Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Tite Kubo does.
Different Angles
"If you get hurt, then I'll support you.
If you can't move, then I'll fight in your place!
If you're in pain, then I'll bear your pain!
We're friends, right?"
- Rukia Kuchiki
Ichigo Kurosaki glided along the ice with ease, leaving thin trails behind him. His usual scowl softened since he was surrounded by friends, now turning into a small smile, teeth showing.
"Hey, Rukia! What's taking you, midget?" he called at the small dark haired girl. She was staggering around, holding onto the railing.
She yelped, nearly slipping before she caught the railing again. She shook her head. "No," she said softly, "I can't let go. I'll fall." She sighed, tucking some strands of hair away from her face and behind her ear. "I don't understand how you humans can do this. It looks so easy."
"It is," he replied, "you just over think it."
"What do you mean? I'm basically balancing on knives!" She exclaimed.
"No, just have an even weight... don't put your feet so close together. It will give you more balance." He told her, skating over to her so he could see. "It's almost like standing, or being in a fighting position. As simple as that. There's really no difference."
She adjusted her feet, still holding onto the rail. "Okay..."
"Now move your feet a little... yeah, almost like a 'v' but don't touch your heels," he explained, eyeing her skates, her ankles trembling uncontrollably. He ran a hand through his bright orange hair.
She nodded. "That's it? You think I can skate now-?" Just as she let go of the railing, she lost balance above her waist, waving her arms frantically. Her knees buckled. She bent over perfectly 90 degrees forward, then backward, letting out a few yelps before she fell forward on her knees.
She shivered, as her hands met the ice to stop her from falling, sending icy pricks into her fingertips. She didn't mind it. She stayed in that position for a few seconds, absorbing the coolness, before Ichigo picked her up and brought her to her feet.
Rukia lunged for the railing once again, gasping for breath. "I- I can't do this!"
"Rukia," he began, sighing, "it's ice. I'm surprised you can't skate. With Sode No Shirayuki and all..."
"That's different!" She snapped.
"You've walked on spirit particles in the air, too."
"That's also very different!"
He sighed again, smirking. "You're hopeless. Come on."
He extended a hand. His eyes softened. Rukia met eyes with him and hesitated before she took it. At first, their grip on each other's hands were gentle, almost limp. They were barely holding hands - more like touching. Rukia rested her hand flat on his, as she began to skate slowly.
"V" shape. Skate left, up left. Right, up right. Diagonal movements. Bring them back closer. Left, up left. Right, up right.
Ichigo was so entertained by the concentration on Rukia's face. She was never that determined about a human thing. He tugged the corners of his lips down, trying to stop the smile from forming. But his chocolate brown eyes gleamed with interest.
Rukia was holding on tightly now, her balance all depending on him. The warmth of his hand spread on her own. He was her support, keeping her from falling. She didn't even realize it, but Ichigo was speeding up.
Mean while, Orihime and Tatsuki were chatting and skating, before Uryuu challenged them to a skating race. They began to loop around the rink, leaving Orihime to chase behind them. Chad silently skated, too, keeping a close eye on them.
"Okay," Ichigo said gently, focusing on only Rukia, "I'm going to let go now."
"Wait, Ichigo! Not so fast!" Rukia gasped, trying to keep her balance.
His hand began to slip, and the next thing she knew, her hand was empty. By instinct, she clawed at the air, trying to grab hold of his hand once again. His hand was too high, and she was too short. Her knees buckled again and she waved her arms around to regain her balance. She was able to stand. Relief and confidence washed over her face. She smiled.
"Ha," she laughed, "haha!" She breathed a sigh, watching her breath come out in puffs of frost. "How's that?"
Ichigo smiled slightly back at her. She tried to skate on her own. He watched her.
I guess all she needed was practice-
"Whoa!" she yelled out, losing her balance. She quickly looked around for any railings to grab onto, but Ichigo brought her out too far into the rink. She clenched her teeth, sucking in air. Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise, and he gasped when he realized what was going to happen. He shot his arms out towards her to stop her.
She was going to fall again.
Her body responded quickly even without her mind telling it to. She threw her arms out in Ichigo's direction. This time, Ichigo caught her, his strong hands tightly holding her arms.
"Gotcha!" he exhaled in relief.
"Th-thanks," she replied calmly, catching her breath.
Ichigo smiled at her, "I guess you still need more practice." He held both of Rukia's hands, guiding her along the ice rink.
For some reason, Rukia's face flushed. She didn't know why. It wasn't like Ichigo never held her hand or carried her before. It was normal for them to be saving each other, even hitting each other (even though Rukia did most of the hitting). But this... this almost felt like, what do the humans call it?
A date.
It almost felt like a date. Sure, she went out with Ichigo many times, but defeating Hollows and fighting enemies together was their duty as a Soul Reaper. Yes, she lived with Ichigo, but that was because she had no where else to go. Whenever they were together in battle, from any angle they'd look like friends and allies. At that moment though, from any angle, they looked like a couple.
Ichigo brought her here... because he wanted to. He wanted to spend more time with her. He held her hand to help her, but it was more than that. It just showed how comfortable they were with each other. How much they cared for each other. Whether they were facing a life or death situation, or were merely trying to skate.
Rukia cleared her throat nervously. "I think I got it now."
He faced her and raised an eyebrow. "Really? You think so?"
"Yes, I'm confident," she replied, putting a determined look on her face, narrowing her eyes.
"Okay then, but if you fall, don't expect me to catch you next time," he mumbled, shrugging.
"Ichigo!"
"Gah!" He gasped, and caught her again without thinking.
Rukia laughed under her breath. "You fool, you still got me."
The substitute shinigami huffed, "Whatever. You suck at skating."
Rukia laughed lightly, which was unexpected. Ichigo thought she'd shoot back a remark. He raised his eyebrows and tilted his head.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered, covering her smiling mouth with her hand.
He took her hand and grinned, "Oi, next time I bring you here, you're going to have to learn how to skate."
"Next time?" Rukia asked, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks.
"Yeah, unless you hate skating," he replied.
She shook her head. "Humans made it look fun. I'm going to give it a try," she gave his hand a gentle squeeze, "but right now I need you to assist me."
"Yeah, okay," he rolled his eyes teasingly. He gripped her hand tightly.
It felt nice to take a break from their duties as Soul Reapers.
"Look at them," Uryuu mumbled to Chad, "in their own world, as usual."
Chad grunted in reply. Orihime giggled, "I'm glad Kuchiki-san is enjoying herself."
"It's expected from her. She's always around ice," Chad said in his low voice.
"True!" She beamed. She paused. "I don't mean to be rude, but she still needs more practice! She's so cute... It's a different side of her."
Tatsuki shrugged. "It's okay, Hime-chan. That's why she's got Ichigo with her."
Orihime nodded, smiling at them.
"Why does Ichigo get to hold hands with Kuchiki?" Keigo complained softly, crossing his arms over his chest.
Mizuiro looked over his shoulder at Keigo. "Asano-san, I wouldn't disturb them if I were you. You can't skate either."
"Ha! That's what you think. Watch..." Keigo pushed off the rails of the rink, gliding towards the pair.
The last second, he stumbled around, and made a quick turn to the left, smashing into the ice.
"I'm skating!" Rukia smiled to herself, her violet eyes sparkling with excitement. "I got it! I'm skating!"
"Amazing, Kuchiki-san!" Orihime beamed, skating slowly next to her. Ichigo was close by. So was Chad, Uryuu, Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuiro.
"Nice job, now we just have to teach Keigo here," Chad stated.
"Hey!" Keigo protested, "I can skate!"
"Oh really? Then let go of that railing, Asano-san," Mizuiro teased.
Keigo sweatdropped, chuckling nervously, "Never mind." His eyes lit up and he faced Ichigo. "Why don't you hold my hand and help me? Eeee-chiiii-goooo!" He flung himself towards the spiky haired teen.
Ichigo narrowed his eyes, and shoved his palm into Keigo's face, sending him to the other end of the rink in less than seconds. When the group of friends found out he was okay, they went back to their skating. Ichigo and Rukia met eyes for a split second, before turning away.
"Rukia," he began.
"Hm."
"Let's skate," he simply said, and grabbed her hand yet again. They skated together, gliding beside each other across the ice.
"Idiot." Rukia murmured, smiling.
They both knew how to skate, but they sort of got used to the heat of their hands touching, their palms filled. They enjoyed skating together more that way, and their hands fit perfectly.
Looks like Rukia wouldn't fall anymore, but she still counted on Ichigo to be by her side, whether she needed his help or not.
"Ichigo, I want to do this again sometime," Rukia concluded.
She understood why humans found it so fun. She was surrounded by the cold air, the sparkling ice and snowflakes. No matter how cold it was, it didn't seem to bother anyone. She was with her friends, each wearing a warm expression on their face. It was different and refreshing, finally taking it easy after all the challenges they've gone through together. She wanted to skate with them again. She wanted to skate with Ichigo again.
Rukia knew what was going to happen soon. Ichigo was losing his spiritual energy bit by bit every day. She kept telling herself that no matter what happened between them, they would never change. She promised herself that. Right now, she just wanted to make the most out of the time they had together.
She enjoyed the... "date".
A/N: My first fanfic on Bleach and it had to be on this one.. -.- Don't get me wrong, I love Ichiruki, but I was hoping for something with a bit more action and battles. Oh well, I had to get this fangirlish feeling out of my system :P Just a small look on how Rukia might've been feeling in episode 342 (Which always gets me. The animation was just beautiful).
Thanks for reading and don't forget to review! :)