"Yeah, I've made a few friends, everything's going well."
Rukia had to admit, going out late at night with Rangiku and Nel was much more fun than she'd expected.
"Hisana! That's none of your business! Tch…NO, Hisana, I do NOT have a boyfriend yet."
It was eleven o'clock on the dot, and Rukia tried to keep her voice down as she tiptoed along the hall to her room.
"Really, Hisana? Do I want one?" She hissed. "You're the nosiest sister ever!"
Hisana laughed and said something in reply, but what it was, Rukia didn't hear. She practically dropped the phone as she approached her dorm.
The door was wide open, but Rukia couldn't see inside at all. The fan was blowing at a super-high speed, and papers with Orihime's name on them littered the floor of the hall.
"H-hisana, I'll have to call you back," Rukia whispered as she saw the most frightening thing yet lying on the ground; one of Orihime's hairpins, crushed and bent in half.
Without even waiting for a reply, Rukia slammed her phone shut and shoved it in her pocket, running into the room.
As she entered the doorway, she nearly tripped and fell on something that appeared to be a lock of hair. What the hell happened here? she thought. She scrambled back to the door and flipped on the light.
"O-orihime?" Rukia gasped. Papers and possessions were strewn all across the room, and there Orihime sat, against the wall, cradling something in her hands.
Rukia stumbled towards her and fell down on her knees. Orihime's right eye was swollen and black, and the hair in front of her left ear had been cut along her shoulder. She was holding her other hairpin closely, eyes unopened.
"Orihime, who did this to you?" Rukia whispered quietly. Orihime didn't answer. She shook her lightly, thinking that she must just be asleep. Still no answer.
Now panicking, Rukia's eyes fell upon a puddle of clear liquid next to them. She crawled over, stuck her finger in it, and smelled. "No way…" she whispered. "They drugged her?" Rukia didn't have much medical knowledge, but since her brother-in-law Byakuya was a doctor, she'd been taught to identify most liquids by their scents.
Without even thinking, Rukia ran out of the hall and into Rangiku's room. There was no one there. Damn it, Rukia thought. They must still be out partying.
Rukia walked back into her room and hesitated slightly before picking Orihime up and carrying her to the elevator. Rukia felt like she was going to collapse under the weight; it wasn't that Orihime was fat—on the contrary, Rukia was simply too small.
But she needed to get Orihime to the nurse immediately, and this was the only way. Inside the elevator, Rukia used her foot to kick the '1' button and sat down on the ground once the doors closed, breathing heavily. She felt Orihime's head for a temperature. Thankfully, she was as cool as can be.
Rukia stumbled out of the door to the girls' dorm and breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank god!" The tall black-haired kid, Ulquiorra, was standing outside under the oak tree. "Hey! Ulquiorra!" Rukia yelled.
He waltzed over towards her, not even slightly confused as to why she was carrying another student.
"T-take this," Rukia said. She dumped Orihime in his arms and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Here, follow me," she ordered.
Ulquiorra didn't ask a single question; he didn't ask why there was a sleeping girl in his arms, or where he was being commanded to go. In fact, he didn't say a word until Rukia addressed him.
"What were you doing out here so late at night?"
"Minding my own business," he said shortly. There was a small pause until he added, "I would ask the same thing of you, but I'm not exactly sure I want to know."
"She got, er, beaten up," Rukia muttered.
"I could tell that much."
Rukia glared at him. "Well, I don't know any more than that. Apparently, she's been drugged, too. That's why we're going to the nurses' office."
"I see."
They were silent from that point on. Rukia told Ulquiorra to wait outside while she went inside the female teachers' dormitory, since boys weren't allowed inside.
Thankfully, her room was closest to the door. Rukia timidly knocked and waited.
"Come in," said a kind voice.
She twisted the knob and entered. A pretty woman with long black hair stood before her, smiling brightly. "Are you Nurse Unohana?" Rukia asked.
"Yes, I am," she said. "Do you need something?"
"There's been an accident, it's a emergency—"
"Emergency?" Nurse Unohana's eyes glinted. "What happened?"
Rukia sighed. It would be hard to explain, and Orihime needed help now. "Can I just show you?"
"Sure."
The two of them tiptoed out of the teachers' dorm and into the cold night air. Ulquiorra had laid Orihime down on a picnic table not too far away.
Unohana ran her long, slender fingers along Orihime's face like large, pale spiders. "Who did this to her?" she asked.
"I don't know," Rukia whispered. "That's the thing. And apparently, they used some kind of antiseptic to drug her—"
There it was again—that worried, harsh glint in the nurses' eyes. "She was drugged?" Rukia nodded. "This is bad. Very bad. Mr. Cifer," she called to Ulquiorra, "Would you be so kind as to carry Ms. Inoue to my office?"
Ulquiorra nodded. Unohana motioned for Rukia to follow, and they hurriedly made their way to the Nurse's office.
"Why would they want to drug her?" Rukia asked, speeding up her pace in order to keep up with Unohana.
"Hmm," Unohana said softly. "More than likely to forget the details of the attack, such as who the person that hurt her was. And if that is the case, it gives us even more of a reason to treat her as fast as possible so that hopefully, she could rat out her attackers." She quickly pulled out her key and unlocked the Student Services building, where the Nurse's office was located.
"Lay her down on this table right here, Mr. Cifer—no, on second thought, place her sitting up right here in this chair…" Unohana instructed. "And Ms. Kuchiki, bring me that trash can, please."
Rukia moved fast and swiftly, though she was unsure what they needed a trashcan for. "Now," Unohana said, "You might want to look away for a while. I'm going to try and make her regurgitate the drug she swallowed."
Rukia quickly turned away and shut her eyes, biting her lip, but the splatting and coughing sounds she heard followed by the smell still managed to make her feel woozy. "I-is she awake?" Rukia asked.
"W-where…am I…?" said a weak voice.
"Apparently so," Unohana said. Rukia could tell that she was smiling just by the relief in her voice. "And it's okay to turn around now, Ms. Kuchiki."
Rukia anxiously spun around and hurried to Orihime's side.
"Ms. Inoue," Unohana said kindly, "Can you remember anything about who hurt you?"
Quickly, Orihime's hand twitched up to her bruised face and the lock of hair in front of her ear that would normally be keeping her hairpin in place. Her eyes widened and she let out a gasp. "S-soi…Soi Fon! And—and—"
Unohana smiled and placed her hand over Orihime's. "It's alright, you don't have to tell us right now. What's important is that you get some rest. Go ahead and close your eyes, and I'll begin treating your wounds. Try to drift off into sleep if you can."
"Yes ma'am…"
The nurse then turned to Rukia and Ulquiorra. "I appreciate all of the help you two have provided. However, now that she is under my care, you may return to your dorms if you wish."
Once again, Ulquiorra simply nodded and walked away, but Rukia stayed put. "I'd like to stay here with her," she whispered.
Even though it was late at night, Rangiku was still wide-awake. She carefully tiptoed over to her roommate's bed and poked her cheek. "Nel. Nel. NE~ELLLLLL!"
Nel turned over sleepily. "What is it, Rangiku?"
"My phone's out of battery. Can I use your charger?"
"I don't have an iPhone, my charger won't work…" Nel murmured.
"Aw, you're right. D'you think Rukia's got one?"
"I dunno…let me sleep…"
Rangiku popped up and strolled over to the door. "I'll go ahead and ask."
Nel struggled to get up. "Come on, Rangiku, don't wake anyone else up…"
But Rangiku ignored her and barged into the room. "Oh god..." she breathed.
At 4:00 a.m., Orihime finally stirred. Rukia's head jerked up as soon as she saw movement coming from the bed. She'd been dozing off the entire night, but never had managed to actually fall asleep.
"O-ri-hi-me?" Rukia said through a yawn.
"Is she awake?" Unohana's voice said from an armchair to the right. Rukia jumped; she hadn't been aware that the nurse was up. "Oh, sorry," she added.
"I-it's fine," Rukia laughed nervously.
Quietly, the two of them shuffled over to Orihime. They both stood there for a split second in silence until Orihime's eyes fluttered open.
Relief surged through Rukia like a wave of heat. "You're okay!" she choked.
"Where am I? Why does my…my face hurt so much?" Orihime mumbled as she rubbed the traces of yesterday's makeup out of her eyes. She winced as her fingers brushed across her right eyelid. "Oh…yeah…"
Unohana placed a wet paper towel across her forehead, making sure to cover the bruises on Orihime's face. "Do you remember everything?"
Orihime nodded sleepily. "Will they get expelled?"
Unohana bit her lip. "I don't know, Ms. Inoue. Student reprimendation isn't my specialty. But before we can decide any of that, I'll need you to tell me what happened. Exactly what happened. Are you feeling up to that?"
She nodded again. They sat in silence for a few seconds, and Rukia wondered if Orihime had fallen asleep again. But without warning, she launched into the story, making Rukia jump again.
"I was in my room trying to sleep. Rukia and Rangiku had gone out, so I was all alone. I saw the light in the hallway and knew someone had opened the door.
"So I got out of bed and walked over to see what they wanted. I couldn't get a really good look at their face at first, but once I got closer, I could see who it was." Her lip trembled as she continued, "Soi Fon. She slammed me against the wall and started talking to me about how it was my fault that she lost a bet and got all this money stolen…the fire alarm, yes, that's it…
"Then she pulled out this silver bottle of liquid and hit me a few times. Someone—It might have been Nanao—came in too. One of them held me down while the other poured the liquid in my mouth and made me swallow. After that, everything was blurry. I started to forget where I was and what was going on. I could feel numbness and pain, but it was as if I was underwater. Everything felt…indirect. A-and that's all I can remember."
Unohana nodded gravely. "I see. I'm very sorry that happened to you. I know this must be difficult, but I'll need you to tell the story again to the Headmaster to ensure that Ms. Fon and Ms. Ise are punished properly for what they did."
Sniffing, Orihime shook her head. "O-okay."
The two of them stood up and headed to the door. "Ms. Kuchiki," Unohana called.
Rukia blinked. She felt like she'd been in a daze for the past few minutes.
"You look like you're a carcass come back to life. Please stay here and get some sleep."
"Yes ma'am," Rukia muttered weakly. She closed her eyes, and everything went black.
It was morning. Birds were chirping. The sun was blaring in through the windows, burning Rukia's eyes. She sat up slowly and glanced around. She didn't remember going back to her dorm. She didn't even remember falling asleep. But there she was, sitting in her warm, soft bed in the Girl's Dormitory as if this was just another normal morning.
Where was Orihime? Had she come back yet? There was no one else in the room. At least, that was what Rukia thought.
"RUKIAAAAAAAA!" a familiar voice yelled in her ear. Rukia practically jumped out of her pajamas.
"Rangiku," Rukia said exasperatedly. "Do you have to do that every morning?"
Rangiku laughed haughtily and—
Okay, wait, hold up. I can't do this anymore. I'm sorry, but third person's not my style. I know it's more professional, but…too formal. I mean, really, it's weird referring to myself as "Rukia" and "she" instead of just...me. Ack. So from now on, I'll be telling my life story through college the way I like it. FIRST PERSON. Now, please excuse my interruption and let's get back to the story.
Rangiku laughed haughtily and slapped me painfully on the back. "You're so cute when you're frustrated!" she snickered.
I simply sighed and got out of bed. "Will you at least give me some privacy to change?"
My friend winked and practically bounded over to the door. "You'd better hurry up, though. The Headmaster's called a school-wide assembly in thirty minutes."
I whirled around in shock. "Thirty minutes? My god, woman, why didn't you wake me up earlier?" Rangiku laughed again. "Oh, and speaking of the Headmaster, how's Orihime?" I added.
"She's fine. The Headmaster let her stay in a suite over the night, and apparently she's got permission to skip the assembly."
"Hm. Okay, thanks. Now leave," I instructed.
"My, my, someone's getting a little demanding!" Rangiku trilled as she strutted out the door.
As soon as the Headmaster stood up and began to speak, I could understand why Orihime was allowed to skip the assembly.
The whole thing was about what had happened to her. Of course, he didn't mention names, but I'm sure it would've been a little emotional for her to have to sit through it.
"…And I can assure you, the students who committed this horrible act have been expelled from the school and banned from setting foot on the campus." At these words, I felt my blood surge. That's all the got? Expulsion?
I knew that Orihime could have sued them, or even booked a jail cell for them under charges of assault, (which they definitely deserved) but why didn't she? Why let them get off easy?
The assembly ended and I felt someone tap my shoulder.
"Oh, hey, Renji," I said with a halfhearted smile.
"Hey," he said. "Ichigo, Rangiku, and I were going to visit Orihime, and we were just thinking—"
"I'd love to come with you guys," I said, perking up at once.
We met up with Rangiku and Ichigo under the huge oak tree.
"She's still in the suite, right?" Ichigo asked.
"Uh huh," Rangiku said.
We pretty much walked to the room in which Orihime was staying in complete silence, so I took the opportunity to meditate on what I would say to her when we got there. Would I ask her what happened with the Headmaster? Or why she didn't retaliate against Soi Fon and Nanao?
But as soon as we reached the glass double doors of Orihime's suite ("Wicked," Renji said in awe) I decided to just bring it up some other time.
I was about to step up and knock lightly on the door, but Rangiku strode past me and threw open the doors dramatically. (She seems to enjoy doing that, don't you think?)
"AH!" A smile appeared on my face after hearing Orihime's voice. "Rangiku, don't scare me like that!"
Laughing, the rest of us walked in as well. "Oh, hey, guys," Orihime greeted us. "O-oh, I-ichigo!" Orihime's face turned five shades of red. "Your face is, er…"
I looked up at Ichigo and did a double take. "Uh," I started, trying not to crack up, "You do know that you have a moustache drawn on you, right?"
He started at me for a second. Then his hand flew up to his lip, and sure enough, black paint was smeared across his fingers. "Grimmjow, you prick! I'll kill him!" he turned to Renji. "And you! You knew about this, didn't you?"
The four of us dissolved into fits of laughter while Ichigo had a mini-spasm, calling Grimmjow a whole bunch of names that his mother sure wouldn't have approved of.
We stayed until noon, when we received a call from Nel that the girls needed to head back over to the dorm for something important.
There was a crowd gathered around the front door. At the head was an attractive dark-skinned woman standing on a picnic table. If I remembered correctly, she was the coach for all women's sports, even though she was still a senior. Yoruichi, I think.
Rangiku, Orihime (who we had reluctantly allowed to come along), and I jogged up and tried to figure out what was happening.
"—obviously, the two spots of the expelled students needed to be filled," Yoruichi was saying. "And since the school has a very long waiting list, we decided to let in the two fabulous young ladies at the very top. Step on up."
Two girls joined Yoruichi on the top of the picnic table. They were both tall and thin, with weird-colored hair that was tied into pigtails. Both of them seemed to be dressed in Gothic Lolita apparel, even though it was scorching hot outside.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Yoruichi asked. "Introduce yourselves."
The purple-haired girl on the right wearing white Lolita cleared her throat. "Cirucci Thunderwitch," she said, lifting her nose in the air pompously.
The other one, magenta-haired and dressed in a black maid uniform, grinned wickedly. "Riruka Dokugamine."
"Well," Rangiku said, yawning, "They look like bitches."
Author's Very Apologetic Note
OMG GUISE I'M LEIK SO SORREH FOR NOT UPDATING TEH STOREH.
Damn you, writer's block! But hopefully, this chapter (which is 2x longer than what I usually write; 3,000 compared to 1,500) will make up for it.
Sorry if you had high hopes for Nanao and Soi Fon. BITCHES GOT DEMSELVES EXPELLED, YO.
I really like Cirucci. She's hot.
That is all.
Sooner than Later,
-Potter/JediEspada