"Ichigo, what's this?"
The orange head gave a noncommittal reply to the raven head. He barely gave her a glance, too busy doing his homework.
"Ichigo, this thing." She said again. Ichigo shrugged.
"Find out yourself. Use the book I gave you."
Rukia sniffed and squatted under his bed. She pulled out a thick black and yellow coloured book. "I hate this book!" she whined.
"Why?" he asked, uninterested.
"Because I am neither a dummy nor an idiot!" she huffed. Ichigo suppressed a snort. "What's that supposed to mean?!" Rukia asked, crossing her arms.
"Nothing." He sighed and continued doing his homework. "Just look inside the book for the picture of... whatever it – hold on!" he claimed excitedly and started scribbling. Rukia rolled her eyes at him and opened her 'Essential Guide to Live on Earth for Dummies and Idiots Alike' book.
She looked at the guitar perched beside the window of his room, glinting against the sunlight. Its hazel-coloured wooden body sparkled and the strings connected on the long thin wooden neck were so fascinating. Heck, that THING was fascinating. Rukia fervishly riffled the page, trying to look for the picture of the curious thing.
"Ichigo, I can't find it!" Rukia whined.
"Not now! I'm halfway to the answer!" he shushed her angrily, scribbling away. Rukia sniffed.
"Just tell me what that is!" she said from behind him, pointing to the Takamine G Series acoustic guitar impatiently. Ichigo ignored her bluntly and was muttering away, babbling like a freak.
Rukia stared at it longingly and wished she could touch it. She had first set eyes upon it a few days ago but later came to find that it had been there since she had started living with him. 'So much for being observant.' She mused and stared at it even longer. She wanted to touch it so bad! But she was afraid that if she did, it would fall and break and Ichigo would kill her and she'd die... again! So Rukia had been a good girl, minding her own business for the past two days but she seemed to get more and more curious over the instrument.
"Done!" Ichigo yelled, punching a fist into the air. "Ne, Rukia, look! I figured it out!" he said excitedly, spinning around and found a glaring Rukia.
"I'll copy that later." She said, pointing to the guitar. "What is THAT?!" she asked. Ichigo looked towards where she was pointing and gaped.
"That was what you've been trying to find out?" he asked, incredulous. "How outdated are you?!"
"Urusai!" she said and crossed her arms. "The book just said it was a 'guitar'." Ichigo snorted.
She had pronounced it guh-wee-tarr.
"Okay," he said, picking up the guitar. "First of all, Rukia, it's G-hee-tarr." He said it slowly and clearly. Rukia rolled her eyes and sat beside him on the bed.
He positioned his hand on the fret board and the body. "Second of all, it's a very popular musical instrument. Come on, seriously? Haven't you seen a guitar before?"
She shrugged. "Might have, I don't know." She said bluntly. If she could have missed such a stupidly obvious thing that had been in Ichigo's room for a while, then what was to say if she had not noticed anything about a guitar any other place else before? "I guess I have been pretty blurry."
"Yeah, that and more." He muttered which, to his surprise, she had heard and now he had a solid bump on his head. "Okay, maybe I deserved that but MOVING ON!" he warned before she could retaliate. "You make music with this. See these six strings?" he asked, pointing to the six steel strings. She nodded, and scooted closer to observe.
"Yes, but how can these... strings make noise?"
"Music." He corrected and strummed a chord.
Rukia's eyes widened and she gasped, backing away. "What was that?!" she asked. "It sounded..."
He played it again. "So pretty." She breathed, moving closer to him, bending so that she could see what he was doing.
"Yeah, music's pretty, isn't it?" he asked. She nodded feverishly and touched the string. "It won't bite you, midget." He said.
Rukia ran a finger down the six strings while Ichigo had carefully placed his fingers on a chord. She gasped and bounced excitedly. "Look, look! I made... music!" she said animatedly.
Ichigo snorted. "Okay midget. That's probably it." He said and set the guitar aside.
"Ehii?! Matte, Ichigo! Play some more, I want to hear it!" she said, scrambling to get the guitar. "Oof!" She huffed. She hadn't expected it to be so heavy!
"Hey!" Ichigo caught her before she could fall and break his precious instrument. "Careful with that." He warned.
"Play!" she said, thrusting it to him.
He sighed and sat down on the bed. "What do you want to hear?" he asked wearily.
"Hmm?" she asked, thinking. "Ooh!" her eyes lit up, her violet orbs sparkling. "The Chappy the Wabbit theme song?" she asked hopefully.
"I'll kill you."
Rukia pouted. "Then up to you." She said, giving up.
Ichigo looked at her and sighed.
He played.
And played... and played. His hands moving effortlessly on the fret board, gliding... sliding to the proper notes and chords, plucking, strumming melodiously.
He didn't sing, nor did he make a single sound. The only sound which was heard was the beautiful sound the guitar was producing. Rukia found herself captivated by the music and she looked at him, awed. He had shut his eyes, completely. His expression was so peaceful, that reminded her so much of Kaien whenever they had their little talks together.
Kaien had once told her how much he enjoyed the wind brushing his face. He had said that it was the only thing that could keep him relaxed. As relaxed as he could get.
Maybe... well, maybe music to Ichigo was like the wind to Kaien.
Soft.
Peaceful.
Serene.
Just right.
But why, Rukia asked herself, hadn't Ichigo ever played when she had come along?
Of course she had known why. Because she was the one who had stirred his peacefulness.
She had stirred it in the wrong direction. But of course, how silly of her.
How selfish and stupid she had been. To think that she had actually put him... in so much trouble.
Although many times have passed... She still beats herself up whenever she thought about what she had done to him. How she had inflicted so many dangers on him.
Ichigo stopped playing and glanced at the diminutive shinigami. "Oi.." he prodded her shoulder and Rukia blinked. She looked at him and then looked down again. "Oh come on! I know I'm a bit rusty but give me a break. I haven't touched this thing since-"
"Since?"
"Since... well, a while." He said, rubbing his nape. He had forgotten... about his guitar. He was so caught up in his life now that he had hardly touched it. Sure, he glanced at it once in a while but he had treated it like just a piece of furniture in his room; for decoration purposes only.
"How long?"
"Um..." Ichigo squinted, trying to remember. "I don't know. I think it was like... just a short while before you came."
"Yeah." Rukia muttered.
"Ne, what's wrong with you?" Ichigo asked, eyeing Rukia curiously. She shook her head.
"No, I was just..." She began but then she stopped. "Nothing." She said and sighed. "Well, thanks, for playing the song. It was nice." She said and smiled.
"You're not getting away with hiding one more damn thing. What?" Ichigo demanded.
"I just think that... well, I assumed...."
"That?"
"That maybe I was the one who had made you... quit playing."
"Quit playing?"
"Hmm, yes."
Ichigo pondered of the strange fact and snorted. "Che. Don't flatter yourself." He said egotistically and placed the guitar on his bed. "Besides, whatever gave you that idea?"
"Well," Rukia huffed, annoyed at his response and at his... obnoxiousness. "Well, ever since I came here, I haven't seen you play once. So I thought that... well, because I'd pretty much fucked up your life and all, you had permanently stopped playing."
"Huh?"
"That's all. So yeah, sorry." She said, bowing her head. Dammit... she had wanted it to be an explanation, not a fucking emotional outburst.
Ichigo looked at her and his usual frown dropped and he had replaced it with a look of dawned realisation.
"Well," she said, her voice wavering. "Look, I pretty much told you this over and over but... but I can't help feeling like a hopeless moron for having to strip your life away by cursing you like this."
"What the hell is this about? What the hell is inside you head?" Ichigo asked, annoyed.
"Huh?" Rukia looked up. "Wh... what?!"
"Well first of all, if this is what a two minute song can do to you, stay the hell away from my guitar and don't bother asking me to play another damn thing. And second of all," Ichigo said, his amber eyes thawing its cold facade. "What gave you the idea that you were cursing me?" he asked, standing up. "Yeah, sure, we've had our ups and downs together... but even though all that shit happens, I never once complained to you or even blamed you for giving me your shinigami powers in the first place."
"I..."
"Never have I once told you that you were a curse to me, you idiot." Ichigo said, sliding his hands inside his jeans pockets. "I am, however, thankful. I'm thankful that you've totally changed my life and in a way... made it for the better. I mean yeah, fighting and getting messed up is kind of frustrating sometimes but if you're doing it to protect someone you care about, what's a few gashes and blood loss?"
Rukia sniffed and tilted her head to meet his eyes. "You know you're a complete idiot right?"
"No, I'm still trying to figure that out." He said. Rukia rolled her eyes but couldn't suppress a small smile. "Well... I've had my say of mushy stuff for the month. So what say we get some ice cream?" he asked, taking out one hand from his jeans while keeping the other one tucked inside. He held out his free hand to her and gave her his playful smirk.
Rukia sighed and took his hand with a slap. "Fine, but can I have strawberry flavoured?"
He gripped her small hand tightly and rolled his eyes. "Only if you promise not to pester the vendor for bunny-shaped ice cream."
"But-"
"Rukia...." Ichigo warned her. She puffed out her cheeks and gave him her mother of all frowns. He chuckled. "You look like a bloated frog." He commented and dragged her outside.
"Well you're a cheese ball!" she yelled, frustrated.
"Yeah?" he asked and rolled his eyes inconspicuously. "Whatever keeps you on your toes, Rukia. Not like it makes any height difference." He sniggered.
Both of them walked to the park and asked for two strawberry ice creams. Ichigo surprised himself when he had agreed to buy a strawberry ice cream. He chuckled, looking at his midget.
He sighed and closed his eyes, enjoying the wind. Rukia looked at him and smiled.
The wind brushed their faces, played with their hair, twisting them, whipping them on their faces.
Ichigo and Rukia just stood there, under a high tree, enjoying the wind as it played a song of its own.
A song which... only they could hear through the beatings of their heart and perhaps... an occasional strumming of a guitar, beautifully played.
And all the while, their hands stayed in each other's grasp because that simple gesture... was the one thing that made their music in their hearts.
A/N: first of all, the song Ichigo was playing was the soundtrack 'Going Home' created for the anime. I just wanted to write this piece down because I just finally perfected the song and I thought of making Ichigo play it.
second of all; the guitar used here is my own and I know people are going 'Ichigo has an electric guitar' and all that but I personally think that acoustics are nicer to play because they have this certain... feeling every time you play it. Don't hate me! :(
Third of all; Um, I don't know if whether Rukia had seen a guitar and all but she never paid attention to the one in Ichigo's room so I decided to make this plot.
ARGH I'm rambling. So yeah, you guys know what to doooo!!!
weeeviewww pyon?! :3
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