Italics + "…" = inner voice…

Faie.

9: Pairing Off

"Why the hell is there school on a Saturday?!"

"Rukia, quit your whining and hurry up or else I'll leave you behind." Ichigo grumbled, as he willed himself not to hit her.

"This had better be important," She retorted. "I'm missing Chappy's Special Adventure the movie!"

"Oh, shut up about the stupid show already…"

"Wha-! A-hou! If Chappy kami – sama could hear you, he'd…"

"Fluff me to the death?" He replied snarkily, inciting another bout of enraged whacks and insults from her.

This day had started off bad enough without her whaling on him too. He hadn't had enough sleep due to someone bugging him all evening and night about how to properly stab the tenshintai, or as Rukia had now called it, Mr. Diamond Head.

Was there a particular part she could stab for maximum success? What angle did her sword have to be in? 40° or 45°? (Like 5° would make a difference! He had yelled back, facepalming) What about the mental state? Did she have to be in meditation? And… and...

Ichigo finally had had enough of her questions. Before she could ask him whether she should change for the ritual, (he had no doubt she had an fancy kimono somewhere in that tiny bag of hers) Ichigo had grabbed Sode no Shirayuki from her tiny midget paws and thrust the blade into the doll himself, felling mighty proud of himself when a faintly blue mist started to wrap itself around the object, and a chill permeated the air. "Finally! Rukia! Prepare to meet Sode no- WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"

Rukia had grabbed the disappearing hilt of the blade and yanked it forcefully out, bringing the materialization process to a stunning halt as the mist dissipated as fast as it had came. The sword quickly solidified again in her grasp. "Rukia! You!"

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Bankai is an important part of every Shinigami's experience, you can't just go forcing my Bankai to come out whenever you please!"

"That's only cause you were taking too damn long yourself!" He yelled back, his fists clenching.

"Shut up Ichigo, I asked you to help me achieve Bankai, not achieve my Bankai on your own! I'll do this part myself. Go away, you're bringing my mojo down!"

"Your mo-mojo? Rukia you have any idea how stupid that sounds?! Where'd you even hear that from?"

"Baka Ichigo! If that's stupid, that means…..it means you're stupid! Because I heard it from your stupid friend whats-his-name!"

That asshole Keigo! What the hell was he teaching his Rukia now?! Waitaminute, something was weird about that sentence... Was it his grammar…? "Dafuq!" Ichigo yelled silently when he realized. "Did he just refer to that midget as his?" Heaven, and her stupid Byakuya nii – san, would come crashing down on him the day Rukia was his.

"Whatever, midget. Do it yourself then." He stalked out of the training arena to cool down before he strangled her, taking out his anger on every rung of the ladder leading back up to Urahara's shop by stomping extra hard. "Hope a rung breaks under your fat ass later, you annoying twat." He cursed.

Ichigo had no idea when he had fallen asleep on the verandah of Sandal – hat's shop, but he found himself jolting awake when someone kicked him in the gut. "Oi! Carrot – top, we're going home. "

"H-huh? Wha…Rukia? What time is it?"

"It's Tiger time."

Ichigo stared blankly up at her. "Never mind, idiot. It's 1:30 in the morning. Come on…" Rukia sighed and grabbed his shirt to haul him up. Did Ichigo live in a well or something? How was he not getting her advert references? The pair was silent during the walk home. Rukia seemed to be deep in thought and every time Ichigo opened his mouth to say something, he changed his mind. It was only after they had both showered when Ichigo finally prompted some conversation.

"Did you manage to do it?" He asked, as she was tucking herself neatly into her little niche, fluffing up the Chappy print pillows around her back. "Hmm?"

"Sode no Shirayuki… Did you manage to call her out?"

"Oh." Rukia turned away from him in a hurry, and Ichigo frantically wondered if he had hit a sore spot. If he had been the one to fail, he knew he would have punched the lights out of anybody who had reminded him of it. He cringed when he saw Rukia slap herself on the face lightly. Oh crap….

"Rukia, if you don't want to reply, that's ok…"

"I did it." She finally answered in a small voice. She was grinning widely at him and Ichigo mind instantly went blank. God, she had an awesome smile…

Let's flashback a little to the moment when Ichigo had been having his mental meltdown about having made Rukia depressed, shall we?

Ichigo looked at her with a soft, imploring gaze as he asked. "Sode no Shirayuki… Did you manage to call her out?"

"Oh." Rukia felt her heart sputter about in her chest as Ichigo continued to regard her. Her mind screamed, "Don't look at me like that!" She wanted to stay angry at him for abandoning her halfway, even if she had been the one to chase him away, not think that the guy looked cute with those…those puppy – dog eyes! She turned her head away and clutched her shaking fist in front of her chest. "Chappy Kami – sama! Help me! I worshipped you! Ok…ok… Rukia. Calm the hell down. You've known Ichigo for a long time. He's going to think it weird if you don't reply him. And then he's going to come over here and demand that you reply him and and…he's going to make you face him and…and you're probably going to punch him out of embarrassment…" Rukia sighed. "Why was having a normal conversation without wanting to both punch and hug him at the same time so hard lately?"

"Ok. Think about this. Think about when Sode no Shirayuki appeared in front of you. You were so happy then! THINK ABOUT IT AND FOCUS ON THAT!" Rukia slapped herself on the face.

"THINK HAPPY, RUKIA. THINK HAPPY!"

She turned around to face Ichigo, grinning from the memory of seeing the beautiful white – haired female standing in front of her, a gentle smile on her lovely face as she regarded Rukia. "Rukia – sama. Finally…we meet."

Ichigo held up his palms, a worried look on his face. "Rukia, if you don't want to reply, that's ok…"

"I did it," Rukia replied. "Good, Rukia! Hold on to this feeling!"

"She came…and we talked… Haha. It felt really good. After so long, I finally got to meet her." Rukia looked sideways, a tiny pout on her lips, "I was always so jealous when everyone around me seemed to be achieving Bankai one after the other…but thanks to you Ichigo... I did it."

"Uhm…," Ichigo had no idea what to say. "You haven't actually reached Bankai yet but I guess…it's a start…" He slapped himself mentally. "That was stupid, Ichigo! You're supposed to congratulate her, not bring her mojo whats-it down!"

"Still...I'm really pleased with our progress. Thank you, Ichigo." "Good, good… Rukia. Now say goodnight and go to sleep before he notices your smile is creepy as heck."

"Ichigo, goodni-"

"Rukia, wait… I-"

"What the hell more do you want from me, Ichigo Kurosaki!"

"Hmm?"

"I….uhm…" The guy scratched his head nervously.

"SPIT. IT. OUT." Rukia's inner voice growled as she forced herself to unclench her teeth

"I'm really glad you came back. I… I missed you!" He blurted out. (A/n: xD)

Woah. Ok…THAT she wasn't expecting. Rukia felt her face burn up as she hurriedly tucked the corners of her Chappy print blanket around her. "B-baka! G….goodnight!"

Ichigo wanted to bury himself in a pit and never come out again. Dafuq was that?!

"Night, midget….hey oww!" He winced as a pillow caught him in a gut. How the hell did she manage to make a pillow hurt?!

"Shut up and go to sleep, Ichigo."

The brat was going to pay for that, Ichigo swore inwardly as he yawned widely, but that could wait…right now all he wanted to do was sl…

"I'm not much of a man by the light of day, but by night I'm one hell of a lover… I'm just a sweet transvestite from…."

"What the fuck is that?!" Ichigo leaped up from underneath the bedcovers, snatching at the source of that infernal noise. Why the hell was his ringtone "Sweet Transvestite"?! He seethed in anger. He could just hear Keigo's stupid laughter echoing in the background. Ichigo was going to trash the guy the next time he saw him. As if tricking Ichigo into watching a "horror" flick with him wasn't enough, the bastard had to set up his ringtone with Tim Curry's lascivious voice too.

Flipping the device open angrily, Ichigo snapped. "Who is this?!"

"K-Kurosaki – kun?"

"Eh…Inoue. Sorry… what's up?"

"Uh… I was just wondering where you were. Are you going to be late?"

"Late? What are you talking about?"

"Hehehe…I knew Kurosaki – kun would forget. Luckily I called you. Sensei wants us to be in the school hall at 10am sharp remember?"

"10… Shit! Inoue! Thanks so much for reminding me! See you!"

"See you, Ku-" On the other side of the phone, Orihime sighed. As much as she loved the guy, sometimes he could be terribly rude. But... She clutched the phone to her impossibly busty chest. "I was the first person he talked to today…"

Ichigo dashed to shower and change into his uniform. "Rukia! Get up! It's 9:40. We have to leave!"

"L-leave? But Chappy's special movie is starting in half hour…?"

"Midget! Out of the closet!"

The busty ginger female looked worriedly around the hall. It was 10:05am and Ochi – sensei had started the debriefing. Where was he?

Ochi – sensei sat on the edge of the stage, her legs hanging down freely as everyone was looking at her with perplexed faces. Gone was her spectacles and demure hairstyle. Instead, she was wearing contacts and her short brown hair was clipped up with a sequined butterfly claw clip across the side of her head. Also, she had shed her typical button – up blouse and pants for a simple short sleeved black dress with a modest square cut neckline. Orihime could already hear murmurs of appreciation and tiny wolf whistles circulating around her classmates. Ochi - sensei merely smiled warmly and motioned for them to quiet down.

"Ok. Class. I'm sure you're all wondering why I've called you in on a Saturday, when you'd rather be out shopping or sleeping your asses off." Some guys at the back snorted as they started to elbow each other.

"But!" The class jumped as sensei's face took on an intense glare. "Today is an important day for all you young men and women! Today, you shall all-"

Bang! The door to the hall slammed opened as the class turned to see two figures come dashing towards them. "Ah! Kurosaki – san, Kuchiki – san! How nice of you two to join us!" She nodded towards them as they muttered apologies. "Now…where was I…? Ah yes. Today, you shall all take your first step in transcending the thin border between the teenager and an adult!"

Ichigo could just facepalm. Out of all the things to say, that was what she chose? God, he already knew people around him were misunderstanding from their shocked looks, embarrassed giggles and nervous glances being thrown about. He looked down at his side, mildly curious about how Rukia would react…and of course, she was too busy fiddling with her phone trying to search for an online version of Chappy's shitty journey the movie, probably rated WGADAS for "Who gives a damn about supervision?", to notice sensei's faux pas.

Cheerfully unaware of how her words were being misinterpreted, Ochi – sensei slid off the stage, her soft dress swooshing around her calves. "Now pair up you lot! Male and female to each pair." She gave Chizuru a pointed look. "I want both male and female to a pair." The redhead gave an annoyed flush and crossed her arms.

Keigo threw himself shamelessly at Orihime, eliciting a startled gasp from her. "Inoue – san! Partner with me." And of course, he had forgotten about Orihime's 'protector'. Tatsuki elbowed him in the face and stood between the pair. "I'll partner with you," she retorted, although it was clear on her face that that was the last thing she wanted to do. Grabbing him roughly by his elbow, the she – male dragged Keigo to the other end of the hall, far far away from her best friend. Orihime laughed weakly as she peered around the swarm of guys who had quickly pooled around her the moment Tatsuki had left. "Inoue – san, will you be my partner?"s thronged her from all directions as she frantically around looked for the tall carrot – haired male with the perpetual frown.

Ichigo stood there with a grimace as a couple of his classmates crowded around him, cooing about how they thought it was so cool that he was such a bad boy. "Eh…sorry. I'm not….no, I'm not interested…Hey! Where do you think you're touching?! Hey stop.. I'm don't want to.. siiiiighssss…"

Despite his tip – toeing and head straining, Ichigo could hardly see the midget girl over the fangirl crowd. An odd feeling clenched in his chest. "Had somebody already asked her?" Out of the corner of his eye, Ichigo noticed Ishida Uryuu breaking free of the crowd of un – partnered boys…and walk straight to Rukia, who was still meddling with her phone. Ishida… if it was him, Ichigo supposed he wouldn't mind so much if he didn't manage to ask Rukia himself. The guy was too straight – laced to try anything funny anyway. God knows it would instead be funny as heck watching the Quincy and Shinigami argue their asses off about every little thing.

Rukia looked up at Ishida Uryuu in surprise, wondering why the Quincy would come to talk to her. As far as she knew, the guy tried to avoid contact with her as much as he could. Seeing her shocked look, Ishida quickly explained the situation, sighing when a she ohhh-ed in realization. Ichigo snorted back a laugh as Ishida popped the question, his face looking as though he had sucked on a lemon.

"So Kuchiki – san, would you… ahem… be my pa-"

"Uryuu – kun! No no! I want you with Mizuira – chan over there!" Ochi – sensei pointed to a soft – spoken girl who was standing by herself on the edge, her bespectacled eyes widening when she realized that sensei had just matchmaked her off. Ishida looked surprised for a moment before nodding and walking away from Rukia. Ochi – sensei took hold of Rukia's wrist lightly and looked around the room for a while before dragging her to the side of a small boy. "Kuchiki – san. I would like you to pair up with Touya – kun instead."

"Eh? Uh….ok…" Rukia looked at her partner warily. Dominique Touya was, like her, a transfer, except for the fact that he was very much alive. Other than that, the two of them hardly even looked at each other, let alone interacted in class. "Nice to meet you…um… Touya – kun. I'm Kuchiki Rukia."

"Dominique, or Dom, is fine. I grew up in France and the States. We aren't so formal there. I look forward to being your partner for whatever hellish scheme 'cher has in mind for us…. Rukia." He grinned, revealing a perfect set of teeth, as he extended a hand to her. Rukia shook his hand and decided instantly that she liked the guy. Standing a ways from her, Ichigo gritted his teeth. What the hell was the midget doing, smiling like that to Dafuq-was-his-name-again? Damoo Tomayatta something? Now she was shaking his hand and smiling! Damnit! Who was this scrawny asshole?! Ichigo sized him up.

He could see why Ochi – sensei had paired them up. Damooshki was pretty much about the same height and build as Rukia, i.e. he was puny for his age. Added to that, Ichigo figured that the funny way with which Doucheki spoke would put Rukia off. Hmph. No competition there then, Ichigo smirked confidently to himself.

"Kurosaki – kun."

Ichigo turned in surprise to see Orihime standing next to him, a light blush dusting her cheeks. "Inoue – san?"

"Ochi – sensei paired us up." She said shyly, smiling.

Before Ichigo could respond, Ochi – sensei shouted for them to listen to her. "Now, listen up people. All of you have been paired up so we'll start with the agenda. Joining us today is my fellow teacher, Ken – san." She turned to greet a smiling middle – aged man in a simple black dress shirt and dark blue slacks jogging towards them. "Nice to meet you all, I'm Ken Ooshima. Now, I assume Ochi – san has explained what's going on?" When he was met with confused stares, he laughed softly and turned towards Ochi – sensei. "Shall we just show them?"

The students stared in surprise as they watched their teacher walk towards the radio she had set on the stage and flick it on. Instantly, a saucy tune filled the air. Ichigo felt his face drain of colour. He had heard that piece before, and judging from some of his friends' faces, they recognized it too. That track was recently featured in the latest hit series "So You Think You Can Dance?" episode, danced to by a couple performing the tango.

Oh shit…

The class fell into silence as they watched Ken – sensei lightly place his hand on their teacher's waist as they turned slowly in a circle. Still moving, Ochi – sensei broke the silent gaze they had on each other to look at the stunned students. "I want you all to pay attention and listen to what I say while we demonstrate the steps. This current move is called the Calesita, or the Carousel. Now this…" Ochi – sensei brought their hands up to chest height as the rhythm of dance changed. She turned to pivot around her partner's body, using her left foot as a fulcrum to rotate her torso slowly. Similarly, Ken – sensei pivoted in time with her, except that with every turn she made, he crossed his left leg over his right then swung it out in a wide circle beside him. They repeated the process thrice before they moved apart. "This is a Barrida. Usually one person is supposed to sweep their foot behind the partner's ankle to sort of drag them into a turn, but we figured this Barrida would be easier on beginners."

Smiling widely at them, Ochi – sensei clapped loudly twice. "Now I want you all to space out and practice the Calesita and the Barrida with your partners. Ken – sensei and I will be going around helping you."

Instantly, cries of protest filled the air, which Ochi – sensei shushed down. "This year's winter prom will feature a dance – off amongst selected students. Of course there'll be selection processes before the actual competition. Contestants will be judged on presentation, teamwork and routine and… Shh! Pipe down, people. The winning pair will win 100,000 yen… Yes yes, quiet down… Of course, there'll be runner – up prizes. Every student is expected to try out during the selection process. Your current partner is not permanent. You may arrange pairs in your own time but stick to the current pairing for today. Go."

Obviously, 100,000 yen was enough to motivate even the laziest students. Pairs immediately broke off from the main crowd to find a decent spot to practice. Instantly, sounds of ouch, damnit, shit, sonofa- and oh so many sorry-s started ringing about. Ken – sensei chuckled amusedly as he started moving around to demonstrate the proper steps before more toes were broken.

Rukia turned around as Ochi – sensei tapped her shoulder. "Yes, sensei?"

"Kuchiki – san, given that you're leaving in a few days, may I know if you'll be taking part in this competition?"

Dom turned to look at his partner curiously as Rukia ohh-ed. "Sensei uh…I don't think I will be. I probably won't be coming back to this school anymore after I leave this time."

"That's ok. Touya – kun, one girl from our class, Miura Keika, is currently on sick leave for chicken – pox. She should be back by the end of the month. Until she returns, I'll practice with you, although that is technically against the rules…"

"Hai, 'cher. Merci beaucoup!" Dom replied, saluting her cheekily as Ochi – sensei left to help the others.

Rukia giggled. It was so weird to hear a mix of Japanese, English slang and French spoken in a French accent in a single sentence. Dom turned to grin at her, his green eyes twinkling. "Come, ai-bou. Let's trash these other guys, even if it's only practice." Rukia smiled at the confident tone in which Dom spoke as he took her hand and led her to an empty spot. She was liking this guy more and more by the minute.

"Ouch… Kurosaki – kun…"

"Ah! Sorry, Inoue."

"It's ok… Let's try that again." Orihime raised their hands up, and slowly pivoted on her foot the way Ochi – sensei had demonstrated. She had to concentrate extra hard on how she moved her legs in time to the music when she could hardly hear it over the crazed beating of her heart. She found herself staring at Ichigo's legs as he swung his left leg outwards awkwardly. He was so tall, she thought shyly, blushing. Sure, there were many guys who were as tall, or even taller than Ichigo, but he was the only one who walked around with such a confident, proud stride that she could not help but stare. Orihime peeked up at him from under her lashes, admiring his strong jawline, and wondered if he could hear her heartbeat too.

Ichigo on the other hand, was losing concentration for an entirely different reason. Whenever he turned Inoue around, Rukia and her partner Doucheki (Yes that sounded right, Ichigo thought), never seemed to be out of his line of sight. His jaw ticked when he saw Doucheki's hand on her waist. His eye twitched when Doucheki turned Rukia so quickly that she stumbled against his chest, her hands clutching onto his shoulders for support. He grimaced when Doucheki's leg brushed Rukia's during their Barrida. Damnit, dance practice or not, Doucheki was seriously making himself into a highly attractive punching bag. Ichigo wanted nothing more than to crush the hand that had the gall to hold Rukia so close, and break the nose that breathed the air around her. When this was over, he was going to…

"Kurosaki – kun! Pay attention! Tango is the dance of lovers, not the lead – up to a gang fight! Wipe that snarl from your face and do this seriously." Ochi – sensei snapped at him impatiently as she moved past them, smacking the back of his head as she did so.

The dance of lovers… Ichigo had never felt more desire to hit somebody then he did now, namely one scrawny boy not 20 meters from him.

"Ano… Kurosaki – kun?"

Ichigo turned to see Inoue looking up at him, a little worried.

Sighing, the male apologized and tried his darndest to clear his mind as he focused on practice, although the thought of a certain bunny midget and her puny-ass of a partner never left his mind completely…

A/n:

Tenshintai: White mannequin used by Ichigo and Rukia's to manifest their Bankai.

Aibou, Japanese: partner.

Merci beaucoup, French: Thank you very much.

If I messed up the tango terms or descriptions, feel free to scold me! I have no dance experience so I had to rely on Wiki _

Please review!

Faie.