Guess I'll be updating this story monthly...ish.
"Intelligent...hollow?" Hijikata repeated. "What the hell?"
Orihime lifted a banana slice that Hijikata had discarded to her eye level, examining it absent mindedly, still not aware that one one understood what she was talking about.
"They look like humans, but they're not." She nibbled on the banana. "When they "release" their swords, they reveal their true powers and true forms. Grimmjow is kind of hot headed and stupid, but he can also be scary and he's hella strong. You might wanna be careful." Satisfied with the taste, Orihime finally shoved the whole banana into her mouth, stuffing three more along with it.
"Delicious..." Orihime murmured to herself.
"Are you fucking serious?" Hijikata seethed. "Ok, that's it. Come on Sougo."
Swiftly, Toshi grabbed a hold of Orihime's wrist and pulled her along with him to exit the apartment. Sougo followed behind.
"Oi! Where do you think you're taking Orihime?" Kagura shouted.
"Kagura…" Orihime looked at the Yato with teary and hopeful eyes. So she did care!
"Shut it." Kagura snapped, sensing Orihime's thoughts. Turning back to the Shinsengumi police, she said, "She's OUR client, you think we're just gonna let you take her from us?"
"Calm your tits China-girl...not that you have any." Sougo sneered. "We're just taking her to headquarters. She's our information source." Kagura scowled.
"I SO DO HAVE TITS!" Kagura protested, proceeding to lift up her shirt. "Wanna see? Huh? Wanna?!" Hijikata ignored their pointless bickering.
"I wanted you to stay out of this before, but now we have no choice but to get you involved." He addressed Orihime. Hijikata paused in the doorway.
"Hey girl," He called to the pissed off Kagura. "Inform your boss about what's going down when he gets back, gather everyone you know who can and is willing to fight, and come meet us at headquarters." And with that, he was gone.
"Alright, thank you very much. Yamazaki-san will show you to your sleeping quarters." An officer dismissed Orihime. Orihime bowed and sighed with exhaustion. Even though she was supposed to be an information source, they had treated her like a criminal, interrogating her and piling pressure in the small room. Now it was finally over, and Orihime couldn't wait to crash into a futon and snooze the night away. Saying nothing, Yamazaki began to walk down the hallway and Orihime took the hint and followed silently behind. Quietly, she folded her hands in front of her and watched the floor as they trekked down the silent hallway. She let out let out a small sigh and snuck a glance at her warden. He was oddly quiet. If she remembered correctly, this badminton crazed man was one of the livelier of the officers. She had expected a bit of chatter but had instead received absolute silence.
"Maybe he's tired too." She concluded. But Yamazaki only seemed quiet. In reality, he was shivering with excitement over a plan he had formulated on his way to escort the young girl. He had suspected it before, but now he was convinced that Sougo had developed an interest in the orange-haired beauty. Yamazaki had forged a plan to put the both of them in an awkward situation, hopefully somehow bringing them closer together. Yamazaki snickered to himself as he pulled open the shoji door for Orihime. As she stepped inside, he mentioned that she should take a bath and get some sleep. She smiled and thanked him for the suggestion. Smothering a smile, Yamazaki bid her goodnight and silently closed the door. Skipping down the hall, he hummed a tune. Orihime had no idea that she was staying in Sougo's room. Boy, was he in for a surprise!
Sighing with satisfaction, Orihime tightened the hold of her damp towel and searched for a pair of night clothes in the closet. For some reason, she could only find men's clothes and finally settled with a large t shirt and baggy pants. She decided to air dry her hair instead of using the towel, and tumbled on to the only futon in the room. A door was open, exposing the dark night sky and letting in a soft and gentle breeze. The blanket was warm and she snuggled into the pillow; comfortable and at peace. As she slowly began to doze off, she inhaled the sheets of her mattress.
"It smells…" Orihime drifted between consciousness and unconsciousness. "...like Sou…kun…?"
Sougo exhaled loudly. He was beyond exhausted, and his brain was tired from all the pondering and reflecting he had done while on duty. He was embarrassed by his behaviour and his lack of self control, and was really beginning to loathe Orihime. Whenever he was around her, or something was about her, he lost his composure. He was beginning to see things and feel things; things that he was almost, scared of. As cowardly as it seemed, he wanted to run away from those things, he couldn't face them. And to do that, he had to stay away from her and keep his distance. He had tried countless times, but she seemed to pop up everywhere he went. For example, right at that moment, he was staring down at the brown-eyed beauty sleeping peacefully in his bed. How complicating. The woman he had given his all to avoid had once again popped out of no where. And of all places in his very own bed. What luck. Sougo was almost convinced she was doing this on purpose.
Defeated, Sougo pulled an extra mattress from his closet next to Orihime, tossed on some nightwear, and plopped onto his new futon. Propped up by an elbow, Sougo gazed at the hibernating girl blandly. She was truly beautiful. Now that he was in close proximity, he really saw her. A piece of her still-damp hair fell into her face. With an outstretched hand, Sougo tucked the semi-clumped strands behind her ear. Orihime cooed in her sleep. Something inside Sougo softened. Half aware of his actions, he drew his face close to her own and inhaled her sweet scent. His arm slung around her and he drew closer to her body. He was so close that his lips lightly brushed her neck as he breathed in her luscious aroma. She smelled so good. She was so beautiful. So lovely. He wanted her. A memory sudden flashed through his mind. He was remembering the breakfast with his subordinates.
"What, do you like her then?"
The last thought that went through Sougo's mind before he drifted off to sleep was,
"Maybe I like her...a little."
Sougo's eyes snapped opened and he woke up to the poker-faced stare of Orihime Inoue. Sougo had fallen asleep with his arm still slung around her, and it didn't seem to bother Orihime one bit.
"Ohayō!" She chirped casually, as if nothing was wrong with their current position. "Did you have a good sleep? It's time for woooork!" Still taken aback by the surprise he had woken up to, Sougo didn't respond right away. But when he did, he retreated his arm as quickly as he could and scrambled out of bed. Orihime followed suit. Blushing now, Sougo tried to regain his composure by casually scratching the back of his head and looking off to the side.
"How did you get in here?" He questioned.
"YA-MA-ZA-KI." She mouthed cheerfully. "Isn't this my room?" Sougo cursed under his breath. He was going to kill that guy.
"Nope, it's mine." Sougo corrected.
"Oh." Orihime frowned. "A mistake perhaps?" Sougo rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, sure...okay." He proceeded to folding the sheets and putting the mattresses away.
"So…" Orihime crouched down. "What do we have to do today?"
"I have the day off." He regarded Orihime. "I could...show you around town or something." Orihime raised her hand like a student raised their hand in class.
"I'm down!" She squealed. Sougo sighed with relief. He was glad Orihime was too open-minded to see how too quickly his attitude towards her had changed.
"I'm here Sou!" Orihime sang as she skipped towards the man that was waiting patiently for her outside. When he saw her, his heart skipped a beat. To blend in, Orihime had changed from her school uniform to a beautiful white yukata with yellow flower print. The clothing was a tad small for her, gripping her curves and exposing a slight amount of cleavage. The obi was a pale yellow, securing her outfit and expressing her impressive slim body. Her long, tangerine hair was tied up and supported with a lacy yellow kanzashi, which accented the rest of herself thoroughly. She wore no makeup; her smile portraying her genuine beauty. Sougo forced himself to tear his eyes away from the dazzling girl before he was caught staring. He quickly cleared his throat and preserved his equilibrium.
"Let's go woman." He signaled, and led the way. Orihime grinned and allowed him to lead her.
"Good God." Sougo lamented as he watched another piece of suffering strawberry dango get lathered in sauerkraut and get popped into Orihime's mouth. She crunched thoughtfully, spreading the flavour throughout her mouth.
"Oishī!" She cooed with her hand on her right cheek, delighted with the new treat she had created. Extending a stick to Sougo, she prompted him with expectant eyes. Sougo blanched and dodged every time she pushed the snack in the direction of his mouth..
"No!" Sougo protested, swatting at the sweet impaled on a skewer. "You have strange eating habits."
"Like Hijikata-san." Sougo thought to himself. At the comment, Orihime withdrew and munched quietly to herself. Sougo raised an eyebrow. Had he offended her?
"No one has ever really liked my cooking." Orihime loomed. "Well, everyone except Rangiku-san."
"Rangiku?" Sougo asked. Orihime nodded.
"Yeah! She's my culinary comrade!" Orihime trilled. "Our best dish are red bean paste ribs!"
"Ugh. I feel bad for your boyfriend." Sougo joked.
"Yeah haha." Orihime laughed nervously. "He obviously hates it, but he eats it anyway." Sougo's face fell. That had thrown him off guard. He was only joking around, he didn't expect her to actually have a boyfriend. Now he felt somewhat discouraged.
"...he's always yelling at people and has a short temper, but really, he's kind and caring." Orihime chattered. "I really love Ichigo."
Sougo's eyebrow twitched.
Ichigo, huh? He sounds like such a great boyfriend! You know, because he eats your horrendous dishes and everything! How considerate!
Frustrated, Sougo grabbed one of the sauerkraut coated dango, chewed, and forced himself to swallow.
"Disgusting." He revolted.
"I thought you didn't like-" Orihime began.
"Tastes just like chicken." Sougo snapped.
"My ass." He thought to himself.
"I might even have some more!" Sougo ate the rest of the dango in the plate. Turning away, he held his stomach and almost retched. As much as he tried to hide his true feelings, Orihime didn't miss his reaction. She giggled to herself and her face flushed pink.
"You know…" Orihime continued, feeling more comfortable with Sougo. "I really love Ichigo."
"I know woman." Sougo narrowed his eyes at her repetition of statement. He didn't like the way she spoke about her affections for her boyfriend.
"I asked him over a year and a half ago." Orihime persisted. "When he said yes, I felt that we were truly connected, and that the feeling was mutual." Sougo sighed and straightened his spine to fully listen to her.
"Then Rukia came along." Orihime said. "And things changed."
"Who's Ruki-" Sougo began.
"Ichigo became a soul reaper, I received powers, and our lives changed forever." Orihime interrupted. Sougo still had questions, but kept his mouth shut.
"I thought this would have no effect on our relationship...but I was wrong." Orihime twirled a stick between her fingers.
"I love Rukia though. She's a very important friend to me." Orihime said sadly. "But the relationship she has with Ichigo is more than what we have. It makes me jealous and insecure." Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes.
"I know their relationship is special, but honestly, I can't tell if Ichigo loves me anymore. Even though he's with me, I know the one he's really thinking about is Rukia." A tear escaped her ducts and slid down her cheek.
"Is he going to leave me?" Orihime hoarsely asked. Sougo heart of ice thawed. He unlocked the door to his heart, the one he protected from fear of getting hurt. He began to care. He began to share.
"I had a sister once." Sougo said quietly. Orihime turned her attention to him.
"...what..." Orihime hesitated. "...what happened to her?" Sougo lowered his eyelids.
"She died." He whispered. Orihime let out a small gasp.
"I'm sorry!" She apologized quickly, but he held up a hand to stop her.
"She died," Sougo went on. "Because of Hijikata." Orihime raised her eyebrows. Before she could question him, Sougo corrected himself.
"No actually...she died from a lung disease. I'm just dragging Hijikata into this because she loved him," Sougo said. " I absolutely detest him."
"He takes everything away from me. Especially the people I love." Sougo answered Orihime's unvoiced questions. "...and now, I have nothing."
"The night she died wounded me forever. I even tried to take my life once." Sougo rued. He tugged at the hem of the collar of his yukata, revealing a light pink scar. "After all, I really had no reason to hate him anymore...I lost everything the day she died." Orihime gazed into his anguished, reddish-brown eyes. Empathy overwhelmed her.
"You know," Orihime said after a few minutes of silence. "I lost my brother four years ago." Sougo lifted up his downcast face and looked at Orihime.
"But I didn't completely lose everything." Orihime pointed to her chest. "He still lives in my heart."
Orihime scooted over to sit directly beside him. Her fingers slipped into his yukata and brushed over the scar on his chest. He did not move, hanging on to every last word she said and watching her actions.
"Sōten Kisshun." She mumbled gently. The incantation summoned Ayame and Shun'ō to form a half-oval barrier over his scar, and they repelled the damaged area. In less than a minute, Sougo's scar was completely erased.
"Sougo," Orihime addressed him seriously. "The thing about wounds...is that they heal." She then pointed to his heart.
Sougo," Orihime said again. "She still lives in here."
. . .
The sounds of light sobs filled the empty streets.
Ohayo: Good morning
Kanzashi: Japanese hair pin
Obi: Sash on a kimono/yukata
Oishi: Delicious in Japanese
Dango: This delicious sweet made from rice flour that tastes heavenly try it, buy it, make it, idc just eat it.
Review? please? I feel like I'm just making up the story as I go along.
See you next month ಠ_ಠ
