Orihime watched the slow fall of snowdrops through the window from her immaculately clean hospital room, staring up to the sky. Her palms were flat on the glass, mouth parted.
"Orihime!"
The auburn-haired girl turned around upon hearing the familiar voice. Her face brightened and she grinned toothily. "Tatsuki-chan!" she yelled, running across the room to throw her arms around her best friend. Smiling slightly, Tatsuki patted her on top of her head.
"Hey, hey,"
Orihime pulled back, teary-eyed, wearing a watery smile. "Tatsuki-chan… I'm so sorry… I made you worry about me." Tatsuki smiled in understanding.
"I'm glad you're awake."
"Yup!" Orihime clenched her hands into small fists in front of her. "Kurosaki-kun was here when I woke up!" Tatsuki glanced towards the door. Orihime's gaze followed Tatsuki's; two male figures walked in. "Ah! Sado-kun! Ishida-kun!" She beamed; Sado raised a hand in greeting.
"How are you, Inoue-san?" asked Uryuu as he slid his gloves off.
Orihime smiled widely. "I'm fine! How about you, Ishida-kun, Sado…" Another tall figure in winter apparel appeared. "…kun." Orihime murmured, distracted.
"Hey," Those brown eyes behind the cage of orange locks blinked first before looking into her large gray eyes. "Inoue."
"Kurosaki-kun…" She blushed faintly and smiled. "Hello,"
Ichigo nodded, loosening his scarf around his neck, brown eyes watching the girl carefully. She was wearing loose baby blue, animal-patterned pajama top and pants. Her feet were bare and her toes peeked through the holes of her pants. "Is it OK for you to be up and about?" he asked.
"Yup!" answered Orihime. She looked back to Tatsuki who was watching the exchange casually, expression neutral, her brows lowered. She glanced back at Ichigo who was staring at her from underneath his lashes with the same neutral look in his eyes. He blinked when he caught her looking at him; he averted his gaze and leaned against a wall. "It must be pretty outside." Orihime continued.
Ichigo shrugged his broad shoulders. "It's cold."
"I missed a lot, didn't I? Christmas, New Year…" Orihime trailed off, looking wistful.
"You've been sleeping a lot, Orihime." Tatsuki said with a shrug, arms crossed. Orihime giggled, rubbing the back of her head nervously.
"…well, it was a long, tiring… um, journey, um," she fidgeted under her best friend's sharp scrutiny. "Sort of…" she continued softly, eyes downcast in guilt. Orihime glanced at her best friend underneath her lashes, shoulders slumping in defeat as Tatsuki did not relent. "I'm sorry…"
Ichigo, Sado and Uryuu watched the two females quietly.
"I know," said Tatsuki. Orihime glanced at the three males, wide eyed. Tatsuki-chan knows? Instantly, a look of guilt passed over Orihime's face.
"I'm sorry, Tatsuki-chan. I… I wanted to tell you, I wanted to say good bye to you and tell you that I'll be alright. But…" Orihime lowered her head, her long hair covering her face. "I… didn't have much time." She lifted her chin, a strained smile on her lips. "I didn't even get to say goodbye to Sado-kun and Ishida-kun."
At this, Tatsuki arched her brow, stealing a quick glance from the tall, orange-haired boy leaning against the wall beside the door.
Ichigo's frown deepened, looking down to his right gloved hand with a confused, strained expression. He swallowed slowly, tentatively curling his right hand into a fist. He was tempted to ask her about her reaitsu wrapped around his wrist like an invisible glove, about his healed wrist and… what was she doing in his room the night before she disappeared. Or was she there at all? He was still frowning down at his gloved right hand when Uryuu called his name.
"Kurosaki,"
Startled, Ichigo looked up. "What?" he looked around and saw his friends watching him curiously.
"Is there something wrong, Kurosaki-kun?" asked Orihime with a tilt of her head. Ichigo stiffened, staring at the concerned girl. The urge to ask her why and how she healed his wrist, if she visited him before leaving, was all consuming. He almost felt desperate to know. However, he didn't want her to feel uncomfortable. And most of all, he didn't want to assume.
He must have been gawking at her stupidly, judging from Tatsuki's pointed look. Cursing mentally, he cleared his throat and withdrew his gaze while shoving his right fist inside his pants quickly.
"Nothing's wrong,"
"You're daydreaming," Uryuu deadpanned. Ichigo replied with an infuriated glare.
"Well, Orihime?" Tatsuki prodded. Orihime reddened and dropped her gaze, her toes curling.
"I… I'm…"
"Don't apologize." Tatsuki interjected.
"O-Okay… Um," Orihime peeked at Tatsuki underneath her lashes. "I'm hungry."
Tatsuki was unimpressed. Orihime began to flail. "I really am! They… I mean no disrespect but I really don't like their food…"
Tatsuki gave a long suffering sigh. Ichigo decided that it was time to change tactics. He pushed himself off the wall and walked up to the auburn-haired girl. Orihime looked at him with her wide eyes and she squeaked as Ichigo placed a hand on her shoulder. Ichigo frowned at her, watching her face fill with color.
"Inoue, are you OK? You look a little red."
Tatsuki snorted.
Orihime flailed again. "I'm f-fine! Just… Um, I'm fine!"
Ichigo looked unconvinced. Nevertheless, he acquiesced. "Right. Anyway, I – I mean, we… shit. I mean," he grumbled a curse under his breath. "We wanted to ask you."
Orihime blinked and stared up to him, still flushed. "What?" she asked softly.
"Did they…" Ichigo cleared his throat, uncomfortable. "Did they touch you inappropriately?"
"What do you mean 'inappropriately'?"
What? He had to explain that?
However, Tatsuki looked alarmed.
"Kurosaki-kun?"
Ichigo refocused his gaze. "Ah. Inappropriately." Uryuu and Sado watched the back of Ichigo's ears go red. "You know… Did they touch you somewhere a guy should not touch…?" Oh damn. He was not blushing, he was not. Orihime seemed to understand his message for a new blush colored her face.
"O-Oh!"
"You understand my meaning, don't you?" Orihime nodded quickly, her eyes looking too big for her face. "So, did they?"
"No, Kurosaki-kun. I know they're enemies but I don't think they're that… you know." She dropped her gaze quickly, keeping her gaze locked with his coat buttons.
"Right," grunted Ichigo. "Wait, did Aizen do anything to you?"
This question caused Orihime to look up to the tall boy. "Um, he showed me where he kept the Hougkyou."
"Anything else?"
"Um, he told me trust me."
Ichigo raised a brow. "…and?"
"Um," The girl blinked a couple of times before adding thoughtfully, "he touched my face?"
A tic developed on his temple, remembering how Aizen touched Orihime so familiarly. His grip on her shoulder tightened unconsciously.
That bastard.
"Anything else?" he gritted out.
Orihime looked curious at his sudden change of mood. He sounded… irritated. But why? Was it something she said? She shook her head as a reply. "Aizen never laid a hand on me to hurt me. Most of the time, I was in my room. That's all."
The grip tightened on her shoulder, eyes hard and dark. "Are you sure?"
She smiled to reassure him. He was really too kind, worrying for her. "Yes."
"But…" He saw her got maltreated by two female Arrancars and he wanted to ask her about that. However, looking at her serene face, maybe it was better if he kept his mouth shut and let her forget about it. Orihime looked like the type of person who'd rather forget and carry on instead of wallowing in despair about her traumatizing experiences in Hueco Mundo. However, it didn't mean that they'll let it go that easily.
Ichigo sighed. "Alright." He retracted his hand.
"Inoue-san," Uryuu spoke behind Ichigo. "If you want to talk about Hueco Mundo," Ichigo didn't miss the way she tense at the mention of that place but he decided to let it go for now. "You can talk to us."
"Yeah," Ichigo turned his face away. "We'll listen, you know."
She gave them a beaming, teary smile. "Yes. Thank you, thank you so much for… coming… to help me…"
"Right." Ichigo replied distractedly. He looked at her, carefully watching her face. "You can also tell us what happened before you were 'taken' to Hueco Mundo." He saw her eyes widen and the way the corners of her mouth tighten. Her small hands gripped the hem of her pajama top, her bottom lip between her small teeth.
Uryuu and Sado both stared at the back of Ichigo's head, wondering why the orange-haired substitute would want to know what happened before Inoue went to Hueco Mundo.
"Alright, alright," Tatsuki broke the tensed silence, noticing Orihime's discomfort. The tension can be literally stirred with a spoon. "I'll stop asking questions. I'll wait patiently until you," she was saying this to Orihime, "—decides to tell me everything. I want the beginning, the middle and the end. No summaries. I want the whole details. But for the meantime, I think you need to sleep more. You look tired."
"But Tatsuki-chan, I just woke up and—"
"Also," the black-haired martial arts champion looked at Ichigo. The boy raised a brow. "I won't apologize to you, Ichigo. You deserved that punch."
Ichigo smirked. "Gah. You don't have to. Besides, it didn't hurt."
"What?" Orihime glanced back and forth between the two. "What punch? Tatsuki-chan? Kurosaki-kun?"
"Nothing," replied Tatsuki uninterestedly. "Now go back to sleep."
"But—"
"No buts!" Tatsuki pushed her back to the bed but Orihime looked at Ichigo who looked startled at Orihime's almost desperate expression. He moved to comfort her.
"I want to go back to school!" The auburn-haired girl blurted out. Ichigo stopped. The four teenagers stared at her. Orihime fidgeted but continued, "I really want to go back to school. Don't get me wrong! I… I'm very happy that all of you come and visit me everyday, I really am! But… But… I… I, I don't have anything to do here and I think it's better to be outside in the snow, go to school, see my friends, eat my own food, sleep on my bed, wear my own clothes, watch red butterflies and sit on my chair rather than stay here and stare at the blank wall, wait for food and… and… stare outside the window. I… I… I…" she lowered her lashes as she stared at her bare toes. "I'd rather be alone in my room with Onii-chan's face smiling back at me than to be alone here." She added quietly.
Silence hung around the five teenagers.
Ichigo sighed. "Fine," he said, breaking the silence while scratching the back of his head. "We'll process your release form."
Orihime looked up at him, mouth agape. "Really…?"
Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, so can you go back to sleep?"
The girl squealed, obediently went under her covers and closed her eyes tightly. "I'm sleeping!" she sang and keep her eyes screwed shut. Ichigo smiled slightly at her antics, nodded at Tatsuki before leaving the room with Uryuu and Sado.
:
"Are you sure it's OK, Kurosaki?"
"Yeah… You heard what your dad said, yeah? She's fine." Ichigo replied, shoving a hand inside his red glove. "And didn't you listen to her? She didn't say it directly but I think she's lonely being cooped up in a room all by herself." Sado nodded beside him. Ichigo put on his headphones, stepping outside, still frowning deeply. "It will help her forget what happened there if she's surrounded by her friends."
:
A day later, Orihime was released from the hospital. During her stay (90 percent of it was spent sleeping), she was well cared for and Orihime was grateful for the care and attention she was provided with. After expressing her gratitude with teary smiles, the auburn-haired girl stepped out of the hospital.
"Uwah," she murmured with awe upon seeing the white scenery up close. It was cold but this felt so much better from being confined in a four-walled white room.
Wearing a purple-blue short-sleeved dress with a ribbon under her breasts, white long sleeves underneath, black stockings and brown boots, Orihime ran outside, looking up to the sky.
"W-Wow…" She lifted her bare palms to catch snowdrops. "It's still snowing~ Amazing!" She rubbed her hands together and later knelt down, gathering snow in her hands. Fully occupied with her snowball, she didn't notice a familiar presence approaching her. "It's so cold to touch."
"It's because you're not wearing gloves, Inoue."
Startled, she yelped in surprise and looked up. "K-Kurosaki-kun!"
"Yo," he was wearing a dark red jacket with hood and fake furs which was zipped up to his chin, an olive green knitted beanie with earflaps, faded blue jeans and black boots.
Orihime blinked up at him, head falling to the side. "What are you doing here?" she asked.
His frown deepened. He took out his gloved hands from the pockets of his jacket, bent down and took her arm. "Eh?" squeaked the girl. Ichigo shook his head and lifted her up easily.
"Where are your gloves?" he asked, looking down at her hands, still holding her arm.
"Um, I don't have any."
"And you're not even wearing a coat." He sounded unimpressed, scowling.
Orihime laughed. "I don't feel cold!"
Ichigo slowly let go of her arm. "Right," he said dryly.
"Really! I don't feel really, really cold! Plus," she pointed up to the sky. "I really want to feel the cold and the snow and it feels really good!"
"You'll get sick, you know." Ichigo told her, bit the middle finger of his maroon glove and pulled. "Here," he said after pulling off his glove by his teeth. "Wear these."
Orihime's eyes widened. "K-Kurosaki-k-kun? You don't have to! I—" But Ichigo took her hand which caused her to blush furiously, and forced the glove on her hand. "Kurosaki-kun, I'm fine!" She went even redder, looking down at her hand now protected from the cold by his large glove.
"Give me your other hand."
"N-No."
He raised a brow at her; Orihime bit her bottom lip determinedly, a small frown on her face. Ichigo shook his head and grabbed her other hand easily. "Kurosaki-kun!"
"They're pretty big for your hands but you feel warmer, right?"
"B-B-But…" She flushed harder, looking down at her hands now covered in oversized gloves. The leftover warmth of his hands that lingered inside his gloves made her blush more. "Your hands…"
"It's OK." Ichigo reached forward and rearranged her scarf for her so that it was fit snugly around her neck and cheeks; Orihime blushed harder, sinking her chin onto her scarf in an attempt to hide her blush. Ichigo merely shrugged, thinking that her blushing was brought about by the weather.
"Yohoo~ Kurosaki-san, Inoue-san~"
The two redheads turned to the voice; Ichigo's eyes narrowed, Orihime was gleeful. Friendly as ever, the girl waved a hand, rather carefully because the glove was loose.
"Ara, ara~ look, Inoue-san is awake!" Urahara said cheerfully. Yoruichi smirked while Tessai approached Orihime and grasped her hand with his larger ones.
"Inoue-dono, I am so happy to see you looking healthy!"
Orihime rubbed the back of her head, giggling. "Hai! Arigato, Tessai-san!"
"Hmm, I think you got thinner, Inoue." Yoruichi remarked.
"Eh? Really?"
"Yeah. Your breasts look bigger."
Ichigo made a choking noise, turning his face away. "Damn it, Yoruichi-san! Don't say such stupid things!"
"What," said Yoruichi blankly, "it is true."
"Gah," Ichigo grunted, shoving his freezing hands inside the pockets of his jacket while keeping his eyes averted. "Whatever,"
"Ano, Yoruichi-san," the dark-skinned woman turned to the meek girl. "A-Arigato!" Urahara, Yoruichi, Tessai and Ichigo were startled as Orihime started to sniffle, her big eyes suddenly tearful.
"Inoue?" Ichigo turned to face her, suddenly worried. "Hey! Don't—"
Orihime put her hands on her red cheeks. "T-Thank you… T-Thank you for s-s-saving m-m-me…" Yoruichi looked confused at first, and then, she waved her hand as though waving off her gratitude.
"Don't mention it."
"B-B-B-B-But… I'm r-really g-grateful…"
"I know," Yoruichi patted Orihime's head as though petting her favorite pet. "I'm amazing."
Tch. Ichigo's eye twitched at the smugness.
"Mou, how about me, Inoue-san~?" Urahara faked a hurt voice. Ichigo groaned, irritated.
"Oh shut up, getaboshi."
But Orihime took the act seriously. "Of course, Urahara-san! Thank you so much for helping me and saving my life!"
Urahara quieted and averted his gaze. "Actually, I think I owe Inoue-san an apology." Orihime blinked, her face in a confused frown.
"Apology but, oh," her expression cleared. "But Urahara-san, that's unnecessary. You were just trying to help me, weren't you?" Ichigo narrowed his eyes and glanced at Urahara. Orihime smiled serenely. "I won't lie and say that I was not disappointed and hurt to be cast aside but… Urahara-san helped save my life. So, please, do not apologize! I am forever grateful!"
Urahara snapped his fan open and giggled, annoying Ichigo. "Uwah, Inoue-san is so lovable~"
"Shut up already," Ichigo ground out. Beside him, Orihime made a subtle inspection of her surrounding, remembering that Karakura was previously destroyed. Urahara saw her curious, wandering eyes.
"Yes, Inoue-san, your 'rejection of events' is stunningly flawless, isn't it?" Orihime flushed vividly and looked down, uncomfortable and looking embarrassed as though she was caught doing something wrong. "Well, worry not, Inoue-san~ everything is fine and dandy in our lovely town!" Eyelids lowered over his scrutinizing eyes, Urahara regarded her carefully. "You even restored lives…"
Ichigo scowled; he didn't like the way Urahara said those words, especially the way he enunciated his last word.
"Well," Yoruichi cut in. "That was such a big event to 'reject', Inoue. Rejecting such a complicated 'object', I wonder if there are side effects."
"Side effects…? But I don't feel…" Orihime frowned thoughtfully. "I don't feel anything weird."
Ichigo narrowed his eyes and studied Orihime's profile.
"Oh that's great! For a second there, I was worried for our lovable Inoue-san~"
"Tch." Ichigo gritted out, rolling his eyes. "What the hell are you doing here anyway?"
"I wanted to walk Inoue-san home," Urahara pouted, "But Kurosaki-san is here, the prince in shining armor," The shopkeeper wiggled his eyebrows, "so we are not needed anymore."
He grunted, his brown eyes still narrowed and suspicious, "Yeah, I will walk Inoue home."
Orihime blushed healthily, turning to Ichigo, lips in an embarrassed grimace. "Y-You don't have to! I can –" But Ichigo pointedly ignored her protests.
"Please, if you are not busy, Inoue-san, I invite you to come to my shop." Orihime stopped flailing shyly and looked at Urahara.
"What for?" snapped Ichigo before Orihime could question the shop owner. As much as possible, Ichigo wanted Orihime to spend her time with their friends.
The suspicious shopkeeper giggled behind his fan. "Secret~"
Ichigo was not amused. "Hai, hai, Urahara-san," Orihime intervened before Kurosaki could say something harsh. She smiled politely. "After school, ne, Urahara-san?"
"Inoue-dono, I will prepare my super special cupcakes for you! Please come!" Tessai grasped her hand again. Orihime positively glowed in anticipation, matching Tessai's excitement.
"Sugoi! Hai, Tessai-san, I will definitely come!"
Jeez. Inoue makes friends for life so easily. "Let's go, Inoue."
:
"Are you sure it's OK, Kisuke?"
"Hai,"
"But what if they…"
Urahara gave a small smile. "Kurosaki-kun will not allow it, I believe. I'm sure he'd stick himself to Inoue-san's side after what had happened to her."
"Why are you doing this, Kisuke? Curiosity?"
"Hmm,"
"Kisuke,"
The shopkeeper pouted but Yoruichi didn't buy his act.
"No."
"Liar," she said blankly. "In some ways, you and Aizen are the same." Urahara visibly stiffened. "Always looking for answers, trespassing to God's territory, making experiments," The woman scoffed softly, "Well, you're on the good side so it doesn't matter. But let me remind you: this time, don't go overboard."
:
"You and Tessai-san are close, huh?"
Orihime beamed at him. "Are we?"
Ichigo shrugged. "I think so."
"Tessai-san is really kind and most of all, he makes delicious foods!"
I doubt that. After all, the two shared the same strange taste buds. "Are you going to be OK on your own, Inoue?"
The girl nodded, still smiling. "Hai, I can manage. Oh!" She stopped and gawked at the sight of her apartment. Ichigo glanced at her, an eyebrow raised.
"Inoue?"
Her head snapped in attention. Her cheeks colored again under his questioning glance. "Eh heh, nothing! Just…" Her face softened, eyes adoringly gazing at the familiar apartment complex. "I'm just really glad that I'm home."
Ichigo remained frowning but behind the few locks of orange hair falling over his eyes, his brows relaxed a little. Orihime turned to him and smiled a big, watery smile. The corners of her eyes were moist and she looked as though she was trying to hold back her tears.
"Thank you, Kurosaki-kun, thank you to our friends… Thank you for helping me. Even though…" She sniffed and took a deep breath. "…you had to… you know," she made a wild gesture with her hands above her head. Ichigo smirked a little, understanding the gestures, horns. "And even though you didn't have to go and—"
He turned his head away, his hands inside the pockets of his dark red jacket. "Don't be silly. We're not going to leave you there, you know." He muttered against the fabric of his scarf. "Come on, it's getting colder and the TV shows that you like are already on." He walked ahead of her, listening to her footsteps as she tried to catch up with him.
"Hai! Oh, Kurosaki-kun," Ichigo looked sideward at her, brows arched. Orihime was in the process of taking off the oversized gloves. "Your gloves,"
"No." The girl looked up to him, red-cheeked and confused. Ichigo continued, "You can keep them."
Her face instantly colored a violent shade of red. "I-I can't!" she stuttered and shakily proceeded into taking off the gloves.
Ichigo shook his head and took her arm, hindering her from her taking off the gloves. "Ehh!"
"Come on." He guided her up to her apartment. They reached her door.
"Kurosaki-kun, I can't… You're too kind! I just can't accept these! What about your hands? What about—"
Ichigo shrugged. "See you tomorrow," he said instead.
"Kurosaki-kun!"
"See you tomorrow, Inoue." Ichigo enunciated each word, the corner of his mouth twitching as he watched the girl's shoulders slumped in defeat. She looked up to him, lips pursed.
"See you tomorrow, Kurosaki-kun." Orihime parroted, smiling. Ichigo smirked. "Thank you for walking me home even though you don't have to!"
Ichigo looked away from her smiling face, suddenly uncomfortable. Her smile had this strange effect; it made his stomach uncomfortable. Sometimes, it was painful, like he was having a stomachache. The effects vary, but so far, they were tolerable; he often ignored them, claiming that they were unimportant.
"Yeah," he flashed a quick small smile, turned around and walked down the stairs.
note. this story is alive! thanks to a song who inspired me not to slack off. my headache's really stubborn, and my nose keeps on secreting icky stuff and please forgive me and my mistakes such as wrong spellings, wrong grammar, wrong punctuations etc. do not hesitate to tell me about my mistakes (i don't have a beta XD)! thank you for clicking and reading (and if you have time, reviewing!)!
title. to fall in love not because of gravity
summary. "Yeah. Your breasts look bigger."
disclaimer. applied.