Convincing Yourself

A.N.-A little something I wrote for my English 101 class. I'm sorry it seems really short and all over the place...I needed to describe the characters to my teacher a little, and then somewhere in the middle I was like "Screw it". Hah..So I apologize in advance for it's crappiness...

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

My withered hands grip the arms of my rocking chair as my gaze overlooks the city from my comfortable balcony seat. I live down the street from a wondrous young child: Ichigo Kurosaki. I have reason to believe that he can see ghosts much like myself, for I am old and Death beckons me often. I see him walk down the street and stop at a ghost, look both ways, then lean in close and spark a conversation. He's a good child, though his face is contorted into everlasting sadness and anger since the death of his poor mother I knew so well. His once bright eyes have grown dark and his eye brows have knitted themselves so tightly I'm afraid nothing will pull them apart.

A loud ruckus booms through the neighborhood. A large hideous monster with a mask made of bone crashed through the streets knocking over street lamps. People ran in fear because of the lamps falling, and not the monster. He had the same qualities as Death and the ghosts. A tiny hand grips my shoulder as I watch the chaos ensue. Wearily my eyes trail up the arm to its owner's face, knowing fair well who it is.

Her black kimono that meets my eyes is so familiar. I look at Death in the face, and know it so well. She's not like everyone thinks. Her raven hair and crisp blue eyes set in a pale kind face are nothing like the dirty skull every one has described in stories. She doesn't hold a scythe in boney hands, nor wear a heavy cape. She is simply a beauty, a sword at her waist. She's silent most days, but today as I feel the light weight of her tiny hand on my shoulder, I notice the air rise before her words.

"You're long over due, Obaa-chan." Her voice is soft, yet carries the power of so much more. I watch as her eyes drift to the scene below. She knows that monster. That's part of her job too. Her hand leaves my shoulder and she steps to the edge of the balcony. With a firm but soft hand she grips the cloth of her katana at her waist and prepares to draw it. Without turning back to me, I hear her voice, "I'll return for you soon."

I smile and nod my head as she leaps from the balcony and slays the monster with one graceful swipe on her descent. I lean as far as my weak body will let me and notice Ichigo's bright orange hair. His body is frozen in sheer wonder and terror at my Death Goddess's abilities. I know he can see her too, as well as the monster that lay before him beginning to dissolve.

Their eyes meet as I see something I've never seen in either one of them before. For just a moment, her steely resolve and appearance are eased and Ichigo's tight scowl loosened for only a moment. Then my Death Goddess turns her back and fades away and I'm left wondering what had happened.

I lean back into my chair with a groan and a smile. So, someone out there can lift that boy's heavy composure. As he continues down the sidewalk, I glance and see that the mask on his face has been replaced, as if the scene hadn't happened at all.

I chuckle as Death returns, her breath noticeably shorter. I turn and see her pale complexion brushed with a hint of pink, and I feel I know the answer.

My voice creaks weakly as I've grown so used to since my age caught up with me. I pay it no mind and turn to meet the shocking blue eyes of Death. "So, you met the child Ichigo."

Where she once seemed far away and distant in her eyes, they suddenly grew life as she stared at me with utter surprise. "You know him?"

Another chuckle escapes my lips. "I used to watch over him after his mother died. Sweet child. He thinks nothing of himself. He's the oldest of three, you know." I find myself babbling Ichigo's past to her. "He's protected his sisters so adamantly. Even his crazy father some, too."

The small smile that appeared on her face almost made her seem human. She walked to the edge of the balcony and leaned over, as if trying to catch a glimpse of Ichigo in the distance. I let myself taunt her a little. "He's single, I believe."

The furious blush that grew on her face made me laugh. She turned to me and I saw a tiny human girl instead of eminent Death. She began to stutter. "I…I didn't think of him like that! I…I ju…just thought that he looked familiar. That's all!"

I shook my head with a heavy smile as I noticed Ichigo already on his way back. This time, he wasn't alone. The girl at his side was familiar; I had noticed her walk to his house on occasion. Orihime Inoue; she was beautiful. Long orange hair, sweet, and a figure most women would die to have. I would hear people talk about her and how much she loved Ichigo, and how much Ichigo never noticed. I never believed those rumors. For some reason, when I saw the two of them together, I never saw more than just friends. I shook my head sadly. Maybe I was wrong to think that, since they obviously seemed together today.

I watched Death's face carefully. Her eyes faded away someplace distant and her smile disappeared. She turned to me and I saw the old Death before me, ready to take me away at any moment. Her shoulders dropped.

"I'll be back for you, Obaa-chan." And with those simple words she turned on her heel and left the room, leaving me one more day to live. I leaned back over just as Ichigo and Orihime reached my balcony. I could hear their talking.

"Inoue, I'll give you back the notebook for our group. It's just upstairs in my room. Wait here." Ichigo said, turning and running towards his house. Orihime was left sitting outside on the bench near my front door, directly beneath my balcony. Leaning over until I could hear my back pop, I noticed her place her hand into her chin and sigh.

Hmm…A couple they say?

I awoke later on that night, my body calling me wearily for a drink. My feet shuffled quietly into my tiny kitchen. As I passed by the balcony door, I noticed it was wide open. Shaking my head at how forgetful I had become in my old age I shuffled over to it, happening to look across into Ichigo's room. A light caught my eye. Awake at this hour? Hmm…teenage boy after all. But then I noticed a graceful shadow, one I had long grown accustomed to. Her shimmering black hair glistened in the moonlight as she appeared to approach the boy. I shook my head. He was so young, and to take him away in his youth…

Another giant monster boomed throughout the neighborhood, ripping me from my reverie. My eyes moved quickly to see the pretty little Goddess of Death hop from Ichigo's window onto the hard pavement. Ichigo quickly followed her, making a not-so-graceful leap after her. The giant monster made a quick swipe towards the young pair just as Death was arguing with Ichigo about following her. It passed her up as she leapt, but it seemed she had forgotten about Ichigo.

"Move!" She shouted in mid air, but obviously not in enough time. I made the mistake of blinking, and when the half second was over, my Goddess of Death stood protectively in front of Ichigo. Her shoulder was gashed open and bleeding onto the cold pavement. My hands found their way to the balcony railing as I watched. Death couldn't be dead, could she? I made another quick mental note of her human qualities. My eyes found Ichigo as he stopped her fall, grabbing her gingerly by her good shoulder. His voice was loud and pleading.

"Why'd you do that? You don't even know me!" His voice cracked, fitting of his fifteen years. The monster was temporarily stunned, but had quickly recovered, pulling back its giant arm for another swing. I wanted to shout to the boy to run, but my voice had left me. Averting my gaze away from the monster, I caught the end of Death's sentence.

"…name is…Rukia Kuchiki." I stood horrified as I watched her place the point of her sword at Ichigo's heart. His somewhat shaky voice followed after her.

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki." I shook my head in disbelief as he grabbed the blade and shoved it in. But before my eyes could weep, a blinding light surrounded the pair. When I had managed to rub all the pain from my eyes, I saw Ichigo in Death's…No Rukia's…black clothes brandishing a massive sword, cleaving a stunned monster in half. My eyes trailed to where he had been originally only to see Rukia sitting in a simple white kimono, blood surrounding the cut on her shoulder.

Ichigo slung the sword into the sheath on his back and approached her. Once again those tight eyebrows had undone themselves in front of Death's—was she even Death anymore?—and she had let her guard down to smile grimly.

As Ichigo helped her inside, I heard her complaints trail behind them.

I turned around with a smile plastered on my face. Walking into the kitchen slowly with my feet swishing slowly across the carpet, I decided on something.

Say what they neighbors wanted to say, I knew something they didn't know. In my opinion, Rukia and Ichigo were going to be a happy match.

Now it was just a matter of convincing them.