Stranger in the Distance
Orihime gripped her arm rest tightly as the plane made its final decent into Albuquerque, New Mexico. This was her first trip to the US, and she thanked herself everyday that in college, her and Tatsuki took many English classes. She felt confident in her English, which would be needed where they were going.
Her and Tatsuki decided for Golden Week that they were going to take a road trip to the American southwest. They wanted to see the beauty, and the mystery around this area of the world. Their flight from Tokyo really took it out of them, but they were both excited to get the RV that they had rented online. It was a compact model. Enough for three people. It had all the amenities included and was a decent price for a whole week.
Remembering the RV, Orihime took out a printout of the pictures and confirmation information on the RV. Tatsuki blinked a few times,then looked at the pictures. "I think we will have to share the bed that's over the driver and passenger seats. Unless this couch turns into a bed."
Inspecting the photos further, Orihime nodded. "I think it does, but I'd rather have you by me." Orihime pointed to a picture. "See, we can look out the window at the stars while laying in bed." Orihime jolted forward as the plane landed. She folded up the paper and stuck it back in her carry-on bag. Just then, the captain came over the intercom.
"Welcome to Albuquerque. The current time is 1:15pm. Skies are partly cloudy and the temperature is 76 degrees." He paused. "That's 24 degrees Celsius." A few noises came over the plane as many understood the temperature. "Enjoy your stay."
Orihime looked at her friend with a wide grin. Tatsuki gave a smirk. "Well, we're here. Welcome to America to us, I guess." Orihime nodded, then looked out the window. The sky seemed more blue to her than back in Tokyo.
It took about 20 minutes for them to get off the plane and get through customs. Once they were out, Tatsuki asked a worker if there was a shuttle or a taxi service to the RV rental location. Another worker overheard them. "I live over there and can take you to the place. I'm on my lunch break."
"Oh, thank you so much!" Orihime said, then bowed. She then shot back up as she remembered where she was. The older man chuckled and waved his hand.
"It's OK. Well, I'll meet you here after you get your bags." The two women smiled and ran off to get their bags.
"That was really nice of him to offer to bring us there." Tatsuki said as they waited for their bags.
"I hope it's not too far out of his way." Orihime wondered aloud.
"I'm sure it's fine. He wouldn't have offered unless he was willing to take us there." Tatsuki said with a shrug. Orihime smiled, then shrieked when she saw her bag. She grabbed at it and hoisted it off the conveyer belt. Tatsuki's was close behind. "Alright, let's go meet him."
They walked quickly back to the place where they said they would meet. As they arrived, the man was ending a call on his cell phone. "That was quick." He said with a smile. "Are you hungry?" The women didn't answer right away. "My wife wants to make you lunch. If you don't mind. She wants to meet you and hear what life is like in Japan. Would that be alright?"
The two women stared at him, Orihime's mouth ajar. She then shook her head. "No, no, we cannot, uh you are too kind." Tatsuki chuckled and smacked Orihime in the back.
"We would love to. Thank you very much." She bowed, then stopped herself. The man laughed.
"Bow all you want. Let's go!"
At the man's house, the wife was overly talkative and gave them so much food, they didn't know what to do. The man tried to tell the wife to stop, but she was so excited, she just kept cooking. They had a fresh salad, followed by an assortment of sandwiches, and two kinds of soup. Everything seemed homemade. Orihime carefully inspected the soup with avocado on top. When she learned it was taco soup, she was even more curious. She took a small sip and was instantly in love. Her reaction alone set everyone into a laughing fit.
After lunch, the women said goodbye to the wife and were driven to the RV rental location. They thanked the man, and he gave them his number if they would like a ride back to the airport. They were very grateful for his kindness. The wife gave them leftovers that they would be very happy to eat later.
Once inside the RV building, they became more wary as a gruff looking man approached them from the counter. They were happy to see that he was polite and quickly went through the bill. They were then led to the RV where they were given a tour and location of all amenities. As Tatsuki was given the keys, Orihime let out a small shriek as she ran to her bag to load it.
"This is really happening Tatsuki-chan, isn't it?"
"I believe so." Tatsuki smirked as she began putting her bag away. They placed the food in the fridge and looked to the drivers seat. They both had forgotten that everyone drives on the right side of the road and the drivers seat is on the left. "I can drive for a while Orihime."
Orihime's wide eyes narrowed. "Yes, please do for now. I need to get used to the difference."
They sat down and Tatsuki started the RV. It roared to life. "I'm kind of nervous. I've never driven a vehicle this big before."
"You drove a van one time, right? This is just a little bigger." Orihime tried to reassure Tatsuki of her driving abilities. Tatsuki slowly moved the RV forward, then looked both ways before moving into the left lane. "Wrong lane! Wrong lane!" Orihime yelled, her arms flailing wildly. Tatsuki cursed softly and veered the RV into the right lane.
"Sorry Hime." They were both breathing heavily. After a few moments, Tatsuki realized she was going really slow. "Look out for a speed limit sign. Oh wait, there's one. It says 55 right?" She squinted. "Yeah it does, here we go."
"Do you want me to get your glasses?" Tatsuki frowned, then nodded. Orihime took off her seat belt and wobbled her way to Tatsuki's bag. She pulled out the glasses and brought them over. Once Tatsuki had them on, she sighed.
"That's much better, thanks Hime." Orihime sat back down. "We need to go to the grocery store and get some extra gas. The clerk before said that there are stretches of road without a gas station, so we should be sure the RV is full and get those red containers to fill with gas."
At the grocery store, they stocked up on every Asian food they could find. When they realized they didn't see everything they wanted, they decided to look up what Americans typically eat on road trips. The sites they visited on their phone said a lot of meat to grill, pre-packaged salads, chips, trail mix, sandwiches, and baked beans. They wandered the store until they found enough food for a few weeks, so they had to put some back. Orihime made sure to get a lot of water so they didn't have to use the RV's water. Orihime rounded an aisle and found herself in the liquor section. With Tatsuki nowhere to be found, she wandered the aisles for some wine. When she realized she didn't know what to get, she looked and saw a rather messy looking older woman standing by the hard liquor. She wondered if she should talk to her. Slowly she approached. "Um, excuse me? Do you have recommendation of a liquor for me and my friend?" She hoped the lady understood her. The lady turned around and Orihime smiled.
"Tequila." The women said.
"Tequila? I don't know what that is."
"It's from Mexico. You put salt on the back of your hand, bite a lime, then take a shot of the tequila. Don't have too many. They will mess ya up fast."
"OK, I will try that. Which one?" Orihime looked at the amber colored bottles. The woman grabbed a bottle that was $25.
"This is the best. Here, use this salt too. Oh and take this strawberry margarita mix." She grabbed everything and flung it in the cart. Orihime looked and saw a small bottle of the same tequila for $9.99. She took that one and put the other bottle back. She smiled at the woman, then thanked her and tried to quickly push the cart away. She found Tatsuki moments later.
"There you are. Where were you?"
"In the liquor section. This lady gave me this liquor called tequila and I don't know what this is. Margarita, I think." Tatsuki examined the bottle.
"Sounds good actually."
"I think we need shot glasses and limes. I think I saw disposable ones."
Orihime and Tatsuki finished their grocery shopping trip and loaded the RV. After a few minutes of driving and stopping at a gas station, they finally made it out of town. Now they were on the open road. It was mid afternoon, but they were both tired and hungry. Tatsuki found a park, and they climbed to the roof with their snacks. Orihime began eating her trail mix when she looked out to the road. The park's parking lot was right next to the highway. There were very little trees, so they could see for a while. Orihime looked to the right as she gazed out to see the rolling hills in the distance. The breeze blew slightly, and she could smell the earth that got kicked up. They were definitely in the desert, or somewhere near one. She then looked to the left. She didn't notice anyone at first. It was a pretty busy highway, so she didn't really pay attention to the road. She took out her camera and began taking pictures of the scenery and of Tatsuki. She popped more trail mix in her mouth then looked through the pictures. In one picture she could see something orange. While still chewing, she zoomed in on the picture. It was pretty blurry, but it seemed like it was a person walking. She then looked up to see the man coming up to the parking lot. He was walking on the left side of the road coming from the left. He had a backpack on his back and had his hands in his pockets. Orihime was mesmerized by this man, so she quickly tried to take a picture. She checked to make sure the picture was clear. When she found one that was, she smiled, then looked up. The man was almost past them.
"What is it Orihime?"
"That man."
"What about him?"
"I don't know. I just had the urge to take a picture of him. I don't know why." She lifted the camera and took more as he walked past them. Orihime zoomed in with her camera and took a few pictures. As she looked at the screen, the man turned his head slightly towards her. Orihime immediately lowered the camera and shoved more trail mix in her mouth, coughing a few times to get the food down. She watched as he left.
"What's gotten into you?" Tatsuki closed her own bag.
"I don't know." Orihime said softly.
"Well, come on, let's get going. I want to get to the RV park before sunset." They got in the RV and drove off. They had to go the same way as the man walking. As they passed him, Orihime got up out of her seat and looked in all the windows until she reached the back window. She sat on the small couch there and looked out. The man looked like he saw her, but kept walking without acknowledgment. She watched as this stranger was further and further away from her. "You really need a nap. It's just some guy walking on the road. People do that." Tatsuki shook her head.
"Who are you?" Orihime asked aloud before rising slowly and walking back to the passenger seat.
The RV park was packed with people, but they still got a spot. They ate leftovers and whatever they had on hand. Orihime made onigiri, and Tatsuki made sandwiches for tomorrow. They were both very tired and were glad to be settling in for the evening. Tatsuki found the tequila in the cupboard. She motioned to Orihime, who nodded with half open eyes. Tatsuki brought everything over.
"So how are we supposed to do this?"
"Uh, I think you put salt on your hand, lick the salt, bite the lime, then take the shot. Or maybe it's lime after the shot. I don't know."
Orihime opened the bottle and took a whiff. "Oh, that smells horrible! Well, when in Rome, or America as they say."
"No one says that!" They both laughed. "Well, here we go, cheers." Tatsuki said with renewed energy.
"Cheers!" They hit their plastic shot glasses together and took the drink. Within moments, they were both nearly eating the lime. "That was horrible Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime said, her voice scratchy.
Tatsuki took a drink from her tea. "I know! Wait, didn't you get something to mix it with?"
"Oh, yeah!" Orihime ran up and grabbed the strawberry margarita mix from the fridge. "It says to use ice, but we don't have any, so I hope being in the fridge will be good enough."
"I think anything is good at this point. Quick, mix the drink before I lose my sense of taste!"
Orihime quickly took the tequila and stirred it into the mix. She had the mix divided in two cups. She then handed the plastic cup to Tatsuki and they both carefully sipped the drink. This time, they continued drinking. "That's much better." Tatsuki said with a sigh.
"I like it. You can barely taste the alcohol, and the strawberry flavor is nice."
An hour later.
"Tatsuki-chaaan?"
"What is it?"
"Do you think that orange haired man on the road noticed me?"
"Why, you got a crush on him?"
Orihime shook her head. "No, no, of course not!" She paused. "Maybe."
"I knew it! You don't even know him. He could be a serial killer. You know there are weirdos out there."
"He's not a weirdo. He's..." Orihime trailed off. "I'm going to bed."
The next morning
The two women slept in until almost noon. They got ready slowly, drinking enough water for a few days and eating all the chips they had. Orihime took the garbage and brought it outside. As soon as the sun hit, she groaned. She really should not have drank last night. She just got caught up in the excitement of being in a new country and trying new things that she forgot how much of a lightweight she was. As she threw the garbage away in the dumpster, she smelled an amazing smell. She sniffed the air some more, then followed the scent to the RV close to theirs. She could see the smoke from a grill going and hear the sizzle as the man at the grill opened it. She watched as two yelling kids and a woman came out, chasing them. She smiled softly as she walked back towards her RV.
"Hey, you hungry?" The man called out to her. She spun around, hiding her smile. She pointed to herself. "Yeah, you. Have you had lunch yet?" Orihime shook her head. "Well, why don't you join us? We have plenty and I'd love to hear your story."
"Uh, my friend is with me. Can she come too?" Orihime called out.
"Of course, bring her over!"
Orihime smiled and ran towards the RV. Within 5 minutes, they were chatting and stuffing their faces with burgers and chips. It was the perfect food for both women following the previous night. The ladies left the family with well wishes and went back into the RV. They both laid down, only to nap for an hour. Orihime shot up as soon as she awoke. She nudged Tatsuki. "Wake up! We fell asleep!"
Tatsuki shot up, wiping some drool from the corner of her mouth. "Oh man, I think we went into a food coma." They both laughed. Tatsuki sat in the drivers seat and waited for Orihime to sit before driving off. "Well, let's go!"
They spent the afternoon driving the long and lonely highways. The sandstone formations were all around them. They stopped at a few locations to get pictures and pick up some souvenirs. The afternoon was sunny. The blue sky stretched as far as the eye could see. Orihime had her head out the window at one point.
"This is great Tatsuki-chan!"
"Get back in here before you get a mouthful of bugs!" Just at that moment, a bug hit her in the head.
"Ah, oh, ew! I got hit!" Orihime yelled. Tatsuki burst out laughing. Orihime ran to the bathroom and washed herself.
As she was washing up, Tatsuki saw someone walking in the distance. As she came upon the familiar orange hair, she muttered to herself. "It can't be." She slowed the RV and took a look in the side mirrors. It was him. The same orange haired man from the day before. She contemplated telling Orihime when she heard her yell.
"No way! Tatsuki, stop the RV, it's him!"
"Why would I stop the RV?"
"I want to ask him something."
"No, you're not going up to some man on the side of the road. You don't know who he is."
The two women went back and forth, and before they knew it, he was out of sight. Orihime plopped down on the seat. "We should have stopped."
Tatsuki rolled her eyes as Orihime pouted.
They spent the next day wandering through a ghost town, going to various tourist attractions, and in general enjoying their time. Orihime never went more than a few hours without thinking of him. He was always there. They spent the night at another RV park and vowed to spend the next day driving the long stretches of road that they wanted to drive.
The next morning came and they once again were fed by travelers in another RV. They had made bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits on their griddle. Orihime was so happy at the taste that she nearly teared up. "This is so good." She said as crumbs fell from her mouth. The couple looked confused.
"You don't have this in Japan?" The wife asked. Orihime shook her head.
"Not like this."
"Well, eat up!" The husband said as he prepared another biscuit.
The morning was filled with more resting and talking before they finally headed out. As they got in the RV, Orihime had a sly look on her face that Tatsuki noticed. "What is it?"
"I want to ride on the roof!"
"Eh? Out of the question. If I go over a bump, you'd be gone in a second."
Orihime's eyes widened. "Please?"
"Oh fine, but let's get on a long stretch of highway before you get on the roof, OK?"
Orihime nodded in delight. "Thank you Tatsuki-chan!" Tatsuki sighed. She already imagined Orihime getting hit in the face with a tumbleweed. She chuckled as they got in the RV, Orihime wondering what was so funny.
An hour later, they landed on a road that seemed to stretch past the horizon. Tatsuki stopped the RV and helped Orihime up the ladder to the roof. Once on the roof, Tatsuki followed her and pointed to where she needed to hold on. Orihime put her camera strap over her head and nodded to Tatsuki. "I'm ready!"
"OK, well I'm going to roll the window down to make sure if you yell that I can hear you."
Within moments, they were off. The RV jerked, and Orihime held onto the bars tightly. After they got up to speed, she was able to move and even start cheering.
"You OK?" Tatsuki yelled.
"Yeah, this is great!" Orihime took out her camera and took many pictures from on top of the RV. She then thought of recording some video from her camera. She quickly adjusted the modes on the camera and began filming. She faced the camera towards her. "This is Orihime broadcasting from on top of an RV driving down a long highway in America! It's so amazing out here! Tatsuki, say hi!" She pointed the camera at the window.
"What?" Tatsuki said, her head slightly out the window.
"Look this way and say hi."
Tatsuki quickly looked behind her. "Hi, oh you're filming?" Tatsuki quickly went back into the RV.
"Awe, Tatsuki-chan doesn't want to be filmed. That's OK. I'll film more of this road." She pointed the camera towards the road. "Isn't this amazing?! Look at all those sandstone formations. It's like we're on Mars. It's so amazing." She paused. "Isn't it weird that we are driving on the right side?" She laughed. "Oh, we're going over a hill. I wonder what's over it?" In her mind, she thought it was just going to be more road, but what she saw instead only slightly surprised her. "Alright, we are over the hill. Now let's see. Oh, I see something orange up ahead." Her mouth ran dry. The camera filmed as she remained silent. There he was. Walking along the side of the road as always. This had to be her chance she thought. She laid down on the roof and filmed as he went by.
"Tatsuki! Tatsuki!" She yelled out.
"What?"
"Stop the RV. I have to talk to him this time."
"Alright, give me a minute." She came to a stop slowly. A cloud of dust rose from the ground. Orihime was still filming, but she had completely forgotten the camera was around her neck as she climbed off the RV and began running towards the man. Tatsuki got out and ran after her.
"Excuse me!" Orihime called out in English. "Do you need help?" The man shook his head.
"He doesn't need any help, Orihime." Tatsuki called out in Japanese. The man stopped walking, his eyes slightly widened.
"You're Japanese?" He asked as Orihime ran up to him.
Out of breath, she answered. "We are. We are on vacation for Golden Week. You're Japanese too?"
He nodded. "What are you doing walking the highways of the US?" Tatsuki asked as she approached.
"I moved here with my ex-wife." He placed his bag down on the ground.
"What happened?" Orihime said with a soft voice.
"We broke up, then she took everything and drove off. I was left with nothing but a few items. I'm planning to hitchhike to California then work to get enough to get a plane ticket and renew my passport. I had just been fired the week before, so it worked out."
"That's horrible! How could someone just leave you with nothing?" Orihime's heart was flopping around. She had just gotten a good look at him. He hadn't shaved in a while and he was dirty, but she caught herself before she drooled. He was the most handsome man she had ever met. Their eyes met for a moment before he looked away.
"Kurosaki, name's Kurosaki Ichigo."
"Oh, I'm Inoue Orihime and this is Arisawa Tatsuki. Nice to meet you Kurosaki." They all bowed slightly.
"Well, the sun's going down Orihime. We better find a camp to stay for the night."
"Will you stay with us?" Orihime asked immediately after Tatsuki stopped talking. Tatsuki grabbed her arm.
"We should go, Hime. Nice meeting you. Good luck."
"I'd love to take a shower if I could." Ichigo dusted off his clothes.
"Yes, yes of course. We can even wash your clothes for you. Please, this way." Orihime led Ichigo into the RV. Tatsuki groaned and slammed the RV door behind her. Just what she needed, a stranger that they picked up on the side of the road in the RV with them.
Tatsuki drove in areas now closer to towns. Orihime looked over at her friend as Ichigo took a shower.
"I'm sorry Tatsuki-chan. He really seems like a nice guy, and it's not everyday that you get this chance to meet someone from your own country in a different one." Orihime looked at the road.
Tatsuki sighed. "I know. I can tell he's nice, but, well." She paused. "I wanted to spend this time with you." She looked over at her friend. "You and I have been friends for a long time. We've been through college together. We've been there to have a shoulder to cry on when our boyfriends broke up with us. We both were there when we got let go from jobs. You've always been there for me. I just wanted to get to feel carefree for a moment before we returned to our chaotic adult lives."
Orihime smiled. "I know. I feel the same. Maybe that's why I was so interested in Kurosaki. He was different. He was something new to add to the experience." She looked behind her towards the bathroom. "Since we are traveling west, we can drop him off tomorrow since I'm guessing we will be heading back tomorrow." Tatsuki nodded.
"That's a good idea." She smiled and readjusted herself in her seat. She was getting rather fond of driving.
They heard the door open from the bathroom. Orihime looked behind her. Her eyes widened as she saw him. He was shaved, clean, and wearing only pajama pants and a thin t-shirt. He ran his fingers through his wet hair and saw Orihime starting. He smiled. "Thanks for letting me use the bathroom. When you park, I can wash my clothes."
Tatsuki spoke. "We are still heading west, but we have to start heading back to Albuquerque tomorrow. We can drop you off tomorrow."
"I appreciate that. Can I sleep on this couch tonight then?" Ichigo pointed to the couch with a built in table that folded down into a bed.
"Yeah, no problem." Tatsuki smacked Orihime's leg, waking her from her trance. "If you're hungry, there are some onigiri in the fridge. The mayo tastes different here, so we added some lime."
"What do you need the lime for?" Ichigo asked as he walked toward the fridge.
"The taco soup!" Orihime yelled. "It's all gone though. It was so good."
Tatsuki glanced at Orihime. "Did we drink all the tequila?"
Orihime looked at her. "I don't think so. I think there's about half left."
"We are such cheap dates!" They both laughed. Orihime turned to see Ichigo smiling. She turned around to face the front as her face began to heat up.
Ichigo grabbed an onigiri and sat on the couch behind the driver's seat. He began eating, not saying anything as they drove. They stayed in relative silence, making small talk with each other until they found a landmark to get out and look at. Orihime still felt nervous, but his intense, yet laid back nature kept her guessing if it was necessary to feel such a way around him.
As the afternoon continued, she began to loosen up, telling him about her and Tatsuki. When they ate lunch earlier, Tatsuki made a joke about how she watched a movie about UFOs that was filmed in the area, and said they'd probably see one. Orihime sprang up from her seat, announcing the little green men were coming and she needed to investigate. To Tatsuki, this just made her laugh, but Ichigo was confused. This made Tatsuki laugh even more at his dumbfounded expression.
Now traveling down the road, Tatsuki couldn't help but glance up once in a while to see if she could see anything out of the ordinary. "Kurosaki, have you ever seen anything strange while traveling?"
Ichigo lifted his head up from his now laying down state. "Weird as in a UFO like you mentioned earlier? No, I've never seen anything like that."
Orihime pouted. "Aw, really? I was hoping to hear some great story like you were walking and saw a woman just jump out in front of you, then vanish." Orihime made motions with her arms. "Nothing like that?"
Ichigo laughed. "No, sorry. I just got in a fight once, but he started it."
"I can see that happening." Tatsuki said.
"What does that mean?" Ichigo sat up.
"Just that you seem like you'd be the kind to start a fight." Tatsuki looked over to see Orihime's mouth ajar. Her arms quickly crossing.
Ichigo shrugged. "I haven't been the most gentle person to those that interfere with the people I care about. That was partly why I'm divorced now." He got up and grabbed a tea from the fridge. Neither woman pressed the matter. Orihime looked out and saw a gift shop sign ahead.
"Can we stop there? I need to get something for my coworkers." Orihime asked, pointing to the sign.
"Sure." Tatsuki pulled in and got out to stretch her legs. Orihime ran inside. Tatsuki looked over to see Ichigo leaning against the hood of the RV. "You know, I think Orihime has a thing for you."
"I can tell."
"Does that bother you?"
"Not really. I just got divorced a month ago. I'm not exactly in the market right now." Ichigo took a drink from his tea, staring at the wooden building.
"I'm assuming you don't have a phone right now. Do you have an email that you would use now and when you return to Japan?" Ichigo turned towards her. Tatsuki handed him a piece of paper and a pen. He looked at the paper. It had an email on it. "That's Orihime's. Write your email under it."
"A little pushy, aren't we?" Ichigo chuckled while Tatsuki shoved her hands in her pockets.
"I just know she would forget to ask for anything, and she really seems to like you. Even before she met you, she seemed to have some kind of bizarre attachment to you. Even if you say hi to her once in a while, I think that will really make her day. She's been down lately due to her breakup and demotion at work. That's why I wanted us to go to the US. To get her in better spirits and have a good time."
Ichigo tore off the paper and gave it to Tatsuki. She looked down at the email and chuckled. "That's easy to remember." Ichigo nodded and turned toward the building as Orihime was running out with two bags full of items.
She held up the bags. "They had food in there. I got something called beef jerky and caramel apples." Ichigo smiled and glanced at Tatsuki before entering the RV.
They found an RV park and set up a fire. There were only a few other RVs at the park, so they had plenty of room to stretch out. They roasted marshmallows, and made s'mores, which they wondered why they had never eaten before. Orihime brought out the strawberry margarita. Ichigo smelled it before taking a sip.
"This is too sweet for me. Can I have the tequila by itself? I bought some lemon lime soda that I think will be good with it." The women nodded and he handed the drink to Orihime and walked inside. She didn't know what to do with it, so she poured some in her drink, then gave the rest to Tatsuki.
"This should be enough for us." Tatsuki said as Orihime walked off to throw the cup away inside. As she walked in, she ran into Ichigo, causing her to spill a bit of her drink on the ground.
"I'm sorry, Kurosaki. I didn't get any on you did I?" Orihime felt his shirt, then realized what she was doing and pulled away.
"No, I'm good. Thanks for the drink."
She bowed and ran inside. She returned, and sat around the crackling fire, looking up at the sky. She sipped on her drink and watched the stars dancing in the sky. They were far from a town, so the sky was lit up. She wished she had studied more astronomy. The stars looked amazing.
Orihime had been following a star for a while until she realized it was moving. She gulped and stood up quickly. "Look!" She pointed to the moving object. "It's moving! It's a UFO!"
The other two looked up. "That's probably just a satellite, Hime." Tatsuki said, yawning.
"No, it can't be! I swear I saw it move in weird directions! Let's chase it!" Orihime ran towards the RV.
"It's too late Orihime, they closed the gate to the RV park. We wouldn't be able to get back in." Tatsuki looked back at the mysterious object.
"I'm running out to the road to get a better look." Orihime ran inside.
"I'll go with her. You get some rest if you're tired." Ichigo said, finishing his drink.
"Thank you." Tatsuki and Ichigo walked into the RV to see Orihime wrapping foil around her head. Tatsuki grabbed it off her head and threw her drink and the foil hat out. "Ichigo is going with you. I'll be in bed. Good night."
"Night, OK let's go!" Orihime ran out of the RV. Ichigo was handed a flashlight and nodded a thanks to Tatsuki as she walked into the bathroom. Ichigo went outside and could not find Orihime.
"Inoue, where are you?" He called out.
"Up here! It's still there!" Orihime climbed down the ladder and headed for the road. Ichigo followed closely behind.
They reached the road and walked quickly along the middle of the road, searching the skies. "Oh, there it is!" Orihime pointed. Ichigo looked up to see the moving object he knew was a satellite a long time ago.
They walked for 10 minutes, following the object. Orihime nearly tripped a few times due to her not looking where she was going. She stopped near an intersecting road. They looked up in silence for a minute. To Ichigo's amazement, the light blinked a few times, then seemed to disappear from the sky. Orihime shrieked and clung to Ichigo. "Let's go back, I'm scared." Ichigo smirked. He felt something at that moment. He wanted to protect her.
They walked back quickly and made it safely to the RV. Inside, they got ready for bed. Orihime hopped up to her bed, where Tatsuki was fast asleep. "Good night, Kurosaki."
"Night Inoue. See you in the morning."
Later that night.
Ichigo felt really warm in the stuffy RV. The windows were open, but the RV was still warm. He sat up, took his shirt off, and laid back down, looking around the RV. He did like the RV. It was the perfect size for three.
He was about to fall asleep when he heard a knock on the door. Orihime heard it too. From her vantage point, she could see headlights outside the RV. She felt scared, and inched closer to Tatsuki. She could hear Ichigo opening the door slowly, and the conversation that followed.
"Hey. know of any parties? Oh, dude, put a shirt on."
"I don't know of any parties."
"Aren't there two ladies with ya? They don't want to party?"
"No, they're asleep."
"Never mind dude."
The door closed and Orihime heard Ichigo lock it. He then went around and locked the other doors as he made sure the truck drove off. He looked out the windows to make sure no one was around, then laid back down. "Sorry about that." He said softly.
"It's OK. Thank you." Orihime felt all warm and fuzzy seeing his shirtless form in the soft light coming in from the moon. She felt like she was protected. She closed her eyes slowly, watching him get back into a comfortable position.
The next morning went by quickly. The drove for a few hours before entering an area covered by sandstone. The stretch of highway went west for a while, so it was a good place to drop Ichigo off. Orihime glanced back at him, seeing him pack up his bag. When the RV stopped, Orihime popped up and gave him some more onigiri and a bottle of water.
"It was really nice meeting you Kurosaki. It really was a good time." Orihime held out her arms. Ichigo put his bag down and hugged her tightly.
"It was nice to meet you as well. Take care of yourself." He looked over to Tatsuki now facing him. "Both of you." Tatsuki hugged Ichigo, then opened the door for him. They all walked out. The sun was high in the sky. A gentle breeze was blowing. Orihime's hair swayed softly in the breeze. Ichigo took one last look at her. "Thank you." He said as he waved to the women. They both waved, Orihime trying to hold the tears in her eyes.
As he walked down the road, the women watched him for a while, then they got back in the RV and Tatsuki turned it around. Orihime took out her camera and took video of him as they drove away. He quickly appeared as nothing more than an orange dot, until finally, he was out of sight. Orihime sat back down in her seat and rolled up the window.
"So, we had quite the adventure." Tatsuki said.
"We did. I'm glad we came here." Orihime put her camera away and leaned back.
"I did too. I'm glad you had a nice time." Tatsuki smirked. She knew Orihime would forget about contact information.
As they neared Albuquerque, Tatsuki thought it would be the perfect time. She had pulled in to a gas station. Before Orihime got out of the RV, Tatsuki spoke. "So Orihime, when are you going to contact him?" Orihime looked at her confused for a moment, then what she was asking hit her.
"Oh no!" She cried out. "I forgot to ask him for his contact information!" She held her head between her hands, shaking her head. Tatsuki let out a loud laugh. Orihime looked up at her with a confused look.
"What's so funny?!" She said, tears rolling down her face.
"Oh Orihime, I knew you'd forget, so I got his email, here." She handed her the piece of paper. Orihime's eyes brightened as she read the email. She leaped towards Tatsuki and gave her a big hug.
"Thank you so much!"
"No problem. I want you to be happy, and it seemed like you were pretty happy around him." Orihime nodded. Tatsuki hit her softly on the back. "So go get that man that was once a stranger in the distance."
The End.
Note: Thank you for reading. This is just a quick little story I put together about something I've always wanted to do. I ended it here, because I like to keep it open to the reader's imagination. We can assume that something happens between them, but for this story, I want to keep Ichigo more of that stranger in the distance.