A/N: Hi! You might have read some of my Bleach fics before. This story is absolutely nothing like "Oblivion" or "Redemption"; it's more along the lines of "Paranoid Delusions", (only A LOT fluffier) and "Matsumoto, Matchmaker". So, for you cheesy-romance-and-stupid-humor masochists, welcome, welcome.
And everyone else, too. I'm not picky!
Anyway, this story was originally meant to be a oneshot, but it came out too long, so it's a twoshot instead. Hopefully, part two will be out next week.
Enjoy, and please review!
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Our Favourite Strawberry
Part One
"Ouch! Paper cut!"
Placing her stinging finger in her mouth, Orihime turned the pages on the page-a-day calendar with her other hand. Scanning the dates, she saw where she had written, in her round, looping scrawl, on July 15th: Ichigo's birthday.
"I knew it!" she said to herself. "It's July 8th tomorrow, so I only have a week to come up with a great idea! He's turning sixteen, so it has to be something special."
She climbed into bed, and spent hours mulling over various ideas before finally falling asleep.
When she woke the morning of July 8th, she had the perfect solution.
"I'll throw a surprise party, with everyone invited! It will be so much fun, and I'm just sure he'll like it!"
She immediately sat down and began working on a guest list:
-Tatsuki
-Chad
-Uryuu
-Chizuru
-Mizuiro
-Keigo
-Karin
-Yuzu
-Isshin
Then she sat down at the phone and dialed the Kurosaki's number. With any luck, Ichigo would still be asleep.
No such luck. It was his voice on the other end.
"Hello?"
Orihime dropped the phone in surprise, and it rolled across the floor, thumpthumpthump. She scrambled after it and hastily pushed the "off" button.
Five minutes later, she tried again. And again, and again, for almost two hours. And, even though the voice on the other end became slightly more disgruntled each time, it was Ichigo who answered.
Finally, the luck kicked in, and it was Karin who answered. "Look, if you don't quit harassing us—"
"Shhhhh…Karin, it's Orihime."
"It was you the whole time?"
"Yes; I'm sorry, but I was waiting for someone besides Ichigo to pick up the phone. I'm having a surprise party for him at my apartment at 5:30, and I want you and Yuzu and your dad to come if you can – and be here by 5:00."
"Yeah, okay – no, sorry, we don't answer phone surveys."
Orihime was confused. "What?"
"Sorry," Karin whispered. "Ichigo just walked through the room. Don't worry, we'll be there. 'Kay, gotta go."
"Bye!"
"Bye."
Next, she called Tatsuki.
"That'll be cool," said Tatsuki when she'd been told of the plan. "But how are you going to get Ichigo to come?"
"I have no idea," Orihime admitted. "I don't know how I can talk to him without giving the whole thing away."
"I'll handle it," Tatsuki promised. "It'll probably seem more legit if someone else invites him over. I'll say something like, some of us are going to this new movie, and we'll meet up at your place first."
"There's a new movie out?"
"There's always lots; we'll just pick one. I'll wait a couple of days, though; it'll seem weird if we set it up a whole week in advance, and he might get suspicious."
"Okay, that'll be great! Thanks, Tatsuki-chan!"
"No problem."
After that, she called everyone else on the list, and they all said 'yes'.
But she still felt like someone was missing.
Orihime thought for a while, then it came to her.
"Rukia-san! I have to invite her, somehow; Ichigo will be so happy if she can come!"
She paused. "But how am I going to reach her? I can't get to Soul Society by myself. I'll just ask Ichigo to – oops, I guess I can't, heh heh…Hmmmmmm, I could see if Uryuu could – no, they don't like him there very much, since he's a Quincy. Who else…? Well, Kon's a soul, isn't he, technically? I'll get him to do it! And I think I know where to find him."
She wrote out an invitation and sealed it in an envelope, then left her apartment building and walked off down the street.
As she rounded the corner, she almost walked right into Mizuiro, Keigo and –Ichigo.
"O-oh!" stammered Orihime. "Hi, Ichigo." She thrust the envelope behind her back.
Ichigo noticed. "You do know there's a mailbox right next to your apartment…?"
"Well, yes, but I – um – it was such a nice day, so I decided to walk a little further. Sooooo – yep!"
Shrugging, Ichigo said, "Well, see you later, Orihime."
"Bye!" she replied, plastering a huge fake smile on her face. When he was gone, she cringed. Why do I always have to sound so stupid when I talk to him? How come I always get nervous around him? He must think I'm so weird.
This party will be a success! It has to be! Orihime thought determinedly.
She walked to the park. The soccer field was overrun by Jinta, Karin, and their friends. Just as Orihime had hoped, Yuzu was sitting on the sidelines, with Kon propped up beside her.
"Hi, Yuzu!" said Orihime, walking over. "How are you?"
"Fine?"
"It sure is a nice day, isn't it?"
"Uh-huh."
Orihime sighed, and cut to the chase. "Hey, Yuzu, can I borrow Kon for a little while?"
The young girl frowned. "Kon? Who's Kon? You mean Bostov?"
"Yes, Bostov? Can I borrow him, please?"
"What do you want with Bostov?"
"I—it's important. It has to do with –" Orihime looked around, making sire no one was listening. "—Ichigo's party."
"Oooooooooooh," said Yuzu, nodding knowingly. "Okay, here he is!" She thrust the stuffed lion at Orihime so suddenly that she staggered back a step before accepting him.
"Be careful with him," Yuzu cautioned.
"I will! Thank you so much!"
As soon as they left the soccer field, Kon came to life. "Thank you for saving me, Orihime! I was sitting in the hot sun all morning; I thought I was gonna melt! I'm sooo glad to see you!" He wrapped his short arms around her chest for a hug – among other things. This was Kon, after all.
Gingerly, Orihime pried him off. "I need you to do me favour."
Kon's polished glass eyes glinted. "Anything for you," he said slyly.
Orihime asked him to deliver the envelope to Rukia and bring back her answer.
"What am I, a messenger?" whined Kon. "Do I look like a butterfly to you?"
"Kon, that envelope holds an invitation to a party. If you dot his for me, you can come, too, okay?"
"A party, hm?" Kon mulled it over. "Will there be babes?"
"Um…yes...?"
"Okay, I'll do it!"
When Orihime got home, she grabbed herself a can of oolong tea from the fridge and collapsed into a chair. That had been a lot more work than she'd expected, what with her surprise encounter with Ichigo, coaxing Yuzu to temporarily relinquish "Bostov" and bribing Kon to deliver the invitation.
And it was hot outside.
It was three o'clock in the afternoon, and all she'd managed to do was 'send out' the invites in one way or the other. She still had to get the cake, buy food, make more food, plan/buy/make/put up decorations, download some good party music, and keep the whole thing a secret from Ichigo.
Suddenly, Orihime was exhausted, and she spent the rest of the day alternating between making lists and napping.
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The next day, it was pouring rain.
"Oh no," said Orihime. "Well, I guess I can't go out shopping today…I'll download the party music instead."
She dug her iPod out from under her bed and turned her computer on. The songs on her iPod were mostly pop tunes, with a handful of random stuff thrown in, like "The Hamster Dance" and "The Doom Song". As well, there were a few songs that were more poetic and soulful, and didn't really fall under any category.
Orihime wasn't a hundred percent certain as to Ichigo's tastes in music, but she was pretty sure he was a punk/rock kind of guy.
Finally her computer finished loading, and she clicked on iTunes, spending the next three hours scrolling through lists of songs, and selecting tunes along the lines of Hedley, Fall Out Boy, Billy Talent, Green Day, and Wolfmother.
A lightning flash came from outside, followed almost immediately by a clap of thunder, and Orihime jumped, startled for a moment.
Leaning back in her chair, she waited for the songs to finish downloading onto her computer.
"It's so slow," she moaned. "This is taking forever."
Just then, lightning flashed again, and the lights flickered, then went out, and her computer screen went black.
"Oh no!" cried Orihime. "Now what can I do? I can't go out, and there's nothing I can do here until I go shopping…!"
The power didn't come back on until 9:30 at night, and then Orihime started all over again with the downloading.
She finally collapsed into bed at 2:00 am and fell asleep instantly.
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July 10th.
Five more days.
Two days gone.
And all Orihime had to show for it was a few lists, a full iPod, and sleep deprivation.
Nevertheless, she was determined to venture out to get the decorations today, and she knew exactly where to go.
The store Party Central! was a little place stocked with everything party-related that you could imagine, from low-budget to high, from a small get-together to an enormous formal gathering, and most definitely what Orihime was searching for: something that fit nicely in between.
Her eyes fixed on the list she'd made, she strode through the aisles, selecting exactly what she wanted: balloons, by the hundred, rolls of ribbon and crepe paper streamers by the mile, masses of construction paper, a spool of fishing line, pot of glitter and packets of confetti. Everything was in the colour theme she'd chosen: bright red, with black, white, and silver as the supporting colours. She also picked up a red linen table cloth, and some pretty glass serving bowls and plates. She found some strings of red-and-white twinkling lights, and scooped up half a dozen. Finally, she took a huge roll of white fabric and some acrylic paints to make a banner.
No problems there, but with her arms laden with bags and boxes, when Orihime stepped out of Party Central!, she groaned. Because, of course, her house was uphill from the store.
As she struggled uphill, the sun rose higher into the sky. Apparently, it was going to be another hot day.
It was only a fifteen-minute walk from her apartment to the store, but it was an hour and a half after she left Party Central! until she returned home and gratefully put everything down.
After a brief rest, however, she decided to go back out to the cake shop. But, no sooner had she reached the corner than she saw a young black Labrador dash in front of her; something soft and yellow was clutched in its mouth.
"Heeeeelllllllllp meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" came a strangled cry from the soft yellow thing.
Kon! Orihime realized. She chased after the dog. "Hey! Come back! Here, puppy!" she called.
The dog, seeing it had someone to join in the game, ran faster. Catch me if you can! It seemed to say.
Soon, the fast pace and the hot sun took its toll, and Orihime was forced to stop, and stood, bent double, gasping for air.
She felt something nudge her leg. She looked up to see the dog, its huge brown eyes wondering, Why did you stop playing?
Orihime reached out and took a hold of Kon's arm, and pulled.
The dog, delighted to have a new game to play, pulled as well.
"Owwwwwwwwwwwwww!" yelled Kon.
The dog, not used to its toys yelling, let go in surprise. Orihime scoped Kon up and held him over her head.
"No more toy for you," she told the dog sternly. The dog hung its head and walked away in search of someone else to play with.
Once she carried him back to her apartment, Orihime examined Kon. The dog's teeth had ripped a few gashes across his body, and the stuffing was in danger of falling out.
Kon coughed. "Rukia," he said weakly.
"What?"
"Rukia," Kon repeated. "She – said – yes." Then he flopped backwards and was still.
"Kon?" Orihime gasped. "Kon, are you okay? Wake up! Kon, say something!"
Coughing and wheezing, Kon came back to life. "Quick – I need – mouth-to-mouth –"
"Apparently, you don't," Orihime noted.
"Was it that obvious?" grumbled Kon.
Orihime decided not to reply. "You're cut up pretty badly," she said. "Maybe I'll take you to see Uryuu, and he can –"
"Oh no!" declared Kon. "Now way, Nuh-uh! Last time he repaired me, he replaced my mane with lace, pinned flowers on my ears and sewed a flippin' Quincy cross on the back of my head! No way am I going through that again."
"C'mon, Kon, please? I don't have the time, and I'm sure if we just ask –"
"No way, and that's final!"
Sewing was not Orihime's strong suit. She was forced to work very slowly and poked herself dozens of times with the needle.
The good thing: when she was through, Kon looked almost as good as new.
The bad thing: it had taken the better part of the afternoon, and the cake shop was now closed.
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So, the next day, the shop, Confection Perfection, was her first stop. She flipped through the huge selection of designs they offered and chose a chocolate cake with white frosting, with a pattern of flames in red, orange, and yellow icing and pieces of dark chocolate shaped like starts around the outside. The cake artist told Orihime that she could pick up her order at noon on July 15th.
From there, she went to the grocery market. Selecting a cart, she filled it up with a number of food items and ingredients, until it was overflowing. She steered it around a corner. Once again, she nearly bumped into –
"Ichigo!" cried Orihime, trying not to blush furiously. "How come you're here?"
"Um…my old man made me come and get a couple of things." He eyed the contents of her cart. "It looks like you're getting more than a couple of things, though."
"Um, yeah, I'm, uh – stocking up," said Orihime. Why, why, WHY do I have to sound so stupid?
"You're gonna need help getting these back to your place."
"No, no, I'll be fine, thanks."
"Don't be dumb; how are you gonna carry all that by yourself?"
So, when Orihime was walking back to her apartment, Ichigo was walking with her.
"So, Tatsuki phoned me this morning," he said.
Oh no! Orihime realized. She probably called me right after, so we would be able to keep our cover story straight – but I was out!
"She said we were all gonna go and see that movie on Friday," Ichigo continued. "What one was it again?"
Inwardly crossing her fingers, Orihime quickly spoke the title of a film for which she'd seen commercials and secretly really wanted to go and watch. "When the River Cries, was it?"
Ichigo shook his head. "I don't think so. Let me think; oh yeah, it was In Cold Blood."
Orihime cringed. She couldn't have been further off. When the River Cries was a much-anticipated romantic dramedy, while In Cold Blood was an indy thriller. But she laughed it off. "Oh, right, of course. I don't know what I was thinking!"
Was she being paranoid? Or did he look suspicious?
She quickly continued. "Anyway, she told you we're going to meet at my apartment first, right?"
"Yeah, at 5:30…but she didn't say for what."
"Oh! Well – for…cake, of course! Your birthday cake!"
"Oh yeah…my birthday." Ichigo looked distant.
"You forgot your own birthday?"
"Yeah, kind of. It's not really a big deal, right? It's just another year." He paused, and very nearly smiled. "Although, there was a while there when I didn't think I would live to be sixteen…"
They reached Orihime's apartment building then, and ascended the elevator in silence.
As Orihime fumbled with her keys in the lock, she said, "Thanks for your help, Ichigo."
"Yeah, sure, no problem," he said dismissively. He paused again, and his tone changed. "Hey, Orihime – I was thinking, and –"
But the door came unlocked then, and Kon ran out.
Yikes! Thought Orihime. I forgot about Kon!
"Kon!" she cried. "What are you doing here?"
"Wha?" said Kon. "You know what—owwww!" Orihime had stomped on his tail.
"Your being here is very suspicious, Kon," said Orihime, hoping he'd get the hint. "You wouldn't want anyone to wonder why you're here, would you?"
"Huh?" said Kon.
"C'mon, you," said Ichigo, setting down all the groceries – except his own -- and grabbing the stuffed lion roughly around the waist. "Um – so – see you later, Orihime."
"Yeah, bye," she replied.
After making a few trips of carrying the groceries in, Orihime finally closed the door and allowed herself a sigh of relief. "That was close on so many levels! I hope I didn't give anything away."
After unloading the groceries, Orihime decided to take so time for herself and relax with a good book for a change. Most of the work was done. It would all be smooth sailing from here…
…right?
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Orihime took the roll of white fabric she'd bought and rolled it out across the living room floor. She'd have preferred to do it in the kitchen, but it wasn't big enough.
She'd dressed in hole-y sweatpants and a stained t-shirt. The colours were lined up on the floor next to her, along with the couple of paintbrushes she'd scrounged up. She examined the expanse of unblemished white for a moment, then got to work.
Or tried to.
She tried to pull the lid off the red paint jar, but it was very stuck. She adjusted her grip and tried again.
It wouldn't budge.
On the third attempt, the lid came off without warning, and the jar and the lid flew from her hands in separate directions, spraying paint everywhere. When the jar landed, the plastic cracked, leaking red onto the carpet, so it now matched the smears on the walls, the curtains, the couch, the TV. set, and Orihime herself.
And, of course, the paint was quick-drying.
In fact, the only thing that had escaped the mess was the banner fabric, which seemed to mock her with its still-flawless white.
With a sigh, Orihime prepared herself for a day of cleaning.
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After going over everything in the living room with a scrub brush and baking soda, the area was so clean it practically sparkled. However, it only served to highlight what a mess the rest of her apartment was.
So, guess what Orihime spent the day doing?
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July 14th.
Orihime painted up the banner, then spent hours carefully and meticulously touching up the lines, making sure every stroke was smooth and free of jagged edges.
Finally, she deemed it perfect, and left it spread out to dry.
Then the doorbell rang.
Immediately, Orihime flew into a panic.
Ohmygosh! What if it's Ichigo? I can't let him in because he'll see the banner and the surprise will be ruined but I can't ignore him either because that would be rude and I can't pretend I'm not home because he's probably seen the light on outside and WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?!?!?!
Heart thudding in her ears, she looked out the peephole –
--and sighed in relief to recognize the ubiquitous clipboard and logo-ed t-shirt of a door-to-door salesman. She opened the door, smiling and chipper on the surface, while in fact, she wasn't listening to a word of his sales spiel. After politely declining the offer of whatever it was he was selling and closing the door, she breathed a sigh of relief (which she seemed to be doing a lot lately).
I'm just being silly. Everything is fine, and everything's ready for tomorrow.
She already had a strict itinerary in mind:
8:00 – wake up; get dressed; have breakfast
8:30 – start decorating
12:00 – pick up birthday cake from Confection Perfection
12:30 – make and eat lunch
1:00 – cook/prepare party food
3:00 – clean up kitchen
4:00 –have shower; change into party outfit; dry hair
5:00 – be at door to greet guests
5:25 – get everyone hidden
5:30 – surprise Ichigo!
It was the perfect plan, carefully measured out.
There's no room for anything to go wrong. Everything will be perfect!
So why did she still feel jumpy?
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A/N: Okay, like I said before, this was supposed to be a oneshot, and I basically just took what I wrote and cut it in half. Sorry if this was a bit boring; part two will be better; I promise! See you next chapter, and, in the meantime, please review!
~Raye Lynne ^_^