A Broken Sort of Love

A Broken Sort of Love

     Uryu knocked on the door. Frowning, he tilted his head, hearing the sound of crying from inside. "Inoue?"
     There were a few sniffles, and then Orihime's cheery voice, though slightly stuffy, came from inside. "Is that you, Ishida-kun? Please, come on in!"
     Opening the door, Uryu stepped in, holding up the bag of sewing materials he'd come to return. "Thank you for letting me borrow your stuff, Inoue; now that I have my own back..." Just then, he noticed how red her eyes were, the scattered tissues around her, and the unshed tears that were glistening in her eyes. "Inoue...were you crying?"
     Startled, Orihime looked up, then shook her head wildly. "No, no, Ishida-kun! I was...I was just..." She trailed off, unsure how to continue.
     With a sigh, Uryu sat down on the couch beside her, setting the bag down on the coffee table in front of them. "It's about that Kurosaki again, isn't it?" Orihime nodded, a tear slowly rolling down her cheek.
     Uryu stared gloomily at her; he was tired of the way Ichigo was always unsure and undecided, he thought the orange-haired Shinigami should just admit his feelings for Orihime, instead of always playing around and leaving her like this. "What's the problem now?"
     Orihime sniffled, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt. "K-Kurosaki-kun was so kind...but now, he's being strange again, and said he would just l-leave it...but then he k-kissed me, but now...now it feels like Kurosaki-kun is purposely avoiding me, again..." She broke down into sobs again, tears streaming down her face.
     Uryu sighed, trying to think of how to word this best. "Inoue...Maybe, it's not that Kurosaki doesn't care about you at all, it's that he cares too much." He patted Orihime's shoulder awkwardly. "People do funny things sometimes when they like another person, you know."
     Slowly, Orihime's sobs quieted down, as she thought over Uryu's words. Once calm again, with only a few hiccups here and there, she looked up at Uryu, smiling again. "Thank you, Ishida-kun...It's very kind of you to help me with this, even thogh I know you don't like Kurosaki-kun very much." She chuckled lightly, then hugged him. "It's so nice to have good friends like you, Ishida-kun."
     Uryu looked away, pushing his glasses up on his nose and fighting to hold down the blush that was creeping up his face. "...You're welcome, Inoue." He stood up as Orihime released him from her arms. "It's time for me to go now. Thanks again for letting me borrow your sewing materials." He began walking towards the door, when Orihime spoke again.
     "No, thank YOU, Ishida-kun." She smiled again, all better now. "For helping me to realize some very important things."
     Waving goodbye, Uryu opened the door, stepping outside and closing the door behind him. Pausing, he looked up at the evening sky, sun setting behind the trees. Actually, Inoue, he thought as he began walking home, I should be the truly grateful one. To you, for helping me find a reason for getting stronger, other than killing. For helping me realize, he raised a hand, touching a hand to directly above his heart, that deep inside, I'm still purely human, as well.
     He stopped at a lamppost, as an image of Ichigo swam into his mind, along with how the strawberry blonde felt about Orihime. Sighing, he bowed his head, letting the hair fall in front of his eyes. But, Inoue, you belong with Kurosaki. It would be wrong of me to interfere with that.
     Yes, he thought as he straightened up, continuing to walk on. Overhead, the sky darkened, and the stars soon began showing up, twinkling against the velvety rich blackness of the night sky. Inoue belongs with Kurosaki, he thought, footsteps sounding agains the pavement. And I won't interfere.