This is awesome glossary thing Enjoy and bow down bfor eet
Shinigami-A term used by Vaizards referring to humans. Means 'Death God' (duh), as humans sin so much, their sins lead them to their death earlier than nescessary. Rukia, Hitsugaya, Ukitake, Byakuya, Renji, and all the others are Shinigami.
Vaizard-Alien species in story. According to the infamous Vaizard custom, a young Vaizard will only reach maturity after performing sexual intercourse (ok fine, have sex) but this story ain't a lemon. Ichigo is the only 'immatured' Vaizard left. He wanted to (beep) Rukia, but Rukia pwned him (refer to Prologue). Ichigo also uses this invisible gadget thingi that I HATE. It seems so childish yet it's absolutely nescessary for him to move around without getting spotted. So the next time you read about Ichigo going invisible (whoopee) bear in mind you're not the only one who hates it.
Arrancar-Enemy of Vaizards. They are trying to take over Earth, the Vaizard Station, and Planet Urahara Shoten, but the Vaizards are keeping them at bay so everything's fine so far.
Chappy-HERO OF THE STORY. WOOT!
He doesn't understand me at all.
I thought I was his best friend.
I thought he came back to apologise, for leaving me in my time of loneliness.
But he only said this, as though nothing had happened.
"Will you marry me?"
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Silence spread out like nightmares would, and the only sound made from time to time came from the red-haired man called Abarai Renji, and that was the occasional nervous gulps.
In the closet, Kurosaki Ichigo 15xv, the Vaizard, watched on with wide eyes, the tension in the room so dense and yet so fragile he dare not even breathe in case of disturbing it.
H-He... that pinapple-head..proposed to her.. my Shinigami...
A proposal of marriage, which is a bond that Shinigami of traditional background found necessary to prove their love and commitment to one another, usually consisting of one male and one female.
The Vaizard, Ichigo, felt great emptiness in his heart, as it was the happiness of his heart that depends on the Shinigami girl, Kuchiki Rukia's, reply.
Kuchiki Rukia was staring as absorbed at Renji as Ichigo did at her, seemingly at loss for words. The young man in a business suit in front of her gulped again, and the hands holding up the small box containing the bright diamond ring were shaking uncontrollably, as though he had been waiting a long time for this.
The raven-haired Shinigami, Rukia, who was the petite little figure to which both the men's attention was steadily on, went through several different changes of expression that would have been entertaining to watch if both the witnesses' happiness did not depend so greatly on her answer.
Yes? To Renji's favour?
Or no?
Ichigo was practically trying to look into Rukia's thoughts by staring intensely and picking up every little detail... every tiny little change of her expression that would tell him her feelings. The alien was searching so intently that he was starting to pick up imaginary changes.
Rukia's expression was still changing. It had started out with a sharp intake of breath, as one would before reprimanding someone, but then she bit back potential screams of fury, and chewed her lower lip for five minutes, before clenching and unclenching her fists. Now she let out a tiny, almost non-existent snort of laughter, that promptly lifted Renji's hopes and battered down Ichigo's.
Rukia stared into Renji's face without really seeing him there, and proceeded to pinch her arm, as though unsure if this was real.
As the girl silently contemplated her own little mysteries, Ichigo, in the closet, felt very hollow, and very very strange.
What was this?
He did not want her to go with this man, despite them being old friends, apparently. Everything was wrong with that man, thought Ichigo furiously. He was ugly, he was too tall, he didn't know how to keep back words that would hurt Rukia... and he was the most disgusting male specimen of Shinigami Ichigo had ever seen.
Then there was this unfamiliar feeling. Ichigo felt it before, when she got into trouble. This situation did not threaten her safety, yet...
Ichigo felt fear.
Fear that she would agree, and marry him. That Renji.
"Y-You..." Rukia finally said, her voice shaking and loud in the silence of the room.
Both men held their breath.
"You really..." Her shoulders were shaking as well. So were her fists.
The hands holding the diamond ring lowered a fraction of an inch. Perhaps the owner instinctively knew what was coming.
"Do you have ANY sense of timing at all???" Rukia barked, "Or any idea what you did, leaving me like that??!!"
Renji looked taken aback. "R-Rukia.."
"DON'T!" she cried, and gritted her teeth, "Don't call me as if we are that close."
The red-haired man took this pause as a chance to rise to his feet. He was as tall as she was when he was kneeling, but now he is twice her height.
She was not in the slightest bit intimidated.
"You must understand." Renji was saying. "What I did then... leaving you... was because I felt that I was not worthy.."
The glowering girl did not reply.
"At first I was so angry at him, for taking you away." He continued, his voice increasingly pained. "I still am, but it was because of then that I made myself into what I am today, to be good enough to defeat Kuchiki Byakuya.. for what he did."
"So??" she snapped.
He did not get it. To him it was himself that was hurt the most, wasn't it? And that it was a luxury for her to be taken away, to be adopted by a cold, rich man who does not spare her even a smile? Alone to face that person's death, all by herself?
"So I want to take you back, Rukia." Renji said, in a grim expression. "Since I can, now."
She did nothing but glare at him. She could not say all that she wanted to say. Ichigo shouldn't hear this.
"Get out."
Renji started. "W-what?"
"I said, " Rukia cried, "GET OUT!!!"
And she threw a pillow at his head.
"Hey!!" Renji said, startled. "C-calm down!!"
Leaving me to face such a sudden change... and his death... when I needed him the most..
"GET OUT!!!"
She threw another pillow at him, and this time, the red-haired man caught it deftly.
"This.." he said in a soft, suddenly dangerous voice. "This is about that orange-haired kid, isn't it?"
A strange, icy sensation clawed at her heart. "H-How do you know about him?" Rukia said, in a quiet tone.
"Stay away from him." Renji said, his tone cold and harsh. "He's no good for you."
"You leave him out of this." She hissed, and pointed at the door. "Now get out."
"He's the reason you're gonna get taken away again." Renji muttered, in a spiteful undertone. The raven-haired girl did not pay any attention to this, and slammed the door once he was out.
She stood there, silently raging. He talked as though Nii-sama was to blame... when she was taken away. Renji was still as clueless as always.
"Whew!! I thought he was never gonna leave." The Vaizard said, sliding out of the closet with an unusually light expression. "Say... you ok?" For the petite Shinigami was still facing the door, her tiny figure unmoving.
"Rukia?" he called, concerned.
His heart continued to weigh as he saw that she turned away from him.
"Ichigo."
He felt his heart skip a beat. "Yeah?"
"Could you please leave the room, for some time?" her voice was steady and toneless. "I need to some time alone to think."
The Vaizard did not like this. "You made me promise once never to leave you."
"Please... just go." Now it shook despite the efforts to suppress her emotions.
"No way!!" he blurted out, despite knowing that he should give her space. "I won't .. I won't leave you!! I'm not like that guy just now!! I won't let you suffer alone!!"
In this, the alien had already moved away from the subject.
Of course, the raging emotions in the raven-haired girl blurred her from understanding the full meaning behind this, though he himself did not want to admit it.
"If you leave, you will spare me some shame." Rukia said, and held herself with shaking arms. She did not want him to see her tears. "Please, Ichigo."
He hesitated, and in his uncertainty for the right action, he turned towards the window.
"If you need me," he mumbled, "Just call my name."
Without any doubt in his frustration, he forced open the stuck window, which flew open with a sharp snapping sound, and climbed out of it.
Rukia then shut it carefully, and then seeing no sign of the Vaizard, she went to the bed, and broke down.
She was angry at Renji, for suddenly waltzing in and asking such an outrageous request of her, after so long during which he had ignored her calls and refused to talk to her. She was angry at herself, for hurting him by being angry, since he did not understand why. Also, she cried for the painful memories that Renji evoked, and the memory of her respected Kaien-dono...
There was a soft knocking on the door, and her brother calling.
"Rukia."
Hastily wiping her tears, she drew in a breath to compose herself as a true Kuchiki would, and opened the door. Byakuya stood in the doorway, a tall and serious figure, which gazed down upon his Rukia's tear-stained face, and her twitching mouth that so wanted to continue sobbing.
"May I come in?"
She stepped aside without any hesitation that showed her reluctance, as Kuchiki Byakuya's requests were orders. The said man entered, very naturally avoiding looking at her. It could be said that he was ashamed as a brother than he could not protect her tears, but then as someone as elegant as himself, it would be wiser to assume that the sight disgusted him. He sat down on her bed.
"My apprentice was very agitated in his departure." Byakuya placed a smooth hand beside him, motioning for her to sit. "Did you say something to cause this?"
He was asking only to be polite.
Rukia did not trust herself to speak, so she did not. It would seem that Byakuya did not expect an answer, as well, as he closed his eyes, and said, very slowly, "He was acting strangely excited the whole week. Ever since that he managed to seal that contract that profited of a sum of 5.5 billion."
Rukia tried to say something, but it came out as a distorted sound.
"I was expecting this ever since I graced his application to join my company." He then gave a low sigh. "I must offer you my apologies."
This surprised her. Her brother was not one that would say sorry so easily.
So that was her breaking point.
"H-He proposed.." she curled herself into a tight ball, and hid her crying face, which she was ashamed of, and tried to choke back her sobs. "I-I'm sorry, Nii-sama.. I show this face, wh-which brings disgrace to the great K-Kuchiki name, over this trivial matter..." She shuddered, and clenched her knees as she hid from her brother. "I'm s-sorry..."
It was the worst disgrace. Byakuya was deserving of a more elegant sister, someone who could keep her silly emotions under control... someone that will keep herself poise and graceful at all times. And she was certain her Nii-sama was very much disgusted by her now.
"I'm sorry." She said, from behind clenched teeth. "I'm not deserving of the Kuchiki name."
At this, she felt a soft, smooth hand lightly touch the tip of her brow, and gently guided her to lift her head.
She dared not look at him, but vainly tried to hold back her silently flowing tears as his hand slowly ran to the top of her head, and stayed there.
It was warm, and strangely comforting, for a warmth that came from a cold man that supposedly did not love her.
So that was how Rukia felt her own body move of it's own accord, and leaned on the apathetic Kuchiki Byakuya as she cried and cried, no longer holding back her tears, as he gently held her head to his chest. His cashmere suit was getting wet with droplets of her tears, but he shows no sign of disgust. His expression was as unreadable as always, even as he gazed down at the petite girl clutching at his suit, shaking with her grief, and in it, subconsciously finding comfort in him.
And it was this scene that sadistically stabbed into Kurosaki Ichigo15xv's Vaizard heart, as he gazed into the room through the frosted window, invisible in their eyes, and their hearts.
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"R-Renji... you should really stop... this is your fifth glass... and that stuff's really strong." Kira muttered, only to have his advice ignored.
"Is this about the money?" The red-faced red-haired man snapped. "Coz I kno' this place isn't a barr." He pulled out a hundred and slammed it unto the counter. "Bah!!! Barrrs wan mooney too, don't they??"
"I'm your friend, Abarai-kun..." Kira muttered, but pocketed the money anyway.
"...When you said, "meet me for a drink", " Hisagi mumbled, staring at his glass, "I thought you meant that we would be going to a bar, not drinking away Kira's stock."
"Barrs cost moneyy!!" yelled a very drunk Renji, and flung another hundred onto the counter. "Waaaiter!!! I need s'more of dis stuf."
"Okay, what happened?" Hisagi demanded, after pushing his whiskey out of Renji's reach. "Tell me."
"Noes!!"
"Renji..." Hisagi's voice grew low and threatening, when it did when a student challenged his authority.
"Gimme that!!" Renji growled at Kira, and snatched the whole bottle of vodka out of his hands. Then he proceeded to empty the entire bottle, much to the amazement of his friends.
Finishing it, he threw the bottle back to a startled Kira, and buried himself in his arms on the counter.
"R-Renji?" Kira called uncertainly.
The tattooed man was mumbling something. His two friends leaned in, curious.
"I guess... that was a ...no..."
"What is?" Kira asked, bemused.
"It's his fault." Renji's voice was louder now, though still very drunk. "His coming to seduce her... with Chappies. That punk is smart to use teh Chappies."
"Who is?" asked Kira, more confused than ever. Hisagi leaned back, a small frown on his lips.
"The stupid orange Strawberry..."
It was just then that Hisagi noticed a suspicious box peeking out of Renji's pocket. He lightly took it, but the red-haired man was so out of it that he didn't notice anyway.
"I bet he's an alien or somewat.", grumbled Renji, his unfocused eyes glaring at Kira. "From the planet of stupid names!! A-And he just came and took my moon away from me."
"Moon?" echoed Kira, casting Hisagi a can-you-believe-this look. But Hisagi did not notice it. His wide eyes were focused on the shining ring that supported the huge sparkling diamond.
"And I'm just a dog, barking at the moon." Renji murmured sadly, and fell asleep.
Hisagi looked up at this strange comment, and exchanged a look with Kira. They both did not fully understand what was that all about, yet there were hints the whole week that there was something going on in Renji's head. He had been acting very giddy, as one would only naturally be when they were in love.
Then when Hisagi told him earlier about his suspicions about Rukia's drug addiction, Renji only stared at him, and then laughed until he clutched his sides, tears running down the side of his face.
Hisagi frowned at the box he held in his fist. Was he right then, in his suspicions?
"What's that you've got, Hisagi-kun?" Kira asked, after one last stare at the now snoring Renji.
Hisagi unfurled his fist, and handed the box to the blonde man without a word.
As the diamond ring sparkled and shone proudly, Kira's eyes grew wider and wider.
"H-Hisagi-kun!!"
"Yes, I know, I hope Renji didn't see me with it... it would raise some very awkward questions."
"I-I would say so!!" stuttered Kira, still in shock. "B-But Hisagi.."
"Let's keep it a secret, okay?"
At this Kira thrust back the box at him. "No, I can't accept this!! I don't see you more than just a friend, Hisagi-kun!! And certainly not in that way!!"
"W-What??" Hisagi spluttered.
Kira drew himself up in indignance. "You heard me, Hisagi-kun!! I'm very flattered that I meant so much to you, but then, perhaps you have been reading all the wrong signs!!"
Hisagi stared at Kira, mouth agape.
"I'm very sorry," the blonde was saying. "We have been friends for years, and I really do hope we can still continue to be so in the future."
So this was how it came to be that Hisagi started shouting at Kira, face red with embarrassment, while Renji murmured incoherently in his sleep about something that sounded like, "not having the guts to jump at the moon."
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Rukia woke up, feeling drowsy and content as one would after a good night's rest.
Then the night's events returned to her, and her insides froze.
What happened?
Renji proposed to her, and she turned him down while shouting at him... then all she remembered was crying into her brother's chest.
It all seemed more likely to be a dream than reality. In what universe would Byakuya allow someone to cry on his expensive suits?
She dressed for school, her hands still shaking slightly as she buttoned up her shirt. The raven-haired girl took up her Chappy brush to smoothen out her hair, but then she received a great shock when she saw herself in the mirror.
Bags under her sore eyes, her nose still slightly red, and her lips shrivelled and dry. All these were not a pretty sight combined with her white face.
After washing vigorously, she forced a few grins unto her face, loosening it up from the strange tightness that one would experience after such a cry.
Now she looked more like herself.
With her emotions all exhausted and with such a good night's rest, Rukia found the angered feelings that she experienced yesterday as a numb sensation at the back of her head. All she could think of now was where Ichigo was. Did he leave for school already, without coming back to her room at all?
She had woke up to find herself warm and comfortable, all tucked into her soft bed. She don't remember going to bed herself.
And since it couldn't be Byakuya who did so, was it Ichigo?
A slight flutter lightened up her deadened mood, and she went downstairs with a tiny yet unnoticed spring in her step.
Byakuya was already sipping the last of his coffee. Nothing seemed to have changed, especially the stoic expression on his face, and the cold, toneless way he returned her greeting. This made Rukia wonder if yesterday really happened.
"I will be taking my leave now." He said, almost as soon as she sat down at the table. There was no difference either, in the way he said it.
"Yes, Nii-sama," she said, politely. In her tone, however, the confusion was apparent despite her attempts to hide it, her attempts to be as graceful as her brother, who is of pure noble blood. "Have a good day."
She finished her breakfast in the same bemusement. The thought of an angry Renji crossed her mind a few times, causing her to bite her lower lip. She also wondered how it is going to be like, when Byakuya and Renji meet during work. But then her brother wouldn't be flinging pillows at his pineapple head and screaming at him to get out, would he?
Rukia frowned. What on earth was Renji thinking, suddenly proposing to her like that?? If he came in properly and asked to be friends again she wouldn't had say no... or scream at him.... but proposing??
She couldn't even begin to imagine life as Mrs. Abarai Renji. It was that absurd. However, this helped her get over the shock of it, and since now she had cried enough over the pain it aroused, the only thing that troubled her was whether Renji will be angry at her.
And what Ichigo thought about this.
The petite Shinigami sighed as she was tying her shoelaces, her back facing the front door.
I must remember to apologise to that Vaizard later on. It was rude chasing him out like that, when he only wants to help.
But at least he didn't see her cry.
That was the only thing that gave Rukia relief. She couldn't stand the thought of having Ichigo see her tears, despite not fully understanding why.
Feeling slightly better with her guilt, she went out the front door, only to see Kiyone and Sentarou standing stiffly behind the two bare sakura trees in the front yard.
"...What are you guys doing here?"
Kiyone gasped loudly. "R-Rukia-sama saw us!!! This is your fault, Sentarou!!"
The gardener growled at her from behind the other tree. "Shut up, Kiyone!! It was your big fat butt that gave us away!!"
Rukia watched as they bickered for about five minutes before deciding that it was best to intervene.
"Excuse me, but what are you two doing here?" she asked, despite already knowing the answer.
They stopped their argument, and drew themselves up to full height. "Hitsugaya-sama sent us!!" they cried in unison. "We are to escort you to Sereitei High, Rukia-sama!!"
"Though I would do way better than the gardener here, of course." Kiyone added, and that sparked another of their endless fights. Rukia sighed and started walking. Hitsugaya was too much, first insisting that he walked her all the way to her doorsteps, and now this. But then in the excitement of yesterday's events she had almost forgotten that he had injured himself. She made a mental note to visit him after school, and to buy the white-haired genius something nice to cheer him up.
As Kiyone and Sentarou's bickering grew louder and increasingly annoying, Rukia found herself thinking of a way to ditch them. But that would be extremely rude, and she abandoned the idea, subconscious or not.
What was Toushiro so scared of, anyway?
Then she bumped into Grimmjow.
With an audible gasp, Rukia tried to avert her eyes and pray that he did not see her, but it was already too late. The violent-looking man was in fact grinning at her as he leaned casually by the wall, looking as though he was waiting for someone. He was wearing a thick leather jacket that looked a little strange on a side, as though one arm had a dent in it or something. But both arms were folded neatly together, with his hands hidden in the jacket, so Rukia couldn't well place what the problem was... and she was too scared to look longer.
"Hey. " he greeted her, the smirk on his face stretching into an evil sneer. "Don't you go ignoring me, now. After what we've been through together."
Rukia gulped and continued walking, as she dared not meet his intent gaze. Fortunately her two escorts were too into their argument that they did not notice Grimmjow talking to her. Sentarou was actually screaming so loud that Rukia could barely think clearly. However, Grimmjow's tone carried his words unambiguously, that every word managed to send chills down Rukia's spine.
Her ignoring him did not seem to bother him at all. On the contrary, he laughed, as if amused, and said, "Say my name."
Then, as if her body had a mind of its own, Rukia found that she had turned around, her hands clasped nervously together as she murmured, "Grimmjow Jaggerjaques."
This name that had made goose bumps appear every time it crossed her mind, the fear soothed only when she looked at Ichigo...
Who wasn't here, at the moment.
"There ya go." Grimmjow grinned, satisfied. "And where's that bitch of yours, huh?"
"....Ichigo's not my-"
"Yeah, yeah... when's he gonna come finish off that fight? I miss how you taste like." At this, Grimmjow licked his lips and grinned lopsidedly at Rukia, making her grimace.
"I have to go to school." She said quickly, as Kiyone and Sentarou were starting to look their way with curious eyes. "Good bye."
"Look for me when you get lonely at night. I'll rock your bed real good." He said, and then gave a sharp bark of laughter.
Rukia scowled to herself as her face flushed red.
"...Rukia-sama." Kiyone said, in a quizzical tone, after they had walked five minutes in silence. "Who was that?"
"...He's my neighbour." She replied, and decided to lie for the sake of Hitsugaya's peace of mind. "He likes to flirt, but doesn't mean anything."
Her two companions then started arguing about the right ways of flirting then, and they reached Sereitei High without bringing up Grimmjow again. The raven-haired girl was puzzled, though. Grimmjow was acting almost civilised compared to their previous encounter. Why is that? That lustful glint that appeared in his eyes when he stared at her was as strong as ever, but now he was less inclined to fly at her and start tearing her apart.
Rukia sat down in her seat and returned a wave that was from Ichigo, who was looking abit pale. She dared not act too friendly with him in public, so instead got out her sketchbook and doodled in it, the absence of a certain white-haired boy apparent.
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She looks a bit shaken. It could be worse, I guess.
Ichigo let out a hoarse sigh of relief, and continued to watch the back of her raven head, longing to go up to her and sit in that empty seat beside her delicate form.
That red-haired idiot...
His Shinigami seems to have recovered very well from yesterday's incident. He was glad, but then a darkness appeared in his heart as he thought, maybe it's because she was comforted by that brother of hers.
She didn't even need Ichigo there. He was in fact chased out, and if she did not want him to see her cry, why was Byakuya, whom Ichigo thought was held in higher regards, allowed to see her tears?
His fists tightened.
I did not manage to help her even one bit. All I did was get in the way, that I had to be asked to leave.
The stoic Byakuya, who looked cold and uncaring on the surface, suddenly emerged as a shoulder to lean on, a cashmere suit to cry to it's ruin, and someone who Rukia can actually count on.
Even when she cried herself to sleep, Byakuya not needing to say a word, Ichigo had saw with his own amber eyes Byakuya picking the girl up bridal-style, and effortlessly placing her in her bed.
Her tear-stained face looked so serene; as her brother tucked her in, making sure that she was warm and comfortable to level out the cold and emptiness in her heart.
She looked so peaceful as if she was content, and did not need one thing more. As if she did not need an orange-haired Vaizard to dry her tears.
Perhaps she didn't.
He had even waited the entire night, gazing at her as she slept, just in case she needed him to scare away nightmares. But she didn't stir at all, and though disappointed that he could not demonstrate his worth, he was relieved that she slept well.
Ichigo continued to watch the back of her head, hoping that she will turn around and give a reassuring smile, at least.
And he went on hoping, with anxious, almost starving eyes.
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Fujiko Suzuki was a secretary at Senbonzakura. Inc. She was, in fact, the No.1 Right Hand Man's secretary. That means Fujiko Suzuki was Abarai Renji's secretary. That means Fujiko Suzuki was a high-ranked secretary... whatever they called it. It just meant that she was very well-respected. This was obviously because Abarai Renji was very well-respected, and only the second most well-respected person in the building, Kuchiki Byakuya, the founder and Big Boss of Senbonzakura. Inc being the first.
Now Fujiko Suzuki had harboured a crush on her boss (not her Big Boss) for years, ever since he had became her boss and she had became his secretary and he had started earning millions for his monthly salary.
She liked to think that she knew him the best, and certainly told her friends so, but only when she was dead drunk. If they were at a karaoke bar she would glorify this comment by incorporating it into a song. Drunk and tone deaf was not a good combination. If a rap was on, the tone deaf factor would not be a problem, but then as most raps repeat the same verse over and over again, it was no wonder Fujiko Suzuki's friends avoided karaoke bars when they were with her.
Yes, Fujiko Suzuki knew everything there is to know about Abarai Renji.
Who called him, where he went, how he liked his coffee, how he work late at night, how he used to attend night school, how many zeros there are in his salary... what else is there?
Most women of the building preferred Kuchiki Byakuya as the man who comes to sweep them off their feet in their dreams, but Fujiko Suzuki was a young woman who was down to earth. Of course, anyone could see that she and Abarai Renji was the perfect couple. How many wives worry that their husbands have affairs with their secretaries? That's how perfect she, the secretary, and him, the boss are together.
As his secretary Fujiko Suzuki would also know how he never, once took a day off. His attendance was perfect, and he was never once sick.
So that was why Fujiko Suzuki was surprised when today, Abarai Renji did not come in to work.
Is the universe going into reverse and is it snowing in the sun? Are roses turning blue and violets red?
Fujiko Suzuki, Abarai Renji's secretary, could only stare blankly at the door as if in denial, for almost an hour when Abarai Renji was still absent.
She decided to call him.
As his secretary, and as a woman. Perhaps this will be how they start off into a personal relationship. Years from now she will be telling their children how it all started, as they all sit on their laughing father's strong lap. The first daughter will be named something feminine. Yuki, maybe? Or perhaps Ichigo. No, no... not Ichigo... that's way too girly.
He did not answer his phone.
On the third call a busy tone was sent, and Fujiko Suzuki did not know what to think, as a secretary , and as a woman. Why was he busy? Was he..... busy with a woman from a successful night yesterday? But today and yesterday were both weekdays. But then it wasn't impossible for Abarai Renji to score on a weekday. That's how well-respected he is. Or maybe he's kidnapped, and the kidnappers were the one who sent the busy tone. Fujiko Suzuki felt excited shivers at this. This is just like in those dramas.
Perhaps he ran away with the company's earnings!! He had been acting odd the entire week.
In the end she decided to call again, but then his phone was turned off. This just made every one of her suspicions stronger. Except the one where he was abducted by monkeys. Monkeys would not know how to send a busy tone AND turn off a phone.
When an awed silence grew outside, as it was usual when Kuchiki Byakuya passed, Fujiko Suzuki drew herself up importantly and marched up to him, the Big Boss. He had a right to know that his No.1 Right Hand Man was missing.
But Kuchiki Byakuya did not look surprised at the news, and only told her coldly to resume her work. However, at the mention of Abarai Renji's name, she distinctly saw his eyes flash in distaste.
Uh-huh. Did Abarai Renji did something to the Big Boss that would lose his favour? Maybe he made a move on the Big Boss, and it turned out that Kuchiki Byakuya was not interested in men. Of all the sudden the zeros were starting to look very shaky.
Fujiko Suzuki made her way back to her desk, her mind occupied with new things. It was interesting how you could learn new things every day. For example, she had never noticed Kuchiki Byakuya's eyelashes to be so thick and full, or his face to be so smooth and perfect.
Oh well. It is always better to aim higher, isn't it?
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Hisagi sighed as he marked some Chemistry papers, his mind elsewhere.
Yesterday night Kira pulled out sleeping bags from nowhere, and they stayed the night with Renji in the store, as the red-haired man was too heavy for them to drag to any of their homes. It made no sense to do so anyway, as it was snowing heavily last night too.
As for the diamond ring...
At four, Hisagi was woken up by some hoarse moaning from Renji, whose head was still stuck onto the counter. Though very much incoherent, it sounded like he was grumbling about something orange.
"Hey..." Hisagi had got up and shook him. He needed to get home early later to get ready to teach. But he wanted to confront his friend.
"I know you liked her, years before..." he mumbled, when Renji opened an unfocused eye to look at him. "But what were you thinking, man??"
He only got a mean, defensive look in return.
So Hisagi held up the small box and stared back at him, using the expectant look he adopted when pulling out truth from delinquents. With the exception of Hitsugaya, it never failed.
"Take it.", rumbled Renji, burying that little visible bit of his face in either shame or disgruntlement. "I don't need it any...more. Take it."
Though this could make the Chemistry teacher suddenly very much richer, selling it was not his intention. He felt as though a strange burden that belonged to someone else was placed on him, despite him not in the position to do anything about it.
"Good morning Hisagi-kuuuun!!!" Matsumoto swept down onto the chair beside him, pulling him back to earth in a shock and causing him to spill ink all over Ishida Uryuu's paper.
Hisagi groaned and tried to clean up the mess. "Matsumoto!!"
"Whoops!! That's too bad, Hisagi-kuuuun." The sex ed teacher said, in a not very sympathetic tone, and helped herself to his donuts.
"H-Hey!! That's my breakfast!!"
"Hm. What are you going to do about that kid's paper then?"
Hisagi dumped the mess of a paper in the waste paper basket and wiped his hands. "It was Ishida Uryuu's. He'll get full marks anyway, I'll just have to record their marks down and hand them that list instead of their papers."
Matsumoto yawned.
"Instead of that, Matsumoto, what do you think of this?"
The strawberry blonde knew Renji. She also knew Rukia. Hisagi thought that she would also give out a good opinion on that matter. She was not stupid, no matter how she acts sometimes.
Her eyes widened as he displayed the glimmering diamond ring. "You wouldn't believe this, Matsumoto... Renji, he-"
"HISAGI-KUN!!!" Matsumoto screamed loudly. "I'm sorry!! I can't!!! "
"...Matsumoto-"
"I know you've been harbouring secret feelings for me ever since we met, but let me tell you, Hisagi-kuuun, lots of men, they are just the same, and I've turned them down, all of them!!"
Kenpachi, the gym teacher, chose that moment to walk past.
"Whut? You're proposing to her?" he rumbled in his deep voice. "Boooring."
Yachiru, his niece who thought herself to be his assistant, jumped up and squealed in a high pitched tone. "That's great, Ken-chan!! That's great news!!"
"No it's not." Hisagi said grumpily, and kept the ring. He did not want the whole world to know. "I'm not-"
"I'm so sorry, Hisagi-kuuun!!" cried Matsumoto, in such a tone that it was hard to tell whether she is serious. "I hope we can still be friends!!"
Make any more of a scene, thought an irritated Hisagi, and we won't be.
00000000000000
There she is.
All alone at the usual table, because her usual, glaring, frowning, white-haired companion wasn't there.
Ichigo was walking over, the nervous feeling in his guts getting increasingly unfriendly, when he was suddenly blocked by Tatsuki.
"Hiya Ichigo!!" she greeted, and pulled Inoue Orihime out of nowhere. "Come sit with us!! I know you want to."
He was obviously given no choice in the matter, and before he could open his mouth, a very determined Tatsuki had already had an iron grip on his arm and was already dragging him away.
If he was an animal, he would have been howling and whining at Rukia, and then would have the straightforward attitude to bite Tatsuki on the arm, maybe giving her rabies, then he would be free. Too bad he wasn't.
"A-and this is my r-red bean paste lasagne, with homemade red bean cheese made from homemade red bean flavoured milk on top... W-would you like to try some, K-K-K-K-K-K-K-k-k-K-Kurosaki-kun?"
"..." He was in the foulest of moods right now, but even then... the retarded girl was to be pitied, after all, with her being slower than the average Shinigami.
"I have no appetite. So just a bite, please."
"What?? Just a bite?" Tatsuki cried, and piled it on his plate, so that it overflowed with red mush, and green bits of what looked like bread... except that it was, well, green.
"What the-?" Ichigo hissed. "I can't finish all this!!" Already his stomach was reeling with disgust.
Tatsuki clutched her own peanut butter and jelly sandwich and grinned at him. "Well, I know you would want to, after tasting the first bite, so shouldn't you thank me for saving you the trouble?"
This raven-haired tomboy was at first a great source of teen earthling language, and he learned most of their customs from her, but then she was starting to be a great pain in the NECK.
Ichigo took one miserly bite.
BLUERGH.
That was his first thought, but then on the surface he was chewing rhythmically and trying to temporarily deactivate his taste buds.
Orihime smiled happily at the floor.
After the tenth swallow, Ichigo thought his insides felt numb, and the weird, overly sweet taste began to flatten out as well. Maybe his taste buds were dying.
So he felt it was safe to talk without throwing up.
"What's this green stuff, anyway?" Good. His voice didn't sound strangled.
Orihime launched into a stuttering explanation of how she made her own lasagne sheets with wheatgrass and crabgrass and lemongrass, and while she was busy saying that to her own knees, and Tatsuki watching her with an encouraging expression, Ichigo snatched that opportunity to sneak a glance at his favourite Shinigami.
She was looking as delicate as always, yet strong as Ichigo knew she was. He felt something warm in his chest, and he was quite sure it was not heartburn.
She was eating a cafeteria sandwich, and seemed quite deep in thought.
Then she looked up at him, and gave a shaky smile.
Ichigo blushed and sank into a surly mood, as a desperate attempt to disguise his suddenly jubilant feelings. "Hey." He mouthed. That was all he could bring himself to say, despite having a billion questions racing around in his mind before. Now everything was numb to him, the odd taste in his mouth was gone, the confusion in his mind was shoved to the back of his head, and all that remained was how pretty she looked when she smiled.
Rukia looked as though she wanted to talk to him, too.
"...so there's soccer practice later, you coming, right?" Tatsuki was saying. "After your awesome display of soccer prowess?"
Outside was cloudy, but Ichigo was thinking, what fine weather we have today.
But even then he shook his head. He wanted to walk Rukia home. Catch up with her, since they had not had proper time together since forever, or so it felt. That old man Toushiro wasn't around to get in the way, either. Ichigo felt like there was hope.
He continued to watch Rukia out of the corner of his eye, as Tatsuki ranted on and on , as she did the entire time during lessons , about how the team would love him to officially join them. But the orange-haired alien did not feel annoyance at all; the only thing he felt was a terrible itch to join Rukia at her table.
The red bean lasagne thing was pure poison. Ichigo started to see flashing dots before he was halfway through.
Then he saw their Chemistry teacher pass by.
Not that it was of a big deal, but then what caught Ichigo's attention was how Hisagi was looking at Rukia from behind. The punkish looking man was wearing a thoughtful expression, and he lightly, subconsciously touched his right pocket before moving on.
How odd. Maybe that didn't really happen, and it was actually the lasagne that was causing hallucinations.
Ichigo turned back to his disgusting-looking meal, before noticing that the girls were giggling to themselves.
Tatsuki was saying something about their sex ed teacher, Matsumoto, and Hisagi getting engaged, but Ichigo ignored it as soon as he heard it. That sort of thing was boring.
Except when Renji proposed to Rukia. Of course, that wasn't boring.
He sighed to himself and wished fervently that he could be at the other table.
Suddenly a huge shadow loomed over them.
"Oh... hey, Chad." Ichigo looked up at the giant, who was carrying a stack of books. "Where were you?"
Chad did not reply, instead, he put down the fat volumes of books next to Ichigo, and then made to squeeze next to him.
"Whoa!!" Ichigo jumped up from the table, and Chad, unblinkingly, took his seat. The gentle giant pointed at Ichigo's plate."Are you going to finish this?" he rumbled in his deep voice.
"...You can have it if you like." Ichigo said, a little too quickly, and he avoided Orihime's eyes.
Without any hesitation, Chad started to shovel large spoonfuls of red bean gloop into his mouth, making Ichigo shudder. As a Vaizard he had seen many things so gory it could melt an ordinary human's brain, but then he had never seen such concoctions before.
Orihime and Tatsuki was stunned silent at Chad 's lack of manners, and only watched Ichigo for his response. The Vaizard was a little surprised at Chad's sudden rudeness as well, but then as he caught the giant's eye, Chad gave him a knowing look, and went back to helping Ichigo finish.
Ichigo's appreciation for Chad shot up a thousand points on a one-to-hundred scale, and he said to Tatsuki, "Oh well!! I think I'll go ask how's Toushiro's coping, since I hurt him yesterday. Bye, Tatsuki, see ya, Inoue."
And ignoring the stares from the two girls, he practically skipped over to Rukia's table.
"Hey." He breathed.
She smiled at him, the sight brighter than a thousand stars burning, purer than the light of the white moon on the inky night sky, more beautiful than silver moonlight on the clearest of ice.
"S-So... how're you doing?" he asked, sitting down in front of her. "Yesterday was quite a shock, to everyone, I think."
Not that he knew anything, or been around long enough to think so. He was just trying to show his ability to empathise, to prove that he was better than Renji.
"...I'm sorry I chased you out yesterday." Her tone was light and casual. It would almost seem as though she was poking fun at the fact. But then hope suggested that she was doing that just to make sure the ears around them did not think them too intimate already.
"No worries." He shrugged it off.
"Really? I think it snowed pretty heavily from about midnight on, right?" Rukia said, with a concerned note. "Did you get in before that? Were you okay?"
"Obviously. Haven't I mention before the ability of the Vaizard suit that would keep us at a comfortable temperature no matter wh-"
"Yes, yes, you have." She said impatiently, with an anxious look around. "...I think we should talk later, don't you think?"
"...Yeah, guess so." He felt quite dejected of all the sudden, but then the fact that she wanted to talk later made him feel better.
Ichigo wondered about his recent mood swings. As a Vaizard this was a new experience to him, since Vaizards do not show that much emotion.
But being with Rukia reminded Kurosaki Ichigo 15xv about something that he had not felt for a very very long time, ever since his mother died. As he had locked away practically every memory about that incident, feeling something that was similar to what he felt as a child was extremely painful, but this did not stop him now from grinning lopsidedly at the raven-haired girl.
Rukia watched him uncomfortably as he continued gazing at her. She was very well aware that people were starting to whisper.
"The one day that HItsugaya kid's not around and he's moving in on his territory already."
"Kuchiki always have a spare just in case, huh?"
"I heard that that orange-haired kid is in a gang. And he injured Hitsugaya on purpose to snatch his girl."
These people never seem to really care that she could hear them. Rukia sighed at all these untruths and drained the last of her juice. "I'm going to class, see you, Ichigo."
The alien, who did not seem to be aware of the gossiping, got up too. "I'll go with you. "
"...I don't need you to accompany me."
Ichigo gave out a bark of laughter. "As if!! I need to get back to class myself, don't I?"
Rukia sulked, unconvinced and slightly embarrassed. Maybe she had been too used to Hitsugaya insisting on walking her everywhere that she automatically thought that Ichigo was going to do the same.
"So how's my little Chappy maniac doing?" teased Ichigo, as they walked along the corridor.
"Shut up. I'm fine."
"O rly?" the alien said disbelievingly. "I know I won't be fine if a red-haired, tattooed baboon just barged into my chappy-infested room and proposed to me."
Despite herself, Rukia couldn't help but smile. "...I would like to see that."
They reached the classroom, and there, his raven-haired Shinigami said, "...Maybe we shouldn't go in together." Since it was bad if their familiarity with each other led to others discovering that they were living together. In the same room.
Ichigo grunted, and head to the library.
What's the use of going to this Shinigami school if he's supposed to spent all his time there away from the one Shinigami he cared about?
Was he even needed here, or anywhere else around her?
She didn't need him. Byakuya stopped her crying, and she has Hitsugaya to make her smile, anytime she liked.
He scowled at some passing students, and tried to push the negative thoughts from his mind.
She smiled at him, didn't she? As she met his eye?
Shouldn't that be enough?
0000000000000
"Say, you wanna come over to my place after soccer practice?" Tatsuki asked her long-haired companion, as they walked to the girl's locker room to change. "You can sleep over too, and we can, er... talk about boys allll night!!"
"Eh?" Orihime pouted out her lips in bemusement, making a few passing boys stare in interest. "Since when did Tatsuki-chan like talking about boys?"
"You idiot." Tatsuki replied. "I meant talk about one boy."
"Huh? But that's no fair!!" Orihime cried. "If you want to talk about one person, the other people that you don't talk about will feel left out, won't they?"
The raven-haired tomboy sighed exasperatedly. "No, hime. I meant Kurosaki Ichigo. When are you gonna ask him out already??"
"E-EEEh??" Orihime started blushing, and shook her head vigorously. "I-I can't, Tatsuki-chan!! He ran away to talk to Kuchiki-san after Sado-san came."
"...It's that what you've been depressed about, for the last few hours?" Tatsuki asked in disbelief. "I thought it was obvious that it was great news!!"
"What do you mean?"
"Weeell, he's clearly more into you now, he was so nervous that he was all pale and sweaty while eating your lasagne."
"R-really?"
"Yeah, I thought he was going to throw up or something, looking so sick, just because he was with you." Tatsuki mused. "Then he kept looking away while trying to hide that blush of his."
"But then he still ran away.." said Orihime sadly.
"Psh!! Of course, he can't stand being so nervous,!! A man can only take so much!!" Tatsuki gestured at Orihime's curvy body. "I never thought a man good enough for you would come, hime. But then he's gentleman enough to not look at your boobs while speaking to you, and he's an awesome soccer player... and that's good enough for me!!"
"H-He's really handsome too... and he smells nice.", murmured Orihime.
"Yup, his soccer skills are out of this world." Tatsuki said to herself. "I WILL make him join the team!! And you, hime, you WILL ask him out!!"
"I will?" the long-haired girl said, blushing already at the thought of it. "I thought it's the guys who asked the girls."
"I told you!! He's too much of a gentleman!!" Tatsuki said firmly. "That means he's too much of a wuss to ask you out!!"
"..?"
"Yeah well, you want a date with him, right?" Tatsuki asked.
"Of course I do!!"
"You wanna marry him right?? And have eight babies??"
"...Tatsuki-chan.." Orihime mumbled, embarrassed. "Only six."
"Well, then, you gotta make the move then!! " Tatsuki slammed her fist into her palm. "Don't worry, I'll teach you how tonight."
"...You're a good friend, Tatsuki-chan."
"Ceh, it's nothing.", the tomboy grinned. Then something caught her eye and she looked out of the window. "Hm? Who's that?"
Orihime looked too, and saw a red-haired man leaning on the school's entrance gate, frowning to himself. His hair was in a loose ponytail, and he looked very much like a gangster who got fired on his first day at work, and tried to drown his sorrows, except that he woke up with a hangover that felt ten times worse. Or maybe a guy who got thrown out of the house by his wife, and spent days wandering the streets, homeless.
"Weird guy." Tatsuki commented, and steered Orihime to the lockers room. "C'mon, hime, we don't want your eyes getting dirty staring at hobos like him."
000000000000000
Ichigo had spent the last few hours staring at the back of Kuchiki Rukia's head, and now he continued to do so, as he watched her walked quickly out of the classroom.
She obviously does not want him to walk her home.
The orange-haired Vaizard went to the window, as the rest of his classmates chatted while packing up to go home. Near the entrance gate, he saw the two servants from that Ukitake's mansion bickering with each other, probably waiting for Rukia.
Then he caught a glimpse of red.
Renji was lurking near the entrance, his arms folded together and looking very much murderous.
Ichigo's insides froze, as he saw that Rukia was heading straight towards Renji. But then the two servants hurried towards her, and practically sandwiched her side by side as she walked out the entrance gate. Though that might have been unnecessary. Even as he saw Rukia, Renji turned to face the other direction and tried to look as inconspicuous as possible.
In that case...
Ichigo dumped his books into his bag and made his way out of the classroom, down the stairs, and out into Sereitei High's compound.
He strode over towards Renji, where he knew the red-haired man was waiting for him. The Vaizard then made to walk past him, but unsurprisingly, Renji called out.
"Hey. You Kurosaki Ichigo?" said his hoarse voice softly. It rang of killing intent. But Ichigo did not care. He was angry with the tattooed man for making Rukia cry.
"Yeah, I am." He replied, turning to face the man, who towered over him. He felt a strange relief at finally being able to confront him, as he was uncomfortable listening in on their conversation last night while not being able to do anything. "So who's asking?"
Abarai Renji. Abarai Renji. The idiot, the inconsiderate baboon...
"Abarai Renji." The red-haired Shinigami answered. "I'm an old friend of Rukia's."
Ichigo looked at his bloodshot eyes and rumpled shirt, and wondered how many times Renji had thrown up this morning before coming here. He looked even more terrible and pale up close.
"Yeah? Funny, she never mentioned you." Ichigo replied, and felt a spiteful satisfaction as Renji grimaced.
"Well... I suppose we have too much of a complicated past for her to be comfortably telling everybody about it."
Ichigo reckoned that the tattooed Shinigami noticed the icy edge in his tone earlier, and thus swiftly returned a blow. He was sharper than Ichigo gave him credit for.
"Huh. Maybe she has moved on." Ichigo suggested, while flicking some imaginary dirt off his winter school uniform. "Has that occurred to you?"
This set the red-haired man off, as he was already in a bad mood; a throbbing headache from the hangover, a bitter feeling in the back of his throat, and his heart so heavy it felt as though it was stone. "Don't fool around with me." Renji hissed, "You don't even know her. You been around her for days, and I was her closest friend for years."
At this Ichigo was shaken; this was where deep down, he was afraid it was true. He did not know Rukia. Not her history, not why she cried. This was important, because she was not someone who would cry for nothing, and as Ichigo could not comfort her if he did not know her past, playing a main part in her future was unlikely.
"So what is it that got you?" Renji was saying in a nasty tone. "Her looks? Her brother's money? Don't think you're the first one to do that. "
"Shut up." Ichigo gritted his teeth. "Just because she rejected you, you're here to spite me?"
Renji stiffened momentarily at 'rejected', and without asking how the alien knew, he said firmly, "I'm here to tell you to leave her alone, nothing else."
"You leave us alone."
Renji gritted his teeth at his reply. "I'm telling you, leave her alone, or else."
All the Vaizard did was leer at him, and rudely turned to leave. Except that an angry Renji pulled him back and slammed him against the wall with surprisingly fierce strength. Though he was shocked, the Vaizard pulled himself together so quickly that he was composed even as Renji first caught hold of the back of his collar, and it was actually that Ichigo allowed him that he was able to pin the alien against that wall.
This was because Ichigo wanted an excuse to beat him up.
"You have five seconds to let me go." The orange-haired alien said quietly, "before I introduce your face to the ground."
"You would do that?" Renji said in a mocking tone. "I bet Rukia wouldn't like that very much now, would she?"
"... Why would she care what happen to you?" Ichigo sneered in reply, though the seed of doubt had already taken place.
"Just like I said, you don't know her at all."
In response, the Vaizard shoved him forcefully away. Though he had used less than half of his full strength, it was still terribly strong for a Shinigami to take, and Renji stumbled and fell to the ground.
People were gathering around then to watch at a safe distance, but the curious onlookers did not bother either Ichigo or Renji.
Recovering with startling speed, the red-haired man sprang up and attacked Ichigo in a fury. The Vaizard blocked his assault effortlessly, and had to limit himself within Shinigami boundaries as he pulled back his fist to smash into that hated face... his amber eyes glinting with the anticipated satisfaction he was going to receive from this..
"KUROSAKI ICHIGO!!!!!!!" said a furious, known voice. "Stop this immediately!!"
He froze in the mid-punch, and lowered his arm in disappointment.
While Renji struggled away from his clutch, Hisagi shouted to the crowd to disperse. "Show's over!! Now go away!!"
A few schoolgirls giggled.
"Now," Hisagi hissed to Renji, who hung about with a stony expression on his face. "WHAT do you think you're doing?!!"
Ichigo folded his arms and watched this in interest.. He never knew that these two knew each other.
"Are you still drunk or something?" Hisagi was saying angrily. "Coming here to make a scene like that-" But Renji bluntly ignored him. He continued glaring at Ichigo, his unblinking, bloodshot eyes getting increasingly unnerving.
"I can't allow this.." the red-haired man mumbled sourly. "He doesn't even respect her... or himself."
"Why would you say that?" asked Ichigo in a mockingly pleasant tone.
There was a silence, as Renji stared at him in disbelief, and slight amusement. "You mean you don't know??" he cried, with an empty bark of laughter. "You really don't know her at all, do you?"
At this, a chill slid down Ichigo's spine, as though Renji had slipped a block of ice down his back.
"What do you mean?" his voice was uncontrollably strangled.
Renji's voice now had a hint of triumph in it. "What do I mean? Why don't you ask her? The reason why you appeal to her?"
Something lunged in Ichigo's chest at the last sentence, but then it was replaced by a frozen feeling that was terribly painful.
Renji waited for this to sink in, and smirked when it did, as Ichigo's face grew more and more tortured.
"Renji..." Hisagi muttered disapprovingly. "You aren't going to-"
"Shut it. He needs to know the truth, shouldn't he?" said Renji, grinning like a maniac.
"What truth?" snapped Ichigo, and this delighted Renji even more.
Hisagi sighed to himself. Even a drug dealer shouldn't be treated like this.
"Hey you... scumbag." Renji called, "Do you care for her?"
"...Yeah." Ichigo replied hestitantly.
"You are reminding her of her painful past, do you know that?" Renji's grin shrank into a bitter smile. "Your face makes it harder for her to let go."
Ichigo put on an unaffected expression, but the corner of his lips twitched, as though he was longing to roar out that Renji was lying. Yet he did not trust himself to speak.
Renji smiled sadistically. "So... You ever heard of Shiba Kaien?"
"That's enough!!" Hisagi suddenly yelled, and grabbed Renji by the shoulder. "You come with me before you say something even more regrettable."And glancing at a pale Ichigo, he said sympathetically, "Don't take that to heart. He's just suffering from a very bad hangover."
But the damage was already done.
Renji proved that he knew this by shooting a smirk over his broad shoulders as Hisagi marched him away.
The Vaizard turned to leave as well, not knowing nor caring where he went... as long as it was away from that place.
He felt detached from his legs, and they continued to stride rhythmically even when he willed them to stop.
What is this hollow, hollow feeling?
He did not question the truthfulness behind Abarai Renji's words, as he knew... intuitively...
What was he, Ichigo15xv, doing here?? He did not belong here. A Vaizard can never be accepted by Shinigami, after all.
That night... in the pouring rain as he begged her to go with him, what did she call him, in her feverish state?
Kaien-dono.
It felt as though the icy droplets of the rain had striked directly through his heart.
All the time he spent with her, all those moments, seemed empty and fake now, as though they were on a cheap series which the male protagonist there was a cheap lookalike instead of the real thing.
So all this time, every smile that she gave him, was for this... this Shiba Kaien?
Every time she looked at him, she was seeing her Kaien-dono, instead of him?
And all this time, unknown to him, seeing his face was torturing her.
Ichigo knew that he did not belong in the Shinigami world. In their school, their environment, their fields. But then he had stayed only because he had thought he belonged in a certain raven-haired shinigami's room, and especially her heart. But now...
He who protects. It is an empty name now.
Especially since he was the one who was causing her pain.
She did not need him... no one here did. He was even hurting her, the only one he cared about.
Very well then... if that was the case, Ichigo thought hollowly. This will be pure anguish to him, but better him than her. Any day.
He'll just stick around in case Grimmjow tries to harm her again. He promised her that, after all. But he will not cause her any more suffering by his presence, now that he knows. He'll stay far away, keeping her only in sight, for her safety.
Though his fondest wish was to be with her, to comfort, defend and care for her...
He will protect her, by staying away.
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A/N: End of Chapter Something!! I cant even remember which number I'm up to... =(
So how was this chapter? I think it was too long... and the Ichigo vs Renji part, I did it about every three lines a night at 3 am, so I think the quality's really bad. I hope you guys get the main picture though. Fujiko Suzuki was made up on the spot. I don't think she'll come up in future chapters... I don't like her very much. But I did enjoyed writing about her love for Renji.
I knoes I hav lots of grammar mistakes , and i would appreciate it iff you would poent it out for me. Since I can't read.
I suppose this chapter is for the people who nagged at me to update. I grumble. =D