A Bleach Beach Trip
Chapter 2
Ichigo breathed deeply of the ocean air as their group exited the train, shifting the weight of the extra bags he was carrying. A three hour-long train ride wasn't his idea of a good start to a summer vacation. Especially with his naps continually being interrupted by Keigo. Ichigo never found out what he wanted, pound first ask questions later. At least Keigo had been in the other compartment. Uryu and Chad had been the only other ones in Ichigo's compartment, besides Tatsuki and Orihime. The two guys never said a word, and the girls were content to just talk between themselves. It had been the first time since Ichigo had gained his Shinigami powers that he had actually had a relatively peaceful moment.
When she wasn't talking to Tatsuki, Orihime had been looking out the window at the speeding scenery. Though her eyes would invariably wander towards Kurosaki-kun's sleeping face. She smiled to herself at how sleep loosened the ever-present scowl on his face. Even though she enjoyed looking at his face even when he was scowling––sometimes she enjoyed it especially when he was scowling––she couldn't help but think that he looked so much more pleasant when his face was relaxed. Over the past few months she had been able to see his face with many different expressions than his usual scowl. Whether it was determination while facing an enemy, or fear for his friends, and those few, brief, moments when his eyes would soften for just a moment and she would be able to catch a glimpse of the feelings behind those eyes. Though it was a more than minor source of annoyance for her that she couldn't quite figure out what those feelings were exactly.
She'd once told Kurosaki-kun that Ishida-kun would have more friends if he were a little more pleasant when he spoke to people. Orihime was certain that people would also find it easier to approach Kurosaki-kun if he wasn't frowning all the time. But if he didn't frown he wouldn't be Kurosaki-kun anymore, and would instead be a clone from another dimension, who was trying to take over his life, but he would be foiled by Orihime, and then Kurosaki-kun would confess his undying love for her, and they would live happily ever after…
Tatsuki stared at her friend, when the later giggled very loudly, not taking notice of their public surroundings. Though most of the people in the immediate vicinity were their friends who, knowing Orihime, didn't think much of it. She decided not to ask.
"Isn't your Cousin supposed to pick us up from here?" Keigo asked Mizuiro after they had been waiting at the train station for a while.
"He should be," Mizuiro replied, pulling a cell phone out of his pocket. "I'll try calling his cell phone." He dialed the number, but hung up when he heard a car honking. "Never mind, there he is."
They were greeted by a young man in his early twenties, who looked like a taller, slightly older version of Mizuiro. Mahana whistled under her breath. "Not bad," she commented.
Tatsuki shrugged. "I've seen better."
"Hey, sorry I'm late. I was talking to this girl and kind of lost track of time."
Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Yep, he's Mizuiro's cousin." Tatsuki snickered, Orihime giggled to herself, and even Uryu cracked a smile, fleeting though it was. Chad's face remained as impassive as always.
Mizuiro's cousin helped everyone pile into the van, noticing Orihime in the progress. "Hi," he started, "I'm…"
Tatsuki nudged Orihime into the van. "Don't bother, she's taken." Mizuiro's cousin blinked for a moment, and then just shrugged. Ichigo, having heard the comment, raised an eyebrow, before returning to his usual scowl.
The drive to the cabin had been uneventful, other than a few attempts at flirting by Mizuiro's cousin, quickly shot down by Tatsuki. The girls were unpacking their luggage in their room. Most of Orihime's luggage had to be left in a corner in the main room. She was unpacking the bag that had her clothes in it, when she came across it. She looked at the bikini for just a moment, which was long enough for Tatsuki to sneak behind her.
"You going to put it on?" Tatsuki asked her friend.
Orihime squealed and stuffed the bikini into the drawer she was loading full of her clothes. "O-of course not. I was just…"
The other girls noticed Tatsuki and Orihime talking. Mahana came over and looked curiously into the drawer. "What are you two talking about?"
"Orihime bought a new bikini, but now she's too chicken to try it on."
Orihime pouted. "That's not true Tatsuki-chan. I was just…"
"Oh wow," Mahana said as she pulled the bikini out of the drawer. "This is gorgeous. Why wouldn't you want to wear it? It looks great. Come on, let's see what it looks like on you."
"Actually I…" Orihime tried to refuse, but the combined pressure from both Tatsuki and Mahana made her give in. Michiro wasn't saying anything, but she was paying close attention to what was happening. Ryo was also paying attention, though she was being careful not to let it show.
As she started putting on the bikini, Orihime decided that it really wasn't such a big deal to be trying it on if it was just her and the girls. Though she would remain adamant that she would not wear it outside this room.
Tatsuki nodded appreciatively when Orihime was done putting on the bikini. "Wow, it looks better than I thought it would."
Mahana nodded. "You've got great taste Tatsuki, it really looks good on her." She turned to Orihime. "You've got to wear that Orihime, it would be a crime against nature if you didn't."
Orihime blushed at the compliments. "Well…I…"
"I wish I had a figure like that," Michiro commented.
"It really wouldn't be all that great." Ryo said. "You'd only end up attracting all the wrong attention, and none that you do want."
Orihime sighed, thinking to herself about just how true that statement was.
"I'd be satisfied with any attention right now." Michiro pouted.
"You can go ahead and change Orihime," Tatsuki said, deciding to let her friend off the hook. "We'll save this bombshell for the right time." Tatsuki's grin was meant to reassure Orihime, but that only lasted two seconds before it became mischievous.
Orihime sighed to herself as she undid the straps of the bikini. The way things were going it would only be a matter of time before they had that bikini on her again. The part that scared her was that she found herself minding it less and less. Maybe this was what she needed to help with her boy troubles. Just as she undid the last strap and dropped the bikini on the bed, she heard the sound of the door opening.
AN: Sorry it took me so long to update. I got caught up with school work and the editing process dragged on a little. If it takes some time for my fics to update that's because I refuse to post an unfinished chapter just because I've finished writing the first draft. I've done that with some previous stories, and they've sucked. On another note, it may be a little bit before I get the next chapter up. Though it might not take me as long as I think, since I've divided up the second chapter into about three or four individual chapters. Heck this one was even meant to be longer, but I decided this was the best place to end for now. Suffer knowing that I hold the answer to who is at the door, and it is only through my whim that you will receive that answer. That and I figured I should at least get a chapter posted before I go into finals. So the next one might be kind of short, however there is a chance that it will be the longest yet if I go through with my original plan. Don't worry though, this story will be finished, unlike some of my other stories. I do plan on either finishing some of those, or rewriting and finishing them. So if any of you like some of my unfinished chapter stories then look forward to those. The ones I plan on working on are, "A Christmas Carol ½" (which will be rewritten and finished) and "Be Home for Christmas…Or else!" Look for these in the Ranma ½ section come Christmas.
See you next chapter.