"Momo! Rukia!" Nemu shouted when she saw that it was her foster sister and her friend on the other side of the door.
"Hey, Nemu! I know we came here really early, but things happened to us you see-"
"Is fucking Mayuri here?" Rukia asked.
Nemu and Momo responded by gaping at what Rukia said.
"What?! I think it's true that Mayuri is a bitch!" While Rukia was saying this, she was looking around the small condo looking through the dirty windows and checking all the rooms in a flash.
"Please, Rukia. Don't talk about father like that!" Nemu said in her usual calm voice with a hurt look on her face.
Rukia sighed. "Fine." she said in defeat. "I won't insult Mayuri… when you aren't in earshot."
"That's fine! It just hurts my feelings when I hear people say bad stuff about my father."
"I just don't understand why a kind and caring woman such as yourself lets her father abuse her and doesn't treat his daughter like a princess!"
"You don't have to worry about my well-being, Rukia-san! I'm fine with the way things are!"
Rukia frowned at what Nemu said, but didn't say anything.
"Nemu, you don't mind if Rukia and I stay here for a while?" Momo asked excitedly.
"I don't mind if you stay!" Nemu replied, matching Momo's voice. "But… I don't know what father has to say. After you…"
"Do you know when Mayuri is coming back from work?" Momo inquired. Momo has never referred to her foster father anything but his name.
"Father said that he would be working at the lab all night and all day tomorrow."
"So everything will be fine, right? I mean Mayuri isn't coming home tonight so we should be fine." Momo said.
"I suppose. Oh, by the way… what happened to the both of you? I'm just curious as what could have happened to make you change your minds and make you come here late at night. You don't have to tell me or anything." When she finished, Nemu put on her small, polite smile.
Rukia and Momo exchanged glances with each other. After coming to an agreement, Rukia started at the very beginning where she found out Ichigo cheated. After finishing the first part of their story, she couldn't go on. Tears started flowing from the corners of her eyes and whenever she opened her mouth to speak, no words could come out. When Momo felt that Rukia was unable to continue their story, she stepped in and continued from where Rukia left off. After telling Nemu everything from when Rukia arrived at Momo's house to find Rangiku and Toshiro about to leave her house to when they arrived at Nemu's condo, she went silent and waited for Nemu's reaction.
Nemu didn't say anything for a minute to digest Rukia and Momo's story and then her face turned became one of sorrow and comfort.
"I'm sorry you had to tell me such a melancholy story. I didn't know-"
"It's okay." Rukia said, interrupting what Nemu had to say.
"If it makes you guys feel any better-"
Again, Nemu was interrupted with what she was about to say… but this time it was a knock on the door.
The threesome looked at each other, each of their faces looking shocked and scared. They all had the same idea going through their head: did Mayuri change his mind and came back home?
"Quick, this way!" Nemu whispered to them so softly that only the two of them could hear. Grabbing both of them by the wrist, Nemu led them through the small condo, which had trash everywhere on the floor, to a door that was on the other side of the room. Nemu let go of both of their wrist and opened the door.
Then, she pushed them both into the room, and before they could say anything, Nemu shut the door.
Momo felt around in the darkness until her hands felt a chainlike drawstring hanging in midair. Thinking that it was a sort of switch to turn on the light, she pulled down on it.
"OUCH!!!" Rukia yelped. "MY HAIR!!!"
Momo immediately let go and then a few seconds later saw light coming from up above. She saw Rukia rubbing her head, glaring at her. All Momo could do was smile sheepishly and say a quiet "I'm sorry."
Rukia took a second to look around the cramped room they were in. "So, was this your old room?" There wasn't much space in the room to move around in. Just as you entered the room you would just have to take one step in before you crashed into the bunk beds. The bunk beds pretty much took up the whole space in the room. Then, next to the bottom bunk and sitting in a corner was a purple nightstand with a lamp on top. Finally, on the other side of the door were some cabinets hanging up on the wall. There were only two doors for opening the cabinets. The cabinets were where the girls would place all their clothes and some of their personal belongings that they wanted to hide from Mayuri. Or, if there weren't enough space in there, they would just toss it underneath the bed. Also, there was a small window sitting on the wall between the bunk beds and the cabinets, giving them a not too great view of the neighborhood.
"Yeah. It brings back some memories." Momo answered, taking one look around the room before putting her bag on the top bunk, presumably her old bed. "Rukia, you can leave your bag here."
"Right." And Rukia put her bag on the bed next to Momo's.
Suddenly, the door opened revealing Nemu's and the visitor's faces. Momo and Rukia gave and audible gasp when they saw who the visitor's face it was. The face belonged to Nanao Ise, another one of Rukia's and Momo's friends and co-worker.
"Hi, Rukia! Hi, Momo!" Nanao greeted.
"Hey, Nanao!" Rukia and Momo greeted back simultaneously.
"It's been a while since I've seen you guys."
"I know! It's strange even though we work at the same place." Said Momo.
"Well… Kyoraku-san thought I was working too much and decided to give me a vacation. I'll be coming back to work tomorrow."
"Oh no! I almost forgot that we had work tomorrow! I could've gotten into serious trouble with Old Man Yama for skipping work even though I almost forgot!"
"Don't worry about it, Momo! Now you know." Said Rukia, trying to comfort her best friend. "So… Nanao. What brings you here?"
"HEY!! WHERE DID EVERYBODY GO??!! ARE YOU GUYS TRYING TO HAVE FUN WITHOUT ME??!!"
"Oh no-" Rukia started.
"Don't tell me-" interrupted Momo.
"It's true." Nanao said, seeing their shocked expressions.
"Hi everybody! Nana-chan! Nene-chan! What are you both doing-" while saying this, Yachiru burst into the room and saw Rukia and Momo.
"Hi Yachiru." Rukia and Momo greeted the pink-haired child, hiding their fear from their voices and faces.
"Hey Rookie-chan! Hey Mo-chan!" Yachiru said in an excited voice.
"You see, Zaraki went out on a 'guy's night' with some of his subordinates and he thought it would be best if he left Yachiru under my care."
"I see." Rukia answered.
"So, Yachiru. What do you want to do?" Momo asked.
"If Ken-chan can have a guy's night, then I can have a girl's night!"
"So… what you want is to have a girl's night?"
"YES! That's why Nana-chan brought me here to fulfill my wish!"
"Thanks a lot, Nanao!" Rukia said darkly to Nanao. Yachiru didn't seem to notice.
"So why don't we go to the living room? There's more space in there than in this cramped room." Nemu said, and led everyone out to the living room.
"So, Rukia and Momo… how has life been for you?" Nanao inquired.
"Terrible." Momo and Rukia answered simultaneously, sitting down in a beat-up couch.
"What makes you say that?" Yachiru asked out of curiosity.
"Let's just say that our love life has taken a wrong turn." Was all Rukia could say.
"What do you mean?" Yachiru pestered.
Nemu had a concerned expression on her face directed towards Rukia and Momo. Nanao gave Yachiru a stern look for being inconsiderate of what other people could be feeling.
"Well… I just found out… that Ichigo's a MANWHORE!!!"
"Toshiro and Rangiku are an item."
"Is that it? Hey, I know what you both need!"
"And what would that be?" Rukia was wondering what Yachiru could be thinking.
"You need to find yourselves new MEN!!!"
"WHAT?!" Momo asked in disbelief.
"I think that's your ticket to happiness! What you both need is to find yourselves another man to focus all your attention on! You girls can't just be moping around wishing what could have been! Ichigo and Toshiro are not worth crying over! Besides, you both should play the field a little to find Mr. Right. Who knows… maybe you'll your guys' soul mates! Or…"
"Or…" Nanao said, getting enwrapped in Yachiru's little speech.
"Or… you could both make Ichigo and Toshiro jealous!!! They might have feelings for you, but are too scared to show them."
"I doubt that's possible with Ichigo." Rukia said, bad memories from her past catching up to her. She got goose bumps just reminiscing in the past.
"Who knows? Anyways, time for a plan!!! Nene-chan! Nana-chan! Get your butts over here!"
And so, the remainder of the night was spent on planning to get Rukia and Momo dates. By the time it was 5 am, the quintet were already done scheming. The girls immediately got ready for work and walked to Nanao's car parked outside of the building.
5:30 am at work
"Come on, Rukia! What's the problem with you going out with Renji? You both could make a cute couple!" Momo asked Rukia as she and her friends walked inside Seireitei.
"Momo, have you forgotten!! Renji and I went out while attending the academy, and… it didn't go as I expected." Rukia answered. "Excuse me girls while I go to the bathroom." And Rukia left.
"I'm scared! What if he rejects me?" Momo exclaimed, once Rukia left the group. "What if I start thinking about Toshiro while I'm going out with him and he finds out! There are many possibilities that could happen! You guys, I don't want to break his heart! Maybe this was a bad idea!"
"Relax, Mo-chan!" Yachiru said, attempting to comfort her friend. "You don't have to ask him now. Besides, Rookie-chan volunteered that she would ask out her guy first. Also, Nana-chan will be there with you when you ask out your guy."
"Right." Nanao said, coming into the conversation. "I'll be at your side and I'll make sure that by the time you walk away… that he agrees to go out with you."
"Thanks." Was all Momo could say, feeling much better.
"Hey, everyone! I'm back!!" waved Rukia.
"Nice to see your face again, Rukia!" Nanao said.
"I was only gone for a minute!" Rukia exclaimed. The girls laughed at this.
Nemu then elbowed Rukia in the rib. "Rukia! Look, there's your boyfriend!" she whispered excitedly in Rukia's ear.
Rukia blushed madly; knowing whom Nemu was talking about. The girls looked in the direction Nemu was looking, and sure enough there he was. In Rukia's mind, she knew he would never compare to Ichigo, but she had to try and find another guy. And that guy would be…
"Look!! I can't believe he's sitting with them!" Yachiru said in disgust.
What Yachiru was saying was true… he was not alone. The group that Yachiru's remark was aimed at the group consisting of Ichigo, Orihime, Toshiro, Rangiku, Shuhei, Renji, Kira, Yumichika, and Ikkaku. (Guess which one the girls were talking about?)
"Do you guys want me to ask him… right now?" Rukia asked in disbelief.
"YES!" the other girls chimed in.
"Fine." Rukia sighed in defeat, clutching something in her robe's pocket. She was about to walk away when Nanao stopped her.
"Wait! Don't forget this!" Nanao handed her what looked like a small, circular, electronic device.
"What's this?" Rukia asked, examining it in the palm of her hand.
"It's like a hidden cam that let's us see what's going on and hear what the people around you are saying through this." Nanao explained, holding up a compact computer. "Let me show you how it works."
Nanao took the hidden cam from Rukia's hand and placed it on the insides of Rukia's robe. The cam attacked itself to the materials of the robe and stayed there, almost as if it were super glued there. Then, Nanao turned on her compact computer and showed it to the four girls gathered around in a circle. On the screen, it showed another Nanao sharing around another compact computer.
"But, can you make the cam show what you want it to show, even though it's not showing on screen?" Rukia asked.
"No, it depends on where you decide to position the cam at. I have no control over what I want the cam to show me."
"Rukia, don't just stay here, get going!" Yachiru shouted at Rukia.
"Right!" with that, Rukia walked off in the direction towards Ichigo and his group. Rukia's and Ichigo's groups weren't the only ones inhabiting the area, which was at the cafeteria. There were others there as well, talking with friends, getting breakfast that they may have brought and bought at the café, or just sitting at tables just because they want to. When I was only about a few feet away, I caught everyone's eye at Ichigo's table, and I felt uncomfortable being in the spotlight. 'Crap… even Icchy is staring at me!' Rukia thought to herself.
"Umm… Shuhei?" I started.
"Yeah?" Shuhei said in his nonchalant way. Yep, that's Shuhei for you.
"I was wondering… you… I…" I was losing my composure! 'Come on, Rukia! You can do it! This is just you asking out a guy you have a crush on! I, Rukia Kur-Kuchiki (caught myself just in time) will not step down! But… why is my voice cracking up?' "Drink…" Now, when you put those last three words that I uttered together… you might get the wrong impression of what I was trying to say. The looks on the table's nine occupants were priceless! Ichigo and Shuhei's jaws practically fell to the floor! I hope that I wasn't cracking up on the outside! 'Now… to finish up Operation False Alarm!!!'
I reached into my robe's pocket and pulled out the item that she was clutching earlier and took it out, shoving it in front of Shuhei's face.
"Can you please open my juice box for me?" I asked in what I hoped was an innocent voice.
"Sure," was all he said, giving me a small smile. As he was reaching his hand out to retrieve the juice box from me, somebody swiped it out of my hand before Shuhei could get it. Hmmm… I wonder who could have done it.
"Geez, Rukia! Still having trouble drinking from a juice box?" Ichigo remarked, putting the straw in through the hole. He handed it to me, giving me that scowl-like smile that I've learned to love. Somewhere inside of me, I felt myself swoon at the sight of seeing that smile, but on the surface I grabbed my juice box back and pretended that the whole thing never happened.
"Here you go, Shuhei. I don't feel thirsty anymore." I didn't wait for Shuhei to reply, I just shoved the opened juice box into his hands and walked off in the direction of my friends.
'Operation False Alarm: a big ass failure!!!' I thought to myself grumpily.
"Rukia!!" Momo said, once I sat down in an empty chair at our table. "Was it your intention all along to tease our little Shuhei?"
"Rukia!! Have you no shame?" Yachiru said mockingly.
"Your so evil, Rukia! Getting Shuhei's hopes all high only in the end to crush them!" Nemu said, joining in with the teasing.
"I know! Sigh Being evil has its ups!" I exclaimed. We all giggled at our joke.
"So, when are you going to ask Shuhei the 'big question'?" Nanao asked.
"I'll bring it up to him sooner than you expect." Giving everyone a devilish grin.
"And when will that be?" Yachiru asked, giving me a questioning look.
"Right about… now!" As I said the last word, I picked up a plate that had nothing on it and threw it like it was a frisbee in Shuhei's direction. It hit my target, and I quickly got up from my seat and rushed over to Shuhei's aid.
"Oh my gosh!!" I said, pretending to be shocked. "I'm so sorry, Shuhei!! It was Yachiru's fault for being so careless, thinking that it wouldn't go far just because it isn't a frisbee!"
"Rukia, it's fine! I caught the plate before it could hit my head!" Shuhei said, holding up the plate that I threw.
Whoops. I guess I forgot to consider the fact that Shuhei couldn't get hurt that easily. Hmm… maybe I should have done something more sophisticated. Oh well, it's too late to go back and fix things.
"Shuhei! You must have hit you head really hard."
"What are you tal-" he started, but I didn't let him finish. Instead, I started dragging him to the exit of the mess hall. I failed to notice that all eyes in the mess hall were on me as I was dragging Shuhei to the exit, and… that Yachiru was following me. I ignored Shuhei's complaints and took him to a secluded place: a small storage room. There was only the two of us there… except for Yachiru, who was standing in front of the door.
"Okay, Rukia. What is so confidential about what you are about to tell me that you had to drag me into an isolated place?" he said with a wary look.
I bent down on one knee and grabbed one of Shuhei's hands, holding it in both of my hands. I bent my head upward so I could look Shuhei straight in the eye.
"Shuhei, I wanted to ask you something."
"Yeah?" he replied, looking at me in shock.
"Will you go out with me?" the words just came out of my mouth, and it was too late to take them back. What was done was done.
"Sure." Shuhei said, shrugging his shoulders.
"What?!" I looked at him with disbelief and was still on one knee, holding his hand in both of mine.
"I'd like to go out with you." He said in his nonchalant voice.
I just stared up at Shuhei in shock.
"Do you want me to eat lunch with you and your friends today?"
"Umm… I'm not sure about today because the girls and I might be busy around that time."
"Okay, that's fine. Tell me if you change your mind."
"Alright. I'll tell you."
Shuhei gave me one of his small smiles before leaving the room. It was silent for a moment before Yachiru decided to break it.
"You did it, Rookie-chan!" Yachiru said, congratulating me. Yachiru was so excited that she started jumping up and down. "It was so hard not to laugh when you went down on one knee!! It looked as if you were proposing to him!!"
I blushed at Yachiru's last sentence. Well… I didn't know how to ask out a guy since I've never asked anyone out before (even though I've been asked out twice in my life). Okay, so I freaked out and didn't know what to do other than do the first thing that crossed my mind.
"Congratulations, Rukia!! I'm so happy to hear that you have a boyfriend!!" another voice congratulated me. It also seems the person was clapping for me.
Yachiru and I looked at each other in shock. Who else was in the storage room other than Yachiru and I? That's impossible! I checked the room to make sure that not a soul (how ironic of me to choose this word) was there before Shuhei, Yachiru, and I went in.
Slowly, I turned around to see whose voice it belonged to and gasped at who I saw.
A/N Yep, a cliffhanger!!! Wow, looking back at this chapter… I'm amazed typed this much in 3 days!!! I was hoping to include something else in here, but I guess I'll put that in the next chapter since I think this will be enough for the day. Are you guys surprised that I had Rukia ask out Shuhei? Well, I wanted to try someone else because I thought it would've been fun if Rukia went out with someone else (for the time being). I hope that I didn't make Shuhei seem OOC and please don't be afraid to tell me if he does seem so. Oh, and I was wrong about something. This is the tenth chapter because I forgot to include the prologue. My bad! So, this is the real tenth chapter.
What to expect in the next chapter: Momo asks out a guy!!! Can you guess who the guy will be? I'll give you a hint; he won't be a random character that I make up. He'll be a guy from the show!!! You'll also find out who was in the storage room with Rukia and Yachiru. Finally… how Rukia's and Momo's dates!!
I hope that makes you all happy!!! And thank you everyone for reading the chapter!!
Bloc-9