Disclaimer - I do not own Bleach, never have and never will. All credit for that goes to Tite Kubo

Chapter Three - First Date

Isshin had spent a rather restless night on the cushy sofa in his living room, thinking about how he could better get to know Masaki, and now he was downing his third cup of coffee in an attempt to fight off the fatigue that was now threatening to overwhelm him.

"I guess sitting up all night, lost in thought, wasn't such a good idea after all," Isshin muttered darkly as he drank the thick liquid that was supposed to re-energize him and get him ready for class. Not that he was overly interested in the curriculum mind you, he just didn't want to screw up his first attempt to ask Masaki out on a date. He had spent his sleepless night going over possible scenarios in his head and had finally came up with a date that he thought Masaki might enjoy.

Now all he had to do was ask her out without making a complete and utter fool out of himself.

"If that's even possible," Isshin thought as he grabbed his useless textbooks and left his house. The walk to school was completely uneventful and when Isshin arrived in the courtyard that was in front of the main building he saw that the black haired man with the wire rimmed glasses was once again seated alone, a large book spread out on his lap.

"Hello again," Isshin called out in a friendly tone as he walked toward the man.

This time the man spared Isshin a longer glance before finally saying, in a quiet and someone haughty tone, "Hello." Then, without so much as another word, the man went back to studying his book.

"Well it's more progress than yesterday," Isshin thought to himself as he continued on toward his first class. He wanted to get there as early as possible so that he would have a moment to speak to Masaki before class began. Later Isshin would wonder what had made him so sure that Masaki would be there so early but now his mind was focused solely on what he would say.

As he stepped inside the classroom his heart skipped a beat as his searching gaze fell on Masaki, seated in the same place as yesterday. "There's my lovely little Masaki," he sang to himself as he made his way across the room toward her.

Hearing the sound of someone walking toward her Masaki gazed up and she offered Isshin a welcoming smile. "Hello Kurosaki-san," she said in her quiet and musical voice. "You're here early today."

"Please," Isshin said as he came to a stop beside Masaki and gazed down at her, willing himself not to mess this up. "Call me Isshin."

"Alright then," Masaki said. "Isshin, is there something that I can help you with?"

Isshin had to resist the urge to say something stupid that would more than likely make her never want to lay eyes on him again. "I. . . I was just. . . wondering. . ." Taking a deep breath the former Shinigami pressed on. "I was wondering if you might like to go out for ice cream with me after our classes."

As soon as the words escaped his mouth Isshin mentally slapped himself in the forehead. He'd meant to ask her out for coffee after class but for some unknown reason ice cream had came out instead. Blushing profusely Isshin shook his head. How childish sounding was that?

"I'd love to," Masaki said, beaming up at Isshin with a wide smile on her face. "I hate to admit it but I have somewhat of a weakness for ice cream. Especially strawberry ice cream."

"That's my favorite too," Isshin said as he returned her smile. "So I'll meet you in the courtyard after class then."

Masaki nodded and then watched as Isshin made his way back to the seat that he had occupied the day before. He couldn't believe his luck. Even though he'd screwed up and said the wrong words Masaki had still agreed to go out with him after class.

"This is my chance," Isshin thought to himself.

Once the school day had came to an end Isshin quickly made his way to the courtyard, hoping against hope that Masaki hadn't changed her mind. After the triumph of getting her to agree to this date he would be absolutely devastated if she didn't show up.

Luckily for him that was not the case. In fact Masaki was actually waiting for him in the courtyard when he arrived. She offered him a smile as he walked toward her and he couldn't help but offer her a grin of his own.

"I thought you might have changed your mind," Masaki said in her musical voice.

"Not a chance," Isshin said, thinking privately that he could listen to her talk for days. Her voice had such a wonderful, musical quality to it. "So are you ready to get the ice cream that I promised you?"

Masaki nodded and, after a moment's hesitation, she offered her arm to the man who was standing beside her.

Together Isshin and Masaki made their way to a small ice cream shop that was located on the edge of the campus where they both attended classes. Leaving Masaki in a booth near the window Isshin walked over to the counter and ordered ice cream for both of them.

Masaki watched as Isshin turned away from the counter, an ice cream cone in each hand, and as he walked toward the booth where she was sitting she saw something in the floor, directly in his path. "Isshin," she called out, hoping to warn him before he. . .

Too late. Isshin's foot made contact with the object in the floor and he stumbled. Isshin threw up his hands in surprise, causing the ice cream to depart from the cone. Masaki had the urge to cover her eyes however she lost this urge as she witnessed Isshin recover. With amazing skill and an agility that was belied by his slightly clumsy nature Isshin managed to maneuver the cones in such a way that he caught all of the ice cream before it hit the ground.

A wide grin spread across Masaki's face. "That was excellent!" she exclaimed as she accepted the strawberry ice cream cone that he offered to her.

Isshin blushed as he sat down in the booth across from her. He was glad that his reflexes, honed by countless hours of training, had came in handy for something. It had been great when those reflexes had saved him in battle however that paled in comparison to the feeling of euphoria that Masaki's praise brought him.

"I didn't make a complete fool of myself," Isshin sang to himself as he made his way back to his house. He had walked Masaki home after their date and had even managed to get a small kiss on the cheek from the girl of his dreams. True, it was a small gesture of affection but it gave him hope for the future.

For their future.

Together.

A/N - and there's another chapter and it's also short. Hope you enjoyed.