[Edited June 24, 2014]

Chapter Four: Request

Renji decided that being in the same room as his grandarents probably wouldn't do when making his pcase, so he led the two out the back sliding door, which was connected to the family's pool that was rarely used by anyone, despite it being cleaned regularly and the water kept chlorinated. A porchlight gave enough illumination on the scene to make the it appear rather comely and cozy with an orange glow and distinct shadows. Renji plopped down onto a lawn chair casually and gestured for Ichigo and Rukia to do the same.

"I," He began, putting his fingertips together as if he were making a business proposition, "need a big favor from both of you. But frankly, it could end up benefiting you two just as much as myself."

"Go on," Ichigo jumped right into the business mode and raised an eyebrow curiously, choosing a seat one away from Renji, consciously leaving the middle one open for Rukia.

"I need for you two to go to homecoming together. Like, together together, just for that day." Renji held up his hands before neither could fit in a protest. "Let me explain! It would work out for all of us. You know the Ishida person in your homeroom who organizes all those bets and does the math and stuff? Black hair, glasses, kind of nerdy? I was talking to him recently, and he's been organizing a new round that began lately. It's based solely on who would be going with whom to homecoming, since a lot of the people in our school seemed to be into that kind of talk."

"Yes, of course I'm aware of all that." It was a lie. Rukia didn't often take part in these bets, and only really hear about the occasional huge one from Orihime, who was on closer terms with Uryu, or just through casual conversation. Leaving things to chance wasn't her favorite way to spend her money.

"Well recently, the odds for you two going together has actually dropped to being one of the lowest out of all the twelfth graders in the school. Rock bottom, let me tell you. It's kind of funny actually, how the two of the smartest people in our grade finally came dead last in something." He ventured a small laugh but then reverted back to a serious face when no one else joined in. "But this all means that we can make a pretty good investment and just rake in the money if you two do what I suggest. I'll put in money to Uryu saying that you two go together, and then you two will go together, despite the odds. That would skewer all the statistics or whatever and my initial investment would be multiplied by who knows how much. We'll divide all the profit evenly, of course."

"No way." Rukia crossed her legs. She had to admit it wasn't entirely that horrible of an idea for him to come up with, even clever in some respects, but the line is drawn at Ichigo. With someone else (even Grimmjow, who probably wouldn't show up anyways), perhaps, but Ichigo would be too... personal, too much bad blood.

"Rukiaaa." It almost sounded like a plead. "Just for three hours. Or less if you really wanted to leave earlier."

Ichigo interjected, and to both their surprise, said with a slight shrug, "I'm down with the idea. A pretty sneaky way to cheat the system, if you ask me."

"Great!" Renji's eyes lit up immediately with hope. If he was able convince one half of the duo to side with him, then surely the other would be along for the ride sooner or later. What would tip the scale for Rukia was probably a particular incentive of some sort, though what that entailed, he had no idea. Surely there was something he could offer that might make her temporarily discard her distaste for Ichigo. Perhaps it's simple: "I'll offer you half of the profits if you do this instead of a third. Take it out of my share."

"Didn't your grandmother ever tell you that bribery is immoral? Well, not that this idea is moral in slightest in the first place..." She said, a bit amused at the idea that the entire plan was riding on her decision alone. She then continued with a humph, "And besides, I could already be going with somebody. Didn't that ever cross your mind?"

The doubt that came her way from both parties was well-deserved. With a small tug at the edge of his mouth that seemed like a smile, Ichigo inquired, "May I ask with whom?"

"I said 'could,' alright? It's not fair for you to just automatically assumed that I'm partnerless for events such as homecoming. You never know, there could be have a secret, hot boyfriend clinging to my arms, dying for the chance to accompany me to the dance!" This earned a snigger from both boys, but she silenced them with a scowl. "That might be a bit exaggerated, but it's the same idea. But nonetheless, I don't want to go with him."

Instead of taking affront with her words, Ichigo simply asked, "Why's that?"

Rukia spared a glance at Renji and saw that he was frowning slightly, as if he thought she would undoubtedly go and spout something incredibly blunt, thus ending the current civilized conversation, reducing it to another shouting match. It wouldn't be the first time it happened, either, in all the years he had known her, and usually happened when she was in the company of Ichigo.

She decided to go another route, far removed from any personal attacks on the (many) flaws that Ichigo possessed, easing Renji's mind slightly about hostilities ensuing. "I wouldn't do that to Orihime."

"Orihime? What has she got to do with this?" The strawberry frowned.

Even Renji appeared amazed at his cluelessness. It was well known throughout Karakura High the affectionate feelings the Inoue girl had towards Ichigo, made quite blatant by her flustered manners while in his presence. (And it was also well known the affectionate feelings Uryu Ishida had towards her, but that seemed to be equally unrequited as her crush on Ichigo. Really quite of a mess this was.)

"You oaf, why else do you think?" She hadn't thought there was even a possibility that he didn't know. Everyone knew. "I hear people praising how smart you are, but I'm having serious doubts right now." Oh, and now Orihime's going to kill me for telling him. But in my defense, he should have known by now, so it really makes no difference in the long run. I hope.

Something close to the truth finally clicked inside Ichigo, and he began looking troubled. "So you're saying that she... But I thought... wait." He stood up from his lawn chair, paused for a moment, and then sat back down again. His face was that of someone who might've discovered a new weapon of mass destruction – glad they made the discovery, but not entirely pleased with what it could amount to.

Renji bit his lips in an effort to not laugh at his friend's expression. Slapping him on the back, he said, "Congratulations on upgrading from ignorance to slightly less so."

"Hmph." Even Rukia couldn't help but crack a smile. Orihime really is going to be mad, but she really doesn't need to hear this from me. Of course, just avoid ever bringing this up in conversation. Ah, problem solved.

"But is that the only reason?" Renji edged closer from his seat, sure that he found a loophole. "I mean, she could go with him to another dance, like the prom or something, and all you need to do is explain the situation just for homecoming. You and Ichigo would appear as the official couple while Orihime and him can be the later, unofficial one. But still pretty official though, if they want. Problem solved."

"I stand by my principals." Rukia uttered the same moment Ichigo took to saying, "But I never said that I'd go with Orihime." They paused and exchanged a look. More of a frown, really. Shifting the talking card back to herself, Rukia said, "I can't betray a friend's feelings like that, it's incredibly inconsiderate."

"My initially brilliant money-making scheme doesn't need to be turned this complicated! Orihime will be just fine."

"Renji, you don't even need the money." The tone was accusatory.

"I do!"

"And for what?" Rukia raised an eyebrow in doubt.

And suddenly, the Abarai backed down under the scrutinizing gaze. Elusiveness filled his face, and he was no doubt going to dance around the topic. Unconvincing even to himself, he made do with the excuse of, "Things here and there. Important things."

"How can I say yes to helping you when I don't even know what I'm helping you with?" Inside, she smiled joyously. There, now that the issue is pinned onto his lack of truthfulness, she actually did have a reason to object to the business proposition.

In an attempt to turn this around after being called out, he laughed it off, "It's nothing you need to worry about, no hiring assassins or anything illegal like that, I swear. Just help me out on this one."

She didn't believe his vague answer, not really, and rejected the offer yet again, but much more reluctantly than before. It was initially really by her own selfish accord that she can't make herself do it, but, but now there really were other reasons. Orihime wouldn't go for it, Uryu surely wouldn't like them cheating, and now, Renji's acting quite suspicious. That all thankfully lifted the responsibility of accepting off her back, but her conscience ended up taking a hit. She really should do it simply as a favor to Renji, her oldest friend, but her own self wouldn't let her.

There was a thing in chemistry she learned years back called Le Châtelier's Principal that stated whenever a chemical equation in equilibrium is disturbed, a force moves to counteract that and tries to restore the balance. The emphasis for her to accept the deal had lessened from the start, and that shift caused change in... What are you doing? This isn't chemistry, Rukia, it's real life. Theory doesn't help here.

Fine. "If it's the money you lead, I can lend it to you. But otherwise, I can't, sorry." She played it off with a "what can you do" shrug.

Renji's tone took on a frustrated edge. "Can't, or won't?"

That caused her to rise swiftly from the lawn chair. "I'm sorry, but it's getting to be pretty late. There's still school tomorrow, so I really should be getting back home. I still have some homework that needs to be finished." She paused for a second, then, "Tell your grandmother I appreciate her offer of tea but that I'm not really a tea person. Good night."

Rukia walked off rather quickly.

"I didn't know she'd get this defensive."

Ichigo turned and also saw the mixed expression on Renji's face. Reassuringly, he slapped his friend on the back and said, "I don't know why you might need the money, but you don't have to explain. The plan sounds fun, anyway, giving Ishida a run for his money. I'll figure something out with Rukia and Orihime later."


That Wednesday didn't start out particularly well, even considering the dinner party last night. Renji hadn't spoken more than a few curt words with her when necessary, but he really had no right to be so angry. He asked for a bit too much, she refused. They'll make up sooner or later, she was sure, as they always did after disagreements. All that's needed was just some space. School, on the other hand, was filled with nothing but talk of homecoming, homecoming, homecoming, constantly reminding her and re-reminding her. Last night just made her so much less enthusiastic about the subject.

Rukia's friends all insisted on bugging her on choosing date as well, which didn't help the situation in the least. Was it really asking too much to just maybe branch off that subject a little?

"Of course it is," Momo had tsk tsk'd. "You have to get in the spirit of things!"

"If you need spirits, just go look in a wine cellar."

The list of couples were endless – well, too many to keep track of, anyway. Among her friends, Momo Hinamori had asked Toshiro Hitsugaya with some cute words and white flowers, Gin Ichimaru had asked Rangiku Matsumoto in a very unceremonious manner, and Hiyori Sarugaki and Shinji Hirako both mutually accepted that they were attending together without any flashy displays whatsoever, etc.

As unenthusiastic as Rukia was about the reoccurring topic, the fervor of it all did prove to be contagious, especially with the whisperings and rumors flying about on who was to be voted the king and queen. Taking advantage of that opportunity to further his own means, Uryu Ishida had apparently started another round of betting, and it proved to be one of the more successful ones so far.

"Did you hear, Rukia," Orihime said during their study hall period, grinning broadly. "Uryu told me that I'm on top of the list for the queen candidates!"

"Oh?" Rukia twirled a pencil in her hand quite expertly. This round, she had actually participated out of friendship loyalty. Twenty dollars. Though she had a good idea of what's coming, she still asked, "And who is it for the king?"

The intensity of the grin on Orihime's face grew wider. A laughed and shrugged like it was no big deal, but a light blush spread across her pale cheeks nonethless. "Take a wild guess, I dare you."

"Oh goody."

"If Uryu's an indicator of anything, and he's usually right about these things, then we'll most likely get the final dance together." She was referring to the customary waltz (or any other style, really, should they choose) done by the royalty at the culmination of the event.

Sure, Rukia wished for Orihime's dreams to come true, but she denied furiously that dancing with Ichigo Kurosaki was good enough of a dream. She doubted he was even able dance – him being graceful and rhythmic? Oh please. Tripping over his own feet while trying to do a box step was more like it. She actually

"But do you think I should be the one to ask him?" The ginger-haired girl bit her nails at the prospect of such a conflicting dilemma. "I don't really know if he is the type to initiate requests like this, since I've never really been in this position before, but he could turn out to be shy when it comes to stuff like this. I mean, Momo was the one who asked Hitsugaya because, you know, he's Hitsugaya, so there's really nothing wrong with the girl being the asker..." The string of sentences trailed off when she realized her friend was looking a bit distracted.

Rukia suddenly felt an urge to come straight out and inform her about Ichigo's unpromising reactions after being told the truth about Orihime instead of letting her be caught up in this illusory crush. Clearly his first priority wasn't to go to the dance with anyone of his choosing, otherwise he wouldn't have accepted Renji's offer. Rukia surely wasn't his first choice as a date.

She wanted to tell her, she really did, but that could turn out to be too messy to deal with. Orihime also had no clue, out of the loop much like Kurosaki, how outwardly obvious she was about her feelings or about Uryu, which means Rukia needed to explain everything from how she revealed her friend's feelings to Ichigo unknowingly and betrayed her trust to bringing Ishida into the picture, blah blah blah. The results would be too counterintuitive.

Yes, she'll just give this mess of relationships a wide berth. How the news of all these criss-crossing will reach their victims, she might never know, but it won't be from her.

But this also meant she absolutely cannot, cannot, show up to the dance with Kurosaki at her side. If anything, this gave her more of a reason to decline Renji's offer.

"You know what I think you should do? Just walk right up to him today and straight out state, 'I think we should go to homecoming together.' Be assertive. People like that, don't they?" Since she rejected the scheme, Ichigo wouldn't have any prior engagements that night, which gave him no real reason to turn down Orihime. Now it all works to both their benefits, and no one needed to be hurt.

"I can't do that! I mean, I can, but I don't think I should..." Orihime trailed off again, but came up with a suitable solution. "Maybe I can talk to his sisters, Yuzu and Karin, to try to find out more about how I should do this, maybe recruit them to help me."

Glad that her companion finally resolved her inner disputes, Rukia was about to shift the conversation to another topic when the PA system turned on. In a clear and bright voice, the announcer, Momo Hinamori, said with glee, "Students of Karakura! I'm happy to inform you all that the results of this year's senior elections have been tallied as of ten minutes ago. And due to the suspense this year's votes caused, having such a close running between two presidential candidates, we even double-checked the numbers to make sure."

Rukia's throat constricted. Oh yes, this was her moment, she was sure of it –

"Without further ado, my anxiously waiting classmates, the winners! The treasurer for this year is to be Uryu Ishida, and the secretary is to be Yumichika Ayasegawa..."

Reasonable choices, Rukia thought. Uryu was obviously the undisputed math person of their grade, ranking only after her and Ichigo, so the money job wouldn't have gone to anyone else. Meanwhile, Yumichika stuck out as slightly out of place, considering his questionable aesthetic choices and perfectionism. That could also be what made him extremely neat and organized, which made ideal characteristics for a secretary.

"...The historian and social chairperson are respectively Yachiru Kusajishi and Rangiku Matsumoto."

Yachiru probably ran for the sole purpose of getting the chance to mooch some snacks during the student council meets, but she was well-like enough. Historian wasn't an entirely complicated position, but she'd be able to slack off now and then. As for Rangiku, there really wasn't really anyone more social. No one.

"But of course, for the two positions that everyone's dying to find out..."

Come on come on come on, say my name. Please.

"... Vice president position goes to Rukia Kuchiki, and president to Ichigo Kurosaki. Thanks to everyone who participated in voting, and I hope you all have a very pleasant rest of the day. Congratulations to all the officers!" Momo cut the connection and as the static faded, an eerie silence hung over Rukia's study hall room. The weight of everyone's glances seemed to fell on Rukia, and she felt herself go red.

It was procedural for the runner-up presidential candidate to become the vice president.

Which meant Ichigo received more votes than she did.

Which meant she lost.

Which meant he'd be the one on a higher standing, giving out orders and such.

Finding no better way to express her feelings on the matter, Rukia swore.

A/N: I can never figure out if I like Orihime better with Uryu or Ulquiorra, so I've made do with writing in different ones for different fics. Also, the thing with the runner-up taking vice position was based off of the system for early American presidential elections.

Please review!