A/N Hello minna. I know I haven't updated in a long time, but unfortunately, we cannot dictate Life's curveballs on when they hit us… and how many at a time as well. I will try to get back to my other works, especially the ByaHime ones :) Here's a Urahara/Orihime piece just to get you back into the groove and whet your appetite.
The 'F' Word
There is a thunderstorm rumbling tonight.
But even the turbulence outside cannot match the one within Urahara Kisuke at the moment. He gazes in shock at a young girl with distinguishing sunshine hair, who, having just drifted off to peaceful slumber, is unaware of the shock she has provoked and blissfully left behind.
The owner of the Urahara shoten hears the rolling of the closing sliding door as Yoruichi ushers Jinta and Ururu away to bed. Leaving the ex-shinigami captain some modicum of privacy. He gently brushes away an errant auburn strand from the sleeping figure. He has finally solved his little mystery, which he must admit had been extremely intriguing while simultaneously, discomfiting.
Flashback
The first few times those glances and tilt-of-the-heads occurred, Urahara dismissed them as his over-imagination or perhaps a particularly odd outfit (or antic?) chosen for the day. However, when the trend continued, he simply could no longer deny this acute observation. Inoue-chan has, for an unknown reason, found some interest in him beyond the regular Hollow hunting-Soul Society activities. The gazes were not romantic that much he ascertained. They were completely dissimilar to the discreet glimpsesshe sent to their resident Substitute Shinigami. No,these ones were much more piercing and discerning.
The ones she sent his way were a realization of a different kind, which he found to his intense surprise to contain a small amount of fear. Thus, Urahara turned over possibilities that Inoue-chan might still be experiencing the aftereffects of Hueco Mundo and his own role in inadvertently sending her into the arms of Aizen and the Arrancar. The ubiquitous striped green and white hat was tilted downwards as the shopkeeper was wont to do when he felt guilty or not up to revealing answers to anyone.
As he puzzled over this conundrum, turning over again and again past conversations for potential clues to the young healer's new behaviour, Urahara was nearly driven mad due to the lack of any answer.
He received half an answer a week ago when he overheard Jinta and Ururu chatting with Orihime during one of the afternoons she dropped by. Their conversation topic: swearing and other manners of taboo words. Jinta, the rascal, was trying to persuade an adamantly-opposed Orihime to say at least one curse word aloud.
"You do know what the F word is right, Orihime?"
The answer that came, a quiet hushed reply which shrank in on itself as though in fear of a memory, stunned both young Mod Souls into an awkward silence.
"Father," whispered glazed gray-amethyst eyes.
End of flashback
The last half of the answer to the riddle of Orihime's strange gazes was finally answered five minutes ago.
She had been out and successfully defeated a Menos Grande on her own, but suffered from a fractured arm and profuse bleeding. When Urahara had brought Orihime back to the shoten and finished cleaning her wounds, she had fixed him with one of those odd looks again.
Then said, hoarsely…
"Arigato, chichiue."
A/N * Chichiue is another way of saying 'father' in Japanese, compared to otou-san.
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