"Can I stay over for the weekend Tatsuki-chan?"

"Of course! But how about that red hair?"

"Ah. He said he'll stay with Urahara-san while we're here in Karakura.."

"Hime? The school break is coming up, why don't you come back and spend your vacation here? We miss you. I know everybody agrees on this."

"Actually Tatsuki-chan, ours are finished for this year already. But I didn't make any plans for that yet. Let me think about it, okay? Thanks for the offer Tatsuki-chan!"

"Don't mention it.. Now I want to ask something"

"Hey red hair!"

All eyes on the room went to Tatsuki, while Orihime who predicted what's coming looked alarmed! Renji on the other hand raised an inquisitive brow at Tatsuki as he is widely sitting at the sofa looking relaxed.

"Why are you with Orihime?!"

Ichigo smirked, hoping Renji would answer Tatsuki. But before Renji could say anything Orihime beat him to it.

"Ah! T-T-Tatsuki-chan! Soul society asked him too!"

"Hime, I want to hear it from him.. Just to be sure.."

Renji sighed.

"I don't really like explaining myself. But since you're her friend I guess you have the right to know."

I'm not her friend? Ichigo thought.

"None of you might have noticed but Orihime's reiatsu is as big as Ichigo's."

Ichigo looked surprised, so are the rest of them except for Ishida and Rukia.

"Although she has a very good skill at hiding it, she wasn't very good at using it. So when Soul Society found out that she is moving away from Karakura, I was assigned to do 2 things."

"One, to protect her. Two, to train her."

"Train her?!" Tatsuki said exactly what Ichigo was about too.

"Well, it's more like guiding her. She has very unusual powers that I know very little of. So it's been two years, the Inoue you're seeing now is not the same Inoue that left Karakura two years ago.."

"Stop Renji-kun.."

Renji-kun huh.. They're on first name basis now eh? But wait Renji calls her Inoue..

"What are you being shy about Inoue? You could probably kick that substitute shinigami's ass now!"

"Of course I can't! Even if I could, but of course I couldn't, I wouldn't want too!"

And then the inevitable happened, their eyes met.

Something happened to Ichigo's chest. It's so hot it feels like something's melting inside, probably is. As Orihime's face changed to flustered to embarrassed, to something else that resembles the face she's wearing before she left. Ichigo tried to smile, but he couldn't, his body doesn't belong to him anymore. Once, their eyes met they couldn't take it off each other. It feels like an eternity now, but Ichigo doesn't mind at all.

Beautiful. Too beautiful he wants to squint his eyes.

"Ehem!" Tatsuki cleared her throat and the spell was broken as they looked away from each other.

It dawned on them that everyone was staring at them; one with a smirk on her face, one shaking his head, one sighs and one watching them through narrowed eyes. Orihime turned red, but Ichigo doesn't give a damn.

"I have one last question though. What is your living arrangement with Orihime, red hair?"

"Abarai Renji is the name, Tatsuki-CHAN! And to answer you're question, I am posing as Inoue's boyfriend over there."

"You are what?! That didn't answer the question at all!" Ichigo couldn't hold himself back any longer. He unconsciously stood up from the bar stool he was sitting at. Actually, the way he was standing was like a tiger who is preparing to lunge at his prey.

"Ichigo! Let him finish!" Rukia intervened.

"It's actually my idea!" Orihime helped Renji.

"Don't act like a jealous boyfriend Ichigo." Renji said this half-joking, and half-meant.

Ichigo covered his embarrassment with rage as he almost growled at renji who was hiding his smile with his hand while staring at him.

"I-I just thought it would be easier. Since it's not really very uncommon for girls to be living with their boyfriend on that place. We can't really say we're siblings since we're too different. After I introduced him to my classmates as my boyfriend, nobody asked too many questions after wards." Inoue explained trying to persuade everybody, especially one.

"Do you mean to say that he's living with you?"

"Not really." Renji answered this time. "Urahara-san made a basement that looked like the one he has on his store at Orihime's apartment. That's where I usually sleep and where we train. I might look like a scum, but I respect you're friend Tatsuki."

"Thank you, Renji-kun. I respect you too."

Tatsuki sighed. "I don't think you get what he's saying, Hime."

"Eh?! Then what is he saying."

"Never mind. Never mind."

Ichigo calmed down a bit, after the explanation given by both of them.

A jealous boyfriend? Is that how he acted?

Ichigo stole a glance at Orihime whose smiling at Renji. And then he felt the rage rising within him again. He went across the room to Renji.

"Can we talk? Outside."

"You're not gonna leave me alone unless we did, right? Lead and I'll follow."

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Before Ichigo could say anything Renji beat him to it.

"It's such a pity Ichigo. You've known her for so long, yet you hadn't let her watch your back for you. She is a better fighter now. A good one actually. She beats my ass in training if I slack even just a bit."

"You better have not hurt her."

"You just don't get it. I went easy on her on the first time that we trained. Although her face doesn't show it I knew she was mad. I was attacking her where I know she was defending, right before Zabimaru hit her shield, it disappeared. I was so mad at myself, she was on the floor swimming in blood but she was conscious. I was about to apologize when I saw her eyes so filled with strength. The next thing I knew was Tsubaki's in my gut. After that she healed both of us. And then she told me, "Holding back is the worst insult to a warrior." And I never made the same mistake again."

Somehow I can imagine her doing that.

"We slay hollows there together. She watched my back, I watched hers. I asked her to call me Renji since we're comrade in arms now. And then she said I should call her Orihime. But whenever I do, for some reason unknown, she blushes. She's too cute when she blush that I have to stop."

"You better not." Ichigo silently responded.

"Heh. Don't worry Ichigo, there was never any room for me to interfere. Nor for anyone. I brought her to you, as you're last chance."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo is most obviously surprised.

"If you let her leave without doing anything, then I don't care whether there's no room for me. I'll build one myself."

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i do not own bleach.. i don't even know how to bleach stuff.. for real.