you guys have such strong reaction to grimmjow going to the party with someone else… relax, hahah…
warning for this chapter: please stay calm and don't be angry with grimmjow or me XP
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)
- Azuma xx (senior who invited Grimmjow to the party)
disclaimer: don't own Bleach
Eternity
VII
Moodily, Ichigo tugged at the sleeves of his dark blue yukata. His three other dorm-mates were making a ruckus as they prepared for the party. Ichigo, on the other hand, could not be bothered about it.
He remembered what he had told Renji. That he had accepted the fact that Grimmjow would never think of him in that way and that he was moving on. Ichigo smiled wryly at the memory, he knew it was a lie. And then there was the confusion between Grimmjow and Grimm. He had always thought that they were two different people, so logically thinking, Grimmjow's action should not bother him.
It did. Ichigo realised that when Grimmjow agreed to being someone else's date. It hurt.
There was a sudden knock on their door and Ichigo gave a start. Shaking his head to clear his mind, Ichigo hurriedly picked himself up from his bed. He threw a glare at his dorm-mates before he strode towards the door and opened it.
"Hey," Kouhei was looking nervous as he attempted a smile at Ichigo, "Er, I'm here to… pick you up…?"
Ichigo blinked. That statement cut through the previous haze of Ichigo's self-pity and Ichigo mentally thanked Kouhei for it. Outwardly though, Ichigo had to stop himself from sniggering. Kouhei gave a small protest at having Ichigo snubbed his effort of being gentlemanly. Coughing, Ichigo held out his arm as though to escort Kouhei instead. Kouhei smacked it down viciously.
Still laughing, Ichigo turned back to his room, "Oi, we're going ahead first. You guys better hurry if you don't want all the sake to be taken," His words were met by several crashes and curses as Seto promptly tripped over the ends of Ohira's obi.
"Why are they in such a mess?" Kouhei frowned.
"Oh, that?" Ichigo waved a hand in the air lazily as they walked down the corridor, "They're just a bunch of sloths that do things last minute,"
Kouhei snorted, "From what I've heard, you are even more last minute than them for your exam," He grinned as Ichigo scowled, "Or maybe, you're just eager to meet me?" Kouhei teased.
"You wish," Ichigo rolled his eyes.
Kouhei gave a short laugh. He knew where he stood now and he harboured no illusion as to why Ichigo had agreed to go as his partner. After nearly a year, Ichigo had finally caught on to Kouhei's interest in him when Kouhei asked him to the party. It had taken much persuasion on Kouhei's part to convince Ichigo that they could still go as dates even if Ichigo was not – and never will be – interested in him. It was painful, Kouhei admitted to himself, but at least they could still be friends.
They entered the large hall that had been transformed into a decent party venue. The loud music and lights were still a far cry from those clubs in the Real World but Ichigo had to concede that the planners had done a pretty good job over all. Not that Ichigo had high expectations in the first place since he had thought it would be one of those boring social gathering where people sat down and chat.
Eagerly pulling on Kouhei's sleeves, they made their way to the drinks' table where Ichigo immediately searched for those bottles of sake that their various instructors had promised. Kouhei gave him a pointed disapproving look when Ichigo returned with two bottles.
"I could always keep the other bottle for myself…" Ichigo trailed off when Kouhei refused to take a bottle.
Kouhei took one off Ichigo's hand instantly.
"Thought so," Ichigo gave an infuriatingly knowing smirk as he drank his sake.
Growling, Kouhei pulled the bottle away, "At least don't drink so much this time. You don't want Grimmjow to be mad at you right?" He knew it was the wrong thing to say when Ichigo turned to glower at him.
Just to infuriate Kouhei further, Ichigo purposely took an even bigger gulp from his bottle. Ichigo grimaced at the look on Kouhei's face before pulling him to the dance floor. The music was far from Ichigo's taste and he vaguely wondered if the Academy had any more recent tracks. The tune being played sounded like it was from the Sixties and Ichigo was willing to bet that Renji had a hand in supplying the music. He winced, once he got back to Seireitei, he was going to introduce some updated music to the Shinigami.
Languidly, the pair moved with the crowd and Kouhei watched interestedly at a couple who were dancing in a weird manner. He pointed it out to Ichigo and Ichigo had to stop himself from laughing. Ballroom dancing to Sixties music, he never thought he would see this.
"It looks nice," Rin commented beside his ear and Ichigo jumped, "Very refined,"
Ichigo muttered under his breath, "Sure, but with the wrong kind of music,"
"Yo!" Kouhei greeted her cheerfully, "Do you know how to dance that…?" He gestured to the couple as an explanation.
Rin shook her head. Beside her, Ryuuha had appeared.
"Are you two dates?" Ichigo asked incredulously.
Ryuuha frowned, "Nobody said that we had to have dates in order to come to the party,"
"What?!" Ichigo rounded on Kouhei who was laughing very nervously.
"Do any of you guys have any idea how to dance?!" Yuu's voice was desperate as he hissed silently from behind Rin.
"No,"
"Nope,"
"Not a clue,"
"We're going to make a fool out of ourselves," Seto moaned as he materialised out of nowhere.
Ichigo frowned, "Hey, how did you guys move so fast?" He tried to explain when everyone started staring at him, "Seto, Ohira and Takeshi seemed to appear so suddenly…" With a dawning look of comprehension, Ichigo took up his sake bottle and peered at it before smirking in a satisfied manner, "This is good stuff," He took another swig.
"Yes yes," Ohira rolled his eyes as he pulled the bottle away, "But that's not the main point. The main point is how are we going to survive on the floor without looking like idiots??"
"You are far too worked up over trivial things," Ichigo started swaying towards the stage.
Rin and Ryuuha exchanged looks before Rin spoke up, "We would be heading to the refreshments' table over there," They disappeared hastily.
"What's going on?" Takeshi asked suspiciously as he watched Ichigo move away from them.
Grabbing a new bottle from the table next to him, Ichigo weaved through the crowd to get to the self-appointed DJ. Judging from his looks, Ichigo doubted that the DJ had even properly done research on all the songs he had been given. Ichigo gave a short whistle as he saw the equipments on hand. Such sleek technology and they were letting it go to waste by playing Sixties music that was not even recorded in proper quality? What a waste.
As he got closer though, Ichigo could see that the DJ was confused. From his expression, Ichigo could guess that it was the first time he had been in contact with such technology. Luckily, the speakers and players were part of a home entertainment system instead of the usual turntables, something which Ichigo knew how to operate. Ichigo ignored the curious looks that many on the floor were giving him and quickly grabbed the pile of CDs that were overlooked.
The DJ was staring at him wide-eyed as he stopped the music and spoke clearly into the microphone in front of him, "Oi, were you guys really hyped up by those music?"
There were some anxious glances around before the audience decided to shake their head a little. Ichigo gave a short sympathetic look to the DJ which was promptly waved aside. Apparently the DJ was not enjoying himself as well. Ichigo gave a short thank that none of the Academy instructors would attend such functions.
Choosing a CD that was more recent, Ichigo popped it into the player. Instantly, the room was filled with loud rock music. The crowd seemed to be taken aback and Ichigo scratched the back of his head absentmindedly. Maybe this was not the correct type as well. His mind flashed to the sweating and grinding that he had witnessed in a random club in the Real World and he winced. Definitely did not match with the general Shinigami population image. He made to remove the CD.
A hand stopped him and he glanced at the DJ. The DJ was smiling as he pointed to the crowd before giving Ichigo the thumbs-up. The students were moving to the music with some occasional idiot performing weird movements that had everyone copying.
"At least the music fits the weird dance now," The DJ said to Ichigo.
Ichigo had to laugh. Relieved, he continued pulling out more CDs from the stack before passing them to the DJ. The DJ gave a nod of grateful thanks as Ichigo disappeared back into the crowd. Ichigo belatedly noted that the number of students seemed to have increased.
"Ichigo!"
His friends surrounded him in a matter of minutes and Ohira grabbed his shoulders in greeting, pulling him closer to the group so that they could hear each other over the loud music.
"How the heck did you know how to operate those things?" Seto asked in awe.
Ichigo gave him a weird look, "I didn't die that long ago," He smirked, "Unlike you, old man,"
Seto froze. Ohira and Yuu started gesturing wildly. Even Kouhei and Takeshi seemed to frown at the expression.
"Old man? Old man? Old man?!" Seto shrieked right into Ichigo's ear.
Wincing, Ichigo stared in disbelief as Seto started ranting and raving over the din of the music. Is he that sensitive about his age? He looked to Kouhei for help when he realised that Yuu had been pulled away by Chii and Takeshi had disappeared, mumbling out some excuse or another.
Kouhei glanced down at his hand and in a moment of inspiration, thrust his half-full sake bottle into Seto's hand. Ohira took the cue and helped in forcing some of the alcohol down Seto's throat. Winking at Ichigo discretely, Ohira disappeared with Seto in tow.
Ichigo groaned.
"What's wrong?" Kouhei pulled Ichigo nearer to the centre of the floor.
Giving an apologetic look to Kouhei, Ichigo explained, "They probably think that something is going on between us. You know, since I accepted being your date and all," Here, Ichigo turned murderous, "Especially since it was not even necessary to have one,"
Kouhei gulped audibly, the strange prickling that had developed when Ichigo was explaining was gone as soon as that gaze was turned onto him. Suddenly, he wished he had been more truthful about the circumstances with Ichigo.
Ichigo took a swallow of his sake before closing his eyes, allowing the familiar music to wash over him. He remembered hearing it a few years back when he went back to the Real World to visit his family. Karin had it on her player.
Letting out a small relieved sound when he saw Ichigo closed his eyes, Kouhei allowed himself to look around the dance floor. He made a face when he realised that he was the only not moving to the music. Even Ichigo was swaying slightly.
"Relax," Ichigo poked Kouhei in the forehead.
His muscles loosened at those words and Kouhei found himself shifting with the music. Trusting his body to follow the beat of the music, Kouhei allowed his eyes to wander. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Yuu was dancing with Chii at the outer edge. Takeshi had found a girl. Seto and Ohira were by the sake table and even Rin and Ryuuha seemed to be having fun chatting with some others that Kouhei did not know. And ah –
Grimmjow.
Kouhei tensed for a moment. He glanced down in front of him. Ichigo seemed to be oblivious to Grimmjow's presence. Kouhei prayed that it would stay that way because he did not think that Ichigo would want to see Grimmjow dancing dirty with that Azuma-senpai.
Cursing mentally, Kouhei tried to maneuver the two of them further away from Grimmjow and Azuma. Now, the only thing he wanted to do was to avoid getting Ichigo heartbroken. As hard as he had tried to deny for the past few months, he had already seen how devoted Ichigo was to Grimmjow. He hated it. Hated how Grimmjow did not realise this devotion and hated how Ichigo did not seem to see it. It was as if Ichigo's devotion had already long been built into Ichigo's sub-consciousness.
Kouhei nudged Ichigo, all the while making sure that his body was blocking Ichigo's view of Grimmjow, "Let's get something to drink," He held up his empty hands.
Bemused, Ichigo nodded before turning to head for the sake table. Kouhei almost felt a pinch of guilt as Ichigo unsuspectingly went along with his words. Protect Ichigo, protect Ichigo. He kept repeating the words in his mind as he led Ichigo away from the throes of moving bodies. When had the party gotten so heated up?
Out of the corner of his eyes, Kouhei could see the tell-tale teal hair moving closer to them. Fuck. He had not realised that Ichigo was not moving in a straight line. Grimmjow was definitely not helping matters since he was also gradually moving towards them. Kouhei could almost feel Grimmjow's intense gaze on him. Why is he getting jealous when he was the one who keeps rejecting Ichigo? Kouhei would never be able to understand Grimmjow's mind.
They were at the edge of the crowd when Ichigo stopped. Turning around slowly, Ichigo made eye contact with Grimmjow. And Kouhei cursed, he forgot about something called reiatsu.
Ichigo's expression shifted rapidly from one to another. Confusion, realisation, anger, understanding, sadness and more anger flashed across his face. Cautiously, Kouhei twisted around as well to see the cause. Azuma-senpai's arms were around Grimmjow and the pair seemed to be surrounded by more seniors, presumably Azuma-senpai's friends. Azuma-senpai was pulling Grimmjow nearer and they seemed to be laughing at something.
Kouhei shot a glance at Ichigo before attempting to tug Ichigo away, "C'mon,"
Ichigo closed his eyes as he heard Kouhei's desperation. He knew that Kouhei was trying to avoid this the whole night. He took a deep breath, Grimmjow was not going to affect him, Ichigo told himself firmly. He opened his eyes and made to turn back around when something caught his eyes and sent a wave of shock throughout his entire body.
Grimmjow was kissing the senior.
Frozen in place, Ichigo could only watch as the two continued making out on the dance floor. The friends surrounding them were catcalling in approval. Slowly Grimmjow's eyes opened and he stared right back at Ichigo. Ichigo felt the world shrink to just him and Grimmjow who still had his mouth attached to the senior. Grimmjow's lips twitched upwards in a taunting smirk before he proceeded to plunge his tongue into Azuma's mouth. His eyes were firmly trained onto Ichigo's.
The movement of Grimmjow's tongue sent Ichigo reeling in shock. Pushing Kouhei's concern away, Ichigo spun around and dazedly made his way to the sake table. He did not see Yuu's and Chii's waves as he took a few bottles and moved towards the entrance of the hall. Ichigo snarled as some stranger blocked his path before he viciously shoved the person aside. He stepped out into the fresh air in the corridor.
Ichigo drained a whole bottle of sake on the spot before smashing the empty bottle into the nearest wall. He was angry. Angry that Grimmjow was toying with him. From Grimmjow's action, Ichigo knew that whatever Grimmjow had just done was to an attempt to get Ichigo railed up. Well, congratulations. You succeeded. Asshole.
"Hey pretty, come play with us," In a blink of an eye, Ichigo was surrounded by strangers leering at him.
Ichigo frowned. When had they gathered? His reflexes must have been dulled by the alcohol if he did not realise their presence until they spoke to him. Ichigo's stance was relaxed as he quickly looked up and down the corridor. No one else was present. Good, if he took his frustrations on them, nobody would know it was him. And they would not dare to report him. After all, nothing was more humiliating than being defeated by a drunk.
Smirking as one of the man made a grab for him, Ichigo allowed himself to be pinned down by two others, "Oi, are you guys stupid?" Ichigo asked as he took a drink from his bottle.
"Wha- ?" The student never got to finish his sentence when he was sent flying with a kick from Ichigo.
There was a tense moment before a tall imposing student, whom Ichigo assumed was the ringleader of this small gang, motioned for more people to hold Ichigo down. Getting bored and just wanting to wallow in self-pity now that the most of his anger had died off, Ichigo swung his fist at the nearest figure.
His elbow met the ribs of another stranger as he swept out with his legs and hit the shin of the ringleader. The now empty sake bottle shattered as Ichigo barely twisted around and threw it with deadly accuracy into the face of an attacker who was intending to creep out from behind him. There was a loud shriek as the porcelain cut into the attacker's face. The flailing arms that resulted took out two others who were right beside the attacker.
"Get out of my way," Ichigo said as dangerously as he could while managing not to lean against the wall for support.
The remaining students made to scram when they realised that Ichigo was capable of fighting even when he was drunk. Snorting at their naivety, Ichigo moved forward and grabbed one of them. The rest of the survivors froze.
"Wrong direction. Get back to the party,"
Without another word, the group quickly turned and rushed off in the direction where Ichigo had gestured. They tripped over their friends and was about to pick them up when Ichigo gave them a warning glance. They disappeared immediately.
Ichigo groaned as the last of his 'attackers' turned the corner. There seemed to be a concert going in his head as drums pounded heavily against his ears. He reached out an arm to prop himself against the wall to stop the tilting of the ground. His arms felt heavy and his muscles were burning. That was a good clue to Ichigo that he had drank too much and tried to do too much in his drunken state. Not good.
"Ichigo!"
Wincing at the loud noise that sent lightning into his brain, Ichigo forced himself to lift his head up. A blurred figure came into his view and he only managed to identify it as Yuu before he passed out completely.
"Ichigo!" Yuu cried out again when Ichigo collapsed onto the floor.
Struggling with getting Ichigo onto his back, Yuu briefly surveyed the scene. A few seniors were lying on the floor with several bruises and injuries littering their skin. Yuu knew without a doubt that Ichigo was responsible for it. Who is Ichigo exactly? Yuu gave a resigned sigh before he continued with his attempt to haul Ichigo back into their dormitory.
"Bastard," Ichigo muttered.
Yuu paused in his steps. Was Ichigo awake?
"Lying... asshole,"
Yuu rolled his eyes this time before carrying on with his task of moving Ichigo up the stairs. Why the hell did he listen to Kouhei anyway? Kouhei should be the one doing this instead.
"...toying," Ichigo's words were severely slurred.
Finally reaching their dormitory, Yuu kicked open the door with his foot while trying not to drop Ichigo. He stumbled a few more steps before throwing Ichigo onto the first bed he could reach. As long as Ichigo did not puke on the bed, it did not really matter whose bed he would be sleeping on for the night. Besides, Ohira can be the one to move Ichigo if he wanted his bed back.
"…Grimm…"
Yuu's eyes narrowed. Ichigo's voice was very soft but he was sure he had not heard wrongly. So this was all Grimmjow's fault again? Figures.
Grimmjow ambled out of his room the next morning, not keen to face the wrath of anybody. Kouhei had given him a talking-to last night and honestly, he was quite pleased overall. Based on Kouhei's heated account, Ichigo was not as unaffected as he showed himself to be.
He scratched his head at that. Maybe he should stop provoking Ichigo?
"Grimmjow!"
Careful not to turn his head too quickly in case the effects of the alcohol had not worn off, Grimmjow greeted the senior casually, "Azuma," Let's hope he does not get any ideas.
"Yo, we're going off to the beach for the break, do you want to join us?" Azuma's voice was cheerful.
"Sorry, I have to serve detention during the break,"
"Oh, that's too bad," Azuma put an arm around Grimmjow, "Maybe next time then?"
Detachedly, Grimmjow removed the arm from his shoulder, "Senpai," He began as respectfully as he could, "Last night was a one-off thing. We were both drunk," Grimmjow offered an explanation, not intending to get into a fight this early in the morning.
Azuma's face fell and Grimmjow could tell that he had thought far too deeply into Grimmjow's action last night. Fuck, we just kissed, that's all.
"A-ah, I see," Azuma tried to smile the injury off, "I'll see you around then," He gave a small wave before quickly walking away.
Scoffing, Grimmjow watched as Azuma turned a corner and disappeared. Azuma was a little too clingy for his taste. And nope, did not have the ring he was looking for.
Grimmjow swore, he was going to find the owner of the other ring and clear everything up. Nothing else would deter him and nothing else would change his mind. He was getting sick of the confusion in his mind.
"Urgh…" Ichigo whimpered as he sat up too quickly in his bed.
Ichigo moved such that his foot could touch the ground. He clutched his head in his hand. What had happened last night? Okay, the party, the sake, the dancing and…oh.
With a burst of anger, Ichigo reached down his loosen yukata and gripped the ring in his hand. He yanked harshly and ripped the ring and chain off his neck. The skin tingled a moment at the pain and Ichigo stopped his actions to allow the pain to pass. Bending down slightly, he pulled a plain wooden box from the bottom drawer of his cupboard. Looking at the ring for a final time, Ichigo threw it into the box and shut it firmly. He replaced the box back at the bottom.
A glass of murky solution appeared right in front of his eyes as he straightened up, "It'll help your hangover," Ohira's voice was cautiously soft so as not to trigger Ichigo's headache.
"Thanks," Ichigo took the glass gratefully and gulped down the contents, "Argh, what's in it?!" He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand in disgust.
"You don't want to know," Seto chirped from next to Ohira, "But it works wonders,"
Feeling his headache receding, Ichigo stood up slowly. His three friends were surrounding him and Ichigo felt like he was missing something.
"Are you okay?" Yuu asked, concerned.
"My headache is almost gone," Ichigo offered but he could tell that was not what Yuu was referring to.
The three of them exchanged glances and Ichigo frowned. What happened?
"Do you remember what happened last night?" Yuu's voice was tentative.
Oh right. Yuu was the one who helped me back into the room. Wait, did he see the destruction I caused? Damn.
"He meant with Grimmjow," Ohira said bluntly when he saw Ichigo's expression changing.
Ichigo stiffened, "Nothing happened," He made to walk past them to reach the bathroom.
"Ichigo – "
"Have you guys packed? I thought you're leaving for the Kuchiki villa today?" Ichigo interrupted.
"Yes well, we finished packing. Ichigo, don't change the subject – "
"You have those extra lessons today right?" This time it was Seto who interrupted Ohira.
Behind him, Ichigo could feel Ohira giving an exasperated look to Seto. Ichigo half-turned in time to see Yuu shaking his head silently and gesturing in some weird manner. His hand stopped in mid-air when he realised that Ichigo was staring at him.
"Er, um," Yuu fished around for something to say, "I er, don't get it," He hurriedly continued at Ichigo's questioning gaze, "I thought you said you don't have to attend the extra lessons. Why did it suddenly changed?"
Ichigo gave a dark look at the stretch of wall behind the trio, "The instructors felt that I needed more help if I wanted to try for the fast-paced program next year,"
"Fast-paced program?" Seto echoed.
"The one where you complete the six years Academy courses in four or five years? You guys would be signing up for the program right?" Ichigo reminded them.
The three of them exchanged looks again before Yuu said slowly, "We never thought that far…"
"In any case, I will have to pull up my grades if I even want to consider finishing the Academy early," Ichigo pulled his towel from the rack outside the bathroom door.
"Hold on a second," Ohira stopped him, "So you're saying that you are giving up going to the villa to enjoy yourselves so that you can pull up your grades? And this is so that… you could follow us up if we decide to join the program?"
Ichigo gave a sidelong contemplative look, "That about sums it up,"
There was silence before Seto lunged for him, "Goddamnit Ichigo! Now we're going to feel guilty for enjoying yourselves while you slog all the way through break for us!"
Ichigo sidestepped easily and Seto crashed into the wall, "You think way too much,"
Stopping outside the teacher's office, Ichigo took a deep breath. One month of hell, here I come. He slide opened the door and bowed a little to the teacher in front of him.
Closing the door behind him, Ichigo stepped to a side and took a place near some other students. He figured that they were also here for the extra lessons. Ichigo glanced up the row, they were slowly eyeing him as well, looking from his hair to his face to his body. They had faces of displeasure and Ichigo wondered why. Maybe because I'm in the best class and I still have to attend such lessons? Or maybe wondering why am I even in the best class? Ichigo gave a non-committal shrug.
"Now, the lot of you students here are some of the worst in your class and level," The teacher began harshly, "And I am not going to sugarcoat my words. In the following month, you will work hard to pull your grades up or risk being retained a year," He eyed them carefully.
The row of students visibly straightened up. Nobody was keen on being retained.
"The worst of you will be paired with teachers and the rest will be put with some of the better students. Nevertheless, you are supposed to give your full respect to your student partner since they had put in a lot of time and effort to draw up a revision timetable for you,"
…so I'll be put with a student? Ichigo scowled. It better not be some bastard who will just laugh and criticise me.
"Of course some of you may get along well with your partner since they are your friends and have volunteered their time for you," The teacher continued wryly before standing up and motioning for the students to follow him.
They walked out of the room in silence and stopped when their teacher raised his hand. It was a larger hall they entered and there was already a row of students waiting for them inside. Ichigo's group filed inside and stood in a row facing the student-teachers.
"Your partner already knows who you are and will come to find you. Those who have no partner will follow me and I will introduce you to the teachers who will be helping you," The teacher gestured the student-teachers forward.
Ichigo glanced left and right as the some of the student-teachers started approaching his neighbours. Who would be his partner? Someone from his class or some senior?
Someone stopped in front of him and Ichigo had to blink a few times to make sure he was seeing correctly, "You!"
"Is that any way to greet me?" Grimmjow pointed out, "I helped to plan your training timetable you know,"
"What the hell are you doing here?! I thought you had to serve detention?!" Ichigo had to force himself to lower his volume.
"This is my detention,"
