Disclaimer- Bleach is property of Tite Kubo.
You can read and see animations and clips from Bleach: Bearers of the Key at www . bearers-of-the-key . deviantart . com OR bearers-of-the-key . wikia . com - close the gaps) SITE CONTAINS SPOILERS OF LATER CHAPTERS!
The sun hung brightly in blue sky peppered with fluffy white clouds as Rex jogged to the track, wearing a black tank top and black shorts with orange stripes going down the sides. "Crap! Hope he didn't leave." He said as he approached the fence and walked through.
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Bleach: The Bearers of The Key
By: Derrick Flax (wabi777)
Chapter Four-NO LAZY DAY
"You're late!" Ryohei announced as he continued stretching in a gray sleeveless jacket ,and purple shorts on the red track. He had his shoulder length dark purple hair pulled into a ponytail, a single strand hung to the left, just above his scarred eye.
"Only by a few minutes." Rex responded as he neared Ryohei and began to do a quad stretch. "I ran to my house to get changed."
Ryohei shook his head before stretching his arm. "I said you could use mine."
The teen looked at Ryohei , his orange eyes giving an unimpressed look. "Really? I bet they've been in your locker since last year."
"Shut up." Ryohei retorted before heading to the starting line. "Come on!"
"I just started stretching!" He yelled in reply.
"Too bad! You shouldn't have been late." Ryohei said as he started jogging.
"But I-" Rex stopped abruptly before looking around. "Did you just call me?" He asked.
"Stop stalling!" The dark haired teen ordered as he continued to run.
"I wasn't! Nevermind." Rex said as he caught up to the jogger. "So how many laps are we running?"
"Three." Ryohei replied as continued to run at a steady pace.
"And what after this?" Rex asked as he kept up with the scarred teen.
"We sure are inquisitive today ,aren't we?" Ryohei tauntingly asked as he increased his speed.
"Whatever." Rex said before looking around and back to Ryohei, who was jogging faster. "Yeah?"
"I didn't say anything." The teen said as he picked up the pace once again.
"I could've sworn that someone called my name." Rex said before looking around fidgeting with the ring his grandfather gave him.
A gleam from the orange gem Rex wore on his right finger caught Ryohei's gray eyes. "What up with your ring?"
Rex snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Ryohei. "What about it?" He asked suspicious of what Ryohei meant.
"Well I mean something as unique as that seems like it'd be pretty expensive. How'd you get it?" The dark haired teen asked.
"It's..My grandfather gave it to me before he died." Rex said solemnly. "He made it himself actually."
"So I take it, you and him were close." Ryohei asked.
"Yeah." Rex answered before he caught sight of the dark violet bead band on Ryohei's wrist.
"Cool ban-" Rex was cut off.
"Sorry can't hear you!" Ryohei said as he picked up the pace till he was about 75 meters in front of the teen.
"You're gonna run out of steam if you keep that up! We're only on the first lap!" Rex yelled as he continued running at a steady pace.
"You didn't think that these are just your average four laps, did you?" Ryohei laughed as he picked up his speed till he was a hundred meters in front of Rex, who was now catching up to him. "These laps help increase your endurance. What you do is start out slow then around the first 100 meters , you pick up pace and keep it constant and increase it every 100 meters till you get to back to the starting line." Ryohei said as he reached the second to last 100 meters and began an all out sprint around the curve.
Rex picked up his speed till he was ten feet behind Ryohei, who had now picked up more speed and began bearing down the last straight away at full speed, leaving Rex fifty meters behind.
As Ryohei approached the finish line ,he slowed down to a slow jog before coming to a complete stop. Rex arrived ten seconds later, resting his hands on his thighs , trying to catch his breath.
"And what do we do when we get to the line?" The exasperated teen said in as he caught his breath.
"Do it again." Ryohei said as he was already jogging away from the starting line.
"Wait up!" Rex said still trying to catch his breath before stopping ,feeling as though someone was near. He turned to look back to see Matsuda ,who wore blue shorts and a white t-shirt, walking onto the track. "Hey Matsuda." Rex said with a wave.
"Oh you're here too!" The raven haired teen said as he returned the gesture, and walked up to Rex.
"You're late!" Ryohei ,who had already started on the second 100 meters , yelled from across the track.
Matsuda smiled before he yelled back at the teen. "You know I don't need to do ladders!"
Ryohei waved him off when he heard that ,before he reached the third 100 meters. He was now going at a full sprint.
"'Ladders'?" Rex asked. "You mean what we were doing were ladders, like the exercise?!"
Matsuda smiled. "Bingo! But he kind of takes it too far." He watched as the sprinting teen shot past them, and to the starting line.
A few seconds later Ryohei jogged up to the two. "You still have three laps to do!" He said as he slapped Rex on the shoulder.
The teen rubbed his shoulder. "You didn't wait up! I was still catching my breath!"
"Well go then so you can catch up!" Ryohei ordered as he pointed to the starting line,which Rex jogged over to before starting his ladders.
"Keep your form right, and pace yourself!" Ryohei instructed as he watched the neophyte reach the first hundred.
"I know!" Rex yelled.
"You know what, make this your last lap, and we'll get class started." Ryohei ordered as he walked to center of field with Matsuda ,and started stretching his calves.
"Okay." Rex replied as he sprinted down the last *straight-away, stopping slightly short of the start line.
"Come on!" Ryohei said as he waved over to the exasperated teen.
"Just gimme a sec! 'Kay?!" Rex angrily yelled between inhales.
Matsuda laughed as he sat on the turf, checking his phone, while doing a butterfly stretch. "Take your time."
After Rex made his way over to the two, Ryohei told him that the first thing they were going to do was start 10 jabs and then 10 uppercuts , and 10 hooks. After that Ryohei said that they were going to do *Six Inches for two minutes ,rest thirty seconds ,and then go again. When that exercise was complete they finished up with one last lap.
"So what are we doing tomorrow?" Rex asked as they were walking off the track to the entrance.
"Uh...whatever feels right." Ryohei responded with a grin, to which Rex gave a look of disbelief.
"He's just messin'." Matsuda said as he checked his phone,before he looked up. "We usually do the warm up and then we move on with our drills. What we did today was the warm up. Ryohei didn't want it to do too much , because he didn't want it to be too hard for you." Matsuda finished before he dodged a smack from Ryohei in a nonchalant manner.
"I could've done it!" Rex stated as he reached the fence and walked through.
"One day at a time, 'Rome wasn't built in a day'." Ryohei said as he stuck his hands in his pocket.
"'Rome wasn't built in a day.'" Matsuda mocked.
"SHUT UP!" The gray eyed teen yelled frustrated, to which Matsuda and Rex laughed.
"That's what you get for trying to act all wise." Rex chimed in with a laugh.
"But he is wise." Matsuda smiled.
"Thank you!" Ryohei yelled.
"Yes, he is Wise Wyohei~" Matsuda taunted before he and Rex laughed.
A vein appeared on Ryohei's forhead. "SHUT IT!" He yelled.
Rex looked at Matsuda with a grin. "We should do as 'Wise Wyo Wo' says~!" He said before he and Matsuda burst out in laughter again.
More veins appeared on the forehead of the frustrated teen, who clenched his teeth. "Seriously!" He yelled before the two guys burst out in laughter.
Rex wiped a tear from his eye as he walked out of the school yard and onto the sidewalk. "See you tomorrow." He said as he waved at Ryohei and Matsuda, who were walking the other way.
He turned back around ,before bumping into a white haired guy with bright green eyes.
"Watch it." Rex said as rubbed his head.
"Oh sorry." The guy said with a smile as he moved to the side.
Rex looked at the white haired teenager, who wore a red jacket with matching pants, before giving a low grunt and walked away, unaware that his cell phone dropped from his pocket.
Meanwhile Ryohei and Matsuda continued to walk to their house. "So what do you think of Asami-chan?" Matsuda asked as he continued texting.
This question surprised Ryohei ,who was lost in his own thoughts. "Your sister? Why?!" He asked loudly. "What are you planning?"
Matsuda turned around and smiled. "I'm setting you up!"
"The hell you are! Gimme that!" Ryohei yelled as he started to grab at the phone.
"But if you take it, Asami-chan will never get the message~!" Matsuda explained as he held his hand away from the angered teen,who continued to grab at the phone, before he finally snatched it.
"That's too bad!" Ryohei snickered as he started to delete the message.
"Ryohei-kun~" Matsuda said darkly with smile. "Asami-chan will not be pleased to hear that you took my phone away from me."
Ryohei sweatdropped as he stopped deleting the message. "T-T-That's right. Take it. I'm sorry." He said as he handed the phone back.
"Don't be." Matsuda replied. "Besides, I have my back up." He smiled idiotically as he pulled out another cell phone.
"What the heck?!" Ryohei yelled . "Why do you have two cell phones?!"
"You never know." Matsuda smiled before he returned to texting.
"Wh-What are you typing?! Don't text her anything from me." Ryohei said as they turned the corner ,going down the street which lead to their houses.
"Mhm." Matsuda nonchalantly replied as he continued texting.
"I mean it!" Ryohei warned as they approached Matsuda's house.
Matsuda began making his way up the steps to his house. "Dear Asami-chan...Ryohei loves you!" He said before running to the door.
"I do not!" Ryohei yelled as he chased after him. He was about to take a step on their walkway but thought it best to not to, in order to avoid Asami's wrath. He glared at Matsuda who grinned
"You..." Ryohei said as he clenched his teeth.
"Good night!" Matsuda smiled, before walking into his house.
Ryohei sighed and shook his head as continued to walk to his apartment a few buildings away.
"I'm home!" Matsuda said as he took off his shoes and walked into the living room. "Asami-?"
"You're late." Came a cold reply from his sister who rearranged a picture on the shelf.
"I know, it ran longer than what I thought. Sorry." He said as he poured himself a glass of water from the kitchen, before walking up stairs.
"Is Aunt Mu back yet?" He yelled down.
"No," Asami replied as she opened her Biology book. "She said she's gonna be out late! She's says it's for her 'girls night out.'"
"Ew!" Matsuda replied from his room as he flipped the tv on.
A click echoed through a small apartment as the door handle turned left ,and Ryohei walked in.
All was silent in the room, except for the hum the light made. Ryohei sighed as he set his bag down on the couch and walked over to a photo he left on a small table.
"Hey Mom." He said as he took off the beaded bracelet ,and placed it in front of the photo, before he sat down in front of the table, pretzel style. "Today was a good day." He began.
"I actually went to school. I was a little late ,but I got there!" He laughed before trailing off, letting silence return. "I'm..sorry." He said as hung his head, and clenched his fists.
The white haired teen bent down and picked up Rex's cell phone. He looked it over then caught up with him. "I think you dropped something."
Rex turned around when he heard the guy's voice. "Uh thanks." He said as he held out his hand and with the other rubbed the back of his neck.
The emerald eye teen handed the phone over with a smile.. "Careful, you wouldn't want to lose this now would you?"
Rex gave a frown that bordered on a sneer, before sighing. "You're right," Rex said as he took the ear phone's in his pocket and plugged them into his phone. "Okay well thanks -" He was interrupted as his stomach growled.
"Uh I'm gonna get something to eat from McDonalds. You can join me, only if I don't have to pay for you." Rex offered in his own way.
"Alright, and I can pay for myself." The guy smiled.
Rex nodded nonchalantly as he made his way to the fast food restaurant. He opened the door for a lady before walking in. "So, you didn't tell me your name." He stated to the guy before,he walked up to the counter.
"I'm Daisuke." Replied the white haired teen.
Rex took note of this. He gave an acknowledging nod before paying for his food ,and walking to a wasn't sure if Daisuke, who had just order his food,wanted to sit or not.
"And your name is?" Daisuke asked as he took a seat across from the teen.
"I'm Rex." He said as he took a sip from the soda he bought. "So do you go to school? I haven't seen you around."
Daisuke nodded as he bite into his burger. "Yeah, I go to Karakura High. I'm a senior."
"Really? I thought you were like a sophomore." Rex said.
Daisuke smiled. "I get that alot actually. What about you?"
Rex looked confused. "Do I get comments that I look young?" He asked.
"No, I mean what classification are you? Senior Junior, Freshman?" Daisuke clarified.
"Oh, I'm a junior." Rex said with one his rare chuckles, before that faded. Out of the corner of his eye , he saw one of those spirits floating by. It was the man from school earlier that day. He floated up to the table.
"Hey! You can see me right? I know you can!"
Rex sighed before he pulled out his cell phone. "Um will you let me get this ?" He asked before he put the phone to his ear. "Yes, I can see you. What do you want?"
The middle aged man floated in front of Daisuke and pointed to his face. "Can he see me too?"
Rex rubbed the inner corners of his eyes when he heard this. "No-I don't know! If he's not shooing you away ,I guess not. Why? What do you want?" The irritable teen asked as the man floated next to Daisuke.
"BOO~ I'm a ghost BOO~!"
Rex facepalmed. "Are you done?!"
"I can't see you, but I can hear you." Daisuke said after he drank some his soda. "And yes, I know what you are."
Rex nearly dropped his phone when he heard Daisuke say this. "You can hear him?" He was about to ask more when suddenly the phone rang loudly in his ear. "DANG IT!" He said as pulled his ear away.
Daisuke smiled at this. "Who is it?"
Rex looked at the phone, that read. "New message!" Rex noted it and turned back to Daisuke. "Just a message. But you can hear them too?" He asked as he leaned in, interested in the fact in what his new friend had to say.
Daisuke nodded. "Yeah, for about four years now. It scared me at first but I've gotten used to them."
Rex leaned back in his chair as he tapped his phone lightly against his chin. "I've just started seeing them , today." He gave a slight smile as he thought about what he looked like. "People thought I was crazy, probably still do." He said as he snapped out of his thoughts.
"HEY! HEY! Don't ignore me!" The ghost said as he turned to Rex ,shoving a finger into his nose. "Young man-" The plus was cut off as Rex stuck a straw up the man's nose.
"Shut up."
Daisuke laughed."Well, I don't think you're crazy. That ghost on the other hand..."
The plus floated back quickly in disgust. "You -T-That's disrespectful! You should Never-" He turned to Daisuke and pointed a finger at him. "And you! I'm not crazy." He said as he shook the chain hanging on his chest at taunting teen. "I'm just a wandering soul! Where do I go now?!"
"How should I know?" Asked Daisuke before he looked over at Rex. "Any Ideas?"
Rex , who was eating his burger, gave a mundane look at the ghost before turning to Daisuke ,and shrugging. "Nope , I just started seeing them today." He then noticed the ghost's chain got a little smaller, and the man suddenly clutched his chest .
"You disrespectful children!" The ghost said before flying through the ceiling.
Rex furrowed his eyebrows, still wondering what happened, before turning to Daisuke. "That's weird."
Daisuke looked confused. "What happened?"
"He just clutched his chest and flew through the ceiling."
Daisuke raised an eyebrow, "Really? That's not good, hope he's ok."
Rex nodded in agreement as he finished his burger. "Dang it," He said as his phone vibrated. "I have to came up." He stood up and threw his trash away, and walked to door.
"Same here." Daisuke said as he followed him out.
Rex stretched his arm. "Darn I think I pulled a muscle during practice."
Daisuke looked up. "Practice? For what?"
"It's not actually practice, it's just classes." Rex said as he corrected himself. "It's for judo pra- classes." Rex said, remembering to say classes instead of practice as he proceeded to walk down the sidewalk. "They have them after school in a nearby dojo supposedly."
Daisuke raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"
Rex sighed. "Well today was my first day and all we did was warm up and do a few moves on the field."
"Can I come?" Asked Daisuke.
Rex nodded. "Sure. It can be a little ...intense sometimes though." Rex said as he remembered how intense Ryohei was during the warm up.
"Alright, I might stop by there sometime." Daisuke said before waving. "Well my stop's over here." He said as walked over to the park.
Rex waved back and continued walking till he was home. He opened door to see his dad on the phone. He waved before heading up the stairs and into his room. He walked to the bed and flopped down, exhausted.
/I wonder when I'll get used to these spirits./ He thought as he stared up at the ceiling.
/And why can I see them in the first place?/ He shook his head before closing his eyes, and he fell asleep.
Elsewhere the ghost floated to an alley, clutching his chest, as the chain continued to eat itself. He dropped to his knees when the pain finally stopped. "I'd say I have about a week or two before the chain completely erodes." He said he caught his breath. He took another deep breath and stood up. "I need to get help before it does." He told himself as he began to float into the night sky.
-END of Bleach: Chapter four: No Lazy Day-
OMAKE One
Rex lies in his bed before realizing he had a message from earlier. He sits up and plays it.
"Hey Rex here. Leave your name and number and I'll get back to you. *beep*"
After the beep , Rex only heard loud breathing.
after a few seconds a whisper spoke.
"I just wanted to hear your voice again. Rex-ku- I mean uh 'Rex'. *beep*"
Rex gave a confused look."What the he-"
Meanwhile Sachi sits on her bed, replaying Rex's message ,which she recorded on her tape recorder.
"Hey Rex here. Leave your name and number and I'll get back to you. *beep*"
A smile creeps onto her face as she,yet again, replays the message.
OMAKE One - END