What Are Friends For?

  "You what...? Are you serious...?" Rukia asked Orihime as the two of them stood on the sidewalk, early one Tuesday morning.
  She smiled and said, "Yes...could you please do this for me?" 
  Rukia wanted to say no, she wanted to tell Orihime that she wouldn't do it. Then she examined Orihime's facial expression and began to feel like doing this one favor for her would mean a lot to her.
   But if doing this meant that Rukia would end up loosing something that was so important, should she do it? Knowing that it would scar her, should she do it, even knowing that it was for one of her friends?
   Rukia sighed and said,"Of course. What are friends for?"
  Orihime smiled back and walked away from the petite girl who stood in front of the Kurosaki home, legs stiff and unable to move even a little bit. As she watched the strawberry blonde haired girl walk away, so happy and care free, her eyes began to burn more and more every second she stood there.
   As much as she fought it, she had to let it go, she just let everything go. She didn't care if anyone saw her right now. She just let the tears run down her cheeks so she could have at least one moment to feel bad.
  
  "Hey Rukia." Ichigo said happily and walked into his bedroom.
   "School's over?" she asked after putting a bookmark back in her book and setting it aside.
   He nodded and asked, "What have you been doing all day?"
   "Reading..." she trailed off. She knew what she was supposed to do for Orihime. She looked away from Ichigo after he sat next to her, "Is there anyone that you...have feelings for right now?"
   The room was filled with silence and she could hear her heart beating in her ears. "What? You don't normally ask me about stuff like that." he said nervously.
   "I know...but I figured I'd change the subject of conversation up a bit. Y'know, something to talk about..." she lied. She knew the reason why she was doing this was not so they could have something to talk about, they always had something to talk about. No matter what they were doing.
   "Well...yes." he said after a while.
   "Really? Who would that be?" she asked. The answer frightened her more than anything else ever could. She felt like if he said Orihime's name, she'd crumble where she sat.
   "I couldn't say...if she knew she'd probably reject me..." he said with a slight smile.
   "I wouldn't tell. Promise." Rukia said, making sure the her voice sounded up beat.
   "You would have to...she would know the minute I told you." he said.
   Rukia's eyes widened and she said softly, "You mean...me? Do you mean me?"
   "Yeah." he said with a hopeful smile, put his hand on top of hers.
   Rukia smiled and put her free hand on her cheek, it was so warm, so very warm. Her heart was beating fast and there was a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach that made her feel excited and happy all at the same time.
   Then she suddenly remembered this morning and the conversation she had with Orihime. Her smiled faded away and she began to feel overwhelmed with the sadness that piled up in her heart in just a few seconds.
   "You're right. She would reject you." she muttered.
   His smile quickly turned into a frown and he said, "What...?"
   She pushed herself and said angrily, "You're right. She doesn't want to be with you."
'What are friends for...?'
   "I knew shouldn't have told you." he said, pulling his hand away from hers. He stood up and left the room, leaving Rukia by herself, on the floor.
   She fell over and stared at the ceiling. She was begging her tears to not come out but they betrayed her. 
'What are friends for...?'
    Rukia sat up and punched the floor angrily, "What the hell are friends for?!" 

   The next day, Rukia told Orihime that she could tell Ichigo how she felt. Since Orihime thought of Rukia as a really good friend, she decided that she'd take Rukia's advice and do it.
   So at lunch, Orihime stood by a tree with him and told him about her feelings for him. Then she asked him out, he said yes.
   "Really?" she shrieked.
   "Yeah." he said and pulled together a smile so she wouldn't feel bad, then he added, "But...I don't want to do a whole lot at the moment...I just want to take it slow."
   "Okay!" she said and hugged him.
   He slow lifted his arms up to hug her back but he couldn't do it. He put his arms back to his sides and frowned.
   No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't see her the same way he saw Rukia. He just couldn't manage it, it making his heart do something like that. Rukia was in his heart permanently and she couldn't be replaced, no matter what he did.
   After school, Rukia saw Orihime while she was walking home. "Hi Rukia! What are you doing here?" she asked.
   "I came to talk to you...about that.... Anyway, how did things go?" Rukia said, trying to make her voice sound as happy as she could.
   "Very well! We're going out now!" Orihime said with a smile.
   Rukia smiled back and said, "Orihime...I'm so happy for you..."
   Orihime stopped smiling after she saw the look on Rukia's face,"Then why do you look so sad?"
   She shook her head and made her smile widen, "I'm okay really!"
   Orihime couldn't smile back, she knew that her friend was sad, she just couldn't figure out why.

   Throughout class the next day, Ichigo kept staring out the window and daydreaming. At lunch, he sat in class and ate by himself. When Orihime asked him what was wrong, he told her that he was okay and that he just wanted to be alone.
   He couldn't stop thinking about last night, Rukia wouldn't talk to him and he wouldn't talk to her. Every time they passed each other or they were near each other at home, he died a little bit inside.
   The only time they talked was right before they went to sleep.

*****
'Orihime told me that you two were going out now.' she said after they saw each other in the hallway.
'Yeah.' Ichigo said.
They looked into each other's eyes for a moment, after he saw the sadness in her eyes, she looked away from him.
'Good for you...good for both of you...' Rukia said.
When she tried to walk away, he put his hand on her shoulder and said, 'I'm sorry for getting mad at you. It's just that...you never told me why.'
'Its alright. I'd be mad if I were you two...I'm probably gonna stay in the soul society for a few days...so we can talk later.' she said and put her hand on top of his. Before pushing it off of shoulder she said, 'Good night.'
*****

   Ichigo stared at his hand and sighed, remembering how soft her hand was on his. Her hand was warm, like her heart. Even though she turned him down, he still loved her, it's something he just couldn't help.
   By the time the final bell rang Orihime began to pick up on Ichigo's down mood. After she put her books in her bag while thinking about it, she remembered that Rukia was sad too...
   "You're sad, aren't you?" she asked.
   "Why wouldn't I be?" he asked.
   "Because...you don't want to be with me...You want to be with Rukia." she said softly.
   "No, I do! I want to be with you!" he said.
   "No, Ichigo. I can see it, the way you look at her and everything, it tells it all." she said.
   "What?" he said in shock.
   "You want to be with Rukia, you always have. And I know she wants to be with you too. So be with her!" she said.
   "Orihime?"
  "Ichigo, I want you to be happy, you're happiest with her."
  He looked down at his feet and then looked back up at Orihime. After apologizing, he ran out of the classroom, determined to tell the girl who meant more than anything to him that he loved her before she went to the soul society.
   Ichigo ran all the way home, he even ran through the front door and up the stairs...which wasn't the best idea. He fell to his knees and gasped for air. 
   He was going to do it, he was going to tell her...as soon as he took some air into his lungs...and maybe after laid on the ground...or even had some food...but definitely right afterwards! Definitely right after he did all that stuff, he'd tell her.
   After a hour of being home he shot up from the kitchen table and blurted out, "I forgot!
   He was about run again but he remembered what happened earlier. So he took slow steps up the stairs and walked into his sisters' room, hoping that she hadn't left yet.
   She was still there, she was looking out of the window while she was in her spirit form. After she tried to climb out of the window, Ichigo walked in and grabbed her wrist, not bothering to explain anything. He pulled her into his room and said, "Rukia, we have to talk."
   "Are you TELLING me to do that or are you ASKING me to do that?" she asked.
   He sighed, knowing that she'd walk out of the room if he said that he was telling her to do that. She was just that stubborn. "I'm asking you."
   "Good, because I really don't wanna talk about this right now. I have to go." she said.
   "Then you can listen." he said and continued before she could say anything else, "Rukia, I love you and that's not gonna change. It'll probably never change. These feelings confuse me because I've never had them before and I don't know what to with them. But then I realized that their going to be a gift to you. Whether you accept them or not, their yours."
   Rukia frowned and said, "You're going out with Orihime!"
   "Not anymore! She broke up with me! She said that she knew I want to be with you and she said she knew that you felt the same way." Ichigo explained.
   After neither one of them spoke she looked away and she turned away from him and said, "Thank you for your gift..."
   "You accept it?" Ichigo said, trying to hide his smile.
   "Yes." she said.
   "But you rejected me before." he said.
   "That was because Orihime told me that she liked you before you told me how you felt." she explained.
   He smiled and said, "Well, she's okay with this." 
   Rukia looked over her shoulder at him and smiled, then Ichigo took her wrist and pulled her into his arms. Being there in his arms made her feel so happy, she thought she was dreaming.
   After that, she promised that she'd come back in a few days. Then she climbed out of the window.
   He poked his head out of the window and shouted, "Hey, Rukia!" she spun around and looked up at him from the sidewalk, "I'll be waiting for you."
   She smiled and nodded before leaving.