~~Excellent news, boys! -Rukia~~
Oh, good grief. Please tell me it's not another stupid poetry competition. -Uryu Ishida
*The book club Rukia and I set up last year is having a Christmas party tomorrow evening! -Orihime xx
So you're both going to be out tomorrow? -Ichigo
I'll order pizza. -Chad
did i hear the magic word? -renji abarai
Only if you're paying, you freeloader. -Ichigo
~~No, silly, it means we each get to bring dates! -Rukia~~
That's nice. However, in case you hadn't noticed, Rukia, there are four of us and only two of you. -Uryu Ishida
~~Exactly! So Orihime and I get two dates each. Isn't that how it works, Orihime? -Rukia~~
*Sure is! -Orihime xx*
I'm pretty sure that's not how it works. -Ichigo
*Oh, it doesn't matter, we're all going to be going as friends, anyway. The "date" thing is only really relevant in terms of the theme. -Orihime xx*
*Right, Rukia, do you want to choose your dates first, or... -Orihime xx*
~~I want Renji and Chad. -Rukia~~
YIPPEE -renji abarai
Not me? -Ichigo
~~No. -Rukia~~
That was surprisingly harsh. -Chad
Whatever. It's not like I care or anything. -Ichigo
*Which means I get Ichigo and Uryu! Which works out nicely, because I was going to pick them anyway. -Orihime xx*
~~I thought you'd be happy, Orihime. -Rukia~~
*Aww, you're such a good friend, Rukia! IOU one hug. -Orihime xx*
*Or, you know, more than one, if you want. -Orihime xx*
Now that's sorted, Orihime, you mentioned a theme..? -Uryu Ishida
~~Oh, yes, everybody is supposed to dress up as their dates. So, Renji, Chad and I dress up as each other, and you, Orihime and Ichigo dress up as each other. It's going to be fun! -Rukia~~
what -renji abarai
~~It's okay, Renji, I've picked a name out of a hat so I'm dressing as you, you're dressing as Chad, and Chad's dressing as me. -Rukia~~
Oh man, I'd pay to see Chad cosplaying a midget like you. -Ichigo
~~If you feel that way, Ichigo, you can give me a thousand yen the next time you see me. -Rukia~~
... -Ichigo
NO. -Ichigo
It wouldn't be the first time he's wasted money on trifles. -Uryu Ishida
But those trifles were STRAWBERRY ones. -Ichigo
Are you COMPLETELY stupid, Ichigo? -Uryu Ishida
they really do fight like brothers don't they? -renji abarai
~~Brothers? I thought you shipped it. -Rukia~~
HOW COULD I HAVE FORGOTTEN -renji abarai
You can stop trying to wind us both up anytime you like, Renji. -Uryu Ishida
Right. Orihime, who am I supposed to be cosplaying for this party? -Uryu Ishida
*Oh! Sorry, Uryu, I forgot. You're dressing as Ichigo, Ichigo is me, and I'm you. Yay! This is going to be so much fun! -Orihime xx*
That's... oddly relieving. -Uryu Ishida
*You didn't want to be me? -Orihime xx*
I don't thi... I wouldn't b... I couldn't do you justice. -Uryu Ishida
Third time lucky. -Chad
But aside from those two aborted attempts, smooth. -Chad
*Has somebody removed a note somewhere? This conversation isn't making sense. -Orihime xx*
You must be imagining it. -Uryu Ishida
~~Oh LOL -Rukia~~
~~Well, my costume's done! -Rukia~~
im impressed. stilts and all -renji abarai
You even got his stupid hair down! Nice, Rukia. -Ichigo
look whos talking about stupid hair -renji abarai
You look like you didn't even bother with yours, Renji. What, did you just steal one of Chad's tops? -Uryu Ishida
he let me borrow it -renji abarai
Thumbs up. -Chad
*Ooh, Chad, you got Rukia down perfectly! -Orihime xx*
*You know, except for the fact that you're about ten times her size. -Orihime xx*
Nice wig, Chad. -Ichigo
~~Ooh, has everybody seen Orihime's outfit? -Rukia~~
Orihime, did you MAKE that cape? -Uryu Ishida
*Sure did! What do you think? Is it accurate? -Orihime xx*
It's... flawless. Completely flawless. At least as good as anything I've ever sewn. -Uryu Ishida
I'm not sure how to feel about this. -Uryu Ishida
Don't be jealous of her skills, Uryu, I think your me costume is pretty good. Nice t-shirt, I like the ones and fives all over it. -Ichigo
I'm not jealous, you moron. I'm... I don't even know. -Uryu Ishida
Yeah, I still think you're jealous. Can I have that t-shirt when you're done dressing as me? -Ichigo
1. You're an idiot, and 2. yes, I'll certainly have no use for it after today. -Uryu Ishida
~~Holy crap, has anybody seen what Ichigo's wearing? -Rukia~~
no why? -renji abarai
Oh, my... -Uryu Ishida
*Is... is that really how Ichigo sees me? -Orihime xx*
Please don't make me answer that question. I don't think I'm strong enough. -Uryu Ishida
*I think I might cry. -Orihime xx*
~~Right. Three guesses which insensitive bastard's getting a punch the next time I see him? -Rukia~~
make that two punches -renji abarai
Make that three. -Uryu Ishida
~~Oh, make it a zillion if Tatsuki ever gets wind that this happened... -Rukia~~
This whole thing was a mistake. -Chad
Author's notes: I'm going to leave Ichigo's costume to your imagination. *Wince*
Actually, I re-read all the chapters a couple of weeks ago and realised that my tendency to write oblivious!Ichigo has resulted in my piling some quite harsh abuse on him, which probably isn't fair because I genuinely like him (and Uryu is a bit more fun as a chew-toy because he's both comically-serious and explosive when it comes to trivialities). I'll have to do some sort of Ichigo-appreciation chapter soon, I think...
As always, it's your kind reviews and encouragement that keep me writing. Thank you. :) I hope you have a really good Christmas, and I'll be back with more Fridge Notes at some point in the new year (whenever I have an idea). :D