Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo. I do not make profit on advertising any franchises or trademarked items or business that may be placed in this fanfiction.
A/N: I changed the title. After three chapters, it finally got old. This is officially titled Othello: The Tale of Two Schools.
Getting some more English humor into it XD
There's going to be a time hop and also going to be lots of point of views! Surprise on who they are all from ;D
Thank you everyone who commented and favorite this story! I don't wanna be a comment whore, but the more reviews I receive really do help me improve.
Special shout-outs to cremekuchen (mmm…kuchen…), CloudNinjaTianzi, and Bleach-ed-Na-tsu for the fantastically fabulous reviews that made my day!
Anyways, onwards!
Chapter Four
Canis Cadem Edit
Narrowing his crystal orbs, Toshiro attempted to pay some attention to his class. Whatever Ichimaru was talking about, it sure was going in one ear and out the other. Hitsugaya wouldn't admit to it, but most times, we did serve as the "teacher's pet", of sorts—that one kid that told their teacher when they forgot to give them homework. All his preparations had paid off, as it seemed. Until now.
He didn't even tell him not to call him Snowy…or Snowy-kun, or Shiro, or Toshi, or…
This fifty minute class time was grueling. He felt as though the silvery teacher just had an annoying-nickname handbook tattooed behind those fox eyes just to torment him.
"Now now, t'marra ya' all will pick a book ya' wanna read for your class project: Catcher in the Rye or Fahrenheit 451." Ichimaru's voice broke Toshiro's thoughts as the teacher rolled a marker in his bony hands. Hitsugaya usually disliked the reading assignments for the simple fact that you were put in a group and needed to review together and answer questions as such. Toshiro wasn't much of a team player when it came to homework.
The bell finally released the students from the creepy, young teacher's class. All the students stood, exiting the room quickly with their books as Hitsugaya put his binder back in his bag. Since he was distracted before the bell rang, he wasn't totally ready for class to be over; material wise, in his head—definitely ready.
"Oh, Chibi-tan," Ichimaru sing-songed and turned another page in his annoying-nickname book. "Do come here for a moment." He put the marker on the railing of the board, going to his metal desk. Hitsugaya grimaced, wanting to get out of the suffocating room as quickly as he could. Not wanting to be rude, he went in front of the teacher's desk awaiting instruction, a scowl written on his features.
"Since ya' missed the first week of school, ya need to make up the assignments by goin' ta' tutoring." Ichimaru started writing on two sheets of paper, a blue one which Toshiro assumed was the tutoring slip, and a yellow one that wouldn't get him late for his next class.
"Tutoring?" Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow. "Just give me the old assignments, I will complete them."
"Nah, they're late enough to be worth zero credit," Ichimaru's grin only stretched, unsettling the short school kid even more. "An' before ya make another excuse, Snowy-chan, you need those assignments for the curriculum. No ditchin' 'em."
Hitsugaya frowned, the nerve of this guy to assume he'd want to skip homework!
"Fine." He muttered.
"Good boy," he tore off the two pieces of paper, leaning across his desk to hand him them both. "Blue one's got yer tutoring info, yellow is so yer teacher don't kill ya'. Just be here at 3:30 next Tuesday, Snowy-chan."
Hitsugaya took the slips of paper rather bitterly, putting them in his bag before quickly shuffling out the door. He was not looking forward to having to be taught alone with that freaky excuse for a teacher. On the way down the now-empty hallways, he recovered the blue paper and read it over, sighing in relief as the next tutoring day was the next Tuesday due to teacher workshops happening this week.
Plenty of time to prepare himself.
Friday…
Ichigo shut his locker with his foot, his bag of gym clothes in one hand and his messenger bag in the other. He flung the latter over his neck and adjusted it accordingly, heading further down the locker bay. Upon turning the corner, he saw his spiky red-haired best friend throwing a bunch of candy wrappers and miscellaneous crap into a Wal-mart bag.
"Hey Renji, there's a garbage for that stuff, not a locker." Ichigo grinned as the tattooed boy glared at him.
"Can it, Ichigo! At least I clean it unlike that—" He stopped as a locker on the other side of Renji's shut, a very familiar, tall boy looking over down at them.
"Yeeees?"
"Jiruga freak." Renji finished and relished in the clear annoyance on the spindly boy's face. Ichigo snickered; he had to be honest that he enjoyed having a locker near the amusing held-back kid.
"Che, whatever Pineapple. While you two are out being geeks I'm goin' to a—"
"Party?" Ichigo crossed his arms, the gym bag a little uncomfortable. "Ulquiorra invited us too."
"What? Pff! I knew that!" He scoffed, his voice going a few pitches higher on the obnoxious scale.
"Right, so if you're going yer a geek too, right?" Renji put his hands in his pockets and started walking back to the commons area. Ichigo followed him, and to his amusement, Jiruga did too.
"Yeah right! Grimmjow invited me with." Ichigo gulped slightly, still curious to why the short Hueco had even invited him.
"Why'd Ulquiorra let Jeager Jaquez come too?" Ichigo couldn't stop the words from leaving his lips. Renji and Nnoitra both looked at him a little strangely, but Nnoitra answered anyways.
"Fuck if I know. We pick on the lil' shit enough an' he apparently hasn't learned to leave us alone yet."
"Well, I wouldn't want you in my house."
"Shut up, Berry!" Ichigo grinned slightly but sighed, heading up the ramp towards the main doors.
"Well I guess we'll see you later, Jiruga." Ichigo decided to be as casually nice as he usually was. Nnoitra had become that one friend you keep so you can pick on him later. But even for a tall, obnoxious, annoying…er, he was rather trustworthy when you forced it upon to him.
"Mhm, just don't get in any trouble, Strawberry." He ruffled Ichigo's hair (another unfortunate habit he'd picked up for the sole purpose of vexing Ichigo) before going outside, twirling his keys on his long, bony fingers. Renji scoffed, shifting his bag on his shoulder.
"God he's creepy."
"You're telling me, you don't have to see him multiple times every day." Ichigo didn't necessarily dislike Nnoitra's company; the tall figure just brought some uncomfortable feeling with him everywhere. Ichigo went to the bike rack with Renji; both of them living close enough to school to ride their bikes home, and Ichigo didn't want his father dropping him off every day.
The two pedaled their bikes across the school grounds, crossing the crosswalk and heading towards home. Renji lived in generally the same area as Ichigo's new family clinic, just a little closer to school. The boys chatted a little, but had decided to meet at Renji's apartment building so they could travel to the short boy's home on the other side of town. He must have lived very close by the former Hueco School.
Renji, as usual, went off about English class. Ichigo wasn't sure what so fascinating about that class (He did talk about how Kuchiki was such a dictator) but it wasn't about the lecture most times. Today, he went off about how Byakuya-sensei threw an eraser at the role-call collector. As hilarious as it was, Ichigo hadn't paid into as much detail as his friend, who started laughing at how the "noble" Kuchiki turned red in what would only be called embarrassment. Weird, but whatever.
They stopped at their crosswalk as the "Do not cross" flashed on the other side. Ichigo hit the brakes on his red and orange Magna bike. He was damn proud of this bike, even though he couldn't afford some cool car for high school, a kickass bike would get him from point A to point B. Renji's bike was infrared and had black flames over the bars. Needless to say, it was a hand-me-down from his older brother and therefore a piece of shit. It squeaked to a halt and lurched before Renji put his foot back on the sidewalk.
"C'mon bitch, work with me one day." He fondly spoke to his bicycle. Ichigo snickered, checking his phone for any messages while he waited. Rukia had a bad habit of texting him at inappropriate times about how the kids at the middle school made fun of her bunny shaped Pez dispenser and was running out of snappy comebacks.
"You love that thing don't you?" Ichigo commented flatly as he typed in his reply to Rukia.
"The love of my life. I wish Kensei would've at least taken care of it before giving it to me." The red-head replied in the same tone.
"Where's he at again?" Ichigo asked as he put his phone in his pocket, seeing the other street lights flashing, signaling it was almost time for them to cross.
"He went overseas for some army training, can't remember where, he never writes or anything." Renji shrugged it off as the crosswalk was safe to pass. He took off ahead of Ichigo, who soon followed him. Halfway across the intersection, Ichigo heard the familiar shrieking of Renji's brakes and had to stop himself so he didn't run into him.
"Yo, asshole— Red means stop!" Ichigo heard Renji snap before he looked around his friend. Directly in front of Renji and blocking the way was an electric blue 1996 Yamaha Seca, and even for how old it was, someone obviously took care of it. That person drew Ichigo's attention right afterwards.
"Well maybe you shouldn't be in my way, Red." The gruff voice from the bike said, revving the engine a little. Ichigo kicked Renji's back tire.
"C'mon Renji, don't play in traffic." He glared over at the equally electric blue Hueco student that showed up just as inappropriately as Rukia's text messages.
"Nice bike, Berry."
"Thanks, I'd say the same to you but I'm not a liar." Ichigo grinned and kicked Renji again, who mumbled and went around Grimmjow.
"Hmmph, seeya at the party, bitch." Ichigo glared back over his shoulder as Grimmjow revved it up again, seeming to threaten running him over as he went around the bike. He caught up with Renji and then blew past him, coasting down the small hill on the other side with Renji soon behind him.
"Stupid fucker," he heard Renji as they got to the bottom of the hill, speed decreasing. "He's gonna kill someone one of these days and it better not be you or me."
"Well, don't piss him off tonight and we'll live another day."
"Hmmph, I don't wanna know what idiot's telling the weirdos we're going to Ulqui…youl…"
"Ulquiorra," Ichigo corrected his friend when he tripped over his tongue. "And it's not really a secret. Question is who he wouldn't invite. He doesn't seem the type to wanna make friends or enemies."
"Yeah I guess, but he didn't ask me."
"Bet'cha he knew I'd take you."
"Well I'm flattered, now only if you'd call me every night." Renji sighed, faking exasperation and Ichigo punched him in the arm as they turned into the apartment complex. He heard a squeak and several obscenities, and without looking around he knew Renji fell into Mrs. Takenawa's rose bush again.
He rubbed his temples slowly, trying to ease the throbbing that was being created by conversations behind him. A girl with extravagant black curls popped the bubbles to her gum loudly, and was tapping her foot. It wouldn't have sounded so horrible if she wasn't wearing stiletto heels and the clacking filled the entire gray room, obnoxiously. A short boy with bad teeth was snickering over something Ishida was sure he didn't want to know with a very lanky black-haired junior. Most of the room was filled with white-uniformed upper-classman, with the exception of Hisagi and Madarame (He couldn't remember their names) in the back. They were all accustomed to having detention, apparently.
What sickened Uryuu the most was that he'd been in detention three times since the first day of school. Today, it was because his group (consisting of the two lewd boys chattering behind him) had handed in their assignment late. Which was completely Bad Teeth's fault, considering Ishida told him to hand it in just in case, and was promptly ignored. Mayuri Kurotsuchi was just trying to find an excuse to ruin Ishida's life.
Another thing that disgusted him was the fact that every time he ended up in detention, his desk-mate Szayel Aporro managed to screw something up too, and make some big scene over it. He should've been in the drama department instead of the science wing for the show he put on today. How do you accidently spill coffee all over Kurotsuchi's desk? Even after his display of apologies and attempting to get out of detention, here he sat, calm and completely used to being in this dull room.
And completely in Ishida's space.
"—I wouldn't even begin to know how to screw up that last lab we did, Ishida. Cirucci and Roy must be some of those special students, yes?" The pink -haired man shifted his mustard orbs over to Uryuu once more, his chin resting on his knuckles.
"Hm." Uryuu mumbled, having tuned him out a long time ago in favor of complaining to himself about being in this situation for the third time.
"Tsk, you're such a bore today, Ishida-kun," Szayel Aporro got the trademark mad-scientist grin on his face that Ishida had gotten too used to. "Perhaps you would like to conduct an experiment with me this evening, hm? I'm sure you don't have plans on a Friday night, after all."
"Shut up! That is none of your business and I don't conduct weird experiments for fun." Uryuu snarled, locking eyes with the other. Szayel blinked once, then twice, and then sat up straight to readjust his glasses, the light from the room glaring onto Ishida's own.
"Oh, are you sure? I was certain you'd be interested in the night life…"
Staring into the mirror, he squinted and put a single lock of hair back in place. It stayed momentarily, and started to sway back over his eyes. He growled, blowing it back up into its orderly, yet unruly, position. He stood up straight, fixing the collar of his shirt— nothing too fancy, but decent enough so that the emo bitch wouldn't slam the door in his face and make him go home and change. He wore a simple navy button-up shirt (the top two and bottom button left undone) with the sleeves rolled up at his elbows, and dark blue jeans that fit his figure perfectly. And definitely showed off the goods.
"Grimmjow, you sexy motherfucker." He mumbled to the mirror and flashed himself his canines, freshly brushed. Because why the hell not, if he was going out with a chance at getting laid, he was gonna do himself up nice. He had his doubts that anything interesting would happen and Ulquiorra's, but he did say that his parents were out of town. And when he heard about a few of the people he'd invited, he was sure they'd slip something into the house.
First and foremost, he invited Grimmjow, partyer of legends, and his faithful sidekick, Nnoitra Jiruga.
Secondly, he told Shinji he was allowed to come. Shinji Hirako was a guy Grimmjow met up with outside of school once or twice before actually realizing he'd gone to school with him for a short period of time. The guy had hopped schools a lot, going to a high school in Osaka, then to Hueco, some other foreign place, to Karakura, and now in the combined building. Aside from being tall, lanky, piano-teethed, and a repeat sophomore like his butt-pirate (another fond nickname of Nnoitra's), he was known for smoking a wide variety of things Grimmjow didn't want to see outside of a police department. From what he'd heard, his sister had managed to limit him to cigarettes, but he didn't meet with the guy enough to know the truth behind the rumor.
Thirdly, he told that shark-bait berry to come. He knew Ulquiorra had something for his Algebra bitch, whether it was some gay-ass crush or just friendship; why else would he stop in the hall and clog traffic just to tell him something?
Disgusting.
He hated Ulquiorra way too much for his own good. Back in middle school, Grimmjow and Nnoitra got used to picking on the smaller boy, and he'd learned to accept it. Once reaching high school, Ulquiorra grew (slightly) in height, but also power. Their sophomore year Grimmjow pushed him out of the lunch line and Ulquiorra shoved back, refusing to give in as he had before. Grimmjow's hip hurt the rest of the week from the force he'd felt in that hit, and since, Ulquiorra hadn't laid a finger on him.
Grimmjow took it as a challenge, naturally.
Back on the topic of fruits, Ichigo Kurosaki was his Algebra bitch, and just his bitch in all aspects. Taking joy in finally having found a smaller student he could pick on for the fact he could, not for the fact he wanted to see him lash out. But Kurosaki had lashed out, the first day of school. He liked the kid for that reason, and hated him for the same.
He couldn't think of any specifics, but he definitely hated that kid.
He pushed the unruliest lock of teal hair out of his eyes as he went back to the kitchen, grabbing a soda and sitting his ass in his chair. The joys of being a badass was living on his own, fending for himself, some caveman 'working for his meal' shit or something.
Oh right, he needed a job now too. Apparently saying your coworker has big tits can get you fired now-a-days. Freaking Supermarkets not being specific about their codes of conduct.
He flipped on the TV, immediately getting away from the Food Network and the like so he wouldn't think about how hungry he was. Living on ramen seems like a plan for a student on a budget, but it sucks. Grimmjow waited for his sidekick to make his appearance, but Nnoitra and Grimmjow were favoring being fashionably late— Or maybe being late-late, so they weren't there on time and wouldn't be those awkward people that weren't sure how to start the party.
They could start their own party, but didn't want to bring up Ulquiorra's. He hoped it wouldn't be some crazy screaming rave party with naked dudes and glowsticks everywhere. He'd still confer with Jiruga about how late to appear, and maybe make the bastard buy him some freaking dinner before this. Never go to a party hungry and horny, he'd learned from experience it really fucks over the weekend. He wanted to be conscious for this whole thing, picking up on anything he could use as blackmail or just as a source of entertainment. He had considered not going, until he asked emo bitch if he'd asked Kurosaki to go to the party.
After confirmation, he accepted. He wanted to see that proud kid in action, or rather, if he was actually capable of partying. He was practically a saint when Grimmjow was around, and he even kept Nnoitra in line.
Dis. Gusting.
That's enough thinking about Berry. Grimmjow concluded for himself, flipping channels and opening his can of Mountain Dew one-handed. God, he was obsessed with his "bitches" lately. He needed more friends…or at least a bi— no! Friends, go speeding down the streets and hit up a pizza place and raise some teenaged hell across the county. Sounded like some fun, but there wasn't anything to fucking do in this town when you were under twenty-one…not like Grimmjow was law abiding or anything.
He watched a repeat of Criminal Minds as he waited, sipping his drink and trying to clear his thoughts.
Just think about the party, and have fun. Fun…fun…
A knock came to the door, and was pushed open forcefully. "Yo dude, I'm fucking hungry!"
Yes, definitely fun.
Ichigo's thought process was broken by Renji burping across from him, then bursting into laughter. He snickered, playing with his phone charm idly.
"That was weak."
"Nah man, yer just jealous." Renji smirked, carrying the dishes away. He ordered some pizza for Ichigo and himself before the party, and Ichigo ran home to change while it was being delivered. Ichigo was now wearing a grey t-shirt with a few various designs on it, but nothing too much. The biggest attraction of the shirt that Ichigo had was a black felt-like design that went over his side and down to his hip that resembled a phoenix. Not his usual thing, but when his little sister told him about her mythology lesson: phoenixes died in fire and were reborn from their ashes. It sounded pretty awesome, and the shirt was too.
Renji came back from his room after putting away the dishes, wearing a white t-shirt with some bizarre brand-name logo of a monkey, and a maroon zippered jacket and black cuffs. He had baggy, black jeans with red, white, and black checkered belts around his waist. His fiery red hair was still tied up in the "pineapple" style when he came back down the stairs.
"Nice shorts, what good are belts if you don't use them?" Ichigo teased and Renji's cheeks blushed slightly, and then crossed his arms.
"They aren't that low, they're just long. Why're ya starin' at my pants anyways?" Now Ichigo turned bright red and crossed his arms, glaring at the TV.
"What time do you wanna go to Ulquiorra's?" He changed the subject. Renji snickered, but allowed it.
"Well, we don't wanna be there first, so how about 15 minutes past nine? We can say it took a while to find the place or something."
"It probably will take us a while." Ichigo agreed, finishing off his glass of soda. Renji, agreeing as well, straightened up his apartment while they waited. It was a small, homey place, with white walls and simple blue carpet, and tiles over in the kitchenette. It was a single, queen sized bedroom with a bathroom and shower. There was also a big closet across from the bedroom, and a short hallway that led into the open space of a couch and the television. Renji didn't decorate heavily, just a few band posters and a stereo system around the place. But even if he appeared to be lazy, Renji was a complete neat freak, and everything and anything had a place in the small apartment.
"Renji, where the hell did you put my shoes?" Ichigo asked as he went to the entryway, and his shoes were not where they were left.
"Uh, probably the closet."
"Why'd you put my shoes in your closet?" Ichigo searched the closet, Renji peering around the door to watch him as he did.
"Because they didn't match the floor mat. There they are, next to the Swiffer." He motioned, Ichigo seeing the shelf they were placed on and pulled them out. Heading to the chair, Renji started reorganizing all the stuff Ichigo "misplaced." He tugged on his black Converse shoes, tying the laces slowly, since they were in no hurry.
"You don't have to get ready now, ya know. It's only 8:45." Renji added, restocking soda in his fridge. Ichigo shrugged, continuing to tie his laces.
"Might as well get ready." He said as he started on the next shoe. He sighed slightly; he really hoped everything went alright at this party. He didn't know anyone other than Nnoitra and Ulquiorra very well, and hoped to meet a few more friends. As long as they weren't creepy.
"So, how many people you think Yora invited?" Renji asked finally, not wanting to learn to pronounce the junior's name. Ichigo shrugged, sitting up straight once more.
"We'll find out. Probably lots of people if he needed those cards."
"Yeah, but ya think he's got a big enough house for that?"
"We'll find out." Ichigo repeated with a sigh, running his fingers through abnormally orange hair. He was still thinking about how he'd need to avoid Grimmjow at that party, and any strange looking people he didn't recognize. Maybe if he was feeling a bit courageous he would talk to Jiruga, but that was a bit of a long shot.
Ishida's interest had been piqued.
More than likely an illogical decision to trust the senior student and want to partake in his night life experiment. Grantz had simply said they would be going somewhere where they could observe how the students of both schools collaborated in outside situations. It sounded scientific enough for him, and had accepted for the simple fact that Szayel held it over his head about being "unworthy" of working with him.
Why'd he ask him to go in the first place, then? Strange character, Szayel Aporro was. He never shared any personal information, always about the classmates he'd known previously or that were in class with them. He had let it slip once he had an older brother, but once Uryuu actually acknowledged it, he caught his error and changed the subject. Maybe he and his brother weren't on good terms, but Ishida wouldn't know, being an only child.
On topic, he was currently walking next to the tall and lean pink-haired upperclassman. He was told to dress properly, and given that's always what he did, he didn't need to do much. Szayel wore similar to what he did as well, except with a pair of form-fitting slacks and a white and black polo with a pink symbol on the side from whatever store he'd purchased it from. The only thing that wasn't semi-formal about his outfit was a "live strong" bracelet on his wrist, and pink-and-yellow low rise Converse.
Ishida followed him at an even pace; wearing clothes he probably would wear to school, needless to say: geek chic. All the way so that he still had a pen in the pocket of his button-up shirt.
"Are you ever going to tell me where we are headed, Szayel Aporro?" Ishida broke the night's silence bitterly. The upperclassman continued smiling, pushing his glasses up calmly.
"Now now, Ishida-kun, surprises are among life's joys."
"Or annoyances."
"Depending on your outlook of life, I suppose…very well, we are going to a friend of mine's." Ishida held his breath, unsure what to think of that.
"Why?" He pressed for more information, being let down as Szayel continued walking. Uryuu took his answer as an: I've already told you. Uryuu sighed, thinking a moment before rephrasing. "How about, do I know this person?"
"Mm, no, you probably do not," that started to worry Ishida now, and he frowned. "Don't worry so much, Ishida-kun, he is a junior at school that keeps to himself more often than not. That is why you have not met him." Okay, that calmed him a little, but why was in he in touch with Szayel, a recluse of a different kind, casted out for his own enjoyment and that no one wanted to be with him. This other guy seemed to withdraw willingly, afraid to be accepted…maybe nerds stuck together more than he thought.
He was still following Szayel, after all.
"We're here now, curious one." His classmate's voice broke his curious thoughts of what could be going on at this place, causing him to finally look up and see where they were. His throat dried instantly upon seeing this marble masterpiece. At least 3 floors was a decadent house with stained-glass doors and crystalline windows from balconies. Trimmed shrubberies covered parts of the pristine home's walls inside brass fences and gates, as well as a well-kept front yard. It was immaculate, and reminded Uryuu of the Hueco students and their completely clean, white uniforms but usually tainted backgrounds.
"Whoa," Ishida couldn't think of a more intelligent phrase to accurately describe what he was seeing. He heard Szayel chuckle next to him, going up to the gates and pressing a button on the brick wall. There was a low beep, a pause, and the gates opened. Grantz waltzed down the driveway, Ishida going to keep up with him. He looked back, expecting the gates to close behind them like in the movies he'd seen, but they stayed open.
"There's going to be a few more people. He might as well leave the door open for the expected." Szayel said as Uryuu started lagging behind him. The Karakura student nodded in agreement, still observing the house and all of its spectacles. Enough so where he hadn't really thought about how many people could fit in this house.
Or what kind of people were even inside.
30 minutes later…
"Renji I told you we should've taken that other turn."
"Well sorry, not like we walked that much farther."
"Only half a mile, one way!"
"Oh boo-hoo, we made it on time," Renji sighed, walking next to a polished fence, whistling at the house behind its barrier. "Think someone's compensating for something?"
Ichigo snickered, and pulled out the business card Ulquiorra had given him. He reread the house number again, already having done so numerous times. They walked past the last of the fence to the gate, two brick pillars keeping them steady. Ichigo stopped walking, looking back at the small, red light under a call button, and more importantly what was underneath it.
"Renji, you shouldn't tell Yora about that compensating comment." Renji stopped walking at Ichigo's comment, not having noticed his friend had ceased following him.
"What?"
"This is it."
"That place? That…Gigantic place?"
"The gates are open, so they're expecting company."
"But there's not much for cars." Renji stated, putting his hands in his hoodie's pockets. Ichigo looked around the street that was averagely covered with parked cars from neighboring homes.
"You never know. This is the number though, we might be a bit early any—" He stopped.
Renji raised an eyebrow, waving his hand in front of Ichigo's face. After blinking a few times, Ichigo looked towards the house, the lights being dim, and random flashes of color appeared in the largest window.
"…You hear that don't you?" Ichigo stepped onto the driveway, hesitant, until Renji followed him.
"I think the entire county heard that, Berry."
Music— Blaring, teenage-rage music. It pulsed through the air, instantly making the boys' blood boil. Ichigo took the lead, Renji only slightly behind him to his left as they headed towards the heavily-decorated door. Stepping onto the porch, Ichigo swallowed a lump in his throat, hoping there were some people he knew inside. He knocked twice, and Renji looked at him curiously, wondering if it'd even be heard with that booming noise.
To both of their surprise, the door opened, revealing the short host of the party. As he was in school, he was still very well kept, wearing a tight black t-shirt and black skinny-jeans, making him look even smaller than he was.
"Hi Ulquiorra." Ichigo smiled a little nervously, not waiting for Ulquiorra to greet them, since he was slightly distracted by just surveying who he was letting into his home.
"Kurosaki-kun, I'm pleased you decided to come." Ichigo's smile widened, he found it extremely hilarious that even with the scene going on around them, Ulquiorra was as formal as ever.
"Call me Ichigo, it's fine," he pressed, having told the short Hueco several times that if he was allowed call him by his first name, that he was too. "This is my friend Renji Abarai." Ulquiorra nodded to the red-head, putting the name and face to memory.
"I believe I've only heard mention of a pineapple when hearing of your friends, K…Ichigo" Ulquiorra silenced himself, locking eyes with Ichigo. Renji frowned, and Ichigo elbowed him.
"Yeah, he's the pineapple, I'm the strawberry."
"I have heard Jiruga call me a kiwi before, but I believe he gave up on such names. Please, come inside," he stepped aside in a fluid motion, Ichigo stepping into the entryway. "You do not need to remove your shoes, but I would appreciate refraining from making too much of a mess." He nodded to them and headed into the house, taking a left into the doorway with some of the lights coming from. Ichigo looked at Renji, who shrugged, deciding not to take off his jacket, and followed where the inky boy had lead.
Turning into the next room, they were greeted by a vast living room, furniture being moved to appropriate locations to make room for numerous amounts of people standing, or dancing. Ichigo didn't see any girls there, but some of the people there he recognized from school. In particular, there was that nerdy kid he'd run into on the first day of school, sitting in a corner just looking pissed off. Why would he come to a party just to sulk in a corner? He appeared to be "talking" to a tall and—god forbid—pink haired boy, as the man was talking and the other was ignoring. Ichigo couldn't remember his name either, and was a bit precautious about asking.
"Yo, Kurosaki Ichigo, right?" Ichigo jumped and looked back to the main part of the room, having a tall—maybe Grimmjow's height—blonde boy grinned down at him. Ichigo raised an eyebrow, not sure how this guy knew who he was, until remembering seeing him in gym class Monday, on the sophomore's team.
"Uh, yeah. Hi." He tried to think if he'd heard the lanky boy's name, but hadn't seen him outside of the other class, and didn't think he'd heard it while in the gym room.
"Ah, Ya dunno me." The blond tapped his chin, and Ichigo raised his eyebrow again.
"I know your face, not your name. It's hard to introduce yourself to someone that knows you." Ichigo stated, making the other get a grin on his face. His caramel eyes looked Ichigo over, sizing him up, or something, before he spoke, smiling.
"Right! My name's Shinji Hirako. Sorry 'bout that, I'm pals with Nnoi and I heard 'bout ya from him." He offered his hand to shake, which Ichigo accepted once he finished his sentence. Man, Nnoitra was creepy.
"Yeah, I know Nnoitra, super sophomore."
"Yep, me too, school sucks and all that jazz yada yada but hey; I'm just sayin' I see ya hanging out in my gym class a lot." Shinji trailed on, using his hand at the 'yada yada' part. Ichigo nodded, noticing he didn't really look like a sophomore.
"Yeah, that's my off period. How do you know Nnoitra?" He changed the topic, finding it unimportant. Shinji smiled, patting Ichigo on the shoulder and slowly ushering him to the chairs and the kitchen, where Ichigo already saw drinks.
"Nah, that's a long and unfortunate story, pal. Wouldn't want to bore you, after all," he went into the brighter kitchen, the marble countertops covered with two-liters of soda and other beverages, none of which were alcoholic. "I am interested in how you met him, though." Kurosaki looked back over at him curiously, since he'd dodged the question but wanted him to answer the same thing.
"…he's in my homeroom, and health class, and has a locker by me. I pretty much pass him in the hall all the time."
"Ah, so, if you know Nnoi and Ully, you must know Grimmy too, then?" Shinji tilted his head, while pouring a glass of punch. Thankfully, nothing was spilled.
"Uh…Grimmjow, yes." Ichigo found himself hesitant, not sure how Shinji knew Grimmjow, or that he was coming.
"Ah, honesty," Shinji smiled, taking a drink of his punch. Ichigo had begun to pour a cup of orange soda, and he halted his movement at that comment. Before he could ask, Shinji waved his hand. "Don't worry about it, I've only heard good things of you from Nnoi, and Grimmy, alike."
"…You, talking to Grimmjow? How is that good?"
"Not directly, I haven't seen him since last year. Nnoi tells me a lot about what he and his friends talk about. Grimmy seems to talk often of ya," Ichigo gulped at hearing that, he really couldn't imagine how that'd be good. "Don't believe me, huh? Well, ask 'im yerself." Shinji gave a piano grin, drinking his punch. Just then, Ichigo heard the faint noise of the front door shutting, and ridiculous snickering that was all too familiar. Kurosaki gulped, looking into his orange glass, imagining seeing his reflection in the drink that would match his hair, his skin pale, and eyes wide.
Grimmjow and Nnoitra were here, and Shinji obviously knew something that he didn't.
A/N: Sorry for procrastinating! I did much of this in my new college dorm, so obviously, I'm going to be busy doing homework and other things =[ I really gotta work on a few deviantart works now…and homework for Monday eheh…
Thanks for reading, enjoy!