Next Dance
Rukia left the Kurosaki house at ten the next morning to Inoue's house. Ichigo, meanwhile, was wondering what to do about a tux. He finally decided to visit Urahara-san. He usually had everything anyone needed.
The door to Urahara Shoten was half-open and Urahara was lounging outside the store on a folding chair, soaking up the little morning sunshine of the winter day. Ichigo could just see Tessai moving about in the shadows of the store and the two kids who worked for Urahara, Jinta and Ururu, bustle about.
When Urahara saw Ichigo, he broke into a wide smile and waved with his fan. "Ah! Kurosaki-san! How can I help you today?"
Ichigo knew very well that this man knew exactly what he wanted, but he showed no sign of saying anything.
"Got a tux I could borrow?"
"Aa, just in luck, Kurosaki-san! I found one yesterday in the store and we somehow felt that it was going to be used, so we sent it for dry cleaning! Fortunately, we got it back just before you came." Urahara eyed him mysteriously from under the brim of his hat.
Ichigo nodded. "Good. Can I use for the night?"
"Of course, Kurosaki-san! Tessai, get the tuxedo!" Urahara said good-naturedly. Tessai nodded and disappeared into the shadows.
"What's it for?" Urahara asked.
"A dance," Ichigo said. "A masquerade ball."
"Masquerade, huh? That sounds like fun! But wouldn't you need a mask?"
Ichigo slapped his forehead. "Oh, right! I totally forgot about that!"
"You could always use your Hollow mask," Urahara suggested cheerfully. Ichigo gave him a disbelieving look. "That was exactly what Rukia said. What is with people repeating Rukia's words to me?"
"Don't worry, Kurosaki-san! We've got one for you!"
Tessai came out with a suit in a protective cover. In his other hand, he held a mask. "Here, you go, Kurosaki-dono." Ichigo took the suit and the mask before inspecting the latter. It was a plain black mask with a white ring around each eyehole. Black ribbons were attached to each end of the mask.
"Okay. Thanks."
"Don't worry, you can return it later." Urahara moved his hand up and down.
Ichigo nodded farewell and left the store.
The itinerary stated that the dance started at eight pm. Ichigo was ready by 7.30. Isshin kept telling him to pose for a picture but kept getting punched by his son. Yuzu and Karin smiled at their dressed-up brother. Yuzu told him to smooth back his hair, but Ichigo refused, saying he'd look stupid.
Ten minutes before eight, Ichigo left the house. The cold, night air touched his face and he shivered slightly. Thank God he had put on an extra jacket on top of the tuxedo jacket he had on.
"Ichigo!"
Ichigo turned and saw Chad taking long strides to catch up to him without running. He also had on a tux, and like Ichigo, hadn't completely worn the whole set of matching clothes. He'd only worn the tux jacket, a barely tucked in button-down shirt and pants. No ties or any other fancy stuff.
"Yo, Chad." They walked together side-by-side.
"Where's Kuchiki?" Chad asked in his deep voice.
"She spent the day at Inoue's, so they're going together." Ichigo frowned, suddenly curious at what Rukia was going to wear.
"I see." It was quiet for a while before Chad asked, "What made you want to come?"
Ichigo let out a frustrated breath. "Stupid midget somehow changed my mind." He glared forward. "And I'm going. Damn."
Chad chuckled. "Okay."
The walk to school was quiet and cold. Ichigo thought that the school was ridiculous to organize a dance at night in the middle of freaking winter. "Damn all this," he muttered.
Inside the school compound, a snow-free path was lined and lit by traditional lanterns, obviously leading to where the dance was held. Ichigo saw couples following the path, and immediately felt a little awkward that he was walking with a guy.
"ICHIGO!"
Ichigo sighed and stepped to the side as Keigo came hurtling from the back. The boy fell to the ground from his own momentum.
"Yo," Ichigo greeted him, not bothering to help Keigo up as he passed him. Mizuiro walked up beside him and said, "Oh, I didn't know you were coming."
"Yeah, Ichigo! You didn't tell us!" Keigo bounded up and ran to catch up. Both boys had on tuxedos. "Was it Kuchiki-san?" Mizuiro asked. Ichigo just shrugged.
"Hm, where is she anyway? Is she coming, Ichigo?" Keigo looked around. "I don't see her."
"She went with Inoue," Ichigo said. They had arrived at the hall and two seniors with masks over their faces stood to either side of the entrance. "Here you go," said the senior nearest them. He passed out rose blossoms for their breast pockets. Ichigo reluctantly put it in. "Enjoy the night," the senior said as they entered the hall.
The first thing Ichigo noticed was how the hall had transformed. The tall windows were covered by heavy white drapes. The walls were clean from shoeprints and dirt. The middle of the hall was cleared for dancing and to either side of the large room were buffet tables. At the front, the rectangular stage was decorated with gold drapery and a band set was placed onstage, an upright piano as well. A sign proclaimed the event to be 'Karakura High's Valentine's Day Masquerade Ball' in large golden letters against a rich maroon backdrop.
The next thing Ichigo saw was the colorful sea of students in the hall, all of them wearing masks. Most of the boys had on tuxedos, ranging from the usual black to blues and browns. He could also see some whites here and there.
The girls, however, were a different story. A whole variety of dresses were there, from short, thigh-lengths to floor-sweeping ones and several dramatic, Victorian-like dresses. Ichigo could also see some that were not too appropriate for a semiformal, school dance.
"Hey, Ichigo! Put your mask on!" Keigo said. He had already put on a white mask with tiger stripes at the sides. Chad and Mizuiro had also put on their masks, Chad's being a very classical white with intricate dark, golden patterns and Mizuiro's being a nice blue one. Ichigo took out his own from the inside of his jacket and put it on, quickly tying the ribbons at the back of his head.
The four of them walked over to the chairs by the walls. They shrugged out of their winter jackets and hung them in a pile over the back of one chair. Other students had also done the same when Ichigo looked around.
"I'm going to find Inoue-san and the rest! See you guys! Come on, Mizuiro!" Keigo pulled the smaller boy along.
"I'm going to get a drink. Want some?" Ichigo asked.
"I'll come with you," Chad said. The pair walked over to the buffet tables and poured out the punch for themselves. They walked back to their chairs and sat down.
For a while, the only noise was the chatter of the student body. Then, the principal walked up to the stage and tapped thrice on a microphone he held. "Ahem! May I have your attention, please?"
The noise died down and the principal continued, "Aa. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I am happy that all of you could attend Karakura High's first masquerade ball in conjunction with Valentine's Day."
A round of applause from the audience.
"I have nothing much to say to all of you, so I now officiate this event tonight!"
Another louder round of applause.
"Okay! Enjoy the night! And students, please remember to behave and not do anything stupid. The teachers are around and will be keeping an eye on all of you."
Groans and mutters from the students.
"Let the dance begin!"
A group of students went onstage to the band set. The lead singer was a girl from the senior class. She glanced to her band and they started to play slow, soothing songs.
Ichigo could see some of the kids complain about the soft music, but a lot of the others went to the middle of the hall to dance. He leaned back against his chair. No way was anyone getting him to dance.
"Ichigo!"
The boy looked up when he heard the familiar voice. Three girls walked up to him.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Kurosaki-kun!" said one of them.
At first, he thought he couldn't recognize them, but Tatsuki's messy hair was still messy, Inoue still had her...assets andcalled him 'Kurosaki-kun' and Rukia was still a midget.
What?
They were all wearing dresses of different colors and styles (Tatsuki – black, high-necked with a short zipper, sleeveless, mid-thigh; Inoue – pink, knee-length, one-shouldered with a white flower on it; Rukia – off-white, halter neck, flowing, just above the knees) but Rukia (he didn't want to admit it) looked stunning in hers.
They also had masks on (Tatsuki – pale coloured in a cat-like shape with two stripes going through each eyehole and some bright stones; Inoue – pink, butterfly-shape with black lashes painted at the corner or each eyehole; Rukia – elegant, classic style with gold patterns curling out from the eyeholes). Ichigo found himself blinking repeatedly just seeing Rukia looking the same, yet so different. He thanked God he was wearing a mask.
"Er, thanks, Inoue," he said, nodding slightly.
"I thought you said that wearing a mask would bring an 'air of mystery' around the wearer! Everyone recognized me!" Rukia ranted at Ichigo.
"Yeah, with your stature, of course everyone would know it was you," Ichigo replied.
A vein pulsed in Rukia's temple and she stepped on Ichigo's foot, causing him to cringe. "If you're trying to be discreet with that mask, your freak orange hair is giving you away," Rukia retorted.
Ichigo twitched. "Why you..."
"Ne, Kurosaki-kun! I'm so glad you could come!" Inoue quickly interjected to prevent another argument between the pair. Ichigo looked at her. "Oh, yeah."
"So." Tatsuki sat down beside him, turning her head to look at him. "Haven't got a date, have you?"
Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "I don't need one. I don't dance, and you know that." He gave her a look. "Besides, why are you here? You don't dance, do you?"
Tatsuki shrugged. "Everyone was going. I got an invitation, found this in my closet and here I am." Tatsuki tugged at her dress and then gestured to the hall.
"You got someone invite you as a date?" Ichigo's disbelieving tone made Tatsuki punch him in the arm. "What? You think a girl like me can't get any dates?"
They heard someone call Tatsuki's name. They turned to see a boy waving towards her.
"Hey, isn't that the prez of the karate club? I forgot his name..." Ichigo said, tapping a finger to his forehead.
"And I'm not going to bother telling you if you forget every time!" Tatsuki stood up. "I'll see what he wants. See you guys later." With that, Tatsuki walked off.
Ichigo looked to the other two girls. "So, who's your partner, Inoue?"
"Oh, it's Ishida-kun!" Inoue said, smiling. "B-but if Kurosaki-kun wants to dance, I'll be glad to be your partner!" she added, a little too quickly, cheeks pink.
"A-a, sorry, Inoue. I don't dance."
"O-oh, that's alright then!"
"Inoue-san!"
The group turned around and saw Ishida coming up to them in a smart white tuxedo.
"Kurosaki, Chad, Kuchiki-san! I almost didn't recognize all of you, except you, Kurosaki. That orange hair really gives you away."
Ichigo gritted his teeth and before he could pummel Ishida into dust, Rukia said, "Quincy pride, huh?" She gestured to his clothes.
"Of course, Kuchiki-san! I have to always take pride in the color white!" Ishida said passionately. Ichigo and Rukia just stared at him. Chad sat there quietly.
Inoue laughed lightly. "Ishida-kun! You called me?"
"Oh, right!" He took one step back and bowed to Inoue. "Would you like to dance, Inoue-san?"
Inoue nodded. "I would love to!" She took Ishida's open palm and they stepped to the dance floor.
Chad suddenly stood up. "I'm going to get something to eat. See you, Ichigo." And he was gone.
Ichigo was left alone with Rukia.
"I bet you don't have a date," Ichigo said as Rukia took a seat beside him.
"For your information, I do have one!" Rukia said proudly.
"Eh? Are you for real?" Ichigo was surprised and a little...resentful?
Rukia nodded. "He's your senior, I suppose."
"Who?" Ichigo growled just the slightest.
"Uchida. Uchida Ryuu."
"Uchida?" Ichigo tried to recall any seniors with the name but couldn't match anyone he knew (the seniors who usually picked fights with him) with an Uchida Ryuu.
"Yeah."
"How could he have invited you to be his date? I mean, there wasn't school yesterday and..."
"Oh, he asked me just now."
"HA?"
Before Ichigo could say anything else, she jumped from her seat. "Right! I see him. I'll ask him for a dance." She turned to grin at him before skipping off. "See ya, Ichigo!"
Ichigo stared at her. He had never seen her so bubbly before. Soon, she disappeared into the sea of students.