A Shifting of Life

Title: A Shifting of Life

Fandom: Bleach

Part: 17

Series: A Shifting World

Characters/Pairings: Rangiku, Byakuya, Renji

Warnings: None

Word count: 1,231

AN: Last one for this round. Smoochies!

Lilianblack: Yes, I do enjoy teasing. *bats eyes at* *cackles cutely* *bounces off with a happy hum*

*~*~*~*

Staring at herself in the full length mirror, Ichigo wrinkled her nose at the kimono that she was wearing for the festival, smoothing her hands down the front of it as she checked the obi again. The group that had gathered to decide on the kimono had decided to use a soft black fabric that had light rose pink ribbons that ran around her legs, up her hips and chest. One ribbon bloomed over her heart into a flower while the other bloomed over her thigh, making her smile.

She had wanted a softer color for the main fabric but she had to admit that the black made the soft color pop.

The obi though was the pale gold fabric she had liked, smaller flowers dotting it, the under length of it the same light rose pink color as the ribbons on her kimono. A single red line split the obi in the middle and made her huff softly at it as she smoothed out the last of the wrinkles in it. Rangiku giggled behind her and bounced a bit in her own dark blue kimono, the bright gold flowers that splashed up the bottom half of it flashing in the low light.

“Oh, Ichigo-chan, you’re just so pretty,” Rangiku cooed at her happily, her eyes dancing as Ichigo blushed and played with the kimono sleeves. “Here, sit down and let me fix your hair. I’m kind of surprised that it’s grown out so much in the last few weeks,” she said, waving a hand to Ichigo’s vanity bench. Sitting down, the young redhead sighed and shook her head with an amused look.

“My hair has always grown pretty fast. Yuzu used to have to trim it back every couple of weeks for me,” she admitted. Rangiku squeaked even as she started to brush out the long hair with a comb, working out all of the tangles and getting it to lay in soft waves down Ichigo’s back, the shorter strands in the front curling around Ichigo’s face. Smiling, she snorted and used a simple bland of black with small pale roses sitting on it to coax those strands to smooth back.

“Well it still looks good on you. And aren’t you so glad that your dear Aunt Flow has left?” Rangiku teased, getting a low powered glare from the young woman.

“I’m not going out planning on getting laid if that’s what you mean,” Ichigo sniffed in insult, causing Rangiku to laugh and shake her head.

“No, no. I figure that Kuchiki-taicho is too much of a gentleman to pounce on ya and make ya scream loud and long,” she purred, running her eyes over the lean body. She loved the way that Ichigo still blushed at her words and look.

“Oh shut up, Rangiku-chan,” Ichigo grumped, pouting at her surprisingly close friend before she rolled her eyes. Looking in the mirror and adjust the headband slightly, she jumped at bit at the loud knock that came from the front door, her eyes widening as she turned to look at Rangiku. “He’s here…” she got out before turning into a stuttering mess. “I...I don’t…” Rangiku was the one to roll her eyes before she smiled at the younger female.

“You just stay put and let me grab him so that you don’t have to worry about coming out until you get your nerves under control,” Rangiku soothed, getting a nod before she left the bedroom.

Ichigo took slow deep breaths, working to get the butterflies in her stomach back under some kind of control as she listened to Rangiku’s footsteps head to the front door before she heard it opening.

“Hello, Kuchiki-taicho. You’re here to pick up Ichigo for lunch right?” she asked, stepping aside to let the taicho in. Byakuya had decided to go with a simple gray kimono with a koi swimming up the bottom of his kimono. He was looking rather pleased with himself.

“Yes, I am, Matsumoto-fukutaicho. Please, feel free to drop the taicho title when we are off duty,” Byakuya said, getting a bright smile from the busty blond as she nodded.

“Only as long as you do me the honor of calling me Rangiku and drop the fukutaicho title. Ichigo-chan will be out in a few if you don’t mind waiting for her,” she chirped, getting a small nod. “Let me go and see if she’s ready to head out with you or not,” she said, closing the door behind them, heading to Ichigo’s bedroom, her hair swinging.

Ichigo looked up at her when she walked in, smiling sheepishly at her friend and sometimes lover as she tucked away her fan and small purse. “I take it he’s waiting huh?” she asked, not surprised when Rangiku smiled and nodded.

“Yep. Now come on, Ichigo-chan, you look awesome. Go out there and have a great time with your seriously hot, very powerful, really rich date. and then you can come back and tell me all about your date,” Rangiku said, leading Ichigo out of the bedroom with a smile on her lips. Ichigo just huffed at her and shook her head, letting the blond lead her out of the room. “Now, I want you to truly enjoy your night. Don’t do anything that I wouldn’t do.”

“You are known to do a lot, Rangiku-san. That tends to leave very little for Ichigo-san to not do,” Byakuya drawled from where he was standing. He smiled at the flushed and flustered Ichigo, getting a smile in return from her. “You look stunning, Ichigo-san,” he greeted, taking her hand in his own and kissing the back of it lightly, watching her blush darken just a bit.

“Thank you, Byakuya. And can we please just drop that -san from my name?” she asked. Byakuya smiled and nodded as he tucked her hand into the crook of his own arm, stroking the back of it. “Who are we going to meet for lunch again?” she asked.

“Renji-san, Shuuhei-san, along with a few others,” Byakuya told her as they walked out of the house, leaving Rangiku standing in the doorway. She giggled and waved at them before she closed the door to finish getting ready. She knew that Ulquiorra would meet the two at the restaurant after his last minute fitting of his own kimono.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Ichigo said, smiling up at him as she was lead up to an open topped carriage, making her blink in surprise at it. “Byakuya-san?” she asked, looking up at him with wide eyes, tilting her head to the carriage.

“It’s far easier to ride in a carriage then it is to walk to the festival, especially in kimonos. We’ll most likely be giving a ride to Yumichika, Ikkaku, and most likely, Rangiku and Renji after lunch if she is there,” Byakuya explained, opening the small door to get into the carriage. Helping her up to step into the carriage, he followed after her and nodded at the man who was driving the carriage. It jerked as it started forward before it smoothed out as they headed towards the restaurant, Ichigo smiling as she watched everything pass them by, her eyes sparkling with pleasure.

She was able to forget, just for a short time granted, that she wasn’t supposed to be a female, that she wasn’t having to work on retraining herself to keep her balance and that she wasn’t trying to plan on how to strangle a pink haired Arrancar the next time that she saw him. They finally stopped before a small restaurant, the dark wood front making Ichigo smile as she stared at it. Renji, Yumichika, Ikkaku, Shuhei, Momo, Kira, and Kenpachi were already there, Yachiru near by at a small stall buying something in an adorable bright pink kimono. The rest wore kimonos that ranged in colors from green to some of the lighter reds, various patterns splashed over the colors.

“Hey there, gorgeous,” Renji greeted, getting a sweeter smile as he helped Ichigo down from the carriage and onto the ground, letting her step to the side. Byakuya followed after and shared a smile with his lover, Ichigo smirking next to him.

“Oh, just go ahead and kiss the poor boy. He looks like he’s dying to,” she drawled, brushing a hand over her kimono. The two turned to stare at her with surprised eyes, tilting their heads. “Once more, I am observant about some things.”

Smirking at her as she shook his head, Byakuya reached out and drew Renji into a quick, deep kiss, Ichigo watching and biting at her thumbnail, feeling a well known curl of heat that came from her own lust. “Now that is yummy. Come on you two, I want to eat sometime this decade,” she chirped as the two continued to kiss, drawing them apart with a smile.

Smiling into the kiss, the two pulled away and wrapped their arms around her waist instead of each others, leading her into the restaurant. It looked as if she had two dates instead of just one, and that was perfectly fine with her.