Hey! So this is the first "real" story that I've posted here! *happy dance*

There are a couple of quick things to know about the story. First, this is nearly a year after the Winter War, so Tatsuki knows all about Soul Society and Shinigami because she made Ichigo and Orihime tell her everything (mostly Ichigo ;P). Second, many people have closer friendships now, so that's why they use each other's first names.

Dedication: This story is dedicated to Enelya87 because we both share a birthday with Orihime, and we also share a love of Ichihime! Happy very very belated birthday! ^-^ (Also, I'm very sorry that this was not posted on our birthday, or really anywhere near our birthday. Writer's block and school ganged up on me. -_-) -_-)

*If you want to set the mood a little more during the party scene, play "Here to Stay" (from the second Bleach OST) when you get to the asterisk. It can be found on Youtube. ^-^

Disclaimer: If I owned Bleach, the manga and anime would've been would both be back in Hueco Mundo for a few weeks already. Clearly they are not (as of October 12, 2009). Therefore, I do not own Bleach. Do not try to argue with this logic by suing me! You will not win! I took logic in seventh grade, and it wasn't a ton of fun, but I did learn some things!
*awkward cough* I also do not own Sneakernight or Burnin' Up. Those belong to Vanessa Hudgens and the Jonas Brothers respectively.

Ahem… my terribly long author's note is done. Please go ahead and read the story! ^-^

August 26

6:30pm

Kurosaki Clinic

"You better be there next week, Ichigo! If you skip out on this, I'll kill you!" Tatsuki exclaimed over the phone.

Ichigo's eye twitched. "What the heck makes you think that I'll miss Orihime's surprise party? Of course I'll be there!" he replied angrily. He heard Tatsuki scoff.

"Well, considering the fact that you've skipped school before to go fight Hollows and train, I can't count on your attendance!" she retorted. "Oh, and you'd better be getting her a nice present, too!" Then Ichigo heard a click, and the dial tone.

"Good grief," he muttered as he put the phone down and went up to his room. "She's worse than Ochi-sensei… And what the heck am I supposed to get for Orihime?" He lay back on his bed and tried to think of things that Orihime liked.

"Well, she definitely likes red bean paste," he thought with a grimace. "Wait a minute… she's in Handicrafts Club. Maybe I should get her something for that. But Tatsuki said 'a nice present'…"

Ichigo groaned and sat up. "What the heck is a 'nice present', anyway?" he yelled at the ceiling. Then his closet door slammed open, and Rukia jumped out. She still liked his closet better than the room she shared with Karin and Yuzu.

"Why are you being so noisy?" she asked in her school-girl voice. "Could it be that you don't know what to get Orihime-chan for her birthday?"

"Shut up." Ichigo growled before admitting, "Yeah. What are you getting for her?"

"That won't help you, since my friendship with her is different from yours," Rukia replied, still talking in a high-pitched voice.

For some reason, this comment made Ichigo blush. "That's not true," he said as he turned away from her.

"Fool." Rukia's voice was suddenly serious, and made him turn back around. Her face was serious too. "If you believe that, then I really can't help you." And with that, she went downstairs to help Yuzu with dinner.

Ichigo frowned. "I haven't given anybody reason to believe otherwise," he thought, trying to figure out how his friendship with Orihime seemed different to other people. He went to save her from Hueco Mundo and Aizen, but he had done the same thing for Rukia when she was taken back to Soul Society.

"Hey Kingy, having problems?" Shirosaki laughed mockingly in Ichigo's head.

'Go away,' Ichigo said in annoyance. "Just because I let you take over once doesn't mean we're friends."

Shirosaki snickered. "Funny you should mention that. Even though I'm stuck in here all the time, I can still tell what's goin' on out there. And when you got beat by that emo guy, the princess wasn't sayin' anything with her mouth, if you know what I mean."

"No, I really don't know what you mean, but it's probably something perverted," Ichigo replied angrily. "Now seriously, go away."

'Hey King, listen to me for a minute." Ichigo's eyebrows rose. Even his Hollow was being serious? "Yes, I am, so shut up and listen. I can see the way that princess looks at you, and I'm pretty sure she doesn't think you're a monster."

Ichigo scoffed. "So? That doesn't prove that our friendship is different from anyone else's," he said out loud, his cheeks flushing slightly. Why did it seem like that happened more often lately?

Shirosaki snickered for a moment at Ichigo's embarrassment before remembering what he was trying to do. "Look King, if that didn't convince you, let me continue what I was sayin' before. At first, she was screamin' out loud, but after the shock got to her, she started screamin' in her head instead."

Ichigo was silent as Shirosaki continued. "I don't know what you think normal friendship is, but somethin' like that is pretty freaky, if you ask me."

"I didn't ask you," Ichigo finally replied, "which is exactly why you should go away and let me think in peace."

The Hollow was finally silent as Ichigo got up for dinner. But before the orange-haired teen could open the door, it was forced open by Isshin, who yelled enthusiastically, "It's seven o'clock, Ichigo! Time for dinner!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to punch his dad. Yuzu would get upset if they started fighting again. "Seriously, Dad," he sighed. "I was already on my way down. And what's the point of still acting like this? I know you're a Shinigami now, and so does Karin."

Isshin grinned and laid a hand on his son's shoulder. "Because Yuzu would get suspicious," he said in a normal voice. "Besides, it's much more fun this way, don't you think?" The father and son stared at each other for a minute before Ichigo asked "What?"

It's Orihime-chan's birthday tomorrow, right?" Isshin asked, his face still serious

Ichigo nodded, a ghost of smile on his lips. "She's turning 17."

"When I was your age—and I was your age once, you know—I gave Masaki a necklace."

Ichigo flushed. "But Dad," he protested. "Inoue and I are just friends! That isn't the kind of gift you give to a normal friend! Besides, she'd be better off with someone like Ishida." Despite his words, he grimaced at the idea of his cheerful healer friend with the stiff Uryuu.

Isshin pouted as he reverted to his normal act. "But Ichigo," he wailed dramatically. "She has to be my fourth daughter! Ryuuken has no experience with daugh-" His voice became a groan as Ichigo's fist made contact with his mouth.

"Idiot," Ichigo scowled, but his voice was calm as he went downstairs for dinner. "Inoue and I are only friends. But thanks for trying to help."

August 26

7:45pm

Kurosaki Clinic

All through dinner, Rukia had been practically stabbing Ichigo with her glaring look, and after they helped Yuzu clear the table, Rukia pulled him aside to talk again.

"Look," Rukia said, crossing her arms. "I know you visit her in the middle of the night sometimes." She smirked inwardly as Ichigo stiffened. "If you want to keep Arisawa from finding out-"

"That only happens after I finish slaying a Hollow!" Ichigo protested. "And I don't 'visit' Inoue, I check on her to make sure she's still asleep. Sometimes she wakes up to come help me, so I'm just returning the favor," he explained.

Rukia did not look convinced. "Well then," she said with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "There shouldn't be a problem with Arisawa knowing, right?" Then she turned to go upstairs.

"Wait!" Ichigo's voice was tinged with desperation, and Rukia turned back in surprise. He was staring up at the ceiling, rubbing his neck nervously.

"I guess… Inoue's friendship is kind of different from my other friends," he said hesitantly. Then he proceeded to explain what happened during his battles with Grimmjow, Nnoitora, and Ulquiorra in Hueco Mundo. Sure, he had been required by Yamamoto to give a testimony of what happened, but he had left out details that he didn't think were important for all of the captains and vice-captains to know, like the look in Orihime's eyes as she begged him to stop fighting Grimmjow.

Or what his Hollow had revealed earlier about hearing Orihime in his mind.

Rukia watched Ichigo pace back and forth anxiously as he talked. He suddenly came to a halt and turned to look at her, his face a wild mix of confusion and frustration. "…And after everything that's happened, she still greets everyone with a smile in the morning, and she still thinks that she's a burden! That she's weak because she doesn't like fighting!"

"But she's not a burden, and she doesn't have to fight because I made a promise to protect her," he said, slightly calmed down. "And I'm going to keep that promise as long as we're both alive."

Rukia hit him over the head, even though she was smiling inside at Ichigo's last sentence, which sounded suspiciously like something else. "Why haven't you told her that already, you baka?!" she asked angrily. "I swear, both of you are as dense as a rock sometimes!" After Ichigo recovered from the blow, she asked another question: "Have you decided what to get for her present?"

Ichigo sighed. "My dad suggested a necklace, but I don't know what kind of jewelry she likes besides her hairpins…"

Rukia nodded quickly and said, "Well, I still have homework, so I'll see you in the morning." When she was partway up the stairs, she paused. "By the way," she said in a sing-song voice. "I never mentioned Orihime-chan's name until just now! Goodnight!"

"DARN IT, YOU STUPID SHORTY!"

He had eight days left to get a present for Orihime.

Tatsuki might just kill him after all.

September 1

12:05pm

Karakura High

"Ichigo!"

The sound of his old friend made him turn around cautiously. "What, Tatsuki?"

The dark-haired girl crossed her arms. "I bet you don't have a present for Orihime yet," she said with a threatening glare. "You better come up with something, because-"

"Actually, I do," Ichigo said with a satisfied smirk. "So quit bugging me about it, and just focus on the party."

"Hmph." Tatsuki looked slightly impressed. "Just making sure. And don't forget that you have to be there at 5:45. Orihime thinks there will be a meeting for us at six, so we'll have time to hide. That Kurumadani guy said he'll take care of Hollow duty, so don't worry about that."

"I know, I know! Every day for two weeks, it's been the same conversation." Ichigo sighed. "It's like a freakin' alarm clock, or something."

Tatsuki smiled. "Whatever. Urahara-san called me during class, so I have to find out what he wants. See ya later." She turned and walked down the hall, smiling widely despite her worry about the phone call.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. Tatsuki was just protecting Orihime's feelings, of course, but she didn't have to go so over-the-top to do it. He wanted to protect the sunny smiles of their friend too.

"Did I seriously just think that? 'Sunny smiles'? What is wrong with me?"

September 2

3:38pm

Karakura High

"Ichigo!" The boy in question sighed. "We had this conversation just three hours ago," he thought, annoyed. But he was surprised when he turned around. Tatsuki's eyes were frantic, and she was panting from chasing him outside. Immediately his brain began going through all of the possibilities… and most of them included Orihime being injured in some way.

"What's wrong?" he asked, shaking her shoulders slightly. "Is Inoue okay?"

Tatsuki nodded. "She's okay, but her party might not be," she said, out of breath.

"Urahara-san called me earlier to explain that there was an 'unfortunate' accident under the shop earlier, and it's not safe to have the party there. I couldn't get through to him until just now," she scowled. "The sneaky baka was probably hiding from me."

"Anyway," she continued. "My mom would go on a cleaning rampage if I tried to host it at my house, and I don't think anyone else's parents would let them host it. And Orihime's apartment is out of the question."

Then it dawned on her. "Nobody's parents would let them host Orihime's party… except for yours," she said hopefully.

Ichigo scowled. "No way!" he protested. "You know how my dad is! He'll act all crazy the whole time! And you also know I don't like hosting stuff!"

"But you're the last hope for the party!" Tatsuki argued. Then something occurred to her. "Or… I could just ask your dad directly. Then you wouldn't have to worry about the hosting part." She grinned evilly at him.

"Fine," Ichigo said grudgingly. "I'll ask him myself."

"Fine," Tatsuki retorted with a grin. "See you tomorrow!" She stood there in front of the school, watching her friend walk away as she noted that he had come a long way since the day when he and Orihime first ran into each other.

September 3

5:42pm

Kurosaki Clinic

"…And put that bunch of balloons by the couch. It's too close to the door," Rangiku said to Ichigo. He sighed, but did it anyway. "It's for Inoue," he forced himself to remember. "It'll be over in a few hours."

"Taicho!" Rangiku called from her spot on the stairs, where she was "overseeing" the final preparations. "How are you doing?"

Toshirou's eye twitched as he sprinkled metallic, hot pink confetti around the living room. "How did I get roped into this?" he muttered darkly.

"Oh taicho," Rangiku said with a grin. "You know you love Orihime-chan!"

Toshirou turned away, but not before his lieutenant saw his face begin to turn red.

"I was right!" she cheered to herself. "Taicho has a soft spot for her after all! It's probably because she's so much like—"

"Rangiku-san." Renji came through the open door with a wrapped box. "Where do you want this?" he asked.

"Renji! You're the first guest," she exclaimed. "Just put it on that table."

Rukia came downstairs, wearing a deep blue dress with a wide belt that enhanced her tiny frame. When she saw Renji, her eyes lit up. "You're on time today," she said to him, crossing her arms.

Renji nodded. "Well, I couldn't have you yelling at me for being late to Inoue's party," he smirked. "Remind me again, why is the party at Ichigo's house?"

Rukia sighed. "Urahara was conducting some experiment in the basement, and it ended badly."

"Ah." Renji rolled his eyes at the mention of his Real World host. "Sounds like him."

"Arisawa-san was able to guilt Ichigo into having the party here after Urahara told her about the experiment."

"Tch. He's a stubborn guy," Renji scoffed.

"Oi." Ichigo smirked as he walked down the stairs in a slightly dressier version of his usual jeans and t-shirt. "You shouldn't say things like that. I'm the host, remember?"

"Oh, now you decide to be the host?" Tatsuki's voice floated in from the kitchen where she was helping Karin and Yuzu with the food.

Before Ichigo could make a retort, Uryuu and Chad walked in. After they greeted everyone, Rangiku glanced at her watch and gasped.

"We only have 5 minutes to hide! Kuchiki-san, put this note on the door and close it!"

"Hai!" Ichigo slipped behind the gift table as Rukia turned the lights off and hid in the closet. Toshiro hid behind the TV cabinet, Tatsuki stayed in the kitchen with the twins, Chad crouched behind the couch with Rangiku, and Uryu hid behind a potted plant.

After a couple of minutes, Ichigo could sense Orihime's reiatsu in front of his house. Lately, a smile had overtaken his face every time he thought of the bubbly healer. And he didn't actually mind it too much…

He was startled out of his thoughts by the doorknob rattling. Everyone held their breath as the door opened slowly to reveal Orihime in a lavender knit dress.

"Um… Kurosaki-kun? Are you—?"

"SURPRISE!" everybody yelled as they jumped out of their hiding spots. Orihime took a stunned step backward before she smiled hesitantly.

"This… this is for me?" she asked, staring at her friends.

"Yup!" Rangiku grinned. "Arisawa and I planned the whole thing!"

Orihime grinned back. "Thank you both," she said as she bowed. "And thank you as well, Kurosaki-kun!"

Ichigo felt his face heating up. "Oh, uh, it was no problem," he muttered, turning away from Rukia's disapproving frown.

Rangiku turned the stereo on and said enthusiastically, "Let's get this party started!"

For a while, everyone chatted and ate the delicious food that Yuzu and Karin had worked to make. But Rangiku really loved to dance, so she eventually grabbed the other girls and started dancing to "Sneakernight".

At first, only the girls were dancing, but when the song "Burnin' Up" came on, courtesy of Isshin, said father forced his reluctant son up from the couch. Ichigo really didn't want to dance, especially not to this song.

Glancing at Tatsuki was a bad move, since she shot him a warning glare. He could almost hear her voice in his head: "If you do anything to mess up this party, I'll kill you. Painfully."

So he danced along with his father, which made everyone else watch him in fascinated surprise. Even Tatsuki looked a little stunned that Ichigo was actually dancing to this song, with his father.

Rukia cursed herself silently for leaving the video camera upstairs. Ichigo was actually not a bad dancer, but since it would probably ruin his "tough image", it would have made great blackmail material, she thought ruefully.

As Orihime watched, she couldn't decide whether she was amused or amazed. She had seen the look that Tatsuki sent to Ichigo, and she thought it was nice of him to dance with his dad. "How did that song get on the party CD anyway?" she wondered, since she was the only one of her nakama who really liked it.

When the song was finally over, Ichigo stood there with a red face before jumping slightly at the sound of his friends applauding.

"Well, Kurosaki," Toshirou smirked. "I don't know how you can dance so well, but be so clumsy in battle."

Ichigo's face turned a shade darker than Renji's hair. "Shut up Toshirou," he growled. "Is that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?"

The short captain scowled. "It's still Hitsugaya-taicho to you," he said threateningly as Ichigo glared back at him.

"Orihime," Tatsuki intervened, frowning at the two guys. "Why don't you open presents now?" Ichigo and Toshirou looked away from each other and scowled more deeply, ashamed to be fighting at a party for a girl who wanted the world to be peaceful.

The auburn-haired girl nodded, slightly self-conscious as she sat in the middle of the couch. Rangiku and Tatsuki brought the gifts over and sat down on either side of their "sister" as the rest of the teens sat down on the armchairs and floor. Yuzu and Karin bowed to Orihime and wished her a happy birthday before scampering up to their room.

Tatsuki handed Orihime a small wrapped package. When the healer girl opened it, she found it to be a new package of needles, along with a thimble. This was, of course, from Uryu, and Ichigo nearly fell over in relief at the fact that he hadn't also gotten Orihime something like that.

The presents continued on, with a stuffed Chappy bunny from Rukia, a surprisingly modest sky blue dress from Rangiku, a silver bracelet with pictures of the ryoka, Toshiro's team, and Tatsuki from the karate champion herself, a wooden figurine of a cocker spaniel puppy from Chad, a new CD single from Renji, and the newest volume of Orihime's favorite manga from Toshirou. *

While Orihime thanked everyone enthusiastically, Tatsuki frowned at Ichigo, who was sitting on the floor near the kitchen. Why hadn't he put his present with the others? As she was about to say something, Rukia did it for her.

"Oi, Ichigo," the short woman rose and stared at him. "Aren't you forgetting something?" she asked pointedly.

Unfortunately, Orihime caught on and began waving her hands back and forth. "Oh no," she protested. "Kurosaki-kun already let us have his house for the party. He didn't have to get me something—"

"Of course I did," Ichigo interrupted, standing up as he spoke. "And no, I'm not," he said to Rukia.

He walked over to the couch and pulled a long, thin, wrapped box out of his pocket. Everyone stared at him with disbelief on their faces as he bent down and handed it to Orihime.

"Happy birthday, Orihime," he said. Rangiku thought the girl's eyes might pop out of her head, along with everyone else's in the room. Fortunately, she recovered quickly.

"Ah, arigatou... Ichigo-kun," she said with a large smile that compelled Ichigo to actually smile back. Not the cocky smirk that served as his normal smile, but a genuine smile like the one he had given to her after he defeated Aizen and officially ended the Winter War.

A smile that Tatsuki hadn't seen since before Masaki died.

Rangiku poked Orihime in the side, making her jump slightly. "Why don't you open it?" she asked slyly.

"Ah, right!" Orihime exclaimed. She took great pains not to tear the sparkly turquoise paper anymore than necessary, and when it was finally unwrapped, she slowly opened the box.

By this time, everyone was leaning forward in suspense. Ichigo had moved a few steps to the side so that he wasn't in anyone's way, but he continued to watch nervously as she pulled out the silver chain with two small pendants on it. The first was a black crescent moon carved from a stone; the other was a silver flower with six petals that looked amazingly similar to the hairpins that she always wore.

She ran her fingers lightly over the pendants before looking up at him in confused gratitude.

"Um, Ku- I mean, Ichigo-kun, thank you…" she trailed off, deciding to give it back to him later to avoid embarrassing him in front of their friends. It was too much, after he'd already saved her so many times…

"Uh…" Now Ichigo was the one to trail off. He glanced nervously at Tatsuki. "Do you need help to put it on?" To his surprise, the dark-haired girl gave a tiny nod of approval.

"Yes, please," Orihime said nervously, holding the necklace out to him before standing up and turning around. Ichigo placed the necklace in front of her throat before she pulled her hair up to reveal her slender neck for a moment. Ichigo gulped and cursed his Hollow for the perverted comments he was making as he put the clasp together and took a step back. Orihime turned around and bowed to thank him again.

"Thank you very much, Ichigo-kun!" she said, her long hair hiding the red tint on her cheeks.

September 3

10:45pm

Kurosaki Residence

"Thank you again for coming!" Orihime waved cheerfully as she watched Chad, Uryuu, and Renji leave. When she couldn't see them anymore, she closed the door and turned around to see Ichigo standing there, Rangiku and Tatsuki cleaning up the room behind him.

"Are you ready to go?" the orange-haired Shinigami asked. Orihime strained to look behind him. "Um… but there's still so much work to be done," she said quietly.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Don't be silly, it's your birthday." Seeing the determined look on his face, Orihime nodded and tried to pick up the bag of presents next to her, but as she did, Ichigo also tried to grab it, and their hands brushed for a moment, making them blush. Ichigo finally picked it up and leaned past her to open the door.

As they walked out, Orihime turned back to thank the two party planners, as well as Rukia and Toshirou, who were still there as well. They smiled and waved goodbye to her before the door closed.

"Think he'll tell her?" Rangiku asked.

Rukia nodded. "I think he finally understands."

Meanwhile, Orihime and Ichigo were walking in silence. It wasn't awkward, except that Ichigo kept feeling a need to reach out and hold Orihime's hand. And Orihime wished she could lean her head on Ichigo's shoulder.

Nope, not awkward at all.

"Um, Ichigo-kun, this necklace…" Orihime trailed off again, not wanting to hurt his feelings.

"Hmm? What about it?" he asked.

Orihime stopped under a streetlight, unconsciously fingering the new necklace. "The flower represents me, right?"

Ichigo nodded.

"And your Zanpakutou's name means "black moon fang", right?"

Ichigo nodded again, now standing only two feet away from her.

"But what does it mean?" the healer girl asked, holding out the two pendants.

Ichigo took a step forward and fixed her with a firm stare. "It means that as long as we're alive, I will be there to protect you."

Orihime's eyes glittered softly. "Ku—I mean, Ichigo-kun, it's too much. I don't want you to get hurt because of my weakness."

Without thinking, Ichigo grabbed her by the shoulders. "Orihime, you are not weak," he declared. "A dislike of fighting does not make you weak. You're a really strong person." Orihime shook her head, but Ichigo continued.

"You went to Hueco Mundo willingly to save us, and you've healed me so many times after watching me get torn apart. When Ulquiorra nearly defeated me, I could still hear you calling me."

Orihime's eyes widened. "But—"

"I know," Ichigo said quietly. "He told me. He thought it was crazy, but I don't think so. Our hearts are connected, Orihime. I didn't realize it until this week." He smiled. "I'll make a deal with you," he said, leaning a tiny bit closer. "I'll always be there to protect you... if you're there to fix me up afterward."

Blushing at his closeness, Orihime could only nod.

"Good," Ichigo said. Orihime smiled at him, her blush growing deeper.

"Orihime?" Ichigo's voice was barely above a whisper. "I think I'm going to kiss you now." The auburn-haired girl made a soft noise as Ichigo pressed his lips to hers. After a moment of shock, Orihime relaxed and returned the kiss gently.

When they pulled apart, a cool drop of rain landed on the end of Ichigo's nose. Orihime giggled as her knight held out his hand and picked up her gifts with the other.
As they ran hand in hand through the rain to her house, Orihime remembered the poem she had composed two years ago.

"If I were the rain, which binds together the earth and sky, who in all eternity will never mingle... could I bind the hearts of people together?"

"Yes, I could," Orihime decided. "But I don't need to be the rain, because our hearts are finally connected."

El final.

Yay! It's finally done! The ending finally worked itself out last night and this morning. But I think I made them too OOC there. D: I should start a drabble series or something...

If you're curious about the dress that Rangiku gave to Orihime, it looks like the dress here: http:/ / www. edressme. com/ ll5507. html (Please remember to take out the spaces! ^-^)

Thanks for reading! Please review! I need to know if this was good, horrible, or something else!

~DancerGrl16~ ^-^