'Thank you, Ishida-kun.'

Bleach © Kubo Tite.


Happy Birthday, *debbiechan!!


This was inspired by the (wonderful, may I say) IshiHime fic ~fire-star-spirit wrote for my birthday this summer, made all the more special because she doesn't actually like the pairing and had never written it before. I've been dying to illustrate one particular scene since I read it, but then time passed and nothing happened so I decided I'd use the idea for Debbie's present, because it just makes sense I finished it a little while ago and I was really itching to upload it. Debbie, I hope you like it.

And here's the scene that inspired it: (On Valentine's Day, Orihime receives an anonymous rose and first thinks it's from Ichigo. When it turns out that he gave one to Rukia, she's too heartbroken to realise that there might just be someone else out there who cares about her...)

Orihime looked at the rose in her hands and then at Ishida. "I don't know who gave me this rose... there wasn't any card with it. I... I was hoping it would be from Kurosaki-kun... but it's not."

Sighing, Ishida rose to his feet. "If someone else gave you a rose, Inoue-san, doesn't that mean that there's someone else out there who cares about you?"

The girl's eyes widened, "You're right, Ishida-kun! I didn't even think of that... you're so smart!"

"You're not as alone as you think you are, Inoue-san," murmured, turning to leave, "You still have your friends here for you. And the person who gave you the rose – whoever he is – he cares for you too."

He could only walk three steps before he froze. Orihime was hugging him from behind, her arms crossed over his chest and her cheek pressed to his back.

"Thank you, Ishida-kun. It means a lot to me."

Allowing a small, somewhat sad smile to creep across his lips, he pulled Orhime's arms away and turned around.

"I'm going to try and find out who gave me the rose," Orihime said, sounding determined, "Because I want to say thank you, at least. I want to find out who they are... and maybe I'll find out that I like them too—"

"Inoue-san, I don't think it's a good idea to try and replace Kurosaki like that. You should only try and return someone's feelings if you feel something for them as well... otherwise, it wouldn't be fair for them."

"You're right again, Ishida-kun... thank you so much."

This time, Ishida gave her a genuine smile before turning to leave.

"I wish you luck, Inoue-san... and don't spend too long pining for Kurosaki... if he hasn't noticed what a caring person you are, he is clearly not worth being upset over."

Even if you don't like the pairing, don't diss the art/artist, 'kay? Play nice.