Disclaimer: I don’t use big word and I don’t own Bleach
Ichigo adjusts his keikogi and hakama. He is getting impatience. Ichigo picks up his shinai and starts tapping the wooden floor with it. He checks his wrist watch. He has been here for almost 15 minutes.
Does the practice get canceled?
Ichigo sighs. He decides to wait for another 5 minutes. If there is no one who shows up, he will just have to leave.
…
And his 5 minutes are up.
Ichigo stands up lazily. Damn it, he is actually looking forward to meet Rukia at the practice today. He picks up his shinai and heads for the door. That is when the double doors of the dojo swing open and a group of students walk in, chattering noisily.
When they see Ichigo, everyone stop dead in their tracks and Ichigo is greeted with silence.
Ichigo cough a not so confident cough to break the silence. He does not like what he sees in front of him at the moment. These kids are the same students he saw earlier at the café, the one that he deemed the most rebellious looking students in the school. The fact that they are all wearing the same type of keikogi and hakama as he is and each of them carrying a shinai too makes it even worse.
Ichigo refrains himself from doing a face-palm.
“Well… fuck my catnip but what do we have here?” asks the blue haired male students, chuckling as he swings his shinai to let it rest on his shoulder. Well his hair color is not exactly blue, but more like azure.
“Don’t you think you are better suited to be a member of the golf club?” asks the pink haired male student. Yes. Pink. On a male student’s head. Ichigo ignores the obvious jeer in his voice.
“Hey, Ulquiorra, since when do we accept retarded pansies in this club?” This time it was the lanky looking guy who speaks as he cranks his neck to look at the shortest male student at the back of the group.
The male student, whose name Ichigo assumes must be Ulquiorra, just stands there looking at him with little to no interest.
“This is not a private club, Nnoitora,” he answers him simply. His lifeless eyes are now rest on Ichigo.
“Who the fuck accepted his application?” asks the blue haired student again. He, like his lanky friend, is clearly not happy to see Ichigo. Why, Ichigo is not really sure. He shudders inwardly thinking that Rukia is in the same club as these two bastards. How did she do it?
“Must be Yourichi,” says the girl besides the blue haired student, interrupting Ichigo’s thought. “I’m Neliel by the w –“
“Why the fuck are you introducing yourself to him?!” bellow Nnoitora and the blue haired student at the same time. The poor girl shrinks slightly and hid behind the tall blonde girl who is looking at the proceeding with a bored expression.
“What the fuck is your problem, man?” asks Ichigo finally, annoyed at their blatant hatred.
“Shut the fuck up, I am not talking to you –“
“Seriously dude, what is your fucking problem? Did my shinai butt rape your asshole or something?” remarks Ichigo with a smirk on his face.
Snorts and giggles echo throughout the dojo. The blue haired student and Nnoitora failed to see what was funny though as they shot murderous glare at the pink haired male student who is still could not help but giggles.
The only other student who does not find that remark funny is Ulquiorra who still looks at Ichigo with his deadpan face.
“Watch your mouth, punk,” warns the blue haired student as he takes a step forward. His shinai is in front of him, pointing at Ichigo.
“Grimmjow,” calls Ulquiorra. The blue haired male student stops in his track and angrily swirls around to face Ulquiorra. Ichigo is not sure what Grimmjow sees in Ulquiorra emotionless face but whatever it is, it does the trick as Grimmjow throws his shinai to the wooden floor in exasperation.
This seems like a cue for everyone to resume their activities. One by one they walk pass Ichigo.
“Watch your fucking back,” cautions Nnoitora as he walks by, chuckling and licking his lips. Ichigo could not help but quivers slightly.
“This ain’t fucking over,” warns Grimmjow next as he picks up his shinai and walks away.
The only one left standing there is another male student, with his dark hair just as messy as Ichigo, and a bit longer. It looks kinds of like a mullet. Among the other students, he looks like the most normal looking kids in the bunch. He definitely has a pleasant friendly smile as he gives one to Ichigo.
Ichigo does not sure how to react after he had to deal with the insolences earlier. The student chuckles when he sees Ichigo confused face.
“Do not worry about Grimmjow and Nnoitora. They always do this to the new kids,” assures him with a big grin plastered on his face.
“You have to go through the same shit too?”
“Hell no! We –“ he waves to the rest of the student who are putting on their bōgu set. “We have known each other since kids. Why do you think this club is so unpopular?”
Ichigo is about to tell him why but snap his mouth shut at the realization. The male student’s chuckles become an outright laugh when he looks at Ichigo’s dumbfounded expression as if he knows exactly what went through Ichigo’s mind.
“This ought to be interesting. I guess we just have to see if you will survive this, eh?” he puts his hand across Ichigo’s shoulder casually. “I am Kaien and you already met the kitty, the pink, the lanky, the annoying and the emo.” He chuckles when Ulquiorra spins around to give him a death glare but he continues on as if it does not give any effect on him although Ichigo can feel him shuddering slightly. “The pink one is Syazel by the way. That is Stark, Hallibel and Weiss.”
“Err Kuro –“
“Kurosaki Ichigo. Yeah, yeah, we know,” Kaien dismisses Ichigo’s introduction with a lazy wave of his hand. Then he let go of Ichigo and left him to join his friends who do not even acknowledge Ichigo as they were being introduced.
How fucking rude.
Now Ichigo really wonders if he had made a mistake about Rukia being part of this club. If she is, how did she manage to survive these assholes? Ichigo is willing to bet that she had it worst. Where is she anyway?
Ichigo sighs.
It just seems so improbable at the moment to picture Rukia among these annoyingly rude students. But just as he is about to walk towards them, he heard a creak behind him and few seconds later, Rukia walks pass him, a shinai on her hand.
However Rukia does not even glance at him. Ichigo is not sure if she does not see him or she chooses to ignore him.
Either way Ichigo still find himself standing there, stiff as a board or as if his feet have been rooted to the wooden floor. He watches as Rukia walks towards Ulquiorra and apologize for her lateness. Ulquiorra just look at her and mumbles something in return, too slow for Ichigo to hear what it was. Whatever he says, it must have been something rather embarrassing since Rukia’s cheeks are now flush with a tinge of red as she walks towards the rest of the group.
To Ichigo surprise, they embrace her, even Neliel and Hallibel. She is smiling and laughing at some of the jokes, stupid joked most probably, thought Ichigo, which the guys made. She is even all chummy with Kaien. Ichigo gives a sigh of relieve though when he observes that Rukia is avoiding any sort of physical contact with Nnoitora and not as friendly towards him as she is with the rest of the guys.
“Hey Kurosaki, what are you standing there for?” asks Kaien from across the room as he puts on his helmet.
“Yeah, let see what you are made of!” challenge Syazel with a sickening grin.
Rukia turns when she heard the mention of Ichigo’s name. There is a frown etching on her face. In Rukia haste to apologize to Ulquiorra for being late, she did not see Ichigo standing so transfixed at the door, even with his bundle of outrageous orange lock.
Rukia looks at him with curiosity. “Ichigo?”
Ichigo can feel the chill running down his spine. That is the first time she ever said his name after all these years. And he still likes the way it sounds coming from her lips. This is also the first word she ever said to him since he transferred here. About time…
Stark tilts his head. “You know this bum?”
Neliel giggles as she envelopes Rukia petite figure from the back. Half of the back of Rukia head is in Neliel’s breast. “Kaien, you forgot to introduce Rukia!”
“No need, we are in the same class,” answers Rukia. “However I am not sure why he is not in a golf club or something.”
The rest of them chuckles when they heard Rukia’s nonchalant remark. Rukia looks at Hallibel questioningly, not sure what the joke is.
“Syazel said the same thing and Nnoitora called him a pansy,” explains Hallibel grinning.
Rukia snorts and double with laughter and the others follow suit. Ichigo’s face turns crimson. He can not believe that Rukia is making fun of him. Rukia of all people! And here he is, worried about how she managed to survive the abuse from these morons when in truth she is just part of this madness.
But deep down inside, to see Rukia’s happy face and her being so at ease with herself is providing him with so much relief, he thinks his heart would burst. Being part of this club is probably one of the rare times that she let her guard down, the other time when she is with Renji. Ichigo has allowed himself to notice that much.
A hard smack to the back of his head makes Ichigo see stars as he comes back to earth, literally! Ichigo turns around to see Weiss with his shinai pointing right in front of his face, only an inch away from his nose.
More laughter and giggles follow and to Ichigo’s annoyance, Rukia is one of the loudest. Ichigo does not need to turn around to know that Ulquiorra is not part of the laughing party though.
“What the fuck did you do that for?” fumes Ichigo as he rubs the back of his head.
“You were spacing out.”
“Like hell I am –“
“Tsk tsk tsk. Don’t lie. It is so unbecoming for a pansy duke such as yourself,” tease Syazel.
Ichigo rolls his eyes.
“Dude, we have been calling your name but you just stood there all reminiscing and shit,” says Weiss chuckling. His shinai is still hanging in front of Ichigo’s face.
Ichigo gives up. There is no winning an argument when you have morons as your opponent. And technically he was reminiscing. Sorta.
Ichigo swats Weiss’ shinai away annoyingly but it comes back up.
“Pick your opponent,” instructs Weiss. There is no longer a hint of humor in his voice.
Ichigo looks at him as if he is sprouting vegetables from his mouth: a broccoli perhaps. That should go well with his freckled face. Wait, why the fuck is he thinking about vegetables now?
“What opponent?”
SMACK!
Ichigo rubs his forehead and he thinks he can see the bruise that will form soon with his fingers.
“This is a Kendo club, dickhead. Take a guess.”
Comes more laughter and giggles.
“In that case,” Ichigo turns and point his shinai straight at the giggling Rukia, with a smirk on his face. “I choose her.”
That silenced everyone; none of them can believe that such a good luck will be shining down upon them today. It has been a while since they get some decent entertainment around here. Few seconds passed before they are all bawling with laughter. Even Ulquiorra has a smirk on his face.
This time, it is Ichigo who does not get what the joke is.
Rukia is the first one to recover. She walks toward Ichigo and reaches out her hand for a handshake. “It will be a pleasure.”
Weiss clasp his hand on Ichigo’s shoulder. They both look at the retreating back of Rukia as she starts to get ready for the sparring. Neliel helps her with the bōgu set. “Good luck dude. Rukia is the only person in this room that is on par with Ulquiorra.”
“What do you mean?”
Weiss chuckle as he pats Ichigo’s back. “You will find out soon enough.”
Ichigo gulps.
--
Just like Weiss promised, Ichigo found out what he meant… the hard and painful way.
To say that Rukia has kicked his ass, gloriously, is an understatement. She fucking raped his ass!
Ichigo is humiliated and he sure he will not going to hear the end of it. But somehow he is not angry with the mocking and jeering from the guys. Now he feels like they are just joking around. It is how this group operated. They bonded in a sadistic, twisted sort of way but Ichigo thinks he is starting to get the hang of it.
Miss Yourichi who walks in halfway during Ichigo and Rukia sparring is busy breaking the fight between Syazel and Stark. When she has finally succeeded, Nnoitora comes and smack Stark’s head with his shinai. Another fight breaks out and Miss Yourichi shakes her fist in exasperation before letting them have it their way. Nnoitora and Stark finally give up when both of them think they have beaten the other to pulp. As they lay on the wooden floor panting, Weiss comes and kicks Nnoitora’s shin. And so the cycle continues.
Neliel comes up to Ichigo with that annoying giggles of hers and explains that this is almost a normal routine for the guys so she hopes Ichigo won’t be too freaked out.
Ichigo can tell that Neliel is trying to flirt with him. Ichigo can also tell that Grimmjow probably has some thing going on with her judging by the way he is fuming when he sees her being so chummy with him. So Ichigo says his thanks and quickly distancing himself from her.
Ichigo rest the back of his head on the wall. His body is sore from the sparring and he is sweating like a pig. He closes his eyes. He still could not believe that he has lost to Rukia.
Scratch that, actually he can.
Ichigo smile crookedly when he thinks about her doing the same thing in the past.
“You should not be smiling.”
Ichigo smiles wider but keeps his eyes close. He does not have to open his eyes to recognize to whom that voice belongs to.
“I guess you really like your ass kicked huh?”
Rukia throws a clean towel at Ichigo. This makes him open his eyes and look at Rukia who is sitting besides him with the back of her head also resting on the wall.
“I don’t but sometimes you just have to appreciate things.”
Rukia tilts her head. “Like what?”
Ichigo wipes the sweat on his face with the towel she gave him. He can smell her scent, a bit like rose surrounded by pure white snow. If Rukia is not by his side, Ichigo probably would have inhale few more times but he does not want to portray himself as a pervert. Knowing that she thinks he is some sort of a pansy is already a blow to his ego.
“You really don’t remember, do you?” asks Ichigo slowly.
Rukia frown. She sits straight up and faced Ichigo. “Remember what?”
He is about to say something but thinks better of it. “No, it was nothing.”
Rukia looks at him suspiciously. “That does not sounds like nothing.”
Ichigo ignores Rukia’s last remark as he slowly stands up. Man, he is going to need a massage to ease this soreness.
Rukia looks up at the towering Ichigo. She still expecting some sort of explanation from him but instead he pats her head and smiles down at her.
“All in due time Rukia. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
This caught Rukia off guard so the pink blushes quickly spread across her cheeks. As Ichigo sees her pink cheeks, he too could not control the blushing that is making his face a shade of red at the moment. He quickly takes his hand off of Rukia’s head.
Awkward silence ensues until Ichigo excuses himself, leaving Rukia literally speechless.
Little did Rukia and Ichigo know that Ulquiorra is observing them from a distance.
--
Uruhara is waiting for Ichigo at the school gate. Few minutes later, Ichigo is seating at the back seat of the car. A grin stretches across Uruhara face as he hands over an envelope to Ichigo.
His grin gets even wider when he sees Rukia walks out of the school gate, seemingly in a hurry.
“Do you want to give her a lift, Kurosaki?”
Ichigo who is looking at the content of the envelope raise his head. Anger is clearly visible in his amber eyes.
“No.”
Uruhara smirks knowingly as he put the car into first gear.
“As long as you are sure, Kurosaki.”
“Just drive, Kisuke.”
With a chuckle, Uruhara did just that. He drives pass the running Kuchiki Rukia, who is on her way to her day job. Uruhara can see from the rear view mirror how tensed up Ichigo was when they passed her and this time a genuine smile plays on his lips.
Read and Review!
Extra note:
keikogi – a jacket that is worn under the bōgu set
shinai – a bamboo sword.
bōgu set - traditional Japanese clothing and armour for Kendo practice.
No comments:
Post a Comment