He had always admired her from a distance, Inoue Orihime. He was in the sewing club (though he wouldn't admit it) for her. He sat near her and her friends , listening to her innocently beautiful voice. He listened but he never dared talk to her. He preferred just silently admiring her.
"Ishida-kun!" she called, pulling him out of his thoughts. He was brought back to earth, back to their current situation.
They were surrounded by Hollows, about ten of them. She quickly stepped forward, putting her hands to her snowflake hairpins, prepared to fight.
"Stay back, Inoue-san"he ordered, stepping in front of her.
"No! I have to fight! You haven't fully regained your Quincy powers yet!" she argued, her voice sounding determined.
"I haven't fully regained my powers but it won't take much spirit energy for this" said, the bow and arrow of his spirit energy appearing.
"Be careful, Ishida-kun" she whispered. She stood back and let him fight, fully prepared to intervene.
The Hollow let out a screech and lunged at Ishida, almost catching him off guard. He fired the arrow, knowing that it would miss. But that was just a diversion.
"Ishida-kun!" Orihime screamed.
"Stay back! This is my battle!" he yelled, his voice unintentionally harsh. She huffed and crossed her arms, now feeling helpless and insulted. I know this is about his pride as a Quincy...but still...she thought, watching him.
After the first five Hollows she could see him losing his strength. Three Hollows later and he couldn't even stand. But he continued fighting nonetheless. There were at least seven more Hollows. He was getting weaker and weaker. She could see blood glistening against the faint blue light. He slayed four more and collapsed. She tried to resist the temptation to help, knowing that he would get angry if she did.
"I'm sorry Ishida-kun" she whispered. She put her fingers to her hairclips.
"Tsubaki! Sacred Solitary Cutting Shield! I reject!" she exclaimed. The small fairy-type creature appeared in front of her. I'll leave you to the Hollows she thought, rushing over to Ishida.
He was mumbling something in his sleep, repeating something. She gently rolled him over to hear him better.
"Don't...interfere..." he said.
"So stubborn, even in your sleep" she whispered. Hearing her soft voice, he soon grew silent. The only noises between them were their soft breathing and the wind blowing through the sakuras.
His eyes began to slowly open, warily gazing up at her. He quickly regained his memory and sprang up, looking around for the Hollows.
"Where are they?" he asked angrilly.
"They...they...they left! Yeah! There was an army of Shinigami with these HUGE guns!" she lied. She had never been good at lying.
"I told you not to interfere" he snapped.
"I know..." she sighed, knowing that he would yell at her.
"What if something went wrong?! I wouldn't have been able to help you! You could've been killed!" he lectured.
"Don't push yourself. You'll end up hurting yourself, or worse..." her voice shakily trailed off.
"Don't change the subject!" he snapped.
"I'm sorry" she whispered, looking at the ground.
Seeing her so dejected made him feel overwhelmed by guilt. He began walking over to her, had raised towards her.
"No...I'm sorry I couldn't help you. You shouldn't have to fight my battles...and I'm sorry I yelled at you...I just..." he began. There was a long silence between them. He finally spoke up.
"Orihime?" he began shyly.
"Yes?" she asked, completely oblivious to his tone.
"Do you...think I'll ever regain my Quincy powers?" he continued, looking at the sky.
"Of course you will! I believe that you can do anything!" she said triumphantly.
"Hmph. You're so naive" he said, pushing up his glasses.
"Eh?! Ishida-kun! With that confidence you'll never regain your powers!" she exclaimed. He leaned in, gently kissing her.
To him she had become more than a crush. She had become an obsession. He found himself acting without thinking, making a fool out of himself in front of her. He found that he wasn't able to sleep at night, and if he fell asleep in class he would whisper her name. But she didn't seem to notice. She seemed to be in her own little dream world. And her loved that about her. Orihime Inoue, the eternal optimist, the constant dreamer, perfect in every way.