bleach drabble
ichigo/rukia
isshin gives ichigo some parental advise

note : no real spoilers involved, placed between post soul society arc and pre-hm storyline i guess, and nay, i do not own bleach (777 words, hhehehe)

Parental Approval

Ichigo gave a weary sigh as he looked up from his textbook and rubbed his aching head. Looking out his window to give his tired eyes a break, he spotted Yuzu, Karin and Rukia out in front of the clinic, playing hop-scotch of all things. They looked like they were really having fun, breathless and all from laughing at each other's antics.

He sighed again. Why did he feel the need to study when Rukia was happily playing outside with his sisters? It was the weekend, after all. But the exams was just around the corner and even if the tiny death god did not have to pass the exams, he most certainly did. 'Death god' wasn't exactly a viable career option for him right now. He could just imagine the look on his teacher's face if he actually put that down as one of his occupational choices.

His stray thoughts was practically knocked out when suddenly something heavy slammed into the back of his head. "What the - ?" Ichigo turned around quickly, only to find his father scowling at him, one of his thick medical texts clutched in his right hand. "What was that for?" he demanded, angrily.

"Ichigo!" Isshin boomed, and started to loom over his son. "Why are you day-dreaming when you should be studying? Isn't the end of year exams coming up soon? Don't you care about your future? What is to become of you, my son?" Isshin gestured wildly as Ichigo rolled his eyes. Hearing his father echo his own thoughts was just freaky.

"Stop it, old man. I know my priorities, alright. I was just taking a breather. And you should be out there lecturing them instead of me." Ichigo pointed to the direction outside his window.

Isshin glanced down at the three girls and just shrugged carelessly. "Yuzu, Karin & Rukia-chan are different. They're women."

Ichigo scowled. His father was a male chauvinist. Big surprise.

"Now, I'm not trying to sound like a male chauvinist, Ichigo." Ichigo's scowl deepened. "But that is just a fact of life. No matter how successful a woman is, it is still the men that is expected to provide for the family. Remember that."

Ichigo snorted in disgust and turned back to his textbook as a not-so-subtle hint for his father to leave him alone. But as it seemed to have slipped his mind that his father just did not do 'subtle' very well, Isshin continued to ramble on behind him.

"Why do you think your mother picked me, Ichigo? I was a young, good-looking, successful doctor, capable of providing for her and our family. Now, that will be the kind of men your sisters choose. Men that I will most definitely approve of." Ichigo gave him a sidelong glance as Isshin flashed a thumbs up and beaming smile that made him wince.

If it was true that people base their expectations of their life partner on their own parents, he really didn't look forward to meeting his future brother-in-laws. Just thinking about having more than one person like his father around the house was making his head throb. But if his sisters were likely to choose men like his father, did it also mean that he would look for someone like his own mother?

Clearing his throat in sudden discomfort, Ichigo asked uneasily, "Ummm, then why did you choose her?"

"Huh? Your mother?" Isshin looked thoughtful for a moment and gave one of his rare, serious smiles. "She was the most gentle, beautiful, caring person I knew. It was hard not to fall in love with her." He paused and looked back at Ichigo with a gleam in his eyes. "Why do you ask?"

Ichigo shrugged and turned back to his books, mumbling, "Oh, it's nothing. I was just curious, I guess."

"Hhhmmm... curious, huh? Okay. Well, you better get back to studying then." Isshin turned around quickly to hide the huge grin that crossed his face. Oh, his son was curious, was he?

Isshin walked out of his son's room and made sure that he was safely in the hallway, before he turned around and prepared to close the door. "Ichigo, " he called, sternly. His son lifted his head but did not turn around.

"Even though they are very much different people..." Ichigo glanced back at him curiously when he trailed off and Isshin tightened his grip on the door knob, a wide mischievous grin splitting his face.

"I'm sure your mother would have still approved of your choice!" Isshin winked at him and swiftly shut the door as the sound of something heavy slammed against it.

end

do you base your expectations of your partner on your parents? if it's true, then i'm so glad my dad is the strong silent type, very much the opposite of isshin. Xp i dedicate this to him as an early father's day gift. i don't say it much but i love you, otou-san!