Title: The Arrow That Pierces The Heart
Rating: PG (this would be G if Tsubaki was nicer!)
Summary: Tsubaki would like to think that he is made of subtler stuff than this.
Notes: Written for the Ichigo x Orihime 2009 Valentine Event. Finished in about an hour because I realized the deadline was fast approaching and I only had a title. I'd like to pretend the quality is because of me cramming and not just because I cannot write to save my life. The fact that I love this couple to death makes this ten times more awful, haha! I don't know anything about Tsubaki apart from the fact that he seems to be angry a lot and bullies Orihime. I also remember there being classes in Japan during Saturdays. Please suspend your disbelief in case I got both wrong. Thank you for reading!

The Arrow That Pierces The Heart
by the Green-ish Hue Ranger

Tsubaki knows of history, of course: that it had been a feast for the worthy dead, first; evolved to its more common counterpart during the height of courts and gentry; currently used as a vehicle for commercialism and dentistry...

He, however, knew nothing of this.

"The things we could do," the bubble-headed one had says, "with such power!"

The thought? Is insane. Tsubaki is certain everyone would agree. Ever since his birth, he is quite certain he has made clear that he is made for tough, battle-specific ocassions. He is made of subtler stuff than this.

There is this thing called "hindsight".

Tsubaki tries to erase its existence and fails miserably.

.x.

Inoue Orihime spent all of Friday the 13th, not haunting ghosts or monsters or the occasional alien passer-by, not even visiting Yoruichi-san and asking if she's been busy cursing innocent bystanders as Orihime thought she would be, no. She spent it going to school like she should before buying the materials she needs (except for wasabi and bean paste... oh, and celery; Tatsuki-chan overruled those). She then went home to start the odyssey that is chocolate-baking.

...but what odyssey is bereft of pointless wandering?

She finishes at three in the morning. There are a lot of people in her list but most are store-bought. There really are only three names she needed to bake for. And only one name whose chocolate took so much time. Her Rikka collectively noticed it too.

Later, Tsubaki will forget what led to this conversation. All he'll remember is saying this:

"Piercing hearts is nothing. I can do it better than any arrow if you were just competent enough."

Orihime replying with this:

"Th-that's awesome, Tsubaki-kun! I didn't know you could do that! Imagine the things we could do with such power!"

That inevitably led to this:

"All right! Operation Spread the Love on Valentine's Day is officially on its way!"

His memory doesn't even allow him the decency to forget that, because of her praises, he had been totally into it at first without knowing what she planned.

.x.

Orihime's list is as follow: one each for the males of her class, one for all the teachers assigned to her this year, one for her immediate neighbors, one for some of the members of the Sewing Club, one for each of her closest girl friends (which Chizuru took to mean a proposal for a relationship) and several hand-baked chocolates for Tatsuki—("Tatsuki-chan is special, of course," Orihime explains between Tsubaki's annoyed remarks of a girl getting more).

She segregated a dozen or so of hand-baked ones and settled them on a small shrine at her house. She spent a much longer time talking about her day to a shape who can no longer hear her.

Her Rikka each got their own hand-baked chocolates after Orihime asked if they could eat it. Shunou originally declined—no sense in her getting more tired—but she insisted and so they each got their own piece, and now only the heart-shaped chocolate one is left.

Tsubaki watches as she looks about the classroom once, twice, three times during Lunch and sighs. Again.

In irritation, he takes a big bite out of the chocolate she made especially for him.

.x.

It starts before Lunch ends.

"Momoko-san could really use your help right now," she whispers to him ten minutes before next period.

Tsubaki hopes his stare is obvious enough to be read as, "Who is this Momoka-san and why should I care?"

The next thing he knows, he's on the roof-top, sailing through the air, Orihime's will making him soar towards a target he's not even aware of. He collides onto the back of some nondescript human who loses his balance and falls on top of a girl giving him chocolates.

She shrieks. He apologizes furiously.

When they come back to their classroom, red-faced and smiling, there is a collective reaction that flies over Tsubaki's head.

Humans are so noisy.

.x.

Tsubaki has been flying and colliding with humans very frequently lately. Just this day, in fact. Just in the space of several hours to be exact.

The worst part is that Orihime's will has been so laid back, he does nothing but collide. Her spirit is so serene, the only thing he manages is to make the body fall over.

When he finally realizes what she's doing, he shouts at her during class. Several students look around like they can hear him and a handful actually look directly his way. The spiritual awareness of this city's people is quite scary.

Tsubaki watches Orihime stare at the last chocolate in her bag before watching someone else's back.

He waits in resignation for the inevitable loss of gravity, but there is nothing.

.x.

For all his shouts and anger, there is a fondness and affection within him that is solely and uniquely for her.

Tsubaki tries to crush this feeling as he finds himself flying more frequently.

.x.

In the end, he is asked to "soothe the heart" of a dog Orihime has deemed lonely.

Tsubaki looks at her with a look that clearly conveys, "Are you out of your damned mind, woman?" before losing what little hold over his patience he had.

"THAT'S IT! Stop making light of my abilities! When I said I'm more effective in piercing hearts than any arrows, I meant in killing! KILLING! If you weren't who you are, I would —"

"Ah, wait!" Orihime says, hands waving everywhere in panic. "Don't get mad!" Tsubaki tries to fly out of her reach, but upsetting her costs him. She swats at Tsubaki accidentally and he swears revenge before he even meets the chest of one Kurosaki Ichigo.

"...Inoue?" Kurosaki asks haltingly while picking Tsubaki up. They look at each other for a bit, one in curiosity, the other in anger, before he asks, "Why are you using your Rikka?" He looks around like he expects Hollows to come flying.

"PUT ME DOWN!" Tsubaki shouts before Orihime can even answer. He kicks repeatedly on the portion of Kurosaki's chest that he can reach and wishes Orihime can will his attacks to make a difference.

Orihime's face slowly goes pale before furiously catching red. "Ah, ah, please stop it, Tsubaki-kun!" she says with an embarrassed twinge and goes to retrieve him. "Tsubaki-kun, please don't do that," is what she whispers in soft, mortified tones and it takes him a while to realize he had been kicking the part of Kurosaki's chest where his heart is.

"It won't have the effect you think it has," is what he wants to say but her blush is so overwhelming it gives him pause. What does she see in this guy that the thought of Tsubaki accidentally using his non-existent Cupid powers has her so tensed?

"I'm sorry, Kurosaki-kun, that was an accident!" she says, and belatedly answers, "Tsubaki and I are on a mission to spread love on this joyous day. I have recently come to the understanding that Tsubaki has the power to pierce any heart—("That's not what I meant!" comes Tsubaki's ignored correction)—and what better way to utilize this than on a day that celebrates it?"

Kurosaki pauses and looks at Tsubaki again. Tsubaki prays that he looks closer as he only needs a few more inches before he can kick that ass in the eye.

"Oh, right. Since it's Valentine's," he replies, making Tsubaki want to shout, "STOP ENABLING HER!"

She smiles at him in agreement. The ever-existent furrow on Kurosaki's eyebrows smoothes over. He looks one last time at Tsubaki, notices the deadly glint in the Rikka's eye aimed straight at Orihime and says, "Yeah, he was flying everywhere in class, wasn't he? But, hey, bet Tatsuki's worried you wandered off somewhere. I think it's time you let Cupid rest so he can celebrate the day too."

This is the part where Tsubaki plots Kurosaki Ichigo's demise.

"Oh, by the way." Kurosaki Ichigo, the part-time Shinigami who will be dead soon; the one whose leaking reiatsu brought about the birth of Tsubaki's own existence; the person who will receive all the anger this day has accumulated inside him—looks at Orihime and says, "Happy Valentine's Day, Inoue."

Orihime's grip on Tsubaki tightens to the point of pain but the look on her face stops any words he could have had said.

"Oh. Oh, well... Uhm..."

Inoue Orihime, who Tsubaki is secretly fond of; who tried making numerous "special" chocolates last night only to scrap them all; the reason Tsubaki had scrunched up all previously stated thrown chocolates so he could eat them and prove to her that what she did mattered; the reason today had been so bloody awful—smiles.

She reaches in the bag she carries and brings out a small rectangular box. Face red and smile turning a little uncertain, she reaches out her hand and offers it to him.

"You too... Happy Valentine's Day too, Kurosaki-kun," she says.

08 May 2010: Edited because FFNet killed the formatting. Edited some tenses too because, argh, tenses, why do you thwart me so! I can never get a feel for you! Two years after my first Bleach fanfic, I am still unable to write Orihime well (let us conveniently forget I actually never wrote anything in between to somewhat familiarize myself in writing her, okay? I am being melodramatic and illogical here). I wish I could express how much this saddens me, but I have already proven that I cannot write to save my life, so that would be counter-productive. Uhm... what else? Oh, okay, there's nothing else. END.

(02142009 . 1468 words)