Fuck yeah chapter 3!

Chapter 3

Las Noches, Sweet Las Noches

When Ichigo woke up the next morning, a man with spiky white hair and blue eyes was standing over him. He was glaring at him.

"W-What do you want?" Ichigo asked, not fully awake.

"Please explain to me why my books were moved."

"Huh?"

A muscle in the man's eye twitched. "My books were stacked perfectly aligned. You moved them and now the books are unaligned."

The gears in Ichigo's brain turned slowly. "Are you…Toshiro?"

"I'd rather you call me Hitsugaya," Toshiro said coldly. He let out an exasperated sigh. "Jesus, even Omaeda knew better."

Ichigo sat up. "What did I even do to you?"

"Were you listening?! You moved my books without my permission!"

"I was just making room for my books!"

"Maybe but because of you, my books aren't aligned." Toshiro opened the drawer. "Fix it."

Ichigo grit his teeth and knelt down in front of the drawer. As he aligned the books, his hands lingered on the top one. His eyes widened when he recognized the disembodied eyes and cherry red lips. Ichigo wondered how he hadn't noticed it yesterday.

"You like The Great Gatsby?"

"Of course," Toshiro said. His tone was serious but his gaze softened slightly. "It's a classic."

Ichigo smiled. "I hated Daisy."

"Fitzgerald made her an unlikable character on purpose," Toshiro said. "She's supposed to represent the so-called 'American Dream.'" Toshiro smiled. "I can go on and on about that novel, but I don't think you'd want to hear it."

Ichigo chuckled. "Not now, but one day maybe. I like hearing people's analysis."

Ichigo stood up. Toshiro only went up to his chest. "Did you see the movie?"

Toshiro shook his head. "I'm always scared of movies ruining the book."

"I didn't want to watch it either, but my wi-" Ichigo caught himself. He felt a pang in his heart. "My ex-wife loves DiCaprio so we watched it and I have to say, I was satisfied. DiCaprio is an amazing actor."

Toshiro laughed. "He is. Too bad he hasn't won an Oscar yet."

Ichigo laughed. "The man deserves one."

Toshiro cleared his throat and extended his hand. "I haven't introduced myself properly. I'm Hitsugaya, Toshiro."

Ichigo shook Toshiro's hand. "Kurosaki, Ichigo."

Suddenly, Ichigo heard a trumpet. The trumpet was playing the Reveille.

"Good morning, soldiers!" A man said once the song ended. It was Aizen. "It's a beautiful November morning! For breakfast, we're serving pancakes with a side of scrambled eggs!"

Ichigo glanced at the digital clock.

"The wake up call is at 7:30," Toshiro said. "We're given about ten minutes to get dressed and go to the cafeteria."

Ichigo brushed his shirt. He had fallen asleep in his clothing. Even though he had worn it yesterday, Ichigo didn't feel like changing.

"Ready when you are," Ichigo said.

Toshiro smirked. "Kurosaki, I have OCD. I'm always going to be ready before you."

Each floor had their own cafeteria so Ichigo didn't feel claustrophobic as he and Toshiro entered the room.

Unohana and a few other nurses were serving the food. Unohana smiled at Ichigo when they made eye contact.

"How was your first night?" Unohana asked as she placed two pancakes and some scrambled eggs onto Ichigo's plate.

"I slept well if that's what you're asking," Ichigo said.

Ichigo followed Toshiro to one of the tables. A muscular man with spiky black hair and scars all over his face along with a voluptuous strawberry blonde woman were sitting there.

The woman turned and beamed at Toshiro. Her teeth were pearly white. "Morning, Toshiro! Who's your new friend?"

Toshiro sat down next to her. Ichigo took a seat next to the man.

"This is Kurosaki, Ichigo," Toshiro said. "He likes The Great Gatsby."

The woman extended her arm across the table. Ichigo shook it and stared at her gorgeous face. Her light blue eyes and the beauty mark near her lip looked familiar.

Ichigo's eyes widened. "Are you-?"

"Matsumoto, Rangiku," the woman said. "You know me?"

Ichigo grinned. "My wife loves you! Oh god, Orihime will be so jealous once she hears that I met you."

Ichigo wanted to kick himself. He kept forgetting that Orihime divorced him.

Rangiku giggled. "Your wife has good taste."

Rangiku Matsumoto was a Victoria's Secret Model. She was Orihime's woman crush. Actually, Rangiku was pretty much the woman of every man's dreams and the envy of every woman because of her great body and beautiful face.

What was a woman like Rangiku doing in a mental hospital?

Rangiku seemed to have read his mind. "Drinking," Rangiku said. "I had a bad habit of relying on alcohol to solve my problems." Rangiku's blue eyes grew distant, as if she remembered something painful.

The man sitting next to Ichigo said, "I'm Zaraki, Kenpachi. Try to stay on my good side if you want to get out alive."

Ichigo studied Kenpachi's face. He seemed friendly enough, but his last comment discomforted him.

"I'll do my best," Ichigo said.

Toshiro leaned forward. Sensing that Toshiro wanted to tell him something, Ichigo leaned forward and cocked his head.

"Kenpachi has sadistic personality disorder," Toshiro whispered. "He's a lot better now, but if you piss him off, you're going to regret it."

Toshiro pulled away. He smiled at Kenpachi, who grinned back.

"Telling the new guy about me?" Kenpachi asked.

Toshiro took his fork and knife. "I like Kurosaki. I don't want him to get seriously hurt."

Toshiro began carefully cutting his pancakes. He stuck his tongue out in concentration.

"So Ichigo, what were you in your past life?" Kenpachi asked.

Ichigo picked up his glass go milk and took a few gulps. He placed the cup down and licked his upper lip to remove the white stain. "I was a doctor. Ever heard of the Kurosaki Clinic?"

"Nope," Kenpachi said. "But I do know what a doctor is. Damn. How did a doctor end up in a crazy hospital?"

"I have bipolar disorder," Ichigo said as casually as possible. Toshiro, Kenpachi, and Rangiku seemed comfortable talking about their problems. Ichigo figured that he should be the same.

"Bipolar?" Kenpachi's black eyes flickered with interest. "Do you get violent when you lose it?"

Yeah sure, I nearly killed someone once.

"Depends," Ichigo said. He stabbed an egg with his fork and shoved it into his mouth. He chewed it vigorously and swallowed. The image of Grimmjow's empty eyes haunted Ichigo's mind.

"Hey." Rangiku's voice caught Ichigo's attention. "Since you're new here, there's a lot you need to learn."

Ichigo shook his head. "It's OK. If I have any questions, I can ask Unohana."

"Unohana?" Kenpachi stared at the lunch line and grinned. "Damn, the things I would do to her…that woman is sexy as fuck."

Ichigo nearly fell out of his chair when he heard that. He looked over at Unohana. Her lips and sapphire eyes smiled kindly at the patients as she handed them seconds.

She was pretty. But sexy? It seemed unlikely that 'sexy' was even in her dictionary.

"Give up, Kenpachi," Toshiro said. His tone was half joking half serious. "She'd get in so much trouble if she even fantasized about you. Besides, she's rejected you so many times."

Kenpachi rolled his eyes. "She's just playing hard to get."

"OK, we're getting off-topic," Rangiku said. She looked squarely at Ichigo. "I wasn't talking about the schedule here or anything. I was talking about the more social aspect of Las Noches."

Ichigo scratched his head. "What do you mean by that?"

"Ever watched the movie Mean Girls?"

"Of course," Ichigo said. The film had come out when Ichigo was still in high school. His friend, Tatsuki, forced all of her friends into watching the movie with her, including the guys. Ichigo had walked into the theatre expecting to fall asleep within the first five seconds. However, the opening credits were shown in such an eery way that Ichigo wondered if they were watching a chick flick or a horror movie. The thought of Lindsay Lohan's character potentially dying excited Ichigo. The movie turned out to be far from scary, but Ichigo found himself laughing the entire time.

"It was such a great movie," Rangiku said. "Anyways, remember the scene where Janice was telling Cady about the cliques?"

Ichigo winced. "Oh god, don't tell me that Las Noches is like that."

Rangiku smiled. "Well, not exactly but there are cliques."

Rangiku's blue eyes darted around the room. Ichigo followed her gaze, which landed on a group of…larger people. One of them, a man with dark skin, laughed obnoxiously loud.

"People with eating disorders, particularly the binge eaters, tend to hang out with each other," Rangiku said. Her eyes shifted to a table with guys and girls staring lecherously at each other. A woman with red hair and glasses attempted to grope a nearby girl.

"Those are the sex addicts," Rangiku said.

"Oh." Ichigo looked around the room. His eyes fell on a petite woman. The woman was sitting at a table next to the window, near the corner of the room.

She was alone.

"Who's that?" Ichigo asked.

Rangiku turned around. "That's Kuchiki, Rukia. She's like you, I think. She has bipolar disorder. Apparently, she's also a sex addict."

Ichigo knit his eyebrows. "Why is she sitting alone?"

"Kuchiki has no control," Toshiro replied. "One minute she'll be completely calm, the next she'll be trying to claw your eyes out."

"She's like me except she's not supposed to enjoy hurting others," Kenpachi explained.

Ichigo stared at Rukia, who was eating her pancakes in a lady-like fashion. Several strands of her raven hair hung loosely between her violet eyes, which seemed to be a mix of every shade of blue and purple and were the size of golfballs. It was scientifically proven that large eyes were attractive, but at the moment, Ichigo found it difficult to find Rukia attractive. Her eyes were just so…vacant…as if she wouldn't care if a giant tsunami suddenly appeared and drowned everyone.

Someone waved their hand in front of Ichigo's face.

"Hello, earth to Ichigo?" It was Toshiro.

Ichigo blinked a few times and smiled. "Hey, I've been telling you guys about me. Wanna tell me about you?"

Toshiro leaned back in his chair. "Ask me anything."

Ichigo tapped his chin. "Mhmm, how long have you guys been here?"

"I've been here for four months exactly," Toshiro said.

Rangiku twirled a stand of her hair. "About two years."

"Three years," Kenpachi said. He shrugged. "I'm probably going to live here for the rest of my life."

"I'm sure you'll be cured one day." Ichigo enunciated every word.

Kenpachi let out a rowdy laugh, leaving Ichigo confused.

"W-What's so funny?"

"You sound serious as shit," Kenpachi said. "Look Ichigo, I've accepted a long time ago that I can never change and I'm fine with that. This place has become my home. Besides, if I leave, I won't be able to see Unohana as much."

"You won't be able to be with Unohana if you're her patient," Ichigo pointed out.

"Shit, Ichigo I don't want to marry her," Kenpachi said. "I'm more interested in the fucking."

Ichigo opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by Toshiro.

"Just let it go, Kurosaki," Toshiro said. "I've already tried to convince Kenpachi to give up."

Ichigo sighed. "Fine." He paused. "So…Toshiro…you married?"

Toshiro smiled. Ichigo had seen Toshiro smile before, but this was different. It was much more genuine, almost loving, and his blue eyes wore a much more relaxed look.

"Yeah," Toshiro said proudly. "I'm married. Her name's Momo."

Rangiku giggled. "Einstein here acts so adorable whenever she comes to visit. He blushes so hard."

Toshiro's eyes shot daggers at Rangiku. "Quit calling me Einstein! I can't help if my hair's naturally white and spiky!"

"Ah, come on Einstein! It's a compliment!"

"You're making fun of my hair! How the hell is that a compliment?!"

Ichigo smiled as the two bickered. Kenpachi turned to Ichigo and asked, "So Ichigo, what's your woman like?"

Ichigo cocked his head. "Why did you assume I was married?"

Kenpachi scratched his head. "Maybe my memory has gotten fuzzy, but didn't you earlier that your wife loved Rangiku?"

Yes, I did say that. Ichigo felt the sudden urge to kick himself again.

"I'm not married anymore," Ichigo said, forcing a smile onto his face. "It…just didn't work out."

"Too bad," Kenpachi said. "She lost a good one. No homo."

Despite the change in his mood, Ichigo chuckled. "Thanks Kenpachi."

Although Ichigo was still upset about Orihime, for the first time since he came to Las Noches, Ichigo felt like he belonged.

"No!" Ichigo snapped.

"Why not?" Urahara whined.

"I'm not going to talk to a man I barely know about my wife!" Ichigo's fingers curled and gripped the arms of the leather chair tightly. He had walked into the room expecting Urahara to ask normal questions, something along the lines of, "how was your day?" But as soon as Ichigo's ass made contact with the seat, Urahara asked Ichigo to tell him about Orihime. Maybe if he knew Urahara long enough, he would have, but Ichigo had only met Urahara yesterday. It also didn't help that Ichigo strongly disliked Urahara.

"I'm your therapist," Urahara said. "You're supposed to tell me all your secrets. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone, not even my wife."

"Well, two can keep a secret if one of them is dead," Ichigo snarled.

A part of Ichigo hoped that Urahara would cower in the corner. Instead, Urahara laughed. God, his laugh was irritating.

"I'm not asking you about your sex life, Mr. Kurosaki," Urahara said. "Frankly, I'd rather not hear about it. But I am interested to know about your past with Mrs. Inoue."

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"I'm not a cat, Mr. Kurosaki," Urahara said. "My wife, however, might be one. She's just as flexible as a cat. It's really fun whenever we pretend to be lions and-"

Ichigo looked away and waved his hand in front of his face. "TOO MUCH INFORMATION!"

Urahara clapped his hands like the retarded seal he was. "You have the funniest reactions, you know that?"

"I thought you were supposed to help me," Ichigo said dryly. "Not burn scarring images into my mind."

"I am trying to help you," Urahara replied calmly. "But you are not cooperating."

Ichigo crossed his arms. "How is talking about Orihime supposed to help?"

"We're here to talk about your problems," Urahara answered. "Your relationship with your ex-wife is one of your problems. Now tell me how it all started."

Ichigo hesitated. He wanted to keep the happy memories to himself.

But he also needed to get out.

Ichigo sighed. "We met in high school."

Urahara had hid his face behind his fan. Ichigo wondered if Urahara was mentally judging him for marrying a girl from high school. He probably thinks we got married right after graduation.

"She was a new student at Karakura High," Ichigo continued. He shut his eyes for a moment as he remembered the first time he saw her. "My friend Tatsuki introduced me to her. Every teenager goes through an awkward phase, but Orihime never seemed to go through said phase." She was a flower, a blossomed flower. "She was pretty, had a developed chest, was sweet and ranked third in the grade. She was perfect...and just a friend."

Urahara's expression was unreadable. "And then?"

"Then one day, her brother got into a car accident." Ichigo shut his eyes. It had been a rainy night. He could still remember Orihime's teary face as she begged her brother to survive. "Her brother was sent to the Kurosaki Clinic. Naturally, Orihime was there so I comforted her and…we fell in love."

Urahara remained silent. Ichigo opened his eyes and frowned.

"Are you just going to sit there or are you going to say something?!"

Urahara lowered his fan. "Your relationship had a healthy start. Did you have any sudden mood swings around that time?"

Ichigo shook his head. "I lost my temper sometimes, but it wasn't anything serious."

"Then something happened as the years went by," Urahara said. He glanced at the clock and sighed. "I wasted precious time trying to get you to open up. We'll have to continue this tomorrow. Are you taking the Lithium?"

Ichigo stood up and nodded.

"And are you drinking enough water?"

Ichigo stifled a groan. "I'm not a child, Urahara. I don't need to be reminded to take my meds."

Ichigo opened the door. Unohana was standing outside, patiently waiting for him.

"And I don't need someone to escort me to my room."

Unohana and Urahara laughed. Ichigo crossed his arms and pouted. He felt like a five year old being laughed at by his parents for saying "I'm an adult!"

"Come on, Mr. Kurosaki," Unohana said between giggles. "I haven't given you a proper tour of Las Noches. What would you like to see first?"

Without hesitation, Ichigo said, "The library."

Ichigo waved Urahara goodbye and followed Unohana through the freshly scented hallway.

And that's chapter 3! Toshiro is a bit OOC but I feel like it works in this story. Thoughts?