A Warm Day
Awww – a cute moment (I hope) with Ishida and Rukia on a warm day
Disclaimer – I own nuthin'.
/
The whole gang was at the park that day: Ichigo and his sisters, his friends from school, Renji, even the kids from the Urahara shop. And why not? It was a beautiful day. There were no reports of Hollows, and even the Bounts hadn't made an appearance in a few days. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. A light breeze kept the temperature down. T-shirts and shorts replaced the usual school uniforms. They were all playing a game involving three soccer balls and a jump rope. They were running, laughing, making up the rules as they went along.
Well, not everyone.
Ishida sat on a bench, dressed in an immaculate white suit, sewing, with his usual serious look on his face.
Out on the field, Rukia was running and smiling along with the others. But her smile hid her concern. She didn't understand exactly what the rules were, and she was worried that she wasn't playing the game right. Orihime always did her best to help Rukia feel like she belonged, but she hadn't arrived yet.
Rukia jogged over to the sideline and sat down on the bench next to Ishida. Ishida looked up for a moment and nodded politely to her as she wiped the sweat off her forehead and caught her breath.
Just then an argument broke out on the field, as Renji claimed that Ichigo had kicked the ball twice. Ichigo denied it, and that led to a shouting match.
The commotion caught Ishida's attention. "He's an idiot", he said.
Chad wordlessly stepped forward a few paces, now standing between the two. Neither of them would dare to challenge Chad. Chad was so calm, and so obviously right to break up the pointless argument, that it made Renji and Ichigo even angrier. But Chad had successfully enforced the law, and Ichigo and Renji quieted down and separated – for now.
Rukia answered, "yes, they both can be idiots sometimes."
Ishida put down his stitchwork. "Look around. The city could be attacked at any moment, and they're not training. Renji is a lieutenant, and has trained for years, but Ichigo…"
"I know. I worry about him."
"He's reckless, he doesn't train. A Quincy trains at all times. Even in my sewing, I focus my awareness on a single purpose, and I settle for nothing less than perfection. A Quincy is a master of concentration in all things."
Ishida's expression changed from anger to shame.
"Not that I have powers anymore."
The change in tone caught Rukia's attention.
On the field, Orihime had just arrived. She greeted them all happily, but her greeting to Ichigo had a formality to it, a reverence.
Ishida noticed them. "No, the Soul Reaper has all the powers, and he gets all the pretty girls…"
Rukia said, "Oh, are you interested in Orihime?"
Ishida was flustered, blushing. "No, no, I just mean, you and Orihime, and all of the girls at school…"
Rukia paused. "You…think I'm pretty?"
That made Ishida even more uncomfortable. He mumbled, "no, I…" No, that's not what he meant. "No, no, not…" Why did he keep saying no? !
He shut his mouth, regained his famous Quincy composure (at least on the surface), and looked Rukia in the eye. "Yes."
Rukia paused for a moment, then leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She pulled back, eyes down, nearly bowing. "Arigato."
A moment later, the new arrival Orihime called out to Rukia to join the game. Rukia obliged.
/
Ishida's eyes hurt. Then he realized that he hadn't moved, blinked, maybe hadn't even breathed for the last five minutes.
He blinked a few times, took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. He muttered to himself, "No, she's in love with Ichigo. It didn't mean anything. It was just a kiss."
It was just a kiss… but it was nice.
He picked up his stitching, returning to his project with the same look of concentration, but if anyone had looked closely, they would have seen a hint of a smile.