AN: hey! Thank you so much to everyone reading and leaving review! it's very encouraging and I can't thank you enough! Sorry if this is late, i'm not keeping you guys hanging on purpose I promise.
Disclaimer: All of the characters in this fanfic belong to Tite Kubo, i'm just a lowly nobody
Chapter 14
Ichigo's POV
"ICHIGO WAKE THE HELL UP!" my father's voice loudly woke me up. I jumped out of bed my body hitting the floor with a thud.
"WHAT!" I yelled back at my old man. I glanced at my alarm clock, it was only six in the morning! Why was he waking me up so early? Even though I had started going to school early when I discovered I could be alone with Inoue, 6:00 am was ridiculously early.
"I just received very, very shocking news" My father crossed his arm and stood by my bed. He had a very serious expression on his face. I had only seen him use that look when he was delivering bad news or when he was giving Yuzu and Karin 'the talk'.
"What's wrong?" I asked him cautiously.
"Well Keigo-kun just sent me a text message"
"You and Keigo text each other? That's really creepy dad" I said.
"That's not the point" he waved his hand dismissively. "He just informed me that you have a girlfriend"
My dad crossed his arms again and looked at me expectantly. Shit. I had totally been putting off telling my family that Inoue and I were in a relationship. It just wasn't something I knew how to do.
"Oh yeah, about that. Well uhmm yeah I do" I answered him scratching the back of my neck awkwardly.
"IT'S TRUE?! IT'S A REAL GIRL?" He said dramatically holding his chest as if he was having a heart attack.
"Of course it's a real girl, what kind of question is that?"
"AND YOU TWO HAVE BEEN TOGETHER FOR A WEEK?! A WEEK WHEN WERE YOU GOING TO TELL ME ABOUT THIS?! WAIT, WHO IS SHE?" My dad was yelling so loud I was sure the whole neighborhood could hear him. Actually astronauts on the moon definitely heard him.
"It's Inoue Orihime"
"ORIHIME-CHAN!" my dad started fanning himself and I wasn't surprised to see tears in his eyes.
"My own son! Masaki!" His emotions were all over the place at this point. "We did so well! He brought a girl home! We're having grandkids!" My dad said, speaking to the ceiling of my room.
All this noise brought Yuzu and Karin to my room.
"What's going on?" Yuzu said, she was wearing an apron as she came into my room.
"Ichigo has a girlfriend!" My dad pointed accusingly at me. Yuzu's eyes widened and a wide grin spread on her face. She ran up to my dad and they both started jumping gleefully.
"You guys didn't know?" Karin said looking at both of them. At once they turned on Karin who shrugged casually.
"What? It was very obvious" she said.
"It was?" All three of us asked looking at Karin who rolled her eyes.
"Ichi-nii, you were acting so weird! You were smiling and waking up early and yesterday I saw you blushing when you came home. That means you were either sick or there's a girl involved or a boy we wouldn't judge"
I opened my mouth and then closed it again, there was silence for about five seconds then my dad burst out laughing, he laughed so hard his eyes started to water. I grumbled and pushed him out off the room but his obnoxious laughter could be heard even when he was out of the room.
"So who is she?" Karin asked as if nothing had happened.
"It's Inoue" I wasn't sure if either of them had spoken to Inoue but I knew they had seen her before.
"Orihime-chan?" Yuzu piped up, her face lighting up in excitement. "I really like Orihime-chan! I'm so happy. I'm going to make something extra special for breakfast" Yuzu said, clapping her hands as she skipped out of my room. Karin slowly walked out but before she left she looked back at me.
"Do you really like her?" she asked simply, she was patiently waiting for my response and the look in her eye told me she needed to hear my answer.
"I do" I said nodding and Karin smiled before she closed my door behind her.
In their own way my whole family had approved of Inoue and it meant a lot to me, I hadn't realized I wanted them to like Inoue so much but after witnessing their reactions I felt light hearted. I got dressed and went downstairs to have breakfast with my family.
When I sat down, Yuzu dropped a plate filled with food. It was a lot more than I could eat but I wasn't going to let a crumb of it go to waste.
"Thanks Yuzu" I said smiling at her. She smiled and took her seat beside me. My dad's mouth was full but he pointed his fork at me and said,
"Whenargh wemeeshingher?" I couldn't understand a word he said.
"What?" I asked confused. He rolled his eyes and swallowed his food.
"When are we meeting her?" he repeated. I looked up at him with my eyes wide. I did not want to expose Inoue to the weirdness that was my dad. He would embarrass me and scare her off.
"You guys have met her already" I said, concentrating on my food.
"Nope! She has to come over!" My dad said pounding his fist on the table.
I didn't answer and shoveled food down my throat, when I was done I smiled at Yuzu.
"Thanks for breakfast I have to go before I'm late!" I said picking up my bag and standing up from the table.
"It's only 7:00!" my dad yelled behind me.
"Punctuality is very important to me" I said over my shoulder before I walked out of the house.
As I walked to school I started feeling the giddiness I had felt every day this week. I was excited to see Inoue. She was the first thing I thought about when I woke up and the last thing I thought about before I slept, heck I even usually dreamt of her .
Karakura High could be seen in the distance, and I smiled picking up the pace. I started coming early because I always had time to be alone with Inoue. We usually talked and laughed but yesterday she kissed me. The kiss was different from our kiss in the janitor's closet because,
1. She was kissing me. She had grabbed the collar of my shirt and pressed her lips to mine. Yes, I was fucking surprised at her intensity.
2. We were kind of in a rush not to get caught because someone could walk right into the classroom at any time. So our lips were gliding over each others with speed and intensity that made my head spin.
I took the stairs two at a time and finally reached the classroom. I heard her before I pushed the door open; she was humming to herself as she looked out of the windows. Her fiery hair trailing down her back was swaying slightly as she moved her head side to side in tune to the song she was humming to. She hadn't noticed me yet so I walked closer till I was right behind her. I wrapped my arms around her shoulder and she jumped a little in surprise. I hugged her a bit closer burying my nose in her hair, breathing in her flowery scent.
"Good morning" she said, pressing her back closer to my chest.
"Morning" I said, she turned around to face me. Her body was still caged in my arms and my hands automatically landed on her waist. She nuzzled her face into my chest and giggled softly.
"What's so funny?" I asked.
"Nothing, I was just thinking about you" she said smiling.
"Oh? What about exactly?" I said coming closer.
"Do you think you could win a fight against Godzilla?" she asked very seriously. Obviously I wasn't expecting that and I couldn't hold back the laughter that bubbled out of me.
"Yeah I'm pretty sure I can"
"How?" she said challengingly
"First, Godzilla can't fly so it would be as easy as crushing a bug" I said, even though technically I didn't fly either. I wanted to drag on this conversation because Inoue always looked so cute when she was talking about random things like this.
"OK if he somehow got wings would he be stronger than you?" she added after thinking for a second.
"No. I'm definitely faster"
"Suppose his wings also make him faster than you" she said as if that was obvious.
"Faster than me? OK that's just impossible, what kind of wings are these?"
"Really good wings, like red bull wings or something"
"I could still beat him"
"How?"
"I don't know I would just beat him up"
She laughed and lightly poked my chest, "yeah right. Godzilla would win"
"Oh really? Since when are you such a big fan of Godzilla?" My fingers reaching up to play with her hair.
"Since yesterday! I watched the movie and now I can't stop thinking about him. He's so cool!"
She was smiling excitedly, her eyes lit up. She looked so cute; I laughed and couldn't help myself from kissing her cheek. She blushed at that and god help me she looked even more adorable.
She pulled away from my arms and pulled me over to my seat. I sat down while she sat on the desk, if I moved my body slightly I would be in between her legs, the perverted part of my mind thought. Keeping the inner pervert under control became a bit harder when she turned her legs closer to me and put her arms around my neck. Her face was right in front of me.
"So how did you sleep last night?" she said innocently.
I had a flashback to my dream last night and I instantly felt heat rising up my face.
"Just…normally" I cleared my throat trying to keep my voice neutral.
"I couldn't sleep" she sighed. I instantly gave her a worried look.
"Why what's wrong?"
"Well our English project is due on Monday! We haven't done anything yet!" she said looking devastated. I chuckled and pressed my forehead against hers.
"We have some time left" I shrugged.
"We just have this weekend! That's not a lot, Kurosaki-kun" she pouted and my eyes fell to her lips.
I looked up to meet her eyes again and she was staring right back at me. Whatever she was about to say seemed forgotten. Inoue leaned closer to me and I ran my fingers through her hair that had fallen over her shoulder. I tucked it gently behind her ear and placed the rest of her long hair over her shoulder. Her neck was open and I brought my face closer to the exposed skin that was right in front of me. Inoue blushed when she felt my breath on her neck almost kissing it but not yet, she tilted her neck to the left silently inviting me to kiss her.
When my lips finally touched her neck she sucked in a breath which I took as a good thing so I continued. I kissed up and down her neck gently, she bit back the sound she was about to make but then I nibbled the soft skin and sucked her neck. She whimpered and tugged on my hair, pulling me closer to her. Our lips crashed against each other hungrily and she slipped her tongue into my mouth, my tongue meeting hers. She moaned loudly into my open mouth and I couldn't help smirking seeing the effect I was having on her. But then Inoue sat on my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck and the effect she had on me was obvious.
There was a second where we both froze, and then we both looked down at the fucking obvious erection in my pants. I groaned out loud in embarrassment. I was too embarrassed to look her in the eye instead I turned away from her. I didn't know whether I should apologize or something.
"I-"
"It's okay!" she interrupts me. Her face was red too but she didn't look angry. I sighed in relief. She doesn't think I'm a disgusting pervert then.
She closed the distance between us and kissed me on the lips. Her soft lips pressed against mine and the awkwardness earlier was totally forgotten. I deepened the kiss and placed my hands on her waist. Our lips were sliding smoothly against one another again and my hands softly stroked her hips.
There was a ticking at the back of my head telling me someone could walk in any second but when Inoue started moving her hips I seriously did not give a fuck. She moaned right in my ear and I groaned in response, the kiss deepened our tongues swirling around each other and I groaned loudly when she sucked on my bottom lip. The pace of her hips began to speed up; I grabbed her hips and pushed her down harder against me.
"Fuck!" I cursed, the shred of control I'd been trying to hold onto left when Inoue moaned in my ear again.
"K-kurosaki-kun" she whimpered, her breath hot on my ear. I honestly couldn't hold onto my sanity, but my body kept moving on its accord. I bunched up the fabric of her skirt while my lips stayed firmly pressed to hers.
Suddenly she pulled back and stopped moving, her face was flushed and she was panting.
"What's wrong? Why'd you stop?" I couldn't hide the disappointment in my eyes or the whining in my voice. She sighed and climbed off my lap.
"The bell is about to ring, people are going to-"Just as she was saying that the bell rang. I curse whoever made that bell.
"So annoying" she grumbled, I was surprised she sounded as irritated as I felt. With her beautiful face pouting I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. She was just fascinating in every way possible. Just when I think I've figured out Inoue Orihime she surprised me with a whole new side to her and I loved every part of her.
Inoue's face was still slightly flushed and seriously I wanted to pull her back for one last kiss but those meddling classmates started pouring into the classroom.
'Bastards' my hollow growled.
'Although I agree completely, shut up.'
Inoue waved without meeting my eyes and quickly made her way back to her seat. After a couple of minutes she turned back but when she noticed I was staring at her she turned back making a cute squeaking sound.
Thankfully the bulge in my pants had gone down otherwise explaining my 'condition' to Keigo and the guys would be my worst nightmare. I zombied my way through the classes that came after that, not paying attention to a single word that was said.
"Does anyone know the answer? Kurosaki-kun?"
Huh? What?
I realized with a start that the teacher had spoken to me. Shit, I didn't even know what subject this was.
"What?" I asked looking up at the board for the first time. This was chemistry I noticed, luckily I'm good at chemistry.
"What is the oxidation number of Cr in Potassium dichromate?" she repeated smugly. The whole class turned to face me. Luckily I actually knew this.
"Six" I answered her; she frowned probably disappointed I had gotten it right. I smirked at her and she turned back to the board irritated.
Inoue smiled at me and pulled up a thumbs up, I almost laughed but I figured I didn't need to piss off the teacher more than I already had.
When the bell for recess rang I wanted nothing more than to push my way to Inoue but she was talking happily to Tatsuki and I didn't think Tatsuki would appreciate me shoving myself into their conversation. So instead I listened as Keigo blabbed on about some concert coming up. Ishida who was seated right next to me eating a bento with chopsticks coughed obnoxiously. That cough usually meant he had something to say.
"Kurosaki-san, if it's not impertinent of me I would like to ask about your intentions towards Inoue-san"
I sat up straight in my seat and swung my legs off my desk so that I could face him. Keigo was talking to anyone who was listening but when he noticed Ishida and I weren't listening he started talking to Chad who looked uneasy.
"It's very impertinent of you to ask me that because it's really none of your business" I said to him angrily. Like the bastard he was, he waited till he had neatly folded his bento away before turning to look at me.
"I'm asking because Inoue-san is considered a close friend of ours and since your interest in her began I just need to…make sure"
"Make sure of what exactly?"
"That she'll be fine" He said looking me in the eye. His glasses slipped and he pushed them back up his nose. I wanted to break that nose of his but I knew he was just worried about Inoue. Does he think I'll hurt her or something? After I thought about it I realized he knew I would never hurt Inoue but he probably felt he had to ask anyway. Maybe he felt it's his duty or whatever.
'Or he's just being a nosy motherfucker'
I sighed and scratched my head, I wasn't going to blurt out my feelings to Ishida just to calm his curiosity but a part of me felt like I had to answer because if God forbid the roles were reversed I would honestly feel it's my duty to ask the same question.
"It's none of your business but you should know I'll never hurt her"
He nodded and smiled at me.
"Then I give you guys my blessing" he said quietly he probably didn't want me to hear that part but I did.
"Eww you fucking creep" I said laughing loudly. I laughed even louder when Ishida's face turned red and he turned away. The bell rang and I couldn't mock Ishida anymore because the next teacher walked into class and instantly started teaching.
Sitting in class I found a new part of Inoue to drool over, her legs. Her beautiful long legs, shaped perfectly, they were like a stairway to heaven. I pictured her legs wrapped around my waist as I thrust my hips into her-… I felt heat shoot down to my pants. Fuck!
Thinking about Inoue's legs was getting me excited, so I tore my eyes away from her. I tried staring out of the window to calm my racing pulse. That plan lasted for about a minute before my eyes wandered back to her. This time I looked at her hair. Her flaming auburn hair that smelt of strawberries, I wanted to bury my face in her hair and just lie down curled up next to her.
I groaned, none of this was helping me calm down. I turned my thoughts to the most repulsive thing I could think of, my mind flashed an image. It was Kenpachi in a bikini. I shivered as if a bucket of water had been drenched over me. I'm pretty sure my hollow was somehow responsible for the fact that I couldn't get the image out of my head. I shook my head to clear it of the image, instead Kenpachi in his bikini started twerking, which was actually traumatic for me because I was about to scream. The bell rang, saving me.
"Ichigo? What's wrong?" Keigo said beside me. I'm sure I looked as pale as a ghost. I cleared my throat and shook my head, shrugging my shoulders. I packed up my books and almost ran to Inoue's side. She looked up and smiled at me. That smile instantly calmed me down.
"Hey" she smiled picking up her bag.
"Here let me get that for you" I swung her bag over my shoulder, she rewarded me with another smile and I wanted to pat myself on the back.
Tatsuki walked with us and I didn't mind that, what I minded was that she purposely pushed herself in between Inoue and I. Tatsuki laughed when I asked her to switch places with me, she pulled her tongue at me and whispered something to Inoue. They both laughed.
"What?" I asked but they just giggled without answering me. This was very infuriating.
"Damn it I left something in class" Tatsuki said right before we left the school gates.
"Okay we'll wait right here for you" Inoue said. Tatsuki smiled gratefully and ran back into the school.
"So what were you guys laughing about?" I asked Inoue.
"Nothing much" she said but I didn't miss the giggle she tried to hide.
"Tell me" I said poking her in the ribs. She laughed and jumped out of the way.
"It was nothing! Just girl stuff" she said.
"So you guys weren't talking about me?"
Inoue was obviously trying to change the subject because she suddenly pointed at something behind me.
"Oh look! A cat!"
"Pfft really Inoue? there is nothing there" I rolled my eyes at the obvious distraction. She pulled my hand and turned me to face what she was pointing at.
"Oh it really is a cat" I said.
"Oh my god it's so cute!" Inoue slowly approached the cat and held out her hand in an attempt to pet it. She pulled her hand away quickly because the cat scratched her. I was beside her in a second cradling her injured hand.
"Are you okay? Fuck, it's bleeding"
"It's okay Kurosaki-kun it's really just a scratch"
"But you're bleeding!" I said urgently.
"Yeah but it's just one drop, barely a drop."
"Stupid feline demon" I growled at the cat that was innocently looking up at me. It stalked over to me and pressed its body to my ankles, purring.
"Aaw! It likes you!" Inoue said excitedly.
"Well I'm about to kick it" I grumbled.
"You wouldn't do that" Inoue said raising her brow at me.
I sighed and moved away from the cat still holding Inoue's hand. She was smiling cheerfully as if she'd proven something. She looked so cute I patted her on the head and she smiled in return. I bent down and kissed her hand licking away the small amount of blood that had spilled.
"There does that feel better?" I asked her, she blushed and nodded.
"Eww what the hell are you guys doing?" Tatsuki said approaching us. I didn't let go of Inoue's hand though. Tatsuki made a face but kept walking. The three of us walked out of the school together, the silence filled with Inoue rambling about Godzilla.
"Hey Ichigo, where the hell are you going? Your house is that way" Tatsuki said turning to face Ichigo.
"Shut up, Don't tell me where to go, what are you? A fucking map?" I said holding Inoue's hands tighter in mine. I was hoping no one would mention I'm supposed to turn right because I was hoping to stay a little longer with Inoue.
"Oh I almost forgot!" Inoue said letting go of my hand and turning to face me "Mizuiro-san and I are meeting up with you later today to start on the project"
"Meeting me? Are you guys coming to my place?"
"Yeah, if that's not a problem for you"
"It's no problem! I mean yeah, sure, why not?" I quickly answered. She smiled at me and waved before walking away from me. I pulled her back and kissed her ignoring Tatsuki's vomiting sounds.
"I'll see you later" I whispered in her ear.
Although I was really tempted to watch Inoue's retreating back and the swaying of her hips I had to get home in a hurry. I had to think of a way to get my dad out of the house before Inoue meets him.
Orihime's POV
Tatsuki kept glancing over at me. I had been blushing like crazy since Ichigo kissed me right in front of her. I tried thinking of saying something to change the subject but I kept picturing Ichigo's hot breath in my ear, to make it worse my imagination kept coming up with other dirty things he could whisper in my ear.
"So…" I coughed "the weather is nice today!" I said but my voice sounded as squeaky as a chipmunk.
Tatsuki suddenly burst into laughter, she laughed so hard she held her sides and almost lay down on the pavement.
"Tatsuki-chan! Stop that! I-it's not funny!"
"It is! It really is!" she said, there were even tears in her eyes, for a second I thought about running home and leaving her laughing here but she finally stood straight.
"Ok sorry! Sorry! It's just that you guys are like something out of a shoujo manga!"
"W-what? No we aren't" I said, my face going red again.
"Just now when he kissed you, there were flowers and sparkly stuff in the background! And there was sappy music too" she said pointing at the air as if there really was something there.
I couldn't help laughing with her because I could totally picture that scene. I had dreams like that all the time.
"You guys are so cute I could barf" she said, and we started walking again. I didn't know what to say so I just shrugged. Tatsuki cleared her throat and her face became serious.
"Ok Inoue, It's probably none of my business but… uhmm" Tatsuki cleared her throat and looked up at the sky. I wasn't sure why she was acting serious all of a sudden but I touched her shoulder to try and ease her tension.
"What is it Tatsuki-chan? You can tell me anything"
Tatsuki cleared her throat and scratched the back of her neck.
"OK… uhmm you guys know that- ugh this so embarrassing to say but uhmm" She hesitated again then sighed and turned to face me.
"I want you guys to be careful okay?" she said placing her hand on my shoulder.
"Careful?" I asked confused. She rolled her eyes at my confusion and slapped her hand on her forehead.
"I mean when you guys are… you know, be safe."
"Tatsuki what are you talking about?"
"You know…. be safe because… you know!" she was waving her arms at me as if that would explain what she meant but I was definitely stumped. Why would Ichigo and I need to be careful? We weren't in any danger.
"What are you talking abou-?" I started asking before Tatsuki loudly interrupted me.
"OH MY GOD! I MEAN WHEN YOU GUYS HOOK UP I WANT YOU TO BE SAFE! SAFE! SAFE! LIKE SAFE SEX?!"
She yelled very loudly. People walking stopped and looked at us, dogs walking stopped and stared at us, babies turned and faced us, and an old couple stopped kissing and gasped at us.
Tatsuki covered her face looking mortified and then started walking really fast. I ran to catch up with her but she didn't slow down her pace till we were almost at her house. She was blushing which was so unlike her.
"Tatsuki-chan uhmm I don't think you have to worry about that" I tried to reassure her.
She sighed and pulled on a straight face, "Yeah right, you guys can't keep your hands of each other. That's why you go to school earlier these days by yourself right?" I must have gasped out loud but she just waved me off.
"I don't really have a problem with it, but I just… worry sometimes" She shrugged and I saw a flash of an emotion I don't usually see on Tatsuki. I hugged her and she started patting my head.
"You stupid kids getting me all worried" She grumbled sounding a lot older than she was.
"I'll be fine; Tatsuki-chan and uhmm when that time comes… you know in the….future or whenever, I'll uhmm remember your uhmm warning." She nodded and looked relieved.
"Yeah I'm sure I'll never forget that" I teased her and she groaned covering her face.
"Did you see the old couple?!" I added laughing and she laughed too.
"Yeah I'm afraid that the grandma had a heart attack" Tatsuki said as we reached her front door. I was about to say goodbye and make my own way home but at the same time we heard Andou's voice. We both turned and saw he was talking to Hinami-chan. They hadn't noticed us yet and Tatsuki pulled me around the side of her house. She shushed me when I was about to ask her what she was doing.
I felt a little excited that we were spying on them and I strained my ears to try and hear what they were saying. Andou's laughter could clearly be heard and I saw Hinami blush, she looked different around Andou-kun. In class her face was usually expressionless and her glasses masked her emotions. She always looked bored or indifferent, maybe that's why I had never spoken to her before. But right now she had a shy smile on her face, her eyes were sparkling and I heard her laugh with Andou. Now I was really sure she liked Andou.
"Well come in then" she said. Andou who was carrying a bag walked in through the door Hinami held open for him.
"Oh my god! Hinami lives next door to you guys?" I gasped when the door closed behind them.
"Yeah! She likes Andou doesn't she?" Tatsuki was smiling widely.
"She does!" I laughed at Tatsuki who was rubbing her hands together mischievously.
"I have to go and spy on those two" she said
"Tatsuki-chan I think that's going a bit too far?" she sighed and nodded
"Yeah you're right, what if they start taking clothes off?" She shuddered dramatically and made her way into her own home.
When we parted ways I hurried to my own home, I had to pick out something to wear today. Even though I'd been inside Ichigo's room a lot of times, this will be the first time I'd be there while we're a couple. That simple fact somehow added pressure.
I threw off my uniform and took a quick shower. I had to be at Kurosaki-kun's house in an hour, which left me enough time to eat something. I made a bowl of cereal which was all I could make fast. After I was done I made my way back to my room and opened my closet.
I groaned to myself as I looked at my clothes. I couldn't decide on a single outfit, I almost called Akari-san to help me pick something but I decided against it. After emptying the entire closet I finally found something, a black skirt and a loose flowery t shirt. The skirt was nice and frilly. I contemplated wearing something else but I just shrugged and threw on the skirt and the T-shirt and ran out of my apartment. I still had time before going over to Ichigo's house so I decided to waste time in the park near my apartment, I spent a lot of time there I realized.
I entered the small park and sat down on a bench and watched the little kids playing. I smiled at the little girls playing jump rope, waved at the little boy trying and failing to stand on his hands. They were so cute, they must live nearby too because I always saw them here. Maybe I shouldn't have rushed out of my house when I had nothing to do but I didn't mind wasting thirty minutes in that park playing jump rope with the kids.
After a while I started making my way to Kurosaki-kun's house, I was still a little early but not by much. As I raised my hand to ring the doorbell I heard Ichigo's voice.
"Come on! You promised!" he said whining.
"I know! I'm just dusting the…oven!" Ichigo's dad yelled back.
"That's total rubbish! You just want to see her!"
"And is that soooo wrong?! That I want to meet your future-"
"STOP TALKING! JUST…"
"FINE I"LL GO!"
Before I could react the door swung open and Ichigo's dad was staring at me in surprise, then his face split into a wide grin.
"Orihime-chan! You're early!"
"Oh uhmm sorry I just"
"Oh it's nooo problem my dear, I am very, very happy to see you! Come in to my humble home! Come in come in!" he said pulling me in.
"T-thank you, uhmm sir?" I'm not sure why I was nervous.
"Sir? Just call me dad! After all we're family-"
"Hey! Inoue! Uhmm you're here! Do you want to come on up?" Kurosaki-kun said running to stand in between his dad and me.
"Yeah sure" I said smiling at him.
"Yeah you just go…don't mind a sad old man like me" Kurosaki-kun's dad said his head hanging down like a sad puppy. I felt bad for him.
"Well it's no problem since I'm early. I could stay with your dad for a bit" I said to Ichigo. His jaw dropped and the he narrowed his eyes at his dad. And I turned around just in time to see his dad pulling a face at Ichigo behind my back. Ichigo pouted which was absolutely adorable and then rolled his eyes.
"Yesss!" his dad said jumping up a bit too high for a 'sad old man'
Ichigo's dad was hilarious, he exaggerated everything to get a reaction, it made me laugh and he struck a ridiculous victory pose every time I laughed.
"Now! The photo album!" Ichigo's dad said.
"Oh god No" Ichigo said covering his face. His dad brought the album despite Ichigo's obvious embarrassment.
Ichigo's baby picture were so cute, it was even funnier because the pout on his face right now was almost identical to the one in his pictures. Even funnier was his dad's narration.
"In this one he had just successfully gone potty all by himself, we were so proud" I laughed and Ichigo groaned again.
"Aww its okay Kurosaki-kun, that's quite an achievement." I said turning to him with a wide grin on my face.
"I tried throwing the picture away but he has infinite copies" Ichigo said and his dad smirked proudly.
"And next-"
"Noooo! That's enough! Can I have my girlfriend back now?!" he pulled me up and dragged me upstairs to his room before his dad could protest.
Ichigo was still blushing when we entered his room, but I felt warm and tingly all inside. It was nice to see pictures of Ichigo, pictures of him before he started wearing a scowl, before he started carrying the weight of the world on his shoulder.
"Sorry about that" he said scratching the back of his neck.
"Its fine, he's really funny"
He sighed in relief and then smiled at me. Now it was my turn to blush. The fact that we were alone in his room suddenly popped into my head. I opened my mouth to say something then closed it again. My palms started sweating when he took a step closer to me and my heart started racing. That was the effect he had on me, a small part of me wondered if I'll ever stop reacting like a hormonal teenager around him, a bigger part of me wanted to always feel this way around him.
"Mizuiro should be here by-" as he was saying this he was interrupted by the loud voice of his dad.
"ICHIGO! ANOTHER FRIEND OF YOURS IS HERE! I DIDN'T KNOW YOU ACTUALLY HAD FRIENDS!"
Ichigo covered his face but didn't say anything because a second later there was a knock on the door and then Mizuiro stepped into the room. He was carrying a bag with books. I didn't bring any books, because all I could think about was Ichigo.
Mizuiro didn't really waste any time with small chit chat, he greeted both of us and then pulled out his books and began. There was a small table we all knelt around. I decided to sit facing Kurosaki-kun because I wanted to sneak peeks at his thinking face (which is sooo adorable)
For the project, we had to pick any English author and write a full presentation on them. I raised up my hand excitedly and suggested J.K Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter books but Mizuiro-kun scrunched up his nose and said, "It'd be a lot better if we pick a classic" he turned to Ichigo, "Any suggestions?" Ichigo just shrugged. Mizuiro had come prepared though; he had a printed list of authors we could choose from.
"Jane Austen, Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde and uhmm Robert Louis Stevenson" he said reading from the list.
"So, what do you think?" Mizuiro folded the letter and turned to me. Although I read books often, I didn't read classical books like those. I had barely heard of the authors.
"Hmmm, I think… the last one" I said after guessing randomly.
"Robert Louis? Why?" Mizuiro asked,
"I don't know, I just randomly chose that one" I smiled and turned to face Ichigo. He obviously wasn't interested in the discussion. I knew because his scowl was directed at nothing in particular. I giggled quietly and his gaze turned to me, his eyes softening as they met mine. We stared at each other for a while but Mizuiro didn't notice, he was scribbling something.
"Ok that's all good. So Inoue-san I think we- are you listening?"
I snapped out of my daze a bit embarrassed that Ichigo and I were openly gawking at each other.
"Hmm? yeah! You were saying?" Mizuiro thankfully didn't say anything about the moment so I turned my full attention to Mizuiro purposely ignoring Ichigo's eyes on me.
Mizuiro was saying something about making a slideshow presentation when I felt my whole body tingle; Ichigo's hand was on my knee under the table. I snapped my head to stare at him but he was pretending to be focused on what Mizuiro was saying. And if I wasn't distracted enough, he started lightly tracing circles on the exposed skin on my knee. My breathing became irregular and I'm sure I was blushing furiously. Ichigo looked at me for a second and then the smirk on his face grew to a grin when he saw the effect he was having on me. God, I hope I wasn't drooling.
"Inoue is that okay with you?" Kurosaki-kun asked in a very innocent tone.
"Y-yeah, I-it's fine" I said, although I had no idea what they were saying. Ichigo's fingers trailed a bit higher up my knee and I squeaked out loud when I felt his fingers on my inner thigh. Mizuiro-san jumped and he looked at me in concern.
"Inoue-san? Are you okay?" he said. Ichigo's hand left my knee and my beating heart calmed down… a little.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine." I said but my voice sounded shaky. Ichigo looked very amused.
"Are you sure? You look a little red" Ichigo reached over the table and pressed his hand over my forehead, I sucked in a breath when his hand that had been on my thigh earlier touched me.
"I just- feel a little uhmm" I stammered.
"If you feel sick, we can finish up later" Mizuiro said standing up.
"N-no! I'm fine really I-"
"Don't worry about it. I'll handle the slideshow, Ichigo's doing the report on the author's written work and you agreed to writing on the life of the author. So we'll get it all done. Just get some rest" Mizuiro said, he was already on his phone again and waved at both of us before he walked out of the room closing the door behind him. Ichigo burst into laughter the second the door closed.
"That wasn't funny!" I scolded him but he kept laughing. I got up and shoved him but he rolled on the floor laughing louder. His laughter was contagious and I couldn't help grinning widely.
"Ok I'm sorry" Ichigo said after his laughter had stopped. "Do you want me to call Mizuiro back so we can continue?" he said, his eyes were twinkling with amusement.
"What I want…is payback!" I suddenly lunged at him and tackled him back to the floor. I knew he could have dodged that if he wanted to but he didn't. I attacked his sides to tickle him but he remained quiet. I tried and tried tickling him but he just looked at me with that knowing smirk.
"Why aren't you ticklish?" I was straddling him but I was too focused on tickling him to think about that fact.
"That doesn't tickle" he said looking up at me.
"Everyone is ticklish Kurosaki-kun; I just have to find your spot" I said rolling my eyes at his confident attitude.
"Well you're welcome to search for my spot" he said, his voice sounded different and his eyes were looking at me intensely. The position we were in right now crept into my mind and I felt my whole body hum in excitement.
I swallowed and trailed my fingers over his neck.
"Here?" I asked
"No"
My fingers trailed down his upper chest and gently skimmed to the sides of his torso. Ichigo sighed and closed his eyes.
"Here?" I asked, I was whispering now.
"No" he was whispering too. I came closer and my fingers traced lower on his chest. My fingers stroked the exposed skin on his waist under his shirt. Ichigo's eyes snapped open and he sucked in a gasp of air before he laughed loudly. His hands grabbed both my wrists firmly and he composed his face again.
"No" he said but I was smirking at him.
"I've got you now" I wiggled my hands free and went back to that same spot on his waist.
"No don't- Inoue stop!" He said but I was already tickling him and he laughed loudly, his body was shaking beneath mine. He was laughing so much his eyes were tearing up; when he was laughing like this he looked so much younger.
Suddenly his body jerked violently and I fell off him rolling to the spot beside him. Ichigo rolled over so he was on top of me and pinned both my wrists above my head. We were both panting, him because he's just been laughing his lungs out and me because, He was on top of me! I was so close to him I could count his eyelashes. I counted three until my mind went blank because he kissed me.
His lips sliding over mine made me dizzy and I loved it. I didn't waste a second in parting my lips when his tongue grazed my bottom lip. His tongue slid into my mouth and I gasped, I felt heat shoot down my core, it was absolutely thrilling, I couldn't suppress the moan that slipped out of me. Ichigo responded by deepening the kiss. I darted my tongue into his mouth and our tongues twirled around each other's. Ichigo was still holding my hands and I wiggled beneath him to try and get him to release his hold on my hands. I wanted to touch him. He didn't let go though, he tightened his grip. I bit his lower lip to get his attention and he finally pulled back letting my hands go. He looked at me curiously, his face flushed.
"What was that?" he asked
"Nothing" I said breathlessly. He was still looking at me with such intensity I would have looked away if I wasn't fixed to the spot by his eyes. He stroked my cheek slowly, his fingers lightly brushing my skin. As gentle as his touch was, my body still heated up. He touched my neck and continued his feather light stoking. I couldn't lie still anymore; I reached up and copied his fingers, touching him the same way he was touching me. He smiled and sat up. I didn't like the space between us so I sat up and curled myself against him. He chuckled and wrapped his arms around my waist pulling me closer so that I was sitting on his lap. I nuzzled my face into his neck and breathed in his scent.
"So… you bit me" he said. I blushed and he laughed.
"Well that was because… sorry about that" I said covering my face in embarrassment. I seem to be doing that a lot today. He chuckled and I felt the vibrations pass through me. I wanted to stay like this all day, sitting on his lap and feeling his body against mine. It was funny how I felt around Ichigo, I felt warm all over when we were like this, and I felt at home in his arms.
"I love you Ichigo" I whispered in his ear. He smiled and kissed my cheek.
"I love you too Orihime"
I smiled at him and ran my fingers through his hair, I was so happy right now partly because he said he loved me and also because he called me Orihime for the first time. I don't think I could tire of him saying my name.
"Say it again" I said poking his tickle spot. He laughed and quickly caught my hands.
"I love you?" he asked.
I shook my head.
"Orihime?" he whispered hotly in my ear, I only nod and bite my bottom lip. My name sounds precious when he says it and there's a warm feeling that washes over me.
"Now you say it" he says wrapping his arms around my waist a little tighter.
"Orihime?"
"No" he says shaking his head
"Ichigo?" I say, he nods and kisses my neck while his fingers lightly caress my skin under my shirt.
"Again, please?"
"Ichigo" I say and his hands on my back reach my bra strap.
"Again" he says his voice sounds husky in my ear.
"ICHIGO!" Ichigo's dad yelled so loud I think the walls shook.
"ICHIGO! I'M ABOUT TO COME IN BUT I'M UHMM RESPECTING YOUR PRIVACY BY KNOCKING FIRST!" his voice was right outside the door. I jumped off Ichigo's lap so fast it looks like I got burnt. I scramble back to the table and awkwardly pick up a book. A second later Ichigo's dad bursts in.
"You didn't knock" Ichigo calmly points out.
"What?" Ichigo's dad asks confused.
"You said you'd knock, you didn't" Ichigo says his voice is calm but there's a vein twitching on his forehead that gives away his irritation.
"Oh right, shit. Hold on a sec" Ichigo's dad says. He quickly steps out again and knocks loudly about a hundred times then he comes in.
"There. How's that?" he asks us both, I shrug and Ichigo sighed and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.
"What do you want?" Ichigo asks.
"Oh right uhmm, yeah so you see..." His dad pulls out a piece of paper from his pocket and clears his throat and then he begins reading.
"This is a very exciting and important time in the life of your son- erm I mean in your life." He points at Ichigo without taking his eyes off the paper.
"Your first girlfriend! As a responsible parent, me, I'm the responsible parent." He points at himself in case we were confused. "It is crucial to show uhmm I care with an understanding yet firm grip I must monitor your activities while you and your son's- erm I mean your girlfriend are under this roof."
He smiled after he finished, tucking the paper back into his pocket, looking extremely proud of himself. He looks at us expectantly and I don't know what to do so I clap for him. He beams at me and his eyes glisten, "Thank you, Thank you so much!"
Meanwhile Ichigo popped a vein.
"Where did you read that from?" Ichigo says incredulously.
"Some magazine" His dad waves it off as if that is totally off topic.
"Responsible? You? As if!" He throws a book at his dad who effortlessly dodges it.
"Now Ichigo it is perfectly justified of me to ask this" He crosses his arms with a stern very parent-like expression on his face. I'm about to agree with his dad because he does have a very valid point but Ichigo stands up and stands in front of his dad.
"You're just bored aren't you?" he says crossing his arms over his chest exactly like his dad just did.
"Whaaaat?! My concern for you has nothing to do with the fact that Yuzu and Karin aren't home! Also I can't find the remote."
Ichigo shakes his head and pats his dad on the back in what appears to be sympathy.
"Well I suggest you go find the remote and leave us alone" Ichigo started slowly steering his dad towards the door. But his dad suddenly kicked Ichigo and yelled triumphantly.
"HAHA! AS IF THAT TRICK WILL WORK!" he points at Ichigo who had flown to the other end of the room.
"ARGH! I'M SICK OF YOU! JUST GO AWAY ALREADY!" Ichigo yelled throwing more books. I burst out laughing because Ichigo was furious and his dad was dodging everything Ichigo threw at him, which made Ichigo even angrier.
"NO FRIGGIN WAY!"
"WHY THE HELL NOT?"
"Uhmm... I uh... well I can't remember why I came here but hold on" he reached into his pocket to retrieve the paper he had read from earlier. This pissed off Ichigo because he totally snapped.
"JUST GET OUT!" he yelled.
His dad is about to yell something back but he paused, then he looked around the room.
"You didn't get her any refreshments?"
Ichigo opened his mouth ready to yell something but then he closed his mouth and turned to me.
"Uhmm Orihime would you like-" Ichigo starts saying but his dad interrupts him.
"Some tea? Juice? Cookies?"
"Oh No thanks" I smile at him, the sudden change in the conversation is absolutely bizarre.
"Fruits? Cake? and erm- I think the Ice cream is still edible although I'm not sure if it had chocolate chips in it when I bought it"
I laugh and smile at him, "That's very nice Kurosaki-san but-"
"What's with Kurosaki-san? Call me Isshin please" he laughs and scratches the back of his neck bashfully.
"What? No!" Ichigo stands in front of his dad and shields his from me with his arms. I'm breathless with laughter, they were both so funny.
"Ichi-nii?" I hear from the doorway, when I turn I see that it's Karin, Ichigo's sister. She's wearing her soccer uniform so she must have just come back from practice.
"Dad? What are you doing?"
"Karin! My daughter!" he ran to hug her and Ichigo relaxed his stance.
"What are you doing in here? Never mind lets go" Karin takes her father's hand and leads him out of the room. Before she leaves she turns to me and smiles faintly.
"Hey" she says. In many ways she's a lot like Ichigo I think to myself.
"Hello, Karin-chan" I smile and wave at her.
"You staying for dinner?" she asks me. My smile falter and I hesitate before shaking my head.
"No thank you" Karin nods and leaves the room closing it behind her.
I stand up and pick up my stuff. Ichigo is watching me packing up my stuff but he hasn't said anything. For some reason I suddenly feel like I'm intruding. I would have loved to have dinner with Ichigo and his family but I didn't want to bother him at home with his family. I would just make things awkward I think to myself.
"I uhmm have to go back home and get some stuff sorted out" I say smiling and I move towards the door. But Ichigo blocks my way calmly, when I try to sidestep him he just moves and blocks me again.
"Ichigo? What's wrong?" I'm wondering why he won't let me go.
He steps closer to me and he uses a finger to slide the hair of my shoulder and then lifts my chin so that I'm looking at him.
"What's wrong?" he asks me, his voice is laced with concern.
"Nothing" I say smiling to reassure him.
"But you're sad" he says brushing my cheek ever so lightly.
"I-I'm not sad" I say but even I don't believe it, the look on his face tells me he's not buying it either.
My hesitation seems to have confirmed it because he pulled me into a warm hug. His arms keeping me warm and safe, I almost cry but I had no tears left for this part of me. I was used to it, eating dinner alone every night and living by myself. It never gets less lonely but the loneliness is an ever-present part of my life. So why is it bothering me now?
I'm about to tell Ichigo that I'm fine and that I really do have stuff to do but before I can let the lies slip he says in my ear the one word I wanted him to say.
"Stay"
AN: so there you go my lovelies! please review, favorite and stay tuned! Till next time