The Common Thread: Part 12
"To be sure, I had no idea that my little theory could have worked out so brilliantly. This is a breakthrough for medicine, Ms. Inoue, an absolute breakthrough."
"Oh, would you quit babbling on so, Syael? You're giving me a headache."
"Pardon me, Yeny, but I believe that I was carrying on a conversation with Ms. Inoue and not with you. You are welcome to depart at any time."
"She's just too polite to say what's really on her mind, aren't you girl?"
"Ms. Inoue is no girl! She is a sophisticated flower of a young woman!"
"Flower, schmower."
"Do not insult Ms. Inoue!"
Orihime watched the exchange between the two men resembling Yammy (while he did still tower over most of the crowd, he probably only reached almost seven feet rather than nearly ten) and Szayelaporro with growing trepidation. How could she possibly have agreed to come to this party? What exactly had she expected? At this point, she had no idea how to respond to either question but she knew that if she didn't make herself scarce soon that she would likely develop a killer headache from watching so much discord over something so trivial.
Steeling herself, Orihime placed a calming hand on both men as she said, "Please, gentlemen, don't argue at my aunt's party, especially over something that I took no offense at."
Mr. Syael looked as if he were about to retort when Orihime strategically changed the subject, "I see they have refilled the punch bowl. It looks immensely refreshing."
At that simple remark, Mr. Syael jumped into action, "Let me go and fetch you a glass, Ms. Inoue. Shame on me for not noticing sooner that you must be positively parched."
Orihime nodded her head gratefully as Mr. Syael went to retrieve said beverage.
Turning her attention to Yeny, Orihime said, "Your plate looks a little empty, Mr. Yeny. I noticed that they also just brought out some more of those sandwiches that you seemed to enjoy so much."
In the blink of an eye, Orihime was left to herself for a few moments. Letting out a long sigh and looking around her, she noticed a bench off to the side which offered a little more privacy but where she was sure Mr. Syael would be able to find her once he had acquired the punch. Once she was sitting, she closed her eyes thinking about how much work it was to entertain guests at an event that was labeled as being leisurely. The work was probably increased due to the fact that Orihime was trying to remember or pretend to remember events and conversations that she seemed to have experienced with all these different people. No one was unkind to her in any way, but Orihime found herself wishing to be anywhere else but at this party right now.
Her contemplations were interrupted by a familiar voice, "Goodness. Can it be that even someone as spirited as you, Ms. Inoue, can feel exhaustion at such a gathering?"
Keeping her eyes closed, Orihime answered, "I am a human, same as anyone else here, Mr. Karci, and so am quite as susceptible as anyone else for needing a moment to compose oneself."
Mr. Karci leaned against the back of the bench saying, "From the way you swooped in and carried those boys away the other day, I would have thought you were more of an avenging angel than a human. You certainly look as if you could be an angel."
"I do not claim to be an angel; I have too many faults to prevent me from being one. However, if it is within my power to help or protect another person, then I will not hesitate to do so."
Before Mr. Karci could reply, Mr. Syael returned triumphantly saying, "Your punch, Ms. Inoue."
Orihime gave him a polite smile and accepted the refreshing drink saying, "Thank you, Mr. Syael, for your kindness."
Mr. Syael did not have time to say a word before Mr. Karci commented, "I see, Ms. Inoue. So, in order for you to look at a man favorably is for him to pay you small compliments and acts of kindness?"
Orihime did not turn to look at him as she replied, "Of course I would look at any person, male or female, favorably if they paid me acts of kindness. However, in order for me to respect someone, that person must also show kindness and compassion to everyone they come across, whether of the same social standing or not since respect must be earned, not demanded. Have you not heard of the 'Golden Rule'?"
"Of course I have. Ever since I was a little boy."
"Then you should learn to adhere to it and actually put it into practice."
Before Mr. Karci could utter a single word, Orihime stood, turned and faced him with a bright smile saying, "I apologize, Mr. Karci, for bringing up the past. You sent me a letter of apology and I assume you did the same for the boys whom I had escort me home the other day and it is unkind of me to act as if I hold it against you today. It is also not very hospitable of me to treat you in such a manner when you are a guest of my aunt and uncle. Please forgive my rude behavior."
Mr. Syael looked positively bewildered and so turned to Mr. Karci asking, "What did you do, Iano?"
Mr. Karci had the presence of mind to look slightly abashed but was not given an opportunity to respond when Mr. Crandon and Mr. Jacks joined their little circle.
Mr. Jacks threw an arm around Mr. Karci's shoulder saying, "Well, well Iano, you certainly have turned into a man who enjoys seeking out punishment. I never would have imagined that you would take a chastising from anyone and here yet you are, being put in your place by the same woman in less than a week's time. This is absolutely priceless!"
As usual, Mr. Jack's comments did nothing to help the situation, but before Mr. Karci could make an explosive comment, Orihime quickly stepped in saying, "You are right, Mr. Jacks, I really shouldn't be scolding guests like a fishwife, especially when I have already received correspondence from you both asking me for forgiveness. So please, pardon me. And excuse me since I should probably go and greet some of the other guests gathered here."
With that, Orihime gave a curtsey and swiftly glided away from the astonished male group. After walking a safe distance away, Orihime suddenly realized that she had no idea where to start. Feeling then men's eyes watching her intently from behind, Orihime squared her shoulders and looked around for she had no idea what until her eyes rested on a girl, not much younger than herself, looking as if she wanted to be anywhere but where she was at the moment. Orihime's intuition and naturally kind heart went out to the girl and so Orihime began making her way over to where the girl was standing.
When she was standing in front of her, Orihime said in greeting, "Hello. How are you today?"
The girl was petite and almost unnaturally skinny even with the several layers of required clothing that had to go underneath her dress. Her hair was a dark chocolate color and was swept back into a simple twist at the base of her neck out of which a few strands of hair had managed to escape and hung dangling in front of her face. The girl's eyes were the most striking feature about her in that they seemed to take up almost half of her face. They were gray-green in color and seemed to exude a feeling of seclusion and complete emptiness. Orihime had never seen such pitiful eyes.
After waiting a moment for the girl to respond, Orihime said, "Please pardon me if we have met before, but I would like to introduce myself just in case we have not. My name is Orihime Inoue. What's your name?"
This time the girl managed to look into Orihime's eyes briefly before returning her gaze to the tree she was standing beside.
Not to be discouraged, Orihime continued kindly, "I hope you'll excuse me for forcing my presence upon you like this, but I just felt I had to get away from the company of certain people for a while. Do you mind if I join you over here for a time?"
This time, the girl's head moved almost imperceptibly in a sign suggesting that she wouldn't mind Orihime's company, to which Orihime said brightly, "Thank you so much. You really are a life-saver."
Again the girl looked at Orihime for the tiniest space of time before Orihime went on, "I do hope you are enjoying your time here at my aunt and uncle's party. Personally, when they were making all the preparations, I thought they were preparing to entertain royalty, but after seeing all the guests here, I would not be very surprised to discover some here are actually royalty with the way they carry on."
The tiniest hint of life entered the girl's eyes at this comment as Orihime said, "There I go again making criticisms about people that I barely know. I have no idea what has happened to me in the past few days. If my friends could see me as I am now, I would hate to hear what they have to say about me."
Orihime's face took on a reminiscing expression as she said, "It feels like an eternity since I last saw everyone."
"Since you last saw whom?"
Orihime jumped and almost spilled the last remnants of her punch all down the front of her dress as she whirled around to see Nell standing right behind her.
Nell grinned when she saw Orihime's reaction saying, "I didn't know you enjoyed hearing the sound of your own voice this much."
Orihime's face glowed as she stammered, "I wasn't talking to myself. I tried to get her to talk with me since she seemed all alone and uncomfortable, but then I figured that it would be unkind to force her to talk and so I just decided to carry on a conversation on my own until she felt like talking with me."
Nell shook her head, "If you ever get Tisha to talk with you, it will be a miracle."
"What do you mean?"
Nell patted Tisha's shoulder kindly as she replied, "No one's been able to coax Tisha into talking for the past four years. No one is sure why she stopped talking and we can't necessarily force her to, so most of the time people just ignore her."
Orihime didn't know how to respond to this revelation. With this knowledge, Orihime's heart ached all the more for Tisha, who remained secluded in her lonely silence. Thinking for a moment, Orihime realized that someone seemed to care about appearances enough to bring Tisha with them, but cared so little for her that they would prefer to seek out the company of others for their own pleasure rather than taking the time to make sure that Tisha was enjoying herself as well.
Her musings were interrupted when Mr. Karci suddenly appeared next to Orihime saying, "Why hello there, Tisha? My but you look remarkably pretty today. That dark pink is simply stunning next to your hair."
Orihime's shocked glance moved from Mr. Karci's charming smile to Tisha's face in time to see the slightest amount of color flow into the girl's cheeks.
Mr. Karci turned his attention to Nell saying, "Ms. Esada, you look exquisite as well. Is that the latest from Mrs. Bradbury's collection?"
Nell was too used to dealing with men to be affected by Mr. Karci's flattery and so said simply, "You have a much practiced eye, Mr. Karci."
Mr. Karci inclined his head slightly as he responded, "One picks up a few things when their siblings are budding young ladies of whom one is most interested in making sure she knows every popular dressmaker within a fifty mile radius of their current residence. In fact, just this morning I received a letter from Yanu describing in great detail the new dress she was having made for the ball my family is planning to hold in about three weeks' time."
Lily suddenly appeared at Mr. Karci's elbow saying, "Why Mr. Karci, you never mentioned anything about your family planning a ball when we last saw you at the picnic. How unkind of you not to mention it sooner, now I will positively have to make arrangements for a new dress by tomorrow if I wish to have it by the ball."
Mr. Karci gave her a small smile as he replied, "Oh I'm sure that you have more than enough time for that since as I said it won't be for a few weeks yet."
Turning to Orihime, he said, "The invitations will be coming from my family, specifically from my father."
Orihime returned his gaze steadily as she replied, "As I said earlier, Mr. Karci, I have no intention of bearing old grudges for comments made in the heat of a passionate exchange. If my aunt, uncle and cousins choose to go, then I will most certainly attend your family's ball."
Mr. Karci seemed to relax slightly but before he could say anything, he was interrupted, as usual, by the appearance of Mr. Jacks and Mr. Crandon. Fortunately though, it was Mr. Crandon that spoke up first this time. However, he addressed his comment to Orihime.
"My goodness, Ms. Inoue, you are a force to be reckoned with."
Orihime looked at him quizzically and asked, "What do you mean?"
Mr. Crandon gave a small smile as he replied, "Not five minutes ago, you left our little gathering to find other guests to entertain and immediately after you find someone on whom you can shower your undivided attention in a sweet and caring manner, the rest of us flock to you in the hopes that we to can bask in the warmth of your kindness."
Orihime fought a losing battle against the blush rising rebelliously in her cheeks as she said, "I don't know what you could possibly mean by that, but I wish you wouldn't say things like that, Mr. Crandon."
Over his shoulder, Orihime noticed a servant approach her uncle and tell him something that seemed to make Mr. Esada very excited. Her uncle began to immediately follow after the servant around the side of the house before Orihime was able return her attention to the group in front of her. Apparently, someone had asked her a question since they all seemed to be looking at her.
Thinking quickly, Orihime suddenly turned to Tisha asking, "It looks as if your cup is empty. Would you like to come and get some punch with me, Tisha?"
Mr. Crandon laid a hand lightly on Orihime's hand as he said, "Allow me."
Orihime began, "Oh no really, I can get it. It won't take but a minute."
Leaning forward slightly, Mr. Crandon said confidentially, "That excuse won't work on me, Ms. Inoue. Allow me and I'll be right back."
Before she could protest, Mr. Crandon gently took Tisha's glass in his hands, made a small bow in Tisha's direction before he left to retrieve the needed beverage.
Mr. Jacks looked at Orihime's hand for a moment before he stuck his hand out saying, "Give it here."
Orihime looked at him uncomprehending when he suddenly reached over and snatched the glass she had clutched in her hands away without a word. Turning on his heel, Mr. Jacks headed in the same direction as Mr. Crandon.
Orihime turned to Tisha and asked, "What is going on?"
Nell laughed aloud, "How did we ever get along without you, Orihime? Cousin Sima is going to have to let you come over for a much longer visit next time."
Orihime turned and asked Nell, "What do you mean?"
"Only that Sima had better not take you home with him right away and deign to stay with us at least until the ball."
A familiar voice spoke behind Orihime saying, "We might be able to arrange that, Nell. Only if it's what Orihime wants."
Hardly daring to breathe, Orihime froze unless she turn around and realize that she was in fact dreaming. After about the space of three seconds, two warm and familiar arms encircled her shoulders in a deeply missed embrace. Raising a shaking hand to gently grasp one of the arms holding her, Orihime felt a light pressure press into the back of her head.
Sora's voice asked teasingly, "What no squeal of delight for your tired brother, Orihime? I traveled the last bit of the journey especially so that I could arrive in time to come to this party."
Opening her mouth to reply, Orihime discovered that she had no words to speak in her shock and joy. Then she did something that she had never done before in her life. She fainted.
Author's Note:
So, I kinda, sorta, on purpose didn't list Sora/Sima in the list of characters since I wanted his appearance to be a complete surprise for everyone, not just Orihime. Hopefully, you guys will forgive me and let me know what you think about that little twist, if you don't mind.
