Bleach: Holiday In Germany: Chapter 4 (fanfic)

Chapter 4

Since it wasn't too far away the crew decided to walk all the way to the super-market "Good to get some fresh air now and then, right girls?" Renji called back.
"Sure" They replied groggily.
They livened up when they actually reached there. Rukia pulled the list they'd compiled earlier out from her high-waisted flowy shorts. "Crusty baps, hot dog buns" She read aloud whilst throwing those things into the basket
"We need pasta too." Yasutora reminded
"What for?"
"Pasta-salad, I can make a really good one."
"Right, that too."
Tatsuki ran upto them "I found the different cheeses, plus these really good Mexican chips and sauces we can have as sides"
"Great! Hey Renji, could you go and buy the sausages, chicken wings, and mince for the kebabs?" Rukia asked as they browsed the aisle.
"No problem."
"OOOOOH! ICE-CREAM!" Orihime cried picking up three different varieties
"Yuummm!! Let's get that too, we gotta have something to cool us down" Tatsuki grabbed the lot and bunged it all in.
"Hey, were one a strict budget here- put these ones back and we'll get the tubs instead."
"But these ones are so good!" Tatsuki persisted.
Rukia sighed "Fine, fine- one box of those ones if you insist, but no more." She looked at the list once more "Right, what's next... tomatoes, peppers ya da daa yadada- Chad could you grab the charcoal?"
"I've already got it right here." He whacked the bag down.
"LOOK WHAT WE FOUND!" Keigo and Ichigo proudly held up water-pistols
"We are not wasting money on those!" Rukia rebuked
"Come oooon, it'll be so much fun!"
"Don't be slaaaack"
"Buy it with your own money then, Ryuuken didn't entrust us with this for your own personal games."
Ichigo sighed and popped open his penny pouch, counting his shillings "one, two, thr..."
Keigo leaned over his shoulder "You got enough then?"
"Yeah, but I promised I'd buy my sisters something nice, and this is all I have."
"You can give these to them after we've finished with 'em right?" Keigo suggested
Ichigo grinned from ear to ear "Good idea!"
"Want for your brother what you want for yourself." Uryu reminded him
"They're my sisters, not my brothers" And he dropped the two water-guns into the trolley "We'll be paying for those. No objections, I presume!"

They quickly paid for the goods and then made their way home.
"I just had an idea!" Orihime said as they headed inside "Should we invite Berahthraben over too?"
Rukia set the carrier bags down on the table-tops "Yeah, that's a good idea- the more the merrier!"
"Ooh, and we could ask him to bring his wife and kids over too!"
"I'd like to meet his wife, not too sure about the kids though... I mean, it's meant to be a holiday!" Tatsuki resisted
"Don't be mean! Besides, I bet they're really cute!"
"Pleease, please not the kids!" She pleaded
"I'm with Tatsuki on this one." Rukia agreed "Anyway, what do you guys think?" They turned to face the lads who were putting the shopping away.
"I don't mind, no big deal" Renji shrugged
Ichigo tore the cardboard packaging around the water-guns off "It's cool- but it's kind of short-notice. They probably won't even make it"
"He seems like the kinda guy who's schedule is open for changes"
"I ain't got no qualms." Keigo backed them up, and thus it was settled.

They began making preparations immediately as their guests would be arriving in two hours. It was a pretty relaxed setting but they had a lot to do even still.
Tatsuki and Renji were supervising the barbecue, or rather desperately trying to get it started, while inside Chad worked on the sauce for his sticky BBQ chicken, and Rukia and Orihime helped prepare the other food.
"Hmm, maybe you should add more spirit." Tatsuki suggested shielding her eyes from the sunlight.
Renji grabbed the bottle "I've done that already" He replied exasperatedly, spilling the liquid over the coal and then throwing matchsticks onto it. It went ablaze with a startling flame for a moment or two, then died back down to square one.
"Damn! Well, you keep working on that- I'm going to go help the guys out with setting up the chairs and tables." She said running away from her fate.
Renji took it on the chin and began whistling tunes endlessly as he poured more spirit over the rocks.
Inside Chad was breezing through his recipe's for perfect food. He grabbed a large bowl and squeezed in the ketchup before smushing the garlic with ease. He sprinkled in some sugar, sweet chilli sauce and the soy sauce with a dash of seasoning and mixed it thoroughly, then tossed in the chicken wings, coating them generously in the marinade. Orihime was helping out, the coleslaw was resting in the fridge and with the pasta on the boil she focused on making the perfect salsa, following Sado's every instruction. She finely chopped the red onions and mixed it with diced ripe tomato's and blackeye beans. "Where's the olive oil?" She asked browsing the shelf
"Here it is" Rukia handed the green bottle to her.
She proceeded to mix the oil with a splash of lime juice, coriander and sliced chilli, with a pinch of seasoning to finish, and set it aside.
Rukia busied herself with scooping out all the avocado flesh for the guacamole. "Hey, you getting started with the burgers now?"
"I'm on it." Chad grabbed the mince and braced himself for action.
"Oh no! Stupid Ichigo forgot to put the drinks away!" Orihime complained picking them up "This has to be perfeccion- and that's never going to happen unless the drinks are super chilled!" She wiped the lime on her hands on her apron and then picked them up, trying to find space to slot them into the fridge.
Meanwhile outside, Kurosaki was blissfully unaware of the insults aimed at him, he was too busy squirting Keigo with his new water-gun.
"I'LL GET YOU FOR THAT!" Asano yelled chasing him in the wonderfully large garden.
Ichigo quickly clambered up one of the many tree's that surrounded "YOU'LL NEVER CATCH ME!"
"YOUR GONNA FALL ICHIGO!- FALL!" Tatsuki yelled helpfully.
The crew inside observed from the floor-to-ceiling windows "They sure are having a good time."
"Should we prepare the rest outside, to catch some of them gibes and all." Yasutora suggested
"Why not?"
So they took their boards, utensils and whatever else ingredients they needed and arranged them on the table outside.
"Yo" Renji greeted "You finally came out."
"Yeah, thought we'd keep you company."
"Great! I really need your help with setting up this dodgy piece of crap." He said relieved.
Chad threw the kitchen towel over his shoulder "I think I can fix that, Rukia could you finish chopping the shallots?"  
"Sure thing!" She looked around "Hey, where's Tatsuki?"
Orihime looked in the horizon"I think I see her over there setting up the Tennis net, she seems to be having quite the tricky time"
"Ah yeah! Oooh, that'll be fun to play- we could do teams."
"I bet she'd say Boys Vs Girls to that"
Rukia laughed shaking her head "She's quite the competitive one"
"Your telling me! She's always been like that since middle school. I remember her coming over to my house after Dojo practice and telling me all about how she thrashed Ichigo- I didn't know him at that time of course-, but then one day she lost and boy was she fuming! She trained continuously with refreshed determination after that, and I used to help her sometimes. She'd even teach me some moves now and then-" Orihime sliced the Jalapenos in halves "-But they've never had a rematch since then."
Rukia listened whilst peeling a clove of garlic "It'd be cool if they settled things now that they've both developed, but the only problem is that it'd be unfair because of Ichigo's Soul Reaper influence."
"Yeah."
"YES!" Renji suddenly roared "Got the shoddy thing started finally! Thanks Chad."
"It's no problem" He nodded then returned to his cooking duties "...I forgot the salt, be right back."

DING DOOOOONG! the doorbell rang loudly
"Yikes! They're here!" Rukia fumbled around trying to clear up the mess they had made in the kitchen, disposing of onion peels and washing dirty dishes
"Are you lot getting that?" Ichigo called down the stairs, he was busy getting changed into his summer khakis.
"We got it! ORIHIME GET IT!" She yelled snapping off the yellow rubber gloves.
Ichigo hopped back into the room trying to fix the turn-ups on his trousers  "Uryu how long are you going to be with my top!?"
"I'm busy ironing my own clothes at the minute!" He replied flustered, desperately trying to get the creases out of his grey wool flannel shorts.
Ichigo shoved his feet into a pair of blue vans "Hurry up!"
Uryu grabbed the top and threw it across the room making it splat on Ichigo's head "Do it yourself then! I'm not your ladies-maid."
"Fine!" He grabbed the iron out of Ishida's hands and flicked the heat up before swiping it across the mint-coloured material "Hey... It feels kind of sticky." He lifted the mechanism dubiously "Ooooh dear. I burnt it".
Meanwhile downstairs Inou greeted the new arrivals "Hello!! How are you? Come on in!"  She took them through to the kitchen.
Just in the nick of time Rukia had managed to clear away the gunk on the table-tops "Oh my goodness! Hiyaaa!" She welcomed
"Hello, You all look fabulous! Thankyou for inviting us" Berah's wife said- one couldn't help but note that her English was much better then her husband's.
"Who is thiiiis?" Tatsuki cried forcing the enthusiasm as she looked at the two toddlers who grasped their mothers hands firmly.
"Ah, I haven't done the introducing of my family to you!" Berahthraben laughed amusedly "This is Bruno" He said pointing at the boy who looked a spitting image of his father "The little one is Kirsa" The small girl feigned shyness in a bid for coo's and cackles (she got none) "And this is my wife Ivonette"
"It's lovely to meet you all!" The girls chorused.
Ivonette smiled "Likewise! Oh, I got a little something for you all" She held out a shiny gift-bag.
"Noooo! You really shouldn't have!" Rukia protested
"No, no, don't be silly! I wanted to"
"Thankyou very much" She took the bag bashfully and then handed it over to Orihime and whispered "Put this in our room before the skanky guys get their mitts on it!"
"Anyway! Where are the boys?" Berah asked ushering the children into the garden
"They're outside, shall we go?"    
Hello's and Hi's and How Are You's were made once more, and then again for a final time when Ichigo and Uryu finally descended.
"Sup noob, that shirt looks a little small for you" Renji remarked stroking his chin.
A vein popped on Ichigo's head "Shut up!"
"Nah, what happened?"
"I burnt my top so I had to borrow Uryu's" He grabbed the brown bag which contained the sausages and began placing them on the grill
Renji chewed on a crisp thoughtfully "So why don't you just wear one of your others?"
"Cause....!!!-" His eyebrows furrowed "I singed every last one, what else am I to do?"
"That's gotta be rough. Here, I'll lend you one of mine- it'd be less embarrassing"
"Hrmmm" Ichigo grumbled then ran back inside to fetch it.
The girls quickly set up the side-dishes and drinks while they waited for the meat "Chad, have you checked up on your chicken yet? Maybe you should bring it outside so we can get that cooking too." Tatsuki called shaking some Kettle Smokey Barbecue Chips into a bowl.
"Your right, I clean forgot about that for a moment. Thanks for the reminder" He quickly dashed up the steps into the kitchen and then returned a few moments later with the goods "You should get the burgers on too" He advised Renji as he removed the second round of veg.
Bruno stared into Abarai's soul as he sizzled away "W-w-w-ww--w-wwhat are you doing?"
"Cooking the food." He answered a little alarmed
"W-w-w-w-w-w-wwhyyyy?"
"Because you can't eat it raw"
"Whyyyyyyyyy?"
"It tastes nasty that's why."
"It doesn't because, because-- cause...." Bruno stuttered trying to perfect his sentence "Because my Papi said, my Papa says- he says--- he says. He-he saaaiid-"
Renji held up a hand "It's okay kid, don't strain yourself. Here, have a bite" He handed over a piece of sausage and popped the other half in his own mouth "It's good huh?" Berahthraben walked upto him and told Bruno to scram in his native-tongue before addressing Renji "Hey, do you need any helpings?"
"Sure thing! Could you just take the rest of those off the heat while I fetch something from inside?"
"Of course!!"
In the meantime the girls relaxed underneath the shade, satisfying themselves with the cold snacks until the real deal was cooked.
"How old are your kids?" Orihime asked stabbing her fork into the creamy pasta salad
"My boy is Three and Kirsa is two"  
Rukia was curious "So when did you have them!??"
Ivonette thought for a brief second "When I was sixteen"
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?" Tatsuki nearly fell off her chair "I can't believe you were that young!! What a waste of youth! I-I mean, what a blessed blessing!"
Orihime applauded "That is simply too cute! I can't wait to have my own family like that. I mean, it seems a bit wasteful to wait until your fifty before deciding that your ready"
"Y-yeah." Rukia crunched on a carrot stick in disquietude
"I-I mean if you want to it's fine..." She quickly added only just remembering how old her dear friend was.  
"HEY! The first batch is ready!" Ichigo yelled
"Awesome!"
They quickly made plates for the guests and then themselves. There were a few spares for the guys to munch on while the next load got cooked.
"Mmmmm, these chicken wings are delicious!" Ivonette said pleased as she dug in
"And the burger is just beyond the culinary heights!" Berah complemented squirting more ketchup onto the bap.
The girls nodded happily and gave a thumbs up to Sado "This is awesome Chad! Thanks"
"Second servings coming right up"
Keigo dipped his sausage in the salsa "This sauce is the bomb-dot-com! Yuuumm!"
More groans of contentment ensued as often is the case with a good 'ol barbecue, and they were soon settled down and chattering like one would with any good company.
After food Uryu insisted that Ichigo treat everyone to his famous Shai (Arabic tea) with that extra smoky flavour from the charcoal. It was swiftly received with approval
"Fine, fine, grab me the cardamom then".
For dessert there was simple yet effective ice-cream.
"I WANT THAT OOOOOOOOOOOONEEEEEEEEEE!" Kirsa shrieked as Bruno took the last of the mango flavour
"But it's mine. Look, there's the-the- you can have the other one" He tried to reason
"NOOOOOOOOOOO I WANT DAT ONE UHUUUHUHUHUHUHUH AHWEHWAAAAAAAA" She fell to the ground and her face crumpled as she began to bawl.
Ichigo held out his ice cream for her "Here little one" She looked up and sniffled. "Go on, take it" He smiled mildly, then picked her up and dried her face with a hanky in a bid to show off his fatherly side.
"AAAAAAWWWW Ichigo you'd make a great Dad!" Orihime encouraged, to which he merely chuckled (And Uryu gave him the evils from the sideline).
After rest and recuperation they decided to have a game of tennis.
"Fantastic! Let's decide on teams!" Tatsuki grinned
"YEAH YEAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!" Keigo jumped up and down.
"Do you want to play Ivonette?" Renji asked tying his bandanna around his head.
"No, no, I prefer to watch. Besides, I think I'll play with the girls afterwards"
"Alrighty"
"How about Berahthraben and Renji on one team-"
"-And me and Ishida!" Ichigo cut in.
Uryu twitched a little at the mention of his name "Are we were playing badminton?"
"What!? Noway- tennis! It's way more fun" He flexed as Chad arrived with the racquets.
"But I thought... I don't think-"
"What? Aren't you any good at playing or something?"
"No! I'm great- I simply prefer badminton."
"Really?"
"Reeaaallly" He confirmed as the sudden memory of Ryuuken teaching him to play tennis unfolded

"But Father!"
"Uryu, if I say tennis then we play tennis. Badminton is a mugs game."
Kid Uryu tightened his grip on the racquet, determined to make his Father proud.

"WHAT WAS THAT!?" His Father yelled "THE BALL WAS RIGHT THERE! HOW COULD YOU MISS!!!!!???"
"I thought it was going to hit me" He said quietly
"I'LL SHOW YOU IT WAS GOING TO HIT ME!" Ryuuken grabbed the tennis ball of the ground and threw it as his son's head. Uryu fell to the ground and blinked back a tear.
His father sighed ashamed "Why do I even try? You make me sick..."

To this day he still had a phobia of tennis. "I think I'll sit out on this one, give someone else he chance" He said retreating.
"Pah, fine. Chad, you up for it?"
"You bet" He tugged on his wristbands and fist-bumped Ichigo.
"Awesome, Keigo can be the referee"
"GOTCHA!!!"
Tatsuki flopped on the grass "You better hurry up, then it's our turn!"  
Rukia and Ivonette returned from the kitchen "We made mocktails!!! Ivon is really good at knowing what flavours go well together!"
"Not really. It's just the bare basics." She replied modestly, sploshing the super-chilled drink into the glasses
"Yuum!!"
"There's plenty for top-ups!" Rukia said as they settled down to watch the match.
Keigo had taken it upon himself to deliver special commentary which cracked the group up when things were going slow. "OWWH WHATTA SERVE FROM YASUTORA! BUT RENJI QUICKLY RECEIVES IT WITH A BEEEAUUUTIFUL BACKHAND STRIKE!" He took a quick break to cram a handful of leftover tortilla chips in his mouth and crunched loudly "HE-, MM-, ICHIGO----" He swallowed before continuing "ICHIGO ISN'T GIVING UP SO EASILY AND AAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOWH WHAT A BODACIOUS SHOT!- BUT OH- OH BERAH CATCHES IT IN THE NICK OF TIME AND GOES IN FOR AN ALLY-OOP!"
They all burst out laughing "Your mixing basketball with tennis!" Tatsuki reminded helpfully.
"YASUTORA FINALLY MAKES A SEDUCTIVE PLAY AND WHAT A BRILLIANT SHOT!! FIFTEEN-LOVE AND TEAM B TAKES THE LEAD!".
"Go get em right back!" Rukia yelled "You better win or I'll tell my brother about this!!"
"Hey! That's not fair!" Abarai protested.
Keigo began narrating again as things sprang back into action"AND WE KICK OFF WITH A WELL-CALCULATED STRIKE- TEAM A IS AT A SERIOUS DISADVANTAGE! THINGS ARE GOING ONE-SIDED- WILL RENJI BE ABLE TO CHANGE THE FLOW OF THE GAME WITH HIS NEXT MOVE???" Keigo shrieked as Renji sprinted across the 'Court' and propelled himself into a perfectly timed dive, smacking the ball back over the net with powerful velocity "UUNGH!" He grunted loudly.
"ABARAI BEAUTIFULLY HANDLES HIS RACQUET WITH EASE AND TRIES TO PULL AWAY!"
Chad had prepared himself for this and met with a robust counter-attack- but his opponent was determined. Renji sped towards the green sphere which danced tauntingly in space.
"HE'S NOT GONNA MAKE IT- HE WILL NOT MAKE IT!" Just as Keigo shouted these words Berah skidded in front of his taken-aback team-mate and returned the ball over the net with a mighty thrust "YAOOW!" He screeched, the highly-intensive play beginning to take a toll on his body.
"IT'S A COMEBACK! WHAT A COMEBACK, 15 ALL!"  
"You okay?" Renji panted whilst loosening his joints
"I got it" Berah assured wiping the sweat of his brow with his shirt, then dashed back into position.
Ichigo kicked some soot "Dammit! This is tougher then I expected." He breathed heavily, trying to analyze the next move.

The game ended with both teams equally matched, but Chad had made a fatal error in making it to his mark- allowing the other team victory.
"WOOHOOOO!! YEAAAH!" The audience hooted and supported whilst standing up, in preparation for their turn.
"Those were some smoove moves guys!" Rukia cheered waving her hands wildly.
"That was a wicked game!!" Tatsuki who thoroughly enjoyed and soaked up every minute added
"ICHIGO YOUR SUCH A LET DOWN! I CAN'T BELIEVE I WASTED MY TIME ROOTING FOR YOU!" Uryu yelled appalled from the lounge window as he dunked a biscuit into his coffee
"GET LOST! Like you could do better, tch!"
"I didn't know what was going on half the time, but well done!" Ivonette clapped.
Orihime laughed "What she said!"
Berahthraben gave Renji a high-five "We did the winning!!"
"DAMN STRAIGHT! Mwahahah, you suck Ichigo, we proper beat you" He stuck out his tongue gleefully "Baaaka!"
"Yeah by a point" He shook his head while grabbing himself a glass of water "I could easily thrash you, I just forgot to do my warm-ups."
"Sure, you keep telling yourself that"
"No, you were really well good! I've never had the pushing of my limit like this before" Berah commended "It was a good game!"
Ichigo stretched "Yeah! Your a pretty decent player, I wasn't expecting it to be honest."
"So strange!" Berah pondered with a look of bewilderment "Many players have said the same thing before!"
"Oh yeah? Guess you just don't look the type" He mumbled splashing the remaining water on his face.
The children swiftly ran up to them "C-c-c-c-c-c-can weeee have a turn??"
"Waah? Uh darlinks its the girls time to play! Besides, we really should get to the going soon"
"WHUURT? WHYYY!?" Keigo asked
"Yeah, stay a while longer" Chad offered.
"I would love to, but my wifey still has all these exams and assignments piling up"  
"Boy that's a shame"  
It was now early evening, and significantly less warm then before. They did however sit to watch the next game for a while. Keigo's throat had become sore from shrieking so bad the past two hours that he decided he would retire from his position as commentator for the next round.
"I didn't think the day would come when you'd shut up!" Renji cried happily
"Uuuu, my aching vocals!!" He groaned, downing as much water as humanly possible.
Orihime's strength was power-shots, and Rukia her speed. Tatsuki was the most outstanding with her unique plays.
Berah slipped on the kids shoes and coats while they watched "Wow.... Hers really fantastic..."
"Agreed, I hadn't imagined they'd actually be this good...."
They had to end the game just twenty-minutes in due to Berahthraben's insisting that it was getting simply too late.
"We had barely gotten started" Ivonette complained
"I know, but we've well and truly done the overstaying of our welcome!"
She tapped her foot and stood in defiance "You always say that once you've had all of your fun! You could be at a friends til midnight and you wont care to call even once- but me!? If I have a good time for even a minute you start having heart-palpitations about the time!"
"Not now, the kids are really tired!" He told her in a low voice to avoid public embarrassment.
"Your such a trogladite!" She insulted as she snatched up her shoes.
"Kuschelbar!!! Schnuckelchen!! Biene! Please don't be angry!"* He pleaded running upto her (*Huggy bear, Cutie-pie, Bee). She was having none of it and simply ignored him.
The friends watched intrigued,  "Wow... So those are the trials of marriage..." Orihime observed.
Ivonette walked upto them as if nothing had happened "Thankyou very much for having us, I had a really good time, and the food was delicious!"
"Aw, no biggy! It was fun having you over too! We should keep in touch!"
There was the usual praise and thankyou's and welcome's before a final big good-bye at the door and they left.
"It feel's kinda quiet all of a sudden, even though there are like fifty of us still here" Keigo remarked
"haha, you got that right!"
Ichigo yawned "Eeeaayuuuuurgh! I can finally relax!"
"All you've been doing all day is relaxing!" Rukia smacked him with a rolled up magazine "You guys still need to clean up the garden."
"...But! But my Sshnuckelchan! Kusshalber!" Ichigo joked in a terrible accent which made them all crease up laughing.
"Shut up!"
"BIENE!!!" He yelled desperately chasing her up the stairs
"Get lost!!! Ichigo!- stop it!" She suddenly said sternly.
He quickly relented, moaning as he headed back down "... Just having a laugh" .
"Have a good time cleaning up!" The girls called as they walked up the stairs.