Author's Notes: Thanks to everyone who reviewed on the last one! I decided against making that a two-shoots... I tried to write the second part, but realized I liked it best how it was.
About this story, I admit it may not be very original (what could be about a wedding?), but hey, I was only having fun!
Setting: I don't really know, but since Tatsuki knows about Ichigo being a soul reaper I guess it's after the war...
Dance
(aka: "Kon's big chance" - pick your own title... :-)
'Ichigo!' Isshin's voice shouted.
'…'
'Ichi-nii!' That was Karin.
'Coming! Coming!' he shouted back annoyed.
Ichigo was in his room fighting a desperate battle with the knot of his tie... and loosing badly. He simply hated dressing up. And he hated weddings. But it was Tatsuki's older sister getting married, and he had promised to show his childhood friend moral support – Tatsuki hated weddings same as him. The whole Kurosaki family was invited. Yuzu was practically skipping with enthusiasm since morning, and his father was also ecstatic. Karin of course remained calm, but she had still taken the trouble of getting herself a pretty new dress for the occasion.
'Ichigoooo!' Isshin's voice was even louder now. 'Get your sorry ass down here this instant, my son! If you don't, than I will send Tatsuki-chan to beat you down, even if you're still in your underwear!'
Tatsuki and Orihime both waited next to the open front door, both in party dresses, ready to leave. They were all going together. The former gave Isshin a mischievous grin while the latter blushed madly at his earlier comment.
'Um... Does she know how to tie a freaking tie properly?' Ichigo shouted back. 'Because if she does, just send her right up!' He was really annoyed now, and it was all her fault anyway. He decided to give up on the tie altogether, and stuffed it into his pocket swiftly. He checked his suit's other pockets to ensure he had his mobile and more importantly his substitute soul reaper badge on him. He heard a soft rustle from the direction of his bedroom's door. He turned believing it to be Tatsuki. He froze as his eyes fell on the exceptional beauty standing opposite him.
Orihime wore a light blue dress, that tied at her neck, leaving a huge portion of her creamy, spotless skin exposed at her shoulders and at her back. It's waist-line emphasized her perfect hour glass figure nicely. Her hair was tied loosely up into a bun, and wavy locks escaped from it here and there to frame her face. She was even wearing a light makeup, one that was almost invisible, but added to her beauty. Her hairpins were in place, near her temples, there color matching the dress.
Ichigo opened his mouth and then closed it, but no words came out. He knew he must seem like a total idiot for just glaring at her like that. 'Say something, Idiot... anything!' he mentally scolded himself.
But she beat him to it.
'Ah... um... sorry Kurosaki-kun... do you still need help with the tie?' she asked him timidly, blushing.
His hand moved automatically to his pocket drawing out the hateful object, and holding it up, showing it to her. Orihime was yanked out of her embarrassment immediately, and started to giggle.
'Oh, no! Now look what you've done to poor Tie-san! He's all creasy! You have practically murdered him!'
She went to him and took the piece of clothing, smoothing it out, caressing the fine silk of it with gentle hands as if she'd want to make it up to it. Ichigo was looking at her dumbly, then cleared his throat to finally say something.
'So, I take it you know how to tie a tie?'
She nodded, smiling.
'Yes. My brother taught it to me. He used to wear a tie to work every day, and I had watched him tie it each morning, until one day I asked him to teach me. After that, he had always let me do it for him...'
While she spoke she placed the tie around his neck and worked on the knot with sure hands. A small, lovely smile was gracing her lips, as she remembered. Ichigo felt a strange hotness spread through all his body when her small hands fiddled around his neck...
'There... you are ready, Kurosaki-kun!'
'Thanks!' he sighed relived.
'We'd better hurry now, the others are waiting!' she said with spirit. She already turned and was heading towards the door when Ichigo called after her.
'Inoue!'
She turned back, her eyes questioning him.
'You... you look nice...' he said awkwardly.
Her stomach flipped as a thousand butterflies just took wings inside her.
'Thank you!' she whispered.
They stared at each other fondly, but the moment was soon broken...
'Nice?' a new voice asked indignantly. 'That's not the word I would use!' Kon was standing in the open closet door. Ichigo had completely forgotten about the cursed mod-soul. 'The lovely gorgeous Orihime-chan! Wonderful valley of organza covered paradise! Oh how I long to...'
Ichigo smashed the closet door right into the lion plushy's face.
'Sorry about that...' he apologized to Orihime.
But Kon wasn't going to give up so easily this time. He emerged, red faced, and angry.
'Hey, that's not fair! You're going to a wedding! There's bound to be a couple of eligible girls at an occasion like that! You're having all the fun around here! You have to take me with you!'
'No way!'
'But I'm bored! And... and what if a hollow shows up? You absolutely must take me!'
Ichigo thought this over. In case of an emergency, it would indeed be better to substitute himself with Kon, than have the party crashed over his seemingly death... Kon sensed victory was near...
'I promise to behave myself! Cross my heart!' he added in his most pleading voice.
'Oh, all right then... but if you put one toe out of line, I'll make Yuzu wash you in the machine again!'
It took a few moments for them to arrange things because Ichigo refused to carry Kon in any way that would make him visible to anyone, and of course he couldn't come on his own legs... Orihime finally found a discarded handbag of Yuzu's decorated with beads, and offered to carry him herself. That of course instantly made all Kon's previous dislike towards such a girly container disappear, and he eagerly jumped in. Ichigo closed the zipper firmly over his head.
…... …...
An hour and a half and a quite usual ceremonial later they were walking to the hotel, in which's garden the party was held. Isshin was having the time of his life, already courting some lady acquaintances of the family... His children took care to walk a nice distance away from him, least they would be associated in any way with the old goat...
Yuzu and Karin befriended two little cousins of Tatsuki, around 4 or 5 years old, and were entertaining them. This left Orihime, Tatsuki and Ichigo to walk together, and converse freely.
'Man! I'm glad it's over!' Tatsuki yawned, and stretched leisurely. She really hated weddings in general, but today was even worse: her older sister had always been the "little princess" in the family. There mother positively doted on her. She was perfect in every way: beautiful, gentle, kind, as a girl should be. Tatsuki could never compete with her. Maybe that's why she had chosen to be so boyish, so rough at an early age... Her mother had been proud of her when she had won the flattering title of the second strongest girl in Japan, but her eyes hadn't been shining with the same adoration her elder daughter received from them when she saw her in a pretty new dress...
'Me too! At least it was short!' Ichigo agreed with her.
'I can't understand what anybody could dislike in a wedding...' wondered Orihime aloud, with a slight frown on her face.
'Flowers and ridiculous bows everywhere, uh!' Tatsuki shuddered.
'Sickeningly sweet music!' Ichigo added.
'Relatives crying fake tears...'
'Gigggly girls...'
'Dancing...'
'… oh, no! Don't even mention dancing! My father might hear you! He insisted last night that if I don't take all the girls present for a turn, that means I'm not a real man, and I'm a shame on the name of Kurosaki...' his scowl was set in place on his features. 'When I'll have my own thing, it will be much, much smaller... with possibly only two witnesses...'
Orihime looked at him confusedly.
'But wouldn't Yuzu-chan and Karin-chan want to be bride's maids?' she asked, looking before them, at the two teens happily playing with the kids.
Ichigo stopped in his tracks at this unexpected question. He was so taken aback, that he even slightly stuttered when answering.
'Well... I suppose... I haven't really given much thought to it... but it's not like I have to worry about it just yet...'
Tatsuki was momentarily overcome by a silent fit of giggles, but after she emerged from it, she leaned to Orihime's ears, and whispered:
'I bet, that YOU on the other hand had given MUCH thought to it!'
Orihime instantly turned as red as a tomato.
They reached the hotel and found themselves a nice table. Everything went smoothly and according to the average rules of a wedding with the dinner and the speeches, and the dancing started. Around 11 pm the company was getting louder and louder showing that huge amounts of alcohol were already consumed... Ichigo thought it was now safe to finally let Kon out from his pearly prison. He had been begging for hours now, and his whining was already straining the soul reaper's nerves. If anybody should see a walking lion plushy now the only consequence would be said person thinking twice before drinking an other glass of wine...
Orihime was dancing with Tatsuki, who did her best to protect her friend from too eager self proclaimed admirers. Ichigo totally avoided the dance floor so far, and hoped this would stay like this till the end. He had a reason for hating to dance: he simply sucked at it. But his luck had run out, because three Arisawa cousins were looking at him with obvious longing in there eyes no matter how much he scowled, and the stupid best man choose that moment to announce that girl's choice was coming up next...
He decided to make a run for it, and gripping his glass he raised quickly from the table. He bumped into someone in his haste.
'Sorry...' he muttered in embarrassment. Looking down he saw the massive body of an elderly woman, who looked up at him pushing her pearly pink framed glasses farther up her warty nose. Sweat-drops started to form on Ichigo's temple... he'd recognize this fool glasses anywhere...
'Oh, no! Not her! Anything but her!' he mentally growled. This was the same aunt of Tatsuki's that had haunted his dreams as a child. He had met her at the dojo: she used to come to pick her niece up after training. She had taken an interest in the "cute strawberry boy", and had showed her affection for him by painfully pecking his cheek any opportunity she got.
'Excuse me... Do I know you?' the woman asked him distractedly.
'No!'
'But yes... Oh! I remember! How nice! You are that Kurosaki boy my Tatsuki-chan befriended at her dojo! And what a nice man you have grown up to be! Just look at you! How cute!'
Ichigo blushed madly, and his eyes were darting to and forth, like a mouse trapped before a hungry cat, looking desperately for a way of escape.
'It's only fitting that I should have the honor of this dance! For happy memories!' she said, showing her yellowing teeth in a wide smile. Ichigo was horrified...
She didn't wait for an answer though, but gripped his arm so tight it hurt, and started hauling him over to the dance floor. Ichigo found himself weakly thinking that he would have done better with one of the cousins after all... but it was too late now.
As they passed a heavy curtain Ichigo heard Kon chuckle from behind it. The mod soul found his master's current situation highly entertaining...
'Good one, Ichigo! You've got the finest fish in the net!'
The woman guided Ichigo to the center, and placed his hands on herself accurately.
'This is not happening... this is not fucking happening!' Ichigo cursed inwardly.
At that moment his substitute badge screamed loudly: 'Hollow! Hollow!'
'Oh! Thank God!' the relief he felt can't be described by words. Between a hollow and this "monster" before him he'd choose the hollow any time... at least he knew how to deal with that! He didn't think twice about what to do.
'Um... could you excuse me for just a minute?' he said to the lady, hurriedly, before jumping behind the curtain where Kon was hiding.
'No... you can't be serious...' the lion plushy looked at him with tears in his eyes.
'Oh yes I am! Now do your duty, mod-soul!' he whispered angrily, before pressing his substitute badge to the plushies body, and swallowing the pill that came out.
Moments later Kon emerged from behind the curtain in Ichigo's body, trembling from head to foot, as he looked at Tatsuki's scare-crow of an aunt...
…... …...
Half an hour later Tatsuki was returning to there table with fresh drinks. She was feeling awful: a bunch of her relatives just invaded her with: 'Oh, look how much you've grown!' and 'How's school?' and her favorite: 'When is your turn coming my dear?' She was really relieved to be free from them at last, but was still pissed. Her eyes searched for Orihime.
She was surprised to find Ichigo sulking in a corner, away from everybody, dressed as a soul reaper. She went to him immediately.
'What's happening? Is there danger around?' she asked.
'No. I already took care of it...' he answered in a gloomy tone that she failed to understand.
'But then... why don't you just go back to your own body?'
Ichigo pointed a finger towards the dance floor, scowling.
'Do you think I stand a chance of going back after this?' he asked indignantly. 'I'd never live it down...'
Tatsuki's eyes followed his pointing. Her jaw dropped. An other Ichigo was in the middle of the dance floor. A cute blondy was in his arms, and he was twirling her around skillfully, to the rhythm of the fast rock and roll music that was playing. He was good. A lot of other couples stopped dancing and formed a loose circle around the pair, watching the show. They even clapped when Kon did a complicated formation of turns, throwing his partner up into the air and catching her again with sure hands. After a few more turns, he gallantry kissed the hand of the blondy, and went to the next giggly girl queuing up there, a nice shaped brunette, who accepted him eagerly.
'Apparently it helps to be an under-pod type mod soul with enhanced leg-abilities, when it comes to dancing...' Ichigo said bitterly.
Tatsuki began to laugh so hard, she thought her ribs would crack. Bringing Ichigo along to this wedding was her best idea ever... all her bad mood was done away in an instant.
'Never thought I'd see the day when you're going to be jealous of lame old lion-head!' she taunted him.
'I'm not jealous! He's actually ruining my image!'
'I think those girls like this new image...'
'Don't say that! Uh! Everybody is looking at me... I mean him!'
She was still laughing, while Ichigo was angry as a bull.
'All right, all right!' She tried to calm him somewhat, but her high spirit was hard to hide.
'What ever am I going to do now?' Ichigo asked.
Tatsuki forced herself back to seriousness.
'I guess you'd better go there, and get your body back, before he does something silly.'
'No! I'd rather die than go out there after that!'
But at that moment they heard the music change. A slow romantic melody started, and the lights went out.
'Oh no... this is not good...'
…...
Kon was having the time of his life. So many pretty girls! And all his for the taking! Weddings should be held every day! And he had a plan in mind, a plan that would make the cream on the top... and when he heard the new song, he decided to take this plan into action.
His eyes searched the room, and when he found the girl he was searching for he boldly walked up to her.
'Orihime-chan? May I have the honor of the next dance?'
Ichigo was looking at the scene, horrified. He watched helplessly as Kon put his own hands on Orihime's hips, leading her confidently. Ichigo looked up at Tatsuki, pleadingly.
'Do something...'
She had a very strange expression on her face – maybe she was hiding a snicker – as she answered.
'No, you do something!'
Ichigo gritted his teeth. It took only a few more minutes until he could take it no longer. He raised, and walked right up to the pair.
'Can I cut in?' he asked in a dangerous voice, and Kon squeaked. But he didn't even have time to turn back to meet his master's deathly glare, because Ichigo already pushed the substitute badge to his body. The little pill of soul candy rolled away on the dance floor, narrowly avoiding being squashed by several high heals...
Ichigo entered his body as fast as he could, but it still began to collapse, and Orihime did the best she could to hold him up. When he looked up at her with his own eyes he found that there current pose was a little too intimate for even dancing, and immediately withdrew.
'Sorry about that...' he muttered, red in the face.
Orihime readjusted her hands, putting them around his neck. She smiled shyly.
'It's all right, Kurosaki-kun...'
They began to slowly turn, moving to the music. He could feel her bare skin on her back under his touch where her robe left it exposed. It was unbelievably soft and warm...
Before the song ended Ichigo found himself thinking that maybe, just maybe dancing was not so bad after all – if you had the right partner, that is...
A/N: Did I manage to make you smile? Please review!
