Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ First Gift ❯ One-Shot

My first attempt at IchiRuki fic. Gosh I hope this doesn't go badly…

 

"Here, take this." Ichigo shoved a small square package into Rukia's hands without looking. He definitely had not planned on being so rude, but somehow doing something this sappy didn't come naturally at all to him.

 

"Wha..?" Confused, she gazed down at what he'd just brusquely handed her - a pink-and-purple wrapped box, with an elaborately folded bow made of some stiff shiny material stuck on top.

 

"Ichigo... I didn't know you were into origami..."

 

Ichigo turned abruptly - "YOU little …!" Only then did he realize that Rukia had not said it in her usual lilting, teasing voice, but in actual honest surprise. His outburst subsided, though he was still blushing furiously.

 

"Um... I didn't make that. Or, well, I didn't wrap it myself ..."

 

"Wrap? Oh... I thought it was just a box. It does seem a bit heavier than paper. What is it?"

 

Now he really was shocked. "Rukia, honestly, have you ever seen a present before?" Wouldn't she at least recognize that premium Sanrio giftwrap that he'd dished extra to get?

 

"A present? For me? Why?" Her large violet eyes registered infinite bewilderment.

 

"Oh right. This is what I get for befriending people who have been dead for the last 150 years. Rukia, this is how people wrap presents in the real world."

 

"But why a present, Ichigo? Is today some special holiday you modern people have? Was I supposed to prepare something for you too?" She still needed some explaining, didn't she. He sighed again.

 

"Rukia, don't tell me you've forgotten it's your birthday today." He scratched nervously at the back of his head.

 

"How did you know.... Oh, dear. Ukitake-taicho told you, didn't he." Darnit. She was way too sharp. It amazed him how she could be so simultaneously naive and wise at the same time.

 

"Yeah, he did." No use hiding it. "So I decided to give you a birthday present. That's what we 'modern people' do for someone on his or her birthday. Don't you celebrate your birthday in Soul Society too?"

 

"Well... Byakuya-nii-sama would have the servants prepare my favorite foods for dinner, and Ukitake-taicho would give me half the day off, but otherwise... not really." It hurt her to say it, but she had lived quite an isolated life in the Kuchiki household. She definitely knew of other fabulous birthday bashes held in honor of various captains of the Gotei 13, but it had never occurred to her, an unseated shinigami from humble Rukongai roots, that someone would want to celebrate *her* birthday. She turned away in embarrassment. What was she supposed to do in return for a birthday present?

 

"Well, that's a shame." This was getting more awkward than Ichigo had anticipated. He'd imagined that Rukia, with her love of all things cartoony and fluffy, would have squealed with glee and torn into the package with loud exclamations of "Sanrio! Oh, you shouldn't have! It's wonderful! Thank you Ichigo!" Then she was supposed to have gazed into his eyes in appreciation and adoration for all of those excruciating 20 minutes he'd spent in the store, desperately trying to pick out something she'd like, and dying of fear that Keigo or Mizuiro would happen to be strolling through the mall and spot him in there...

 

But no, she was just standing there, absolutely stunned, not a peep, not even opening the package that she still held tightly in both hands. Where did he go wrong? Why wasn't she happy?

 

"I-Ichigo."

 

"Hm?"

 

"Th-thank you." She was looking down at the ground, her lower lip quivering.

 

"Rukia... what's wrong?"

 

"I... it just never occurred to me that someone would want to celebrate my birthday, that's all," she said, and sniffed slightly.

 

"Rukia..."

 

Now he understood it. The same old problem. "Rukia, you ... you deserve this. I wanted to do something for you... because ... you're important to me."

 

There. He'd said it. Gosh his face felt warm. Why was saying something like this infinitely harder than storming Soul Society?

 

Rukia looked up stunned, and Ichigo swore he saw a faint wetness in her eyes. "Ichigo..."

 

He desperately tried to think of something to break the tension, anything. "Hey, well, don't you wanna see what your present is? Go ahead and open it already, after all that trouble I went through ..."

 

"Ichigo... " She suddenly leaned forward into him, and rested her head on his chest. He nearly jumped in surprise, but calmed himself enough to look down at her. Two wet tear marks had soaked into his shirt front. Instinctively, he reached an arm around her and began patting her gently on the back.

 

"Ichigo... What you just said... that was the best 'birthday present' I could have ever wished for."

 

He let out a little sigh while she buried her face in his shirt. "Baka," he said softly, his hand gently smoothing the back of her head. "You never learn, do you."

 

THE END