Welcome to IchiRuki Week 2015 day two, everyone. Today's theme was Rock and Roll, and as you'll probably figure out by the time you're done with this, I don't find anything about the genre particularly romantic. At least not in relation to Ichigo and Rukia. They don't seem like the time to sit and listen to music together, and I didn't want to put them in a band. So, we're going to go for something a bit more melancholic.
Hope you all enjoy.
Day 2: Rock and Roll
If rap was a man's soul, rock and roll was his dreams made manifest.
Ichigo never took much interest in music before he'd lost his powers. Getting lost in a song wasn't something he'd had time for while tending to the various spirits around town, studying, and roughhousing with the local troublemakers.
After Aizen, after losing his powers, that all changed.
"Kurosaki."
He'd barely heard Uryuu through his headphones, but he supposed some senses were never meant to dull. Like how people who had lost their vision depended on their other senses and saw them strengthen in response, losing his reiatsu had made his other senses scramble to fill in the gap.
"Whaddya want, Ishida?"
"You attract a lot of unnecessary attention even without your powers. You've got another bunch of thugs asking for you at the school gate."
Ichigo propped the broom he'd been using to clean the classroom up against the wall. His eyes sharpened, shoulders squaring as he took in a quick breath.
"I'll go take care of it. Finish up here for me, if you would."
"Like hell I'm cleaning up after you, Kurosaki! Try doing the work you're assigned instead of pushing it off on others for once!"
If there was a response from Ichigo, he was already out of Ishida's earshot when he gave it. Scoffing, the Quincy adjusted his glasses before taking a glance out the window. However he had done it, Ichigo was already outside and looking ready for a fight.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you? You idiot. How long is it going to take for you to be honest with yourself?"
The times when he was fighting, Ichigo was the most distracted. Between the music blaring through his seemingly ever-present headphones, the feel of his fists impacting targets, and the surge of adrenaline that sprang through his body every time he defended, it was almost like he had his powers back. Almost.
"It's surprising how much you can get away with," Ishida had told him after the fight was over. Teachers had looked halfheartedly for him at best, knowing at this point he was more or less a lost cause despite his good grades. Something had changed since his last disappearance.
"Yeah? I suppose it is."
"Honestly, between you constantly having those headphones on and all the fights you get in, I'm surprised you haven't been expelled yet. I never really took you for a music buff. What got you into it in the first place?"
Ichigo paused. When had he started this habit of his?
It began as a distraction, as a way to take his mind off other things that menial labor or schoolwork couldn't. The powerlessness, the uncontrollable changes in the world around him, all of it seemed to slow to a more manageable crawl when his mind was on the music.
It was something like being on the battlefield. There was no time to think about the world outside while he was focused on his opponent. He just had to follow the rhythm of the battle and survive, like Urahara had taught him what felt like so long ago.
As much as he liked Shakespeare, Ichigo was never one for classical music. There were some certain, more intense scores he was fond of, but oftentimes the feelings brought about by the more elegant side of the genre brought back memories of things he'd rather not think about.
With rock and roll, though, it was all his fights with Grimmjow and Kenpachi, fast tracks with powerful riffs that conveyed confidence, power, and adrenaline. There was no need for the beauty of a white Zanpakuto or the gentle chill of frosty reiatsu in the air, and certainly no thought of deep purple eyes looking at him with concern, longing, and fear before they faded out of his sight for good.
Ichigo winced, fishing the device out of his pocket and upping the volume of the track. There was absolutely no point in dwelling on things like that. They weren't a part of his world anymore. He'd fought so hard for this normal life where he didn't have to worry about things like that in the first place. All that was left for him to do was focus on the beat of the song, do his work, and go about his mundane existence.
"I just…couldn't keep up with the world without it, I guess."
He couldn't tell Ishida that those elegant melodies that he skipped whenever he had to throughout the day were the ones he could really get lost in, the ones that brought back the best memories from the time he'd had his powers. The ones that no matter how many times he said he wouldn't, he always ended up falling asleep to at night.
Damn. He really was pathetic.
Feel free to point out any spelling/grammar/continuity mistakes. Again, these are first drafts at best.
