Response to reviews~!
Infamous time skip~! XD Well, kinda. It isn't much of one, but hey, things don't always happen back to back! XD
Chapter 6: Human
Five days. Five, awkwardly long days...Shiro thought as he sat on a bench at the park, looking at the kids around him playing. And still nothing! Goddamnit all to...well hell. The last thought fizzled out and he sighed, running both black nailed hands through his hair. He was begining to feel 'frustrated' , an emotion between annoyed and pissed, he realized.
"Hiya Shiro!" He turned his head to see Orihime running up to him, wearing a one piece blue dress with flowers on it.
"Uhh...Orihime, right?" He asked. He remembered her name, he was just a bit surprised to see her on a weekend.
"I was walking to the store and saw you sitting here and I was wondering if you'd like to come with me!" She asked, bouncing from foot to foot excitedly. Shiro sighed and nodded.
"Sure, not like I got much ta do around 'ere anyways." He muttered. He gasoed in shock when she grabbed both of his arms and literally yanked him off the bench. "Damnit woman don't rip my arms off!" He cursed as he tripped over his own feet, knocking Orihime over and falling face first in the dirt. She just laughed and, somewhat to Shiro's surprised, he chuckled...in good humor. The hell?
"Sorry, don't know my own strength~!" Orihime laughed and got up, brushing her dress off. Shiro was wearing plain blue jeans and a white t-shirt that had a chinese dragon coiled around the kanji for 'white and black'.
"I'll say..." He muttered.
"Well, c'mon then Shiro~!" She said, attempting to yank him up again, but he stood up faster than he ever had in his year long life.
"Uhh...sure." He mumbled. As they walked, Orihime babbled on and on about what she was getting, and the only thing that snapped Shiro out of his own thoughts was something about 'butter and tomato juice'. "Wait, back up. What the fuck kinda food ya making?"
"Aww, don't say that until you try it!" She said, giving off a tiny pout. Shiro juts rolled his golden eyes and retreated back to his thoughts. That is, until Orihime yanked him out of them again. "Do you like us?"
"Wh-what?" He normally didn't get caught by 'surprise', another emotion he was now sure was going to get on his nerves.
"I mean, I know Uryu hasn't been very nice and I'm not sure about Chad...but I don't think you're going to hurt anybody...so? Do you like us?" Shiro wasn't sure how to respond.
"I, uh...I guess." He muttered, feeling a bit confused. "I mean uhh...you're ok, and I know that Quincy acts like he has a stick up his ass sometimes, and Chad's...quiet." And you're noisy and bouncy... He thought, but refused to say that to Orihime.
"Ok, then do you like Ichigo?" Shiro froze in his steps and sighed.
"I'm not sure...at the very least, I want him to trust me for a change...I know that much." He admitted. He had admitted that to himself countless times by now, and it bothered him that Ichigo wasn't willing to give him much of a chance.
"Ichigo trusts you."
"Don't fucking lie ta me, Orihime Inoue." Shiro snapped angrily. "I know full well that he doesn't and he makes it obvious." He felt pain clench in his chest again and it physically hurt. He cluthced the area where his heart now beat, making him edgy.
"It upsets you...right? You look sad." Orihime was looking down now, twisting her long ginger hair with her fingers.
"Tsk, it doesn't matter. Once I get back inside his mind, things will return to normal." He stated.
"But do you want them too? And will they? I mean, you can feel now right? I don't think that'll go away; it's in your soul, not your body..." If Shiro had the energy to yell at Orihime, he would do it. But instead, what she had said got to him,a dn he turned around. "wait, where are you going?"
"To Kisuke's...gotta ask him something." He mumbled and walked away.
Ichigo sighed as he tried to focus on his school work, despite his mind being distracted. He knew Shiro was out there, and it worried him to no end. But...why does it? He wondered to himself. I mean, he hasn't hurt anyone...
Yet... another voice seemed to enter, this one voicing his doubts. He is a Hollow, he could easily turn on you... Ichigo shook his head and groaned. He needed to get some sleep, worry about Shiro some other day.
"Ichigo?" He turned around to see Yuzu standing at the door with a small cup of hot cocoa in her hands. "Thought you might want some of this...I just made it!"
"You've been making cocoa a lot lately..." Ichigo smiled and took the cup, sipping the rich chocolate and tiny marshmellows.
"Shiro likes it! He says it's yummy." She exclaimed and for a brief second, Ichigo wanted to get slightly sick. "I mean, he's kinda picky...but he says that it reminds him of...something."
"O-of what?"
"He made me promise not to tell!" Yuzu grinned, a knwoing smile on her face. "Besides, he said it just blurted out." She noticed his slightly paler look and frowned. "Ichigo...do you hate Shiro?"
"N-no, why?" He lied, feeling a bit guilty about it.
"Whenever I talk about you to him, he gets this really sad look in his eyes and I think he tunes me out." She said. and you hardly talk to him, even though you helped him...it just doesn't seem like you." She stood up and smiled. "Well, I'm gonna make more for Shiro when he gets back from his walk! Please talk to him Ichigo!" She then ran off, leaving Ichigo alone again.
Is he really upset? He wondered as he drank the hot cocoa. Hmm...maybe I will talk too him. I mean, nothing's gonna happen right now anyways...
"Ah, Hichigo! What brings you here?" Kisuke said as he waved his fan in front of his face.
"I told ya, just Shiro is fine." The albino grumbled. "I...I wanna ask ya something..." Kisuke gave him a puzzled look. "I...I've been feeling odd lately."
"Odd? Odd how?"
"Well...feeling things in general. Ya said it was possible, but everything gets...weird whenever Ichigo's brought up." He explained slowly. Kisuke raised a blonde eyebrow and grinned. "Wha's so funny?"
"Ah, so I was correct! Shirosaki, you are becoming human." Shiro stared at him as if he'd grown forty heads, each one more obnoxious than the previous.
"run that by me again?"
"Oh, it's simple; you're slowly turning into a human! This is very interesting~!" Kisuke exclaimed.
"You ain't making any fucking sense, Hat 'n Clogs..." He grumbled, using Kon's nickname for the odd shopkeeper.
"And you're just as stubborn as your Soul Reaper counterpart." No argument from shiro there, so he continued. "Alright, you've been experiencing emotions, right?"
"Yeah..."
"Have you been eating?" Shiro stared at him.
"Sure, my body needs to now for some reas-"
"You're becoming a human. This world is affecting you, turning your soul into something close to Ichigo's." Kisuke explained. "I find this very entertaining!" Shiro, on the other hand, didn't find it entertaining at all.
"so all the shit about my emotions changing...it's true?"
"Perhaps. Why? How do you feel about Ichigo?"
"I...I uhh..." He wasn't sure. Shiro was begining to feel uncomfortable all of a sudden. "I...whenever people talk about him, I get all...tight in the chest." Kisuke nodded and Shiro continued. "It's always when they talk about 'trust'...I want him to trust me, but that can't be a good enough reason for the pain is it?" Kisuke gave Shiro a knowing smile and he felt his blood boil. "what?"
"It's like I said...you're negative emotions have become positive ones." Kisuke replied, opening his fan and waving it. "Think of it as the opposite of your original emotion; hate."
"Wait, the opposite of hate is l-" Shiro refused to say the word. His face grew even paler and he ran straight out of the shop.
Well, that was entertaining... Kisuke grinned.
'Uhh...Ichigo?' When Shiro's voice floated into his head, he was taken by surprise at first.
'Uhh, what?' Ichigo said as he looked around briefly, noticing he wasn't there. Must be talking with his mind...
'Do ya mind meeting me outside the shopping district? I uhh...kinda got lost.' Ichigo could not believe what he was hearing.
'How the fuck did you get lost? !'
'I, I was-'
'Ugh, you're so damned hopeless!'
'Hey, I don't know this town well!' Shiro retorted angrily. 'It wasn't like I was born here ya know!'
'Why can't you go Soul Reaper? !'
'Because there are way to many damned people to 'go Soul Reaper', King! It'd be odd if I suddenly vanished, right?'
'Ugh...hold your fucking horses, I'm coming to get you.' Ichigo sighed, feeling annoyed already. He literally felt Shiro mentally flinch before cutting their connection off. He grabbed his blue coat* and walked out the door, shivering slightly as the cool autum air hit. Man it's colder early this year...he thought and sighed. It didn't taske him long to reach the shopping district. Shiro was staring into a shop window, bouncing from foot to foot in order to keep warm. He turned as he felt Ichigo's spiritual pressure, but refused to meet his eyes.
"Heya Ichigo..." He muttered, walking over.
"You do realize you're only fifteen minutes from home, right?" Ichigo sighed.
"Home? What 'home'? As far as you seem concerned, it isn't my 'home' at all." Shiro hissed, locking his eyes with Ichigo's. Ichigo's brown eyes widened at the hurt look in his Hollow's golden eyes.
Can he really feel? He wondered. "Look...sorry, ok? I don't knwo what it is you want."
"All I want is for ya to trust me Ichigo! Is it seriously too much to ask from ya? !"
"Tr-trust y-"
"I'm not going to hurt anyone! I swear it ok? I want things to go back to normal too..." He looked at the ground and Ichigo could tell he didn't want things 'back to normal'.
"No you don't...you're lying."
"Not about the fact I won't hurt anyone...it's just..." He sighed and rubbed his arms in an attempt to stay warm. "I like this place. everything is upside right, the sun actually gives off a sense of warmth, even the cold is biting at my skin. It's real, not fake, and there are things to do, people to talk to...hell even Hollows to fight. I like it here..." He sighed. "But it isn't right. I know that it's kinda selfish of me ta want ta stay, but I can't." Ichigo didn't miss the sadness and want in his tone.
"Maybe...maybe I'll talk to Kisuke, find some way to allow you out of my soul..." Shiro's eyes instantly lit up and a real smile flashed on his face. Ichigo felt funny seeing it, and he couldn't help but smile back a abit.
"Ya mean it?" he asked hopefully.
"Yeah, why not?" Before Ichigo could blink, Shiro was hugging him. Wh-whoa!
"Thank you Ichigo...thanks for giving me a chance." He whispered. Ichigo felt his whole body heat up with Shiro's touch and he slowly returned the embrace.
"Y-you're weriding me out here..." He grumbled and Shiro backed away.
"I-I'm sorry!" He chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Hey...do ya mind if I try again? Going in your mind I mean..."
"Why?"
"Ya were shouting again, getting really angry all of a sudden earlier." Now that Shiro mentioned it, his head was begining to ache again.
"Yeah, but can we go back first?" Shiro nodded and they both walked home in silence. when they got back, Shiro closed his eyes and his body slumped onto Ichigo's bed. Man, things are really confusing now...
Shiro decided a calmer approach would possibly help. "Look, whatever ya are, I know you don't want me inside Ichigo. Can you tell me why?" He called out into the empty spaces of Ichigo's mind. For some reason now, the sky was a bit darker, and it made Shiro nervous. He closed his eyes and instead concentrated on the odd way he spoke before. "What is it that you want with Ichigo?"
"To...return..."
"I get that. You want him to go back to Hell, right?" Shiro asked. "But why, that's what I'm asking!"
"Return...it..." Shiro cocked his head to the side. "Return it..."
It? He wondered. "What do you mean by 'it'?"
"...Power..." Shiro felt confused, but it was drained out by a painful thudding in hios chest.
"Ngh...what 'power'? What are you talking about?" He hissed through his teeth. The pain increased and before he faded from Ichigo's mind, he caught the voice's last, and first full sentence.
"Return the power, Ichigo..."
Chapter 6 end
Whee~! This is a fun one~! I'm pretty sure ya can guess what the voice meant, so I may not even bother explaining it until later.
*Ichigo's coat- The one from Diamond Dust Rebellion. I still can't get over his purple jeans! T-T But it wasn't too bad.