The next morning, everyone was excitedly talking about the beach house, Ichigo only paying half attention, thinking about Orihime. She lived by herself, and it seemed like although she was friends with a lot of people, the only person she really talked to about her problems was Tatsuki. He frowned 'I had to basically force her to talk to me. She really is alone.'
"Me and Renji will be coming." Rukia's voice interrupted his thoughts as she walked over to the group. Mizuiro lit up "That's great!" "Thanks for inviting us." Rukia said, smiling. "You guys are our friends too" Mizuiro said firmly "Now, if everyone is here…wait. Orihime!" he waved her over. "Okay. So we're meeting up at the beach house tomorrow afternoon once school lets out. I'll send you all the address to your phones" Rukia raised her hand "Uhh…" "I'll write it down for you" Mizuiro assured her, not missing a beat.
"There are four rooms and eight of us, so we'll have to share rooms. Me and Keigo are sharing, anyone else have a pair yet?" "Me and Renji will share, we always did when we were kids." Rukia offered, shrugging. "Me and Ichigo are sharing" Orihime said shyly, a blush on her cheeks. Mizuiro looked at Ichigo strangely, but Keigo wailed "What?! How come Ichigo gets to share a room with a gorgeous girl?!" Mizuiro opened his mouth, but Ichigo beat him to the punch "To protect her from you, you pervert."
Mizuiro snickered and Keigo gasped. "How dare you suggest such a thing!" he cried, pretending to be offended. Ichigo rolled his eyes and added "I wouldn't mess with Rukia either. She and Renji will both beat the shit out of you." Keigo sulked in the corner, fake crying. "Anyway" Mizuiro continued, ignoring his dramatic friend "That leave Uryuu and Chad together. You guys okay with that?" "Sure" Uryuu confirmed, Chad silently nodding his agreement.
"Great! Now, there's three rooms with two beds each, but the fourth room only has a queen bed. Any volunteers?" He grinned at the silent group. "Alright, then we'll have a little competition. Last pair there has to take the queen bed." Everyone groaned but his grin just widened. The teacher then walked in and the group dispersed, going back to their desks. No one was focused on class, everyone was busy formulating a plan to get to the house first.
On their way home, Ichigo proposed his idea to Orihime, who was grateful at least one of them had come up with something. The address was pretty far out of town, and she didn't even know how they would get there, let alone get there quickly. "We'll get a cab from the school, and stop in to grab our things along the way." Ichigo explained "We might not be the fastest, but we shouldn't be the slowest either. Chad lives on the opposite side of town, he'll have to grab his stuff before heading over."
Orihime nodded with determination "I'll leave my suitcase right by the door!" she suddenly thought of an issue "But…where are we getting cab money?" She bit her lip "I have a bit of money, but I don't think it would get us the whole way…" she didn't mention that the money was supposed to be for her groceries.
Ichigo waved his hand at her "Once my dad hears that it's for you too, we'd be lucky if he didn't rent a limo." Ichigo snorted "He's always liked you more than me." Orihime blushed "I-I doubt that he…" "He called you his honorary daughter once" Ichigo informed her with a snicker. "That's so nice!" she gushed and he smiled.
When Ichigo had seen her safely home, Orihime began to pack, realizing with a frown that she didn't have a bathing suit. She wondered if Rukia had one….maybe they could get new ones together? She quickly called Urahara's shop "Hello?" Renji's voice was on the line, and in the background she heard Jinta yell "That's not the right greeting!"
"Hi Renji!" Orihime greeted "Is Rukia there?" "Sure, one second" he replied, and then more shouting ensued "RUKIA!" "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU YELLING FOR?!" "ORIHIME'S ON THE PHONE FOR YOU, DAMN IT!" "WELL THERES STILL NO NEED TO SCREAM AT ME!" Orihime stifled a giggle as she heard Renji mutter something about being ungrateful and the phone passing hands
"Hey Orihime, what's up?" Rukia asked. "I was wondering if you had a bathing suit." Orihime explained, holding her breath. She didn't want to go shopping alone, it was so boring. "Oh, I never even thought about that….I don't, actually…" "Perfect!" Orihime grinned at Rukia's confused "What?" "We can go shopping together. If you want." She suggested, and Rukia replied "Sure. When will we meet?"
Orihime thought for a second "At the mall, around six?" "See you then" Rukia confirmed, hanging up. Orihime snapped her phone closed with an excited squeal. It wasn't very often she got to go shopping, even if she was using her grocery money for clothes.
At six exactly Orihime waved over an overwhelmed looking Rukia "Is this your first time in the mall?" she asked, and Rukia nodded, absently looking at the fountain in the center. "Don't worry!" Orihime exclaimed, "I know exactly where to go" she grabbed Rukia's hand and led the surprised soul reaper to a lingerie store that sold a lot of bathing suits.
"If we make sure to meet up again before we leave this store, we won't get lost in the mall." Orihime said cheerily, Rukia nodding her agreement. She couldn't even remember where the main door was, she definitely didn't want to wander on her own. They browsed the swimsuits, Rukia frowning at how skimpy some of them were. "Orihime, what do you think would suit me?" she asked quietly, and the orange haired beauty lit up.
"You could wear anything Rukia! You're so lucky. I need to find something with an underwire." She made a face. A dark indigo two piece caught her eye. "Ohh this one matches your eyes" she passed it to her friend, who looked it over critically "Are you sure it's not too…skimpy?" Rukia asked, frowning. Orihime looked over her shoulder "Mmm I don't think so, the bottoms are a little cheeky but they'll cover everything important, and the top is perfect. But it's about what makes you comfortable, so try it on and see how you feel." She suggested, Rukia nodding.
They both went back to looking, Rukia admitting to herself she didn't see anything she liked more than Orihime's pick. Rukia's gaze snapped to Orihime as she gasped. "Oh this is beautiful!" she pulled down a turquoise one piece with small cutouts on the sides and a halter style top. "And it has an underwire, perfect" she said, relieved. Rukia smiled "that will look nice on you" she paused at Orihime's sudden frown
"It's kinda expensive…" she sighed, going to put it back when Rukia grabbed it, checking the price herself. "It's not that bad…" She raised her eyebrow "Not much more than mine, right?" Orihime bit her lip 'If I buy this, I can't pay for electricity this month. That's not really worth it…' "I'll buy it for you" Rukia said, Orihime's eyes going wide. "But Rukia-.." Rukia held up her hand "Nope. It's a gift."
Her eyes softened "A thank you, for all the times you've healed us. You may never receive an official thank you from the soul society, but many of us are indebted to you." Orihime blushed "Th-thank you so much." She tried not to tear up, and Rukia suddenly said "Let's try them on then!" and tugged her towards the changing rooms she'd spotted earlier. Orihime smiled. She was so lucky to have such good friends.
Orihime inspected herself in the mirror, not believing her reflection. The swimsuit looked like it was made for her, hugging her curves perfectly, and supporting her well. Shaking her head, she opened the door the same time as Rukia opened her own and squealed "Oh my gosh Rukia you look amazing!" The dark colour complimented her creamy skin, and Orihime could easily admit that she would not be able to pull off the bikini; Rukia was thinner than her and still easily filling it out.
Rukia smiled, unusually shy "You think so?" "Absolutely!" Orihime insisted. "You look great too, Orihime." Rukia replied and Orihime smiled. "Thanks. I think we found our picks!" They headed to the counter and Rukia paid for them both, Orihime still feeling a little guilty. Outside the mall they parted ways, Rukia heading back to Urahara's and Orihime going home.
By the time she got home, it was just turning dark, and Orihime breathed a sigh of relief as she locked her door behind her. She'd gotten more nervous about being out on her own at night since they returned from Hueco Mundo, even though she knew she could protect herself. The dark reminded her of the never ending night outside her cell window.
Shaking off those thoughts, she put her new swimsuit in her suitcase and zipped it closed, leaving it by the door as promised.