Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of the characters affiliated with the franchise.
Well, here's chapter five ... Enjoy it.
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"What's the meaning of this?" Rangiku questioned, her heart throbbing. The fact she was naked as the day she was born didn't seem to matter at the moment.
"You know why I'm here, you damn slut."
That was all Rangiku heard before her visitor threw a punch. Fortunately, the blonde lieutenant had barely been able to dodge before it connected. Had the right hook hit its mark, Lieutenant Matsumoto was certain it would've done major damage. Now a step away from her assailant, the buxom blonde was prepared for another attack.
"Tatsuki, I don't understand why you're doing this," the female soul reaper tried to reason with the irate martial artist.
"Shut the fuck up and fight," the dark-haired teen bellowed, thrusting her right leg up for a roundhouse kick to Rangiku's temple.
Instead of dodging, Rangiku simply captured Tatsuki's leg and pushed her back, causing the young woman to nearly lose her balance.
"I don't want to fight you, Tatsuki. Whatever it is I supposedly did, we could talk this out. Please, stop this before you're seriously hurt."
Not listening to rationale, the Arisawa woman rushed Lieutenant Matsumoto, throwing punches and kicks at every point of the soul reaper's body, hoping to land a crushing strike. To her utter shock, the woman before her appeared to expect her every move, blocking each and every attempt she made, which further frustrated the teen girl.
"What's wrong, bitch? Are you scared? You know how to be a skank and fuck other people's partners, yet you won't fight."
"Excuse m-"
"Bitch, you were expecting Ichigo. Look at you, you're naked - and you look hideous, by the way, with those saggy, enhanced balloons - and you're parading around like a prostitute. You're nothing but a lowly tramp who I never should've trusted."
On the one hand, the lieutenant was shocked. On the other, she felt Tatsuki had no right to question who she slept with. "First of all, I'm not a tramp or a bitch. Second, who I sleep with is none of your concern. Third, you're just jealous you're as flat as an ironing board. And fourth, how did you find out about us?" She figured the cat was already out of the bag, so she might as well not burden herself with playing ignorant.
"Me, jealous of a floozy? Get real."
"It must hurt to look like a man?" she joked, deciding to infuriate the teen for calling her out on her perceived promiscuity.
"At least I don't use my body to get attention unlike you, you over-the-hill, plastic Barbie doll."
"Because you don't have a body to flaunt," Rangiku chuckled, absolutely feeling delighted to see the martial artist turn red. "Now, why don't we stop this grade-school-bickering and you could tell me how you found out about Ichigo and I?"
"Ah, yes. Well, last week I happened to be walking along the street on my way home, practicing my punches and, for whatever reason, I gazed over to the left. Lo and behold, I saw your ugly ass giggling it up with Ichigo at Benihana's. I couldn't believe it. And all the while I thought you were Orihime's friend. ... I wanted to march right in there and beat the shit out of both of you, but I thought better of it and instead chose to let Orihime know about two scumbags she trusted. You two were so despicable, getting all cozy. It made me sick. How the hell could you sit there rooting for her to get with Ichigo when all this time you were getting your rocks off being his washed up cum dump? It must feel really good to be a backstabbing little twit, doesn't it?"
"So she knows? Jeez, this is bad, this is bad. How am I ever going to explain all of this to Orihime? What to do? What to do?"
The martial artist went for another strike, disrupting Lieutenant Matsumoto's thoughts. Having withstood Tatsuki's numerous scathing remarks, the blonde woman had simply had enough. Acting quickly, the soul reaper enclosed the fiery martial artist's fist with her own, and then, hastily yanking the girl's arm behind her, she held the teen girl in place. The dark-haired teen tried to retaliate, but Rangiku wasn't accepting any of that. Opting to put her down, the soul reaper delivered a chop to the back of the human's neck, knocking her out cold. When the human awakened from her slumber, she'd hoped the two of them could manage to work out their differences.
XOXOXOXOXO
Ichigo felt terrible. Physically, the pain was minimal compared to the mental and emotional turmoil he experienced. He envisioned Orihime crying her eyes out, wondering, wishing, that what he'd said was merely a bad dream.
He'd stopped at the mall after school to search for the perfect gift to give to Orihime in the hopes that it would somehow ease her pain. The substitute soul reaper asked all sorts of people for their opinions. Granted, everyone he met either had a sly remark about his face - seeing as it was bruised and swollen to go along with a broken nose - or they boldly refused to assist him. Refusing to give up, however, he eventually came upon a jewelry store. He'd looked at many of the varying pieces, but none of them seemed to fit what he felt the healer would want. That was until he spotted a bracelet with sapphires and diamonds assorted and the word 'forever' engraved on the inside.
He figured it was perfect and would let the girl know just how much she truly meant to him.
Now, he sat outside of her apartment, gulping.
"Here goes nothing."
The substitute soul reaper knocked on the door three times and waited patiently for his burnt-orange-haired classmate to answer. It didn't take long before the door opened, but what he came to meet, he surely wished he hadn't: Orihime's eyes were puffy and she'd given the appearance that she hadn't eaten a crumb of food in days. To put it bluntly, the girl looked ghastly by all accounts (not that he'd openly admit it to her, though).
The young man felt yet another ping to his heart.
"O-Orihime, hi..."
The young woman's heart leaped for joy; her love was here. It didn't even matter that his face was disfigured, as she could and would heal his injuries in an instant. After all, the man she adored was a handsome, valiant champion. She took pride in that truth. "Ichigo, please, come inside."
"I need to give you two things. Close your eyes, 'Hime," he commanded to which she complied.
Ichigo opened the box containing the bracelet he'd purchased for her and carefully placed the jewelry around her thin wrist. Once he secured it, the substitute then proceeded to pull Orihime close to him and gave her a passionate kiss. While shocked, the girl definitely hadn't wanted Ichigo to believe his gesture wasn't welcome, because it sure had been. More than welcome, mind you.
Her tongue reached for his and the young man obliged her silent request, relishing the sweet, soft moans she bequeathed him.
It felt so right. Why? He hadn't a clue.
The duo stayed joined for the next ten minutes, simply kissing, before the teen boy retreated from her due to requiring oxygen.
"Wow...," the girl sighed, trying to gather her bearings; a pleasurable burning sensation gracing her lips from the experience, "that was ... incredible..."
Ichigo agreed. He then watched her raise her left wrist and focus her beautiful grey eyes on the bracelet.
"It's so beautiful. But, I'm sure it must have cost you a lot of money and I know I'm not worth all of this."
"Don't say that, 'Hime. You're precious to me and I know it ain't the best, nor is it anything close to what you deserve, but I wanted you to know how much you mean to me. So, please, take this, as it was all I could afford. I promise that someday I'll get you something better," he swore.
A tear eluded Orihime's right eye, "You didn't have to do this. Really, it's just ... it's just..."
Ichigo didn't allow her to finish. He kissed her again, lifting the girl and carrying her inside of her apartment and closing the door.
Author's Note: There you have it, chapter five. Thank you to everyone who's shown support for this story up until this point, and I hope you all stick around for the long haul; we have a long way to go to the finish line.
Good fortune to all of you. Peace.
