A/N: Ok so this is my first Renji/Orihime fic and the idea just came to me and wrote itself all out. It is kinda long, but since this is where the story kind of ended for me right now I left it all one chapter. I may think about going on with it and adding some more (maybe a lemon?) but I've never written one of those before so it will take me a while to get it right. Please let me know what you think though so I can decide if I want to ever write another Renji/Orihime and/or continue this one. I've read several and I wanted to try and contribute!
The point of view shifts and I tried to keep it coherent and put a separation line to show you where the POV changes. Let me know if I can do anything to make it clearer.
I threw back another shot of sake and scowled at the gathering going on around me. "God I'm a glutton fer punishment. Why'd I come to this again?"
"Hell if I know," Hisagi answered from my left. Shit, now I was talking out loud without realizing it. Not that it really mattered, the only person who could hear me in this place was Hisagi.
I let my eyes scan over all the familiar faces laughing and enjoying the party. And then they fell on her. She was as beautiful as ever with her tiny frame wrapped in a simple black dress, her hair done as normal, and everything about her looking the same as I've always remembered. A smile lit her face into the bright star I knew she was and I watched as the brat stepped up and wrapped her small frame into his.
I tore my eyes away and downed 2 more shots of sake. Hisagi's eyes slid to me and then over the scene I had watched and he shook his head.
"I still can't believe you came either. Let alone that you shook his fucking hand and congratulated him. I was kinda hopin' you'd punch him and we'd have a good brawl."
I shook my head. "Nah, he won fair and square. He can protect her and I can't. He wins." I picked up the bottle this time and just drank directly from it.
HISAGI POV
I frowned at my friend. I knew better than to give the guy the 'there-are-other-fish-in-the-sea' speech; he wouldn't listen. What my buddy really needed was to realize he wasn't as unworthy as he thought he was.
There were literally hundreds of girls dying for his attention. Even at this very moment, I could see several of the people in the bar/restaurant the engagement party was being held in eyeing my friend appreciatively. I caught the eyes of one of my fellow soul reapers. Matsumoto was sitting at the bar, her hand on the back of the equally curvaceous mortal girl who could have been her sister. I could see from their posture that they were in the same predicament as me and Renji.
The human girl was stirring the umbrella in her drink idly and glancing longingly every now and then to the lovely couple cuddling nearby. Matsumoto sent me a look that said she wanted to speak with me and whispered something to the girl who only looked like she vaguely realized she had been spoken to. I passed a feeble excuse of going to the restroom to Renji and met her at a table nearby.
"We have to do something with these two. It's ridiculous. They are both amazing people that the opposite sex, and some of the same ones, would jump at a chance with, but they're too wrapped up in their heartbreak to realize it." She smiled a little.
I smiled back, "I don't think Renji's ever even realized how wanted he is. I tried to get him to go to one of the clubs out in the Rukon once, hoping he'd realize how many girls were interested, but he refused to go."
"A club….," Matsumoto mused a light going on inside her mind. Her eyes slid to her friend at the bar and then to her co-worker at the corner table. They would have to change their clothes, but a good night of party was what anyone needed to cheer up!
I caught the look she was giving our friends and I knew where she was going. I put my hands up in surrender, "If you can convince him to go, I'm game."
Matsumoto's grin widened. She sashayed over to the corner table and sat down. Renji raised his head and looked at her. "If yer lookin' fer drinks your SOL. This table's dry."
She giggled. "You know what you need?" she asked.
"More sake?" he asked seriously.
She laughed again, "Partially. You need a change of scenery, some stronger alcohol, louder noise, and some appreciation."
He looked at her, "Don't think yer gonna find anyplace for tha last bit."
She shook her head at him, "In the mortal world, there's this strange thing called a rebound. Basically, you use another person to get over someone else."
Renji scowled at her, "No one should ever use someone else." He insisted. She shook her head, "What if that person was just using you too? That's the trick really. Two heartbroken souls use each other to get over whoever hurt them. It's a human thing. They just need to be reassured that they are still wanted after losing someone they loved."
"Yea, well I ain't human." He grunted at her.
"But you could use some appreciation, and I'm sure a human girl would appreciate your assistance in her road to heartbreak recovery. You're such a caring guy, I'm sure you wouldn't let an opportunity to help someone pass you by." She slid a business card across the table to him. "If you decide to go, just tell the door-man I sent you."
She got up and went back to the bar, winking at Hisagi as she passed. She reached her human friend and looked down, "Alright Orihime, let's go. We're getting you a rebound." By this time, Orihime didn't much care what they did if she could get out of this place. She nodded and followed Matsumoto out of the bar. Matsumoto led her to a close-by store where the owner greeted Matsumoto warmly. They talked a bit and before she knew it, Matsumoto and the store owner had shoved her into a fitting room with several outfits to choose from.
Matsumoto smiled to herself. She knew that Renji and Orihime had more in common than they were willing to admit. She was going to use every ounce of cunning she possessed to get these two together for a good rebound. The first few pieces had been placed, if the boys showed up at the club, everything would fall into place.
Hisagi returned to the table where Renji stared down at the card Matsumoto had given him. The logo read "Hole-N-the-Wall." Hisagi smiled. "Oh man, Rangiku invited you to the Hole?"
Renji regarded him, "Yeah. Ya been?
"Only once, and I don't really remember anything except that it was wild." Hisagi grinned wider at the non-memories.
"Don't remember huh?" That sounded excellent to Renji. He glanced across the room and caught a glimpse of the kissing couple, "Let's go then."
Hisagi regarded his friend for a minute. "Alright, but we gotta get you changed first."
They hit Urahara's shop and Hisagi picked out a simple sleeveless black shirt and jeans for them both. Renji threw a black bandana over his brow tats and nodded to his friend, "You gonna mask those?" he asked in reference to the tats Hisagi sported. He laughed.
"Nah. Trust me the Hole won't care. In fact, last time I was there they seemed to like them pretty well. Can't wait to see what they think about you."
"You're going to the Hole?" Urahara asked, his smile barely hidden behind his fan.
"You know it? What's it like?" Renji asked fastening a belt to his waist.
"The hole is a place downtown, where all the 'freaks' go. Or at least that is how they advertise it." He shrugged. "I went once. Wall to wall bodies and noise, pretty much your top notch club experience. But how are you two getting in? They're pretty selective."
Hisagi grinned, "Rangiku." Urahara grinned back, "That'll do it."
The guys hit the club within 30 minutes of leaving the other bar. Renji stepped up to the line of people clamoring to get in, and Hisagi laughed and nodded his head to the front of the line. The two walked past the queue of people right up to the bouncer.
The guy was eerily reminiscent of Captain Zaraki. He was huge and broad with a scar across his face and his hair up in spikes similar to the Eleventh squad captain. He looked down at them, "Yeah?" Hisagi pulled out the card Rangiku had given them.
"Ran sent us." He said one hand still in his pocket as he flipped the card over to show the kiss print on the back.
The bouncer cracked a big smile, "She comin' out tonight? Ain't seen her in ages."
"Yeah she'll be here." The guy nodded to them and let them inside.
Urahara had been right. The place was basically wall-to-wall people. The music was loud and the air held a sense of inebriation and exhilaration.
Renji looked around him and trailed behind Hisagi to the bar. They sat and had a few drinks. He nodded to the DJ raised up on a platform, whose hair was stark white. The DJ was pulling a shirt over his head and now that Renji looked around many of the people seemed to be missing articles of clothing.
"What's with the guy up there?" he asked Hisagi.
"He's called a DJ. He controls the music in the place and thus basically runs the place. Just listen to the lyrics he plays and do as they say and you'll fit right in."
Renji regarded the advice. He listened carefully to the music playing, the bass making it almost impossible to decipher the lyrics. He finally picked up the chorus which was basically a brainwashing repetition of commands. He watched mesmerized as the crowd blindly followed the orders to "Get low, low,low." The whole place was moving as provocatively as possible to get as close to the floor as they could.
"It's just like Rangiku said," Hisgai told him, "They're all here to make themselves feel wanted and appreciated."
Renji nodded. Maybe he would need some more drinks before he was willing to wander into the fray.
It took an hour, but they finally made their way to the club, Orihime had long since given up on trying to oppose Rangiku. She had managed to tone her outfit down to consist of her shortest school skirt in a light gray and a tank top Rangiku had picked out that zipped in both directions. Rangiku had managed to get her to leave the bottom zipper up enough to expose her bellybutton, but she insisted that the top zipper stay at the top to cover her cleavage. Rangiku shrugged. She strode past the line of people outside the club, stumbling a bit in the high heeled boots Ran had forced her into. She got to the front of the line to see a large man smiling menacingly at them both.
"Ran!" he shouted, "Long time no see! And who is this flower you've brought with ya?"
Rangiku shoved her into the large man's view, "This is my little sister. She's here to get her mind off a jerk guy who broke her heart."
The bouncer nodded, "Ain't no better place. Hey, coupla tattooed dudes came in about a half hour ago with one o' yer cards."
Rangiku nodded, "Excellent. See ya, Jet."
And then she was swept inside the club. Somehow Rangiku managed to maneuver them to the bar area closest to the DJ platform and had a drink for the both of them before Orihime had gotten her bearings.
She absent-mindedly took a drink of the beverage and was delighted to find that Ran had given up on serving her alcohol and she had a lovely fruit juice. She quickly downed it and asked for another.
After her third juice Rangiku touched her wrist, "Take it easy killer."
Orihime's eyes went wide, "This has alcohol in it?"
Rangiku laughed, "Of course it does. They don't serve anything that doesn't here."
Rangiku's eyes scanned the crowd and she easily spotted her co-workers near the center of the fray. The two were the center of attention as Hisagi had somehow convinced Renji they were in a battle of some sort. She smiled to herself, boys had to battle over everything.
Rangiku easily recognized most of the moves as forms and steps from the two's different sword styles, but all the crowd could see was two tattoed guys going toe-to-toe in a dance off. Perfect. She had a few words with the DJ about her plans for the night and scanned the club to make sure the rest of her pawns were in place.
Renji had originally been leery of joining the fray of bodies. He wasn't much of a dancer. As he watched though he saw two men face each other. He smiled to himself knowing the body language and waiting for the impending brawl. But to his surprise the men didn't actually strike one another. One would step forward to perform a set of moves before allowing the other to step forward and attempt to one-up the stunts he had performed.
Hisagi nodded at the two, "Ain't got nuthin on our moves. We should go show 'em what's what."
Renji grinned. Why not? He and Hisagi made it to the center just as the first battle came to an end. Hisagi stepped into the open circle and inclined his head at Renji bringing his hands up and gesturing for him to 'bring-it-on.'
Renji stepped into the circle coming toe to toe with Hisagi, the beat of the music turning heated as the DJ set the mood. The two circled each other for a bit before Hisagi began some simple footwork of a mid-level sword form. And then the battle had continued, each attempting to win the crowd's favor. It didn't take long until the airborne stunts and acrobatics began.
Orihime watched the group and recognized the red-head moving with such strength and power. She and Renji had become friends of sorts, comforting each other from the heartache they were both suffering. She just couldn't understand how Rukia could have even thought about Ichigo with Renji right there. He was ridiculously attractive, and he obviously cared deeply for the girl, always being there when she needed him. It didn't make any sense at all. But she knew sometimes love didn't make any sense. She absentmindedly took another sip of her drink as her mind ran down the laundry list of reasons Rukia should have chosen Renji instead of Ichigo.
The battle came to a close without a real winner and the two men grasped hands and did the strange sort of man hug hand shake.
As the little battle came to a close, the circle disappeared and people flooded the area pressing into him. Renji wasn't sure how to react as several girls immediately pressed themselves into him writhing to the new beat that had flowed seamlessly from the last. He glanced over at Hisagi, who was in the same position. Hisagi was enjoying himself, one hand settled on the hip of a girl pressed to his front and his other reached forward to rest on the hip of the girl pressed into her. Renji relaxed a bit and lay his hands lightly on the hips of the girl in front of him.
Rangiku saw her opportunity as the battle neared an end and grabbed Orihime dragging her to the dance floor. Rangiku was a bit slow and as she neared the boys the next song began and her advancement was quickly cut off by the women who quickly swooped down on the men. She bid her time pulling Orihime close to her and swaying to the music.
At first Orihime had been a bit embarrassed as Rangiku had spun her around and pressed their bodies together front to front as she began to sway to the music, but the alcohol quickly set in and she laughed joyously as she enjoyed a dance with her friend.
Laughter reached his ears and Renji looked about him for the source. His eyes came to rest on the girl pressed into him. Big mistake. She was a tiny girl with dark hair and she was looking up at him with dark eyes and all he could see was Rukia. He pressed her roughly away from himself and took a step back. He was just about to make his way toward the exit when Rangiku stepped towards him.
She looked toward the girl he had been dancing with and leaned backward, away from the girl dancing with her to yell at his ear, "You need someone who isn't anything like her. Come on. Dance with me."
Renji nodded and stepped forward to Rangiku as he fell into rhythm with her. She smiled to herself and she felt the man behind her fall into rhythm with the girl in front of her. With practiced ease, Rangiku implemented her plan. With Renji pressed to her back and Orihime's back now pressed to her front she swiftly and seamlessly flowed out dance move after dance move that were actually well crafted placements of the two dancing with her.
She held Orihime's hands, her arms wrapped around the girl and in a fluid motion she turned her body to the side as she unwrapped her arms without letting go of the girl's hands, manipulating their positions to easily turn Orihime around pressing her back into the man behind them. She didn't leave immediately keeping Orihime's attention as she stayed in front of her.
Her hands easily bringing the group together without their realization, one hand grasped in Renji's and the other wrapped in Orihime's hair. She easily tugged on the girl's hair, tilting her head back easily onto Renji's shoulder, as she pressed harder into the girl to insist her body be flush against the one behind her. She pressed one of Renji's hands to Orihime's hip. She was the master of this game, and both Orihime and Renji reacted to her movements without chance to realize how easily she was manipulating them.
Now that she had Orihime thoroughly pressed into Renji behind her, Renji's hand on her hip and Orihime's covering it instinctively, she made one last move and raised Orihime's hand in her own releasing it when it was completely extended in the air as she stepped away quickly.
Orihime was a bit surprised when Rangiku switched their positions and she found herself pressed into a new body; a tall, strong, warm, hard body at that.
Her eyes flared open and Rangiku smiled easily at her leaning forward and yelling in her ear, "He's a friend. You remember Renji don't you?"
Orihime's head unconsciously tilted back in response to the tug on her hair and she lay her head on the man behind her, looking into his face. She did recognize him. More than Rangiku could possibly know. He was the one who had so often shared in her misery over the loss of Ichigo.
She closed her eyes again trying not to think about the new happy couple and focusing only on the beat and moving her body. Her hand was lifted up and suddenly let go, she quickly found purchase on whatever was closest as her heavy limb fell, wrapping it around the neck of the man behind her.
His hands where splayed at her hips, his hands so big that his fingers easily stretched down her thighs and around her stomach. One of her hands covering his as his grip was tight at her waist, the other arm stretched up and around his neck her hand gripped in his hair. She was in her own world, her own fantasy as her mind conjured up Ichigo's image.
It was his hands splayed across her hips, his lean body supporting her and moving against hers so seductively, his hair her hands buried in. She squeezed her eyes closed as her hands sifted through the long silky locks in her hands and the grip on her hips hardened almost bruising in its strength. It felt good. But this had never happened in her fantasies before. Ichigo would never press so hard, he treated her like glass. And Ichigo wasn't this deliciously broad or this chiseled, and his hair certainly wasn't this deliciously long. Her fantasy shifted slowly as the image of the real man behind her invaded and she relaxed even more into his embrace feeling more comfortable than before.
Her eyes flashed open to meet the black ones trained on her. It really was Renji! Her breath caught in her throat and just as she was about to step away from the blazing look he was giving her a bright light fell over them and the crowd was pushing them both toward the DJ stand.
Renji knew Rangiku was up to something and as she turned the copper haired mortal into him he realized what it was. He and Orihime had gotten to know each other well during the time that Ichigo and Rukia had been dating. Companions in rejection they had consoled each other often.
He couldn't understand how Ichigo had walked away from her. How he had no seen the amount of love the girl was willing to give so selflessly. She was gorgeous and sweet and funny.
Rangiku's words from earlier drifted back to him, "They just need to be reassured that they are still wanted after losing someone they loved… You're such a caring guy…" Rangiku had been setting him up to help Orihime all along. He sighed as he looked over her. The problem was he had been becoming more and more attached to her as they got to know each other. Just like Rangiku had said, he needed someone who wasn't like Rukia.
Orihime was sweet and nice without much bite to her, she was innocent and pure and simple. She was quiet and loving. She wasn't like Rukia. She was always worried about others more than herself. He had that in common with her. As he held her he realized the physical differences as well. Orihime had a bigger frame than Rukia with many more curves, but she was still small wrapped in his larger form. Her hair was bright and long and thick, and her movements graceful and fluid.
She was clinging to him, her arm around his neck and her back arched into him her head laid on his shoulder so that every exhale sent a puff of hot breath onto his neck. She was alluring, and not just because of their current position. Her body was that of a pin-up, but she exuding this aura of innocence that made him want to protect her. She was beautiful and sweet and caring, as he easily remembered from her interactions with Rukia. How she could still be so pleasant to the person tearing her heart apart he would never know.
Ichigo had for some unknown reason turned her away. He had picked Rukia instead, she was the 2nd place just like he was. She should be hurting, she should feel like him, like she wasn't wanted by anyone, yet here she was pressed into him, looking for all the world like he was the one thing anchoring her to the Earth. Her eyes flashed open and he wasn't sure if he saw surprise or if they had widened in response to the spotlight that had fell over them.
The DJ's voice came over the speakers, "And now it's time for tonight's take it off!" He announced to the crowd who cheered and pushed the two of them toward the DJ platform.
He looked at the platform and saw Matsumoto talking with the DJ. She was up to something. Some other people had been caught in other spotlights and they too were being ushered to the platform. His heart caught as he realized that everyone being ushered to the platform were people from the engagement party earlier. It seemed the afterparty and been moved to the Hole. He stepped onto the platform and looked down to see Rukia and Ichigo making their way to the space next to him and Orihime on the platform.
His mind steeled against it, but he looked down to see the girl next to him turn away with tears in her eyes. He gathered her close to him and leaned down to whisper to her. "Don't let him get to you. You're here to forget about him. He forgot about you, so show him what he's missing, what he let go."
She looked up at him her eyes shining with unshed tears but she nodded, a spark of resolve lighting her eyes. Rangiku made her way over to them. She grinned and whispered something to Orihime whose eyes went wide as she blushed shaking her head emphatically. Rangiku gave her a stern look and shot her gaze to Ichigo and Rukia who had made it to the platform next to them. The resolve renewed and Orihime smiled, happily wrapping herself up in Renji's arms.
He was about to ask what was going on when he heard the incredulous voices of Rukia and Ichigo, "Renji!" "Orihime!" they cried in unison.
Orihime pretended to only just notice them, slowly untangling herself from Renji, "OH! Kurosaki-kun, Kuchki-san."
She smiled brightly at them both as she ran her hand down Renji's chest and slipped it around his waist. He instantly realized her game. She wasn't going to let that brat think he had broken her, she was going to show him someone wanted her, even if he didn't. And she was going to use him to do so. Her eyes flicked up to him, pleading silently to go with the charade.
He looked at the couple that had caused them both so much pain still wrapped up in each other. They deserved it. Maybe they would realize what they had given up, what they had done to the two them this whole time. His arm slipped around her waist easily as he grinned at her.
"What are you two doing here?" Rukia questioned him, her tone a bit sharp.
"What are you doing with him?" Ichigo asked Orihime more heatedly when neither answered right away.
Orihime faltered a bit at the hurt in his tone and took a step toward him, "Kurosaki-kun," she said softly.
Renji reached forward and wrapped his arms around her waist anchoring her to him as he stepped up to look at the heartbreakers over her head.
"Relax, Kurosaki. Hime likes to dance," he ran his eyes purposefully across Orihime's body, "an' ya can't let a woman who looks like this just go out by herself. There's some real jerks out there." He purposefully stressed the work jerk narrowing his eyes on Ichigo. "So when she feels like it, I take 'er out dancin' and keep the creeps at bay."
Orihime nodded seeing the anger on Ichigo's face. How could he be angry? He had no right! He had never given her the time of day, so he had no room to tell her who she could and couldn't go out with. Her anger fueled her. She smiled up at Renji leaning into his embrace, "Yeah, Renji's a great dancer."
Rukia regarded them slowly not sure why she felt a bit hurt, "Oh. I didn't know you dance," she said .
Renji shrugged, "Only when Hime feels like it."
All of the people singled out by the spot light had made it to the platform, 2 couples on one side of the DJ's table and a couple and single guy on the other.
The DJ grabbed a mic and wrapped an arm around Rangiku. He stepped up to the middle of the platform, "Alright all you low-lifes and freaks!" The crowd roared. "You know what time it is!"
"TIME TO TAKE IT OFF!" the crowd yelled back.
"That's right and tonight we have some friends of our own Rangiku!" He handed the mic to Rangiku as the crowd roared their approval.
She stepped forward, "So without further ado, let me introduce you to tonight's 'take-it-off' spotlighters!" She started at the end farthest from Renji and Orihime, "Ladies let's hear it for Lieutenant Hisagi Shuuhei, he's currently single," she touched the chains around his biceps, "and as you can see, he likes some chains!" The women in the crowd screamed and Hisagi shot Rangiku a glare.
She moved to the next contestant, "And here we have Urahara Kisuke. Sorry ladies he's taken, and you don't wanna go against this lovely lady. Ms. Youruichi won't show mercy. He's an intellectual, who likes a little mystery." The crowd whistled and hooted.
She crossed over to Rukia and Ichigo, "And here we have a couple love birds. Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchki have just announced their engagement. So this is Ichigo's last chance to share this body with the rest of us!" The crowd again showed their approval.
RENJI'S POV
By now I had gathered that this was some sort of ritual done at the club that required men to take their clothes off. I was pretty sure it was just the shirts, but with Matsumoto you could never tell.
She walked over to me and gave an introduction, "And last, but certainly not least, we have lieutenant Renji Abarai, or as I like to say 'Abunai, Abarai.' Ladies this is a serious bad boy and all I can say is he's got more tattoos than even I know….. so Renji… how about letting us know? Just how far down do these tats go?"
The crowd roared and the DJ took the mic from Rangiku. "So let's get to it, freaks and geeks." He reached behind him to start the music and the song came on. He reached down and removed his shirt as Rangiku sang along to the song and ran a hand down the bare chest he had revealed. All the rest of us looked at each other until the chorus started and the crowd began chanting, "TAKE IT OFF, TAKE IT OFF!"
Ichigo and Rukia were looking skeptical and I turned to Orihime, "You heard 'em." I said to her raising my arms above my head. She blushed a little catching the stares of the couple to our left and reached for the bottom of my shirt. She pulled it up over my head and stared.
She had been the only person bold enough to actually ask me how many tattoos I had. We had talked about them and she knew they were there, but she had never seen them. Her hand seemed to go up without her consent running slowly over the black ink, following the dips and rises of my muscles. The action was met with roars of approval.
She blushed again as the reaction woke her up. She stepped out of the way and women in the crowd screamed. She giggled a bit at the reaction and I reached over to pull her to me as I moved her to the beat. I glanced along the row and saw each of the contestants shirtless and a basket set in front of each of them. I realized slowly that the crowd was throwing money into the baskets voting for their favorite.
I grinned. I was a really competitive person. It wasn't really that I wanted to win, but god I wanted to beat that strawberry.
I leaned down to Orihime's ear. "Time for a show," I told her.
I turned her away from me a bit and started in on the best moves I knew. I had watched enough people to realize that what was considered amazing was either something that showed a lot of physical strength, or anything that showed an ability to isolate one particular part of the body at a time. I worked her into my routine and she was really good on her own, following along seamlessly. She ran a hand down my chest as she slithered toward the ground and stopped as the song ended, her head pressed into my hip, one arm wrapped around my leg and the other hooked into the top of my boxers, pulling just enough to reveal the edge of a black line leading down.
I chanced a side look and saw Rukia standing behind Ichigo her hands wrapped around him from behind, but her eyes were on me, wide with surprise and narrowed in on the black line at my hip. 'Heh,heh,' I thought. She didn't know about any of the tats that weren't on my upper body.
Ichigo too was staring at us, but his eyes were on Orihime nestled to my side. She must have notice it too because she winked a bit and then the little minx turned her head and ran her tongue across the mark at my hip! My hand wrapped in her hair of its own accord and I hauled her up crushing her to me feeling skin on skin where her tank top exposed her stomach. I had both hands wrapped in her hair and I was looking down at her with what I was sure was a predatory gaze.
The DJ interrupted my train of thought to declare Kisuke Urahara the winner, myself 2nd and Hisagi 3rd. I took pleasure in the win over the strawberry and walked over to him. He jerked his head toward the bar and I followed him there.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he asked angrily.
I held up my hands, "Hey, it ain't my fault. She pulled that little stunt all on 'er own. "
"I'm taking her home," he said pushing past me. I stayed him with my hand on his shoulder.
"The hell ya are. She's here to forget about yer blind ass. You made yer choice and ya have no say in what she does now. I'll take 'er home, because I'm the one she wants to take 'er home now."
He narrowed his eyes at me and shrugged off my restraining hand, walking to where she stood with Rukia.
ORIHIME'S POV
Renji and Ichigo walked toward the bar and I was left standing with Rukia. She looked a bit disappointed.
"So you and Renji…." She began as we left the stage, "How long have you guys been…. I mean. I didn't even know he liked dancing and had tattoos on his hip."
I shrugged trying to figure out how I knew any of those things. He and I had often hung out. When Rukia and Ichigo ran off together we were often stuck together, and rather than stay at Urahara's shop he had started staying with me. We had a lot to talk about.
"For a while," I said vaguely. "He's a great guy. A good friend who's always there when you need him. Honestly, I'm having a bit of a hard time losing Ichigo, and Renji's been an amazing friend to keep my mind off of him. He says I should realize that plenty of other guys want me."
Rukia looked at me a bit surprised. I had never been that honest with her about my feelings for Ichigo. I don't know what had gotten into me. I was being vindictive and mean, but maybe it was all the niceness that was not letting me move on. I was angry inside. I was hurt and angry and if I didn't let those feelings out I would never let them go.
I slid my gaze over to where the two boys were talking. "You know he loved you," I said simply to Rukia. Her eyes grew even wider. "But you never noticed him and he never thought he was good enough for you." I shrugged.
Meeting her gaze with serious eyes I could see the thoughts run through her mind, "He was wrong though. He's too good for you Rukia. And I have to thank you for two things. 1) for making me realize Ichigo was never going to notice me and 2) for never noticing Renji." I turned as the two guys joined us and I smiled brightly.
Ichigo looked really angry as I went straight to Renji and wrapped my arms around his still bare torso. Ichigo reached forward and grabbed my arm, "Come on, I'm taking you home."
I narrowed my eyes at him and jerked my arm out of his grasp. "No. Renji will take me home. He's staying at my place anyways. You should take your fiancé home." I stressed the word, melting myself as close to Renji's side as possible. "Don't worry about me. Renji takes good care of me."
Ichigo snorted, "Since when."
"Since you've been running off to take care of Rukia," I challenged. I turned to Renji, "Come on let's go."
Ichigo clenched his hands in fists and Rukia raised her hand to his shoulder. "It's too late Ichigo. We noticed too late what we were leaving behind. Let's go. Let them be."
Rangiku watched from a ways away. Things were not happening the way they were supposed to! Arms wrapped around her waist and she felt kisses at her neck, "Not going according to plan?" a voice whispered in her ear.
She turned around in his arms, "Hisagi, they were just supposed to be rebounds for one another." He shrugged at me, "Maybe that's what you intended, but you didn't know they had history. Those two deserve each other. They've been talking each other through heartbreak for months now. They deserve happiness."
Rangiku stared at him with wide eyes, "You knew?"
Hisagi shrugged, "I can see when a couple is good together. Plus he's mentioned her to me a few times. The only times I've seen him smile in the least bit."
Rangiku grinned. "And what makes you smile…. Huh Shuuhei?"
He grinned back, "Well earlier you mentioned some chains….."