the two of them together, patiently going through each stance with Hiruma nestled in his arms. He guided their arms with the sword and nudged at Hiruma's legs with his own to get him to move in the right steps. They inched their way across the room, Hiruma stretching muscles he never got to work in football and Ichigo moving through familiar motions slower than he ever had before. They came to stop at the other end of the room with Hiruma nearly trembling with that indescribable feeling one got when they were in close contact with the person they really liked, maybe even loved. Hiruma nearly shot out of Ichigo's arms at that thought, but if he was honest with himself, he didn't want to leave.
Ichigo bowed his head the few inches it took to level his face next to Hiruma's and just rested there, their cheeks only an inch away from each other. Hiruma could feel the heat of Ichigo's breath near his face and when Ichigo turned his head, his nose brushed Hiruma's cheek and every puff heated up his skin.
Hiruma slowly, carefully turned his head to face Ichigo, not wanting to break the atmosphere that had inadvertently been created. For a moment, the two of them just gazed at each other, noses brushing and breathing each other's air, bodies pressed together. The sword had long since been lowered, but their hands stayed clasped together. Ichigo moved forward a millimeter and Hiruma ducked his head a centimeter, eyes looking down uncharacteristically, unsure. He was much too far out of his comfort zone, but Ichigo wasn't exactly in his either. Ichigo coaxed Hiruma's eyes back to his, Hiruma practically looking up through his eyelashes.
One of Ichigo's hands left Hiruma's on the sword hilt to lightly brush against Hiruma's jaw and Hiruma was sure that his ears were burning and Ichigo didn't care that they might make fools of themselves with their first kiss. It was as easy as he expected to lean in those last few centimeters to brush his lips against Hiruma's. It was just a firm press of warm lips against warm lips, but they both felt a heat that neither had ever felt with anyone else before.
When they parted, both were blushing and couldn't quite meet the other's eyes. Ichigo put the sword away and they left the dojo without being stopped by anyone. And if Ichigo happened to grab Hiruma's hand on the way to the train station, Hiruma didn't seem to mind.
Ichigo didn't care that he looked like an idiot, smiling while Soi-Fon led him through the Second Division. Their first kiss was one of his favorite memories. It hadn't been awkward or forced, it'd been a completely natural turn of events. That was more than some people could say for their first kiss. Though, Ichigo probably could have done without his friends throwing a fit when they found out he was dating someone the next day at school.
Ichigo and his group of friends were sitting on the rooftop during lunch the day after Ichigo had brought Hiruma to the dojo. Of course, Tatsuki had to bring it up.
"Hey, Ichigo. Why are you training a random Shinigami in self-defense? I've never seen him before."
"Eh? Kurosaki-kun is training someone?" Orihime said.
Ichigo looked cluelessly at Tatsuki.
"You know, that guy with the pointy ears and teeth that you brought to the dojo yesterday." Tatsuki said when he obviously didn't know what she was talking about.
"Oh, Hiruma? Hiruma isn't a Shinigami." Ichigo said, surprised.
"He's not?" Tatsuki furrowed her eyebrows, "Then, who is he? I've never seen him around school before and he's pretty noticeable."
'You have no idea.' Ichigo thought as he took a sip of his juice.
"Nah, he goes to a different school in Tokyo. We're dating." He idly took a bit of the bread Orihime had brought for everyone from her job.
A second of silence ticked by, then two as Ichigo continued to nonchalantly eat his bread.
"What?!" Everyone shouted.
"You're dating a guy?!" Keigo shouted what everyone was thinking.
"Yep." Ichigo said. He wasn't going to let them make a big deal out of that.
"And you didn't tell us?" Tatsuki demanded. Mizuro, Chad, and Ishida sat surprised, but silently watching. Orihime sat silent and shocked.
"It's not really your business." Ichigo said annoyed.
"Can we get back to the fact that he's dating a guy?!" Keigo said.
"Friends share these types of things with friends!"
"Well, I didn't know how to bring it up! And it's kind of a new development."
"Guys?!"
"How long have you been dating him?"
"About a month."
"Hello?!"
"That's not new!"
"Um, I didn't know you were gay, Kurosaki-kun." Orihime said. Tatsuki and Ichigo stopped arguing to stare at her. "Not-not that there's anything wrong with that!" she said, flustered.
"I didn't know you were gay, either." Tatsuki said.
"Me neither." Said Chad quietly.
"Finally, we're addressing this!" shouted Keigo.
"Well," Ichigo said awkwardly, "I'm not. Gay, I mean. I don't really care whether I date a boy or a girl as long as I like them."
"So you're bi?" asked Tatsuki.
"I-I guess? I don't really care what it's called."
"Still, I wonder what kind of person this Hiruma-san is to catch your attention, Kurosaki. It's not like any of those girls who confessed to you held any of your interests." Ishida said, pushing his glasses up his nose.
"Hey, you don't like any of the ones who confess to you either!"
Ichigo's friends stared at him expectantly and Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck, faintly blushing.
"He's just really…interesting, okay? And he's got guts. He actually came up to me on the street to ask me out, even though I didn't know him. Not a lot of people could do that."
"That's true, I guess." Tatsuki said, sipping at her drink, "But isn't he kind of… weird looking?"
"There's nothing wrong with how he looks." Ichigo said vehemently.
Tatsuki raised her hands in a sign of surrender, "Okay." She said doubtfully.
Ichigo scowled at her.
"What does he look like? Come on, show us a picture of him Ichigo. Show him off!" Keigo wheedled.
Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck again as he flushed.
"I don't have a picture." He said.
"Eh? You don't?"
"Should I?"
"Couples usually have pictures of each other as their phone screensavers so they can see each other when they're not together." Mizuro said. He showed everyone the picture of his current girlfriend on his own phone.
"Really?" Ichigo said dubiously.
"Of course." Mizuro smiled.
"That's not really our style but," Ichigo thought of having a picture of Hiruma for when they were apart, "I'll have to get one next time."
Ichigo did get a picture of the two of them together on their next date, but Ichigo would have given up all the pictures of them together if he could stop what was happening now.
Please let me know what you think of the redone version!
