Sunwindandwaves: I'm baaaaaack! After a long Bleach binge, I came up with this. Tite Kubo owns all the wonder it contains.
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"It's obligatory, so just take it, you fool!" Rukia shoved a small box into Ichigo's hand.
"What if I don't want it?" he asked, crossing his arms and scowling down at her. It was his least favorite day of the year. Well, second least favorite. Only White Day came after Valentine's Day in Ichigo's book.
"Take it!' she said angrily, glaring at him. "I live in your closet, it's the least i can do!"
"Hmph. Give it to that redheaded pineapple," Ichigo said, glaring out the window.
The classroom was slowly filling with students, who were glancing curiously at the quarreling pair. A girl with spiky black hair rolled her eyes as she sat down. "Already? You'd think it was too early for this kind of crap."
Her orange haired friend took a seat next to her. "Um, Tatsuki? Do you think I shouldn't give this to him?" she held out a small box much like the one Rukia was beating Ichigo across the head with on the other side of the room.
"TAKE IT, FOOL!" she roared.
"OW, WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?!" he roared back, trying to shield himself from the small girl.
Tatsuki smiled at Orihime. "Yeah. You want to give it to him, so go for it!"
Orihime looked at her hands nervously. "Maybe he doesn't want any chocolate," she said unhappily.
"No, no! Don't worry about it! He'll definitely accept yours!" Tatsuki reassured her. 'Cause I'll crush his head between my bare hands if he doesn't.
Orihime stole a glance at the confrontation between Ichigo and Rukia. "I think…I think I'll give it to him later." She laughed nervously and put the box back in her pocket.
Tatsuki shrugged. "Just don't put it off forever. You'll end up regretting it."
"I won't," Orihime said uncertainly. "I pro—"
Her words were cut off by a wail of pain. "You NUTCASE! THAT WAS THE CORNER OF THE BOX YOU HIT ME WITH!" Ichigo shouted, his hand to his forehead. A trickle of blood oozed out from between his fingers.
Rukia stuck her nose in the air and sat down, apparently done screaming. "This wouldn't have happened if you'd just taken the chocolate." The candy in question was sitting on her desk, and with one arm she swept it off onto the floor.
Ichigo sat down at his desk sullenly. "Crazy girl," he muttered. "OW!" Rukia had whacked him in the back of the head.
Orihime choked back a giggle as the teacher entered the class and effectively ended the fight. To anyone who saw them but didn't know them, she thought, Ichigo and Rukia would seem like they wanted to kill each other. But Orihime knew that they would never hurt each other.
She glanced over at Ichigo and saw him glaring at the ceiling, blood trickling down his forehead.
Orihime winced and amended her last thought. At least, they wouldn't hurt each other on purpose.
When class broke for lunch, Rukia stormed out of the room without speaking a word to anyone. Tatsuki watched her leave with an amused look on her face.
"Ichigo blew it big time," she remarked to Orihime. "Now strike!" she hissed in her ear. Orihime jumped.
"Uh, I, Ok." She got up and walked over to Ichigo, who was sitting at his desk with his head in his arms.
"Kurosaki-kun?" she said tentatively. He raised his head and scowled at her. She wasn't offended though. That was how his face always looked. She held out the box. "I know you didn't want any, I heard you and Rukia, but I made these myself, they're filled with marshmallow and peach, and I thought it would be a shame if—"
He raised his hand, and she her uncomfortable babbling broke off. "Thanks, Orihime. I appreciate it." He took the box out of her outstretched hand. "I'll repay you on White Day, ok?" He dropped his head into his arms again.
"Oh, no, really, you don't have to, I was just—" This time she stopped on her own. "Well, OK." She turned to go back to Tatsuki, who was giving her a big thumbs up. "Happy Valentine's day, Kurosaki-kun," she said after a pause.
He didn't lift his head. "Yeah, have a good one, Orihime."
Orihime sat back down next to Tatsuki. "You go girl!" Tatsuki said, raising her hand for a high five.
Orihime folded her hands in her lap and stared at her shoes. "He's upset about fighting with Rukia," she said quietly.
Stupid, stupid, stupid! Ichigo berated himself, smacking his head against his desk. He was vaguely aware that he was being stared at, but he really just didn't care. "GraaaAAH!" he groaned in frustration. Stupid, stupid, stupid!
He jumped up suddenly, scooping up the box Rukia had pushed to the floor and blasting out of the classroom.
He dashed down the hallway, nearly knocking over Uryuu as he passed him.
"Hmph." Uryuu pushed his glasses into place and frowned as Ichigo raced past him and climbed the staircase that led to the roof.
Rukia dangled her legs over the edge of the roof, between the bars of the fence that was there to keep any silly humans from losing their balance and toppling off. She twined her arms around the bars and stared at the ground below her, wondering if Ichigo was fighting off all the other girls with chocolate, or if there was just something especially wrong with her.
"Maybe it was my style of delivery…" she mused aloud.
"Yeah, maybe it was." She turned her head to see Ichigo standing on the roof behind her, her box of candy in his hand. "Bloodshed doesn't really mesh with friendship."
She turned away haughtily, gazing back down at the front lawn of the high school. "What makes you think I was talking about you?" she said scornfully, refusing to look at him as he sat next to her.
They sat without speaking for a few minutes, neither one willing to break the silence. From below them, they could hear the shouts of their classmates, all of whom were enjoying the holiday.
Rukia spotted Uryuu sitting by himself under a tree. Orihime approached him, and though they were too far away for Rukia to hear what they were saying, she saw Orihime hand the Quincy something and sit next to him. They weren't yelling at each other.
Rukia sighed. She felt…dysfunctional. Since arriving back in the human world, she'd been doing her best to seem normal, but apparently fighting with the boy you were giving Valentine's Day chocolate to wasn't.
"I accept," Ichigo said suddenly, making Rukia look up in surprise.
"What are you talking about?" she asked.
"I'll take your stupid chocolate," he said angrily. "I'll even get you something on White Day, OK?"
Rukia didn't answer, thinking carefully about her response. "…Really?" she asked finally.
"Um, yeah," Ichigo said, rubbing the back of his head. "I have to, right? Besides, you'd just get pissed if I didn't, and…well, that would make my life harder than it had to be."
"Ichigo," Rukia said, very seriously. "Look at me."
He met her eyes warily, wondering where she was going with this.
"That wasn't obligatory."
A/N: And there you have it, folks. Ichiruki fluff. Reviews are love!