The deck - Early afternoon

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

Ichigo was lounging in one of the chairs on the deck, his feet propped up on the table and he was eating a blueberry muffin. He frowned when one bite tasted strange, but the next was alright so maybe it had just lain close to another pastry. It wasn't until the muffin was gone and Ichigo licked a crumb off his fingers that he tasted it again.

"Orange?" he didn't even notice he was speaking out loud. He hadn't eaten anything with oranges today. He sucked on the other finger and that was definitely orange. The back of his hand... still orange. The inside of his wrist; orange.

Did Shinigami have certain flavours and he just never noticed before?

[[Open.]]

Comments

[inthereflexes.livejournal.com]

Jack was licking his fingers. "Banana," he muttered to himself, but loud enough to be overheard. "Banana?"

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

Ichigo lowered his hand, pretending he wasn't just licking himself. "Lost something?"

[inthereflexes.livejournal.com]

"I taste like banana!" he declared. Not-dirtily. "That's never happened before." He blinked. "Unless I've just eaten a banana, and I haven't."

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

Ichigo paused. "I guess it must be a Fandom thing then." Weird how he said that as if he'd been here much longer than July.

[inthereflexes.livejournal.com]

Jack shrugged. "Must be. So. How's my Little Brother?"

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

"Orange-y," he replied, glancing at Jack. "Quit calling me that, it's weird."

[inthereflexes.livejournal.com]

"You taste like orange? That's just weird." Because banana was normal. "But you are. There was a piece of paper and everything. Come to think of it, I can't remember the last time you called me Big Brother."

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

"I never called you that," Ichigo grumped, eyeing Jack warily. "It's just a stupid name someone decided to give the project so people would feel all obligated by it."

[inthereflexes.livejournal.com]

"Well I do feel obligated," Jack said. He felt obligated to say that. "Just making sure things are okay. So. Things are okay?"

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

"Things are okay," Ichigo repeated, not that he'd say it if they weren't. And well, okay was relative. "Beside the whole tasting weird thing."

[inthereflexes.livejournal.com]

"Good!" Jack said, licking his fingers again. Mmmm. "Let me know if you need anything, then," he said, starting to wander off.

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

Ichigo blinked, a little surprised at the shortness of the conversation, but not all too bothered. He didn't do bothered, after all. He nodded. "Okay. Bye."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Katchoo shuffled across the deck, still yawning (which was why she hadn't yet noticed her Favorite Person Ever RLY), and swiped a hand across her mouth.

And froze in her tracks.

"What the hell?" she demanded, grimacing like she'd just tasted something unexpected.

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

Ichigo glanced up at the noise and rolled his eyes at he saw Katchoo, down right enthusiastic about seeing her. Only not. "What?"

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Katchoo stuck the knuckle of her index finger into her mouth and gave it another experimental chew. "Tequila? Seriously? Frikkin' tequila?"

Without the buzz. Shame, that.

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

Huh. Maybe it wasn't a shinigami thing. "Do you taste funny too?"

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

The look she gave him could possibly have sheared granite. "Pretty personal question there, isn't it?"

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

He eyed her, either ignoring or missing the look. "It's a question."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"But," countered Katchoo, "is it any of your business?"

This, with another half-furtive taste of the inside of her wrist this time. Yup, still tequila.

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I don't care."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Katchoo stuck a cigarette into the corner of her mouth, and was that a rude hand gesture she made in the process? "Yeah. You're a frikkin' paragon of apathy, really."

Lighting up, she sucked in a lungful of smoke then exhaled, smacking her lips. "God. And cheap tequila at that."

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

He instantly glared at her. "Do you mind? I was enjoying the fresh air here. Go pollute the world and your lungs somewhere else."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Oh, screw you, carrot-top," retorted Katchoo. "There's plenty more island now for you to enjoy fresh air if you want it that bad."

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

"I shouldn't have to move," he growled. "I was here first and you could maybe think about the people around you, not everyone made a conscious choice to screw up their growing process."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

And now the look she gave him was flat, cold, and quite possibly unmistakable.

"Yeah, that's right. I planned this all out."

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

Ichigo snorted. "What? Someone forced a cigarette in your mouth and told you to smoke?"

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, smart guy, that's right, if you wanna go with that story," snarled Katchoo. It was . . . sort of close enough to the truth, if you counted 'within a 50-mile radius' as close. "You done being nosy yet?"

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

"I'm not being nosy," he argued. "I'm just pointing out that those arguments are bullshit. You picked it up so don't act as if it wasn't your decision. No one can force you to smoke."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Katchoo's eyes narrowed, and the next mouthful of smoke she exhaled came out in a slow, tightly focused stream. Let him think she was just pissed off about the smoking thing; he sure as hell wasn't getting the real story.

"You might want to get off that soapbox before I kick it out from under you."

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

"Ha! Like that worked so well last time," he sneered.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"There's no bubblewrap this time," Katchoo pointed out as she took one step toward him. "And no more Bermuda Triangle crap either."

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

"And you're actually wearing clothes," he added helpfully. It was easier to be a smartass about it when she was fully dressed.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Beside the point," Katchoo groused. "If you gotta preach, go find some gullible TV audience to scam and make money off it at least."

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

"Why? It's a lot more fun annoying you," he pointed out.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

She glared daggers at him. "It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye," Katchoo replied in a tone that implied that an eye might be the least of it.

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

"Yeah? Right now you're just all talk," he told her.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Much as it pains me to hold back, you're not worth the trouble," she said through clenched teeth. Stupid need to not get kicked out.

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

He shouldn't needle. He really shouldn't. "Right. Of course."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

She flicked ash away with an audible snort. "I can hear your ego deflating from here, y'know."

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

"No. That would imply that I actually give a damn what you think," he said, sounding bored.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Right," Katchoo said bitingly. "Because all the soapbox preachy crap just now, that was for lack of anything else to do."

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

"Pretty much," he agreed. "All else requires me to get up."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"And thank frikkin' God I don't have that effect on you," Katchoo snorted.

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

"I know, you'd miss me," he waved her off.