It Takes The Two Of US

By: bluebloodedphantom

Replies:

nypsy: I know right? Don't worry she'll be able to say it clearer... :3

Somerlia: I find it funny that he's jealous with himself XD

Racholasj: Thanks. Well uhm, I was thinking that maybe (just maybe) since Ichigo lost his shinigami powers, maybe the whole gang's gonna refrain from using their powers as well. And yeah, if you're gonna end up stayong in the Kurosaki Clinic.. Why heal? XD

poohxebony: OuO Sorry wasn't able to update asap :O yup, yup ^^ I think Ichigo's gonna be really good

NaruHinaFanBoy: Uwah! I'm sorry for the late update. I'm glad you're able to review ^^ xD yeah Ichigo's one lucky bastard :DD

Vane94..etc: Aww.. I took some time, sorry. Well, I'll try to be faster when I update this time. :3 Thanks for seeing this story.

nisey610: Thanks for seeing this one~ I'm glad you did. Ichigo really is cute when he's jealous. I noticed people like him when he's like that XD

GlassBlade-Chan: Aww, I think I haven't voted yet and, I think the poll's over... Sorry . But, thanks for reviewing ^_^

shellybee: Thank you~ I promise to bring up more IchiHime fluffiness... :D

zeprincelini: Thanks! Oh, and don't worry, I'll come up with more Isshin madness :D

Chapter 3: Awkward Conversations

Orihime woke up to a small yawn only to find herself caged in Ichigo's arms. She looked up a bit to find him sleeping as well. What's more surprising is that she was hugging him too. She tried to free herself from Ichigo's arms but he was holding onto her tightly. 'It'll be very embarrassing if someone saw us like this. I wonder where Yuzu-chan is.' She though.

Ichigo noticed the movement against him which made him open his eyes. To his surprise, he found Orihime looking at him and their faces were so near to each other. He immediately let go of her.

"I-I'm sorry. I d-didn't notice." He said as he held on to his bangs and played with it to hide his embarrassment.

"P-Please d-don't apologize. It w-wasn't your fault." Orihime pushed her index fingers together, looking away from him.

Ichigo looked at her from the side of his eye. "Well, how're you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm fine. My ankle still hurts a bit though but, it's nothing compared to earlier." She said and gave him a slight smile. Ichigo crouched down in front of her and looked at her ankle.

"Well, it is still swollen so I can't say it's nothing compared to earlier. Also, I just noticed you have a bruise here." He said, pointing the bruising part at her knee. He sat beside her again. Then, he thought about what Orihime said while she was sleeping. "Say, do you mind me asking but, is there someone making you happy these days?"

Orihime looked confused. "Well, there's Tatsuki-chan and Kurosaki-kun and my other friends as well." She said as she gave Ichigo a questioning look.

He shook his head. "No, I mean, you know... Making you happy. Making you smile. Someone important to you." He whispered. "You know, someone you love?" Hearing this come from his own mouth, Ichigo wondered why he seemed so affected to what she heard from Orihime while she was sleeping earlier.

She gulped. 'Now's not a good time to confess anything.' She thought. "Well, yes actually." She just smiled. "Why'd you ask, Kurosaki-kun?"

"I-I just heard you mumble things while you're asleep earlier." Ichigo said.

She covered her mouth and wondered what she could have said. She was about to talk when Ichigo suddenly stood up. "I'll go get some ice for your ankle."

He felt heavy in every step away from her. What was he thinking anyway? An empty feeling gnawed something in his chest. He felt Orihime's stare at his back. Somehow, he had the urge to turn around and hug her. But, why? Maybe it's because she's one of his closest friends and if ever she goes out with this guy she loves, she won't have time for him. Or maybe he's only thinking selfishly. 'Of course she deserves to be loved as well. Why the hell am I being like this?'

Ichigo was out of sight since he entered the kitchen. Orihime wondered why he suddenly became gloomy or grumpy or... Whatever he became. She sighed. 'I hope I didn't say anything bad or confessed to him while I was sleeping.' She said to herself.

Meanwhile, Ichigo was in the kitchen, still figuring himself up. 'What's wrong with me?' he sighed. 'I better shake this off. I shouldn't be sober about things.' he thought to himself as he took an icepack and filled it with ice. He went out of the kitchen. "Inoue, here's the icepack."

The auburn haired girl didn't seem to hear him since she was in deep thoughts. Ichigo sat beside her and thought of something playful. He leaned in a bit and decided to surprise her since she's so absorbed with what she was thinking. "Inoue." He whispered by her ear.

That's when Orihime came back to reality and tilted her head to the side. To Ichigo's surprise, she didn't jump. What the heck was he thinking anyway? She had a broken ankle. How could she do that? His face was so close to hers. In fact, his nose touched hers and their lips were inches away from each other.

Orihime's eyes widened and that was the time she backed away. "K-Kurosaki-kun?" she asked, her cheeks blushing in different shades of red.

Ichigo didn't notice but he was blushing as well. He just covered his face using his hand for a while and removed it instantly. "U-Uhm, sorry. I..." he didn't know what to say to her. "H-Here's the ice." He raised the icepack on his hand.

Orihime smiled a bit though she was still blushing. "T-Thank you." She said. The auburn haired girl was about to reach for the icepack but Ichigo knelt down in front of her and damped the icepack on her knee.

"Kurosaki-kun, I could do that by myself." She pointed out, gesturing Ichigo to hand over the icepack.

He smiled a bit. "Consider this as me, thanking you." He mumbled. "I j-just want you to know that I appreciate having you around. I want to thank you because I'm starting to accept the fact that my shinigami days are over and it's all because of your words." He continued, still damping the icepack on her knee gently.

Orihime smiled at him. "You don't have to thank me, Kurosaki-kun. In fact, I'm the one who should be doing that." She said. "I owe you so much Kurosaki-kun."

The orange-haired teenager shook his head. "It's nothing Inoue." He smiled a bit as he stood up. "Well, I should get some stuff upstairs. We'll have to put ice on your bruise again later for fast recovery." He said.

"Okay... Thank you, Kurosaki-kun." She said but, he already started to walk away.

'Somehow, I'm scared you might go away from me. Somehow, I want you to stay by my side since you give me strength but, I can't be selfish, right Inoue? I can't keep you by my side forever, especially now that you've come to like somebody.' He thought, hoping that one day, he could be able to say that to Orihime. He just walked to his room.

Looking at Ichigo like that made Orihime wonder what he was thinking. He seemed down then suddenly, he'll be saying something so suddenly.

'It seems like it's getting harder and harder to reach Kurosaki-kun. We may be closer now but I still feel like I can't reach him. He does open up to me but somehow, I feel like there's still something I want to know that he doesn't want me to.' She sighed softly, feeling a bit sober.

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Author's Note: Okay, sorry! I'm so late in updating! Well, Yeah, this chapter's a bit random but it's because I lack ideas. I promise to bring out something in the 4th chapter. R&R :D