"Rukia?"
Ichigo's startled face turned toward me, and he squinted under the lamp light. Oh shoot! I froze, awkwardly bent over to collect my wallet. A few moment earlier, Ichigo had whispered three words I would never had expected to come from his mouth. Unfortunately, my surprise displayed itself in a fantastic case of butterfingers. He hung up the phone quickly, eyes glancing down to the bottom right corner.
"Didn't expect to see you here," he said.
I slowly stood up and gave him a stiff wave. His lips moved slightly into a wry smile.
"I uh, was waiting for the phone."
"Oh. Right." Did he sound disappointed? "Did you hear..."
I bit my lip as I weighed telling him the truth versus possibly embarrassing and alienating him from went against my own sense of honor to be a liar. But at the same time, I had stumbled on something very private. He definitely wouldn't have said those words if he knew I was five feet away. Ichigo, from the short time I had known him, had carefully crafted his entire tough guy reputation since the moment he entered the university - the last thing he would want is someone to see him acting sentimental. It would ruin his pride (which he had a lot of, I might add) and destroy everything he had worked for. Who would want that? Honestly. To see all your work and effort vanish in less than three seconds just because of one mistake. It was a terrible fate...
Okay, this is definitely taking longer than three seconds. How long have I been thinking to myself? Oh my god. What if we've been silent for over a minute? Kill me now. Eloquence is supposed to be a strength in the Kuchiki family.
...
All right, so Nii-sama isn't the epitome of "talkativeness." But when he does speak, his words count! What in SOUL SOCIETY am I supposed to say? I opened my mouth and...
"I like your hair. It's very orange. In the dark. Under the uh, light. It's nice."
He stared at me as if I had grown a horn on my forehead.
"...Yeah," I finished lamely, "On the other hand, what was that you were saying? I wasn't really listening. I mean, I'm sure if you said anything embarrassing I didn't hear it. You know, family stuff stays with family. Outsiders have no business... 'specially with love and everything."
F-ck. Just gave myself away.
While I desperately imagined a hole in the ground so I could crawl inside, Ichigo burst out laughing.
"You, dude, are one terrible liar. What was that?" He continued guffawing as I watched blankly.
"You're not, uh, embarrassed?"
Ichigo rested his hands on his knees and looked up.
"Well, of course I am. But somehow, it's not so bad if you know. It's not like you'll tell anybody right? Even Jake doesn't know I have two younger sisters."
But there was probably a good reason for that, I thought. Considering Jake's own playboy tendencies.
"Here, sorry I made you wait," Ichigo said as he pulled open the door to the booth.
"Thanks,"
Ichigo gave a brief nod before disappearing down the street. I watched him go, wondering if he would look back. For a moment, I thought I saw the back of his neck twitch. Then I knew I was going crazy.
"I seriously need to get more sleep," I said aloud to myself.
"Not if you keep slacking off on your job," my brother's voice replied. I jumped, forgetting I was holding the telephone reciever in my hand. I quickly cupped my hand over the phone and hissed a few words.
"Focus, Rukia. Remember we are still searching for the Blood Lion..."
"Ichigo has his own problems."
"That may be. But while he goes off searching for his parents, there are people dying. What comes first Rukia? The search for two people who may already be dea-"
"Okay!... I get it. I'll ask him if he's heard anything else."
"Good. And just so you know, I've sent another agent your way. He's been undercover longer than you have, only I've instructed him to keep a distance as Ichigo did not seem to take a liking to him. You may have already seen him around school. He'll approach you tomorrow night - I must urge you to take precautions and keep his cover, Rukia. It is imperative Ichigo remain unaware of his presence."
Before I could ask why, the line clicked dead. I sighed, unconsciously rubbing my forehead.
"Good to talk to you too, Nii-sama." Unlike Ichigo and his sisters, Nii-sama and I were never intimate. Not openly. Not when there was work to do.
The next morning, Ichigo got up feeling drowsy. It wasn't unusual, but spending the night pressed against the bodies of several other boys wasn't his idea of a comfortable night. Damn field trips. Mildly irritated, Ichigo shoved someone's foot out of his face and kicked away another kid's arm. Then he spotted a familiar slender figure trapped underneath a pile of snoring boys. A small hand popped out. Then Ryo's head surfaced. Gasping, the boy muttered something about boys and then struggled to free his other arm.
"Morning," Ichigo greeted. Ryo's eyes flicked over to the tall boy lazily watching him. "Need some help?"
"I'm fine," he spat as he clawed his way to freedom. Ichigo watched as Ryo thrashed in vain for another few minutes. The boy's new haircut still took Ichigo by surprise, but Ichigo had found a way to combat Ryo's unusually feminine appearance.
He's an underdeveloped pubescent boy. It's totally normal.
Leaving Ryo stuck, Ichigo yawned and stretched his muscles. They burned comfortably, to his contentment. A vague sense that he should help his roommate flashed through his mind, but then Ichigo dismissed it as he walked away.
"Hey!" Ryo yelled. "Where are you going?"
Ichigo glanced over his shoulder.
"Bathroom. See ya."
"HEY! Don't just leave me here! HEY!" The smaller boy yelped furiously as he attacked with newfound energy the sleeping bodies on top of him.
Ichigo ignored the scalding glare his roommate was sending him and shoved into his mouth a large chunk of omelette.
"Man, this shit is good!" Jake exclaimed as he wolfed down his third serving.
"Dude, you're going to get fat at this rate," one of their classmates teased.
"Bring it on! Call me Big Daddy!" Jake howled. Ichigo smacked his friend's head with the bottom of his fist.
"Girls don't like fat guys, you know."
Hikaru, another classmate, nodded sadly as he mixed whey protein into his milk. Apparently, he was trying to bulk up on muscle. "True stuff, man. Rock hard abs, chiseled biceps... your big belly won't be impressive, Jake. Take a look at Ryo, he'll tell you what's up. Hey man, does that skinny-ass body get the girls?"
Ryo abruptly choked on his omelette and started coughing. "G-Get the girls?"
"Yeah, you've got a good figure. I've seen it in the showers-" Suddenly, Ichigo slapped Hikaru's back hard, causing the unsuspecting boy to choke on his own drink.
"Ah ha ha, that's funny, that's funny. Did you just say you were checking out Ryo in the showers?" The orange-haired boy leaned in close menacingly.
"Whoa man, not checking out! I just happened to see-" Hikaru yelped and clutched his foot in pain.
"Don't. Do. It. Again." Ichigo whispered quietly into the boy's ear. Hikaru swiftly bobbed his head up and down in understanding.
"That's Ichigo for ya, watching out for his friends," Jake said as he winked at Ryo. The younger boy made a half-exasperated, half-flustered expression. He glared witheringly at Ichigo again, as if his confusion was Ichigo's fault.
"A-anyway, I'm sure girls like who guys are on the inside more than what they look like on the outside. That's what matters in the end, I think."
The boys at the table exchanged looks.
"Naw," they chorused.
"You're so innocent!" Jake exclaimed, "How in the world did you get Orihime like this? You know what, maybe she felt bad for you. It could have been pity sex."
Ryo socked Jake in the cheek.
"We didn't have sex!" he cried out, red.
"What?! But I saw you go home with her! And you guys didn't leave until the next morning, when she even walked you to the gate!" Jake shouted with huge round eyes.
Ryo froze.
"Well...that...that wasn't sex," he managed at last. Ichigo instantly felt something snap in him. However, Jake got to the small boy before he could.
"Oh, so just a make-out sesh? Or did you wimp out on her and just sleep next to her? Dude, you'll be the laughingstock of the school if you got a hot chick like Orihime to let you into her house, and then nothing happened."
Okay, it wasn't anything like that. Seriously!
The first time I went to Orihime's house, we were making the deal.
The second time, she was drunk, so I was taking her back from our "fake date". That...was where it went bad.
I cringed as I recalled the memory.
What had happened was that Orihime had gotten a little, well, carried away that night. It was the night we had won the bet, and Ichigo, as promised, would put a stop to his playboy ways. Unfortunately, what was supposed to be a simple celebration dinner transformed into a full-fledged drinking fest. I had no idea how much wine that girl could hold, but oh hell, by no means was it a small amount.
Before she passed out on the bar, I payed the bill and managed to slip her on my back. Then I piggy-backed her back to her apartment. She didn't seem to remember the passcode to her own place, so I had to dig through her purse. When it wasn't there...
Well, I wasn't really thinking okay? I mean, I don't think of myself as a guy! I'm a girl! For girls, it should be totally fine to search other girls' bodies, right?
You know what, don't even answer that.
Anyway, I searched her pants pockets first, which wasn't awkward as I didn't realize what it looked like I was doing. I got through her front and back pockets when she asked me, "Oh Ryo! Are...Are you feeling up me up? Kya! You're such a dirty boy! And you have such a cute, innocent face too! I can't believe you!"
"No! Geez no! I'm not, Orihime! I'm trying to see if you have a key in your pockets...stay still, won't you?" I hurriedly explained as I moved my hands up to pat down her jacket.
"Key? Why do we need a key?"
"To get...into...your apartment," I pulled down her jacket zipper and searched her inside pockets. Then the drunk bimbo pulled me close to her lips and whispered...
"That is SO hot."
Before I could yelp in confusion, Orihime reached into her bra and pulled out a small golden key. She winked.
"Here it is! Fortunately I have this for when I'm drunk!"
Does she make a habit out of this?! Orihime pressed me roughly against the apartment door, her large lips looming close, and slipped the key into the hole. With a click, the door swung open, and we stumbled through. Orihime aggressively pushed into me, leaving me no choice but to stagger backwards as quickly as I could. With a growl, she grabbed the front of my shirt.
"You know Ryo, now that I get a good look at you, you're really handsome. I knew you were pretty before. But, gosh, your eyes, your lips, your nose, the way you speak to me, the way you take care of me...it's just so sexy!"
Wham! We collided against a wall. She straddled one thigh around me and slipped her hand up my shirt. Shit, if she feels the corset, I'm doomed! I grabbed her hand. She giggled and ground her pelvic bone into mine. The way she moved was remarkably deft. Without realizing it, I felt my heartbeat speed up. Are you freaking kidding me? A girl is turning me on? But I've never been treated like this before.
Her fingers swept through my hair, tickling my neck.
Oh, Jesus Christ.
And she pressed her mouth onto mine.
For a long second, I felt her tongue sweep through my mouth. She tasted like vanilla. And even though she had been drinking, she was kissing surprisingly well. Rough, and warm. But sweet.
Great Soul Society.
"OH MY GOD!" I screamed as I wrenched my lips away. Okay, god no. 1) Girl 2) Ichigo's girl 3) NO JUST NO! Wiping my mouth, I looked at her crazily. "Are you freaking insane?"
"Insane? Why?" Orihime breathed into my ear with a seductive smile.
"Because you like Ichigo! Are you going to cheat on him just like that?" I nearly hollered. Orihime blinked.
"Oh come on, Ryo, just a sample? I know you've been looking at me..." She let her jacket drop to the floor and reached behind her back.
I grabbed her arm.
Looking up at her, I growled, "Enough, Orihime!"
The hot pink bra fell to the ground.
"Not until I say so, Ryo," She yanked me close again, her hand grabbing my neck, and hungrily stuck her tongue in my mouth. I felt a burst of heat flash through me.
I pushed her away, but she spun and threw me onto her bed. As we bounced on the mattress, she sat up on me and pulled off her shirt. For a moment, I was shocked silent. Orihime blushed a little as I stared at her, and she looked away.
For the first time in my life, I saw another girl's breasts. And damn, were they huge.
Then her hands went to my belt. With a jerk, she yanked it off and then set to work on my zipper. As she slipped my pants off, I sprang out of bed and ran into the kitchen. She chased after me with a devilish smile.
"Come here, Ryo! Come to Momm-" BOING! The metal pan smacked into her head, and Orihime dropped to the floor unconscious. With a sigh, sank down to the floor, my legs cold against the stone.
"Oh god," I said. I repeated those two words for the rest of the night. "Good God."
"...it's a total misunderstanding," Ryo finished, "She was drunk, so I took her back to the apartment. Then because it was late, I slept on the floor until morning." Not because I was in too much shock to walk home.
"Aw, what a good opportunity wasted!"
Ichigo shrugged.
"Ryo did the right thing. There's no fun in having sex with a drunk girl,"
Jake scoffed, "You all right, buddy? You had no qualms with it before." Ichigo smacked him the same time Ryo shot Ichigo another withering glare.
"I never did that, and you know it," he retorted, "Anyway, we shouldn't give Ryo any ideas!"
Before the small boy could snap back anything, Urahara swept into the room. He gave his class a cursory examination, and coughed pointedly.
"Looks like you're all here. All right everyone, back onto the bus! Today we're going to visit an ancient temple in the mountains. You'll tour in groups, of which I will announce when we arrive. That is all,"
With a sweep of his robes, the eccentric teacher left the room and a moment later, the rambunctious chatter in the room started up again. Ichigo stood up and dragged Jake with him.
"Let's go. I'm done eating."
"Wait! No! MY OMELETTE!"
"That's your sixth one! Leave it!"
"But... Jake want be Big Daddy... he can't leave his food babies..."
On the bus, Ichigo found himself growing more and more irritated as the girls sitting around Ryo pestered him. He kept replying to them graciously, and that made them even more excited to talk to him. Ichigo was ready to rip someone's throat out. Jake caught his glance and immediately whimpered as Ichigo shot him a death glare.
Damn it! Why did the girls university have to come to? If it was just boys...it would be SO MUCH BETTER! It was Ryo's first year. Even if he was a smart kid, he was definitely not ready to have a girlfriend.
No way in hell! Orihime better back the hell off him! Ryo's my roommate! Damn these girls.
Ichigo sighed, and Jake cast him another wary look. The longtime friend seemed to read Ichigo's mind.
"You know, even if Ryo's your roommate, you don't have to be so protective over him. He's a man too! He needs action, dude. You're worrying like you're his older brother or something!"
A flash of understanding rushed through him. Ah, so this is what it is. I'm feeling like an older brother.
Ichigo smiled contently. Well, why shouldn't he? Ryo was his roommate, after all. And because he was new, he was kind of like Ichigo's younger brother.
"Ryo!" Ichigo called as he ran to catch up with his roommate. The smaller boy turned around, his large violet eyes catching Ichigo off guard. The orange-haired boy froze.
"What?" Ryo asked impatiently.
"Oh, um from now on, I want you to call me Nii-sama."
"WHAT?!"
"All right fine. Just 'senpai' then."
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"
"...'Hyung'?"
"THAT'S FREAKING KOREAN!"
"What's so bad about 'senpai'?" Ichigo complained.
"My point is, there's no reason for me to call you anything other than Ichigo!" Ryo retorted.
"But you're new, and you're my roommate. I deserve some respect here!"
Ryo tilted his head. And then started laughing.
"Respect?" he howled in between bouts of laughter, "Sorry to break it to you Ichigo, but you're just not that type of guy."
Before Ichigo could protest, Urahara's booming voice broke the air. They turned around to see their eccentric chaperone standing on the bus holding a comically large megaphone. He scanned the crowd and locked his grey eyes on Ryo. After a brief moment of miscellaneous information, Urahara proceeded to rattle off the groups.
Just not that type of guy? Ichigo thought. Where does he get off categorizing me? I mean, okay, I used to charm girls. And I have a super sexy body. But that doesn't mean he can classify me! And he definitely can't decide I'm not respectable. That runt...
"...Kuchiki, and Mr. Jake. The last group is Hikaru, Okabe, Miwa, Keigo, Sakura, and Kurosaki."
"Mr. Jake?!" Jake repeated incredulously, "Mr. Jake?!"
"Ah, sorry. Your last name is too unusual. I don't know how to say it," Urahara lazily excused himself.
"It's Walhstrom! Like 'WALL' and 'STRUM'! It's not that hard!" Jake roared. The class giggled and Jake hung his head in depression.
"Whoever said girls love halfies was a liar. People just laugh at me."
"Cheer up, Jake. Look, we're in the same group! I'm sure it'll be lots of fun. And anyway, there are cute girls with us! See?" Ryo gestured at a few slender, large-eyed girls nearby. Jake momentarily brightened up. But soon he was depressed again.
"There's no way they would want me."
I think that has more to do with how you act like an idiot rather than your last name being strange, Ichigo thought to himself.
"That's not true. You're tall, lean (even though you eat like a starved wolf), and funny. Besides, you're a nice guy!"
Jake smiled.
"Thanks Ryo. You've always got my back," Then he lowered his face next to Ryo's. "So how should we do this? Myself, I think the one on the right's pretty hot. She's tall too. And the girl on the left looks like she's checking you out. Come on man, divide and conquer!"
With that, Jake dragged Ryo away to the girls. Ichigo watched his friends leave, noticing Ryo laughing. He never seems to do that around me.
Hikaru poked him in the ribs.
"You coming man?"
"Yeah..." Ichigo clenched his fist. Just not that type of guy?! I'll show you I'm respectable!
"Hey, isn't that your roommate, Ryo?" Irie, one of the girls in my group, asked with a laugh.
I put down my incense stick and turned around. As she said, a familiar orange-headed boy was swaggering his way up the steps behind us. As his eyes met mine, he gave me a brief head-nod. Then he motioned to the large crowd of girls surrounding him. Immediately, they bounded forward and started fanning him. He smiled, looking at me as if he was proving something.
"Ladies, ladies, let me ask you something. Do you think I am respectable?"
"Yes!"
"Of course!"
"You're beaut- I mean, respectable!"
Ichigo smiled self-satisfactorily and looked at me pointedly.
I scoffed and turned Irie away.
"Don't look. That's a douchebag. A real respectable man wouldn't have ladies fawning over him, right Jake?"
Jake instantly released the two girls under his arms and coughed.
"Yup. Definitely no ladies. Just the one, forever and ever." His eyes glanced over to me to check my reaction.
I lighted my incense stick, threw it over my shoulder where it burned a certain somebody on the head, and patted Jake's back.
"Good boy."
"Heh, he's back again, Ryo!" Irie giggled, "Aw, isn't he just hilarious?"
I sighed, turning away from the pond in the garden to what I knew would be a ridiculous sight. This time, he was bare-chested. He wore dark black pants rolled up to his shins and a red bandana around his forehead. Lowering himself into a horse stance, he waggled his eyebrows at me.
"Haiiii-YAAAA!" he shrieked, making kung-fu motions.
Then he waded into the pond and reached in to grab a koi fish. Unfortunately, Ichigo reached for the biggest, meanest one. The bright orange fish splashed out of the water and slapped Ichigo's cheek. And again. Like an orchestra reaching the climax of a piece, the fish bludgeoned both sides of Ichigo's cheek until they were as red as a newborn baby's bottom.
Then with one final slap, the fish sent Ichigo flying onto his back. With a grand thud! Ichigo vanished into the water. The entire class watched in silent shock as nothing moved in the water. Was Ichigo drowning? I gripped the railing as everyone held their breath.
A few air bubbles floated to the surface.
Irie giggled, "He's so funny!"
"Lame."
Five minutes later, Ichigo reappeared as Gandalf the White.
"Your hair is orange," I pointed out. He grumbled and disappeared.
The college professor with shining spectacles Ichigo.
The white collared businessman wearing a tux and aviators Ichigo.
The sumo wrestler Ichigo.
The court judge Ichigo.
The guy on the corner who promotes donating to charity Ichigo.
"HOW ARE ANY OF THESE RESPECTABLE?" I screamed at last.
"Okay, maybe the last one was a bit sketchy, but give me a break! I'm trying really hard!" Ichigo snapped as he pulled up his draping toga.
This time he was dressed as an ancient Greek philosopher.
"Just the last one?" I repeated skeptically.
Irie laughed and shoved me lightly.
"Ryo! Introduce me! Your roommate is so adorable!"
"Trust me, you don't want to know him," I began, but it was too late.
"Kurosaki, Ichigo Kurosaki," Ichigo said in his best Sean Connery voice as he offered his hand.
"Oh, pleasure to meet you, Kurosaki-kun," Irie giggled.
Whatever. You know what, this will be her problem. I'm getting out of here, I sighed.
"Irie, I'm going to look at the last shrine at the top, okay? Be back before dark,"
"Okay!" the pretty girl cheerfully agreed, "Be careful!"
"Ryo, wait-"
"See you later, Ichigo," I cut him off pointedly.
Where is he? Ichigo frowned as he scanned the crowd of students crowded around the bonfire. There was Jake, surrounded by a gaggle of girls. Hikaru and Irie were toasting marshmallows by the fire. Even Urahara was here, sleeping under a tree. But no matter where Ichigo looked, he couldn't find Ryo. Unsettled, Ichigo fingered the hilt of his katana (he was dressed as a samurai from feudal Japan this time) and racked his brain.
Then the light burning at the top of the mountain caught his eye. The sun had just set and the darkness was creeping in. Ichigo suddenly felt a chill sweep through his body.
Hadn't Ryo said something about visiting that shrine?
No. More importantly, hadn't Urahara said something about that shrine?
Ichigo hurried over to the sleeping chaperone and shook his shoulder. Drowsily, the lazy man opened his eyes and cast Ichigo an indifferent look.
"Girl troubles, Ichigo? I'm not a therapist, just a doctor. Go call someone else."
"No! I need to know what you said about the shrine at the top of the mountain. I can't find Ryo, and I think he went there!"
"Ryo...ah, Ryo. I see. Ryo's a guy, you know? If it's boy troubles, you'll need a therapist AND a psychologist. Hope you got money, boy."
"Damn it, I'm not gay! I'm worried! Just tell me what you said, okay?"
Urahara straightened up and lit his pipe.
"About the Lion's Throne? It's just a sacred place. I was warning the class earlier that you need special permission to go there, and tours end at sunset."
"Why are there no night tours?"
Urahara shrugged.
"Well, they used to give night tours. Until people started disappearing."