Looking over at the clock, Orihime jumped slightly in surprise as she realized that it was 11:58. Slamming her book shut and rolling out of her comfy chair in a very unladylike fashion, she dashed over to her dressing table to give herself a quick once-over. Finding no major fault in her appearance, Orihime smoothed out her dress and then dashed from the room.

Coming to the stairs, she skipped lightly down the steps two or three at a time and Orihime almost made it to the bottom without mishap…almost. Six steps from the bottom, Orihime's foot slipped from under her and she just barely managed to right herself before crashing down the rest of the way. Not an unusual occurrence for her, but one that usually happened without witnesses…usually.

"Are you all right?"

As she lifted her gaze, Orihime knew that wasn't the only thing rising as she said hastily, "Y-yes! Yes! I'm perfectly fine!"

Ichigo paused just inside the front entrance as she said that and then replied, "All right then. The car's ready."

It was a struggle for Orihime not to ruin the tiny bit of dignity she had left by allowing her smile to fall from her face as she heard Ichigo's response. While she had been mortified that Ichigo had witnessed her klutziness, a part of her had been thrilled that Ichigo had reacted that quickly to her predicament. His tone just now, however, had reminded her of exactly why her well-being was something of a priority for Ichigo. It was his job to look after her. He had no other motivation for doing so and that realization made Orihime's natural bubbly and happy personality deflate slightly.

Giving Ichigo a small, grateful nod as he held the door open for her and then close it behind her, Orihime then took the few seconds she had before Ichigo climbed into the driver's seat to give herself a huge mental shake. Ichigo was a bodyguard, she was his principal. Their relationship…oh, how the word brought up such lovely images of the two of them together eating a picnic lunch at the beach or even…

Without thinking, Orihime slapped her cheeks and cried out, "Enough already!"

Ever able to pick just the right moment for doing something out of the ordinary, Orihime jumped when Ichigo poked his head inside the car and asked, "What was that?"

As per usual, Orihime was about to try and laugh the whole thing off and apologize for startling Ichigo, but just as she was about to, her intuition told her to handle this differently than usual.

Taking a deep breath, Orihime replied, "I was telling myself to stop letting my imagination run wild."

Pulling his head out of the car momentarily so that he could then sit down in the driver's seat, Ichigo said, "I guess that would be one way of going about it," and Orihime's heart sank slightly until she heard him go on, saying, "but cut yourself a little slack, all right?"

Not knowing what else to say, Orihime replied automatically, "Oh...right," before she collected her thoughts enough to ask, "So, you don't think it's weird that someone my age talks to themselves and daydreams?"

Ichigo didn't respond right away as he was more focused on taking the car down the driveway, remotely opening the front gate and scanning the area outside the gate for potential threats, but as soon as the car was on the road, he said, "If that's the worst quirk you've got, then I gotta admit that it doesn't particularly surprise or shock me."

Again at a loss for a response, Orihime simply said, "Oh," after which Ichigo went on to say, "All I meant was that I've worked for quite a number of people over the years and some of them were real scumbags."

"Oh?" said Orihime in an inquisitive and slightly bewildered tone.

Pausing momentarily to make a turn, Ichigo said, "A few of them would do things or go places that…well, I'll skip the details."

Just before she said 'oh' for the third time, Orihime stopped herself and asked instead, "Why would you work for people whose habits you find detestable?"

After the words had left her mouth, she immediately clapped her hands over her mouth and said in a hasty, mortified tone, "I'm sorry! That was incredibly rude of me to ask you something so personal!"

"Well," replied Ichigo in a tone that Orihime didn't recognize as it was one where he was trying to suppress a chuckle, "I wouldn't say it was particularly rude of you to ask. Rather, I'd say it was a bit of a bold, inquisitive and just slightly brazen question to ask."

Holding up a hand to cut off the flood of words he seemed to sense coming from Orihime, Ichigo went on to say, "In answer to your question, I was just starting out when I took jobs from those scumbags I mentioned. They paid well and I was able to build a good reputation as a body guard by working hard for them, even if I didn't agree with what they did in their personal lives."

Shrugging his shoulders, Ichigo finished with, "Besides, it doesn't matter if I don't like what they do in their spare time. They have a right to protect themselves from being murdered same as anyone else. Only difference was they could afford to pay people like me to keep them alive."

Orihime opened her mouth to ask another question, but this time the bit her tongue. She needed to keep reminding herself that she didn't know Ichigo like she knew Sora and Byakuya. They didn't mind Orihime's persistent inquisitiveness and were always very patient with her, but Ichigo wasn't used to dealing with her. The last thing she wanted was to exasperate the man on his first day of work.

Again seeming to sense Orihime's inner struggle, Ichigo said calmly, "If you have more questions, just go ahead and ask them. Promise I won't take offense or get mad at you if you ask questions that I can't really answer. All right?"

"Okay then," replied Orihime slowly before she asked, "So, do you have a family or...?"

From her vantage point, Orihime wasn't able to see the knowing smirk on Ichigo's face as Orihime's sentence trailed off lamely and his voice was even and slightly detached as he replied, "My dad is a doctor and he works out of a private clinic. I have two younger sisters who are going to graduate from college in the next year or so. I have a few close friends, but I mostly keep to myself due to my line of work."

"I see," replied Orihime before asking another question, "Where do you live?"

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you. Part of my job, you understand."

"Really?!" Orihime was both fascinated and horrified by this 'revelation'.

"I'm kidding," said Ichigo in a flat tone, yet with a bit of a grin before he changed the subject by saying, "By the way, I'm just driving right now without a real good idea of where exactly you want to go. So, we can just randomly wind up wherever, or..."

Sitting up taller and shaking her head, Orihime replied hurriedly, "Oh yes! Right. I'm really sorry about that. I completely forgot that you don't know your way around and all-"

Ichigo held up a finger and said, "I never said that I don't know my way around this area. I just don't know what specific music store and hospital you wanted to visit."

Nodding quickly in understanding, Orihime answered, "The music I want to pick up is at Appoggiatura's Symposium and I also wanted to visit Cypress Inclusive Hospital."

"All right then," replied Ichigo rather distractedly as he prepared to make a turn, "Good thing you told me as I would have gone right past it in another minute or two."

Before Orihime could apologize, Ichigo distracted her by asking, "So what kind of music are you going to pick up?"

Eyes brightening with excitement, Orihime said in breathless anticipation, "A book of Chopin's Nocturnes and Preludes and sheet music for Yiruma's song 'Love Me'. I randomly came across it online and just had to have the music."

"Interesting choices," replied Ichigo as he slowed down at a stop light, "How long have you been taking lessons?"

"Well actually," said Orihime in a less enthusiastic tone, "my mother began teaching me when I was about six. She said I needed some kind of hobby and..." she hesitated slightly before finishing in a barely perceptible tone, "and she said I should learn something that would help attract the right man."

"Oh," was all Ichigo could think of to say before Orihime began rambling on, saying, "My mother was a very thorough teacher when it came to the basics of playing music, so I really wouldn't be a good pianist and enjoy it as much as I do now if she hadn't have done all that she did."

"I suppose," replied Ichigo automatically before saying, "As long as you get enjoyment out of playing, I guess that's all you can really hope for."

There was silence for a little while and Ichigo was just about to ask if Orihime was all right when she asked quietly, "Did Sora tell you who our parents really are?"

"Yes," Ichigo answered evenly, "He did."

"And?"

Frowning slightly at her in the rear view mirror, Ichigo repeated, "And what?"

As she met Ichigo's gaze, Orihime's eyes were cautious as she asked, "Well, if you know who our parents are, why..."

"Why did I take the job?" finished Ichigo in a flat tone, "Is that what you want to know?"

Opening her mouth and finding that her voice didn't want to cooperate, Orihime settled for a mere nod of assent.

Shaking his head, Ichigo returned his gaze to the road as he said in a strained yet surprisingly patient tone, "In case I didn't make it quite clear earlier, up until about a year ago, almost all my jobs were done for some highly unsavory characters in prestigious positions. Some of them may have even been personal acquaintances of your parents, such as Kisuragi Yasha and Naoko Kinomoto. Recognize their names?"

Orihime frowned for a moment or two in concentration before her expression cleared in complete shock and Ichigo went on, saying, "That's right. I was hired by those two as well as a few others in the infamous vampire circles as well as a few crime bosses."

Flicking on his turn signal, Ichigo said sternly, "Now, don't get the wrong idea and think that I take every single job that's ever been offered me. There have been several times over the years where I've refused to guard someone based on my moral code. While I do believe in giving criminals a fair trial and making the punishment fit the crime, if a person's vices causes him or her to become an absolute monster, I will not put myself in harm's way to save them. Paid or not."

This time it was Orihime's turn to utter a simple, "Oh," before Ichigo continued with, "Also, I am a big believer in the idea that while a person's upbringing can have an impact on their life, to my mind it's then that person's choice whether their past will have a positive or negative influence on their future. We cannot control another person's actions or choices, but we can choose how much control those things will have over our own actions and choices."

Waiting until Orihime's eyes connected with his again in the rear view mirror, Ichigo said, "So, in a nutshell, it really doesn't matter to me who your parents are. Sure, it helps give me an idea of some issues that I may have to face during the course of this job, but it doesn't define my perception of who you are."

Next moment, he put the car in park and said, "That being said, we're here."

Snapping back to reality, Orihime was just reaching for the door handle when Ichigo said in a soft, authoritative tone, "Wait," and she immediately retracted her hand. Looking around her, Orihime realized that Ichigo had parked the car a little ways away from the music store. Actually, to be more precise, he had parked on the street by a park that they would have to cross through in order to get to the music store.

Realizing that Ichigo had turned around in his seat and was waiting for her to look at him, Orihime immediately sat up taller and gave him her full attention. Apparently, something about her actions amused him as the corners of his mouth softened slightly, but the moment passed quickly and Ichigo was again in control of his expressions.

"From what your brother told me," Ichigo began, "he's not sure who may be targeting you, so we're going to use a bit of a ruse when we're out in public. Unlike most of my jobs, people aren't used to seeing you with a bodyguard, so me going out there with you will look far too suspicious."

Orihime was about to say something, but thought better of it and closed her mouth tightly. Ichigo, however, asked, "What's on your mind?"

Flushing slightly, Orihime inquired timidly, "If someone asked who you were, couldn't I pretend that you were a relative or new...boyfriend or something like that?"

This time, Ichigo didn't restrain his grin of amusement as he replied, "An interesting notion. However, any supernatural being would be able to pick up on the fact that I'm a werewolf and therefore see through the ruse. Also, I don't have a great desire to be mistaken for an overprotective boyfriend who needs to keep his girl within arm's reach at all times."

Becoming serious again, Ichigo explained, "So, when we are out in public, I am going to shift into my second form and watch over you that way. If I sense danger approaching, I'll pull you away insistently or change back into my regular form depending on the severity of the situation."

Before Orihime could ask what Ichigo's second form was, his face seemed to waver for a moment before shooting out of sight. Involuntarily letting out a gasp of surprise, Orihime pulled herself forward to look into the driver's seat. In Ichigo's place was a bigger than average Shibu Inu dog. Ichigo's clothing was draped across the seat, but the dog quickly gripped the clothes in his jaws and shoved them under the driver's seat.

Staring in disbelief at the dog, Orihime jumped slightly when the dog began talking to her, saying, "Once we're outside the car, I'm not going to talk at all as that would certainly blow my cover, so if you have any questions, now's the time to ask."

In a slightly dazed voice, Orihime said, "I didn't know werewolves could shift like that."

"My father's a werewolf, but my mother was a shifter," Ichigo explained, "So, during the full moon, while I do shift involuntarily into an actual wolf form, I'm still mostly in control of my actions. On the flip side, I had to work out five times as much to be physically fit enough to grapple with just about any kind of assailant, whereas I might not have needed to it I had been a full werewolf."

"Oh," Orihime said initially before asking, "But won't it be just as suspicious for me to suddenly have a pet dog? And actually, I don't have a collar or tags for you, so won't it look like I'm looking after a stray."

"People are far more likely to buy the whole 'I just bought a new pet' story then 'Meet my new boyfriend who follows me around everywhere'," replied Ichigo, "And as for a collar with tags, there's one in my bag if you wouldn't mind pulling it out."

Orihime did so and then carefully fastened it around Ichigo's neck. She looked at the name plate and read 'Ichi' printed on it.

"All right then," said Ichigo matter-of-factly, "if you wouldn't mind opening the door for me, we can head on over to pick up your music."

Author's Note:

Once again, I'm not going to write much here since I don't really have a whole lot to say. Another update that was way too long in the 'I don't know where to take this next' phase. I'm hoping to have another chapter done before summer is over, if not a whole lot sooner than that. However, I can't guarantee anything at this point since there are a lot of other stories that have been waiting for an update as well and now I'm starting to sound like I'm giving excuses so I'll just stop.

Hope you liked it and don't hesitate to let me know if there are any inconsistencies or ideas that you think would help the plot along!