title. that beautiful girl, she's a beautiful girl
summary. in which, Ishida says, "This is an interesting television drama to tune in, right, Sado-kun?"
note. thank you very very much for your comments/reviews! you are all awesome! thank you for your time! um, inspire me again, yes? :D
disclaimer. bleach; disclaimed.

Ichigo wanted to hurt something.

Oblivious to his friends' stunned faces, oh ridiculously so, Renji grinned toothily, all teeth, canines and gums, and took the incredibly large heart-shaped homemade chocolate from Orihime's hands. "What is this?"

Rukia glanced at Ichigo. Like a domino effect, the rest followed: Tatsuki, Sado, Ishida, Mizuiro, and lastly, Keigo, each wearing astonished, incredulous expressions.

Inoue stuttered, hands still in the air, gaping at the tall, tall, tall redhead. The pretty, glittering heroine was too stunned – that poor, poor girl – to string two coherent words together. She wore an expression that was too epic to describe.

Oh. If only Tatsuki had a camera with her to capture the moment that was too epic to describe.

And most of all, she needed her highly-esteemed bucket of popcorn.

.

.

Rukia, for her part, wanted her beloved sketchpad. This scene was begging to be sketched. For this moment was a Golden Shoujo Moment. She had to chronicle this. Using her artistic skills, she will definitely capture this magical Moment.

And so she waited. And so she watched.

.

.

Renji, the oblivious one, tore off the bright orange wrapper (Tatsuki's lip curled when Renji tore the pretty ribbon as well).

"Aha! Chocolates!" For Renji's part, he was ecstatic. He had a sweet tooth and he eats anything as long as it was free. Gleefully, he took a bite and squealed – manly, of course – for it tasted positively and heavenly delicious.

"This is good! Thanks, Inoue!"

"Y-You're welcome?"

The group cringed and once again, as one entity, zeroed in on the Chaste Hero.

There was a swallow. There was definitely a swallow.

"I'm going back to class." Ichigo spoke which made Tatsuki wish she really, really had her camera and Rukia her sketchbook to capture that Look.

Keigo started crying.

Ichigo cleared his throat. "I forgot to do my assignment."

They gaped while Keigo let out a wail. "Y-You traitor! First, Inoue-san, giving a homemade, heart-shaped chocolate to this suspicious high school student who does not look like a high school student symbolizing her love—"

Another visible cringe there.

"— and devotion! And now," gasping, Kiego whipped a finger at Ichigo's back, "You are doing homework! THE WORLD HAS COME TO AN END!"

Ichigo shrugged and walked out.

.

.

It was a beautiful day. There were so many clouds today. They were big and fluffy, some were scattered, some were tiny dots in the big blue dome we call the sky. Under this sky, walked a solitary figure with a pumpkin hair. It was a beautiful day, but alas! This figure, the Chaste Hero was sort of, kind of gloomy, his mood gray, and his shoulders, that carried the weight of the world last, last winter, were slumped as though boneless.

Oh woe is me.

His Instincts retched all over his Inner World.

I know I'm not enough but… The broad shoulders sagged even more. Why does it have to be a dead person?!

Gloomily, Ichigo kicked a pebble which flew in a perfect arc, moved along a parabola and hit a sleeping, gray-striped stray cat between its eyes.

"Why chose a dead person over a living person?" Technically, he was half-dead and half-alive, wasn't he? Unlike Renji who was deader than dead. The logic escaped Ichigo. But love, oh love, had no logic and it was blind and — his Hollow was dying slowly.

Tch, good to know, bastard.

Shut up! Oh fuck no! Is this my end, my demise?

However, Ichigo continued brooding.

"Ichigo!"

"Ichigo!"

"Huh?" He turned. "Oi, Rukia." He deadpanned. Rukia stopped, arched an eyebrow and crossed her arms.

"You look depressed."

Ichigo stiffened but kept his cool. His face turned on its default expression. "Depressed?" He ignored the wail of the white dying menace at the back of his mind. "No way. I look cool."

Rukia's expression did not change. "Are you depressed about Renji and Inoue?"

"No."

The noble stared up at him blankly underneath her hooded lids. "Pathetic."

"What did you say?! Oi, don't mock Inoue's feelings!"

Rukia blinked and stared up at him, wide-eyed as though fascinated.

"Wow."

Ichigo raised a brow.

"You really are stupid."

A twitch, a vein and a snarl, "WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

.

.

The tension was so thick that one can mix and scoop it with a spoon. But with poise and brute strength, Ishida and Sado endured, for they did not want to miss this episode.

"Oi, Ichigooo," drawled Renji. "Look, I don't like you, too. You don't need to look at me like that. If you continue checking me out, I am so going to blush."

The Look intensified a hundredfold.

"Bastard," Ichigo snarled coldly.

"What was that?" Renji barred his teeth in an all-teeth-and-gums grin, a vein throbbing in his temple. "Why, got a problem, carrot top?"

"Yeah, your fucking face," countered Ichigo, his lips curling a vicious snarl.

Between the two bright-haired soul reapers, Ishida and Sado continued to eat blissfully in perfect synchronization.

Renji sneered happily. "Oh? Remember, this fucking face received a heart-shaped," to Ishida and Sado's amazement, the redhead formed a heart with his two hands, "homemade chocolate from Inoue."

Ishida and Sado turned their heads as one to look at Ichigo who looked as though he was having a very severe and painful constipation.

Tch.

No need to remind him. He perfectly remembered and the only thing that was stopping him from cracking that fucking face in halves was that he didn't want to upset Orihime.

Ichigo grunted and averted his gaze, his mood gloomier that if only it was tangible, it would have drowned his friends in the Ocean of Misery.

Blah. The two of them can live happily ever after together. Hah, didn't he mention that he excelled at not giving a shit? Well, they can watch him live happily ever after too.

"Kurosaki."

They can run off to the sunset while holding hands and he will not even care.

"Ichigo?"

Because he was cool like that.

"Ichigo? Ichigo."

Ichigo blinked and refocused his gaze, frowning at Sado. "What?"

"… You're mumbling."

"What?" repeated Ichigo blankly.

"You're mumbling. We can hear you," Ishida said.

"I'm not mumbling."

"You are."

Fuck.

"We heard that."

.

.

Days had passed but his tangible misery was still flooding all over the place. In fact, Ichigo, upon hearing the words 'Valentines' and 'chocolates' would stiffen, and the people surrounding him will start to feel cold and say there was a vengeful and lonely spirit in the room, haunting them. Thus, a unanimous decision was made that no one will ever mention those two words.

"Kurosaki-kun!"

Oh joy. Her voice, it was her voice and time slowed down, then Someone clicked the pause button, the universe stood still and the world froze in its axis. All he can hear was his heart and its crazy heartbeat that was so fast it can beat N700 Series trains.

"Kurosaki-kun?"

Life resumed and he looked over his shoulder. "Uh, Inoue."

He didn't stutter, did he?

Orihime smiled and Ichigo stared. "Kurosaki-kun, I—"

"Are you looking for Renji?"

She looked surprised. "I'm—"

"Maybe he's at Urahara-san's?" he said casually, not looking at her.

"You… You're not mad at me, are you, Kurosaki-kun?"

"…huh?"

"Are you… angry at me?" Her voice was so soft and uncertain that Ichigo was plagued with guilt at the way he was treating her. His jealousy and distress over the facts that she didn't choose him, that she liked someone else and not him were affecting his interactions with her. But no, no, no – he had the right to be gloomy according to Shoujo Laws.

What was there to dislike about him? What made Renji goddamn better than him? Was it because they had the same hair color, and Orihime thought that they were not meant to be because two people with the same hair color cannot be together because it was incestuous?

Or maybe, Orihime was under an impression that they were long-lost siblings separated at birth because of their hair color?

The list of questions was long and ridiculous, and Ichigo began to sink further in his depression. Her voice talking snapped him out of his stupor.

"Please, Kurosaki-kun, tell me what I did and I will apologize for it. You're the only person that I don't want to be hated by."

She looked like she was trying hard not to cry. It further agonized Ichigo that he was causing her such distress. "I'm not angry at you, Inoue."

"Are you sure? If I offended you or—"

"No." He gave a faint smile to assure her. "You did nothing wrong."

She beamed and Ichigo felt a little better, a lesser asshole in fact. "Thank goodness… I am so happy to hear that."

"I'm such an asshole, aren't I? Sorry, Inoue, for worrying you."

"No! It's OK! I… I just want to make sure that Kurosaki-kun does not hate me!" She smiled. "Um, by the way, Kurosaki-kun…" She blushed. "About last February 14—"

"Oi, Ichigo!"

His brown eyes widened, seeing Renji bound over. Shit!

"Ah? Hey, Inoue!"

"Hello, Renji-kun!"

Crap! I'm not a masochist! I'm not going to stay here and watch this!

"Ah! A Hollow!" Ichigo pointed a finger over the horizon.

"But your license did not go off…" Orihime said, confused.

He grinned, awkward and strained. "Silent mode, you know!"

"Oh…"

"That's weird. This is the first time I saw you actually enthusiastic about slaying a Hollow." Renji commented.

"Shut up! I'm not heartless, idiot—" He looked at Orihime quickly. Shit! "I mean… Arggh! Forget it!" With that, Ichigo ran off.

"What's wrong with that punk? Anyway, have you seen Rukia, Inoue?"

.

.

Yuzu stared at him. Ichigo scowled.

"You heard me."

Yuzu began to tear up.

"H-Hey, what are you crying for, Yuzu?!"

"I'm so happy, Onii-chan! You're hitting puberty!"

"What the — Yuzu!"

.

.

"Life is like a domino effect," said Ishida one fine day. Prim and proper, as always, he pushed up his glasses over his nose and continued in a voice so refined, so poise. "Move forward. And the rest will follow."

Sado nodded and flashed Ichigo a thumb's up sign. Ichigo, however, remained unimpressed.

"Are you listening, Kurosaki?"

"Why are you lecturing me? I'm not a member of Handicraft's Club!" snapped Ichigo irately.

Ishida's poise cracked. "Idiot!"

Ichigo twitched.

"I'm talking about Inoue-san!"

Beside the Quincy, Sado nodded sagely. Ichigo blushed – very slightly.

"I-I-Inoue?!" he stuttered. "The hell! You're talking about domino effect!" Ishida looked at him with an impression so reminiscent of Rukia when she looked at him with wide-eyed fascination.

"You really are stupid."

Why did it sound so familiar?

"Fine. I will elaborate for the sake of your tiny brain."

"Don't insult my intelligence!"

Ishida looked at him with such poise that it deserved to be preserved in a box. "I am not insulting your intelligence for there is nothing to insult in the first place."

"Bastard," snarled Ichigo.

"The point is," Ishida cut in pompously, brandishing a finger at Ichigo. "Today's March 14."

Sado flashed him a thumb's up sign.

"So?" Ichigo grunted, scowling as if he was having a stomachache.

"So?" echoed Ishida. "I am not stupid like you. I saw you have something in your bag."

Ichigo gawked. "What?! You bast— I mean, of course! I have something in my bag, idiot! They're books!"

Ishida and Sado exchanged glances.

"You have heart-shaped homemade chocolate in your bag," the two chorused. Ichigo's jaw dropped in horror. He opened his mouth to shout at them for being nosy when a voice piped in.

"Oh, Kurosaki-kun is going to give someone heart-shaped homemade chocolate?"

The three males stiffened, solid like rocks. Ichigo recovered fast and turned around. Orihime was smiling up at him.

"Good luck, Kurosaki-kun!" she chirped happily. She greeted Ishida and Sado a good morning, waved at them before walking away. Ichigo spluttered, raising a shaking hand as if trying to reach out to Inoue's retreating back.

"This is an interesting television drama to tune in, right, Sado-kun?"

Sado gave him a thumb's up.

Ichigo despaired.