[Dicontinued] Fire and Ice

Discontinued. Thank you.

AN / So, we, R. Brightside and BrucesGirl, have moved this story to our shared account, because BrucesGirl will be leaving the AFF community. However, Brightside is staying on, and so you'll be kept posted both on here and on y!Gallery, which is where BrucesGirl will be cross-posting Fire and Ice. Thank you for all your support, everyone - we had the statistics of this when it was discontinued, don't be fooled!

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Thank you everyone for all of your support, and we hope you enjoy the last chapters of Fire and Ice when they come :3 Check this account for the other things we do, because I'll definately be keeping this up to date!

Love and hugs and a cuppa tea,

--R.A.Z.B (R. Brightside)


Title: Fire and Ice

Author: BrucesGirl and R. Brightside

Pairings: Kurosaki Ichigo/Kuchiki Byakuya (Hints of Other Pairings)

Summary: Ichigo is called to replace Renji as Vice Captain temporarily. Sparks fly between Byakuya and Kurosaki, and they aren’t necessarily the nice sparks.

Warnings: Yaoi, Anal, UST, Angst, Hot Man Sex

Disclaimer: We don’t own Bleach or Ichigo or Byakuya because we are not Kubo Tite. If we had a chance to, however, we would steal Kubo-san and hide him in our basement.

Chapter 1: Introductions and Dismissals

It was ridiculous how all of Sereitei went into an uproar as the substitute Shinigami arrived with his friends. They were considered heroes, and Byakuya found himself disgusted with the uproar over a mongrel street rat human with no noble blood. So who cared if his father was Kurosaki Isshin? Just because his father had been a powerful Shinigami didn’t mean that the orange haired bastard was worth anything. He had no breeding to speak of.

He serenely walked down the halls of the captains’ offices, the terrace letting in bright sunshine and fresh air. His scarf flowed along behind him delicately as he walked, commanding the admiring stares of lower ranked Shinigami and a few high seats as well. Renji would be back as well. Byakuya had missed him, but his stoic face would have never had shown it. He was mongrel like the rest of the trash off the streets, but at least the redheaded man had redeeming qualities.

“Kuchiki-Taicho!” Out of respect, Byakuya stopped as Kaname Tousen’s Vice Captain rounded the corner. Byakuya almost felt for the boy, but he seemed strong enough to be able to handle the squad by himself. Once he mastered Bankai, he would be an excellent captain and a formidable opponent. Shuuhei found his way to front of the stoic captain and went to a knee respectfully in front of him. “Your presence has been requested at the banquet this evening by Hitsugaya-Taicho. He said that you’d be willing to come if you were invited.” Shuuhei winced as he waited for Byakuya to lop his head off.

“I will come.” Byakuya answered before stepping around the vice captain and not sparing him a second glance.

Ichigo was sitting on one of the thicker, lower branches of one of the smaller trees in Soul Society, his head leaning against the trunk. His hazel eyes were half-closed, his mind whirring with thoughts. He'd been placed as temporary vice captain for 6th Squad, as a replacement for Renji, and he knew that as soon as Byakuya got the news, he wouldn't be happy - at all. Ichigo sighed, leaning forward and then flopping backwards again, his head making a loud 'thud' against the wood.

He'd been invited to this banquet by Hitsugaya-taicho (he supposed that it was good manners to call his now-superiors by their title), and apparently, everyone was going to be there. The sky was starting to darken, signaling that he should most likely get to the banquet. He'd been sitting on this branch all day, after all. He sighed, sliding off of his perch and landing neatly on both feet, which felt like rubber from not moving for hours. The orange-haired teen sighed, and ran a hand through his hair as he started walking towards where he'd been instructed to, not anticipating to meet anyone on the way.

When Byakuya turned the corner, there was a flash of orange hair, and the teenage human was standing there, looking up into a tree before he stepped away from it. When he turned, he was facing Byakuya, and inside, the stoic Shinigami cringed and rolled his eyes. It would just so happen that he would run into the bastard on the way to the banquet.

His usual pale ivory scarf had been exchanged by a navy blue obi and a deep silver wrap that draped around his throat delicately, complimenting the tint of his eyes brightly. He attempted to pass Ichigo, hopefully avoiding the ignorant dog, but in the back of his mind, he knew Ichigo would never leave him alone.

Ichigo looked surprised at running into Byakuya, but he bowed his head in respect. "Kuchiki-Taichou." His voice was still loud, as per usual, but it didn't have a jarring edge to it - it was softer, a lighter was of speaking. He looked over Byakuya swift and subtle, the beautiful colors complimenting the man in front of him.

To an extent, he looked stunning. He didn't dare voice that, however as he preferred to have his innards intact instead of three feet away. He followed after his captain; after all, if he had to go to this banquet, then he'd do so with company if it was offered. Of course, it hadn't been. "Ne, Taichou, did you get invited to the banquet as well?"

A stupid question, but hopefully it would start off some conversation. After all, nights in Soul Society were much too quiet for his liking. Byakuya only kept walking, his calm steps lighter and soundless compared to the light clomps of Ichigo’s sandals on the terrace boards. They rounded another corner that led into the great hall, and Byakuya stopped. “Stop following me.” It was neither vicious nor rude, but it still held a warning in it that was carried clear in the emotionless tone.

"'M just headed the same way you are, Kuchiki-Taichou." Ichigo's tone was slightly mocking, but was more an undertone to his currently annoyed voice. "Besides, I'm replacing Renji until he's well again. So I suppose it's only right that we show up to events with each other, ne?" He tucked his hands behind his head, looking across at the equally tall Shinigami. He wondered -- maybe he'd spoiled a surprise.

Inside, Byakuya was steaming. He wanted to run Senbonzakura through the heart of the bastard that made THAT decision, but on the outside, nothing changed except an annoyed flicker in his beautiful blue eyes. “You are a useless nuisance.”

He raised his chin haughtily and strode past Ichigo, right to his seat next to Shunsui and gracefully sat down. All of the captains glanced at him before continuing the banter, and the vice captain’s seat next to him would remain empty until Ichigo claimed it.

“Kuchiki-Taicho, would you pass the sake, please, before Shunsui consumes all of it?” Ukitake smiled at Byakuya. The nobleman passed the sake before pouring some in his cup out of politeness, and as a result, Ukitake filled Byakuya’s cup first. The old Shinigami always had a soft spot for beautiful, polite boys like Kuchiki-taicho.

“Itadakimasu!” Shuuhei called, and everyone joined in. And the seat at Byakuya’s side was blissfully empty. For a moment.

Ichigo took the seat next to Byakuya (to be honest, he was as unhappy about sitting next to the disagreeable captain as the captain was pissed about him sitting there), and sat in silence. He wondered why he was chosen to fill in, when the spot could have been filled by one of the 6th Division, but he supposed it was a punishment of sorts for ruining Rukia's execution.

He murmured the blessing along with everyone else as he sat, glancing over at Hitsugaya, hiding a glare. He was very sure that the tiny captain was behind all of this, but that frowning face said nothing. He sighed, and refused the sake when it was passed to him.

He'd had one hell of a hangover the last time - and he didn't want that to happen again. He didn't eat, too much on his mind to do so. He wasn't hungry, any way - he'd had some dango earlier on in the day, when Chad had passed by with extra food. Damn, he needed to put on weight - most of the weight he had was muscle, after all.

Byakuya eyes drifted down to Ichigo’s empty plate, and right as Ukitaki leaned to pour Ichigo some sake, Byakuya’s hand shot out. There was no expression on his face, but feminine hand covered the small sake saucer, and the other captain nodded in understanding and sat back. It was polite to offer a few times, but it seemed that Kuchiki didn’t want his Vice Captain drinking for some reason

Promptly, a lower rank Shinigami offered Ichigo some rice milk in place of the sake, and he sat it down with a boy. “This is for you, Kurosaki-fukutaicho.” He scurried away, and Byakuya gently set an onigiri, a simple food, on Ichigo’s plate. The table stopped.

Shuuhei’s jaw dropped, and Unohana-taicho, the beautiful, quiet leader of the 4th division medical staff who sat on Ichigo’s other side smiled to herself quietly. Just as the action had stopped the table’s life, it restarted, the conversation lively as ever. Ichigo eyed the plate for a moment, still as he watched Byakuya resume his graceful eating.

Byakuya sat quietly, sipping sake next to Shunsui and nibbling some of the appetizers and cookies. Ichigo figured that it wasn’t a surprise that Byakuya as elegantly as he carried himself. The older Shinigami, Shunsui, spoke happily to Ukitake, both having been the first two captains to arise, and both close in friendship and in love. It was no secret that they were lovers, but no one seemed to mind.

“Eat, Ichigo-san.” Unohana-taicho offered in her gentle, soothing voice. “It’s an honor that a Kuchiki has served you.”

In secret, Byakuya just wanted the boy fit for work, but let them think he was a humanitarian. It meant the mongrel would more than likely eat instead of waste away.

Ichigo sighed. Well, there was no helping it. He lifted the onigiri to his mouth and took a bite, holding back the repulsion he felt at having something in his stomach. He swallowed the rice, and sighed. Well, at least Byakuya seemed to have shoved his pride away.

He took a sip of the rice milk, and managed to finish his onigiri before standing, bowing to the captains, and he left without so much as a word to Byakuya. An indignant gasp followed Ichigo’s leaving, and Shunsui moved to retrieve him, but a gentle, lithe hand stopped him, and he sat back down next to Byakuya, his eyes gentle. “Whatever you want, kid.” He offered gently. Byakuya could have slapped anyone else for calling him that, but coming from Shunsui, he tolerated it gracefully. He would deal with Ichigo when the time was right.

Being back in Soul Society... it was more than strange. All The Shinigami treated him as if though he were a foreigner even though he carried his massive Zanpaktou strapped to his back. He realized that it was likely a disrespect to have left his captain behind, but he wasn't apart of this place... nor was he apart of their rules.

He was merely a temporary Shinigami...And he supposed that that was what was making him angry - he was merely a temporary Shinigami, when he could beat near enough all of the Vice Captains and at least three captains. He sighed, a frown creasing his forehead, and leant against the nearest wall, fighting the urge to punch it. After all, he'd probably break his knuckles doing that.

Meanwhile, a young man came to Ichigo and bowed. “Konichiwa, Kurosaki-fukutaicho. You’ll be staying at the Kuchiki manner. Please follow me!”
The boy was young, and bright green eyes shone out from a mess of thick blonde hair on his head. “Byakuya-sama said you’d like the room with all of the human things Rukia brought back!”

Ichigo followed after the younger boy, his eyebrow quirking. "...Aa."

The Kuchiki Manor was huge, and the orange-haired Shinigami managed to stop his jaw from dropping as he was led into the house, which seemed ever bigger than the outside, all sliding doors and beautiful paintings. Of course, the wonder of the place was slightly ruined by the fact he'd be in the same house as Byakuya.

The room he was given was large, and had various things in it.
In fact, he thought he recognized some of the stuff... but hadn't all that gone missing in his room? Of course... Rukia must have taken it. Sneak.

The boy questionned him ('Do you need anything, Kurosaki-fukutaicho? Are you thirsty, Kurosaki-fukutaicho?') and after he left, Ichigo shed himself of his Shinigami robes, and looked down at his chest. His ribs stood out, scar-riddled and gaunt-looking.

He frowned, and collapsed onto the bed he had been given, not bothering to pull up the sheets. He closed his eyes, and waited for sleep to engulf him, yet in vain. He remained awake, hands tucked behind his head with his eyes closed.

Byakuya arrived when the moon was high, and the servants scurried around him, taking his scarf, helping him with his shoes, offering him his evening drink, and helping him out of his robes. Ichigo shifted in his bed, listening to them fuss over the man, surprised he didn’t send them away with a harsh word.

In fact, by the sounds, it seemed as if though he were rather gentle with his servants. Byakuya nodded in appreciation to them and sent them home, his own footsteps causing the boards to barely creak underneath his feet. Ichigo heard the near-silent taps of Byakuya's bare feet, but ignored it, turning his back to the door. He'd explore tomorrow, but until then, he'd try and sleep. The captain was so full of himself, and it made him sick to his stomach.

The door to Ichigo’s room was left open to the terrace, and he passed it, not bothering to look in. He didn’t care about the mongrel. Stopping at a corner of the terrace, he bowed his head to the shrine of Hisana. He sat on his knees in front of it and closed his eyes, his hands resting elegantly on his thighs.

Byakuya relit the candles on the shrine, his thoughts straying to Ichigo. The teen was his vice captain for the next month or so, and Kuchiki or not, Ichigo wouldn't hesitate to punch him if he got on his nerves. Byakuya was fully aware of Ichigo’s tendencies, and he turned, disappearing into his room across the terrace walk. Ichigo growled softly at the haughty silence before falling into a light, pleasant sleep.

Next: Chapter 2: The Difference Between Dominance and Authority

…A servant burst down the hall and into Ichigo’s room, his dark eyes wide. “Kurosaki-dono! Kuchiki-sama is having a nightmare and we can’t wake him up!”

Ichigo sat straight up, and swore, running down into the hallway and into Byakuya's room, launching towards to bed and holding the writhing Shinigami down with some difficulty. He tried simply holding Byakuya down, and then gave up with his method. It seemed he'd have to take care of this another way. He wrapped his arms around the dark-haired Shinigami, holding him close to his body and whispering soft, comforting words into his ear. "Byakuya, calm down..."