Okay I know this chapter is overdue. Sorry. You think after high school, there'll be all the time in the world, and then you realize the world wants all that time back. It expects you to take this time to do some growing up. Expectant bastard. {-D
Anyway, because I've been in such a rush to finish this for you guys, I've done NO proofreading whatsoever.
PLEASE let me know about any and all mistakes you come across and I'll change it in the blink of an eye. Also many thanks to Toukai Ikkitousen for the idea for the previous chapter to get Ichigo to read Inoue's heart with a stethoscope. Also thanks to akito kyo for pointing out many errors and sending me long emails to read (keep 'em coming. You have no idea how I love it when my reviews are more than just a couple of lines).
Thanks to Arwen Mimosa for the correction on Inoue's hair dye (hair dye can't wash out that quickly folks). She also sends me long emails to soothe my tired fic-reading eyes.
Finally, thanks to zeronorth for all the encouragement!
I value all you guys who take time to review!
Mmmuah!
Enjoy.
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9
December 24th
The bar was the epitome of the word sleazy. It was a trophy to every run-down, dank, alcohol saturated, cigarette-smoke pregnant social watering hole on the face of the planet. It was the kind of place where the beer was watered down at a ratio of 2 to 1 (2 representing the water, not the beer). It was the kind of place where the complementary pretzels served to you were the very same ones served to your grandfather; they were so hard, a couple had been used in a bar fight once. The guy who'd used said pretzels had won.
It was in such a bar as this that three kids found themselves on the 24th of December, cracking profane jokes and guzzling down thin beer. All three were in their early twenties. All three still lived with their mothers. And all three had forgotten what full beer tasted like. They fantasized about it every now and again though. All three were working their asses off through college, and being the alcohol dependent souls that they were, quality beer was way out of their budget...especially in the quantities they threw back the stuff.
Anyway, on that particularly frosty morning, four dirty mugs of watered down beer sat on their table. Three of them were half full (or half empty, as one of the three saw it). A casual observer would have easily been able to guess that the three men were awaiting someone. But there were no casual observers as it was 9 in the morning, and if not for the burly bartender the three would have been the only people in the room.
The three guys went by the names of Rusty, Crusty and Hiraku. Not so coincidentally, they all attended they same college. They were back home in Karakura for the shortest break imaginable and they were determined to make the most of it. The most of it, of course, being spending all their time laughing it up with each other, getting buzzed.
"Hey, want to hear a joke?" Rusty said. Rusty was the clown. Imagine the dirtiest joke you've ever heard, told to you by a friend of a cousin of your neighbour's aunt's best friend's twin sister. Rusty had heard it. Perhaps he had even invented it. Half his jokes had been banned in at least five countries.
"Sure." Crusty burped. Crusty was Rusty's best friend. He was the lazy one. All three were lazy but Crusty had perfected the very art of laziness. Combining 'sure' and his burp was an example of that art. That way he didn't have to take the time to do each separately.
"Bet we've already heard it." Hiraku complained under his breath. He was the pessimist. His mother didn't want him in the house because all he did was badger her with how she was never going to win at the lottery and so she might as well stop wasting her money on tickets. Sure enough, she'd never won the damned thing.
Rusty leaned in. "Okay, here it goes...this dude steps into a bar right, and he's got these three frogs..."
"Nah, you told us that one already." Crusty interrupted. "Is it the one with the chick and the bed?"
Rusty frowned. "Fuck it. I'm running out of jokes."
"No." Hiraku said with a sigh. "All your jokes are just basically the same thing."
"I'm in a slump." Rusty realized with a look of surprise. "We need new jokes. Or at least, a new story. Something to crack us up real good."
"Speaking of crack, where the fuck is that kid!" Crusty said, throwing a look in the direction of the entrance. "When I called him, he said he'd be here an hour ago."
"And 'crack' relates to this...how?" Hiraku asked.
"It's what I'll do to his head if he doesn't remember to bring the sandwiches." Crusty said. "I'm starving here."
"You could always try the pretzels."
"Ha, ha."
Just then, a figure hurried through the door, taking a seat at their table. The figure took off his hood, revealing his freckled pleasantly flushed face. "Hi everybody." he greeted. "It sure is freezing outside." He laughed cheerfully.
Hirako frowned disapprovingly at all this cheer. "What the fuck? We haven't seen you in days. And all you have for us is 'It sure is freezing outside'?"
"Where are my sandwiches?" Crusty demanded.
"Relax. They're right here." the newcomer said, pulling out a paper bag from inside his jacket. He threw it across the table to Crusty.
Crusty began devouring.
Rusty took a long good look at the newcomer. Then he said "Are you still wearing that shirt?"
Beneath the jacket, the newcomer wore a customized shirt. The shirt said: Party Naked.
Party Naked guy smiled. "I have seven of these. So what're we doing today?"
"Oh now he asks us." Hirako said sourly. "Where have you been whilst we've been having fun doing nothing?"
Their friend smiled slyly. "I was hoping you'd ask me that. Guess where I've been."
A vein popped up on Rusty's forehead. "Don't be an idiot! We just asked you that!!"
"You'd never have guessed anyway." Party Naked guy sniffed haughtily. He folded his arms. "I've been crashing a party."
This bit of news snatched the interest of his friends.
"For two days?" Crusty said in surprise. "This party must be something wild, huh?"
"Nah, actually it's pretty dull." their friend confessed with a laugh. "But there's something about the people that I like. Sure there're no naked chicks..."
"No naked chicks?" the others repeated in extreme disappointment.
"...but at least its fun. Plus the food isn't just dip and Cheez-its." Naked guy said. "Real food. With champagne."
The others groaned.
"Why the fuck are you even telling us this?" Rusty complained. "Nothing ever happens at those prissy ass parties."
"Yeah." Crusty added. "They're parties, you know. Not: par-tays."
Naked guy leaned in with a secretive smile. "Or are they?"
"Come'on." Rusty objected beforehand with a look of mild disgust. "You're not honestly going to try to convince us that this party is anything more than what it is."
"No I'm not."
Rusty relaxed.
"I'm going to let you decide for yourself." Naked guy added.
That merited another groan.
"Behold king of the douche bags everybody." Hirako said.
Naked guy ignored him. "What have we always used to rate how good a party was?"
This was an easy question. The other three answered simultaneously. "The fight."
"Yup." Naked guy said. "No party's a party without at least one fight. The rowdier, the better. The crazier, the funner to laugh our asses off about."
Hirako looked bored. "Yeah, I'm sure their diplomatic squabbles were exciting."
Naked guy grinned. "On the contrary, last night, I saw the fucking greatest fight of my life."
Silence. Suddenly, all three rested their elbows on the table, leaning in. Naked guy was beginning to win the interest of his friends.
Naked guy folded his arms, smug about how suddenly he was the centre of attention. He took a deep breath. And began.
"Okay, there're these two guys at the party, right? A red-head and this freak with blue-hair."
His friends nodded following.
Naked guy nodded with a dirty grin. "Well...last night, they got into a fight..."
000
December 23rd
December 23rd began on the oddest note for Kurosaki Ichigo. Firstly because, he didn't wake up in the manner he usually did. That morning, his wake up call was a little...um...different.
Something cold and wet rubbed at Ichigo's face repeatedly. Then suddenly it was replaced with a moist warmth that flickered across his face. Ichigo groaned and pried an eye open. Something white and fuzzy filled his field of vision. His vision sharpened.
Coco.
The sheepdog barked right into his face and Ichigo was immediately wide awake, pulling away.
"WHAT THE...!?!"
"Mornin' Ichigo!!!" Keigo's voice came from above.
The cheerful greeting sent throbbing ripples through Ichigo's brain. He tried to look up at his friend but, "Oh the light..." Ichigo groaned pathetically. He tried to sit up in his couch. And bumped his elbow into something soft.
"Mornin'!" It was Matsumoto's voice this time.
Ichigo's jaw dropped as he realized that the red-haired woman was sitting at the edge of the very couch he was sleeping in. And oh God, his elbow had prodded her tooshie!
"Naughty boy." Matsumoto teased. "What, no dinner? No movie?"
Ichigo, too sleepy to be outraged, simply sat up without making contact with any of the woman's body parts.
"Oh what the hell..." Ichigo muttered.
Like yesterday, his living room was once again brimming with the free-loaders. Every seat was filled with coffee/tea/sake drinking people, and the heavenly aroma of pancakes filled the air. The sound of chatter was also becoming more and more distinct as Ichigo's thinking cleared.
"It's breakfast time already?" Ichigo croaked. "Who let you guys in?"
"Your little sister." Keigo said, taking a seat at Ichigo's feet.
Which one?, Ichigo wanted to ask. But to tell the truth, he already knew the answer. Yuzu. Come to think of it, he had hardly seen her the whole of yesterday. Had she slept the whole day?
"Somebody please get me a coffee." Ichigo whispered as he withdrew his feet from his duvet and swung them off the couch, a little embarrassed that he was still in his pyjamas. Coco spread his toasty body over Ichigo's cold feet, and for the first time Ichigo was grateful for the mutt.
Out of nowhere, Tatsuki appeared with a steaming cup on a saucer.
A little taken aback by the speedy service, Ichigo hesitated before receiving his drink. "Thank you." Ichigo croaked. He sipped. And raised an eyebrow. Was that chocolate he could taste in his coffee?
"Rukia made that." Tatsuki explained. "Her first coffee. Cute eh?" She got herself a chair and took a seat right in front of Ichigo.
"Not bad." Ichigo said with a sigh of satisfaction. "God my head hurts."
"Well I'm sure it's not to blame on all this sake you had last night." Tatsuki replied sarcastically, holding up an empty bottle sitting at the foot of the couch.
"In my defense, that bottle was already half empty." Ichigo grumbled.
Tatsuki stared at her friend till she had caught his eye.
"What?" Ichigo asked.
"What happened yesterday?"
Ichigo furrowed his eyebrows. "What d'you mean what happened yesterday?"
"I mean with you and Inoue."
Ichigo wondered if she was bluffing or if Inoue really had told her something. Already? Was the girl-talk network that fast?
"You don't have to think it over, Ichigo." Tatsuki said. "Yes, I do know something's wrong. No, she didn't tell me. She didn't have to."
Ichigo gave up. "Ok, you're right. But you have tell me how you found out."
Tatsuki looked hesitant. Then she stood. "Fine. Take a walk with me then."
Ichigo reluctantly rose from his 'bed' and followed the ebony haired girl. She led him to the door of the kitchen.
"There." she nodded in the direction of the centre table.
The kitchen was crowded but Ichigo didn't even need to follow her eyes. Immediately, he noticed the mess of blue hair at the other end of the centre table. Then he watched in disorientation as Inoue, in an apron, brought him a plate of pancakes and a glass of milk. She hugged him from behind and planted a kiss on his cheek. Then she returned to the stove, leaving her fiance grinning with pleasure like a happy 8 year-old.
All of a sudden, Ichigo began to feel as tired as when he'd woken up. "Please tell me this is a bad dream."
"She's been like that all morning." Tatsuki said ominously, like they were witnessing first hand, the effects of a rare mental disease. "Sweet, groveling, all over him..."
Ichigo wanted to throw up. "Why???"
Tatsuki glared accusingly at him. "Well maybe if you tell me what happened the other day, I could figure it out!"
Ichigo watched Inoue pass by her fiance. She stopped and dabbed at the corners of his mouth with a napkin, beaming at him before moving on.
"This has got be a nightmare." Ichigo muttered, preferring to delude himself. "Shouldn't have drank all that damned sake."
"Spit it out Ichigo." Tatsuki ordered.
"Okay okay."
They returned to the living room, then decided to go outside the apartment for some privacy instead. And there in the corridor, Ichigo recounted to her everything that had taken place the previous day, making sure to leave out the part where he had retired to the river bank to mope like a sore loser. His story left Tatsuki with a thoughtful look on her face, her eyes downcast.
"I see what's going on here." she said, more to herself than Ichigo, her eyes still downcast.
"You do?"
Tatsuki nodded solemnly, before looking up. She gestured to him to come closer.
He did.
Closer.
He did, till his ear were practically resting on Tatsuki's lips.
Then...Tatsuki landed a painful blow on his shoulder!
"What the f..." Ichigo yelled.
"Don't 'what the f...' me." Tatsuki yelled back. "What the hell are you doing?? The girl's engaged to be married!!"
Ichigo's nostrils flared. "What's that got to do with anything?"
Tatsuki's eyes flashed. "Men! Ignorant! All of you!! Don't you know you're giving her pre-wedding jitters!" It wasn't a question.
"You're saying..."
"I'm saying." Tatsuki firmly explained. "That with all your mushy moments and cute stories of foxes and air, she's beginning to doubt her love for him! Now she's going to extremes just to prove to herself that she's still in love with him. It'll all be your fault if she abandons him at the altar."
Ichigo was beginning to understand. He scratched at his hair sheepishly. "Is that such a bad thing?" he joked.
Tatsuki threw a steely glare at him. "Kurosaki Ichigo, you're officially uninvited to their wedding."
"I was never invited in the first place. When is it anyway?"
"Spring." Tatsuki poked at Ichigo's nose with a finger. "I'll be her maid of honour. I'll be in charge of invites. Don't bother checking the mail."
Ichigo pocketed his hands and looked away. "Big deal. I won't be coming anyway."
Tatsuki heard the hurt in his voice in the last statement, and she softened. "Ichigo..." she took his face in a hand and redirected his gaze to her, searching his angry eyes. "This is hard for you. I won't even give you all that bull about knowing how you feel. Just remember that if Inoue's in love with this man- and we have to assume she is, she's marrying the damn guy- then you've got to be ready to let go of her. If you really love her, you'll let her be happy."
"Touching as your cliche speech is...." Ichigo said. "...shouldn't we be worried about the long term here? If she's having doubts maybe she's not in love with the guy."
"I'm saying stay out of the way Kurosaki Ichigo." Tatsuki warned. "You interfering can only end badly. I want you to promise me you'll stay out of the way."
"What?"
"Promise me." Tatsuki repeated.
"Fine, fine, sheesh." Ichigo muttered.
Tatsuki still stared at him, as if wanting to assure herself she'd been taken seriously. Then she said "Good. I've got to get inside. I need to remind Rukia to heat the miso soup for Renji and Uryuu. They wanted a more traditional breakfast this morning."
Ichigo's eyes lit. "Speaking of Renji and Uryuu, where are those two anyway?"
Tatsuki opened the door. "Yeah, you were asleep weren't you? Yuzu announced today's activity you know?"
"Yeah, Tatsuki, that sort of doesn't answer my question."
"They're out."
"Out where?"
"Out shopping.''
"Shopping for what?" Ichigo asked, exasperated.
Tatsuki smiled, enjoying how easy it was to piss him off. "Two words: Ice lacrosse."
000
Renji held up a black boot to his face and regarded the slender gleaming blade attached to it. Shit, he could see his reflection in the damn thing!
"Let me get this straight." Renji said. "You're supposed to wear these and race over ice with'em?!"
"Precisely." Uryuu muttered absentmindedly as his eyes meticulously inspected the hurriedly put together list of shoe sizes he'd been given that morning.
The two were in a sports and rental shop called Tempest somewhere down in Komatsu, East Karakura. The large store boasted of the widest variety of sporting equipment as well the largest numbers in stock. So of course, when the guys needed to rent 25 ice skates, 25 lacrosse sticks and 25 matching bicycle helmets at unbeatable prices, they wasted time no where else. But suddenly Renji was beginning to wish they hadn't found this place after all.
"Can you skate, Uryuu?" Renji asked, still eyeing the equipment skeptically, like it was going to slash at his neck any second.
Uryuu adjusted his glasses. "I've never actually attempted to but it can't be much different from my Hirenkyaku. It ought to be easy enough to master."
Renji's face didn't reflect Uryuu's confidence.
"Fucking human sport." Renji grumbled.
"You mean 'sports'." Uryuu corrected as they wheeled two full trolleys down to the checkout point. "We have lacrosse sticks and bicycle helmets as well. Those two pieces are meant for different sports."
"We're combining three sports?" Renji asked in surprise. "Is that allowed?"
"Anything is allowed." Uryuu answered. They had reached the checkout. He reached into his jacket for a credit card. "And anyway, we're not combining the three sports. We're just combining the three equipment. It'll still be essentially lacrosse we'll be playing this afternoon."
Renji nodded, though not understanding a word. To understand, Renji would actually need to know how lacrosse was played in the first place. Which he did not.
"They'll have them delivered to Ichigo's at 4 pm." Uryuu informed Renji after talking to the salesman. "The car's too small of this many things." So they thanked the salesman and left the shop.
Just as they stepped out unto the pavement, into the cold rush of activity of Christmas in Karakura, It hit them. The feeling. As always it sent a sinking feeling through both men, stunning them for a moment...but only for a moment.
Because for the two, It was, in fact, nothing new! Even without having to affirm that they were discussing the same thing....
"It's here again, isn't it?" Uryuu managed to say, his throat dry from the fear that enveloped him every time he had to endure this feeling.
The two men stood there, staring into the skies, the only stationary bodies in the stream of rushing townspeople
Renji grunted his consent. "It's showed up more than usual these past couple of days. It's getting confident. Cocky bastard."
They remained still. Despite the bustle surrounding them. Ignoring the few shoves they received from hurried pedestrians. They remained still and stared into the sky. Because they knew It was watching them.
It was waiting.
000
November 1st: The feeling had first hit every person in Karakura with the minutest shred of spiritual energy. It had been at very early in the morning, somewhere between the hours of 1 and 2 am.
Most people had awoken to it. Kurosaki Ichigo had not.
The feeling had not lasted for more than a minute. It had been dreadful but fleeting. Soon it was brushed off.
November 28th: The feeling returned. This time it hit harder, forcing many to open their eyes and accept the reality that something...evil...was out there. Soul Society had tried desperately to pinpoint the reiatsu within the short, short moment of that second incident. They had been unsuccessful because soon it was gone. However, at least they knew something by the end of the incident. This was no hollow. And even...Arrancar...could it be called Arrancar...? Could it really?
Again, Kurosaki Ichigo had been asleep.
December 10th: Ishida Uryuu touched down in Tokyo. The time was 4 am. Again, the feeling payed a visit to Karakura town. Uryuu noticed it...the wrongness of it...the second he was off the plane. When the feeling left, he assumed a random shinigami had taken care of it.
That was untrue.
Guess where Kurosaki Ichigo had been.
December 16th: A 9 year old girl was shot in the park at 1 am. She had run away from home and had been missing since afternoon. She was rushed to the hospital. Complications arose and the night nurses could do little. A surgeon was called in. The surgeon recognized the girl and after the surgery, asked that her family physician be informed immediately. And so Kurosaki Ichigo was awoken at 3 am.
He missed the feeling by a whisker. It had occurred at 2:55 am.
December 19th: Uryuu woke up to the feeling. He paced his apartment, worrying about whether or not to go after the feeling. It had been so long since he had done any battling of any kind. Years. He wondered why the feeling was so different. He wondered why Urahara was not rounding them up since it felt so unusual. He wondered if he was the only one who felt it, and if he was actually going crazy because there was no feeling. He wondered why he had heard nothing from Kurosaki, and if that meant that there was, in fact, nothing to worry about. Then he wondered where Kurosaki was.
Kurosaki Ichigo was in bed. In 2 hours he would be awoken by Renji.
December 22nd: A few hours before dawn. This time the feeling spanned a record total of 3 hours. It was like a hint applied with a sledge hammer.
It was early that morning, that Kurosaki Ichigo finally first felt the feeling outside of Karakura Airport.
It had taken him long enough...
000
Renji and Uryuu were there on the sidewalk for a couple of minutes. Then simultaneously, they looked down and at each other. There feeling was lifting.
"Fuck." Renji said, simply for saying it sake.
Uryuu concurred.
"Can't wait till they find that thing and slice its fucking head off." Renji muttered. "'Cause if they don't, I will. Fuckin' creepy."
Just then, they felt a reiatsu, a different kind of reiatsu this time. It felt familiar. And it seemed to be approaching them...from...
"Hitsugaya-taichou." Renji said amazed, turning around to see the child prodigy approach them. He was in his haori, and a bloody sword hung in his grasp.
"Renji. Uryuu." Hitsugaya greeted, his eyes betraying no emotions as usual.
The two men stared at the scarlet dripping blade in the boy's possession. Would he say nothing of it? Apparently not.
"Did you just...kill..." Uryuu asked, searching for a more appropriate word at first, then settling for "...It?"
Hitsugaya, with one broad sweep of his sword, flicked the blood off. "Regrettably, no." His icy demeanor however told that whoever he'd just dismembered would beg to differ. "For two days now, I have had to interrogate human souls and some very uncooperative Gillian arrancar."
Even after Aizen's defeat, the effects of his Hogyoku experiments had lingered and they came across the occasional arrancar, though more than half the time, they were of weak Gillian class. Hitsugaya added "Soul Society wants me to get some leads on this new phenomenon."
"Well, that must suck." Renji said. "So much for the Christmas experience."
Hitsugaya shrugged. "Actually, I'm rather grateful for it. You know, since..." His sentence trailed off. But his listeners knew exactly what he was talking about.
Renji sighed, embarrassed about this situation. He hated having to say sissy stuff like this: "Hitsugaya-taichou, she was perfectly fine. She forgave you a long time ago, and anyway it wasn't your fault. Her words."
Since Rukia's near accident, Hitsugaya had been unable to face the pregnant shinigami. He had returned to the horrifying news that she had almost been hit by an out of control cab. Of course, he had apologized to her as soon as she'd regained consciousness. But it had been impossible for him to stick around afterwards. He had not felt so much like he had failed a person since...well...since Hinamori.
"This work is keeping me busy." Hitsugaya said. "But its yielding no results. And anyway, I think this investigation has more to it than just an unidentified reiatsu. At first I thought I was imagining it. But after paying more attention to the reiatsu, I noticed that it wasn't just one reiatsu I was feeling..."
Uryuu frowned. "You're saying..."
"I'm saying there are two reiatsu." Hitsugaya explained, his voice dark.
Worry filled the other two as they suddenly began to contemplate all the possibilities. Two...things out there. It did not sound good.
"The first one is the dominant one." Hitsugaya explained. "It's...the feeling. Its cold. Its dark. I still have no idea what it is."
A passing by woman gave Uryuu and Renji an odd look.
Hitsugaya continued. "But it's the second one that might be our clue to all this. Or perhaps has nothing to do with this at all..."
Another passerby, a man this time, gave the two listeners a disapproving look. Renji raised an eyebrow. What the fuck was his problem?
"...the second reiatsu always activates seconds after the first reiatsu does." Hitsugaya was still explaining, ignoring the strange looks that more and more people were giving Hitsugaya and Uryuu. "It's the recessive reiatsu. Without careful attention, you can hardly recognize it, much less tell it apart from the dominant reiatsu."
"What the hell is wrong with these people?" Renji finally voiced, glaring at a woman who had scurried past them like they were diseased.
"I believe this second reiatsu might give us a lead because..." Hitsugaya said, not breaking in the least. "Because this reiatsu is familiar. We know it. Very well." He paused for effect. "This reiatsu is the presence of a..."
"WHAT THE FUCK R'Y'ALL STARING AT DAMMIT?!" Renji finally couldn't take it anymore!! They were driving him nuts!!
Even Uryuu's attention had been lost by now. He was looking over his shoulder, trying to take a look at his own back in case somehow a prank post-it of some kind had been attached to him.
"But..." Hitsugaya stuttered, genuinely surprised at how abruptly his build-up had been interrupted. "...I was just about to say the reiatsu belonged to a..."
But Renji was grabbing at the collar of a passing by teenager. "WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM, PUNK?!?" He spat.
Hitsugaya sighed. Perhaps he should have reminded them that he was not in his gigai. For the past ten or so minutes, the two men had probably looked like a couple of loonies talking to the air. Should he tell them?
No. This would be punishment for interrupting such a good suspense build-up.
He would have to tell them later.
000
At Ichigo's house, there was an ongoing bustle, though it was not the kind Ichigo was used to. This time, the numerous guests weren't hard at work ruining his home. Instead, they were cleaning it up!
"Let me take this." Tsukabishi said, relieving Ichigo of a dirty plate.
Ichigo blinked. "Uh...thanks...I guess." He had not even realized Urahara's burly shop assistant was here as well. That would imply that Jinta and Ururu were here somewhere as well. Guess when you invited one of them, you invited all of them. How the heck did all these people fit into his apartment anyway??
Ichigo found Tatsuki in the kitchen, drying some recently rinsed plates.
"Am I dying and don't know it yet?" Ichigo asked her.
She gave him a look of mixed incredulity and amusement. "What on earth are you talking about?"
"You guys are actually cleaning after yourselves."
"Ooh." Tatsuki said with a smile, returning attention to her dishes. "I guess we deserve that. We have been a bunch of slobs, haven't we?"
"I would say no but..." Ichigo paused. "Um...actually, I just won't say no."
Tatsuki rolled her eyes and threw him a napkin. "Well we're not your freakin' room service. Make yourself useful and help me out here."
Ichigo got beside his friend and grabbed a dripping plate. "Who organized all this? I mean...it sure can't be you- argh!" The words were hardly out of his mouth before Tatsuki had soapy suds coming his way.
"No it wasn't me, but its not because I can't!" Tatsuki added, trying hard to frown genuinely.
"Who was it then?"
Tatsuki hesitated. "Um...Rangiku."
"You're telling me that Matsumoto got you all to clean up my house?"
Tatsuki didn't look at him when she answered. "Uh-huh."
Ichigo looked heavenward. "Come'on Tatsuki. "
"You don't buy it?"
"Maybe if you said Chad."
"Okay, then him..."
"Tatsuki."
"...fine! It was Matt."
Ichigo was stunned. "Matt?" He finally said. "Why would he...?"
"Because he's a good guy and likes you?" she suggested and gave Ichigo a hard look.
Ichigo froze as he considered what Tatsuki had said. "Likes me? That's not good. That complicates things."
"Things like how you're going to break them up?"
"I'm not going to break them up." Ichigo muttered. "You don't honestly believe I can do that, do you? Don't you even trust me?"
"It's not you I don't trust." Tatsuki said. "It's your heart I don't trust. I'm scared it's going to have you doing something stupid."
"Well you can relax." Ichigo said, and wiped his hands off the napkin. The dishes were done. "Geez, I'm not a jackass. Why are you on my case so much today?"
Tatsuki was quiet as she also wiped her hands, contemplating whether or not telling him would be a good idea. Then she said "Because of today's activity."
Ichigo shrugged. "We're playing ice lacrosse. Big deal."
"Oh come'on, Ichigo." Tatsuki said, putting her hands on her hips. Honestly! "Do you really think that's all we're going to do? Christmas music, an ice rink and two lovebirds? Its an equation for romance. Can you really stand there and watch Inoue and Matt slow skate to The Christmas Song."
Ichigo hesitated. Then he folded his arms determinedly. "Yes."
Tatsuki cocked her head. "Yes?"
"Yes." Ichigo said. He sighed like this was such a bother. "Yes, it's time to get over this. I'll bear it."
"Even with no one to skate with?"
"Who says I'll have no one to skate with?"
"Look around Ichigo. Everyone's got somebody but you."
"I've got you."
Tatsuki suddenly stopped talking. Then she laughed nervously and ran her hand over her hair. "Yeah, about that. I haven't told you yet, but Uryuu...is sort of...my boyfriend."
Ichigo pursed his lips.
"Sorry, I know I should have told you."
"So I'm going to be skating alone?"
"Not alone. Tsukabishi'll be alone too."
Normally Ichigo wouldn't have given two craps about whether or not he was going to be skating with someone. But somehow this Christmas was turning his indifference around. The season simply wasn't a favourite to the loner. Not having anyone at all at an ice rink during Christmas was like line dancing with yourself. It was plain ridiculous and honestly, a tad bit sad.
"Don't worry I'll be fine. Who cares if I'm alone? It's just one night right?" Ichigo said, trying to show a little bit of that classic indifference Tatsuki had grown up with. He didn't pull it off too convincingly though.
But perhaps this wasn't the best time for pity. Pity would only destroy his pride further. So Tatsuki left it at that, simply nodding and giving her friend a smile.
Right on cue, Yuzu's voice from the living room. "Half an hour, people, then we start for Karasu river!"
Ichigo sighed. "Wish me luck."
Tatsuki said nothing. But in her heart, she obeyed.
000
Breathe, skate, breathe, skate...
Ichigo mentally coached, trailing vaporous breath as he skated in a wide arc. The mantra had little to do with anything because one- Ichigo was a good skater, two- he had no problem breathing in cold weather and three- it was really no challenge combining both tasks, but God, Ichigo needed something to keep his mind off Matt and Inoue.
The engaged couple were somewhere on that very river, holding hands and slow skating to Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, which was blaring over the ice rink.
Tatsuki had been right.
There had already been couples on the ice when they had arrived. Couples. Not a single person alone. Christmas trees flanked the river and fairy lights blinked in the grass. Winter, and by 4:30, darkness was already beginning to fall. Twilight in the winter was absolute magic when the weather was right, and soon Ichigo was wishing the atmosphere was so damned romantic.
In spite of all these, Ichigo had stuck around, circling the rink a few times and trying to act like he it didn't bother him that he had no one to skate with and that he was having a smashing time. Yuzu was busy counting out lacrosse sticks and helmets with Renji. Rukia wasn't doing any skating in her condition. Not while pregnant. So she sat on a bench on the bank, watching them with interest.
Thankfully, Yuzu brought the lovey-dovey-ness to an end soon enough.
"Okay enough with the mush everybody." she said, skating out unto the ice. "There'll be more time for that after the game."
Ichigo winced at that last statement.
"Everybody please follow me." Yuzu called. She began leading their group further down the river, away from the couples they had come to meet.
Renji began handing out lacrosse sticks and helmets.
"Ok..." Yuzu explained. "We're simply going to divide ourselves into two teams. The ball will be in the possession of one of those teams. What you must do is work to get the ball from the other team. For every minute a team can keep a ball, they win a point. We're playing for half an hour. At the end of the time, the team with the most points wins. Simple right?"
"Who's keeping time?" somebody called out.
"I am." Yuzu said, pulling out a stopwatch.
From nowhere, Isshin suddenly appeared at Ichigo's side, throwing his arm around his son's neck and well near killing him with a squeeze. "We'll show'em our super duper father-son lacrosse combo, won't we Ichigo?!!!"
Ichigo choked and tried to pull out of the headlock. "Dad!! I don't even know what you're talking about!!!! Let go of me dammit!!!"
Yuzu smiled at her father and brother, then resumed talking. "Check your lacrosse sticks. If yours has a red or green bandanna wrapped around it, congratulations, you're team captain."
Everyone began checking their sticks.
Ichigo's dad let out a deep barbaric guffaw. "I'm Red team captain!! Bow at my mercy Green team!!!!" He said with a large evil grin, his bandanna already around his head.
"Dad." Yuzu said gently. "We haven't picked teams yet."
"Oh."
Ichigo heard Inoue's voice going. "I've got the Green bandanna." Ichigo turned just in time to watch Matt help her tie said bandanna around her neck. He gritted his teeth.
Well at least, the captains hadn't turned out to be Matt and him. That would have been a bit too convenient.
But with the worst possible timing, Isshin suddenly yelled. "Ah! Inoue-chan!! A worthy opponent. And I would be terrified!!" Then to Ichigo's horror, the crazy man yanked him closer so that his neck was once again in his father's crushing hug. "I would be terrified if only I didn't have my kick-ass son here as my CO-CAPTAIN!!!!"
"What?!" Ichigo exclaimed. "No!! We haven't started picking teams!!"
"I have!" Isshin bellowed.
"Referee!!" Ichigo begged.
Yuzu shrugged. "Sorry Nii-san, he's captain."
"Well then I'm Inoue's co-captain too!!" Matt suddenly declared.
"What??" Inoue exclaimed, surprising everyone including Matt.
Matt smiled. "Honey don't worry. I'm just here for support. It's not fair if you're alone now is it?" He twirled his lacrosse stick, spinning it in a speeding blur before pointing it confrontationally at father and son. " We can so take these guys!"
Oh look... Ichigo thought sarcastically, a large sweat drop visible on his forehead. ...this match did turn out to be against Matt and me.
"Captains select your team." Yuzu ordered.
It took less than 5 minutes and soon the teams were as follows:
The Red team had Isshin, Ichigo, Matsumoto, Keigo, Mizuiro, Renji (who was shuffling across the ice in the oddest manner), Karin, Byakuya, Yourichi, Jinta, and a number of people who Ichigo had no idea were.
And the Green team had Inoue, Matt, Tatsuki, Urahara, Hitsugaya, Ururu, Chad, Uryuu, Chizuru, Party-Naked guy and a few other random players Matt had helped Inoue select at random.
By the time they were done, there were equal numbers on both teams.
"Great." Yuzu came between the two teams, with a ball in hand . "Captains please."
On the Green team both Matt and Inoue came forward, so reluctantly Ichigo followed his father up front.
"Sorry guys. No coin." Yuzu apologized. "Rock-paper-scissors okay? Ready?"
Isshin and Inoue's hands faced off.
"Rock, paper, scissors!!!"
Isshin: Rock.
Inoue: Scissors.
Red team's ball.
"Helmets on. Please guys, try to keep the ball in your nets." Yuzu warned as Isshin placed the ball in his lacrosse net. "And no shoving or name calling. Place nice." then she produced a blast with her whistle. "Play ball."
Isshin backed away from the other team with the ball. Matt lunged for him, but suddenly the ball was in Karin's net and she was whizzing away with it.
"That's my baby!!" Isshin yelled, embarrassing his daughter immensely.
Karin tried hard to ignore her father's cheers, instead concentrating hard on avoiding Tatsuki and Ururu with calculated swiftness. And then suddenly, she was before Hitsugaya and she panicked.
"Think fast, Kurosaki." The prodigy warned coldly.
"Karin, here!!" Ichigo called.
Without a further thought, she spun around and the ball went flying. Ichigo stretched out with his stick and the ball fell neatly into his net.
"Almost one minute!" Yuzu announced excitedly.
But then Ichigo made the mistake of looking in his sister's direction when this was said. Before Ichigo's brain could register what was happening, he was suddenly flipping over and his back met the ice with a thud, skidding across the frosted surface as he did. He was seeing stars!
"Foul!!!" Ichigo was already yelling. What the fuck?!
Matt's face was suddenly in his field of vision. "Oh crap. Sorry dude. Didn't mean that."
Now seeing who'd fouled him, Ichigo was furious! "That's a foul!!" He said, ignoring Matt's offered hand and getting up himself. "Referee!! Call a foul!!"
Yuzu looked very apologetic. "I'm really sorry Ichigo, my eyes were on my watch. I didn't see that."
"Sorry Ichigo, but that really wasn't on purpose." Mizuiro said, skating to them. "His stick got between your legs as he was skating towards you."
Isshin came over to hold back his son. "Relax kiddo. There'll be plenty more time for payback." The retired doctor grinned at Matt. "You'd better watch your back kid. No seriously...we could be looking at some major spine damage if Ichigo doesn't cool down."
Matt, to everyone's surprise, just grinned gamely. "I guess we'll just have to see then."
"I don't want you in a fight." Inoue whispered fiercely at Matt when she skated by, passing him the ball.
"Don't worry. I've got this." He reassured her. He turned to the Red team. "As an apology, we're giving you guys the ball."
Ichigo snatched it from him. Then with a deadly glare, he sent the American a telepathic message. 'Cross me again and I'll twist your neck in three different places.'
Matt just smiled.
Yuzu blew her whistle and Ichigo passed the ball to Matsumoto. From Matsumoto to Byakuya. Byakuya skated around with it for a bit, slipping through Chizuru and Uryuu. Then he came to face with Urahara...
"I'll be relieving you of that, Kuchiki-taichou." Urahara said pleasantly. He darted for the ball!
Byakuya's tone was lifeless. "Don't overestimate your abilities, merchant." Suddenly, the six-squad captain was soaring over Urahara! He landed with an icy crunch and sped away. Just as he arced through Tatsuki and Inoue, Party-Naked guy shouted "This guy's too freakin' good. Come'on guys, let's group-bust this figure skater!!"
There was suddenly a wall of four unknown faces in Byakuya's way. The captain didn't stop.
"Hadou (Blast spell)..." Byakuya chanted calmly, his free fingers lifting ominously. "...number four. White light..."
God knows what would have happened if Kuchiki Byakuya had actually completed that spell. But just then, somebody was stepping upon his shoulder, his lacrosse net now bearing the ball.
"My apologies, Kuchiki-taichou." Hitsugaya said firmly. And he leaped off with it. Any one else, and the blades would have cut right into their shoulder.
Again, just as Hitsugaya was soaring, Yourichi was quite suddenly right with him in the air!
"I'll take that." she said with a grin. In a flash, she was back on ice. Chad gave retrieving the ball a shot, but rather efficiently, his lacrosse stick was caught, yanked so that he was brought closer, and then swiftly upturned so that it interfered with his leg work and had him sprawling across the rink.
Yuzu whistled for a foul.
"People are going to think we're a bunch of extra-terrestrials at this rate." Ichigo complained to himself, as he watched curious people gather on the banks to watch.
The game went on and after the first fifteen or so minutes, both teams had managed to keep the ball of two minutes. As of then, they seemed equally matched. So far, Ichigo and Matt had had no more encounters. Anyway, both seemed to be generally avoiding them.
Ichigo dragged his tired feet though the snowy grass to Rukia during the half time. She was handing him a can of warm coffee from a thermos box before he even got there.
"Thanks." Ichigo said, his lips already on it. He emptied the can and crushed it. "Are you doing alright here?"
Rukia shrugged. "A little cold."
Ichigo looked worried. "Really? Are you sure you'll be fine?"
"It's winter. It's supposed to be cold." Rukia stated. "And anyway, I've felt this way since after the shopping trip. Maybe the baby's going to be here soon, I dunno."
Ichigo frowned worriedly. Coldness was no sign of impending labour.
Rukia didn't like Ichigo's fussing. "I'm fine. Now will you please tell Renji to get his butt here for his coffee? Oh look here he comes now."
Renji was still on the ice, though close to the bank. He was taking ridiculously small strides to them, and an observer would be quick to note how closely the lieutenant's shuffle resembled a penguin's.
"Stupid shoes." Renji grumbled as he reached them. "Whilst they're having action-packed fun, I'm still working on not loosing my footing and making a complete arse of myself."
"At least you haven't yet." Ichigo said bitterly.
"Are you still yapping about that fall." Renji said. He opened a coffee and began to drink.
"The guy's a jackass, and I know he did it on purpose." Ichigo muttered. "I'm just praying for his sake that he doesn't piss me off again. It might be ten years since I got into any kind of fight, but I'd recollect every damned move for the pleasure of kicking his ass."
"They're calling us back. Second half." Renji said, sounding not at all enthusiastic. "Ready for this?"
Ichigo steadied his helmet. "Hell yeah."
They got back out there.
000
December 24th
The bar was cold and silent, and had been exactly so for the past ten minutes.
Crusty was peering limply into his empty mug, his entire body slouched deep into his seat.
Rusty's head was on the table, and Hiraku had taken to inspecting something on his skin that wasn't quite so visible to the rest of his comrades.
The last seat was empty and was perhaps, the reason for this overextended lull in conversation.
Finally, they heard the door open and Party Naked guy strode in, a four full bottles beer in hand. He dropped them unto the table with a gentle harmony of clinks as if to say 'there'. Then he took his seat. "Okay, back to the story. Where were we?"
Rusty's head rose. "Dude, you said you were telling us the story of a fight. But all you've done so far is yap about all the..." His fingers lifted for quotation marks. "...'cool' stuff you and your prissy buddies have been up to since, like, the dawn of time. Who gives a fuck?"
"Yeah..." Crusty added. "I'm gonna have to agree with Rusty on this one..."
"You agree with Rusty on everything." Naked guy interjected.
"Clam it idiot." Hiraku snarled. "Get to your fucking point or shut up!"
"Okay okay." Naked guy laughed, enjoying their frustration immensely. "So um...you guys still want to hear the story right?"
His friends looked like they would be strangling him any second.
"Okay okay okay." Naked guy was laughing hysterically now.
Hiraku slapped him on the back. That did the trick.
"Alright, here we go then..." Naked guy said, opening his beer. "By now, the red-head and the blue-head were pretty much avoiding each other. But...they couldn't avoid each other forever now could they....?
000
December 23rd
"Here Inoue-san!"
Inoue heard Uryuu's call. She easily skated around Renji (who was still being too cautious to be a real threat), and then she passed the ball to Uryuu.
Uryuu received the ball gracefully, launching into a 360 spin as he swerved both Mizuiro and Jinta. Then he executed a perfect double cabiole right over Karin.
"Why is he using ballet?" Keigo whispered to Ichigo.
"Who cares?" Ichigo said. "All I know is, he isn't getting past us. He's going down."
They went for him.
Keigo attacked first, his stick outstretched. He missed, but just as Uryuu was turning about to avoid a collision with the young comedian, Ichigo knocked the ball clean out of his net and allowed it to fall into his.
'Yes', Ichigo thought, breathing heavily as he made away with the ball, skating furiously. 'I can't screw this up'.
They were in the final five minutes of the game, and just at the start of those five minutes, Yuzu had announced "We're in the last few minutes guys. And its still a draw. That means sudden death! Whichever team possesses the ball by the blast of the whistle wins." The announcement had had everyone's hair on end. The tension was suddenly tangible.
Ichigo skated swiftly, avoiding this guy and that, his mind racing a thousand thoughts a second. This was it. He couldn't think straight enough to figure out how long ago Yuzu's announcement had been, but then that only meant the outcome of the game was probably riding on his shoulders. If he lost the ball, it could be all over! He so did not need any pressure right now!!
Isshin's loud voice hit the icy air: "GO ICHIGO!!!! OUR VICTORY LIES IN YOUR HANDS!!! YOU'RE CAPTAIN NOW!! NOTHING CAN STOP YOU!!!!"
"SHUT UP DAD!!!!!!" Ichigo roared. He double faked Chad, spun neatly around Chizuru, released the ball over Party-Naked guy's head and recaught it behind him.
Hitsugaya made for him!
"Here Ichigo!" Matsumoto yelled. Ichigo looked but Urahara was guarding her, his eyes twinkling with evil.
"Too late Ichigo!!" Hitsugaya yelled, whipping his stick at him like a kung-fu master.
"Too slow!!" Ichigo blocked off the stick with the back of his hand, pushed him back so he was sliding backwards, then met Hitsugaya's feet with a spinning sliding tackle.
By now Yuzu was too excited to care about fouls. And anyway her eyes were on her watch again. "Thirty seconds left!" she yelled.
Uryuu and Chad attacked from opposite sides.
Ichigo jumped just in time, allowing them to crash into each other.
"Twenty seconds left!"
Ichigo's heart skipped a beat when he realized Inoue was coming for him, her lacrosse stick poised.
"Sorry." Ichigo mouthed. He came to a skidding stop, spraying ice all over Inoue so that she squealed and covered her eyes. She slided harmlessly past Ichigo.
"Ten seconds!!"
Ichigo could...
Nine.
...only think of...
Eight.
...one person...
Seven.
...who could...
Six.
...stop him now.
Five.
Matt Peterson.
Four.
Ichigo wasn't going to let him!
Three.
Where was the guy anyway?
...
"Ichigo look out!!"
Wait a minute, that voice sounded like Matt's. Huh?
All of a sudden, Ichigo felt a hand grab at his collar! He was jerked backwards, and before Ichigo knew it, his feet were in the air...Slam!!! He crashed unto the ice, his head making the most impact with the cold hardness. Were it not for the helmet, he might have had a concussion.
Ichigo groaned. There was silence after a few screams of shock, and Ichigo knew he had been given the license. That had crossed the line. That did it.
"Matt." Ichigo whispered, his body beginning to tremble with rage. Ichigo forced himself to his feet. "What the fuck is your problem?"
But the face he met was not Matt's.
For one, it was higher up than Matt's. Much, much higher up. It was a rough bearded face, concealed partially by a black skull bandanna.
Ichigo was thoroughly confused. "Who are you?"
"That's my line, motherfucker." The burly beast snarled into Ichigo's face. "We own this ice. Who the fuck're you?!"
Ichigo looked over the hooligan's head to see about thirty more just like him slip and slide right unto the ice, apparently backing up their leader.
"Is there a problem here?" Matt said, taking Ichigo's side.
"They want us off the rink." Ichigo explained dryly.
"But we paid for this rink." Matt said, looking the beast in the eye.
The big guy looked him right back in the eye. "Well guess what? I don't give a fuck. This is our rink on Saturdays. Saturday night is hockey night." The entire gang roared, thrusting hockey sticks into the air.
Ichigo's voice was cold. "Not this Saturday."
"Wrong answer buddy." Beast-san said.
But then, Inoue was suddenly between the two. "Ichigo stop it!" She turned to their bullies. "I'm sorry. We were done anyway. We'll leave right away."
The bully leered down at her. "A little too late for that, bitch." He shoved her.
The breaking jaw echoed in the air as Ichigo and Matt's fists met the beast's as one. He fell into the arms of his gang-members, bleeding heavily and utterly knocked out.
The gang members looked up in shock.
By then, every male member of both Red and Green teams were gathering behind their captains, looking casual but emanating a threatening presence. Tatsuki and Yourichi joined them.
One gang member asked. "Do you know who we are??"
"The hospital's next paraplegics?" Tatsuki guessed, cracking her knuckles.
Yourichi smiled. "The real question is: Do you know who we are?"
"You guys fucked with the wrong people this Christmas." Another gang member said, pulling out a pocket knife.
They attacked.
Ichigo connected his fists with one, two, three hooligans. Renji's lacrosse stick visited a couple of faces and Yourichi's legs and fists were blurs as they sent people flying.
"No manners. Attacking your elders. Tut-tut." Urahara said gaily. Quite calmly, he jabbed his walking stick into some guy's groin. And then said an "Oops." when he realized he's just knocked the poor bastard's soul out. Thankfully the soul-link was intact.
Gangsters rained down as they were tossed left and right! But strangely enough, they didn't seem to be dwindling at all.
"You've got to be kidding me!!" Ichigo said, as he watched more and more black jacketed creeps join in the assault. Where were they all coming from?
"I've heard of these idiots!" Isshin informed Ichigo as he knocked two heads together and dodged a swinging hockey stick. "They're known as the Dragon's Creed gang. Biggest gang of lowlifes in Karakura." Isshin head-butted another guy. "Funny thing though is, I can't believe they're such a bunch of wusses...look out Ichigo!"
Ichigo turned in time to see someone looming over him with a dagger. Suddenly though, the guy's arms twisted and went behind him. He fell to the ground, helplessly screaming 'What the fuck?!"
Byakuya came up to them, his fingers poised from recently using a spell. "This is getting out of hand. I want this ended now."
"Then lend a helping fist." Ichigo said, raising a balled fist just in time for a gangster to run his face into it.
So they went all out, fisting and kicking and spearing down opponents. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. The fight went on for a few more minutes and it was obvious to all concerned that Ichigo and his friends were winning.
And then something happened that brought the fight to an abrupt halt.
Just as Ichigo was looking around proudly at the ice littered with hooligans, and watching a few more ending fights, he noticed one other guy Matt had just beaten, getting up and following after Matt.
But the guy was walking funny. Ichigo knew he would be no match for the American. Nevertheless he shouted out a warning.
That was when the man reached into his jacket.
And then shot Matt.
000
December 24th
"Holy Shit!!" Rusty exclaimed. "You totally screwed us over! When you said the red-head and the blue-head got into a fight, you never meant with each other!"
Party-Naked guy sweat-dropped. "That's what you're surprised about?"
"What? You want us to be all ooh-ahh that one of'em got shot?" Crusty said indignantly. "What did you expect picking a fight with Dragon's Creed?!"
"Bunch o' idiots." Hiraku muttered.
Rusty sympathised, "Too bad your friend got killed though."
"He didn't get killed." Naked guy said. "He didn't even get shot!"
There was stunned silence.
"But you just said..." Crusty began.
"The guy missed, okay? He missed the shot. And just when he did, that black chick with the purple hair I was telling you about- I don't know how she moves so fuckin' fast- but suddenly she was right next to the dude." He paused. "She broke his arm."
That merited an 'ooh'.
"In four places."
And that merited a mixture of 'shit's and 'damn's.
"And that my fine sleazy friends..." Party-Naked guy concluded. "Is the story of the fucking greatest fight I have seen."
A smattering of applause from the other three.
"Thank you, thank you very much." Naked guy said standing up and bowing. "Told you this party was sick. This afternoon, we have another activity. You guys should really think about it."
His three friends contemplated it for a moment.
"What are you guys doing today?" Rusty asked.
"We're going caroling."
"Oh hell no." they chorused.
Naked guy grinned and shrugged. "Suit yourselves." He rose and pushed his chair back. "I've got to get there. Don't want to miss any of the action."
His friends just rolled their eyes and watched him leave. Then just as he reached the door...
"Hey, Zenko."
Zenko stopped, then turned around expectantly.
It was Hiraku. "Call us when something good comes up, okay?"
Zenko smiled. He nodded and exited, closing the door behind him.
000
December 23rd
The Bleach gang stood at a safe distance somewhere on the street, watching numerous ambulance and police cars haul away the opponents they had made short work of downhill.
"Well..." Yuzu finally said with a tight smile. "That sure ended in a disaster."
"Are you kidding??" Renji said, pleased to have been able to do something that day. "It was kick-ass!!! That'll teach those idiots to fuck around with good friends."
At the mention of good friends, Matt and Ichigo's eyes met briefly. Then they looked away.
Yuzu grinned at the comment. "I guess the only important team at the end of the day is one team: our team."
Everyone cheered to that and then began heading home.
Ichigo caught up with Matt. "Hey, I just wanted to say thanks, for you know, having my back out there. You were the first to stand by me back there."
Matt laughed. "Are you kidding? If you hadn't shouted that warning, that bullet would have hit me."
That was when Ichigo stopped walking. "But that's just the thing, Matt." He paused. "I saw that bullet hit you."
Matt froze.
Ichigo looked long and hard at him. "Who are you, Matt Peterson?"
Matt returned the glare.
Silence.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Was all he said.
And Ichigo watched him walk away.
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That ending might have been a bit sloppy. Too tired to do anything more for it. Again, let me know of any mistakes you might come across. I apologize for them. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. REVIEW!! *grins* As always.
Luv y'all.
Thanks. Peace. I'm out.