I'm eager to finish this story. Which is weird cause I'm generally not that eager to do anything these days XD. But I suppose it's cause I have majority of the story written in my head. I'm still not sure how many more chapters there are after this. So please bear with me .

Farrah: Ha ha. I think you've read my mind. As for your review, this chapter will explain things more. I was wondering if anyone was going to notice the way Ichigo was treating Orihime. But you'll understand after this chapter :)

Thanks to everyone who reviewed this story! They are really appreciated :)

It was Wednesday morning when Tatsuki got the call from her mom. Their family friend was getting married and had sent them an invitation. The invite was received two weeks prior but Tatsuki's mom had just called in their RSVP the night before. Thus left Tatsuki in a panic.

She didn't want to leave Orihime behind when she was this sick. Even though it seemed like Orihime was getting better, it didn't stop Tatsuki from worrying about her. She didn't want to disappoint her mother or their friend either. So it left her in a bind.

"Oi, Ishida!"

Said man turned from his conversation with the giant to see Tatsuki coming down the hall.

Fixing his glasses, he straightened his back and watched Tatsuki with a stern look. Whatever she had to talk to him about was important if she was asking him to assist.

"Listen, my mom is making me go to this wedding this weekend for a friend of ours. It's in Tokyo and I'm not going to be here until Monday. Do you think it's possible that you can watch Orihime while I'm gone?"

Shaking his head, he spoke before Tatsuki could ask why. "I'm also very busy. My father is making me go to some medical conference with him. I don't know why seeing as he's never paid much attention to me before the war. But I can't back out. I'm sorry Arisawa-san. If I didn't have to go, I would've offered to watch over Inoue-san."

Sighing, she turned her gaze to Chad. "Can you do it Sado?"

"Sorry Tatsuki. I can't either. I'm working all weekend. Urahara-san has some extra jobs for me and I already said yes. Why don't you try asking Ichigo? I don't see why he wouldn't want to help watch over Inoue. He is very protective of her afterall."

Tapping her foot in annoyance, she turned her gaze to the window. "I'm not sure if he would be the best option for her. You've seen how he treats her nowadays. It's like they don't know each other. I know Orihime won't admit to it, but it hurts her badly to be ignored by him."

"Kurosaki is dense. Since Kuchiki-san came back, he's been paying attention to his duties once again and shrugging off everyone. Perhaps he feels that he's not good enough to be Inoue-san's friend. But whatever his reasoning, it's very pathetic that he hides from her. She deserves an explanation and he's not giving her one. I don't understand what Inoue-san sees in him."

"You know Inoue. She's not going to give up on Ichigo. She's just as stubborn as he is. Maybe even more. But she's also got a kind heart. And she knows that Ichigo's very busy. She's not going to pester him when she knows he has lots to deal with."

"And that's the problem Sado!" Tatsuki yelled. "Orihime is too kind. If I was her, I wouldn't stand for Ichigo's bullshit! I would've kicked him to the curb and told him to go find someone else to be his friend. Why should she be so nice to him when he's being ignorant and not caring about how she is? Has he even asked any of us how she is? NO! Why? Because he's too busy being a self-centered jackass that he's not noticing how much she's hurting! I think that's what has her so upset. She needs him, and yet he's not there."

Silence engulfed the three. Ishida coughed before pushing up his glasses. "Then this may be the perfect opportunity to prove himself. Think about it. If Kurosaki cares for her, he'll watch over her for the weekend. The only thing is I'm not sure if he'll just jump to it. Yes, he is very protective of Inoue-san, but at the same time, Kuchiki-san is around. Perhaps his duty as a shinigami is what's blinding him from Inoue-san's pain."

"So in other words, we have to get someone else to take over his job for the weekend." Sado replied.

"Exactly Sado-kun. And I think if you explained the situation to Kuchiki-san, then she'll agree to doing his duties for the weekend."

The bell rang, causing the three of them to end their conversation. Tatsuki had begun to walk when Ishida added, "Just make sure Kurosaki isn't around when you talk to her. We don't want him to know what's going on."

Hands in his pockets, Ichigo trudged down the street with a happy and cheerful Orihime by his side. He still didn't understand why she wanted to go outside when it was raining, but he had given in to her request. The only exception he had was that she had a rain jacket and an umbrella to stop her from getting more sick.

He knew that letting her go outside was the worst thing he could do. But he felt that he owed her for being incredibly rude and selfish.

The truth was, he missed her. Ichigo missed everything about her. Her long auburn hair as it flew with a gentle breeze. Her huge smile that could warm up even the most evil men. Her big doe eyes that sparkled when she saw something she loved. But more importantly, her heart. The one thing that could store so much love and kindness for every living thing. Her heart is what made Orihime.. Herself.

He wasn't a total idiot. He knew there was a rift between them. And he wasn't stupid to know that simply apologizing would fix everything. The only reason the rift is there was because he had caused it. He felt that being around her wasn't a good thing. She wasn't safe near him. He was shocked when he had stabbed Ishida in the stomach. What shocked him more was hearing from Ishida himself that his hollow never touched Orihime. In fact, it seemed to be protecting her, from everyone. Including Ishida. That's why he never blamed Ichigo for stabbing him. His hollow did what he had to in order to keep her safe. It was obvious to Ishida that he was seen as a threat, and that's why he stepped in.

"Your hollow had seen me as a threat. That's the only reason he attacked me. He thought that because I was trying to stop you from killing Ulquiorra that I had become the enemy. I had put myself in that danger Kurosaki. You are not to blame. Your instincts were only doing the one thing they were supposed to. And that was to protect Inoue-san. Even though you lost control, he helped save your life and hers. Don't be blaming yourself. I'm pretty sure Inoue-san isn't blaming you either. And she would be very upset to know that you're carrying around that guilt."

Looking at her face, he hadn't seen her this happy in a long time. Since before Hueco Mundo.

He was glad she wasn't crying or upset. He had seen enough of that look in Hueco Mundo that it constantly tortured him each time he closed his eyes. Her horror-struck face, tears falling gracely down her pale cheeks, eyes wide at the look of his mask, pure terror shown. He didn't want to see her show that look ever again.

A light touch snapped him from his thoughts and he looked down to see her small hand hold onto his. He looked from their hands to her face and saw light pink dust her cheeks. She kept her eyes ahead but a smile still graced her lips.

A small smile graced his lips as his grip tightened on her hand. He'd never say it out loud, but he loved the feel of her hand in his.

After they went for a walk, they had come back to her apartment. She tore her hand from his, not noticing the slight frown on Ichigo's face at the loss of contact. She placed her closed umbrella on the coatrack and hung up their jackets before sliding her shoes off.

"Ah~ That was such a nice walk! Thanks for taking me out Kurosaki-kun!"

Her smile blinded him and he turned his head before mumbling. "You're welcome."

Noticing how his voice sounded, her expression dropped. "Did you not like it?"

Hearing how sad her voice sounded, he turned his head and waved his hands in front of his face. "N-N-No! That's not what I meant! It's just that.." He turned his gaze to the window. "I thought you wanted to go somewhere else. I didn't know you wanted to go for a walk. If that's all you wanted to do, I wouldn't have made a big deal about it in the first place."

Her mouth opened in a small "O" before closing and she giggled. "Well.. I did think about wanting to go to the park. But I knew that you wouldn't let me do that. Plus Tatsuki-chan always scolds me for going out to play in the rain. Even though I don't see what the big deal is."

Placing his hands in his pockets, he turned his gaze to Orihime. "She's just worried about you... I'm worried about you..."

A blush stained her cheeks before she looked out the window. Her hands fisted her pants as she contemplated asking what was on her mind. She licked her lips before opening her mouth. "Kurosaki-kun... Why did you agree to watch over me?"

"Because I miss you."

He opened his mouth but she had beat him to it. "Is it because you felt sorry for me? Did Tatsuki-chan threaten you if you didn't watch over me? Were you her last option?"

He hated how she didn't turn to look his way. He wanted to see her eyes. Her smokey grey eyes that sparkled with warmth each time she saw him. Like he was the only one who could make her happy.

"Tatsuki did have some sort of an influence on my decision. She did tell me how you were sick and she didn't want you alone. But, that's not why I agreed to watch over you."

Her gaze turned to his face and her eyes had encouraged him to continue. "I know it seems like she's the reason why I decided to watch you. But the truth is... I used that as an excuse."

Her eyes widened as he took long strides until he reached out and grabbed her hands. Her eyes looked up into his dark brown ones and she melted at the intensity of the look.

"I missed you... Orihime. Ever since I brought you back from Hueco Mundo, I've been putting some distance between us because I felt that it was the right thing to do. I didn't want to force you into talking about it. And I wasn't the right one to talk to. I didn't expect Rukia to be back so soon. And when she did come back, I got so caught up in being a shinigami again that I ignored everyone. But more importantly, I hurt you."

Silence filled the room and Ichigo tried to figure out what to say next. Blowing out a breath, he looked into her eyes and continued. "When Tatsuki told me that she needed someone to take care of you, I felt.. happy. Not because you were sick.. But because I could use this weekend to repair our friendship. I felt a pain in my chest when I couldn't remember the last time we talked. I wanted to hurt myself for being such a jackass because you didn't deserve it. I told myself that the reason I agreed so fast was because Tatuski threatened me. But it was a lie."

Gripping her hands tighter, he pulled her into his chest with such force it knocked the breath out of her. Tears had welled up before spilling over and her body shook at the immense grief she kept in the entire time.

"T-Thank goodness!" She gasped. "I thought you hated me.."

He blinked before looking down at her. "What made you think that?"

She sniffed, trying to calm herself down. "Because it was my fault that your hollow attacked Ishida-kun. It was your mission to protect me and because I screamed your name, he appeared. I was selfish. I told myself that I went to Hueco Mundo because I wanted to protect you guys and yet I still called on you to protect me, even when you were dead. I thought that you distanced yourself from me because I was a burden and..."

"You idiot. I would never think you were a burden. Orihime, I promised to protect you. I put my life on the line for you because you're worth it. I want you to depend on me. Don't ever think that I will abandon you because you're a burden. You are more tough than I am. I want you to remember that."

She nodded before hugging him tighter. In response, he pulled her closer and sat on the couch.

"Thank you... Ichigo."