Off to the Races 4
O_O omg, you guys started reviewing! *cries with happiness* thank you so much for those who have reviewed! I was seriously starting to think this was a bad story!
Anyway, on with the story and don't forget to vote on the poll on my page!
"thoughts"
"Other languages"
Ichigo wrapped Zangetsu's legs in the bright orange gauze like tape before grabbing the matching orange lead rope to hook to an orange halter. It wasn't his fault their Stable had such an obnoxious color despite his naturally toned hair. The original colors were black and red which is what they still used on Mugetsu but Ishida had said their colors for Zangetsu should be orange to fully claim him as Ichigo's horse. It had resulted in their colors looking like a bad Halloween movie with brilliant orange, deep black and icy blue.
He led the dark stallion to the black trailer with orange lettering that read 'Karakura Town Stables: Zangetsu' At home, they had a matching trailer with red lettering that belonged to Mugetsu. Tensa was waiting inside the carrier and helped Ichigo get the surprisingly calm stallion into the vehicle. It had always been a blessing with how easy Zangetsu loaded.
Stepping out of the trailer with Tensa, he turned to his jockey. "Alright, you'll be riding with Shiro. Uryuu, Chad and Orihime will be following up in about an hour or so with our tack and I'll be heading out now to meet up with Aizen so he can tell me who I'll be meeting up with. With the trailer and Shiro's driving, I figure it'll take you guys an hour to make it to the stable so I'll see you then." Tensa nodded, taking a sip of the bottle of water he had and turned away to get in the passenger side of the bright red Ram.
Ichigo walked around to the driver's side and grinned at his albino friend. "Alright Shiro, he's all yours. Now I'm sure I don't need to tell you how to drive but refrain from pissing off Tensa, last thing I need is for you to crash because he punched you while you were driving." Shiro smirked wickedly and released a maniacal laugh. "What's ta worse I can do? I won't molest 'im…nah till later!" Sure enough, the small teen jabbed Shiro hard in the side making the elder groan and rub his sore ribs.
"Yeah, sure you won't…" the orange head laughed slightly and backed away, giving them a wave as the pulled out. Walking to his own truck, he peeled out and headed in the direction of Los Noches according to his GPS. It would be about a 30 minute drive for him considering he would use back roads but for Shiro who could only take the main roads, it would be quite a bit longer.
Sure enough, 32 minutes later, he pulled up to pristine white stables right alongside a beautiful lake. Pastures upon pastures stretched out before him and Ichigo was certain Aizen owned the whole mountain! The stables were lined up perfectly, the fences in pristine condition and Ichigo couldn't help but be jealous of the wealthy man.
Putting the car in park and hopping out, Ichigo walked towards the first barn, scowling lightly and nodded in greeting to Aizen. "Alright, I'm here, now show me everything you need me to see cause Zan is gonna be here in about twenty minutes." Aizen smiled though something flashed in his eyes.
"And a good morning to you as well, Ichigo. I'll give you the grand tour now so that you can show it to your team then I will introduce you to my workers." Ichigo nodded tightly and dig his hands into his hoody pockets, following the tall brunet.
"This is the main building where Hougyoku would normally be held but I have set everything up for Zangetsu and Pantera. The filly will be at the far end so Zangetsu will have the front stall." Ichigo stared down the wide hall in shock. 'This huge barn and only two stalls?' he thought to himself in shock. "In the other two buildings you will see my lead horses and a couple of my Kentucky based mares with their yearlings. Most of the time we leave the horses in the paddocks because I feel the hills are good for their bones but that is up to you." When they reached the back of the barn, Aizen led Ichigo up a small path to a wide open space.
Ichigo raised his hand to block out the sudden sunlight before gasping at what he saw. A huge oval of dirt with bright white railing laid out before him…a track! That wasn't the only spectacular thing though. No, it was what was running around the track that caught his attention and had him climbing up the small incline at break neck speed. He clambered up the railing and stared wide eyed at the blue roan filling with white marking streaking around the track.
Her body was slim and elegant but she was big boned with a long white mane and tail. Her markings were stark white against the blue/grey canvas of her skin and Ichigo couldn't help but sigh in content as he saw those rolling muscles. "She's beautiful…" he breathed, surprised when he felt a large hand clap him on the back.
"Glad you like her berry-trainer! Damn, I didn't believe Aizen-sama when he said you would be easy to recognize but he was right! That's some head of hair ya got there brat!" Ichigo scowled darkly and turned to look over his shoulder at who was insulting him. What he was shocked to see was a shade of blue that put his orange hair to shame. He couldn't help but laugh, his anger melting away slightly.
"Yeah right, like you're one to talk! Your hair is bright blue!" Ichigo hopped off the railing and stuck his hand out.
"Kurosaki Ichigo but you can call me Ichigo…oh, and don't call me berry! My name means to protect, not strawberry!" The blue haired man laughed and shook his hand in a tight grip. "Grimmjow, and that pretty little thing on the track is my lovely Pantera. Heard you already met prissy bitch Ulqui but don't worry, he grows on ya after a while." Ichigo laughed slightly, remembering his run-in with the emerald eyed jockey.
They were interrupted by Aizen. "Grimmjow, if you think you can leave Pantera, would you mind gathering the others? Ichigo's beast and crew will be here in about ten minutes and I want everyone assembled." The tall blue haired man with matching eyes and a large, Cheshire cat smile nodded to Aizen. "No problem, she's in good hands." With that, he wandered away.
Ichigo turned back to Aizen with a smile instead of his usual scowl. "This place is beautiful Aizen…absolutely beautiful… Thank you so much for the chance to be here." Aizen smiled gently at the young man. "Yes, very beautiful." Aizen didn't look at his sprawling hills of green grass and strong horses. No, his eyes trailed along the orange haired trainer's lithe form.
Ichigo wore black skinny jeans, black and white converse and an ice blue long sleeve t-shirt with a gothic fifteen emblazoned on the back. The tight garments made his lightly muscled frame look like a present ready to be unwrapped and Aizen couldn't help but lick his lips. When he did make eye contact with those warm eyes that reminded him of decadent chocolate, he was surprised to see a deep blush staining those cheeks.
"Ah…um…yeah….beautiful…um…" Ichigo's head ducked down so he could study his feet which shuffled nervously in the rich dirt. Before Aizen could say anything, they heard Grimmjow shouting as he came up the path.
"Hey! Both of ya! Your friends are all gathered so get down here and introduce everyone before someone starts swinging!" Ichigo jumped, the odd moment broken as he tore off down the path, knowing the personality of his own crew. Reaching the barn, he shouted just as Shiro dropped into a crouch, preparing to attack.
"ON THE GROUND, NOW!" his shout drew the attention of both groups though it was Shiro's reaction that was most surprising. Shiro dropped from his crouch, straight to the ground with his hands on top of his head as though he was getting ready to be arrested. When Ichigo reached the group at a dead run, he straddled the albino's back, holding his hands while Tensa sat calmly on the albino's legs as though this happened a lot.
This was how Aizen found them when he and Grimmjow made it to the barns. No one could hear what Ichigo was whispering into the Albino's ear as Shiro struggled and growled at them but slowly, he stopped struggling and turned his head to the side, a slight pout on his lips.
"I'm fine now Ichi…ya can get off a me now." All though his words should be harsh, there was no bite and Ichigo did as his friend asked, Tensa and he helping the taller man to his feet. Ichigo turned to Tensa with a scowl. "What happened?" Tensa raised an eyebrow before turning to the other group and pointing at them.
"The green haired woman hugged me, then the really tall dude made some kind of derogatory comment about my height and they I 'might as well be a woman.' Shiro got annoyed and snapped at him but the guy ignored him. When Hime tried to calm Shiro, the tall guy said something about Shiro being less than a woman if he listens to women then proceeded to say something rude about the fact that Hime is like our manager. So Shiro decided he wanted to kill the guy…then you came in."
When the dark haired boy had finished his recount of what happened, he turned to Shiro and smacked him in the back of the head. "He did make some antagonistic comments though so don't be too hard on them Ichigo." Ichigo sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, before turning to the other group and pointing his finger at the tall one.
"Name?" Grimmjow answered when the guy just crossed his arms. "Nnoitra!" Ichigo nodded. "Nnoitra-san, I don't care about what you say to me, what you say to Shiro or even what you say to Tensa. We can all take care of ourselves. Same goes for Chad and Uryuu. But if you insult Orihime in my presence, if I hear you have insulted her or if I think you might of have insulted you, current business partner or otherwise, I will beat you into a blood stain on the floor." His eyes flashed with fire and Nnoitra tensed, a piano key grin splitting his face in half.
"Oh? You really think you could take me on when you decided to stop your little pet rabbit over there?" Ichigo crossed his arms and smirked. "I stopped him because I know for a fact he is carrying at least three different pocket knives on him. At least if you had to face me, I'm just gonna punch that freaky grin of yours in. Shiro might just kill you."
From behind Ichigo, the snick of a blade was heard and from the face on Nnoitra's face, Ichigo knew the albino had pulled one of his blade and was probably doing something creepy like licking it. Turning to Aizen, Ichigo bowed deeply.
"I apologize for the disturbance, I will do my best to keep my crew in check but I do ask that if something occurs between our two groups, you let them work it out as long as it doesn't affect anyone's work." Aizen smiled lightly though his eyes narrowed on Nnoitra, disliking the way the man had made Ichigo feel out of place. "It is fine, I don't blame you. I will be keeping an eye on my crew anyway so few problems should occur. Now, shall we unload your stallion and get introductions under way?"
Ichigo nodded, straightening up to smile at the brunet before walking away with his crew following him. When they reached the trailer, Shiro placed a hand on the black side and everyone watched when a well-aimed kick shook the entire carrier. Ichigo shook his head. "Tensa, was Zan doing that the whole trip?" The small jockey shook his head. "No, as soon as we pulled to a stop, he started kicking. Ichigo nodded and turned to everyone gathered.
"Alright! Back up everybody! Unless you wanna get kicked by a 17 hand colt!" Everyone instantly back up and Ichigo dropped the ramp with Shiro's help. As soon as the barrier was released, Zangetsu, in all his glory, rushed out of the trailer and pulled up to a sliding halt before rearing high. A shrill, scream like neigh shattered the air as he kicked out. Ichigo grabbed his lead rope and spoke swiftly in Japanese.
"Hey now! Settle down! Zangetsu, don't make me get Tensa to work you around the track till you are worn out. Now let's show these guys how beautiful you are, ya fucking rouge."
Zangetsu shook his head and walked circles around Ichigo before finally settling in front of the orange haired teen. The black stallion pranced in place and held his tail high, clearly showing his agitation as he stared at the strangers.
Aizen introduced his side first.
"As you all already know, I am Sosuke Aizen and these are my employees. I call them the Espada because unlike my regular employees, these guys and girls all work with or own horses within my stable. Starting at the bottom we have the number Ten Espada, Yammy Largo who handles security. Szayel Aporro Granz, the number Eight Espada and my onsite veterinarian who I hope will be able to work with you. Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, the number Six Espada and the owner/trainer of the number one Filly, Pantera. Nnoitra Gilga, the number Five Espada and my own transporter. Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, otherwise known as Nel, my financial advisor and PR girl. Tier Hallibel, the number Three Espada and my groom/handler and her husband, Coyote Starrk who owns the number one barrel racing horse this side of the country, fire palomino, Lilynette Gingerbuck."
Ichigo and his gang nodded to everyone, offering kind smiles. He could tell most of the two crews would get along really well but there were some he felt they might have to show their worth too. It was fine though, he knew his crew would make everyone know they were the best out there. Giving a nod to his friends, he set about introducing them in return.
"My name is Ichigo Kurosaki, owner of Karakura Town Stables and head trainer. My jockey is Tensa Zangetsu, the son of my mentor and one of only two people able to ride our beast. My financial manager, designer and the one who picked our team colors, Ishida Uryuu. My groom and close personal friend, Chad Yasutora. My transporter, guard, honorary brother and the guy who makes sure our beast's legs are perfect, Shiro Hisaki. Our PR girl, manager and time handler, Orihime Inoue and this beautiful creature standing behind me is Zangetsu, the horse that is gonna win the Triple Crown."
Yay! Well, I hope you all liked it! Please Review!
Please! I'll give you all cookies!