I imagine some of you are thinking to yourselves: I thought Grace was an IchiRuki shipper, why is she wasting my time with all this other stuff?

To which I would answer: Sorry, love! I'm hoping to at least make a dent in my list of oneshot ideas before the end of the summer and, while I do love Ichigo and Rukia together, not all the ideas on the list are about them. I hope we can still be friends :)

Also, this ended up being much more sexual than I had anticipated. I didn't end up changing it of course, (because I LOVED it) but I assure you my original intentions were much purer. Let me know what you all think!

Sarashi

It happened in gym class. Of course, it wasn't the first time she had seen one of those... devices. But it was the first time she had seen so many up close, the first time she realized how popular they had become.

As her classmates disrobed around her to change into their gym clothes, Rukia realized, somewhere along the line, she had missed a very crucial moment.

Cheeks flush with embarrassment, the petite soul reaper excused herself from conversation with her friends, gathered up her own gym clothes, and escaped from the main changing area.

After that moment, Rukia made a habit of changing for gym class alone, well out of sight, in a bathroom stall.

.

The next time, it happened in the middle of the night - the only time she was allowed to shower in the Kurosaki residence.

She watched herself in the mirror as she undressed. Her bindings were especially tight today; she had been agitated when she wrapped them this morning.

The smooth, white fabric fell away to reveal dark red lines crossing her breasts and torso. Rukia winced as she touched the tender streaks. She'd have to be gentler tomorrow or the soreness would never fade.

Just as she was about to step in the shower, something lying on the floor caught Rukia's eye. One of the twins had left their clothes in the corner of the bathroom, probably after taking a shower herself.

It was wrong. Rukia knew it was wrong. After everything the Kurosaki's had done for her, albeit unknowingly, it would be beyond rude to handle such delicate items...

She picked up the rosy pink garment with two fingers and held it up to her face. If she were being honest, the device looked terribly uncomfortable.

Rukia held it so the cups lined up with her breasts in the mirror. Maybe just once...

She put her arms through the straps and adjusted the pads. Then, she reached behind her back to hook the bigger strap together. But, her fingers couldn't quite manage it. She tried looking over her shoulder to watch the clasp in the mirror, but her arms would not stretch far enough to properly hook the ends together.

Red with frustration and shame, Rukia pulled the bra off and put it back with the pile of clothes. The cups were too tight, the straps too painful on her shoulders, and the clasp was obviously too complicated for someone like her to figure out.

Rukia tried to control her irrational feelings. This was one trend she'd just have to wait to pass, that's all.

.

"I'm so glad you could come over for dinner!" Orihime exclaimed cheerfully as she set the various dishes on the table. "It's a shame the boys were all feeling sick but that's all right. At least now we can talk about girly things all we want!"

Rukia smiled pleasantly. She was skeptical about Ichigo's excuse, as well as the others, but she didn't bring it up. It was surprisingly nice, she realized, spending some time with the sweet redhead. She was rather apprehensive about the 'girly-things' discussion though...

"So, Rukia," Orihime began as they started eating, "what's your favorite horror movie?"

"My favorite horror movie?" Rukia asked in confusion.

"Yeah, you know, girl-talk," she explained. "Do you like zombies or slasher films or what?"

"Oh, of course," Rukia politely concealed her laugh. "Um, I haven't seen very many horror films. Do you have a favorite?"

Orihime looked thoughtfully at her food. "Well, I really like the ones where people go insane and start killing everyone."

"I think those are good, too," Rukia nodded.

The other girl smiled. "I'll have to let you borrow some from my collection so you can decide which kinds are your favorite. How's the food?"

"It's... It has really interesting flavors," Rukia answered diplomatically. Honestly, she wasn't sure why the boys were being so dramatic. Her cooking wasn't that bad. "You're certainly a better cook than I am. A well-prepared meal is always a treat."

"That's great!" Orihime seemed relieved. "You know, if you want, I'd be happy to show you how to make some of these dishes."

"Oh, really?" The raven-haired girl commented politely. "That's very kind of you."

"Of course! That's what friends are for!" Orihime chirped.

Rukia smiled at the girl's thoughtful gesture. "I'm embarrassed that you're loaning me your movies and teaching me how to cook, and I haven't given you anything in return."

Wide eyes shot up to meet her own violet irises. "Rukia!" The redhead scolded. "Don't talk like that. You're a wonderful friend. Just last week you tried to give me your shirt for gym class when I forgot mine!"

Rukia opened her mouth to protest. In fact, the way she remembered it, Orihime had tried to give her a shirt because she had told the little fib of forgetting hers to get out of changing in front of everyone when all the bathroom stalls had been full.

"Besides," Orihime continued before Rukia could speak, "you're the only one who actually came for dinner. And that... Well, it means a lot to me. I know people don't always like my cooking."

Orihime's gaze was fixed on her own plate and Rukia immediately felt guilty. She had been surprised by the amount of food the girl had made for only two people...

"Don't worry about them," Rukia insisted. "Boys can be insensitive sometimes, but they don't do it on purpose. I'm sure Ichigo and the others didn't realize how important this was to you."

"It's fine. I know they're all busy, especially Ichigo." Orihime sniffed and shook her head before giving a weak smile. "Anyway, this is terrible dinner conversation. I'm sorry I've been such a rude hostess. Do you want to go pick out some movies to borrow now?"

Rukia nodded quickly, "Of course. Let me help you with the dishes."

They cleared the table and Orihime showed Rukia her collection of horror movies. Rukia knelt down to look at the bottom shelves and was quite surprised by the gruesome, bloody DVD covers.

"You've really seen all of these?" The petite girl asked. As she looked up, her face turned bright red, just an inch away from the large breasts of her hostess leaning over her.

"Oh, yeah," Orihime said offhandedly, before standing straight up with a box in her hands. "Here! I think you'll like this one."

Rukia exhaled in relief now that more distance was between them and took the DVD, examining the cover.

"Umm..." The cover featured dismembered body parts hanging from meat hooks. "If you really think I'll like it..."

"Wonderful!" Orihime smiled. "Did you find any others?"

Too embarrassed to admit she had been slightly distracted, Rukia grabbed the two nearest boxes and held them up. "I think these two look good, if that's ok with you."

"Sure," the redhead shrugged happily. "Whatever you want is fine with me."

Rukia winced as the other girl's chest bounced as she shrugged. It really was hard to ignore once noticed...

"Orihime," she paused. She shouldn't ask this. She really shouldn't ask this. "Can I... ask one more favor?"

Orihime looked at her curiously. "Of course. What is it?"

"Do you... Doyouthinkyoucouldteachmehowtoputonabra?"

"What was that? I don't think I heard you."

Rukia sighed. "I've never worn a bra before. Do you think... Could you tell me how it's supposed to hook together?"

"You've really never worn a bra before?" Orihime asked, sounding surprised.

"I understand if that's too much to ask. I should be going anyway and-"

"Wait, no!" Orihime put her hands out. "Stay right here. I'm going to grab something but I'll be right back. Don't move!"

Rukia watched the redhead retreat to her bedroom. She put a hand to her face and let it slide down slowly, fully realizing her own stupidity. It was too much, she realized. Orihime had been so nice and she had to go and ruin it. What a rude guest, Rukia scolded herself.

"Found it!" Orihime exclaimed, rushing back to the living room. She displayed a tan bra between two hands.

Rukia frowned. She might not know much about these contraptions but even she could see a difference between the petite bra and its owner's ...larger assets.

"This was one of my first bras," she explained after noticing the other girl's confusion. "It's a bit small now but I bet it would fit you just fine."

Rukia tried not to let her shock show on her face. What had she just gotten herself into?

"All right," Orihime began her instruction. "Go ahead and take your shirt off. I won't look if you're shy."

Rukia unbuttoned her shirt and pulled it off, trying not to laugh at the other girl's comically shut tight eyes.

"Now what?"

Orihime peeked one eye open to hand her the bra. "Wait, are you hurt?"

Rukia felt the familiar embarrassment flush her cheeks again. She crossed her arms over the white binding. "It's called a sarashi. Women used it before the first bras were invented. A lot of women in Soul Society still use them because they're sturdier."

Orihime looked thoughtfully at the tightly bound clothe. "Maybe I should try that. I bet it's a lot more comfortable than sports bras..."

Rukia shut her mouth before she could ask what sports bras were. It was enough that Orihime seemed completely unfazed by this whole affair so far.

"Anyway," she resumed, "can you take it off?"

"Of course," Rukia laughed to herself. She turned around and unwound the long strip of fabric.

"Ok, now clasp the thick band just under your chest."

So that's the secret, Rukia thought to herself. She hooked the band together and smiled proudly.

"Oh, um, not quite," Orihime interrupted. "It's just upside-down."

Of course, Rukia sighed. "I'm just not good at this." She unhooked the bra and picked her sarashi back up.

"No, it's really easy!" Orihime said encouragingly. "Just like this."

The redhead took the bra from her hands and fastened it around Rukia's chest for her.

"Now you just pull it up and put your arms through the straps here," she explained.

Rukia silently let the other girl fix the garment for her, still caught off-guard at being touched so intimately, and so off-handedly.

"How's that?" Orihime asked.

Rukia turned around and examined the bra on herself, wiggling her shoulders to get used to the tight straps. Then, she giggled.

"It's... I like it," she said, smiling up at her friend.

"Oh, good," Orihime sounded relieved. "I was worried you were uncomfortable, you were so quiet."

"Sorry," Rukia apologized, trying not to blush again. "It just takes some getting used to, is all."

"Well, you're welcome to keep it until you can some new ones," Orihime offered.

"I really appreciate it," Rukia said honestly as she pulled her shirt back on. "Thank you, for everything."

"Of course!" Orihime chirped. "I guess it was a good thing the boys didn't come after all."

Rukia laughed at the idea. Dinner certainly wouldn't have ended up like this if their male friends had decided to show up after all.

"I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow," Rukia said as she rolled up her sarashi and collected the DVDs.

"Don't forget about our cooking lessons!" Orihime reminded her as they walked to the front door. "And bring one of your sarashi things too!" She pointed at the white sarashi Rukia was stuffing in her bag. "Next time you have to show me how to use one of those!"

Rukia felt her face heating up at the idea and she left the apartment quickly, waving as she walked away in an attempt to hide her bright red cheeks.