Orihime Inoue (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
leekspins) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
bravenewworld2016-07-01 03:23 pm
leekspins) wrote in bravenewworld2016-07-01 03:23 pm
Groceries and Delinquents
[OPEN - Running Errands]
Orihime's short, chestnut hair swung lightly at the edge of her jawline as she walked. Clasped in both hands was a sack of her week's groceries, an assortment of inexpensive vegetables, a box of butter, a quart of milk, and a sack of rice. Nothing too fancy. There was a second smaller sack behind that one containing a few spools of thread in black, white, and light brown. Her long khaki shirt brushed at her shins, a simple pair of brown flats on her feet. There was nothing all that extraordinary about her at first glance, as she walked with her head down and an absent, faraway smile on her face. Her long-sleeved turtleneck shirt had the collar rolled down, the fit snug but modest.
There was still a little dusting of powdered sugar on her top, and a smudge of chocolate batter on her cheek, but either she didn't notice or didn't care. She'd worked hard at the bakery today, just as she always did now that summer vacation had started. She'd need the extra money for the upcoming school year, but for now, it needed to be spent on other things.
Like paying the deposit on her new apartment, since her last one had a giant hole blown through the wall, as well as the heavy fee she'd had to dole out for breaking her lease in order to live somewhere with all of its walls and bathroom in tact. Still, at least her brother's picture hadn't been damaged, and that was all that really mattered.
As she walked, her gaze was caught by something gleaming in a shop window, and she stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. She stared. Then she drifted forward, as if caught in a magnetic beam until she almost had her nose pressed against the glass.
Wow... A limited edition signed photograph of the great Pokemon Trainer and celebrated idol, Rise Kujikawa! And next to that... "OH! That's a rare one!" This time she did push a hand against the glass, her eyes wide as she spotted the trading card featuring Haruka Tenoh and her Rhyhorn. Was that signed too? She couldn't tell from the glare of the window, no matter how she squinted. She ached to rush right in and buy either one, but her wallet ached far more. With a resigned sigh, her shoulders wilted and she dropped her head, before forcefully pulling herself away. Maybe someday. After she finished school, and saved up enough money to open her own cake shop, she might be able to splurge on something nice like that.
For now, she just wanted to get home and roll herself into a hot bath, and cook an 'interesting' meal.
-------------------
CLOSED TO RYUKO
There was a time when walking home in the dark used to make Orihime nervous. She'd walk faster, take smaller side roads at a sprint if there wasn't anyone else around, and nervously clutch her keys in her pocket.
She'd since learned that it didn't matter what time of day it was; she was still going to be bullied even if it was broad daylight. When she first heard a familiar harsh voice bark her name, Orihime flinched, dread flooding through her entire body. She held her groceries a little tighter and forced herself to stand still, even though every instinct inside of her screamed that she should run. Running was a mistake. That was something she'd learned four years ago when they'd punched her in the stomach until she lay gasping on the floor in a puddle of her own vomit.
Nervously she cast a glance to her left and right, hoping to see anyone else nearby that might speak out if they saw anything violent, but all she saw were the piles of construction supplies and lumber behind the chain link fence. She waited, swallowing hard, and trying to squash her anger and fear. She had to be calm. She had to be quiet.
It didn't take the quartet long to reach her. The chain link fence rattled noisily as Orihime stumbled into it, roughly shoved back by the older girls. She'd encountered them many, many times before. They were the reason her hair was short. They were the reason she tried to leave school very early, or failing that, very late. She'd even tried changing up her route home, but all of these solutions were temporary. Eventually they found her, bruised her, and humiliated her, over and over again. Orihime had hoped they'd be too busy at the beach during summer vacation to bother her, but she was wrong.
"I told you, the color of your hair pisses me off!" the older girl loudly declared, and spat on the ground. "You still haven't dyed it? What an arrogant brat."
Orihime didn't deny it. She kept her head down, avoiding eye contact, and clutched at the fence as if it were a dear friend silently supporting her. Another girl seized her by the front of her shirt, forcing her to put her back against the fence and face her bullies.
"How should we punish her this time?"
The leader took a drag on her cigarette, tapping the ash, and smiled. "Push up her sleeve."
Orihime struggled despite her earlier resolve, but they grabbed her by the hair and shoved her up against the fence again. They restrained her as she flailed, and pushed up the sleeve of her shirt to bare her arm. No. Stop! she wanted to scream, but she held her tongue. Her eyes widened with fear as they kept her secure, while the leader brought the burning cigarette closer to Orihime's exposed skin.
Suddenly the sharp heat broke Orihime's silence, and she bleated in pain. One of them slapped her across the face.
"Don't be such a wimp!"
Orihime's short, chestnut hair swung lightly at the edge of her jawline as she walked. Clasped in both hands was a sack of her week's groceries, an assortment of inexpensive vegetables, a box of butter, a quart of milk, and a sack of rice. Nothing too fancy. There was a second smaller sack behind that one containing a few spools of thread in black, white, and light brown. Her long khaki shirt brushed at her shins, a simple pair of brown flats on her feet. There was nothing all that extraordinary about her at first glance, as she walked with her head down and an absent, faraway smile on her face. Her long-sleeved turtleneck shirt had the collar rolled down, the fit snug but modest.
There was still a little dusting of powdered sugar on her top, and a smudge of chocolate batter on her cheek, but either she didn't notice or didn't care. She'd worked hard at the bakery today, just as she always did now that summer vacation had started. She'd need the extra money for the upcoming school year, but for now, it needed to be spent on other things.
Like paying the deposit on her new apartment, since her last one had a giant hole blown through the wall, as well as the heavy fee she'd had to dole out for breaking her lease in order to live somewhere with all of its walls and bathroom in tact. Still, at least her brother's picture hadn't been damaged, and that was all that really mattered.
As she walked, her gaze was caught by something gleaming in a shop window, and she stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. She stared. Then she drifted forward, as if caught in a magnetic beam until she almost had her nose pressed against the glass.
Wow... A limited edition signed photograph of the great Pokemon Trainer and celebrated idol, Rise Kujikawa! And next to that... "OH! That's a rare one!" This time she did push a hand against the glass, her eyes wide as she spotted the trading card featuring Haruka Tenoh and her Rhyhorn. Was that signed too? She couldn't tell from the glare of the window, no matter how she squinted. She ached to rush right in and buy either one, but her wallet ached far more. With a resigned sigh, her shoulders wilted and she dropped her head, before forcefully pulling herself away. Maybe someday. After she finished school, and saved up enough money to open her own cake shop, she might be able to splurge on something nice like that.
For now, she just wanted to get home and roll herself into a hot bath, and cook an 'interesting' meal.
-------------------
CLOSED TO RYUKO
There was a time when walking home in the dark used to make Orihime nervous. She'd walk faster, take smaller side roads at a sprint if there wasn't anyone else around, and nervously clutch her keys in her pocket.
She'd since learned that it didn't matter what time of day it was; she was still going to be bullied even if it was broad daylight. When she first heard a familiar harsh voice bark her name, Orihime flinched, dread flooding through her entire body. She held her groceries a little tighter and forced herself to stand still, even though every instinct inside of her screamed that she should run. Running was a mistake. That was something she'd learned four years ago when they'd punched her in the stomach until she lay gasping on the floor in a puddle of her own vomit.
Nervously she cast a glance to her left and right, hoping to see anyone else nearby that might speak out if they saw anything violent, but all she saw were the piles of construction supplies and lumber behind the chain link fence. She waited, swallowing hard, and trying to squash her anger and fear. She had to be calm. She had to be quiet.
It didn't take the quartet long to reach her. The chain link fence rattled noisily as Orihime stumbled into it, roughly shoved back by the older girls. She'd encountered them many, many times before. They were the reason her hair was short. They were the reason she tried to leave school very early, or failing that, very late. She'd even tried changing up her route home, but all of these solutions were temporary. Eventually they found her, bruised her, and humiliated her, over and over again. Orihime had hoped they'd be too busy at the beach during summer vacation to bother her, but she was wrong.
"I told you, the color of your hair pisses me off!" the older girl loudly declared, and spat on the ground. "You still haven't dyed it? What an arrogant brat."
Orihime didn't deny it. She kept her head down, avoiding eye contact, and clutched at the fence as if it were a dear friend silently supporting her. Another girl seized her by the front of her shirt, forcing her to put her back against the fence and face her bullies.
"How should we punish her this time?"
The leader took a drag on her cigarette, tapping the ash, and smiled. "Push up her sleeve."
Orihime struggled despite her earlier resolve, but they grabbed her by the hair and shoved her up against the fence again. They restrained her as she flailed, and pushed up the sleeve of her shirt to bare her arm. No. Stop! she wanted to scream, but she held her tongue. Her eyes widened with fear as they kept her secure, while the leader brought the burning cigarette closer to Orihime's exposed skin.
Suddenly the sharp heat broke Orihime's silence, and she bleated in pain. One of them slapped her across the face.
"Don't be such a wimp!"
no subject
Freak. Her expression darkened considerably at the word. She'd heard it before. The freakishly strong girl on the playground with no friends and no family. The freak. The girl who was so freakish and weird that her own parents didn't want her.
So, it's a freak she wants to see, is it?
"Hey, hey, what was that? You're outta here?" Her voice rose and she moved quickly, snatching the back of Veronica's shirt and dragging her back toward the fence to shove her into it. "Who the hell said any of you were allowed to leave, huh? Didn't you hear what I said before? I said after you get your turn, I get mine!"
no subject
It was a gamble, but she was working off of what she'd observed. Ryuko hadn't showed up with anyone else around her, and jumped into this on her own. Her reactions were telling too. Veronica was not a gracious loser, and meant to unravel this upstart at any cost.
Orihime's mouth tightened, and shot a quick glance at Ryuko. Veronica wasn't getting under her skin too, was she? Her hands curled into fists. Don't interfere, she warned herself. It'll just make things worse, and Ryuko couldn't possibly be hurt. Hold back. Ryuko was strong enough.
no subject
For her success at pushing buttons she had made a pretty serious mistake. Ryuko wasn't like her other targets, she didn't wilt or shrink when she was hurt, she hit right back. True, some might say that doing that meant the bullies won but she'd just argue that she doubted that was a big comfort to them when they were trying to find their shattered teeth on the ground.
This time, however, she paused. Her eyes flickered to the side hesitantly and then she grinned.
"You got a point there." She shoved the girl back and then stepped away a few steps. "Guess if I just punch you it won't do much good. Guess I'll try plan B."
She flicked her wrist, activating her Warp Band and a flash of light and a sudden oppressive stench heralded the arrival of one of Ryuko's close friends.
"Blob. Sic 'em."
"Muuuuuuuk!"
And a wave of reeking, poisonous, living sludge lunged toward Veronica and her cronies to envelope them all.
no subject
Veronica was good at not being rattled. She was a leader. She was the one who forced other people to bend to her will. But everyone had a weakness, and to be fair, there were very few people who didn't mind having a giant pile of toxic sludge threaten to engulf them. It was almost satisfying to see that sudden look of shock and revulsion appear on her sneering face.
"Wh-what is WRONG with you?! Why would you bond with a puddle of barf?!" She stiffened up, then whirled around, leaping to grab hold of the chain link fence and spider her way over the top. She landed on the other side with a grunt, glaring back at Ryuko and Orihime. The other girls, seeing their leader beat feet, decided to follow suit, and the fence rattled and clattered as all three took to climbing it for safety.
"I won't forget this, you freaky little bitch," Veronica snarled. "You'd better both grow some eyes on the back of your heads, because the next time I see you, it will not be pretty!"
And she bravely fled.
Orihime stood there for a moment, both relieved and full of dread. She looked at Ryuko quietly, and subtly tugged her sleeve back down to cover up the pink blistered skin on her forearm. "Um...that was really amazing." She ventured a little smile, wanting to ask if Ryuko was okay after all that, but wanting to spare her pride too. "All of it. No one's really stepped in like that for me before."
no subject
Mbwuhahahahahahauk!"
"Pfft." Ryuko blew a dismissive breath out of the corner of her mouth and shoved her hands in her pockets while her sludgey pal continued the chase, but called after her all the same. "Bitch, I ever even hear your name again and you'll be eating your meals through a fuckin' tube!"
Turning sharply, she stalked back the other way, stopping beside Orihime and looking her way.
"Eh. Losers like that are barely worth scraping off the bottom of my shoe." She scratched at the back of her head, then glanced down at Orihime's arm. "You alright?"
no subject
She fingered the ends of her short hair with a wry little smile. "I really should dye my hair so they'd leave me alone. But I can't bring myself to do it." It was the one thing about herself that could be proud of, because her brother had complimented her on the color.
"Um...you said you weren't from Union, right?" That was the implication, anyway. "Do you have a place to stay?"
no subject
The steam that had burst from her body earlier had faded away and she was already shrugging off the little run-in. Awhile ago those words might've stung but, she realized, they didn't anymore now that she really wasn't on her own. Blob had been proof enough of that for the moment and she had a feeling that those girls wouldn't be having a good time when he caught up. The Muk wasn't too quick but he loved nothing more than spreading slime and when he actually got the okay to do it, nothing could stop him.
Besides, they really were pretty far below her radar now. She was the girl who had traded shots with the Emperor of Gigas now!
"Nah, screw that." She reached out to lightly pat a fist against Orihime's shoulder. "Just keep on being you. To hell with what anybody else has to say about it. Especially some cut-rate bitch like that."
With that, she shoved her hands in her pockets and turned to start moving again but stayed in place for a second, as if waiting for the girl to follow along.
"Caldera. And, yeah, I'm set." Couchsurfing on an old acquaintance's place but... still counted.
no subject
"You think so?" she blinked, turning slowly in place as she watched Ryuko walk away. It seemed like it was over and done, but when it became obvious that her new friend was waiting for her to catch up, Orihime jumped, and hastily snatched up the groceries she'd dropped before dashing after Ryuko.
"Okay, that's good. I was afraid maybe the hotel was too expensive, so you'd have to share a park bench with a hobo, or find a very comfortable cardboard box." She beamed, hugging her groceries against her stomach as they walked. "Are you really an Enlightened? You were able to do so many cool things!"
no subject
Orihime would have her chance to catch up when Ryuko came to a stop for a moment. Just enough time for a tiny Cubone to come out from behind a chunk of building material, struggling to haul a large, heavy sword behind her. Barely breaking stride, Ryuko reached down and easily hefted the large weapon up to drop across one shoulder and then the Cubone with her other arm, walking with the little Pokemon trying to catch her breath after that workout.
"Well, I'm still kinda figuring out somethin' permanent. Kinda feels like I'm living with a hobo sometimes though." She muttered but then quickly moved to the next subject. "Yup. We call us Earthkin back home though. You Union people really like to make everything sound fancy."
no subject
Her expression brightened as Ryuko mentioned that she was looking for something permanent. "Permanent here in Union? Are you going to move here, then?"
Because that would be awesome. Orihime certainly wouldn't mind having a friend around that she could look up to. They might even wind up being neighbors if she was lucky! "Ha ha, I can show you all the best cardboard boxes in town. We can get a fancy icebox box, those are extra luxurious!"