Disclaimer : Nah but just in case you're wondering, no i don't own bleach. I'm just making them dance to my tune.
Important note : I normally don't do this but its just so perfect that I don't even care. First my dear readers, at this point, download/stream the song "Believe" by "Skillet" from the album "Awake" and put it on loop. If you already have that, you're awesome. You could say that this is like the soundtrack for this chapter. I wrote it while listening to this song and i firmly believe (see what I did there? :D) this'll enhance your reading experience, when you see "$$$" (without brackets) play the song, Enjoy!
Chapter 6 : Sunburn
"Son of a..." Ikumi cursed for the infinitieth time, she burned her hand over the stove she has worked over for most likely, more than thousand of hours. She was so distracted that it was a miracle anything was getting done in this household, it has been this way since the...
"No! Don't think about that!" Ikumi thought vehemently. She distracted herself by making a chicken pie, again.
It was repetitive process ingrained into her mind in a form of muscle memory. No matter how hard she tried to distract herself by doing kitchen work, she just succeeded into focusing what she was trying to forget. Its not like she hadn't tried everything else. She tried doing deliveries when Ichigo didn't come yesterday, she tried hanging out with her friends, she even tried meditation to calm her down but whenever she closed her eyes all she she could feel, see and hear was Ichigo...
"No no NO! Goddammit No! I don't wanna think about that, I don't wanna think about that, I don't wanna..."
She chanted this in her mind like some sort of mantra, it was working but barely... She could feel herself calming down, the throbbing pain in her frontal lobe was subsiding slowly, giving her the sweet feeling of Ecstasy.
Then she stopped and took some big breaths to calm down and just when she was about to resume her pie making..
"Mom" Karou spoke almost in her ear.
Ikumi jumped a good way forward and looked back at Karou with fanatic eyes,
"How many times have I told you to announce yourself!" Ikumi spoke, half angry at him for not listening to her and half angry at herself for behaving like that.
Karou was looking at his mother with odd eyes, his mother rarely spoke with such high voice and was rarely frazzled. So this was an odd turn of events for her. He decided to be cautious and said,
"Mom...?"
Hearing that hesitant tone in her son's voice made her snap out of her stupor and she smiled sweetly at her son and said "Be sure to not to do that to mama again, OK? Else I'm gonna be very angry" she started with the sweet voice she used with her son and finished with a mocking anger tone and flashed a smile at her son to soothe his worries.
Karou wasn't fooled, since the day before yesterday, his mom has been acting very strange. When she came home that night, he asked where she was and she walked right past him and didn't bother to answer him as if she didn't see him. He was standing right in front of her! How could she not see him? He chalked it up to exhaustion but then how would he explain yesterday morning? His mother woke up late with bloodshot eyes as if she didn't sleep the whole night and didn't even greet him and started making breakfast in which she was so distracted that she nearly burned herself, twice.
It was clear his mother was hiding something but he didn't push, if she wanted him to know, she'd tell him. Otherwise no point pestering her about it. He looked at his mom and saw she looked incredibly tried, so he asked if he could help. Hey, his mother taught him nothing if not to be a gentleman.
"You look tired mom, can i help?" Karou asked cautiously but with a hint of concern in his voice.
"No... Honey its just... I'm just..."
"Think Ikumi think!" She racked her brain in a vain effort to come up with something believable. Just when she was about to give up an idea hit her "Yes! That's perfect! He won't ask anymore questions and its perfectly believable"
"I'm just tried honey... Its womanly stuff.. Nothing to worry about,.." She gave him a tired smile.
"oh...OH!" Karou was suddenly embarrassed for presuming things and lowered his head and said
"Its... its okay mom.. You don't have to explain it to me, its just... you looked so tired that I wanted to help."
"That's very sweet of you young man, now wash your hands and sit down, pie will be ready in just a minute" she said with tired voice.
"Yes mom.." Karou's fading voice could be heard as he made his way to the washroom.
Ikumi huffed and thought that was way too close for comfort, from now on she has to maintain her image in front of son more firmly, which seems to be an effort now there's a certain orange haired person who somehow could leave her with a jumbled mess of thoughts without even trying. Was that good or bad? Ikumi felt angry at herself for even contemplating such thoughts and concentrated on watching the pie bake. When her eyes lost focus while watching the pie bake, her mind unconsciously went to far away days when she didn't have to think twice about disciplining him, she could just put his head against her breasts and he'll be red as a tomato and start sputtering nonsense. Now if she tried that she's afraid it'll bring more effect to her than him anyway. She thought of the days when he acted defiant, the fiery glint in his eyes may have scared other people away but she was Ikumi Unagiya, handling him was child's play. Maybe not so much now...
She remembered how his eyes soften when she acted sympathetic towards him, in his eyes there was a look that begged her to continue her kindness and acceptance to him but something was holding him back. She could feel him wanting to share his worries with her, like she asked to but he always seemed hesitant. Was he afraid that he'll be judged or maybe Ikumi would thought bad of him? Thats preposterous! Ichigo maybe was harsh, brash and a little... OK a lot more rough around the edges but he was a good person.
When she first hired him, she thought of him nothing more than a brat, with absolutely no common sense and respect for the elders. As time seem to flow forward she came to see him as a damaged person, maybe more so than her. He was harboring a great pain which was eating him away. When he acted defiant and angry she knew how to counter that, with a good blow to the head or a kick to the groin. But when he cried on that riverbank, she didn't know what to do but she felt kinship toward him. She was never good at these mushy emotional stuff. She didn't have time to, she was seventeen when she had Karou on a misguided notion of love but that's not to say that Karou was a mistake, on the contrary he's the best thing that happened to her. Before she announced the pregnancy, Karou's father used to lavish money, time and love to her. It was her first time experiencing love in the emotional and physical sense, she was so overwhelmed that she thought Karou's father would stick around forever, they were in love... Weren't they? She realised how foolish she was being when Karou's father left, she was five month into pregnancy. They'd talked about marriage, living far away from here, starting a life together... Everything.
At first she couldn't believe it... He left? She was in denial for so long that her parents had to step in, they made her understand that he's never coming back but right now the life inside her needs her back. It needs it's mother back. Ikumi stared blankly at both of them and thanked them for coming here and talking some sense into her. .
That night she wailed, for the first and last time, she vowed. Her child needs her and there's nothing more important than that.
She thought she'd given up on mans. There were many proposals and marriage promises but she stayed firm on her belief.
"Man, not to be trusted" she thought nostalgically.
But why is it then that her idiot assistant unlocks something in her heart that is so vague yet so familiar...
Its the state of trust, dependence and dare she say... Love?
Ikumi reeled back as if someone had physically pushed her and vehemently though,"What?! NO! Godamnit! I don't love him, I can't love him. He's an idiot who doesn't know his ass from a hole on the ground. I can't ..don't love him"
She remembered the day on train. She should've disengaged the moment she fell on him. But by the way his hand moved around her waist, snaking her close to his chest where that faint but maddening scent of meadow and musk resided, she surrendered. How many years has it been since she was held like this? Ten years? Right now she didn't want to let go, her mind didn't seem to care who was the person in front of her but she knew that she wanted to be held like this a moment longer, feel this safe a moment longer. Wanting to be more close to this person in front of her, her unconscious mind molded her body to fit his, she caught his collar and tugged him roughly to come even closer and then she nuzzled his neck with her nose to smell more of that intoxicating scent.
When he told her that they had to move, she didn't trust her voice to answer him, it was likely to be hoarse and raspy from all the emotion that was flooding her mind. She sighed, put her head on his shoulder and gave in to him. Let him decide what he wanted to do. When she felt a gentle tug on her waist, she didn't know what to feel but she knew what to do. She went with his lead without a second thought and suddenly her back was on the window pane with Ichigo no more than six inches away. She couldn't look him in the eye, she was afraid he'll see all that she was feeling for him at that moment. She decided that their shoes were much more interesting than that lovely face. When the train suddenly jerked and caused Ikumi to look up she saw Ichigo with a very identifiable look on his face. He was looking at her with half lidded eyes, his eyes seemed to have changed in colors, in the dying sunlight of that beautiful winter afternoon which was seeping through that window, they looked golden like molten gold. He was so close and though looking at her with half lidded eyes, looking at her so clearly that she could count his eyelashes. The moment seem to freeze. Ikumi couldn't understand what was happening to her body, she was inching forward, her lips parting without her conscious command, slowly but surely and Ichigo was doing the same.. It was almost as if they were about to... About to...
Then suddenly the train door swished open and they snapped out of her daze. That time she was saved by godly intervention, she might not be so lucky every time.
This was dangerous... Ichigo Kurosaki was dangerous. She never thought she'd say this.
Ikumi Unagiya was a proud woman and she'd rather die than admit this to anyone, but she... She was...
She was afraid.
She was afraid of Ichigo Kurosaki and of what he could do to her. Ikumi was a self-sufficient woman, who didn't need a man in her life or so she thought. Many people depended on her, that includes her most precious child and she'd rather kill herself than deprive him of anything.
With her priority set straight, her decision became much clear.
Ichigo calmly walked down the hall and into the kitchen hoping to find his beautiful boss. It seems like she wasn't there and so he made his way to the makeshift office that was also a spare bedroom. He lightly called out to her
"Ikumi-san? Ikumi-san?"
He saw her over the desk scribbling something down with utmost concentration, which explains why she didn't hear him. Curious to see what had her attention to that extent, he made his way to her like a cat. Without a whisper he peeked over her left shoulder to see what she was writing. But unfortunately he exhaled and that breath hit Ikumi right in the shoulder and she nearly jumped over the desk. When she looked back at him she was furious and shouted,
"You idiot! Don't you have any manners or common sense at all? Who sneaks up on people?!"
Ichigo smiled cheekily at her knowing that she didn't mean anything by it. After spending almost half a year with her, he was beginning to understand her, albeit slowly. She was so familiar in some ways to him that it was scary, like how she would mask her true emotions behind fake anger or sometimes very real anger. Or how she would take care of everyone and if someone called her on it she'd blatantly deny everything.
The time Ichigo spend with her regardless of whether he was doing deliveries or doing menial chores for her, he never felt bad. On the contrary, sometimes it felt good. Ikumi wasn't a person who'd coddle you, if she didn't like something she'd let you know. If you suck at what what you're doing she'd let you know. She was the confrontational type, she'd get in your face and that's what Ichigo liked. Too many people treated him with great care like he was some china figurine. Yes he was helpless now, no one needed to remind him constantly for every waking moment of his life, he felt it all around him. The helplessness, the suffocating feeling of worthlessness, it was... Is eating him away. No matter what he does, who he does it with there's always a feeling of melancholyness in their attitude that Ichigo himself wanted to forget.
This is why he liked Ikumi-san's company more than his friends. She didn't make him feel worthless. In her shop he still mattered and he liked that, he liked being needed. And not once she asked or pushed about the things that bugged her about him, he was sure she had many questions but she held them back, be could see it in her eyes. But she was waiting for him to come to her.
A few days ago she voiced her thoughts and Ichigo was about ninety percent sure that she saw him on that riverbank in that state and took care of him. The thought at first terrified him, he didn't want to be this weak in front of anyone, let alone in front of the one person he thought he could find solace in. But not only she took care of him, she also didn't ask any questions about that incident. He was grateful for her consideration and considered many times to open up to her, since she took the risk of telling him that she wouldn't mind if he does share his woes with her.
After that day he tried to tell her what happened to him at the riverbank. He thought he would never find the strength to explain this to anyone. But strangely he didn't find the thought of her knowing everything about him threatening. It felt soothing. Maybe its because she didn't judge him ever or because of her genuine concern. He thought that he would tell her everything. He thought it'd feel good to let another soul know.
Then the train incident happened and quite frankly he wasn't as much spooked as he thought he would be if something like this happened. On that train, holding her so close to him, feeling her perfect curves and edges against him felt almost... Natural, like it's supposed to be. THAT sacred the shit out of him.
Ikumi-san and...him? The mere thought sounded delusional and suicidal, she would cut off his balls and make meatballs out of them and feed them to him if she knew which way his thoughts were progressing. But in that congested compartment of that heavenly train the thought of them being together didn't sound so crazy. The way she clung to him gave him hope of something that he thought he would never have the pleasure to have.
The day before yesterday when he got home all he could think of was her. How perfectly she fit him, like a long lost piece of the same puzzle, Ying-yan. He had to take a cold shower to calm down his body and drown his much vulgar thoughts. Hey! It wasn't his fault that he could still remember how she smelled or how she molded herself to fit him better. Honestly he didn't know what he was thinking when he grabbed her waist, it was instinctual actually, he saw her falling and he reacted instantly. He never thought that would invoke this type of reaction within her. She truly was a mysterious creature who was now looking or rather glaring at his amused face. He better answer quickly or she might call upon her inner devil.
"Just wanted to see what you're doing so intensively that you didn't even hear me coming in, Ikumi-san." He finished innocently
Her glare changed into a curious look as she took notice of his attire,
"Why are soaking wet Ichigo?"
"Some kid with a fast car decided to give me a shower..." Ichigo grumbled with barely contained fury at the bastard. "I better not see you in karakura again or the cemetery will gain a new tombstone" he thought darkly.
"You'll catch cold if you stay in that any longer, take a bath here" Ikumi said thoughtfully.
"What?! No! That would be imposing on you Ikumi-san. I just came to tell you that I'll be late because of this. I'll go home and take a shower be right back ASAP" Ichigo said embarrassedly.
"Nonsense, you can take the shower right there in that spare bathroom and leave the clothes, I'll dry them out for you" Ikumi said.
"OK..." Ichigo said timidly.
Then he made his way to the bathroom and started undressing. First he took off his black jacket and then took off his V-neck T-shirt and was absentmindedly unbuckling his belt and heard someone grasp, he turned around to see who was that and was greeted by a unusually bashful Ikumi-san, who was looking everywhere but at him. He thought "what happened?" And then he suddenly remember that he's half naked in front of her. His first instinct was to cover himself up but then he thought of teasing her a bit. Give her a bit of her own medicine. He smirked and turned around with his jacket and t-shirt in hand and made his way to her.
"Ikumi-san, these are drenched. I don't think you can dry them out that fast. Could you lend me a shirt or T-shirt? And while you're at it could you also dry out my Jeans?" Ichigo said smiling at her, fully aware how uncomfortable she was.
"Ye...yeah, just put them on that chair when you're inside the bathroom and I'll dry them out..." Ikumi still not meeting his eye or looking anywhere near him, finished in a quite tone.
"Thank you Ikumi-san! You're a life saver" in a rare and rather bold display of affection he pecked her cheek and drew back sheepishly to observer her reaction.
Unless she was coming down with the flu, that red tint on her check validated that she was blushing. Ichigo had the emotional understanding of a rock but even he knew what this meant. Whatever he felt or what he thought he felt was at least somewhat mutual.
"Yeah... You're welcome" Ikumi said in a hurry and nearly bolted from there without the clothes but returned briefly to take them off his hand and made large strides out of the room.
If she stuck around she could've saw the booming smile that Ichigo was wearing. His heart felt the lightest since his power loss. He lightly hummed as he made his way to the bathroom.
Ikumi had to lie down on the couch, she didn't trust her knees. They were about to give out on that room in front of that idiot.
She lightly touched the part of her cheek where Ichigo kissed her and felt the same tingling sensation she felt then. What was that brat thinking? Playing with her like that!? She'll make sure to kick him in the groin for the stunt he pulled.
She was just pondering a whole ago that if he was indeed dangerous, now there's no doubt in her mind. Ichigo Kurosaki is the most dangerous entity she has ever faced. He was able to reduce her to a bashful school girl with a kiss on her cheek and a disarming smile. This was not good, this was bad... She had to constantly remind herself of the betrayal that was done to her, to keep her emotions in check. But as time passes, it is becoming harder and harder to do so. Its hard to think of him as an evil entity when he was wearing that disarming smile. So childlike yet so mature. He was able to switch between his two persona so fast and suavely that she was having trouble to keep up. One moment he doesn't understand the simplest things and in the other he was looking at her like she was a three course meal and he was a starving man.
This was not right, this shouldn't happen. He was her assistance and apprentice. She was supposed to teach him business and in turn he would help her running the business. What strange turn of events...
Suddenly she remembered that the sixth batch of chicken pie was still in the oven and was likely very charred from how long she was neglecting it
"Oh shit!" She thought as she scrambled to the kitchen only to find that the pie was still cooking, it'll only take a few more minutes to cook to perfection. She rested her head on the counter top and dozed lightly. She came back a few minutes later from the smell of the pie. She opened the oven door and the savory aroma of a perfectly cooked chicken pie invaded her nostrils. Just as she was about to bring it out if the oven, a hand came from below her hand and cupped her hand gently and she heard,
"Allow me.."
The heavy timbre of that voice made her shrudder. And she allowed him to cup her hands into his and when she felt the touch of his naked chest against her, she almost fainted but kept composure. He was bringing the pie out of the oven so slowly she thought they might never part.
At last he brought the pie up to the country top and moved in to be more closer to her. His hands cupping her and rested on the counter top, his chest touching her back. It was almost like a hug but Ichigo was standing behind her.
He then moved their hands off the counter and brought them to her belly and moved his head to be on her right shoulder. He gave her a small squeeze on her hand and drew her back to his chest. He could still smell that beautiful lavender scent. That day on the train he smelled her hair but the scent was faint. Beacuse it didn't originated from there, the smell was much stronger on her neck. He nuzzled her neck to devour more of that beautiful smell. He felt her going limp on his hold. She was sighing. He gave a kiss behind her right ear, just below her earlobe and in a raspy voice called out to her,
"Ikumi-san..."
$$$- play the damn song
She gave a little moan and twisted in his hands, her face was in the crook of his neck. She pushed him away with her both hands, still panting. He looked at her with confused eyes and she looked at him with fearful ones.
He took a step forward to be near her again, to hold her in his arms and reassure that everything is alright but he halted immediately when he saw her backing away.
"Stay... Stay away from me..." She said in a meek voice so unlike her.
"Ikumi-san... Wha... What's wrong...?" Ichigo's eyes clouded in confusion, he was visibly hurt by her rejection.
By now Ikumi composed herself enough to stand straight and look him in the eye. The fiery glint in her eyes didn't lessen a bit when she saw him hurt.
"Ichigo, what are you doing?" She asked, her voice stern and tight from the anger she was hiding.
"I... Um... Wha.." Ichigo stammered away as he could not understand what could've changed her attitude so drastically. One moment she was sighing happily in his arms and on the other she's pushing him away and glaring at him like he's some sort of criminal.
"Let me clear up any confusion you might have." She started in a stem voice. "What you did right now was very inappropriate and unwanted. I've never once indicated anything slightly to that direction, you're mistaken if you think I'm infatuated with you. I've been showing you kindness because I saw you that day on that riverbank, crying. I don't know what prompted that but I just thought I'll be a bit more kind toward you, clearly that idea was misplaced. You don't even understand how to separate emotions. The kindness I showed towards you was purely platonic, listen to me loud and clear if you didn't get it the first time, I have no romantic feeling towards you, I did not have and I will not have. I'll forgive you this time because you're still young and don't know the consequences of your actions but if you ever touch me again" she stopped to take a breath and screamed the next part "I'll kill you!" Ikumi finished with what looked like a disgusted huff.
As Ichigo was listening to her, at the first few sentences the confusion on his faded and he was listening to her with his mouth agape with a expression of astonishment. When she finished his jaw was grinding against each other so harshly that he thought they'd come out but he could care less at that moment for that. His eyes took the dull blue color and his expression became unreadable. He uttered only one sentence,
"Is that so?"
Ikumi looked at him and found his expression unreadable and his eyes dull. Somewhere back of her heart, it hurt to see the eyes she knew to be so expressive, to be so full of life, become dull. His eyes were almost stone blue color. The hardness in them made her take a step back and she defiantly answered
"Yes, if you ever even try to touch me I'll kill you" came her calm reply.
"I see..." He started with a noticeably calm voice that's so unlike him, she has never heard him so calm.
"I'm sorry Ikumi-san, its just as you said, I've misunderstood several things, rest assured in the future I'll not be making such mistakes" The formal tone he used sounded bitter in her ear and he wasn't a bit sorry or maybe he was, the expression he was wearing now was impossible to read.
"And I'm sorry that I've touched you, rest assured that you won't have to kill me as I'll never touch you again for as long as I live, now if you'll excuse me. I'm in no condition to work today, I'm feeling quite warm and I fear I'm coming down with the flu." A blatant lie, but a clever escape tactic. She knew he was lying but she wanted to get away from him as fast as possible, so she allowed his lie. She nodded to give him permission
In return he said nothing, he took his jacket and his V-neck T-shirt and put them on and without sparing her a glace made his way out of the house with stiff strides.
She was looking at his back with defiance or at least that's what it looked like. She watched him go out of the house and when she was sure no one was there, she slumped on the floor limply. She drew her knee closer to her body and rested her head on them.
She did the right thing... Right? He was so young and immature, he wouldn't have understood the feelings he was invoking within her, he wouldn't be able to handle it. More importantly she had other responsibilities, her son, her business, and her parents. It never would've worked. She wasn't sure why she was trying to console herself. It really was the best thing to do. Then why was she feeling so...
Empty?
She rewinded her memories an hour back. She could still see his childlike innocent smile and then she remembered how she had hurt him. That flabbergasted expression on his face when she began her verbal assault. The hurt was clear in his eyes, she could see it but she didn't stop, like a sadist she continued to hurt him and when she was finished she couldn't identify this person in front of her. She had completely changed him. From his gentle smile to his soft eyes, from his shy attitude to his love...
Yes... That's right, he did, to some extent, loved her. She could see it now. Ichigo wasn't the type of person who'd kiss and hug just for the fun of it. Yes.. She could see it now. She destroyed it with her own hand. She could see the light fading from his golden brown eyes, and a much harder stone blue color replacing them. When he started to speak, his voice was so formal and fluid that she had trouble believing this was the same person who would stutter in her presence. But he didn't stutter then, every word was pronounced with a tight stone cold voice. It was like listening to a dead man speak.
Her trouser was drenched near the knee area, ah... She must've splashed some water when she was washing Ichigo's clothes... Yes that's it.
She suddenly felt incredibly tried and wanted to sleep... She didn't even have any energy to get up from there, so she rested her head on the carpet and surrendered to the sweet sleep. The last conscious thought in her mind as she drifted off to sleep was, Ichigo...
Smiling.
A/N: Man...i get waaaay too winded up when writing... Look at this big ass chapter! When I write i kinda forget about everything else... My bad. Do you guys like big chapter or short chapters? Let me know. As for Ichigo, no he's no brat or a horney guy... Well yes he's horny, he's a teenage boy/man, who isn't horny at that age? but that's not the case here. I can explain Ichigo's mindset but I'll probably take another chapter like this! Just to explain.
If you guys are seeing a lot of typos, i apologize. All these are done from an Android smartphone, i do not have computer access.
On a very related note, as of right now (04/10/2015) this story has more than 1100 views and 500 visitors. Thank you guys! *anime tears* this is not a popular pairing so seeing this kind of response in less than a month on my first story is like... Seriously guys i feel like Zeus! "Release the kraken" and all that, but I'll just release my writing. Don't worry the world is safe... For now! *evil laugh*
Syborg signing out.
