This story takes place after the final battle against Yhwach but before the last chapter (686).

I don't write that often, so I hope you guys won't be too harsh on me.

- Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo -

.

.

.

How long had it been since they sat around like this for drinks? God, it must've been what, almost two years, if not more? Where the hell did the time go?

…

Ever since they had won the battle against Yhwach, life had returned back to normal fairly quickly. Well... as normal as it could've possibly gotten if you didn't count the nightmares, the PTSD and whatever more horrors came along with having survived that whole ordeal. Not to mention that "normal" still meant battling hollows whenever they showed their ugly heads. The group had never really talked much about the events of the Quincy Blood War and once they'd returned to Karakura Town, everyone just went about their business as usual. Life had to continue on one way or the other.

High school graduation followed a year later and since then they naturally went their separate ways. Ichigo had been helping out his father more often at the Kurosaki Clinic, while still managing to study for his medical degree at Karakura University. Sado had been in Mexico where he's been training to become a professional athlete. Ishida had been studying medicine in Tokyo city and Orihime had been working part-time at a bread and cake shop in Karakura, whilst trying to pay for her studies in sales.

They were young adults in their early 20's now and thus faced with more responsibilities. Saving the human world and Soul Society from complete and utter destruction unfortunately didn't earn them a cushy lifestyle and not that they were complaining.

One particular gentle healer however, was not so content as she appeared to be, but you would never hear any complaints uttered from her lips. What she wished for though, was nothing more than to find the courage to finally confess her ever present feelings for the substitute Shinigami. She knew the more she kept it to herself, the harder it would be to face him on a daily basis and it did. Two years later and she now had to deal with the sad and painful reality that they had grown immensely apart and she had no one to blame but herself.

You see, even though Ichigo and Orihime still lived in the same town, they barely hung out after graduating high school. Both were very busy due to their new phases in life, which brought more demanding schedules along but the main reason was due to the fact that Orihime's feelings for Ichigo had grown stronger over the years, especially after battling against Yhwach and so the idea of being alone and close with him, had made the gentle healer stay clear of him. All because she couldn't find a way to act like her usual self around the handsome, orange-haired young man she had loved for so long.

No, not anymore.

Not like she could in the past when she could ignore her selfish desires.

She tried for a while but any normalcy she once felt in his presence was soon consumed by the uncontrolled growth of her unwavering love. Only with a group around could she bring herself to be near him and since they almost never managed to come together as one, the two young adults only ever talked on rare occasions.

It didn't take long before Ichigo noticed this bothersome change of events. He was dense but not that dense.

The substitute Shinigami would recall the many instances when he ran into Orihime at the bakery or just out and about and she would almost always cut their conversations short, using every excuse possible. This would leave Ichigo in a perpetual state of confusion and slight annoyance and the more often he was faced with it, the less he tried to force his own desire for change.

'Maybe becoming an adult means you sometimes grow apart?'

It was a thought that bothered him much more than he wanted to admit. After all, his friends meant the world to him and despite their lack of communication, he still considered Orihime a very dear friend.

…

Now here they all were, sitting across from each other in a small café in Karakura.

It's crazy to think that this is the first time in two years that they had managed to clear their conflicting schedules but it was sadly their reality.

Ichigo looked around to see so many familiar faces at once. He couldn't help but smile, even if it only appeared as a small grin to the outside world. He had missed them all. Yes, even the ever so stoic Ishida who sat to the right of him. Rukia, Renji and Tatsuki had also managed to come along for drinks.

Everyone was catching up and being loud and it didn't take long before his brown eyes landed on Orihime. He immediately noticed she was not as bubbly and cheerful as he remembered her to be. Sure, there was a bright, dazzling smile plastered on her face while in a conversation with Rukia and Tatsuki, but there was still something… off. He couldn't quite put his finger on it and God knows he had tried many times over these past two years. In fact, the gentle healer had been on his mind more often than not lately. Sometimes he'd even catch himself daydreaming about her. Not in a perverted way, but more in a I miss your silly stories about robots and aliens kind of way...

God, who was he kidding? He had missed everything about her. From her crazy stories, to her unusual dietary choices, to her bubbly personality. Fuck, he even missed her own unique light floral scent and the way her burnt orange hair always flowed in a gush of wind. And those curves, those amazing…

"Oi, Ichigo! Stare any longer and you're going to burn a hole through Orihime."

Rukia's sudden high pitched voice took Ichigo immediately out of his daze and briefly away from his inner most secret thoughts.

"W-what do you mean? I wasn't staring."

He looked across the round table and saw a flustered Orihime, waving her two hands frantically before her.

"N-no, it's not a problem. I-I'm sure Kurosaki-kun was just deep in thoughts." The gentle healer stuttered with a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, I'm sure he was." Tatsuki whispered underneath her breath, while looking up at him with a raised brow.

He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest in an embarrassed manner.

"I'm sorry Inoue. I-I was indeed just lost in thought."

"It's okay Kurosaki-kun. You don't need to apologize."

The ever so selfless Inoue doing what she did best, making sure everyone around her was comfortable and reassured, even when she was not. A clear indication of that was her red, flustered face, the fact that she was avoiding eye contact with him and the way she was repetitively biting on her bottom lip, almost like a nervous tic.

If only Ichigo had the powers to read her mind. He would almost be tempted to trade his God-like Shinigami powers if it meant peeking inside her unusual brain and finding out what had made her keep a distance from him. It all just didn't make sense to him. What caused this change when they had been close for so long and went through so much together? Why did she decide to be so uncharacteristically neglectful of their friendship after they went to hell and back? They grew more stronger and more fearless together and ultimately trusted each other enough to fight side by side against a strong and powerful enemy. Had she forgotten or did it all mean so little to her?

No, he refused to believe that. That's not like Inoue... or at least not the Inoue he knew. Maybe the war changed her more than he thought and maybe... maybe he was the one who didn't put enough effort in their friendship.

He found himself digging his nails into the skin of his arms as he grew more frustrated and confused by his current thoughts.

'Fuck.. just relax.'

He could already hear the faint snickering of his hollow in the back of his mind.

'Damn, not now.'

'What's the matter King? Are you upset because you're being ignored by the lovely busty babe sitting across from you?'

'No, t-that's not… Shut up, damn hollow!'

'Are you sure? Isn't that why your most perverted thoughts always revolve around... her? Tsk, you're such a fucking coward for not admitting the most obvious.'

'Admit what?... Why the hell am I even asking? Just shut up before I come in there and make you.'

'Then make me. I'm itching to take over and show the busty healer that a real man is not afraid to take what's his.'

'W-what the hell is wrong with you? Orihime is not some damn property to possess and she's definitely not someone I'll ever let you touch.'

He could feel his veins throbbing from anger but he should've known better by now than to entertain that damn pale menace. Even if he made peace with his inner hollow, he still annoyed him to no end.

'I really don't give a damn what you do, just make this fucking rain stop. It's starting to piss me off!'

'Good. That's what you get for being a constant pain in my ass.'

The sound of his hollow's voice seemed to have been put on mute for a while, but it didn't take long before he heard his piercing, devilish laughter fading to the background.

Sigh… as if he wasn't dealing with enough already.

After taking a deep breath, he decided that he really should just enjoy her company and everyone else's while he still could. He might not know what was going on yet but now was not the time to let his frustrations spoil his overall good mood.

For now he just had to push away the thought that, despite Orihime residing in the same town, he had missed the gentle healer a hell of a lot more than any of his other friends living out of town and overseas.

Whatever the reasons were behind her changing demeanor, he knew one thing for certain and that's the fact that after today, he was going to make damn sure the last two years will not be repeated again in the future.

After today, he was going to get his precious friend back.