...hm. In terms of translating, then that passage is very clear -- it's Ishida's thoughts on Inoue's thoughts regarding Ichigo's thoughts about Rukia. It's like the Newtype version of Chinese Whispers.
My personal take on Ishida and his feelings -- and I say this as taking SOULs. for what it effectively is -- that is, five monkeys have gone through the manga for Meaningful Scenes and asked Kubo "YO DOES THIS HAVE SPECIFIC MEANING???? WE'D LIKE TO WRITE ABOUT IT" (particularly if we take his comment on the Renji/Rukia flashback from his VIBEs interview into consideration) -- is that yes. Ishida loves Orihime.
I honestly don't think that there's any doubt about this, just as I don't think there's any doubt that Renji is in love with Rukia, etc. etc. But I think he -- at the end of the day, he's Ishida. He's a closed book, and he's not the sort who will bleed his emotions everywhere unless stressed (case in point, vs. Mayuri). I think, with a character like Ishida, who is so (outwardly) unemotional by default, something like that is a huge insight, you know? He's all-but-enemy to Ichigo, yet for Orihime's sake, he wants Ichigo to win, and live, because it will make her happy. And you know, if Kurosaki did turn around and accept Inoue's love for what it is, Ishida is the type who would just... not say anything, and let her be happy, and step back further.
I think that at the end, unless there's a massive shift in all characters, Ishida is going to end up with heartbreak. We know he loves Inoue. But we know that Inoue loves Ichigo. And Ichigo, over the course of the manga thusfar, has really warmed up to Inoue -- of course, it's nakamaness at the moment, but Bleach has got a good long way to go before the end.
That said, I really disagree with your terming Ishida's love for Inoue higher than Inoue's love for Ichigo. Inoue... is so incredibly holding back when it comes to Ichigo. The only reason we even got her confession was because she thought she might never see him again, after everything they'd been through. Yes, she wants to be with him. She loves him. But in that way, Ishida probably wants to be with Inoue. He loves her. He's just so very different a character that we're unlikely to get that sort of insight into his character unless something incredibly drastic happens, to him or to her.
...anyway, that was horribly disjointed too. XD I'm sorry. I haven't ship-debated in... god, about five years XD
wow this took a long while to reply to XD
My personal take on Ishida and his feelings -- and I say this as taking SOULs. for what it effectively is -- that is, five monkeys have gone through the manga for Meaningful Scenes and asked Kubo "YO DOES THIS HAVE SPECIFIC MEANING???? WE'D LIKE TO WRITE ABOUT IT" (particularly if we take his comment on the Renji/Rukia flashback from his VIBEs interview into consideration) -- is that yes. Ishida loves Orihime.
I honestly don't think that there's any doubt about this, just as I don't think there's any doubt that Renji is in love with Rukia, etc. etc. But I think he -- at the end of the day, he's Ishida. He's a closed book, and he's not the sort who will bleed his emotions everywhere unless stressed (case in point, vs. Mayuri). I think, with a character like Ishida, who is so (outwardly) unemotional by default, something like that is a huge insight, you know? He's all-but-enemy to Ichigo, yet for Orihime's sake, he wants Ichigo to win, and live, because it will make her happy. And you know, if Kurosaki did turn around and accept Inoue's love for what it is, Ishida is the type who would just... not say anything, and let her be happy, and step back further.
I think that at the end, unless there's a massive shift in all characters, Ishida is going to end up with heartbreak. We know he loves Inoue. But we know that Inoue loves Ichigo. And Ichigo, over the course of the manga thusfar, has really warmed up to Inoue -- of course, it's nakamaness at the moment, but Bleach has got a good long way to go before the end.
That said, I really disagree with your terming Ishida's love for Inoue higher than Inoue's love for Ichigo. Inoue... is so incredibly holding back when it comes to Ichigo. The only reason we even got her confession was because she thought she might never see him again, after everything they'd been through. Yes, she wants to be with him. She loves him. But in that way, Ishida probably wants to be with Inoue. He loves her. He's just so very different a character that we're unlikely to get that sort of insight into his character unless something incredibly drastic happens, to him or to her.
...anyway, that was horribly disjointed too. XD I'm sorry. I haven't ship-debated in... god, about five years XD