Polyphonic: 02
here's another chapter. erm... probably posting weekly sunday/monday? but yeah, enjoy. :)
Title: Polyphonic: ch 02
Author: my_imaginating
Beta: 3_broken_hearts
Pairings: Renji x Ichigo (centric), Grimmjow x Ichigo (one-sided), Gin x Rangiku, and more
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of its characters.
Rating: PG-13 (mostly)
Warning: AU (no bearing upon the Bleach series whatsoever, I just borrowed the characters), shounen-ai, kissing (homo and hetero), mild violence, a little swearing
Word count: 1208 + 332(extra)
Summary: In which Ichigo stares at Renji and Rukia is way too pleased with herself.
The red-brown eyes locked onto Ichigo's. And then, slowly and sinuously, the man's lips twisted into a smirk. The gaze seemed so intimate that Ichigo felt himself blushing.
"Renji!" Rukia cried from beside him. How had the small girl even managed to keep up with Ichigo through those massive crowds? Ichigo's mind didn't want to ponder it too long because to think about it meant thinking of something other than his eyes and the heat that seemed to fill the distance between them.
Then abruptly, the silent connection was gone when the redhead shifted his gaze. He walked purposefully, with a sexy relaxed stride directly towards... Rukia? "Hey, you came," he drawled, his smile also shifting to one of genuine affection.
Ichigo's heart was hammering. He couldn't think with the redhead -- Renji, his mind supplied foggily -- so near. How did he know Rukia? And what was the meaning behind that heated gaze from earlier?
Distractedly, he heard snippets of their conversation, thinking instead of the way Renji's voice seemed to flow through the music and how it still had the ability, even with the noise surrounding them, to make the heat pool in his groin.
"-- starting soon. It's gonna be good tonight. Grimm and his boys are here." Renji, who had been pretty much ignoring Ichigo until that moment, suddenly turned toward him. "You're gonna root for me, right?"
Ichigo's mind went blank. "Uh, um, I--" He glanced nervously at Rukia who was just nodding her head furiously. "Yes."
"Good." And with another, very abbreviated, heated gaze aimed directly at Ichigo, Renji took his leave.
--
Rukia, face carefully neutral, prodded Ichigo. He was gazing openly at Renji, and at Renji's ass, as he walked away. This was exactly what she had wanted, Rukia thought smugly. Now, Ichigo could get his mind off that man from earlier and concentrate on Renji.
Ichigo jumped and faced Rukia guiltily, a red tinge on his cheeks. She couldn't help the small giggle that escaped, and Ichigo's blush went all the way up to his ears. He swallowed thickly, before asking, "Who is he?"
"Renji?" Rukia asked, innocently.
With a strangled growl, Ichigo bit out, "Of course Renji!"
Rukia laughed, before deciding to put Ichigo out of his misery. "Renji's the captain of one of the breaking crews that'll be on tonight. That's Soul Candy. They're the current favorites for the final competition. They're battling against the Reapers tonight which should be pretty exciting, since they're rivals. The other side is pretty good too, and their style's pretty similar, but I heard rumors that they stole routines from other crews in order to get to the top." Rukia paused, gauging Ichigo's interest. Oh yes, hook line and sinker baby. "He also happens to be Abarai Renji, my cousin."
---
Ichigo's eyes widened in recognition. Rukia had been known as Abarai Rukia before her adoption, but had moved away to live with her cousin's family instead of with Kuchiki Byakuya even afterwards, for posterity's sake. A young man and woman, without blood relation, living together alone was a recipe for nasty rumors, even if they weren't true. So now she lived with her aunt and her cousin. Her cousin, Renji. He wracked his brain for any elusive details Rukia might have mentioned about her mysterious cousin before realizing that Rukia was looking at him with a much too smug smile.
He glared at her accusingly, "You didn't drag me here just to set me up, did you?"
At Rukia's angelic smile, he growled. Stupid meddling best friends. As her hand slipped into his, though, he smiled ruefully. At least her skill in choosing guys was better than her skill at drawing.
"So, where are they performing?" asked Ichigo, aware that this probably should have been their first consideration.
"We've still got a little time," laughed Rukia, pulling Ichigo through to the dance floor. "They compete on the floor right here, but before it happens, it's open to everyone. This is a club after all."
Ichigo followed Rukia with growing trepidation as they weaved through the pockets of space toward the loud thumping of the music. Finally, panicked, he leaned forward and yelled toward Rukia, "I can't dance!"
In moments, Ichigo found himself surrounded by men and women within earshot, offering to teach him. One aggressive man snaked his hand around Ichigo's waist, murmuring in his ear about how they could take this off the dance floor too.
Ichigo, terrified at this point, looked frantically for where Rukia had disappeared to. He tried pushing away from the man, only to be pulled back to his side.
"Yoohoo," a busty strawberry blonde called.
Ichigo felt the grip on him loosen, as the man's attention was drawn towards her. The woman was surrounded by adoring men, each of whom seemed almost afraid to touch her, but couldn't help being near her.
"Let's see, who should I pick?" she mused aloud, tapping her finger against her beauty mark. Her gaze alighted on Ichigo and her blue eyes twinkled mischievously. A feeling of foreboding stole across Ichigo, as she leveled a finger at him. "I want him."
The amount of men bewailing her choice seemed not to faze her, as she walked directly over and drew Ichigo into a hug.
"Wai--Mmph, mmmmermph!!" Ichigo's arms flailed as he was pushed directly into her huge breasts during the hug.
"Oh sorry," she said, winking as she let go of him. "You were just sooooo cute!"
"Look," Ichigo huffed, rubbing his face while catching his breath. "No offense, but I'm not really--"
Ichigo stopped when she winked and leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "Don't worry. That's partly why I picked you."
Bringing him back to the edge of the dance floor, she stopped at a table just enough away from the dancers to not feel crowded in, but still with a great view. Rukia was bringing drinks to the table, smiling.
"Rukia! How could you leave me out there? They were terrible!"
Rukia had the grace to look chastised, before explaining. "I didn't mean to let go of you, but I was pushed aside and couldn't get back to you. I went to get Renji, since I knew he would be able to find you, but they wouldn't let him leave. So I sent Ran-san instead!"
"But how did she know, I mean, how could she know who I am," spluttered Ichigo.
"Oh, I just told her to find the orange haired kid who was being molested by an entire mob of suitors. She really is the best at getting guys to do what she wants, even gay ones." The woman and Rukia both laughed at that.
"Matsumoto Rangiku, at your service. Just call me Ran, it's what Renji and the others do." At Ichigo's confused look, she explained, "I'm his manager. Actually I'm the manager of Soul Candy. On that note, though, I'd better go see that the boys are ready for tonight. Don't lose him again, Rukia."
"Thanks, Ran-san!" Turning to Ichigo with a huge smile, Rukia asked, "Hey Ichigo, you want to dance some more?"
Ichigo groaned as he put his head on the table. "How long until it starts?"
Bonus mini-chapter
10-year-old Kurosaki Ichigo grinned, showing a gap in his teeth where his tooth had fallen out last week, while looking at the drawing Rukia had sent him in the mail. He didn't care that all the other boys thought girls had cooties -- what were cooties anyway? -- Rukia was his best friend in the whole world.
And because he was her best friend, he knew that despite the fact that the paper was covered with weird drawings of bunnies and bears, it was supposed to be his family.
When his father had asked him why he hadn't cried at the funeral, Ichigo had stubbornly shouted, "Boys don't cry!" and ran off. Rukia hadn't been able to come, but she had spent the night on the phone with Ichigo until at last, exhausted, he had fallen into a dreamless sleep. The day after the funeral, an envelope from Rukia had arrived.
Ichigo had taken it away and opened it at his favorite place by the river. Sitting there, looking at the drawing, he felt the tears he had held in start to come out. They were all there: his dad, his sisters, and him. Even his mom, as an angel bunny flying right next to bunny Ichigo, accompanied a Rukia bunny wielding a sword, fending off all the bad bears. In childlike scrawl, Rukia had written: "We just want you to be happy."
A few moments later found Ichigo curled up tightly crying. Kurosaki Isshin knew his son wasn't nearly as strong as he seemed, and had followed to make sure he was alright. When Ichigo's first tear hit the grass, Isshin had already covered half the distance towards the little boy.
Gathering him up in his arms, Isshin crooned, "It's alright to cry. Even boys can cry sometime. Even daddy cries."
And in the fading light of the afternoon, father and son walked home, bathed in the memories of the love of Kurosaki Misaki, who's soul had finally gone to rest.
back to 01. on to 03.
Title: Polyphonic: ch 02
Author: my_imaginating
Beta: 3_broken_hearts
Pairings: Renji x Ichigo (centric), Grimmjow x Ichigo (one-sided), Gin x Rangiku, and more
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of its characters.
Rating: PG-13 (mostly)
Warning: AU (no bearing upon the Bleach series whatsoever, I just borrowed the characters), shounen-ai, kissing (homo and hetero), mild violence, a little swearing
Word count: 1208 + 332(extra)
Summary: In which Ichigo stares at Renji and Rukia is way too pleased with herself.
The red-brown eyes locked onto Ichigo's. And then, slowly and sinuously, the man's lips twisted into a smirk. The gaze seemed so intimate that Ichigo felt himself blushing.
"Renji!" Rukia cried from beside him. How had the small girl even managed to keep up with Ichigo through those massive crowds? Ichigo's mind didn't want to ponder it too long because to think about it meant thinking of something other than his eyes and the heat that seemed to fill the distance between them.
Then abruptly, the silent connection was gone when the redhead shifted his gaze. He walked purposefully, with a sexy relaxed stride directly towards... Rukia? "Hey, you came," he drawled, his smile also shifting to one of genuine affection.
Ichigo's heart was hammering. He couldn't think with the redhead -- Renji, his mind supplied foggily -- so near. How did he know Rukia? And what was the meaning behind that heated gaze from earlier?
Distractedly, he heard snippets of their conversation, thinking instead of the way Renji's voice seemed to flow through the music and how it still had the ability, even with the noise surrounding them, to make the heat pool in his groin.
"-- starting soon. It's gonna be good tonight. Grimm and his boys are here." Renji, who had been pretty much ignoring Ichigo until that moment, suddenly turned toward him. "You're gonna root for me, right?"
Ichigo's mind went blank. "Uh, um, I--" He glanced nervously at Rukia who was just nodding her head furiously. "Yes."
"Good." And with another, very abbreviated, heated gaze aimed directly at Ichigo, Renji took his leave.
--
Rukia, face carefully neutral, prodded Ichigo. He was gazing openly at Renji, and at Renji's ass, as he walked away. This was exactly what she had wanted, Rukia thought smugly. Now, Ichigo could get his mind off that man from earlier and concentrate on Renji.
Ichigo jumped and faced Rukia guiltily, a red tinge on his cheeks. She couldn't help the small giggle that escaped, and Ichigo's blush went all the way up to his ears. He swallowed thickly, before asking, "Who is he?"
"Renji?" Rukia asked, innocently.
With a strangled growl, Ichigo bit out, "Of course Renji!"
Rukia laughed, before deciding to put Ichigo out of his misery. "Renji's the captain of one of the breaking crews that'll be on tonight. That's Soul Candy. They're the current favorites for the final competition. They're battling against the Reapers tonight which should be pretty exciting, since they're rivals. The other side is pretty good too, and their style's pretty similar, but I heard rumors that they stole routines from other crews in order to get to the top." Rukia paused, gauging Ichigo's interest. Oh yes, hook line and sinker baby. "He also happens to be Abarai Renji, my cousin."
---
Ichigo's eyes widened in recognition. Rukia had been known as Abarai Rukia before her adoption, but had moved away to live with her cousin's family instead of with Kuchiki Byakuya even afterwards, for posterity's sake. A young man and woman, without blood relation, living together alone was a recipe for nasty rumors, even if they weren't true. So now she lived with her aunt and her cousin. Her cousin, Renji. He wracked his brain for any elusive details Rukia might have mentioned about her mysterious cousin before realizing that Rukia was looking at him with a much too smug smile.
He glared at her accusingly, "You didn't drag me here just to set me up, did you?"
At Rukia's angelic smile, he growled. Stupid meddling best friends. As her hand slipped into his, though, he smiled ruefully. At least her skill in choosing guys was better than her skill at drawing.
"So, where are they performing?" asked Ichigo, aware that this probably should have been their first consideration.
"We've still got a little time," laughed Rukia, pulling Ichigo through to the dance floor. "They compete on the floor right here, but before it happens, it's open to everyone. This is a club after all."
Ichigo followed Rukia with growing trepidation as they weaved through the pockets of space toward the loud thumping of the music. Finally, panicked, he leaned forward and yelled toward Rukia, "I can't dance!"
In moments, Ichigo found himself surrounded by men and women within earshot, offering to teach him. One aggressive man snaked his hand around Ichigo's waist, murmuring in his ear about how they could take this off the dance floor too.
Ichigo, terrified at this point, looked frantically for where Rukia had disappeared to. He tried pushing away from the man, only to be pulled back to his side.
"Yoohoo," a busty strawberry blonde called.
Ichigo felt the grip on him loosen, as the man's attention was drawn towards her. The woman was surrounded by adoring men, each of whom seemed almost afraid to touch her, but couldn't help being near her.
"Let's see, who should I pick?" she mused aloud, tapping her finger against her beauty mark. Her gaze alighted on Ichigo and her blue eyes twinkled mischievously. A feeling of foreboding stole across Ichigo, as she leveled a finger at him. "I want him."
The amount of men bewailing her choice seemed not to faze her, as she walked directly over and drew Ichigo into a hug.
"Wai--Mmph, mmmmermph!!" Ichigo's arms flailed as he was pushed directly into her huge breasts during the hug.
"Oh sorry," she said, winking as she let go of him. "You were just sooooo cute!"
"Look," Ichigo huffed, rubbing his face while catching his breath. "No offense, but I'm not really--"
Ichigo stopped when she winked and leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "Don't worry. That's partly why I picked you."
Bringing him back to the edge of the dance floor, she stopped at a table just enough away from the dancers to not feel crowded in, but still with a great view. Rukia was bringing drinks to the table, smiling.
"Rukia! How could you leave me out there? They were terrible!"
Rukia had the grace to look chastised, before explaining. "I didn't mean to let go of you, but I was pushed aside and couldn't get back to you. I went to get Renji, since I knew he would be able to find you, but they wouldn't let him leave. So I sent Ran-san instead!"
"But how did she know, I mean, how could she know who I am," spluttered Ichigo.
"Oh, I just told her to find the orange haired kid who was being molested by an entire mob of suitors. She really is the best at getting guys to do what she wants, even gay ones." The woman and Rukia both laughed at that.
"Matsumoto Rangiku, at your service. Just call me Ran, it's what Renji and the others do." At Ichigo's confused look, she explained, "I'm his manager. Actually I'm the manager of Soul Candy. On that note, though, I'd better go see that the boys are ready for tonight. Don't lose him again, Rukia."
"Thanks, Ran-san!" Turning to Ichigo with a huge smile, Rukia asked, "Hey Ichigo, you want to dance some more?"
Ichigo groaned as he put his head on the table. "How long until it starts?"
Bonus mini-chapter
10-year-old Kurosaki Ichigo grinned, showing a gap in his teeth where his tooth had fallen out last week, while looking at the drawing Rukia had sent him in the mail. He didn't care that all the other boys thought girls had cooties -- what were cooties anyway? -- Rukia was his best friend in the whole world.
And because he was her best friend, he knew that despite the fact that the paper was covered with weird drawings of bunnies and bears, it was supposed to be his family.
When his father had asked him why he hadn't cried at the funeral, Ichigo had stubbornly shouted, "Boys don't cry!" and ran off. Rukia hadn't been able to come, but she had spent the night on the phone with Ichigo until at last, exhausted, he had fallen into a dreamless sleep. The day after the funeral, an envelope from Rukia had arrived.
Ichigo had taken it away and opened it at his favorite place by the river. Sitting there, looking at the drawing, he felt the tears he had held in start to come out. They were all there: his dad, his sisters, and him. Even his mom, as an angel bunny flying right next to bunny Ichigo, accompanied a Rukia bunny wielding a sword, fending off all the bad bears. In childlike scrawl, Rukia had written: "We just want you to be happy."
A few moments later found Ichigo curled up tightly crying. Kurosaki Isshin knew his son wasn't nearly as strong as he seemed, and had followed to make sure he was alright. When Ichigo's first tear hit the grass, Isshin had already covered half the distance towards the little boy.
Gathering him up in his arms, Isshin crooned, "It's alright to cry. Even boys can cry sometime. Even daddy cries."
And in the fading light of the afternoon, father and son walked home, bathed in the memories of the love of Kurosaki Misaki, who's soul had finally gone to rest.
back to 01. on to 03.