Hello thar!
Well, I tried to update as quick as possible, which doesn't seem quick enough... Anyways, I did the exams and I actually did really well! Woo, go me!
I took the advice and requests of you guys and I made this chapter at least twice as long! I usually write 3-4 pages in word... But this time, I wrote about 7-8 pages... So, that's a lot, for me anyways.
Hope you guys enjoy the 7th chapter of A little more than a memory.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach... My Mum owns a bottle of bleach though... xDD
Chapter 7
The ringing of the school bell signified the end of another long and 'treacherous' day at school. Orihime jumped at the pealing, the sound knocking her out of her imaginary adventure. She stretched quickly before jumping up, grabbing her bag and her friend, Tatsuki.
"Hey! Hey! Wait a sec! I need my bag!" Tatsuki bellowed as she grabbed at her bag.
The two rushed through the halls of the school, almost running down many of the other students. Finally out of the crowded hallways of the school, Orihime let go of Tatsuki's collar, her friend falling straight to the ground.
"What's the rush, Orihime?" Tatsuki slowly began to get up, dusting herself clean along the way.
"I want to get home quick, so that I can show you some photos of us!" Orihime looked at Tatsuki, hope gleaming in her eyes.
"Maybe it'll make you remember something!" She added before she pulled her friend out the school gates and down the street.
The two agreed to walk the way back to Orihime's house, remembering the exhaustion of running from Orihime's house that morning.
An uneasy silence fell between the two friends and for some time the pair walked without a sound. Orihime stared upwards at the cloudless sky, thoughts running through her mind; mostly of unknown imaginary creatures. Tatsuki gaze was aimed at the pavement, her mind working overtime to collect any memories it could gather; unfortunately, the count total was only at 3.
The two continued, wordlessly, down the street till a large band of little students came rushing past them. Each of them shouting their favourite game at the arcade. Tatsuki and Orihime watched as the group of kids rushed around a corner. The two friends looked at eachother and smiled.
"Now, I want to go to the arcade." Orihime pouted.
"Well then, let's go! Have we been there before?" Tatsuki asked, turning around and following the path of the little kids.
"Yep! We go there sometimes when we have time! Last time we went was last week!" Orihime's smile faltered for a moment before Tatsuki pulled her chin up.
"Oh, come on. I'm sure my memories will come back!" Tatsuki chided, "At least I'm not dead!"
Orihime gasped and shook her fist in the air, "How could you say that, Tatsuki?!"
Tatsuki grinned cheekily and started to run but stopped in her tracks.
"I nearly forgot, I don't know where the arcade is!" Flashing another smile, Tatsuki grabbed Orihime and pulled her forwards, "Come on! I want to go play now!"
Orihime let out a sigh and the two started down the concrete again.
--
Flashing lights and loud noises bombarded Tatsuki and Orihime as they entered the large arcade. Little children running, screaming and yelling as they pressed buttons, yanked on joysticks and shot at evil aliens from galaxies far, far away! Not to mention the older 'children' watching them with lazy eyes, sipping on their sodas, waiting for the smaller children to leave their favourite games.
"Wow! This place is awesome!" Tatsuki and Orihime made their way down the aisles and aisles of games and machines, taking their time to pick a suitable game.
Suddenly Orihime jumped and quickly made her way through the crowds of small children to a large machine; called 'DDR'.
"Tatsuki! Quick! This game is the best!" Orihime beckoned Tatsuki over animatedly.
Tatsuki quickly squeezed through the crowds and stepped onto the DDR platform, "So, what's this game?"
"Well, this is Dance Dance Revolution!" Orihime explained, "And we-"
"Dance, right?" Tatsuki smirked, which felt like a very familiar expression to her.
"Yup!" Orihime dropped her bag beside the platform, Tatsuki doing the same. Orihime swiftly inserted a few coins and the black screen suddenly flashed with lights and sound effects.
Orihime pressed the buttons and asked hurriedly, "What song do you want?"
Tatsuki shrugged and Orihime turned back to the screen, listening to random songs and then pressing it on quite a fast song.
"This is called Ike Ike." Orihime muttered to Tatsuki as the song began to play. Before Tatsuki had time to work out how to use the platform below her, arrows began to stream up the screen and Tatsuki's feet began to move on their own.
Orihime was dancing like a 'pro' beside her, her feet hitting the arrows in sync with the ones on the screen. Tatsuki focused back on the screed, suddenly feeling determined to beat her friend.
"Last time we played, you beat me. I'm not gonna let that happen again!" Orihime furrowed her brow and increased her concentration.
Tatsuki chuckled and the song suddenly began to go faster, the arrows suddenly coming upwards faster. Tatsuki's smile faltered as she struggled through the song.
As quick as the song had started the song ended, Orihime huffing but still grinning. Tatsuki on the other hand, was lying on her back on the platform.
"How the heck did we ever play this game without passing out?" Tatsuki mumbled through large gulps of air.
"Oh, I don't really know, but usually when we played, you would be the one huffing and I would be the one on the floor." Orihime finally caught her breathe and began to grab her bag.
Tatsuki rolled over and got up, fisting her bag weakly. The scores began to roll onto the screen. Tatsuki watched as the letters C flashed on the screen, then suddenly changing to an AA. She was about to smile when she heard a grumble beside her. She looked over at Orihime's score and saw that her friend had received an A for her efforts.
"Awwww. You still beat me!" Orihime pouted sadly and stepped down from the platform, "Let's go home, I'm really tired now, I need a good nap."
Tatsuki followed Orihime back out of the arcade, the two friends walking slowly down the footpath, their feet sore from their 'battle'.
"We have to go there again tomorrow!" Tatsuki exclaimed.
"Maybe…" Orihime mulled.
"Oh please!" Tatsuki pleaded, quite cutely, "Please!"
"Oh ok." Orihime giggled from her friends cute expression.
"Yay!" Tatsuki jumped upwards and started to walk with more vigour.
"Hey! What's the rush now?" Orihime called out.
"Well, if we get home quicker, then we get to sleep faster. And then tomorrow comes quicker!" Tatsuki explained.
"Ok. But we have to do our homework and eat dinner too, you know?" Orihime increased her speed too.
"Awwww… you killed the joy!"
--
With her bag thrown into the corner, Orihime slumped onto her bed with a thud. Tiredness slowly claiming her body…
"Orihime! What are we having for dinner?" Tatsuki bellowed from the lounge room.
Orihime grumbled before getting off the bed and slowly shuffling into the lounge room.
"I have some left over food from last night… I guess we can eat that. I'll just cook some rice." Orihime rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she walked into the small kitchen.
The minutes flew by and before Tatsuki knew it, dinner was served. The pair of them sat beside the small coffee table and began to eat the meal. The few dishes that Orihime had taken out were some of her latest experiments, Tatsuki looked at them curiously.
"What's in these dishes?" Tatsuki asked quietly, afraid of offending Orihime.
"Um… Why don't you taste it first? Then I'll tell you!" Orihime remembered the first time she told Tatsuki about her experimental dishes. In short, it didn't go well.
Tatsuki nervously picked up a piece of what looked like pork and slowly placed it in her mouth. Her taste buds picked up many unusual tastes and by the time Tatsuki swallowed the unknown piece of meat, her brain was warning her not to ask what the food was.
"Well?" Orihime questioned optimistically.
"Um, it's very nice." Tatsuki lied, "Um, why don't I try the others first?"
"Ok!" Orihime smiled and began to eat too.
Tatsuki didn't know what to eat next, mainly from fear. Finally, Tatsuki decided to try a dish of greens. She picked one piece up carefully, examined it and then popped it into her mouth. Fortunately, it didn't taste that bad, just a bit weird. That's all.
Suddenly, images of unusual tasting dishes and of Orihime smiling flickered in her mind. Tatsuki shook her head, trying to focus on her new memories.
"What's wrong, Tatsuki-chan?" Orihime set her bowl and chopsticks down and began patting Tatsuki on the back.
"Some memories came back. They were of you're cooking and I remember you smiling, after using so much effort." Tatsuki looked up at Orihime, who had her eyes wide with hope. Hope for more memories to come back.
"That's great! Here, eat some more! Maybe you'll get more memories back!" Orihime began piling more and more food into Tatsuki's bowl.
"I thin I'll just eat this much for now. I'm starting to feel tired." Tatsuki yawned, picked up her chopsticks and continued eating.
"Ok, we'll go to bed after dinner." Orihime turned back to her bowl of rice, "Anyways, do you want to go see a movie tomorrow?"
"Um, yea! That would be nice!" Tatsuki mumbled through the food in her mouth.
"Great! What do you want to see? I bet it's horror, you always choose horror." Orihime placed her finger on her chin.
"No way! Too scary. I want to see a nice romantic movie." Tatsuki looked up at the ceiling, catching Orihime off-guard.
"A romantic movie? You?" Orihime's jaw dropped, never in her life had she heard Tatsuki wanting to watch a ROMANTIC movie!
"Are you sure?" Orihime asked after closing her mouth.
"Yea. It would be nice!" Tatsuki smiled sweetly.
"Ok, then it's decided. We'll go and watch a romantic movie tomorrow!" Orihime raised her fist in the air, "Yes! Finally, a romantic movie!"
"Huh? What do you mean finally?" Tatsuki raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, well, I usually let you choose the movie 'coz I choose the food that we bring!" Orihime explained, "It's been so long since I've watched a romantic movie…"
"Oh, ok." Tatsuki thought of her old self and how she must have really valued Orihime as a friend to let her pick the food. (A/N: xDD)
Finishing their dinner quickly, the two friends discussed what movie to watch.
"I don't really know what movies they have right now." Orihime told Tatsuki.
"Hmmm, I guess we'll just have to go and see what movies there are then." Tatsuki piled the used plates up and carried them over to the sink.
"Tatsuki-chan. You look tired, let's leave the dishes for tomorrow and we can go to bed early today." Orihime suggested.
Tatsuki looked back at the plates and bowls in the sink and shrugged. Looking back at Orihime, she nodded and began to trail Orihime back into the bedroom.
"I've got a spare fold-up bed in the closet, let me just get it." Orihime opened the large closet and began rummaging through the hung up clothes, to find the extra bed in the back. She pulled it out and with little trouble, had the bed nicely and neatly ready for Tatsuki.
"Actually, you should sleep on the bed, I'll sleep on this bed." Orihime gazed at Tatsuki.
"It's ok. I'll sleep on this one 'coz I've caused you so much trouble." Tatsuki nervously requested.
"Um, I guess so then." Orihime left Tatsuki to it and strolled into the bathroom instead.
When Orihime came out, in her pyjamas, Tatsuki had just stood back up with her toothbrush in hand.
"The toothpaste is already in there. And a cup is in there too for you to use!" Orihime pointed at the two objects sitting beside the sink.
"Ok!" Tatsuki made her way into the bathroom, turning the water on and filling the cup with water. She took a sip and began to brush her teeth.
By the time Orihime was in beg, making herself comfortable, Tatsuki had turned the light off and was making her way over to her own bed.
"Good night Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime chimed.
"Good night!" Tatsuki muttered incoherently.
The two friends breathing slowed and both were off in some new adventure.
--
Air was rushing form her lungs, the water pushing against her body, squeezing the life out of her. Tatsuki frantically moved her limbs, trying to find the surface of the water. She opened her mouth to try and cry, scream or even make a pitiful whimper but nothing came out.
The last of her breathe escaped her mouth and she was left struggling in the water, her time shortening with every move she made. Her strength leaving her, Tatsuki gave a few more frenzied kicks upwards, before her body gave up completely.
Her vision blurred and she seemed to drift lower and lower, towards the bottom of this dark abyss…
Tatsuki bolted upwards, sweat running down her face. She breathed in quickly, relieved that it was nothing more than a nightmare. She placed her hand on her heart, feeling the quick, thundering beats. Tatsuki fell back onto her pillow and slowed her breathing down, trying to fall back to sleep.
Tatsuki closed her eyes slowly, but the darkness reminded her of her horrible nightmare and before she knew, her eyes snapped open again.
"Orihime?" Tatsuki whispered in fear. She was answered with light snoring.
"Orihime!" She repeated louder this time.
"Hmmm?" Orihime grumbled drowsily, "What's wrong?"
"I had a nightmare… I'm scared." Tatsuki shivered from the dream. Orihime sat up and looked across the room, to where Tatsuki was shaking. She swiftly threw back her blankets and crossed the room to Tatsuki.
"It's ok." Orihime wrapped her arms around Tatsuki's trembling frame and held her close.
"I was drowning and, and…" Tatsuki began to sob uncontrollably. Orihime embraced her and cooed, "It was so scary, I was falling into darkness."
Orihime pieced the dream together from what Tatsuki was saying and abruptly it hit her, Tatsuki was having nightmares of the accident. This made Orihime hug her friend tighter.
"Come on, come and sleep with me." Orihime pulled Tatsuki out of her bed and pulled her across to her own bed. She placed Tatsuki onto the bed and slipped into it as well. She draped her arms around Tatsuki once again and kissed her softly on the forehead.
"It'll be ok. I'm here now." Orihime whispered to Tatsuki as her friend's breathing slowed and her friend drifted into sleep.
'It'll be ok, I'll always be here for you, Tatsuki-chan.' Orihime thought to herself suddenly feeling he heart beat faster.
Author's Notes: Hope you guys liked that chapter! It was longer than I expected. Actually I put 2 chapters into one so I think that's what I'm going to do from now on.
DDR! Omg, I love DDR! Anyways, I just wanted to put that in coz I thought it would be funny!
Anyways, please review!
ReNzY!
