"Ohhhh, I wish I could live life five times over.

Then I'd be born in five different places, and I'd stuff myself with different food from around the world...

I'd live five different lives with five different occupations... and then, for those five times...

I'd fall in love with the same person."

~Orihime Inoue~

~.~.~.~.~

For the Love of Ichigo

Chapter 5

'Fall in love five times with the same person....'

.

same person...

.

BEEP. BEEP.

The sound of the alarm startled her from her dream. A trickle of sweat made its way down her back. It had been ages since she had the dream about what she said to Kurosaki that night she left for Hueco Mundo. Even though it had been five long years, it still brought tears to her eyes every single time she thought about it.

Kurosaki Ichigo was the last person she wanted to think about. But, here he was invading her dreams like he used to. But, now he was invading her reality.

She sighed.

One thing was for certain, Orihime Inoue was in a bad mood.

After finishing at the university, Orihime had moved to New York to escape life in Kakarura Town. It had been bad enough that everyone had speculated that Ichigo and Rukia would get married after their high school graduation, but for them to throw it in her face every time she saw them was hurtful. Sure, she had never seen them kiss or hold hands but the little green men in her head told her what was going on. She had always trusted her little green men. They hadn't steered her wrong yet. (cough cough)

It was not fair.

She had been in love with Kurosaki ever since she laid eyes on him all those years ago. Sure, her actions at the time had been a little stalker-ish but she thought she had been making some progress until that midget came to town.

It was not fair for a non living person had to come in and steal Kurosaki's attention when she had finally worked up the courage to talk to him.

It simply was not fair.

But, that's life.

Life wasn't fair.

~0o0o0o0o0o0~

As she grabbed her morning coffee and prepared to leave for work she noticed a package sitting on her front step.

"Hmmm, where did this come from?"

She glanced around but didn't see anyone. This was strange. As in Gin's creepy smile strange. She wanted to know what was in the package, but caution got the best of her.

"Who would send me a package?" she wondered aloud to her empty apartment.

She sat a moment and thought about it. A smile crossed her face,

"Maybe the little green and blue men sent the box". With her excitement building, she ripped open the box. Like a child grinning gleefully at Christmas, Orihime was now excited to see what the little green men had sent her.

She opened the box and inside was a single sheet a paper. She turned the box upside down and shook it. A plane ticket fell out. A sheet of paper and a plane ticket were all the contents.

Weird.

She turned the box over looking for a return address but to her amazement she didn't find one.

"Maybe it really was from the little green men."

She made a mental note to call her best friend ,Tatsuki, to inform her that the little men really did exist! She had evidence! They had sent her a box and a plane ticket.

'Wait? Did the little green men have planes in their dimension?" Hmmm...Food for thought.

She glanced at her clock and realized that if she didn't leave now then she would be late for work. Even though she was her own boss, she hated being late.

She stepped to the front door and turned around. The paper and plane ticket from the box was still lying on the floor unread. Something about seeing that sheet of paper on the floor irked her. Maybe she should take a look.

She stepped over and picked up the sheet of paper. To her amazement, she realized that it was a newspaper, well more like a newsletter. This was a newspaper from the Soul Society?

Orihime froze. 'Why in the world would the Soul Society send her a newspaper?"

After the defeat of Aizen, Orihime had broken all ties with the Soul Society. She didn't like the fact that they had called her a traitor when the God complex wannabe Aizen had kidnapped her against her will. Being in Hueco Mundo had been a terrifying experience. It had changed her. Sure, she was still naive and little bit childish but the experience alone had taught her not to be weak. That she couldn't depend solely on one person. It also showed her that if she screamed at Kurosaki-kun long enough he turned into a huge monster. (Mental pat on the back)

She looked down at the paper again and scanned its contents. She hadn't noticed anything out of place until she got to the bottom.

There! Highlighted with a big circle around it was an ad. Apparently whoever sent her this newsletter wanted her to read this part very badly.

Her gray eyes grew wide.

A chill raced along her spine. She hadn't felt this way in a long time, not since, that day Aizen tried to kiss her. His breath had been terrifying.

The ad was for the man she once loved. The one she once adored. The one she would have given her life for willingly.

She closed her eyes. She was over it right? She had moved on. But, why oh why was she getting emotional about this.

Kurosaki was looking for a wife.

A stray tear ran down her face but she quickly brushed it away. A long lost feeling of profound sorrow washed over her tormenting her soul.

"Kuro...saki..kun"

~0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o~

After she finally left Urahara's shop, Kuchiki Rukia looked at her watch. It was almost time for dinner. Since she didn't feel like spending her hard earned money, she decided to go to the place where she was always welcomed with open arms: Kurosaki Ichigo's house.

~0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o~

Ichigo couldn't believe his eyes. Sure, it was because he need glasses but this time was different. It had been a while since he last saw her.

With flowing green hair and big gray eyes, he was surprised she was in her adult form.

The former 3rd Espada formally known as Nel stood at the table waiting for him to say something to her.

Wait? Did she say something?

"Son, I'm so proud of you" Isshin stated crying his fake anime style tears.

Nel looked back to the man who was now dragging his body along the floor. She gave Ichigo a pointed gaze that screamed "Is he always like that?"

Ichigo cleared his throat.

"What are you doing here, Nel?"

She opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by a suddenly flying punch to the head. The old goat missed and Ichigo punched him in the face.

"What kind of man attacks his son while he is talking to someone?"

Isshin glanced up with a sheepish smile. "Ichigo why are you being so cold to your fiancee? She must have really missed you. When is the wedding?"

~~00~~

Before he could correct his dad, another voice cut him off yet again. Darn it. Why couldn't anyone let him finish? Now he understood how Aizen felt when he kept getting interrupted.

"Fiancee?" a surprised voice rang.

Kuchiki Rukia stood in the doorway glancing at the scene unamused. Her violet eyes were cold as ice on a sunny day. She glanced at the green haired woman standing next to Ichigo. Of course,she recognized her. It wasn't hard to miss the only other person besides Orihime who constantly threw themselves at Ichigo every single chance she got. Even when she first met her,she had asked her what her relationship was to Ichigo. Not that it was any of her business.

"What are you doing here?" she asked her voice cold.

The green haired beauty stood proudly and linked her arm with Ichigo's. She was not afraid of the Kuchiki weirdo no matter how much money she had. She could wipe the floor with her if she had to.

"I'm here to see my fiancee,"

She turned to Ichigo, whose mouth was now wide open.

"Nel, I didn't ask to you get married"

"Sure, you did."

Ichigo's surprised look matched Rukia's.

He watched as Nel pulled a note from her jacket. She wordlessly handed him the note.

A paralyzing fear washed over him but it was quickly replaced with rage as he read the contents of this note.

'What the........?'

~0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o~

From the other side the room, Isshin watched the scene with keen interest. This was going way better than expected. He wanted to laugh as Ichigo tried to understand what 'Nel' was telling him. Oh to be a fly on the wall when he finds out about the...........

'Yes, everything was going just as planned.'

He had Urahara to thank for thinking of the details for this foolproof plan. Even better was the fact that he hadn't expected Rukia to show up when she did. Then what was even better was the fact that his son hadn't figured out what he had done. That was just icing on the cake. He gave himself a mental pat on the back, this plan was absolutely brilliant. He knew Urahara was going to be mad that he missed this.

He had finally finished his part in the plan now it was Kisuke's turn.

He whipped out his cell phone and dialed a number.

'Ichgo would thank him for this someday.

He couldn't wait to give Urahara the good news.

~0o0o0~

Like a thief in the night Soi Fon watched as the Kuchiki noble entered the house. The longer she waited the angrier she got. She closed her eyes and leaned against a nearby tree. She gripped the piece of paper like it was her lifeline. She had finally came to the conclusion that Kurosaki had just been shy about his feelings when she had confronted him earlier. Besides, she understood that it was easy to be intimidated by her beauty. She would give him another chance. She just had to wait until he was alone and then she would make her move.

~0o0o0o0o00o~End Chapter~0o0o0o0o0o0~

So, the plot thickens.....

A/N: Congrats to Raae for successfully guessing the mystery guest ...As a prize you can ask me one question about the plot.

Read and review please :-)