A/N: I like Orihime, and I like how she seems to understand the other characters. She's such a giving person. I hope I didn't ruin her here.
IchiRuki Theme #26
Daydream Believer
Everyone told her they were only daydreams - just shimmering images floating through her head because she had neither the desire nor experience to know how to block them out. While it was true that Orihime did daydream, she knew the difference between ones that would go away when you blinked and ones that would linger until they established themselves in the world as reality. Ichigo and Rukia were one of those.
She had seen them several times, running together, talking, fighting, doing things even she didn't think possible before her world was turned around. When she went to school she wished to tell people, insist that it was true – Kurosaki-kun would swung a huge sword, and Kuchiki-san darted in and out giving him guidance. The tiny dark-haired girl could heal with a strange light, and the boy could fall from a second story window and be unharmed.
But she knew they would laugh. Another fantasy, Inoue? There's no way. She was half-convinced that they were right, that she was delusional. But there was something in the way the two behaved around each other, even at school – a comfortable sort of familiarity, mutual respect and fondness. Fantasies aside, there was not a way for them to have developed such a companionable air with just seeing each other in class.
At least the others saw that much. The rumor that Ichigo and Rukia were dating was ever-present, but the two in question simply ignored it. It was a cause for frustration with many of their friends, but Orihime was instead filled with a strange curiosity. How much – if anything – was true about them? Perhaps it was a silly thought – truth could not be held in daydreams.
Which is why, when she sat confronted by the strange man, kneeling next to Sado-kun, she had a hard time believing. Her entire life she had been told her visions were childish, fabricated. That she should grow out of them. Never before had anyone told her that she had, in fact, seen the truth.
It was a turnaround she knew would change her life.
All at once the strange fantasy was shattered, turning instead into her reality. It was then that she noticed Rukia was no longer around, that Kurosaki-kun was quiet and conflicted, that their friends never spoke a word of rumors. Confused at the loss of her daydreams, she confronted Ichigo – the one they had been most tied to. When his eyes widened at her question – Kuchiki-san – where is she? – she could see he was feeling it's disappearance as well. Unlike her, he probably didn't know what it meant.
So, she went with him. She, Sado-kun, Ishida-kun, and Yoruichi-san. All had their different reasons. She was looking to discover the truth behind her daydreams. With every moment, something else fell into place, and she knew she had been right to be a believer.
So much had happened. They had all changed. She grew stronger, felt more comfortable in herself. Her daydreams didn't let her down. When it came time to go, she watched Kurosaki-kun approach Kuchiki-san, and she waited for the last of it to come true.
But then he walked away.
Orihime did not understand. None of the others did, either, but they accepted the decision. The trust they had built – as a team – was remarkable. So when they walked through the gate, him casting a smile over his shoulder, stride never faltering – she did not question it. It was not for her to do so.
But she still believed in her daydreams. They had become her truth, and to deny them now would be to deny the pain and blood and perseverance they had all gone through. They were changed, because of those true fantasies. So she believed that even though this one was delayed a bit, the last part would still come true. She had to. She needed them.
Sometimes she saw Kurosaki-kun turn his head to the side and open his mouth to speak, stopping when he realized that beside him there was only empty air. His expression would tighten, and he would shake his head lightly, acting as though nothing had happened.
It was then that she realized that he needed them, too.