Chapter 01

Bitter Deals

Now—

Hitsugaya Toushirou was forced on the bus with seven other Shinigami officers as a vacation, and he did not like it one little bit. His turquoise hues stared outside the window of the large bus that carried about fifty people inside it, but his attention was already taken. He stared at the snow-coated land as they kept going farther and farther into the mountains where they would be dropped off. The captain wanted to return to Soul Society to train and do his reports, but heard who were going to participate.

Hinamori Momo was with them, fooling around with the large-breasted woman who insisted of fooling around while they were still on the bus. It had been five years since the war, and it was only three years ago did she begin to heal from all her physical and mental scars. Though the wounds should have been healed in the first year prior to the end of the war, she needed to hear the words of someone wise. She the stood up in her seat to look at the male carrot top that was watching the world outside of the bus as the captain was doing. The thought of him helping her recover was mutiny, although Toushirou could not complain when it allowed Momo to get better. Whatever the college boy had said to her after he regained his Shinigami powers, it had worked, but now he was Momo's new focus most of the time.

"Psst, Taichou," the woman whispered. Toushirou glanced at her unhappily. "Want to make a deal?"

Matsumoto Rangiku had been doing everything in her power to keep herself entertained during the entire drive to their upcoming destination. They were supposed to spend four weeks at some resort where they each would get their own private rooms, thankfully. Toushirou looked away as a sign that he would not get himself involved in her crazy antics of having a moment of thrill and adventure. Things only became worse as she removed herself from her seat and leaned over Hisagi Shuuhei's lap to look at her captain more closely. Hisagi earned himself a nosebleed and fled to the bathroom in the back of the bus, giving her the chance to steal his seat.

"I'll do all of my paperwork for an entire week if you agree." She smiled as a temptress would to her victim. "All you have to do is one little thing, and allow me the chance to get it on camera, okay?"
"Whatever it is, I'm not interested." The captain continued staring outside his window. "Go away."
"Okay, okay," Rangiku tried again. "I'll do my paperwork, your paperwork, and bring you your tea for a week." He started to show interest, but it vanished. "Come on Taichou, don't make me blackmail you."
His icy gaze met her playful one. "What is it that you want me to do, that the other Shinigami can't?"
Her hands clasped together happily. "I want you to kiss Ichigo on the lips." Immediately, he turned to watch the world outside of the bus. "…okay, I guess I'll have to get Hinamori to do it instead then—"
"Fine," Toushirou bristled angrily. He could not believe that she would use Momo like that. "Later."

Abarai Renji glared at the two from his seat diagonally behind them after listening to the deal that they made without Kurosaki Ichigo's knowledge. He wanted to tell the male two rows up that they were planning to use him for their own amusement, but knew he would get in trouble. There was also a good chance that Ichigo heard the conversation on his own despite being distracted by the happy Momo that was trying to gain his attention. Oh well, he thought, if Ichigo figures out that they were using him for their own amusement, they would eventually get what was coming to them.

Kuchiki Rukia elbowed him in the ribs with a scowl as she shook her head towards him; knowing what he was thinking about. She must have heard them talk too, otherwise she would not have looked at him with such disapproving eyes right now. Did she really want them to go forth with their plan about how they would get the captain to kiss the male adult on the lips? Then again, he forgot that girls liked that kind of thing—that they got off on it when two males were all over each other. He did not like the visual in his mind of the captain kissing the target; if it was himself kissing Ichigo, then it was more appealing. Who in the world who want to kiss someone that was only waist high to them and was one hundred years older? If anything, the thought alone could turn someone off, but looking at the captain—that they all knew was a virgin, it was something that someone could explore.

Madarame Ikkaku and Ayasegawa Yumichika toned out the others by having their own loud conversation so that they would not be involved in anything that the perverted woman could concoct. A little over a minute later, Shuuhei returned to see that his see was taken, so he took her seat in return since it did not matter where anyone sat. Momo did not want to sit next to him though, so she kindly asked Rangiku to switch seats with her so she could sit next to Toushirou with Ichigo in her view. Rangiku forced the poor flushed lieutenant that had just returned, to sit next to the cold window in order to take her seat back. Shuuhei did not mind relinquishing the seat to her, but there was tightness in his pants that began to cry for attention that he could not give.

"Hey, Hinamori, don't you think Ichigo's cute?" Rangiku teased merrily.
Her cheeks tinted red. "D-Don't talk about Kurosaki-kun that way!"
Toushirou rolled his eyes, counting down. 'Three… two… one…'
"Rangiku-san," Ichigo called quietly. "Leave Hinamori alone."

"Kay!" Said woman smiled happily.

Momo peered at the man curiously when hearing his dull tone. "Are you okay?" She skipped over to sit next to the carrot top, checking his forehead. "Kurosaki-kun, you have a fever!" Everyone on the bus jumped at the accusation, yelling in disbelief. "We need water! Someone—anyone! Get an ice pack—!"
"I'm fine, I had a long night, that's all." Hearing him say this, everyone returned to their seats, but she continued to pester him by checking his forehead, his cheeks, his pulse. "Will you stop trying to molest me?" He smiled weakly at the worried one. "I said I'm fine, stop worrying so much Hinamori, okay?"
"But I have to worry! Remember the time I told you that Shirou-chan got sick when we lived in—eek!" She squealed by accident as Ichigo began to tickle her endlessly in order to hear her fits of laughter. "I give, I give! Y-You win!" Momo laughed uncontrollably as he continued. "P-Please! I—I surrender!"
After a moment, he listened. "Want to do me a favor?" Ichigo asked softly, and she nodded excitedly. "How about you go sit over there next to Toushirou to keep him company, alright?" Hearing the simple task, she nodded excitedly once more. "Good, now get over there." He nudged her carefully, as she left.

"Hi Shirou-chan!" Momo plopped back into the sit next to him. "I'm going to keep you company!"

"…so I heard…" Said male growled lightly at the interaction between the two. She always listened to him now, and he was a little jealous of him. "Why not stay over there with Kurosaki and behave Hinamori?"
"Because Kurosaki-kun said to keep you company silly." She wrapped her arms around his arm that was closest to her, and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I'm tired though, so I'm going to take a nap now."
Although Toushirou was not thrilled about, her being clinging to him, but it was better than watching her holding on to Ichigo. "Hang on!" The bus driver called out, forcing everyone to stir in alarm to this.

Before anyone could react to what he had to say, the bus made a loud bursting sound, and the entire vehicle was jerking and twisting around. A window shattered near Ichigo's seat that caused a majority of the girls to scream in fear of what was going on around them. It then came to an abrupt halt. They did not actually fall off the narrow road as surprising as it was… it was as if they hit a brick wall somehow. If this were a way to entertain those on the bus that were bored, they would probably want a refund now.

"Is everyone okay!" A man in the front yelled.

Everyone looked around to check on others, "Kurosaki-kun?" Momo called worriedly to the motionless male that had not moved through the entire episode, and she began to panic in fear. "Kurosaki—"

Ichigo appeared through the shattered window in Shinigami form, slipping inside and entering his human body tiredly. The Shinigami all sighed in relief to see that he was okay—that it was most likely his doing that the bus did not fall off the cliff side. He stood up slowly, looking at everyone while asking if anyone was hurt in any way as Momo instantly clung to his arm. They all answered him quietly, telling him that everyone was okay and that no one was hurt from the spin until they pointed at him. His cheek, forehead, and neck were all cut, scraped, and bloody due to the broken glass from what he could tell.

"I'm fine, no worries." The carrot top smiled to fool them. He looked to the driver. "Can we get going?"
"Sorry, but everyone stay here, we have a flat tire." Patiently, the driver went out to check on things.
"Not anymore we don't." Ichigo mumbled to himself as he slowly came back down to sit properly.
As some were going to look at him, the driver came back in. "I guess… we ran over an animal. Let's go."

As fast as the accident was, they were up and out of the situation just as fast—or… so they thought as the driver got up and said that there was a problem. In the process of stopping the bus before it fell off the edge, the back tires were stuck behind a dent in the road on the slope. Everyone began to sound a little down on this, but Ichigo stood up slowly and looked around towards the large group.

"Hisagi-san, Ikkaku, Renji, Yumichika, come with me. Toushirou, keep an eye on the others." Ichigo left the bus through the door as the called males followed him obediently. 'Honestly, this is getting tiring.'

Toushirou watched the five males leave the bus and go around to the back to push it out of the hole in the ground. He was slightly bummed that he was not called to join the mass of males that were told to help get the bus going. However, he told himself that he did not have to do anything because he was a captain, and not because of his young teenager appearance. The five men turned into ten as they all swallowed their pills to turn into Shinigami officers so that they all could push the large vehicle. Or, so everyone thought as there were actually eight that were pushing while one—still in his gigai—was watching from the side to tell them to their progress. Shinigami officers in their gigai inside of the bus heard Renji yell 'bankai' but was interrupted; they were starting to get a little curiously.

Before they knew it, the bus was shoved forward, and the driver got it to drive away about ten feet.

Five men entered the bus, took their seats, and the bus drove off.

Momo ended up sitting with Ichigo after that.

Rangiku came over to sit next to her glum captain, whispering. "I'll be sure to not drink for the week too, if, you manage to kiss Ichigo on the lips before we leave the bus when we arrive at the resort. Okay?"

"Okay everyone, single file." Ichigo called, now sitting in the front row as he watched over everyone.

If it was not obvious; the professors that were with them were hardly listened to outside the classroom, but everyone listened to Ichigo. Everyone filed orderly out of the bus so far, the Shinigami members were in the very back, the last three were Renji, Toushirou, and Rangiku. The captain was still debating on his choices that he was given—she offered a lot for some stupid human greeting, so why not?

"If you upset Ichigo in any way," Renji started in a quiet voice, not looking at Toushirou while they were still trying to make their way outside of the bus. Almost escaping it. "I'll make sure you lose your title."

Toushirou nearly smirked at the threat, but it did not bother him as much as knowing that the lieutenant behind him had a camera waiting. Renji left the bus to meet up with the others, and before the captain knew it… he tripped over his shoelace, and landed on top of the seated man. Rangiku took the quick opportunity and to the picture of them lip locking with them both looking surprised at the action. Ichigo discarded what happen by helping him to his feet, telling him to go outside and tie his shoe quickly.

After Rangiku came out, Ichigo slowly came out as well, telling everyone to grab his or her belongings.

'I can't believe I actually did that, and it was an accident, too.' Toushirou knelt down to tie his shoe, but stared at his left hand that was covered in blood. 'I didn't touch his face, I touched his abdomen when he caught my fall…' His attention went to the carrot top to see him holding his side as if he were having a case of bad cramps. 'What caused you to bleed so heavily?' He grabbed his bag and walked with them.

It was not a surprise that the males and female were separated to different lodges, much to all the male Shinigami officers please. The last thing that they wanted was for Rangiku to charge into their rooms without permission… with who knows what attire. Ichigo took his room at the front of the lodge, Renji took the next one while Shuuhei took the one next to him. Toushirou managed to take the room across from Ichigo, Ikkaku took the room next to his while Yumichika took the one next to him. There was only about five minutes before forty males entered the lodge; the next batch us college students came to the resort, and there was still a bus left. As everyone put his or her things away, Toushirou had managed to pack his belongings in their drawers rather quickly in order to visit Ichigo's room.

"Kurosaki?" He opened the door to see the man shirtless. "Oh, sorry. I'll—"
"We're both guys, Toushirou." Ichigo stated with his back to him. "What is it?"
"Your wound, how bad is it?" The captain watched him turn. It was very bad…
"I got the shard out after you shoved it in further. How did you figure it out then?"

"I was about to tie my shoe as you told me to, and saw the blood on my hand." Toushirou walked over and was about to heal his injury with kidou. The other grabbed his wrist quickly with a hand. "Relax, I was going to heal it." There was hesitation before his wrists were released. "Why did you hide this?"
Ichigo cringed at the healing process. "Should I really worry Hinamori?" The captain made no sign of response, and finished healing it. "By the way." He stood up, walking over to bring out a shirt. "The next time Rangiku-san forces you to come on to me. Have the guts to brush her off, she's your subordinate."
"How did—" The door was fiercely slammed, causing him to scrunch his face at the harsh echo of the door. 'Did he hear me and Matsumoto talking about it?' He thought everything over, trying to remember if there was a possibility or not. 'No, he was focused on Hinamori.' Still, Ichigo had a point in his words.

But the offer was too good to ignore.

Renji opened the door, looking at the captain unhappily. "So he already knew, too."
"I came in here to heal his wound as an apology." He stood his ground. "Yes, he knew."
The redhead smirked. "There's nothing in the world you can do to heal his wound."
"Though I understand you are Kurosaki's friend. You should remember your place here."
His eyes hardened. "You forget." He began to yell. "Ichigo is in charge, not you!"

"Renji." Ikkaku called out, startling the two. "Back off, Hitsugaya-Taichou has nothing to do with what happened between you guys." He walked passed him with Yumichika at his side as always. "Hitsugaya-Taichou, you should come snowboard with us. Rukia-chan and Hinamori-Fukutaichou would like that."
"Ah, I'll keep that in mind then." To avoid any more confrontations by the redheaded lieutenant, he left Ichigo's room. "I have no further business here anyway." He saw the sharp glare that Renji was giving him on his way out, but paid him no attention as he walked out of the lodge. 'What was that about?'
"Ichigo!" Toushirou heard his lieutenant call out happily, forcing him to glare at the manipulative woman that managed to get under his skin at some point. "I want to take your picture hugging Hinamori please! Just one!" Hearing the request struck a nerve, but then heard her say. "Hinamori, give him a big kiss!"

This popped a vein as he stormed over to see Momo with her arms around a sitting Ichigo, kissing his cheek merrily. Toushirou wanted to yell at Ichigo for allowing Momo to do this, to allow Rangiku to coax the fragile one into it, but saw his face. Ichigo looked like he was dead—an empty shell that was only doing what it was being told by whoever asked of him. There was something wrong about this; after hearing what Renji and Ikkaku said before he left the lodge, it made him wonder.

Rangiku then tried to flag another female over. "Kuchiki! You too! Come take a picture with Ichigo!"
"A-Ah… um…" She was nervous, and that caught their attention. "I… I don't really think that… uh…"
"It's just a picture." Ichigo stated heartlessly as he stood up. "It's not like it's going to mean anything."
"That's right!" The busty lieutenant agreed. "Now Ichigo, cup her cheeks like you're about to kiss her!"
"Whatever," he muttered before cupping Rukia's cheeks, inching forth to her lips. "Do you remember?"

After Rangiku took the picture, Rukia's eyes began to water as she shoved him away and slapped him across the face as hard as she could. It created problems as Momo charged at her, grabbing at her hair as she tackled her into the snow to beat the crap out of her. Ichigo—being the closest to the scene as it were, quickly attempted to pull Momo away from Rukia to tell her not to let a little thing worry her. Renji made it outside in time to see Rukia on the ground with her hair messed up, causing him to assume that Ichigo hurt her. This stirred up even more trouble as he came over and punched Ichigo in the face for what he had supposedly done to the fallen friend. They were about to fight in everyone's opinion, but it only took one shot to Renji's jaw with Ichigo's fist to announce who the winner was.

"Who do you think you are hitting a girl!" Renji yelled at him, holding his bruising cheek.
"Kurosaki-kun didn't—" Momo was interrupted when Ichigo brought his arm out in front of her.
"Would you like to go play, Hinamori?" Said man smiled softly, and she nodded. "Come on, let's go."
Watching the two leave made him even angrier. "I'm not finished with you Ichigo, come back here—"
"Renji," Rukia called to the redhead. "I-I slapped him…" Tears fell from her face. "H-He didn't…"
His gaze lowered. "Let's go somewhere else for a while to get away from Ichigo then…"

There was too much going on around the resort; it was hard to keep up with.

"Taichou," Toushirou flinched when hearing Rangiku call him. "I have a better offer than last time!"
"Count me out, get someone else to do it." He turned to walk away, mainly to follow Ichigo and Momo.
"I'll always do my work and not slack off if you do this!" She called in a sing-a-long voice. He twitched.
'Whatever it is, it would be perverse, stupid, and most likely involve Kurosaki Ichigo.' "No, Matsumoto."
"Okay… fine, I'll just have Hinamori do it since she's being so clingy to him." Rangiku grinned as she—

"What is it that you want me to do?" He growled angrily, not wanting to have Momo involved in her scandals. "Furthermore, why are you incapable of doing these tasks yourself instead of using me?"
"Because both of you need to lighten up! Ichigo has been colder than you are recently, and that's saying something!" She waved the camera. "But I would definitely need proof of you two in the act, got it?"
"Caught in the act?" His instincts went to the thought that he would have to have proof that he fought with Ichigo. "Fine." After he agreed, he realized it did not make sense. "What are we talking about?"
"Taichou, you're supposed to be the child prodigy." The lieutenant tossed the camera to him. "You have to show me proof that you got into bed with Ichigo, Silly! Otherwise I'll have to have Hinamori do it!"

Out of either sheer shock, or complete dumbstruck at her stupidity, Toushirou's lips parted as he dropped the camera on his foot. This woman was out of her right mind to be asking her own superior to do something so disgusting—he would never sleep in the same room as him, let alone the same bed. He kicked the camera to her that she managed to catch, and he began to storm back to the lodges furiously until he remembered that last part. If he did not do what she wanted, then she would have Momo to do it in his place, what if they have sex and she gets pregnant? With as attached as she had been to Ichigo for the past three years, she would do anything to be near him, even get pregnant!

Toushirou slowly turned to the lieutenant. "I'll ask for his permission then."
"No, no, no! That's cheating! My Taichou isn't a cheater!" She hurried to his side.
"Listen here, he knew that you set me up earlier, and I kissed him on accident mind you!"
The woman ignored his anger. "All you have to do is warm up to him, or even suck up to him."
"You realize that you're telling me to do this towards Kurosaki Ichigo?" He twitched in annoyance.
"Well, unless you think you can dominate him?" Rangiku eyed him. "Can you order him around easily?"
"The idiot still calls me casually, does that answer your question?" All he wanted to do now, was leave.

"You have two choices Taichou." She smiled happily, showing two fingers before showing only one. "You can hang around him and be a bratty Taichou like always to try getting him to submit to you." As he was about to yell at her, she brought the second finger back up. "Or, you can be nice and try to make peace."

Toushirou gave up.

"Here's what you have to do…"