woohoo, i think this is my fastest attempt in updating… the impending doom of school starting is a pretty good motivation… now, to get to the other fictions -.-"
idea for the last scene was given by Hiei098 ages ago, even so, thought i should properly do the crediting XP
hmmm, pretty slow chapter (i think) overall… hope you enjoy (:
List of OCs which seemed to be getting longer:
In room x1,
- Kanai Yuusuke (Ichigo's first friend in the Academy, slight worrywart, very perceptive person)
- Ohira Kuranosuke (used to be Ichigo's roommate, half joker half serious, excelling in classes)
- Seto Hizanshi (used to be Ichigo's roommate, full time joker)
- Kuchiki Ryuuha (used to be Grimm's roommate, calm but slightly stuck up)
In room x2,
- Takada Kouhei (used to be Grimm's roommate, has an interest in Ichigo, overall nice guy but used to be a player)
- xx Takeshi (used to be Grimm's roommate, mediator type)
- Aikawa Shinya (cheerful, happy, probably scheming something, interested in Grimmjow)
- Hatoyama Seiji (fellow schemer, quiet, more observant)
Others,
- Kuchiki Rin (Ryuuha's twin sister, calm, kind, upper class feeling, a bit blunt)
disclaimer: i don't own Bleach
Eternity
XI
"Here," Ichigo pushed a sheet of paper towards Renji as he sat down without an invitation.
"What's this?" Renji asked as he set aside his paperwork and perused the sheet presented to him, "Ichigo – "
Ichigo held up his hand to ward off the protest, "Look, just fill it in and go for the exam,"
Renji's eyes narrowed as he hissed, "I have no intention of becoming the Fifth Division Captain, why would I want to take the Captaincy Proficiency Exam?"
"If you passed it, it would at least prove that you are as capable as the next Captain," Ichigo said casually.
Renji fell silent and Ichigo sat back to allow Renji to think. Ichigo glanced around the Sixth Division office. Unlike the previous year when he was here, the place now looked much cleaner and organised. It was almost hard to tell where Renji's territory ended and where Byakuya's began. Well, Ichigo mused, at least one thing good came out of this whole mess, though hopefully this neatness would last.
Ichigo turned his attention back to Renji when Renji cleared his throat quietly. Even though he was distinctly thrown by the way Renji used to get his attention, Ichigo still marvelled at the fact that Renji could learn to be tactful when the need arose.
"I'll think about it," Renji said when Ichigo raised an eyebrow to acknowledge that he was listening.
"Renji," Ichigo waited a moment for Renji's gaze to lift from the table.
"What is – " Renji cut himself off with a yelp when Ichigo reached out and smacked him hard, "What the fuck are you doing, ass-wipe?!" Renji growled as he rubbed the side of his head.
"Now that sounded more like you, tattoo-freak," Ichigo grinned.
Renji stilled for a moment before bursting into loud rambunctious laughter. Ichigo revelled in the familiar sound that he had always associated with the redhead as he leant back into his seat. Eventually, Renji managed to calm down and after sending a smirk in Ichigo's direction, stood up and started arranging his workspace into a mess, albeit an organised one. Ichigo only shook his head in amusement as he helped to shuffle some of the paperwork around.
"Hey, don't mess it up too badly, you idiot!" Renji yelled when Ichigo tried pushing some urgent documents under a whole stack of junk lying in the room.
Ichigo only made a face before moving on. Soon, the room looked more like how it used to and the two of them retreated to the couch set in a corner of the office. From the file cabinet beside the couch, Renji managed to produce a bottle of sake. Ichigo snorted at the appearance of the bottle and briefly wondered if Byakuya even knew that Renji hid such things around the office.
They took a few minutes to drain nearly half the bottle before Renji finally spoke up, "Alright, spill. I want to know what's going on with you and that guy,"
Ichigo rolled his eyes, "I was almost amazed that you could hold back gossiping tendency for so long. And he does have a name, you know,"
"Fine, so how's it going with your precious Grimmjow,"
"Well, we are kind of together now…" Ichigo said casually.
Renji sat up so suddenly that some of the sake spilled out from his cup, "What?! Why the hell have I not heard about it until now?!"
"If it helps, I haven't really told anyone else yet,"
"Thanks," Renji commented dryly, "So I take it that you guys have resolved everything?" Renji said as he settled himself back onto the couch, slightly comforted that he was the first to know about Ichigo's relationship.
Ichigo coughed slightly as he shifted awkwardly around. He avoided Renji's eyes as he took his time finishing the alcohol in his cup.
"Oh man, Ichigo," Renji groaned at Ichigo's silent response, "When the hell are you going to clear that up? It's only going to get more difficult, the longer you drag it,"
"Don't you think I know that," Ichigo said irritably, "It's not like I can say, hey, did I ever tell you we used to be lovers? Oh yeah, and I was the one who killed you?"
"Get over yourself Ichigo," Renji frowned, "Are you still blaming yourself for his death? At the very least, there wouldn't be any problem with the Gotei Thirteen now. Imagine the mess if he was still alive in that sense, he'll probably be executed anyway,"
"I rather he was still alive. I'll fight the Gotei if I could have him back,"
Renji eyed Ichigo carefully, "Ichigo, what is Grimmjow to you exactly? And I meant the current one, not the damned Espada,"
Ichigo hesitated before letting out a groan as he set his cup onto the table, "I really don't know. I mean, I know they aren't the same person but…" Ichigo had a pained expression on his face as his voice trailed off.
"Are you dumb or what? I'm quite sure the Academy and heck, even us, have been pounding this fact into you for the last eleven years. They are the same, you dolt," Renji resisted the urge to smack Ichigo hard.
"They aren't!" Ichigo protested loudly, "Grimmjow doesn't have his memories, doesn't have his character and… and it's just different!"
"It's just you who wants them to be different. Because it's easier for you. Because you don't want to deal with a Grimmjow who doesn't remember you," Renji stated calmly before adding in an all-suffering voice, "Why am I acting as some marriage counsellor? Kill me now, please,"
"Gladly," Ichigo refused to think about the fine prints which Renji had pointed out.
Renji regarded Ichigo for a moment before letting the subject go, knowing that Ichigo needed time to mull over it. Forcing an answer out now may not be the best solution for Ichigo's relationship. Better to let him come to a resolution himself.
"You could hardly fight me on par now, berry-chan," Renji drawled.
"Wanna bet?"
"Boo!"
Ichigo's deadpanned face stared back at him, "Ah,"
He made a face at being humoured by Ichigo and looked pointedly at the window that was separating them. Ichigo gave a roll of his eyes before reaching out and pushing the window open. He stepped through with practiced ease and settled himself down on the bed.
"I'm still left with a bit of homework, so you'll have to wait," Ichigo nodded towards his desk, "Never expect you to be here today. Weren't you here yesterday?" Ichigo asked even as he bent over to pore over the sheet of paper on the table.
"I was bored,"
"What? Aizen wasn't entertaining enough?" Ichigo's voice was mocking him.
He snorted, "Please. All he ever does is to sit in his room and plot. Who cares about him,"
Ichigo gave a non-committal shrug as he finished up his homework before packing them neatly away into a file, "So," Ichigo had turned around to face him.
He gave a wide grin and stood up. Ichigo was looking at him warily and he liked the fact that he was unpredictable enough. That always kept everyone's life more interesting.
"Oh wait, I almost forgot," Ichigo dodged out of his embrace at the last moment.
Scowling heavily, he crossed his arms over his chest as he stood in the middle of the small plain room. He watched as Ichigo rifled through a drawer on his table, pulling out pieces of paper in the process.
"Here," Ichigo held an envelope in his hand.
He took it, curious of its contents. Opening the flap, he discovered it contained several photos of the two of them. His finger slid across one of them, their faces were close to the camera and Ichigo was grinning and scowling at the same time in the photo.
"You took this the other day right?" He asked Ichigo, intrigued.
"Yeah, they turned out pretty well. The old lady at the developing shop was looking at me funny though, for taking so many pictures of myself,"
He let out a sharp bark of laughter, "Well, you are a narcissist," He reached out and pulled Ichigo into his arms, "And what do you know, we look good together,"
"I think you're a bigger narcissist than I will ever be," He could almost feel Ichigo rolling his eyes.
Smirking, he sat back down on Ichigo's bed and dragged Ichigo to settle between his legs. They looked through the photos together and he mused slightly on the technological improvement. He would never have thought that cameras and coloured photos were now so commonplace.
"These are your copies, by the way," Ichigo said as they paused at a particular nice shot.
"Huh. Think Aizen will throw me out if I paste it on my wall or something?" His finger traced over the edges of the photos in his hand.
Ichigo elbowed him brutally and he scowled at the back of Ichigo's head for the harsh treatment, "Don't invite trouble, you idiot,"
He merely grinned as he took up the next photo, "I like this one. A lot,"
Ichigo looked at the photo and promptly smacked him hard. The Ichigo in the photo was lying topless on the bed and he was positioned over Ichigo who was flushing a nice pink. He laughed, he still remembered how he had taken the photo. Ichigo had taught him how to use a camera, including connecting it to some cable and stand thing, allowing him to take a picture even if he was standing far away.
He looked back down at the photo again and without wasting another second, placed the stack of photos carefully on Ichigo's bedside table. His hands moved and stripped Ichigo of his shirt, earning a yelp of surprise.
"Shall we have a repeat?" He asked as he pushed Ichigo down onto the bed, obviously referring to the photo.
A hint of red crept onto Ichigo's face and he leaned down, capturing Ichigo's lips with his. Ichigo moaned loudly – .
Grimmjow groaned as he woke. Great, another dream starring Ichigo again. It was getting really frustrating. Why the heck was he having wet dreams about Ichigo when he already had the real person?
Sighing, Grimmjow turned in his bed and was met with the sight of Ichigo's sleeping face. Grimmjow lifted his hand and swept the stray strand of orange hair away from Ichigo's face. Ichigo mumbled a little and shifted at the contact.
Stretching a little, Grimmjow caught a glimpse of the clock on their drawer. It was nearly time for class. Grimmjow suddenly smirked as he looked down at Ichigo. Slowly, he began placing small kisses on Ichigo's face, from his eyes, his ears to his jaws. Ichigo shifted again and the arms wrapping around Grimmjow tightened. Grimmjow continued even as Ichigo began to wake.
"Mmm," Ichigo mumbled incoherently as his eyebrows furrowed automatically.
Grimmjow slide his thumb across the frown. Ichigo's eyes opened and blinked at him blearily before closing again.
"Hey, if you don't wake up, we're going to be late," Grimmjow said as he prodded Ichigo persistently.
"Fine fine, I'm up I'm up," Ichigo grumbled, "Asshole,"
Snorting, Grimmjow sat up slowly, "Cheh, then don't complain if I don't wake you up the next time,"
Ichigo waved his hand vaguely in the air as he pushed aside the bedcover and made to stand. Grimmjow was by his side immediately and pulling him towards the bathroom. He yawned and leaned against Grimmjow.
"Don't you dare fall asleep again," Grimmjow warned as he eyed the showerhead in the bathroom.
Ichigo opened an eye and was about to retort when he saw where Grimmjow was looking, "I'm awake I'm awake!" He quickly started washing up.
Grimmjow snorted, "Great, it takes the threat of being splashed with cold water to wake you up, you lazy ass,"
"Mmm not lazy," Ichigo mumbled around his toothbrush.
Grimmjow made a derisive noise at Ichigo's remark. Who was he trying to kid anyway? Shrugging, Grimmjow turned to the sink himself, his mind drifting back to the dream. The room, the photos, the banter and Ichigo himself seemed so real that he could hardly believed that it was something his own mind came up with.
Okay fine, if his mind was more creative, then they would have been in some other place instead of that same small room that he was always dreaming about. And maybe doing some other stuff that was not so mundane. It felt more like his mind was going into some fluffy mode, what with the way he and Ichigo kept interacting in his dreams.
Grimmjow scowled inwardly, he was definitely not going soft. And his damned mind better comply.
His eyes drifted to the mirror and he stared at his reflection. The same teal hair and eyes stared back at him as Grimmjow slowly brushed his teeth. Grimmjow hesitated in his action as he took in his own face. It looked exactly the same as the one in that photo dream-Ichigo gave him, right? No, Grimmjow contemplated, something is different. He frowned at himself for a while longer before shrugging and giving up, unable to pinpoint the exact difference. Maybe he was being overly sensitive. Or paranoid… whatever.
Reaching out with his hand, Grimmjow smacked Ichigo hard on the head when Ichigo looked like he was falling asleep again. There was a yelp and some crashes when Ichigo was startled awake. Grimmjow could only roll his eyes. What the hell was Ichigo doing in his weekend classes to make him so tired? Maybe he should have a word with that Ogawa-sensei personally.
Grimmjow bent over the sink and rinsed out the toothpaste in his mouth. Wiping off the excess water from his jaw, he watched as Ichigo went about the same motion.
A few minutes later, Ichigo seemed more alert and he hurriedly rushed out of the bathroom to dress himself, cursing as he went. Grimmjow merely scoffed before making to leave the bathroom as well, but not before turning back to the mirror to stare at himself as a detail from his dream came back to him. If that really was just a dream, then…
...who the fuck is Aizen?
"Grimmjow! Good morning!" Aikawa greeted the man approaching cheerfully.
In response, Grimmjow only nodded. Aikawa shrugged it off though. Grimmjow was always colder when Ichigo was not around. Briefly though, Aikawa wondered if Ichigo was really on some sort of study trip, the teachers in the staff room were particularly tight-lipped on any information regarding Ichigo.
"Everyone's out on the practice field already," Aikawa offered when they reached an almost empty cafeteria, "You woke up pretty late today,"
"It's a Saturday, isn't it," Grimmjow said, as though that would explain his behaviour, "And why are you not out there with them?"
Aikawa sat down opposite Grimmjow, watching as Grimmjow slowly chewed through his food, "I was bored. Decided to wait for you since you always spice things up," He added a wink for good measure.
Grimmjow merely scoffed and rolled his eyes. They sat in silence as Grimmjow finished the last of his breakfast. Aikawa made sure that he was not caught staring at Grimmjow. Really, Ichigo was one lucky bastard. Grimmjow was almost too good for him.
"Where are you heading?" Grimmjow asked as they stood up.
"Probably the practice field,"
Grimmjow nodded, "I'm off to the meditation room. See you," He turned around and walked off without waiting for a response, waving as he left.
"Damn," Aikawa frowned and kicked at the floor.
"Give it up already. You can't possibly win Grimmjow away from Ichigo,"
Aikawa turned around quickly, startled at being caught off guard, "Ah, Takada… You would know, wouldn't you? Seeing that you tried to snatch Ichigo away,"
Kouhei settled himself against a wall, preparing himself for an argument against Aikawa, "Your information source is lousy. Since when have I tried snatching Ichigo away?" Ichigo, you better be thankful that I'm even bothering to try and deter your rival… well, the person that is trying to be your rival, in any case.
Aikawa snorted in an undignified manner, causing Kouhei to raise an eyebrow at the action, "Please, everyone knows that you liked Ichigo,"
"But I never did any snatching. Now you on the other hand," Kouhei pointed at Aikawa, "Has been trying to flirt with Grimmjow since the start of the year. That's like over a month ago and there's still no progress. When are you going to give up?"
"Flirting? What flirting? I have no idea what you mean," Aikawa fluttered his eyelashes innocently, "Grimmjow was lonely without Ichigo so I thought I could at least provide some comfort,"
"Aikawa," Kouhei began and paused as he thought best how to phrase his sentence, "I think it'll better that you give up now. All your efforts will only be wasted. If you have been around them for as long as we had, you would know that what you are trying to do now is a waste of time,"
"Oh, really now," Aikawa said airily.
Aikawa had a devious smile on his face, causing Kouhei to narrow his eyes, "What are you planning?"
"Nothing at all," Aikawa said in his most innocent voice.
"I'm telling you now, if you ever hurt either Grimmjow or Ichigo, I will hurt you," Kouhei warned.
"They're big boys, I doubt they need you to look after them," Aikawa waved the warning away, "Well then, I'm off to practice. Ta-ta," He laughed as he walked away.
Kouhei made a loud noise of frustration. Ichigo, you better get your ass back soon and stop disappearing every week. It's not doing anything for everyone's nerves.
"Pick a target and start your practice!" There was a loud whistle from their instructor before spells started flying.
Ichigo only sighed in resignation. He really hated kidou classes and did not really see any point in kidou. Like he was going to let go of Zangetsu anytime during a battle. Ichigo glared at the teacher's head resolutely.
Grimmjow, who was beside him, pushed him in front of a target dummy. Ichigo scowled heavily at being ordered around.
"You were procrastinating, of course I have to give you a push," Grimmjow replied when Ichigo looked at him with a disgruntled expression.
"Who the hell was procrastinating," Ichigo grumbled under his breath as he positioned himself in front of the target.
He took a few moments to regulate his breathing and steady his reiatsu. With his palm held out in front of him, Ichigo began gathering his reiatsu into a small ball of energy while reciting the incantation of the Hadou they were doing. Ichigo closed his eyes, feeling and imagining a tight ball of condensed reiatsu as he recited the last word.
"Not bad, though you took too long to properly gather your reiatsu," Grimmjow commented.
Ichigo opened his eyes and his scowl deepened when he saw the target in front of him. He had hit the sides of it instead of dead centre and next to the scorch mark on Grimmjow's target, his looked like a small blemish only. Unfortunately, Ichigo was pretty sure that Grimmjow's was closer to the actual one than his, seeing that he had watched Rukia fired one of her personal favourite far too many times.
"Honestly, I think it's because your reiatsu is too low," Grimmjow said lightly as he fired another Hadou at the target.
Ichigo blinked in disbelief. Too low? He closed his eyes and attempted to sense the reiatsu of his classmates. His eyes opened in surprise. Since when did everyone get so strong?
"What the…"
"Are you okay?" Grimmjow frowned.
"Yeah," Ichigo mumbled incredulously, "Yeah, I just can't believe…"
"Well, what did you expect? Most of us were already able to talk to our zanpakutous already. Of course our reiatsu will increase,"
"Fuck," Ichigo cursed under his breath.
Second years could communicate with their zanpakutou spirits already? Wasn't that a little fast? Damn, am I supposed to be able to talk to Zangetsu as well?
Ichigo let out an air of frustration. Now, he would have to slowly adjust the restraints on his wrist without making the change in his reiatsu too obvious. Great. Awesome. How could he have missed everyone else's progress?! Ichigo shook his head in dismay.
Turning back to face the target properly, Ichigo became thoughtful as he examined the wrists that were held out in front of him. Now, how did Mayuri said to adjust the restraints? Ichigo only remembered the method used to fully release the bind. Was slowly adjusting the restraint level the same? Just insert reiatsu and turn?
"C'mon, the teacher told me to help you out," Grimmjow made to stand behind Ichigo.
Ichigo twisted his head around just in time to catch sight of the instructor turning to some other students to their left, "Why you?"
Grimmjow grinned roguishly, "Because I'm better in Kidou than you?"
Rolling his eyes, Ichigo could only face the front again as he muttered savagely, "Please, almost anyone is better at Kidou than me," Save maybe Renji.
"Too true," Grimmjow nodded.
Using his feet, Grimmjow nudged Ichigo's leg into a better position. Ichigo tensed in preparation, his palm already in front and reiatsu gathering. Frowning, Grimmjow poked the tense shoulder muscle, causing Ichigo to jump and yelp at the sudden action.
"Relax," Grimmjow's arm came up to grip Ichigo's.
"We're in class," Ichigo hissed when Grimmjow came dangerously close to him.
"What? I'm not doing anything," Grimmjow smirked.
"Yeah right,"
Grimmjow's arms were wrapped about Ichigo's shoulder, his hand gripping Ichigo's wrist. With his body pressed almost flat against Ichigo and his arms wound tightly around Ichigo's shoulder, Grimmjow looked more like he was embracing Ichigo than guiding Ichigo through Kidou. Grimmjow merely grinned at the position. There was a snort from both Kouhei and Yuu who were on his right when they saw Grimmjow taking advantage of the situation.
By the time Grimmjow turned his attention back to Ichigo after being distracted by Kouhei, Ichigo had already fired another blast at the target and was scowling at the result. Grimmjow hit his head against the back of Ichigo's lightly.
"You were distracted," Ichigo gave in the way of excuse.
"I'm not now," Grimmjow forced Ichigo's arms to relax, "Okay, palms out and say the incantations again,"
"Oh ruler," Ichigo rolled his eyes as he complied, not really seeing what the difference was between his own attempt and one helped by Grimmjow, "Mask of flesh and blood, all creations of the universe, fluttering of the wings, ye who bears the name of man – !"
"I'm going to put in more reiatsu," Grimmjow whispered into Ichigo's ears as he pushed a little reiatsu into Ichigo's wrist, "This should be enough to help power your Soukatsui,"
" - Truth and temperance, strike but slightly your claw upon this wall which feigns ignorance of sin! Hadou Number Thirty-Three, Soukatsui!" Ichigo finished in triumph when he felt a stronger reiatsu ball leaving his hand before he realised what Grimmjow had done.
Shit.
The wall across them erupted into a blue fire. Short yells came from the students around them as Grimmjow pulled Ichigo down slightly to avoid some of the debris that was once part of the wall. The smoke cleared a short while later and where once stood a whitewashed wall, was now a large hole in the plaster that overlooked the back garden of the Academy. Ichigo's attack had definitely hit the target across them. Unfortunately, it took out the surrounding few as well as part of the building. Ichigo cringed at the destruction.
"What happened?" Their teacher suddenly appeared in front of them.
Ichigo shuffled his feet nervously, his hand had already gone to his wrist during the confusion and lowered back his reiatsu. Grimmjow had almost fully released the bind and Ichigo could only hope that no one had felt the sudden fluctuation. Or that anyone would link it to him.
"Sorry sir, we merely fired a normal Soukatsui," Grimmjow replied as politely as he ever could, "Maybe someone else was on the other side and fired something at the same time?" He suggested.
The instructor's eyes were suspicious as they trailed to Ichigo. Ichigo gave a half-hearted nod to Grimmjow's explanation, already hearing it being passed and tossed around by several other classmates. There was a short moment of silence as the teacher stared at Ichigo before giving a terse nod as if in acceptance.
"Okay class, seeing that most of you already don't have a target to practice on, we'll end the class here today," The teacher turned to the rest of the class and stopped them before they cheered, "However, I expect all of you to practice during your free time," He warned them.
The class thanked the teacher as he nodded back in acknowledgement. Slowly, the students passed by the destruction, whispering and murmuring around themselves. Some gingerly made their way to the damaged wall to have a better look at it while others laughed and snickered at the crumbling that started again when someone touched the edge of the rubble.
Seto whistled when he finally reached the group that were staring at the wreckage in front of them, "Man, that was cool,"
"I thought the walls were made to stand powerful Kidou attacks?" Ohira frowned as he bent down to examine the debris lying around them that used to be part of the wall.
"Well, guess they aren't really as strong as we thought them to be," Hatoyama commented quietly, causing most of the group to jump when he appeared out of nowhere.
"Damn, stop scaring us like that," Seto playfully struck a frightened pose.
"Come on, let's go," Ichigo started pushing Aikawa, who was standing closest to him out of the room, "There's nothing much to see,"
Laughter and snorts followed them as they stopped once in a while to kick the rubble away from the centre of the room. Ichigo managed to herd most of them in front of him so that they would not see his slightly guilty face. He hated not telling the truth to his friends.
"Or," Yuu said under his breath, unheard by the others, "Your Kidou blast was stronger than that wall could hold,"