Room 504, Tuesday Evening

[intraspective]

After work Ino had stopped by the weapons locker and inspected her things there. Satisfied that everything there was in good working order, she’d wandered back to her room, showered and wound up in her pajamas before sprawling out on her bed with that book on American History.

Because, seriously, she had to get some reading done, right? Right. She was just going to put her head down and close her eyes for a few moments first though. She wasn’t sleeping, geez. Honest.

[For one, please.]

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[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

It had crossed his mind that he didn't have to do this today. After all, he still didn't know what he was going to say to begin with. So any day but today felt tempting. Maybe tomorrow, after another night's rest (and dreams, always dreams). Who knew, inspiration might have struck and tomorrow he'd have the words.

Except that he was... Well, bored. And bored led to staring into nothing. Which led to thinking. And Thinking sucked.

So Ichigo finally made his way up to the fifth floor. His steps seemed to slow down how closer he got to Ino's room, but he made it all too soon and then... he knocked. There was not much else to do.

[intraspective]

Her eyes blinked open, and she rubbed at them. "Come in," Ino called sleepily, swiveling to see if she'd lost any time.

Okay. Good. She hadn't lost much. There, she hadn't been sleeping. Ha. Just, you know, ignore the evidence of the fact that she had been and was in her pajamas.

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

Drawing in a breath, Ichigo pushed the door open and he slipped inside the room. Only to stop dead half way inside and he cleared his throat. It wasn't that late, was it?

"Um... Are you busy?"

[intraspective]

"Not really," she said voice carefully neutral, covering a yawn and running her other hand through her hair in an attempt to flatten it. "Studying, you know."

Totally lying, but shhh.

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

He eyed the state of her bed and then her hair. "Right. You do that a lot," he commented, because it was easier than bringing up the reason he was there. Or you know, why he hadn't been there for a bit.

[intraspective]

She eyed him back.

"Enough, I guess," Ino said dubiously. "Got more studying to do lately."

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

"Busy semester?" he asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Maybe they could just not talk about it. That could work?

[intraspective]

"I guess," Ino said, still eyeing him.

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

"Right," he eyed her back, not sure if she wanted him to just go or what.

[intraspective]

"What?" she asked, fingers still in her hair. "Do I look weird, or something?"

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

"No. You look..." he stopped, not sure what to say. "Like you're expecting me to try and steal your underpants."

[intraspective]

...

She blurted a laugh. "What?"

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

"You just look like you're expecting me to mug you or something," he corrected hastily, kicking at the floor with his heel.

[intraspective]

"That's not what you said the first time," she noted, lowering her hand and giving up on her hair. So what if it was tousled?

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

He cleared his throat and glanced away, refusing to fluster right now. "Sure, it was."

[intraspective]

"Liar," she said, wriggling around so she could tug a blanket over her shoulders. What? It was cold!

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

"Whatever," he said dryly, watching her for a moment and the room was instantly too quiet so he quickly started talking again. "You haven't kicked me out yet."

[intraspective]

"Too much effort," she said, tugging her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "Something like that, I guess..."

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

"But you're still mad," he concluded. He was just going to keep standing there. Just a few steps away from her door and not close enough to the bed to get kicked.

[intraspective]

"I didn't say that," she said, frowning at him.

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

"I'm not sure what you said," he admitted, leaning back on the balls of his feet.

[intraspective]

"Now I'm confused," Ino said plaintively.

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

"Why? I didn't say anything!" he protested, not seeing why she was confused.

[intraspective]

"You're not making sense," she said mutinously.

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

"Why am I not making sense?" he demanded. He was making perfect sense to him.