One more chapter after this!
Sep. 8th, 2010 05:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
queenofchalicesTitle: Oedipus Complex – Chapter Nine
Series: Bleach
Rating: T
Warnings: het (IchiHime, IsshinHime), May/December relationship
Spoilers: Through current chapters (418)
Disclaimer: These characters belong to a lot of Japanese people, namely people like Tite Kubo and Shonen Jump. You'll notice how none of those are me. The LiveJournal format that you'll probably be reading this in (if you're one of my friends) is rough draft and is subject to revision. Consider this a 'sneak peek'. If something sits the wrong way with you, let me know. Not responsible for epileptic seizures or allergic reactions. May contain eye-and-brain-bleeding levels of radioactive ANGST and/or peanut products. Please sit a reasonable distance from your computer screen.
Author's Notes: Don't give up on me just yet! There's still one more chapter after this!
____________________________________________________________________________
Ichigo was blissfully unaware of his friends' conversation, which was probably for the best. The news that they'd been running a betting pool on his love life would certainly be unwelcome, especially with how hard his father was currently pressing him.
The older Kurosaki definitely had the edge on his son in experience and was no slouch in the raw power department, either. Ichigo wasn't struggling, but he certainly wasn't dominating this fight like he should have been. In fact, his only real edge on Isshin was the familiarity of his attacks; Ichigo had been on the receiving end of them since he was ten, so he found it really easy to track his dad's movements and anticipate what he was going to do next. And really, once he realized that, it was all the edge he needed.
As Isshin dove in for a thrust with a particularly loud 'Ha!', Ichigo expertly side-stepped him. When his father's face passed even with his shoulder, Ichigo wheeled around into a roundhouse, planting his warajied foot into the back of his father's head, and threw him to the ground face-first. The concrete splintered as Isshin's particularly hard head was driven into it.
"It's over, old man!" Ichigo bellowed, leveling Zangetsu at his father's neck while holding his head in place with his foot, "Call off the wedding!" Instead of looking distraught in any way, though, Isshin looked pleased as he managed to roll his face away from the busted pavement.
"Good job, Ichigo," he coughed, "Today, you are a man..." And then his face fell back against the street.
"Huh?"
But before Ichigo could ask his unconscious father what he meant, Orihime was on him, clutching his shihakusho and pushing him back.
"Don't!" she sobbed, "Don't hurt him anymore! Please, Kurosaki-kun, it's all my fault!" Ichigo lowered his sword, confused.
"Inoue, you don't have to marry him anymore," he said, perplexed, "Aren't you happy?"
"I promise I'll never lie to you again!" she cried, tears spilling down her cheeks in little rivers. To say Ichigo was confused would've been a gross understatement.
"You... lied to me?" he asked, puzzled and unsuspecting, "When? About what?" He honestly had no idea what she was talking about or what this had to do with his old man.
"About everything!" she burst out, looking up at him with her watery eyes. Before he could ask her any more, she buried her face in his shinigami robes and continued sobbing hysterically.
Guilt struck Ichigo at the sight and sound of all this; he loved her, didn't he? So he should be doing something while she cried. He wrapped his arms around the crying girl, holding her close to his chest and rubbing her back.
"Don't cry, Inoue," he said softly, "What did you lie about? I promise I won't be mad." Orihime only sobbed in response.
"What she meant to say," Uryuu said from the sidelines, finally drawing Ichigo's attention to the fact that they had an audience, "Is that this entire thing was a sham." Ichigo regarded the Quincy suspiciously.
"What entire thing?" he asked, not daring to hope he meant what he thought he did. Uryuu, Karin, and Tatsuki looked impatient with him.
"With your dad," Chad spoke up. After another few seconds of everyone waiting on him to continue with no further information, Ichigo went ahead with a sigh.
"Would you guys tell me exactly what the hell is going on here?" he finally barked, feeling his admittedly short fuse ignite.
"Your dad set you up, Ichigo," Mizuiro supplied cheerfully, "There was never going to be a wedding." Tatsuki folded her arms and huffed.
"He told us last week what he was going to do," she explained, "Since you're being a stubborn ass, none of us minded. Come on, Ichigo, didn't you think it was weird no one cared that Orihime was going to marry some old geezer?" Instead of being angry, Ichigo's face was frozen in mortification.
"You all knew?!" he finally sputtered, "Even Urahara? Even Rukia?! Even you, Inoue?" He was almost too gobsmacked to feel betrayed, but not quite. How could the woman he loved outright lie to him like that? For an entire weekend, even! At this statement, she only cried harder.
"Don't blame her," Isshin coughed up from the pavement, "It was my idea... She just went along with it."
"Besides, you deserved it," Karin helpfully supplied, "How long have you been trying to pretend you don't like her? Even I noticed."
"Everyone did," Mizuiro continued.
"Even me," Yuzu sheepishly spoke up.
"Alright, fine!" Ichigo bellowed, "I like her! I love her! Are you all happy now?!" He hardly noticed the effect his words were having on the red-faced girl in his arms.
"You... you do?" she asked quietly, "E-Even after everything we did...? Everything I did?" Ichigo looked down at her, not bothering to try and smooth his scowl out for her this time.
"Well, I'm not exactly happy with you at the moment," he muttered, finally addressing the girl in question, "But I do love you, Inoue." Since she looked as if she might burst into tears again at any second, Ichigo swooped down to capture her in a kiss.
One by one, his friends and family started clapping. Even Chad. The only exception was Isshin, whose face was still planted in the pavement by Ichigo's foot (although he certainly would have cheered, had he been able). Finally, after nearly a minute, Ichigo came up for air and turned to address the crowd that had gathered outside his house.
"I'm still pissed at all of you, though!" he shouted, pointing an accusing finger in their direction, "You won't get off as easy as Inoue, assholes!"
"Who would want to?" Uryuu asked with a shrug and a disgusted shiver.
"Yeah, I'll pass on sucking face with you, thanks," Tatsuki agreed, causing Ichigo's face to light up with mingled embarrassment and rage.
"Sorry, Ichigo," Chad agreed. There was practically steam coming out of Ichigo's ears now.
"I'm going to kill all of you!"
Series: Bleach
Rating: T
Warnings: het (IchiHime, IsshinHime), May/December relationship
Spoilers: Through current chapters (418)
Disclaimer: These characters belong to a lot of Japanese people, namely people like Tite Kubo and Shonen Jump. You'll notice how none of those are me. The LiveJournal format that you'll probably be reading this in (if you're one of my friends) is rough draft and is subject to revision. Consider this a 'sneak peek'. If something sits the wrong way with you, let me know. Not responsible for epileptic seizures or allergic reactions. May contain eye-and-brain-bleeding levels of radioactive ANGST and/or peanut products. Please sit a reasonable distance from your computer screen.
Author's Notes: Don't give up on me just yet! There's still one more chapter after this!
____________________________________________________________________________
Ichigo was blissfully unaware of his friends' conversation, which was probably for the best. The news that they'd been running a betting pool on his love life would certainly be unwelcome, especially with how hard his father was currently pressing him.
The older Kurosaki definitely had the edge on his son in experience and was no slouch in the raw power department, either. Ichigo wasn't struggling, but he certainly wasn't dominating this fight like he should have been. In fact, his only real edge on Isshin was the familiarity of his attacks; Ichigo had been on the receiving end of them since he was ten, so he found it really easy to track his dad's movements and anticipate what he was going to do next. And really, once he realized that, it was all the edge he needed.
As Isshin dove in for a thrust with a particularly loud 'Ha!', Ichigo expertly side-stepped him. When his father's face passed even with his shoulder, Ichigo wheeled around into a roundhouse, planting his warajied foot into the back of his father's head, and threw him to the ground face-first. The concrete splintered as Isshin's particularly hard head was driven into it.
"It's over, old man!" Ichigo bellowed, leveling Zangetsu at his father's neck while holding his head in place with his foot, "Call off the wedding!" Instead of looking distraught in any way, though, Isshin looked pleased as he managed to roll his face away from the busted pavement.
"Good job, Ichigo," he coughed, "Today, you are a man..." And then his face fell back against the street.
"Huh?"
But before Ichigo could ask his unconscious father what he meant, Orihime was on him, clutching his shihakusho and pushing him back.
"Don't!" she sobbed, "Don't hurt him anymore! Please, Kurosaki-kun, it's all my fault!" Ichigo lowered his sword, confused.
"Inoue, you don't have to marry him anymore," he said, perplexed, "Aren't you happy?"
"I promise I'll never lie to you again!" she cried, tears spilling down her cheeks in little rivers. To say Ichigo was confused would've been a gross understatement.
"You... lied to me?" he asked, puzzled and unsuspecting, "When? About what?" He honestly had no idea what she was talking about or what this had to do with his old man.
"About everything!" she burst out, looking up at him with her watery eyes. Before he could ask her any more, she buried her face in his shinigami robes and continued sobbing hysterically.
Guilt struck Ichigo at the sight and sound of all this; he loved her, didn't he? So he should be doing something while she cried. He wrapped his arms around the crying girl, holding her close to his chest and rubbing her back.
"Don't cry, Inoue," he said softly, "What did you lie about? I promise I won't be mad." Orihime only sobbed in response.
"What she meant to say," Uryuu said from the sidelines, finally drawing Ichigo's attention to the fact that they had an audience, "Is that this entire thing was a sham." Ichigo regarded the Quincy suspiciously.
"What entire thing?" he asked, not daring to hope he meant what he thought he did. Uryuu, Karin, and Tatsuki looked impatient with him.
"With your dad," Chad spoke up. After another few seconds of everyone waiting on him to continue with no further information, Ichigo went ahead with a sigh.
"Would you guys tell me exactly what the hell is going on here?" he finally barked, feeling his admittedly short fuse ignite.
"Your dad set you up, Ichigo," Mizuiro supplied cheerfully, "There was never going to be a wedding." Tatsuki folded her arms and huffed.
"He told us last week what he was going to do," she explained, "Since you're being a stubborn ass, none of us minded. Come on, Ichigo, didn't you think it was weird no one cared that Orihime was going to marry some old geezer?" Instead of being angry, Ichigo's face was frozen in mortification.
"You all knew?!" he finally sputtered, "Even Urahara? Even Rukia?! Even you, Inoue?" He was almost too gobsmacked to feel betrayed, but not quite. How could the woman he loved outright lie to him like that? For an entire weekend, even! At this statement, she only cried harder.
"Don't blame her," Isshin coughed up from the pavement, "It was my idea... She just went along with it."
"Besides, you deserved it," Karin helpfully supplied, "How long have you been trying to pretend you don't like her? Even I noticed."
"Everyone did," Mizuiro continued.
"Even me," Yuzu sheepishly spoke up.
"Alright, fine!" Ichigo bellowed, "I like her! I love her! Are you all happy now?!" He hardly noticed the effect his words were having on the red-faced girl in his arms.
"You... you do?" she asked quietly, "E-Even after everything we did...? Everything I did?" Ichigo looked down at her, not bothering to try and smooth his scowl out for her this time.
"Well, I'm not exactly happy with you at the moment," he muttered, finally addressing the girl in question, "But I do love you, Inoue." Since she looked as if she might burst into tears again at any second, Ichigo swooped down to capture her in a kiss.
One by one, his friends and family started clapping. Even Chad. The only exception was Isshin, whose face was still planted in the pavement by Ichigo's foot (although he certainly would have cheered, had he been able). Finally, after nearly a minute, Ichigo came up for air and turned to address the crowd that had gathered outside his house.
"I'm still pissed at all of you, though!" he shouted, pointing an accusing finger in their direction, "You won't get off as easy as Inoue, assholes!"
"Who would want to?" Uryuu asked with a shrug and a disgusted shiver.
"Yeah, I'll pass on sucking face with you, thanks," Tatsuki agreed, causing Ichigo's face to light up with mingled embarrassment and rage.
"Sorry, Ichigo," Chad agreed. There was practically steam coming out of Ichigo's ears now.
"I'm going to kill all of you!"
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Date: 2010-09-08 11:03 pm (UTC)