Belong
He had never really had anywhere to belong. All his life he had been an outsider looking in. There had, of course been countless people who had spoken to him, but none had become close. None of them had met anything.
In fact he had spent years sharing the same classrooms with the obnoxious strawberry blond. Years of listening to the bubble head women that seemed to follow the other everywhere. Years of watching ever present dark haired black belt tolerate their antics. Years of dealing with the reverberating echoes of noise from the idiotic and the not so idiotic friends of the said orange head. Years of existing in the same space as the ever present, nearly always silent, man that was constantly in their midst. In all those years never once had they become anything other then simple classmates.
That was until recently. Recently their presence invaded his lunches as well as the classroom. Some of their presence invaded his afternoons as well as his mornings. Some of them had even invaded his life so far as to know the well guarded secret of who he truly was. Yet even with all the invasions, it seemed as though perhaps he still didn't belong. They were certainly content to continue of their own accord without any encouragement from him.
In fact they filed out of the classroom quite easily on their own without a second glance towards him. Silently, as the room stilled and quieted, he rose and began packing his things away into his bag. He wasn't entirely sure just what he would be doing this night, perhaps heating some left over dinner and rereading a novel.
"Oi Ishida!" cut loudly through the silence and startled him from his thoughts. "Hurry up! We're not going to wait forever!" That voice was clearly recognizable as belonging to none other then the rather offensive orange head. Glasses were pushed up the bridge of his nose in irritation as he closed his bag and walked into the hall to join the group that had been waiting for him.
"Perhaps, if you would give some warning that you are going to be leaving you would not have to wait Kurosaki-kun," he replied.
"Forgive me for thinking that us all standing up was enough warning!" the other snapped back immediately.
Suddenly everything was right again. These were the people that he had known for more years then he cared to count as an outsider and for a far too short amount of time as, dare he think it, a friend. He had fought with them. He had bled with them. He had nearly died with them. He had, although he would never admit it, even cried with them.
For the first time in his life he had people who would wait for him. For the first time in his life he had people who would willingly share all that and more with him. For the first time in his life he belonged.
AN: Stupid short little drabble that just came while I was feeling bitter about a certain situation but I will now say no more about that. I really should be working on the next chapter of All Wrong… It is half done I swear!