AN: I have edited this chapter to include the translations for the Japanese words I used. My deepest apologies to everyone out there for failing to include it in the first run.
Don't hesitate to point out any other errors I made be it the language/grammar or your disappointment in the way I have butchered your fav character!
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured here but they belong to their respective owners.
"Hmm…what should I have for dinner tonight? Mayonnaise with ramen…no I had that last night…onion salad and wasabi and anko… "
As if my stomach understood what I was thinking, it started to growl like a tiger simultaneously my hand phone started ringing too. Ignoring the sounds coming from my stomach, I waded over my notes littered floor (I was studying for my finals before my attention shifted to Onii-chan then Kurosaki-kun and finally... food), stubbed my toe on the edge of the coffee table and nearly tripped over the bunched up carpet on the floor. Thankfully I managed to regain my balance before...I fell crashing into my beautifully arranged jyuunishi animal collection which fell crashing onto the hard floor breaking into multiple pieces and strewing shards of glass everywhere.
I cried out in pain as I accidentally received several cuts on my hands and arms (since I'm now lying comfortably in the middle of the wreck) and silently cursed whoever it is that is calling as the phone is now still shrieking impatiently in its shrill voice. If it wasn't for the phone I won't be in this mess. But then again, if I do study in a neater manner, this, wouldn't have happened either.
Luckily, the phone is not that far away from where I currently am. I hurriedly crawled to the persistent hand phone grabbing it in mid-ring, ignoring the pain and the new cuts I just received from that ridiculously short journey through the minefield. Flicking it open, my heart skipped a beat when I caught a glimpsed of the name that is displayed on it. Kurosaki Ichigo .
"Hello… Inoue speaking…," I said into the phone. My heart throbbing so fast that I felt like I was going to faint right there and then as I held my breath waiting for Kurosaki-kun to answer. It is not like we are that close or he calls to chat with me every single day. If he does not say anything soon I think I will die of asphyxiation.
"Inoue-san… where are you?" a deep voice answered after what seems like eternity. I blinked with surprise and confusion when my brain finally register that this is not Kurosaki-kun's voice but instead this is…this is… Ishida Uryuu!
A million questions raced through my mind. What happened to Kurosaki-kun? How come Ishida-kun is calling from his hand phone? Huh…what is going on? …Of course I'm at home where else should I be! But why is Ishida-kun calling me? ... Why does he sound so worried…?
"Inoue san…Inoue san…are you there?" Ishida-kun's voice could be heard coming from the hand phone clutched loosely in my right hand.
"Hello, Inoue san? ...Hello?...Are you ok? ..."
"Ishida-kun…," I finally managed to croak into the phone after snapping out of my daze.
"Err…Inoue san…what happened just now? Are you alright?" Ishida-kun's rich voice full of concern answered back.
"I'm fine…totally fine…there was this cat, its paw got stuck in the garbage disposal thingy and it was calling out so pitifully so I had to go and free it," I explained. Since Ishida-kun sounded like he needed an explanation, that was the only thing that I could come up with at that instant. I don't know why I told him that either. It was not a lie because a cat did get stuck in my kitchen sink the other day and I did release it from its predicament and then it started springing miraculously on its injured paw around my kitchen as if nothing has happened before making off with a few pieces of my sashimi which has been soaked in soy sauce, honey, ketchup, and green tea overnight. I was really looking forward to eating it after waiting a whole night for it to be marinated but there it went instead. To tell you the truth, it tastes even better with ice-cream and bread then it's present state.
"Oh….I see…I'm sure the cat will be grateful and all but Inoue-san…you are suppose to be here…now… at Uruhara's store…you said you'll be coming by yourself and don't need a lift from anyone…"
My mind went blank for a second. What is Ishida kun talking about? Then realization hit me. It hit me hard. I gulped with guilt.
"Ahhhh…Ishida-kun…gomen ne…I forgot about it…"I replied.
"What! ... We were just talking about it yesterday, how could you have forgotten about it already?" came Ishida-kun's voice in disbelief and sounded a few octaves higher than his normal low pitch. "Ok…calm down…I'll swing by and pick you up in 30 minutes…we're not that late… yet…there is still hope. Just get ready Inoue-san!"
"Hmmm…"that was all I could say which was a little useless since the line is now dead. When Ishida-kun's voice is in that tone, there is no room for arguments. I shut the hand phone and took a look at myself. I am a wreck; my hair is all in knots…my arm hurts…and my beloved figurines are all in pieces...maybe I should tend to these cuts first before I die of anemia due to over loss of blood. Shoot, my powers don't work on myself!
Since I have to do it the old-fashioned way, I carefully made my way to the kitchen sink cautious not to step on any tiny pieces of glass. My stomach still growling. I was about to turn on the tap to rinse my wounds when the doorbell rang.
"That can't be Ishida-kun…he said he'll be here in half an hour;" I thought to myself as I turned and head towards the front door.
I opened the door and as if my thoughts could be converted to reality in a blink of an eye there is Ishida-kun standing majestically in his full Quincy apparel right outside. I opened my mouth to greet him but was cut short…by the surprise look on Ishida-kun's face and the sound of his jaw hitting the ground.
"What happened to you?" Ishida-kun said, quickly recovering from his previous state. "…and the place…did the cat do this? ...it must have been a big one!" he added, after scanning through the room with his deep blue eyes.
I looked back and saw what he saw. There are pieces of glass littered everywhere, books and papers scattered over the place and the culprit who caused all this, the bunched up carpet still bunched up in a heap. To a stranger, it looks like a fight had taken place in my apartment and that must have been what Ishida-kun is thinking right now.
I quickly turn back to face Ishida. "Chigaimasu yo…it's not what you think…I had a tiny itsy bitsy bit of accident just now, but I'm totally fine…absolutely!" I said in my most cheery voice. "Didn't you say you'll only be here in 30 minutes?" I added, changing the subject.
Ishida-kun definitely did not buy the explanation because his eyes are getting wider and wider by the moment and it didn't look like he heard the question either. If it got any wider, it would most probably roll out of its sockets. He obviously didn't hear my question either. I was about to repeat myself when he …
"Inoue san…thank goodness my Quincy skills are now at a higher level and I can move faster than before…but…you should have said something about needing help just now…….then I would have reached here sooner instead of taken my own sweet time to get here!...and...silly me…there I thought you needed more time to get ready...long hair to comb...eyelashes to curl...face to powder...and...and…and…you are bleeding! Ahhh….what do we do? ...what…"
As quick as lightning, Ishida-kun's panic is over and he led me into the house towards the nearest chair. Then, he proceeded to examine my cuts. Some still had tiny fragments of glass embedded in them.
"Some of these are pretty serious…but don't worry…I'll fix you up in no time … no time at all..." he said in his gentle soothing voice totally different from a second ago. Then Ishida-kun stood up and started to rummage through the so-called pockets of his get up, and a silver box appeared in his hand. He opens it ceremoniously and out comes a needle with a generous amount of string still threaded through the eye.
I shut my eyes in fright as he approaches menacingly towards me. Needle held up high like the knife in 'Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho'.
"Oh no, is he going to sew me up like one of those pieces in our arts and handicrafts club? Besides, these cuts are pretty shallow and it will heal in no time. They don't need stitches. I'm sure Tessai has something to heal it even sooner without all the hassle and torture. We can bandage all of the cuts up for the time being and head over there right now and let Tessai tend to it…though he may look like the giant in 'Jack and the beanstalk' but he's really spectacular with those healing powers of his and since everyone is already waiting for us…I'm sure he doesn't mind one bit….it is way better than this……"
The touch of Ishida-kun's hand felt cool on my arm. I waited for the pain but it did not come. I gambled my chance and took a peek. The needle was nowhere insight but in his hand was a tube of antiseptic and he is slowly dabbing it onto the less severe cuts after cleaning off the blood with this slightly moist piece of cloth which have the smell of 'dettol' on it. The cuts sting a little but the feeling passed as quickly as it came.
"Huh? ...where did he get that? What happened to the needle? ... Isn't he going to sew me up ... "
As if to answer my questions, I notice the threatening needle now lay forgotten by its owner on the table. Next to it were tiny pieces of glass which Ishida-kun must have extracted painlessly from my cuts when I had my eyes closed.
His touch is so gentle, and his long fingers smooth against my skin. I am amazed. Astounded. Speechless. With all those arrow shooting, shouldn't his fingers be rough with scab? I wonder what it must be like to be one of those dresses he makes in the club. The feeling of just being in his hands; being sewed with a long white thread with tiny stitches the length of a small sugar ant with equal spacing between each stitch. It must be the feeling of heaven! I close my eyes trying to imagine the feeling for a fleeting second.
"Inoue-san…are you ok? Sorry…if I was too rough on the cuts!" I was jolted back to reality. Ishida-kun is now flailing his hands around in deep apology his cheeks slightly red.
"No…no…I'm totally fine…I was just trying to imagine the feeling of being a cloth in the process of being sewed by you! ...it must be a wonderful feeling 'cause your touch is like…like...like...silk being sliced by a samurai sword…." I replied.
"Oh…….."
That was all Ishida-kun could say. He reached for another bandage from the silver box, which by the way is a first aid kit and not his sewing kit as I have first thought and started to bandage my arms. Then he moved on to my foot. Everything was all over in a minute much to my disappointment.
Ishida-kun is getting really efficient at this.
I told Ishida-kun to wait for a there just for a minute so that I could change and we could leave as soon as possible. A few minutes later, I reappear back in the living room clad in a more comfortable t-shirt and pants. My hair straight and free of tangles with the two green flower clips neatly nestled at the each side of my head. It is bad enough that I forgot about all this business but we wasted enough time when Ishida-kun tended to my cuts. The thought of those hands and the feeling just now makes me swoon temporarily but that was not all…
My apartment now does not look like my apartment anymore. Ishida-kun had gotten the place swept, my notes all straighten up in neat stacks on the table, the carpet nicely flatten and spread out at its rightful position in the middle and my whole collection of jyunnishi animals... all patched up and dust free. In fact he is now adjusting the cow because the spacing between it and the mouse is slightly off by a few millimeters. When he is done, he took a step back and admired his handy work. A silly smile plastered on his face. The kitchen….the sink…the sofas…the curtains…the windows….I caught a glimpse of the toilet too…its hard not to notice since everything is sparkling so brightly that I think my corneas are now fried to crisp.Wait...what is that fluffy pink thing on my toilet seat?
Ishida-kun is getting really scary. How could he do so much in less than 5 minutes? I swear I only took that long to change and get ready and the figurines were all broken up. How did he manage to sort out everything so fast much more mend it right down to perfection that it seems brand new? My eyes fell on the tube of…it appears to be glue lying atop the silver box next to the bottle of SHINE' N WAX...STAINS AWAY…CARPET CLEANER WITH ANTISEPTIC…MOULD REMOVER…ODOUR X'IT…GERMS BEGONE!…and many more bottles of god-knows-what that I cannot even see the surface of the round table anymore. He carries all that in his first aid kit! Kore wa honto ni anno Ishida kun ka?
"Anou……Ishiii…daa kun…."
"Ossu…let's get going to Uruhara's place before Uruhara sends one of those bloody messages he did on our first trip to Soul Society…and mess up your beautiful apartment!" Ishida-kun said walking towards the table and pocketing everything back into his Quincy uniform like he does it everyday!
Translations
ramen - Chinese noddles which is stretched
anko - red bean paste
chigaimasu yo - No, you are wrong!
gomen ne - sorry
jyuunishi - 12 zodiac animals
Onii-chan - salutation for older brother
ossu - yes