(Author's Notes:) Sorry… know it's been a while… I was gone from home for a bit, and where I went, there was no computers available… I was stranded, in the middle of nowhere…
And school's gonna start for me, come September 7th.. that oughta be fun… - -;;
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For his Love: One girl's quest to find a prince
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Act three: Chocolate pronounced 'spice'
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Lately, I've been hard at work!
I'm trying to make my dreams of Kurosaki-kun a reality! (Go Orihime! Yaaaaaay!)
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So this is what I found out yesterday;
Apparently, Kurosaki-kun likes spicy foods, and chocolates. (I wonder if he eats them together, or separately…?)
So anyways, I now know that Kurosaki-kun likes those two types of foods, thanks to Sado-kun. (But honestly, it's so hard trying to have a good conversation with him… My talk with him went like this:
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- Me- "Sado-kun! Konnichiwa!"
- Sado-kun- "Aa… Inoue-san… morning.."
- Me- "So… how's everything been going…?"
- Sado-kun- "Aa… fine…"
- Me- "Oh… that's good…"
Here, Sado-kun grunts in reply.
- Me- "So… Sado-kun… Do you mind if I ask you something…?"
Here, Sado-kun grunts in reply.
- Me- "Ok then… um… I'm just wondering…" I clear my throat. "D-doyouknowwhatkindathingsk-k-kurosakikunlikestoeat?"
Sado-kun raises an eyebrow.
-Sado-kun- "I couldn't hear that very well. Do you mind repeating it… slower?"
- Me- "Oh! Of course… I'm so sorry…" I clear my throat again. "Do… you… um… know what Kurosaki-kun… likes to eat…?"
Silence
- Me- "… Sado-kun…?"
Here, Sado-kun scratches the back of his neck.
- Sado-kun- "Well… I heard him mention that he likes certain stuff…"
- Me- "Really? That's great! Do you remember what he said?"
- Sado-kun- "Uh… something like… 'Hey… this is pretty good! You should try some-'"
- Me- "No, no… do you remember what it is that he likes?"
Sado-kun rubs his chin.
- Sado-kun- "Well… He likes BLEEP and he's always eating something BLEEEEEEEP."
- Me- "Oh! That's wonderful! Thank you sooo much for helping me out!"
Here, Sado-kun grunts and nods.
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Oh well. Uncommunicative he may be… but it is due to the wonderful Sado-kun that I now know the secret to Kurosaki Ichigo's heart!)
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Right now, I'm at home… Doing what, you ask?
Hehehe… that, is a secret!
Good things come to all those who wait! Just wait, and you'll see—oh no! It's burning! AAAh!
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(3rd person p.o.v.)
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Tatsuki eyed the bundle in Orihime's hand with some misgivings.
"…… What… is that for…?" The black-haired girl asked in a would-be casual voice. "Don't tell me you're gonna give it to-"
"It's for Kurosaki-kun!" Inoue beamed, and held out the object for Tatsuki's inspection. She took it gingerly.
The whole thing was extremely girly… It reeked of femininity. The wrapping was a pale pink, complete with rose pink swirly (1) designs. Inoue had tied it with lacy ribbon, white as the lace on a woman's wedding dress. There were even heart designs worked delicately into the fragile lace.
The black-haired karate user quickly thrust the wrapped box back into her friends' hands.
"Wow… it's really… Well, that is…" Tatsuki floundered, meeting Inoue's expectant face. "- pink…" She finished lamely. Inoue blinked.
"Oh… thank you!" Orihime smiled. "I spent all day yesterday making this and finding the right wrapping to go with it!" She bestowed a dazzling smile to her friend. Tatsuki cleared her throat, looked once again at the package in Orihime's hands, and winced.
"So, what's in it…?" She asked cautiously. Orihime's smile widened.
"Nope!" She announced, turning and placing the box beneath her chair. "Not telling!"
"………" Tatsuki fought to keep the somewhat revolted expression off her face. "So, when are you giving… that… thing to him…?" She asked in what she imagined to be an enthusiastic tone. Inoue smiled again.
"I'll give it to him at lunch time!"
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Come lunch time…
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Ichigo blinked.
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Sado blinked.
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Mizuiro blinked.
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Keigo grinned.
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Ishida sighed.
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Tatsuki winced.
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Orihime waited.
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"……" Ichigo slowly took the outheld object in Orihime's hands rather cautiously. Inoue beamed.
"It's for you, Kurosaki-kun!" She said with excitement. "I thought you might like it…"
The orange-haired male stared almost helplessly at the blinding pink and white wrapped box, as though not quite sure what to do with the thing. Ishida sighed again, before elbowing the hapless boy next to him. Ichigo's head whipped around to glare evilly at the Quincy.
"Thank her and open it, you fool…" Ishida muttered. Ichigo eyed the dark-haired Quincy before turning back to the waiting girl before him.
"Wow… uh… Thanks, Inoue…" Ichigo said with lackluster enthusiasm. Standing behind Orihime, Tatsuki smirked. Even though the black-haired girl hadn't been too sure about wanting to witness her best friend embarrass herself, she was glad she had come— if only to see the look on Ichigo's face.
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Ichigo set the box on his knees and opened it with a wooden expression.
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Keigo and Mizuiro leaned forward in anticipation. Even Tatsuki couldn't help herself from peering into the box.
Ichigo blinked once again.
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Inside, lay several dark-brown blobs.
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Orihime spoke.
"Try some… It's not bad…" She said shyly, now fiddling with her hands. "Well… at least, I hope it's not bad…" Orihime added as an afterthought. Ichigo glanced at her hopeful expression. The dark-brown blobs had a strange orangey-red tint to them. The substitute shinigami suppressed a sigh before bravely plunging his hand into the box and drawing out one of the ominous objects.
All those assembled on the rooftop of the school watched the orange-haired boy with baited breath.
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Ichigo closed his eyes, and stuffed the whole thing into his mouth.
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They peered at his face, eyed his jaw, which was slowly moving up and down… up and down…
Up and down…
Up and down…
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His eyes opened rather suddenly.
Keigo peered into his friend's face.
"Well?" He asked impatiently. "How is it?" Inoue clasped her hands together, fixing her eyes on the silent Ichigo. The orange-haired boy's eyes darted to the hopeful orange-haired girl.
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Ichigo swallowed, opened his mouth…
… barely held in a grimace, and stuck another of the brown blobs into his mouth.
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Inoue broke out into a blissful grin.
"Do you like it, then?" She asked, happiness radiating from every corner of her being. Tatsuki broke out a small smile despite herself.
Ichigo swallowed again, and bit into another of the brown blobs. Keigo helped himself to one, which everybody else took as an open invitation.
"It's… uh… good." The orange-haired boy said through a mouthful. "It's almost like… chocolate…" He said, resisting the urge to spit the whole thing out of his mouth.
"It is!" Orihime said brightly.
"… oh…" Ichigo looked at the remaining number of brown blobs in the pink box. Only three left. It wouldn't be too hard to force Keigo or Chad to eat them.
"I heard from… a reliable source…" Orihime's eyes moved towards Sado before snapping back to the orange-haired boy. "… That you like Chocolate, and spicy food! So I bought some semi-sweet chocolate, melted it, and put hot-pepper powder in it, along with some curry powder!" She said happily. Ichigo looked back down at the brown blobs. Curry and pepper powder… That explained the orangey-red tint to the brown blobs.
"… I see…" Was all that Ichigo could come up with. "… Thanks, Inoue…" He added.
Tatsuki, who had just bitten into one of the brown blobs, unobtrusively spat it back out. The males sitting in front of the two females sat stoically chewing the "chocolates." The black-haired girl sighed. She needed to get Orihime out of there. Tatsuki threw an arm over Orihime's shoulders, and gave a falsely cheery wave to the silent males.
"Hey, it's been great seeing you guys…"
"Huhn? Oh, Tatsuki-chan… what?"
Talk to you guys later, bye!"
"Ah! Tatsuki-chan! Wait! My hair! Ow! Ow!"
With that, the two females disappeared through the door that lead back into the school.
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Silence pressed heavily on the shoulders of the unfortunate five males sitting on the rooftop of their school.
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Keigo cleared his throat significantly, breaking the silence.
"What… was that all about?" He asked. Ichigo shrugged. Keigo gasped, turning to Mizuiro. "Wait… could it have been… a secret plot by the females of our classroom to poison us?" Keigo's face lighted up as he started coming up with scenes of unconscious males in the presence of many females.
"You fools…" Ishida said, shaking his head. Two heads turned to automatically glare at the dark-haired boy. "It's obvious that…" His voice trailed off. Ichigo looked at him suspiciously.
"What? What's obvious?" Ichigo growled. The Quincy stared at the substitute shinigami.
"……" Ishida turned away. "Never mind."
"Who wants the rest of the spicy Chocolates?"
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------------- attempt three end----------------------------------
(Author's notes:) Wow! Thanks for all the reviews! I have no idea why I got so many… but I'm not complaining about that! XD
Hmm… why is everyone so certain that this story is an Ishida x Orihime fic? For all you people know… it could be Sado x Orihime… or Urahara x orihime… or Byakuya x Orihime… XD Actually… I have no idea what I want it to be anymore. I had a certain pairing in mind when I started this fic… but now, I'm not so sure. Oh well… we'll see!
YL: Thank you for your review… Yes, I'd forgotten that Ichigo placed 23rd. Was that in the school or class? Probably school. Oh well… let's just assume that he hasn't been doing as well lately. He's just barely above average at school in my story because he's so busy doing other stuff. Hope that explanation works for all. If not, I'll just go back and fix that error.
F91: XD . Thanks for the compliments! About the whole Kon thing… Your mind and mine work alike! Hehehe… It must be your writer's mind that gives you so much insight… (I think I read one of your stories on Bleach…)
Fujin…: I haven't been reading Bleach lately… in about three months or more, let's say. So please forgive me:D I used the last chapter (or was it this one?) to fix that whole Ishida is a heartthrob thing. There was a chapter I read, where all the girls are at Ishida's desk. So I used my artistic license… XD
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Next chapter will be up… someday! XD