"Hey, Ishida-kun?"
The young Quincy looked up at the energetic girl standing in front of his desk. She reached up and tucked a stray strand of her long orange-red hair behind her ear. "Yes, Inoue-san?" Uryuu Ishida closed the book he was reading as he addressed his classmate.
"Well, I was just wondering if you had anything to do after school today." Inoue Orihime replied, the grin that was always plastered to her face growing bigger, if it was possible. "If not, then I was wondering if you'd like to come over for a bit."
Ishida stared at her in surprise, his brain instantly thinking of many reasons why he was being invited to her house. After thinking of many possible reasons (such as the fact that she was planning to take him back to her home planet), he began wondering if she would cook anything for him while he was there. He hoped not. The idea of chocolate curry with pickles made his stomach churn.
"You see," the big-bosomed girl went on, "yesterday I fell and tore a hole in my favorite skirt! Of course, I tried to fix it myself, but my sewing skills aren't nearly as good as yours!" She continued rambling about how, in the process of her attempted sewing, she had somehow managed to 'accidentally' throw her needle out the window.
Yes, that sounds like her, Ishida thought. She would trip over her own arm if it were possible. Of course, Ishida didn't mind the fact that Orihime was clumsy. It did, after all, give them an excuse to spend the afternoon together. He cleared his throat to stop her ranting about how the needle must have been possessed by evil space monkeys, and adjusted his glasses.
"I would be honored to come to your home, Inoue-san," Ishida said, making sure he didn't sound too eager, but not like he didn't want to go either. "That is, of course, if it won't inconvenience you in any way."
Orihime giggled. "Of course not, silly! I invited you, remember?" Ishida could feel himself blush slightly. "Oh, of course," he muttered, trying not to sound like more of an idiot. He diverted his gaze to the amazing wood designs of his desk, pretending to be fascinated with the wondrous patterns of lines and swirls.
"I was hoping you'd say yes," the extremely dense girl continued, unaware of her classmate's embarrassment. "I even cleaned the whole house this morning!" Of course, her 'whole house' consisted of the one bedroom, living room, and kitchen in her apartment, but she seemed proud of her accomplishment nonetheless.
"You didn't have to go through all the trouble," Ishida muttered, but Orhime was moving on to the subject of how her clothes must have been teamed up with the needle, since they kept attacking her whenever she opened her closet.
"Please, make yourself at home!" Orihime said as they entered her home. They shivered as they walked in the door. It had begun raining as they left the school, and the two were soaking wet by the time they arrived. Ishida looked around, taking note of his surroundings: On his right was a small couch covered in brightly colored pillows. Opposite the couch was a medium-sized TV, two remote controls sitting on top. In between the two was a table with cushions for sitting. Not a piece of trash could be seen; she had indeed gone to great lengths to make sure the place was perfect for her guest.
"I'll go and make some tea. You can sit down if you like." With that, Orihime scurried off into the kitched. Ishida had a brief moment of fear as he wondered if she did strange things to the drinks like she did her food, then went and sat down on one of the cushions at the table. He took out his sewing kit, which looked similar to a pencil box, and waited.
After a moment, Orihime came out with the tea. She put two steaming cups on the table, then went and got her torn skirt. When Ishida saw the stitching, he wondered if the needle had indeed been possessed. Or maybe it was something in disguise as a needle, waiting for unsuspecting victims to try to attempt to sew with it. The stitches were going every which way, all of them different sizes. They overlapped each other in ways he didn't think possible. Being the lover of sewing that he was, he felt sorry for the poor piece of clothing he held in his hands.
"It's pretty bad, huh?" Orihime said, shrugging her shoulders. Obviously, being in the sewing club had done nothing to improve her skills at the art, and she knew it. Ishida, however, not wanting to be rude, tried to think of something to say.
"It's not that bad, Inoue-san," he lied, taking out his own needle. He expertly began to take out the stitches, then started digging in his kit for the right colored thread. He was just about to start his attempt to save the thing that had once been a skirt when he heard Orihime call him.
"Ishida-kun! Come here!" she called, standing outside on a small balcony. Ishida ran over, wondering if her clumsiness had gotten the better of her and she had fallen over the railing. Instead of seeing her about to fall to the same fate as her needle, however, she saw her leaning over the railing with a huge smile on her face.
"Look!" she said, pointing. "Isn't it beautiful?" Ishida looked, and indeed, what he saw took his breath away.
In the distance, a huge rainbow stretched over the sky. Patches of clouds danced around it, the sun streaming in through the gaps between them. Above and below the main rainbow were two others, not quite as bright as the center one, but still beautiful.
Ishida walked over next to Orihime in order to better enjoy the view. "It's amazing!" she said, leaning slightly towards him. Her chest brushed his ever so slightly, not enough so that she noticed, but enough to make Ishida blush. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to put his arm around her and pull her tightly to his chest. He didn't have the courage to do so, of course, so he had to be content with the images in his head.
Orihime seemed to have sensed his thoughts, for she gently put her head on his shoulder. He hesitated only slightly before putting his head on hers. And there they stood, watching the setting sun's colors reflecting off the rainbows. The skirt would have to wait until later.