Douceur de Vivre

by Celestial Night

“I think that a picture doesn’t say a thousand words as much as it causes a thousand words to be exchanged. What do you think, Ichigo?” Sometimes, all it takes is an unexpected push in the wrong direction to finally get what you wanted. IchiHime

I never for the life of me thought I would ever write a Bleach fic. I didn't think I would ever have the time. But…this fic wasn't written for me. It's for Ninira/Aki at Five Lifetimes One Love for the Holiday Exchange 2008 assignment.

So, Ninira, I hope you enjoy and that I did justice to your "Portrait" idea! This is for you.

(I do not own Bleach. If I did, I'd be ridiculously rich and famous in the mangaka world. But alas, Kubo Tite has all that since he is, after all, the creator.)

.:*:.

Douceur de Vivre

A Bleach Fic by Celestial Night

.:*:.

"AHHHHHH that is so cute!!!"

Matsumoto Rangiku, despite having spent all these months in the material world, still seemed to get excited over the smallest, unfamiliar details she'd see. This fact was well-known to many in the Gotei 13, but her new, naïve "housemate" (if you could even call the sporadic amounts of time the captain and vice captain of the tenth division spent in the apartment by such a term) was only just starting to understand the incredibly busty woman.

"Umm…really, Rangiku-san?"

Inoue Orihime once again observed the small cell phone in her hands. She hadn't thought much of it; it was simply something Tatsuki had made her buy ever since she returned from…

Orihime shook her head as she tried to focus. Earlier that afternoon, her tomboy-ish best friend had insisted they go to the nearest store and take get Orihime a cell phone, regardless of the fact that Orihime was never good around technology in general.

It wasn't much, or at least Orihime didn't think too heavily about it. It was a simple phone meant purely for communication. As long as Tatsuki had a definite means of reaching Orihime, everything was alright.

But Matsumoto could care less about the networking purposes of this phone. After all, she had her own Soul Society cell for that very reason (which she had placed a butterfly sticker on just to give it that special touch). She didn't even fuss over the small, crystal charm Orihime had adorned it with. No, what the beautiful lieutenant cared most about was the—

"Of course, Orihime! Now take another picture! Wait—let me do it!" the woman eagerly extended her hands to the younger girl, and before the girl could even respond, the small device was all-too-excitedly snatched out of her hands.

"You could take a picture of anything with a camera this small, like the neighbor's cat, or a new pair of shoes that you like, or even Captain…and he'd never know!" the shinigami cried as she moved about Orihime's living room, taking a picture of anything and everything that came into her field of view.

"Err, Rangiku-san, I don't know how many pictures the phone can hold! It's very small to begin with…!"

But Orihime's calls fell on deaf ears as the woman moved into the kitchen in an effort to photograph the unique, generally inedible concoctions that lined the refrigerator.

The caramel-colored hair girl sighed as her shoulders slouched, admitting that it would be a futile effort to try and stop the vice captain once she had her mind set on something. She glanced around the small room, searching for something to do. Orihime had almost become repulsed at the idea of having too much free time, although her friends had continuously insisted that she get some rest.

They had done enough for her. She didn't feel it necessary to inform them about how her mind liked to wander off these days into memories that she had been trying to forget for so long. There was no need in stirring up a storm, however small it may be, just when everyone had finally reached a state of calmness.

Orihime looked up and realized that she had been spacing out. She placed a hand on the wooden table she'd been kneeling beside. Her eyes looked at the table: the smooth surface, the lamp on it, the barely visible ring left from her coffee cup a couple of days ago. Had it really been only a few weeks ago that she sat at this very table, guided by the light of the lamp, writing what she thought would be her last words to her friends? It was all so hard to believe sometimes.

A gray cloud came over the sun, causing a dark shade to sweep over the citizens of Karakura Town. At this, Orihime quickly stood up, realizing how late it was. She would have to get dinner ready soon if she wanted to catch the new episode of Laugh Hour tonight.

As she moved out of the room, she didn't notice a pair of turquoise eyes watching her. She also didn't notice when these same eyes had been observing her movements just a few moments earlier.

"Hmph." Folding his hands across his chest, Toshiro Hitsugaya closed his eyes for a brief second and walked away.

.:*:.

The first snowfall of the season originally went unnoticed by many of the citizens of Karakura. The snowflakes themselves were tiny and apparently very fragile for they liquefied as soon as they hit solid ground. Some people would even argue that at this point, the weather was more like freezing rain. But all the reports said the snow would start to stick soon enough for the temperature was rapidly decreasing.

For this reason, the students of the local high school were currently confined to their classrooms for lunch, and here an altogether new storm was brewing.

To say that things were tense with Kurosaki Ichigo and Arisawa Tatsuki would be the understatement of the century. The black-haired girl refused to listen to any of his apologies or explanations, simply ignoring him and happily pretending as if he never existed.

But Ichigo supposed it couldn't be helped; it was, ultimately, a testament to how much Tatsuki cared for Orihime and how she couldn't stand being out of the loop if anything happened to her best friend.

Enough was enough, though. Ichigo, Chad, Rukia, Ishida and Renji had brought Orihime back from Hueco Mundo safe and sound. How much silent treatment must he endure for Tatsuki to realize that?

Ichigo sighed as he walked over to Tatsuki, sitting on her desk and intently observing. It seemed every decision he made in the name of protecting his friends backfired on him somehow. He refused to watch more of his life come undone because of it.

"How long do you plan on keeping this up?" he asked the girl.

Tatsuki neither looked nor turned in his direction. Rather, she kept her eyes focused on the group of girls she had been casually watching since the start of lunch. Ichigo could feel his short fuse ignite even more.

"Dammit, Tatsuki-"

"Look," Tatsuki ordered simply. Ichigo was originally taken aback by her voice. It didn't have its normally commanding tone. It almost had a pleading timbre to it. The girl jerked her head forward slightly.

"Her…her eyes...they don't reflect emotion like they used to."

Ichigo followed the girl's gaze. Currently, a group of girls in his class were sitting around Kuneida Ryo, listening to the synopsis of the highly-praised romance movie she saw over the weekend. Orihime, along with Rukia, were part of this group.

At first Ichigo didn't understand what Tatsuki meant. If she was talking about Orihime, well, she looked normal…didn't she? She was intently listening to Ryo's story and occasionally asked a question here or there like if the special effects in the movie were as good as the ones in the "supercool alien-sci-fi thrillers". It was all typical Orihime behavior.

Though, what Ichigo didn't expect was Orihime suddenly lowering her gaze away from the rest of the group. It went unnoticed by most of the girls how her downcast eyes watched as she absentmindedly traced patterns in the floor beside her. Then, just as her fingers lifted upward, making Ichigo think she were going to lift her hand, they curled into a small, frustrated fist.

Strangely, as quickly as it had started, it all seemed to disappear as Orihime's hand relaxed and she snapped her attention back to the story.

Ichigo's scowl only seemed to deepen as he watched the scene unfold. He turned to look at Tatsuki as he spoke. "What's bothering Inoue?"

"I plan to keep 'this up' until you find a way to make that go away, Ichigo," the girl explained, answering Ichigo's first question, as she somberly kept her gaze steady.

For the second time in a span of a few minutes, Ichigo was taken aback.

"And how the hell am I supposed to do that? I don't even know what's wrong!"

"Hopefully, you'll be able to figure it out," Tatsuki advised, leaving Ichigo with an even more bowled over look. Because I can't.

Thankfully, not everyone was as slow as Ichigo. Rukia sat loyally beside the girl who had become like a best friend to her in the material world, noticing that Ichigo and Tatsuki were looking their way a little earlier.

It hurt to see her friend switch in-and-out of such melancholy dispositions. What made it worse was that Orihime always seemed to make Rukia feel better, even if it was unwittingly through her slightly eccentric ways. Lately, Orihime had been sweeping all her feelings away in a desperate effort to keep the serene atmosphere around them, and Rukia felt as if there was nothing she could do.

If she told Orihime that she knew, the girl would most likely feel guilty and feel like more of a burden. At the same time, Rukia could never sit casually and let her friend fade away and give into despair. That just was not an option.

Rukia had told herself that Orihime simply needed more time. Maybe it was true, and, eventually, the ditzy beauty would come back to them. But the bunny-loving shinigami was not a fan of waiting and letting everything fall into place, especially not when it involved her nakama. She had to do something soon. Very soon.

"Orihime-chan," a voice cried out of nowhere. Suddenly, there were two hands wrapped around Orihime's neck from behind.

"Hello Chizuru-chan," Orihime replied as the red-head slid beside her. Her hand sneakily went to Orihime's chest as her eyes lowered suspiciously.

"You know, that movie Ryo-chan was talking about was so very romantic sounding. We should definitely go to one of those dark, empty theatres and see if it—"

"Find another target, you psychotic crackpot!"

With a swift and powerful kick to Chizuru's back, the overly-excited girl keeled over. Tatsuki's foot kept the girl down, not unlike a shoe on a cockroach. She had an annoyed expression on as she ground her foot harder into Chizuru's back, but as she looked down to Orihime, a smile grew on her face.

"I'm glad you could join us, Tatsuki-chan!" she cried excitedly with one of the most sincere smiles either Rukia or Tatsuki had seen in days.

Rukia's violet eyes shook softly, wondering what it took to get that smile to be a little more permanent. Inoue…

.:*:.

The snow was well on its way on becoming a blizzard, Orihime noticed, as she walked up the stairs to her apartment. With a grocery bag in one hand, she counted off on the other hand's fingers.

"Ohh, now I have to shovel the stairs, and make sure I have enough candles if the power goes out." She lifted her head and realized that she had been forgetting something major.

"Ahhh Christmas is coming up and I haven't gotten my friends anything!" she reminded herself just as she inserted her key into the front door.

Just as she walked in and started rummaging through her brain for gift ideas—perhaps a tray of her extra spicy, lima bean cookies—she realized there was a new face in her living room.

"Kuchiki-san," the tall girl cried as she stood in her doorway. Rukia looked up at Orihime, as did Matsumoto, the girl who was currently leaning over the table to show Rukia her latest shopping investment.

"Orihime! I was just showing Rukia how perfect this would be for the party we're throwing," she explained as she revealed a sleek, red camera in her other hand. She looked back at the short shinigami. "Am I right?"

Orihime's eyes widened. "Umm…what party, Rangiku-san?"

"Party? What, here?" a new voice asked. Orihime turned and nearly dropped her grocery bag as she watched Ichigo step out of her hallway bathroom.

"Kurosaki-kun!" she exclaimed, shuffling her bag into her other arm, unable to keep her cheeks from tinting red with surprise.

"Your camera is very nice, Matsumoto-san, but I'm afraid I came here to speak with Inoue," Rukia said as she stood up. Matsumoto momentarily forgot about her new device as she wondered what caused the slightly anxious edge to her voice, watching the dark-haired shinigami curiously. Rukia walked over to Orihime who was looking more and more confused as time passed.

Orihime's attention went back to Rukia as a worried look spread across her features.

"Is everything alright, Kuchiki-san?"

.:*:.

She could feel the snow wetting the back of her jacket as she leaned against the banister to her stair's apartment. A puff of hot air escaped from her lips as she sighed. How could she have let this happen?

"I feel sad sometimes, but other than that, nothing's really wrong," Orihime explained, putting on a show smile as she closed her eyes.

That confession seemed to startle Ichigo and Rukia more than they let on. Even though his hands were folded, Ichigo's muscles visibly tensed as Rukia's eyes widened sadly. To say that neither of them suspected something would be a lie, but they nevertheless couldn't help but be affected to hear such a thing from her.

This was the girl whose entire month was made if there was a Ghost Bust marathon on, Ichigo thought. The social, slightly unconventional girl who constantly kept a cheerful smile on her face. He had never seen her like this before. He never thought he'd ever see such negativity come off of her. As his fists clenched and air puffed out of his nostrils like an angered dragon, he couldn't help but feel ridiculously guilty. After he had vowed to protect her, she had been taken away from them. And even now, it seemed his promise couldn't be held up. But this feeling of guilt seemed so much heavier than before…It just hurt to see her in such a state, forcing a smile when her words contradicted that kind of nature. It was enough to make his blood boil.

"Inoue-"

Ichigo interrupted Rukia as he made his point clear.

"You don't have to do this, you know that, right? If you're sad Inoue, then there's nothing you can do. No one's gonna hold you responsible for feeling that way, and we're damn well not gonna turn away from you if you need to talk. So there's no need to pretend in front of us when we're trying to make sure you're alright!"

Orihime suppressed a gasp and, to the best of her abilities, tried to suspend the tears forming in her eyes in time. She had upset one of the most important people in the world for her, and all she was trying to do was make sure she didn't bother any of her friends.

When she felt the tears hit the very bottom of her eyes, she turned around. Her large, brown eyes sadly observed the snow on her banister as she forced away sniffles. The last thing she wanted to do was let her friends know she was not more upset. Nothing she did ever seemed to go according to plan.

A few tears darkened the snow before her.

Rukia shot a death glare in Ichigo's direction. She knew it was a bad idea dragging him along, but she had hoped the idiot had enough sense in him not to distress the already fragile girl currently standing with her back to him.

But Ichigo never saw the look Rukia gave him. His hands were clenched at his sides by the time he finished his mini-rant, but the moment they had seen the girl's widen in surprise, he instantly wished his words would go jump back into his mouth. Never one that was good at articulating what he felt, he knew it would've been better to just stay quiet. Though, he found himself unable to remain silent as Inoue stayed troubled.

In the end, however, he admitted it probably would've been to everyone's benefit if he stayed calm. The raw pain that suddenly sparked in his chest was enough of a reason to have done so.

"Inoue, I'm-"

"I appreciate your worry, Kurosaki-kun, but this is not as serious as you think." Orihime surprised Ichigo and Rukia by turning around and donning one of the widest smiles she had ever given them. She put a hand at the back of her head and laughed.

"I have Tatsuki-chan, and Robot Brawl comes on every Tuesday night," she explained as her smile grew. "I know it's silly to dwell on these things, but I think everything will be fine once I can forget."

This outburst was perhaps the most unnerving for the two shinigami in front of her. Aside from giving the caramel-haired girl an even more shocked look, they didn't have time to appropriately respond.

"Orihimeee," Matsumoto called as she opened the front door. She gave a quick glance at the three people standing outside before continuing.

"I don't think you bought nearly enough food for the party," the lieutenant said as she leaned her wide hip against the doorway.

A confused look graced Orihime's face yet again.

"Ano…what party, Rangiku-san?" she asked for the second time as she lowered her hand from her head.

Matsumoto's eyes widened before she realized something. "Ohhh that's right: I forgot to tell you!" she smiled and folded her hands under her hearty chest (which was heavily exposed with a low-cut shirt despite the falling temperature outside). "I'm throwing a Christmas party here next weekend!"

"Here?!" Orihime cried, about to fall over, as a whole new level of worry came over here.

"Matsumoto-san, I'm not sure this is the best time for a party," Rukia started.

"You should probably push it back a couple of weeks," Ichigo added as he refolded his hands.

"Well I can't do that," she replied, completely rejecting what she found to be a totally ridiculous suggestion. "I already sent out the invitations. You should be getting yours any day now."

Orihime's face lost nearly all its color as she ran to the vice captain.

"Rangiku-san," she pleaded, almost begging, "how many people did you invite?"

In response, the busty woman tapped her chin with one finger as she counted off on the other hand.

"Well of course most of the tenth division, and you can't have a party without the eleventh division guys, hmm…let's see, almost all of the captains and vice captains of the Gotei 13…Most of the third and fourth seats…that's pretty much all of it."

Orihime was practically on her knees at this point. That…that many people?

.:*:.

"This party of yours is a bad idea, Matsumoto," Hitsugaya explained as he watched his lieutenant put up a bunch of red and green streamers in one corner of the living room.

Matsumoto simply walked off her small stepping stool, observing her work. Once she was satisfied, she looked teasingly at the green-eyed shinigami standing beside her.

"There's no need to be a spoilsport, captain!" she reminded as she crossed her hands under her chest.

"Hn. If you have time to assemble all this, then you clearly need an assignment."

"Aww, come on! This will be a great opportunity to relax and unwind after all the fighting we've had to do. And since we won't be holding it in Seireitei, we can be as loud as we want!" she reminded excitedly.

"The human world has limits on how much noise you can make, Matsumoto," the boy-genius reminded dryly, loosely folding his hands over his small form. Matsumoto's face fell as she remembered this small fact. "But the commotion you will undoubtedly make is the least of my worries."

Matsumoto looked at her captain in confusion. Hitsugaya sighed before he decided to elaborate.

"First of all, you want to call a large percentage of the shinigami out of Seireitei and bring them here. Not only will that leave Soul Society substantially vulnerable, it will also condense most of our forces into one, small building, making it a prime target."

The vice captain did not seem to take this possibility seriously which was made obvious by her rolling her eyes.

"Really, captain-"

"There's more," Hitsugaya cut in swiftly. "Have you considered the mental state Inoue Orihime has been in recently? I feel she's the last person would make for an amicable hostess."

Matsumoto didn't need to consider this option for a split-second. She relaxed her hands and smiled at her captain, who in turn wondered what the woman possibly had in mind.

"I'm the hostess, so Orihime doesn't need to worry about that. Besides, I ultimately chose this location for the party because that way, there was no way Orihime couldn't come," she exclaimed happily.

The tenth-division captain hardly seemed amused. "So you're saying this party is for her?"

"Of course! What kind of friend would I be if I let her stay so sad? Just you wait, captain. You can see for yourself and by all the pictures I'll take how perfect this night will be!" Rangiku was practically beaming at this point as she pulled out her little red camera from somewhere in her sleeve.

A stress mark appeared on Hitsugaya's face as he looked at the incredibly annoying piece of technology she held. He had lost track somewhere after two-hundred sixty-something of how many pictures she had taken of him with that cursed device. She took them while he slept, while he rummaged through the fridge for food, while he was doing paperwork.

One thing was for sure: if Matsumoto insisted on keeping that camera around, he would steer clear of her, at least until this picture-taking phase faded away.

.:*:.

For a modified soul that was only about a foot tall, Kon sure did have a ridiculously strong grip.

"Let me goooo! For the sake of all things right in this world, let me go to the party, Ichigo!!!"

Currently, the lion plushie had a vice grip on one of Ichigo's ankles, and, strangely enough, enough strength to cause the teenager to stop.

"Would you keep your voice down? What if one of my sisters or dad hears you!" he reminded as he shook his leg viciously.

Kon refused to give up. "Then let them hear! I want the world to know of the injustice you put me through! Who do you think you are by denying me the Valley of the Gods of the most lovely Inoue-san?"

"You know," Ichigo said, being fed up as he reached down, "you're lucky you're just a doll. Most guys like you are locked up for being disgusting perverts."

"Ha! I simply bask in the bounty that blind fools like you refuse—"

"Yeah, yeah. Hey Yuzu! Guess what I found!" Ichigo cried as he chucked Kon out of his room and down the stairs. The plushie flew to the very bottom of the stairs and onto the last step, where he landed at a very impatient Rukia's feet.

This was perfect! Surely his wonderful nee-san would not let him suffer! However, before Rukia could do anything—though it didn't look like she would help Kon's case much by the way she looked disapprovingly down at the toy—another voice called out.

"Bostov!"

Yuzu, who had been sweeping the entryway floor, excitedly ran over and picked up the lion.

"I had been looking for you. Why do you keep escaping from me?" she asked as she brought the toy against her cheek and nuzzled it. Kon realized that any dreams he had of going to the party had now been completely shot to hell. He listened bitterly as Ichigo came down the stairs, making sure to smirk accomplishedly at the plushie, before he and Rukia said their goodbyes and left.

.:*:.

"I hope Inoue was able to get all the preparations ready in time," Rukia thought aloud as she and Ichigo walked through the streets of Karakura town towards Orihime's house. "She's been through a little too much lately."

Ichigo stuffed his hands into his jacket's pockets and looked up at the sky.

"It's strange," he sighed, "seeing Inoue like this. I don't really care about this party too much; I just want to make sure she's doing alright."

He didn't notice the sudden glaze that came over his eyes as he spoke of his classmate, but Rukia did.

She had a soft smile on her face as she looked ahead and said, "Hmm…I'm sure."

Ichigo looked to his side and found his curiosity piquing. He stopped for a few seconds, staring at Rukia. "Eh? What's with that look?"

"Nothing," the raven-haired girl replied in a saccharine voice as she continued walking down the sidewalk, leaving a very confused Ichigo in her wake.

.:*:.

Orihime didn't have time to be stressed as she was more worried for her life. She narrowly avoided the blade of Zaraki Kenpachi's sword—which was being swung in the captain's demonstration of his fights from Hueco Mundo—and ended up crawling on her knees on the other side of the table.

Oh well, she thought as she gathered more cups and paper plates into her garbage bag, at least this is more convenient.

Or maybe not…with all of her nakama plus the shinigami Matsumoto had taken the liberty of inviting, the small apartment was easily filled with at least one-hundred people. It would probably be smartest to just wait the party out and then try to clean, however long that would take.

The lieutenant in question had been an excellent party hostess…for about the first one-and-a-half hours. After her fifth full bottle of sake, however, she became more of a slurry mess who was currently walking through the overly-crowded apartment and taking pictures at what she found to be the most opportune moments.

Orihime stood up and sighed. She knew that above all else, Matsumoto was simply trying to alleviate the worried atmosphere Orihime had created around herself, however unorthodox her methods had been.

"Hey! This broad was there!" Suddenly, Orihime felt a hand around her left arm. Before she knew what happened, she felt herself practically fly over her living room table and land beside the captain of the eleventh division himself.

"Yay! Boobies has come to party with us," the pink-haired Yachiru cried as she appeared from behind Kenpachi's right shoulder.

"She was there," Kenpachi repeated as he pointed the scratched blade of his zanpakuto to the girl's face. Orihime wondered if he had a little too much to drink or if he really was this fond of showing off. "Tell him how I beat up that damned Espada."

'Him' was Tetsuzaemon Iba, currently standing across Kenpachi with his arms folded indignantly across his body.

"I never said ya didn't get him good. All I'm saying is that you were knocked up pretty bad in the process," the seventh division lieutenant enlightened.

Kenpachi looked livid. "I didn't see you solo any Espada!" he exclaimed as he leaned ferociously into the lieutenant, who looked as though he was as equally angered.

Before Iba could respond, however, Matsumoto appeared from a crowd of black shinigami uniforms, her shiny new camera in hand.

"Let's take a picture, everybody!" she cried, gesturing to Iba, Kenpachi and Orihime (who had remained completely still throughout this conversation) to come together.

Surprisingly, Iba and Kenpachi forgot their dispute from just a few seconds earlier and put on, quite frankly, very cheesy smiles. Yachiru had on a cat-like grin as she leaned between Orihime's head and her captain's shoulders. The human teenager simply had a doe-eyed look in her large eyes as the flash went off.

"Aww, it's amazing," the big-breasted woman said, clearly not getting a good look at the picture she had just taken (the alcohol must really have been taking its effect).

.:*:.

A beautifully carved, purple glass bottle was currently being tilted over the large punch bowl. Before the contents of said bottle could be poured into the drink, however, a hand ferociously smacked the bottle away, causing it to drop to the floor and break.

"Just what do you think you're doing?!" an incredibly infuriated Ishida Uryuu asked as he stood defensively by the punch bowl.

"Ahh, what a shame. This would've been the perfect setting to test my new drug," Kurotsuchi Mayuri sighed as he looked disappointedly at the purple shards on the floor.

"No matter. There are still other experiments to be done."

Uryuu looked as though he could rip the demented captain's head off at any instant.

"What is that supposed to mean?! You do realize your fellow shinigami are at this party, right?!! You can't go experimenting wherever and on whomever you want! This isn't Soul Society…you can be arrested for tampering with innocent people here!"

Mayuri waved his hands dismissively at the Quincy. "As if I plan my actions by your lowly human standards."

Knowing that his breath was simply being wasted on the lunatic, Uryuu looked over to the vice captain of the twelfth division, standing obediently at her father's side.

"How can you just let him do whatever he wants?" he asked Nemu, the girl who resembled a statue with her incredible stillness.

"Mayuri-sama's research is vital for Soul Society's knowledge," the girl replied without ever batting an eyelash. Uryuu could have slapped himself for his stupidity: of course the most (surprisingly) loyal lieutenant in the history of shinigami would never say anything negative about her disturbed captain.

He would probably have to end up babysitting Mayuri the entire night in an effort to make sure nobody went home inebriated, or with more or less limbs than they came in with, or some sort of combination of those two things…Really, with Kurotsuchi Mayuri, it was hard to tell.

"Who the hell invited you anyway?!"

.:*:.

Rukia watched Orihime take a tray of appetizers out of the kitchen with worried eyes.

"You should stop stressing over her," a male voice said from behind her. Rukia resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his advice.

"You and Ichigo are both heartless idiots," she told Renji as she swiftly turned around and put a hand on her hips.

Renji shrugged nonchalantly. "If she says that all she needs is time to forget, then that's all there is to it. You thought the same thing, remember?" he waved a drink in front of Rukia. "You want?"

"Hmmph." Rukia turned her back to him without accepting the glass. "You're heartless and brainless."

Renji's facial features suddenly took on a perplexed appearance. "Who's brainless?! The Winter War's over…we should relax and not worry too much about these little things."

Rukia never replied to the redhead. She didn't want to admit that there was a small chance that he was right and Inoue really only needed time to forget. At the same time, there was something slightly…dishonest, for lack of a better word, when the girl had said that to Ichigo and herself. Renji wasn't there; he wouldn't understand what they had seen.

Rukia's best conclusion was that Orihime needed a push into something new, something she would enjoy. Perhaps a new hobby or extracurricular activity? Or maybe the two of them could do some girly things…Rukia was never amazing at shopping and talking about touchy, feminine subjects, but she could try for her friend's sake.

Or maybe…the violet-eyed shinigami looked back at Renji for a moment, baffling the boy even more, before her eyes scanned the room for a familiar, spiky and orange head. Everyone needed someone special in their lives, after all.

.:*:.

Orihime sighed as she looked at her practically untouched appetizers. Apparently, her grapefruit and celery dip was not as big of a hit as she had hoped. Perhaps it was for the best; at least now she didn't have to worry about running out of food (though an apartment crowded with hungry fighters wasn't more of a settling thought, either).

She turned around, completely unaware of the person standing with his back to hers.

"What the- " Ichigo's eyes widened, feeling as though a lead brick had been thrown into his back. When he turned around, he realized he had, yet again, been the target of his classmate's ridiculously hard head. Orihime waved her hands frantically as she let out an incredibly nervous laugh.

"Sorry, Kurosaki-kun! I had no idea you were standing there," she explained as she rubbed her neck fretfully.

Ichigo's eyes softened as he looked at the girl, "Don't worry about it, Inoue."

Orihime tied her hands in front of her as she looked up at the boy. "Are you enjoying the party, Kurosaki-kun?" she asked hopefully.

Well, he was hungry—and quite determined not to go near the food that was available—and this tiny little space was so filled that it was difficult to move around. That, and Kenpachi's constant sword swinging had almost taken off his ear. Twice. So, it was difficult to say this was the most stellar party he had ever been to. At the same time, he quite explicitly remembered the lesson Rukia had taught him about acting too harshly with Inoue after his outburst at her the other day. He still had the bruise on the back of his neck.

"The party's great, Inoue," he said, albeit a little reluctantly. In response, Orihime's small smile seemed to grow two-fold. There was yet another prick of an unexpected feeling in Ichigo's chest, but this time, the feeling was slightly soothing.

Orihime leaned back on her feet slightly, feeling like a huge weight had been lifted off of her. "Ohh, I'm so glad, Kurosaki-kun! I was originally worried that-"

"Oh my gosh this is tooooo perfect!"

Ichigo and Orihime looked confusedly at Matsumoto as she popped out of nowhere. Her face was hidden by her red camera, perfectly poised in front of her face to take a picture at any instant.

"Come on," the lieutenant egged, gesturing for the two teenagers to come together.

"What…?" Ichigo asked, though he was stopped short as a flash went off in his eyes.

"Hmm, that picture was alright," Matsumoto said as she looked at the screen on her camera. She looked back at the two teenagers as a sly smile came over her. "But now go ahead and kiss her!"

Orihime took a step back and put a shocked hand up to her mouth. "R-Rangiku-san!"

"What the hell kinda thing is that to say?" Ichigo asked indignantly, unable to mask the red streak forming under his eyes.

"Oh come on, isn't that what you're supposed to do?" Matsumoto asked, wondering about their juvenile antics, as she pointed a slightly tipsy finger at the mistletoe hanging directly above and between the two humans.

Orihime could feel her heart beat faster and faster as she looked up at the small plant. Her cheeks felt as though they were on fire, and she couldn't dream of looking at Ichigo at the moment. She looked down to her side as she asked, "Did you put that up, Rangiku-san?"

"Well of course I did," the vice captain confirmed as she put a hand on her hip. "I got the idea from the Perfect Holiday Picture Moment guide that came with my camera. It's perfect, right?"

"Ohh it really is perfect," Renji said from somewhere on the other side of the room as he slapped his hands together, eager to watch the show. Rukia, still standing beside him, simply observed with her mouth agape and eyes widened, praying that the fool wouldn't mess this up.

"Uhh…" Ichigo let out unintelligently. He couldn't help but to look desperately at the mistletoe for a good few minutes. Eventually, after what seemed like a century, he looked down at Orihime. She seemed to want to look anywhere but at him. He could tell that this whole situation was probably troubling her more. That's the last thing he wanted to do.

"Well come onnn! I don't have all night," Matsumoto reminded as she poised the camera in front of her face again.

"This-This is stupid!" Ichigo stammered as he swiftly turned around.

Orihime looked up just in time to see Ichigo's back walking away. Before she could call out to him, however, another flash went off.

This time, despite the ridiculous amount of alcohol circulating through her veins, Matsumoto could tell that the picture she had just taken was anything but perfect. She glanced up at Orihime and came beside her just in time, knowing exactly where this entire situation was headed.

Perhaps it was the mixture of the stress/worry she had been going through recently, or perhaps it really was the fact that the boy she loved had blatantly left her under the mistletoe, but Orihime couldn't fight back her emotions any longer.

She closed her eyes and could feel the hot tears race down her face.

Renji and Rukia both looked as though they had been slapped in the face.

"Wow, Ichigo," Renji said to no one in particular as he put a hand over his face, unable to comprehend the stupidity of his human friend.

Rukia had her fists clenched and was visibly shaking. "Idiot….."

When she got home tonight, she was going to make Ichigo wish he had never been born.

.:*:.

Toshiro Hitsugaya had made it very clear that he did not want to take any part in this ludicrous party Matsumoto was throwing. That is why, at that very moment, he was comfortably sitting on the roof of Orihime's apartment, perfectly content with listening to all the noise below him without wanting to join in.

That is also why he saw Ichigo practically run out of the apartment. Unbeknownst to the orange-haired shinigami, he intrigued the captain of the tenth division.

Hitsugaya watched interestedly as Ichigo took one final look at the apartment door, and before the white-haired soul reaper could ask the boy what had happened, he practically flew down the stairs and into the dark streets of Karakura Town.

.:*:.

"Ichigoooo! You bastard!!!"

Somewhere from a shelf that was much higher than his bed, Kon jumped down viciously with a pillow in tow. Ichigo either did not feel like dodging the lion or he simply did not have the energy to. Regardless, Kon ended up suffocating Ichigo with the pillow, and to top it off, started jumping on the pillow just so Ichigo would understand Kon's resentment.

But that was not enough, Kon decided, as he put his plushie claw up to the outline of Ichigo's nose poking through the pillow. He pinched the human's nostrils together.

"Kon, I cam't bead!" Ichigo said from beneath the pillow as he suddenly started to squirm. Before the evil doll could finish the job, a hand reached over and pulled him off and likewise removed the pillow.

Ichigo sat up quickly and saw Rukia throw Kon across the room so that he landed with a highly audible 'thud' against the closet doors.

Ichigo let out a breath of relief. "Thanks, Ruk-"

He really should've seen the kick he received to the side of his head. The next thing he knew, the left side of his brain was in intense pain and that he was suddenly on the floor, completely keeled over.

"Dammit, Rukia! What the hell was that for?!" he cried as he got up the strength to stand up. He raised an angered fist in front of himself indignantly as he stood against the petite girl.

"What do you think, moron?" the girl replied as she kneed him in the stomach. Ichigo keeled over yet again, too much in pain to really care what was going on.

Satisfied, Rukia crossed her hands over her body and looked down at Ichigo infuriately. "It's for what you did to Inoue last night."

Ichigo stood up and yet again positioned himself defensively against the 13th-division shinigami. He knew that she would bring up this topic, but he had also desperately hoped that she hadn't witnessed the incident. Of course, what he hoped rarely ever came to fruition.

"'What I did to her?'" Ichigo repeated as he softened his posture. "I just didn't want to make her kiss me."

Rukia let out a snort as she looked at the boy sternly. "And why the hell not?"

"Isn't it obvious?" the boy asked as the sound of voice increased by a few decibels. Suddenly, though, he looked to the side and his face tensed as he thought over something.

"She probably didn't want to," he confessed.

Rukia's eyes widened for a split-second as she realized the meaning behind his words. She let her hands fall to her sides and pursed her lips together in frustration.

"Idiot," Ichigo quickly looked up as he heard Rukia speak. He saw her turn around and start to walk slowly out of the room.

"You don't think enough when you have to, and when you don't have to think at all, you think too much," she said as she continued walking out of the room.

To say that he was completely lost at Rukia's words would be the understatement of the millennium, so all Ichigo could do was look, completely bewildered, after the girl as she stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind her.

.:*:.

Bright and early the next morning at school, Ichigo was quite ready for the beating he knew Tatsuki would try and give him. Though he was still taken by surprise at the first punch she threw at his stomach, he had decided beforehand that he would not try and dodge her but instead listen patiently. Trying to take her on would just make it worse.

"I'm guessing Inoue told you?" he asked as he stood up (Tatsuki's latest attack had left him on the floor) and dusted his pants.

"She didn't have to tell me anything, you jerk," the tomboy replied, fists still clenched and ready to go.

Ichigo put his hands inside his pant pockets and tried to move to his desk. "I already explained this to Rukia: I was just trying to make sure I didn't make her do anything she didn't want to do. She has her own problems to deal with, already."

Tatsuki blocked his way as she glared at the boy.

"And have you ever asked Orihime about her feelings?" the girl asked, her eyes burning holes into Ichigo.

Ichigo's scowl deepened. Before he could ask what Tatsuki was going on about, a voice rang through the classroom.

"Ohayo, Tatsuki-chan," Orihime said as she came into the classroom. Tatsuki promptly turned around, a confused expression donning her face for a second before she smiled at the girl.

As Orihime approached Tatsuki, she bent to her side and smiled. "Ohayo, Kurosaki-kun!" she said, just as cheerfully as she did every morning at school, earning two extremely surprised looks from her friends.

Ichigo sighed. This was good. Inoue wanted to let him know that she wanted to put the mistletoe occurrence behind them. Their friendship was more important than such a silly thing. It would all be ok, right?

Ichigo ignored the tense sensation that suddenly overcame his chest as he said, "Good morning, Inoue."

.:*:.

Ichigo wasn't sure where Rukia had gone, just that she didn't want to walk home with him that afternoon. He had a glaring suspicion that she was the one who had tipped Tatsuki off about the incident at the party. No matter. The last thing he wanted right now was any sort of feminine company as it lately gave him far more pain than pleasure.

But of course, nothing was going his way these days, anyway, so he wasn't completely surprised when he heard a voice call out for him.

"Hey, Ichigo!" Ichigo turned in time to see Matsumoto running down the sidewalk to him, an envelope tucked safely in her hands.

"Matsumoto," Ichigo replied as he put both his hands into his jacket pocket. Just looking at the lieutenant's revealing sweater was enough for him to feel colder, despite the fact that Rangiku didn't look bothered at all by the temperature.

"I just got all the pictures from the party printed," she said as she showed him the envelope she was holding. "Do you wanna see them?"

"Uhh…maybe later." Ichigo thought it would be pretty obvious to her by now that those pictures were among the last things in the world he wanted to see. Perhaps this was her form of punishment? Ichigo honestly wished women weren't so hard-headed and would just understand that he was looking out for everyone's benefit.

"Oh? But I thought you'd wanna see these," Matsumoto explained, pulling out some pictures from the back of the envelope. "They're pretty interesting."

Now the boy was worried; he knew exactly which ones she wanted to show him. "That's ok, I should probably…"

He thought he would make a run for it. He already had enough guilt shoveled onto him for a lifetime, even though he figured out by now that he deserved it. But as he saw the three pictures the vice captain held out like a fan in her hands, he found himself oddly mesmerized.

The first was simply the one Matsumoto had taken of Inoue and him standing at the appetizer table. It was a little blurry, and the facial expressions were kinda hard to make out, but the two of them seemed to look content with the situation. Of course, Ichigo remembered, this was before Matsumoto had pointed out the mistletoe.

The next two pictures were the ones that took the biggest toll on him.

One had Inoue looking completely baffled as she looked at something Ichigo couldn't see in the picture. It took him a few seconds, but Ichigo figured out that the girl in the picture had been looking after him. He never turned back to see her reaction to him leaving; he figured it had been for the best if he cut the situation short before it turned into something too awkward for either of them to handle. Now, he just felt like hitting himself. He was too much of a coward and had left his friend (who looked just as sad as confused, he noted bitterly) to handle everything while he walked away. And this was after he had told her that they—meaning none of the nakama—would ever turn away from her if she needed them.

The next and last picture made Ichigo want to slither into a hole and die. This picture was taken from Orihime's side, and Matsumoto, or whoever took the picture, was much closer to her than in the other two pictures. There were obvious tears streaming down her red face. Her entire face was downcast, and her large eyes had been shut tightly, most likely in an effort to stop the tears, Ichigo thought. There was no denying how horrible the girl in this picture had felt, and his chest started to feel tight again. Ichigo took the picture out of Matsumoto's hand, unable to let the image go.

Just a few days ago, he had been completely distraught at seeing her upset. Now, as he realized he had done that to her, he felt like the lowest of the low. He wasn't sure if he could ever forgive himself for causing his upbeat friend to fall into such a mood.

"Did…did I do that to Inoue?" he wanted confirmation as he stared at the picture, gaze strong enough to pierce a hole through it.

"I'm not sure she knows I took that one," Matsumoto replied, her eyes lowering sadly at the picture. "She seemed too dismayed to notice."

Ichigo couldn't bring himself to get mad at the vice captain, for either taking the picture or showing it to him. He knew why she had done so: to make a point to him. This truly was her way of punishing him, and, truth be told, it hurt far worse than anything Rukia or Tatsuki had done to him.

"I think," Matsumoto started as she looked at the boy, still too absorbed in the picture to notice, "that a picture doesn't say a thousand words as much as it causes a thousand words to be exchanged. What do you think, Ichigo?"

You don't think enough when you have to, and when you don't have to think at all, you think too much.

And have you ever asked Orihime about her feelings?

Hours earlier, those words seemed more difficult than any battle he had ever fought. Now, as he looked at the picture in his hands, somewhere his subconscious reminded him of what was said to him, and he finally seemed to understand.

The Orihime he saw this morning at school was putting on another act, trying to cover up how she really felt. Well, Ichigo would be damned if she had to act happy for his sake for a second longer.

"Matsumoto, can I keep this picture?" Ichigo asked, finally looking up from the photograph he was holding.

In response, the busty woman put on the softest of smiles as she nodded. "Knock yourself out."

The boy nodded in acknowledgement, then, out of nowhere turned around.

"Thanks, Matsumoto," he cried over his shoulders as he ran down the sidewalk. The lovely lieutenant looked shocked for all of two seconds, then her face took on a satisfied smile, knowing exactly where the boy was heading.

.:*:.

The ice outside looked like mirrors, so Orihime knew that she had to watch her step as she walked up the stairs to her apartment, well aware that the beautiful look the frozen water took on was a reminder of how slippery it actually was. On the bright side, she had placed the last garbage bag from the party by the sidewalk, so she could relax in the warmth of her home for the time being.

She stopped on top of her stairs, memories of the party flashing before her. She immediately knocked a fist against her hard head as she smiled. "Ahh, stupid, stupid, Orihime! Get rid of this gloom!"

"Inoue?" Orihime spun around too fast, nearly slipping on the ice. Luckily, she grabbed onto the railing just in time to come face-to-face with Ichigo.

"Kurosaki-kun!" she cried as she reflexively moved backwards, nervousness coming over her by his sudden appearance.

"Are you alright, Inoue?" he asked skeptically as he climbed the last couple of steps to her. Orihime looked down at their feet at stared at the ice below them.

"I'm fine, Kurosaki-kun. Since I'm so clumsy, I've fallen before, and then I feel really cold—but that didn't happen this time!" she said excitedly as she looked up at the boy. When she noticed him staring straight back at her, her cheeks immediately flushed as she looked to the side.

"That's good," Ichigo said at length, noticing yet again how uncomfortable he seemed to be making her. Though now, he thought he had a good grasp on what was going on in her head. It was enough to make his heart beat about three times faster than usual.

He had come to her apartment about an hour earlier, but he didn't think he was quite ready for this. Then, after walking a few times more than necessary around her neighborhood, he tried to collect himself in order to do this.

Now, as he assessed the situation around him, with both he and Inoue too nervous to say anything, he found that all the soul-searching he had managed to get done in the past hour was completely useless. He had forgotten everything he thought he was going to say. He knew he should've written this down somewhere. He truly was horrible at articulating how he felt.

"Inoue," he finally managed to get out, causing the girl to cast him a timid look, "we need to talk."

.:*:.

Perhaps it would have been easier to stay outside, Ichigo noted, at least then he wouldn't feel like a jumpy idiot who was so bad at this kind of stuff that he desperately needed to escape.

No, he reminded himself sternly, there would be no running away this time. He had already made a fool out of himself before. There was no need to repeat his mistakes.

Inoue finally came out of the kitchen with two tea cups on a tray. Her movements seemed uneasy as she walked over to the small table Ichigo was kneeling beside. With slightly shaky hands, she placed the tray down and sat down across from the boy. Ichigo said a quick thank you as he took his cup, though he already knew he probably wasn't going to drink much of it.

It went on like this for a few minutes, Ichigo looking uninterestedly at his drink while Orihime darted her eyes nervously around the room, desperate for this visit to end quickly.

Ichigo couldn't bear the tension anymore. When the only thing he could hear became the heating system blowing out air into the room, he knew someone needed to get this conversation started. Since he was the one who sought her out, that someone had to be him.

"Inoue," he said, causing the girl to look up at him in a startled way, "I'm sorry…" He forgot where he was going to take this conversation after he said that, but at least he had gotten the most important thing off his chest.

The last thing he expected was to see Orihime bow her head and shake it softly. She looked as though she could cry again, Ichigo thought, panicking slightly.

She kept her gaze down at the brown tea in her cup. "I should be the one apologizing, Kurosaki-kun."

Ichigo had no idea where this girl got half of the ideas that came into that incredibly hard head of hers, but this completely blew him out of the water. Before he could get a single word out, though, she continued.

"I'm sorry that you feel the need to apologize about everything that happened. You shouldn't feel bad just because you didn't want to kiss me; it's completely understandable…"

Ichigo couldn't listen to anything else she said, although he did try his best. That last sentence stung him harder than anything else he had seen or felt over the last couple of days. Those words echoed in her ears far louder than the deafening drumming of his heart.

The beautiful, friendly, selfless girl sitting across from him thought that he didn't want to kiss her. For the third smartest girl in their class, she sure could say some pretty stupid stuff sometimes.

He surprised them both by standing up and walking over to her. He sat down in front of her, unsure about exactly what her reaction was going to be. It was already evident she was fighting back the tears brimming the bottoms of her eyes.

Orihime had stopped speaking the moment he had gotten up. Currently, she was giving him the most perplexed look he had ever seen on her. She swallowed nervously at the adamant look he had reflecting in his eyes.

"Kurosaki-" Before she could finish whatever it was she wanted to say, Ichigo put one of his hands around her head and into caramel-colored locks. He heard her let out a small gasp, and he couldn't help but show one of his small, but still rare, smiles as he leaned forward and kissed her.

He could feel her entire body tense as his kiss deepened, letting every emotion he couldn't put into words be evident in this one, deep gesture. A completely invigorating sensation took over his entire being as the seconds passed. It was unlike anything either of them had ever felt before. He was nervous at first, but there was something so distinctively soothing about her soft, pink lips against his that he didn't want it to end. He'd happily run out of air if that's what it took.

He could feel tears streaming down his cheeks. Crap. Just as he thought he should immediately let go, he felt the smooth skin of her hand reach gentle into his orange head as she deepened the kiss further, eventually wrapping both arms at the base of his neck.

It was incredible, they both thought in the back of their minds, just how everything actually seemed to be working in their favor in this one, precious moment.

.:*:.

"Matsumoto," Hitsugaya called, causing the lovely vice captain to turn her head quickly. She slowly closed the sliding paper door behind her, careful to not make any noise, as she looked into the room behind her. As she was sitting on her knees, her captain actually had some height on her, glaring down crossly at her. She immediately stood up, already awaiting the lecture she would get.

"I see you can't help but spy," the white-haired captain explained, clearing indicating the new couple that was in the other room. "If you have this much idle time on your hands, you should be doing paperwork."

He swiftly turned around, his white haori flailing majestically behind him as he walked away.

"At least you didn't take any more absurd pictures."

Matsumoto couldn't hide the excitement in her voice as she viewed the latest few pictures, starring the two teenagers in the other room, she took with her camera.

"Actually, I finally figured out how to turn off the flash on this thing!" At this, Hitsugaya turned around worriedly. So she could now be as subtle as she wanted with that impractical device. He would just have to make sure Matsumoto had enough clerical duties to last her until next Christmas. Or even the Christmas after that. And destroy the camera, while he was at it.

But Matsumoto didn't quite care at the moment whatever punishment her captain had in mind. She was now watching the latest few seconds of Ichigo and Orihime's life.

"And get this: I can make movies, too!"

.:*:.

.:*:.

Douceur de Vivre

The Sweetness of Life

.:*:.

.:*:.

So I hope all of you readers enjoyed my first—and possibly my last—Bleach fic! Especially you, Ninira!

Her wishlist for an IchiHime fic included the word "portrait", so when she was asked what "portrait" meant, she explained she wanted it to be about somebody taking a picture of somebody else. I truly hope I lived up to your expectations! And once again, I really hope you enjoyed!

Thank you for reading! Happy Holidays, everyone!

(Feel free to review, of course! :D)

-Celestial Night