DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN BLEACH!
A/N: Did a bit of editing and added a few things here and there, but this will still remain as a short drabble. Still my first story, though. The pairings are: IchiRuki and IchiHime (one sided).
Acceptance
Orihime Inoue never hated Rukia Kuchiki. Even when Ichigo chose the petite, raven haired girl over her, she still couldn't bring herself to dislike her. They had been friends for a long time after all and she admired Rukia for her confidence – something she had always lacked and still did.
But–
The moment her favorite carrot top and the boy she loved said 'I do' when he was asked if he takes Rukia Kuchiki as his lawfully wedded wife to love and cherish for better or for worst till death do they part, she knew that she would never look or think of her the same way as before. On some level, she would always see her as the one who took away the love of her life from her. Even if Ichigo was the one who made the decision – his feelings being in favor for the other girl, obviously – a part of her wanted to be selfish and blame Rukia.
But she just couldn't and she knew it. It wouldn't be like her at all and her brother always told her to be herself, no matter what. Even if it hurt – like it did now.
"You may kiss the bride," was announced and the guests applauded as the two in front of the altar shared their first kiss as a married couple. Their lips touched lightly in a slow and sensual kiss, but it grew in intensity as the bride wove her gloved hands through the grooms orange tresses. There were cheers and cat calls as the groom gathered his wife in his arms and spun her around, making her squall and giggle in unconcealed joy.
It stung, she wouldn't deny it, but she smiled as convincingly as possible. Her eyes filled with tears without that threatened to spill over, but she wouldn't let them fall.
She got up from her seat at the very end of the chapel, where she sat next to Uryu, who was clapping for the newlyweds with a small smile. When he noticed her reaction, he gave her a worried glance, asking with his eyes if she was alright, but she just nodded and smiled brightly – feigning happiness – for good measure.
She knew that Uryu could see through her façade – having been one of only few people who knew of her feelings for the Strawberry – and knew that she was hurting, but there was nothing he could do about it. It was her burden and she would carry it herself.
She didn't wait for the couple to leave the chapel; rather she took her exit, with Uryu the only one watching her go, his onyx eyes starring at her the back of her head.
She held her head high, not a waver in her step, not looking back. And every step she took made her more confident, more sure that she was going to be alright. And, on some level, she had already accepted that her future wasn't with Ichigo, like she had always dreamt of. Her future was still up ahead of her and she would embrace it as it comes.
A/N: I actually like how this turned out in the end. Hime is usually portrayed as some airhead with no back bone and that only makes me hate her, so I thought I'd make her more bearable and less snot nosed and irritating with her annoying way of saying 'Kurosaki-kun' all the time, while the man she supposedly loves gets the crap beat out of him, while she just stands and watches. Is there anyone else, who gets what I mean? Anyone? Anyway, REVIEWS=love
