G'day ladies and gents, it's Kimba again. You may have noticed that I changed my pen-name and that's because I no longer share this account with my friend. So, yeah.
Anyway, here's the third chapter! I really hope you like it! It's pretty long and took me a while to write. Thank you once again Zev for helping me with ideas and just being awesome in general.
School is starting soon for me so my updates may take a little longer in between, but I'll do my best to keep them regular. I really want to finish this story and I don't want to have you wait forever for new chapters!
Love you all!
-Kimba
Strawberry Catnip
"Beg"
(Ichigo)
"Ichigo!" My sister calls through the door of my room at an all too early hour.
Please. No.
"Hey Ichigo!"
Ugh.
"Ichigo, if you don't wake up, you're gonna be late!"
But it's Friday, Yuzu!
"Dad might eat your breakfast if you don't come down soon…"
My eyelids snap open and I sit up straight away. My stomach growls ravenously as if to say, 'That's my breakfast.'
"Okay, okay, I'm up! Just don't let that old fart touch my food!" I say in as pleasant of a voice as possible. I'm not upset at Yuzu; I've just never been much of a morning person.
I throw off my warm comforter and swing my legs over the edge of my bed. My toes recoil from the cold when they touch the wooden floor, but I tough it out and mechanically put on my school uniform; consisting of gray slacks, a white button up shirt and black shoes. Because the weather is cooling down, I also put on the gray jacket that comes with the uniform.
I hate going to school on Fridays. Fridays are practically the weekend already, so we should just have them off, in my opinion. Besides, I only have four classes on Fridays, which means I get to go home early, but I have calculus, advanced biology, gym and debate so I can't really skip those if I want to graduate and go to medical school like I want to.
Oh shit.
Speaking of debate, I still haven't finished mine, and this is the last day to interview Chizuru and Yumi! I know that procrastination isn't a great habit to have, but it's just so easy to slip into. I know you know what I mean. Normally I find the time to study and get schoolwork done, but Renji's been having a hard time letting go of the summer and keeps inviting me to come over and hang out with Rukia and him. Which would you pick?
A tiny tapping noise sounds from the window above my bed and I notice that there are voices outside. I walk over and slide it open to see who they are coming from.
"Kurosaki! You ready man? We're gonna be late if you don't get out here now." Mizuiro says to me as he waves. Keigo is busy rummaging through his bag for something but he still flashes me an idiotic smile as I look down at them. I usually walk to school with Mizuiro and Keigo, but I didn't think it was so late that they had been waiting already. I glance at the alarm clock on my desk and realize there's only fifteen minutes until school begins.
"Yeah, I'll be right down, sorry!" I yell at them as I shut the glass.
With renewed vigor, I grab my school bag from the foot of my bed and dash out of my room and down the stairs. I decide that breakfast will have to wait and that I'll just eat when I get home. My father doesn't even have time to attack me before I sprint out the front door and make my way to school.
I know you've all experienced this at least once in your life: that feeling that the day just isn't going fast enough? You try not to watch the clock, but you end up staring at it for minutes on end only to shake yourself from a daze and realize that a mere ten minutes has gone by.
Well, that's what's been happening to me, and of course it would happen on a Friday; the day where everyone is ready to start the weekend by going to a party or simply relaxing at home. Unfortunately, I'm only a little more than halfway done with the day and heading to third period, which would be gym. I guess the day hasn't been going all that bad. Gym class is a good place to unwind and stretch your legs and I did get the chance to best Uryu in a few math problems.
Calculus, while usually boring, was rather entertaining because of the aforementioned math war with Uryu. I wouldn't say that I am the smartest person in the class, but I try to give Uryu as much of a hard time as I can. As we were assigned questions on the blackboard in the front of the classroom, we would go back and forth solving problem after problem until the teacher, Mr. Ukitake, forced us into our seats and told us we were banned from answering another question until Monday. This was a good thing, I decided, because the problems were getting continuously harder and I don't think I could have answered many more, but I think Uryu could. This irked me, so I continued to glare at him from across the room, but he resigned himself to ignoring me, which was even more annoying.
In advanced biology, we continued learning about the brain and the processes that go on in it and it's really very interesting, but my teacher creeps me the fuck out. The way Mr. Kurotsuchi talks about the human body makes the hair on my arms and the back of my neck stand up. It's a morbid love for him, I guess.
I arrive at the gym and I have the chance to interview Yumi. We're in the locker room changing into our gym clothes which are gray shorts, sneakers and a white t-shirt. Once outside, I make sure that our teacher, Mr. Zaraki, is distracted with some other students before I make my way over to where Yumi and Ikkaku are standing.
"Hey," I greet them casually. Yumi turns around from their conversation and gives me a slight smile, while Ikkaku grins widely at me. Yumi has chin length straight black hair and bright lavender eyes. He uses red and yellow eyeliner to make a feathery design on the corner of his right eye, making his sexuality extremely obvious. I think he got Ikkaku to do something similar (which surprises me) because he has slight red markings underneath both of his eyes, but in striking contrast to his partner, he is completely bald—supposedly it was voluntary—but I have my doubts. Don't say that to him though; he doesn't like being called bald.
"Hey Kurosaki, you comin' to get your ass kicked in sparring again?" Ikkaku taunts. Ever since he learned that I used to do martial arts, he always wants to spar with me to prove that he's the best. He absolutely idolizes Mr. Zaraki, who also likes to try to give me a beating.
"Ya know, I seem to remember that it was you who got your ass kicked by me, baldy." Ah, breaking the cardinal rule of talking to Ikkaku is always fun. I never said that I actually followed that rule. Ikkaku points a finger angrily at me and his face becomes visibly redder.
"For the last time, damn it, I'm not fucking bald!" He says viciously. I'm sure he meant to be intimidating, but I only laugh at him – and his baldness. He folds his arms and stalks off toward Mr. Zaraki with a huff.
"Oh dear, you've really pissed him off," Yumi remarks as we both watch Ikkaku begin sparring with our teacher.
"Sorry, dude, I just couldn't help it," I chuckle and Yumi snickers too before I continue. "But yeah, what I came over here for was to ask you if you could help me by giving me some information that I can use in my debate for Mr. Kyouraku's class? We'd have to sneak back in the locker room, though, because I left my pen and paper in there."
"Sure hon' – anything to get outta this class. I like him and all, but if Mr. Zaraki thinks I'm going to actually break a sweat in this class, he's very mistaken," Yumi replies and starts to slink over to the locker room door.
Once inside, I ask him all the same questions that I did Grimmjow and I can't help but to keep thinking about him as I interview Yumi. I'm wondering if Grimmjow would actually mind if I talked to him again and I'm a little confused with myself because I truly want to talk to him. I thought that I'd just forget about him, but I guess he's just one of those people that leaves a lasting impression on you, ya know? I thought you had to meet someone in real life to leave an impression on them.
It's strange to me how someone I've only talked to on the internet for a little while could stick in my mind for so long. The idea of chatting with Grimmjow again sends tiny waves of excitement through my body – a feeling I'm not really familiar with. Maybe it's because I'm doing something I've never done before or the anonymity that the internet offers is addicting? Either way, I never expected that I would enjoy chatting online.
I've never been one for online social networking because I always thought that you should meet people in your everyday life because that's how people actually get to know each other. My friends have tried really hard to get me to make a Visagebook for a couple years now, but the way I see it, if people want to get a hold of me, then they can have my phone number. Isn't that how it's supposed to be? Wasn't that how it was done up until recently? Aren't there, like, really sick people online? I suppose there are sick people everywhere, though, and just because you met them in real life doesn't mean they aren't crazy. Look at Mr. Zaraki for example. He's mad as a hatter. I guess, admittedly, it's really easy to avoid strange people online if you know how to protect yourself and don't give away too much information.
So maybe having an online friend isn't so weird after all. I mean, lots of people are meeting online and then in real life nowadays, aren't they?
I decide that going home tonight and messaging Grimmjow won't be weird and hopefully it'll be fun like it was last time. I still couldn't tell you exactly why the need to talk to him was becoming harder and harder to resist. I'm just drawn to the way he talks and the way he thinks, I guess.
"Um, Ichigo? Are you spacing out? Are you finished? Hello?" Yumi sighs and flips his hair agitatedly. "I mean, I thought you were supposed to be talking to me? I don't give my time out to just anybody, you know. You're lucky that you're my friend and cute because I could never forgive an ugly stranger if they let their attention fall from me."
Yumi's voice pulls me back into reality and I stutter for a second trying to come up with a response to his comment. Yumi can be so self-center—wait, did he say I was cute?
"Uh, actually yeah, I am finished and… thanks?" I manage.
"Well, it would've been nice for you to have said something before you sunk into deep thought," He says with a pseudo-pouty look and then reads the clock on the cement wall of the locker room. "We've got ten more minutes of class, so what do you say we go ahead and change back into our uniforms early?"
"Sounds like a plan to me," I reply and then head down a couple rows of lockers to where my clothes and bag are stashed.
I quickly flick off my shoes and gym shorts and pull my uniform pants on. I'm still a little lost in thought about Grimmjow still. Was I being crazy about messaging him again?
"So, how are you and Orihime doing?"
I nearly jump out of the pants I had just slipped on at the sound of Yumi's voice directly behind me. My eyes lock onto him as he observes the nails on his right hand. How did he change so quickly!
"H-how long were you standing there?" I clutch my bare chest as my heart slowly returns to a normal beat.
"Not long," He smiles slyly before continuing. "But you didn't answer my question."
"I, well, fine, I guess. Why?" I reply and quickly button up my shirt and put my school shoes back on. What's this about?
"You guess? Interesting," He says rather like a psychiatrist or something. "So you're not upset that she went away with Tatsuki for the weekend and didn't say anything to you?"
"What?" I say dumbly. Is that why neither she nor Tatsuki were in school today? I noticed their absence, but dismissed it because I thought that maybe I just kept missing them in the hallways since we don't have classes together today. Come to think of it, I haven't gotten any texts from either of them all day, and normally I can count on Hime to send at least one. How the hell did Yumi know all this? Wait, never mind, forget I asked.
"Yeah, Ikkaku told me that Tatsuki went away to some end of the summer martial arts tournament for the weekend, because, you know, they talk about that stuff a lot. He also mentioned that Orihime was going with her, which I thought was strange because I remember yesterday when you told me that you were hopefully hanging out with Orihime this weekend, so I just assumed that she must not have told you. Is that true? Why wouldn't she tell you?" Yumi presses me for information so fast that my head starts to spin.
I don't know why Hime wouldn't have told me about going away with Tatsuki for the weekend. I'm not really bothered that she's with Tatsuki, but why didn't I know about this until now? More than a little confused, I glance at Yumi who is watching me closely like I might go into a dramatic confession about Orihime's and my relationship. I don't know what to think about this situation. Maybe Hime just forgot to say anything to me? It wouldn't be the first time something like that has happened. Before I can even begin to formulate a response, though, a loud voice booms from the direction of the door that leads outside.
"AYASEGAWA! KUROSAKI! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?" Mr. Zaraki's half-crazed yells reach us. Scared classmates of ours start pouring past us and some even warn us to run. I look at Yumi who looks at me and we both nod at each other before grabbing our things and dashing madly toward the exit to the hallway.
Yet, even while panicking, my brain still manages to find time to be disturbed about what I learned from Yumi just now.
As I sit and listen to Mr. Kyouraku's smooth voice as he talks to us, I can't help but to think about Orihime. I'm driving myself crazier and crazier with "what if" scenarios and I desperately wish something would take my mind off things, even for a second. Sure, watching Mr. Kyouraku fend off Mr. Zaraki—from beating me—and remind him of his anger management breathing exercises was amusing albeit frightening, but now that the threat had passed, I found myself lost in confused thoughts.
Hime is a kind person, and she's my girlfriend. I know she cares about me, so why would she not have mentioned going away with Tatsuki to me? Would it really be plausible to assume that she had just forgotten to tell me? My brain offers no comforting responses. In all honesty, I'm probably working myself up more than I need to, but my name wouldn't be Ichigo Kurosaki if I didn't.
It's halfway through last period—debate now—and I suddenly realize that I still have to interview Chizuru. Luckily for me, though, she's in this class. As if on cue, Mr. Kyouraku allows us to use the computers in our classroom so that we may put the finishing touches on our debate assignments if we need to. Scanning the room for Chizuru, I notice her flirting with a girl named Michiru Ogawa and make my way over to them.
"Hey Chizuru. Hi Michiru," I greet them, but before I can say anymore, Chizuru cuts me off with a flurry of questions. Michiru takes this opportunity to scamper away from the both of us. Tatsuki's told me that she's afraid of me because I don't smile. I don't really get that, but okay.
"ICHIGO! Where is Hime? Did you do something to her? And where is Tatsuki? Why are they both missing today?" She lets out a rather loud gasp. "Did you guys break up? Has Hime finally seen the flaws in the male gender? Tatsuki will not steal Hime away like you did!" She finishes her assault on me with her finger mere centimeters from the tip of my nose. Her gray eyes glare daggers into my brown ones and I feel everyone else's from the classroom on my back.
I don't know what to say. That's two people who have asked or made comments about me and Orihime having problems with our relationship. Do we really seem like we are on the verge of breaking up to everyone else? This puts me in an even worse mood, but I decide to put it off for now and just text Hime about all of this when I leave to go home.
"No, we didn't break up," I grumble. I don't even know why I'm getting defensive. I don't have a reason to be, do I? "She's just on a trip with Tatsuki to some martial arts tournament for the weekend."
"Oh," Chizuru replies simply. "So if you weren't coming over here to tell me that I could have Hime all to myself, then what did you want?"
"I just wanted to ask you some questions for my debate," I say through gritted teeth. Why am I getting so upset? I tell myself to just calm down, but I feel so out of control. I don't know what's going on with my girlfriend and I hate the feeling that other people might know more about this situation than I do.
I think Chizuru senses my frustration because she calmly answers my questions and doesn't ask me anything else about Orihime. By the end of class, I have some pretty decent answers from her, so I quickly thank her for her time and go back to my desk. I shove my notebook rather violently into my bag which draws a few stares from my classmates, but I ignore them and go to stand by the exit, wishing the dismissal bell would ring.
A couple minutes later it does and I swiftly make my way toward the front door of the school. I'm staring so intently at the ground that I didn't even realize that a person standing in front of me wasn't moving out of my way until I collided with her – oh God, it's Rangiku. I bounce back off her breasts, stunned.
"Ichigo, what's wrong? You don't look so good," She asks me with a concerned tone and appears to be unfazed from our collision. Her white shirt is barely ruffled, with the buttons unbuttoned to a dangerously low point. I think she hemmed her gray skirt yet again because I definitely see about an inch more of leg than I did yesterday.
"I'm sorry, Rangiku. I wasn't paying attention. It's nothing, though," I lie. I don't want to tell her about my worries mostly because I don't want her to reveal that she knew something I didn't or tell me her thoughts about my relationship with Orihime. I kneel down to help her pick up the books that I had bumped out of her hands.
"It's okay, Ichigo, besides, you're just the guy I was looking for," She smiles sweetly as I hand her back her books.
"I am?" Huh?
"Yeah! Walk with me to my class and then I promise I'll let you go home! I really can't be tardy today!" She says excitedly and motions for me to follow her. I fall in step beside her and she then reveals what she was looking for me for. "Okay, so, Gin's birthday was like a week ago, but I wanted to throw him a party this weekend because my parents are out of town, so it'd be really awesome if you came over. Would you please?"
My raging bad mood nearly makes me say no to her right away, but I can tell that she really wants me to come to this birthday party for Gin. Gin Ichimaru is Rangiku's longtime boyfriend. They apparently met in elementary school and are really close. He used to go to our school so I've seen him around before, but he's a couple years older than us so he's already graduated. I heard he was offered a few full scholarships to really prestigious colleges in a couple different countries because he's like a genius or something, but he turned them all down to go to school closer to Rangiku. He seemed a little strange whenever I saw him, and he's always smiling, but he treats Rangiku like a queen, so I can't hate him.
"I know Orihime won't be there 'cause she's on that trip thingy with Tatsuki, but will you please still come?" Rangiku pleads with me. I think she supposes that I'm hesitating because Orihime won't be there, and there's most likely going to be alcohol involved if I know anything about Rangiku, and some couples have problems with the other partying when they aren't there with them, but that's not it.
"Oh, no, that's not it," I quickly reassure Rangiku before finishing. "Sure, I'll come to the party. Who's gonna be there?" I don't really know whether I will or won't go, but I'm just going to say yes for right now.
"Oh, you know - the usual! Gin and me, of course, and Renji, Rukia, Yumi, Ikkaku, Chad - Uryu said he'll see if he can make it, you know how he likes to act like he's too cool for these things – Shuuhei, Izuru, Momo – you know how she has a crush on my little brother – and Mr. Kyouraku…" she trails off casually and I almost don't realize that there's something terribly wrong with that sentence.
"Wait, what? You can't invite teachers to high school parties! That's, like, really fuckin' illegal!" I don't like to rain on peoples' parades, but really, Rangiku? She puts on a child-like pout of disappointment and stops walking. I thought it was because she was upset, but then I notice that we're actually outside of her next class already.
"Aww, c'mon, why is everybody saying that? I thought it would be fun and Mr. Kyouraku is a nice guy! Well, if people really don't want him there then I guess I'll have to tell him that he can't come," She finishes in a defeated tone.
"I promise the party will be just as fun without him there," I console her and then I remember why Rangiku is one of my best friends. She probably didn't even invite Mr. Kyouraku like she said. I think she was just trying to cheer me up, in her weird Rangiku way. She starts to giggle uncontrollably and I allow the people around us to see a small chuckle escape me, but on the inside, my spirits have been lifted but only for this little moment.
"Oh, one more thing, you know I don't like money or asking for it, but if you could either brink some drinks or money for drinks, that'd be really awesome! Thanks Ichigo!" She gives me a light peck on the cheek and then prances into her classroom, unaware that because of her slow pace she was actually late to class.
I smirk slightly and then resume my exiting of the school. Once outside, I open my phone and send a message to Orihime politely asking her why she didn't tell me about going away with Tatsuki for the weekend. I don't want to beat around the bush, but I don't want to be angry with her either, so I'm just going to wait until I get a reply from her to do anything.
As I journey home, I wonder to myself what I could occupy myself with for the rest of the night. Thoughts of Grimmjow resurface and I remember that I was going to message him… but maybe after I watch that episode of False Blood that Chad said was really good.
Many, many hours later, I find myself face down on the couch downstairs, drooling as I'm half asleep, after an exhausting marathon of False Blood. It wasn't that bad of a show. I'm normally not into fantasy, but the first season was pretty good.
I slowly push myself into a sitting position, rubbing the crick in my neck and wiping the saliva off my chin. I recall stripping down into my green boxers and throwing a sky blue t-shirt on when I came home from school and then immediately beginning to watch TV. The cable box underneath said TV tells me that it's nearly two on Saturday afternoon which is sort of disappointing. I do love to sleep in, but I also don't like to waste the day. Granted I did stay up very late watching an ungodly addicting show, but I don't remember the last time I slept until two.
Deprived of anymore episodes to watch—since I watched a good bit of them last night—I decide to get some lunch and head up to my room. I ease myself off the couch and enter the kitchen where I quickly snatch the whole gallon of milk from the fridge, a whole box of cereal, and a rather large serving bowl and spoon and bring them all up to my room. Yuzu left a note on the kitchen table explaining that she, Karin and Dad had gone out grocery shopping and would be back later.
Once in my room, I dump nearly all of the ingredients of my brunch into the bowl that I put on my desk and begin feasting. I also start thinking of what I'm going to do today. Rangiku's party is later on tonight, but as I flip open my phone, I see that I have yet to receive a response from Orihime about this weekend. I decide not to let this deter me, though, because she'll have to face the music eventually on Monday, so I'm definitely going to Rangiku's party. I'm trying not to be annoyed with Hime, but I'll admit that I am kinda ticked.
I don't know if it is irritation, exhaustion, hunger or a combination of all three spurring me on (mostly exhaustion and irritation, I think), but I find myself opening my laptop and getting into my email to message Grimmjow. To hell with it; I'm feeling a little reckless today, so why the fuck not?
'Hey Grimmjow,' I start. I wait for myself to hesitate, to second guess myself about talking to Grimmjow again, but surprisingly I feel good about this email, so I type on.
'What's up, man? How are you? I'm doing okay. (I'm unsure of whether or not he'd actually care to hear about Orihime, so I won't go into it.) My debate is pretty much done, so I just emailed because it's Saturday afternoon and I just woke up after an all night marathon of False Blood. You ever watch that show? It's pretty good if you like that sort of thing.
I'm just lying around my room, so feel free to message me back whenever you get this.
-Ichigo'
Satisfied with my message, I click send before my regained confidence has the chance to disappear and then resume devouring my cereal. It feels nice to have someone that doesn't know too much about you or your personal life for them to really judge you. Maybe that's why I'm really hopeful that Grimmjow replies. Escaping reality sounds pretty nice right about now.
.x.x.x.
(Grimmjow)
It's late Saturday morning and I'm relaxing in the warm sun rays that are coming through the dorm window. God, I could stay here forever but the thing that keeps me from falling into a full on cat nap is the fact that Ulquiorra hasn't returned yet. I don't want to text him because he told me that he would contact me first when he could. Normally I wouldn't have listened to him for this long, but I don't want to get him in trouble in case the police told him that people should leave him alone.
Thursday evening the detectives on his father's suicide case gave him a ring and he explained that he had to go and meet with them and a lawyer about his father's last wishes. Apparently all of this information had been withheld due to an ongoing investigation because some believed the suicide to actually be a murder. I don't know what to make of it, and I'm not sure where Ulq stands on this issue or how it's affecting him, but I sure hope he's okay. I just want this nightmare to be over.
Ever since our talk at the coffee shop, being with Ulquiorra has steadily been becoming the way it used to be. I know it's only been a week, but he has been making conversation with me more and I couldn't have asked for anything better. But where would good be without bad? Ulquiorra has also been becoming a little irritable asshole because he hasn't had his drugs in days. I don't know that much about withdrawal, but I don't think this is something I have to take Ulq to rehab for because he's just getting fuckin' snappy (none of that shaking crap). I can tolerate his attitude for a little bit, but I have a mean bite as well—or so I've been told.
Even though I'm happier now that Ulquiorra and I have been working on our problems and I think we can be happy together again, I still have this lurking, sinking feeling that things aren't all right. Like they'll never be the way they were again, no matter how much I want them to be. It's hard to describe, but I feel like I'm trying to put a tiny ass band aid over a gaping hole in my chest where my heart used to be. It's driving me insane. Speaking of things that drive me insane…
A cloud passes under the sun effectively cutting me off from my happy vitamin D. I glare out the window and see that the clouds stretch on for miles and it's impossible to tell when the sun will be revealed again. Grumbling, I sit up and try to think of something to do. Nothing comes to mind, but I notice that I'm maddeningly thirsty. I slide off my bed so that I can get into the mini-fridge underneath. However, when I open it, my irritation heightens and I find that I have nothing left to drink at all. No soda. Not even water; and I'll be damned if I drink it out of the sink. Like hell I'd trust the dorm bathrooms to be clean.
I decide to head off campus to the convenience store to restock on the general college beverages like Mountain Doo, Dr. Salt and milk. I fuckin' love milk.
A couple hours later, I'm leaning against the wall of the elevator going up to my dorm. I took my time out in town by stopping in random shops on the way to the grocery store. There was a toy store that I had a great time at but I guess they didn't find me very amusing when I put on a flaming red afro wig and took a wooden sword and starting brandishing it at all the customers who came through the door. C'mon, a bit of rough housing never killed anyone, right? And what's up with kids these days who don't want to fight with someone who's antagonizing them? Those little brats need to learn how to fight (and I just wanted to have fun).
Anyway, after security escorted me off the premises (something about terrorizing small children), I picked up the beverages I needed (oh sweet milk) and made my way back on campus, making sure to glare into the toy store as I passed it again.
The elevator makes a dinging sound, signaling that I'm on the floor that I want. I step out and make my way to my door and fumble with my keys for a second before unlocking the door and pushing it open.
Something is wrong - very, very wrong.
Where the fuck is all of Ulquiorra's stuff? I drop the grocery bag in the door way and look frantically around. His side of the room has been completely cleared out. His bedding, his notebooks, his clothes – everything is gone. The room smells heavily of pine freshener and I can tell that all of his standard dorm furniture has been cleaned. It's like he was never even here to begin with.
I can rule out burglary because as I start to look through my things, I know that nothing has been taken, though I can tell that someone had looked through them. I'm extremely confused and also worried. Had something happened to Ulquiorra? Would I have heard about it if he got hurt? I decide to look around the dorm building and ask if anyone had seen Ulquiorra come through at all. I step out of the dorm, still not bothering to put away my drinks and begin looking for people to interrogate.
I search the entire floor but only find a couple people in a lounge who tell me that they haven't seen anyone on this floor since they'd gotten there an hour ago. That still leaves like an hour and a half between the time I left the building and the time they got in the lounge. Who could clear out so much stuff so quickly without anybody seeing? Then an idea occurs to me. Aha! I know who would have had to have seen something.
Not wanting to deal with the elevator, I dash for the stairwell and descend to the ground level. The security guard is sitting in her usual spot watching a tiny DVD player. I approach the front desk and wait for her to notice me, but she doesn't even look up from her movie. I clear my throat but still get no response.
"Uh, hello?" I say impatiently.
"What do you want?" She asks nonchalantly, still not taking her eyes off the DVD. It's people like this who make murder seem easy.
"I was wondering if you had seen my, uh, friend. He's a little shorter than me with black hair and he's kinda pale? All his stuff's gone and I was wondering if you'd seen anybody with moving boxes?" I ask with as even of a tone as I can manage. God I want to knock this lady's block off.
"Listen, I just got back from lunch and frankly, I don't remember any faces that come and go through here. If they have passes, they are allowed to come in - simple as that. Now please, I'm trying to watch a movie here. Rude," She finishes and dismisses me and STILL doesn't look away from her movie. That's the last straw.
"What the fuck kind of security guard are you?" I ask in disbelief as I slam my fist onto her desk instead of through the back of her DVD player like my anger was urging me to. At least that got a slightly frightened look out of her. Satisfied, I climb the stairs back to my floor and decide to search the dorm room one more time.
As I step into the room, I decide I should at least put away my groceries, so I pick up the bag and walk open to my mini-fridge and open it. Instead of it being empty, however, there is a small folded piece of paper that wasn't there before. I snatch it up and replace it with my drinks. Could it be a note? I open it and see that it's clearly Ulquiorra's handwriting, which gives me some relief but what it says leaves me feeling drained.
'Grimmjow,
I'm sorry that I couldn't say this in person, but I can't be with you anymore. I've decided to withdraw from school with you and to go live with distant relatives elsewhere. I just don't feel the same about us like I used to and I think that getting away from this area will do me good. Please don't try to find me. I've already blocked your number.
I'm sorry things didn't work out. It was fun while it lasted.
-Ulquiorra'
As I finish reading the letter, I let the paper fall from my hand. I move to a sitting position on my bed and try to sort out my feelings. I've never been broken up with before. I assumed it didn't feel good, and it doesn't, but oddly enough there's a small part of me saying 'I told you so'. It's like my subconscious was expecting this, and I could kind of always feel it. I guess I was just trying to prolong the inevitable, but I just wish Ulq had the balls to tell me this shit to my face. It's just like when we first met – he didn't acknowledge me as an equal then, and he still doesn't to this day.
If Ulquiorra had any shit left in this room, I would have broken it. I want so badly for some form of closure. I'd prefer this kind of thing to be in person but even a lousy fucking phone call would have been better than this.
As if to taunt me, my email alerts me that I have a new message. Thoughts of Ulquiorra swarm my mind, and I know that it'd be ridiculous to think that he might have messaged me after leaving that note, but somehow I cling to hope and open my inbox.
Of course it's not from the person I was expecting. How could I have ever hoped it would be? Though, it's definitely from a person I wasn't expecting ever again. Ichigo Kurosaki, huh? What could he possibly want now? I almost don't open the email, fully intending to ignore it but there's a small part of me that is curious as to what Ichigo said.
Giving in, I sit at my desk and open the message. As I read, I think about fate and other ridiculous fairytale things like that. As someone walks out of my life, another one enters. Just as my dad walked out of mine, and Ulquiorra came in; now Ulquiorra is gone and Ichigo suddenly wants to chat with me. Am I in the fucking twilight zone or something?
Feeling like an emotional animal, I basically ignore Ichigo's entire message and begin raging on to him about what had just happened. The poor guy probably wasn't expecting this kind of response, but I feel like if I just talk to someone about it, that it would help bring me some of that thing called 'closure' that I so desperately want. It's amazing what people will tell to complete strangers before they would tell their closest friend of ten years.
Once I'm done summing up the rocky part of Ulquiorra's and my relationship, I hit send and immediately regret it. I feel like I'm going insane and I hate it. I never used to be this way. I used to think I knew everything. I used to be collected albeit spontaneous, but I just feel like a rag doll now. I used to be brand new, but now I just feel used emotionally and physically. I don't feel like myself anymore and it's the hardest thing that I've ever been through. I don't know what to feel and it makes me want to cry. I hold myself together, though, because I haven't cried since I was small and I'll be damned if I start now over someone who didn't even have to the decency to tell me goodbye to my face. I lay my head on the cool desk and try to calm myself down. I'm not going to let myself get worked up over this; it's not even worth it. It's kind of like Ulquiorra said about his father, 'Relationships are futile. They only bring pain.' But why does it feel so wrong to say that?
The sound signals that I have a new email in my inbox and this time I'm hesitant to look at it for different reasons than before. I really don't want for Ichigo to have a bad impression on me, but then I reason that I shouldn't even care what this kid thinks of me. I open the email and am genuinely surprised at what I find.
'Grimmjow, I'm sorry man. I've been kind of going through some weird times with my girlfriend so I can understand where you're coming from and a little bit of what you're going through. I guess my advice to you would be to not get yourself too down about it. You did everything you knew how to fix it, but that's life – you win some, you lose some.
Listen, I don't know if this would help, but my friend is having a party tonight, and you don't have to come, but if you want to get your mind of things then you're more than welcome to. Here's my number so that you can text me if you want the address of the house.
321-677-1515
-Ichigo'
At some point while I was reading I notice that a small smile had creeped its way onto my face. I reckon this Ichigo kid isn't so bad if he can comfort a total stranger like that. I'm not sure how I would have reacted if the situation was reversed, but I don't think it would have been the way Ichigo did.
Now I was at a loss for what to do, though. Would it be inappropriate for me to go to this party the day I was broken up with? I shake my head immediately at that thought. No, Ulquiorra doesn't deserve that from me anymore. I'm feeling more than just a little angst as I type Ichigo's number into my cell phone and send him a text saying that I'll come to this party. I ignore it though because I'm not going to let these crazy feelings take control of me anymore. I'm going to go back to the old Grimmjow who had confidence and a lot more fun. Misery loves company and I wasn't going to give it that satisfaction. Life is meant to be lived, and I'm definitely going to live it up.
As I walk down the street of a quaint little neighborhood, I feel considerably more nervous than I did when I agreed to come to this party. I'd only talked to this guy, what, like once? How did I know he was actually who he said he was? Come to think of it, how did he know that I was who I said and yet he still invited me down here? I let out an audible sigh to help clear my mind. I'll just keep my eyes open for anything suspicious. I'm a grown man and besides, I'm already down in this part of town, so I may as well see if this Ichigo is a real person or not.
I stop in front of a mailbox with the numbers '1010' on it and pull out my phone to confirm that the address of this Rangiku girl's house was 1010 Haineko St. Well, here goes nothing. I walk up the three steps onto the porch and ring the doorbell. I hear voices and the sounds of a party going on so I at least know that the party wasn't a lie.
The door sings open and a strawberry blonde girl with a drunken blush covering her entire face and huge tits comes tumbling out of the house. On reflex I catch her, before she hits the ground and starts rolling down the steps, though.
"You mmmmust beee Iiiichiiigo's l-little gay f-friend, eh?" She slurs at me and makes no effort to stand herself up. I wonder if she knows that her skin tight dress is hiked up so far that I can see the color of her panties. I don't think she does.
"My name's Grimmjow and yes, Ichigo did invite me. Um, who are you?" I answer as I try to get the girl to stand up on her own.
"Whattt! Iiichiiigo d-didn't t-tell y-you about mee? I'm Rrrangikuuu! D-duh!" She squeals in disappointment and frowns. "I'm g-gonna hafta teeeach him a lesssson!" She tries to right herself and pull her dress down, but to no avail. She starts falling forward and I'm worried that I won't catch her in time but luckily someone has appeared in the doorway to catch her.
"There you are, Rangiku! Gin and I have been looking all over for you. I thought I heard the doorbell ring," This new [black-haired] guy yells back into the house as he steps onto the porch, supporting Rangiku. "Gin! I found her! Come here!" I can't tell if this is Ichigo or not because I've never heard his voice and his face is being obscured by Rangiku's head. As if on cue, she calls him by his name.
"Iiichiiigooo, youuu didn't tell yourrr frrriendd ab-bout me, you b-big mmmeaniee," She attempts to step on his foot but misses by a large margin and nearly kicks me in the groin.
"Hey! Watch where you're aiming, woman!" I say. I'm not angry, I'm just having fun teasing a drunk girl. She giggles at me in what I think was meant to be an apology. Then another man with silver hair appears at the door and smiles at us.
"Rangiku, it's time to go bye-bye," He says in a tone that sounds like he's playing a game with the blonde. "Let Ichigo say hi to his friend, c'mon." He relieves Ichigo of his burden and brings the still giggling Rangiku back into her house while trying to force her dress back down to an appropriate length. I watch them go down the hallway and back toward the party and smile. I'm already feeling good about being here.
"Hey, Grimmjow," Someone greets me and I look back to where he's standing. I don't know if I'd say that I believe in love at first sight. I'm not that childish. What I did see when I saw him, though, definitely gave me a strange feeling of being gravitated towards him. I felt like something metal being pulled towards a very powerful magnet. It could have been the way his orange hair fell over his forehead, the way he was observing me with his chocolate brown eyes or the odd little smile he was giving me, but he was incredibly inviting.
"Hi Ichiiii," I tease and watch as his mouth twitches a little at my infamous nickname for him.
Oh yeah, tonight was gonna be fun.