Resurrection

This chapter is dedicated to all my wonderful reviewers!!!

Resurrection: Chapter 8 The Kiss that Never Happened

Nnoitra’s POV

I could hold my liquor, and I never stayed drunk for long when I actually did manage to get intoxicated. Therefore when I woke up the next morning, I remembered everything from last night. Especially a certain memory concerning the orange-haired Shinigami still sleeping softly in his bed with his back to me.

Remembered everything about the kiss.

I clutched my head and frowned as the //feelings// I had came back to me. How it felt. How it tasted. Shit, shit, shit. No way did I fucking kiss him. A guy. There is just no fucking way. I hit my head with the palm of my head a few times for good measure. It was just a stupid, drunken mistake. That’s all. Ichigo wasn’t even awake and participating, so it doesn’t count as a kiss. We didn’t kiss!

With that solved and a load off my chest I stood up and stretched, my eyes flickering over to Ichigo unintentionally. He had half-heartedly pulled up the blankets in the middle of the night and they rested on his hips. The kimono he had put on yesterday had somehow managed to undo itself and slip out of one arm, leaving Ichigo’s entire back exposed. Scars littered his back, some raised and pink, others just lines of silver decorating his skin.

I shouldn’t be looking at him. So I crossed the room and tugged up his blanket, my knuckles grazing his skin as I settled them around his shoulder. Ichigo mumbled something in his sleep and snuggled his head against the pillow. Barely aware I was doing it I brushed my hand over his hair and then jerked it away.

I need to take a bath. Then I’ll come back and make Ichigo get up. Then we’ll fight and everything will be back to normal.

We didn’t kiss.

Ichigo’s POV

I wasn’t as drunk as Nnoitra thought I was last night. I remember lying on the floor and loving how cool it was against my flesh, then Nnoitra lifted me up and set me on the bed. I relaxed my body in pleasure at the much softer surface and almost didn’t notice when something brushed against my lips, but then something warm and wet moved across my lips and I had to fight the urge not to squirm.

…What?

The pressure returned and this time it was unmistakably a kiss and a tongue darting past my lips. I didn’t move so he wouldn’t know that I was awake, although I found it…interesting. Then he stopped and I instantly missed it.

When I woke up the next morning it was to a light weight being settled around my shoulders and skin brushing my own. I let out a little mumble of contentment and cuddled closer to the warm bed, then awareness came over me as a slightly cold hand touched my temple and stroked my hair before pulling away abruptly. Oh yeah, that’s right. Nnoitra. Did he remember kissing me? He thought I was asleep… oh shit. It isn’t supposed to be like this!

I sighed in relief as I heard the door click shut and opened my eyes. Nnoitra only kissed me because he was drunk and had no idea what he was doing. But now I had these uncomfortable feelings for him that were, well, uncomfortable. Shit. The bastard probably didn’t even remember what happened. I pulled the covers over my head and curled up into a ball. I should just pretend it didn’t happen.

We didn’t kiss.

Nnoitra’s POV

Taking a quick shower helped refresh me a little. I grabbed some breakfast (something for Ichigo too) and went back to the room knowing that nothing happened. It was just any other day. I nudged the door open with my foot and nearly dropped the food at the sight. It was something I had seen before, but that was before the kiss that didn’t happen. He was still wearing his blue hakama…but no kimono. And he had the nerve to react to me the same way he always did.

“Morning, Nnoitra.” He said, yawning and giving a stretch as he grabbed a kimono. “Did ya get breakfast.”

“Ch. Yeah.” I grumbled and looked away as he grabbed a plate from me.

“Thanks.” He replied and began stuffing his face with food.

“We need to fight.” I said with a frown, sitting on the floor to scarf my own food down. He blinked at me with those brown eyes of his and gave a shrug.

“Can you wait until I’ve finished digesting?”

“Whatever. I just need to hurt something.” To forget.

“Glad to be of service.” He smiled at me and I knew he meant it despite his sarcastic tone.

Ichigo’s POV

I groaned as I nudged one of my bruises, Nnoitra was particularly intense today and had given me more injuries than I had managed to give him. I wondered if maybe he had remembered the kiss, but shook the thought out of my head. He hadn’t acted any different when he had brought breakfast this morning, so he probably didn’t. But if I did…maybe he did.

I shifted in the hot springs again with a heavy sigh. I had it to myself today, the other students probably sleeping off the night before still. Nnoitra was back in the room thankfully, I didn’t know if I would accidentally let something slip. It would be better if I forgot about it. About the kiss that never happened. Fuck, this was far more stressful than the exams.
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The week long break went by fast. Nnoitra and I relaxed back into each other’s presence immediately, neither of us mentioning the kiss that he didn’t know I knew about. I was refreshed and ready to take on another semester, the last one. Finally.

In Kido we were put into our team of threes. I was in team 3 with Nnoitra- predictably- and Okkuu Hito. I didn’t like him. His nose seemed permanently turned up and he told both of us right of the bat that we were unworthy of being in the same team as him. Nnoitra didn’t like him either. 10 minutes into our first team building exercise Nnoitra sent a bolt of white lightening at Okkuu that would normally just be basic kido, but with Nnoitra’s large spiritual pressure, it did enough damage to create a hole in his abdomen and was rushed immediately to the fourth division in critical condition.

He didn’t even bother trying to look innocent. He just gave Mahou sensei a large smirk and yawned. I had to stifle a snicker. All right, so maybe that was a little extreme, but I’m glad the irritating bastard was off of our team. Mahou just sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose in between his fingers and waved at us dismissively.

“You know what? I don’t care. You two can be in your own team. I doubt anybody else would survive anyway.” The rest of the class looked relieved and we continued on.

It was strange. Nnoitra and I were use to fighting each other as well as other Shinigami…but we weren’t used to working as a team at fighting others. It will take a lot of work to be able to move with each other instead of against each other. Nnoitra didn’t mind beating down an opponent who was already injured, but he preferred to fight one-on-one. It took the fun out of things if the enemy was so easy to defeat.

I tried hard to pay attention as Mahou explained yet another team building exercise for us to complete on our own time. Nnoitra and I shared a disgruntled glance. Looks like homework was going to cut into our much needed beat-each-other-until-we-can’t-stand time. At least it’s fighting and not bookwork. Thank god for small miracles. In Kendo, Foot Work and Hand Combat we were also given exercises that we needed to complete outside of class. Luckily they weren’t all team-building, but still.

For the Hand Combat homework I waited until everyone was in bed and asleep before I crept out to the practice arena. With a heavy sigh I gripped the pull-up bars with my hands and pulled my self up, shifting my grip so I rested my stomach on the bar. Rocking my legs back and then forward, I flipped around the bar and then extended my legs straight in the air so I was doing a hand stand on the bar. My entire body tensed as I fought to hold the position.

Sentou sensei told me that by the end of two weeks I had to not only hold this position for 10 minutes, but do it with one hand. The purpose was to focus my concentration on my body and center my reiatsu. Already my concentration was broken and my body’s balance tipped over, making me drop my legs. I sighed and flipped off the bar, landing on the ground with a loud thump.

Nnoitra didn’t know this, but I had become quite attuned to his presence. Even now I could feel him watching me from the shadows, probably leaning against a wall with his arms crossed over his chest. He didn’t announce himself, just walked forward as soon as he knew I was aware of him.

“I see you’ve gotten better at reading reiatsu.” He drawled, stepping out into the moonlight.

“Nah, I just know when you’re there.”

“Tch.” Nnoitra narrowed his eyes. “What the fuck are you doing out here?”

“Homework.”

“You look like one of those woman acrobats when you do that.”

I blushed as he poked at the sensitive subject I had tried to avoid when practicing the ‘dance’ fighting. “Shut up.” I mumbled. “Lots of men do Capoeira.”

“Yeah, but they don’t make it look girly.”

“You wanna fight?” I growled, my hand reaching for Zangetsu who I had set aside earlier.

“Chill out, Shinigami. I was just coming out to see where you had gone.” Nnoitra grinned but I wasn’t convinced.

“What do you care where I’ve gone?” I said snidely and grabbed the bar again, swinging my body into the air and breathing slowly as I balanced myself once more.

“I was curious. Thought maybe you had gone off to bone somebody.”

My eyes snapped open and I let my body fall once more, dropping to the ground and glaring at Nnoitra who was actually frowning for once. “Sh-shut up!” I stuttered out. “I’m not that kind of person! And why do you care?”

“Who said I did?” His frown deepened and now he was actually scowling at me in displeasure.

“You followed me out here to find out!”

And then he was in front of me, a scary glint in his eyes as he loomed over me. “What was that, Shinigami?”

My hand groped behind me for Zangetsu, but he grabbed my wrists in his hand in a crushing grip and leaned over so his face hovered above mine. “I- I was just-

“Just what?”

I could feel myself turning red at his closeness and the memory of the kiss that never happened. His eyes flitted to my lips which I was biting and he let go of my wrist to grab my chin. “I was just curious.” He said.

“Right.” I agreed, my entire body tense.

“That’s all.”

“Of course.” I nodded as much as I could with him holding my chin still.

He leaned closer and out breath mingled for a second before he pulled away. “Don’t get to sleep too late, you get bitchy.”

I remained frozen for a few minutes after he left. We hadn’t kissed…but even somebody as oblivious as me knew that it was close. What did that make us? From the argument we had before I knew that Nnoitra was avidly opposed to being gay, if not homophobic. So why was he sending these mixed signals?

And why was I so disappointed when he pulled away?

LINE

Heh, so Okkuu Hito is literally translated as ‘annoying man.’ Remember, I don’t know any Japanese- I just do a free translation on the web so I still use at least Japanese-sounding names. Don’t bother trying to remember him, you probably won’t see him anymore.

Next chapter will start off with Nnoitra’s POV of this last part. Do you guys think I’m managing to keep them as in-character as possible while still getting them together?