Hey guys. It's been a crazy week for me. Next week is also going to be crazy, but I'll still be able to put out updates. I hope you enjoy chapter 6 because I had a really good time writing it.
Chapter 6
Ichigo had to have heard him wrong, he had to. This entire time he thought Grimmjow and he were in the same boat, both doing this against their will, but now here they are and Grimmjow is saying that it wasn't true. Was he actually happy with this? There was no way anyone was that good at lying. He was able to see right through him that morning when he tried deceiving him so it made no sense for him to be lying about this.
"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked looking over to meet his roommate's eyes to see just how serious they were. Ichigo saw his cold eyes staring right through him. The cool blue eyes looked so cold and unmoving that he couldn't tell what he was thinking.
"What I did was a mistake, but whether I regret it or not is something else completely." Grimmjow said. "I'm sorry to say this, but I don't regret biting you."
Ichigo looked at Grimmjow and hardened his stare. "Are you trying to piss me off again? Because this isn't a good way to do it. It's not like I forgot about you trying to wipe my memory."
Grimmjow glowered at Ichigo. "I'm not playing this time Ichigo. Yeah, I made a mistake, I tried to fix it, that didn't work, but I'm glad where I ended up. I'm upset that I hurt you, but that is really as far as it goes."
Ichigo's expression hardened more and his eyebrows tightened together as he tried to contain his rage, knowing that it won't get him anywhere. Maybe he wasn't getting something. "What do you mean?"
Grimmjow got up and walked over to Ichigo's side of the room pulling the chair from his desk with him so he could sit closer to his roommate and still look at him directly, but all Ichigo could see was that he cutting off Ichigo's escape route. It was evident that he had a habit of trying to escape from his territorial roommate when he was upset with him so he felt uneasy with him that close by and he had no method of escape.
"Nel convinced me to tell you everything by threatening to tell you herself." Grimmjow said. "Remember that?"
Joy, he is only telling him because he was going to learn about everything one day or another. Great, it's one step up if you look at it though. At least they can move the hell on; seriously this has been the longest day ever.
"The truth is that I was planning to turn you from the first day I met you. I just didn't want to do it now."
Ichigo was furious, but he can push back the desire to yell at him for making decisions on his own. It seemed from the very beginning of this entire program people were making plans and choices for him without him knowing. Grimmjow especially gave him no wiggle room and it was starting to feel suffocating. Suffocating like he was being pulled underwater and he felt the pressure the deeper he was pulled down and he couldn't breathe.
He didn't need to ask stupid questions like 'why do you want to turn me?' He can answer that himself, the same reason why Aizen does and every other vampire at this damn school apparently.
"There is only one month in this program left. There wasn't really any time left to approach me with this vampire shit. So what was your plan? To turn me on the last day and to drag me to Germany?" Ichigo growled, trying to keep a lid on his rage that was threatening to boil over.
"Yeah, pretty much." Grimmjow said no remorse in his voice. "The reason why I tried wiping your memories was because that was the original plan whether you knew about vampires or not had no difference."
"That's abduction." Ichigo growled. "There is no way I would have been okay with it."
Ichigo was angry sure, but he couldn't help feeling a bit more disappointed though. Grimmjow was the only one to ever taste his blood, but Grimmjow immediately noticed that he fucked up and helped Ichigo get back to his original health when he realized that he took too much. He thought that Grimmjow was planning to wipe his memories for his own sanity and so that neither of them had to face the consequences of being in this guardian and guarded relationship. Grimmjow practically vowed to protect him and he proved that by warning him about the guy in the café, picking a fight with a different guy that grabbed him earlier that day, and he even threatened Aizen.
Maybe he was already experiencing some Stockholm syndrome, but he really wanted Grimmjow to be different. He was hoping that he wasn't like every other vampire on this campus that was only looking to recruit him for his blood. He even had hopes that they can somehow live with each other for the unforeseeable future. This new story that he was hearing though was proving otherwise.
Ichigo wanted for Grimmjow to not be the bad guy, but all Ichigo could see in him right now was how selfish an asshole he was. He could get rid of him easily. He could just go to Aizen and surrender to him. It seemed he would have to give up his humanity either way so what was stopping him?
Grimmjow continuing to keep Ichigo close only proved that he wanted Ichigo for himself and didn't care about his happiness in the first place and that he was trying too hard to justify the vampire's actions. He still rejected the idea of surrendering to Aizen though. From what he learned about him, he was not an option. He wasn't sure about Grimmjow, but he had to at least be better then he was.
It was for his on sanity that he adjusted to situations easily, but he wanted to believe that the guy he was going on this journey with had some good in him. He's been finding that more difficult the more time he spent with him. Maybe he just needed to escape, even if it was just for a while. He needed at least one day to figure some stuff out.
"I need to go." Ichigo said getting up in a sitting position before Grimmjow held his shoulder to keep him from getting up from his bed.
"No you don't. You're not running away again." Grimmjow said. "I'm so fucking tired of your little silent treatments and tantrums." He said pressing a finger harshly on the purple mark on Ichigo's neck reminding him that he could feel Ichigo's emotions.
"I don't have tantrums. I just need space." Ichigo growled trying to get up again. Grimmjow just pushed him down further so that he was lying down with Grimmjow's palm relaxed on his chest.
"Listen I get this is new to you, but you're going to have to get fucking used to it. I'm not patient enough to have to chase after you every time you decide to run off and hide." Grimmjow demanded.
Ichigo exhaled. "Give me one night. I can't convince you to leave me alone, but I can at least ask for one night. Please? For once let me have one last night without you before I get forced to do everything you say and stuff that I'm not okay with for the rest of my life."
Grimmjow took his hand off Ichigo's chest and took a deep breath himself his eyes dilating for a second again from Ichigo's strong scent. "What do you want to do?"
"Sleep over at my best friend's room." Ichigo stated.
"Ah yes, the red head that is totally gay for you." Grimmjow said rolling his eyes and crossing his arms. "That's not going to happen."
Ichigo glowered at him, "why the hell not?"
"What if his roommate is a vampire? You were assigned to me randomly, but there are plenty of them here. You don't know about him."
He made a valid point, but at this point Ichigo didn't mind taking that risk, but there was no way that Grimmjow would let him make that decision himself. Grimmjow sighed noticing his roommate's depressed expression.
"What's his name?" Grimmjow asked. "I know every vampire here that isn't a small fry. A small fry wouldn't pick a fight with me."
"I think his name is Byakuya." Ichigo said. Not really sure of his answer, but he was determined to at least try. It sounded right, but it was a weird name and weird names are harder to remember. It didn't sound like it belonged to a specific language. Apparently he was Japanese, but he never heard of a name like that before. It was either a really old name or his parents were being creative.
"Fuck, that stuck up asshole?" Grimmjow groaned holding he head in his palms. "He isn't dangerous, but I still don't want to deal with him."
Ichigo immediately looked disappointed and turned over so that he was facing the wall and his back was facing towards Grimmjow. He didn't want him to see him look defeated and he didn't want to look at him. Grimmjow stared at the still back of his roommate for a few seconds before sighing, "Alright fine, but only because I don't see him as a threat to your safety, not because you're getting all pouty."
Ichigo turned around and looked at his roommate with a somewhat hopeful look, probably the best expression he had on all day. He gave Grimmjow a light smile in gratitude causing his counterpart to blush lightly and turn away, scratching the side of his cheek. "Just do what you have to before I change my mind."
"Thanks, Renji." Ichigo said as he plopped his backpack down on Renjis's crowded chair that was covered in jackets, sweaters, and sweatpants. It was basically the stereotypical chair that you would find in a college dorm. The chair that belonged to a messy person that didn't want to put away or hang up any of the stuff that they planned on wearing again.
"No problem, man." Renji said grabbing a can of soda from his fridge and throwing it towards Ichigo. He caught it and held it watching his best friend help himself to his own pulling back the tab releasing the air from the can and making a satisfying hiss sound. "So what's up?"
"Just a fight with my roommate." Ichigo said following the redhead's example opening his own can and drinking heavily from it.
"Wanna talk about it?" Renji asked sipping his own soda while he sat on his bed with his feet hanging off the side.
"Nope." Ichigo said finishing his soda in record speed before throwing it in Renji's overcrowded waste bin. The waste bin was too crowded so the soda can bounced out causing Ichigo frown and walk over so he could manage the space in the waste bin to make room for his empty can.
Renji didn't press him for details. He always encouraged Ichigo to tell him about how he was feeling even though that was quite uncommon for guys in this generation and even less common in Japan, but he didn't like to persist if Ichigo felt uncomfortable.
He and Ichigo didn't talk too much on the way over to his room. When Ichigo shot him that text it seemed random, but he went to pick him up at his dorm. He was courteous to ask whether his roommate was okay with him sleeping over. Ichigo never had the chance to meet him so it would have been awkward that him needing to sleep over would be his first meeting.
Ichigo pulled his shirt over his head so he can change into his clothes that he brought for sleeping. He didn't think much of it until Renji pointed something out that made him feel like an idiot for forgetting about.
"What's that?" Renji said gesturing to his own neck as a reference.
"It's nothing." Ichigo said turning bright red as he held his head in frustration and self-loathing.
"I will punch you in the face if you say something like you banged into something. I know what that is." Renji said. "Dude, why didn't you tell me?"
Ichigo sighed shifting his hand that was holding his forehead to cover his neck even though the shirt that he slipped on was covering the deformity.
"It's not what you think." Ichigo said, turning his head so that his red face was less visible.
"Oh really? Try me." Renji said. "If you are hooking up with someone you would have told me, right?"
Ichigo didn't know what to say. He was walking on dangerous territory. He couldn't just lie like he did to Uryu, Renji was his best friend so he didn't want to just say anything so that they could move on. If he says the wrong thing he would hurt Renji. If he said just anything he wouldn't be allowed to be vague, he needs to talk about dirty details, and Renji knew him forever so he could tell when he was lying. So he couldn't just make up a story and move on. So he just didn't say anything, which seemed to work out because Renji can talk forever without taking a breath.
"Let me take a shot in the dark." Renji said when he noticed that Ichigo didn't know what to say. "No consequences. If you don't know what I'm talking about you won't ask questions and we let this slide." He looked at Ichigo waiting for his approval.
This was kind of new to Ichigo. This didn't happen often but whenever they talked about something that they didn't know they were allowed to talk about they relied on each other to stop them mid-sentence when walking on thin ice. Ichigo was now on standby to have no idea what the hell Renji is talking about. He will probably go off and says some theory that is probably not true. Ichigo just nodded his head to tell Renji to continue.
"You know what's going on in this school right?" Renji asked. "Like this convention?"
"What are you- fuck Renji, you knew about all this?" Ichigo said holding his head as he started to pace the room. "What the fuck, man? For how long?"
Renji looked to the floor guiltily. "Well, I have mixed feelings about this…" He trailed off before snapping back to his usual self. "Wait, we are talking about the vampires right?" Renji said no longer patient enough to tiptoe around the subject, but more focused on knowing that they were on the same page and how deep Ichigo was into this.
"Yes!" Ichigo said in full on scolding mode. "Why didn't you tell me when you found out about all this?"
"Because you wouldn't have come with me if you knew." Renji said quietly looking at his feet like he was a little kid that was caught sneaking an extra cookie from the cookie jar.
Ichigo was silent for a second as he repeated the words in his head, trying to grasp the meaning of them. "Wait, let me get this straight, YOU KNEW THE WHOLE TIME!?" Ichigo yelled. "Are you an idiot? Why did you drag me here? Why did you even want to go?"
Renji brought his hands up ready to shield his face from any danger that came at it.
"I didn't want to go alone…" Renji said bringing his hands away from his face and brought them together in front of his chest. "You're my best friend. I didn't want to go on an experience that had the potential to change my entire life without you."
Ichigo sighed. He'll scold him later, he was a bit more focused on his friend that he just discovered had self-destructive tendencies then his own well-being. "Okay fine, but why did you want to go to this in the first place."
Renji looked at him seriously and then back at his feet. "I did it for Rukia."
Ichigo backtracked a bit finding his way back to the chair that he was sitting on before and crossing his legs as he slumped into it, ready to investigate everything that Renji was hiding from him.
"You know how she was adopted into a noble family?" Renji asked. "Well it turns out it is a family of vampires, and well she is one too now."
Ichigo was stunned. He got up and was about to walk towards the door so he could take a walk and reconstruct everything he ever knew in the world as he learned more and more that his life was built on a foundation of lies. Seriously, his best friends were keeping all of this from him?
"No, come back." Renji called. "Let me finish, I wanted to talk to you about this for like forever now. It sucks keeping secrets from you so let me gossip."
Ichigo sighed and sat back down keeping his eyes shut and arms crossed ready to listen to Renji rant.
"I didn't want to tell you like this, but I want to propose to Rukia." Renji admitted. This must have been the biggest secret that Renji has ever kept from Ichigo.
"Okay…Vampire thing aside…YOU'RE A COLLEGE STUDENT." Ichigo said. "Have you thought this through at all?"
Renji nodded. "I've wanted to do this for years; I've known for years that she was a vampire. I was the first person she told when she was turned. I didn't even believe her and didn't talk to her until you brought her back into my life. She proved to me that she was telling the truth and that I had to keep that from you." Renji said. He made eye contact with Ichigo. "You have no idea how grateful I am that you brought her back into my life, and you have no idea how sorry I am that you are getting pulled into another mess because of me."
Ichigo walked over to his best friend and gave him a hug. Guys don't hug as much as they should, but Renji definitely needed that hug. He couldn't bring himself to blame Renji for the situation he was in. There was no way that he could have known that Ichigo would have attracted so much attention and the program didn't really affect him too much until now. If things kept on working out provided Grimmjow didn't decide to kidnap him he would have made it home safe. He needed to show Renji that he didn't blame him.
"By the way," Renji said while he was still in a hug with Ichigo "my roommate is Rukia's adopted brother."
Ichigo pulled away, containing himself from throwing him backwards from the shock. "What!?"
"Yeah, Byakuya Kuchiki, I needed to get his approval so he decided to keep an eye on me… A very close eye on me…" Renji said trailing off.
Ichigo never met him, but he only heard about him in stories that he heard from Rukia. He was a brother that somewhat made her nervous, but she respected him. He was cool, stern, proud, and admittedly uptight. He never learned his name not feeling the need to nor really cared to ask. Rukia always referred to him as 'aniki' whenever they talked about him, it was out of respect. Now that Ichigo looked at the other side of the room it looked well-kept and neat. The bed was made and his desk was in order in complete contrast to what Renji's side looked like.
"You sure you're making a good impression?" Ichigo said referring to the neat side of the room.
Renji laughed lightly. "He doesn't really care too much about that. You should see Rukia's room before the maid comes in to clean it."
Ichigo laughed. He's never been to the Kuchiki estate, but he would believe it. Although Rukia looks like the type to keep everything clean considering she always dresses nicely and properly, but if you really knew her you'd know that wasn't the case. Her bag at school was always a mess and she would loss things all the time. The only thing that she was worse at then trying to keep her stuff in order was her drawings.
"Really? What about your amazing hook up stories?" Ichigo asked in less of a mocking way, but more concerned about Renji screwing up. He kind of wanted this to work out for both of their sakes.
"Those are all bullshit; it's a cover-up so I don't have to say that I got a hickey from my roommate."
He said looking over at Ichigo knowingly.
"What is that look supposed to mean?" Ichigo asked sternly.
"I'm saying we should talk about your roommate problems now."
Ichigo was a bit awkward at first, but in the end he was relieved that he was able to rant about Grimmjow. He felt like he was going insane, not being able to say any of this stuff out loud. So being able to pour his heart out about everything he's been through was a nice change of pace. Renji just sat quietly and listened, occasionally adding his own input was actually the best thing that happened to Ichigo that day.
After Ichigo finished talking Renji suggested that they call Rukia on Skype so they could get the opinion of a real vampire. They saw that Rukia was online and hit the call button, it was answered almost immediately.
"Hey guys.~" She said when she saw both of their faces crowded together so that they could both be seen by the camera connected to Renji's laptop.
"Hey Rukia, I told Ichigo everything. He found out about the program and he is being recruited himself. Sorry to blow the secret, but something tells me you wouldn't be mad." Renji said before Ichigo could say anything.
"I'm not mad. I'm actually glad that he knows now. Sorry for making you the only one not in on it, Ichigo." She said. "Wait Renji, did you tell him about the-"
"Yeah, I told him about the proposal." Renji said cutting off his supposed fiancé.
"I thought she wasn't allowed to know you were going to pop the question." Ichigo said.
"He needed to get my brother's blessing first, and wow you are taking things really nicely." Rukia joked, not surprised since she was used to Ichigo's nature.
"Enough about us though. Ichigo has his own problems and we need your opinion." Renji said.
Rukia listened to everything Ichigo just told Renji while he sat in the chair away from the camera spinning his drum sticks to keep himself occupied as he heard the same story that was just told to him in the background. Even though Ichigo knew that Rukia was a vampire he could tell nothing changed between them. Just because he knew this one thing about her that he didn't know before wasn't going to change his opinion of her. She was one of his best friends.
"Wait, you said your roommate's name was Grimmjow, right? Like Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez?" Rukia asked.
"Yeah, that's it. You know him?" Ichigo asked now intrigued and happy that they called her.
"Not a lot, but they are quite famous and I think you would be in good hands if you do get turned. You really shouldn't be too scared if you are on the same side as him." Rukia responded, ignoring Skype's constant connection interference, "though I am a bit disappointed that he is being a dick to you."
"I had no idea that his clan was well known." Ichigo said. Knowing this was yet another reminder that there was still so much that he doesn't know about. He should have realized when Grimmjow said that he 'knew every vampire that wasn't a small fry' as if he wasn't one of them and that they 'wouldn't pick a fight with him' as if he were calling himself strong.
"I'm honestly surprised that you are finding about all of this so late. After I heard that you were going on the 'abroad program' I thought you'd figure everything out on the first day. Seriously, I should know more than anyone the effect of your scent, I'm surprised no one tried to attack you. Things must be pretty serious over there." Rukia said.
Ichigo immediately had a realization. He and Rukia had been friends for years and she has been a vampire since before he first met her. If she was a vampire she was totally able to smell his blood, but she still remained his friend through it all. How was she able to get so close to him and hug him without even being tempted to bite down?
"Hey, maybe if you join the Jaegerjaquez clan you can bring them and the Kuchiki clan closer." Renji said, making himself known after staying silent for so long.
"He has a point. Since you are so close with us and we are part with the Kuchiki clan…well Renji might be if things work out…but if you are going to be part of the Jaegerjaquez clan then it may bring our two clans closer and make them friends." Rukia explained.
Renji's roommate didn't come back that night, which Ichigo couldn't help, but be grateful. He wouldn't know how to talk in front of him. He could only imagine awkwardly talking about Rukia and saying something stupid. He was a noble and was part of a well-known vampire clan. They would have nothing in common except for them both being close to Rukia. Heck her brother probably knew more about her then he did and they considered themselves best friends. He never met her brother, but he didn't really have any plans to. That was Renji's battle and he didn't want any part in it. If there was a possibility that he would screw something up then he didn't want any part of it.
Ichigo fell asleep at around 2 in the morning while Renji was still conversing with Rukia who was on the other side of the freaking world. Once Renji knew Ichigo was out he dropped the friend filter that he had on when talking to Rukia while around other people and they immediately reverted back to their flirtatious friendship that they've had. Renji hung up to fall asleep half an hour later. He had a hard time getting comfortable with Ichigo's body taking up half the bed. It was a twin sized extra-long bed; it wasn't exactly built for two people.
They practically had to spoon all night, which proves the theory that it isn't awkward unless you make it awkward. Every now and then they would shake the other awake, but neither one of them was really upset. Renji wanted to be there for Ichigo and Ichigo was just grateful for being allowed to sleep over. He realized it was a tall request since they both had class the next day, but he just needed a break.
The next morning Ichigo woke up understandably exhausted after waking up a million times the night before. It was a very drowsy morning; it was foggy outside which was uncommon for May and it was even a bit chilly.
The thing that woke him up was his cell phone ringing Grimmjow at the other end reminding Ichigo that he was still in his life and that his last night of freedom was now over. His phone read 8:00 am. Why the hell was Grimmjow up so early? Couldn't he cut him a little slack?
Ichigo groaned as he crawled out of the bed that he was sharing with Renji so he could grab his stuff to get ready. Renji immediately took over where Ichigo was sleeping, curling up in the now warm area that was made by his friend's body temperature. Ichigo rolled his eyes knowing that he wasn't going to be able to get a few more minutes of sleep. As he opened the door, changed in fresh clothes he looked back at his friend who must have heard the door open, he looked up if only a little and gave a light wave before he let his head fall back to his pillow. He probably wouldn't even remember Ichigo leaving later.
He didn't want to leave so early that morning since he didn't feel like he was ready to face Grimmjow again, but he didn't seem to have a choice.
He didn't know what he would be allowed to do if he did become a vampire and even though the idea of being closer to Renji and Rukia was appealing, he wasn't ready to give up his own humanity. He really wasn't sure if he was allowed to be free or not. Who knew what would happen if he went to Germany? He didn't want to go to Germany, he wanted to stay in Japan, preferably as a human.
He walked down two flights of stairs to get to the bottom floor before making eye contact with someone in the stairwell. He instantly felt dizzy and the baron stairwell turned into a blur as he collapsed and slid down the last three steps, knocking his head hard against the last step. He picked his upper body up to make eye contact with clear white eyes that had no pupils. They were as white as pearls and contrasted the person's skin tone that they belonged to and they drew his eyes towards them and he wasn't able to look away. It took him a while to realize who he was looking at.
"You're that guy from the coffee shop." Ichigo said drowsily still unsure as his vision swam and black dots danced in front of his eyes. It had to be him though; he didn't really see that many black guys on campus which is admittedly weird for an abroad program that brought in vampires and humans from around the world. Wait, was he black? It was really hard to tell what his race was and now wasn't the time to try and figure it out.
"How peculiar, you're still awake." The mysterious man from yesterday said. "It'll be a lot easier for the both of us if you fall asleep now."
Ichigo felt his energy being drained from him. He just woke up, but the desire to sleep crashed over him like a tidal wave that begged him to just let it sweep him away. He should feel more stressed out then he was too, his muscles were relaxed and he felt pretty nonchalant for someone who had no control of what was going on around him. The guy standing over him had a voice that encouraged him to relax and reassured him that everything was okay. There was no way he was going to let himself fall victim to it though.
"What did you do to me?" Ichigo asked sluggishly as if he just smoked a blunt. His words even sounded like they were slurring in his head. He hoped that he actually didn't sound like that though.
"Don't struggle." The man, Kaname said as he lifted Ichigo over his shoulder and started to walk upstairs slowly and cautiously. Of course Ichigo refused his request even in his tired state as he wiggled around punched his back while fighting the desire to slump over his shoulder and let sleep consume him. It had to be some kind of vampire spell like the one Grimmjow tried to use on him the other day. When Grimmjow first used that spell it made him fall asleep, the fact that he was on the verge of passing out probably helped, but it failed to erase his memories. When he tried again the next day, it straight up didn't work and made Grimmjow look like an idiot. This one must not be working the way he wanted either, but this one was putting up more of a fight. Ichigo wasn't planning to let it win, but the results remained to be determined.
Ichigo tried to yell out for help, but all that came out was muffled sound as if his voice decided to give into the spell too. Kaname pushed open the door to the second floor and opened another door that was close by, a dorm room close to the stairwell. He walked in before dropping Ichigo on a bed. The soft bed that he was placed on almost made him lose the battle against sleep.
Ichigo attempted to escape, scrambling to get off the bed, but as soon as he sat up Kaname held him down. He tried to wrestle his way out of his hold to try and escape, but his captor kept a tight grasp on his wrists. He swung a kick towards the side of his head, but the futile attempt was caught in the clutch of the opposing vampire's hand, releasing one of his wrists to do so. He squeezed his ankle hard, leaving a red mark that wrapped around the area he was holding, causing Ichigo to hiss at the pain.
He knew he was a vampire so he was incredibly strong, but he wasn't expecting him to actually hurt him. If he learned anything from the day before it was that he was considered to be valuable goods, so the fact that the other was responding to his retaliation wasn't exactly a good sign. It was a sign that he was getting impatient with his struggles or he was getting serious. He wasn't going to let that intimidate him though so he continued to thrash. In the midst of Ichigo's continued attempts at breaking free from the others hold he heard a clicking sound that definitely belonged to the sound of a locking door. He stopped his struggle to look up and see a different person standing by the door. It was Aizen.
A/N: Review and stuff. I decided to start responding to your reviews since I want to hear from everyone of you. You're all awesome and I would love to hear from you guys. If you're too shy to say anything you can follow or favorite too. I get it and it's still a huge confidence booster. Or you can not do those things I can't control your actions.