This is just an edit, nothing has changed. I decided to fix the mistakes in this story, that is all, so for those of you who have already read this story you can ignore the story alerts or whatever you get cause I'm not really changing anything... But for anyone who hasn't read this completed story, enjoy! :D

The wind was crisp, blowing through auburn hair. Orihime Inoue was happily walking to school wearing a light gray sweater over her uniform, hugging her upper body nicely.

Summer is over… She softly sighed and slid her book bag closer to her shoulder. At least I'll see Kurosaki-kun today. She smiled at that thought and walked to school faster. Once she saw Kurakara High School, her heart slightly skipped a beat and she smiled. Once she entered her homeroom, she was immediately attacked by Chizuru, who was in fact groping Orihime's huge boobs for her own satisfaction.

"Arg!" Orihime gasped out loud by the sudden force.

"My beautiful Orihime has come back! The beautiful princess-"

Chizuru was cut off by a hard kick from Tastuki, who was very pissed off.

"Tastuki-chan…" Orihime began.

"Don't you fucking dare attempt to touch her again, got it?" Tastuki yelled to Chizuru. She stood up from the floor and began to argue with Tastuki.

Some things never change, Orihime thought to herself. She glanced at the door and that was when she saw a strand of bright orange hair. Her breath caught in her throat and she started to blush.

Ichigo Kurosaki walked into the room, with a scowl on his face… as usual. But Orihime had always loved his scowl, it was his signature look.

"Morning, Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime waved with a beaming smile.

Ichigo looked up and gave a slight smile. "Morning, Inoue. How are you?"

"Well, I'm okay, but I couldn't sleep well last night… I think the little blue men were tugging at my hair again, but they stopped at like 3 in the morning, so it's okay!" Orihime had begun to babble on, which had become a habit of hers whenever she was around Ichigo. He only raised an eyebrow at her "blue men" and didn't interrupt her while she was talking. Once she was done, he only replied with, "Well, that's good." Orihime nodded in reply and smiled.

"IIIIICCCCHHHIIIGOOOOOOOOO!"

Instinctively, Ichigo raised his hand into a fist and it collided into the face of Keigo.

"Morning, Ichigo," Mizuro said right after Keigo's arrival.

"Sup."

"That's not a way to treat a friend!" Keigo complained, his nose starting to bleed. Ichigo took no notice of his remark. He was only staring out the window, oblivious to his surroundings. He was thinking about the summer, Hueco Mundo and Orihime. He just couldn't forget her voice as she was yelling…

Back at Hueco Mundo

Ichigo could barely breathe at this point, his hollow mask slowly deteriorating. Blood was coming out from his left eye, a huge slash on his right arm and cuts all over his chest.

"Let's finish this, Ichigo Kurosaki," Grimmjow hissed. They went against each other at full force, sword against claws.

Orihime was up on the broken down building, watching the fight from above with Nel. Her Santen Kesshun was the only thing keeping the both of them from getting hurt.

Grimmjow gave a hard kick to Ichigo's stomach and blood spurted out from his mouth. Another kick, a punch… Ichigo immediately turned around and started to slash at the air with Zangetsu. Grimmjow then gave a surprise kick from behind and Ichigo kneeled over, his hollow mask disappearing even faster. That was when he heard it. Her voice.

"Don't die, Kurosaki-kun!" Ichigo looked up and something within him happened. "I don't want you to get hurt anymore…"

Back to reality

"What's up with Ichigo?" Keigo whispered to Mizuro.

"Exactly what are you saying, Asano-san?" Mizuro replied, not looking up from his cell phone.

"What the hell do you mean 'exactly what are you saying'? You're not even paying attention to me! And stop with the formal crap, it's not like you!"

"What do you mean?" Mizuro had kept on texting, his eyes glued to the screen of his cell phone. Keigo slapped himself on the forehead and murmured a never mind.

The rest of the day went by in a blur and at the end of school, Ichigo found himself walking towards Orihime.

What the hell am I doing…? He suddenly stopped and was thinking about turning around and to just go home by himself. That was when she yelled out for him.

"Bye, Kurosaki-kun! See you tomorrow!" Orihime began walking next to Tastuki, who had martial arts practice, but Orihime was walking her to the gym either way.

"Wait, Inoue!" Ichigo yelled out. Orihime turned around, puzzled. Ichigo himself didn't even know what he was doing.

Oh my gosh, he's coming this way… Okay, calm down, Orihime, calm down…

"Uhm, would you mind if I walked you home today?" Ichigo at first was looking into her bright, beautiful grey eyes, but then he looked down at the floor, blushing slightly.

Tastuki raised an eyebrow and Orihime's eyes widened.

"O-of course not, K-kurosaki-kun." She softly replied, looking down at the floor as well. Ichigo's head snapped up and slightly smiled.

"Uhm, okay. You don't mind me taking her away, do you Tastuki?" Tastuki had her hands on her hips and had a smirk on her face, as well as Ichigo.

"Tastuki-chan, I'm sorry, I-"

"Go, Orihime. I'll see you later tonight anyways… for homework." Tastuki smiled at Orihime, then glared at Ichigo and walked away.

"Ready?" he asked. Orihime nodded the both of them walked out of the school, side by side.

The sun was brightly shining overhead; the wind was softly blowing, leaves flying here and there. Both Ichigo and Orihime were looking straight ahead, sometimes glancing at each other. At times, they'd catch each other glancing at one another and immediately look away. There was a slight awkward silence between the two and Orihime didn't know what to do. So, she began to talk.

"Isn't today beautiful? Although, I wouldn't have minded if it was raining, either. I think it'd be even more beautiful if it were raining. The rain brings the sky and earth together, even if it's just a mere moment." Then, out of nowhere, a stomach growled. Orihime immediately put her hands to her stomach, her face getting redder and redder by the second. "S-sorry, K-kurosaki-kun… I guess I'm hungry… hehehe…" she put her hand behind her head and put on a goofy smile. Ichigo smirked and a warm feeling came about him.

Dammit, what the hell is happening?

I'll tell you what's happenin', Kingy. Your fucking hormones are going haywire 'cuz of her. I don't blame ya, she's fucking hot. And look at that rack! Damnnnn, you better get a move on! Or else maybe someone better might get her and with those huge ass boobs, she'd get a guy in no time.Ichigo's hollow started to whisper in his head and Ichigo had accidently muttered out loud, "Shut the fuck up!"

Orihime looked at him puzzled, lost.

"Oh no! Not you, Inoue, it was my… my…"

"Was it the little blue men? Were they whispering in your ear?" Orihime asked.

Ichigo smiled and replied, "Yea, it was."

"Oh, I'm starting to not like those blue men. They're starting to be mean, but I thought they were only being mean to me. It's okay if it's only to me, but now they're going to you, Kurosaki-kun. Who will it be next? Tastuki-chan?" That was when Orihime gasped out loud and her eyes widened.

"I think Tastuki will be fine, Inoue. I think she's safe from the little blue men. And if they do mess with her, she'd beat them up in an instant." Ichigo had immediately said once he saw that Orihime was about to get a heart attack.

"Kurosaki-kun is right. My imagination is getting the best of me again, hehehe."

They had both kept on walking until they had reached Orihime's house. They bid their farewell, with a happy and giddy good-bye from Orihime and a simple bye from Ichigo. Though once they had departed from one another, the both of them couldn't stop thinking about the other.

Later at Orihime's house

"So, Ichigo walked you home today… that's big." Tastuki nudged her best friend and smirked. Orihime only giggled, but then she let out a soft sigh. "What's wrong? Did the jackass say something?"

"No, no. Of course not! Kurosaki-kun is a caring and nice person, and a great friend… And that's all he's going to be. Just a great friend." Orihime looked down at the floor and started to twiddle her fingers.

"Orihime…"

Tears began to slowly form and Orihime let them fall for a couple seconds and then finally wiped them away. "I'm fine with him being my friend. I'm satisfied with that, honestly, I am. I love him, there's no doubt about it, but I don't want to hurt him or put our friendship on the line just because of how I feel about him… these selfish desires…" Orihime paused and finally looked up at Tastuki and gave her a small, wavering smile. "He already does so much for me; saving me from Hueco Mundo, always protecting me… it's enough for me. He doesn't have to give me anything more."

At Ichigo's House

Once Ichigo entered through the front door of his home, a punch came at him and he swiftly dodged it. He then gave a quick sidekick, hitting its target.

"That's my son!" Isshin muffled out, pinching his nose together to try to stop the bleeding.

Ichigo didn't say anything and only went into his room.

"Ichi-nii, dinner is going to be ready soon!" Yuzu remarked as she watched her older brother walk up the stairs.

"Not that hungry, sorry Yuzu." Ichigo yelled without turning around.

He opened his bedroom door and saw Rukia on his bed, reading something about Chappy.

"Don't you get tired of that ugly-ass bunny?" At that remark, Rukia grabbed the book and threw it straight at his head. He was too slow to dodge it. Slowly massaging where the book hit, he sat down on his bed. He didn't say anything for a while, he was just staring into space… and that wasn't like him.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You're too quiet," Rukia commented.

"Huh? Oh… nothing."

"Nothing, my ass. What the hell is wrong with you? Wasn't able to defeat a hollow? Is your hollow within you coming back? Is –,"

"Dammit, shut the fuck up, will you? You talk too much. And no to everything you asked. I told you that nothing was bothering me."

"I know what's bothering him," a smug Kon but in. "It's about Hime-chan. The beautiful princess and that wonderful valley of hers…" Kon drifted off and slowly began to drool.

"What're you trying to get at, Kon?" Rukia asked with a smirk. Ichigo's eyes only widened that Kon was actually close to being right… okay, so he WAS right.

"Oh, right. Ichigo wants to protect her, hold her, kiss her, love her, marry her, and have beautiful love with-,"

"Shut the fuck up, Kon!" Ichigo loudly remarked, slowly becoming as red as a strawberry. He still had Kon's head squished into his mattress, in order to suffocate him so that he wouldn't blurt anything out anymore. Kon was wriggling under his strong grasp, and yelling, but it only sounded like soft muffles to Ichigo and Rukia's ears. "You promise not to say anymore shit?" Kon nodded as best as he could in his position and Ichigo slowly lifted his hand from Kon's head.

"He's been saying her name in his sleep!" Kon was able to blurt out before Ichigo could suffocate him again.

"HAHAHAHA!" Rukia laughed so hard that she fell of Ichigo's bed and started rolling on the floor. Ichigo could only deepen his scowl until he finally yelled out, "Shut up!" Rukia had ceased to laugh, but was still giggling. Finally she deeply sighed and looked at him. "Damn, what took you so damn long to notice?"

"What?"

"Gosh, are you still blind? Inoue has loved you for who knows how long! And you're just realizing that you have feelings for her too? Baka," Rukia stated.

"She's… had… feelings… for… me?" Ichigo stuttered. He couldn't comprehend that a girl as beautiful as her could have feelings for him.

"Do I have to repeat myself? Gosh, you're so stupid!"

"Shut up…" At that, he stood up and grabbed a gray sweater from his chair.

"Where're you going? You just got here." Rukia asked.

"Inoue's," was all he replied with.

At Orihime's house

"Okay, bye Tastuki-chan!" Orihime waved to her best friend and Tatsuki waved back as she walked down the block and left.

Orihime closed the door behind her and went to the sink to wash the dishes. Though, once she turned on the water, there was a knock on her door. Who could that be? She wondered to herself. She slowly walked towards the door and only opened it a little to actually see that it wasn't a robber or little blue men, but instead, to her relief, it was Ichigo.

"Kurosaki-kun! What are you doing here?" Orihime finally opened the door all the way and Ichigo just looked at her, soft grey eyes meeting fierce eyes.

Ugh, those eyes… the innocent look… Ichigo had to stop himself from thinking about her when he realized that he was just standing outside, looking like an idiot.

"Uhm, actually, I wanted to, er, talk to you, Inoue." Ichigo blurted out.

"Okay. Come in then," Orihime gave him a radiant smile and closed the door behind Ichigo. He realized that she didn't lock it.

"Aren't you going to lock it, Inoue?"

"Huh? Oh, I always forget." She laughed as she put her arm behind her head and locked her door. "Do you want something to drink or eat?"

"No thanks…" Ichigo had just realized that Orihime was in only a tank top and pajama pants. "Uhm, did I wake you up or something? If I did, I can just go home and let you go back to sleep." Orihime was perplexed until she looked at what she was wearing.

"Oh! No, no, no. You didn't disturb me. In fact, Tatsuki-chan had just left, so it's okay. I was just so comfortable around her that I changed into my pajamas. I usually can't sleep lately so I choose to clean up my house. I was about to wash the dishes, but then you came."

"Oh, then I can go if you want to finish cleaning up…" Ichigo was starting to go for the door when Orihime had waved her hands in front of him.

"No! I didn't mean it like that. He he." There was an awkward silence between the two until Orihime had remembered the reason why Ichigo came in the first place. "Er, what did you want to talk about Kurosaki-kun?"

"Oh, right. Actually…" Ichigo had no idea on how to start on telling her what he wanted to tell her. He's never done it before. That was when he decided to change the topic. "You said you couldn't sleep well. Why?"

"Oh, I've just been having dreams… that's all…" Orihime began to blush and she turned from him and began to walk into the living room. Ichigo followed right behind her. Why would he care on why I'm not sleeping well anyways?She began to think. In the back of her head a voice seemed to have whispered, Maybe he really does care, but more than a friend… Orihime shook her head of thinking such nonsense and tried to have a logical answer. Well, he is my friend, and he did go so far as to save me from Hueco Mundo… so he's just curious and wants to know as a friend… just a friend…Orihime got so lost in thought that she didn't hear the question that Ichigo had just asked her.

"Inoue, did you hear me?"

"Oh, no, sorry."

"What kind of dreams have you been having?"

You shouldn't tell him! It'll make him feel guilty! That was the first thought that popped into her head so she went with it. "Oh, nothing really. Its fine, I'll catch up on my sleep eventually." She softly smiled and that was when Ichigo took a step closer to her and he put his hand on her shoulder. Their faces were only a couple of inches away from each other and the both of them had the urge to lean in and close the gap between their lips… but neither of them did anything. Orihime stiffened at his gesture and Ichigo responded by softly squeezing her shoulder.

"Please, tell me, Inoue…" his voice was soft, his eyes smothering her, they were so fierce, she couldn't resist.

"I, uh, well…" she softly sighed and stepped away. She had to. She couldn't handle it anymore; the feeling of being loved by someone that she KNEW didn't love her. It was all a fantasy, and as much as she didn't want to, she had to face reality. "I said it was nothing, Kurosaki-kun." Even though her voice was soft and gentle, her words hit Ichigo's heart. He was kind of annoyed that she wasn't telling him so he pestered on.

"Inoue-,"

"They're nothing, don't worry about me." Inoue had turned her back on him once again, to try and hold back her tears that were coming, but that was when she felt him come to her and he turned her around. Ichigo held his grip on her, but not so tight as to hurt her.

"Inoue, please…" this time, his voice was soft and pleading. Orihime was caught by surprise by his tone of voice that she began to feel bad for not telling him in the first place. His hand moved from her shoulder to the back of her head and somehow their faces got closer.

"Kurosaki-kun…" Orihime seemed to have been pleading for him to step away and Ichigo was taken aback. Rukia said… Guess she was wrong. He was about to step away when a thought came to him. Kiss her. Let's see if she'll kiss back. If she doesn't then say sorry and move on. He hesitated, just staring into her grey eyes, not knowing on what to do.

His eyes are so mesmerizing… I can't look away, and I don't want to; plus to have his hand on me like this… I can be satisfied with this, and only this, for my whole life. I love him… but I don't want to ruin anything… I… Orihime was cut off from her thoughts once there was lip contact. Ichigo pulled her into him by her waist while kissing her, his eyes closed. Orihime's eyes widened by the sudden contact, but she didn't object… instead she just gave in. Her lips moved with his, and they partially opened, allowing his tongue to explore her mouth. She softly moaned and this made Ichigo to kiss her even harder. Orihime's arms were around his neck by now, one hand pulling him into her and the other clutching his orange hair.

Finally, Ichigo took his lips away from hers after a few more quick pecks and Orihime laid her forehead against his, looking down with her bangs covering her eyes. The both of them were panting, trying to catch their breath. Ichigo slowly stepped back and Orihime took her arms off of his neck and hair. Ichigo cleared his throat and looked up. He saw that Orihime's cheeks were flushed, her lips quite bruised from the force he had on her lips.

She's so fragile… Ichigo thought. This is why I must always protect her…

Can't believe he just… I just… My lips hurt a little… Orihime's thoughts were everywhere, and then the confusion set in. Why did he? He doesn't… He can't… I'm weak, I'm not Rukia… Orihime had kept thinking that Ichigo couldn't love her, and as she kept thinking and thinking about it, tears started to form and slowly fall down her soft cheeks.

She's crying? Holy crap, what do I do? Hug her? Well, what if she's mad at me? SHIT!

"Inoue, if you didn't want me to kiss you, you could've pulled back… I understand if you don't feel the same way…" Ichigo's voice began to slowly lose its volume.

"Feel the same way? What are you talking about? Don't you love Rukia?" Orihime was way past confused, past perplexed; she began to get a headache. This was mind-boggling. The little blue men must be hammering against my head…

"ME LOVE RUKIA? FUCK NO! That's Renji's job… I honestly wonder when he's going to finally make a move on her, I swear," Ichigo snickered but the scowl came back onto his face. "Inoue, do you love me? I mean, like, I don't know…"

"I have loved you, do love and will always love you, Ichigo…" Orihime softly whispered. At first Ichigo didn't hear what she said, but then it began to slowly process into his mind. Even though his face held the same facial expression, his heart was jumping in joy. That was until he heard her sniffling again… "I was so confused on how you felt; I always thought that you loved Rukia. I mean, like, I guess you could say I was jealous… But I never said anything because I didn't want to ruin our friendship." Orihime lifted her head up and gave a small smile to Ichigo. "And then this happens! It's like as if I'm dreaming; not in the same world anymore. And you tell me that you love me…" She softly sighed and Ichigo walked closer to her. He stared into the teary grey eyes of hers and then he pulled her in for a hug. Orihime's eyes widened, but she gladly wrapped her arms around him and she laid her head on his shoulder.

"I won't let go of you, Inoue. I will protect you and always be there for you. If I mess up just once, then I have failed my duty as a friend, and as your boyfriend." Ichigo plainly said this, but his mind was whirling. He had NEVER in his whole damn life EVER told ANYONE how he felt about them. And this one girl, this beautiful girl, was changing everything. Orihime widely smiled at the word of "boyfriend" and blushed. She then looked down, trying to control her feelings so that she wouldn't end up jumping up and down and pumping her fists in the air at this great discovery.

He loves me, and for once, he's mine…

She loves me, and for once, she's mine…