Author's Notes: My first Bleach fic. It's a bit AU as I originally started it before the time skip. Takes place in Ichigo's final year of high school.

Chapter 1

Kurosaki Ichigo yawned loudly, stretching his arms out as the bell for lunch rang. Thanks to those damned Hollows, he had only gotten a few hours sleep the night before. It didn't help that college entrance exams were coming up and he was already stuck studying late into the night for them.

"Late night, Kurosaki-kun?" his friend Mizuiro asked suddenly appearing beside his desk.

"Hey Ichigo, I bet you were up into all hours of the morning watching dirty movies weren't you?" his other friend Keigo added. "I'm totally right, aren't I!?"

"Don't put him in the same category as you, you idiot!" yelled his childhood friend Tatsuki as she whacked Keigo over the head with a large textbook.

"That hurt, damnit!" he whined, tears in his eyes.

"Unlike you, Ichigo is actually a good student. If anything he was up all night studying. Isn't that right, Ichigo?"

"Oh, uh yeah, that's right..." The orange haired boy diverted his eyes. He couldn't exactly say the real reason for his tiredness, but at the same time he didn't want people thinking he was losing sleep over watching porn either.

"Wow! Kurosaki-kun, you're so dedicated!" cried Orihime as she appeared next to Tatsuki. "That's amazing!"

"Hime-chan, you mustn't say that!" declared a loud voice. They all turned around to find the purple haired Honsho Chizuru standing there. "The one who is most dedicated and amazing of all is you! Not only do you have the brains, you have the beauty and delicacy of a darling angel! Oh Hime-chan, let me hold you in my arms!"

A second later, the same textbook that had hit Keigo was being slammed into Chizuru's face.

"Leave Orihime alone, you gigantic pervert!" shouted Tatsuki, the vein on her forehead looking as if it were about to burst.

Orihime on the other hand looked completely clueless, oblivious to her classmate's advances. Ichigo was pretty much convinced that if it weren't for Tatsuki the poor girl would have been molested long ago.

Used to their antics by now Ichigo turned away. It was then that he noticed his fellow Hollow slayer getting out of his seat.

"Hey Ishida!" he called out, catching the other teen's attention. "We're about to eat lunch. You should come join us.

The dark haired boy looked away. "I have things I need to do." he replied dully, and with that exited the classroom.

"I thought Ishida-kun seemed slightly happier when he started eating lunch with us, but lately it's as if he's reverted back to his old self." noted Mizuiro as they watched him leave.

"Who cares about him." groaned Keigo. "Ichigo has us, don't ya buddy?"

But Ichigo didn't reply, instead staring at the door where Ishida had just left.

"Um, Kurosaki-kun, do you...do you think that Ishida-kun is alright?" Orihime asked, whispering so that only he could hear her.

"I'm sure he's fine." he assured, not wanting to worry her. "By next week he'll probably be eating lunch with us again."

The red headed girl gave a small smile. "Yes. I'm sure you're right."

He hoped he was right too. Lately Ishida had been becoming increasingly distant from everyone. Like Mizuiro had said, it was as if he was becoming reminiscent of his old self, and Ichigo couldn't help but feel concerned.

Despite the differences they had, he still considered Ishida a friend. Even the likes of Mizuiro and Tatsuki had become friendly with him. For the friendships he had formed to just disappear would be such a horrible waste.

Ichigo wasn't a member of any after school clubs, however he knew that Ishida attended the handicraft club and so that day after school he decided to stick around so he could grab and hopefully get a chance to talk to him. But to his surprise Ishida wasn't there.

"Ishida-sempai hasn't attended for a couple of weeks now." he was told by one of the younger members sourly.

"We've been really worried about him!" cried one of the other members.

"Did he give a reason for not coming?" Ichigo asked, curiously.

One of the girls, a small brunette shook her head. "We trying asking him a few days why he hasn't been coming but he just said he was busy with things."

"I suppose Ishida-sempai could be studying." A taller dark haired girl reasoned.

"But that never stopped him before."

"This is his final year. Maybe he's dedicating all his time to studying for his college entrance exams."

Suddenly the smaller girl's eyes darkened. "Or maybe, just maybe, he has a girlfriend."

"What!? No way!"

"You there!" the brunette cried, pointing straight at him. "You're Ishida-sempai's friend, right!?"

"Uh, I guess..."

"Then does Ishida-sempai have a girlfriend or not!?"

"Please say he doesn't! I couldn't stand it if he did!"

Ichigo blinked. Ishida with a girlfriend? Now there was something he found difficult to picture. However he quickly stopped thinking about it when he saw the intensity in the eyes of the two girls currently glaring daggers at him.

"Uh, I-I don't think so."

Hearing his reponse, both girls let out loud sighs of relief.

"Well, if you see Ishida-sempai please tell him we're thinking of him." They both said sweetly, their demeanours completely changing.

Once Ichigo was out of the club room he let out his own sigh of relief. Those girls were terrifying.

He had completely forgotten that Ishida throughout his time in high school had acquired quite a number of 'fan girls'. Actually, he was positive that the Sewing club had never had quite so many members until Ishida joined. Not that Ichigo actually understood any of it.

The fact that Ishida was no longer showing up for club made Ichigo even more worried. From what he could tell, sewing was one of the things Ishida loved more than anything else and if he was no longer doing that...

Quickly Ichigo shook his head. No, he had to focus. Maybe it was some sort of Quincy thing. But if that was the case then why hadn't he said anything? Surely he knew by now that if he was in any kind of trouble, he, Chad, Inoue and no doubt Rukia too would do everything in their power to help?

Nonetheless, mere speculation would do nothing to answer any of his questions and so he decided that if he couldn't discuss things with Ishida at school, he'd just have to track him down at his apartment.

Ichigo had only been to Ishida's once before, so he was particularly thankful for his ability to sense spirit particles otherwise he had a feeling that he would have been wandering around searching for the place for hours on end.

Once he got there he rang the doorbell and took a step back, hoping desperately that the other teen was home. It would have sucked to come all this way for nothing after all.

A few moments later and the door opened revealing a slightly bewildered looking Ishida.

"Ku-Kurosaki, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I was in the neighbourhood and I figured I'd stop by for a visit."

"Are Hollows attacking Karakura town? Is something wrong in Soul Society?" Ishida asked quickly, a hint of anxiety in his voice.

"What? No! Like I said, I just stopped by for a visit."

Ishida stared at him sceptically. "Why?"

Ichigo sighed. Sometimes dealing with Ishida could be exhausting. "Look, can I just come in?"

The other boy looked apprehensive for a moment before taking a step back allowing Ichigo enough space to enter.

Ichigo let out a whistle as Ishida led him to the living room. He had forgotten how huge Ishida's apartment was. Not to mention fancy.

Ishida gestured for him to take a seat on the couch while he sat on the chair across from him.

"So, Kurosaki, just exactly why are you here?" the dark haired boy asked, getting straight to the point.

From the lack of offering his guest any kind of refreshments he guessed that Ishida really didn't have many visitors. That or he just didn't want to waste any on him. That too was also possible.

"I just stopped by to make sure that everything's okay."

Ishida blinked. "Why?"

Inwardly Ichigo sighed. He really was no good at this sort of thing. "Look, you've just been acting really distant lately that's all and some people at school have been worried about you."

"I'm fine." Ishida replied bluntly. "Besides, don't they have more important things they should be worried about?"

"You know, it's pretty normal for people to worry about those they consider friends."

"Well they needn't waste their time. There's nothing wrong."

Ichigo bit his tongue. He was getting pretty irritated but he knew if he said the wrong thing and got into an argument, Ishida would end up closing up on him even more. Still, he wasn't going to back off that easily.

They sat in silence for awhile, neither of them making a move to say anything. It was awkward but Ichigo had been in tougher situations. He'd wait this out.

On the other hand, patience wasn't really one of his virtues and he soon found his eyes wandering when he spotted a booklet of some sorts lying on the coffee table.

"Hiromoto college of Fashion and Design." he read out loud as he picked it up. It seemed be some kind of brochure

"Ah! What the hell are you doing!?" the other boy demanded, panicked.

"Hey Ishida, what exactly is this?" Ichigo asked curiously, holding it up.

"Noth-Nothing. I um, just picked it up by mistake, that's all."

"Hmm." The orange haired boy looked down at it then back up to Ishida. "Are you thinking of going here when you graduate?"

"What? Of-Of course not!"

"Ah, I see." He placed it back down on the table and sat back. "What do you think you'll do after high school then?"

"I suppose I'll become a doctor." Ishida answered with a sigh.

"Wow, you sure don't sound too enthused about it."

"I'm not."

Ichigo gave him a confused look. "Then why do it then?"

"Because I don't-" he stopped suddenly. "Look it doesn't matter, okay?"

There was another short bout of silence. However this time Ishida was the one to break it. "What about you then? Just what exactly do you plan to do?"

"Me? I figured I'd just go to Med school. You know, take over the Clinic when my old man retires."

The bespectacled boy gave a bitter chuckle. "Well aren't you the dutiful son."

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo asked, sitting up. "If I'm going to be taking over the family business, it's because I want to. It's got nothing to do with my old man. Besides, I'm not even sure if he wants me to take over the Clinic. It's not something I've discussed with him and I don't plan to either. It's my future after all."

It was then that Ichigo was hit by a sudden realisation.

"Hey, Ishida, the reason you're going to become a Doctor, it isn't because of your father is it?"

He really didn't know much about Ishida's father other than the fact that he was the Director of Karakura Hospital. That and he seemed to have a somewhat rocky relationship with his son.

Ishida's eyed widened for a moment. With a frown he quickly turned away. "That...That's none of your business!"

Ichigo hit his fist against his palm showing that he understood. "Ah, so what you really want to do is go to that Hiromoto School, but because your Dad wants you to become a Doctor."

"I told you, I picked up that brochure by mistake!" Ishida yelled, gripping at the fabric on his trousers.

"You don't just pick up random college brochures by mistake." Ichigo retorted, his voice growing stern. "If you really want to go to that place then you should."

"It's not that simple!" Ishida shouted as he stood up.

"Why? 'Cause your old man wants you to become a Doctor instead? If I recall, didn't he want you to give up being a Quincy too?"

"That...That's different!"

"Why?"

"Because unlike this, being a Quincy is something that you're born into, and to ignore that part of you heritage and the powers that comes with it would be disrespectful. Designing clothes and sewing on the other hand is... well, it's a hobby. Nothing more."

"Yeah but doesn't it make more sense to do something you enjoy? If you want to make clothes then you should."

Ishida's face reddened. "You...You're way too naive."

"Really?" Ichigo stood up and stretched his arms out. "Oh well, you can do whatever you want. I got what I came here for anyway."

"And what's that?" Ishida asked questioningly.

"The reason as to why you've been acting so strangely lately."

"Huh? What do you-"

"Well, it's pretty clear that it's got something to do with this fashion thing. You want to go to that Hiromoto place but don't want to disappoint your Dad and so you're stressing out."

"Wow, you're a real detective aren't you, Kurosaki?" Ishida snorted, rolling his eyes.

The orange haired boy gave a small grin in return. "Anyway, I better get home or Yuzu will chew me out for being late for dinner again."

Ishida followed him out and watched in the hallway as Ichigo put his shoes back on.

"You really should join us for lunch tomorrow." Ichigo encouraged as he picked up his school bag. "Just because you have this decision to make, doesn't mean you have to cut yourself off from everyone."

"I told you already, there's no decision to be made. I'm going to Med school and becoming a Doctor."

"If that's what you really want." And with that Ichigo left. "See you tomorrow at school!" he yelled over his shoulder.

Ishida stood there silently as he watched the substitute Shinigami leave. He couldn't help but let out an annoyed groan as he shut the door. Kurosaki truly was an idiot.

Author's Notes: Thank you very much for reading. This was unbeta'd so apologies for any spelling errors or grammatical mistakes.