Finally a new update! I haven't forgotten about this story. This one just took longer than I expected it to take. This is the final chapter for White Day. Like the other three this one is pretty fluffy maybe just a little cheesy. Ichigo may be getting a little mushy. It is hard trying to keep him in character and have him in a relationship. I try to keep him the same around his friends, but just a little more open and honest around Orihime. I think at his core he is still the same as the Ichigo in the manga and anime, but I would be lying if I said he wasn't different. But then again doesn't he have to? Can Ichigo be in a relationship without expressing himself at all and being aloof like he is around his friends? Personally I don't think so and I think to make a relationship work you have to open up to someone.
Oh yeah before I forget the new school year in Japan starts in April. I guess people got that from last chapter, but I wanted to clear up confusion as to why I had Ichigo and Orihime talking about how the new school year starts soon when it is only March right now for them.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. I am merely borrowing the characters to tell my own story.
"Are you sure I'm not underdressed?" Orihime asked for the third time in the last five minutes.
He sighed. "For the last time you look great, Inoue." How many times did he have to tell her that before she believed him? They weren't going to some super fancy restaurant where you were required to wear a coat and tie. He hated those places. They were just so fake. Dressing nicely for dinner wasn't something he was against. He wasn't an uncouth barbarian despite what Tatsuki or Rukia would insinuate. His problem lied with the fact that those "proper dressed" restaurants tried to portray a false image of how people really were. Having good manners was reasonable, but to look down on others for not dressing a certain way or speak a certain way was completely unnecessary. People flocked to those places because it meant they had class or prestige. They just wanted to boast to their friends that they could afford to go to such places and blend in there. In other words it was a contest to make others feel inferior to them and in turn make them feel superior to those around them. Ichigo would not participate in such an contest.
Orihime continued, "I just want to make sure. You went to all the trouble to take me out to dinner. I want to look perfect, so I don't embarrass you."
He must have heard her wrong. That was the only possible explanation for what he heard. His ears had to have heard wrong. She would know that she could not embarrass him, at least not with what she was wearing. Girls were too self-conscious about their appearance. That was the honest truth. Normally Inoue would not care much about what she was wearing, but there were moments such as this one where she would succumb to teenage self-consciousness. His opinion might have been a bit biased, but he thought she looked great. She was wearing this long white skirt that stopped just short of her lower legs. Her feet were dressed in these fancy pink sandals. He wasn't really sure how to describe it or give proper judgment. He wasn't big on sandals. They didn't seem like your everyday wear. They had this little design on the straps and the material seemed to be leather. They weren't high heels, although he did not doubt that she had pair that was high heels. The ones she was wearing now were probably her complying with his insistence to dress casual. The healer chose to wear a lavender pink long sleeve blouse, revealed her neckline in a U shape, with the shirt hanging on her shoulders. Despite that it did not reveal anything, not her shoulders or even cleavage. It was tasteful. He wasn't sure why she thought she needed to dress in something more formal. Here she was anxiety filled brown eyes that were begging him to give her his honest opinion.
She was too cute for own good. "Look at me," he ordered. The red-orange haired woman locked her eyes on to his. Now that he knew she giving him her attention he proceeded to ease her fears. "Inoue, you don't have to worry about embarrassing me or not by trying to look perfect. Remember what I said when I invited you to have dinner with my family for the first time?" She nodded her head. Her hazel eyes looked to be miles away. She was most likely remembering what he said to her on that day. Regardless he decided to repeat it anyway. "You look great in anything you wear, so stop sweating it."
Her lips curved into a U shape smile. The concerns and fears that had planted themselves on her face quickly evaporated. There was his carefree and happy Hime.
"This place isn't one of those jacket and tie joints. If it was I wouldn't be wearing this." He had gone to his house to change out of his uniform some time ago. He wore black buttoned dress shirt, with khaki pants. Unlike Inoue he did not see the point in wearing dress shoes. He wore his plain old shoes. "Stop overthinking things and just enjoy the evening. Alright?"
"Alright," she replied.
"Good," he stated. All she needed was a little encouragement and she was good to go. A silver glint caught his eye. Inoue saw it fit to continue to wear the necklace to dinner. He wasn't an expert in fashion, so he had no idea if the necklace went with her outfit or not. He was more of an, if it looks good to my eye than I wear it kind of guy. He knew from Yuzu that girls were different from him. His sister would obsess if her outfit matched and made sure nothing was out of place. He wondered if Inoue was the same way. He had never experienced Inoue's must be wearing the perfect outfit desire until tonight. It was only natural that she chose an outfit that coordinated with her new necklace, right? Or did she say damn coordination and wore it because she loved it? Either option sounded favorable to him. It meant that she cared enough for it to either plan her outfit around it so she could wear it or that she was willing to suppress her need to have everything be perfect in order to wear it.
She caught him staring at chest. Her first thought was he was checking her out. This made her blush instantly. Kurosaki-kun being so bluntly about it was completely unexpected. On impulse she dropped her head down to avoid his stare. That is when she became aware of the silver band running down her neck to her chest. Realization hit her even harder than Tatsuki's fist when it came into contact with her hard head. He was staring at the necklace. Her cheeks remained red, but this was from embarrassment at her own thoughtlessness by jumping to conclusions. She should have known better from her boyfriend. He was gentlemen after all.
"I wanted to wear it to dinner because tonight is special."
There was no need for her to clarify. He knew what it was referring to.
"Today has been really special for me." Her fingers curled onto the band. The events of last night with Ichigo confessing that Masaoka kissed him to early evening them coming to her apartment after finishing their ice cream replayed in her mind. "I….I really love that you went to all this trouble for me. Everything has been like a dream come true." She shook her head. "No, this is even better than a dream. You gave me a piece of your heart, a gift that belonged to your mother to ease my own sadness. You held my hand and took me to an ice cream parlor. When I got ice cream on my face you wiped it off with a kiss." She laughed a little, bringing some confusion to him. "You made me feel so special and when you called me your girlfriend I thought my heart would melt. You always tell me how much you cherish me and today I felt as if that is an understatement. Kurosaki-kun, I did not know how to express my gratitude to you for this day. Today was absolutely perfect. I guess that is why I feel the need to look absolutely perfect right now."
"Hearing you say that makes me feel glad. This day I wanted it to be everything you wanted, everything you deserve. I wanted you to know how strong I feel about you. Inoue, I know it has only been one month since we started dating, but the way our bond has developed this year it feels like we've been together longer. I am unsure if that is natural with couples or if it is something unique to us, but we have something. I mean we have something special. Even a guy like me can feel it. This day was meant to let you know that I am aware of that fact." A month of dating and he couldn't help, but wonder if she knew the extent of his feelings for her. Being so reserved and secretive about his emotions the ex-substitute had difficulties telling her exactly how he felt at times. He hoped that a kiss or grabbing her hand would be enough to tell her, but he still worried that they were not. White Day was the day that would allow him to do what he did best, namely take action. He may have failed to accurately express himself with words, but his actions always conveyed what he was feeling in his heart. It was why he poured his energy into creating this special date. He wanted it to be different from their normal ones. It had to be special just like she was.
"This day is technically our one month anniversary," she stated. She wasn't really sure why she said it. When he said that they had been going out for a month she couldn't help, but remember that they officially got together on Valentine's Day. It sounded like it was something out of a romance novel. "Today feels like a celebration of both. With everything that we did together today I feel like it was the perfect duo holiday!"
Ichigo crossed his arms and shook his head absent mindedly. He was trying to hold back a smile. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I didn't even think about a one month anniversary. Everything I planned was for White Day. I hope that is alright."
"No, I mean yes it is alright. I didn't mean to sound selfish or ungrateful. There is no way I expected you to do something to celebrate both. I didn't even think a month was worth celebrating you know! I mean it is special that we have been together for so long, but I certainly didn't want to make a big deal out of it. It is a big deal, but it isn't….." Good old Orihime. She always tripped over her own words. If there was a prize for bringing about confusion and disarray she would be the all-time champ. She inhaled before she exhaled her nervousness. "What I mean to say is that I am glad we have been together for a month. I did not want you to go out of your way to celebrate that. I just brought it up because I thought everything we did today felt like a jam packed celebration for both White Day and our one month anniversary."
"You really think so?" he asked. She replied with a nod. "Here I thought I didn't put enough effort into this."
Orihime shook her head vigorously, disagreeing with him. "Oh no, you put a great deal of effort into this. I can tell with everything we have done today."
"I'll take your word for it." He looked over to her clock to see that it was now 6: 31. Their reservations were for 7. They could not afford to be late. Most restaurants were booked with reservations from boyfriends with the same goal as him, to sweep their girlfriends off their feet. If they were late even by a minute they could find their reservation was given to another couple. As far as Ichigo was concerned that was not a viable option. "We have to get going now," he told her.
"Just let me get my purse." She hurried off to her counter, grabbed her purse, waved it to him with her energetic smile, and raced to the door where he was now at. Being the gentlemen that he was Kurosaki-kun opened the door and ushered her through it. She thanked him. He followed her and closed the door behind him.
His day was finally over. Thank God that this long, overtaxing, nightmarish day finally came to an end. He almost fell asleep at the student council meeting just now. That was unacceptable. He was the president of their class. He had to be professional. The other members looked to him for guidance and leadership. He was also supposed to be a model for how they were to conduct themselves. Falling asleep in the middle of a meeting would send the wrong message. It wasn't like he was bored by the meeting or thought it beneath him. He had just spent so many nights exterminating hollows that it left little room for sleep. You would think he would be used to this by now, but damn if hollow attacks were not becoming more frequent. It wasn't as if he had a whole lot of options. Kurumadani was completely hopeless. That idiot was just too slow to respond to all of the hollow attacks. Urahara-san knew this too be true as well and had been calling him more frequently.
The Quincy was feeling overwhelmed. Between his school life and this job there was little time to rest. There wasn't really anyone he could talk to about this. Inoue-san would only worry like she did today. Sado-kun had his own work cut out for him to balance his own life with his job. Kurosaki would just blame himself. He despised that pathetic sorrowful look in those chocolate colored eyes. Today when Kurosaki actually shot him a pitied look he thought he would vomit. The orange haired man was entirely too full of himself. Kurosaki's depowered stated had meant more hours for him, but it was as if he had no faith their skills. He was a Quincy after all. Hollows were no problems at all. The true problem was that arrancar he fought weeks ago.
He had not seen that arrancar since that night. Uryu naturally had been doing sweeps around the city, trying to find any detail that was unusual or something that stood out. He made more trips to the Kurosaki clinic after his rounds with Kurumadani just to cheek if there was activity going on. Not that he did not trust Kurosaki's father. He felt how powerful the reiatsu that man emitted from his body was enough to bring him to his knees. Now he understood why Kurosaki had so much spiritual power. The fact was the enemy had something that could completely mask their reiatsu, making them virtually undetectable from anyone's sixth sense. They had to take precautions in order to fight off this new threat. They were still unaware of the enemy's numbers. The arrancar he battled with spoke as if he was following the orders of someone higher up than him. The worst case scenario they were dealing with an entire group of arrancar and that they controlled a mass number of hollows. This would account for why the number of hollows increased so drastically since his battle with that arrancar. The question was why were they sending more hollows to Karakura Town?
There was little reason for it. The hollows may have been numerous, but they were still child's play for him. If their goal was to exhaust them with constant hollow attacks it made sense, but even then it was not the ideal strategy. If they sent too many hollows the Soul Society would eventually send someone to check things out. Assuming Kurumadani sent any reports documenting the increased hollow activity to his superiors that is. That was assuming the Soul Society even read his reports. Now that Central 46 was running the Soul Society again he doubted their attention was on anything other than their own personal war on Hueco Mundo.
Was this all headway for an even bigger invasion still in the planning stages? He was too tired to think of the matter anymore. He would go home, get a nap in before he had to go on night patrol he was sure he would have to go on tonight. The cursed phone of his hadn't failed to ring once in the last few weeks. He had no illusions of it staying silent tonight. Hopefully tonight would be a quick patrol. He felt a sinking feeling in his stomach that made him think that hope was missed placed.
"Ishida!"
At the sound of his name Uryu instantly stopped. He turned to the direction of the voice to find Tatsuki waving at him. She was not wearing her school uniform. Her attire consisted of dark gray sweat pants and light gray sweat coat. She was carrying a black and blue duffle bag. He raised his hand to wave back at her. Noticing that he had stood in place the raven haired girl jogged up to him. In matter of seconds they were standing right in front of each other. "Arisawa-san," he greeted her.
She flashed her trademark grin at him. "You just got out of school? Wait you had another student council meeting, right?"
"Yes, we were discussing all the funds that clubs and teams have, so we can prepare a new budget for the new school year." They started walking again.
"You guys are under a lot of pressure huh?"
He simply nodded his head in response. "The issue is that since there is only a few weeks left we have to get all of the clubs and teams expense reports as soon as possible. There so many clubs that it makes it difficult for us go through all of the reports we have gotten so far. Others of course have neglected to give us their reports yet. I suspect the reason is either they have not been keeping up with their expenses and are now trying to go through everything they purchased to create their report now. Or that some of the members have pocketed some of the money in their own pockets and are trying to forge a report to cover the money they took."
Tatsuki frowned at him before shaking her head in disgust. "God, your job sounds hard. No wonder you are all staying so late after school, to think that some of the club presidents and team captains actually took money from their own budgets." She shook her head again. "What happens to those guys? You don't let them get away with it do you?"
"No, at least we try not to. When we suspect that a member usually the president or team captain has been taking money out of their budget we bring it up to the principle and request they are removed from their position or the club/team altogether. That becomes a problem in itself."
"Why is that?" she asked.
"The principle is more than likely to cut our budget. It is up to us to distribute the money to all of the clubs and teams. That becomes harder to do with less money. It means one club or team getting less money than they had before. Of course we usually just give the club or team with the member who stole money before less funding, but it is a punishment to people who usually have nothing to do with the theft."
"In other words you guys get blamed," she reasoned.
"Yes," he replied.
That really angered her. But it never failed. All it took was one or two jackasses to screw it up for everyone. A few guys take money out of their own budget and their club suffers. Instead of that thief who stole the money doesn't get blamed for that club receiving less money. No, the student council was blamed. As president Ishida would take the full brunt of it.
"Why are you out so late?" Uryu finally asked. It wasn't really that late. The sun was still out for one thing. That was the benefit of spring. The days were longer as opposed to winter. 6: 40 p.m. was no longer plagued by the dark skies of night. Still he wasn't expecting to see the second strongest girl in Japan by the school at this time. Most clubs and teams had gone home. The student council was the only group left at the school.
"I just got off of work."
"At the dojo right?" the Quincy said uncertainly.
She smiled and gave him another nod. "The school is on my way home."
His questions about what was in the duffle bag had been answered simultaneous with his original question. Her uniform and karate gi were probably in there. She had to change at work, so it only made sense she would bring some casual clothes for when she got off in order to avoid wearing her uniform. The frailties his tired body hit him. His mouth opened up, allowing a mighty yawn escape. Arisawa-san took notice. He could feel her eyes on him before he could even open his eyes. Feeling incredibly self-conscious the raven haired man felt his cheeks heat up, they colored in crimson. In an attempt to disguise his embarrassment Uryu cleared his throat. He was determined not to look at her until he regained control of his body's temperature.
She wasn't a fool. He wouldn't look her in the eye. It was so obvious that he was feeling embarrassed by his yawn. It seemed like everyone she knew was easily embarrassed. Between Ichigo, Orihime, and Ishida she was not sure who blushed more. Sado seemed like the only member of the hollow hunters who did not to feel humiliation by such trivial things as teasing or yawning. 'You and Ichigo really are alike,' she thought. He was tired from all of his nighttime adventures so it made sense. Instead of admitting it the Quincy would keep it to himself. Another quality he shared with her eldest friend. "You really should get some rest you know." His blue eyes fell on her again. "You are no good to anyone all tired. Plus you are making Orihime worry."
He wanted to argue, but after that display she had just witnessed he didn't have a leg to stand on. He remained silent.
When she did not hear any protest or insistence that he was alright she decided to push the issue further. "You almost fell asleep at lunch today. You even missed out on teasing Ichigo." She shrugged her shoulders. "How many opportunities like that are you going to get?"
"Kurosaki always creates situations that leave him open for ridicule."
That was true. If she had yen for every time Ichigo did something humiliating she would be stinking rich right now.
Uryu continued, "Besides I can let him off every once in a while."
She frowned. He was stubborn. "I take it that means you aren't going to rest?" She sighed in annoyance. "Guys are so stubborn. You can't show any weakness or God forbid any signs you are human at all. You always have to be invincible."
"I can't just forsake my duties to exterminate hollows. If I did hollows would have their fill of souls," he explained.
"Don't give me that crap."
He gave her questioning and slightly offended glare. "Excuse me?"
"You know you really are no better than Ichigo."
"I am nothing like Kurosaki!" he screamed. Why did everyone keep saying that? There was no resemblance to that arrogant, oversensitive, and annoying carrot top.
"You are running around town exterminating hollows all on your own, putting everything on your shoulders, trying to carry the weight on your own. I bet it didn't even cross your mind to ask for help." She saw his eyes widened in shock. "Sado and Orihime wouldn't mind helping you out so you could get more rest."
"Sado-kun and Inoue-san have their own concerns to worry about…."
"Don't fool yourself. This has nothing to do with that. The only reason you are keeping them at bay is your pride. You are unwilling to admit that you might need some help. You want to protect everyone with your own strength. Tell me how that isn't like Ichigo," she challenged.
He found himself speechless again. Arisawa-san made some valid points, even if he was unwilling to admit it. He still denied his behavior being remotely similar to Kurosaki. Kurosaki was overprotective and too controlling in his quest to protect them. He was just protective and looking out for Sado-kun and Inoue-san's best interest. His reasons were completely different from Kurosaki's. "It's different," he said dumbly. Despite what he said he did not explain his position any further. She took it as a sign of her victory.
"That flimsy excuse is the best defense you have than you aren't as smart as I originally thought." His face scrunched up into a frown. Insulting his intelligence seemed to hit a sore spot. "Look I am not trying to tell you what to do, but if you are tired than you need some rest. If you need to ask for help from your friends even if it is only for one night it would help you. Think of it this way. If you are tired you may make a mistake and let a hollow go free. Ichigo would never let you live that down."
He chuckled to himself at the last bit. She didn't even realize just how badly Kurosaki would react if he ever allowed a common hollow to get away from him. It would destroy his Quincy pride, along with more taunts from Kurosaki or cause him looks of pity. Uryu could already see that guilty mug of Kurosaki's staring back at him. He absolutely despised that look. If he could avoid seeing it directed at him he should take steps to prevent it. Arisawa-san might be on to something. "It won't work, at least not tonight. Sado-kun won't get off work for a few more hours. When he gets off he will have to get his own rest. Inoue-san has a date with Kurosaki. Judging from what we saw in class and on the roof they have the evening planned."
Tatsuki rolled her eyes before snorting. She had captured the Quincy's attention. "First of all I talked to Sado today. He is getting off at 8 today. That is an hour and twenty minutes away. If you ask him I am sure he would cover your patrol tonight. You are probably right about Orihime. She and Ichigo probably won't be free tonight," she mused.
He wasn't sure, but there was something about her tone that seemed to echo with amusement. Curios as to what she found so amusing he decide to throw some questions at her. "What do you mean by that?"
A mischievous yet knowing grin materialized on her face. "Oh come on, Ishida. You said it yourself. You saw how they were at lunch today. If they couldn't keep their hands off each other at school what are the chances they do when they are alone?"
His cheeks flared into a bright crimson color. They should not be having a conversation like this. Frankly he was a little disturbed by how easily Arisawa-san could talk about their friends' activities so freely. Uryu pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Well it is none of our business," he said in a matter of fact tone.
Tatsuki saw the red on his face from the corner of her eyes. It took a great deal of control not to laugh. She forgot how modest the raven haired man was. The fact that she a woman brought the sex lives of two of their friends probably made him even more uncomfortable. She decided to have a little more fun with him. "You perv," she stated.
"W-What? Why am I a pervert?" he cried frantically.
She had to turn her head away from him in order to hide her grinning face. It would give her away. "Your face got all red the minute I mentioned Ichigo and Orihime. It is pretty obvious you were thinking something perverted."
"No I wasn't!"
She shook her head disapprovingly. However, it was all she could do to keep herself together.
"It is the truth! I was not thinking of anything perverted!" he blurted out.
"The more you deny it the more you reveal your true colors," Tatsuki insisted.
"That is not true at all! I don't think we should be um….talking about this sort of thing." His voice died down with every word he spoke. The redness returned to his face. "Talking about that thing, about Kurosaki and Inoue-san in that way, it is just….well….."
"Relax before you blow your head up."
"Huh?" Uryu muttered. She showed him her grinning on the verge of laughing face to him. His embarrassment dissipated.
"I was joking. I saw how uncomfortable you were and just wanted to poke fun at you a bit." She heard him growl in annoyance. That didn't stop her form laughing though. "What can I say? It was too tempting to pass up."
He remained silent. Clearly they had differing opinions on what was amusing and what was not. He saw nothing funny in her act.
Now he was giving her the silent treatment. Great now she felt bad for teasing him. "Hey, I am sorry. I might have taken it too far." He did not say anything. "Oh come on. You can't be that upset with me. It was a joke, a funny joke I might add."
"That is open for debate," he finally spoke.
"He is speaking to me again," she joked. "Does that mean I am forgiven?"
"Hmm, I wasn't upset to begin with."
'Sure you weren't,' Tatsuki thought. They came to a crossroad. On the right was the direction of Tatsuki's home. This is where they would separate. "I'm heading this way," she told him. He acknowledged her with a light nod. She took her leave, crossing the street. She stopped then turned around. He was surprised that she would turn around. His eyes bulged a little. "Get some rest, Ishida."
He let out a small yet surprised gasp. Before he could respond the raven haired woman turned her back to him and started walking off again. Something held him back. Uryu stood there and watched her walk away until she disappeared from sight. "Get some rest," he repeated. Another yawn fought its way out. "Looks like I'll be doing just that." The Quincy continued to walk down the path he was on.
Fantastic, that was the perfect word to describe this place. It was fantastic. The place had everything. The lobby was big enough to accommodate most of its customers. There were even seats for them to sit in while they waited to be waited to their table. Inside of the actual restaurant was something else. It was littered with several tables and booths, small tables for two people, to great ones that could hold six people, and the booths could hold up to six themselves. The lighting was dimmer than she expected, but it set the atmosphere. Kurosaki-kun said that this place was not strict on the dress code, but it still seemed so….grand. The service was prompt. The waiter who was ever so polite led them to a nice cozy table meant for two. He handed them menus and told them he would be back shortly to take their orders.
She was surprised by how prompt the waiter was considering how crowded the restaurant was. The healer was expecting it to be since today was a romantic holiday, but even still. It was filled with hordes of customers. No wonder Kurosaki-kun was so insisted that they get there early. They would have lost their reservation if they had been late. While they were waiting in the lobby she had witnessed one couple trying to negotiate their way in. Apparently they had been late and their spot given to some other couple. Unfortunately for the couple it did not work for them. They were turned away. Orihime was grateful she listened to the former vizard and stopped worrying her over her clothing. They got there ten minutes early. Being ten minutes early was a blessing. He was right about her clothes. One casual glance at their neighbors revealed that many of them were not wearing anything too dressy. Thankfully she did not stand out as she feared she might.
"Have you decided what you want?" Ichigo asked. He lowered his menu so he could look into her innocent doe like brown eyes. She had lowered her own menu.
"Not yet," Orihime replied. She had forgotten she was supposed to be looking through menu. She returned her eyes to the menu, scanned it over for something she would find edible. How did she allow her thoughts to wonder? It was inconsiderate. Kurosaki-kun wouldn't order anything until she found something. He shouldn't have to starve just because she had let herself be distracted. "What are you getting, Kurosaki-kun?" She could just order whatever he was getting in the interest of saving time.
"I am still undecided. The reason I asked you was so I could order what you were getting."
Her subconscious laughed at her. Her beloved had come up with the same idea she had. At least she knew she was not holding him up.
"There sure are a lot of choices," Ichigo commented on.
"Yeah," she replied. By a lot of choices he meant a lot of choices. The menu had almost everything. They even had a special spinach meal section, noodles and pasta section, fish, chicken, steaks, and more. Orihime's problem wasn't that there was nothing that did not want to eat, but there was a whole bunch of things she wanted to eat. How was a girl to decide? Should she get the salmon or a gourmet bowl of noodles or spinach calzone? There were just too many choices! She let out cry. "I have no idea what to get," she whined.
"That makes two of us." Who would have thought something as simple as choosing what you wanted to eat would be such a difficult task? Surely picking out a dish would be child's play to someone who used to slay hollows. Hunger was starting to set in. They needed to get something before had the painful task of waiting for their food while their stomachs ate themselves. He looked over the menu again when his eye caught something. Upon further study he found a good baked fish, noodle, and shrimp combo that looked delicious. "Looks like I found something."
"Really? What is it?" Orihime asked.
Ichigo answered, "It is a baked fished combo." He pointed it out on her menu. "See?"
"Oh that does look really good!" she exclaimed. Baked salmon with noodles did sound very appealing. She couldn't even remember the last time she had fish for dinner. It was probably when Yuzu cooked them a meal eight weeks ago. The goddess could hardly believe it had been such a long time. But she wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to eat fish tonight. Orihime kept searching through the menu, hoping to find something else that spoke out to her. 'I still don't know what I want to eat. Kurosaki-kun knows what he wants now. I should probably just get something, so he doesn't have to wait on me.'
"Take your time." The red-orange haired woman found herself staring at him. She was startled by his intuition. It seemed like he read her thoughts just now. "I am in no hurry, so just take your time." Remembering his manners and the words his father always told him.
Start of the Flashback
"Remember Ichigo to always allow a woman to order first," Isshin stated.
Ichigo rolled his eyes. It seemed like it was time for his father to give him advice about women. Was it that time of the month again?
A fist went flying at his face. Luckily his body reacted fast enough to stop the fist. He glared at his father. "What the hell is that about?" he screamed.
"You weren't paying attention, so I had to do something to get your attention."
His eyebrows furrowed. He shot his most terrifying glare he could at his father. 'Damn you old man,' he thought.
Unaffected by his son's glare Isshin went on. "You really should listen to me. When you start dating you are going to need to know this stuff. To be frank you are rude."
"Like you are one to talk!" he screamed. "You are the one who just tried to punch me in the face, while I am doing my homework no less!"
Isshin sighed before expressing his disappointment with shaking his head. "Man you are easy to irritate. Any woman you end up with will have to extreme amount of patient."
Ichigo growled. The vein on his forehead formed. His chocolate eyes steamed with uncontrollable rage. "Y-you…"
"Anyway as I was saying. You should always allow a woman to order her food first. Do not order your food until she knows what she wants. If you do it shows that you are not only rude, but that you did not take her into consideration. That sends the message that you put your own wellbeing before hers. No girl wants to be with a selfish guy. You'll be chasing away the good ones," Isshin warned.
"Yeah, yeah I got it. Let the girl order first or I blow it." He waved his father away. "Now can I please get back to homework?" In one, two, three, his father pounced on him, but the orange haired man pushed his chair aside. This left his father crashing into the wall at full speed. His body fell like a log onto Ichigo's desk, before falling to the ground. He got a good look at his father's face. There was a stream of red liquid running down his nose. His eyes were contaminated with a clear salty liquid. Ichigo sighed with pity. "I'll get the ice pack." He walked out of his room to retrieve the ice pack, leaving his father lying on the floor to endure the searing pain he was in.
"Ichigo!" he screamed.
End of Flashback
His father's talks did not usually end well for him. But it was his father's own damn fault. Trying to jump at him when he was at his desk was stupid. Sometimes he really worried about his old man. At least he would be happy to know that Ichigo followed his instructions.
Inoue showed her appreciation by smiling at him. She continued to search for something to eat. He wondered what she would order. Would she ask for some strange combination of meals to satisfy her odd sense of taste? He hoped not. They would probably charge them extra. This restaurant was not exactly cheap. He was confident he had saved up enough money for at least four meals. On the other hand the ex-substitute was at a lost if that was enough to buy Inoue a meal that was a combination of several different ones. Boredom set in. Inoue was reading the menu that left him with no one to talk to. In an attempted to appease his boredom Ichigo started to tap his fingers on the table. He was careful not to tap loudly, so as not to distract his girlfriend or make a disturbance. He started counting to pass the time. He got to 67 when Inoue closed her menu.
"What are you going to get?" he asked her.
"Spinach Lasagna!" she cheered.
"They have that here?" He opened up his menu again. Orihime pointed it out to him. "Crap, how did I miss that?" he asked to no one in particular. "That looks good."
"It's not too late to change your mind," she suggested.
He shook his head. "Nah, I'll just stick with the fish." He closed his menu again. As luck would have it their waiter came up to their table.
"Hello, are you two ready or do you need more time?" he asked.
Ichigo motioned for Orihime to go first. "I will have your spinach lasagna."
He scribbled it down on his notebook. "What would you like to drink?"
"I'll take a root beer soda."
"Root beer soda," he repeated as he wrote it down. "What would you like, Sir?" he asked.
"I'll have your Salmon Pasta combo. I'll also have a root beer."
"I'll make those two root beers. I take it you two are out on White Day date?" he asked making small talk.
"We sure are," Orihime answered cheerfully. She passed her menu to the waiter.
He politely took the menu from her. He turned to Ichigo to retrieve his menu. "You two still look like you are in school, so I guessing you saved up for this?"
"Yeah," Ichigo answered.
"You are lucky miss, your boyfriend saved up to take you out to eat at a restaurant. Take it from me we are not cheap," he joked.
Orihime smiled at Ichigo, looking at him fondly. "I know. He spent the whole day with me and planned it out." She watched as his cheeks turned red.
"Oh really?" the waiter said with a smile. "I am glad my girlfriend isn't here. She would be glaring daggers at me right now. I can just hear her telling me to be more like you. I couldn't get the day off. When I told her she did not take it well. She was fine with me missing Valentine's Day, but White Day was too much for her."
"That sucks," Ichigo said. His father was right. White Day was not the day to miss. 'Thank you, Dad,' he thought.
"It should be ready in fifteen minutes, at the most twenty minutes. Can I get you any appetizers?"
"I'll take a salad," Orihime replied.
Ichigo said, "That sounds good. Make that two."
"If you want I can get you one big bowl, so you can share it. Add a little more romance to it," he suggested.
Ichigo asked Orihime if she wanted to with a look. She responded with a nod. "We'll take the big bowl."
The waiter scribbled down the last of their order. "The salad will be here in a few minutes." He sped off to the kitchen.
Orihime blinked at how fast the man was. He was there only a second ago and now he was out of sight. His speed was an asset for this day, with all the customers they had. "He seemed nice."
"Yeah, I guess he was," Ichigo agreed. He felt something tap his leg. He was alarmed at first, so much so that he almost jumped up in a defensive stance. What stopped him was a strong, but comforting grip on his hand. When he looked to see what had grabbed his hand he found a smaller hand over it. A small smile formed. His brown orbs traveled up to see the face that was beauty incarnate. Her plush lips were curved into the small smile meant only for him. Her brown eyes radiated with love. It was enough to ease him; preventing him from being startled. Ichigo was getting lost into her eyes when he felt his leg being tapped again. His brain put two and two together and identified the culprit to be his Hime. The new question was why she was kicking him. She didn't appear angry or upset. Maybe she didn't even realize she was doing it.
"Inoue," he called. "Why are you kicking my leg?"
The healer giggled, which only served to confuse him further. She could tell by baffled expression that he did not understand what she was doing or what was humorous about it. "I am playing footsies with you."
He raised an eyebrow at her. "What?" Footsies that sounded so unreal. The whole concept of kicking someone to flirt seemed strange to him. It seemed sort of childish. The kind of thing people did when they were kids. Of course he never did such acts when he was a kid.
Orihime just smiled. "Sitting here just the two of us made me start thinking about footsies. I always wanted to try it, so I rubbed my foot against your leg," she explained. "It probably seems weird to you, but I couldn't help myself."
She was odd, but he liked odd. Normal was boring and Inoue Orihime was anything, but boring. She didn't blush when she explained herself. That meant she was not embarrassed telling him about the game. She was getting more comfortable around him. She was not so worried that he would think badly of her for doing something. He tapped her leg back as lightly as he could. Yes, it was dumb and he still found it childish. That megawatt smile that materialized on her face just now made it worth swallowing some pride and returning her affection. He didn't plan on making this habit though.
"Thank you for indulging me," Orihime said.
"Just don't expect me to do this every time we go to dinner," he warned.
"I won't. But even if it was just this one time I am glad that you indulged me," she repeated. She squeezed his hand. She loved when they held hands. It was reminder of how far they had come. It felt as if just yesterday she was a girl with a crush for a guy who barely knew her. Now she was sitting across from him having just played footsies with him, celebrating White Day with him.
The two carrot haired teens stared at one another fondly. The comforting silence had set in. The connection they had forged allowed them this pleasure of basking in each other's company. All the chatter from the other tables and the constant moving of the waiters and waitress was blocked out. An invisible dome had formed around the couple. It shielded them from any noise. They became isolated within their own world. Neither one of them was ready to leave their world. Fate had other plans. Their waiter walked up to their table with their salad and drinks in his hands.
"Here are your drinks." He sat down Orihime's drink first than Ichigo's. "And here is your salad." He placed the large bowl in the middle of their table. "Would you like anything else?"
Ichigo replied, "No we are good." He turned to Orihime for confirmation. She waved her hands, dismissing the waiter's offer.
"If you two need me just call for me, if you do not require me to bring you anything I will be back with your food the next time I see you," he promised.
They thanked him and he left them to be. Trapped within the grasps of hunger the couple picked up their eating utensils and dived in. The taste was sensational. Ichigo wondered what type of salad dressing the restaurant used. Whatever it was it was different from the type that Yuzu had them buy. He had to remember to ask the waiter what they used. He could persuade Yuzu to purchase it the next time she prepared a salad for them.
He swallowed another mouth full of green vegetation. His tasted buds savored the scrumptious flavor. Inoue appeared to have found the salad equally enjoyable. She had grabbed a shoved a good deal of it into her own mouth. Unlike with the ice cream earlier that day she did not wolf it down. The goddess politely ate her salad. The ice cream parlor had taught her not to let her appetite not to get the best of her, so as to avoid embarrassing situations. The fact that they were eating at restaurant held her back as well. She was the respectful one of the couple.
"This is too good. I can't stop myself from eating it," he revealed.
"Me too," Orihime confessed. "I want to stop, so that I have room for my meal. Maybe getting ice cream wasn't such a good idea after all."
"Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing. Oh well. There is nothing we can do now. Anything we can't finish we can just take home."
There was an idea that appealed to Orihime. Taking their left overs home would save her the trouble of cooking for at least one night. But she had dinner over at the Kurosaki household so often (partly to do with Yuzu's instance and partly for her own desire) that she did not cook nearly as much as she once did. The entire Kurosaki household seemed to share one goal, never let her anywhere near the kitchen. "One more bite and I am done until our meal comes," she promised herself. That was easier said than done. If it wasn't so good she could just leave it alone. Once her supposedly last bite went passed her lips she tried to her hardest to make it last. She swirled it around within her mouth, absorbing all of its flavor. When nothing was left she reluctantly swallowed it. There went the best of salad she had ever tasted gone. Her eyes started watering up as she eyed the green lettuce hungrily. 'Oh it looks so good…..' the healer thought.
Ichigo witnessed her food breakdown. He could hear her mind whimpering. He mentally sighed. "If you want another bite, just take one."
"No, no I'll just wait for our meal. I want to um…save room for our…." Orihime stopped mid-sentence. Her hazel orbs glued themselves to the salad that Ichigo picked up and consumed. This continued for a five minutes until Ichigo had finally had his fill of their salad as well. To her credit Orihime did not take another bite herself. Ichigo was impressed by her determination to keep her word, although he could tell she wanted to give in. He was unsure what she was trying to achieve.
It was not long afterwards that the waiter returned with their meals. He relieved them of their bowl then placed their respective meals in front of them. Orihime's insistence had paid off. Her face melted into blissful, strained restrained joy at the sight of her spinach lasagna. Sweat formed on the back of his head, but he smiled none the less. He himself felt eager when his nose inhaled the dazzling aroma that his baked salmon produced. Their conversation was put on hold while they ate. Their worries about the ice cream and salad filling them up seemed unfounded. Both Ichigo and Orihime finished their meals and their drinks. Their stomachs full; they called for a cheek. Ichigo put his money on the table. Orihime offered to lend him some of her money, but he refused to accept it. His argument was that this was supposed to be his way to show his affection for her. Orihime being the polite and thoughtful woman she was tried to convince him, but it was to no avail. He did however allow her to chip in for their waiter's tip. She had rationalized that since both of them liked him and he served both of them that it was only fair she got to contribute to his tip. The ex-substitute gave in (something he found himself doing more and more with her). They combined their yen for the tip. After they had paid they left the restaurant. The sun had set. The black-blue sky of night was up.
Ichigo decided to walk her home. Orihime did not object to it. The pair was enjoyed a peaceful stroll to her apartment. She hung off his arm and laid her head on Ichigo's shoulder. Casual conversations started about school, their friends, his family, and her brother. He learned her theory of Ishida and Tatsuki having a romantic interest in each other. Ichigo couldn't stop himself from laughing. That earned him a glare of disapproval from her. He couldn't help it. Ishida and Tatsuki together, in what crazy world would that even be possible? They were as different as two people come. Their pace was leisurely. They did not reach her apartment until around 8: 30.
"Do you want to come in?" Orihime questioned.
He was unsure how to answer. On one hand it was only 8: 30ish. He could stay out longer without his family, namely Yuzu and Karin from worrying. The problem was Inoue. He could not tell if she was tired from their day long date. If she was tired he did not want to impose on her. She needed her rest. There was no real need for him to stay there. They had gotten their homework done earlier that day. The red-orange haired princess waited for his answer. He decided to play it cool and try to feel her out. "We had an eventful day. I am going to get some good sleep tonight."
"Are you tired?" she asked him, forgetting her first question.
"Nah, I am still good." Judging from her tone she did not sound either tired or hopeful at the prospect that he was tired. He took it as a sign that she still had energy. "I think I will come in."
Orihime's lips curved into a bright smile. She invited him in. Ichigo followed her. "Would you like something to drink, maybe tea?"
"Wow tea, aren't we being hospitable," he quipped.
"Don't tease me, Kurosaki-kun."
"Sorry," Ichigo apologized. He flopped down her couch, while she was in the kitchen.
"So do you want tea or water, or something else?"
"I am good," he answered.
The goddess left the kitchen. She made her way to the couch and sat beside him. As soon as Orihime sat down Ichigo laid down, resting his head on her lap. Engaging in an intimate position; neither of them showed any signs of being uncomfortable. This had become second nature to them. Orihime played with the light orange locks as he rested.
"Did really like today?" Ichigo asked her.
"Of course I did. I loved every single moment." Her free hand went to the silver moon necklace. "I got to spend the entire day with my boyfriend. How could I not have enjoyed it?"
Ichigo laughed inside of his head. She loved saying boyfriend. "I am glad my girlfriend enjoyed herself. I was afraid you might think some of it was cheesy," he admitted.
"Eh! No way, everything was so romantic and thoughtful! It wasn't cheesy at all."
"Can you do me a favor and keep Tatsuki from using anything we did today against me tomorrow at school."
"Hmm?"
"I know you are going to tell her about tonight. I just ask that you keep her from using it against me."
"I think I can do that," she giggled. He had his reputation to think of. She couldn't imagine how Asano-kun or Kojima-kun would react if they knew the full details of their date.
"Thanks."
"No problem." Orihime looked down on him smiling. Kurosaki-kun's face was not scrunched into a frown. The expression he was making was so peaceful and relaxed. This was the side that she loved to see. It was side he was he was comfortable to show her now. 'He looks so relaxed. I wonder what he is thinking.' This urge to kiss him hit her. On impulse she leaned down and planted her lips on his, giving him a quick peck.
"What was that for?" he asked.
"I felt the urge to kiss, so I did," she said plainly.
He shot her his trademark proud half grin. "You won't hear me complaining."
She smiled at his witty one liner as she continued to play with his hair. "How about we watch a movie? I still have Demon Fighter 2 and we never did get around watching it."
"Sounds good to me. I am always up for a good action/fighting/fantasy flick."
"Umm, I am going to have to get up in order to get the movie, so…."
"I need to get up," he finished her sentence.
"Only for a little while," she threw in quickly. "After I put it in you can rest your head on my lap all you want."
"Or maybe you lay on top of me and I hold you while we watch the movie," he suggested. He lifted his head off of her lap.
Her smile grew larger. "I like that idea," she said gleefully. She got up put the DVD in. When everything was set up the healer returned to the couch and gently fell on top of the man who had risked everything to save her. Orihime snuggled up to him, while Kurosaki-kun snaked his arms around her waist. She could hear his heart beating against his chest. It was soothing. They watched the entire movie in that position. Ichigo had to admit that he had missed feeling Inoue's body next to his. It brought him a surreal sense of peace, but a welcomed peace. When the movie ended he almost groaned. He was tempted to ask her if he could stay over, but realized that it was a bad idea. His family was expecting him home for one thing. The other thing was he did not want to send Inoue the wrong message. Asking to stay over at her place tonight after their evening could easily be misconstrued as something more physical. He didn't want to pressure her into doing something they weren't ready for, even if it was unintentional.
"Are you going to come over for breakfast tomorrow?" Ichigo asked her.
"Sure. I think Yuzu-chan will want to ask me how our date went anyway."
"I knew she was pumping for information! Ha, I am paranoid my ass."
"If it puts you at ease I withhold some certain details from her."
"I don't mind you telling her, but I just wish wasn't sneaking about it. She should just be upfront about it. I don't know where she gets this sneaky stuff from."
Orihime did not make a sound. She just stood there and stared at him, waiting for him to realize his own error. It took him a while before he finally realized the own hypocrisy of his words. He at least had enough awareness to look shameful. With all the secrets and sneaky behavior he partook in he really was in no position to lecture Yuzu-chan. She did hear him mutter about he kept things from her for her own good.
"Good night, Kurosaki. Again thank you for this evening. I cherish you."
"You are welcome, good night, and I cherish you too," he recited their own custom. It wasn't exactly I love, but it was meant to convey their affections to each other. He wasn't sure if he was ready to say love yet, mostly because he was not exactly sure how to describe how he felt. He got happy whenever he saw her and there were times when she wasn't around when his thoughts might go to her. He gave her his mother's necklace, because he wanted to give her a piece of himself. A piece of his soul that he had not shared with anyone else, not even Rukia. The feelings he was experiencing were growing, they were stronger than a crush of that he was certain. Where was the line that defined falling in love with someone and actually being in love with them? Was Ichigo still falling or was he already in love's grasp? After tonight he knew one thing for sure, he could see himself saying he loved Inoue in the future. Maybe that future wasn't so far off either.
Ichigo waved her goodbye one last time before he left for his home. She watched him until he was out of her range. The healer had no idea that the very question she was pondering early had come to his mind as well. She wore an infatuated smile none the less.
Karakura Town: 12 43 am
The night was silent. Most of the town's inhabitants had gone to their homes, resting in their beds after a long day. The sky was clear of any clouds, revealing the shimmering stars that decorated the skies. The air was cool; a relaxing refreshing breeze blew over the town. Everything was in order. Everything was peaceful. That was until the sky itself cracked before it ripped opened. A black portal formed. Within it stood three lone figures; one towered over the other two, he possessed an enormous structure. He stood on the far left. Beside him stood the shortest member of the trio, he had petite and slim figure. The last member was in the middle. His height was that of an average man.
"Remember we are only to engage the humans and nothing else. Do not engage anyone else unless it is necessary. If you are to run into Shihoin Yoruichi or Urahara Kisuke you are not to engage them. They are too powerful for any of us to take on alone. Retreat if they interfere."
"Tff, we get it already Joaquin. Quit yammering on about things we already know. I am getting bored just listening to you. I am itching for a good fight. I hope these humans are good at that."
Joaquin rolled his eyes. "Gild, try and control yourself. We don't need to involve the Soul Society just yet."
Gild groaned loudly. "I get it already! Just let me go so I can do my job will you? I can already sense a strong one nearby. I've got debs on that one. It doesn't seem to be the Quincy. I don't know why I can't fight him."
"If you have a problem with it talk to Senpai. She is the one who ordered me to keep the Quincy's attention."
"That leaves me with the other one," the third figure spoke, surprising both Joaquin and Gild. "We have our targets now, so do we go Joaquin or do you need to keep quizzing us?" he mocked.
Joaquin snorted. "Don't overdo it." With that the three arrancar descended into the town below. Their mission had begun.
The plot thickens with the arrancar going to fight Team Karakura minus Ichigo. Next chapter will have a fight or fights in them. I got some positive feedback from the last one I did, so I am hoping it turns out good or decent. White Day spanned four chapters, really the longest running story in here that centered around one day (I think). I hope you guys liked this. I was really trying hard to not make this date similar to the Christmas Eve or the little of the other dates I have shown. I did warn you that Ichigo was pretty mushy in this chapter. I think it fits for the guy who mostly expresses himself through his actions rather than his words.
I heard the opinions about Ichigo regaining his powers temporarily and have taken it into consideration. I don't have a clear answer yet on what I will do. I can address some people's concerns of what Ichigo's powers returning will mean. First if I do give Ichigo his powers back it be well after the conflict starts, somewhere in the middle or end. It will not take away from Uryu, Orihime, and Chad. I want to explorer how they deal with this situation without Ichigo's help for the most part. I hope you guys liked the chapter, sorry for the delay. Please review.
