Not Close Enough

By the time Ichigo finally pulled his headphones out it was at least two hours later. “Hey Renji why don’t we…”

A loud rattling snore answered Ichigo, causing him to ball his fists up. Stretched out on his back taking up a great deal of the bed was Renji, fast asleep. His head was pillowed on an open algebra textbook while his tattooed arms lay spread-eagled on either side of him. Ichigo shook his head. “Son of a bitch, he fell asleep on me…”

Grumbling Ichigo grabbed a set of sweatpants and a T-shirt. He quickly shed his clothes and got into the more comfortable ones he used for pajamas. Sleeping in the nude just didn’t appeal to him, at least not on a regular basis. He grabbed Renji and rolled him over so the other man was facing the wall, lying on one side, and then swung him around so his head was where his feet had been on the pillow.

Ichigo continued to let Renji sleep, as he got ready for bed. Then he rolled the covers back enough to slide under them, shifting Renji so the other man was pressed between him and the wall. Ichigo found the only way to keep from rolling out of the bed entirely was to lie on his side with his arms pillowing his head. Just as he relaxed enough to feel the onset of sleep, Renji snorted and turned over, licking his lips. He brought his arm down over Ichigo’s body, tugging it close.

“Big idiot,” Ichigo managed to chuckle to himself. Of course, he could have put out a futon for Renji, but Ichigo would not feel right leaving the other shinigami on the floor after he had brushed the vice captain off. At least in sleep the big lug could curl up to him as much as he wanted and Ichigo could not complain.
***
Somewhere in sleep, Ichigo heard loud footsteps vibrating the floor violently along with Isshin’s voice bellowing a cheerful, “Good morning Ichigo…”

Snapping his eyes open Ichigo turned over, patting the bed. He was shocked to see and feel that Renji was gone, along with all the books scattered last night. He rolled off the bed onto the floor just as his dad pounced on him and landed face first. Unfortunately, Isshin bounced off the bed and crashed almost on top of Ichigo lying on the floor.

“Ouch, shit Dad… enough already!” Ichigo growled, scrambling to his feet.

“You’re two seconds slower! You’re getting soft!” Isshin scolded, pouncing at him again. He grabbed Ichigo’s ankle only to get a foot in the face.

“Let go, will you? I’m not in the MOOD for this so freaking EARLY in the morning! C’mon!” Ichigo yelled back.

“No excuse son! You never know when the enemy’s going to attack!”

“Shaddup,” Ichigo growled, marching off the hall to the bathroom. Luckily, his father had enough sense not to follow him in there. As perverted as his old man was, he wasn’t THAT insane.

Once downstairs he sat at the table, devouring an omelet and some toast Yuzu had whipped together. Fully dressed he stared at the television, still getting his brain around the puzzle of where Renji went and why he just left without even trying anything.

“So, I’m surprised that your friend didn’t stay over?” Isshin teased.

“So am I,” Ichigo mumbled, chewing on his cereal. It hurt a bit to awaken alone.

“What’s the matter, did you have a fight?” Isshin teased.

“You could say that,” Ichigo mumbled then looked at his dad giving him a knowing grin as he balanced his chin on one hand.

“Young love… takes me back,” Isshin said with a very nostalgic look.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Karin groaned.

“Keep your dirty imagination in check, dad…” Ichigo shot back as he realized he all but
admitted what Renji tried to do, and what he failed to receive.

“So… did you make me proud?” Isshin continued to tease.

“You wanna know if he snores, well he does damn it. And he takes up too much of the damn bed. You happy now?” Ichigo ranted, shoving his dad away.

“Too much information,” Karin quipped, poking her fingers in her ears.

Isshin continued to beam. “That’s my boy!”

“Nothing happened, you pervert,” Ichigo added, glaring at his father who pushed down hard on the table to lever himself up off the floor. A chair lay tipped over still.

Isshin pouted. “C’mon you can tell your dad… I wanna know…”

“Gah, talking to you’s useless as talking to Renji,” Ichigo mumbled, pushing away from the table. “Goodbye Yuzu, Karin. I’ll be back for dinner I guess.”

The door slammed shut on the way out before Isshin could again grab Ichigo for a last minute wrestling before his walk. Wiping at his eyes Isshin lamented, “Why Masaki… why can’t he just do it and take a chance! Have I failed somewhere?”

“Stop hanging on mom’s funeral poster Dad! Aren’t you ever going to take that thing DOWN?” Karin yelled, as she slung her backpack over her shoulder.
**

On the way to school, Ichigo hardly said two words to Keigo and Mizuiro as they tagged along behind him. Keigo wisely lowered his voice to a whisper when Ichigo shot him a death ray stare that reduced him to sitting in a corner. Since there were no corners here and he didn’t want to be late to school, Keigo instead traded aimless stories with Mizuiro. “That test’s gonna be a killer. I don’t know HOW I can balance a social life at the expense of school… a man’s got to make time you know… while he’s young?”

“It’s just a matter of being organized,” Mizuiro said.

“Relationships are a pain in the ass,” Ichigo answered. Both of them looked at him in surprise, then Keigo smiled in exactly the same way Isshin had earlier that morning.

“Ohh did you and lover boy have a little argument?” Keigo said in a baby voice.

“Not now Keigo, I’m not in the mood,” Ichigo warned, staring straight ahead. He walked into the entrance of Karakura High, loosing himself he hoped in the crowd of students smoking on the stoop or staying in the yard to talk before the first bell.

“C’mon, if you can’t tell your buddies who can you tell?” asked Keigo, grabbing Ichigo’s arm.

“He's right. Ichigo if you can’t tell us, then who will you?” Mizuiro asked. “You look like you’re ready to burst a blood vessel.”

“He’s a pain in the fucking ass, he snores, and he bugs the shit out of me when I try to study, okay?” Ichigo snapped, turning to glare at both of them.

“Ohh I was right…” Keigo laughed high fiving Mizuiro.

“So he got on your nerves and wanted to make out instead of studying?” Mizuiro asked pragmatically.

“Yeah, so?”

“I hope you scored, Ichigo,” Keigo said.

“Ugh, you’re both clueless as hell,” Ichigo growled.

“Uh huh, excuse me, don’t you know it’s an unwritten rule that guys make out during study time?” Keigo asked shaking him. “Where have I gone wrong? Ichigo! Are you NUTS?”

“Maybe I am,” Ichigo mumbled, letting his schoolbag drop.

“So he left in a huff because you weren’t paying him enough attention?” Mizuiro asked.

“Yeah, that’s about it,” Ichigo said, realizing that they already guessed the situation and he had to tell SOMEONE.

“Oooh spill… was it a big fight as in a breakup fight or as an ‘I’ll call you later’ fight?” Keigo asked, tugging on Ichigo’s arm.

“When I turned around he fell asleep on the bed with his head on the books,” Ichigo confessed.

“Oh?” Mizuiro asked.

“So I just climbed in next to him and we fell asleep. When I woke up he was gone.”

“Oooh burn…” Keigo hissed.

Mizuiro nodded in sympathy. “Yeah Ichigo, he was pissed. You ignored him so he ditched you. Don’t be so upset. Just call him later and tell him you’re sorry…”

“You don’t buy flowers for a boyfriend,” Ichigo mumbled.

“Why not?” Keigo asked, throwing up his hands. “Two guys dating aren’t THAT different from a guy and a girl, or two girls… or so I’ve heard…”

“Okay geniuses, what the hell DO I do if you’re such freaking experts,” Ichigo asked, glaring at them both.

“Make dinner reservations someplace nice and take him out,” Mizuiro said, tapping his chin.

“Some guys LIKE flowers… you know,” Keigo mused. “Though he’s not the type that strikes me as sensitive. More badass. But you never know…”

Mizuiro tapped his chin. “Maybe magazines or tickets to wrestling? C’mon Ichigo, what does he like?”

“He likes getting drunk with the guys, and slugging it out. Though I think he likes futsal and taiyaki’s his favorite food,” Ichigo said, rubbing his neck. He still couldn’t believe he was telling Mizuiro and Keigo these things about another young man. Well young by Soul society standards at any rate.

“There you go. Get him some flowers and candy and take him out… guys have a sensitive side…” Keigo said, patting Ichigo’s arm. “Don’t look so sad, buddy. We’re here to help ya!”

Mizuiro stood on Ichigo's other side, holding his upper arm while rubbing his friend's shoulder. “It’ll be okay. Just as long as you give him something special to show you didn’t diss him on purpose it’ll work. Trust me… I’ve got friends who are…”

“Yeah, go ahead and say it,” Ichigo mumbled. “You’ve got some friends who are gay and they know all about it?”

“Well yeah, I guess,” Mizuiro said with a chuckle.

“Don’t feel so bad, buddy. Nobody’s going to fault ya for liking both or the same,” Keigo said continuing to pat Ichigo on the shoulder. “Or so I’ve heard…”

“I’m nuts for even telling you this,” Ichigo sighed, rubbing his face.

“No problem. C’mon, let’s get into class before the bell rings,” Mizuiro nodded. Keigo and he grabbed Ichigo by the arm and tugged him to his feet.

“Idiots,” Ichigo mumbled, walking between his two best school friends into class. He had to admit that he did feel a little better.

“I have to admit it’s strange not seeing Abarai here,” said Chad later at lunch. All of the teenaged young men sat on the tar beach atop the school roof, eating their various sandwiches and soups.

“Ichigo had a little fight with his boyfriend,” Keigo teased. “So he’s going to…”
“Keigo, shut up,” Ichigo sighed.

“That’s a shame,” Chad said, blinking with wide eyes. Therefore, Ishida was correct after all.

“Not to worry, we’ve got a plan though,” Mizuiro said, patting Ichigo’s shoulder.

“Don’t get all upset now… Ichigo old buddy. We’ll help you win back your boyfriend... Keigo began but stopped when he saw another person striding up quietly with a bundle in one hand and a book in the other.

“I suppose I’ll have to eat up here since it’s the least noisy,” Ishida said, sitting a distance apart from the other guys.

“Fine, do whatever you want,” Ichigo said, returning to his lunch.

“Dork alert,” Keigo whispered.

“He’s reading a book, so what?” Mizuiro whispered back.

“But then I can’t…” Keigo hissed.

“Are you all going to impersonate snakes or talk aloud? The whispering is as distracting as Keigo’s stories. I’d hoped they’d provide some masking noise so I could read,” Ishida commented, pushing up his glasses.

“You’re mean! I’m not MASKING noise!” Keigo protested.

“If you don’t like it, you can get lost,” Ichigo countered.

“If he’s gonna stay, I’m gonna get lost,” Keigo humphed. He got up and grabbed the remainder of his lunch.

“So, just what ARE you reading?” Miziruo asked the Quincy politely.

“Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky. I’m surprised you two aren’t keeping up with the assigned reading. You should well know we each must write a paper on a book in two weeks…”

Mizuiro snapped his fingers. “Oh right… I need to get back to reading Tale of Two Cities. What did you pick Ichigo and Chad?”

“War and Peace,” said Chad.

“That’ll take you a while. Ichigo?”

“Portrait of the Artist as a Young man,” Ichigo said.

“Ohh stream of consciousness,” Mizuiro murmured in appreciation. “That’s a hard one.”

“That’s a surprising choice coming from you, Kurosaki,” Ishida commented again. He focused on his book but still directed his conversation at Ichigo.

“It’s the only one on the list I’m interested in, or haven’t already tried getting into. I’ve already read the Iliad,” said Ichigo with a shrug of his shoulder.

“Mmm, true. I’ve already worked my way through the classics,” Ishida answered. “Speaking of, aren’t you missing one of your numbers?”

“You mean a loud mouthed Red Pineapple?” Ichigo snorted. “He cut class probably. How the hell should I know?”

Mizuiro started to laugh. “Sorry… it’s just funny… because he does…”

“I thought he was transferring here,” Chad said quietly.

“So did I,” Ichigo answered.

“Had a falling out did you?” Ishida guessed.

“Is this a freaking game show? Does the whole goddamn school know my private life?” Ichigo complained, tossing the remainder of his sandwich into the recycle bin.

“Unlike you, some of us are very observant,” Ishida said, lowering his book finally to look Ichigo in the eyes directly. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to determine that you and Abarai are dating.”

The substitute shinigami relented at last, realizing that Ishida as always saw right through him. So much for being subtle. “All right, you win. I’m seeing him. Keigo and Mizuiro know. You guys know. Anything ELSE you want me to spill?”

“Not unless you want to tell us,” Chad said.

“Not necessarily. However, because you are my classmate I am concerned if it is affecting your life in other ways. So I am correct?”

Ichigo thrust his hands into his pockets. “Well it was sort of an argument.”

“Sort of or was or was not?” Ishida clarified.

“If you call getting pissed because I was paying more attention to my studies than him something worth arguing about,” Ichigo shrugged.

“Sounds about right,” Mizuiro confirmed.

“Just call him and apologize,” Chad said, shrugging.

“Have you tried making reservations and confections?” asked Ishida, again pushing his glasses further up his face.

Excited at the Quincy’s words, Mizuiro scooted closer on the substitute shinigami’s other side. “That was my idea too.”

“I’m not here,” Ichigo grumbled, grabbing his hair in embarrassment. As if on cue, his badge bounced and sparked.

“How convenient,” Ishida commented, rising to his feet.

“S'cuse us!” Ichigo said to his dark haired friend, rushing down the stairs.

“See you later,” Miziuro called as the three other boys raced away. Again, he felt like a mere observer missing the best part of a championship game. Only they had season tickets and he had no idea where to buy his. Eventually he and Keigo would find the underlying cause of this and have Ichigo notice they were every bit as important as mister strong and silent and the school’s number one brain.

***

Ishida’s arrows blazed from his bow shaped like a spider web. He utilized hyrenkayku to materialize behind a hollow and fire off another dozen into its hindquarters. Snarling the beast exploded into sparks. Chad’s fist slammed down into the ground, sending vibrations to knock another hollow off its feet. A quick thrust forward of the same arm produced a blue blast rocketing forwards.

Ichigo brandished Zangetsu, swinging it down to generate two blue hued crescents towards another hollow. “Getsuga tensho!”

“I thought this was a real emergency. These are too easy to kill,” Ishida quipped, materializing near Ichigo.

“This one’s mine! Get your own!” Ichigo griped, shoving Ishida out of the way. He drove the tip of Zangetsu into another hollow. Miffed, Ishida rolled over on the ground and fired his bow, exploding the same hollow.

Chad punched a pig masked hollow in the gut, turning on a turtle shaped one looming behind him. Ishida’s arrows flew forwards but bounced off the thing’s shell. Even a Getsuga tensho only made a small scratch.

Across the neck a segmented series of blades joined by cords and a central band snaked around and sliced through the turtle hollow’s neck. As it dragged back, it decapitated the hollow. Leaping up from behind, Vice Captain Abarai landed on the top of the turtle’s shell, and swung Zabimaru easily to slice into another hollow.

“Showoff,” Ishida mumbled. The Quincy zipped twenty yards to the left and fired a series of arrows at another minor hollow. Ichigo and Chad soon polished off the last one unfortunate enough to show its face.

“You guys are too slow, leave it to an expert,” Renji said, grinning at them as he lifted his sword to his shoulder.

“Where the hell have YOU been?” Ichigo demanded.

Immediately the grin dissolved into a frown as Renji's dark brows furrowed. “I was in Soul Society? Where do ya think?”

“I thought you were attending school?” Ishida inquired, dispelling his bow.

“We were worried since you were absent,” Chad added.

“Sorry, but I had some more important business. Captain Kuchiki isn’t a man you say no to,” Renji apologized, flicking his sword over. It sealed itself in a blaze of green before he slipped it into its sheath at his hip.

“Thanks for letting us know where the hell you were,” Ichigo snapped.

“Maybe we should leave?” Ishida whispered, watching the substitute shinagami march up and shove his face directly into Renji’s.

“Are you sure?” Chad asked, bending towards the Quincy so he could whisper back.

“I had orders in the middle of the night! You were fast asleep!” Renji shouted.

“Not so loud you idiot!” Ichigo hissed, waving one hand to mimic turning down volume. Renji waved one hand towards the Quincy and the tall dark skinned man.

“Anything I can say to you I can say to these two! They probably already know!” Renji snapped.

Chad pointed to himself and the Quincy, blinking. “Who, us?”