A/N: Hello Everyone! This is just a short story inspired by 5 centimeters per second. If you haven't watched it yet, you should! Enjoy~


It was springtime; the time of rebirth and love. Her favorite season of the year. And although he'd never admit it; it was his favorite as well.

She was skipping ahead of him; the Sakura trees that decorated the sides of the street were in full bloom. Petals danced as they fell from the trees, and softly on her hair. Her uniform. Her face.

The contrast of the cherry blossoms against her auburn hair was striking, and beautifully so. He found himself staring at her; at the way she smiled, the way she laughed, the way she said his name…

"Nee, Kurosaki-kun…"

He quickly came back to reality at the actual sound of her voice. It was soft, and feminine, just like her.

"Yeah Inoue?"

She stopped skipping, so he stopped walking. The wind blew, and more petals started to fall. She turned to look at him, and he was caught in those deep, ashen eyes of hers. There was a pause, as she twirled her umbrella around; then she spoke.

"Did you know that cherry blossoms fall at a speed of 5 centimeters per second?"

Ichigo gave a small smile; only Inoue would know things like this.

"No I didn't Inoue. That's interesting."

She graced him with a dazzling smile, and she began to run.

Ichigo sighed; this was a daily occurrence for the past five years. Steeling himself, he took a deep breath, then took off after her.

To her credit, Orihime was the fastest girl in the school. She managed to run down the gently curving hill and make it pass the railroad tracks before the bars started to come down.

Ichigo came few seconds later, and was stuck on the other side of the railroads. The bells and the flashing red lights that signaled the passing of the train seemed to fade away as he stood, entranced by her.

She opened the pink umbrella and gave a small spin, and beamed at him. He reached out to her, as if he was reaching for a ghost.

"Inoue-"

The drone of the train cut him off as it whizzed by. Ichigo dropped his arm as he watch the train pass by.

After what seemed like an eternity, the train ended.

Ichigo clenched his fist as he stared in front of him.

She was gone.