A/N: Ok, first let me rant about the crappy limited formatting of this website! There are a lot of Kanji in this story and they are kind of important, so when I wrote it in word, I enlarged them to font size 24, which is something that this website -for whatever reason- doesn't allow. So I researched an image for every single one of the Kanji and pasted them into the story only to find them deleted when I saved it. So, here I am, unable to actually show you the characters in a size where you can appreciate them. I'm sorry. Maybe zoom into the page to be able to see them better.
Now for my actual A/N:
This is a drabble turned one-shot for the tipipkd's prompt 'rivalry'. It turned out way too long for a drabble, therefore I am posting it as a seperate entity. Thank you for the great prompt!
I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I just borrowed them.
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Choose your words wisely
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Ichigo scoffs as the homeroom teacher shows him the way through the busy hallways of his new school. Technically, the teacher is nice and she's been very accommodating, completely unfazed by his frowns and eyerolls, but he doesn't want to be here, so this is a matter of principle. Once more he curses that his father decided to move back to Karakura, this hellhole of a town where it happened. They were fine in Osaka. Why uproot a whole family? Just because they still had their house here? Tch. What an idiotic reason.
The homeroom teacher stops and pushes open the door to reveal some students, each focused on their own piece of paper. Ichigo lets his eyes wander over their hunched figures.
Four-eyes with sleek hair – boring nerd.
Girl with short, mouse-brown hair – shy nerd.
Giant guy with messy hair – hm, maybe not a nerd, remains to be seen.
And then that girl at the front of the class.
Auburn hair, school uniform impeccably dressed up to standards – Perfect little Mrs. Goodie-Two-Shoes.
She looks up when she notices their presence and flashes them a blinding smile as she walks towards them. 'Oh, you must be Kurosaki-kun. Sensei told me you'd like to be part of the calligraphy club.'
Ichigo barely suppresses his eyeroll at her sweet, friendly voice. Teacher's pet all the way, just like he thought. He gives a court nod, but the teacher seems to think it's not enough and adds that he was the leader of the calligraphy club at his last school. Little Mrs. Perfect widens her eyes in surprise and maybe some admiration and Ichigo smirks down at her. Yeah, better believe it, little one.
The teacher introduces her as Inoue Orihime, the leader of this club, before she leaves, and Inoue shows him to an empty desk, asks if he needs any material, but he's not an amateur, he brought his own.
He ignores it when Inoue introduces him to the rest of the club with gentle and welcoming words. He unpacks and pretends not to notice the curious glances from his peers as they eye his brush, ink stick and ink stone. He feels smug knowing they recognize he only uses the most superior tools. They'll see his skill alright. But he doesn't start right away. He wants to see what the others are doing.
Shy nerd – sloppy strokes.
Four-eyes – perfect execution but lacks emotion.
Giant – sits and meditates and Ichigo respects that.
Other students have filed in, but none really catch his eyes.
He doesn't spare a glance to Inoue's work. He doesn't want to give her the satisfaction of knowing he's curious.
At last, when time is almost up, he walks back to his desk and writes with swift powerful strokes:
抗
It means 'to defy, to resist, to oppose' and it's a simple Kanji but the art of Shodo has always come naturally to him and so it speaks. Clearly and beautifully. He gets up and exits without saying good-bye, leaving the writing on his desk for Inoue to find.
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After the next meeting Inoue calls him back to speak and he really doesn't want to but there's a limit to even his impoliteness, so he stays behind and faces her with a stoic expression.
Unsurprisingly she tells him that she found his work and that it's beautiful, really well-done. His expression remains one of boredom and uninterest while she speaks a bit more about his technique, but then she surprises him when she starts to read his emotions out of the simple Kanji.
'What is it that you are so angry about? Why do you feel so lost?' She asks as if it's the most natural thing to ask someone you've only just met, and it hits center. When he scoffs and turns away, his eyes fall on her work of the day and he can't help but look at it. He should not be surprised because she is the leader of this club after all, but still, the beauty of her writing catches him off-guard.
勉
It means 'make an effort, diligent, encourage, endeavor' and the strokes are delicate and full of gentle determination. He looks longer than he wants to, even when he feels her eyes on him.
Finally, he tears himself away from the hypnotizing Kanji and turns to leave. At the door he pauses, speaking to her for the first time. 'Don't be too comfortable in your seat, Inoue. I used to be the leader of the calligraphy club at my old school. It's a position I deserve.' He doesn't stay long enough to hear if she replies.
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The next time they meet, Ichigo doesn't waste any time before he gets to work. He's already thought of the Kanji he wants to write. As usual, it only takes him one try to get it right and he allows a complacent grin to grace his face before he glances over to Inoue. She seems lost in her own world swaying lightly from side to side, until she lifts her brush to the paper. Ichigo realizes that she looks like she dances when she writes, very different from his own resolute movements.
He looks back at his own work. As usual, his strokes carry force and purpose, complementary to the meaning of this particular Kanji.
挑
The character means 'to challenge, to contend for' but also – he grins as he imagines how little Mrs. Perfect will blush when she realizes the alternate meaning – 'make love to'.
He leans back and closes his eyes until he feels the presence of someone close to him. He knows it's her, no one else in this club dares to get close enough to look at his work, except for the giant, Sado, but he's not there today.
He opens his eyes to observe her face as she takes in his work. To his surprise, the flustered expression he's expected fails to appear. Instead, she raises an eyebrow as a small smile tugs at her lips and it's maddening that she stays so calm at his provocation. She has the audacity to praise his work, highlighting the expressive determination of his art.
Her smile widens when she turns to him to ask if he'd honor her by looking at her work, because she'd like to know what he thinks and while he wants to refuse, his curiosity gets the better of him.
Unwilling to comply too easily, he takes his time to pack up his tools before he slings his bag over his shoulder and walks over to her desk where she waits, patiently and unfazed.
Looking at the paper, he is surprised to find that she wrote the exact same character as he did:
挑
The brushwork is smooth and somehow full of a gentle passion. He feels his cheeks heat up because the way she wrote it, it accentuates the second meaning of the Kanji, overtly, unashamedly, and yet the message is clear, she chose this character for the same reasons he did.
Her unguarded, open smile mocks him as he gives her nod of recognition before he leaves the classroom.
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The sessions turn to battles. It's subtle and on the surface they stay the same, leaving him unsure if anyone else even notices. She's still as kind to him as she's ever been, and he remains closed off and uncaring.
He imitates her style one day, switching sharp edges for gentle turns and forcefulness for elegance as the brush glides over the paper. A condescending smile scurries across his face while he watches her examine his work.
弱
The Kanji means 'weak, frail' and while it's not his usual style, the softness of the strokes matches the thinly veiled insult of the character perfectly. She only smiles that infuriating gentle smile of hers while she gestures for him to look at her work. This is their routine now, she'll look at his before he looks at hers and so they walk over to her desk.
He's surprised to find that she also slightly tweaked her style to match the meaning of the two characters. Still, it's unmistakably her and undeniably beautiful, just like all her other work.
無粋
It means inelegant, unpolished, unromantic, tactless. Touché.
'Heh.' The noise, somewhere between a laugh and a scoff escapes him before he can help it and she regards him curiously until he walks out of the classroom.
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He meets with his childhood friend for the first time since they've moved back and she's somehow the same as she was, a fact that comforts him more than he would care to admit.
They catch up and she tells him about her family, school and a life of Karate tournaments and he reciprocates, mentioning the Shodo club in passing. But she perks up at the mention of it and asks him what he thinks of the club.
To his own surprise, he finds himself ranting to her, somehow relieved to find an outlet for his frustration. And he tells her of the 'battle' and makes fun of how annoying he finds little Miss Goodie-Two-Shoes with her perfect appearance and her perfect performance and her perfect life. Tatsuki unexpectedly frowns at this. Apparently, Inoue is one of her closest friends, which is something she really should have mentioned earlier, as Ichigo wants to reproach her. But she looks contemplative and so he doesn't and waits for her to continue.
And then she goes on to tell him how Inoue is an orphan who used to be cared for by her older brother until he died in a car accident two years ago. And that she now lives alone and cares for herself. And that he of all people should know what it feels like to lose a loved one. So he really shouldn't call her life perfect, she asserts and Ichigo is taken aback by this new information.
Later, when he's back home, he finds his thoughts wandering back to it, involuntarily. He can't help but wonder what it is like to live all alone at 16 and if she's not terribly lonely. And the pain of loss that still reverberates within him boils up, only for a second, and the concept of this same pain -but tripled- forces the air to desert his lungs, leaving a painful emptiness in its wake.
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At the next meeting he observes her for a long time before he even unpacks his tools. Her smile never wavers and she's sweet and helpful towards all the members. He is no exception; he knows this and somehow it stings to see her like this now that he knows more of her backstory.
So, when he sits down, he chooses not to insult her for a change as his brush decorates the paper in thoughtful, slow movements.
慰
It's a beautiful character to write and the result is more heartfelt than he would like, but he leaves it anyways. It means 'comfort, solace' and when she comes to look at it, it's the first time she actually seems surprised by something he wrote. Their eyes meet and he tries to figure her out as he looks at her, for once unfrowning. For some reason, she blushes under his inquisitive eyes.
She motions to her own desk, and he follows her. His breath briefly leaves him at the sight of her intricate brushwork and somehow, he knows instinctively that she's also talked to Tatsuki since they last met and that his childhood friend told her about his mother.
㥯
It's a sophisticated character with many meanings and he can't help marveling at the intricate mastership of the strokes as he recalls them:
'Compassionate.'
'To take an interest.'
'Prudent, careful, cautious.'
'Grieved.'
It's perfect in its expressiveness, he has to admit. Prying his eyes away from her brushwork, he nods at her and turns to leave as he always does. Yet, this time something compels him to stop.
"Good work, Inoue," he says, and it's an understatement, really, but this is the first time he's complimented her art and when he walks away, he knows without looking back that she is smiling.
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A/N: I really hope you liked this little one-shot.
The prompt specified that they should have a hate-to-love kind of relationship so I tried to incorporate that a little bit, but I also wanted to leave the ending kind of open.
Now, I don't actually know that much about Shodou and my knowledge of the Japanese language is also quite limited, so I researched the Kanji and I hope I didn't butcher the art or the language with this.
Next post will probably be in the drabble corner again, unless the next drabble also turns into a one-shot. :D
Reviews are always appreciated!