Hey, yeah, I know, it has been quite a while since I last updated, have been relatively busy, I must say. I was seriously considering stopping this fic because one reason is that, I did not know what to write next, and from that results losing interest and forgetting as time goes by. I was reminded by this fic when recently, maybe just a few days ago, someone placed my story on Story Alerts, so I felt the need to update, and for that, I thank you, whoever you were.
By the way, the story is almost coming to an end, maybe 1 or 2 chapters more to go. I'm happy this story made it this far.
I still would like to encourage reviews. Of course those are still greatly appreciated, and energizes me.
Now, on to the story.
Interrogation
Ichigo burst through his door with all the speed he could muster without making his father suspicious. He is going to pay Tatsuki a visit, and he would get information out of her even if it means forcing her to. That means blackmailing her into telling him the truth. Now is the time. He won't be leaving and he won't stop until he hears what he needs to from her.
He walked amidst people in the sidewalk, bumping to some of them in the process. He doesn't know why and what is so important about this, but he just wants some answers. At their age of 15, this is the type of things some would kill to know and this is just what it feels like for him. He turned around the corner and finally reached the place where Tatsuki lives.
He went up the front steps and before he knocked at the door, he took two deep breaths to compose himself. He pushed the doorbell.
"I'm coming" said the voice of a woman from inside the house Ichigo knows very well to be Tatsuki's mom.
She opened the door and a warm smile crept to her face.
"Good afternoon Mrs. Arisawa." Ichigo greeted.
"Oh! Ichigo it's you. What a nice surprise." She said and she gestured for him to come in. "Come in, sit. I'll just tell Tatsuki you're here.
Ichigo doesn't need to tell Tatsuki's mom who or what he came for. She know all too well.
Mrs. Arisawa went up the stairs and disappeared from Ichigo sight by the living room where he was sitting. He heard a knock at upper floor which he judged to be Mrs. Arisawa knocking at Tatsuki's door.
"Hey, Tatsuki, you have a visitor" she said.
She heard the muffled answer of Tatsuki "Who?"
"It's Ichigo, he is here to see you."
There was a few seconds of silence and Ichigo thought he just couldn't hear the conversation. But then he heard the door open and Tatsuki said "Tell him I am not here."
Ichigo shook his head, he grinned and said, "I can hear you from here Tatsuki."
"Good, then I'm telling you, I am not here!" Tatsuki said then closed her door.
"Yeah, right." Ichigo said as he stood up from his seat and headed towards the stairs.
Mrs. Arisawa was already on her way down and she shook her head and smiled at Ichigo.
"Can I go to Tatsuki's room?" Ichigo asked her permission.
"Of course you can." She answered and went to the kitchen and resumed what she was doing before Ichigo arrived.
Ichigo went up the stairs to the familiar room that he has visited a lot of times when they were still young.
He knocked at the door.
"What is it Kaa-san?" Tatsuki said from the other side of the door.(A/N:by the way, kaa-san, or Oka-san means mother, but I am not sure if this is correct though)
Ichigo did not answer but instead tried to turn the knob. It did not budge. So he knocked again. He heard shuffling of feet inside the room, then he heard the lock being released then the door opened revealing a very irritated Tatsuki.
"Kaa-san, wha—"
"Hello Tatsuki."
As Tatsuki saw who was at her door, she immediately tried to shut it, but Ichigo anticipated as much, so he was able to push open the door before Tatsuki could completely close it.
He pushed his way inside and sat on her bed.
Tatsuki was still standing by the door, and she crossed her arms to her chest. She raised an eyebrow at him and said in the most sarcastic voice "Make yourself at home."
She then pulled her chair by her desk and sat facing Ichigo. "What do you want?" She asked.
"I think you know what I want." Ichigo answered.
"Obviously I don't." Tatsuki again crossed her arms to her chest.
"Don't play dumb."
Tatsuki glared at Ichigo.
Ichigo glared back. This lasted for a minute.
"The phone call that we had, what was it all about?" Ichigo, who had become impatient decided to play it straight.
"What do you mean 'what was it all about?'"
Ichigo decided to play along a little more.
"The thing about Ishida and walking a girl home,and all that about ignoring other girls when another is there?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Yeah, nothing."
Ichigo raised a brow at Tatsuki.
Tatsuki raised her brow at Ichigo. This lasted for a minute.
Ichigo then raised his foot at Tatsuki's bed and, crossed his arms, and leaned back.
"I'm not leaving until I get some answers."
"Fine, don't. It isn't my problem.
Tatsuki stood up from her chair and headed towards the door.
"Where are you heading?" Ichigo asked.
"Nowhere. Just going to call your father and tell him your bugging me to no end." Tatsuki said and she started walking.
Ichigo tensed a little, but then an idea formed in his head. In a cool voice, he said "Do that and people are going to know about Jack the Black belter."
This made Tatsuki stop in her tracks.
Ichigo grinned.
Tatsuki came back rushing into her room. "You wouldn't dare!!"
With a self satisfied smile, Ichigo said, "Try me."
Tatsuki glared again at Ichigo.
Ichigo smiled haughtily at Tatsuki.
An artery almost popped on Tatsuki's head. This is what happens when you too get close to someone, and having them know your secrets, she thought.
"Now sit and let's talk."
Tatsuki, knowing she is defeated, sighed and went to sit again in her chair. She continued glaring at Ichigo. She knows that when he wants to know something, there is only very little that can stop him.
"So, let's talk about Ishida…" Ichigo said.
"Go on…"
"… and how you said that you were interested, as you used the word, in him, and not really have a crush on him."
"…"
"I am just thinking, with what I am observing lately, that this 'interest'" Ichigo said, making quotation marks in the air with his fingers "has already progressed to something more like a crush, or infatuation of sorts." Ichigo could not believe he was talking about this sort of thing, especially with a girl,even if its Tatsuki, and it was making the hair on his spine stand on it's edge. He added "And yeah, with the arrival of Setsuna, who obviously is eyeing Ishida, who could be the, again I quote, 'another girl who comes in his way, he suddenly ignore all the other girls, blinded by their beauty, ignoring their character', you mentioned in our talk in the phone earlier."
Tatsuki, looked away from Ichigo. "Those are big words. And so what?"
"Well, I think that you are jealous."
Ouch, Tatsuki thought, how could be so suddenly sharp and remembering their conversation this clearly. But she did not show this and she looked back at Ichigo. She raised a brow at him and said "But I don't see how any of this is your business.
"Well, you are right, it is none of my business. But, as far as I can remember, you are my friend, and I am merely concerned."
"Concerned?"
"Well, you may not have noticed it, but in just a matter of days, you have changed." Ichigo stopped and studied Tatsuki.
She looked at him then to the ground.
"To be more accurate actually," Ichigo continued, "you've been changing the past few weeks, as I term it, turning to the dark side, but it wasn't much to be concerned about I mean..."Ichigo trailed off.
Tatsuki understood the reference. Ichigo meant that she was becoming a 'girl'.
"… but this week has been the greatest change. You have been more irritable than your usual irritable self. You always look angry, that you even scare Inoue…"
With the mention of Orihime, Tatsuki looked up, her eyes softened with the realization.
"…you alienate yourself even to your friends, you are always brooding at one corner, you even leave Inoue alone, which you don't do. All this I attribute to the arrival of Setsuna. I mean, I have noticed, I am not blind, and I know you. Your treatment of her is the most severe. I mean, she's actually cool and kind, but you seem pretty biased because…" Ichigo did not finish what he was going to say. Tatsuki already understood, he knew.
Deep inside, Tatsuki was grateful and surprised at the same time. Grateful, because Ichigo was able to make her aware of what this is doing to her, especially the part where she is even frightening Orihime. She was surprised at how much Ichigo understood.
She smiled and looked away.
A moment of silence passed between the two of them
"So…?" Ichigo continued, wary.
Tatsuki was brought out of her reverie and took a deep breath and said as she looked straight at Ichigo with a smile, "I guess there's no point denying."
Ichigo's eyes widened. "So it's true then?"
Tatsuki nodded. "And I dont know, but... thinking about it now. I... I think I am actually glad you talked to me about it. I did not realize how much it was affecting me but thank you for pointing it out. I think you are right." All the while, she couldn't help but think of her best friend, Orihime who has been affected by the change in her behavior. She does not have to say it, but she was thinking that will be more careful of her actions this time.
They fell silent for a while, Ichigo was already sitting on Tatsuki's bed with his chin resting on his hands. He appeared to be deep in thought.
"I want to talk to Ishida about this" He suddenly said.
"You what?" Tatsuki raised her voice as she snapped her head in Ichigo direction.
"To get over with it already. Aren't you wondering what he's thinking?" Ichigo said.
"Yeah but still..." she said in voice higher than her normal "...I think it's too soon."
"Well, it might end up too late, I'm just saying." Ichigo said, thinking of Setsuna. Tatsuki knows what he meant, and he is right. But a smile formed in her lips at the genuine concern he has for her. She turned her face away from Ichigo so that he can't see this.
"Monday it is then?"
Tatsuki thought it over and finally she agreed, "Fine! Monday it is. To get it over with."
"To get it over with." Ichigo said as he smiled.
After a few moments, Ichigo again spoke. "It's not the only thing I want to talk about."
"What do you mean?"
"I also want to talk about what happened to Orihime earlier."
Tatsuki snorted. He was just too sharp earlier, but now, in issues such as this, it's like he the dullest blade in the drawer. "You are just too dumb sometimes, well, not only you but most men in general. But, I am not telling you what's with Orihime. That one, you have to figure for yourself…"
"But…"
"And I don't care if you tell everybody about Jack the black belter on that account. No means no. As I said. This one you have to figure on your own."
Ichigo left it at that. He knows this is one argument he can't win. They continued to plan for Monday.
The sun was already setting when he arrived back home. He took his keys from his bag, inserted it in its hole and turned it. The door opened.
He went inside, locked the door behind him and turned on the switch to the lights which were just by the door. He removed his school shoes to wear his immsculately white indoor shoes. He went to his desk at the corner of the room and carefully placed his bag at its designated spot on the corner. He went for a quick shower and returned to his desk. He sat primly on his simple wood chair, and opened the small, almost dustless desk lamp. He then took the white cloth with little blue cross prints which was folded neatly on top of his desk, and spread it. He examined the cloth and without looking, he opened the drawer to his right and took the dark blue thread and his pincushion which was holding his needles. He swiftly inserted the thread in the needle and hole and resumed sewing on this unfinished article.
While sewing, Ishida couldn't help but remember his earlier conversation with Inoue-san. He wanted to help her by confronting Kurosaki about this, but he knew this isn't what she would want. He wanted to see Inoue-san happy but he does not know how. Suddenly, thinking of Inoue, Tatsuki's face flashed in his mind.
Ishida then noticed this stitch was crooked, and not how he would like it to look like, smooth and straight. He knows the last time he made the same mistake was three years ago. He frowned, and again opened his drawer and took his scissor to redo the stitching.
He sighed and thought 'I guess I must just leave this business to them.'
well, what do you think of this chapter? I actually think I like it, well how about you? I am almost begging for reviews. Thank you for reading.