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It was during one of their get-togethers at Urahara's shop that Ichigo got the feeling that something wasn't quite right. As soon as they sat down to eat, Ichigo realized what it was that felt odd. It, or rather she, wasn't sitting where she was supposed to.
Sure Rukia and Renji have been friends for a long time that even after forty years of separation, once they were reconciled it was as if those forty years never happened. As the saying goes, old habits die hard, which is probably why Rukia sat next to Renji during meals, like she was doing at that moment.
Almost nobody found that odd since that two were close friends, key word: almost. Ishida might have noticed but didn't really care much. Orihime was glad that her friend seemed happy. Chad, well Chad only noticed that Ichigo was pretending very hard not to mind. Urahara just smiled behind his fan as he noted that Ichigo gripped his chopsticks tightly or chewed rather violently.
As glad as Ichigo was that Renji and Rukia were friends again, he didn't know how to explain the feeling in his gut that he got every time he saw Rukia take the seat next to the tattooed man. It wasn't that he hated the guy, he thought that Renji was actually quite a decent person once you get to know him, it was just that he couldn't seem to stop his eyebrow from raising his eyebrow every time Renji leaned in too close to Rukia or when he glanced at her a bit too long.
"Oi Ichigo!" Renij said as he waved his chopsticks in front of Ichigo's face. "Why are ya staring into space like that?"
"None of your business!" Ichigo retorted as he smacked Renji's hand away. "Can't a guy just stare into nothing?"
Around the table his friends' faces showed concern. He could imagine what they were thinking.
'Was he defeated again? Shinigami are so weak' or something like that would be what Ishida was thinking.
'Is Kurosaki-kun hurt somewhere?' would be Orihime.
'If anything happens, I'll watch his back.' Chad.
'This is interesting.' Urahara of course.
'I wonder if there's gonna be a fight.' Renji
'Is this my fault?' Rukia, definitely Rukia. She would think that anything is her fault as long as she's connected to it. This was partly her fault, although Ichigo thought that Renji was another reason and his gut was the main reason for his current state.
As soon as they finished eating, Orihime remembered that she promised Tatsuki that they'd hang out, Chad suddenly remembered that he had something to do, and Ishida just plain wanted to leave.
"I guess that leaves us then!" Renji said cheerfully as soon as the three left. "So what-"
"Abarai-san, are you forgetting something?" Urahara asked. When Renji gave him a blank stare, he continued. "We're taking inventory today."
"Eh?" Renji asked. "You want me to help?"
"Oh no!" Urahara said sweetly. "How could we possibly ask a free-loader such as yourself to help with mundane tasks like inventory that allow you to free-load in the first place."
"Ah," Renji paled. "I'll help."
Urahara dragged Renji off to the back, giving Ichigo and Rukia a little nod before disappearing through the door. Ichigo and Rukia just looked at each other and laughed at Renji's predicament.
"Let's go home?" Ichigo suggested. Rukia just smiled and nodded.
"Let's"
It's alright if Rukia sits next to Renji, Ichigo decided. She could have stayed at Urahara's shop with him, but she chose to stay at Ichigo's. That, Ichigo thought, made everything better, because he knew that no matter what happened, Rukia would always come home to him.
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