#tachigo

[vannahfanfics]

You and I

Category: Romantic Fluff

Characters: Ichigo Kurosaki and Tatsuki Arisawa

Requested By:  Jonathan Gart (FanFiction)

Prompt taken from the Tumblr blog, hellsdemonictrinity! Please go check them out!

Tatsuki strode purposefully down the school hallway, her bag laden with schoolbooks swinging at her side with every stride. People automatically moved aside as she strolled by. She always had this air of confidence about her that people just seemed to sense, and gave her a wide birth by instinct; Tatsuki didn't mind that, of course, since it meant that she did not have to squeeze through crowds of people on her way to her class. Plus, people knew that Tatsuki was a champion fighter, so perhaps they simply did not wish to get on her bad side. The funny thing was that Tatsuki really didn't have one- unless of course someone made the grave mistake of harassing her friends.

As she walked into the classroom, a jovial voice rang out from the rows of desks, and the scruffy-haired girl turned to see her boisterous friend Orihime jumping up in her desk and waving excitedly.

“Good morning, Tatsuki!” she called happily as she approached and set her things down at her desk.

“Morning, Orihime,” she responded with a smile before sitting at her desk and propping up her feet with a yawn. Though she did well enough in class, she would much rather be practicing in the gym than sitting at a desk while a teacher shoved facts and rules down her throat. Still, having Orihime in the same class made things much more bearable; the bubbly girl immediately began babbling about a cute squirrel she had seen on the way to school that morning, and Tatsuki listened with an amused smile, enjoying how her friend found entertainment in the simplest things. The girl continued to prattle on about various things until she abruptly stopped and looked at a point over Tastuki's shoulder. Raising an eyebrow, Tatsuki followed her friend's gaze to see a pair of boys standing next to the desk. Tatsuki could immediately tell that they were bad news by the way they were standing, slouching with their hands in their pants pockets and their shirts untucked, and the smug sneers on their mouths.

“Hey, Orihime. New haircut?” one of them asked, and the tone in his voice bothered Tatsuki. Orihime, innocent as ever, completely missed the haughty air of the conversation and beamed, running her fingers through her orangey-brown hair.

“Oh, yes! I only got it trimmed, though. How nice of you to notice!” she responded with a light blush and a wonderfully bright smile. Tatsuki just watched the pair of them levelly, waiting to see how they would respond. These thugs had better keep their mouths shut.

“Say, Orihime. Why don't you ditch this place and come have some fun?” the other one offered with a grin laden with lecherous intent. There it is. “You don't really want to sit in here all day, do you?” Orihime's expression immediately became more nervous, and she laughed nervously as she attempted to diffuse the rapidly accelerating situation.

“Oh! I’m sorry. School is really important to me, you know, so I really can't skip! Hehe…” she responded weakly, and Tatsuki noticed that she edged slightly away from them and glanced down at her with pleading eyes.

“Come on,” the persistent thug pressed as he put his hand on the desk to lean across and bring his face closer to the frightened Orihime's. “You're much too pretty to be wasting your time in he- Owwww!” he yelped mid-sentence as Tatsuki wrapped her hand around his wrist and forcibly pried it from her desk and bent it backward. He attempted to wrench free of her iron grip, to no avail, and his bones cracked under the force of her grasp.

“She said that she wasn't interested. Take a hint. Maybe it'll even raise your IQ's a little,” she told him calmly, her voice level; however, a fierce fire burned in her gaze, a stark warning for the boys to abandon their foolish effort to court the obviously disinterested girl. She held his wrist for a moment before suddenly releasing it, and he yelped while hastily snapping his hand back lest Tatsuki decide to resume the violent action. Tatsuki pulled her back onto her desk, honestly expecting the boys to be thoroughly threatened and make a hasty retreat, but she gasped as her bag was suddenly wrenched from her hands and flung across the room. Orihime cried out in shock, and the rest of the students, attracted by the commotion, fell silent as they watched the situation escalate.

“You stupid bitch. I don't recall inviting you to the conversation,” the thug growled at her. Tatsuki, not one to be easily threatened, merely gazed up at him with a calm look.

“You're on my desk. That makes me part of the conversation,” she responded levelly, trying to keep her eye from twitching with annoyance. She really wasn't interested in catering to the inflated egos of a couple of self-proclaimed casanovas, and she certainly did not appreciate her things being thrown into a wall. Before they could respond, the teacher strode into the room, and that seemed to deter them if only for the moment.

“This isn't over,” he growled at her as he cradled his likely bruised hand, and he and his lackey hastily retreated before the instructor could respond to the situation. As they fled, Ichigo and his usual posse came strolling in, and the tall boy raised his eyebrows as one of them roughly shoved him aside.

“Hey! Watch where you're going, will ya?” he shouted after him with an irritated glare before snorting and walking into the classroom. He stopped when he noticed the contents of Tatsuki's school bag strewn around the back wall, the intense silence of the room, and the horrified expression on Orihime's face. “What the hell happened in here?” he blinked, looking from Tatsuki to the door and then back to her.

“Nothing. Just dealing with a couple of losers,” she responded. She then released a small sigh and stood to retrieve her things, walking around the desk to crouch down and gather the various articles. As she reached for her bag, she was shocked when someone else picked it up before her, and she glanced up to see Ichigo standing there with a concerned look.

“Did those guys bother you, Tatsuki?” he asked, and she knew what that would lead to if she said yes.

“Hardly. They were just hitting on Orihime and didn't appreciate it when I told them to back off, that's all,” she answered simply and stood up to take the bag from him and stuff her things back inside.

“Do I need to beat them up?” he asked as he followed her back to his desk, his depression completely serious despite the nonchalant air about him, with his bag slung over his shoulder and his hand in his pocket. Tatsuki snorted at the bold challenge and shook her head.

“No! It’s not that big of a deal. Jeez, like you don't get in enough fights!” she huffed as she plopped down in her desk and waved a hand dismissively at him. He lingered there for a moment, just staring at her, before shrugging and making his way back to his friends, which were cutting up already and making the teacher yell loudly at them. Jeez. Why is he all on me about this? She wondered, watching him out of the corners of her eyes. He’s always been touchy about people messing with me. He knows I can defend myself! So what's his deal?

Slowly, the hum of conversation returned to the classroom, and Tatsuki acted natural as she settled into her desk and began preparing for the school day.

“Are you okay, Tatsuki?” Orihime cried worriedly once things had returned to normal, and Tatsuki simply smiled confidently at her. She was used to Orihime fretting over her.

“Of course! Guys like that don't scare me. You know that I could've flattened them in an instant!” she grinned and pulled out her notebook in anticipation of the morning bell. As the last of the students shuffled into the room and the morning bell rang shrilly throughout the building, Tatsuki didn’t waste even a thought on the incident. She dealt with things like that daily, after all.

But she couldn't get her mind off of the look on Ichigo's face.

The rest of the day passed slowly but uneventfully, and soon the afternoon dismissal bell was ringing overhead. The air was bursting with conversations of plans for the afternoon and homework and upcoming exams as Tatsuki walked alongside Orihime towards the gym, where she was to undertake practice for the day. She bid her friend farewell at the exit before walking across the sandy courtyard, her shadow bouncing along beside her in the blazing sunlight. Suddenly, it was not just her shadow stretching across the ground; two more had joined hers, one on either side, and Tatsuki realized that she was being followed. She stopped, letting her school bag drop to the ground before whipping around to confront her pursuers. She was only mildly surprised to see that it was the two punks from earlier that morning, cracking their knuckles threateningly as they snickered to themselves. Unfortunately for them, they believed that they had cornered the small girl.

“Hey, there. We got a bone to pick with you, little lady,” the leading delinquent sneered at her. “You see, I don't appreciate the way you treated me this morning. If you apologize, I may just treat you gently,” he offered, as if it were fair. Tatsuki just snorted, amazed at how delusional he was.

“I’m not apologizing for anything. Get out of my face. I don't have the time for this,” she huffed and went to pick up her bag, then gasped as her arms were suddenly pinned behind her back, immobilizing her. She peered over her shoulder to see that an additional three guys had snuck up behind her, one of which had grabbed her and placed her in a very compromising position. Crap! I was so overconfident… she thought as she bit down on her lip. She could probably fight them off, but with her arms pinned, she was at an extreme disadvantage. She turned back when the leader of the band of punks began laughing coldly.

“I figured you would say something like that, so I brought along a couple of pals to help me teach you a lesson. You have a lot of nerve, walking around thinking you're all hot shit. You think you're tough? I’m gonna show you who's tough around here,” he smirked as he walked towards her with a sick expression. The other three men converged around him so that all four of her were marching her with the obvious intent to do her harm. Tatsuki planted her feet, gritting her teeth as she suddenly grabbed onto the shirt of the boy holding her and then suddenly launching him over her back. The shock caused him to release his grip on her, so he went flying into his companions. They all cried out as he crashed into them, and Tatsuki fell into an offensive stance, cool as a cucumber as they scrambled to their feet. She could immediately tell that she pissed them off, especially the one who was leading the band of bungling would-be gangsters. “You're dead, bitch,” he hissed as blood dribbled from his mouth from where his friend had roughly crashed into him. Tatsuki's eyes widened as he suddenly procured a switchblade from his pocket and pulled it open, the sharp blade flashing white in the bright sunlight. Despite her bravado, Tatsuki was not fool enough to think she could fend off a knife attack and fight off four large boys at the same time, and she uneasily edged backward.

“Hey, now… Take it easy…” she said quietly, raising her hands as if trying to appease an angry animal.

“Oh, no. It's too late for that now. I’m gonna carve up that pretty face of yours,” he grinned wildly, and the madness that had descended into his expression put a quiver into even her stout spine. Oh my God… He actually wants to kill me…! She thought as she edged backward. Even his lackeys were looking unsure, standing off to the side and watching in concern as the psychopath converged on the defenseless girl. As he raised his hand to strike, Tatsuki flinched and threw her arms up in some sort of defense, squeezing her eyes shut as she waited for the blow to come.

“Hey, hey. Is that any way to treat a lady?” came a mocking voice, and Tatsuki's eyes flashed open as she immediately recognized it.

“Ichigo!” she exclaimed in surprise. From out of nowhere he had come onto the scene, appearing behind her assailant to grab ahold of his arm and prevent him from slashing at her with the small knife. The man's arm shook violently as it struggled in Ichigo's strong grasp, and she could see the panic in his expression; Ichigo, on the other hand, looked pretty calm for a guy who had intervened in an attempted knife attack- he was even smiling at her.

“Hey, Tatsuki. Got yourself in a bit of trouble, have we?” the orange-haired boy mused before, without any warning, punching the knife-wielder violently in the face. Blood exploded from his nose as it broke under the force of his blow, and he crumpled like a rag doll. As the knife slipped from his hand, Ichigo kicked it away and looked down at the boy in disgust. “Piece of shit, drawing a knife on a girl like that. Who the hell do you think you are?!” he shouted angrily before driving his foot into his ribs, and Tatsuki cringed as she heard an audible crack. Before he could get in another blow, the four lackeys, loyal despite the fact that their boss went unhinged, jumped at Ichigo with their fists raised. Tatsuki just stood there, stunned, as they all became embroiled in a bitter scuffle that, despite the odds, Ichigo won in a matter of mere minutes. Soon, he was standing there amongst a pile of bleeding, groaning guys, while he was covered in scratches and bruises and bleeding profusely from a gash on his arm. Apparently, one of them had snatched up the knife in the chaos and lashed out at him, but that did little to stop him. Tatsuki knew Ichigo was handy in a street fight, but she was still impressed. She stiffened as he abruptly turned toward her. “You hurt?”

“No,” she answered. He nodded, then sighed deeply and reached up to crack his neck; then, to her astonishment, he just stepped over their bodies and began walking away. “Hey! You can't just walk off bleeding like that!” she cried and ran after him, grabbing him by the arm to hold him back. He looked down at her in shock, then looked down at his arm, which was rapidly turning red with the river of blood flowing down.

“Oh. I didn't even feel it,” he blinked, and Tatsuki decided to forgo inquiring about how he could not possibly feel a stab wound to instead drag him to the practice building and sit him down on one of the benches outside. Luckily, due to her own tendency to acquire injuries, she always had a first-aid kit on hand, and she hurriedly dug it out and popped it open to begin cleaning his wound. It was luckily not so deep to need stitches and looked worse than it was.

“You need to control your temper,” she sighed quietly. Partly, she was bothered that Ichigo had even felt the need to rise to her defense. She could have handled it herself- or at least, that was what she was telling herself. Ichigo just glared at her.

“There were five of them, and one of them pulled a knife on you, Tatsuki. There was no way in hell that I was going to let you take them on like that. You're strong, no doubt about it, but even you have your limits,” he told her bluntly, and somehow that just made her angry, even though in the moment she had felt that way herself.

“I’ve kicked your ass in every fight we've ever had. I totally could have taken them,” she muttered as she set down a swathe of bloody fabric and began coating his gash with antibacterial ointment. Perhaps because she was irritated, she used more force than necessary, and he winced and hissed loudly in pain. Out of stubbornness, he didn’t even feel guilty. Ichigo was as stubborn as she was, though.

“What does that have to do with anything? Even if you could have taken those guys, they were trying to beat up in a girl! I couldn't let them just get away with that!” he snapped hotly. Scowling, Tatsuki grabbed some bandages and roughly wrapped his arms, and her lack of tenderness made Ichigo cry out and jerk back. “Would you cut that out? Your bedside manner is horrible!”

“Well, if you weren't such a jerk, I wouldn't be so pissed off!” she snapped hotly and glared up at him. Really, she wasn't mad at him; she was mad at herself. I shouldn't have let my guard down like that. It made me vulnerable, she thought bitterly- and she hated feeling vulnerable. She hated to have to be rescued. “… Why did you have to get involved? I could have handled it,” she repeated, more softly, and her hands, still holding the slightly bloodied bandages, dropped down to her lap. She wouldn't cry- she had too much pride for that- but she could not stop her expression from growing sad. Ichigo blinked down at her, probably shocked to see her in such a state, before he smiled sweetly.

“Jeez, you don't get it, do you? And you call me dense,” he laughed. His lighthearted tone made her glance up, and her eyebrows shot up to her forehead when his face was suddenly right in front of hers. “I like you a lot, you know, so the sight of a guy waving a knife around at you kind of pisses me off.” She was so in shock that she could only just stare dumbly at him, mouth slightly open, staring into his eyes that were burning with a sudden passion. She was trying to process what he had said, but it just wouldn't click in her mind. “Words not working? How about this, then?” he offered, and her eyes widened as he closed the distance between them to lightly press his lips to hers. She froze, her fingers curling into the fabric of her skirt as she struggled to try and react, but her brain was just going so crazy that she couldn't formulate one coherent thought. Finally, one finally managed to emerge from the fog.

Me… and Ichigo?

They had known each other since they were small children and had naturally grown close over the years, but she had never imagined that he could have been harboring some sort of romantic attraction towards her. The even more shocking thing was that the simple act of their lips meeting stirred something inside of her that she hadn't even realized existed, a fire in her body that made her heart sing. Me and Ichigo. In her mind, it certainly didn't sound bad. Slowly, her muscles relaxed, and she was able to enjoy the feeling of his mouth gently moving over hers. After a moment, he pulled back, a triumphant smirk on his lips while Tatsuki just gazed up at him, her expression somewhere between confused and shy. “That's a pretty cute look you have on your face.”

“I'm not cute,” she insisted immediately, her ego taking over and shoving aside the effects of the smooth kiss. He just laughed at her, body shaking as she attempted to once again bind his wounds. She could not keep the heat from rising to her cheeks, so she kept her head down as she wound the bandages around his muscular arm, much more gently this time.

“You blushing? I didn’t know you could blush,” he teased, which of course made her blush further.

“Shut up!” she huffed and tied off the bandage, glaring up at him. “There. Now, at least, you won't bleed to death. Now, I have to get to practice. Don't kill yourself on the way home,” she sighed and rose to her feet, grabbing her things and slinging her bag over her shoulder. She paused for a moment, her emotions writhing inside of her before she inhaled sharply and quickly leaned down to kiss him lightly on the cheek. “Thanks for saving my butt. I owe you one,” she mumbled before whipping around to scurry into the practice building. Though her back was to him, she could feel him smiling, and that fact brought a smile to her own lips.

You and I… Not a bad thought at all.

Enjoy this story? Here’s Part II and Part III! Feel free to peruse my Table of Contents!