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Ichigo was absent that day.
He was sick. Orihime knew because at the beginning of the first class, their homeroom teacher announced that his father called school and told so. She thought about it all day; could she do anything about it? If yes, what?
And now she was standing in front of Kurosakis’ door, her small tote bag full of breads. It was her day off; she just stopped by the bakery to buy freshly baked breads. Not the leftover ones he despised.
“Orihime-chan?” It was Yuzu who opened the door and greeted her.
“Good evening, I just-“She stopped abruptly. Unsure of what to say, even though she thought about it on the way here.
“You came to see Oniichan, right? Come in, he’s sleeping now but you can wait inside a little bit. I have to wake him up a little later, he has to eat something and take his medications.”
“I brought breads, thinking he can eat them.” She managed to say before going inside.
“Of course, dad said he can eat everything he wants. I was actually cooking something for him, would you help me?”
Orihime nodded, and she went to the kitchen with Yuzu. And Yuzu told her everything from the scratch; Ichigo woke up feeling sick at the morning. His father had a lot of appointments that he couldn’t cancel so he wanted to take Ichigo to the clinic with him. Ichigo refused, telling him that he wanted to rest at home. His father had no choice other than letting him stay, giving him the medications he would need. She and Karin went to school but it was only her who immediately came back after school. Karin went to play football with friends.
“You didn’t want to leave your brother alone, did you?” Orihime asked once she’s done talking.
“I love coming back home early,” she replied while slicing one of the breads Orihime brought. “But yes, today I was worried about him too. Fortunately he’s fine, he was awake when I arrived and we had a little chat.”
“I see.”
“I’m sure he would be happy seeing you, too.” Yuzu beamed “I’ll go first and tell him that you’re here. He probably wouldn’t want to greet you in pajamas.”
She had no objections so she just nodded and watched Yuzu leaving the kitchen with a tray in her hand. She sighed. Even though he had no mother, he had sisters and a father who dotes on him. Their family bonds were near perfect. She had longed for a family like this ever since her brother’s death. She had good friends, but once she’s back at her apartment she’s being all alone and she doesn’t like it. She was dreaming about having her own family every so often, but she was too young for that yet. And she probably wouldn’t be with the guy she loved so much.
Said guy’s younger sister came back, grinning.
“He’s waiting for you in a few minutes. Just as I guessed, he wanted to wear something better.”
Orihime nodded, a mixture of anxiety and excitement washing over her as she waited.
--
A couple of minutes later, she was in his bedroom, sitting on the floor beside him. He was looking good enough in his casual sweatpants and hoodie. They had a small talk about school. Orihime told him about the homework their teacher gave them. Since he was already feeling better, he would go to school the next day. So he should do them sometime later.
Then, silence.
Orihime watched him as he was eating. Yuzu prepared a tray for two, even though she said she had already eaten at school. She wasn’t hungry at all. However, she was drinking tea.
“Thanks for the bread. Yuzu said that it was your treat.”
“Oh it’s nothing at all! I’m glad you liked it.” She said sheepishly.
Then, silence again.
This time, Orihime tried to start a conversation. She had already noticed a book with an interesting cover on his nightstand.
“The book you read…is it any good?” She finally asked.
“Take a look for yourself.” He leaned to take the book and handed it to her. “It’s Karin’s manga. She left it here before leaving for school and told me to read it if I ever get bored. I didn’t, so I didn’t read.”
It was called ‘Mythical World’. She flipped through the book a bit, then set it aside.
“Looks nice, but too thick. I can’t read it now.” She admitted.
“If you want, you can take it home to read.”
“But it’s Karin’s! And she isn’t at home now, so I-“
“She would understand. She enjoyed the mangas I borrowed from you, too.”
“Fine then, thanks!” She blushed. “I’ll give it back to you a few days later.”
“Take your time.”
She left the room to put the book in her bag. Ichigo took the pill he was supposed to take after meal.
If he had known that she’d borrow the manga, he would’ve written a love letter and hide it between its pages. There was no other way since he couldn’t confess his love to her directly. He could fight a hundred Hollows and never be afraid. But he was afraid of fighting for her love. He was sure that a girl like her would reject him.
He sighed. He even couldn’t ask her if she would stay a little to help him with homework…
“Kurosaki-kun,” Her voice startled him and she noticed that. “Sorry, I just wanted to ask if you’re done with eating. If so, I’ll take the tray back to Yuzu-“
“Can you stay a little longer?” He blurted.
“Huh?” She wasn’t sure if she heard it right.
“I think I need some help with homework since I was absent today.” He added, determined to not give up this time.
“Oh, sure! But let me take the tray first.” She chirped, taking the tray and leaving the room again.
He congratulated himself on this.