On Faeries' Wings, In Dancing Snow
"Friendship isn't about whom you've known the longest…It's about who came and never left your side."
- Anonymous
Impressions –
The first time Kuchiki Rukia met Inoue Orihime, she thought her an airhead and a clumsy ditz. Several months down the line, it may be Ichigo who saved her by the skin of her teeth from her execution and from Aizen, but it was the pretty human who enveloped her in a warm, too-tight embrace "I'm so glad you're alright, Kuchiki-san!" that causes Rukia to break down into tears and know that she is finally safe.
Blood –
This was embarrassment to the point of disgrace and shame. And she had no one to turn to, no one whom she can ask for help.
Forget Ichigo. He's a guy, and a completely insensitive dolt at that.
His sisters? Too young to understand things like the red moon cycle.
So who in the name of the Soul King could she-
"Kuchiki-san?" A light tap sounded on Ichigo's closet door.
Orihime took one look into Rukia's distressed violet ones before she ushered Ichigo, his sisters and his father out of the orange-haired teenager's bedroom. Gently, sliding the closet door open, Orihime handed the flustered female Shinigami a spare change of clothes (Orihime's PE uniform – but Rukia isn't complaining) and a sanitary napkin.
"Don't worry Kuchiki-san, I'll go buy some more after school today."
Her first thought is, "How did she guess?"
Her second thought is, "How lucky to have a nakama who is so understanding."
Sister –
Rukia could not remember the face of her older sister. Even after Nii-sama's explanation of the Truth of Rukia's past and her adoption into the Kuchiki clan, that elder sibling was always a fuzzy mirage, always referred to first and foremost in her mind as "Hisana-sama".
It's in moments when she sees the photo and the shrine Orihime dedicates to her older brother, or now, when Orihime is healing her under the golden shield of the Shun Shun Rika that irrational thoughts play with her mind.
"What would it be like to have Inoue as a sister?"
Celery –
Rukia could never look at another stalk of celery in the same way after she met Inoue without smiling.
She always remember how her auburn-headed friend expertly twirled a stalk of celery in her hand, like a baton, the day they met.
Unnatural –
Friendship. Caring for others. … How tiring. … I really have stayed in the Human World for too long.
So when Inoue invites her to go to the arcade or try different homemade concoctions, Rukia always smiles and politely declines. "Maybe another time." Leave me alone…please…
Her heart lurches at the sight of Arisawa's protectiveness over Orihime, the black-haired girl's roughhousing of the lecherous Chizuru, and the friendly banter and jokes at lunchtime. Don't take part in it.
Stay away from them.
Stay away from me.
Don't become attached…no matter what…
Captivity –
"It's believed that Orihime Inoue has been abducted by the Arrancar, or possibly already killed."
"Ukitake-taichou!"
Her shout, the first of many retorts and signs of disbelief, surprises herself. Since when did she become attached to the pretty girl?
That point was irrelevant. Rukia knows about captivity. She knows about the fear and the loneliness of being held, waiting for death. She knows about the joy of friends arriving to rescue her, when despair has robbed her of all hope or incentive to live.
She knows.
And that's why she is accepting cloaks from Byakuya-nii-sama and currently dashing into the Senkaimon with Renji. Orihime did not let Rukia die when the latter was incarcerated and given a death sentence.
And nothing, nothing in the Seven Hells, Aizen's Hougyouku or the demons of Rukia's past are going to stop her from reaching and saving her human friend.
"Hang on, Inoue. I'm coming. Just hang on a little longer."
Innocent –
Rukia has seen bloodshed and her Shinigami peers torn apart by Hollows. She has killed her former mentor Kaien-dono to stop his horrific Hollow attacks, piercing him through with Sode no Shiraiyuki.
Rukia is jaded, and on more than one occasion, just a tad cynical. "You can be a complete bitch!" is how Kurosaki Ichigo puts in, when his anger and annoyance at 'the midget' overwhelms him.
So when Rukia finds a pink origami rabbit on her classroom desk one morning, she is surprised and more than a little touched.
In neat writing on the paws of the rabbit were the words, Have a good day, Kuchiki-san. :)
Change –
Too many things change, not just in Life, but more often in Death.
Her friendship with Renji.
The elevation of her status when adopted into one of the most prestigious, if not the most prestigious, clan in the Seireitei.
The truth about Nii-sama's secret – and by extension, her late older sister's.
The different enemies which came and went, attacking Soul Society or Karakura Town.
But the one defining constant is Orihime, who is always there after an injury or attack with her healing shield, her bandages and her surprisingly delicious chicken soup.
And Rukia prays, in the silence of her rooms, under the silent watch of Night, that Kami-sama would not be so cruel as to change that last shred of happiness she has.
Illusion –
Rukia is wide-eyed as she gazes at the scene.
She knows she should probably close her mouth, which is undignifiedly gaping like a goldfish, but she just…can't.
How is this possible? Since when?
The sight before her ought to be a mirage or a hallucination, but blinking several times now has not done the trick.
"Rukia…"
"Kuchiki-san…"
Rukia wants to flee from her older brother's hesitant steps towards her, and the concerned eyes of Orihime, so she does, unheeding of the cries of her name, urging her to come back and to listen.
Not possible.
It's impossible.
Recalling the dishevelled state of their clothing, Rukia runs, panicked. Since when did Orihime and Nii-sama share a relationship, share a bed?
Even when Renji chased after her, grabbed and shook her, Rukia couldn't explain so scared and confused as she was.
How?
How?
How?
Miracle –
Only Inoue could achieve this.
Rukia watched with bated breath and astonished eyes as she was held by Renji, both of them kneeling on the rubble of what was left, what has survived of Soul Society. Even the other Shinigami captains and unseated rank and files gazed with incredulous eyes.
Only Inoue, even after fighting in Hueco Mundo and healing the other causualties in Soul Society from the Quincies' 'Holy War', is able to revive Nii-sama and bring him back from Death's grasp.
Aizen had once referred to the young woman as trespassing into God's divine region.
Rukia thinks that that may be the only commonality she shares with that former shinigami captain turned traitor as she rushes to hug her Nii-sama, furiously, unable to stop the tears from spilling from within her.
A/N About number 9, you might need to refer to my other Byakuya x Orihime stories. (Yes, I ship this pairing very strongly). Number 9 is a promptor that I'm planning to develop in my one-shot series Stitch by Stitch.
Number 10 is my own fantasy and imagination from seeing Tite Kubo's new manga updates. I don't want Byakuya to die so I'm having Orihime revive him. (From a rational point of view, the only person who can bring back the dead or reject Death is Orihime, so this scene may not be entirely implausible although Kubo has an infuriating knack for belittling Orihime).
I do not own Bleach.
[And yes, I'm a strong supporter of friendship between our two leading ladies. So if you leave behind a review, do not leave flames for they shall be ignored and I shall be thoroughly unimpressed.]
Checkmate