Thanks to HollowIchigo-Ichigo for inspiring this idea!
"Oi, Shirosaki, ya gonna join us all for dinner?" Grimmjow, a fierce man with hair a shade lighter than his killer blue eyes, questioned the young albino as he started heading for the stairs.
Shiro shook his head, some silver strands of his light grey hair falling loose from the purple ribbon that held it back. "Naw, Grimm. I'm tired… haven't been sleeping well, so I'm going to try and get a couple hours before the nightly routine."
Grimmjow looked slightly disappointed, but he hid it with a grin. "Alright… You'd better make sure you don't sleep in again, though, otherwise the old man will have yer ass!"
Shiro snorted and scratched his nose with his middle finger, officially flipping the teal haired warrior off. He ducked when Grimmjow swung at him, and disappeared up the stairs.
"That fearless prick," Grimmjow chuckled.
As Shiro climbed the stairs, he could almost hear sleep calling to him. He lay down in his bed, feeling the shadows dance around his skin. He rolled onto his side and faced the window, the last of the day's light sneaking in through the gently red stained glass. He sighed and whispered, "Please… wake me before its dark. I don't want those dreams again."
The sun peeked out from behind a tree, as if it was agreeing to Shiro's request. He smiled softly and fell instantly into a peaceful sleep.
He woke later to a cry of a wolf. He rolled out of bed and slid his feet into thick brown boots. He fastened his belt into his pants and attached his sword's hilt to it. Shiro pulled on thick armor, light and durable iron, that was hand crafted to fit his size. Then a gentle cloak wrapped around his form, and a black hood concealed his face.
Shiro made his way downstairs where he was met with an apple to his face. "I thought you'd be hungry," a younger girl with bright red hair giggled, holding up the apple to Shiro.
Shiro smiled and gently pat her head. "Thank you, Orihime. I'll take it gladly."
Orihime beamed and handed off the apple to Shiro. She then shyly skipped away, and Shiro, despite the smile on his face, found himself sighing sadly. Even now she still fears me… I can see it in her eyes.
"Oi, Shiro! I thought you'd never get here!" Grimmjow shouted as he clapped Shiro on the back.
Shiro laughed, albeit he sounded a little pained. "Yeah, sure, like I haven't heard you say that before! And look, I still managed to get down here before you did!"
"And it looks like you were greeted by your girlfriend," Renji, a knight with eccentric red hair, teased Shiro from beside the large entrance to the dining room.
"Shouldn't you be wiping the prince's boogers, Renji? Or did ya come down here because you missed us?" Grimmjow spat like he'd tasted something bitter.
Renji snorted. "I'd be careful of what you say to me, Grimmjow. A letter of concern to your master could have you expelled from the Knight's Conservatoire."
Grimmjow muttered something inaudible and turned away. Shiro stepped up and crossed his arms. "What are you doing here, Renji? You graduated three years ago; I don't think you'd wanna come back… unless you were forced to."
"I'm here because of this." Renji held up a red scroll and curses could be heard from Grimmjow and two others who'd been sitting silently at a table. "I'm to lead you, Grimmy, Shinji and Hisagi on your mission this fine night. It's almost Eclipse season, and you all know what that means!"
Shiro sighed and stared disbelievingly at Renji. "Alright, let's just get this over-with."
A young being of immense power pounced around the town nearby. It was large and lizard-like in shape, with eyes of the softest orange and darker orange scales covering its body. Long black talons grew from its four feet, and red tufts of hair grew along its spine and out with its tail, resembling raging flames. Cat-like ears and a scaled snout sought out the sound of music and the smell of fish.
It leapt from rooftop to rooftop in search of that night's fun. He arrived at a place light up with lanterns, gentle music playing from flutes and drums, people dancing and conversing and eating… food.
The dragon slipped into the shadows. When he came out he was no longer scaled, but instead a young man. His face was sculpted into a fine looking man, his eyes now sparkling brown and his hair was now the shocking orange his eyes had once been. He was dressed in a simple light brown tunic with much darker brown pants and no shows on his feet. He jumped into the nearest group of dancers he could find and they happily welcomed him into the celebration.
Arriving soon was Shiro and the others. Their assignment was to watch over the village's celebration of the Eclipse season, and to make sure nothing went wrong. It was a simple enough task… for most of them, but Shiro was finding it hard to not stare at everything that he saw. He'd never truly left the school before, so this was his first ever party.
Grimmjow laughed when he noticed his friends amazing face. He pushed Shiro into the crowd. "You got have fun, and I'll cover both of our asses."
Shiro laughed. "Thanks. I owe ya!"
He was immediately seized by a young lady with raven black hair. Shiro was spun around a few times as they danced together, until she suddenly turned away and he tripped, bumping into another person.
"My apologies, ma'am… I didn't see you," he murmured, trying to shake himself out of his cloak in order to see who he'd hit.
"That's quite alright, but I'm no 'ma'am'," a man's voice replied. Shiro looked up and was met with teasing brown eyes that seemed to stare into Shiro's very soul. The man picked Shiro up and helped him onto his feet.
"Ah, I'm such a klutz…" Shiro murmured, a little embarrassed. "Can I repay you in any way?"
"How about a dance?" The man asked, "And you could tell me your name."
"Shirosaki," he replied without hesitation. "Shirosaki, Hichigo."
"Funny…" the man chuckled, now beginning a gentle dance with Shiro. "My name's Ichigo Kurosaki. Kinda similar, yes?"
Shiro nodded, biting his lip when he felt hands sit snuggly around his hips. He continued a fun, yet slower now, dance with Ichigo that continued almost until many of the other villagers had begun to go home. Grimmjow was heard then, calling out Shiro's name.
"Your friend is searching for you." Ichigo pointed out, though Shiro had already known.
"Let him…" Shiro whispered.
Ichigo chuckled. "I too, wish this could continue forever, but I think it's time to go home now." Shiro frowned but nodded nonetheless. He turned away, but was stopped when Ichigo caught his arm. "Hold on, you've been wearing that hood all night, don't I at least get the pleasure of seeing your face?"
Shiro smiled and tugged off his hood. Ichigo took Shiro's hand and gave it a gentle kiss.
"You're very beautiful." He grinned. "Will I see you again?"
"If I happen to be on patrol in this village… maybe we'll cross paths sometime soon?"
"I look forward to it."
Shiro took off and joined Grimmjow just before Renji noticed that he'd left his post. Ichigo watched them walk away.
"Shiro… you are quite interesting. It seems I'm not the only one who can mask my dragon's fire…" Ichigo slipped back into the shadows and ran home before the sun came up.