A/N: Prompt, day 3 of IchiRuki Week 2021: Love potion.

The doorbell rang, and Orihime dropped the lid back on the pot with a clang. "Uh, just a minute!" she called out, opening a drawer at random and swiping the assorted herbs, spices, and dried insects on the countertop into it. She shoved the drawer closed again, but just as she was turning to answer the door, the notes on the table froze her in place.

"Orihime?" Tatsuki's strong voice filtered in through the door. "Is everything okay?"

Everything was okay until Tatsuki decided to be early. As if it weren't already bursting from her chest, Orihime's heart beat double time as she snatched the handwritten notes and crammed them into her apron pocket.

Tatsuki was in the process of pulling her keyring from her bag one-handed when Orihime finally answered the door. "Ch, sure, now you open up," she grumbled. She nearly threw the wrapped gift in her hands at her friend.

Orihime caught the gift and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry," she said. She moved out of the way as Tatsuki moved into the entry way, stuffing her keys back in her bag. "I got caught up in cooking."

Tatsuki's nose twitched. "I can, uh, smell it." She slipped off her shoes and moved into the living room. "Seriously, what the hell are you making? It smells like burnt rubber." She glanced at Orihime's gift on the coffee table and gave it a suspicious sniff.

Kicking the door closed behind her, Orihime smiled nervously again. "It's nothing. I-it's not even really working out like I wanted, so I don't think I'll bring it tonight."

"I love it when you say that," Tatsuki said. She walked into the kitchen and frowned when she saw the bubbling pot on the stove, its lid crooked from when Orihime dropped it. "Is that…soup?"

"Um…." No, it was most certainly not soup or even an experimental dinner cocktail. But Tatsuki needed an answer, so it was quickly that Orihime decided the contents were more akin to a beverage.

"It's homemade cider!" she announced, setting Tatsuki's gift beside her own. She then ran over to the pot and gave it a vigorous stir.

Tatsuki's face scrunched up as the burnt rubber smell intensified. "I didn't think it was the season for cider," she said, glancing out the window at the setting July sun.

Well that backfired sooner than expected. "Um, I'm…getting ahead for fall!" Orihime said, stirring even more vigorously. "I mean, there's just so many recipes out there, and you know I have to try them all, but who follows the exact recipe anyway, you need to leave room for—eee!" She stepped back from the stove when the concoction sloshed up from the pot, staining her apron and house slippers a grungy black.

Cursing under her breath, Tatsuki came forward and grabbed a rag from the countertop. "Watch it, Hime…." She crouched down to soak up what had fallen on the floor.

"Sorry," Orihime said, stepping out of her ruined slippers. "I got a little excited…."

"Don't you mean caught up in lying?"

Her fingers froze on the knot of her apron. "L-lying?"

Tatsuki thrust the rag up, barely missing Orihime's face. "Yeah, Orihime, lying. You can't tell me this crap is actually cider. It smells bad, it looks bad, and the last I checked, you said you were making onigiri for Ichigo's party, not whatever the hell this is supposed to be."

She felt herself flush. "R-really, it's nothing, Tatsuki—"

"Orihime, what are you up to?"

"Nothing!"

"Nothing my—!" Tatsuki cut off, looking intently at Orihime's apron.

"Tatsuki?" Orihime's eyes moved down her length until she met the same spot that had so captivated her friend: the notes were sticking out of her apron pocket, bearing their contents for all to see.

…Oh.

Immediately Orihime doubled over, sandwiching the notes between herself just as Tatsuki's hand struck out for her middle. Finding no purchase, she began to relentlessly tickle Orihime.

"Give me that recipe!" Tatsuki shouted, waddling forward on her knees when Orihime began to move back from her.

"S-stop—haha!—tickling me—ah!" Orihime shouted back, even as Tatsuki wound her free arm around her legs and pulled her forward, knocking her off balance.

"The hell are you up to!" Tatsuki shouted. With Orihime now on her back, it was far easier to grapple her into submission.

Hysterical laughter cut off any reply Orihime might have had, and out of the sheer need to breathe, she briefly unfolded herself, at last letting Tatsuki grab the papers from her apron.

Panting, Orihime turned her head to Tatsuki, her eyes wide. "Please don't hate me," she said.

Tatsuki held up a hand, hardly looking up from the papers as she skimmed them. She let them drop like falling leaves as she finished them, and her eyes narrowed more and more in frustration as she read on. When she got to the fourth and final page, she threw it from her and glared at her friend. "What the hell, Orihime?"

Shrinking into herself, Orihime put on a smile she hoped would ease the lecture she knew was coming. "It wasn't my idea—"

"Then whose was it? Why do you have notes for a, a love potion of all fucking things?"

"I…." Orihime closed her eyes and let out a sigh, giving in to the guilt she'd been holding back since she received the notes. At least when only she was partial to this information, it was quiet; now she had to say it out loud and hear just how crazy she was. "I have a new neighbor, and she needed help with her groceries the other day."

"Yeah, and the potion?"

"S-she said she wanted to give me something in return, specifically grant me a wish. I didn't think she was serious, but then…." She opened her eyes, stared right into the kitchen light until it hurt. "She said she saw me in a dream the night before holding a man's hand. We had a son, and he was playing in front of the clinic—"

"What clinic?"

Orihime looked anywhere but at Tatsuki. "You know the one."

Clearly biting her tongue, Tatsuki did not start her lecture after all. To do so would have been beating a dead horse, returning them to a frequent and circular argument they didn't remember entering it was so old. Instead, she picked up the pages of notes from the floor and reordered them. When she was done, she set the four papers on top of Orihime's stomach and said quietly, "So you asked for that dream to come true and she gave you this recipe."

Orihime grabbed the papers and folded them into her hands. "She said it would take a couple minutes to take effect, but the love potion would work. I thought it would be a…nice addition to the slippers I got Ichigo…y'know, he can wear them before bed and then dream of me or…something…." She trailed off upon noticing Tatsuki staring at her.

Tatsuki shook her head. "Hime, I…. Never mind that the potion's probably crap or that it's, y'know, Ichigo's birthday. What about Rukia?"

Orihime slowly sat up from the floor. "I…I don't know," she said. "I don't want to hurt her. She's my friend."

"Then why are you doing this?" Tatsuki's eyes glowed with frustration, but she kept it from fully coloring her words. "Hime, they're about to move in together. Why are you threatening your friendships with both of them over nothing?"

No way she was answering that out loud. There was only one reason she let a crazy old lady talk her into stewing together fleeceflower stems and jujube seeds, among plenty other ingredients she hadn't even known existed beforehand, for a full twenty-four hours, letting the concoction stink up her apartment and make Tatsuki glare at her like that.

"Orihime?"

Ignoring Tatsuki's persistence, Orihime stood from the floor and picked up her ruined slippers. "The onigiri are in the fridge," she said, untying her apron and pulling it over her head. "If you bring them to the front door, I'll throw these in the wash and meet you there with the gifts."

Tatsuki frowned. "…No, I'll do it," she said, standing up from the floor. "I have to go to the bathroom anyway. The washing machine's on the way."

Orihime offered a small smile of gratitude as she handed Tatsuki the apron and slippers, but it fell when Tatsuki's eyes began to bore a hole into her.

"Orihime," Tatsuki said, her voice low and pointed, "don't do anything stupid."

"I won't—"

"I mean it," she said. "Remember where you are now." She turned away and padded down the hall.

By the time Tatsuki came to the entryway with the gifts, Orihime had the two onigiri platters waiting in hand, her purse hanging across her shoulders.

It was just the right size to hide a small bottle of the love potion.

Their trek to the Kurosaki clinic was uneventful, but the same could not be said of their arrival: as soon as Karin opened the door to welcome them inside, Keigo charged into the entryway and dove for Orihime.

"Himeeeeeeee!" he cried out, soaring like an arrow straight for her chest. "It's been too long—oof!"

Right on cue, Tatsuki slammed her fist into Keigo's stomach, both her and Orihime's gifts safely tucked under her other arm. "When the hell you gonna grow up!" she shouted.

"Nice one," Karin said with a smirk.

Even as he clutched his stomach, Keigo smiled up at them. "I missed you too, Tatsuki…."

Orihime laughed lightly as Karin took the gifts from the irate Tatsuki. "Good to see you, Keigo," she said. She followed Karin further inside and happily ignored the fight behind her. As they made their way into the main house, she scanned the living room for Ichigo, finding him and a group of friends sitting around the couch. He was recounting a story from the Soul Society with a beer held casually in one hand and the other gripping—Orihime sighed to herself—Rukia's hand.

"You can bring those trays into the kitchen," Karin said, drawing Orihime's attention back to her. "But fair warning, there's not a whole lot of room in there." She rolled her eyes and set the gifts on the dining room table. "Renji ordered us KFC to make up for not coming, but now we'll be eating fried chicken for the next three weeks…."

Orihime had to agree once she walked into the kitchen. Almost every surface was covered in red and white buckets of fried chicken, complete with sides of biscuits and French fries. Yuzu was in the process of Tetris-ing another three buckets onto the counter, and she sighed contentedly when she succeeded. However, the second she turned around to face Orihime and her onigiri trays, her sigh turned into a groan.

"Sorry Yuzu," Orihime said. "These should probably stay in the fridge though, so at least—"

"That's where I put everything else," Yuzu said with another sigh. She opened the fridge, and sure enough, everything from mentaiko karashi to bags of paper cups were packed onto the shelves.

Orihime blinked once before smirking. "Challenge accepted!"

It took them some time, but she and Yuzu managed to wedge the onigiri platters into the fridge, knowing better than to question how they succeeded. Yuzu then sent her back out to the party with a soda in hand, though Orihime was sure to hurry out of the kitchen when Yuzu gasped loudly: the fridge was now refusing to stay closed.

"Hey, Orihime!" a familiar voice called from the couch.

Scanning the living room once more, it took Orihime decidedly longer to find Uryu, who'd greeted her. She waved at him and made her way over to sit down beside him, giving her a perfect view of Ichigo.

"Hi everyone," she said, rounds of greeting meeting her in response. "And happy birthday, Ichigo!"

Ichigo smiled. "Thanks Orihime," he said. He raised his beer to her before bringing it to his lips.

"Ichigo, go on. You're almost at the best part," Rukia said.

Ichigo brought his beer back down, not having taken even a sip. "How is Byakuya promising to castrate me the best part?"

Rukia smirked. "Because it's funny."

Ichigo rolled his eyes but continued his story as told. Happy for the excuse to stare at him for an extended period of time, Orihime became reacquainted with the strong jaw and spiky hair that had first drawn her to Ichigo. Their interactions nowadays were limited to running into each other at the grocery store or university, and while each time they promised to meet each other for coffee soon, the speed of their interactions often left their promises unplanned, if not forgotten. Every chance to see Ichigo longer than a few minutes was now a treat, and she fervently drank in his figure before her.

Uryu cleared his throat, and Orihime looked at him. "Did you say something?" she said.

Uryu wilted some. "I, uh, called you a couple times, but it's loud, so…."

Orihime smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. But how are you? You're still going to the same university as Ichigo and I, right? I never see you."

"Yes, but I tend to study a lot in the library," Uryu said. "My father has also given me several opportunities to shadow him at the hospital."

"Ooh, how cool!" Orihime said. "We nursing students start our clinicals next year, but I don't think even pre-med students can shadow a real doctor so early, yeah?"

Uryu shook his head. "It's a very rare opportunity indeed."

"You're so lucky! You should be proud of yourself!"

Uryu sat up a little straighter. "Well, I don't want to brag, but it is giving me a leg-up with experience. I actually got to do my first set of stitches the other day, which wasn't that different from sewing a hem…."

Orihime nodded politely, but already her ears were back to following Ichigo's voice. He was now prompting Chad to tell a story from his job at the pet shop that involved accidentally bringing a snake to boxing practice after work. Most of what he said was "ah, come on" or even just "Chad!" but she clung to every word.

But just as Chad began to speak, Tatsuki and Keigo's fight boiled over into the living room, and the two of them slammed into the couch Ichigo was sitting on. His beer flew from his hand, and while the bottle landed on the floor without breaking, beer flowed all over the hardwood.

"Ah hell, come on Keigo!" Ichigo shouted, his voice drowning out everything except Tatsuki's promises to shove Keigo's balls down his throat. "Dammit…. Hold on, everyone, I'll handle it. Yuzu, get me a towel!" He stood up.

"I'll get you a new be—" Orihime began to say, clutching her purse.

"TRY AND GROPE ME AGAIN, I DARE YOU!" Tatsuki shouted, yanking Keigo's leg back at an unnatural angle until he screeched. "JUST YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENS!"

Stepping around the wrestling match that Chad had begun to referee, Ichigo pointed to the cup in Rukia's hand. "I'm getting a new beer. Refill?"

"I-I can do it—" Orihime said.

"Ichigo, it's your birthday let me do it," Rukia said, consuming all of Ichigo's attention. "Don't fuss so much. Be a little selfish today."

Then the worst thing happened: Ichigo smirked and leaned down before Rukia's face, said a stubborn "no," and kissed her for all to see.

Releasing her purse, Orihime looked away, not even peering over when Chad declared Tatsuki triumphant against Keigo.

Before long, the beer was cleaned up and everyone's drink refreshed, and Yuzu and Karin began sending food out to the guests. Orihime sampled some of the KFC and one of her onigiri, delighting to find once she bit into it that it was one with her special octopus and acorn jelly filling. She kept an eye on Ichigo to ensure he also took an onigiri, but as Rukia passed the tray to him, he squinted at her and sent the tray along, intent on wiping something from her face. Orihime tried not to notice when Rukia gave him a thankful peck on the lips.

"Orihime, what did you put in this onigiri?" Uryu asked beside her, his cheeks distended with a bite.

Jumping slightly, Orihime turned to him and glanced at the inside of the onigiri in his hand; the filling was orangey-pink and brown. "Salmon and peanut butter," she said, turning back to Ichigo to confirm that he'd reached for some of her food after all. She didn't notice Uryu spit his mouthful into a napkin.

"You're still adventurous in the kitchen, I see," Uryu said.

"Yeah, it's what I do," Orihime said. She slowly turned back to Uryu when her onigiri did not make their way onto Ichigo's plate. "Gotta keep it interesting, y'know?"

Uryu nodded. "Makes sense. You're an interesting person—n-not that that's a bad thing."

Orihime forced herself to smile. "Thanks, Uryu."

The party slowly wore on, the group eating their fill until Isshin, five generous glasses of sake in, declared an impromptu dance competition, which everyone agreed to only to get him to shut up. Karin and Yuzu began the battle, performing different moves to "Asterisk" by Orange Range. Keigo followed, though his "dancing" was more just flailing his arms dangerously close to Orihime's chest, for which she was grateful for Tatsuki's presence. The two of them then went up for their turn, proving themselves near winners with the dance they'd long ago choreographed to the Spice Girls' "Wannabe." However, the real winners went last: much to Orihime's chagrin, they were Ichigo and Rukia dancing to some song about seeing the moon by PornoGraffiti (an intriguing but unfortunate name as far as she was concerned). While her and Tatsuki's dance had been more synchronized, there was no doubting the connection, whether physical or not, between Ichigo and Rukia as they slid their hands along each other's arms, laughed at something only they had noticed.

On the other hand, it was Ichigo's birthday, Orihime felt. Of course he would win.

Once the dance competition was over, Ichigo requested his gifts, so they all sat down again. He first opened Tatsuki's gift, an invitation to a one-on-one karate lesson with her down at the dojo.

"Hey, if you wanted to hang out, you could've just said so," Ichigo said with a smirk.

Tatsuki rolled her eyes but smiled. "Look, you might be a Shinigami and all that, but you should keep your human fighting skills sharp, too. You're not exactly gonna whip out Zangetsu when you get mugged, are you?"

Ichigo considered this for a moment. "I mean, if they're ugly enough—"

"Ichigo!" Rukia said, slapping his arm.

They all laughed, and one by one Ichigo went through the rest of his gifts, which included a volume of the collected works of Shakespeare ("Thanks Chad!"), a waffle maker ("Nice one, Yuzu"), and a bondage set ("GOAT-BEARD I SWEAR—"). Orihime sat up as Ichigo at last reached for her gift, but his hand was knocked to the side as Keigo jumped up from the couch beside him.

"My gift next, you'll love it," he said. "I decided that the birthday boy needs a little more light in his life because bright as that hair is, he can suck the fun out of anything without even trying."

Whatever annoyance Orihime felt toward her former classmate dissipated; she could see from a mile away what was coming, and she cringed on his behalf.

"But he has Rukia, who is 'light,' and then I thought nothing's better than my singing, so here's a little song I wrote just for today! Happy birthday Ichigo!"

Orihime looked at Ichigo and the vein starting to protrude from his forehead.

Keigo cleared his throat. "Ohhhhh Ichigo's an old man and he's gonna die, and stuff, but Rukia always gives him life with that there sweet hot mu—"

No one truly learned what of Rukia's was sweet and hot, for Ichigo's fist was suddenly planted in Keigo's face. Unfortunately for Keigo, this was only the start of what was very quickly shaping up to be a proper mauling, and Orihime and others immediately backed away from the fight.

"That's my boy!" Isshin shouted over the fray, demonstrating no concern as his coffee table met its demise in the kerfuffle. "Masaki, our boy has learned well, thanks no less to me!"

"Shut up, old man!" Karin shouted as she jumped into the fight. "Help me pull them apart before your son commits a felony!"

"He's a hopeless cause," Rukia growled, joining in to help Karin instead.

Despite Isshin's drunken shouts of "go get 'em!" and "make daddy proud!" Karin and Rukia's combined strength managed to pull Ichigo off Keigo, who was thrown over Chad's shoulder and promptly removed from the room.

"Pathetic!" Ichigo said, panting hard. "You'd think he'd learn to stop the bullshit, but I guess not." He rolled his eyes. "Why'd I even invite him in the first place?"

"Because you pity him more than most," Rukia said, rubbing her back. She glanced at the remains of the coffee table and the assorted cups and fried chicken that had been on top of it. "You also know how to make a mess."

Ichigo scoffed and looked to Tatsuki and Uryu. "Guys, help me get this out of the way."

Something flashed in the back of Orihime's mind, and she made for the kitchen. "I'll get everyone new drinks," she announced loud and clear over the moving of wood on wood. "Starting with the birthday boy! Ichigo, what do you want?"

"Anything that numbs the pain of what I just went through," he said as he and Tatsuki heaved the largest piece of broken coffee table into their arms.

"Another beer, maybe?"

"You're incredible, Orihime," Ichigo said, smiling over his shoulder.

Orihime's heart began to sing, only for Tatsuki to glance up from the other end of the wood. "Yeah," she said, pinning her eyes on her friend, "you're incredibly thoughtful and considerate of others."

Swallowing once, Orihime took one step before Rukia set a light hand on her arm. "I'll help you with the drinks," she said. Without waiting for a response, she turned to the other guests to confirm their beverages.

Clenching the strap of her purse, and her jaw, but briefly, Orihime moved into the kitchen and opened the fridge. She took out the drinks that were accessible beyond the party supplies and food everyone had brought and set what was light enough atop the KFC buckets, though that still left her arms full of drinks.

"Oh, let me take some of that," Rukia said, running into the kitchen.

"Thanks," Orihime said. She held still as Rukia removed the drinks that held her arms stiff. "What a night, huh?"

Rukia rolled her eyes but smiled. "I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a party calm when Keigo and Isshin-san are in attendance."

"They certainly love to create a scene," Orihime said.

"You can say that again." Rukia reached for another bottle of soda but stopped upon realizing her own arms were now held in place from supporting the drinks. "Oh, uh…."

Orihime nodded at her feet. "The floor, I think," she said.

"Smart girl," Rukia said as she lowered herself to the floor.

Kneeling down herself, Orihime closed the fridge and began to lay out cups on the floor as Rukia opened the first bottle of soda.

"I'm not sure what he's told you," Rukia said, "but I want you to know that Ichigo really appreciates your idea for a potluck."

Orihime glanced up as her heartbeat quickened. "Really? He hasn't said anything, but we don't exactly have many opportunities to talk." She tried not to think about how Rukia was part of what consumed so much of Ichigo's time.

"Well it's true." Rukia closed the first bottle and moved on to a second. "He said it was hard enough planning for the collateral damage—as we just saw—so having everyone else take care of the food was a great idea."

A small smile crossed Orihime's face. "I'm glad to hear that I made Ichigo's birthday just that much better." She set the bag of cups to the side and picked up a bottle of juice.

"It'll be his last one in this house if he can help it," Rukia said. "Though we'll probably still come back here for bigger celebrations. Our new apartment is a bit small."

Orihime paused but a moment. "Yes," she said, hoping her voice didn't sound too clipped. "But you'll probably come back for a lot of visits anyway, right? It can't be easy going from being around so many people to just the two of you."

Rukia smiled. "That's very true. I mean, this is Ichigo's family who he's been around all his life, and as for me…." Her smile began to fade, and she looked up at Orihime. "Can you keep a secret?" she asked in a lowered voice.

Orihime's ears perked right up. "Cross my heart," she said just as quietly.

Glancing once over her shoulder, Rukia turned back to Orihime, and her face was entirely sober. "I'm nervous about moving in with him alone," she said.

This…was not what Orihime expected to hear. "Nervous?" she said. "What's there to be nervous about?"

Rukia shrugged. "I know it sounds silly, but I feel like when we're together with his family, there isn't as much pressure on me to be a good girlfriend. Obviously there are some things only I can give him—" She looked up as Orihime subconsciously crunched the bottle in her hands. "—but having Isshin-san, Yuzu, and Karin around means there's more people to distract him if I make a mistake. I'm nervous I won't be able to keep him happy all the time, or he'll get tired of me…." She shook her head. "It's stupid, I know."

Something snarky began to form on Orihime's tongue, but before it could take hold, an image formed in the back of her mind from earlier that evening. It was actually several images, all of Ichigo turning to Rukia, or kissing her, or holding her hand. Each one of his actions was a devotion, for not even her repeated attempts at getting his attention could sway him.

Orihime sat up straight and waited for Rukia to look at her before she spoke. "I think I get it," she said, still quiet. "You want to show him that you're worthy of his love."

Rukia frowned just a moment. "I guess you could say that, yes."

"Well I think you've already done that," Orihime said. "He's had his eyes on you all night, and it's not like he's been holding my hand." She froze, then immediately bent back over the cups. "So, um, think what you want, but you're wrong. Ichigo's in love with you, imperfections and all. No one else."

Rukia went quiet, and Orihime continued to fill the cups. The silence was killing her, but she refused to speak again; close as she was to the floor, she didn't feel the need to put her foot in her mouth.

Thankfully, Rukia held out her hand to stop her from pouring. "I'll finish this up," she said. "Can you start bringing the cups out?"

Orihime nodded once and stood from the floor to start ferrying out the drinks. By the time she came back to the kitchen a second time, Rukia was finished completing everyone's order and had her own hands full with cups. Between the two of them, everyone was soon sating their thirst, though as they returned to the kitchen to clean up, Orihime remembered what brought her there in the first place.

"I'll put everything back and grab Ichigo's beer," she said to Rukia. "It'll take a while, and Ichigo probably wants you back out there."

A small smile formed on Rukia's lips. "Thanks, Orihime," she said. "And thanks for listening."

Orihime shrugged and set the spare cups back on a fridge shelf. "I know it's not easy to love Ichigo." She nearly smacked her forehead.

Rukia laughed lightly. "That's for sure." Without another word, she left the kitchen.

Sighing her relief, Orihime left the remaining soda on the floor while she hunted for a bottle of beer. After shifting around the remains of the mentaiko karashi, she spotted a long bottleneck next to a KFC bucket, and she took it from the fridge.

Orihime was just opening her purse when Rukia came back into the kitchen. "Can you also grab a beer for Uryu?" she said. "He changed his mind."

Tactfully turning away from Rukia as she pulled her hand from her purse, Orihime smiled over her shoulder. "Sure thing!"

Rukia smiled and left the kitchen once more.

Orihime exhaled. It was abundantly clear that the universe was steering her in one direction, but she'd come this far already. Besides, whether they were friends or not, Rukia was clearly having doubts about her relationship with Ichigo. As far as Orihime was concerned, she was doing them all a favor.

With that thought, she found a second bottle of beer before haplessly cramming the other drinks back in the fridge. A quick scan of the counters alerted her to a bottle opener near a box of French fries, and she popped both beers open without even checking where the caps landed. Balancing one on the edge of the counter, Orihime glanced over her shoulder before opening her purse once more and, at last, bringing the bottle of love potion out.

But just as she unscrewed the lid, causing a curl of burning tires to tickle her nose, she froze. Was she really doing this?

Yes! she shouted at herself.

Yes, she supposed that was right, but was it right? It wasn't as if she was a homewrecker, if only because Ichigo and Rukia hadn't moved into their apartment yet, but she was still about to break them up.

A pang of anger filled her chest then, one she knew all too well. She'd carried it with her for years now, from Karakura High to the Seireitei and back. Yes, she would slip Ichigo her love potion. She had to in order to restore what had been robbed of her by a selfish, unappreciative Shinigami who clearly couldn't identify love to save her life.

Ensuring none of the potion leaked over the sides of the beer bottle, Orihime poured what of the potion would fit into it before returning the rest to her purse. She gave the beer a sniff and sighed in mild relief: while there was still no denying the smell of burnt rubber, the fizz of the beer disguised it well enough. Even so, she silently hoped Ichigo would be thirsty enough to chug his first few sips.

A beer in each hand, Orihime made her way back out to the living room, where the gift giving had resumed (the coffee table was nowhere in sight). She smiled politely when Rukia came to Ichigo's side, a bulky gift wrapped in orange and lilac paper in her hands.

"So, my turn," Rukia said, smiling up at Ichigo. "Before I give you your gift, I just want to say that it took me a little while to figure out what to get you because you've already given me something priceless."

The room crooned a simultaneous aww in response, and Orihime forced herself to smile.

Laughing nervously, Rukia reached for Ichigo's hand. "I like to say that before you, I was living at fifty percent. I went through my routine as a Shinigami, but I wasn't really doing anything. I don't think I was even feeling anything, or letting myself feel it." She smiled briefly. "Then I wound up accidentally giving you all my power, and I haven't known that kind of rigidity since. You brought into my life constant change. Not because you change so much, but because you don't stop or settle. You're too busy saving everyone." She nodded once at Orihime. "You know this too, Orihime."

She offered a reserved smile. "Sure do," she said quietly.

Her eyes starting to shimmer, Rukia visibly squeezed Ichigo's hand. "Even Nii-sama…."

On Rukia went, recounting each and every one of the times Ichigo stepped forward to protect not just her, but everyone in the room. The entire time, Ichigo's eyes were locked on Rukia's, as if he didn't even hear her praise. As if a fiery sun and azure moon were shining in the same sky but unwilling to look away from each other, like doing so would immediately signal their parting. They were united because to separate would be to die.

Orihime had witnessed this herself. She'd seen what happened when they were actually separated. As busy as he kept himself, Ichigo did nothing in those seventeen months. He was a husk of himself, yearning for the light of the woman who was once again at his side, reminding everyone of the magic that joined them.

And yet, the evil crone Inoue Orihime still dared to wield her witchcraft against this magic. She brandished her spells and potions like scissors, only there was nothing for her to cut, so weaved was this sorcery into the natural world. There was just no comparison of the two powers. One was real magic, and the other base trickery.

Rukia took a deep breath. "So, I…." She pursed her lips, and when she spoke again, her voice cracked. "I'm sure everyone understands when I say I owe you half my life, Ichigo. Hell, I owe you all of it with the number of times you've saved me. You've saved us all, even when we were our own enemies." She took another deep breath. "You've kept me alive, but you've also given me the ability to live one hundred percent. I hope I can do you and that extra fifty percent honor by loving you as intensely as you have me."

"Rukia…" Ichigo said, folding her into his arms.

Orihime did not join the cheers that filled the room. Rukia's words, her devotion to reality, had formed the final nail in the coffin. She wasn't clueless to Ichigo's love: she was terrified of losing it. And as much as she wanted to, Orihime could not fault her. The only difference between them was Rukia had gotten to their destination first, and fairly.

The cheers died down as Rukia kissed Ichigo and pulled away from him. She at last held out his gift, and a bright smile illuminated her face. "Happy birthday, Ichigo," she said.

"Thanks, Rukia," Ichigo said. He kissed her before taking the bulky gift and unwrapping it with a smile—only for said smile to collapse when he unveiled the fluffy bunny onesie Rukia had commissioned just for him. More or less tossing it to the side as Rukia cackled beside him, Ichigo brought his weary eyes over to Orihime. "Is that my drink?" he asked.

Orihime shook her head and looked up at him. "Oh, uh, yes." She purposely did not look at the beers in her hands.

"Awesome," he said with a smirk. He held out a hand but stopped before taking one of the bottles. "Is there a difference?"

Only now did Orihime look at the beers. "Uh. One second," she said. She quickly turned away and gave the bottles a sniff, trying not to shudder when she found the love potion-tainted one in her left hand. It was now or never. Was she committing herself to witchcraft or sorcery? Tricks or honesty? Ichigo or Rukia?

Turning back to Ichigo, Orihime held out the beer in her right hand. "Enjoy."

Ichigo smiled and sipped the beer before returning to his gifts.

Stepping away from the group, Orihime glanced at the remaining beer in her hand. From the outside, it was but a normal alcoholic beverage, entirely nondescript. The knowledge offered her no reassurance, however. She glanced out the window, away from the space she was in. Did she even belong there for thinking she could get away with it? It was an offense to the couple before her, not to mention herself. She'd come too far to stay an oblivious fifteen-year-old forever.

A flutter of movement in a streetlight's aura had Orihime craning closer to the window, though she backed away with a gasp as the movement came close to the glass. Whatever it was flew onto the roof of a nearby house, and once more Orihime leaned forward. The flying thing once again took off, and within the glow of another streetlight, she recognized the speeding form of a bat.

In Karakura? she asked herself. The region, while far from central Tokyo, was still too urban for a regular bat population.

…But perhaps there was more magic for her to learn of in this world. Maybe the magic at present made it possible for a bat to fly in Karakura Town. Maybe it wanted to remind her that she could learn to be a sorcerer herself and perhaps remain not loyal to, but simply remember who else she'd been as a high schooler: someone who entertained a life beyond just a crush, a life with someone who actually showed interest in her and desired greatly to learn from her.

Remember where you are now, Tatsuki had said.

Besides, it wasn't like the crazy old lady had told her the hair color of the man in her dream. What difference did orange or black make, in the end?

"Oi, Orihime!"

Twirling back to the party, Orihime stepped closer to the crowd. "Did someone call me?"

The birthday boy raised his unwrapped slippers for her to see. He smiled wide. "Thanks Orihime!" he said.

She smiled back. "No problem. They match your bunny onesie!"

Ichigo instantly turned to Rukia and glared at her. "You set this up, didn't you?"

Laughing with the rest of the guests, Orihime searched the crowd once more, and this time, she easily found Uryu standing beside Chad. She came to his side and nudged his arm with hers. He glanced sharply in her direction, though he nodded calmly upon seeing it was her.

Orihime smiled at him and handed him the beer. "It's a little late, but here you go," she said.

His eyes widening some, Uryu took the beer and gave her an appreciative smile. "Thank you, Orihime. I didn't think you'd remember."

She shrugged. "I wanted to make sure you got what you wanted."

Laughing politely, Uryu brought the beer to his lips, but stopped when Ichigo brought forward his gift. Orihime didn't mind, though; it would not make a difference if he drank it or not, for he was already decided. And, like Tatsuki said, the love potion was probably crap.

Even so, Orihime did not leave his side the rest of the night, letting him know that she was decided too.

A/N: This is probably my personal favorite of the fics for this week, btw. It's also the one that caused me the most stress. These two things might be related.