DISCLAIMER: All rights of original Bleach characters/story go to Tite Kubo (we love you!). …..
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While Ichigo was eating some toast in the kitchen for his late breakfast, he'd been watching Saya and Nel play their game. He realized now why Yuzu had lost Nel the first time they'd tried playing hide and seek, and why Saya had told Yuzu it wasn't a good idea to play that with Nel till she knew her better.
Nel could hide ANYWHERE.
Ichigo took his eyes off of her for a second and suddenly she was on the ceiling fan. Saya had almost passed out in hysterics seeing her baby in such a dangerous place. Nel could even hide inside a lampshade. And somehow she managed to fit in one of Ichigo's shoes. She belongs in a circus.
Apparently it ran in the family, because Saya was just as creative when it came to hiding. Obviously she knew Nel was an expert at the game, so she had to be sneaky. She didn't just hide behind the blinds on the sliding screen door that lead to the back yard, she used both her hands on the left side of the doorway and her two feet on the right side of the doorway and climbed up like a spider so her back was against the ceiling. (A/N: kind of like how Matilda hides from the Trunchable under the table, if you guys know what I'm talking about.) Ichigo was surprised at how long she could hold herself up like that. She was pretty nimble. It took Nel almost a half hour to find her, Ichigo suspected it was because Nel was so short and she never bothered to look up that high. The mother and daughter both seemed to take the child's game really seriously when it came to stealthy hiding spots, but they were having more fun than Rukia with a box of crayons.
"One, Two," It was Saya's turn to count to 20. She was down the hallway by the Clinic with her hands over her eyes.
"Itsygo!" Nel appeared right at Ichigo's feet and he almost choked on his toast. "Help Nel! She's run outta places tah hide!"
"I don't know Nel!" Ichigo thought in a panic. "Uhh…" In the microwave maybe?
"Ten, Eleven…"
No. Saya would kill him. "Hide in the cabinets," Ichigo pointed.
"Tha's too easy!" Nel whispered and with a hasty face, started climbing up Ichigo's chair.
"What are you doing?!"
"Fifteen, Sixteen…"
"Shhh!" Nel had climbed her way under Ichigo's jacket, up his back, and was hanging around his neck. "Put dah hoodie over Nel's head and Mama will never know!"
"Eighteen, Nineteen…"
"Ahhh geeze," Ichigo groaned and covered the little girl on his back, putting the hood over both of their heads so she couldn't be seen holding on to him. "Fine."
"Twenty!" Saya called out from the living room. "Ready or not here I come!"
"Kehehehehe."
"Quiet Nel," Ichigo hissed to the toddler, her giggling was making his neck tickle.
Ichigo tried to keep himself from smirking. He was a little curious how Saya was going to figure this one out. He went back to eating his toast, trying to act natural. He saw her walk by the kitchen and look behind one of the bookcases by the window. She checked in some desk drawers.
"Hmm…" she shifted her eyes around and looked at Ichigo. He chewed his toast quietly. "Nothing," she said and looked over the living room some more.
"Kehehehehe."
"Shh," Ichigo hushed her, just as Saya came towards the kitchen again.
"She must be running out of places to hide," Saya said to him and looked around the counters.
"She's probably some place you'd never look," Ichigo bit back a smirk and Saya turned to look at him, raising her eyebrow.
"Uh huh…" she smiled slyly at him, then dashed over to the microwave and opened the door with a "Ah-Hah!" But it was empty. "Dangit!" she closed it. Where could that little munchkin be? Saya thought to herself and looked around the room with concentration. Ichigo obviously knew where she was hiding, but that didn't help—
"Kehhehee—"
Ichigo cleared his throat, and took anther bite of his toast.
Saya stared at Ichigo. His hood wasn't up earlier….no way she would…
"Keheheeeeh…"
Saya blinked speechlessly.
Nel only did that with Grimmjow.
It was her ultimate hiding spot. She'd hide in Grimmjow's shirt and stay there for hours. It was their own little joke. Grimmjow would walk around the house with her like that, pretending that he didn't know where she was. It was one of the sweetest things Grimmjow ever did with Nel.
She only does that with Grimmjow. Saya continued to stare.
When it came to grown-ups, Nel didn't really like them. She liked to tease them and bite them, but she never cozied up to people physically… Saya and Grimmjow were the only grown-ups she'd willingly hug or sit on their laps in a genuine way. If she ever did that to anyone else, it was usually because she was preparing to bite the poor soul, or they had candy. Saya had been shocked when she'd first started working at the Kurosaki's, seeing Nel take a shine to Ichigo so fast. She had started to accept how close Nel was getting with Ichigo, but THIS? She only does that with Grimmjow.
Did Nel really like Ichigo that much? Or was it something else? Was it because Saya had kept Nel away from Grimmjow, and Nel was just missing him?
"….Huh…" Saya finally broke her silence. Ichigo swallowed his bite and looked at her with a straight face. "You know it's the strangest thing…" she said to him and sat across from Ichigo at the table. "…I have NO idea where she is."
"Kehehehehe."
Saya raised an eyebrow and Ichigo closed his eyes, suppressing a grin. He knew she knew.
"I don't know what to tell you," he replied cooly, though he was smirking wide. "That kid could be anywhere."
"But I've looked everywhere…and I still can't find her!" Saya flailed her arms in dramatic puzzlement.
"Hehehehhehe!"
Ichigo coughed and shrugged. "She vanished!"
"You think she's magical?" Saya asked quizzically.
"Turned invisible probably. Disappeared like a little leprechaun," Ichigo waved the air in front of him lightly.
"KEKEHEEHEHH!"
"No way! OH MY GOD! ICHIGO!" Saya stood in horror. "Something's growing out of your ear!" she pointed like she was about to reveal a mystery.
"My ear? No!" Ichigo shook his head in surprise. "Nah, that's just—RUN NEL!"
"AAAHHHHHHHH!"
Ichigo got up from the table and sprinted out of the kitchen, swinging the little girl out from under his open jacket, around his side, and into his arms.
"Oh no you don't!" Saya chased after them.
"RUN ITSYGO! SHE'S GONNA GET US! THE TICKLE MONSTER! THE TICKLE MONSTER WHO KIN NEVER BE TICKLED!"
"THAT'S RIGHT!" Saya chased them into the living room; the couch was only thing standing between them. "And I'm gonna get'yah Nelliel," Saya wiggled her fingers forebodingly.
"Itsygo! We have tah fight back! Mama always wins the tickle fights!"
"Not this time Nel," Ichigo smirked back at Saya. "It's two against one."
"Doesn't matter," Saya smiled back at him evilly.
"Mama doesn't got a tickle spot! Nel's tried Itsygo! It's not her feet 'r her armpits or her belly! She's untickleable….," Nel whispered desperately, hiding her face in his neck.
"Don't worry Nel." Ichigo's eyes flickered back to Saya. "I have two little sisters, and one of them is the least ticklish person I've ever known." Karin really was the least ticklish person he'd ever known. It was like her nerves were dead or something, but that didn't mean Ichigo didn't know how to tickle her.
Plus, Ichigo had another ace up his sleeve. Maybe it was kind of cheating, but Ichigo had a memory from back in high school…it was a memory he didn't particularly like because it included Grimmjow…Grimmjow making a move on Saya at school and stumbling across her ticklish spot.
Ichigo set Nel on her feet and squatted down to her level. Saya stopped creeping forward and eyed them suspiciously.
"It's your legs isn't it?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow confidently.
Saya blinked. "Hah! Nice try Ichigo—"
"Get her in the legs Nel!"
"Noo!" Saya jumped back as Nel scrambled under the couch to the other side and started tickling her Mom's calves with all her might. "MUWAHAHAH!" Saya laughed not from the tickling, but with maniacal evil. "I've got you now!"
"ITSYGO! IT'S NOT WORk—AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH!" Nel collapsed as Saya started tickling her ribs. "MAHAHAHAHAH!-MAMAAHAH-NOO!HOHOHO!"
"You're mine now munchkin!" Saya smiled happily.
"Not there Nel! You have to get her here!" Ichigo came out around the side of the couch and went for the spot just above Saya's knees.
"Don't you Dare Ichi—eeEHEHEHEHEHAHAHAHA!" Saya tried to cringe away, but burst out giggling.
"Get her Nel!" Ichigo laughed and Nel practically jumped on top of Saya to keep her from scrambling away.
"Hahah! We got you Mama!" Nel crowed and tried to tickle her Mom back, but really Ichigo was the one in control. The spot on the side of Saya's thigh was her kryptonite.
"HEHEHHEESS-STAHHOP-NEL-HEHEL! HAHAHAMAKEHIM-STAAHAHAP!" Saya tried curling up and pulling her knees into her chest, her eyes shut tight as she squirmed. But Ichigo's fingers were playing up her thighs like keys on a piano. His hands tingled and he leaned over her as he continued his assail further.
"YOOUHUO-JERK!HAhahah!" she laughed up at him and her eyes opened. Ichigo could hardly swallow back his grin as she looked up at him like that, her dark hair a mess and splayed out around her. His hands stilled on her thighs.
"You're dead Strawberry!" she huffed darkly, her teeth shown sharp with a tenacious smirk.
"GET HIM MAMA!"
Saya sprang at Ichigo and almost gave him a spasm attack as she ambushed his torso. He was, unfortunately, ticklish pretty much everywhere.
"Hey-gahahahahha!AHHAHHAHAH!" Ichigo tried to block her reach, but kept one hand on her leg, trying to tickle back and gain an advantage.
"Now who's laughing hahahah!?" Saya cackled as they both tried to out tickle each other. Her hands were going up his ribs and Ichigo's face flushed brighter and brighter as he laughed.
"NEL'S ON MAMA'S TEAM!" Nel started tickling Ichigo behind his ears and he scrunched his neck up to try and avoid her.
"DAAHAHAH-DOOHOHNT!" Ichigo's eyes were streaming.
"HAHA!" Saya clapped her hands in victory as Ichigo fell over laughing. "WE WON NEL! WE GOT YOU!" she nudged him in the shoulder as he recovered on the ground.
"Two against one!" Ichigo breathed heavily with a smile. "No fair!"
"N'we got YOU Mama!" Nel hopped around the two of them with a winning giggle. "You said Dadah was the only one who could tickle you! B'we got yah!"
A bolt of envy struck Ichigo's good mood at the toddler's harmless comment.
"Yeah yeah," Saya panted and looked over at Ichigo as he sat up, her cheeks still red and rosy from the attack. "You got me pretty good."As quick as it hit him, all negativity was expelled from his system and Ichigo couldn't help stop himself from smirking at her, his heart still racing wildly.
"Now Nel get's a snack!"
"What?!" Saya smiled hysterically at her daughter. "Since when!?"
"Or naptime," Nel yawned suddenly.
"HUH?!Oh no no no missy!" Saya said with alarm. "You're not going to sleep now so you can keep me up all night later. Play a video game or something—anything but a nap," she said, regaining her breath and shaking her head.
"WOOOOOHOOO!" Nel cried in top excitement. She immediately ran over to the T.V. and started playing Super Mario Brothers.
"What have I done?" Saya shook her head again at her daughter getting hypnotized by the T.V. "I should go back to work," she got up and took a deep breath. "You okay watching her?"
"Yeah," Ichigo stood up next to her. "As long as there's no more tickling." He was happy, embarrassed, and super-sonically hyper from all the tickling.
"Nope, no more of that!" Saya smiled brightly at him and turned to walk back to the office.
Ichigo watched her from behind, his body was raging with energy, and his brain was full of happy thoughts.
"Hey, Ichigo?" She turned back around.
Ichigo dropped his head shiftily, and scratched his eyebrow.
"You are serious…about winning the Karakura Summer Festival right?" she asked, a more thoughtful expression on her face.
"Uh yeah, why?" Ichigo asked curiously.
She walked back over and took something out of her pocket. "Because if you're serious about getting into the music industry…and you guys do win, you should check these guys out." She handed him a business card.
"Vizard Recording Studios," Ichigo read the name, an emblem of a white skull-looking face on the card. He was pretty sure he'd heard of them before. "Is this the company Grimmjow signed with?"
"He's signed with Aizen's studio, Ichigo. You know that," Saya looked at him obviously.
"Oh…yeah. Right," Ichigo blinked.
"Anyway, I've met these guys a few times—they're kinda strange, but they've got a good eye for talent," she said. "And from what I've heard, they won't make you sell drugs!"
"Well that really blows, I was looking forward to living the 'thug life'," Ichigo quoted wryly and stuffed the business card into his pocket.
"Stop that… makes you sound like a jackass," she muttered with a frown.
"Don't you mean husband?" Ichigo mocked. "I guess those two words are interchangeable in your case."
Saya raised an eyebrow, her mouth opening slightly with a challenging stare. "Are you taking a jab at me after I just tried doing you a favor?"
"I was just stating a fact," Ichigo shrugged with a smirk.
"You moving out of this house anytime soon? Eh lazy-ass?" Saya shot back with a sassy squint of her eyes.
"Hey!" Ichigo reddened over the stab at his dignity.
"Oh I'm sorry," Saya smiled with fake apology and folded her hands together, leaning to the side against some of the kitchen cabinets. "I thought we were speaking our truths."
Ichigo bit his tongue and sat back against the counter by the sink. "So you're taking my Dad's side on this huh?"
"Since when I have ever approved of you living at your parent's house? I thought I made that pretty clear from day one," Saya bantered.
"Right," Ichigo sighed gruffly. He didn't need reminding of what Saya thought of his unemployed status; the memory of her carping him for being a professional couch potato was still very vivid. "But it's not like all the nagging I get from my Dad does me any good." He puffed out his chest and raised his eyebrows up with a false energized expression, then deepened his voice as he imitated his old man.
"Planning on doing anything with your life today, Son? Haven't you got anything better to do besides watching The YouTube, Son? Don't you have some special someone to help fill up that pitiful whole in your life, Son? I'm only saying this because you're miserable and I love you!' Oh—and 'I saw a house for sale, why don't you buy it and move out! Son?!' He's the one making me miserable! He just pisses me off and makes me want to never leave my room!" Ichigo vented. I mean c'mon! Is that any way for a father to talk to his one and only son?
"He does have a point, Ichigo," Saya smirked at Ichigo's impression of his jolly father; it was the complete opposite of Ichigo's usual scowly-faced self. "He wants you to grow up. And all that stuff pretty much depends on the other. If you don't have a job, you have no money; which means no house, no girlfriend—"
"—What the hell does a job have to do with getting a girlfriend?" Ichigo narrowed his eyes.
"Uh…" Saya blinked a few times, tilting her head. "Well you don't have to have a job. But I mean…you—at your age, you probably should."
"Oh yah? And how's that?"
"Look at it this way," she held one hand out. "Girl meets decent guy without job," Then she held out her other hand, "Girl meets decent guy with job. Who do you think she's gonna pick? It's the same logic to choosing a poptart with frosting over a poptart with no frosting."
"So what, I can be a douchebag crackhead, but as long as I'm a rockstar millionaire, I'm guaranteed a wife?" Ichigo replied a little more hotly than he meant to.
Saya stared at him with an armored expression, her mouth tightening. She glanced over her shoulder in Nel's direction and looked back at him. "Watch your mouth," her eyes slighted.
"What? That's basically what you just said," Ichigo shrugged off her defensive expression.
"That is not what I said," she shook her head in refutation.
"But that's how it worked for you right?"
"No! That's not why I married him!"
"—Then since we're on the subject, why did you marry Grimmjow?" It just came out. Ichigo bit his tongue as soon as he said it. Then he crossed his arms and tried to play it off like he had no problem talking about this.
"Wahht?" Saya squinted her eyes in an unbelievable way, and then looked over in Nel's direction. "For Pippin's sake…"
"Really, why did you?" He had already said it; he might as well try getting an answer out of her now before she never talked to him again.
"Let's just say I was an idiot and drop the subject."
"No! That's a bullcrap answer and you know it!"
"Fine then, it was a sparkles and roses romance! And there were unicorns and second-hand smoke and magic! And I couldn't live without him because he was such a dream come true!" her mouth popped open with and overly energized smile.
"Saya, be serious," Ichigo frowned.
She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I am not talking about this with you, Ichigo."
"Why not?" he called. She looked at him widely.
"Because."
"C'mon, I talked about my embarrassing unemployment—why can't you tell me?"
"I don't know!" she grouched in a heightened voice.
"You don't know why you married him?"
"No! I mean…" she let out another irritated breath. "Why do you need to know?!"
"I —I'm just curious is all!" he squinted at her shiftly.
"Well I don't have a solid answer to your question," she said to the ground.
"Really? So like, Love had nothing to do with it?" Ichigo asked incredulously.
"Oh my God, Ichigo," Saya laughed and pinched the bridge of her nose. This was the last thing she needed to think about right now; when she was in the middle of trying to leave Grimmjow.
"What!? Typically that's why people get married isn't it?" he asked.
"Yeah, some people," Saya continued with a snort. "But others are usually left with low self-esteem and no real options…kinda like how I imagine a vegetarian feels trying to order fast food…. basically limited to fries or a salad."
"So…" Ichigo thought out loud. "It… wasn't because you were in love with him then?"
"Well I don't know! I thought maybe I was!" she threw her hands over her face again and massaged her forehead. "…I was in high school…I cared about him a lot…but really I…it's just—uuugggh this is going to sound so frickin cheesy," she took a moment to look up at Ichigo with a stubborn expression. "You're the one making me say this, so if you laugh—I will punch you…"
Ichigo watched her carefully as her threatening gaze crumbled into a crookedly awkward expression and she looked at the kitchen floor.
"…He said…he wanted to start a family…"
Ichigo stared at her doubtfully. "…Grimmjow… said that?..." The cowering embarrassment grew on Saya's face.
"Yeah…"
"Grimmjow did?" Ichigo continued to scrutinize.
"Mm-hm…"
"And… you bought that?" Grimmjow's paternal sentiments weren't worth a damn as far as Ichigo was concerned. Anyone with a brain should've taken that statement as a trying-to-get-in-your-pants tactic, which Ichigo suspected had at least 100% to do with Grimmjow's motives. ARE YOU REALLY THAT STUPID SAYA!?
Saya laughed out loud, her nerves easing. "I know what you're thinking Ichigo, and I get where you're coming from. I've heard the 'will you bear my child' line a million times from Miroku in Inuyasha. But Grimmjow wouldn't have joked about something like that! Not even to charm a girl!"
"Really?" Ichigo scoffed skeptically.
"If he had just been trying to sweet talk me, then why the hell would he go through with it?" Saya countered. "And why would he date me for two years—with me keeping him at an arms length pretty much the entire time, unless he really liked me? Trust me, I didn't believe it at first either," she continued. "I thought after one date he would realize how much he couldn't stand me—or that I was too boring—or weird. I thought he'd dump me once he saw I wasn't going to do things his way… and then he'd leave me alone and we'd never talk again….But it didn't work out like that…" Saya looked at the floor again, quietly.
Ichigo kept himself silent and waited for her to say more. He had had such a hard time trying to wrap his head around how Saya and Grimmjow had gotten together and stayed that way for so long. Even with Saya explaining it to him, he still couldn't understand what was between her and that jackass.
"We argued a lot—I didn't exactly make things easy for him…but he still kept me around…" her eyes were trailing off as she thought back to earlier days. "I thought we were so strange…stupid even. I know for a fact every other sentence I spoke to him the first month we dated was me telling him to broaden his vocabulary and stop swearing so much—and then he'd tell me to stop telling him what to do, or else he'd dump my sorry ass—and I'd say 'cool'," Saya laughed to herself and looked at Ichigo.
"And then he'd get the funniest look on his face," she guffawed. "Like he was so offended—his stupid pride couldn't handle it—and he tell me to get in the car and that he was taking me to dinner—it was so cute—I got so much free food!" Saya laughed again.
Ichigo's eyebrows scrunched together in both disgust at Saya fawning over the memory, and confusion over how the hell any of that made sense.
"And he could be funny..when he wasn't being a jerk….And he was protective," she said softly. "Grimmjow always had my back if anyone tried giving me a hard time—he was the only one allowed to give me a hard time," Saya scoffed to herself. "He was always really direct, which could be pretty abrasive sometimes—"
"You mean pushy?" Ichigo interjected with a stony look.
Saya sent a sharp look his way. "Everyone gets pushy sometimes, Ichigo. At least he was being honest about what kind of person he was…I liked that about him. He was straightforward, and he wasn't afraid to say what was on his mind. And that's why when he asked me to marry him I knew he wasn't messing around. He had always been very clear about never wanting to settle down. Anything long-term with that much responsibility was absolutely out of the question for him—but he asked me anyway…" Saya stared off with an occupied expression. "I …I didn't know what to think… I said no at first because it just seemed… ridiculous for us to marry that young—"
"—You said no?" Ichigo stared in shock. "…You turned him down?"
"Yeah," Saya blinked at him awkwardly. "But then he asked me two more times—"
She had freaking turned Grimmjow down twice.
Damn! Ichigo thought to himself, cursing that Saya hadn't stayed strong and rejected Grimmjow for good, and also overcome by the small victory of Grimmjow not being Saya's first choice.
"…And he just seemed so, I don't know, desperate?" Saya said with a struggling memory. "He just wouldn't take no for an answer. And for him to want to marry someone like me that bad, to put aside how he always wanted to do things his way and to change himself that much…I thought it meant this was something really special to him—why else would he have asked me?" Some heavy emotions were rushing back to Saya from the night (well, the three nights) on which Grimmjow had proposed. She had never seen it coming; Grimmjow getting down on one knee and saying he was in love with her. To this day there had never been anything that had surprised her so greatly.
"He wouldn't have put his whole stupid, treasured bad-boy reputation aside for me unless he had a serious reason to…unless he really was in love with me and wanted to prove it. How could I say no to that? How could I let that go?" Saya breathed helplessly. "...I didn't want to hurt him.. or… break his heart…." Dammit…Saya thought to herself; thinking of how desperate Grimmjow had sounded on the phone the other night, begging her to come back.
She had broken his heart anyway.
Ichigo studied her carefully; something like guilt was seeping into her tender expression. He began regretting his questions and making her talk about that bastard. The last thing he wanted was to make her sad.
"Well that's a side to that story I never thought I'd hear. This whole time I thought it'd been because of his good looks," Ichigo said, hoping to shift to a lighter mood—even though it made his jaw stiff to speak of Grimmjow in a constructive way.
"Looks help but they aren't everything, Ichigo," Saya smiled faintly at him. "If that's all it took, I wouldn't have left Grimmjow and Rukia would've married Renji in 11th grade."
"Wait-WHAT?" Ichigo blanked. "Rukia and…Renji? No way! That—They're just friends! And Rukia thinks Renji's an idiot!"
"Yeah," Saya laughed with a sparkling smile. "And she also thinks he's adorable when he acts like an idiot and that he's a tall drink of water."
"How would you know that!?"Ichigo questioned in disbelief.
"Because Rukia tells me things," Saya laughed with a shrug.
"No way," Ichigo said again, his mind blown. Rukia likes Renji? Holy shit! "Renji is going to be so grossed out when I tell him later."
"Uh, no he will not," Saya countered. "Because you will not tell him."
"What? Why not?" Ichigo blinked.
"Because Renji likes Rukia too, and they should be the ones to tell each other. Also I'm pretty sure Rukia would have wanted me to keep that private…so…she can't know that I told you," Saya confessed with little remorse, but was slightly ashamed of herself for spilling her friend's secret.
"They like each other!?" Ichigo blared in surprise, his hands flying into his hair at the sudden awareness. "Then why in the hell haven't they gotten together?!" It didn't make sense to Ichigo. If he knew the girl he liked liked him back, he wouldn't waste a goddamn second. And why am I the last to hear about all this!? THOSE PUNKS WERE SUPPOSED TO BE MY FRIENDS!
"It's probably something you've NEVER heard before," Saya said with an oogly, over emphasized smile. "But the truth is…Renji doesn't have a JOB!"
"What?! Don't bull shit me with that crap again!" Ichigo scoffed doubtingly.
"Hey!" she looked over at Nel. "Language, Ichigo—But, I'm serious! That's like 70% of it!" Saya pointed at him knowingly. "Rukia's brother is Byakuya Kuchiki. No way she could marry someone that low on the food chain unless they worked their way up to a top-notch job. And Renji just didn't push hard enough or something…I don't know, they missed their chance I guess."
"Huh…" Ichigo scratched his head. That did make a little sense. "I always thought that Renji was single cuz of his eyebrows putting people off or something…"
"What are you talking about? Renji's eyebrows are bitchin," Saya smirked, whispering the curse word so Nel couldn't hear. "I think he's not dating because he doesn't want to settle for anyone else."
Ichigo nodded as he stared at her, then drifted his concentration to the floor. He had a lot in his head he wanted to ponder over. Then he frowned to himself. He was spending an awful lot of time pondering these days.
He looked back over to Saya and saw she was looking at Nel again, the smile on her face fading. Fading into something sad.
"Well," Ichigo cleared his throat and she looked over at him. "If you want to help Renji become successful, you could stay for practice tonight…" He went on uncertainly. "And, you know, give us some pointers since you know so much about the way things work in the music industry."
She smiled faintly at him, then her eyes wavered. "Maybe some other time…" Saya could imagine how Grimmjow would feel if he knew she'd started collaborating with another band. She'd only ever done that for Grimmjow. He wouldn't like it.
"Oh… right," Ichigo nodded and fixed his gaze on the kitchen table. "Well…if you ever feel up for it, we'd appreciate the help." He clicked his knuckles on the table, looked at her once, and headed past her out of the kitchen.
"Hold on, wait," Saya called and he turned around, a dimming scowl on his face.
This is ridiculous, Saya thought. Ichigo was her friend and he was asking for help. And she wanted to help; it was obvious how important his band was to him. And his band could really have a shot!
"I could stay for a little while after work…just a little. I don't know how much help I'll be, but I'll try," Saya decided.
"Cool," Ichigo's eyes lit up. "We could use anything you've got."
To Be Continued…
…
Can I just say, typing people laughing/tickled is the most annoying thing EVER! V_V….
And THANK YOU THANK YOU to those of you who have reviewed! Coming up Saya has a little chat with Ichigo about a major problem she has with his band. How will Ichigo handle it? What is it that Saya can't stand? And then…I have some thing terrible planned. It's gonna be big guys….I'm a little scared O_O….like FOR REEEEL. Terrible Secrets will be thrown out in the open.
Find out soon my dear readers!
Next Chapter: He Must Be Stopped