Author's Note: Part of a 100 Ficlet Challenge for Ichigo/Orihime. This is my first time writing IchiHime fanfiction so any constructive feedback would be much welcome. :)
Prompt: 013. Death
Death She Did Not Fear
She was no stranger to death. They had met a long time ago. Although she had come out alive she didn't consider herself a winner. How could she win when she had lost so much? Her own flesh and blood was gone. No, Death had not taken her but it had wounded her. She placed her hand over an invisible scar and shook her head. It wasn't a good idea to dive into such depressing thoughts especially at school and much less in the presence of her best friend. Orihime turned her face to smile. Her eyes closed with the effort of stretching her lips as far as she could take them, making it hard to see. It was for the better. Although she had perfected the art of faking it throughout the years, she had never been very good at lying to the girl beside her.
"Let's go, Tatsuki-chan!" she chirped. "If we don't hurry, we'll be late for class!" Orihime had meant to ask Tatsuki if she had brought lunch with her. As usual she had packed lunch for herself and did not mind sharing her meal even if it was her favorite melon bread with red bean jam. These thoughts were left unsaid as she collided with a hard body. Air left her in a puff as her bottom hit the ground. An apology was already leaving her lips, even before she could fully push away the brown hair covering her face.
She had almost regretted looking up. The frown on that face grew deeper and the lines of that mouth hardened. As for Orihime, her heart had decided to have a little race. There was never a better time for it than when she was sitting on her bottom on a school corridor, she thought bitterly.
"Oh, Inoue," he said at last. "It's you." He observed her with the frown still on his face. His school bag was slung over his shoulder casually even as he towered over her. She forced herself up and laughed nervously. Her fingers tangled in the hair of the back of her head but she found comfort in the small amount of pain. It wasn't long before Tatsuki had started yelling.
"Oi, Ichigo!" Tatsuki pointed a finger at the tall youth's face. "Is that the first thing you have to say to a girl you knocked over?" Orihime raised her hands in protest but words failed her as she stammered out a protest. Unable to do anything about Tatsuki's fierce glaring, she wrung her hands instead and continuously focused on not making direct eye contact with Kurosaki-kun. In truth, she had always found his presence overwhelming. He was magnetic without even trying and the odd color of his hair had nothing to do with it. There was something about him that begged to be looked at but that same unspecified attraction terrified her; like a dark pond where you can't see the bottom but there is something there. You know it's there. It wants you to know it's there.
Seized by sudden panic, Orihime kept her taught smile and nervous laughter. Her fingers found the elbow of Tatsuki's school shirt and she gripped it until her knuckles turned white. Another stream of stammering was meant to convey an apology but her bravery could only go so far. She dragged Tatsuki away with her before she could say anything else potentially embarrassing. The first time she had met Kurosaki Ichigo had been like staring at the face of Fate. It could wreck her or it could save her. Death she had already met. Death she already survived. Death she did not fear. Fate was another matter.