Chapter 8

Shuuhei awoke to what could have been the worst head ache of his life. And that was saying a lot, because he had experienced some pretty excruciating hangovers in his lifetime. His first thought was: if he opened his eyes his eyeballs might be pushed out of their sockets by the pressure. His second was: he wanted some water; the inside of his mouth felt like he had eaten sand.

He then realized he was alive.

This sudden revelation seemed to make the already intense pain in his head worsen, so he decided to stop thinking.

That's when he heard a soft murmuring from his right side. The voice was familiar, but he couldn't place it. The soft voice was accompanied by a pulsing, carefully contained reiatsu. It hung in the air like a thick mist, saturating everything with its controlled fury. It was like angry storm clouds high in the afternoon sky, ready to dump rain and hurl lightning bolts at the earth below. Shuuhei knew only one person that could contain that much rage and it was Ikkaku.

Oh gods… Yumichika!

Shuuhei struggled to open his eyes, terrified at what he might see. He prayed to every deity he knew the name of for Yumichika to be alive and in one piece.

Slowly, he was able to open his eyes and look around the dark room. He saw Yumichika lying on a futon next to him; his already pale skin had turned a dull gray. But to Shuuhei's relief, his eyes were open and he was looking at Ikkaku.

Yumichika sighed, "There's no need to make those ugly lines in your face Ikkaku; I'm fine."

Ikkaku said nothing. He just sat beside him in the dark, his arms crossed over his chest so tightly he looked as if he were trying to hold back screams.

"Ikkaku…" Yumichika whispered. He lifted his hand to place it softly on Ikkaku's forearm.

Ikkaku put his own calloused had on top of Yumichika's thin fingers. "It's not supposed to be you…" he said quietly, "It's never supposed to be you... It's supposed to be me…"

Yumichika had enough energy to scoff, "Well that's not fair."

"Damn right it it's not fair!" Ikkaku leaned over so his face was inches from the ashen lips below, "You almost died today Yumi… I can't… I can't…"

Yumichika silenced the bald shinigami's lament with his lips. The angry cloud of reiatsu receded as Ikkaku got soft kisses up his nose and forehead.

Shuuhei looked away to let the two have their moment. Familiar jealousy pooled in his gut even as his cheeks heated a little in embarrassment.

"Ouch, be gentle with me."

"Shut up. I am being gentle." Came Ikkaku's muffled reply.

Shuuhei was about to say something, or cough; anything to announce his alertness when Yumichika giggled, "Ikkaku stop."

"Why?" Ikkaku whined.

Yumichika giggled again, "'Cause we're making Shuu-chan uncomfortable!"

Shuuhei's cheeks grew hotter as Ikkaku sat up.

"Hisagi! You're awake!" The bald man made his way over to Shuuhei's futon and squatted, grinning evilly, "I had no idea you were such I voyeur!"

"Shut up," Shuuhei groaned, "I just woke up, and I didn't want to… interrupt."

Ikkaku chuckled, and he stood, "I'll be right back, Urahara told me to get him when you woke up."

"Okay," Shuuhei had no intention of getting up. His head still throbbed and when Ikkaku opened the door, the small amount of light blinded his senses sending a flash of pain through the front of his skull.

"Are you alright Shuu-chan?" Yumichika rolled to his side to face him.

Shuuhei groaned again, "Don't call me that. Yes, I'm fine besides the headache."

Heavy footstep thudded down the hall and the door was flung open again. Renji and Kira stood in the doorway with identical worried expressions on their faces.

"Hisagi!" They said in unison.

Shuuhei bit back a smile as Yumichika softly giggled, "Aww, twinsies."

Renji made his way inside, and kneeled next to his friend. "Hisagi are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Shuuhei tried to shield his eyes from the light in the hallway. His throat itched, and his voice was like gravel, "I'm really thirsty though."

"Ah, Kira-kun," Urahara appeared in the doorway, "would you be so kind as to get our friend some water please?"

Kira nodded, and made his way back down the hall.

Shuuhei started to sit up, but quickly decided against it. The room was slowly spinning, and his stomach was starting to reel.

"What happened Urahara-san?" he asked through parched lips.

Urahara closed the door, and sat beside Renji. "It's slightly complicated, but I will try to explain."

Kira returned with a glass, and a large pitcher of water. Renji helped Shuuhei to sit up so he could drink greedily from the glass. The cold water felt exquisite as it slid past his tongue and down his throat. He polished off three more glasses before he felt sated.

"Looks like Hisagi is reacting with thirst also." Kira commented.

"Hmm?" Shuuhei looked questioningly at his blond friend.

"It seems," Urahara said, "after your reiatsu is drained by these creatures, your body reacts with an intense craving. Abarai and Kurosaki-kun reacted with hunger, you and Kira with thirst."

"What was Ayasegawa's craving?" Shuuhei lifted the glass to his lips again.

"Beauty sleep." Came a muffled reply from the nearby futon.

"Yumichika was hit the hardest," Renji said, "his reiatsu was almost completely gone when Urahara and the others got to us."

No wonder Ikkaku was so upset…

Shuuhei sighed, "So you were going to explain what happened Urahara-san?"

"Ah yes!" Urahara clapped, "I found a loop hole with these hollows. I thought before they had some way of draining or eating the reiatsu of others, but it turns out it's much simpler than that. They have the same kind of reiatsu as us, it's just negatively charged. So when our reiatsu and their reiatsu meet, they clash."

"It's like magnets." A smooth voice came from the doorway.

Shuuhei looked up to see Ishida Uryuu leaning against the door frame, arms lazily folded over his chest. Ichigo stood beside him with his hands in his pockets.

"Ishida-san!" Shuuhei gasped, surprised.

"Ishida-kun is the reason we were able to help you five." Urahara said smiling at the brunette in the doorway.

"Are you alright Shuuhei?" Ichigo asked.

"Um yes, I'm fine," he looked between Urahara and Ishida, thoroughly confused, "magnets? What?"

"When we come in contact with these new hollows," Ishida pushed up his glasses, "our reiatsu is cancelled out. It's like positive and negative charges."

"But how do they still have power?" Shuuhei asked, "Wouldn't their reiatsu be cancelled out as well?"

"No," Urahara sighed, "Aizen was thorough. They cancel out ours, but somehow they retain power themselves."

"So what do we do?" Shuuhei asked, "How did you help us before?"

Ishida straightened, "Urahara-san created a bow that shoots negatively charged arrows. When I hit them, their energy will repel and be forced to shift. After that, they are susceptible to our regular attacks."

"I have done the same to your swords," Urahara noted, "but that is a last resort. I acquired the help of our Quincy friend because he uses long range attacks. If we can help it, we need to have Ishida-kun strike a hit before we move in. Close range with these hollows obviously does not go over well."

Shuuhei nodded, he understood somewhat. Or maybe not, his head was spinning so fast he could have interpreted the entire conversation wrong.

"Alright," he lay back on the pillow, "we don't move in until Ishida-san shoots, of course that's only if we don't get hit by surprise… which is the only way we've been hit so far…" Shuuhei realized he was rambling under his breath, "I need to sleep…"

Urahara ushered everyone out of the bedroom, save Renji. As the shop keeper slid the door closed, he grinned shamelessly at Shuuhei and winked. Shuuhei tried to fix a glare on the old pervert, but he was already gone.

For a moment Renji looked slightly confused at not being told to leave with the others, but when he looked down at Shuuhei, his expression changed to one of concern.

"Are you really okay?" he asked.

Shuuhei pressed his palms into his eye sockets. "Uhh… I don't know. Maybe if this headache goes away. How is Orihime-san?"

"She made it out with just a scratch. She's fine."

"That's good." Shuuhei sighed.

Renji sat in silence for several minutes. He looked incredibly uncomfortable as Shuuhei met his eyes.

"Are you alright Abarai?" Shuuhei asked.

"Yeah," Renji looked away and started playing with the hem of his hoodie, "I just… when I woke up and saw you beside me… I thought you were dead… and I'm just…" he pulled at the fabric, tugging a string loose. He twirled it between his fingers as he chewed the inside of his cheek.

"I'm just really glad your okay… that's all…"

Shuuhei wanted to cheer, but instead just whispered, "Renji?"

Renji looked back up to meet Shuuhei's dark eyes. "Yeah?"

Shuuhei grinned. "You're fidgeting."

Renji stared blankly at his friend for a few seconds before breaking into his trademark grin. He punched Shuuhei's shoulder softly, earning him a chuckled "Ouch!" before he stood.

"Get some rest Hisagi," he said as he slid the door open, "I'll see you tomorrow."

Shuuhei let out a contented sigh and stared at the ceiling. The thought of Renji worrying about him made his lungs feel too big for his chest. A light tingling feeling swept from the back of his neck, all the way to his toes and back.

A quiet snicker came from the futon beside him.

"What?" Shuuhei growled, but a grin started to spread across his face nevertheless. He was glad for the cover of darkness as he was sure his cheeks were turning pink again.

"Shuuuuu-chaaaann, you're so cute!"

"Shut up Ayasegawa. And don't call me that."

X x X x X x X

When Shuuhei awoke several hours later, his headache was gone but his muscles were twitching. He needed to get up and do something. He stood slowly, and grabbed his jeans which were hung over a nearby chair. After quickly shedding the unnecessary cotton undergarment he slipped the jeans on, and pulled the fabric over his hips. He didn't understand why humans wore these 'boxers', the jeans were enough. He was starting to like the feel of human clothing, and considered taking his outfit back to Sereniti with him. He dragged the t-shirt over his head, and made his way down the hall.

Ikkaku and Matsumoto looked up from their card game as Shuuhei entered the room. Yumichika was asleep, wrapped in a blanket cuddled next to Ikkaku.

"Hisagi!" Matsumoto smiled up at him, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm much better, thank you." Shuuhei said as he scooped up his shoes from beside the door.

"Where are you going?" Ikkaku asked.

"I need to stretch my limbs, and this body felt sluggish when I was fighting last night. I want to try and loose it up a bit."

Ikkaku set his cards down. "Are you going to use Urahara-san's training room?"

Shuuhei was already making his way toward the back. "Yeah, wanna come?"

"Yeah, hold on," The bald shinigami removed the sleeping Yumichika from his shoulder, and gently cradled the slight man in his arms.

"Here," Matsumoto scooted closer and padded her lap.

"Thanks Rangiku," Ikkaku laid Yumichika down and stood.

Matsumoto stroked Yumichika's hair, and started to gather the cards in a pile with her free hand. "Don't be too long, Hisagi still is recovering."

Ikkaku grinned at Shuuhei, "Oh don't worry, I won't kill him."

X x X x X x X

"Shit!" Shuuhei crashed into the rock wall as he dodged a potentially fatal blow to his side. Ikkaku was grinning like a maniac. The two had been sparring for almost two hours, and Shuuhei could feel his fatigue getting the better of his reflexes.

"I don't think I've ever fought with you before Hisagi," Ikkaku remarked.

Shuuhei rubbed his shoulder, "I think that's a really good thing… for me."

"You're better than I thought you were," Ikkaku swung and, and Shuuhei blocked, "Yumichika made it sound like you were really weak."

Shuuhei sighed, "That asshole doesn't fight fair."

As Ikkaku swung again and Shuuhei ducked, kicking the bald man's feet out from under him. Ikkaku teetered sideways and just barely caught himself. Shuuhei rolled, and flipped backwards back onto his feet dodging another powerful swing. He may not have been as powerful as Ikkaku, but he knew he was faster.

"See?" Ikkaku laughed, "That's why you're good. You fight smart."

"I didn't ask for a lesson Ikkaku," Shuuhei laughed, "I just wanted to spar."

For a few minutes, the only sounds in the chamber were the clashing of Urahara's swords, and occasional compliment from Ikkaku.

"So," Ikkaku suddenly asked, "how bad is it?"

Shuuhei stopped to wipe his brow, "How bad is what?"

"Your thing with Renji," Ikkaku slung the sword over his shoulder, "how bad is it?"

Shuuhei gaped at the bald man, and lowered his sword to his side.

"Do you guys all talk about me when I'm not around or something!?"

Ikkaku picked at his teeth, "Yeah."

Shuuhei rolled his eyes, and moved to sit on a nearby rock. His muscles weren't stiff anymore, but they were getting a bit sore. He rested his sword against the rock beside him, and ran his hands through his hair.

"Uh, it's bad." He muttered.

Ikkaku snickered and moved to sit beside him. "I figured, the way you look at him reminds me of how I was when I first met Yumi. Couldn't keep my hands off him, and I didn't think I even liked guys."

Shuuhei stared at the ground; Ikkaku was one of the last people he ever thought he would be talking to about Renji. But then again, Ikkaku had been in a serious relationship for generations, why the hell shouldn't he talk to him?

"It sucks though," Shuuhei started slowly, "I can't let myself do anything cause I feel like I'm taking advantage of him."

Ikkaku looked at him almost cross eyed, "Huh?"

Shuuhei looked at Ikkaku, "He's already in love with someone else… and he's really broken up about it."

Ikkaku stared back at his friend for a few seconds. Then comprehension washed over his features and his eyes widened almost comically.

"No fucking way…" he breathed.

"I'm surprised you hadn't figured it out already." Shuuhei muttered looking back at the ground.

"Well," Ikkaku blinked, "I thought… I mean… Shit! He does a really good job of making it look like it's just friendship!"

"He's had a few years to practice."

Ikkaku rubbed his head, "That… totally blows…"

Shuuhei couldn't help but chuckle. "Thank you for putting it so eloquently."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, Ikkaku pouring over the new information, and Shuuhei building up the courage to pry into his friend's personal life.

"Madarame," Shuuhei finally spoke up, "How did you and…" he faltered as his cheeks grew hot, "How did you…"

"You tryin' to ask how I got into Yumi's pants?" Ikkaku grinned at his blushing friend.

Shuuhei glared back, "Not exactly that… but yeah."

Ikkaku puffed his chest out, "I almost died."

Shuuhei's eyebrow cocked in confusion, "Eh?"

"I almost died, and Yumi got all sentimental and girly, so I played it out as best I could… and it paid off," the grin got wider, and he leaned in close, "several times."

"Okay okay," Shuuhei pushed him away, but couldn't suppress his smile, "I don't wanna hear that part."

Ikkaku laughed and stood, heading for the ladder, "You're right though Hisagi, you can't do anything till he's over that punk or you will be taking advantage of him."

He stopped and turned back to give Shuuhei a very serious look. "If that happens, in the end… the worst one off will be you."

Shuuhei took in the words, and nodded slowly. He already knew this, but having someone else say it out loud to him strengthened his resolve. Standing, he followed his friend back into Urahara's shop.

"So did you really almost die?" Shuuhei whispered as they made their way down the hall.

"Naw," Ikkaku smirked, "but Yumi still thinks I did."

X x X x X x X

Shopping again. How did he get dragged out shopping twice in two days?

"Oi Renji," Ichigo punched his shoulder, "stop daydreaming, they're leaving us behind."

Renji tore his eyes away from the display window. Three new games had been released, and he was dying to try them out. Ichigo had introduced him to the world of video gaming the year before, and now Renji was an addict. He had wanted to bring an x-box back to Sereniti so bad, but knew Kuchiki Taichou would arduously object.

"Sorry," Renji muttered, "Hey what the hell are they doing anyway? What was so important that they had to go the store immediately? This is dangerous!"

Ichigo shrugged, "I don't fucking know. Girls gotta get… girl things."

Ahead, Orihime was chatting excitedly to Rukia and Ishida. How could they be so nonchalant with everything that was going on? Granted, the Quincy didn't look like he was enjoying himself all that much, but then again the fucker never seemed to enjoy anything. He knew Rukia appreciated this outing though; her nerves wore thin pretty quickly, and being with the bubbly red head always helped.

Renji glanced over at Ichigo. The guy had been acting really funny since their battle with the hollow in the parking lot. His eyes were far away, and instead of the perpetual scowl he always wore his face was thoughtful, relaxed even.

"Oi Ichigo," Renji said, "What are you thinking about?"

Ichigo looked back at Renji, and the red head felt his insides turn to jelly. It was absurd how his body reacted to Ichigo just looking at him. The substitute shinigami was a force to be reckoned with, a tidal wave of endless spiritual power and an unbelievable warrior. But moments like this he seemed so innocent, so young. Sometimes when he looked at Renji like that, he appeared so frail; just a young man with young worries.

Renji felt his heart clench in his chest.

Ichigo looked back at their three companions, and grabbed Renji's arm. He slowed their pace to have them fall back a few steps. When he was sure they wouldn't be overheard, he leaned towards Renji and whispered.

"When Tessai brought Inoue back to the shop after you guys got attacked, she had this cut on her forehead. It was this little cut, but you know how fucking head cuts bleed like a bitch."

Renji nodded, not sure where he was going with this.

"Well, she looked up at me with her face all covered in blood, and I had this vision of her…" he stopped and chewed his lip.

Renji put a hand on his shoulder, he knew the vision. He had experienced similar visions and dreams about Ichigo.

The younger man sighed and continued, "I saw her dead, and I remember thinking that there was no way. She couldn't be dead cause I still had so much to tell her and so many things to do with her…"

Renji squeezed Ichigo's shoulder. It was killing him inside to listen, but this was his best friend and he wanted to be supportive.

"So I decided right there, that I needed to stop messing around. I want to be everything to Inoue, and I want her to be everything to me."

Renji was beginning to get a heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He stopped walking, and turned Ichigo around to face him. "What are you trying to say Ichigo?" his throat was dry so his voice was scratchy.

Ichigo checked the group in front of them and turned back to lean in close to Renji. His breath tickled the red head's ear as he whispered.

"I'm gonna ask Inoue to marry me."

Renji stopped breathing. In all reality, if he could have formed a coherent thought at that moment, he would have realized he never wanted to breathe again. He felt pain like a knife plunge deep into his chest. His body froze, his heart froze, his soul screamed inside the gigai that held Ichigo by the shoulders. Darkness surrounded his vision, and closed in on his consciousness. He felt like he had been slapped- no, crushed, trampled.

It shouldn't have come as such a shock; after all, it wasn't like he would ever be with Ichigo. Ichigo was never going to love him. He belonged with Inoue; the two together were like halves of a sphere, or two points connecting a line. There was no room for Renji in that particular equation. No hope already so why did it hurt so fucking bad?!

Ichigo blinked at his friend's unresponsiveness, and raised a hand to shake the red head out of his frozen state.

"Renji? Oi Renji, say something."

Renji climbed back up from whatever hole he had fallen into, and tried to salvage his dignity and keep his secret.

He straightened, gripping Ichigo's shoulders tighter, and pulled off the most painful smile of his lifetime. Worse even than the one he had given Rukia when she told him she was being invited into the Kuchiki family. He had played this game before, and he could do it again. Smile. Acknowledge. Congratulate.

"I'm glad for you Ichigo. I know you two will be happy together."

Ichigo smiled then, and Renji felt the knife twist deeper. But he was saved from any other forced conversation when Orihime tackled them both. She was babbling about some kind of sweet buns, but Renji's brain had forgotten how to put words together in his head. Or maybe it just didn't want to anymore.

He followed the group like a puppet for the rest of the trip; smiling at all the right times, laughing in all the right places. But it felt like an elaborate play, with cardboard scenery and a painted backdrop. His companions were just actors dressed up as people he knew, and he was reading from a script he had memorized the day before.

The feeling continued all the way back to Urahara's shop. After helping unload the groceries, Renji considered looking for Shuuhei, but quickly decided he would rather be alone. He grabbed a bottle of sake from storage, and started for his room. But then he stopped and grabbed two more bottles, shoving them under his arms, and making his way down the hall.

"Urahara-san," he said over his shoulder, "Have someone wake me for my patrol tomorrow."

He didn't hear the shopkeepers reply over the slap of wood against wood as he closed his door. He moved to the corner of the dark space and sat. Opening the first bottle, he brought it to his lips and chugged half its contents.

It wasn't the smartest thing to do, but at that moment Renji needed the comfort of an alcohol induced stupor. He needed to get so messed up he could forget everything, just for a little while. He needed his body to be deadened; numb.

But most of all, he desperately needed protection from the dreams he knew would plague him. Dreams of soft orange hair against his face, hot pale skin sliding along his chest, and long sinuous legs wrapped around his waist as he thrust into the beautiful body beneath him.

He could not handle those dreams tonight. His heart would tear itself apart, and his soul would shatter. So he lifted the bottle to his lips, and resolved to give himself the worst alcohol poisoning ever.

Damn you Ichigo…

To be continued…