Well, I decided to do something different and write a oneshot that wasn't a drabble and where no one died. -insert cheering- It turned out a bit longer than I expected, but I hope you enjoy. Don't forget to leave a review on your way out!
Title: To Change a Fairy
Rating: Teen for a little bit of language
Summary: The members of the Shun Shun Rikka decide that Tsubaki is too harsh on their master, and take matters into their own hands.
Pairings: Tsubaki/Ayame, Tsubaki/Tatsuki (if you really want to call them pairings)
Spoilers: Manga spoilers if you sqint
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. If I did, I'd steal the Shun Shun Rikka for myself.
Shunou looked around carefully to make sure a certain member of the Shun Shun Rikka was asleep before turning to her fellow fairies, a serious look on her face. "Alright, he's asleep," she said, looking at the group in front of her. "Now, we all know what the problem is, right?"
"Yes," Hinagiku replied, who was standing off to the left side of the group. "Well all agree that Tsubaki is far too harsh on our dear Orihime." Four heads nodded in agreement as he continued. "Something must be done about it! Orihime is a very sensitive girl, and we cannot risk her feelings being hurt by his insensitivity!"
"The girl's thoughts are focused on flying ninja monkeys taking over the world," Lily pointed out. "Still, I agree that she is sensitive in her own way, if only when it comes to protecting her friends."
"Right," Shunou said, taking control once again. "It's our job to protect Orihime from all kinds of harm, and that includes from verbal harassment by that arrogant Tsubaki." She sent a quick glare in the male fairy's direction, which the sleeping Tsubaki took no notice of. "So, now that we're all in agreement, we just need to figure out what to do about it. Any suggestions?"
"We could try talking to him about it," the shy Ayame said, speaking softly; rarely did she talk at all, but her quiet demeanor didn't keep her from offering her opinion from time to time. Beside her, Baigon shook his head.
"I tried that once, but he only said that the rest of use were too soft on her, and someone needed to take control and show her what fighting was all about."
"Then we have no choice," Shunou said, her face darkening. "We will have to force him to change the way he treats Orihime."
Hinagiku gasped. "You don't mean…we'll have to use that?" Shunou nodded. "I'm afraid it's our only option." She grinned evilly. "When we're through with him, he'll be begging to go apologize to Orihime for all the cruel things he's said to her."
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The conversation started out normally enough: talk of the latest battle with some random Hollow; Ishida's crush on their master that everyone but her seemed to notice; her newest daydream of her and Ichigo fighting off the evil vampire ice cream cones while trying to save Rukia from going to the Land of the Purple Penguins. Gradually, however, the conversation headed towards the topic of Orihime's personality, at which Tsubaki snorted and began to rant about the subject, as they all knew he would.
"That woman is just too damn soft," he said, his arms folded across his chest. "I mean, when we were in Soul Society, she had the perfect opportunity to get rid of that annoying Kamaitachi bastard; but no, she just couldn't come up with enough resolve to even hurt the guy. And she's only managed to defeat one Hollow, and that was only because he hurt her friend What's-Her-Name. And there was the time that–"
"Hey, Tsubaki," Shunou interrupted, leaning back on her hands casually. "Why do you pick on Orihime so much? She tries her best, you know; just because she doesn't like to hurt others doesn't make her weak."
"I never said it did," Tsubaki replied, fully aware of the five pairs of eyes that were staring at him intently. "She just needs to realize that there are times when someone's going to get hurt whether she likes it or not, and it could be her or her friends if she doesn't have the will to fight."
"But she is a great healer," Lily said. "Even if she doesn't help in the fighting that often, she's always ready to help anyone who's hurt."
"Yeah, including the bad guys," Tsubaki replied. "She'd probably heal a whole freakin' army of Hollows if they asked her nicely enough. She's certainly air-headed enough to…"
"You don't give her enough credit," Baigon said, jumping into the conversation. "I'll admit that she doesn't make the most sense sometimes…"
"More like all the time," Tsubaki muttered.
"…but she does keep her cool when her friends need her. And she used you, Lily, and Ayame pretty successfully in the battle with the Bounto, didn't she?"
"So she did something useful in the stupid filler arc; big deal. Those damn Bounto have nothing on the Arrancar."
"Hey, she's becoming really important in the manga right now, you know!"
"The point is," Shunou interrupted, focusing her gaze on Tsubaki, "we want you to start acting nicer to Orihime."
"Oh yeah?" Tsubaki scoffed. "And just what are you going to do if I say no?" The other five members of the Shun Shun Rikka exchanged glances; then Shunou yelled, "Get him!" All of them jumped on the startled Tsubaki, tackling him to the ground. After much struggling and colorful words shouted by the annoyed fairy, the five released him.
Tsubaki was wearing a frilly pink dress that went down to his ankles, which was decorated with lots of ribbon and lace. On his wrist were two sparkling white bracelets that were garlanded with beautiful rhinestones. The mask that he wore over part of his face had been removed, and bright red lipstick and blush had been applied to his face, while his eyes shone with violet eye shadow. To finish the look off, large, bushy bows were embedded in his hair, and clip-on earrings in the shape of hearts dangled from his ears.
"Tada!" Lily said proudly, admiring the outfit. "I made that dress myself, you know. It looks so good on you!" This comment was met with a scowl from the very pissed off Tsubaki. "Why you…what the hell did you do this for? Just wait until I get my hands on you…"
"Ah, but if you do that, we'll be forced to send you outside. Where Orihime can see you. And all her friends, too." Shunou narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Including Tatsuki." She smiled in triumph when she saw Tsubaki's eyes widene; only she knew of his secret infatuation with the tomboyish girl, and would thoroughly enjoy embarrassing him in front of her.
Hinagiku nudged her in the side, getting her attention. "Hey, can we do that? Force him outside, I mean. Doesn't Orihime need to call on us, first?" Shunou shrugged. "Well, we came out on our own during the fight with that stupid Bounto, so I'm assuming we can. Unless the producers just made that up…" She turned to Tsubaki again. "So, what do you say, Tsubaki? Are you prepared to do as we say?" Tsubaki slowly nodded his head, and Shunou smiled evilly.
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"Alright, time for 'Shunou and Ayame's How to be Nice Lessons'!" Shunou said, clapping her hands together excitedly. Tsubaki only stared. "Why the hell is she here?" he asked, pointing to Ayame. "She barely says anything! How is she supposed to teach me all this 'how to be nice' crap?"
"Geez, Mr. Party Pooper, you really don't know anything, do you?" Shunou replied, shaking her head. "Ayame's just really shy; she's really sweet when you get to know her. She's perfect for this!" She turned to look at her partner. "Isn't that right, Ayame?" Ayame gave a shy smile and nodded, her hands clasped tightly in front of her.
"Alright, now for our first lesson, we'll start with a simple compliment," Shunou continued. "Tsubaki, tell Ayame that she looks nice today." Tsubaki blinked a couple of times before responding. "She looks the same as she does everyday."
"That's not the point!" Shunou said angrily, placing her hands on her hips. Sighing, she said, "Just say it."
"You look nice today," Tsubaki said flatly, his eyes narrowed and voice void of any emotion. Shunou shook her head. "No, no, no! You have to put more feeling into it! Say it like you mean it! Like this." She walked over to Ayame and grabbed her hands in her own. "Oh, my sweet Ayame! You look absolutely lovely today!" After the 'oh' she had released Ayame's hands and was waving her own around dramatically, swaying back and forth on her feet for emphasis.
Tsubaki stared at her. "Are you having a seizure?" he asked, at which Shunou threw her shoe at his head. "Hey, what was that for? Here I am, concerned for your well-being, and you throw your damn shoe at me!"
"For being an idiot," she said. Beside her, Ayame had a slight blush on her face, and was starting to wonder why she had agreed to come in the first place; this thought was soon forgotten, however, as she began to question her own feelings for Tsubaki, and why she had a crush on him.
"Just say it, already!" Shunou yelled, wishing there was a window nearby that she could throw Tsubaki out of; sadly, there was a definite lack of windows within the small confinements of Orihime's hair pins. "If you don't hurry up, I'll go get Lily so you can try on the new dress she made!"
"Alright, alright," Tsubaki mumbled, his voice barely audible as he walked over to Ayame. Stopping a few feet away from her, he scratched his neck awkwardly before opening his mouth to speak. "Get closer to her," Shunou practically yelled, even though Tsubaki was standing right beside her. "And don't forget the feeling this time!"
I just want to get this over with, Tsubaki thought as he focused on the shy girl in front of him. Taking a few tentative steps forward, he began. "A-Ayame, you look very nice to-whoa!" He let out a yell as he tripped over an untied shoelace and fell forward, bumping into Ayame and dragging her down with him. In a moment the two were lying on the ground, with Tsubaki stretched on top of Ayame.
The shy fairy turned bright red at the closeness of Tsubaki's face to hers; she let out a shrill shriek and pushed him off of her, then ran away, leaving a confused Tsubaki. Shunou shook her head.
"Lesson one: failed."
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Next up were Hinagiku, Baigon, and Lily. "Alrighty, time for lesson two!" Lily said cheerfully. "Let's try not to make anyone run out of the room screaming this time, ok?" Tsubaki mumbled something about how he would rather wear the dress, but changed his mind when Lily pulled out a spaghetti-strap violet gown with matching shoes and ribbons.
"Ok, Tsubaki, ready?" the fairy shook his head, but Lily proceeded anyway. "Now, for this lesson, Hinagiku is going to be Orihime and Baigon is going to be Tatsuki."
"W-why Tatsuki?" Tsubaki interrupted, his face slightly red. Lily looked at him strangely. "Because I don't think Ichigo or Ishida would be at a tea party with her." Tsubaki blinked. "A…tea party?" Lily sighed. "Yes, a tea party. Did you even see the table we set up?" Sure enough, off to the side sat a table with two chairs and a matching pair of tea cups. Tsubaki stared at it a moment. "Oh."
"Yes, 'oh'," Lily said, sighing. "Now, here's what you do." She went over to the table, Hinagiku right behind her. "You pull the chair out for Orihime and say, 'Here you are, master'."
"First of all, that's not Orihime," Tsubaki pointed out, gesturing towards Hinagiku. "And even if it were, she can get her own damn chair." Lily took her goggles off and threw them at him; they landed right between his eyes. "Damn it! Why is everyone throwing things at me today?"
"Just pretend he is!" Lily yelled, walking over and snatching up her goggles from the floor. "Haven't you ever heard of role playing before? Now, do it just as I showed you." Tsubaki walked over to the table where Hinagiku was already waiting, cursing under his breath. Why do I have to go through all this? He wondered. What did I ever do to them? Then, as he reached the table, a small grin spread over his face as he thought of something.
"Here you are, master," he said, pulling the chair out and batting his eyelashes. "And might I add that you look lovely today." Lily grinned and began cheering, "That's great, Tsubaki! Keep it up!" Oh, I will, Tsubaki said to himself as he continued to bat his eyelashes. Hinagiku, thoroughly disturbed, began to sit down; instead of the chair, however, he ended up on the floor in a very strange position. Looking up, he saw Tsubaki bent over laughing while holding onto the chair with one hand. It was quite obvious that he had pulled it away just when Hinagiku was about to sit.
Lily sighed. "Lesson two: failed.
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"You don't seem to understand the position you're in, Tsubaki," Shunou said, her hands on her hips. "This is the last lesson. If you fail, you will be sent outside in the dress, and I will personally make sure that Tatsuki is there to see it. Understand?" Tsubaki gulped and nodded, still not seeing why he had to take 'nice lessons' in the first place but not wanting to risk being humiliated in front of Tatsuki.
"Good," Shunou said, turning to Ayame and Lily, who stood beside her. "The final lesson is dancing. To make it more interest – I mean, easy for you, I'm going to let you chose either Ayame or Lily to be your partner." Tsubaki sighed and looked at his choices. Of the two, only Ayame hadn't thrown anything at him that day. "I guess I'll choose Ayame."
Ayame, who had been twiddling her fingers nervously, gave a small smile as a blush creeped up her neck. "A-alright," she said quietly as she walked over to him. "Good," Shunou said again, turning to the remaining fairy. "Lily, you'll be in charge of the music then." Lily nodded and walked over to the boom box, crouching on the floor next to it. "Um, before we start, why do I have to learn how to dance?" Tsubaki asked. "I'm small enough to fit in the woman's hand; I don't think I'll be dancing with her anytime soon."
"Because you'll learn respect, and how to be graceful, and other useful things that I can't think of right now," Shunou explained. "Besides, Lily told me that, even if it was to prepare for your little prank, you did manage to say what she told you and what I said in lesson one to Hinagiku/Orihime; it proves that you can say nice things if you really want to. We just need to work on that attitude of yours, and this is just the way to do it."
"Whatever; let's just get this over with."
"Alright, in order to show you the proper dance steps, I'll need a partner…Hinagiku, get over here!" Hinagiku, who had been watching from across the room, ran over. "Alright, let's get started!" Lily played the music, a slower song called Hana, and the two began to dance, stopping every few steps to show them to Tsubaki and his partner. "Now, you two try."
Tsubaki hesitantly held out his hand, and Ayame took it, smiling her shy smile. The two slowly repeated the steps they had been shown; the music was turned off so that they could get the routine down before attempting the real thing. They managed to do the first half of the dance exceptionally well: Tsubaki had only stepped on his partner's feet seven times.
"Alright, time for the second part!" Shunou called happily, glad that nothing had been thrown yet. "Now, the music speeds up just a tiny bit, so the dancing will, too. However, it still needs to be a bit more romantic; Ayame, for most of this part you'll rest your head against Tsubaki's shoulder, ok?" She gave the shy girl a small wink; she needed to know of everyone's secret crushes.
Shunou and Hinagiku showed them the rest of the dance, which was somewhat of a waltz with a little bit of whatever Shunou had decided to throw in. At the very end, however, the female partner was to be thrown into the air and caught by the male to finish the routine. "And if you fail to catch her," Shunou said, narrowing her eyes, "you will automatically fail."
After much protesting, Tsubaki once again took Ayame's hand to begin the second half of the dance. Ayame softly laid her head on his shoulder, and he began to lead her across the floor. He only stepped on her toes three times during this portion, and soon it was time for the catch. Tsubaki lifted Ayame up and threw her into the air; a moment later he managed to catch her and bring her gently to the ground as the music ended. This was met with loud clapping by Shunou, Lily and Hinagiku, while Ayame stood on her toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Lesson three: passed."
I think I'll end it there, because it seems like a good place to stop. I'll leave it up to you to decide what happens when he faces Orihime again. Also, in case anyone's wondering, the song is 'Hana' by Orange Range. Thanks for reading!