Anime: Bleach
Pairing: Ichiruki
Rating: M for alcoholism and adult themes
Songs that inspired this: Teen Idle (Marina and the Diamonds), Starstruck (Marina and the Diamond's cover), Young and Beautiful (Lana Del Rey), and Read All About It (Emeli Sande)
A/N: Meh, this might not amount to anything. It was just something that I have on my mind.
Disclaimer: Ha..ha...ha I wish
Your Voice and Alcohol
Fame.
Fortune.
Fans.
Kurosaki Ichigo received all the above in one fell swoop.
His name was in bold headlines over the world, his face on glossy posters plastered on the walls of enthusiastic fangirls.
His music blasting on the radio.
His popularity rising with every passing second.
When he was younger, Ichigo never imagined himself as a world-famous singer, he never imagine himself going on stage and accepting Grammys, he never imagine to have girls of all cultures throwing themselves mindlessly at him. When he was younger, he always pictured himself going to the university, studying to be a doctor and when the time was ready to take over his father's clinic in his hometown. He never knew a night of drunken karaoke would be the catalyst of his fame; it was fate the Urahara Kisuke, the big CEO of Shinigami Records would be there ready to sign him.
Overnight he became a sensation.
At first he had loved it, loved the luxurious bonuses of the A-List life, he loved the wealth and the fame, but as he got more used to his life a famous singer he realized more and more how uncomfortable he was with his life.
He could hardly go to the grocery store to pick up a gallon of milk without being bombarded by paparazzi and fans alike.
He could hardly turn on the radio without hearing his own voice flow through the speakers.
He could hardly find a magazine that didn't have his face on the cover of it.
He didn't ask for this life but he surely had it handed to him on a silver platter.
All Kurosaki Ichigo wanted in his life now was a sense of normalcy, but there was a fear the coiled and uncoiled itself in the pits of his stomach that he would never be normal again.
.
Chapter One
.
Pale golden sunlight peaked through the expensive midnight blue linen curtains, the spill of sunshine illuminated two resting lovers…correction: fuck buddies…or to put it more nicely, sex partners. The way they looked you wouldn't be able to tell they were just intimate mere hours ago, the woman lay on her side; curled tightly in a ball as she slept peacefully while the man slept on his back inches from the slumbering woman. The Egyptian threaded sheets were rumpled at the edge of the bed, leaving the two completely bare and exposed.
A shrill ring of the telephone corrupted the serenity of the room, causing the man to stir. With a groan of frustration he pulled himself out of the warmth of his bed and he padded silently to the object of his discomfort.
"Hello?" His throat was thick and heavy from sleep, his coughed to clear the gravel from his tone.
"Kurosaki-kun!" A bubbly voice cried out mockingly from the other end, "Kurosaki-kun is it really you? I can't believe I had to sell my soul to good ol' Lucifer for your phone number!"
"Yoruichi…" The man grumbled
"Haha, you little fucker, it's time to get out of bed, I need you in the studio in t-minus thirty minutes…got it?" The voice turned seriously but had playfulness laced in its tone
"OMG KUROSAKI-KUN I'M YOUR BIGGEST FAN! PLEASE SIGN MY TITS!" Another booming voice sounded from the other line, causing Yoruichi to snicker in the phone.
"Please tell me that Urahara isn't there too?" The orange haired adult sighed into the phone
"Afraid so kiddo, but it's almost ten o'clock. It's time to start the day, especially starting the day at the studio with your loving manger and your adoring CEO, chop chop Ichigo" Yoruichi said, Ichigo could imagine her lounging out lazily, almost with feline grace on the expensive leather couch in the studio with her IPhone in one hand and a Starbucks latte in the other.
"Got it" Ichigo said before ending the call and sitting his phone back on the hook, he glanced over at the sleeping woman in his bed. Her purple toned hair framing her face as she snuggled into a pillow.
"Ichigo" Her voice was soft as it floated through the air, "Ichigo what time is it?"
"Nine-forty five, you got work?" Ichigo asked causally as he went to his drawers and pulled out black Calvin Klein boxers.
"Yup, I got an interview with a certain sex symbol and I have a feeling that I'll need a lot of headache medications afterwards" She replied as she stretched out the kinks in her muscles, arching her back so her breasts where on display.
"Matsumoto huh?" He pulled on his jeans and a soft knit black hoodie, "Good luck with that one"
"I'm gonna ask her if she has chronic back pains" She sauntered over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist; she nuzzled her cheek into the soft fabric covering his shoulder blade.
Ichigo snickered, "I dare you"
"Hmm, come back to bed baby" She coaxed running her finger tips down his jean clad thigh
"Can't I have to go to the studio and if I don't get there ASAP I'll have to hear Yoruichi piss and moan about it for the next two days." Ichigo turned and gave the woman a swift kiss on the mouth, "I'll see you later Senna"
The woman with golden brown eyes had a crestfallen expression on her face but she quickly shook it off, "Yea of course, I should go a mentally prepare myself for Masumoto"
"You should" Ichigo smiled as he slipped on a black beanie and Ray-Ban sunglasses over his eyes, "Lock the door when you go"
"Right" Senna smiled sweetly at him as he left in a hurry.
'Oh Ichigo' Senna thought with yearning heavy on her soul
.
.
"So Kisuke and I put our heads together…
"Shocker"
"Ichigo…kindly shut the fuck up. Anyway Kisuke and I put our heads together and we came up with the most brilliant idea ever in order to skyrocket your popularity to a all time high." Yoruichi clapped her hands together and started to rock on her heels in excitement
"And what is this so called brilliant plan of your anyway?"
"Okay, so we are thinking of throwing a little singing competition in the Karakura Mall where you were born and raised all that good junk and whoever wins will get to sing a duet with you at the America MTV Music Video Awards! How does that sound?"
"Completely brainless, seriously it took two minds to come up with that…tch" Ichigo rolled his amber brown eyes.
"Ugh you suck, but we're going to do it anyway and we're going to do it in two days!"
"And guess who is going to be judging these lovely bunch of talented young singers" Urahara sounded from his place on a fluffy chair in the corner
"No, do I have to?" Ichigo complained, throwing his head back in frustration.
"Of course darling dear!" Her voice suddenly took a serious tone, "Ichigo your drinking problem is making headlines across the world, this could seriously put you back on the good reps."
She tossed him a magazine, Ichigo instantly recognized himself on the cover. He was donned in dark clothing with a bottle of bourbon swinging loosely from his fingers, there was a glossy look in his eyes and underneath the picture in big bold letters was, 'What Comes First in Kurosaki's life? Music or Muscat?'
Ichigo wrinkled his nose at the magazine in disgust, his amber eyes found Urahara's face and was surprised to see a shadow of disappointment.
"Listen kid, Yoruichi and I believe in you but the tabloids don't. All it takes is another wrong move and you could kiss your popularity goodbye" Urahara said snatching the magazine from Ichigo's fingers and tossing it in the trashcan.
"The only magazine that's not writing shit about you is Seireitei Times, and that's because you're fucking the celebrity columnist" Yoruichi pointed out coldly, "Ichigo, I'm serious here. People are going to start doubting you if you don't stop this. Hell you don't have to stop just be discreet about it."
"I know Yoruichi, geez you don't think I know that? I have to deal with the papa-fucking-razzi every day of my life" Ichigo sighed raking his long fingers through his orange hair.
"Ichigo, we hate to be on your ass about this but this could ruin your career" Urahara said sitting back down on the plush couch directly in front of Ichigo's with Yoruichi joining him.
"Fine I'll do this" Ichigo gave in with an air of reluctance.
"Good boy" Yoruichi smirked, "God knows you're going to need some liquor after a day of listening to fan girls screech, 'KUROSAKI-KUN LOOK OVER HERE! KUROSAKI-KUN I'LL BEAR YOUR CHILDERN!"
Ichigo gritted his teeth.
"KUROSAKI-KUN I GOT A TATTOO OF YOUR FACE ON MY ASS! KUROSAKI-KUN MY VIRGINITY IS YOURS FOR THE TAKING!" Urahara mocked-squealed and batted his eyes at the musician.
"Cut it out" Ichigo yelled covering his face with a pillow as Yoruichi and Urahara howled with laughter.
.
.
'SHINE BRIGHT LIKE A DIAMOND~SHINE BRIGHT LIKE A DIAMOND!'
'HEY! I JUST MET YOU! AND THIS IS CRAAAAZZZYY! SO HERES MY NUMBER! SO CALL ME MAYBE!'
'WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER!'
If there was ever a time in Ichigo's life that he wanted to commit suicide it would be right at this moment. After six hours straight of listening to tone death high school girls screech their little hearts out on the stage in the center of Karakura Mall, he thought he would either go death or kill himself just to stop the horrendous singing that was projecting from the girl's lungs.
"I am about to kill someone" Ichigo grounded out through his teeth; he glared daggers at his manger who looked just as miserable as he.
"Don't worry Ichigo just one more hour" Yoruichi groaned, taking a hearty swig from her water bottle.
"60 minutes of constant torture" Ichigo moaned, "We haven't even heard anyone half decent"
Yoruichi nodded, "I'm starting to doubt the brilliance of this idea"
"Me too" Ichigo grumbled in agreement as a bubbly girl decked out in a cutesy dress skipped on stage.
Yoruichi nudged him in the ribs and Ichigo plastered a fake smile on his face, "Hello, what's your name and what will you sing for us today!"
"First of all I'd like to say that I am your BIGGEST fan, I have a life size cutout of you in my bedroom, I snuggle with it every night and I already have the names of our future children picked out." The girl exclaimed loudly, earning a nervous chuckle from the crowd that was watching the performances behind Ichigo and Yoruichi.
"Jesus Christ" Yoruichi muttered under her breath
"Great, your name?" Ichigo awkwardly scratched at the nape of his neck
"Oh right! My name is Suzuki Moko and I'm going to sing 'Oops I did it again' by Brittany Spears!" The girl giggled
"Okay, let's hear it" Yoruichi smirked, glancing at the un-amused Ichigo from the corner of her eye.
"Here I go, prepare yourself Kurosaki-kun!" Moko pointed at Ichigo as she stepped into a very suggestive pose.
'I think I did it again
I made you believe we're more than just friends
Oh baby
It might seem like a crush
But it doesn't mean that I'm serious
'Cause to lose all my senses
That is just so typically me
Oh baby, baby'
Moko proceeded to sing the song in a terrible rendition of Brittany Spear's voice adding in dirty dance moves as she did so.
Ichigo wanted to bleach his eyes.
Yoruichi hid her giggles behind her hand.
The crowd behind watched the scene play out in supreme awkwardness.
.
.
"I heard that Kurosaki-Kun is going to judge some talent competition somewhere in the mall" Inoue Orihime gushed, holding her friend's arm in a death grip.
"Che, if I get in a five mile radius of that idiot my IQ will probably lower a couple points" Her petite friend shot back, as they drew near to the stage where the performances were taking place, "Can we not?"
"Oh Rukia-Chan you're so silly, you should go up there! You're a really awesome singer!" Orihime exclaimed dragging her friend closer to the stage
"I'd rather not" Rukia struggled to break free from her friend's grip as she dragged the reluctant girl on stage.
Orihime inhaled as she met eyes with Ichigo, a blush quickly spreading on her face, "Oh my"
"I really don't want-
"Hiya Kurosaki-Kun this is my friend Kuchiki Rukia she is a really good singer so…yeah" Orihime giggled as she pranced happily off the stage, giving Rukia two thumbs up.
Rukia gave her friend a death glare before glancing back at the two in front of the stage with a crowd of eager spectators watching, she couldn't just leave now. That would be so humiliating. Rukia gathered her graces and took a deep breath, "I really don't want to sing"
"Give it a try" A woman with golden brown skin smiled encouragingly at the girl
"You see I really don't like Kurosaki Ichigo" Rukia muttered, "His music pisses me off"
Yoruichi threw her head back and laughed watching as Ichigo's face flushed red with anger, she wiped stray tears away and held her stomach, "Oh she is a little firecracker for sure"
"Well are you gonna sing or are just gonna stand there and insult my music some more" Ichigo growled, fed up with this pint sized bitch that had the nerve of insulting him.
She shot him a glare, "Not with that attitude carrot"
"What do you mean?! You're the one who started it you little demonic midget!" Ichigo nearly jumped out of his seat
"What did you call me?! You overgrown strawberry!" Rukia replied, her hands on her hips haughtily
"Why you little-
"Children, children please, Kuchiki-san will you please sing for us" Yoruichi asked politely
"I guess I will, you should teach Kurosaki how to behave himself in public though" Rukia smirked at the carrot-top
Ichigo silently fumed as he glared daggers at the girl.
"I'll sing…um…"Skinny Love" by Bon Iver*" Rukia smiled to herself, she adored singing the song.
"Alrighty shoot" Yoruichi grinned leaning back in her chair.
Come on skinny love just last the year
Pour a little salt we were never here
My my my - my my my - my my my my - my my ...
Staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneerI tell my love to wreck it all
Cut out all the ropes and let me fall
My my my - my my my - my my my my - my my ...
Right in the moment this order's tallI told you to be patient I told you to be fine
I told you to be balanced I told you to be kind
In the morning I'll be with you
But it will be a different kind
I'll be holding all the tickets
And you'll be owning all the fines
Rukia sang the last note and rocked back and forth on the heels, she opened her eyes-when did she close them anyways? And stared at Ichigo with a small smirk gracing her lips.
Ichigo let go of the breath he didn't even realize he was holding, her voice was something different but something so brilliant and soothing. Shivers traveled up his spine as he remembered her beautiful voice floating softly through the air as she sang her heartbreaking song.
Ichigo's eyes flickered to Yoruichi and her golden yellow eyes expressing the same degree of shock and amazement has his.
She was it.
*-Rukia's song is orignally done by Bon Iver but the rendition she was singing was more along the lines of Birdy's cover.