A/N: I have a few ideas as to where this fic will go. I will do my absolute best to be original and surprising, and what I don't surprise you with, I'll do my best to write well. Also, further notice, Orihime is by far my favorite character, and Ichigo a close second. I also agree she's had a troublesome life; but this fic will be angsty (hopefully) and Orihime will have to endure more heart break...but for a good cause and good story.
But on the bright side, I am a sucker for happy endings. So please don't hate me!
Side note: remember Orihime went through Psychological torment - this fic is playing off that.
Also, Chapter 422 pretty much made my life and inspired me to conitnue writing. Ichihime, yes please!
Thank you so much for your lovely reviews, they made me feel good. I was kind of worried! I went back and checked on a few of those mistakes. Special thanks to Crystal Dawn for pointing that out. (Also, Aijou829 , I hope this chapter fixes my little screw up. You are right, and I even thought that when writing it, but I was kinda hurried and needed to move it along to get it done. Thanks for understanding! haha)
Disclaimer: Don't own, never will.
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"Tatsuki-chan, I need to tell you something." The caramel haired girl whispered, feeling anxious. She wasn't sure how Tatsuki would react to her news. She wasn't even sure how she was reacting to it. Thinking about it made Orihime's head hurt; but even worse, it made her heart ache. She didn't know what she was doing trying to be with somebody else. If her heart could pop out of her chest and scream at her, she was sure it would have.
After all, her heart had declared five lifetimes, if not more.
Maybe it's just that this lifetime just wasn't meant to be...
"What is it, Orihime?" Tatsuki asked, putting her bowl of rice down. She knew something wasn't right by Orihime's tone. She glanced curiously at her long haired friend, hoping it wasn't something bad.
"I, um, have date this weekend," she said, having a hard time spitting the words out. She refused to look anywhere near Tatsuki's face; she did not want to see her expression.
"No way! Ichigo finally asked you out, huh? Took him long enough! I mean, he can bee such a lug hea-" Tatsuki started excitedly. Orihime cut her off, waving a finger in front of her.
"No, no. That's the thing, It's not with Ichigo..." She muttered, feeling the disapointment in her own heart.
"What?" Tatsuki asked, shock on her face. Did she hear her right? She was going on a date with someone who wasn't Ichigo?
"Yeah, um, a really nice guy asked me out to dinner." She said, trying to sell it to herself as well as Tatsuki.
"I thought you loved Ichigo?" Tatsuki questioned, raising an eyebrow. "It's not like you to agree to go out with someone else."
"I do love Ichigo...but I've come to terms with the fact that he will never love me." Orihime said, swallowing. She could see that Tatsuki was about to say something, but she cut in before she could lecture her. She had to explain.
"I can't keep doing this to myself, Tatsuki. With everything that's happened, I'm not the same person I was before. I'm... fragile. I'm different than I used to be, before I was taken away. I have a new limit, and I know what I can and cannot take right now." She said, looking at her hands on the carpet.
"Everytime I'm near Ichigo, I feel pain in my chest, like someone has put a knife through it. I constantly ache to be with him, and I can't be. I can only make it stop by moving on." she said, trying to sound confident and firm. She could feel the water forming in her eyes anyway.
"And I can't move on if I'm waiting for him, Tatsuki! If I don't do it now, I never will... I could wait for that man forever, wasting my life away. The old Orihime could do that. This person I am now isn't that strong." She whispered, tears forming in her eyes. "I love him just as much as I ever have, if not more, but it's not enough anymore...I d-didn't realize that until Isamu asked me out. It was like something snapped inside of me..." she trailed off, beginning to sob. Her body was shaking as she clutched her arms around herself.
Tatsuki wrapped her arms around her friend, grimacing at her pain. Ichigo, you stupid, asshole! You cause so much pain without doing a thing. She felt anger seep through her veins at his ignorance, his complete and utter ignorance when it came to Orihime. He would never know what was right in front of him.
Orihime deserved happiness. Her life had been hard enough.
"Shh, Orihime, it's okay. I understand." she said, squeezing her friend's hand. "Ichigo will always be oblivious to the obvious. That doesn't mean you should give up; but I also agree that you shouldn't waste your time pining away for someone. I want you to do what makes you happy, Orihime. If that means moving on, then so be it, but if you're forcing this, then don't."
Orihime was silent for a moment, taking it all in.
"I am so selfish." She whispered, clenching her sides harder. "I just don't know anything anymore." More tears poured out of her and Tatsuki began to feel lost.
"You are the least selfish person I have ever met, Orihime. You're just finally thinking about yourself for once. There's nothing wrong with that. You can only give yourself to a person so much for so long before you have nothing left. I think you may have reached that point," she said, looking at her friend's watery gray eyes. Orihime sniffled.
"Even so, it's wrong of me to date Isamu while I'm in love someone else." she whimpered, realizing what a terrible person she was, once again. I truly deserve every bad thing that happens to me...
"You can't grow to love someone until you get to know them. You used to think Ichigo was rather scary, didn't you? But when you two started talking, you fell head over heels. I believe you can have more than one love in a life, Orihime. There's your first love, and the love of your life. Some people are lucky, they find both loves in one person; but others don't. You never know, Orihime, you may end up liking Isamu more than you think."
"Maybe..." Orihime replied, still unsure.
"Which, you need to fill me in on. Who exactly is he, and how did he go about asking you out?" she asked, hoping the lighter topic would cheer her up.
Orihime perked up a little, regaining a but of color in her cheeks, and flashed a small smile.
"Well..."
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"ICHIGO!" Ichigo didn't even bother looking up to know who it was. He let out a sigh and quickly, lifting his arm in a backhand movement, causing Keigo to fall flat on his face.
"Jeez, where's the love around here? I see SOME people never change." Keigo exclaimed, rubbing his head where it collided with the floor. He looked up at Ichigo, who was sitting at a table, with a scowl on his face.
"Yeah, tell me about it. What do you want, Asano? I'm trying to study."
"AH! there you go again, studying! What is UP with that? Seriously, it's not cool, Ichigo. You're just a big nerd! I mean, I found you in here, the LIBRARY. I thought we were suppose to have an image!"
"I do have an image. I'm the guy who does what he wants. Now seriously, what are you jumping around about?" Ichigo said, looking irritated by his hyperactive friend.
There seriously has to be some type of medication he can take...
"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you might care about this juicy piece of information, but maybe not."
"Keigo, you know I don't care about you and your gossip." Ichigo replied, rolling his eyes. Ichigo had never been one for rumors, especially since half of them were about him.
"No? Even when it's about Inoue-san?" Keigo asked, raising an eyebrow. He bent down close to Ichigo's face and added, "HMMMMMMMMMMMMM?"
"What about Inoue?" Ichigo asked, a bit more interested than he had been a minute ago. He put down his pen and looked at Keigo curiously. Inoue was rarely the center of gossip - she was just so innocent that they usually weren't believable.
"Well, rumor has it that she's going on a date this friday!" Keigo said. "What am I gonna do? My lovely Inoue-san has been swiped from the market! I never got to pledge my love to thee!"
"Wait, what? She's going on a date? With who?" I swear, if Shinji asked her out...
"The new transfer student, I forget his name. I love how he barges in and takes what is rightfully ours! And by ours, I mean all the boys of Karakura, because let's face it, she's everyone's fant-"
"Shut up, Keigo. Speak for yourself." Ichigo said, becoming extremely annoyed at Keigo and his mouth.
"What? You're gonna tell me that Inoue-san isn't the object of your deepest desires? Cause if so, I'm gonna have to go ahead and question you're sanity and your sexuality..."
"Keigo, Inoue is my friend. We're not all perverted like you are." Ichigo said, trying to keep his temper in check. Keigo had a way of bringing it out. "Anyway, how did you find that out?"
"Well, the new guy was bragging about it to Mizuiro. Mizuiro of course told me about it, and I pretty much told anyone in earshot who'd liste-"
"Keigo, you are such a dumbass. I doubt Inoue will appreciate that. Are you sure it's true though? It's not like Inoue to go around dating strangers. That's usually what the other girls around here do." Ichigo questioned. He had a worried expression on his face, and Keigo thought he looked sorta...pissed. He grinned evily.
"Why? Jealoouuuuusss?" Keigo slurred, raising his voice to a high pitch. He began doing kissing faces and dancing around Ichigo. "Someone's JEALOUS!"
Ichigo had had enough. He stood up and lifted his foot to Keigo's face.
"Nevermind, I'll just ask Inoue myself."
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"I'm excited for our date tonight, Inoue." Isamu said, leaning down close to her face in a whisper. Orihime turned eight shades of red, surprised by his closeness.
"Um, yeah! Me too. Where are we going to eat?" she asked, hoping it wasn't a stupid question. She couldn't remember if he had told her where or not. The last few days had been a blurr, and she wasn't really focused on anything except what was going on in her head. Which, unfortunately, was a lot...
"It's s surprise. Just be ready around seven and I'll pick you up." Isamu said, leaning back against the wall in a relaxed position. Orihime thought he looked cute like that.
he "Alright. I suppose I'll need to tell you how to get to my house, huh? Okay, you go-"
"I already know where you live, Inoue. No need for directions." Orihime frowned. "Okay, then. Well, uh, I better get to class so u-uum, I'll see you after?" She asked, not too sure.
"Yeah, I can walk you home."
"Sounds good! Thank you, Isamu." Orihime said, batting her eyelashes. Isamu gave her a grin, and Orihime felt butterflies in her stomach.
Maybe, maybe this will work afterall. Unless of course these butterflies are from that sandwhich I ate earlier...Tuna and bean paste wasn't such a fantastic Idea...I could have held off on the Wasabi sauce as well...
By this point, Orihime had gathered all of her things and was walking down the hallway to her next class. Lost in thought, she didn't even notice a certain orange haired teenager staring at her.
"Inoue." he said, his voice low. Orihime turned in surprise. She smiled happily, but then realized she shouldn't look so pleased to see him.
Her smile faded.
"Oh, hi, Kurosaki-kun," she said, keeping her excitement to herself. Her breakdown with Tatsuki made her weary of his presence. She didn't want another episode of that. She was doing her best to move on, but being around him constantly was making it extremely hard.
"What's wrong, Inoue?" he asked softly, looking at her frown. She was always smiling, so seeing her expression took him off guard.
"Oh, nothing, just tired is all!" she lied. "What did you need, Kurosaki-kun?"
"I just heard you're going on a date with the new guy. What's up with that?" He said, keeping all the irritation out of his voice. He could never be angry with Inoue, but he wasn't exactly pleased by this news either. Yamauchi, from their first meeting, seemed like a complete ass, but of course Orihime never would have picked up on that, she was always the one to find the good in people.
"Oh, yeah. I am, where did you hear that?" she asked him. He became nervous, realizing she probably wasn't aware everyone was talking about it.
"Oh, well Keigo told me. Yamauchi was talking to Mizuiro about it." he said, hoping she wouldn't be angry, even though he kind of was.
"Ah, I see. Yeah, we are. Why? What's the big deal, Kurosaki-kun?" she asked, her eyes going big. Oh no...he probably thinks I'm some sort of tramp, who goes out with the first guy who asks... Orihime thought to herself, becoming even more depressed.
Ichigo hesistated to answer. What was the big deal? He didn't really know why he cared so much. It just irritated him that she was going to go out with this stranger. "I want you to be careful, then, okay Inoue? You don't really know him that well," Ichigo finally spit out.
"Oh, Isamu is nice, Kurosaki-kun! You don't need to worry...but I've got to run! I'm gonna be late. Bye!" She said suddenly, turning to run down the hallway to her next class. Ichigo let out a big huff. Somehow that didn't make him feel any better.
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The day passed slowly after that, Orihime becoming more and more nervous about the night's events. Tatsuki had come over to help her get ready for her date, and to give her some more support. She still didn't know what she was doing, going out with somebody else. Half of her developed a deep sense of self-loathing, while the other half tried to do what was best for her and move on.
The problem with that was, she knew she would probably never feel the same way for Isamu that she did for Ichigo. When Orihime gave her heart away, she could not take it back so easily.
The whole problem was that Ichigo had no idea that he had her heart, and he seemed to step on it quite often. At this point, it was beaten and bruised. Wasn't it better to give half of her heart to someone who would take care of it, instead of her full heart to wither and die in vain?
She didn't know.
"Orihime, please don't look so sad. This is suppose to be a happy occassion." Tatsuki mumbled. Orihime forced a smile on her face.
"You're right Tatsuki! It's just a date afterall. It's not like I'm signing my life away. If I don't like him, I can stop seeing him! But Isamu is very nice and he's cute too actually.."
"That a girl! You don't have to do anything you don't want to, but just be positive! Tonight's suppose to be fun," she said, giving Orihime's shoulder a squeeze.
"Alright, well, are you sure I look okay?" Orihime asked for the fifteenth time that night. Tatsuki rolled her eyes.
"You look amazing, like you do every day, Orihime. That dark purple dress looks gorgeous on you, it really makes your hair pop," she said, motioning to the dress. It was a violet sundress that cinched at the waist. Orihime was also wearing black boots and stockings, and a black jacket. Her hair hung down her back as usual, playing vibrantly off the dark colors she was wearing.
"Okay, if you say so. He should be here any minute!" she realized, looking at the clock. She felt her nerves start up, and began fidgeting with the hem of her dress.
"You'll be great Orihime! Just relax. "
Orihime nodded, knowing she was right. If Tatsuki said to relax, than she should relax; but she couldn't help but worry about all the things that might happen on this date. What if he didn't like her? Or what if she didn't like him? She let out a small groan as the door bell rang.
"It's seven on the dot. He's punctual!" Tatsuki said, trying to comfort Orihime again. She smiled.
"Yeah he is! I'm usually late to things because I always get distracted.." Orihime drifted off, getting up to open the door.
Isamu was there, wearing black pants and a blue button down shirt, the same color as his eyes. His short brown hair was in a messier style today, not quite the same as Ichigo's old style, but close enough to make Orihime's eyes go wide.
"You look great, Isamu." Orihime said, giving him a crooked grin. He smiled back, looking her up and down appreciatively.
"I would say the same about you, but that would be an understatement. You must be the prettiest girl in the world." Orihime flushed, giving him a small smile. She glanced at Tatsuki, who seemed to be giving her an approving look.
"Alright, well I'm ready to go, then. I'll see you later Tatsuki!" she said, grabbing her purse. Isamu held the door open for her, and Tatsuki, amused, yelled , "You better not keep her out all night, or i'll kick your ass!" .
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Ichigo knew at this very moment that Orihime was out on a date.
Why he kept thinking about it, he didn't know.
Ah, damn it. Why is it bothering me so much? He rolled over on his side again, staring blankly out the window.
I mean, it's not like I like her like that or anything...It's just that Isamu is a dick, from what I can tell anyway. I mean, what's with the ' I imagine we'll be getting very close, might as well drop the formailities right now, if you don't mind' shit?
He turned onto his back, not comfortable with his current position, and stared at his ceiling.
He remembered back before the war, after he had rescued Rukia. Things had settled down for a bit, and they had attended school for a while. Ichigo had filled his days with fighting; but not just with hollows. No, he had spent a vast majority of the time beating the shit out of perverted guys who thought they could have their way with Orihime. Of course, she didn't know that, and she'd probably be very mad at him if she did. The only time she had seen him due anything of the sort was when Shinji had been making her uncomfortable, and that he quickly blamed on Visored stuff.
So what the hell was wrong with him, leaving her by herself with Isamu? When Chad had said they had to go to class, he only hesistated for a moment before agreeing. In the past, he wouldn't have left her there with some creepy new guy.
...but it's not like she's gonna let him do anything to her, right?
Ichigo groaned.
I'm such a moron. It is my job to protect her from all potential danger, and that includes dumbasses like Isamu, not just Arrancar and hollows. If Isamu even touches her innapropriately, It's gonna be my fault.
He let out another groan.
He had come to the conclusion he had become even thicker than before, which, according to Ishida, shouldn't even be possible.
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