Orihime Inoue

Orihime x Ichigo: Springtime strawberries

Orihime woke up with a sliver of sunlight shining in the room. She tossed around for a moment wanting to fall asleep again because of the weekend, but quickly opened her eyes when she realized what day it was. Throwing back the covers she ran over to her window, pushed the curtains aside, opened the latch, slid the window up, and smiled at the warm breeze blowing through on this sunny day. It was the first day of spring and she couldn't be anymore excited to celebrate. Not bothering to change out of her pj's Orihime ran into the kitchen and got out the ingredients for strawberry shortcake. Her traditional breakfast to start off the new season. However she realized that she had ranout of the most important part of the dish. Strawberries. Groaning in dramatic annoyance and resting her head against the counter, Orihime dragged herself to her room and got changed into clothes that she would wear to the store. Walking out the door with a bag in hand she looked around at the lively streets of her home town. It seems that all the flowers around had bloomed for this special day and she couldn't contain the smile on her face. Entering the first produce store she came upon, Orihime went straight to the fruit section. Luck was on her side today because a fresh shipment of strawberries had just arrived. Anxiously she scanned and picked a large amount of strawberries, knowing that she was going to use them throughout the week. The line to the cash register was long but fast. The cashier rang up the price of the strawberries and Orihime paid the necessary amount quickly. While waiting for the receipt she looked around and through the entrance of the produce shop. Her eyes stopped when they landed on a familiar head of bright orange hair. "Good Morning Ichigo!" She called waving her arm to get his attention. The volume of her voice was enough to have him spot her immediately. Saying good bye and wishing the cashier a nice day, Orihime ran over to her long time friend. "It's nice to see you today Ichigo." She said with a smile while catching her breath. "It's good to see you as well Hime." He replied. "What brings you here this morning?" He asked. "Oh, well today is the first day of spring and to celebrate I was going to make strawberry shortcake for breakfast. Only to find out that I had no strawberries at all! So that's what I'm here." She laughed nervously. "What brings you here?" She asked. Starting to walk down the street back to her home. Ichigo followed next to her. "Seemed a nice day out and I haven't been notified of any hollow attacks." He explained. The other reason, was that he wanted to stop by and see how she was doing, but he didn't want to mention that. "Well, I'm so happy that you decided to take this path. I got to run into you." She smiled. "So the soul reaper business has been slow today? That's good, you deserve a break once in a while. Ooh, would you like to have some shortcake with me?" She asked. Ichigo wanted to say yes right away but had a feeling that he would be called away soon. He decided to ignore this thought. He and Orihime don't normally spend time together, and he didn't want to waste this opportunity. "Yeah, that sounds great. What are you looking at?" He asked. Orihime had been captivated by a bouquet of blue orchids across the street. He followed her gaze and smiled slightly at what she was looking at. Taking her hand and looking both ways, Ichigo walked across the street and straight up the flower shop with Orihime. Grabbing the bouquet and the vase it came in, Ichigo then walked up to the cash register. Paying for the flowers and turning around he handed her the orchids. With surprise in her eyes she accepted the gifted and smiled brightly. This made the substitute soul reaper smile just as wide. "Thank you so much. Now I really need to pay you back. Come on let's get back my place and we'll make that shortcake." She said. By grabbing his hand tightly she pulled him along as they both ran to her home. Racing up the steps to her house, Orihime unlocked the door for both of them and hurried inside. She placed the bag of strawberries on the counter and when she looked at Ichigo again, they both burst out laughing. Soon the adrenaline of their run had died down and Orihime started to make the batter for the shortcake. They talk about school, what they were hoping for the summer, and reminisced about the events that transpired during their time in the soul society. "Where did you find the recipe for the shortcake Hime?" He asked. "Oh,well. It was a recipe that Sora used. He never mentioned where he got it from, but I'm thinking that it was my mother's recipe" She explained nonchalantly. Ichigo didn't respond, Orihime rarely ever talked about her parents. He knew that the family relationship was nonexistent, but sometimes he found himself confused as to why someone could treat her with such cruelty. "Anyway, that's only a guess. He could've written the recipe down from online." She said rather quickly.
Relief flooded her when the timer signaled that the shortcake was done baking. Taking the sweet items out of the oven and placing them on two separate plates. Picking up a bowl that she mixed ingredients together in, she dished the strawberry topping onto the shortcake. To complete their treat she took out a can of whipped cream and gave each plate a generous amount. Grabbing two sets of forks and knives and setting them down, Ichigo and Orihime both sat down and dug into their dish. It tasted amazing. "Well I have to say Hime, this is really good." He said, his mouth full of berries and cream. She giggled at his enthusiasm. "I'm so glad you like it. I've been using more recipes for dishes. Rather than coming up with my own." She said with a smile. They continued to eat in silence. After they were both full they worked together at putting away the leftovers and cleaning the plates and silverware. "You should come over sometime again. This was fun." Orihime said. She hopped onto the counter with the whipped cream can in hand. "We should do this again." He said, handing her a spoon. "Maybe same time next week? We could make pancakes if you wanted." He suggested. Laughing when she looked at him with a mouth full of whipped cream. She swallowed the sweet treat and laughed too. "That would be very nice." She said. He put the towel down that he had used to dry the dishes. While his eyes weren't on her face, there was a flash of mischief in her eyes. Looking up at her he began to say "I could also bring over some-" He didn't get a chance to finish because Orihime had put a small amount of whipped cream in her hand and when he was close enough, she smeared it on the side of his face. Ichigo was stunned into silence, what just happened? Orihime had burst out laughing when she saw the look on his face. She felt so elated in that moment and acted on an impulse that turned her face red as a tomato. She didn't know what it was but when she looked at him again, she grasped the collar of his shirt pulled him close, closed her eyes, and kissed the corner on his mouth that had the whipped cream on it. They stayed like that for a moment. Ichigo's hand gripping the edge of the counter and Orihime's lips planted just next to his. She opened her eyes in an instant, what had she done? What was going to happen next. She pulled her face away from his and gazed at him with rising anxiety in her eyes. Ichigo's mouth opened but just before he got the chance to say something his soul pager beeped. "I have to go Hime." He said, but didn't move. Orihime got down from the counter and walked over to the door. "Well go save the day soul reaper." She said with a hesitant smile. Ichigo slowly made his way over to her as she opened the door. Walking out he didn't say anything. Her eyes saddened at his retreating form and began to close the door. Worried that she had ruined their friendship. A hand stopped the door from closing. She only had a second to realize who it was before she felt a pair of lips press firmly against hers. Ichigo's hands hugged her body close to his, while her arms wound around his neck and fingers weaved through his hair. Their lips moved against each other once they had learned a rhythm. Neither had kissed someone before and it was something new for both of them to experience. Both their lugs began to burn with the lack of oxygen and had to pull back to catch their breathes. They didn't look away from each other for a moment. They didn't want to look away, didn't want to let go of the other. "I couldn't leave without saying good by." Ichigo replied. His warm breath fanning over her face as he rested his forehead against hers. "I'm glad you remembered. You would've had to make it up to me next time we saw each other." She said. They both smiled and closed their eyes again. It felt like a life long question had finally been answered. His soul phone beeped again and he hugged her tighter before reluctantly letting her go. "I'll be sure to see you same time next week right?" Ichigo asked as he walked down the steps of her house. "You can count on it. Please be safe out there." Orihime said. "When have I not Hime?" He asked. The woman gave him a knowing look with a side smile. Ichigo smiled back, winked at her, and took off in the direction of danger. Her eyes followed him all the way until she couldn't see him anymore. She closed the front door and rested against it. "Well this was certainly a great start to a new day." She said to herself. And with that Orihime continued about her day and was relived when she received a phone call letting her know that he was safe, just like she asked. What more can I say? These two are perfect for each other. Not only can they fight in a battle together, but they can also live a normal day that doesn't involve the fate of the world in the balance. They have this beautiful and unique relationship that can't be compared.
********************************************************
I loved writing this one. This is where I'm ending this book at the moment, but if you'd like to see more leave a message in the comments or dm me. Hope you enjoy and below is yet another link to a song that inspired this piece. ^.^
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCC_b5WHLX0