Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of the characters. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this.

This is my first fanfiction post, so please be nice. Just a simple one-shot.

Cherry Blossoms

Really, all he wanted was to spend some quality time with his sisters. He didn't mind Rukia tagging along all that much either. Seeing as how the Soul Society was socially trapped in the past, Cherry Blossom viewing was something that didn't require any explaining to her.

Yuzu even packed a picnic for them to enjoy the beautiful spring weather while walking amongst the Cherry Blossoms. It probably would have turned out to have been a fine day as well, if it weren't for the fact that his father found out about this little 'outing' and decided to be the 'chaperon'. He didn't know how someone with the emotional maturity of a young child like his father's could even be considered as a chaperon.

His eye twitched again as he recalled how his father had found out about the outing last night as Yuzu prepared the food for today's picnic. He had been childishly over-dramatic and loud as he usually is. Screaming some nonsense about 'green spring'(1) and 'cherry blossoms' and 'romance' before going off about young innocent bystanders witnessing a deflowering. He really didn't want to know. HOW they could be related to him was really beyond his comprehension.

Rukia obviously understood what he was raving about last night, as that fake smile she normally wore around his family and classmates disappeared and was replaced with a look of complete dumbfounded shock. For once, even she was at a complete loss for words by his father's actions. Itg was also the first time he'd seen her blush, for whatever reason.

And now here they were, all five of them, his father shoving Rukia and him in front and for some strange reason, keeping the twins close to him while trying to disappear in the background and simultaneously trying to get as many pictures of the two of them as he can. Having inherited her mother's personality, Yuzu simply stood beside her father, looking calm, peaceful and completely unfretted by her father's antics. Karin, on the other hand, having the same temper as her older brother, looked annoyed to the point of contemplating the benefits of rope and duct tape.

Yuzu had finally declared it to be time for lunch, which Karin took no time in taking her sister by the hand and led her away from their crazy father to help set up the picnic. For once, their father didn't seem to notice the wandering off of his two daughters, leaving him standing alone amongst the falling cherry blossoms, his mind off in his own little world, scraming and ranting about Kami-knew-what.

As Ichigo stood a couple dozen paces ahead of him and watching his demented father, a thought suddenly entered his mind which made him smirk at his father. Mental imagery was such a wonderful thing. Rukia noticed Ichigo's change of demeanor.

"Hey. What are you smiling for all of a sudden?"

"Oh, nothing. I'm just imagining what would happen if all those cherry blossom petals that are falling around that idiot where to be part of your brother's Shikai." Answered Ichigo as he continued to enjoy the view. Cherry Blossom viewing had never been so entertaining before.

End

(1) The words 'Green' and 'Spring' are used in conjuncture to form the word 'Teenager' in Japanese. Just a little play-on-words.

Kami – God