And so we come to another week of Shinigami's Cup-
Ishida (pushing his glasses up his nose): Excuse me, Author-san.
Ichigo: What the…? What the hell are you doing here? This is a Shinigami's Cup, baka!
Ishida: Then why are you here, Kurosaki? You're not even a real shinigami, yet you seem to have made an appearance in several episodes.
Ichigo (ready to explode): Teme…
Ishida (ignoring him): Arrancar and that ridiculous stuffed animal of yours have been featured. Even Inoue-san has appeared, and she isn't anything like a shinigami. I think, therefore, that I am entitled to an episode of my own, as Quincy are naturally superior to Shinigami.
Very well, but on your head be it.
Title: Hiccups
Featuring: Ishida, Ichigo, Orihime, Chad
"Good morning, Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime cried, waving.
"Morning," Ichigo grunted in return.
"Did you finish the homework last night?" she asked cheerfully, oblivious to his sourness.
"No. Rukia and I were fighting Hollows most of the night," he groaned, dropping into his seat and slumping back. "Forget homework; I didn't have time to sleep."
"Maybe I should ask Sado-kun or Ishida-kun instead," she said, her gaze wandering around the room. Her eyes fell on the blue-haired genius and she grinned. "I'll be back!"
She bounced across the room and landed beside Ishida with a thump. "Good morning, Ishida-kun!" she said.
Ishida jumped a little, then tried to recover by pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Good morning, Inoue-sa-"
"Ishida-kun? Are you all right?" she asked worriedly. He had stopped mid-sentence and was sitting still with a strange expression on his face. "Ishida-kun?"
"I'm… fine, Inoue-sa-" This time, it was loud enough for her to hear.
"Ishida-kun, you have the hiccups!" she said, surprised.
"So it- hic!- seems," he answered, a faint blush colouring his cheeks.
"That's all right! I know lots of ways to get rid of hiccups!" she said with a smile. She started counting on her fingers. "There's thinking of bald men, and saying 'pineapple', and talking without stopping for ten seconds which usually works for me and… Oh! I know! Come on!"
She pulled him out of his seat and headed for the door, only to crash into Chad as he came in. "Oh, good morning Sado-kun!" Orihime greeted him. "Ishida-kun has the hiccups, so we're going to get rid of them!"
"Have you tried holding your breath? It usually works for me," Chad said.
Ishida nodded and started holding his breath, but after about fifteen seconds of puffed-out cheeks and feeling ridiculous, he needed to breathe and the hiccups were still there.
"Let's try my idea!" Orihime exclaimed.
x
"So, we tried drinking water from the opposite side of the cup, hanging upside down until the blood rushes to your head, pulling your tongue and holding it, suddenly pouring water in your mouth without warning you…" Orihime said thoughtfully. "And you still have the hiccups!"
"Perhaps they'll- hic!- go away with- hic!- out help," Ishida coughed. Orihime had poured in far too much water and some of it had gone up his nose.
"Ah! I thought of a new one!" she exclaimed. "YARGH!"
The sudden scream made the startled Ishida jump backwards and nearly trip over Chad, who caught him before he hit his head on the wall. "Careful," he rumbled.
"Thank- hic!- you, Sado-kun," Ishida gasped.
"Oh, it didn't work," she said, disappointed.
"There you are," came another voice, and Ichigo joined them. "What are you guys doing?"
"We're trying to get rid of Ishida-kun's hiccups," Orihime explained.
"Whatever," Ichigo said. "Did you ask him about the homework?"
"No, I didn't!" Orihime immediately turned around and began quizzing Ishida on his version of the homework, Ishida answering her questions whenever she paused for breath.
"Hey, your hiccups are gone!" she suddenly noticed.
Ishida blinked in surprise, then smiled a little. "That's a relief," he said quietly. "I hate having the hiccups. They're so embarrassing."
"All you have to do to get rid of them is stop thinking about them," Ichigo said, turning away. "Come on, class is about to start."
Ishida nodded and followed everyone down the corridor. There was only one thing more embarrassing than hiccups to have in school, and that was…
"ACHOO!"
Ishida (disgruntled): That was not what I had in mind at all, Author-san!
Ichigo (grinning): You being pathetic, me saving the day… sounds right to me!
Ishida shoots a small arrow at Ichigo, who drops to the floor.
Ishida (coolly): My finger slipped.
Do it again, and I'll take the bow away. Beside, it's your own fault for hijacking the story. Thanks for reading!