Orihime and Tatsuki

After a few steps, however, Ren stopped on his tracks, frowning slightly in a puzzled expression. 

'Well, deciding to talk with them is one thing, but how am I supposed to do that without looking like a weirdo?'

While he knew a lot about the duo ahead, especially Orihime, they probably have never met him before in their whole lives. He imagined that casually approaching them for no reason or randomly asking to eat together would backfire very quickly, knowing how protective of her friend Tatsuki usually was.

'... Hm, just standing here would probably be even worse, though.'

Aware that he was just standing a few steps near the door while looking intently at the two girls, Ren decided to just go for it.

'I can think of something on the way.'

Walking towards them, he started to hear some of their conversation.

"Orihime, did you bring anything? My mom made a bento for me, but if you don't want to go to the cafeteria, we can share."

Tatsuki asked while adjusting her sitting position, having reached inside her bag for a plastic box, which most likely contained her lunch.

"Hehe… It's okay, Tatsuki-chan. Actually, I made something special for today's lunch~"

In response to her best friend's proposal, the girl smiled smugly, though Ren felt she appeared more naive than condescending.

Hearing the words 'made', 'special' and 'lunch' coming from Orihime's mouth, a shiver ran through Tatsuki's spine, and visible dread could be seen on her face as she watched her friend also take out a plastic bento box.

From her reaction, Ren also remembered a few important details regarding Orihime.

'She lives alone after her brother's death, and apparently someone supports her financially as long as she keeps getting good grades. I don't know why they'd let a girl of Orihime's age do that, especially after such a traumatic experience.'

While he did remember a lot about the characters, it was impossible for him to pay attention to each and every detail presented before, much less recall them after many years like he was trying to do now.

'It's important to keep updating the information I have. I'm sure I'll need it.'

As he made a mental note, Ren saw Orihime open the box in her hand, and he similarly made a dreadful expression, nervously looking at its contents as he approached, only to get confused right after.

'It is… normal?'

"Ta-daa~ This is my new recipe!"

She stated with a grin, before explaining what would be the worst combination Ren had ever heard about in his two lives.

"I call this choco-curry! I made a usual curry sauce with meat and vegetables, but added a lot of sugar, various pieces of white chocolate, and cooled it in the fridge so the chocolate doesn't melt. You can eat it along with rice, and the chocolate will mix with the meat and melt inside your mouth. I'm even thinking of adding honey later and…"

As she went on and on about her latest culinary achievement, her best friend's visage got increasingly paler.

"I-is that even legal?!"

Ren unconsciously blurted out these words, meanwhile Tatsuki's mouth was agape. Even some of the classmates nearby looked nauseous from imagining the taste.

"Huh? Um… can I help you?"

It seemed that among the various reactions, Ren's unintentional commentary drew her attention, however, as Orihime turned to look at him standing just behind Tatsuki.

"Hm? Me? Ah, o-of course…"

'Shit. What do I do now?'

Ren's mind raced for a solution to his self-made predicament, as he stuttered a little, small beads of sweat forming on his forehead in the process as Tatsuki also turned his way, only adding to the pressure. Thankfully, Ren was able to figure out an answer on the spot.

"A-actually, I've heard you've been living alone for a while, Inoue-san, so I imagined you are pretty skilled in cooking. I moved to Karakura town recently, and since it's my first time living alone I hoped to find someone… Who could give me some tips! That's right, haha…"

He somehow managed to keep a smile on his face, though it was almost turning into an awkward one since neither of the two girls had reacted to his words. Inside, however, Ren was already screaming.

'What the actual fuck! Am I crazy?! Today's literally the second day in school! How could I have possibly learnt this kind of detail so fast! I'm done, there's no way out. I'll be marked as a stalker…'

The silence persisted, but after a few moments the first to react was Orihime. Her mouth deformed into an 'o', and she soon asked excitedly.

"You want me to give you advice? Really?"

Ren was briefly surprised by her reaction, but simply kept going with the act.

"Y-yeah! Is that okay?"

"Sure, I don't mind." Answered Orihime, before turning to her still stupefied friend while wildly waving her arms, "Wow, did you hear that, Tatsuki-chan?! I'll have a padawan now!!"

"Hm? Ah, y-yes…" 

Her words seemed to finally bring Tatsuki back, but the latter's eyes quickly narrowed towards Ren.

"Wait, weren't you with Ichigo and friends yesterday? Why didn't you go eat with them? I heard you were even sent to the director's office together."

Cold sweat formed on Ren's forehead at her words, and his mind raced for an answer, which thankfully didn't take long.

"That's… Umm-… Well, I just thought it would be nice to make a few more friends, really…"

"I see… but how do you even know Orihime lives alone? Today is our second school day, you know?"

Looking at Tatsuki crossing her arms and her frowning face, Ren felt a cold chill run down his spine.

'Was this girl that perceptive in the anime? I mean, she was, but I didn't expect this to be so hard.'

He felt a little conflicted, since while Tatsuki wasn't as relevant later on, and he found her annoying sometimes, she wasn't a character he actually disliked.

In Ren's mind, Tatsuki was a tomboyish girl who could be very bold at times, quickly resorting violence to protect her friends or to let out her anger, but she was usually very laid back and calm.

Unbeknownst to him, her mind was already on alert, though not for a reason he would imagine.

'Hmpf, I've seen this type before. First there's that crazy redhead, now this guy. If another one shows up, I'm calling an exorcist.' 

She sighed, 'If only Orihime wasn't so naive, I wouldn't need to keep an eye out for her like this…'

Inoue Orihime was a pretty girl, by all means, but she was still too innocent in Tatsuki's opinion. There were already a few of their male classmates that approached her friend yesterday, and with their second intentions pretty much out in the open. They were quickly disposed of, of course, peacefully or not.

'We're in high school now, and my mom told me to be more careful around guys our age from now on. Orihime's too much of a dummy sometimes, so I need to be double careful.'

If he could hear her thoughts, Ren would not know whether to laugh or cry, since he truly didn't have any bad intentions, but alas, he could only wonder.

However, Tatsuki's assessment of Orihime was something he would agree with, since he also thought she was too unsuspecting, especially in the earlier episodes.

The atmosphere was silent for a moment, but their impasse ended with a lively voice.

"It's okay, Tatsuki-chan! You can sit with us, um…"

"Ashikawa! I'm Ashikawa Ren."

Jumping to the lifeline he was just thrown like a drowning man, Ren quickly introduced himself.

"Then, Ashikawa-kun, please sit here."

"Oh, thanks…"

He sat down on a chair Orihime just pulled from a nearby desk as Tatsuki's gaze bore into his back.

'I can feel that… She's definitely still suspicious.'

As if to confirm his observation, Tatsuki turned to her friend and asked in exasperation.

"Are you sure about this, Orihime? This guy is weird…"

"Hm? What are you talking about? Anyway… here, have a taste, my disciple."

Ren felt a little hurt by Tatsuki's statement, but his attention was drawn by Orihime's words and the tone in her voice that imitated an old sage talking to his student… or at least tried to.

When he turned to his left and opened his mouth to ask what it was, however, something was shoved inside. 

Before he could even process what it was, a spicy flavour assaulted his mouth, but at the same time, there was something very sweet mixed inside.

One might think that such an exotic mix could possibly taste good, but to Ren at least, it was the first time he savoured such a weird mixture, and he found it to be quite unpleasant, instinctively holding his breath, so as to minimize the impact on his taste glands.

Now understanding his predicament, he realized Orihime had just fed him a big spoon of her self-named choco-curry. Looking at her expectant expression, beads of sweat formed on his forehead at the realization that she wanted him to eat it and share his opinion.

It was hot, cold, salty, sweet and very spicy mixed all together in his mouth, and Ren felt violated. By now, he had already held it in for a few seconds, and his saliva wasn't helping because there was also something stinging too.

'Bruh, what kind of dish is this! It's like mixing salt and sugar. How did my instincts not warn me just now? This is a threat to my life! I need to spit this out.'

Sadly for him, the moment he had that thought, he felt the gaze coming from his right sharpen, and a chilling cold spread through his body. He looked at its origin with a pleading smile, but it was for naught.

Tatsuki was looking at him with a cold smirk, one whose meaning was obvious. Ren closed his eyes in anguish, realizing there was no way out.

'Maybe if I faint right now, they'll just forget about me…'

Resigning himself to his fate, Ren gritted his teeth and swallowed the atrocious dish down, remaining silent for a few seconds before grabbing his previously bought drink and downing it in almost one go as well.

Feeling relieved, he opened his eyes, only to be faced with Orihime's gaze again.

"So, what do you think, Ashikawa-kun?"

"I-I…"

Ren felt cold sweat form on his back, since he could still feel the pressure coming from behind him.

"... I think… It has great potential!" He said with fake excitement, but soon feigned a thoughtful expression, "But not everyone would be able to understand this dish's value."

"I completely agree! It tastes like the universe!"

Orihime nodded her head frantically, but at the same time looked at him once more, as if expecting him to ask 'How so?'

"H-How does it compare to the universe, Inoue-san?"

Ren felt the urge to ask sarcastically, but decided against it, lest he gets beaten by Tatsuki.

"You see, Ashikawa-kun, chocolate and curry are opposites, but that's just like yin and yang—one is smooth and sweet, the other bold and spicy. But together, they create harmony… like the universe itself!"

"Riiight…"

"Haha, it's okay. You'll understand it in time! I'll bring more of my recipes for you to see later, Ashikawa-kun!"

"Oh… th-t-thank you, Inoue-san."

Ren no longer felt as much suspicion coming from Tatsuki, but he was afraid of his future going forward.

"Well, since Orihime's fine with you, I'll tolerate your presence for now… But if you try anything weird, I'll toss you out the window."

Her comment from the side did not help ease Ren's mood as he straightened himself up while sighing internally.

'I survived, but at what cost?'

—

Extra Titles: ("That… was kinda gay, tbh…", "You still have much to learn, young padawan…", "How far can you go for a girl?", "Ren is forced to commit sudoku.").