"My world is spinnin' in slow motion, and you're moving to fast-"
Title: Eyes
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Spoilers: Not really.
Summary: Orihime’s eyes were entirely too large.
Entirely too large.
That’s the conclusion Ichigo Kurosaki had come to concerning Orihime Inoue’s eyes.
They nearly protruded from her face. Every other aspect of her anatomy seemed to fit her (yes, even those extra-large pieces of pillows she called her breasts seemed to fit. She had to store all those emotions somewhere). But yet her eyes seemed outlandish. Annoyingly so.
His scowl deepened as he studied her profile. How did someone end up with eyes that engorged?
“Ichigo?” She questioned as soon as she caught his focus upon her. She had glanced at him again (that made like the fifth time since the lecture began). What was so interesting about his face that kept her constant vigilance?
“Orihime,” He grunted back, irritation quickly filling his veins. Those damn eyes had gotten bigger upon connecting with his.
He quickly shifted his gaze back towards the front of the room. He really needed to pay attention to the lecture. He already missed enough class as it was.
---
Days passed. Months along with them. And it was during a snowstorm, when the color was drained from the world, that he realized that they didn’t bother him anymore. The slate gray color, along with deep orange locks of hair, seemed rather fitting for her personality and outlook on life (the better he got to know her). There was never just black and white when it came to Orihime. There were always shades of gray. There was never good or bad. No, there was simply the muted stories of the misunderstood. Everyone should be given a chance.
“Are you cold?”
Sucking in her breath, trying to hide the puff of air that had been made visible by the lack of temperature, she shook her head quickly, “N-no, I’m fine Ichigo!”
He nodded. The size of her eyes seemed to fit her accurately now, too. If one’s heart was revealed through the eyes, she definitely needed large ones to accommodate that overly-sized organ of hers.
---
When she was physically expressive, her eyes were as well. Some days they weren’t as watery, losing a bit of their sparkle in the process. But most days they glinted and glittered with passion and hope.
Those days made Ichigo a little less pessimistic.
---
Lately whenever his eyes found hers, he noticed the edges soften with an unspoken (and genuinely foreign) emotion. Was it bad? Good? Or was he simply imaging it? Did his eyes do that as well?
---
“People are gonna think you’re a pervert if you keep starin’ at Orihime like that,” Renji warned him.
“You can make your little comments when you figure out why you stare at Rukia. And I’m not a pervert!”
Renji’s mouth fell open to rebuttal but was quickly silenced as Orhime skipped past them. She simply smiled at Renji, but waved and sang out a, “Hey Ichigo!” before she left them alone.
Ichigo didn’t wave, nor did he say hello back. The only indication that he had heard her was the smile.
Renji snorted, “I already know why I stare at Rukia, smartass. And wipe that stupid grin away.”
The straight line of Ichigo’s mouth dipped down to fall into a frown, “I’m not grinning.”
The red-headed lieutenant pointed towards the substitute’s eyes and raised an eyebrow, “Right there.”
He must have started to flush because Renji laughed and simply walked away.
---
Orihime’s smile never reached her eyes whenever he touched Rukia, albeit in a friendly manner. But why?
His smile never reached his eyes ever. Not that anyone noticed. His eyes were smaller, so was his heart. And he rarely ever smiled, so why should his eyes?
---
He decided early on that fear was not a becoming look on her. Neither were uncertainty or disappointment.
There was no way he’d consider what her eyes looked like when they were sad. He didn’t have the nerve.
---
Not only were they expressive, but they told him secrets. They told him the truth.
“Thank you for helping me out today, Ichigo.”
Amber battled gray. Searching.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t help out more,” She concluded.
Amber won. Gray submitted.
---
Each glance brought him closer to discovering just that ‘that look’ she gave to only him meant.
Then she was stolen.
No more greetings sang through morning cloudiness. No more time to decipher those eyes the size of saucers.
No more Orihime.
---
Victory. Barely. But victory nonetheless. She was home. He would protect her.
Now she was more quiet. Rarely did her smile reach her eyes. Now gray reflected a world of pain and sadness. Abuse and death. Tears and goodbyes (had Ulquiorra been her only friend?). And as always, they spoke the truth.
Instead of hues of gray and delight, dullness and maturity beyond her years shone back at him.
He hated the truth. He hated her truth. That forced reality.
“Ichigo.”
He shifted; eyes met. Amber battled gray. Pleading.
The edges of both sets of eyes softened. They both smiled without moving. The first smile he had seen since before the incident; before the war.
“What is it, Orhime?”
‘Hime,’ his eyes corrected for her.
At this, a physical smile pulled onto her face, “You came for me.”
‘Why?’ They asked him.
“Of course I did, Orihime.”
‘I can’t imagine my life without you.’
She stepped towards him and timidly touched his hand, “I knew you’d find me.”
‘I’ve always believed in you.’
“I’ll always find you,” he whispered, his fingers nudging against hers.
‘I was lonely without you.’
“Thank you, Ichigo,” She breathed, ‘that look’ filling her eyes again. Finally, after all this time, he understood.
‘Ichigo…I love you.’
Amber battled gray. Understanding. Amber won.
Gray submitted. Every time their eyes met, amber melted. Gray won.
Orihime and Ichigo listened to each other’s hearts in the silence of the world. They won.
…
And now Ichigo wondered why he could have ever thought her eyes were anything short of wonderful.
Ok so as of this week...I've been depressed. I know, I know, I bitch all the time but hey, what's the point in having awesome LJ friends like you all if I can't bitch every once in a while? -wink-
I don't know what my problem is. I mean just as the title of my entry states, I feel like I'm standing still and everything is revolving around me at such an excrutiatingly fast pace that it's all I can do not to blink and miss something. I feel like I'm getting left behind. -sigh- It's so damn depressing. What a way to feel the spring/summertime before I ship overseas...that'll make that whole experience a bit of a bad ordeal. -dies-
Oh and so I guess they have officially english dubbed Clannad! I watched the first four episodes today on the anime network. The english VA are fantastic! No one that I knew right off the bat but I'm a little dense when it comes to hearing something (aside from JYB, Yuri Lowenthal, and Vic Micgnonga. -shrug- I wonder if they'll bring it to Adult Swim now? Didn't they say something about it on one of their bumps earlier in the year? Like about buying 3 new animes (one of which was FMA: Brotherhood?). All I can do is cross my fingers!
<3
Nikki
P.S. The GrimmNel fic is getting posted next, Codegal! Promise! ;)