A new beginning
A oneshot side-story to Not to be used loosely
A/N: I do not own Bleach and its characters.
Shopping is definitely a form of therapy. Especially for those who like to shop. Especially for those who are in need of that sort of therapy. Right now, these two people are one and the same. They are Ishida Uryuu.
The Quincy stepped into The Cotton House Store and wandered aimlessly while looking at nothing and everything at the same time. His mind was not really on the items – which were usually his favourite things to see – displayed in the shop. But his feet took him automatically to the back aisle where all the limited edition knitting needles and crochet hooks were encased in a glass shelf.
He stood there, hands shoved into the pockets of his self-tailored pants as he stared at a set of newly-arrived bamboo needles in a wooden crafted box. It came complete with stitch markers, needle stoppers, a measuring tape, gauges, and tapestry needles.
Ishida already had a similar set that cost him half his pay check which he bought last year as a Christmas present for himself. The only difference was that the needles were made of aluminum.
Without bothering to ponder too much on it, he gestured towards the silent sales lady – who had been standing beside him the whole time – that he would like to buy the set. Binge-buying was supposed to make him feel better, was it not?
It had been a month since Inoue got back with that Hadashi guy. Until that day, Ishida had been spending all of his free time with her to help her get over her feelings for Kurosaki. It was at that time when she was truly alone.
Arisawa was always mysteriously missing whenever Inoue tried to contact her. Only later on did they find out about the kendo instructor's relationship with Abarai Renji. However, there was no denying that that was not the only reason for the strained friendship of the two best friends. Arisawa was not very supportive of Inoue's intention to ask Kurosaki out. The two girls had had a small argument before Inoue made her move during a reunion party held by Asano Keigo.
As much as Ishida despised how Arisawa reacted to the issue, he couldn't blame her for not agreeing with Inoue. The dark-haired girl was, after all, Kurosaki's childhood friend and she knew him better than anyone else. She knew Kurosaki's heart was already set on a certain petite shinigami. Arisawa was just trying to protect her best friend from getting hurt again.
After months of being with Inoue, Ishida didn't know what to do with himself when she started going out with her ex-boyfriend again. On a day like this, he would be at her house, keeping her occupied while watching a movie, studying together, or teaching her how to cook proper food. They were already on first-name basis.
Maybe some good will come out of this, he thought as he paid for his purchase. He already had a few knitting projects in mind. He also had a feeling that Kuchiki Rukia would approach him soon to get him to make a wedding dress for her. The Kurosaki twins would probably want him to make their bridesmaid dresses, too. He couldn't say 'no' to his cousins, could he?
Pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, he smirked to himself before giving a nod of thanks to the cashier and leaving the store with his latest collection of needles. It didn't matter if he was going to use them or not. Just as long as it was therapeutic for him.
He was just about to get into his car when his phone beeped. Placing the paper bag into the boot, he fished the gadget out of his pocket before climbing into the driver's seat. A brow rose at whom the sender of the text was.
From: Inoue Orihime
Ishida-kun, can you come over? It's okay if you can't.
So we're back to 'Ishida-kun', Hime? he thought bitterly.
To: Inoue Orihime
Sure.
It had been 20 minutes since he arrived. Ishida was still sitting in his car, parked in front of Inoue's gates as he fiddled with his phone, looking as if he was busy. In fact, he was just trying to buy some time before going inside her house.
He was afraid.
During those few months when he became awfully familiar with this place, he had left some of his belongings here. A spare set of clothing, toiletries, books and even his coffee mug. He was afraid that Inoue had called him over so she could return his things to him. After all, it's not very appropriate to keep another guy's belongings when you're seeing someone else.
He was afraid.
So accustomed to being around Inoue for a few months, he had tried to shrug off the past few weeks as something temporary – that Hadashi was just here on a holiday and that was why Inoue had decided to keep him company before he went away again. That soon, he and Inoue would go back to their daily routine. It didn't matter whether they were in a romantic relationship or not. Ishida just wanted to be with her.
He was afraid.
So afraid. He heaved a long sigh before putting his phone back into his pocket. Bracing himself for the worst, he got out of his car and walked slowly to open the gates before approaching her front door. Probably entering this house for the last time, he thought. It's inevitable. Let's do this.
The door opened.
His heart crumbled.
There she was, standing before him, still holding the door. Her eyes were all puffy and red. She looked even worse than when Kurosaki had rejected her for the second time.
Inoue practically threw herself at him, her arms encircled his torso in a death grip as she sobbed her heart out into his shirt. He was taken aback but he hesitated not one moment to hold her in what he hoped to be an embrace that would shelter her from whatever it was that had shattered her.
They were still standing in her doorway. He chose to remain silent as he held her waist and stroke her disheveled orange hair. After a while, Inoue detached herself from him and frantically wiped her tears off with both hands. They didn't seem to stop flowing despite her effort.
Ishida gently pulled her hands away from her face and replaced them with his, cupping her cheeks while gazing into her eyes. "What happened, Hime?" he asked.
Inoue squeezed her eyes shut, causing more tears to escape before she gestured for them to go inside the house. He simply nodded and shut the door. They both settled themselves in her couch shortly after, his arm around her shoulders. She tried to calm herself down. He waited patiently for her to speak. For her, he would have all the time in the world. For her, he was willing to wait.
"Uryuu-kun," she began, resting her head on his shoulder. "Hadashi-kun's going back to his fiancée in Tokyo. I'm so tired. Please let me sleep."
Ishida nearly stopped breathing. He was furious. But he only clenched his fist as he nodded. She would tell him about it eventually. At the moment, he was there to be the pillar for her to lean on.
Inoue woke up in a familiar warm embrace – it'd been over a month since she had felt this. Uryuu-kun, she thought as she looked up into an even warmer pair of blue eyes. She blushed when she realised she was lying on top of the Quincy on her couch. But she soon rested her head back on his chest and tightened her hold around his waist. She shut her eyes as she found solace in this man who had always been there for her.
With an arm around her back, Ishida drew circles on the exposed skin of her upper arm with his free hand. "Rest if you must. I'll be right here," he murmured.
Inoue sighed. It was only a matter of time before she had to talk about it. It might as well be now. Dragging it any longer would just delay the healing process.
The healing process again. For someone with the ability to heal, she sure needed to go through a lot of tough ones. Maybe she brought it all upon herself. Why couldn't she just settle with Ishida, who undoubtedly loved her more than anyone did? Why did she have to succumb her heart to be broken time and again?
Slowly, she pushed herself up. Ishida sat up together with her, still holding her. "Would you like some ocha?" she asked, her voice cracked and timid.
He placed a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I'll go get it for us," he said, getting off the couch before she could protest. It didn't matter, though. She didn't think she had the strength to do it anyway.
Inoue started to think about this morning when she discovered the truth. She felt the ache in her chest again. Such a masochist, she chided herself. So stupid...
Placing the mushroom omelette into a plate after turning off the stove, she hastily swiped her hands on her apron and dashed up to her room where the phone was ringing incessantly.
"Hada-kun, your phone!" she yelled. She was not very loud, though because... well, it was Inoue. Her voice was naturally very soft. Her boyfriend couldn't hear her through the sound of the shower he was in.
She took quick strides to the side table where Hadashi had left his phone. What appeared on the screen, however, made her stare wide-eyed down at it as it continued to ring and vibrate on the white wood.
Yuki calling...
Behind those words was a photo of a couple sitting in a seiza in traditional Japanese costumes. In the background, there was a table laden with rice paper envelopes. It was an engagement ceremony. The woman was in a red furisode, her black hair pulled into a modern up-do, which ironically but beautifully clashed with her attire. She was really pretty. And the man...
Inoue felt her vision blurring and her throat closing up. She cupped a hand over her mouth when she realised too late that she had gasped at what she saw. All she could do was turn around, turn away from the image that she felt she had rudely invaded upon. But she ran into a bare chest when she tried to move away. She looked up at that face – the same face as the man in the profile picture of the caller. This man who had a towel wrapped around the lower part of his body. This man was the same as that man smiling happily in the picture.
Her brows started to knit together as a lone tear streamed down her cheek before dozens followed. When did he come out of the bathroom? She didn't even hear the shower being turned off.
"Hime," Hadashi whispered, holding her by her elbows. Guilt. It was written all over his face. Because he had also seen what she saw before the ringing stopped.
Inoue averted her gaze. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry. It's been ringing for at least 10 minutes now," she rattled on as she normally would when she was nervous.
Hadashi wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you..."
"It's okay. It's no big deal," she replied, her body stiff and her arms trapped uncomfortably between both of their chests.
"Hime, please..." he tightened his embrace when she tried to wriggle out of his hold.
Inoue pushed away from him. "I think you should go, Hadashi-kun."
"Just hear me out, please," Hadashi begged.
"I don't think there's anything else to explain. Please apologise to Yuki-san for me. I didn't realise..." she paused. Didn't realise what? That she was sleeping with someone's betrothed? That she was the other woman?
Hadashi sighed and sat down on her bed of crumpled sheets – evidence of their sinful activity last night – and pulled her down with him. Inoue gingerly let him but refused to look at him, trying in vain to stop the tears from flowing. She didn't have the right to cry. She just ruined someone's relationship.
"Your engagement is still on?" she asked.
He nodded. "I was going to tell you about it," he repeated. "But we were having such a good time together and I really missed you."
"You're engaged and yet, you agreed to get back together," she simply stated even though he was the one who suggested they gave it another try when he came back to Karakura a month ago.
"I wanted to be sure. I wanted to see if we could work things out," he explained before he realised what a douche bag he was to have said it.
This was Inoue Orihime, however. Sweet and forgiving Inoue Orihime. And Oshiro Hadashi was a very lucky man because this was neither Kuchiki Rukia nor Arisawa Tatsuki. He would've been permanently crippled if she were any of the two raven-haired violent women.
Inoue finally turned to face him but before she said anything, the phone rang again. This time he picked it up but he held her down gently with one hand when she attempted to get up. Her heart pounded drastically. She was afraid to even swallow for fear that the caller would hear her presence with... with her fiancé. Not Inoue's, but Yuki-san's.
"Moshi-moshi," he answered.
Inoue couldn't hear what the caller was saying but she guessed she must've been asking Hadashi some questions.
"Midnight," he murmured. "Yeah, I'll see you then."
"You're leaving," Inoue stated when he ended the call.
Hadashi merely nodded. "My flight back's tonight. Hime..."
Inoue stood up. "Then, you should go now. I'm sorry I ruined everything for you. Goodbye, Oshiro-kun," she said with her head bowed.
After gapping for words for a bit, he finally said, "It's not your fault, Orihime. I'm the one who should apologise. I hope you find someone who could appreciate you for the wonderful person that you are."
"I did. But I made a mistake, choosing you over him," she replied, regret evident in her voice. "Just get dressed and leave. I'm sorry I won't be able to see you off," she sighed and left her room for him to change. She hid herself in the guest room where Ishida used to sleep in when he stayed over.
Ten minutes after she heard her main door click shut, she let her walls crumble as she gave in to all her emotions and wept bitterly into Ishida's bed.
She wished she could reject all that had happened with her Shun Shun Rikka. Well, technically, she could. But how would that actually help? It was her emotions that were badly affected and no amount of healing, denying or undoing by her powers would ever take away the pain.
"We'll start over," Ishida said, breaking her out of her thoughts.
She had just finished telling him about the morning's incident and she felt totally spent. She searched into those blue eyes of his, wondering what he meant by starting over. Was it even possible for someone like her to have a second or third chance? She felt dirty and horribly iniquitous after what she had done to that Yuki lady. They were so happy in the picture, and she just had to come in and turn everything upside down.
"Hime," Ishida sighed, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'll help you get through this. You're not alone. What's done is done. You had no idea he was engaged and he was a bastard to gamble between you and her like that. You don't have to feel guilty about it. Just start this healing process off by building yourself up again."
She let him hold her again, snuggling into that same embrace that had comforted her countless times. She couldn't see the future from this very dark place right now. She couldn't see what the next moment held for her. But she would try to start from scratch. She would try to pick up the pieces. She would try to open up again. And Ishida Uryuu was just the person she needed to start anew with.
To a new beginning...
Like Giving us a shot (the other oneshot side-story to Loosely which features RenTatsu), it didn't feel quite right to shift the attention so much to Ishida and Inoue because the main pairing for Loosely is IchiRuki. But I still felt the need to do an IshiHime one outside of the main fic.
I really appreciate the reviews I got for chapter 22 of Loosely. On behalf of my Ishida Uryuu (hahaha!), I would like to express my heartfelt thanks for sympathising with his unsuccessful attempt at his relationship with Inoue. Don't worry, though. This is only temporary as you can tell from this side-story. And thanks, ej, for the suggestion of having him take a Quincy relative as a date to Ichigo's wedding or engagement. However, this fic is set right after the Fullbring Arc and it knows Uryuu as the only surviving Quincy (aside from his father Ryuuken who is in denial).
Having said that, I feel obliged to explain why Shihouin Yuushirou was included despite the fact that he appeared in the manga way after the Fullbring Arc. It's because he is Yoruichi's brother and I needed someone from a noble clan which the Kuchikis would most likely approve of. Then again, maybe I'm just being biased because I find the Quincy Arc really draggy. I did try to wikia which female Quincy would be suitable for Uryuu, though. And I found none. He is still best suited for Orihime or Nemu.
So, please hop over to Not to be used loosely if you haven't read it. And if you have, another chapter will be up soon (hopefully).
Thanks in advance for your reviews, favs and follows!
Ps: Gave birth to a baby girl, by the way. Chapter 22 of Loosely was written when I was waiting for labour. Thanks for all your well-wishes.