Ishida had never wanted to know his own bathroom so intimately. He wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed, but he was exhausted. In the end, he had gotten his wish. The chocolate syrup was NOT on the chicken. And she had not cooked the stirfry with soy sauce. He should have realized that to Orihime, an american stirfry was a stirfry with some kind of american product in it. Sure, you could say it was american if you used traditional north american vegetables, but somehow burnt chocolate syrup was not what he had expected or prepared himself for. The ironic thing was, that despite all that if she hadn't burnt the chocolate sauce talking to Tatsuki at the door, it would have been tolerable. And the chicken had actually been quite good. Using ginger to flavour the breading made it a little tasty. Of course, she could have used less ginger, but it was a start. He almost didn't mind that the chicken would be leftovers for his lunch tomorrow. Taking a deep breath, he closed the toilet lid and flushed it before moving to the sink to wash his face. He was feeling rather unpleasant and wanted to take a shower before presenting himself to Inoue again.
"Uryuu... can I come in?" She asked, making him jump. Water spread along the counter and he grabbed a royal blue towel to clean it up before it started dripping on the floor. "I'm... sorry." He looked up thoughtfully. She was upset. Well, he had tried his best to digest the food without looking as unwell as he had felt but the burnt chocolate syrup had just pulled the trigger, so to speak.
".. Inoue. Don't worry about me, I ate too much-" He began, his face still dripping.
"No!" Inoue said, entering on her own. She looked at him seriously. He stared at her blurry form, his glasses left sitting on the side of the bath tub. "I'm not stupid! I know it was the food. I'm really sorry, Uryuu! I don't know what's happened to me... we used to enjoy all our meals together and now... I'm just a failure. I forgot to make sure that the foods wouldn't upset your stomach. I know you don't like a lot of fried foods..." He sighed.
"Inoue, don't worry. I know you were trying. Don't beat yourself up so much. You had a headache still when you were at the grocery store, right?" Ishida said quietly. He tried his best not to breathe in her direction and was breathing through his nose to keep the smell of his sickness from reaching her. "Besides... you put the stomach medicine in the onigiri on purpose, didn't you?". She looked at him blinking back tears and let out a sigh.
"You're too good for me, Ishida-kun," She said, frowning. "I'll go clean up the kitchen so you can rest." She walked out, leaving the door open in a very masculine fashion. Come to think of it, she had some strange habits. She'd taken his magazines in his room and left them in a tidy pile in the front room today, thus how Arisawa-san had come to be reading his knitting book. For once he was glad he wasn't the type of man who kept other sorts of magazines in his closet. He finished brushing his teeth and using mouth wash in time to hear her finish putting away the leftovers in the fridge. Then she turned the kitchen sink water on to wash the dishes. He walked slowly to the kitchen, wondering what would be best to say to her in a situation like this.
"Inoue-san... " He began, then looked at her. She was holding her head. "Inoue-san, what's wrong?" He rushed to her side and turned off the tap. The sound of the water disappearing seemed to surprise her, and she jumped.
"Ishida-kun... Ah, what was I doing?" She asked, looking about her. "I think it was something in the kitchen... but maybe it wasn't. But then why would I be in the kitchen? Ah!" She spun around and checked the fridge fervently. He watched her for a few moments, a little curious. When she started mumbling under her breath, he tapped her shoulder.
"Ah... what are you doing?" He asked, more than just a little wierded out. He pulled his hand back swiftly after tapping her shoulder, lest she bite him or something even more bizarre. She looked at him like he was asking a stupid question. She made an almost huffy noise as if she had explained this to him hundreds of times. For whatever reason, this made him feel a little meek. He chastised himself. Feeling like a child in front of such a person was ridiculous!
"Don't you know?! I'm looking for salmon!" She snapped. If it weren't such a strange thing to be doing, he'd wonder whether it was really Orihime or not. "You have to be on the look out! It might eat our butter."
"Uh... I don't think salmon eat butter, Orihime..." Ishida commented, wondering why he even bothered. She looked at him with an odd look for a few minutes, of which he looked away after the first.
"Are you sure... ?" She questioned him. He nodded. She seemed to be thinking, so he made his escape. He sat in the living room, looking over at the stack of his magazines. He probably ought to study, but he was still working on a sewing project. He was looking over the knitting book that Arisawa-san had seemed very interested in earlier when the red-head finally made her exit from the kitchen. Seeing the opening beside him, she loudly fell there and tried to read over his shoulder. This eventually led to her chin brushing against his shoulder, of which Ishida was finding himself very aware. He'd stopped reading and was trying not to turn red at the contact of her arm against his and the small brushes of her chin against his shoulder. He was sure that eventually this would be an activity that gave him peace and relaxation rather than heart palpitations. Maybe someday.
(A/N)
You know, one thing I've started eating in these two years of being missing is cottage cheese. I mean, seriously, the stuff looks strange and much like bad milk. Which is really ironic. It sort of reminds me of Orihime's foods. You know, how cheese is just really old milk and yet we love it so much. I'm so glad you guys reviewed! Although it has come to my attention that there are so many more people on the alert list than those who review. To those people, I'm going to assume you think the story is perfect and have nothing to add or suggest. Because logically, you must be liking the story to get alerts when I add new chapters.
Lady Ashari: Yesss...! I really want a picture representing the funniest moments in at least every two chapters. I'm sort of half way done chapter ten, I'll send it your way when it's finished.
whitehitsugaya: Voila! Ishida is still among the living! Which is good because since he's the last quincy he must have many little quincy children to pass on the blood.
Ishida: You're making me sound like a pimp.
Inoue: Oh, Ishida... I didn't realize that you were the last... But don't worry! Even if you can't find an understanding wife I will have as many Quincy children for you as I can!
Kitahoshi: ... alright. I can go along with that idea. Might make an interesting adult fanfic in the future. Hmmm...
Ishida: You.. you really don't have to... I mean, you don't have to go that far, Inoue...
Inoue: So! When do you want to start! I measured my hips beforehand so I think I can only have one at a time but I'll make sure they're really good quality!
Ishida: ... I-Inou- ... Thunk!
Kitahoshi: Wow... that was even too far for me... What exactly does she mean 'really good quality'?
Inoue: Omigod! He's bleeding! What should we do?!
Kitahoshi: Don't worry too much. It's just an intense nose bleed. But... I'm still so disturbed...
Ichasuki Mitochi: I hope so. I mean, it will make his life much easier.
Toushiroseyes: woot! Tee hee, my Inoue has been complimented! I'll tell you a secret! I'm sort of like Orihime only not so far gone so it's easy for me to write for her.