Hali's Challenge Entry - "Weakness"
Yeah... I couldn't resist.
Title: Weakness
Fandom: Bleach: IchiHime
Rating: K
Spoilers: For Chapter 417. Sort of.
Rukia glanced around her, her expression wide-eyed as Karakura High students milled about her. With Aizen’s defeat just days ago, it felt so strange for her to be back at this school, pretending to be a normal student. Aside from her and few select others, no one in town remembered what had happened during the town’s brief stay in Soul Society. Any damage the buildings had incurred was written off as effects of an earthquake.
Despite having told herself repeatedly that morning that things were going to be like normal, Rukia still couldn’t shake off the disbelief that life was continuing like always, despite the destruction the town had narrowly avoided, thanks to one teenager in particular. It was that very teenager Rukia was looking for. She stepped through the crowd, peering around bodies and heads in an attempt to locate him.
Instead, he had found her. “Oi, Rukia.”
She turned, and briefly smiled when her eyes met his dark brown ones. “Ichigo. You’re looking well.”
He did, considering he was still technically recovering from his brutal fight with Aizen. It hadn’t been a week since Aizen had fallen, but Ichigo already looked just like he had before he left for Hueco Mundo. Well, almost.
Assured that he was doing well, at least for now, Rukia moved onto another important, albeit slightly smaller matter. “You haven’t cut your hair,” she pointed out.
Ichigo glanced to the side as he sheepishly fingered his hair. “Uh, no. I’m thinking about getting it cut next week, though.”
“Eh?” Rukia didn’t bother to hide her disappointment as her smile fell. “You shouldn’t. You look very…” There were a lot of flattering adjectives she could have used. She had certainly heard plenty in the halls this morning as she passed by some chattering girls who had gotten a look at Ichigo. Instead, she settled on, “Dashing. You look dashing with it.”
He frowned, puzzled by her compliment. “This is after all the cracks you and Renji made about it?”
Rukia tried not to laugh as she said, “We were just teasing. In all honesty, I like how it looks on you.”
“I don’t know. It’s more work,” Ichigo said.
Undeterred, Rukia’s mind quickly scrambled to formulate a Plan B. She really, really didn’t want him to cut it. He actually looked good with his hair longer, and not to mention Orihime had said-
She nearly broke into a mischievous grin as she realized what her next plan of attack should be. “Well, that’s a shame,” she said with a dramatic sigh. “I rather liked it. Inoue’s going to be disappointed, too.”
“Inoue?” Ichigo’s expression went from indifferent to mildly curious, if not a little bit surprised. “She would?”
Got him. Suppressing her pleasure at seeing this plan work, Rukia nodded as she pretended to peer through her one notebook. “Yeah. She really liked it. Thought you looked considerably handsome.” That was an understatement; Rukia could distinctly remember how enthralled Orihime was when she first saw Ichigo’s new look. It took considerable stuttering and blushing before she could even utter a coherent sentence. Rukia was sure that Orihime had wanted to say he looked hot or something along those lines, but her natural shyness and modesty had her settle on “handsome” instead.
“She does?” Ichigo was rather gobsmacked at the idea, but Rukia could already see doubt in his eyes over his decision to cut it.
“She even said as much. But, I suppose it doesn’t matter.” Rukia decided to shrug for added effect. “You’re cutting it anyway.”
Ichigo’s eyes narrowed defensively. “I only said I was thinking about cutting it.”
“Oh?” Rukia smiled innocently. “Reconsidering now, are we?”
Before he could make a retort, the bell pealed, signaling the start of first period. “We better get to class,” Rukia said.
Together they walked towards their classroom in silence. Normally, Rukia would have broken up the quiet with conversation, but today she let it hang. The last thing she wanted was to distract him from reconsidering his decision. Occasionally, she discreetly glanced up at him, always to find his brow furrowed in thought. Perfect. He’s definitely giving it a lot of thought.
Now, for the final push, she thought as they walked into the classroom. Her violet eyes roamed the room, searching for the one who could deliver the coup de grace to Ichigo’s hair cutting plans.
“Inoue!” Smiling when she found her, Rukia raced over to her, pushing aside chairs and desks as she worked her way towards her friend.
“Kuchiki-san, good morning!” As usual, Orihime greeted her with a bright smile. Her eyes darted to Ichigo, and her smile became softer as she faintly blushed. “Good morning to you too, Kurosaki-kun.”
“Hey, Inoue,” Ichigo said with a soft smile. “You feeling okay?”
“Huh? Oh, um, I’m fine!” Orihime waved her hands in front of her, trying to dispel his worries. “I got plenty of rest.”
Ichigo nodded, obviously relieved by the way his body instantly relaxed. “Good.”
Rukia watched them, letting them have this brief exchange before pulling ahead with the last part of her plan. She knew they needed to reassure that the other was all right. Not to mention she wasn’t going to ruin another one of their adorable moments. But when silence began to settle in, she made her move. Casually, she sat down next to Orihime and remarked, “I heard something tragic today.”
“What?” Orihime’s eyes widened in concern. “Did something happen?”
“Rumor has it that Ichigo’s getting a haircut.” She suppressed a snort when Ichigo shot her a quick glare.
It didn’t matter that Ichigo was aware of what she was doing. The crestfallen expression Orihime wore would have been enough to melt the coldest of hearts and sway the resolve of the most resolute of wills. “You are?” Orihime asked quietly as she attempted to mask her disappointment. “I - I understand. It’s probably a hassle and-”
“Nah. It’s just a false rumor.” Ichigo shrugged as he scratched his head, his long fingers running through his hair. “It’s not that long or anything.”
“Really?” In an instant, Orihime went from bummed to excited. Her eyes lit up and her smile could have lit the whole room. “I mean, if that’s what you want, but I think it’s a good choice to keep it.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah!” Orihime tucked back some strands of her own long hair. “I’m… I’m glad you are.”
Trying to pass it off as nothing, Ichigo shrugged again, forcing his lips to form his usual scowl. “It’s nothing.”
Smirking in triumph, Rukia leaned back in her chair and pulled out the notebook she needed for first period. At one point, she caught Ichigo glancing at her from the corner of her eyes. She smiled evilly when his gaze turned into a mild glare. Unfazed, Rukia could only smile wider as she realized that his annoyance was not only an indication that he was fully aware of what she had planned, but also that he knew it would work. He knew that Orihime had him wrapped around her finger, essentially.
She had not only managed to keep his hair intact, but had also proved what she had suspected for awhile. Grinning from ear to ear, all she could say in response to his glower was, “Sucker.”
Ehehehe?
Title: Weakness
Fandom: Bleach: IchiHime
Rating: K
Spoilers: For Chapter 417. Sort of.
Rukia glanced around her, her expression wide-eyed as Karakura High students milled about her. With Aizen’s defeat just days ago, it felt so strange for her to be back at this school, pretending to be a normal student. Aside from her and few select others, no one in town remembered what had happened during the town’s brief stay in Soul Society. Any damage the buildings had incurred was written off as effects of an earthquake.
Despite having told herself repeatedly that morning that things were going to be like normal, Rukia still couldn’t shake off the disbelief that life was continuing like always, despite the destruction the town had narrowly avoided, thanks to one teenager in particular. It was that very teenager Rukia was looking for. She stepped through the crowd, peering around bodies and heads in an attempt to locate him.
Instead, he had found her. “Oi, Rukia.”
She turned, and briefly smiled when her eyes met his dark brown ones. “Ichigo. You’re looking well.”
He did, considering he was still technically recovering from his brutal fight with Aizen. It hadn’t been a week since Aizen had fallen, but Ichigo already looked just like he had before he left for Hueco Mundo. Well, almost.
Assured that he was doing well, at least for now, Rukia moved onto another important, albeit slightly smaller matter. “You haven’t cut your hair,” she pointed out.
Ichigo glanced to the side as he sheepishly fingered his hair. “Uh, no. I’m thinking about getting it cut next week, though.”
“Eh?” Rukia didn’t bother to hide her disappointment as her smile fell. “You shouldn’t. You look very…” There were a lot of flattering adjectives she could have used. She had certainly heard plenty in the halls this morning as she passed by some chattering girls who had gotten a look at Ichigo. Instead, she settled on, “Dashing. You look dashing with it.”
He frowned, puzzled by her compliment. “This is after all the cracks you and Renji made about it?”
Rukia tried not to laugh as she said, “We were just teasing. In all honesty, I like how it looks on you.”
“I don’t know. It’s more work,” Ichigo said.
Undeterred, Rukia’s mind quickly scrambled to formulate a Plan B. She really, really didn’t want him to cut it. He actually looked good with his hair longer, and not to mention Orihime had said-
She nearly broke into a mischievous grin as she realized what her next plan of attack should be. “Well, that’s a shame,” she said with a dramatic sigh. “I rather liked it. Inoue’s going to be disappointed, too.”
“Inoue?” Ichigo’s expression went from indifferent to mildly curious, if not a little bit surprised. “She would?”
Got him. Suppressing her pleasure at seeing this plan work, Rukia nodded as she pretended to peer through her one notebook. “Yeah. She really liked it. Thought you looked considerably handsome.” That was an understatement; Rukia could distinctly remember how enthralled Orihime was when she first saw Ichigo’s new look. It took considerable stuttering and blushing before she could even utter a coherent sentence. Rukia was sure that Orihime had wanted to say he looked hot or something along those lines, but her natural shyness and modesty had her settle on “handsome” instead.
“She does?” Ichigo was rather gobsmacked at the idea, but Rukia could already see doubt in his eyes over his decision to cut it.
“She even said as much. But, I suppose it doesn’t matter.” Rukia decided to shrug for added effect. “You’re cutting it anyway.”
Ichigo’s eyes narrowed defensively. “I only said I was thinking about cutting it.”
“Oh?” Rukia smiled innocently. “Reconsidering now, are we?”
Before he could make a retort, the bell pealed, signaling the start of first period. “We better get to class,” Rukia said.
Together they walked towards their classroom in silence. Normally, Rukia would have broken up the quiet with conversation, but today she let it hang. The last thing she wanted was to distract him from reconsidering his decision. Occasionally, she discreetly glanced up at him, always to find his brow furrowed in thought. Perfect. He’s definitely giving it a lot of thought.
Now, for the final push, she thought as they walked into the classroom. Her violet eyes roamed the room, searching for the one who could deliver the coup de grace to Ichigo’s hair cutting plans.
“Inoue!” Smiling when she found her, Rukia raced over to her, pushing aside chairs and desks as she worked her way towards her friend.
“Kuchiki-san, good morning!” As usual, Orihime greeted her with a bright smile. Her eyes darted to Ichigo, and her smile became softer as she faintly blushed. “Good morning to you too, Kurosaki-kun.”
“Hey, Inoue,” Ichigo said with a soft smile. “You feeling okay?”
“Huh? Oh, um, I’m fine!” Orihime waved her hands in front of her, trying to dispel his worries. “I got plenty of rest.”
Ichigo nodded, obviously relieved by the way his body instantly relaxed. “Good.”
Rukia watched them, letting them have this brief exchange before pulling ahead with the last part of her plan. She knew they needed to reassure that the other was all right. Not to mention she wasn’t going to ruin another one of their adorable moments. But when silence began to settle in, she made her move. Casually, she sat down next to Orihime and remarked, “I heard something tragic today.”
“What?” Orihime’s eyes widened in concern. “Did something happen?”
“Rumor has it that Ichigo’s getting a haircut.” She suppressed a snort when Ichigo shot her a quick glare.
It didn’t matter that Ichigo was aware of what she was doing. The crestfallen expression Orihime wore would have been enough to melt the coldest of hearts and sway the resolve of the most resolute of wills. “You are?” Orihime asked quietly as she attempted to mask her disappointment. “I - I understand. It’s probably a hassle and-”
“Nah. It’s just a false rumor.” Ichigo shrugged as he scratched his head, his long fingers running through his hair. “It’s not that long or anything.”
“Really?” In an instant, Orihime went from bummed to excited. Her eyes lit up and her smile could have lit the whole room. “I mean, if that’s what you want, but I think it’s a good choice to keep it.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah!” Orihime tucked back some strands of her own long hair. “I’m… I’m glad you are.”
Trying to pass it off as nothing, Ichigo shrugged again, forcing his lips to form his usual scowl. “It’s nothing.”
Smirking in triumph, Rukia leaned back in her chair and pulled out the notebook she needed for first period. At one point, she caught Ichigo glancing at her from the corner of her eyes. She smiled evilly when his gaze turned into a mild glare. Unfazed, Rukia could only smile wider as she realized that his annoyance was not only an indication that he was fully aware of what she had planned, but also that he knew it would work. He knew that Orihime had him wrapped around her finger, essentially.
She had not only managed to keep his hair intact, but had also proved what she had suspected for awhile. Grinning from ear to ear, all she could say in response to his glower was, “Sucker.”
Ehehehe?