Bleach 1. Holding Hands

Soul Society was disorienting, most of the buildings looking exactly the same. That's why it was difficult for Orihime to know which direction to go when her companion urgently advised her to run this direction or that to escape a crowd of low-ranking Shinigami.

After a while, it didn't matter to Orihime that they were fugitives on the run and that their lives were in danger. Ishida was naturally suited to quick thinking, while Orihime hesitated - because of this, he'd taken to grabbing her hand to get her into a safer area.

With their hands together, little else mattered.


	2. Trapped Together

The sky above did not inspire confidence. It had been overcast all day, but in the past several minutes progressively darker clouds had rolled onto the horizon and were now directly overhead. Since the trip to Soul Society, everyone who went had become a more tightly-knit group, but today, other obligations had left only Ishida and Orihime walking home together.

The rain came all at once, a sudden torrential downpour that would leave them both looking like rats escaped from the sewers within moments. They ran to the nearest shelter, a phone booth not really meant to hold more than one person. They uncomfortably tried to maintain personal space, but a particularly loud thunderclap rang out and this notion was quickly abandoned. Ishida merely frowned with annoyance at such an unecessary loud noise, but Orihime jumped and instinctively moved closer to him.

She laughed at herself nervously and it was difficult to tell if she was honestly frightened or just making a joke, but either way, she was holding onto his arm now and he thought it would seem unkind of him not to put an arm around her. It was only the chivalrous thing to do. Yes, chivalry, that was it.

In his mind, he couldn't help but thank whichever higher power responsible for the rain.


	3. Haunted

It was inevitable that Karakura High would choose the most cliché school event imaginable: Halloween was coming fast, and with it, of course, a haunted house.

The Handicrafts Club was quite busy as a result - there were ghosts to make and witch dresses to be hemmed, and all manner of tacky, childish decorations to take a needle to. Ishida really didn't want much of anything to do with it, but most of the school knew how skilled he was with a sewing machine, and he might just have been publicly executed had he not agreed to help.

After many hours of work, the haunted house was ready to go, with only a few more things to be added. Ishida and Orihime walked down the dark hallway with a pile of fake spider webs in their arms. These were a finishing touch to be added to the chem. lab, and after that, they could both leave.

Opening the door, fake bats and many candles awaited them. It wouldn't take long to finish up, but the door slammed shut behind them, and, in classic horror movie fashion, locked itself. Some moron had rigged the doors too early, and all they could do was wait until someone noticed them missing and came looking.

_Here I am in the middle of a haunted house, _Orihime thought, _and all I'm afraid of is this strange feeling in my heart. _


	4. Kiss

Orihime wasn't one to let sulkers sulk in peace. Those who appeared drepressed in her presence were nagged and doted over until annoyance had replaced whatever woe they had felt to begin with. It was a step up at best and a lateral move at worst.

She knew this very well and did it consciously, locating the moody like a wolf tracks prey. Today, that prey was Ishida.

"Ishida-kun," She began, a bid to get his attention.

He looked over to her briefly but gave no response and soon returned to staring into the distance.

"Ishida-kun," she said again, but expected no answer. "You shouldn't be so depressed, I'm sure there's a way to get your powers back." This time he didn't even look her way, but rather glared with more passion at nothing in particular.

"It's not like you're worthless without a bow and arrow," she said, stumbling awkwardly around what she really meant. She tugged at the bottom of her grey skirt nervously, because Ishida was basically a brick wall at this point and the odds of her words being of any benefit seemed bleak. She swallowed a sudden, deep feeling of guilt, because in a sense, this was all her fault.

"I'm sorry," Orihime said quietly. "If I'd been stronger, you wouldn't have had to..." she trailed off. Her meaning was clear, though finishing that sentence would make her quite miserable. She was thinking again that she always brought people misfortune through her weakness - if she hadn't needed to be protected from Kurotsuchi, Ishida wouldn't have had to completely use up his powers, and he wouldn't be in this state of depression now.

"I'm sorry," she repeated, almost crying. "It's because of me. If there's anything I can do to help..." She didn't notice that he was actually looking at her now.

"Orihime," he said blankly. "Come here."

"Huh?"

"Come here," he said again with an almost frightening tone of authority. She complied and obediently closed the distance between them, walking up the wall he was leaning back against and standing a couple feet from him. "Yes?" she said, waiting for him to explain why she had been beckoned.

He put his hand around her wrist and pulled her closer still until she was directly in front of him, only a few inches seperating them. Her eyes widened with suprise as he out one arm around her, hand resting on the small of her back. She blushed at the heat his of his fingers on her back through the thin fabric of her shirt. Orihime looked away in embarassment, but he slid his other hand up her neck and ran his fingers through her orangeish hair, turning her head to face him.

Ishida looked over her face, her eyes still shining with tears of guilt and her cheeks flushed pink. He thought he could hear her heart beating faster, but she looked so sad and uncertain that he couldn't stand it. In an instant he pressed his lips to hers, tightening his grip around her as she hesitantly took hold of the front of his shirt to steady herself. Orihime felt absolutely miniscule in his embrace, his warmth all at once like a formidable wall and a favorite quilt, consuming her and wrapping all around her.

Finally, he moved his lips away from hers, but did not loosen his grip. "It wasn't your fault, Hime," he whispered into her ear. "And if it had been because of you, it would be worth it."


	5. Daydreaming

Looking at her, he wasn't sure if she had actually noticed that class had been dismissed and that she and him were the only ones left in the room. She had that farn away look in her eyes that suggested she was disconnected from reality, contemplating something along the lines of what panda bear heaven is like. It would probably have a lot of bamboo, he thought, but that was beside the point.

"Orihime?" he said, putting a hand on her shoulder the same as if she had been a child who slept through her alarm. She jumped.

"Oh, Ishida-kun! What's the matter?" she asked, startled.

"Nothing's the matter... but the class has ended. It's time to go," he explained patiently. "What were you doing, anyway?"

"Eheh, just daydreaming, I suppose," she said perkily.

"What on Earth about?" he asked, curious at what thought could leave her so clueless of her surroundings.

"Oh, n-nothing," she answered, smiling, and wondering what kind of expression he would have if she had the courage to tell the truth.


End file.

Bleach, Friendship, Romance