Bleach 1. New Beginning

**I own bleach and use it every day on my cloths it makes them smell really fresh! Oh, but Tite Kubo owns Bleach, I just kid napped some of the characters for ransom, and for this story. Enjoy!**

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**_'New Beginning'_**

Orihime was so tired of the city right now, her head hurt from the loud noises it produced. She's been sitting in her car for who knows how long, and she was beginning to wounder if she had legs anymore. The princes didn't even have the will to move her neck to check, it was so soar. She didn't know how she was still able to stop and go ether. Her feet weren't present in her mind, but somehow they managed to press the peddles as if they were on auto pilot. She hated driving through crowded streets too, it made her get tense and wary. All the people walking and driving around everywhere, and they were so close together in the lanes...

Orihime felt her drowsy features lighten when she saw the ' You are now leaving the city' sign. Once they were out of the busy streets of the city, it was smooth sailing from there. After hours in honking traffic, red lights, and carsickness, it was nice to relax a little and enjoy the smooth, quiet ride.

Today was a beautiful day none the less, warm rays from the sun heated their way thought the car's windshield. The light formed shadows and bright spots of light all through the small vehicle.

As she looked out the window at the moving scenery, she could see the many colors passing by. There was a playground with small children swinging on the swing set and climbing the monkey bars. There were some older kids playing soccer in a nearby field, and it looked like a team just scored a point. Further down the road an enormous lake sprouted from the dense rows of mixed trees and bushes. It sparkled like glitter and the water was so still it resembled clear glass. As the lake marked it's way across the girls vision, she spotted a few boats. A couple of them had people holding on to long ropes as it pulled them across the lake. Orihime softly laughed when two girls on ropes crossed each other lines and fought not to wipe out.

" Whoa- would you look at that." Orihime turned to her good friend in the passenger seat " Oh, Tatsuki your up. I hope I didn't wake you up, did I?" She shook her head " Nah, I needed to get up anyways." the raven haired girl yawned, extending her arms to stretch.

There was a pleasant silence as they watched the many boats in the scenery. Suddenly one of the boat drivers stood up from his seat still holding the wheal, and waved to them as he called their names.

Orihime slowed down knowing no one was behind her and rolled down her wind. " Hey you-!! having fun-!!" She yelled from the other side of the body of water through her window, waving her arm wildly.

" Sure am-!! You with Tatsuki-!?"

" Yeah-!!"

" I knew it-!! You always are-!!"

" What- is there something wrong with that-!?"

" Why would you think that-!? I'm always glad to see you chickies together-!!"

" Oh- okay then I'm glad too-!! I like your boat by the way-!!"

" Thanks-!! Awesome car-!!"

" I know right-!!"

Tatsuki thrusted herself past the bubbly driver and popper her head out the window, blowing a kiss. The guy put his hand up, catching the imaginary flying-kiss.

" Looking good Tots-!!"

" You know it-!!"

" Why are you guys all the way out here-!?"

" We're going to the collage a few miles away from here-!! Are you-!?"

" Not right now, but I'm probably going to-!! Tell me what it's like when you get their okay-!!"

" Alright-!! I'll call you as soon as I can-!!"

" Alright love you babe-!!"

" Love you too-!! You better not embarrass me while your out here, I know how you act when you're on a boat-!!"

" Don't worry, I won't embarrass you anymore then you already have yourself-!!"

The young man driving the red boat made a swift turn, still waving at the little white car as he drove away. Tatsuki plopped back in her seat so Orihime could get back to driving " Man- I love that guy..."

The amber haired girl grinned " He's so nice and such a fun person, I'm not supprised."

Tatsuki's features suddenly turned thoughtful, realizing something " Hey, how long was I sleeping Orihime?"

She taped her nose with her pointer finger in thought " I think- almost six hours..."

Tatsuki eyes filled with guilt " You've been driving, nonstop, for six hours...!" Orihime chuckled nervously " Why didn't wake me up, I thought we agreed we would switch drivers every three hours or something??"

The bubbly girl looked at her sincerely " I'm sorry Tatsuki, I was going to but you looked so snug and comfy..."

Tatsuki just rolled her eyes and smiled humbly " Well thanks for letting me sleep in, but we're switching right now! I don't want you dying of exhaustion before we even get there."

Her friend nodded and hit the breaks, causing them to smack back in their seats " Wow you really emphasize on the 'right now' part don't you." she laughed.

They wistfully opened their doors and ran to opposing sides, jumping back into the car. They slammed the doors behind them, and Tatsuki accelerated before the car cumming up from the rear caught up with them.

A couple miles per hour filled with detours, car fills, pit stops, and subs sandwiches later... They spotted the signs they've been waiting for all the whole time they where on this dreadfully long trip.

' Welders Cove... ten miles west... next left... you are now entering Grans University...'

The school emerged from the trees surrounding it and came into full view, Tatsuki started to speed up wanting to get there already. She pulled their car into the amens parking space in front of the collage. Unfortunately they were forced to take a spot that was far from the schools entrance, so they'd have to do a lot of walking when they unloaded.

Orihime opened her door behind the drivers and swung her feet out the door one by one. She carefully placed her small feet on the black, newly made asphalt street below her. She threw her arms up stretching out her spin as she curved back. Orihime accidental bonking the back of her head on the roof of her car though, and came back up. As she rubbed the now tender spot of her head, Tatsuki's door flung open. She flopped out of the driver's seat and got the kinks out of her neck.

The raven haired girl slammed her door loudly " Tatsuki don't slam the door, you know this car's really expensive! Take care of it and be gently if you want to keep it in good condition." Orihime scolded.

" Yeah okay whatever, at least I closed it." She yawned " God does it feel good to be out of that damn car! Jeez, I wish I laid in the back before I fell asleep... I'm all soar now, stupid chair..."

The athletic girl glanced at her friend, who was laying on the open car door with her elbows " Ah- It's so nice and warm out here, I love it!" Orihime opened her lips and slowly brought herself off the door letting it close behind her.

" Huu- Tatsuki look at this, it's so cool looking!!" The bubbly girl beamed trotting forward as she pointed. The setting sun elipsed behind the high tower of the university, as the water from the lake behind it reflected on the glowing tress.

" Whoa- that's awesome!!" Tatsuki gawked with wide eyes, it was truly a sight to behold.

The magical moment was interrupted by a very 'interesting' sound " Ewe, what the hell was that. It sounded like someone ran over a really big slug or like a thing of jello with a bottle of hair gel in it!"

She suddenly hear loud giggles " Heh- sorry about that, I'm really hungry... Those were some funny examples of what my stomach growling sounds like though!" Orihime laugh harder.

" Girlie we got to get that monster in your belly some food! Oh- we'd better start bring in our junk too, it's getting late. I don't know about you, but I don't want to end up still bring stuff in when it's dark."

" Alright, sounds good! Then when we're done I'll make us something yummy to replenish ourselves!" Orihime agreed, jumping with delight.

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_**Okay I got this idea from a very long dream I had. For some reason, even though I went to sleep at like 11:00 p.m. and got plenty of sleep the night before, I still woke up at 4:30 p.m. the next day... Anyways, I hope you like my story, please R&R and tell me what you liked and disliked, thanks a bunch!**_


	2. Making Progress

_**I don't own Bleach, Bleach owns me... Enjoy!**_

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**'Making Progress'**

Tatsuki and Orihime raced through the maze of cars, plummeting toward the entrance to the school. They squealed across the parking lot about how they would get to the door before the other, and the fact they would rub it in the others face that they were vacuous.

" You're going _down _Orihime! I was the _fastest _runner in P.E. last year remember?!"

" Yeah- You _were_ the fastest runner! I'll be up the stairs before you can _blink_, cause I'm _that_ good!!"

" Oh what _ever,_ you're _so_ gonna lose!"

As they sprinted on the asphalt, some guys who were loading up their luggage on a carrier cheered for the girl they wanted to win.

" Come on athletic-looking girl-!!"

" Floor it hot girl-!!"

" Which ones that?"

" I don't know they're both hot so you know."

" Dude that's stupid just yell for one of them! I hate it when people do that."

" Do what?!"

" Be indecisive or what ever you call it."

" What the fuck does that mean??"

" Man you're stupid! I mean people who say stuff like 'go one of the teams, I don't care who wins' and stuff."

" Oh- why the hell didn't you just say that?"

" Shut up." " No." "Fine what ever!"

" Go chick with the nice set-!!"

When they were almost to the stairs, Tatsuki and Orihime were neck in neck. The two panting girls rocketed up the stares determined to win, the Young men's calls became louder and more random. Then out of nowhere, Orihime flew forward at the speed of light and rammed into the door. The raven haired girl yelled her friends name horrified, while the young men did the same in consideration.

" OHH-!!" They all yelled, reaction at the same time.

" Orihime are you okay?! It sounded like you whammed your head pretty damn hard there..." The amber haired girl wobbled back to her feet, cradling her skull between her hands in an attempt to cease the dizziness. She groaned in pain " Ow- that really hurt..."

Tatsuki supported her companion " What happened back there, you're running like a crazy person then next thing I know you're flying into a glass door!" Orihime chuckled " I kind of tripped on a step..."

The tomboy shook her head " You're so clumsy you know that."

Orihime sighed " I know- but my tough head makes up for it!" she grinned knocking on her four head.

" Yeah, there are a lot of thing that make up for that." Tatsuki teased the silly girl.

After the incidence was over and done, the girls went in to snatch their room keys. The girl at the front desk seems very snooty and rood. She had teeth whitening done, high-lights, loads of eye liner, overly tan skin, and by the looks of it implants. Something told them that she was ether jealousor just a- well I won't say, but you get my drift. After they told her some information she replied " I'm checking." in a way that made Tatsuki want to jump over the desk and pummel her. She never returned, not a surprise.

Instead a shorter then average man with short black hair and light brown skin was put in her place, thank the lord. He seemed very pleasant and well mannered to Orihime, a generally nice person, but Tatsuki knew he was just flirting with her. They received keys, dorm directions, and information on the other activities available at the university. The man seem particularly keen on convincing Orihime to go to the 'back to school' pool party that was five weeks from now. They left the lobby accomplished, and Orihime noticed with her bird eye that the snooty girl returned to the front desk. She glared at them as they escaped, apparently saying bad things about them to the short man.

Glad to finally get that out of the way, the friends grabbed a carrier of their own for the luggage. Tatsuki thought it would be fun if the bubbly Orihime sat in the carrier while she pushed. They screamed down the street, Orihime griping the rail and Tatsukirunning for dear life. Later... back at the car.

" Jeez Orihime why'd you pack so much junk?? There wasn't nearly this much stuff back here when I closed the trunk before we left, and these bags way a tone, what'd you put in here?!" The raven haired girl huffed, dropping the heavy bag on the carrier.

" I'm sorry- I just get so paranoid when I pack for long trips... I always think I didn't pack enough, then I think I need something or some thing's missing. Then I think someone might need something so I pack extra, but then I think they wont have some-"

" Alright, alright, I get it already! If you're crazy about trips, you're insain when it comes to moving!" Tatsuhi laughed.

When they packed as much as they could fit on the carrier, the girls started pushing and pulling it to their dorm. It was, complicated controlling the cart and trying to understand the direction. Especially when they were confused about whether to go up or the down the hill. The cart fell over twice, they went up and down the steep hill three times, and Tatsuki had to catch Orihime before she rolled all the way to the bottom of the it...

They stopped to look at the neon fountain, with a multi-colored light in the bottom to add effect. It had bright arrangements of flower that spelled of the name of the school in big letters. Tatsuki was watching her friend cup the flowers in her middle and ring finger, admiring their lovely pedals and inhaling their sweet aromas.

A little along the way Tatsukispotted water reflections dancing around a cal-de-sac of boulders, trees, and bushes with a small gate. She inferred that the pool the pervert at the front desk was talking about earlier was located their. Then the girls found a building down the road that resembled their dorm description. It had an enormous curved opening of windows that stretched all the way up to the fourth floor, with a couple double doors at the bottom.

" Whoa- Tatsuki, t-that's so- wow!"

" You're telling me..."

After the long and paralyse journey, the friends were relived that the air pressure from the air conditioning wouldn't allow them to open the door. That meant it'd be cool and refreshing inside! It might have been nice outside at first but now it was just hot and-_ sweaty_... About twenty minutes passes sense they first started to break through the door, they wanted to get in so bad that they started smacking into it. They gave up on opening the door when they saw the automatic ones. Unfortunatelythe cart got stuck on some railing near the sliding door, but a young man noticed they were having trouble and helped them get it all the way to the bathrooms.

" Hey I think that door over there's broken. We kept pushing it because we thought it was just air pressure or something but it wouldn't budge, It even said it was unlocked." Tatsuki complained to the guy, signaling 'the door over there' with her eyes.

The man looked over at the door and turned back to her " You said you were pushing it right?"

" ... Yeah-" She recalled. He smirked humorously " Did you try pulling it? Cause if the sign says 'push' from in her, it probably say 'pull' on the other side."

" What if it's one of those flapping door things, were you can open it 'push' or 'pull' ether way??" Orihime interjected.

They all looked back when they saw a man pull the accusingly broken door open for an older woman.

" Oh- I guess it _was_ pull huh..." The bubbly girl giggled.

" Hey it's no big deal, I do that all the time! You guys drove here didn't you."

" Yeah how'd you know?!" Orihime questioned with a chuckle.

" Cause you guys look beat, you got the bags under your eyes and everything!"

Orihime pinched the skin under her eyes " Hey don't worry you look just fine!" he laughed a bit worried.

" Well thanks for the help, we've been dragging this thing around _all _day." Tatsuki yawned.

" Dang that heavy thing?? You two are gonna be soar tomorrow... Well, I gotta go and you guys have to get some sleep so hopefully I'll see you around alright!"

" Alright, thanks again." Tatsuki finished " Bye!" Orihime waved. The two girls watched as the tall man walked back over the a very small girl. " He seemed nice didn't he!" the amber haired gilr said to her raven haired friend " Yeah he was- but what's up with his cloths? He looked like a damn hippie!" Orihime shook her finger at her " Tatsuki! That's not very polite-" she went over to the restrooms " Psh- it's the _truth,_ at least I'm being _honest_."

Orihime shut her lids taking a long momeant to sigh, when she opened them back up though she began to panic " Tatsuki! where did you go?!"

The tomboy walked through the hall that curved it's way into the girl's restroom. It was a clean, decorative bathroom filled with the smell of fruity soaps. They actually had pleasant and well taken care of bathrooms here. This university wasn't built too long ago really thought, and from the looks of it they put quiet a sum of money into it's construction.

" I'm so relieved my parents had enough money in my collage fund to go here. It was so worth it." She grinned to herself.

" Tatsuki!! Are you in there?!" small footsteps began to echo threw the hall, and her grin became treacherous. She smoothly sneaked into one of the stalls closing the door behind her but not locking it. Tatsuki then put the lid down on the toilet and stepped on top of his, crouching down. She could hearher pray calling for her near the stall. The raven haired girl readied her legs to spring out the stall, prepaired her script in her mind and-

" Tat-suki!!" She feel flat on her face to the hard, cold, tile bathroom floor " Huh! There you ar-are you okay Tatsuki?! Oh no I didn't mean to make you fall, I wasn't really sure if you were in here because the door was unlocked... I'm so sorr-sorry??" She gazed at her good friend as she fell around, laughing her butt off trying to get up " That was hilarious! I was about to jump out and scare you but I ended up falling on my face- oh jeez!!"

Orihime smiled sweetly " I Guess you're okay then." she laughed " Yeah it all good." Tatsuki reassured.

" Hey, what's our room number anyways?" She ask as the amber haired girl helped her up.

" Um, I think it's one one one, like 'nine'one one- one? No that's _too_many ones to be nine one one... Oh! I know, one's three time's the charm! Or maybe one to watch one of the one's one, what do you think??"

" Uhh... How bout we just say one eleven, because- we're both one, and- eleven is two ones... Then we're one eleven- I think..."

" Hum- that makes perfect sense Tatsuki, you're so brilliant!"

" Ha- I know aren't I."

They bumped into each other and laughed on the way out of the rest room, and when they reached their junk-filled carrier something stuck out in the corner of Tatsuki's eye, catching her attention.

" Hey Orihime- check out that guy's hair." Orihime looked to where her raven haired friend was pointing " Aw! I like his hair, it's so- fuzzy looking, like a little hedge hog that you want to pet but you can't because it'll hurt your hand..." Tatsuki gave the princes a weird look " Alright- how bout we go put our crap up, I want to go to bed already!" Orihime nodded, took another look at the young _fuzzy looking_ man and continued walking, feeling her lip curve into a curious smile. The young man lifted his head slightly then looked back to catch a petite girl with long amber hair, before she disappeared behind her carrier.

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**I'm trying to make my chapters shorter so I can update quicker. It's kinda intimidating to make a whole big thing you know. Plus it's easier to correct and look over, so yeah it'll be better I guess. Anyways, I got this part of the story from my friend and me getting locked in the movie theater and nobody was there so we goofed of until someone picked us up! So please R&R and tell me what you like and dislike, thanks for reading!**


	3. Pealing Orange

_**I do not own Bleach, but take a second and imagine if I did... Ewe that's a scary thought O.0 Enjoy!**_

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**'Pealing Orange'**

" Jeez that took forever... That lady couldn't of been slower checking out, and the crap she was buying-" The young man cringed at the thought, let's just say it was some _awkward_ appliances for old people. " What was with the girl at the register too, she was being such a bitch! The sign said ' Two for one deal on tooth paste, buy one get one free!' and she wouldn't let me have my damn free tooth paste so I had to argue with her for another thirty minutes? Then that fire truck almost ran me over when I was crossing the fucking street. What the hell I get the whole 'fires waits for no one' thing but come on! Stupid ass people..."

He finished his rant as he parked his car next to the side walk. Snatching his little bag of essentials, he made his way down the cement path with an irritated expression. After he climbed up the hill, the young man jogged down to his dorm eagerly.

A loud siren was resonating loudly while yellow lights cut through the air in thick flashes. The same fire truck that had nearly ran him over early was positioned at the left of the building. Several men wearing large yellow suits and helmets sprayed hoses at a now smoking room. A sick feeling traveled down his throat " That can't be my- No way, it couldn't...!"

The fearful man sprinted into his crowded dorm, throwing the door open like it was nothing. He unconsciously dropped his bag around the vendors while heading to the wall of pedestrians. Pushing through them, he looked back through the smokey hall to find out where the fire was. Black hardy smoke descended in streams from the second floor and down the stairs. Then he caught on to what the personnels nearby were discussing.

" I heard the whole second floor got burned."

" More like flam-bayed if you ask me!"

" Seriously, you mean like-"

" Yeah, the whole floor looks like the trees after a forest fire."

" Ah dude that sucks, I feel bad for anyone who had rooms on that floor."

" Seriously."

The young man's face ran with shock as he was rejected out of the crowd.

" T-That's- how- why would-" He stuttered, not believing any of this while he smashed his palm to his face. As he took a few steps away, a large force bounced off his back knocking him forward. The young man turned around ready to spat his day's frustrations on whoever bumped into him. When he saw them though, his mood immediately lightened as his eye brows rose in surprise.

His gaze fell on a familiar long amber haired girl sprawled out on the floor uncomfortably. She was holding a bag which he recognized as his own, now realizing he wasn't holding it any more. The young man leaned down, offering his hand to help the girl up. " Are you okay-" before he knew it though the girl sprang up, making her chest eye level with him. She fixed her skirt while he straightened his posture, both obviously embarrassed.

" Um- you dropped this." the girl smiled, holding out the bag to him. " Orihime what are you-" Tatsuki stopped, switching her attention between the young man and the amber haired girl. " Oh, I was just giving him his bag." Orihime said innocently. " Thanks, I didn't even know I dropped it... I'm glad you grabbed it before someone stole it." He chuckled, slipping the bag from her delicate hand.

" Hey, your that guy we saw yesterday with the hair!" Tatsuki recalled. Orihime looked over to him giving him a look over and grinned " You're right, he is!"

The young man rubbed the back of his head in confusion, a bit uncomfortable from their gonking stairs. Then his eyes squinted suspiciously " What do you mean _that guy with the hair." _

Tatsuki shrugged " Your hair _is_ pretty eye catching." He put his hand through it roughly " Yeah, I've noticed."

Orihime giggled at his actions, he looked at her in question. " You don't seem too thrilled about that" Orihime mustered.

" Yeah well, you wouldn't ether if you were constantly being judged and threatened for it. Everyone thinks I bleached my hair and treat me like a punk, but this is my natural hair color I'm not gonna dye it."

" I know what you mean... When I was little these girls ganged up on me and cut my hair off."

" Wow that really sucks... They were just that jealous huh? What the hell's wrong with people, _bastards_."

" So- What's your name?" Tatsuki asked curiously. " Uh- name's Ichigo Kurosaki."

" I'm Tatsuki Arisawa!" she grinned, grasping his out stretched hand for a hand shake. " So what's in that bag of yours?"

" Just some tooth paste, bar soap, you know bath room stuff" he plainly said, holding his little bag up as if it were his show and tell for class. At the thought of his bath room, Ichigo remembered the predicament he found himself in " I don't- really have one anymore though..."

" What do you- oh man don't tell me that was your-" He nodded, liaising his fingers in his crayon orange hair.

" Can they at least get you another room?!"

" I don't know yet, but I seriously doubt it. Even if they could get me a room, it wouldn't be a good one... They'd _better _give me a damn refund though!" The raven haired girl felt bad for the guy, it seemed like he was already having a bad day before he found out about the fire. Poor fella, all his stuff is most likely gone too...

" You could stay with us if you want, I wouldn't mind- well, as long as you pay for yourself and all."

" ... Are you sure you want that, I mean we don't really know each other?"

" That's how it always is with roommates. You don't know them until you've lived with them for a while, or something like that anyways. So what do you say, gonna take my offer?"

" What about-" Ichigo was a bit taken back by what he saw " I-Is she alright??"

Orihime had stopped paying attention a long time ago, and drifted to her own little world. She was wrestling with gummy bears, but then a bunch of robot clones of Orihime shot missiles at her! She did a back flip out of the building and started running when she spotted Ichigo. They where suddenly frolicking to each other through a field of flowers, then a man with an afro appeared. They couldn't let him win the race! They sped up now rearing up behind him, and passed the afro man like greased lightning. Now it was just the two of them in a fierce fight to the finish-

Tatsuki sighed and grabbed her day dreaming friends arms as she shook her out of the trans. Ichigo watched with sympathy for the bubbly girl as his features melted into a stunned yet concerned one. The amber haired girl whaled a little, and Tatsuki ceased what she was doing " We were doing so well! I mean you weren't daydreaming all yesterday or on the drive here, but I guess it's impossible to keep it like that..." Tatsuki sighed, but continued on the the matter at hand. " Orihime what do you think of Ichigo moving in with us for a while? His room caught on fire and-"

" Oh no, I'm so sorry..." The petite girl sniffed, clasping her hands together as she locked Ichigo's eyes with her glistening ones. He broke from the hold she had on his vision, trailing his sight to a nearby wall " Thanks, I guess..."

The tomboy crossed her arms, impatient " Well? Are you cool with him moving in with us or not!"

" Hey I never said I _was _staying with you guys, I'm still thinking about it." Ichigo started.

" It's not that hard, just say yes or no."

' Don't tell me what to do, might not have a room but it doesn't mean I'm desperate!"

" What do you mean you're not desperate?! Your room ,along with everything you brought, went up in flames!"

" Oh really I didn't realise!!"

" Well what's the problem then?!"

" I don't have to room with you guys, I got other options!"

" Oh yeah name some."

" I don't need this."

" What you don't want to share a room with sweet little Orihime and me?"

The ramble became louder and more aggressive as the clock ticked on, but Orihime's interjection made it end right as she began to speak. " Please take the offer, I'd feel so awful if you didn't have a nice place to stay..."

Ichigo looked at her softly, thinking rationally now " ... Do you have room for me."

" Oh yeah! We have a whole extra bedroom for you, big bathroom, four seats at the table, a gigantic couch, nice fridge and-"

The strawberry found himself laughing for the first time today due to her incisive rambling. Orihime chuckled with him, even though she didn't quite know what was so funny.

He scratched his head looking away while Tatsuki smiled smugly, knowing she'd won " I guess I can't refuse when you say it like that." Orihime beamed with excitement _' Who could say no to that face?' _he thought to himself sincerely as he walked to the front office for a refund and room changes with the girls. They didn't exactly give him a refund because he still had to pay to be in a room, which pissed him off, but they did give him some emergency money sense he was affected by the fire. Thank the lord for life insurance.

The small Spanish lady at the front offered Ichigo a cheesy ass grin " Here you are honey, take care!"

She placed the key card in his hand, letting her fingers trail off his hand " Uh- sure..." The lady winked at him inconspicuously.

" What's with the front desk people? Every time I go up there someone always flirting with someone, it's disturbing."

" Ah so you saw that then."

" Who didn't." Tatsuki snickered, he shrugged not thinking much of it.

Orihime sighed " So they really weren't just being nice to me..."

" Don't let it get to you, it's not worth getting upset about." She nodded at his advise " Okay."

As their feet hit the cement pavement making a clunk with each step, Tatsuki and Ichigo walked side by side. Orihime strayed behind viewing theme with interest in their conversation, learning more and more about the young orange haired man.

They passe the parking lot and Orihime glanced at her shiny white car. She actually managed to park closer to the school today, early bird gets the worm. The wind blew at her pleated shirt but she grabbed it before it could flair up and expose anything. Then it hit her " Mr. Kurosaki you don't have anything but that pair of cloths and tooth paste!"

The strawberry was still, looked himself over, and turned back to Orihime in realisation " ... Huh, I wasn't even thinking about that. I'm really off today..."

She smiled and clasped her hand to his shoulder " How about we get your stuff back?"

His features tensed in confusion " What?"

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_**Well there you go, a nice long chapter for your entertainment! It was fun making this part, I just kept thinking of Ichigo as an orange and when he got angry he started pealing. Yeah, I know... But anyways, Sorry if it has a lot of mistakes. (I typed this right before I went to bed so yeah.) Well, hoped you liked it and i'm very happy to get so many story adds, please R&R and tell me what you like and disliked. Thanks SO much for reading!**_


	4. Simple Solution

**I don't own Bleach! This story has no swords or hollows, it just has your favorite characters and that's all I swear! Don't hurt me, enjoy!**

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**' Simple Solution'**

_' Name's Ichigo Kurosaki.'_Orihime repeated his introduction over and over in her mind to memorise it. _' Hi Mr. Strawberry!' _She giggled at the though aloud.

" What's so funny back there?" Tatsuki asked curiously over the back of the passenger seat. Her amber haired friend just laughed nervously in response " Oh I get it, inside joke right." She chuckled, turning to the front

When Orihime mention the obvious fact that Ichigo literally had nothing, they all agreed to take his car and check out the nearby shopping center. He wasn't too thrilled about it, I mean he didn't mind buying his crap by himself or anything. Shopping with girls was like going through a storm though, it takes forever, you hate it, and there's nothing you can do about it...

_' Why do women get so into this kind of stuff, I don't get it.' _He sighed, catching Tatsuki's attention " What's wrong?"

" Nothing."

" What the hell am I missing something here? You guys keep making noises for reasons I don't know." She complained, crossing her arms.

Orihime grinned, lean over to Ichigo " He's probably just bummed about shopping with a bunch of girls, am I right?"

" What you want me to give you a smarty for your brilliance?"

She laughed " Hey we're going there for you!"

" Yeah, but I'm still gonna end up sitting in the changing room for hours with all _your_ bags while you ask ' Does this look good on me?' you know it's true."

" Yup! Here have a smarty, you earned it" Ichigo blinked in astonishment as Orihime helled a small round piece of candy to his nose " come on take it."

He cracked a smile " Sure." and popped the candy into his mouth.

" What you give _him _some but not your best friend?!"

Orihime chuckled, tossing her buddy the bag of candy " Ha ha she loves me more!" Tatsuki teases, wiggling it in Ichigo's face.

A few miles passed before they arrived at the four-way intersection across from the mall. When the green arrow came on, the strawberry started to make the turn. Then a yellow speeding Mercedes Benz ran a red light and cut them off, nearly ramming into the side of his car. " Shit!! Did you see that bastard he could of fucking killed-"

Screeching followed by a loud deafening crash echoed down the road " Ichigo pull up your in the middle of the intersection!" the girls screamed. Wide eyed, the strawberry sped up making a swift turn and continued what he was doing. Up the road two vehicles where flaming at the point of collision " That retard ended up in the wrong lane and hit someone head on, ass hole!!" He yelled vehemently as they passed the smoking accident. The driver quickly swung into the mall's parking lot, speeding through the the spaces then hitting the brake when they pulled into a spot. Ichigo growled in frustration as his head fell on the wheal, hands still gripping it with white knuckles due to adrenalin. Tatsukiwas still clutching onto her armrest in fear of flying out the window, her breath cought in her throat. She reached over to the orange headed driver and patted his back " That, was some good driving right there."

Orihime was on her side with shock drilled on her features " I feel really sick..." She groaned.

They took some time to recover from the accident, letting off the steam and nausea, then ran to the building.

" You two okay?" Tatsuki nodded her head " Yeah- but I don't think Orihime will be eating anytime soon..."

" Sorry..." He apologized.

" Don't worry I'll be alright." Orihime beamed halfheartedly, hanging on her raven haired friend.

" You know what, actually- I thing I'm gonna go to the restroom... Here Ichigo, hold her for me." Tatsuki said, putting the dizzy girls arm over his neck and rutted away. Ichigo wrapped his arm around Orihime's stomach, letting her arm dangle as he firmly grasped the other on his neck. Shoppers walking by stared and talked amongst themselves as he walked them over to a nearby bench. The strawberry plopped onto the wooden seat, gently holding onto his sickly roommate.

" Alright my ass. Are you sure you still want to-" Orihime moved her arm from his grasp and into her lap as she cupped her hands together. She snuggling her head into the side of his chest and tilted her head down, making herself more comfortable " I'll be fine."

" Hmm..."

Ichigo felt so weird, just sitting her with his arm around her while she was resting. He didn't want to move his arm and wake her up, but it was so awkward. A swarm of noisy teenagers across the room weren't making the situation any better ether, it pissing him off. They kicked and hit each other recklessly, pushing themselves into walls and snickering like idiots. He was seriously considering throwing something at them _' Stupid brats, they can do that shit outside cause I don't want to see it'._ Luckily a mall cop ordered the group to desist what they were doing or leave before Ichigo found anything to throw _' Geez took you long enough.'_

The amber haired girl breathed in deeply then slowly exhaled in relief, at this change he redirecting his gaze back to her. The strawberry leaned over and positioned himself so he could see her face, pondering if she was really sleeping.

" What's going on her?" Ichigo's head snapped up hearing the familiar voice " I expected better from you."

" What?"

" Don't act like I didn't see that!"

" What??"

" Your face was getting awfully close to hers."

" I was checking if she was asleep!"

" What ever!"

" Shut up!!"

" Why are you yelling at each other now?" Orihime yawned, lifting her skull up.

" Were you asleep?"

" I was getting there..." She pouted, placing her check on his shoulder " Your really comfy."

" Uh-..." Ichigo looked up at Tatsuki when she started giggling, Orihime's eye shot open. She bounced off the bench as her arms folded behind her back, laughing in embarrassment as she turned red " ...Sorry about that..."

Ichigo shrugged and ross from the wooden seat, casually walking to the escalator like nothing happened. " W-Where are you going?"

" What do you mean ' Where am I going?' Tatsuki's done with her shit so now I can start getting my shit done."

" Oh yeah, okay then!" The bubbly girl agreed, tailing after him.

" Hey I'm just gonna stay here alright, I'm waiting for someone."

" You called him in the bathroom didn't you."

" No- he called me and I told him where I was so he wanted to come, you know how that is."

"... A-Alright!"

" We'll meet up with you guys in the food court around five O'clock!" Tatsuki waved to her roommates as they went up the escalator to the second floor.

The two walked in silence, glancing at the thousands of stores surrounding them. People at sales stands offered food, lotion, perfume, make up, pedicures, and other samples as they passed by. Ichigo completely ignored them as if they weren't there while Orihime politely said " No thank you." The strawberry decided to head into a brand name store to his left, Orihime didn't notice.

" Damn eighty dollars for a pair of jeans because it has holes in it?"

" Yeah it's pretty ironic." Ichigo looked to the direction of the voice. A blond, messy haired tan guy was folding jeans and staking them with the rest on a shelf. " You'd think if they had holes in 'em they'd be cheaper, but sense it's in style it's the other way around-" The employ watched the orange haired guy start searching the store, looking behind walls, racks, and scan the women's side of the vicinity. " The hell man just walk away, it's not like anyone was talking to you." The tan man fretted to himself.

Ichigo frantically ran back to the blond employ making him jump a little " Hey you see a girl about this tall, orange-brown hair, wearing a purple shirt, did she come in with me??" The messy haired man looked around the store to check " Uh- I don't, _think_ so..."

" Man-" Ichigo sighed, then sprinted out of the clothing store.

" Aw so cute, I'm going to name you Enraku!!" Orihime giggled, hugging a small pink teddy bear inside a gift shop. " Hey-!!" Hearing the call, the bubbly girl looked over and spotted orange hair in the distance " What are you doing all the way over there-?!"

" That's my line-! I thought you were right behind me-!!"

" I did too-! So I've been talking to myself this whole time-?!" She started looking around in confusion, then began jogging over to her new roommate. Ichigo trotted down the stairs and swerved through the hundreds of people walking around him. When he made it to the gift shop his new roommate was nowhere to be found " Why are you down there now-?!" Ichigo looked up to where he just was and found the amber haired girl laughing as she leaned over the railing " You where- why are- forget it just stay there, I'm coming up- and don't, move-!!" He stuttered. Orihime nodded and saluted to him " Yes sir-!!"

Ichigo finally made it back to where he once was and caught Orihime fixing her bra as she pulled up the middle. She then began tightening and adjusting the thin stretchy straps, he waited patiently standing over her _' I always thought girls had all that colorful lingerie stuff with the lase and the bows or something...." _When the princes finished, she lifted her eyes and was taken off guard at the sight of the Ichigo'spants. She looked to find him smerking with interest " H-H-How long have you been there...?"

" Just got here."

" Oh..."

" So-" They said in unison, then it was quiet once more.

Ichigo coughed " Anyways, did you want that bear?"

" Huh? Oh you mean that- well, yeah I was thinking about-" The orang headed man presented the very teddy bear she was hugging earlier " little Enraku!"

" Got it before I left the shop."

" Thanks so much, that was really nice of you."

" Is me doing something nice that surprising?"

" No, it's just- we don't really _know_ each other all that well."

He dropped himself onto the couch with the petite girl and plucked a stray piece of string from the pink bear's ear " That's kind of why I got it for you, I want to get to know you... We _are_ going to be living together."

" That's true..." She looked down at her hands " You know what, I haven't properly introduce myself." Orihime smiled up to him " I'm Orihime Inoue, nice to meet 'cha Mr. Kurosaki!"

" The pleasure is all mine... uh- Miss, Inoue-?" The bubbly girl rumbled in laughter at his silliness, Ichigo joining in soon after.

Later, they had scrimmaged through several more stores and were greatly pleased with how much stuff they had collected through out the mall. The strawberry replaced mostly all his burned-up cloths with new ones that ,in his opinion, better agreed with the weather here. Orihime checked her watch and squeaked " It's six O'clock!"

" Yeah- so?"

" We were supposed to meet the others at the food court an _hour_ ago..."

" Oh. Should we go then?"

She sighed and nodded " Let's walk though, we're already late."

" Sound good to me, I bet Tatsuki going to ask what we were doing." His brow furrowed " Why does that make you blush??"

" I-I don't know..." Ichigo starred at here in question, but shook it off and looked away.

" ... Anyways- I can't wait to eat, I'm starved."

" Me too! Wonder what they have?"

When the group of four was done in the food court, they agreed to watch a movie before they left. Tatsuki thought scary movies were retarded, and the guys weren't planning on watching any tear jerks or chick flicks, so they went with Orihime on the comedy. It was pretty humerus but the ending was cheesy and disappointing, they complained about it for well over twenty minutes. The girls got everybody something hot from a coffee shop while the guys stopped by the pretzel place, you could say they had 'bonding' time.

The sky was a deep shade of maroon while the gumbos moon lightly broke through in a neon peach color. It was a quiet drive home with just the two of them in Ichigo's car, Tatsuki's _man _wanted to spend some extra time with her so apparently she couldn't refuse. They all left the shopping center around nine with hot drinks and cinnamon pretzels in hand, the combination was heavenly.

Orihime sat back into the passenger seat, sinking into it's squishy leather " Thanks for putting my seat back."

" Sure. Hey can you give me some pretzel?" The amber haired girl tore off a little piece of the sweet buttery treat and healed it in front of his mouth. He snatched it with his teeth and chewed on it through the red lights until he was finished. Ichigo's eyes trailed over to Orihime sense she hadn't been talking, she was holding ' Enraku' in her hands as she petted it's cheeks with her thumbs.

" You really like that bear huh."

" I do, it reminds me of the one someone very close gave to me."

" That why you named it Enraku?" She giggled, he smiled.

Ichigo carefully eased on the brakes, parked his car at the collage, and slide out his key from the ignition. The strawberry switched his sights back to Orihime, she was sleeping soundly while huddling with Enraku. Her long straight hair lazily fell over the soft skin of her face, lips agar and prepared to drool. He sighed and circled his car to her door, gently taking the sleeping girl into his arms. _' She's not as heavy as I thought she'd be.'_

He followed the direction he'd received from the lady flirting with him at the front desk. After almost dropping Orihime when he lost balance descending the steep hill, Ichigoand his snoozing companion made it in one piece. Ringing the door bell was complicated, he could exactly use his hand so his head would have to do. Tatsuki's boy opened the door to a pleasant surprise " What's up." he chuckled, holding the door open. Ichigo brought his foot up expecting to step inside but instead hit the slight rise in ground leave between the door. Before he smashed the unsuspecting girl in his grasp, the strawberry turned and fell painfully on his back. " Mm- Mr. Kurosaki-??" She asked tiredly, picking herself up from his torso " ...Y-You okay?"

_' Aw shit- so close!'_

" I'll be alright..."

" Nice one Ichigo!!" Tatsuki called from the kitchen" Shut, up."

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**Ha I love this chapter, I think I've outdone myself! Anyways, I know it's taking a while to get to the drama but y'know, it always starts of happy and fun right. After this chapter it's gonna start getting more dramatic I promise you! Well, R&R and tell me what you like and dislike etc. Thanks for reading, I'm very grateful!**


	5. Dumbfounded Ideals

**Wow if I owned Bleach that'd be awesome. Well for me anyways ha! Enjoy!!**

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**' Dumbfounded Ideals'**

His eyes lazily opened to a pleasant, yet unpleasant surprise. Right in front of him laid a slumbering auburn haired beauty. It took a while for this to sink in, but when it did oh boy. He popped straight up, fell off the bed, and brought the sheets with him. Even after all that raucous, Orihime just barely woke up. She shivered and curled her now goose-bumped body into a ball. It was so cold in the room without her snug, warm covers. She brought herself up and crawled to the edge of the bed, thinking they had slipped off. When she found them though her eyebrows furrowed with mixed emotions.

" Mr. Kurosaki looks like an Ichi-roll." she giggled sleepily to herself, but he still heard her statement.

The _Ichi-roll _rose from the floor like Frankenstein. As the sheets fell from his head and bundled at his shoulders, it's true identity was revealed!

" Good morning Ich-i-gooo." Orihime hummed, half asleep and drosy apparently. It might have made him feel a little fuzzy inside, but here greeting also scared him. While he was down on the ground, he was asking himself so many questions.

'_Why was I in the same bed as her? What the hell just happened? Why can't I feel the left side of my body? Did I take a shower yesterday? I wonder what I'll be eating today? Did dad rampage through my room and belonging yet?'_

The thought of his father enraged him. He could recall the day he left the house. It was clear as day in his mind.

_Tired, he slumped down the stairs of the clinic holding his duffel bag. It was stuffed to the zipper thanks to Yuzu. She said he hadn't packed enough and didn't care if he was trying to go light. So he ended up with five things of luggage instead of three. Karin had put the last of his bags in the back of the car when he came out. Isshin was at the car door smiling at him and opened the door for him._

_At the last minute Yuzu came running out of the house crying after him. He caught her flying hug and knelled down with her in his arms. Soon after he felt something on the side of his stomach. Ironically, it was Karin. She was cuddling her head into his side, possibly sobbing. He brought both his sisters into one last, good-bye bear hug. " Do you have to go now?" Yuzu wailed " Yeah- I do... I'm all ready." She squeezed him tighter " I'm going to miss you, Ichi-nii..." He squeezed back " ...Me too... both of you..."_

_Ending the hug, he thanked his sisters for packing his crap than walked to his dad " Even you, you bastard." Isshin chuckled " I'm very proud of you son! Even if you don't take on the family business I'll still be proud." Ichigo felt a rush of warmth go threw him " Thanks, dad- OUGH!" Isshin punch him in the gut rather hard " Don't get all sappy on me!" Ichigo groaned in his crippled state " You fucking dumb ass-"_

_Isshin pushed his son in the car and said his last, and most important words to him "Make sure you get lots of women, sleep with lots of them, and get me lots of grand kids Ichigo my boy!!" With that he slammed the car door. " Good luck Ichi-nii!!" Karin yelled as it took off. " I know you can do it Ich-i-gooo- OACH!" Ichigo finished his father's sentence with a speeding bar of soap to the mouth. " EAT THAT YOU DIRTY OLD MAN!!"_

It's his fucker dad's fault that Ichigo didn't get very involved or get in relationships!

It was his fault for Ichigo's dumbfounded ideals!

It was his fault that Ichigo thought he might of did i- had se- slept with Orihime!

Still wrapped up in his cocoon of blankets, Ichigo bravely turned to face the source of his predicament. That would be the smiling, messy haired, drowsy looking Orihime. She was sitting on her calves while her arms supporting her between the legs. He was relived to see she was wearing cloths, shorts and a tank top. Then again, she could of changed into something while he wasn't looking. To top that off, he- wasn't completely sure he had anything on... He was considerably wrapped up at the moment, so it was tough to tell.

Concerned as to why he was starring at her with bug eyes, she tilted her head. " Uh, Mr. Kurosaki?"

His eyes reverted " Oh- hey, what's up. G'morning Inoue." Ichigo half staggered and half blurted as he scratched his head.

" You okay, is something wrong??" she asked, swinging her legs off the bed. " Well-" he looked away " What did, we do the other day...?"

Orihime stuck her pointer finger to her lower lip in thought " Heh we did _lots _of things, remember!"

He sunk in his roll _' Happy now dad, you son of a bit-"_

" We invited you to stay with us, walked around the school, shook hands. Then we ate some cereal, changed into our pj's, watched a funny movie together..." she paused.

Ichigo let his neck go limp, knowing what she was going to say next _' Then we made lo-'_

" Hmmm, then I guess we fell asleep huh." she laughed and started twiddling her thumbs, thinking she was rambling.

He shot up " Was that it?" Orihime shook her head " Mm hm, I think so."

With a sigh relief, he continued with something that wouldn't blow his cover " ...Uh- yeah, that was fun wasn't it."

" Oh sure you sneaky bastard! You thought you had 'relations' with Orihime last night didn't you!!"

' _Damn you Tatsuki! Okay, think fast think fast...'_

" Tatsuki don't say things like that to our guest, it's rude!" Orihime pouted.

_' Shit- that was close... Thank you Orihime!'_

" Psh, what _ever _you say." Tatsuki teased as she walked out of the room.

Once Tatsuki was gone, Orihime caught her Cheddar-cheese headed friend's attention " So- Mr. Kurosaki, what do you want for breakfast!?"

He thought for a minute " I don't know, breakfast stuff?" Ichigo was certain his attempt at humor had failed, until he heard giggles that is.

" Okay then 'Mr. funny man' let's go get some _breakfast stuff!" _with that she bounced of the bed and skipped out the door like she was Glody Locks.

_' Mr. funny man??' _He repeated that several times in his mind before realizing he was still stuck in the bed sheets. Then as if on cue, Orihime came jogging to his rescue " I'm so sorry I forgot about you, Ichi-roll."

Once the word 'Ichi-roll' left her mouth, his features molded to the classic furrowed eye brows and fat under-lip. Before he could say anything though he was interrupted " I'm just kidding Mr. Kurosaki, don't be so serious."

With that she perched at his side to help him out of the calamity of material " Hey I can get out of this by myself, and don't call me Mr. Kurosaki that sound like my dad." Right then he flipped onto his stomach trying to get up.

" ...I meant to do that." he puffed, then felt two hands placed on his back " _Sure_ you did, _Ichigo_." Orihime finished and began gently rolling Ichigo out of his twisted mess. Then she grasping the end of the covers and roughly pulled it. He started unraveling at a rapped pace, now he personally knew how a roll of paper felt like. Finally he was out and able to move freely, but with a bit a motion sickness.

" Was that crap really necessary!" Ichigo accused, pointing at the guilty Orihime who was now rubbing the back of her head. " I didn't think it was gonna go that fast..." she laughed nervously " ...Sorry."

He blinked a couple times at her response. He was expecting her to yell back at him like most girls would " Oh... That's okay." What was with her, Ichigo hadn't met a girl like this before. Surely if she hung out with a chick like Tatsuki she would be somewhat like her. That's what he predicted, but if Orihime hadn't picked a fight with him yet that couldn't be right.

He pondered something that would be acceptable to break the ice " Thanks for unichi-rolling me." hearing loud giggles, it was certain he had succeeded.

" Heh no problem, any time!" She slightly cheered, blushing with embarrassment.

" Well-" Ichigo stood up stretching his arms " What do you say we get something to eat already, I'm starving!" he yawned. Orihime clasped her hands together joyfully " Oi- me too, I bet I can beat you there!" Once again she was off in a flash, only this time he was on her tail yelling " You're going down!!"

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**That's right, I so went there man! Ha I bet you were all shocked and excited at first but then you were relived yet pissed cause they didn't 'do' anything, you were content yet restless by the end of it though. Oh yeah- I knew it. Anyways, I'm very proud of this chapter and it wasn't hard to make ether, which is great right? I hope you liked it, PLEASE R&R PLEASE!! Thanks for reading, tell me what you liked and disliked etc. The next chapter should be up right after this one so yeah. **


	6. If Anyone

_**Bleach is too awesome to be made by me. Ha anyways, please enjoy!**_

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**' If Anyone'**

Patiently standing in line with a calm state of mind, Tatsuki waited for her roommates. She was just intoxicated by all the amazing smells cumming from the cafe. Fresh brewing coffee, steaming baked goods straight out of the oven. It was as if her nose was in heaven, and all the chatter in the background faded away... Then laughter and yells, along with trudging footsteps, broke through her calm. Her face tensed at the destructing noise, how could someone be this energetic this early in the morning. When she heard a loud thump followed by a yelp, she immediately slung her head.

There, side by side on the floor, were two bright haired buffoons looking crushed. Tatsuki hurried to her friend's aid, reluctantly leaving her spot in line. Ichigo got right up, taking his arm off Orihime and carefully helped her up.

" Orihime you okay?" Tatsuki questioned with worry clear in her voice " I tripped..." Orihime chuckled. " I know, you always do."

Once again the gang returned to the line, only this time it was the back. Everyone was scanning the colorful chalkboard menu, trying to find what they're craving for. Ichigo was a bit intimidated by the names of each different beverage. He didn't get what the big deal was I mean basically it's just a bunch of crap mixed together.

" Ichigo- sorry I'm so clumsy." He looked down to Orihime's innocent puppy dog expression and rolled his eyes. " Listen, you need to stop apologizing so much. Shit happens that's all there is to it."

Orhime's head sank a bit " ...Right..." He sounded so cold, what happened to his earlier enthusiasm... It was probably just her, she was thinking too much, as usual. Maybe this is how Ichigo really is, then again it was morning he might be tired.

If any ones going to over Analise something like this, it would most likely be Orihime.

After they ordered their drinks the girls looked for a place to sit. Ichigo stayed behind to grab the goods and carried them back to his awaiting roomies. They picked a small yellow tilled table with dark metal legs. It was against the outside of a pillar that supported the cafe's low ceiling.

He couldn't believe how excited Orihime was when she got her huge piece of chocolate cake. Tatsuki was probably watching her weight, considering she was in advanced martial arts classes. All she ate was half a cinnamon roll, but Ichigo got the other half so he wasn't complaining.

As they ate their sweet treats together, they talked on and on about nothing. Just the same random retarded things that popped into their thoughts.

Usually Ichigo was grumpy in the morning, but today was different. He was, for the first time in ten years, thrilled about starting school.

It wasn't like he actually believed that you had crazy parties and wild romance. He wasn't stupid, he knew better then to think school could be connected in any way to anything remotely close to that. No, he was excited about this whole new level of Independence and satisfaction of making it this far in life.

Although Ichigo was overflowing with great pride as we speak, you wouldn't see it on his face. Same old trademark scowl, the one that was always glued on even when he was sleeping. Even as he chewed his side of the Delicious sticky bun it was still stuck on there rather well.

" Ichigo you okay, I think somethings wrong with your face." Orihime played. The way he always looked so tense and serious, even while eating something so warm and yummy- it was hilarious to her.

He offered her the 'What?' eyebrows with the muffled by food 'Huh'. At that moment, both Tatsuki and Orihime burst of laughing. He looked just like a serious, confused hamster with his stuffed cheek and crumb-covered mouth.

Ichigo pushed down his mouth-full with a bottle of water and whipped his lips of the unwanted residue.

" Gees can't a guy just eat without someone mocking them!" The two girls tried to hold back their laughter and shock their heads side to side. He melted in his seat, crossing his buff arms to his chest then turned his head, avoiding all eye contact.

" Aw come on Ichigo, stop being such a baby." Tatsuki Teased grinning smugly to her delight. She just _loved _tormenting these so called "tough guy" because it was so easy to get under their skin. Even if the insult was miner it would drag out for hours, it was simply _delightful._

" We're just playing Ichigo don't let it get to you." Orihime _almost_ reassured, but screwed it up with a giggle.

Ichigo was about to retaliate against the enemy, but was stopped dead in his tracks.

A dangerous and immensely deadly weapon was being pointed at him, only an inch away from his nose.

It was a silver fork with one large piece of chocolate cake wedged at the end. " Try some of this, it's really super good!" gleamed Orihime brightly.

At first he didn't do anything but he eventually excepted her humble peace offering. He, believe it or not, let her put the dessert in his mouth and feed it to him.

Ichigo's eyes were as wide as the sky as she pulled the utensil from his lips. They exchanged serene looks as seconds felt like hours, unsure and apathetic of what would happen next. It was hard to describe this feeling, but unbeknownst to them a new sense of trust was stitched between the two.

Tatsuki practically chocked on her drink trying to restrain her laughter " Holly crap Ichigo you're being hand fed now?! You're such a cute little baby aren't you."

He squinted his eyes in a sinister glare, but for once healed his peace.

It didn't taste bad at all, not too sweet, moist, and chocolaty all over. In other words, Orihime's to be exact, it was 'super good' for a coffee shop cake.

" I need to get me some of that." he complemented still chewing it, not caring if it was bad manners to talk with your mouth full. " Yeah me too man, she's sexy as hell!!" Snickered a deep anonymous voice.

Ichigo spun around in a flash setting his arm on the backrest of his chair " What'd you say!" He searched the surrounding area, darting his eyes at the back of every persons in sight's head. " Where'd he go!?"

" What??" Tatsuki questioned leaning off the side of her seat, trying to see what was going on. " Didn't you hear that who said it did you see him?"

" There _was_some guy next to the pillar- I think..." She stopped, seeing Ichigo stand up and fling his head behind the pillar. Serving around his back he glancing at the rest of the lobby like his life depended on it.

" What the hell did he say to get you all worked up?" She was obviously, completely confused about what was going on.

The strawberry studied his surroundings and saw that they had an unwanted audience. " What the hell are you looking at!!" he yelled in annoyance causing all heads to turn away from the scene, and others to do the opposite.

He's getting upset over nothing and causing unwanted publicity. It was just a stupid comment by some ignorant bastard, for god's sake he heard that stuff every second of his life. She herself probably got crap like that all the time, just look at her. When he first saw her she literally had eight guys stalking her, along with the eyes of every male in the room!

Remembering that moment Ichigo started to calm down as if realizing something. You could say he was having an epiphany, but he didn't completely understand it.

Maybe he wasn't over blowing this after all... Orihime was his friend now right, and she was kind enough to let him live with her. Any decent person would do the same thing he was if they were in his position.

Anyways it wasn't like he was going to find the guy any time soon, he didn't even know what he looked like.

Ichigo sighed in defeat and plopped back in his seat, stealing some more of Orihime's cake " Nothing..." If he told them Tatsuki would just go on a rampage then end up in prison for assault and murder.

Besides, if anyone's killing that son of a bitch it's him damn it!

* * *

**Sorry this took so long, I really am... I've just been caught up in school.**

**All right I made this longer and it is starting the real story if you get what I'm saying here. I was going to put more in this but I found a little flaw in my plot, so I stopped hear so it would make sense. I completely hate giving hints and preview etc. but I'm excited myself so I'm going to share a little tiny hint with you. Several new character will be introduced in the next chapter, that's why I stopped here (you'll see why it's better this way soon trust me.) If you want you can guess which characters will be added, there will at least be 5. If you get them 3-5 right, I'll give you something in return okay!**

**Also,**

**It may be a while before I update because I have school (HOMEWORK, french, creative writing, and art is so time consuming) and dance (ballet, jazz, hip hop, modern, lyrical, yoga, point etc.) it's not summer anymore... So please be understanding and patient with me, I promise I'll try to update on the weekends kay! **

**Anyways,**

**PLEASE R&R PLEASE, TELL ME WHAT YOU LIKE AND DISLIKE. GIVE ME A REASON TO CONTINUE THIS STORY! HELP ME MAKE IT BETTER!! THEN I JUST MIGHT UPDATE FASTER!!**

**Don't be afraid to tell me what you think, and what you'd like to see. I will most definitely listen, the ones who R&R are the ones who give me inspiration and hope for my story. If you ask nicely I'd probably give you some of my future ideas who knows!**

**Thanks for reading all this! It was so long but what ever. Special thanks to IchiHimeLuver for being so into my story. You've really helped me out and I appreciate your dedication**

**Keep in touch!**


	7. Good Morning

**Dude, do I REALLY need to keep telling you the obvious? I, don't, own, Bleach... Hurts every time I say it 'sniff'...**

**Please, enjoy!**

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**Chapter Theme: Sunday Morning by Maroon 5~**

**"Driving slow on sunday morning, and I never want to leave."**

**' Good Morning'**

Something he hated more than anything, the sound of a screaming alarm. Ichigo rolled around in his sheets until he found a way out and hit the snooze button.

A couple minute later he forced himself out of bed, turning off his alarm. Opening his door, he thumped into the kitchen and found Tatsuki perched at the table. In front of her was a small blue bowl filled with milk and brown cereal balls. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and asked her where the bowls were. It didn't come out understandable though, sense he was stretching and yawning at the same time. Luckily, Tatsuki got the idea and leaned back in her seat to grab him one.

" Thanks."

" Mm-hm."

" You like Coco Puffs?"

" Yup."

" ...Those _my_ Coco Puffs??"

" Sure are."

" Couldn't you ask first!"

" No sir."

" ...What ever just poor me some."

" Why?"

" Cause I'm hungry."

" Why??"

" ...Screw you I'll get it myself."

" Why-??"

Ichigo shot daggers at her, but instead of shutting up- she started laughing. He got his puffs, poured them into his bowl, went to the fridge, and saw an empty carton. He turned to Tatsuki who starred innocently behind her shoulder, but smirked at his pouting lip. Before he closed the fridge he heard an unbelievably cute yawn to his left. When he caught glimpse of who it was, he felt- kind of uncomfortable.

" Good morning everyone!" Orihime threw her arms up getting the kinks out of her neck. She had on a lazy, light blue nightgown that ended just below mid-thigh and fit snug around her figure. Stumbling to the table she looked at Ichigo with a glazed-over look. " We're out of milk already... Oh- well- I'll just make us something! What do you want Ich-igo??"

He opened some bread " How bout I make sandwitchs?" Orihime looked a little disappointed but she smiled and thanked him none the less.

When he finished, the amber haired girl was already standing at his side and admiring his work.

" So how did your first day go?" Tatsuki shrugged " It was okay I guess, but the coach is stricter than I though he would be." Orihime looked down imagining what it would be like if her professor was strict...

" _ORIHIME!! Stop daydreaming, pay attention, don't trip on your bag, the way you cook is a mockery!!"_

Ichigo and Tatsuki watched as their friend cupped her face in her hands fearfully " Hey it's not that bad, right Ichigo?" Tatsuki said, nudging at the strawberry.

" Even if you do think it's bad on the first day- you'll get used to it." Orihime looked up at him " Was your first class okay?"

He scratched his head " Uhh- You'll be fine..."

She stood and pumped her fist " You're right, I can do this! I'm gonna get dressed right now and be their early!!"

With that she was off leaving Ichigo confused as usual " So what'd you think of her pj's??"

" What do you mean?" Tatsuki grinned " Pretty nice huh!"

His eye's shot open " What the fuck Tatsuki!" She chuckled " Just had to ask, I wanted to make sure."

He looked at her with question " Listen Ichigo, you've probably noticed Orihime's not exactly a normal girl. That's why I want you to be careful, because if you don't- I assure you you'll regret it."

She walked to the hallway door and looked back at him, trying to be dramatic. It didn't look like he completely got it though, which ruined the whole dramatic effect, so she sighed and continued " Look you seem like a guy with morals, and Orihime's been spending a lot of time on you. So I can trust you'll look out for her."

The raven haired tomboy smiled " It'd be good for her to have someone like you around."

Ichigo had an indescribable feeling flooding throughout his body. A mixture of shock, integument, pessimism, confidence, and bliss. He wasn't really sure what to thing of it... Then Orihime gratuitously twittered behind him. " Aw- Tatsuki already left, I was going to see if she could walk with me to class... Well, I guess I'll see you later then Ichigo!"

She took a couple steps before Ichigo started to follow her, but she stopped suddenly and turned into him. He caught her hips just in time, while she laid on his chest with clenched fists. She immediately backed away from him, blushing madly as she rubbed the back of her head.

" Ichigo... _Uh hum_- would you walk me to my class??" She giggled awkwardly.

" Yeah- I was about to suggest that." He chuckled after her.

" Oh! Okay let's get going then!!"

She swerved around the young orange-headed man, his eyes following her spinning form not thinking much of it. Then she went behind him unsuspectingly as she pressed her chest to his back. Her elbows set on his back while her hand clasped to his shoulders. Ichigo darted his gaze back to her, surprised by her actions. He stumbled forward when Orihime began to push him, unprepared for her sudden pressure. Before she could move him further the strawberry stuck his feet down firmly. Orihime bumped into him a little, trying to get his feet to budge.

" Ichigo what are you doing! I thought you were going to class with me?" the bubbly girl stated, popping her head out from his side.

" Well damn it you gotta let me get ready first!" he growled in annoyance. Orihime's eyes widened. She let her hands slide to his upper arms taking a few steps back, giving Ichigo a look over. The strawberry was standing there bare chested, clad, and half naked in checkered pajama bottoms while his boxers hung out a bit off the top. A small blush crept on her features thinking of where she just was. She took a deep breath trying to shake off the electricity going through her spine.

" When you're done, I'll be right here waiting alright!" The amber haired girl darted to the door with out Ichigo even noticing. Ichigo blinked in confusion, but nodded his head in agreement, soon after leaping to his room.

' _That was so weird...' _they both thought simultaneously.

To Ichigo's disappointment, this was one of those days he actually cared what he was wearing. He found himself throwing cloths from the closet and piling them on his bed.

He finally found an outfit he was content with: Some plaid, knee-long shorts with a belt and a tight blue T-shirt imprinted with some random phrase. With his now planed wardrobe, he stepped in his sneakers clipping on his watch and slipped out the door.

Orihime was leaning against the wooden door, humming a simple melody. She swayed from side to side as she smiled, patting her legs. The princess had on a mid-thigh, light blue jean skirt along with a peach tank top and heart necklace.

He steadily walked to her side and tapped her on the shoulder, catching her flustered attention.

" Hey Orihime, you ready to go?" she chuckled then bowed her head signaling she was.

At first it was quiet, only glances and exchanges of smiles and looks were shared between them. After they got out of the dorm though, conversations started to sprout their way through the silence.

" So- did you sleep well last night Ichigo?"

" Yeah much better then the other night, it was so damn hot I was suffocating! Anyways, it looked like you slept good."

" Heh, so you noticed." She grinned, making him laugh.

Then halfway there a more chummy vibe showed through their words. More personal topics began to manifest from each other's lips, followed by hand gestures and teasing statements.

" Eh, I'd say spicy food is my favorite."

" Is that why your hair's so _spicy _looking."

" You know you like it."

" True, I do like my cheese puffs." Orihime's laughter made it impossible to keep a straight face.

" You put bean paste on that too."

" Hmm- I should try that out sometime!"

" Jeez you put that stuff on everything don't you."

" Pretty much."

" _Everything_??" She pushed his arm playfully but the impact didn't do much so he just snickered.

" Wow- you moved me like half an inch! You've been bench pressing some big marshmallows." She tried to push him with more significant results, but her giggling fit made it look more like a noodle slap. She went limp on his arm as they both went into uncontrollable laughter. People around them watched with humor written on their faces, pointing and chuckling at the sight.

You could say it was like a reunion of old, good friends.

They were making their way to Orihime's first class, and you could tell she was nervous. Ichigo reassured her that everything would be fine and she trusted that he was right.

" Ichigo, what's your family like??" He looked over to the girl next to him and put together an answer.

" I have a'interesting' one I guess. We're pretty close, but that's not exactly a good thing. Everone's always in each others business, you know what a mean? It's not just questions about '_did you do your homework?'_ or _'do you have a girlfriend yet?'_ stuff. I mean they put cups on my door and try to listen in on me when I have any girl in my room."

" Poor little Ichigo." Orihime giggled.

" Then my dad will have brawls with me when I get home, when I wake up, while I'm sleeping, at dinner! Ugh- then he's got this huge poster of my mom on this wall and hugs it. He talks to it too like _'oh Misuki are little boy is growing up so fast!'_"

He made an impression of his father's serious _'daddy says no'_face. Orihime snickered " Your father sounds like a lot of fun!"

He rolled his eyes " Yeah... _big_ fun."

" What about Misuki, and your sisters??" She smiled with interest.

Ichigo head fell back, looking at a nearby cloud drifting by his sights.

" My sister Karin is very much like Tatsuki. Karin is athletic, boyish, can be a real bitch sometimes, plays soccer, has black hair. She punches Ishin when he's being a pervert and is very protective of Yuzi."

He stopped to glance at the amber haired girl next to him.

" Orihime, you remind me of my other little sister Yuzi. She loves to cook, takes care of the family, looks out for everyone and worries about them. She's got a bunch of weird stuffed animal though, and there's this really annoying stuffed lion she calls Kon that's always fucking squeaking."

He crossed his arms and closed his eyes " Then my mom, Misuki..."

Orihime tilted her head, getting a strange feeling in her stomach from his tone.

" She was- the most wonderful and beautiful person in my life. She was amazing, we revolved around her and loved her... This one day, she picked me up from my Karate class. It was raining and we were walking home under an umbrella. She always made me walk on the other side of the sidewalk too, away from the street and cars... So I wouldn't get wet if a car drove in a puddle to fast."

The amber haired girl felt her eyes start to sting " W-what happened..."

He put his head down " She got hit by a car because I ran out in the street trying to save a fucking frog... I couldn't wake her up..."

Orihime put her hands to her mouth " Ichigo... I'm so sorry..." He shook his head " Don't be, it's- not your fault."

It was quiet, Orihime tried to lighten the subject " Your family sounds so great Ichigo, I wish I had a family like that..." The amber haired girl complemented, but she couldn't help the feeling of sadness in her heart.

" Yeah- no you don't" He puffed, folding his arms to the back of his head taking a breather " trust me."

Orihime looked down with a halfhearted smirk plastered on her features. " So... what about you, what's your family like?" The strawberry asked curiously, changing the topic.

" I wouldn't really call it a family, it was literally just me and my brother Sora for years... Because it was just the two of us all the time, he became more like my father. He sacrificed a lot to give me a descent life and I'm very thankful for that. I never really knew my parents though, but Sora always said that was a good thing."

Ichigo's eyebrows furred with concern as he watch the girl's eyes glaze over and become slightly read.

" He told me they were bad people. That they were abusive and would beat me until I stopped crying... That's why when my brother was old enough he took me and ran away."

He froze in his tracks, not believing the things circling through his ears. Orihime's steps ceased a few seconds after his did. She could feel his eyes digging into the back of her brain while her's lay on the floor.

" ... You see these hair pins?" She touched the blue flowers that healed the hair out of her face. " When Sora first gave these to me... I hated them, I thought they were too childish. We had a fight and I sat in the corner of the room and pouted instead of telling my brother to have a nice day. I got a call later on in the day from the clinic down the street..."

Ichigo knew what would happen next. " He was driving home from work late and- a car rammed into the side of his. I ran to the clinic so I could see him. I did but, he was strapped up and being push into the back of an ambulance..."

He watched Orihime lift a her hand up, whipping her cheeks " I cried for him not to leave me... H-he died before he even got to the hospital."

Breathing in deeply, the amber haired girl shook her head as she squinted her lids.

" Ah! I'm being so gloomy, shut up shut up! You're just making it worse!!" The tenseness in Ichigo's face loosened at her sudden self-lecture, as pity was put in its place. The girl smacked her palm to her four head mumbling something he couldn't make out.

The strawberry cringed " This is all my fault, I shouldn't have-" Orihime interjected before anymore words left his mouth.

" I'm sorry Ichigo... I didn't mean to tell you that much." She sniffed, straightening her posture. Orihime continued to move along but Ichigo was still, not knowing what to say.

" Come on we've got to keep moving Ichigo, can't stay here forever!" She beamed back at him with a glmmer in her orbs.

" Right..." he nodded " Shouldn't be talking bout stuff like this before your first day."

The rest of the walk was dead silent, they never looked at each other. They were too busy studying the information that was just shared to one another.

' _I can't believe I just said...' _They thought.

They arrived at her class room, a grey bearded man and a tall dark haired woman could be seen through the small window in the door.

" Are you gonna be okay?" Orihime nodded " Are you?" He nodded too. They both looked down, wondering what to do next.

" So... any reason why you picked that shirt to ware?" The princes ask, breaking the awkwardness. Ichigo looked at his shirt and read what was on it silently. _' If you can read this... and you're- you're not a pretty girl? you're too close!'_

_'What the hell'_ He felt a shy pinkness blossom on his cheeks _' damn it dad!'_

He scratched the back of his neck looking everywhere but at the young woman in front of him. She smiled and walked close to Ichigo, gently wrapping her arms around him. His arms hung out in the air as he pondering what exactly to do with them.

The strawberry decided to lightly put his hands on her back and rub a little.

" Please don't be sad Ichigo, I'm glad I had someone to share that with. Thanks for walking me all the way to the door."

She released him and he opened the room for her. She waved good-bye, and Ichigo walked back to their room with his hands in his pocket.

He didn't even realising how big he was grinning.

' _Have a nice day, Orihime.'_

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**I decided to just keep this chapter one big chapter instead of slitting it into two like I usually do. This is so long, I'm so proud of myself man, I rule dude ha ha! R&R, tell me what you liked and disliked etc. The next chapter should hopefully introduce all the characters, but I can't make any promises though. Oh yeah, and I'm gonna try to go back and make the first couple chapters longer and a bit more descriptive so just wanted to let you know!**


	8. Rainy Days

**Let's get this straight. If I owned Bleach it would have my name instead of Tite Kubo's, but that obviously didn't happen yet so it belongs to him. Please enjoy!**

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**Chaper theme: Falling Away With You by Muse~**

**"I think our lives have just begun."**

**' Rainy Days'**

Numbness swirled throughout his limbs from the now damp cloths he wore. It was raining again, and I'm not talking about sprinkling, I mean bucket fulls. The general weather of this month was actually quiet enjoyable, warm and sunny as usual. Today was an exception though, and Ichigo wasn't prepared for that exception. A thin shirt, shorts, shoes that weren't waterproof wasn't the way to go. The orange headed man sulked down the streets, drenched from head to toe as his socks squished inside his shoes with every step. He was hunched over while his hands were dipped into his soggy pant's pockets.

' _I hate the fucking rain.' _He sighed loudly, it soon after being overshadowed by the suicidal raindrops around him as they splattered on the ground. Water drizzled out of his hair, streamed across his strong facial features, then soaking into his shirt. It jumped off his chin and nose occasionally, making a tingling sensation on his frozen chest. He didn't bother pressing the rain from his hair or cloths, it wouldn't make a difference he'd just get wet again. _' I'll probably have to throw these shoes away when I get home, I can feel it...'_

Several minutes later he made it to his dorm. The strawberry pushed the heavy entrance door so he could swoop through the small opening. Pretending he wasn't drenched in the rain, he squeaked over the marble floor and past the small cafe he came to know so well. Ichigo stopped to take a deep waif of the sweet sensual smells the cafe produced, he could feel his nose again. _' I love the smell of coffee.'_

People commented on his dripping form as they walked by, or his hair. He would reply in a number of ways.

_" Got caught in the rain huh."_

"Yeah."

_" Forget your umbrella!"_

" Kiss my ass."

_" Oh my god, look at his hair."_

" Bitch."

_" You want a towel?"_

" I'm alright."

_" Nice one dude."_

" Screw off."

_" Hey you're getting the floor wet!"_

" No due."

_" Man it's raining..."_

" Have fun with that."

_" Damn it I just cleaned that."_

" Sorry."

_" I just slipped on one of your 'pudles'."_

" Sucks to be you."

_" What a retard."_

" Bastard, want to say that to my face!"

_" Aw poor guy had to walk in the rain."_

" What ever."

Finally finding his door, he slipped the key card in and out of the lock. It beeped in rejection the first couple times, which was pissing him off even more then he already was. It clicked and the small red light switched to green " Jeez dumb ass lock." then beeped, flicking back to red. " What the hell?!"

" Don't worry about it Ichigo I'll be there in a sec!" He heard a muffled call come from inside along with scrambling footsteps and rummaging. The lock slid and clamped from the other side of the door, then carefully opened to reveal Orihime rapped in towels. Her face shown excitement at first but broke into concern " Oh no! Ichigo look at you, you're completely soaked!"

" Really, I didn't notice." The strawberry chuckled sarcastically, but to his disappointment it didn't lighten his roommates worried eyes.

" Well get your butt in her, your dripping all over the carpet..."

He looked down at himself " Oh- yeah, right." The petite girl gently tugged him into their room by the arm, walked the door to a soft close, and bounced off to the bathroom. Ichigo inferred she was getting him a towel or something so he waited patiently, dripping like there was a rain cloud over his head. The girls towel-wrapped head popped out from the lit bathroom looking anxious " What are you just standing there for, come here!"

" Huh, why?"

" So I can clean you up silly."

" W-What?!"

" You were out in the rain weren't you?"

" Well yeah but-"

" No buts, I don't want you getting sick!" Orihime confirmed as she marching to the drenched strawberry, then snatching his hand. In his current state it was no sweat pulling him along, Tatsuki said it was her super power. She was the only one, as far as Tatsuki knew, that could confuse, embarrass, surprise, and _seduce_ him enough to make him defenceless. The amber haired girl didn't know about that, but she _was _able to get Ichigo into things that Tatsuki wasn't... She didn't think too much about it though, there were probably lots of people who could sway Ichigo to do things out of the usual. Tatsuki just didn't have that ability. Yeah, that's it.

As they approached the bathroom, Ichigo could smell the intoxicating smell of scented shampoo. It was a mix of flowers, fruit, sweets, soap, lotion, and a hint of tooth paste. When they entered, it was obvious Orihime just got out of the shower due to the sauna-like temperature, drizzling shower-head, and fogged up mirror. Still holding his hand, the bubbly girl shut the door and gazed up at Ichigo with a sad smile " I was hoping your being late was because you were down stair eating lunch maybe, but apparently that wasn't the case."

" Yeah. This weather kind of came out of no where."

" I know! This morning was so nice and sunny, not a cloud in sight, then _shubam_ it's raining."

" Right... Did you just say what I think you said?"

" That would be?"

" _Shubam_!" Ichigo taunted the girl as he made a little explosion with his free hand in front of her face.

" S-So, what wrong with that?!" He snickered, shaking his head, and changed the subject.

" Why exactly did you need to close the door?"

" I don't want you to get chills when you're changing."

" Well why are 'you' in here then??"

" What do you think, I'm helping you!" She giggled, causing the strawberry to lean away from here, his brow shooting up in question. Ichigo couldn't believe how casually she just said that, he prayed she wasn't being literal.

" So what you're saying is, you're going to help me change, into my cloths..." Now grasping his hand with both of hers, Orihime nodded with that kind of 'yes sir' smile you give your dad or boss. As soon as the blood ran from his face, it immediately burst back up into his cheeks. It was quiet, too quiet. Orihime replayed what Ichigo stated a moment ago and came crashing back to earth " Oh no, no! Not like _that_, of course not!! Well sort of, but not really! Think of me as an assistant, like I'll get you some wet cloths and grab your dry ones while you bathe!!" She began to laugh nervously, red seeping throughout her face.

" ... Don't you mean get my _wet _cloths and grab me some _dry _ones."

" Uh- y-yeah... That's what I meant to say..."

" Yeah I know."

" Yeah, I know..."

" Yeah-..."

Suffocating silence filled the room, engulfing them both. Ichigo suddenly found interest in the toilet as he observed it's white, glossy porcelain. Orihime examined the toothbrush she had just been useing, wondering if it was really that clean...

The strawberry felt a small squeeze on his hand and looked down to find his roommate clutching it dearly in her own two hands. For some reason though, the urge to remove his head never passed his trail of thought_ ' Her hands are, really soft.' _He tightened his grip on her small hands, admiring how warm they were. She blinked rapidly, tilting her head down to spot the same thing Ichigo had. _' His hand is so cold...'_ Her thumbs started making circles on the back of his hand without thinking.

Their eyes trailed to the others, and once they collided it was like an aero plunged through their chests. The breath they were holding in burst from the prison of their lungs and sent them flying back, hands releasing like a coil.

His back slapped the wall behind him, almost sliding into the tub thanks to his wet shirt. Her form slammed into a corner next to the door making it raddled from the impact, she gasped. They watched one another in shock, as if waiting for an answer to what occurred a that moment in time.

Ichigo forcefully gulped down the lump in his throat that built up from when he almost fell. The bubbly girl was hugging the towel that covered her body, afraid it would fall off any second. She pushed herself from the wall and turned away from him, flashing the _lucky_ door as she quickly fixed her towel. The girl stepped over to the orange headed man, pulling the towel from her hair to reveal her amber locks.

Slowly coming to a stop, Orihime caught his eyes once more " I'll go ahead and put your wet shirt in the laundry."

" Right." The strawberry striped off his soggy shirt that stuck to his skin, only a foot apart from her. He then handing it to the petite girl in exchange for the peach towel she had taken off her head.

After Orihime came back to the bathroom door several more times to collect Ichigo's wet outfit, she descended to her room. She slipped her towel off and shook her damp hair with it, squeezing the water out. After she blow-dried and brushed the tangles out, Orihime changed into a pair of soft, spotted boxers with a large Jersey numbered 'zero-two'. Fixing her now warm amber hair up in a messy bun, the girl strutted out of her room surprisingly at the same time Ichigo did.

The towel she'd given him earlier was now wrapped around his waist, Orihime was glad to see a healthy color returnto his skin. His bright orange hair was mostly dry along with the rest of him, and she could smell a faint trace of aftershave. They stared for a while, she was the one who broke the silence.

" No one was in the laundry room today, so I got all our dirty cloths washed."

" Really."

" Yup!" She skipped past Ichigo to the laundry basket in the living room, her sent filled his nostrils making shook waves stream down his spine. The girl jogged up front to him with clean folded cloths in hand, smiling softly " They're nice and warm for you."

" Awesome." He placed his hands under the neat stack, letting his fingers linger on hers. _' They're so smooth...' _Orihime smile brightened _' His hands are warm again.' _Almost in sink, their orbs glazed over with light as they glimmered, becoming warm and open to the one facing them. Her eyes twinkled when Ichigo beamed a grin she'd never seen from him the whole time living together " Your hair smells nice, Orihime."

" T-Thank you."

He took the stack and walked to her side, their eyes never leaving each other, and placed his hand on the amber haired girls shoulder " ... Goodnight."

She couldn't help but breath slow, her heart pumping gently, butterflies flutter endlessly inside of her just thinking about his smile.

Ichigo was so sure that today would go in his book as one of the worst. It was raining, he was cold and wet, the people around him made his fists pop with anguish. When he saw her though, it forever changed his opinion on rainy days.

His heart seemed to expand significantly the more he thought of her, making it hard to breath let alone a steadily pace.

" Sleep tight, Ichigo..."

He could have sworn he died just then.

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**I think I'm in love!!! I kept typing and typing and typing and my heart kept springing all over the place, it was crazy you should of been there it was great. Well I'm finally where I've wanted to be in this fricin story and it only took nine chapters a month of editing (holly crab cakes!) Trust me, if you were dying waiting for this fic to kick in, think of how I felt (holly ship wreck!) I NEEDED to type this, I needed to get some Ichigo and Orihime fluff out of my system. Writers block is horrible, but writers build up is torcher man!!! Anyways, I just got done rewriting, editing, and arranging this (that's why there's eight chapters now, including this one.) If you could, would you reread the story from start to finish. The chapters have some big changes so yeah I wanna know what you think.**

**I need you guys to give me some ideas kay. Alright, I need ideas on what kind of collage course/classes Ichigo, Orihime, Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, Rukia, Renji, I guess Ishida and some for the other Bleach characters you'd like me to add etc. I REALLY need some ideas and suggestions on that matter...**

**As always, tell me what you like and dislike (I will listen and do something about it!) If you want to make big correction on my story, please send it in a message (can't have page long reviews ha ha.) R&R I hope you did, and look forward to the next chapter cause I am, I can't wait!!!**

**Happy Holiday my awesome readers ^^**


	9. Personal Trainer

_**Seriously people if I said I owned Bleach, even though everyone knows I don't, everyone would get on my case and make it a legal situation… So- that's why I have to say this at the beginning of every chapter: I DON'T OWN BLEACH!! Ha-ha please enjoy!**_

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_****_

**Chapter Theme: ****Lucky by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat~**

_**" Lucky I'm in love with my best friend."**_

'Personal Trainer'

"Jeez what's been going on lately_… _I haven't seen anyone for like, almost a _month_! What's up with that, I mean seriously not even the people I _live_ with come on… Have I really been that caught up with school…?" Tatsuki continued to ramble like that to herself as she unenthusiastically consumed her bland bowl of oatmeal. This really bothered her, being unsocial was just something she wasn't used to. _'Guess I'm finally experiencing the seclusion of college… Woo, how thrilling.'_

To her delight, her tangerine-haired roommate waltzes into the small kitchen ever so elegantly, tripping on the edge of the doorway. He caught himself on a nearby chair looking irritated "Ah good morning sunshine!" Tatsuki grinned happily. Ichigo glared at her clearly unammused, but smirked nonetheless, also quiet glad to finally see his companion "Hey where the hell have you been."

She chuckled "I could ask you the same thing! How you been huh?"

"How have I been?" She nodded, food stuffed in her mouth. "Stressed."

"I see, to much junk to deal with am I right?"

"Uh- I thought high school was throwing the books at you, but here… It's like they're literally trying to kill you with them, damn." He ruffled the fuzz ball that was commonly known has his hair and plopped into the seat that saved his butt from falling just moments ago.

"I know what you mean Ichigo, my brain feels like its goanna blow up any minute." The young man stretched his arms, slouching in his seat "Yeah I was thinking about going to the gym today, get some blood flowing again." He announced, knocking on his head as if it were a door.

"You mean the big one at the far end of school?"

"Yeah, what about it?" The girl looked up from her breakfast "That's the one I go to, it's got _everything_ you'll love it."

"Good to know, I need to find a new regular." He crossed his arms on the table enjoying the rare company, and then something struck him. Tatsuki watched as he weaved around in his chair while looking around the room, then stood up still search the area. She furrowed one eyebrow in question about to ask what was up but he beat her to the punch "Where's Orihime anyways?"

"How come every time it's just us you ask me where she is or something like that?"

Ichigo rubbed the back of his head "Well sense you guys are always together-"

"Oh so what you're saying is we're like a package deal."

"Basically, that's a good way to put it." He said plainly making her sigh "Whatever Ichigo. Anyways- I _think_ she's in her room, but I'm not sure if she's still sleeping."

The strawberry tangoed around his chair and pushed it in silently "I'll go check." Tatsuki's face tensed somewhat chocking on her oatmeal at what she just heard. "Excuse me! _What'd_ you just say?" He was already out of her sights though, heading to the possibly snoozing girl's bedroom.

"Where have I been…" She sighed, thinking of Ichigo and Orihime's new closeness.

Taking soft, quick steps down the hall Ichigo made it to the door. He gently turned its' shiny knob and slowly opened the door as it made a subtle creaking noise. If he did this it would alert Orihime that he was coming in if she was awake, and wouldn't wake her up if she was asleep. He used this method many times with his dad and sisters for safety reasons, if you get my drift.

When he spotted familiar mango hair sprouting from under a colorful quilt, relief and disappointment showered him. Ichigo was excited to finally see her after what seemed like an eternity, but he didn't want to selfishly wake the girl.

Curiosity over came his thought though by the _interesting_ way she was spread. One of her legs was going straight up the wall while her hand grasped its' flexed foot. The other limbs were folded under her back he guessed, due to her nee poking out from the covers.

The strawberry smoothly stepped into the room and studied the spectacle in bewilderment _'How can she manage to sleep like that??' _Something about her leg being exposed bothered him, probably brotherly instincts, so he tried to hang some of the quilt on her extended toes.

_"Whoa- ba-by-!!"_

Out of nowhere, a loud manly yell echoed thought the room. Ichigo immediately dropped the quilt and jumped across the room as if dodging something. The noise became musical, and the young man immediately felt like a retard.

It was just one of those radio alarms, what was he getting all worked up about _'Damn it dad, you and your ass have to be flying at me all the time-'_ His thoughts where interrupted, an arm unfolded from the bed next to him and a small click was heard _'shit…'_

Orihime gradually kicked her leg off the wall and pushed open the one under her. The orange-headed man watched in astonishment as the girl flipped off her bed, along with the quilt, and thudded to the floor against her back.

She sprang up with the blanket still on her head and desperately tried to get out of the mess. When she escaped Orihime fell on her chest, arms stretching to Ichigo. Her eye popped open and she was staring right at him, he could feel the lump in his throat get bigger.

It wasn't long before the silence was cut out by a chuckle "… Good morning Ich-I-roll!! What're _you_ doing in here so early hmm??"

"I was checking on you then your alarm caught me off guard…"

"So _that's_ why you're huddled against the wall!" He looked away a bit embarrassed "Actually- that little,_ thing_, you did to get out of bed put me here."

She blinked a couple times trying to remember exactly what occurred "Oh yeah- that was crazy, I didn't know I had it in me." Orihime laughed and got off the floor to give Ichigo her assistance. She pulled him up by his elbow but ended up loosing balance and stumbling out of her room, bringing Ichigo with her. Luckily he grabbed the door frame just in time and brought them both to a steady stand.

Orihime was released from his hold looking flustered "I'm sorry Ichigo, still a little drowsy I guess…"

He sighed, crossing his arms to his chest "I told you to stop apologizing for everything, you didn't do anything wrong."

" … Okay then" He shook his head "Thank you, Ichigo!" she beamed.

Ichigo looked at her for a minute then smiled brightly in approval "That's better." Orihime giggled, and his eyes widened recalling why he sought her out in the first place. "Hey, Orihime?"

Her laughter stopped abruptly as she directed her attention back to him "Yes?"

He put his hands in his pants pockets and shadowed over her, she waited intently "You work out?"

"What??"

'Wow_- that didn't sound right…'_ He started to tap his foot nervously, something that surprised him "Wait let me rephrase that. Do you _like _working out, you know is that something you'd want to do?"

She put a finger to her lip "I guess so, I'm not really sure… Why?"

He took a deep breath and exhaled the next line "What I'm trying to say is-"

"Come on what is it!" She pushed, the suspense was killing her.

"Would you go to the gym with me?" Her mouth was agar _'I knew she wouldn't want to go.' _He sulked.

"Aw that sounds like fun! I've never really been to an actual _gym_ gym, are there really a bunch of super people who can lift trucks and stuff hanging out there or just big people?? I always wondered who there where more of at those places."

Ichigo stood there, lost between the question and the answer "D-Did you just say I was, super _big_… Was that a, yes err- I'm… I didn't get that what?"

Orihime waved her hands in an attempt to discuses her last statement "Never mind Ichigo, that was weird- but I'd sure love to go with you!"

He smiled halfheartedly "Awesome… but when you said I was super big, that's supposed to mean-??"

"Ichigo- I was asking if there were more super people or big people who went to the gym silly!"

He gave a goofy smile "_Oh. _Yeah I wouldn't know." Ichigo finished with a chuckle._ 'Jeez first I though she said I was fat then I though she was talking about- never mind, I'm not thinking like that, not today...'_

Orihime caught him in thought again; he looked great when he was thinking about whatever he it was he pondered. His brows furrowed deeper then usual then sprung up then did this little twitch. She couldn't help but laugh when his eyes darted back to her.

"What?" She shook her head "Nothing." It was quiet "So- when are we planning on going Ichigo??" He glanced at his wrist watch checking the time "I was planning on going today; we can leave whenever you're ready. You don't have anything right."

She looked concerned "No, but I really don't know what to wear, what should I bring?"

" … I'd bring a sweat towel, couple water bottles, some money, extra cloths for when you're done, and I guess ask Tatsuki about the cloths."

The amber haired girl took in the information then smiled shyly "Thanks, I'm kind of worried…"

He returned the favor with a confident grin "No problem, and don't be I'll be there with you the whole time." Her smile widened and before Ichigo left he gave her a quick pat on the shoulder " See you in little while Orihime, and try not to fall while I'm gone alright."

She pouted "I'm not that clumsy! … Am I?" The strawberry let out a snicker as he glided down the hall way, and to his own room.

Later that day, Orihime search mindlessly through her droars, not finding a thing to wear_ 'Why is this so hard! I just found some comfy sweats and a tank top I could of worn, but I don't look- no! Why would I want to look like, _that_, it's just Ichigo… Yeah- don't be nervous it's just Ichigo, it's just Ichigo.'_

"Hey, Orihime!!" The amber haired girl jumped in place, her legs gave out from under her and she thumped onto her bottom "…You- you definitely _need _some help with that."

"Tatsuki!! It's so nice to see you, how are you?!"

"Don't change the subject; we need to get you some _appropriate_ cloths for your little date with cheese ball." Orihime wondered if they were thinking of the same cheese ball "What are you talking about, I'm going to the gym with Ichigo."

"That's right,_ with Ichigo_. Orihime, you and I both know it's a date even if you're not ready to admit it. _So _you got any shorts, spaghetti straps??"

The amber-haired girl was now being ambushed by set after set of cloths, most which she'd never seen before.

"Tatsuki… I don't- when did I get all _these_ cloths??" Orihime cried, holding a scandalous pair of hot pink booty shorts with a sparkly 'HOT STUFF' print on the rear.

"You didn't." Tatsuki said with a hint of darkness, Orihime quivered "B-But that means-"

The tomboy turned to her innocent friend with a menacing grin scribbled on her lips, Orihime felt her stomach do a flipfar superior to any trained whale's.

An hour had passed and the strawberry was still waiting on his companion when he started his usual rant. 'That's another thing I don't get, why do women take so long to get ready and dressed._ I get they have all that stuff to put on but is it really necessary, they don't need all that crap. That goes double for Orihime, plus it's the gym you don't need to look-'_

Ichigo was shut up when small feet sounded out from the walk way, so he began to rise from the couch. He seized his movement though when all he spotted was a head poke out from behind the wall "Are you ready, Ichigo?"

"Psh _yeah-_ I've been ready, for a while now… What the crap are you doing get out of there, time to go!" He ordered, feeling impatient.

She was hesitant to do anything "Well, are you ready or what??"

"You go ahead; I'll be out there in a sec kay…" Ichigo gave her a suspicious squint but let it slide. "…Yeah, alright. I'll hold it against you if you don't stick to that 'out in a sec' don't keep me waiting." He wasn't a patient person; if he's ready and you're not he'd most likely leave without you.

The strawberry delivered her a small wave before heading out, she sank in her skin when a sigh escaped her lips.

The usually bubbly girl stared at the front door, unwilling to open it "I can't keep him waiting, and staying here isn't an option..." She lifted the neck of her shirt feeling a cool breeze sweep against her bare chest " Tatsuki said I should wear this but-" Reminiscing what her raven haired friend had given her advise about, Orihime couldn't help but feel scared.

_'What if she's right about Ichigo, but wouldn't he have told me it was a date? Maybe he thought I knew what he meant;_ _Tatsuki should know what she's talking about right..._' She didn't know what to think, the only way to be sure of his intention would be to ask him.

"I don't care what it is I said I would go because I _want _to go!!" The girl pumped with confidence, when she reached for the door though it all flew out of her "… I'll just have to wing it… Here we go!!"

She slipped out the door and sprinted as fast as possible, focusing on nothing but her running. Before she knew it the asphalt of the school's main parking lot rested under her tennis shoes. Breathing heavily from exhausted, she leaned over as she grasping her knees for support "Orihime wait up!!"

Quiet a ways behind her was the man Tatsuki called cheese ball "Cheese ball!!"

When he reached her, Ichigo clamped his hands to his hips to take a breather. "W-What'd you say?" He said between huffs, she paused "I don't know, I-I forgot…"

"Why'd you keep running, I was yelling at you for at least a mile."

Orihime looked at the pavement in confusion "You were? I-I thought you were already here…"

He laughed heartedly due to their warm up "You must have been in the zone. Hey we're warmed up now though, that's good-" The strawberry trailed off when he noticed his roommates exposing outfit along with her damp hair and sweat-covered shin.

He'd seen her in a small night gown, short pjs, a little shirt, and even just a towel before and it had no affect on him whatsoever. This though, was _completely_ different. The sun reflected off her wet skin making every curve shine with appeal while her hair glowed like gold. The light caused her eyes to glisten like diamonds would and twinkled as if they were stars, and the deep grey irises he'd come to admire now resembled sterling silver ones. He felt trapped, lost even, how did he get here?

She noticed the way he was looking her over, and when his eyes locked with hers the amber haired girl couldn't breathe. His rich chocolate orbs were melting all over her, she'd never felt warmer than she did now.

A chill raced down her neck and somehow broke her out of the trance. Glancing at herself, her face cracked with realization and she squealed in horror nearly making Ichigo tip over. She covered herself with her arms as if she were stark naked, looking very uncomfortable.

_'Take-off in 3, 2, 1-'_ An explosion blasted through Ichigo's mind _' Huston we have lift-off, I repeat we have lift-off!'_ his brain was heading back to reality.

"O-Orihime what's wrong?!" He stammered hopelessly; sweat dripping down his face not just from his run down. She wasn't looking at him and repeatedly shook her head with embarrassment _'Aw crap is she mad at me what'd- did she see me… Damn it you _stupid_ jerk.'_ He mentally scolded himself.

"Sorry I didn't mean to upset you…"

"No, Ichigo I can't go anywhere looking like this, it's too- Tatsuki picked it out but… I'm too cold in this…" She finally found an excuse.

"Orihime, you're sweating." The amber haired girl shrank at his cunning, his lips became thin.

" … You can ware my jacket, if you're uncomfortable in that." He went in his duffle bag and flung out a large navy blue zip-up, the girl looked up at him. "Here." Orihime watched with a hot face as Ichigo carefully wrapped his jacket over her shoulders and pulled it forward for her. She let her arms go, exposing herself once more before dunking them into the sleeves. Still holding the zipper, he hooked the two ends together and pulled the handle up to her collar bone.

"There. Is that better, we good to go?" The girl nodded timidly "You're so nice, Ichigo…"

"So Tatsuki had you wear that?" She nodded again, he sighed. "If you don't want to do something all you have to say is no…" Ichigo looked her straight in the face, uncertainty clear in his gaze. "Do you really want to do this with me Orihime, be honest."

She looked almost offended "Of course I want to do this Ichigo!!" He smiled "Alright, just checking."

They continued their casual walk, but Orihime was confused on where exactly they were walking _to_. She thought they might have been heading to her car but then Ichigo started gliding away from both their rides.

"Where are you going, the cars are over that way??"

The strawberry tried to think of a good explanation for his unorthodox directions "Uh… There are- some- _turds_, that have been skating around that street we usually go down so I thought I'd play it safe and take a different rout. It wont take too much longer, we're just gonna go around here." Ichigo pointed.

"Oh I didn't know… I'm glad you told me!"

Little did she know, there weren't any skating turds threatening there safety. Actually, Ichigo's shorts were a little bit _tighter_ than when he left the apartment.

"I hope they don't get hurt, skating's pretty dangerous." The girl worried aloud.

Whenever she said something, that image of Orihime letting her arms down when she was putting them in his jacket popped into his head. Think about it, a short _busty_ girl is standing _right_ in front of you in a _low_ cut shirt and you're looking straight _down_.

'_This isn't working; I'll have to take a shower when I get there…'_ Ichigo mentally noted to himself shamefully, facing opposite of the girl next to him._ 'Their cold water better not be freezing…'_ He tried to loosen his shorts has much as _physically_ possible, hopping Orihime wouldn't catch on.

"Ichigo, you okay? You're walking kind of funny."

"_Yeah_ I'm great!" He immediately lied.

After circling two rows of cars they finally reached Ichigo's vehicle. Tossing the bags in the back seat, Ichigo clicked in his key and started the car. They successfully made it to the other side of the school's immense parking lot, and lucky for them the gym was close to the sidewall so they didn't have to walk too far.

Ichigo instructed Orihime to wait inside while he collected their things; you know to be on the _safe_ side.

"What?! How did this happen man we barely drove anywhere, _jeez_-!" To Ichigo's dismay the strap to his bag had somehow knotted itself around one of the seat belts, so it would be a while…

Orihime quietly snuck into the gym not wanting to attract any attention until her companion returned. Awkwardly fiddling with her tiny black shorts, pulling down the edges and tightened the string, she caught a whiff of Ichigo's jacket. It was right at her nose and the supposedly faint musk seemed to suffocate her as it exploded into the girl's lungs.

'_It smells- just like him…' _She smiled a little, dozing off into daydream mode.

Orihime was so focused on not being found out when entering, that she hadn't noticed the person watching her as we speak.

A petit young woman with black frilled hair was nestled in a huge black office chair behind the front desk. She had been observed Orihime from the beginning, waiting for the opportune moment to strike a topic.

'Obviously_ she's with someone, but I don't want to waste my breath on her unless she's here for business. I'm so tired of getting excited when someone comes in then finding out they're just here to get someone. That's _all_ I do at this desk, waste time while my pay walks out the door this is fools work!' _

"Rukia! You lazy _shrimp,_ what do you think you're doing?!" Both girls were slapped out of their thoughts when a tall man stomped out of a room near the lodge.

"Why are you yelling! Just cause your hair yells at people like a monkey doesn't mean you can!!"

"What'd you just call me wig head!!" Orihime shook as the small female shot from her seat and slammed her hand on the desk "You're one to talk butt face!!"

"What the hell, butt face?! That's what you come up with!!"

"Yeah because the _first_ thing that comes to mind when I see your ugly face is starring at a baboon's _ass_!!"

"You little _shit_!!" At this point both individuals were at each others' throats, grinding their teeth as if ready to bit the others face off. "Why are you just sitting there when this-"

As soon as the young man saw Orihime, it was like that whole incident with the yelling and the bad-mouthing was whipped from the timeline.

"Hel-low!" He purred with a sudden charming grin that didn't exactly match his tough exterior. Before she could say anything the man already had a strong arm around her shoulders "Sorry about the wait. If it wasn't for my subordinate's _incompetence,_ you could have been helped sooner." The said subordinate flung a speeding pen that hit him directly on the forehead "You fool! Shut your trap before _I _shut it for you!!"

Surprisingly he kept his peace sending a frivolous glare the small girl's way. Rukia was perched on the desk, leg over the other with crossed arms looking triumphant when he continued "So tell me, why's a pretty girl like you going to a gym by herself? Doesn't make sense-"

"That sounded more like an _invitation_ then a question, Ren-j-i." This time he gave her the death glare, fed up with her running his chances. She taunted him with one last shrug, deciding that was enough for today, then hoped back into her seat.

"Anyways- what can I do for you girlie??"

"Well I-"

"Hey you, what's so interesting about the floor that keeps you from looking me in the eye?" Orihime flinched when she felt a warm finger crease her jaw line and pull up her chin. She was now face to face with him, and couldn't help but flush as he put on a friendly smile "Relax, I don't bite or anything!" He laughed taking sight of the girls red face, something about his laugh sparked her memory though _'I know him from somewhere; I just know it, but where… Uh! Why can't I remember someone like this??'_

His long hair was up in a high ponytail and tight to his head while he had dark shades on. Tattoos were revealed on his arms due to his sleeveless muscle shirt, he spotted the girl examining his arm "You know what, I didn't get your name-"

The door opened behind them "Ori… hi-me-…??" She looked back from Renji's musically shoulder and grasped her new found confidence with a beaming grin "Ichigo you're back!"

An anticipated silence drenched the air, Rukia looked up from here papers and blinked at the spectacle _'… Ichigo?'_

The men where thinking the exact same thing _'Don't tell me that's, _him_…'_

At that moment Renji spun his head in the strawberry's direction, and when they saw who it was their eyes bugged out with furry.

"What the hell are _you_ doing here!?" The young men yelled simultaneously, charging at each other like bulls hopped up on coffee.

"Get your hands off Orihime you bastard!!" Instead of leaving the girl, Renji had somehow swiped her into his arms as if she where his child "You're here with this dumb ass?? That _can't_ be right-"

"Hey I'm talking to you!!"

"Please don't fight-" Orihime murmured before Renji unintentionally squeezed her, she let out a squeak _'It's no use… I'll just have to wait and hope nobody gets hurt…'_

"No way! I got it you're related?!"

The color drained from Ichigo's face "What!? Hell no!!"

"Well then how is she here with a douche like you, look at her!!" He lifted her up a little as if showing him proof.

"God damn it put here down Renji! Can't you tell she's uncomfortable?!"

"Doesn't seem like it to me, she actually feels pretty relaxed." Renji grinned devilishly while Ichigo growled fiercely "You think she's comfortable because she hasn't knocked your teeth out yet!!"

The strawberry tried to seize Orihime out of his grasp from behind while Renji guarded her the same way you would a basketball. Suddenly they let out a yelp and became still, cringing from a sharp pain.

Small but deadly hands had clamped to the back of the two men's necks, fingers digging into the sides with great pressure "Calm down before I knock _both_ your teeth out!!" Rukia threatened, loosened her grip.

Renji let the girl down then gently pulled her up from under her arms and back to her feet. "Sorry, uh- _Orihime_?" She nodded, he smiled in gratitude "That's a perfect name for you, it's very pretty…"

Ichigo punched the back of his head "Screw off!" but Rukia kicked him in the butt, Renji pointed and laughed mockingly "Ha dumb ass!" earning him a slap to the face. "Damn it Rukia what was that for?!" The punished men squawked simultaneously.

"I told you to shut up you imbeciles!!" Without another word they crossed their arms and looked away with grammas, Rukia mashed her forehead _'It's like dealing with children, immature morons…!'_

" … I-Ichigo?" The group all turned their heads to the amber haired girl, said man most attentive "How do you all know each other??"

Rukia was right on the ball and beamed proudly "We went to high school together, Renji and I have known Ichigo sense we were sophomores!"

The tall red head smack Ichigo hard on the back "We haven't seen this guy in over a _year- _I bet you're happy to see us again!" Ichigo rubbed his back as he glared at him accusingly, Orihime giggled.

Stepping over to the bubbly girl, Rukia gave a summery of how they met "I screwed up bad one day at practice and ended up breaking my arm and collar bone." She pointed to the said areas, absorbing all the attention Orihime offered. "So I was brought to his dad's clinic. When Mr. Kurosaki heard I went to the same school as Ichigo, he made him help me with my homework sense I couldn't write due to my injuries." Rukia grinned at the strawberry feeling high and mighty "It was _really_ more like me tottering him though." he rolled his eyes. "Then we ended up talking at school then being friends, and I introduced him to Renji and so on. That means he's cool because of me!"

"Would you shut up you little brat." Ichigo sounded louder than before. At some point the boys had gotten _much_ closer than before, Renji was directly behind the girls with an arm around both their shoulders.

Ichigo was very close to Orihime, when she turned her head to face him her nose poked his chest "Uh- hello Ichigo!"

"Oh…" Backing up as she chuckled then handed his companion her bag before he forgot, at this Rukia's brows furrowed deeper than they already were "What?! You didn't come here to visit me!!"

The strawberry's eyes widened when the noise pierced his ear drum, a loud ringing started in his head "Damn Rukia I'm right her stop yelling…"

"What are you talking about; the first thing he said when he came in was 'what the hell are you doing here?' How could you not get that?" How could you not get that??" Renji answered matter-of-factly.

"You both said that, I just though he was talking about _you_." She admitted looking back at him with a squint; he pulled his eye lid down and wiggled his tong at here.

Annoyed she left Renji's arm hanging and waltzed up to her old friend "Ichigo, you bastard! Every time I called your supposed 'number' it said disconnected. Is there something you want to tell me?!"

"Hey don't look at me, we had to get our number changed, and I told your brother what my new number was a while back because _your_ number was apparently disconnected!"

Rukia wouldn't believe that crap "Byakuya would have told me!!"

Ichigo wouldn't take that bullshit "Byakuya doesn't want anything to do with me, he told me himself before he hung up on me!!" He didn't want to mess with her. The strawberry stomped his way back to Orihime, but was stopped when tiny palms wrapped around his wrist. "Ichigo… If you- _did,_ know we were here… Would you have-" The petite girl lifted her sights off the ground and was met with his.

He stared down at her with a mix of anger and sadness, not just towards her but also himself "Rukia, of course I would still come…"

Orihime watched Ichigo then the big eyed girl at his side, what could have happened to make them so upset?

Renji took note of the tension filling the room and placed his free hand on Orihime's other shoulder, that got the strawberries attention. "Well- how bout we look at some plans sense you're her for business, first time right??"

She hesitated before her eye's left Rukia "Um… Yes?" The red head grinned with satisfaction "I thought so; you know I could be your personal trainer it would be fun. Just the two of us-"

Ichigo flung at him and dragged the girl away in a heart beat, leaving Rukia's hands behind to linger in her gloom "Oh no you don't, and take those damn sunglasses off!"

With one swift movement, the younger man swiped off the red heads shades "Hey give those back they're expensive!!"

"Should of thought about that first!!" Ichigo avoided and dogged every attempt Renji made to get his possession back as he chased the cheese ball around the room.

"Man come on that's my favorite pair, you know how hard it is to find good sunglasses?!"

Ichigo dropped the glasses and Renji chased after them desperately as they slid across the floor. He reached out for them but the strawberry snatched them first then pushed the baboons head down, making him crash into the floor "You bastard if you break those I'm seriously goanna kill you!!"

After watching the chase for a while, Rukia walked to the bubbly girl she knew nothing about "So how do you know Ichigo?" Orihime looked at the petit girl and her serious expression; it was just like his "He couldn't use his room due to, technical difficulties, so we offered him to stay with us!"

"Who else is there??" Orihime beamed "My amazing friend Tatsuki!"

"Tatsuki Arisawa?" She nodded "I know here, she comes here every now and then. Who the hell are you??" Rukia asked jokingly, she laughed "Orihime Inoue, first year!" the petit girl returned the favor "Nice to meet you Miss. Inoue. Rukia Kuchiki, second year!"

"Nice to meet you too, Miss. Kuchiki!!" Orihime beamed, shaking Rukia's tiny hand.

A loud bang was suddenly heard across the lobby; the girls broke apart and faced the noise. Ichigo was standing on a chair pushing away a frustraighted Renji's face and looking right at them "Catch!!" He threw the shades in their direction, Rukia stepped onto her toes to grab it but it hit the top of her finger then landed on Orihime's bag.

"Orihime don't move!!" Renji pleaded, jogging to the stunned girl "I'm so glad you were standing there!" He chuckled with relief, the amber haired girl just stared at him "What, is there something on my face??" The red head began to search his face, and then out of nowhere Orihime gasped "It's you!!"

He flinched "What??"

"You help me with my bags when they got stuck!!" Renji stood there a minute looking lost, then straightened up "Oh yeah, you were with that one girl who thought the door was broken!"

"Yeah, I didn't recognize you because you had your hair up and had those sunglasses on but now that they're off-"

"Hey Rukia weren't you with me??" She scratched her nose "Probably I don't know."

Ichigo was now in the cluster "Who cares, can we start already I didn't come here to chat with you idiots."

"Well then stop standing there like a retard and get your ass in gear Ichigo!!" Rukia demanded as she grabbed his shirt collar and tugged him along until they where no where in sight.

The two remaining individuals exchanged looks of confusion and agreement then Renji lead the bubbly girl to a station to start the day's routine.

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**Wow I didn't think it would be **_**this**_** firkin long, and I was gonna make it LONGER too but yeah wow!! So what'd you guys think, does this make up for the long wait or what :D It took me a pretty long time to make this chapter (which makes sense) and I've never worked this hard on a chapter sense my first story! **

**So anyways- I need to ask you guys some more questions (whoooo) aright here we go… 1.) What kind of cars should the characters and future characters have (give me real names and stuff cause I know NOTHING about cars…) 2.) I STILL need collage majors for the characters; I'm not sure what kind of job they'd have so give me some ideas! 3.) Do you guys want any pairings besides Hime pairings in this (I'm gonna sorta base this on popular demand) and that also includes RenjRuki. 4.) Do you guys want lots of hooking up (kissing) or do you want that to be more special, because some people think kissing is whatever and sexy time is more special (if you say you want more hooking up then characters will probably kiss more than one person.)**

**If you don't get some of the questions message me or put it in your review ^^ you guys are a big part of the making of this story!!**

**PLEASE R&R!!! I want to have at least 50 reviews by my next chapter, I've been working hard on this I need a treat or SOMETHING lol**

**THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH I LOVE YOU GUYS ****JJJJJ**


	10. Welcome Home

_**Do I own Bleach? Psh I wish man, that'd be **__**sweet**_**. Enjoy!**

**Chapter Theme: Heard It All Before by Meiko~**

"**You know me well, you know me better than than this- and I can't be sure- if you're something i'd miss... Cause I've heard it all before..."**

* * *

'Welcome Home'

"Why can't I enjoy such a nice day… We haven't had good weather like this in forever and here I am acting depressed!" She slowly wrapped her arms around her knees, gently placing her cheek on them. Despite the sun smiling down at her window seal, birds chirping happily in the trees, and students laughing together on the sidewalks, Orihime couldn't join the joyous mood. "I hate being sad on days when you're _just-_ not supposed to, days full of sunshine and happy people, it doesn't feel right to be this way… It's like when I broke my arm before the big game, I practiced all month and was in perfect condition until the one day that counted… I basically let my whole team down and myself, now I'm wasting my time all over again. I'm so selfish…"

Orihime knew why she was upset but she didn't understand it, so much was going through her head that it was confusing. She thought of dear Tatsuki, warm Renji, kind Rukia… Ichigo… and- _Grimmjow's invitation._

_..._

"Orihime I'm going to have you take a break alright, you've been running on there long enough." Said girl popped her head up in surprise from the treadmill, Renji was sitting on a bench across the room with his serious 'work-face' on. She pouted, unwilling to get off just yet, but did as she was told. After she took down the speed to a steady walk to cool herself down, the red head that was her so called _trainer_ took her to a small table.

"I'll go grab you a drink from the back, they're free 'cause I work here!" Renji snickered before jogging out of her sights. Letting out a sigh, the bubbly girl whipped the sweat of her forehead "Eh I bet I smell terrible… How long have we been at it anyways? I wonder how Ichigo is doing, I haven't seen him sense Miss. Kuchiki dragged him away."

Speaking of Rukia, why did she need to do that _'Maybe she wanted to get the day started just like Ichigo did, I bet they were going to work out together.'_ Orihime was truthfully worried, Rukia was upset about something that involved Ichigo and the strawberry himself was certainly not thrilled to see his old high school buddies. She hated to snoop around in people private affairs but its only natural she's concerned about her friends. _'Any friend of Ichigo's is a friend of mine!'_ The amber haired girl chimed to herself, then out of the corner of her eye she found who she was looking for "Ichigo, there you are-"

He was spread out on a bench across the room with Rukia; the strawberry was on his back while she sat on the other end facing his head. Her little legs were folded under her as she watched her old friend rest "What have you been doing all this time?"

Ichigo shrugged "I don't know just regular stuff." She nodded her head in response "How 'bout your sisters, are they doing okay?"

"Yeah- I'd say so, Karin is getting pretty serious about soccer and Yuzu is becoming a really good cook." She nodded again "That's good to hear, I knew they'd be successful." Rukia racked her gaze back to him when he gave her silence, his eyes were closed and had his arms crossed under his head. He still had his trade mark scowl glued on his face like he used to, but there was something different about it.

When he frowned before, you could _feel_ the rebellion, his anger towards anyone who had a problem with his hair, the tough disposition that told you to screw off and _made_ you, and hid the trouble going through his heart. Now it didn't resemble those past emotions, it was just there because he did it so much before and now it was stuck like that- there was no real reason for it to be there.

Ichigo was a happier person now, it was clear as day to her and she was thankful.

Rukia gently placed her hand on his forehead, Ichigo twitch at this and opened his eyes. At first he looked annoyed that she woke him up, but after a while he was just confused "What're you doing Rukia??"

The petite girl shook her head and smiled, then pealed her tiny hand off of him "I wish I hadn't done that, your head's all _sticky _and crap you need to shower more!"

Ichigo sprang up from the bench "What the hell Rukia what's you're problem, I just got threw weight lifting for who know _how_ long and you're-"

Rukia was rolling around laughing on the bench before he could finish, Ichigo's was so pissed his eye was having a spasm "You're still easy to piss off Ichigo, I swear I say one little thing like that and your ass is already on fire!"

The strawberry scratched the back of his head a bit embarrassed, not by the fact she said he was easy but because when he saw her laughing like that- he remember why they used to be so close. It made him sad that things got so awkward between them and that they changed so much over the separation.

Orihime robotically slipped out of her chair, her head felt heavy like her heart did _'Miss. Kuchiki and Ichigo… They're really good friends, aren't they…' _Her shoulder tensed up at her despicable attitude, she rubbed her temples hoping it would rid her of the feeling _'I don't want to think like that, I enjoy Miss. Kuchiki's company and I- I care for Ichigo so I won't be selfish and feel sad…!'_

The bubbly girl spun on her heels to rush back to Renji before anymore negative emotions ran through her chest, but today was just one of those days.

"Whoa!" Something warm and stern as a rock smacked hard into her side, at this Orihime fell over hitting the back of her skull on the floor. She was drenched in what she guessed was water and her head was spinning from the impact of the ground. A blue blob was gradually increasing in size as it moved closer to the amber-haired girl as she laid there distraughtly, struggling to make out the blurry shape. She was starting to believe that the aliens were _actually_ abducting her this time.

"You, woman, get up!" Slowly, Orihime made out two rich blue eyes piercing straight into hers.

"Why's she just staring at me like that, it's freaking me out…"

"Maybe you killed her Grimmjow." A deep voice laughed.

"Hey shut up man, don't joke like that!"

"I'm just saying, you ran into her pretty full force."

"No fucking way I didn't realize dumb shit!"

"What'd you just call me?!"

From her spot on the floor, Orihime heard loud yelling and trudging feet all around her. She let her head roll over to the direction of the noise, her brain was throbbing like _crazy_ and the room was spinning. After a few minutes she could make out a large group of men huddled together apparently arguing about something important- but why were they on the _wall_??

"W-What's going on…?" The men's bickering ended abruptly, all eye's were on her. A couple men trotted over to her side, sighs of relief festered among the crow as conversations started.

"You okay??" Orihime blinked trying to focus on the man who had spoken, she squinted "If you're an alien, I don't want to go on your ship…"

"Whoa, bummer Grimmjow- looks like she can't go on your ship, but hey you can still watch when she goes on mine!" An enormous man snickered from the other end of the pack, the men wailed loudly in return.

"Fuck you Yammy, your ships the _last _one she'd want to be on." A very pail skinned man shot back, the group laughed in agreement while said man was silently fuming.

'_Douche bags.' _Grimmjow smirked before looking back at the girl. _'Damn I gave her brain damage, that's just fucking fantastic…'_ The man scowled to himself, ignoring the others, it was one screw up after another today wasn't it. "No stupid… You ran out in front of me while I was doing laps and I banged into you."

She blinked again "I did?"

He rolled his eyes "Yeah then you flung across the room and whammed your head on the ground. That's why you're on the damn floor."

"Oh… I'm sorry… I was in a rush and-"

"Can you stand up?" He interrupted impatiently; the amber haired girl rolled up on her knees and attempted to pull herself up before her leg gave out. The man refluxed quickly and caught her right below her chest with his arm "Guess that's a no."

He spun her around so Orihime's back was resting on his shoulder and clamped his arm around her torso. As he pulled up the bubbly girl she flushed madly, feeling where his arm was "Wait!!"

The man stopped "What why?! It's not like you're goanna get up by yourself anytime soon." he started pulling her up again, then nearly threw her in the air. Orihime squeaked from both the uncomfortable place his arm was and the feeling of boosting off the ground. Two hands grasped supportively under her ribs and carefully let her feet touch the floor, Orihime swallowed deeply.

"There." The man said from behind, she looked up to find him staring down at her "See, you can stand." They were the same eyes she saw earlier and they wouldn't let her gaze leave.

"Yeah." The word just barely escaped her lips, nothing else would come out. It was as if he were miles taller than her, she felt defenseless next to his large mass. The man had messy, light blue hair that curved aimlessly at the ends and looked soft to the touch. His brows were the same color and furrowed deeply over his piercing orbs that resembled ocean. He reminded her of Ichigo in a way, but his scowl was more menacing than her Orange-headed companion's serious one. The man suddenly gave her a curious smile, as if he heard what she was thinking "Hey I know you."

Her eyes widened in surprise "You do?"

"Yeah you're in my health and safety class, I sit right behind you." Orihime's chin went back down, looking at the floor in though _'I can't believe this, I've been to that class how many times now and I've never noticed him??'_ At this point she began to realize what was going on around her…

She was surrounded by strange men, they were all watching her, and that guy still had his hands on her. Orihime's face blossomed into shock, her cheeks heating up rapidly at all the attention. Without thinking she stumbled back into the man, then jumped at the impact and turned to face him "I-I'm sorry!"

"It's fine."

"Why the hell are you saying sorry to him for, he's the bastard that knocked you over!" A tall thin man from behind her spat, putting a hand on her back as his long black hair fell past his shoulders.

"I'll knock you're teeth out-"

"Grimmjow." The ocean-eyed man was silent as the tall man's hand left her back. Orihime swayed her sights over to the group and spotted another man lurk from the back of the crowd "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

He had a calm expression on his face, which was strange considering the situation. His brown hair was pulled back while one wavy strand lingered on his forehead. The man looked older and more mature than the rest of the men; it made her feel safer amongst the cluster. He closed his eyes and returned his gaze to her, smiling softly "Who's this?"

"Number six over there smacked her across the room, almost killed her." A gray haired man grinned; Grimmjow sent a growl his way. The calm man looked back at her "Did he hit you?"

Orihime waved her hand frantically at her sides, discussing him "Oh no, no! It was all my fault, I wasn't watching where I was going and I got in his way while he was running really fast. He just bumped into me, it wasn't on purpose- and I'm just fine!"

"Fine my ass." A board looking man with long wavy hair mumbled at the far right, scratching his thin goatee.

The mature man watched her for a long while "I see." then switched his sights to Grimmjow "Why don't you ask her to come to the pool with us next weekend, to make up for the inconvenience."

Grimmjow glared at him in annoyance, a thick tension was in the air. Finally, giving up, Grimmjow shuffled his way to Orihime leaving little space between them "You want to, there's goanna be a big party there on Friday. We can talk about it at class or something?"

She felt overwhelmed by their large audience _'Should I really go, do I want to go?? I heard about that party from the man at the front desk when I first came here, but I wasn't planning on going because I didn't know anyone yet… But now I know Renji and Rukia and Ichigo, and a bunch of other people- I have Tatsuki too! I wouldn't mind going with these guys as long as my friends came, it might be fun who knows.' _Orihime nodded with hesitance, but tried to put on an assuring smile "Sure! Would it be okay if my friends came too?"

"That'd be great. My name's Aizon, by the way, and you are?"

"Orihime Inoue." She stated, shaking his hand timidly.

"We'll see you there then, Orihime." Aizon smiled before leaving with the gang "Grimmjow, you coming?"

"Yeah I'll be there." He growled, Orihime jumped when she found out he was next to her. Grimmjow leaned over so he was eye level with her then put a hand around her waist, sharply tugging her to his side. She couldn't breath; his face was so close to hers. He lifted a furrowed brow at her, giving the bubbly girl a good look in the eye "Are you really going?"

'_Was she?'_ Orihime sighed "Well- I guess so. I've already gotten an offer and this is good weather for a dip in the pool right!" she laughed nervously. He stared at her weirdly "Alright then." As the blue haired man stood straight, he took his hand off her waist and ruffled her hair with it. Orihime tensed at his actions, wide eyed with surprise. Grimmjow grinned at her devilishly as he walked off "Nice hair!"

...

Slowly, the amber haired girl laid her upper back against the wall, wrapping her arms under her thighs. On Thursday she'd have to see Grimmjow again at class, that wasn't something she was particularly looking forward to- but at the same time she was excited. "Maybe I should ask Ichigo to walk me to class that day, would that make a difference?" Her eye's lowered recalling what happened at the gym _'Ichigo and Rukia must have been really close… I wonder how close…'_ The thought made her eye's burn, why did she want to cry?

Orihime's back sunk down the wall as she turns onto her side, hugging her pink teddy bear Enraku. Snuggling into the pillow on the window seat, she buried her eyes in Enraku's chest as if it were holding her. Cold tears soaked into the bear, she wished someone would just come to her rescue and pull her away from her depression "Where are you…"

'_What??'_ Ichigo was leaned against a wall in the living room; he'd been watching her for awhile now. The strawberry wondered if Orihime knew he was there yet… He wanted to say something, _anything-_ so she would see him, smile that smile she wore so much. He wanted to hear her say 'Hello Ichigo!' or 'You're back!' the way she always did, but he didn't want to disturb the amber haired girl.

Orihime looked so fragile- so breakable, he'd never seen her like this… Ever sense they went to the gym together she'd been acting strangely, Ichigo was feeling out-of-it himself.

'_I bet it had something to do with those guys.' _Ichigo grinded his teeth down, everytime he thought about them it pissed him off _'What's wrong with me! I could of done something, I saw them with Orihime and I saw the way they where acting! They kept touching her and laughing like idiots, I could tell she was scared… Why didn't I just get up and take her away? Why didn't I protect her, I promised I would look out for her and I let her get ambushed by a bunch of assholes?!'_ He tightened his fists, narrowing his eyes_ 'what were you too busy with you're damn ex to help her, you selfish bastard…'_

"…I-Ichigo?" At the sound of her voice calling his name, the strawberries head shot up to find Orihime's trembling eyes. His heart ached at her puffy lips, the glimmer of wet tears on her cheeks made his fingers twitch. "How, long h-have you been t-there…" She shuddered softly, chocking on the small sobs she tried to hide from him. She was sitting up now holding Enraku, the bear Ichigo had gotten for her.

"O-Orihime… are you-" He put a hand in his hair through frustration "That's a stupid question, of course you're not okay…"

Silence spilled over them before Orihime sniffle up a giggle "Heh, don't worry about me Ichigo! I was just thinking that's all… I'm fine, _really_!"

"You're crying. You're not fine." He whispered barely loud enough for her to hear. She touched her cheek, it was damp "Oh that? M-My eye's were itchy so I stated rubbing them and it only made them worse so my eye's started watering, I guess it's allergies." She laughed unconvincingly, Ichigo's frown deepened.

"Don't lie to me Orihime." Ichigo stated firmly, she was quiet.

"What happened?" She didn't answer.

Ichigo pushed himself off the wall and walked in front of her, squatting down so he was face to face with her "If those guys from the gym made you cry I'll murder them!! I don't care if I get arrested or shot down- or _whatever _else happens to me, it'd be worth it!" Orihime couldn't speak.

Ichigo went on his knees, looking down at the floor while he healed his hand together. "Orihime… I…"

"I…"

"I…will get stronger. I'm getting stronger." He looked up to her with determination scolding in his eyes; it left her breathless "Next time, I will definitely… protect you."

Orihime's chest was throbbing so hard it was unhealthy; if it went on like this she'd surely have a heart attack. His words made her heart melt, butterflies swarmed out of her stomach, and heat radiated up her throat making it difficult to breathe evenly. Her eye's glazed over, her tong swelled up; her cheeks were burning up like mad.

The girl turned away from his sole-shaking chocolate orbs, her amber hair hiding her features.

Ichigo was devastated; he'd been rejected again… It took all he had to muster up the courage to get this close to her, let alone say what he did. The pain surging through his chest reminded him of the pain he felt when he lost his mom…

"Thank you, Ichigo." Orihime sniffled, looking back at him with a flushing, tear-filled smile. "Welcome home!"

The strawberry's brows flew up his forehead, he was completely baffled.

A grin made its first appearance in ten tears as it shined brightly past his teeth, joy soaring through his cheeks '_Glad to be back.'_

* * *

**Haha I used a famous IchiHime quote in this chapter, did you see it did you see it!!! Anyways, sorry for the wait… I kinda bummed out about my last chapter… It was the longest one, I put the most time into it, and used a bunch of my weekends making it better- but I didn't get many reviews on it… Pretty depressing, I hope I'm not losing you guys that would be terrible! T-T So- I tried to put some more romance in here for my readers. I can tell people want some fireworks already, and **_**trust me**_** so do I :O that's how a story works though; you read through it and look forward to the good parts! Trust me though, the next chapter will blow your minds (at least I prey it will…) because the next chapter is the reason I made this fic ^^**

**PLEASE R&R!!! Tell me what you like and dislike, give me suggestions requests! You won't be ignored; I'll see to it that it gets a place in this story somehow!**

**Thank you all for all your support!!! :D **


	11. Guardian Angel

****

Hey, guess what?! I don't own Bleach, I know it's shocking- Enjoy!

**Chapter Theme: Love Rollercoaster by Mims~**

"**Everything I thought that we had was true, but now I'm seeing a whole different side of you."**

* * *

'**Guardian Angel'**

Tatsuki took a chug of her soft drink at a small secluded table, watching the different faces that passed by with excitement. She could feel the humidity dampen her skin while the sun hit her exposed feet as she sat under the posted umbrella. The fresh sent of chlorine that soaked the air was mixed up with grill fumes and a strange fruity smell. Sounds of splashing water followed by shrieks of enjoyment boomed every now and then from the white noise created by the many voices surrounding her.

It was relaxation time baby. Smiling intently, Tatsuki closed her eyes with a gentile sigh of relief as her head fell back "This is nice."

"Why am I here again…?" The tomboy's lids twitched in irritation _'Damn it he's such a drag! Why'd she invited him, I don't get it.'_

"Ichigo would you just shut up and enjoy yourself, that stupid mopey vibe coming off your ass is pissing me off! I'm trying to take it easy cause I've been tired, stressed the _hell_ out, and I'm still soar as shit from last night's work out- stop ruining this for me."

"Fine what ever." He slurred aggravation and boredom present with each syllable that rolled off his tong.

He hated these kinds of parties, all people ever did at them were get wasted and try to get laid. This is the type of party were you had to bring your own punch because the crap they have there is ninety percent hard liquor. Next thing you know you're humping a tree and beating your grandma.

You could never put your cup down ether because some bastard's goanna pop some funky pill in there and have their way with you later. You'd be sprawled out on some guy's lawn with your pants down the next day, confused, and _something_ throbbing like a bitch.

Screw that shit. If there's one thing he learned from kindergarten it'd be what _not_ to do at a cross walk, if you catch my drift.

'_Orihime better appreciate this.'_ The strawberry grumbled in his mind.

Sure, when she _first_ asked him to come with her to the party, he had no objections. Ichigo was even looking forward to it, that's saying something. When the original plans changed though, so did his original excitement.

Instead of him taking Orihime he was forced to take Tatsuki, no big deal right? Wrong. She was in a particularly bad mood that morning due to the toaster breaking and her boyfriend having to work. So for the whole drive here, he had to endure her nagging and complaining on max volume. To make things worse, Orihime was picked up by the _same_ guy who knocked her over at the gym- she didn't even say bye to him.

Ichigo was in no mood to party, thank you very much.

"Ichigo?"

'_Crap he's here!'_

"Ichigo!"

'_Maybe if I put my head down he won't notice me.'_

"Ichigo!!"

'… _If I ignore him, eventually he'll get tired and leave.'_

Something slapped against his back with such great force the strawberry fell out of his chair. Catching himself before he hit the floor, Ichigo swung his leg under his target knocking them off their feet. With cat-like reflexes he pounced, twisted the man's arm behind his back while he locked the other to the floor.

"That's payback for last time!" Ichigo busted with a cheeky grin.

"Get the hell off of me!!" Renji squirmed under the strawberry. "Make me!"

"Fine I will!" Ichigo was thrown back by a swift kick to the side of the head. As he tumbled across the floor, Renji stumbled to his feet "Thanks Ikkaku, but I could of got out of that by myself."

"That's not how it looked to me." The bald man remarked coldly, Renji snarled in response before approaching Ichigo once again.

"What do you want?" He sighed on the floor.

"I was goanna ask you where Rukia was."

Ichigo sat up with the usual scowl planted on his face "How should I know she's always with you isn't she?"

"I don't know I just- kind of lost her at the entrance…" He rubbed the back of his head "So where's that Orihime chick, is she swimming??"

"Don't get your hopes up," Ichigo growled protectively "she's not here yet- probably still getting ready." Renji smirked playfully when realization hammered at his brain, Ichigo lowered his brow in question "What're you looking at?!"

"She flaked you didn't she!" Ichigo was shocked. "I KNEW IT!"

The red head broke into laughter, mocking the strawberry before Ichigo squinted his eyes "Look who's talking, Rukia _ditched_ you." Renji was suddenly very quiet.

…

Grimmjow had his hands in his pockets striding coolly across the asphalt while Orihime trailed two steps behind him. Her hands were clasped together holding a big florescent beach bag, while she smiled dreamily to herself.

Not paying attention to her surrounding, again, she bounced off him when he stopped causing her to fly back. Orihime felt a warm arm cup her bottom and scoop her up to an even warmer source- Grimmjow's chest. He was cradling her delicate form with only his left arm as if she were his child; a radiant flush filled her cheeks.

"No wonder you run into everything, you're in your own little world twenty-four seven." He scolded taking her deeper into the hold, her face got hotter. "Would you stop that, it's not like I'm feeling you up or anything." Orihime's blush intensified as her eye's widened and she hid her face in the nape of his neck, humiliated.

'_Nice, that helps.'_ He smirked, pleased with the results, and paced himself to a sprint keeping the girl close to him. Surprised by the increase in speed she clutched onto his bare shoulders, he snickered with amusement "Kibbles you're goanna have to hold on to me pretty damn tight, I'm fast."

This direct skin-to-skin contact was playing at the dirty side of his mind. Despite what you think, he kept thoughts like that locked up pretty tight. Unless you were rated eight or higher, doing the splits in a bikini, or giving him a back rub while pole dancing- you wouldn't get much out of him.

She felt good against his body… _Really _good~

Her smooth skin was moist from the heat and humidity while her curves fit just right in his arm. Her long silky hair tickled as it lightly ran across his pecks, and the way her thigh rested in his hand was _very _tantalizing. _'Man I don't know about her but I like it when she runs into me.'_

…

"Hey Ichigo, love to stay and watch you get your butt kicked but I have to go. Tell Orihime I'm sorry and I'm with 'Meat-Head' at a restaurant a few blocks away near the beach."

"I'm guessing he got off work early after all." He paused to push Renji and Ikkaku out of his way as he walked to her.

"Yeah, he's taking me to this famous place to eat… He said he planed this date when we were seniors in high school when I said I was going here. He made reservations a month in advance, it was supposed to be a surprise but he didn't think I would go to this thing and screw up his schedule."

"So if he's doing all this stuff for you, why is his name 'Meat-Head' now huh?" The strawberry inquired, truly curious.

"I've got this undying feeling Orihime's got something against him, can't blame her- I mean he takes up the only free time I have… I just thought, maybe if you called him that, it might go off better…"

Tatsuki locked her eyes to the floor as she shuffling her feet, Ichigo watched his friend with pure concern painted down his features. This was the first time he'd ever described _Tatsuki Arisawa _with the words 'insecure' and 'unsure' in his life, it didn't sound possible. "I know Orihime's going to be upset that I left, but I think she wouldn't need me here anyways- she's got you right." Tatsuki smiled halfheartedly, then grabbed her things and patted her confused roommate on the back.

Before running out of his sights, she added with a wink "I'm expecting you to give any bastard that approaches Orihime the _usual_ treatment, don't be slacking off on duty!!"

Ichigo scratched the back of his head, a bit embarrassed by how much faith Tatsuki had in him with her _precious _Orihime "It's weird, but I'm pretty sure Tatsuki expects more than just that… This is freaking me out what the hell does she want from me??"

…

Renji sank down into the lounge chair, tipping the worn-down sun hat to shade his eyes "Stupid shrimp, stealing my sunglasses like that… Despite the fact she knows how I am about my shades, she does what ever the fuck she wants with them like they're cheap hunks of plastic! I wish for once she would consider _my _feelings, what's important to _me_."

Ikkaku's brows twitched violently _'W-What- the fuck…?!'_

"Damn it she pisses the shit out of me, I don't think she appreciates how much _I_ do for her. She takes me for granite, everything _I_ put up with! I don't give a damn if she comes from some rich-bitch family I-"

"WOULD YOU SHUT UP!!" Renji tensed up as Ikkaku slapped his sun hate off. "Hey-! What the fuck was that for?!"

"That was for being a fucking pussy! I was seriously starting to think you were my mother complaining about how my dad leaves his dirty socks everywhere… That was some scary shit man, if you're major B.O. hadn't almost made me puke I would have been paralyzed due to the nag-attack!!" Ikkaku gagged exaggeratedly.

Renji fumed "OH-! _Oh! _So now _I'm _the fucking pussy?! Who actually whore that tight shirt covered in pink hearts, you studded that ugly thing around the gym _all _day!!"

"That's only because it was a gift from a loyal customer and she requested I put it on for her… It would be rude it I didn't."

"She _stalks_ you, raids your locker, and runs off all your other _loyal_ female customers! You're just too much of a sissy to put her off." Renji grinned, successfully manning it up in front of the ladies- until his bald working partner jumped him putting the red head in a head lock.

Little did they know Rukia was sitting back at a pool side bar sipping down a decorative, colorful beverage, enjoying the free entertainment and Renji's expensive shades.

…

"Bastards," Grimmjow growled, flicking the amber haired beauty off his arm as she caught herself on a fence "I told them to wait at the entrance so I wouldn't have to get their asses." Gliding his piercing eyes down to the busty Orihime, acknowledging her _fine_ presence, he noted her fidgeting with something on the fence.

"What are you doing?" He demanded smoothly, the girl immediately blushed in response. Grimmjow moved closer, peering around her to find the answer on his own. He grinned darkly when he did, and leaned in to examine the problem. "Your little bikini string got knotted in the fence," His ocean eyes flickered to her face "you know what that means, don't you Kibbles?"

Orihime gulped down loudly "…N-No…! I'm fine I can fix it, by myself…"

"_Really~ _I want to see that." She tried to prove him wrong by pulling the string out from the crack, but instead found a way to tie her fingers. Orihime desperately wiggling her fingers hoping it would loosen the knot until realizing she was undeniably stuck. Grimmjow smiled with delight at her still silence "Say pretty please, and I'll help you out."

She pouted in defeat "… Pretty please…"

"If you insist." Grimmjow snickered, and untied her bikini string in one tug. Orihime screamed and caught the loss end before it completely fell off, her eye brows furrowed in annoyance "Grimmjow!!"

The blue-haired man surged nonchalantly "Hey I said I would get you out and I did, that was the best way I could think of doing it."

'_The best.'_ He added mentally, a hint of jubilance in his tone.

With that he started towards the pool leaving the girl to fume over at his back with no effect, she lowered her head _'I hope Ichigo's here…'_

"Damn Kibbles, hurry up woman." Grimmjow ordered, but instead of the usual stern forwardness, this time he nearly hummed it playfully. Despite his insensitive actions just moments ago, the way he smiled made Orihime's heart skip a beat as the sensational warmth shot up her spin and into her cheeks.

Pulling his hand out of his right pocket, the ocean eyed man healed it out to her as if wanting her hand then rolled his pointer back a few times seducing her to join him "Come hither, Kibbles."

…

Rukia was having an amazing time; she must have been some kind of hot property sense six or seven guys already sent drinks her way in an attempt to get her number. Most of them were very attractive, and to her delight half of them barely made it to five feet while the other half stood higher than six foot four.

She didn't give one of them her number though, no matter how persistent they were. Being single was awesome; you could go anywhere you wanted without getting a bunch of crap and didn't have to follow anyone around like a child. Getting involved right now was too much of a hassle; romance just got in the way of her duties and distracted her from prier engagements.

"Caught 'cha shrimp!" Rukia flinched as a hand stuck on the top of her head, messing up her beautiful pigtails _'Speaking of distractions…'_ She growled to herself mentally as the sunglasses were plucked from her puffy cheeks. _'What a coincidence. Just in time to screw up my hair and my day- at the same time, stupid bastard.'_

"Where the hell did you go?!" Renji interrogated venom in every word he spat. Rukia hoped off her seat, her fists clenching tighter at the irresistible urge to jab him right in his ugly butt-for-a-face.

"Where do you think you fool, I've been sitting here! Why do you need to know anyways, I'm an independent woman I don't have to be with you every second of the fucking day!!"

"I don't care what shit you do by yourself, but can't you at least give me a warning before you run off and steal my shades!"

"You and your dumb 'shades' I swear, if it was me who got taken you wouldn't give a rats ass what happened to me!"

That hurt "Damn it Rukia you know that's not true why would you say that?! I went looking for you because I was worried about you!"

The petit girl was quiet, leaning on the stole behind her automatically feeling the ping of guilt "Sorry Renji, that was uncalled for…" She looked down at her small feet, her eye brows knitted together sadly.

'_Man now I feel bad.'_ Taking a couple steps closer he pinched Rukia's now screwed up pigtails between his thumb and pointer finder as he made them flap around like drum sticks. Her head popped up in question, but smiled when he said "I should be sorry, look what I did to your hair! Jeez I'm surprised you didn't kill me yet. Please, forgive me!!"

They both laughed heartedly at his comment as he played with her hair. She clapped her tiny hand to his forearm and pushed it down; tears were in her eyes from laughing so much. He grinned, accomplishing his goal and put his free arm around her shoulders "How can I make it up to you."

She slipped out from his hold, walking to a nearby lounge chair. "You can start-" Rukia sat down, pointing to her messed up locks "by fixing my hair."

…

Walking aimlessly through the crowd of people, Ichigo kept an eye out for anyone familiar. He's been here for almost an hour now and he still hasn't seen Orihime. The thought of her being with those ass holes was plaguing his mind _'If I don't find her soon, I'll find _them_ and rip their-'_

"Who are we looking for?" A giant Hispanic man asked from his left, interrupting Ichigo's horrific plan of action. The strawberry struggled to find the man's face due to his massive height, even though they've been friends sense middle school he still wasn't used to it.

"Whoa, dude I forgot you were there." His name was Yasutora Sado, but he called him Chad for some reason after the first beat down they shared. Ichigo hasn't talked to him sense graduation so imagine the look on his face when he spotted the towering Mexican, standing in the deep end of the pool.

"You're still quiet as ever Chad." Yasutora smirked "I'm a man of few words."

Ichigo chuckled, and then went back to the subject "Anyways- just look out for a girl with long bright hair."

"Like yours?" Ichigo scratch his head in serious thought "Kind of, I guess."

"Oh. So then-" Sado stopped, pivoting his head away from his long time friend "is that her?"

"What??" The strawberry skidded back to the giant searching through the opening of the crowd, the exact direction Sado was pointing. It was Orihime alright; she had her hair up in a loss bun while a big white T-shirt covered her torso and exposed her limbs. The only problem was the guy standing next to her "Damn it I thought he was just dropping her off."

The blue-haired man noticed an annoying orange blob in his peripheral vision "The fuck's he staring at." Orihime turned away from him and felt her heart fly through her chest "ICH-I-GO-!!"

Before the strawberry could react he was smacked hard in the chest by his cuddly roommate. Ichigo stumbled back from the impact and was sure he would end up crashing to the ground, until Chad grasped his should firmly.

When he found his balance, Ichigo realized he was holding a giggling Orihime. Her arms encircled his stomach while her hands cupped his sides. As her face pressed into his collar, his arms wrapped around her waist and upper back protectively. Orihime's feet tottered making them sway side to side, each time deepening the loving hug.

Ichigo awkwardly went along with whatever new move she added to the hold as if she were leading him in the 'two-step'. After a while she began moving away from him, he didn't want her to go though…

Something in him longed to feel the warmth and closeness a little longer, but against his will- he allowed her to leave his arms.

Orihime gave him her brilliant smile with cheeks red with happiness "I'm so glad you made it Ichigo! I was scared you wouldn't come and I'd be here all by myself… I'd probably get abducted by aliens and be forced to cook for them on their mother ship! Then the space pirates would get mad because they didn't have a cook and go after me! So there'd be a huge space war and I'd have to fire off my super missiles at them! I'd be so terrible Ichigo, _terrible_!!"

Chad was lost and a bit shocked at her words, but Ichigo just flipped on a goofy smile. "It's a good thing I came then." He chuckled; her smile grew ten fold "Exactly!"

…

Renji sat 'Indian style' behind the petit Kuchiki Rukia, brushing out the knots and tangles in her coal-black hair with his fingers. He had taken out the hair ties holding her pigtail only a few minutes ago, and they were now around his wrist.

Rukia was sitting comfortably at the edge of the long lounging chair as Renji worked diligently on her do. The flats of her feet were pressed together as her hands clamped onto her ankles. Because she was so flexible the sides of her legs easily laid on the seat without pain.

This was very relaxing, wearing her lovely white bikini while Renji's _mostly_ gentle fingers glided through smooth locks and against her scalp. The sun beat down on her fair skin, making beads of sweat trail down her face.

"Damn Rukia you're really sweaty, it feels like I just stuck my hand on a wet work bench…"

She looked back at him "Renji it's like ninety degrees out here, I have to smell you so I think you can deal with a little sweat."

"Yeah yeah…" He grumbled, and went on to tying her pigtails back up.

"ICH-I-GO-!!"

Rukia's eyes popped open at the name, then grumbled "What the hell is that idiot doing now…"

She scanned the area looking for his distracting orange hair, but upon finding him- she wished she didn't. He was holding that Inoue girl close to him, she sunk into his arms, they swayed together, she was giggling, Ichigo was smiling… Something snapped in her.

"Alright Rukia, you're good to go!" Renji stated proudly as he finished tying the second pigtail, and suddenly she just got up and ran away from him.

"Hey- wait, where are you going?!" He reacted quickly, sprinting after his troubled companion.

…

"Mr. Sado is so tall! If I was that tall I could save cats stuck on houses and change the light bulbs without a latter and reach the cereal on the top shelf without having to ask you to get it!!"

"Yeah I know, I think he grew a foot sense I last saw him."

"He's nice too; you should invite him over for diner soon."

"…Uh- I'll, think about it…" Chad _might_ try her food, maybe… Not that it tasted bad, Ichigo liked her recipes, but they weren't very- _pleasing _to the eye you know…

"So what took you so long to get here Orihime??"

"Well- Mr. Jaggerjack had to get some stuff from the store, and then we got stuck in traffic-"

"What kind of stuff?" He asked suspiciously.

"Food and drinks for the team."

"Team?" Orihime nodded "Yeah he's number seventy for the school's football team, he's told me he was on the offensive line so he guards and tackles I think. He also said he wants to be a professional, get into the major league stuff."

"Why the hell is he in your self defense class then, doesn't look like he needs any help defending himself to me." Ichigo grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah he didn't want to be in it, but his captain said he needed the credentials. Mr. Jaggerjack doesn't believe him though; he thinks he's being used."

"…Used? Who's his captain?"

"Um- oh yeah! His name's Aizen Sousuke, he only has one more year until he graduates."

"So that guy with the blue hair told you all this stuff?"

"Yup, we were stuck in traffic for a pretty long time…" She laughed, rubbing the back of her head. Damn that pissed him off "I don't like that guy."

"Ichigo… He's not so bad when you get to know him."

"I don't _want_ to know him. I don't want to know any of those morons. The whole time you were gone I thought he'd taken you or something, you shouldn't be with guys like that you're too nice." Orihime decided to take that as a complement…

…

Ichigo and Orihime found a spot next to the pool, letting their legs dangle freely in the cool water as they glided back and forth in sequences.

Orihime watched as a ray of golden sunlight broke out from behind some nearby trees as it spread across the wavering liquid and onto her exposed knees. She picked one of her legs up and watches the light gradually engulfed it; Ichigo raised his brow "What are you doing?"

She laughed "I don't really know… just thought it looks cool, don't you think so."

Orihime slid past him into the pool, squealing as the water soaked into her skin. "Ah I forgot to take my shirt off!" She slowly striped it from her body and pulled it over her head, Ichigo couldn't help but stare. When it was finally removed, Orihime pouted at the wet edge at the bottom before tossing it over her roommate's head and onto a chair where her stuff was.

"Well Ichigo, are you just goanna sit there or are you goanna get in with me!" A light flush creped on his cheeks at the thought, now that she didn't have a T-shirt on it was hard to look at her without his eyes trailing down… He's a guy give him a break.

Cold water splashed all over him and brought him out of his heat, when he opened his eyes he caught Orihime swimming away "Oh no you don't!!"

* * *

**Alright guys, this is different from my last chapters because there's a lot of stuff going on all at once so yeah… Anyways I hope this didn't confuse you or anything. So this is the first part of the party, because this seemed like it was getting to long so I split it. I promise Blitch I would get it out today and I did so I'm pretty happy! I would have got this out last weekend but we've been having a LOT of power outs and it's been troublesome for me… Hope you guys liked this, there's goanna be a lot of drama and romance in the next chapter ;D **

**Thanks you guys you're the best ^^ **


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Bleach, Drama, Suspense