Story: A Weekend of Discovery
Chapter: Chapter One: The Invitation
Rating: K+
Pairings: Ichigo x Rukia and Ishida x Inoue
Summary: Orihime wants to spice up her boring weekend with a 3 day get together with her 3 closest friends. Fun and games turn into more serious emotional and thought provoking matters, and personal discoveries are made.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any characters thereof. This is purely fan made.
It was a beautiful Friday afternoon in Karakura town and all of the students in Karakura High were anxious to be set free to enjoy the rest of the day's perfect weather. However, for one particular class, one thing stood between the bondage of learning and the freedom of the outdoors: a test. There were 5 minutes remaining before the dreadful exam was to be handed out, and many students had their textbooks and note cards out, cramming as many last-minute bits of information into their memory banks as they could fit. Others were sitting nervously at their desks, awaiting the unavoidable doom, while a few others nonchalantly chatted about the insignificance of a test score in one's life. Ichigo and Rukia were among those who were doing last minute study sessions, though Ichigo seemed considerably less concerned than Rukia.
"Come on, Ichigo! It's important to keep your brain sharp and focused, even if the subject at hand isn't all that interesting to you!" Rukia said.
"Yeah, right. And who told you that line, Byakuya? Besides, I did enough studying last night to get at least an average grade. I'll be fine," replied Ichigo, annoyed by Rukia's sudden sense of authority.
"Well a little reviewing won't hurt you. So tell me, what is this?" Rukia stubbornly held out a note card just inches away from Ichigo's face.
"It's a note card, you moron. Even you should know that." Rukia fumed at his response.
"I know what it is, smart ass. Tell me what's on it!" She demanded. Ichigo stared at the card for a moment, as if pondering.
"It looks like a really crappy drawing of two rabbits swordfighting?" At that, Rukia gave Ichigo a death glare, and flipped the card at his face.
"I didn't spend hours making these so you could poke fun at my drawings. I'm trying to help you here. Look, Orihime is using her time wisely to review," Rukia insisted, pointing toward Orihime who was writing furiously on a piece of paper. The red-headed girl had heard none of the conversation between her two classmates, as she was too enveloped in her writing. She sat back once, chewed on the tip of her pencil while looking upwards, and then smiled and wrote a few more words. She then tore the paper into three equal parts, and folded each part into a small square before writing three separate names on each: Kurosaki-kun, Ishida-kun, and Kuchiki-san. Orihime quickly arose from her seat and trotted toward Ichigo and Rukia's desks.
"Here you go!" Orihime cheerfully said, as she handed her two friends the notes. She quickly scampered off.
"So much for 'wisely spending her time studying,'" Ichigo quipped, grinning with victory. Rukia hardly noticed.
"Mine has a cute bunny drawn on the front!" Rukia's eyes glazed over with adoration. "What does yours have, Ichigo?" He looked down at his folded note, his name so carefully written across the front. In the corner was a drawing of a lion holding an over-sized strawberry atop its head.
"She sure is creative," Ichigo commented with an amused look on his face.
Uryuu sat at his desk in the front of the room, quietly passing the time by reading his book. He had no need to worry, nor any need to review. He always studied new material learned in class every day after school, and of course he knew that cramming just before a test actually lowered one's performance. His attention was diverted from his reading when he felt someone approaching and suddenly saw a white piece of paper slide onto his desk. By the time he had lowered his book, the person had left, but the folded paper remained. He studied its appearance and smiled at the drawing of a stuffed animal and spool of thread at the bottom corner. "Orihime," he thought to himself.
"Alright class, take your seats! In my hand here…" the teacher smacked her red pen against a large stack of papers she held in her opposite hand, "…are your test packets. Half is essay, the other half is multiple choice. I hope you all studied hard, because this won't be easy. Once you've finished, you may turn in your test to me and leave." With that, the teacher passed out the exams with a sadistic grin on her face.
Uryuu was the third person to finish his test, as the two students before him had randomly filled in bubbles on the multiple choice, and had written, in detail, about the adventures of Don Kononji. These two students had not only fluffed their entire tests, they had copied off of one another. They went by the names of Keigo and Mizuiro. Uryuu probably could even have finished before those two, however he chose to check his answers. Twice. Satisfied, he gathered his belongings, slipped the note into his pocket, and handed his test in to the teacher before quietly leaving the room. Ichigo glared at him, tapping his pencil against his desk. "That Uryuu makes it look so damn easy," he thought to himself. He stared down at his test for a while, then continued to write.
An hour later, most of the students had finished the exam, including Ichigo and Rukia who were walking down the school steps together.
"So, how do you think you did?" Rukia asked, looking over at Ichigo.
"What's with your sudden interest in my grades lately?" Ichigo said, putting his hands in his pockets and looking straight ahead. "It's not like it was cake, but I'm sure I passed." His fingers brushed against the note that he had placed in his pocket before. Rukia seemed to know what he was thinking, as she pulled out the note she had received earlier.
"Hmm, so I wonder what this is about?" She pondered, as she carefully unfolded the note. Her eyes scanned across the paper and she smiled warmly. Ichigo glanced at her curiously.
"So?" He asked, impatiently. Rukia read the note once more, aloud this time.
"Hello Kuchiki-san! I thought that, since nothing's really going on this weekend, maybe you and Kurosaki-kun and Ishida-kun could all come over to my apartment until Sunday evening. We could have so much fun! We could cook, and I have games we can play, or we could go for a walk, unless it rained but I guess that wouldn't matter too much I mean it's not like any of us are going to melt if we get wet, right? Unless one of us is a witch, which would be really strange because…Oh no! I'm rambling again. Well, please consider this invitation, I look forward to seeing you all there! Signed, Inoue Orihime. P.S. Kuchiki-san, you've always been such a great friend, and you're so pretty and strong and talented. I really look up to you. I hope we can always be such great friends!"
Rukia refolded the note and tucked it back into her uniform pocket. Excitedly, she turned toward Ichigo. "Let's go! It sounds like it'll be a lot of fun!"
"Calm down, spazz-head. Yeah, I'm sure dad wouldn't mind if I took a few days off around the clinic to hang with friends. Especially if you and Orihime are involved, then he'd probably even encourage it," Ichigo replied, with a hint of disgust in his voice. Rukia stared at ichigo, impatience in her eyes. "What?"
"You got a note too, didn't you? What does yours say?" Ichigo grasped the note from his pocket, unfolded it and read it to himself. His eyes scanned the last few lines, and a light blush appeared on his face.
"Well, what is it? You're blushing, there must be something good in there," Rukia coyly remarked, trying to grab the note away from him.
"Wh-what? No! It's nothing, really. It says about the same thing as yours does."
"No way, you're hiding something. I bet yours has a P.S. too, what does it say?" She pried.
"Mind your own damn business, shorty," he spouted, holding the note up high so Rukia couldn't reach it. She glared at him and jumped up on his back, causing them both to tumble down the remaining steps. She emerged victorious, note in hand.
"Dammit, Rukia! Gimme the stupid note back!" He cursed. She was already reading the last few lines, though. P.S. Umm, this is sort of embarrassing to say, but Kurosaki-kun, you're really a great person, even though a lot of people pick on you. You're my hero, thank you for always being there for me. Oh! And I think you're very cute, especially when you smile.
"That's it? Really, Ichigo, you get so flustered by the smallest of matters."
"Get off your high horse!" He scowled even more than usual and snatched the note back, shoving it into his pants pocket.
Uryuu casually strode down the sidewalk, messenger bag on his left shoulder and a cloth sack in his right hand, which contained all of his sewing supplies. He walked toward a nearby park, intending to enjoy the rest of the afternoon outside with a bit of sewing and an afternoon snack. Better to eat small portions often than large meals thrice a day, after all. He found a quiet, shady spot beneath an old oak tree and sat down, resting his back against the trunk. He set his sewing bag aside, reached into his messenger bag and pulled out his afternoon snack. One small bowl and a thermos filled with mackerel miso soup, along with his chopsticks engraved with his name, were set on the grass beside him. Finally, he reached into his pocket and retrieved the note from class, carefully unfolding it as if it were made from fine Chinese silk. He let his eyes run quickly over the words written on the page once, paused as if thinking, and read it once again, more slowly. He smiled and repositioned his glasses, then refolded the note and replaced it in his pocket.
He had only been sitting for a half hour, enjoying his soup and embroidering a few stitches into his latest project, when he heard footsteps approaching him at full speed from behind. Instinctively, he tensed slightly, ready for action, and without moving his head an inch he glanced at the reflection in his glasses to see what was approaching him. All he managed to catch was a blur of orange before he was toppled over completely.
"Iiiiiiiiishida-kuuuuun!" The girl happily yelled, wrapping her arms around him tightly. Uryuu quickly recovered from the attack, shoved his project into his bag in the blink of an eye, and blushed slightly. She smelled of fresh morning dew and cool summer rains, as always.
"I-Inoue-san…Good afternoon," he replied, regaining full composure by readjusting his glasses.
"So, are you coming to the party? You are aren't you? A party isn't a party without the fun enigmatic Ishida around!" She chirped. Uryuu stared in amazement. Her cheerfulness always caught him off guard and shook his composure. Though, admittedly, he was also surprised by the fact that she knew the definition of the word 'enigmatic' and could use it correctly in a sentence.
"Ah, a party now, is it? I suppose I could come, as long as things don't become too boisterous and disorderly," Uryuu calmly replied. Of course he had already decided his answer the minute he'd opened her note and read her words. Orihime beamed at his response. "About…the note, however…" He solemnly began. "I…"
"Oi! Uryuu, Orihime, that you guys?" Yelled someone quite a distance off. Uryuu sighed. There was no mistaking that disrespectful tone and that loud dandelion hair. Orihime quickly turned around and saw Ichigo and Rukia headed in their direction. Enthusiastically, she waved them over.
"Hai! This way, over here!" She yelled. Ichigo and Rukia picked up their pace and jogged toward their two friends. Uryuu suddenly wondered how everyone could find him so easily.
"Good afternoon, Inoue, Ishida!" Rukia greeted.
"Ah. Kuchiki-san…Kurosaki," Uryuu nodded and gave a subtle challenging glance toward Ichigo. Ichigo returned the glance equally.
"So you two are joining Ishida and I this weekend aren't you?" asked Orihime, hopefully.
"Of course we are! We.." Rukia began.
"Yeah, just tell the Quincy here to stop giving such hateful glances, and remove whatever knitting needle he has stuck up his…" Ichigo interrupted. Rukia quickly kicked Ichigo over into the grass before he could finish. Orihime looked slightly confused.
"Well that's great, then!" Orihime said, glancing at her wristwatch. "Oh! It's nearly 4:30 already, I'd better hurry home and clean things up for you guys. Um, just stop by in an hour and things should be ready!" That said, Orihime rushed off to her apartment without another word.
"I have things that need finishing before this event. I'll see you two in an hour. Good day," Uryuu said, and departed quickly with his gathered belongings. Ichigo, now sitting on the grass from Rukia's punishing kick, watched his raven-haired friend make a quick exit.
"Good day" He mimicked. "It's like he's avoiding us more than usual with that cold attitude."
"I wonder what his note said," pondered Rukia. Ichigo's eyes widened, as if not realizing that Orihime would even consider writing a note to Uryuu. Obviously covering his curiosity, Ichigo turned his head away.
"Tch, like it matters. Quit being so nosey."