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Ikkaku was slightly embarrassed when they got to his apartment. He had almost no furniture, besides a bed and table. The entire floor was covered in so much trash that Yumichika wasn't completely sure the color of the flooring.
"Sorry about this."
"It's," Yumichika wanted to say ugly or appalling, but Ikkaku was doing him a favor. "It's fine."
"I don't really take up a lot of space, with my stuff I mean," Ikkaku began awkwardly. It was strange just to think that he was going to be sharing a room with someone who he hardly knew. "Would you like to bring any of your things here, Yumichika?"
"I think I'd really like to have my vanity. I'll bring it tomorrow. It's not too terribly heavy."
"I'll get it," Ikkaku said immediately. He didn't like the idea of Yumichika trying to move that thing by himself, the pretty boy would get all cut up by the broken glass.
"You don't have to, just go out like you normally do."
"Let's talk about this tomorrow," Ikkaku said with a yawn.
It was well past midnight, Yumichika realized. They'd taken an hour to get home because some of Ikkaku's old "friends" decided to stop them. Now that he thought about it, he was thoroughly exhausted.
But there was only one bed. Ikkaku already felt strange enough after hearing Yumichika's part time job in bars. There was no way he could sleep in the same bed with Ikkaku, he was already being a burden just taking up space.
Yumichika found his burlap sack and cleared a space, spread his blanket and laid down on top of it.
"Hey princess, there's a bed right there," Ikkaku pointed out.
"Isn't it already kind of awkward, Ikkaku?" Yumichika countered. "You are only letting me stay here because I was kicked out of my apartment. I'm not making any impositions. The less I bother you, the better I'll feel."
"You're impossible."
"I thought I was being rather agreeable. It's already strange, though. You think I'm a pervert because of my job I told you about the other day."
"T-that's not important!"
Yumichika raised an eyebrow. "Then why is your face so red?"
"Shut up! We're training tomorrow, so you're going to sleep in the bed and not have any excuses for being sore or anything," Ikkaku said, embarrassed because he was blushing and only getting more red while yelling.
"If that's what you want," Yumichika conceded with a shrug. He took his blanket and brushed off some of the garbage from it, and laid down on the edge of the bed. He made an effort to take as little room as possible, and succeeded by only taking up a third of the rather small bed.
Ikkaku laid down beside him, back to back almost (there really wasn't very much room) and tried to fall asleep. Yumichika already appeared to have fallen asleep, his breathing was shallow and even.
Ikkaku turned to look at the man, hoping that he wasn't a light sleeper and wouldn't wake up when he moved on the bed. He didn't.
It was a shame that he sold himself to the ugly fucks who walked into the bar when he needed money and still couldn't pay his rent, Ikkaku thought. The moon was full and it's light fell gracefully on his pale face. Ikkaku always thought that the man wore some kind of make-up to look to perfect every day, but if he was wearing any, it would be smudged from the work he'd done that day.
Ikkaku wasn't a complete pervert, he didn't feel anything romantic between the two of them, but he wanted to make it clear that he wasn't comfortable with Yumichika's job as a prostitute, ever. He felt strangely protective of the man all of the sudden, like it was his job to take care of him.
No matter what, he decided then and there, he'd make Yumichika strong enough to beat anyone in Rukongai. Someone with such a reputation needed to be able to protect himself.
Ikkaku laid back down and went to sleep, thinking of ways to teach someone so small to fight.
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There was a sizzling sound and the smell of pork frying. Ikkaku always had it for breakfast because it was the cheapest meat that he could buy and the bars were never opened early in the morning. He opened his eyes and turned to see Yumichika wasn't in the bed.
For a split second, he thought the previous night had all been dreamed up until he heard the pretty boy's voice.
"Glad to see you're still alive. You sleep like a rock, you know that?"
"You're making breakfast?"
"I tried to wake you up and ask you if you were hungry, but I figured you would be and gave up after trying four different methods."
"Yeah, thanks," Ikkaku got up from bed, and for the first time in weeks felt like he felt like he actually slept well.
"When do you think you'll be going out today?"
"Want to get rid of me so quickly?" Ikkaku joked.
"I was just curious."
"Is it almost ready? I'm starving."
Yumichika smiled and put down two plates of pork with onions and potatoes on the dining table. He cleared a place of trash and sat down.
"This looks really good, actually."
"You have so many more nice things to cook with. And I can't remember the last time I had something to go with the vegetables that I always fix. Thank you."
Ikkaku almost felt sorry for Yumichika, even though he knew the man wanted no pity. Living on vegetables sounded awful in and of itself, and Ikkaku would like to see what the man was cooking with before, if his things were nice in comparison.
The food, although it wasn't amazingly delicious or gourmet, was much better than what Ikkaku normally made himself. "Where did you learn to cook?"
"From some lady who used to take care of me. She taught me how to sew, too. I actually lived with her for weeks before she found out that I was a man, and immediately she threw me out, accusing me of being a cross dresser," Yumichika laughed a bit. "I didn't know that she didn't know I was male, so the whole thing was a big mess."
"Sounds like she was training you to be a housewife, with the sewing and cooking."
Yumichika laughed again. "I think that's exactly what she was doing. Either that, or a maid to help her around the house. She had quite a few children that I helped her take care of."
"Sounds like I have my work cut out for me," Ikkaku said stuffing his mouth with pork, and began talking with his mouth full. Yumichika made a mental note to teach him proper etiquette at some point. "Teaching someone who was already trained to be a maid how to fight sounds like a pain."
"Yumichika Ayasegawa is not a maid," the raven haired man said threateningly. "I can learn to fight, my cooking ability has nothing to do with it."
"Fine, fine. Either way, though, you don't look suitable for fighting at all," Ikkaku sighed and stuffed more food in his mouth.
Yumichika looked at Ikkaku intently for a moment. Underneath his perpetual expression of annoyance, he was hiding something. Was he really concerned?
"I've got to go and get some stuff 'fore we do our training. If you go anywhere, be back around noon."
"It's nearly noon already."
"That late? Damn, fine. Be back by three I guess. I should be back by that time."
"Ikkaku?"
"What?"
"Why are you so concerned about me?" Yumichika was going on a hunch, but after Ikkaku nearly choked on his food, it seemed that the hunch had some kind of truth behind it.
"W-what the hell makes you think that, you moron?"
Yumichika smiled his usual bubbly smile. "It's fine if you don't want to tell me. I'll figure it out eventually."
"Shut up, would you?" Ikkaku replied and stood up. His plate was cleared of food, and he was trying to turn the other way to hide his blush. He hated when people guessed what he was thinking, and hated even more when they were right.
Ikkaku suddenly remembered what he decided last night. He had no idea how to tell Yumichika not to sell his body and avoid complete awkwardness, not to mention it would make the other think there was something romantic between them. That was really the last thing he wanted, because worse than the moment of strange feelings it would bring, it would also chase Yumichika away and deny them the chance to ever really be friends.
However, Yumichika seemed to be able to read minds, to an extent. "What is it you want to tell me? I'm in your debt for letting me stay here, after all. Just say what it is you want to say."
"Well, I just wanted to say," Ikkaku looked down and hesitated before he finished. "I want you to know I'm making enough money with beating up morons to buy whatever we need, so don't do anything stupid. If you want something, you can ask. I don't want you to," he hesitated again.
Yumichika got Ikkaku's implication, or at least assumed he understood. "Don't be silly. I wouldn't bring a client to your room. I'm not so inconsiderate."
"I mean I don't want you doing that kind of thing, period."
Yumichika blushed. "Why would you care what I do for money?"
"Because, I just said not to do it anymore. If you do and I find out, I won't teach you how to fight, or let you stay here."
"But-"
"Whatever you want you can get in different ways," Ikkaku said firmly, but was kicking himself. He didn't know how to put things gently. He was making a complete ass of himself.
"I don't care about not being able to do that anymore, it's not like I particularly enjoyed taking ugly people to bed so I could eat, but why do you seem to care so much?"
"B-because," Ikkaku answered. "I just don't like the idea of you putting yourself out like that, especially now that you have a place to stay and food to eat for sure."
Yumichika smiled. "Thank you."
"Don't be stupid, it's just weird."
"What, you want me to thank you in a more nonverbal way?" Yumichika said teasingly and posed provocatively.
"I just said don't be stupid!" Ikkaku yelled and his face turned deep red. He turned and got out, slamming the door on his way.
Yumichika laughed until his eyes watered. "Poor guy, he couldn't tell I was kidding. Should I make it up to him some way?" The effeminate man stood thinking for a moment, but then it hit him. He made his way across the messy one-room apartment, trudging through trash and taking special care not to cut his feet on anything that seemed sharp.
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"Who does that pretty boy think he is?" Ikkaku muttered, still blushing. He figured it was just a joke, but it was still strange all around. A crowd of five rough looking thugs laid strewn across the street, victim of his confused anger.
He realized to train someone like Yumichika, he would need a light weight katana, and a few wooden training swords. All the money from the thugs was hardly enough to buy the training swords, and not nearly enough to buy any reliable weapon. It seemed that the day may just drag on forever.
He walked to a second hand sword shop to buy the things he needed for training, and didn't have enough left over from his money to buy a little booze. He sighed and went to the lawless district to find someone with heavy pockets and maybe buy what he needed.
"I shouldn't have spent all that money last week on so much to drink. What the hell was I thinking?" Ikkaku cursed himself. He heard someone trying to attack him from behind. There was no need for finely tuned instincts, the person was charging and breathing heavily.
Ikkaku casually stepped out of the way. "Let's make this quick. How much money do you have on you?"
The guy in front of him was three times Ikkaku's size and looked more like a gorilla on steroids than a person. He was absolutely fuming, probably one of the people Ikkaku had beaten before looking for revenge.
"I'm going to fucking kill you!"
Ikkaku sighed. The man looked extremely poor, he was coated in dirt and had rags for clothes. "I'm guessing you're not worth much? Probably not enough to buy a nice bottle of something strong, right?"
"What the hell are you talking about, you bastard?"
"Do you have any money at all?"
"I don't carry my money with me if I know I'm going to fight a thief!" He shouted.
"Then you're not worth my time," Ikkaku said, and began to walk away.
"I'll cut you down whether you draw your sword or not!"
Ikkaku heard the man cling two blades together, two heavy ax blades. Interested, he turned back to see finely crafted twin axes in the brutes possession that he somehow didn't notice before.
"Those look like they're worth something."
"You'll have to pry these from my cold, dead hands."
"I'll take you up on that offer," Ikkaku replied drily and took his katana out from it's sheath.
The brute challenging him didn't miss a beat. He charged, and proved himself to be rather skilled with his weapons. Ikkaku thought he would remember someone who was actually good in a ratty place like Rukongai, but ignored that and just decided to enjoy the fight.
Ikkaku dodged masterfully and smiled. "What's your name?"
"I'm the leader and big brother of the five you thought to beat up earlier. But dead men don't need to know names."
"But I need to listen to your life story? Fine, Mr. Big Brother of a bunch of poor weaklings, it's nice to meet you. I'm Ikkaku Madarame. I think you should know the name of the one he ends your afterlife."
The man turned red with rage and charged again, and used a pincer maneuver. Ikkaku dodged it with relative ease, but got cut when the oaf retaliated and swung his right ax downward. He wasn't abnormally fast, but his agility was something to be admired. Ikkaku's left shoulder had a cut almost an inch deep that continued nearly halfway down his torso.
"This is looking like it'll be pretty fun, unfortunately, I can't play long. I need to take those axes and get some money for them, maybe trade them in for a few quality katana. Don't take it too personally if I kill you before you've enjoyed the fight to it's fullest, alright?"
"Don't be an idiot!" The man ran again, doing the same pincer movement he did previously. Ikkaku jumped onto the right ax and dealt a lethal blow to the man's jugular before he even realized he missed the attack.
"Here I thought it would be more challenging," Ikkaku sighed and jumped off the ax, pushing the dying man to the ground. "Don't bleed all over those, they're valuable."
Ikkaku laughed a bit at his own crude joke and picked the axes up. They were both rather decorated, with inscriptions ornamenting the fine steel of the blades, and traditional tassels at the end of the handles.
"I'll be able to upgrade my own katana and get Yumichika one he can handle, too." Ikkaku grinned. He felt like a moron carrying two axes that he could only barely lift, training swords, and his own beat up katana, but he was a bit too happy to care.
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It was well past six o'clock now, Yumichika noticed, and Ikkaku still wasn't home. He collapsed on their shared bed and began to worry. Although he was thoroughly exhausted from cleaning the apartment till it shined (uncleanliness was so ugly, after all), he couldn't help wanting to go looking for his friend.
"Hey princess, mind opening the door?"
And I was worried about that moron for the last three hours why? Yumichika thought. He wanted to be angry at how irresponsible the man was to be so late, but instead ended up smiling before he even got to the door.
"You should ask for things you want nicely."
"Just open the fucking door."
"Fine, fine," Yumichika said. He would've teased longer, but he was anxious to see Ikkaku's expression when he saw the apartment perfectly clean.
Ikkaku was carrying enough food to last the both of them weeks, wooden swords and beautiful katana, and enough booze to last a popular bar a few days.
"Where did you get the money-"
"Just help me with this. Where should I look out for trash?" Ikkaku asked, not able to see anything in front of him with all the things he was carrying blocking his vision.
"Here, let me take some of that," Yumichika said and took the food and swords that were on top of the pile of things Ikkaku was occupied with.
"Holy shit."
"I hope you don't mind."
"I thought you said you weren't a maid," Ikkaku said with an irrepressible grin.
Yumichika answered with a hard kick to his shin.
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