Am I doing everyone's character justice so far? I don't know, I have problems with characters I don't have anything in common with, writing them. (So, Retsu, Hanataro and Isane... All too different from me. If anyone thinks so, tell me and I'll put a little more effort into understanding them. If not, I'll just go on with the delusion that I'm doing fine.)
Continued thanks, by the way, to Nightkill for awesome beta-ing.
And to Safuuru because soon I will have to credit this person for being the co-author.
Continued internet hugs, cookies and what-not.
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The very next day, a lot of things that weren't exactly pleasing to Hanataro happened. First, he realized that he wasn't as through with alcohol as he had thought himself to be. All that was required was a catalyst to send him back to a large bottle of strong sake (that could probably be used as paint thinner if the way it smelled was any indication) a day. Second, Isane had written down what she was going to do before she got distracted and managed to tell Captain Unohana about the seventh seat's relapse. He found out the latter when Retsu expressed her disappointment in him (and as brief as the exchange was, it felt as if someone just ripped his heart out and stomped on it when she spoke). Lastly, something Hanataro had said in his letter or what he had done on a drunken impulse had made Ikkaku extremely angry at him, proved when the man slammed his way into the fourth division barracks without rhyme and, seemingly enough to everyone else, without reason.
Hanataro only wanted to be left alone, seeing as he was an irredeemable idiot and he knew it, but that wasn't going to be happening so long as either Isane or Ikkaku were around. They apparently rivaled each other in being meddling, but Ikkaku shouldn't even want anything to do with a member of the fourth division. Isane was kind of justified seeing as she was only looking out for her own. Ikkaku was just being strange. Strange and meddling, with a five second fuse.
"Hanataro, you dumb ass!" Ikkaku stormed into the younger man's room while Hanataro was occupying himself with some sake.
"Ikkaku? What did I-"
The amount of sake Hanataro had already drunk must have been staggering for Ikkaku to not intimidate him with the loud entry. The man was simply sitting on a tatami mat, turning around to look at Ikkaku with hazy and drunken eyes.
"I told you to stop apologizing all the time," Ikkaku raved.
"What?" Not apologize? Hanataro was a few paces past confused.
"The stupid letter – the one that I forgot to bring, dammit! You said sorry like fifty times in the fucking thing!" Ikkaku put his hand to his forehead. He was screaming at the most sensitive Soul Reaper in all of Sereitei. "Just when I thought I was making some progress. The damn thing wasn't even a full piece of paper!"
Hanataro stood up, stumbling and almost falling back down. He faced Ikkaku, but it was awkward to try to stare in the man's eyes, seeing as he was so much taller. "Making. . . progress?"
"Yeah. You are so hard to deal with when you start on one of your apology rants – wait - how much have you drank?"
"Does that really matter?"
Ikkaku sighed. It wasn't possible to talk to Hanataro about anything serious when he was drunk, he didn't even like trying to speak to him when he was sober. He was so unbelievably jumpy all the time. That was probably more or less the reason he drank, Ikkaku thought, he has no courage or backbone at all without a few cups of sake to loosen him up. "Hanataro, I-"
Not listening to a word spoken, Hanataro started asking his own questions. "How come you want to spend time here – at the fourth's barracks?"
"Well that's because..." Ikkaku didn't have a reason other than he wanted to yell at Hanataro for the stupid letter. "I just came. I don't need to have a reason to be here other than I feel like being here."
"You're here for me, aren't you?"
"Yes – maybe – what the hell are you trying to get at, Hanataro?"
"Just wondering. . ."
"About what? Ikkaku's eyes narrowed.
"Why you. . . Why you really come around," he answered lowly and put his arms around Ikkaku's neck, repeating the whole incident that happened after the drinking party. This time, however, Ikkaku was completely sober and even more surprised than the last incident where Hanataro did this. When he leaned in for a kiss, Ikkaku didn't push him away. He was paralyzed due to surprise for a moment.
Surprise, not disgust.
Eventually, Ikkaku did take hold of the smaller man's shoulders and pushed him off a bit, holding onto the shoulders still. "Hanataro, what the hell are you thinking?"
"Just that you didn't jump like last time."
"Hanataro, you're talking out of your ass," Ikkaku hissed, pushing him.
"Please, I'm not a bad person to be with," Hanataro replied, undeterred by Ikkaku's response. "Just-"
"Hanataro, I. . ." Ikkaku hesitated. There wasn't a lot that he could say that wouldn't be completely meaningless to the man. "I'm going to go, and I'll talk to you when you're not fucking drunk as hell. Tomorrow, don't drink anything for one day and I'll talk to you," he turned and flash stepped out of the room before there could be any type of protest.
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"You don't look happy," Yumichika said, lying on his back with a smirk as he watched Ikkaku walk in.
"Why are you always in my room when I don't want to talk?" Ikkaku asked with a sigh as he closed the door behind him.
"Because it's the most fun to talk to you when you're mad," the man answered with a smirk. "Plus, I was curious. Yachiru said you looked mad when you were going somewhere earlier today. She asked me to see if you were about to blow a gasket before she played with you."
"I'll give you three guesses," Ikkaku said, picking up Yumichika and moving him over to the side so he could lie down. Yumichika instantly sat up and smiled.
"You ran out of sake?"
"No."
"Does it have anything to do with sake?"
"No – well, kinda."
"Kinda?"
"A person who was drinking sake."
"Iba? What did he do this time? Does it have anything to do with the Soul Reaper's Men's Association? If it does, then I can't imagine Captain Ukitake doing anything to bother you, maybe he was sick and couldn't have been there to slap some sense into those idiots-"
"You're wasting your time. Why would I ever be upset with Iba or any of his idiot friends?" Ikkaku rolled his eyes, almost a little insulted that Yumichika would honestly think that he could be so upset by one of the most idiotic people he had ever known. No, Iba would be hard pressed to make Ikkaku upset for longer than it took to beat the Lieutenant to a pulp.
"Hm. . . The fourth division wimp you have a crush on?"
"Hey, that's past your third guess, shut up! You used two guesses last time you idiot!" Ikkaku answered. "And I don't have a fucking crush on anyone; do I look like a teenage girl?"
Yumichika rolled his eyes. At least he had gotten to the source of the problem. "Let's see, he thinks you're an emotionally repressed brute who he'd never willingly spend time with?"
"What the hell?"
"Trying to figure out why you and your boyfriend are having a little tiff. Am I right?"
"He's not my boyfriend!" Ikkaku was a few seconds away from strangling the beauty.
"Not yet?"
"What makes you think I even want to get together with Hanataro?"
"Because, you're the most prideful person I know. You lost to Hanataro because you made him mad and he launched an attack at you when you weren't even expecting it – normally that'd be enough to make a mortal enemy out of someone. The moment you left him be and didn't behead him I knew you were interested in the little fourth division midget. God, don't you ever think ahead Ikkaku? He's more than a foot shorter than you. It would look so strange, and when you put your arm around him I bet it would be the most awkward thing ever, with him being below your shoulder by so much. But seriously, it's pretty obvious that you want more than friendship with this twerp. He's even your type."
"My. . . Type? What are you going on about now, idiot?" Ikkaku didn't know he had a type. He just went with whatever felt right, but honestly; it wasn't surprising that Yumichika found what his type was.
"Yes, your type. He's a nice guy. I mean, really, really nice, probably even nice enough to put up with your constant assish behavior while smiling. But as nice as he is, you know he has at least enough guts to stand up for himself when he really needs to, because he went against his Captain and helped Ichigo. He's weak at the same time that he's strong, needing a bit of a crutch to support him when he does whatever he needs to do. Meaning, he'd actually rely on you and not go off on his own, which always gives you a heart attack if your boyfriends are too independent and take off by themselves a lot. He wouldn't resent a protective jackass like you, is what I'm trying to say, I guess. You both seem completely horrible and unsuited to live with anything else except maybe a few inanimate object, but now that I put the pieces together, you two seem made for each other. Cute, huh? Anyways, besides all those factors, I think he's pretty much the only one in all of Sereitei that could be expected to put up with you, Ikkaku."
"Tch. Shut up. And get the hell out of my room, you presumptuous jackass!"
"Was that the word of the day on your calendar?"
"Maybe. . ." Ikkaku answered until he realized that was an insult. "Get the fuck out!"
"But-"
"Out!"
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