Her lips pursed lightly as she tapped her thigh with the mechanical pencil. With a determined glint in her eyes, the auburn haired young woman quickly wrote something down. She chewed on the end of her pencil, letting out a quiet 'hmm' and writing something else down.
"Inoue."
One would think that the sudden noise in the silent room would frighten her, but the girl, Inoue, smiled back at him. "Hi, Kurosaki-kun."
He looked at her gravely, "How's the uh, list going?"
"Oh, that." Orihime stood from her seat on the floor outside her apartment, "I've gotten most of what I need written down...But..."
Ichigo eyed her carefully, "What is it?"
"It's..still going to be a difficult transition from this apartment to another." Her fingers fumbled with the sheet of paper and pencil. His cinnamon colored eyes scanned the wrecked apartment. A major fire had destroyed most of the apartment complex, including Orihime's. The charred remains of the two room apartment made him cringe. She still seemed so well-adjusted.
"At least Nii-chan survived it.." Orihime picked up a partially singed photograph of her older brother. Awkwardly, Ichigo stood beside her. He slung his arm around her shoulders, pulling her body towards his chest in a strange, Ichigo-esque embrace.
"Kurosaki-kun-"
"If you don't have anywhere else to go..you can always come live with me, Inoue." He felt her visibly stiffen in his arms, and he knew that she had to be blushing past her hands. "Really?" She squeaked, and he nodded reassuringly, "I don't like the idea of you having no where to go."
"I c-could always ask Tatsuki-chan if I end up being too much trouble.."
"No." He said firmly, resting his chin on the top of her head, "You're staying with me."