Funny Bunny

Rukia looked with perplexity at the pile of lingerie in her arms. Lace, strapless, leopard print, bunny print (which she was determined to get), black, red, pink, see-through… The small shinigami was getting dizzy from all of her options. In Soul Society these types of decisions were easy. Women wrapped their chest with clean, white linen if they needed it. But in the real world, and especially before gym, she always received strange looks from her classmates and was even asked when she first arrived if she had had a surgery or was hurt. It was high time, she thought, to settle herself into the culture of the living.

"It seems you have enough to try in the dressing room now! Let me open one for you. Please follow me," the saleswoman said, beckoning Rukia to her. She followed behind, weighed down by her mound of undergarments. "If you have any questions or size issues, just let me know! I'll be right outside," she said, unlocking the door to a luxurious changing room. Rukia shut the door behind her and sunk into the plush Victorian style chair in the corner of the off-white, cubicle-like room.

With determination, she put her hands on her hips and evaluated the choices before her, choosing the bunny print bra first. Pulling off her plain t-shirt, Rukia grabbed the undergarment and put her hands through the loops. Having looked at the magazine carefully before she asked Ichigo, she had an idea as to how one should be worn. It was the hooks in the back that gave her trouble.

After several frustrating moments, she threw the bra off her shoulders and glared at it, hoping it would shrivel under her lethal stare. She picked it up and inspected the back of it, putting the hooks together before shoving her head and shoulders through just like a shirt. She found it worked much better to put it on that way.

She tilted her head, inspecting her reflection in the full-length mirror before her. The bra fit her perfectly and was a soft, seamless cotton. She nodded her head with satisfaction and set it on top of her shirt, picking up her next choice.

Ichigo idled in the far corner of the small, extremely girly shop, waiting for any stray customers that had wandered into the store to leave while he searched the shelves frantically. Yuzu had mentioned it just yesterday. It couldn't have been sold yet…

"Can I help you with something, sir?" squeaked a small woman wearing an adorable work uniform. Ichigo studied her expression for a moment and nodded his head, continuing to dig through the merchandise.

"Aa. I need to find a particular stuffed animal. My sister came here yesterday and said she saw it," he explained.

"Aaah, a birthday present perhaps?" she asked. He hesitated and nodded his head.

"Yeah. Birthday present," he gruffed. It vaguely crossed his mind that he had no idea when or even if Rukia had a birthday. It was something he decided he should probably ask her. After all, he needed an excuse to give her the toy. His mind wandered as he thought of ways to find out discreetly while not compromising his delicate reputation. If word got out that he was in a store called Papipupe…

"Which doll was it?" Ichigo looked down at the homely woman, who smiled sincerely. He thought for a moment, stuck on her words before shaking his head and trying to answer her question.

"A rabbit. It was white and… fluffy," he said rather awkwardly. The woman bustled past him, humming a bouncy tune. She stood up on her tiptoes, pushed aside a large panda stuffed animal and revealed a whole variety of Chappy the Bunny items.

"Is this what you were looking for, sir?" she asked. Ichigo's mouth dropped open and he vowed never to allow Rukia near the store.

"Yes, this is exactly what I was looking for," he said as he shuffled through the shelf. The woman below him bowed and silently walked away, still humming her little song. Ichigo whipped out his midi player as he skimmed through the pillows, notebooks, pencils, stuffed animals, backpacks and other Chappy paraphernalia. He finally chose a kimono cloth stuffed animal, a pencil-notebook set and a keychain for her backpack. He knew he had gotten carried away, forgetting his reputation as he weighed his choices and bobbed his head to the music. He just couldn't help himself when the song filtered through his earphones ended up being Funny Bunny by The Pillows.

A/N: I have to say that if you don't know The Pillows, you haven't watched enough FLCL (Furi Kuri/Fooly Cooly) A great, crazy Japanese band if you ever get curious!

Papipupe is a real store in Japan (near Hiroshima) full of girly goodies of all kinds: school supplies, socks and underclothes, jewelry, stuffed animals, purses, and SO much more! If you ever go to Japan, you should definitely try to find one like it!