A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews. I love you all so much, lol. Thanks for reading and reviewing. ^-^ Just because you all are so awesome, here's a longer-than-normal-chapter. :D Please enjoy.

Also, there will be brief POV changes to Ichigo every once in a while. You'll know what I mean when you see it, but it's just necessary to change it over temporarily, to get the point that I want to get to.

Also, also, please excuse the sudden friendship thingy between Rukia and Orihime. Orihime is my favorite character, and Rukia isn't exactly my favorite, but I can't deny it anymore. I love the close friend-y scenes between Orihime and Rukia. It's a good friendship. :D Anywhoooo.

Enjoy the chappy!

Bolded, Italic font is Hollow Ichigo.


Chapter 9

Orihime's POV

"I'm so glad you're staying over here for a while!" Yuzu-chan exclaimed as I stood next to her. We were making sandwiches, and Yuzu-chan only allowed me to make sandwiches with the food that was out. So that meant no new recipes. It was unfortunate, but this was their house, and I needed to follow the rules. I smiled at her.

"Thank you very much for letting me stay here." I smiled back at her. Inside, I felt really nervous about what was going to happen. I was going to be in the same household as Kurosaki-kun. The thought made my face turn red.

"It's perfectly alright," She spoke happily. "Plus I'm sure Ichi-nii will be even more excited about you being here too, since you'll be in the same place and all." Kurosaki-kun is happy about me being here? "You know, we didn't get to see him that much earlier this week." I formed my mouth into an 'O' shape.

"Oh? Why was that?" I asked her, finishing a sandwich and putting it on a plate. She turned to me and smiled.

"Ichi-nii said you went on a vacation and got kinda hurt. So for… 3 days I think, he said he would go check on you, to make sure you were okay." My heart flipped. Earlier this week? For 3 days? It sounded like it was the time that I was unconscious at Urahara-san's shop. My face felt even hotter now. I would have never thought Kurosaki-kun would have come to see me when I was out of it after Hueco Mundo.

"H-how did you manage to get the information out of him?" I asked her, trying to sound like it was a joke. I was serious about the question, but it's rude to ask about something like that, with such a serious attitude… She put one of her sandwiches on the plate.

"Surprisingly, he's been very chatty lately." She paused, putting her finger on her chin. "Well, maybe chatty isn't the best word. More like honest and open. If we asked him a question, he'd answer it with the truth." She smiled at me. "And trust me, we know when he's telling the truth versus lying. It's different than the way Ichi-nii used to be, but he gives off a more mature attitude now." She handed me one of the plates with the sandwiches. "Ichi-nii will always be Ichi-nii, and that's what's important, right?" I softened my gaze at her. That's right… Kurosaki-kun will always be the same. He'll always be rough around the edges, but he's a kind, caring person on the inside. I smiled back at her.

"Thank you." She just tilted her head, looking confused.

"For what?" She questioned.

"Just thank you for being Yuzu-chan." I grinned at her, patting her head with my free hand. She juts beamed back at me, and made her way into the dining room, where I heard Kurosaki-san exclaim.

"It's about time lunch is ready!"

"It didn't take more than 10 minutes, goat-chin." Karin-chan complained at him.

"Sorry to make you wait, Dad." Yuzu-chan apologized to her father.

Kurosaki-kun's family was all so kind. They all had different personalities, but that's what made them all so special. It kind of made me wish I had a family like this… Or at least a family at all.

"Where's Inoue?" I heard Kuchiki-san say my name from the dining room. I realized I was still standing in the kitchen with a plate full of sandwiches. I rushed into the other room, putting on a smile. I didn't know what it was, but my smile didn't feel normal. I shook it off.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I just got caught up thinking." I laughed awkwardly, putting the second plate on the table. Kurosaki-kun gave me a rare, but warm smile, which made my heart flutter. Surely he meant nothing special with his smile… Right?

"Daydreaming again, Inoue?" He rested his head in his hand. I felt my face get even hotter. I laughed awkwardly in response, and took a seat next to Kuchiki-san, who was already nibbling on her sandwich. I looked at her, and she looked at me, just giving me a weak smile. It was silent for a few minutes, as everyone was eating, but suddenly, Kurosaki-san broke the silence.

"So who wants to have a family game night?!" He exclaimed, obviously very excited about his idea. I shrugged slightly, looking back at Kuchiki-san.

"I-I'm sorry, Kuchiki-san and I are going to go out for a bit tonight." Everyone else tilted their heads in confusion, just as Yuzu-chan did earlier. "U-Um, Kuchiki-san and I are going to-" I got cut short as Kuchiki-san nudged my side under the table. I grabbed it in pain, as it hurt a bit. Kurosaki-kun just looked worriedly at me from the other side of the table. I immediately let go. I didn't want to have him worrying about me. I continued,

"Have some female bonding time?" She nudged me again, and I winced in pain.

"We won't be long, just for an hour or so." I looked over at Kuchiki-san again, and she nodded her head in acceptance to my explanation. Was it that bad to tell them where we were going?

"Where are you two going?" Yuzu-chan wondered. Kuchiki-san just looked at me with eyes that clearly said, 'No.'

"U-Um, secret…" I mumbled. Kurosaki-kun's face looked even more worried. I flailed my hands in the air. "I-I-It's fine. We won't get hurt, and we won't be out that long." His eyes told me that he didn't seem to believe my explanation.

"I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but if it's going to be tonight, I'm going to want to need to know where you're going. Just because it's at night, there can be creeps and such." Kurosaki-san spoke quietly as he ate his sandwich

"You're a creep…" Kurosaki-kun mumbled under his breath.

Kurosaki-san ignored Kurosaki-kun's remark and continued, "Just in case I can know where you're going, if your family calls to know where you are." I felt a sharp pain in my heart, and I tried my best to not show it on my face.

"I-I don't have any family, really… Just far away relatives." I faked a laugh, trying to hold back some tears. "R-Remember Sora Inoue from a few years ago? H-he was my brother." I put on a smile, even though it hurt immensely to do so. "H-He was the only family I-I had left." I took a big bite from my sandwich to try to distract myself. I just heard a quiet, "Oh, right…" from Kurosaki-san, "I remember…" Kuchiki-san suddenly spoke up.

"We're going to the public bath house." She said, trying to change the subject. Her face appeared to be slightly red as well. "Inoue said it was something amazing that I needed to experience before I left." She took a small bite out of her sandwich as well. I nodded, swallowing my bite of sandwich.
"That's not such a big deal…" Karin-chan responded. I agreed with her, thinking it wasn't a big deal as well. Apparently it was to Kuchiki-san though, even though I didn't know the reason why.

"T-there's one by my apartment that's really nice. I go there once in a while." I looked over at Kuchiki-san, pouting a bit. I started to feel bad again. "It was on short notice though… Since I just found out that she's leaving…" She just looked at me, smiling slightly. "Sorry…" I whispered to her. The atmosphere suddenly felt really awkward.

"Well, if that's the case, I'm sending Ichigo along with you." Kurosaki-san spoke to us.

"W-what!!?!" Kurosaki-kun suddenly exclaimed, standing up from his seat. "W-why?!"

"Don't tell me you didn't remember all those happenings with those perverts that happened a few weeks ago, around that area." Karin-chan just replied to him nonchalantly.

Kurosaki-kun wasn't here to hear about that though… Neither was I, I suppose… We were in Hueco Mundo at the time. I shuddered slightly from remembering that horrid place.

"O-Oh, right." He mumbled, lying. His face was red and I wondered why though.

"So I'm sending you along to protect them." Kurosaki-san smiled. Kurosaki-kun's face only got redder.

"Orihime-neechan, can we come too?" Yuzu-chan asked, pointing to herself and Karin-chan. I looked over at Kuchiki-san, and she just nodded slightly.

"A-Ah, sure. The more the merrier, right?" I faked another laugh. Karin-chan just shrugged. She seemed indifferent about it.

"Dad, are you coming along too?" Yuzu-chan asked him as well. Kurosaki-kun just jumped up from his seat again.

"No way, that pervert is not coming along!" He pointed fiercely at his father. Was Kurosaki-san really a pervert? He just seemed really funny to me.

"Awww, Ichigo, don't call daddy a pervert!!" Kurosaki-san whined, punching Kurosaki-kun in the side. He fell over in pain, which caused me to immediately start worrying about him. I had to stay where I was at though. I couldn't let my self be near him, since I'd only cause him more burden and pain. Kurosaki-san just continued, "I have to stay here anyway, just in case something happens, I need to be here to hold down the fort." He put on a big grin and gave us the thumbs up. Kurosaki-kun just sunk back down into his chair, breathing what seemed to be a sigh of relief. I just forced another laugh, beginning to stand up.

"I-I'll clean up." I stuttered, picking up everyone's plates.

"I'll help." Kuchiki-san mumbled to me, standing up as well. I don't know what caused it or why, but it almost seemed like Kuchiki-san and I were closer than ever.


Ichigo's POV (Later that evening)

"Oi, Karin, Yuzu, are you ready to go?" I yelled to them. Karin walked over to my side, with Yuzu jumping along side her.

"Yup! I'm so excited!!" Yuzu spoke happily. "Oh, Where's Ruika-neechan and Orihime-neechan? I know I didn't see them in our room." Her tone changing, but her voice was still plenty loud. That's right, where were they? We had planned on leaving at 7, and it was already 7:15.

"I'll get them." Karin spoke, starting to head towards the hall, towards the Inoue's temporary room, but stopped to see that they were already coming out from her room.

"Ehehe, sorry, Kuchiki-san and I got caught up talking." Inoue apologized, fiddling around with the strap on the bag she was bringing along. "Should we go?" She pointed to the door. I just nodded and both Inoue and Rukia walked together to the door, still talking.

Since when did they get to be so close? And how could they have gotten caught up talking? Rukia was practically silent all day? Or maybe it was because she was around me… I shook off my thoughts and followed behind them. Dad called me over before I left though.

"Ichigo, take care of your sisters," He spoke calmly, "And…" I raised my eyebrows.

"And?" I asked. He just patted me on the back.

"And don't think about sneaking a peek. Like I said, I know Orihime-chan is beautiful, but- OOOPFF" I cut him short by punching him in the stomach. He immediately dropped to the ground.

"I'm not like you, you nasty pervert!!" I yelled at him. My face felt like it was on fire. "I'm leaving," I huffed, and hastily made my exit out the door. Karin and Yuzu were waiting for me outside.

"Is Dad being weird again?" Yuzu asked me, starting to walk. Karin just snorted.

"When is he not weird?" She put her hands in her pockets and walked along with Yuzu. I looked ahead and Inoue and Rukia weren't too far ahead of us.

"Uh, Inoue is leading the way, right?" I asked. If she was just walking aimlessly, that was bad. Karin and Yuzu just shrugged, causing me to sigh heavily.

I watched Rukia and Inoue talk to each other as we were walking. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I could see their actions. Rukia said something to Inoue, which caused her to turn bright red. Rukia smiled and laughed a bit, which caused Inoue to smile too.

It was good to see that Rukia wasn't so sullen all the time. I would have preferred if it was just around me, and not to everyone. I did feel kind of bad about how I responded to her confession earlier. I wanted to be honest with her, and I'm sure that's how she would have wanted it to be anyway.

"We're here!" Inoue exclaimed, interrupting my thinking. I looked up, and she was right. Boy, I must have been in deep thought to not realize how long it took to get here. Yuzu ran up to Inoue's side, grabbing her hand. I felt a bit jealous of her, being able to hold her hand so easily like that.

Wait…

Jealous?

You want to hold her hand too.

N-Not particularly…

And you want to do other certain things to her. I should know, I'm part of your mind too.

N-no, I don't know what you're talking about.

I know I wouldn't mind. She has such a nice rack; I'd love to bury my-

Inoue cut my battle with my hollow short, yet again.

"Kurosaki-kun?" She looked up at me with big, gray eyes. I had a sudden urge to grab her and kiss her again, but I forced myself not to do anything. I just heard my hollow laugh at me again.

"Ichi-nii, let's go inside!" Yuzu exclaimed, pointing to the entrance. I just nodded remembering the recent conversation with my hollow. I felt my face heat up, and blood rush… Somewhere.

We all went into the building, only to be greeted by an older woman and man. They appeared to be a couple.

"Oh, Orihime-chan, it's so good to see you!" The older woman smiled gently at Inoue. "We haven't seen you for so long, we were beginning to worry that you wouldn't show up anymore." Inoue just laughed, which seemed kind of forced.

"Aha, y-yeah, I kind of took a little… Trip. I'm back now." The older man pointed to us.

"Friends of yours?" He asked in a low voice. She nodded, smiling.

"This is Rukia Kuchiki-san," She pointed to Rukia. "And these are Karin, Yuzu, and Ichigo Kurosaki." She pointed to us as well. Even though she was just giving an introduction, I kind of like the way she said my name. It sounded so different when it came from her.

"Kurosaki-kun then, I presume?' His voice bellowed out again. I just nodded awkwardly. What point were they trying to make? The old woman just nudged Inoue's side, laughing softly. Inoue's face just turned red.

"H-Hitomi-san…" Inoue stuttered quietly. The older man just laughed.

"Well, since you're friends of Orihime-chan, we'll let you have this session on the house." He smiled. "Of course, you do know that this is a separated bath, right?" He eyes me suspiciously. Why was he looking at only me like that?

"O-Of course they know, Arata-san." She motioned to us to follow her. "Thank you very much." She smiled to the couple, bowing slightly. Yuzu and Rukia followed Inoue, with Yuzu still holding her hand. Karin and I followed slowly behind them, until we hit a wall with two posters with arrows. One pointed left, for the women's bath, and one pointed right for the men's bath.

"We'll meet back out here in an hour maybe?" Rukia suggested. I shrugged. It didn't matter to me either way.

"Sounds great!" Yuzu exclaimed.

"Yuzu, you'll be out with the rest of us." Karin explained to Yuzu. "It's only Ichi-nii we need to worry about." Worry about me? For what?!

You're being paranoid…

"L-let's go!" Inoue grabbed Yuzu's hand, and dragged her into the women's side. Karin just followed, which left me with Rukia. She spoke quietly.

"Don't be a pervert." And with that she left. I was left there standing baffled. Why did everyone think I was a pervert?!

Because you're only thinking of Orihime in a bad, naughty way. My hollow cackled. I tried to ignore him and went into the men's side. As I went in, the interior seemed to get more and more extravagant. Not in a bad way though, it just went from a normal bathhouse entrance, to looking like we were at Hot Springs, not a bathhouse. There was no one else in the locker area, which made me wonder if I was the only one here on this side.

I shrugged it off and started to remove my clothes, folding them, and putting them into a locker. It was only a matter of minutes until I was into the actual bathhouse portion of the building, and the interior was amazing. No wonder Inoue came here all the time. I slowly got into the water, and let myself relax. I was the only guy in here, with the exception of the old man in the front. I had to admit the silence was nice.

That was, until I heard familiar voices. I sat up straighter, to see if I could hear where they were coming from.
There wasn't anyone else coming in from the guy's side, but I could suddenly hear the voices of Yuzu, Inoue, and Rukia, coming from the other side of the wall. It wasn't very soundproof. In fact, I could hear them very, very clearly.

I wondered if they knew I could hear them.

Well, it's not my fault if they did. It was their fault for talking so loud, right?

All I could do was listen to their entire conversation.


Orihime's POV

"Waaah, this place is so cool!" Yuzu-chan said happily. I smiled at her.

"I'm glad you like it." I looked over at Rukia, who was starry-eyed as well.

"No wonder you go here, this place is amazing." She smiled at me. "We have bathhouses in Soul Society too, but it's nothing like this." I wrapped the towel around my body a bit tighter, so it wouldn't fall off or anything. Karin-chan and Yuzu-chan were already in the bath, and they looked plenty happy.

"We should probably get in as well," Rukia spoke again. I nodded as response. We both got in to a spot relatively close to a big wall, in which we leaned back against it, letting our heads rest. Yuzu-chan and Karin-chan had made their way over to us from where they were originally. Yuzu-chan was beaming at us, and Karin-chan even had a little smile on her face.

"I have to admit, this place is pretty nice." Karin-chan said. "I'll have to remember to come here again." I nodded.

"It is a good place. The owners are very nice too, I like them a lot." I smiled at her.

"How do you know the owners?" Kuchiki-san asked me, letting herself relax even more.

"Ah, they're Tatsuki-chan's relatives… They actually helped me out a lot too when my brother passed away." Yuzu-chan's happy face suddenly turned sad.

"I-I'm sorry…" I shook my head at her, waving my hands frantically, trying to comfort her.

"N-no, it's fine. I'm all fin-" I stopped speaking, as my towel was starting to slip off. "Ah, no!" I exclaimed. Karin-chan just laughed.

"What are you laughing for? She wouldn't laugh at you if your towel fell off." Yuzu-chan complained. I fixed my towel.

"I-I-It's quite alright Yuzu-chan. Some of the towels here are just a bit small." Karin-chan just snorted, in response.

"Orihime-chan, I don't think it's the towels are too small, I think something else is too big." I felt my face heat up immensely. Yuzu-chan pouted her lips at her remark, and Kuchiki-san just laughed. I smiled awkwardly.

"T-think what you want." I stuttered, still feeling embarrassed. Yuzu-chan suddenly got excited again.

"Karin, Karin, let's go over there!!" She pointed to the corner with the small waterfall. Yes, this place even had a waterfall. The owners had made it look like a waterfall, even though it was just its way of re-cycling the water around. Karin-chan and Yuzu-chan left, leaving Kuchiki-san and I alone again.

"Kuchiki-san… Thanks for letting me take you here." I thanked her quietly. "And thanks for letting me talk to you more." I looked at her with a soft tone in my voice. "We never seemed to have the chance to get each other before, but I'm glad I got to know you better before you leave." She gave me a crooked smile. "Since I'm not sure when I'll be able to see you again."

"Rukia." She spoke.

"Huh?" I asked her.

"Call me Rukia." My face broke out into a huge smile.

"Rukia-chan, please call me Orihime." She just continued to smile. It was a few minutes had passed, until she started to speak again.

"In- Orihime… Can I ask you another question?" She asked me, staring at the ceiling. We had been conversing a lot within the last 12 hours, and have been asking questions as well, so another one didn't seem like that big of a deal.

"Oh, yeah, sure." I responded to her.

"When you love someone… What do you feel?" She asked nonchalantly. I felt my face heat up again.

"W-why are you asking me?" I stuttered. She just looked at me with eyes that said, 'You're kidding, right?'

"It's really obvious Orihime." She chuckled half-heartedly. I looked at her seriously. Was it really that obvious? "But I'm just curious overall."

"A-ah… I see…" I paused. "U-um, to answer your question," I fiddled around with my fingers in the water. "For me, I feel like I could give everything for… Said person." Rukia-chan laughed at the temporary name I gave Kurosaki-kun. "Most of the time, my heart beats faster when I'm around him or even when his name is mentioned." I looked over at Rukia-chan. Her face was red, and she seemed to be agreeing with me.

"But…" I spoke, but paused again.

"But?" She questioned.

"It could just be me, but I feel like that I'm only a burden him. That I can only cause him pain and hurt. And so I love him so much, that I have to try to let him go, so he won't be hurt anymore." Her eyes showed what seemed like a revelation.

"Anything else?" She whispered, almost inaudibly. I nodded at her, my gaze softening.

"I would give my life for him…" I spoke slowly.

I almost did anyway, with the Hōgyoku…

She just looked at me, like everything I had said made so much sense. She responded by bursting out into laughter.

"W-was I that serious?" I asked her worriedly. I normally wasn't super serious, so she would have thought that this was some sort of joke on my part.

"No, no, it's not you." She wiped her eyes, still laughing a bit. "I'm just thinking about what you said, is all." I nodded in response. I didn't want to poke into her life more than I already had, by wondering what exactly she was thinking. Karin-chan and Yuzu-chan had looked over to us to see what all the commotion was about. Rukia-chan just waved them off, as to tell them that all was fine.

"Rukia-chan, can I ask you another question too?" She nodded.

"Anything." She smiled a bit. I submersed myself a bit lower into the water.

"W-What can I do to be less afraid?" I stuttered. This was definitely a tough question for me to ask, especially since I meant to refer most of the question to a certain individual.

"It depends on what it is." She paused, putting her finger on her chin. "Most of the time, you have to gradually submit yourself to your fear, getting used to it over time. Either that, or have a enormous shock at once, of your fear." She tilted her head to the side. "What are you afraid of?" I shuddered a bit.

"W-well, Aizen is still a definite one, along with the Arrancar." I stuttered again, starting to feel afraid once more, even though I was just talking about them.

"But they're all destroyed, you have no reason to be afraid of them." She questioned my answer. I shook my head at her.

"But it's all so real…" I replied, "My dreams… I feel like I'm still in Hueco Mundo." I shuddered again. "I relive those horrible memories over and over again." I faked another laugh.

"What kind of memories?" Rukia-chan's voice suddenly got more gentle. "But of course, if you don't want to tell me, I understand." I shook my head at her again.

"N-no, it's fine…" I sniffed, trying to hold back more tears that were trying to escape. All because I was too weak. "I remember the times I got beat up by other Arrancar. Or, um…" I paused, "Kind of violated, by other Espada." I choked down the lump in my throat.

"What?!" Her voice got a bit louder. I waved my hands at her frantically. "They didn't… Did they?"

"N-no, it's fine. They didn't do that…" I wiped my eyes. "But I still feel the pain every time I wake up. From both the beatings and other stuff." I felt Rukia's hand on my back, as a sign of comfort.

"I'm sorry Orihime…" She apologized quietly. I shook my head yet again.

"N-no, it's fine. I'm back, and that's what matters." I bit my lip. She looked at me worriedly. "And…" I paused again. "His eyes…" Her eyes got big, like she knew exactly what I was talking about.

"Orihime… I know, it seems scary sometimes, but he's still the same person." I nodded.

"I know that… I know more than anyone." I sniffed. "I'm just afraid that he isn't able to really see me." She looked at me softly.

"Orihime, I'm sure he sees you more than anyone else." She smiled. "You have nothing to worry about, okay?" Karin-chan and Yuzu-chan were waving to us over by the wash basins, motioning to join them. "You don't need to be afraid." She stood up and held out her hand. "Let's go Orihime." She smiled at me one last time, and gave me the best advice I've ever gotten.

"Hold your head high, be confident, don't let your fears get to you. And don't forget to just be yourself, Orihime."


Ichigo's POV (Outside the Bathhouse)

I scratched the back of my head, feeling slightly guilty. I had heard the entire conversation of Inoue and Rukia's. I wanted to think that the said person and him they kept referring to was me, but it was best not to assume.

"Orihime-neechan, let's go back here together again sometime!" I heard Yuzu's voice gradually getting louder.

"Ah, s-sure," I heard Inoue reply as well. I turned around to see all of the girls on their way outside. "Thank you again for letting us use the baths." Inoue thanked the owners again, whom just smiled and waved them goodbye.

"Did you two have fun?" I asked Karin and Yuzu. It was pretty obvious that Yuzu enjoyed herself, but I thought I'd ask anyway.

"Yup," replied Karin. "It was really funny when Orihime-chan's towel started to-"

"AH!" Inoue quickly covered Karin's mouth, which caught both of surprise. Yuzu just laughed, and Rukia smiled. "Shhh, that's not something to be repeated Karin-chan." Inoue's face looked quite flushed.

"W-w-we should go. Come on Karin-chan, Yuzu-chan." Inoue grabbed Karin's hand and Yuzu grabbed a hold of Inoue's other hand. In the end, Inoue was dragging Karin, and Yuzu was dragging Inoue. Rukia and I were left standing in front of the bathhouse.

"You pervert." She mumbled.

"What? What did I do?!" I exclaimed at her. She just smirked at me.

"You heard our entire conversation, didn't you?" She folded her arms, shifting her weight to one side.

"W-well, if you didn't talk so loud, maybe I wouldn't have." I stuttered back, as a reply. Her expression changed from a snarky one to a gentle one.

"Take care of her Ichigo." I looked down to her, seeing the subtle happiness in her eyes. "She's an amazing, but fragile person." I saw her look off at Inoue in the distance. "I guess that's what makes her special."

"I didn't need you to tell me that." I responded, smiling slightly. She just laughed a bit.

"Thank you Ichigo." She turned back to look at me. I nodded to her.

"Take care." I whispered to her. She nodded to me as well.

And that's when I saw Rukia Kuchiki disappear into the dark night.


A/N: Sorry for any OOC characters.

Sorry for so much weird friendship building Orihime+Rukia stuffs.

I hope you liked the extra long chapter though.

Sorry if it was random.

Please review if you liked it. No flames please. Not even a spark.