It was usually easy to tell when Orihime had something bothering her.
It was usually easy to tell when Orihime had something bothering her. Sure, she would keep big, important crises to herself, but if there were a silly concern weighing on her mind, anyone could see it. It was particularly obvious tonight, as Ishida and Orihime sat at a table in her apartment studying. She had a stuffed alligator on her lap - her collection of stuff creatures, imitating both real and imaginary species, could rival that of any 3 year old girl. She continually fussed with it, pouting, or whining now and then. It became annoying after a while, as many things did when you were trying to solve calculus problems.
"Something the matter, Inoue?" Ishida sighed, glancing over at his apparently troubled classmate and friend, pushing his glasses further up his nose.
"Mortimer has a rip in his seams!" the girl replied, her answer completely nonsensical at first glance.
"Er... Mortimer...?" he asked, pointing at the stuffed alligator she was holding protectively. There was, in fact, a rip in the seam on top of the toy's head, and some white stuffing was sticking out of it.
"Yeah! My brother got him for me when I was little," she explained. "But he's so old now that he's falling apart..." Ishida couldn't tell if the sadness in her voice was for the memory of her deceased brother, or just the fact that her stuffed green companion was broken. Either way, it wasn't something Ishida could allow to endure.
"Well, I could fix it for you," Ishida offered apprehensively, entertaining the possibility that offering the service once would result in her opening an entire closet full of busted stuffed animals, causing him to never finish his homework.
"Really?!" She asked excitedly, thrusting the dilapidated plush right in front of him. He dutifully rummaged through his backpack for the sewing supplies he carried with him for "emergencies". Others made fun of him for it - it wasn't a particularly masculine hobby - but you never knew when a needle and thread could save a damsel in distress. Or just a pouting classmate.
She watched him stitch the alligator's head back together with as much seriousness as if she had been in an operating theater. It was somewhat unnerving, but he finished the job anyway, and Orihime looked overjoyed.
"Here," he said, returning the now-repaired animal back to his friend's arms.
"Oooooh... Mortimer's good as new!" she remarked happily, squeezing it so tightly that it it was no longer difficult to understand how it had come to be in need of repairs anyway. "Thank you so much, Ishida-kun!" the girl exclaimed brightly, leaning over and giving the boy an enthusiastic one-armed hug - Mortimer was still in the other.
"Don't mention it..." Ishida said, adjusting the bridge of his glasses again to hide his embarrassment.