(神)

"WHAT!?"

The very loud ear-splitting one word shout stopped the three friends dead in their tracks.

"That sounded like Tatsuki." The orange-haired scowling one looked at his friends and commented suspiciously.

The dark-haired friend pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and returned a look of irritating superiority to his scowling friend.

"That does not only sound like Arisawa-san, it is Arisawa-san, Kurosaki." Ishida Uryuu corrected him sniffy.

Kurosaki Ichigo glared in annoyance at his somewhat related cousin. "Whatever. What do you think she was so angry with?"

"I assume it is not a 'what' but a 'who'." Ishida clarified the matter for Ichigo earning a thumb's up from their mutual giant of a friend.

Ichigo's dark chocolate eyes widened. "Inoue?" He guessed uneasily. Seeing the nod of affirmation from his four-eyed classmate. He exploded, "Then what the hell are we still standing round here for!? Is she in danger!? Where is she!?" Not waiting for an answer. He stood still for a moment trying to sense her reiatsu. He closed his eyes and concentrated with all his might.

"Library." It was not a question but Ishida still answered him. "Library."

And Kurosaki Ichigo was off like a bat out of hell.

Ishida Uryuu looked at the friend still with him.

"When will he realize he treats her as more than a 'friend'?" Ishida asked wearily of the situation Kurosaki and Inoue-san have created for themselves.

Sado Yasutora just answered with a lone stare at Ishida.

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Library etiquette, be damned.

Consideration for others, what's that.

As soon as Ichigo spotted the auburn-haired friend of his, he shouted to get her attention.

"Inoue!"

She looks alright.

Is she fine?

Ignoring all others using the library as a place to silently study in peace, he rushed to her side, "Inoue, are you okay?" He wanted so desperately to touch her just to reassure himself she was fine but that would be pushing their 'friend' status a bit too far, right?

And so he contented himself with an extremely thorough scrutiny of her whole body with his hungry eyes.

When his eyes met hers, she gave him a shy little smile and greeted him softly, "Kurosaki-kun." She placed a finger on her pink lips and nodded to him.

What else could he do but complied to her silent request.

Then Orihime turned to the prim and priggish librarian who she has been apologizing for Tatsuki's loud outburst and now with Ichigo's disturbance to her library, Orihime must double the effort to soothe the grouchy librarian.

"Shisho-san, I am so very sorry. It will not happen again. My friend was just excited over something I told her and," She pointed to Ichigo, "he was just concern as to what might have happen to me. Right, Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked Ichigo.

With her pleading with him not to cause any more trouble with those sparkling doe-liked eyes of hers, again what else could he do but,

"Yeah. Sorry, Shisho-san." He apologized grudgingly.

And he was rewarded with a heartwarming smile of hers which like all the others he preserved it within a special place in his heart.

The librarian gave a short snooty snort after giving Ichigo a despising once over.

"One more disturbance and you and your friends will have to leave my library. Do I make myself very clear, Inoue-chan?" She glared icily at the polite princess.

Orihime bowed gratefully and thanked the librarian for being so understanding.

Ichigo and Tatsuki looked at each other when the struck-up librarian walked past the two of them.

"Wasn't she nice?" Orihime smiled innocently her two friends.

"Forget about the prissy hag. Are you all right?" He asked rather loudly in his concern for the gentle healer.

The librarian turned to glare at them. Orihime gave an apologetic smile and bowed. She signalled for her two friends to do the same. Tatsuki gave a shrug and did as she was requested.

Ichigo, on the other hand, has his usual scowl planted on his handsome face. He did not do anything wrong so why should he be bowing to the damned bit...

A soft gentle touch on his back and he bent over like a sunflower finally unable to resist the howling wind.

The librarian gave a snort of sorts and turned away from them with her nose completely in the air, only to bump into the meek giant known as Sado Yasutora.

Startled she moved aside expecting an apology but Sado just gave her a thumb's up and walked away.

"How very rude." She sniffed.

'Indeed.' Ishida thought as well but not of his friend but of the one uttering the insult. He walked by her sleathfully and once again, she was caught unaware and she jumped. Ishida suppressed the satisfying grin from appearing on his stoic face.

"Inoue-san, is anything the matter?" Ishida asked her the minute he reached Orihime.

Before Orihime could assure everyone she was fine, Tatsuki has to let everyone know about her hurt feelings.

"Oi! I was the one who shouted. Shouldn't someone has asked me if I was hurt or something?" She lamented about the lack of concern shown to her.

Orihime waved her hands nervously and pleaded with Tatsuki to keep it down. She added compassionately, "Of course, we care. But you are not hurt or... anything?" She seek reassurance from her best friend.

Tatsuki sighed. "Yes, I am fine. It's nice to know at least I have one friend which cares." She sighed again.

"Yeah. Whatever. Now we have established that you are fine and dandy." He scowled at Tatsuki for hindering him from ascertaining if Orihime was alright. Ichigo turned to Orihime, his signature scowl softening as he gazed upon the gentle healer. "Inoue, are you sure you are alright?" He asked in concern as his eyes tried to assure himself, she was.

Orihime started blushing at Ichigo's intensive examination of her body, if it was somebody else, she would have felt uncomfortable at the openly overt ogling. But this was Kurosaki-kun and he was only looking out for her.

She gave him a warm smile of reassurance, "Yes, I am perfectly fine. Just great, Kurosaki-kun." She told him cheerfully.

Tatsuki snorted. "No, she's not."

"Tatsuki-chan ~ "

"What is it, Inoue? You know you can tell me... us anything and I... we will help you in whatever way I... we can." Ichigo felt like a true idiot after he has finished with his cowardly jumbling of the words.

Shakespeare would be so proud of him.

"Inoue-san, as Kurosaki so elegantly put it, you know you can trust us to help you with anything, right?" Ishida decided to help out his dense classmate.

Orihime waved her hands freely and sending Tatsuki a silent plead to keep quiet, she reiterated she was fine.

Tatsuki closed her arms over her chest and ignoring Orihime, she said in a low firm voice,

"She is taking her vows."

"Vows? What kind of vows?" Ichigo asked.

"What do you think? And please keep your voice down." Tatsuki advised Ichigo.

'Vows?... Marriage vows?!' Ichigo's head screamed out the obvious answer. Remembering to keep his voice down, he said shakily, "Marriage Vows?"

He looked, how should he look, he just looked at Orihime.

It was summer time and a certain pretty girl was blossoming, a red flowery shade tinted her face and like a flower, she was attracting stares,

"No, you idiot. The other type of vows." Tatsuki hissed.

Ichigo turned from staring at Orihime to glare at Tatsuki. His brain was a blank.

"What other type of vows?"

"I think Arisawa-san is talking about the religious one. Am I correct, Arisawa-san? And Kurosaki, do bear in mind to keep your voice down."

"Why does everyone keep asking me to keep my voice..." 'Religious?! Vows?!' Ichigo looked at Orihime with shock when it finally hit him as to why Tatsuki has shouted and,

"WHAT?!"

So did he.

(神)