Orihime woke the next morning and immediately went to see how her face was doing. Looking in the mirror, she was relieved that the bruise had lightened considerably. She could cover it up with make-up and no one would even notice. She could finally go back to school. Her mood was brought down when she realized what going to school actually meant. If she went to school, she would have to play the part of Ichigo's girlfriend. It was much easier when they were apart, but out in public she would have to work twice as hard to make it believable. She had to make it believable for other people. She had already made her choice, now was not the time to be feeling bad for herself. Confident that she would play her role well, she got ready for school.

When she left her apartment, Ichigo was waiting for her. He was happy to see her, and to see that she had been able to cover up the bruise. Her face was so pretty, it would have been a shame to have it marred for any longer. Now she was as pretty as ever. Smiling at her, he said, "Are you feeling better today?" Checking her temperature, he touched their foreheads together. Orihime had the instinct to flinch, but held it back. Couples did this sort of thing, she couldn't seem like it made her uncomfortable. She must have achieved her goal because Ichigo didn't say anything about it. He felt bad about the other night, but almost wished he had done it sooner. Orihime must've thought he was a pushover and that was why she never went out with him. He had finally showed her his dominant side and she had agreed to be with him. In his mind, it was a good thing. He didn't even consider the idea that Orihime was faking it, which means she was succeeding.

They had walked to the school hand in hand, talking energetically. Ichigo was telling her about hunting down a tricky hollow and Orihime played along with the story, acting impressed that he had managed to track down the pesky thing. People watched them with envious eyes. They looked so happy, lost in their own world. But Orihime was wary of their stares. If they looked closely, would they see the anxiety she felt at being so close to Ichigo? Would they be able to tell that she didn't mean any of the sweet things she was saying to him? She only hoped that everyone would believe that they were happy together. If they had no reason to doubt it, then Ichigo wouldn't either. Once they reached Orihime's class, they had to part ways. Ichigo kissed her cheek and said goodbye. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she walked into her class.

Tatsuki immediately started interrogating Orihime about her relationship. Orihime had prepared for this. She had to make Tatsuki really believe that she loved Ichigo. Tatsuki was her best friend, so she had to be extra convincing or Tatsuki would never believe it. Plastering a smile onto her face, she started to tell Tatsuki the story of how they got together, "You should have seen it, Tatsuki. I had been crying, I don't even remember why now," Orihime lied, but continued on anyway, "I was running and ran into him. We both fell to the ground and he comforted me while I cried into his shoulder. Then he told me that he loved me. I should've known that he did, but I had been so focused on myself that I didn't see his feelings. But you know I've always loved him, right? I was so in shock that he asked me that I wasn't able to answer. Then he kissed me and I knew that it was for real. So of course I agreed and now here we are." Orihime finished her story and looked at her best friend. From the look on her face she could tell that Tatsuki had bought every word of it. "I'm so happy for you, Orihime! I've watched you fawn over that boy for years, now your hard work has finally payed off. If he ever hurts you though, I'll have to kill him." Laughing, Tatsuki embraced Orihime. Orihime almost laughed at the irony. 'Oh, Tatsuki. If you only knew…"

Her classes were as hard as ever. She was really behind after missing yesterday and had to get the notes from Tatsuki. Luckily, she easily understood what she had missed so doing the work was going to be easier than she thought. It would still take a while, but at least she wouldn't struggle. When her class was over, Orihime went to the library to finish her work. After a while, her stomach growled. She always got too involved in her studies, so forgetting meals was nothing new for her. Standing, she closed her books and went to the cafeteria. Thankfully this place was open as long as the campus was. Eager to get back to her work, Orihime basically inhaled her food. She was determined to finish all of this in one night. Any longer and she would risk falling even farther behind and that was something that she didn't want. On her way back to the library, she heard someone calling out to her. When she turned she saw that Uryu.

It had been a while since they saw each other. Their classes were on opposite sides of the campus, so seeing each other was some kind of a miracle. They didn't hang out often either, Orihime was always too busy with school to do anything afterwards. She suddenly felt bad for growing away from her friends. It wasn't really her fault though. After the fight was over, they really didn't have any reason to stay friends. she had been so focused on her problems that she didn't even notice anything else. It was something that she regretted now as she watched Uryu run to catch up to her. Stopping beside her, he asked, "So there's this rumor that you and Ichigo are a couple now, is it true?" He was never someone that believed rumors, he needed to hear the truth from the source. This was especially true when his friends were involved. Orihime tried to act embarrassed, "It's not really that big of a deal. I can't believe the news had spread so fast in only a day." Uryu looked skeptical, "Of course it would spread. The two most sought after people finally agree to a relationship, but with each other. All the girls are jealous of you and all the guys hate Ichigo. Well I have some things to do, it was nice seeing you. Goodbye." With that, Uryu walked off.

What Uryu said made sense. When they first started here, they had received multiple confessions. But they always turned them down until finally everyone agreed that no one would try to go after them. It would be unfair for one person to get one of the idols, so no one got to be with them. It was like something you would see in a manga. But Orihime and Ichigo had been thankful for it, they would no longer have to turn people down. Now they were together so everyone else was a mix of upset and happy. If they were a normal couple, Orihime would have been proud that everyone else was jealous. But they weren't a normal couple. Normal couples were drawn together by love, their relationship was built on fear. It was quite sad, actually. Everyone was jealous of their relationship, but it was just a farce. It wasn't real. Everything that they believed was a lie. Sitting down to continue her work, Orihime thought about what she was doing. She was pretending to be something that she wasn't and it was exhausting. She wondered how long she could keep this up.

Finishing her work, Orihime packed up her things and left the library. Of course, Ichigo was waiting outside to walk her home. The walk back to her apartment was quiet. He seemed to be thinking about something and Orihime wondered what it was. They didn't say a single word to each other until they reached her door. Reaching for her keys, she heard him ask, "Can I come in?" His tone said that there was no room for an argument so she just agreed. They went inside and she walked towards the bathroom. Grabbing her arm, he stopped her. Orihime felt fear shoot through her at his tight grip. What had she done? Did he realize that she was faking it? A million scenarios flashed in her mind until he finally said, "What were you doing with Uryu today?" She was confused. What did Uryu have to do with this? "We were just talking," feeling his grip tighten, she continued, "We hardly ever get to see each other. We were just catching up." Ichigo's face grew even darker. He seemed to dislike her answer, but Orihime couldn't understand why. His grip kept getting tighter and she cried out. He disliked that even more. Pulling his arm back, he slapped her.

Orihime felt the sting reverberate through her whole body. She was frozen to her spot, too scared to even try to defend herself. Why was this happening? Her thoughts were a jumbled mess and while she was trying to sort them, Ichigo started talking. "Don't try to lie to me! I saw you guys together. You were blushing, so what were you guys talking about?" Orihime was stunned. She had been blushing because she was telling Uryu about Ichigo. Why was he getting mad about it? Was he really this jealous? Orihime thought that his possessiveness was targeted toawrds Ulquiorra. Apparently that was wrong, he seemed to be jealous of every male in her life. She was trying to think of the right thing to say when Ichigo grew impatient. Grabbing her hair, he yelled into her face, "You whore! You don't even have a way to explain yourself, do you?" He slapped her again. Ichigo was careful not to hit her too hard. If he hit harder it would cause bruises that she couldn't cover up and she would have to miss school again. He worked hard to hold back, but she was making it so difficult. If she would just behave, he wouldn't have to hit her. It really was all her fault. He wasn't at fault here.

He pulled on her hair, a few strands coming loose from her scalp. Orihime cried out. Her sounds just made him angrier, "If you have time to cry, then you have time to answer my questions! Now tell me what you were talking about with Uryu!" He wanted her to give him answers, but he wasn't giving her time to say anything. He yanked on her hair again, her mouth opened to scream but she held it back. She finally managed to reply, "I was talking to him about you. He wanted to know if we were really together. I'm sorry. But it really was nothing." He had raised his hand to hit her, but it stopped in the air. Smiling, he let go of her and said, "Well why didn't you say so earlier? You know, if you were smarter I wouldn't have to keep doing these things. Really Orihime, can't you think about your actions a little bit? Try to consider how your actions will affect me, okay? I'm sorry that it came to this, but it really is your fault. You should be thankful, I even held back for your sake. You'll still be able to go to school tomorrow. I should get home. Consider your behavior today, Orihime. Make sure it doesn't happen again. I love you. See you tomorrow!" He kissed her cheek and left. When she heard the door shut, Orihime sank to the floor.

She sat there for a while, thinking about what Ichigo had said. He was right, it was her fault. If she had just ignored Uryu none of this would have happened. If she took in her surroundings and saw Ichigo watching them, she could have avoided this. She was stupid and she probably deserved this. After all, it was her fault he was forced to do this in the first place. First she fell in love with the enemy, then ignored Ichigo for years, she finally agreed to go out with him just to go back on her decision. She couldn't blame him for being angry. It was her fault and she deserved all this. Going into the bathroom, she looked at herself. He was right, she should be thankful. He had only left a little bruising this time. It could easily be covered up. He was being thoughtful, even though she was so stupid. She would have to thank him tomorrow. She climbed into bed and thought about how best to apologize to him. He had broken her. She was no longer the strong, independent woman she had been this morning. Laying down to go to sleep, she didn't even realize that she had become just a shell of herself.