The Darkness In Our Hearts (TDiOH Bk1)

Chapter 32: Friends and Festivals

"W E L C O M E HOME!!!!" Keigo screamed the minute we appeared around the corner. The water works had already started with him. "YOU WERE GONE SO LONG, ICHIGO! AND WHY DID YOU DITCH ME AS WELL, MY LOVELY BABE KERA? I WAS PLAYING ALL BY MYSELF!!"

Keigo's welcoming hug was stopped in it's tracks by Ichigo's foot in his face, which I was glad for. Does he even realise how wrong that last sentence was? And why is he calling me 'lovely babe'?

"Nice to see you too," Ichigo sighed.

"You're mean!" Keigo protested, but his voice was muffled through Ichigo's foot so it came out like "Mrph meem!"

"Hey! I'm back too!" announced a golden crispy Mizuiro. Yes, crispy. His vacation must have been fun if he got that much of a tan. "Did you miss me, Keigo?"

"Shut up, you foreign devil! This salt should ward you off!" Keigo exclaimed, throwing a bowl of salt at Mizuiro, who complained that it was burning his 'Phuket tan', whatever that was.

"Is it normally like this when people leave Keigo behind?" I asked Ichigo.

"Usually."

"My lovely babe, Kera," Keigo announced, sliding towards me and draping an arm over my shoulders. "If only the entire world could see the beauty that radiates from you; alas, I and I only can gaze at your burning figure!"

I glared daggers at him, while he surreptitiously gazed at my chest region. "Something else is going to burn in a second if you keep diverting your gaze down," I threatened, poking a finger in one of his eyes.

He dramatically stumbled away and leant against a pole, proclaiming that 'the lovely babe Kera had shunned him and he would forever...' and that's about as much as I heard because Mizuiro was asking me a question.

"So, how was you vacation, Kera? Get up to anything exciting?"

Let a guy who wore a striped hat and clogs everyday train me, almost had my soul devoured and got beat up by a crazy Hollow chick living inside me who wants to take over the soul society.

I smiled at him. "Not really. Went out with the cousins a couple of days, but mostly stayed at my home."

"You should have come with me. Next time, you can come and sun yourself on a tropical island," Mizuiro offered. I thanked him for that.

Suddenly, Keigo, who had engaged Ichigo in a fiery conversation after his little drama performance, went flying past. Tatsuki, Chad and Orihime stood where he had once been.

"Tatsuki! Orihime!" Mizuiro said.

"Hey. Chad too? What a surprise..." Ichigo trailed off. He was staring intently at Tatsuki. "Hey... What happened to your arm?!"

"Oh this?" She glanced down at her right arm which was in a cast and sling, then proceeded to explain how she got runner up at the national competition. I couldn't remember the sport though. But 2nd place was really good.

Mizuiro's and Keigo's face also told me that 2nd place in that competition was a good thing. They looked positively pale, sweat dripping down their faces.

Ichigo still couldn't believe it. "Runner up... You got 2nd place at nationals?" Even he looked a bit worried.

"Yeah! It's really lame. If it weren't for this injury, I would've won!" Tatsuki looked quite grumpy now.

"Hey, 2nd place ain't so bad! Congrats on the silver!" I said, clapping for her. Now she was only mildly grumpy as she offered me a sheepish smile.

"What kinda monster could do that to you?" Ichigo thought outloud.

"Oh no, this wasn't from a match. I got hit by a car when I went to buy a drink after the semifinals."