Do I own Bleach? Psh I wish man, that'd be sweet. Enjoy!

Chapter Theme: Heard It All Before by Meiko~

"You know me well, you know me better than than this- and I can't be sure- if you're something i'd miss... Cause I've heard it all before..."

'Welcome Home'

"Why can't I enjoy such a nice day… We haven't had good weather like this in forever and here I am acting depressed!" She slowly wrapped her arms around her knees, gently placing her cheek on them. Despite the sun smiling down at her window seal, birds chirping happily in the trees, and students laughing together on the sidewalks, Orihime couldn't join the joyous mood. "I hate being sad on days when you're just- not supposed to, days full of sunshine and happy people, it doesn't feel right to be this way… It's like when I broke my arm before the big game, I practiced all month and was in perfect condition until the one day that counted… I basically let my whole team down and myself, now I'm wasting my time all over again. I'm so selfish…"

Orihime knew why she was upset but she didn't understand it, so much was going through her head that it was confusing. She thought of dear Tatsuki, warm Renji, kind Rukia… Ichigo… and- Grimmjow's invitation.

...

"Orihime I'm going to have you take a break alright, you've been running on there long enough." Said girl popped her head up in surprise from the treadmill, Renji was sitting on a bench across the room with his serious 'work-face' on. She pouted, unwilling to get off just yet, but did as she was told. After she took down the speed to a steady walk to cool herself down, the red head that was her so called trainer took her to a small table.

"I'll go grab you a drink from the back, they're free 'cause I work here!" Renji snickered before jogging out of her sights. Letting out a sigh, the bubbly girl whipped the sweat of her forehead "Eh I bet I smell terrible… How long have we been at it anyways? I wonder how Ichigo is doing, I haven't seen him sense Miss. Kuchiki dragged him away."

Speaking of Rukia, why did she need to do that 'Maybe she wanted to get the day started just like Ichigo did, I bet they were going to work out together.' Orihime was truthfully worried, Rukia was upset about something that involved Ichigo and the strawberry himself was certainly not thrilled to see his old high school buddies. She hated to snoop around in people private affairs but its only natural she's concerned about her friends. 'Any friend of Ichigo's is a friend of mine!' The amber haired girl chimed to herself, then out of the corner of her eye she found who she was looking for "Ichigo, there you are-"

He was spread out on a bench across the room with Rukia; the strawberry was on his back while she sat on the other end facing his head. Her little legs were folded under her as she watched her old friend rest "What have you been doing all this time?"

Ichigo shrugged "I don't know just regular stuff." She nodded her head in response "How 'bout your sisters, are they doing okay?"

"Yeah- I'd say so, Karin is getting pretty serious about soccer and Yuzu is becoming a really good cook." She nodded again "That's good to hear, I knew they'd be successful." Rukia racked her gaze back to him when he gave her silence, his eyes were closed and had his arms crossed under his head. He still had his trade mark scowl glued on his face like he used to, but there was something different about it.

When he frowned before, you could feel the rebellion, his anger towards anyone who had a problem with his hair, the tough disposition that told you to screw off and made you, and hid the trouble going through his heart. Now it didn't resemble those past emotions, it was just there because he did it so much before and now it was stuck like that- there was no real reason for it to be there.

Ichigo was a happier person now, it was clear as day to her and she was thankful.

Rukia gently placed her hand on his forehead, Ichigo twitch at this and opened his eyes. At first he looked annoyed that she woke him up, but after a while he was just confused "What're you doing Rukia??"

The petite girl shook her head and smiled, then pealed her tiny hand off of him "I wish I hadn't done that, your head's all sticky and crap you need to shower more!"

Ichigo sprang up from the bench "What the hell Rukia what's you're problem, I just got threw weight lifting for who know how long and you're-"

Rukia was rolling around laughing on the bench before he could finish, Ichigo's was so pissed his eye was having a spasm "You're still easy to piss off Ichigo, I swear I say one little thing like that and your ass is already on fire!"

The strawberry scratched the back of his head a bit embarrassed, not by the fact she said he was easy but because when he saw her laughing like that- he remember why they used to be so close. It made him sad that things got so awkward between them and that they changed so much over the separation.

Orihime robotically slipped out of her chair, her head felt heavy like her heart did 'Miss. Kuchiki and Ichigo… They're really good friends, aren't they…' Her shoulder tensed up at her despicable attitude, she rubbed her temples hoping it would rid her of the feeling 'I don't want to think like that, I enjoy Miss. Kuchiki's company and I- I care for Ichigo so I won't be selfish and feel sad…!'

The bubbly girl spun on her heels to rush back to Renji before anymore negative emotions ran through her chest, but today was just one of those days.

"Whoa!" Something warm and stern as a rock smacked hard into her side, at this Orihime fell over hitting the back of her skull on the floor. She was drenched in what she guessed was water and her head was spinning from the impact of the ground. A blue blob was gradually increasing in size as it moved closer to the amber-haired girl as she laid there distraughtly, struggling to make out the blurry shape. She was starting to believe that the aliens were actually abducting her this time.

"You, woman, get up!" Slowly, Orihime made out two rich blue eyes piercing straight into hers.

"Why's she just staring at me like that, it's freaking me out…"

"Maybe you killed her Grimmjow." A deep voice laughed.

"Hey shut up man, don't joke like that!"

"I'm just saying, you ran into her pretty full force."

"No fucking way I didn't realize dumb shit!"

"What'd you just call me?!"

From her spot on the floor, Orihime heard loud yelling and trudging feet all around her. She let her head roll over to the direction of the noise, her brain was throbbing like crazy and the room was spinning. After a few minutes she could make out a large group of men huddled together apparently arguing about something important- but why were they on the wall??

"W-What's going on…?" The men's bickering ended abruptly, all eye's were on her. A couple men trotted over to her side, sighs of relief festered among the crow as conversations started.

"You okay??" Orihime blinked trying to focus on the man who had spoken, she squinted "If you're an alien, I don't want to go on your ship…"

"Whoa, bummer Grimmjow- looks like she can't go on your ship, but hey you can still watch when she goes on mine!" An enormous man snickered from the other end of the pack, the men wailed loudly in return.

"Fuck you Yammy, your ships the last one she'd want to be on." A very pail skinned man shot back, the group laughed in agreement while said man was silently fuming.

'Douche bags.' Grimmjow smirked before looking back at the girl. 'Damn I gave her brain damage, that's just fucking fantastic…' The man scowled to himself, ignoring the others, it was one screw up after another today wasn't it. "No stupid… You ran out in front of me while I was doing laps and I banged into you."

She blinked again "I did?"

He rolled his eyes "Yeah then you flung across the room and whammed your head on the ground. That's why you're on the damn floor."

"Oh… I'm sorry… I was in a rush and-"

"Can you stand up?" He interrupted impatiently; the amber haired girl rolled up on her knees and attempted to pull herself up before her leg gave out. The man refluxed quickly and caught her right below her chest with his arm "Guess that's a no."

He spun her around so Orihime's back was resting on his shoulder and clamped his arm around her torso. As he pulled up the bubbly girl she flushed madly, feeling where his arm was "Wait!!"

The man stopped "What why?! It's not like you're goanna get up by yourself anytime soon." he started pulling her up again, then nearly threw her in the air. Orihime squeaked from both the uncomfortable place his arm was and the feeling of boosting off the ground. Two hands grasped supportively under her ribs and carefully let her feet touch the floor, Orihime swallowed deeply.

"There." The man said from behind, she looked up to find him staring down at her "See, you can stand." They were the same eyes she saw earlier and they wouldn't let her gaze leave.

"Yeah." The word just barely escaped her lips, nothing else would come out. It was as if he were miles taller than her, she felt defenseless next to his large mass. The man had messy, light blue hair that curved aimlessly at the ends and looked soft to the touch. His brows were the same color and furrowed deeply over his piercing orbs that resembled ocean. He reminded her of Ichigo in a way, but his scowl was more menacing than her Orange-headed companion's serious one. The man suddenly gave her a curious smile, as if he heard what she was thinking "Hey I know you."

Her eyes widened in surprise "You do?"

"Yeah you're in my health and safety class, I sit right behind you." Orihime's chin went back down, looking at the floor in though 'I can't believe this, I've been to that class how many times now and I've never noticed him??' At this point she began to realize what was going on around her…

She was surrounded by strange men, they were all watching her, and that guy still had his hands on her. Orihime's face blossomed into shock, her cheeks heating up rapidly at all the attention. Without thinking she stumbled back into the man, then jumped at the impact and turned to face him "I-I'm sorry!"

"It's fine."

"Why the hell are you saying sorry to him for, he's the bastard that knocked you over!" A tall thin man from behind her spat, putting a hand on her back as his long black hair fell past his shoulders.

"I'll knock you're teeth out-"

"Grimmjow." The ocean-eyed man was silent as the tall man's hand left her back. Orihime swayed her sights over to the group and spotted another man lurk from the back of the crowd "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

He had a calm expression on his face, which was strange considering the situation. His brown hair was pulled back while one wavy strand lingered on his forehead. The man looked older and more mature than the rest of the men; it made her feel safer amongst the cluster. He closed his eyes and returned his gaze to her, smiling softly "Who's this?"

"Number six over there smacked her across the room, almost killed her." A gray haired man grinned; Grimmjow sent a growl his way. The calm man looked back at her "Did he hit you?"

Orihime waved her hand frantically at her sides, discussing him "Oh no, no! It was all my fault, I wasn't watching where I was going and I got in his way while he was running really fast. He just bumped into me, it wasn't on purpose- and I'm just fine!"

"Fine my ass." A board looking man with long wavy hair mumbled at the far right, scratching his thin goatee.

The mature man watched her for a long while "I see." then switched his sights to Grimmjow "Why don't you ask her to come to the pool with us next weekend, to make up for the inconvenience."

Grimmjow glared at him in annoyance, a thick tension was in the air. Finally, giving up, Grimmjow shuffled his way to Orihime leaving little space between them "You want to, there's goanna be a big party there on Friday. We can talk about it at class or something?"

She felt overwhelmed by their large audience 'Should I really go, do I want to go?? I heard about that party from the man at the front desk when I first came here, but I wasn't planning on going because I didn't know anyone yet… But now I know Renji and Rukia and Ichigo, and a bunch of other people- I have Tatsuki too! I wouldn't mind going with these guys as long as my friends came, it might be fun who knows.' Orihime nodded with hesitance, but tried to put on an assuring smile "Sure! Would it be okay if my friends came too?"

"That'd be great. My name's Aizon, by the way, and you are?"

"Orihime Inoue." She stated, shaking his hand timidly.

"We'll see you there then, Orihime." Aizon smiled before leaving with the gang "Grimmjow, you coming?"

"Yeah I'll be there." He growled, Orihime jumped when she found out he was next to her. Grimmjow leaned over so he was eye level with her then put a hand around her waist, sharply tugging her to his side. She couldn't breath; his face was so close to hers. He lifted a furrowed brow at her, giving the bubbly girl a good look in the eye "Are you really going?"

'Was she?' Orihime sighed "Well- I guess so. I've already gotten an offer and this is good weather for a dip in the pool right!" she laughed nervously. He stared at her weirdly "Alright then." As the blue haired man stood straight, he took his hand off her waist and ruffled her hair with it. Orihime tensed at his actions, wide eyed with surprise. Grimmjow grinned at her devilishly as he walked off "Nice hair!"

...

Slowly, the amber haired girl laid her upper back against the wall, wrapping her arms under her thighs. On Thursday she'd have to see Grimmjow again at class, that wasn't something she was particularly looking forward to- but at the same time she was excited. "Maybe I should ask Ichigo to walk me to class that day, would that make a difference?" Her eye's lowered recalling what happened at the gym 'Ichigo and Rukia must have been really close… I wonder how close…' The thought made her eye's burn, why did she want to cry?

Orihime's back sunk down the wall as she turns onto her side, hugging her pink teddy bear Enraku. Snuggling into the pillow on the window seat, she buried her eyes in Enraku's chest as if it were holding her. Cold tears soaked into the bear, she wished someone would just come to her rescue and pull her away from her depression "Where are you…"

'What??' Ichigo was leaned against a wall in the living room; he'd been watching her for awhile now. The strawberry wondered if Orihime knew he was there yet… He wanted to say something, anything- so she would see him, smile that smile she wore so much. He wanted to hear her say 'Hello Ichigo!' or 'You're back!' the way she always did, but he didn't want to disturb the amber haired girl.

Orihime looked so fragile- so breakable, he'd never seen her like this… Ever sense they went to the gym together she'd been acting strangely, Ichigo was feeling out-of-it himself.

'I bet it had something to do with those guys.' Ichigo grinded his teeth down, everytime he thought about them it pissed him off 'What's wrong with me! I could of done something, I saw them with Orihime and I saw the way they where acting! They kept touching her and laughing like idiots, I could tell she was scared… Why didn't I just get up and take her away? Why didn't I protect her, I promised I would look out for her and I let her get ambushed by a bunch of assholes?!' He tightened his fists, narrowing his eyes 'what were you too busy with you're damn ex to help her, you selfish bastard…'

"…I-Ichigo?" At the sound of her voice calling his name, the strawberries head shot up to find Orihime's trembling eyes. His heart ached at her puffy lips, the glimmer of wet tears on her cheeks made his fingers twitch. "How, long h-have you been t-there…" She shuddered softly, chocking on the small sobs she tried to hide from him. She was sitting up now holding Enraku, the bear Ichigo had gotten for her.

"O-Orihime… are you-" He put a hand in his hair through frustration "That's a stupid question, of course you're not okay…"

Silence spilled over them before Orihime sniffle up a giggle "Heh, don't worry about me Ichigo! I was just thinking that's all… I'm fine, really!"

"You're crying. You're not fine." He whispered barely loud enough for her to hear. She touched her cheek, it was damp "Oh that? M-My eye's were itchy so I stated rubbing them and it only made them worse so my eye's started watering, I guess it's allergies." She laughed unconvincingly, Ichigo's frown deepened.

"Don't lie to me Orihime." Ichigo stated firmly, she was quiet.

"What happened?" She didn't answer.

Ichigo pushed himself off the wall and walked in front of her, squatting down so he was face to face with her "If those guys from the gym made you cry I'll murder them!! I don't care if I get arrested or shot down- or whatever else happens to me, it'd be worth it!" Orihime couldn't speak.

Ichigo went on his knees, looking down at the floor while he healed his hand together. "Orihime… I…"

"I…"

"I…will get stronger. I'm getting stronger." He looked up to her with determination scolding in his eyes; it left her breathless "Next time, I will definitely… protect you."

Orihime's chest was throbbing so hard it was unhealthy; if it went on like this she'd surely have a heart attack. His words made her heart melt, butterflies swarmed out of her stomach, and heat radiated up her throat making it difficult to breathe evenly. Her eye's glazed over, her tong swelled up; her cheeks were burning up like mad.

The girl turned away from his sole-shaking chocolate orbs, her amber hair hiding her features.

Ichigo was devastated; he'd been rejected again… It took all he had to muster up the courage to get this close to her, let alone say what he did. The pain surging through his chest reminded him of the pain he felt when he lost his mom…

"Thank you, Ichigo." Orihime sniffled, looking back at him with a flushing, tear-filled smile. "Welcome home!"

The strawberry's brows flew up his forehead, he was completely baffled.

A grin made its first appearance in ten tears as it shined brightly past his teeth, joy soaring through his cheeks 'Glad to be back.'

Haha I used a famous IchiHime quote in this chapter, did you see it did you see it!!! Anyways, sorry for the wait… I kinda bummed out about my last chapter… It was the longest one, I put the most time into it, and used a bunch of my weekends making it better- but I didn't get many reviews on it… Pretty depressing, I hope I'm not losing you guys that would be terrible! T-T So- I tried to put some more romance in here for my readers. I can tell people want some fireworks already, and trust me so do I :O that's how a story works though; you read through it and look forward to the good parts! Trust me though, the next chapter will blow your minds (at least I prey it will…) because the next chapter is the reason I made this fic ^^

PLEASE R&R!!! Tell me what you like and dislike, give me suggestions requests! You won't be ignored; I'll see to it that it gets a place in this story somehow!

Thank you all for all your support!!! :D