Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

A/N: Chapter 2 is way shorter, but I won't be long with the third. Enjoy!

The train was jostling him, but he found himself incapable of paying attention to it. It had been a gamble telling everyone about his plan to marry Hoshikawa, but he found that it hadn't had the effect he had been silently hoping for.

He had stated to the table that he was going to ask his girlfriend to marry him, and chatter immediately bubbled up. Questions and advice were fired at him from all sides, but as soon as he thought it would be socially acceptable, he had looked over at Inoue. He noticed her eyes on him and she looked the slightest bit startled, but he couldn't quite tell whether he had imagined it. Then she broke out into a grin, and he had thought it hadn't reached her eyes, but he wasn't completely sure it hadn't been wishful thinking. She then joined in the asking of the questions. On the way out of the restaurant, she had given him a hug, thanked him for "everything," and wished him all the luck she could muster, with a promise to continue wishing until she got word that Hoshikawa had said yes.

He went back over the memory again and again, but found each time that he couldn't determine anything more. He still had quite a bit of train ride in front of him, so his thoughts turned to the girl who might someday be his wife.

Hoshikawa Seiko was a shy girl, reserved and cautious. He found himself sitting next to her in several of his classes at the beginning of his second year. They had hit it off quite quickly, despite shyness from both parties, and had been dating since he had worked up the nerve to ask her out. Now, two years later, they hadn't progressed much further than going on dates. She had never once called him by his given name, and the few times he had done it had just felt awkward. He chalked it up to the fact that she was very traditional when it came to interactions between women and men, and he was only slightly less so. He thought that Inoue had always seemed traditional as well, but that she would allow her love to be a bit more passionate.

But he loved Hoshikawa. That much was certain. Though there was some tension at times, he knew she would make a wonderful wife. He got off at his stop and found himself at a point-to-point comparison, working his way back to his place without even really paying attention.

Hoshikawa was petite, bordering on tiny. Nothing truly remarkable could be said about her, except that she was beautiful in a very traditional sort of way. Inoue was not tall, but she was certainly gifted. He blushed and hastily moved on, thinking about her distinctly colored hair to distract himself. Inoue was thought of by just about every man she had ever come in contact with as completely stunning.

Inoue's apartment had not seemed as messy on his most recent visit (which was actually not recent at all), but Hoshikawa was even more neat than he was, though at first he had not thought it to be possible. Though it was a point of stress at times, because he believed that some of the things Hoshikawa did in the pursuit of tidiness were a bit over-the-top, he knew she could be trusted to be a partner in the household chores.

While he had always loved fashion design, Hoshikawa would have the same training as himself, and there would be aspects of his life that she would understand so much better than Inoue. When he came home from a long day's work, Hoshikawa would know what he was feeling so much more than Inoue could. He looked down at his perfectly tailored clothes and felt a swell of pride in Inoue, however. It may not be as important as saving lives, but she obviously excelled.

With Inoue, there was a shared knowledge that went beyond profession. She knew of his heritage, and he knew of her own extraordinary power. He had so far not told Hoshikawa, but it would never be a problem with Inoue. Sometimes he imagined that Hoshikawa wouldn't care, that she would accept him for him, and consent quickly to having her children raised in the Quincy traditions. Other times, however, he thought that perhaps she wouldn't be so tolerant, and that she might even leave him over it. Inoue, however, had been around for years. She had been to Hell and back with him, and he had helped her destroy the Hougyoku, effectively saving the world. Though Ichigo may have defeated Aizen afterward, none of it would have been possible without Inoue's powers, and she was always quick to point out that she would never have gotten the chance to destroy it without Ishida's help. She had seen firsthand what he was capable of, and he knew she would never mock him for it.

Then there was the biggest thing of all. He had agonized for quite some time over it, and he found that he still did not have a solution. How could he marry Hoshikawa when he had publicly sworn to protect another woman with his life, and when he had privately sworn to love her?

He opened his front door, hung his coat and scarf and changed into his pajamas. As he climbed into bed, he assured himself that no matter what, Inoue would always be unobtainable. She was a good friend, and he hoped she would always remain so. Hoshikawa would make a wonderful wife, and he would have to just get over Inoue. It would not be fair to Hoshikawa to be pining over another woman, and he decided that he would no longer think of Inoue in that sense. His promise to himself would just have to be broken.

After all, it just wouldn't do for his heart to be breaking as he proposed to another woman.