Chapter 2: Rainfall

Thank you Ann and Yiyao for reviewing!

animefreak-shinobi: Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try to keep them in mind while writing.

The heavy rain mercilessly poured down, wetting the streets, darkening the sky, and pestering the teenager and Death God as they ran down the streets, looking for cover.

"I thought that perhaps you would be prepared in case of downpours such as this!" complained Rukia as she jumped over a large puddle.

"Well, I wasn't, okay?" Ichigo shot back.

"You lived here long enough to at least know the weather pattern."

"Will you shut up already!"

"No."

Brow furrowing, he cursed under his breath. She was always infuriating him like this.

Finally they spotted a bus stop and ran towards it, splashing water around them as they ran across the soggy street. Both people were drenched from head to toe as they sat down on the bench, tired from running.

Brutal and cold, the wind whipped against the two, making the bright-haired teenager shiver in response. Having wet clothes on wasn't the least bit helpful in chilly weather. He looked at the unceasing rain again, then sighed, hoping it would lessen soon.

A jacket smacked his face, and he turned towards Rukia, wanting an explanation. "What do you think you're doing!"

Scoffing, she replied vexedly, crossing her arms. "You're cold, aren't you? Wear that. I can't have you be sick when an order comes."

He eyed the black jacket suspiciously. Exactly where did she get this from? "What about you? Aren't you cold?"

"Of course not, fool. I'm a Death God."

"But you're in a gigai."

"The gigai isn't that human."

Shrugging, he felt a wave of warmth surround him as he slipped it on. He looked up, seeing looming, grey clouds cover the vast sky, and then reasoned the rain wasn't going to stop anytime soon.

Several minutes passed until a loud voice pierced through the heavy rainfall.

"Hey Ichigo! What're you doing here with Kuchiki-san?" Mizuiro asked as he stepped under the bus stop, Keigo right behind him.

Ichigo groaned upon seeing the pair. Why did Keigo have to be here? Now he's going to make a big deal out of everything again. And he didn't feel like dealing with such people at the moment.

Rukia noticed the umbrella he was carrying, which seemed to keep him dry from the rain. Now why didn't Ichigo bring one? The answer striked her—probably because he was too stupid.

"Ahhh!" Keigo exploded. "You're here with Rukia-chan, again! You must be going out with her! Congratulations!" Flashing him a thumbs up sign, he advanced towards his friend to give him a pat on the back, but was stopped as Ichigo snatched him by the collar.

"It was just a coincidence, okay?" Ichigo vociferated, a miffed tone in his voice. This guy always made a big deal when it came to girls, and it was constantly annoying him.

"Hey, Rukia-chan, why don't we share umbrellas?" Keigo asked the raven-haired girl, stars sparkling in his eyes as he leaned the umbrella closer to her.

"Oh…No, it's okay Keigo-san," Rukia replied, her voice high and cute, an attribute that did not fit her at all. "I'm sure there isn't enough room. I'll just wait here until the rain stops." She flashed him a sweet, fake smile.

"But I can't do that!" Keigo shouted desperately, hoping the girl would change her mind.

"Oh no…please don't mind me," replied the raven-haired girl, her high voice ringing in the air.

Rukia's stupid acting was really getting on Ichigo's nerves. Her perception of normal was not even remotely close, especially with that abnormally high voice she uses. As long as Keigo and Mizuiro were here, she would continue to torment him with that ridiculously high voice of hers.

Annoyed and bored, his eyes wandered to Keigo's bag, which had an extra umbrella sticking out. That pervert, he's probably hiding it on purpose, so he could get Rukia to share his umbrella. "Hey Keigo, do you need that extra umbrella?" he hollered.

Darn! How did Ichigo find out! Now I'll lose my chance of being under the same umbrella as Kuchiki-san! Keigo clamored in his head as he glanced at his bag, wondering how he could've found out about his spare one. No wonder! The umbrella was clearly sticking out, a possible result of him leaning close to Rukia. What horrible luck. Shocked and surprised, his movements were sluggish as he reached for his spare umbrella.

"Hey, can I use it then?" Rukia piped, eyes wide with excitement that she was going to learn how to use another human contraption.

"Why, of course Rukia-chan!" Keigo beamed as he handed it to her.

"Why you—I was going to get it!" Ichigo shouted in protest.

"Well," Mizuiro said, opening his umbrella. "I guess we'll just leave you two lovebirds alone then. Just bring the umbrella back tomorrow."

"We're not in love!" Ichigo retorted.

"You can deny it, but that doesn't mean it's not true!" Mizuiro replied, his voice fading as he walked away.

Ichigo cursed under his breath as he watched the annoying pair disappear into the distance. Good riddance.

Curiously, Rukia looked at the umbrella in her hands, wondering how it could be opened. "Ichigo," she said, turning towards the bright-haired teen. "How does one open this?"

"Just press the button."

She glanced at the umbrella and turned it around, wondering where the button could be. Were all earth materials this hard to use? Sure enough, the juice pack proved difficult to her, but not all things could've been this hard to master. "Where?"

Sighing, Ichigo stood up and walked towards her, then pointed at the place she was supposed to press. To him, it was amazing that a veteran Death God couldn't even open an umbrella even though she could easily slay huge monsters.

"Oh." Pressing the button, the umbrella swiftly sprang out into its round shape, making a "wow" escape from the girl's mouth. Then she lifted it above her head, turning towards Ichigo to show him she mastered this umbrella of his.

"Hey, idiot, what're you doing!" Ichigo roared as he dodged the umbrella, only millimeters away from poking his eye out.

"I'm using the umbrella!" she retaliated.

"Stop swinging that thing around! Are you trying to poke my eyes out!"

She shoved the umbrella into him. "Well then, you carry it!"

By the time they reached home, the rain became a light drizzle, and the sky was clearing up.

"I'll see you in your room then," the raven-haired girl said before she jumped up to his window with the aid of tree branches.

"Yeah, okay," the bright-haired teenager replied as he entered his house.

Suddenly a flying foot propelled Ichigo against the door, causing him to stand up painfully and shout at his attacker. "What was that for!"

"You're late again son!" scolded Isshin as he sprung up into the air to deliver another blow.

Cursing, he retorted as he dodged his father's assault and punched him. "It was raining, you know!"

"Oh wait!" he cried out, looking at what his son was wearing. "Why are you wearing my jacket! I thought I left it at the bus stop! Did you go through the rain just to get it for me?"

"Go through the rain for you! As if!" he snorted in reply, storming up the stairs.

At least he knew whose jacket he was wearing.

"How'd you get that bump on your head?" Rukia asked, her gaze shifting from the manga book she was reading to the teenager who slammed open the door.

"None of your business."

"Don't talk to me like that."

"Whatever."

The manga book she was reading was hurled at his face, creating yet another bump.

Author's Notes: I hope you enjoyed reading that chapter! I had to stop several times to think about what to write next since nothing inspired me, and that's what took so long for this chapter to be out. It's so much easier to write when you're inspired; at least that's what I think. Comments/criticism/suggestions/corrections are greatly appreciated!