Love or Like?

Summary: One day after school Ichigo Kurosaki wonders why anyone even bothers with love. Soon he meets two girls and he's asking himself why he's bothering with love. Jealously, secrets, drama, and fluff as these adolescents figure out the difference between love and like.

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, never will :(

(A/N): Sorry it's been longer than I anticipated, I got side tracked a bit...working on a new fic that I won't publish until I'm completely done with it, and some art stuff. Actually there's a scene in this chapter that I was inspired to draw and I wanted to be done with that picture by the time I posted this chapter, but I'm still working on it. Anyway this is my deviantart page: h t t p : / / i s a b e l l a p i a n o . d e v i a n t a r t . c o m / if you want to check out what I already posted up on it. Personally the picture I'm working on is my favorite it's almost finished so perhaps will be posted up ther within a day or two. Anyway did anyone else see the new ending for Bleach 28? That was beautiful! So nostalgic! Anyway I hope you I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Review PLZ ^_^ Thank you, come again.

Fragile

"Well aren't' you going to open it?" Orihime looked up to see her boss leaning against the lockers holding her son's hand.

"Oh….well, I don't know, it's strange to accept a gift from someone I don't know," The red haired girl replied tentatively.

The little dark haired boy ran over to the adolescent's side with an excited look, "Hey if you don't want it Orihime-chan give it to me my birthday's still a while away."

"But Karou-chan it isn't addressed to you," she reminded the boy with a bit hesitation. He wasn't the type of child you wanted to upset; he threw more than enough of his share of temper tantrums.

Karou narrowed his eyes as he looked up at the buxom girl whose facial expression seemed nervous. He smirked and grabbed hold of the box, attempting to pull it from her grasp.

"What are you doing Karou-chan?" Orihime asked sweetly trying to keep the box in her hands, for being so young he was pretty strong.

"A gift for someone who doesn't want it would go to waste," He gritted through his teeth as the white box was being pulled back between the two.

"I-I don't think it's the type of gift you'll like," she attempted to convince him. Honestly who knew what could possibly be in a box that big yet light. Certainly not something a little boy would want, in fact the redhead was more worried that it would be something inappropriate for his age group. Sure it could be flowers, but what if it were something like lingerie?

The elder woman stepped in between the two and grabbed the box easily between their grasps. She tossed the box to Orihime who fumbled it a bit before getting a secure hold of the present. She turned to her son and leaned down, "Now Karou-chan I'm sure what Orihime means is that it is probably something girly that you wouldn't like. How about we go to the toy store today after closing? Right now, why don't you go to the front and Nozomi will make you a cupcake. "

He smiled up at his gorgeous mother, "Yes Mommy," he replied as if he did not do anything wrong. He looked over at the redhead and her dumbfounded expression and just narrowed his eyes and stuck out his tongue, "You may be a little pretty but you're nowhere near as beautiful as my mommy."

She sighed with the boy left the room only to jump with the sound of her boss' voice once more, "So just open it, it's not going to kill you. If it's something perverted we'll just throw it away and pretend it never happened."

She scratched the back of her head nervously, "well then, I suppose I should open it then." She placed the box on the bench and sat beside it. She carefully unfastened the red ribbon around the box. She lifted up the top and peeked inside, her eyes grew wide but she didn't say anything.

"Hmm, what is it?" Ikumi leaned over the girls shoulder to peer in, "Oh wow."

Orihime lifted up the red fabric adorned with black floral lace, "A dress?"

The raven haired beauty reached into the back over the redhead's shoulder, grabbing a card. She opened it and read the text out loud, "Orihime Inoue you have caught my interest. Join me for dinner at Nuit de Pleine Lune; I'll be waiting outside the pastry shop at six- Ulquoirra Cifer."

Orihime froze at that name. 'Caught his interest? But he wouldn't even look at me.'

Ikumi whistled and fan the card around, "Wow, when did high-schoolers get so much money to throw away like that, must be a spoiled brat."

Orihime gave a nervous chuckle, "He isn't in high school Ms. Unagiya."

"Hmm?" she looked at her employee, "You know this guy? And he's old? You want me to go beat him up when he shows up, or should I just report him to the police?"

"Uh- no that's okay," She shook her head violently in disagreement, "Actually he doesn't look that much older than me and he seemed like a really nice guy." 'Okay maybe not really nice, but he didn't seem particularly mean or creepy for that matter.'

"Oh?" The black haired woman asked and then petted the girl on the head lightly, "Then you should go, you've been working here so much you probably hardly get out to have fun."

"But I'm not sure I should go!" Orihime replied apprehensively.

"What? Why not? You said the guy seemed nice," her eyes widened for a second and she leaned in to whisper to the girl, "Is he ugly or something?"

"What? No- I mean why would I judge someone on something like that?" Orihime asked in a panic, "Besides he's very attractive." She cupped her mouth after saying that and blushing deeply.

Ikumi linked her arm around the girl bringing her face to her bosom, "See so why don't you and Mr. Sexy and Rich go out together, it will be fun."

"Ms. Unagiya I can't breathe," Orihime muffled into the woman's breast trying to break free.

"I'll only let go if you say yes," the older woman mocked.

"Okay! Okay!" the redhead agreed quickly.

The dark haired woman let go and the redhead started gasping for air, "Good. Now all I need to do is get Nozomi out more often."

Rangiku, Hisagi, and Yumichika stood in the middle of Karakura's mall's courtyard. It was busy being Friday evening and all. The masses were swarming in and out of stores and restaurants. Of course they were waiting for the cinema to watch the movie Dusk, only one of the many vampire teenage romance novels turned movie.

"So Ikkaku's not coming because he's out on a date with that Asano girl?" Rangiku asked Yumichka more to make conversation than for actual interest with the subject.

"She asked him to the carnival and he thinks it's to repay her for letting him cheat off of her on the math test," the dark haired male sighed, "Honestly the only thing that goes into his bald head is kendo he doesn't understand women at all."

Hisagi rolled his eyes at their conversation, he was tapping his foot rather impatiently, and he actually brought his laptop in its case with him, because Kira still hadn't e-mailed him the article. He was anxious about it, he already edited the other articles three times, and right now he didn't know what to do without Kira's article. And now Senna was late and he just wanted to get the movie over with so he could check his e-mail and hopefully edit that article before he went to sleep. He let out an audible growl, "where the hell is Senna?"

"Hmm?" Rangiku asked a bit taken back and looked at Hisagi, "Don't worry the movie doesn't start for another fifteen minutes, she'll be here," the blonde winked.

"Why are you winking?" Shuuhei asked seriously finding her behavior odd.

Rangiku's face fell, "You're stupid Shuuhei."

"Speaking of this Senna girl," Yumichika interrupted, "I haven't met her. Hopefully she's a bit more exciting than Mr. Sixty-nine over there."

"Are you trying to piss me off intentionally?" Hisagi asked his male companion.

"You two stop it," Rangiku placed her hand defiantly on her hips, "We are not going to be fighting tonight, because tonight we're watching Isabella and Eduardo fall in love, and I will not have you two ruining it! Especially not you Yumichika. Anyway Senna's a sweet girl, there's no way you couldn't like her. By the way Shuuhei what's got you so grumpy today?"

"I'm not grumpy," The taller boy replied, "It's just I'm stressed because I still don't have Kira's article for the school newspaper and Tosen wants it e-mailed to him tomorrow by noon."

"Oh is that what Momo was talking about," Rangiku tapped her chin inquisitively as she looked up recalling her petite friend's words, "She said something about how she couldn't make it tonight because Izuru asked her to help him with some paper that was due at midnight that he still didn't start."

"Uh…wh-ah…oh god," Shuuhei could not seem to find the right words, he didn't start it. He still hadn't started it, "He wastes his time chatting with Senna at lunch, but he doesn't start his paper. And then he has the nerve to have Momo help him with it?"

"Can you calm down?" Yumichika asked him, "Anger is not beautiful."

"Oh here we go again," Rangiku let out an aggravated breath, "Another rant on beauty."

"Well of course someone like yourself who's on the chubby side wouldn't understand beauty now would you?" Yumichika asked.

"Chubby? Chubby?" The blonde countered in outrage, "I am not chubby! I am voluptuous and sexy you don't know anything. Just ask all the guys that try to pick me up."

"Voluptuous is a word that fat people like to use to feel better about themselves," Yumichika folded his arms across his chest, "Rangiku let's face it you're just not as…." He stopped in mid-sentence as something caught his eye; he spoke breathlessly, "gorgeous."

"Hmm? What are you talking about?" the strawberry blonde seemed bewildered before having a light bulb go off in her head, "Huh? Is it a guy? Where is he?"

"How many times do I have to tell you I'm not gay?"

"Well you could've fooled me," The strawberry blonde scoffed, "So where's the gorgeous girl."

"You see that girl over there, in front of the pet store," He pointed, "In the white dress and the grey petticoat."

"That-that's Senna," Rangiku peered into the crowd.

"Hmm?" Shuuhei turned to their direction. There she was doing a slight jog towards their direction. Her hair was down for a change and her grey coat was buttoned up, after all it was a chilly evening. The skirt of her dress flowed down just above her knees; she wore translucent black stockings and black boots.

"Hey," she said a bit short of breath, "Sorry I'm late I took a nap when I got home and woke up later than I thought." She smiled at Yumichika and offered her hand, "Oh hey I'm Senna, and you must be Yumichika, right?"

The elder boy took her smaller hand and brought it to his lips, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Uh-um…yeah," she bit her lip and quickly retracted her hand, placing it behind her back. 'That was…weird,' She turned over to Hisagi who was wearing a rather stern expression, "Why do you have your laptop case?"

"You're not wearing your ribbon," he stated it in a matter-of-fact why, completely disregarding her previous sentence.

"Oh that," She smiled and began to unbutton the top button of her coat, "You noticed that I wear it every day? That's 'cause someone very important gave it to me when I was younger. So I usually wear it in my hair but," she pointed to her neck, "I wanted my hair down so I tied it around my neck, I used to wear it like this when I was younger and I had short hair. But I never go without wearing it."

"Anyway," Senna felt Matsumoto pat her on the back, "Let's go see this movie, I've been waiting forever for them to finally turn the Dusk series into movies. Now Senna, are you a Team Eduardo or a Team Jacobo? Personally I'm a Team Eduardo, but I wouldn't mind…"

"Oh sorry," Ichigo spoke as he nearly bumped into a woman. The opening night of the carnival was crowded, more so that her anticipated. He hadn't come here in years, he supposed when he was younger he was so excited over the rides, games, and cotton candy he didn't realize how overly pack the place was. He sighed, they planned on meeting at the side of the carousel, needless to say there were too many children and too many discarded food on the floor.

He quickened his pace a bit when he recognized Rukia standing alone. "Yo, Rukia,"

She turned her head over her shoulders in recognition, "oh hey Ichigo, Renji and Tatsuki still aren't here."

"Tatsuki?" Ichigo asked, 'when the hell was Tatsuki invited?'

"Yeah," the petite girl nodded, "Renji invited her apparently. So I guess I just had a misconception when I thought he was trying to take me out on a date."

'Misconception my ass,' the redhead grimaced. He stuck his hands into the pockets of his black coat, it was chilly outside. He looked down at Rukia who was actually somehow tolerating the weather in a black and tan tunic dress. To her defense she was wearing a white petticoat and leggings but a dress, plus her leggings were a rather thin material. "What's up with that outfit?"

Rukia looked down and gripped the hem of her dress, flaring it out as if she were showing it off. She looked up at him with a menacing glare, "By the tone of your voice, I'm going to take into account that you were about to criticize my dress."

"I was just wondering why you would wear that when it's cold," he shrugged his shoulders.

"The cold doesn't bother me, I could wear this in the winter with a thicker coat," she stated merely as a fact and folded her arms across her chest, "Honestly I thought guys were supposed to be better at withstanding the cold, you look like your freezing to death."

"Tch, whatever," The redhead rolled his eyes, his scowl seemed to deepen, "Hey look who's finally here," he gestured with his head, reluctant to take his hands out of his pockets.

"Hey I hope we didn't keep you two waiting too long," Renji spoke as he waved.

"Ah no it's fine, we just got here," Rukia shook it off. "So where should we go first, I haven't ever been to a carnival so I don't know-"

"You've never been?" Tatsuki asked in surprise. Rukia nodded her heart shaped head, causing Tatsuki to take hold of her hands, "Rukia that's horrible, there are so many things to do games, rides, cotton candy. First roller coaster, yeah definitely."

Ichigo sighed trailing a few feet behind the Tatsuki who was dragging Rukia to the direction of the coaster. He looked over to a grinning Renji on his left, "Hey Renji I gotta ask why you invited Tatsuki along. I don't ever see you two hanging out."

"None of your business," a pompous remark escaped the elder boy's lips.

"Really?" the redhead decided not to play polite if that was the way he was going to speak, "Trying to make Rukia jealous isn't going to work."

Renji gave the boy a look of disbelief, "Will you get over yourself? I invited Tatsuki because she was feeling down today and I wanted to cheer her up."

"Oh," he replied dumbfounded, he began to rub his neck and looked way, "well then sorry."

"Huh? What's the matter with you?" the red-haired boy inquired, "What? Oh I get it you're feeling really stupid right now, well you should."

"Hey I'm not stupid you idiot!" Ichigo barked back.

"What the hell don't get so offended so easily," Renji's left eye twitched with annoyance, "I didn't say you were stupid I said you were feeling stupid."

"How can I feel something that I'm not," he continued to yell, at this point the two were face to face in their verbal banter of bickering.

"Apparently you are because you don't even understand what I'm trying to say."

"Well maybe if you knew how to articulate yourself better. I wasn't feeling stupid! I was feeling uneasy!"

"Stupid, uneasy it's the same thing!"

"No its not, that only proves that you're the stupid one!"

"You know what I was trying to say!"

"No I didn't!"

"Well then that makes you stupid!"

"Right, I forgot those two pretty much have an identical personality," Rukia sighed as she and Tatsuki watched the boys' argument unfold.

"Yeah gee, you'd think they were brothers or something looking at them," Tatsuki scratched the back of her head, "I knew this was going to be nothing but trouble, especially with those two liking you and what not."

"W-What?" Rukia nearly choked on the air, she was just thankful she wasn't eating.

"Hmm," Tatsuki looked at the petite girl from the corner of her eye, "Are you serious, isn't it obvious?"

"NO! We're just friends," the blue eyed girl folded her arms, "nothing more than that. Renji has been my friend since before I could remember and Ichigo is Ichigo…besides he likes someone else. Those aside just look at them, who in their right mind would like either them like that?"

Tatsuki chuckled loudly at Rukia's last remark, "That's so true! But Ichigo likes someone? That's surprising; he seems too off in his own world to think about someone else in that way."

"I know what you mean," Rukia agreed with a nod, "Should we put an end to this? People are starting to stare."

"Oh yeah well, you look like an idiot with that bandana!" Ichigo stuck out his tongue mockingly.

Renji gritted his teeth and pulled up the sleeves of his grey jacket, "That's it, you, me, right here; I'm going to kick your ass- OW!"

Tatsuki rolled her eyes as she had the senior soccer player by the ear, "No one is going to be kicking anyone's ass here, now come on."

Ichigo burst out into laughter, "Ha, Renji how does it fe-OUCH!"

"Yeah you too, you imbecile," Rukia spoke in disdain as she dragged the redhead.

Orihime stared around her; it was such an exquisite place. A French restaurant, in all her life she had never been to a place so fancy. Not a single point in her life did she think she would be sitting here, the restaurant aside from that the dress must have cost more than her rent. There were chandeliers on the ceiling, a restaurant with actual chandeliers. She looked at the person who sat across from her; he wore a black suit with a dark green dress shirt that really brought out the color of his eyes. He hadn't said much at all. The girl bit her lip, "Um, Mr. Cifer, tonight…I mean I really appreciate everything but you have understand this is something I see as the beginning of a friendship and I can't-"

"What is the point you're trying to make?" He interrupted her that shocked her, point blank. He didn't look up from his menu he did not change his stoic expression, his voice though was insolent.

"I don't want you to see it the wrong way, because it's not a date," Orihime responded looking down at her lap and fidgeting her fingers, he was making her nervous, the way he talked to her, the way he wouldn't look at her gave her chills.

"I don't recall asking you out on a date, Ms. Inoue," he responded in the same manner, "What makes you think I harbor romantic feelings for you?"

"You said I caught your interest, did you not?" Orihime now looked up towards him, their eyes met for a split second before the man continued reading the menu, 'Why did I say something like that, I sounded kind of mean.'

"Yes, I recall writing that," He nodded, "Yet I don't remember saying that it was a romantic interest. I said you caught my interest. There are many different ways that an object can be interesting."

'Did he just refer to me as an object?' The redheaded adolescent blinked and then shook her head, "Then why did you invite me to this restaurant, it seems a bit fancy."

"I don't eat out anywhere that has less than five-star rating," he answered simply, by the sound of It he wasn't trying to be pretentious or anything, it seemed like an honest reply. He folded his menu, "I've decided, have you?"

"I'll just have what you are," the redhead sighed in defeat. She looked up to find the man conspicuously staring at her, and not in any sort of evocative way, but just blankly. She cleared her throat, "So um how old are you, Mr. Cifer? If you don't mind."

"Twenty, why do you care?" He questioned.

She laughed nervously, "Oh just trying to make for some conversation, besides that I was wondering. You're so young yet you seem to live really lavishly."

"Have you decided?" Orihime nearly jumped out of her seat, clearly finding the waiter unexpected.

"Ah yes," Ulquoirra responded, "Start us off with Les Crevettes Mode Méridionale, then Le Filet de Saumon au Beurre Rouge."

"And to drink?"

"A glass of red wine would be fine for me," Ulquorria responded.

"And for you Miss?"

"Oh, um an ice tea would be fine."

"Okay we will be back with your meal shortly."

"To answer your earlier question is quite simple really; I come from a wealthy family," He answered, "My grandfather worked as the Chief Financial Officer for the Seretei Corporation before his retirement. He is also quite wise about investing his money. It allows for me to live quite comfortably. Now then why don't you tell me about yourself?"

"Oh …um," Orihime scratched her head, "Well, I'd say…I'm just your average high school student."

"Just tell me about yourself."

"Uh…well let's see," she started, "Well I'm sixteen, it's my second year in high school, I'm in the home handy-crafts club, and I'm ranked fourth in my class, so I'm really just a normal girl."

"You're ranked fourth, that's an accomplishment, it's the same rank I held in school."

"Oh that," She continued to ramble, "I just have to keep my grades up or my aunt will cut back the money she sends for me, she says she'll only give me enough for rent if stay in the top ten."

"You live alone?"

"Oh well, when I was little, before I could remember my elder brother Sora took me from our parents in Tokyo, I was three at the time he was eighteen. My parents were abusive people with a lot of problems, and Sora didn't want me to grow up in that sort of environment. He raised me all by himself, until he died when I was thirteen. Since then my distant aunt has been financially supporting me while I live alone."

"Interesting."

"Oh my god that movie was so awesome!" Rangiku cheered, she placed her hand on her heart, "I will forever be in love with Eduardo."

"Tch," Yumichika sighed, "They could have chosen someone more attractive to play Isabella."

The blonde turned to give the male a serious look with her hand on her hip, "She's supposed to be plain."

"But this is the movies," he flipped his hair, "the least they can do is make the actors visually appealing."

"Oh my gosh Yumichika you are so superficial!" She yelled in an outrage.

Senna laughed quietly as she watched the two bicker, they had just exited the cinema after about an hour and a half of the movie. It was not much of Senna's taste but with the side comments provided by those two it turned the dry love film into something of a comedy for her. She looked over to her right where Hisagi walked, his eyes were furrowed and he seemed lost in thought, she thought she should lighten up his mood, "Those two are awfully lively, aren't they?"

"Uh- Yeah," he seemed a bit startled at first but nodded.

"Did you hate the movie that bad?" the petite girl asked, she held her hands clasped together as she did not know what to do with them.

He shook his head, "I'm just really stressed out is all."

"Don't worry about it," Senna smiled brightly at him, "Kira's a smart guy right? He'll have it in on time, no worries, right?"

"I wish that was the only thing bothering me right now," Hisagi muttered under his breath looking down at the ground.

"Oh," Senna cocked her head to the side, "Is it something I can help with?"

For some reason her words only served to sadden his eyes, "Actually, it's something that's been bothering me for a while, it's not something you can help with."

Senna grabbed his arm which startled him, causing him to turn and look at her, as he was ignoring her gaze for most of the night. They had stopped walking, "We're friends right?"

"Yes," He shrugged his shoulders and answered her truthfully.

"Then I'll be by your side," she raised a thumb up and winked, hoping her eccentric action would cheer him up somehow, yet his expression remained. She let out a deep sigh in part due to her aggravation, "Shuuhei you've helped me a lot already, let me help you with something at least. I need to be half as good a friend as you."

He diverted his eyes from her when she spoke those words, "Don't get the wrong idea Senna, I'm not as good of a guy as you think."

Senna stared at his back, as he presumed walking, quick strides to catch up with Yumichika and Rangiku. 'What is he talking about?' To say something in such a dark tone, it read only a deep self-disappointment. He was disappointed in himself, something he did? But why now, he appeared so put together and yet today he was off, short-temper and pathetic face and she had no idea why. 'Whatever it isn't something he's going to bother to tell me,' she shook her head and began jogging quickly to catch up.

The group had entered a small coffee shop, as Yumichika was craving caffeine, Rangiku something sweet, and Hisagi, well he was craving Wii-Fi connection.

"Wow this place is crowded tonight," noted the tall blonde as she took a seat next to Yumichika.

"Hey what are you doing?" complained the seventeen year old male as he narrowed his wisteria eyes, "That seat was reserved for Senna."

"Boo hoo, my butt's already on it," Matsumoto mocked him and shifted her blonde locks behind her shoulder.

Senna laughed, "That's okay. I'll just sit across from you."

The boy rested his head on his hand and gave her a smirk, "Perfect, then I get a front row seat of that beautiful face of yours."

"Uh-um," the petite girl replied a bit baffled, "Wow…you can be so weird sometimes Ayasegawa."

Hisagi took a seat next to Senna and opened up his laptop and began typing, "You know, your flirting isn't working so good, perhaps maybe you should just give it a rest."

"When did you start getting hotheaded?" the older boy inquired, "Besides I don't remember asking for your opinion. If you're that jealous why don't you do something about it?"

'Jealous?' Senna's amber eyes grew wide and she nearly choked on her green tea.

"I'm not jealous," Hisagi stated simply causing Senna's expression to drop, "It's just that you're clearly making her uncomfortable."

"Anyway," Rangiku fanned her hand in the air, "Let's lower down the testosterone levels. Besides Shuuhei is that really necessary right now?"

"What?" He questioned after sipping some of his coffee.

"The laptop," She stated nonchalantly and put a piece of her cinnamon cake in her mouth, "it's Friday, live a little and put it away. If you don't have to e-mail that article to Mr. Tosen until noon tomorrow, then you can save the work for the morning."

"No I'd rather get it done now," He told her.

"Ugh," She let out an exaggerated sigh, "Fine be boring. Hey Senna you want to try some of my cake it's sooo good."

The younger girl gave a small smile, "No thank you, I'm on a diet so I shouldn't eat something like that."

"Huh? What?" The blonde asked, "Are you serious? You're skinny you don't need to be on a diet."

"I agree, I think you're perfect the way you are," Yumichika added.

"Ah no it's fine you see-"

"You should really eat more," Hisagi told her, his eyes still on the screen of his computer and his fingers quickly moving over the keys, "There's nothing attractive about a girl who's really skinny, in fact it's actually disgusting." He got up from his seat.

"Excuse me?" Senna asked in a whisper with wide eyes, 'did he just call me disgusting?'

He didn't seem to hear her because he just began walking towards the line, "I'm going to get more coffee."

"What the hell is his problem today?" Ayasegawa asked irritated.

Rangiku shook her head and got up from her seat, "I don't know but I'm about to find out. Senna are you sure you don't want anything?"

"I'm not hungry," the dark haired girl declined.

Rangiku marched over to the line leading to the register, "Shuuhei."

"Hmm?" He turned around, "Oh are you getting something else too?"

"What is your problem Shuuhei Hisagi," she asked in part disbelief and part anger, "Do you have any idea how rude you've been? It's not like you at all, and how could you lash out on Senna like that?"

"How is she any different from you guys anyway?" He turned away, "Besides I didn't lash out on her, I'm just trying to get her to eat something; she's barely eaten at all today."

"She's not starving herself, she's clearly losing her appetite because you're upsetting her," the blonde shook her head.

"Well tell her to get over it," he barked back at her, "I can handle myself."

"Don't pretend to be so thickheaded," Rangiku's tone then softened, "don't act like you don't know what she feels for you."

"I don't need her little school girl crush on me!" his eyes widened after his words. He looked down rubbing the scars on the right side of his face, "Why'd I say that? Look Rangiku I'm sorry, but when I looked at today's date it only reminded me of something I wanted to forget. I didn't mean to act that way but with that memory lingering in the back of my head, and the article I've been stressed. I'll tone it down okay."

"That ride was amazing," Rukia spoke excitedly as she hugged her overgrown stuffed white bunny, "And thanks for winning this bunny for me Tatsuki."

"Yeah no problem Rukia, I know Renji and Ichigo tried but clearly their aims off," She spoke haughtily as she smirked at the two boys who seemed pathetic. Rukia exclaimed when she saw the rabbits hanging on the side of the game. It was only milliseconds later that both Renji and Ichigo started to buy the baseballs to knock down all the bottles. Needless to say after watching the two fail at several attempts and wasting their money Tatsuki bought a round of the balls and on her first throw knocked down the bottles winning the rabbit.

She snuggled it deeper, "I'll name it Tatsuki-pyon."

"That is so lame," Ichigo noted, earning him a punch in the face from the petite girl.

"Rabbits and bad naming aside, is anyone else hungry?" Renji asked holding his growling stomach, "I could really use a burger right about now."

"I see your stomach is just as big as ever," Rukia smirked playfully, "And what do you mean by 'bad-naming' Tatsuki-pyon is a perfect name."

"I for one think it has a certain elegance to it," Tatsuki added triumphantly, "but I'll agree with Renji, I'm a bit famished myself."

Ichigo rolled his hazel eyes, but internally he was feeling really good. Tonight had been more than he expected, he had grown quite distant to Tatsuki over the years but it was fun hanging out with her again. He nearly forgot how fun she could be. Renji wasn't as bad as he first thought either. He turned out to be a surprisingly good guy, and though Ichigo wouldn't admit out loud he found himself able to relate to the red haired senior quite a bit. Even Rukia surprised him today; she appeared to be breaking out of her shell a bit more, maybe having Renji around helped with that. He never took her for one to be nauseated after a ride but he was shocked to learn that she actually enjoyed them as much as she did. "Well it's settled then, we'll grab a bite to eat."

"Great," Renji smiled, "Hey Rukia you're going to love the food here it's delicious."

Tatsuki shook her head and laugh, "It's horrible for you, so much grease and sugar. But what the coaches don't know won't hurt them."

The quartet got into a line at the grilling booth. It was a good place for a meal rather than a mere snack. Because of that however, it was a bit crowded, but definitely worth the wait.

"Man, I'm going to get two burgers," Renji said as he smelled the aroma of the patties as they were sizzled on the grill.

"Tch," Ichigo replied, "I hope it all goes to your gut."

"Yeah right," Renji smirked lifting up his shirt a bit to reveal his abdomen, "this six-pack is resilient."

"Oh my god Renji," Tatsuki folded her arms and rolled her pair of chocolate eyes, "Put down your shirt we're in public. You aren't going to go frolic around without it on like you do in soccer practice."

"Ha," The red haired teen grinned, "I didn't know you were staring Arisawa."

"I was not staring you butthole!" Tatsuki barked back with a blush on her face, "It's a nuisance."

"Why are you blushing then?" Ichigo intercepted.

"You stay out of this Ichigo!" she shot back in venom.

Renji was about to respond when the group heard a shrilling cry enter the air. There was a little boy sobbing loudly, no older than six perhaps.

"Oh quit your yammering you should have had a better grip on it." Scolded an older boy. Apparently the younger boy was crying over a stick of cotton candy that was now lying on the concrete. "I don't have time for this; go ask your mommy to buy you another one." He began to jog off in another direction, leaving the child alone with his tears streaming down his face.

"That was rude," Tatsuki stated, rather at a loss for words.

Renji agreed, "No kidding."

Rukia shook her head in dismay and left the line making her way towards the sobbing boy. She kneeled down to be level with the boy, "Hey are you okay?"

The boy stopped his hollering and began to sniff a bit before removing his hands from his eyes and staring at her. He nodded his head.

She smiled gently and pulled out a pack of tissues she had in her pocket, "Here dry your face."

"Uh…thanks," he replied taking the tissue and wiped away his tears.

"How about I buy you another cotton candy?" She asked and the boy nodded with a huge grin pointing at the cotton candy stand that was a few feet away. After buying the candy, the boy thanked her and skipped happily towards a nearby bench towards a woman, presumably the child's mom, who seemed engaged in a conversation with another lady.

Rukia smiled softly and walked back towards the line at the grill, "Can you guys just get me a burger and fries, and I'll get us a table." She began to walk towards the outdoor tables that were set up adjacent to the stand.

"Uh- Rukia," Ichigo began to walk towards her only to have Renji halt his movements with his hands and their eyes meet.

"Don't bother with Rukia," he told her, "she won't want it brought up anyway; she's too humble for that. It's the way she's always been."

After eating their meal, Rukia decided she wanted to get her face painted. She sat quietly as the woman painted a series of purple shaded butterflies along the left side of her face. Tatsuki, Renji, and Ichigo weren't interested in it, but they stood waiting for her.

"Hey check in out they have wigs," Renji said as he pointed to the stand next to the face paint one. Rukia rolled her eyes as the other two walked towards there to actually look at them.

Tatsuki took hold of a long blonde one, "Hey do you mind if we try these on?" the lady there seemed bored and shrugged, mumbled something about as long as they didn't run off with them before she continued smoking her cigarette. "What do you guys think?"

"You look ridiculous," Ichigo commented casually.

"You should stick with black," Renji offered, as he placed a brown afro on.

"And surprisingly you should stick with red," Ichigo said with wide eyes. Renji plus brown afro equals an extreme disaster.

"Hey shut up," He barked slamming the wig back down onto the counter. He picked up a black one, "Why don't you try one on?"

"No thank you," Ichigo folded his arms, "I'm not about to look like a loser."

"Don't take the fun out of it Ichigo," Tatsuki stated, "Just put it on."

"Tch, whatever," He said giving up before an agreement escalated, "How bad does it look?"

Tatsuki cocked her head to the side as if she couldn't believe what she saw, "Actually it doesn't look that bad at all."

"Ha, your natural hair makes you look more like a clown," Renji burst into a fit of laughs.

"Hey shut up!" Ichigo retaliated in his own defense.

Rukia looked into the mirror so she could look at the paint job, "It looks great, thanks." She got up from her seat to join the trio who were currently making a racket. She shrugged at least things never got boring around them. "Hey what are you guys up t-"

"Hey Rukia what do you think of Ichigo? He looks better with black hair doesn't he?" Renji grinned trying to hold back his chuckles.

"Hey are you okay?" Tatsuki asked seriously, Rukia seemed frozen. Her eyes were wide in shock, and not the good kind, it was as if she was looking directly at a ghost. Her eyes seemed somewhat dead.

"Does it look that bad?" Ichigo asked bewildered at her behavior.

She turned away avoiding Ichigo's eyes, "Just take it off. It doesn't suit you so just take it off!" She began to storm off in another direction.

"R-Rukia?" Ichigo asked seemingly to himself.

"Is…is she okay?" Tatsuki seemed hesitant to ask.

"Uh-I…I don't know," Renji shook his head, just as confused as the other two.

Orihime climbed the stairs that lead up to her third story apartment. She had just finished her dinner with Ulquoirra Cifer, and he had dropped her off. Her first impression of him was quite correct; he really was an 'odd guy.' His mannerisms, the way he talked to people was off…or rather too distant, his eyes weren't expressive at all. When he looked at you it was a blank stare, more like he was looking through you than at you. Yet that intrigued her. She shook her head from the thought though, "I shouldn't be thinking about it, it was just a onetime thing…to be nice."

She was satisfied with that answer and visibly nodded. It was chilly tonight and with only the dress on she was getting bumps along her arms, she needed to get to her room quickly. When she made to the top step she headed towards her room only to be met with a surprise, "Uryu?"

The boy stopped his motions, apparently he was about to knock on her door. "Uh-Orihime, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were out. Uh that dress…were you on a date?"

She took a few steps forward to greet her classmate properly, "Not a date just out with a friend, um why are you here?"

He blushed slightly and pushed up his glasses, "Uh right, I was just worried about you because you seemed tired today and down in general lately. I tried calling you but I guess your phone was off. I just wanted to make sure you were okay, and now that I see you are, I'll be on my way."

"Um, no wait," she replied stopping the boy from leaving, "Why don't you come in for some tea then? Your house is pretty far from mine and it's too cold for you to walk all the way back or even to wait for a bus. So you can come in and call your dad so he can pick you up."

"Okay then," he smiled gently at her as she unlocked her door and followed her inside.

She went into the kitchen and put some water into a kettle, while taking out two mugs from her cabinet. She walked back out, to see Uryu standing against her wall. "You can sit down Uryu; you don't have to be so stiff. You've been over before," she smiled as she showcased her purple cushion by a small table.

"Uh right sorry," he said and took a seat.

She joined him, "But you know now that I think about you haven't been over since we started high school."

"Sorry, I've been busy," he told her, "Both of us have I think."

"That's so true," She smiled, "But you're so thoughtful coming over to check on me, you've always been so thoughtful. But you don't need to keep worrying about me. I've been taking care of myself for a while now. And I know I may come off ditzy sometimes…you know sometimes I wonder how I can be ranked fourth in the class 'cause I'm not too smart."

"But you are," Uryu interjected before she could go on anymore, "Orihime, you're very intelligent, there's no reason for you to think otherwise."

She blushed slightly and diverted her stare, "Oh, thank you."

"You don't need to thank me when I'm telling the truth," he smiled gently, "but are you sure you're really okay?"

"Don't keep asking because I'm always going to answer the same," the redhead told him, "I guess I should say thank you though, I don't think I properly thanked you that one time."

He raised a questioning brow, "What time?"

"My first day of middle school in this town," She told him, "When they were bullying me and you and Tatsuki came to my aid. They butchered my hair and Tatsuki cut it so it was even. And even though my hair was really short you still said I looked pretty, it was very sweet."

The dark haired boy blushed deeply this time, "Uh…that happened so long ago-I-I can't believe you remem-"

"Oh right you should call your, dad, let him know where you are so he can pick you up," The buxom girl reminded him.

"Right," he nodded in agreement.

Senna sat in the back seat of the car, Hisagi in the front passenger, while Mashiro was driving. She had already dropped off Rangiku and Yumichika. The car was silent, almost leaving an eerie feel to it. The hazel eyed woman cleared her throat, "Why are you two so quiet, it's giving me the creeps."

"Sorry," Senna replied, "thank you by the way for dropping me off Ms. Kuna."

"What? It's totally no problem," Mashiro smiled, "I can't have you guys walking home right now; it's too cold out there. And you can call me Mashiro, Senna; Ms. Kuna sounds like an old lady."

"I'll remember that," She nodded, "Oh you take a left here."

Mashiro nodded, "So did you have a fun night?"

"I don't think fun would be the word I would use," the amber eyed girl responded, "it was educational though, I learned some things I didn't know before."

Hisagi shook his head at her comment but did not say anything, but his action didn't go unnoticed by the driver. Mashiro stopped the car in front of Senna's house. She whistled, "Wow your place is nice."

"It's okay," she shrugged, "Oh and thanks again for the ride Mashiro."

"So what happened?" Mashiro asked as she began to drive again.

Hisagi sighed and ran his hand through his thick hair, "I'm sorry Mashiro, I'm not really in the mood to talk about it."

"Must have been something crazy," she said, "Because you two are never like that. I thought you guys were good friends, and yet here I am driving and as soon and Rangiku and Yumichika get dropped off the air becomes uber intense."

"Are you trying to fish it out of me?" he raised a questioning brow at his guardian.

"Maybe," She smiled playfully, "Well, you sometimes need to talk about things, and Kensei's not much of a talker so I'm here if you need me."

"Thanks Mashiro," he told her sincerely, "but it's nothing to worry about."

"Hmm," she said still keeping her big eyes glued to the road, "You know I looked at today's date and it seemed to ring a bell. Give me some credit Shuuhei I'm not that stupid, I was there that day too, how many years has it been five?"

"Six actually," He corrected her, "And I really don't want to talk about it, I just want to forget it."

"Well you should start wanting to talk about it," She told him seriously, "Shuuhei, that memory isn't going anywhere, and bottling it up inside isn't going to help with anything."

"You seem to forget talking about it won't help either," His tone was dark as he stared out the windows watching the houses vanish, "no matter how much we discuss it, it won't change the past. What happened happened- no amount of discussion will change that."

"Shuuhei stop being like that," she pouted, "it isn't good for you. Don't be like Kensei, if you become grumpy like Kensei then I'll never have any fun."

"Mashiro, I lost a friend that day, and I have to live with the fact that I could've done something to help but chose not to," He shook his head, "When I was needed the most I ran away like a coward. As if this scar isn't enough of a physical reminder," he sighed and placed his head against the glass.

Rukia walked towards the bench where Ichigo was sitting, she had just returned from washing off her face paint as it was flaking and becoming an irritant. They were waiting outside of the mirror maze for Renji and Tatsuki, who somehow were still lost inside it. It was becoming late and Renji was going to drop everyone off. She took a seat next to the redhead and took off her petticoat, "It's hot right now," she said fanning herself.

Ichigo shook his head and blew a breath as to showcase the cold, "You're insane." He laid his head upon her lap as if it were a cushion.

"What are you doing?" she inquired at his odd behavior.

He yawned and closed his eyes, "Shut up, I'm tired."

"And I'm your pillow?" She asked less seriously this time.

Ichigo merely nodded in response, "Hey Rukia, earlier today with the wigs…is there any chance you're going to tell me the real reason you freaked out?"

"Hmm," she nodded, "Ichigo, I never told you that you resemble someone I knew. And it isn't a slight resemblance either, it's painstakingly strong. With the wig you nearly look identical to him; it just brought back some bad memories."

Indeed she truly was opening up considerably tonight, "Sorry about that," he said in a tired voice.

A few more minutes passed by and Rukia checked her phone, fifteen minutes and those two were still stuck inside that maze. It was nearing eleven, they really should be leaving, and the carnival itself would be closing shortly. 'Maybe I should go find them in that maze and drag them out?'

"No," she looked down at Ichigo, that was him right? Did he just read her mind? Her eyes widened his were still closed, was he talking in his sleep?

"N-no please…don't," she heard him muttered under his breath. His face was coated lightly in a cold sweat and his lips trembled slightly, "No…p-please just don't…M-Mom."

Rukia's expression dropped, her indigo eyes softened sympathetically as she stared at his sleeping form. 'This is why he's been having problems sleeping.' She lifted her hand just a few centimeters to his face. She was hesitant at first to touch him, but finally touched it lightly. His face was surprisingly smooth; she ran her fingers lightly through his bangs, pushing them aside to relieve the sweat. "Shhh, it's okay," she whispered to him in a nurturing voice.

His eyes flew opened and a sleepy hazel met up at her wide indigo ones. He seemed a bit confused, and her hand was still in his hair, "Rukia?"

"Are you okay?" she asked in concern.

He stayed laying there but gave her confused expression, "Yeah why wouldn't I be?"

"You were having a nightmare," She told him quietly and resumed running her hands through his hair.

Now his eyes grew wide in shock, "H-how'd you know that?"

He looked scared for some reason that nearly confused Rukia, "You were talking in your sleep."

He quickly got up from the bench and began pacing back and forth shaking his head; Rukia just stared at him, "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? What's wrong?" He asked as his voice grew. He appeared panicked, frightened, and confused all at the same time, "You heard me….you saw me…in my most vulnerable state…I just…why this happening?"

His breathing was becoming quick and heavy, he would stop moving he kept clinging on to the collar of his shirt shaking his head in horror and disbelief. "Ichigo, calm down, everybody has vulnerability," she told him.

"No….no Rukia you didn't…you shouldn't have to see me like this," Ichigo told her, gasping heavily for air, "this is so pathetic…I'm pathetic…I'm just…"

Rukia got up from seat and gripped his arms to keep him still, "Ichigo calm down you're going to hyperventilate." She looked at him in the eyes deeply, "I'm not going to judge you." He just shook his head, his eyes wide in trepidation and fragility.

"Hey yo guys, that was definitely one heck of maze, when did you guys get out?" Renji asked as he approached the pair with Tatsuki by his side.

Ichigo shook out of Rukia's hold and just began to walk towards the parking lot, "Let's just go home."

"Ichigo! Wait!" Rukia began to jog to catch up with him.

"First Rukia, then Ichigo," Tatsuki stated, "What's going on tonight?"

A few minutes later Ichigo stared at his house, Renji had dropped him off first, and though his body had finally calmed down his mind was spinning rapidly. This was his personal problem; he didn't want anyone to know his fragile side, least of all Rukia. This was just too much for him to handle, he couldn't go on living like this. He took out his cell and dialed a number.

"Hello Grimmijow, it's me, Ichigo Kurosaki."

(A/N): So what do you think? Not as long as my 10,000 word chappie but its above 9,000 May be a bit all over the place but I found it rather entertaining...personally. Tell me what you guys think. Oh yeah and the scene I drew is the Ichigo and Rukia bench scene, it will hopefully be finished soon ^_^ Please leave a review though I'd appreciate it.

Thanks for the reviews: atelophobic, diggix, Aprilup, 2coolforyou, Fallen-Yuki, and Aizawa Li Syaoran Vessalius

-Spidergoth ^_-