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Arms behind his back - not by choice, mind you - and a mix between a scowl and a smile, Ichigo got another knee to the face. He could still feel all his teeth intact, the taste of his own blood on his tongue. The sun was setting, its glare shining from behind the one who just kneed him in the face.
He was another delinquent who decided to pick a fight with Ichigo. Well, if it was just him picking the fight, the bastard’s face would be so bruised up you could only tell who he was by where his piercings were. Ichigo shifted his face to a grin, maybe he could freak them out into giving up.
If he wanted a fight with Ichigo so badly, he should have come on his own instead of bringing his friends.
Coward.
Well, it’s not like Ichigo couldn’t handle the lot of them. He did it with the ones that ganged up on Chad, though there was a difference between then and now.
They caught him off guard .
He barely registered the punch to his face, with all the pain it already had. Would it bother them to hit him somewhere else? Even if it was more pain, he’d appreciate any distraction right now.
He focused on the shadows stretching and shifting with the movement of the gang of cowards.
Another punch, but something about this one felt different. He didn’t dodge it; there was no way in hell he could have done that but he didn’t feel it connect.
The blood on his tongue tasted a bit… different.
He could feel something in his mouth. Large, a tad salty, a few distinct bumps.
“HE BIT ME! WHAT THE HELL?!”
That bumpy feeling was the delinquent’s knuckles and the different taste was his blood. Ichigo bit down harder, the edges of his mouth curling into a grin. The bully jerked his fist out of Ichigo’s mouth, some skin coming off in the process.
“You taste disgusting.” Ichigo spat out the skin and some blood, still smiling. The other teen’s knuckles oozed with blood, Ichigo’s grin widening looking at what he did.
“If you don’t want to die, go to a hospital. The human mouth is a cesspool of bacteria, you know.” Ichigo didn’t feel like being blamed for the death of someone when he wasn’t the idiot who started it. Also, it wouldn’t have been Ichigo that killed him; it would have been the bacteria.
He looked up, finding the smallest amount of fear in the other’s eyes. It just kept his grin on for longer. The delinquent’s mouth twitched, looking down at Ichigo with a mix he could only describe as fear and indecisiveness.
He turned on his heel, telling his lackeys to let Ichigo go.
He heard them calling Ichigo everything from ‘monster’ to ‘psycho’ to ‘the next Tsutomo Miyazaki’. He was almost tempted to start a fight with them over that last one, but Ichigo needed to tend to his wounds.
He went to walk out of the alley, his legs a tad shaky. That was probably because he was being restrained from an odd angle.
It couldn’t have been from blood loss.
Maybe one too many hits to the…
Ichigo slumped against the wall near the alley, struggling to keep his eyes open. He tried pushing himself up, only for his legs to wobble. Ok, looks like he wouldn’t be the one making it home.
“Zan, you’re getting me home. Stay out of trouble, ‘kay?” Ichigo closed his eyes, feeling his consciousness fade.
“ Alright, King. I won’t mess with the rats. ” Zangetsu got up, shaking his head. For kami’s sake, this was gonna be one helluva headache. How fucking dare those asshats do this to Ichigo.
He could deal with what he wanted later. What Ichigo needed now was to get back home, and if Isshin wasn’t busy, some treatment.
If Goatface was busy, Zangetsu knew how to treat their body. And if his memory was right, then there should be some painkillers in that first aid box under Ichigo’s bed. He gritted their teeth, walking down the sidewalk.
Ough, this headache was a bitch.
Fuck it, Urahara’s is closer.
That ring of the shop’s doorbell almost makes him want to rip the thing out of wherever the hell it was and stomp on it.
“ HAT AN’ CLOGS! YORUICHI! TESSAI! ANYONE HOME?! ” Their teeth ached, no, their whole face felt like death warmed over. For a moment, he considered stealing some ibuprofen if the shop had any.
Wait… This was a candy shop.
FUCK!
There goes his plans of petty theft.
Well, at least that tell-tale clack of geta sandals told him he’d be relieved of their pain soon enough.
“Kurosaki or Zangetsu? Whichever one you are, you look hell!”
“ Zangetsu. ” He flipped Urahara off before telling him what happened to Ichigo. His tone is full of anger for most of it, Urahara throwing him a sympathetic glance.
“I’ll get you some painkillers.” Urahara made a ‘come here’ motion, Zangetsu following. He nearly fell on their face, Urahara catching him. He made no snide remark or joke. There wasn’t even a jab at his Hollow nature.
Seemed like Urahara could be serious when he wanted to.
Half a Xanax and some bandages later, he’s home.
Now would come the real headache: telling Isshin why he went to Urahara instead of him.