A/N: Fourth chapter! So, here's a random question. Have any of you ever watched a stripper get her ass kicked in the middle of the street? It's really weird..especially at three in the morning. And No, it wasn't my stripper. I was in my house. Still, it was random. Well, regardless, enjoy the fourth chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach
Chapter Four
When Shuuhei got to Kensei's room, a number of things happened. First, he noticed how surprisingly clean the mans room was. He had always pegged the guy as messy, but apparently not. There was a queen size bed, a closet, a full length mirror, a dresser, and a low table with four cushions. The next thing he noticed was the walls, which had a few holes in them, obviously made by a fist. That was so comforting. He would be living with a psycho. And then, there was the issue of sleeping together. He didn't dare look at Kensei, who was probably glaring at him, and even when he felt his legs weaken, he didn't move. Kensei was his hero, and despite not seeing him for what, a century? He still got nervous around him. He felt pathetic for making the man help him, and now he would sleep in the same bed. Things could not get any worse. Well, that is until he collapsed from exhaustion. Great, now he can't even stand.
He expected the hard floor, but something strong and warm caught him. He cracked one grey eye open and blushed, realizing Kensei had caught him and their faces were a little too close for Shuuhei's liking. Kensei didn't blush, though he did feel warm, and he picked up Shuuhei like a feather off the ground before plopping him on the bed. Shuuhei huffed, getting irritated at feeling weightless, and crossed his arms which made Kensei scoff and mumble something like 'Fucking brat'. Hisagi thought for a moment Kensei was going to sleep on the floor, since the older man stopped and seemed to consider it, but apparently decided against it. Hey, it was his room and he'll be damned if he doesn't sleep in his bed. The tension rose immediately when he climbed in bed, keeping close to the edge like Hisagi even though the bed was a decent size. Shuuhei wanted to say something, he just didn't know what. Apparently Kensei felt the same, only he actually spoke. He never was one to keep thoughts to himself.
"You look like shit"
...Well that was one way to start a conversation.
"So I've been told. Thanks" Shuuhei responded sarcastically. Kensei rolled his eyes.
"Hmph. Don't think just cause you're sick I won't kick your ass if you try attacking me. Or if you just piss me off"
"I'll keep that in mind when this hollow of mine decides to come out" Shuuhei scoffed. At least he wasn't nervous anymore. Normally he didn't have such an attitude, but this man just brought it out of him. He couldn't decide if that was good or bad.
"Che, whatever. I'm goin to sleep, don't wake me up"
Shuuhei didn't respond, since he probably would wake him when his hollow came back. He would let Kensei sleep for now, but sadly it wouldn't last too long. With that in mind, he forced himself into a sleep that was far too short.
Hiyori had just fallen back to sleep after being rudely woken up from her nap, and was having nice, relaxing dreams when suddenly she jumped awake and nearly toppled out of bed when an odd reiatsu spiked and someones screams echoed throughout the warehouse. She then proceeded to let out strings of unpleasant words.
Shinji had been also sleeping, drooling all over his pillow and not moving a muscle, until he felt a cold, unnerving spiritual pressure explode. It made his skin crawl uncomfortably, and the terrible screams made it feel worse. He sighed, and went into the hallway.
Love and Rose had been playing cards with Hachi in Rose's room when the disturbance happened, and they looked at each other knowingly. The reiatsu felt like a hollows, mixed with a shinigami and something else entirely. It was different than theirs, and made them feel uneasy.
Mashiro had been talking to Lisa while reading manga with her when she suddenly felt like her skin was moving and the temperature had dropped. Lisa had dropped her manga and was already out the door, Mashiro following a second later. On their way to where the reiatsu was strongest, they had grabbed Ichigo who looked tired and confused. Apparently he didn't wake up immediately like the others. Plus he kind of sucked at feeling reiatsu. Even still, it was extremely strong, matching Ichigo's when he releases his full hollow. Even someone like the strawberry could feel it, though it took him a little bit. They ran into the other visoreds who also felt it, and entered Kensei's room where the reiatsu was strongest. They were not greeted with a pleasant sight.
Kensei was stuck against the wall with one of Shuuhei's scythes in his stomach, and Shuuhei had the hollow eye and a smirk that matched Shirosaki's. He noticed the others standing by the door and spun his other scythe at them. Shinji blocked it with his own sword and was about to strike when Kensei summoned his hollow mask and punched Hisagi hard enough to send him through the wall.
"Help me get him to the training grounds" Kensei growled with a watery voice. "And use your damn masks, this kid isn't a fucking joke" He gripped the hole in his stomach and lunged at Shuuhei who was on his feet again. The others summoned their masks and helped force Shuuhei to the training grounds. Once there, Kensei didn't hold back, at all. Yet even with all of his raw power, it was difficult. But not even close to impossible. He used Tachikaze to wound Shuuhei, and punched him again in the stomach. Hisagi used one scythe to trap Kensei and the other to slice his arm. With a growl, the older man grabbed the chain and yanked Hisagi forward, using Tachikaze to stab him in the shoulder as he flew forward.
"Fuck!" Shuuhei screamed with a demented voice. Kensei noticed black leak into the other eye and the gold iris popped out.
"Fuck, Hachi! Restrain him, now!"
Hachi quickly used the strongest bakudo he knew and tied up Shuuhei, and winced as Kensei delivered punch after punch, bruising the younger ones face and body. Ichigo almost intervened but Shinji stopped him.
"It's the only way. He's not like us, training him won't be easy. Until he forms a mask, I'd say the only way to stop him is..well, doing this. It's sad, but if we didn't, I think he could take Kensei, and all of us" Shinji spoke gravely, and honestly.
"You're serious? How can that be possible?"
"Well, you saw how powerful he was before Hachi restrained him. The way I see it, the more he looks like a hollow, the stronger he gets. He injured Kensei with one mere hollow eye, a fraction of his true power. I'm afraid the next time this happens, we'll all have to do what Kensei's doing"
"Look, he's going back to normal!" Mashiro pointed out. Kensei's mask had vanished due to the time limit and Shuuhei was limp within the restraints. Hachi released him and he fell to the floor with a light thud.
"Hachi, can you heal him?" Kensei asked with an exhausted voice.
"Of course, and then I'll get to you" The pudgy man replied. He walked over to Shuuhei and smiled sadly at his battered state before healing him. Kensei sat down on the dirt floor and panted lightly.
"How strong is he?" Hachi asked.
"He matches our strength, for now. Shit..I can't believe this. The kid is a fucking monster. The kid..he's not the same little kid anymore"
"Well of course not. He's a lieutenant of your old division, and he needs us to help him. I can tell by the tattoo that he admires you greatly, I'm sure when he comes to he's going to feel terrible"
"I don't know if we can help him, Hachi. Once he forms a mask..I just don't know.."
"We have to try, Kensei. This isn't something that can be left alone"
"But..what if it's out of our hands?"
"...We will deal with that if and when it happens" Hachi replied solemnly. The fact that even Kensei was worried was unnerving. He had never seen Kensei worry about anyone so much, not even Mashiro who use to be his lieutenant. He couldn't help but wonder what Kensei felt towards the boy. Shuuhei obviously held deep adoration towards Kensei, the tattoo was enough proof, but did Kensei even like the kid? If so, exactly how much?
"Nng.."
Both Kensei and Hachi stopped thinking and looked and Shuuhei, who appeared to be waking up. The others drew their swords, ready for another attack, but didn't move when they saw his normal grey eyes open. Kensei exhaled, not realizing he had been holding in air.
"What..happened?" Shuuhei said with a raspy voice. He saw Kensei's wounds and grew wide eyed.
"I-I hurt you? What..what the hell did I do? K-Kensei I'm so sorry, I.."
"Calm down, kid. You just got a bit out of control. I'm fine"
"Y-you're bleeding though!"
"Tch, don't start stuttering again. I thought we were past that. Just relax and let Hachi fix you up. You're in worse shape than I am"
'What an understatement' Kensei thought bitterly. Shuuhei reluctantly settled down, though inside he felt terrible. He missed being normal. He missed not being in pain every day, and he felt like a pile of shit for hurting Kensei. All Hisagi wanted was for all of this to be a nightmare, and to wake up in his own bed, and do paperwork, and practice guitar and talk with Kira. Poor Izuru was probably worried sick. Shuuhei felt something warm run down his face, and realized it was tears. Thankfully only Hachi could see, and he gave the pink haired man a pleading look, begging him to not say anything. He smiled and nodded slightly. At least he could rely on someone, sort of.
After Hachi healed both Kensei and Shuuhei, everyone headed back into their rooms, all feeling uneasy and slightly disturbed. They had gone on rampages, lost control, hurt people they cared about, but Shuuhei was different. He did all of that without a mask. He wasn't given one like the rest of them. Aizen didn't use him for hollowfication, Kisuke didn't give him a hollow, he was infected by one, and it was mixing with a violent zanpakuto. Nothing good would come out of this, and in the end Shuuhei may be unreachable, there may be no helping him. The whole thing was disturbing, and Hisagi couldn't stop thinking about it as he crawled back into bed.
"Shit kid, you damn near gave me a heart attack" Kensei said while getting resettled under the blankets.
"I'm sorry..I didn't mean to hurt you, it's just.."
"It's not your fault, I know. We've all been through that, hurting people we don't want to. It's the worst feeling, but that's why we train, to get control. And that's what you're gonna do too. Once you obtain a mask, we're gonna train until you drop"
"I..I don't want a mask..what if I can't control it? What of training doesn't help? I can't..I can't keep going through this" Shuuhei sounded weak, and he despised it.
"Stop worrying about the what ifs. It will help and you will control it. We're not gonna let you succumb to that monster inside you, got it?" Kensei's voice was rough, and it reminded him of when Shuuhei was crying as a little kid and wouldn't stop, and Kensei told him to smile. He wasn't good at comforting people. He noticed Shuuhei was shivering, and scooted closer ever so slightly, hoping his body heat would somehow reach him. The shivering died down, and Kensei sighed in relief. He really didn't want to get any closer. He could tell Shuuhei was still thinking negatively, but decided to just let it go and drift back into sleep, Shuuhei following some time later.
When Kensei woke up and his room was still dark, he blearily looked at the clock on his nightstand and sighed at the time, which was 4:32 a.m. Something had woken him up, but he just wasn't sure what..Ah, it was a scream. Well, not really a scream, more like a sound you would make if something surprised/scared you. If he hadn't made the sound, it could only be the one other person in his room. Turning over, his suspicions were confirmed. Shuuhei was sitting up in bed, gasping for air and clutching his rapidly beating heart. Kensei briefly wondered if he should get Tachikaze, but decided against it since Shuuhei didn't appear to be having hollow problems.
"Kid? What's wrong now?" He grumbled with a sleepy voice.
"Nothing.." Shuuhei sighed, tucking his head in his knees. Kensei knew something was bothering him, but decided to drop it and go back to sleep. Well, that's what he would have liked to do, until he notice Shuuhei's body start shaking. Thinking he was going to have another episode and attack him, he grabbed Shuuhei by the arm and forced him to show his face, just to check his eyes. They weren't black, but instead they were something Kensei wasn't expecting. They were watery. The small amount of moonlight allowed Kensei to see the tears stream down the younger ones face, and Shuuhei quickly looked away, obviously embarrassed by showing weakness. Kensei could understand that, but he felt compelled to know the reason for such a random outburst. He just couldn't let it go.
"Hey, what's wrong? What are you crying for?" Kensei attempted sounding calm, but since when did that work? Shuuhei didn't respond, he just continued shaking obviously trying to hold it in. Kensei rested his hand on the others shoulder, which got his attention. Shuuhei merely shook his head, silently saying nothings wrong.
"Bullshit. I'm not an idiot, I can tell somethings wrong. You're not a kid anymore, so you can't possibly break out crying all the time. Am I right?" Shuuhei glared at Kensei, though with watery eyes it wasn't threatening.
"Alright then, so you must have a good reason for this, and I won't let it go until you tell me. Holding shit in only makes it worse, trust me. I do it all the time, but I won't let you do it" Kensei tightened his grasp on Shuuhei's shoulder, making his point clear. Shuuhei let out a shaky sigh.
"Just a bad dream"
"What could have been so horrible about a dream?" Kensei has had his fair share of nightmares, but not one of them made him cry. Then again, he was a master of holding in emotions. He noticed Shuuhei start shaking more and scooted a little closer. It was an odd feeling, wanting to comfort someone so bad. It was very foreign to Kensei.
"I-I hurt everyone, I killed them, even everyone in the soul society. Everyone I love, I killed them..it was too real and I..I feel like it's going to happen..and..and.." Kensei winced, sensing another flood of tears approaching, and didn't even notice his hand start to slide up and down Shuuhei's back.
"And what?"
"I.." Kensei couldn't quite hear what Shuuhei said, since he started mumbling.
"Huh? Speak up kid"
"I killed you!" He blurted out, and tucked his head back into his knees biting his hand to hold back the sobs that he refused to release. Kensei didn't know when or how or why he did it, but he pulled Shuuhei close to him and wrapped his arms around him, still stroking his back comfortingly. He wasn't expecting the kid to get so upset about killing him in a dream, and wasn't sure how to react. All he knew was he wanted the younger man to feel better. Shuuhei gripped Kensei's shirt, soaking it with silent tears.
"Don't cry, kid, I ain't goin anywhere and I'll be damned if you kill anyone. We won't let that happen. Just..don't cry" Kensei's voice surprised the both of them, since it was actually soft and gentle. Shuuhei even looked up to stare at the man, and Kensei found himself blushing and wanted to punch something for it. He was blushing because one, that voice just didn't sound right coming from him and Shuuhei's shocked stare made it worse, two because the kid looked absolutely adorable with wide teary eyes and a flushed face despite how sick he looked, and three because he actually thought the kid was fucking adorable.
"Kensei.." Shuuhei's voice gave Kensei goosebumps, and he suddenly became very aware of how close they were. If he leaned in, he could probably even..
"Fuck!" Kensei blurted out. He did not just think that. There's no way in hell he just thought about kissing the kid.
"Wh-what? What's wrong?"
"N-nothing..just..never mind. You done crying or what?" Yeah, that's it, change the subject. Good job Kensei. Shuuhei sniffed and moved away from the larger man, and Kensei actually had to resist the urge to pull him back. He suddenly felt very cold.
"Yeah..s-sorry about that..thanks for you know, helping me.." Kensei almost groaned at Hisagi's blush. The kid was too cute for his own good.
"Che..don't worry about it"
"Well, goodnight I guess"
"Yeah, night"
A/N: Finally, some fluff! So what if there's some OOC-ness on both sides, it's necessary! The next chapter should be..eventful. Very eventful. Review and let me know what you think!
