Happy Halloween, Bleach-fans. After I saw the cover picture for last week's Bleach chapter, I had to write a Halloween fic for Bleach. Also, I needed an excuse to write some more Bleach romance.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach nor the choice of costume for everyone but Hinamori, Tatsuki, and, possibly, the Shun Shun Rikka.
The full moon, stars, and lantern flames illuminated the dark, autumn night as spirits danced and sang. It was a well-deserved time of celebration. Halloween was such a great holiday. The shinigami were all happy that they had Westerners here. A holiday all about dressing up as strange creatures and partying your brains out? Who wouldn't love that?
"Damn. I never knew ghosts had so much party in them," Tatsuki muttered, looking around the crowded area. She had decided to come as a Gorgon. She was wearing a tattered white robe, a white sash around her arms, sandals, and a wig that made her hair look like snakes.
"Aren't they funny, Tatsuki-chan?" Orihime giggled. She came as a ghost. She had on a large orange sheet with a funny face drawn on it and orange bags on her feet. Surrounding her head were the Shun Shun Rikka, dressed up as little ghost flames. "Matsumoto-san says we should come over any time. Doesn't that sound like—"
Tsubaki pulled her cheek. "Shut up. Why do we have to dress up in these stupid costumes, too?"
"Come on, Tsubaki. We look great," Lily laughed as she spun around.
Tsubaki growled at the annoying pink-haired fairy until his blonde comrade floated in front of him.
"Be nice," Shun'ou told him.
He stared at her for a few moments before he looked away, muttering many things under his breath. Shun'ou sighed while the other Shun Shun Rikka exchanged knowing glances.
"Inoue-san."
The eight turned and saw Mr. Quincy Archer, walking their way. He was not dressed as an archer, though. He was a vampire equipped with a white dress shirt and fancy red necktie, black pants, and a long black cape. He even had his hair slicked back. He stopped in front of all of them but it was clear he was only focused on the orange-clad ghost girl.
"You look very nice, Inoue-san," Uryuu said, adjusting his glasses.
"Thanks a lot, Ishida-kun. You make a great vampire."
Uryuu felt his face go red before he turned away shyly. "U-u-uh…no. I don't think I…um…"
"Do you ever plan to grow a spine?" Tsubaki asked, exasperated. Everyone else looked at him as he tossed his arms into the air. "It's obvious to everyone but her what you think. Just say so already, you cowardly—"
Hinagiku's hand flew to Tsubaki's mouth while Baigon restrained him. Ayame bowed to Uryuu while Shun'ou and Lily exchanged nervous grins.
"Sorry about him. He has no manners," the last two chuckled.
Orihime just looked at her fairies in confusion while Tatsuki tried to contain her laughter and Uryuu tried to contain his embarrassment. The fairies all huddled together.
"Are you trying to ruin it for them?" Shun'ou growled, though it wasn't fearsome in the slightest.
Tsubaki scoffed at her. "The nerd needs a backbone. How are they supposed to get together if he's too scared to admit he likes her and she's too stupid to realize?"
"We have to let things run their own course, Tsubaki," Hinagiku lectured.
"Technically, since we're a part of Hime-chan, we're a part of their course," Lily reasoned.
"But what can we do to help them?" Ayame whispered.
Baigon raised his hand. "May I suggest that we start by keeping people away from them?" The others looked at him. "If Ishida-kun is going to confess at anytime, it definitely won't be when others are around."
"Good point," the others agreed.
"Yo, fairies. What are you talking about?"
They looked up and Tatsuki's huge face was dangerously close to them.
"…Does she count?" Baigon asked.
"Unfortunately," Lily sighed.
"What are you talking about?" Tatsuki repeated.
"Is that Kurosaki-kun flirting with that unknown shinigami girl?" Hinagiku questioned, floating towards said carrot-topped shinigami.
Tatsuki's eyes followed where he was floating. Rage overcame her before she followed him. Hinagiku looked at his wielder's best friend. He was so glad that Orihime had gained a crush on Uryuu, even if she herself was unaware of it. None of them could stand the idea of the two girls being romantic rivals. It was too much to bear.
"Tatsuki-chan, there's no reason to kill him," Hinagiku explained.
"Yes, there is! How dare he go flirting with some girl he doesn't even know? I'm gonna teach him some respect by beating him senseless," Tatsuki growled, cracking her knuckles.
Hinagiku did nothing but laugh. Ichigo finished turning down the shinigami girl who had come over to ask him to dance. Ichigo was dressed as Frankenstein. He was shirtless, had rubber bolts attached to many parts on his body and special make-up that made him look like a pieced-together ragdoll.
"Why am I even here? Maybe I can sneak away," he mumbled.
A foot to his face made him realize that wasn't happening. Ichigo fell to the ground before looking up at a seething Tatsuki.
"What I do now?"
"You know exactly what you did," Tatsuki growled, pulling him up by his arm. "Who do you think you are flirting with some random ghost chick?"
"What are you talking about?" Ichigo asked.
"Who was that girl?" Tatsuki pointed to the girl.
"Some girl who was just asking me to dance. I said no."
Tatsuki's eye twitched and her face reddened. He was being asked out and he said no? She turned around, huffing.
"My bad. Had to make sure you weren't being a pervert." She said that but all she was thinking was: 'You're an idiot. You're a coward.'
Ichigo growled at her. What the heck was her problem? Hinagiku saw where this was going. He floated to Ichigo and whispered in his ear:
"She wants to dance with you."
He looked at Hinagiku then at Tatsuki's back. Some feeling, he wasn't sure what yet, found its way into his throat.
"She…she does?" he whispered in disbelief.
"Yes, but you know, as well as I know, that Tatsuki-chan is very stubborn. She'd never admit to it herself. She needs you to ask her…if you want to," Hinagiku said, chuckling at the end.
Ichigo's mouth trembled. He tried to make words but it wasn't working. Hinagiku sighed before he pulled Ichigo's ear.
"Hey, what are you—"
Hinagiku was already pulling him towards the brunette. When he let go, Hinagiku looked at Ichigo.
"Well?"
Ichigo didn't move. Hinagiku grabbed his hand and placed it on Tatsuki's shoulder. Tatsuki turned her head, cheeks still dusted with pink.
"What? Got something to say?"
"You…wanna dance?" Ichigo mumbled, taking his hand off. Tatsuki's jaw dropped slightly. Ichigo growled. "If you don't want to, then don't. I just figured since I don't want to dance with these guys and you don't want to dance with these guys, we'd dance together to keep them away, you know? That's it!"
She didn't say anything. Ichigo took that as a 'no.'
'Why did I listen to that stupid fairy? What does he know about anything?' he thought.
"I guess we could."
Ichigo was shocked. He was even more shocked when she took his hand and began to drag him to the dance floor. Hinagiku decided to follow them because he knew they wouldn't do a thing without him.
-
"There goes Tatsuki-chan," Ayame said.
Shun'ou nodded. "Now, that she's dancing with Kurosaki-kun, I don't think we have to worry about them interrupting."
"What about Matsumoto-san?" Baigon asked.
The other four stared at him when they heard it:
"No, no, no! Orihime-chan, why are you wearing that horrid and unsexy outfit?!"
"Fuck!" Tsubaki cursed.
"I've got her," Lily said, floating over to the three.
Rangiku had come as a witch. She had a black and orange two-piece outfit that, like most of her outfits, revealed her voluptuous figure and was complete with long boots and a witch hat. She was also waving her arms around, clearly upset.
"If you wanted to come as a ghost, you should at least be one with her human form!" Rangiku whined. "I wanted us to have been the sexiest girls here! You're not even showing off your wonderful breasts!"
Uryuu's face was bright red during the entire discussion. He really would have liked Orihime to come in a different costume and not because he was a pervert or anything. It was just…
His gaze fell onto the ghost girl, who was mentioning the fact that she didn't have time to make a different costume. His face worked its way to a smile. 'Someone as beautiful as her only deserves to dress the best.'
"You should have asked him to make it then!" Rangiku told her, pointing at Uryuu, who had come out of his musing. "He wouldn't have minded, would you?"
"I…I…uh…"
"Matsumoto-san!" Lily came up and sat on the witch's shoulder. "I have to know where you got your costume. It's stunning. Maybe I can wear something like it next year."
Rangiku's face lit up. "Oh, I knew I liked you for a reason! You must be Orihime-chan's fashion sense fairy. Well, I got it at—"
"Wait! I can't hear you! Let's go somewhere else so you can tell me, okay?!" Lily shouted.
"Sure."
Rangiku walked away from Orihime and Uryuu and as she did, Lily looked over her shoulder and winked at the two.
"Good luck," she whispered.
Rangiku stopped walking and took a seat on a bench.
"Is this better?"
"Much, much. So, you were saying?"
"Well, I found this in a great shop here in Seireitei. It sells some of the greatest outfits you will ever see. It's where I do all of my shopping," she stated proudly. She pointed at Lily in excitement. "I am so going to take you and Orihime-chan and the other girl fairies there. You'll love it!"
"Yeah, I would, but I don't think they'd be up to it," Lily said.
"Why not? Like I say: if you have it, flaunt it." Rangiku flipped her hair over her shoulder.
Lily thought on that. That was true. 'But Shun'ou's flat and I can't tell what Ayame is with that super baggy dress.' She was going to say this until she took a long look at Rangiku.
Something wasn't right. Rangiku was just staring at the moon, completely lost to the world. She looked so…sad. What was wrong? Lily looked up, hoping her answers would be up in the sky.
All she really noticed was the moon. It looked so pretty tonight. It was like a big pearl. No, not like a pearl. It was more like a beautiful glowing ball of sil—
It clicked. Lily realized what was eating at Rangiku. She looked at her but Rangiku was still looking up. She had to say something.
"You know, he wasn't worth your time." The blonde finally looked back at the fairy. "You were way too good for that fox freak."
Rangiku smiled but it wasn't a happy one. She used her index finger to pat Lily on her head.
"Thanks…but you're wrong," she said.
Lily shook her head. "No, I'm not. He was a jerk. He was…"
"You know…I could have almost any man I want." Lily stopped talking and Rangiku looked back up. "I'm beautiful. I'm powerful. I actually do have a great personality." Lily didn't think Rangiku noticed but she knew she saw a tear sliding down her cheek. "It wasn't enough, not to keep him with me. Lily, there will never be a man like Ichimaru Gin. He was my greatest blessing; he was my greatest curse. Please remember that."
She didn't want to. She wanted Rangiku to get over him but she knew that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.
"How did you two meet?" Lily asked. It was when they met that she saw him as a blessing, right? Then Lily would keep asking, keep asking until that was all Rangiku could think of.
Rangiku smiled again; this time, it looked somewhat happy. She opened her mouth and began to tell the tale. Lily stayed quiet, listening. That was all she could really do.
-
"Okay, I don't see how anyone else could interfere with them," Shun'ou decided.
"Um, Shun'ou?"
"Yes, Ayame?"
Ayame tilted her head; the others turned theirs.
"You gotta be kidding me," Tsubaki sighed.
Baigon was already off. The source of their problems this time? One Abarai Renji.
"You guys havin' fun?" Renji asked the Quincy and fairy user. He was dressed as a mummy. He was covered from head-to-toe in bandages, aside from his eyes and hair.
Orihime nodded. "Yeah, it's a great party, Abarai-kun." She was kind of lying since she hadn't done anything since she got there. Well, she talked to Uryuu and that was always nice.
Uryuu watched as the two continued their friendly conversation. Jealousy was bubbling uncontrollably inside his stomach. Who was Abarai Renji to come up and start talking with Orihime while he was in the middle of a conversation? Well, they hadn't been talking but it still made him mad!
Unbeknownst to the three, Baigon was floating right behind Renji with a pin in his hands. He rubbed his palms together then positioned the pin.
"Ow!" Renji turned around, looking for the person he was going to kill for poking him in the butt. That was when his eyes landed on Rukia. "She is so going down! Rukia!"
Renji stormed off and Baigon decided to follow, in case he had to make something up. Uryuu and Orihime had no idea what just happened but they were glad to have some alone time again.
"RUKIA!!!"
Rukia covered her ears and glared at the mummy, stomping towards her. She was dressed as a devil. She was wearing a rather revealing pink one-piece with long gloves and boots. She came equipped with fake devil horns, wings and a tail. She was also carrying a pitchfork; the one that Renji was positive got stabbed into his butt.
"What are you yelling for, Renji?" Rukia asked, leaning on her pitchfork.
"Don't play dumb! You poked me in the ass!" Renji screamed, pointing a bandaged finger at her.
Rukia looked completely offended. "I did not! What are you talking about?!"
"Stop lying! You used that overgrown salad fork! Only you would do something like that!" Renji grabbed the pitchfork. "Let's see how you like it." He turned her around and poked her in the butt with the pitchfork.
Rukia yelped and jumped away, rubbing her sore butt. Her entire face went red. She took her pitchfork back and glared at Renji. Renji was almost positive that he had done the wrong thing.
"You…are so dead," Rukia hissed.
Thinking for a minute, Renji decided his course of action. He ran and Rukia chased. Luckily, Baigon had grabbed Rukia's tail so he would still be there if needed. Rukia chased Renji around for a good while. It got to the point where they had left the party and were alone in the woods.
"Come back here!" Rukia ordered.
"Yeah, right!" Renji shouted.
Enough was enough. Rukia threw the pitchfork and it landed right in Renji's back. Renji fell before he pulled the pitchfork out. Looking up, he saw Rukia, walking towards him with evil in her eyes.
'Shit! She's gonna kill me! What do I do? What do I do?' It was at that moment that Renji remember that he was dressed as a mummy.
He stood up and moved just before Rukia could tackle him. He undid the bandages on his arms. Skidding to a stop, Rukia gasped when Renji's bandages wrapped around her. Renji tightened the bandages and laughed at Rukia's foolish attempt to escape.
"I win," Renji boasted.
"No, you haven't!" Rukia struggled and squirmed. Renji just continued to laugh. "Shut up!"
She gave herself a mental pat on the back when she started to unwrap. Luckily, Renji was too busy laughing to notice. When she had unwrapped a good amount, she decided to give Renji a taste of his own medicine. Renji finally became aware of the situation when he felt his arms being bound to the rest of his body.
"I win!" Rukia began cheering to herself until she remembered one important fact. "I forgot to unwrap myself."
"I knew you were a genius."
"I said shut up!"
Rukia tried to hit him but it just ended up with them falling to the ground. They looked at each other for a while, faces a bright red.
"Um…yeah…so…" Renji didn't know what to say.
"So…what?"
"Uh…uh…floating pitchfork!"
Rukia's eyebrow rose until she saw her pitchfork, cutting through the bandages.
"I'll get you out."
"Did my pitchfork just talk?" Rukia asked.
The pitchfork was raised higher and the two saw Baigon, holding it up.
"Oh, good. I thought your pitchfork was possessed," Renji sighed in relief.
Baigon finished cutting the two loose. Rukia quickly got off of Renji, who stood up. He offered his hand but Rukia wouldn't take it.
"I'm still mad at you," she huffed.
"What?! I'm the one who should be mad! You—"
Baigon interrupted. "Actually, I poked you in the butt. It was an accident. I'm sorry." He bowed.
Renji looked at Baigon for a moment before he smacked him to the ground. Rubbing the back of his neck, Renji thought of what to say.
"I…uh…you're short."
Rukia smiled to herself. She knew that was just Renji's way of saying "I'm sorry."
"You're stupid."
Renji grinned. That was Rukia for "Apology accepted." He held his hand out again and Rukia accepted.
"Ya want to get something eat?" Renji asked.
"You're paying, right?"
"Sure, sure."
Renji tried to take his hand away but Rukia wasn't letting go. He looked down at her, confused as to why she was blushing.
"Rukia, something wrong?"
"No. I just wanted to hold your hand. Is that a problem?"
She noticed his hand shaking after that. Before she could let go, his hand tightened around hers.
"Not a problem," he said.
Taking a quick glance, Rukia felt her heart thump. He was smiling and it was because of her hand in his. The two began to walk back to the party and Baigon sat on the ground.
"What a nice couple," he muttered to himself.
-
"You think that's the last of them?" Tsubaki asked his blonde companion.
"I hope so. It's getting rather annoying. Don't you think, Ayame?" Shun'ou realized that the pink-clad fairy wasn't around. "Where'd she go?"
"Uh, Topknot? Hope is not enough."
Shun'ou knew what that meant. Ayame was already on the job. Hinamori's eyes were bright and happy as she stared at Uryuu. She was dressed as a fairy. She had on a sparkling blue and green minidress with black high heels. She had her hair up in pigtails and a pair of fake wings attached to her back.
Hinamori circled around Uryuu, taking in every detail of his outfit. "Oh, my goodness, your costume is so wonderfully made. Where did you buy it, Ishida-kun?"
"Actually, I made it, Hinamori-san."
"You made it? Amazing. Would you mind making my costume for next year?" Hinamori pleaded.
"I would be delighted to," Uryuu chuckled as Hinamori began cheering.
As she watched the two, Orihime couldn't help but feel a little upset. Why didn't he sound so happy about making a costume for her? She was the one who always told him how wonderful his sewing was.
She gasped in horror. 'What if he's tired of that? What if he doesn't want to make clothes for me because I always compliment him? So…I should tell him his sewing is bad then?'
Before Orihime could say anything, Ayame came up and pulled on Hinamori's pigtail. Hinamori looked at the actual, though not really, fairy.
"What's wrong?"
"Follow me," Ayame said in barely a whisper.
"Where?"
Ayame had already flown off. Hinamori wasn't sure whether to follow or not but she decided that leaving a poor fairy all alone wasn't a good thing. She rushed after her.
"Where are we going, fairy-chan?"
Ayame didn't respond because she didn't have an answer. She was hoping to just find something that would distract Hinamori long enough to forget Orihime and Uryuu.
"SQUEEEEEEE!!!!"
The two covered their ears. What was that horrible noise?
"How cute!" Oh, fangirls. What could they be screeching over? "Hitsugaya-taichou, you look wonderful!"
Ayame noticed how Hinamori's eye began to twitch uncontrollably and how she walked over to the source of the noise. She didn't want to but Ayame decided it would be nice to do damage control.
Hitsugaya growled as all the girls crowded around him. Why did he decide to come as a wolf? He was had on a white fur costume that covered his feet with paws, long paw gloves, a fake tail and fake ears. Unfortunately, the girls thought all his growling was him just being in character and not being completely annoyed.
When Hinamori got up to the crowd, she tried to get through but there were too many. It wasn't fair. She had been trying to find Hitsugaya the entire time and here he was being fawned over by a bunch of…bunch of…
It was times like this that she wished she liked to think bad things about people.
"Hitsugaya-taichou, will you dance with me?" she heard one girl ask.
"No, me! Me!"
"Me, please!"
Hinamori felt her heart drop. 'N-no. I…I want to…' She wanted to be the one to dance with him. It was her right. She deserved to. She was his best friend. She cared about him for more than his good looks. Her face heated up.
'Wait. No. He's not good-looking. Well, maybe a little but nothing serious but…why am I thinking about this? I need to get through there!'
She attempted to get through again but no one was moving. Ayame watched her determination and was deeply touched. How could she help? A light bulb appeared above her head. Ayame floated over all of the girls then cleared her throat.
"Kuchiki-taichou came as a swimsuit model," she said.
Time stopped. That one sentence was being processed through all of their minds.
"KUCHIKI-TAICHOU!!!!!"
It was a stampede but it was a stampede that was getting away from there. Ayame bit her lip. She didn't feel right lying but it was obvious that Hinamori and Hitsugaya needed to be together. Hitsugaya watched as the raging mob of fangirls departed.
He let out the breath he had been holding. "Finally." Then he felt a familiar reiatsu beside him. He tilted his head and saw Hinamori, staring at him. "Hinamori, there you are."
She stared. Hitsugaya raised his eyebrow. What was her problem?
"Oi, stop staring, Bed-wetter." She didn't move. Something was wrong. He began to shake her shoulders. "Bed-wetter, answer me. Answer me, you stupid fairy."
"Shiro-chan…" She finally spoke. Hitsugaya was ready to tear into her for calling him that until she hugged. "You're so cute!"
His entire face went red as Hinamori continued to hug and compliment him. She knew he'd be cute but she had no idea it would be to such a degree.
"S-s-shut up, you stupid fairy," Hitsugaya barked.
That hit Hinamori hard. She released him and he just looked confused.
"What's up with you?" he asked.
"Don't you like it?" He wasn't sure what she meant. She looked up, tears building up in her eyes. Hitsugaya knew he was blushing again. "Don't you think it's cute?"
"Wha—? Idiot! I don't care about that kind of stuff," Hitsugaya said, turning his back to her.
His real ear twitched when he heard her sniffle. Why was he such a sap for her crying? He knew the reason; he just didn't want to admit it. He looked over his shoulder and felt his stomach turn. She looked really sad.
"You look…cute, Hinamori," he grumbled.
It was soft but she could hear it as if he had screamed it in her ear. She had the biggest smile on her face. To express her joy, she hugged him again.
"Ahh! Let go, Bed-wetter!" Hitsugaya demanded.
She did as told but was pouting furiously. "I am not a bed-wetter," she insisted.
Hitsugaya just let out a huff. Hinamori couldn't help but giggle. Looking at her with one eye open, he smirked.
"You want to go hide with me?"
"Huh?"
"It's only a matter of time before the fangirls come back."
Hinamori realized that he was right and then she realized that this was perfect alone time.
"Let's go."
The two then ran off to who-knows-where. Ayame couldn't contain her smile. She was so happy.
"Man, who said that about Kuchiki-taichou?"
Her happy feeling left. She decided to follow the two.
-
Orihime and Uryuu watched as Shun'ou and Tsubaki circled around them.
'What are they doing?' the two thought.
The remaining Shun Shun Rikka were just making sure that not a single person was coming up to them again. When they were sure it was safe, they let out sighs of relief.
"Safe," Shun'ou decided.
"Hooray," was Tsubaki's sarcastic reply.
"Shun'ou. Tsubaki. What's wrong?" Orihime asked.
"Nothing. Nothing at all. Continue what you were doing," Shun'ou said.
"Well, actually…Inoue-san?" Orihime looked at him. "May I talk to you…alone?"
Shun'ou and Tsubaki started looking around again. Who was left? Who was around? There was no one but…
Shun'ou smacked her forehead. 'Duh.'
She flew over to Tsubaki and grabbed his hand.
"Topknot, what are you doing?" he growled.
"I wanna show you something. It'll be fun," she laughed.
"No. Let go of me," he ordered.
Shun'ou began to fume when Tsubaki retracted his arm back forcefully. Her mouth twitched into a smile as she cracked her knuckles. Tsubaki realized what she was about to do too late. Her fist had already connected to his face. He grabbed his stinging face before he glared at the blonde, who was already floating off.
"Come back here!" he screamed, following her.
Shun'ou zipped past shinigami while Tsubaki just kicked any that were in his way in the head.
"Got ya!" Tsubaki grabbed Shun'ou's topknot and pulled her to a stop.
"Ow. Let go," Shun'ou told him, trying to escape his grasp.
He began to pull her around by her topknot. "Hell no. Not until you give me a good reason as to why you punched me."
"Because it was the only way to get you to follow me," she whined. It really hurt.
"I thought you wanted us to be around so we could stop anyone from going near them," he said, pulling her hair one more time so she was facing him.
"I did but for them to be alone, that means we can't be there either. You get it?" Shun'ou could tell that he did. "Can I have my hair back now?"
"…No," Tsubaki replied.
Shun'ou just looked at him. She was trying hard to remove his hand from her hair but it wasn't working.
'Man, what can I do?' she thought. She kept thinking until she decided to act on impulse. She kissed him on the forehead.
Tsubaki's eyes widened and his grip slackened. Shun'ou took this opportunity to fly out of grabbing distance. She began to rub her hair, soothingly.
"That really hurt. Can't you be more gentle, Tsubaki?"
"You…you…"
Shun'ou looked at him while Tsubaki tried to piece together what had just happened. He knew that he got punched in the face by Shun'ou, chased her, grabbed her topknot and then…
"I kissed you? Yeah, I did."
Tsubaki glared at her and Shun'ou gulped loudly. He was really mad, all because she kissed him. Shun'ou bit her lip. She didn't realize he hated her that much.
Tsubaki wasn't thinking that at all. He was thinking: 'She kissed me and she…she doesn't even care!' Tsubaki could feel it. He could feel any self-control he had leaving him. All he cared about was making her pay.
"You flat-chested bitch!" Tsubaki slowly flew up to her then gut punched her. Shun'ou grabbed her stomach and began to cough violently. Then she screamed just before dodging one of Tsubaki's kick. "Stop running!"
Shun'ou didn't listen. She just kept evading all of the attacks he sent her way. This wasn't like usual. She knew that if he actually got a hold of her, he'd really hurt her.
"Tsubaki, I'm sorry I kissed you, okay?! Stop attacking me!" Shun'ou begged.
That wasn't enough. He wanted her to feel it, feel every bit of emotion he held for her. When Tsubaki kicked, Shun'ou hopped onto his leg and delivered one of her own. Tsubaki tumbled through the air and floated to a stop.
"There. Now, why don't you take a moment to clear your head?"
Tsubaki stood up and looked at her, furious. Shun'ou felt her blood run cold. He…he really did hate her. Tsubaki rushed towards her, ready to punch but he stopped right before he connected.
"…Are you…crying?" Tsubaki was in a state of shock. She never cried.
Shun'ou shook as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I didn't know you...hated me so much."
He couldn't believe what she said. She thought he hated her? Sure, he was mean but he couldn't help that. It was who he was. He thought she knew that.
"I don't hate you," Tsubaki told her.
"Then why are you so mad that I kissed you?" Shun'ou asked, wiping her eyes.
"Because you didn't care!" Tsubaki shouted. Shun'ou looked at him but he wasn't looking at her. "You kissed me and then acted like it was nothing!"
She thought on that then smiled. What an idiot.
"So how would you have done if I told you…I was doing my best to keep my heart in my chest afterwards?"
Tsubaki glanced at her and Shun'ou headed towards him.
"What would you do if I told you…I'd like to kiss you again?"
He scoffed. "As if I'd let you."
"Tsubaki?"
He froze when he felt her kiss his lips through his scarf. She took his hand in hers and stared at him.
"Well…what would you say?" she asked again.
"…I hate you," he growled.
She smiled brightly. "No, you don't."
-
Uryuu didn't know what to do. He knew what he wanted to do now that he was alone with her. He wanted to tell her how he felt.
"Inoue-san…I…"
He gasped when he saw her swaying back and forth. She began to fall.
"Inoue-san!" He caught her in his arms before she could hit the ground. "Are you okay? What happened?"
She looked up at him, eyes drooping heavily.
"I'm sleepy," she mumbled.
Uryuu let out a sigh as his heart rate returned to normal. He couldn't help but chuckle. She was just too cute.
"Here, let me help you," he offered.
She leaned against him as he helped her over to a tree. The two sat down and Orihime bowed her head.
"I'm sorry, Ishida-kun," she said, not looking up.
"For what?" He couldn't think of anything she should apologize for.
"I'm sorry that I'm always causing you trouble."
"What? You don't—" She cut him off.
"When we're in school and when we're fighting and even now. I have a good reason for it though…I just can't tell you."
"Inoue-san, I, in no way, find your company to be troublesome. Actually…" He blushed and adjusted his glasses. "…I find it comforting."
Orihime pouted. "You shouldn't lie."
"What? I'm not."
"Yes, you are. You find me annoying."
"Inoue-san, I swear, on my Quincy pride, I do not find you annoying."
She wanted to believe him but she couldn't. Uryuu was too nice of a guy to say something he knew would hurt her feelings. She had to make him admit it so she could keep it in mind for later.
"You always have to save me. You're annoyed by it," she said.
"I'm not and I don't always have to save you," he insisted.
"Yes, you do."
"…Okay, I do always save you." Orihime's lip quivered. She knew it. "But I'm happy about that because…" He started to mumble after that. Orihime looked at him as he played with his glasses.
"Why?"
"I-it's like I said. I like spending time with you." His face was as red as a cherry. He was really hoping Orihime would understand before he passed out.
She wasn't buying it. "You're annoyed by me always complimenting you."
He gave her an 'Are-you-serious?' look. He loved it when she complimented him. Her compliments were the only ones he cared about.
"Why would I dislike you complimenting me?" he asked.
"…When Hinamori-san came over, you loved the idea of making an outfit for her. When Matsumoto-san asked for me, you didn't say anything," she explained.
Uryuu realized how that would make it seem as though he was annoyed by her.
He smiled. "I'm sorry, Inoue-san. I did not mean to make you think that. Please forgive me."
Orihime bit her lip. She stared long and hard into his blue eyes. She was glad because his eyes were not only telling her that he was telling the truth but…but…
'They're so pretty,' she thought, a huge smile coming on her face. "I believe you." Uryuu let out a breath of relief. "So…Ishida-kun?" He looked at her as she looked away shyly. "If you don't find me annoying…would you mind calling me…Orihime?"
Did he hear her right? Call her by her given name? Wasn't that just a step away from…dating? He passed out. Orihime screamed before she began to shake him violently.
"Ishida-kun! Ishida-kun, please wake up!"
It seemed as though it worked as Uryuu's eyes began to flutter open. He looked at Orihime just before he was brought into a hug.
"Ishida-kun, I'm so happy you're okay!"
He was ready to pass out again but if he did, he'd worry her, wouldn't he? She worried about him. She cared about him. He passed out again. Orihime felt his body go limp and she groaned.
"Where are Shun'ou and Ayame when I need them?"
She decided that laying him down would probably a good idea. She placed his head on her lap and waited for him to wake up. Looking at him, Orihime couldn't help but notice how peaceful he was when he slept. She was used to him looking serious or red-faced. It was a pleasant change.
Orihime also noticed his hair. "It's so shiny. I wonder what he uses."
She really wanted to touch it but that'd be rude. 'Still…'
Before she could do anything, Uryuu began to stir. Her face lit up when his eyes opened again. Looking up, Uryuu saw Orihime's beautiful face looking down at him.
"Ishida-kun, what happened?"
He had to make something up. He couldn't worry her anymore. "My…low blood pressure kicked in. Nothing to worry about…" He blushed as the next word came out. "…Orihime-san."
She grinned wildly at that. He really did like her. Uryuu moved his head and realized that his head was on her lap. He shot up, heart pounding rapidly.
"Uryuu-kun, are you okay?" Orihime asked, touching his shoulder.
He took in deep breaths, nodding. "I'm…I'm fine, O…" He replayed her question one more time. "Uryuu-kun?"
"Right. If you call me Orihime, then I'll call you Uryuu."
He was so ready to pass out again until there was a loud explosion. The two looked up at the sky and smiled as the multicolored fireworks lit up the sky.
"So pretty," Orihime giggled.
She didn't see Uryuu looking at her. "Yes, incredibly."
When she looked over, Uryuu was looking back up at the sky. She scooted closer to him and placed her head on his shoulder. He froze and Orihime sighed.
"Still sleepy."
Uryuu chuckled when a small amount of courage worked its way into his system. He grabbed her shoulder and held her close.
Halloween. What a holiday.
There we go. It kind of sucks because I forgot midway into the story that I didn't include ShunsuixNanao or UraharaxYoruichi. Really neeed to make a fanfic for UxY. Also, for those who are waiting for "Life During death," I swear that I'm working on it. School's just been a little crazy and I really wanted this done by Hallloween. So, please review and wait a little longer. Happy Halloween.