Disclaimer: I do NOT own bleach. Get this into your thick heads already!
“Normal speech”
‘Thoughts’
Flashback
#11#
The room was silent. The only noise disrupting the choking silence being the tea poured into cups. The nice smell filled the lounge with an aroma of green tea. Once the cup was filled, the man pouring the tea placed the pot down and pushed the cup towards the person adjacent from him. The raven haired man shifted in his place, moving to sit Indian styled as he lifted his own tea and took a deep sniff before drinking a small gulp. He exhaled, eyes closed as he awaited in peaceful silence for the hush to end. The man placed the cup down once more before opening his aquamarine eyes to stare at his orange-haired son which had yet to touch his tea. He eyed the Shiba heir critically, his eyes scanning the deep lines of exhaustion lining the other’s amber eyes and the bandages around his arm.
“Are you sure you don’t want to lie down, Ichigo?”
Ichigo stiffened slightly at the implication before relaxing his shoulders into a somewhat normal posture. He didn’t look up however, and only grasped his cup before taking a small drink.
“No, it’s just a superficial wound. It’ll heal easily.”
Ryōtarō tightened his jaw in retaliation.
“You know I’m not talking about the burn.”
This time, Ichigo was prepared and didn’t show any external motion to show how affected he was by the raven head’s words. He simply took another sip before placing the cup back onto the table.
“Do you remember that night… 250 years ago?”
Something oddly similar to grief made its way onto the Shiba head’s features before it smothered out into a sad smile.
“Yes, of course I do.” He stopped, just for a second before his expression darkened just slightly “What about it?”
Ichigo didn’t answer right away, and Ryōtarō didn’t push him either. He waited, knowing that when Ichigo was ready he would talk and not wanting to push his luck. Either way, the orange head never started a conversation unless he was entitled to finish it, so the raven head had no rush what so ever.
“Remember how… you said… you wouldn’t ask what I don’t want to answer?”
He received a nod in response, and Ichigo was doing everything in his power to not run away and forget about this whole situation. But he had come to a decision, and when he started something, he’d be damned if he didn’t finish.
“Would you like to ask…? I’ll answer so… Would you ask…? I owe you- no, I think you earned the right to know. Therefore… Would you be willing to ask?”
Ryōtarō honestly didn’t know what to think about his current situation. Ichigo had looked dead pale when he had caught him on the roof. He had honestly appeared to be on the verge of tears and that nearly killed the shit out of him. The young Shiba heir hadn’t even said a word when the raven head had inquired on his wellbeing. Hadn’t even looked him in the eye when he had treated his wounds. Yet now, after he had hauled Ichigo into the compound and served him a cup of tea, the orange head was asking him if he was willing to ask. Willing, not wanted or liked to. He had used willing for some strange reason. Like if asking was a challenge itself. And maybe it was. Who knew? It all came back to a single point.
Was he willing to ask?
“What will I find if I decide to ask?”
The orange head shrugged, expression hidden and oddly unreadable even as he took a sip of his tea.
YOU ARE READING
Memories of a Broken Soul
FanfictionTime is a weird thing; it can sometimes bring relief and hope, but there are times that it only brings dread. For him, time was as much of a curse as it was a blessing; he had time to grow strong and protect, but the memories of those times could be...
