#what ichihime could have been | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

vicioux · 2 years ago

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ICHIHIME FIC RECS

i can't believe i've been reading ichihime fanfics for literally 10 years ✌️ my favorite flavor is definitely pining with a touch of angst, but i am also a sucker for just them giggly all over each other! thank you bleach TYBW anime revival for bringing me back to these two cutie patooties and an even bigger thank you to all the writers that have been keeping the fandom alive all these years (especially in the earlier days back in the wild wild west of ff.net and LJ lol) y'all are amazing 💖 happy reading everyone p.s you can find the rest of my fic rec lists here

🍓 alternate universe 🍞

THE BRIDE OF THE DEATH GOD by caledon A plague descended upon the village, and to appease the God of Death they offered him a bride as a sacrifice.

THE DEVIL'S PLAYTHING by marshmallowbirb High-schooler Kurosaki Ichigo discovers that he isn't as human as he once thought - and neither is his classmate, Inoue Orihime.

THE RELUCTANT BRIDEGROOM, DEATH by marshmallowbirb On a sunny summer morning, the young goddess Orihime gathers flowers on a hillside.

STARCROSS'D by child of the ashes In the vampire palace of Los Noches, there is no greater curse than beauty, and no greater crime than love.

NEXT VISIT by aurona x She can see him only with autumn comes, that man of the deep blue tree. And over the years, her love for him grows.

MOTHERHOOD by ashe flyght Orihime's family is financially unstable. So when Japan's most in demand actor, Kurosaki Ichigo offers her an unusual job will she accept it?

FINE LINES by lastlynotleast Ichigo is a tattoo artist and Orihime has skin he could draw on forever.

🍓 multichapter 🍞

THE BOND BETWEEN US by ritsu-san Post Ch. 352: Ichigo and Orihime are left to figure out this strange bond they share.

TIL DEATH DO US PART by marshmallowbirb Deemed too powerful, Ichigo is sequestered in Soul Society after defeating Aizen. Ten years later, one of his human friends dies.

THE CLOCKWORK SWITCH by sesamerolls (1 // 2 // 3) “Kurosaki-kun?” She wanted to bite back her words. This person couldn’t be him. He was a few inches taller, broader, and manlier than the youth who gave her daifuku just minutes before.

🍓 oneshots that will make you feeeeel 🍞

DEMAGNETIZE by ghosty If opposites attract, then what does that mean for us?

TACTILE by mrhooty Orihime has accepted that her boundaries will never be respected, but Ichigo is too good of a friend to allow that.

AFFIRMATION by sesamerolls Ichihime from the beginning to the end.

HOME IS WHERE THE SUN SETS by awkwardspaceturtle Using the word ‘beautiful’ didn’t seem like enough; nothing he could ever say out loud would tell her how she really looked in his eyes.

BUILD A HOUSE IN PARADISE by zabiume Ichigo and Orihime move in together.

PAPER HOUSES by zabiume Mostly, he just wanted to know if she was okay, if she was eating well and passing her courses and if, when she went to bed at night, she had someone to smile about.

PROMPTFILL by zabiume Truth serum induced angst.

PROMPTFILL by captainrukias-husband Ichigo writes a poem for Orihime.

TEMPTARE BEAST by mayelisa As Orihime watched in horror as Ichigo took on that form again, she had a sinking feeling that this day wouldn't turn out at all like she had planned.

MEMORIES IN THE RAIN by garden of magnolias If I were the rain, could I connect with someone's heart, as the rain can unite the eternally separated earth and sky?

ALWAYS SUMMER by folle Orihime is calling, calling, and Ichigo doesn't know how to not answer, except in the most important way.

BECOMING WHOLE by lovelycollision He loves her in various ways, during different stages of his life. It's after the war when he realizes that he's in the third stage, otherwise known as the beginning.

🍓 outside POV looking in 🍞

ELEVATING by sesamerolls “Okay, let’s theoretically agree Ichi-nii has a girlfriend,” said Karin, resting her palm underneath her chin.

SIMPLY BY MEASUREMENT by sesamerolls When it first began, he pretended not to notice.

PROMPTFILL by scribblles Ichigo screwed up his befuddlement into a distinctly grumpy expression. “For your information, I wasn’t daydreaming, I was thinking. Worrying, actually. And it’s about a friend. Who… happens to be a girl.”

🍓 funny fluffy oneshots 🍞

OF MICE AND MEN by garden of magnolias Ichigo realizes that getting rid of a mouse in his and Orihime's apartment is a lot more complicated when it involves his girlfriend.

I REJECT! by scribblles Keigo has a rare moment of inadvertent correctness.

RUMOUR HAS IT by fictionaryplace Ichigo and Orihime have important news, but decide to have a little fun with their friends and family before coming clean.

DELAYED REACTION by crystal dawn Orihime is feeling under the weather. Against his better judgment, Ichigo suggests she visit his father's clinic.

ICED FRAPPUCCINO by hedonysms Ichigo and Orihime get a coffee. Ichigo is simultaneously an emotional sap and a horny, utterly repressed man.

STARTING FRESH by kay sincere Ichigo doesn't have a resolution for the new year himself. But it does come to his attention that his friends could use his help.

NOSEBLEED by deathberryhime Where that little smile would have done more damage than intended to.

OUR BREATHS IN PERFECT HARMONY by iwillhaveamoonbase When Ichigo's friend talks about a cute girl at a bakery, Ichigo agrees to introduce them with no idea that the girl in question is his girlfriend.

WELL WISHERS by adverb_slut It turns out that shinigami are not so great at gift-buying, especially for a four-week-old baby.

THE ART OF SHIPPING by alice hattercandy In which, everyone ships. Even Ichigo.

🍓 anything and everything by these authors 🍞

SESAMEROLLS CAPTAINRUKIAS-HUSBAND ZABIUME (tumblr // ao3) SCRIBBLLES CRYSTALDAWN / MARSHMALLOWBIRB (ffnet // ao3) ORIHIMES RITSU-SAN (more on their LJ sunburnt-wings) TRAGICOMEDY (more on their LJ explicates)

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sashi-ya · 5 months ago

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Not again... not another ichiruki vs ichihime situation in Kaiju no. 8... 🫠 it's ok if you wanna ship Kikoru with Kafka, but think about the plot and the implications of such ship in the canon context. My personal opinion is that Kikoru sees Kafka as a big brother, it is probably cause he is everything she's been lacking since she was a little girl, she was never praised, never protected (in a way that she could tell). Kafka represents comfort and someone who believes in her. That's why most of us love him so much cause he is the definition of "comfort". A young girl can misinterpret the feelings, sure (i believe she is 18~ not 16 as some people say. I think she is around the age of Reno). She can even see him with eyes of love, but do you think Kafka is able to see her with romantic love? Or even lust in all its forms? Idk, I'm not Matsumoto ofc, but I don't think this man has such feelings for her as he has for Mina (especially regarding the last manga chapters as well as being Mina's memory who actually made him come back to his "humanity"). I think the Kikoru x Kafka ship might come from two or even three reasons (mostly for young cis hetero men) 1. People simply like them together cause it was "the first" deep hetero interaction and connection they saw in the animanga. 2. They simply simp for kikoru, and they identify as Kafka. 3. They are young and misinterpret Kafka's demeanor; most people I've seen think Kafka "acts" younger or immature for "his age". Guys... he is 32, that's exactly how we act at 32, we are youngsters inside bodies with knee pain. [This is why I like this manga so much; we finally have representation. The problems Kafka goes through are exactly what happens to us after 29; life does not end at 20. Life is not perfect. Dreams do come true at 20, at 30 or even at 80, but society likes to act as if that was a lie, as if not achieving something before 30 was bad. Guys, we've been programmed to be a slave of the productive chain, the younger you are "the useful" you are to make money. And that's not life. That's why some are soo worried about us not having "enough kids". They are literally saying it will bring an economic default. Wonder why 🤷‍♀️]

If you ask me, there is nothing I'd like more than these two ending up together. I don't want clichés to be broken, I just want it that exact way 🥹💕 Mina always waited for him, and I hope she is able to give that sweet dork all the love he deserves cause she knows, above all, how much he's been struggling to reach his own success. They deserve to be together, in calm and happiness 💕

#mina x kafka #Kafka x mina #kaiju no. 8 #kaiju no 8 #kafka hibino #mina ashiro #kikoru shinomiya

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exo-raskreia · 3 months ago

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i know you probably hear this all the time but your blog is so on point on the horrendous ending of bleach and the endgame couples.

tbh i don't even care that ichigo and rukia didn't end up together... okay after all these years i still give a huge damn that these two aren't endgame. but seriously idc that much that they aren't together. but what i'm so pissed is who ichigo ended up with! be so fr! orihime and ichigo... i could and would right an essay on how they are so incompatible. i would've prefered if he ended up with tatsuki or even some rando. he waited until they were married for him to say her first name... like i get that he wants to be respectable and they weren't that close but ichigo barely knew rukia for a week and he was already down bad for rukia. i still believe to this day that ichigo doesn't look at orihime the same way he looks at rukia. actually he SETTLED for orihime since rukia was already locked down with renji ‼️i will die on this heal. and also the ichihime shippers are scraping for their ship moments while we, ichiruki stans, are eating so well with unlimited supply of ichiruki moments lmao

I would've been fine with the ending simply having Ichigo & Rukia standing next to each other happily (maybe a little too close?) as they look over Soul Society. Leaving the possibilities there. Narratively, such an ending would've made sense. I don't think even non-shippers would have batted an eye. No typical "timeskip married with kids" ending. It didn't make sense for it to end that way.

Even if I was a non-shipper, Ichigo ending up with Orihime goes against the narrative & is one of the major issues with the ending, since there was never an inkling of chemistry between them. No special moments. No interest nor special thought from Ichigo towards her. I literally never thought IH would have a chance; it seemed that unlikely 💀. I never doubted an IchiRuki victory (even if they wouldn't outright get together, like I said, at least that it'd be implied that they will in the future). Most of the shipping fandom thought the same or similarly, I believe... Most ppl shipped or could see IR happening... Kub0 had developed it enough to have most of us thinking this way...

IR had the potential to be the best-written M/F canon ship in a battle shounen & yet... 😮‍💨

I don't believe for a second that Kub0 had "always" intended for IH/RR endgames. To this day, he hasn't said anything meaningful about either pairing. He did absolutely nothing to imply them throughout the story. He put no effort into them. At every opportunity, he would always make it about IchiRuki...

Dudebros & IH's fail to see that IH/RR as endgame makes no narrative sense. If I was an IH/RR shipper, I'd be upset with how Kub0 handled them. They have no development, no official content, no merch, no proper validation from Kub0... He still can't even bring himself to give them a family color spread 🫢. Saddest endgame ships in a battle shounen...

About Ichigo finally saying Ori's name in the last chapter, there's a funny post on that here. 🤭

And yeah, Ichigo definitely settled for her, cuz the fact he waited until Rukia was unavailable will always be laughable... He tried dating Ori once then broke up for a while then tried again... wow, he was really "in love" with her from the start, huh? He was just putting off the inevitable cuz he had to seek unhappiness in order to stop Ywach from returning at his happiest moment... 🤷‍♀️

#anti ichihime #anti bleach ending #ask #ichiruki #reiapost

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lunaneko14 · 5 months ago

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IchiRukis and Anti-IchiHimes can believe what they want but here's the thing, Kubo-sensei made Bleach, not them. Also, I kinda hate repeating this for those morons but he could have made Rukia the trigger to Ichigo's extreme reactions and the target for his enemies in order to get to him. However, Kubo-sensei opted for Hime and he just proceeded with it.

Orihime

- was allowed by Kenpachi to join him in SS Arc since he sensed that having her near him could lead him to Ichigo.

- was hugged (put his arm on her shoulder in the anime) by Shinji and it caused Ichigo to drag then shove him on the wall. Even Ichigo's classmates reacted to why he got angry like that.

- was abducted by Ulquiorra thru Aizen's orders in order to keep Ichigo out of the war. Ulquiorra mentioned to Ichigo that he was the one who abducted her and caused the latter to attack the former in a fit of rage. Ichigo was like a zombie after he learned about her abduction.

- Grimmjow used her to taunt Ichigo in order to get a reaction from him and it worked. He also targeted her during his final fight with Ichigo so the latter will have to take their fight more seriously.

-Ginjo had her brought into Yukio's "game room" in order for her to heal Ichigo and allow him to fight harder. It worked since he noticed Ichigo's movements become sharper when she was there, causing Ginjo to note that Ichigo tends to fight better when he has to protect.

-The mere mention of her name by Tsukishima after altering the history of Ichigo's friends and family made Ichigo punch him so hard and him seeing her heal the former later on in the FB arc caused him to be a bit devastated.

I mentioned these examples since Kubo-sensei used those recurring themes to reinforce why IchiHime is the endgame couple. Yes, he could have been lazy and made Ichigo and Orihime admit to each other but he didn't. He used his characters as PoV since thru them, we saw how Ichigo reacted when something was done to Orihime, and his reactions were obvious.

Lastly, attacking, harassing and outright insulting Kubo-sensei or any mangaka about what they did with their work is bollocks. It's their work, not ours. We consume it.

It just goes to show how good of a writer Kubo is and why he stands among the big three and these “fans” don’t. Like seriously any one of them, especially the Japanese fans, can make an IR inspired series and be as successful as Bleach but in reality these people have no talent so they force and leech off of actual talents and think they can bully said talent and whatever fans that have common sense.

#ichihime #ichigo kurosaki #origo #orihime inoue #anti ichiruki

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basilsimp43 · 8 months ago

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I swear I have nothing against Ichihime (Even tho Orihime is far from my favorite anime girl for sure :') )

But these two could have been and were such a tragic story with Ulquiorra finally understanding what's a heart...

#bleach #ichigo kurosaki #orihime inoue #ulquiorra cifer #ulquihime #ulquihime for life

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ichinoue · 1 year ago

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Has Ichigo ever had any individual monologues or thoughts about Orihime like he has with Rukia? Has he ever specifically singled her and her importance on his life out? Besides the "I will protect her" moment which I know was absolutely about Orihime. Signed, an Ichiruki who doesn't hate Orihime and likes Ichihime a tad but wants a different take other than from other Ichiruki shippers.

Nope. And I think that was deliberate on Kubo's part.

Because Ichigo's feelings for Orihime were supposed to be hidden, they were supposed to be a secret, a mystery that the reader was meant to figure out over time, rather than being spoon-fed a quick and easy "I love Orihime" monologue. I believe Kubo chose to show, not tell when it came to Ichigo's feelings for Orihime. Which makes for so much better and interesting writing.

It was "safe" to share with the reader Ichigo's thoughts about Rukia (or Chad, or Ishida, or whoever else) in monologues, because his thoughts about her weren't romantic; he could monologue about her being important in his life, because that was absolutely true, but there wasn't anything deeper than that in a romantic sense. There weren't any hidden feelings for her that Kubo risked unveiling if we delved into his thoughts. So there was no fear of spoiling the ending of "who will end up with who?" or feeling the need to pair people up too early once feelings have been confirmed on both sides (and Kubo said he purposely waited until the end to pair the couples up).

We read Ichigo's thoughts about Rukia, and what did we learn? That it was all platonic! He never expressed any feelings of romance in those monologues. His motivations and reasoning were made clear.

While Orihime...? We had *no idea* what he was thinking about when it came to her. Kubo purposely kept it hidden. He could have been thinking anything (😏😉🤫) because we just didn't know. And not knowing left the door wide open for the possibility of him having feelings for her.

We could only make inferences based off of his actions, the way he acted towards her and around her, and pick up on the patterns over time, how it all pointed to his purposely hidden feelings for her.

You can see it in the way his usual prickly disposition softens around her, the way his enemies target her more than anyone else just to get to him, the blind rage when his enemies taunt him about her, his all-out panic when he thinks she's in danger, how flustered he gets when people tease him about her, the depression when he realized she was abducted, the puppy dog eye way he looks at her when he realizes she's okay again.

You see him looking at her with relief whenever she cries and thanks him for being okay after a battle, you see his shoulders sag with guilt as he apologizes for failing to protect her, you see him bowing before her when he makes the vow to protect, grinning as he tells Grimmjow he's not allowed to get hurt anymore because Orihime said so, rising up from the dead for her, getting stronger when she's near him in the gamespace, the rage when Tsukishima calls her on the phone in front of him, the devastation in his eyes when she heals Tsukishima's arm, the trust he feels in asking her to go two-to-one against Yhwach.

You never hear him thinking about any of this--not once. But you don't need to. It all became so obvious over time.

#IchiHime #how did I end up with so many messages dfkjgdkfgjk

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bansept · 1 year ago

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Ichihime week 2023!

Day 1: Tanabata

Tanabata, "七夕", also known as the "star festival", takes place on the 7th day of the 7th month of the year, when, according to a Chinese legend, the two stars Altair and Vega, which are usually separated from each other by the Milky Way, are able to meet.

There is a river in Karakura.

Crossing the Minamikase district, it used to be an uncrossable border splitting her world. The morning would come and she would wonder how he would feel as she got dressed for school. Was he sad, traveling down the path next to the river edge every day? Was this river a cruel reminder of what he believed was his incompetence to protect? Was he angry for the blinding light reflected on the calm water? The night would come at the end of the school day, and she would hope to float down this river, find its source and drench it, empty the sorrows she knew he carried. So many burdens on his young shoulders.

The river reminds her of her brother, of his gentle smile, of his soothing voice, of his laughter, so precious to her heart. Of how she had parted with him in anger and agony the first time. The river had been so agitated that day, so monstrously grey and muddy. For their second parting, she has a feeling the river was calm yet again, just as it was when she and Tatsuki had chased fireflies and gasped in awe at the fireworks.

After graduation, when they were still circling around each other, unsure how to word out their feelings, shy and silly, Ichigo once mentioned how calming the river was to him.

"When mom died... I walked by the bank of the river the entire day, way up to the Kitakawe district." He had smiled, something that was becoming more and more casual for him. "I thought I could find her again if it meant roaming around long enough. But, of course, I didn't. All I found was sadness, and... I don't know. Melancholy, I guess?"

They were sitting on the grass, on the hill by the river, the Saturday morning air gently waving through their hair. She placed a timid hand on his own, hoping to convey some comfort.

"I used to dislike this river, because it reminded me of that day, and the ones after that where a 9-year-old would use his shoes and get blisters from walking all day. But now... I find it a beautiful sight."

Ichigo had blushed deeply, taking Orihime's hand in a successful attempt to make her heart beat faster.

Orihime smiles.

She wished she could be the rain once. The rain that binds people together, that allows one to feel another's pain. She wanted to understand him, help him. She didn't know at the time he too was yearning to help her, shield her from her own tragic past.

Kazui coos in her arms, and she makes a silly face.

"Oh, what is it, baby? You're waiting for Papa, hm?" She raises her arms up to kiss her son on his soft and puffy cheek, which makes him gurgle happily.

She is by the river, watching the calm water sparkle with the dying sun, like oil. It doesn't let the wind break its surface, it stays still and glowing, like billions of gems.

Ichigo is trotting on the bridge to them. He looks so handsome in his two-piece costume, the white shirt two buttons opened for now, his forgotten tie in his hand as he jogs back to them with a dashing smile on his face. His hair is short after a fresh cut, courtesy of Yuzu.

He crosses the bridge separating them hurriedly, as if they have been apart for a whole year.

Kazui waves his little arms at his father, the same smile pulling at his lips. He may have a lot of Orihime's features, like her eyes and eyelashes, as well as her hair, but his smile is the spitting image of Ichigo's.

"Sorry for that, honey." He breathes out, not at all out of breath even after the kilometer he just ran back and forth from their home.

"I would be fine with you not wearing a tie, but since Rukia and Renji insisted on proper clothes..." Orihime teases him, and he winks back at her. "Kazui was growing impatient."

Ichigo kisses his son on the forehead, placing his finger next to the baby's hand for him to grab onto. Kazui immediately takes the opportunity and Orihime chuckles.

"Did I make you impatient too?"

"Of course. 5 minutes without you is enough to make me tap my foot." She jokes, and Ichigo shakes his head mockingly.

"I'll do my best to redeem myself after we visit the Soul Society. Let's get going." He smiles and takes Kazui, offering some relief to the young mother. Kazui is definitely going to get heavier very soon with the way he eats.

They walk together to Urahara's shop, hand in hand, joking and laughing, placing bets on how many people will want to hold Kazui, and how many times people will tease Ichigo for his not-so-new haircut.

She remembers the two lovers from the story. The forbidden love, the punishment. Forced to live separately for a year and allowed only once to see each other again. The weaver princess and her human husband.

Orihime smiles, sending a look at the river. The bridge has been crossed, and their time together is finally here. But never to end.

#bleach #ichihime #ichigo kurosaki #orihime kurosaki #kazui kurosaki #ichihime week 2023 #ichihime fanfiction #ihweek2023

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narhinafan · 11 months ago

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Honestly SP seems to make me hate ships that I normally would not hate because they're in the realm of fanfiction and fan art and I think that's harmless. Not taking the toxic fandoms into account it was SP that made me hate NaruSaku and Ichiruki.

I'll make this brief. Why do I now hate Ichiruki? I didn't always hate it. I was actually more of a fan of Ichiruki than Ichihime until I reread the bleach Manga last year and then watch the anime as well and I grew annoyed every time there was an Ichiruki moment. Not only does it break the pacing of scenes it makes characters acting out of character Ichigo and rukia especially. I don't mind non-canon crack ships as long as it's kept in the realm of fan art and fanfiction and not inserting it into what is supposed to be Canon moments in the story and at the expense of other characters.

What could have been an amazing movie where we explored a mirror universe instead we had NaruSaku the movie where Naruto and Sakura are acting both out of character and it kind of feels like there were two movies in one and the version that Kishimoto wrote was mostly cut from the cutting room floor.

There was a huge opportunity to explore a different aspect of Hinata and Sasuke's characters. Instead we got some stupid ship movie with NaruSaku. I mean there was so much potential with road to ninja Hinata and Sasuke and it was wasted. I mean the exact opposite of who these characters are in personality. I mean there's so much you could have explored. The best scenes of that movie arguably were like 5% of the film if even that and when you compare it to the likes of One piece strong world which came out a few years before actually respected The source material and the author you could tell the difference is night and day hell Naruto the last felt like a genuine story by Kishimoto and you can tell the difference between that film and road to ninja.

I argue that the tie into the movie was better than the movie itself because it actually explored Ino and explored the road to ninja version of Sakura who arguably was more likable than her canon counterpart. It's rare that you get to explore near universe versions of characters concepts are usually explored in science fiction and the very fact that SP wasted a cool concept was tossed aside for a freaking ship that had no chance in hell ever being Canon will never not piss me off.

SP makes it seem like every anime they seem to do a series of it makes it seem like that series is concerned with shipping and I don't think shipping is bad but it should never come at the expense of a Canon story written by the author. The author and only the author in my eyes in an official product should be able to dictate what ships happen and what ships don't for better or for worse we're not the people that choose who ends up with who the author does. This shipping bullshit kills the integrity in my opinion of these stories that we all enjoy because it seems like certain people are more concerned with the shipping aspect then the actual story

Honestly I was never a fan of Sakura, but it was more her fandom that made me hate her, SP's bias was just the icing on the cake that gave me more reason to dislike it.

I am more of an IchiRuki fan I watched the anime long before the manga hence all the scenes made me a fan though I have nothing against IchiHime and after reading the manga it was obvious why they happened and that SP was really bias towards IchiRuki through out the anime. Its no surprise the author had complaints and refused to let them do another season without his supervision.

Yes RTN was ruined by NaruSaku honestly considering it was set after Pain's confession and none canon it could have tied into Hinata's feelings for Naruto/Menma while exploring a different take. I really want to know why Menma ended up dark side considering he had a family and Hinata clearly loved him. It could have been a sweet story where Hinata toughened up to help Menma after people rejected him for the fox.

So true SP's shipping bias is so unprofessional and as you said ruins the integrity of the stories as they force a ship that contradicts canon and usually in ways that aren't believable.

#anti narusaku

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namazunomegami · 5 months ago

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in my opinion, Gege suffers from the same problem that Tite Kubo suffered from: rushing.

this is partly due to the nature of Weekly Shōnen Jump as well as his own health issues, but not completely.

Both Kubo and Gege have this problem in which they have a plan of how to get from point A to point B, but tend to not flesh that out.

However, a lot of the outrage I’m seeing towards the current situation in the manga comes from people who tend to be unable to seperate canon Gojo from fanon Gojo because when you put fanon at the back of your mind as just take Gojo and JJK as a whole (and not for what we wish they could be), the character’s reactions to what’s going on and what’s happening to Gojo do not really surprise me at all.

ANON I'M SO SORRY THAT I KEPT YOU WAITING FOR SO LONG!!! I got sick and spent most of my days with recovering. And now, with newfound strength, I'm ready to yap!! Hope you can forgive me for taking some time off from tumblr.

cw: minor spoilers from Bleach, especially from the new TYBW arc, endless yapping

I absolutely agree with you that Weekly Shounen Jump is Satan's bastard child. I'm not surprised that mangakas eventually choose another, yet a not as popular magazine for publishing. Shounen Jump also takes a lot of creative liberty from authors or not give them enough money, it doesn't matter how popular their work is (just look at poor Togashi, Shounen Jump has been slowly killing him). Literally the same thing happened to Araki and I think it's actually better that Jojo's has a monthly release schedule in terms of writing and pacing. As well as my goat Ishida Sui who got horribly burnt out by Tokyo Ghoul and now moved to Tonari Young Jump which is an even weirder kind of niche, I think they mostly publish horror and seinen but the magazine is a completely online platform. And Ishida now has an irregular release schedule, meaning he publishes a chapter whenever he feels like it. So... sometimes I don't hear anything from Choujin X for months and sometimes I get three chapters in a row every week. But I care about him and his art more than my own incapability to keep up with stuff.

The main problem (for me at least) with Bleach that it gets repetitive quickly. Substitute Shinigami arc? That's a good introduction arc tbh, sense of wonder is there, we're slowly building up the world, provide explanations at a nice pace. Ichigo was a one of a kind shounen protagonist in the early 2000s because he didn't want to save the whole world, he wasn't above to kill his enemies, he didn't want to be the Hokage/Pirate King/the Strongest/whatever, he just wanted to protect those who are close to him and couldn't give a shit about others and that's the reason he was so relatable to many readers. He was a delinquent, a punk compared to the usual happy-go-lucky protag formula.

Soul Society arc? Rukia is off to be executed and Ichigo rescues her with the help of the gang and gets a few power ups. Arrancar arc? Orihime is kidnapped by Aizen and Ichigo wants to rescue her with the help of the gang and gets a few power ups. Fullbringer arc? Sado gets friendly with Xcution and Ichigo's initial trust in them starts to crumble so he wants to protect him with the help of the gang and gets back his shinigami powers and also a few power ups. TYBW arc? Ishida betrays the gang and leaves with the nazis-but-dressed-in-white so he wants to save him with the help of the gang but oh shit the Soul King is killed he must save the whole world too and gets a few power ups. Great success!

I know, I know that's oversimplified but I love Bleach with all of its faults.

Rushing was definitely a problem with Kubo especially in the last arc. I'll forever be bitter about the ending (and no, not because of the ichiruki vs ichihime ship war, I couldn't care less but I admit that I'm an ichiruki and ulquihime fan and Studio Pierrot was always heavily biased in terms of ships) and because Kubo literally failed his own main cast.

I remember that I saw a post on DeviantArt where the original poster shared their thoughts about how they imagine the main four's ending and I'm almost completely on board with that. I can go for so, so long how Kubo did Ishida and Sado dirty, but maybe in another occassion, I'll get deeper into that.

Another problem with TYBW arc is that he made the Quincy ridiculously op. The fights weren't fair and some of the abilities are beyond of any logic (I'm looking at you Gerard, Yhwach and Pernida) and he needed a few asspulls to make the Shinigami win. And some of the truly powerful Shinigami couldn't get utilised. And Byakuya should have remained dead.

But at least I'm giving Kubo credits for that he's willing to correct his mistakes with the new seasons and the light novels.

Gege... Gege just completely lost it. His mind, the plot, character development, everything. He gets inspired by wonderful authors, but can't use them in a satisfying way, the execution is just bad. When you spend such a small amount of time to write your characters the fandom will do it, and that's why fanon Gojo and canon Gojo is just two different characters. But that's sorta true for all of the characters in the cast.

And some fans are just horribly delusional, sorry not sorry.

#im really sorry nonnie i love u pls forgive me #asks #analysis post

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rainyyjade · 2 years ago

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Didn't Know - IchiHime Short

Ichigo's POV

I would be lying if I said I knew when. I had no fucking clue. I didn’t know shit when it came to this. How to beat the shit out of an enemy? Got it. How to save the world? Got it. But this? I had no clue. No idea. No where to begin. What little I did know was that it didn't happen overnight. It began with unconsciously searching for her spiritual pressure and I only realized this when I noticed one day it was gone. I woke up that day wondering why something felt off. Something was missing. I rummaged through my crowded thoughts and found it. I couldn’t feel her spiritual pressure. If she had been harmed I would have noticed, even in the middle of the night, if I had felt her spiritual pressure in distress I would have felt that. She must be fine, I told myself. I ignored the uneasiness in the pit of my stomach. But when that didn’t work I decided to leave my body for and see if I could find her as a soul reaper. As soon as I ditched my body I could feel the small vibration of her spiritual pressure. Ah, there you are. I sighed. She was fine. Why was I so worried? I may have overreacted a bit. I jumped back into my body and went on with my day. I didn’t think too much of it but then every time after that day all I did was search for her familiar spiritual pressure. It wasn’t unconscious anymore. It was deliberate. I woke up and went to bed making sure I could feel her. It seemed like a normal thing to do but when there were times that I couldn’t find her, I was annoyed, no I was anxious. Yes, anxiety began to follow me wondering if she was okay when she would be further away than normal. I began to just live this way, at least until one day it just wasn’t enough. I wanted to see her. This too was also not a conscious move by me. When I would walk through town I began to wonder what she was up to. Instead of taking the short way home, I would start walking towards her job, apartment, shopping store, wherever I could feel her spiritual pressure, I would go. I was drawn to it. Of course I would run into her, I had become like one of those sniffing dogs, tracking her.

“Hi, Ichigo!” Her voice cut through the noise every time. Whenever I saw her smile I couldn’t help but greet her with my own. I rarely smiled, I knew this. But when I was with her it was easy. I would walk her home and she would hand me bread. I would never admit how much I loved the bread. It became a routine at one point. I would find her and walk her home. And when that wasn’t enough I began inviting her over to my family’s house. Being around her made me happy. That was the simplest way I could put it.

So no, I don't know when it happened. I just know that one day when Renji looked me dead in the eyes and said I can’t keep her waiting, it hit me. It hit me like a fucking kick to my stomach. It’s like all the pieces started to fit together. I wanted her with me, all the time. I wanted what Renji and Rukia had. I stood there flustered and spat out “I know!” But I hadn’t really known until that moment that all along I was in love with Orihime Inoue. For how long? I couldn’t tell you because maybe this feeling had always been there. Maybe I couldn’t feel it because of all the shit I was always facing. I think subconsciously a part of me always knew but my mind just had to catch up.

#ichihime #fanfic #story #relationship #cute #ichigo kurosaki #ichigo x orihime #orihime inoue #bleach #writng #love #romance #fanfiction

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whocarestbhly · 1 year ago

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ain’t sweet enough

part one: shortcakes and ice cream

prologue part two

(a/n: honestly, i still wanna continue this story. sooo, i don’t care if ya don’t like it. but i saw a couple of positive responses, thank you very much to those replies. I know this took a little while but I’ll see if I can get a schedule ready. Feel free to tell me how you like it! other tags: fluff, Ichihime, angst, slow start, romance, drama)

“So, you’re working at Urahara’s now, huh?” Ichigo remained silent as he run up the customer’s items. “$10.54, please.” He announced to the young man. The blue haired man smirked and adjusted his glasses. He gave the employee his debit card, “Typical.”

He furrowed his eyebrows, “And what’s that supposed to mean?” Ichigo slightly snapped at his friend, who was purposely irritating him. “It means that you’re a predictable person, Kurosaki. What did you lose your previous job? Or more specifically, did you get mad and quit?” He said, gathering his items in a bag.

Ichigo rolled his eyes, “Geez, Ishida, I can’t stand you sometimes. You’d rub salt in a wound just to prove that it stings.” Ichigo tapped on the screen, printing out his receipt. He handed it to him, “So how long were you planning to keep this job a secret?” Ishida placed his receipt in his wallet and placed the wallet in his back pocket.

“Till I found a new one.” Ichigo came from around the counter and started to unbox some supplies for the store. “I didn’t have time to hear your snarky replies but I guess you beat me to it. I didn’t even know you hung around this area.” He started shelving perishable food and Ishida shifted his feet. “No, I usually don’t. I was just visiting some relatives.” He said and gave a long sigh.

Ichigo noticed, “Everything good?” Before Ishida gave a response, someone walked through the door. Ichigo greeted “いらっしrゃいませ” (Irasshaimase means welcome) and the stranger waved back. Ishida continued when he walked by, “Same old shit. Drama here, business arrangements there.” Ishida’s family is a well-known family who runs a large insurance company. There are plenty of lawyers in his family, which is the major Ichida is currently studying. His immediate family life isn’t the best, especially when your father is pressuring you to take over the company and his mother sets up marital arrangements for him.

“Sounds like a headache. Let me know if you need an aspirin. Or some ice cream.” Ichigo finished unpacking one box and returned to the counter. Ishida slightly smiled, “It’s going to take more than an aspirin and ice cream to get rid of that headache.” Ishida jingled his car keys, “Hey, are you gonna be on the game this weekend?” Ichigo pondered the question, “Don’t know yet. Depends on how tight the money’s looking. Also, depends on Karin and Yuzu.” The orange haired man grieved at the thought of those two.

Ishida smirked and headed towards the door, “Sounds like an excuse. Since you know I’ll beat your ass.” Ichigo flipped him off, “Shut up and get out.” Ichigo said as he saw his friend leave, chuckling. The stranger from while ago came up to the counter to ring his items out.

It’s only been two weeks since he’s been working at Urahara’s shop, and he’s getting the hang of it. Ichigo might have a temper and can sometimes come of as rude, but he was a quick learner and a hard worker. In fact, Urahara trusted him so well, that he left Ichigo in charge of the whole store while he went to pick up some supplies. While it didn’t pay much as Ichigo would like, it did manage to pay the bills, get some food, and make sure that Yuzu and Karin had what they needed. Barely, though. “良い一日を.” (Yoiichinichiwo means have a good day) Ichigo said as the customer left the shop, leaving only him.

He took a breath and before he could decide what to do next, his phone rang. He grabbed his phone and looked at the caller ID, and answered immediately.

“What’s up, Chad?” He placed the phone between his shoulder and his ear as he rearranged the cash register. A deep, low voice came from the phone, “Nothing much, just checking in.” Ichigo smiled to himself. “Ain’t nothing wrong over here. Just trying to make ends meet.” Chad hummed in agreement, “I heard that. You still working at that packaging factory?”

Ichigo contemplated on telling Chad the truth, “Yeah, no. I had to give up that job. They were overworking me. Also, I think they were not paying me fully.” Ichigo closed the register, “I’m working at Urahara’s for now.” His friend went silent for a moment, “Urahara’s? Am I hearing that correctly?”

“Yep, nothing wrong with your hearing. This is a job that’s only going to keep the money flowing until I find a new job.” Ichigo stated his case, while picking up a broom to sweep the floor. Chad chuckled, “Wow, hell must’ve frozen over. I guess Ichida was right about you eventually working for Urahara.” Ichigo sucked his teeth.

“Don’t mention that asshole. He already knows and it’s pissing me off.” Chad laughed at his reply. “Oh, how’s it going with that red head that you’re interested in?” Chad says, hearing some ruckus over the phone. Ichigo continued sweeping the floor as he thought about the last encounter with the woman. He only seen Orihime once after he dropped her off at her place. She was shocked but seemed happy when she saw him working as an employee. She said she was glad that there was another familiar face that she knows around the area, and plus has his number to get in touch.

He truly didn’t get this job because of her, it was necessary to have this job in order to stay afloat. But he considered it a perk of the job to converse with Orihime. She was an interesting character who was bringing a new light in his life. Not as a love interest, because he still thought it was weird to think of her like that (even though he’s enamored by her beauty). He doesn’t even know her as a friend yet, and he’d like to take it slow before he gets to that stage.

“Again, I’m not interested, Chad. I just thinks she’s a nice girl.” He paused on sweeping, “Also, how’s her car? Is it back to running smoothly?” Chad puffed out a breath, “No, not yet. I’m not gonna lie. That beetle is a piece of junk. Motor’s barely functioning, transmission’s faulty, and it needs a bad tune-up. She’s lucky that she was able to drive it for this long.” Ichigo shook his head and sighed.

“Christ, that’s not good. She did tell me that she’s had it for a long time and it’s rusty. But I still don’t think she wants to scrap it yet.” Ichigo heard a sound of something hammering metal. “I ordered some parts, should come in this week. It’ll be enough to get her back on the road. But it’ll still be in bad shape.”

“How much will the bill rack up to be?” Ichigo knew that Orihime was a part-time baker and student. Also, meaning that she didn’t have a lot of money. “Don’t worry. She offered to pay $300 to get it back on the road, I’ll just accept that as payment.”

I’m pretty sure that part cost more than $300 or close to it.

“Chad, that doesn’t sound like much profit. Look, I can spot you some cash-” His friend cut in off, “No, call it a friend’s referral discount.” Ichigo paused and smiled, “Thanks man, I’m sure she’ll appreciate it too.” Sado Yasutora might appear to be quiet and not social to others, but he had a heart of gold. He never asked for nothing or expected anything from his friends.

“You’re a great friend-” Chad cut him off.

“Yeah, yeah. But you owe me in before next year starts.” He hung up the phone. Ichigo gapped at the screen then shrugged. That’s fair.

“Inoue, are you daydreaming again?” Her dear best friend pulled her mind away from the clouds. “Huh? I’m sorry did you say something Tatsuki-chan?” She looked at the short lack haired woman who clearly seemed irritated. Orihime couldn’t blame her though, if she were in Tatsuki’s shoes, she’ll be pretty irritated with herself. Not only is she an airhead, but she’s inconveniencing her friend for a ride since she doesn’t know when to regularly give a maintenance check on a car. “I said asking if you knew when your car would be ready.” Tatsuki repeated herself.

“Oh, don’t know. He said he’ll call me when he’s finished though.” Orihime replied. Tatsuki didn’t seemed too pleased with her answer, “Call you back, huh? Who is this guy anyway cause I don’t trust him. He could be running a scam.” She muttered under her breath and Orihime laughed at her dramatics. “Oh, relax, Tatsuki-chan. The man who referred me to him is a very kind man. So, I believe he’ll do a good job.”

“Geez, Inoue, you’re too damn trusting. You’re that type of person who would see a homeless man on the street, feed him, and allow him to stay in your place until he can get back on his feet.” Her friend stopped at the intersection due to a red light. Orihime slightly frowned at the idea, “Would that be so bad?”

“Yes, it would! He could be a serial killer for all you know. You never invite a stranger into your home, that’s rule number one of not putting yourself in danger.” She let on the gas once it turned green. Orihime Inoue was a beautiful girl with a big heart, but sometimes she was, no-no, is known for being naive. Her naivety has been discussed with her for all her life by different people, but she still doesn’t know when she’s being over-trusting at times. Nobody knows how but she’s managed so far, she calls herself ‘lucky.’ I guess it was luck since she got accepted into a private girl’s school, because anything bad could’ve happened if she was enrolled in a public school.

“I’m relieved that you’re safe though. That man didn’t do anything sexually inappropriate to you, right? You can tell me if he threatened you not to tell.” Tatsuki was interrupted by Orihime’s loud sigh, “For the fourth time, no. He was incredibly nice and mature about things. And quite frankly, I’m offended on how ignorant you think I am. I know when a guy comes across as a pervert and if he’s really genuine.” Tatsuki gave Orihime a side-eye and scoffed at seeing how serious she was. “No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I do!” Orihime slightly raised her voice, becoming agitated. “No, you don’t. Remember that time when that middle aged guy at the gas station asked you for help to get his wallet?” Orihime pondered and recalled the situation, “Yes, he just asked for me to get his wallet of the ground. What’s wrong with that?” Tatsuki rolled her eyes, “Oh please, that man looked healthy to grab his own wallet. And not to mention, he positioned it just right for you to bend down so he can get a glimpse of your underwear. Lucky, I was there to stop him.” Orihime pouted at Tatsuki’s statement, as she stared out the window.

“But was kicking him in his crotch necessary?” She mindlessly said. “Absolutely. That’s an crucial attack to use when a man is coming on to strong towards you.” Tatsuki observed her fuel needle which was inching towards E. She cussed under her breath, “I’m going to need some gas soon.”

Orihime frowned a bit more about the situation she was putting Tatsuki in. Her close friend was seeming a little more upset than she usually is, and she keeps wondering if it’s because she’s becoming burdensome to her friend. “Tats, again I’m sorry about you having to carry me back and forth to work. I promise-” She started to apologize.

“Orihime cut it out, you’re not a pain in my ass. I told you I don’t mind it at all.” Tatsuki replied nonchalantly. But Orihime didn’t let up. “No, no, it’s not fine. If I weren’t so stupid and sold that car years ago, I wouldn’t have to deal with this mess. Then you wouldn’t have to waste your gas and you wouldn’t be so irritated with me.”

Tatsuki looked to Orihime with a face of surprise, which turned into concern. “Hey, Orihime, don’t be so hard on yourself. We can’t predict everything.”

“Well, you can’t predict everything.” The orange-haired man said and she agreed and the car was silent for a moment until she spoke again.

Tatsuki reached over and pinched her cheeks, “Ow!” The red head cried. “Plus, I’m not mad at you. I’m just worried, that’s all. Can’t I be worried, I’m your friend, right?” Orihime slightly smiled and pinched her cheek back. “Yeah, you’re my best friend.”

Tatsuki smirked and went back to focusing on where she was going to get her gas. Then Orihime observed the area more clearly. “Hey! I know where we are! If you make a right on the next street, there’ll be a convenience store on your left.” Tatsuki raised an eyebrow, probably questioning Orihime’s direction. But she thought that it couldn’t hurt so she followed her instructions.

“If he’s here, I’ll introduce you to the man who helped me out that night with my car!” She smiled at the idea of seeing his scowling face. Orihime couldn’t help but giggle because of how soft he was behind that face. If he wanted to, he could scare off anyone with just his looks. But she liked the idea of him being soft as a teddy inside. Not ‘like’ him but was intrigued by him.

“Great. Now I can size up the perv myself.”

They arrived at the small convenience store and mini gas station. Orihime got out of Tatsuki’s gray Ford Focus and made her way to the entrance. She scanned the parking spaces and saw a familiar green Jeep. “Yep, he’s here. Come on Tats.” She waited for her friend to reach her. “I’m coming, geez. Why do you even seem this excited to see him?” She questioned her and Orihime shrugged it off as she opened the door for the both of them.

Tatsuki quickly did a scan over the place. It wasn’t too shabby. It reminded her of a mini farmer’s market along with a marketplace to buy some souvenirs. The place had it’s own charm which could grow on you. She looked at the sign which said ‘Welcome to Urahara’s Corner Store.’ She never heard of this place before but she’ll make a mental note of it next time.

Tatsuki looked towards her friend who was looking around for something, or specifically someone. “いらっしrゃいませ.” They both heard a greeting come from the back. Orihime smiled and grabbed Tatsuki’s arm, “Shh, let’s sneak up on him.” She whispered as her friend took her eyes.

They, well, Orihime tiptoed to the back while Tatsuki walked casually behind her with her hands in her pockets. The black haired woman was peering at the cute souvenirs whilst following Orihime. Something’s caught her eye and made a note to come back when she’s done talking to the perv. Closely making their way to the back, Orihime saw the orange haired men storing some beverages having his back exposed to them. She hopped towards him quietly and cuffed her mouth. “Boo!”

He didn’t flinch as he slowly turned his head to the red head. He chuckled as his eyes landed on the familiar red head, “Inoue? What are you trying to do?” Tatsuki tilted her head to the side, recognizing the voice. Orihime folded her arms and pouted, “Well, I was trying to scare you. But I guess I’ll have to find other creative solutions to shake ya. Anyway, I was just stopping by and I wanted you to meet my friend-”

“Ichigo Kurosaki!?” Tatsuki walked in front of Orihime and stared at the familiar orange head man. Ichigo almost dropped the beverages in his hands. “Tatsuki Arisawa?” He grinned manically and he pulled her in for a big hug. Orihime blinked at the interaction, somewhat confused.

“Oh my god, I haven’t seen you in so long!” Tatsuki wrapped her arms around her childhood friend. “Orihime! You should’ve told me that the perv was Kurosaki! Then I would’ve believed you for sure.” Ichigo backed up from Tatsuki, “Perv? Since when did I become a perv?” She shushed him, “No offense, Ichigo. Orihime told me some random dude offered her a ride home and I immediately thought that it was some perverted old man, since she attracts those type of guys.” Kurosaki have an understanding nod as Tatsuki mockingly winked at Orihime.

“I do not.” Orihime pouted and looked at the pair, still side hugging. “Anyway, wow, what a coincidence that you know each other. So how did you guys meet?”

“Yeah we go way back, since we were nine years ‘till the end of middle school, right?” Kurosaki questioned his childhood friend. “Something like that. Also, we were students apart of the same dojo. So, I guess we are considered rivals also.” Orihime eyes lit up to the words ‘dojo.’

“Really?! That’s so cool! You know I always wanted to be part of a dojo.” Orihime looked at Kurosaki, “Tatsuki won’t teach me though, she said I’m too clumsy to handle it.” Tatsuki rolled her eyes, “Yes, you are.” She stated and Ichigo simply chuckled. Inoue ignored her friend’s reply, “Kurosaki-kun, since you’ve been at a dojo, can you perhaps teach me how to beat people up?” Kurosaki eyebrows rose up in amusement at the request. Before he could respond, Arisawa spoke.

“You’re asking him? Really? He’s tough, I’ll give him that. But he’s nowhere near my level.” Kurosaki sucked his teeth in disagreement. “Please, Tatsuki. You’ve only bested me twice and that’s when we were kids. I’m pretty sure I’ll demolished you now.” Arisawa smack the orange head across the head. “I’d like to see you try.” He narrowed his eyes at Tatsuki, and the shorter woman narrowed her eyes back. Orihime caught both of their attention by clapping her hands.

“But please, Kurosaki-kun, can you consider my request?” His heart slightly swooned at seeing her gray puppy eyes on the cute shortcake. But he quickly regained his focus at the question, “I don’t know, Inoue. I’m not a great teacher, plus I don’t have the time.”

“Also, you’ll be doing more damage to yourself than to the enemy, Orihime.” Arisawa added, making Inoue click her tongue. Sure she was clumsy at times (most of the time) but she deserved to know how to defend herself when the time comes. She may mess up from time to time, but she’ll get the hang of it eventually. She needed this as self-defense too, since Tatsuki kept mentioning how she attracted perverted characters. It was totally not because she was interested in competing in sumo wrestling on the side. Totally not.

“But hey, if you just want to just defend yourself against horny guys. I don’t usually recommend it, but a good kick to the groin will do. If you can’t do that, a head-butt or an elbow to his ribs can do it too.” Ichigo said, and she heard Tatsuki mutter an ‘I told yo so.’ Orihime huffed at the similarity of the pair, “But that’s not cool enough!” She whined and folded her arms. “Oi, quit your whining.” Ichigo smiled and shook his head at the two women’s antics.

“So, what have you’ve been doing since you graduated from that preppy girl’s high school?” He asked his old friend. Tatsuki hated when Kurosaki referred to it as a ‘preppy’ high school, because in reality, it was. The only reason she went to the school was because she was forced. Her mother thought it would’ve been good for Arisawa to hang around girls instead of boy all the time.

“I’m studying to be a health coach.” She replied to Ichigo; he nodded. “What about you, Ichigo? And how’s mister Kurosaki and your twin sisters doing?” Kurosaki’s face tensed for a moment before he replied. “They’re doing well. But I don’t know what to do at the moment. I’m just tryna figure out myself.” Tatsuki gave an understanding nod.

“I told him that he could be a mechanic since he knows cars.” Inoue says as she patted the orange man on the back. Tatsuki eyes widen in realization, “So the mechanic is Sado-san?!”

“Yeah, that’s right.” Kurosaki turned his head in Inoue’s direction. “By the way, did Chad get back to you with the price?” Orihime smiled and nodded, “Oh yeah, this afternoon! He said he’ll charge me $300 for the engine replacement.” Tatsuki’s mouth dropped, and Ichigo just shook his head and sighed. “$300! For an engine replacement! That’s too cheap.” Inoue gasped as he eyebrows rose.

“What? Do I need to pay him more?” Tatsuki folded her arms and shook her head. “No. Well, honestly yes. But Chad is being too nice and he really stubborn. We wouldn’t accept any money from you if he thinks that you need it more than he does.” Orihime pouted her plump lips in a frown. “I knew that it didn’t sound right! It costs around $95 for an oil change. He didn’t have to do that!” Ichigo smiled at the determination she had in her eyes. He thought that it was admirable of her to be honest in her everyday life.

“That’s Chad for you. He might seen a bit intimidating, but he’s a softie at heart.” Ichigo said and he felt a vibration in his back pocket. He reached and saw Karin name across his phone screen. “Ah. My sister’s calling.” Tatsuki nodded and looked at her watch.

“Also, it’s past 7pm. I gotta get you back home, Orihime.” Her friend said and Inoue realized the time. He’s probably sick, waiting for me. She thought to herself.

“Oh yeah, it’s getting late.” The redhead spoke and patted Ichigo on his shoulder. Tatsuki gave the orange head one last side hug. “Tell everyone I said hi, alright. Oh, and put your number in my phone.” She said to his old friend. He nodded putting his phone in his pocket, letting it go to voicemail. In a few moments, he created a contact in Tatsuki’s phone. “We should meet up soon. And hey, maybe I could beat Mr. Kurosaki in a match next time.” Ichigo eyes dulled for a slight moment, remembering the times where his dad and Tatsuki would have arm wrestling fights on Saturday nights. He smiled at the thought, “Maybe.”

The two girls waved goodbye as the headed out in the night. Ichigo waved back wishing them to stay safe. He picked his phone back up and dialed his sister. “Sup, Karin.”

“Hey, what time are you coming home? Yuzu’s having an attack again.” He heard his younger sister say in a controlled voice. He pinched his eyebrows, “Shit, I’ll be home shortly.” As the said their goodbyes, he reminded himself that her medication needed to be picked up. Was the pharmacy even opened at this hour? Probably not. He sucked his teeth at his absent mind.

He rested his head in his hands, “Wish you were here, old man.”

“Thank you, Arisawa for the ride. Sorry to inconvenience you again.” Tatsuki shook her head and smiled, “Told you. No need to say sorry. We’re basically sisters. I’d do anything for you.” Orihime have her a bright smile and instantly hugged her tightly. “I’m glad to have you as a sister.”

Tatsuki returned the hug, pulled back and planted a firm hand on her shoulder, “Orihime, you let me know if anything happens to you, okay?” She gave me a serious look as she looked at my apartment door. I understood that look and nodded, “I will. I’ll be okay.”

“You have my number, call it. Don’t care if it’s two in the morning.” Orihime squeezed her friend’s hand back, “Don’t worry, I will.” She grabbed her handbag that was used for schoolwork and got her keys.

“Ride tomorrow?” She asked and Tatsuki laughed. “Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

Orihime got out of the car and walked up the stairway to her apartment. Tatsuki waited until Orihime opened her front door, then beeped the horn. Inoue closed the door behind, welcomed to her dimly lit apartment. She didn’t say a word as she took a few steps in her quiet place.

She sat slid out her her sneakers, and walked further to put her bags onto her couch. Orihime felt very dehydrated, not knowing the last time she had some water. So she fixed her a cup of iced water and sat alone on her couch.

He must not be home. She thought to herself and shrugged at the idea. She relaxed a bit, sitting on the couch and drinking her water. When she was done, she got up to rinse out her glass. She thought about the day as she walked to the sink. I wonder how much the engine replacement would’ve really cost. Probably a solid grand.

She remembered when she first met up with Chad. She had to take the bus and followed the address that Ichigo sent her through text. Yeah, the man was tall but she wasn’t scared of him. She could tell he had a heart of gold by the way he offered her some lemonade. And they had a long conversation, not just about the car, but about how he became friends with Kurosaki-san, who’s also friends with her best friend, Tatsuki.

Kurosaki must be a really lucky guy to be surrounded by such great people. Or maybe it’s just that he’s an amazing guy.

As Orihime put her dishes in the rack, two slender pale arms wrapped themselves around her waist. And she felt a hot breath on her shoulder followed along with a small peck on her neck. “You almost scared me.” She heard him chuckle a bit.

Orihime’s soft gray eyes searched for his green orbs, “What were you doing out so late?”

(The end. I’m kinda thinking about making this the first official chapter since it’s a bit longer. But this chapter was basically introducing everyone besides the two main characters. Next time, it’ll start to pick up a bit more. Hope you liked it, smooches.)

#ichigo kurosaki #ichigo x orihime #ichihime #inoue orihime #drama #romance #bleach #fluff #angst #slow burn #modern

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el-yon · 2 years ago

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speaking is not communication - but sometimes it helps

“Inoue, are you ok?!” and “He’s so nice!”: the origin. IchiHime Month 2022, day 5: He’s so Nice, and (late) Day 2: Inoue, are you ok? Read on Ao3. This was originally a drabble that got cut off from the bigger project, but since IHMonth is on and the prompts were right there, I revisited it. It’s fluff, it’s silly, it has some lingering sadness to it, and very short, but I hope you enjoy -- because we’re all gonna need some fluff as TYBW rages on.

Karakura Town Karakura High School, April 30th, 2001

Damn my old man, that freak…

Ichigo curses to himself as he enters the classroom later than he had planned due to Isshin’s insistent banter.

It had been a month since he started High School and, so far, things were going…

as well as they could be.

He was keeping up with schoolwork, their sensei was a bit whacked, but mostly alright, and there was this odd thing that happened when he entered the room, where he felt slightly better than how he would usually feel walking on the streets, or even on other corridors and grounds at that same building.

If Ichigo were to exaggerate, he would almost say that it felt good.

Somehow, the duo named Mizuiro and Keigo became a constant in his day-to-day activities, and even though the latter was definitely a hyper character, he was getting somewhat accustomed to their company. From what he gathered from their first interaction, it felt like a good thing.

Also, if he would admit to himself, it felt comforting to have Chad always close by, and he was glad to have Tatsuki around again – even though there was this lingering sensation of something being a bit off.

Ah, well... guess it can't be helped.

“Oh! Good-morning, Kurosaki-kun!”

And there was also that.

The first day she greeted him in such a cheerful manner on their entrance day, he thought she might have been over-excited about the beginning of the school year. Or she was being polite – Tatsuki did introduce the two of them just a couple of weeks before.

Maybe it was both.

But for some reason, he was greeted with the same “Good Morning” ever since, and while he was certainly thrown off by seeing someone who had been through what she had, and drew so much unwanted attention like she did bearing such a positive attitude, and he could not explain why she kept happily welcoming everyday… Ichigo appreciated it.

Sometimes he wondered if she had remembered him.

What was there to say, anyway.

... And he would never know how to approach her.

Gradually, the good morning greetings turned into brief conversations, usually with Tatsuki and the others about daily, mundane things.

He never really talked much, but he’d try to answer and participate every now and then. He did gather she liked some odd food combinations, different sorts of music, and she let her imagination run wild.

“… good morning, Inoue…”

He answered back, watching her hum happily to herself with flushed cheeks, and as soon as class started, jump into focus-mode and avidly write on her notebook.

It seemed she finished their assignment earlier, because when he glanced back at her, she was zoning out, gazing at the window.

That was another information he quickly learned about her.

Tatsuki would constantly snap at her for daydreaming, and he couldn’t help but agree with her – not with her methods, though. There have been too many days Orihime showed up for class with band-aids and bandages from bumps and small-accidents, which was bad in itself, but Ichigo felt this intense sense of concern thinking about her happy-go-luck, distracted-self walking around a world that was... unkind.

And to make matters worse, she was a nice, helpful person.

It was a good virtue – it just wasn’t a safe one.

Often, he’d notice her volunteering to help out after school hours, stock and clean things when she wasn’t supposed to, and never turning down a request.

That was probably why he caught her struggling with the cleaning-supply closet alone later that day, trying to reach a higher shelf by supporting herself on a chair.

Tsc, there she goes…

“… Inoue?... Do you need any help…?”

“Oh! Hi, Kurosaki-kun!” She greets, tilting her body back and turning to face him – and he instantly regretted calling out to her, because the second she turned, the teenager lost her balance.

Ichigo was fast, but the chair was faster, and Orihime fell alongside a bunch of cleaning supplies

– at the very least, he managed to prevent the mop from falling on top of her.

“Inoue, are you ok?!”

He asks, a bit panicked, instantly trying to help her get back on her feet – and just as quickly getting his hands back to himself the second she is standing.

“oh dear.... I made a mess…”

“… wha- forget about the mess… did you get hurt?!”

“Oh… hehe, no, no more than usual…” she waves him off, but as she brushes her bangs of her face, her eyes freeze

“… oh, no… oh…”

“What is it…?” He asks, concerned

“… my hairpin… I’m missing one….” She mumbles, checking the floor around them “I can’t lose it…!”

"... o-ok, don't worry, it's gotta be here somewhere...."

Ichigo notices the shape of the blue hairpin over her left ear, and helps her find the missing pair.

He can’t help but smile a bit as he notices the utter relief in her face when they find it.

A few minutes later, everything is safely stored again.

“… sorry that I startled you…” He blurts out - awkwardly - as they walk back, but she smiles

“No, no, you wanted to help… I was the one who lost my balance, hehe... I’m just happy my hairpin didn’t break… they’re very special to me…”

He wants to ask why, and in that particular moment, Ichigo resents the fact that his writing skills don’t make him good at expressing himself out loud.

Thankfully, she seems to read his eyes.

“… they were a gift from my brother, before… he passed away…"

She takes a breath

"... so… I wear them everyday”

Her brother.

“… I see…” His throat itches, and he wants to say more

I am so sorry for what happened, Inoue. I… I know how you feel.

“… I’m sorry about your brother”

Orihime softly thanks him, and he doesn’t know what to say next.

“… are you sure you’re ok? Are you not hurt?”

It comes out of him naturally, after a few seconds.

She lets out a small laugh, blushing a bit.

“Yes, Kurosaki-kun, thank you… but I’m more than fine, you don’t have to worry about me!”

He gruntles something, and soon they part ways as she heads towards Tatsuki’s Judo practice to meet the girl.

He watches as she walks away, and Ichigo is certain that not worrying about her was not an option.

Still worried, he did find himself feeling somewhat close to glad again.

... he managed to approach her.

___________________________________________________________

When she gets home, Orihime rushes to talk to Sora.

“… and I'm so sorry, Onii-chan, I know I should be more careful... but here, you see, they’re intact, shiny as always! And Kurosaki-kun helped me today… he had his scowling face again, but then he helped me and he was really nice!” She comments, grinning to herself, a weird tingling sensation rushing to her cheeks “… really nice…”

The feeling sticks to her as she bathes and cooks – she treats herself with extra-buttery potatoes, since the butter was on sale today (“Ya-ho! Lucky me!”) – up until when she tucks herself in and snuzzles under her covers.

Scenarios pile-up in her head about Ichigo as his concerned – yet gentle – voice echoes, again and again.

She had now picked up on the fact that he was probably the boy present on the worst day of her life, since Tatsuki told her his family ran the clinic, and she did remember – vaguely – that a boy had opened the door.

He probably didn’t remember her.

And there was not much be said, anyway.

Orihime turns around.

… he really was nice…

… so, so nice…

She hugs her pillow closer as the thought wraps her up in comfort, and she drifts into her sleep and enters her realm of dreams, where all imagination ran freely.

#IchiHime Month 2022 #Bleach #ichigo kurosaki #Orihime Inoue #local old lady has terrible skills in posting things online #but here it is

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