Fairytale
People had a tendency of believing that Orihime Inoue was naïve. They wouldn't be too far off to assume so. The poor girl had a right to recede into a fairytale after the torture she'd survived at the hands of her classmates and her dear brother's death. All she clung to were thoughts of her knight in black Shinigami robes: Ichigo Kurosaki. Or so she'd like to pretend. Weather she wanted to acknowledge it or not, the orange haired teen was enamored with the visiting Shinigami, Rukia Kuchiki.
So when night fell, the innocent brown eyed girl would close her eyes and let her dreams take her away. She'd dream of her brother returning to her, of her Ichigo kissing her softly, and of her and Tatsuki escaping to a luxurious bathhouse or ocean resort. But once the dawn interrupted the night, Orihime would rise, paste a smile on her face, and attempt to face the day optimistically. Even in her darkest hours, the healer smiled. It helped her not lose her mind completely.
As the busty teen made her way to school, she noticed a fellow craftsman and one of her good friend's, Uryu Ishida also making his way towards the building. The only difference was his face was plastered to the book in front of him. Deciding to greet him, Orihime skipped over to his side. "Ishida-kun!" She chirped, placing a hand on his bony shoulder. The black haired teen turned to the happy young woman. He pushed his glasses back up from falling down his nose as he smiled hesitantly at her. "Good morning, Inoue-san."
"Whatcha reading?" Orihime asked as they came to a stop outside of the school's front doors. She tilted her head in an adorable fashion at her partner, who blushed at her closeness. "Ah, well, it's a book on the Quincy family history. We're dated back to the 1700's." Uryu informed the girl of his eye. It was quite obvious, he thought at least, that he was infatuated with Orihime. He'd even go as far as to say he loved her. They'd begun to spend so much time since they'd rescued her from the Arrancar's grasp.
However, Uryu Ishida knew he loved the orange haired beauty since they first became friends in their Craft's club. He loved listening to her, admired not only her beauty, but her selflessness and kindness when it came to people. To him, she was perfect, and he didn't understand why Kurosaki liked Rukia. Rukia, to him, was not a lady. She was rough around the edges, whereas Orihime was a lady. She was gentle and soft-hearted. Love is indeed unpredictable, the Quincy surmised with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Well, that's interesting." Inoue responded, smiling brightly as usual. Ishida shrugged and leaned against the stone railing outside their high school. "You know what else is interesting?" Orihime spoke up. The taller boy put his book down, offering the girl his attention. "I think it's interesting how some people are so judgmental. I mean, just the other day some girl asked me if I was stupid because I didn't understand one of Matsumoto-san's jokes. I told her my IQ was 150… she seemed shocked." In an adorable fashion, Orihime pointed her finger against her cheek and then looked imploringly at Uryu.
"You don't think I'm stupid, do you Ishida-kun?" A certain sadness tainted her words, though she didn't frown or burst into tears. The Quincy shook his head immediately. "I never have, Inoue-san. You're very bright, you're just innocent. I don't see that as a fault, I see that as something else that adds to your already surmounting beauty." Orihime blushed tenderly at his words, letting them sink in.
"You think I'm beautiful?" She asked in a stunned voice, her chestnut eyes lit up brightly with an unspoken emotion. Not realizing his mouth left his brain, Ishida blushed a deep red. "I-I mean, of course! I just… I didn't mean! This is so embarrassing…" The boy mumbled, trying to make sense out of the compliment without seeming too obvious. It was too late. Previously, Inoue had suspicions of Ishida liking her, but his loss for words and previous compliment was all the proof she needed. If only her feeling for Ichigo weren't so strong. She'd allow herself to return his affections… and maybe she could be happy for once… without pretending or letting her mind wander off into a fairytale.
"Don't worry, Ishida-kun." Orihime offered him another smile, placing her pointer finger against his lips. "You don't need to explain yourself. It's just enough to know someone notices me…" The bell rang and the two looked up. "Well, time for class!" The orange haired girl chirped and began to skip her way into the building, looking for her Ichigo. Ishida sighed once she was in the building as he trudged in. "She's just so naïve, Inoue-san is." Uryu mumbled to himself as he went to his locker. She doesn't even notice my feelings for her… only her feelings for Kurosaki.
By the time lunchtime came around, Ishida made his way over to Inoue. She had her head angled down to the grass, and he could've sworn he saw a tear hit the ground. Worried, he tapped her shoulder. When Orihime whipped around to him, he noticed her swiftly wipe her eyes and smile imperceptibly at him. "Ishida-kun! Would you like to eat lunch with me?" Nodding, the boy responded. "Don't I usually?"
The two sat down at the bench and began eating the food quietly. Ishida could see right through the healer's façade. He knew her expressions better than anyone. When her brow was pinched, she was worried about someone. When her eyes lit up, she was thinking of or speaking to Kurosaki. When she smiled but it faltered at the corners, she was sad. And when her teeth showed in her smile, she was honestly happy. And currently, Inoue wasn't talking, and her smile seemed plastered.
"What happened, Inoue-san?" Ishida asked once it began to eat away at him. Orihime tried to play dumb. "What do you mean?" To add to the illusion, she smiled brighter. "It must be hard to smile when there's nothing to smile about. You can be honest with me." In a rare flash of bravery, the Quincy reached across the table and grasped her smaller hand in his. She looked up at him, eyes twinkling like they had earlier. What does that look mean…? "Ichigo-kun… he loves Kuchiki-san…" The façade fell from her lips and she frowned, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.
Unable to confirm or deny her words, Uryu sighed. "It sure seems so, but you can't be so…" Cutting him off in an odd moment of hostility, Orihime glowered at him, removing her hand from his. "I know it, Ishida-kun. He'll never notice me."
Surprised, Uryu said nothing and simply stared at her as she finally let her unbidden tears fall. "It hurts…" She whimpered, clenching at her chest, rumpling her school uniform. "It hurts to love someone you cannot have…" Orihime's head dropped to the wood of the table as she sighed shakily. Getting up, Ishida moved to sit down beside her as he let one of his hands rub her shaking shoulders. "It'll be ok, Orihime-san. You'll see…" He attempted at comfort and was shocked as she threw her arms around him, burying her head into his shoulder.
Uryu let himself take in her gentle scent of roses and Ivory soap. He felt her hot tears drop onto his blazer and he sighed, holding her close in his embrace. "I'm so sorry, Inoue-san. You can always come to me when you feel you can't smile any longer." Through her tears and sadness, Orihime lifted her head to nod and smile very slightly at Uryu in her thanks. Then she fell back onto his shoulder and hugged him for all he was worth. Soon it seemed their other friends had spotted them, and quickly decided not to join the two.
Smiling to himself, Uryu felt his princess calm down. "I'm sorry…" She whispered softly, raising her head and gently wiping at her nose and eyes. "I've just been plagued by a lot since I arrived back home." Uryu noticed the look in Orihime's eyes was almost empty and he felt his heart clench. Was she giving up…? What had happened to her in Hueco Mundo? He didn't dare ask, but instead he stood up and offered her his hand. "Come on, Inoue-san. Let's get you back inside." He offered her one of his rare smiles. Hesitantly, Orihime smiled back and took his hand.
As the two made their way back inside, Orihime knew that tonight, instead of drifting off into a fairytale dream, she'd dream of Ishida, and the future she knew they'd have together.
[A short IshiHime cause there's honestly not enough of it, when it's clear the Ishida likes Orihime. I know, I know, she loves Ichigo. But we've all loved more than one person, right? We've all moved on at some point… that's what could happen for these two. ]