Chapter IX: I Need to Breathe
Ichigo stepped inside his house, pulling his shoes off and tossing his messenger bag down next to them. He headed straight for the kitchen where he knew his dad was waiting for him. Of course he was right, and when he got to the kitchen, Isshin looked at him with complete disappointment, causing Ichigo to feel a tiny bit of remorse. Not enough to make him regret punching Maki in his stupid asshole face though. He knew the routine by now, so he turned his phone off and slid it across the table to his dad, sitting down across from him.
"I'm sorry, Dad," he said. Isshin shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Why'd you do it, Ichigo?" he asked. Ichigo put his hands in his lap and lowered his gaze to them.
"He's been harassing me since my freshman year. I finally told him to back off for good on Friday but he couldn't seem to take no for an answer, and he yelled and got in my face about it today. You know how much I hate that." Isshin ran a hand over his face and sighed.
"Why didn't you tell me about this?" he asked. Ichigo shrugged, still not looking up from his lap.
"It seemed kinda trivial, you know? You have so much stuff to worry about, I figured I could take care of this on my own."
"And you see where that got you, right?" Isshin said. Ichigo didn't respond, figuring it'd be best to keep his mouth shut unless he was asked a direct question. "Ichigo, you are my son. If something is happening to you that's causing you problems, I need to know. I can't help you if I don't know what's going on."
"I understand," he mumbled. Isshin sighed and slid Ichigo's phone back to him.
"I'm gonna let you off the hook for this one, since the other boy was bothering you. But if you get suspended again, consider your young life over."
Ichigo nodded, picking up his phone and heading for his room. To say he was shocked would be an understatement. He was sure he'd get his shit rocked, but his dad seemed to be in a benevolent mood. Something was up; he'd find out what that was later. He stopped by his younger sister's room, knocking on the door lightly.
"Come in," Karin answered. Ichigo stepped through the door closing it behind him. Karin sat on her bed, writing something down in a notebook. She quickly closed it and put it away once she saw that Ichigo was in her room. "What is it, Ichi-nii?"
"What'cha doin'?" he asked, cheekily. He loved messing with Karin; she was just as easy to rile up as he was.
"Minding my business, you should try it," she snapped, and Ichigo laughed, throwing his hands up in defeat.
"Alright, off that. You good to go get your gear tomorrow? How much is everything?"
"Twenty for cleats, ten for shin guards, the uniform is thirty, sixty for insurance, and the registration fee is eighty."
"So two hundred bucks?" Karin nodded and Ichigo did the same. "Alright, I got you."
"Where exactly did you get a second job, Ichi-nii?" Karin asked, skeptically. Ichigo grinned before he turned to leave.
"Got a good job at minding my business. They're hiring full-time," he replied. Karin glared before she threw a pillow at his retreating form.
"You better not be selling drugs!"
Ichigo rolled his eyes as he headed down the hallway to his own room. Once inside, he stripped down to his boxers and laid down on his bed. He turned his phone back on, not surprised when it spazzed out with vibrations. Most of the messages were his friends, a couple of other people that he seldom associated with at school, and Grimmjow. The last message was the one that caused him to scowl heavily.
Maki Ichinose: This isn't over. You made me look bad in front of a lot of people, and I'm gonna get you back for it. Don't get cocky just 'cause you got the first punch in. I'm gonna have the last laugh when it's all said and done.
What the hell are you talking about, Ichinose? You know what, don't answer that. Lose my fucking number, bitch.
With that message sent, Ichigo went to the settings in his phone, adding Maki's number to the blocked list. He hated when people made empty threats after they lost a fight. You already lost, so why're you talking shit? You're just making yourself look even dumber. A waste of time and effort, if you asked him. He opened the other messages from his friends before he decided to call Grimmjow.
"Hey," the older man answered.
"Hey," Ichigo said, feeling himself smile a little at the sound of the other man's voice. Sprung, so sprung. "Uh, my dad let me off because I told him what was going on. I can come to your house tomorrow."
"Okay, cool. How's six?"
"That's good. I'm taking my sister to get her soccer equipment after she gets out of school, so I'll just come when I'm done with that."
"I can send Szayel to pick you up."
"Uh, no. The hell would that look like to my sister? She's already trying to figure out where I'm getting the money from. She thinks I'm selling drugs or something. She's too fucking smart."
"Alright. Well, just call him when you're done then."
"Okay."
"By the way, what's that kid's name that you got into it with? I don't think you told me."
"His name's Maki Ichinose."
"Ichinose, huh? That sounds familiar. Alright, I'll let you go now. I'm sure you're tired after this day, because I am."
"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow, Grimm."
"See you, Ichi."
After dropping Karin back off at their house, Ichigo decided to head over to the park for a while. As the day had passed, he'd become increasingly nervous about meeting Grimmjow's sister, and now that it was almost time, he was completely anxious. He found a tree to sit under, pulling out his phone to derp around a bit, to take his mind off of his nervousness. It didn't help though; what if Grimmjow's sister didn't like him? The older male had told him how close they were, so she obviously had some influence in his life whether he liked to admit that or not. Maybe he was over-thinking again. He did that a lot. He pulled his earbuds out of his pocket, deciding to listen to some Daft Punk; that always calmed him down. He leaned his head against the trunk of the tree, closing his eyes. He was nearly dozing when he felt someone touch him.
"The fuck?" he said instinctively, but immediately regretted it when he locked gazes with a pair of wide innocent grey eyes. The little onyx-haired girl looked at him inquisitively before she started to touch his hair.
"Ah, so pretty. Orange is my very favorite color. Your hair, it is so. . .so. . .doux*." Ichigo raised an eyebrow at the last word. It seemed like French, but he wouldn't know since he didn't speak it. "Sorry, I like français better than anglais."
"It's okay. I don't speak French though. My name is Ichigo. What's your name?"
"Ichi - Itsy - Itsygo? It is nice to meet you, Itsygo. My name is Véronique Marcelle Tu Oderschwanck. I am three years old, but I will be four very soon. My middle name is Marcelle because it is. . .deuxième prénom de mon oncle Grimm*." Ichigo frowned a bit. Grimmjow said Nel had a daughter. Was this her?
"What's your mommy's name, Véronique?"
"My mommy's name is Maman, of course silly!" she responded cheerily. Ichigo wanted to be frustrated, but she was just too damn cute. He stood and brushed the dirt off of his pants, looking around the area. He didn't see anyone, so he reached out a hand to her. The little girl smiled up at him warmly, and he couldn't help but to smile back. "You're mon nouveau meilleur ami*."
"Hey, you!" Ichigo's head snapped in the direction of the angry feminine voice. A beautiful woman with sea-foam green hair and a body to rival Tier's stormed towards him. She had a scowl on her face that matched the one he'd seen Grimmjow with before and the same expressive grey eyes as little Véronique. This couldn't be anyone but Nel; he didn't know anyone else with green hair. "Take your hands off my daughter, you little pervert!"
Ichigo frowned. In what universe would he be interested in a three-year-old girl?
"Ma'am, I'm not -"
Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a sharp pain in his cheek and he saw stars. No this bitch didn't. No she did not. She did not just. . .did this bitch just slap him? He clenched his jaw, looking everywhere but at her. He'd vowed never to hit a female, but his patience was already beyond thin. He slowly took a few steps back, throwing his hands up and shaking his head.
"Whatever, lady. I'm outta here," he said as calmly as he could. He was turning to leave when he suddenly became weighed down. He looked down and saw Véronique clinging desperately to him, wrapping herself around his leg much in the fashion of a baby koala.
"Oh, Itsygo, don't go, s'il vous plaît, s'il vous plaît!" she wailed. Ichigo stopped walking but didn't turn back around. "Maman, don't hit Itsygo anymore, s'il vous plaît!"
"Itsygo? What kind of name is that?" Nel asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Ichigo finally turned back around.
"My name is Ichigo. She mispronounced it, but I didn't bother to correct her."
"Ichi - Ichigo Kurosaki?" Nel said. Ichigo scowled but nodded nonetheless. The green haired woman started to pace back and forth. "Oh shit, shit, shit, shit!"
"Itsygo, what is this word that Maman is saying?" Véronique asked, innocently. Nel immediately stopped cursing, gesturing for her daughter to come to her. Once she did, Nel squatted down to her level.
"Vé, don't use that word, okay? Pinky promise?" she said. The little girl nodded, locking pinkies with her mother. Ichigo couldn't help but to smile a little; it was absolutely adorable. But he was still pissed that Nel had slapped him. Said woman stood back to her full height which was about the same as his. Her previously hard grey eyes softened measurably before she shocked the hell out of him by jumping into his arms, crushing him in a bear-hug. "Oh, I'm so very sorry for hitting you, Itsygo! I've been dying to meet you!"
"Please let go of me, Miss Nel," Ichigo choked out. Nel released him quickly muttering apologies. Ichigo shrugged it off, smiling a bit. "If I may ask, what are you doing here? Grimmjow told me you'd both be at his estate."
"We are, but Vé wanted to play for a while, so Grimmjow told me about this park. I wasn't expecting to find you here."
"Well, your little girl found me. She's adorable by the way. She's got your eyes," Ichigo said, gently. Nel smiled brightly.
"Thank you. You're very kind and so handsome! My brother has such excellent taste!"
"Maman, can we have pizza please?" Véronique asked, interrupting her mother's excited outburst.
"That depends," Nel replied. She looked at Ichigo. "Are you hungry, Itsygo?"
"I could stand to eat, and there's a pizza place not far from here. I can show you where it is, if you'd like, Miss Nel."
"Please call me Nel, and I'd like that very much," she responded.
"Okay, Nel. Let's go," Ichigo said. Véronique grabbed his hand and started skipping in the direction of a shiny black Mercedes S500. Rich people and their fancy ass cars. He couldn't deny that Grimmjow and Nel were very down-to-Earth for wealthy individuals, and he found that admirable. He smiled down at Véronique as she started to chant as she skipped,
"Itsygo and pizza, pizza and Itsygo. . ."
Maybe he'd fit into Grimmjow's world after all.
A little short, but I didn't want to put the whole visit into one chapter...it'd be too long, and I figure you guys have more important things to do than spend all day trying to read a chapter XD Anywho, I hope you all like little Véronique, because I absolutely adore her ^_^ thanks a lot for reading...until next time,
Patd06
Translations:
doux: soft
deuxième prénom de mon oncle Grimm: my uncle Grimm's middle name
mon nouveau meilleur ami: my new best friend
s'il vous plaît: please
