In Between

Chapter 4

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"A date, it's must be a date."

The twin sisters were in the kitchen that morning. Karin was watching TV while Yuzu was making something that smelt like butter cookies. They were talking about their orange haired brother of course, the one who had just running down the stairs, telling them that he had to go and went out their house in a lightning speed.

"A date? Onii-chan?" Yuzu laughed a little, she mixed the flour and the other ingredients skillfully, though Karin couldn't see her from their current position, she rolled her eyes, "Yeah, sure..."

Karin sighed, "You didn't see it?"

"See what?"

"He was in hurry."

"So?"

"Which means he was late."

It was unusual. It wasn't like Karin at all. Usually Karin was the one who hated the most when someone kept beating around the bushes. This time it was Yuzu's turn to sigh. She stopped mixing the flour to turn and look at her twin sister. Karin was still watching the television but Yuzu knew that she knew she was looking at her.

"And?"

Karin turned off the TV to see his now frowning sister. The black haired girl smirked knowingly. She loved his sister dearly but that didn't mean she never teased her. Karin knew how much attached is the other girl to their older brother. At time like this Karin had her guilty pleasure in teasing her twin about their Onii-chan.

"Yuzu, he was late," Karin managed her straight face only to give better impact, "but he still had time to fix his hair and wore his best t-shirt and jeans. And oh, he was wearing cologne too," she almost smiled when she saw Yuzu's face, "which mean he wanna impress whoever it is he wanna see today."

Yuzu didn't say anything for the first few seconds.

Karin smirked and counted silently.

One.

Two.

Three.

"ONII-CHAN HAS A DATE TODAY?"

Karin shrugged, "Don't you think so?"

Orihime looked at her watch again. She had been there for forty minutes and still her Kurosaki-kun was still no where to be seen. Well, it wasn't his fault though, she was the one who came twenty five minutes earlier. No one could blame her though, it was a date with her beloved Kurosaki-kun, she had every right to be excited. However he had been almost twenty minutes late and she started to worry.

The long haired girl chewed her lip. How if there had been something happened to him on his way to their meeting place? How if there had been a hollow attacking him? Orihime shook her head from the terrifying thought. Impossible. If there had been a hollow, she would be able to sense it. Ishida and Sado would also sense it and they would handle it before it could reach Ichigo.

To think about it, it was their first real date since they started going out. Well, if it could be defined as going out. She didn't really remember when it had started exactly. She hadn't had a chance to tell him her feeling clearly and of course he never told her about his feeling too. It happened just naturally. She didn't know how it started. Maybe it was that day when he walked her home for the first time and accidentally holding her hand. Or maybe it was that day when she hugged him crying when he got punched on his face when he tried to help her from a bunch of delinquent students, he won of course and that one punch meant nothing to him, he was just being too careless, but she threw herself to him, hugging his neck and crying on his shoulder. Or maybe it was that rainy day when Ichigo had to wait for the rain to stop in Orihime's apartment, she forgot who started it but that day they both shared their very first kiss.

Orihime blushed at the memory of the kiss that day. Sure he had kissed her few more time after that day but the kiss that day was special, however it had been her first kiss.

"Inoue!"

Orihime let out a relieve sigh when she saw a tall figure was running toward her. She smiled and waved her hand excitedly. She was glad that her Kurosaki-kun was alright. It didn't matter for her whether he was late one or two hours. She was just glad that he was fine and didn't look like harmed at all. When he arrived in front of her, trying to catch his breath, she could see that he had been running his way here. She pulled out a handkerchief and gave it to the taller man to wipe his sweat. She wanted to wipe the sweat herself but somehow she felt too embarrassed to do that.

"I am sorry, I am late!" he gave her an apologetic look.

Orihime grinned widely and shook her head. Of course she didn't care about him being late.

"It's okay, Kurosaki-kun, I don't mind even if I had to wait for one hundred years!" she said excitedly, "Maybe they would make a statue for me? Just like the one they made for Hachiko?"

Ichigo laughed.

"What are you? A dog?"

"I will be a Siberian Husky if I were a dog," she said excitedly, blushed a little when Ichigo grabbed her hand and asked her to start walking but then she continued talking with the same energetic tone, "or a Doberman?"

"A doberman? You?"

"Hmm, since I am not a man it would be a Doberwoman? Eh... Kurosaki-kun? Why are you laughing?"

The tenth division's captain was hidden behind the piles of paperwork. He remembered very well, before he left he had given a clear order to his vice captain to do at least her share of works but of course he shouldn't have expected too much from the older woman. Not only hadn't she touched the paperwork he left, now she was also disturbing him doing it by asking so many silly questions about a certain human girl he met when he had been leaving the Seireitei.

"So Captain, you haven't told me, how was your date?"

The captain was a patient one, really, he should have a new vice captain one of this day, really...

"What was her name again? Kurosaki-chan? Ah Kurosaki Karin-chan?"

Toshiro sighed. He slammed the paper to the table, "Matsumoto, if you can't help me with this paper, can you at least not disturbing me?"

Rangiku pouted. Her captain was being shy as usual. She, however, took some paper from the table and read it casually.

"By the way, how was it captain?" Rangiku put back the paper on the table, "I heard Captain Byakuya was calling for you. So, how was it?"

The white haired boy sighed, he rested his cheek on one hand while his other hand still holding the paper he was reading, "It's about time, Matsumoto, Ninth Division had sent his people to check on it yesterday. I've met Urahara he said he understand his job here but again that man is hiding something."

Rangiku sighed, she looked bored, "It will be end sooner if they could just give Ichigo his power back."

For the first time since she entered the office, the younger boy put down the paper and looked at the woman. He was scowling, "It wasn't that easy, Matsumoto."

Rangiku tilted his head and touched her index finger to her glossy lips as she was thinking for few seconds. She surprised the captain when she suddenly stood up and walked toward the door.

"Where're you going, Matsumoto?"

"It's boring here, Captain, I wanna go visiting Orihime-chan," she paused when she reached the door and smirked naughtily, "ganbatte ne, Toshiro-chan~"

Rangiku managed to close the door in time and ran away as a bottle of ink, threw by the captain, hit the solid door.

Ichigo Kurosaki smiled when he saw the expression of the girl in front of him. She ate the donut as if that had been the most delicious thing in this world. He was glad that such a simple thing like treating her some donuts could make her this happy. He had never seen anyone eating a donut with such a face.

Cute.

He never said it out loud but he had always thought that she was cute. And beautiful.

Even before that day when he kissed her for the first time. Before that day when he hold his time for the first time. It had been far before that. Before the Hueco Mundo incident. It had been before he got his power. Ever since he saw her he had silently admitted that she was cute, not only her face but also her behavior. He had seen her as an attractive girl since long time ago but it had just been recently since he realized that he had been actually attracted to the girl.

She had been always there for him. She would never know how much she meant for him. He could never express it with word, he was not a sweet talker, but he had done so many things that people wouldn't think a man like him could do for her. He could only hope that she could understand how he felt about her.

Now that he had lost his power there hadn't been much he could do for her. He couldn't protect her the way he did before but it didn't mean he would stop protecting her. Sometime he thought that it was not the power he missed but the ability to protect people he loved. He had this nightmare about what had happened in Hueco Mundo, about his fight with Ulquiorra with her watching them, only this time he had no power. He hated this feeling so much. He hated feeling weak like this.

"Kurosaki-kun? Why are you looking at me like that?" Orihime bit her donut and tilted her head, wondering how long had he stared at her face like that.

Ichigo smirked, "You're a messy eater."

He used his index finger to wipe some strawberry cream on her little nose.

She blushed when he then licked his finger clean.

He maybe didn't realize how sexy he was when he did that.

She knew it. Ever since they entered the shop there had been woman who had their eyes on Ichigo. He never really realized it but she knew really well how attractive he was. She could see how those woman were batting their lashes at him. She thanked God though that sometime Ichigo could be really dense when it came to things like this.

He was handsome, tall, strong, and he can be really funny sometime. Orihime couldn't find a reason why a woman shouldn't fall in love with him. She wasn't a real competitive type but only for this matter she didn't want to lose. She knew she was nothing compared to Rukia but she had learned that she shouldn't compare herself to anyone. She knew if it were about her feeling for Kurosaki-kun, she could never lose. She just loved him so much that she didn't think there had been someone who could love him as much as she loved him.

She knew she had been too conceited there.

"So," Ichigo said when Orihime chewed on her last donut, "after this, is there any place you want to go to?"

Orihime thought for a moment. To be honest, she had nowhere in particular in her mind but she still wanted to be with him longer today.

"Ah!" she smiled at the idea, "I need to buy some laces!"

Ichigo scowled, "Laces?"

Orihime nodded, "Yes, it's for the club," she explained, "Our club would have a puppet show for the school festival next month. I need to do something for the princess doll."

"You're going to play the princess?"

Orihime nodded, "Yes! And guess who'll be the knight in shining armor?"

Ichigo shuddered.

He had and idea and he didn't like it, "Don't tell me..."

Orihime grinned.

"Ishida?"

"ACHOO!"

"Ew, that's nasty, Quincy-kun."

"I have a name, Matsumoto-san," Ishida frowned as he rubbed under his nose then he glared at the older woman who sat on the same sofa with him, "and by the way, you haven't tell me what are you doing in Inoue-san's apartment?"

Rangiku pouted, "Ah, I came here to visit Orihime-chan but she's not here, I am so bored when you rang the bell and I don't want to wait for her alone, that's why I asked you to kindly accompany me until she came home," she explained, "and why are you here? What's your name again?"

"Ishida, my name is Ishida," Ishida pushed his glasses, he sighed, he didn't know why he let the woman drag him in. This was wrong. They shouldn't be here when Orihime wasn't here. He was about to protest about Rangiku rude action when he remembered the reason why he had been there in the first place, "ah the reason why I am here is to check on Inoue-san."

Rangiku raised an eyebrow, "Check on her, wh- ah!"

Ishida stood up, "You felt that too right? I've felt that since last night, it's getting stronger just now."

Rangiku sighed, apparently she had come to the living world at such a bad timing.

"This is not good..."

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Author's Note:

It's been long time since I update this but I never planned to abandon any of my story, it's just about time before I update. Not the best chapter but I hope still enjoyable enough.