Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ The Positive Thinking Test ❯ Log 1 ( Chapter 1 )

ThePositive Thinking Test

 

Disclaimer: Bleach is not mine.

 

When someone uses the term `difficult relationship' (and we are talking a romantic one here), what is the first thing that pops into many people's thoughts?

 

Partner abuse for the morbidly-inclined, perhaps? Or uber age differences for the angst-lovers? Same-sex partnerships for the non-conformative? No doubt racial or religious issues come to many a mind. And we all know die-hard romantics love it when the barrier of social status falls into play.

 

But those aren't all that important. What most people are in fact a lot more interested in, is how these various degrees of `difficulties' can be overcome by the individuals involved and affected by them. No matter the form, be it written or verbal, truth or fiction, everyone loves seeing and hearing of people's breakthroughs and overcoming of obstacles in the name of love.

 

Of course all of us, being the human beings that we are, adore such scenarios because quite honestly, difficult relationships are… fun, for lack of a better term, to follow. Why? Because there is a romantic streak in every single one of us. Embarrassing, yes. But undeniably true, no matter how deeply buried we might make ours out to be.

 

Then again we could all just be sadists at heart.

 

But if you ask me, the hardships of such relationships might just be a tad overrated. They serve merely to satisfy people's own romantic notions. After all, the more difficult the situation, the larger the sense of accomplishment that follows is.

 

Difficult relationships are only thus if one doesn't know how to deal with them mentally. As with many things, they are entirely psychological. Obstacles can be easily shrunk if one looks past them to see the reward beyond.

 

It all has to do with pros and cons, see. Between negatives and positives, most people only have an eye out for the negatives. The idea of finding the good, to out-weigh the bad, optimism, as some would dub it, is the solution to such situations.

 

Of course, this theory would have absolutely no substance to it, if not tested in an actual situation. Thus, we shall start off by swinging our thoughts in a slightly different direction.

 

Let us factor in a pair of guinea pigs to test this hypothesis on.

 

Guinea Pig Ichigo: Male, orange-haired and in his late-teens.

Guinea Pig Rukia: Female, black-haired and………… older than Ichigo.

 

Now let us picture this.

 

Guinea Pig Ichigo sees Guinea Pig Rukia as a good friend slash sort-of-girlfriend that he and a scant few others are able to see but by normal standards, doesn't quite… exist. Of course, this doesn't prevent him wanting to be with her.

 

Complicated relationship. No question.

 

Now let us place our two guinea pigs into various situations of difficulty and observe their actions in a controlled and scientific fashion. The test subjects will go through various circumstances in which obstacles will be thrown their way. And we will see just how well our theory about good over-coming bad works. Of course, since this is a controlled test, outside factors must not be included as they might affect the outcome of the… experiment.

 

In other words, no encouraging pep-talks from friends, no alterations in personalities, no changes in their schedules and no faux bodies.

 

Alright then. Pens and clipboards out. Let us begin.

 

First Scenario- The Dating Scene:

 

Due to them being from entirely different dimensions, Ichigo is not able to be in constant contact with Rukia. (Con) This does not faze them, because Rukia's occupation requires her to make frequent visits to Ichigo's world. (Pro) There, she destroys dark beings, known as hollows, by cutting up their faces. And because Ichigo is her good friend slash sort-of-boyfriend, he assists her. Together they finish the job a lot earlier than the allocated time of her return. There is nothing like battling soul-eating vermin in a bloody fight to possible death with a loved one to strengthen emotional bonds. (Pro)

 

So with evil silenced for the day, our two guinea pigs are free to head over to the movie theatre nearby, as is common for couples to do. They spend five minutes in front of the entrance bickering about what movie to watch as people around them shuffle away. Soon Ichigo realizes he looks like a moron arguing with thin air. (Con)

 

He remembers he is the only one there who can see Rukia. So he sucks it up and agrees to watch her film of choice, not wanting to continue with the argument out of concern for his fast depleting sense of dignity. Going with an invisible God of Death means he only needs to pay for one ticket to the Chappy the Rabbit Movie. With that in hand, he is now eligible for the Chappy Happy Popcorn Combo which saves him more money since he now doesn't need to pay for drinks. Dates with Rukia are cheap. (Pro)

 

They line up behind a hoard of toddlers waiting to be let into the cinema. The ticket person at the entrance ahead eyes Ichigo strangely. Only a complete and utter loser would pay to watch a children's show all by himself on a Friday Night. Parents of eager children in the line shake their heads at him sadly. Ichigo glares, for he cannot help but get defensive. Oblivious Rukia brims with excitement like the five year olds around them. Ichigo's frown is now a border-line sulk. (Con)

 

They get into the cinema and find it dark and packed with noisy brats. Ichigo trips over numerous short persons and grumbles about how crowded the place is. (Con) Rukia rolls her eyes because his comment is just silly. He shouldn't be surprised. Chappy is the greatest.

 

Because he only paid for one ticket, they have only one allocated seat. It is in the far back. The thought of leaving Rukia there to watch the movie herself while he mopes outside is inviting. But it is quickly replaced by another, more inviting idea. He seats himself and pulls her petite frame down onto his lap, returning her raised eyebrow with one of his own. It is a comfortable position and the darkness of the theatre makes it hard for anyone to see his arms wrapped around air. He stops sulking. (Pro) Maybe he'd let his hands wander a little…. Rukia's completely shuts him out as the starting credits roll.

 

Maybe not.

 

The four-year old beside them thinks nothing of the bits of pop-corn floating out of the rabbit shaped box and disappearing into thin air. He giggles and points at the funny orange-haired guy holding his arms out in a strange position. His mother hushes him distractedly.

 

All in all test subject Rukia enjoys herself. As does guinea pig Ichigo. (Pro)

 

End of Scenario.

 

Moral: Nothing is so bad if you've got the proper incentive to do it.

 

Let us tally up the results shall we? In total, five pros to four cons. Our theory has been proven right in this incident. Good has out-weighed the bad. But of course one test is far from sufficient to make an accurate conclusion….