"Savior"

Ichigo's brows knitted together into a deep scowl while Kenji remained grinning. "Who said the first door closed already?" Ichigo pushed Kenji aside, preparing to leave. Orihime grew troubled when she saw the lifeless look in Ichigo's eyes. Knowing Ichigo since her childhood, it wasn't hard for her to realize when something was bothering him.

"Is something the matter, Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked all too innocently. Her tiny nose and round eyes made her seem almost like a bunny. Ichigo apologized before shaking his head. He just wanted to go home and sleep. "I-I see..." She desperately tried to keep the conversation going. Being separated from Ichigo for two years, it was only natural that she wanted to sit down and talk about life. Ichigo, however, was too worried over Rukia's feelings about him to care about catching up with Orihime.

"I'll see you around," Ichigo simply said, not even giving Orihime a second look. Her heart faltered a little.

"Umbrella..." Orihime whispered, catching Ichigo's attention. "You need an umbrella," she held out her polka-dotted one. "I have a raincoat, so I'll be fine without it."

Ichigo eyed the pretty umbrella, thinking that he'd look ridiculous using such a thing. "I'll be fine; I live close here anyway." He threw the hood of his sweater over his head, reassuring Orihime that he'd be okay with a semi-smile. "By the way... what are you doing out here in the middle of the night anyway?" Ichigo only thought about how strange it was for her to be wandering out so late.

Orihime sighed, relieved that she could talk to Ichigo for a while longer. She giggled nervously, "Getting groceries! Tonight I'm making a soup full of beef, fish, pork, chicken, and..." she rambled on; Ichigo worried her for her health. She ate the strangest things and didn't seem to discriminate against food. There were two things Orihime never failed in: eating and being constantly happy. "Would you..." her voice drifted as she wondered if it was safe to say the rest of the sentence. "Would you like to come over for dinner?"

Ichigo was a bit surprised by her boldness. She used to never even let him into her front yard. "I'm not sure," Ichigo mumbled. After what happened with Rukia, Ichigo didn't mind having some company... Besides, maybe it was better to have let Rukia have some time alone, he thought. Finally, after much contemplation, Ichigo said no. "I have someone waiting for me at home. Maybe next time," he said kindly, hoping to not hurt her feelings.

Orihime shook her head, "It's okay!" she said honestly, waving her arms in front of her. "I'm sorry I asked on such late notice."

"Hey Inoue.." Ichigo asked, suddenly serious. Orihime raised her brows, wondering what he wanted to ask. "You're a girl, right?"

Orihime blinked owlishly. Ichigo immediately looked away while stuttering with a blush when Orihime suddenly cupped her breasts, giving them a couple of squeezes. "Yeah, I think so!" she replied quite gleefully. "Why do you ask?"

After regaining his composure, Ichigo asked her, "You know how I had my previous job..?" Orihime fell quiet. How could she forget that Ichigo was selling his body? She remembered crying and begging for him to stop doing it. Regretfully, she nodded. "I stopped now... but what's your impression of me after I've done something like that? Am I disgusting?"

Orihime was surprised Ichigo would ask something so serious. Last time when she tried to convince him to stop, he got upset that she wasn't supporting his decisions. Giving her honest opinion, she told him, "You're Kurosaki-kun, a precious friend of mine. We all make mistakes, so I won't judge you."

Ichigo hung his head low, wishing Rukia would say those words to him. "Thanks," he said sincerely. "Ah, the rain stopped." They both looked out the window to see little droplets of water falling off the roof. "Well, I'll be going now." Orihime nodded, bidding farewell. "See ya."

2 Weeks Later

Rukia sneezed out a slime of snot; Ichigo wiped it away with a tissue. "You've been sick for three days. When will you surrender and let me take you to the doctor?" Ichigo asked, only getting a low growl from the stubborn girl. She lay in bed, quite drowsy and defenseless.

"You know that costs money," Rukia responded in a hoarse voice. Both Rukia and Ichigo had made little money. Most of the money went to paying the rent and to buying food. They were completely broke. Even so, Rukia had no complaints. Before, she had so much money that she didn't have to worry about life. Now, she had to struggle just to survive. "Go to work; I'll be fine."

Ichigo couldn't believe Rukia. Did she honestly think he'd be the kind to just cruelly leave her alone to die? He placed his large hand over her small forehead; Rukia flinched when she felt his warm touch. Even though it's been two weeks since Ichigo attempted to kiss her, she was still traumatized over the incident. Ichigo pulled away, giving her space. "Sorry," he said, feeling strange for apologizing. He didn't have anything to be sorry for.

Ichigo felt that if things kept going on like this, he'd go insane. Were they roommates or were they lovers? It was getting hard to tell. "You're scowling again..." Rukia croaked, reaching up and smacking his forehead in an attempt to erase his frown. "Sorry Ichigo. I haven't been kind to you lately, I know. I'm the reason why you're upset, right?"

Ichigo denied it, not wanting to make her feel guilty especially when she was already sick.

"I'm not trying to push you away, really. It's just that... Doing those sort of things make me uncomfortable." Her face, which was already red, turned even redder, if it was even possible. Ichigo's mouth gaped open to understand the truth. So all this time he was just letting it get to him for no reason. "You look relieved. Did you think I was avoiding you for some other reason?"

Ichigo turned pale, not wanting to sound like a worried girl. "O-Of course not. I wasn't even worried to begin with," he lied. Looking cool was his top priority. Secretly, he was ecstatic to know that he was wrong about Rukia. Now he would have to go beat up Kenji for trying to persuade him to dump Rukia. Rukia grinned, despite being in pain.

"Now go to work. I won't forgive you if you stay," Rukia threatened. Ichigo sulked. He hated it when she did that. The last thing he wanted was to be hated by her, even if she was just joking. Hearing her say those words was enough to make him cringe. "You're being a little overly dramatic; I'll be... fine."

Ichigo squinted his eyes, suspicious. "What was with that eerie pause in your sentence?" He questioned. At this point, he could see the gaunt look in Rukia's face and the sweat beads that were building up on the surface of her pale skin. Without hesitating, he effortlessly lifted her up in his arms. At this point, she was already passed out, too weak to fight back. "Rukia? Rukia!" He shouted, trying to wake her up.

Ichigo panicked, unsure of what to do. The hospital from there was about thirty minutes away; there was no way he'd get Rukia there in time.

"Damn it...!" Ichigo cursed at himself, not wanting to use his last resort. Even so, there were times in life when swallowing his pride was necessary, and right now was one of those times. He bolted out the door, heading for the Kurosaki Clinic.

Kurosaki Clinic

Ichigo hung his head low as he sat in his old living room. The furniture hadn't been moved and not a thing seemed out of place; everything was the same as Ichigo last recalled. Even the familiar scent of apple cinnamon was still in the air. Though he'd never admit, the feeling of nostalgia was kind of nice.

Karin and Yuzu, his two sisters, stood in front of him. It was the first time he saw them in a while... "I don't believe it! Months without hearing from you and suddenly you show up, and with a girl nonetheless!" Karin lectured, holding a glare that was probably even scarier than Ichigo's. Yuzu, in contrast, tried to calm down her twin.

"Karin-chan! Ichigo-nii just came to see us after so long. You should be happy, like me," Yuzu said, trying her best to smile. She turned to Ichigo, hugging his right arm tightly.

Karin gave a loud huff, "Even I can tell you're about to cry Yuzu-chan." Karin held a smug look as Ichigo plummeted further into his guilt. Yuzu placed her hand on top Ichigo's orange hair, patting his head to cheer him up a little. Still, she wasn't able to bring out a single smile out of her brother.

Suddenly, Yuzu gasped, "I'll go make some spicy food for you!" She jumped happily at her idea before running off. Yuzu's optimism, Ichigo thought, was probably kept their family going on for so long. When times were rough, she was always the one to provide relief with her joy.

Ichigo suddenly felt heated as Karin stared at him with intense eyes. Her hands were placed on her hips as she cocked her head to one side, eyeballing him maliciously. "Yuzu-chan is trying to cheer you up. The least you could do is give her some sort of expression that isn't so depressing to reassure her. Lie if you have to," she said.

Ichigo gave a simple nod. Karin was right, he admitted, even though Karin was the one who was making him feel so crappy. "I'll go apologize to Yuzu-chan," he stood up from his seat. Even though Karin was as tough as a yakuza, Ichigo knew that her rough attitude was just a way of expressing her caring side. At times like this, it was when he needed a good beating.

"Ah, my beautiful son!" Ichigo became stiff as a board when he heard that creepy voice. He turned around, meeting a bear-like hug from his father. "You've been gone for too long, and just when I least expect it, you come home along with your girlfriend? This is too good to be true! She's a cute one too," he blushed in a girly fashion. Ichigo facepalmed, ashamed of his father.

Seeing his father so carefree, Ichigo assumed that Rukia was fine.

"Hm? Oh, right!" Ichigo's father exclaimed. "Your girlfriend-"

"Rukia," Ichigo said. Of course, he didn't mind his father referring to Rukia as his girlfriend, but he didn't need to be constantly reminded of the fact.

"Oh, cute name too!" Ichigo's father fawned, "but yes, she's fine. She just caught a fever, but it's nothing to fret too much about. I prescribed a medicine for her, so just visit your local pharmacy and you'll be good to go." Ichigo sighed in relief, glad that Rukia wasn't in danger. His father grinned, patting his shoulder. "You really care about her huh?"

Ichigo rubbed his face, trying to wipe off the light blush he had. "Thanks, old man..."

"I'm just glad that you know that you still have a home to return to. I really thought I wasn't going to see you again."

"Don't blame yourself for me running away. All that recklessness I did in the past was my own fault."

Ichigo's father looked up, happy. "Seeing you now, I'm assuming you've turned your life around somehow?"

Ichigo shrugged, "Somewhat... I guess you can say that."

His father nodded, "Then I owe Rukia-chan my thanks for bringing you back home!"

A/N: Alright, I know I said I'd update on Saturdays, but this one came earlier than expected and I just had to post it today. Besides, I'll be busy this weekend. Just expect me to update once a week. :)

Please review! Stay tuned for the next chapter!