Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ The Project ❯ In the Middle of the Night ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, I just enjoy the show, perhaps too much since I'm writing this. Anyway, Kubo Tite owns Bleach, not me, so don't sue. I'm just a lazy-assed teenager who likes to write.

 

A/N: Edited and revised.

 

In the Middle of the Night

 

Ishida awoke with a start. He thought he heard a scream. Suddenly he remembered what had happened earlier. “Inoue might be in danger!” he thought to himself, “better go check on her.” He willed himself to get up and head towards his room when he realized that he couldn't see worth a damn. Slowly, his lanky arm reached for his glasses sitting just a few feet away. Looking up around his living room, he noticed his clock was blinking. “Ugh, another power surge,” His thoughts still lingered on the clock when he remembered the scream. He tried to tell himself that it was just a dream of his but finally decided to check on her.

 

He quickly crept through the dark room towards his bedroom; silently opening the door, he saw her. She looked restless and shaken up, but still she was fine. He moved awkwardly towards the bed and sat on the edge. He heard a soft moan escape her lips as her breathing increased. “She must be having a bad dream or something; I probably should wake her up. It could be bad if she wakes up in the middle of the night in a foreign room with no idea how she got here,” he pondered as his arm grazed her shoulder trying to wake her up gently as not to alarm her. He was momentarily distracted at how soft her skin was against his. “Inoue-san, wake up, Inoue-san. It's okay; you're having a bad dream.” She muttered something incoherent in her sleep. “Maybe its best she stayed asleep and I'll tell her everything in the morning.”

 

Slowly, he made his way to the door just as another clap of thunder hit above him. He jumped a little at the sound. His eyes darted to Inoue in his bed who seemed to be tossing and turning again. “Ishida-kun,” she muttered in her sleep.

 

“She's dreaming about me?” thought the dumbfounded Quincy, “Why would she be dreaming about me, she's obsessed about Kurosaki, right?” He did in truth have feelings about her but he realized that it was impossible to pursue them, “She only thinks of me as a friend, but if she feels something for me too…” “Stop damn it! Don't gamble away one of your closest friends on some feelings that might not even exist!” his inner conscious bellowed, “Wait, I almost died protecting her, there is a very good chance that she feels something for me,” he debated back. “Still, don't do something stupid out of lust or some hormonal urges,” his conscious simply replied. “I wouldn't do that to Inoue-san, she is one of my closest friends and I treat her with nothing but respect, regardless.”

 

All the while fighting with himself, he never noticed two wide eyes looking up at him. “Ishida-kun, where am I?” Her soft and soothing voice shocked him from his internal quarrel.

 

He looked up slowly at first, then replied in a calm voice, “You feel asleep on my couch but the storms disturbed you so I brought you here, to my room.” It sounded a lot better in his head then he realized that it was too late now, “Are you okay, Inoue-san?” He calmly asked, trying to distract her from the fact that he was watching her sleep.

 

“Yeah, I think so. The storm must have just shaken me up a little bit.” Realizing that she was still in his bed, she gave a weak smile and a thank you.

 

“It is no problem, Inoue-san,” he replied, unsure of what to say next. “Do you need anything or…?” He was cut off as another clap of thunder was heard over head. They both jumped a little as it was the loudest he had heard all night. A small whimper escaped her lips and he felt nothing but the need to sit next to her and comfort her. He made his way to the bed and sat down next to red haired girl. His hands reached out and pulled her gently closer. Her head instinctively went to his chest where she felt nothing but comfort and warmth. Her fright had somehow melted away, just being in his arms. She felt happy and free, but most important; she never wanted the moment to end. The thunder and the flashes of lightning felt thousands of miles away when she was in his arms. Her eyes grew heavy and she felt bliss as her body relaxed and all was calm.

 

It felt right, to hold her in a loving embrace but he knew it couldn't last. She was desperate for comfort and he couldn't take advantage of her like this. This was the type of thing he tried to stay away from. She needed him right now though. What would he decide? If this persisted, how would it turn out? “Damn it, stop. You can't continue to think these thoughts. Right now is about an innocent girl who needs you, so stop it!” his thoughts bombarded his mind, confusing him even further. Suddenly he remembered Inoue, sitting right next to him, and felt warmth in knowing that she trusted him like this when she was so vulnerable. Slowly, her breathing returned to normal and he felt her body relax. He quietly laid her back down after half an hour without hearing thunder. He felt convinced that she would be better.

 

---

 

 

She awoke to the smell of something cooking. She remembered all about last night and felt embarrassed at how she was practically in tears but she also felt warm at the fact that he cared about her like that. He stayed with her for almost an hour to make sure she was okay. She felt well rested and sat up to look around his room in the natural light. He kept sparse furniture in his room aside from a single bed and a dresser.

 

She made her way through his apartment and smiled when she saw him in the kitchen, preparing breakfast. She admired him for his apartment, his lifestyle but most of all, his common decency for staying there with her in a time of need.

 

“Hello, Inoue-san, I'm almost done here, please have a seat,” his voice brought her out of her train of thought, “I hope you're feeling okay.”

 

His comment made her blush a little, “Thank you, Ishida-kun.”

 

He came out of the kitchen carrying two bowls of rice and a large plate of sausage and eggs. He also brought out a small bottle of syrup, honey and some salt and pepper, along with two glasses filled with apple juice. “Please, Inoue-san, help yourself.” His tone and smile were welcoming as he watched her take a couple bites of rice. He slowly reached for the bottle of syrup and poured a little on his rice before he began eating.

 

A small smile crept upon her face as she watched him flavor his rice with syrup; “Ishida-kun, I didn't know you ate rice with syrup!” she was a little shocked as to how someone so serious shared so many traits with herself.

 

“I've never really noticed much, but I think it adds a nice flavor to things,” was his soft answer, “Why do you ask, Inoue-san?

 

“No reason,” her smile still plastered on her face.

 

Their conversation continued until both were full from the generous amount of food Ishida had prepared. He was in the midst of cleaning up his table when Inoue stood up and hugged him. He was completely thrown off by this but decided not to question anything just yet. Of course his feelings of her had not vanished after one night; in fact, he thought they had grown from simply being there for her. “Thank you, Ishida-kun,” her voice was softened by his chest.

 

“Inoue-san…,” he began to move back was stopped by her grasp. Finally he relaxed and felt relieved that she finally felt something for him.

 

After several more minutes, she reluctantly stopped hugging him. His warmth, his compassion, everything was gone and she felt a longing for it once more.

 

He felt her move away from him; it felt like his chest was moving along with her. He slowly looked her in the eye to see a small tear running down her face. He moved to wipe it away but stopped. He wasn't entirely sure what had happened and didn't know what to do. “Does she have feelings for me too? Should I hug her again? Do I need to say something?” These thoughts just perplexed him further until he saw her move closer. He moved in and caught her by surprise as he pressed his warm lips against hers. He never wanted to quit; why would he, this was perfect. She sat there before him with a dazed look in her eyes, she was so beautiful.

 

 

Inoue sat there looking up at him, hoping that she hadn't offended or confused him or anything. “What the hell was I thinking, he might be mad or upset. What if he doesn't want to be my friend anymore…” Her thoughts stopped as his lips came to her own. She gazed at him, confused, scared… but happy. Her heart was racing; she didn't want to think of anything but Ishida.

 

The kiss broke, both were afraid of what the other was thinking. Ishida decided that he would hate himself for all eternity if things ended badly. Even so, it was the best thing he'd ever experienced.

 

Inoue still couldn't think straight. Her first kiss and with the most caring guy she knew. She was still scared of what he thought about her but at the moment didn't care too much either.

 

Their eyes met, his begging her to accept him but at the same time full of love, warmth and compassion. She had a surreal look of confusion mixed with a hint of care. He thought she was the most beautiful creature ever created. Ishida wanted nothing more to shower her with love and affection, making her love him. She began to long for his touch, his smile, his voice. She wanted him and she wanted to be loved by the man who saved her life twice in Sereitei. The very man who had once abandoned his Quincy powers to keep her safe. Even though he hadn't admitted it to her, he would die to see her without sorrow.

 

She felt safe just being in his apartment, being near him. She opened her mouth to say something but closed it almost immediately. He took a step closer and looked deeper into her eyes. His look was intent but warm. She wished he would pick her up and hold her in his arms. She tried to convince herself to grab his hand but decided against it. “What if he doesn't love me? Do I love him? What should I do? He did kiss me, but he just keeps looking at me?” These thoughts continued to swirl around in her head until he broke the silence.

 

“Inoue-san…” he began to trail off until he found the right words, “Inoue-san, I've always felt something…”

 

“Yes, Ishida-kun?” the words came from her mouth without permission.

 

“I think…I think… I might, well er- love you,” this was the single most complicated and painful sentence he had ever been forced to say. How are you supposed to tell someone you love them when you have no idea as to how they will react or if they feel remotely the same way?

 

These were the words she needed to hear, the words that might give insight to her own feelings. She stood there, letting his words wash over her. She looked into his eyes once more and saw the scared little boy inside whose heart might die if she rejected his love. She thought about last night, about how he had been there to comfort her. Her mind flickered to just a few moments ago about their first kiss. She had some feelings towards Ishida but she wasn't entirely sure what they were. Until this morning she only saw him as a wonderful friend who saved her life… twice. “I suppose if I think about it, I love him. He saved my life and sacrificed his powers for me. He loved being a Quincy, but he gave it all up for me. He's even there for me when Tatsuki-chan isn't. He loves me, why can't I respond those three little words? I love you. Why is it so difficult?” Her thoughts began to spiral around those three words in her mind.

 

It had been four minutes since he confessed his love for her. Four minutes since he risked their friendship on those words and she hadn't responded yet. “Why is she torturing me like this? I told her I love her but why? Why doesn't she say anything? A simple `I like you' would be more than enough. Anything to prove she cares and doesn't hate me. Why has it been so long?” His eyes began to look at her with a look of confusion. He had been a good friend, never doing anything wrong, “Why?”

 

She saw his look change from caring and warm to that of confusion and agony almost. She couldn't put him through this any longer. “Uryuu,” he looked at her like he hadn't before with a wide variety of emotions. “Uryuu, I lo- love… I love you, too.” She too was shocked that she called him by his first name; she hadn't ever done that before.

 

He looked into her large eyes with nothing but relief and happiness. Slowly he reached out and pulled their two bodies together. “Thank you… Orihime.”

 

 

 

A/N: I edited this chapter so that I'll have everything move more smoothly after such a long time from updating. I'm sorry for the lack of well, anything. I've been busy and I finally found some time to work on this fic. I'll try to get more chapters up soon.