picfor1000

[fay_e]

Orihime woke up with the feeling that her clothes were itchy.

She didn't know why. She was in her favourite pajamas that made her think of good things: how soft it was from frequent tumbles in the washing machine; sleeves long enough to hide her hands on cold days; a splash on the pant leg where she spewed raspberry juice laughing at one of Tatsuki's jokes during a sleepover. She had missed her pajamas.

So why did they feel itchy now?

Orihime scratched under her collar as her mind wandered. Her soap seemed normal - no signs of spy nanobots in the bar. Her towel had been a bit scratchy, more like a cat's tongue than cloth but cats were cute so that was ok! And her blankets felt heavier than usual, but that was ok too because maybe it would grow extra fleece in time for winter. Maybe she had developed a wool allergy? What would she do with all her sweaters now?

Disturbed by this thought, she kicked her covers off and headed to the kitchen. Some cake would ease her worries. Luckily, Orihime's Patissiere had made an emergency round to the supermarket last night to obtain the freshest ingredients for the roundest, brownest cake. She gazed at it reverently for a few moments, before digging a ground-breaking knife into the crumbly mass. Some lingonberries tumbled out, and she popped them into her mouth while searching for more ginger. She hoped the ginger was where she had last put it - she had spent so long in Hue -

Orihime stuffed the ginger flakes she had found directly into her mouth, and teared a little at the sharp taste. She took a bite of her cake, and found the combination much better. With a clearer mind, she sank down to prop her elbows on her low table. Obviously she needed to do some shopping. Ginger, for one. She lapped some crumbs off her finger to mark that off. Sugar, another clean finger. New clothes? Her current ones were so scratchy. But what should she buy? Socks? She wriggled her toes thoughtfully. No, this close to the heater they could spontanteously combust and then her toes would not be toasty but toasted. But the idea of something warm... something comforting... like a hug...

A hoodie! A hoodie was like a hug!

Orihime was so pleased with this idea that she licked all her fingers clean. She wiggled her five fingers thoughtfully. They made her think of Rukia and Renji and Ishida and Sado and Kurosaki-kun. She wondered if they would like a hug as much as she would.

The thought of Kurosaki-kun's resigned expression made up her mind for her. Team Orihime had a mission - hoodies for everyone.

============

When Orihime stepped out of the shop, she bounced to match the rabbit ears on her hoodie. Her hoodie was nice and warm and snug and she already liked burrowing into it. If her hands were free, she would have stuffed them in her pockets, but they were holding on tightly to her special delivery of happiness! The shop had exactly the hoodies she was looking for - she imagined that the owner must be a kindly mother, because kindly mothers knew how to sew and gave awesome hugs too.

"You should be smiling!" she told a girl who was frowning at her handphone. "Your green hoodie is beautiful!" Orihime hopped down the street, happy to see that other hoodie wearing people were just as happy as she. She was sure her friends would like the hoodies as well!
(600 words)


"I hope you know what you're holding."

That wasn't a voice Ichigo expected to hear. Outside of school. In the shopping mall. It was almost - but not quite as bad - as hearing the voice of his old man. Fighting the urge to hide the T-shirt he was holding behind his back, Ichigo turned.

Ichigo was right: it was Ishida. After going through most of the school year without even knowing who Ishida was, it was fucking weird to keep seeing him around in school. It was as if Ishida had stuck a beacon to himself that kept drawing Ichigo's attention to him.

Too bad the beacon had failed here, or Ichigo wouldn't have gone into the shop. It was a pity; he liked this shop. Unfortunately, it appeared Ishida liked it too, if the collared shirt Ishida was clutching was any indication.

"Could say the same for you," Ichigo shot back. "What are you doing here?"

"Do you always ask the obvious, Kurosaki?" Ishida punctuated his question with a glasses push. "I am buying clothes. As you are. Do you honestly intend to buy that?"

The English was iffy, and Ichigo wasn't so hot on green, but the tone of Ishida's voice got on Ichigo's nerves. "Yeah. So?"

Ishida sniffed. "I suppose you always have been into tight clothes. Still, you should ditch this colour. Why don't you try the grey version?"

"I'll wear what I like, thanks," Ichigo replied, even though he kept spotting the grey t-shirt out of the corner of his eye. He'll get it. Later. When Ishida's not here. "Are you done?"

"Unlike you Kurosaki, I take my time when shopping."

"Yeah, I can see why." Ishida must have picked out the plainest looking shirt in the whole shop - it's white and boring.

"No, I don't think you see why. After all, you're more than happy to use buttons." Ishida gestures towards Ichigo's pants.

"They're useful," Ichigo shoots back, resisting the urge to look down.