Story: Umbrella

Summary: Ichigo and Rukia are currently in Soul Society. In the world of the living, it's raining, and Orihime has been a little down lately. With her birthday coming up, what can a certain Quincy say or do to cheer her up?

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach...

The skies were dark and gloomy, clouds blocking out the sun. The heavy rain continued to fall. Orihime stood in front of the windows of a super market, staring up into the sky. Water droplets dripped off her hair. Her clothes were becoming rather soaked. However, she ignored it.

'Kurosaki-kun and Kuchiki-san still haven't came back...' she told herself, clutching her chest. 'I wonder how they're doing...'

It's kind of strange, really. The cycle of rain, and it's continuous process of precipitation and such, was similar to the process of souls and rebirth. It was rather stupid, but as she was standing there under the rain, it somehow made her feel like she wasn't alone. It was almost like all it was watching over her. She then smiled sadly. "What am I saying...? It's just rain..."

"Inoue-san?"

Starled, Orihime squealed, jumping at the voice coming from behind. Turning around, her shoulders relaxed, when she saw it was only Uryu. He was wearing a casual white tee shirt and a black pair of pants. He was holding an umbrella above them to block out the rain. He stared at her, slightly taken by surprise.

"Oh, Ishida-kun! It's was only you..." Orihime sighed in relief.

"Um...Inoue-san, are you all right?" Ishida questioned, raising a brow.

"Of course I'm fine!" she beamed, reassuringly. "I've never felt better, actually!"

"Are you sure?" he replied, unconvinced.

"Mhm." Orihime nodded. "Thanks for asking, Ishida-kun. A minute ago, I was a little sad, but now that you showed up, I'm feeling a lot better!"

"I see," after a moment's thought, the Quincy shyly averted his gaze, pushing up his glasses. "Um, Inoue-san, when Kurosaki, and Kuchiki-san get back, I was thinking...would you...do you want to..."

"What is it, Ishida-kun?" the orange haired girl studied him curiously, very slightly tilting her head, as he fumbled over his words.

"When they get back, there's, um, a nice restaurant right down the road. They've got a great buffet there and I uh..." his voice nervously trembled, as he spoke. "I have enough to cover all of our friends. I know you've been down lately, and I heard your birthday was coming up so...I, I wanted to do something special."

"I'd love to," she told him, "but, Ishida-kun, you don't have to do that for me-"

"Yes, but, either way, you shouldn't have to be alone." his remark cut her off. "Your best friend, Arisawa-san told me that you always spend the holidays by yourself. I can tell that you don't want that. You don't want to be alone. You want to spend those special days with your friends, rather than without them, but you're afraid to be a bother to them. Inoue-san, everyone wants you to be happy; I want you to be happy..."

Orihime stared at him taken by surprise. Uryu was also shocked by the words that'd just came out his mouth. Had he really said that? Had it really been that easy, or was it just the fact that he was so frustrated at the moment, that she would dare think she wasn't worth it, because she most certainly was.

She suddenly burst out into tears of joy, hugging him tightly. "Thank you so much, Ishida-kun! No one has ever done anything done this nice for me before. Thank you so much... I'm just so happy... I don't know what to say..."

Ishida smiled softly, lifting his arms to return the embrace. "You don't need to say anything..."

She smiled at the response, and they remained there for another couple minutes, before they decided to go home. He offered to walk with her, so she wouldn't get wet. However, much to his surprise, she told him she be fine without an umbrella. She thanked him anyways, before they departed.

Perhaps she wasn't so lonely after all. Perhaps the rain was there to accompany her, during the time her friends couldn't be there with her. Maybe Rain was just there to wash away your tears, and offer you some bit of solace.

Rain rains everywhere; on anyone, no matter who or what they are. Rain doesn't judge, neither should we.

A/N: What did you think? Weird ending; I know. Review anyways. Please?