Hmm! Well, that was interesting! Hopefully I won't take forever to upload the next chapter like I did this one x.x But from now on, try to expect this to be on hiatus during the weekends. My parents usually don't work weekends and that's when we do our chores x.x

7/17: Gahh! I'm grounded! Not fun! D: But I'll do what I can to keep updating! Don't lose hope!

Also, I've got some ideas for an UraharaxOC fic, just the usual shopgirl type thing but maybe add some shinigami shtuff... any suggestions?

Review Replies

Andraq: Will you ever stop making me think you're adorable? XD
Mimi: I know, me neither:D I'm still figuring out what I'm going to do xP
Roy Mustang: I never cease to surprise you, do I:D
Link Fangirl: Aww, thanks! I didn't do too bad, actually, despite slowing down enough to stop in the middle of a turn o.o But my driving buddy can't keep the car straight so yeah -giggle-

Note: For the past several chapters I've been giving disclaimers that were meant for this chapter. Like hell I'm gonna give another one D: But I will say that I'm adding a character that really has no purpose, and she's an OC. But I don't mind if you steal her :) She's actually based on one of my mom's co-workwers -heh- Also, there's going to be some scene-splitting in this chapter. Gotta work on some technique. :D 7/18: I am now starting a new feature in the chapters- theme songs! Below the title of the chapters the songs will now be a song that gives the mood and feel of the chapter!

Chapter 10: Off Like A Prom Dress, Stubborn As A Mule

Song: "My Moon My Man" by Feist

"Hello and welcome to H.R. Wesley. My name is Edmund. May I help you?" A dapper, older-looking man asked, approaching them as they stepped through the doorway.

"Um, yeah," Ichigo said, reaching to itch the back of his head. He really didn't like this place. The people were so intimidating. "We need formals for prom." Edmund nodded. "Mary?" He called out. A head of bleach-blond hair poked her head out a door behind the front desk. "Yes?" She replied in a thick American accent. Edmund turned back quickly to the group. "Would you mind if we separated you into boys and girls?" He asked. "It just makes things go more smoothly." Ichigo shugged. "Fine with me," he said, not really caring about how things were done here, as long as they were done pretty quick.

Edmund nodded in affirmation and turned to Mary. "Would you please help these girls with prom gowns?" The word prom was like catnip to her. "It'd be my pleasure," Mary said sweetly, stepping out from behind the desk. Edmund took one look at her and growled.

"Hmm?"

"Your clothes, Mary, they're too casual!" Edmund huffed. "We can't have people thinking that hooligans run this shop!" Orihime looked at Mary's outfit. Mary wore a clean, black wifebeater-style tank top over a white t-shirt and black pinstriped pants. Her jewelry waxed enthusiastic, a necklace of large, pink plastic beads with a matching bracelet and plastic earrings that were striped in clear, rainbowy stripes. "She looks fine to me..." Orihime said, confused as to why someone would think what she was wearing made her look like a hooligan.

"Your funeral- Oh, mmm, ladies if you would please follow Mary, and gentlemen, follow me, please." He nodded to Mary as Orihime and Rukia joined her and turned to the boys approaching him. "This way," he said, leading them through a doorway.

"Whoa..." Chad marveled as they took in their surroundings.

XXXXX

"Okay, guys, it's right through here!" Mary directed, showing them through a doorway. "You two are going to love this." She pressed a button and the doors to closets that lined the walls of the space slid open to reveal racks and racks of dresses of every style, size and color.

Rukia and Orihime gaped in awe. "Wow," Orihime said simply.

"I know!" Mary replied as if she was their best friend. "And I'm in charge of all this stuff! Edmund won't even look through the door!" She gazed at it all proudly, her arms folded, and nodded in approval. She turned back to them. "So," She said, "What color did you two have in mind?"

"Well, I was thinking of maybe some kind of pink..." Orihime began. Mary began shuffling around in the racks, guesstimating Orihime's size and taking into consideration the unusual size of her breasts.

"What do you think of this?" Mary proposed as she pulled a gown from deep within the racks. It was a peachy pink color, floor-length. At about the knee, ruffles cascaded from a point in the middle of the skirt. A large bejewled embellishment graced the underside of the dress' bust from which the neckline grew into a halter neck.

"Uh, yeah!" Orihime replied. "Can I try that on?"

Mary gave her a smile as she handed the hanger to her. "Of course," she said. "The dressing room's right here." She strode over to a gap in the cabinetry where another doorway was covered with a scarlet-colored charmeuse curtain. "Take all the time you need," She said, pulling aside the curtain. Orihime blushed as she gave her thanks and made her way into the small room.

"Now how about you?" Mary continued, now turning to Rukia.

"Um, well..." Rukia began. "I really don't know that much about gowns and everything," she said, "but I'd really like something that looks nice with my eyes. It'd help if it looked good with orange, too."

Mary stopped what she was doing at the last thing Rukia said. "Orange? Why orange?" It was then that she remembered the orange-haired boy who came in with Rukia. "Oh," she realized, "He's your date, huh?" Rukia nodded.

Mary leaned in towards her and lowered her voice. "I wasn't about to say anything, but he looks like quite a catch," she said, giving Rukia a wink as she turned back to the rack she was searching through.

Rukia smiled. "Yeah," she said. "He really is."

XXXXX

Ichigo and Chad looked around them. The walls were lined with tuxes, showing size, color, patterns, this way, that way, all sorts of tuxedos.

"So, do you have measurements or will we need to do them now?" Edmund asked briskly, gesturing toward a small stool in the middle of the room. Ichigo blinked in surprise and before he could say anything, Chad spoke up.

"Uh, sorry to bother you, but can't we just give you our pants sizes and stuff...?" Edmund tried not to laugh. Chad and Ichigo just looked at each other. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SMIRKING AT?!" Ichigo demanded, wanting to know why Edmund was trying not to laugh at such a simple, well-reasoned question. Edmund regretted his lack of a better poker face as he lost control. Mary was never going to let him live that one down.

"Just.. give me... your... street clothing sizes...?" Edmund exclaimed, a blast of laughter coming from his disbelief, every word coming with a chuckle. He had to support himself on his knees. "You two... you really... crack me... up!"

He looked up at them and saw that they weren't smiling. Edmund's gruff, gentlemanly laugh died within a heartbeat and straightened up immediately, readjusting his jacket. "Oh," he concluded, blushing from the embarassment of insulting a customer the way he did. "You weren't joking. Well, you can't just use the sizes that you use for street clothes," Edmund explained, "Because street clothes are designed for the masses. For example, the legs of your jeans," Edmund said, casually extending a hand to point out the fact that Ichigo's jeans were kind of short for him, new as they were. Ichigo instantly reddened.

"Hey!" Ichigo argued, "I like these jeans! They have more room for my knees!" To prove this, he turned around, grabbing one of his ankles and pulled it up to where his shin and his thigh made an L. His pants stayed the same length. Edmund sighed and shook his head.

"I'm glad you feel that way, but they are altogether too short. Please step up right here," Edmund directed, sheperding poor Ichigo onto the waiting measuring stool. Ichigo couldn't take it any longer. He had tried to be patient this whole time, but he had neglected to prevent his resentment and anger, Edmund's patronizing comments and insults, from growing inside him.

The shout was loud enough that Mary, Rukia, and Orihime could hear it across the store in their fitting room.

"THIS IS RIDICULOUS!"

XXXXX

"Aha!" Mary cheered as she found what she was looking for. "Do you like this? I hope you do, because it took me forever to find it." This dress was strapless and golden yellow, but there was a cutout in the skirt that shaved a corner off the front view of the dress. The cutout swept up towards the waist in almost a spiral and stopped above the thigh, where more fabric was cut out in the shape of a butterfly. A second layer showed from underneath in a beautiful, contrasting hue of vibrant purple.

"I love it!" Rukia said in earnest as Orihime emerged from the dressing room.

"I wish every dress looked like this on me!" she exclaimed happily as she modeled her dress. "It's wonderful!" Orihime was right. The dress' skirt seemed to cling to her curves at just the right places, giving her a very smooth, slinky look. She twirled about to show off the ruffles and ended up spinning into a wall.

"Orihime!" Rukia gasped as she ran to help her up. "I'm fine," Orihime laughed, "Look at me, I'm still a klutz!" Rukia sighed. Some things just never change.

Rukia returned to Mary after a moment of making sure that Orihime was unhurt. "I'll try that on, then," she said, Mary nodding and handing her the gown and its hanger. Rukia ran to the dressing room and clothes flew as soon as she closed the curtain. She was about to finish zipping up the back of her gown when she heard Ichigo's voice.

"THIS IS RIDICULOUS!"

"Oh no," Rukia moaned as she finished zipping up her dress and rushed out of the dressing room. She stopped and faced Mary for a second. "I'll be right back..." she said apologetically. Mary nodded in sympathy.

Rukia continued through the door, not even bothering to change out of her dress, and looked for Ichigo until she found a door that took her into a room full of tuxedos. She scanned the room and found Ichigo immediately, standing on a stool as Edmund tried to get his measurements. The look on Ichigo's face told her that Edmund had rubbed him the wrong way one time too many. Rukia put on her game face and went in.

"What's going on?" Rukia demanded. She liked this tone she was using. It reminded her of her days in the 13th Division. Ichigo jumped at Rukia's sudden appearance and quickly regained composure, the usual scowl returning and deepening at Edmund.

"This guy's totally making a fool of me and I won't have any more of it!" Ichigo yelled, pointing emphatically at a cowering Edmund. Rukia put a hand to her shaking forehead and sighed. A service that was more old-fashioned like this was obviously more for her than Ichigo. She marched up to Ichigo and gave him a good slap and pointed at his nose.

"You be quiet," Rukia said assertively. "If you don't want your tuxedo to look like you've had it since you were fifteen then listen to what the man says!"

Ichigo hung his head in defeat. As he looked down he saw a glint of gold on the floor and realized he hadn't even looked at Rukia's dress. He brought his head back up to drink in the look of the gown. "Wow, your dress is nice..." Ichigo complimented, trying to get himself back in Rukia's good books.

It worked if only a little. Rukia blushed. "Thank you," she said. Ichigo sighed a breath of relief too soon. "But if you want to look as nice then let poor Edmund-"

"I am not poor!" Edmund interjected. Rukia pointed at him and he whimpered.

"Don't you start!" Rukia warned. She turned back to Ichigo, her finger returning to the point of Ichigo's nose. He went cross-eyed trying to focus on it. "So," Rukia concluded, "What are you going to do?" Ichigo groaned.

"I'm going to listen to what Edmund says and let him get my measurements," Ichigo recited insincerely, as if he were a seven-year-old being scolded by his mother.

"Right," Rukia said, jabbing his nose with the finger Ichigo had been working so hard to focus on. "And if you feel tempted to make a ruckus again, just remember who has the shopping ticket," Rukia said, pulling the golden movie ticket they had won out of the front of her dress. Ichigo gaped as Rukia left the room, waving the ticket by her head as she went.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I know it took me forever, but since Driver's ed I've had less and less time to work on it. And a heads-up: Tomorrow I start vacation, so I will be away from the computer until a week from Sunday at the earliest :D Please read and review:D