Chapter 18

Angel hummed a small tune as she walked towards her apartment. The sun was already starting to set and she was ready to just fall into her bed and sleep. But there's no way she can sleep, especially since Ichigo would most likely drag her back to his apartment for work.

She scoffed when she remembered what she had to grade later.

Angel neared her apartment with a scowl when she saw something off. She stopped and looked around her.

Nothing seemed wrong. But that was the problem: it felt eerily quiet. Suddenly, something caught her attention from the corner of her eye. She looked up only to see a shadowy figure suddenly emerge from what appeared to be her apartment. Her breathing quickened as did her heartbeat.

She was getting robbed…IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY!?

Her eyes widened as the person ran down the stairs and out into the streets, his arms and pockets full of many items.

She should have followed him; Angel knew she should have gone after that bastard and stop him. But her brain wasn't functioning correctly. Instead, she looked up to her apartment where the door was still wide open.

Without thinking twice, Angel quickly ran towards her apartment building and up the stairs. When she reached her floor, she noticed that that person indeed came out from her place. With her shaky legs, Angel made her way to her apartment and looked inside.

Angel gasped, dropping everything that she was holding as she looked around her home.

Everything was in ruins.

The couch was ripped up, it's cotton spewing out; the TV screen was shattered; tables and chairs were upturned and broken; several of her dishes were broken on the ground; her mattress were flipped over; her clothes all over the floor; the drawers opened and some upturned; and many of her jewelries and hidden money were gone.

Nothing about her apartment felt homey anymore.

Angel didn't know what to do or how to react. She couldn't scream as her throat closed up from the shock. Her body wouldn't move from where she was standing. Her mind couldn't fully register what was happening.

Everything was just so fucked up!

In the end, the moment she got some feeling back in her legs, Angel ran out of her apartment and quickly made her way to the building in front of hers.

Ichigo whistled a small tune as he walked up the stairs of his apartment building. Today started out nice. His classes went smoothly: everyone turned in their homework and even Jonny kept his stupid comment to himself. Not to mention Andrew lost a bet with him so he has to buy him some drinks that weekend.

Oh yeah, today was a good day—

Ichigo's thought suddenly stopped when he noticed a familiar figure sitting in front of his door, her knees up to her chest and her head resting on top of them.

"Angel?" he approached her.

As soon as she heard her name, Angel looked up to see Ichigo standing in front of her.

Ichigo was shocked when he noticed her tear-stained face. Then it was even more unexpected when she suddenly jumped up and wrapped her arms around his waist, hiding her face against his chest.

He didn't know how to react at first. Was this really Bushū Angel or some imposter? But then he slowly relaxed and held her tightly against him. "Hey, what's the matter?" he asked in the most soothing voice he could muster.

Angel's shoulders jerked up as she hiccupped. "Ichi—huck—go," she whimpered, "I don't know—eugh—what to do."

Ichigo rubbed her back up and down to calm her breathing. "What are you talking about? What's wrong?"

"Ichigo," she breathed out, "Some—somebody broke into my apartment—"

Ichigo quickly grabbed her arms and pushed her off him to look straight at her face. "What?!"

Angel's lower lip trembled as fresh tears started to flow out. This was the first time he saw Angel in such a vulnerable state. In fact, this wasn't the Angel he knew the last three weeks. No matter how tough the situation was, she's the type to push through them and come out with that cocky grin of hers. But seeing her like this…

It was nerve-wracking.

Ichigo forced his tense body to calm down before he opened his apartment door behind them and he lifted her into his arms, his arms under her bent knees and shoulders. Angel watched him under hooded eyes as Ichigo brought her inside, passed the living room, passed the kitchen, and into his bedroom. He carefully set her down and kneeled in front of her.

"I'll go over to your place and call the cops. Just stay here and rest, okay?" he said, brushing away some of her midnight hair from her face.

Angel slowly nodded her head before lying down on Ichigo's bed. He silently covered her with his blanket before quickly leaving. He closed his bedroom door and made his way outside. As he closed the door, he double-checked to make sure the door was locked before running off to Angel's apartment.

He arrived at the front door, which was left wide open, and stepped in. If he had anything in his hands he would have dropped everything from shock.

The entire apartment was turned inside-out.

He carefully walked inside, making sure not to step on anything or move anything in case there's something the cops could use.

Speaking of cops…

Ichigo pulled out his cell phone from his pocket and quickly dialed a number. "Hello? I'd like to report a robbery…"

The next hour was a blur to Ichigo. The cops arrived within five minutes and quickly inspected Angel's apartment. It seemed most of her jewelry and small stack of money that she had hidden in her drawer were mainly stolen. Some small items were also gone while the rest were destroyed. Nothing was found that might pass off as evidence against the criminal so the cops left, leaving with only a promise to look for the thief.

Ichigo sighed as he looked around the remains of the apartment.

It was still a complete mess after the investigation.

He shook off his jacket, tossing it to the side, and rolled up his sleeves. He grabbed a large garbage bag and started to stuff it with the debris of glass and wood. He cleaned up as much as he could of the living room and the kitchen, though there was absolutely nothing left that could make the place look homely again.

He sighed as he sat down on a torn-up couch cushion, looking around the apartment.

There's no way Angel would want to live here now, not after all this happen…Not to mention how he won't let her live alone if he had a say in it too.

Why?

Ichigo cursed at his inner thoughts and ignored the single-word question. They only brought unnecessary thoughts into his head.

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