"Let's see... I guess this story would start when I recently graduated from college." Seeing as how Kazui's fifth grade class is actually learning about sex, Kazui wants to hear the real story about how his parents met. Ichigo gave in, but decided to make it a little fun. He's changing Orihime's name and appearance in the story so that Kazui can try to figure out which one is his mother. "I was already dating this girl, who we'll name...Emily."
The beginning of this story takes place to where Ichigo recently graduated from college. As he woke up for a brand new day, he looked down as a lovely girl with blonde hair tied back that was asleep right next to him. He leaned down and gave her a kiss to wake her up.
"Morning." Ichigo said.
"Morning." Emily said as she turned to face him. "Today's the day, isn't it?"
"Yep. This is where it really begins." Ichigo said as he was taking some big steps in his life.
"I don't suppose you have time for one morning routine." Emily said as she slid her hand up his arm. The two of them were about to begin their little "routine" until a knock came on the door.
"Ichigo! Are you awake? We've got to get ready."
"Yeah, Renji." Ichigo said with annoyance.
"My Dad was there?" Ichika asked.
"Your old man and I have been friends for a long time. Back then, we lived on a little house provided by the campus, but we have to soon move out since we graduated. Anyway, this big day was that me and Renji were going to move into the big city of Tokyo. I was going to start a brand new job, my first one out of college, while Renji was going to attend a police academy there."
Ichigo made himself decent for breakfast as Emily just slipped on one of his shirts. The two of them joined Renji for breakfast with all of them getting ready for the big day.
"What time do you have to be at the academy?" Ichigo asked.
"Not until tomorrow, but it's best we leave today to get our new place ready." Renji said.
"I can't believe you two are sharing an apartment together." Emily said as she sat on the counter.
"It's a small one, but it will work for the both of us." Renji said. "I wish you could come, Emily, but we could only afford this small apartment."
"But Emily has to stay in town. Her family is going to need her for a while since her grandfather recently passed away. It won't be the same without you." Ichigo said.
"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." Emily said. "Besides, I can save up some money here so that I'll be able to move up there with you guys."
"Well, I'm going to pack. I want to get to our new place as soon as possible." Renji said as he stepped away to get his stuff together. With it just being the two of them, Ichigo walked over to Emily and wrapped his arms around her and she got her arms around his neck.
"I really wish you could come." Ichigo said.
"I know, but I don't feel right about leaving since my grandfather recently passed." Emily claimed. "I should stay and help out with whatever I can for a while. I am going to miss you."
"Same here, but it won't stay like this." Ichigo said. "Once things are settled and I start making some cash, it will be just you and me one day." The two of them passionately kissed. These two were always so happy together and hoped to have a life together.
"No having sex in the kitchen!" Renji called to ruin their moment. Ichigo really hopes for the day where it will just be him and Emily. Once all three of them got packed, dressed, and ready; it was time to go.
"Make sure to keep in touch." Emily said. "I'll come up as soon as I can to visit."
"Can't wait." Ichigo said as he gave her one last kiss and hopped in the car with Renji. "Ready?"
"Ready. This is going to be so much fun." Renji said as they couldn't wait to start their new lives. They're taking some pretty big steps into the real world.
"I was upset that Emily wasn't going to come with us. Back then, she and I were great together. At the same time, Renji and I were excited to start our new lives. I thought things would only go up from there, but I was so wrong."
...
Tokyo
Renji and Ichigo drove all the way to Tokyo, one of the biggest cities in the world. This is where their lives really begin. Their new apartment was the first place they were going to go. It might have been small and a little worn down, but they will have to find a way to make it work.
"I've got to admit... This place looks like a dump." Ichigo said as he wasn't exactly satisfied with it.
"Maybe, but we can the most of it." Renji said. "We can make some cash to fix it up, make some more to get a better place, and things will be okay. I know I might be attending the police academy while you're the one making the cash, but we can make it work. Right?"
"Yeah. I'm sure things will go up from here." Ichigo said as they both placed their stuff on their beds.
"We're sleeping next to each other? That's going to be a problem if I have a girl." Renji said. "On the bright side, I won't have to hear you and Emily constantly moaning."
"You listened to us?!" Ichigo said as he felt disturbed.
"Hard not to. That girl doesn't know how to keep it quiet." Renji said.
"Jealous that I can make a girl moan like that." Ichigo mocked.
"Oh-ho... You don't want to offend a soon-to-be cop" Renji warned as he tackled Ichigo and started wrestling with him. "Another good side to Emily not being here is that she can't stop me from doing this!" He tried to twist Ichigo like a twister. Once they got done with that, they tried to get themselves settled in their new place.
...
The Next Day
"Once Renji and I got settled, he headed for the academy and I was ready to start my new job. I was heading for a big cooperate building." Ichigo walked straight for a big building and thought this was going to be a decent day.
"You worked in a big cooperate building?" Kazui asked. "What were you? Were you an executive? Some big important figure."
"Not exactly."
"Kurosaki, get these copied for me and grab me a coffee while you're at it." His boss said as he just handed some work to Ichigo.
"The job add was very misleading. I still can't figure out how they did it. All I did was basically do the work that others didn't want to do or do some tasks those guys could have easily done themselves. None of it was really big or important. It was all just some mere tasks."
"You mean you were...an errand boy?" Ichika asked.
"Yeah. I hated all of it. It went on like that for about a week."
...
One Week Later
For a whole week, Ichigo was doing tasks all the more important employees had to do. All the work they didn't want to do, they had Ichigo do. He just kept moving around from one place of the building to the next doing meaningless tasks or something the employees could do themselves. What's more is that none of them even showed any sort of appreciation. He thought he was going to do some important work, but it all felt more like chores. Within a week, he felt like he wanted someone to shoot him.
"I hated that job, but it wasn't so bad thanks to someone."
"I need twelve copies of this." Ichigo said as he made his way into the copy room.
"A baker's dozen? You got it." He was speaking with a girl that had flowing brown hair.
"Hold it!" Kazui said. "Who is that? Is she the second girl?"
"Very good. She is. For this story, we'll call her...Emma. I didn't know her that well, but it changed her around."
"Are you okay?" Emma asked as she was making the copies.
"Don't get me started." Ichigo complained. "These people... I'm surprised that no one has busted their head against the wall."
"I can see what you mean. I don't want to sound rude, but I think these people are robots. Why else are they so emotionless? I think trees are more flexible than these people." Emma claimed.
"It was at that moment that Emma gave me something I really needed." Ichigo gave off a slight chuckle from her statement.
"Exactly. They're so stiff and boring around here." Ichigo said. "Somebody just shoot me. At least we get some excitement around here."
"Let's not have that. I think the janitors would just complain more about their work." Emma said with them having a good laugh.
"You're probably the only person here who can actually crack a smile." Ichigo said as he felt like he needed to complain to someone, and at least he's got someone to talk to. "You want to grab some coffee when we're both done here."
"Sure. I know a great place." Emma said.
...
A Donut Shop
The two of them hit this donut place that Emma loved. The two of them shared some donuts and grabbed some coffee. From there, the two of them had a nice conversation. Emma was the first person that even seemed remotely interesting to Ichigo in the lousy business.
"You were right. These donuts are great." Ichigo said. "So, what's someone like you doing working in a place like that?"
"It's just to help me pay for online classes." Emma said. "I have to financially support myself, but I also want to try and do more. Working there is just to help me out."
"Must be nice. When I signed up for this job, I had no idea I would be getting in something like this." Ichigo said. "This isn't at all what I expected when I first moved here."
"It's only been a week. Maybe it will get better." Emma said.
"I hope you're right. My girlfriend should have more than just some errand boy." Ichigo said.
"Girlfriend? What's she like?" Emma asked.
"Emily? She's great." Ichigo said. "She's really sweet, kind, and beautiful. She was probably the apple of all the boys' eyes, but she only had eyes for me. You probably like her."
"I probably would." Emma said.
"We couldn't afford for all three of us to move up here." Ichigo said. "Besides, her grandfather passed away. She wanted to stay behind and tie up any loose ends with his passing as well as the time to grieve over it. The only reason I'm still going is for her. I'm hoping to build a life for both of us here."
"It's all for her? That sounds so sweet." Emma said.
"Maybe." Ichigo said as he was slightly embarrassed. "Emily is an incredible girl and I just want to give her the best I can. Urgh... Listen to me. I sound like some sort of sissie."
"I think you're really a nice guy who just likes to look tough." Emma said. "Besides, I guess being with the right person does that to you. There's nothing wrong with being sensitive."
"Hard to be sensitive with that job. I don't know how people would be able to handle something like that." Ichigo said. "At least I have someone to make it more tolerable."
"Same here. I might have worked there for a long time, but you're really the only person I've interacted with." Emma said. The two of them had a great time together. They had a good talk and it made their miserable jobs a little more tolerable.
"You know, maybe this job isn't so bad. At least now I have you to look forward to talking to." Ichigo said. The two of them took their plastic cups of coffee and cheered to their new friendship. Ichigo has made a new friend, but could this new friend be more? If so, what does it mean for the girlfriend?
