Baby's first Bleach fic! I recently finished the manga, which in my language translates to diving into making an OC pairing them with one of my faves ^^'
This story takes place in the Arrancar Invasion arc and isn't the first time Noriko and Uryu have met. I've hopefully left enough details in here that you can put together how their first meeting went, but I'm happy to fill in any blanks you might need.
Thanks for checking this out, and please let me know what you think! ️
Present Tense
Logically, Noriko understood that her current trip to the world of the living wasn't a vacation. She had been hand-picked (more or less) for an important mission and was going to fulfill any and all duties required of her effectively. She met up with Lieutenant Abari and listened to status reports as expected, but all of them seemed open ended. They were to stay in Karakura Town until the mission was complete, and they would, but for how long would that be?
Her Gigai was comfortable at least. She honestly didn't know if she should have expected otherwise. In addition, this little corner of Earth had her interest peaked. Sure, she'd been around before on patrols, so many Soul Reapers had, but she'd never had a chance to explore with her real, tangible feet on the ground.
She had hung around the high school the first couple of days. While she originally planned to attend classes, Rukia reminded her of the existence of tests and studying, and that a basic regional knowledge was necessary. When the other girl tried to send Noriko home with classwork to get a feel for things, it was decided that maybe she was cut out for different duties, like taste-testing food stalls downtown or judging the form of the local kendo club. She'd still swing by after the final bell rang, though, to get filled in on anything possibly amiss that day and to walk Orihime or Ichigo and Rukia home.
It was a fine enough routine to settle into. She'd spend her days exploring shopping centers, relaxing on rooftops, and guiding Pluses over to Soul Society; she never quite ran out of things to do. Then, in the evening, the Walk Home was a comforting ritual to come back to.
She'd carry Orihime's bag for her while Ichigo and Rukia would argue about patrols for the night or how Ichigo's family was a pain (according to him) or how Captain Kuchiki was a pleasure (according to her.) Sado often nodded along when he joined them and would sometimes duck out early to go to the gym. Noriko joined him one time, wanting to stay sharp, but the style of fighting he was involved with didn't match hers, especially when she had to pretend to be human.
Today, it was just Ichigo and Orihime on the walk back to their neighborhood. They shared some bread the girl had leftover from lunch, a little hard in the middle but still good. The taste reminded Noriko of the time Lieuteniant Iba was challenged to cook by the Shinigami Women's Association. As "a man of diligence and patience" he had settled on bread, a traditional and necessary food. He started from nothing but wheat and worked his way to a starter and to a dough, grinding, rising, sifting, pounding, rolling, and so many other steps she'd lost track of along the way.
The result? A few loaves that fed ten men around the barracks at most. The color on the outside was good but she more vividly remembered having to chew through that dense core along with everyone else to make the Lieuteniant happy.
Noriko planned to continue her story, specifically the next part where Captain Komamura was the one to gently let Iba down, telling him that his talents were still valued elsewhere, and that that was okay, but she got distracted by a moving figure not terribly far off.
"Oh, hey," she was quick to point out as soon as she noticed him, "it's that guy." She couldn't believe she recognized him from the back of his head, or from across the street. It was the sun's glare on the edge of his glasses that connected the dots.
"Huh?" Ichigo had been interrupted from his thoughts. "Oh, Ishida?"
As a matter of fact, she never had learned his name, had she? She'd just been thinking of him as "The Quincy," or, if Renji had brought him up, "That Nerd."
"He's your friend, isn't he?" Noriko thought aloud, looking between the two humans. Ichigo opened his mouth to continue but she had already swung into her next action before he could. "Hey, Ishida!" she called out, arm raised to wave even if he wasn't looking yet.
There was a pause in his gait, just for a millisecond.
He kept on walking.
Well, fine then. She wouldn't let this get to her; it wasn't like she had a goal in calling him over. Maybe she would have invited him to a rematch or maybe she had felt bad he was walking alone.
"Jerk," muttered Ichigo.
"It's not like that," Orihime smoothed over, voice delicate as always, "he just has a lot on his mind right now."
Ichigo only hummed in response, seeming to have a lot on his mind as well. In the meantime, Ishida had turned a corner and vanished out of sight.
Maybe she would have thanked him, actually. After all, if it wasn't for Ishida's defeat of Jirōbō, she wouldn't have been the newly appointed fourth seat of the Seventh Division.
Rukia scolded her when she voiced that thought later that evening, and, yeah, Noriko kind of deserved it. Thinking of your squadmates as competition and reveling in their downfall wasn't the honorable thing to do. Still, she reminded Rukia that she didn't have to work with the guy for the past decade.
A few days later, after a coffee date with Rangiku, the group faced a similar situation.
What Noriko didn't expect to find when she swung by Karakura High that afternoon was just how many people Orihime knew. The girl had formed a small army outside the school's front gate of teenagers in matching uniforms. Ichigo and Rukia were off to the side, looking all too unsure about the gathering. Noriko shot a questioning thumbs up over to them, which was returned when they quickly noticed her, before approaching cautiously.
Her arrival didn't go unnoticed.
"Hey, it's that chick from—" a brown-haired boy in the group started but was quickly cut off by Orihime.
"Noriko," she called with a smile, "hello!"
"Hey," Noriko greeted. She'd hoped to question the other two before getting involved, but that opportunity had vanished. She surveyed all the faces in the group, picking up on the confusion and intrigue. That made sense, considering she looked their age and had arrived in a casual tank top, cargo pants, and a blonde streak in her black hair instead of a school uniform of her own.
"What's going on?" she chanced, looking between the others.
"Movie night at Orihime's house," announced a girl with ruby-colored glasses. The way she said it sounded like Noriko wascertainlynot invited. A different girl, this one with spiky, dark hair, picked up on the attitude (like everyone did) and refuted it.
"And I'm sure we'd have room for one more," she said, throwing an elbow into the first girl's ribcage.
Noriko couldn't help but laugh.
"Sure," she said, "if that's cool with Orihime, of course."
"Of course!" Orihime agreed easily.
Noriko was caught between two thoughts:
1. Could Orihime's house even hold this many people? Especially on top of Rangiku and Captain Hitsugaya already hiding out there. And,
2. She'd never actually seen a movie before…
The girl flashed another wary thumbs up over to Rukia, in hopes that "movie night" was something the two of them could pull off without suspicion. Rukia returned one, eyebrows furrowed in determination, despite Ichigo's exasperation.
The group headed off, splitting into rows to manage to fit everyone onto the sidewalk. Noriko was introduced to a wave of names that she would certainly try to remember. She'd have a hard time forgetting the Asano boy at least, seeing as he was the nosiest of them all. He pried into how she knew Orihime and Noriko had to do her best at coming up with a half-assed story about how she used to go to school with Rukia and was visiting. She should have come up with something better beforehand, but meeting the entirety of the class wasn't exactly on her to-do list for the day.
Asano had about fifty more questions to ask her, from where the other "transfer students" were to if she had a boyfriend, but his more polite friend pulled him to the back of the group before he could grill her further. There was still the Natsui girl left to ask questions, though. She received some simple answers but the rest were dodged by Noriko speaking over her to change the subject for the group.
She could see the rest of the dynamics, too. Hon-something had shot glares when Noriko offered to carry Orihime's bag, obviously jealous. Arisawa, the tomboy, discussed which movie they'd actually be watching while Orihime shrugged and awkwardly laughed that she really hadn't thought about it. The youngest looking girl trailed behind, trying and failing to be heard.
They were lively, she could certainly give them that.
Not far into their walk, Noriko and Ichigo seemed to spot someone across the street at the same time. Ichigo audibly groaned, which made Noriko laugh to herself.
"Hey Orihime," Noriko leaned forward to catch the girls' attention, "would you want Ishida to come along?" It was half a genuine question, since he was Orihime's friend after all, and half to irritate Ichigo for fun.
"Oh," the girl smiled sweetly, "that would be nice."
On the other hand, Ogawa was muttering to herself about how she'd be too nervous to relax if he was there.
This didn't dissuade Noriko, who excused herself to jog over at the crosswalk and get Ishida's attention.
"Hey, Ishida," she announced her presence again, history repeating itself.
This time, at least, he stopped to acknowledge her, if only for a second. She caught up to him before he could bolt.
"Did you want to join us tonight?" she asked easily. She could hardly get a good look at him with how he kept looking straight ahead.
"Not interested," Ishida was blunt in his reply.
Okay…she thought, wondering where she got off on the wrong foot with this guy. She tried not to let it show.
"Yeah, well, you're gonna regret it," she joked in a sing-song tone. She would have left it at that and returned to the group if she wasn't watching him have an aneurysm in real time.
"Was that a threat?" he warned, nearly gritting his teeth. Now he looked at her. She almost wished he hadn't.
Geez.
"No," she elongated. "I was trying to say that we're going to have a great time watching movies and pigging out and you're going to miss it. Especially if you react like that."
His cheeks turned red after that all settled in. He hid it behind his hand, acting like he needed to push up his glasses before leaving.
Geez, again.
Apparently, he was in his element in a fight but outside of one? What a mess.
He was a lot like Noriko in that way.
She didn't expect him to say anything else since he'd already made up his mind, but she could hear him say one last thing from up ahead without even directing it at her.
"Tell Inoue I'm sorry."
And then he was continuing forward with purpose and turned a corner, gone for the night.
The one-eighty of his tone surprised her, sparking a wish to understand him.
She rubbed her neck and shrugged to the group, as if to say "I tried." The second-hand embarrassment from Ichigo was palpable but this was for Orihime, not him, so Noriko walked it off back to the girl's side.
"What a weirdo," Asano sighed.
They kept on their path, with or without Ishida, easily getting caught back up in conversation. Between the talks of picking up conbini treats and today's schoolwork, Noriko managed to lean in towards Orihime's ear.
"He says he's sorry," she said for only the girl to hear. She looked like she appreciated it.
Noriko was distracted wondering what could have happened in the less than a month between their group leaving Soul Society and her group coming to town. How could no time at all create a rift like this? She'd watched how hard Ishida had worked to defend Orihime, and now here he was, barely giving her the time of day.
Noriko wondered about that until Arisawa's tales from her family dōjō distracted her.
Everyone stayed up late that night, reveling in popcorn, poorly filmed Showa movies, and pre-taped Don Kanonji episodes. Noriko slept comfortably on the floor beside the couch as soon as exhaustion started to take everyone. She had deserved that fun, if only to offset the unpredictable struggle of the coming days.
The most recent fight against the Arrancar had come close, too close. While mostly successful defeats, the highest ranking of the group had gotten away. Noriko was acutely aware that that meant he could return with reinforcements at any moment.
She should have joined in on Captain Hitsugaya's training recommendations, but perhaps she was feeling too high strung or too paranoid. She couldn't meditate in these conditions; she had to stay vigilant.
That plan showed itself in staking out Karakura High School in the daylight hours and more frequent patrols in the evenings. Yeah, the returning enemies could show up anywhere in town, but her growing affection for the students she'd become acquainted with was what convinced her of where she was needed most. It held what she felt the most desire to protect.
She was foregoing the use of a Gigai this week. There was no point in one when her goal was simply watching, waiting for anything to attack. It was, admittedly, a little boring, but she wasn't here to think about that right now. Instead, she flew around the grounds, seeking any spiritual power outside of certain beings within the school. The past few days she had turned up entirely empty handed, which was good in the grand scheme of things, but left her debating whether or not she might be going overboard.
The roof was becoming a comfortable spot for recuperating, as long as the gardening club wasn't using it. A little after noon that day, Noriko was feeling ready for one of her breaks. She made her way up to the roof once again and found that she wasn't alone. Surely one human wouldn't make much difference if she stayed—
"I know you're floating around here."
She was sorry to admit how off guard that caught her. She had instinctually brought her hand down to the hilt of her Zanpakutou while whipping her head to the voice.
She let go just as quickly when the familiar sight of glasses reflecting against the sun was in view. She was getting too acquainted with the back of Ishida's head, raven hair and all, for her liking. It was a great contrast to the stark white shirt he wore and the washed out bench near the roof's chain-link fence.
It was easy to counter his comment about the air-walking. Noriko casually brought her feet to the floor with a hop, sandals now against concrete, and walked over to be able to have a face to face conversation with the boy.
He looked up from the bento on his lap. She'd never quite paid attention to his eyes but here they were, a pale blue staring back at her sternly. That expression wasn't new, but the dark circles that encompassed it were. That worried her. It almost made her recoil back in surprise but she reigned in that reaction quickly. Instead, she glanced down to his lunch. All food groups seemed to be accounted for, a healthier diet than she could attest to at least, so that wasn't the cause.
"You feeling alright, Ishida?" It was the nearest to formalities Noriko would be providing as a greeting.
"I'm fine," he deadpanned back, making to turn away from her once more.
She almost wanted to grab him by the chin, forcing him to face her if he planned on brushing aside every conversation of theirs. Maybe he could read her annoyance, and just this once chose to let her have her way, because he only looked down for a moment to pick up another bite with his chopsticks before returning to her copper eyes.
Noriko could cope with that, as well as the sparks between their eye contact that bounced around in a type of battle she wasn't familiar with. Even if he was winning this standoff, she could take it as her first real shot at memorizing his portrait.
He looked…elegant, which was a word rarely used in her dictionary. He was narrow and sharp in every feature, from his eyes to his jaw to his hands. He looked porcelain and perfect compared to her rough and tanned skin. Perfect, aside from the lines forming beneath his eyes that she couldn't help but return to. The frames of his glasses couldn't hide them at this distance.
"You need more sleep," she noted.
His eyebrow twitched in annoyance and once again he stressed, "I'm fine."
She couldn't help but roll her eyes at his insistence. He wasn't looking to accept any help and he was doing felt like a fight she would have had with her younger self if they could ever meet.
Whatever. She'd let him finish his lunch in peace, she supposed. The top of the railing was as good a perch as any to rest and watch over the town below. Ten minutes of wind rushing through the leaves went by before Ishida packed his dishes away in his bag.
"I've got it covered," he suddenly began with conviction. Noriko had to tilt her body to shoot him a quizzical look. "If any Hollows show up around here, I can handle it."
Her first thought was that Hollows were becoming the least of their problems, but then she remembered something else.
"So, you got to keep your powers after all?" Noriko lit up for him. She didn't know how Quincies functioned, but after the rather depressing conversation she'd overheard the week Ishida and his friends stayed in Soul Society to recuperate, the outlook had been rather grim.
Ishida's eyes turned cold, colder than usual even, and he turned away with a scowl.
Once again, Noriko felt her foot in her mouth.
"Wait, no," she backtracked painfully, trying and failing to read his impossible mind on the subject. "That was an honest question! I'm not trying to taunt you or something!"
He looked suspicious, surveying her briefly before he spoke.
"I'm getting them back," he responded, resolute, "but I'm still capable with or without them."
"I know that," she agreed earnestly. He glanced up at her like he hadn't expected that response. How could he not, she wondered. Had he forgotten he was the one who won their little fight? She had front row seats to his speed and precision. Hell, he survived Kurotsuchi Mayuri, something she was certain she could never do. And aside from that, he was clever and exuded such confidence. He came off as the type who could solve any problem with a piece of gum and a line of thread.
Ishida kept quiet. Noriko filled the silence with more questions for him.
"So, is losing and gaining power so quickly something a Quincy can do?" she rattled off. She knew…enough of their history, though she wasn't even born yet when the greatest conflicts were taking place.
"That's yet to be seen," sighed Ishida. For the first time today, he looked more disappointed with himself than with her.
"Just don't work yourself to death trying to make it happen," she offered. "I've had to learn slower is better sometimes."
"What would you know about—" he was getting heated again at the flip of a switch, but couldn't continue his sentence. The heavy door to the roof swung open and silenced him before he got caught talking to a ghost. A handful of other students had come up with lunch bags and sodas, chattering between themselves and sitting at the bleachers on the far end.
Noriko's conversations with Ishida had come to a dead halt for the day. She kept the need to groan loudly pent up inside her. There was so much more she had felt building to say to him. She wanted to skirt around just how was he planning to take on Hollows without his bow? She had more questions about his proclaimed pride as a Quincy. She wanted to mention how he could eat lunch with his friends, they were right inside after all.
She was meddling with that last one most of all. She was seeing her younger self again, one who went decades upon decades without anyone her own age to call upon. If she could save him that kind of heartache, why wouldn't she meddle?
Try again another day, she told herself. She watched him breathe and straighten himself up. Some fabric project was pulled out of his bag and he got to work, fully done acknowledging her for the day. That was fine for now; she congratulated herself on what she called progress.
Noriko stayed perched, turning back now to survey the courtyard below and the game of kabaddi being played. She sat with Ishida, even at this distance, until the school bells chimed and she sensed him heading back inside.
Apparently, this week was when Urahara finally decided that Noriko wasn't earning her keep. She'd already done a begrudged deep clean of the store rooms at the Shōten. It had taken the better part of two days to go through and organize all the old bread boxes, expired chip bags, andnumbersof artifacts that she would probably be asked to list in a report to the Captain-Commander. Now, she was being sent out with a list to pick upnecessities. A pretty pathetic list too, if you had to ask her. She had told Urahara that to his face.
Candy and cleaning supplies was what he was currently considering essentials, from some grocery store on the other side of town. She was sent on her way when she questioned buyingmoresweets when they were already at an alleged candy shop.
She managed her way through Karakura, following directions she hardly needed anymore. She had really come to like this town after her time here. The part of her that knew how badly she would miss it wrestled with the part of her that missed walking through the barracks back home. Perhaps it was out of character for her, but she would miss the mundane, like adding groceries to her handbasket while a staticy television set played in the background.
Noriko left the register with two bulging paper bags under her arms. She'd taken the liberty of adding a few snacks for herself to one of them, courtesy of the cash she'd been sent along with. She'd earned it, especially knowing the long walk she had back and the additional chores she'd be assigned when she arrived.
The sliding door chimed as she exited through it.
She didn't expect Ishida to be walking past on the sidewalk at the same time. The grocery store's jingle seemed to catch his attention just in time for him to rotate his head and make eye contact.
He kept walking.
Noriko followed.
She wasn't antagonizing him, she reasoned to no one in particular. She had to walk this way, too, after all.
Though, it only took crossing a few roads before Noriko felt antsy. Maybenowshe could pester him, with the walkways less busy.
"It's not fair of you to ignore me forever," she called from a few yards behind him.
He slowed his pace and then stopped, turning to glance back at her. Wait, did he really? She hadn't expected that, so much so that it took her a moment to start the jog to catch up to him. Soon they were face to face. His eyebrows were furrowed, as always, and he looked unimpressed. If he wasn't careful his face would get stuck like that; that's what her surrogate mother would have said, anyway. Perhaps it was already too late for him.
"Why're you still following me?" Ishida asked vacantly.
She hadn't given it much more thought, so she answered through instinct.
"You're like a challenge," she offered, playfully making an intense face at him, "and, unfortunately for you, I like to win."
"As far as I can recall, that didn't go so well for you last time," he countered.
Was that…? He had a smirk tugging at the side of his mouth. She hadn't seen that happen since back at the Seireitei. Sure, he was rubbing in her loss but she was more focused on his expression.
"Oooh,maybe hedoeshave some personality in there," she teased without pointing it out directly. He rolled his eyes either way, turning to walk on. Noriko followed beside him, stepping with purpose to keep up with his long legs.
Blocks went by, streetlights and crosswalks along with them. The girl filled the air with details of Sado's progress from his training with Urahara.
All the noise, between cars honking, Noriko's chattering, and the paper bags crunching against one another must have grated on Ishida's nerves long enough, for he was interrupting when they made it across the next intersection.
"Give me that," he murmured. Before Noriko could question what he was talking about, Ishida reached out to take one of the bags from her. She resisted for a moment before letting him do so. She hadn't been struggling. She waved him away when he tried to take the other as well but still awkwardly muttered a thanks for the one he did take.
It was almost gentlemanly. It had been a while since anyone had done something like that for her…
While most of the Seventh Division were good guys, she had been so desperate to fit in when she first joined that she had put her foot down at any special treatment. While she knew now that the "special treatment" was more commonly referred to as "manners," she had already made her point known long ago. She could train as hard as the men could, open her own doors, and pull out her own chairs. She'd spent so long proving herself that even now she didn't let them.
So why was Ishida the exception?
He didn't know any better, she reasoned, and left the thought at that.
They carried on their walk. Noriko lamented aloud the work she had been doing, even if there was no one to escort home from the high school like before. Ichigo had a habit of vanishing, Sado was busy training, and Orihime had returned to Soul Society with Rukia.
Ishida looked pensive about that last fact and said that it was the first he'd heard of it.
"Maybe if you talked to your friends more often she would have told you," Noriko spoke under her breath, still loud enough for him to hear. She didn't know how to balance not getting on his bad side with speaking her mind. She wasn't the type to keep things like this to herself.
"It's none of your business," he shot at her with a pointed look. She'd heard that before.
"I don't get it," she continued, ignoring him. "What's your problem with them?"
"I don't have one," he said, voice raising. The answer sounded genuine.
"Well, then what's your problem with me?" She tried to keep her voice even, as much as it tried to match his.
"I'm a Quincy," he argued, like that explained everything. It sounded rehearsed when he followed it up with, "I don't associate with Soul Reapers."
What a stupid reason. She couldn't help but chuckle at the finality of it, and at what she suddenly schemed to say.
"Well," she paused to lighten her voice, "it's a good thing I'm not a Soul Reaper. Right now, I'm your new classmate at Karakura High School, Tsuji Noriko." She offered a wide grin and as much of a bow as she could muster without spilling a bag of candy all over the pavement.
He let out a noise at the sight, something between a laugh and a snort of derision. She would take it.
"Then I feel obligated to tell you you're not making a good impression with how much class you've been missing," he deadpanned once again, but this time she could detect the humor behind it.
"Eh," she easily waved off, "Ichigo does it all the time and he still has good enough grades."
"Kurosaki's the last person you want as a role model." Ishida looked disgusted at the very idea.
"Really?" Orihime had called the two boys friends on more than one occasion, whether they acted like it or not. "He's not so bad."
"Maybe it's too late," Ishida surveyed her up and down before continuing with his conclusion, "you remind me of him already."
"Yeah?" she smirked to herself before saying what honestly came to her mind, something she figured he wouldn't appreciate. "I was going to say the same thing about you."
"I'm nothing like him," Ishida asserted. Noriko could only imagine, even with the small amount of time she had spent with Ichigo, that he would have said the same thing if the roles were reversed. They were both good in a fight, clever, moody, and had a tendency to go off on their own… She could probably come up with a longer list if she really thought about it. She wasn't sure what of Ichigo that Ishida could see in her, besides being damn good at swinging a sword.
She hummed in response.
"No associating with Soul Reapers and no being associated with Soul Reapers," she listed. "Got it."
She let him have some peace and quiet after that, another few blocks worth of it until she had to speak up.
"How far are you going?" she asked, slowly coming to a halt.
"Why, are you planning on following me the whole way?" he quipped before stopping as well.
"Nope," she said, jutting a thumb out to the side, "this is my stop." They had arrived a meter short of the Shōten's driveway.
Ishida was unexpectedly unreadable as he handed the grocery bag back to her. She easily took it before precariously balancing both bags to fish through the other.
"You eat anything yet?" Noriko asked, though, his answer of a hesitant 'no' didn't affect her actions in either way. Without looking, she pulled a pair of small, plastic baggies out to pass over to him. She'd snagged two individually wrapped mochi, one mango and one black sesame. One sweet and one bitter; that made sense.
He took them and muttered a thanks, not looking particularly eager to dig in but tucking them away nonetheless.
"I'll see ya' later, Ishida!" Noriko called, leaving him be for the evening. She offered him one last grin despite already hearing some kind of commotion coming out of the store.
Back to work, she figured, rolling up her metaphorical sleeves for the evening.
Unbeknownst to her, she didn't stop smiling to herself until lying down for bed.
Ishida was the first out the door when the school bells chimed that week. She could see him from her spot outside the gates. In fact, he almost collided with her as he rounded them, face more focused on how fast his feet below could carry him.
She didn't have time to say anything. They were inches apart one moment and he was speeding on past the next. She'd gotten a good look at him though, and frowned.
This was beyond tired. His eyes were heavy and dark. He looked exhausted.
His body, on the other hand, looked better than ever. He was in no way huge like the Sado boy was, but even as his arms swayed and gripped the strap of his bag, Noriko could tell they were more defined. He had to have been training all this time. Heavily too, with the toll it was taking.
Ishida was the first one out the next day, too. Noriko watched from a brick ledge this time instead, out of his path of resolve. He was tired, but determined.
She couldn't find him the day after that.
And then it rained.
It had been sunny all week but out of the blue rain had taken over, despite what the forecasts called for.
She hasn't expected it to catch her off guard. These things happened and she couldn't control the weather, after all. But walking along on the nearly deserted small town streets as the dark clouds opened up to a downpour left her feeling vulnerable.
In only a matter of moments, her hair clung to her face, thick and wet and covering her eyes. She quickly brushed back her bangs, raking them out of the way and destroying the rest of her look. Her t-shirt was next, heavy with drops and bringing goosebumps to her skin.
The breeze brought on the chill but the pleasant summer rain brought comfort.
Noriko laughed at the contradictions. She knew she was hardly the introspective type but something felt different about the rain here. Something about it not being reishi, but simply water. There was something about the feeling of it on her skin, the tangible human skin that encapsulated her.
She hardly hurried along like the few people still caught outside did, until someone in a nearby store called her in to wait out the torrent. She could have stayed out there all day, even as the lightning flashed, if it weren't for the fact she was required to blend in and that her clothes were quickly becoming see-through.
The old store owners offered her a towel and she had to remind herself again that she was allowed to accept good deeds. When she was cleaned up and the banging on the tin roof turned to patters, they loaned her an umbrella as well.
She did her rounds in the rain later that evening after getting cleaned up, despite Rangiku's assurance that she could put it off for one night. She still got to business, ending up somewhere past the shopping district, thinking about how she did plan to return the elderly couples' kindness if it ever did stop raining. Somewhere around here was Ichigo's father's office and in the opposite direction was the dōjō she had spied on. She was comfortably familiar with what she deemed the important locations, though, the haze of fog rising up from the waterways turned things around.
Orienting herself with the train station, Noriko almost felt guilty spotting him. She watched in stealth as he went. The serious look on his face was evident, as it always was. But she was finding peace in the rain, maybe he could too.
Maybe, just this once, she could let Ishida go.
…
No, she couldn't. That wasn't her.
Besides, the white umbrella that leaned against her shoulder was big enough for the both of them.
"Hey," she spoke up calmly. For all the times she had caught up to him from behind, they were finally meeting each other face to face, opposite paths leading to one another.
He looked a bit stunned when he glanced up from his shoes, truth be told. His clothes were ragged and his shoulders heavy, both from exhaustion and the water that had soaked them through. He'd been through some sort of fight, but she couldn't tell if it was with a Hollow or otherwise.
"Let me walk you home," Noriko continued, taking a few steps closer. He looked like a frightened cat, suspicious and like he would dart at any second. She could read his mind the second he opened his mouth.
"Don't p—"
"—It's not pity. I'm not leaving so just let me do this for you, idiot."
She stepped closer and held out the umbrella. He didn't even have to share if he didn't want to; he could take it all for his own.
What she really wanted was to pull him under the umbrella, or at the very least let him throw an arm over her shoulder to guide his walking, but she held back. Something (society's standards or gut instinct, she wasn't sure) told her she shouldn't reach out to touch him, even if she wanted to.
She wished they were friends. Then, she could do all that and ruffle his hair to get some of the water droplets out and carry his bag for him, to lighten his load.
Surprisingly, he got closer of his own accord. When he closed the distance she was reminded of how pretty he was, despite his disheveled state. He stood right beside her and she retracted the umbrella to cover both of them, even if the mist hit her lower back now that she had to accommodate for his height.
"I live north of here," he offered simply.
So they went.
It was a long walk in silence. The only noise that accompanied them was the sound of cars passing by, kicking up the water on the asphalt. The distant sunset reflected against the pavement, oranges and pink barely peeking out from between the clouds. It wasn't until they crossed the river, who's levels had yet to rise but would surely be at their banks by the end of the week, that anyone spoke.
"My powers are back," he informed out of nowhere.
Noriko nearly tripped over her feet.
"What, really?" she asked with excitement. He smiled in confirmation. "Congratulations, Ishida!"
He wore pride well.
"You know what that means, though, don't you?" she continued.
"That our rematch will be soon?" he answered, smirk across his lips.
Despite the rips on his sleeves and the mysterious scar she saw past his undone upper buttons, it was official: she had finally caught him in a good mood.
"Yup," she popped the P, "after you rest up, of course. I don't need that much of an advantage when I wipe the floor with you."
"I think you might be scared to find out I could beat you even now." Boy he was smug, but she would let him have it. He stifled a cough that only further showed how much recuperating he had to do.
"Whatever you say, Quincy," she still couldn't help but egg him on, despite any rematch between the two of them having to be put off another week at minimum. She'd wait with anticipation.
The raindrops picked up again. Thunder rumbled lowly in the far distance.
"What's it feel like," Noriko spoke up, a thought she'd had before returning to her, "being a Quincy?"
"I'm not sure what you mean," he replied, looking down at her in confusion.
"Yeah, I'm not either," she laughed to herself. "You get the powers and you get to live a human life. Seems like the best of both worlds to me." Maybe a month in Karakura Town was more than she was meant to experience. She had never questioned things like lifetimes or lived experiences in Soul Society. She'd only ever gone at full speed ahead.
"I don't know," Ishida responded, looking at her thoughtfully. Noriko's eyes darted away when she caught that expression. "It's all I've ever known."
"That's true," she hummed. All she had ever known was District 67 and Squad 7. If Ishida came to Soul Society, when he wasn't fighting for his life, would he feel wistful for it too?
"Well," she continued matter-of-factly, "I like this." She raised her free arm outside of the safety of the umbrella, collecting raindrops in her palm and then turning it over for them to spill out onto the ground below. "I think I like being human, even if it's just for a little while." She repeated the process a few times, even collecting the rain only to throw it up in the air and have it splash hard near her feet.
"Stop it," Ishida interjected to scold her, even if his heart didn't sound in it. He reached out to grab her by the wrist, hands still slender and longer than her own, and pulled it back to her side.
"You're going to catch a cold," he reasoned. He adjusted his glasses after lingering to let go; Noriko figured that was to confirm she'd stay put and not do it again. Normally, she would have protested but she was too internally embarrassed that her thoughts jumped to how that was the first time he'd ever touched her. Gently, everything unlike the battles she knew best.
After that they were quiet for the rest of the walk. Their feet carried them in a comforting rhythm until slowly down and then stopping.
An imposing, iron fence signaled the end of their night. Behind it, a large, white house with all its windows dark. So, this was where he lived? A beautiful, lonely place.
The rain had stopped. When he walked a few paces ahead, towards the gate, she carefully closed the umbrella and shook the water away.
"Take care of yourself this time, Ishida," she said and meant it. She pointed a finger and pulled a serious face. "Now I know where you live."
He gave a thin smile, ignoring the threat.
"Just call me Uryū already."
Uryū…
Yeah, she could do that.
She had played it cool, threw him a wave before actually getting back to work for the night, not even getting to try his first name on for size aloud. Then the next day, the Arrancar had made their return, Orihime had disappeared, and Noriko was being called back to the Seireitei without so much as time to protest.
In hindsight, she wishes she had said more, done more. She didn't realize that their rematch wouldn't be for over a year, and even then it would hardly be what she had imagined.
They would meet again, of course they would, but now she felt time, that horrible human ordeal.
She wishes they had more of it.
