I Don't Own Bleach and neither do you, most likely, anyhow.
Okay, believe it or not, this was not the development I was talking about. This was actually somewhere in the middle region of my plans, but, seeing as if I hadn't stopped here, you'd all be waiting for your next chapter at least another two weeks, or maybe a year, this will have to do.
I Don't Own Bleach and neither do you, most likely, anyhow.
Okay, believe it or not, this was not the development I was talking about. This was actually somewhere in the middle region of my plans, but, seeing as if I hadn't stopped here, you'd all be waiting for your next chapter at least another two weeks, or maybe a year, this will have to do.
"What the hell are you talking about, Rangiku?" Ichigo demanded, dropping his noodle loaded chopsticks back into his bowl.
"We've all been a bit lost these last few days, right? No one knows quite what to do and we're all bored?"
"I suppose," Momo consented, everyone now paying Rangiku full attention, their dinners ignored.
"I think that we're all uncomfortable getting to know one another while under constant surveillance." She waved her arms to accentuate the presence of hidden camera's.
"What are you proposing, Rangiku?"
She paused, looking at each of her housemates. It seemed as though everyone held their breath, waiting.
"We're having a picnic!"
Isshin Kurosaki would always describe himself as a loving father. He cared for his dear children with a ferocity that could not be rivaled, explaining why he had taught his dearest and only son to fight at a tender age and still took it upon himself to keep the boy's skill's honed to this day. His love was also why Isshin made certain to include himself in whatever aspect of Ichigo's life he could get his hands on. So, it goes without saying, Isshin became terribly distressed when his grown son stopped answering his phone.
"I don't understand, Kisuke! How could Ichigo ignore his loving father?" Isshin wailed over the phone. "I mean, normally he answers at least one or two of my ten daily phone calls, but this week he hasn't answered any! What am I to do?"
"Er, Isshin. I'm not sure why he didn't tell you, but…Ichigo isn't home. He won't be for the next 174 days, actually." Kisuke didn't like this awkward position he'd been thrust in. When he had convinced Ichigo to participate in the experiment, he hadn't even considered Isshin's reaction. For a scientist, he'd been pretty stupid.
"My boy, is on…vacation?" Isshin mumbled coldly. "Without taking the rest of his family? And such a long vacation too! Oh, Masaki! How I have failed you, raising such a horrible, selfish son!"
"No! Isshin, he isn't on vacation! He's participating in a science experiment." Kisuke had to stop him before his wailing devotion to his late wife reached it's peak.
Isshin paused, the silence over the phone deathly. "This is…one of your science experiments?" Isshin was carefully controlled, never a good sign.
"Yes, a psychology study. Ichigo will be living in a house with seven other people, three of them male, four of them female, for 180 days. We want to see how people react in a slightly forced, yet comfortable environment. Ichigo was interested and signed up. He brought Toshiro with him." Kisuke explained. It was a pretty simple notion to grasp, but, Kisuke knew that is Isshin had his way, he would pervert the entire concept.
"So, you mean to tell me, Ichigo is spending half a year in a house full of girls!
"I wouldn't say full, but-"
"Kisuke, you are a genius! This is exactly what my boy needs!" Isshin cried, literally, in both forms. "How can I ever repay you?"
"It's fine, Isshin. Really, he's helping me more than I'm helping you."
"Then may I ask for a favor?"
"Is this a favor Ichigo is going to like?"
"Nope. Not at all."
Kisuke considered, the process taking a single moment.
"Ask away, my friend!"
Though not exactly stoked about the picnic, Rukia had to admit, they'd picked the perfect day to do it. The sun was shining, the birds chirping, and a refreshing breeze blowing. On a day like this, Rukia couldn't help but feel a brilliant sense of euphoria.
"Oi, Rangiku! Where are we going?" Ichigo's demand snapped Rukia out of her reverie.
"To the woods, of course! I don't want my skin to burn!"
"What a stupid reason," Ichigo grumbled, but still followed Rangiku's lead nonetheless. Somehow, Rukia had wound up wedged between Ichigo and Renji, trailing behind at the back of the pack. Momo was busy having an avid, and from the looks of it, enthusiastic conversation with Toshiro a ways ahead of them, while Orihime and Ulquiorra trailed behind Rangiku. So, Rukia was left with Renji chatting in her ear, and Ichigo stooped beside her, why, only god knew.
'Besides Toshiro, I'm the only person Ichigo is familiar with in the house.' Rukia realized, stealing a furtive glance at her scowling companion.
"Hey, Rukia. Are you listening?" Renji was the one to disrupt Rukia's thoughts this time.
"No, not really," Rukia answered truthfully. "Was it important?"
"I was commenting on the weather." Renji gestured to the sky.
"Oh." Rukia couldn't believe and old friend like Renji had nothing better to say than mundane commentary on the weather, of all things! That aside, Rukia hated small talk. Didn't Renji know this?
"Perfect weather for a picnic," Renji plowed on, oblivious to Rukia. "Just be careful, okay? We may be shaded in the woods, but you can still be sunburned and you can't ruin your perfectly pale skin. Kuchiki's are not to have bronze skin after all."
"Are they not aloud to make decisions for themselves as well, Renji?" Rukia couldn't believe Ichigo had beaten her to it, not mention he was standing up for the very woman he had bickered with just this morning.
Renji turned an odd shade of red, almost managing a scowl as impressive as Ichigo's. "I was not speaking to you, Kurosaki."
Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "I require your permission to voice an opinion?"
"Unfortunately, no. I'm just saying, you can voice your opinions to someone who wants to hear them."
Rukia was slightly confused and peeved, especially peeved over the fact that she was confused in the first place! Why was it that no one could seem to get along? Sure, she and Ichigo had declared a truce, but it seemed as soon as they'd made up, he'd moved right along to the next available target. It was as though Ichigo enjoyed arguing.
Meanwhile, the men had continued on, Rukia forgotten by now.
"Why should it matter if I interrupt?" Ichigo demanded. "You weren't saying anything important anyways."
"You don't have to listen to me! You could just ignore it like any decent person would!"
"Would it truly be decent of me to ignore it while I wasn't the only tortured by your mundane, tedious act of crime?" Who knew Ichigo had such an extensive vocabulary?"
Renji spluttered lamely, almost halting entirely. Ichigo had an intensity in his glare that made Rukia realize she didn't quite like her wedged position between the men.
"Rukia, make this idiot go away. You can't possible like him hounding you this way!"
There he went again! Ordering Rukia around as though she were some adolescent child, unable to decide for herself! Did Renji believe all of his time spent around Byakuya would rub a bit of his superiority of onto him?
"Ichigo is entitled to do whatever he likes. I am not about to tell an adult what they can and cannot do," Rukia countered pointedly, not caring if Renji didn't like it. Renji could get as pissy as he wanted about this because Rukia hadn't cared for the way he'd been addressing her.
"If that's how things are, I'll leave you alone with your new pal," Renji snarled, stalking to the front of the procession.
"Looks like Renji could use a little liquid spirits," Ichigo remarked, watching Renji chug the rather convenient alcoholic beverage that Rangiku was, oh so, kind enough to offer the sulking man.
"He always drinks when he's in a bad mood," Rukia replied.
"Is he often in a bad mood?"
"It all depends on whether or not he can have his own way, rather like a spoiled child in a way."
"Speaking of which, you didn't have to take my side back there. You could have stuck with Renji. I wasn't expecting you to…well, you know."
"You weren't expecting me to shame him, thus leading him to a spiraling bout of self pity and alcoholic influence?"
"Well, yeah. I, personally, was making an effort not to sound brutal, but that pretty much sums it up," Ichigo replied.
"Did you consider that I was just as peeved at Renji as yourself?" Rukia countered. "Besides, an effort to be merciful doesn't suit you."
Ichigo cocked an eyebrow imploringly. "I'll have to make a particular effort to be as utterly brutish as possible in our next fight. To appease your own wishes, of course, however contradictory that may be."
"That's only if you get the chance!" Rukia snickered. "I'll have destroyed long before you could even manage true resistance."
"A possibility, that. They do say that woman are the root of all evil, after all." Ichigo may have claimed woman were the vile creatures, but the mischievous grin he flashed her way could have come from hell itself.
Rukia returned the grin, her own malice right behind it. "So, you know a lot about woman, I take it?" She dropped the question with enough innocence to drown a kitten, but the satisfaction she found at the slight red tinge to Ichigo's face and the panicked expression was far from pure.
"I wouldn't say I know a lot about woman, exactly." Ichigo stammered. "I know enough, but not too much! I'm not some drooling lecher or anything! Don't get that idea! Oh, stop looking at me like that! That's not a good look!"
"I don't believe I mentioned anything about perversion." Rukia mused. "I must say, that makes me a little suspicious."
Ichigo scowled (because pouting isn't manly enough), any trace of embarrassment gone. "I understand how this works, Rukia. This is where you start turning all of my words against me."
Rukia laughed. "I was only teasing Ichigo. It was my indirect method of asking if you were in a relationship, idiot."
"That's one hell of a messed up way to do it, Rukia."
Rukia shrugged. "I do what I can."
Ichigo sighed, but began nonetheless. " To answer your question, no, I am not in a relationship. My last one ended a little over a year ago."
"It didn't end well, I presume." Rukia read the tone of his voice.
"She cheated on me, with a lot of men, for a long span of time, all without me knowing, of course. Senna was her name."
Ichigo grew quiet, a sullen sort of moping Rukia had never witnessed before then. She'd begun to regret the conversation when Ichigo was himself in an instant, his strong, moody façade in place like a well worn pair of sneakers.
"How about you Rukia? You have a special someone?"
"Not at the moment." She replied. "I've dated enough men, but none of them really stick around long enough for a serious relationship."
"Why not? I mean, sure, you're an evil, grumpy, violent midget, but there's got to be guys that go for that kind of thing, like a masochist or something."
The bruise Ichigo earned for that one wouldn't fade for days.
"Byakuya happened," Rukia continued the story with a little more satisfaction while Ichigo rubbed his newly required wound. "He'd scare them away before the relationship had made any progress. It got to the point that I'd keep my dates secret for as long as possible. I got pretty good at it too, I managed to hide a few of my boyfriends for months, but Byakuya's spies always managed to find us in the end.
"Wait a second, your brother had spies watching you? As in, all of the time? Isn't that a bit overprotective?"
Rukia nodded. "I got pretty good at losing and avoiding them, though. I could never manage more than two or three hours, but it was sort of fun, in a way."
"So, you've never had a serious relationship?"
"There was one, but he doesn't really count."
"Why?"
"Because after he had fooled everyone in my family, successfully used me to boost social status, and earned his father a promotion in our company, he was caught embezzling money from our bank accounts." Rukia explained.
"Wow, that makes a whoring girlfriend look like a minor offender." Ichigo remarked.
"His name was Kaien. We were together four years, before he was arrested. We'd graduated from high school together, we were talking about marriage, even! It taught me an important lesson, though."
Ichigo didn't like what this conversation was doing to the mood. It was contradictory to the general atmosphere. So, Ichigo decided to lighten the mood, in the way only Ichigo can.
"You know," Rukia looked up, "Something isn't quite right."
"What's that?" Rukia asked, not bothering to hide her incredulous and spare Ichigo's feelings.
"This Kaien, or Kane, or whatever, how did he ever manage to put up with you?"
Ichigo bit back a groan as Ichigo's little fist pounded the same place she'd abused only minutes before, Ichigo wondering if he'd have lost the use of his arm by the time the experiment was over. Still, Ichigo could see a slight grin, one that Rukia tried to hide, and he knew he'd been successful.
"Alright, I deserved that one." Ichigo admit, albeit grudgingly.
"Damn right you did!"
It just occurred to me that I've forgotten to mention an important little fact. You can find a progress report on my profile for each chapter. Meaning, if you'd like to know when a new chapter will be published and released, check my profile for details. I'm too tired to do any replies right now! I'm going to bed!