The End. [#1] [Orihime] [Bleach]
Title :: The End.
Theme :: #1, ‘once upon a time’ [15pairings]
Character/Pairings :: Orihime; both Tatsuhime and Ichihime implied.
Rating :: PG
Wordcount :: 579
Summary :: Inoue Orihime liked to doodle.
(Spoilers for Arrancar arc.)
Inoue Orihime liked to doodle.
And so, the margins of her school notebooks were filled with fanciful, bizarre drawings, each more nonsensical than the last. (Most of them seemed to involve singing and dancing foodstuffs, her favourite being the bespectacled pineapple that twirled merrily about with some sushi.) She would proudly show them off to any of her friends who cared to see, and she didn’t mind if they all thought she was insane (with the exception of Chizuru, who without fail proclaimed them to be genius).
But her most treasured drawing, sprawling across an entire sheet of paper rather than just squished inside a margin, she kept hidden away. It was nearly as silly as all of the others, of course, but somehow, she couldn’t bear the thought of anyone laughing at this.
It was of three cartoonish figures, as was her wont, but none of these were dancing.
Instead, a fearsome, snarling dragon (that somehow still looked pretty, Orihime thought) stood next to a scowling little strawberry brandishing a sword.
Behind them was a princess (whose dress had so many ruffles and ribbons that she must have been nearly as strong as the other two, if she didn’t simply fall over from the sheer weight of it), and one could tell from just looking at the picture that they would protect her with their lives.
And the princess was grateful, if the multitude of scribbled hearts surrounding her were any indication.
And so was Orihime, the picture reminding her that no matter what happened, she was safe. They were there, and guarding her; and so long as they were, she could find no fault with the world.
Then her world shattered and safety was an illusion, and the only thing that could keep it from entirely falling apart was her.
The night before she left for Hueco Mundo, as she sat writing, she took the drawing out for the last time.
Orihime sat staring at it for several long moments, brushing her fingers against the paper, following the curves of each doodled heart.
It was easier to look at them, and focus simply on her love, than it was to look at her dragon and strawberry and realise that after tonight she would never do so again.
Finally, she flipped the paper over. And on the back, she began to draw.
When she was finished, the same three characters had reappeared. Only now, their positions were different, the princess having moved to stand in front of them all.
The dragon merely stared at her back with a sad acceptance, but the strawberry looked even crankier than ever, because the princess had stolen his sword. (Orihime had very nearly drawn in a little speech bubble so that he could yell, but in the end she’d decided that his facial expression spoke for itself.)
But, the princess paid him no heed, because his wounded pride couldn’t be helped. As long as it was the only thing that was wounded, it would be okay.
With this thought in mind, Orihime ducked her head to brush a gentle kiss against the dragon and strawberry both.
It was her way of saying goodbye to more than just them.
The drawing was left there, on her desk. (Hopefully for Tatsuki to find, because Tatsuki would look, and because unlike Ichigo, she would understand.)
In lieu of signing it, she’d simply penned two sentences in the bottom corner:
I love you both. My turn.
Theme :: #1, ‘once upon a time’ [15pairings]
Character/Pairings :: Orihime; both Tatsuhime and Ichihime implied.
Rating :: PG
Wordcount :: 579
Summary :: Inoue Orihime liked to doodle.
(Spoilers for Arrancar arc.)
Inoue Orihime liked to doodle.
And so, the margins of her school notebooks were filled with fanciful, bizarre drawings, each more nonsensical than the last. (Most of them seemed to involve singing and dancing foodstuffs, her favourite being the bespectacled pineapple that twirled merrily about with some sushi.) She would proudly show them off to any of her friends who cared to see, and she didn’t mind if they all thought she was insane (with the exception of Chizuru, who without fail proclaimed them to be genius).
But her most treasured drawing, sprawling across an entire sheet of paper rather than just squished inside a margin, she kept hidden away. It was nearly as silly as all of the others, of course, but somehow, she couldn’t bear the thought of anyone laughing at this.
It was of three cartoonish figures, as was her wont, but none of these were dancing.
Instead, a fearsome, snarling dragon (that somehow still looked pretty, Orihime thought) stood next to a scowling little strawberry brandishing a sword.
Behind them was a princess (whose dress had so many ruffles and ribbons that she must have been nearly as strong as the other two, if she didn’t simply fall over from the sheer weight of it), and one could tell from just looking at the picture that they would protect her with their lives.
And the princess was grateful, if the multitude of scribbled hearts surrounding her were any indication.
And so was Orihime, the picture reminding her that no matter what happened, she was safe. They were there, and guarding her; and so long as they were, she could find no fault with the world.
Then her world shattered and safety was an illusion, and the only thing that could keep it from entirely falling apart was her.
The night before she left for Hueco Mundo, as she sat writing, she took the drawing out for the last time.
Orihime sat staring at it for several long moments, brushing her fingers against the paper, following the curves of each doodled heart.
It was easier to look at them, and focus simply on her love, than it was to look at her dragon and strawberry and realise that after tonight she would never do so again.
Finally, she flipped the paper over. And on the back, she began to draw.
When she was finished, the same three characters had reappeared. Only now, their positions were different, the princess having moved to stand in front of them all.
The dragon merely stared at her back with a sad acceptance, but the strawberry looked even crankier than ever, because the princess had stolen his sword. (Orihime had very nearly drawn in a little speech bubble so that he could yell, but in the end she’d decided that his facial expression spoke for itself.)
But, the princess paid him no heed, because his wounded pride couldn’t be helped. As long as it was the only thing that was wounded, it would be okay.
With this thought in mind, Orihime ducked her head to brush a gentle kiss against the dragon and strawberry both.
It was her way of saying goodbye to more than just them.
The drawing was left there, on her desk. (Hopefully for Tatsuki to find, because Tatsuki would look, and because unlike Ichigo, she would understand.)
In lieu of signing it, she’d simply penned two sentences in the bottom corner:
I love you both. My turn.