Orihime began to wonder when she could actually go home, she really just wanted to curl up on her own bed, she was getting a little tired. She wasn't sure why she was already tired; she just was. She seemed to have lost her appetite and now she just wanted to sleep. Ichigo's eyes fixed on her again right as she yawned.
"You tired? Aren't you hungry?" He asked.
She shrugged. "Not really hungry as much as tired."
"I can walk you home if you'd like me to." He was watching her face. "Once my dad gets back."
She nodded gratefully; she just wanted to sleep rather than eat anything. That's just how she was feeling at the moment. She yawned again, involuntarily, and stretched her arms. She wondered when Ichigo's dad would come back. Ichigo's sisters probably wouldn't stay upstairs for a whole lot longer. Ichigo seemed to already know that, because he had gotten up and went to the front window and was watching for his dad anxiously. Orihime just watched him for a minute, then looked down. Not too long after she looked down, the front door suddenly banged open, and she jumped. Her head whipped up and it was Isshin who had come banging into the room. He had blood down the front of his outfit, but he didn't seem to have sustained any injuries himself. That was a relief.
"Is Chad alright?" Ichigo asked in an urgent voice.
"He's fine. He was holding his own when I got there, but if I hadn't gotten there when I did, he would have been overwhelmed. Renji's with him right now." Isshin said, falling back into his body.
"Good." Ichigo relaxed. "I have to take Orihime home, she's tired. Could you contact Rukia and send her over?"
Isshin sat up and nodded as he got to his feet. Without another word, he disappeared upstairs. Ichigo sighed and opened the front door and Orihime walked out, followed by Ichigo who closed the door behind them.
Ichigo wasn't sure about leaving Orihime at her home. He kept telling himself that she would be safe because Rukia would be there, but he wasn't convincing himself too easily. He couldn't be there himself though, because he had to go out on a patrol tonight, that way Soul Society wouldn't get on about him again about slacking off. He was going to get irritated if they got after him again because he was slacking. He wasn't slacking today, he was just protecting those that mattered the most to him, at least as most of those as he could. He felt like he had failed Chad…but he shook that off. He couldn't be thinking like that.
Orihime didn't seem to notice that he was lost in his thoughts, as she seemed to be lost in her own as they were walking. There was no awkwardness to the silence, they were both just walking, enjoying each other's company was enough.
The reached Orihime's place pretty quickly and stayed outside on her porch. Ichigo wasn't willing to leave, not until Rukia got there. He didn't want Orihime to be alone, for even a second.
"Rukia's gonna be here tonight, so you won't be alone." He said, breaking the silence.
Orihime smiled. "Okay."
"Then I'll be here tomorrow to pick you up for the picnic."
Orihime frowned. "Won't that make it pretty obvious that we're together then?"
He no longer cared about that. "It doesn't really matter now. What matters to me now, is keeping you safe. I don't want you to get hurt, and if you got hurt because of me being stupid and stubborn I'd never be able to forgive myself. So it won't matter what the others think."
She blinked and then nodded. "That makes sense. But don't guilt trip yourself if I do get hurt, it's not going to be your fault Ichigo. Not everything is your fault."
He had heard something like that before, but it never seemed to work on him. He didn't want to upset her though. "I know that. I'll keep that in mind."
"Okay. Good." She smiled.
Rukia suddenly appeared, having used Flash Step, in her Soul Reaper uniform, her hand resting on her blades handle. Orihime had jumped, because this had startled her. This just annoyed Ichigo.
"You don't have to just appear like that you know." He scowled.
"It's faster. And if you don't like it, too bad. You can't tell me how to get myself around." She snapped back at him.
Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I have to go." His eyes drifted to Orihime. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Bye." Orihime smiled at him as he left.
After Ichigo was gone, she fumbled under her doormat for her key. Once she found it, she unlocked the door and went inside, leaving the door open for Rukia. Rukia came in, and kicked the door shut behind her. Orihime was now actually pretty hungry, and went to go put a sandwich together, not really paying attention to what she was throwing on it. She started eating it, and was spacing out, so she didn't really notice that she put ham and peanut butter and cherries on it. She always made really really weird food, and hardly ever noticed how bad it tasted. Rukia was sitting in the living room, silent, until Orihime joined her, sitting in the chair, opposite of her couch.
"What's going on with you and Ichigo? One minute, you have no idea because he doesn't tell you anything, and the next he walks you home and waits for me to get there." Rukia blurted out.
Orihime flushed red and wasn't sure what to say. "He was being polite."
"I know how Ichigo is. He would've left right off if he was being his normal self, because he typically doesn't understand that it's not nice to leave a girl waiting for someone alone. Yet, now he seems to realize that." Rukia raised an eyebrow.
"He was just being a good friend." She already knew that Rukia didn't believe it was just that.
"Sure he was." Rukia snorted. "That's not how Ichigo is. He may want to protect you, yes, but he would have left knowing that you would've been safe with me. He probably knew that he didn't need to stand with you and wait, which means he wanted to. What are you not telling me Orihime?"
"It's nothing, really." She mumbled, her face getting hotter. "He was being nice, and knew it wouldn't be a good idea to leave me to wait for you alone."
"Cut that crap out already."
Orihime stood up abruptly. "I'm going to get cleaned up and ready for bed." She rushed out of the room before Rukia could say anything. She already knew Ichigo didn't care about anyone knowing anymore, so why was she fighting so hard to keep Rukia from knowing? She didn't understand it herself, so she just thought about other things as she went into the bathroom to shower.