Winner, a bleach fanfic

For: phineas_devon, sorry about this being late. It took me a while to write it. I'm such a horrible person, giving this six months late. I might as well give this for your next birthday, at this rate.

(Actually, why don't you just give me your prompts for next birthday soon? I might finish it on time, then.)

Anyways, hope you like it and hope they are in character.

Pairing: Orihime/Ichigo, hints of Rukia/Ichigo,

Prompt: Kissing booth

…

Winner

…

Her booth was bright and flashy, with strings of bulbs like little neon-coloured stars surrounding it. Streamers and ribbons of various materials and lengths covered the trees around her area and small candles lined the path to her entrance. The booth itself was made of cloth with an open square in the middle of the roof, leaving plenty of room to see through. An over-decorated Christmas tree, Tatsuki said when she saw it earlier, but Orihime knew better.

There was no better way to contact aliens than this. Colourful and bright, almost to the point where it hurt to look, her booth had satellite dishes littering the lawn around it. There was no way that an alien could miss it, let alone find it hard to send a message to her. All she had to do was wait and set up the last of her devices.

Granted, if there were actually people coming to her booth, she would be done a lot earlier. Who knew how many messages she missed trying to finish setting up? All of her classmates and their friends were at the other booths. Maybe they forgot about hers, because her location was the furthest from the main entrance.

Or maybe aliens didn't like big crowds. Thinking it over, Orihime decided that must be it. They probably realized how much she wanted to connect with them and sent away any strangers that might interfere.

So, when a orange-haired boy walked in, she didn't notice that he was a boy but instead contemplated if this would improve her chances.

"I have to show how strong I am," she muttered, taking another box outside. "If there are two of us and one of them, they'd run away, but if there are two of us and a lot of them, they can't get scared easily. Unless they are tiny things. Do you think they are tiny?" She directed this question to the stranger.

"Huh?"

Oops, she said her plan aloud. He still remained in her booth, so he must be a messenger from them. "I guess they aren't tiny."

"…" He watched her silently, almost observing her with his dark eyes. That information might be reported to the other aliens, so she moved another box as quickly as possible. She couldn't let them think that humans were boring and slow.

His yukata was a plain, boring, light blue, with no patterns or any other designs on it. There were no jewels or accessories covering his pale skin or firey hair. He certainly wasn't a good alien visitor, looking so ordinary. If she hadn't been expecting someone, she wouldn't have even realized who he was.

The aliens were winning this one.

After a few minutes of silence, with a strange look on his face—surprise?—he finally replied. "You're weird."

That was odd. She stared at him. "Weird?" Was that a compliment from where he came from?

"Yeah." He snorted a little while she puzzled out his response. "Very weird." He laughed lightly at her actions. "What's your booth on?"

"Aliens." Like he didn't know. Unless she was wrong. Maybe he wasn't a messenger and instead a human helper. "I'm trying to help them." She bent down to grab another box but his hands reached there before her.

"You don't seem very strong," he said dryly when she looked at him questioningly. "Besides, I have time to spare until they arrive. If they saw me just standing there and you carrying boxes…" His voice trailed off as he grimaced.

"They?" He had already left the tent. Either 'they' meant some other humans or her aliens. Picking up a smaller box, she ran after him.

As he helped her set up outlandish devices, some up in the trees even, she told him her plans. He was easy to talk to, sometimes laughing or doubting her but he didn't seem cruel when he did. He was like Tatsuki, in that sense.

At the very least, he didn't seem to scoff too much at her plans. He wasn't fully convinced either, but that probably meant she was winning. Or she thought she was. The rules were hard to understand sometimes, not as clear as they could be.

"You're really strange," he said again after they finished, but unlike the first time, this time he said it in a familiar manner. It was more teasing this time, just like his chuckles, and she liked it better like this.

"You aren't bad for a messenger. I might win."

He was about to reply when a voice yelled loudly, "There you are, carrot-top!"

Scowling at the nickname, he turned around, a snarl forming in his throat. "Took you long enough."

"Oh, they're here?"

"Yeah, my friends are here." Oh, so he wasn't waiting for aliens. That meant that the half-familiar voice was probably a girl from her school. She must have been the one to invite him, since that was the only way to get to the all-girls' school festival. Orihime looked up from where she was sitting to watch as he waved goodbye and disappeared down the path.

She nearly forgot about him, busy with her projects, until the next festival held in the spring.

-x-

Her next booth idea was better than her first. The aliens never visited, so she succeeded in scaring them off, but this time she would do something more interesting. Getting Tatsuki to help her drag various wooden blocks to her site, Orihime didn't bother with making an actual booth this time.

Instead, she would put the old wooden logs together and make a robot. She wasn't entirely sure if she wanted a robot or a puppet. A robot would be more useful, but puppets were more fun.

Either way, not matter which she created, she would bring it to life.

At least, that's what she wrote on the sign.

"Another strange idea," a voice said behind her and she turned to see a bright red yukata framing a muscular body. She couldn't place the voice until she saw his orange hair.

"Mr. Alien," she blurted when she remembered.

He sighed, looking amused. He should smile, she thought. His face would look…

"I'm not an alien but, yeah, it's me. Mind if I wait here for my friends?" He didn't bother to wait for an answer, sitting down on the giant cherry wood that she designated as feet.

"Y-yeah, you can wait here. But when he starts moving, he might kick you," she warned him. "He won't be used to walking, so it'll be an accident."

"If he starts moving?" He looked around him, noticing the different sized wooden blocks around him. Some were connected to each other as they lay on the grassy field, maple with apple, pine with oak. Long pieces were with one another while chunky blocks made a circle in the center. "What's that, a kid's playground?"

"Does it look like one? Oh…it isn't." She shook her head. "It's a robot. See? The head has eyes and a mouth on it. Doesn't it look like one?" She craved for his approval, oddly enough.

"Right…" he stared at it a little longer, trying to recognize her 'robot'. "You might need glasses."

"Glasses? Really?" she mused as she reached into a nearby box. It was a dark blue with bright swirls painted on it, filled with all sorts of things that came spilling out as she moved her hands around in it. Finally catching what she wanted, she grinned and crept up behind him before plunking it on his head. The hat had wide brim, making it hard for her to see most of his face from her position.

His hair was softer than she expected for something so spiky, and she could still feel them when she rubbed her fingers together.

Reaching up, he felt the velvety object and took it off. Frowning, he turned it around in his hand. "A magician's hat?"

"Yeah," she replied solemnly, before letting out a giggle at his expression. "We need to bring life to the robot." Walking back to her box, she paused and took out another small hat. "I need one too."

"…I'm not wearing this."

"What? W-why?" She frowned when he dropped the hat on the ground. "You can't use magic without a wand or a hat. Do you prefer wands? I don't have one…"

"You can't use magic at all."

"…b-but, the robot needs magic to come to life, so there has to be a way. I thought magic hats will let us use magic."

"…"

By the time he left with his friends, she managed to force him into a cloak as well. The robot didn't come to life but that was probably because magic didn't work properly around people who didn't use it willingly.

Some magic must have happened, though, because when she went home that night she could only see orange and red.

-x-

"He was fun," Orihime commented during lunch as she swung a piece of banana dipped in honey, syrup, and hot sauce around in her chopsticks.

"Be careful where you swing that!" Tatsuki dodged the bananas again. "Why do you eat such strange things, even when I bring you something?"

"This recipe sounded fun to try. Besides, your food is nice…but…well…it's ordinary, not that interesting…" Putting down the chopsticks, Orihime peered closely into Tatsuki's eyes. After spending a few minutes like that, she gently laid her hands on Tatsuki's. "It's ok, you know? Not everyone can make good food, let alone something exotic. I don't think any worse of your for that."

"And that's supposed to reassure me?" Tatsuki sighed. "My food is at the very least safe. Half the things you make end up with people in hospitals." She broke apart her own chopsticks and opened her own bento. "Anyways, who is 'he'? What were you talking about?"

"He?" Orihime paused, remembering her train of thought. "Oh yeah, that boy that came to my last two booths."

"Someone went to both of those booths?" Tatsuki shook her head. "He's like you, he didn't know what to expect, or he's very brave."

"He didn't smile enough. He was still fun, though, and helped me with putting things together. I didn't thank him for that."

"Well, you should. I wonder who brought him. Do you remember his name?"

Orihime paused in mid-bite. "I knew I forgot to do something."

-x-

He came again, to her next booth. This time she was trying to contact spirits, those of people long dead and of sprites and fairies.

"Shouldn't you finish setting up before the gates open?" he comments as he pulls another box seat into position. They were putting the seats in a ring, surrounding a fire pit.

"Well…" She flushed with embarrassment. "I keep trying to but no one comes to help me and…I ran a little late today. Please put it a little more to the right," she directed him, "We can't have the spirits run away before I get to them."

He snorted at that comment. "You honestly believe in all of this?"

"Yeah…you don't? I thought you did…why don't you?" she asked, genuinely curious. It never occurred to her that there might be a reason to not believe in spirits and magic.

"…" He said nothing at first, merely grunting as he picked up her heavy box filled with metal bits and pieces. "Why should you? They don't exist."

"Eh? Really? But…I thought they did…" Her voice trailed off before she gathered herself up again. "I'm sure they do! Besides." She smiled. "I'm winning since you're helping me."

"Really?" He glanced up from where he was working, looking down the path to her booth. Probably for his friends.

Now that she thought about it, her booth was on the outskirts of the fair every time, the furthest from the entrance and from the rest of the booths. Usually, no one made it this far in the first place, choosing to go to the brightly lit paths that led to the more conventional booths. The fact that he found her booth in the first place, let alone chooses to meet his friends here every time, it was odd.

Odd, but she found herself smiling at the thought. They were friends, then. She and…

"Oh, yeah…" He looked at her to see a sheepish grin on her face. "You can call me Orihime."

"…I'm Kurosaki Ichigo."

"I love to eat those!" She smacked her lips hungrily. "I'll call you Ichigo, then. N-no formalities between friends, right?" she finished softly, a little worried she was too bold again.

"…" He remained silent for a moment, a long period of time where she wondered if she was wrong. Maybe they weren't friends. Maybe… "As a friend, I have to tell you your booths suck. You're not making any money at all."

For some reason, when he said that, she didn't feel all that happy.

-x-

Her school holds a festival every month, so it wasn't really surprising that soon he became a familiar face. She could hear his voice and see his bright hair even after he left her booth. For some reason, Orihime still hadn't met Ichigo's friends. Whenever he heard their voices, he would depart long before they arrived at her booth.

She didn't ask who they were, not remembering or wanting to know. She wasn't sure which it was.

"They're later than usual," she mentions as the sky darkened. The sun set slowly as they placed the candles carefully on the furniture that lay scattered on her area.

"Yeah. Probably because someone is taking too long to get ready."

By the time the stars glittered like a million jewels in the velvety, royal night sky, they had finished positioning the candles. He sat on a chair nearby, watching her as she lit each one.

"Should we trust you with that?" he asked dryly when she nearly dropped the match the ground.

"I'll try not to drop it again. If I don't do it, this won't work." The small fires, little wisps of light floating in the dark, danced around her. Maybe this meant she would finally win.

She turned to tell this to him but stopped when she saw the light playing on his silhouette. It flickered across his pale skin, reminding her of a skeleton, and he was the ghost. He fit the part, still and silent, and for a moment she thought that she actually did succeed in summoning one, that he was the creature she called forth.

Only his eyes, black and hard, were too strong to belong to the dead. They had a sense of purpose and she knew they wouldn't be put out until he finished all he wanted to do. Just like his hair, brighter than the fire around him, they were very much alive and they captivated her.

She forgot all that she was about to say and when she got home, her cheeks still felt warm for some reason.

-x-

"I know who brought him," Tatsuki announced as they ate lunch together. "It was Rukia. Well, Rukia, a black-haired girl who's a year younger, and that blond girl, the one who's our sempai, brought him and some other kids."

"…So it was Rukia who invited him, then?" Orihime put a piece of shrimp covered in chocolate and syrup in her mouth. Looking across the room where her classmate was going through some papers, she watched her work for a few minutes.

Rukia had been admitted to the school recently and already she was one of the class's representatives. She also was nice, or at least to Orihime when she needed something, but she could be fierce and rude when she wanted to. All in all, she was a lot braver and brighter than Orihime ever was.

It almost fit that she brought him.

"Yeah, it was. Funny, I didn't think she had any friends from outside already." Tatsuki saw the expression on Orihime's face and recognized it for what it was. "Don't let it worry you, they might just be friends."

Shaking herself out of her stupor, Orihime glanced back at her friend. "Why would I be worried? It's nice that she has more friends."

"…" Tatsuki's eyes softened for a moment and she rubbed her friends head. "Don't worry about it," she repeated, "Anyways, I'm going to be late for practice. See you later, ok?"

Orihime waved goodbye and wondered why her heart felt a little heavy.

-x-

He was possessing her. When she summoned last time, she might have brought a demon or something. That had to be the only explanation, really, as to why she would dream about Ichigo sometimes.

Sometimes, he would be helping her set up one of her booths and he would be laughing at something she said. It felt so real that when she woke up, she didn't believe that yesterday wasn't a festival day. Other times he would be just a glimpse, a fragment at most, and she would catch his hair, his hand, the cuffs of his pants with her eyes before he faded away.

She never told Ichigo about this because she might lose then. Instead she told Tatsuki. For some reason, her friend would sigh and say things that Orihime didn't get at first.

Then, suddenly, one day when he was waving goodbye, she realized that she had a crush on him.

(A crush felt like a weak word to describe this.)

-x-

"I can't believe they're making you do this," Tatsuki fumed as Orihime tried to calm her friend down.

"It's just this one time. Besides, it might be fun."

"Fun, all right, for all the guys who come visiting. I swear, I'm going to kill the person who suggested this." Tatsuki punched the wooden door, making a small dent in it. "Just because your booth isn't the most popular doesn't mean they should force you to do this."

"Well," Orihime said, trying to find something good to say about it, "I wasn't sure of what to do this time. Besides, I'm going to be near the front for once."

"Yeah, so they could make maximum profits," Tatsuki growled. "If I didn't have to go around to each booth, making sure nothing went wrong, I would be there guarding you from this."

"Like a princess! Oh, then they could be dragons and you the knight and…"

"…I'll visit you every now and then, ok? Don't be afraid to call if someone tries to do something horrible."

"Why would someone try to hurt me?" Orihime asked, puzzled. Tatsuki sighed, petting her friend's head again.

"I'll visit every now and then. I wish I could have someone guard you."

"I know! You could be knight #1 and Ichigo could be knight # 2. I wonder if he will come to help with my booth this time. I probably shouldn't have him help me this time, I've been having him help me too much."

"…" Tatsuki watched her friend rattle off happily, mentioning Ichigo every now and then. "You know, you try too hard sometimes. Maybe if you didn't try so much, then…"

"What do you mean?"

She shook her head. "Never mind. It's just how you are and who knows, maybe this booth will help with that. Anyways, I've got to go. Practice again."

"Bye!" Orihime waved.

-x-

"Your booth is kind of…ordinary," Ichigo commented when he saw it. "And it's already been set up?"

"Yeah," Orihime chuckled nervously, rubbing her head with one hand. "The council made me do this booth—maybe they got scared by the aliens or something. Though, since I'm close to the doors, I might find one first."

"…What are you doing again?" Ichigo finally asked after watching her for a moment.

"A kissing booth. I've never done this before…"

"A kissing booth? Where you kiss only time travelers?" He still didn't believe she was doing something so plain.

"That would be a good idea." Her eyes brightened at the thought. Looking down at the papers in her hand, she sighed. "I'm supposed to kiss anyone who asks."

"…"

"Not hiding again? I thought you would be hard to find like usual."

Orihime turned to see Rukia coming in through the gate with a gaggle of boys and girls.

"If anyone hides, that would be you." Ichigo scoffed and Orihime saw it again. Before, he would light up at the sound of Rukia calling him. Something would change but she always thought it was just the candles or the like. It had to be Rukia.

You try too hard.

No, she didn't try hard enough.

"Hi!" Orihime smiled widely, putting aside her feelings.

"So this is the girl you keep hiding with," Rukia teased, waving to her classmate. "Hi. You're the one they forced to do this booth, right?" When Orihime nodded, Rukia continued, "Luckily, this booth will probably either be stopped next time or we'll find someone who wants to do the job."

"It's fine. Besides, I'm close to all the food for once…"

"Momo is already here," a white-haired boy said, walking past them.

"We can't keep her waiting." Rukia added, following the boy. "We're not like Ichigo is, making us look for him all the time. Now move it, slow poke."

"Hey, I'm here before you!" Ichigo shot back, before chasing after the two. He and Rukia started to bicker.

She watched them leave and thought that it would be hard to beat Rukia. Maybe she should stick to aliens and fairies.

"Hey, Orihime!" Ichigo panted as he ran back to her booth. "I forgot to give this back." He put the small gold rings she forced him to wear last time.

"T-thanks." She smiled and she looked forlorn to him. She wasn't as happy or cheerful as she normally was. There was something more distant and translucent about that smile, almost like she was joining the fairies she chased.

"Hey." He lightly punched her arm. "Don't let it get to you. If you're that worried about the booth, I'll come back later. This can't be that much harder than summoning, right?"

"Yeah." She nodded and even though all she had was this promise, she clung on to it.

Maybe she did stand a chance of winning.

…