Ice

Chapter 6: Thanks

Ichigo stood in the crowd full of fans and the whole town. He stood next to Orihime and Rukia, who both held signs in their hands. The crowd was cheering, clapping, and full of energy and joy. Toshiro Hitsugaya was found by Ichigo Kurosaki 2 weeks ago. The band sent up a get-together with the town and perform some songs they kept secret. They wanted to thank Ichigo, Toshiro especially, even though he already said it to him. Ichigo was confronted by the National Guard yesterday. They gave him a badge, naming him a hero. He saved a life, an important life. And everyone thought he should get something in return.

Toshiro rolled his shoulders and sighed. He clutched the microphone in his hand. Ever since he got rescued, he's been frightened to walk back on stage. He was scared to be backstage, to be on stage and perform songs. Nishina convinced him to get up there and do his thing. He promised the band will be there, watching out for him.

"Hey, you look nervous. Daijoubu?" Inin said. Toshiro looked at him and shrugged.

"I guess. I don't know, actually. I mean, it's hard to describe the emotion I'm currently feeling right now." He said. Inin puts his hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright, man. We got your back." Inin said. Toshiro nods and looked down. "Dude, look at me." Inin cupped his face in his hands, making Toshiro look at him. "I promise my life nothing will happen to you. Ever." Inin said. Toshiro pressed his lips together, the threat of tears in his eyes, and nodded. "Come here." Inin said and hugged him. Toshiro tightly closed his eyes shut and hugged him tightly. Nishina and Iro came in.

"Hey, Toshiro. We wanna talk to you about something. Come here for a minute." Nishina said. Inin lets go of Toshiro and they walked over to Iro and Nishina. Toshiro sat down.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Since Shinin is gone, we need another band member." Nishina said and looked at Iro.

"We need a new drummer, actually. Someone we can trust." Iro said. Toshiro smirked a little.

"I got someone. I'm not sure if he can play drums, but, I know we trust him." He said.

"Well, if you can trust him, we can trust him." Nishina said.

"Who is the guy?" Inin said.

"I know you guys know him...after all...he was the one who saved my life." Toshiro said.

"Orihime, what am I doing here?" Ichigo said, as loud as he could so she could hear him over the loud crowd.

"It's a surprise! Don't worry!" Orihime said. Ichigo stared at her oddly before looking away. Orihime leaned in and whispered to Rukia.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? He doesn't even know what this is or why he is here." She whispered.

"I know this is a good idea. Toshiro told me to bring him no matter what. He said he has something to tell Ichigo but he didn't tell me what exactly. But I think I know what it is." Rukia whispered.

"Nani?" Orihime said.

"I think...Toshiro is gonna confess to him." Rukia said. Orihime became confused.

"Confess to him about what? He already made it clear that he is in debt to Ichigo." She said. Rukia shook her head.

"No, no. It's not that. I think he's gonna tell Ichigo that he loves him. Like, for real." She said.

"Sugoi! But, how is he gonna do it?" Orihime asked. Rukia shrugged.

"I don't know. But we're gonna find out in a few minutes if my hunch is true or not." Rukia said.

"Good morning, Osaka!" Inin yelled into the microphone as he strutted on stage. The crowd cheered louder and waved their hands in the air. "Ooh, it's good to be back in Japan. Nishina, Iro, Toshiro, come on out!" Inin said.

"What the hell is this?" Ichigo said as the rest of the band came out. Toshiro was pretty nervous. Ichigo could tell because he was gripping the microphone. Nishina puts his hands on his shoulder.

"Toshiro, here, it scared." He said. The crowd quieted down as he spoke. "He refused to come up on stage, even step foot near stage, ANYTHING that deals with music and his career. He's been terrified." Nishina said. Ichigo furrowed his eyebrows in worry and concern.

"But we were able to convince him to come back on stage today because he has a few words to say. A few special words, actually." Iro said. Toshiro stepped forward and sighed nervously.

"I never thought I'd be here today. I-I never thought I'd be standing here, talking to all of you and looking at all of you. When I was help captive, my view on the world changed, you know? It told me some things aren't so nice and peaceful and graceful in the world. It taught me that the people closet to you can bite back anytime. And that you need to watch your back and be prepared for that time. Well, I wasn't prepared. I didn't watch my back. I never imagined he could do that to me. I never even thought about it. I was...so blind to everything and to everyone. I never thought I'd be rescued. 'Till one person came along and snapped me out of that asylum." Toshiro said. Ichigo smiled and looked down, blushing a little. "He came to me and at first, I really didn't know how to react. I didn't know what to feel or what to do. But said something to me that changed me forever. He told me this: 'Stay safe'." He said. The crowd cheered. "And before he got to leave, Shinin showed up and shot him." Toshiro said, sadly. The crowd booed. "My friend, Orihime Inoue, took care of us both. The next day, Ichigo recovered. But I had to stay since mine were severe. When he and I were alone, he bent down next to me and whispered something: 'Know that I'll be here, protecting and saving you. I don't care if I die trying. As long as you're safe, I'll be happy. I'll die a happily, alright? I've never had the guts to say this but I love you. Not like, I've-got-a-crush-on-you kind of love. But the I-would-push-you-away-from-an-oncoming-train-and-save-your-ass-for-as-many-times-as-I-can-until-die kind of love." Toshiro said. The crowd laughed and cheered loud.

"And I can see him in the crowd." Inin said. Ichigo froze and hid behind Orihime. "Yeah, you. All the way in the back and hiding behind Orihime Inoue, the girl with the orange hair." Inin said. The crowd turned and looked at him. He nervously waved.

"C'mon up here, Ichigo. We have something to say." Nishina said. Ichigo sighed and as he made his way up there, the crowd was patting his back and shoulders. Toshiro came in front of him.

"I know I've said this so many times but thank you." He said. The crowd cheered. "I owe you my life, Ichigo." He said. Ichigo smiled and looked down.

"Since we lost Shinin, we've been a band member short. We came together a few minutes ago and discussed what we are going to do about it. We all decided that we want you in our band, Ichigo." Nishina said. The crowd cheered.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no. No, no. I-I can't do that." Ichigo said, smiling. The crowd starting chanting his name, urging him.

"C'mon! Please?" Toshiro said. Ichigo looked at him in the eye. They stared at eachother. Ichigo gave up and chuckled.

"Alright, fine. I'll be in your precious band." He said. The crowd cheered. Nishina and Inin highfived. Iro and Nishina hugged.

"And, Ichigo?" Toshiro said.

"Hm?" Ichigo said and looked at him. Toshiro had this look in his eye, the sweetest sadness in his eyes.

"I love you." He said. The crowd went nuts. "I love that you're totally insane, protective, nice, and full of determination. It inspires me. You inspire me everyday to keep on being me. I love you. I love...everything about you." Toshiro said. Ichigo smiled. Nishina reached forward and grabbed Toshiro's microphone as Toshiro cupped Ichigo's face in his hands. The crowd went silent. They all scramble to grab their phones and cameras. The crowd went completly INSANE as the 2 lovers kissed on stage.

"We need a boyfriend." Rukia said. Orihime nods in shame.

"Yeah, we do." She said.

"Hey, Rukia." Someone said. Rukia turned and gasped as she laid eyes on her crush [hard to believe], Renji. She ran to him and jumped on him. He laughed as he caught her in his arms. She leaned down and pressed her lips to his. Orihime sighed and looked away akwardly. She looked at Ichigo, who was making-out with Toshiro. Then her eyes caught on a blue head. She smiled and went to his side.

"Hi." She said. He looked at her and pushed up his glasses.

"Hello, Orihime. Fine day, isn't it?" Uryuu said. Orihime nods. It got silent, like, an akward kind of silence. "Orihime, will you go out with me?" He asked. She smiled.

"I'd love to." She said. He smirked a little and held her hand. The crowd kept cheering as the 2 lovers kept on doing their thing. 2 new couples stood in the crowd, not caring if the stood out.

THE END

A/N: YOU HAVE TO READ THIS, OKAY? ICE ISN'T OVER YET! I PROMISED A LEMON AND I WILL KEEP THAT PROMISE. SO, THE NEXT AND LAST CHAPTER OF ICE IS THE LEMON! Okay, I just had to let you all know that. YOU ALL OF YOUR REVIEWS! Arigato and ja ne!