Never Fade Away

Thanks, pantaloon, for pointing out my mistakes!!!

Chapter 3

Ichigo had gotten back in time for dinner that night, which Yuzu was glad for. It was hard to hide the sleeve covered in blood from his family, but he managed. They were aware of what he was, but they still worried. He was a little thrilled that he was a Shinigami now. He usually wasn’t thrilled by anything, so it was a nice feeling for him.

He went to sleep that night, relaxed and looking forward to a day of sleeping in and lazing around. However at 7:30 in the morning he was woken up by the sound of his cell phone. He considered throwing at across the room, but decided against it and fumbled for it on his night stand.

“H’llo?”

“Ah, Strawberry, hope I didn’t wake you.”

Oh that bastard, Ichigo would recognize that voice anywhere.

“How the hell did you get my cell number?”

“I took a peak at Rukia’s phone to find it.”

Ichigo snorted over the phone, probably meant he snitched the damned thing.

“What do you want?” He asked sleepily.

“To fight.”

“What?” Oh now Ichigo was waking up, gods damn it.

“I want to fight you.”

“You called me at 7:30 on a Sunday morning because you want to fight me!?”

“Yeah.”

“Fuck no.” Ichigo hung up on him and snuggled back into the blankets, zoning back into sleep. No such luck, his phone rang again.

He picked it up again.

“What do ya want?”

“Come on now Ichi, it’s just a little fight.”

“I wanna sleeeeeeep.”

Kenpachi laughed over the phone.

“And it’s Ichigo, not Ichi or Strawberry.”

“When I looked through Rukia’s phone your number was under Ichi-berry, would you like me to call you that?”

Kenpachi laughed again at the muffled curses and the muttered ‘traitors.’

“If you don’t come to fight me here, I’ll bring the fight to you.”

Ichigo groaned, he didn’t want to get up! “I don’t have a ride to get there.”

“If you come willingly I’ll pick you up.”

Ichigo sighed, “If I say yes will you let me sleep a little longer before you do?”

“Yeah, I’ll pick you up at 11, but wear a heavy jacket and some gloves.”

“Alright.” Ichigo said before hanging up on Kenpachi again, not thinking about what he was agreeing to.

At 9:30 he finally rolled out of bed and went downstairs for breakfast. Dodging his father’s morning ‘sneak’ attack, he shoveled cereal into his mouth and told his dad he was going out again today. He ignored his dad’s sobs that his little Ichigo was growing up.

“Going out again, brother?” Yuzu cried, “Will you be back for dinner?”

“Probably.”

Dodging another attack, Ichigo walked upstairs. He looked longingly at the bed and sighed. He wanted to go back to sleep and have a lazy day, but instead he would be fighting with some crazy Shinigami dude. That guy was seriously freaky.

He hopped into the shower and fingered the faint white lines that were the only sign that he had been injured there. By tomorrow even those would be gone. Sometimes he wondered if he would ever get a disease or die of old age. It was a little depressing to think about.

He threw some clothes on and slumped onto the bed again, he still had a few minutes before Kenpachi showed up. He was just wondering why he had to wear a heavy jacket and gloves when he heard a heavy rumbling.

He peaked out the window and his eyes widened at the sight. There was Kenpachi in his driveway with a motorcycle. He dropped the curtain back and blinked a few times before grabbing his jacket and gloves and dashing downstairs, hoping his father hadn’t noticed. Gods knows what he would do if he saw.

“Ichigo!!!” His dad tried to tackle him at the door but he brought up his foot and caught Issin in his face. “Who is the man on the bike Ichigo!?”

“Gods damn it, get off!” His dad clung to his leg and he tried to kick him off while opening the door at the same time. There was Kenpachi looking very amused at him. He was wearing a leather jacket, black pants and thick combat boots.

Ichigo tried not to stare, but it was hard. The look suited Kenpachi very much. Issin noticed the man and clung tighter to Ichigo’s leg.

“Ichigo! You should have told me you were going on a date!”

Ichigo turned scarlet and he kicked Issin even harder in the face. “Shaddup!!! He’s not my date you freak!”

Kenpachi laughed at this display, “Come on, Strawberry.”

“He is a date! He even has a pet name for you Ichigo!!!”

Ichigo slammed the door on his dad’s face and tried to fight back the blush. Yachiru peaked over Kenpachi’s shoulder; her pink hair was covered in a leather cap with straps that stuck out at odd angles. She had large goggles that covered almost half of her face.

“Ichi-chan!” She yelled happily and waved. Ichigo did not know how to deal with Yachiru, so he just smiled and waved back.

Kenpachi walked back to the large black motorcycle and Ichigo noticed for the first time that there was a side car attached to it. He had expected Kenpachi to be more of the chopper type. This bike was still massive, but the bike wasn’t low to the ground or had insanely high handles.

Ichigo could see the Harley Davidson logo on the gas tank and rolled his eyes. Of course the bastard would travel with power, he didn’t seem like the type to do things half ass. Yachiru hopped off of Kenpachi’s back and into the side car while Kenpachi leaned over and snagged the helmet out of it.

He tossed it to Ichigo, “Put it on, Strawberry.”

“It’s Ichigo!”

Kenpachi smirked in response and tugged the helmet over his head for him while Ichigo tried to push his hands away and do it himself. Kenpachi seemed to derive some enjoyment in making Ichigo do things he didn’t really want to do.

He finally got the helmet on without Kenpachi’s help, or maybe in spite of, and Kenpachi got on to the bike.

“You aren’t going to wear a helmet?”

“Don’t need one.” He started up the bike and glanced at Ichigo with a feral smile. “When we get going, hold on to me, don’t be a prude about it, Strawberry.”

“I’m not a prude, and my name is Ichigo!”

“Ichigo, Strawberry, it’s the same thing. Now get on.” Ichigo sighed and slid behind Kenpachi awkwardly.

Kenpachi felt the timid hands set themselves on his shoulder before he shook his head. “You got to put them around my waist Strawberry; I got to steer with my arms.”

Of course he had to. If there wasn’t anything that felt weirder than sitting so close to another man like this, it was sitting close to another man and putting his arms around his waist. Once Kenpachi felt the arms go around his waist he hit the gas. Ichigo was startled into gripping even harder against his stomach.

Yachiru squealed happily and leaned forward in her seat as they went even fast. Once Ichigo got over the initial adrenaline rush, he started to enjoy the feel of air rushing past his face and the bike between his legs. He also noticed the body he was clinging to. Oh gods! He loosened his grip and relaxed slightly. He was definitely right in his initial assumption that Kenpachi was strong.

Kenpachi liked the feeling of Ichigo’s arms around him. He had thought at first that Ichigo was weak, but he had proved himself strong in a fight, and now with his arms around his torso, Kenpachi could also feel the physical strength as well. Not in Kenpachi’s league, but not scrawny in any sense of the word.

They were almost out of the city and there was a long stretch of high way mostly clear of cars. Kenpachi grinned crazily and pulled back on the throttle, making Ichigo yelp audibly and tighten his arms. Yachiru laughed and raised her hands in the air in excitement. Ichigo pressed his body close to Kenpachi’s back and laid his head on his back with his eyes squinted shut.

He felt Kenpachi chuckle and it made him scowl. That damn bastard! They took an exit at the same high speed and Ichigo swore they must be parallel with the damn pavement as they took that turn; it was only the side car that convinced him otherwise. That side car must have lifted up in the air a good foot though. Ichigo was very thankful for it serving as a counter balance to their weight.

They finally slowed down as they went into a more forested area and finally pulled into the castle. Ichigo shakily got off of the bike and glared at Kenpachi who was smirking at him. He took off the helmet and had to dodge Kenpachi’s hand that was trying to ruffle his hair.

Yachiru leaped onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Ichi-chan! Did you have fun?”

Ichigo glowered at Kenpachi, but smiled at Yachiru, “Yeah.”

“Yay!” She hopped off and ran into the castle.

“Did you enjoy that Strawberry?”

“Who could enjoy themselves on that death trap!?”

Laughing, Kenpachi strolled to the castle, “I know you did. Even as scared as you were, you had fun.”

“Hey! I wasn’t scared!”

“Sure Strawberry, the arms locked around me said otherwise.”

“They were not locked around you…” Ichigo mumbled, and then his eyes flared with anger, “And it’s not Strawberry!”

“First we got to get you suited with a weapon.” Ichigo looked at him with interest. “It’s not hard, try out a few of the swords or whatever else and seeing which one works best for you with balance and length et cetera.”

Ichigo nodded thoughtfully as Kenpachi showed him into the weapons room. There was much more to it than the weapons rack in the courtyard that was solely for practicing. There were so many different kinds of weapons, even hatchets. Ichigo looked around hesitatingly, but he knew that he was going right for the swords.

Ichigo was strong, but he was also fast so he didn’t want to get a sword that was so heavy it was hard to move around, regardless of whether he could carry it or not. If the sword was too long or the balance was off he would have to work harder to keep the tip up, he picked a few swords up experimentally, but none of them felt quite right.

He glanced at Kenpachi who had taken off the jacket and was leaning against the door frame casually with his arms crossed. If there had been a woman in the room Ichigo would have accused him of using that pose to bring more attention to his muscles and body. Never mind that it drew Ichigo’s attention.

“How did you figure it out?”

Kenpachi shrugged, “Just got something that wouldn’t break if I swung it with all of my strength that was sharp.”

Ichigo rolled his eyes, like that was any help to him. He turned back to the swords and studied them. There was one in the corner that was calling out to him, it was completely black, the handle the hilt and the blade itself. The sheath beside it was white. He lifted the sword up and felt it settle into his grip. He twisted it through the air a few times experimentally and smiled. Yes, this one was it.

“I see I am going to have to teach you how to use it.” Kenpachi’s voice broke through his revelry of the sword.

Ichigo frowned at him, but he knew that he had no experience fighting with a sword. He was used to fighting with his body and reiatsu.

“Come on, let’s go outside.”

Kenpachi had apparently gotten his own sword while Ichigo was looking around; it was very long and serrated irregularly along its length. It looked dangerous, even more so in Kenpachi’s hands. Ichigo suddenly was not getting a very good feeling about this fight. He had no idea what Kenpachi was capable of…he wouldn’t like…kill him…would he?

Maybe not, but better safe than dead. Kenpachi had taken him out to the courtyard. “Since you don’t know anything about fighting,” Ichigo opened his mouth to say something but was cut off, “since you don’t know anything about sword fighting, I’m going to go over the basics with you. It wouldn’t be fun if I beat you so easily. Don’t get any ideas about me being a mentor, I just know you have potential and I want some good fights from you.”

Ichigo snorted, “You shouldn’t worry about that.”

Kenpachi grinned, “I figured, just thought I should lay it down now.”

Ichigo nodded.

“Good, then. First thing is your stance. If you defended yourself in that position you would be easily over powered or forced around. What you want to do is be able to protect yourself from the attack and be able stand your ground against it.”

He glanced over Ichigo’s form with a grin. “You’re strong, so you probably won’t have any problem with that, but if you don’t put your strength into catching the attack and pushing back, then that strength goes to waste.”

Kenpachi went into his own defense pose with his knees slightly bent and his sword slightly raised with both of his hands gripping it. “Stand like me.” Ichigo looked a little unsure, but tried to mirror it. “You’re not bending your knees right.”

“I’m bending them just like you!”

“No your not- here, like this.” Kenpachi set his sword aside and moved behind Ichigo, using his leg to spread Ichigo’s legs a little farther apart and then he grabbed his hips. “Settle your weight on your toes, not the balls of your feet.” Ichigo blushed red and did as he asked. “That’s good Strawberry.”

“Ichigo!”

Kenpachi moved his body away from Ichigo although he wanted to stay in that position and tease the berry a little longer. “Now I’m going to attack you.”

“What? Aren’t we going to use practice swords. We could hurt each other.”

Kenpachi laughed, “You can heal your wounds and nothing can cut me.”

“I don’t want to test how much I can heal, and what do you mean nothing can cut you.”

“I promise not to do anything too life threatening to you and one of my powers is that nothing can pierce my skin.”

Ichigo looked a little dubious, but raised his sword anyways Kenpachi came at him fast, swinging his sword down in a flash that Ichigo barely caught. He brought his sword up to meet Kenpachi’s and it felt like a tremor went through his body, resonating from his arms. Fuck this guy was strong!

Kenpachi grinned down at him menacingly and pulled himself away from Ichigo.

“Good! Not many can defend against one of my attacks.” He pulled away and attacked again. This went on for most of the afternoon until they took a break for food around 4.

They hung out in the large kitchen while Kenpachi pulled out stuff for sandwiches, most of it consisted of left over roast beef with some vegetables and spread brought out as after thought. Ichigo rolled his eyes and made him sandwich with a moderate amount of meat while Kenpachi pretty much just took the cow and put some crackers on either side of it.

After eating, Ichigo stretched his body out and checked the time. “I should probably go home now.”

Ichigo wouldn’t call what Kenpachi did as pouting, but it was definitely a disgruntled look. “If you lived here it wouldn’t be a problem.” Ichigo rolled his eyes.

“I have to finish school; it’s only for another month.” Kenpachi grunted in response. “I also have school tomorrow, so I couldn’t stay longer anyways.”

Kenpachi snorted, “Whatever man. But we are going to continue this fight tomorrow.”

“I just said I have school tomorrow. And wasn’t it more like you teaching me how to fight, than a fight?”

“Eh, same difference. And come after school.”

“And if I say no?”

“Then I come to get you in the middle of school whether you want to or not.”

Ichigo sighed and shook his head. “I’ll talk to my dad tonight; he probably won’t like me going out yet again.”

Kenpachi snorted and stood up, stretching his hands above his head and cracking his back. His shirt rose up to reveal a bit of his stomach that was tan and toned. Ichigo looked away immediately making Kenpachi laugh.

“You could always tell him I’m taking you on another date. That would make him happy.”

In the middle of taking a sip of his drink, Ichigo sputtered and coughed, then glared at Kenpachi.

“Asshole. What’s your number so I can call?”

“Ahh, and here I was thinking you would never ask.”

Glaring, Ichigo typed the number into his cell phone and saved it into his contacts list. Kenpachi went to go get his jacket and Ichigo pulled his on as well as his gloves. They both went outside with Ichigo in front. Kenpachi had been watching the boy all day, but he had to say that this was the best view yet.

Strawberry didn’t walk in a feminine or masculine way, and Kenpachi liked it. Kenpachi was never very fond of the male sex in a romantic way, but little Berry had such a nice ass he couldn’t help but watch it. The kid had a nice body and an even nicer ass.

Forcing his eyes away from the view, Kenpachi moved to the bike to remove the side car. “Pinky not coming with us?”

“No, it’s more fun without the side car anyways; you can go faster and lean into the curves.”

Mentally gulping, Ichigo put the helmet on and climbed behind Kenpachi and put his arms around his waist. ‘I’m going to have to get him his own jacket.’ Thought Kenpachi, he could just picture the little berry in a stiff leather jacket with all the zippers and that scowl on his face, he would look absolutely adorable.

Kenpachi drove the motorcycle even faster than before just for the amusement of Ichigo clutching onto him like he was a life line. Although he supposed, that was just what he was to Ichigo on the bike. It still amused him though.

They arrived safely at Ichigo’s house much to Ichigo’s relief. He got off hastily and gave the helmet back to Kenpachi.

“Um, Kenpachi thanks. I know you’re just doing it because you want me to get strong enough to fight, but it’s still cool.”

“No problem Berry.”

“Ye- wait, Berry? What happened to Strawberry?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. No problem Strawberry.”

“It’s Ichigo!”

“I thought it was Strawberry?”

“Ugh! I’ll call you later.”

“Later Berry.”

“Ichigo!”

His dad, unfortunately, was very willing to let him go on another ‘date.’ Why couldn’t his dad be normal? So he called Kenpachi after dinner and tried not to chuckle at the excited squealing of Yachiru in the background.

“My dad said I could go again today.”

“Good, I’ll pick you up from school.”

“Couldn’t you pick me up from my house? I want to drop off my stuff and change.”

Kenpachi grunted, “I’ll pick you up at school and then drive you to your house. It’ll be faster that way.”

“You’re pretty eager to see me, huh?”

“Who wouldn’t be eager to have a Strawberry like you around?” Ichigo cursed at him and then hung up.

Across the city Kenpachi was hanging up his own phone and stretching out on the couch. “You like Ichi-chan, don’t you Ken-chan?” Yachiru asked curiously.

“Hn, he’s a pretty good sword fighter for someone who hasn’t ever been taught. It’s fun sparring around with him. It will be even better when he knows more.”

“Do you want him to join our pair, Ken-chan?” Yachiru asked happily.

“Hn, yeah. But that decision is not up to us, it’s up to Byakuya. I’ll ask though.”

“Good! I like Ichi-chan, and I like how Ichi-chan makes Ken-chan act.”

“Hn?” Kenpachi raised an eyebrow at Yachiru, asking her to explain her statement.

“Ken-chan is a lot more playful with Ichi around.”

“Yeah, that Ichi-berry is too fun to tease.”

“Ichi-berry! What a good nickname.”

Kenpachi chuckled evilly, “Use it. But don’t tell him you got it from me; tell him you heard that Kuchiki girl saying it.”

“Okay Ken-chan!”

Please review guys! I’m putting a lot of effort into this and it makes me feel underappreciated when the number of views are far great than the amount of reviews. If you like it or dislike it, tell me so!