I DO NOT OWN BLEACH OR RAINBOW STRIPED PJS!

The plot/summary: Rukia isn't sure what she should do when a strange girl suddenly just pops up into her life one day. Little does she know…the strange girl isn't a stranger at all.

RukiHime, RisaMash, GrimmIchi

THE HOUSEGUEST IN RAINBOW STRIPED PAJAMAS

Orihime's POV

Humans, I've always thought, were funny creatures.

Not funny looking necessarily-well at least not in my opinion but then again I come from a planet where having feathers in place of fingers is considered a blessing and cutting your hair above your shoulders is considered a sin.

Don't get me wrong though not all beings from Minazuki feel this way-just a select few.

Minazuki is a tiny little planet, which I guarantee you will not find on any map-nor will you find a mention of it in your standard textbook.

My godmother Retsu sent me down to earth to do a bit of research-well she calls it research but truthfully I think she just wanted an excuse to send me away for a while.

In short I am a nothing more than disappointment to her.

You see on Minazuki we still believe in old and tiered traditions like arranged marriages-well actually I didn't believe in arranged marriages-which brings us to what humans would call 'the runaway bride' scenario.

It's not that I didn't try to love Ulquiorra-dono, I even agreed to carry his first born son when the announcement of our pre-engagement was made before I even reached the age of ten which in human years would actually be 16 but who cares about silly little details-I never have.

I'm the kind of girl-and yes I refer to myself as a girl because I wasn't born with extra parts which would make me a boy-the kind of girl who just enjoys being in the moment, who firmly believes that love, TRUE LOVE does not have a definition which can be applied to everyone.

TRUE love also doesn't have a time limit on it.

A common mistake humans make-yes I've seen the movies and the teen dramas and I've read the novels and watched the music videos.

It makes me sad really when I hear things like 'You don't know what love is' or 'You're too young to love' or 'If you really love her/him you should ask them to marry you' or 'I'll love you til the end of time'

I understand from history lessons, that at one time many moons ago the life span of a human was much shorter than it is now.

But what so many feel to realize is you never really die-you just pass on into the next life and sometimes if you're lucky you'll meet your love in the next life.

That is what I believe is happening to me as of this very moment.

Her skin is lighter, her hair shorter, her eyes wider but I am almost 100 hundred percent certain that the woman sleeping in a room decorated with bunnies is my Ruri-sama.

My god mother, Ulquiorra-dono and the others all think I'm crazy

'How could a mere human possibly be your soul mate reincarnated?'

'Trash, humans are nothing but trash!'

'Stop this foolish nonsense and come back home where you belong, daydreaming is all good and fine but to seriously consider mating a human-ridiculous!

These are the harsh words that reach me when I press my ear to the tiny device, which is no bigger than my thumb-when I'm not using it I wear it as a clip in my hair.

()()

It was never my intention to scare my Ruri-sama, never my intention to make her feel uneasy.

I thought that by simply sitting in the flower bed I wouldn't cause any problems-but she almost clipped her thumb off with the weed whacker she was startled so badly.

Then I thought I could just sit on the porch-swing on the hammock, possibly trigger a response, a memory and get her to speak to me.

She blinked rapidly, sped up her pace, lost her balance and wound up spilling her groceries all over the ground.

Hastily collecting the items and then shoving them back in her bag-I tried to hand her a singular grapefruit that she had missed but she was already back inside her house and dead bolting the door shut.

I figured I wasn't going to let a good piece of fruit go to waste so I returned to the swing and dug in with my nails, broke off a piece and ate it.

It was juicy and sweet and the only thing that could have made it more perfect would have been if my Ruri-sama had shared it with me.

()()

I didn't really understand why she would decide to wear such bright lipstick and such ridiculous looking heels.

Red was too loud of a color for a woman like my Ruri-sama and heels were completely unnecessary-she was short, petite and positively perfect.

It made me frown when I watched her critiquing her appearance in the mirror

'Too fat, too many wrinkles, too many stretch marks.'

'Oh Ruri-sama you're so silly your skin is flawless and so what if I can't see you're rib cage popping through-anorexia has never been nor will it ever be pretty.'

These are the words I wished to tell her.

I wanted to strip her out of the entire outfit and show her just how beautiful she was.

But I remained hidden in the shadows-she'd already practically fell down into a faint when I peeked through the window just a short while ago.

()()

In the back of my mind I knew trespassing wasn't going to earn me any brownie points but at the same time I was going through serious withdrawal-it had been well over 4 hours and I hadn't seen or heard from my Ruri-sama.

I know I should probably be happy for her-she was obviously still out having a good time with that Abarai-san person.

He didn't really seem like her type and truthfully I don't think its going to anywhere beyond a possible friendship but if it does I suppose then I will no longer have a reason to remain here.

I frowned and the shook my head fiercely

Being a downer was not my style-even if Ruri-sama falls for him nothing is permanent plus I won't give her up without a fight.

Oh I may not look it what with being all sparkly eyed with big boobs, and a tiny waist but I can bring a 250 pound beast of a man to his knees with out breaking a nail or a sweat.

Not that I'd actually go that far.

After all I was a visitor and I did not wish to raise brows or cause problems-I did not wish to be exiled from my own planet.

()()

I thought about heading for the kitchen first-it had been awhile since I'd last eaten anything outside of tiny bits of grass and the small gumballs Ruri's sister had dropped when she came for a visit.

But opted to venture upstairs instead.

()()

Pressing my nose into Ruri-sama's pillows, slipping her bathrobe (still warm) around my shoulders, running my fingers across her bedroom dresser, her night lamp, her laptop-

My fingers stilled on the laptop.

I had one just like it back on Minazuki but Ruri-sama's seemed to be of higher quality and void of dirt and dust.

It made me smile.

Clean and orderly just as she had always been.

There were several windows minimized which meant she was either working on several projects at once or reading several stories.

I'll never forget the grand library that Ruri-sama insisted on spending countless hours in-a cup of tea or coffee in hand-there she would sit by the fireside, light smile playing about her lips as she came across a particularly amusing or enjoyable part in a novel.

And as she would get lost in her reading I would play with her hair, decorate it with rose petals or pretty jewels or fancy combs.

No one would come in and bother us-most likely because she was the daughter of the queen and if Ruri-sama wanted to be left alone-they would leave her alone.

I was nothing more than a simple handmaiden but Ruri-sama treated me as though she would treat her best friend.

I honestly can't say when we crossed the friendship line and became lovers-it was all big one blur-or not a blur but it was difficult to define because in a way it always felt like we were lovers even before we could fully grasp its meaning.

()()

A smirk made its way onto my lips when I opened the first window.

'Who knew my Ruri-sama could be so naughty?'

TBC