[Log] Take care
Who: Tatsuki (fiercestwarrior) and Hichigo (shirosakihichi)
What: Tatsuki bandages up Hichigo again
When: Oh my god. The night of all the bombs going off, I'm such a failure. -spazzes and dies-
Where: Hichigo's room (1104)
Rating: PG-13 for some bloooood?
Hichigo sat heavily on the floor after locking the door, his back against the bed and an arm wrapped around his abdomen. Blood was staining his white shihakusho a bright red, a large piece of wall and shrapnel having caught him in the side and making a rather large gash. Various other small cuts and wounds littered the Hollow's body, including a cut on his forehead that was leaking blood into his good eye.
Why had he warned Tatsuki against coming? Usually he was just for anything that would help him survive, a being that was selfish incarnate... and yet here he was, worrying for a simple human. How far had he fallen since he'd become separated from his aibou, to have such a weakness? He snorted quietly, waiting for the inevitable pounding at his bedroom door that would announce Tatsuki's arrival, eyes half-closed and vision hazy.
Risky? Yeah, just a little.
Tatsuki knew the kind of shit she would catch if anyone found out she was going to catch Hichigo. But at the moment, she didn't care. All the blood... she grit her teeth as she raced down the stairs, journal tucked as usual into her waistband. No way she was going to leave him like that.
Once she got to his hallway she ran to his door, only to find it locked. She didn't bother wasting her energy on knocking. She already knew he wouldn't open it for her. Nervously she glanced to the side, wincing internally at the damage the bomb had caused. Who'd been in that room...? With a pang of guilt somewhere around her gut, Tatsuki ignored the destruction and focused on the task of kicking Hichigo's door in instead.
A bloody grin curved Hichigo's lips as he heard Tatsuki kicking at the door, watching as it slowly began to crack under the fighter's strength and persistence. Of course. He fully intended on making her repair that too later, just because he could.
He spat a bit of blood that had welled up in his mouth off to the side, couching slightly as he did. He'd probably gotten some of the debris in his mouth when the bomb went off-- it was the only logical reason he could think of for why his throat felt so irritated and scratchy. Well whatever, he'd work on that later. He turned his attention back to the door as it finally broke, raising the hand not clutching his side in a motionless wave.
"Good to see you haven't changed."
Tatsuki stood in the doorway for a moment after she'd finally broken the door, panting slightly. Damn that Hichigo. Why couldn't he just be normal and unlock the damn door?
With an annoyed yet determined look on her face she moved to kneel by his side, scowling at the severity of his injuries. "Idiot," she growled, getting up to go into the remains of his bathroom to scrounge for bandages. Finding none, she ran into the hall to find a ghost and ask it. Returning a few minutes later she sat on the floor in front of him to wait, sighing.
"And you were just gonna .. what, sit here and bleed everywhere?"
Hichigo stuck out his dark tongue at her question. "Maybe. What would it be to you anyway? The regenerative effect I've got would've kicked in eventually," he replied, resting his head back against the bed, eerie gold and black eyes fixed on the teenage girl sitting in front of him.
"What would've you done if there'd been another bomb down here?" he muttered, his own tone annoyed. "Gotten yourself blown up too? What's the point of worrying about something that's a copy of a friend?"
He paused at this, wondering where that terminology had come from, but shrugged it off. It would help him learn just why she'd bothered fixing him up both these times, bothered to continue talking to him even when she was warned. Throat getting irritated again he coughed, hissing when his side throbbed painfully in protest to this.
"I don't want your stupid ass dying on me, that's what," she said, with an annoyed frown. Though she paused at his next question, looking a little surprised. For a moment she just sat there, watching him, drumming her fingers lightly on her knee as she considered how to respond.
"For one, a bomb didn't go off. And from the journals it sounded like all the explosions that were going to happen had happened already. And even if a bomb HAD gone off, then, well... We'd have had to figure it out from there. But it didn't. So what's the point in worrying about it?" Then she raised her eyebrows a little at him. "And besides, you're not a copy. At least, not really, from what you told me. Part of him, but separate. You're your own person, as far as I'm concerned," she added, glancing off to one side and shrugging.
But she looked back at him sharply when he hissed in pain, starting as if to reach out for him before she suddenly went still. Rather suddenly she stood and went to the door, looking up and down the hall. "Where is that damn ghost," she muttered.
Hichigo raised a brow when she moved to reach for him but suddenly stopped, wondering where that had come from. As she stood he tried to wipe the blood out of his eye and off his forehead. Odd how forehead wounds seem to bleed a lot more than one would think, he half-heartedly mused.
Shaking his head he reached an arm up, deciding that he'd rather sit on the bed than on the floor in a puddle of his own blood, grabbing a hold of the sheets and managing to get himself standing. Stumbling a bit as he got to his feet, the Hollow shook his head and quickly sat himself on the bed, quickly deciding he didn't like the feeling of dizziness.
"Whaddya ask the ghost for?" he asked out of curiosity, while glancing at his side. Damn. This would mean he'd be in bed for quite a while, didn't it.
She shot a look at him over her shoulder as he struggled onto the bed, but didn't move to help him. Instead she just looked out into the hallway again, trying to mask what concern she felt.
"Bandages and stuff, since you don't have any," she muttered. A moment later she stepped into the hallway and returned with an armful of what she'd requested, along with other assorted medical items. She tossed it all on the bed, then sat on the edge next to him, all business.
"Alright," she stated, "you have two choices. Either you let me help you with your wounds or I hit you hard enough to knock you out and then take care of you. Which is it gonna be?" She raised her brows at him.
He gave her a flat look for a few seconds, before rolling his eyes. "I'm not aibou, and I'd rather not be in any more pain," he answered, pausing and looking at his side. That probably meant relinquishing the hand that was working to slow blood flow, huh.
He lifted his bloody hand away from his side, gritting his teeth a bit when the blood that had ended up drying served to hurt the wound even more. The bodily fluid began to flow again, staining his clothing further and causing the Hollow to give a quiet 'tch' and shake his head.
He eyed the supplies, beginning to half-wonder if she would even know how to do this properly. Not that he did, of course, but still.
Tatsuki's eyes narrowed slightly when the bloodflow restarted. Not good. Very not good, regeneration or no.
She sat there for a moment, biting her lip as she thought over how this would proceed. Then she lifted her brows at him and in a very matter-of-fact tone said, "I can't treat your injuries with your clothing in the way. Top part of the shihakusho comes off."
All she could hope was that he wouldn't take it the wrong way. She just needed room to get at his injuries.
Hichigo rolled his eyes, tugging off the material to get the wounds in full view. It was a bit disturbing to actually see some color on himself, seeing as his skin pretty much was white, and the Hollow took a glance at his own wound.
It was deep but not enough so to be life threatening besides blood flow or anything like that. It still hurt like a bitch, though, and that probably was the thing he wanted to deal with least. The pain and the fact that even with regenerative abilities, it was obvious he'd be bedridden for a while.
He glanced back at Tatsuki after this, setting his bloody clothing down on the floor.
Tatsuki sucked in a breath at the injury, then clicked her tongue. She reached over to grab the peroxide and a gauze pad the ghost had brought. "This is gonna sting," she said as she doused the pad with the peroxide, then pressed it to the wound. It would hurt like a bitch, but it'd clean the wound out.
Once finished with that, she grabbed another few gauze pads and pressed them over the wound, pinning them down with medical tape and some gauze wrapped around his middle. She didn't know how much any of this would help - she'd never really treated wounds before, though she knew the basics from her own experiences with karate. Finished, she sat back, inspecting her handiwork. "That should do it for now," she murmured. "But you HAVE to rest. Stay in bed and ask the ghosts to bring you stuff." Her tone allowed no room for argument.
When the peroxide hit the wound, Hichigo's eyes widened a split second before shutting tightly, a loud hiss escaping as dark nails dug into the bedsheets. Fuck, that hurt! Were humans all masochists or something?! How would more pain help a wound?
Once the pain subsided Hichigo slowly opened his eyes again, glancing at his bandaged middle and nodding just slightly, rubbing at his forehead wound a bit. "Yeah, yeah, I know," he muttered. He could be defined as a slight masochist-- he'd come back for more wounds in battle, as long as the battle was fun-- but even he didn't intend to rip himself open again. But this meant he would be bored as hell for a while.
With a frown Tatsuki looked up at the forehead wound. "I'm treating all of these, you know," she said, in an offhand sort of way, placing the peroxide-soaked pad down on his bedside table while picking up a new, clean one, setting to work on cleaning and bandaging that wound, as well as any others she could reach. By the end she'd almost run out of gauze.
With a short sigh she stood, then turned to face him with hands on her hips. "If I somehow hear you've moved around outside your room or challenged anyone, you're dead." She grinned. "Got it?"
By the end of the treatment, Hichigo had fully decided he hated... whatever that stuff Tatsuki kept using was called. It was annoying, made more pain, and really, how did it help? But Tatsuki probably understood better than him if she were using it so much, so he decided to, grudgingly, trust her judgment.
He gave her a flat look at her threat, though an amused half-smile curved his lips. "Yeah, yeah. Got it, doctor," he said, shaking his head. "I don't intend to rip myself open again, don't worry."
Tatsuki gave him a business-like nod in return, though half a smile was on her lips. "You better not, as all I can say. And if you need anything just ask through the journals." She paused then, and threw a look at the door over her shoulder. "By the way, I'm not fixing that. The castle will take care of it~," she said lightly, gesturing carelessly.
"If there's nothing else, then I'm outta here," she added, lifting a brow as she rolled her eyes upwards, thinking again about all the trouble she could still get in for being here.
Hichigo sneered at her insistence at not fixing the door. What, could she read minds now? "Che." He flopped back on the bed, gold eyes glancing at the ceiling for a few moments before looking towards Tatsuki again.
"Nah. I've got no reason to keep you here," he replied, half reminded of the first time he'd been alone with her. He paused for a moment, thoughtfully, closing his eyes and questioning quietly, "You're really fine with getting on the bad side of probably all the Shinigami, as well as aibou, with this? Sneaking around like this so you don't get crap?" This was all confusing for the Hollow, and he didn't enjoy being confused.
Tatsuki raised her eyebrows at his sneer. What brought that reaction on? Most of her friends would tease or or get annoyed for that kid of thing - not that she often broke down doors, though she did destroy the classroom once - and if the castle could take care of it she saw no reason to bother.
But her expression went carefully blank at his next set of questions, though she narrowed her eyes just slightly. Goddamnit, couldn't he just leave the issue alone? The more he asked, the more she had to think about it, and it brought up more painful questions than she even wanted to bother thinking about. It just hurt too much. With a sigh she moved to sit on the edge of his bed again, then drew a leg up to her chest.
"No, I'm not," she said honestly. "I mean, I did a lot of sneaking around at home, since I'd follow Ichigo sometimes, but .. yeah, this is different. And I know it'd bother them, but for the people I care about, at least..." She paused. "They're worried about my safety. And with you..." It's the same, she didn't say. She shook her head, not sure how to go on.
Hichigo opened one eye when he felt the bed shift, a bit surprised. So it seemed she wanted to stay a bit longer. The only reason he bothered to keep bringing this up was because she needed to face it, decide what she needed to do. Juggling both sides might be possible, but... it was like how aibou was, with his Shinigami duties and his real life. It was hard, painful, and very very dangerous. A type of situation that if you did the slightest thing wrong everything would blow up in your face.
He sighed quietly, propping himself up on his elbows. Ironic, how a Hollow was dealing with an emotional situation for a human. "How do you feel, sneaking around like this?' he asked, a serious expression on his face as he gazed at Tatsuki. It was in these moments of calm that he seemed most human, despite the unnaturally pale skin, despite the black and gold eyes and regenerative abilities.
It was when he felt most human too, and it felt alien and awkward for him. He'd been formed under unusual circumstances, given voice and body inside a human, then suddenly given his own body... and he guessed his more human attributes had carried on from his host.
Tatsuki raised a brow at that, giving him a questioning look. What the hell, was he playing psychiatrist now? She blew out a breath, trying not to be annoyed. He was being nice, thoughtful. That in itself had to mean something, so ... she'd try.
"I feel like an ass," she said honestly, shrugging. "But you're my friend too, and I'm helping you. There's nothing wrong. If they have a problem with it, then ..." She paused again, realizing this was going in circles. "... It's been working so far."
Hichigo blinked in honest surprise when Tatsuki said she considered him a friend. Even the thought of friendship was... an odd thing to think about, for him. A Hollow and a human especially, friends? That was just... Hichigo shook his head simply, lying back again, staring at the ceiling. Maybe everything had been simpler when he'd been attempting to shake the throne as a mental being, not a physical one.
"If it works for you... then it's not really my place to question it. Just making sure you know what you're getting yourself into." He paused a beat, before looking back at Tatsuki, asking curiously, "You honestly consider me a friend?"
She blinked at him when he laid back and looked away. She didn't think she'd said anything that weird. At the moment, the fact that he was a Hollow, despite his rather distinct appearance, was not occurring to her at all.
"Believe me, I know," she said, her voice quiet. She almost wished she didn't know, because then maybe it wouldn't hurt like it did. But she shoved the thoughts away, as always, into a tiny locked part of her mind.
She raised her eyebrows at him. "Sure, I guess. I mean, the whole kidnapping thing wasn't something anyone would consider friendly, but ... everyone took that the wrong way anyway." She shrugged a shoulder.
He didn't say anything else on the topic he'd brought up, deciding to leave it be and allow the ride to last as long as it did. He honestly didn't think this friendly business too long, because of the situation and the fact he was bound to do something in the future that would erase Tatsuki's view of him as a friend. It was just his nature and instinct, and Hollows and humans weren't meant to get along.
He grinned a bit as she brought up the kidnapping incident, amused at how badly the Shinigami had overreacted. It'd been amusing, really. He nodded just slightly, the grin fading slightly. "Friend, huh," he muttered softly, more to himself than anything. He shook his head after a few seconds, sighing quietly and closing his eyes. "Hn."
She watched him silently for a moment, even after he closed his eyes. It occurred to her again just how much he looked like Ichigo, and she suppressed a shiver. It would probably always be creepy.
Tatsuki considered Hichigo a friend, yes. But much like she felt with Tyki... although she cared about him, that didn't mean she trusted him. At all. "You haven't given me any reason not to be," she said carefully, though her voice was still light. She left it at that and stood. "Just get better, dumbass, so I don't have to keep doing this." She gave him a flippant wave, not caring if he saw it, and left the room.
What happened would happen. That's when Tatsuki would deal with it.
What: Tatsuki bandages up Hichigo again
When: Oh my god. The night of all the bombs going off, I'm such a failure. -spazzes and dies-
Where: Hichigo's room (1104)
Rating: PG-13 for some bloooood?
Hichigo sat heavily on the floor after locking the door, his back against the bed and an arm wrapped around his abdomen. Blood was staining his white shihakusho a bright red, a large piece of wall and shrapnel having caught him in the side and making a rather large gash. Various other small cuts and wounds littered the Hollow's body, including a cut on his forehead that was leaking blood into his good eye.
Why had he warned Tatsuki against coming? Usually he was just for anything that would help him survive, a being that was selfish incarnate... and yet here he was, worrying for a simple human. How far had he fallen since he'd become separated from his aibou, to have such a weakness? He snorted quietly, waiting for the inevitable pounding at his bedroom door that would announce Tatsuki's arrival, eyes half-closed and vision hazy.
Risky? Yeah, just a little.
Tatsuki knew the kind of shit she would catch if anyone found out she was going to catch Hichigo. But at the moment, she didn't care. All the blood... she grit her teeth as she raced down the stairs, journal tucked as usual into her waistband. No way she was going to leave him like that.
Once she got to his hallway she ran to his door, only to find it locked. She didn't bother wasting her energy on knocking. She already knew he wouldn't open it for her. Nervously she glanced to the side, wincing internally at the damage the bomb had caused. Who'd been in that room...? With a pang of guilt somewhere around her gut, Tatsuki ignored the destruction and focused on the task of kicking Hichigo's door in instead.
A bloody grin curved Hichigo's lips as he heard Tatsuki kicking at the door, watching as it slowly began to crack under the fighter's strength and persistence. Of course. He fully intended on making her repair that too later, just because he could.
He spat a bit of blood that had welled up in his mouth off to the side, couching slightly as he did. He'd probably gotten some of the debris in his mouth when the bomb went off-- it was the only logical reason he could think of for why his throat felt so irritated and scratchy. Well whatever, he'd work on that later. He turned his attention back to the door as it finally broke, raising the hand not clutching his side in a motionless wave.
"Good to see you haven't changed."
Tatsuki stood in the doorway for a moment after she'd finally broken the door, panting slightly. Damn that Hichigo. Why couldn't he just be normal and unlock the damn door?
With an annoyed yet determined look on her face she moved to kneel by his side, scowling at the severity of his injuries. "Idiot," she growled, getting up to go into the remains of his bathroom to scrounge for bandages. Finding none, she ran into the hall to find a ghost and ask it. Returning a few minutes later she sat on the floor in front of him to wait, sighing.
"And you were just gonna .. what, sit here and bleed everywhere?"
Hichigo stuck out his dark tongue at her question. "Maybe. What would it be to you anyway? The regenerative effect I've got would've kicked in eventually," he replied, resting his head back against the bed, eerie gold and black eyes fixed on the teenage girl sitting in front of him.
"What would've you done if there'd been another bomb down here?" he muttered, his own tone annoyed. "Gotten yourself blown up too? What's the point of worrying about something that's a copy of a friend?"
He paused at this, wondering where that terminology had come from, but shrugged it off. It would help him learn just why she'd bothered fixing him up both these times, bothered to continue talking to him even when she was warned. Throat getting irritated again he coughed, hissing when his side throbbed painfully in protest to this.
"I don't want your stupid ass dying on me, that's what," she said, with an annoyed frown. Though she paused at his next question, looking a little surprised. For a moment she just sat there, watching him, drumming her fingers lightly on her knee as she considered how to respond.
"For one, a bomb didn't go off. And from the journals it sounded like all the explosions that were going to happen had happened already. And even if a bomb HAD gone off, then, well... We'd have had to figure it out from there. But it didn't. So what's the point in worrying about it?" Then she raised her eyebrows a little at him. "And besides, you're not a copy. At least, not really, from what you told me. Part of him, but separate. You're your own person, as far as I'm concerned," she added, glancing off to one side and shrugging.
But she looked back at him sharply when he hissed in pain, starting as if to reach out for him before she suddenly went still. Rather suddenly she stood and went to the door, looking up and down the hall. "Where is that damn ghost," she muttered.
Hichigo raised a brow when she moved to reach for him but suddenly stopped, wondering where that had come from. As she stood he tried to wipe the blood out of his eye and off his forehead. Odd how forehead wounds seem to bleed a lot more than one would think, he half-heartedly mused.
Shaking his head he reached an arm up, deciding that he'd rather sit on the bed than on the floor in a puddle of his own blood, grabbing a hold of the sheets and managing to get himself standing. Stumbling a bit as he got to his feet, the Hollow shook his head and quickly sat himself on the bed, quickly deciding he didn't like the feeling of dizziness.
"Whaddya ask the ghost for?" he asked out of curiosity, while glancing at his side. Damn. This would mean he'd be in bed for quite a while, didn't it.
She shot a look at him over her shoulder as he struggled onto the bed, but didn't move to help him. Instead she just looked out into the hallway again, trying to mask what concern she felt.
"Bandages and stuff, since you don't have any," she muttered. A moment later she stepped into the hallway and returned with an armful of what she'd requested, along with other assorted medical items. She tossed it all on the bed, then sat on the edge next to him, all business.
"Alright," she stated, "you have two choices. Either you let me help you with your wounds or I hit you hard enough to knock you out and then take care of you. Which is it gonna be?" She raised her brows at him.
He gave her a flat look for a few seconds, before rolling his eyes. "I'm not aibou, and I'd rather not be in any more pain," he answered, pausing and looking at his side. That probably meant relinquishing the hand that was working to slow blood flow, huh.
He lifted his bloody hand away from his side, gritting his teeth a bit when the blood that had ended up drying served to hurt the wound even more. The bodily fluid began to flow again, staining his clothing further and causing the Hollow to give a quiet 'tch' and shake his head.
He eyed the supplies, beginning to half-wonder if she would even know how to do this properly. Not that he did, of course, but still.
Tatsuki's eyes narrowed slightly when the bloodflow restarted. Not good. Very not good, regeneration or no.
She sat there for a moment, biting her lip as she thought over how this would proceed. Then she lifted her brows at him and in a very matter-of-fact tone said, "I can't treat your injuries with your clothing in the way. Top part of the shihakusho comes off."
All she could hope was that he wouldn't take it the wrong way. She just needed room to get at his injuries.
Hichigo rolled his eyes, tugging off the material to get the wounds in full view. It was a bit disturbing to actually see some color on himself, seeing as his skin pretty much was white, and the Hollow took a glance at his own wound.
It was deep but not enough so to be life threatening besides blood flow or anything like that. It still hurt like a bitch, though, and that probably was the thing he wanted to deal with least. The pain and the fact that even with regenerative abilities, it was obvious he'd be bedridden for a while.
He glanced back at Tatsuki after this, setting his bloody clothing down on the floor.
Tatsuki sucked in a breath at the injury, then clicked her tongue. She reached over to grab the peroxide and a gauze pad the ghost had brought. "This is gonna sting," she said as she doused the pad with the peroxide, then pressed it to the wound. It would hurt like a bitch, but it'd clean the wound out.
Once finished with that, she grabbed another few gauze pads and pressed them over the wound, pinning them down with medical tape and some gauze wrapped around his middle. She didn't know how much any of this would help - she'd never really treated wounds before, though she knew the basics from her own experiences with karate. Finished, she sat back, inspecting her handiwork. "That should do it for now," she murmured. "But you HAVE to rest. Stay in bed and ask the ghosts to bring you stuff." Her tone allowed no room for argument.
When the peroxide hit the wound, Hichigo's eyes widened a split second before shutting tightly, a loud hiss escaping as dark nails dug into the bedsheets. Fuck, that hurt! Were humans all masochists or something?! How would more pain help a wound?
Once the pain subsided Hichigo slowly opened his eyes again, glancing at his bandaged middle and nodding just slightly, rubbing at his forehead wound a bit. "Yeah, yeah, I know," he muttered. He could be defined as a slight masochist-- he'd come back for more wounds in battle, as long as the battle was fun-- but even he didn't intend to rip himself open again. But this meant he would be bored as hell for a while.
With a frown Tatsuki looked up at the forehead wound. "I'm treating all of these, you know," she said, in an offhand sort of way, placing the peroxide-soaked pad down on his bedside table while picking up a new, clean one, setting to work on cleaning and bandaging that wound, as well as any others she could reach. By the end she'd almost run out of gauze.
With a short sigh she stood, then turned to face him with hands on her hips. "If I somehow hear you've moved around outside your room or challenged anyone, you're dead." She grinned. "Got it?"
By the end of the treatment, Hichigo had fully decided he hated... whatever that stuff Tatsuki kept using was called. It was annoying, made more pain, and really, how did it help? But Tatsuki probably understood better than him if she were using it so much, so he decided to, grudgingly, trust her judgment.
He gave her a flat look at her threat, though an amused half-smile curved his lips. "Yeah, yeah. Got it, doctor," he said, shaking his head. "I don't intend to rip myself open again, don't worry."
Tatsuki gave him a business-like nod in return, though half a smile was on her lips. "You better not, as all I can say. And if you need anything just ask through the journals." She paused then, and threw a look at the door over her shoulder. "By the way, I'm not fixing that. The castle will take care of it~," she said lightly, gesturing carelessly.
"If there's nothing else, then I'm outta here," she added, lifting a brow as she rolled her eyes upwards, thinking again about all the trouble she could still get in for being here.
Hichigo sneered at her insistence at not fixing the door. What, could she read minds now? "Che." He flopped back on the bed, gold eyes glancing at the ceiling for a few moments before looking towards Tatsuki again.
"Nah. I've got no reason to keep you here," he replied, half reminded of the first time he'd been alone with her. He paused for a moment, thoughtfully, closing his eyes and questioning quietly, "You're really fine with getting on the bad side of probably all the Shinigami, as well as aibou, with this? Sneaking around like this so you don't get crap?" This was all confusing for the Hollow, and he didn't enjoy being confused.
Tatsuki raised her eyebrows at his sneer. What brought that reaction on? Most of her friends would tease or or get annoyed for that kid of thing - not that she often broke down doors, though she did destroy the classroom once - and if the castle could take care of it she saw no reason to bother.
But her expression went carefully blank at his next set of questions, though she narrowed her eyes just slightly. Goddamnit, couldn't he just leave the issue alone? The more he asked, the more she had to think about it, and it brought up more painful questions than she even wanted to bother thinking about. It just hurt too much. With a sigh she moved to sit on the edge of his bed again, then drew a leg up to her chest.
"No, I'm not," she said honestly. "I mean, I did a lot of sneaking around at home, since I'd follow Ichigo sometimes, but .. yeah, this is different. And I know it'd bother them, but for the people I care about, at least..." She paused. "They're worried about my safety. And with you..." It's the same, she didn't say. She shook her head, not sure how to go on.
Hichigo opened one eye when he felt the bed shift, a bit surprised. So it seemed she wanted to stay a bit longer. The only reason he bothered to keep bringing this up was because she needed to face it, decide what she needed to do. Juggling both sides might be possible, but... it was like how aibou was, with his Shinigami duties and his real life. It was hard, painful, and very very dangerous. A type of situation that if you did the slightest thing wrong everything would blow up in your face.
He sighed quietly, propping himself up on his elbows. Ironic, how a Hollow was dealing with an emotional situation for a human. "How do you feel, sneaking around like this?' he asked, a serious expression on his face as he gazed at Tatsuki. It was in these moments of calm that he seemed most human, despite the unnaturally pale skin, despite the black and gold eyes and regenerative abilities.
It was when he felt most human too, and it felt alien and awkward for him. He'd been formed under unusual circumstances, given voice and body inside a human, then suddenly given his own body... and he guessed his more human attributes had carried on from his host.
Tatsuki raised a brow at that, giving him a questioning look. What the hell, was he playing psychiatrist now? She blew out a breath, trying not to be annoyed. He was being nice, thoughtful. That in itself had to mean something, so ... she'd try.
"I feel like an ass," she said honestly, shrugging. "But you're my friend too, and I'm helping you. There's nothing wrong. If they have a problem with it, then ..." She paused again, realizing this was going in circles. "... It's been working so far."
Hichigo blinked in honest surprise when Tatsuki said she considered him a friend. Even the thought of friendship was... an odd thing to think about, for him. A Hollow and a human especially, friends? That was just... Hichigo shook his head simply, lying back again, staring at the ceiling. Maybe everything had been simpler when he'd been attempting to shake the throne as a mental being, not a physical one.
"If it works for you... then it's not really my place to question it. Just making sure you know what you're getting yourself into." He paused a beat, before looking back at Tatsuki, asking curiously, "You honestly consider me a friend?"
She blinked at him when he laid back and looked away. She didn't think she'd said anything that weird. At the moment, the fact that he was a Hollow, despite his rather distinct appearance, was not occurring to her at all.
"Believe me, I know," she said, her voice quiet. She almost wished she didn't know, because then maybe it wouldn't hurt like it did. But she shoved the thoughts away, as always, into a tiny locked part of her mind.
She raised her eyebrows at him. "Sure, I guess. I mean, the whole kidnapping thing wasn't something anyone would consider friendly, but ... everyone took that the wrong way anyway." She shrugged a shoulder.
He didn't say anything else on the topic he'd brought up, deciding to leave it be and allow the ride to last as long as it did. He honestly didn't think this friendly business too long, because of the situation and the fact he was bound to do something in the future that would erase Tatsuki's view of him as a friend. It was just his nature and instinct, and Hollows and humans weren't meant to get along.
He grinned a bit as she brought up the kidnapping incident, amused at how badly the Shinigami had overreacted. It'd been amusing, really. He nodded just slightly, the grin fading slightly. "Friend, huh," he muttered softly, more to himself than anything. He shook his head after a few seconds, sighing quietly and closing his eyes. "Hn."
She watched him silently for a moment, even after he closed his eyes. It occurred to her again just how much he looked like Ichigo, and she suppressed a shiver. It would probably always be creepy.
Tatsuki considered Hichigo a friend, yes. But much like she felt with Tyki... although she cared about him, that didn't mean she trusted him. At all. "You haven't given me any reason not to be," she said carefully, though her voice was still light. She left it at that and stood. "Just get better, dumbass, so I don't have to keep doing this." She gave him a flippant wave, not caring if he saw it, and left the room.
What happened would happen. That's when Tatsuki would deal with it.