"Kurosaki-kun! Hurry up!" I shouted, motioning for Ichigo to come. Ishida, Chad, and I were already at the door of Ichigo's bedroom, ready to go.
"I'm coming, Inoue." he replied, hopelessly trying to shove a camera in his already stuffed suitcase.
We were going to the Seretei to have a birthday party for Rukia. We were also going to stay for a week and enjoy some time around the bland Seretei. Ichigo protested, but Kenpachi promised not to bother Ichigo. Yeah, right. It was January fourteenth and time for somebody to have a party.
"Ishida, can you sew this back together?" I asked Ishida. My dress from Hueco Mundo may disgust me, but it makes me feel proud for having destroyed the Hougyoku.
"Why in the world would you want me to sew that back together? You're not going to wear that to Kuchiki-san's birthday party, are you?" he asked, pushing up his glasses.
"No." I said. I actually did want to wear it there, but I decided not to, if it really repulsed people that much. I carefully folded it and then changed my mind. I threw it on Kurosaki-kun's bed and reminded myself to get it later.
"Hey Chad, can you help me?" asked Ichigo, looking down shamefully at his Shinigami sandals.
"Sure." said Chad, simply picking up the camera and hanging it around Ichigo's neck.
"Oh... So that's what that was for!" exclaimed Ichigo.
"Kurosaki, you really are an idiot." said Ishida.
"Let's go!" I said cheerfully, putting my fist in the air.
As we walked out the door to the Kurosaki household, a Senkai gate appeared. We all stepped in with our luggage and speed-walked towards the light at the end of the tunnel. I may act stupid, but really, I'm smarter than you think I am. Anyways, when we entered the Seretei we were greeted by Rangiku and Renji.
"Orihime!" squealed Rangiku, giving me a bear hug.
"Rangiku-san!" I squealed back, dropping my suitcase.
"I'm so happy you came!" said Rangiku.
Suddenly, Rangiku's jaw dropped.
"Wh-what are you wearing?" she said, surprised.
"Umm... a blue halter top and-" I said, before I was hugged yet again.
"Oooh! You're so pretty! I bet he'll notice you now." said Rangiku, winking.
I was wearing a shimmery blue halter top with flare jeans and cork high-tops. My hair was up and I actually had some make-up on. It was Kuchiki-san's party, after all. She would probably be wearing something that'd make Ichigo fall even more in love with her. I sighed, and my hope dimmed a bit. My hope was like the day, it rose and rose and rose, but then it dimmed until it was almost nighttime.
"What's wrong Orihime?" asked the worried Rangiku.
"N-nothing." I said, wiping my eyes, blurring my mascara.
"Something must me wrong, you're crying!" she said, taking a closer look at me.
"Was it something I said?" she asked.
"N-no." I said, hiccuping
"What's the matter, Inoue?" asked Kurosaki-kun, walking over to me. I hated making a spectacle of myself, especially with him here.
"Let's go to my squad office, we can talk there. My captain finished the paperwork for today, so he's gone." she said, glaring at Kurosaki-kun.
"What did I do?" he asked, confused.
But Rangiku just walked off, with me in tow. As soon as we reached her squad's office, I immediately started bawling.
"I-i'm so j-jealous of Kuchiki-san, e-even though I-i don't w-want to be." I hiccuped.
"Oh, Orihime. I'm so sorry." she said, giving me a gentle hug.
I calmed down a bit as she said, "Maybe he loves you, you never know. You can't be certain he's head-over-heels for Rukia."
That made me smile. My hope was brightening and I was no longer upset. I was going to go to Kuchiki-san's party smiling, not crying and sniffling like a child.
"Can you redo my make-up, Rangiku?" I asked, getting up from the couch.
"Sure, let's go to my apartment. It's really nice, despite the fact that I'm always too lazy to clean it." she said, chuckling.
When we arrived at her apartment it was already three in the afternoon. We still had three hours left, and that was before we had our little make-up session.
"Do you have any sparkly blue eye shadow?" I asked. It was the kind I had wanted at the mall, but it cost too much. I got the plain white one instead, and everybody said it looked marvelous. I was surprised when she answered, "Yeah. I bought it on a mission in the Human World."
An hour later, all my old make-up had been replaced by better, newer make-up.
"So, do you want to see what I'll be wearing to Rukia's party?" she asked excitedly.
"Umm... sure." I said, as she ran towards her closet. She came back with a yellow tube top, a black mini-skirt, and black flats.
"Wow." I said. I wondered where she got it, if here, in the Soul Society, or in the Human World.
After Rangiku got ready, it was time for the party. We got there a bit late, but barely anyone was there yet. There were mostly people I knew, but also a few nobles I didn't know. I looked around for Kuchiki-san and I saw her in a peach colored dress and her hair with a flower in it. My jaw dropped and I had to close it with my hand.
"Hey Inoue!" she said, waving at me.
"Hello Kuchiki-san!" I said, waving back.
And then I saw Kurosaki-kun hug her. It made my blood boil to see such a heart-breaking sight. I touched my hair to see if I still had my Shun Shun Rikka, and I did. I raised my reaitsu as high as I could and walked lightly past Rangiku, towards Kuchiki-san, smiling. I grabbed Ichigo's shoulder and pushed him out of the way.
"Happy birthday, bitch." I said happily.
"Huh?" she said, taking a step back.
"Nice flower." I said, ripping it out of her hair
"What's going on Inoue?" she asked, confused.
"Nothing, nothing at all. " I responded, still smiling.
Then it must've hit her, because through gritted teeth she said, "Get out of my house."
"Nope. And plus, it's not even yours." I said, pushing her into a table full of food.
And then we started fighting. You know, hair pulling, scratching, biting, pushing, shoving, kicking, and screaming.
"Ichigo doesn't love you!" I screamed, slapping Kuchiki hard across the face.
"Well then why did he save me from execution then, huh?" she said, punching me in the stomach.
Kurosaki-kun just stared, dumbfounded that two women would fight over him. He came to his senses in a moment or two, as Rukia fired a kidou at me. I felt al the anger I had welled up inside me from over the years explode. I became surrounded in an orange light and a hypnotic voice commanded, "Do not move, Orihime-sama." I did as I was told and while Ichigo was holding the enraged Rukia down. Minutes passed and nothing happened, except that the orange light was growing brighter. And then it happened. The hypnotic voice asked me, "What is your greatest desire, Orihime-sama?" I had to think hard and answered, "To not be a burden to anyone anymore. To be loved by Kurosaki-kun. And lastly, to go back in time to where this stupid fight never happened."
"These three desires shall be fulfilled. But these are your commands, and if something goes wrong, you must amend it on your own." the hypnotic voice warned.
Suddenly, I was surrounded by darkness. I couldn't breathe and I was all alone. I was back at Kurosaki-kun's house and... I was wearing a Shinigami uniform??? I gasped and realized that time was frozen. Slowly, time began to flow once more. I searched myself for a zanpakuto and found one on my right hip. It had an orange hilt and an intricate flower as a guard. I heard a faint whisper saying, "Hanakanmi." I realized almost instantly that this was the name of my zanpakuto. Ichigo got up off his bed and gave me a hug. My heart raced and I blushedlike mad. He leaned down and gave me a quick kiss, in front of Ishida and Chad. I was stunned and stood there like a rock for about five minutes, until Kurosaki-kun called my name. I instantly shunpoed towards the door, without even thinking about it. He smiled and put his arm around me. Everything went smoothly with the Senkai gate and like before, we were met my Rangiku and Renji. This time though, they were whispering to themselves.
"Hey Orihime!" said Rangiku, squeezing me practiacally to death.
"Hey Rangiku." I said waving reluctantly.
"Hmm... you need sake." she said.
"What?? You can't give Orihime sake!" protested Kurosaki-kun.
"Sure I can!" she said, taking a sideways glance at me.
"Umm... no thanks Rangiku-san." I said, looking up at the beautiful sky.
"Well, bye then!" she said, dragging Renji away.
I spent the rest of the day wandering the Seretei. It wasn't very fun, but when six o'clock arrived, I headed to the Byakuya-san's manor. I let myself in, unlike last time. Rukia was at the door... kissing Kurosaki-kun??? I was heartbroken. Although the hypnotic voice never said how long my happiness would last, I sighed in displeasure. They broke their kiss abruptly and Kurosaki-kun's head turned slowly to face me. I truly felt like punching him, but I didn't. I got the feeling that I wasn't welcome here any longer. Then suddenly, Byakuya-san appeared.
"Excuse me Byakuya-san, I have to leave." I said as he was blocking the door.
"Why do you wish to leave?" he asked, still blocking the door.
"I-i have to go to umm... the Human World to umm... get some.... pie!" I blurted.
"That is not true." he said.
"It's because she came in as... Rukia and I were-"
"Kissing." finished Rukia.
"Hmm... you may leave." said Byakuya, stepping out of the way.
I ran out the door, bawling. I couldn't hold it in any longer. Kurosaki-kun shunpoed ahead of me, but I just shunpoed away from him. He stood there for a while, and then began to chase me. Although I seemed to be faster, he had a bit more experience with shunpo than I did. When I stumbled a bit, he got closer... and closer.... and closer until I turned around and just kicked him. He stopped chasing me and stood there, stunned. I stopped as well, breathing heavily. I was angry. I was upset. And most of all, I was heartbroken. After the Winter War, they had taught Ichigo how to open a Senkai gate so he could pass between worlds easily. He opened one for me and took me to Human World silently. When we reached the end of the seemingly never ending tunnel, he simply said, "I'm sorry." So Rukia is the rich girl who gets the prince, and I'm the simple, poor, peasant that gets her heart broken. Isn't that nice?