This is my first time ever doing a fic like… this. You'll see what I mean. Please don't be too brutal.
Disclaimer: Don't own it.
The battle had been difficult, Ichigo remembered. His sword arm still hurt a week later from clashing with Aizen. The escape had been even more difficult, carrying everyone on his back and flying out of the collapsing fortress. His back still hurt a week later. But it was worth it, all worth it. Facing death countless times was nothing compared to the elation brought by rescuing the beautiful Orihime from her fate.
And yet, though simply overjoyed at their success, there was a pang in his chest. His heart still hurt a week later. Seeing her at school, hearing her laugh, seeing her smile… it all made him so happy, happier than he'd been since his mother's untimely death. But still, the pang continued. The pang seemed to call for one name and one name only…
This was why he knew exactly where he was going as he strolled down the sidewalk, though he hadn't planned this trip. Since the battle, he had taken to walking to sort out his thoughts. Although this had helped some, he still had feelings that could not be settled. The Shinigami battle license, tied to his pants, bounced in time to his steps as he walked. It was Rukia's shift tonight, but he still carried it, just in case she needed help. After all, she had nearly died in Las Noches…
Ichigo's feet plodded on, block after block. His legs seemed to work on their own; no commands he sent seemed to deter them from bringing him to his destination. He did not know the path, nor did he recognize any street. But her reiatsu was so bright, so beautiful that he could sense and find it with ease.
Streetlamp. Billboard. Restaurant. Streetlamp. House. Alleyway. These things did not register in his mind as more than mere fleeting images, as though seen through an extremely fast slideshow. He could have sprinted there; he had the stamina, but he wanted to walk, to take things slow, to for once in his life be a master of his destiny and how to go about it. Broken streetlamp. Fire hydrant. Stray dog. Flowers. Flowers…
The flowers clicked in his mind and for a second he was reminded of her hairpins, the source of her mystical power, power unlocked by his mere presence. Perhaps their fates were more entwined than he thought.
There it was. Her apartment flat. The lights were on and music could be heard in the background. There were sounds of people talking, of excited chatter on the television: Matsumoto and Hitsugaya had vacated it after being called back to Soul Society. She was alone, all alone, and Ichigo thought she must be terribly lonely…
His hand acted without orders and slowly, he knocked on her door. The music ceased, as did the chatter, and footsteps indicated someone approaching. The door swung open to reveal Orihime, dressed in her school outfit, her hair damp and a towel in one hand. She looked utterly bewildered for a moment, but her expression returned to one of joy when she said, "Kurosaki-kun! What a pleasant surprise!"
"Hey, Inoue," he said quietly, a sad smile on his lips. "Can I… can I come in?" he asked awkwardly.
"Oh!" she said, startled, and then stepped aside. "Yes, of course! Come in, come in, how rude of me…"
"It's alright," he said, and walked inside. He sat at the little table, which, he thought, must usually be occupied by Orihime and Tatsuki.
"I'm sorry, I just got out of the shower, and I was drying my hair, and…" she trailed off, then added, "Do you want some tea or juice or milk or something?"
"Tea's fine," he muttered blankly. His mouth had acted on autopilot as his mind vividly imagined Orihime, stark naked and sopping wet, rubbing herself all over…
"Kurosaki-kun?" she asked, and he snapped out of it.
"Sorry, what?"
"I was asking if you wanted anything to eat," she said timidly.
"Yeah, sure," he replied, hoping to sound as though he were all there.
"Good! What would you like? Some chocolate and meatloaf, or maybe a sandwich and some vinegar?" She paused. "Though… people don't usually like my foods, so maybe… bread sounds safe, don't you think?"
He nodded. "That sounds good. But… don't trouble yourself on my account, alright?"
She raised her hands and shook her head. "No, no, Kurosaki-kun, it's no trouble at all!" she said hastily. Then, as a small blush appeared on her face, she added, "And… it's a pleasure for me to serve you." Her voice lingered on the last two words.
For an instant, their eyes met, and as he peered into those large grey-blue orbs, he felt he was looking into her pure, beautiful soul. Their gaze broke. She turned and muttered, "I should… I should go make that tea."
She bent over to pour out the kettle, and Ichigo had a perfect view of her rear end. His mouth opened slightly when he realized that her skirt only half-covered that cotton strip that was her panties. An electric shock ran through him, blood filled his face, and he turned his gaze so quickly he nearly snapped his neck. In fact, his neck had made an audible crack in doing this and Orihime had noticed.
"Kurosaki-kun?" she asked, turning her head but remaining bent down, "Are you alright?"
"Y…" he gulped, "Yeah, I'm fine, Inoue," he eventually finished, and desperately tried to keep looking down.
She straightened up and, seeing that it was safe to look again, Ichigo's eyes wandered again to her clothes, to the blouse, tight on her large chest, and to the skirt, short and greatly accentuating her perfect behind. How odd that she wear them after showering…
She saw him staring and, for a moment, he panicked, but was granted a reprieve as she said, "Oh! My clothes… these are the only clean clothes I have, so I had to wear them, and, um…" She blushed again. "I'm so embarrassed."
"Don't be," he said gently, and her blush faded slightly. "You look… beautiful." The words had escaped his mouth without his permission. It seemed his entire body was revolting against his mind, especially a certain part between his legs. He crossed them in half-hearted hopes she wouldn't notice.
Her breathing became a little less steady and she said in a near whisper, "Thank you… Kurosaki-kun."
Their eyes met again. There it was, in plain view: her heart, her wonderful heart, beating perfectly in time with his own. It cried out in longing, longing for him. He knew from her gaze, from her smile, from the tone of her voice, what had to be done. He needed to, for her, for himself, for their hearts.
She turned once more to make the tea and silently, he got up. There would be no grand speech, no proud admission, no romantic gesture. Instead, he simply grasped a shoulder lightly, turned her around, and kissed her on the mouth with everything he had.
There was a pause that seemed to last an eternity where he stood in this pleasurable stance, waiting to see if there would be more, or if he would soon locate his balls in the vicinity of his chin.
The former played out as she kissed back, wrapping her arms around him tightly, as though letting go would mean falling to death. They intensified, moment by moment, and Ichigo, body acting on instinct, drove his tongue into her mouth and she willingly accepted. Her tongue played with his for a bit, but then she, showing aptitude that he'd never expected from her, sucked his tongue so erotically that his mind was filled with nothing but absolute light and pleasure.
His hands began to hover just above her chest. Suddenly, almost silently, she uttered, "Go…" and from that signal, he began to undo the straining buttons until finally, her breasts and bra bounded forward. He wanted to squeeze them now; to feel the perfectly soft flesh, flesh that no one had ever touched before, not even the psychopath Chizuru.
But he waited, wanting his first touch to be complete, unblocked by anything. He fiddled at her back, trying to find the clasp. He found it, and it was tough to undo, as her breasts were so large that even this DD cup bra was straining heavily and flesh overflowed the cups.
Finally, he unhooked it and the bra sprung off of her, discarded to the floor. There they were, the breasts that caught the attention of every male and certain females in their school, the breasts that, along with the rest of her body, made others perceive her to be a goddess in human form. He found it delightfully ironic that right now, the goddess was offering herself to him.
Still he held back his urges, his desire, and touched the edges of each areola. She moaned softly and Ichigo smiled: perhaps it was because she desired him that much, or because her genetics had built her like that, but either way, these breasts were not merely huge, but also incredibly, almost abnormally sensitive. He traced several circles around the more sensitive area, eliciting more and more moans from her, moans that pleaded for him to do more.
He moved on to the center of the areolas, repeating the action of tracing circles just at the base of her nipples. Her moans grew louder, and she was losing the control of her tongue to the electric pleasure running through her.
At last, he moved onto the erect pink tips, pushing, pulling, and tweaking them just enough so that she felt the maximum pleasure. She parted from him and gasped, "Suck… teeth… please!"
He too abandoned her mouth and motioned that they should go to her bed. She agreed and landed face up on it while Ichigo followed on top of her. Inhaling, he found the scent of her sweat combined with her natural sweet aroma to be erotically tantalizing. Swiftly, he put his mouth on one nipple and sucked hard. Her cries grew even more when he lightly applied his teeth to the tip and increased the intensity of his ministrations on its counterpart. Finally unleashing himself fully, he grasped the other breast with the whole of his hand, squeezing it roughly, though it was so very large that he couldn't even hope to cup it completely. When she'd reached the peak of her pleasure, her index finger pointed downwards toward the button on her skirt and Ichigo grinned a devious grin.
Somewhat reluctantly leaving her glorious breasts, he tore off her skirt; the button sent flying away. All that remained to stand in his way were a pair of tiny pink panties with a tiny bow in the front. Her scent was especially powerful down here, near the very wet spot on her groin, and Ichigo felt rather intoxicated from the scent alone. The panties were pulled from their spot, off her legs entirely and Ichigo stood on his knees between her parted legs.
The world around them melted. There was nothing, nothing but her. Like a tiger watching its prey, he observed her body. She was perfect in every way. Her massive breasts were perky, full, and well shaped. Her bottom, he'd felt, was firm and round. Her waist was slim and toned, despite her incredible appetite. Her legs were long and luscious, gleaming with the sweat from the heat he had caused.
"K-Kurosaki-kun?" she breathed, a worried look in her eyes, "Is… something wrong?" He knew by her tone, that she was deeply frightened by the possibility that he might not like what he sees in her body.
"No," he whispered back, "You are perfect," and saw the ecstasy cover her features from these words.
He returned to his position over her and began working on the area of her sex, the place that no man had ever even witnessed and, he hoped, would never have the chance to witness after him. Two fingers slowly eased their way in and she cried out louder than ever. Playing with her clitoris, he felt extreme satisfaction from the squeals that poured from her mouth. He didn't want her to finish without him, though, so he pulled his hands away and began undoing the zipper on his jeans. His erection throbbed painfully against them, and before pulling them off he reached in his pocket.
He found a condom, a condom that, every so often, was given to him by his father, who had said that a man should always carry one. He grinned at the idea that his crazy idiot of a father had been right for a change. Throwing away his pants, he slipped the condom over his manhood.
Orihime's eyes widened at the sight of it. "So… big…" she panted. "Bigger than I… ever imagined…"
The erection throbbed. She had imagined him, imagined his size, and perhaps had imagined this very scenario? And he had exceeded those expectations? His breathing grew more excited still. "Orihime," he said gently, stroking her hair, "Are you sure you want this?"
She did not nod, but said, "Yes… Ichigo… cock, need, now!"
Another throb. The notion that he'd aroused her so much to drive her to obscenities, to drop the formality of his last name, was nearly overpowering him. Slowly, he eased his way inside her and, with a surge of guilt, felt something give way.
Remorse flooded him. He'd studied anatomy. He knew what he'd done and was not surprised, but pained by the blood that leaked out. He'd hurt her, tainted her with his stupidity. "Orihime," he said softly, "I'm so sorr-"
"More!" she commanded. It was as though she'd never even felt the pain, despite the small tear that had unwillingly trickled from her eye. "Go, go, go!"
Not daring to question, he began his thrusts, pounding in and out of her faster and faster while she struggled to keep up the rhythm. While out of her, it felt like he'd been ripped from sweet warmth into strikingly painful cold. But that made returning that much sweeter, like coming home after a long absence. She was absolutely screaming at this point, crying, "Ichigo! Yes! Keep… going!" repeatedly.
"Orihime…" he said, his voice growing steadily in volume. "Orihime. Orihime, Orihime. O. Ri. Hi. Me!" he roared and with a tremendous thrust, he felt her walls close around him as an incredible, earth-shattering orgasm tore through her. Lightning coursed through the pleasure in her brain and she shrieked higher and louder than either could have ever guessed. He followed, shooting his seed into the condom, coming so hard and so long his eyes crossed and he felt nothing, saw nothing, heard nothing, smelled nothing and tasted nothing but her, everything of her, her entire body, mind, and soul. He felt love and pleasure combining until he was on the threshold of divinity.
The orgasms subsided. Ichigo pulled out of her, removing the condom from his flaccid member and resting next to her. The two lay there, panting, sweat soaked and cooling off. "That… was… incredible," she exhaled and Ichigo smiled triumphantly. "I hope I wasn't too bad…" she added meekly.
He raised an eyebrow. "Are you kidding? You were amazing," he said, watching relief run over her features as he did so. A few minutes later, a thought struck him: He'd nearly forgotten something, something very, very important. "Orihime," he muttered, turning to look at her.
She returned his gaze. "Yes?"
"I love you."
Her heart swelled and she almost cried tears of joy. "Oh, Ichigo… I love you so much; I've loved you since… since I can remember! I love you more than I love robots or salmon milkshakes, or even more than all my friends! You're the most wonderful man, the greatest – mpht!"
Ichigo had silenced her with a kiss. As they parted, he said, "We can talk about this in the morning… for now, let's sleep, okay?"
She nodded slowly and fell, surprisingly quickly, into a deep sleep. He willed himself to remain awake as long as he could. He wanted to watch her chest rise and fall with her lips curved into a smile. His ego stood proud at the knowledge that he had put that smile on her face; he brought her that joy. But by the same token, she had caused an equal or perhaps greater amount of happiness… Even after his years and years of torment, sorrow, and suffering, after the years of tragedy he'd endured, he felt that life had been wonderful to him. He wouldn't trade it for the world.
Soon, he too succumbed to sleep, her arms still loosely wrapped around him.
The morning approached and with it, a few soft rays of light that kissed Ichigo awake. He sighed dismally, for his first thought that he was in his own bed, which, moving on to his second thought, meant that the last night had been but a mere fantasy and that soon, his father and probably at least one of his sisters were going to burst into the room, perhaps with some form of physical abuse. He'd had plenty of these fantasies, especially in the last week. Though, he admitted, none had been quite as vivid as that one.
But as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, he noticed something very strange. This was not his room. Upon further examination, he deduced that this was not even his house. Instead, he concluded, it was a house that, regrettably, he'd only visited a few times prior. He was also naked in this house… which meant that the woman next to him was none other than Inoue Orihime, and that the last night, he thought as his eyes widened, was wonderfully real.
She stirred suddenly. Opening her eyes, a look of disappointment overcame her that, to Ichigo, indicated that she seemed to be on a similar train of thought.
"G'morning," he said. He kissed her cheek.
Just as he had done, her eyes widened, and her lips returned to an enormous smile as she brightly exclaimed, "Good morning, my love!"
"Wow…" he said, bearing a look of awe.
"What?" she asked, panicked. "Should I not have said that? I'm sorry! I'll –"
"No, no," he said calmly. "I just… it's great to hear it like that. It makes it… I dunno, more real, you know?"
"Yeah," she said, and her smile returned. As quickly as it had come, however, it was replaced by one of alarm. "Oh my God!" she squeaked, fumbling around for something on the side of her bed, "Where's my clock? What time is it? We're gonna be late for school! Oh, where's my uniform, it's somewhere over here…"
"Orihime, hang on," he said, grasping her shoulders. "It's Sunday. And besides, Ochi-sensei doesn't really care if we're late."
Relief washed over her. "Oh, goody," she said, and returned to snuggle with Ichigo.
"Just gotta make a quick phone call," he said. The phone, conveniently enough, lay right next to Ichigo's side of the bed. Dialing his number, he then listened for someone to pick up. "Hello? Dad? I'm, uh," he looked around and spotted a textbook, "At a friend's house studying. Yeah. I know. Okay. Listen, can you just put Rukia on the phone? Please? Yeah, she's a better child than I'll ever be, whatever, just put her on the line!" He sighed, and Orihime giggled. Rukia's voice came from the other side.
"Hello?"
"Rukia? It's Ichigo."
"Ichigo? Where are you? Yuzu's been worried about you."
"I'm at Inoue's."
A pause. "Excuse me? I'm afraid I didn't catch that."
"I'm…" he blushed, "At Inoue's. Studying."
"Studying," she repeated, clearly very skeptical. "You've been over at Inoue's since last night studying."
"That's… that's right," he confirmed, trying and failing to sound somewhat confident.
"May I ask what you were studying?"
Another pause. Ichigo could practically hear her smugness over the phone. "I… Chemistry." It had been the first thing to come into his mind.
"Oh, I bet you were studying chemistry –"
"Shut up!"
"Were you also studying a bit of biology, too? Hmm?"
"I said shut up!" Ichigo's face was rapidly becoming red. "Listen, I'll tell you about it tomorrow at school, alright?"
"Promise?"
"Promise," he rolled his eyes, "Now can I ask you a favor?"
"Sure. Ichigo, have I ever told you you've got some great manga here?"
"What? Oh, thanks, I guess. Anyway –"
"I mean the female character in this one, I forget what it's called, she's just so deep –"
"Can you pay attention for just one second?! Just one!" Orihime laughed more.
"Okay, fine. What do you need?"
He exhaled deeply. "Can you cover the Hollow Watch again tonight?"
"Does this have something to with your 'studying'?"
"Can you do it or not?"
"Sure, Ichigo. Why didn't you just say so in the first place?" she asked, clearly relishing his infuriation.
"Gah!" he roared and swore loudly. Orihime laughed so hard that she clutched her sides. "Okay! Thank you! Don't let Kon touch my things while I'm not there!" As Rukia hung up, he slammed down the phone with a great clack. He looked at Orihime, the last of whose giggles had just subsided, and his frustration melted. "It's just… I don't want people to know about us yet. It's not that I'm embarrassed or ashamed of you or anything, I just…"
She put a finger to his lips, quieting his explanation. "I understand. Your – our – secret is safe with me." Hand lowered, she asked, "So what do you want to do now?" But even as she spoke, a tremendous growl escaped from her stomach. Her face turned so red a tomato would be jealous. "Uh, th-that, that wasn't – it was –"
Ichigo smiled. "It's alright. I'm hungry too. I'll make us some breakfast," he said, and, stepping over to the small kitchen, began cracking some eggs to scramble.
Orihime rose from her bed and picked up a male school uniform top made for someone very small. "Oh…" she said wistfully, "This is Toushirou-kun's… he must have left it here by accident." Unconsciously, she clutched the uniform tightly, as if trying to extract the shirt's memories.
This did not go unnoticed by Ichigo, even as he prepared their breakfast. "You really miss them, huh?"
She gave a slight nod. "They were only here for a short while, but even still… ever since Sora died, I… I haven't had anyone to stay with me. Tatsuki-chan comes over every so often, but…"
"You don't have anyone stable," Ichigo finished, surprised at himself for understanding so well as he lay the eggs down at the table.
"Mhm," she mumbled, trying to hold back tears.
Ichigo placed a finger under her chin and lifted it, so that she could meet his gaze, eyes swimming with tears. "I love you, Orihime," he told her softly. "And any time you need some company, I'll be here for you."
"Ichigo…" she uttered, letting the tears fall. He embraced her tightly and let her weep on his shoulder as she released her pain in a cathartic cry.
"I mean it, Orihime. I'll stay with you whenever you like."
"B-but," she said, sniffling a little, "What about your family? Your sisters?"
"Hmm," he mumbled, "I know. How about this? You and I see each other at school. So when I come home, I'll spend the afternoon with them, and then in the evening, I'll come see you."
He released her and was pleased at her smiling yet tear-stained face. "That would be wonderful, Ichigo."
He smiled back. "Good. Now come on, let's eat. Itadakimasu."
"Itadakimasu," she repeated with one last sniffle, and they dove into the meal. Orihime, after a few bites of her eggs, said, "Yum, Ichigo, I didn't know you could cook!"
Modestly, he replied, "It's nothing, just, when Yuzu's sick, Karin and my dad aren't exactly willing to pick up the extra work, so I do it."
She smiled, nibbling contentedly at her food. "I think it's wonderful."
He grinned. "Yeah?"
"Yes."
They ate, and as they did so, Ichigo marveled at the voracity of her appetite and, perhaps even more astounding, how she managed to keep her impressive figure. Her metabolism, he imagined, had been very kind to her.
But soon, his mind ventured to different thoughts on his love… She was gentle, kind, intelligent, and wise and caring, especially about him: She always seemed to empathize with him, to perfectly understand, even from before their mission to Soul Society. She would worry, too, always worry about protecting others with little care for herself. This line of thought led to a question that Ichigo, when he thought about it, had wanted to ask for a great deal of time.
"Why did you leave?" he asked suddenly.
She looked stricken by the question, her eyes widened and her mouth slightly open, and a wave of remorse instantly flooded Ichigo. However, he knew that his question needed to be answered, no matter how painful it would be. "I… I – that is, when Ulquiorra…"
"He brought you to Hueco Mundo, right," said Ichigo, nodding. "I know. But he didn't force you, did he?"
She gulped. "… Right." There was a period of silence during which Orihime twiddled her fingers with her eyes clamped shut. Finally, and very rapidly, she said, "He said he was going to kill you!"
"What…?" Ichigo asked near noiselessly.
"And not just you!" she continued, her breathing a little more rapid, "He said he would kill you and Rangiku-chan and Toushirou-kun and – and everyone I care about!" She was outright crying now. "Wh-what could I do? If I refused - if I decided to stay home – everyone would have died, a-and…" she sobbed heavily, "It would be all my fault."
"Orihime…"
"And now you hate me!" she cried, weeping into her hands.
Ichigo reached his arm around her and gently whispered into her ear, "No. I don't. I still love you and there's nothing that can change that."
Her breathing became more regular as she squeaked, "… really?"
"Really."
"Look at me," she said, wiping her eyes, "I keep crying today, and after something so wonderful. I'm so sorry, Ichigo…"
"It's okay," said Ichigo, embracing her fully, holding her tightly to his body. "Please, just… don't leave again."
"I won't," she murmured.
"No matter who tries to take you, I'll fight them all. Have faith in me."
"Always," she replied with a nod, then looked directly up at Ichigo. He met her gaze for a second and then Ichigo, mesmerized by her eyes, leaned down and, cupping her tearstained cheeks, kissed her, gently and tenderly. Pulling away, she tilted her head towards the bed and asked, "Again?"
Ichigo nodded so rapidly it threatened to give him whiplash. He stopped suddenly, a concerned look on his face. "Shit," he said, "I only had the one condom."
Orihime looked disappointed. "Oh," she said, sighing dejectedly.
"W-wait," he said, holding up his hands nervously, "I can go to the pharmacy and back in, like, ten minutes."
Her smile returned. "Okay. Come back soon," she said, kissing him on the cheek before he turned to leave.
"As fast as I can," he said, a cocky grin on his face as he opened the door and sprinted out at top speed towards the pharmacy.
A few minutes later, he arrived at his destination and walked up to the counter intending to confidently proclaim that he would like a box of condoms. However, as soon as he reached the counter, his voice died in his throat and he compensated by pretending to look for an imaginary object that he pretended he had dropped some several feet away.
"This is stupid," he thought, "Why is this so difficult? I shouldn't be embarrassed by this anymore. I've had sex with a beautiful girl, I should be able to…" Just then, a thought struck him. "I… I've had sex. With a beautiful girl, no less." Though he did give himself a pat on the back, he also chastised himself. "Come on. I shouldn't be acting like that; that's something that Keigo would do. No, that's not true, he'd probably run up and down the streets singing if he had sex, unlikely though it may be. But I guess it's not bad for a bit of self-congratulation. I mean, it is a pretty big milestone."
Smacking himself on the forehead, he thought, "Focus. Focus! I've got a task to do here. Alright. Just have to go up there and ask, 'Can I have a box of condoms, please?'" Marching up to the counter for a second attempt, Ichigo raised his hand dramatically, puffed out his chest and, once again, stopped short of asking for some condoms.
After a few moments, the clerk said, "Can I help you, sir?"
"Uh, well," Ichigo babbled for a moment, caught off guard, "No, thank you, I was just picking up a…" his eyes quickly scanned the area for the nearest item, "'Extra-Strength Nasal Spray Value Pack'," he read off the bottle awkwardly. "Yep, allergies sure are a killer," he said, trying desperately to sound confident.
The clerk nodded kindly. "Very good, sir."
Ichigo moved to a different aisle and began to start whacking himself with the large bottle of nasal spray. "Why. Is. This. So. Difficult?" he thought, punctuating each word with a whack. Eventually, he returned to the other aisle filled once again with resolve.
Just then, however, a man around Ichigo's age walked up to the counter and said, "Hey, can I get a box of condoms, please?"
"Yes, sir. Would you prefer lubed, or non-lubed?"
"Wait," thought Ichigo, looking on in awe, "There are different kinds? I guess the one I used last night was non-lube…"
"Non-lubed, please."
"Absolutely, sir. Here you go," said the clerk, and handed the guy a box as he paid for it. "Have a nice day."
"Thanks," said the guy, and was swiftly on his way out as Ichigo watched wide-eyed.
Snapping out of it, Ichigo walked to the counter, still holding the bottle of nasal spray, and said, "I'll take what he got."
Condoms in hand, Ichigo sprinted back to Orihime's place and eagerly knocked on the door. "It's open," came the reply from inside, and Ichigo stepped in.
Lying on the bed, Orihime was dressed solely in a silk robe, which stopped just below the waist and bore a good deal of clevage. She wore mischievous a smile and purred, "Come, Ichigo." Hurrying over, he ripped open the box of condoms and put one package aside for later use. "Why do you have nasal spray?" she asked.
"Oh," he said, relinquishing the bottle, which fell to the floor with a thud and rolled under the bed, "It's a long story. Now, where were we?"
"Well," she said, standing and approaching him, "I believe you were here," she took his arms and wrapped them around her, "And I was here," she finished, reaching up to kiss him.
"Oh yeah," he said, leaning in to close the gap, "I remember."
After a few moments of kissing, Orihime parted and said, "Ichigo… a while ago, you said that I don't belong to anyone."
"Yeah," he said, remembering the incident with her brother, "What of it?"
"Well," she said, and began to disrobe, "I want to offer everything I am…" she draped her arms around Ichigo, "mind, soul, and body…" she pressed her naked form against Ichigo's chest, "to you, Ichigo."
Ichigo's breathing had become dry. "I… Orihime, you can't… I mean, I can't accept that…"
"Please," she begged, looking up at him with large, pleading eyes, "Please take me."
Silence, broken by Ichigo. "Alright," he said finally, holding her tight against himself. "I'll accept that you're mine… if you accept that I'm yours."
"Fine," she said, reaching to kiss him once more, "Then we'll be each other's."
They began, yet it differed from the first time. It was slower, less rushed, and Ichigo was very, very gentle. He treated her like a goddess, worshipping her every action and caressing her softly. It was still extremely passionate and Orihime was yet again driven mad with pleasure. They climaxed in unison, the heat from their bodies radiating to the entire room.
"Wow," Orihime panted, fanning herself, "That was… even better… than before."
"You're telling me," Ichigo replied. "I love you."
"I love you too."
A few minutes later, the Shinigami Battle License began blaring and flashing only to be silenced a few seconds later. "Thank you, Rukia," Ichigo thought.
"You know, it's funny," said Orihime after the License calmed down.
"Hmm?"
"I thought… In the beginning, I thought you liked Kuchiki-san instead of me."
"Rukia?" Seeing Orihime nod, Ichigo had to resist the urge to laugh. "How could you think I'd love her instead of you? She's bossy, violent, stupid… you, you're wonderful. Perfect."
"You really think so?"
"Yeah."
"Ichigo… thank you," she said, beaming at him. "You're smiling, Ichigo"
This seemed rather abrupt to Ichigo and he raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"
"You… you're smiling now, really smiling. It's not a grin or anything, but a true, genuine smile."
"I'm not sure what you mean."
"It's just… for all the time I've known you, you've never truly smiled. You've grinned and smirked, or used a false smile to cover something up, but never really smiled. I think…" her voice shrank drastically, "I think it had to do with your mother's death."
A pause, and Ichigo said, very quietly, "How… do you know about that…?"
"I'm sorry!" she blurted out, a panicked look on her face. "Tatsuki-chan told me a while ago, on June seventeenth, the day-"
"She died, right," Ichigo cut in, painfully remembering the incident with the Grand Fisher.
"And she told me you used to smile a lot, before… before it happened, and that afterwards… you never smiled like that again."
"Orihime…"
"When she told me that, I felt like… I could understand you better. After Sora died, I felt like I would never smile again, too. But I found reasons to smile: I found Tatsuki-chan, and my friends, and… especially, you."
Ichigo reflected on her words for a moment and then said, "When you left, it felt like the sunshine had been ripped from my world. I had taken you for granted and I realized how precious you really are. Your capture by the Arrancar… it meant, to me, that I had failed in protecting those closest to me. It hurt. A lot. Also, Tatsuki smashed my skull through some glass."
Orihime did a double take. She'd been listening intently to Ichigo's speech, heartened by his words, and hadn't expected that revelation. She could barely believe her ears. "Tatsuki-chan… what?"
"Eh," he said, shrugging, "I probably would have done the same in her position. She's a good friend, Tatsuki."
Ichigo recalled the day that Orihime had returned, how Tatsuki had given Ichigo a hug that would have broken a weaker man in half and whispered, "Thank you, Ichigo," tears of happiness streaming down her face, "Thank you for bringing her back. You're a hero."
"No," he'd replied, "I'm no hero. Just a guy who cares about his friends."
She'd nodded, smiling broadly as she wiped the droplets from her eyes, and proceeded to give equally tight hugs to Chad and Uryu, the latter of which had appeared to be in quite a bit of pain.
"You should go," she said, promptly snapping Ichigo out of his recollection.
"Wait, what?" he said, trying to wrap his head around what she'd said. "You don't want me here?"
"No, no, no!" she replied hastily, "I just – I – Karin and Yuzu must be missing you; you've been away so frequently… maybe you should go back and spend time with them?"
His surprised look faded, replaced by a smile. Even now, Ichigo thought, when she had him all to herself, she continued to display that incredible sense of care and worry. "Well," he said, "Maybe you're right. I'll go spend some time with them, and I'll see you tomorrow." With that, he got up, but quickly felt a tugging at his jeans. Turning, he saw Orihime staring up at him, a pleading look in her eyes.
"… One more?" she asked, and Ichigo smiled, returning to bed to position himself over her. After all, he thought, what did she think he was going to say?
An hour and a half later, Ichigo found himself merrily strolling down the streets of Karakura through the quiet evening back to his home and, despite his character, whistling. He was, he thought, too damned cheery for his own good. A smile was planted on his face; despite his waiting for the whole night to come crashing down around him simply because he believed his luck didn't warrant such fortune.
He arrived at the Kurosaki residence just as he'd finished whistling the chorus to his favorite song. "Oi! I'm home!" he called, stepping through the door. "Yuzu? Karin? Dad?" A flying kick aimed to his head answered his inquiry and in yet another fortuitous twist of fate completely missed, sending Ichigo's father straight into the wall.
"Hey dad. I forgot that in my home, assault is the standard form of greeting," he said dryly.
"Ugh…" groaned Isshin, slowly rising from the floor. "I was going to tell you to keep it down! Your sisters and Rukia-chan are already sleeping!"
"Wait… Rukia too?"
"Yes, and you should be getting to bed too! You have school tomorrow!"
"Yeah, yeah," he said, waving his father off and walking towards his room. As he entered, Kon immediately jumped out at him. "Ichigooo!" the plushy cried, "Neesan was out for most of the night and you were away at a friend's house and – Hang on…" he sniffed the air with his oddly functional button of a nose. "You smell like…" he gasped in shock. "You! Were you really at a friend's house? Because you smell like you've just – "
He was cut off because Ichigo slammed the Shinigami battle license so forcefully into his face that the soul candy was ejected backwards and bounced off of the back wall. Ichigo caught it and forced it into a small jar on his desk and then hid it safely under his bed where no one would accidentally find it and swallow its contents. "Not tonight, Kon. I'm in too good a mood. Tomorrow? I'm fair game."
As he'd reached for the jar, he'd noticed a note next to it. Picking it up, he read:
"Ichigo,
No exceptionally powerful hollows tonight, so I let that halfwit Kurumadani take care of it and went to bed. Have a good night,
Rukia."
Her name was unnecessary, as Ichigo could count several poorly drawn rabbits across the page. He laughed in spite of himself and climbed into bed and for once in his entire life noticed that it was a bit lonely. Little did he know that across the various streets and avenues, his beloved was thinking, not at all for the first time, the exact same thing.
The morning came and with it a foot to Ichigo's face. His luck had only taken him so far.
"Oi!" yelled Rukia roughly, "Your father says you have to wake up or you'll be late!"
"Shut up!" he roared back, lifting the foot and throwing Rukia across the room.
She landed nimbly and grinned. "Someone's a little grumpy this morning. What, last night's 'studying' didn't go as well as planned?"
Ichigo had been fully prepared to yell at her, but stopped, instead turning away and blushing slightly. He said softly, catching Rukia completely off guard, "No… in fact, it's the opposite."
Her grin faded. She stepped through Ichigo's window and said, "Today. Lunch. You promised to tell me." Seeing him nod, she added, "See you there."
Ichigo began gathering his things and was about to leave until he noticed Kon's "dead" body. Contemplating for a moment, he muttered, "He can wait a few more hours," and left.
The walk to school had taken no time at all, only noticed by Ichigo because he had resumed his damned whistling. Nonchalantly smashing Keigo with his elbow, Ichigo sat down next to Chad and Uryu. "Hey guys," he said pleasantly.
"Hey," replied Chad, giving a slight wave.
"Morning, Kurosaki," said Uryu in turn, engrossed in a book..
"What, no greeting for me?" said a voice behind Ichigo.
He turned and saw Renji, a slightly annoyed look on the lieutenant's face. "You're still here? I'd thought you'd gone back to Soul Society. Sorry, Renji. Didn't see you. Good morning."
Renji's expression turned to one of confusion. "Uh…" he said after a moment, "Don't worry about it. Yeah, Rukia and I were told to stay here and watch over things in case something happens with the remaining Arrancar."
"Hm," said Ichigo, "That sounds good."
"Right…" said Renji, off-put. He leaned towards Chad and Uryu, whispering, "Hey, what's wrong with Ichigo? He's acting weird."
"I don't know," said Uryu, "If Kurosaki's acting nice, that's probably a reason to worry."
"Maybe usually," inserted Chad, "But today… I think it's something different."
"What do you mean, Sado-kun?" asked Uryu, but Chad didn't answer.
Ichigo had noticed their mutterings, and began, "Hey, what're you guys-" but cut himself off as he noticed a very familiar scent behind him. He'd never noticed that particular scent until the day before when he'd become gloriously aware of it. A broad smile covered his face as he turned, knowing exactly what words would reach his ears before they did.
"Good morning, Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime called, hand waving in large arcs through the air. Tatsuki stood next to her and caught sight of Ichigo's expression and, like his other friends, wondered about the reason for its existence. Shrugging, however, she dismissed it as a result of Ichigo having heard a funny joke or something.
"Good morning… Inoue," he said, and, catching her eye, smiled even more widely and watched as she did the same. The connection only lasted a moment because Ochi-sensei waltzed into the classroom at that moment.
"Alright, everyone, sit down, sit down! Class is starting!" she called, and the students took their seats.
Orihime waved, a bit flirtatiously, and she too took her seat. Ichigo could hardly concentrate on the lesson, catching himself looking at the back of Orihime's head or, occasionally, seeing her look back at him and feeling himself smile.
In the distance, he heard someone saying something to someone else in his general vicinity.
"Kurosaki? Kurosaki!"
"Hmm…?"
"Kurosaki, are you listening to a word I'm saying?" came Ochi-sensei's voice loud and clear from about six inches in front of his face.
"Gah!" he yelped, and fell backwards from the shock.
"That's what I thought," said Ochi-sensei, grinning smugly and stepping back towards the blackboard as the other students laughed at Ichigo. Grumbling, he stood and picked up his desk.
Thankfully, lunch came without any more interruptions and Ichigo headed to his usual spot, the roof, where Rukia was already waiting, arms folded. "Alright," she said, taking his arm and pulling him to a corner of the roof, "Now tell me everything."
"Uh…"
"Don't you 'uh' me!" she snapped, taking a box of apple juice and inserting the straw, "I know something happened with you and Inoue! Now tell me!"
She began to sip from her box and Ichigo sighed. "Alright…" his voice lowered, he said, "I slept with Inoue."
Rukia spurted the juice all over Ichigo's face, and when there was none left, her mouth remained open out of sheer shock. Ichigo, frustrated, began wiping the juice out of his eyes for a moment until Rukia said, "Sorry…"
"What the hell, Rukia?"
"I just, I… I wasn't expecting that!"
She handed him a napkin, which he angrily snatched out of her hand. "Then what the hell were you expecting?" he asked, drying his face.
"I don't know!" she yelled indignantly, "I thought maybe, uh, you two… made out, or something, maybe a little further than that, and then… snuggled for the night?"
"Snuggled," he repeated sourly.
"Like I said, I don't know!" She started uncharacteristically pushing her fingers together while a blush crept up her cheeks. "I just didn't think, that, that you could-"
"You didn't think I could do it? Thanks, really."
"I didn't mean it like that! I just… I mean, come on, did you honestly think that you and Inoue would do it in a single weekend?"
Ichigo went silent. "No," he said, only just above a whisper. "No, but I'm really happy we did."
She smiled. "I'm happy for you, too, Ichigo."
His usual cocky grin was back. "Well, I'm glad I could tell somebody, and as long as someone like, say, Renji doesn't know-"
"What don't I know?" said Renji, appearing suddenly.
"He slept with Inoue," said Rukia plainly.
"Rukia!" Ichigo raged.
Renji's eyes widened. He looked at Ichigo, tattooed eyebrows raised, then turned toward Orihime, then back again. Eventually, he grinned, giving a cheesy thumbs up, and said, "Very nice catch, ma – agh!" Rukia delivering a sharp kick to Renji's testicles had truncated Renji's sentence.
Ichigo glanced at the writhing, fetal Renji, then said, "Yeah… I guess it's okay that Renji knows. At least Chad or someone hasn't found –"
"What is there to find out?" said Chad, materializing behind Ichigo.
"Ugh… he slept with," Renji coughed, "Inoue."
"Renji!" Ichigo yelled, kicking Renji in the ribs, causing him to cry out in pain.
"Inoue-san?" Chad asked, then, as expected, gave the simple reply, "Good for you, Ichigo."
"Thanks, Chad…" replied Ichigo, a bit surprised by this response, "On second thought, it's okay you know. But still, you can't tell anyone, least of all Ishida."
"What about me?" Uryu said, emerging from behind Chad.
"Is there a sign on my back or something?" Ichigo roared, infuriated.
"Well, Sado-kun?" asked Uryu.
"Oh, Chad, please no…" Ichigo muttered quietly, mainly to himself in a sort of prayer.
"He slept with Inoue-san," said Chad, pointing at Ichigo.
"God damn it," Ichigo whispered, again to himself.
Uryu's eyes bugged out so powerfully that they threatened to shatter his glasses. "Whaaaat?" he outright shouted at Ichigo.
"For God's sake, keep your voice down!" said Ichigo.
"Don't tell me to keep my voice down!" Uryu raged, jabbing an accusing finger at Ichigo. "How could you and Inoue-san – how would she – I never thought she'd-"
"Blah, blah, blah," Ichigo said, thoroughly tired of the whole farce, and punched Uryu in the gut. Uryu, in turn, fell over next to Renji, sputtering.
"Well, thank you all for your incredible support!" said Ichigo sarcastically, throwing his hands in the air, "It's a wonder why I didn't want to tell you guys!"
"It's not that we don't support you, Ichigo," said Chad, "It's just… it's unexpected."
"Yeah, I got that," said Ichigo with an eye roll.
"No, I don't think you did," said Chad. "You have never, ever given any indication that you have picked up or reciprocated any of Inoue-san's hints and suddenly, you're having sex with her."
"What?" Ichigo asked, "Hints? She never dropped any – "
"Sado's r-right," said Renji from the ground, "She… guh, she definitely gave signals that she loved you, really l-loved you… even I picked up on it."
Ichigo paused and reflected, reflected on each individual moment he'd ever spent within the vicinity of Orihime. His mind re-examined her actions, her words, her body language, her expressions and…
He fell to his knees, supported by his hands. "I'm such an idiot…" he muttered.
"Yeah, we know," said Rukia.
"No, really," he said, steadying himself. "I can't believe… I can't believe I never saw her, saw that part of her."
"She came to Soul Society to protect you," Chad said, patting Ichigo on the shoulder. "She's felt so useless just because she couldn't."
"Oh God," Ichigo sighed. All the joy he'd felt earlier had disappeared, replaced by a crushing sense of guilt. She had suffered, willingly put herself in extreme danger, just because of him, solely because she wanted to be of use to him. "I'm horrible," he said, clenching a fist.
"No, you're not. You're a great guy, just a little dense," said Rukia. "And now… you two are together, so it's all better, isn't it?"
"Yeah… I guess it's okay, so long as Mizuiro and Keigo don't find out." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he flinched, shutting his eyes tight, bracing himself for what was sure to come. But after a few seconds, Ichigo opened his eyelids, noticing that it was still just the five of them and concluding that the world was not, after all, out to get him, for now.
"We're all happy for you," continued Rukia, "Well, except maybe Ishida," she added as an afterthought.
"Kuchiki-san, that is not true!" Uryu declared, rising from the floor and pushing up his glasses. "In fact, I may be the happiest of all for you! Really, good for you, Ichigo!"
Ichigo smiled. "Thanks, Ishida. That means a lot, even if you are just trying not to look bad."
"You might want to go talk to her," said Chad. "Honshou-san seems to be putting the moves on her."
Ichigo turned rapidly to find that Chizuru was, in fact, clearly about to molest Orihime. He shot up from the ground, unaware that his face had become a veritable frightening mask of rage, and began stomping towards the girls. Chizuru too was oblivious to this fact and continued in her advance.
Tatsuki, however, was not. Paralyzed for just a second at the daggers Ichigo's eyes were launching at Chizuru, Tatsuki quickly took action against the lesbian by delivering a roundhouse kick straight to the ribs, sending Chizuru into the fence, unconscious. Fully absorbed in devouring her bread, Orihime had not noticed the entire event.
Ichigo immediately ceased his violent march and his grimace softened. With a small nod of thanks to Tatsuki, he proceeded to smile and wave at his girlfriend, who smiled and waved back. Tatsuki, after a look of suspicion, grasped her best friend by the arm and pulled her to an unoccupied corner of the roof.
"Tatsuki-chan?" said Orihime, a bit startled by this.
"Orihime. Talk," she said in a serious tone.
"About what?"
"Ichigo."
"Kurosaki-kun?"
"Yes. Talk about him."
Orihime paused. "I'm confused."
"What happened over the weekend?"
Another pause. "Um…"
"Don't lie to me, Orihime. I want the truth."
"W-well," she began, "Kurosaki-ku – Ichigo came over, and he… and I…"
"Yes?" Tatsuki urged.
"I… we started talking, I made him some tea, and then…" her cheeks flowed with a blush, leading to a silence.
"Oh my God," Tatsuki said tonelessly, "You slept with him, didn't you?"
Orihime blushed so forcefully a doctor would have feared her face exploding. "T-T-Tatsuki-chan! How can you ask that?"
"Then you didn't?"
"I didn't say that!"
"So you did!"
Orihime opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again, hyperventilating, and squeaked in the smallest voice possible without being inaudible, "… yes."
"Well," Tatsuki said after a pause, "Do you love him?"
"Of course! You know that!"
"Just checking. Does he love you?"
"Yes," she said confidently, "I know he does, the way he talked to me, the way he treated me yesterday and the day before… it's impossible to do it without loving someone."
Tatsuki smiled. "Yeah, Ichigo's a terrible liar anyway. And if he hurts you, I'll kick his ass into next week," she said, causing Orihime to smile awkwardly. "But now that that's out of the way…" she leaned in closely, wearing a mischievous grin, "How was he?"
Orihime's blush, which had faded, but returned with a vengeance. "He was…" she cleared her throat, "Excellent."
"Really?" Tatsuki asked skeptically, "I never would have taken Ichigo for the 'good-in-bed' type," she finished, prompting another awkward smile from Orihime.
"I… couldn't have imagined anything or anyone could have brought me more pleasure."
Tatsuki laughed. "That's great, Orihime. Really great. He's a good man, that Kurosaki Ichigo."
"Yes," Orihime said, nodding. "Yes he is."
"Inoue," Ichigo called, "Can I talk to you for a second?"
"Of course, Kurosaki-kun!" she responded cheerfully.
Tatsuki got up, said, "Well, I'll leave you kids alone. See you in class, Orihime," and walked away to rejoin the rest of the girls.
"What do you need, Ichigo?" Orihime asked once Tatsuki was far enough.
"I don't like Chizuru or anyone else, for that matter, with their eyes and hands all over you," he answered in a quiet voice.
"I'm sorry…"
"It's not your fault. I just wish there were a way to stop it." A thought struck him. "Wait a minute… I think I know how."
"How?"
"You'll see."
At that moment, the bell rang and everyone returned to class. Ichigo, having settled things within himself, found it much easier to get through the day. When school finally let out, Ichigo stuck behind, and said, "Hey, Inoue."
"Yes, Kurosaki-kun?"
"I wanted to ask… you wanna go out to dinner on Friday?"
The entire class stopped dead in their tracks. Chizuru and Keigo looked like they were having heart attacks, except, like the rest of the class, frozen in time.
Orihime beamed at him. "Kurosaki-kun, I would love to go!"
He returned her smile. "Great. I'll see you then." She nodded and, taking her schoolbag, left. He gave a quick look around to see that his gesture had landed and quickly followed his girlfriend out the door.
Time suddenly resumed its pace, perhaps at double the speed. Tatsuki could only stand and grin as Keigo and Chizuru cried their eyes out dramatically.
"How?" Keigo whined, "How could someone like Ichigo land a date with the gorgeous Inoue-saaaan?"
"It's inconceivable!" cried Chizuru, pounding her desk in fury, "Orihime-chan couldn't possibly fall for that oaf!"
"You idiots," Tatsuki interrupted, "Orihime's loved him for a while, and you guys never had a chance with her in the first place. By the way…" she put on her scariest face possible, "It's clear that she's off-limits now, right?"
"C-crystal," the two said in unison, shivering in fear. Tatsuki chuckled inwardly and strolled leisurely out of the classroom.
"That was really clever, Ichigo!" Orihime cheerfully exclaimed, arms around Ichigo's waist as they cleared the school grounds.
"Ahh, it was nothing," he said, though he did sport a large grin. "Want me to walk you home?"
"Please?"
"I'll do one better," he said, and scooped Orihime off her feet, cradling her in his arms.
"Eep!" she squeaked and immediately began giggling.
He walked, carrying her like she were a princess, silently noticing the looks of admiration and adoration she was giving. However, their blissful trip was immediately interrupted by the Shinigami License flashing with its cry of "Hollow! Hollow!"
"Hoboy," Ichigo said, letting Orihime down and pressing the license against his chest, releasing his Shinigami form. Brandishing Zangetsu, he turned briefly to Orihime and asked, "… Do you want to come?" She eagerly nodded and the two raced off to deal with the threat.
Ichigo's first emotion upon viewing the Hollow was that of relief. This was no Arrancar, not even a Gillian-class Menos. It was simply a Huge Hollow. "Flying type," Ichigo deduced, pondering the Hollow's powers. "Probably uses those stingers to fire something." "Stay here and cover me from afar," Ichigo directed, leaping up to attack.
The Hollow saw Ichigo coming and blocked with its tremendous claws. "Eh…?" it rumbled. "A Shinigami! Splendid, splendid. And with such powerful reiatsu, mmm, I never get a treat like this!"
"Don't plan on changing that," Ichigo replied, cleaving the Hollow's right leg. It cried out in pain, writhing for a while yet still remaining in flight.
"You're pretty s-strong, boy," the Hollow said, dodging Tsubaki, whom Orihime had launched at the Hollow. "But how would you react if I didn't attack you…" he tilted his head towards Orihime, "But the girl?" He began to dive but paused, noticing Ichigo's reiatsu grow heavier and denser.
Eyes in flame, Ichigo roared, "Bankai!" whipping out Tensa Zangetsu and donning his Hollow simultaneously. Circling the Hollow at blindingly fast speeds, he swung his sword innumerable times, crying, "Getsuga… Tenshou!" Red-black waves descended upon it, not merely destroying its mask, but utterly disintegrating it.
Ichigo landed next to Orihime, removing his mask and disengaging Bankai, yet not facing her. "… Ichigo?" she asked timidly. Still, he did not turn around.
"Are you okay… Orihime?" Ichigo said with little emotion.
"Yes."
"Good." A pause, and then, "Can we… can we really do this? You and I fighting alongside each other?"
"I think so."
Though he didn't truly believe her, he said, "We're going to be alright, aren't we?"
"Definitely."
Finally rotating to look her in the eye, he smiled and proceeded to enter his body. "Great. Now… let's go home." Swiftly picking her up and taking pleasure from her giggling, he continued his path down the road. "I don't need to think about this… she's safe, I'm safe… nothing could possibly go wrong… couldn't it?"
-------------------
And that's that. I liked some parts, hated others. I did like writing the rooftop scene. Tell me what you liked, what you didn't like… if I should separate it into chapters, whatever. But hey. If there's enough incentive, I'll write a second chapter, maybe. Either way, tell me… and if you can figure out my original account on FFnet, I'll give you a cookie.