Bleached Vampire
Chapter 36: Confrontations
Rukia sighed as she stared up at her ceiling her room was a mess with many mangas thrown all over the floor. She had pretty much spent her entire time trying to not only come to terms that her oldest friend had been keeping his feelings about her secret, but she had been trying to figure something out about it. So she had read up on her manga, after all, there were plenty of stories when a childhood friend confessed. Reading up on it she was looking for the best way to deal with this issue.
She couldn't ignore it, they worked together all the time, and he worked for her brother of all people so she saw him all the time in Soul Society too. So avoiding him was also out not that she planned on that either. She just needed time to rack her brain around this whole issue.
Rukia had also spent much of the time re-examining their entire relationship and their history together. Had there been signals that she had missed? Looking back on it, there might have been. He had been pretty unreasonable, more so than usual, when he came to see her in prison. Looking at it in a new light he was obvious just worried about her but hiding it as he usually did. She scowled at that point, in a way he had been keeping this from her for who knew how long.
She considered Renji one of if not her best friend, someone she thought she could count on him for anything and for complete trust between them. Maybe he kept it to keep their friendship but still he could have come to her about it. Maybe that was what pissed her off, not his feelings but he never told her until a stupid spell made him.
Rukia's face relaxed as she thought about Renji, he was loud, stubborn, and not exactly the brightest. But he was also loyal, strong and a good friend. She felt her face heat up at his kiss and she had to put 'good kisser' into the positive column. She blushed deeply as she took her pillow and slammed it into her face.
"Stupid Renji!" She yelled out into it. She sat up looking slightly angry. "I can't believe he kept this from me...and that was my first kiss!"
Granted it could have been worse of a kiss but still, she would have liked to have had a heads up about it. That one of the reasons she was pissed at him, but at any rate she couldn't think about it anymore. It was time to act as she left her room searching for Renji. She reached out to find him and wasn't surprised by his location. She walked into the school and down the secret path and soon found herself in the training room.
The sounds of Renji well into the way of either training himself or just trying to let out some steam could be heard. She pulled out her soul candy and popped in her mod soul. Telling her to wait by the stairs she went into further into the training area. She could see that he was really into his training, he wasn't even reacting to her presence, well she was going to change that. Flash stepping right behind him and crossed her arms as he finished a swing.
"Why am I not surprised to find you here?" She told him.
Renji jumped as he turned around to see the one person he had not wanted to see. He knew this was coming and sheathed his sword. He could see that she was slightly angry, that he expected.
He couldn't face her as his face left hers to look at the ground and slowly turn away. "Look Rukia if this is about what happened...just forget it please."
"Just forget it huh..."
Renji nodded as soon as he finished he felt a small foot connecting with his ass kicking him face down into the dirt.
"Like hell I'd forget that!" She yelled at him. "You really think I can just forget what happened back there?"
Renji picked himself up and glared at the smaller girl. He was prepared to bury his feelings for her again, to put them back in some box in his heart and leave it there. He had spent so many years hiding them from her he could go on. Yes it was painful at times, there were so many times he wanted to say his feelings but he never could bring himself to do it. Now she was forcing the issue out into the open. Damn that girl was very stubborn at times.
"Look I really don't want to do this Rukia," he warned her.
She only smirked at him as she drew her sword, "Oh really? You honestly think it's going to be that easy huh. Well you better get ready Renji."
"What the hell are you-ah!" He barely pulled out his sword before blocking her swing. It wasn't just a training spare strike either, that had some force behind it. He was forced back as she started her next attacks as he was caught off guard by all of this. This was not something he was expecting her to do.
"You kissed me," she said to him.
"Of course you were there remember?" He said annoyed.
"Why!"
"What do you mean 'why'? It's obvious," He shot back and followed with a two strike pattern that she first blocked then deflected before attacking herself.
"I want to hear it from you!" She increased her attacks now, as they became faster and more fluid. She hadn't trained with Renji in a very long time, since the academy. He had always been better with swords than her but she had picked up a lot since then. Renji's style was all power and brute force while her style was more graceful and valued speed.
"Damn it you really want me to say it don't you?" Renji was getting annoyed by her questions and her technique it was the total opposite of his and was throwing his game off a little. He was slowly starting to learn what to expect but this wasn't the same Rukia he had known in the academy.
"Yes I want to hear it Renji, why did you kiss me."
Renji gritted his teeth he might as well go all out and get it over with. His friendship with her might be over, if it was, well might as well give her want she wants. Maybe she'll hate him for life but he had these feelings for so long that it was starting to burn a hole inside of himself. So he let her have it, all of it, to say the words he always wanted to but never could say them before now.
"Because I love you damn it!"
Rukia's eyes widened as she slowed down in her striking. She thought that he liked her, but he loved her? She wasn't sure what to feel about it, except, there was a warmth inside of her hearing his words. She had never had anyone say those simple words to her before and for some reason she could almost feel his feelings in his words. No not just his words, his strikes were also filled with emotion.
"You...l-love me?" She felt her face blush a bit from the heartfelt confession.
Renji paused feeling his own face heated up, from what he said and he had to admit she looked kind of cute blushing like that.
Rukia shook her head, they weren't finished yet not by a long shot. She dashed forward for a strike as he blocked her.
"So why didn't you tell me?" She asked again locking their swords.
"I didn't know how to tell you!" He pushed her back as he thrust forward she danced to the side with a return swing that he ducked under.
"Why not?" She demanded.
"You know why not."
"Is this about the Kuchiki family or something?"
Renji paused, "Some of it, you know none of them would ever want someone like me with someone from their oh so important family."
"Did you forget who married into that family? Rukia knew that Renji as well as everyone else knew now that Byakuya's wife had been Rukia's older sister. A woman without a single drop of noble blood in her and yet she had married the head of one of the four great families. "Besides I'm not a Kuchiki by blood, if something ever happens to Nii-sama, they would pass me over."
Renji paused in their sword play. "What really?"
"Idiot, you honestly think I'm eligible to lead the Kuchiki family?" she told him as she made for another swing.
"Well what about your brother, you can't say that he would agree to us seeing each other."
That was a point she had trouble with, "Well...that's..."
Renji paused again seeing her fumble for an answer. "You know, one of the reasons I wanted to be powerful enough to beat the Captain was not only to catch up to him but so that maybe one day..." He blushed feeling embarrassed. He often wondered what would happened if he ever beat Byakuya what would he said if Renji asked to officially court Rukia.
Rukia figured out what he was getting at and felt a bit of a blush forming. "You really wanted to do that...for me?"
"Well...not just you but kind of," He scratched the back of his head. "Look why are we talking like this? It's not like you want to date me...right?"
"W-well I never thought about it," Rukia cursed her face for blushing even more. She had never been on a date before Renji gave her, her first kiss after all. Truth was she was kind of envious at times when she saw couples out. She had always been one of a secret romantic at heart and there were times she had always wanted someone to sweep her off her feet. Yes she knew it was a little childish but she was a woman after all. One who grew up in slums and suddenly found herself among royalty. It was like out of a fairy tale after all, so why not have some handsome man in her life?
Looking at Renji she never expected that man might be someone with flaming red hair and covered in tattoos. Although she had had time to think on things and Renji was attractive. She had never really noticed, maybe because she didn't want to think of her life time friends as something more than that.
"Yeah you see," Renji put his sword away. "Look I never wanted to ruin our friendship, it means a hell of a lot to me, you mean a hell of a lot to me and I just...I just don't want to lose you. I'm sorry for over stepping my bounds as your friend." He bowed his head slightly to her.
"You don't have to do that."
Renji sighed as he hoped she wouldn't pull away from him that she wouldn't be freaked out by his feelings.
"Okay then, then take me on a date."
"Okay then I'll...WHAT!" Renji's eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets as he looked at her. She was blushing slightly and looking away.
"W-well you took my first kiss so you might as well take me out too. Take responsibility for your actions and take me out." She crossed her arms trying to look tough. She was really feeling nervous about this she wasn't sure if this was a good idea but something inside of her told her to give it a shot.
"You, you're serious?" Renji felt like his heart couldn't take it. This was both what he always wanted but he felt a rise of panic inside. What if he really screwed this up or what if this was his only chance, he still couldn't believe he had heard right.
"I don't know if I feel more than friendship," Rukia explained to him. "But, well dating is the way you figure this out right? So take me out on a date and we'll just go from there. It's as simple as that right? So you better think of something good." She quickly turned to get her gigai and to take a moment. Her heart was racing in her chest.
She couldn't believe she had done that, she had asked out Renji. She was confused and she did feel something for him but was it more than friendship? She had no idea, but she wanted to find out. Also she needed time to calm down and maybe plan out her next move. She soon heard a yell of joy from Renji and a small smile tugged on her lips.
He might be an idiot but she had to admit that he was always her idiot.
-Uryu's Room-
Uryu had been trying to finish his homework at least he was trying to, his mind kept going back to Kurumu. When had this girl managed to get so deep into his mind? Ever since her kiss and what she had told him, about her true feelings about him made him slightly uncomfortable but only because he had never really dealt with something like this before. He wasn't sure what to do or even how to go about this.
He sighed as he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, he had been staring at the same page for ten minutes and it wasn't getting any better. He had been thinking over and over about Kurumu and it was slowly driving him crazy. He had never thought about a girl like this before, sure he had thoughts and interests now and then. But this was different and honestly he wasn't sure if he should see this through.
As soon as the hollow problem was finished he would most likely leave and go back to Karakura town. Was it logical to even try for something more than just friendship? Then again logic wasn't a factor in what he was feeling. He remembered how she had pretty much forcibly comforted him when he felt himself waver in being a Quincy. Although it was very embarrassing to remember, it had been nice and she had been the one to seek him out and give him what he needed.
He sighed again leaning forward on the desk.
"You look tired," a female voice said suddenly.
"I've been thinking," Uryu said absentmindedly rubbing a temple.
"About what?"
"About yo...Kurumu!" His eyes shot open as he turned around in shock to see said girl there. She gave a small nervous smile at him.
"Hey."
"How...how did you..." he tried to say something as his mind trying to catch up.
"You left the window open." She pointed to his open window and it took him a moment to figure out she must have flown into his room. She felt really nervous about this but she had to finally confront him about her feelings. She just really hoped she wasn't going to get hurt again, she wasn't sure if she could take another heart break.
"So..." She paused not sure how to go on.
"Uh...yes..." He fidgeted a little not sure where to start. There was a very awkward silence between the two of them. Kurumu being always the one to act she decided that she needed to act first. So steeling herself she decided to go right into it.
"Okay you better know that I really like you," She said flat out. "And I'm serious about it, after Tsukune I thought I would never find someone again but over time, well, I just started to fall for you." She blushed a bit with a small smile on her face. "I mean you're handsome, really smart, and cool. You're a really nice guy at heart and you've always treated me better than most guys. When they look at me it's usually things like these they only look at."
She lifted her ample chest a bit to emphasise it making Uryu blush as she tried not to stare.
"Um, yes, well I was raised to respect women." He told her.
She gave him a small smile at him. "I know but that's one of the things I like about you. You see me for me and not a collection of body parts. Only Tsukune was the first guy to do that but, well he chose someone else. You really helped me through that and it's thanks to you that I was able to move on."
Uryu was feeling a bit uncomfortable with this kind of praise, he just did what he thought was right as usual.
"But there is one thing I want to know," She walked a little closer to him. "What do you think of me?"
Uryu nervously pushed his glasses up, she was very close now and the pleading look in her eyes made him not want to hurt her feelings but he honestly wasn't sure what he felt. He had never really felt like this before with someone. "Well...I think you're a very loyal person to your friends, good fashion sense, you enjoy life to the fullest. You would go to great lengths for your friends, even those you don't get along with."
"That's it?" She asked him.
"Well..." Uryu didn't know where to go now. He looked at her to see a slightly angry look on her face. She had her fists balled up and her cheeks puffed out.
"Well do you like me or not?" She demanded. "When a girl confesses to you, you can't just leave her hanging like that!"
"I'm not sure!" He was taken aback by her anger, he wasn't used to girls being this mad at him directly so he just blurted out what he was thinking earlier. She was very close now locking eyes with him.
"When I kissed you did you like it?"
"W-what!"
"When-I-kissed-you-did-you-like-it?" she said slower.
He wasn't sure, it had happened so fast he really couldn't process it, he had been more in shock at the moment so he hadn't had the time to think on it. From what he remembered it felt nice, but had he really enjoyed it? That was something he had trouble remembering as a lot was going on at the time.
Kurumu looked into his eyes and seemed to read what he was thinking, she had been subtle up until now, which wasn't easy. It was against her nature to just go out and try and get what she wanted. The calm and patient way was over with now. She was going for broke and if it ruined things then so what, at this rate she wasn't getting anywhere. So without hesitation she quickly straddled him in his chair causing him tense up.
"Kurumu-san, what are you doing?" He panicked.
She looked long and hard into his eyes, "I want you to pay very good attention to this Uryu, because I want you to feel my emotions to you in the only way I really know how to truly show you okay? So please, listen to my heart."
With that she slowly leaned forward and kissed him, it was a long sensual kiss as her hands slowly trailed up his chest and cupped the side of his head. Uryu's mind felt like something blew in it as this sensual young woman was giving him the best kiss of his life. Okay, sure that wasn't saying much with his lack of experience but at the moment he couldn't see it getting better than this.
She was so warm on his lap, her lips so full and soft, her hands were so gentle as well. Suddenly he found his hands on her lips as she deepened the kiss. She gave a small moan as she enjoyed the sensation. Uryu wasn't sure what to do but some part of him tried to kiss back. She seemed to enjoy it as well.
This was insane, he thought to himself. He wasn't the type of person who just started kissing a girl like this was he? Was this even proper and what was he supposed to do? He wasn't sure of his feelings for the girl but something inside of him felt a pull towards her. Then he felt something wet on his cheek and opened his eyes and pulled back slightly. He saw some tears on her face and the pain in her eyes as she gave him a sad smile.
"So did you hear my heart?" She asked him.
He stared at her and felt something in his heart give at the sight of her with tears. He didn't like it, she was supposed to laugh and enjoy the world. He didn't like seeing pain in her eyes and wanted to comfort her like she had comforted him. It was then that he suddenly realized just how far this girl had crawled his way into his life and how much she meant to him. But in that moment he pulled her close hugging her gently. She was in pain and he had to do something about it.
"Can you hear my heart?" He asked her gently.
She smiled as she hugged him tightly feeling his emotions in his actions.
"I'm not very good at this kind of thing," Uryu stated. Finally admitting that he felt something for the girl, this girl that was the type of woman that he never thought he would see himself with. She wasn't proper or cultured; in fact she was the type of girl his father would most likely hate. Well it wasn't like he ever thought of what that man thought to begin with. But over the time he had known her she had slowly started to grow on him and he started to care about her.
She pulled back smiling happily but tears of joy were now falling, "Don't worry let me take care of that."
With that she kissed him again and he had to admit, he did like it.
-School Grounds-
Ichigo was a man on a mission, all night long he had thought long and hard about Orihime. He had been thinking about the girl he had known all this time. He had thought about his feelings for her and he had been thinking really hard what she meant to him. He knew that she apparently was in love with him, something that he still found hard to wrap his mind around. Just why she loved him was puzzling to him, what did someone like her see in him?
Orihime wasn't like other girls and he wasn't talking about her powers. She was a rare person in this world; she had an open heart to anything and everything. She hated to see anyone in pain or suffering, she had a childlike innocence at times despite all the horrible things that had happened to her. If there was anything that could be called a pure soul in this world or the next, she would have it.
In fact he came to a realization that she reminded him of someone else, someone who he hadn't really thought about in a long time. Orihime had that same warmth to her as that same person.
Although the fact that Ichigo had been looking all over for Orihime for the past few hours was starting to irritate him. If he didn't know any better he swore the girl might be hiding from him. Tired of this he simply closed his eyes and sought out her presence. It wasn't hard given that he was better at sensing humans and hollows then yokai energy. Plus he knew Orihime and how she felt, he could see the spirit ribbons around him as he looked for hers. It didn't take long to find it and grab hold of it, he could feel the warmth in her spiritual pressure, like a comforting blanket that you wanted to surround yourself in.
Opening his eyes she quickly made his way into the main school building, they didn't lock things up as clubs sometimes liked to use the rooms on days off to catch up on work. Classrooms were of course locked but he didn't care about that and he doubted she was in one of them. He went up all the way until he found the door to the roof. He paused to catch his breath there were stairs but no real elevators in this place. He also wanted to prepare himself, this was something he had never even tried to do before, hell in comparison he rather be fighting hollows.
He opened the door and there she was standing on the roof, there was a slight breeze as her long hair swayed slightly. He paused as he really looked at her, he couldn't deny it anymore, she was a very beautiful girl. Okay he always knew it but he never really admitted it before now. Looking at her now he could see why most guys went after her. She was a vision at times and she wasn't just beautiful on the outside he had seen the kind of person she was.
How the hell someone like her ended up like him he had no idea but it was something he hoped to find out.
"Well I found you."
"Kurosaki-kun, I felt you coming." She was obviously very nervous she had been up here to two reasons. For privacy and because she needed a quiet place to think on how to explain herself to him, she had run this in her head so many times and she still couldn't come up with anything decent. But it was too late, here was the boy she had fell in love with facing her and she felt so weak in the knees it took everything just to keep herself standing.
"Yeah," He walked within a couple of feet of her not really sure what to do here. He had through it through all night and in the end just decided to do what he always did. Charge in head first and let things take it shape. He always thought much better when in action anyway and he looked at the girl. God how beautiful she looked at this moment, with the sunlight on her. It kind of reminded when he saw her in just her bra, and then he suddenly tried not to think about that. He was here to talk to her not fantasize about her body.
"So what you said the other day, you really feel like that about me?" Ichigo asked feeling really out of his element. He was so used to hitting something to solve any problems he had or dealing with issues.
Orihime looked down at her hands as she played with her fingers and nodded her head. There was no point in not admitting it.
"Ah, so, when did you start feeling like this? We hardly ever talked or saw each other before our lives got so crazy. I mean I knew you from being Tatsuki's best female friend but you couldn't have known much about me."
"Oh, well I'm not sure when I started to like you," she walked over to the railing and placed her hands on it as she looked out over the school thinking about it. "The first time we met I remember seeing this boy at the Kurosaki clinic when my brother died."
Ichigo winced, "I remember that day. I saw this girl crying and I wasn't sure what to do."
She nodded her head, "Yes but I remember seeing this sad look in your eyes and for some reason it stuck with me. It was like you knew what I was feeling but I didn't understand it at the time."
Ichigo did remember he had seen some young girl crying out for her brother who Ichigo's dad couldn't have saved. Ichigo remembered how he had felt that day his mother had died in front of him, the pain he felt on that day he knew that girl was going through the same thing. He felt powerless on that night wanting to help that girl but he couldn't do anything for her.
"My mom." He spoke up gently.
She heard him and nodded, "Yes, I heard it from Tatsuki-chan and it made me remember that look in your eyes. By then I knew about you from Tatsuki-chan but we never really talked much. But it got me thinking about you and what you must have gone through. As I saw you around school and heard about you and all the fights I got worried."
"Hey I never started any of those fights...well most of them at least," He muttered that last part to himself. But with those exceptions the other guys had been asking for a fight. Ichigo had just helped them have what they wanted after all.
"I was more worried that you might get hurt, because as I learned more about you, I learned that you were a really nice person," She smiled at him and he felt something stir inside of him. "You always fought for others and to protect them and I knew that Kurosaki-kun deep down was a good person. Besides, if you weren't a good person you wouldn't have looked at me like that, that day."
"You knew my pain and wanted to do something," She had figured that out years later on her own when she started to understand him more while thinking back on that day.
"I wanted to but I didn't know how," He never told anyone this. "Looking at you that day I couldn't help but see myself not long before that day. I didn't even know it was you until a few years later."
She smiled even more at him and he could feel the warmth of her coming off it. He stood next to her now next to the railing as he looked down at those large beautiful grey eyes. He felt like he was being pulled into them as he looked.
She was captivated by his brown eyes, they always were so strong just like him but in that moment she caught something else. A rare tender moment in them and she found she liked that; it was just like how he was. So strong and yet inside of him there was something more than just strength. There was a kindness to him as well that he liked to keep hidden.
"So you liked me back then?" He asked.
"Well...not at first I was more interested," she blushed looking at her feet. "It wasn't until a couple of years after we met through Tatsuki-chan when I got to know you better I started liking you. But I really think I started to when that night you saved me from my brother."
Ichigo was shocked by that, "But I fought your brother and I, well you know."
She nodded her head, "I know and it was hard to remember that night but I know that you gave him peace. If you hadn't then I and Tatsuki-chan might have ended up like him. Plus he would still be out there doing things that he normally wouldn't. He was a very kind person in life and I'm glad that he's not like that anymore."
"Still I wish you hadn't seen that," he really didn't want her last memory of the only real family she had left was that of a hollow trying to kill her and ending with Ichigo's sword slicing through him.
"Thanks, but I've moved on beyond that. It's still scary when I think about it but when you saved me that night I think that's when I...well, when I really started to like you more. You were so brave and heroic. As I saw more of you and what you would do to protect others I couldn't help admire you. The more time I spent with you the more I started to fall in love with you."
Ichigo was at a loss for words at the moment then there was something else he had wanted to ask. "Before you left, back when Aizen made you leave, you visited me that night didn't you? When I woke up my wounds were better and I could feel a feint trace of you in the room."
She blushed really red all over her face as she remembered that. "Y-yes, I was told that I wouldn't be able to be seen or heard by anyone in the world and I would only be allowed to say goodbye to only one person."
"You chose me?" He figured that she would choose someone closer like Tatsuki. He had no idea why she came that night and it had always bothered him but he never really asked. She was back and that was all there was to it. He never really knew the whole story, he didn't want to bring it up as she had been through enough as it was, over time he just kind of forgot about it.
Orihime fiddled with her hands, "I thought about who to see last and in the end, I wanted to see Kurosaki-kun one more time." She didn't go into how she had confessed her feelings to him while asleep and had nearly kissed him.
For Ichigo he wasn't sure what to say to that, she had the choice to see anyone before she left and she had come to him. "So, why didn't you wake me up? I would have protected you."
"I know but the reason I left was because you would have protected me." She told him looking up at his face with fear in her eyes. "I saw how hurt you were, how hurt everyone was. If I didn't go they would have gone after everyone I knew and I couldn't let that happen. I just, I just wanted to protect everyone. I didn't want everyone getting hurt over me."
Ichigo placed his hands on her shoulders she was surprised by the touch and looked up into his strong eyes.
"Don't ever put everything on your shoulders like that again Inoue." He told her sternly. "Yeah we get hurt but if I had to I would go through hell itself for those close to me. I came for you and I got you back so don't think that you can protect me by sacrificing yourself because I will save you again and again if I have to."
She blushed with a small smile on her face as she looked at him. "I know, I just hate seeing you hurt but I've come to accept that you'll always fight for what you believe in. So I promised myself that I would always be by your side helping in any way I could."
Ichigo gave her a rare small smile and she felt her heart flutter at it, she had never seen this smile of his. It was so small and yet it was something that hardly anyone had seen. She felt privileged to see such a thing from him.
Ichigo suddenly realized he was touching her and felt himself flush a bit as he slowly took his hands off of her. Things had seemed to have gotten a little away from the topic so he wanted to tell her something. He had been thinking long and hard, rethinking about everything he had done with her and for her. It wasn't until late last night that it seemed he had an epiphany hit him. Orihime had become important to him, sure she was a friend but would we have fought so hard to get anyone else back?
He had fought longer and harder to save her, pushing himself further. It was different from when he had gone after Rukia. He owed her so much he had to save her but for Orihime he suddenly realized that she was a bit more important than just a friend. Maybe that night when he had seen some young girl crying over the body of her brother something linked the two of them, a shared pain with a similar tragedy linking them together in some strange way. But there was one more thing he had to bring up, something he wanted to do ever since a couple of days ago.
"Inoue, about what my hollow did to you, I'm sorry. I should have been more careful but you got hurt from something inside of me." Ichigo felt his anger at his hollow for hurting Orihime.
"It's okay."
"No it's not!" He clenched a fist as his jaw clenched. "Her hurt you and I can't forgive him, forgive myself for that."
"But he's only a part of you isn't he?"
"That's the point it's a part of me. I think the reason why I don't like him so much is because of what he represents in me." Ichigo sighed he had never told anyone this but with her it was easier than with others. Orihime would never judge you she would accept you no matter what and would most likely be waiting for a hug if you needed it. It was kind of funny but you couldn't help but be pulled into her presence.
"He's like all my negative parts all put into one being. All my love for fighting, my temper, my impatience, every single negative thing I have about me seems to be inside of my hollow. I thought about why hollows are the way they are. Rukia once explained it to me back when we were recovering in Soul Society after her rescue. She told me how hollows lost some part of them, that's why they have a hole inside of them. Their souls lost something important and they couldn't cope."
"I have no heart," Orihime muttered to herself.
"Huh?"
"Oh! It was something he said to me," She explained how he had shown her his hole and said that he had no heart.
"So that bastard does have a hole, I always thought it was weird for a hollow not to have one," Ichigo thought out loud. "Anyways that would explain a few things about him. He's got no empathy for others and doesn't seem to care about anyone else but himself."
"But that's where Kurosaki-kun is different," Orihime spoke up. "You do care for others, I've seen it. Even if it is a part of you, it's only a part and not the whole. I know that Kurosaki-kun would never hurt me and that no matter what you are a good person."
Ichigo really didn't know how to handle this; she had so much faith in him, more than he had in himself if he was honest. She truly did believe in him and some part of him didn't want to disappoint her. To make sure that she could always believe in him.
Orihime suddenly had a small sad smile as she looked down, "I'm sorry that I said that I...well that I..." She blushed as she tried to get the words out.
"That you love me," He felt a bit uncomfortable saying the words.
She nodded her head biting her lower lip slightly. "Can you please forget I said that! I don't want to lose Kurosaki-kun, I know you don't feel the same but I don't want to lose your friendship."
"I can't do that."
She flinched at his words like she was struck. She thought that he was saying that he couldn't forget and that he couldn't go on with her friendship. She had been scared of this for so long and she felt tears threatening to fall. But it was his next words that surprised her.
"I can't forget because...I don't think I can, I don't think I want to forget what you said to me." He explained as best he could. He wasn't good with words, he had no idea how you were supposed to go about this kind of thing. "I've been thinking and well, you're important to me."
Her eyes widened as she looked up at him not sure if she should think that maybe he was returning her feelings or not.
"It's just that, well, I think that I...damn it this is hard!" He growled out in frustration.
"W-what are you trying to say?" Orihime swallowed hard as she felt like her legs might give out at any moment.
"That...I..." Ichigo really hated this but he had to say the words. They were simple words but he was cursing himself for dragging this out. It was time to man up and say it, to say something that he had been putting off since he came up here to see her. "That I think that...I like you."
For a split second Orihime felt like her heart had stopped, he had said that he liked her? She looked at her hand and started to pinch the skin hard enough to hurt.
"What are you doing?" Ichigo asked her confused about what she was doing. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes and she mentally cursed. Had he screwed up already? He said that he liked her wasn't that was what he was supposed to say? Why were girls were complicated he thought that he had done a good job so why was she crying.
"Oi don't cry, I thought that you wanted to hear that, w-what did I do wrong?"
She only gave a small laugh as she shook her head. "You didn't say anything wrong Kurosaki-kun, I'm crying because...because I'm happy. I never thought that I would hear those words, I thought this was all a dream and I would wake up. But this is real isn't it?"
He nodded his head understanding. Slowly he saw her taking short hesitating steps as he soon found the girl pressing against his chest resting her head on him.
"I'm just, I'm so happy," She couldn't stop the tears on her face. He didn't hate her, in fact he liked her. Okay it wasn't love but she didn't care, he felt something for her and her heart felt like it was overflowing. She held onto him because she was afraid she might fall down. Soon she felt his strong arms wrapped around her and she nestled against his chest. He felt warm and she could feel his spirit energy almost surrounding her like a warm blanket. If she could live just one moment in her life over and over again, she wanted to live this perfect moment.
Neither of them said anything, there was nothing to really say, not with words at least.
Ichigo wasn't sure what was going on but he wasn't complaining as he held the girl. She seemed so small in his arms but she fit in nicely. Her long silky hair moved slightly in the wind as he saw one of her precious hair clips. He could feel the warm welcoming power inside of her soul being this close to her. It was welcoming and inviting. He remembered that dream he had of her healing him and how at peace he finally felt. He hadn't felt this kind of inner peace for so long that he had forgotten what it felt like.
They didn't know how long they had stayed like that but it wasn't until after the sun started to fade that they broke apart both smiling at one another as both of them realized that today they took a step together leading them down an unfamiliar path. But it would be a path that they would walk together, for however long it lasted this one moment would be something they both would remember.
Next up chapter 37: Fight or Fail
Well the romances are over now we get the Hollows again as one will have one chance to get a yokai or die trying. This took me awhile to get out as doing 3 confessions in a row, wow, that took some planning. Last time I try something like this lol.