AUGUST 14TH: mutual pining / warm colors

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime's cheery voice calls out over the din of people meandering about the festival. He makes eye contact, feeling an upward tug on his lip at the sight of her dressed up in her traditional kimono. She looks lovely in its golden hues adorned with bright orange hibiscus flowers intricately woven in a seemingly haphazard pattern. Her hair gleams like fire in the beams of the setting sun and he has to remember to breathe just looking at her.

She reaches him quickly, bobbing and weaving through the crowd while in her wake come the rest of their friends also wearing their festival best. Even Renji and Rukia have been able to join them this year.

"Hey Inoue," he says willing his voice not to crack under the pressure he feels in his chest. "Tell her she looks nice! No, not nice, she looks amazing. Tell her-" his thoughts are interrupted by a hard smack on his back from Rukia.

"Snap out of your haze, let's go!" she snaps, grabbing his wrist and pulling. The group falls in line behind them, wandering from booth to booth. Through all their exploration, Orihime never loses her bright smile, the bounce in her step, her laughter high pitched but somehow musical.

Ichigo is not as dense as people like to think. He knows how he feels about her but he also knows it's a fruitless endeavor to do anything about it. His line of thinking is solidified as Inoue grabs Ishida's sleeve to tug him toward an archery game. The soul reaper takes in a deep breath, careful to keep it quiet as he watches the woman he cares so much about flitter about completely oblivious to the fact that his heart, quite literally, beats for her.

It isn't long before Rukia's back next to him, chattering about this and that happening in Soul Society but he barely hears any of it.

Orihime casts surreptitious glances towards a certain pair of soul reapers, her heart clenching tight with every look. She loves Rukia, she's practically like her sister at this point, but the healer cannot stop the bolts of jealousy that shoot through her heart every time Rukia is near Ichigo. With every smile she earns, however small they may be, Orihime feels Ichigo slipping further and further away from her. They're friends, she knows this by now after all they've been through together, but it doesn't stop the hurt of watching the one person she's loved for most of her life falling for someone else.

But she's determined to not ruin the festival for everyone else and so she makes sure to be the most upbeat, the most enthusiastic. Smile brighter, walk faster, talk excitedly and never let her tears reach the surface of her ducts.

"Inoue-san, are you ok?" Ishida asks, his presence startling her back to reality.

She smiles, a bit weaker this time, but manages to sound sincere in her assurances of, "I'm fine, Ishida-san, just a little tired because I had to work today."

So it goes on, the princess and the warrior, watching one another from a far but never meeting eye to eye.