A/N: Right.
I apologise in advance for the upcoming disappointing chapter. I got home three minutes ago, and I have to go to bed in 30 minutes in order to get up early for netball tomorrow. So I have half an hour to write this, reply the reviews and give shout outs AND finish another three essays. Wish me luck, ne?
I also want to say thanks for the AMOUNT of reviews! I never thought I would be able to get any story of mine over 100 reviews. So, THANK YOU SO F-CKING MUCH, GUYS! I LOVE YOU ALL :)
"… to grieve for the loss of a dearly beloved friend and role model. We grieve the loss of another cheerful person who brightened our day and who made us smile. We pay our respects…"
Despite not having talked to Orihime-chan for over two years, I couldn't help but shed some tears for her.
The poor, delusional girl.
She told me her dreams once.
We were all gathered in a circle, discussing dreams and our futures. Sado-san and Kurosaki weren't there for it, so it was just me, Orihime-chan, Tatsuki, Mizuiro and Keigo. The usual group.
"Orihime-chan!" Keigo had called. "It's your turn! What do you want to become? Who do you want to marry?" Keigo had waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Seconds later, he had passed out, thanks to Tatsuki's fist.
"Hmmm…" Orihime-chan leaned back and propped herself up with her hands behind her. "I want a warm and happy home, a cat, a dog, children calling for me. Most of all, I want a husband with a warm smile and a kiss for me every time he came home. Hopefully, he will have orange hair and dreamy brown eyes…" We had all laughed then. They had just started dating then.
That was her ultimate dream. Foolish girl. Life isn't revolving around one man! Just because Kurosaki did not want her, she did not have to throw her life away! Life is not about having one single man. Sure, there are instances. But… Oh, Orihime-chan was just so blind! Anyone could tell that the love was unrequited. Anyone could tell that Ichigo didn't love her. Anyone.
Kurosaki Ichigo and Inoue Orihime were just not meant to be. She just couldn't see that. There was no true love between them. It just seemed like a successful relationship, with Orihime-chan having enough obsession, which she tricked herself into thinking was love, for the both of them.
I sighed. No one here blamed Kurosaki for what happened to her. Everyone knew about his arranged marriage. Everyone knew it was to the Kuchiki heir. Everyone knew he couldn't get out of it, no matter how hard he tried.
"Ishida…" Speak of the devil. His firm hand rested on my shoulder.
"Kurosaki," I greeted him coolly.
"Look," he started sheepishly. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to hurt her like that!" He looked down.
I, however, was surprised. "Why are you apologizing to me?"
Kurosaki looked equally surprised. "Didn't you love her?"
I smiled at his assumption. "No. I just have a soft spot for her, that's all."
"Oh." He looked down at his shoes again. "Ishida, I want you to meet someone."
I was surprised. Who would it be?
"Rukia, come here." He called towards a short, petite, raven-haired girl.
She walked over quickly but gracefully. I admired her poise and refinement. She was the very picture of elegance.
"Ishida, meet my… fiancée." He said stiffly, as if trying to get around the word. "Rukia." He looked down at her. I was surprised to see a hint of fondness in his eyes. "Meet Ishida Uryu. My best man."
"Oh!" She bowed. "It's so nice to meet you, Ishida-kun! I'm just sorry we meet at circumstances like this." She gestured vaguely towards the funeral party.
"It's nice to meet you, too. I'm sorry too, but I'm happy that I can meet you." I bowed as well.
Kuchiki Rukia. Heiress to the Kuchiki fortunes. Does that mean I refer to her as Kuchiki-sama? Or will the simple Kuchiki-san be suffice? I decided to play it safe. If she was really uptight…
"I'm happy for you two, Kuchiki-sama," I began.
She smiled, but she looked like she wanted to laugh. "Please, Ishida-kun! A simple Rukia-san would be fine with me! I'm not a snooty bitch as this one thought I was." She interrupted me while hitting Kurosaki's arm playfully. Then, she seemed to realize where she was. She blushed.
"Oops. Funeral." She settled down next to Kurosaki, leaning her head against his arm. I looked at Kurosaki to see how he felt about the situation. He was blushing and remained silent. What?
Fancy that. Kurosaki has fallen in love. With his fiancée, nonetheless. I reflected what I just thought. That was really weird.
I sighed and turned my thoughts back to Orihime-chan.
Silly girl. However, I was surprised to find that I didn't feel the slightest bit sad at the thought of her leaving this world. She used to be a sweet (but infatuated) girl, but then… After graduation, she changed. She became something like a dumb bitch. I mean, ignoring her friends and losing their friendship? The old high school crowd still kept in touch, with just one exception, Orihime-chan.
I heard from Tatsuki that Kurosaki tried to convince her to hang out with us for a while. Apparently, she had just said, "The high school crowd? Lame." And had laughed.
At the time, my blood just boiled. What happened to the sweet girl I knew? What happened to the girl who cared about everybody? She just disappeared behind a bitching attitude.
I shook my head. At the age of 26, she still didn't understand that fairytales were just that. The tales of fairies. The tales of imaginary worlds where everything was wonderful and everything ended with a happily every after.
Foolish Orihime-chan. Now, see where you have gotten yourself. In a dark box, being lowered underground.
A/N: That was a bit… depressing to write. Only at the end! I just liked the minor IchiRuki fluff, seeing as how we haven't been getting much lately. Anyways, I finished this in 15 minutes. WOOOH! RECORD! So, excuse the grammar/punctuation/spelling mistakes. I'll fix them up soon.
THANK YOU'S: TheDarkeningWhiteSky, Abarai Starsh, MiRae Naomi Kurosaki, Lilly, iloverukiaandichigoallofthem (Quite a mouthful! XP), BlackBrightField2007, anika103, Roma88, Ubernaut, Fii aka Ficchan, HigarashiAlchemist, darknaro, gumgum22, jk11, misterleefan07, ShepardxMiranada, capslock-nanao, 1blackcat, ShadowCat3698, AlexHarty.
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I'm SO sorry, guys! I'm running out of time. So find your ones tomorrow. If you review for this chapter again, I'll combine your responses. Hopefully, I'll have more time tomorrow!
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