Disclaimer: If I owned Bleach, I would be writing canon, not fanfic.
Warning: By reading this story, you are taking the chance that it won't turn out how you expect or want. It is my story, I will write what I want.
Rukia looked in the mirror for about the thousandth time, pushing her pesky bangs out of her face once more, which promptly returned to their previous position in between her eyes. They never did cooperate, especially when it was most important to her. Like tonight.
Sighing, she adjusted her clothing once more, considering changing her outfit yet again. Glancing at the clock, she decided against it, her date should be here soon. This prompted another self-check in the mirror, this time starting with a quick analysis on the state of her make-up.
This was so not her thing.
As she continued to obsess over her appearance, her thoughts began to stray. What had made her agree to this, anyway? She should have said no; in fact, she was sure that when the word "yes" slipped from her lips, it must have been due to a moment of temporary insanity. That was the only feasible explanation, after all. She wasn't the type to date; it just wasn't her scene.
Yet, here she was, primping.
And the worst part? If tonight went well, she had two weeks to find a dress, shoes, and some way to mental prepare herself for the winter formal. That was, if she decided to go along with her date's plan.
She still couldn't figure out why she had agreed to this date. Sure, he was a wonderful guy; they had been best friends for years, ever since she had moved to Karakura. But this wasn't the sort of thing best friends just DID.
He had been persuasive though. "One date. If it goes well, then that solves the problem that neither of us has a date to the dance."
Of course, that was the nicely-worded version Rukia liked to pretend had fallen from his mouth, instead of the much ruder request that actually had.
And, of course, he had ignored all her protests. What would Byakuya-san think? And what if they saw someone they knew? Did he want rumors spread about them? And, most importantly, she wasn't planning on going to the dance anyway.
Then again, they both knew that, just like every other year, Orihime would convince her to go at the last minute, likely with tears. It was better than the alternative the buxom blonde always offered: a specially-cooked dinner at her apartment.
Rukia shuddered as a memory of some dish that involved leeks, jalapenos, and jelly beans assaulted her senses.
Just then, the doorbell rang, jolting her out of her pondering and obsessing, as well as causing a storm of butterflies to rise up in her stomach.
She paused, hating that she was nervous. It wasn't like she LIKED him. Not like that, anyway. Things just weren't like that between them.
Chalking it up to a lack of experience, she walked downstairs to the foyer, where her date uneasily stood next to her older brother.
It was all she could do not to gasp. His bright shock of hair still stood on end, but he otherwise looked very put-together. He had obviously spent more than five minutes getting ready tonight, even if his outfit was trying to scream otherwise. Instead of his usual oversized t-shirt, hoodie, and old jeans, he sported a plain, black v-neck slim-fit t-shirt and dark jeans that actually appeared to be the right size. He had even traded in the hoodie for a much nicer-looking leather jacket.
To say Rukia was astounded would be an understatement. He actually looked...handsome. Not that she would ever admit this to his face. She felt a quick flash of relief that she had perfected Byakuya's patented ability to thoroughly hide any emotions she wanted.
Rukia strode up to Ichigo, turning to bow to her older brother, dragging Ichigo down with her.
"You will have her back by eleven. Take care of her."
Byakuya's ominous tone was all the warning he needed. Ichigo knew better than to even think of crossing his best friend's very protective guardian. That was an action that, in most countries, would be considered a form of suicide.
Ichigo had earned Byakuya's trust surprisingly quickly. Rukia attributed it to the fact that the strawberry had saved her from a group of bullies when she first arrived, an event that, though she hated to remember, had sparked their friendship and somehow caused the school to accept her. She never would understand why her disagreeable best friend was so popular.
As Byakuya turned to retreat to his office, dismissing them, the carrot-top drew a hand out from behind his back, thrusting a box at the much smaller girl.
"Here."
Rukia took the offered box, which turned out to hold a surprisingly beautiful wrist corsage that matched her violet eyes nearly perfectly.
Again, she was stunned. "Th-thank you, Ichigo."
He opened the door. " Yea, well, you're welcome. Now let's go."
"Well now, aren't you just such a gentleman tonight," Rukia teased.
Her words hit their mark, signified by her date's face's insistence on resembling a very ripe tomato.
"Shut up."
He all but shoved her out the door. Sullenly, he set off in the direction of the first stop on his surprisingly well-planned date.
A/N: I know, kinda boring so far. It takes time to set up a good story. So sue me. Anyway, reviews please? And feel free to request anything you might want to see. I'm always open to inspiration, but I'm not guaranteeing that I'll take any ideas you give me.
~Ash
