Title: Jump
A/N: As ever I have absolutely nothing to say, except (deep breath): Carpe Diem! Sorry, had to insert that.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
Ryuuken doesn't think he's laid eyes on Uryuu's elementary school since the first day of his first year there—he took him there the first day and drove him home so Uryuu would know the way. He went to an older, considerably poorer school himself—indeed, Ryuuken isn't sure that this building even existed when he was in elementary school. It looks much like any elementary school: large buildings, high fence, and very crowded at this time of day.
He's gotten off of work a bit earlier than usual and Ryuuken has decided that he may as well kill two birds with one stone and see if Uryuu's still around. It occurs to him that Uryuu may have already started home or that he might be in the process of sneaking off to see his grandfather, and if so, Ryuuken will just go home and wait, and scold if necessary. It doesn't matter much to him either way.
As for why exactly Ryuuken has gotten out of work so early as this, he'd rather not reflect on that. He can still pick up on the noxious tang of too much blood and something else he can't help but think he's better off being ignorant of the identity of. That reality is bad enough; thinking of the incident that conspired to make it possible is something Ryuuken doesn't want to think about.
It's still more than a little chilly out; a cold March to be sure, made bearable only by the lack of wind and a weak, watery sun. The close-clipped grass has interspersed a few green shoots through the yard but is still largely brown and dead. The trees are for the most part naked of leaves, clothed only by infant buds.
Ryuuken looks around the slowly but steadily thinning crowd of small children and their parents, trying to spot one small, dark-haired, bespectacled child in particular. All of these students look quite young, eight or nine at the oldest; he can only assume that the older levels have already set off for home on their own.
He knows he must stand out here. For one, most of the adults present either are or simply look younger than him—none of them have graying hair, at any rate. The quiet, unsmiling man moving silently through the crowd has none of the demeanor of a parent.
After a roughly ten minute longer search reveals no sign of Uryuu, Ryuuken calls it quits and starts to head back down the concrete path towards the familiar, rather beat-up old car. Uryuu's probably struck out for home or his grandfather's by now; it's nearly four, after all.
Then, Ryuuken spots a child sitting on the bough of a large oak tree.
Back pressed against the trunk of the tree, Uryuu is absorbed, nose-deep, in what appears to be a library book, if the dark green band on the spine is any clue to its identity. He is murmuring something under his breath to himself, plainly ignorant of all that goes on around him and unaware of his father's presence. His long legs hand off the branch.
He could easily be nabbed with this absent-minded attitude of his, Ryuuken thinks to himself irritably. He'd be halfway to China before he noticed anything out of place. "Oh, so there you are," Ryuuken says to his son, not without an acerbic note in his voice.
Uryuu looks up, startled to hear his father's voice. This is the moment when Ryuuken realizes that he is almost exactly on eye level with him; he doesn't think he's ever locked eyes with Uryuu to have them on eye level before. Blue eyes open wide and, visibly stunned, Uryuu looks at him like he's never quite seen him before. He doesn't smile; if anything, the only emotion registering on Uryuu's face is naked shock.
Is this really so surprising?
What happens next is what manages to leave Ryuuken every bit as stunned as Uryuu. Before he knows what's happening, Ryuuken finds himself with a child's arms clamped firmly around his neck and as he raises his arms to catch him, the sudden weight knocks him off balance and he falls to the ground.
Well… Ryuuken isn't at first entirely sure what to think, trying to catch his bearings as passers-by stare and he rubs the back of his head. Uryuu, realizing he's made a misstep, and a frankly uncharacteristic misstep at that, and perhaps even realizing just how stupid that was, smiles uncertainly and backs up.
At the very least, Ryuuken can't say that it feels cold outside anymore. Sitting up and checking his glasses for damage, he looks over at Uryuu. "Are you alright?"
Uryuu nods. His library book lies discarded in the dust.
Ryuuken pushes his glasses back up the bridge of his nose with two fingers and draws in a deep breath as he stands. "Please don't do that again. You could have hurt yourself."
The child ducks his head. "Yes, sir." He picks up the book and brushes it off before following Ryuuken in the direction of the car, silent and again subdued, with nothing at all to say.
