Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach...despite the number of birthday wishes I've used.
Author's Note: As I've said before, all comments and contructive criticism are welcome and very much desired! I want this story to be as enjoyable as possible for readers, and it will be far easier to do that if you all let me know what you like and dislike about it! In appreciation for reviewers, I make sure to respond to every signed review I receive.


Ichigo and Rukia were sitting in the topmost row of bleachers, separated slightly from Yuzu, who was unaware of the presence of the fourth person in their company. Ichigo had refused to make Yuzu worry by not following her immediately. The Central 46 messenger had reluctantly agreed to pass along his message as they watched the soccer match, and had followed the two shinigami to the field and into the bleachers. It was pretty obvious that he wasn't enjoying the crowd, though, since he kept flinching every time a cheer was raised. Ichigo was smirking, and Rukia was struggling not to laugh.

Finally, the messenger settled himself, and puffed out his chest proudly, ignoring the snort from Ichigo as he did. "I've been given orders to deliver this scroll to you, Substitute Shinigami Kurosaki Ichigo," he said in a pompous voice.

"Why the hell didn't you just give it to me earlier and leave, then?" Ichigo asked irritably.

The messenger drew himself up indignantly. "You insisted on hearing the message in this unsavory place, though I would have preferred otherwise."

"Yeah, well, I thought it was a spoken message. If it was only a written one, you could've just given it to me without saying anything. And a middle school soccer game isn't an unsavory place, idiot." Ichigo turned back to look at the soccer field, easily spotting Karin as she ran towards the opposite goal.

The messenger grunted disbelievingly, but chose not to respond. Instead he reached into the folds of his uniform and pulled out a folded piece of paper tied with a string. Starting to offer it to Ichigo, he said, "This message-"

"WAY TO GO, KARIN!" Ichigo bellowed at the top of his lungs. Below them, Yuzu joined in with congratulatory cheers of her own.

Rukia spun around in her seat, searching the field for Ichigo's black-haired sister. "Did she score?" she asked eagerly. "And I missed it, I don't believe this. GOOD JOB, KARIN!"

The two of them turned back at the sound of a thump. The messenger had fallen out of his seat in surprise at the sudden shouting. Ichigo burst out laughing and snatched up the message from where it had also fallen. Rukia offered the messenger a hand up, though her other hand was covering the huge grin on her face. Ichigo pulled off the tie and opened the message, stifling his laughter in order to read.

"We, the Central 46, request the attendance of Substitute Shinigami Kurosaki Ichigo at the council meeting to be held on the morning of July the 14th. Many topics of importance will be debated during the meeting. Of special significance to the Substitute will be the discussion of several positions of authority still remaining unfilled."

Ichigo scoffed and crumpled the paper in his fist. "Dammit, I already told Yama-jii twice that I wouldn't become a taichou. When will they give it up? I'm not going."

Rukia sighed and slammed her fist down on the top of Ichigo's head. He yelped in surprise and pain, and shouted, "What the hell was that for, midget?"

"Idiot!" she shouted back. "When the Central 46 says 'request' they mean 'require'. You have to go, moron!" She turned to the messenger, and asked in a calmer tone, "July 14th isn't for another two days. When does Ichigo need to be there?"

"Hai, two days," he confirmed. "I will return at dawn of that day to escort the Substitute to Soul Society and the Central 46 offices."

"Che, what a waste of time," Ichigo muttered, turning away and pointedly ignoring everything but the game.

Rukia sighed again, then thanked the messenger, who bowed and left hurriedly, obviously grateful to escape.

********************************************

Ichigo remained in an irritable mood for the duration of the game. It didn't help that the match itself didn't go well, either. Karin appeared to be the only truly skilled player on the team. Although she managed to score twice more, her team's defense allowed five goals to get past them. Her obvious disappointment when they met up with her afterwards broke through the fog of annoyance surrounding the orange-haired boy.

"Hey, you wanna get some ice cream?" he offered, his scowl softening visibly. "My treat."

"Triple-scoop cones?" Karin asked, her face brightening slightly.

"Sure," he told her. "You know, the high school has a pretty talented team. You won't be playing on your own next year."

Karin glared at him. "Just buy the ice cream, Ichi-nii. The 'wait til next year' speech is worth way less."

The ice cream shop was nearby, so any further conversation was halted before an argument could start. Karin smirked at him, then ordered her ice cream cone, deliberately emphasizing that she wanted strawberry ice cream. Ichigo just rolled his eyes, far too used to his sister's teasing to bother retorting. When Rukia said slyly, "I want strawberry too, Ichigo," and the ice cream seller snickered, though, the icy glare he sent the man was enough to make the blood drain from his face.

Ichigo and Yuzu were just taking their chocolate cones from the seller's trembling hand when a cheerful voice rang out behind them. "Kurosaki-kun, Kuchiki-san! Good afternoon, you two! Oh, and Karin-chan and Yuzu-chan, too!"

The group turned around to see a happily smiling Inoue Orihime swinging a shopping bag. "I wasn't expecting to see you here!" she told them. "I was just over at the sewing store across the street. Ishida-kun and I are still helping out at the sewing club at school, and the students need some extra supplies. What are you doing here?"

"Karin had a soccer game just down the street earlier," Ichigo told her. "I offered to buy everyone some ice cream afterwards." He paused, "Do you want some, too? You look like you're thirsty, and I did get Rukia some, so it's only fair."

Orihime lit up, her grey eyes sparkling. "Really? I'd love some!" she exclaimed. She glanced at the menu above the stand. "Hmm, I guess they don't have any wasabi flavored. And no red bean paste for topping. Well, I guess banana will just have to do! Ah, but just a little! I really appreciate this, and I don't want to put you out!"

"Don't worry about it," Ichigo told her as he made the order.

Orihime blushed. "Ah, thank you, Kurosaki-kun!"

Ichigo offered her the cone, then frowned in confusion. "Why are you so flushed, Inoue? It is hot today, but have you really been doing that much walking?"

"N-no, I'm fine, really," Inoue stammered, her blush deepening. Ichigo shrugged and looked around.

"Hey, there's a picnic table over there, why don't we sit down. You can rest for a while, Inoue." Without waiting for a response, he walked off toward the bench. The others trailed after. Rukia watched Orihime as they went, shaking her head inwardly at how dense Ichigo was when it came to romance. Unless he was deliberately trying to ignore the auburn-haired girl's feelings.

Rukia dismissed that idea immediately. Ichigo wasn't that mean. If he knew about Orihime's crush, he'd do something about it. What exactly he would do, she didn't know. Orihime was her first real female friend, but as much as Rukia wanted her to be happy, there was a side of her that didn't want Ichigo to return Orihime's feelings.

A side? My dear Rukia, it's far more than just a side that feels that way!

Rukia almost yelped. Sode no Shirayuki was usually quiet, so hearing her speak while not in battle was very startling.

Besides, you already know the truth of the matter. As the zanpakuto spirit spoke, Rukia felt a remembered sensation of warm and protective black fabric pressed against her slim form in a tight embrace, and a slight whisper of something that brushed gently across her lips. Rukia hastily shied away from the memories, and Shirayuki's presence faded from her immediate awareness with a disappointed sigh.

Glancing up, Rukia realized she had instinctively followed the group and sat down on the bench between Ichigo and Karin. Orihime, on the other side of the table, was showing Yuzu the contents of her shopping bag. The younger girl was eagerly examining the sewing patterns and thread, and exclaiming over how she couldn't wait to start high school the following year, just so she could join the sewing club.

Suddenly, Orihime turned to look at Ichigo, and Rukia could see that her expression was determined. "Oh, Kurosaki-kun, I was just thinking. I'd really like to pay you back for the ice cream. Would…would you like to go to the karaoke parlor tomorrow night?"

The last sentence had come out in a rush, so it took Ichigo a second to take in the words. When he did, he looked at her with interest. "Karaoke? I guess that could be fun, what do you think, Rukia?" Turning back to Orihime, he asked, "What about Ishida, Chad, and everyone else? Are they coming?"

Rukia wanted to smack Ichigo for being so insensitive. As Orihime's friend, watching the way her determination deflated at the response was painful. But the auburn-haired girl's cheerful enthusiasm was back in an instant. "Ah, well, it was just a sudden thought just now, so I haven't asked anyone else. I will! I'll ask Ishida-kun when I drop off these supplies, and I'll call Sado-kun, and maybe Tatsuki-chan tonight! It'll be a lot of fun, everyone getting together like this! Just like old times, right?"

Inoue jumped to her feet, nearly dropping the rest of her ice cream. "In fact, I'm going to go talk to Ishida-kun about it right now! I'll see you both at the parlor tomorrow night at seven!"

Ichigo stared after her as she skipped away. "Eh? Why didn't she wait 'til she finished her cone? Che, I'll never understand that girl."

Karin snorted. "Well, I'll never understand how you can be so dim. It's no wonder Dad's worried about you never getting a girlfriend, if that's the way you act."

Ichigo's scowl grew more pronounced as he looked at her in confusion. "What the hell are you talking about, Karin?"

Karin shook her head in exasperation. "If you can't figure it out yourself, I'm not gonna tell you." With that, she turned back to her ice cream.


Author's Note: I hope I didn't scare anyone off with the hints of IchiHime. Don't worry, everyone, I dislike that pairing also! This story is definitely IchiRuki! I just didn't think it was realistic to completely ignore Inoue's feelings for him. For those people, like me, who like Inoue herself as a character, I'm sorry for hurting her feelings here! I don't like to hurt her, but I think she'll inevitably be disappointed in her pursuit of Ichigo (at least in any story of mine).

Anyway, stay tuned for Karaoke night next chapter, along with a few revelations, both about the present and the past. Chapter 3 will be posted on Friday!