Hi everyone! Here is another chapter! I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I wish I owned Bleach. But I am not that lucky or talented. Yay me!

They walked to the village. Ichigo was pulling Zangetsu slowly (he was very sure Orihime've never ridden on a horse before by the way she screamed when Zangetsu started moving at first. She was still holding onto his poor horse quite tightly) and Orihime was giving him direction.

In no time they reached the village. As Ichigo walked toward the village, he did change his mind. This village was much poorer than he expected. He could see many peasants on the dusty streets. The houses were half-broken. He never saw a village this poor before.

"See, I told you that you will change your mind once you see the village." said Orihime.

Ichigo instantly looked back to see the girl on his horse. The sight his eyes met surprised him. The girl was extremely beautiful. This is the first time he is seeing her in light. She was wearing an old yukata which was wet and water dropping from her hair to her cloths. Of course she was wet. She fell in the god damn river! The yukata clung to her body like a second skin. He could see that she wasn't exactly a girl. She was basically a woman. She had long auburn hair which was wet, an angelic face, large gray eyes which twinkled like starts in the night sky. She also had rather large chest. Ichigo looked away with red cheeks. Overall, she looked gorgeous. If he didn't know that she came from this village, he would've thought she was from a noble family. He had no idea when he stopped walking.

On the other hand, Orihime was in total shock. Her savior was the most handsome man she had ever seen. He had bright orange hair and intense brown eyes with hints of bronze. He was extremely good-looking. And he was also wet. Of course, he was wet. He worked so hard to save her and got his own cloths wet. And all she did was thank him once! How rude of her!

"Um..I don't think you should go look for your brother right away. I mean you should change first." Said Ichigo as he started walking again.

"Huh? Why not?" said Orihime innocently.

Ichigo sweat dropped. 'Is she serious or is she just playing with me?' He looked back at her and saw the confusion in her eyes. He knew she really didn't know what men would think if she went to look for her brother in that wet yukata.

"I-It's not appropriate. And besides you will catch cold." Said Ichigo trying to sound serious.

"Oh! You are right. Can you please drop me off at my home?" asked Orihime.

"Yeah, sure. Tell me which way." Said Ichigo and resumed walking.

After couple minutes of walking around Orihime finally told him to stop. They stopped in front of an old house which was very small. It looked like it was about to break anytime. Ichigo helped Orihime get down from the horse's back. He also helped her reach her door but just before Orihime could open it, the door opened from the inside.

"SIS! WHERE WERE YOU? I WAS SO WORR- WHO IS THAT?" yelled Toushiro. "WHY ARE YOU HOLDING MY SISTER?"

"Hey Toushiro-Kun, can you please let us in first. And this is Ichigo-kun. He saved me when I fell in the river." Explained Orihime. Ichigo just watched the little kid. He looked nothing like Orihime. He had white hair.

Toushiro face changed from anger to concern. He knew something like this happened. How many times had he told her to watch where she was going? He decided to save the scolding for later and let them in. Before Orihime could take a step inside, Toushiro quickly shoved Ichigo's hand away from his sister. Ichigo just stared at him.

Inside the house, Ichigo noticed there were only four chairs and a table. Ichigo assumed this is supposed to be a living room and dining room. No couch or other luxury items. People in this village really were poor. He watched as Toushiro helped Orihime sit on one of the chair.

"Ichigo-kun, please sit here (motioning toward another chair), I know it's not much but that's all we have." Said Orihime.

"It's perfectly fine. Hey, kid! Can you go tie my horse to something outside." Said Ichigo as he took a seat across from Orihime.

"I am not a kid. My name is Toushiro." Toushiro said annoyed. But he went to do his job anyway.

When he came back inside Ichigo said, "Your sister's leg got cut when she fell. You should put something in it."

Toushiro went somewhere and got some strange plants to put on Orihime's leg. After he is done Orihime went to another room to change.

"So, who are you?" asked Toushiro. "I have never seen you in this village before. And judging by your horse you are not a normal commoner."

"As I told your sister, I am K….Keuchi Ichigo. And I am a traveler so obviously I am not from this village and that is the reason I have a horse." Said Ichgo trying to make his lies as convincing as possible.

"Hmm… Your story is a little too convincing but I will let it pass for now. So why did you save my sister?"

"And I get an interrogation as the reward of saving your sister? Hmm… seems unfair, eh?" smirked Ichigo.

"Ok. I will pretend that you saved her out of kindness. But why did you bother coming to our village with her? You could've left her there." asked Toushiro again, looking sharply at Ichigo.

Before Ichigo could answer, Orihime was back and this time she was wearing another old yukata.

"Sorry about your cloths Ichigo-kun. You had to get them wet because of me. And I don't really think Toushiro's yukata would fit you." Said Orihime, lowering her head.

"It's alright. It's actually almost dry by now. So don't worry yourself over this. If you can just show me where the village's inn is, I would be thankful." said Ichigo.

"You want to stay in the village's inn? Well… you are not in luck. The lazy inn keeper isn't in the village today." Said Toushiro.

"Just my luck," murmured Ichigo.

"I know! You can stay with us for the night, Ichigo-kun. That's perfect! I know our house isn't much but this way I can thank you for saving me." Said Orihime with a smile.

"I can't possibly do that. I did not save you for a reward. It was the right thing to do." Ichigo said while thinking about his options.

He could continue with his journey but then by the time he gets home, it will be close to midnight. His mother will throw a fit and would always worry about him whenever he leaves the castle again. He hated to make his mother worry.

He could take Orihime's invitation and stay. In that way, his mother would think that he stayed with the Ishida family. Then he can explain. And also he had never been in a place like this. So he could see how things work in this village. His chain of thoughts was broken when Toushiro spoke.

"As much as I hate to invite a random stranger in our home, I would like to thank you as well. So if you don't mind our impoverishment, you are welcome to stay for the night."

"Yes, Ichigo-kun, please stay!" said Orihime.

"Thank you. I will stay here for the night," Ichigo finally said.

"Okay. Now that this matter is settled," said Toushiro then before facing Orihime and yelled, "WHY THE HELL WERE YOU EVEN THERE? WHAT IF THIS GUY WASN'T THERE TO SAVE YOU! AND DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY CREEPY GUYS WALK AROUND AFTER EVENING?"

Orihime sniffled.

"Mou..Shiro-kun! Y- You didn't come home on t-time and I had to see if e-everything was alright." Sniffled Orihime.

"DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!" yelled Toushiro. He was thinking about the possibilities that could have happened today.

"Oi! Don't yell at her! It's your fault for making her worry. So why were you late anyway?" asked Ichigo curiously.

"Well… I worked more today and then went to buy a kimono for her," said Toushiro, adverting his gaze. "That's why I was la-ughhh why am I even telling you this!"

Toushiro went back to the other room and brought a packet with him. This entire time Orihime was speechless. Toushiro handed the packet to Orihime who made no attempts of taking it from him.

Ichigo looked up to Orihime's eyes and saw sparkly tears shining in her eyes. Toushiro seemed to do the same. The next moment, Toushiro found himself being hugged by his older sister.

"S-Shiro-kun, you s-shouldn't have done this. You see I-I am failing as the older sibling. I am s-supposed to t-take c-care of you. Not the other way around. You worked so hard. You shouldn't have wasted it on this," cried Orihime. Toushiro just held her.

"Sis. You did so much for me. You took care of me by yourself since you were twelve. Many days, you didn't eat because we didn't have enough for the two of us. You did so much for me that there is no possible way for me to repay that. You are my last family. You are my parents, sister, friend. This kimono is nothing," said Toushiro sadly. "I wish I could've done more, way more. If I could, I would give you the world, sis."

"Thank you so much, Shiro-Kun. I am glad I had a brother like you. I wish I could do much more for you as well."

The siblings seemed to forget Ichigo's presence. Ichigo stood there with wide eyes. Any fool could figure out that the siblings in front of him were orphans. And what shocked him more was that Orihime was able to keep both of them alive at such young age. At that age, he learned the royal ways and bossed people around. And Orihime worked so hard to live. Just how strong is she?

The brother and sister came back to their senses that Ichigo was with them. Orihime's nervous laugh brought Ichigo back to the reality.

"Eh-he-he… Gomen, Ichigo-kun. You had to see that. You see, I get emotional very quickly," Orihime say with red cheeks.

Ichigo couldn't find his voice to answer. He just stared at her.

"What are we having for dinner?" asked Toushiro a little loudly after noticing Ichigo staring at his sister. Ichigo instantly looked away from Orihime.

"Um… We have rice and fish. I hope that's okay Ichigo-kun," said Orihime.

"That is more than enough. Thank you again for your hospitability," said Ichigo.

"Shiro-kun, can you please give Ichigo-kun a towel and how him the washroom? I will arrange the dinner on the table," Orihime asked as she took the kimono's packet from Toushiro.

Toushiro nodded and gestured Ichigo to follow him. After washing up, Ichigo once again followed Toushiro to the dining room. Once they got there, they saw plates and chopsticks laid on the table. There was a large pot of rice, steam coming out if it and another smaller pot of fish-curry. Orihime wasn't there.

"Oi! Sis! We are starving! Where are you," Toushiro yelled.

"Coming!" came a soft reply from a nearby room.

Toushiro turned toward Ichigo to talk about the sleeping arrangement.

"Since, we have two rooms, you will be staying in my room. I will ask sis to bring another futon in there," Toushiro said. But Ichigo wasn't listening. His eyes were fixed on Orihime's approaching figure. Toushiro also followed his gaze and looked at Orihime.

When Ichigo said Orihime was gorgeous, he was mistaking. Orihime was beyond gorgeous. She was wearing a light blue kimono with flower pattern on it. The flowers were larger toward her feet and knee and they became smaller toward the top half of her body. The flowers were different shades of pink. Each flowers were different in shape. She was wearing a bright yellow obi which had blue flower patterns. Orihime's beautiful, long auburn hair was slightly held up. She was wearing two hairclips which seemed to glow. She also put a pink flower on her hair. Orihime was beautiful. She looked like a goddess in such simple kimono. She had an innocent, heavenly aura around her. Ichigo had to admit that she is the most beautiful girl he had ever seen besides his mother.

Orihime seemed to be oblivious of how beautiful she looked. She walked up to where Ichigo and Toushiro were sitting and said,

"I thought I would try it on and see how I look! Um… do I look bad in this?" asked Orihime innocently.

"Sis! You look amazing! And Ichigo-san, if you keep staring at my sister, I will hit you," said Toushiro warningly. Orihime blushed bright red and Ichigo coughed with hint of red in his cheeks.

"Y-You look good," that was the only thing he could say. Orihime blushed even more.

"T-Thank you. Ano.. Let's start eating," said Orihime.

When Ichigo brought the food to his mouth, he was in for another surprise. The food tasted amazing. It was such a simple dish. Only rice and fish-curry. But it tasted so good! It tasted much better than other expensive foods he ate.

"The food is delicious. Thank you," said Ichigo as he ate.

"You're welcome. I apologize again for such simple dish," said Orihime.

"I really was serious when I said it's more than enough. Your food tastes amazing!" said Ichigo with a smile.

"Thank you," Orihime blushed. She wasn't used to being complemented by someone other than Toushiro.

After dinner, Orihime set up Ichigo's futon in Toushiro's room. Orihime suggested that Ichigo should stay in her room and she could stay in the living room. But Toushiro strongly said that he needed to keep watch on Ichigo in case, he decided to do something stupid like peeking on his sister while she slept. Orihime also noticed how Ichigo's vein twitched at that. She giggled. Both Ichigo and Toushiro went to sleep but Orihime couldn't sleep. She didn't change her kimono. Orihime walked back in the living room and stared outside through the window. He noticed how bright the moon was. She could see lots of stars twinkling in the sky.

Those stars always reminded her of her parents. Ironically, her parents always told her that she was their star when they were alive. Looking at the stars bring back memories. Orihime always tried to imagine how her life would be now if her parents were alive. She knew they would still be poor. But if her parents really were alive, she would've had more people to love and have more people love her. Maybe with the combine effort of herself and her parents, Toushiro could've been able to go to a good school in Karakura or somewhere else. He would come home when the school is closed and they could stay up all night, talking about his school and things that happened in Musashima. Their mother would smile at them kindly and tell them to go to sleep, that there is always tomorrow and their father would chuckle and tell their mom to leave them alone. Then Toushiro would get a good job in the royal council or somewhere important and then he would marry a beautiful girl. In the meantime, she could take care of her parents. They could've been a happily family they once were. But now…involuntarily tears fell from her eyes.

'Mom, dad, I miss you all the time. I wish you could see Toushiro growing up. Oh, I almost forgot! Today, I almost died. But Ichigo-kun was there and saved me. I don't know how to thank him. I-I wish you were here with me. But I know you are always watching over us.' Orihime smiled sadly. She really did miss her parents. More tears fell. Then she suddenly heard a cough behind her.

Orihime turned to see Ichigo standing behind her. She quickly got rid of any evidence of her tear. She just hoped he didn't see her tears. He didn't want him to see her crying again.

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Ichigo couldn't sleep. He thought about everything that happened today. Orihime's face kept appearing every time he closed his eyes. Sleep wouldn't come. So he decided to go to drink some water. When he got up from his futon, he heard,

"Oi! Where are you going?"

"I am going to drink some water. I can't sleep," Ichigo answered, irritated by the nosy brat.

"Fine, but if you dare to peek in my sister's room, I will kill you," said Toushiro.

"Huh! As if you can do that! But rest assured, I am not a pervert. Even though your sister is very tempting, I know how to control myself," said Ichigo with a smirk.

Before Toushiro could say anything, Ichigo exited the room. He just said that to make Toushiro irritated. He was certain Toushiro knew that he was just saying that to make him mad. Ichigo could hear a faint "Baka" as he walked toward the dining table to get water. When he walked into the dining room, he saw someone near the window. He knew it was Orihime (Who else would it be? Toushiro was in the other room).

He stood there for a couple minutes, appreciating Orihime's beauty. In the moonlight, she looked like an angel. He noticed that she still wore the Kimono. After couple more minutes, he coughed.

He saw Orihime quickly turning to face him, probably surprised. Ichigo was shocked to see that Orihime was crying. Though, she quickly dried her eyes. She probably didn't want him to see her crying. Not probably, the correct word is definitely. She definitely didn't want him to see her crying. She hurriedly forced a smile. Ichigo decided not to question her.

"I see. You couldn't sleep either huh? I thought I was the only one," said Ichigo.

"I-Ichigo-kun! Y-You couldn't s-sleep? O-Oh…um do Y-You couldn't s-sleep? O-Oh…um do y-you n-need anything?" asked Orihime, mentally kicking herself for making a complete fool out of herself in front of Ichigo.

"Actually, I was thirsty but now I want watch the stars with you, if that isn't too much to ask," said Ichigo as he came to stand next to her.

"O-Of course! But I will get you some w-water first," Orihime said. She didn't expect him to say that. She brought a glass of water and gave it to him. By now, Ichigo brought two chairs to the window and was sitting on one. Orihime walked up to him and handed the glass of water to him. Ichigo gestured her to sit on the chair next to her. She first looked at him quizzically then sat.

Ichigo just drank the water quietly. Then after a long silence, he said,

"You really are strong."

Orihime's eyes widened. What was he talking about? Why did he call her strong? She isn't strong! She cried in front and not just once. Confusion was written all over her face.

"I-Ichigo-kun, what are you s-saying?" Orihime asked.

"I know I will never understand what you have been through, but I can tell that you had to struggle and you still are struggling to survive. You and Toushiro became alone when you were twelve. Yet you were able to hold on to the child-like innocence in you. Just as I said before, you really are strong."

"Thank you, Ichigo-kun. But I am not strong. I cry a lot. See, I am crying again," said Orihime as she was trying to dry her tears.

"Orihime, crying doesn't make a person weak. It only proves that you are a human. Don't ever say that again," ordered Ichigo with a smile.

Orihime's face lit up instantly. She wasn't crying anymore. She said,

"Thank you again, Ichigo-kun. It seems like as I am spending more time with you, I am being more on your debt. And all I can say is 'thanks'. I wish I could do more to pay my debt. Please ask me if you need anything. If it is within my reach, I promise I will do it for you. I honestly don't think I will ever be able to repay you for everything you have done for me," said Orihime, her face lowered again.

Ichigo noticed how she didn't look at him. He said nothing. Without thinking he put two of his fingers under her chin and forced her to look at him. Orihime was shocked beyond words. She was speechless. She couldn't understand what Ichigo was doing. Ichigo himself didn't know what he was doing. He saw a strand of hair falling on her face. He took his fingers from under her chin and gently tucked the loose strand of hair behind her ear. He stared deep into her gray eyes. He seemed to be in a daze. He was leaning toward her. Then he seemed to be aware of his surroundings suddenly.

'What the fuck am I doing?' he thought. Orihime was still looking at him with shocked wide eyes.

"I am sleepy. I better go to sleep now," Ichigo said before leaving a still stunned Orihime behind.

Ichigo practically ran to Toushiro's room. He just hoped Toushiro wasn't still awake. He really didn't feel like answering what took him so long. He quietly slipped back into his futon. Looks like Toushiro did fall asleep. Even if he didn't fall asleep, he still didn't say anything. And Ichigo was thanking Kami for that.

Now he had more time to think over what just happened. His heart was still beating faster than normal. If he didn't come to his senses when he did, he would've kissed Orihime. That much was clear. What made him want that? Was it her angelic beauty? Or her innocence? Or the fact that she struggled so much and still is just to survive? Her kindness? Or a mixture of all? Yeah a mixture of all made sense or did it? He just met her today. Was he already attracted to her? Him, Kurosaki Ichigo was attracted to a girl? Nothing made sense these days. Ichigo didn't know when he fell asleep.

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Orihime's heart felt like it is about to explode. It was beating so fast and loudly. Was Ichigo-kun really about to kiss her? Was she dreaming all these? But it didn't feel like a dream though. Ichigo-kun was really close to her, wasn't he? He looked so handsome. And he said she was strong. She knew that he was aware of the fact that she was crying. But he didn't question her about that. He comforted her. She knew he was from a rich family. But he complemented on her cooking. He didn't flinch away when he saw their house. He was so kind. He was a great person. She just wished tomorrow there won't be any awkwardness between them. Orihime walked to her bedroom and after changing her kimono, she went to sleep.

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Please review.

And I bet you all thought something terrible happened to Toushiro, eh? I wanted it to be like that too. But then I figured most people will already think that. So that is why I made it like this.

I wish I could draw. Then I would draw Orihime's kimono and could share with everyone. But my drawing looks like well.. nothing. So I hope you could picture it based on my lame description.

Oh and before I forget! Thank you for reading and special thanks to...

SkySamuraiGirl: I am glad you liked it! :) Here is your update!

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Guests: Thank you!

See you soon!

Raininglight~