Chapter 1: I'll Be There for You
~Rukia~
Teasing him was fun because:
A) He more or less deserved it.
B) It was her duty as best friend to straighten him out.
C) She was about to make a journey across town for him at 3 in the morning when she had less than 6 hours to hand in her weekly column. Of course she wasn't going to go easy on him!
The power of friendship?
Go figure.
The Thing With Friends
By: Sode no Shirayuki
In this world, we have friends and best friends. The difference between the two is this- if you are upset, a friend comes up to you to give you a hug; your best friend on the other hand, shows up with a gun, and says to you "tell me who to shoot."
Okay, folks- jokes aside, but really answer me this: who is your best friend in the whole wide world? Some guys (or gals) said 'I married my best friend'- well congratulations to you both! But the real question I want to ask is the same question Meg Ryan's been asking since 'When Harry Met Sally' made its big screen debut: Can a guy and a gal ever simply be friends (best friends) without the big 'S' word in the middle?
Ladies and gentlemen, you have your views and yes, have no doubt that they do matter. But for yours truly, the answer has always been simple – read my lips 'Y-E-S'.
Case no. 1: Shirayuki's best friend since college.
'IK' as we shall call him, graduated in the same year as yours truly from the esteemed Harvard University. And yes, you might wonder; what is Shirayuki doing in Harvard if she's in journalism? Well, back then yours truly was majoring in Linguistics with 'Shakespearean Literature' as a minor.
Now, back to the story- receiving 'maxima cum laude', it was really no surprise that IK was valedictorian whil-
~Backspace
XXX
I was watching a rerun of my all-time favourite 'When Harry Met Sally' the other day when my so-called best friend/pain in the ass swooped down and changed it to 'Family Guy'.
Naturally I had refused to give him full reign over my Netflix on my TV, so a tickle fight broke out. The details were irrelevant, but it wasn't long before I found myself playing the old '20 Questions' while we were wrestling for the remote control.
Ichigo had asked me what my most memorable experience in college was. I told him that everything was the best experience I could ever have because I had a group of friends who I counted on to help me out of those sticky situations.
Can you believe that jerk called me a 'dork' for giving- I quote 'the mushiest answer ever in the history of mushy lines'?
And after so much I've done for him! Way to show your appreciation for your best friend, Ichigo!
But that aside, the question I'm asking you this week is this: what happened to your best buds after graduation?
Do you still pick up your phone and have their numbers on speed dials?
Do you still hang out with them?
Are you still living in the same area as them?
I've never lost contact with my 'rat pack'. I am happy to say that till this day, I still have my close friends' numbers on speed dial. I hang out with them on special occasions that include birthdays and weekends. But most of all, I live in the same city as my best friend- Ichigo.
~Backspace
XXX
Rukia Kuchiki groaned as her dainty fingers hit the 'backspace' on her laptop for the umpteenth time. Folding her arms together, she glared at the illuminative screen, huffing in pure frustration as she had once again failed to come up with her weekly column piece on time.
Bad grammar she could deal with, spelling mistakes were practically nonexistent in her line of work. But the pieces that she had been typing, backspacing and retyping again simply lacked one very important thing –soul.
And the lack of soul in her column just made her sad. No matter how many times she rewrote it, reread it- it simply didn't feel right.
She leaned back against her comfortable armchair and squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to rearrange her thoughts, digging through bits and specks of random memory she had stored away- hoping to find something to serve as a source of inspiration.
Think happy thoughts.
Think Chappy.
Think…
XXX
Urgh, who was she kidding? She had nothing- no inspiration, no idea, no drive at all!
For once in her life, the Rukia Kuchiki had run out of ideas and thoughts on how to start an article. The situation was worse than she thought. She rested her forehead against the cool surface of her mahogany worktable, willing herself to just breathe and relax.
Damn writer's block, she cursed as she buried her face in her hands. For the past week, she had been in the most severe state of writer's block she had ever experienced, so much so that her job as the most sought-after weekly columnist in the Seattle Times was being threatened by it. Ichigo might be on to something when he said that the reason behind her block had more to do with stress and dissatisfaction with the current interoffice political drama going on at her workplace than anything else.
The situation between her and her new editor-in-chief was tense. They couldn't agree on anything at all- from colour schemes over paneling to the topics of the column. Between his snide comments about how her work was more noise than substance and the baseless criticisms he gave for every single one of her ideas during group meetings, Rukia had just about had enough of that man.
Sooner or later, the two of them were going to have words and it would definitely be epic, right now though she needed to focus because as of now, she had 24 hours to complete her work. She cast a glance at the grandfather clock in her apartment and grimaced- scratch that, make it 6 hours.
She realized that she had no choice but to come up with something. It might be crappy and of course not up to her impeccable standard of work, but it should put food on the table.
Or at least, she hoped it would.
The last thing she wanted to do was to give her new boss ammunition on why she wasn't pulling her weight and fulfilling her responsibilities. She didn't need to give the man any more hints of weakness when he was already determined to run her into the ground and just dying to replace her with someone else.
XXX
Without warning, her iPhone started dancing to Beethoven's 'Fur Elise'.
She groaned at the interruption. Her day wasn't going well at all- first she couldn't get in touch with her inner muse and now, she forgot to switch off her cell. For all she knew, the day could only get even worse by ending with her dismissal from work.
Cursing inwardly, she tried to ignore the vibrating phone lying oh-so innocently beside her laptop- taking slow breathing exercises and trying to count backwards from '10'. She flexed her muscles not once, but twice before doing some basic stretching exercises to smooth out the kinks on her back after the long hours of hunching over a laptop.
The keyword of course being 'tried'.
In the end, rationality and annoyance won out.
She picked up her phone, switching it to 'loudspeaker' mode without bothering to glance at the caller ID.
"Yo, Rukia."
She recognized his voice immediately. That idiot called- even when she had specifically told him not to.
Didn't he know that she had a column to finish? And that she couldn't afford any distractions at all?
"What do you want, Ichigo!" she snapped.
"Rukia! Is that any way for a Kuchiki to act and speak?"
She snorted loud enough for him to hear. "Oh gee I don't know, but I guess that's what happens when you call her at 3 o'clock in the morning! So could you just spit out what you want, my patience is running thin."
"Wow, grouchy much? Rukia, what's crawled up your midget ass this time?"
"Ichigo," she growled. "Call me 'midget' again and I swear I will end this call. Stop wasting my time and spit out what you want so I can go back to my writing!"
"Okay, okay. Relax- no need to scream. I'm not an old man you know?"
"Well you could have fooled me."
She sighed, holding the phone directly in front of her. Ichigo was a jerk at times, but he wasn't cruel- wouldn't intentionally interrupt her on her writing sessions unless there was an actual emergency, so the least that she could do was be a good friend and hear him out.
But for whatever reason he decided to make the call, it had better be good!
"Come on, Ichigo. Get to the point. What is it this time?"
"I need a ride, Rukia. Come pick me up at Grace."
"G-Grace, as in the Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital, as in the Seattle Grace where you work at," Rukia spluttered.
"The one and only."
"Jesus Christ," she muttered under her breath as she sat upright. "You do know that I am currently having one of the worst cases of writer's block and that I have a column piece to finish in 6 hours if I want to keep my job, right?"
She bit her bottom lip. "What happened to your car?
"She's at the workshop. Urahara's fixing her some new tyres."
Rukia rolled her eyes- men, so typical. How a medical school valedictorian could graduate with full distinction without having any sense to check his own schedule with his mechanic was beyond her.
Did he ever pause to consult his schedule before making any decisions at all?
Nope- definitely not.
Knowing that brash, stubborn orange-head friend of hers, he probably did everything on whim, which was yet another reason why it was always a pleasure for her to irk him by saying 'I told you so'- well not exactly in those words, but the meaning was more or less the same.
Her tone turned coy.
"Oh, I don't know, Ichigo. I did say that I have a column to finish, right? Why don't you ask the others? Ishida-san and Orihime work in the same hospital as you and Chad passes through that place every evening. I'm pretty sure either of them wouldn't mind giving you a ride?"
"Four-eyes's on a date with some chick called Nomy or something like that and Chad's in New York. He's not going to be back until next week. But then again, why am I wasting my breath here since you obviously knew that, Rukia?"
The corners of her lips curled upwards. Damn, he was good!
"How did you know that I kn-"
"Oh puh-lease, Rukia. Have some faith! This is your best friend since college on the phone with you! And let's not forget that I'm also the valedictorian of my year. Of course, I would've figured it out. I can read you with just a twitch of your eyebrows."
"Wow, egoistical much! It's a wonder you could still walk with such a big head on your shoulders."
"Well, you know me. I'm infallible."
"And just when I thought Burj Khalifa was the tallest thing in existence. Don't you think that it's funny Guinness World Record hasn't come knocking at your door?" replied Rukia dryly.
"Oh hearty har har, Rukia! And the lamest joke of the year goes to, drum rolls please, Rukia Kuchiki! Congratulations, Rukia! I bet even that Nomy chick of Uryuu's could tell funnier jokes than you could. I mean, she can't do any worse, right?"
"Her name is Nemu, Ichigo," she corrected. "NE-MU, not Nomy and she's Professor Kurotsuchi's daughter. You do remember that old coot, right?"
"How could I forget him? If I close my eyes and try hard enough, I can still smell the faint whiff of the legendary 'Rafflesia Ammonified Rotten Egg Concoction Special'- gives me nightmares and vomit urges. Uryuu sure had some guts to date the old nut case's daughter. But that aside, Rukia- stop changing the topic! Come and pick me up!"
She frowned.
"Ichigo, what part of 'I'm busy', do you not comprehend? Do you honestly want me to end up on the streets, penniless and jobless?"
There were a few moments of silence before she heard him replying. His tone was as sarcastic and crude as ever whenever the conversation veered towards the direction of her brother. She never did understand the animosity between her brother and her best friend. They were like water and potassium- two components that did not bode well together and extremely volatile upon contact.
It drove her to points of insanity when it came to dealing with both of them together.
Why can't the two most important men in her life just get along happily?
"Penniless, my ass! Your brother is Byakuya fucking Kuchiki. CEO of Kuchiki Corporations and Senbonzakura Enterprise, ring any bells? Besides, you're a worldwide bestselling writer. How exactly can you be 'penniless', huh? Sometimes I don't even understand why you need that columnist job."
"Ichigo, don't drag the column into this! And I told you, the column helps to keep my brain fresh with thinking up plots and stuff. And don't talk about Nii-sama like that! You know what? Why don't you just flag down a taxi or Uber?"
"And miss seeing your delightful face at 3 in the morning? 'Sides we can't all be made of money."
"Take the metro then," she offered, "Is that what it is- think you're too good for public transport now?"
"Rukiaaaaaa."
She ignored him, her thumb lingering on the 'end call' button. She had been more than kind considering the suggestions that she had given him. It certainly wasn't her fault if he was being picky and difficult.
"Rukia, I can't get a ride from a taxi, the metro or any public transportation for the moment."
"..."
"Rukia, I left my wallet at home."
She couldn't help it- she burst out laughing! She laughed so hard that her sides hurt and tears were forming from the corner of her eyes. What a complete scatter-brain idiot!
She laughed even harder when she heard him growling.
"Shut up! It's not funny, Rukia!"
Rukia tried holding in her spurts of laughter to no avail. Imagine the look of appall the Kuchiki elders will have if they saw her behaving in such an undignified manner on the phone!
"Rukia, you witch! Honestly, what was I thinking? Fine! Just don-"
"Hold it right there, Kurosaki. I never said anything about 'not coming' now, did I?" she teased.
She smirked as she heard him growling and muttering angrily on the other line. He had it coming when he interrupted her on one of her cramming/writing sessions.
"You are one very evil little midget, Rukia Kuchiki,"
"And you-" came her reply as she slowly eased her frozen posture out of her comfortable armchair- "Ichigo Kurosaki are a very annoying and freakishly tall giant."
Rukia stretched lethargically as she made her way out the room. She wasn't making any progress anyway and at this point a mental break was long overdue.
"Che! It's not my fault that you're just so vertically-challenged!"
Her eyes narrowed. "Just so you know this petite or as you mentioned 'vertically-challenged' woman also happens to be your only ticket home. It would help if you could be a tad bit more supportive and cooperative."
"Touché. Hey, can we stop by at MacD drive throughfor some Big Mac on the way home?"
She yawned, slipping out her fuzzy PJs into a silk blouse and jeans. Was MacDonald's still open at this godforsaken hour? She shrugged- she didn't know but his eating habits definitely weren't healthy.
"When was the last time you ate something?"
"Honestly, I don't know. Dinner was some sort of chocolate bar I swiped from Ishida. I was about to grab something from the cafeteria before I scored that awesome last-minute craniotomy with Derek that I just couldn't say no to- so maybe six hours ago? And obviously I can't do anything now without my wallet."
Rukia was horrified. "You need to take better care of yourself!"
She could hear him scoffing over the phone.
"Speak for yourself! As if you don't skip meals when you're in the 'zone'."
"That's diff-"
"I call bullshit, Rukia. You forget- I've seen you in the middle of those sessions when you unintentionally starve yourself because you get too invested in the writing process!"
She rolled her eyes, tying her hair into a messy ponytail as she went looking for her car keys. "I do that maybe once a month. You skip meals multiple times a day, almost on a daily basis. This can't be healthy."
Hearing his chuckles on the other line made her eyes twitch. "You're such a mom friend, Rukia."
"I wouldn't have to if you took better care of yourself."
"Awwww, but you like taking care of me."
His comment made her snort.
"In your dreams, Kurosaki! I'm only 27. I don't need to be saddled with the responsibility of taking care of you when I'm out here living my best life, you big man child. I'm only doing this so I don't have to tell Yuzu and Karin that I've failed them and let their idiotic older brother waste away from malnutrition when I see them the next time," she quipped, "do you have any idea how disappointed they would be with me?"
"Nah, in all honesty, they'll probably tell you I deserve it."
She laughed. Yuzu- aspiring nutritionist and domestic goddess-in-the-making- might be kind enough to actually hold her tongue, and then spend the next few days she was in town nagging his ear off about the importance of having a balanced meal with a busy work schedule like his. Karin though was a woman after Rukia's own heart and the younger twin pulled no punches. Between the three of them, teasing Ichigo was a sport that never grew old.
"Duly noted. Are the twins coming over for summer break this year? I know Yuzu's got that internship and Karin's drowning under the stress of her final year project but I miss them."
"Maybe. We'll check with them. Yuzu's internship doesn't start till August and Karin's just being anal about her project- you know how she gets, a little break might actually be good for her."
The line went static for a few seconds while she grabbed her Jimmy Choo pumps, fanning herself as she struggled to put them on in the stifling summer heat. Mornings just weren't even remotely chilly at 3 o'clock in the morning and she hated it, absolutely hated the way sticky clothes were plastered to her skin and the annoying way her hair kept getting in her eye.
"Rukia?"
"What now, Ichigo?"
She huffed as she balanced the phone in one hand and struggled with her shoe straps on the other.
"Oh nothing important, Rukia. But can you just um…, God I feel like shooting myself, please hurry up! Senna's been giving me these very creepy looks. And you know they don't call her 'Cougar' for nothing, right?"
She rolled her eyes.
"It's your ego talking. I'm sure that in reality Senna is actually a very nice person."
"Nice person, my foot Rukia! I've caught her lurking near the men's lockers with that creepy smile and don't even get me started about the times I caught her staring!"
"Staring at what exactly? You? Gosh, you're right, Ichigo! She is demented. How can anybody in this entire universe stare at you and not get a migraine from your colourful hair?"
"Rukia, as your best friend and doctor, I seriously suggest you cut down the sarcasm level. Besides, she's not just demented. She's freaking loony. And I'm not the only one who's notice that she's daydreaming a lot while staring at me, or rather more specifically my butt."
She froze- one shoe on while the other hung by the strap from her right hand grip.
"Wait- you're telling me that she stalks you and frequently has naughty thoughts going on inside her mind about your butt! I thought Orihime was kidding when she told me Senna has OCDYMDS."
"It gets worse, Rukia. Trust me, a hell lot worse. By the way, what is OCDYMDS?"
"Obsessive Cougar-like Disorder towards Young Male Doctors Syndrome," she replied without skipping a beat.
"Well, that makes sense. I'm telling y- Oh shit, here she comes. Rukiaaaa!"
She groaned. "I'll see what I can do," she said before ending the call.
Slipping the sleek phone into her jeans pocket, she slid her left foot impatiently out of her expensive Jimmy Choo, and donned on a pair of green flip flops before rushing out of her apartment, almost forgetting to lock the door in her haste to get into her car.
Honestly the things that she'd do and the lengths that she'd go to save that too-dense-for-his-own-good Strawberry from the jaws of his hungry, rabid fangirls!
Hese's corner:
Edited.
P.S. Isn't Seattle Grace Mercy West a GREY-at place to work at?