Standard disclaimer applies.
Author's notes: While I had been planning to take a 2-3 weeks break, I had intended to tell you about it beforehand. Due to the fact that things got out of my hands (basically, school, exams, and holidays all crammed up), I wasn't able to do so. So, yeah, to those who kept waiting, thank you. I present "Drawing Conclusions," a fic in which Rukia's intuition makes Ichigo tremble! Or somehthign like that...

Drawing Conclusions
12.09.2005

Rukia tapped her sketchbook with her marker, brooding over the particular way the doodled bunny was looking at her. When, she wondered, had she drawn that line across his brow that made it look like a very familiar frowning boy? Oh, well… It wasn't that bad. Hadn't Orihime said something about frowns making you look thoughtful? Then again, it was Orihime, after all, and the girl had been talking about Ichigo that time too.

Said boy was actually sitting on his bed hearing music. Or at least he told her he was doing so. Rukia doubted it. How the hell did that rectangular thingy with those ear plug thingies produce music anyway? Did it have tiny instruments inside? 'Maybe I can open it someday…' she mulled over the thought.

Oh, back to Inoue. Now, what was it that she said at lunch two days ago? Ah, yes, that Ichigo's face looked funny when he frowned. And yet, it was that same frown that made him look thoughtful, like he was an undercover superhero thinking how to defeat the bad cyborg spies that were hiding themselves as exchange students… 'Er, yeah…' Rukia dismissed the last part with a shake of her head, 'He looked funny.'

She hadn't failed to notice that bright look in the auburn-headed girl or the way her arms spread wide and waved in the air with enthusiasm when she talked of him. Or how she imitated his frown, puckered up her lips in Ichigo-fashion to great detail, and crossed her arms over her generous chest. Inoue seemed fond of Ichigo, unlike other girls in their class that held some strange mix of fear and respect for the short-tempered boy. It was more than obvious, really, not to have noticed before.

'I think she likes him,' she realized, her marker-gripping hand suddenly slipping across the white paper and creating a thick, black line over the rabbit drawing in surprise. She mentally cursed over her ruined drawing, but let it go as something came to her mind.

She turned to Ichigo, eyes wide with amusement, and promptly torn the miniature, white music box from his hands, pulling the strings of the earplugs as well. The boy looked down at her, grunting irritated at her, but she ignored it. Instead, Rukia pointed at him and said, "You know, I think Inoue likes you."

"Wha-?" The orange-haired boy, who had been about to snap at her, almost jumped out of his bed. He uncharacteristically blushed in a bright, bright pink, completely scandalized at Rukia's sudden proclamation. "Why would you say that!"

"Girl's intuition," Rukia smirked upon finding that the blush was starting to spread over his cheeks and that his ears were already glowing a dark pink as well. She had forgotten her doodle and drawing materials by then. "Do you like her back?" she asked, boldly interested.

"N-no," he stuttered, "Not like that, anyway." He took the music player from her hands, not waiting until something else occurred to her, and plopped himself on the bed once again. He turned his gaze to the ceiling not wanting to look at her anymore. "She's a good friend and a nice girl and all..."

"She's pretty," Rukia put in helpfully, teasingly.

"Well, yeah, that too," he muttered abashedly. "But I don't think I could like someone like her," Ichigo admitted, feeling uncomfortable all of a sudden. What the hell was he doing talking about girls with her? "Not my type…" he mumbled.

"Oh. Really?" she titled her head, quickly narrowing her eyes at him and examining the boy, then looked away and started putting her markers back into their box. She paused before replying. "That's good, I guess."

"Why?" Ichigo's head turned her way and he found her concentrated on her labor. The unexpected glint on his eyes wasn't a good sign, but she couldn't have known. "Are you jealous or something?"

"Of course not, dumbass," she barked, almost dropping the box but managing to place it inside one of the desk's drawers. Ichigo snorted as her face shifted between pink and red shades. Rukia looked down, flustered and irritated, and grabbed her sketchbook hastily once again.

"Uh-huh."

"Me? Jealous of her? For the likes of you? Absurd!" She started skipping through the sketchbook's pages, tore the sheet with the ruined, frowning bunny doodle, crumbled it into a ball, and threw it to the bin, missing her shot. The dark-haired girl scowled.

"Uh-huh…"

"I-I just thought Ishida wouldn't be very happy," she spat, then turning to glare at him but finding the boy already engrossed in his music-producing-devil-thing. Her brows twitched.

Another ball made of crumpled paper was thrown in the air, this time hitting him with a soft thud on the forehead, though it didn't quite have the effect she had been expecting. Ichigo could have cared less as he glanced at her through the corner of his eye and grinned. "Ichigo, you idiot! Listen to me when I'm talking to you!"

"Uh-huh…" Ichigo smirked impishly, once again returning to his music and ignoring the rest of Rukia's protests.