Here is my one shot for the April Writing Challenge in our Discord Server! We had 4 pictures to choose from; a forest, a beach, a magic cauldron and a comic book strip... no prizes for guessing which image I selected for mine :D
If you want to join our Bleach fan fiction writing discord the link is on my profile. We also started a Bleach podcast, you can find us by searching 'The Seireitei' or 'Bleach Podcast' on most major platforms (Spotify, Google pod, DoublePod etc)
The excitement started to build as soon as they got on the train. Rangiku's large eyes darted around from seat to seat, to the various forms that occupied the space and installed a tangible excitement into the atmosphere.
They were surrounded by superheroes. Villains, soldiers, warriors, furries, vampires… they were surrounded by geeks.
'This is amazing,' Rangiku breathed into Rukia's ear. Her giddiness had infected Rukia from their five am wakeup call that morning and hadn't ceased, even when she was helping to stuff Rangiku into the ridiculously tight suit she now wore.
'I told you,' Rukia smirked as she glanced down at her phone. A black nail polished digit swiped across the screen to see how far away from the venue they were. The blue coloured line and little moving dot indicated they were just over twenty minutes away.
Rukia was taking care of all the navigation and planning so that Rangiku could relax and have fun. She needed this.
Rangiku Matsumoto was perhaps the most infuriating woman that Rukia had ever made friends with, but she was also the sweetest, kindest and most gentle person that she'd ever had the pleasure of existing beside. When her ass-of-an-ex Gin broke up with her, it had taken Rukia a good two weeks to convince her to leave the house and even longer to make this trip with her.
Rangiku had always been a closet geek, a book nerd, and a comic book fangirl. She'd hide her obsession away from all the useless men she'd dated because she was convinced that men only wanted a stupid girl with big tits.
With that assumption, of course, came all the wrong men. Gin Ichimaru was the latest in a long line of ill fortune. He'd treated Rangiku just like an object before discarding her to the side when he'd uncovered her stash of comic books hidden in a suitcase under her bed. It was truly an impressive collection and she could rattle off names, dates and timelines of character better than any man Rukia had ever met.
'We're nearly there,' Rukia reassured her friend. Rangiku was currently making eyes with a man dressed as a dead Tony Stark before flashing Rukia a wicked grin. It had been good to see the woman slowly come out of her shell over the past few weeks and she'd made a pact with Rukia never to hide who she truly was from any man ever again.
'I'm so excited,' Rangiku bounced in her seat, drawing the wrong attention to the right area of her body. The Black Widow costume had really been a pain to get on, and Rukia was still fearful at any moment that front zip would give out and expose everything. Anytime Rukia raised this concern, Rangiku would hush her with a wave of her hand and assure her she'd worn worse before.
'Is this your first time?' a short rather stout boy asked.
'Yeah it is,' Rangiku flipped her hair over her shoulder and flashed him a stunning smile. Rangiku had the ability to make any man feel like he stood a chance.
'Oh,' the boy stuttered for a moment, brain likely firing signals in the wrong direction, 'so-who who are you dressed as?'
'Isn't it obvious?' Rangiku asked, ushering to her body with her arms. The boy's eyes glanced quickly, stopping for far too long in certain places.
'B-black widow?' he asked.
'The very one,' she laughed and pointed at Rukia, 'who do you think she's dressed as?'
'Um,' the boy looked reluctant to take his eyes off of Rangiku, but thankfully his friend offered a suggestion.
'Jessica Jones?' the man in the Spiderman outfit asked.
Rukia confirmed his theory with a side smirk and he pulled his mask up to offer her a grin.
'What did you think of the last season?' he asked.
'The writing was poor,' Rukia shrugged, 'they can do better.'
'She's a woman of few words,' Rangiku winked at Rukia who smiled back, 'I'm guessing since he's Spiderman that you must be Ned?'
'You're really good,' the timid boy said back.
The train journey into the station flew in quickly, as more and more of the dressed up geeks began to eagerly talk together. The platform was then flooded by people in various different costumes as they lined up to get through the barriers. Some of the staff at the train station seemed bemused by the costumes, others simply looked bored.
'They've probably seen worse,' Rukia answered Rangiku when she pointed it out.
Her black leather boots led the way, taking steps she'd walked many times before in the direction of the large convention hall. The space was used a lot for bands and other events that Rukia enjoyed, including other conventions, so she knew the way without needing to pay too much attention to where they were going. Rangiku followed beside her dutifully, pointing out other people in various costumes as they tried to guess as many of the fandoms as possible.
Some of the cosplayers were subtle, just a Pikachu onesie or a school uniform from some anime or another, other cosplayers had gone all out. Someone had made an elaborate Grand Fisher Hollow costume from Bleach that had Rukia's steps faltering for a moment. Rangiku wanted to go and get a picture with it, but Rukia hung back. The costume gave her a deep feeling of unease and she couldn't exactly place why.
They lined up outside the gates where staff members in bright yellow bibs were directing people. Rangiku's whole face had lit up and it relaxed Rukia to see her friend so happy and distracted.
'Do you think we'll meet anyone here?' Rangiku asked dropping her voice so the family beside them couldn't listen in.
'We already met those guys on the train, it's a pretty easy event to speak to people at,' Rukia shrugged back. 'I've made plenty of con friends before.'
'No,' Rangiku fixed Rukia with her deep baby blue gaze, her bright pink lips ticking up at the corner in a mischievous smirk, 'I mean, do you think we'll meet anyone here?'
Rukia caught the implication that time and raised a questioning eyebrow at her friend who giggled as she straightened up.
'I've only been laid at one con, and it was only because I was trying,' Rukia stated matter-of-factly. She considered the women in front of her though and knew that if Rangiku Matsumoto wanted to meet someone at the event, then she wouldn't have an issue. 'I think if you wanna spend time with a guy after this, there will be very few who will say no to you.'
Rangiku flicked her long strawberry blonde hair out of her face, clearly trying to look impressive but Rukia caught the blush that climbed up her neck at her friend's words.
'You think?' she asked.
Rukia shrugged, 'you're stunning Ran, I tell you that every day, you don't need a guy to make you feel special. So just relax and have fun.'
Rangiku positively beamed at her. The conversation then took a different direction, back to the comics that they'd brought in Rukia's backpack to get signed. Rukia kept the thought in the back of her mind. If Rangiku wanted to hook up, then as her best friend it really was her responsibility to make that happen.
The line began to recede into the building and the babble of excited chatter broke out louder. People were laughing, some dancing with music on, some posing for pictures with each other and others introducing themselves to new people. The atmosphere at a convention was one of unity. Geeks coming together to celebrate a common cause, it was one of Rukia's favourite places in the world to be.
Rukia pulled their tickets out of her bag and handed one off to Rangiku. The end of the queue broke out to several search spots. People with bags were ushered forward first and searched before walking to staff members who scanned their tickets and let them walk under giant metal detectors which signified the entrance to the convention.
With her bag searched, Rukia handed her ticket over to a surly looking member of staff and made her way through one of the metal arches to be engulfed into a warm hug by Rangiku.
'We're here!' she squealed and Rukia laughed, ducking out from under her best friends chest and glancing around. 'So where do we go first?'
'I know how you love a spot of shopping,' Rukia started, watching Rangiku's face light up at the words, 'comic con shopping 101, don't buy the first thing you see. There will be multiple places selling similar items, look for the best price.'
'Please,' Rangiku scoffed and shot Rukia a stunning smirk, 'you're talking to a pro shopper.'
They made their way through the hall, the harsh red carpet almost jarring against the orange and black colours of the convention branding. There were stalls set up selling detailed replicas of various weapons, from anime to Game of Thrones where huddles of people were swarming the desks. Other stalls were selling collectable figures, food, t-shirts, funko pop figures, themed sweets and drinks and every movie and DVD and comic book imaginable.
Rangiku squealed when she pulled out a limited edition Radioactive Spiderman comic signed by Stan Lee. It was clearly a print signature and not a real one, but that didn't stop Rangiku spending far too much money on it as she tucked it under her arm.
'This is amazing,' Rangiku called back to Rukia who had stopped to film someone in a giant inflatable Pikachu costume fighting someone in a giant inflatable t-rex costume.
'I told you,' Rukia chuckled, replaying the video for Rangiku before promptly uploading it to Instagram.
'What's over there?' Rangiku pointed in the direction of the artist village and Rukia squinted.
'Artist village,' she pointed to the sign, 'loads of up-coming artists, I reckon we can probably get someone to draw us as actual superheroes there.'
'Well what are we waiting for?' Rangiku's eyes lit up and Rukia smiled.
'You want food first?' she asked.
Rangiku looked genuinely torn, but ultimately food won out and the two ducked into the large hall at the back. As a pro, Rukia had packed food for them to eat, knowing fine well how much the food at the conventions cost.
They ate and looked through their programme at the panels that were listed for that day and when John Cassidy was taking signings. It was amazing how quickly their day filled up. Having sometime between major events, they made their way toward the Artists Village which was usually emptier than the rest of the hall.
They wandered through the stalls, a few con goers chatting eagerly to the artists. Some of the stalls showcased generic art, others were comic book artists trying to start up and launch their series. These seemed to be the stalls that drew Rangiku's attention the most and when they turned a corner Rukia walked into her friends back.
'Ran?' she asked, stumbling back to stop herself from falling over, 'why did you stop?'
Rukia side stepped the taller woman and followed her line of sight. On one of the stalls was a collection of exquisitely drawn superhero panels, a large sign hung on the front desk; "We'll draw you in a panel" along with pricing information.
There were two men moving away from the desk with something clutched in their hands, but another two younger men were left sitting. One had bright ginger hair and a wicked smile, perfectly handsome features and was talking animatedly to his shorter friend who was barely paying him any attention. The shorter of the two had locks of thick white hair, his body bent low over the table as he scribbled, nodding occasionally to whatever his tall ginger friend was saying beside him.
The taller male, caught Rukia's eye, grinned and waved. He tried to nudge his shorter friend who refused to look up from his work as Rangiku and Rukia made their way over.
'You two look great,' he started, flashing them a stunning smile. Now that Rukia was closer she could appreciate the subtle attractiveness that taller male emitted. He had locks that were so startlingly vivid they made Rangiku's strands look almost pale blonde in comparison. His olive skin-tone flowed perfectly smooth, with high cheekbones and ended in a pointed masculine chin. The smile adorned on his face flashed beautifully white teeth.
'Thanks,' Rangiku giggled and leaned over toward the smaller white haired man who was still sketching effortlessly on his panel, bringing characters to life with a flourish of his pencil. Rukia watched him for a few seconds as the darkened colours he added made the characters eyes stand out bold against the white page.
'My name is Ichigo and this is Toshiro,' the strawberry blond said, nudging his shorter friend again who simply grunted in continued refusal to look up.
'Your work is very impressive Toshiro,' Rangiku purred his name out and finally drew the boy's attention away from his work. Rukia almost gasped, because unlike the subtle attractiveness that Ichigo emitted this boy was genuinely stunning. His milky white skin was more filled, the appearance of youth shooting to adulthood, but that wasn't what drew Rukia's attention, it was the boy's eyes. They were a deep shade of vivid teal, huge eyes framed and made larger by a very thick set of heavy black lashes. The moment he locked eyes with Rangiku his pink lips parted in shock and his eyes opened, making them appear even larger.
Rukia watched as all coherent thoughts escaped his mind, she'd seen this happen to many men that Rangiku Matsumoto had decided to flirt with. This poor boy didn't stand a chance and Rukia watched the heat climbing up his neck and across his cheekbones, his eyes momentarily flickering down to the cleavage she had very obviously thrust into his face. Rukia felt almost sorry for him, for although the glance had been fleeting, they'd all seen it and Rangiku's lips peeled back in a triumphant smirk.
Rukia turned her attention back toward Ichigo, the two made eye contact, grinned and glanced away from each other.
'Are you going to draw me?' Rangiku asked innocently and poor Toshiro's face seemed to turn a few shades darker.
'We can do that,' Ichigo stepped in quickly to save his friend, 'Right Tosh?' he offered the smaller male a playful punch to the arm. There was force behind it and it seemed to snap Toshiro out of whatever stupor he was under.
'What do you girls want? Our prices are here,' he pointed to a guide to his left that had the various pricing information on it. The board itself had been decorated with various superheroes, some of them Rukia recognised from the big universes and a few games and anime and the others she wondered if they were perhaps the duo's own creation.
'Hmmm what do you think Rukia?' Rangiku's voice purred beside her and it took all of Rukia's strength not to roll her eyes. Her best friend was in full flirtation mode and Rukia realised this would be a strong test of her patience.
She reminded herself why they were here. Rangiku had such a poor experience with her ex that if she wanted to hook up, Rukia would help her.
'I saved so much money for coming here I'm happy to go for the full package if you wanna split it?' Rukia asked. The two men were chatting between themselves, giving the girls a chance to review their prices without seeming like pushy salesmen. The prices went from very simple one off pictures to the top price being a full page of multiple panels and a one off portrait included.
They eventually settled on the final, both opting to pay for their own picture of themselves as a superhero and going half in for a comic featuring the two of them as characters.
Ichigo took the money and added it to his tin, counting out the change and handing it over to them.
'This is the part where I regret to say it will probably be done in a couple of hours,' he smiled and held the notes tightly in his fist so Rukia couldn't actually take it back yet. Rukia raised a brow and he just smirked at her, his eyes flickering to Rangiku and back to Rukia, silently trying to convey something.
'What are you guys doing for dinner after the con?' Rukia said without missing a beat. Ichigo's smile grew wider and he winked at her, letting the money go so Rukia could take it.
'We had absolutely no plans,' Ichigo said brightly.
'No plans? I have so much work to do,' Toshiro sighed, his head bent back over the paper in front of him.
'We'll make time,' Ichigo said with a chuckle. Despite Toshiro's comment he did take the time to glance back up at them when Rangiku took a step away from their table.
'Let's meet for dinner and drinks then?' Rangiku said, her eyes on Toshiro who flushed and ducked back down to his paper.
'That sounds amazing,' Ichigo grinned at her and turned to Rukia, 'my number is in your hand.'
It was so smooth, Rukia hadn't even seen him writing anything down, but as Rukia unfolded the notes she'd gotten back from him, she noticed a little scrunched up bit of paper with his number written on it.
Rukia looked back up and smiled, she was impressed and turned, taking her phone out of her pocket as she made her way toward Rangiku. The girls walked away and Rukia quickly plugged Ichigo's number into her phone, sending him a text through whatsapp and immediately reading him as 'Online.'
He messaged back quickly and it took Rangiku's height and strength to pry the phone from Rukia's fingers and hold it in the air above her head.
'Hey!' Rukia barked reaching for it and falling miserably short.
'This is my first convention,' Rangiku said waving a beautiful finger at her, 'no talking to cute boys, we can speak to them later.'
'I'm arranging later,' Rukia scowled at her friend.
'Sure,' Rangiku's lip ticked up at the side, 'and the really cute guy with ginger hair is just a convenient step toward that?'
'Screw you,' Rukia said holding out her hand but feeling the heat climbing up her neck. Satisfied with the blush Rukia was sure was on her face, Rangiku handed back her phone. Rukia quickly fired off the name of the pub that they could meet for dinner and stuffed her phone in her pocket.
The two then went shopping, and boy did they go shopping. Rangiku had bags swinging from her arms of manga, DVDs and mugs and Rukia had to remind her that they still had the rest of the late afternoon to go. She hardly discouraged her friend who was now eyeing a packet of hand crafted slate DC coasters, when they were interrupted by someone wanting a picture of Rangiku.
Rukia was about 99% sure that half the people stopping and asking to take pictures with them, weren't actually that impressed by their cosplay, they just wanted to take pictures with Rangiku. Rukia didn't mind and even offered to take a few of the pictures herself for some of the men who came solo. Rangiku was incredibly flattered, she always grinned and pulled the poor bastard close into her side while she struck a pose for the photo.
Rukia had one eye on Rangiku, the other eye on the clock on her phone. When it came time for them to join the line for their autographs they ran into a familiar face.
'Well look who it is,' Ichigo beamed at them and Rangiku was positively radiant with triumph when Ichigo let them cut in line beside him. He was significantly taller now that he was standing up and Rukia was almost shocked at the height difference, he must have had over two foot on her.
'What brings you over here?' Rangiku asked brightly when it was clear that Rukia wasn't going to say anything to him. In truth her mouth suddenly felt incredibly dry and she wished she'd done anything other than wearing a black leather jacket as part of her cosplay when her body started heating with embarrassment.
'Getting this signed for Tosh,' Ichigo said holding up a fan made rendition of one of the most popular comics that John Cassidy had ever produced.
'Oh wow!' Rangiku reached out and snatched it from Ichigo's hands, quickly flicking through it. Rukia met Ichigo's eye and he winked at her. It was clear that he was also acting as a wing man for Toshiro. Rukia still felt the heat under the surface of her skin when he continued to smile down at her.
'He made this himself?' Rangiku practically swooned, 'some of this is better than the original.' She quickly glanced up as if scared John himself had actually heard her, but they still had a while to wait in the queue.
'Well not entirely by himself,' Ichigo ran a hand through his hair, 'I do colour and shading.'
'Oh so it's like a two-some kind of thing?' Rangiku chuckled and Ichigo frowned, finally pulling his ridiculously handsome hazel eyes away from Rukia.
'No, we're straight,' he quickly corrected.
'I was hoping you'd say that,' Rangiku muttered with a smirk as she handed the book back to Ichigo.
From there talk turned to the convention itself. They discussed the guests and the vendors who had turned up, chatted about comics and Netflix series until Ichigo stepped up to have their comic signed by John Cassidy. The man was very impressed with the level of detail that had gone into the tiny book and took Ichigo's business card eagerly. They chatted for a while before Rangiku finally managed to get her comic signed.
Rukia couldn't help giggling at how tongue tied Rangiku got around John. She'd seen the woman in a billion other situations where she caused the men around her to be tongue tied, but this time the tables were turned. She stuttered and blushed like crazy and fan girled all over him. Rukia watched from a safe distance, standing beside Ichigo and laughing.
'She's never done this before has she?' Ichigo asked as Rangiku had to peel herself away from the table, her face a flushed mess.
'Nope,' Rukia said with a smirk, 'she's a con virgin.'
'Are you a virgin too?' he asked and Rukia whisked her head around to stare at him with her mouth hanging open. She couldn't believe he'd just had the balls to even ask that? Ichigo was smirking down at her and seemed to make his mind up without giving her a chance to speak. Rukia was too stunned to say anything as Rangiku descended upon them, fanning her flushed face with the comic she'd just had signed.
'I was not expecting my body to react like that,' Rangiku said, clearly not sensing the horribly awkward moment that Rukia just had with Ichigo. The man in question didn't seem to care, on the contrary he threw an arm around Rangiku and laughed heartily.
'We've all been there,' he chuckled. Rangiku allowed Ichigo to steer her away from the tables where the signings were taking place and Rukia followed behind them. 'Do you girls need a place to leave your bags?' he asked glancing at the merchandise that was now weighing them down.
'No we've booked hotel rooms at the Seireitei next door,' Rangiku said, 'so we can go and dump our stuff there.'
'Might be a good idea,' Rukia said, wincing as she moved her bags to her other hand as the plastic bit into her skin.
'Yeah we have a room there too,' Ichigo's eyes glinted under the large warehouse lighting, 'what floor are you girls on?'
'Fourth,' Rangiku said very quickly shooting Rukia a cunning glance.
'Aww we're on the sixth, we could have been neighbours,' Ichigo chuckled and Rukia resisted pointing out that the chances had been very slim.
'When are we meeting?' Rangiku asked as Ichigo made to leave their little group.
'At seven,' Ichigo turned to Rukia who clarified.
'We're meeting at Hueco Mundo,' Rukia stated, 'since Ichigo and Toshiro don't know the area I thought I'd just recommend where I always eat when I come here.'
'Sounds great,' Ichigo beamed at her and Rukia felt uncharacteristically bashful under the gaze.
'See you there,' Rangiku grinned at him, 'remember and drag Toshiro.'
'Don't you worry,' Ichigo winked, a playful twinkle in his eye. He turned to leave and Rukia may have let her eyes take in the form fitting black jeans as he walked away.
'Did you bring condoms?' Rangiku asked quickly causing Rukia to start and splutter.
'What? You didn't?' she asked, 'I thought you were here on the prowl?'
'Well I didn't think a geek convention would have this many cute guys did I?' Rangiku sighed and looked thoughtful.
'There's a drug store just around the corner from the hotel, if we hurry we can get it before it sells out,' Rukia said and they started making their way toward the large exit doors.
The sun now hung much higher in the sky, beating down upon them with its unrelenting rays. Rukia cupped a hand over her eyes and squinted up. Over the tops of the looming buildings all she could see was pale blue skies, the haze of heat milking the vivid blue from its colour.
'Let's get water too,' she groaned and Rangiku moaned her agreement. The two did their best to stick to the shades of the buildings as they walked, receiving the occasional double take glance as they made their way toward the pharmacy. Thankfully there were a lot of other con goers who were walking about trying to reach various shops and hotels to deposit goods and buy necessities so they were a far cry from the most overdressed people on the street.
The tiny store was located just half a block away from the hotel and contained all the usual pills and medication. A selection of sandwiches, wraps, drinks, protein bars and packets of crisps could be seen taking up the bulk of the isle closest to the door and Rukia saw a lot of local businessmen and women who worked in the area picking food up off the shelves as a late lunch.
The tiny shop didn't have air conditioning and they were beginning to feel the heat of their tight leather suits.
'How do cosplayers do this?' Rangiku asked, gaping at someone in a large fur suit that Rukia recognised as Legoshi from Beastars.
'Well, usually they'll go back to their hotels a few times a day, spray down their costumes and shower,' Rukia shrugged, 'which is exactly what we will do before dinner.'
'Are we going to meet the boys dressed up?' Rangiku asked with a quirk of her brow and a smirk on her lips.
'Depends if you want to roleplay with Toshiro later tonight when you take him back to the hotel room?' Rukia shrugged and Rangiku grinned manically.
'And in this hypothetical scenario where will you be sleeping?' she asked flicking her long hair over her shoulder as she picked up a packet of condoms from the shelf.
'I have a lot of friends here I am sure I could crash on one of their floors,' Rukia said with a shrug.
'I'm sure if you asked Ichigo nicely he'd let you take Toshiro's bed in his room?' Rangiku said with a smirked and Rukia rolled her eyes.
'I've done the whole one night stand at a convention before, it's not really my scene,' Rukia wrinkled her nose and shook her head.
Rangiku scoffed in a way that Rukia was sure meant she didn't believe her. Refusing to rise to the bait though they paid for their loot and made their way back outside into the blistering sunshine.
The hotel room was not luxurious, but carried all the amenities and came with quite a bit of floor space. They dumped their bags in the corner of the room, closed the curtains and stripped off. Rangiku moaned in pleasure as the cool air hit her skin and slipped in for a quick shower. Rukia picked up their cosplay outfits and began to spray them down with the water and disinfectant spray she made at home. Once they had been sprayed and hung to dry, Rukia flopped onto the bed in her underwear and flicked on the TV.
The hotels standard five channels didn't offer a wide viewing choice, so Rukia settled down to watch the standard channels. Chandler and Ross were shouting at Joey on screen as Rukia gulped an entire bottle of water to herself.
Rangiku emerged from the shower in a fluffy towel and looked much more peaceful and the made a slow show of getting dressed again.
Fully refreshed and rested they emerged from their hotel room early, deciding not to go back to the convention centre made straight for the pub instead.
The pub was located three blocks away from the hotel and closer to the convention hall. It was decorated with stark off white and black and brown furniture, the floor was a sandy white and the tables a mix of off white and black. The booth they selected had squishy brown leather seats and was tucked away in the corner close to the window.
Hueco Mundo wasn't the most well decorated pub, but the food was some of the best Rukia had found in the area and their extensive list of cocktails drew Rangiku's attention instantly.
'I'll have the… "Death by Arrancar" please,' she ordered and Rukia gazed at the menu on the table.
'Make that two,' she said realising that the list was going to be too long for her to read through it all. With their drinks ordered and their table number given they made their way over to the booth and slipped in.
They sat and scrolled through the pictures on their phones, rating various cosplays they'd seen that day until Rukia's phone lit up with an incoming call.
She recognised Ichigo's name right away and had even set the picture in her phone to be a strawberry for him. Her stomach lurched a with nerves, Rukia hated being called by people she barely knew.
'Hello?' she asked tentatively having clicked the accept button.
'Hey Rukia, its Ichigo,' the bubbly voice pierced her over the line and she relaxed back into the brown leather of the seat.
'Hey are you guys nearly here?' she asked, unsure what she should be saying. Normally Rangiku did all the talking and it certainly didn't help that Rangiku was throwing her very suggestive looks across the table while she sucked inappropriately on the straw in her cocktail.
'Yeah we're two minutes away, we'll be there soon,' Ichigo said a smirk evident in his voice. Rukia head someone in the background saying something and Ichigo shushing them, likely Toshiro.
'Is Toshiro bringing all his homework?' she asked with a smirk.
'He nearly did, I had to pry him away from it,' Ichigo laughed and Rukia visibly melted at the deep decibels of his voice.
'Alright, see you soon,' Rukia said, hearing a final "bye" in that silken voice before she clicked the hang up button.
'Is Toshiro coming too?' Rangiku asked bounding in her chair, the effect seemed to dazzle the two men sitting at the table to their left.
'Yes he is,' Rukia said with a laugh, 'and you might not wanna do that when he gets here,' Rukia nodded in the excited woman's direction. Unperturbed, an evil grin split over her face as the tinkle of a bell signalled the arrival of new customers. Rukia was sitting facing the door so had a view of the two boys as they walked in. Ichigo was running a hand through his vivid orange locks again and Toshiro was partly hiding behind his friend as Ichigo made eye contact and started walking towards their table.
'They're here,' Rukia smirked, standing and slipping in beside Rangiku so the boys could sit opposite them.
Ichigo let Toshiro slide in first so the poor guy was facing Rangiku before he slipped in to sit opposite Rukia. They'd both changed and likely showered since coming from the convention hall, they looked too fresh and new to have just slipped on new clothes.
Ichigo was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and a heather grey Breaking Benjamin tour shirt, the twinkle of a chain around his neck glinting in the pubs low light. Toshiro had obviously gone for something a bit more formal, opting for a white button down shirt and black jeans. Rukia noticed that Toshiro seemed to be looking at the menu with an unfathomable amount of interest.
'How was your first con then?' Ichigo asked.
'A dream,' Rangiku smirked and leaned on her arm which she'd propped on the table. Toshiro's teal eyes flickered up to her for a second before he disappeared further behind his menu, the tips of his ears turning red.
Rangiku, Rukia and Ichigo all shared knowing smirks around the table but Ichigo didn't seem ready to tear the menu away from his small friend yet.
'How did you get on with your work?' Rangiku asked Toshiro casually.
The shorter boy seemed to decide that, yes, he would be getting forced to be social and he closed the menu with a pained and uncomfortable look on his face.
'I got most of it done,' his voice was smooth now that Rukia got a proper chance to hear it without the buzz of the convention in the background. He had a twang to his accent that sounded British.
Rangiku seemed to melt across the table, her own ears picking up the sale lilt in his voice.
'Ah,' he quickly diverted his gaze away from the bust that was slowly making its way across the table towards him, 'We-uh, finished your order.'
He reached under the table and pulled out an A3 folder. Opening it he pulled a few sheets from inside and slid them across the table.
Rukia's mouth dropped.
Rangiku sucked in a breath.
On top of the two A3 pieces of paper was the A4 comic page, which featured both Rangiku and Rukia dressed in their current superhero cosplay rescuing a cat called chappy from a tree. The two A3 pictures behind it, which Rangiku slid apart to allow them to see fully, were old school sketched superhero posters.
The colours were vivid, but on the posters they appeared washed out, almost like they had a sun bleached feel to them. They looked historic, like each poster had been tacked up on a building for many years, enduring all the worst weather.
'Wow,' Rangiku breathed and Rukia couldn't find the right words to vocalise her euphoria.
'You guys aren't charging nearly enough,' Rukia eventually settled, her eyes finally rising from the finished pieces of art to catch Ichigo ducking his head and flushing at her compliment.
'We do charge more on our website,' Toshiro said, 'but because this was a convention and people already paid to travel, we need to keep our prices competitive.'
'That makes sense,' Rangiku smirked, turning her full attention on the boy who shrunk back in his chair a little, 'so you're both businessmen too?' she asked.
'I graduated with a distinction in Art and side of business management,' Ichigo said and jerked his head at Toshiro, 'he was moved up three years in school so he was the youngest in our whole College.'
'No way,' Rangiku pulled herself back across the table and stared open mouthed at the boy who looked even tinier in the chair next to Ichigo. 'What age are you?'
There was a hint of panic in her voice and Rukia flinched realising that they hadn't even thought about asking. She was relying on the way Ichigo was acting as wingman to tell her that Toshiro was old enough.
'I just turned twenty one,' he said and Rangiku visibly relaxed.
'I'm twenty four,' Ichigo said with a smirk and looked at them expectantly.
'I'm feeling very old,' Rangiku said with a sigh, sitting back in her chair and looking almost deflated.
'You're not that much older than me,' Rukia rolled her eyes, 'I'm twenty five.'
Both boys glanced back at Rangiku expectantly and she shrugged, 'twenty six.'
'Cougars,' Ichigo teased and laughed anxiously at the glower that Rangiku sent him across the table.
'Age is irrelevant to determine ones maturity,' Toshiro said with an eye roll as if he'd had this conversation with his taller friend many times. 'Life experience and decisions should be a subsequent factor. With that in mind I'm clearly older than Ichigo.'
'Hey!' Ichigo said glaring down at his short friend, his brows furrowed as if he knew he'd just been insulted but couldn't quite figure out how.
Rukia chuckled into her cocktail taking the final sip and Ichigo offered to buy them a round. Toshiro scrambled out of the both after his friend, clearly too scared to be left alone with the women.
'What do you think?' Rukia asked the moment they were gone.
'I think I'm taking him home tonight,' Rangiku stated as if it were the most obvious thing on the planet. 'I'm going to ride hi-'
'I don't need to know that!' Rukia quickly plugged her ears and her friend laughed heartily beside her as the boys came back with a new round of cocktails and drinks for the table.
'What's so funny?' Ichigo asked.
'You don't want to know,' Rukia said quickly grabbing her next drink. She was going to need a lot of alcohol to cope with this situation.
Talk slipped to where everyone was from and they learned that Toshiro had indeed been born in London but moved over to Japan with his parents. Ichigo's mother had been Scottish and it was where his vivid orange hair colour had come from and the reason why he and Toshiro became close friends.
Toshiro was still painfully shy and Rangiku reined the flirtation in at one point to allow him a chance to come out of his shell more. Toshiro perked up the moment talk turned to comic books and he seemed genuinely enamoured with the knowledge Rangiku had. He had such an innocent way of conversing with Rangiku, not once attempting to challenge her understanding of the comic book world or industry in a bid to try and catch her out or falsify her knowledge. He accepted it as purely as if it were part of her physical appearance and seemed to warm toward her the more he drank and relaxed.
The more Rangiku drunk the more she spoke, often animatedly about comics and geek culture. Rukia remained quiet, and even when prodded by questions she only gave the bare minimum as her answer. She wasn't big on conversation, especially not with new people she'd just met. It was partly why she enjoyed a convention and a chance to dress up and hide behind the shield of another character. Ichigo's eyes would stare into her though and often when her head was turned to give Rangiku her attention she could feel his gaze boring into the side of her head, as if trying to see inside her skull.
His distracted gaze did not stop him from trying to plough Toshiro with alcohol. The smaller male eventually worked out what his friend was doing and started taking smaller sips of his drink, but by that point most of the damage had been done. His cheeks were a cute rosy red and his eyes glazed over from time to time. His gaze also lingered on Rangiku a little longer than necessary when she was talking.
They eventually got food and a final round of drinks, this time the girls paid. The boys put up a fight but they beat them down, mostly because Rangiku threatened to castrate them both if they didn't comply.
'Is she always like this?' Ichigo asked, his gaze staring wide and uncertainly at the back of Rangiku's head like he truly believed her threat. Rangiku clutched her phone with the drinks order written on the screen.
'Yeah,' Rukia said with a shrug and her eyes glanced back to Toshiro who was moving the last of the dumplings away from the chicken because he had a thing about food touching.
'Are you going to eat that or play with it?' Ichigo asked his shorter friend. Toshiro gazed drunkenly up at him as though his question had been received but not fully processed.
Ichigo reached over with his chopsticks and plucked the dumpling from between his friends' own chopsticks.
'Hey!' he called as Ichigo ate the dumpling and dramatized how tasty it was with a vocalised moan.
Rukia felt her cheeks redden at the noise he'd made but Toshiro seemed to be too drunk to even have noticed. Ichigo's eyes were suddenly on her face and he smirked.
'Oh,' she remembered something, 'and just to clear the confusion,' she said jabbing a finger across the table towards him, 'I'm not.'
'Well confusion cleared,' Ichigo beamed, 'now can you explain that?'
'I'm not,' Rukia shook her head, 'today you asked if I was a…' she frowned, her eyes flickering to Toshiro who was staring at the salt shaker with a look of deep loathing, 'con virgin. I'm not.'
Ichigo's lips peeled back in a smirk, they both knew it had nothing to do with the convention when he'd asked her the question. His smile caused an embarrassed flush to heat up her body.
'Interesting,' Ichigo said, 'you look like one.'
'Wh-what's that supposed to mean?' Rukia asked, her mouth falling open.
'You just have this air of innocence about you,' he waved his hand dismissively and Rukia glared at him. Rangiku came back from placing their final drinks order and slipped in over Rukia in a very ungraceful move that drew the boy's attention. Rukia shoved her friend into her seat with a laugh, the alcohol making her brain fuzzy before her attention snapped back to Ichigo.
'Well I'm not,' she said defensively rising her chain up, 'and I don't appreciate the judgement.'
'Maybe you'll just have to prove it,' he muttered into his drink as he sipped on it. The ice in the glass tinkled as he tipped it toward his lips and Rukia huffed out a sigh. It had been a very smooth pickup line and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't a tiny bit impressed, of course she'd never say that to his smug face.
'What are we proving?' Rangiku asked.
'Ichigo thinks he can beat you in an arm wrestling contest,' Rukia deflected quickly.
'Oh you're on,' Rangiku tanked half the glass of her long vodka before putting her arm up on the table and nodding to Ichigo. The other strawberry blond choked on his drink but met her gaze and put his own arm on the table. Rukia gave them the start and right away it was clear that Ichigo underestimated Rangiku.
He'd had a playful smile on his face, his eyes mostly on Rukia who ignored him, but she turned to look at him the moment his arm was nudged closer to Rangiku's side of the table. The smirk fell from his face and was replaced with a look of pure concentration. Rukia started laughing at him, his arm only barely managing to pull Rangiku's back up to the starting position and this was clearly taking everything he had. Most men underestimated Rangiku's strength, they looked at her and saw a woman they could sleep with but they didn't know that she used to take part in a wide variety of sports. With less time now, she'd started dragging Rukia to the gym, but Rukia had watched Rangiku bench press more weights than some of the men.
Ichigo was still strong though and after a few violent moments, it was clear he started to win out, Rangiku's hand edging closer and closer to his side of the table.
Then Ichigo jumped in his seat and Rangiku slammed his hand back against the table laughing in her victory.
'That wasn't fair,' Ichigo snarled turning and glaring at Toshiro who sat innocently beside him. 'You tickled me!'
'Sir, I did no such thing,' Toshiro said, his voice slurring with the alcohol but the look of mock offense comically pinned to his expression.
'I demand a rematch,' Ichigo glared over at Rangiku, 'when Toshiro isn't around.'
'Sir, this is defamation at its core, I call corruption,' Toshiro rolled his eyes but Rukia noticed the smile he sent toward Rangiku who practically melted over the table toward him again.
It was very clear there was an air of finality to the discussion now. Ichigo was clearly being a sore loser and Rangiku was practically foaming at the mouth. Rukia threw a tip down onto the table and slipped out of the booth and her friends followed her lead.
'So am I bunking with Rukia or is she bunking with me?' Ichigo asked and Rukia felt the heat in her cheeks.
'Who said I wanted to bunk with a guy who can't even beat a woman in an arm wrestling competition?' she fired at him suddenly. His cry of outrage was lost though as Rangiku reached out and pulled Toshiro into her arms, the boy gave a squeak of fear and only flailed for a moment pressed against her side.
'Well that's settled,' Ichigo said wriggling his brows at Rukia, 'looks like you're with me?'
'I'm not with anyone,' she narrowed her eyes at him as they crossed the road toward the hotel.
'We'll see,' Ichigo smirked.
His arrogance was causing Rukia's blood to boil and she wanted to wipe that stupid smirk right off his fucking face.
'Fine,' she growled, glaring up at him.
Perhaps there was something in the bite to the word, but Rangiku proudly beamed at her and pressed a condom into her hand as they parted ways in the hotel lobby. Toshiro was looking around the hotel lobby like he didn't recognise any of it and only seemed vaguely aware of what was happening when Rangiku took his hand and led him toward an elevator for a floor that was not his own. He glanced back at Ichigo like he'd just been betrayed and Rukia threw a reproachful look back.
'Should we maybe help him?' Rukia asked.
'Nah, he's needed this ever since his evil son of a bitch ex cheated on him,' Ichigo said with a shake of his head.
'She cheated on him?' Rukia asked, the elevator doors closing and sealing poor Toshiro to his fate.
'Yeah with her boss Aizen,' Ichigo's distaste was heard in the way his pitch curled around the words. He jammed a hash finger into the button for their floor and the doors shut them inside.
'Rangiku won't force him to have sex, if anything she'll just force him to snuggle,' Rukia shrugged, she knew her best friend and knew she wasn't that kind of person.
'Trust me, he will,' Ichigo smirked knowingly, 'I've not seen him act like that around a woman since Momo broke his heart. They'll figure it out.'
'As long as they remember to use a condom,' Rukia shrugged and glanced at her phone.
'I gave him one, don't worry,' Ichigo chuckled and Rukia laughed.
'We bought some too.'
'Does that mean I'm getting lucky tonight?' Ichigo asked, a teasing playful bite to his voice.
'"Lucky" is a very strong word for what I am going to do to you,' was the only reply he got.
Between the two couples, very little was said for the rest of the evening, but distant noises could be heard from both hotel rooms, floating down the corridors. A few neighbouring rooms may have put in complaints, but the staff didn't necessarily wish to intrude upon the affairs that they knew took place behind locked hotel room doors.
Meeting for breakfast the next morning had not gone according to plan. The hotel stopped doing breakfast at 9am and neither pair was out of bed before 10am.
Instead they agreed to meet at a small local café that was open until 12pm.
Rukia felt the harsh sun beating down against her closed eyes the moment she stepped out of the hotel lobby. Her head pounded dully but it was nothing compared to how bad her hangovers usually were. Ichigo's arm slung around her shoulders, pulling her into his side and she wrapped an arm around his waist because it was the only part of him she could reach.
'I bet Toshiro is in some state,' Ichigo murmured, his lips in Rukia's hair.
'Does he not normally drink that much?' she asked.
'He doesn't usually drink, period,' Ichigo laughed and Rukia pursed her lips.
They approached the café to see Toshiro sitting at a small wooden table, flinching under the umbrella that offered little in the way of shade. His shirt looked like it had a button missing and he had a pair of shades on that reflected everything around him, making it difficult to see if he was awake or asleep.
'Good morning Tosh,' Ichigo said happily.
The boy only groaned and let his head fall forward into the arms he had propped on the table.
'Good night?' Ichigo asked as he pulled a chair out for Rukia to slip into. With a smile at him, Rukia slipped into her chair and Ichigo sat beside her.
'Don't,' Toshiro mumbled, his Japanese coming out more rugged in his accent and clearly laced with the consequences of his hangover.
'We didn't do anything,' Ichigo laughed. Rangiku stepped out into the dazzling sunshine, her hair falling in shimmering curtains, looking freshly washed. She beamed when she saw them.
'Is that Ichigo's shirt?' Rangiku asked with a smirk, clearly meaning the Breaking Benjamin t-shirt that Rukia had claimed that very morning.
'Maybe,' Rukia's mouth curled in a satisfied smile.
'So what happens now?' Rangiku asked with a playful grin.
'Well, we could go back to the hotel, check out and pay our late fees… or…' Ichigo glanced at Rukia, 'we could extend our rooms for one more night and have fun in the city instead?'
'I like the latter,' Rangiku said with a smirk raising a coffee to her lips.
'Latter is good with me,' Rukia said with a shrug.
'Tosh?' Ichigo kicked him under the table.
'I will be suffering either way,' he mumbled and they laughed loudly at him, causing him to flinch.
'Latter it is,' Ichigo hummed, his fingers stroking across Rukia's cheek while she melted into his touch.
Overall it had been a fantastic convention. Rukia had to bite the bullet later that day and admit that it had been the best one she'd ever been too, especially as they all posed outside the venue together in the sun. Ichigo holding the phone and grinning into the camera, Rukia wrapped around his shoulders and smirking, Rangiku looking like a supermodel in the grass, with her legs stretched out before her, and Toshiro smiling sheepishly at the camera, one hand on Rangiku's leg and looking far less hungover.
Needless to say, it was a picture Rukia cherished for years to come.
Still working on my other stories don't worry! Just had to complete this one in time :D
If you want to keep track of what I am writing and how it's going the link to my trello can be found at the bottom of my profile! This will be updated each time I work on projects giving you insight into what I've got coming up, what I've completed but not yet published etc.
Reviews are always appreciated :D Thanks fam :D