September
Orihime gasped for breath as the violent coughing spell ended leaving her throat burning with pain. She felt a cool rag being draped across her forehead and she could do nothing more than offer a weak smile in thanks to her best friend. She had been feeling bad for the past couple of days, but when she woke up that morning to get ready for the day a wave of nausea washed over her causing her to break out in a cold sweat. As the day wore on, the tickle that had been in the back of her throat grew into a violent cough that now had her ribs aching in pain. Food had no appeal to her and she shivered uncontrollably. Though she didn't want to admit it, she now had no choice but to agree with her friend.
She was most definitely sick.
Tatsuki called her earlier just to chat and noticed the raspy and tired quality to her voice. The first chance she had to leave the house had her running to Orihime's apartment. A little after lunchtime, Tatsuki arrived at the healer's home finding her wrapped in blankets in her futon. The beautiful red head was a pitiful sight to behold. Tatsuki did what she could for her but grew concerned at the rate her fever was rising.
She had been afraid Orihime was going to get sick.
For the past couple of weeks, Orihime was not looking like herself. Bags hung under her eyes from lack of sleep, her normal healthy appetite was reduced to picking at the small amount of food she would get, and a sadness seemed to hang around the usually happy woman. If Tatsuki didn't know better she would think something happened to her again. Not once had Orihime's presence disappeared though; Tatsuki was always sure to take note of it. There was no mistaking it though...Orihime was acting like she did at the start of the year. It wasn't as bad as last time but something was going on again.
She tried several times to ask the young woman what was wrong but she was always answered with vague responses of 'nothing'. Frustrated once again at not being able to help her friend herself, she wracked her brain at what to do.
She had to go to the dojo soon, as she was training for the assistant job she recently got, and couldn't skip work. There was no way she could leave Orihime in this state though.
The idea hit her out of nowhere. It would solve everything and she almost hit herself for not thinking of it sooner. There was one person she could rely on to help Orihime, especially if it was dealing with those creatures she had no power to fight.
Checking on Orihime again and finding her in a fitful sleep, she eased out of the apartment to dial a number that was all to familiar to her.
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Isshin reached above the light outside of Orihime's apartment, searching for the key Tatsuki said would be there. When his son's friend called she first asked for Ichigo. After he told her Ichigo was out, he was surprised when she said she needed to talk to him as well. Though he'd known the young woman most of her life she never called just to chat with him.
Her reasons became clear once she said Orihime was sick. He told the young fighter to have her drop by the clinic but apparently that wasn't possible. She begged him to come check on her. That he had no problem doing. He liked the shy young woman. He also knew she didn't really have anyone to rely on to help her if she was hurt or sick, so he was more than happy to make the house call.
"Hello? Orihime-chan?" he called as he let himself into the apartment. No one called back in greeting so he closed the door behind him and went in search of the young woman. He walked towards the back of the apartment, where he assumed her bedroom would be. Calling out another greeting as he rounded the corner, he saw her sleeping on the futon.
"Orihime-chan? How are you feeling?" he asked as he knelt beside her. A groan was all she answered with and his concern went up a notch. Pulling the now dry rag from her forehead he ran his hand along her skin and was shocked at the heat coming from her body.
"Orihime-chan, wake up." he called louder, now gently shaking her shoulders. She groaned at the disturbance but did manage to open her eyes. "Orihime-chan can you hear me?"
"Kurosaki-san? What are you doing here?" she asked weakly.
"Tatsuki-chan called me and I'm glad she did! How long have you been sick?" he asked while checking her pulse at her wrist.
Her eyes closed as she scrunched her face in concentration. "A couple of da..." she broke off as coughs wracked her body once again.
"Do you hurt anywhere?"
"Everywhere." she wheezed as the coughs passed. "I just feel so bad."
"Mmm...I bet you do." Isshin replied as he took his stethoscope out of his pocket and listened to her lungs. He was pretty sure she had the flu but he'd have to test her back at his clinic. She feel asleep again as he was examining her, leaving him unable to tell her what he was about to do. Shrugging his shoulders in indifference he stood and walked to her closet. He wasn't about to let Orihime stay here as sick as she was with no one to watch over her. Some loose pajamas and underwear were all he packed into her book bag.
He swallowed the small pill he was glad he thought to bring and instructed the mod soul in his body to take the bag and go back to the clinic. It was a bit more risky to take her back home in the day, but he was fast enough that no one should be able to see her body flying across the rooftops. He gently scooped her feverish form into his arms before setting off for his clinic.
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"Old man!" Ichigo yelled as he walked through the house. He knew his father was there; he could feel his reiatsu.
"Back here son!" he heard him call from the clinic area. Grumbling under his breath about his irritating father, Ichigo trudged towards his voice.
"Put on a mask before you come in here." his father called from beyond the door.
"Forget it! I'll just see you when you come out!" he called back.
"Ichigo, just put the mask on."
Once again cursing his father under his breath, Ichigo put on the mask. Adjusting it so his mouth and nose were adequately covered, he entered the clinic's doors. He blinked several times to make sure the image in front of him was real. When the vision of Orihime laying on the bed didn't disappear, he bristled in anger and concern.
"What the hell happened?" he demanded loudly.
"Would you be quiet! She needs to rest." his father replied.
Ichigo stomped over to her bedside where his father was replacing the cooling pack over her forehead. "She's got the flu and it's a pretty bad case of it. Her fever's high and I just got her back to sleep after she took some antivirals so don't go bothering her."
Ichigo nodded silently as he watched her sleep. Sweat was beading along her temples and her breathing was fast and harsh. The sight of her lying sick in bed was so hard for him to see. Once again he had to watch her in pain and there was nothing he could do to help her. He hated feeling helpless yet there was nothing he could do in this situation.
Almost a week had passed since the last time he'd seen or spoken to her. Though she smiled when she said hello it still seemed so different than her normal greetings. She wasn't acting the same around him anymore and it bothered him considerably. He wanted so badly to know what was going on but she wasn't talking.
He sighed heavily and tried to erase those thoughts from his mind for now. What mattered most right then was her getting better. His father was an idiot most of the time but Ichigo knew he was a good doctor. He was glad she was here.
"Oto-san?" they heard Yuzu call from the other room.
"I'm gonna go tell the girls Orihime-chan's here and see if Yuzu could make her some soup. You gonna stay here?" Isshin asked as he watched his son.
"Yeah." Ichigo replied absently. Isshin was glad the mask hid his grinning face. Though he wasn't pestering his son about it right now, he had sensed a change in the way Ichigo spoke about Orihime recently. Even now, his son wasn't looking at him when he spoke; his every attention was focused on the beautiful woman lying on the bed. Isshin grinned again as he let himself out of the room. He could already envision the adorable bright haired grandchildren he would have one day.
Ichigo heard the door close behind his father as he left the room so he dropped the last guard he had in place. Sitting bedside her bed, he allowed his hand to brush the hair back from her face gently. She mumbled incoherently but turned her face into the hand lying against her heated flesh. Ichigo's eyes softened as he gazed at the woman who was coming to mean so much to him. His other hand slipped into her own, curling lightly around her slim fingers.
"Get better soon Orihime." he whispered into the empty room.
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Every muscle in her body screamed its protest as she struggled to sit up in bed. When she finally managed to get herself to a seated position, her vision swam with the dizziness that assaulted her. She kept her eyes closed tight as she drew in slow deep breaths until it subsided. Though she couldn't remember much since Tatsuki left her, she recognized the room she was lying in. It had been a very long time since she saw the eggshell colored walls and neatly lined canisters on the counters but there was no denying her memory.
She was definitely in the Kurosaki clinic.
She tried to stand but her legs began shaking the moment she placed her weight on them and she dropped back into the bed. A heavy sigh passed her lips as she realized she would be helpless for a while longer. Looking around the room she noticed she was alone. She was glad for the solitude; she needed time to get her bearings if she was in Ichigo's house.
Lately, things had been going well with her plan to act like nothing more than friends with Ichigo. It still hurt her every time she saw him but she was able to keep the smile on her face whenever she spoke to him. His actions were the ones confusing her now. More often than not, he found some way to be near her. If he wasn't close to her than his eyes were on her. She would catch him watching her, but unlike before when he would turn away and avoid her gaze, he now stubbornly held her eyes, a myriad of emotions swirling within his deep brown orbs.
She took another deep breath and forced herself not to think about any of that. If she was here in his house she would have to be ready to face him with a friendly smile and not her love sick heart dangling for the world to see.
The sound of soft footsteps approaching had her swiveling her head towards the door. She was relieved to see Kurosaki-san behind it.
"Orihime-chan, I'm glad to see you up." his voice carried to her through the mask he wore around his face.
She had to clear her throat a few times before she could get her voice to work. When she did speak, her voice was raspy and pain still laced through her raw throat. "Thank you Kurosaki-san. How long was I asleep for?"
"Off and on all day." he replied as he pulled out a bottle of pills from the cabinet. "I woke you up every few hours to give you more medicine and you would go right back to sleep. How are you feeling?"
"Better." she replied. "But I still feel sore and weak."
He chuckled lightly. "You will for a while. You've got a pretty bad case of the flu and I've been trying to keep your fever down since I found you. Here take these." he said holding out a small cup with four pills in it. "It's more antivirals and Tylenol."
Orihime managed to swallow the pills but couldn't keep the grimace off her face from the pain it caused.
"I'm gonna bring you some broth to eat. Now I know you probably don't feel like eating but you need some food in your system."
She nodded in agreement and watched him leave the room once again. It was a struggle for her to rearrange herself on the bed and by the time he was back with the broth, she felt worn out from just that small amount of moving. She whispered her thanks for the broth and began sipping at the warm liquid. Food was the last thing she wanted at the moment but she also knew Kurosaki-san was right and did her best to drink it.
"Thank you very much for everything Kurosaki-san." she whispered in between sips of the broth.
"You're very welcome Orihime-chan." he said with a bright smile. As he watched the healer he took more notice of the small nuances that were different in her character. Though he didn't know the young woman that well, he had been in her company enough to know the absence of her bright cheerful attitude was odd. The bags under her eyes were definitely the product of more than missing a couple days rest, and she looked to have lost weight. Isshin knew nothing had happened in the way of hollow attacks lately that could cause the tension he easily saw hovering around the young woman. Earlier, while she was sleeping off the fever from the flu, she whimpered in what seemed to be fear and pain in her dreams. Thanks to his ever present nosiness into his sons life, he knew Orihime had problems adjusting right after the war. He overheard the conversation his son had, with who he assumed to be Tatsuki, on the phone at the beginning of the year.
Everything seemed fine lately but was it possible her nightmares were bothering her again? Maybe he should talk to Ichigo. He was sure if she would talk to anyone, it would be his son.
A knock on the door sounded just before Ichigo walked in. "Hey Orihime. How are you feeling?"
Isshin saw the slight flinch the young lady made the moment his son walked in. She did a great job hiding it but he caught the small moment she seemed to curl in on herself when Ichigo called out her name. Her head remained down a moment longer and she took a deep breath before her face rose with a gentle smile on it.
"Hello Ichigo-kun. I'm feeling somewhat better thank you." her raspy voice said.
Isshin watched the two interact very carefully. Ichigo now seemed to be the one watching her as she spoke. His eyes were totally focused on her and he sat close to the bedside as they talked. Orihime would glance his way every now and then but mostly she kept her eyes on her hands. While she answered any question he asked, she didn't elaborate on anything nor did she gesticulate as she usually did. He was coming to an awful conclusion that he needed to verify with the young woman.
Isshin was about to send Ichigo out on a random errand so he could speak with her when she managed to get rid of both of them.
"I'm sorry Ichigo-kun, Kurosaki-san but I'm still really sleepy." she said almost shyly.
"Oh, yeah! Sorry about that Orihime. You need your rest. Just call me if you need anything okay?" Ichigo said with sincerity as he stood up and made his way to the door quickly. "I just want you to feel better."
Isshin nodded to Orihime as he followed his son out of the room. He would have to find another opportunity to speak with her.
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Though she had been mostly lying when she told Ichigo she was tired earlier, she fell asleep almost immediately after they left. Her mind was wired but her body still demanded rest. She woke up a long time later, noticing the light filtering in through the window. It took a while but she managed to make it out of bed and to the small washroom in the corner of the room. She took care of her necessities and walked around the room for a few minutes.
Her body still ached but it was nothing like what she experienced the past couple of days. She had barely coughed since she woke up and, surprisingly, she was a little hungry. All of this was excellent news for her. If she could convince Kurosaki-san she was better she would be able to go home. Not that long ago the prospect of staying in Ichigo's home, whether it was in the clinic or not, would have made her giggle with extreme happiness.
Now it only brought her pain.
She wasn't mentally prepared yet to spend so much time around him. The pain was still too raw and she wasn't sure if she could focus on simply being his friend right now if she had to spend hours in his presence. Orihime knew she had to get herself ready for this though. School would be starting back in two weeks and she would be near him all day long. There was no way she could falter in her attitude towards him. She recognized the fact that Tatsuki-chan would already be suspicious about her behavior.
She would have to figure out something to tell Tatsuki-chan eventually. Whenever she stopped always trying to be around Ichigo or throwing him the looks she knew she always had, Tatsuki-chan would start asking questions. She also knew she couldn't tell her the truth. There was no way she could look her best friend in the eye and tell her she had willingly decided to die in order to save everyone. She couldn't tell her the pain she went through when she ripped the hogyoku out of Aizen's body. Tatsuki-chan's face when she saw her in the hospital was one Orihime never wanted to see on her again.
A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.
"Orihime-chan?" Isshin asked as he came in, without a mask this time.
"Hello Kurosaki-san. Umm...shouldn't you have a mask on?"
"No, you've been on the antivirals for a few days now and I've already had a flu shot." he said as he came to sit beside her.
Orihime was a little nervous at the look he was giving her. He wasn't acting like his usual exuberant self and it was a little disconcerting. She sat up straighter in the bed and continued to meet his more serious, yet still very kind gaze.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Much better. I can't thank you enough for helping me Kurosaki-san. I apologize for any inconvenience I've placed on you or your family and I hope you will please tell me what I can do to repay you." she said with her head bowed slightly.
"Nonsense Orihime-chan. You've been no trouble what so ever! And really, what kind of man, or physician, would I be if I didn't help such a wonderful person like you?" his usual grin was in place as he said this. She smiled back at him, and just as she began to relax again he asked his next question.
"Is there something bothering you Orihime-chan?"
She stiffened slightly and looked away. Was she really acting so differently that even Kurosaki-san suspected something?
"N-no, no...I'm fine Kurosaki-san."
She heard him sigh and peeked through her lashes at him. He leaned back in the chair and crossed his legs comfortably.
"You know Orihime-chan, I actually do understand what you've been through. I know how it is after you've seen and participated in intense battles. It's easier for everyone in Soul Society. They can talk openly to each other. They can go out and drink and laugh and help each other forget about all the nasty shit they've seen. I can't imagine how hard it's been for you guys. All of the sudden realizing that such things as ghosts and hollows exist. Having these new powers thrust onto you and learning how to use them. And you Orihime-chan." he uncrossed his legs and leaned forward, bracing his hands on his knees. "Being kidnapped and taken to Hueco Mundo. Being alone in the presence of someone like Aizen. It's okay to be scared ya know."
Orihime had her hands clasped tightly in her lap. Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes and her chest tightened with the need to cry. He was right. Everything he said was right. But what could she do about it? The memories were there and nothing could take them away. Every time she closed her eyes she was so afraid she would see Aizen's face and feel the horrible pain run through her body.
What could she possibly do about it?
"Orihime-chan," he said softly, "talk to me. Please. These are things that you shouldn't let bottle up inside you. Trust me, I know from experience." she remained silent sitting in the bed. "If it would make you feel better, I could ask Ichigo to come in and..."
"No." she whispered.
"What?"
"No." she spoke more firmly this time. "I can't talk to Ichigo-kun about it."
"Then can you talk to me? You are my patient, that makes anything we talk about confidential."
She glanced at his pleading face and felt the sorrow welling up inside her. She really shouldn't talk about it with Kurosaki-san; he was Ichigo's father for kami's sake...but...she didn't know who else to turn to. After everything he said she felt the need to unload all her worries and fears and his eyes were pleading with her to open up to him. She felt the tears break loose and streak down her face.
"I remember."
"Remember what Orihime-chan?" he asked.
"Everything. Meeting you as a shinigami, pulling the hogyoku away from Aizen, the p-pain," she was crying openly at this point. "Finally telling Ichigo how I felt. Everything." her head dropped into her hands as her sobs overtook her.
Isshin's heart absolutely wept for the beautiful woman that was breaking in front of him. He got behind her in the bed and scooped her into his arms. He shifted around until he had her sitting sideways in his lap and he held her tightly as she cried. Her fists curled into his shirt as her tears soaked into the fabric. Now he knew he had made the right decision to call Urahara to keep Ichigo busy for a while. The twins were out with their friends so the house would be empty for a few hours.
He knew from the way Orihime interacted with his son the day before that there was a high probability she had regained her memories. Thinking about it from her perspective, she probably thought Ichigo was rejecting her and that's why her attitude towards his son had changed. He knew nothing had happened from Ichigo's end. His son was acting infatuated with the girl but didn't give off any signs that he'd spoken to her about it yet.
Orihime began mumbling against his chest through her sobs. She told him about the nightmares she was having again, reliving the pain she suffered when she destroyed the hogyoku.
He remembered that scene all too well. That was one memory he fervently wished she didn't recall.
As her great sobs subsided she began talking about her time in Hueco Mundo. It seemed that once she got started, every experience...every emotion began pouring out of her. Isshin stroked her hair as he would his daughters while she recalled the horrors she witnessed...and went through.
At one point, she began speaking about Ichigo fighting some Arrancar named Ulquiorra. His arms unconsciously tightened around the distressed girl as she spoke about his horrible battle. She reached a point when she just began apologizing over and over and it took him a great deal of time and patience to wait for her to explain. In a voice so quiet he would have missed it had he not been concentrating on her, she spoke about his son dying.
Isshin forced himself to remember that Ichigo was alive and well.
He was not dead.
He had woken his son up that very morning in their usual fashion.
She continued on with her tale, unaware of the brief heart attack she had given him. Apparently he had his son's hollow to thank for his life being spared. The strength she spoke of him having was incredible; though it was also horrible at the same time. Her voice became almost numb while she spoke about the events. When he glanced down at her, he saw her eyes were open and unfocused. She was seeing the battle all over again as she described it to him. He could only imagine the horror she felt, watching his son, the man she confessed to being in love with, die then arise as a horrifying monster cutting down everything in it's path.
How this girl had not suffered a nervous breakdown already was beyond him.
She settled down and he thought she was finally through with the heavy burdens she had been carrying around.
Unfortunately she wasn't.
When she spoke about remembering confessing to his son and now realizing he had known for so many months how she felt, she began crying again. Apparently she had felt this way about Ichigo for a long time and she believed he had ignored her feelings completely, silently giving her his rejection. Now Isshin was in a position he didn't know how to deal with.
Ichigo was his son. He would support his son in whatever he did but his parenting towards his oldest child wasn't exactly the 'hands on' kind. Ichigo had been giving much more freedom to do as he pleased and Isshin had never felt the need to step in and stop him from doing anything. Masaki's death had turned his child into a much more serious person and Ichigo rarely did anything to cause problems. Well, in the living world at least. Their conversations were about mundane things, unless Isshin was teasing his horribly shy son, and he was sure they would probably never speak openly about anything serious. Ichigo's life was his own and who he chose to be with was something Isshin had no say in.
He warned him at the hospital when she woke up.
Isshin knew better than his emotionally immature son how the female mind worked. Not to say he understood them all that well; Masaki always kept him guessing. Though his son might not have felt anything other than friendship for the young woman crying in his lap in the beginning, he could tell that had definitely changed over the course of the year. Unfortunately for his son, he wasn't sure Orihime would be open to hearing anything about his feelings now. She knew he had ignored her feelings this whole time. How could she not feel saddened and betrayed by it?
On the other hand, he worried about Orihime. The woman had went through hell and was in so much pain. She helped his daughters out in a way he never could and the twins had developed a great liking for the healer. Urahara told him Orihime was the main reason Ichigo rarely came home in bandages, even with as much fighting as he did. This woman had somehow managed to capture a piece of the heart of every Kurosaki family member. She was so gentle and kind; it made him want to protect her from all harm.
Where the hell did that leave him with trying to help her, especially with the problem of his angry child?
"I'm so sorry Kurosaki-san. I shouldn't have unloaded all of my problems onto you like that." she said and tried to pull away from him.
Isshin held tight to her and simply made her relax against his chest once again. He felt her arms go around him and he continued to stoke her hair as he spoke.
"It's okay Orihime-chan. You needed to get all of that out of your system. Maybe now you can actually start to deal with all the pain."
He heard her sigh heavily. "I hope you're right Kurosaki-san. It wasn't this bad when we first got back. Yes, I still had nightmares then and got scared easily, but something about this memory makes me so afraid to even try to sleep."
"It's gonna take time but I promise it can and will get better Orihime-chan. If you ever need to unload again I want you to come to me. Talking about your problems helps you deal with the stress and pain they cause. That's why people go to therapists. However, if you went to one and began telling him what was actually bothering you I have no doubt they'd lock you up in a padded cell somewhere." he chuckled and was relieved to hear a small laugh come from her. "So anytime you need to talk you come to me. Promise me?"
"I don't want to cause you any trouble Kurosaki-san." she replied meekly.
Isshin pulled back from her enough to look into her tear glazed eyes. "Orihime-chan, you are not causing any trouble." he said sternly. "Think of it as a physician helping his patient if you have to."
She finally nodded her agreement and he smiled his normal goofy smile for her.
"Good. Now come back here. You need to sleep again." he said as he pulled her against his chest. She went without hesitation and fell into the warmth his arms held. His hands continued to stroke her back and hair as she laid within his arms. A nostalgic feeling came over her.
"This feels like it did with onii-chan." she admitted.
"Mmmm...I'm sure it does." he said against her hair. "All fathers' hugs feel like this... and I've always got room for one more daughter."
It was amazing really, what being able to sleep did for a person's mind. As she walked to school, Orihime found herself not apprehensive about the upcoming day. While she hadn't been very fond of the idea to begin with, she wound up taking the sleeping pills Kurosaki-san gave her when she left the clinic a week ago. After an entire week of actually sleeping at night, Orihime had a more positive outlook on this new school year.
She once dreaded the notion that she would have to go to school every day and be in such close quarters with Ichigo. Now, she was simply going to enjoy being around her friends and work hard to keep her grades up in school. While she was still trying to decide what to do with her life, she knew she had to keep top marks in order to get a scholarship for college. If she didn't get one, there would be no way she could afford to continue her studies.
Ichigo would still be in her classes and she couldn't avoid that. Truth be known she didn't want to. He was her friend and she just wanted to learn how to be friends with him without her feelings getting in the way.
Talking with Kurosaki-san had helped. Letting out all of the fear, guilt, and sadness she was bottling inside lifted a weight off her shoulders. The nightmares had lessened considerably and she rarely woke up afraid anymore.
She waved to a few fellow classmates as she walked into the familiar hallways of her school. Everyone was huddled around in groups discussing what they did on their summer vacations. She walked into her homeroom class and was glad to see Tatsuki already at her desk in the back. Orihime turned go to towards her best friend but saw her other friends out of the corner of her eye. With a casual wave of her hand, she called out a greeting to them all.
"Good morning Ishida-kun, Sado-kun, Ichigo-kun."
She didn't linger around but went straight to Tatsuki.
She never noticed Ichigo's narrowed gaze nor the tightening of his fists as he spun around and ignored the buzz around him.
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Ichigo dealt with it for a full week before he'd had enough.
He'd questioned her before, several times as a matter of fact, and continued to get no answers from her. This difference in her attitude was no longer worrying him...it was pissing him off.
She'd say good morning, then would rush over to her group of girl friends.
She'd talk with them as a group after school, but if Ichigo was alone she would simply wave goodbye to him and rush off.
Hell, he'd even went to her job once. She greeted him with that smile that was never quite as large as it used to be, and asked him what he wanted. As soon as he ordered she quickly gave it to him before turning onto another customer. He sat at a table and enjoyed his treat, waiting patiently for a chance to talk to her. As soon as he would see an opening she would ask another worker to man the counter and she would go into the back to bake something. Ichigo would have written it off as her doing her job had he not seen her cut her eyes to him quickly, as if to see if he was still there.
Was she playing some kind of fucking game with him? He was tempted to ask Mizuiro what he thought of the situation but quickly banished that idea.
All he knew was her constant avoidance of him was really pissing him off. If he upset her then she needed to tell him so he could apologize. He couldn't recall doing so but he was fresh outta ideas at this point.
Ichigo watched as she waved goodbye to Tatsuki and made her way to her own apartment. School was over and he knew she wasn't working today so now was the best time to talk to her. He picked up his speed until he was only a few feet away from her.
"Orihime." he called out.
He saw the slight stiffening of her shoulders as his voice registered in her head. She was slow to turn around and greet him and when she did, that fake smile was back on her face. For whatever reason that smile pissed him off even more.
"Oh, hello Ichigo-kun. What are you doing here? You're house is the other way."
"I know which direction my house is Orihime. I want to talk to you."
A shadow passed over her face before she quickly schooled her features and plastered that fake grin on again. "Sorry Ichigo-kun, but I have a lot to do today. I should be going." she turned to leave again but he caught her wrist and spun her to face him.
"This won't take long." he bit out harshly.
"What do you want Ichigo-kun?" she said with a sigh.
He was momentarily shocked at the almost defeated tone of her voice but he pressed on. "I want to know why you've been acting like this."
"Like what?" she asked innocently.
"Don't even try that. You've been avoiding me for almost two months now and don't try to say you haven't been." he said quickly as she opened her mouth to interrupt. "You've been acting differently but only towards me and I've had enough of it. Now I want you to tell me what the fuck I did to deserve this?" he cringed inwardly at how harsh he sounded. Yes, he was mad but he had no intention of scaring her into telling him. He didn't want her upset or afraid of him; he just wanted things back to the way they used to be. He wanted her back.
"Please Orihime," he began, much softer than before. "Please just tell me what I did and I'll fix it."
Her eyes lifted to meet his and he was not prepared for the look she gave him. He'd seen her laugh, he'd seen her cry...but he had never seen the anger that she was showing him now. Her beautiful gray eyes were narrowed slightly as she stared back at him. His own eyes widened as she pulled her wrist from his grasp. Orihime's eyes lost some of their anger and a sad look came upon her face.
"Nothing Ichigo. That's what you did...nothing."
He could only, once again, stare at her back as she walked off.
A/N: Okay, so please have faith in me! I know how this may look right now but please stick with me through this and I promise we'll get there.
There is so much hurt laying between the two of them and I don't want to rush things. Just remember, this is an Ichi/Hime fic so bear with me through it all PLEASE!
Oh, and another thing, it actually takes like 7 days on antivirals before you aren't contagious with the flu anymore but I needed to rush that one little bit along.
Thank you all for your reviews and I really hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. Please review and let me know what you think.
Thanks for reading!