The Wisdom of Age

The scene below was not one the ex-shinigami would have ever thought to be seeing.

Orihime and Ichigo were practically yelling at each other, in anger non-the-less, while a dazed Sado watched on helplessly. The words of the argument drifted upwards and a grim feeling followed in its wake.

Too long had the event that caused this been swept under the rug and now Orihime was feeling the pain of that day. Although it seems, since that time, Ichigo's feelings had changed as well. The pain that was written all too clearly on his face as Orihime left him standing in the middle of the sidewalk spoke enormously of his feelings.

Sado approached Ichigo but the first couple of times he tried to talk to the young vizard he was ignored. Soon, the large man simply placed his hand on his best friends shoulder to offer his comfort. Ichigo said nothing but the emotions coursing through him were obvious to all in the vicinity.

It was a long time before Ichigo began to walk away from the spot the healer left him in. His footsteps were slow and heavy; despair clung to his frame.

The ex-shinigami was glad to see Sado following the young man home. Both Ichigo and Orihime desperately needed to talk to someone. Ichigo would find comfort in either his best friend or his father, that they were sure of. Orihime, however, would have no one waiting for her. The decision of which hero of the war to follow was easy to make.

Besides, Orihime needed another woman to talk to.

Even though she'd swore to herself she wouldn't cry over his rejection of her anymore, Orihime was helpless to stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. She ripped off the outfit she'd worn that night and jumped into some comfortable sweats and a t-shirt.

Why did this have to happen?

She was doing so good. Well, not so good but she'd been getting better. At least she was making the effort to.

Then Ichigo had to come and look at her like she'd done something wrong. Why did he care anyway? What did it matter if she was or wasn't dating someone? He'd already shown her he didn't love her. If he didn't have feelings for her than why did he have to question her like he did or get so mad at Masaru-san?

Unfortunately, she had no answers to any of the questions her mind kept asking. All she knew was it hurt just like the first time.

She continued to sob into the tissues she held. All the fun she'd had that day was completely forgotten as the horrible fight with Ichigo ran through her mind.

Her...fighting with someone

Not just someone...the man she loved.

A fresh batch of tears poured from her eyes at the thought. She'd never argued with anyone like that in her life! The hurtful things she'd said to Ichigo...how could she do such a thing? Even if she was hurting like she was she shouldn't have said the things she did. Her brother did not raise her to act like that. Ichigo would probably never forgive her for the biting words she'd thrown at him. Though they would never be lovers, she still wanted to remain friends. Losing him completely would devastate her and now she had been so rude to him he was probably already thinking about how to end their friendship.

A soft scratching at her door somehow made itself heard through the harsh crying she was still doing. She dragged her huddled form to her feet and made her way to the door. No one was visible through the peep-hole but the scratching continued. Steeling herself for a possible attack, she opened the door cautiously to find no one there. Until she heard the soft meow below her.

The black cat was instantly recognizable and she stepped aside to allow it in. Once the door was closed and locked, Orihime turned to see the fur fading away as human limbs replaced them. A toned, tanned, naked female body was quickly taking shape.

Orihime grabbed her bath robe and placed it around Yourichi's now human shoulders.

"Thanks, though my nudity seems to bother you humans more than anyone else." Yourichi said as she sat down beside the healers table.

Orihime watched the ex-shinigami with a confused expression. "What are you doing here Yourichi-san? I haven't seen you since...then." she finally said. Yourichi merely raised an eyebrow at the young woman's question. "I'm sorry, that came out rude didn't it? It seems I'm doing that more often these days." she said in a near whisper and wiped away a stray tear that fell from her red, swollen eyes.

"Come sit with me Inoue."

Orihime sat stiffly beside the woman who first taught her how to use her powers. She bit the inside of her lip as she forced herself to focus on her and not the jumbled mess of her emotions.

"To answer your question, I came to see you because I've been busy since Aizen's defeat and just now finished everything and was able to make the trip. I've been checking in with Urahara who told me things had been kinda quiet around here so I wasn't worried. Apparently that isn't the case."

Orihime turned wide eyes on Yourichi.

"Yes, on my way here I happened to run up on your little fight with Ichigo."

Orihime buried her flushed face into the tissues still crumbled in her hands. She was so ashamed! Not only had she said such horrible things to the man she loved, Yourichi, who she held in great respect, heard her embarrassing situation. Orihime wanted to pack everything and move far away, possibly become a hermit, so she could cope with the embarrassment and shame she felt.

"Inoue, you do remember I was at the battle as well right? I heard you tell him your feelings the first time."

She couldn't contain the gasp that flew from her lips.

That was right. Yourichi had been there. Urahara as well.

Oh kami...for a secret she kept hidden for so long, a lot of people now seemed to know her shame. They all saw her kiss Ichigo and bare her feelings for him. They all knew she'd been thrown to the side, ignored as if she wasn't worth the time.

Why did these things keep happening to her?

"Inoue, please stop crying." Yourichi said in a surprisingly gentle voice.

"I-I-I'm s-sorry Yourichi-san. I-It's just that I'm so ashamed of my actions."

Yourichi chuckled. "Why? Hell, I was hoping you'd smack the dumb kid."

"Yourichi-san!"

"What? He deserves it! Has he really not said a single thing to you about that day?" Yourichi asked with amazement. Orihime shook her head no. "Then you shoulda whooped his ass."

"I could never..."

"Yeah I know." Yourichi said with a pout. "You're too damn nice to ever do that. I was just glad to see you do have a backbone under all that." she said with a gesture towards Orihime's chest.

A blush descended on the healers face. "It's not that I don't have a backbone. I just think it's easier to be nice to people and try to treat everyone with respect."

"No, it's not easier. It's harder to do so actually. That's just another thing that proves how strong you are." she said with a smile.

Orihime ducked her head. "I'm not strong."

"Why would you say that?"

"If I was strong I wouldn't be crying right now. I wouldn't have said such harsh things to Ichigo-kun just because I'm hurting."

"What? So you're gonna beat yourself up because you're acting like a normal woman would?"

Orihime looked up into the stern face of Yourichi. "I'm sorry?"

"Inoue, any normal woman would have done the same thing you did. Probably worse to tell the truth. Stop beating yourself up because of it."

"B-b-but...it's just..." she couldn't continue to talk while the sobs were welling up in her chest. How could Yourichi not berate her for the way she acted? She had been so horrible but it still hurt so much. As she broke down in tears once again she felt comforting arms slide around her. She buried her face into Yourichi's shoulder as the tears poured down her face.

Yourichi sighed as she stroked the gentle woman's head. She'd heard everything that was said between the two of them. Ichigo had been trying to tell Inoue something but she was in no condition to listen to his words at that time. How the hell was she gonna calm this child down and get her to listen to what Ichigo had to say?

"You're home early onii-chan. I thought you'd be gone until much later." Yuzu said as she saw Ichigo's form slowly climbing the stairs to his room. "I've already put up dinner but I can re-heat it for you if you like?"

"No thanks Yuzu." his low voice replied slowly. "I'm just gonna go lay down."

She watched with a sinking feeling as his slumped form slowly made its way upstairs. He never even turned to look at her as he spoke, but she could feel the despair rolling off him. The clicking of his door was the only other sound from his direction.

"What could have happened?" she whispered worriedly.

Isshin placed a comforting hand on his daughters shoulders. "Never mind about your brother Yuzu. He'll be alright. Why don't you just finish up your homework, okay?"

She cast a doubtful look to her father but walked back into the living room to continue her studies anyway.

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Ichigo laid on his bed fully clothed. The energy to even change into his pajamas had left him. He knew Chado heard everything but he was happy his large friend didn't press him for answers about it as he followed him home. Actually, he should be glad Chado followed him; the state he was in now, he wasn't sure if he wouldn't have gotten himself killed if he was attacked.

It was over.

He lost any chance he'd ever had with her.

The anger towards his own stupid decisions wasn't enough to squash the loneliness and despair he was feeling. He'd kept silent about her confession in order to buy himself time to work out how he'd felt about her. It had taken him almost a year to see all the signs he'd refused to acknowledge before and in doing so, he'd allowed her to feel rejected.

No, not rejected...ignored.

She was hurt.

He'd been the one to hurt her.

Damn...after everything he'd promised her...promised himself, he was still the one in the end who'd hurt her.

Ichigo crushed his palms against his eyes as the pain flowed through him again. Was this how she felt when she realized she'd confessed to him and he had not responded? Was this pain of rejection anywhere close to how she'd felt?

His arms fell lax against his side once again. There wasn't anything he could do. She'd already made up her mind and turned away from him.

And he had no one to blame but himself.

Why? Why had he waited so long? Why didn't he say something when he realized he wanted to be near her more? So much time he had wasted denying the emotions he felt because they were new and he didn't know how to handle them. Time he'd wasted being jealous of the other guy when he knew from the beginning that she was just being friendly to him. Her love had been for him and by her words, she'd felt that way for a while. Yet he'd hesitated...and now he'd lost everything.

A knock on the door came softly but he ignored it. He wanted no company and wasn't prepared to be polite; even to his family.

"Ichigo?" his father asked as he stepped inside slowly.

He ignored his father and instead rolled onto his side facing the wall.

Isshin knew something bad happened with Ichigo but he wasn't entirely sure what. He scanned his body quickly but found no injuries indicating a fight had occurred. Isshin checked his son's reiatsu and felt the discord flowing through him. He also felt Sado's reiatsu...as well as Orihime's. Given his son's defeated posture, his withdrawn attitude, and the presence of her reiatsu, he had a pretty good idea what occurred.

Even though he was being ignored, Isshin walked into his son's darkened room and sat in his desk chair. Ichigo wouldn't even acknowledge his presence, but that was okay for now. He needed time himself to decide how to approach this. The closest Isshin had come to speaking about anything serious with his son was the morning he'd confronted Ichigo about the cold showers he'd been taking back in June. Though that time, he'd been able to tease his son like usual so it wasn't so hard to do.

Humor would not be appreciated, or needed, this time.

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness he glanced around his son's room. Though he woke his son up most mornings with an attack of some sorts, he hardly ever just looked at the things Ichigo kept around. Long gone were the drawings he'd done as a child that used to hang on his walls. Now they were replaced with posters of rock bands. The books that lined the small shelves he had weren't children's novels anymore; school subjects, and surprisingly, Shakespeare stood in their place. Somewhere in between all the normal things that went on in their lives, his son had turned into a young man. A man who now needed guidance in an area he wasn't familiar with.

Isshin had allowed Urahara to lead his son down his path as a shinigami. He didn't want to miss this opportunity as well.

"I know you've never heard this but the week before I proposed to your mother we got into a huge argument. At the time, I honestly didn't know if we'd ever be able to make up again."

Ichigo didn't say anything but Isshin saw his head move a fraction of an inch and knew he had his attention.

"I really don't even remember what it was about now. Hell, it was so long ago and it was probably over something petty. If I had to guess, I'd say it was my jealousy that started it." Isshin leaned back in the chair and tilted his head to look at the ceiling as he remembered his beautiful wife.

"She was just so beautiful...men would stare at her or approach her. And your mother, being the kind person she was, would always listen to whatever they were saying. Now don't get the wrong idea; if they were hitting on her she would politely turn them down but you know how most guys are...they would be subtle with it. Striking up some damn nonsense knowing good and well they were just trying to be in her presence and gaze at her. Pissed me off all the time."

Isshin heard the bed creak and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ichigo now laying on his back. He wasn't looking at his him but it was a good start.

"Before we got married I got jealous all the time. Usually, she would just laugh it off or say it was cute how I wanted her to myself but...well; I know this will come as a shock to you but your daddy can be an idiot sometimes."

He heard Ichigo snort and though he grinned a bit, he didn't turn to look at his son.

"You know, the more I think about it, I'm pretty sure this was the reason we got into a fight that time. Yeah...there was this guy she worked with, don't remember his name, but they'd been friends before I met her. He was always too friendly with her if you ask me." he said the last part with a frown as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Anyway, the guy did something at that time that pissed me off more than usual. I think I threatened him or...hell I don't remember but I might have actually hit the guy. Masaki got so pissed at me. She just stood there with her arms crossed giving me this look. Don't know if you remember but your mother had one hell of a death glare."

Ichigo huffed a little laugh and Isshin turned to smirk at him this time.

"Well, words started getting exchanged and I'm pretty sure I accused her of wanting that guy to get close to her or something of that sort. By the time it was all finished, Masaki had stormed out and we didn't speak to each other for days."

Ichigo turned his head a bit to watch his father as he spoke. Though he'd never heard anything like this from either of his parents, he knew it to be the truth. There was no way he could be faking the pain that was written on his face and that laced his words.

"Sure I stayed pissed the first day, sulked the second day, but by the third day with no word from her I started to get worried. I didn't sleep at all that night. The conversation was replying in my head over and over again. Everything she said, every gesture she made towards that guy...I realized I'd fucked up. She was just being her usual friendly self and I let my damn jealousy get out of control. Worst of all, I knew I hurt her by not trusting in her and believing her. I tried calling her the fourth day and she ignored all my calls and messages. I didn't think she'd ever forgive me. I thought we were over."

"How..." Ichigo began tentatively "how'd you get her to forgive you?"

"I did what any self-respecting man who'd done his woman wrong would do...I begged."

"Huh?"

Isshin chuckled. "Ichigo my boy, we're men. More than that, we're fighters. It's in our nature to be more brash than usual and violence is a common thing with us. That's how we work out our problems. Thing is, with our women we can't be like that. The way they think is totally different than us and don't ever expect to know what they're thinking 'cause I can tell you right now it ain't gonna happen." he smiled as he looked at his son.

"I had to ask myself how much she meant to me. The answer was easy and immediate in coming. I knew I'd hurt her but I also knew I had to do whatever it took to get her back. When she wouldn't take my calls I went to her apartment and stood on the doorsteps with a dozen roses and waited for her to talk to me."

"How long did it take for her to let you in?" Ichigo asked now with a small smirk of his own. Though he mostly remembered his mother's warm nature and smiling face, he did remember she could be stubborn when she wanted to.

"Four hours."

Ichigo outright laughed at this and sat up in bed while his father continued speaking.

"Yeah, laugh it up. Did I happen to mention it was raining that day?" Isshin glared half-heartedly at his son's enjoyment at his expense. "I wasn't leaving though. Because to leave might have meant the end for us and I couldn't risk that. I love her too much. So I swallowed all my pride and waited on that doorstep until she finally opened it. She just shook her head as she stepped aside and let me in. We talked a long time that day; solved a lot of issues that we didn't even know we had. That's the important thing Ichigo, we both talked and we both listened. It can't be one-sided, it's gotta be all or nothing. To do anything less is an insult to your partner."

Ichigo held his head down as he allowed his father's words to roll around his mind.

Isshin saw his words were getting to his son and decided he'd done enough. He stretched as he stood from the chair and left his son with one more piece of advice.

"How much does she mean to you Ichigo? Answer that question and you know which direction to go."

He crossed the room and made to leave before Ichigo's quite 'thanks dad' reached his ears. He just smiled to himself and left his son to his thoughts.

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Orihime sighed heavily as she removed her shoes from her locker. The day had been difficult but she'd managed to get through it somehow. Perhaps she should have skipped one more day of school but missing Monday was all she would allow herself. After Yourichi left her apartment, she'd been forced to think about a lot of things, face a lot of insecurities she still possessed. She'd given in to her emotions and skipped school one day to try and figure out what she should do. There had been a handicrafts club meeting after school today so she couldn't stay home and ignore the world.

Though she'd seen him the moment she'd entered the classroom, Orihime made sure she was still around all of her girl-friends so even if he wanted to Ichigo wouldn't have the opportunity to speak with her. There was still too much she needed to sort out before she would feel confident enough to speak with him.

She missed Tatsuki. Though she was sure her best friend would want to beat him up if she knew everything that was going on, she still wanted her around to cheer her up. It was getting harder and harder to pull herself out of these depressing thoughts.

"Orihime-chan!"

She turned to see Masaru running towards her. Another pang shot through her heart. She was the reason Ichigo was so mad at him. Masaru was such a nice person; he shouldn't have to deal with the mess surrounding her.

"Whew, I'm so glad I caught up with you." he panted.

"Umm...is something wrong Masaru-san?"

A look crossed his face briefly before he shook it away. "Well, I need to talk to you. You didn't show up yesterday and I got a little worried. I promised myself if you didn't show up today I was gonna try to contact you."

"O-kay." she said slowly. "What's wrong Masaru-san?" a horrible thought sprang to her mind. "Oh no! Please tell me Ichigo-kun hasn't said something to you."

"No, no, nothing like that. It's...umm...I have something to tell you. And I wanted to be able to tell you myself before you heard from anyone else."

Sadness filled his eyes and it only served to increase her fears. His shoulders slumped as he sighed heavily.

"I'm moving." he whispered.

"What?"

"I said I'm moving." he stated clearly this time.

Orihime's shocked eyes locked onto his. "When?" she asked breathlessly.

A very sad smile graced his features. "I've only been in school this week to officially withdraw...and to say goodbye to everyone."

"B-But this is kinda sudden isn't it?"

"Actually no. My parents told me about 3 months ago that dad was up for a promotion. It wasn't official but there was a good possibility that he would get it. The promotion takes his job oversees...to America. After a month and I never heard anything else about it, I assumed he didn't get it." Masaru dropped his weary form onto the bench near them. "They told me after I got home from the concert. He got the promotion and we have to leave this week."

Orihime made her way to sit next to him. "But where will you live? What about your sisters?"

Masaru smiled at the worry in her voice despite the depressing situation he found himself in. "Well, two of my sisters are already married and the other two are in college. One of them happens to be in college in America. Mom said she always knew dad was gonna get the promotion so she'd already been looking at houses online. They've already got everything planned."

Orihime felt the tears burning the back of her eyes. Though she could never return the feelings Masaru had for her she genuinely enjoyed his company. He was such a nice, funny person and she always like to be around him. It wasn't just that though. Orihime was sure, that given time, she could have really liked Masaru. Once she got over Ichigo that was.

Slowly, she slipped her hand into his and gave it a gentle squeeze. He had to be feeling nervous and scared. Suddenly moving away, changing schools, leaving everything you know behind...it had to be a terrifying thought. He needed a friend and she wanted to do what little she could.

"It's all gonna work out. You'll see." she said with a smile. "You'll make new friends in no time! Especially if you join the soccer team in your new school. Oh and think of all the new things you'll be able to experience! It'll be an adventure!"

Masaru stared at her, jaw dropped for a moment before he burst out laughing. He held tight to her hand as he the tremors from his laughing spell subsided.

"Thank you Orihime-chan. I needed that."

"Huh?"

"I've been so depressed about leaving I haven't even given a thought as to how to cope with the move." he turned his warm smile and sparkling green eyes on her. "There's one thing that won't be over there though...you."

The blush lit her cheeks before she could even think about it. "W-Well, we can still write to each other."

"Yeah." he said. The smile was still on his face but it didn't reach his eyes this time. "I gotta go. There's more paperwork I have to fill out in the office to complete my withdrawal."

"Oh," she said, sadness now lacing her voice. "So...you won't be back anymore?"

Masaru shook his head sadly. "We leave Japan Thursday. With everything left to pack and ship, I'm afraid this is goodbye."

Orihime felt the tear run down her face but before she could wipe it away Masaru already was tracing his thumb along her cheek.

"I don't deserve a single tear from you."

"Yes you do. You're a wonderful man and I'm going to miss you." she replied.

Masaru looked into her beautiful stormy eyes and felt such a stab of pain that he would never be the one to occupy her heart.

"Orihime-chan, tell me...is Kurosaki the reason why you wouldn't go out with me when I asked?"

Her eyes widened once more and she saw him smile sadly in acknowledgment.

"Thought so. Listen, I don't know what happened between you two recently but I think you need to give him another chance."

"Masaru-san...it's just not that simple." she said hesitantly.

"I'm sure it's not but I can see both of you are hurting. Even though you still cast longing looks at one another you refuse to settle whatever is bothering you? You're missing out on your happiness."

"But..."

He held up a hand to stop her. "Nope, I've already overstepped my bounds. It's not my place to know your private issues. I just want you to be happy. And from what I've seen, I think you both want the same thing."

Where and what he'd seen she didn't know but she wasn't sure they could ever be happy together the way he was implying. Still, she gave him a thankful smile. This was the last time she would see him and she wanted it to be a happy time.

"I should go." he said quietly.

She tugged his hand, stopping him as he made to stand up. He turned his head to her in confusion but she smiled gently and leaned up to kiss his cheek.

"Good luck Masaru-san."

He gave a trembling smile and squeezed her hand in return as his words were now lodged in his throat.

Orihime watched him walk towards the office and brushed away the tears that fell. She truly wished he did well in America and that he found someone who made him happy. He had done so much for her in cheering her up and making her feel wanted even though she couldn't return the feelings. She would miss him.

She shouldered her bag and opened the door to leave.

Ichigo was propped up beside the building, obviously waiting on her. His head was down, bangs hiding his eyes, and his arms were crossed over his chest. Orihime quickly felt his reiatsu, expecting to find it seething with rage. She was surprised to find no anger lacing it.

"So...you've chosen him then?" his low voice asked.

She couldn't even speak to answer him. Shocked to the core, Orihime could only stare at him dumbfounded. Ichigo wasn't looking at her, else he would have seen the wide eyed expression she wore.

He had seen her.

He saw her kiss Masaru.

Even if it was on the cheek she knew he would be upset about it. Why he was upset she still didn't understand.

"I guess I was too late. That seems to be the usual for me when it comes to you."

What did he mean by that? Oh no...did he think she had chosen to date Masaru? But late? That wasn't making any sense.

"I just want you to know Orihime, I only want for you to be happy. If he's the one who makes you happy...then...I wish you all the best."

Was he...

But no, he ignored her confession. He didn't want her love...right?

He pulled away from the wall and began walking away from her.

Yourichi's words from the other night came racing back to her.

"Are you so certain about what the thinks and feels?" she asked the healer.

"How could I not be? He hasn't spoken a word about it since it happened! That was in December!" she said heatedly.

"I realize that Inoue but you also haven't asked him about it either have you?"

"Well...no...but..."

"Don't continue to assume everything Inoue. All you're doing is hurting yourself and others. Wasn't he trying to tell you something tonight and you wouldn't listen?"

Orihime felt the hot trails of tears burning her cheeks once again. "I don't know if I can deal with hearing him tell me no to my face. After everything...I just don't know if I'm strong enough for that."

"Inoue, stop doubting yourself. And stop doubting him." Yourichi said as she leaned back with a look of wisdom that only comes with age and experience. "After everything...doesn't he deserve a chance to be heard?"

Orihime reached out and grasped his wrist, stopping him.

Ichigo turned back to her, chocolate eyes widened in disbelief but still loaded with pain.

Orihime fought with herself for a moment. The look of pain in his eyes gave her such a shock. She never expected to see it there. Though it may hurt her all over again, she chose to listen to Yourichi's advice.

"I...he...he's leaving...the country." she meekly said. Ichigo's face displayed his shock and he turned fully to face her. Her hand was still latched around his wrist.

"His father's job is moving them to America." She took the chance to look him straight in the eyes as she continued. "I was only saying goodbye."

Ichigo searched her eyes carefully. She was scared but...kami please...wasn't that hope in her eyes?

Could he possibly still have a chance? Could they really work through this?

He took a step closer to her as he held her gaze.

"Could we please talk Orihime?" he asked hopefully.

She licked her suddenly dry lips as she saw a spark of hope flare to life in his eyes.

Could she really have been mistaken about him? Could there really be a chance for her?

"Alright."

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A/N:

Once again I have to give a big thanks to all my readers! You're reviews and messages give me such inspiration and drive to get these chapters out. I love each and every one of you and send you all big internet hugs!

I hope you enjoy this chapter (sorry about Masaru but this has been his fate since the beginning) and please let me know what you think.

Oh and Zanbandia...I was keeping the faith. I know how it gets.