Author's note: I promise this chapter will be longer than the previous chapter. I just didn't want to overload everyone with the fluff because I wasn't sure how you all would react to it. Enjoy everyone!
Important note: I've re-written portions of this chapter because I didn't like the flow of the date scene to the following scene, or the final scene of the chapter. Much of the chapter has been left unchanged, but there have been small add-ins and removals throughout the chapter, as well as an entire page of additional content. I hope you enjoy, as I worked very hard on fixing it! (And I've learned my lesson about proof-reading before posting chapters.)
Special thanks: Thank you to my amazing aunt Cassie and wonderful friend Vashnik for proof reading this! Also, thank you to mrs.bennington, brittstr08, Tikytikytavvi101, and Kisa Kisa Yum Yum for reviewing! You guys always make my day even better!
Disclaimer: Bleach and all characters, designs, etc. belong to Tite Kubo. I'm only allowed to fantasize about them.
Karin and Yuzu were sitting at the dining table eating their breakfast, Karin watching the television out of the corner of her eye, when Ichigo came downstairs whistling. Tearing her eyes away from the television, she stared at her older brother and saw an uncharacteristic smile plastered on his face.
"What are you so happy about?" she demanded, pointing her cereal spoon in his direction.
"It's Sunday. How could I not be happy? No school, no homework… Today's going to be a good day," said Ichigo as he reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of orange juice, his smile widening.
Taking a swig of juice straight from the carton before setting it back in the refrigerator and shutting the door, he turned to look at his younger sisters. Karin had a dumbfounded look on her face, her spoon still pointing at him. Yuzu looked up at him with a curious look before giving up at her brief attempt to figure out why today was better than any other Sunday and going back to her breakfast; she could always eavesdrop on him later. She giggled as Ichigo ruffled her hair as he walked past her.
"I'm heading out for a bit. Tell dad I'll be back before dinner," he said, attempting to ruffle Karin's hair as well before being blocked by her spoon. Chuckling quietly to himself, he slipped on his shoes and walked out of the house.
"There's something wrong with him," grumbled Karin, resting her chin in her hand and poking at her remaining cereal with her spoon, having lost all interest in eating due to her brother's odd behavior.
"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about," said Yuzu as she picked up her bowl and set it in the sink to be washed. "Maybe he really is just happy that it's Sunday."
"Maybe… I still think there's something fishy going on," sighed Karin as she put her bowl in the sink as well and headed into the living room, throwing herself onto the couch to finish watching her favorite cartoons. Yuzu went to gather laundry and more importantly, snoop around in Ichigo's room.
Hands in his pockets, Ichigo walked casually towards Orihime's house. Today would be their first date, and he was much more excited about today than he wanted to let on to passerby. He had asked Orihime out the previous day at school, much to the surprise of everyone. Keigo was devastated that Orihime had accepted the invitation as that meant she was no longer available, and Chizuru wanted to murder Ichigo for asking Orihime out in the first place. Tatsuki had given her approval after punching Chizuru in the face to keep her from mauling Ichigo, and that was all either one of them needed.
He idly wondered if he was dressed well enough for their first date or not. Looking down at himself, he noted the clean white polo shirt, unbuttoned of course, blue jeans and sneakers. He didn't see anything wrong with his outfit, but a nagging voice in the back of his head was still a bit worried about his choice of clothing. Pushing the voice away, he turned the corner as he neared Orihime's apartment. After walking a few more blocks, he headed up the stairs to her door and knocked.
"Ah! Um…coming!" came a muffled voice from inside the apartment. He heard a few crashes before the door opened to reveal a very flustered looking Orihime. Her cheeks were flushed with either embarrassment or excitement, Ichigo couldn't figure out which, and a few strands of hair had fallen loose from her hairpins.
"Are you ready to go?" he asked, a small smile forming on his lips.
"Yes!" she replied breathlessly as she tucked the loose strands of hair behind her ear. Pulling out her key, she locked her front door and dropped the key into the small white purse that hung from her shoulder.
Ichigo looked her up and down, a small blush forming on his cheeks. Orihime was wearing her usual skirt, although it only went down to her knees which allowed him to see her smooth and well-toned legs. The white skirt gently flowed around her, complimenting her curves nicely. As his eyes traveled up her legs, his blush deepened. She wore a sleeveless teal colored shirt that hugged her curves, the slight dip in the neckline showing off a small portion of her ivory skin. He gulped as he tried to keep the images from his reoccurring dreams at bay.
"You look…very pretty," he stammered as he continued to look at her.
"Thank you. You look very pretty too," she said quietly as she blushed.
Ichigo gave her a puzzled look before chuckling. "Thanks."
"Ah! I didn't mean pretty! I meant to say that you look very handsome today!" she exclaimed as she waved her hands in front of her face, her blush deepening from embarrassment. Smiling, Ichigo took her hand in his and looked into her large grey eyes.
"It's alright," he said, his eyes softening as he looked at her concerned expression. "Let's go, or the movie will start without us."
Orihime tore her eyes away from his warm gaze and looked at her wristwatch. "Ah! You're right! We should hurry, or we'll lose the best seats!"
Ichigo watched as she let go of his hand and raced down the stairs, turning back to wave her hand, urging him to hurry. Sticking his hands in his pockets, he headed down the stairs a small smile permanently playing on his lips.
"Kurosaki-kun, hurry!" she urged as she ran ahead of him. Chuckling at her child-like enthusiasm he ran to catch up with her, enjoying the fact that he was spending such a wonderful day with the one person that could make the day even brighter.
"What a great movie!" exclaimed Orihime as she stretched. "I loved the part with the murderer finally being revealed!"
"You really love horror movies, don't you?" asked Ichigo as he tossed their empty popcorn container and soda cans in the trash bin near the exit.
"Yeah, especially when there's monsters that lurk around the corners waiting for their victims," she said, acting as if her hands were claws for emphasis as she grinned devilishly. "Don't you like horror movies, Kurosaki-kun?"
Ichigo nodded, but secretly he wasn't too fond of them. They were all too predictable, and after becoming a Shinigami nothing really scared him anymore. Halfway through the film he could generally predict who the killer was, and none of the 'scary parts' ever scared him. Despite this, he was glad that he had taken Orihime to see the horror movie. She had had a good time even though she had been scared silly at certain points during the movie.
Smiling, he remembered how she instinctively grabbed his hand during a particularly scary part and how she had looked at him, her eyes sparkling when he squeezed her hand lightly to let her know he was still there and would protect her from whatever monsters popped up. That wasn't the only time their hands had met either. They often brushed against each other in the popcorn bin, and Ichigo withdrew his hand so quickly someone would have thought he had burned himself. His face became quite red each time this happened, and he was incredibly thankful that it was so dark in the theatre.
"Kurosaki-kun? Are you feeling alright?"
"Oh, sorry. What did you say?"
"I asked if you wanted to go to the park that's right around the corner," she said, her eyes sparkling.
"Alright, sounds like fun."
Orihime's face lit up like a thousand lights at Christmas, a large, genuine smile on her face. She grabbed his hand and quickly led him out of the movie theatre and down the street. Their pace gradually slowed down to a leisurely walk, both of them discussing the movie they just saw. Orihime blushed when she noticed that she was still holding hands with Ichigo, and she looked up at him. He was looking straight ahead, his face a bit red and his brow furrowed slightly as if he had noticed the same thing, but he didn't seem to be letting her hand go anytime soon. They crossed the street and headed through the gate for the small local park. Orihime instantly ran towards the swings, her hair flowing behind her, her tinkling laugh traveling through the warm air. Ichigo followed her and sat in the swing next to her, watching her sway back and forth.
"I always loved to come here when I was little," she said, her eyes traveling up to the sky. The sun had started to set, turning the clouds shades of orange and pink. Once again, Ichigo noticed how Orihime's skin seemed to glow warmly in the setting sun, giving her the appearance of having a healthy, sun-kissed tan. "Did you ever go to the park when you were little Kurosaki-kun?"
"Yeah," he said, his usual frown clouding his face. "I used to come here all the time with my mom…"
"Oh! I'm sorry, Kurosaki-kun. I didn't know…" she said as panic filled her. She knew that the topic of his mother's untimely death was a sore subject with him. She mentally smacked herself and hoped that she hadn't ruined their date with her insensitive question.
"It's alright, Inoue. I'm slowly coming to terms with what happened…I just need a little bit more time. That's all," he said, noticing the look of panic and remorse on her face. He hated to see her upset about anything, and it bothered him that he was the reason for the troubled look on her face. "It's getting dark so we should probably get you home."
"Yeah, we don't want any Hollows to show up while we're here!" laughed Orihime, hoping to brighten the mood, even if it was just a little bit. She sighed in relief when she saw Ichigo's expression relax as he got up and helped her up before putting his hands in his pockets.
The walk back to Orihime's apartment was quiet, reminiscent of the night they had shared their first kiss. By the time they arrived at the steps leading up to her front door, the sun had already set and the moon was showing every now and then as clouds passed over it, hiding it's glowing rays from the world for a moment.
"Um…well, here we are," he said as he scratched the back of his head, unsure of what else to say.
"I had a lot of fun today, Kurosaki-kun," said Orihime quietly, her cheeks reddening, no doubt the memories of their first kiss on her mind as well.
"It's no problem. I had fun today too."
"Would…would you like to come in and have some tea?" she asked, her eyes shimmering with hope that he would agree.
"Sure. I'd love to," he said as a small smile appeared on his lips. Her eyes lit up as she dug her keys out of her purse and opened the door, stepping inside before gesturing for him to follow her as she turned on the lamp that stood on a small table beside the couch. Ichigo followed her into the small apartment and could sense her reiatsu throughout the room. He had only been in here once before, and he never really noticed it…but now it was all he could sense.
"Just make yourself at home and I'll go make the tea," said Orihime before disappearing into the small kitchen.
Sitting at the small table in the living room, Ichigo looked around. The room was neat and orderly, small knick-knacks lining the shelves of bookcases along with many volumes of manga and a few novels here and there. He noticed the small shrine to her brother who had passed away when they were in middle school. The same brother who had become a Hollow and attacked Orihime. Frowning, he remembered the terror in the eyes of the girl when she realized that the monster attacking her was really her brother. His thoughts scattered when he heard a small clink on the table. Looking up, Orihime was smiling at him and setting a cup of tea in front of him. She sat next to him and sipped her tea.
"Thank you," he said as he picked up his cup and sipped his tea as well. "This is really good."
"Thanks. My brother always told me that tea was one of the few things I was good at making," she laughed as she set her cup down and looked at the shrine on the other side of the room, her smile faltering slightly.
"Inoue…"
"Oh, don't worry about me Kurosaki-kun. I know my brother is in a better place. I've accepted that," she said as she looked up at him and smiled. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and Ichigo noticed Orihime's grip tightening on her cup at the sound.
"Inoue, are you okay?" he asked, concern flooding his senses.
"Ah… I'm alright. I just don't really like thunderstorms all that much. Not since…" she mumbled as she adverted her gaze to the cup of tea in front of her.
"Not since the day your brother passed away?"
Orihime nodded as she closed her eyes in an attempt to stop the tears that were threatening to fall. Feeling a firm, but warm grip on her shoulder, she looked up to see Ichigo watching her, a small glimmer of worry in his eyes. His smile was no longer present, and his usual scowl had returned, although it wasn't as fierce as it normally was. Wiping her tears away, she smiled.
"Don't worry about me Kurosaki-kun. I'll be alright," she said, hoping that would remove the look of worry from his face. To her dismay, her remark only increased the amount of worry in his eyes.
"Inoue, I…"
At that moment a large lightning bolt struck nearby, lighting up the room for a moment. Orihime flinched at the bright light, her fears resurfacing. Ichigo noticed this and pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her protectively.
"Ku…Kurosaki-kun?" stammered Orihime, her face reddening by the second at the closeness between them. She could smell his scent and it wafted around her head, producing a dizzying but comforting feeling. Another flash of lightning caused her to flinch again, and she felt Ichigo's arms tighten around her as if hoping to put her in a safe little cocoon and hide her from the storm.
Ichigo closed his eyes and buried his nose in her hair, inhaling deeply. The scent of flowers drifted into his nose. It was an intoxicating scent, and it made his head spin along with the feel of her small form pressed against him. He felt her flinch at another lightning strike, so he tightened his grip around her, hoping to calm her down. He wasn't sure why he had done this, but seeing her as scared as she was he couldn't help himself. Loosening his grip around her a little, he allowed her room to move while he glanced down at her. He could now hear the pitter patter of the rain against the windows, although distant, as he locked eyes with her as she gazed up at him. There was still a glimmer of fear in her eyes, and he wanted to do something to get rid of the fear she was feeling…but how?
"Kurosaki…-kun?" whispered Orihime as she looked up at Ichigo when his grip loosened slightly. There were tears glimmering in the faint light at the corners of her eyes.
"It's alright…I'll protect you," murmured Ichigo as he brushed away her tears with the pad of his thumb before brushing away the loose strands of hair from her forehead. "I'll always protect you."
Orihime's heart skipped a beat when she heard this. Maybe it was just her imagination, but his normally fierce eyes seemed gentle, as was his touch, as if he didn't want to hurt her in any way. She shivered slightly under his gaze and rested her head on his shoulder, hoping that the dizziness she was experiencing would go away soon.
Ichigo heard a small sigh come from the girl in his arms and he sighed inwardly. He slowly ran a hand through her long hair, hoping to soothe away any fears that still remained, reveling in the feel of her silky locks against his hand. His hand drifted down to her shoulder before slowly running up and down her arm, lightly caressing each inch of skin they touched. Orihime shivered under his touch, although it wasn't an unpleasant sensation having his calloused hands travel across her bare skin…even if it was only her arm. She lifted her head from his shoulder and looked at him, her eyes pleading with him for one thing. Kiss me.
Ichigo recognized the silent plea and obliged by cupping her flushed cheek in his hand and lowering his lips until he could feel her hot breath on his face. After pausing for a moment, he closed the distance between them, running his lips over her soft, pink lips. They seemed much more pliable than he remembered from their first kiss, but he lost all remaining trains of thought when he felt Orihime respond to the kiss. While increasing the pressure of his lips against hers, he softly ran his thumb back and forth against her cheek reveling in the feel of her silky smooth skin. Orihime's mind was a swirling abyss, all thoughts being whisked away at Ichigo's feather-light touch against her skin. She grabbed the front of his shirt, fistfuls of fabric bunched up in her tiny fists as she felt Ichigo increase the intensity of the kiss. Her heart fluttered at the feeling of his free hand trailing up and down her back, every touch being felt through the relatively thin fabric of her shirt. She shivered as he ran his hands up and over her shoulders and pressed closer to him, as if trying to seek warmth from a fire.
A shudder raced down Ichigo's spine when Orihime pressed herself closer to him and dropped his hand down from her cheek to lightly travel down her arm and onto her hip, gently caressing her perfect curves. All traces of reasonable thought were gone, and he was going purely on instinct. He experimentally licked Orihime's lower lip, and received a small gasp in response. Orihime hadn't been expecting him to lick her lips, but she pushed away the small part of her that was screaming at her to stop and gave in to her desire. She opened her mouth slightly to allow Ichigo access, her own tongue snaking out to lick his lower lip in return. Ichigo's heart skipped a beat at her reaction, but he was pleased none the less. He slipped his tongue into her mouth, gently massaging her tongue with his own before exploring her warm mouth while Orihime explored his mouth in return. She tasted like nothing he had ever tasted before, but it seemed familiar somehow…strawberries, perhaps? His mind was too muddled to try and place the unique taste, and he didn't care too much either.
After a few minutes, Ichigo pulled back from the kiss, slightly out of breath. Orihime was out of breath as well, and her heart was pounding so loudly she thought that he would be able to hear it. She looked at her hands, still clenching his shirt and her blush deepened. Letting his shirt go, she tried to smooth out the wrinkles.
"I'm sorry Kurosaki-kun…I wrinkled your shirt…" she mumbled, her hands shaking slightly as she felt his rapid heartbeat as she smoothed out his shirt.
"It…it's alright. I…I should be going though. I promised Yuzu I'd be home before dinner and she'll murder me if I'm late," he said, his face reddening as well. 'How could I have done that?!' he thought angrily.
"Oh…alright. I'm sorry I kept you from getting home on time," she said dejectedly as she stood up and picked up the tea cups.
"It's alright. It sounds like the rain has stopped though," said Ichigo as he stood up and headed for the door. "Thank you for the tea, Inoue."
"You're welcome. I'll…I'll see you at school tomorrow!" said Orihime, giving him a small smile.
"Yeah… See you tomorrow."
Orihime headed into the kitchen once the front door shut and placed the still full tea cups in the sink. She immediately sunk to the floor, her back against one of the counters in the small area. She placed her fingers on her lips, a frown creasing her usually cheerful face. Why did he leave so suddenly? Was she not good enough? She buried her face in her hands, hoping with all of her heart that wasn't the case.
The entire way home Ichigo mentally scolded himself for his earlier behavior at Orihime's apartment. He couldn't believe that he had taken advantage of her like that. She had been scared, and he used that as an excuse to kiss her. But…her eyes seemed to beg him to kiss her…
"I'm home," he said as he entered the Kurosaki home and kicked his soaked shoes off before stepping into the living room.
"Onii-chan! You're just in time! I made beef stew for dinner!" exclaimed Yuzu happily from the kitchen.
"Sorry Yuzu… I'm just not hungry tonight. I'll be in my room," he said as he gave his little sister a weak smile and headed upstairs, shutting his door behind him.
"But I made your favorite!" protested Yuzu at the bottom of the stairs.
"Just leave him alone Yuzu. He's obviously upset about something, and you're not going to help by forcing him to eat dinner. He'll come down when he's hungry," said Karin in a bored voice from her position on the couch. Yuzu sighed in defeat and went back to monitoring the beef stew.
Ichigo sat on his bed and ran his hand through his hair, sighing in frustration. He was still unsure whether he had taken advantage of Orihime, or she had wanted him to kiss her the way he did. The little angel on his shoulder reprimanded him and said he should have asked for permission before doing something like what he did, while the little devil congratulated him on making the first move and pointed out that she liked every second of it. Batting the two away so he could think, Ichigo couldn't come up with a definite answer. All he knew was that while he had enjoyed the experience and it was clear that she had as well, he was ashamed for taking it so far without asking her if it was alright. They weren't even officially dating!
"What's the matter?" asked Rukia as she poked her head out of the closet.
"What are you talking about?" he said, feeling grumpier by the second.
"Did your little date go badly?" teased Rukia, noticing a vein twitch in Ichigo's forehead; she had obviously struck a nerve.
"SHUT UP!" he roared as the throw a pillow at her, missing only because she shut the closet door just in time. Picking up the pillow, he lay on his side and stared out the window. He frowned, his thoughts going over the events of the day. Sighing, he decided he should talk to Orihime the following day, hoping that he hadn't upset her in any way.
Rukia chewed on her thumbnail in thought in the darkness of the closet. 'Maybe his date really did go badly…' she thought as her brow furrowed in concern. She stayed awake the remainder of the night trying to think of ways to fix this problem her friends were having.
I hope you enjoyed this new version of the chapter, although it does remain unchanged for the most part. Leave me a review and let me know what you think!
Also, I will be unable to update for about a week as I am going out of town this weekend, and two of my managers are taking their vacations next week. Please be patient, and I hope to have the next chapter up by the end of next week! :D
- Nagi
