A/N: Feeling good about this story. I'm so used to having to do lots of research for this stuff, and I haven't been recently. With this one, I am. Like I actually looked up what type of shoe she would want for this next scene. And the flavours of Gatorade. And the average mile time. Haha, I'm feeling good!
oOo
I watched the time on my new clock switch to 2:00 AM.
Smirking, I sat straight up, and flipped the lights on, then went straight into my drawers and pulled out a pair of black running shorts, a black sports bra, and black short socks.
Changing quickly, I left my pajamas on my bed, then went into the closet and got out my new running shoes, the only colour other than black in my entire ensemble. They were black, with a white swoosh. So much colour, I know, but I was feeling stealthy tonight.
Looking in the mirror, I looked like a completely different person, just in clothes. Grabbing my brush, I pulled my long blonde hair up into a high ponytail using two hairbands, and slid a headband in place. Afterward, I stuck seven hairbands on my right wrist, then turned to my balcony, and slid the door open silently.
Turning on my heel, I hit the lights, then walked out onto the balcony, gripped the railing, and jumped over, landing neatly on the ground. Jumping from a second story balcony wasn't so bad.
I walked out toward the sidewalk and waited for only seconds before I was joined by Ichiro, wearing basketball shorts, and running shoes. Of course, no shirt.
"Are you in a body?" I questioned. He nodded.
"Then please, if some teenage girl still up starts ogling you, get out of view." he simply laughed, and I started running. He quickly caught up.
"So how far are we going?I figured three miles? Sounds reasonable."he gave me a blank look.
"What? I only stopped cheer-leading this past year. I'm still fairly in shape." he only shook his head as we forged onward.
About twenty minutes later, we stopped outside the house, both of us gasping for air. I could feel the sticky sweat running down my back and stomach and boobs, and just wiped off my forehead.
"Water..." I gasped. He nodded, and I headed inside, disarming the alarm, and heading straight for the kitchen.
I flicked on a light, and glanced up at the door of Mom and Dad's room. I sighed, finding it shut, then went straight for the Gatorade in the fridge. I grabbed a lemon lime one and an orange one. Ichiro walked inside, and I flicked off the light, then handed him the orange one. Glancing back up at my parents room, I found the door open. Then I only heard the muffled sounds of a fight before I honed in on the orange Gatorade on the floor in a path of moonlight.
My hand smacked into the light switch, turning the lights back on, and I looked at Ichiro and Dad rolling around on the floor.
"Come back for more?" Dad hissed. I grabbed an unopened bottle of wine and jogged over, then held it above both of their heads. Dad froze.
"Katsu, what are you doing...?"
"What the hell are you doing? He's my friend! The alarm didn't go off, did it?" Dad actually looked at Ichiro, and his face took on a stricken tone.
"Ichiro...?"
"No. They just look alike. Keiichi, get off him, take your Gatorade, and go wait for me on the porch." Ichiro rolled off him, grabbing the bottle on his way up, walked out onto the porch, muttering curses under his breath. Dad looked at me as I put the bottle back, and I turned to face him.
"Get up, and go back to bed. You're an old man, you don't do well with getting up in the middle of the night.
"Why are you up?"
"Going for a midnight run with a friend?" I gestured to my sweaty body and drink.
"Why in the middle of the night?"
"Uh, because it's cooler?" I lied easily. He seemed thoughtful for a moment.
"If you're going to the gym too, the card is in the drawer with the car keys." he walked up the stairs quickly, and his bedroom door shut again.
I grabbed my Gatorade, turned off the lights, and went back outsides, arming the alarm again. Sitting on the edge of the porch, I opened the bottle, and drank half of it easily.
"Having fun yet? I questioned Ichiro as he sat down beside me.
"Totally. Although I must say, Dad's gotten weak."
"Shougo didn't fight with him like you did, and well, look at me. I don't fight."
"That reminds me,when you get back in, cut your nails, and take off that nail polish."I looked at my nails.
"Forgot about that."
"Yeah." we sat there for another ten minutes, just looking at the moon.
"I have a question." he looked at me.
"You said I have high Spiritual Pressure. Potentially a dangerous amount, right?"
Potentially... he didn't see where this was going. What a moron.
"So wouldn't the easiest plan be to train me like how you guys are trained? None of you have to stay behind to help me, and I'm better off." he didn't respond for a few minutes.
"It's a good plan, but there are a lot of holes. Firstly, we're Shinigami. We're stingy. We don't trust anyone outside the Gotei Thirteen. Which means Yamajii isn't going to let us leave you be. Secondly, there is no way in hell I'm helping you get a Zanpakuto. Thirdly, I'm not training you with a sword either." my face fell.
"But..." he drew the word out, like he knew he was getting my hopes up, "I can train you in hand-to-hand combat. You can take out the kind of Hollow you'll most likely see with that." I grinned, and hugged him, releasing him a half second later.
"Ew, but thank you!" he smiled and shook his head.
"So easy to please. Ready to hit the gym?"
"Lemme get the card." I unarmed the alarm, got the card, and ran upstairs to Shougo's room, grabbing an white Under Armor Muscle Tank. Running back outside, I rearmed the alarm, and tossed this shirt at him.
"Won't let you in without it." he pulled it on over his head.
oOo
I collapsed in my bed, three hours later. The sun had been up for half an hour, and it was seriously only five in the morning.
Ichiro had essentially kicked my ass, after making me work on the bench press for an hour. If I recall correctly, he started with, Show me what you got. and within ten seconds, he'd flipped me onto the floor, while super buff men all around watched us.
Within another half an hour, both of us were severely bruised, so other people were stepping in for Ichiro. I was the only one who didn't get a break. But I felt accomplished, after bringing several men twice my weight to the ground. I closed my eyes, just as the door opened. Dad flicked on the lights.
"Morning sunshine. How was your workout last night?"
"I'm going to shoot you in a minute if you don't turn off the lights and leave me alone."
"Why?"
"Because I got back, just give minutes ago. GO AWAY."he laughed and turned off
the lights, then left.
I flipped over on my side and shut my eyes.
oOo
Waking up at noon, I rolled off the bed, and stumbled into my bathroom, then showered, taking my time to rub away all the gross sweat.
Stepping out, I wrapped myself in a towel, and opened the door, then screamed an ear shattering scream. I could hear my father's deep, bellowing laugh from the first floor, and my scowled deepened.
"Get out of my room!" I screeched at Ichiro. He laughed and got up, then walked outside the room and shut the door.
I threw a pillow at the door, and he started laughing harder.
"I hate you! You're an awful person, Keiichi!" I screeched. He only laughed harder.
I held my breath, trying to let my anger dissipate, while I closed the blinds on the glass door leading to the balcony. I dropped the towel and pulled out a white sports bra and slipped it on, then one of Shougo's black tank tops. It was one of those ones where there are no sleeves, it's open from the top to the bottom like the ones gangsters wear. I pulled out a pair of underwear and cargo shorts, and slipped into both, then brushed my hair out and pulled it up, slipping a hairband into place.
I picked up the pillow and threw it back onto my bed, then opened the door and punched Ichiro in the back. He burst out laughing again.
"You're dad let me up here!" he cried defensively.
"Dad!"
"I didn't know you were showering!" he called from the kitchen, where the sounds of cooking came from.
"Yes you did! I could be all the way on the other side of the house, and you can still hear the shower running." he just laughed, and I bit my lip, turned around, and slammed my bedroom door shut.
"Oh come on Katsu." Ichiro called from the other side of the door.
"I'm twenty three, you're nineteen. I'm not going to do anything."
"I don't care about that! No girl is secure with their body, and I really don't need any comments from you telling me how I look." he leaned against the door for a few minutes, while I cleaned the small mess in my room.
"We're painting today." I reminded him.
"We? I don't remember agreeing to help, Katsu..." he groaned. I smirked.
"I'm still a bitch. Remember that." I opened the door, then went back over to my dresser, and started shoving it over towards the center of the room. He stepped inside and assisted me. Next, we moved to my bed.
My furniture was the same dark stuff as Shougo's, and it was really sturdy, so when the bed slammed into the dresser, I didn't think twice about it. I grabbed my new blue chair and folded it up, then laid it on my bed.
The walls were bare, as they used to hold posters of singers and such, but that went out with the trash along with my makeup.
Dad came up the stairs minutes later with three paint cans labeled Egyptian blue. Three paint rollers, three tin foil pans and three edging tools. He set down one of each at three of four walls.
"We'll do that last wall together." he commented. I looked at the walls, and laughed.
"Keiichi, you got the biggest wall." and with that, Dad opened the first paint can, and we began the long task ahead.
oOo
Painting a room, is by no means hard. It just takes a very long time, and a lot of patience. So we took a break, two hours in. I stepped out onto the balcony and leaned against the bars, taking a deep breath of unpaint scented air. We were suffocating in the paint fumes. Then I felt the paint hit my arm, and turned, roller in hand, and flicked blue paint at Ichiro. Within seconds, we were both completely splattered with blue paint, along with the glass door, the concrete, the metal railing, and the formerly white chaise longue.
"You two get back in here before I lock you out." Dad called. I ducked back inside with a final flick, then rolled the roller in paint again, then stared at the last small section of my wall to do.
"You two look like you got rained on by paint."
"He started it." I defended as I painted over the horrid girly pink colour.
"I'll admit to that, but she was asking for it with all the snide comments while we were painting."
"Son, there is something you need to learn. No matter how much you want to, you do not start the battle against a woman. She makes the first move. Otherwise you get your ass kicked." Ichiro laughed, and I flicked paint at Dad, then smiled sweetly and went back to painting, muttering about men and their indecencies.
oOo
I jumped off my balcony again, wearing a white sports bra and gray running shorts today, same shoes, same colour socks. Ichiro wait below, and caught me as I came down. I looked at me, then pulled a clump of blue paint out of his hair.
"You showered, and there is still paint in your hair."
"I'm not a perfectionist." he replied, setting me down on the ground. I rolled my eyes.
"Three miles today?"
"Four. Oh, and Abarai is at the gym. He's been a Shinigami longer than me, he's better at hand-to-hand combat." I groaned.
"Gatorades are on the porch so Dad doesn't try to murder you again. Let's get going." I started running, and he caught up quickly, again.
"You should get to know Abarai better." Ichiro commented lightly after we passed the two mile mark.
"Why is that?" I asked, then side stepped a large puddle. It had only rained on us for a few minutes, but it was enough rain to soak us to there bone, and leave puddles everywhere like mini land mines.
"Because I think you two would get along well." I rolled my eyes, and wiped the sweat off my forehead, turning a corner.
"I don't think so." I replied.
"Why not?"
"Because we don't know eachother? Because I'm only adjusting to this whole inner tomboy I never knew existed." he laughed.
"It's always existed. You just suppressed it. I remember when you were five, and I was nine, and you just pulled this leech straight off this kid's arm, and were like, 'He doesn't mean to hurt you, it's just how he survives! He feeds on blood.' and you convinced this kid that the leech deserved to live." My eyes widened.
"Are you serious?"
"Completely."
"Little me was a freak." he laughed again.
"I liked little you, but whatever." I shook my head.
oOo
I dropped down on my bed, at six o'clock this time. Four hours after I got up. The run had only take twenty six minutes, but three and a half hours of being slammed around and battered is hard on your body. So much so that I didn't bother trying to move my furniture back into it's place when I got home, and Dad didn't touch the door. I'd gotten there, and after an hour of bench press, I got moved to combat again, and let's say that within the first ten seconds I was flat on my back.
"You've got along way to go." Abarai had commented. I'd merely punched him in the jaw in response. So now, at six in the morning, I lay in my bed, wondering why he was such an asshole.
oOo
Not four hours later, my phone buzzed, and a very disgruntled Katsu picked up.
"What do you want?" I snapped. The person on the other line chuckled.
"Well, Inoue wanted to know if you wanted to go to the beach with us, but seeing as you're super grumpy, I'll tell her you said no."
"If you say one word that I do not, I'll strangle you." I commented, rolling off the bed and onto the floor, then into the bathroom with my towel.
"So is that a yes?"
"Yes, it's a yes. What time?"
"In an hour. If you're late, I understand and will explain. Abarai and I have our fair share of bruises from last night." I scoffed as I turned the shower on.
"You do not have your fair share. Bye Ichiro, I'm showering." and with that, I hung up, and set the phone down by my toothbrush. I stripped, and stepped into the warm water, then sighed.
Stepping out when I finished, I wrapped the towel around me, covering my boobs, and brushed my teeth, then grabbed my phone, and stepped out into my room, and screamed again.
My hand flew over my heart, and I glared at Ichiro.
"This isn't funny anymore! It wasn't even funny the first time!" I called. Laughter came from below, from Mom.
"I think it is." she responded. I narrowed my eyes, and threw a bottle of aloe at Ichiro. He only laughed.
I dug around in my top drawer for my white bikini, then slipped back into the bathroom and pulled it on. Looking at myself in the mirror, I was astounded.
Before, whenever I wore this, I looked like a fragile flower or something. Skinny arms, skinny legs, skinny waist. But now, looking at me, I looked completely different. Much more tan, rougher looking features. Defined muscles on my legs and arms.
I remember, when I was younger, my parents used to talk about my eyes, saying how they were beautiful like a sculpture is beautiful. Now it could only be described as a rough kind of a beauty, like a waterfall. Except my eyes were green, but that's another story.
Shaking my head, I pulled my hair up and pulled on a headband, then stepped out into my room, and pulling out a pair of khaki cargo shorts and a black tank top. Pulling them on, I looked at Ichiro, and flipped him off. He just grinned at me.
"Nice bruise." he commented, standing up and walking over, then brushing his thumb across the area between my cheekbone and the corner of my jaw. I grit my teeth against the burst of pain. "Don't worry. We're seriously not much better. All of my bruises are down here." he gestured at his abdomen, and I rolled my eyes.
"Most of mine are down there too." I grabbed a towel.
"Your new sheets are there." he commented absently on the walk to the beach. I rolled my eyes, and he casually draped an arm over my shoulders. I just closed my eyes and shook my head as we walked. As soon as I felt the sand in between my toes, I grinned like a little kid. Ichiro pushed me forward, and I stumbled, fell, then grabbed his ankle as I went, taking him down with me. He glared at me, and I jumped to my feet, sprinting away. Only ten feet away, an arm wrapped around my waist, and then I was staring at his back. I groaned.
"You're an asshole!"
"Is that Katsu?" Orihime's voice called. I watched the sand disappear below, and when it turned to water, I started fighting. My foot connected with the back of a boy's head, and I only knew this because of the hair length, then someone gripped my ankle, and I was looking at someone else's chest.
"Really! You could let me take my clothes off." Ichigo's chuckle vibrated through his body and into mine. I stopped struggling.
"That felt really weird." this time his laughed, before he fell into the three feet deep water, pinning me below him on the sand. I squeezed my eyes shut and pushed him off, pushing back up to the surface. Breaking waves, I looked out at the beach and at a smirking Tatsuki who held her hand out. I looked around, then grabbed the volley ball, spiking it back, then smacked Ichigo as he came up, and walked back to the beach.
Standing under one of the umbrella's I stripped off my shirt, revealing the bikini, but left on my shorts.
"You're so on, Arisawa." I joined the team on the other side of the net, which consisted of all guys. Abarai, Asano, Ishida, Chad, Kurosaki as he joined us, and some bald guy, accompanied by a handsome guy with shoulder length black hair, and two feathers coming off one of his
eyes.
"That's not weird." I muttered. Tatsuki tossed the ball up and down.
"You ready, Kita?" Tatsuki called, referring to me. I took position at the net, and she served. I spiked the ball down hard on her side, and she stared at me, then quickly wiped the look of surprise off her face, replacing it with a smirk.
"That was just dumb luck." I shook my head, and Ichigo served. Someone on the other side bounced it back. The ball went over my hand, and someone bounced it straight to Tatsuki on the other side. She slammed it, and I dove, bouncing it back up, while filling my pants with sand. Abarai bounced it over, then pulled me up with one hand. I nodded, and turned around to spike it down again, then smirked at Tatsuki. She looked at me.
"What happened to being a cheerleader!" she called. Ichiro laughed from the sides.
"We had volley ball tournaments as kids, kids versus parents. She was astounding." he said, sipping something that I'm sure was alcoholic.
I shook my head and watched the ball fly over me and to the other side. Rangiku spiked it, and I dove, catching it off my fists. It went straight up in the air, and Abarai spiked it, then tripped over my body and came down on top of me. I oofed on impact, then groaned, and watched the ball for half a second before saying,"Kick your feet up!" he did so, and the ball bounced off his feet, and up into the air, so that baldy could hit it across to Orihime.
"Good job." I pushed him off, then rolled to my feet and spiked it downward, scoring, again. Tatsuki was seething on the other side. Ichigo served again, and some dark skinned lady in the back hit the ball far, right into our back line. The guy with feathers tried to hit it, but the force of the ball sent him backwards into the sand, and the ball bouncing away into the water.
"Got it." I called, running after it, kicking up sand. I got in about four feet deep, and grabbed the ball, then looked straight out, only to find my view blocked. My eyes traveled upward, taking in the rugged, stony looking black body, and large white mask covering it's face. My jaw dropped, just in time to see it open it's own mouth, and shoot something red straight at me.
A/N: I swear to God, I was so tempted to leave all the editors notes on this one. They were fucking hilarious. fucking sexy pansy said S&D. Gotta love her.