Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Seireitei Monogatari ❯ Addiction ( Chapter 67 )

Title: Addiction

Pairings/Characters: Shunsui/Ichigo, Everyone/Ichigo

Rating: T

Warning: Spoilers, Vast Speculation

Words: 933

Description: Inexplicably easy to love, like a drug you can't escape.

 

 

Fortune favors the bold. Or so he had always heard. And well, no one had ever accused him of being meek by any means. Everyone was drawn to the boy, most of them without even knowing. And he was no less affected. But unlike the others, he actually planned on acting on it. He had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

 

It was easy to see why they were all attracted to Kurosaki Ichigo. He was great without trying to be, so damned loyal that it should have been outlawed and impossibly lucky. He would fight for someone, even if they had only known him for a short while. He would die for them if he thought that was what it took. And oftentimes, without knowing it, he was so easy to love, too.

 

The boy was like a drug that couldn't be escaped. Or perhaps people simply wouldn't escape. An addiction that can never be satisfied or given up. It was almost insane how much Ichigo managed to creep under someone's skin without trying. He had the effect of making everyone want to see that smile, to get his interest so that his attention was devoted to them and them alone. Even if it was only as a friend, a single look was enough to ensnare forever.

 

He had a hold on Rukia and Sado; that was easy enough to see. Both were friendship-addicted, in love with the boy in their own special way. Sado thought himself stronger because Ichigo believed in him, and he wanted nothing more than to always be by the his nakama's side, fighting at his back. Rukia-chan was grateful for another honest friendship, someone else who saw only her and not the Kuchiki household she had been brought into. Someone who was willing to risk his life to save her.

 

And there were others, so many others, who had fallen prey to the boy's invisible charms. Some special kind of pheromone that he emitted but couldn't be seen.

 

Orihime-chan had been under Ichigo's spell for years, falling into starry-eyed romance with a boy who was so blind it was almost painful. He couldn't see her growing attraction and interest, and perhaps it might have been better that way. Orihime might not have even seen her own feelings either, even if it was ridiculously obvious to everyone else.

 

Renji was slipping under, too, though he couldn't recognize his situation for what it was. They had a friendly rivalry, a burgeoning friendship, but it was evident something more was brimming beneath the surface. Those casual side-glances, those looks of confused wonder… it all pointed in a fairly apparent direction.

 

Even the ice-cold princess himself was being drawn into Ichigo's unintentional web. Byakuya-bo allowed the substitute Shinigami to speak to him with such familiarity, not at all understanding the reason. A part of the Kuchiki heir could only wonder why he wanted to hear it more and more. Ichigo wasn't afraid of him, didn't bow and scrape. And Byakuya liked it, even if he wouldn't ever say so aloud.

 

Amusingly enough, the same behavior could be seen in their enemies. The same fatal attraction that had infected all the Shinigami was threading its way into their foes.

 

Grimmjow relentlessly chased after Ichigo, demanding fight after fight without knowing why he wanted to see the boy so badly. Time and time again, he received a sound beating, but he kept coming back for more. There was no hope of winning anymore. And now, it was starting to look more like a game. But that didn't stop the Arrancar from showing up like clockwork.

 

The whole “Kidnap Orihime” business was really just a thinly veiled attempt on Aizen's part to get his hands on Ichigo. It could have been for the power that the teen held or his potential, but everyone was certain those weren't quite right. Even Mayuri and Soifon, two of the most socially inept people in existence, were convinced there was more than a bit of unhealthy obsession.

 

Just like everyone else, Kyouraku Shunsui had been swept up into the stormy tide of Kurosaki Ichigo. He saw a boy, barely out of his teen years, struggling to save everyone around him, carefully balancing a scale that was constantly tipping over. It tugged something inside of him.

 

But Shunsui wasn't like those cowards. In fact, he had plans. He was serious, wanting something more than just casual, than just satiated lust. He knew that temporary wasn't something that would interest Ichigo. Where everyone else just stood back and watched and wanted and hoped, Shunsui planned to give it a try.

 

His best buddy Jyuu-chan was even encouraging him. He, too, had been caught in the undertow. It wasn't quite as bad as the others, but only time would tell. There was something all too Kaien-like in the boy and yet so entirely different. Jyuushiro was fascinated. He wanted so much to be the teacher, the beloved mentor.

 

In any case, Shunsui had an idea, a thought. He was going to make his move, to encourage some of that breathtaking sunlight to shine his way. Just as the others, he had been willingly drawn into Ichigo's overpowering aura. But unlike them, he wasn't already the boy's friend. He wasn't his confidant or his teacher. In fact, he would be surprised if Ichigo even knew his name. Shunsui had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

 

After all, fortune favored the bold. And Kyouraku Shunsui had always been a very lucky man.

 

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