Yay! Chapter Twelve! Yay! *Begins to get stoned by readers* Hey, hey! Sorry it took me so long! It's not my fault! ... Oh wait, yes it is. Hn.
Without further ado, the Review Corner!
marc:Thanks much for your review. Yes, Ichigo may be smiling and grinning too much, but, as I recall, he admitted to acting serious all the time on purpose. Referring to is as 'his image'... or something. I figure, with legitimate reason to do otherwise, he'd be more outgoing... and stuff.
Orchamus:Tensa Zangetsu shall return at a later point, do not worry 'bout that. And yes, I must say I enjoy writing out Sun-Sun's reactions to the teasing of Apacci... tis funny and high-larious
darkmachines:The Privaron will have their own roles in the story. And that's all I have to say on the matter! :D I will consider your ideas for Szayel and... that one guy and will continue 'keeping up mah awesome work'
King of the Fallen:Well, here I am apologizing again for not abiding by your "Please update soon" XD That's my bad
Sode Shirayuki:My friend, I shall keep trying my best and updating this story to the best of my ability... my friend :D
Sentiment Remains:I know, right? I was so excited when I found out, thought it was more for Sun-Sun, Apacci, and Mila-Rose being alive.
bloodyemperor:For now, no, there won't be no more girls in the harem... unless I think of something or something :/ P.S. Bears don't like tea
Beloved Nightmare Union:Well, considering Ichigo was only in Shikai during his 'Cero shootin', and since his aura is blue and orange is the opposite of blue, I figured it'd be orange... that and his hair color is orange :D I'm so original. But yes, the cero will be different depending on what form he takes. Thank you for your suggestions.
animegamemaster6:Golly, I hopy it's a good read. Fluff isn't my forte
LAWLS117:I know right? ... :D
Nightkill:Thanks very much, Urahara be fun to type out, yo.
potterfanforever:Thank you very much for your suggestions. While I lack the time to properly respond to each one, they are all good and I'm giving them some thought.
MadmanTobz:Well, I like to think, considering Lilynette could crack Starrk between the legs and cause pain, given his Hierro, she could do the same to Urahara.
Grinja:Yes, yes. Main pairing repaired, big deal that :D Your last comment has been taken into consideration, thanks.
halberd42:Welcome to FF, yo :D Word of warning, don't get too into this type of stuff. FF ruined Naruto for me, considering every story I read had Naruto acting completely different than his canon counterpart, so when I got back to the manga, I couldn't help but facepalm at Naruto's stupid antics. And, by the way, technically Harribel's Hollow Hole is on her uterus. After much research, I found out that it's pretty much her womb
Kaiser969:Thank your for your kind comments, as usual, and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.
Naito Writer:Thank you very much. I'm glad my attempts at humor in this, otherwise, serious story are well-recieved.
Matchstick800:Well, if girls like Loly and Apacci began walking around my neighborhood, I'd grow a pair too and go for it XD And yes, you'd think Aizen would, right?
That-Random-Dude:Hiyori, huh? ... WRONG *Nexus explodes* Incorrect, please deposit twenty five cents and try again.
DBZLOVER:Upon reading your question, I found out I didn't know what Derp actually meant. So I looked it up in the urban dictionary and, basically, it's another way to say 'oops' or 'hooray'. And your concern regarding Lilynette? Well! You see... it was... she kinda... it was like... here, play with this paddle-ball while I think of something*Hands a paddle ball to DBZ*
Seiei:Maybe with a lemon... maybe not with a lemon... No, not with a lemon. Patience. The lemons will be coming soon.
Braze Rancor:I know. Utter chaos, right?
Hollow Phantom Drewtis:Thanks very much. I hope this is soon enough for ya... hehe
Deviltriggerbrownie:First off... what a funny name! XD Second off, thanks very much. I was hoping for this story to be different than everything else.
NaruTayu FTW:Thanks very much for the review. To put it simply, all your ideas are pretty good and I am giving them major consideration. I will leave it at that :D
W-FangMetal:Whoa, whoa, whoa. What do you mean by, 'Loly SEEMS hot'? Loly IS hot, fool :P And yes, your lemon idea has come to mind. Maybe I will
newogre:Dawg, the moment you publish that story of yours... TELL ME, God knows how much I've wanted to read this pairing that's not my own work.
dbz writing for fun:Hm? Arrancar using Kido... definitely a good idea... and I know just how to make it work, too! Thanks!
Allrigty folks! That'll wrap up the Review Corner for today! Please, sit back, and enjoy chapter twelve of Breaking Routine.
(Karakura Town)
Ichigo could only stare at Loly and Menoly, complete surprise in his expression. He had been hoping to see them again, and knew that he would when Apacci had told him that Menoly had joined their rebellion, but he didn't expect them this soon. What was he supposed to say? He had almost killed them when he last saw them, not a really good parting. He opened his mouth to try and say something. "Loly-chan, Menoly-chan? … W-what-?"
He was cut off abruptly when he was almost tackled by the two female Arrancar. It had been so sudden, Ichigo almost lost his balance and fell backwards. Though, he managed to get his footing and look down at the two of them. Loly had her head buried in his chest, Menoly, his side, both clutching his shirt. Ichigo could only stare down at them in shock. The only thing that came to mind was to carefully wrap his arms around the two of them, a bit unsure.
"W-we're sorry… Ichigo-kun." Menoly was the first to speak up, looking up at him, her eyes tearing up. Her spiky blond hair was ruffled slightly at her actions, causing a few bangs to drape down over her visible eye, and the one covered by her mask fragment. Ichigo could tell right away that she meant it. Menoly panicked slightly when Ichigo shook his head.
"No… I'm the one who should be apologizing." He said with a solemn expression. This time, Loly spoke up.
"Damn right." She said, her voice a little muffled. When Loly looked up, there were tears flowing freely from her eyes. "You bastard." At that, she had her face buried in his chest again.
Menoly couldn't help but note at how Loly's emotions mixed when Ichigo was involved. She half-expected Ichigo to become annoyed at this, but found herself not at all surprised when Ichigo placed his left hand on Loly's head affectingly, stroking her hair with his thumb as he held her close. This got a visible reaction from Loly, who became less tense and seemed to be holding herself against Ichigo calmly.
They all stood there silently for a couple of minutes, Menoly eventually resting her head on Ichigo again. Ichigo waited until Loly had calmed down completely. Now, Loly had turned her head to have her cheek resting against Ichigo, looking out to her right silently. Ichigo chose this as the time to speak up.
"I know somewhere we can go talk things over if you want." He offered to them both. Menoly spoke up for her and Loly.
"No, Ichigo-kun. Harribel-sama sent us to here to become stronger. Right now… I think we should focus on that." Menoly forced herself to say. As much as she wanted to talk things over with Ichigo, she and Loly had received an order from Harribel to come here. They didn't come at their own leisure. She was glad to see Ichigo's expression turn to that of understanding.
"In that case, we can go ahead and go get started." Ichigo replied with a slight nod of his head. Menoly nodded as well and separated herself from Ichigo to follow him. Loly, after a few more seconds, reluctantly pulled herself away from Ichigo. Though, whether she realized it or not, her hand had wormed it's way into his, their fingers interlocking. Ichigo had no visible reaction to this, only holding her hand firmly.
Ichigo began leading them to the Urahara Shoten, Menoly following closely on his left, Loly holding his hand on his right.
(Urahara Shoten)
"Oh, Kurosaki-san! Two new ones I take it?" Urahara in his usual friendly and carefree tone, eyeing Loly and Menoly.
"Not really." Ichigo said off-handedly, with a shrug. Now, Urahara noticed how the brunette was holding Ichigo's hand and seemed to be doing nothing other than focusing on Ichigo intently. Recalling Ichigo's story when he had first introduced Apacci, Urahara figured things out.
"I see. Well, I suppose you would like to use the Training Room?" Urahara asked, turning his attention back to Ichigo. Ichigo nodded.
"Yeah." He answered simply. Urahara, noticing the tension in the air, spoke up to diffuse it.
"Ya know, I can't help but notice." He got their attention again. "All of the Arrancar coming to train with you seem to be female." This got a visible reaction of annoyance from Loly and Menoly, something Urahara wasn't sure that it was out of jealousy, or if they figured out the pointing he was going to make.
Ichigo blinked. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. Why?"
"Oh, nothing, nothing. Couldn't help but notice that, is all I'm saying. Am I to assume all female Arrancar are weak compared to the males?" Urahara asked from behind his fan, hiding a grin.
"Why, you-." Loly, for the first time in a while, spoke up. She leapt forward to strike Urahara, but was quickly restrained by Menoly.
"Loly! Stop!" Menoly tried to reason with Loly, but was mostly ignored as Loly kicked out to try and get free to get at Urahara. Despite the earlier situation, Ichigo couldn't help but notice that it was cute and funny. Urahara could only grin again, seeing his plan had worked. Though Loly thought he was grinning at her situation, and it further angered her.
"Why ya grinning, you bastard? Let go of me, Menoly! I'll kick his ass!" Loly announced. Menoly held her grip on Loly's arms firmly and replied,
"Just ignore him. We're not here to kill our allies." She said. This seemed to get through to Loly, as she stopped struggling as much to get free. By now, Urahara had already made his way over to the entrance of the Training Room and opened it for them.
When Loly had calmed enough to be released, Menoly let go of her. Loly glared at Urahara as she walked by and went down into the massive training room, followed by Menoly. Ichigo made to go down as well.
"Kurosaki-san, I take it those are the two-?" Urahara began but was cut off.
"Yep. They are." Ichigo answered with a nod. With that, Ichigo went after the two Arrancar into the Training Room, followed shortly by Urahara.
(Urahara Shoten/Training Room)
"Ok then!" Urahara started, getting the attention of other three. "I assume you two know what you'll be doing?" He asked Loly and Menoly.
"Yes. Harribel-sama briefed us." Menoly answered, a little nervous. Loly only nodded hesitantly.
"Ah, how convenient! In that case, I'll get out of your way and you can begin." Urahara told them as he turned and made to get comfortable on a boulder.
Ichigo brought out his Deputy Badge and ejected his soul from his body, it hitting the ground with a thump. He flexed his fingers for a couple of seconds, then turned back to Loly and Menoly.
"You guys ready?" He asked them, reaching back to grasp Zangetsu's hilt.
"I'm… not really." Loly mumbled out loud enough for Ichigo and Menoly to hear. Menoly spoke up to try and convince her sister.
"Loly, we have to do this. We're just sparring." She said, trying to sound convincing. Though, to be honest, Menoly had just as much hesitance as Loly did.
"Loly-chan." Loly looked up at Ichigo as he addressed her. "I don't really want to do this either, but it will make you stronger. And you two will need to be as strong as possible for the rebellion." He told them. He looked down slightly, then back up with a serious look on his face. "I'd hate to lose the two of you again."
Loly could only stare at Ichigo after his confession, her cheeks a little red. He was right. If she wanted to stay with Ichigo, she'd have to do this to get stronger. Menoly had the exact same thought. Both of their doubt and hesitation vanished, replaced with determination. Ichigo allowed a half-grin to appear on his face as he unsheathed Zangetsu, the wrapping undoing itself. Menoly had unsheathed her zanpakuto as well, holding the rapier-looking zanpakuto forward in a strong defensive stance. Loly held a small dagger in her hand.
Ichigo blinked. Where the hell had Loly been carrying that? Especially with what she was wearing. Ichigo forced himself to avert his eyes slightly when he began to scan Loly's appearance closely.
"Y-you guys ready?' He asked, getting his mind out of the gutter. Receiving nods of confirmation from Loly and Menoly, he flared his reiatsu enough to get ready. Seeing Loly and Menoly's instinctual reaction to his reiatsu, Ichigo knew that it would be the same for the two of them.
All three of them leapt at each other. Ichigo was forced on the defensive right away as Menoly came in on him, swinging her blade in an arc. He blocked the strike easily and prepared to counter, if not for the fact Loly had slipped her dagger expertly past his guard, already dangerously close. Ichigo jumped back away from the two to avoid the strike. He saw their confident smirks and shook his head. This would be interesting.
(Las Noches/Primera's Palace)
"Loly and Menoly are in the World of the Living training with Kurosaki-san as we speak." Harribel announced to the Primera and the Segunda, Starrk and Baraggan. Starrk nodded in confirmation and made to reply but was cut off.
"I do not approve of this… alliance we have with the Shinigami." Baraggan told the two of them with an annoyed look on his face.
"You have been informed as to why we need him. Not only is it additional help, he is improving our Fraccion, Baraggan-san." Harribel tried to convince the Segunda. Baraggan waved her off.
"At the level your Fraccion was at, it does not surprise me, Tercera." Baraggan retorted, causing Harribel to narrow her eyes slightly. She made to reply, but was stopped by Starrk.
"If you do not trust Kurosaki-san, Baraggan-san, or his ability to increase our subordinates performance on the battlefield , then why don't you send one of your own Fraccion?" Starrk suggested.
"My Fraccion do not need the help of a Shinigami to become stronger." Baraggan said suddenly, narrowing his eyes. Starrk shook his head.
"I didn't say that. All I'm saying is, why don't you send one of your own Fraccion to gather some info on Kurosaki-san? It may turn out to not be so bad." Starrk said, looking bored.
Baraggan didn't reply right away, looking to actually be considering the Primera's suggestion. After a few seconds, Baraggan spoke up.
"Hm. Very well."
Harribel nodded. "Whoever you choose may accompany Mila-Rose and Lilynette into the World of the Living two days from now." She told the Segunda. "Do you know who you will send?"
"Yes. Ggio Vega will be the one to find out what I need to know." Baraggan told them both. "At the very least, Vega will be able to tell me just how strong this Kurosaki is."
Harribel nodded. "Then it's settled. I will tell Mila-Rose when I return to my palace. Lilynette?"
"Yep, I heard!" Lilynette told the Tercera from the side, standing up with a toothy grin. Harribel looked back at the Primera and the Segunda.
"I believe that's all for now." She said, back and forth between the two of them. "I will return to my palace and speak to Mila-Rose and Sun-Sun." She dismissed herself and left the palace.
"I'll give the orders to Vega." Baraggan told Starrk, who only nodded in reply. Baraggan, too, left with a sonido, leaving Starrk and Lilynette alone in the palace.
"Things are getting exciting." Lilynette said with a grin. Starrk sighed.
"I suppose." With that he turned slightly to look at her. "I'm going to go get some sleep. So don't…. hey… did you get taller?" Starrk asked, raising an eyebrow.
Lilynette blinked. "What?"
"Eh… nothing. Don't make too much noise." Starrk said, shaking his head. He then exited the room to go to his so he could get some sleep, leaving Lilynette alone in the room.
Lilynette glanced around, then at herself, confused. She poked her legs briefly, before shrugging and walking out of the room as well to find something to do.
(Segunda's Palace)
"Your majesty!"
The moment Baraggan re-entered his palace, he was surrounded by his Fraccion, all of them kneeling or bowing and showing respect for the Segunda. Baraggan only grunted at this and faced Ggio.
"Vega."
Ggio looked up at Baraggan from his kneeled position. "Yes, Baraggan-sama?"
"You recall the details on this rebellion? How we have a Shinigami ally?" Baraggan asked the fraccion with an eyebrow raised. Ggio stood.
"Yes." Ggio stated with a nod.
"The Tercera and Primera's Fraccion have been venturing into the World of the Living to train with him. Apparently, for them, reiatsu is gained by fighting him." Baraggan informed the younger Arrancar.
"You want me to go train with the Shinigami?" Despite Ggio's usual personality of the utmost respect for Baraggan, he asked this with a tone of annoyance.
"Don't be ridiculous." Baraggan told him, waving him off. "You will go into the World of the Living, two days from now, with a member of the Tercera's Fraccion and the Primera's Fraccion."
"What will I do once I am there?" Ggio asked.
"Find out what you can about this Shinigami. How strong he is would be a good start. When you have returned, you will come to me immediately and tell me what you have learned." Baraggan ordered Ggio, who bowed in an affirmative. With nothing else to say, Baraggan left to return to his quarters, a neutral expression on his face.
The other five Arrancar of Baraggan's fraccion looked over at Ggio briefly before returning to their own doings. Ggio, for his part, stood there, thinking things over. After a few seconds, he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away as well.
(Urahara Shoten/Training Room)
Loly panted as she held her stance across from Ichigo, who didn't look all that winded. It took Ichigo all of about ten minutes to become accustomed to her and Menoly's attacks. After that, he was practically toying with them. Which made her sick. Not because he was taking it easy on them, but because of what it meant. It meant that he had been doing absolutely nothing to defeat her and Menoly when they had attacked him. The memory and the discovery together almost made her want to throw up, but she just managed to suppress the urge and focus back on the spar.
Never again. Loly would never doubt or make a move against Ichigo again like she had done before. She vowed this to herself. Having known him, and then being suddenly torn from having Ichigo in her life, she admitted to herself, had been a very… difficult, to say the least, experience. Something she never wanted to go through again.
"Loly-chan! Menoly-chan!" Ichigo called out to them. Loly and Menoly became less tense and straightened from their stances to focus on him better. "I think that we should call it a day."
This received slight groans of disappointment and relief. Relief in the fact that the sparring was over and they could rest. Disappointment because they would have to leave Ichigo and return to Las Noches.
"Ok, if you say so." Menoly replied, slowly sheathing her rapier. Ichigo turned to look at Loly quickly, to try and catch a glimpse of where she had been keeping her dagger, but blinked when he saw she was standing there, unarmed.
"How?" Ichigo asked aloud, more to himself, but shook his head and sheathed Zangetsu on his back. "Good spar." Ichigo commended, walking off to the side to return to his body.
"Thanks." Menoly breathed out quietly, approaching him, Loly following after her. It didn't take long for Urahara to join the small group, his cane supporting his walking, a small grin on his face.
"I must say, that was a rather amusing bout." Urahara told them in a humorous tone. Ichigo shrugged him off and made for the exit, followed closely by Loly and Menoly.
Urahara sulked at being ignored.
(Urahara Shoten/Out Front)
"Well-." Ichigo began, closing the door to the small shop behind him. "I guess this is it for now." He told them, turning to face them. He saw their saddened expressions, despite the fact they weren't looking at him directly, and frowned slightly.
"Hey." He spoke up, getting their attention. He allowed a small grin to show on his face. "It's good to see you guys again… I missed you both."
Menoly returned the grin with one of her own, Loly only stared at Ichigo. Menoly suddenly stepped forward and embraced Ichigo, who only returned the hug, holding her closely. Menoly enjoyed his warmth and held herself as close she could to him. After a few seconds, she separated herself from Ichigo and took a couple steps back, her cheeks reddened slightly.
"I-I missed you too, Ichigo-kun." Menoly replied. She took a couple steps off to the side and opened a Garganta to depart back to Las Noches. She then turned when she noticed Loly wasn't following her. "Loly?"
Loly focused intently on Ichigo, who was only looking back at her a little curiously. Her fists clenched and she bit her lip, almost as if she was steeling herself for something.
"Loly-chan? Are you-?" Ichigo's question of concern was cut off when his lips were suddenly covered by Loly's. His eyes weren't the only pair that went wide, as Menoly could only stare in shock at Loly's action.
Loly pressed her body against Ichigo's, deepening the kiss on her end. It took only a second for Ichigo to wrap his arms around her waist and deepen the kiss on his end as well. Loly moaned into his mouth when she felt his fingers trace over her bare skin briefly. Loly brought her hands up to rest on his chest.
Menoly could only stare at what was taking place in front of her. Her shock gave way to happiness and slight jealousy. She was glad that her sister would be happy again. A little jealous about it not being her in Loly's position, which caused a deep blush to appear on her face. Menoly gasped slightly and instinctively averted her eyes when she saw Ichigo and Loly start to use tongue.
Ichigo took things a step further when he lowered his hands to grasp her butt firmly, eliciting a gasp of pleasure from Loly, who only increased her tongue's pace hungrily. Ichigo and Loly made out for a few more seconds like this, before Loly broke the kiss. When she leaned back, Ichigo saw her face was completely flushed, not to say his own wasn't.
"Uh, I-I'll, err, see you later, Ichigo-kun." Loly stuttered out, embarrassed. Ichigo could only nod in return, rather dumbfounded by her action. By now, Menoly had turned back, a slight blush still on her face at what she witnessed.
"Uhm, Loly? I think we should be going now." Menoly told her sister. Ichigo let go of Loly so that she could depart with Menoly. Loly seemed to wobble over to Menoly. When she reached her sister, standing next to the Garganta, Loly felt something next to her lips and brought an arm up to wipe off a small trail of saliva. She nodded to Menoly, who turned and made to leave.
Menoly gave one last wave to Ichigo before disappearing into the Garganta. Loly, too, threw a small wave his way before she followed after her sister, a blush still on her face. Ichigo could only stare dumbly as the Garganta closed. Only one thought came to mind.
'That. Was. Awesome.'
(Las Noches/Tercera's Palace)
"So? How did it go?"
The second Loly and Menoly passed through the Garganta and exited into the Tercera's Palace, they were ambushed by Apacci and Lilynette. Sun-Sun was off to the side, trying to look uninterested. Emphasis on the 'trying' part. Her body was faced away from them, appearing to be disinterested, yet her eyes kept darting to and away from Loly and Menoly.
"Well?" Apacci continued, tilting her head slightly, looking expectant. Lilynette poked her head out from behind her, an equally expecting look on her face. Menoly was the first to answer, shrugging.
"We trained with him. Our reiatsu reserves grew just like you guys said." She said. Everyone was surprised at the almost condescending sounding answer. Apacci shook her head.
"No, No! You know what I mean! How did things go?" Apacci asked again, putting extra emphasis to get her point across. Menoly, again, shrugged. She then turned to Loly, with something close to a devious smile on her face.
"Hm, Loly, how did things go? Why don't you take this one?" Menoly asked mischievously. Loly glowered at her sister, a deep blush on her face.
"It went fine." Loly practically grumbled out, looking away from the group, her pigtails following her heards movement. Menoly rolled her eyes at the answer. No matter how light-hearted it all had been, this was her payback for the teasing Loly had given her. Especially involving Ichigo.
"Loly, literally, made out with Ichigo-kun!" Menoly exclaimed with a grin on her face. Loly's head shot back around, looking at Menoly with a horrified expression. Apacci and Lilynette gasped, Sun-Sun grit her teeth ever so slightly.
"You did what?" Apacci asked Loly, jumping forward to get closer and listen. Loly could only grumble, her blush deepening.
"Yeah, I did! What of it?" She asked, trying to appear intimidating to the four of them, and failing miserably, looking more like an embaressed school girl.
"Lucky!" Lilynette told Loly, pointing at her. "If I got to do that with Ichigo-sensei..." She trailed off, looking to be picturing it. Which explained why she broke out into a deep blush and squirmed slightly, turning away from the rest of them. This got a snicker from Apacci and Menoly. Apacci looked back at Loly.
"How did he taste?" Apacci asked, her own cheeks heating ever so slightly. Loly stumbled slightly, then turned back to Apacci, looking defensive.
"What the hell kind of question is that? Like you don't already know!" Loly said, pointing accusingly.
"Oh yeah, that's right. I guess I do." Apacci replied, waving Loly off slightly.
"You are all acting immature." Everyone turned to look at Sun-Sun. Her face was slightly reddened and she seemed to be grinding her teeth. "Why are you four discussing your relationship with Kurosaki-san when there are more relevant things to talk about?"
"Aww, are you jealous that we're making a move on your crush?" Apacci asked in an incredibly patronizing tone.
"W-what are you talking about?" Sun-Sun asked, bringing her sleeve up higher to cover more of her face.
"Oh puh-lease!" Apacci replied, swinging her head to the side. "Like you don't know. I swear, the amount of time you spent drooling at Ichigo you could probably paint a perfect picture of him." She said, eliciting snickers from the other three as Sun-Sun's expression started to turn desperation. "I think you dream about him too."
"That's a lie!" Sun-Sun exclaimed. Seeing Apacci's victorious smirk, Sun-Sun inhaled and exhaled in an effort to calm herself down. "I'm afraid you are confused, Apacci-san." She tried to cover up.
"Oh! Ichigo-kun! Yes, yes! There! Don't stop!" Apacci moaned for emphasis. Ok, maybe that was a lie, but it would still be funny to see Sun-Sun's reaction. This display caused everyone's face to darken. Loly, Menoly, and Lilynette's face darkened due to the image it brought up. Sun-Sun's darkened for another reason.
Shing.
Sun-Sun's sai slowly made itself visible from underneath her sleeve. What would have most likely turned into a mass murder was stopped when a voice rang out.
"Ah, Loly, Menoly. I see you have returned from the World of the Living." Harribel's voice was heard from behind them, causing the already tense girls to jump. Sun-Sun already had her sai hidden again.
"Yes, Harribel-sama. We trained with Ichigo-kun and, like you had told us, our reiatsu reserves grew." Menoly answered respectfully, not even bothering to hide the suffix she used on Ichigo's name. Harribel nodded.
"Good. I must tell you that it may be a while before you see Kurosaki-san again." Before Loly could protest, Harribel continued. "The others need as much sparring with Kurosaki-san they can get if they are to take part in the battle ahead."
Loly and Menoly looked disgruntled but bowed their heads to the Tercera, who nodded in return. "Get some rest, the two of you." She ordered. Loly and Menoly both nodded. With a sonido, they both disappeared from the palace. Harribel turned towards the other three, more specifically, to Lilynette.
"Lilynette-san, you will be returning to the World of the Living in two days time." Harribel told the girl, who grinned excitedly. "Mila-Rose and Ggio Vega will accompany you."
"Vega-san, Harribel-sama?" Sun-Sun asked with an eyebrow raised. Harribel nodded.
"Baraggan-san does not trust Kurosaki-san, and is sending Vega to find out more about him.'' Harribel explained.
"He's sending Ggio to spy on Ichigo-kun?" Apacci scoffed, crossing her arms.
"I suppose that's one way you can put it." Harribel told her with a nod. "Apacci, Sun-Sun. You two will be returning to the World of the Living in four days time." Apacci nodded, Sun-Sun frowned.
"Yes, Harribel-sama." They both said, acknowledging their superior's orders. Harribel nodded once more and turned away from them. Without anoything else to say, she simply left the room, intending to return to her own. When she was gone, Lilynette spoke up.
"Well, I best be getting back to my palace. Wouldn't want Starrk getting too comfortable, eh?" Lilynette flashed a peace sign then sonido'd out of the room. The room was awkwardly silent, with only Apacci and Sun-Sun left. Apacci scratched the back of her head and laughed nervously.
"No hard feelings, right? Sun-Sun?" Apacci asked, turning to look at Sun-Sun, who only closed her eyes and turned away.
"Consider yourself fortunate, Apacci-san. Very fortunate." Sun-Sun replied, causing Apacci to shiver. At that, Sun-Sun walked out of the room, leaving Apacci alone.
(Vaizard Warehouse/The Next Day)
"What the heck was that, baldy? You call that a Cero? Hah!" Hiyori yelled at a Hollowfyed Ichigo, who growled at the blond. Ichigo then brought his hand forward again and focused his reiatsu in his palm. A bright orange Cero charged up and fired from Ichigo's palm, going towards Hiyori. Though, it was deflected by her bare hand and sent off to the side harmlessly. "Bzzt, wrong!"
'Dammit! What am I doing wrong? What'd I do the very first time that I'm not doing now?' Ichigo thought to himself frantically. He could tell Hiyori was having a field day with this. Now, they weren't going at it in a head-on fight. It was only Cero training with your mask donned, which gave Hiyori the advantage, something she appreciated.
Crack!
Ichigo cursed when his mask crumbled. Moreso when Hiyori suddenly planted her foot in the side of his head and sent him tumbling off into the distance.
"Meh, Hiyori, why don't you knock that off? It's Cero training, not endurance training anymore." Shinji spoke up from the side. He froze and looked away fearfully when Hiyori looked back at him and gave him an icy glare.
"Shut your face, Shinji! This is payback!" Hiyori growled out, a maniacal grin on her face. She then turned back and scanned around for Ichigo. A bright orange cero shot out at her from the cover of the rocks, though this one, too, was easily deflected. "Hah! Come on out, you coward!" Hiyori called out, enjoying every second of this.
Ichigo hit the boulder next to him in anger. Why couldn't this blasted thing fire properly? How had he done it? He couldn't remember exactly, he had done it rushed and wasn't paying attention to what he was doing all that much. He did it more subconciously, Ichigo figured. He brought his hand up once more and concentrated his reiatsu in the palm of his hand once again. A Cero began crackling to life, before it was dispelled by him...
Wait a minute.
He would concentrate his reiatsu into the Cero. Maybe if he used his Hollow's reiatsu?
'Of course! How did I not think of it before?' Ichigo asked himself, mentally beratting himself.
"There ya are." A sickeningly sweet voice spoke up above him. Ichigo looked up at Hiyori, who already had a bright red Cero charged up in front of her mouth.
"Oh, SH-!"
BOOM!
"Aww, you moved!" Hiyori called out to Ichigo, who had just managed to escape the Cero. From the side, Kensei asked Shinji,
"Why are we having Ichigo practice Cero in here?" He asked, slightly annoyed. Shinji only shrugged in reply, further aggravating Kensei.
"Of course I did! Why the hell would I stand still?" Ichigo yelled back at Hiyori.
"So I can kill you!" Hiyori answered with a sneer. Ichigo facepalmed at the answer, before being forced to dodge as Hiyori came down on him, cracking the ground where he once stood with her zanpakuto. "Hold still!"
Ichigo, without giving any more thought, pointed out at Hiyori with his hand. Instead of charging his own reiatsu, he charged the reiatsu that his mask gave him, in the palm of his hand.
A bright orange Cero charged itself quickly and was let loose at Hiyori, who could only brace herself in surprise. Shinji's eyes widened in surprise as where Hiyori was lit up in a bright orange light, before exploding.
Everyone stared at the explosion, and the dust and rocks it kicked up. Nothing happened for a few seconds, before they all saw Ichigo burst out of the smoke and bolt for the exit. Before anyone could get his attention, they heard,
"Get your ass back here! You're dead! You hear me? DEAD!" Hiyori roared at him, chasing after him. Everyone sweatdropped at the scene, before Shinji turned to Hachi.
"Hachi, will you-?"
"Already done."
Ichigo made it about halfway up the stairs before he, seemingly, crashed into air and tumbled backwards down the stairs, which took around fifteen seconds, given the length of the stairs. When he finally reached the bottom, he was at Hiyori's feet, who was looking down on him with a furious smirk.
"I'd say that's enough for today." Shinji's voice was heard from the side, causing Hiyori to whip her head around to look at him.
"What?" She almost roared out.
"Ichigo achieved his goal for the day. He learned how to properly fire a Cero. Next time, we'll work on it's charge rate and power." Shinji explained calmly to Hiyori, who could only growl and stomp away. Shinji turned back to Ichigo.
"Nice job. Didn't think you'd get it down so soon."
"Yeah, me either. Thanks for saving my ass there." Ichigo said, jokingly, standing himself up. Shinji waved him off.
"Don't mention it. Want me to replace Hiyori with someone else?" Shinji asked him, glancing off to make sure noone else heard him. Ichigo shook his head.
"Nah. Hiyori manages to push me to improve really well. Besides, I suppose I probably deserve it." Ichigo explained, shrugging. Shinji agreed silently, but made no comment. "Anyways, I'll go ahead and take off now. See you guys later."
Ichigo made his way past Shinji and returned to his body. He made to leave, but stopped abruptly, looking to be contemplating something. He turned around again and spoke up.
"Hey, Shinji. Can I talk to you for a second?" Ichigo asked, then added, "In private? There's something I gotta tell you." Shinji raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
(Twenty Minutes Later)
"So, let me get this straight. You accidentally met and hooked up with a couple of arrancar in disguise?" A nod from Ichigo. "And after two weeks of dating them, were forced to fight them, causing their arrancar friends to approach you in asking for help in a rebellion?" Another nod. "And, apparently, the strongest arrancar that Aizen has made with the Hogyoku are your allies now? And you want us to side with you?" One last nod from Ichigo.
"That's pretty much it, what do you think?" Ichigo asked.
"What do I think?" Shinji suddenly flew up, sending the small table that had been resting in between them flying[1]. Causing Ichigo to stand up in reaction. "Are you out of your frickin mind! What the hell kind of story is that!"
Ichigo blinked. "Wait a minute, you don't believe me?" He asked, annoyed.
"Of course not." Shinji told him, shaking his head.
"Why the hell would I make that up?" Ichigo asked with a glare.
"How would I know?" Shinji replied, slightly shrugging.
"Fine. You want proof? I'll ask that one of the Espada meet with you." Ichigo declared, scowling. Shinji raised an eyebrow briefly, before shaking his head.
"Whatever makes you happy." He said with a condescending smirk. Ichigo sighed, shook his head, then turned to leave.
"Jerk." He called back before exiting the Training Room.
(Tercera's Palace/The Next Day)
"It's about time I get a turn with this Kurosaki." Mila-Rose up, breaking the silence with other arrancar in the room.
"It's worth the wait!" Lilynette replied immediately. "Ichigo-sensei is awesome. You'll get strong sparring with him, you'll see."
A scoff was heard from Ggio, but he made no comment, settling for shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Something you need desperately, Mila-Rose, you weakling." Apacci told her with a smirk. Mila-Rose's head whipped around to look at the seated Apacci with a glare.
"Shut your mouth! I don't need reiatsu to kick your ass!" Mila-Rose declared, glaring at Apacci.
"Oh yeah?" Apacci challenged, now in Mila-Rose's face. "Why don't you put your money where that big mouth of yours is? What do you do with all that anyway? Spending time with Grimmjow-sama's fraccion?"
"You're dead, you little bitch!" Mila-Rose announced loudly, making a grab for Apacci, who laughed and danced just beyond her reach, taunting all the while.
"Please stop this childish display, you two." Sun-Sun intervened. "We have a guest." Sun-Sun turned to Ggio before giving Apacci and Mila-Rose and oppurtunity to reply. "You'll have to forgive them. They can't help but act childish and pathetic."
"Shut up, Sun-Sun!" Was the simultaneous yell.
Ggio, for his part, was cursing his existence. Not only was he ordered to get involved with a Shinigami, but he had to in the company of these fools. When he reached the World of the Living, he vowed that he would go into Resureccion and kill this Shinigami first chance he got. That would be the end of it.
"Are you three ready to depart?" Harribel asked, making her presence known. She received affirmatives from the three and opened a garganta for the three of them. "Lilynette, you know the routine. I expect the three of you back this evening."
At that, the three fraccion leapt into the garganta, it closing behind them, leaving Harribel, Apacci, and Sun-Sun alone in the palace.
"Harribel-sama, I do not think Vega-san will act rationally." Sun-Sun said cautiously.
"I agree, Sun-Sun. Though, we'll have to accept it in order to secure Baraggan's full support." Harribel replied, turning to look at Sun-Sun. She saw Sun-Sun's worried expression, which surprised her, and said, reassuringly, "Do not worry. Kurosaki-san fought and defeated Grimmjow, the Sexta. If Ggio trys anything, it won't have much effect."
"I-I'm not worried, Harribel-sama." Sun-Sun defeneded, glancing away.
"No! Of course not!" Was the patronizing statement from Apacci. "I mean, why would you have a reason to be worried about Ichigo-kun?"
Sun-Sun narrowed her eyes dangerously at Apacci, who took the hint and backed off.
"You too, hm? Sun-Sun?" Harribel asked, actually sounding amused. Sun-Sun blushed at her superior's question, even Apacci chuckled at the surprise teasing from Harribel.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Sun-Sun replied, practically hiding behind her sleeve now. Harribel nodded at Sun-Sun, her eyes gleaming in amusement. Though, no longer wanting to tease her fracciom, Harribel turned and left the room.
"Ya know, Sun-Sun, it's obvious that you have a bit of a thing for Ichigo-kun." Apacci spoke up, surprisingly without a teasing tone. Sun-Sun opened her mouth too protest but Apacci continued. "So, when you going to make a move? If you want his attention, at this point, you better be incredibly forward and get your point across."
Sun-Sun grit her teeth in annoyance, though not at Apacci's claim of her liking Ichigo. To herself, she'd admit it. She was annoyed that Apacci was right. What could she do to get Ichigo's attention? Sit him down? Talk it out? She inwardly doubted it.
"Though, I guess I can say this." Apacci started once more, breaking Sun-Sun out of her thoughts. "Whatever you do, it'll get Ichigo-kun's attention. He's the kind of guy who won't turn you down simply because you're not as bold as other girls."
Sun-Sun blinked at her fellow fraccion. "You... think so?" She asked. Apacci nodded.
"Of course." She answered. "Though, I must say, if you do what Loly and I did... so worth it." She added with a snicker and a smirk.
Sun-Sun sighed. "I'm sure."
"No, really. Oh my god, when you kiss him and use tongue, it's like you're in heaven." Apacci explained, bringing her index finger up to her lower lip in a contemplative manner.
"I... I'm sure it is." Sun-Sun replied, dejectedly.
"Aww. Someone feeling a little deprived?" Apacci teasted. Despite Sun-Sun's 'look', she continued. "Here. I'll give you a couple of tips. The first thing you do is..."
Needles to say, Sun-Sun was as red as a tomato after a minute.
(Karakura Town)
Ichigo sat in front of the Urahara Shoten, having decided to get here earlier today. This should allow him and whoever it was today to get started a good thirty minutes earlier. As that was usually how long it took to walk here from where he usually met up with them. A familiar reiatsu fileld his sense and he recognized it as Lilynette's. There were two others he could sense, but didn't recognize them. Inwardly, he had been hoping to see Loly and Menoly again, but there were other arrancar that needed the sparring, so he wouldn't complain. At least he was helping.
Ichigo stood when he felt Lilynette's reiatsu begin approaching him rapidly. Just as he predicted, Lilynette rocketed over the closest house and landed just a few feet away from him. She looked up at him and grinned.
"Hey, Ichigo-sensei!" She greeted, obviously excited. Ichigo couldn't help but allow a half-grin to appear on his face and reply,
"Hey, Lily-chan." He missed her reaction when he turned to face the two newest arrancar, whom had just arrived behind Lilynette. One, a female who had an amazonian look going on, the other, a male with a feral look about him. He spoke up first.
"This is the Shinigami?" Ggio asked rhetorically. He scoffed and turned away, clearly disgusted and disappointed. Ichigo frowned, but turned to Mila-Rose when she spoke up to introduce herself.
"Just ignore him. I'm Mila-Rose." Mila-Rose introduced with a slight bow of her head. Ichigo nodded.
"Ichigo Kurosaki, nice to meet you." He, too, introduced himself. "And the one with a stick up his ass?"
"Fuck you." Ggio said, turning to growl at Ichigo. "Ggio Vega." He said, still glaring.
"Well, I suppose we should get started?" Ichigo asked, turning to enter the Urahara Shoten, followed by a, still, slightly red Lilynette, a neutral Mila-Rose, and a clearly pissed off Ggio. Urahara was already down in the Training Room, waiting, so Ichigo made his way over to the entrance opened it for the four of them. He leapt down, followed by the other three.
(Urahara Shoten/Training Room)
"Two new ones? How exciting!" Urahara exclaimed with a hearty laugh, not even bothering to mention that Ggio wouldn't gain much from this spar, absorbing reiatsu-wise at least. When he noticed Mila-Rose raise an eyebrow at him, he waved his fan in a dismissing manner. "Don't mind me. I'm just a lowly, but handsome, storeowner here to enjoy the show."
"Since you guys don't have any gigais, this time, I'll just hurry up so we can get started." Ichigo said, directing their attention back to him. He took out his deputy badged and ejected himself from his human body. "Alright then, let's-." He was cut off with a shout of,
"Bite off, Tigre Estoque!"
Ichigo was forced to react right away and focus on Ggio's attack. Already, Ggio was there in front of him, bringing a roundhouse kick with him. Reacting instantly, Ichigo blocked the attack with his forearm and grabbed the leg with the same arm's hand. Ichigo twisted his own body as momentum to use to throw Ggio away from him.
Ggio landed and slid across the ground before regaining his footing to charge Ichigo once more. His charge was effectively halted when, suddenly, a hand clamped down on his face and brought him to the side, directly into a boulder.
"Hey, what the hell was that for?" Ichigo asked, slightly peeved. When Ggio struggled to get free, Ichigo's grip became tighter.
"Release me!" Ggio's muffled protest was barely audible, thought Ichigo figured what Ggio was trying to say and released him. Ggio sonido'd away and appeared next to Mila-Rose and Lilynette.
Mila-Rose, who had just broken out of her stupor, looked at Ggio and smirked. "You got owned."
"Hell yeah, you did!" Lilynette added in. Ggio growled at the two of them.
"Shut up, I'll get him this time." He vowed, turning his glare over to Ichigo.
"If you say so." Urahara spoke up from the side. Before a retort could be made, Urahara continued. "If everyone is ready-!"
Ichigo reached back, grasped Zangetsu, and unsheathed him. Lilynette reached up and materialized her zanpakuto from her broken horn. Mila-Rose unsheathed her own broadsword-like zanpakuto. Ggio crouched, ready to pounce.
-then begin!" Urahara finished, jumping back to avoid being caught in the crossfire. Right away, Ichigo was attacked on all sides.
(Later)
Lilynette had definitely made progress, Ichigo took note of. At least, now, she wasn't simply charging in and swinging wildly. Instead, she would actively seek ways to catch him off-guard or pair with Mila-Rose to gain the upper hand. So, that was good.
Mila-Rose was rather forward with her attacks. Attacking head-on with Lilynette backing her up half the time. It was obvious that she was used to fighting as a team with Sun-Sun and Apacci. Her brute strength had caught him off-guard at first, but had adjusted quickly and was now able to block or counter her at will.
Ggio was going all out, Ichigo put it to himself rather frankly. While it did seem to annoy Lilynette and Mila-Rose, Ichigo had to give credit to the arrancar. At least he wasn't half-assing it. Granted, it was to kill him, but still. Ichigo could certainly respect the effort, but wasn't sure what he was trying to prove. Anything Ggio attempted was blocked, deflected, or countered easily.
Over the course of the day, when Mila-Rose and Lilynette would take quick breathers every couple hours, Ggio kept going at him. So, all day long, Ggio had been fighting him. He had stamina and guts, Ichigo gave him that.
Currently, Ichigo was fending off another attack of Ggio's, as Mila-Rose and Lilynette were off on the side resting. An otherwise powerful punch was made useless as Ichigo grabbed Ggio's wrist, gave him a quick punch in the stomach with the hilt of Zangetsu, and threw him over his shoulder. Ggio hit the ground hard and bounced for a few meters before coming to a stop.
"Damn you." Ggio cursed out, panting, while he stood up. He suddenly thrusted his hand forward and began to charge his reiatsu in his palm. Ichigo knew exactly what Ggio was doing. So did Lilynette, apparently.
"Ggio, wait!"
Lilynette's cry fell on deaf ears as Ggio fired his Cero at Ichigo, a smirk on his face. Ichigo held his stance, even as the Cero impacted the ground in front of him. Lilynette looked up and over at Urahara.
"Should we help him?" She asked, quite worried and stressed. Urahara waved her off with his usual care-free demeanor.
"No. I think Kurosaki-san has things under control." He said reassuringly. When Lilynette didn't seem all that convinced, he said, "Oh, come now. Have a little faith in 'Ichigo-sensei'."
Lilynette grumbled at the store owner, but stopped abruptly when she, and everybody else, felt a sharp increase in reiatsu. It wouldn't have been that big a deal, if not for the fact it was Hollow reiatsu. Everyone, minus Urahara, looked in shock as a bright orange cero was fired from within the smoke cloud Ggio's cero had caused. Ggio could only brace himself as the Cero hit him, causing another explosion to shake the area.
When the first smoke cloud cleared, there stood Ichigo. Unharmed, and shouldering Zangetsu, he had an almost bored look on his face as he scanned through the smokecloud twenty meters away from him. Despite his intention to prove he wasn't going to be taking that sort of attitude from Ggio, Ichigo was still worried that he may have killed or critically injured him.
When the smoke began to clear, Ichigo shunpo'd to where Ggio had been standing and glanced through the rubble. When he saw movement, he jumped to get closer. Sure enough, there was Ggio, though he had seen better days from the look of him.
Lying on the ground on all fours, he was out of breath and was bleeding from the palm on his left hand, a shallow burn making it's way up the same arm. Ichigo guessed that Ggio had used a Cero at the last second to try and counter his own. The most noticeable wound, however, was the lack of Ggio's left saber-tooth. Ichigo hoped that wouldn't have too much of an effect on the arrancar.
"Hey, you ok?" Ichigo asked hesitantly. Ggio looked up at him, then seemed to bow his head in an almost submissive and respectful manner.
"Yeah... I'm good." Ggio answered with a nod. Whether he willed it or not, his Resureccion state released itself, reforming as his zanpakuto. Just as Ichigo predicted, the left tooth on Ggio's mask fragmant was gone, chipped at the stub. When Ggio struggled to lift himself up, Ichigo leaned down and offered his hand to the arrancar.
Ggio was... pleasantly surprised at the gesture. It meant that Ichigo considered him his equal, and he respected that. He grasped the offered hand strongly and grunted as he was helped on his feet.
Giving a small pat on Ggio's shoulder, Ichigo jumped out of the hole. Ggio shook his head and breathed out, "Son of a bitch." With a slight chuckle, he, too, jumped out of the hole.
Once Ichigo was in plain sight, he was immediately jumped by Lilynette and was bombarded with questions.
"Holy crap, Ichigo-sensei! Was that a cero? How did you do that? Are you alright? Why did-?"
"Lily-chan!" Ichigo said, silencing the girl, who had the decency to blush at overreacting. "Yes, I'm fine. So is Ggio-san. Yes, that was a cero." Mila-Rose walked up and stopped by Lilynette's side.
"But how did you do it?" She asked, very curious. Ichigo scratched the back of his head, thinking of the answer.
"I guess you can say I'm part-hollow."
"Part-Hollow?" Mila-Rose repeated a little incredulously Ichigo nodded.
"Yeah. Pretty much." He said simply. By now, the three were rejoined by Urahara and Ggio.
"My! What an impressive display! I wasn't aware you had learned how to use a Cero, Kurosaki-san." Urahara told him.
"Just got it down yesterday." Ichigo replied to the shopkeeper.
"Still, far from perfect." Urahara said, turning his gaze to Ggio. "Otherwise, Vega-san, here, would be dead."
"I guess you're right." Ichigo blinked. "So, are we-?"
"Yes, yes! I'd say that's enough for today." Urahara cut Ichigo off, waving his fan. "T'was a good spar. Lilynette-san, Mila-Rose-san, you two's reiatsu reserves increased, as expected. Ggio-san, while you didn't get much reiatsu from Kurosaki-san, I'm sure you got something else of value from this experience?"
"Yeah." Ggio answered simply, before he took off a contemplative expression. When it was clear that Ggio had nothing else to say to the group, for now, Urahara spoke up again.
"If that is all, let us leave this room and return to my wonderful shop!" He declared, spinning on his heel and making for the exit, being followed by Lilynette and Mila-Rose.
Ichigo took a couple steps forward to follow them, but stopped when he heard,
"Kurosaki-san."
Ichigo turned with an eyebrow raised and looked at Ggio expectantly. "What?" He asked. Instead of a verbal response, Ichigo was shocked to see Ggio take a deep bow, resting on one knee, supporting himself up with a fist on the ground, his other arm resting on the bent knee.
"I request that you train me. Take me as your student."
Ichigo blinked.
(End of Chapter/Author's Note)
Well, there ya have it. There it was. There it is. What did you think? I hope you liked it, really I do. It's not like it took me forever to write this so I put a lot of effort into it or anything... I just hope you like :D
Again, sorry for the long update. I just couldn't get motivated to type it out. No, not because I'm getting bored with this story, cause of where I'm going. I'm going to Vegas on the Twentieth to visit my old friends, so I couldn't stay still enough to sit down and type this out. But, I managed. I'll be gone for a week, then I'll begin work on Chapter Thirteen. You have my word.
No musical inspiration for the chapter in general, though I like to think of this song as Ggio's Theme.
Band:Trapt
Song:Headstrong
Back off, I'll take you on! Headstrong to take on anyone! I know that you are wrong! Headstrong, we're Headstrong! Back off, I'll take you on. Headstrong, to take on anyone. I know that you are wrong and this is not where you belong.
[1]:Caution:In-use for sights gags only
Oh, before I forget(Slipknot, good song XD), there's a poll up on my Profile page regarding the lemons. Nothing major, but if you're interested, check it out. It will stay up until the first lemon comes around.
And another thing, if you have a STEAM account and play L4D, look me up, yo. I already play with my beta, and Desuse(Who has a IchigoxHarem story with the arrancar girls as well) a good amount and would love to play with other people too.
Well, there ya go. Please read and review. Constructive Critisicm is welcome, but flamers will be hunted down and beaten up by me personally, I assure you.
From Lazruth: Cripes, the things this guy plans... So yeah, this is actually a little plot twist that caught me by surprise. Ggio was always one of my favorite characters, and with this happening... yeah, fun times to be had by all.
Like Nexus said above, drop us a line if you have a Steam account and want to play L4D with us. His name on there is the same here. If you wanna play with me, look for Twisted Joy.
On that note, allow me a little rant here. There's not a lot of the small and unusual pairings on this site, like LolyxIchigo for example. This is sad. But do you know what's really sad, and what's a personal pet-peeve of mine? When one person is done talking, and another starts, you START A NEW PARAGRAPH. It's a basic rule, one that very few seem to follow. And sadly, it happens mostly in the stories with the uncommon (or rare) pairings. Seriously, I fucking hate when 4+ people are talking in the same damn paragraph, and I get stuck there trying to find out what the Hell is going on because of that clusterfuck of a paragraph. And when you get the people who don't know how to capitalize properly or figure out how to put in a FUCKING PERIOD... *sigh* You know, I'll just let it go at that for now. Later.