A/N: Uhhh, so yeah....a bit embarrassed actually for going AWOL for 4-5 months without any contact whatsoever. I am so sorry readers :( Kia here apologize!! And more so because I definitely did not see that there was a chapter that was already finished and was just waiting to be upload. I did nothing and made you guys wait unreasonably T-T Anyway, so yeah, you know my policy that I need to have one extra chapter finished before uploading in case of writer's block and everything.
Here's the latest chapter, and I'm going to stop talking now :) ENJOY
Chapter 10: Time of Death…Very Soon
Ichigo had been intending to ask about Shirou's acquaintances with Grimmjow and Ulquiorra, but didn't quite have the chance to. The moment that the albino finished his vague rambling on how annoying Grimmjow was, Ichigo had learned a couple of imaginative names for the blue-haired man, and the one little fact that they had once work together in the same organization.
Shirou said that he had stayed in the Hueco Mundo group for awhile because he had thought it to be beneficial to him, since he was on the blacklist for some sort of project at the time and had to find a way to get pass it. It was all confusing babble to Ichigo's ears, so the only part he had made out was that Shirou and Grimmjow never really came to good terms with each other since then.
"So, that's how it is, Ichi," Shirou exclaimed with a smile.
That didn't explain anything, Ichigo thought. "The only thing I picked up was that you hate him; I didn't even catch the reason."
"Oh, no, no I don't hate him. It's just…" Shirou paused to reiterate. It only took a mere moment, but nothing changed. "Yeah, I actually do. But never mind that, I hate a lot of people." Shirou rotated his hand around with a flick of his wrist in between the silences, as if he was trying to find the right explanation. "It gets confusing after awhile. I gave up trying to sort through my emotions and stuff in encounters with others. The thing is, in this kind of business, I'm not going to see the people I meet more than once or twice. That's just how it is. Can't let them remember me too much to form a memory bridge or a relationship. You understand?"
Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorta."
"I'll usually forget the faces after a month or so, but some I remember. Grimmjow, for example," Shirou said in exasperation. "We've been on each other's nerves so much I just can't erase that pathetic excuse for a human out of my head. You know the first thing that guy did when he met me? He messed the fucking mission up and I had to stay in Hueco Mundo for two more months for the next project!"
Ichigo smiled in uncomfortable understanding. "That's not coming as a surprise to me…"
"The nerve of the bastard," Shirou continued on with irritation, his fist clenching. "I think he did it on purpose, too. The mission was going fine until he went and heard that I had wanted to proceed quietly, to proceed without attracting any fucking attention. Then he turned and grinned. The next thing I knew he was bashing through the place. Sure we got the thing done, no prob, but the payment was reduced to almost half for the destruction he had caused. So many people had to be paid to cover the whole thing up. And damn, that isn't even the worse of it. I probably pissed him off in some way, too, but I just don't know. Two months of working with that guy, we almost killed each other."
Shirou seethed. "Whatever, the memory's stuck and I can't remove it without wanting to keep it just so I can remember the shit this guy had done to me, so I'll bash his face in later. Can't really say the same thing for him though; I mean…" He looked at Ichigo. "…he's mistaken you for me. That's what I'm guessing, or else there's no way you're going to come in contact with him unless you're in the same business, too."
Ichigo nodded and made a face at the man's correct deduction. Shirou was sharp; Ichigo had to give him that. Sure, the guy was as bad as Grimmjow—if not worse—most of the time, but this was probably the reason why Ulquiorra had been on edge whenever Shirou was mention in conversations. It was as if Ulquiorra had found something that was actually troublesome for him, and that fact alone seemed to tick the ever so calm man off.
Shirou spared a glance at his watch before grimacing, getting up in a somewhat languid manner. "I should say this to clear some things up real quick before we leave…"
"We? What's that supposed to mean?" Ichigo didn't like the sound of it. He had made a nice situation out of the kidnapping, but things weren't going to last from the looks of Shirou's grinning face. "You're not going to lug me off somewhere again—."
"Yeah, okay, the complaints and the "I kidnap you part" whatever. Just listen to me for a sec," Shirou cut the boy off, waving his hand back and forth to brush off Ichigo's protest. He stared at the teen, pensive. A lot of things had been going through his mind lately and perhaps, at first, he thought of teasing Grimmjow for awhile using the kid, once he knew that the man might be crushing on the boy, though it was still a guess. It was an idea that went as quickly as it came, however.
Even before he knew about Ichigo's association with the blue-haired bastard that was supposed to be a pain in his ass, he had taken a liking to the teen. Ichigo was interesting, and Shirou was surprised at himself for interacting so much with him, all things going positively in his opinion, and the fact that Ichigo might just be the partner he was looking for made things all the more better.
He grinned when Ichigo frowned at the sudden quietness around them.
Or perhaps Ichigo might just be more than a partner, much more, Shirou mused.
"I like you," Shirou announced.
Ichigo scowled at him. "Don't joke around. I don't care what you—."
"No, I really do. I'm not pullin' your leg, Ichi." Shirou smiled, more sincerely than he ever did.
The frown on Ichigo's face didn't go away. The orange-haired teen raised an eyebrow at the man across from him, trying to catch on to whatever trick he was plotting. "Look, if it's because I know Grimmjow, and you're trying to get back at him, then that's not going to do shit. You can't get to that bastard through me, you know…"
"Yeah, I had thought about that," Shirou answered truthfully. "But that guy doesn't matter no more. I have things to settle with him, sure, but you're not something I want to steal from him just for the sake of getting him pissed off—it's a bonus though, but really, Ichigo, I'm not lying to you about this. 'Consider it?"
"Consider what?"
"Me," Shirou said, then suddenly, he questioned, "Do you like him, Ichi?"
Spluttering, Ichigo gaped at the question with a hanging mouth and almost bulged out eyes. "W-what are you asking? Going around and saying something like that—."
Shirou observed the distress boy for a minute or two in amusement as Ichigo strived to put a chain of words together to form something coherent. The albino shook his head and chuckled. "You know what, don't go crazy over it."
Ichigo stopped in his hysterics, face red with mortification as he scowled. Shirou smiled back at him.
"I don't care, you know," the albino exclaimed. "Because no matter what, I decided that I'm not gonna stop chasin' after ya until you say 'yes'."
Before Ichigo could say anything to the declaration, a loud bang came from the door, and the two heads turned towards it, curious. Shirou was about to pass the sudden thump off as some drunk falling against the walls, but then there it was again. He frowned at the crack he saw in the corner. Who the hell was breaking this place down?
There were voices coming from the other side, and both of them strained their ears to listen. Shirou caught the conversation first. It sounded awfully close to a newly wed bickering.
"You can't just kick down every fucking door you see whenever I pissed you off, ok?"
"Then do not badger me for questions."
"Well answer them then! Because I'm not stopping until I know what the fuck you ran into that would make you so hysterical like this.
"I'm not hysterical, you trash. I'm not even going to be saying anything if you would keep your loud mouth shut."
Ichigo narrowed his eyes when his ear picked the pieces of conversation up. The insult sounded uniquely familiar. Another bang, louder than the ones before.
"Why can't you just tell the damn story then?!"
"Why do you pry?"
"Because I'm bored! And I shouldn't be wasting my time here. I should be looking for—!"
Shirou scowled when the last thump signaled the door to be kicked open, his two locks flying off straight across the living room floor, nearly hitting the windows on the other side. The entrance to his flat was a mess.
What the fuck?! With a face morphing into an unpleasant grimace, Shirou stood to look at the damages done before growling as the thought of changing his fifth apartment this month shot through his mind, ripping whatever patience he had left to deal with pieces of shit that came his way.
As soon as the albino stomped a few pace to look at the two intruders with malice and give them a piece of his mind, he stopped short, blinking. Ichigo turned around in his seat.
Two pairs of eyes stared back into the room, one a glassy green and the other brilliant blue.
The ticking clock in the room was loud in the silence, its noise agitating and booming as if it were connected to some sort of an explosive device, counting down to an imminent doom.
Time of death: Very soon…
Like it? Don't like it? I am actually a bit disappointed by the length of the chapter, thought it was going to be longer. But I liked the ending, so I decided to stop it there because it's pretty fitting :) Isn't Grimmjow and Ulquiorra arguing so endearing?
