Skating on Thin Ice - Roku (Conversation)
The dull ache had not left him. ‘You really are an idiot.’ Groggily, Ichigo tapped his alarm clock and headed for the bathroom. It was a Monday and he had a ward round in the morning with Dr Yamada and clinics with Dr Retsu in the afternoon scheduled at the hospital. Splashing water on his face in an attempt to wake up despite his restless night, he changed and headed down for breakfast.
“Morning, Yuzu, Karin.” His smile seemed half-hearted as he tucked into breakfast. After his confrontation with the skater, he had plunged whole heartedly into everything else - his internship at the hospital, practice and helping his father out in their clinic.
“GOOD MORNING, MY DARLING SON! YOU LOOK HANDS-” His father stopped immediately as Ichigo’s fist met his face.
“Morning, Ichi-nii,” chimed Yuzu before she took up a stern tone, “’tou-san, what did I say about fighting at the dining table?”
“I’M SORRY, MY DEAR DAU-” This time, it was Karin who kicked out at her father’s legs from under the table.
Finishing up his breakfast, Ichigo grabbed his messenger bag and headed for the door. “Have a safe trip,” Yuzu called out. “I will. See you later.” The orange haired sophomore replied as he got into the car. He had gotten his license last year and had got his dad to agree to his use of the car to drive to and from the hospital, some distance away from their town.
After an half an hour drive, Ichigo parked the car, then wrapped a muffler around his neck before he strode quickly into the warm hospital. Shedding his coat and muffler at the locker that had been temporarily allocated to him, he grabbed his notebook and headed for Dr Retsu’s office.
A/P Dr Unohana Retsu - Head, Department of Medicine, Senior Consultant, Department of Psychiatry read the sign on her door. Ichigo had been surprised when he first arrived at the hospital for the interview, which had actually been more like a conversation. He had not expected his childish father to have been classmates with such a doctor and it had not helped when his father had joked about it when he had asked about it. At the same time, he was glad to be given the opportunity; Dr Retsu was a nice lady and had even asked another consultant, Dr Yamada, to guide him.
“Is there any particular speciality you’re interested in? It is early to be considering, but if you do, I can try to arrange for a suitable match.” The gentle voice asked.
“Not in particular, but I play ice hockey in college, so if there’s any discipline related to sports medicine, it would be fine. A general introduction around the various disciplines would also be fine, since I’m still an undergraduate after all.”
“That is settled then. I’ll contact someone from the orthopaedics department. They see a lot of sports injury cases.”
“Thank you very much, Dr Retsu.” Her reply had been a smile, apparently a smile that she was known for as he found out later.
After being told to return by two for her clinic, Ichigo stopped by the staff canteen for a cup of coffee. It took him almost no time to reach the Orthopaedics wards from the canteen and after greeting the nurses on duty with a smile, Dr Yamada arrived and they began on the daily rounds. The kind and youthful doctor was a relatively new arrival to the hospital and a patient teacher, who explained the unfamiliar medical terms to the orange haired intern without compromising on patient care.
After two weeks at the hospital, it had become routine for Ichigo to have lunch with the orthopaedic surgeon before heading to Dr Retsu’s office for her clinic. A large part of her duties now administrative, the black haired doctor did not see many patients, allowing her to schedule her clinics only in the afternoons.
Reaching her office early, Ichigo sat quietly, reviewing his notes from the earlier ward round before refreshing his memory of the patients the psychiatrist would be seeing. They had appointments at regular intervals and Dr Retsu always wanted to know what he thought after she had seen the patient - she was a strict teacher.
A rap came on the door. “Come in,” came the neutral reply and Ichigo looked up as the nurse spoke, “Dr Retsu, Miss Odelschwanck is here.”
“Thank you. Please see her in. I will be over in a minute.” Shuffling the papers on her desk, it only took her a few moments before the black haired doctor stood up and opened the door that led to the adjacent consultation room. Ichigo followed and seated himself in the chair behind hers silently as she greeted the green haired lady in the room.
‘Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck. I’m almost sure this is the person I’m looking for.’ Following that thought, Ichigo turned his concentration to the consultation. After the girl left, it was his turn to be questioned by the doctor and he listened and took notes on the subsequent short lecture on the manifestation and treatment of anxiety disorders before the next patient was admitted.
In this way, his afternoon passed and when the clinic was finished at around a quarter to six, he thanked Dr Retsu and headed for the lockers. Walking past the waiting area, he spotted the familiar green hair of the doctor’s earlier patient. As their eyes met, Nelliel waved cheerfully to him, not outwardly displaying any signs of the anxiety disorder, coupled with amnesia and personality regression, she had been diagnosed with.
“Hi Itsygo!”
“Hi Nell, still waiting for Pesche?”
“Yep!” The girl replied eagerly, sounding more like an excited child than her actual twenty years.
“Do you want to have a drink? You must be thirsty.”
“Yay!” Nelliel jumped up from the seat, bouncing as she followed the orange haired intern to the drinks machines. Reaching the automated machines, she pointed at a particularly sweet beverage, “I want this.”
“Okay.” Ichigo slotted some coins in and pressed for it, presenting it to the girl once it was done.
“Thank you, Itsygo” came the cheerful reply.
“You’re welcome.” Ichigo smiled, momentarily forgetting about Toushirou and pressed the button for a cup of coke. Picking up the cup, he drank as he watched the girl look around the corridor, grinning happily.
“Pesche’s here!” Nelliel waved enthusiastically at the blonde man as he made his way over.
“Dr Kurosaki, thank you for looking after Nell.”
“No worries and I’m not a doctor, just an intern. Just call me Ichigo.” It was the second time he met one of Nell’s friends and guardians and he was glad that the girl had such good friends.
“We’ll be off then. Thank you.” Pesche replied.
“Bye, Itsygo!” The girl called and waved before she walked off, engaging the shorter blonde in animated conversation.
“Bye, Nell, Pesche.” Ichigo replied, before heading out the lockers. Grabbing his stuff, he headed out to the car park and his drive home. As he drove, he recalled his encounter at Urahara and associates a week ago.
With the chant ‘This is just for a friend’ running through his mind, Ichigo pushed open the door that led into the small shop. Before his eyes could adjust to the dimmer lighting within, he heard someone call out, “Mr Ichigo Kurosaki, what can I do for you?”
As his eyes grew accustomed to the surroundings, he immediately recognised the speaker. “You’re… Kisuke Urahara. How do you know about me?”
“I’m Mr Toushirou Hitsugaya’s attorney.”
“So this is a law firm and some sort of detective agency? I know Toushirou’s investigating something about Sousuke Aizen and Momo Hinamori and that’s why he got that note.” Ichigo responded, seeing no need to conceal what he knew, almost certain he had made the right connections.
“Unfortunately, due to client privacy, I am unable to tell you anything about my cilent’s case. However, you are right in saying that we do carry out some investigations as well. My lovely partner, Yoruichi, does the sleuthing. Is there anything I can help you with then?” The blonde lawyer waved a fan over his face as he replied.
“Is there anything I can do to help with the investigation?” Ichigo demanded.
“My, my, so eager,” Urahara replied before shutting the fan with a snap. “You know I can’t tell you anything about the case… but… we happen to be looking for a particular informant at the moment - one with access to a particular hospital.”
“How did you know I’m interning in a hospital now?”
“My boy, this is a detective agency. Now, are you willing to help out?”
Ichigo thought for a moment before replying, “Not if I have to break patient confidentiality or do something under-handed.”
“Don’t worry,” the lawyer unfurled the paper fan again before continuing, “We suspect one of Aizen’s former students is seeing a doctor at the hospital you’re at. We aren’t sure if it is the correct person, so we need someone with inside information to see if she is indeed related to Aizen and going in and out of the hospital due to something related to him.
I need witnesses for the case, but I don’t need to know what’s wrong or right with her now. If she really is helpful to the case based on what you report, we will then approach her. She won’t even know you were involved.”
Watching as Ichigo hesitantly nodded his head, the blonde continued, “This is the latest picture we have. We only know that she was known as ‘Nel Tu’ when she was skating.”
The orange haired sophomore glanced down at the slightly blurred picture on the table that captured a smiling green haired skater. Memorising her features, Ichigo then turned to the lawyer, “Don’t tell Toushirou that I was here.”
“Of course not. I hope to hear good news from you.” That had been the last he heard from the weird blonde lawyer as he left the shop.
Pulling into their driveway, Ichigo deftly sidestepped his father and landed a kick on his back as he got out of the car. “MY DARLING ICHI-” Calling out, “Yuzu, I’m back,” as he entered the house, he caught a whiff of dinner. “It smells delicious.”
“Ichi-nii, I’m glad you like it. It’s almost done.” The smaller girl replied.
“I’ll go dump my stuff upstairs first then.” Ichigo said, before climbing the stairs. ‘If she’s the correct one and she did forget about Aizen, what are my chances?’
~~~
The next day found Ichigo and the team practicing at the rink. Instead of regular season games, they were currently competing for the Vizard Cup. In order to showcase excellent ice hockey teams, some rich businessman had sponsored the winter competition that featured the top four seeds from the previous season’s championship. It was rare for all the top four seeds to feature in the Frozen Four and by including top teams in its line up, the Vizard Cup offered a tantalising glimpse of the potential championship matchups for the season.
The Shinou Shinigami had beaten the previously fourth seeded Bount Crusaders at home 6-1 last week. Playing off in a round robin, they were up against the previous second seeds Rukongai Raiders at home on Saturday and were practising for the upcoming game. Even though the Raiders had lost to the Arrancar 5-0 the previous week, they were still ranked top in their conference and Ichigo and his team were not taking them lightly.
Concentrating on their practice, Ichigo was hardly distracted. Renji had picked up that something was wrong at the orange haired goalkeeper’s earlier greeting and when he spotted Ichigo glancing into the stands as if searching for something or someone, he knew he was right.
Exchanging silent glances with Chad, who seemed to have picked up on Ichigo’s mood as well, the redhead decided on the spot that it was time for after dinner drinks with the orange haired goalkeeper.
As they trudged off to the locker rooms after an exhausting practice, Shuuhei asked aloud if any of them were having dinner. Before Ichigo could reply, he heard Renji call out, “Not today. Me and Ichi are going for dinner and drinks. He owes me a dinner.”
Turning to look at Renji, Ichigo was just about to ask the redhead when he owed him a dinner, when he caught sight of the look in his eyes. ‘Something’s up with Byakuya again?’ He wondered before replying, “Yep, sorry guys. Maybe next time.”
After their showers, the pair bid their teammates goodbye before heading out of the rink. “So Ichi, where do ya wanna go for dinner?”
“I don’t remember owing you a meal,” the goalkeeper replied.
“Yep yep. That was just an excuse. You getta decide where we eat in exchange. ”
“Okay then, we’ll have Italian today.”
“That pasta place three blocks down? I’ll race you, come on. The loser has to buy the winner a drink.”
Laughing, the duo raced down the pavement, reaching the Italian eatery at almost the same time. Panting as they stood outside, Ichigo grinned in triumph. “Ren, drinks tonight are on you.”
“Bastard… I said only one.” Renji replied, still breathing heavily.
“Nope, the winner sets the rules.”
“Asshole, I’m not falling for that.” Renji punched Ichigo in the arm as they entered the shop. Finding a relatively secluded seat, they settled in and placed their orders.
“So Ren, what wrong this time?” Ichigo asked.
“Me?” The redhead asked. “It’s not about me this time. Ichi, fess up. What’s wrong between you and that icicle of yours?”
“There’s nothing wrong, and he’s not an icicle.”
Renji did not miss the glimmer of hurt that travelled through the brown eyes though. “C’mon, fess up Ichi. There’s definitely something wrong. You haven’t been meeting him recently.”
Catching the moment of surprise reflected in the orange haired goalkeeper’s eyes, the redhead continued, “So, what exactly did the both of you argue about?”
“Ren, stop being psychic.” Ichigo replied, breaking out into a reluctant smile. “I just don’t really feel like talking about it now.” ‘I am not gay.’ Toushirou’s words echoed in his mind.
“Well, how about you tell me why you threatened to tell Byakuya about that from way back since we haven’t properly caught up since?” Renji asked.
Thankfully, the pastas arrived then and Ichigo pointed to the food, “Food first, talk later. I bet you’re hungry too.” Voicing no objection, Renji tucked into his food, with Ichigo following suit. Finishing their dinner, Ichigo finally replied as he took a sip of the water.
“That time, I was worried that he’d find out that I had this crush on him. I didn’t really think about it, but I probably really liked him then. Now… on hindsight, it seems that I shouldn’t have.” Ichigo sighed.
“Stop thinking so much then. Let’s settle this and go for drinks. I owe you one.”
After settling their bills, they headed for a pub nearby they frequented and took a table some distance away from the bar. “Beer for you, Ichi?” As the goalkeeper nodded, arranging his bag on the seat, Renji called out to the waitress, “Two beers please.”
Just then, the ring tone on his phone went off. “It’s Byakuya, gimme a minute.”
“Hey, I’m out with Ichi… You’re busy tomorrow? ... Hmm, the match’s on Saturday, dinner on Sunday then? ... Okay, seeya. Love ya.” Blushing slightly as he ended the call, the redhead saw Ichigo smirking at him.
“Public love declarations now eh, Ren?” Ichigo teased.
“Shut up, bastard. You do know that he’s still somewhat jealous of ya, ya know?”
“There’s nothing much of me to be jealous about. I can’t believe I did the same stupid thing twice.”
“You mean…?”
“Yeah, I quarrelled with Toushirou then somewhere in the middle, I confessed to him, and guess what. He said, ‘I am not gay.’ I guess I have really bad taste.” Lifting the bottle to his lips, Ichigo drained the rest of the bottle before calling for another bottle.
“That bastard.” Renji snarled, feeling angry for Ichigo.
Even though they had only met in college and had started out arguing at their very first meeting, they had clicked soon after, becoming the best of friends. Well, actually ‘friends-with-benefits’, once they had known the other was gay as well. That was what had made Byakuya jealous. It was no surprise to Ichigo that the young businessman was very possessive. It had also been then that Renji had heard about Ichigo’s one and only failed relationship in senior high.
“Nah, Ren, it’s fine. It’s not going to turn out like what happened back then. I’m the idiot after all. Bitten once, and I let myself get bitten again.”
“Well, if it does, I’m going to fucking beat him up.”
“You won’t need to. I trust him.” ‘I trust him? Yeah, I do. He is that mature after all.’ Somewhere inside him though came another voice that went, ‘Didn’t you see the look in his eyes? He might still like you.’ Ignoring it, Ichigo downed another mouthful of beer and called for another two bottles, seeing Renji’s empty as well.
“Whatever. Ya know, Ichi, you’re not the one at fault. You’re just unlucky. Here’s to finding a better boyfriend.” Renji reached for his new bottle of beer and clinked it to the goalkeeper’s in a toast.
“Well, I think I’ve had enough boyfriends for the meantime. I’ll think about it again after this blows over.”
“You don’t need ta think that much. You’ve got a damn hot body and you’re damn cute. If not for Byakuya, I might just be fucking you later.” Renji replied, obviously joking.
“You better hope Byakuya doesn’t hear of this, otherwise there won’t just be one thing you need to keep from him.”
“Byakuya knows that I spout rubbish. He likes it.” Renji said, smirk on his face.
“You’re joking.”
“No, I’m not. Anyway, you need ta stop thinking about Hitsugaya-sempai. We’ve got games for that cup thing coming up. You shouldn’t be gettin’ distracted.”
“Yeah, I know. I’m trying, but it’s not that easy, ya know? Not when I was head-over-heels for him.” Ichigo replied. The voice in his mind had another answer though, ‘You still are, stop denying it.’ Deciding to steer the conversation to another topic, the goalkeeper asked, “So how’s it going with Byakuya? He’s still got that stick up his ass?”
“Byakuya? Byakuya’s fine. The only stick up his ass is mine anyway. He’s probably still jealous of ya and he really isn’t much different from that icicle of yours anyway.”
“He’s not an icicle.”
“Oh really? He always does that to you.” In his best imitation of the white haired skater’s cool tone, Renji continued, “Kurosaki, how many times do I need to tell you to call me Hitsugaya?”
Ichigo laughed out loud, amazed that the redhead actually sounded like the skater. The laughter and alcohol dulled his feelings over the break-up and that night, he crashed at Renji’s apartment, thankful for his company.
~~~
The week after, they played their final round robin game away in California against the Los Noches Arrancar. Having won their match against the Rukongai Raiders 4-0 in yet another shut out for Ichigo, they went into their final game without any stress, having already qualified. Yet they were equally determined to win; the Arrancar were also their conference leaders and it was a match up of unbeaten streaks.
Despite the mid-game scuffle after the Arrancar’s number six had provoked the Shinigami’s number fifteen goalkeeper by yelling “Faggot!”, the Shinou Shinigami edged the Arrancar 3-2, ensuring that they would meet in the Vizard Cup finals, in a repeat of the previous year’s Frozen Four finals.
“Morning, Yuzu, Karin.” His smile seemed half-hearted as he tucked into breakfast. After his confrontation with the skater, he had plunged whole heartedly into everything else - his internship at the hospital, practice and helping his father out in their clinic.
“GOOD MORNING, MY DARLING SON! YOU LOOK HANDS-” His father stopped immediately as Ichigo’s fist met his face.
“Morning, Ichi-nii,” chimed Yuzu before she took up a stern tone, “’tou-san, what did I say about fighting at the dining table?”
“I’M SORRY, MY DEAR DAU-” This time, it was Karin who kicked out at her father’s legs from under the table.
Finishing up his breakfast, Ichigo grabbed his messenger bag and headed for the door. “Have a safe trip,” Yuzu called out. “I will. See you later.” The orange haired sophomore replied as he got into the car. He had gotten his license last year and had got his dad to agree to his use of the car to drive to and from the hospital, some distance away from their town.
After an half an hour drive, Ichigo parked the car, then wrapped a muffler around his neck before he strode quickly into the warm hospital. Shedding his coat and muffler at the locker that had been temporarily allocated to him, he grabbed his notebook and headed for Dr Retsu’s office.
A/P Dr Unohana Retsu - Head, Department of Medicine, Senior Consultant, Department of Psychiatry read the sign on her door. Ichigo had been surprised when he first arrived at the hospital for the interview, which had actually been more like a conversation. He had not expected his childish father to have been classmates with such a doctor and it had not helped when his father had joked about it when he had asked about it. At the same time, he was glad to be given the opportunity; Dr Retsu was a nice lady and had even asked another consultant, Dr Yamada, to guide him.
“Is there any particular speciality you’re interested in? It is early to be considering, but if you do, I can try to arrange for a suitable match.” The gentle voice asked.
“Not in particular, but I play ice hockey in college, so if there’s any discipline related to sports medicine, it would be fine. A general introduction around the various disciplines would also be fine, since I’m still an undergraduate after all.”
“That is settled then. I’ll contact someone from the orthopaedics department. They see a lot of sports injury cases.”
“Thank you very much, Dr Retsu.” Her reply had been a smile, apparently a smile that she was known for as he found out later.
After being told to return by two for her clinic, Ichigo stopped by the staff canteen for a cup of coffee. It took him almost no time to reach the Orthopaedics wards from the canteen and after greeting the nurses on duty with a smile, Dr Yamada arrived and they began on the daily rounds. The kind and youthful doctor was a relatively new arrival to the hospital and a patient teacher, who explained the unfamiliar medical terms to the orange haired intern without compromising on patient care.
After two weeks at the hospital, it had become routine for Ichigo to have lunch with the orthopaedic surgeon before heading to Dr Retsu’s office for her clinic. A large part of her duties now administrative, the black haired doctor did not see many patients, allowing her to schedule her clinics only in the afternoons.
Reaching her office early, Ichigo sat quietly, reviewing his notes from the earlier ward round before refreshing his memory of the patients the psychiatrist would be seeing. They had appointments at regular intervals and Dr Retsu always wanted to know what he thought after she had seen the patient - she was a strict teacher.
A rap came on the door. “Come in,” came the neutral reply and Ichigo looked up as the nurse spoke, “Dr Retsu, Miss Odelschwanck is here.”
“Thank you. Please see her in. I will be over in a minute.” Shuffling the papers on her desk, it only took her a few moments before the black haired doctor stood up and opened the door that led to the adjacent consultation room. Ichigo followed and seated himself in the chair behind hers silently as she greeted the green haired lady in the room.
‘Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck. I’m almost sure this is the person I’m looking for.’ Following that thought, Ichigo turned his concentration to the consultation. After the girl left, it was his turn to be questioned by the doctor and he listened and took notes on the subsequent short lecture on the manifestation and treatment of anxiety disorders before the next patient was admitted.
In this way, his afternoon passed and when the clinic was finished at around a quarter to six, he thanked Dr Retsu and headed for the lockers. Walking past the waiting area, he spotted the familiar green hair of the doctor’s earlier patient. As their eyes met, Nelliel waved cheerfully to him, not outwardly displaying any signs of the anxiety disorder, coupled with amnesia and personality regression, she had been diagnosed with.
“Hi Itsygo!”
“Hi Nell, still waiting for Pesche?”
“Yep!” The girl replied eagerly, sounding more like an excited child than her actual twenty years.
“Do you want to have a drink? You must be thirsty.”
“Yay!” Nelliel jumped up from the seat, bouncing as she followed the orange haired intern to the drinks machines. Reaching the automated machines, she pointed at a particularly sweet beverage, “I want this.”
“Okay.” Ichigo slotted some coins in and pressed for it, presenting it to the girl once it was done.
“Thank you, Itsygo” came the cheerful reply.
“You’re welcome.” Ichigo smiled, momentarily forgetting about Toushirou and pressed the button for a cup of coke. Picking up the cup, he drank as he watched the girl look around the corridor, grinning happily.
“Pesche’s here!” Nelliel waved enthusiastically at the blonde man as he made his way over.
“Dr Kurosaki, thank you for looking after Nell.”
“No worries and I’m not a doctor, just an intern. Just call me Ichigo.” It was the second time he met one of Nell’s friends and guardians and he was glad that the girl had such good friends.
“We’ll be off then. Thank you.” Pesche replied.
“Bye, Itsygo!” The girl called and waved before she walked off, engaging the shorter blonde in animated conversation.
“Bye, Nell, Pesche.” Ichigo replied, before heading out the lockers. Grabbing his stuff, he headed out to the car park and his drive home. As he drove, he recalled his encounter at Urahara and associates a week ago.
With the chant ‘This is just for a friend’ running through his mind, Ichigo pushed open the door that led into the small shop. Before his eyes could adjust to the dimmer lighting within, he heard someone call out, “Mr Ichigo Kurosaki, what can I do for you?”
As his eyes grew accustomed to the surroundings, he immediately recognised the speaker. “You’re… Kisuke Urahara. How do you know about me?”
“I’m Mr Toushirou Hitsugaya’s attorney.”
“So this is a law firm and some sort of detective agency? I know Toushirou’s investigating something about Sousuke Aizen and Momo Hinamori and that’s why he got that note.” Ichigo responded, seeing no need to conceal what he knew, almost certain he had made the right connections.
“Unfortunately, due to client privacy, I am unable to tell you anything about my cilent’s case. However, you are right in saying that we do carry out some investigations as well. My lovely partner, Yoruichi, does the sleuthing. Is there anything I can help you with then?” The blonde lawyer waved a fan over his face as he replied.
“Is there anything I can do to help with the investigation?” Ichigo demanded.
“My, my, so eager,” Urahara replied before shutting the fan with a snap. “You know I can’t tell you anything about the case… but… we happen to be looking for a particular informant at the moment - one with access to a particular hospital.”
“How did you know I’m interning in a hospital now?”
“My boy, this is a detective agency. Now, are you willing to help out?”
Ichigo thought for a moment before replying, “Not if I have to break patient confidentiality or do something under-handed.”
“Don’t worry,” the lawyer unfurled the paper fan again before continuing, “We suspect one of Aizen’s former students is seeing a doctor at the hospital you’re at. We aren’t sure if it is the correct person, so we need someone with inside information to see if she is indeed related to Aizen and going in and out of the hospital due to something related to him.
I need witnesses for the case, but I don’t need to know what’s wrong or right with her now. If she really is helpful to the case based on what you report, we will then approach her. She won’t even know you were involved.”
Watching as Ichigo hesitantly nodded his head, the blonde continued, “This is the latest picture we have. We only know that she was known as ‘Nel Tu’ when she was skating.”
The orange haired sophomore glanced down at the slightly blurred picture on the table that captured a smiling green haired skater. Memorising her features, Ichigo then turned to the lawyer, “Don’t tell Toushirou that I was here.”
“Of course not. I hope to hear good news from you.” That had been the last he heard from the weird blonde lawyer as he left the shop.
Pulling into their driveway, Ichigo deftly sidestepped his father and landed a kick on his back as he got out of the car. “MY DARLING ICHI-” Calling out, “Yuzu, I’m back,” as he entered the house, he caught a whiff of dinner. “It smells delicious.”
“Ichi-nii, I’m glad you like it. It’s almost done.” The smaller girl replied.
“I’ll go dump my stuff upstairs first then.” Ichigo said, before climbing the stairs. ‘If she’s the correct one and she did forget about Aizen, what are my chances?’
~~~
The next day found Ichigo and the team practicing at the rink. Instead of regular season games, they were currently competing for the Vizard Cup. In order to showcase excellent ice hockey teams, some rich businessman had sponsored the winter competition that featured the top four seeds from the previous season’s championship. It was rare for all the top four seeds to feature in the Frozen Four and by including top teams in its line up, the Vizard Cup offered a tantalising glimpse of the potential championship matchups for the season.
The Shinou Shinigami had beaten the previously fourth seeded Bount Crusaders at home 6-1 last week. Playing off in a round robin, they were up against the previous second seeds Rukongai Raiders at home on Saturday and were practising for the upcoming game. Even though the Raiders had lost to the Arrancar 5-0 the previous week, they were still ranked top in their conference and Ichigo and his team were not taking them lightly.
Concentrating on their practice, Ichigo was hardly distracted. Renji had picked up that something was wrong at the orange haired goalkeeper’s earlier greeting and when he spotted Ichigo glancing into the stands as if searching for something or someone, he knew he was right.
Exchanging silent glances with Chad, who seemed to have picked up on Ichigo’s mood as well, the redhead decided on the spot that it was time for after dinner drinks with the orange haired goalkeeper.
As they trudged off to the locker rooms after an exhausting practice, Shuuhei asked aloud if any of them were having dinner. Before Ichigo could reply, he heard Renji call out, “Not today. Me and Ichi are going for dinner and drinks. He owes me a dinner.”
Turning to look at Renji, Ichigo was just about to ask the redhead when he owed him a dinner, when he caught sight of the look in his eyes. ‘Something’s up with Byakuya again?’ He wondered before replying, “Yep, sorry guys. Maybe next time.”
After their showers, the pair bid their teammates goodbye before heading out of the rink. “So Ichi, where do ya wanna go for dinner?”
“I don’t remember owing you a meal,” the goalkeeper replied.
“Yep yep. That was just an excuse. You getta decide where we eat in exchange. ”
“Okay then, we’ll have Italian today.”
“That pasta place three blocks down? I’ll race you, come on. The loser has to buy the winner a drink.”
Laughing, the duo raced down the pavement, reaching the Italian eatery at almost the same time. Panting as they stood outside, Ichigo grinned in triumph. “Ren, drinks tonight are on you.”
“Bastard… I said only one.” Renji replied, still breathing heavily.
“Nope, the winner sets the rules.”
“Asshole, I’m not falling for that.” Renji punched Ichigo in the arm as they entered the shop. Finding a relatively secluded seat, they settled in and placed their orders.
“So Ren, what wrong this time?” Ichigo asked.
“Me?” The redhead asked. “It’s not about me this time. Ichi, fess up. What’s wrong between you and that icicle of yours?”
“There’s nothing wrong, and he’s not an icicle.”
Renji did not miss the glimmer of hurt that travelled through the brown eyes though. “C’mon, fess up Ichi. There’s definitely something wrong. You haven’t been meeting him recently.”
Catching the moment of surprise reflected in the orange haired goalkeeper’s eyes, the redhead continued, “So, what exactly did the both of you argue about?”
“Ren, stop being psychic.” Ichigo replied, breaking out into a reluctant smile. “I just don’t really feel like talking about it now.” ‘I am not gay.’ Toushirou’s words echoed in his mind.
“Well, how about you tell me why you threatened to tell Byakuya about that from way back since we haven’t properly caught up since?” Renji asked.
Thankfully, the pastas arrived then and Ichigo pointed to the food, “Food first, talk later. I bet you’re hungry too.” Voicing no objection, Renji tucked into his food, with Ichigo following suit. Finishing their dinner, Ichigo finally replied as he took a sip of the water.
“That time, I was worried that he’d find out that I had this crush on him. I didn’t really think about it, but I probably really liked him then. Now… on hindsight, it seems that I shouldn’t have.” Ichigo sighed.
“Stop thinking so much then. Let’s settle this and go for drinks. I owe you one.”
After settling their bills, they headed for a pub nearby they frequented and took a table some distance away from the bar. “Beer for you, Ichi?” As the goalkeeper nodded, arranging his bag on the seat, Renji called out to the waitress, “Two beers please.”
Just then, the ring tone on his phone went off. “It’s Byakuya, gimme a minute.”
“Hey, I’m out with Ichi… You’re busy tomorrow? ... Hmm, the match’s on Saturday, dinner on Sunday then? ... Okay, seeya. Love ya.” Blushing slightly as he ended the call, the redhead saw Ichigo smirking at him.
“Public love declarations now eh, Ren?” Ichigo teased.
“Shut up, bastard. You do know that he’s still somewhat jealous of ya, ya know?”
“There’s nothing much of me to be jealous about. I can’t believe I did the same stupid thing twice.”
“You mean…?”
“Yeah, I quarrelled with Toushirou then somewhere in the middle, I confessed to him, and guess what. He said, ‘I am not gay.’ I guess I have really bad taste.” Lifting the bottle to his lips, Ichigo drained the rest of the bottle before calling for another bottle.
“That bastard.” Renji snarled, feeling angry for Ichigo.
Even though they had only met in college and had started out arguing at their very first meeting, they had clicked soon after, becoming the best of friends. Well, actually ‘friends-with-benefits’, once they had known the other was gay as well. That was what had made Byakuya jealous. It was no surprise to Ichigo that the young businessman was very possessive. It had also been then that Renji had heard about Ichigo’s one and only failed relationship in senior high.
“Nah, Ren, it’s fine. It’s not going to turn out like what happened back then. I’m the idiot after all. Bitten once, and I let myself get bitten again.”
“Well, if it does, I’m going to fucking beat him up.”
“You won’t need to. I trust him.” ‘I trust him? Yeah, I do. He is that mature after all.’ Somewhere inside him though came another voice that went, ‘Didn’t you see the look in his eyes? He might still like you.’ Ignoring it, Ichigo downed another mouthful of beer and called for another two bottles, seeing Renji’s empty as well.
“Whatever. Ya know, Ichi, you’re not the one at fault. You’re just unlucky. Here’s to finding a better boyfriend.” Renji reached for his new bottle of beer and clinked it to the goalkeeper’s in a toast.
“Well, I think I’ve had enough boyfriends for the meantime. I’ll think about it again after this blows over.”
“You don’t need ta think that much. You’ve got a damn hot body and you’re damn cute. If not for Byakuya, I might just be fucking you later.” Renji replied, obviously joking.
“You better hope Byakuya doesn’t hear of this, otherwise there won’t just be one thing you need to keep from him.”
“Byakuya knows that I spout rubbish. He likes it.” Renji said, smirk on his face.
“You’re joking.”
“No, I’m not. Anyway, you need ta stop thinking about Hitsugaya-sempai. We’ve got games for that cup thing coming up. You shouldn’t be gettin’ distracted.”
“Yeah, I know. I’m trying, but it’s not that easy, ya know? Not when I was head-over-heels for him.” Ichigo replied. The voice in his mind had another answer though, ‘You still are, stop denying it.’ Deciding to steer the conversation to another topic, the goalkeeper asked, “So how’s it going with Byakuya? He’s still got that stick up his ass?”
“Byakuya? Byakuya’s fine. The only stick up his ass is mine anyway. He’s probably still jealous of ya and he really isn’t much different from that icicle of yours anyway.”
“He’s not an icicle.”
“Oh really? He always does that to you.” In his best imitation of the white haired skater’s cool tone, Renji continued, “Kurosaki, how many times do I need to tell you to call me Hitsugaya?”
Ichigo laughed out loud, amazed that the redhead actually sounded like the skater. The laughter and alcohol dulled his feelings over the break-up and that night, he crashed at Renji’s apartment, thankful for his company.
~~~
The week after, they played their final round robin game away in California against the Los Noches Arrancar. Having won their match against the Rukongai Raiders 4-0 in yet another shut out for Ichigo, they went into their final game without any stress, having already qualified. Yet they were equally determined to win; the Arrancar were also their conference leaders and it was a match up of unbeaten streaks.
Despite the mid-game scuffle after the Arrancar’s number six had provoked the Shinigami’s number fifteen goalkeeper by yelling “Faggot!”, the Shinou Shinigami edged the Arrancar 3-2, ensuring that they would meet in the Vizard Cup finals, in a repeat of the previous year’s Frozen Four finals.