Author's notes: for continuity purposes, this story takes place just before the Soul Society arc starts. Another thing to keep in mind is that my only experience with Bleach is the dubbed version of the anime.
--
It was a Saturday afternoon, and substitute soul reaper Ichigo Kurosaki was sitting in front of the T.V, flipping through channels in an attempt to find something entertaining. So far, his search had yet to bear fruit.
While he was looking for entertainment, his house guest and reason for taking up hollow slaying, Rukia Kucki, approached him. "How can you even tell if anything good is on if you only stay on each channel for a second?" she asked the orange haired teen.
"It's a guy thing," Ichigo responded as he continued flipping through channels.
"Ichigo, there's something I need to ask you."
"Shoot."
"You know that girl from school, Chizuru?" Rukia asked, and Ichigo shook his head no. "She has short red hair, wire frame glasses and immensely enjoys hugging Orihime, much to Tatsuki's displeasure."
"Oh her," Ichigo said. "What about her?"
"I don't understand her," Rukia said.
Ichigo stopped channel surfing and muted the T.V as he prepared to answer the dark haired girl's question. "Chizuru is what we in the human world call gay. This means..."
"That she is attracted to other girls," Rukia finished for him. "I know what homosexuality is Ichigo. That's what I meant."
"Then what don't you understand?"
"Chizuru is obviously infatuated with Orihime, but Orihime doesn't return those feelings at all. Probably because she isn't gay. In addition, Tatsuki doesn't seem to have any problems about using violence to quell Chizuru's lust. But despite all this, the bespectacled lesbian continues to persevere. I just don't understand why Chizuru hasn't abandoned her hope under all these circumstances."
"She's probably just too horny to know when she should give up," Ichigo answered. "Is that all?"
"Yes," Rukia answered. She left, knowing that that was all the input from Ichigo she would receive. But Ichigo was only one of several people she was planning to ask while she gathered a varied source of information on Chizuru.
When Rukia left, Ichigo turned his attention back to the T.V and saw that he had stopped it on a super sentai show. I can't think of anything more embarrassing than being an actor on one of those shows, the orange haired teen thought before changing the channel.
--
The next day, Rukia went over to Tateski's place to get her input. "Tatsuki, why do you think Chizuru continues to lust after Orihime when all she'll get for her efforts is interference from you?"
"I don't know," the karate champ said. "Maybe I'm not hitting her hard enough."
"Possibly," Rukia said. "What do you have against Chizuru anyway?"
"I've been looking after Orihime since before her brother died," Tatsuki began. "She's like the little sister I always wanted. I want to protect her from anybody who would want to hurt or take advantage of her. Can you imagine what kind of things that horny dike would have done to Orihime if I wasn't around?"
"I'd rather not. You know, Orihime could do a lot worse than an over zealous lesbian."
"She could also do a lot better too."
"Good point," Rukia said. "Tatsuki, for the sake of argument, let's say that one day Orihime wakes up and decides that she wants to return Chizuru's feelings. How would you feel about that?"
Tatsuki remained silent for a few moments while she formulated a response. "If that's what Orihime wants, then I would be cool with it," she said. "But if that four eyed lesbo ever hurt Orihime, then I'd make her regret the day that she was ever born," Tatsuki declared as she held her fist in front of her and her eyes practically burned with passion.
"I bet you would," Rukia said, having no doubt that Tatsuki would do just that. Now that she had gotten input from Ichigo and Tatsuki regarding the object of her curiosity, there was just one place left to get more information: the source herself. Rukia thanked Tatsuki for her contribution and left.
--
The following day after school, Rukia located Chizuru and approached the bespectacled lesbian. "Hello Chizuru," Rukia said.
"Hello Rukia," Chizuru said with a wide smile. "What can I do for you today?"
"First off, I'm not gay and not interested in you," Rukia said flatly, derailing whatever fantasies Chizuru might have going in that hormone addled imagination of hers.
"That's okay," the red haired vagitarian said with a cheerful exterior. Damn it, she added in her head.
"Any way Chizuru," the dark haired girl continued, "I want to ask you about your feelings for Orihime. She doesn't return your advances in any way and all you get for your efforts is a thrashing from Tatsuki. But despite this, you continue to shower her with affection in the hopes that it will yield results. What I'm trying to get at here is, why haven't you given up hope?"
Chizuru took a sigh while having a longing expression on her face before answering. "I am well aware that the chances of Hime actually returning my feelings are quite small. After all, most girls our age don't share my preferences. Plus, Tatsuki's already made her claim."
"What?" Rukia said in bewilderment, then realized that Chizuru was implying that Tatsuki had the same feelings for Orihime that she did. "Oh, they're just friends."
"Yeah, and I'm into guys," Chizuru said, sarcasm dripping off every word. "Why do you think she has such a problem with me showering Hime with affection? But before you answer that, think about this: if you were to guess whether Tatsuki or I were gay judging by appearances alone, who would you guess?"
"Ummmmm," Rukia said in stunned silence as she failed to come up with a response.
"Anyway, getting back to your question about me not giving up hope. I know that I'll probably never be as close to Hime as I'd like, but as long as there's still hope, I'm not giving up," Chizuru said with a look of determination in her eyes. "Besides, groping her is enough fun in and of itself."
Rukia was surprised to see the look of conviction in the red haired lesbian's eyes. She thanked Chizuru for answering her question and the two girls parted ways. As she walked away, Rukia came to the decision that Chizuru's determination should be rewarded. And she had just the plan in mind.