Back with a vengeance. I hope everyone is doing well this summer- I live in the armpit of the US so I'm quite sure I will be dead from heat exhaust soon. Guess I better write quick!

Thank you all for your continued patience!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bleach or its characters.

Orihime:

I can tell that my friends have picked up on my less than chipper mood. They dance around it with nimble feet but it does nothing to rid me of the dark cloud above my head.

The rest of the school day drags and drags and is made to feel even longer with every glance my way. Ichigo, of course, did not return and his absence was as tangible as my dread. I keep my head down through my last class and the teacher doesn't chastise me for it and when the final bell rings after what feels like years she sends me a small smile that stabs into my stomach.

Without a response I rush from the classroom as quickly as possible, leaving even Tatsuki behind in my metaphorical dust. By the time I have gotten into my shoes and started out of the building I have convinced myself Ichigo will be waiting at the school gate for me.

And I noticeably deflate when he is nowhere to be seen.

It's not his fault of course, I'm grateful his dad is even letting me over for dinner after the trouble I've caused them. I should bring something from the bakery for dessert to show my gratitude.

I'm in the middle of debating which cake says 'I'm sorry your son got suspended for defending me.' when I round the corner and screech to a halt.

Kaz kicks off the wall he was leaning on and turns toward me, "Hey, Inoue, how's it going?"

Biting the inside of my cheek, I debate ignoring him completely. Instead I say, "How do you think it's going?"

"So you're not thrilled after all." He laughs, seemingly to himself, "I'm 0-1, bummer."

Having no idea what he's talking about, I move to step around him and he doesn't try to block me. He does however turn on his heel and move with me in the direction of my place.

At my stern look he throws his hands up, "I'm just making sure you get home safe since Ichigo isn't here to do it."

The sound of his name coming out of Kaz's mouth was so jarring I nearly tripped over my own feet, "So you two are on a first name basis now?"

He shrugs, hands slowly coming down and then shoving into his pockets. "He's an interesting guy," he leaned down sideways as we walked, lowering his voice as if voicing a secret, "I see why you like him."

My cheeks flame and my tongue automatically goes to deny it out of sheer habit before I bite it down. "I more than like him."

Kaz doesn't respond and it turns quiet between us for a few blocks giving me time to think. In all honesty, I had been so concerned with Ichigo earlier I hadn't even wondered why Kaz was sitting with him. And the more I thought about it, the less I liked them two being alone together. Especially considering Kaz's habit of speaking his mind without thought.

"What were you two talking about anyway?" I ask, and when he throws me a questioning look I clarify, "You and Ichigo. In the hall earlier."

"Ah," he said with a sly smile, "Well, that's private, Inoue. You wouldn't want me running and telling Ichigo all the things you and I talk about, would you?"

I take a calculated step to my left, putting more platonic distance between us. "Don't say it like we talk about anything inappropriate. Besides, I tell Ichigo everything you say."

It's clear that was not the right thing to say because his face lights up, "Oh, is that right? I wonder why that is?" At my silence, he continues, "Big bad Ichigo wouldn't be jealous of little old me, would he?"

I have the foresight to keep that to myself, "Of course not. We just like to laugh at you together."

Kaz blows out a wounded breath, "Harsh. Though if it sets the mood for you both to talk about me, I won't complain."

"Ick. Don't say that."

He laughs and then, thankfully, changes the subject. "It wasn't anything in particular, by the way. I'm curious by nature, so I wanted to talk to him on my own. See what all the fuss was about."

And while he says it as if it should comfort me, all it does is make me uneasy. "Why do you try so hard to get a rise out of us?"

I have enough things stacked against my relationship right now, I didn't need petty boys sticking their noses where they don't belong. I didn't know how long Ichigo's suspension would be but even a single day will be torture, and I didn't need to add the anxiety of avoiding interactions with someone who is just trying to get under Ichigo's skin.

"I'm not trying to upset you. At first, I was just curious about you. At my last school I heard a bunch of things about the 'Princess of Karakura High' and so when I transferred here I just wanted to see you for myself." He removes a hand from his pocket to point one long digit at his chest. "Like I said: curious."

Immediately, I bristle at the fact that even other schools spread rumors about me. And I imagine myself looking like a disgruntled bird with their feathers puffed out at their chest- the mental image is enough to loosen some of the irritation from my chest.

But his next words brought me back out of myself and back into the conversation, "No one had ever mentioned a boyfriend, so I was caught off guard when I saw you two together."

I sigh and decide to stop assuming he's actively trying to offend me and just have a normal conversation with a classmate. "I'm sure you weren't the only one. We've been friends for years but we'd only just gotten together over the summer."

Kaz was silent for a moment and then spoke with a soft tone, trading carefully as not to send me back into defensive mode. "Interesting. So… who fell first?"

I kicked at a rock and it flew ahead of us and clattered against a light pole, "Ichigo insists it was him but I know it was me- long before he even knew my name probably. He can be a bit… oblivious sometimes." A trait I've learned to love about him.

He nodded, his head bobbing a few times more than necessary before he sighed loudly, "You confessed to him then?"

I laughed at that, "This is starting to feel like an interrogation."

He didn't deny it. Instead, he kicked at his own rock, seeming to force his tone casual. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to,"

For a moment I just studied the side of his face. I'm sure he felt my eyes but he didn't turn his head to catch my gaze. I should probably end the conversation, tell him none of this was his business and keep it at that. But honestly a part of me was enjoying talking about Ichigo and I's beginning with someone who didn't really know either of us.

Tatsuki had been thrilled for me when Ichigo confessed, having been sidelined to my quiet pining since we started high school. And Chad and Ishhin had not seemed at all surprised when we showed up to the movies one summer night holding hands. Each of our friends had been a silent contender for us long before we knew of one anothers feelings and so it had seemed almost expected in their eyes.

Kaz however knew nothing of our shared past. He was an outsider looking in on us with eyes that only saw what reflected on the surface. To him we were just two teenagers that were lucky enough to find someone who loved them. I liked the thought of Ichigo and I finding one another without the need for trauma.

And so I reveled in how simple it all seemed as I began, "I would never have had the nerve to tell him. We met through Tatsuki our first year and I'd had a crush on him ever since. It wasn't until we started hanging out more outside of school- with friends, of course- that it developed into more than a throw away crush."

Throwing his hands up again, he said, "Wait, since first year? It took you guys that long to get together?" I nodded. "Wow, oblivious is putting it lightly."

I continued, feeling the need to defend my boyfriend. "I'm glad we got to be friends first. I learned more about him that way."

My apartment building was coming into view and it felt like Kaz immediately slowed our pace considerably. "So he confessed to you then."

He hadn't said it as a question but I answered anyway, "Yes, and I was actually surprised by it. I'd never thought he'd see me in that way."

Kaz rolled his eyes at me but didn't weigh in on his thoughts on that. "You guys sound like a romance manga."

I startled even myself with how forcefully I laughed at that, "Hardly! You're just hearing the vague full picture. That always makes it more interesting."

We halted as we reached the path that would lead me into my apartment building stairwell, "I don't know. The Princess and the Brute… has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

"He's not a brute." I insist.

Kaz arches a single brow at me, "He got suspended today for literally beating a guy's face to a pulp."

I look anywhere but at him, "That was an isolated incident."

He backed away a few steps, inching into the direction of the closest station. "Keep telling yourself that, Inoue."

I linger there, half stepping toward home and half watching him leave, wondering if I should thank him for walking me home or if that would be too much of an encouragement to do it again.

By the time my good manners win out he's already halfway down the street and I have to yell out, "Thank you for walking me, Kaz!"

He doesn't stop or even glance back but he does raise an arm above his head in acknowledgement. And once I'm in my apartment I realize that while I didn't learn anything at all about him, he had left today learning a great deal about me. And about Ichigo.

I should have asked why he had transferred schools. I should have asked him who he spends his time with when not irritating me. If he had any friends here at all…

I nodded to myself while picking out my outfit for dinner, next time I'd get to the bottom of him. Whether he wants to divulge or not.

He's not the only persistent one.

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Thank you so much for reading!