Rather Casual, Actually

Mamiya Sakura was, at first glance, a normal sixteen year old. She did well enough in academics to not fall behind, her ability in sports was average, and she had yet to join any clubs. However, there was one thing about her that set her apart from the rest of the student body- and that was the fact that she could see ghosts. She had been spirited away as a child and had been able to see them ever since. The girl had gotten used to it over the years though, and didn't so much as blink if a person happened to walk through the wall.

It was thanks this unique ability that her high school life became interesting.

About a month after the beginning of school, the boy whose seat was next to hers came to class for the first time. Wearing a strange abet fancy haori. While tossing dog biscuits around the room to lure a giant Chihuahua inside. No one else in the class noticed the bazaar event other than her, which led the schoolgirl to the obvious conclusion that her classmate- Rukudou Rinne- was a ghost.

One thing led to another, nothing better to do, why not- there were several popular lines that could be used to describe the reasoning for Sakura's actions that day, but regardless of which one she chose, the girl was now somewhat involved in the things Rinne did while away from school. He was a shinigami- sort of. And yet he was human- sort of. And she was…

His supply of spare change.

Her classmate's job as a sort-of-shinigami was to guide spirits to the afterlife when they themselves were unable or unwilling. This cost money- something that caught her by surprise. What was even more surprising was how painstakingly poor Rinne appeared to be. Sakura was a nice person, always willing to lend a ten-yen coin here and there, so when the red haired, haori wearing Rukudou-kun asked for a bit of economic assistance she could never turn him down.

Maybe she shouldn't say that her school life had become interesting since encountering Rukudou Rinne, but that Rukudou Rinne was very interesting.

"Why not ask him out?"

The girls in Sakura's class had, at some point, come to think that she and Rinne were friends of sorts. She didn't mind this assumption- nothing wrong with being friends with a boy. But being friends meant they knew things about each other and shared secrets. She did know some things about him that no one else did, and he was aware of her ability to see apparitions, but beyond that they were nothing like friends. Sakura mulled her classmates' words around in her head for some time after that, thinking about her odd relationship with Rinne and her curiosity towards him. Asking him out would be a good was to get to know him better, wouldn't it? It didn't even have to be a serious date. Going out just for fun, testing the waters- teenagers did that all the time, right? It was normal and if Mamiya Sakura was anything to the ordinary eye, she was normal.

"I'm afraid I'll have to decline"

Sakura blinked once, twice, and then narrowed her eyes as her friends- trying so hard to seem like they weren't listening in- began murmuring about the sad turn of events.

"Why?" she questioned, not ready to admit defeat just yet. Rinne had a cold, loner-type attitude, but she'd learned that with enough pestering he usually gave in and listened to what she had to say. "I know you're not busy"

"On the contrary," Rinne countered while smoothly closing his textbook. "I happen to be doing something this Saturday evening"

She was not convinced. "Oh really? Like?"

"Like…" the boy frowned, looking around the classroom to see who was listening. "Shinigami business" he finished cautiously.

"Then I'll help you finish quickly and then we can go have fun!" Sakura pressed. "Come on, I'll pay for dinner and the movies, and whatever else you want to do. Can you really pass up so much free stuff?"

Rinne raised a brow. "Mamiya Sakura…if I didn't know any better, I would have to say you were bribing me"

The spiritually aware girl smiled victoriously. "So when and where are we meeting?"

It was a quarter to six, and as Sakura adjusted her clothing for the eighth time she wondered if she looked alright. Her hair was in its usual style, but she had put ornament-type hair ties in instead of the usual plain ones, so tonight, two little cherry blossoms hugged the tail of her braids. They were her favorites, so she hoped it didn't look too childish or silly. But…what about the rest of her? She had on a sleeveless white top that was slightly ruffled around the hips and a blue denim skirt. On her feet were a pair cute pink sandals that, in her opinion, matched her hair ties quite nicely. Was this okay? She hadn't dressed up too much, had she? Or too little? Maybe she should have worn earrings or a necklace?

No, no. Sakura shook her head. This was fine. It wasn't supposed to be a big deal anyways. Heck, she wasn't even expecting him to wear anything other than his usual gym clothes. Their meeting time had been set for five-thirty, so it was no wonder she was starting to worry over her appearance. Too much time made her think about all sorts of things.

On that note, the girl looked at her watch again. Five to six.

"Geez, why is he so late?" her question was accompanied with a scowl. "He didn't lie to me just to get out of this, did he? I don't think Rukudou-kun is like that, but…ooh, if he did do that then I'm going to-"

Her monologue was interrupted by a light tap on the shoulder. Sakura blinked back into reality, turning to see who it was that wanted her attention. She was shocked to see that it was Rinne. Her mouth hung open as she stared at him, stunned and disbelieving.

He wasn't wearing his gym uniform! Instead his attire consisted of a pair of worn-out jeans, a loose black shirt and an off-white sweater overtop of that. The outfit wasn't anything special. Rather casual, actually. But seeing him in street clothes was…well, different. Rukudou-kun was not only interesting, but also attractive.

With a tiny little blush spreading across her cheeks Sakura managed to shut her mouth, swallow some saliva, and smile. "You look nice!" she blurted, feeling that her enthusiasm was a bit much.

Rinne stared off into the distance, looking melancholy as usual. "Ah, well…these are the only clothes I have other than my uniform so…"

Sakura began to sweat, feeling like a fool when his words cast the two of them into silence. You really are poor, huh, Rukudou-kun? Must be tough. Does it hurt your pride to have a girl offer to pay for a date? I was the one who asked, though, so even if you weren't poor I still would have paid! But I feel a bit bad. Maybe I shouldn't have pressured you into this…

Heaving a sigh, Sakura finally took notice of the hand waving in front of her face. "Eh?"

"Although your eyesight is exceptional," the red haired boy in front of her started, "your hearing seems to be lacking, Mamiya Sakura. Let's not waste any more time. The wayward spirit is about a block from here"

"Speaking of time," Sakura mumbled as she followed the boy down the street. "Why were you so late?"

Rinne didn't look back at her as he answered. "There was a task I had to do earlier, and it took me longer then I thought it would"

"Like a part-time job?" the girl wondered aloud.

"Uh…" the redhead's pace quickened, his head handing particularly low as they crossed the road. "Something like that"

Something like that…? Her brow furrowed. What's that supposed to mean?

Before Sakura could question the elusive boy any further the yomi no haori appeared in Rinne's hands, flowing in the evening wind as he slide it over his shoulders. The girl touched her purse lightly in response.

Ghost-hunting was certainly a memorable way to start her first date.

Me, writing a Kyoukai no Rinne fanfiction? Damn right I am! I've been envisioning this since chapter two, and I decided I had to write it before any of my crazy ideas faded away. This story takes place at no particular time in the manga (there's only five chapters so far, after all…), but I will be mentioning things as they pop up in the canon story, such as Rinne's grandmother and such. Probably Sakura's family, if their ever introduced.

With that said, I don't plan on making this a long story. Probably only about five chapters at most. Rinne and Sakura won't necessarily fall in love during this time period, but they will complete their date.

I picture Sakura to be a sensible, down-to-earth girl who is pretty much numb to things people would consider strange, considering how long she's been able to see apparitions. She seems very modern, so I don't think she would be terribly shy about asking someone as unresponsive as Rinne out on a date. Rinne is very unique to me- he's more humble and polite than any of Rumiko's male leads thus far, and I absolutely love it. Mamiya Sakura! who calls people by their full names? Rinne, that's who. He's also poor, and this gives him an injured sort of pride I like working with.

So, that's how I'll be writing these freshly developed characters! Totally not expecting a reaction from anyone, but I had fun writing this first chapter so that's all that really matters. Of course, reviews are always appreciated!