Title: 3:00 PM
Pairing: Kensei x Shuuhei
Rating: PG-13 (Language)
Summary: Hisagi is lost, tired, and pissed off. It's 3 in the afternoon, and he's miserable on a hot summer day. The heat gets to him, especially when he finds himself in front of Mugurama Kensei.
Author's comments: So, this is my first fanfic uploaded. I recently got into this pairing, and I hope you all end up supporting them, too. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: Bleach, Kensei, and Hisagi all belong to Tite Kubo. If they belonged to me, then obviously, Bleach would be a whole lot different, haha.
3:00 PM
Hisagi Shuuhei was lost.
Hopelessly lost. He was somewhere in the outskirts of Karakura, but he had no idea where. Everything looked the same to him in the real world. Plus, it was hot. Ridiculously hot. It was only three in the afternoon, but the heat was killing him. Hisagi was sweaty and stinky, exhausted, and of course, pissed off. He was going to murder a certain red head who got him lost in the first place.
[Twenty Minutes Ago]
"Where the hell is that kid?!" Renji shouted out of exasperation.
Hisagi and Renji were running around town, looking for the cunning substitute shinigami whose whereabouts were unknown. Not too long ago, Matsumoto burst out from frustration and heat, not to mention the horrible suffering that inflicts her every twenty-eight days. Ichigo fled the scene out of fear like the coward he is. But, Hisagi and Renji were no better. They escaped on the pretense that they had to make sure Ichigo wouldn't get lost.
But in fact, they were the ones who got lost. They were running around in circles, and couldn't find Ichigo at all. They didn't care about finding him to bring him back—no, of course not. They just needed to find their way back to Urahara's shop. You would be surprised how confusing the city is.
"Here, let's split up. You've got your cell phone, right?" Renji said, stopping to take a breath. Hisagi stopped a few steps ahead of them. They were in front of a park that they had already returned to twice. They were both panting for breath. Not because of the physical exhaustion that's caused after half an hour of running around aimlessly; they had plenty of endurance for that. It was the heat that was killing them. To make things even better, they both were wearing jeans.
Renji was dressed in dark, tight jeans and a collared t-shirt with a matching headband. Hisagi also was wearing dark, skinny jeans, but suffered more. The man was wearing a navy long-sleeve shirt. His sleeves were rolled up, but that wasn't helping much. He was sweating like a sumo in a sauna.
Between heated gasps, Hisagi managed to reply, "Yeah, sure."
"Alright, you go that way, I'll go this way." Renji pointed in a direction they hadn't traveled yet. Hisagi nodded in response, and started his way. He rejoiced in the fact that he was going through an alley, where there was plenty of shade to hide his burning flesh. Renji began to trot the other direction.
Unbeknownst to him, Renji told him to go through that alley on purpose. As he headed back to the shop, fully aware of where he was going, Renji grinned maliciously. Yeah, he knew he was going to get bashed later on, but he was sure that things were going to be worth it.
[Present]
"Where the hell am I…?" Hisagi sighed, looking around in all directions. He was surrounded by tall, white buildings. No one was around. Nothing was open either, so he had to suffer from the lack of air-conditioning in the cruel, natural world. There wasn't a sign of anyone, anywhere. It was like the city was abandoned.
After a short break, Hisagi decided to move again. He slowly walked on a seemingly lifeless street. No one seemed to be in any of the buildings. There weren't even any animals around. It was strange, considering that the area didn't seem to be abandoned. After a short walk, he found himself surrounded by tall, looming warehouses.
Somehow, he felt someone's presence. But not just any presence; he felt a reiatsu.
Hisagi walked and walked. He looked up, and the sky seemed unchanged. Things felt incredibly surreal. What the hell?
A few minutes later and Hisagi was relieved to catch sight of greenery. There was a park in sight, complete with a small pond and playground. However, nothing looked like it has been in contact with humans.
Hisagi walked into the park, still sweating from the devitalizing heat. He sat down on a swing in the playground and put his elbows on his knees, head in his hands. He sighed again. He started to feel dizzy and dehydrated. He pulled off his shirt, revealing his glistening, muscular body, and crunched it into a ball, cool sweat oozing out. He raised the stinking cloth up to his forehead and patted away the moisture, sighing at the temporary coolness it brought.
"What the hell?" He heard someone ask.
Hisagi was caught off guard. He brought his head up quickly, a bit too quickly, and was astonished at what he saw. A tall, muscular man stood before him with his arms crossed. He was clad in a dark green tank with cargo shorts. He looked much more comfortable in the heat. He was frowning, obviously displeased by Hisagi's presence in the park. Hisagi's eyes traveled further, and finally, he saw and recognized the man's face.
The young man donned four piercings; three on his left ear and one on his eyebrow. His hair was short and messy, but more unusually, silver. His eyes were fierce, with a golden amber tint.
His eyes were fiery and warm, but Hisagi instantly felt cold inside.
The man didn't look pleased at all at his reaction. "So?"
Hisagi remained silent. "Why the hell are you here, kid?" The man demanded, even though they looked around the same age.
Hisagi opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He couldn't even studder. The man looked even more pissed off.
"Get up," the man ordered. "Now."
Without even waiting, the man leaned forward and pulled the shirtless Hisagi off the swing. He was slightly taller than the younger shinigami and much more intimidating.
They stood there for a bit, awkwardly. Hisagi didn't know where to put his eyes. He didn't want to look down and look pathetic. He didn't want to look straight at him and look overconfident. But unwillingly, Hisagi did catch sight of where the other man was looking, and it wasn't straight at him. He was looking at his face, but not into his eyes. The silver haired man was staring at Hisagi's cheek. The 69.
The daunting man loosened his grip on Hisagi's wrist. Immediately, Hisagi felt disappointed. He wanted to be held by the man again, even in a hostile manner.
"Why'd you get it?" The man asked.
Hisagi looked confused and somehow managed out a, "W-what?"
"Don't 'what' me, kid. The 69. Why'd you get it?"
Hisagi looked away. He couldn't look him in the eye anymore. He whispered something under his breath.
"What? Speak louder, kid!"
Hisagi hesitated, not knowing what to do. A barely audible "You…" crawled out of his mouth.
"Say it louder."
Something in Hisagi snapped. "You!" He shouted, backing away. He was no longer the passive young man that he was a few seconds ago. He looked straight at the man, his eyes unrelenting. He was angry. No, he wasn't just angry. He was pissed off. "I got it cause of you, and you know that, so stop fuckin' playing with me!"
For some reason, the corners of the man's mouth twitched upward. "Now that's what I like to hear. If you have something to say, say it with confidence, or fuckin' shut up!"
Suddenly, Hisagi was flooded by the locked away emotions he hid all these years about the man who saved his life. He couldn't control his mouth anymore. "You…that day, you saved me. I looked up to you, I admired you. You were like a god to me. I became a shinigami. I told others that I wanted to save others, protect people, and other shit like that. But none of that is true. I just wanted to show you how strong I could be, after you saw how pathetic I was as a kid." Hisagi kept going on.
"I wanted to show you that I could fight for myself. I wanted you to be proud. I have no idea why, I just wanted to. I wanted to be like you. Once I got into the ninth, I was proud of myself. But it wasn't the same. I didn't want anyone but you as my captain. Yeah, I respected Kaname-taichou and all, but it wasn't the same. He wasn't my real captain. Whenever I was in doubt, I looked towards you. I was never in charge of the division. I made myself believe that I still had a captain, whether or not he was dead. And now, I find out you're not dead, but has anything changed? No! Nothing ever will. I'm an idiot for looking up to you all these years. Here you are, treating me like dirt. You might as well be spitting on me. I know I look like an idiot in front of the man I exalted the most. You probably don't even know my name. There's no way you would remember a weakling like me. But I don't care anymore. I'm moving on, Mugurama Kensei!"
Finally, Hisagi finished pouring out his bottled feelings. He was out of breath, as if saying so much at once was physically exhausting. He continued to look at him straight in the eye. Kensei was still smiling.
"Don't fuckin' look down on me like that," Hisagi breathed. He looked down, afraid of what Kensei was going to say.
"My my, what a man you've become, Hisagi Shuuhei."
The world stopped. Hisagi stopped breathing. His eyes widened at hearing his name being called by his real captain. He raised his head, slowly, to look at the man once again.
"W-what?" He whispered.
The smile on his face was gone. "I told you to fuckin' say what you want loudly and clearly, Hisagi Shuuhei! Stand up! What happened to the man that just faced me a second ago? Did he crawl back into his little shell again?"
The man knew how to push Hisagi's buttons. He was getting fired up all over again. "You fucking…"
"What was that?" Kensei put his hand behind his ear, pretending he didn't hear anything. "Did you say something?"
"You…fucking…" Hisagi panted out between breaths.
"Hmm?"
"You fucking bastard!" Hisagi shouted and lunged forward, bringing his fist to Kensei's face. The impact wasn't much, but it was enough to bring them both down. Hisagi was perched on top of Kensei's torso, ready to strike again. He brought his fist up again, but stayed like that. "You fucking…"
Kensei was lying there, no longer playing. He looked at him with his amber eyes.
Hisagi finally mustered up the courage to finish his statement. "You fucking bastard. You fucking messed up my life. I can't remember anything before the day you saved me. My whole life has been centered on you, but do you know shit? No, you don't! You don't know how messed up my life has been since then. I kept looking up at you like a naive piece of shit. I didn't even know you, yet I looked up to you. How fucking sad is that?! And now here you are, treating me like shit. You bastard…"
Hisagi slightly loosened up, bringing his fist down a bit. "You bastard…"
And before he knew it, he was fighting to hold back tears. "I fucking admired you…you fucking haunted my whole life…" Hisagi choked, biting his lower lip. "You probably never thought of me after that…how fucking sad…"
By now, Hisagi's fist was no longer a threat. Both of his hands were grabbing Kensei's shirt. Hisagi looked down on him, his body casting a shadow across Kensei's face. "How fucking sad…" He muttered again, shutting his eyes. He won the battle against his tears, but lost the one with Kensei.
"You win…" Hisagi whispered. "You got the best of me…You win."
"Not just yet."
Hisagi opened his eyes to see Kensei looking away. "Not just yet," he repeated. He slowly got up, looking Hisagi straight in the eyes. "I've still got a lot to do." Kensei sat upright and supported his body with his hands on the ground. "C'mon, get off of me."
Reluctantly, Hisagi slowly got up. He was humiliated. He just let out all of his inner thoughts out, and Kensei didn't seem affected. How utterly pathetic.
Hisagi stood up and regained his composure while Kensei brushed off the dirty. He wiped off the blood from his lip. "Follow me," he said without giving Hisagi a chance. He grabbed his wrist again and pulled him away.
They walked in silence. Hisagi let himself be pulled by the older, stronger man. He had no idea where they were going, but he couldn't care less. He couldn't help but regret all of his words before. He was embarrassed, ashamed, humiliated—and none of it appeared on Kensei. But he wouldn't care about that anymore. He decided that he would no longer allow Kensei to rule his life—at least, he would try to.
Kensei led them to an apartment building after a brisk, silent walk. Hisagi was confused. Where was he taking him? Surely the vaizard don't hang out in a residential apartment building…
The building was an ordinary apartment building. There was evidence of human life, unlike the previous area that was apparently empty. Hisagi was led into an elevator and was taken up high. Before he could process anything in his mind, he was pushed into an empty apartment.
"You fuckin' stink. Go shower. Bathroom's down the hall." Kensei bluntly said. He threw a towel in Hisagi's direction. "Give me your clothes. You're an idiot for going out there in the middle of August in black."
Hisagi followed his directions and found his way to the bathroom. The apartment was decently sized, but simple in its design. The door was in one corner with the kitchen next to it and the living room in front. There was a door that led to the balcony that offered a flattering view. The living room had two couched and a widescreen TV mounted on the wall. Everything in the house seemed up-to-date; the furniture and other accessories all fit with modern style. Hisagi was in disbelief that Kensei actually took the time to follow human world trends, but for some reason, it made him smile.
Once in the bathroom, he stripped and turned on the hot water for the shower. He heard Kensei curse outside. It sounded like he was talking to someone, over the phone, probable. Shit, my phone! Hisagi realized that Renji could've tried to communicate him during the time. He checked his phone, but he was in luck. His phone was dead. Hisagi looked blankly at the device. Piece of shit, he said, throwing it onto his pile of clothes.
Hisagi stepped into the hot shower, immediately feeling much cleaner. The hot water was still refreshing, even though he suffered from worse heat outside. He slowly washed his body with Kensei's soap—Kensei's soap, he thought. He brought it to his nose and smelled it. He took in the fresh, watermelon-y scent. He stayed like that for a moment, holding Kensei's possession in his hands. Soon enough, however, he realized what he was doing. He pretended like he hadn't done such a ridiculous thing. After all, he was trying to get rid of Kensei's traces. Including his scent.
A few minutes later, Hisagi stepped out of the shower and wrapped himself in a towel. He stepped outside the bathroom to find a pile of clothes waiting just outside the door. He dried himself and tried the clothes on. The outfit was simple; he wore a pair of loose basketball shorts and a black tank top. It was much, much, much more comfortable than his skinny jeans and thick top.
The clothes smelt good. Like Kensei…once again, Hisagi found himself smelling Kensei's possessions. Like an idiot. Like the idiot he was.
Finally, Hisagi ventured out of the hall to the main area of the apartment. He was afraid of what he was going to find. He didn't know why. He was just very suspicious of what the man had in store for him. Instead, he was pleasantly surprised.
Kensei was in the kitchen, cooking what smelled like Hisagi's favorite—Vienna sausage, along with many others. He hesitantly walked towards the kitchen, his presence apparently still unknown by the taller man.
"Can I help?" He asked, feeling surprisingly comfortable in the unfamiliar environment. Kensei looked back to see the fully refreshed Hisagi, but his look didn't reveal much. He shook his head.
"Nah, just make yourself at home. I'll be done in a few."
Hisagi nodded in agreement and wandered around the house. Very little evidence proved that this actually was where Kensei lived; there were no pictures or any distinct belongings to be found.
"So, is this where you live?" Hisagi pried, still searching for pictures.
"Yup. I killed the former owners a few years back and stole the place for my own," he replied casually.
Hisagi didn't know what to say. Was he serious, or..?
His question was answered soon enough. Kensei noticed the silence and turned back and smiled, "Just kidding."
Hisagi was relieved, but also a bit embarrassed about his density. "All done," Kensei said. Hisagi turned around to see him setting up the table.
"I'm not that…" Hisagi said, trying to be modest.
"Eat." It was an order. Hisagi promptly sat down on the table. Kensei was already enjoying the feast.
"I, uh…" Hisagi didn't know what to do. Should he eat? Should he try to talk? Should he apologize?
Kensei gave no reply. He continued to eat without looking at Hisagi. Hisagi tried to look away.
"I'm sorry," he finally managed to say.
"We'll talk about that later. Hurry up and eat."
And so they ate, in silence. Hisagi ate slowly and cautiously. It was really, really awkward. When they finished, Hisagi offered to do the dishes, but Kensei refused. Hisagi expected him to do it on his own, but Kensei just dumped the dirty dishes in the sink and left it there. Kensei said he'd do it later, but Hisagi wasn't so sure about that.
"Let's go out," Kensei said. Hisagi complied and followed him out the door. The weather outside was much friendlier than before; night was beginning to approach and the air cooled down. It was the perfect weather for a walk.
Hisagi walked a few steps behind Kensei, mostly because he didn't know where they were going, but also because he didn't want to be at the same pace as him. He had to admit, he still felt a distance between them as captain and vice-captain. He was never officially under Kensei, but he still felt that he had to respect the differences in power.
I'm thinking too much, Hisagi decided. He wanted to forget everything now. He wanted to enjoy the summer breeze, the cool, fresh night air, and the colorful sky. He wanted to relax.
By the time they had reached their destination, the sun was barely clinging onto the horizon. They were in another park, but one with signs of life in it. Parents were trying to pry their children off the playgrounds and teenage couples were biking out of the park. Things were settling down. Kensei led him to a meadow by a river that offered a relaxing view of the city. The silhouette of the skyline sharply contrasted with the red and blue that colored the sky. The river reflected the dwindling sunlight, giving off what looked like thousands of stars on the surface of the water.
Kensei sat down on the soft grass and Hisagi followed him, sitting a few inches away from him. Kensei leaned back with his legs sprawled out and hands behind him, while Hisagi brought his knees against his chest and crossed his arms on them. They sat there in silence for a while, staring off into the scenic distance.
Hisagi tried to begin the inevitable conversation. "I…"
"I probably don't even remember you name, huh?" Kensei asked, interrupting Hisagi's thoughts. "Is that what you said?"
Hisagi didn't reply. "You couldn't be more wrong," Kensei muttered.
"Hisagi Shuuhei…your name was the last I heard after becoming a hollow. I worried about you, you know? Of course you don't. After I left Soul Society, I kept thinking about you. I wondered if you were doing well and all. I'm glad to see that you're doing much better than well," he smiled.
Hisagi felt a blush coming, but he fought against it. "Taichou…"
"I'm not your taichou, Shuuhei."
"I know, but—"
"My name isn't Taichou, damn it. It's Kensei." He sighed. "Anyways, that was quite a rant you let out back there."
Hisagi was flustered and embarrassed. "I'm sorry…"
"I sure didn't expect it. After all, I just wondered why you got the tattoo."
Hisagi felt even guiltier.
"But I'm glad you said what you said." Hisagi raised an eyebrow at that. What did he mean?
"I'll be completely honest with you," Kensei began. "Seeing the 69 on your face…I felt both proud and a bit guilty. I was glad that there was evidence of my impact of being in Soul Society. However, the fact that it manifested in you, was a totally different matter…
"I didn't want to see you being haunted by memories of me, like you explained before." He gave a sheepish smile before continuing. "Honestly, I sort of felt like a father. Like the day I saved you was your new birthday—the day you changed your life. I wanted to make sure that you were doing well. Sometimes, I was seriously tempted to go back to Soul Society and check up on you."
Hisagi didn't know what to say, again. "Kensei…"
"Shut up and listen," he bluntly said. Hisagi obeyed.
"You have no idea how glad I was hearing those words come out of your mouth. Sure, they were bitter and hateful, but they were strong. They showed your identity. You didn't hide anything when you said those things, and that's what I like the most."
He paused before going on. He stared off to the distance, but Hisagi looked straight at him, eager about what he was going to say next. The situation with Renji and Ichigo and all of them was completely forgotten.
"But…eventually, I realized how ridiculous it was for me to feel like your father," he said. Hisagi felt hurt by those words. He wanted to have a bond with the man. He forgot about his previous intentions of throwing away his past. After all, it was permanently engraved onto his face.
"I mean…" Kensei continued, Hisagi's hope revitalized. He looked at Hisagi with a completely different look. He no longer looked fierce and intimidating. His amber eyes were full of warmth. They were welcoming. He smiled gently. His face was relaxed and overall, very docile. The remaining sunlight lit up his face more, adding onto the effect. His expression was like no other Hisagi had seen. No one has ever looked so caring.
"I mean…how many fathers fall in love with their kids?"
Kensei struck gold. Hisagi was frozen in his spot. He had no idea what to do. Unlike other misconceptions, he didn't feel "warm and fuzzy" inside. Instead, he felt cold. His heard had stopped, taking the life out of him.
Finally, Hisagi's body caught up with Kensei's meaningful words. His face turned hot and red, blatantly exposing how Hisagi felt. "I-I…" he tried, but with no avail. "I…"
Kensei laughed. "You're so cute."
And with that, the moment Hisagi waited for finally arrived. Kensei cupped Hisagi's face with his hand gently. Hisagi leaned into it, savoring his touch. Kensei's hand trailed down his jaw line until his fingers were around his chin. He pulled Hisagi's face closer, painfully slowly. He leaned in dangerously closely. Their noses touched, creating a prelude to what was about to come. Kensei's hot breath enticed Hisagi further, and soon enough, their lips were locked.
The kiss was warm and tender. Hisagi leaned in closer so that they were right next to each other. Kensei broke the kiss and looked deep into Hisagi's dark eyes. Hisagi couldn't take it anymore, and plunged in for another kiss. This time, the kiss was deeper and much more heated. Hisagi wrapped his hands around Kensei's head, gently grabbing his hair. One of Kensei's hands was at the base of Hisagi's neck, while the other supported Hisagi on his back.
They kissed time and time again, indulging in the moment. They no longer cared about their surroundings. Kensei was determined to make Hisagi his. Hisagi felt the other's tongue pry at the opening of his lips. He welcomed him in, groaning at the increased contact. The kiss didn't last as long. By the end of it, they were both gasping for breath. Kensei smiled at the flustered shinigami and kissed his forehead.
"C'mon, let's go home." Kensei stood up and held out his hand. Hisagi grabbed it and felt himself being pulled up into Kensei's warm embrace. The same hand found its way to Hisagi's shoulder and pulled himself closer to the muscular man. They walked back to Kensei's apartment, ignorant of the rest of the world. They talked during their trip. Things were much less tense, and Hisagi was much more at ease.
The rest of the night was spent talking and embracing each other. Hisagi fell asleep in Kensei's strong, loving arms. The blanket around them was unnecessary; Hisagi had all the warmth he needed next to Kensei's body.
A whispered "I love you…" was the last thing Kensei heard before he drifted off into sleep.
The next morning, Hisagi woke up in the same position he had fallen asleep in. The slumbering Kensei still had his arms around him, restricting how much Hisagi could move. He looked up to see the peaceful, slumbering face of his old, yet new lover. He smiled and closed his eyes, drifting off back to sleep.
The calendar across the room read August 14th.
[Extra]
"Hey, where the hell is Hisagi?" Ichigo asked, preparing the decorations around Urahara's shop.
Matsumoto took a break from baking a cake. "Hey, you're right, I haven't seen him since yesterday…"
Renji, who was hanging up the welcoming sign in the foyer of the shop, quickly noticed the direction of the conversation and snuck out of the room. He tried to call Hisagi, but his phone couldn't be reached.
"Damn it Shuuhei, causing problems on your own birthday."
Kensei woke up from Hisagi's abrupt sneeze.
A/N: Hope you all liked it (: It turned out a lot longer than I had expected, considering I was shooting for it to be a short one-shot…Oh well.