Broken Coda's odd bits and pieces! None of these characters belong to me, I just like to play with them.
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-------Butterfly: start--
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Ishida watches them from above. The little one, with black hair that curls at the ends - the taller one, with the high spiritual energy and spiky hair. A man cries over a broken doll and fades into the ground. Ishida wonders if they ever stop bickering.
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The fight is beginning, and the Hollows are out. Under the crack in the sky the city continues its daily bustle. What will you do, Kurosaki?
There's a look in his eyes that makes Ishida wonder if he put it there, and why he regrets it. But regret is a useless emotion.
If he does not suppress his shame...he'd go insane
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Do you remember, Ishida?
Do you remember your sensei?
Do you remember the Shinigami?
Can you save everyone?
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No
Yes
I have to
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And suddenly Kurosaki knocks him down: Ishida's on the ground. He's hurt, winded...disconnected.
What will you do, Kurosaki?
Do you know?
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A list of don'ts
Don't lie
Don't cry
Don't laugh
Don't die
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Don't lose
and
Don't
...ever
............forget
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Ishida wonders why he's throwing away all his previously-held values for someone who is blunt, arrogant and exasperatingly idiotic. Still, those words could have been used to describe himself - once upon a time, and Ichigo's determination makes him smile. Like the way he never says thank you out loud, or the way he refuses to give up after he is clearly beaten.
He notices other things too. How he's never smiled at anyone, properly, but once. And Ishida wonders whether he'd have liked to have been there instead of her.
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A script
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ISHIDA: What do you mean?
KUROSAKI: It's just that - no, I think I kind of knew all along. That you're --
(silence)
ISHIDA: If you want to say something, say it.
KUROSAKI: Look, just forget it.
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The subtext
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Ishida stands a little away from the footpath. It's windy. Ichigo shoves his hands in his pockets and avoids eye contact.
"What do you mean?"
"It's just that - no, I think I kind of knew all along. That you're --"
The pause lengthens. Ishida's mouth twists.
"If you want to say something, say it."
Ichigo shrugs a little and looks up at the sky. "Look, just forget it. I love Rukia, you know?"
The wind attacks again and Ishida's hair falls into his eyes. He ignores it, keeps his gaze on the ground.
"Do you?"
Perhaps Ichigo gets a little irritated, because he pushes Ishida's hair away for him, like the way he does with Rukia, but not entirely gently. Ishida does not move.
"What about Orihime?"
"What about her?"
Ichigo's eyes burn into him. Ishida knows Ichigo is fiercely protective of Inoue, but he doesn't need to go this far.
"She likes you. And you know that. What, you're just going to throw it all away?"
For the first time in a long while Ishida feels angry. He glares right back.
"What do you want me to do? Do you think I would be happy with her? Pretending to love her as more than a friend?"
Ichigo folds his arms, but his voice is a little softer.
"You're right."
Ishida says nothing, and looks away. The leaves scattered on the footpath are already decaying. And by the time Ishida raises his head again he is alone once more.
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Ishida sometimes wonders what it would be like to be a Shinigami. But then again he knows there's only one reason why he'd want an eternal life, and it probably isn't a valid one. Their friendship is a little strained -- less talking, less laughing, less fighting. He wishes there was something he could do. Still, Ichigo being happy is in its own way comforting, which is all he needs.
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He won't lose
or forget
or regret
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because the butterflies are out again, and the sun is shining.
--Butterfly: end-------