A/N: This little story was written for a contest on . I said I would write a story with Orihime in it to whoever placed second place. She requested that Orihime and Riruka have a form of friendship. I tried to be playful and all that, but since I didn't really know who Riruka was I had to look her up and...yeah, I don't know if I nailed her or not. I never reached the anime (i plan to buy the new set coming out though, since it has Ulquiorra in it.) Hope you like small, short, and rather challenging story.
Light snow was falling out her window as Orihime sat on her couch in her home. There wasn't any activity going on inside, and like Orihime it was quiet. Being quiet wasn't something that Orihime was known for, and most of her friends would have asked her if she was feeling okay.
She was fine really, just that her mind was off somewhere else at the moment. Not in a fantasy about robots or what she would be like in the future, but thinking of what she was going to do for the holiday vacation she would soon be going to when school ended for the holidays. Really she had no plans other than to spend time with friends.
"Let's see...Tatsuki already invited me to have dinner at her place, and then Uryu offered to help me shop for presents..." She trailed off, listing off more names and such. Some of her friends from the Soul Society even offered to spend time with her, especially Rangiku who acted all bubbly and almost squeezed the life out Orihime when she came over for a surprise visit. She didn't stay long, but it reminded Orihime of how awkward her friends were, and they would probably say the same about her.
Then there was the other friend of hers that wasn't too far away when she needed company...
"Hey, Orihime! The door to the bathroom is stuck again! Mind getting it loose for me?!"
'Oh...I keep forgetting about that door,' Orihime thought as she went to the bathroom door down the hall from the living room. "You got it stuck from the inside?" 'That's never happened before...'
From the other side of the door, her friend pounded on the wood, "Oh gee, I don't care how it happened; just get me out of here!"
'Sheesh...such a temper,' Orihime thought. She grabbed the door knob with both hands and after giving her mind a quick three count she yanked on it with all the strength she had. The door gave out quite easily, and Orihime found herself on her bum, and her friend stood there with her hands on her hips, her long magenta colored hair undone and wearing a short black dress with cute white rabbits.
"That's the second time I've had that door do that to me since I moved in. Might have to have someone look at it."
"Oh Riruka, you have the worst luck between us it seems."
The red head helped her friend to her feet, "You mean it's never been stuck on you before?"
Orihime shook her head, "Not from the inside no...though Ichigo came over for a visit once and he got locked in." She laughed, and when she was done she neglected to see Riruka's look at hearing that a man, let alone Orihime's boyfriend had been in the house when she was at work. She trusted Ichigo and respected his relationship with her roommate, but there was a line and he crossed it. Luckily for him it was long ago so doing anything about it now was a waste of time.
"Anyway, the pizza guy isn't here yet I take it. Guess I'll have time to take a bath until he gets here," Riruka said.
"I still don't understand why you wouldn't just let me make dinner instead of eating fast food-"
Riruka cut her off. "The reason is I uh wasn't feeling like eating that Italian delicacy you were gonna make, so I ordered pizza instead." She didn't want to hurt Orihime's feelings about her bad cooking, so she tried to sound nice, something that wasn't easy for her when she normally lambasted anyone who thought otherwise.
Orihime had her suspicions though, "But...isn't pizza Italian in its own right?"
Riruka was already stumped. She got her pouty face on and crossed her arms over her chest; she couldn't win with Orihime over this kind of thing. Not without hurting her feelings that is.
And her friend was oblivious as usual, "What's wrong Riruka?"
"Nothing..." lied Riruka.
"Okay, well, I'm going to get us all some drinks before Ichigo gets here," Orihime said as she started to make her way to the kitchen.
"Honestly I don't know what it is you see in that guy," Riruka said, trying to hide her true feelings about Ichigo. Secret to her only, she once had a crush on Ichigo and almost asked him out once. Too bad she was a bit too hesitant and Orihime unknowingly took the initiative and got him instead. She had no ego though; there would be other guys that she could like. Still, she couldn't help but be jealous at times.
Orihime had opened her fridge and was looking inside for the milk, grabbing it and standing back up, "Oh let's just say it's hard to explain, but I love him very much." She gave Riruka a smile and a wink before she closed the door.
Riruka couldn't help but smile back, "Whatever, I'm gonna take my bath. He should stop by when I'm about done. I have the money in the bathroom with me, so you don't have to pay for it."
As she watched her friend head back to the bedrooms and then going into the bathroom, Orihime gave a small sigh as she checked the clock. It was almost eight thirty, and Ichigo would be at her house in less than fifteen minutes. A lot was happening tonight and she had the sneaky feeling that it was far from over.
A few minutes went by as Orihime excitedly got the snacks ready for when the pizza arrived, and Riruka was still in the bath when she wasn't known to be in them long. She was a girl who liked to be on the move constantly, which was different from the easy going lifestyle of Orihime.
"Still, it's nice to have someone to talk to when everyone else is busy," Orihime thought, setting the plates down.
Just in time to hear the doorbell ring.
'Just Ichigo-' Orihime began, and then stopped. 'Wait a second...Ichigo would always knock first and then come in...I trust him that much. But if it's not him then that means-oh no!'
It had to be the pizza guy! And Riruka was still in the bath!
Almost in a panic Orihime went to the bathroom door and knocked repeatedly, "Uh, Riruka, the pizza is here..."
She heard a lot of water splashing from the other side, "Ah crap, he's early! That's fast!"
Orihime stepped back from the door and waited for Riruka to open it. Instead she heard the knob rattle and she saw the door shake a bit, but it didn't open. It was stuck!
"Ah dammit!"
Orihime grabbed the knob and tried to pull it open like she had done before but it wouldn't budge. The doorbell rang again. Orihime shouted to the front door, "Coming!"
From the bathroom Riruka's voice was in a not at all pleasant tone, "Okay, 'Hime stand back! I'll ram the damn thing!"
Orihime's eyes went wide, "Riruka-!"
She didn't finish her sentence before a loud thud hit the door and it flew open, with Riruka flying through the opening. She instantly collided with Orihime abundant chest. The collision took the air right out of the girl's lungs and she almost thought she was going to pass out when she fell to the floor on her back. She was knocked for a loop that was sure.
Her friend wasn't that much better off. Riruka fell right on top of Orihime, and in her rush to get out of the tub she forget to get dressed. Instead she had wrapped a towel around her chest and her hair wasn't dry, the long strands all messed up and their full length falling to the carpet. Her skin wasn't dry either. Thanks to her falling onto Orihime she had soaked her clothes to where they were almost see-through. To make matters worse the towel was completely undone and was hanging from Riruka's slender frame.
"Ow..." Riruka mumbled as she used her hands to get herself off Orihime, who looked to be knocked completely out. "Hime? You alright?"
Sure enough, the other girl started to stir, propping herself up by her elbows, "Yeah, just-uh oh..."
Riruka, all confused, looked towards where Orihime was looking. Standing at the front door was the person with the pizza, and more importantly, Orihime's boyfriend. He must have let the pizza guy in when he was just waiting outside in the snow. Ichigo had both eyebrows raised as he saw the predicament his girlfriend was in with her roommate. Part of him wanted to know what was going on, but the look on Riruka's face made him think twice. If looks could kill, she'd be deemed a psycho.
Talking to the pizza guy, who was looking like he had come to the wrong house, Ichigo turned and said, "Don't expect to get a tip buddy."
That last line with Ichigo was hard to come up with because it was him saying it and I sort of dug my own grave for awhile there. Riruka might act a bit out of character I think, but because i can't find the episodes she is in even with Japanese dubs it is rather difficult to write about her. Still, my stories my rules I guess, but I try to get to where fans will like her when they see her.