a/n: Extremely short oneshot Renji/Orihime friendship. We don't get to see a lot of interaction between them so I thought this would be nice. Read and review if you can!
disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
This was the third time Renji found himself in the World of the Living in a month. Considering he and Rukia were the "closest available shinigami" to Ichigo, he'd been sent down here a number of times for routine check-ups on their orange haired friend. And though Renji generally enjoyed having a special task like this, the frequency with which he was sent down here was starting to tire him out.
"Tsk. It was supposed to be my day off," Renji complained to himself as he wandered down the same alley for the fourth time. Rukia had taken off to the other side of town because of an odd reiatsu influx and had ordered Renji to continue their rounds without her. "What is the purpose of this job anyway? Ichigo can take care of himself," he muttered quietly.
"Abarai-kun?"
Renji stopped in his tracks and turned halfway to see Orihime Inoue standing a few meters behind him, her hands clasped behind her and a questionable look on her face. "Oh... Inoue," he greeted.
"Ah, it is you!" she said cheerily.
"Dummy, who else would it be?" Renji replied dismissively. Honestly. He was wearing shinigami garb and had bright red hair. There was no mistaking that it was him.
"Are Kuchiki-san and Kurosaki-kun around?" she asked, glancing around as if they might appear.
"No. Rukia ran off to investigate something. And who knows what Ichigo might be up to."
"Hm," Orihime nodded. A brief silence settled between them. "You know, Abarai-kun, I don't think we've ever been alone together before!"
A blush stained his face. "H-huh? Stupid, don't word things like that! Someone will get the wrong idea."
"Huh? No one's around."
"That's not the point!"
Orihime smiled sheepishly and placed a hand behind her head. "I suppose I do blurt things out sometimes, don't I?" she laughed to herself.
Renji sweatdropped. This girl's a weirdo.
"Ah! Abarai-kun, would you want to keep me company in the meantime?"
Renji crossed his arms and turned away. "Don't you see that I'm in the middle of a mission?"
"Really? You looked pretty idle to me."
Yet again, Renji reddened. Meanwhile, Orihime was still talking excitedly. "I bought some bean curds and squid for dinner tonight! You could help me cook... I have an extra apron and everything! We could invite the others to eat with us. For some reason, people never seem to come over when I say I've made dinner, but maybe if I say you helped cook-"
"Hey, stop your delusions already, I said I'm bus- h-hey- hold on! Are you listening? W-wait-"
Orihime was already linking her arm through Renji's (much to his surprise) and started the walk towards her apartment, having not heard his objections over her continued cooking fantasies. "I wonder how bean paste and bean curd taste together? I guess we'll see, won't we? But I also have chicken if you're not into veggies!"
"Eh? How did you get me in this thing?!" Renji looked down with shock at the pink and white apron that had somehow made it onto his body.
"Cuuute~" Orihime admired. "I knew it'd suit you!"
"Fool, my manhood is at stake! If someone were to catch me in this getup-"
"Inoue-san, I'm here to help cook-" Ishida stopped in his tracks at the sight of Renji in the frilly apron.
Mere seconds later, Ishida was huddled in the corner on the other side of the room, hands covering his mouth and nose as he struggled to keep in the laughter.
Renji towered over him, his face dark and threatening. "I'll kill you."
"Both of you, come help me! Abarai-kun, I need you to boil water and cut the chicken breast, please!"
"Like hell!"
"What if I were to offer you animal crackers?"
"E-eh?" Renji backed up as Orihime shoved a delightful smelling box of cookies to his nose. "Animal... crackers?"
"They're delicious! And if you help, you can have my last box!"
Ishida adjusted his glasses. "Inoue-san, I don't think animal crackers-"
"Deal!" Renji agreed, already starting on the water.
Ishida sweatdropped. This guy's easily persuaded.
The next several hours consisted of Renji clumsily stumbling his way around the kitchen with Orihime close behind him, patiently and eagerly helping him with every little task. Though food and liquids ended up on everyone's clothes (as well as all around the counters, walls, and floor) the three of them managed to conjure up a decent meal.
By the end of it all, Renji was just finishing up chopping the green onion when he heard Orihime in the next room, her voice loud and bubbly as she attempted to convince their friends to come for dinner over the phone. Each attempt ended the same way.
"It's alright, Sado-kun. Maybe next time?"
"A tournament? At this hour? Well, good luck, Tatsuki!"
"Ah... I understand, Kurosaki-kun... maybe you and Kuchiki-san could stop by later?" A pause. "I see... well, have a nice night anyway."
She hung up the phone.
Orihime entered the kitchen with a forced smile. "I suppose more food for us three, hmm?" The disappointment was obvious in her tone.
Renji studied her silently. Without a word, he set down his knife, removed the apron, and stalked out the front door.
"Wait, Abarai-kun! We can still have a nice dinner!" Orihime attempted to follow him outside, but using shunpo, he disappeared into the night.
"Let him go, Inoue-san. He's probably had enough shenanigans tonight," Ishida said gently.
"Renji... you have sauce on your face." Ichigo said.
Renji was currently in the frame of Ichigo's bedroom window. Ichigo sat at his desk, homework strewn around it, while Rukia reclined in the open closet with her arms crossed.
"Renji, where the hell were you?" Rukia scolded.
"Never mind that. Both of you come on."
Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Where?"
"Inoue's."
"Inoue?" Ichigo looked back to his desk. "She called me about dinner, but I told her I had a lot of homework and Rukia was going to Urahara's."
"Cancel your plans." Renji climbed into the room and crossed his arms. "She spent all evening cooking for her friends, the least you could do is come for a little bit."
"Since when have you been a fanatic about her cooking?" Ichigo teased. "She said it was alright and that she'd reschedule for some other time."
Renji furrowed his eyebrows. "Idiot, that's not the point! She wanted a nice get together with her friends for one night, and not a single one could take the time out of their days to come! She's sitting all alone in her apartment now... er- not alone... technically she has Ishida... but nonetheless!"
Ichigo rotated his chair, facing the concerned shinigami. "Renji..." The surprise was evident in his tone.
Rukia studied her red haired friend before smiling to herself and hopping out of the closet. "It can't be helped," she said. "C'mon, Ichigo. Our friend needs us."
"We'll need to make a few more stops," Renji added as he started out the window.
Before long, there was a knock at Orihime's door. She and Ishida glanced up in surprise. "Perhaps Abarai came back," offered Ishida as Orihime went to answer it.
She opened the door to see Renji standing there (looking quite triumphant) flanked by Ichigo, Rukia, and Chad, as well as Urahara, Yoruichi, Tessai, Jinta, and Ururu.
"Everyone's here!" Orihime announced, taken aback. "Please, come in! I have enough for everybody!"
As everyone shuffled in, offering Orihime and Ishida greeting, Orihime glanced up at Renji questioningly. "Was this your doing, Abarai-kun?"
In response, he placed a hand on her head.
She smiled softly, her eyes watering. "Thank you!" she enveloped him in a quick hug before turning to tend to her guests. "We have plenty of food, help yourselves!"
"You're a softie, aren't you?" Ichigo teased Renji as Orihime left to dish out the food.
"Wipe that smirk off your face. I'm doing what anyone would have done!"
"Don't be so defensive while you're blushing like that. It's unbecoming," Rukia teased.
This only made Renji blush harder.
"Thanks again for dinner, Inoue. I'll be going now!" Ichigo waved from the doorway, along with Chad and Rukia.
"Ah, it was no problem!" Orihime replied, smiling up at them as she scooped some food into a tupperware. "Thank you guys for coming!"
"In that case, I'll be taking off too, Inoue-san. Have a nice night," Ishida offered her a raised hand as he exited with the others.
As the door closed, Orihime began to gather the empty plates from the dining table when she heard the water running in the sink. Realizing she must have left the faucet on, she set the dishes down and hurried to the kitchen.
Renji stood with his back to her, a plate in one hand and a sponge in the other.
"Abarai-kun, you're still here?" she asked from the doorway.
"Tsk. Of course I am. Did you expect me to be fine with letting you doing that mountain of dishes yourself?" Renji was blushing yet again. It wasn't his fault he didn't know how to properly communicate with women besides Rukia and Matsumoto, even just platonically.
Orihime seemed surprised at first, but that surprise melted into a soft smile. "I see. Thank you for the help, Abarai-kun."
"Don't mention it," he said stiffly. "It beats doing chores for Urahara."
"Oh, I see now! Would you like the stay here instead of Urahara-san's place?" she asked eagerly.
Before he could protest, she exclaimed, "This was all an elaborate set up to ask to stay here! You didn't have to go to such lengths, Abarai-kun! I'll go set up a futon in my room right now! We can sleep right next to each other!" She disappeared from the doorframe.
Renji's arms dropped to his sides. He stood stone still for a full minute. A drop of water dripped from the sponge onto the ground, echoing in the soundless kitchen.
"W...waaaaaaaaaaait a second!"