A/N: If you do not like the plot or character plot, then don't read the fic.
SUMMARY: Christmas has arrived and it's the first Christmas that Ichigo will spend without his Soul Reaper powers. Ichigo knows Orihime spends most of the seasonal holidays alone, he decides to visit her, and hopefully gain advice as to how he can cope with all the knowledge he has and how he is powerless to stop it.
DISCLAIMER: All is owned by Kubo-sensei
RATING: K+
One-Shot:
Christmas Miracle.
Ichigo tugged his heavy jacket around him tighter, his long hands encased in dark gloves, a matching scarf wrapped around his neck and a black beanie covered his head protectively, yet some orange spikes still stuck out in tufts and melded themselves to his forehead.
It was December twenty-fifth and the snow blanketed Karakura Town, making it like an snowy wonderland.
It didn't help that the wind was howling all around him and that it was below zero, his nose, red from the cold air chafing at it. Ichigo wouldn't be surprised if it froze and fell off right this second. He'd be thoroughly pissed off though. But none of these complications provided a substantial barrier to stop his determination. Snow crunched under his boots as he trudged through the thick sea of hard ice and Orihime's apartment building came into view. Ichigo walked faster and took the flights of stairs, firmly holding onto the railing so he wouldn't slip and actually break his nose.
Ichigo's breath came in tufts of fog and he knocked on the door.
"Coming!" He heard her sweet voice call from inside the cozy room and he heard her unlocking the locks and she opened the door, sticking her head out so the rest of her body wouldn't be assaulted to the harsh elements. Orihime's eyes widened as she saw Ichigo there, with his red-tipped nose and shivering posture. "Ichigo! What are you doing here? Did you walk all the way?!" Orihime questioned frantically, opening the door wide as a wave of heat rolled from her home and bathed Ichigo in warmth.
"Hey, Orihime. Can I come in?" He asked and she nodded hurriedly, pulling him in and shut the door quickly, re-locking the door. "I'm sorry to intrude on you on Christmas Day." Ichigo apologized, rubbing his beanie-clad head, looking a trifle bit embarrassed.
"Oh, no. It's no intrusion at all! Please, take off your jacket and sit in front of the heater, I'll make some tea and bring out some snacks!" Orihime dashed into the kitchen and set about brewing tea and taking freshly baked, homemade Christmas cookies from the oven as she asked: "So, did you walk all the way here?" She filled the kettle with water and rummaged through her cupboard, finding a small tin of tea leaves and proceeded in throwing a handful in the kettle and set it on the pre-heated stove.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I walked here. My Dad hadn't put the snow-chains on the wheels of our car so I couldn't drive here. So I opted to walk. No big deal." Ichigo shrugged off his jacket and hung it on coat hanger, along with his scarf, beanie and gloves and sat himself on the couch, warming his hands in front of the heater.
"That wasn't very smart Ichigo, it takes a little more than 30 minutes to get to my home from yours by car, but walking! That's a whole hour!" Orihime said, emerging from the kitchen with a tray with two mugs, a plate of cookies and a kettle with a small little jug of milk and a small bowl of sugar and she set the tray down on the coffee table and sat next to Ichigo. She set with making him tea. "Milk and sugar?" She asked as she poured a substantial amount of delicious hot tea.
"Yes, two sugars and a little bit of milk. Well, it wasn't going to stop me from not wishing you a Merry Christmas and I wanted to talk to you about some stuff. I can't really discuss this with Uryu or Chad because they won't understand and Rukia will only feed me some heroic nonsense." Ichigo grumbled and took the tea Orihime gave him. "Thank you."
"When you say heroic nonsense, are you referring to losing your Soul Reaper powers. I thought you were coming to terms with it." Orihime said, making her own tea and she offered him a cookie which he relucantly accepted. "Don't worry, there's nothing weird in it, Tatsuki overlooked while I baked." Orihime giggled while Ichigo sighed in relief, eating the cookie.
"Well, in a sense I am coming to terms with it, but it's still disorienting, you know, not being able to use my powers to protect my friends and those in need. I'm not able to see Rukia or Renji or anybody from the Soul Society and I can't even see a simple Hollow, how can I be a big brother to Yuzu and Karin when I know what's out there and how dangerous it is, but I can't even see the damn thing!" Ichigo vented, his hands shaking slightly as he took a sip of tea, welcoming the sweet confection to cleanse his system
"Ichigo, not to be rude, but you knew the risks of using Mugestu to defeat Aizen and I know it must've killed you, slowly feeling your powers diminishing as you became weaker and unable to fight. I know what it's like to be on the sidelines, only being used to heal and not having the courage to hurt my opponent, Mr Urahara said that I didn't have the heart to kill an enemy if need be, that's why I trained with Rukia in the Soul Society, to become stronger and finally be able to become of use to you, Chad and Uryu." Orihime took a sip of her tea and looked Ichigo straight in the eye. "When you got your powers, you were able to protect those around you more efficiently than before, but at the same time it exposed you to more dangers and you have witnessed more horrors and shouldered more responsibilities than any other 17-year-old should. It aged you beyond your years and you were physically run down, even though you tried to hide it and that's why now, all of us think you should rest, catch up on the life you missed. Spend quality time with family and friends. Let us carry the torch you've carried for 2 years, put your faith in us." Orihime reached over and held Ichigo's hand, which was still shaking and covered it with both of her small hands.
"Orihime. . ." Ichigo whispered.
"We'll protect you, your family and everyone in Karakura Town, leave it up to us." Orihime said, nodding gently as she smiled.
"You're pretty wise, for a 17-year-old girl." Ichigo grinned, he felt better.
"Do you feel okay, now? You're not depressed anymore?" Orihime asked, her wide gray eyes looked into his. Ichigo gazed into them and noticed just how beautiful they were.
"Yeah, I feel much better. Now you see why I couldn't go to the others?"
"You just needed a gently push in the right direction." Orihime said and got up. "Oh! Your Christmas present! I'll go get it." Orihime ran to her bedroom and closed the door. Ichigo quickly set his cup down and tip toed to his jacket, grabbing her present and sat back down, with her present in between him and the arm rest of the couch as he sipped at his tea nonchalantly.
Her bedroom door opened and then closed one more time and she bustled down the hallway with Ichigo's present. "Merry Christmas Ichigo!" She handed him his colourful and beautifully wrapped present. He felt it, it was squishy. "You'll like it. You told me you wanted one, or well, you told Chad and I was there."
"Oh. Crap, what did I say I wanted? Damn! I tell Chad everything, it's hard to distinguish. But. . ." Ichigo grabbed the present he hid and presented it to Orihime. "Merry Christmas." Ichigo stood up and handed her the present. "Yuzu did the wrapping. I tried to, but I got fed up with it and ended up throwing the sticky tape and wrapping paper out the window, as well as Kon." Ichigo winced and looked a bit embarrassed.
Orihime giggled uncontrollably, snorting at times which only made Ichigo laugh. "Okay, lets open the presents, you go first." Orihime said, and Ichigo tore the wrapping open to see the jumper he wanted, but it was too expensive for him to purchase.
"O-Orihime. . .this was a fortune in the store! How did you manage to afford this?!" Ichigo inquired, utterly stunned.
"I saved up all my paychecks from the bakery, and since I still get some money from my aunt, that went toward the rent and groceries." Orihime explained, her smile never fading.
"Wow. . . okay, your turn." Ichigo said and gestured to her. Orihime ripped the wrapping off as if she were an excited little girl. She lifted the small box from the paper and opened it. Inside was a bracelet with all charms all representing her favourite things.
"Oh my. . .Ichigo, that is so thoughtful." Orihime's eyes welled in tears as she lifted the bracelet out of the box.
"Here," Ichigo's voice became softer, more gentle as he took the bracelet and clasped it around her wrist, "do you like it?" He asked.
"Like it? I love it, how did you know?" Orihime asked as she rubbed away the tears.
"I saw you in the shop, staring at the bracelet so I bought it and I found charms from various stores. I was pretty nervous, I had no idea how'd you react."
"It's beautiful Ichigo. Thank you." Orihime wrapped her arms around him, to his surprise.
Ichigo slowly slid his arms around her, cuddling her small body into him. "No, thank you, Orihime. You helped me."
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Hey, everyone! RIKOREN here! This is a Christmas special! It's pretty fluffy and I rushed because I wanted to get it done today! I hope you love it!
Arigatou!
RIKOREN xD