There is background mentions of IchiHime, RenRuki and HitsuMatsu but they're very very smol, this is a friendship piece celebrating the friendship between these three incredible women.
This was written for the April writing challenge in The Seireitei Discord Server. Links on my profile
Title: Friendships
Prompt: Tokyo Neon Streets
Song Inspiration: Friendships by Pascal Letoublon
Orihime had been looking forward to this night for months. Each day she marked it off against the calendar that existed in their kitchen, mentally preparing for it. The other nurses in her ward had helped her pick out an outfit, a baby pink dress with white heel, and even Ichigo had been more supportive than usual.
The letter had arrived with the invite three months ago. She'd only needed to look at the envelope and spot the significant number of Chappies drawn on it to know who it was from. They'd arranged this girls night out just for the three of them; Rukia, Rangiku and Orihime.
Despite her excitement, Orihime was also nervous. They'd not seen each other since Rukia's wedding, and though they all did their best to keep in touch, it was hard to maintain a friendship that stretched between worlds.
When Orihime had first seen the letter, she'd been sure it would have been for Ichigo and had been surprised when her husband's brow had furrowed and he'd handed the envelope back to her.
You left a mark in my mind that I never could erase
Took a piece from my heart that nobody could replace
Nobody could replace you
The train swayed in the underground. Only a few people were on board. One man had fallen asleep in a corner, his mask sliding off his face. A young business woman who wore a black suit looked down at her phone as she tapped away on its screen.
Orihime had been given a location, but it was a part of town she'd never seen before. Ichigo had been worried when he'd pulled it up on a map but Orihime had told him not to fuss. Despite not being a shinigami, she still had her hairclips and their power to protect her. Orihime wasn't worried, because in just a few moments she'd be in the company of two of the most powerful women in Japan.
The train came to a halt and Orihime disembarked, checking her phone's map as she did so. She made her way out of the station and walked down the darkened streets of the city centre. In the distance she could hear the deep beats of club music that spilled from doors being opened by patrons. The smell of street food wafted in the hot humid air that could only be found in the city centre. Orihime wrinkled her nose as she continued to follow the small dot on her phone. She turned a corner and blinked at the change in colour scheme.
The streets neon lights were low, pinks and purples that cast vivid hues against the buildings around them. The street seemed darker than the white and yellow neon signs of the street she'd just come from. Every cell in her body was screaming danger at her. She could see groups of men gathered, dressed in black and very clearly hiding their identities as they exchanged substances with hushed voices. Feeling the prickle of unease every woman felt when alone at night, Orihime quickened her pace. She'd never been one to flee from danger before, instead rushing headstrong into it for her friends.
A man spotted Orihime and turned in her direction, calling out to her, but Orihime ignored him in favour of grabbing the handle of a black door that had the location name written on it.
'Oi beautiful! Don't be like that, come back and give us a smile-' he was cut off as the door closed behind her and she moved down a black hallway with a bulky figure at the end. Orihime flashed her ID to the security guard who grunted and moved out the way to let her inside.
-
You are the eye in the storm, you're the piece I try to find
When I'm out in the cold, you're the one that's on my mind
Will search until I find you
-
As she moved further into the club the music became louder. The pounding baseline and electronic beats she could feel through her shoes. The lightning in the club was more of the same. Hues of pink and purples on the neon signs around the walls, in the shapes of provocative poses and writing. It would have been disorientating when mixed with the smell of fake fog and stale alcohol if Orihime hadn't been so razor focused.
She spotted Rangiku first. The woman towered above most of the others in the club, her figure tight red dress spilling over her body like a sin, leaving very little to the imagination. Rangiku had always looked best in red. Her hair was half pinned up and the rest cascaded down her shoulders in beautiful waves. As Orihime pushed her way through the crowd toward her, she saw Rukia leaning against the bar beside Rangiku and calling to her above the music. Rukia's hair had grown almost as long as Orihime's. She'd done something similar to Rangiku, with half her hair pinned up and off to the left, and a few loose strands spilling down her neck and throat. She'd worn a deep purple dress that looked black against the low light of the club until it caught a ray of white bar light.
'There she is,' Rukia called, her violet eyes meeting Orihime and a genuine smile breaking over her petite features.
'Orihime!' Rangiku shouted unnecessarily above the noise as the woman pushed toward her friends.
'Rangiku!' Orihime called, beaming at them, 'Rukia! It's so good to see you!'
'You too, come on, let's go and sit in one of the booths so we're not shouting over the noise!' Rukia yelled pointing off in a direction where Rangiku was already moving.
'I need to get a drink first,' Orihime said, reaching into her purse but Rukia's small hand grasped her wrist gently.
'Rangiku's got us covered tonight,' she laughed leaning into Orihime so the woman could hear her, 'don't try and argue you know what she's like.'
Orihime could only laugh as Rukia led her through the throng of people following Rangiku to a booth that was surprisingly free at the back. Here the music was quieter and the girls wouldn't have to shout over it to hear each other.
'It's so good to see you both,' Orihime gushed the moment she'd slid into the red leather seat.
'We've missed you,' Rangiku said with a sigh, placing her chin onto her manicured hand as she propped it on the table.
'Rangiku and I haven't been able to see much of each other either,' Rukia said. 'We always said we'd hang out more, but the Seireitei is so big and you can never be sure where she's taking a nap.'
Rukia smirked up at the taller woman as she took a drink and Rangiku pretended to look offended as she tossed her long strawberry blonde hair over her shoulder.
'Excuse me,' she replied, her voice already laced with sarcasm, 'I think you'll find I've been plenty busy.'
'Doing what?' Orihime asked, genuinely curious to hear what her friends had been up too while they'd been parted.
'Painting my nails,' Rangiku replied flashing her beautiful red nails at them. Orihime noticed that there were tiny little white snowflakes that crested the corners of some of them.
'They're so pretty!' Orihime squealed taking Rangiku's hand in hers so she could examine them more closely while Rukia rolled her eyes.
'Thank you, I've been getting better at them,' Rangiku smiled.
'Are you still getting your squad members to bring you varnishes from the world of the living?' Orihime asked letting go of her hand.
'I do, yes, our fourth seat is very adept at finding unique colours,' Rangiku smirked. She picked her drink up and flashed her eyes at the tall glass in front of Orihime. Doing as she was told Orihime took a sip of the deadly mix.
'And your captain still hasn't found out?' Orihime asked. Rukia snorted into her drink as if Orihime had just told a joke and Rangiku gave a very sly smirk.
'My captain doesn't care what I do anymore,' she replied.
'What do you mean?' Orihime frowned. That didn't sound like Captain Hitsugaya at all.
'Never you mind,' Rangiku winked, 'we're not here to talk about boy-'
'-friends,' Rukia interjected with a cough.
'-we're here to catch up,' Rangiku narrowed her eyes at Rukia's interruption.
It clicked and Orihime raised surprised eyebrows at Rangiku but otherwise said nothing.
'So no boy-talk?' Rukia asked.
'None, not even our bosses or husbands or boyfriends,' Rangiku admitted rolling her eyes.
'Sounds good to me,' Rukia nodded, placing her empty glass down on the table. She reached over to flag a waiter who brought a tray of test tube shots to their table.
'Well, I am very happy for you and your nails, Rangiku,' Orihime said with a sly smile, 'I hope you're both very happy together.'
'We are,' she smirked, 'as long as they're not forcing me awake at five in the morning to train for bankai.'
'How's that going?' Rukia asked handing a test tube to both Rangiku and Orihime. At this point Orihime was just doing as she was told. She had nothing to fear when she was with her friends because she trusted them implicitly to take care of her if she got drunk.
'It's…' Rangiku made a face, 'it's going. It's certainly a lot harder than I thought. I know others have achieved it in two days and I've no clue how they managed that.'
'I thought that method was really dangerous?' Orihime asked.
'It is,' Rukia said, 'and we're in no rush. You're best to take it at your own pace, Rangiku, especially if it's elemental.'
Rangiku hummed in agreement.
'How is your bankai, Rukia?' Orihime eagerly asked. Rukia's mouth twitched. Her eyes, which had held a hard edge to them before, softened as she glanced at Orihime.
'It's going well, but trying to find space to practice has been difficult. Thankfully Yoruichi was kind enough to let us use the underground training facility where Ichigo trained for his,' she said toying with the empty glass on the table.
'Is your brother helping you?' Orihime smiled.
'We said no boys,' Rukia smirked and Orihime laughed.
'It's very hard when they're so woven into our lives,' she replied.
'Byakuya has been helping where he can, but a bankai is a very personal thing… there's very little support an outsider can provide,' Rukia toyed with the straw now, 'I imagine it must be similar for your power, Orihime. Others can help encourage you, guide you, but ultimately it must be you who uses it.'
'Yeah,' Orihime nodded, 'though I will be eternally grateful to Yoruichi and you, Rukia, for helping me train and master it.'
Rukia smiled warmly at Orihime and she returned the sentiment.
'Does that mean it's time for the second round then?' Rangiku asked with a laugh, putting her empty glass back down on the table.
'Oh,' Orihime grabbed her glass and tried to drink as much as she could. She was falling behind, too focused on her friends' achievements. The alcohol burned the back of her throat and the ice cubes provided little relief where they rested against her upper lip. She pulled the glass away and took a deep breath, grimacing for a second before closing her eyes and trying to gulp the rest to Rukia's chants of "chug, chug, chug."
'It's been a few years since I drank,' Orihime said lowering the glass down to the table and noticing Rangiku was missing.
'Have you ever had to down a drink before?' Rukia smirked up at her.
'No, I think that was my first time,' she replied.
'You did well,' Rukia chuckled.
'I noticed that you finished your drink fast,' Orihime smiled putting her empty glass right beside Rukia's on the table. Rukia looked at the glasses with a warm expression on her face.
'I have to keep up with the husband,' she rolled her eyes.
'I suppose that would explain it,' Orihime giggled just as Rangiku came back to the table with a tray of drinks.
They made their way through the next round, steadily getting gigglier and caring less about their inhibitions. Rukia's foot tapped along with a track on the floor as Rangiku explained the complex training regimen she'd been doing, not for her bankai, but for her skincare which deeply fascinated Orihime.
They were approached a couple of times through the evening, especially when one of them went to get a round of drinks alone.
'These guys need to stop hitting on you Rangiku,' Rukia said stirring the remnants of her sixth cocktail with her straw.
'What can I say?' Rangiku fluttered her lashes and then winked at Rukia, 'they've got good taste.'
'Shall we show them what they're missing?' Rukia winked back, already pushing herself away from the table. Her intentions were clear as she held her hand out to Orihime to take.
Rukia was going to lead them to the dancefloor.
Orihime wasn't usually a self-conscious person. She spent so much time worrying about the wellbeing of others that it left very little room for her to feel unsure of herself. There was one time where she had been deeply aware of her limitations compared to her friends around her. When she was young and Ichigo had started to collapse in on himself. He'd shut himself off to all of his friends, his family and nothing Orihime could do could break him from his funk. It wasn't until Rukia had burst back into his life, a shining beam of light in the darkness that he'd built, that Ichigo finally snapped out of it.
Orihime had been so jealous of her.
For the first time in her life, she'd been overcome with the emotion, hating everything that made her who she was and wanting everything that made Rukia who she was.
It had been Rangiku that had spoken to her. She helped Orihime see that her feelings were justified but misdirected. She should embrace all the things that made Rukia who she was, that made her such a good friend to both Ichigo and Orihime herself.
I've been alone in my dreams, but I've always searched for you
Needed love in this place, you're the only one I knew
The only one to fix me
Taking Rukia's small hand and letting the diminutive girl pull her to her feet with very little effort, Orihime could feel that previous jealousy burn at the back of her throat. Like a distant taste she'd tried to forget. It didn't burn only for Rukia though. As Rangiku stood up, all legs and brilliantly beaming smile, bouncing hair and elegant figure it was impossible not to be jealous of the both of them for completely different reasons.
Rangiku was picturesque stunning. She was powerful and dedicated to doing the right thing. She'd been brave enough to stand up to Gin when her captain had failed to protect Momo. She'd not hesitated in taking the side of good, even if it meant breaking her own heart and fighting her friends. Rangiku was a literal ray of light and joy, wanting everyone to be involved and to be happy.
Rukia was similar but in her opposing manner. She was small, slender, her raven hair catching the low lighting in the club in interesting ways. She was strong, never afraid to stand up for what she believed in and she'd been unbelievably kind to Orihime at a time when no one else thought her capable.
Rukia had never once abandoned Orihime. She was unquestioningly loyal.
Carried away by the wind, hope it takes me in your arms
Only place where I'm safe, only you can heal my scars
The only one to save me
Orihime watched Rukia who began to move her body as she held Orihime's hand and made her way toward the dance floor. She was every bit as graceful dancing in a club as she were dancing with her zanpakuto during battle.
'I love this song!' Rangiku called over the thrumming base, her hips already moving in alluring circles that had many of the men turning to stare.
And just like Rangiku had told her, Orihime swallowed her jealousy. She replaced the ugly thoughts with pride. Pride; for her friend's achievements and everything that they'd gone through and still managed to fight on. Love for how loyal they were and their unshakable kindness for Orihime and how thankful Orihime was to have them both in her life.
It wasn't always easy for Orihime to put her feelings of jealousy aside, but when she did it she found she became an even warmer person and a far better friend. She became someone who was worthy of the friendship of these two outstanding woman.
Swallowing her insecurities, Orihime began to dance with them. Rangiku's face broke into a breath taking smile once more as they created their own little dance circle on the dance floor. The bass pumped through the flooring and through the souls of their feet. The smell of sweat and stale alcohol burned the back of Orihime's throat and the disco lights moved over the hands of the crowd, showcasing the sweaty bodies pressed up against each other on the floor.
Orihime danced and laughed until her feet hurt. She danced until her heart felt full and until her bleeding thoughts were replaced with overflowing happiness.
The three women who were on the dancefloor that night would be remembered by members of the club for a long time. There was something inhuman in how beautiful they were, something otherworldly about the way they moved together and something dangerous in their eyes that stopped people approaching.
Never had three such untouchable women blessed the bleak dark walls of the shady rooms.
I lost my love to you
I lost my love to you
When they left, they left together, carrying their shoes over their shoulders, giggling and flashing smiles at the security guard who warned them to be careful. They spilled into the street below, where the same man who had called out to Orihime before she'd walked into the club was waiting.
'There you are beautiful, I've been waiting for you-' he started, making moves toward her. With nothing more than a glare in his direction, the man stopped, hesitating. His shifty brown eyes slid from woman to woman.
'Leave me alone,' Orihime warned. Her voice was low enough and dangerous enough that the man didn't push his luck, merely grumbled and walked away. When Orihime turned back to Rukia and Rangiku the two women were beaming at her, pride and affection etched into the corners of their expressions.
Feeling lighter than she had done in years, Orihime invited the two women back to her place to wrap their perfect little evening up.
She would be forever thankful to the two of them, for calling her their friend.
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