Oh well, so this is the 3rd chapter of Our Story. Hope you enjoyed the last chapter, and I think this one won't let you down. Here we go!
Chapter 3: The Mall
Rukia was exhausted after running the blocks that separated Ichigo's house from the mall. After a short while an average hollow had appeared, and for some reason she didn't want to bother Ichigo, so she took care of him. Even when she was completely recovered with her full powers, it took more time than she had expected. Definitively those months of inactivity had left a mark, so she hurried up to her destination. Once inside, she sat in a bench, trying to catch her breath, ignoring some curious stares because of how tired she was. Just before getting up, she noticed an unmistakable orange hair. Remembering that both of them were going to the same place, she almost went to talk to him, but she preferred to stay in her place and watch him. After all, she almost never had any chance to see how Ichigo behaved when she wasn't around. She observed that Ichigo watched thoughtfully a group of girls, who were chatting cheerfully, also looking at him from time to time, even when Ichigo didn't seem to notice. Strangely, Rukia was a little upset with the girls' behavior. She felt something like rage when she observed all those girls look at Ichigo, obviously talking about him, and this showing no reaction to this. Was he really that naive, or he just did it to appear cooler in front of them? Neither of them was a choice Rukia liked. But suddenly she realized that what she was feeling was something suspiciously similar to… jealousy. She, a Kuchiki, was jealous? The mere thought of something like that was ridiculous. But still, that didn't appear to dissipate that feeling. She was about to leave when she watched Ichigo's friends arrive, and show him something inside a bag, to which Ichigo looked surprised. She wondered what could it be when she realized that they were moving to where she was, probably towards the exit. Immediately she slipped away, to avoid being seen. Nonetheless, she didn't noticed Mizuiro looking at her before she left.
Rukia made her way to the meeting point accorded by the girls, a Starbucks coffee that was in the mall. They were already installed when Rukia arrived.
"Hey Rukia, you finally made it" Tatsuki greeted.
"Hey girls, how are you doing?" Rukia greeted cordially, giving a peck in the cheek to each one of them.
"Right now we were talking about you, Rukia" said a smiling Rangiku.
"Really?" Rukia was surprised; she had no idea what they could've been talking about.
"Of course" replied Tatsuki "You don't think you'll be able to run away forever, don't you?"
Rukia sweat dropped. She understood what this was about.
"Tatsuki is right, Rukia" Rangiku said, smiling. "So, tell us, once and for all. What's going on between you and Ichigo?"
…
Minutes later, the girls walked by a clothing store of the mall, Rukia still with her cheeks red. Why did they have to suppose that there was something more than friendship between her and Ichigo? They were friends, and that was it. Even so, when she remembered Ichigo her cheeks turned even redder. Why did they have to bother her in this moment? She sighed, defeated. Who knows…?
Maybe they were kind of right after all.
Tatsuki, meanwhile, observed Rukia's flustered face, amused. It all had started as a simple joke, but it looked like they had hit the nail on the head. Orihime just walked silently along with the other girls, deep in thought. Did really her friend Rukia felt something for Ichigo too? After they explained it to her (*), she now understood a lot better what it meant that both her and Rukia had similar feelings; it meant that only one of them could reach her objective, while the loser would have to resign herself to watch the other be with her love. She didn't want to go through that, she loved Ichigo and cared about Rukia. How could her avoid a situation like that?
After a little walk, both Rukia and Orihime were abruptly taken out of their thoughts, after hearing a loud cry made by her friend Rangiku. Both of them quickly looked at her, searching for the cause of the commotion, understanding almost immediately.
Before them stood the most impressive pile of female underwear they had ever seen.
"AAAAAAAHHHH! Somebody hit me, please; it's too good to be real!" a thrilled Rangiku continued shouting "AUCH! I was just joking" she pouted. Tatsuki had taken her a little too literally.
"Oh! Please, excuse me, I did it without thinking" said a blushing Tatsuki.
"It doesn't matter, forget it." Said a fully recovered Rangiku "Let's better worry about the treasure that is in front of us!" she said, with stars in her eyes.
Internally, each girl thought that she indeed had a point. There were too many clothes, and they were too cheap to miss the opportunity. Almost without thinking, Orihime, Tatsuki and Rangiku picked some clothes and went to the fitting rooms to try the clothes. Rukia stood, looking at them speechless.
"Rukia-san, hurry up, bring some clothes and come to try them!" yelled from inside the fitting room an excited Orihime.
Just in that moment Rukia seemed to react. "Ah, I'm going!" she said while hurriedly she picked a pair of clothes and began walking to the rooms. This was being more interesting than she thought it'd be.
…
In that moment, a certain orange-haired guy wasn't having that much fun. After finishing the beers, the guys had begun consuming the rum, mixed with Coke, each one in his glass. Sado and Mizuiro were entranced playing poker in the table, while Ichigo and Keigo were busy playing a popular soccer videogame in the Playstation.
"What's up, bro!" yelled an excited Keigo, while he overcame Ichigo's defense in the game. "It's been a while since the last time you played, Ichigo, I'm kickin' your ass!" he said cockily.
"Shut up, idiot" growled an annoyed Ichigo. He hated losing at anything, even in a videogame. "You'll see, I'm just warming up…." Keigo didn't let him finish.
"Woooah, people, he's alone in front of the keeper, he's going to shoot, he has it… GOOOOOOOOOAAAL, DUDE, FUCKING GOAL!" he yelled, hitting Ichigo's shoulder, provoking him. "What happened, huh? You better stop 'warming up' and start playing seriously, or I'm really going to humiliate you" he smiled widely.
After that, the vein in Ichigo's forehead seemed about to explode. Using all his will, he sighed deeply, and gulped down the glass of rum he had at his side. Frowning a little, he resumed the game.
"Eh, Keigo, we ran out of rum and we aren't even 'happy'!" yelled a focused Mizuiro, without looking away from his cards. "All In" he said, while he bet all his chips, a big stack, and revealed his cards, a Kaiser and a ten of hearts. The cards in the table were an ace of hearts, a ten of hearts, a five of clubs, a four of 'pikes' and a two of diamonds.
"Hmm" Chad murmured, while revealing his cards. It was a pair of aces, one of clubs and the other of diamonds.
"NOOOOO!" yelled a disconsolate Mizuiro. "How it is possible that you beat me when I go All In after I won the last five games? It isn't fair!" he reclaimed.
"Bad luck, Mizuiro" said an impassible Chad.
"Eh, Chad, Mizuiro, if you finished playing go to the store in the corner of the block, and bring Vodka or something, we can't keep on if we don't have anything to consume" said a focused Keigo.
"We are going… c'mon Chad, the store is like two blocks away" Mizuiro said, while he and Chad left the house.
"Where were we?... Oh yeah, I was kickin' your sorry ass" said a smiling Keigo.
"Don't brag too much, idiot, the game isn't over yet" growled Ichigo.
…
By their part, the girls were enjoying themselves a lot. Rangiku and Orihime were busy looking between the biggest size underwear, while Tatsuki and Rukia looked in smaller sizes, both somewhat jealous internally.
"Do you think it has something to do with food?" Tatsuki whispered to Rukia "I heard that if you eat a lot of chicken they may grow a little bigger…" she finished, blushing a little.
Rukia, by her part, was a little thoughtful. She never felt ashamed because of her body, or anything like that, but she had to admit that being in front of such heavyweights made her a little… uncomfortable. "I don't know, I've never heard anything like that. In any case, you still have time to grow, don't worry." she told Tatsuki, reassuring. By her part, she couldn't say the same, that is, she had more than enough time, but with time passing slower at Soul Society, she had never worried about something like that. You only had to think about Yoruichi, who had time to develop more than enough in one hundred years.
After their little talk, Rukia went to the fitting rooms to see how a fine lace fitted her. While she walked to the room in order to try the clothing, the girls reunited outside the rooms while they waited for Rukia.
"Eh, Orihime, found anything you like?" asked Tatsuki to her friend.
"Yep, I'm buying this" she replied while showing a red bikini with embroidery. "Are you buying anything?" she inquired.
"Nah, I didn't found anything I liked." Tatsuki said, shrugging. "What about you, Rangi…?" she didn't finish, because said person was covered by a pile of different ensembles.
"Don't worry, I'm only buying these" she said, carefree. Tatsuki and Orihime just watched, both sweat-dropping.
"Eh, Rukia, are you ready?" asked the blonde.
"Yeah, I'm going" answered Rukia, while she finished looking how the garment looked in her. It was a black lace, which made her feel very confident when using it… you never know when you may need to seduce somebody, she smiled.
When she came out, she went along the girls to pay the clothes they were going to buy, and rose and eyebrow slightly seeing the pile of clothes that Rangiku carried. She already knew the compulsive shopping habits of the shinigami, but they never ceased to amaze her completely.
…
"Eh, guys, what do you think about we play something?"Said a bustling Keigo.
"What it is about?" asked Ichigo, with a little curiosity.
"We put this deck here, and we draw out cards, and if, for instance, a king comes out, everybody will have to drink, if a four comes out we have to say a phrase before drinking, and so on…" answered Keigo.
"Ok, sounds fun" answered Mizuiro, motivated.
What none of them knew was that that would be only the beginning of the night.
(*) Don't know if you remember it, but there is a part in the manga (and in the anime) in which the girls ask Rukia if she likes Ichigo, and Orihime thinks that if she also like him then they could beat him (something like two against one xD), now I'm assuming Orihime understands how the things work.
Phew! At last I managed to finish this. Had to do a lot of stuff the last weeks, but I'm back. I think the next chapter will be up a lot sooner, so you won't have to worry. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and thanks again to my man Frank for betting this chapter. See you next time!