Fandom: Bleach
Title: Separation Anxiety
Pairings:none.
Warning:Some swears, AU, OOCness.
Summary: AU. Out of all them Ichigo is the only one to graduate. I drew the picture taped to the back of Ichigo's locker, on my DeviantArt, link in profile. :) Reviews are loved.
Ichigo sighed, first day of college was normal so far. It was a weird feeling, this normalcy. No coffee to bring for Nnoitra so he wouldn't fall asleep through their first period, no Yachiru rifling through and stealing any candy he had in his book bag.
All in all, he was starting to wish he flunked one grade on purpose like Tesla and Kenpachi had done. They had forgone graduation and would be joining Nnoitra and Yachiru in their graduation instead. He was the only one who passed. And he would be the only one until next year, when they would all be together again.
Opening his locker, he glanced at the pristine white paper taped to his door; a free two hours before he had to go back to class. It was a little past noon, maybe lunch?
"Ichigo!"
He turned, raising an eyebrow at the redhead in front of him, exaggerated movements and all. "Renji, how was class?"
He made a vague movement to emphasize how boring it was before barreling through and opening up his locker, coincidentally next to Ichigo's. Balancing his books with one hand and rifling through his junk with the other he began to talk.
"It's weird to see you without the other four freaks."
It wasn't insulting, at least not from Renji; because for the red head there was no other word for Ichigo's gaggle of friends. Nnoitra was the tallest and rudest person alive. Then there was the scary-as-hell Kenpachi who had adopted Yachiru even though she was only a year younger than him but could pass for a ten year old. Tesla actually lived with Nnoitra but acted like his servant, even if they were cousins.
Ichigo lost count of how many times Renji had shouted at him about their freakishness. Then there was the time he had let slip that he thought Kenpachi was a nice guy, since he had personally seen the guy brush a pouting Yachiru's teeth.
Things quickly went from how Kenpachi made that one guy, Ulquiorra from class 2-A, look like a saint to how the guy Nnoitra put into the hospital in the second day of senior year was moving to Osaka for good.
His ears had been ringing for hours.
When he had asked if Renji wanted Ichigo to stop hanging around them, Renji had the strangest look on his face. And slapped him upside the head, for having such a stupid idea.
Which moreover proved his point that Renji was a very strange person.
"Hey what's that?" Renji peered into Ichigo's locker, bypassing all the books and junk to see a many folded paper with multicolored writing across it. Transparent tape held it up above all the clutter so it was the first thing anyone saw when they opened the locker.
It was done in sure black strokes of a thick pen, and it showed a frowning Ichigo surrounded in what appeared to be a group hug, with a creepily grinning Nnoitra who had written "You fucker, remember this awesome face!" with a scribbled arrow pointing to himself. Kenpachi was leaning down, who looked scary in spite of his smile, or maybe because of it, had also written "Bust some skulls Berry Boy. Save some for me" and a skull with crossbones next to it.
Yachiru, who stood in front of Ichigo and Kenpachi, apparently took the brightest pink available and wrote in her usual neat print – He had borrowed her notes once or twice- "Don't forget us Ichi-chan!". Leaning his chin on Ichigo's other shoulder was that dirty blond, Tesla Lindocruz; with a pale green marker had wrote: "Hope you have lots of fun Ichi, wait for us!" and a thumbs up. Below that in black pencil he had signed the drawing.
"There is no words for this Ichigo." He looked back at the orange teen, raising a tattooed eyebrow, "What, do all of you have separation anxiety or something?" He couldn't even begin to image Zaraki doing something so mundane as to pose for a picture, or this sketch. Maybe the kid Tesla had copied a photo they had?
"Hey, pineapple! Move it!" A rough hand pushed him away, and he almost clipped the locker door before Tesla caught him.
"ICHI!"
A flying tackle had Ichigo's arms full of a pink haired teen. The little girl began to explain how they got there, how many people Nnoitra tried to pick a fight with, how Kenpachi made this upperclassman walk into a wall.
Nnoitra covered her mouth, yawning and leaning onto the locker besides Ichigo.
"Let's go get something to eat, I'm starvin'" Ichigo nodded, a small amused smile on his face. "There's a take-out place a block over."
Kenpachi took Yachiru out of Ichigo's hands and easily set her on his shoulder.
"How long till you got a class?"
Tesla glanced at the white paper taped to Ichigo's door.
"We'll be back in time."
Ichigo shoved Nnoitra aside, who had begun to look through his things, throwing them around and generally making his locker even messier, and just shoved all his things besides his wallet into it and slammed the door.
"I'll see you later Renji!" was all he had time to say before Tesla and Nnoitra took him by each arm and frog marched him down the hall.
Their voiced floated back to Renji anyway.
"Since its yer first day an all, you can have the honor of payin' for my meal Ichigo."
"Fuck you no! Aren't all of you suppose to be in school anyway?"
"It was so cool Ichi! We snuck around like ninjas, and then Tesla did this cool flip to get over the fence but there was a dog so..."
The chattering high pitched voice faded and Renji smiled slightly.
Freaks. The lot of them. Ichigo needed friends like that.