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IT'S CANON BITCHES
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A little something for Ichigo and Orihime from piccrew.
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LOVED your response to the ichihime ask about ichigo's feelings, and i guess i wanted to add to it by asking how you would envision ichigo's crush on her, what kind of thoughts he would think, because he's very hard to read in the romance department lol
i got another ask similar to this one about ichigo's feelings, but my inbox seems to have eaten it up because i don't see it here anymore (even though the number of unread asks it says i have still hasn't changed...), so i guess i'll answer them both here
i mean, we know their first meeting had a big impact on ichigo, even if orihime herself doesn't remember the encounter, and we also know based on what he says to rukia that he'd kind of been keeping an eye on her ever since their paths crossed in high school, so i'd say it began as a kindred soul thing: she lost someone close to her, he lost someone close to him, he knows what it's like, so he can't help but keep an eye out for her, worry about her, etc. he notes that she gets hurt every day, so i'm guessing it was a kind of situation where he'd be minding his own business or going his own way and then out of the corner of his eye, he hears/catches sight of her getting into something clumsy as usual. a dropped book here, a loud crash there.
i'd say his feelings at this time are pretty similar to orihime's feelings in the 'one way sympathies' chapter. he begins to understand her or feel closer to her because of this loss, but they're not necessarily close friends so he can't explain why he feels close to her. he mostly just ignores it all as background noise unless she's directly in front of him. we also know that she told him about her brother and her hairpins some time pre-canon, so maybe she brought it up in casual conversation once ("i never go anywhere without them" etc etc) and ichigo remembered it because he remembers seeing her and sora at the clinic and he knows how much sora meant to her. it's not unreasonable to guess that, having sisters of his own, he could kind of put himself in that situation and feel vehement about that happening to his own sisters. who would take care of them if he died? little sisters need big brothers, and having lost hers, ichigo probably couldn't help but really feel for her.
i think it's important to remember that ichigo ends up caring about people deeply very easily. after orihime encourages him to save rukia, and after she accompanies him with his other friends to help him fight a battle that has nothing to do with her, i think it's safe to say he's touched and he considers her a friend–and a cherished one at that, since she ends the arc by telling him she's sorry she couldn't protect him. ichigo doesn't get to hear people say things like that to him often, because he's....usually the one saying them. so his face in that moment speaks of fondness, tenderness, maybe even a little gratitude as orihime cries about his well-being.
ichihime really gets its push in the HM arc, though, i mean it's no surprise that the amount of ichihime fanfics probably tripled in number after the arc began. and for good reason! it's kind of incredible how many times orihime gets singled out this arc even before she gets kidnapped, like the time ichigo promised to protect her, even though chad and tatsuki were also there and also injured. it's clear that he feels like he's got something to prove in front of her, and i think, at the time, he justifies it to himself as needing to make it up to her because he let his own insecurities about his hollow get in the way of protecting her from yammy. and i don't think he's even lying to himself about it. ichigo was very, very occupied with his own trauma and the plot constantly happening all the time so i think he was satisfied with surface-level reasons of, "she's a pacifist, she has trauma with her brother and THAT'S why i've got to personally make it up to her."
but i do think, deep down, he has this tendency to only ever want to look good and strong and kind in orihime's eyes, because he likes the way she looks at him when she lets some of that love and admiration shine through. he's seen it before and i think he's a little addicted to it, because when he later remembers moments where he was proud to be a shinigami, orihime shows up there twice, both times crying about how much she cares about him lol. he clearly loves it whenever she expresses her feelings for him, though i don't think he's examining it as anything deeper than the simple joy of making his friends happy.
the repeated hand motif is another thing that i think is an important indicator of how ichigo feels at the time. here's a post i made about it a while ago that never came out of the drafts:
all this to say, i think ichigo has a feeling all throughout the HM arc that orihime left her heart with him when she said goodbye. he doesn't know how to justify this feeling, just that it exists and it's strong and he needs to prove to her that he won't be letting her down. the anime surprisingly rounds this out nicely by having ichigo hold her hand after the grimmjow fight, but so much of ichigo's behavior this arc feels like the narrative's response to orihime's insecurities about their bond in chapter 199. ichigo does some pretty balls-to-the-walls crazy things this arc for orihime, so it's kind of like he's responding to her confession with magnanimous action of his own (though he doesn't know that's what he's doing; it's subconscious behavior, coming from the part of him that heard her even when he himself was asleep—his heart. this repeats for a second time when he dies at the tower but his heart hears her again. not the physical, beating thing of course, but the metaphysical thing that transcends physical form). what does orihime mean to him at this point in the story? he would say she's his friend, of course, but to us it's clear that their bond continually reminds him of what he's fighting for. he sealed his promise to her with the kanji that makes up his name. his life's purpose lies in protecting people, and as long as there's someone to protect, someone he promised to protect, he'll never die.
fullbring arc shakes things up by a) having them get closer as friends who share mundane interests, like reading the same manga or sharing mutual friends (esp tatsuki, who he seems to have made up with) or just chilling and hanging out in his room and b) having him actually acknowledge that orihime wants to protect him, too, and is now actually capable of doing that. before, ichigo could easily brush her under the wing of his protection, but it's here that he's got to contend with the fact that he might have an equal soon—a potential battle partner, which is something he's never had before going into horn of salvation.
which brings us to the 10-year-timeskip. i've said it before, but once the surface-level reason of wanting to protect her, just like he wants to protect everyone, is swept away, i do think he's got time and space to consider the fact that he might actually have a crush on her. AKA, this, to me, is the first time he realizes it for what it is and says it out loud to himself. he's always been able to distract himself or justify his feelings to himself using plot events before, but they're in a period of peace now and that's when i think he realizes that he wants to be with her. i don't think he could have ever had that realization if he was still paranoid about her safety, because duty comes first to him, but now that he's not, i think he realizes that he just likes spending time with her and spending hours in his room, with or without their friends, just talking and relaxing. they grew up together and she's seen every side of him—pre-powers, shinigami, hollow, quincy, powerless, what have you—so i think it moves him, knowing that she's been by his side through it all, seeing him up close in all his forms and versions, and maybe he's ready now for her to see what he's like as a lover too. if she'd love that version of him, just like she did with everything else! he's sensitive and protective of his own feelings, so he'd only make that move once he had a guarantee that it would be accepted. that he would be accepted. and orihime has obviously always tried to accept him for who he is, even when he was at his worst, so he feels safe in giving this side to her too!
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They're heading to a convention
Thanks @persephinae for always inspiring me with all your Mass Effect stuff and helping with the references!
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meant to post this on valentine's day, but ended up running late so turned it into a white day thing instead! happy valentine's day/white day, origos!!!! (read on ao3)
It was stupid, really. The whole thing.
Valentine's was one of those holidays that Ichigo never paid attention to, which was probably why it snuck up on him every year. Back in high school, everything would be fine, and then he'd walk onto campus and there'd be giggling and bold hand-holding and more giggling. There would be chocolates. There would be the embarrassing ordeal of having to hear about love and romance – since everyone would be talking about it the whole day.
Ichigo didn't think he would ever miss it after graduation. He was glad to be rid of awkward adolescence and he knew he wasn't going to be mourning it any time soon.
Yet, as February came around and he watched his sisters make a big fuss about fancy boxes and ribbons, he realized it was that time of the year again. And it wasn't that it snuck up on him this time — not entirely. Valentine's Day in college was so much more understated than it was in high school. There were few friendship chocolates being passed around and fewer couples being overly public about their affection, and Ichigo couldn't help but feel strangely displaced by this subtlety. Chocolates now were more exclusive, and the gesture of giving them meant something.
In school, no one had ever given him chocolates that first year, mostly because he had a scary face and drove girls away (a matter Keigo repeatedly complained about – as if he wasn't doing a good enough job on his own).
Then came Orihime, who began making chocolates for her friends shortly after she picked up the bakery job in second year. He usually ate those, even if he always made sure to ask if they were edible first. Her cheeks would inevitably puff up in annoyance, which he privately found amusing, even if it meant enduring a kick from Tatsuki for his lack of tact.
There wasn't anything exclusive about it. Orihime was a dear friend and went out of her way to make people feel loved and seen and happy. It had mostly been fine, and since she didn't make a big deal out of it, he wasn't embarrassed by it either. Besides, he wasn't the only recipient. She was always careful to customize a small box for all their friends, and teasing aside, they were always really good. More than the chocolates themselves was Orihime's demeanor, the way she'd light up when she spotted him and the other guys walking down the corridor and abandon whatever conversation she was in to come up to them. She was so free, handing them their boxes, laughing quietly when Ichigo reigned in an overexcited Keigo.
Then, of course, she would say, very sweetly, “Happy Valentine’s Day, Kurosaki-kun!”
He wondered if ABCookies was open.
It wasn’t that he wanted anything, really. It would be a good opportunity to check in, that’s all. See how Orihime was doing. He had the hour before lunch off today anyway, so he could take an extended break — come back to town for just a little chat.
It wasn’t until he was on the train that he realized it would be awfully forward of him to pop in at her workplace at random. He considered shooting her a text, then decided against it. It would be better if it seemed like he was in the area, more casual. That way she wouldn’t feel like preparing anything special for him, or going out of her way to accommodate him.
So deciding, he stepped off the train and began walking down the familiar set of roads that led to ABCookies. The afternoon crowd had been sparse, mostly people who had early lunch breaks like him, and he enjoyed the quietness of it. It wasn’t always that you got lucky enough to take the train during lull hours. Heck, even as he walked down to the bakery, he couldn’t help but feel at ease as he passed the familiar signs of Karakura Town. This was what he wanted when he was looking for colleges as a teenager — a place close enough to home, just a stone’s throw away. Or in this case, a really peaceful train ride.
By the time he walked onto the curb of the bakery, he couldn’t help but notice the whizz of a bicycle approaching him from past his blind spot. It slowed as it got closer, and he was further shocked when he noticed the rider.
“Inoue,” he said, startled.
“Hi, Kurosaki-kun!” Her cheeks were flushed, velcro helmet straps digging into the skin on either cheek. She looked ridiculous. “What are you doing here?!”
“I was in the area,” he replied. “You look ridiculous with that helmet on.”
Orihime huffed. “Helmet safety is important, Kurosaki-kun.”
Ichigo was too baffled to say anything to that. In his private opinion, that head of hers could probably survive anything, but whatever.
Orihime hopped off her bike and began walking it instead so she could keep up pace with him. Her long dress swayed around her shoe-covered feet, an apron tucked around her waist. The bike, on the other hand, looked sleek and efficient. If anything, she had probably been out making deliveries and was just coming in for lunch.
“Glad I caught you at the right time,” he said, nodding at the bike. “Is that new?”
Orihime nodded, glowing with pride. “I bought it just this last week so I could do pick-ups and drop-offs faster. How do you like it? Isn’t it totally cool?”
“How many times have you nearly fallen off so far?”
Orihime shot him a dirty glare but on her sun-glowing face it just looked plain adorable. Ichigo ducked his head and coughed, trying to cover up a laugh. Still, she must not have been too mad, since she was still smiling as she led her bike to its lot.
“So,” she declared, dusting off her palms, unclicking her helmet so she could perch it onto her bike. “What brings Kurosaki-kun to this part of town, at this time of day?” She tapped her nose, clearly not finished, so Ichigo waited. Her eyes widened in theatrical realization and she leaned in closer. “Could it be that you were craving…”
Ichigo felt his cheeks turn warm for some odd reason.
“...our very special milk bread, which is incidentally on sale today?” She drew back and beamed as if she’d gotten away with something.
Ichigo released a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. “I told you I was in the area,” he said, “but I’ll buy the milk bread if it’s that good.”
Orihime grinned and led him through the glass doors of the bakery. “It’s my lunch break right now, but if you can afford to wait a few minutes I can pack it up for you right after.”
Ichigo shook his head, warily glancing at the pink-and-red heart decorations all over the establishment. “Why don’t you bring your lunch with you and we can eat it outside? Like, at a park or something.”
Orihime’s mouth fell open slightly at that, but she quickly recovered and nodded. “Tsukidai is only a few minutes away. We can even go on my bike!”
“I’m not sitting in the back of that thing,” Ichigo told her.
Orihime looked thwarted, but she went into the back to grab her lunch anyway, and then they left for Tsukidai Park, leaving ABCookies far behind them.
If Orihime noticed Ichigo’s haste to leave the Valentines-themed bakery, she didn’t say anything, choosing instead to fill him in on what NHK was saying about the weather today. She looked happy as usual, practically vibrating with it, and Ichigo couldn’t help but smile at that. If there was anyone with enough reasons to wake up cranky and grumpy it was Orihime, but she seemed content, her hands swinging by her sides.
As the vibrant green of the park came into view, they picked a spot with abundant shade under a big tree. Orihime laid out her apron under her, then brightened when Ichigo did the same with his jacket.
“We really should have brought a blanket,” she remarked idly, tucking her dress under her legs as she moved to open her bento. “I think we had one in the back, too.”
“I’m fine with this,” he reassured her. And he really was. It was a nice day outside, and the spread of the park was wide enough that many passersby could go about their day without disturbing anyone else.
Beside him, Orihime was happily picking at her rice, her half-updo keeping hair out of her face. When she noticed him looking, she nudged her box towards him, but he shook his head, gesturing towards his own sandwich as an explanation.
“Do you make your own lunch, Kurosaki-kun?” she asked through bites.
“Every day except Mondays and weekends,” Ichigo explains. “Yuzu’s really busy with high school now, so I had her teach me some stuff.” He shrugs. “I skip breakfast and I come home for dinner anyway, so one meal is doable. Trying to save up as much as I can.”
“That’s smart,” Orihime agreed.
“What about you? You get in, like, way early in the morning right?”
“I get in at five, and I’m out by two.” Orihime held up two fingers. “So I usually have lunch at home, but our boss makes us breakfast most of the time.”
“Wait.” Ichigo frowned and checked his watch. “So, you get off in two hours?”
Orihime nodded and giggled a little at his expression. “What?”
“Nothing, I’m just used to my day starting a little later,” he replied. “I think my earliest class is at 10.”
“Well, I take a nap when I get home, so it’s not like I’m on the go all day or anything.” Orihime set aside her empty box and picked up a juice carton to poke a straw through. Green apple, the same thing she drank at school, too. The familiarity of that softened something in him and he smiled. After all, he’d been thinking about school earlier in the day — mainly about how he didn’t miss it all that much, but there were some things, like seeing his friends every day, that he wouldn’t mind getting back.
Eventually, they packed up and headed back to the bakery. Ichigo had to take the train back for his next few classes, and Orihime had one more hour to kill before she went home for the day. Even though Ichigo had enjoyed lunch a lot, he couldn’t help but feel like an earlier craving was still lingering around, unsatisfied. It was mildly disappointing, but he supposed this was just one of those things he’d have to get used to now in adulthood.
(“Or get a girlfriend so she’ll make chocolates for you every year,” the devil on his shoulder that looked suspiciously like Karin said. Hah. Yeah right. That sounded like an evil reason to get a girlfriend either way)
As they reached the familiar curb, however, Orihime stopped and said, “Um, Kurosaki-kun…”
Ichigo glanced down at her and raised a brow.
She smiled, almost guiltily. “It’s weird, but I was thinking about school earlier this morning. You know, it’s Valentine’s Day…”
Ichigo’s heartbeat quickened. Somehow, despite her working in a bakery that was decorated for Valentine’s Day, he had hoped she hadn’t noticed, which he knew was naive, but in his defense he had wanted to avoid this becoming a thing. Things were complicated, and demanded energy towards long-repressed thoughts and feelings. And God forbid he had a feeling on Valentine’s Day.
“...and I guess I was remembering how I used to make chocolates for everyone,” she continued. “And how Tatsuki-chan is with her students, and Ishida-kun is away at school and Sado-kun is training in Okinawa. It made me miss the old days a little.”
“Yeah,” Ichigo said, unsure of where she was going with this. “I mean, me too.”
Orihime held his eyes and smiled, before dropping her gaze to the footpath. “But I did, um. Make chocolates today,” she whispered, her cheeks pink. Ichigo’s heart nearly stopped. “I didn’t think I’d see you today or anything, but I guess I was just feeling nostalgic and it’s—” She bit her lip, flailing a little when she saw the wide-eyed look on his face. “— I mean, you don’t have to accept them or anything! I know it’s a little silly to still be making them, but I guess I just…missed everyone…” She trailed off pathetically.
“I’ll take them, Inoue,” he said warmly, and her eyes flew up to his, amazed.
“Oh!” She froze, then soldiered on, still a little dazed. “They’re—they’re in the back, so I’ll just go get them. Please wait here.” She turned tail and rushed to the bakery, glancing over her shoulder once to check if he was still there.
Ichigo, on the other hand, could hardly contain the giddy thrill threatening to spill all over his face. Chocolates, he thought, almost grinning. If any bakery-goers shot him odd looks, he didn’t notice — or even care.
Orihime returned moments later, a little more composed. Her eyes flitted around like a drug dealer about to make a drop-off, and then she extended a cream, red-ribboned box in his direction. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Kurosaki-kun!” she cheered. “They’re homemade, so let me know if you liked them, okay?”
This time Ichigo really did smile. “Thanks, Inoue.” Also, “Thanks for lunch, too. It was good to catch up.”
Orihime cheeks dimpled. “Stop by any time!”
Later, after they parted ways and Ichigo went to class and eventually came back home, his sisters noticed the box in his hands and exchanged an intrigued look. He’d tucked the box in his bag during class to ward away unwanted attention but now that he was home, he had brought it out to stop it from melting.
“Don’t give me that look,” he said to his shocked sisters. “They’re from Inoue.”
Yuzu’s brows lifted higher. “Did you see her today?”
Ichigo cleared his throat. “I had an hour off and nothing else to do.” Like he was going to tell his sisters he was craving chocolate.
“Right.” Karin eyed the box. “So can we have some?”
Ichigo held it to his chest protectively and frowned. “Girls are supposed to give boys treats today, you know. You can have your turn on White Day.”
“That is so outdated,” Yuzu remarked, sounding so much like a teenager that Ichigo was starting to feel a little old. “You just don’t want to share your chocolates with us.”
Well they’re mine, he wanted to say, childish as it was. He shared most everything with them, but wasn’t there anything that was off-limits anymore? He’d been craving this.
“Besides,” Karin said, snapping him out of it. “Doesn’t that mean you’ve got to get Orihime-chan something for White Day?”
Everyone paused.
Ichigo blinked.
__________
The craving, unfortunately, persisted. He had no way of explaining it, but there was a strange tug within his rib cage, a bizarre hunger that persisted in the back of his mind despite the chocolates (which had been deliciously creamy and nearly made him see stars). Assuming it to be boredom, then, he went Hollow hunting and satiated himself with having something to do. Then it’d go away, or he’d be preoccupied with thoughts of something else — the everyday motions of life, with places to go and commitments to meet.
At times, he imagined Orihime’s life running parallel to his, mostly out of awe that by the time he’d woken up, she would have already gotten so much done. Or that by noon, her day was ending while his was just beginning. He suspected she spent most of her off-hours as he did, doing chores or watching television or taking glorious naps.
It was strange to be living in the after of things — to have time actually stretch on without any strings, no battles to fight, or people to rescue. It was a full kind of boredom, so different from the desolation of his teenage years — the years before he got his powers, or maybe the 17 months when he temporarily lost them. The heavy fog of despair had slowly been dissipating for a while now, giving him time to think, to just be.
It was a state he’d never been in before.
“Maybe you should travel,” Orihime suggested, eyes nearly glowing at the thought. Her hands were resting on the grass behind her, legs outstretched in front of her. She was wearing a shorter dress this time. It was a Wednesday, and he had that pre-lunch free period again. He’d been almost sheepish when he showed up at the bakery, but she hadn’t seemed to mind the prospect of his company much.
“What, like student hostels and all that hashtag instatravel crap?”
Orihime rolled her eyes, but in a fond way that seemed teasing more than anything. “Kurosaki-kun,” she chastised.
Ichigo shook his head. “I’d miss my bed too much,” he said, mainly to make her laugh, but it wasn’t not true.
“I know what you mean though,” Orihime said, addressing his earlier point, her eyes faraway and contemplative. “It’s hard to trust how peaceful everything is sometimes.”
And that was exactly the heart of it, though he was a little startled at the accuracy with which she’d captured his feelings. All he’d said to start the conversation had been, “It’s so quiet.”
“Yeah,” he replied. It shouldn’t have been surprising that she’d been thinking about it too. She had been there, right at the end of it, and then those last few weeks before graduation where nothing had felt real at all. So much of their minds had been on Soul Society in its shambles, the crumbled ruins of the Royal Realm, their friends torn apart and injured. He’d take this mild aimlessness over that any day.
“But if something happened,” she said quietly, “we’d be ready, right?”
Something twisted in his chest at her tone and he said, a little strongly, “Nothing’s going to happen.” She looked up, startled, so he softened the blow with, “But yeah. So don’t worry about it.”
A little smile broke out onto Orihime’s face.
It wasn't that he made a conscious habit out of it or anything. Wednesdays and Fridays were the two days a week he had the hour before lunch off, and he liked getting on the train and watching the blur of Karakura Town's outskirts pass him by. He always brought his headphones, listening to bands he had forgotten he even liked back in high school. So much of life had passed him by in the last four years that rediscovering those felt like a pleasant surprise. Like rediscovering parts of himself that had been buried away by more pressing concerns.
And of course, there was Orihime at the end of his journey, vibrant and appropriately conversational. He liked those little interludes where they talked about nothing and everything, the vision of her waving to him as he left each time burned in the back of his mind. Sometimes he felt shy about it, especially on days she wore those free-flowing dresses that gave her a real glow. People often did a double-take when she passed them by—something that mildly irked Ichigo, even though he was well used to her constant throng of admirers by now.
It was a fluttery kind of feeling, watching her put on his headphones so he could play her a song he liked on his phone. He was always nervous in those moments—moments where her approval of his tastes and interests suddenly became very important to him.
But he always found himself getting on the train like clockwork every time anyway.
Despite the pleasure, though, there was always a thought, a tiny anxiety: White Day. He still had no idea what to get her and their conversations did little to help. Some of the websites he scrolled through embarrassed him, since they often began with words like, if you're not sure what to get your girlfriend this White Day, and that was a line of thought that just didn't bear thinking.
Of course, his friends were no help either, since Sado wasn't doing anything for the holiday, Mizuiro was doing something he definitely couldn't do with Orihime, and Keigo had recently begun to declare that White Day was a marketing scam created by corporations to sell more products (he'd been dumped by a girlfriend recently). Asking the one guy he was friends with in college was just too much, since that guy would definitely make some assumptions about Ichigo's private life.
He knew he could always get her a bouquet of flowers or a box of chocolate. He knew that. It didn't have to be special and Orihime wouldn't even be mad if it wasn't. But Orihime was such a cherished friend, he cared about her so much, and he'd been kicked in the head enough times by enough people to realize that when a girl meant something to you, you couldn't half-ass things like this. He didn't want to be too forward, but he still wanted Orihime to know he appreciated her. He still wanted to get her a gift that would equal, somehow, the heartfelt sincerity of her own affection.
(“Equal?” Ikumi demanded, one hand on her hip, when he confessed at the end of a shift that he needed an advance that month. “You’re supposed to get something worth three times the original! God, I can’t even look at you, you’re so bad, take this.” She’d thrusted his bonus at him and asked him to never show his face there again, even if he had a shift there the next evening)
But despite the extra income, he still had no idea what to get. And since desperate times called for desperate measures, he called the one guy who did have an idea about things like this. Even if that guy was kind of an asshole.
“Kurosaki, you do realize White Day is only three days away,” Uryu remarked dryly, no hellos or how are you’s as he walked past Ichigo. He seemed equally annoyed to be seen in public with Ichigo as Ichigo was to be seen with him, but deep down, somewhere deep, deep down, Ichigo was glad to see him alive and well. Uryu was a tough guy to stay in touch with.
“Shut up,” Ichigo said, following him as they hit a familiar block of stores. “I had been thinking, I just didn’t come up with anything.”
Uryu tsked. “Well, Inoue-san is very fond of this area, so if you’re looking to gift her something personal, this would be a good place to start.”
Ichigo ignored the burning in his cheeks at the mention of ‘personal’ (seriously, why did the guy phrase things like that?) and frowned. “Why do you know that?”
Uryu gave him a mild look. “We took many excursions here for Handicrafts Club events.”
“Oh.” Ichigo took one glance around and noticed a chain of stores selling all kinds of wares—clothes, cosmetics, jewelry—and winced. “Where do we start?”
“I suppose women like jewelry,” Uryu began, staring at the store ahead of them.
“Are you crazy?! I barely have the budget for something like that!”
Uryu gave him a pointed look. “Then how about we buy her a card and be done with it.” The way he pronounced the word sounded acerbic, like he couldn’t help but look down on people who gave cards.
“Fine, let’s go in there.” Ichigo shoved him through the door, wishing for the billionth time that Chad had come instead. (Though, he had a sinking suspicion that Chad wouldn’t have been any more useful either. Why did he have the most annoying friends?)
The situation in the store wasn’t any better, either. The store-owner kept giving him knowing looks despite Ichigo insisting that Orihime wasn’t his girlfriend, and no, calling her his special lady friend wasn’t any better—even if Orihime was special, and a lady, and a friend. Just not all at once. Alright?
“For God’s sake,” Uryu muttered at Ichigo’s hundredth go-around. Nothing he looked at really caught his eye, and everything that did was way too expensive. Uryu turned to the attendant. “Do you have something within his price range?”
The attendant paled a little but nodded at his direct tone. She turned to pull out their White Day collection, which mostly just consisted of racks of earrings, bracelets, necklaces and rings they had on sale.
“How about a bracelet?” Uryu pulled one up delicately. It had a clover on it.
Ichigo made a face. “Damn, your taste is so much worse than mine.”
Uryu positioned his wrist as if to throw the bracelet at Ichigo’s face.
“Alright, calm down, you’re making a scene,” Ichigo barked, glancing warily at the attendant, who was watching them with one hand on the phone. The last thing he needed was to get kicked out of the store without having bought a present. “She can’t wear bracelets at work anyway, she’s got to keep her wrists bare when she’s baking.”
Uryu looked surprised at that. Ichigo, too, was slightly surprised he knew that.
Uryu recovered and pointed to a pair of earrings. “How about these?”
Ichigo clucked his tongue in annoyance. “She doesn't have her ears pierced, dumbass.”
Uryu blinked.
“Did you really not know that?” Ichigo asked dubiously, moving past Uryu to examine a pair of cufflinks with mild curiosity. Some were in the shape of a diamond, others had some kind of Sanrio character on them, but the one that caught Ichigo's eye was a heart.
He smiled unthinkingly. A heart on the sleeve was just. So typically her. He found himself reaching for it, surprised it was on discount. It was just a small heart attached to the cuff, but Orihime wore sweaters when it was chilly and now that his eyes had landed on this, he knew he didn't want to buy anything else.
“Uh.” He held it up. “This one, please.”
Uryu sighed in relief.
__________
Ichigo arrived at the bakery on White Day, a neatly packaged box sitting inside his pocket. It was a Saturday, so he was well-rested, having crashed the previous evening and slept fourteen hours straight. He'd texted Orihime to meet him outside for a minute, a text she'd replied to with: Sure! :)
He wondered if she knew what the date was.
As he approached the familiar glass doors, he noticed Orihime crouching by the board outside, chalk in hand. She seemed to be writing the day's discounts and special offers in some kind of fancy, bubbly handwriting.
“Yo, Inoue,” he greeted.
“Kurosaki-kun!” She bounced up to her feet and grinned.
Ichigo felt nervous for some reason, so he stalled. “They've got you out here doing this kind of stuff, huh.”
Orihime huffed. “They didn't get me to do anything, I volunteered.”
Ichigo shook his head. “You're too nice, Inoue.”
“There's no such thing as too nice,” she replied in a put-upon, matter-of-fact way that was adorable, really. Ichigo wanted to pinch her cheeks.
He coughed. “Anyway. I uh.”
Orihime looked up at him curiously. His palms suddenly turned sweaty, heart in his throat as he pulled the box out of his pocket. Better to just get on with it, right?
“I got you something,” he explained, holding his palm open so she could see the box. “You know. For White Day.”
Orihime's eyes widened, her cheeks fast-filling with color as her mouth dropped open in surprise. “Oh,” she said, barely a whisper. “What is it?”
Ichigo chuckled. “Open it yourself, idiot.”
Orihime wiped her hands on her apron and gingerly took the box from him like she was too afraid of touching it wrong. With one careful finger, she undid the bow, releasing the lid from its tight hold until it sprang free.
“Oh,” she whispered again when she caught a glimpse of the little silver heart. “Oh, Kurosaki-kun, it's beautiful. You really shouldn't have.” She sounded like she was trying to hold back tears, though her red nose and glistening eyes were kind of a dead giveaway.
Insurmountable pride filled Ichigo's chest as he watched her fingers delicately trace the little charm.
“I'm sure it's not worth three times your gift, but,” Ichigo said, smiling, “happy White Day, Inoue.”
Orihime laughed, cradling it to her chest with joy. “You didn’t even have to get me anything, but thank you. I love it.”
Ichigo felt his chest seize at the image of her, soft sunlight bathing her as she hugged the blue box he’d picked out for her. Affection pulsed within him. Unsure of what to do with it, he tucked his hands in his pockets.
“I guess I should get going,” Ichigo said reluctantly. “I really only came by to give you this.”
“Mm. It was good seeing you, though,” Orihime said softly, then perked, startling Ichigo. “Should I walk you home?” She sounded mischievous, teasing.
Ichigo shook his head, trying not to smile as he said, dryly, “Nah, you should get back to your chalk drawings. They seemed important.”
“They are,” Orihime said stubbornly, like she saw right through his sarcasm—and wasn’t going to rise to its bait. But at the corners of her mouth was a smile threatening to spill, a smile he knew he could fully take credit for.
And really, what was better than that?
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Ichigo and Orihime original designs for Bleach TYBW Anime Cour 2 opening
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Gosh, is this really only my second winter piece this season?? Yikes… And I claim to love this season ;~;
Ik winter’s not over yet, but it’s that time of year where I go on my (planned ^^;;;) break, this piece being my send off (…potentially… I’ll try and see if I can manage a sketch by tonight, but if not, this is it for now). I’ll still be here since it’s a month-long break focused mostly on my iPad (I mean, I can’t stay off it completely, but I’ll try to do as much as I can, eheh. This also means I might post a traditional sketch or two. Maybe, maybe not. But no digital works, that’s for sure). I’d say I’d just be more infrequent, but, like… I’ve already been rather infrequent lately, too…
Fun fact: This was actually intended to be an autumn piece, but then my art rut happened. So I decided to update it into a winter piece. Took a lot longer than I intended to, but I’m still recovering from that rut… only for me to take another break from art now 🙃 Ah, well. C’est la vie.
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like candy sugar so sweet, that’s what it tastes like when you’re loving me
happy white day 🤍
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Ichigo and Orihime in ROCK MUSICAL BLEACH: Arrancar the Beginning.
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