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Auburn Strands and Red Threads #17
"Okay, okay, okay!" Jinta said over the chaos of the Urahara residence, eating out of one of the take out boxes ordered. "Ururu would definitely be the little sister of the house, so I would have to be the dad!"
"You the dad?" Kisuke scoffed, waving his fan at the young boy. "Be realistic! Tessai would be the dad. You'd be more of the—the cousin."
"Cousin?!" The boy slammed his hand on the table. "I'm not even part of the main family?!"
"I think Orihime would be the mommy," Ururu said, giving the auburn girl a sideways glance. "She cooks for us and is sweet just like a mommy would be."
"Good call, Ururu!" Kisuke cheered. "With the way Orihime cooks, she'd make an excellent mother!"
Jinta snorted, stuffing more food in his mouth. "If yoo can caw dat cooking!"
Tessai's calloused hand came down on the boy's head, causing him to go rigid. "Now, now, Jinta. Orihime's cooking is excellent, isn't it, my dear boy?"
Jinta smiled nervously, sweating profusely. "Y-yes, father!"
The house erupted into chaotic laughter as more possibilities for who would play what role in the family went on. In the end, Tessai was dubbed the father, Kisuke the mother, Ururu the caretaker, Jinta the delinquent neighbor, and Orihime the ever loving daughter.
Jinata grumbled. "How is it that we got excluded from the family in the end?"
Ururu shrugged. She was at least involved in this pretend family, so she hardly felt left out.
After a few more hours, Orihime informed the occupants it was about time she left.
"Awwwww! C'mon, Hime!" Kisuke said, waving his fan in the air. "It's Saturday."
"I know," she said as she stood, "but I couldn't possibly impose more than I already have."
"Don't be so polite! We're all family here!"
"Won't you stay, Orihime?" Tessai joined in.
"Um . . ." Orihime smiled politely. "Well, I-I mean-"
"Let her go!" Jinta grunted, lying on the floor. "She obviously doesn't want to be around us any longer."
Ururu leaned over him. "Does that make you sad, Jinta?"
The boy reddened, shooting up and yanking Ururu's hair. "Who said anything about being sad, huh?!"
"Um!" Orihime rushed over to the two and stopped Jinta's tirade. "I-it's not that I don't want to stay any longer. I guess the reason I came here in the first place was because I felt kind of sad, but I'm okay now, and it's thanks to all of you. I need to go home a really face my issues now."
Jinta stared at her for a moment then released Ururu and turned around. "Whatever."
"You'll have to forgive Jinta," Tessai said. "He's not used to liking people."
Jinta turned sharply. "Wha-?!"
"Yeah," Kisuke agreed. "You won't believe how long it took for him to like us."
"Who says I like any of you?!" Jinta spat, his face completely burning. "Gah! I'm going to get some fresh air!" He stormed out the room, the house rocking from the door slamming a moment later.
"Wow, he's . . ." Orihime blinked, a gradual smile spreading across his face. "He's really adorable."
"Quite," Kisuke agreed.
"So refreshing." Tessai stood to collect the take out boxes.
"Maybe we should have made him the baby," Ururu wondered aloud.
o0o0o
Orihime helped with cleaning before venturing home. She passed Jinta on her way out the gates, who only graced her with a glance and a grunt as he kicked a soccer ball into the side of the house.
Now that she had had some time to calm down and gather her thoughts, she wondered, again, if she shouldn't have stormed out on Ichigo the way she did. She usually wasn't heavily influenced by her emotions, and never had she been opposed to people caring for her, but Ichigo was . . .
He was usually right about most things due to some gut instinct or other, but instinct did not drive him this time. So, she would apologize, but she also had to make it clear he could not bad-mouth Kisuke.
She sighed, wringing her hair and mumbling to herself. "This is bad. I wonder if it's too late to go to his house and apologize."
She looked up into the night sky. It was only recently dark, so maybe it wasn't too late. But maybe . . . that would still be reckless on her part. The more she thought, the more she was convinced she had to apologize when she got the chance, but tonight should not be that time.
She remembered she had a cellphone now and pulled it out, marveling at the sleek pink. She didn't have Ichigo's number, but she knew Tatsuki's number by heart, so maybe Tatsuki would know what Ichigo's home number was. But maybe it was still too late to be calling either of them . . .
She put her phone back in her pocket.
When Orihime climbed the stairs leading to her floor, she saw there was something in front of her door; it looked like a white box. Once she approached it, her guilt heightened.
It was two white boxes stacked on top of each other—the donuts Ichigo had bought her.
She nibbled her bottom lip, smoothing a hand through her hair. She hoped he hadn't waited for her to come home after she left. Sometimes she forgot just how much Ichigo valued friendship, and even a stoic guy like him didn't want to lose the bonds he made. The two of them have never had tension between them like this, so maybe she shouldn't be so avoidant.
Collecting the boxes in her hands, she looked over, movement catching her eye. A figure was leaping over rooftops.
"Inuyasha?" She watched a moment longer before confirming it, indeed, was him. She smiled as he came closer and landed on her railing. "Hi," she greeted.
"Hey . . ." He inspected her. "You goin' somewhere?"
"No, I just got home. I didn't expect to see you so soon."
"I don't see why," he mumbled absent-mindedly before adding, "Something came up."
"Do you want to come inside and talk about it?"
"Actually, I . . ." He ground his teeth lightly, thinking. "Yeah, okay."
Orihime let them in and invited Inuyasha to sit anywhere he liked. She wondered if he came for dinner, but she didn't have anything prepared.
"Would you like some donuts?" she asked from the kitchen.
"Dough . . . nuts?"
"It's a kind of sweetened bread, I guess you can say. It goes great with milk."
"You have milk?"
"Uh-huh."
"Where do you fit the cow? Or do you have an ox?"
Orihime opened her mouth to respond but struggled to stifle a laugh instead.
He was a lot of fun to have around.
She opened the first box to see which one to take into the living room, but found herself confronted with a note written on the inner lid:
I'm sorry. -Ichigo
For a moment, she stared.
She acknowledged she felt guilt.
She closed the lid, located two cups and her carton of milk, and took the other box into the living room.
Inuyasha cursed himself when he finally left.
He stayed there too long. He wasn't sure how long, but it was long enough for them to finish that box of doughnuts, that container of milk, and conversations that had absolutely nothing to do with why he came.
And then he learned about that.
As if to punish him for losing his focus, he learned something about her he could have lived without knowing for a long, long time.
Crush . . .
'Crush' was the name given to a person someone liked—a person who usually didn't know they obtained this title. He didn't even know what that was until tonight. Well, he didn't know this phenomenon had a name. Why she asked him about it, he didn't know. They were talking about the thing called a kotatsu and then . . . that.
Yes, he had a crush, but . . .
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"Your friend Kagome is your crush, isn't she?"
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He frowned deeper.
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"Don't be embarrassed. I have a crush, too."
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He ground his teeth.
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"He's my friend, too. His name is-"
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Inuyasha shook his head fiercely.
Damn everything that had to do with emotions!
Damn him for even listening to her declarations!
He had almost succumbed to shock, and he took to staring at her. She asked him if something was wrong and if he was feeling alright, but his nerves jolted to life, and he told her he would be away for a while.
She took it . . . well, and he didn't know how he felt about that.
He wouldn't have objected if she had objected or told him not to go, or she could have at least looked like she didn't want him to go. She was just . . . very supportive and told him to be safe and she would be waiting for his return. He'd have to take that for now. At least she had shown concern for his well-being.
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"His name is-"
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"Dammit," he cursed, ears drooping. This bothered him greatly. He could have gone on not knowing that.
He walked down the street and wondered what his next course of action should be. He had to find Kagome, of course, but he had no idea where she could be. His nose wouldn't be of much use to him since all he could smell was the sinfully intoxicating scent that was purely Orihime, so he was in a bit of a pinch. Maybe he should just go back to Orihime . . . Maybe-
"Inuyasha?"
His ears perked. He looked around him, not really sure where the voice had come from.
"What are you doing here?"
He looked up at a building he was passing. "Kagome?"
o0o0o
Kagome and Inuyasha leaned against the building in silence. She had been more than just surprised when she happened to spot him, so she was also more than just a little disappointed to discover this was all business.
She sighed. "Demons, huh?"
"Yup."
She peeked at him, noting how he was glaring across the way, lost in thought. He was clearly upset with something, but she couldn't even begin to understand what it could be.
"Should we leave right now?" she asked.
Inuyasha thought for a moment. "Yeah," he responded, still not focused on her.
"Is something wrong?"
He glanced at her, his intense gaze not even slipping. "What makes ya ask?"
"I think I know when something has managed to rub you the wrong way."
"Mm." Another pause. "I . . . There's only like and love where I come from," he said. "When someone says they like someone, I get that. When someone says they love someone, I get that. So, where the heck does a 'crush' fall? It's . . . liking someone, but does it lean more towards like or love? Or is it just some stupid-"
"Inuyasha," Kagome interrupted, perplexed, "where did you even learn about that?"
He breathed in deeply. "People in your time . . . say weird things."
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"I have a crush."
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"The concept of a crush is weird?" Kagome asked.
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"His name is-"
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Inuyasha's cheek twitched. "Yeah."
Four Days Later
"You're acting weird today," Tatsuki said as she, Orihime, Chizuru, Rukia, and Michiru settled on the roof for lunch.
"Um . . ." Orihime looked up from her snack. "How do you mean?"
"Well, you haven't said a word to Ichigo all week."
"Ah . . . I haven't seen him."
The girls all openly gawked at the auburn, wondering if this was a joke only people named Orihime would understand.
"You haven't seen him?" Tatsuki repeated.
"M-mhm." Orihime nodded. "Haven't seen him."
"But he came to school with me," Rukia said. "Remember? You looked like you were going to say good morning to us but rushed off instead."
"I . . . I-I don't recall."
"But he's been in class," Michiru said. "You haven't noticed? He sits pretty close to you."
"I . . . guess I was really focused on the lecture." She took a bite from her oddly made sandwich, laughing loudly. "We never talk about Kurosaki-kun so much. What about that lecture, huh? Pretty complex."
Tatsuki stared at her. "We've reviewed for the past two days, Orihime."
"Ah . . . Y-yeah, well-"
"Orihime," Michiru said curiously, "could it be that you're avoiding Ichigo?"
The girls stared at the auburn, curiosity present, waiting for her answer. Orihime became uncomfortably itchy as she nibbled her lunch.
"Um," she said, "I-I don't understand the question."
"Oh my god," Tatsuki said, slowly setting her lunch aside. "Did he do something to you?!"
All the girls gasped, squealed, or yelled their surprise, and Orihime found that eyes were now burning into her.
"What did he do?!" Chizuru demanded. "Was it your chest? He groped you, didn't he?!"
"No!" Orihime blurted. "Of course not! It's . . . I-it's noth-"
"Was it assault?!" Chizuru, very literally, cried. "Did he threaten to hurt you if you told anyone he touched your breasts?!"
"No! He wouldn't-"
"Orihime," Rukia's hand landed on her shoulder. Orihime looked at the dark-haired girl and froze once seeing the vicious smile on her face. "If he did something that made you uncomfortable, please, tell me, and I'll take care of it."
"Yeah." Tatsuki's knuckles cracked. "I'll set that punk straight."
"But he-"
The door to the roof opened, halting all sound. Ichigo stood in the doorway, looking a bit surprised to see them all there.
"You guys already here, huh?" he said.
"What?!" Keigo forced his way over Ichigo's shoulder. "Aw, but we eat here every day!"
"Calm down," Mizuru said, walking past them onto the roof. "It's big enough for us to share."
"Yeah . . ." Keigo pouted, decidedly placed over Ichigo's shoulder. "I guess."
Chad and Uryuu also made an appearance as they joined the group. Orihime felt uncomfortable as the boys settled close to them, and a bit of back and forth rambling started between both parties. She kept her eyes on her food but knew she was tensing up too much. She told herself she was going to apologize to Ichigo, but all her earlier attempts were thwarted because he was always with someone. Now she wondered if he was upset with her for exploding on him and not talking about it.
"Oh, I'm not gonna pretend!" Chizuru shot to her feet. "Tell us why you forced yourself on Orihime, Ichigo Kurosaki!"
All eyes shot to the four-eyed girl and then to Ichigo. Orihime's mouth dropped.
"Ichigo . . ." Keigo turned to his friend, teary eyed. "You finally snapped, didn't you?"
"W-wait," Orihime said, "h-he didn't . . ."
Now the eyes were on her, expectant, as if the girl was dying to tell them about a perverted side of Ichigo they all knew was there but never thought would come to life (so soon).
"Kurosaki, he . . ." Orihime scanned the eyes again, her throat going dry. Was it really appropriate to bring up a disagreement they had in front of all their friends? "He . . . Th-that is . . ." She squealed, embarrassed, and darted out the door.
Ichigo's usual scowl was now turned into surprised confusion. He hadn't quite registered all that happened, but looking around, he saw his friends giving him looks that ranged from sadness to anger.
Rukia smiled ominously. "Tell us, Ichigo."
"Just what the hell did you do, huh?" Tatsuki cracked her knuckles again.
Ichigo hesitated—if only to let the situation sink in more—but found his classmates pouncing on him just as quick.
"Inuyasha, hold on a-"
"WIND SCAR!"
A thousand demons were demolished, their limbs and bodies torn off with a force much stronger than usual.
Miroku, Sango, Shippo, Kagome, and Kirara watched as Inuyasha landed feet first on the ground, whipping his sword to the side. He was killing demons without warning, which wasn't bad at first, but he got more irritable with every attack. It only baffled them more that he had been silent and unwilling to interact for much of their journey here.
"Well," Miroku said, scratching the back of his head, "they didn't notice us, but thanks for being a step ahead of the game, Inuyasha."
The half demon shot a glare back at the group before walking on. "Let's go."
The group followed a few feet back. Inuyasha's behavior had been decided before he even arrived to their time, but no one had the courage to make light of the situation with him in hearing distance.
"Inuyasha's been kind of . . . angry lately," Shippo whispered, hanging on Kagome's shoulder.
"No kidding," Sango said. "He's killing demons whether they bother us or not. What's up with him?"
"Kagome," Miroku looked over at the high school girl, "did something happen in your time?"
Kagome shrugged as she thought over everything. "Honestly, not that I can think of. He seemed . . . okay when he got me."
"Is that so?" The monk crossed his arms, staring at nothing in particular as they walked. If this had anything to do with Orihime, Miroku found it odd Inuyasha was this angry. He's been almost depressed and even short-tempered after visiting his new object of affection, but this was a whole new experience.
Deciding that guessing was going to get him nowhere, he summoned up his courage and jogged to catch up with Inuyasha. He heard the others advising him not to go, but his curiosity wouldn't allow him anything less.
"What?" Inuyasha snapped.
"I'm concerned," Miroku said, falling into step with him.
"Don't be. Everythin's great. Things are swell, Miroku. Don't you see it?"
"Sarcasm like that is a bit telling, don't you think?"
Inuyasha spared him a glance, a bit conflicted. He opened his mouth to say something, but the thought of actually saying it hurt deep within his chest so much that Inuyasha grit his teeth instead. He spat, glaring ahead. "Just focus on finding out where the demons are headed."
"I could say the same. Do you even know where you're leading us?"
"The damned things are all headed in the same direction. I don't need to know the direction if we're being led."
"And that doesn't bother you? Even though we're practically surrounded, your presence is out in the open, Kagome is virtually defenseless, the demons haven't looked our way even once. This could be a trap."
"So what? It's not like we don't walk into one whenever we go searchin' for shards."
"True, Inuyasha, but activity has been different lately. Kaede said-"
"What does Kaede know?! She's back in the village while we're the ones risking our lives. Excuse me if I find it better to deal with this my way."
Miroku huffed, staring ahead. "It is more than obvious that it is not Kaede or the demons who trouble you, Inuyasha."
Inuyasha said nothing.
"Does it involve her?"
The half-demon tensed. The mere implication of the girl had him unsure of what to do. He felt angry, which made him want to swing Tetsaiga around until there was nothing left to slash but air. He also felt thrown off track, which had him frustrated to the point of growling for no logical reason.
"I don't have time for girls," Inuyasha said, suddenly unsure about anything up to this point. "What good have they been to me, huh? How have they ever helped me in obtaining my goal?"
"Did something happen?"
"No!" Inuyasha whipped his head to the side. "As if someone like her could impact me. I'm just pissed that we never noticed this demon crap sooner."
"Did you two have a fight?"
Inuyasha stopped, glaring at the monk. "IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HER!"
Miroku stared at Inuyasha's enraged expression. Miroku was not shocked by the outburst. In fact, he felt like he figured out what was bothering Inuyasha, which only caused the monk to feel a tinge of sympathy. Inuyasha's anger quickly subsided when he picked up on Miroku's realization, and he realized that his mask was breaking.
"Is everything alright?" Sango asked.
Inuyasha quickly turned away, stalking off. Miroku scratched his head, turning his attention to the remaining group. He didn't think it was possible, but he was almost certain Inuyasha had been rejected.
"He's . . . a bit uneasy."
"Who was he yelling about?"
"Ah, well . . ." He looked in Kagome and Shippo's direction, shrugging. "You know."
"Uh," Shippo began, "w-well, he's always angry about something, right? No point in worrying about that now. We should worry about something important, like how much longer until we find out where all the demons have been gathering."
Miroku looked to the sky where many demons were flying overhead. "Well, as Kaede said, they are traveling south. With the increased number of demons in our sight, I'd say-"
"INUYASHA!" Shippo shrieked, pointing behind Miroku.
The monk spun around, his eyes widening. "Wh-where . . . ?"
A large, deformed demon had appeared—its presence not felt or sensed by anyone. It was as tall as the trees, and everyone stared at it in shock. It was forcibly composed of other demons, its body moving and morphing repeatedly with appendages appearing from and disappearing inside of it. There were two dark craters located near the top of the grotesque being.
"How did we not see that coming?" Sango grabbed her Hiraikotsu just as Kirara transformed.
"He's not moving . . ." Kagome said, her eyes filled with terror.
Miroku looked at the demon harder, his eyes scanning over it. "What are you talking-?"
"Inuyasha!" Shippo screamed.
Kagome drew her bow and arrow, taking aim. "He's not moving!"
Miroku and Sango finally saw the sight their friends had.
Inuyasha was impaled on the demon's tentacle, now being projected into the air.