In the talk that spanned several hours, Tatsuki had given her friend much to think about. It had taken quite a bit of patience on her behalf to explain to Ichigo that his feelings of anger were in fact, jealousy. Apparently, the hothead had a limited understanding of emotions in general, and besides hunger and anger, he didn't experience much else. On several occasions, they touched upon "love", but Tatsuki decided that he wasn't quite ready to explore or discuss his affections for Orihime yet, so they always moved on whenever it came up. Eventually, the sensei had to give up, for her dense friend simply couldn't grasp adult relationships. In lieu of punching him, she threw him out, telling him to reflect on all that they had talked about and to return when he was ready to grow up.

Knock, knock, knock.

Silence.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

A tired looking doctor answered the door with mild surprise on his face. Instead of greeting the redhead at his steps, he sighed heavily and moved aside for him to barge in. He knew that expression very well, and this was all within the scope of what he had predicted would happen. He just couldn't figure out why it had to be so late at night, and on a day that he had already worked such a long shift.

"Ishida!" Not waiting for his host to speak, he pushed through and marched straight for the living room.

"Why are you here, Kurosaki?" He pulled his long fingers through his bed-tousled hair.

"I couldn't sleep. I was at Tatsuki's and she told me all about Grimmjow. Now I'm all worked up!" As if proving his point, he proceeded to pace back and forth in front of his friend.

"Isn't there anyone else you can bug? Seriously. Some of us work in the morning, you know." Seeing that the troubled man wasn't going to sit anytime soon, he lay down, his lean body taking up the entire sofa.

"I heard you had the chance to extinguish him," he said, completely ignoring Ishida's comments.

"I did." His hand flew up to adjust his glasses, but he realized that he had forgotten them in his haste to get to the door.

"I'm glad you didn't."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm going to purify him myself. I don't care if he saved Inoue. I will protect her."

"What are you saying?" Alarmed, he sat up, and squinted at his friend.

"I'm going to challenge Grimmjow," Ichigo declared with a determined look.

Ishida smacked himself in the forehead, but it was really Ichigo that he wanted to hit. Clearly, whatever Tatsuki had said to him had not enlightened him at all. He was still going about things like a rowdy child, insensitive to the delicate situation and most importantly, Orihime's feelings.

"You are an idiot, Kurosaki," he said, dryly.

"You'll see!" Completely oblivious, the half-Shinigami pumped his fist in the air, confident in his resolve.

"And you think that Inoue-san will appreciate this?"

"She doesn't have to know. He'll just be gone." He scratched his chin as he said this, a sliver of doubt finally creeping into his mind.

"Okay, let's entertain this stupid idea of yours for a sec. What then? Say you defeat Grimmjow. What will you do after that? Challenge me?"

"No! Why would I..." His sentence trailed off as the light bulb clicked on in his brain.

"Yeah, you didn't really think this through, did you?"

"Why you!" He grabbed his friend by his pajama shirt's collar and hauled him to his feet.

"I spend almost every day with her, and she's a remarkable woman. I don't know why you're surprised." Not riled, the calm doctor remained motionless.

Crying out in exasperation, Ichigo released his hold and let Ishida fall back onto the couch. In actuality, he really hadn't thought things through. Also, it never did occur to him that there were others competing for Orihime. Suddenly, he realized that if they were in a physical race, he was likely the farthest behind. While one worked with her, the other lived with her; Ichigo was on the other side of the world and saw her less than once a year. Brows furrowed, he finally threw himself down onto an armchair opposite his friend.

"I seriously don't know what she sees in you."

"What?"

"Nothing," he said quickly, hoping Ichigo hadn't caught on to the implications of his last comment.

"Ishida, I challenge you to a duel!" He leapt to his feet and thrust his index finger at the frowning doctor.

"That's it. Get out of my house."

Meanwhile in Soul Society...

"Th-Thank you, Kuchiki-taichou. Sorry about that. I'm just so clumsy," the embarrassed redhead squeaked.

Byakuya let go of her and stepped back. He contemplated asking her to accompany him on an errand. Truth be told, he had had enough of work, and needed desperately some fresh air and a break.

"Excuse me. I've been rude. You weren't expecting me and you're so busy and-"

"It's fine. Would you like to join me for a walk?"

"Yes!" Orihime chided herself inwardly for the overt enthusiasm; she was thrilled because she interpreted his invitation as a sign that he was no longer mad at her.

The two walked silently down the lane toward the general store. There were many things that she wanted to say to him, but slightly nervous, she ended up having the conversations inside of her own head with herself. Byakuya noticed the quiet, but he rather enjoyed it. At one point, he glanced sideways to see her mumbling nonsensically. Uncharacteristic of him, he thought her quirks were kind of cute and endearing. He found himself wanting to engage her in conversation; he wanted to know more about her.

"How are you?" He asked coolly.

"I'm great!" She beamed at him, grateful that he had broken the silence.

"Were you hurt from attack?" He genuinely cared, but refused to show it.

"No, I was lucky. Shino-san and Ryūnosuke-san were there. Then, Ishida-kun and Grimmjow-san came too." She blushed when she mentioned the ex-Espada.

Naturally observant, Byakuya did not miss the sudden colour to the bubbly healer's cheeks. Irritated, he decided to cease the chitchat.

"Um, so, where are we going, Kuchiki-taichou?" She asked after a long pause.

"I need ink."

"Oh! For your calligraphy?" Her eyes went wide with excitement.

"Yes." Still annoyed, he was now resorting to simple answers and minimal interaction.

"Your writing is simply exquisite! The scroll you gave me is a true work of art! You are so talented!" Ignorant of Byakuya's change in attitude, she continued to gush about his skills and how much she loved his gift to her.

The noble Kuchiki couldn't help himself. His vexation melted with her cheeriness and genuineness. How could he possibly stay mad at someone so sincere and positive? Biting back a smile, he gave her a small nod and thanked her for the gracious compliments.

"... I'd never be able to do that."

He had missed most of what she had said, but he caught the tail end and could guess what she had been saying.

"I'd be happy to teach you," he found himself saying.

"Really? Thank you so much! I'll try my very best not to disappoint you!"

Byakuya stared at the exuberant woman jumping up and down in front of him. He had made his offer without thinking, but seeing her response prevented him from regretting it.