Chapter 21

She had barely slept at all because something was eating at her. It wasn't guilt because she had nothing to feel guilty about. She walked into her living room and stopped. Pacing around her living room, like a complete lunatic, and speaking to himself was the person she had been thinking about all night.

"Ichigo, what the hell are you doing in my house?"

"Tatsuki I'm not going to lose you to Hisagi and I swear it."

"So you break into my house…" she said in disbelief.

"Actually I stole the spare key from Hisagi- which leads me to why the hell does he have a spare key to your house?"

"Orihime has one." Tatsuki shrugged as if it were the most natural thing on earth, "but back to the question at hand: Why are you here?"

"Because I won't let you go! Do you know how painful it was for when you rejected me?"

Tatsuki could have pulled out a list of all the times he had hurt her but she choose not. "I don't care if you want to leave because I won't let you. You think I don't know how to stalk people? I will sleep on your doorstep everyday if I have to!" Ichigo practically yelled.

"You don't have to be so loud." Tatsuki said calmly, "and I was never with you in the first place to leave you."

"Do you want me to beg?" Ichigo asked.

"You can't beg for affection you idiot."

"I will." Ichigo threatened.

"Don't you have a sense of pride Kurosaki?!"

"Pride does not come in here. I have this feeling that you don't know just how much I love you. I guess I did not really explain things well. I'm jealous ok. Everything I've done is because I'm jealous."

"Jealous of what?" Tatsuki tilted her head slightly to the side.

"Of Hisagi! When you keep choosing Hisagi over me I get jealous and bitter like when you moved into his office and the time I found you sleeping in his office. It's like I keep failing you and he doesn't. I think you'll pick him over me."

"Ichigo, I'll pick a puppy over you." Tatsuki said bluntly.

"Thank you for your sensitivity." Ichigo replied sarcastically, "but can you try and take this seriously?"

"No." Ichigo was taken aback by her statement. What he had said was a joke but was she really not taking him seriously?

"Why?" He asked.

"Because," Tatsuki sighed, "I don't want to. If I do it'll have to make sense and it's too scary – you can laugh at me all you want but-"

"You feel the same way don't you." Ichigo breathed. He took her hands in his, "take me seriously."

"No Ichigo." Tatsuki realized she was losing control of the situation. Yes, she most likely did feel the same way but the complications accepting him would bring would be just too many.

"Tatsuki."

"Ichigo, do you want to be hurt? I said no." Of course he did not believe her; she did not even believe herself.

"There's only one way you could hurt me right now." He replied seriously.

"No, there are about a hundred. And twelve. Thousand." Ichigo couldn't help but smile at her words and Tatsuki smiled back. She had to face it; she had lost from the very beginning, she had been lying to herself anyway. "There will be rules." Ichigo leaned down and kissed her sweetly. "I hope you know you should have just said all that rubbish before, it would have made things easier for the both of us."

…………………….

"You'll do something, right captain? You can't just lose Suki-chan. Fight!" Yuri pleaded with her captain.

"Lieutenant, for the absolute last time, I am not in love with Arisawa." Hisagi said in frustration.

"You're lying and I know it and you know I know so do something!" Yuri stamped her foot childishly. Hisagi was forced to wonder exactly from what hole did Sereitei drag this girl and place her as his lieutenant. "You're losing to someone with orange hair. Captain, do you realise he has orange hair? Orange, captain, his hair is orange!"

"Lieutenant Tanaka, I think you should take the rest of the day off, go home and take a nice long nap."

"No offence Captain, but you're an idiot." Yuri huffed as she spun round and stormed away ensuring to slam the door as loudly as possible behind her.

Yuri was right, he had lost but that didn't really matter because it was never like he was winning in the first place. He had seen it coming a mile off.

His office door opened quickly and Yuri stuck her head in, "Oh and she's not moving out. Captain Zaraki said she didn't need to be in the division office. She likes you better." Hisagi's pen snapped in two. What vengeful power had he irritated so thoroughly that he deserved to be denied peace and quiet?

"So I'm still going to be denied sanity."

"Oh, so now you want to get rid of me." Tatsuki sneered from behind me,

"Entering from the window now are we? That's much better than just breaking down my wall." Hisagi said calmly.

"Sorry but you're stuck with me Shuuhei." Tatsuki grinned playfully..

……………………

"Tatsuki you can't change divisions again." Ichigo objected

"Ha, I'm not the one who sent that transferral request." She smirked as she stepped close to him and poked him in the chest. He did was not the one who sent it either but that did not matter.

"You've been through more divisions than anyone I know." He sighed. He pulled her close to him and leaned down, their lips almost touching "they're gonna get tired of you hopping around."

"Then they'll just make me a free-lance shinigami."

"The eleventh is just going to be her third." Yuri said loudly. Tatsuki pulled away from Ichigo and blushed slightly, "plus if you look at it she's really only been in one division. She spends so much time in Captain's office she's practically part of the ninth division."

"What the hell are you talking about Lieutenant Tanaka? She's going to the eleventh so that means she'll be moving out. Sorry you'll be losing the only one who can tolerate you psychosis."

"Oh, Suki-chan, I looked into what you asked me to and Captain Zaraki said he doesn't give a damn what you do as long as you show your face in the eleventh division training room from time to time." Yuri smiled happily.

"Looked into what?" Ichigo looked at Tatsuki who was smiling sheepishly, "Tatsuki…?" Yuri grabbed Tatsuki's arm and yanked her away from Ichigo happily,

"Zaraki said I could work from anywhere I want so I'll still be working from Shuuhei's office." Tatsuki said as Yuri practically dragged her out the door, "don't worry, Shuuhei'll probably kick me out anyway."

"Heh, Kurosaki it seems like no matter where Suki-chan goes there's one person she can't bear to leave and it's not you." Yuri stuck out her tongue.

"Shut-up Yuri." Tatsuki sighed as she pushed the lieutenant out the door and slammed it in her face.

"I don't like this." Ichigo huffed as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"Don't worry, you'll find a way to deal with it; Shuuhei didn't like it either but he found a way to deal with it – I think. That or I'll be doing ninth division paper work again."

Ichigo let out a deep breath and pulled her into a tight embrace, "Gosh I need to find something to do with you; you are so clueless."

"Coming from you, Strawberry, that actually hurts."

A/N: is there an emoticon for sighing? I hate this story, it's making me want to write an extra bit about Yuri getting Maayuri to make her a love potion for Tatsuki and HIsagi - but I have huge exams coming up soon. Shoot.

I'm sorry, I just don't do well on mushy stuff - someone dying, o.k. - hapily ever after? much harder...