Disclaimer: This again? Sigh, no. Sadly I don't own bleach, Tite kubo does. And if he's felling generous, I ain't complaining..
Rating is bumped to "M" just to stay safe.
Soundtrack for this chapter is "Follow" by "Breaking Benjamin" from the album "We are not alone" and "You fight me" from the the album "Phobia"
Chapter 7 : Moonless sky
"Umph! I surrender! I surrender!" The kid screamed and the fist raised above his head stopped only after grazing him a bit and an annoyed huff came out of the mouth of the attacker. He let the kid down and looked at the crowd and screamed,
"Next!" But no one dared to approach him as he was looking at them with cold eyes, like how a Wolf stalks its prey before attacking.
"I'll be your opponent" said a lean looking man in his late twenties or early thirties. He was wearing traditional karate uniform with a blue insignia embroidered on the upper left side.
"And who might you be?" Said the other man, looking almost bored.
"Tanakawa Oghirou, sixth level black belt and in charge of this dojo. At your service" he said and bowed before his opponent.
Seeing his opponent showing him respect, he did the same and bowed before the man and said.
"Oghirou-san, everyone here is weak. Perhaps you'd be able to quench my thirst?" He smiled but the smile did not reach his eyes.
"Be careful what you wish for... Mr?" The man said in a quiet voice.
"Ichigo Kurosaki" the other man declared.
"Kurosaki-san, can I know your reason to challenge our dojo? Alone?" Oghirou asked genuinely intrigued.
"No reason really, I've been out of this circle a long time, I just wanted to test myself against you guys" he replied.
"You don't look like you've been out for a long time" Oghirou observantly stated.
"I don't, do I. Well then... enough chitchat, lets play" Ichigo said stretching his leg and crackling his fingers.
"I must stop you there kurosaki-san, any type of martial arts or self-defense art teaches only to attack when you're attacked. I must politely refuse your challenge and ask you to return peacefully." Oghirou said in a solemn tone.
"So what you're basically saying is that you can't attack me until i attack you?" Ichigo said in a childlike voice.
"That's a very loose interpretation and thats not what I mea..." Oghirou couldn't finish his sentence as he had to defend himself from Ichigo's roundhouse kick.
"It's quite rude you know? Interrupting anyone when they're speaking?" Oghirou said sagely.
"I already told you... Enough chitchat. Show me what you're made of Tanakawa Oghirou!" Ichigo bellowed as he sprinted towards his opponent.
"Don't tell me I didn't warn you" Oghirou said in a quiet voice as he put up his hands and planned his legs firmly on the ground.
Ichigo stopped when he was in less than two feet away from his opponent and Oghirou didn't even twitched. Ichigo tried an experimental jab on Oghirou's right cheek. Oghirou defended and caught his hand with his left and twirled within his hands to deliver a powerful elbow strike to his opponent's chest. If it was any other person than Ichigo, they would be floored by that technical but powerful strike but Ichigo was unofficially reigning champion of his house battles with his father. He had to defend himself from that psychopathic crazy old-goat on a daily basis, it'd take more than this to floor him.
Ichigo caught his opponent's elbow with his right and swiped his leg at his opponent's heel to imbalance him. Like any good martial artist he knew the key to an excellent strike is having excellent balance and if you're imbalanced in-between a fight then your defeat is certain. So its obvious where he'll strike first.
Unfortunately for him its too obvious, Oghirou was a seasoned martial artist and like Ichigo he too knew this, so when Ichigo tried to sweep him off his feet he simply lifted his feet enough to get out of his opponent's swipe range and when Ichigo used that move he had to give it some power by putting some body weight into it and thus his strike took momentum and even when Ichigo saw his opponent saw through his move he couldn't slow down because of momentum his strike gained.
Oghirou saw this and angled his body away from him and raised his already raised leg to his opponent's rib and curled his leg to his own chest and and then he striked his opponent right in the lower right ribs. The strike looked like a canon ball exiting from a canon. The strike was so powerful that Ichigo flew several feet and landed on his back with a thud.
"Yes! Hahahah! Yes! This is it! I've found one at last! He might be able to do it where so many other failed. But this is not enough, he's holding back, I can feel it. Gotta wake him up! Hahahah!" Ichigo thought manically and sat up and looked at his opponent and found him looking at him with pitiful eyes. Despite bile threatening to rise up his throat and the pain from one or maybe two cracked ribs, he managed to smile. A smile that splits his lips to his ear and could be called a manic grin. He said,
"Good Oghirou-san, good! You're the opponent I've been searching for. Show me more!" He finished with getting ready to strike again.
Oghirou was a little bit unraveled, despite the obvious pain, his opponent was smiling. "He doesn't look the crazy type, he talked normally and even spared students. So why..." Oghirou thought curiously and then he looked his opponent in the eye and everything clicked into place. From one martial artist to another, there's an unspeakable bond of truth and trust and any seasoned warrior like Oghirou can read their opponents perfectly if given time. And right now he could see his opponent's wish clearly.
"So that's what this is... I can't say I condone your actions Kurosaki-san but I understand... Many people handle this in many different ways, your way is not unheard of. If this is what you want then as a fellow martial artist I'll grant your wish." He stopped pondering and said,
"Come Kurosaki-san, if you dare!" And renewed his fighting stance.
Ichigo came with a kick aimed at his opponent's head, which Oghirou ducked masterfully and swiped his leg in a clockwise fashion to topple his opponent's balance but Ichigo jumped slightly to avoid that and with his dormant leg gave a kick to Oghirou's head. And Oghirou reeled back several feet. Disoriented.
Ichigo gave time to his opponent to regroup his thoughts and when he saw that his opponent was ready he took an experimental step forward and brought his arms forward. Oghirou did the same and eventually they locked arms and looked dead in each other's eye. Like an old western movie staring match.
"I understand" Oghirou uttered.
Ichigo looked surprised and said "What are you blabbing about? Did I hit your head too hard?"
"I understand why you're doing this.." Oghirou said, his voice solemn.
Ichigo's eyes blazed with fury and he sneered at the older man "You can talk high and mighty after you've beaten me to the ground!"
"So be it" Oghirou replied calmly.
Suddenly the hell broke lose, Ichigo lunged at him with a battle cry and a well placed chop aimed at his opponent's neck. Oghirou blocked that with his left hand and launched a lower kick aimed at his opponent's shin, to restrict his movement. Ichigo twisted his leg so Oghirou got the harder part of the shin, making his kick redundant. But Oghirou wouldn't let go that easily, he adjusted his stance and punched Ichigo right in the midsection with enough force to break a brick. But it only managed to push Ichigo a few feet away.
This time Oghirou charged, with a roundhouse kick that found its target without any mistakes. The sickening crunch of bone dislocating could be heard throughout the room as there was pindrop silence in there. Everyone was holding their breath to see the outcome of this intensive battle. They had never seen their teacher fighting someone with so much zeal. It was clear the other person was no slouch, keeping up with a sixth level black belt from Kyokushin discipline in no laughing matter. They breathlessly watched.
Oghirou was impressed. From what he could tell from their battle is that, Kurosaki-san wasn't trained in any particular discipline he knew, rather he was mixing various different techniques from very different branches. And he wasn't very traditionally trained. Whoever trained him gave him a crash course. Normally a person with crash course can defend themselves from punk and wannabe gangsters, but locking heads with a black belt? Impossible. But Kurosaki-san wasn't your average student, more he fought more he became fluid. Just the opposite of what every martial artist does. Then Oghirou understood why Kurosaki-san was so good, even nearing on his level. He had an impeccable instinct. Almost an animal like instinct. Traditionally students are taught to defend themselves from various attacks with different "kata" or ways, but Kurosaki-san doesn't have a traditional base, he breaks every rule and yet every time he successfully defends against his attacks. Oghirou thought its time.
Ichigo was really breathless, fighting against a sixth level black belt was really taking its toll on his body. His opponent hits faster and harder than him. And he barely has any time to formulate any strategy. He's still standing only because of his instinct. He thought of going on the offensive.
Oghirou defended against his opponent's punch in an Akido energy redirection technique. Many people didn't know this but before his interest in Kyokushin, he used to be an Akido discipline's disciple. Granted, he didn't get very far there but he could do basic things like "energy redirection"
Ichigo was suddenly at lost, his balance toppled, he rolled forward in a haphazard manner and Oghirou put this opportunity to good use.
Oghirou mustered nearly all his power in his left hand and gave one single punch to Ichigo's right side, right over the ribs.
Ichigo suddenly saw black and went breathless, stumbling backwards he sat down and clutched his midsection and stated coughing, amidst coughing blood came out of his mouth and his eyes were glistering. He tried to get up only to fall on his butt.
"Stay down Kurosaki-san, Rule of battle: number one, know when you're beaten." Oghirou said somberly.
"N...not.. Not enough..." Ichigo wheezed out and driven by sheer willpower he stood up.
Oghirou's eyes widened, "Even now you won't stand down? I wish it didn't come to this but you probably want this." He thought but loudly said,
"Come Kurosaki-san, I'll quench the thirst you were taking about. If you're still thirsty."
Ichigo came but much sloppily and Oghirou didn't even have to think to defend himself against something of this level. He just let his body do what its trained to do from thousands of hours of training.
"Accept defeat Kurosaki-san, there is no shame in it. You're in no condition to fight" Oghirou suggested as he evaded another one of his opponent's sloppy punch.
"Never..." Ichigo said defiantly.
"Very well then" Oghirou said as he grabbed Ichigo's left hand and twisted it enough to cause Ichigo to scream out in agony and then he kicked both of his opponent's shin, not shattering them but doing enough damage so he can't stand up briefly and thus disabling his legs. And finally with his right hand he grabbed his opponent's right and twisted it against his back and with his left hand gave a precise punch to the right shoulder nerve point. Ichigo screamed but could do nothing.
Oghirou let him go and Ichigo fell limply on the floor with a thud. With his eyes open he could see Oghirou and Oghirou looked at him with pity in his eyes.
"N..o...t ..not... ne...nearly...enough..!" He wheezed out.
"Is it not enough Kurosaki-san? How much more pain do you need?" Oghirou asked sadly.
"Not...not nearly ...enough... I can... I can... Still...feel..." He said in a broken voice.
"This is your end for now Kurosaki-san, accept it" Oghirou said.
Ichigo's eyes opened up and that brilliant shade of golden brown eyes started glistering and his face contorted with agony not from the physical injury. He looked up at Oghirou and said
"This... This is not enough Oghirou-san, I can still feel, I can still hear...Make it stop..." He pleaded at the man with eyes glistering full of unshed tears.
"Sleep Kurosaki-san, sleep. I promise I'll be here when you wake up, I'll listen to you, sleep" Oghirou said sadly.
In Oghirou's hand Ichigo's head limply fell and he lost consciousness.
"Should've brought the cap, ugh..." Ikumi thought as the sunlight attacked her face.
It was unusual in the winter for the sun to be so high and warm, it almost felt like summer. The sunlight was melting away all the stray ice that was piling over karakura since the start of this winter. She looked at her phone and still no messages or calls, she sighed and proceeded to deliver the goods herself.
Since that incident one month have passed and Ichigo hasn't been taking to her much, not even looking at her in the eye. Most of their conversation was now done in form of text messages. He would message her if he couldn't come that day or if he will be late and she would reply accordingly. There was no banter or lightness in their attitude anymore. Ichigo became stiff in her presence and she didn't know how to talk to him. They both were uncomfortable in each other's presence, so they tried to spend time away as much as possible from each other as you can when you're in business together. It was working somewhat but she didn't like it. After that day she was remorseful of her action and wanted to rectify it but she also knew the damage was done and they may never get to the point where they could talk to each other freely about anything, the way it was, before these pesky feelings started to rise.
At times she thought of apologising to him but then she thought that'd give him an ego boost, why would she apologise when he touched her and made her feel… ugh! She didn't know what he made her feel but she did know that it was dangerous and she should not experience it, at least not with him. She'd accept that there's a little bit of her ego is mixed there as well. She shouldn't have to apologize. They both had faults and they both made mistakes but it doesn't mean they are lost forever. Ikumi wanted to reconcile with Ichigo but it seemed like he had completely shut down. Any questions she asked, she only got a grunt, a nod or maybe if the question required something more than a word, he would reply in a curt manner. Not bothering with formalities or his inputs. Now he acted like a doll with her, a servant.
Dammit! If Ikumi wanted a servant she'd keep a servant, Ichigo was not a servant. He was a valued assistant or ally. She really didn't miss him until he stopped taking to her. If she gave him a task, previously he'd argue or maybe throw a playful banter here and there, now he just nods and does the work! No protest not anything. He just works and at the end of the day he says a forced "goodbye" and off he goes. And the next day the cycle just repeats itself. She was so tried of it that after a week she stopped trying and did what he was doing to her. Ikumi gets why he couldn't be free with her anymore, the things she said was hardly nice but they were said in the heat of the moment and she was so overwhelmed by everything that she didn't even filtered her mouth, she just said whatever that came to her mind. She should've apologised for some of the things that she said the next day but the way he came and didn't even looked at her and barely said a word, made her stop in her tracks. She thought he might need a few days to get out of the shock and honestly so did she. But when after the first week his attitude didn't changed and she was looking like an idiot, she thought "screw it, if that's how you wanna play, that's just fine by me!"
Another week passed, no improvement from either of their parts but no degradations either. They were struck in an equilibrium of wanting to stay away.
In the comfort of her home and underneath her blanket, in that cozy and safe environment she would let her thoughts run wild. Creating various scenarios of "what ifs" and "what could've" and in every scenario they were happy, she was happy. Sometimes she wondered what could've happened had she not stopped him there that day, was he bold enough to continue where they left off? Of course he was, she always thought of him as bold but not once did he displayed this boldness of him to her. She thought he might've been intimidated by her, but then what changed? What could've prompted him to be so bold with as far as taking her in his arms and kissing her? She bounced the idea in her mind and got an answer in less than a second, the train incident... That was the catalyst that changed the equation of their relation, the more she thought about that, the more she couldn't comprehend why did she do what she did? Was it that hard to control herself in front of that orange haired buffoon? When did she became this weak? She had a lifetime of experience of chasing unwanted mans away, never once did she thought of what could happen if she fell for one. Wait... Did she say she fell for him? Ridiculous, she DID NOT fall for that cocky, arrogant, rude bastard. Her mind supplied wealth of memories of him being sweet, considerate and shy. In the sanctuary of her mind, where no one could invade, no one could judge her, she would think of him, not as a assistant but as something more. She was human too, she too craved love, affection and warmth. So many years of being without them, without being loved in an equal manner made her forget what it felt like. So when the prospect became real, the situation came alive and the hope of being loved once more rekindled, she panicked. Yes, not that she would ever confirm this but yes, when Ichigo showed her that there's more to love than she thought and he would like to show her or rather experience it together with her, she panicked. Old memories flooding her mind like an avalanche. Old wounds started hurting and in the process of retaliation, Ichigo got caught in the middle of crossfire. She would now agree that he barely had any fault, sure he hugged her and kisses her in a place that is not exactly appropriate but she did started the whole incident and she could barely hold it against him when she's the older one. It was her job to guide him and she portrayed a poor example.
They say past stays in the past, what a load of bullcrap! The demons of the past always casts a gaze that overshadows present and future. They do not stay there, they actively guide your present and future. Ikumi thought she was over the betrayal but apparently she was not. Ichigo brought back her teenage years, when she felt loved. In span of a few weeks Ichigo made her feel all that she felt during her teenage years, the lightheadedness, the speeding heartbeats and the dry mouth, that is not to say that these are bad feelings, on the contrary they are some of the most beautiful experience a human could hope for and Ikumi felt blessed for a moment that she still had the heart to feel these things but with love comes hate, with happiness comes sadness, such is the rule and cycle of life. When she felt love she also felt sadness, grief and the betrayal and by Gods, she didn't want to feel that again. The first time it happened she was barely functional and she wouldn't be able to live if it happened again. Her mind at that time wasn't able to separate that man and Ichigo, it only felt loved and connected them together. Her mind felt it would again get the wrong end of the stick if this continues and before she had the time to process anything she saw Ichigo standing there with cold blue eyes and the best poker face she has ever seen. The arrow had left the bow and hit dead right on the target. She didn't mean to... Really, she didn't, it was her repressed rage against the man who left her, not Ichigo. There are some things that can't be mended, Ikumi fearfully thought that this might be one of them.
She let out a groan underneath the blanket and defiantly thought, this was Ichigo, the boy who would stutter and cower in her presence. It shouldn't be too hard to bring that out of him again... Except this was not the boy she knew but a broken man. A man so shattered and torn, it was a miracle he was still standing. After she told him to share his worries with her, she could see how he was becoming free with her, he'd laugh more, there was a mischievous twinkle in his eye that promised mischief and how his scowl held no malice anymore. He was becoming ready to open up to her. She destroyed that, she destroyed that trust and it might never be mended again.
She thought she was becoming too preoccupied and anxious. She would just beat him into submission if he doesn't want to talk to her. With that thought still etched into her mind, she drifted into a semi-peaceful slumber.
Oghirou tended to Ichigo's right wrist and a look of pure pain flashed onto Ichigo's still sleeping face. Oghirou sighed and continued doing his work. He bandaged the wound tightly with some ointment pushed into the wound and leaned back to observe his work. He nodded proudly, he'd say that this is the best medical treatment anyone can give Kurosaki-san right now and moved back to lean against a beam.
He thought of when they first locked eyes, the time when Ichigo was grinning madly. He recalled asking himself of his opponent's motivation. And in the split second their eyes locked he found the answer.
In that moment Oghirou felt pain unlike anything he has ever felt. The eyes in front of him told him a tale of mountainous pain. It's not even comparable to physical pain. With physical pain if you tend to it, it eventually goes away but what of the pain that is eating you from the inside out? How to you relieve that?
In Ichigo's eyes he saw the look of a truly broken man, gaping at his last straws. Holding onto his last part of sanity with everything he has. He was trying so hard to not let go, to not lose but the battle inside couldn't be won, he gave in. And after that Oghirou understood that Ichigo didn't come here to challenge them or boast his superiority, he came here to drown his pain. He came here to be beaten to a pulp, to be beaten to an inch of his life, so he couldn't feel what was inside him. He came here to be numb. Many people seek alcohol, cigarette and even woman to forget the grief they are feeling, Ichigo chose a very different and difficult path. A path not so comfortable but the fact that he had the strength to choose this difficult path even in his maddening pain, spoke volumes about his character. He was impressed with Kurosaki-san restraint, thought he let go at the end but nonetheless it was impressive. He would say at some point he felt kinship towards Kurosaki-san. He too was alone at some point in his battle of life but he was fortunate that someone was there to pull him out of that misery, to make him understand that while pain is a stronger motivator, love of the strongest. She taught him the joys of compassion, love and friendship when he was nothing more than a wild beast.
If his intuition was correct and it's rarely wrong, Kurosaki-san was suffering a very similar fate. Though he felt the loss of more than one loved one. He felt confused, but at the same time wanted to help him. No one should suffer alone in a corner, everyone deserved to have someone in their corner, to be their rock. Kurosaki-san looked like a repressed person who wouldn't say anything until suddenly one day they will just burst. It makes sense that he had no one to talk to or maybe he just didn't want to talk about it. Now he just have to wait for him to wake up.
A half cry and a half groan tore through Ichigo's throat and he groggily opened his eye to see his surroundings. First the saw the unfamiliar ceiling, which was traditional Japanese and then he noticed a man far to his right, he absentmindedly thought, "why isn't old-goat face attacking me?" And then he suddenly remember everything, the pain, his pleading and suddenly shot up like an arrow and moaned in pain and clutched his midsection. Another arm was rubbing soothing circles on his back and then he heard the man taking,
"Easy Kurosaki-san, easy. You just regained consciousness, it'd be unwise to try and go anywhere right now" Oghirou said in a fatherly voice.
Ichigo looked Oghirou in the eye and found him looking at him with nothing but concern in his eyes, he felt ashamed for what he's done. He lowered his head and said,
"Oghirou-san I've already taken too much of your hospitality, you shouldn't concern yourself with someone like me..." Said in a soft voice.
"Hush now Kurosaki-san, we'll talk all about that once you're fully healthy. For now sleep" Oghirou admonished him quietly.
"What time is it? I need to go to work... I need to call home..." Ichigo said as he laid his head on the bed.
"Already taken care of, I called your house, your father picked up and I told him you're spending the day on a friend's house. He gave you permission. But I couldn't find anything named "work" on your phone... " suddenly as if he realized he's done a crime he quickly said "Ah...I hope you don't mind I went through your contacts..."
"Ah... No it's quite OK. Actually thank you for letting my family know, there would be worried sick if i didn't call home..." Ichigo said dismissively.
"It sounds like you have a lovely family..." Oghirou said cautiously.
"My father is a bit of an odd character but he's a good man and my little twin sisters are the best sisters a guy could hope for.." Ichigo sighed happily for a change.
Oghirou, the ever perceptive man, picked up that he didn't say anything about his mother, "Hmm, that just might be what's hurting Kurosaki-san, I shouldn't prod it right now, it might have the opposite results." But said, "You know if you want to talk about anything and I mean anything, I can listen..." He let out purposefully.
Ichigo suddenly became stiff and his stone cold persona returning, "Thank you for all that you've done Oghirou-san but i think..." He couldn't finish his sentence.
"Don't do this Kurosaki-san, don't shut yourself out" Oghirou started, "the more you alienate yourself from people the harder it becomes. Trust me, I know..." Oghirou trailed off.
Ichigo was looking at him with skeptical eyes but said nothing, seeing this Oghirou sighed and said
"You might not want to tell me anything but would you like to listen?" Oghirou asked.
Ichigo's eyes softened a bit and he remembered that this is the person who took care of him despite he looked down at him and welcomed him into his home, the least he could do was listen to him. So he said, "Yes Oghirou-san, I'll listen"
Oghirou started "There was a boy who's childhood was vivid to him as yesterday but he didn't want to relieve any of that, because it was filled with his alcoholic father beating his mother mercilessly and his mother sneaking around and cheating with other mans. He received brutal beatings in place of love, he got spat on when other kids were in their parents loving embrace. From such a young age he saw these and that became his way of life. He thought the world was merciless, cruel and indeed it was. The world has been nothing short of sadistic towards him. Throwing him into the belly of the beast, on the other hand showering others with comforts of life. He quickly understood his path and his way in life. He wasn't destined to be a good man, he was dirt, scums of scums. He understood this. So when he was of age he joined the Yakuza and quickly worked up the rank to a certain point. He had no mentionable educational background nor manners, the only thing he knew, is how to break every bone in someone's body. The word "restrain" wasn't in his dictionary. He killed many man in his quest to rise up the ranks and as he killed more and more, the upper echelon treated him with even more respect. The day his mother got murdered by his father, he just stood there looking at his mother's corpse like how you would look at a dead animal, without sympathy, without remorse. He wasn't privy to these things, love, compassion, kinship, these were alien words to him, he only knew violence and madness."
Oghirou stopped to take a breath and Ichigo's eye was as large as saucers. By now he understood he was listening to Oghirou-san's life story, how a man, a consciencesless killer transforms into this gentle, compassionate human? He was more interested in the story and eagerly waited. Oghirou took a sip of water and then resumed,
"Eventually he rised to up to be an area leader and everything was going as smoothly as it could in a Yakuza's life. One day an order came from the higher ups, saying he had to kill someone from his area, said he wasn't cooperating. Being the conscienceless murdered he was, he didn't ask for anything else and went to that man's home. First he encountered the wife and he spared her, he never killed a woman and he wasn't starting now, same with kids. Finally the man was in study room and he went there and asked him for one last time if he was going to cooperate? The man refused and the sword was slashed horizontally at his neck, his head came rolling at the killer's feet. He took the head, put it in a bag and walked away. He delivered the head to higher ups and everything was smooth again. Few days passed and suddenly one day police picked him up when he was lounging with his subordinates. They asked or said nothing, his subordinates said nothing and he understood that he was betrayed by his own group. He willingly went with them. They did unspeakable things to him and in return they wanted nothing. No information, they just wanted to torture him, he accepted that. When the nightmare ended, seven days later, they put him in a van and took him to a secluded place and STABBED him countless time on the chest. He fell limply on the grass and accepted his fate. Blood running like a river beside him, his own blood. He thought of all the people he murdered, he silently asked for their forgiveness and waited for the sweet embrace of death. The last thing he remembered before succumbing to unconscious, was a girl, hoisting him up."
Oghirou paused for a brief second and started again,
"He opened his eyes and found himself on a hospital bed, secluded to everything else, like he was in ICU or something. But the room did not look like ICU, more like a big closet. He looked to his right and saw a girl sitting there, he vaguely remembered her, she was in the house when he took that man's head. She was his family member, maybe daughter. She looked at him neutrally and said nothing. He thought it was unfair if she didn't know who he was. So he said, "Maybe you don't remember me but I'm the one who killed your father" the girl didn't even flinch and said, "I know" he couldn't understand what the girl was doing so he said, "If you know then you should kill me right now, its only fair" the girl gave a mirthless laugh and said, "I did not save you from bleeding out only to kill you, Killing is not the only way" he was totally clueless now and asked, "What do you mean?" The girl gave him a piercing look and said, "You might've taken my father away but his teachings will live forever in me, he believed that people are inherently good until they're not. Something must be the catalyst for people to change for bad. He believed in people and in humanity. I'll answer your next question also, I saved you for humanity's sake, knowing that you're my father's killer and beacuse I could. Now sleep" she ordered in a stern voice and he listened like a petulant child. After he regained strength he tried to repay her but she wouldn't have any of it. He cut all his relation to Yakuza and escaped here. In that span of time the girl taught him the value of love, compassion, and friendship and slowly from that savage beast he took a human form and broke down before that girl, asked for her forgiveness and offered his life to her but she also wouldn't have that, she only asked for his undying faith in her and offered to love him in return. From that day forth, he was a good man and vowed to remain a good man till his dying breath... "
Oghirou finished, looking a bit unnerved and fatigued. He did had to take care of Ichigo. And Ichigo was dumbstruck, here he was losing his calm for a mere girl and this man in front of him had everything taken away from him but he was still able to smile, was still able to make other people smile. His problem was minuscule compared to him...
Sensing where his thoughts were progressing Oghirou stopped him, "Do not belittle your problems Ichigo, I did not tell you my story so that you could feel sorry for me or feel sorry for yourself, if its one thing I want you to learn from my story, it'd be the time when I was alone. I had no one to talk to, my wife saved me from myself. It's because of her I'm here. And also because I had someone to talk to. So if and when you feel comfortable enough, know this, I'm here" he finished
Ichigo looked incredulously at him, this man had a hidden talent for digging up the things he wanted to bury, he cleared his throat and said
"Oghirou-san... I don't know what to say... After hearing your story, mine dwarfs. But if you're still hearing I'll take you up on your offer..."
Oghirou smiled and motioned at him to continue, and Ichigo started spilling his guts. From the day his mother was killed to his latest endeavor with Ikumi-san. Oghirou was a patient listener and did not once stopped him. Of course he left out the parts from the spiritual realm but he was a deceptively perceptive man, he sensed that Ichigo was hiding something but said nothing. When Ichigo finished Oghirou said nothing and told him to come back tomorrow, little did he knew the tomorrow would come a little late.
Ichigo came up to his house and opened the mail box and saw a very unfamiliar envelope, he tore through that as that was addressed to him and the contents made his head spin and went into his house and after beating his father only a little he helped him up and his father asked if he was sick, to which he replied in the negative and started calling his younger sisters,
"Karin! Yuzu! Come down here, I need to talk to you guys..."
Karin peeked through her bedroom door and grumbled, "What is it Ichi-ni? Can't it wait till tomorrow?"
Yuzu was in the kitchen, preparing dinner for them and she promptly appeared, "What is it Onii-chan?"
Ichigo looked tensed and said first let's go to the living room, he stated walking and the rest of the family followed, he motioned at them to sit down on the couch and all of them did. They were looking at him differently, Yuzu and the old-goat face was looking at him curiously and Karin in mild annoyance.
He cleared his throat and said, "I've got something to tell you all..."
Ichigo made his way to Ikumi-san's house to tell her something important, he didn't think this'll happen but it did nonetheless. He sighed and got into the house and stated searching for her quietly as it was already late and no point rousing the neighbors.
He found her in her desk working furiously, he looked at that fondly for one second and thought this might be the last time he will see her... He didn't want to think about that, she made it pretty clear that she wasn't interested in anything remotely related to that, so he would swallow the pain, put a smile to his face and lie to her face one last time. He schooled his expression and ironed his nerves and called out to her in a soft voice,
"Ikumi-san..."
Ikumi's eyes shot right up to meet his and she was surprised as in a very long time Ichigo was looking at her, at her eyes. His eyes didn't have that stone cold quality, in fact it was somewhat watery, like waves of sea. She was transfixed and suddenly got out of her daze and said,
"What is it Ichigo? You didn't come today and didn't even text me, if you're skipping this much I can't keep you anymore you know?" She said the last part in a mocking manner, hoping to bring the lightness they shared before any of these.
"Ah... About that Ikumi-san... I...I" Ichigo was suddenly feeling very nervous and fidgety.
Ikumi looked at him with sceptical eyes and tried to deduce, what was he trying to say that has him this nervous? She certainly wasn't prepared for what followed.
Ichigo bowed full ninety degree to show his sincerity, then he started taking in that position,
"Ikumi-san... I'm... I'm sorry" his throat was threatening to collapse, "Just not for today... I'm sorry for everything I've done, I'm the worst, I know. I constantly ditch you, make you work more than your fair share, I even made you uncomfortable. Honestly I don't know why I'm still here." He paused.
Hey hey hey! What is happening? Why is he sounding so broken? Like the world has ended for him? Didn't he know that she has forgiven him for that? Didn't he know he was still needed here, in her shop, in her life? Then... Why... Why is this sounding like ...
A goodbye?
Ikumi got up from her chair and made his way to him, he heard her coming closer but didn't move from his position and started taking again,
"I can only imagine how uncomfortable you must've felt from my advances...I can't rectify that, I can't make it right." His voice was starting to break, he wouldn't be able to do this anymore... He only had a few moments left, so he made good use of it,
"Ikumi-san... This right here is the sincerest apology that I can give you, Ikumi-san... I... I won't work here anymore..." He finished barely restraining his emotions, which was threatening to overwhelm him.
Ikumi heard everything and she felt like... She couldn't actually describe it, in the short time they spent together, they had become much closer than either of them cared to admit. They were solitary creatures, preferred to work alone, but they found something in each other, Ikumi found the companionship she was searching for and Ichigo found the courage to continue. Ikumi felt empty, void. She really did forgave him for what he has done, it was no more his fault than it was her. Then why was he, like a petulant child, trying to run away? As if running away will bring the solution? If he felt uncomfortable about what happened, he should've asked for her council. But no! He'd rather go away than try and solve this together. Ikumi really did thought right, he indeed was a child with childish tendencies. Who does that?! Running away? She would be damned if she let him get away for something so minuscule.
Ikumi came up to him and tackled him to the ground with a sleeper lock that she didn't use for a long time. The first time she used it at him, when he was acting whiny and didn't want to go do chores. She put his head more firmly on the sleeper lock and continued to squeeze his neck.
Ichigo was in such shock that he didn't even retaliate and let her put him into that deadly sleeper lock. His sense came back when he was nearly gasping for breath and furiously tapping he arm to let her know he has accepted defeat and she should let him go, then he felt her lessened the hold just a tiny bit to give him some breath and she started talking,
"What are you? an idiot?! Who does that?! First you don't talk to me for whole weeks, sulking like someone had just killed your puppy and when you did have to talk, you used text messages. Then you made me work countless more hours, I suffered from insomnia for you. I nearly had wrinkles. And just when I thought everything was OK between us, you try to run away? You think running away is the solution? What you did was forgiveable but you didn't asked for forgiveness! Not even once! You just came the next day and sulked! What was I supposed to do? Beg you? Please... You're the one who fell in love with me and..." Ikumi couldn't finish her talking.
Ichigo was quietly listening now that he had regular breaths, as he was listening to her, progressively the emotional part of him was taking over his brain, a blinding rage invaded his veins and set his blood on fire, as if to burn him from the inside out. "Running away?" "He fell in love?" What the hell was she taking about?! She was the reason he was in this whole mess, she started the whole thing, she showed him the way... And now she was mocking him? No... Ichigo had enough of mocking, enough pain, his conscious part of the brain urged him to stop what he was about to do but he couldn't see past her actions, couldn't hear past her words and without his conscious effort next few things happened.
In one swift move Ichigo freed himself for her hold and put his hand on her neck to push her down to the ground and grabbed her hands with his left and held them above her head and then he pushed his lower body weight on top of her to keep her pinned and with his right he kept balance and hovered above her face.
Ikumi didn't know what happened... One moment she was talking, the next she was pushed down with surprising force and Ichigo was on top of her holding her hands above her head and his face hovering just six or seven inches above her face. From here she could clearly see those golden brown eyes that haunted her dreams more than she would care to admit. Now they just looked tortured and full of pain. He unashamedly showed her his pain, her breath hitched and she thought, a fair amount of that pain was inflicted by her. His eyes were glistering as if he was about to cry, by he didn't, with unshed tears in his eyes he started taking,
"Running away?... Who's running away and from what? You think I should apologise? To you? What have I done to you that you didn't want?" Ichigo said in a deadly calm voice.
Ikumi started, "Look Ichigo..."
Ichigo interrupted her, "I wasn't finished talking. You've said quite much, now you will listen." He said with such authority that Ikumi kept her silence.
"I didn't asked you to be nice with me, yet you were. I didn't ask you to be compassionate, yet you were. I didn't ask for all these feelings that you awoke, yet you resurrected them nonetheless. I didn't ask for your confirmation when I kissed you but yet you did. So tell me Ikumi-san what did i do that warrants an apology?"
Ikumi was dumbstruck, lying here with Ichigo on top of her, his hand holding her hands above her head, pinning her to the ground with his lower body and his face only half a feet away, asking why did he have to apologize made her heart break. She sobbingly croaked out
"Oh Ichigo..."
Suddenly Ichigo roared, "NO! Godamnit NO! I don't want your apology dammit! I want answers, did it feel good to break my trust? my heart? Did it feel good when you strung me along? Did it feel good when you humiliated me for doing what you wanted me to do all along? Answer me Ikumi-san! ANSWER ME!" A few drops of tears dropped on ikumi's face
Ikumi's eyes were now brimming with tears, she let a few stubborn drops fall from her eyes and they rolled off he face to her shoulders. She sobbed lightly and looked at him with hurtful eyes. He really did made some good points. She started this whole thing, she encouraged him and when he did make a move, she pretended she didn't know anything and humiliated him. If he hated her now, she deserved it.
Ichigo started talking again, "How could you Ikumi-san? I trusted you, I trusted you enough to even contemplate telling you something I haven't even told my family. I..." He trailed off, his voice utterly breaking.
Ikumi listened to his words and kept sobbing, yes, she really did break his trust in her. And by the looks of it he wasn't forgiving her.
Ichigo's head suddenly felt extremely heavy and he put it onto ikumi's shoulder and they were in a full frontal hug while lying down, but neither of them payed too much attention as they were busy comforting each other. Ichigo let her hands go in a haze and she immediately circled his larger torso with her hand to squeeze him into her and in return he nuzzled her neck, to which she only gave a shuddery breath and continued to hold him closer to her. It didn't matter what the were now, but she knew she didn't want to let him go, she didn't want him to go. The whole world could see her right now for all she cared. She only wanted him in her arms like this. This felt right.
Ichigo spoke but his voice came muffled beacuse his mouth was pushed against her shoulder.
"I would've you know... I would've taken care of you if you gave me a chance... I would've liked to experience all that we could, together. But you didn't even considered something like that..." he said sadly.
Ikumi pondered in his words, yes she didn't even considered the possibility, there was just too much happening at that moment that she didn't even had time to. Her family, her son, her business, what would people say, what would her son say... Christ... She really was considering it now...
Suddenly Ichigo pushed off of her enough to look at her face from a high vantage point, while he was balancing his body on both of his hand now, beacuse he didn't have to restrain her hands. Ikumi moaned in protest but at last let him go so that he could look at her.
He looked at her do clearly, his eyes were shining like embers and she was captivated by their lights. Then he spoke,
"Ikumi-san... I'm going to break my promise to you, you can kill me later if you want... But for now, please let me have this. Please let me remember you..." He pleaded.
And then slowly, very slowly he started dropping his head, aiming for her lips, she was too captivated by him to even consider the possibility of protest, and when his soft lips descended onto her quivering ones, she opened them willingly.
Every little movement from his lips incited jagged arc of electricity in her body. She has never experienced something this intimate, his lips were soft at first, gliding over hers cautiously to see if she will reject, but that was the farthest thing from her mind. She opened her lips to accommodate him and instantly their lips started dancing in symmetry. He was slowly beginning to harden the kiss and right now he was setting the pace and Ikumi had no problem to follow his lead. Like an intimate dance, they were accommodating each other's movement as if they had kissed a thousand times and some more. Ichigo started nibbling at her lower lips and she gave an lustful moan in response, that excited him even more and he was starting to get bold.
They were now nibbling at each other's lips alternatively and at this stage their hands were itching to be part of this intimate situation. Ikumi's hand came behind his neck and she grabbed a handful of his lower neck hair and gave them a good tug toward herself, which incited a deep groan from Ichigo and he attacked her lips even more ferociously. This time she thought she should show him some of her own skills, she gently put a hand on Ichigo's right check and motioned at him to show down a bit and when he did, she took his bottom lips between her teeth and gave it a playful bite. When they separated after that Ichigo was looking at her like she was mad and she gave him a playful giggle, to which Ichigo's response was nuzzling and kissing her neckline. When he kissed her collarbone she gave a gasp and held his head there for him to continue. Slowly... Very slowly he started kissing her neck, her throat, her chin and finally descended into her lips again. This time it was a two players game and neither was surrendering. They both played for quite some time and when they begin to tire, they released each others lips with an audible smack, they were looking at each other and after some time Ichigo lowered his forehead to her and was just gently listening to her erratic heartbeats and feeling her haphazard breaths. She circled he arms at his neck to keep him close.
"So... What's the verdict?" Ichigo asked content but tiredly without removing his forehead from hers.
Ikumi's eye suddenly went wide as she understood the full effect of her actions and what they would mean to this young but very beautiful man... She was confused once again, she didn't want to lose him but she couldn't give him what he wanted and without that she doubted that he'll stick around. She suddenly went blank.
"Well?..." Ichigo prodded lovingly.
Ikumi didn't know what to say... The look he was giving her was of love, there's no mistaking out this time, no shade, no parable, no riddles, this was love. He didn't have to say, she could see it in his eyes, they were shining like the Moon, illuminating his whole face. Making him look angelic. She thought of answering affirmative but now that'd be a lie, there was a lot of things to consider, she couldn't just jump into this, she has to think this through. She wasn't making a mistake like her younger days. If she was going to do this, she was doing it right. But right now she couldn't give him a no, because whatever they had become, She didn't want to lose that but she also couldn't say yes ... Life plays such cruel tricks Sometimes...
"I...I... I" she couldn't finish her sentence, she became tongue tied.
Ichigo gave a mirthless laugh, still holding his forehead to her, he quickly pecked her lips and pushed himself up, standing all the way up and even helped Ikumi to stand up to her feet. Not that she needed it but she thought of indulging him when he brought forth his hand. Ikumi was suspicious and was about to say something but was stopped as Ichigo put a finger on her lips, effectively shutting her up. He gave a small sad smile looking at her eyes and said.
"You're not honest Ikumi-san..."
And then without saying anything else, he walked back out of her house, leaving her dumbstruck. She was so overwhelmed that didn't even try to stop him and just stood there.
That's the last she saw of him.
A/N: Yeah... I suck at romantic scenes, i know.
In case you didn't understand, Tanakawa Oghirou is my OC.
I've done my best to proofread this but something always escapes...
These chapters are taking their toll on me... The next chapter might come a little late.
Syborg signing out.
