"Rukia, order up!"
"Got it!"
Rukia skillfully took the plates and spun past her coworker Orihime. In a flash, she had the plates delivered to the hungry truckers and locals that call the Drive-in Diner their home away from home. Everyone knew each other. When a newcomer, be it tourist or just someone passing through stopped in, everyone tried to make them feel welcome.
"Thanks shorty." A graying trucker spoke with a wide smile.
"You got it old timer. Need anything else?"
"Nah, I'm good, thanks."
Rukia walked behind the counter and met up with Orihime. She looked back with bored eyes. "Aw, it's so slow today. Where is everybody?"
"Probably out enjoying themselves."
"In this weather?It's been so rainy and foggy that I'd be afraid to drive here if I couldn't walk to work."
"You're lucky you live so close. My place is too far to walk late at night when you're tired and just want to put your feet up as soon as possible."
"You don't live that far away." Orihime said with a smile.
Rukia leaned up against the back counter. "Yeah."
A few minutes went by. The sounds of the local classic rock station played softly amongst the clanking of silverware and a few conversations. Rukia looked down and saw Orihime fiddling with her bracelet. Her boyfriend had given it to her a month ago. Right before he rode off with the rest of The Reds in a sea of headlights and engines roaring. Orihime would always see them off when the gang went on another road trip. Often when the gang met at the diner, Rukia could see Orihime clinging to her boyfriend. Rukia would usually just say, "See ya." To which Renji would promptly repeat and that was the last time they would speak to each other until he returned again.
Rukia continued to watch the bracelet until Orihime stopped and moved towards a table. Rukia followed her with her eyes to the table, then moved her gaze to the front window. Orihime returned and started gazing out the window herself. She let out a big sigh that the customers could probably hear.
"He said they'd be in town yesterday. You don't think something happened to them?"
Rukia shrugged. "Who knows. Something probably happened with a bike and they had to stay somewhere to fix it." Orihime gave a look that said she was hoping Rukia was right. A customer called for more coffee and Orihime got the pot and walked quickly over to refill it. Rukia went over to check on her customers, who were all taking their time with their meals. The women returned to the counter.
"So Orihime, Ichigo hasn't contacted you since yesterday?" The voice of their cook, Sado almost scared them.
Orihime let out another loud sigh. "No he hasn't, and he's usually so good with calling. I'm worried."
Rukia grinned. "It's been a day. They're a gang. They have each others' backs. If anything happened, there are plenty of guys there that would do anything for The Reds."
Orihime smiled. "You're right."
Moments later, the unmistakable sound of motorcycles came into everyone's ears and Orihime's eyes lit up as she ran to the window. Rukia watched as Orihime sat in a booth on the other side of the diner and looked out the window. As Rukia could hear some bikes turning off, she looked over to Orihime again, whose face said more than words could. She got up and walked briskly back to Rukia. A stray tear falling to her cheek. "It's not them." Her voice was heavy as she spoke. Rukia put her hand on her apron to wipe it off.
"Well let's get them in and out as fast as possible."
"Rukia." Orihime's voice had a spark of fear in it. "It's Shiro gang."
Rukia stopped in her tracks and looked back. "Now we really need to speed this up. I don't want our guys to come back to their rival gang in their diner."
"How did they find out?" Orihime looked at Sado, who simply shook his head.
"I don't know, but I'm not ready to find out."
Just then the door flew open and the first few men came in. Rukia put on her best face. "Welcome, have a seat anywhere." The men took a seat right near the kitchen and soon after, more came in until there were almost 10 guys dressed in white coats sitting at two booths and a table. The air felt heavy and a family that was sitting in a corner, promptly got up and walked to the register. The men could be heard joking about it and some even cat called the woman. Both Rukia and Orihime walked over to the men and asked for drink orders. The men ordered their food right away without much name calling to the women. Rukia could see though that all eyes were gazing towards Orihime, though she was pretty blind to it. It was times like these that Rukia liked how she looked. Both women rushed to the drink station to prepare drinks while Sado began the orders. They were mostly burgers and fries, so at least it was pretty each for Sado to quickly make everything. The women danced with the plates as the orders came up. They both were kind of enjoying the fast pace despite being in the company of their boyfriends' enemies. As the men ate, Rukia noticed one blue haired man in particular staring at Orihime. Rukia walked back to the register, where Orihime was giving change to another customer who had decided to leave before they were done. Orihime looked over at Rukia.
"Not so bad I guess."
"I guess."
Both stood in silence until the sound of motorcycles filled the air again. Both women froze and looked at each other. Orihime slowly moved to the window again. A faint smile shown on her face. She ran back to Rukia. "Are they here Orihime?" She simply nodded. Rukia grasped her apron and waited anxiously. The door burst open and the first thing she could see was red. Red hair specifically. It was so vibrant against the gray skies. Rukia was almost in a trance. Her heart raced and she looked up to meet the eyes of the man she secretly missed more than anything. He walked over to her, sat down on the stool in front of the counter and looked her right in the eyes. A mischievous grin spilled over his face.
"I'm back baby."
Note: I am going to be doing a few short stories about Renji and Rukia. The chapters may be pretty short and the story may seem rushed, but I want to quickly tell a few tales about one of my favorite pairings in Bleach.