(愛憎)

"I HATE YOU, KUROSAKI ICHIGO!"

The loud, angry words could be heard throughout the school.

"YOU KNOW WHAT? INOUE ORIHIME, I HATE YOU TOO!"

"Inoue Orihime!?"

"The Goddess!"

"The idol!"

"Kurosaki Ichigo!"

"The Punk!"

"The Delinquent!"

"How Dare He!"

Confused murmurings reverberated around the whole school.

For their friends, it was just plain shocking to hear those words coming or rather shouting from their mouths. Arisawa Tatsuki looked to both Ishida Uryuu and Sado Yasutora to throw a little light on the outburst from the gentle healer.

All she gotten back from them were faces as confused as hers.

The classroom door opened and all eyes turned to the princess coming in. Tatsuki was ready to comfort her, she suspected 'heartbroken' friend.

"Ohayõ everyone!" Inoue Orihime greeted her friends cheerfully.

"Hello Tatsuki-chan." She greeted her best friend when she did not get any response from anyone.

Inoue Orihime was being scrutinized from head to toes. No unnaturally bright eyes that have been washed by tears, no sniffling red nose and no sign of obvious distress.

"Orihime, is everything fine with you and Ichigo?" Tatsuki decided not to beat around the bush and asked outright about what she and the whole school had heard.

"Kurosaki-kun and I?" For a moment, Orihime was baffled as to what Tatsuki meant, but then she realized it was about the mutual declaration of hatred. She was just going to answer when the classroom door opened again.

Kurosaki Ichigo walked in with the usual scowl on his face. He did not bother to acknowledge anyone. Everybody was wondering how would the princess and the punk behave towards each other. They got their answer when they saw there was absolutely no contact with each other whatsoever.

"Orihime?" Tatsuki asked in concern when she saw her childhood friend and best friend deliberately avoiding each other.

Orihime was startled out of her reverie at the worried voice of Tatsuki.

"Oh... you want to know what happened between Kurosaki-kun and I?"

"I bet the whole school would like to know, Orihime." Tatsuki informed her.

"The whole school heard?" Orihime was a little surprised they have been that loud.

"Yes. It was rather at a high volume, Inoue-san." Ishida enlightened her solemnly.

Orihime covered her face in embarrassment. "How shameful. I knew it was loud but I did not know it was that loud." She muttered self-consciously through her hands.

Tatsuki patted her on the head and told her if she was uncomfortable about telling them what was happening between her and Ichigo now, she can do so whenever she felt like it.

Orihime removed her hands from her blushing face and shook her head.

"No, it's alright. I know you are only feeling anxious for me and I want to tell you this sooner than later."

She turned to look at Ichigo, who sensing her eyes on him, returned her determined gaze with one of his own.

"Not only do I hate Kurosaki-kun, but I really, really hate him." Orihime's voice was clear and steady.

Gasps of disbelief sufaced and everyone waited with bated breath as they looked forward to what the bad-tempered classmate of theirs would answer to the proclamation.

Ichigo fixed his hard, steely gaze on Orihime and questioned her with what she just said.

"So, not only do you hate me, but you really, really hate me. Am I correct in the assumption?"

"Yes Kurosaki-kun, I really, really, really hate you." She added one more 'really' to emphasize the point.

More gasps. More murmurings. More questions.

But the two main characters ignored everything around them.

They were both staring at each other, neither one of them was going to be the first to break eye contact till the sensei made her appearance and thus making the two of them turning away from each other at the same instance.

"Wow Kurosaki, I know you make enemies easily but to make Inoue hates you, good-natured Inoue? Just what did you do to her?" That was the question on everybody's mind but only Ochi-sensei dared to vocalized it.

"Well, Inoue? Did Kurosaki touch you inappropriately?"

"WHAT!? Don't accuse me of something so despicable! I am not a pervert!" Ichigo managed to keep his voice reasonably respectable after the first shout to defend himself.

Ochi-sensei glared at him sternly. "Well, did he?" She asked Orihime again.

The poor girl's face was so bright red, Ochi-sensei expected her to pass out at any moment.

Orihime was so flustered that she just shook her head frantically to quell her teacher embarrassing show of concern.

"Right. In that case, back to your seat. And to the rest of you, this is between Kurosaki and Inoue, so it is really nobody's business but theirs. Understand." It was not a question but an order.

The class assented but for their friends... It was their business as well.

(愛憎)

"Orihime, are you ready?" Tatsuki asked her friend when it was time for lunch.

Before Orihime could answer her friend, Ichigo was at her table. "You go ahead, Tatsuki. I need to talk to Inoue."

"Go ahead. I can wait." Tatsuki sat down on the chair besides Orihime and patiently waited for Ichigo to start talking.

Ichigo frowned at her. "I meant alone. In private."

"Whatever you want to say to Orihime, you can say it to me as well."

"Arisawa-san is correct. Whatever is on your mind, you can just say it." Ishida could not stand the audacity of Ichigo anymore.

"Friggin' Hell! This is between Inoue and I. Why don't the two of you just butt the hell out!"

"With that infamous undisciplined rage of yours, who knows what you will do to Inoue-san?"

"For the love of god! Are you expecting me to hurt Inoue?"

"Yes. Especially now that she has made her feelings about you known to everyone."

"Ishida, that's a little too harsh. Why don't we just ask Orihime if she is comfortable being alone with Ichigo." Tatsuki stepped in to defend her childhood friend and to seek Orihime's opinion.

"That's right. Inoue, are you afraid of me?" Ichigo asked Orihime with not a trace of the temper that his other friends were at the receiving end of it.

The gentle healer shooked her head and replied softly she was not.

But Ishida was not letting the matter rest so easily. "With you questioning her so fiercely, of course she has to agree to what you said or risk incurring your wrath."

Ichigo glared in frustration at Ishida. "This is getting ridiculous. Let's go, Inoue."

"No. Inoue-san is not going anywhere with you." Ishida stood between Ichigo and Orihime preventing Orihime from leaving with Ichigo.

"Orihime?" Tatsuki wondered how Orihime must be feeling now.

"It's alright, Tatsuki-chan, Ishida-kun. Kurosaki-kun will never hurt me. This is between Kurosaki-kun and me. We need to settle this by ourselves." She gave the two of them a reassuring smile.

"But..."

"Give it a rest, Ishida," Tatsuki advised Ishida in a tiring, wary manner. "If Orihime has said that it is between the two of them, who are we to interfere. Besides," She grinned menacingly at Ichigo. "My good friend here knows better than to try anything funny with the princess, right Ichigo?"

Ichigo saw it best not to argue with the self-proclaimed 'dragon mother hen'. He just nodded, looked at Orihime and walked off.

Orihime gave her two worrying friends another smile of assurance, waved and ran to follow Ichigo.

"Tell me what's it was all about when you have finished talking with Ichigo!" Tatsuki shouted to Orihime.

Orihime turned and nodded before continuing on with Ichigo.

(愛憎)

"Kurosaki-kun, where are we going?" The gentle healer asked for the umpteen time when it seemed like he was not slowing down any time soon. Ichigo appeared to be searching for something.

"Kurosaki-kun ~" Orihime was hungry and tired.

Suddenly he stopped and caught the princess who was just about to crash into him.

"This looks like a rather secluded area for us to have our little 'talk'."

Kurosaki Ichigo's gaze on Inoue Orihime who was still captured in his arms was fiery and passionate.

"So... you really, really hate me."

(愛憎)

愛 = Love

憎 = Hate