Orihime dug through the packing box, looking for her teapot. She’d thought everything had been packed and labeled sensibly — and she was certain she’d left nothing behind — but trying to unpack was a lesson in frustration. Things that had seemed so logical when she was packing now seemed ridiculous in hindsight, and it made everything into a production.

At her side, Tatsuki made a noise of triumph and stood, teapot in one hand and two mugs in another. “Found ‘em!” she announced, going to the sink to start washing her finds out. “Man, moving is so annoying. I wonder how Ichigo and Chad are doing?”

Orihime laughed and shoved her box aside, dusting her hands off as she moved to Tatsuki’s side. “Probably worse! You saw how Kurosaki-kun was ‘helping’ Sado-kun to pack.”

Tatsuki made a face. “Yeah. I love Ichigo, but his idea of packing is so chaotic. We should probably go visit once we get our place sorted out and see if Chad still needs help.”

“Okay!” Orihime leaned around Tatsuki and turned the stove on to boil the water. Tea sorted, she leaned against the counter and surveyed her new place once again. Unpacked boxes were stacked in every corner and nothing quite looked right, not yet, but that was okay. She’d make this place her home with Tatsuki at her side. She just needed time.

She’d not entirely been sold on moving, but… but Urahara was right. Being a sentai was tiring and it was so much nicer being close to the other three. It had only been a single night so far, but she’d already slept better than ever with Tatsuki just a door away and Kurosaki and Sado just a couple apartments down.

(It wasn’t as lonely either. The space didn’t echo with memories-regrets-could haves-should haves-didn’ts…)

“Have you met that neighbor Benihime introduced Ichigo and Chad to?” Tatsuki asked, pulling Orihime from her thoughts. She held out Orihime’s favorite mug and waited patiently for Orihime to blink her way back to the present.

Orihime accepted the mug and blew on her tea. “Thank you! Uhm… no, I haven’t seen him around. But Kurosaki-kun said the guy looked barely awake, right? So he’s probably been sleeping.” She was curious about the person, though. She’d only known Benihime for a couple days, but the woman didn’t strike her as the sort to do something without a reason.

Of course, that reason could just be that she was trying to get Ishida to make friends with people about his age. Kurosaki had said something about Benihime commenting that Ishida was ‘selective’.

(Selective like a shut-in or selective like her brother had been?)

(She hoped it was the first…)

“Yeah, maybe,” Tatsuki said with a frown, swirling her mug and staring at the tea in it.

Orihime giggled and bumped Tatsuki with her hip, smiling brightly up at her friend when Tatsuki shot her an exasperated look. “If you’re so curious, we can make some food and take it to him! That’s what neighbors do, right?” She set her mug down and scanned her half-unpacked kitchen thoughtfully. “I think we’ve got everything to make onigiri! Everyone likes that, right?”

“Only if you keep your experiments to yourself, Hime,” Tatsuki gently teased.

She pouted at Tatsuki, more amused than offended; she’d had to make do for most of her life and her tastes were rather sideways as a result. Tatsuki didn’t mind, and didn’t mind keeping an eye on things so she didn’t do something too outlandish for guests, and that was all that mattered.

“Besides, we can use it to start putting the kitchen in order,” Tatsuki added as she rinsed out her mug and poured herself another cup of tea. “Our bedrooms are mostly sorted out, so… maybe today can be the kitchen?”

“Right!” Orihime pursed her lips and scanned the space, then nodded to herself. Time to get to work.

Rice and the rice cooker were the first things they needed, and Orihime set to digging through boxes and putting things away while Tatsuki started the filling. She found things she didn’t even know she owned, things she didn’t know Tatsuki owned, and more random odds and ends than she ever expected to see. Most of it she found places for, some of it she dumped right back into another box, and the rest went wherever she had a clear spot to put it down.

They’d sort out what went where later, when they actually knew what all they had.

Rice in the rice cooker and set to cook, and Orihime traded places with Tatsuki. The filling Tatsuki had chosen was boring, but she wasn’t going to muck her friend’s efforts up. Orihime sang a wordless tune as she cleared the counter and prepared the area, grinning brightly as Tatsuki joined in.

It wasn’t long before the kitchen was mostly put away and they were making the onigiri for Ishida. Orihime arranged the pieces carefully in a spare bento box then closed the lid, pleased with their efforts.

“I think this will do!” she cheered as she washed her hands and dried them off. “Let’s go see if he’s in!”

Tatsuki smiled and followed after her without complaint. “Remember, he might still be recovering from whatever it was he was doing,” she reminded Orihime as they walked down the hall towards his door. “If we don’t get an answer after a few minutes, we can try again later.”

“I know, I know.” Orihime stuck her tongue out at Tatsuki, then giggled as her friend rolled her eyes. “I promise I won’t do anything embarrassing!”

She stopped in front of Ishida’s door and raised her hand to knock before Tatsuki could say anything else. Once the sound of her knock had faded, Orihime took a step back and struggled not to fidget, mind running wild with possibilities and ideas.

(Kurosaki and Sado hadn’t spoke much about him, beyond that he seemed taciturn and tired.)

(Benihime had gone out of her way to introduce those two to Ishida, though…)

Orihime waited, and waited, and waited. It felt like she stood in front of Ishida’s door forever, waiting for either something to happen or for Tatsuki to decide they should leave.

(Oh, but what if he told them to go away?)

(What if he wanted nothing to do with them?)

Finally, finally, the door swung open and someone their age looked out. “Urahara, what—” he paused, blinked, and stared at Orihime in surprise. “You are..?”

“I’m Inoue Orihime and this is Arisawa Tatsuki!” Orihime introduced the two of them and held out the bento box to him. “We’re friends with Kurosaki-kun and Sado-kun, and they said you didn’t know if you had food, so we decided to make you some onigiri!”

“Uh, thank you?” Ishida said as he automatically accepted the box and held it awkwardly, giving her a puzzled look as he did.

“You’re welcome!” Orihime smiled at him, as friendly and cheerful as she could manage, because it was either that or frown in worry. Ishida didn’t look tired, he looked exhausted, with dark bags under his eyes and his hair limp like he hadn’t the energy to care for it. There was a sallow tint to his skin that didn’t look healthy, and Orihime wondered if he had an illness of some sort.

“Uhm. I’m… Ishida Uryuu,” he introduced himself haltingly, looking between Orihime and Tatsuki, puzzlement fading and a spark of wariness growing in his gaze. “Is there something you two want?”

Orihime resisted the urge to cover her new earrings when Ishida’s wary gaze landed on her again. Urahara had assured her that no one would realize her right earring was actually Wagtail’s crystal, but there was something about Ishida, something sharp-cunning-dangerous despite his exhaustion.

(She didn’t want to get on his bad side.)

(He felt like someone who would be a deadly enemy.)

“We wanted to meet you,” Tatsuki piped up before the silence could stretch far. She planted her hands on her hips and gave Ishida a pointed once over. “You alright? Need us to do anything for you?”

Ishida pulled his attention away from Orihime and frowned at Tatsuki. “It’s nothing unusual,” he told them, tone flat and unwelcoming. “I have episodes like this every so often. Urahara-san and Benihime-san keep an eye on me, so there’s no need for you to concern yourself with my well-being.”

“The offer will still be there if you ever need anything, though! Anything at all, don’t be afraid to ask us!” Orihime clasped her hands behind her back and bounced a bit on her toes, aiming for cheerful-friendly-nonthreatening in an attempt to erase the wariness from Ishida’s gaze. “We’re just down the hall in apartment 310!”

Despite her best efforts, his wariness didn’t ease very much. He didn’t even crack a smile at her antics, just nodded at her words and said, “I doubt I will, but thank you for the offer. If you’ve nothing else, I have homework I need to complete so Urahara-san can take it in tomorrow morning.” Without waiting for a response, Ishida stepped back with another nod and closed the door in their faces.

Orihime sighed at the distinctive sound of locks engaging, knowing that they’d pushed as far as they could for the moment. She let Tatsuki guide her down the hallway as she mulled over their interaction, wondering if they could have done anything different to get a better result.

(She doubted it.)

(She’d seen eyes like those before, knew that particular mix of caution-wariness-reticence.)

(Sora had worn that look more than she ever wanted to admit.)

“He needs friends,” Orihime decided, glancing over at Tatsuki to see what her friend thought of the idea.

Tatsuki grimaced and shook her head. “Pretty sure he doesn’t want friends, Hime.”

“Wanting and needing are two different things,” Orihime reminded Tatsuki with a sad smile. “I think… I think he’s lonely, under all that gruff and bluster. Getting sick that badly…” She paused at their door and looked back down the hallway at Ishida’s apartment, thinking about how wary he’d been of them. How many kids had teased him in the past? How many times had he been treated as a pariah just because he was ill? “It can’t be fun, right? So I think we should try to befriend him!”

“If you want to, then we can give it a shot. I don’t know if it will work but… alright,” Tatsuki said after a moment’s thought. She gestured for Orihime to enter their apartment then followed her in, closing the door behind them. “I can’t quite shake the idea that I’ve seen him before, though…”

“Maybe you’ve seen him on the way to school,” Orihime suggested.

“Yeah… maybe. Guess it doesn’t really matter.” Tatsuki stretched, her shoulders popping as she did, then turned to head into the kitchen. “Come on, I want to get the kitchen put away before we relax for the evening.”

“Okay!”