hmmm, i always wondered how Ichigo would be like if he didn't have all the guilt thing running through him…hard to imagine since his guilt thing seemed to have build up right from the start, oh wells…
okay, to answer a few qn
- Pantera is currently still with Ichigo but since Ichigo couldn't bring any form of zanpakutous with him, it is under the safe keeping of the Fifth Division
- the rest of the Gotei won't appear until much later…i mean, Ichigo won't really cause harm unless provoked and i doubt he's so stupid as to bring attn to himself…and since pple usually provoke him because of his hair, hmmm, not much prob here since plenty of people in the academy have vibrant and outstanding hairstyles
- Grimm remembering…not sure when, but it won't be soon…haha…even if he does, he won't remember all… XP
- and oops, Grimm really seemed like an ass now compared to Kouhei, doesn't he…haha…but hah, Grimm has always been an ass, so wells…
- oh right, and sorry for making Ichigo to be such a wuss as to cry…ehhh…
- Rin and Ryuuha are Rukia's and Byakuya's cousin…i think? i mean, that's what you call branch-family members? haha…
- and don't worry, this is going to be happy-ending story…
weird chapter, btw…just a simple warning…haha!
list of OCs who had appeared to help you keep track:
- Kanai Yuusuke (ichigo's first friend in the Academy)
- Ohira Kuranosuke (ichigo's roommate)
- Seto Hizanshi (ichigo's roommate)
- xx Chiiyaki (Yuu's childhood friend)
- Takada Kouhei (have an interest in ichi)
- xx Takeshi (grimm's roommate)
- Kuchiki Ryuuha (grimm's roommate)
- Kuchiki Rin (ryuuha's twin sister)
disclaimer: i don't own Bleach
Eternity
IV
"J-jealous?!" Grimmjow managed to sputter out in answer to Ryuuha's statement, "Why would I be jealous? Who would I be jealous of?!"
"Because Ichigo isn't looking at you anymore," Ryuuha told him calmly, "That's your reason, isn't it?"
"It is fucking not! He - he - "
"You certainly didn't sound like you actually hated him," Takeshi pointed out, "More like angry that he wasn't paying attention to you,"
"Where the hell did you guys get all these ideas from? Look, I said I dislike him right? When I first saw him…you can't really expect that to change into…I mean, to be jealous of him or just plain jealous, I have to be…" Grimmjow took in a deep breath, getting increasingly flustered and no longer knowing what he was going to say.
"Grimmjow?"
Letting out a loud sound of frustration, he turned towards their room door, "I'm getting some fresh air away from you guys. What a load of rubbish," He stormed out of their room.
"It definitely seemed like jealousy to me," Kouhei mumbled quietly to himself.
"Agree…" Takeshi added softly, "It feels like he's in denial,"
"You have competition then, Kouhei," Ryuuha said with an air of nonchalance.
A pause. "Don't say it so uncaringly!" Kouhei yelled at him indignantly.
Turning a corner, Grimmjow growled furiously to himself. Who did Kouhei, Takeshi and Ryuuha think they were? Making such presumptions on him! What crap, no way he was even remotely jealous.
Grimmjow sank into the couch in their student lounge, hands ruffling his hair and eyes shut in annoyance.
As if he didn't already have enough of his mind, now he had to deal with their grievance? Who cared about Kurosaki Ichigo?! He was just a brat in their class that was somewhat good-looking. Ichigo was definitely not who he was looking for, so why waste any time on him? Didn't they know? He was running out of time. Any longer and the person he was looking for might have moved on.
Mutely, Grimmjow reached for the ring hanging on the chain from his neck. He turned it over carefully, looking at the design and finally stopping at the word etched on it. Forever…
The hell, why wasn't whosever name on it?! What the fuck was 'forever'? At this rate, he'll never find who the other person who held the other ring was. And he had no doubt that it had to be his lover, girlfriend or boyfriend, otherwise he wouldn't have kept this engagement-like ring by his side through his death! Definitely not from his fucking family nor the crappy gang he was in. He certainly didn't remember either of them giving him such things.
And that was the problem. His grip around the ring tightened unconsciously as he ran through the same conclusion he drew out every single fucking time. He knew exactly when and how he died and he definitely had no such lover that could fit into the category of him being so faithful to. The next thing he knew, he was in Soul Society, queuing up to get the district number of Rukongai that he was going to be allocated to, the silver band on his ring finger.
Logically, there seemed to be no jump in his memories. Everything flowed. Except for two problems. The first was this ring. He knew he died without it but he had appeared in Soul Society with it. So where had it come from? The second was that…there was a thirty year time difference between when he died and when he came to be in Soul Society. It made no sense and infuriated him to no end.
That's why he needed to find who the other person who owned the other ring was. So that he could clarify everything. And maybe, just maybe, if he had liked the person that much to share matching rings and stuff…
Even if that wasn't possible, at least he'll be able to move on with his life. Finally free instead of being stuck at the same square for the past ten years.
He took another deep breath. That was the reason he was here, wasn't it? Grimmjow told himself firmly, trying to convince himself that coming to the Academy was the right choice. Just a few more years before I give up…I can deal with it. Kurosaki Ichigo is just another obstacle, like the many others I had. No point making a fuss over him. He breathed out, slightly more calm. But why didn't whoever he was look for me instead? He should know that I'm…
The sound of a fist banging onto a door caused him to look up. Right in front of him, a cute-looking boy bearing a resemblance to Ichigo barring the hair colour was cursing at a locked door. Judging from the annoyance on his face, Grimmjow surmised that he had been locked out of his dorm. He took that as a cue to get started on finding his mystery person and stood up, heading towards the boy.
Strange, the boy gave off the same vibes as Ichigo but he felt no irritation that came with Ichigo crawling up his skin.
"So, uhh, Ichigo? Are you joining us in visiting Yuu's place over the vacation?" Seto asked as politely as possible during one of their etiquette lessons.
Ichigo stared deadpanned at him. He had already agreed to visit Yuu's house in Rukongai, hadn't he? Why was Seto asking him again?
"No, no, Seto-san. Your phrasing is a little off. First of all, you must address him by Kurosaki-san or Kurosaki-sama. Remember, he is now your superior officer," The blonde hair teacher told Seto admonishly.
Ahh, that's why. Etiquette lessons. Another new subject that was introduced since the decision for rotating the Academy's duties among the Captains came about. Ichigo suspected that this particular lesson was a result of either Byakuya's or Soi Fong's handiwork. The two of them were rather similar in that sense, going on about Ichigo's lack of manners. But etiquette lessons are pushing it a little too far isn't it? Not like any students will seriously use it…
Seto fidgeted again and Ichigo couldn't blame him. Currently, Ichigo was pretending to be a Fifth Seat of some Division and Seto was his underling. Being the underling, Seto was forced to do a tea ceremony in front of him as well as using keigo when speaking to him. Of course, his hastily done tea ceremony was criticised heavily by their teacher and had caused the teacher to hover around them more than the rest of the class. Shifting his hands in his lap, Ichigo wondered vaguely if his Fifth Seat was ever offered tea so formally.
Personally, Ichigo felt that it might have something to do with the teacher knowing that he was the Captain of the Fifth Division. If her winking was anything to judge by.
"Well, erm, Kurosaki-sama, would you honour us with your visit over the coming holiday?" Seto tried again.
Behind the teacher, Ohira made a gagging face at Seto's reworded sentence.
Ichigo decided to play along to spare Seto the wrath of their teacher, "Yes, Seto-san. I would be delighted,"
Hanging around Byakuya sometimes had a benefit. At least he managed to gleam some verbal skills during a few of Byakuya's encounter with Soi Fong and such. It was the one time that Ichigo actually felt glad he had pay attention during their verbal spars.
Their teacher nodded in approval and moved to the back of the class which she had neglected in favour of picking on Seto. Both Seto and Ichigo sighed in relief.
"That was disgusting. Do we really have to suck up to our superiors that much?" Seto made a face.
Ichigo shrugged. Honestly, he didn't know since he was one of the upper-ranked Shinigami in Seireitei. The lower seats didn't really have much interaction with him and he doubted that they would dare to do such acts so blatantly.
"I can't wait for the vacation to come," Seto said in a low voice while still pretending to be making polite conversation.
"The holiday only last two weeks though, pretty short if you ask me," Ichigo bowed a little, mimicking Seto's actions, "Still, I can't wait to see Yuu's siblings,"
"Heard he had twelve. I wonder how he survived," Seto paused to take up the teapot, "By the way, did you know that he had invited Grimmjow?"
The teacup in Ichigo's hand slipped and the hot tea cascaded down onto Seto's outstretched hand. Seto let out a loud yelp, attracting their teacher's attention.
"Seto-san! You are not supposed to make such noises in front of your superi - "
"It's fine, sensei," Ichigo cut in before their teacher can make a bigger fuss, "It is not Seto's fault. If anything at all, the blame is on me seeing that I had accidentally spilt scalding tea on him. It is only human nature, after all, to let out a sound of surprise," Ichigo said in his most formal voice.
There was silence around them for awhile as the rest of the groups listened to Ichigo's speech. Their teacher stared at him wide-eyed for a moment before nodding and mumbling out her half-hearted praise on Ichigo's way of speech as she used a healing kidou on Seto's hand. She wandered back to where she was shortly after.
"Holy cow, Ichigo, how did you do that?!" Seto asked, hysterical, "You sounded like you were telling her off!" Seto's voice rose a little.
"Relax," I just had lots of practice, "Anyway, are you sure? Yuu invited Grimmjow?" Ichigo asked anxiously.
"Yes well…you don't mind, do you?" Seto shifted slightly, "I mean, you guys looked like you gotten into an argument, so I think Yuu was thinking of helping you guys to make up,"
"Doubtful that's possible," Ichigo said lowly as he brushed off Seto's concern.
Ichigo wandered to the cafeteria alone. His other roommates had forgotten to grab their books for the afternoon and with large uncharacteristic pleading eyes, convinced Ichigo to grab seats for them at lunch. Naturally, his thoughts drifted to his conversation with Seto during etiquette classes.
He'll be with us during the holidays huh…Should be fine, I guess. I mean, I've been acting normally these past few weeks, haven't I?
If ya count normally as speaking stiffly ta him, that is.
…you've been avoiding my question lately, Hichigo.
Which one was it again?
The one where you're being strangely talkative and involved.
Ah, right…oh look, Grimmjow alert. Hichigo broke off their connection immediately.
Damn Hollow, Ichigo cursed under his breath. All the same, he looked up and Hichigo was right, Grimmjow was just a few feet in front of him, chatting up a group of giggly girls.
Ichigo's presence seemed to have drawn Grimmjow's attention from them momentarily and some of the not-so-dazed girls turned to look at him. One in particular, bounced up to him. It took a while before Ichigo registered her as Yuu's friend.
"Ichigo!" She chirped as she latched onto Ichigo's arm and started pulling him towards her friends.
"Umm, Chii, I don't think…" Ichigo tried to struggle out of her grip, not wanting to join in a group of people in conversation with Grimmjow.
And no, he wasn't avoiding Grimmjow. At least, not as purposely as he used to. He just preferred not needing to communicate with Grimmjow as much as possible.
"Hey guys, lemme introduce, this is Ichigo," Chii gestured as her friends looked at Ichigo in interest, "And this is Saiyuri, Tam - "
It was at this point that Ichigo lost track of all the names that were said. He blinked a little and attempted to look like he had remembered everything Chii was spouting out.
" - and this attractive gentleman here, Grimmjow, was just chatting us up," Chii said with a smile.
Ichigo frowned, attractive gentleman? And Grimmjow was chatting them up?
"Of course, his pick up line left much to be desired," Chii added carelessly.
At that, Ichigo had to stifle his laughter, managing to turn it into a cough. He could almost feel Grimmjow's murderous glare. Ichigo coughed a little.
Chii's grin grew wider at Ichigo's and Grimmjow's reactions, "So Ichigo, heard from Yuu that you are coming over to visit us?" She tugged Ichigo towards the cafeteria.
Vaguely aware that the group of girls behind them was now conversing with a very silent Grimmjow, Ichigo replied, "Yeah, well, you'll be there?"
"Yup! Our parents made us promise to visit every holiday,"
"Parents? Wait, you're born in Rukongai?"
"No, of course not, don't be silly," Chii gave a little giggle and Ichigo have to forcefully remind himself that she did that purposely to infuriate others, "None of us are actually born in Rukongai, our parents are just roles decided by the communities that we have formed,"
"Ahh, right,"
"You don't sound believing," She frowned, "Hey, I thought you came from Rukongai too?"
Oh shit. "Yes, well…" Ichigo thought fast, "I didn't come from such a big community so I guess I didn't really know…" Please let her believe me, please let her believe me.
Chii gave him a funny look before continuing, "So yup, we are all working hard for our exams so we don't have to stay back during the holidays for extra lessons,"
"…there are exams?"
Chii looked at him, exasperated, "Okay, so Yuu warned me that you don't usually pay attention during class but there had got to be a limit! Ichigo, I can't believe you didn't know there's going to be exams! That's like one of the most important things!"
"…right," Ichigo scratched his head a little, "So when's it?" Damn, maybe I shouldn't keep tuning out during lessons.
Wonder how ya managed ta keep up so far too. There was a loud mental snigger.
"In a week time, actually," Chii paused, looking concerned, "Are you sure you'll be able to manage? Do you need help?" She looked worried and Ichigo didn't blame her.
"Er, thanks, I - "
"Don't need help," Grimmjow cut in, smoothly interrupting Ichigo halfway.
Ichigo glared at him, "Excuse me, please don't make my decisions for me,"
Grimmjow snorted, "Please, you're in the best class in this fucking place. Don't tell me you need to sink so low to ask for help from people from the other classes," Grimmjow sneered at him, "Makes people wonder how you get into the class in the first place,"
Ichigo's eyes narrowed before he decided to ignore Grimmjow in the best way he could, "Hey Chii, you hear a fly buzzing about just now? Really annoying, don't you think?" Ichigo asked innocently before turning and marching briskly off to the cafeteria.
Chii gave a half-muffled laugh before following Ichigo. Grimmjow was left fuming at the treatment, unable to understand Ichigo's behaviour and unable to understand his own. Why had he cut off Ichigo then?
"In celebrations! Cheers!" Yuu exclaimed loudly as he brought his bottle of sake up in the air.
That was followed by other loud cheers and a clanking sound as the others lifted their sake bottles to meet Yuu's.
"Man, this is the life," Ohira said as he leaned back on the grassy plains, sipping his sake blissfully.
"To the torture of school and exams being over! Cheers!" Kouhei raised his bottle again and the rest joined in.
"Nice place you have, Yuu," Takeshi said as he waved his bottle in the direction of Yuu's house and the river that was beside it.
"Thanks. Peaceful, isn't it?"
"Ah-uhh, District One sure is nice," Seto said wistfully.
"But it sure is boring," Grimmjow said with a scoff.
"You've only been here for a day!" Kouhei smacked Grimmjow across the head, earning himself a vicious glare.
"You okay Ichigo?" Yuu asked, finally noticing Ichigo's silence, "You aren't still thinking about your exams?"
"It's no big deal," Seto hurriedly joined in, mistaking Ichigo's lack of response, "I mean, you're only the bottom of the class. Not like you were kicked out or you have to take the extra lessons,"
"Beside, bottom of your class doesn't really mean much," Chii said pointedly, "You guys are in the best class after all,"
"But still, to get a big red D for Theory of Kidou? Pathetic," Grimmjow said derisively.
"Grimmjow!" Both Takeshi and Kouhei hissed loudly and elbowed Grimmjow at the same time.
"…I wasn't thinking about my results…" Ichigo stared at them blankly.
"You weren't?" Ohira asked, blinking in surprise, "I thought it would affect you more,"
"Nah, just enjoying the view here," Ichigo turned back towards the river, "It's not everyday you see such things," It reminds me of the one back home…where Grimm… Ichigo shook his head quickly to clear his mind. Not now, and definitely not here. Not when that bastard Grimmjow is present. Ichigo shot a scowl at Grimmjow.
"What?" Grimmjow shot back when he saw Ichigo's expression.
"Nothing," Ichigo said with an air of innocence, "Just couldn't imagine a boar like you being able to enjoy anything remotely scenic,"
The whole group started coughing loudly as one to cover up their laughter as Grimmjow growled back at Ichigo. Grimmjow's growl turned into a smirk suddenly.
"At least I'm not a pussy like you. Entertaining romantic thoughts about this place, aren't you? Woman,"
"And apparently someone couldn't differentiate between admiring a picturesque place and thinking up romantic ideas. Strange, I thought they were two different kinds of actions," Ichigo pretended to be deep in thought before suddenly exclaiming, "Oh, I'm sorry. Was I using too big words for you, kid?"
"Bitch, you need to stop thinking that you are the smartest. Cause, newsflash, you aren't. Oh, I still remember your big fat Cs and Ds. Terrible grades. Aren't you shameful at all? In fact, I don't know why the teachers are excusing you from those extra classes. You seriously need them," Grimmjow mocked.
"Now, now, children, play nice," Chii put on her best mother-voice before joining in with the laughter that was taking over the group.
Grimmjow and Ichigo jumped at Chii's voice, having almost forgotten that the rest was with them as well. They made eye-contact for a second before breaking it off promptly and turning to their neighbours, once more taking to ignoring each other. Neither could shake off the weird feelings that had come with their petty argument.
"Sorry guys, making all of you squeeze together in this small space," Yuu said apologetically.
"Nah, it's fine. After all, you guys are the one who allowed the whole bunch of us to visit and take a room to ourselves," Kouhei waved him off.
Ohira nodded in agreement, "At least we aren't in as bad a state as your brothers and sisters. Twelve in a room, are you sure they don't mind?" He asked worriedly.
"They'll be fine. As long as you agree to play with them tomorrow," Yuu said cheekily.
Seto groaned, "Somehow, I'm not looking forward to that. Why do you have so many kids running around here?!" He gave a small noise of frustration.
"Seto and kids don't seemed to mix well," Ichigo teased before laughing at Seto's harassed look, "And, I still can't believe your parents assigned numbers to them. Hard to think of calling you as Ichi instead of Yuu,"
Yuu laughed, "Sounds like your name, doesn't it Ichigo? Ichi… besides, it's easier for you to remember, right? Calling me Ichi, my second brother Ni, my third sister San and so on,"
"Yar, damn bad memory you have," Grimmjow said from his corner of the room.
"Must you insult him every opportunity you have?" Takeshi took a whack at his head.
"And must the two of you cause me bodily harm every opportunity you have?" Grimmjow shot back.
"Man, somehow I miss Ryuuha's presence. At least he'll keep you guys calm," Ohira commented.
"Too bad the Kuchikis aren't allowed to follow us to Rukongai. Bloody rules," Seto made a face.
"Lights out in a minute!" There was a yell from outside their room.
"Alright Mom!" Yuu yelled back.
"Damn, why do we have to sleep so early?" Seto grumbled as he settled himself comfortably in his futon.
There was a good-natured shrug from Yuu as a reply before he promptly blew out the candle, "G'night, everyone,"
A murmur of goodnights responded before the room fell into silence. Grimmjow turned onto his side until he faced the small window. A soft snore sounded from his right and Grimmjow had to refrain from snorting. Trust Kouhei to fall asleep so quickly.
The sky outside was dark and was only illuminated by the full moon outside. Grimmjow stared at it as he felt the time tick by. The moon seemed to be mocking him, telling him that another month had passed without any results.
There was a shuffle of cloth and the sound of the door opening and shutting. Grimmjow turned, catching a glimpse of Ichigo's shadow before it disappeared. He frowned. Ichigo couldn't sleep as well?
Then he shook his head. Something was wrong with him these days. Even he had to agree with Takeshi. Why did he keep picking fights with Ichigo? It wasn't like the brat was bothering him.
Grimmjow propped himself up against the wall, peering once more at the moon. It seemed unreachable, just like the person he was looking for. He sighed, before his gaze dropped down to the lone figure on the river bank. Ichigo.
Unable to understand the sudden swell of emotions within him, Grimmjow took to observing the lithe figure. There was an air of melancholy around Ichigo, with the way he slowly walked down the sides of the river and the occasional turn of his head to somewhere farther down the stream. And Grimmjow wondered, what was causing Ichigo to act this way? So far the only Ichigos he had known was the kick-puppy one and the current always-picking-fights with him persona. Ichigo didn't strike him as one to brood.
Grimmjow glanced around the room. Everyone seemed to have fallen asleep already. Picking himself out from under his covers carefully, he cast his eyes out of the window once more, estimating the distance of his fall. Using his hands to support himself, he heaved himself up the windowsill. He took a deep breath before letting go, falling noiselessly to the ground. Wincing at the impact, he decided he should just use the main entrance next time.
Then he stood up straight, wondering what the hell he was doing out here. Ichigo was there, and he definitely didn't want any trouble now seeing that they were bound to get into another petty fight like the one earlier.
His brows furrowed as his gaze followed Ichigo who had settled himself down onto the grass. Grimmjow couldn't deny the weird sensation that had arose whenever he talked to Ichigo. Yet, he couldn't place what it was. Irritation was definitely there. So was anger.
He walked towards the tree that was somewhat near Ichigo's spot, making sure that he wasn't seen as he did so. Grimmjow wasn't sure why but he just felt the need to understand Ichigo. And he felt like kicking himself. After all, wasn't he the one to tell Ichigo to stay away from him?
Stupid, maybe I've just been treating him like a younger brother or something now. Idiot. Grimmjow hated younger brothers, especially whiny ones. Forget it. He sat himself down and leaned against the tree and following Ichigo's gaze up to the moon.
Grimmjow sneered. Had everyone taken to staring at the moon or what?
"…liar," The soft whisper of Ichigo's voice carried over to Grimmjow and Grimmjow turned to look at Ichigo in surprise.
He let out a mental sigh of relief when he realised that Ichigo wasn't talking to him. Ichigo's hand was outstretched, as though he was trying to reach the moon.
So, something is also out of your reach? Grimmjow shared a moment of sympathy, knowing this feeling as well. He hadn't expected this. He thought Ichigo was like all the other spoiled brats he had met. Wanting something and getting it, making a fuss when he can't and throwing tantrums in order to get it. Seemed like it wasn't the case now, not when Ichigo had such a strange look on his face.
Grimmjow scoffed at himself before relenting. Only tonight. Only tonight I will spend a little time to just be beside you to comfort you. Even if you aren't aware of it. Tomorrow though, tomorrow, we'll be back to normal.
