It was a wonderful day in the human world. They all were invited to a big event – why was it that big? They all saw it coming – at Urahara's basement. Almost all Soul Society was there, no one wanted to lose the opportunity of seeing the infamous Kurosaki Ichigo getting married.
Her husband, Renji, was sitting beside her, holding her hand as she looked at the man speaking on the stage in front of them.
"And I'm grateful to have a new beautiful daughter-in-law who loves my short-tempered, sullen brat of a son despite everything and turned into his personal ray of sunshine."
The crowd cheered as the man got down from the stage and gave his son and his new daughter-in-law a bear hug and sat on the table beside them.
Suddenly, a voice claimed for her on the background to take place on the stage, too. She looked up at her husband, who smiled at her and told her to go, then at the couple sitting at the table next to her, the man nodded and the woman gave her a big smile and nodded too.
So, she stood up, with her swollen feet and her big womb and moved slowly to the stage, Renji walking beside her. He got the microphone first, winking at her, and faced the crowd.
"I'd like to thank Ichigo for everything he has done for me, for us," he said as he took Rukia's hand in his and glanced at her belly "and I hope he and Orihime to be as happy as we are."
She looked at him with watery eyes, and then the newly wedded couple. Ichigo was looking at Orihime with that characteristic puppy eyes he gave her as she was crying her eyes out, and took a hand up to cup her cheek and dry her tears with his thumb.
Then, the same voice that claimed for her, Tatsuki apparently, yelled again.
"Rukia! It's your turn now!"
She smiled and Renji took a step back, lending her the microphone. She took slow steps – her feet hurt like hell – and stood in front of the microphone, facing the crowd, trying to figure out coherent sentences to say. Renji came back with a chair and motioned her to sit as he stood beside her, and she was grateful about it; but still struggling with her head. She turned her head around and whispered, "I don't even know what to say."
He smirked. "Take your time. Don't worry. Start at the very beginning."
Then, she faced the crowd again and started.
"I have been Ichigo's support since the day I met him, and I knew it would end up like this since the day I met Orihime."
x
"I remember the first day, when the fate – aka Aizen – made me meet him.
I tried to explain him, even with my draws, but the idiot – yes, idiot – just criticized my bunnies – how dare he? – so, I bind him with a kido spell.
And then, chaos arrived. We all know the story, I transfer him my powers and he defeats the hollow. I have to say, at the moment I was stunned by his power – how did he steal my powers if he was supposed to just get a bit of them? – but the thing that impressed me the most was his desire to protect."
Everyone nodded at it.
x
"I showed up the next day to his school, with Urahara's help," he looked at said man, as everyone did, and he smiled and waved, "and threatened to kill him if he dared to say a word."
Laugh filled the room, and she couldn't help it but join them. Even Ichigo was grinning.
"Later, I really tried to get him to help with my duties, but that idiot didn't want to. So I beat some sense into him," she said as she raised her fist, Ichigo rubbing the back of his head, "getting his soul out of his body and convincing him to do it."
x
"Days passed, but the idiot couldn't even distinguish if the drawing on the balls were hands or heads. I wondered why, if my ideal training idea should be 100% effective and my drawings are precise."
Ichigo snorted at this.
"I argued with him, when a voice called for him and startled us both. Guess who it was!"
Orihime was trying to put a finger on it, she saw, as Ichigo was turning into a tomato.
"I saw his change of demeanor instantly, he was nervous and tried to look cool. I was scoffing on the inside – what a loser – until the girl called out for me and I acquainted her, just like I had seen on my manga, now I realize it was awkward as hell because people normally don't bow down raising their skirts with both hands and stuff.
Ichigo noticed the girl's injured arm and started worrying crazy about it. I got worried too, and I noticed the mark on the girl's leg. While the idiot kept speaking with the girl, I was wondering, and I heard how he asked her why she was blushing, I tell you, he was such an idiot! But at least he offered her to walk her home."
Tatsuki was laughing out loud, and she felt proud about it.
"He kept worrying even after she left. He's such a loser. I asked him about her, and he told me the story. According to him, they weren't even close."
x
"The day I proved that wrong, I remember jumping out of the closet as I heard the alarm going off and got the idiot out of his body as the hollow appeared. He was impressed as he saw the hollow's identity, Inoue Sora." She nods to the man on the groom's and bride's family's table, who nods back at her, "And I wondered how did Ichigo know who it was if they weren't even close back then, but I said nothing and went with him to save her."
x
"We made it to Orihime's home, proving it wrong again, when he ran in her home's direction, I mean, if they weren't close, how did he know where it was? And he just jumped in the middle between her and the hollow, only to be thrown out to the street.
I had to remind him that if he failed, the hollow would eat her soul. So he went back again, and the next things I saw were flying limbs and heard Ichigo's speech about protecting as I went up through the building's gutters, wondering why that idiot couldn't even leave the door open."
x
"When I finally made it to the room, Orihime is falling to the ground, and Ichigo, the idiot, is panicking and yelling her name. I told him her could still be saved with my demonic arts and got onto it, I had to push Sora apart because he was getting in the way. Sora was lamenting, sorry about that," she said, raising a hand, and Sora smiled, "and Ichigo told him about the hairpins and how she was sad – and that proves my point even further, he surely did know a lot for someone who wasn't close to her – and when Sora stabbed himself with the zanpakutō, I assured Ichigo it was okay."
Orihime looked at Ichigo with an apologetic look, and he took her hand and looked at Rukia again.
"After Sora's disappearance, she reacted and tried to ask about everything, but I was quick and took out my memory replacer and used it on her and Tatsuki, leaving her inconscious. I swear, Urahara just sells weird merchandise. Kon is an example. Sorry about that, Orihime."
Urahara gave an innocent smile, earning a jab from Yoruichi.
"Ichigo freaked out, again, but I explained him and told him to wait until the next day. And just as I said, the memory replacer did replace them. They thought a sumo wrestler shot a bazooka at the wall. So that's how I met them both and I knew they were made for each other" she said, giving them a fond smile.
x
"Oh, and you should have seen him when Don Kanonji was coming to Karakura!"
She heard a 'Oh, no, the Don Kanonji thing no, please' in the audience and laughed.
"Sorry Ichigo, but I can't help but keep embarrassing you today. They asked for it."
People cheered for her, and she felt like a superstar.
"He was annoyed at everyone doing the bohahaha-thing, but with her, he didn't say a word! She's got him whipped from the very beginning." Ichigo was screaming internally as everyone laughed, she noticed, but kept talking. "She's an angel, she even apologized for doing it without knowing he despised it. But I'm not, so I did the bohahaha-thing to annoy him."
She was laughing so hard she was starting to tear up a little.
"And how could anyone tell me they weren't made for each other when they finished each other's sentences? Oh, yes, I mean that time spying on Ishida. I saw it all. Even her powers were born because of him. I'm like their number one fan. Sorry Chad."
She saw a thumb up from a giant man on one of the tables.
x
"It was the beginning when Renji and Nii-sama came to pick me up from Karakura. Renji, I didn't recognize you at the moment, sorry babe."
Said man was turning red and she couldn't help but giggle.
"And by the way, he's sorry about leaving you bleeding in a sidewalk, Ishida. But they were following orders."
x
"So, I left to Soul Society and I was sentenced to death, when Ichigo came with Chad, Ishida and Orihime, threw me into Renji's arms," she wriggled her brows at him, making him blush again "and fought nii-sama for my sake. I'm thankful, though. I owe you all my life. But, after the crazy fights, I wish I had a camera in that precise moment to show everyone the puppy eyes Ichigo gave Orihime. It was epic!"
Tatsuki snorted.
"And the Aizen deal. I wanted to pull my hair out when I came back from Soul Society and found both of them sulking and not talking to each other, it was so depressing! So I kicked him with the help of my babe, Renji, and that beat some sense into him. That technique really works!"
Renji smirked, Ichigo was frowning, and she felt satisfied.
"So, I dragged him towards her and made him apologize and promise her he would protect her! And she thanked me, and I felt really, really good."
A drunk Rangiku yelled from the far end.
"Woohoo Orihime! I told you! You are unique! That's it!"
x
"You know, it was curious Ichigo didn't want anyone sitting or standing on his bed," she glanced at him, and he was getting redder and redder, she smirked "and Orihime was the one and only exception."
She glanced again, and Ichigo and Orihime were almost the same shade of red. She couldn't help but laugh.
"And when Urahara, that heartless bastard told her to stay out, I couldn't help but console her and train with her at Soul Society. Ukitake-san was so proud of me being friends with her! But then, everything went downhill when they abducted her. I swear, I tried to help Ichigo right there, but I couldn't. And it really, really hurt to see Ichigo's look when they forbid him to go out and bring her back, he was so heartbroken!" she said as she wiped a tear "Sorry, I'm being a bit emotional, but all this hormonal stuff is making me crazy."
"By the way, I heard someone even punched him at school and he was devastated." She looked at Orihime, who was looking at Ichigo with her eyes full of concern. "I don't really want to know what will happen to him if he loses her again, and I would even put my life on risk to prevent that. And I know Renji would, too."
x
"Well, I don't really want to make this so sad, so let's skip it to Aizen's defeat, when he gave her puppy eyes again. I swear, she's the only one who gets that looks with such an easiness from him, because all of us must be almost in our deathbeds and say something sappy to earn that look from him."
The crowd was laughing. It looked like the half, influenced by Rangiku, was drunk already, and she decided to get to a closure.
"So, at the very end of our adventures, I must say I'm glad Ichigo is alive, Ishida didn't really betray us and I'm really, really grateful about how everything went since then. We lost wonderful people, some people lost more than others, but here we are. I'd like to cheer on Ichigo and Orihime, because we all saw this coming," everyone clapped at her words, "and, as Renji already said, I hope they will be as happy as we are, and I want them to know that even if we can't see each other in long times, we will have their backs, and we will forever be grateful to them."
an. whoa, i put the note in the end! wheee! if any of you were wondering, the x are pauses. i got the idea of rukia's monologue at the final chapter when she was joking about the clinic being empty, and a curious fact, if anyone was wondering, here it's supposed orihime found sora in ss and he remembered her and came to her wedding; but i didn't feel so sure about adding masaki too.
this writing thing is like therapy, i just realized, and it helps to get rid of the stress, well, in my case. and i'd like to apologize, in the start everything is cool, but the end is crap and it feels rushed. there were a lot of moments that i left out, but i feel it was going to be so long and sad and well, that. i liked a lot writing from rukia's perspective, and i tried so hard to make everyone on character, but i feel i failed a bit.
sorry about mistakes and stuff. reviews and favs and constructive criticism and everything is allowed!
edit figured out a couple of mistakes while re-reading, nothing big. and, for the one who asked, orihime is sitting in ichigo's bed in 486 ;D