The Trouble with Love-games
Eventually, you are going to lose…
I'm so happy that the last chapter was well received! I have to say I wasn't planning on this story being dramatic, it started out just as fluff really, but there we go.
And I shall apologize, there isn't much Ichiruki till the end of the chapter, but it's there I promise! So don't run away :P
Thank you to those of you who reviewed, here are the promised virtual cookies… mmm double chocolate…
And some replies, just cos I'm feeling extra generous today!
(Feel free to skip to the story if these don't concern you! Or read them, I just don't wana bore you :P )
Kaileychigago: I'm glad you think he deserved it!
Shie0917: really? I was worried having a drug lord burning his dads house to the ground (with or without him in it) was too harsh!
Miku Alli: Thank you for the reassurance, I do greatly appreciate you always taking the time to review!
Nightkill: No he's mean! Actually I think he's a great villan in the series, and thought I should keep him that way (hopefully I succeeded) though I must admit, I do own a plushy Aizen, so I can't claim to hate him that much XD
StrawberryDragon94: Thank you for virtual cookies haha! And I'm glad you liked the plot. And I shall address Rukia being left behind at some point.
Kalthurin: I'm glad you like the story and the chapter! I do apologise for my lack of description, I always worry I suck at describing, I was never really into writing except for academic essays til very recently (I'm a philosophy major), so the constructive criticism is very useful and I shall bare that in mind for future chaps / if I ever edit this story!
Paradox-Otaku: Wow longest review ever XD I feel so loved XD I'm very glad you took the time even at such a crazy hour to write it, means a lot! :D I'm so glad you like the story! And the little details (I always hope people get them) and the pairings, Ginran is my 2nd favourite too! Also, I like to update often, gives me something to do which I enjoy doing, so don't worry about going months without an update ;) though I must say when I go back to uni updates might get slower ):
Man that's the most replies I have ever done I think! But you guys are awesome so I'm okay with that!
Onwards with the mooching!
….
As soon as Renji's black BMW M5 pulled up outside Montgomery, Toshiro flung the door open and jumped out carrying Momo, running straight into the building and up to Ichigo's flat where the remaining girls were waiting. He did not have to so much as knock, they had seen the cars pull up and park out of the kitchen window, where they had been waiting for quite some time.
Gin followed close by, still clutching Rangiku to his chest possessively. Orihime held the door open, and directed them to the end of the corridor, where a fancy bathroom stood. It had a marble floor, with a spacious tub stood against the right hand wall, an ornate black-framed mirror that spanned the full length of the back wall, and in the back left corner, there was a Jacuzzi. A red sofa occupied the rest of that wall.
Rukia, having only discovered this room an hour or so ago, still had the breath knocked out of her every time she entered.
Currently, however, she had completely forgotten about the room. The sight before her was heart breaking. The two girls, in the arms of guys who cared for them deeply, who had risked themselves to save them. She may only have been part of this group for a week or so, but that did not make the sight any easier. The boys laid the girls at either end of the sofa, Gin then leant against the wall, whilst Toshiro crouched down next to Momo.
"I've called Uhnohana over" Said Rukia to the whole room "She should be here any minute, she is a med student and I'm sure she would be much better at helping Momo and Ran than us, and she won't ask questions." She turned to Orihime (Yachiru had gone to collect the Pizza's). "I think we should start cleaning the wounds though"
"Right" The red head replied.
Not long after they got to work however, the doors flew open and everyone seemed to pile into the room.
"Do you mind!" Said Toshiro, angrily "All these people crowding round won't help!"
"Chill out man" said Renji "We are all worried you know"
Toshiro sneered slightly, and went back to looking concernedly at the battered girl next to him.
"He's right you know" Said a calm voice.
Everyone parted to let Retsu Uhnohana through.
"Whilst it's nice that you are all so willing to be there for your friends, I can't work with you all here, so if you could all please leave that would be great." She smiled sweetly, and whilst the words sounded calm, there was a threatening edge to her tone, and everyone jostled to get out of the room.
"You boys may stay, I know you must be too concerned to be willing to wait elsewhere, and Miss Kuchiki and Miss Inoue, I would be grateful for your assistance."
And with that, the three of them began to clean, sterilise and patch up the wounds, knowing that it was all they could do to aid the girls pain.
…
"Uhhhhh" Momo had stirred, just as they were wondering whom they should try to wake first to bathe.
"Momo!" Toshiro exclaimed. "It's okay Momo, your all safe"
She slowly opened her eyes with what seemed like a lot of effort.
"Shi- Shiro, you came to save me"
"Yes, we all came to save you, and I'm never going to let anyone hurt you ever again!"
She made to sit up, but Uhnohana warned her she shouldn't move so suddenly for a while.
"Is Rangiku okay?"
"She's doing fine" Said Orihime cheerfully.
"And what happened to…"
Gin cut her off.
"Grimmjow took care of it, you wont 'av to worry 'bout him ever again, an' don't worry, we din' kill 'im"
"Thank you, everyone."
"You rest now, Momo" Toshiro said "Come on Ichimaru, it would be rude for us to watch the ladies in the bath."
Gin bent down, squeezed Rangiku's hand and kissed her forehead.
"I'll be back soon beautiful"
"Don't….. go…"
"Ran!" He said, his eyes flying open. They were an alarming shade of blue, like that of ice that has been starved of oxygen.
"Don't go…"
"I'm not going anywhere babe," he reassured her, stroking her hair, a smile on his face for the first time that day since he had received her distressed text, "But I can't stay in here while you an' ya mate have a bath can I silly?" His smile grew even wider. "I'll be waitin' fer ya in the kitchen babe, you just get better yeh?" He kissed her on the nose and she giggled, watching as him and Toshiro left.
Whilst Momo was soaking in the bubbles, the other girls sat upon the sofa, Rangiku curled up on the end, examining all her bandages.
"You know," Uhnohana spoke up "It's not really my place, Miss Hinamori, but I have to say, that Hitsuguaya kid is crazy for you, and I think you would be a fool to ignore it now you are rid of that ghastly Aizen guy."
"You think so?" Said Momo, blushing.
"Oh totally!" Said Orihime and Rangiku at the same time.
She giggled, and the five of them went on discussing the subject till Rangiku had also had her bath, all feeling much better, having found such joy after such a horrible episode in all of their lives.
….
The girls were hugged by every single person in the room, except some of Gin's arrancar friends, which, none of them seemed to mind much.
Infact, none of the seireitei group doubted that the only reason they had remained in the flat was for the free pizza and celebratory beers they were given, and this thought was reinforced when all of them left when they finished eating, bar Ulquiorra, and the yellow blonde haired girl, whose name was Tia.
'Why am I staying?' Thought Ulquiorra, as he watched his peers walk out of the room and heard the engine of Grimmjow's Jaguar X-type purr to life. 'Why can I not bear to leave this red haired girl I have hardly spoken to? Making friends at uni must have made me soft' He concluded. Throughout his life, Ulquiorra had been a loner, however uni this past few months had forced him to interact, and if he was being honest with himself, he was actually starting to like the company, even if the majority of his friends were idiots.
However, the reason for Tia Harribel's staying, became quite clear as the evening progressed.
Everybody had crowded onto the sofa's and cushions on the floor, and she had managed to sit herself on Renji's lap because "Sitting on this idiot seemed a more comfy idea than the floor". Renji had protested, but everyone could see the grin sneaking its way onto his features.
The group sat and watched lame TV for a bit, then progressed to fight profusely over what movie should be watched. They let Rangiku decide in the end (Momo would have got a say, had it not been for the fact that she had fallen asleep on Hitsuguaya's shoulder, so he carried her to her room and had tucked her up in bed). Rangiku chose Bring It On. All the guys groaned, but Rukia noted, that not one of them left, they all sat fixated by the tanned girls jumping around in tiny skirts and crop tops. Boys.
'I am kind of enjoying this though' She had to admit. It was nice to be sat having a night in with a group of friends after such a dramatic day. She felt so relaxed and comfortable, though that may have had something to do with the orange haired guy sat next to her who had his arm around her waist.
Luckily for Ichigo, Rukia was next to the wall, so no one would be on the other side to see where his arm was. Not that it mattered to him, other than not wanting Renji to know.
However, he need not have worried about that particular thorn in his side, since he seemed pretty busy touching up the busty blonde on his lap.
…..
The movie finished around half 12, and most people moved to go to bed.
As Orihime said her goodbyes, she noticed the boy with the sad green eyes was looking at her. She smiled at him, and for a moment, she thought she saw a flicker of a smile looking back.
Gin took Rangiku off to bed, and Toshiro went into Momo's room before leaving to check up on her.
The door opening woke her up, and she bolted upright, looking around to see the source of the noise.
"Oh, its you" she relaxed back onto the bed.
"Sorry" He said, embarrassed he woke her, "I just wanted to check up on you"
"I'm fine" she said, forcing a smile.
"It's me Momo, you don't have to pretend
"I know, sorry" she said, looking down
"Hey, don't be sorry" He said, sitting down on the bed next to her, holding her hand. None of this is your fault. Now, you need to get your rest"
He made to leave, but he felt her grabbing his hand and pulling him back.
"Stay" she whispered "Please, just till I fall asleep"
"Of course" He smiled, and sat on the wicker chair next to her bed, holding her hand once more.
….
Back in the kitchen, only Ichigo and Rukia, and Renji and Tia, remained. The latter pair seemed very close, so Ichigo decided him and Rukia should leave.
"Come on lets leave these two before they get it on right in front of us"
"Good idea" she giggled.
"Night Bro!" Ichigo called.
There was no response, due to the fact that Renji's face was now attached to the girl's, and had been since the second Ichigo and Rukia turned around.
"Renji has finally scored a relatively sober girl, I'm amazed" Ichigo said, laughing as they stood in the corridor.
"Who knew" laughed Rukia.
They held each others gaze, still smiling, and found themselves being drawn to each other, like magnets.
Ichigo took Rukia's small hands in his, as they pressed their lips together.
When they finally broke for air, he spoke "Surprised you can reach up to kiss me from down there midget"
"Oh shut up strawberry!" She said pulling him down to her level and kissing him more roughly this time.
Ichigo picked her up, as the intensity of the kiss picked up.
"So," he said when they finally broke apart "Want me to take you home?"
"No" She said, laughing at the shock on his face.
"I don't want you to, but you have to" She kissed him chastely, before he put her down, grabbed his keys from his room, and a hoody for her to wear.
"It's cold, and I can't have my midget freezing on me can I?" He said in response to her questioning gaze.
"Your midget?"
"Yes," he said taking her hand, beaming, "My midget".
….
Sorry this chapter starts kinda slow! Hope it wasn't too boring for y'all!