• • •
"There's really not a reason for you to be so upset." Ichigo tried reasoning with me, only to roll his eyes as I shot him a glare.
"What are you talking about? Of course there's a reason for me to be upset!" I argued back, crossing my arms as I glared at the sidewalk below my sneakers. "I try to be nice, for once, and it gets thrown back at my face!"
"It's not my fault!" Ichigo exclaimed, looking like I had just blamed him.
Sighing, I shook my head.
"I know it's not your fault; I never said it was." I uncrossed my arms so I could run a hand through my teased hair. "I just wish that it would've ended differently."
"Ishida's a jerk," Ichigo muttered, "What else did you expect?"
"Che," I scoffed. "I expected him to be a little bit more friendly. Especially towards his own family. I mean, I offered to heal him. And what did he do? Refuse!"
"Like I said earlier, Ishida's a jerk." The strawberry shrugged.
"I know, I know." I replied, shaking my head. "I guess there's too big of a rift between us. After all, I didn't even really know him when I was younger. And I think the fact that I'm a Shinigami still repulses him."
"He didn't seem like he blamed the Shinigami for everything." Ichigo reasoned once more, stuffing his hands in his pocket as his cinnamon like eyes bore into my own. "You'll probably be able to work though this…eventually."
"Thanks, Ichigo." I muttered, lowering my gaze.
It was silent for a few minutes after that as we made our way home.
"Hey, Ichigo?" I asked, attempting to break the comfortable silence. This was really bugging me, and I wanted to get it off of my chest.
"Yeah?" Ichigo questioned, looking down at me.
"Are you…disgusted…by the fact that I'm a Quincy?" I asked, bringing a hand up and inspecting it. Slowly I curled my fingers to form a fist; I could feel my nails digging into the flesh of my palm.
"Idiot," The strawberry scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"Huh?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
"You being a Quincy doesn't change anything." He explained, cutting his eyes downward so he was staring at me. "You've been a Quincy ever since you were born. You were a Quincy when I met you. You're still you. So, me knowing that you're a Quincy doesn't change anything."
For some reason, I felt my cheeks warm up.
I quickly looked away, hoping to hide the warmth that I felt on my cheeks. That and the smile that I'm sure was tugging on my lips.
"Thanks," I whispered, hastily biting my lip.
"For what?" Ichigo asked, this time it was his turn to be confused.
"Nothing, never mind." I said, shaking my head. I blinked, realizing something. Quickly, I spun around on my heel. "I'll see you later!"
"Wha-?! Where are you going?" The strawberry questioned.
"You'll know sooner or later! I'll see you tomorrow morning!" I called over my shoulder, waving at the berry head.
"Whatever," I heard Ichigo mutter, causing me to giggle.
That idiot; I was doing this for him, after all.
• • •
"Jun-Chan~!" Orihime squealed, tightly hugging me to her. "It's so cute~!"
"Haha, thanks." I meekly responded, trying to claw my way out of her clutches. I swear, her hugs were just like the ones that I would get from Rangiku-Fukutaicho!
"Well, Orihime's right." Tatsuki nodded, grinning as she watched me struggle. "Why didn't you tell us that you were getting your lip pierced?"
"I thought I would surprise you guys!" I said, biting my lip on the other side. It was still tender from getting it pierced yesterday afternoon. Besides, I usually bit my lip when I fibbed; I really didn't trust telling them the reason why I decided to get my new piercing.
They'd read so much more into it if I told them I got it because of Ichigo.
The good thing is, I don't think that Ichigo knows that it was for him. Rukia might know, or suspect it, at the most. Rukia knew that I get a piercing for every person that I care about and trust. I even have the tragus [the little tough piece of cartilage that sticks out near your ear canal] of my left ear pierced for her.
"Okay, Orihime." Tatsuki said, placing her hand on Orihime's shoulder, "I think Jun's had enough of hug time. Let's go eat lunch."
"Yeah! That sounds great!" Orihime mused, instantly releasing me and running back towards her desk so she could grab her bento. "And it's such a nice day outside! We should all eat together!"
"Sure, that sounds like a good idea." I said, shrugging as I slung my messenger bag over my shoulder. Inside was a shake that I had made for lunch; I didn't trust eating solid food right after getting my piercing. I also had mouthwash, which was necessary after eating or drinking anything.
Orihime beamed, quickly gathering the rest of the girls from our class that we always hung out with. In the end, it was me, Tatsuki, Orihime, Michiru, Chizuru, Ryo, and Mahana.
"Wait, where's Rukia?" I asked, looking around for the violet eyed powerless Shinigami. It was in vain; I couldn't find a trace of her anywhere.
"She's probably outside already." Mahana shrugged, "Let's go and check."
Sighing once we got outside, I looked around for any trace of Rukia. Now was a time when I wished that Urahara wouldn't mess with my reiatsu. He had wanted me to come over last night to tweak the amount once again. This time, he adjusted the limiter. I had even less reiatsu to work with now. I could barely even sense my own reiatsu, let alone anyone else's.
"Ah! Found her, she's over here!" Mahana yelled, pointing up at the tree that we were going to eat under. "Kuchiki! Wanna go eat lunch together?"
Rukia turned around from her perch on a tree branch, looking down at all of us. "Ah, okay."
"Great! Get down here and we'll find somewhere to settle down!" I exclaimed, beaming up at the dark haired girl. Rukia smiled back, but I could tell that it didn't meet her eyes; it was definitely fake.
Once Rukia jumped down from the tree, we all huddled around under its shade. Plopping down, we grinned at each other as everyone began taking out their lunches.
As usual, Orihime had her own homemade lunch. Again, she offered for everyone to try it, but everyone politely declined.
"What about you, Jun-Chan?" Orihime asked, turning towards me. "Today's lunch is called 'Castella Sandwich~!' It's Castella sponge cake with bean jelly! It's the ultimate for sweet lovers!"
Why? Well, I'd usually try her weird food combinations. Of course they mainly sounded disgusting, but they were actually quite good; most of the time. She rarely combined something that I deemed inedible. And Orihime knew that I had a sweet tooth.
"Not today, Orihime." I said, laughing a bit at her crestfallen look. "It looks fine, but I'm not pressing my luck and eating solid foods. That's why I just brought a shake."
"You can't eat solid foods?" Michiru asked, eyebrow furrowed as she took a bite out of one of her rice balls.
"Well, I probably could. I think it's still a bit swollen and sore, so I don't wanna press my luck." I explained, shrugging as I took a sip from my fruit shake.
"Really? Then why go through all the trouble of getting it pierced?" Chizuru asked, stealing glances at Orihime making a mess while eating her latest creation.
"It's still worth it. Remember when you guys asked me why I was all pierced when I first got here? I pierce myself so I can remember all of the people that I care about." I said, smiling.
"Oh, so who convinced you to get your lip pierced?" Tatsuki asked, grinning.
"Ehehe, that's a long story." I nervously giggled. "Besides, you guys would read way too much into it."
While Tatsuki and Orihime tried to pry the name from me, Mahana had an evil glint in her eyes. Smirking she nodded as she exchanged glances with Michiru, who looked nervous.
"Hey, Rukia!" Mahana shouted, getting the dark haired girls attention. "Do you…like Ichigo?"
Rukia, before being asked that question, was drinking from her juice box; which she now knew how to open!
"Pfft~!" Rukia spat out her drink, looking like a fountain. The juice formed the shape of a negative parabola, and made little rainbow prisms from where it caught the sunlight. I was just glad that nobody was sitting on her left side; they would've gotten drenched. From her right side, I was laughing at the look on her face. "What?"
"Well, we were wondering what exactly your relationship with Ichigo is?" Mahana asked, then taking a bite out of the sub sandwich that she had bought for lunch.
"Relationship…?" Rukia muttered, dabbing at her mouth with a napkin. "He's a friend…"
"Mahana!" Michiru chided, turning towards her friend. "How can you ask her so bluntly like that?!"
"What are you talking about? You guys were curious about it, so I asked!" The curly haired girl argued back, defending herself.
"I…I'm not curious at all!" Michiru huffed, looking away from everyone because she couldn't look at us with a straight face.
"You would say that." Chizuru said, rolling her eyes from behind her glasses.
"Michiru, I thought you hated Ichigo?" Tatsuki asked, taking a bite out of her own rice ball.
"You do?" Orihime asked, her eyes snapping to the flustered girl.
"N-No!" Michiru exclaimed, wildly waving her hands back and forth as her face grew red from embarrassment. "It's not that I hate him, Orihime! It's just that his face is a bit scary looking..!"
"Really? I think he has an interesting face." Orihime spoke up, still munching on her lunch.
"I don't care about you guys and your interests!" Chizuru exclaimed, tossing her arm around Orihime's shoulder as she pulled the poor auburn haired girl closer to her. "You guys have nothing to do with Rukia and Ichigo's private matters! The only ones who should be concerned are me, Orihime, and Jun!" Chizuru explained, throwing her other arm over my shoulder and pulling me close as well.
I blinked in surprise; how did I get pulled into this?
"I understand why Orihime should be concerned… but why you and Jun?" Tatsuki asked, glaring at the red head.
Chizuru just rolled her eyes, standing up and looking determined. Placing her hands on her hips, she smirked. "Isn't it obvious? If Rukia stakes a claim on Ichigo and Jun gets jealous and fights back for her man… there's nothing in the way between Orihime and me!"
My mouth literally hung open at that accusation.
Me? Get jealous and fight for Ichigo if Rukia 'stakes a claim' on him?
Ha!
"So, fight Rukia!" Chizuru gushed, rushing over to the violet eyed girl and grabbing both of her hands. "I'll cheer for you, but…"
I gaped in surprise as Chizuru appeared in front of me this time, grabbing both of my hands in hers just like she had done with Rukia. "Jun, I'll really be rooting for you! You and Ichigo have that same vibe!" Releasing one of my hands, she held it up in the air like she was the referee declaring me the winner of a wrestling match. "Then Orihime will be… will be..!"
"Well?! What is your relationship with him?!" Mahana asked, drawing the attention back to her and Rukia. "Ever since you came, you've always been around Ichigo! Jun, you have too! What exactly are you guys to each other?!"
"Ichigo is…" Rukia muttered and then forced a smile on her face. "Just a friend!"
Everyone turned to look at her with blank faces.
"What? Really?" Chizuru asked, seeming a bit disappointed.
"Yep."
"No love affair at all?" Mahana asked, eyes wide.
"Yep."
"Not even a little bit?" Michiru asked.
"Yep! Not even a little bit, pinky swear!" Rukia exclaimed, smiling.
"Really..? Geeze, how disappointing!" Orihime sighed, crossing her arms under her chest as she pouted. "If Rukia liked Ichigo too, then us girls would win two against one! And then if Jun fought for him, that would me that she liked him, too! Then it'd be three against one! And pretty soon everyone else would start to like him, too!"
"Um… well, you see, Orihime…? The number of people is too many to be rational… It's also a bit heartless… Love isn't supposed to be unequal like that… Do you understand?" Tatsuki asked, weakly trying to talk some sense into the poor princess. "Please try to give me your best answer, okay?"
Orihime stared at Tatsuki, eyes looking wide and dull. It was clear that she didn't understand a work Tatsuki was saying.
"Ah! I got it!" Chizuru exclaimed, her hand forming a fist from her determination. "Altogether it's four points, right?! With four points, and three women on one side, then the other side definitely loses! The result would be three points go to women and one point goes to men; a women's victory!"
"Are those the only types of thoughts you have going through your mind?!" Tatsuki yelled, glaring at the red head. Her hands seemed to transform into claws and I could sense her bloodlust growing. Tatsuki was frightening when she was angry.
"Augh! If it really happens, what am I going to do?! I better get a hold of a camera and set it up before it starts, shouldn't I?!" Chizuru exclaimed to herself, only to be kicked down to the ground by an enraged Tatsuki.
"Shut up!" Tatsuki seethed, further kicking the red head.
"Wait!" Chizuru gushed, grinning even though she was being kicked, "If Ichigo is out of the picture, then in his place-"
"Die! Die! Just die!" Tatsuki seethed, kicking her with even more force. "Just die, you perverted whore!"
"Oh, I know!" Orihime exclaimed, turning towards Rukia and I. "I'll invent a new concoction with bean jam! Then we'll all eat it together, all right?"
"Sounds great, Orihime." I nodded smiling.
"Err… I'll think about it." Rukia replied, sheepishly smiling.
I cocked my head to the side at her answer; something seemed off about her all day today. What was wrong with her?
"Huh? Not the same answer again!" Orihime said, fussing over Rukia. "Kuchiki-San keeps on saying, 'I'll think about it.'"
"Oh, really?" Rukia answered, uneasily.
"Yes! That's the same answer you gave me this morning when I invited you to the fireworks festival!" Orihime chided, shaking her finger in the powerless Shinigami's face.
"Ah! That's right!" I exclaimed, getting the auburn haired girls attention. "When is that festival? Are we still going to do something for it?"
"Of course!" Orihime beamed, flashing me a smile. "I've picked out the perfect song and everything~!"
Great~!
Not..!
No telling what Orihime was going to force us to do on stage in front of everyone at the festival. I just hope we weren't going to make fools out of ourselves…
Although, knowing how Orihime is, we'll definitely do just that.
• • •
"Gah~!" I exhaled, sighing as I hung my head a bit.
"What's wrong with you?" Ichigo asked, slinging his bag over his shoulder as he looked back at me.
We were beginning to walk out of school and we were lucky that it was mostly deserted by now. Most of the other students had already left or they were at their clubs.
"I'm feeling pretty out of it today," I muttered, stretching my arms as I tried my best to limber up. "I'll probably stop by Urahara's tonight to see if he can fix it."
"What'll Geta-Boshi do for you?" Ichigo asked, curious.
"Huh? You don't know?" I asked, eyebrows furrowing. "My reiatsu-"
"Ichigo! Jun!"
"What is it, Rukia?" I asked, as we both turned around and saw Rukia running up to us.
"Is it a Hollow?" Ichigo asked, his mind immediately going to the business side of what would happen whenever Rukia approached him like this.
"No, it's not that." Rukia said, adverting her gaze to the ground. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Huh? Yeah, there's nothing wrong with me." Ichigo said, stretching a bit as if to prove his point.
I could understand why Rukia was concerned; I can still vividly recall the fear that built up in my stomach as I watched Ichigo fall to the ground yesterday. I was pretty scared for him when his reiatsu spiked and he couldn't control it. I was so relieved that Ishida stepped in and helped out. If he hadn't… I don't even want to think of what would have happened to Ichigo.
"I see… Then, that's good." Rukia nodded, as if she were pleased by his answer.
"Is there gonna be another one like yesterday?" Ichigo asked, looking a bit alarmed.
"What would we do if a Menos Grande appeared so easily?" Rukia asked, shaking her head.
I grinned, laughing a bit. "We'd be in serious trouble; that's what would happen."
"You're…acting a bit strange today." Ichigo mused, looking down at Rukia. "Did something happen."
Rukia looked at the ground, not meeting our questioning gazes. Ichigo and I exchanged confused looks, before training our eyes on Rukia. She looked away, then back at the ground.
"Well…"
"AHHHHH~!"
"Huh?!" All three of us asked, wondering where that screaming was coming from. Looking around, we ran out of the gates. Dust was flying up everywhere, so we continued looking around.
"Ichigo~!" Kon whined, running straight towards us as fast as his little plushie legs would let him. It was still pretty darn fast; after all, he was a Mod-Soul with enhanced leg strength.
Before I knew it, Kon had jumped up and was latched on my chest. Tears were streaming down his little plushie face. Normally, I would instantly try to pry him off, but he looked so worn out and beat up!
"I'm sorry that I ran away~!" He cried, snuggling even deeper into my chest. "I understand now! I realize that my place is with you! Ichigo~!"
I cooed, wrapping my arms around the plushie and hugging him for once. "You poor thing~!"
"Jun, don't encourage him!" Ichigo snapped, glaring at the ratty plush as it snuggled deeper into my cleavage. "Besides, you ran away?"
"Ichigo~!" Kon wailed once more, snuggling with me.
"Hey, I'm over here!" Ichigo yelled, tugging on Kon's tail and trying to pry him from my arms.
"Ohhh, the world was so cruel to this one who ran away from home! I'm… I'm going back to your room!" Kon continued to cry.
"Going back, huh?" Rukia asked, her eyes saddening as she looked at the plushie that continued to snuggle into my arms.
"What's wrong with you?" Ichigo asked, prying his eyes away from me and Kon to question Rukia.
Rukia shook her head, trying to ignore Kon's crying. "Nothing. But, Kon's really become attached to you."
"Heh, he's a pain in the neck." Ichigo mused, only to glare at the stuffed lion once more. "But look at you! Look, you have stuffing coming out!"
Ichigo grabbed Kon's tail once more, giving it a powerful tug. This time, I let go, and Ichigo managed to pry the plushie off of me.
"Hey, what're you doing?!" Kon yelled, being held upside down in the air by his tail as he flailed about wildly.
"I'm amazed that he didn't die. He looks like he's in pretty bad shape." I mused, eyeing Kon as he swung back and forth.
"Oh, well. I guess we'll have to take you to him." Ichigo sighed.
"Let go of me! I want Jun~!" Kon wailed, still swinging back and forth.
"That would be a wise choice; he is involved in the handicrafts club, isn't he?" Rukia asked, looking back at the school.
"Yep!" I nodded, wickedly grinning down at the lion plush. "It's off to Ishida you go~!"
• • •
"Why me?" Ishida asked, pushing up his glasses as they glinted in the light.
"Why not?" Ichigo asked, sighing as he put a hand on his hip. "I thought that this was your specialty?"
"I refuse." The Quincy said, looking down as he continued sewing on his own project.
I sighed, holding Kon close to my chest.
How could he not feel pity for the poor plushie? I mean, Kon's arm was literally hanging on; stuffing was even beginning to fall out.
"Why?" Ichigo asked, glaring down at the archer.
"I don't need to answer that." Ishida coolly replied.
"Che, so selfish." The strawberry scoffed, only to have his eyes light up. I swear I could see the light bulb above his head light up. "Oh, I got it! You can't do a thing with those hands! Yeah, it's impossible with them all bandaged up like that! Impossible!"
Ishida twitched, not handling Ichigo's taunts well.
"You can't even thread a needle like that, huh?" Ichigo asked, smirking down at the archer.
"How insulting! These wounds are nothing!" Ishida exclaimed, standing up in a swift motion as he pulled a small portable sewing kit seemingly out of nowhere. Slamming it down on the desk, he swiftly opened it and pulled a spare needle and thread from it. "Give it here! Just watch me; this'll be the work of a master!"
The Quincy grabbed Kon from my hands, slamming the poor thing down on the desk in irritation. His arms wildly began flailing as he began working on Kon. However, we couldn't see what Ishida was doing; his back was turned to us and we couldn't see Kon.
"Is Kon going to be all right?" I muttered, watching as Ishida went to town on the poor plushie.
"I dunno…" Ichigo whispered, not really knowing what was going on.
"Finished!" Ishida announced, standing up straight.
"That is-"
"Unbelievable!"
"Amazing~!" I gushed, trying not to laugh as Ishida stepped back and revealed Kon. It wasn't just any Kon; this time he was dressed in what appeared to be a medieval renaissance dress, complete with the intricately curled wig.
"Such bad taste..!" Ichigo muttered, stepping back from the plushie.
"Pretty bad." Rukia nodded, eyes shadowed by her hair.
Ishida smirked, laughing a bit. "I have high-grade fabric so that I can accept orders at any time. And the material I used here-"
"Shut up!" Kon yelled, jumping and kicking Ishida in the head. "Just cut the crap! Making fun of me and…huh?!"
Kon paused; looking around to find that we had all ran from the room.
"I'm going to run away after all~!"
