A/N: 10 chapters, woo hoo!

Also, in this chapter, yay for Kurosaki-family + Orihime bonding conversations!

Enjoy.

Chapter 10

Orihime's POV

"O-Orihime-chan, we don't need to be walking so fast…" Karin-chan muttered to me. I stopped and realized what I was doing. I was walking incredibly fast, like I was trying to escape something… Or someone. And I wasn't being dragged by Yuzu-chan either. She was in the same predicament as Karin-chan. I let go of both their hands.

"A-ah, sorry…" I apologized. Yuzu-chan scratched her head.

"It's alright, Orihime-neechan." She spoke, having a smile on her face. "We should probably wait for Ichi-nii though. We seem to have sort of left him behind." I turned around. She was right, because Kurosaki-kun was no where to be found. I sighed, continuing to apologize again.

"I'm sorry, Karin-chan, Yuzu-chan." Karin-chan just laughed at me again.

"It's fine Orihime-chan. He'd be able to find his way back anyway. It's just that he'd be even crankier if we just left him to get home himself." I froze.

I definitely wouldn't want to have Kurosaki-kun mad at me again…

"A-Ah, I see… Let's go sit on the bench then, while we're waiting." I spoke, pointing to the bench on the side of the road. They both nodded in agreement, and Yuzu-chan grabbed my hand again, dragging me to the other side. In a matter of few minutes, we were all sitting on the cold bench, waiting for Kurosaki-kun.

"Orihime-neechan, can I ask you a question?" Yuzu-chan asked me, having a curious face on.

"Of course," I replied, fiddling with my fingers in my lap.

"Do you love Ichi-nii?" I jumped in my place. I never thought she'd ask that question, of all questions.

"See, just by her reaction, it's even more obvious. I told you that you didn't need to ask her." Karin-chan retorted to her twin. My face suddenly got very hot.

"It's that obvious, huh?" I spoke quietly. They both just gave me an awkward laugh, nodding as a response. "W-why do you ask though?"

"Just curious…" Yuzu-chan smiled, responding politely. "Was that why we were walking so fast though? Because you wanted to get some distance from him?" She continued her question. Yuzu-chan was a wonderful little girl, but she sure asked a lot of questions. I nodded to her question, as a response.

"T-that's partially the reason… There's more to it that I'd rather not explain…" I still spoke quietly.

"But Orihime-chan, as much of a dense doofus our brother can be, he's still himself. You've known him for what… Maybe more than 3 years?" Karin-chan explained. "He's no different than he was back then. You have no reason to be nervous or afraid in front of him." Yuzu-chan nodded in agreement to her sister's explanation.

"Right, you have no reason not to be confident." Yuzu-chan beamed at me.

For such little girls, they sure do know a lot about life…

Kurosaki-kun's voice broke me out of my thoughts.

"Boy, you guys sure walk fast." He spoke. His tone of his voice didn't sound angry or frustrated at all. "Inoue, your face is all red. Are you okay?" Him asking me that only caused my face to heat up even more. Karin-chan and Yuzu-chan just laughed at me.

"I-I'm fine, it's just a little cold out," I responded, flailing my hands wildly. I suddenly sneezed and Yuzu-chan gasped.

"Orihime-neechan, you always have to remember to dry your hair when you're done with your bath. Otherwise you'll get a cold." She sounded like a mother.

"B-but I did! I can't help it if it's cold out." I pouted. Our argument was cut short by Kurosaki-kun's quiet chuckling. My face got even hotter.

I can't believe he's not mad…

My face changed to a straight face. I suddenly felt really tired. Was it because I was subconsciously trying to hold up my façade again? My eyes started to get hazy.

"I-I think we should get back." I spoke, sniffing again. I looked around at all of them, then directly at Kurosaki-kun. "Rukia-chan left, didn't she…?" Kurosaki-kun just nodded, looking slightly sad. I felt my heart drop, and I wanted to cry. I couldn't tell if I felt like that because Rukia-chan left, or because Kurosaki-kun seemed so sad about it.

Don't cry, you idiot… It'll only make you weaker.

Yuzu-chan must have sensed something was off with me and she linked elbows with mine.

"Come on Orihime-neechan. Karin, Ichi-nii, you too." She started to drag me back to the house, and everyone followed as well. It was about another 10 minutes until we got back. I didn't even notice how we got back to the house. I just felt so out of it.

"I-I'm going to bed." I stuttered, once we were in the house. I pointed to the room I was staying at. "If it's alright…" Kurosaki-san had joined us as well, greeting us as we got home. He just looked at me suspiciously, but told me I could go.

"The bathroom is just down the hall. There's another one upstairs too, but that one is closer for you." Kurosaki-san told me. I gave him a weak smile, and thanked him. I said good night to everyone, getting a smile from them all, with the exception of Kurosaki-kun. He just looked at me with a concerned expression upon his face. I quickly excused myself, and walked to my room. As soon as I closed the door behind me, I fell down onto the floor.

I felt really weak, and my face felt like it was on fire. I shook it off previously because I thought it was from being embarrassed in front of Kurosaki-kun, but now I wasn't so sure that it was the reason now. I heard a small knock from the other side of the door.

"J-just a moment…" I mumbled, struggling to stand back up. I opened the door slowly, only to have a hand slapped to my forehead.

"Ah!" I exclaimed. It was Kurosaki-san.

"I knew it." He spoke, opening the door a bit more.

"K-knew what?" I asked him, stuttering. He took his hand off my forehead.

"You have a fever. Probably a mixture of the cold outside and you being wet from the bathhouse." He explained. It did make sense, what he was saying. He handed me what appeared to be medicine.

"A-ah, thank you Kurosaki-san…" I mumbled, feeling dizzy again. He just gave me a small smile. "B-but how did you know?"

"I'm a doctor. Plus Ichigo would probably beat me up again, if I knew something was wrong with you, but didn't do anything about it." He pointed to the medicine he had just given me. "Just take that now, and hopefully you should be feeling better in the morning." I gave him a weak smile.

"Thank you…" I spoke quietly. He just nodded, and gave me a thumbs-up, and continued to be on his way. I escaped back into my room, shutting the door quietly behind me. Luckily for me, there was a small sink and mirror in the room. They must have one of these in every room. I went to the sink. I saw myself in the mirror, and I looked weak and pathetic. I forced myself to tear my eyes away from my reflection in the mirror, and took the medicine, drinking some water as well.

After I finished taking the medicine, I stumbled over one of my suitcases, pulling out one of my nightgowns. I couldn't really tell which one I took out, since I couldn't really see clearly, but it looked like a decent one. I slowly took my clothes off and lazily put my pajamas on. I felt another wave of dizziness, caused from me standing up too quickly after finishing dressing. Next thing I knew, I had collapsed on my bed, and it was only a matter of minutes until I met the darkness that had been both my friend and enemy.

"Inoue."

I heard my name being called, but I could only see myself in a bright room. My heart jumped as I heard the person say my name again.

"Inoue…" This time it was closer. I closed my eyes and let myself absorb myself into the serene voice. It was so familiar…

"Inoue… Inoue…" I heard my name repeated twice more, and I felt a warm hand embrace my waist, from behind, and another hand was running through my hair. I gasped at the person's touch. It was surprising, but it felt so pleasurable.

"Orihime…" I now heard the voice whisper my name into ear. His hot breath ran down my neck. I shuddered and felt my legs go weak. The voice sounded so familiar, and the way he said my name just shook me to the core. I opened my eyes slowly. I was still in the white room, but it was starting to get darker. I turned around slowly to see whom the voice belonged to.

All I saw were piercing gold eyes. Suddenly, the floor below my feet disappeared, and I fell and fell.

And I screamed once more.

I awoke startled, barely squeaking a scream. I had tears running down my face again. I sobbed, clutching my knees close to my body. I didn't know what it was about my nightmare that made me more afraid than normal, but it was definitely worse.

And it seemed so much more real.

I took a deep breath and tried to regain my composure. I choked back my tears, wiping away the ones that had already escaped. I felt around on the table next to me for the lamp. Once I found it, I turned it on and it illuminated the once dark room. I quickly glanced around the room, looking for a clock.

It was 1:34. I had barely gotten 6 hours of sleep so far. I stood up and went over to the sink to wash my face of my salty tears. I looked at myself in the mirror to estimate the damage.

I looked worse than I did when I looked at myself earlier. At least I felt a bit better, probably thanks to the medicine Kurosaki-san gave me earlier.

Maybe a glass of water will calm me down…

I nodded to myself, as a sign of comfort to myself, and went back over to the door I had previously entered less than 6 hours ago. I opened it slowly, trying not to wake anyone up. The door hinges squeaked slightly, but it appeared that all was still calm. I went out, and closed it behind me. I walked down the dark, empty hallway, and into the dining room, where I found a large body at the table, with a small light on. I squinted my eyes to see who it was. It was Kurosaki-san.

"K-Kurosaki-san, why are you still awake?" I whispered silently, going over to the table where he was. He looked up from the table, and gave me a soft smile.

"I was just looking at some old family albums. Did you need something Orihime-chan?" He asked.

"O-Oh, yes, where are the glasses?" I asked, pointing to the kitchen. He paused a moment to think before saying anything.

"2nd cupboard on the left. 1st shelf." I nodded to him and went into the kitchen, searching for the cupboard he was talking about. Once I found my glass, I filled it up with water from the sink, letting myself sigh heavily.

"Why such a heavy sigh?" He joked from the other room. I took my glass back with me, and sat down next to Kurosaki-san. I bit my lip.
"Nightmares…" I spoke quietly, putting my head in both my hands.

"Well, they say having dreams is the way our unconscious mind works out our inner conflicts, wishes, and fears." He paused, closing the photo album he had open. "Do you have any problems that's maybe causing you these nightmares?" I looked over at him, hoping he would say yes to the question I was about to ask him.

"C-can I be completely honest with you?" I stuttered.

"I'd prefer it if you were," he spoke with a gentle smile. I breathed a small sigh of relief.

"I do have problems… And lots of 'em." I sighed again. He just chuckled.

"We all have our problems, Orihime-chan, it's just how we deal with them is the solution. How are you dealing with yours?" He asked me as I took another sip of water.

"Um… I'm really not… I'm ignoring them, or suffering alone." I spoke honestly. I didn't know what it was about Kurosaki-san, but he felt like he was actually my father, and it gave me a very reassuring feeling.

"Tsk, tsk, that's no way to deal with them. The best way is to attack it head on." He just looked at me, and laughed again. "Or maybe for you, just keep talking to someone about it all." I nodded, biting my lip again. What he was saying made sense. I looked over at his book.

"You said you were looking at family photos?" I scooted the chair closer to the book he was looking at. He continued to smile.

"Yup… I just felt really nostalgic all of a sudden, and the urge to look at pictures just popped up." He spoke happily, flipping over to the next page. It had a few pictures of Kurosaki-kun with his mom, and a few of Karin-chan and Yuzu-chan as babies.

"They seem so small!" I gasped, forming my mouth into an 'O' shape. He just laughed again.

"Yeah, they just seem to grow up so fast." He flipped the page over again. This time it just had pictures of Kurosaki-kun and his mother. I felt a sharp pain in my heart.

"He seems so different now, looking at these pictures…" I spoke quietly, and slightly hurt. Kurosaki-kun just nodded.

"After Masaki died… He just was never the same… None of us were the same." He flipped the page again. There was one photo of the entire Kurosaki family, all of them smiling happily. I touched the picture softly.

How I wish I had a family like this…

"You know, I had always thought this, but I think I've seen it more recently, since you've been here." I looked at him questionably, still having my hand on the photo. "You look like Masaki when she was your age." My eyes went big.

"R-Really…?" I stuttered, looking back at the table.

"That could be partially the reason Ichigo's taken a liking to you." He spoke. My heart did another flip. "Your and Masaki's personalities are very different, but you both have the air about you that draws people towards you." He flipped the page once more. I just nodded, feeling awkward all of a sudden.

What if the only reason Kurosaki-kun and his family liked me, was because I bore a resemblance to the mother, wife, and caretaker of this family? Did that mean Kurosaki-kun was only my friend because he kept seeing the past?

I felt another tear slide down my face. I quickly wiped it away, trying not to make Kurosaki-san worry too much.

"A-Aha, sorry, I was just thinking again." I forced a light laugh. "Usually thinking only results in me in tears, unfortunately." I head the floor creak from not too far away.

It was Kurosaki-kun.

He was yawning, until he saw Kurosaki-san and I at the table. He suddenly looked very irritated.

It's probably all my fault… He's probably mad at me…

"Oh, son, why are you up?" Kurosaki-san smiled at his son.

"I was woken up by two people talking."

Yup, definitely mad at me.

"What the hell are you telling her now?" He continued, glaring at his father. Kurosaki-san just beamed at him.

"I was just telling Orihime-chan about how cute you were when you were a baby." He spoke happily, holding up the book with a picture of Kurosaki-kun playing in the sand at the beach. Kurosaki-kun's face just turned red. I faked a laugh, trying to make our 'story' sound more plausible.

"I-it's true. You were a really cute kid." I forced a smile at him.

"Inoue…" Kurosaki-kun just grumbled. My eyes narrowed and I looked at the table again.

See, now he's even madder at me…

"Well, I'd better hit the sack." Kurosaki-san said, stretching and yawning at the same time.

"I'll hit you…" Kurosaki-kun just mumbled to his father. Kurosaki-san stood up and smiled at me.

"Good night Orihime-chan. Thanks for the conversation, and I hope you feel better." He spoke. I just nodded to him, and he left the room. I turned my attention back to the table, and I started to spin my glass around in its place, trying to keep myself distracted, also hoping Kurosaki-kun wouldn't ask me about what Kurosaki-san just said. Kurosaki-kun pulled out the chair next to me, and sat down as well.

"Feel better? Are you not feeling well Inoue?" He spoke. There it was… That caring tone he had in his voice. The one that had continuously led me to believe he actually cared about me more than a normal friend did.

But no, we were nakama, and nothing else.

"Ah, no, I'm fine…" I explained, fiddling around with the glass of water. I could tell he didn't believe my story.

"I don't believe you." His tone now had an edge to it. I stiffened up.

Now I'm in deep trouble.

"A-ah, it's fine, I just have a bit of a fever, is all." I stuttered, trying to keep my cool. Just sitting next to Kurosaki-kun made my heart beat a mile a minute. All of a sudden, he had his hand on my bare arm, forcing me to look at him.

"Inoue, why do you make things less of a big deal than they really are?" His voice sounded even angrier. "Why do you keep lying to me?" I saw anger and pain in his eyes. I'm sure he saw fear, pain, and even sorrow in my eyes. I turned my head to the side, so he wouldn't see them.

"Inoue, please look at me." His voice sounded a bit calmer. He used his hand to hold my face, to make me look at him directly. I bit my lip once more, as I hesitated to look at him. "Please…" He whispered.

His voice… Why is it that I go weak every time I heard his voice?

I looked at him directly, my eyes wavering. He didn't look angry anymore… He had a different emotion in his eyes that was oddly comforting. I couldn't say what it was though.

"You're eyes are swollen, Inoue…" He ran him thumb by my eye, with the hand that was holding my face. "Were you crying again?"

Please… Don't do this if you don't mean it…

I gave him a slow nod, closing my eyes slowly, feeling another tear escape from my eyes, rolling down my cheek.

Please don't give me false hope…

I suddenly felt a hot breath on my cheek, which was accompanied with warm skin.

You're only making me fall in love with you even more…

I opened one eye slightly, and he appeared to be kissing my cheek. Kissing my tears.

Please…

Only I didn't just think it in my head, I said it out loud as well.

"Please…"

Don't let me be even more of a burden to you…

And everything went black again.

A/N: Woot, weird OOC IchiHime moment. –sweatdrop- Sorry about that.

Again, sorry if it seemed OOC. And about Isshin not being all crazy around Orihime, I personally think that he'd act that way towards her, just because I think it makes some sort of sense… I dunno.

Please review if you liked it. If you didn't, then don't. Please no spamming or flamin'. I don't like my stuff on fire. Thanks for reading!