Summary: Hichigo loves getting attention. But lately, Ichigo has been consumed in other things. Now Hichigo is determined to get down to the issue right away. -One Shot-
Disclaimer: Tite Kubo owns the rights to Bleach and all related characters
Today was a bad day for Hichigo. He couldn't stand still, he kept quiet for more than 10 minutes and his habit of disturbing Zangetsu disintegrated. This disturbed the Elder, his eyes trained on the pacing Hollow. It was a perfect day as well, so he couldn't find anything wrong.
"Hichigo?" He asked quietly from his perch. The Hollow said nothing. "...Are you feeling well?" He stood in silence as the pacing and silence went on undisturbed. Sighing, he closed his eyes, trying to cherish the silence.
"King is ignoring me again." Hichigo said suddenly, somewhat startling Zangetsu. He stopped in the middle of his tracks, his head down and hands behind his back. Zangetsu raised an eyebrow.
"What makes you think that?" Hichigo suddenly gave him a hard stare, lifting a bony finger.
"First of all..." he began, resuming his pacing. "Do you notice this weather? It's been clear for an entire week. No rain, no depression. Ichigo has no reason to be this happy unless he's found someone more interesting than myself. Secondly, he hasn't come by in said week. Every so often he would, but now he doesn't even stop by to say hello. I've come to the conclusion that King is ignoring me and I don't like it at all." Zangetsu blinked, thinking about what Hichigo had said.
"Well..." he said slowly, watching as the Hollow raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps he's busy. This kind of thing happened last summer when he went on vacation with his family." Hichigo rolled his eyes, staring up at the sky.
"No. This is something completely different. During that summer, he made a mental note to visit me and he did. Now it's something else. He hasn't come by at all and I've haven't sensed anything drastic that could possibly take him away for so long." He contemplated for a minute, before leaping to higher buildings above.
"Where are you going?" Zangetsu called, not moving to go after him.
"I'm going to take this into my own hands." Zangetsu sighed, adjusting his footing on the perch. Well, at least he got his peace and quiet.
Two minutes later, Hichigo found himself in the Shinigami's room. Much to his satisfaction, Ichigo was there. The two stood and stared at each other in silence, Hichigo crossing his arms across his chest in annoyance. Ichigo was the first to speak up.
"What do you want?" Slightly taken aback, Hichigo stood his ground.
"Nothing really..." he said quietly, looking off to the side. "I just wanted to know what you were up to this entire week." Ichigo shrugged, his hands in his pockets.
"It's none of your business."
"It is my business!" Hichigo shot back, getting irritated. "You've been ignoring me for this entire week and I demand to know why!" He pointed towards a photo of Ichigo, along with other Shinigami. "Are you leaving me for that Kuchiki bitch?!"
"She is not a bitch!" Ichigo shot back. "Well on most days anyway...but that's not the point!"
"Then is it Orihime?!"
"No! It's no one!"
"Then why are you ignoring me so much?!" Hichigo's expression became soft, his brow furrowed in concern. "Did I do something wrong? Did I make you angry?" Ichigo bit his lip, a sudden empty feeling in his stomach. "What did I do to make you hate me so much?" Sighing heavily, Ichigo looked down at his feet momentarily.
"I don't hate you Hichigo...I don't." The Hollow approached him, their distance a mere foot from each other. "I was just...trying to keep you in the dark." Hichigo tilted his head to the side, confused.
"What do you mean?" Ichigo smiled.
"This whole week, I didn't want you around because I was trying to keep you oblivious to my activities. I know you can see what I was doing, but I was careful not to reveal my true intentions. As I'm sure you're aware of, I've been working overtime at two jobs and coming home late. I'd go to bed right away, then wake up to go to school with no time for you to intervene. That was my intentions, to keep you in my Inner World with no time for us alone." He reached up, running his fingers through the snow white hair, his eyes locked onto Hichigo's. "But it's not because I didn't want you around...it was for a completely different reason."
"What reason is that?" Hichigo asked. He watched as Ichigo's smile grew, the teen grabbing his hand and flipping his palm up. With his other hand, Ichigo dug into his pocket and pulled out a small box, placing it in Hichigo's waiting hand.
"I wanted to get you a surprise." Ichigo fell silent as Hichigo wrapped his fingers around the fuzzy small box. With one finger, he popped it open, his eyes widening. Inside, sitting on a royal purple cushion, was a glass bird. It was polished to perfection, a size no bigger than Hichigo's thumb. It was smooth and detailed, the beak a bright gold and the eyes silver. With all his breath gone, Hichigo shakily pulled the glass bird out, examining it in his free palm. Looking closely, he noticed some writing etched underneath.
From Ichigo With Love
"Ichigo..." he managed to whisper, his eyes moving from the gift to the Shinigami. "Why...?"
"I don't know." Ichigo said, shrugging. "One day I saw it in the store and I immediately thought of you. So, this week I was working to get money to buy it for you. In case you forgot, today is the 1 year anniversary of our first meeting. It wasn't a very happy one, but it was worth while." He stepped forward, careful not to knock the bird on the ground and embraced the albino. "I love you Hichigo. Nothing could ever keep my attention away from you. I promise." Hichigo blushed, placing the gift back in its box and in his pocket before he returned the hug.
"I know..." he said, his voice muffled by Ichigo's shoulder. "I love you too."
"Do you forgive me then?" Hichigo grinned, his lips pressing against Ichigo's neck in a quick kiss.
"I always will."
THE END