Sorry for the long wait in update…driver's ed, vacationing, reading, etc. were taking up quite a bit of my time. Oh well. Anyways, thank you my glorious reviewers. I heart each and every single one of you.
Anyhow, although this chapter is mostly fluff and stuff, be on the look out for major plot development. Enjoy.
CH7: The Thoughts that Flow like Blood
Ichigo woke up
relatively easily and painlessly…in terms of not having to wake up
to Isshin's morning assault. On the other hand, he had a massive
hangover. Memories of the night before were a little muddled, but he
knew for sure that the person who fed him enough alcohol to make him
pass out was none other then the man lying haphazardly in the bed
next to him. Arms askew, legs wide apart, Shuuhei had taken up all of
his bed as well as half of Ichigo's bed, forcing Ichigo to sleep in
the cramped corner next to the window.
"Bastard…" Ichigo
muttered as he started to crawl over Shuuhei's body. Just as he was
about to hop off the bed, he turned to look at the sleeping Shuuhei.
His shirt was pushed up past his abs barely covering his nipples, and
his boxers were hanging on his waist lower than usual; that was all
Ichigo needed to wake up 'Little Ichigo'. Sighing, he mentally
scolded himself for indulging in such a simple pleasure as looking at
Shuuhei. He sat at the base of the bed for a moment and looked into
the mirror. From what he could tell, he was relatively easy on the
eyes, not exceptionally handsome but definitely not ugly. He then
looked over at Shuuhei. This man, on the other hand, had the wild
appeal that any person would fall for. Shuuhei stirred in his sleep,
gaining Ichigo's attention once more. His heart skipped a beat as
he watched Shuuhei slip a hand into his boxers. Subconsciously, he
felt his mouth hang wide open and a sliver of drool drip from the
corner of his mouth. Blushing, he tried to gulp and restrain the
drool as he watched Shuuhei slide his hand down further. Ichigo
decided that this was what made him look at Shuuhei with longing: the
fact that Shuuhei was naturally sexy without even trying. Ichigo
crept closer as he tried to peek into the little crevice inbetween
Shuuhei's stomach and boxers. Part of him told him to get even
closer, yet another part was reprimanding him for being such a damn
pervert…a pervert that was looking at another guy for crying
out loud.
"What are you doing?"
Ichigo's face turned a pale blue as he looked up to see Shuuhei
eyeing him curiously.
"Uh…bug…a bug
crawled into your clothes!" said Ichigo as he quickly tried to
cover up his lie. Shuuhei was still looking at him suspiciously but
sighed as he got out of bed. He stripped his shirt and boxers
off right in front of Ichigo.
"No bug here…"
sighed Shuuhei.
"T―The hell are you
doing?" yelled Ichigo as he jumped back. "Put your clothes back
on!" Ichigo cried as he ran to the door, trying to conceal the
bulge in his pants. Just as he was about to open the door, the door
flew open and hit Ichigo square in the face.
"Good morning my
loveable sons!" cried Isshin, flying gracefully into the room and
landing neatly on Ichigo's stomach. "I see you have risen early
to ambush me this morning Ichigo, but those tactics will never
work!" he cried as he tap danced on Ichigo's stomach.
"B―Bastard…"
groaned Ichigo before passing out. Satisfied that he had won their
morning battle, Isshin turned his attention to Shuuhei.
"And how are you this
morning my other son?" Shuuhei stared at the man in disbelief. What
kind of father attacked their son? Sure, Shuuhei had never
known his own father, but seriously, what was wrong with this man? He
didn't have time to contemplate this. He had to focus on Isshin who
had leapt forward with a flying kick. Blocking it with both hands,
Shuuhei grabbed Isshin's airborne leg and spun the man around in
circles. Finally, he released the man and let him fly through the
window.
"You're improving,
my other son!" cried Isshin as he flew over the roof of the house
next to them.
"SHUT THE HELL UP!"
yelled Karin from her room. She banged her feet against the wall
several times, and then all was quiet again. Shuuhei sighed as he
leaned down to pick Ichigo up. Eyeing the boy over for any injuries,
he was a little surprised to see the bulge in Ichigo's boxers.
"Oh? You get morning
wood too?" he muttered curiously as he poked and prodded the
obvious erection. Chuckling quietly, he laid Ichigo back in bed
quietly. That done, he could take care of his own morning wood
in the privacy of the bathroom.
Ichigo woke with a
headache worse than the one he had originally woken up with. 'So
much for not getting attacked by my old man…' sighed Ichigo as he
rubbed the temples of his forehead. He got out of bed once more and
made his way to the door and cautiously opened it…only to slip on a
stray pair of boxers on the ground. 'This is gonna hurt…' he
thought as he fell backwards and reached out to grab something to
stop his fall. Miraculously, something did stop his fall…even
though his hands were holding on to nothing. He opened his eyes
slowly…and found himself staring straight into Shuuhei's face.
"You alright?"
asked Shuuhei genuinely. Ichigo blinked several times, before nodding
dumbly. The position they were in made it seem as if they were doing
a complex tango maneuver, with Shuuhei in a forward lunging stance,
his right hand grasping Ichigo's wrist firmly, and his left arm
carefully wrapped around Ichigo's waist. They stood stone still in
that position for several minutes, before Ichigo realized that
Shuuhei's hand was slowly moving downwards, getting uncomfortably
close to his ass. Out of reflex more than offense, Ichigo kneed
Shuuhei in the stomach.
"The…the hell…"
groaned Shuuhei as he collapsed to his knees, gasping for air.
"Sorry! I…uh…I'm
really hungry and you were blocking my way," chuckled Ichigo
nervously as he sidestepped Shuuhei's punch.
"B―Bastard…"
panted Shuuhei as he got up on his feet. "That could've knocked
me out…"
"W―Wait a sec!"
said Ichigo, now annoyed. "Who got me drunk last night? Eh? Who
made me pass out? Yeah, that's right, you. So you damn well
deserved that." Ichigo turned around gruffly and walked down the
stairs, ignoring the now grinning Shuuhei.
"I'll be damned if
I don't get you drunk again tonight…" chuckled Shuuhei
devilishly as he followed Ichigo down the stairs.
"Otou-san is busy today so I want you two to take good care of your sisters, you got that?" asked Isshin in a booming voice. Ichigo sighed and nodded as he played with his cereal while Shuuhei wolfed down his breakfast.
"I thought you were
hungry," said Shuuhei in between mouthfuls as he kicked
Ichigo in the shin. Ichigo opened his mouth to shoot back a retort
but was cut off by Yuzu.
"We wanna go to the
bookstore!" cried his little sister as she hung onto the sleeve of
his shirt.
"You do that.
I'll go to the arcade," announced Karin as she finished
her breakfast quickly. "You're going with me, right Shuuhei?"
"What? How come you
don't ask me?" grumbled Ichigo.
"But you're going
with me, onii-san!" pleaded Yuzu as she clung tightly to Ichigo.
Ichigo and his two sisters argued back and forth for several minutes,
before Isshin finall interrupted.
"Then it's decided!
Ichigo! Go with Yuzu to the bookstore!" Ichigo scowled and shot
Isshin a death stare. Isshin brushed it off as he continued shouting
across the table. "Shuuhei! Go with Karin to the arcade…" Karin
jumped from her seat and shot her right first straight into the air.
"Alright!" shouted
Karin joyfully.
"…of books!"
finished Isshin. Karin's face changed from pure ecstasy to
displeasure in one second flat. "Now stop stalling and go! I need
to get ready for my appointment!" roared Isshin as he pushed all 4
of the kids out of the house. "Here's some money. Don't come
back till you've spent it all!" he said as he threw his wallet
through the door and slammed it shut. The group sighed as they turned
around and started heading out. After a few minutes of walking, Karin
spoke up.
"Well then…let's
go to the arcade…" chuckled Karin evilly as she tugged Shuuhei to
follow her.
"ARCADE OF BOOKS, YOU
MEAN!" yelled Isshin from atop of the roof of the house they were
standing next to. Karin sweatdropped and nodded her head in defeat.
Yuzu's bookstore of
choice turned out to be one of those specialized bookstores, devoted
entirely to shounen-ai and yaoi.
"I'm not going in
there," growled Ichigo as he sat down outside of the store.
"Yes you are,"
insisted Yuzu as she pulled Ichigo's arm.
"No way in hell."
"Help me out here
Karin!" Much to Ichigo's surprise, Karin came over and started
pulling his arm as well.
"The hell? I thought
you wanted to go to the arcade…"
"Well Yuzu didn't
tell me we were going to this store."
"Y―You like this
kinda stuff too?" asked Ichigo in disbelief, recoiling from his two
sisters in shock. The two girls sighed and started tapping their feet
in impatience. Ichigo shook his head in disbelief as he muttered
incoherent words, angrily to himself. It wasn't that he didn't
like this genre of literature…no, it was quite the opposite. He was
intrigued, and God forbid, almost fascinated by it. Never having read
anything of the sort, he was actually curious to see what the books
had to say…and see if they could perhaps give him some…insight
on his situation with Shuuhei. He glanced quickly at Shuuhei to see
the other man's reaction to the whole predicament…and found that
Shuuhei was already inside the store with Yuzu.
"Traitor!" yelled
Ichigo angrily.
"Shut up!" yelled
Karin as she swung a kick to the back of his head, effectively
knocking him out.
Ichigo woke with a
searing headache, even more painful than the one he had gotten
from the hangover and the one from Isshin combined. At first, he
couldn't understand why a little kick from his sister could cause
him so much pain. But after registering his thoughts and sensing his
surroundings, he realized that the headache wasn't coming from the
kick; it was coming from a strange high-pitched sound that
reverberated through the air. He opened his eyes cautiously and found
himself sitting in the corner of a large room, filled with shelves
after shelves, rows after rows, books after books of shounen-ai/yaoi.
'This can't be happening…' muttered Ichigo in disbelief as he
rubbed his eyes. But much to his horror, it was. And what was worse
was the fact that girls were everywhere, clawing, clutching,
clamoring over one another for the books. It was then he realized
that the sound was actually the ecstatic cries of the girls standing
around the store. After finding a suitable book, each girl would sit
down on the spot, open the book, and start reading. And every so
often, a girl would close her eyes and squeal in delight. Ichigo
stood up slowly and scanned the aisles, looking for the tell-tale
signs of his sisters, so that they could ditch the place as soon as
possible, but to no avail. After minutes of standing and looking, he
gave up and decided to actually try walking and looking. As he walked
through the aisles, he noticed a large amount of eyes watching his
every movement. Feeling uneasy, he picked up his pace and walked
through the aisles at a quicker pace. The eyes still followed him. He
picked up his pace once more. Eyes still following him. He was
at a slow jog now. Even more eyes following him now. Finally,
Ichigo lost his temper and turned to a group of girls standing close
by. As suspected, they were gawking at him as well.
"The hell's wrong
with you guys!" he shouted aloud. The girls didn't respond.
Instead, they slowly opened the books they had in their hands and
looked into them. Ichigo's left eye twitched in annoyance. "First
you stare at me, and now you're ignoring me!" he asked loudly.
The girls looked up from their books. A quiet murmur started to rise
from the group.
"He's pouting…"
"So cute…"
"Just like that one
guy from that one book…"
"He's a real good
looker too…"
"He's dead
gorgeous…"
Ichigo started to step
back away slowly now, both eyes twitching, this time from panic.
'S―Scary…' thought Ichigo to himself as he backed into
another group of girls. This group was staring at him intently as
well. Whispers grew louder now, threatening to break into loud
conversations. Ichigo tried to tune the words out as he walked in
another direction. 'So many girls…' thought Ichigo as he
shuttered and continued walking. Again, he walking into yet
another group of females…however, this group seemed to consist
of middle-aged women only. They were literally drooling as they gazed
dreamily at Ichigo.
"S―Shit!" yelled
Ichigo as he turned the other way and ran as fast as his human legs
could carry him. Heads turned, eyes snapped, mouths murmuring loudly,
it was apparent now that each and every female was focused in on
Ichigo. Ichigo ran even faster now, not caring where to, as long as
he could avoid the constant staring. Closing eyes, he ran
blindly…only to crash right into Shuuhei, knocking them both to the
floor.
"Tch…watch where
you're going Ichigo," grumbled Shuuhei as he stood up.
"S―Sorry…" said
Ichigo as Shuuhei grabbed his hand and pulled him up.
It was then that Ichigo
noticed the deathly silence hanging in the air. He did a full 360
degree roundabout as he scanned the faces of the countless girls now
staring at him…or to be exact, Shuuhei and him.
"Let's get out of
here…" said Ichigo said as he craned his neck to get close to
Shuuhei's ear. Suddenly, the group of middle-aged women sighed
loudly as they clapped their hands together.
"So…beautiful!"
they cried in unison as tears streamed down their face…and blood
gushed out of their noses. Meanwhile, Shuuhei was grinning amusedly
now. 'This situation might just work to my benefit' he thought to
himself.
"You know, I can get
them off your back…if you promise me something."
"What?" whispered
Ichigo loudly into Shuuhei's ear. Up close, one could probably tell
they were just talking. But from faraway, as many of the girls were,
it looked like a passionate embrace between two handsome men, each
landing a soft kiss upon each other's neck. Squinting their eyes in
ecstasy, the girls squealed loudly as blood streamed out of their
noses…soon followed by the dull thuds of their bodies collapsing to
the floor due to blood loss. Ichigo tugged on Shuuhei's shirt to
get him to explain.
"It's really just a
simple condition."
"Then tell me…"
whispered Ichigo hoarsely. More girls were collapsing around them
now.
"Come to Soul Society
and serve as a captain…for a month."
"Wh―What?" asked
Ichigo in disbelief as he pulled his face away.
"Too much?" asked a
disappointed Shuuhei. "How about a week then?"
"I…uh…well…this
is blackmail you know," muttered Ichigo sheepishly.
"Say yes and I'll
get rid of the girls…" cooed Shuuhei. Ichigo sighed. 'Why did
it have to come to this?' He cursed his luck under his breath and
finally nodded.
"Yes," grumbled
Ichigo as he tried to avert his gaze from Shuuhei's piercing eyes.
Without a moment's hesitation, Shuuhei slipped his right leg behind
Ichigo's left leg and pushed the boy forward, knocking him off
balance. As Ichigo fell backwards, he shot his hand out and tried to
grab at Shuuhei's shirt…but missed. But before his back could
make contact with the floor, Shuuhei' arms shot out and wrapped
around Ichigo in a loose embrace, much like the embrace they had
earlier that morning. One arm bracing the area right above Ichigo's
waist and one arm lifting Ichigo's right leg slightly, Shuuhei had
put them in quite a seductive pose. By this point, half of the crowd
was squealing with delirious bliss, fainting one after another. But
that still left the other half, gaping intently at the two men in a
forbidden embrace, blushing and giggling, waiting for what was to
come next.
"The hell!" growled
Ichigo ferociously as he tried to squirm out of Shuuhei's hold.
"You wanna get out of
here don't you?" growled Shuuhei just as ferociously, sliding his
right hand slowly down Ichigo's now extended leg and grasping the
back of Ichigo's shirt with all his might.
"Y―Yeah…"
grumbled Ichigo. "But…but this is embarrassing…"
Shuuhei smirked. He leaned forward and brought his face dangerously
close to Ichigo's face. A loud gasp swept through the
still-conscious half of the audience.
"This, is
nothing…compared to this," whispered Shuuhei as he groped
Ichigo's thigh. Without a warning, Shuuhei tilted his face to a
favorable angle, and went in for a deep kiss.
Longer, deeper, and
more passionate than the night before, Shuuhei was in control of
their lip-lock this time, and he wanted to make it last as long as he
could. Surprised at the lack of resistance from Ichigo, Shuuhei
pushed their kiss further, and finally managed to brush his tongue
lightly against Ichigo's lip. Still no resistance. Rather, there
was a response: he could've sworn he felt Ichigo's tongue flicker
against his own, if only for a moment. Shuuhei smirked slightly as he
tried to push his tongue further in, but stopped when he felt a hand
grab his neck, thumb applied directly to his Adam's apple.
"Bastard…" said
Ichigo as he gasped for air. Although the kiss hadn't been that
long, he had forgotten to breathe, so now found himself panting. "The
hell was that for?"
"It…got…rid…of
them…didn't it?" chuckled Shuuhei, albeit the fact that
Ichigo's grip on his throat was cutting off much of his air. True
enough, as Ichigo's breathing got calmer, he was able to register
the extraordinarily high pitched squealing (almost on par with
a dog whistle) of the girls around him. One by one the girls started
to swoon and fall over, either from blood loss through the nose or
from lack of oxygen due to squealing for too long. In mere moments,
the crowd of over a hundred people was decimated and reduced to
nothing, blood strewn and covering the floor like a war torn
battlefield.
"Shit…" said
Ichigo in surprise, as he surveyed the ruin they had laid upon the
bookstore. "This is worse than any battle we've been in, eh?"
"Let…me…go…"
groaned Shuuhei. Ichigo was still holding him by the neck, and
Shuuhei's face was slowly turning blue.
"Ah…I wonder if I
should. After all, you took advantage of me back there…" said
Ichigo as he grinned devilishly. Shuuhei grinned as well, making
Ichigo raise his eyebrow in suspicion. Faster than he could react,
Shuuhei slipped out of Ichigo's grip and had Ichigo's head
underneath his right arm in a powerful headlock.
"Tch…" sighed
Shuuhei lazily. "Didn't see that coming, did you?" Ichigo
scowled as he tried to get out of Shuuhei's lock, making the older
boy laugh heartily as he ruffled Ichigo's hair. "So…you gonna
keep your word?"
"Let me go!"
growled Ichigo as he struggled.
"Well tell me if you
gonna keep your word."
"Let me go first."
"Tch…fine,"
grumbled Shuuhei as he let him free. Ichigo stumbled forward from the
sudden release but caught his balance quickly. He rubbed his neck
gently but glared at Shuuhei viciously.
"I'll go," sighed
Ichigo. These were the words Shuuhei had been waiting for ever since
the beginning of his mission. The words that spelled accomplishment
and satisfaction for him. The words that could make Shuuhei smile
genuinely. Not a smirk, not a grin, but a genuine smile. "But under
one condition."
"Yeah?" Shuuhei
really couldn't care what the condition was at this point. He was
one step closer to fulfilling his mission and that was all that
mattered.
"I get to be captain
of your division." It was Ichigo's turn to smile now, as
he waited for Shuuhei's reaction. Much to his surprise, Shuuhei's
smile got even wider.
"Be my guest…"
said Shuuhei in a taunting voice. "…and I mean it literally."
After finding Karin and
Yuzu's bodies amidst the carnage, the four proceeded to the exit to
leave. Ichigo wasn't in a particularly good or bad mood. He wasn't
in a good mood because of one, all the trouble he went through today,
and two, he didn't even get to read one of the hundreds of
books lying around in the store. But, he supposed these two drawbacks
were made up for by the kiss from Shuuhei. The kiss that he had
almost too eagerly responded to. Thankfully, he caught himself before
he let himself go too far. Touching his lips gently, he wondered if
he could get another kiss like that again. In fact, he hoped
he could get another kiss like that. Why else would he consent to the
week long predicament? Mulling over the thought with desire, he
cursed his luck. Why couldn't Shuuhei be a girl? Hell, he'd even
be happy as long as one of them was a girl. That way, it'd be
normal…that way, it'd be accepted. Not that he was afraid of
society's opinions. He already knew how society would react. If
they couldn't even accept his orange hair, there was no way
they'd accept him being with another man. No, he already knew how
society would react, and frankly, he didn't give a damn. But there
was still something in the back of his head that bothered him.
Something that told him, that warned him, that forbid him,
from even trying to show any love towards his family or friends…let
alone someone like Shuuhei. Sighing, he brushed the thought aside as
he opened the door…and found a short elderly lady blocking their
way out.
"Scuse us…"
muttered Ichigo as he tried to walk past the elderly lady. She spread
her arms wide, as if her tiny frame had become an impenetrable wall.
"Hey, granny, we wanna get through here," said Ichigo, raising
his voice slightly. The old lady stood there firmly. "What's
wrong with her?" said Ichigo as he turned to face Shuuhei. Carrying
Yuzu's body wasn't too bad, but carrying it longer than necessary
was something Ichigo would rather not do. Shuuhei shrugged as he
shifted Karin's body from one arm to the other.
"Maybe she's deaf?"
asked Shuuhei lamely. Ichigo sighed and turned around to face the old
lady once more.
"WE WANT TO GET
THROUGH," shouted Ichigo. The lady still refused to move. It was
then that Shuuhei noticed the books sticking out of the front of her
jacket. Books that resembled the books they had seen only minutes
ago.
"Hey Ichigo, let me
deal with her." Ichigo sighed and let Shuuhei approach the lady.
"So, granny, I take
it you're blocking us for a reason?" The granny nodded.
"Is it 'cause you
didn't get to see the show earlier? Cause you're so short?" he
asked as he lowered his voice. The granny hesitated, then nodded her
head gingerly.
"I see…" chuckled
Shuuhei. "Ichigo, come here." Ichigo obediently walked up to
Shuuhei. "Here, catch!" shouted Shuuhei as he tossed up Karin's
body. Ichigo's arm shot out and caught her limp body.
"The fuck are you
doing to my sister!" yelled Ichigo. Shuuhei smiled. Ichigo had let
his guard down. Shuuhei grabbed the back of Ichigo's throat and
pulled him close for yet another passionate kiss. Arms full, Ichigo
couldn't fight back, even if he had wanted too. As they kissed,
Shuuhei opened one eye to see the granny's reaction. She was
giggling and blushing furiously, when she suddenly opened her mouth
wide and stuck out her tongue and pointed at it. Shuuhei understood
what she was getting at, and opened his mouth wide as well as he
stuck his tongue into Ichigo's unsuspecting mouth. Ichigo's eyes
shot open as he felt Shuuhei's tongue probe the inside of his
mouth. He tried to pull away but was stopped as both of Shuuhei's
hands held his face in place.
Part of him told him
that this was right. It was that part of him that made him stick his
tongue out, as if to receive Shuuhei. He licked at the other tongue
gingerly, lightly, almost afraid, yet amazed and drawn in at the same
time. Light flicks of his tongue, gently brushing against the inside
of Shuuhei's mouth, he found this kiss to be far more erotic than
he had imagined it to be…and so did 'Little Ichigo'…and the
old lady staring at them. Regaining his senses, Ichigo clamped his
mouth shut as he bit down hard on Shuuhei's tongue.
"OUCH!" yelled
Shuuhei as he pulled his mouth away.
"Stop using your damn
tongue! You should've told me beforehand that she wanted us to
kiss…so I could've prepared myself!"
"Shut up…"
growled Shuuhei as rolled his tongue around in his mouth. "You
happy now, granny?" asked Shuuhei, now in a bad mood. The two
turned to look at the elderly woman, but found her laying flat on her
back, seemingly unconscious. Shuuhei bit back a small chuckle as he
stepped over her body, but stopped when he felt a hand tugging at his
jeans. He looked down and saw that old lady was trying to hand him
the books in her jacket.
"Take these…my
gratitude…" she whispered as she smiled and passed out. Shuuhei
smiled as he took the two books from her hand.
"Hey Shuuhei, what'd
she give you?"
"Eh, some books."
"Lemme have one."
"Sure," said
Shuuhei, as he handed Ichigo the book entitled Only the Ring
Finger Knows. Attached to the book was a small plastic bag,
holding two simple silver rings. Ichigo took one of the rings out and
placed it on his right ring finger. He grinned sheepishly. The ring
was a perfect fit.
"I wanna see the
other book too."
"This one's mine,"
said Shuuhei protectively as he ran ahead, concealing the forbidden
manga under his shirt. He had to get home as soon as possible to read
the forbidden contents of the book.
"Damn bastard!"
yelled Ichigo as he ran to catch up.
Even though he was running through the streets while carrying two bodies, even though he had to spend a week in Soul Society, even though he could never kiss Shuuhei like he wanted to…Ichigo felt as if the world couldn't get anymore perfect than that day. Smiling like a maniac, he laughed aloud as he watched Shuuhei get hit by an oncoming biker.
"How would you feel
if Ichigo-kun were to become a captain of Soul Society?"
"No way in hell!"
yelled an inebriated Isshin. He slammed his bottle of sake down to
the table and swayed gently, trying to maintain his balance.
"He'll…he'll never be a captain if I can help it…it's too
damn saddening!" roared Isshin, suddenly feeling depressed. He
drooped his head down to the table. "It's…it's too damn
sad…Masaki…" groaned Isshin with a sudden sense of spite.
"Ah, cheer up Isshin.
I was only asking."
"Yeah well, I swear
if anyone goes and tries to make Ichigo a captain, I'll…I'll
cut him down! You hear that Kisuke?"
"My oh my…that's
mighty troubling," sighed Urahara as he swirled the contents of his
bottle of sake. 'Troubling for Hisagi-kun, that is…I wonder if
he's carrying out his half of the plan correctly…' thought
Urahara to himself.
"Oye! Kisuke! Does
this have anything to do with that Shuuhei kid? He's a shinigami…a
pretty good one from what I can tell…" grumbled Isshin as the
alcohol's intoxicating effect started to take its toll. "Is he
trying to recruit my Ichigo? Huh? Is he?"
"Ah, Hisagi-kun? No,
no, of course not! It has nothing to do with him at all!" laughed
Urahara nervously as he hid his face behind a fan.
Shuuhei sneezed 3 times
in a row.
"Oh,
Hisagi-fukutaichou is sick?" asked the bumbling clerk standing
before him.
"Nah…it's nothing
Hanatarou." Shuuhei reached into his pockets and pulled out some
money. "How much for the sake?"
"Ah, 75 off for you
Hisagi-sempai. By the way, would you be interested in trying one of
our promotional products for free?"
"Hm? What is it?"
asked Shuuhei curiously as he put down bills and coins.
"Condoms…it's a
new brand. Thin, durable, and strawberry flavored. I imagine it'd
be perfect for you!" cried Hanatarou enthusiastically as he
stretched a condom and pulled it over his hair to demonstrate its
elasticity.
"That…that is
durable…" said Shuuhei as he stared in disbelief. "Well…"
Shuuhei looked around nervously. Ichigo was standing outside,
conversing with his now conscious sisters. Although he wasn't
planning on doing anything to Ichigo, he just wanted to be safe…just
in case the drunk Ichigo wanted to go further than a little kissing…
"I'll take as many
as you can give me…" said Shuuhei in the lowest voice possible.
Hanatarou smiled and procured 6 little pouches.
"Thank you for your
patronage!" said Hanatarou as he put all of Shuuhei's purchases
in a bag. Bowing slightly, he waved good bye to Shuuhei and watched
the group of 4 disappear into the distance.
"The manager will be
pleased when he hears how much I sold today!" said Hanatarou
happily as he tried to pull the piece of rubber off his head…only
to find that it was stuck fast.
"…This…this will look bad on my performance review…"
TBC
Yes, Only the Ring Finger Knows is a real shounen-ai book and manga as well. I read it last week and I have to say, despite how cliché it was at times, I found the whole storyline enjoyable nonetheless. I'd be glad to point out a good place to download the torrent of it online (that is, if people are interested). Oh, and if you're wondering what Shuuhei was hiding from Ichigo, I'd suggest looking up anything with hardcore yaoi...
And yes, it's probably impossible for a condom to be that elastic. But don't forget the message here: I endorse safe sex! Remember, only you can prevent forest fires…I mean unwanted children…
Anyhow, R&R as always, cause reviews make me squeal till I run out of air...but not nosebleed...that's just wrong.
