Disclaimer: I do not own the anime or characters I write about. I do however own the story idea, enjoying my stories and treasuring them. If I did own Bleach then Ichigo and Orihime would be twins, and Byakuya and Rukia would try to court them. The orange haired and raven haired couples!
Chapter 1: The Guiding Blue Light
Ichigo was cast from the Soul Society (Heaven), a banished angel/reaper of souls, sent to live on earth with the humans. He had watched over them for thousands of years but he never interacted with them, not since he himself was a human all those years ago. That lifetime had been long forgotten, all he knew was his life in the Soul Society.
For days he wandered, lost, without reason to live or even exist, trying to find something of meaning.
He finally collapsed from exhaustion in a human park during a rainstorm, the large branches and leaves of the sycamore he laid beneath provided little defense against the rain. Yet, he felt calm as the rain fell, soaking him, perhaps cleansing him of his sins, and the earth he laid upon. Ichigo's eyes slowly closed and he drifted into the darkness.
Yet before the darkness could take hold of him a blue light appeared and Ichigo could no longer feel the rain falling onto him. As he opened his eyes he had to squint to see the blurry image in the bright blue light. The light gradually faded to show a human male with spiked sky blue hair and aquamarine eyes. The human was holding a black umbrella above them, shielding Ichigo from the rain as the man's spiked hair began to droop from the weight of the rain.
The blue haired human seemed worried and a little annoyed as his eyes swept over Ichigo's form. "Hey, if you stay here in the rain, you'll get sick…"
The human's gruff voice resounded in his ears before the man held out his hand, palm up, offering it to Ichigo. Blinking and hesitating for a moment before he took that hand and the human helped him to his feet. The human's skin was on the rougher side, calloused along the pads and warm, even in the cold rain.
It was comforting and Ichigo reluctantly pulled away. "Do you have a home?" Ichigo shook his head slowly and the human ran his fingers through his blue hair. He sighed, feeling like he was dealing with a lost puppy instead of a person.
He couldn't just let the kid stay in the park all night while it rained… "Well, I guess you could stay with me…" He cleared his throat.
"What's your name?" The human's blue eyes mesmerized Ichigo and he opened his mouth to speak. "I-chi-go." Ichigo blinked in surprise, his own voice sounded foreign to him. He hadn't spoken since before he attacked Rukia, his Rukia...
The human smiled, white teeth like freshly fallen snow or the puffy clouds that would drift lazily across light blue skies, causing him to snap back to the present, something that made Ichigo's heart rate increase (to his own confusion), and shook Ichigo's hand. "It's a good thing I like strawberries."
The blue haired man laughed at his own joke as Ichigo tilted his head, his brows furrowed faintly in confusion until he realized his name had two meanings, now blushing at the joke. "The name's Grimmjow." He looked over his shoulder before smiling kindly as he spoke. "Come on, my apartment isn't too far from here."
Ichigo nodded, having a feeling that he could trust the human and they walked together under the human's black umbrella. He walked next to the human, wondering what made him so different, why he helped him when the others ignored him, like he was invisible, didn't exist. Looking over at the human from the corner of his eyes he noticed his strong jaw, high cheekbones, thin yet not sullen cheeks, light blue and green tattoos under his eyes and the eyes themselves.
They were breathtaking, not like any blue eyes he'd ever seen before, deep and cold but when they focused on him they were soft, warm almost like electricity or lightning. Those were the eyes of the human that noticed him, saved him, and was opening his home to him. His skin was a light tan, sun kissed Ichigo believed they called it, disappearing beneath the collar of his shirt and leather jacket. Ichigo's eyes flickered to see a clear drop of water hanging onto the end of one of Grimmjow's drooping spikes. It bounced and swayed with movement to the rhythm of Grimmjow's steps.
Though, the drop of water couldn't hold on for much longer, falling from the spike and landing on the tanned skin just above his collarbone. The drop ran down Grimmjow's tanned skin, stopping for a moment at the hollow his collarbones created below his neck before it continued its path. It ran past the v-shaped neck line of the indigo shirt he had worn that day and Ichigo couldn't help but want to continue watching the drop's path without the hindrance of said shirt. Ichigo's eyes widened in shock as he realized the pattern his thoughts had been taking.
Such thoughts were not only very off-putting to him but they were rare. He was not one to lust, even for his past mate Rukia. He had loved her at one point but that was it, he felt no other desire for her, certainly nothing like the strange sensation that had pulsed through him. With that Ichigo decided to keep his eyes facing forward, looking ahead, around them at the surroundings passing them by, the rain falling to the ground they walked over, or the grey sky looming calmly over them as they walked. Basically, anywhere other than staring at the blue haired, tanned, magnificent specimen walking confidently, and obliviously, next to him.
It wasn't too much longer till they reached where Grimmjow lived. He watched with unbridled curiosity as Grimmjow's eyes lit up with pride as he gestured to the apartment complex he lived at. Ichigo couldn't quite comprehend why a building, even a place of living, would garner such a reaction from its owner but then he remembered how materialistic humans could be and their need to have what they believed was the best whether it was with shelter, clothes, or what they ingested. Giving the appropriate nods, impressed sounds made in the back of his throat, and a subtle widening of his brown eyes, he knew he had appropriately pleased Grimmjow with his façade.
The blue haired male grinned widely and wrapped an arm around Ichigo, jostling the shocked reaper a bit. Though, he took no notice as he dragged Ichigo up the steps and before the door that must have led to his apartment. As his arm slipped off Ichigo's shoulder to dig in his black jean pockets for his keys, Ichigo immediately missed the warmth that Grimmjow's body seemed to so readily exude. Only then had he noticed that he had been watching this human and thinking about his name since the moment they'd met, yet he hadn't spoken it. It made him want to try even knowing how awful it would sound given the lack of use his vocal chords had gotten.
Tilting his head as his brow furrowed slightly, he watched Grimmjow as he opened his mouth to speak. "Gr-imm-jow…" Cringing as he realized that the syllables didn't roll smoothly off the reapers tongue as he had hoped but rather difficulty bounced around, sounding rough and jagged, butchered. What made it worse was that Grimmjow had heard him, his head popping up in surprise, quickly looking from where he had been twisting the key in the lock to Ichigo. A feeling of warmth spread out from Ichigo's core and up his neck, settling across his cheeks and with another moment of shock he realized that he was blushing under Grimmjow's intense gaze. "Hmm? What is it Ichigo?"
His voice held concern even though he didn't know what was wrong, if anything was at all. Depthless blue eyes narrowed as they roved over the orangette's body, trying to search for anything that may be physically wrong. Squirming slightly as he looked away, Ichigo shook his head quickly. "N-nothing…" Realizing that there was nothing to currently worry about, Grimmjow's tense body relaxed as his serious expression melted away.
A cheerful laugh resounded through the air as there was a soft click of the door being unlocked. Ichigo jumped as he felt a warm palm press into the middle of his back, guiding him into the apartment that Grimmjow was holding the door open to. They walked into the dark room and Grimmjow closed the door behind them, sliding the locks back into place. He reached down to take off his shoes before walking into the room steadily; showing grace as Ichigo easily tracked his movements through the room. Each time he expected the human to clumsily crash into something on his way to the other side he was shocked as Grimmjow easily avoided all the obstacles. That kind of grace wasn't achieved in moments or days, it meant that Grimmjow had been living within this dwelling for years and learned where everything in his domain was.
Shielding his eyes and blinking painfully as light flooded his senses along with the sound of wincing, his own and that of another. Grimmjow rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly from his position by the light switch. Squinting now, Ichigo could make out his form, if anything he would always be able to see the human's bright blue hair. "Sorry about that… But anyway, this is my apartment. I'll show you around and let you get your bearings."
With a few more blinks Ichigo's eyes were accustomed to the artificial light that illuminated Grimmjow's territory, allowing him to see. Tilting his head as he took of his shoes before walking to where Grimmjow stood, realizing that when the human had said "get your bearings", he had been talking about letting the orangette get acquainted with his new surroundings. He showed Ichigo around the apartment and the reaper realized Grimmjow indeed had true reason to be proud. The kitchen was of good size, in pristine condition that spoke of Grimmjow working studiously to keep it clean. The living room was comfortable with a table, flat screen television, and large couch with squishy pillows. There was a small dining area as well.
Yet for how "nice" the apartment was, there was still only one bedroom which was why the end of their tour led them back to the living room, standing before the couch. Grimmjow once again seemed to become sheepish, running a hand through his spiky blue locks. "I hope the couch is adequate since you know, there's only one bedroom and all…" He trailed off, feeling a bit guilty for not being willing to give up his bed for the homeless kid. Yet when Ichigo gave him a small smile, one that actually reached his eyes and nearly glowed with warmth, Grimmjow's guilt melted away. Ichigo shook his head and muttered, "This is already more than I can repay."
Jumping in shock and torn from his revere by Grimmjow's sudden carefree laughter. "Alright then, I'll bring you some sheets, a change of clothes, towel and a pillow." The way Grimmjow's blue eyes glittered with mirth made Ichigo swallow, uncertain as to why his heart gave a tug and what to do with this knowledge. Grimmjow turned; heading towards his room to gather what he needed as Ichigo looked around, inspecting his new living quarters. He looked back at Ichigo when he thought Ichigo wouldn't notice, but he did. Ichigo noticed everything the human did, every blink that would cause his blue lashes to brush against his tanned cheeks, the sound his breath made as it left his mouth, the subtle twitches his muscles gave without his own notice, and the way his pupils would dilate in his blue eyes when he was pleased by something.
Ichigo laid on the couch covered by the blanket Grimmjow had brought him, his head cushioned by a pillow, staring up at the ceiling after having showered and changed into the spare clothes while his own were being washed. Grimmjow had gone in after him, telling him that he had left food on the table in front of the couch before closing the door behind him. He had eaten it; not really taking much notice of what he was eating or caring about the taste. Now that he had lost his powers, condemned as an outcast reaper, it would be a lot more difficult to maintain his energy without being able to replenish with the energy of the life surrounding him. Ichigo even began feeling what the humans called tired and his eyelids grew heavier, making it harder for him to continue reopening them after every blink. Eventually sleep overtook him, pulling him into the darkness with no resistance.