Sorry I haven't updated in a while!
Orihime fidgeted with the hem of her skirt nervously. Right before throwing the pebbles at Ichigo's window she had decided to come over and tell him what was nagging her. Unfortunately, he had asked her inside before she planned out what to say.
She looked over at Ichigo who was straddling a chair, his head resting on the back and his eyes shooting lasers in her direction.
"I-Ichigo?" She ventured. As soon as she had crossed the thresh hold she had blurted out, 'Rukia!' and he had been nerve wreckingly quiet since.
"Yeah?" His voice came out somewhat cold, calculating. Orihime had to shove back the giant tears that were about to fall.
"A-are you m-mad at me?" She sniffed softly, as if trying not to cry (for dramatic effect of course).
He sighed and an all too familiar stubborn look came across his face. "Not really," he sat up and cracked his back, "just confused. What about Rukia?"
Orihime's lower lip trembled, "I-I did something bad Ichigo." The words came out quietly but as soon as they left her mouth he bolted out of the chair.
"What happened to Rukia?" Ichigo's voice came out stone cold but his eyes told what he was really feeling: Worry and regret. Orihime felt herself harden Why was he so upset? Ah, a thought dawned on her; he's only upset because he thinks that she's hurt or maybe something worse. He doesn't know that this is all over a dumb letter.
"I-I-" She stuttered out, his eyes looked more expectant of the worst. This is for you Ichigo, "I didn't tell you that Rukia had give me a letter for you." The words came out strained.
"That's it?" Orihime could physically see Ichigo relax a little, the tension blowing away. He sat back down and gave her one of his rare, but precious, half smiles. "You just forgot to give me a letter?"
Orihime braced herself, Time to dig her heals in deeper "Actually, it-it isn't." This time she didn't try to stop the flood of tears that came. They ran down her cheeks and left a salty taste in her mouth. Ichigo's tense position was back. I'm doing this for him. She reminded herself, let out a soft sob, and told him the 'bad news'.
….
(EARLIER)
Orihime paused just outside of Ichigo's house. After Rukia had earlier given her the letter she had been thinking about why she had ripped it up. Now, a sense of guilt crept into her. She should have just given Ichigo the letter, so what if he was going to meet Rukia? They were probably just going to talk about boring Soul Reaper business. As soon as the thought of the duo simply meeting as friends came, it was gone; shoved out of her mind by a greedy part of her soul.
"He'll never forgive me if he finds out." She said aloud. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes but refused to fall. No! She would get his attention, tell him the story she made up (the only way to get him to be the 'old Ichigo'), and they would live happily ever after. There was one, giant glitch in her scheme, however, that she trembled when thinking about. For her plans to fall into place like the correct pieces of a puzzle, an odd piece from another game had to be removed.
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