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My alarm clock rings out and I press the button to stop it. Pulling the pale curtains apart, I let the sunlight in. It’s only six, so the sun has yet to rise. I go about my morning routine like any other day, pack a lunch, and head to school.
”Ishida!” A high pitched voice says with excitement. I turn to see long orange hair glistening in the sun and a girl waving at me enthusiastically.
”Inoue? I don’t typically see you on my way to school..?”
”Yeah, I decided to take a different route today! I’m kinda lost though, haha…”
“…” I paused, staring at her, her head slightly tilted and a bright smile plastered to her face. What an airhead. I thought. “Do you want to walk with me?”
“Yeah… That would be nice.” She admitted, playing with her hair a bit.
We walked the way I usually do, though I had to slow down a bit to keep pace with Inoue. She kept mumbling to herself, something about ‘feeling like she’s forgetting something’. Randomly, she stopped walking.
”That’s it!” She stated triumphantly, as though she’d been trying to remember for days. “It’s November 6th, Ishida. It’s your birthday, right? I can’t believe it took me so long to remember!”
“Oh, that’s right. I suppose it is my birthday, huh?” I suppose I forgot as well.
”So—” she started, expectantly, “What are you going to do to celebrate?”
”I don’t typically do much. Usually my dad cooks a nice dish or something. It’s nothing major, so I typically forget until someone mentions it.”
“…” She looks really disappointed in that answer. She flips open her phone, taps at it for a bit, then starts walking again. I follow suit.
Then, she starts acting a little strangely. She barrages me with questions, “Do you like strawberry?”
”Not particularly. I prefer flavors such as green tea or—“ She taps away at her phone again.
”What's your favorite color?”
”Blue.”
She starts walking a bit faster, “Do you like plushies?”
”Um, I guess..?” She taps away a little more.
"Do you like chocolate?"
"Not really, It's too sweet—What's with all these questions anyways?”
She ignores my question and taps away a bit more, ”Lastly, what’s your blood type?”
”What kind of question is that?”
”…Nevermind.” She whispers, a bit flustered. “I think I know my way from here, thanks!” She waves me goodbye and starts jogging away. What was that all about? I think to myself as I keep walking.
Classes go as they always do, yet I can’t help but wonder what was up with Inoue this morning. The bell for lunch break rings, some students leave to buy a meal and some pull out their packed lunches. I’m of the latter. I reach into my bag for my lunch but am soon interrupted.
I hear a voice call out to me. ”Uryu!”
Ah, it’s Kurosaki.
“Why didn’t you tell us it was your birthday?”
”…I figured it wasn’t that important, is all,” I say, pushing up my glasses. “Did Inoue tell you?”
”Who else?” He hesitates, contemplating something, “So, uh— do you want a drink from the vending machine or something? I don’t have a gift for you so I figured I could do something nice instead.”
I’m a bit surprised, I didn’t know Kurosaki took birthdays so seriously, “Sure. Orange juice would be fine.”
”Sounds good.” He leaves the classroom and heads down and fetches an orange juice from the vending machine.
I continue eating my lunch and before I know it the bell rings again.
The rest of classes also go normally and the bell rings again. I pack up my things and leave the classroom but I’m suddenly stopped by a tap on my shoulder. I turn around and see Inoue.
“What are you doing after school?”
“Going to the Handicrafts club, after that I’ll probably just go home to study. Why do you ask?”
“Oh, I was thinking of hanging out with everyone at my house, you should come!” She suggests, twisting her hair in her fingers.
She looks like she’s hiding something, but who am I to decline her invite? “Sure. I’ll come after handicrafts.
“Okay!” She says, a bright smile emerging on her face. She seems relieved.
I begin walking to Inoue’s apartment complex, hoping I remembered her address, though I’m not the type to forget an address or get lost. Eventually, I make it to her apartment and knock on the door.
“Coming!” I hear, slightly muffled by the wood of the door. The door opens and Inoue peeks her head out a bit. “Ishida!” She says, opening the door all the way, “Come in!” I walk in, a couple steps behind her when she suddenly stops, “Wait, stop right there,” she reaches something in her pocket. She pulls on a string and confetti flies everywhere. “Happy Birthday!” My eyes dart to the confetti slowly falling to the floor, then to the party popper in her hands, then to her face.
“What’s this about?”
“You don’t like confetti?”
“Not that, it’s just…” I pause, “Is this—” I take a bit of a look into her apartment and see several decorations; balloons, streamers, and other things of the sort, “—a surprise party?”
She let out somewhat of a guilty chuckle, “You found me out already?”
“Well it’s not like anything’s really…hidden.” I motion to the room full of birthday decor, “Where’s everybody else?”
“About that…” Another guilty chuckle. “Sorry, I kind of lied to you about that part, I didn’t invite anyone else, haha…” Her face gets a little red, “Unless you want me to invite the others—“ she stutters.
“No, it’s fine.” I feel my face grow warmer. I walk over to her living room and sit down on the floor by the table, and she follows suit. There’s a handful of ‘Happy Birthday’ balloons and streamers haphazardly taped to the ceiling, both of which are in several different shades of blue.
“Sorry, I know this isn’t much, but I just wanted to do something special for you.” She says, her eyes focused on her lap, “I meant to cook you a meal too but that didn’t go so well…” she chuckled, she only ever has bread and beans in her apartment, so there isn’t much to cook with I suppose. “Instead, I got you this—” She pulled out a white box that looks like it’s from a bakery.
“—A pastry?” I ask.
“A green tea cake! It’s not too sweet and there’s a cream filling! I hope you like it!”
I accept the box and set it to the side, “Thank you, Inoue. I’ll be sure to try it later.”
“Oh yeah! I prepared you a gift too!” She grabs a shiny blue gift box with a blue ribbon and sets it on the table. “You can open it now if you want,” she says, a soft smile on her face. I lift the lid off of the gift box and pull out its contents; a stuffed rabbit and a letter. The rabbit is white and very soft, like a marshmallow. It has a blue ribbon tied around its neck. I stare at it for a moment, surprised at the joy it’s simple face brings me.
“…Thank you, Inoue” I say a bit too quietly, staring into the bunny’s eyes. I glance up at Inoue and she has a warm smile on her face, her head tilted slightly to the side as it typically is. I feel my face becoming warmer and my eyes dart back to the bunny, then to the letter. “Can I read this now?”
She hesitates, “Sure, go ahead.”
I carefully open the envelope and pull out its contents. I unfold the paper and begin reading it.
“Dear Uryu Ishida,
Happy Birthday! I know you don’t usually celebrate, but I hope I could make today something special for you. I wrote this kind of last minute so sorry if it’s a bit sub-par…
I hope you like the gift! I have one more thing but I can’t tell you in a letter…
Have a good day!
Love, Orihime <3”
I look at Inoue curiously, “About this letter,” I pause, “What was it you had to tell me?”
Her face flushes, “Oh that? Don’t worry about it—it’s nothing.“ she blurts, trying to brush it off.
“Are you sure?”
She pauses for an awkwardly long time, “Okay,” she relents, “I’ll tell you.”
I look at her expectantly with a hint of curiosity.
“I, um, I like you...”
My face flushed, “…Seriously?”
“—Sorry!” She covered her face and tried to run out of the room.
“Wait!” I got up and grabbed her wrist, “…Orihime.”
She looked back at me, face flushed, eyes wet with a hint of desperation.
I grab her shoulders, “Orihime, I—” I look directly into her eyes for a prolonged moment. I try to come up with something but I then realize I have nothing to say. Instead I close my eyes and lean in towards her. She closes her eyes as well and our lips meet. I feel the heat of her face on mine. It’s too hot. Despite that I embrace the heat and keep going. I move my hands from her shoulders to her waist and pull her closer. She stands on her toes, heels no longer touching the ground in attempts to match my height. Her hands find their way to the nape of my neck, pulling my head closer to her. I pull away for a moment to catch my breath and meet her eyes. I gaze into her chocolate eyes, getting lost in their sweetness. I want to taste them, I want to taste her . I close my eyes and lean back in and our lips lock. Instinctively, my tongue searches for that sweet taste. It searched her mouth until I found it. I get a taste of milk chocolate and a hint of bitterness. My hands gently cup her face and her hands move on top of mine. She pulls away for a moment.
“They’re cold.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s ok.”
Her hands grab my face and pull me back in. They're warm. Our lips find each other yet again. This time, it seems as though she may be searching for a taste as well. I’m curious. What taste is she searching for? The curiosity is quickly overridden by desire. I want more. I want that bitter chocolatey taste again. I search for it, exploring the corners of her mouth. I find it again, but desire overtakes me. I want more. I push her back to the wall and pin her wrists to it. My tongue goes deeper and deeper until—I pull away.
“I’m sorry, I—I don’t know what got into me…” I let go of her wrists and back away, “I should go.” I wipe the tinted chapstick off of my lips, grab the bunny, the letter and the cake and look back at her for a moment. Her eyes look lonely. I feel bad, but still, I leave.