Disclaimer: After awhile disclaimers can get so repetitive just like after awhile stories can grow stale. Such is not the case with Kubo-sensei's creation however and it's a jolly good thing that I am not him!

A/N Suppose I have no one but myself to blame I should have warned all of you from the start I write berry pairings MY WAY-THE SLY WAY!

BonneNuit: May this put a little joy back in your gloomy hours.

Warnings: AU, OOC, Spelling, Grammar, Punctuation, switching views, plot holes, etc etc etc etc etc…

AizenxIchigo, OtherIchi, others

Shades of Orange

Part 15

I dream of winning a berry…lalalalala

(Ichigo)

To be rudely ripped away from his dreams had never been a pleasant thing for Ichigo.

A blonde snaggle tooth girl hovering just above him, looking a little too innocent to be taken seriously, it was down right petrifying.

Growing quite tiered of jumping at shadows and making a complete ass out of himself, Ichigo simply settled for glaring. "Hiyori what are you doing?"

The girl actually had the decency to blush and remove herself from him.

Ichigo sat up "How long have I been-?"

He didn't get to finish his question as a familiar feeling of pain blossomed n the side of his head.

"Are you really that freakin' stupid Ichigo or do you secretly have a damn death wish?"

Hiyori raised her sandal as if to strike again and the orange haired youth decided that it would be in his best interest to answer quickly.

But truthfully he didn't even know why the hell the blonde was griping at him in the first place.

Since when was falling asleep a crime?

"Ichigo did swallowin' all that damn water make you deaf as well? I asked you a question!"

Ichigo studied the blonde shrimp in the little red bikini-Hiyori reminded him of a younger sister only Karin and Yuzu had never had such incredibly foul mouths.

"Hiyori are you sure you're really nineteen?"

Hazel eyes narrowed to thin slits. A dark and angry aura suddenly coming off the blonde in waves.

Hiyori gnashed her teeth together and smacked the heel of her sandal against the palm of her hand. "What did you say?"

Slowly, ever so slowly Ichigo made his way to his feet and backed away from the dangerous blonde-a bit curious and uber relieved-to learn that somewhere between his nap and being rescued Hiyori or one of her 'family members' had been kind enough to give him back his boxers.

He shuddered sincerely hoping that who ever had dressed him didn't cop a feel or two-he wouldn't put it past them-especially Risa, Mashiro and Shinji, uber perverts those three were.

'Ah but what if it was Silver Blond Man himself, that wouldn't be so bad now would it King?'

'Shirosaki, not now.'

A snort and then silence.

It was happening a lot more quickly now.

Ichigo wondered if it had something to do with the water-it seemed normal enough but-

A shadow looking very much like a sandal caught his gaze-Ichigo had suffered enough blows to the head and did not wish for an unending encore-he'd be damned if it he let Hiyori strike him again!

Ichigo grabbed the arm right before it connected with his face and loosened the sandal from Hiyori's hold, smirking in triumph when the blonde frowned at the loss of her favorite weapon.

"Hiyori before always resorting to violence right off the bat why don't you tell me why you're so pissed in the first place?"

One sandal gone did not stop the blond from stomping her feet "You fell asleep-no you practically drowned in the damn hot tub just now and if I didn't pull you out who kno-

"You pulled me out?" Ichigo's voice was incredulous

"Of course I did you idiot! Everyone else went to bed the moment you started making those noises."

Ichigo's face flushed and he was suddenly quite grateful that it was nighttime.

When the blonde said nothing about his lack of his response Ichigo decided to ask another question "What time is it anyway?"

Hiyori jumped (unsuccessfully) for her sandal and snarled out "It's time for you to stop being an ass and follow me!"

()()

(Kenpachi)

The little raven woman had taken his phone.

She promised that she would give it back-promised that she wouldn't break it-promised that she wouldn't wrack up his bill-told him that he would thank her when it was over.

At this moment in time Kenpachi was reminded of why he didn't usually care much for young people.

"You haven't touched your tea Kenpachi-san, is it not to your liking?"

And then there was the overly polite (sickening really) princess.

What did the woman not understand about a simple cup of coffee, no cream or sugar added?

Or hell even a glass of ice water would suffice.

Beer or a bottle of rum would be even better but there was no sense in drinking around minors.

"Are you by any chance related to one of the original Titans?"

Coming in third place, the moronic redhead who continued to ask asinine questions.

Kenpachi just couldn't wrap his head around it.

How the hell could Ichigo stand to be around these college kids?

Never mind that the orange haired youth himself was a college kid.

'Nah Ichigo is different-he's not like these,' a snort 'Babies.'

Kenpachi let out a sigh and downed the cup of tea at last-almost immediately regretting it the moment the unnatural flavor hit his tongue.

He wished Yachiru were here but she wouldn't be dropping into town until late tomorrow night.

'Ah yes tomorrow night-maybe Ichigo will be back by then.'

Kenpachi still had a hard time believing that the youth would just blow him off without explanation-it didn't seem like Ichigo's style.

Something else must have happened.

The moment the thought entered his mind Kenpachi felt like slapping himself

'What the hell has gotten into me lately? Worrying over Ichigo as if I were his damn mother or house keeper or something,' a grunt 'Ichigo can handle himself.'

"Oi woman pour me another!"

"AH HA!" the redheaded gorilla in training jumped out of his chair and pointed his finger at him (if he wasn't careful Kenpachi might bite it off next time!) "I've got it now, you're a descendant of Conan the Barbarian right?"

He could crush the redhead's skull like a melon-it would be all too easy but he didn't think Ichigo would appreciate having to mop up his friends brains so he left the fool alone.

Grabbed his cup and slammed it on the table

"Woman didn't you hear me I said I want another!"

The princess jumped and squeaked and quickly poured another cup.

Kenpachi laughed.

He still wished Ichigo were here but for the moment being surrounded by Ichigo's friends wasn't too horrible.

Hell it was a step up from hanging around with his annoying ex wife.

"Could you please not shout Zaraki-san, some of us are trying to catch up on out beauty sleep."

Kenpachi didn't quite know what to make the male with pepto hair "Leave the beauty sleep to the women and grow a pair, you twink!"

Predictably the pepto-prince looked positively outraged at these words.

Kenpachi laughed even harder.

()()

(Grimmjow)

There was always something extremely satisfying about letting his aggression out on another living, breathing hot-blooded male and really in Grimmjow's opinion-there was no better target than Nnoitra.

The only thing that would have made this moment even more satisfying would be the loud crunch of the bastards nose or jaw breaking, the delicious tang of crimson in the air as he split his knuckles wide open on one of the black-haired male's dentures.

And then the ultimate reward-the truest and sweetest victory-with out being pressured or coaxed-Kurosaki-his once in a lifetime orange berry would grip the back of his hair and pull him down into a fierce demanding kiss!

But Athena and her sparkly unicorns, as Grimmjow had long ago concluded, didn't give two flying figs about what would make him happy.

So he settled for watching the shitty spindly bastard stumble backwards into the coffee table-finding it almost hilarious that not a single drop of wine had been spilled in the process.

With a snort Grimmjow stepped around the now unconscious Nnoitra and decided to help himself to whatever was chilling in the refrigerator.

He'd worked up quite an appetite and it was time to refuel.

()()

(Aizen)

Sleep, it seemed, was out of the question.

After tossing and turning for a good half hour or more Aizen threw off his covers and sat up.

Maybe it was because he was back in his childhood bedroom-a bedroom he had always hated because he believed it was housed by an angry spirit-maybe it was because once again his head was throbbing-his children misbehaving-or maybe it was because his thoughts were running rapid-his brain refused to shut up.

Now that he had admitted his feelings to someone else other than himself, Aizen no longer wished to just sit by and wait to see how things would play out.

He no longer wished to create some sort of schedule or calendar-a series of scenarios in his head-

Aizen had never been the type of man to act without weighing the pros and the cons but watching his mother with that Fergus woman made him realize something.

While he was nowhere near being over the hill, he wasn't exactly a young spring chicken anymore either.

If he wanted to truly call Ichigo-kun his own he would have to prove to the boy that there was no greater match then theirs.

Simply winning over the young Kuchiki or the rest of Ichigo's friends would not be enough.

Winning over the boy's family wouldn't be enough either-

NO!

No-he Aizen Sousuke, son of the late Duke Alaric would have to win the world over-or if not win them over then definitely soften them up a bit at the very least.

Bribery and other underhanded schemes would not win the boy's heart-

No he had to show Ichigo-kun that there was more to him than the proud aristocrat, the father, the leader and business tycoon.

The boy would make him a better person (had already started) and in turn he would give Ichigo-kun the world and anything else the youth might desire.

He could not turn back the clock-could not alter the events of that one afternoon-nor did he truly wish to-to erase the image of Ichigo-kun blushing from the roots of his hair to the tips of his toes-

Aizen really should have not let the boy walk away so easily-he hadn't even properly sav-

There was a knock at the door-rousing the man from his thoughts.

"Sou-kun are you asleep?"

Aizen glared at the door but kept his tone even "I am awake. Is there something you wished to ask me mother?"

"You barely said a word at dinner and I was," a pause "Call me a foolish old woman if you wish but I was worried."

Even after all this time it still felt like the woman was smothering him.

Another tap on the door

"Sou-kun?"

If Aizen were a lesser man with fewer brain cells he would have reached across the dresser and jammed the old fashioned quill into his brain just then-wondering in that brief moment how long it would take before his mother realized that the reason there was dead silence was because he was dead.

And then as quickly as the thought came it fled-followed up by another rather humorous yet morbid thought-

'To be the uninvited guest at my own funeral-I have to wonder if anyone would actually shed tears over me.'

"Sou-kun are you sure you're al-

Aizen rubbed the sides of his temples and turned the lights "You may come in if you wish, Mother."

()()

TO BE CONCLUDED

THIS IS…

JUST A SNACK TO GET YOU JUMPED UP FOR THE GRAND FINALE!