Chapter Five: I spent it in good company

Ichigo killed Grand Fisher for a second time the seventeenth of June. Orihime almost wished she'd put herself even further back in time, remembering poor Masaki, who hadn't needed to die. So many innocent lives, lost in the grand scheme of Aizen's planning, and if she'd only thought things through, she could have stopped them, too.

She was doing the best with the time she had.

Orihime watched the whole affair from the sidelines, holding her spiritual pressure in her breast, wishing not for the first time that she could reveal herself. How much pain could her friends have been spared if she had been with them from the very beginning? Ichigo can barely stand by the time he's done, and Orihime watches quietly on as he collapses into Rukia, trusting her to hold him.

Orihime was pretty sure it only took one month to fall in love. You could learn anyone in a month, could see anyone in a month, could fall the long fall in a month. She'd seen it in herself, after all. Now she saw it in them.

It was funny. Even after everything that had happened, Orihime couldn't resent them. Not Rukia, and not Ichigo. They were two souls crafted from the same cloth, torn apart by circumstances. They both could have done better, of course, but Ichigo was just so young, and Rukia had never known love. The closest she had experienced to real love was Renji, who had abandoned her, and Byakuya, who would damn her. How could she possibly have made herself vulnerable to her own feelings? Even with Ichigo, who she trusted so completely, she must have been worried about the betrayal of her own heart. She had loved Kaien, too, and he had died by her blade. Of course it would be complicated.

She could see it in the way they moved about each other. So aware of each other's finger tips, their eyes and lips, always too close and too far, seeking, and never finding. Rukia deceived herself, and Ichigo did the same, and together, they burned for one another. From what Orihime had witnessed, they always would.

She goes home soaking wet, to an empty apartment. She does not cry.

Her notebook was filling up fast. She flipped to the nearest empty page.

Tomorrow , she wrote, Tatsuki will confront Ichigo by the riverbank, and go home with him, and tell him that he is in love. And I will find Rukia, and I will bring her home with me, and tell her she's in love.

All by her design, of course.

~(o0o)~

"This is nice," Rukia said, stepping into Orihime's apartment. She took her shoes off at the door and stepped up onto the carpet, socked feat silent and sure when she moved.

Orihime followed after her. "More spacious than Ichigo's room, at least," she joked.

Rukia turned swiftly on her heel. "Excuse me?"

Oh, yeah. No one knew about that yet. "You stayed over at his house last night, didn't you? Tatsuki is staying with him tonight. I think it's kind of you both to be with him on the anniversary of his mother's passing. I know that when Sora's comes around, I don't want to be alone."

Rukia relaxed. "Ah. Yes. Well, he has been very kind to me since I arrived here."

"He does seem to like you," Orihime said. "Are you hungry? I can make dinner."

Rukia paled.

Laughing, Orihime said, "Nothing weird, I promise. Egg fried rice."

"That would be wonderful, thank you."

Orihime cooked. She'd expected Rukia to wait at the table, but the woman followed her to the kitchen and then sat on the counter while Orihime busied herself at the stove. She realized, as she turned on the heat, that she and Rukia were the same in a way. They both looked to be young, but had lived lifetimes that no one would know. She'd missed Rukia, and as odd as it was to be around her again, she was sincerely looking forward to rebuilding their friendship.

This time, though, she was not going to let herself be caught in the weird will-they-won't-they that Rukia and Ichigo engaged in. If there was anything there, she was going to give it a little shove. Tatsuki had only needed a little off-handed suggestion to decide she'd nag Ichigo about it in that way of hers, and when she was done, she'd report back to Orihime. She could plot so well when she wanted to.

"You live alone?"

Orihime nodded.

"Ichigo told me about your brother. I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"It's okay. I'm sure lots of people lose their older sibling." She waited.

"..." Rukia looked away. "Everyone dies, I guess."

So they weren't there yet. Soon, Orihime hoped.

"Do you have any other family that could take you in?"

Orihime shook her head. "My parents would have killed me, if Sora hadn't kidnapped me and ran away. I have a great-aunt who supports me financially so long as I keep my grades up, but that's pretty much it. Sora used to joke that the stork got him and I mixed up and dropped us off with the wrong family. We're not really anything like the rest of them."

"I see. It can't be easy, being alone."

"Did you grow up in a big family?"

"Of sorts."

Orihime nodded. She took out some clean plates to serve dinner on. "Can I say something that might sound kind of… well, impolite?"

Rukia blinked. "Um. Sure."

"You don't seem like you grew up in a very stable situation. I think you understand me more than you let on." She began to plate their food. "You don't have to tell me. But I just want you to know I won't think any different of you, one way or the other. We're friends, aren't we?"

Rukia hopped off of the counter. "You're mistaken," she said. "I grew up just the same as everyone else in my neighborhood."

"My mistake," Orihime sighed. "Want to eat on the couch? We can watch TV."

"If you'd like," Rukia allowed.

Orihime turned on some inane anime. Rukia was instantly glued to the screen, and ate robotically. Orihime laughed a little and leaned back into the couch, happy to just be with Rukia, even if she was still distant.

They talked during the commercials, which Orihime muted.

"How have you been liking Karakura so far?" Orihime asked.

"I like it a lot. The people are kind, and exciting, and there's lots of things to explore." She smiled down at her plate, chasing a snow pea around with her chopsticks. "It's very different from what I'm used to."

"In a good way?"

"Yes," she said. "In a good way."

Orihime smiled wide. "Oh, good. And you and Kurosaki seem to be getting along well…"

"Of course," she said. "He's been a very good guide to Karakura."

"And he's a good friend to you, right?"

"Yes," she said. She looked down at her bare feet, sticking out of a blanket that Orihime had pulled over their laps. Her toes were painted purple. For some reason, Orihime was reasonably sure that Ichigo had done them for her.

They were quiet while the show returned, but as soon as the next commercial break came, Rukia said, "Do you know Ichigo well?"

"Not as well as you, I think, but I think I know him alright."

Rukia lowered her chin to rest on her knees, which were drawn up to her chest. "... Do you think that he like having me around? Or have I changed his life for the worse?"

"How could you even ask that?"

Rukia looked up at her, startled.

"Don't you notice? He smiles when you're around." Then she laughed a little. "I guess you wouldn't know. He doesn't really seem as happy when you're gone. I think… I think you've changed his life for the better."

She stared at the TV, changing lights reflected in her eyes. "I'm not so sure. I'm unfamiliar with how hum-I mean. With relationships. In general." She fidgeted, uncomfortable. "I don't know why I'm telling you all this. We've just met."

"We have lunch all the time," Orihime said. "I'd argue that we're friends."

"Friends?"

Orihime nodded. "You say you're unfamiliar with human relationships, but I think you're doing just fine so far. I'd consider you a friend, and I know lots of other people would, too." She paused. "Of course, if you like-like Ichigo, I guess that's a little different."

"Like-like?"

"You know. Have a crush on him?"

"A… crush."

Orihime nodded.

"Unlikely," Rukia decided, haughtily. "I'm far too old for such things."

"You're never too old for a crush."

"I wouldn't even know how to begin to navigate such a thing," she sniffed.

As if she was above it. Orihime almost wanted to roll her eyes. What, had Rukia gone to Matsumoto and asked how to have a husband before she married Renji? There had been rumors communicated to Orihime of Rukia being pregnant. Obviously she knew how to navigate. She was, what? 115 years old? Come on.

"Besides," she said. "Ichigo isn't interested in me. Not in that way."

"I'm close," Ichigo panted into her ear.

Orihime pushed back into him, sweat dripping from her brows. She knew he was close, damn it, but what about her?

"Fuck, fuck, oh god, Rukia-"

They both froze.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Orihime said at length.

Rukia turned to look at her. "Have you ever been with someone? In such a way?"

"Yes," she said, easily.

"How does it work?"

"Hypothetically?" Orihime snorted. "They like you, you like them, and, you know. You kiss, hold hands, and watch movies together."

Rukia looked down at Orihime's hands. "That's how humans do things, then…"

Orihime felt her heart tumble over herself. She'd never really blamed Ichigo for his fixation on the raven-haired shinigami, to be honest. "Have you never held anyone's hand before?" She turned hers over, palm up, and offered it to Rukia.

Rukia pinked. "Of course I have," she snorted. She still eyed Orihime's hand. "I'm older than you, you know."

"I know." She smiled. "I'll take your word for it if you say you don't like Ichigo. But if you did, well. There's nothing wrong with being prepared."

Rukia weighed her options for a minute. "Of course," she said. "It's training." She reached out and laced her fingers through Orihime's. Her hand was warm, and soft, despite her calloused fingertips and heel.

Orihime scooted a little closer to her. "See? Nothing to it."

"I've done this before," Rukia said again. "This is nothing but a refresher course."

The program came back on.

Orihime paid very little attention to the show, instead choosing to linger on the sensation of Rukia's hand in her own. Rukia absently rubbed her thumb over the back of Orihime's hand, stirring a spark of something deeper between them.

She could feel Rukia's awareness of her, like another blanket, covering the both of them together. She was just as aware of Rukia, and by the time the commercials came back on, they were pressed tightly side to side.

Rukia turned to look at her.

"I woudln't mind a refresher course in the… other… matters."

Orihime looked at her lips. "Me either," she whispered. She reached out with her free hand and gently held Rukia's chin, leaning in to peck chastly at her lips. Rukia stiffened, at first-perhaps because she was overwhelmed, or maybe because she was surprised. She melted a second later, and brought her hand up to the back of Orihime's neck.

Her mouth was so small compared to Ichigo's, and soft. She kissed gently, mouth opening slowly, her tongue hesitant. Orihime felt her stomach flood with a combination of heat and butterflies. She nuzzled Rukia's face, getting closer. She threw her leg over Rukia's hip and made herself closer.

Their program came back on, but they did not cease.

Going from someone who regularly messed around (thought it was out of a sense of desperation to keep their marriage together more than attraction, unfortunately) to a celibate fifteen year old had really been a pain. Vibrator or no vibrator, she'd missed kissing, and thus leaned into Rukia with gusto, unguilty about her mental age knowing that Rukia was so much older than her.

Orihime somehow ended up stradling Rukia's lap. They made out, unhurried and nearly lounging, a sweet burn building between the two of them. Rukia's hands slipped up the back of Orihime's shirt, just feeling the bare skin there, caressing up and down.

Orihime didn't think it would be wise to carry it on any further. She and Rukia had only ever made out in the past timeline, albeit sometimes shirtless, or with heavy petting, but it had never gone very fast.

It was late, anyway. Their show had ended some time ago, and Orihime knew that it was time that they retired. Gently, she pulled away from Rukia, grinning at her blushing face and kiss-thick lips.

"Bedtime, I think," she said, softly.

"R… right." Rukia coughed, clearing her throat.

"..." Orihime stood. "We could cuddle in my bed, if you want."

"For practice," Rukia specified.

"Of course," Orihime laughed. "Practice, sure."

Rukia laughed, too. Hands linked, they ventured to Orihime's bedroom, and spent the night happily curled together. Orihime wondered, quietly, what she would do when Rukia moved on. She did not want to be alone again, but love seemed so far away…

She would cross that bridge when she came to it, she supposed.

~(o0o)~

July came to a screaming halt on the sixteenth.

Orihime remembered with some amount of bittersweetness that she had awakened her powers the seventeenth of July, and that the feud between Ichigo and Uryuu occured on that day. This time, there had been no fued, and the hole in the sky had opened a day earlier-the work of Aizen or Kisuke, she was sure, in order to further their agenda with Ichigo.

Orihime was taken off guard, but it was easy enough to slip away from school and start after the hollows in secret. Ichigo lent his body to Kon, and Ishida took off on his own. The day had come early, just barely, but it seemed there would be no stopping the menos attack. Orihime did not mind.

Her powers had awakened those years ago because of Tatsuki, who she loved so much, and had wanted more than anything to protect. The battle with Numb Chandelier was nothing like the first. She spotted the hollow and exterminated it without so much as a word of greeting, and when it was dead, still she felt no peace. She moved on to the next hollow, and the next, determined to keep Uryuu and Ichigo fresh for the battle to come. If they showed any signs of being unable to handle the menos, she would help secretly from the sidelines. This day was important.

She remembered being forced to watch from far away the first time, too, with Chad at her side. Back then, she'd been so conflicted about her powers, having recently seen Sora as a hollow, and knowing that whatever choice she made, there was no going back. Now, she couldn't imagine a life as a normal human.

"You there. Orihime Inoue."

Orihime turned from where she'd finished cleansing another hollow. Kisuke was watching her. She wasn't surprised-she had allowed a little of her spiritual pressure to begin to leak, enough to give the impression that she had only recently come into her powers.

"That's a pretty impressive move. Who taught you that?"
She watched him, silent.

Kiskue chuckled. "Right. No one wants to talk to creepy men who know their name. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm-"

"Kiskue Urahara," she said.

He blinked at her, surprised. "You know me. I wasn't aware that I had a reputation."

"You own the shady candy store on the west side," she said. "Isn't that right?"

"That's right," he said. "But I'm more than a humble shop owner."

"I suppose you want to tell me what these monsters are." She turned as another one charged from between an ally, and easily summoned Tsubkai, using him to cleave through the hollow's mask. She turned back to Kiskue. "Well, Urahara-san?"

He pulled down the brim of his sunhat, just barely. "For such a beautiful girl, you do have an awfully cold face."

"I'm fifteen," she told him. She turned and started walking to where she could hear yet another hollow. "Old man."

"Old man?" He blanched.

"So, are you going to tell me what's going on, or do I get to guess?"

"You're very unusual. At this point, I'd say I want to hear you guess."

"You sure we have time for that?" She pointed at the sky, which was beginning to crack.

Urhura looked up. "Yes. Well. I know it looks ominous, but the world isn't actually ending. You see, those creatures you've been seeing are called hollows. And that's where they're coming from. Someone must have activated a lure…"

She cut her eyes at him over her shoulder, pausing. Not Aizen, then. This one had been him. "Someone?" she questioned. "It was you. Wasn't it?"

He looked quickly back to her, displeased at being caught out. "I can assure you, Orihime-san-"

"Inoue." She corrected.

"... Inoue-san," he continued. "I mean no harm. Why would I summon hollows here? I'm very much like you, and the hollows would love to eat my soul just the same. Bringing them here isn't something I'm interested in."

"Maybe not them. But I'm sure you're betting on a menos to follow."

His brows furrowed. "Someone," he said, "has been doing their homework."

She sighed. "I won't get in the way of whatever it is you're planning. But if something bad happens to my friends, I'll know who to find."

"Threats don't seem very in-line with your character, Inoue-san."

"You're not the only one alive who can act, Urahara," she said. She looked back up at the sky. "You'd better get your kids. The sky is starting to tear, and I'm sure they'd love to help with the fight."

"Was that a threat, too, Inoue? No one comes near my children."

"I wouldn't stoop that low. I'm not like you." She turned and started towards the park, quickly. "Stay away from me, and I'll stay away from you, Urahara!"

"Don't count on it," he sand behind her, teasingly.

She thought about flipping him off, but decided against it. She didn't owe him a reply.

She reached the park after Kisuke and the rest showed up. Already, Ichigo was running to engage the menos. Orihime stepped into the fray, just next to Rukia, who had been placed under a binding spell. More of Kisuke's meddling, she was sure.

"I-Inoue!" She cried. "Get away from here, it's dangerous!"

"I can see it," she told Rukia, softly. "Don't worry."

Rukia's eyes darkened. "If you can see, then you know you have to get away from this place. Now!"

She shook her head. "No. He'll need healing when he's done. They both will." She could feel Kisuke's eyes on her, and knew he was listening for what she said. She didn't pay him any mind, though. She watched as Ichigo ripped away from Uryuu, stepping with his sword drawn into the blast of the Meno's cero.

"Ichigo!" Rukia screamed.

Orihime put her hand on Rukia's shoulder. "It's okay," she said. She slipped her fingers beneath the spell and tugged on it, tearing it open and freeing Rukia. The shinigami woman did not notice at first, and stayed seated on the ground, body trembling.

Ichigo's spiritual pressure absorbed that of the Menos, bending and reflecting it, amplifying it. This feeling, Orihime was used to. Ichigo's power rose like a great tide, crashing over them in waves, as he ate up the hollow energy and made his own to match it. With a great cry, he sent the blast back towards the menos, and with it, cracked the great white mask the hollow wore.

It retreated, so big that its movements almost seemed slow. Over, just as quickly as it had begun. Ichigo had yet to learn to control his spiritual pressure, and under the new heights it had reached, he fell to the ground, his sword wavering. Uryuu, ever the quick thinker, quickly began to use it to shoot of arrows of enormous stature, quickly bringing Ichigo down from his high. The two of them collapsed after a moment, bloodied and spent.

"Well," Kisuke drawled. "I guess that handles that."

"What-why didn't you-" Rukia realized she was free of the spell and climbed to her feat, rounding to face Kisuke with fury. "You could have handled that! How dare you force a substitute to engage with such a dangerous enemy!"

Kisuke smiled at her, deceptively friendly. "Me? Handle a menos? I'm but a humble shopkeeper!"

Rukia tore into him. Meanwhile, Orihime left them to attend to Ichigo and Uryuu. They both lay panting at the sky, soaked with sweat and having trouble breathing. Blood covered Ichigo's face, and the cuts on Uryuu's hands went deep. Orihime didn't say anything as she stopped at their heads.

"Inoue," Ichigo was the first to notice.

"Kurosaki-kun," she said. "Ishida-kun."

"What are you doing here?" Ishida demanded.

She smiled. "Helping, of course. Shun Shun Rika. I reject."

The two boys were placed beneath her healing shields. It took her only a minute or so to have them both back to their usual selves, uncut and unbloodied. They stared at her, awed into silence, and then sat up as soon as her shields fell away from them.

"My head is healed," Ichigo said in disbelief.

"And my hands…" Ishida turned to her. "What are you?"

"Human," she said. She smiled. "Chad, too. We've both got powers, drawn out by being near Ichigo's spiritual pressure." She reached down, helping them both to stand. She smiled, laughing. "Your wounds are healed, but your clothes look ridiculous! You should both get home and get some rest, clean up a bit. And Ichigo… you should make sure Rukia is alright."

"R-right," he said, and hurried to his feet.

Ishida remained.

"What is it? Do I have something on my face?"

"No," he said. "How long have you known? About your powers, I mean?"

"Years," she said.

"I thought someone else was picking off hollows… I thought it was the shinigami. Was it you all this time?"

She nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

She said, "Would you have believed me?"

"You could have shown me…"

"It wasn't time," she said. "I knew something like this would happen."

He blinked, surprised. "Divination," he said, certainly. "Is that part of your powers?"

"Something like that," she said, at length. "Our secret, yeah?"

He nodded.

Kisuke appeared before her, then. "That was pretty impressive, just now."

She turned and glared at him. "Thank you."

"Skill like that takes a long time to cultivate. Even if you are a natural." He leaned over her, as though using his physical height would intimidate her. Orihime tilted her head back to look him dead in the eye, unafraid. "You'll have to tell me who taught you that little trick, Inoue-san."

"Actually, Urahara-san." She smiled. "I don't have to do anything of the sort." She bowed quickly to him and then began away, heading for her house. Abarai and Kuchiki would be arriving soon enough. "Bye, guys!"

Alone, she headed back to her apartment, aware of being followed the entire way. Her house was sure to be bugged, and her life to be monitored, but she was aware and ready, and would counter Urahara every step of the way.