Chapter 9:Summer Break I

Angel cheered as she jumped around the apartment.

Ichigo yawned, scratching an itch under his shirt, while watching his housemate from his doorway. "What's up with you?"

"IT'S SUMMER BREAK!" She squealed, jumping around even more.

"Che, what's so special about that," Ichigo said as he made his way out of his room, "You still have homework to do. Which reminds me, I'm still waiting for you to turn in your paper—"

Angel quickly shoved a piece of fruit into Ichigo's mouth and looked at him with an evil smirk. "Don't you dare mess up my precious summer break with that homework-crap. Bring that up again and I promise it won't be an apple I shove down your throat next time." When Ichigo responded with a nod, Angel went back to jumping around.

Ichigo took the apple out of his mouth and took a big bite out of it as he watched Angel squealing this and that about summer break. He rolled his eyes after hearing her say something about Chappy about five times before making his way to the kitchen to make breakfast.

After recovering from their stupid flu, Ichigo and Angel suffered another month of school before the last bell rung, signaling the start of their one-month summer break. Heck, even the principle was squealing with joy, running out of the school building even faster than his students.

Ichigo continued to silently make breakfast while Angel continued her celebration dance in the living room. He finally decided to stop her when everything was ready. "Oi midget! Hurry up and eat before your food gets cold."

Angel, totally ignoring the fact he called her a midget again, skipped over to the table and sat in her usual seat across Ichigo. "Itadekimasu!" she thanked for her food and quickly dug in.

Ichigo couldn't drop the smirk on his face. They've been living together for a more than a month and it still surprised him to see her acting so carefree…and ill-mannered, which was totally different from the innocent act she pulled at school. It seemed only her closest friends knew her real image.

Ring ring ring!

Ichigo looked up from his food to see the house phone ringing off its base. He groaned as he stood up and stomped over to it. Angel wasn't allowed to use the house phone because somebody could trace the call back to him, revealing the fact that they're living together. So that meant it had to be him who had to get up from a good meal to answer a freaking call.

"Moshi-moshi," he sighed, ignoring the smirk on Angel's face.

"Ano, Walker-kun?"

Ichigo raised a brow. "Yes. Who is this?"

"Ah, it's me, Kyla!" she giggled on the other line.

Ichigo tried to keep his scowl away, even though he knew she wouldn't be able to see it on the other end. "A-ah, ohayo…Kyla," he nervously chuckled. Angel, who's been too busy stuffing her mouth with food suddenly stopped upon hearing the busty woman's name. She looked over to see an uneasy look on her teacher. Ichigo only shrugged his shoulders as he went back to the call. "What's with the call?"

There was a pause before Kyla started to speak again, but this time stuttering as if she was nervous. "Eto…Ano…"

Ichigo remained as patient as he could because he knew that that girl had a tendency of taking forever to speak her mind, especially to him. So he stood silently with the phone in his hand. But he never expected Angel to suddenly sneak up behind him to push the 'Speaker' button on the phone base. "Hey!" he shouted at her, totally forgetting about being careful.

"Walker-kun?"

"Ah, sorry, Kyla; you were saying?" Ichigo quickly replied while throwing death glares at the midget. But she promptly ignored him, her entire focus on the phone.

"Ah, right, well…"

Angel was about to explode. Seriously! Yeah she knew the nurse was a bit of a klutz but why was she taking forever to speak! Not to mention she sounded like she was…blushing?

But for Ichigo, he was more focused on Angel as she started to glare at the phone. Correction; at Inoue. He didn't know why she seemed mad at his old friend but he just knew she was. And she looked about ready to explode… oh shit!

"Eto…"

"OH—"

Ichigo quickly jumped forward to stop Angel from speaking by grabbing her jaw but lost his footing and fell straight down to the ground. The two tumbled down along with the phone. Ichigo was able to quickly turn his body so his back landed on the ground first, but then got the air knocked out of him when Angel's body fell on top of him.

"Walker-kun? Are you alright? What was all that noise?" Kyla shouted from the phone that landed directly by his head.

Before replying Ichigo looked down to see Angel glaring from on top of his chest. He knew she would be kicking and yelling at him right about now if he hadn't kept his hand enclosed around her mouth. So instead she ended up giving him the coldest glare, a promise to kill him once he lets her go.

Ichigo responded with his own glare, telling her it was her fault in the first place. "Ah, wa li," Ichigo groaned out to Kyla, "I just dropped something."

"Oh! Well as long as you're not hurt."

Angel scowl deepened. WHY THE FUCK DID SHE SOUND SO RELIEVED! Heck, if that big-boobed bimbo was to see exactly what kind of situation Ichigo was in at that moment, she doubted she would be sounding so happy about now. Angel couldn't help smirking at the thought.

Ichigo, who's been looking down at Angel the entire time, raised a quizzical brow when he felt her lips tug upwards into a smirk against his hand. What is this bitch planning now? "Kyla, can you please hurry up and tell me what you called for? I'm pretty busy right now."

"Oh, you are? But it's summer."

She sounded disappointed!

Another point for Angel! Wait a second…what?!

Ichigo sighed. "Kyla…" he groaned, showing his obvious impatience.

"Ah, sorry! Okay, well I was just, um, wondering if you…if you had any special plans for this summer!" she finally asked, "I was planning on going to Okinawa and I wanted to know if you would like to come with me!"

Both Ichigo and Angel were very still, registering her words into their brains.

Okinawa?

Together?

1 + 1 = 2!

"Um, Kyla," Ichigo grumbled, "That's—"

"I-I was planning on inviting Ramos-kun and Fernandez-kun too!" She quickly added, but this time her voice stuttered a bit, "It can be like a reunion amongst us four!"

Ichigo sighed. This is getting old, fast, he thought to himself. He suddenly felt really uncomfortable as if all his energy suddenly swept out of him. This is what Inoue did to him: even with her never-ceasing smile she always made him feel burnt out and exhausted. Unconsciously he slipped his hand away from Angel's jaw and dropped his head onto the carpeted floor. "Sorry Kyla but I have plans."

Angel, who was too busy thinking about what exactly Kyla might be planning with this so-called reunion trip with Ichigo, got startled when Ichigo suddenly announced he already had plans.

"Ah—oh, really?" Kyla stuttered.

"Yeah," Ichigo sighed, "So you can go to Okinawa with Ramos and Fernandez without me. Besides, I wouldn't be doing much over there anyways."

"B-b-but! Wal—"

"I'll see you when breaks over," Ichigo interjected before reaching over with his limp hand to turn off the phone, not even bothering to hear the rest of Kyla's reasoning. When the phone finally went off, the house became dead silent, neither of the two occupants of the place bothering to move or breath.

Ichigo, never really liking these silent moments with Angel (since he grew up in a noisy household to begin with and he's been having that sort of 'relationship' with Angel from the start), let out a longer sigh and looked down at her. "What?" he growled.

Angel, who's been looking up at him the entire time, frowned. "I didn't know you already had plans for the summer."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Dumbass, I just said that to get out of Kyla's 'vacation plans.'"

This time Angel raised an eyebrow. "You're making it sound like—"

"Like I'm trying to avoid her?" Ichigo finished her question before nodding. "Yeah, I am."

"But, why? Aren't you two friends?" Angel didn't know why she was suddenly defending the brunette… but hell; she didn't even know why she hated that person in the first place!

"Well," Ichigo groaned, "She used to have a crush on me back in high school—don't give me that look," he glared at her after receiving a 'who-would-ever-like-an-idiot-like-you?' look from her. "I don't even know why she liked me out of all the guys at our school. But the thing was, I didn't see her anything beyond a friend…well, to be more exact, nothing more beyond a classmate. But she kept following me and my friends around that by the time we graduated she natural became part of our group," he cringed at the memory.

When Ichigo paused to clear out his thoughts, Angel tried to imagine what Ichigo just told her. And yes, she could see Reyes-sensei chasing after Ichigo. "Did she ever confess to you? I mean, how did you know she liked you?"

"Well, only a month before our graduation she took me to the back of the school and confessed to me, asking me to date her." Ichigo and Angel both couldn't stop a frown from appearing, though they directed it to opposite sides so the other person couldn't see it, "Of course I reject her, and I later found out that she not only liked me, but literally loved me."

Angel couldn't help but smirk when Ichigo said the last part as if it tasted bitter in his mouth.

"Since then she became even more obsessed with me to the point I really wanted to call the cops. But," he sighed, "She was a good friend so I just pretended like it never bothered me. But in fact, it annoys me."

"'Annoys?' Like in present-tense?" Angel asked.

"I'm not sure about that but according to Andrew it could be possible," Ichigo sighed.

Angel glared at the now-silent phone. "Crazy bitch," she muttered, but Ichigo was able to pick it out.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing," she quickly replied, resting her head under his chin to continue her glaring contest with the phone, imagining it was the busty young nurse that never really appealed to her in general. And in Angel's mind she was winning, with images of Kyla slowly being choked with the phone cord.

Ichigo poked her cheek, trying to get her attention. "Hey midget, I know you said 'crazy bitch.' Now, mind explaining why?"

Angel pouted, still not looking away from the phone. "I don't like her."

"Why?"

Angel finally looked at him, but her eyes were criticizing him. "You of all people should know the answer to that question. She annoys me too and I can never figure out what's going on in that chicken-head of her's."

Ichigo chuckled. "Is that all?"

"…" Angel looked away, suddenly feeling her face heating up, "…No…" she mumbled.

"Ah, is the midget princess jealous?" Ichigo teased when she didn't reply.

"Psh, as if I'd get jealous over someone like you," she scoffed.

"Who said anything about it being about me," Ichigo smirked, earning a death glare from the midget, "Well, mind getting off of me now? My legs are starting to cramp."

Angel looked down to see his legs in an awkward position and very obviously getting cramped, before pushing herself up.

Once she was far away, Ichigo stood up and walked back to the table to continue his breakfast which was cold now. He looked at Angel, who was already seated, and asked what's been in his mind for some time. "So what are your plans for the summer?"

Angel, who had her chopsticks halfway up her mouth, froze before looking at him. "What?"

"Your summer break," he articulated each word as if talking to an old man, "Any plans?"

Angel quickly kicked him under the table. "As for your information, no, I don't have plans for break."

Ichigo groaned as he rubbed his bruising leg. "What about family or friends?"

Angel shrugged. "Ni-isama is going to the U.S. so there's no reason to visit his place. And almost all of my friends have sports tournament to attend so nothing much is going to happen with them either."

Ichigo nodded, taking into account that she seemed completely free during break.

"What about you?" she asked, "I know you said you told Reyes-sensei that you did but you didn't specify."

Ichigo grunted. "Well I'm supposed to visit my family in Kyotoo but that would mean I'd have to meet my old man, so no, not going anywhere near that place."

Angel chuckled. "Why? Is he the type to embarrass you or hit you?"

"Both," Ichigo groaned, rubbing his face to try and rid of the memories of his father, "And you don't want to meet him, ever."

Angel grinned but nodded.

Ichigo nodded back before continuing where he left off. "I was actually planning on visiting the summer house that my mother used to own before she passed away," he announced, "It's located at a private beach only two hours away from here by car."

Angel's eyes widened at the news.

Summer house?

Private beach?

Ichigo smirked as he read the sudden interest in her eyes. "Wanna come with me?"

"Yes!" Angel replied rather too quickly, "I mean, can I?"

Ichigo nodded. "I don't see why not. If I leave you here my family might suddenly come over, leaving you in a tight spot. And besides, when I turned old enough the beach house was passed down to me so I practically own that place now."

"Really?!" Angel grinned like a child given a huge piece of candy without even having to ask her parents for one, "Then when can we leave?"

Ichigo looked over at the clock. "We can leave as soon as today if you want—"

"HURRY UP AND PACK UP!" Angel shouted back to him as she ran to her room to pack up for the long stay at a private beach.

Ichigo, who was now alone at the kitchen table, was still a bit shocked when the midget suddenly ran off as if the apartment was on fire. When he got back his senses he smirked while picking up the dishes to get them cleaned before leaving for a much needed vacation.

"Ichigo! Hurry up!" Angel shouted at him from her room, realizing he was washing the dishes when she heard the water running.

"Alright, alright," Ichigo shouted back, "Calm down! It's not like the beach is going anywhere!"

"I don't care! It's been almost ten years since I last gone to the beach so this is a very happy moment for me!" she defended herself.

Ichigo slowly made his way to her room and leaned against the open door to watch her pack. "You don't have to take all that stuff," he pointed to her bed that was dumped with whole bunch of unnecessary items such as her Chappy toys, Chappy slippers, Chappy coloring book, Chappy pencil holder, Chappy nail polish—anything Chappy-related was NOT necessary!

Angel, who was rummaging through her closet, looked over at her bed and frowned. "Well, I don't know what's over there, so—"

"You can use my sisters' room which already has a bed and blanket," Ichigo tried to explain the house to help her figure out what she might and might not need, "There's also tons of towels so don't take those. Cups, plates etc. are already there so no need to pack any of those stuffs either. We can go to the store near that place to buy some food and other small essentials if they're not at home."

Angel nodded. "I guess that means I only need to bring my clothes and sun cream." She frowned at the thought of taking so little. "You sure I don't need to pack anything else?" she looked at him.

Ichigo shook his head. "It's not like we're moving over there. We'll mostly stay there for two weeks so just bring extra clothes, maybe a book or two to read, but other than that there really isn't a need to bring so much stuff."

Angel pouted, still thinking she was forgetting something, but reluctantly nodded.

Satisfied, Ichigo went to his room to start packing his stuff as well. As he grabbed the small duffel bag from his closet, he eyed the papers he had to grade on top of his desk. He stared at the stack for a few seconds before walking over to organize them and stuff them into another backpack that he was planning on taking with him.

Who said you can't do work while on vacation?

…Damn he needed a life.

Mark smiled as he let out a long, relieving sigh.

The day was going really well.

Especially with a newly installed air conditioner!

Now his little store was winning the battle against the hot summer as the cool air surrounded him. "Ahhhh, this is really nice."

"If you don't turn that thing off every now and then it's going to break down again."

Mark turned around to see Lucy entering the room, wearing a very revealing outfit: a pair of shorty shorts that was barely an inch down her hips, and a simple sports bra on top.

"Kya! What are you wearing, Lucy-chan?" Mark hid his blushing face and looked away, squealing like a little shy girl. "You're such a pervert!"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Don't act like a shy virgin. We both know how long it's been since you lost that."

Mark grinned at her with no evidence of a blush on his cheeks. "Touché, my love."

Ding!

"Iratshaimasen!" Mark shouted a welcome at the sound of the chime ringing as the front door of his store swung open and a customer entered. "Ara, what might I do for you today, Walker-kun?"

Ichigo looked back and forth between the two other people occupying the room and groaned. "Can't you be more careful? What if somebody else came in and saw you?" he asked directly to the woman.

Lucy smirked. "Ah, thanks for caring about me, Ichigo. But I'm old enough to wear whatever I want so don't mother me."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "You two will never change, huh?" He walked towards Mark and extended his hand. "Anyways, I need to borrow your car for two weeks."

"Ara, so direct to the point," he giggled, "I do like being the frail one in a relationship."

"Of course you do," Lucy grinned at him.

"When will you two ever grow up," Ichigo groaned, "Are you going to give me the car or not? I know you don't even drive that thing so it shouldn't be a problem."

Mark looked at him with an evil grin. "And just what were you planning on doing with the car? Planning on taking a little innocent girl on a date?"

Ichigo raised a quizzical eyebrow at him. "What?" he asked totally confused at the man's mischievous tone. "What are you talking about?"

"Why, don't act all shy Walker-kun. We all know who's been staying at your place for the past month. Or should I say a certain student?" he emphasized.

Ichigo visibly stiffened. "H-how'd you know about that, Mark?"

The store owner giggled at his 'freaking-out' expression. "My, Walker-kun, have you forgotten who I'm good friends with?"

Ichigo didn't say anything but shook his head. Who he's friends with? Why, that could range from his crazy father to people he never met before!

Lucy, annoyed at the slow thinking-process of the boy, slapped the back of his head. "You idiot. He's talking about me! Your landlady!"

"Oh, you," Ichigo glared, rubbing the sore spot on his head. "Well, it wouldn't have been a problem if only you let Angel actually move in with you," he glared, "You're never there anyways. You're always here."

Lucy smirked. "Sorry but my cats wouldn't have like the new intruder. Which reminds me," she reached behind the door and pulled out a stack of mail, "here's her weekly mail."

"Thanks," Ichigo groaned. Since Angel couldn't list that they were living together, Lucy allowed Angel to use her address as her new home address, even though they don't even live together. It was only to cover up the truth from their school.

"I can't wait to see how this is going to turn out," Mark grinned.

Ichigo sighed when realized what this might entail. If Mark knew about this 'juicy' detail then he just might… He quickly glared at the older man and sneered, "You better not tell anyone or else I'll—"

"Ah, kill me?" Mark interrupted with an amused look. "You should know by now that your threats don't work on me anymore. I've been hearing them ever since you were little and it never scared me."

"True," Ichigo smirked, "But I wasn't going to say that."

Mark's amusement slowly disappeared. He couldn't be talking about…

"I was planning on taking your precious hat and give it to Zander's stupid bird so it can make a nest out of it and shit into it—"

"NNNOOOOOOO!" Mark cried, suddenly kneeling before Ichigo and pulling on his arm, begging for mercy, "I promise I won't tell a single soul, Walker-kun!"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "You really know how to go straight for the 'balls.'"

Ichigo nodded. "Now that we got that straight—" he extended his hand, "—give me the keys to the car."

"Here," Mark quickly handed it over, now knowing the great hold Ichigo had over his head, literally.

Ichigo quickly took the keys. "Thanks. I'll return it to you in a few weeks." He quickly made his way to the door.

But just as his hand reached it, Lucy suddenly called out to him. "Good luck getting laid!"

Ichigo turned back abruptly, his face completely red. "W-wh-what the fuck?!"

Lucy grinned while patting  Mark on the head, who was still crying. "You heard me. I know where you're planning on going with your little student. It might be frowned upon but I think it's kind of kinky."

Mark suddenly jumped to his feet, feeling all better. "Not to mention it's one of our favorite kinds of role-play in the bedroom."

"Eugh! You need to keep that kind of stuff to yourself!" Ichigo yelled, the red extending down to his neck.

Lucy smirked. "Fine we will but that doesn't mean we weren't serious about you getting laid."

"You dumbass, that's got nothing to do with why Angel's going with me!" Ichigo snapped at them.

"Ah, so you admit you're going with her!" Mark smirked.

"I—you—FUCK YOU!" Ichigo yelled back before quickly exiting the store.

Mark grinned as he looked over at Lucy. "I wonder if he realizes we were actually being serious for once."

Lucy chuckled, "He's too oblivious about his feelings. And it'll be awhile before he can convince her to join him in bed."

Mark nodded, fanning himself despite the air conditioner still working behind him. "I really should update Walker-san about this new development. I'm sure he would like to know that his son is going to turn into a man soon."

"But you promised never to tell anyone about him and Bushū living together," Lucy smirked, "Or did you already forget about his threat to destroy your precious hat."

Mark grinned widely. "True…but you made no such promise, now did you my dear?"

Lucy grinned back. "That's exactly what I was thinking."

Ichigo sighed as he turned the corner down the street and into the freeway. The day started out great but Mark and Lucy just had to open their big mouths to make things difficult for him.

"You okay?"

Ichigo glanced to the side before quickly looking back at the road before him. "Ah, don't worry about it."

Angel, who was seated in the passenger seat, raised an eyebrow. "But you've been sighing the entire time since you got this car from Mark. Did he do something stupid again?"

"You could say that," Ichigo nodded as he pressed on the accelerator a bit more.

Angel grinned. "Well, you know he's just an old, perverted shopkeeper so just ignore him."

Meanwhile…

Somewhere in the store, Mark let out a loud sneeze.

Ichigo smirked. "Yeah, you're right."

Meanwhile…part II

Another sneeze escaped him, this time earning a weird stare from Lucy. He wiped his runny nose and shrugged his shoulders. "Allergies?"

But the woman shook her head. "More like someone talking shit about you…like always."

"Anyways, tell me what this place is like," Angel asked, leaning comfortable against her seat.

Ichigo nodded but kept his eye in front of him the entire time. "Like I said, it's a private beach that my mother inherited from her grandparents. And apparently it passed down to me once I was old enough. It's less than half a mile away from the public beach and the main town. The house is only one floor, but it's spacious with a patio outside and three bedrooms: one that used to be for my parents, one for me and one for my two sisters to use together. You'll be using theirs."

Angel looked outside the window as she tried to imagine this place. "Did you and your family visit this place often?"

"Used to," Ichigo replied, a small frown appearing on his face, "Every summer we went over there but when my mom died that tradition kind of died with her."

"Oh, I'm sorry," she whispered.

Ichigo shook his head. "Nah, don't worry too much about it. My dad used to take my sisters there after that incident, but not as often as we used to. And I'm pretty much the only one who doesn't go there anymore, even though I own the place now."

Angel nodded. "I see. Well, I can understand why you wouldn't want to go there especially with all the memories."

"Good to know there's someone who can see from my point of view," Ichigo smirked.

"But why did you decide to suddenly go now?"

Ichigo shrugged. "I just wanted to get some fresh air and I thought it be best at the beach." He looked over at Angel to see her trying to cover her yawn with her hand. "Why don't you close your eyes for a bit? We still have more than an hour and a half left before we reach there."

"No, I'm fine," she yawned again.

Ichigo smirked. "You sure don't look 'fine' to me."

"Shut up," she scowled.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Stubborn as ever," he mumbled.

Angel tried to stifle each of her yawns as she talked with Ichigo about school, apartment rent, how horrible of a driver Ichigo was, how incredibly short she was (of course by this time they were more arguing and yelling then talking), and the possibility of them living together getting revealed.

"I told you not to worry too much about that," Ichigo groaned, "We won't get caught."

"But what if we do?" Angel frowned. "My friends have been bugging me nonstop about visiting my new place and I'm running out of excuses."

"I thought that one where your roommate didn't like unwanted visitors was a pretty good one. Lucy is really like that."

Angel sighed. "But they're not buying it now. They just want me to invite them when she's not there."

Ichigo frowned. "Those friends of yours are pretty persistent."

"Yeah, and extremely overprotective of me," Angel added.

"That's not a bad thing," Ichigo smirked at her.

Angel looked at him and smiled. "No, I guess not. But it is when they're trying to come over to our place."

Ichigo laughed. "Don't worry. As long as we're careful we won't get caught."

Angel nodded as she looked out the window, the trees and towns passing by them in blurry images. Soon, before she knew it, her eyes began to close.

After a few minutes of silence, Ichigo, with his eyes still on the road, tried to reach for the water bottle near the passenger's side. "Hey, do you think you can hand me that—" Ichigo quickly looked over but stopped when he saw Angel's head resting against the car window, eyes closed and chest rising and falling in a slow pattern. He had to go back and forth between Angel and the road several times to register fully into his head that she was asleep. He couldn't help but smirk and shake his head. "I told you, you were tired."

___________________________________________

Angel giggled as she ran across the beach, her tiny feet splashing in the water with each step she took.

"Angel Don't go too far!"

The little raven-haired girl turned around to wave back. "Oneesan! Ni-isama! Hurry up!" she shouted with the biggest smile on her face. She was running backwards when suddenly she stepped on a slippery stone, causing her to lose her footing and fall over. "AHH!"

"ANGEL!"

But before the little girl fell into the cold water, a pair of strong arms grabbed her and pulled her back onto her feet. Angel looked up and smiled. "Ni-isama! You rescued me!"

Zack Bushū sighed as he knelt before her. "Angel, your sister told you not to run too far from us. If I didn't make it in time you would have gotten your new dress wet."

"Gomen," Angel smiled before turning back to her sister. "Oneesan! I'm fine—"

Angel's words got cut off abruptly when her sister, who was running towards them, slowly started to stagger and cough really hard, coming to a full halt. Then, her body suddenly became weightless and she started to fall towards the ground like a lifeless doll. Just like Zack had done to save Angel, he dashed over and quickly caught his wife before she could hit the sand.

But little Angel was unable to move even a finger when she saw her sister's ghostly expression. She felt tears crashing out of her eyes like the waves behind her. "JUVIA-NEESAN!" She cried with all her might.

Her sister and brother-in-law were only a few feet in front of her but she could not muster the strength to reach them. Instead she stood in her spot and cried out loud, wiping away the non-ceasing tears with the back of her tiny hands. She could feel the dreadful atmosphere surrounding their once relaxing beach vacation.

"Angel…"

She continued crying but nobody was paying attention.

"Hey Angel…"

She could barely make out the image of Zack calling for an ambulance as he carefully picked up his unconscious wife, his usual calm self completely gone.

"Angel…Angel…Angel!"

Angel jolted awake and came face to face with Ichigo. "W-what?" she huffed, her chest rising and falling at inhumane pace.

Ichigo's eyebrows furrowed as he watched her trying to regain control of her breathing. "You okay?" he asked. Only few seconds ago he started to freak out when he heard Angel moaning next to him as if in pain. So he immediately started to wake her, and became even more persistent when she suddenly cried 'Juvia-neesan.'

Angel slowly nodded, taking in a deep breath before responding. "Yeah, I just had a bad dream, that's all."

"I don't think this was any normal bad dream," he said before reaching over to wipe some sweat off her brow.

Angel looked away. "I'm okay, really."

"You sure?" he asked.

"Yeah," she nodded, "I just—" Her voice got caught up in her throat when she looked up and saw what was out the window.

Immediately noticing the change in her expression, Ichigo smirked. "We're here."

Forgetting about the nightmare she just had, Angel quickly undid her seat belt and bolted out of the car, heading towards the vast ocean. She kicked off her shoes and stepped on the warm sand, wiggling her toes into it before running off towards the water, squealing like a little child as she splashed around.

Ichigo got out of Mark's car and leaned over the roof, smiling as he watched Angel playing at the edge of the beach. She's still a little kid…he thought.

"ICHIGO!"

He looked up and waved back at Angel who was waving at him.

"ICHIGO! Hurry up!" she laughed as she continued splashing around.

No longer able to contain himself, Ichigo kicked off his shoes next to Angel's and quickly ran towards her. Once he reached there, he kicked at the water, spraying Angel with the ocean's salty water. Angel squealed before attacking him the same way.

Maybe they were both little kids that just needed happier memories at the beach.

"What else do we need?"

Angel looked at the list and frowned. "We still need to get shampoo and conditioner. You only brought enough to last us a few days."

Ichigo scowled. "Great, more money out of my wallet."

"Stop complaining," Angel elbowed him in the ribs.

Ichigo yelped in pain, nearly dropping all the bags he was carrying back home from the supermarket that they were just at.

After fooling around in the waters for a while, they finally went (more like Ichigo pulling a reluctant Angel) towards his single-storey house sitting only a few yards away from the sandy beach, which was surrounded by tall trees to give it the private that came with the title 'private beach'. After getting settled in, they started to make a list of things that they needed to survive on, especially food. They walked towards the nearest local town where they bought things ranging from ingredients to DVDs and to swimsuits. By the time everything was done, the sun was setting over the horizon, signaling the near ending of the day.

Ichigo's eyebrow furrowed in doubt as he opened one of the bags and peered inside to stare at some of the weird looking vegetables she bought. "What exactly are you planning to make? I don't think I've ever seen these things before."

"You ask too much question," Angel scoffed, "I know what I'm doing so stop complaining."

"How can I not? Everything you make is suspicious—," Ichigo mumbled but Angel heard his comment and quickly stepped on his foot. "OW! Watch where you're going, midget!"

"Hmph, you deserved it and you know it," she crossed her arms and continued on ahead of Ichigo.

The orange head scowled, massaging his foot from the immense pain. He was wearing a pair of sandals and so Angel's sandals were a lot more painful than days when he wore sneakers. Muttering as many curses as he knew, Ichigo followed Angel as they exited the town and came into the view of the beach again.

Angel immediately smiled at the view.

Ichigo, seeing the change in her expression again, raised an eyebrow. "What's up with you and the beach anyways? Just looking at it is making you smile like a creepy little kid."

Angel ignored his last comment and decided to answer his question with a smile. "Like I said earlier today: I haven't been to the beach in over ten years. Just seeing it makes me feel…I don't know, so carefree."

"I really think you're mental now. How can a beach change someone's attitude so quickly, even if they haven't seen it in years?" Ichigo snorted, "Does looking at a picture of a beach enough to put you in a happy mode? Because if it does, I'll have to carry it around with me all the time."

Angel rolled her eyes. "You really need do something about that stupidity of yours."

Ichigo smirked. "Who's stupid? I'm just saying that it's good to see you starting to act the age your height is entailing—OW! I said stop doing that!" he screamed after Angel stepped on his foot again, but this time with more force.

"Then stop commenting about my height!" she shouted.

Ichigo was about to retort when it struck him.

Angel backed off when she saw that smug look on his face. "What?" she asked as she slowly started to feel uncomfortable.

"Che," Ichigo smirked, "So you ARE self-conscious about your height."

Angel's face reddened. "A-am not! I'm fine the way I am!"

"Sure you are," he said sarcastically, "You only hit me when I comment about your height because you want to stretch out your new shoes."

Angel glared. "And what about you? I'm sure you're self conscious about that blinding hair color of yours!"

"This?" he pointed at the bush on top of his head. "Please, I really don't give a damn."

Ichigo felt steam shooting out of her ears. "SHUT UP!" she screamed before stomping towards the house again. She could hear Ichigo laughing behind her as he followed her lead. He didn't stop and it was irritating her more and more with each passing second that once she reached the front patio of the house Angel grabbed one of her sandals and chucked it at Ichigo's face before retreating into the house.

"EUGH!" After getting hit straight in the face Ichigo fell over with all the bags in his hands. He was on his ass, rubbing his sore jaw as he watched Angel disappear into the house. "Fucking bitch," he grunted. Where did she learn to throw that hard?

"ICHIGO! HURRY UP!" Angel shouted through the open door.

"Alright alright," he groaned, slowly picking up all the bags he dropped and making his way back inside. He went over to the kitchen and placed the bags on the counter.

Angel quickly came over and started rummaging through the stuff they just bought. "Here," she handed him some items, "Take these to the bathroom…and these are yours…I need these…" she mumbled on as she organized everything.

Ichigo reluctantly obeyed her like a loyal dog, taking this there, that there, this over here, so on and so forth. He already got enough bruises from her today so there's no way he's going to aggravate her even more to get another one.

When he came back to the kitchen, he saw Angel washing her hand in the sink, getting ready to prepare dinner. "What are you going to make?" he asked.

Angel smirked. "Just eat whatever I make you."

Ichigo raised a suspicious brow. "Just as long as it's not poisonous."

Angel rolled her eyes as she grabbed a big pot from the cabinet. They both knew Ichigo wasn't being serious. After all, her cooking skills have improved immensely after she started living with him. She's actually been making a lot of their meals, giving Ichigo more time to focus on his work.

"I'm going to go take a shower," he said, "Call me if you need anything."

"'kay," she answered back as Ichigo went down the hallway.

Minutes passed as Angel worked around the kitchen. Making dinner was no longer a challenge for her. But she—and Ichigo—still couldn't believe she was actually capable of creating eatable food now. Back when he first taught her, even the sink coughed back up all of her failed attempts, unable to let it go down the drain. That was one weird day.

Ding dong!

"Hai!" Angel called out. She quickly turned off the stove (something she learned to do a few weeks ago when she almost burned down the apartment), and made her way to the front door. She undid the locks and swung it open. In front of her stood an old couple, both of them looking shocked upon seeing her at the door. "Can I help you?" she politely asked with her sweet smile.

"I—uh…um—y-you—" they stuttered, opening and closing their mouths like a fish, "A—ano, is Walker Ichigo h-here?" they asked.

Just as Angel was about to answer, she was interrupted by someone behind her.

"Oi, Angel, you done with dinner yet?" Ichigo asked as he came out the bathroom and appeared before her. He was still wiping his wet hair with a towel while wearing nothing but a pair of boxers and his own skin. Ichigo saw Angel standing by the open door and frowned. "Is somebody here?" he asked as he walked over.

Angel quickly stepped to the side to show him their unexpected guests. "These people were looking for you."

Ichigo stood next to her and smiled upon seeing who was at the door. "Watanabe-san, long time no see." Ichigo turned to Angel and pointed to the old couple. "These two are our neighbors. They've been living here as long as I can remember and take care of this house when my family is away."

Angel nodded and bowed to the couple. "Good evening. My name is Bushū Angel. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The two couple were brought out of their daze and returned the bow. "Ah, good evening. Sorry if we startled you."

"No, not at all," Angel shook her head and kept her sweet smile. "I guess it was to be expected when a stranger opened the door to your friend's house."

The old man smiled back. "Well, we just came by to see Ichigo-kun since we haven't seen him in years."

"Ah," Ichigo nodded, "It's been almost ten years since I last came here."

The wife smiled and extended the small box she was holding towards them. "I remember how you used to like my hand-made mochi so I brought some with me. Why don't you share it with your cute friend here?"

Angel's smile widened as she accepted the box. Her eyes immediately sparkled. "Arigato!"

The old man looked at his wife and smiled sweetly at her. "Well, my dear, I think it's about time we take our leave."

"Yes, I do agree," she smiled back at him.

"Oh no, you don't have to leave now," Angel said, "Why don't you come inside for a bit? I'm sure Ichigo wouldn't mind it."

Ichigo nodded. "Please, come in. I haven't seen you guys in so long, it'd be nice to catch up."

The old man chuckled. "There's plenty of time to 'catch up' later, Ichigo-kun. But you arrived not too long ago so you must be tired. We'll just come by later and leave you two lovebirds to yourselves."

"You don't have to worry—" Ichigo stopped when his brain finally registered what Watanabe-san just said. His face reddened. "W-wh-what?!" He didn't have to look to know Angel was also blushing from his words.

The old woman giggled behind her hand. "I agree," she said again. She immediately grabbed her husband's extended hand and the two made their way down the patio and towards their own place.

But before they went too far away, Ichigo and Angel heard the old man sighing in memory. "Ahhh, to be young again," he chuckled.

"No! That's not what—" Ichigo's voice died down as their laughter cut off out his explanation.

Suddenly, they stopped before turning the corner. The old man faced them and shouted, "DON'T FORGET TO INVITE US TO THE WEDDING!"

Ichigo and Angel stared in utter disbelief as the old couple disappeared behind the corner.

Rubbing his face in annoyance, Ichigo groaned as he slammed the door shut, muttering about how everyone in his life were crazy and out there to make him miserable.

Angel was still standing by the door with the box of mochi in hand, staring at the now-closed door with wide eyes. Did they—Ichigo and I—wedding?! Her mind started racing with all the words that the Watanabe couple threw at them. And the more she thought about it the warmer her face was becoming.

Ichigo was about to head back to his room to put on some actual clothes when he noticed Angel wasn't moving a muscle. "Oi, midget? Are you just going to stand there all day or make dinner?" When he got no response, he placed a hand on her shoulder and gently shook her. "Are you listening to me, midget?"

His shaking succeeded in getting her out of her trance. "Huh?" Angel quickly turned around but Ichigo was standing too close because the next second she collided with his wall of muscle. She lost her balance and was falling backwards.

"Angel!" Ichigo quickly caught her around the waist and lifted her up as she held onto his toned shoulders. The box of mochi that she held fell to the ground, it's 'clank'-ing noise echoing throughout the house before followed by dead silence.

Angel , who had shut her eyes when she started to fall, slowly opened them to see what kind of position she was in. And it only made the red on her face darken several more shades which she quickly hid by lowering her head. She was being held up by his tight grip around her waist, lifting her up slightly that she was on her toes, while her hands were holding onto him as if for dear life.

"You okay?" Ichigo breathed out. When he didn't get an answer he leaned closer to see a blush on Angel's cheeks. "Oi, why are you red midget? You sick again?"

Normally Angel would retort with either a kick or a punch but she merely shook her head, making sure to keep her eyes anywhere but his face.

Ichigo scowled and was about to say something back when he then noticed the position that they were in. And this time his face got warmer.

Time passed before Angel finally mumbled, "Ichigo, can you put me down now?"

So this was the point where Ichigo would just place her on her feet and make fun of her incapacity to stay upright.

But…nothing happened.

Instead, his grip tightened.

"Ichigo," Angel's voice slightly squeaked as she looked up. She was about to ask what he was doing but her breath got sucked back in when she saw the intensity of his amber eyes on hers. For some unknown reason she swallowed but dared not break eye contact. Then, she saw him leaning closer.

Ichigo didn't know what the fuck he was doing. Hell, he wasn't planning any of this to happen when he first thought of bringing Angel to the beach. But here he was, holding Angel against his half-naked form so tightly that no air could pass in between them. Nor did he expect her to look up at him with those innocent looking eyes that were making his heart beat faster than it normally does. And now, when he should have just released his hold on her, his head started moving on its own and was leaning forward.

But what was even more interesting was the fact that Angel wasn't moving away.

Their noses touched and he stopped, barely two inches away from touching her sweet lips. "Angel…" he breathed out. He felt Angel shivering against him as his breath fanned over her lips, warming it up even more as she lifted her head to close the remaining gap—

"Gaugh, I still don't know why I had to come!"

"Don't say that! It's been awhile since we've been here so let's enjoy ourselves."

"That's right! Today we'll play with daddy as we run along the beach—"

"Shut your mouth, old man—"

Megan Walker's sentence got stuck in the middle of her throat when she opened the door to see none other than her older brother, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers, holding a young attractive woman in his arms, their faces merely a few inches away from each other as they stared back at her with the same amount of shock in their eyes.

"Megan-chan, what's wrong—" This time Megumi was shocked as she passed the threshold behind her twin sister to see what she was gaping at.

Ichigo could feel sweat forming at the back of his neck. He should quickly release Angel and try to act like nothing was going on but he was too shocked to do anything. Not to mention the fact that if these two were here, then surely…

"Aira! Why are our daughters so mean to me!—" Jacod stopped his rambling when he entered the house to see not only his daughters standing frozen, but his son…with a woman…and his arms wrapped around her… Jacod stood gapping at the image, dropping all the luggage that he was carrying under both arms. Then, a huge smile came across his face as he squealed like a little fangirl. "KYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"