Tooi Michi No Saki De

`Down the distant road`

A Ichigo X Orihime

Fanfic

-Hueco Mundo, the top of Las Noches-

"Inoue…" Ichigo said softly as he stood in front of his friend. Orihime looked up and smiled.

"Kurosaki-kun…" she whispered. He held out his hand to her.

"I'm here to take you home…"

-3 months later-

"Orihime? Yo, Orihime. Wake up!" Tatsuki called as she waved her hand in front of a spaced-out Orihime. Orihime looked up at her and smiled.

"Ah! Tatsuki-chan! Hello!" she giggled. Tatsuki smiled, it's good that things were getting back to normal. After Orihime disappeared so did Ichigo, Uryu, and Chad. But a day after they left she had returned, and everything was back to normal. Well, almost.

"Yo! Kurosaki! C'mere you bastard, I wanna fight!" a rough, familiar voice called. They turned to see Grimmjow glaring at Ichigo as he glared back. Both girls sighed, since the ex-Espada arrived things have been getting hectic at school. Ichigo growled.

"For the last time Grimmjow, I'm not fighting you!" he growled. Grimmjow smirked.

"Aw, what's wrong? You too pussy to challenge me?" he taunted. Ichigo growled before smirking.

"What about your girlfriend? Wouldn't she get mad?" he chuckled. Grimmjow growled before giving him the finger. With that he left. Orihime laughed softly.

"Poor girl, she's home sick and taking care of her sister and Nel-chan. Hopefully Grimmjow-san will help her out." Orihime said softly. Suddenly her expression saddened. Even Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, the biggest asshole in the world, found someone to be with. But what about her? She looked at Ichigo and sighed. Tatsuki noticed this.

"Orihime? What's wrong?" she asked. After looking to where her friend was staring at she sighed, Ichigo Kurosaki. It was about him again. She looked at Orihime.

"It's okay Orihime, just go and tell him! I'm sure he feels the same way!" Tatsuki encouraged. Orihime shook her head sadly, she knew that that wasn't the case.

"Inoue-san? Inoue-san, what's wrong?" a voice asked. They looked up to see Rukia standing a few feet away as she looked at them. Orihime looked down again.

"She's afraid to confess to Ichigo." Tatsuki answered. Orihime looked at her friend.

"T-T-Tatsuki-chan!" she stammered. Rukia smiled.

"Well go and tell him! I'm sure he feels the same way." Rukia laughed. Orihime looked down. Rukia looked at her and sighed, how on earth was she going to get this to work. Suddenly she got an idea.

"Oi, Renji! C'mere a sec!" Rukia called. Renji walked to her with a confused expression on his face.

"Oi, Rukia! What's-" was all he could say before Rukia held his face between her small hands and kissed him, right in front of everybody. Keigo and Mizuiro watched with wide eyes as Rukia kissed a startled Renji.

"Whoo-hoo! Go Pineapple-head!" Keigo cheered. Renji flipped him off before returning the kiss and sweeping Rukia into his arms, deepening the kiss. Ichigo watched the two before glancing at Orihime, a light blush on his cheeks.

"Hey, hey! No making out in the classroom! Do that outside!" Ochi-sensei called as she left the classroom. Since it was the end of the day she didn't give a damn about what they did, as long as they didn't do it in HER classroom. The two pulled away as they blushed, both grinning like mad. Rukia looked at Orihime.

"See? Renji and I are doing okay, now confess to Ichigo! I bet that he likes you back!" Rukia whispered. Suddenly Ichigo walked up from behind them and stopped at Orihime's desk.

"Inoue? Can I uh…walk you home after school? There's something we need to talk about." he asked. She nodded before he smirked.

"Okay, see you then." was all he said before walking away. Orihime blushed brightly as she looked down. He had actually asked to walk her home! But…he needed to tell her something. What if it had to do with him liking Kuchiki-san? She couldn't bear it if it did, he couldn't. All she could do was wait and pray as she stood up and walked to the cafeteria.

-Later, After School-

"Bye Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime called. Tatsuki waved.

"Bye Orihime, good luck with Ichigo!" she called. Orihime nodded and smiled as she made her way to the gate. When she got there, Ichigo was leaning against a post, looking bored.

"Hello…Kurosaki-kun…" Orihime greeted bashfully. Ichigo looked from where he was standing and smiled.

"Hey Inoue." he spoke. She looked down.

"Did I make you wait?" she asked. He shook his head.

"No you didn't. We better get going." he answered. She nodded as the two made their way to her apartment. As they walked, an awkward silence formed, making neither one able to speak. Instead they just thought to themselves.

`I wonder…will I find happiness and love? Everyone around me has someone, Ishida-san has Nemu-san, Toushiro-san has Hinamori-san, Rangiku-san has Ichimaru-san…even Grimmjow-san has someone. But me…` she thought. She looked up to see Ichigo staring straight ahead, as if he was in some kind of trance. She had to tell him, now.

"K…Kurosaki-kun?" she asked. He stopped and looked at her.

"Yeah Inoue?" he asked. She took a deep breath before speaking.

"I…I really care about you…Kurosaki-kun…and…well when I was taken away to Hueco Mundo, all I ever thought about was you. And, even though I left to protect everyone…when I heard you were coming for me…I was happy. But…" tears started to fall down her face.

"I cause you so much pain Kurosaki-kun…I watched you get hurt over and over again trying to protect me and all I could do was watch. It tore me apart to do that and I can't imagine the pain it must've cause you. I'm so sorry." she paused to wipe away a few tears before continuing.

"Even though you might hate me, that you might like someone else…I love you. I love you Kurosaki-kun…" she sobbed. Ichigo stared at her in confusion and shock before cupping her chin and looking into her brown eyes.

"Inoue…I…love you too. You see, the reason I wanted to talk to you, was because I needed to know if you've forgiven me for killing Ulquiorra. I thought that you had feelings for him, and-" but he was cut off when she pressed her finger to his lips. He looked down at her.

"Kurosaki-kun…I never had feelings for Ulquiorra-san, He was a friend but he wasn't you. I love you and only you." she spoke. Suddenly he pulled her to his solid chest and her cheeks flared scarlet. She looked up at him.

"Inoue, the reasons that I came to Hueco Mundo, was because I wanted to save you. The person I love more than anything. I didn't want to lose you." he spoke roughly, but softly at the same time. She felt the tears drip down her cheeks as she buried her face into his chest.

"I love you too…Ichigo-kun…" she whispered. He tilted her face up and pressed his lips to hers in a passionate kiss. Soon he pulled away and rested his head on top of hers.

"I love you too…Orihime…"

Wow...first Ichihime fanfic ever. Besides Heart. And yeah, there are other pairings mentioned here, plus GrimmxOC. But whatever. Enjoy my dears!