Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

Preface: I came up with the idea for this story well over a year ago, and I haven't been paying close attention to the manga between then and now, but that shouldn't have much bearing on this story. The plot occurs in an unspecified time after the timeskip.

One Perfect Day

One day, Orihime discovered that her powers of rejection had grown strong enough to dispel time.

In other words, she could turn back the clock—albeit, to a limited extent. After some testing, she learned she could only reverse time so much—ten minutes at the most—and so many times in a span of an hour—five times, if she was at full-strength.

Despite these restrictions, the potential offered by this skill was astronomical—godlike even. If Orihime desired, she could make it so events never happened and use her knowledge of the future to alter the course of destiny. Did I say godlike? It was monstrous. But Orihime did not wish to use this talent for evil or anything nefarious.

She only wanted one perfect day—

A perfect day, of course, needed but one thing for her—wonderful time spent with Kurosaki.

Given what little time she normally had with him—and how little wonderful it was—her expectations were rather low. A glance in her direction—the sound of her name from his voice—accidental physical contact—a smile—any would satisfy her.

With her newfound power, she imagined it would be easy. Failure ceased to be terrifying when she could erase her mistakes from existence—and, more importantly, from Kurosaki's memory.

Working up her courage was still difficult. She debated on the ideal conditions to pursue perfection—was a day of beautiful weather better than one exuding of romantic atmosphere? She couldn't decide until she decided she was intentionally delaying her opportunity.

Then one morning she woke up and looked out the window—a gentle rain fell but—here and there—the sun shone through the thin cloud layer—the streets and sidewalks glistened while people were indistinguishable beneath black umbrellas.

Suddenly, for reasons inexplicable, Orihime felt that conditions for possible intimacy would never be better—

The beginning of her perfect day couldn't be simpler—initiate conversation with Kurosaki at school.

Her plan encountered difficulty immediately. She walked down hallways crowded with students—still wet from the rain—and she didn't see him. She jumped up and down, trying to see over students' heads—she saw Chad—Ishida appeared—but no Kurosaki.

Then, at last, success! A crop of orange hair was unmistakable. She found him!

And their paths intersected. His eyes flashed with recognition as soon as he saw her—a prelude to future joy—and he even nodded at her. She beamed as radiantly as possible. Everything was going perfect—

Until her throat tightened inexplicably. No words came out—his eyes turned away from her face—she opened her mouth to speak and forgot what she wanted to say and—before she could think of a word—he was gone.

Disappointment came next. How could she fail the easiest part of her perfect day? She berated herself for a minute before she remembered that she could reverse the flow of time.

As soon as she remembered her power, she concentrated and tried again—

And their paths intersected. His eyes flashed with recognition as soon as he saw her—a prelude to future joy—and he even nodded at her. She beamed even more radiantly than last time. Everything was going perfect since she knew exactly what to say—

"Hi!" she said cheerfully.

"Hey," he replied.

Conversation was initiated. They maintained eye contact—the perfect day was preserved—and then he continued on his way without another word—what?

She gaped, so stunned that she didn't even attempt to regain his attention. I mean, sure, at least they had a conversation, but it was far from what she would deem "perfect." Orihime couldn't decide if she should resume her day or try it over.

For the moment, she turned around and watched Kurosaki walk in the other direction. He looked happy—or so she thought, looking at the back of his shoulders—and perhaps that was good enough. Their brief greetings did not dampen Kurosaki's day and maybe—maybe—that could be enough for perfection. It wasn't wonderful but neither was it terrible, so she thought as she gazed at his back and saw him encounter—

Rukia.

They seemed surprised to see each other and also very glad—she saw the corner of a smile from Kurosaki—and their conversation did not stop at a mere greeting. They talked and talked—although Orihime could not hear them—and seemingly had no concerns about being late for class. She watched them talking for what seemed an eternity and made her decision.

Orihime frowned and—

"Hi!" she said cheerfully.

"Hey," he replied.

Conversation was initiated. They maintained eye contact—the perfect day was preserved—he began walking away—and she quickly said the first thing that came to mind.

"Did you notice I'm wearing my shirt inside-out?" she blurted.

Kurosaki stopped dead and his eyes couldn't help but glance down towards her shirt. "Uh, no," he said. "How could I tell? You're wearing a coat."

She glanced down. Ah, yes, she was. "Duh," she said and giggled.

Bemused, he shook his head with a wry smile and continued on his way without another word. Anxiously, she watched him leave—no longer caring that their conversation hadn't satisfied her—and closely watched who he encountered. After her slight intervention, Kurosaki was marginally delayed and didn't cross paths with Rukia.

She smiled.

Much better—

They wouldn't have another chance to talk until lunch and Orihime imagined how he might sweep her off her feet during morning classes. Of course—in her mind—a perfect day would be incomplete without a perfect daydream.

Lunch arrived.

She pulled out her bag of food and said, "Hey, Kurosaki, got any plans for lunch?"

"Yeah," he said. "I was going to hang out with Chad and Ishida."

"Oh."

No plans for her, huh? She stood up suddenly—and loudly—and made to leave.

"You know," Kurosaki called after her, "you could come, too, if you really want."

Her heart leaped and her emotions reversed. She was welcome to join him! He was considerate, wonderful, and beautiful. Happy tears threatened to leak out. She was so glad and relieved and—

She was standing in the middle of the classroom like a fool, nearly crying, and he was staring at her. So were a few others who hadn't left to eat—including Ishida—but Kurosaki's gaze burned hottest and made her face burn brightest.

A second passed before she decided the day was veering off-track—

Lunch arrived.

She pulled out her bag of food—her cheeks a little red—and said, "Hey, Kurosaki, got any plans for lunch?"

"Yeah," he said. "I was going to hang out with Chad and Ishida."

She ignored the tinge of disappointment and asked, "Mind if I come?"

"Go ahead. We're meeting up on the rooftop. You might want to bring an umbrella."

"Okay!"

She smiled. They wouldn't be alone together like she wished—but they would be together.

She forgot to ask if they could walk to the rooftop with each other, but five minutes had already passed by the time she considered it. Oh well, she thought with a smile. Too late—

She didn't say much during their meal. Kurosaki forgot to mention that hanging out with Chad and Ishida included Rukia.

But Orihime didn't mind. The conversation flowed naturally—unlike when she was alone with Kurosaki—and her food tasted better in her friends' company. No one talked about anything significant—Orihime couldn't recall most of what was said—but she remembered laughter and plenty of it.

And—when she thought about it—she couldn't think of a lunch much better than this one, even if the light rainfall made it a touch soggy. The minor imperfections made the meal perfect in her mind, illogical though that may sound.

Not being alone with Kurosaki hardly bothered her. Besides, if she really wanted to, she could look closely at Kurosaki and no one else—not Rukia—not Ishida—and it was almost as if she and he were the only two people in the world—

But they weren't alone, and the next phase of her perfect day involved rectifying that problem.

After lunch, the day passed as usual and passed quickly—rise, bow, sit—math class—English class—the bell followed by mass exodus—crafts with Ishida long after class ended. Before Orihime knew it, the sun sank towards the horizon and a twilight glow enveloped the school, while a weak mist clung to the air. She bade Ishida goodbye.

For no reason in particular, she believed she would find Kurosaki on the school grounds. Kurosaki didn't belong to any club and often left soon after class ended—she knew well—but today was supposed to be perfect. He would be there.

Yet, strangely, she found Rukia first. Orihime had no desire to chat with her, so she was pleased when Rukia didn't seem to notice her presence—they simply walked by one another without a word spoken.

And Rukia was soon forgotten since Orihime found her beloved Kurosaki shortly thereafter. She spotted him leaning against a tree, probably using it as shelter from the rain.

Her heart pounded suddenly.

She reminded herself that she could make no irrevocable mistakes. One wrong word, no problem—just go back in time and do it over.

And, now, she was going to take advantage of her gift:

"Kurosaki!" she called out as cheerfully as she could. "Hey!"

She ran over and joined him beneath the tree. It made her tingle when she thought of the tree as an umbrella shared between them.

"Inoue?" He seemed disoriented. "What are you doing here?"

Her love for him—buried and suppressed for so long—demanded to be set free once more. She didn't stifle it.

"I've been meaning to tell you something for a long time," she said, shuffling her feet.

"What? Did Aizen or a new villain—"

"No, nothing like that!" she interrupted. She wondered how red her face was and if the dim light hid her embarrassment.

She took a deep breath and got it over with.

"I've been in love with you for ages."

His expression began to shift and she closed her eyes. No good.

Too honest—

She took a deep breath and tempered her confession.

"I really admire and like you, Kurosaki."

His expression shifted into one of puzzlement and he blinked.

Of all the reactions he could have to her heartfelt love—passionate rejection, unrequited indifference, and blessed, blessed acceptance—Orihime never once imagined he would be too dense to realize that she'd confessed to him.

Silence. He stared at her. She stared at him.

Then she broke the silence—she sighed in disappointment.

Oops—

Silence. He stared at her. She stared at him.

Then he broke the silence. "Uh, thanks, I guess," he said. "I think you're a good friend, too. I'd probably be dead without your healing powers, to be honest."

Her heart broke in spite of her expecting such a response, but she didn't let it show. Doing so would undo everything.

"Thanks!" she beamed.

Of course he never thought of her as a potential girlfriend. She knew as much before she got out of bed this morning. She'd never intended to use her powers to learn his feelings for her—those were written plain as day across his indifferent brow—they always had been.

Instead, she wanted to learn what she could do to endear herself to him—

"But, really, what're you doing?" he asked again.

She smiled. "Some girl in class has a crush on you, and wanted me to give you a letter." She reached into her jacket to pull out a nonexistent envelope containing a blank letter.

He scowled. "Don't bother. I'm not interested. Tell her I said that."

"I figured as much," she said, "but, I'm curious—what would need to happen to make you interested?" His eyes narrowed. "I mean, I want to give her some hope."

She cocked her head to the side and peered at him with an innocent smile.

After a pause, he said, "For one, I don't care for women who are too forward."

"And?" she asked anxiously.

"And..." Something finally clicked in Kurosaki's head. Uh oh. "And I don't think you're here on someone else's behalf, after all. Why couldn't you just be honest?"

This conversation was a disaster. In no fantasy of hers did he give her such a dark, reprimanding look, much less so on her perfect day.

She strained to revert time as far back as she could—

Before Orihime knew it, the sun sank towards the horizon and a twilight glow enveloped the school, while a weak mist clung to the air. She bade Ishida goodbye and ran out of the classroom.

She knew where Kurosaki was and hurried towards the tree behind the school. She learned a valuable lesson from their talk—that is, that her approach was entirely wrong and that she should just tell him her true feelings. Fortunately, she could still do so, and this time she'd watch his reaction

The tree came into view and she smiled at the thought of meeting Kurosaki. Her perfect day would end after an honest, heartfelt confession—be it for better or worse. Kurosaki came into view and she opened her mouth to call out to him when she suddenly froze—

He wasn't alone beneath the tree.

Rukia was there, too, and neither noticed Orihime since their lips were connected in a kiss.

Orihime fell to her knees. She wanted to look away from the two yet couldn't. Distantly, she realized that rain was slowly soaking her, but that detail hardly seemed important. Her perfect day was perfect no more.

Disbelief became her only salvation. Perhaps—perhaps—she'd only imagined what she saw. Of course. None of it was real—they weren't really kissing!

In fact, she could go back in time and see that it was all an illusion—

But Kurosaki still wasn't alone beneath the tree.

Rukia was there, too, and neither she nor Kurosaki noticed Orihime since their lips were connected in a kiss.

Orihime fell to her knees in despair and frustration. Why? It wasn't an illusion, after all?! Couldn't she at least confess to him and see his reaction?

She turned back time one last time—

And saw, through her tears, Kurosaki and Rukia, beneath a tree, kissing.

She tried to reject what she saw one more time by turning back time, but she'd pushed her powers to their limit. She wouldn't be able to revert time again for at least another hour. She couldn't go back and pretend she never saw the two together. From that day forward, she'd have to acknowledge that her love was unrequited and would perhaps always would be.

It was too much.

Rather than falling to her knees, she looked away from Kurosaki and Rukia and fled in the opposite direction, her perfect day forgotten—