New series of one of my newly-loved couples. Let me know what you think of this!
The Heart.
-:-
Chapter One.
Orihime gazed out the window, allowing her mind to wander.
Series of thoughts about her grades would pester her and ruin her daydreams. Her grades were slipping, but she didn't seem too bothered about it.
English Literature and History were her best subjects and Biology being her worst. Despite all that, her focus started to fade and grades started to slip. It was an issue raised by the distant aunt who funded her education that if her grades were to slip during her final year of high school, she would cut her college fees — which was next year.
Orihime squeezed her eyes shut, attempting to push the thoughts to the back of her head.
New recipes started to cloud her mind as she grabbed her notepad out. Perhaps red bean paste mixed with curry... She liked the idea of that, allowing a smile to rise on her face. More ideas were cramming in her imaginative mind, the previous matter totally forgotten.
Hm... I wonder if Kurosaki-kun would like it too...? Maybe Rukia-san would enjoy something with a sweeter taste...adding some honey should do the trick! More smiles and light giggles came to herself as she added more drawings and crazy, if not almost toxic, combinations to her recipes.
"Good morning, class." The teached greeted as she stepped in the room.
The class echoed their greetings. Orihime murmured an absent greeting, still caught up in her recipes. Scribbling away, she had completely missed the introduction of the new addition to their class, or the looks her teacher began to give her.
She continued scribbling down possible recipes, unaware that the focus of the class was now directed at her.
The teacher cleared her throat, now beside her, gaining her full attention immediately. "Inoue-san."
"RED BEAN PASTE, NO!" Orihime yelled, as she shot up from her seat, her heart pounding in fright. The class immediately bursted into laughter. This wasn't the first time she had been interrupted from her road trip through her imagination. She let out a sheepish smile in response to her slightly annoyed teacher.
"This is our new student, Ulquiorra Cifer."
Orihime immediately bowed as a sign of respect. "Pleasure to have you in our class, Cifer-san!"After what felt like minutes without a response, she peeked up, meeting with emerald green eyes.
She was greeted by a slender yet fairly well built body, and hand in a pocket. Her eyes studied his figure closely, and his messy black hair that somehow fell perfectly in face — his eyes. His captivating emerald eyes stole her attention just before she could study his face properly. He didn't seem very tall, definitely taller than her, though. Orihime rarely took notice of others' features in such detail, but his emerald eyes practically glowed under his porcelain pale skin, creating such a clear canvas. The Karakura uniform showed a generous amount of his chest and—
Orihime's thoughts were cut off.
"Alright then," The teacher's voice awakened the auburn-haired girl. "Cifer-san, where would you like to sit? The only available seats are beside Inoue-san here and one seat beside Jaegerjaques-san." The teacher glanced over to a cyan-blue haired boy, who glared over at their direction. Grimmjow didn't really care for newcomers, let alone other people outside of his social group. It would be a stupid choice to pick sitting next to Grimmjow over Inoue.
"I will sit next to Jaegerjaques-san."
The black haired teen proceeded to take his seat beside the cyan-haired delinquent, who snarled lightly at his response, leaving Orihime in slight bewilderment. He was slightly strange, to respond in such a cold manner. His voice was low and husky, yet cold and distant, sending slight chills up her spine. Brushing the slightly awkward situation off, she gathered herself and smiled to her teacher once again, sitting back down. As she faced the board, little did she know there was a pair of emerald eyes were glancing her way.
The end of first period miraculously came, and both Orihime and Ulquiorra were stopped by the teacher, the two being the last students in the classroom.
"Inoue-san, would you mind being Cifer-san's guide for today?" She handed her his timetable.
Orihime glanced over to Ulquiorra, who had one hand in his pocket, emotionless once again. "I was going to ask Jaegerjaques-san, but no surprise, he was asked to see the principal half way through class."
A sheepish smile rose to her face, "A-ah, of course, Kitamura-sensei!" She faced towards the boy, smiling. "I'm Orihime Inoue, pleasure to be acquainted with you!"
The boy remained quiet, almost as if he was observing the scene.
"He has Biology class with you next period, and I believe you two share English Literature, History and Chemistry as well." The teacher smiled at the two teens as she began to leave the room. "Please take good care of him."
Moments later, the teacher proceeded to leave the room. Orihime took the chance to be acquaint herself properly with the newcomer. She enjoyed making friends with new people, and somehow the extensive knowledge and high grades this boy achieved academically astounded her.
"How about I meet you outside our Biology room, which is on the third floor of Block 1? From there, I'll introduce you to Tatsuki-san, Kurosaki-kun and Kuchiki-san, they're all my good friends and they'd love to get to know you, just like how I do!"
The boy's features softened a little. Her offer caused a look on his face that almost seemed...sad. But his features showed nothing of the emotion. Orihime was observant and very capable of breaking down one's emotional barrier. This boy's, however, was as strong as steel and it would take forever to break it down.
"You do not need to assist me, woman."
And with that, he disappeared out of the room.
-:-
"Yo, Orihime, I saw you talking to that new kid after class, what was that all about?" Tatsuki asked, taking a bite of her sandwich.
"Yeah, I saw that too, he doesn't seem like good news if he chose to sit with Grimmjow over you." Rukia commented, stealing a piece of of carrot off Tatsuki's box. They sat in a circle on the roof where they usually hung out. "He's kind of a loner."
Her eyes dropped in embarrassment, the previous events clouding her mind again. "Ano... I'm his guide for the day!" She forced a cheerful tone. "Kitamura-sensei wanted me to help him out since Grimmjow got sent to the principals office during class."
Truth be told, Orihime was slightly down at how abrupt he left the room last period. He didn't seem at all interested in getting to know her, or returning the polite greeting. It was a heart like hers that could easily be bruised when not taken care of gently.
"Grimmjow's bad news," Ichigo added as he sat dow beside his best friends, unwrapping his bento. "Inoue, I don't want you hanging with him or that weird kid. Saw him in the hallway with Grimmjow and Nnoitra and I knew he was bad news already."
"Kurosaki-kun," The auburn-haired teen greeted, her cheeks were burning up. "Mm, yeah... I have Biology with Ulquiorra-san next."
"Be careful." The group warned her. Orihime had been blessed with a caring group of friends. Tatsuki had been there for her after since Sora's death. Rukia had only come recently, but she was already like family to them all. As for Ichigo... Orihime had undeniable feelings for him, it was obvious. But the orange-haired deliquent hadn't made a move on her. He probably never will. "I heard a few kids down the hallway talking about how he's hanging with Grimmjow now."
The bell rung and the group said their goodbyes, each scattering to different directions. Orihime stood outside her Biology room, Ulquiorra's timetable in hand.
"I hope he doesn't get lost..." She muttered to herself, slightly worried that she'd be held responsible for losing him.
"I thought I told you I do not require your assistance."
Orihime turned around to meet the slender, black-haired teen again. He had one hand in his pocket, his face still pale and expressionless and a backpack over his shoulder.
"Aah, Ulquiorra-san!" A genuine smile of relief grew on her face. "I'm sorry, I was just worried that you might've gotten lost, since it is your first day..."
"Why do you worry? Once again, you do not need to assist me." He replied.
"Ano..." She trailed off, shying away from his eye contact, then noticing the empty hallways. "We're late, come!" She grabbed his hand absently, rushing into the boy stiffened slightly at their contact, but she had released him before he could speak.
They took the remaining seats, two beside each other. Orihime rested her chin on her palm, thinking of what had just happened. She couldn't help the fact that she had a caring nature, and that she was especially compassionate and loving to those close to her. She didn't know why she stuck around to wait for him, but she knew those emerald eyes were comforting and calming, much like —
"Inoue-san," her Biology teacher cleared her throat, now beside her desk. "You aren't paying attention, again."
"A-ah, I'm sorry, Ono-sensei. I was just—"
"Your grades are slipping too. Inoue-san, if you would like to pass your final year of high school and enter the university of your dreams, you will need to pass Biology." Her look at the auburn-haired girl darkened. "At this state, you will fail."
The teacher sighed. "Which is why I've assigned Cifer-san to be your tutor for Biology until you pass. From his past records, he has achieve consecutive straight As throughout the recent two years at his old school. He also achieved full marks in our entrance exam for the Biology subject."
Orihime's eyes widened.
"Impressive, right? Therefore, setting this up will benefit you greatly as well as him. He will be gaining service hours to put on his resume in return, which I believe is what you are lacking severely on your record, am I right?" The teacher glanced at the boy, who was sitting on the desk beside Orihime.
The auburn-haired girl glanced at the boy, his expression was still emotionless but his frown had softened. He nodded at her statement.
"I suggest you two sort out the time and location, but Inoue-san," the petite woman softened her features at the young girl. "Please do try to make the best use of this. You are far more than capable in this subject, it is tragic that your Biology grades have now reached the level of an E-grade candidate."
The auburn-haired girl nodded, watching her teacher walk back to the front, continuing on with the lesson. Everyone had scattered around the room to grab a textbook off the teacher's desk. Truth be it, Orihime didn't really want to sacrifice her time into having a new tutor. She had already ditched juku, which took ages convincing Tatsuki to let her off.
She turned to the pale boy's direction, her cheeks flushed slight pink. "Um...Ulquiorra-san, so about the arrangements... where should we hold these tutoring sessions?"
Moments later, the boy shot her a glance, still expressionless as ever.
"I do not wish to tutor you, woman."
To Be Continued.
Juku - Japanese term for cram school/after-school tuition schools that students go to.
Please review your thoughts.