even after ten years
disclaimer: i bought the early vol of the manga?
Today was the day they—she—would come. It was their little reunion party. Tatsuki had come earlier to help her preparing. But as soon as Keigo and Mizuiro arrived, she was leaving her alone to talk with them. She knew her friend couldn't help but give Keigo a hard time every time the man spoke something stupid.
Tatsuki sent Ichigo as her substitute. Her husband gave her a slight smile as he entered the kitchen. They didn't talk much.
Or Ichigo didn't talk much. He never did.
Except when he was with her.
She smiled sadly.
"Ichigo-kun," she called him. "Do you miss them?"
Ichigo turned to her, raising his eyebrows as he did. "Of course. They are our friends. And it's been so long."
Yeah. Friends.
She knew she shouldn't feel insecure just from that statement. Ichigo didn't imply anything. But even after ten years, even after their wedding, even after she gave birth to their child, she still felt she wasn't winning wholly.
Because it might never a competition to begin with.
.
.
.
She heard their bell rang. Ishida and Chad couldn't come because of their work—they were actually gathering now to watch the later. Everyone else had arrived. She didn't have to turn her head to know her husband had left his place beside her to greet them.
She was fine. They were friends.
.
.
.
She left the kitchen when Ichigo called her. He just wanted to ask Kazui's whereabouts. He returned his attention to their guests after she replied. Before long, she could see them bickering again as if the ten years long separation never happened. It was always like that for them.
For Ichigo and Rukia.
They could talk as if they talked to each other every day. As if they didn't know the word 'awkwardness'. As if they were the only one in the world. She looked at Renji and saw him grinning at their interaction. The redhead shinigami followed Rukia's gesture flawlessly without interrupting their play-fight.
She wondered how he did that. He should see it too. He should have seen what she had seen. But Renji was stronger than her in that aspect. He trusted Rukia and Ichigo. And that was enough for him.
But not for her.
…
No, actually it was enough for her too.
It just hurt. Still hurt. Even after ten years, the realization that Ichigo only smiled that freely when he was with Rukia returned again. She knew Ichigo didn't love her when she first confessed her love to him. He did agree to go out with her though. And he was the one who propose later.
But he never smiled like that to her. He couldn't even talk to her that easily. It always felt a bit awkward and short. She knew Ichigo loved her and their son. He won't say something he didn't mean. He won't hurt her intentionally.
However… when she saw them like that.
She couldn't help but think if she was really the second choice for him after all. It broke her heart a little. Because even after ten years, they still didn't change. And neither did her.
A/N: just want to say... i dont hate orihime and i'm ichiruki shipper.
i wrote this not because i'm salty. i just like angst. and imo, orihime is the perfect character for that. it's not ooc for her to feel jealous right. anyway... i only read chap 686 once. i dont really remember what happened in detail.
