This is my final chapter since I'll be busy from now on…

Just kidding! Enjoy!

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"Sa..wh..er… huh?!" Ichigo stuttered, his eyes wide with disbelief as his eyes dilated from shock. He didn't even realize he had stood up from the weight of Moka's words. Then to add to his growing disbelief, Kurumu agreed with Moka.

"Hey… that's not a bad idea actually." Kurumu said as she tapped her chin, contemplating the idea.

"D-Don't tell me your agreeing with her!" Ichigo snapped at her. He could hear his heart in his ears, thumping madly against his brain. Then he was a bit taken back when Kurumu snapped back at him.

"Ichigo," Kurumu began in an stern voice, "A few months back you told me that you'd date the girl that you got to know the best. Was that a lie?"

"She's right, Ichigo. Was that a lie? Eh?"His Inner Hollow spoke maliciously, knowing his words would only serve to further irritate the boy. Despite how much he hated Ichigo at times, he couldn't deny that he was the best source of entertainment around!

As Ichigo ignored his Hollow and refocused on the present situation, he caught Kurumu staring at him, her arms crossed over her chest. Her stare indicated she wanted an answer while her body posture told him she was quickly becoming impatient. Ichigo blinked. How the hell did he know that?

"Ooohh… the drama is good!" Yukari whispered to Mizore and Tsukune as she took a sip from her soda.

"Agreed." Both Tsukune and Mizore chimed in.

"No… it wasn't a lie." Ichigo capitulated, seeing no other way around.

"So then, you agree to go out on a date with us?" She asked as her features softened though her look was still stern.

This was it. Whatever he said now, there would be no turning back. This was the moment of the hour and he couldn't run away from it.

"Y…" Ichigo took a step back when everyone suddenly leaned forward, eyes filled with expectance. Even the ever quiet Mizore seemed to be piqued by the excitement.

"Yes…" He whispered but it was audible enough and the girls whom his decision affected gave happy smiles.

"YES!" Both Moka and Kurumu chorused, before looking at each other with a glare.

"Grrrr…" They growled at each other, it being strange and funny to those watching the two. Well, minus Ichigo who was steadily sneaking away.

Suddenly Kurumu stood up and walked over the boy who was trying to escape and grabbed him by the arm. Ichigo let out a slight squeak when his arm became wedged between her fabulous breasts.

"I'm not going to lose Moka, he's my 'Destined One' after all!" She stated, clearly and concisely, her voice filled with affirmation in her belief.

"No way!" Moka argued as she went over and grabbed Ichigo's other arm and placed it between her breasts, "I met him first!"

Then, Kurumu tugged Ichigo's arm, pulling him closer to her. "Met him first? You only met him a month before I did!" She countered.

Moka's hair became frayed when her argument had been so easily picked apart. "W-Well, it doesn't matter if you know him better! He's the one who's going to choose after our dates end!" Moka countered as she pulled on Ichigo's other arm.

No one noticed the faraway look in Ichigo's eyes for the moment. Moka and Kurumu were too busy arguing and Tsukune, Mizore, and Yukari were all too busy enjoying the argument. No one had noticed that Ichigo had drifted off into his mindscape.

'Hey old man.' Ichigo stated as he opened the apartment door to Zangetsu's room.

'What brings you here Ichigo?' Zangetsu asked as he put down the newspaper on the coffee table. He folded his hands under his chin, sitting back when Ichigo took a seat opposite of him.

'Nothing. The girls are arguing and playing tug of war with my body. So I came here since I didn't want to be a part of it.' Ichigo replied as he gave a heavy sigh.

Zangetsu merely nodded as he contemplated the boy's words. 'I wish I could offer you advice, but I'm a sword, not a psychiatrist.'

Ichigo simply shook his head. 'It's alright old man; I'm just here to chill for a while.'

Zangetsu regarded the boy for a bit before he took the newspaper and began reading it again. This piqued Ichigo's curiosity, since when was there a newspaper service in his mind? He had added trees and even a park, since Zangetsu had wanted some greenery, but he didn't recall adding a newspaper stand or anything similar.

Ichigo then simply shrugged it off. He didn't feel like thinking at the moment as he sunk into the surprisingly comfortable chair. He stayed there for a few minutes, resting his mind before the door was slammed opened. Ichigo whirled around while Zangetsu continued reading his newspaper. There in the doorway stood his Hollow, grinning that twisted grin of his.

'Whassa matter kingy? You better not be turning gay on me!' Ichigo's Inner Hollow taunted, receiving a frustrated grunt from the Shinigami.

'Shut it, what are you doing here?' Ichigo asked, not liking that his question had simply made his Hollow grin even wider.

'Ye bastard, I'm here to tell ya that you're about to lose your first kiss.'The look on Ichigo's face had been priceless as said person darted out of the room and back into the real world.

---

"Hey, Mizore-chan?" Tsukune asked, earning a soft 'hm?' from his girlfriend.

"Does Ichigo seem a bit… dead to you?" He asked as Mizore took a closer look at Ichigo.

"Yea… he does." Mizore stated as she rolled her lollipop to the side, "Maybe his mind 'sploded."

"Mizore-chan!" Tsukune chastised, though his grin betrayed the amusement he got from her statement. Mizore simply let a light blush touch her cheeks.

Then Tsukune turned half-serious when he noted how empty Ichigo's expression was. "Seriously though, it's like he's gone comatose."

"What? He's dead!?" Yukari squeaked upon hearing Tsukune's statement.

"W-What?" Tsukue asked, startled, "N-No, I meant that he simply didn't look like he wa—"

"Ichigo's dead!" Yukari wailed, earning the attention of the two bickering girls.

"What?" Both girls asked in unison, finally stopping their argument before they tore Ichigo apart.

"Ichigo's dead!" Yukari repeated while still wailing, making Mizore's and Tsukune's sweat drop grow bigger.

"W-What!" Both girls sounded startled beyond belief as they looked at Ichigo, who in fact did look dead. His eyes were rolled to the back of his head and drool was dripping down his chin.

"Ichigo!" Both girls called out to him once they let go of him. This inadvertently caused him to fall flat on his face.

"Wake up!" Moka was the first to say as she bent down, trying to shake Ichigo awake. It was no use as Ichigo didn't even move a muscle. Not even a spasm.

"I've got this, move aside!" Kurumu said as she flipped over Ichigo. She looked at him for a moment before she squeezed the bridge of his nose.

"I'm going to perform CPR!" She stated even though she really didn't know how. She'd seen it in a movie once, but that was all her experience. She momentarily paused. She was about to kiss the man she loved. True, she was doing this to help Ichigo, but she couldn't help but feel glad that she would be the first one to kiss Ichigo.

As her face leaned in closer, she was only vaguely aware of the others. Her heartbeat was in her ears as her lips drew closer to his. Slowly, almost painfully they made their way. At last, it seemed like moment of truth was at hand when suddenly, she was pushed away.

"E-Eh?" Kurumu wondered in surprise when Ichigo suddenly stood up. He was the one that had pushed her away

"What do you think you're doing?" Ichigo asked, his voice sounding strained and annoyed.

"I-I was going to give you CPR! You died Ichigo!" Was Kurumu's worried response.

"Yea! You were dead Ichigo!" Moka agreed with the Succubus.

Suddenly, Ichigo didn't feel mad, angry, or annoyed anymore. He was just plain tired. His face seemed to fall as his look became expressionless except for a dull stare.

"I see." Ichigo replied in a tired voice. Moka and Kurumu noticed this and each give him a worried glance.

"Are you alright Ichigo?" They both asked before turning to glare at each other for daring to interrupt them.

"I'll be alright, I just need some sleep." Ichigo replied as he continued staring with a dull look.

"Well, we did get up kind of early." Kurumu admitted, though more for Ichigo's sake than anything else.

"If you want, you can go back to sleep. We'll handle the rest since you already finished you're part of the editing." Moka pitched in, earning an annoyed stare from the Succubus.

"That sounds good." Ichigo admitted, life flowing back into him at the prospect of more sleep.

Kurumu smiled when it seemed Ichigo was going to be okay. "Yahoo! Ichigo is alright!" She cheered as she helped the Shinigami up.

"Thanks Kurumu." His show of appreciation made her blush. It made her blush not only because he was thanking her, but because he had called out her name. Recently, Ichigo calling out her name made her blush for some reason.

"No problem!" She replied with a happy smile, "Besides, you'll need your strength."

Ichigo paused, his hand slowly moving away from the doorknob as he turned. "How come?" He asked, feeling a sudden dread somewhere between his heart and stomach.

"Well, Moka and I agreed when our dates will be." She began, unknowingly making Ichigo feel nervous.

"W-When?" He asked, dreading that her words would be 'tomorrow.'

"Well, to be fair, we decided to do it next Saturday and Sunday. Moka will be going first." She replied, making Ichigo feel immensely relieved.

"Alright, sounds good. Looking forward to…" He caught himself, but it was already too late. Quickly before anything else could happen he opened the door and left. It was a good thing he had left otherwise he would've gone deaf from the happy squeals of the two girls.

---

Ichigo spent the rest of the day sleeping on his couch. Why his couch? Because he didn't have the strength to make it to the bed. If one were to be in his room this current moment, they would find Ichigo halfway on the couch and halfway on the floor.

Rest in peace Ichigo, it's the only time you'll have it from here on out.

---

The wind blew short, cool breezes across the school. It was a nice wind, both pleasant and refreshing. Ichigo noted with dismay that if there had been any sunshine or a clear blue sky, the day would've been perfect. Sadly, it wasn't. It was the same gray and dismal forecast as always. It being Monday only made the day feel all the more bleak.

Ichigo sighed before going back to help carry newspapers to the stand. He lifted four boxes in one go, not wanting to have to go back.

"Show off." Tsukune said to Ichigo in a pleasant manner. He found the boy grinning at him; or rather something seemed to have happened to him that was making him grin. Ichigo wondered why he was being so observant lately.

"Something good happen?" Ichigo asked, only receiving a blush as a reply.

"Something wonderful Ichigo, something wonderful…" The boy then went into this happy trance, humming and whistling, not being able to choose which. Despite carrying a box himself, he seemed to have a spring in his step.

Ichigo simply blinked before looking away, not really understanding what Tsukune had meant by that. Finally they arrived at the stand and placed the boxes on the table that was acting as their newspaper stand. Shortly after, they unpacked the boxes and piled the newspapers into five stacks.

"Are we all set?" Moka asked while each person from the group grabbed a few newspapers, ready to hand them out.

"Then let the new semester start!"

---

Soon, the gates to the school were open and students came flooding in. Murmurs filled the air as excited chatter was whispered among friends. Some students seemed to have forgotten about the rule of staying in human disguise, showing off scaly skin or extended necks. This was soon solved by a quick bonk on all their heads by their friends.

The students made their way to the newspaper stand as Moka greeted them, "This is the newspaper club! How would you like a copy of our newspaper?"

As the students began taking newspapers, Ichigo overhead the conversation between two of them.

"Wow, the newspaper club even went to the human world to interview during the summer." The girl seemed in awe as she read the newspaper.

"This is amazing!" The other girl agreed as she read over her friend's shoulder.

The other girl nodded as she replied, "The newspaper club sure is working hard!"

Those words caused a light grin to touch Ichigo's lips. Despite the dismal world, it seemed there were some perks. Ichigo wouldn't admit It, but he liked getting praise from his hard work every now and then.

"I-Ichigo-sama?" A voice called out, making Ichigo turn around. He found a girl with brown hair wrapped in pigtails holding out a marker, confusing him.

"Yeah?" He asked, making the girl blush slightly.

"Would you…" The nervousness in her voice was evident as she tried letting out the words she wanted to say.

Ichigo simply looked at her, wondering what she was going to say and why she referred to him with the –sama suffix.

"Would you please sign my forehead!" Was her startling wish.

"EH?!" Came Ichigo's startled and confused reply. What the hell? Sign her forehead? What was wrong with this girl?!

"Please Ichigo-sama, sign my forehead! You're rumored to be the strongest person in the school and I just wanted to get your autograph!"

"Oh no, I'm not sharing Ichigo with anyone!" Kurumu butted in as she stepped in the middle of Ichigo and the girl.

The girl gasped at seeing the famous beauty standing before her. The girl's attention suddenly became focused on Kurumu, who started feeling uneasy beneath her stare.

"Then…" She asked, "…would YOU sign my forehead? I want my breasts to grow as big as yours!"

Kurumu blinked before a smile played on her face. "Well, I guess that's alright," She said as she took the marker from the girl's hand, "Good luck! I hope your wish gets granted!"

After she formed the last curve of her name, she capped the marker and handed it back to the girl. The girl was practically radiating with happiness as she walked away. Kurumu waved the girl good-bye, much to the disbelief of the Shinigami.

"Umm… could I have a newspaper?" Someone spoke from behind Ichigo, who turned around.

"Yea, sure, here you go." Ichigo said as he handed the person a newspaper.

"Hey thanks." The guy said before adding, "Are you really the strongest guy in the entire school?"

"Sure…" Was Ichigo's short reply. The boy nodded before he released his transformation. Immediately he grew feathers before his arms melted into wide wings. His face took on the shape of a bird, and Ichigo couldn't help but feel the boy resembled a parakeet with gray feathers.

"I'm here to take that title away from you!" The boy squawked as he stretched out his wings to look intimidating. Ichigo simply gave the guy an annoyed look.

"Prepare yourself for your defeat!" The parrot boy, as Ichigo dubbed, yelled before he brought his beak down at Ichigo. Ichigo simply raised one finger and stopped the attack dead in its tracks.

"W-What?" The parrot boy seemed surprised. He was sure there had been a tremendous amount of force behind his attack. He could tear down boulders with ease, how was it that this orange-haired person managed to stop him with one finger?!

"Is that it?" Ichigo asked, looking bored.

The parrot boy took a step back when a pressure overwhelmed his being. It brought him down to his knees as the force flowed into his body, constricting his lungs. He tried speaking, but no words could come out.

"I would fight you," Ichigo began, "but I'm feeling too tired right now, maybe later."

The boy simply lay on the ground, helpless as Ichigo walked away to hand out more newspapers. Ichigo on the other hand simply sighed. He was hoping that the new semester wouldn't begin with a fight, but it did. He had no doubt there would be more coming. In the mean time, he decided to forget about the fight and continued handing out newspapers. It seemed no one had been fazed by the little skirmish and gladly accepted the newspaper from Ichigo. If he was glad of one thing, he was glad that fights here seemed more than normal. He didn't feel like standing out too much.

---

Ichigo flipped the box upside down. Nothing came out.

"Wow, it looks like we sold everything." Tsukune noted when his box was also empty.

Everyone cheered at a job well done. Moka looked at the scene before her and seemed to think about something before her eyes brightened.

"Hey, how about we go and celebrate?" She suggested to the group. Response was immediate as most of the group's eyes lit up at the prospect of having a party.

"That's a great idea! That's why I love you Moka!" Yukari quipped up, earning a smile and a sweat drop from the pink-haired vampire.

"What about Gin-sempai?" The ever considerate Tsukune asked.

"Nah." Were Yukari's and Kurumu's immediate reply. Tsukune simply gave a hesitant grin.

"He's just a ladies' man, besides; he's probably off flirting with some girl. We don't need him." Was Kurumu's harsh accusation of their sempai. Though, she really couldn't be blamed. It was the truth after all.

"Yea, he's the enemy of all women!" Yukari added in.

Ichigo couldn't help but shake his head. It wasn't in frustration however. He was actually enjoying the scene in front of him. It seemed everyone was getting along with each other well. So in essence, he shook his head because he was happy, if that made any sense. He even smiled a little as a light mirth touched his heart.

As the group continued planning their party, no one realized they were being watched. The man in the shadows looked at them, menace in his eyes. His target was one Kurosaki Ichigo, a man who made his blood boil at the mere mention of him. Ichigo had beaten him up once at the beginning of the last semester, but the same thing will not happen again! Slowly he disappeared, heading back to report to his group.

On a side note, this is my 20th chapter! Huzzah!