CHAPTER 2

Things were beginning to settle into place - School was calming down into its summertime and there was beginning to breathe a new scent into the air.. one that was starting to blossom within the Dark Sun; Ichigo. With fingers at play, occupying idle hands with the controller as his mind slowly began to drift into another space and time. It has only been a couple months since he had been coming over to Toshiro's place, which had also housed another body.. Momo. They two had dated for a long time until some event happened between her and Aizen - which Toshiro refuses to talk about in any shape or form, The event had left him more enclosed than ever almost hard to reach out to at times. Even after every thing that happened they are still childhood friends with a strong bond and past which meant.. they would continue to live with one another until something changes. The thought was agitating, dark orbs glancing to his right to examine the two closed doors that were quite a bit apart from one another... he remembered one room was supposed to be a guest room, could it be that Momo had moved into there? is there still a closeness between them when no one is around? It wasn't his place to think about what was right or wrong, he was in a bias position after all.

"Yo Ichigo.. you okay?" "!" Ichigo whipped his head backwards to look at the wonderkid sitting neatly on the couch with a workbook in hand, eyebrow arched in question. "Oh yea, I'm fine.. I was just thinking. Hey I almost finally beat this thing, don't think you'll be able to beat my score anytime" He snickered, watching as Toshiro's soft expression changed to match his. "Is that so? well good thing I don't wast my free time playing video games" "...ah. Does it feel cold in here.." Ichigo froze like a statue, featured churned into a dumbfounded realization of their much different situations, the room almost felt cold.. too cold with such a burn. Toshiro chuckled lightly before his gaze returned down to the books, "Don't worry, I mainly got this stuff for you to enjoy anyways" Ichigo tilted his head slightly, a bit curious at the boy's comment, 'For me..?' he could feel a light flush tickling his cheeks, almost too hard to swallow all of it in one gulp. "That so.. I always forget you guys have so much money you can toss around" His gaze returned to the game at hand, pausing it before getting himself off from the floor. "Oy, I'm going to use the restroom" his voice was soft, waving off the other who was nose deep in his books.

As the door closed behind him Toshiro slowly peered up, a slight scowl gracing his features - there was something different about the Dark Sun, he was off... the way Ichigo would look at him or even act around him was very on and off, the signals were everywhere he can't keep up with the guy and on top of that, with these mixed emotions going on its starting to make Toshiro feel uneasy. With the passing days there was always something about Ichigo that he liked - being around him always brought a sense of... warmth and protection, something he wasn't used to feeling except for the normal coldness of winter that the dragon graced him with; body and soul. 'Stupid, why is this happening to me now.. I just don't get it' Closing the book he placed it on the side table, teal orbs half lidded as he contemplated the mixed thoughts in hand before the familiar sound of the door pulled open to break all concentration and solitude. "Sorry about that, man even though school is on break you still have cram classes? how masochistic can you be?" Ichigo sat himself down next to the other, leaning back with his arms stretched out across the backrest, little silver hairs tickling against his sun-kissed skin. "Well excuse me for enjoying work, some of us like gaining knowledge no matter where we go" Toshiro gave him a raised brow, lips pursed as his glare attempted to pierce the sun's bland expression - but per usual the man managed to ignore the wonderkid's every attempt to show fierceness. "I'm just worried about you is all. The human body is a lot different than the one you were used to for so many years.. remember that" Ichigo pursed his lips out as the other did to him, getting an annoyed look in response from Toshiro. "Tch! yea I get it, don't worry about me". There was a moment of silence between the two but it did not feel unwelcome - the room was peaceful, shy of noises that bounced against the walls.

"You know, there is something I have been meaning to tell you, but maybe some other time-" Ichigo spoke out casually, quickly getting interrupted by the other, "Well what was the point of even saying that then, Ichigo" Toshiro spat. "To be honest I just couldn't relax in that silence, I was starting to feel something. Anyways, see you later" without another moment to waste Ichigo reluctantly got himself up from the couch, brushing off his pants before heading towards the door. Now Toshiro was just all jumbled up from this mess - what in the world was this guy even talking about or saying? was there room for more? the silence was nice... but what does that mean, nicer than usual? "Ah.. well alright, see you" He forced out, watching as the large figure faded from behind the door; the fire which kept the ice cave lit slowly dimmed.

'Great now what..' Toshiro pulled his legs up, knees hugging tightly against as his chin rested upon them. Momo was gone for awhile due to earning a high chair in class for being one of the top students who were rewarded with traveling across the states to be more in-depth with her program and study harder which had left Toshiro to be engulfed at the apartment they stayed together. Normally he wouldn't mind the solitude, having all the peace in the day to work on his school work and work from the other world without anyone to bother him but as of late, something was beginning to trickle in the back of his mind, an urging feeling that without its satisfaction it left the wonderkid feeling... empty. 'Perhaps this is common for.. people. Maybe I'm starting to finally fit in' though did he really want to feel that way? the thought was honestly terrifying. He has seen what feelings and emotions due to people - it causes mayhem and destruction in its wake, those you loved would perish or be betrayed.. something he knew too much of and wanted very little to deal with. 'Dammit..not again.' a scowl encased his featured, brows furrowed together as if he was contemplating his next form of action. "I'm obviously overworked... I'll feel better tomorrow!" He yelled, forcing himself off the couch with a short stride towards the kitchen to chug down a glass of milk.

Before Toshiro knew it... he was pulling on his shoes and straightening out his clothes. 'Maybe.. I just need to go talk to him' Letting his big orbs settle on the knob, it felt as if the handle was going to burn the skin right off, taking what felt like centuries to open it and leave the comfort of his abode. 'I have to let Ichigo know that its okay' He kept thinking to himself, his pace becoming quicker as he was determined to make the pathway towards the Dark Sun's home. 'If I tell him that, then maybe he'll stop being so weird and tell me what's going on. I just need to tell him that..' Toshiro's feet took movement on their own, jogging closer to the premises of their destination until he reached upon the area, his house coming into view. "Wait.. what do I need to tell him..?" He paused for a moment, flushed with embarrassment as his mind became blank with everything he thought of up to this point. 'I don't need to tell him anything! it's his problem if he wants to pout all day!' huffing to himself, Toshiro quickly turned around and began to speed walk back home. There were some things that shouldn't be touched when there was a chance you could be dealt the hand you did not want, and for himself there has been enough bad hands dealt in his favor. In the line of battle he was always the one lacking, struggling to better his power to keep up with everyone, to spend every day he could to intake as much knowledge that was necessary to improve himself - even if his smaller frame couldn't hold much more power than he has now and compare to the others, he at least had the upper hand; knowledge of a thousand libraries and more.

The walk felt timeless, as if everything around him froze and he was the only being to exist until his foot had reached the final step to the familiar cove. Stepping inside, he pulled out his cell and clicked the buttons until the name 'Ichigo' popped up, clicking on it to enter the message screen. 'Our vacation just started so let's hang monday. Come over' Toshiro quickly typed up, thumb reluctantly pressing send with a big sigh of relief to follow. The phones buzzer quickly went off, startling the nervous captain "Dang, that was quick.." clicking on the new message he peered down, 'Sure. see you bright and early.' He scoffed, "Bright and early? seeing as he wakes up around eleven I can expect him here around twelve. early my butt" walking over to the nightstand and plugging his phone in, Toshiro let out a small yawn, wiping his eyes before turning to pull himself towards his bedroom. Opening the door he plopped himself down face first into the big plush comfort of the bed, resting in a disheveled position as only one thought lingered in the back of his mind before sleep overtook him. 'Goodnight, Ichigo Kurosaki.'