Wow, Chapter 7! It's about the middle of the story, and I thank you for staying with me to this point, as well as the lovely reviews and comments you gave me!

Can't wait anymore? Then...!

A Lesson of Life: Bad People and Good People.

Orihime's wrist hurt for a long time, as well as her mental illness; the horrible experience made her have long nights with nightmares.

"I won't let others apply make-up for you!" It was the same line whenever Ichigo was leaving for work, like today.

He sighed as he put on his earrings. "Who asked you to have such level of stupidity that you even hurt your precious hands?"

"I've only hurt my left hand, not both!" She retorted. "I'm coming with you!"

Ichigo turned around, stared at her for a while and smiled. "You're afraid of staying at home all by yourself, right?" The cold ambers would be filled with honey-coloured sunlight once they were twinkling with beams. Without another word, he rummaged through a drawer at his desk, took out a pocket pistol and its holster and put it into her hands gently. She was taken by surprise that a real gun was so heavy.

"This is a gun I used when I'm a preadolescent." He made quick demonstrations of how to aim and use it. "Bring this with you. If you see strangers in the house, just shoot him."

"B-B-B…But…" She stuttered. "H-How could I…shoot someone randomly?"

"Well, then take it as swinging a wine bottle." He started to put on his shoes. "Haven't you swung a broken bottle valiantly to take on dozens of bestial enemies?"

Orihime cocked her head aside and looked at him suspiciously for minutes. "How come I feel that you're gibing at me?"

"Hmm, takes you really long to realize that; for crying out loud…you're really beyond saving." He shook his head with a smirk.

"Hey!" Now she wanted to blast his head off with the gun in her hands!

However, Ichigo placed his lips swiftly on hers until her legs went jelly and her head was in a swirl. "You'll be safer at home. Be good. I'll be back soon."

As if being enchanted, she nodded dizzily. After he closed the door, she woke up in a blink. Damn it, I was distracted by him again!

And so she sat in the living room all alone, and she had to admit that she was really scared by this horrible silence. How about going out for a walk? However, as she thought of seeing someone else, her fear crept up to a new level. Just a tiny bit of sound could make her shoot up in the air. She checked the doors and windows for more than four times to ensure herself that it was just her imagination. She turned on the volume of the television to a deafening level, but it did no good to tranquilize her fears.

She tried a load lot of different ways, like taking baths, doing the chores to wear herself out—though there was not much to do and that she has polished every exposed surfaces ten times already, but it wwas still no good to forget the horrible memory. It kept on replaying in her head, and she wondered when she would be driven crazy.

This went on for the whole day. When the telephone rang in the evening, she pulled out her gun instantly. Had she not forgotten to pull the hammer, the shoot would probably have gone through the device. Idiot! Stupid idiot! She scolded herself repeatedly, not knowing whether not pulling the hammer or trying to shoot the telephone was stupider.

"H-Hello?!" She answered the call with ragged breath.

"Good evening, Inoue-san. I'm Ishida Uryuu."

After she heard the name, the warning "BAD GUY!" signal flared in her head. Her voice turned cold immediately. "Good evening."

"…I've heard about the incident in Phuket." His sound was filled with grief instead. "No matter how I say it, I'm afraid you've already had an impression that I'm the instigator, right?"

"…" His words made her tongue-tied. In fact, she has discussed the possibility with Ichigo.

"I couldn't find words to debate with you." He was very sincere. "Indeed, I…have good feelings towards you and Kurosaki-san. Let's be franker: I want to take in both of you. I know I'm being greedy, but I have no intentions to lay my hands on the people I want. Please, believe in me." He went silent for a while. "Are you still there, Inoue-san?"

"I am." She took in a deep breath. "I've never inspected you for anything…at least I have no solid proof to accuse you. It's just…" When she recalled those terrifying events, her eyes grew hot. "I…I'm just scared…very scared…" She finally gave in to her tears and cried.

"I know, and I understand." He soothed with gentle words. "I really wished to call on now, but I think it's better to get Kurosaki-san's consent beforehand. This is my phone number. If you're in any situations, please feel free to give me a call." He gave her numbers and finally eased a little after he confirmed that Orihime has taken it down. "Don't worry about that you'll be a burden. I'll be looking forward to your calls. I've heard that you also draw?"

"Just something that could never sell." She answered truthfully. "I've initially hoped to draw manga, but the market's shrinking more drastically than I've imagined. I'm now only drawing portraits."

"The manga market (1), huh? Hmm, it's really not very sanguine; they don't quite want the public know that it's starting to decline. Do you want to go on the creative path of doujinshi? What kind of portraits are you drawing?"

It took Orihime back again. First, doujinshi is a rather sub-culture path. Secondly, she has pretty underestimated this man Ishida Uryuu; she had never thought that he would know this much about the market or the field of artists for the manga culture. "I don't know any of those circles."

"Why not forming a personal circle on your own? You're always free to do so, aren't you?" She could hear his smile on the other side of the phone. "There'll be a doujinshi show organized by Hueco Mundo soon. Are you interested in going there? I'll be very honoured if Kurosaki-san could come as well, of course."

Doujinshi show, huh…it perked her interest. After hanging up, she evaluated on herself. Her mind was now fogged by this man's words; such an evil man…why was he so sincere to her? He was way harder to interpret than any other horrible men, such as Renji.

Speaking of which, she wondered how the red-head was now.

She fidgeted for a few days. She hoped that she could go to visit him with Ichigo, but he was recently going out early and returning till late that he was now sporting a light shade of dark around his eyes. So it seemed that he was unavailable to accompany her…

She felt the gun in her pocket, puffed enough courage in her chest and stepped out of the door.

"Still having a bun for your hand?" Renji was still bedridden, but he was starting to show healthy colours on his face. "I'm almost well to leave, and you're still in such a beaten state…"

Orihime raised a brow as she poked the bandage on his waist with her fingertips, and he squealed like a pig.

"Almost well, huh?" She smiled. "Why're you screaming louder than me the beaten?"

"I wouldn't have saved you if I'd known it!" He shielded his belly as much as he could with his hands.

"No use crying over spilt milk."

Both of them talked and joked. This was the first time that Orihime was so relaxed after the incident; she has been really nervous about being just herself at home. She would like some company, but Ichigo was extremely busy recently, so it could not be helped for him to leave her all alone. It was perhaps that in the moments of putting your lives on the line that strong bonds of friendship would be born easily.

"It seems that you're gravely wounded." He noticed how she jumped when it was only the nurse entering. "I'm not talking about your hand; that'd heal in time. I'm talking about your heart. You're now very safe in here, don't you know it yourself?"

"I have no idea at all," She was completely deflated. "If it's men, I'll recall those drug-abusing lunatics. If it's women, I'll think of Matsumoto Rangiku, who tried to put me in that situation." Her shoulders dropped frailly. "I seem to have lost faith and confidence in human."

"How could you lose that?" Renji half-joked with her. "I've finally had a bit of good feelings with my life because of you. Have you discussed this matter with Ichigo yet?"

"He just scolded me for being an idiot." She pouted. "I knew that answer for a long time that I don't need him to remind me!"

"Ichigo's been a smart guy all the time since I've known him." Renji sighed heavily. "Perhaps he's too smart that he's guarded himself heavily to get himself know the feeling of being weak. Listen well, Orihime." He grew serious. "There're indeed bad people in this world, and there's one in front of your eyes—you don't have to deny it so quickly; it's a fact. However, there're reasons for every 'bad guy' to form. There're good sides and bad sides of a bad guy, but it's just that the ratio of them is imbalanced. If you couldn't resist to my material enticements, then you'll really fall because of my 'bad'. You may become a bar maid, or a MMS or just a plaything. If you're lucky you may get rid of me, but never the wounds in your heart. However, you're never enticed, so my 'bad' had no influence to you. Therefore, bad guys aren't that scary."

She protested weakly, "But I've no whatever relationships with those girls! Why are they trying to hurt me then?"

"Well, I think it is jealousy." Renji considered for a while. "They've long been dyed to the bones in this murky vat and now way beyond repair. Being in the same vat, yet you're never influenced in any bit, so I think they aren't very happy with it." What he did not tell her was that he has once felt like that as well.

"But," Orihime was still depressed, but she started to sound brighter. "I can't be like them because they'll be unhappy…besides, I also find myself very stupid…"

"It's better for you to maintain this silliness," He joked. "I'll be more familiar with it." Upon seeing Orihime's frown, his face hardened again. "However, Orihime, the bad people you've met are way more than good people, right? As I've said, there're indeed bad people in this world, but why live in unhappiness and worry about that all day long as you resist the help of the good people? It is way better to live happily every day before anything bad falls upon us. Worrying wouldn't make things better, right?"

Orihime screwed her face as she thought. "…Yeah. So you mean that I can presume that everyone is good people?"

"Presume, but not 'be convinced'." Renji accentuated. "Everyone could turn from good to bad, or the opposite. All it depends is the opportunity. Therefore you have to be careful, but not decline, understand? This is a talk with a bad guy's experience."

She grabbed his hand. "I've started to understand a little about your words. To me, you're already a good man. So, can I put this presumption on Ishida Uryuu?" She was eager to go to that doujinshi show, but as for her fear for this man…she could not help it but took a step back. Getting an extra piece of friendly advice from a wise person—Renji, in here—beforehand is a sapient thing to do.

"I can't give you an absolute answer on this question." This time, even his brown eyes were glowing with solemnity, that Orihime sensed even dangers behind that gaze. "This man's as much praised as blamed. Besides, I don't know him very well. Why don't you discuss this with Ichigo? You may get more than adequate information from him than anyone else if he's willing to tell you."

She gazed at him for a while. "Then, are you willing to tell me about what kind of person Ichigo is?"

"No." Renji said crisply. "If I were you, I'd continue to see him as my boss, a supermodel whose beauty transcends his gender, or a person whom I fancy."

"I-I'm not—" Her face flushed crimson in a second.

"In all, whether telling you or not is his own business. If he's willing to tell you, then wait for that day to come. If he isn't, then just knowing that he's a reliable people would be enough." He said sincerely. "To him, it's a deep jagged wound. No matter how good the words you may use, you'd dredge up his pain and reopen that wound anyway. Since this, so you'll have to wait. When he feels like talking, when he's ready to tell you, you'll listen to him. Remember: don't open Pandora's Box. You'll just wait until then (2)."

She digested Renji's words in her heart, and they indeed had a miraculous power to her as she was not so terrified when she was on the way home in the rather-bumpy bus. It was rewarding when talking with him as she gained in sagacity. How did Renji walk on the path to "badness"? Why did he go on this path that earns his living with female bodies? She did not dare to ask him. That matter was his "wound".

Once she entered the living room, she spotted Ichigo with his typical scary glacial expression. Just as she wanted to apologize, she discovered that it was not because of her lateness, but Ishida Uryuu who was sitting in the sofa, exposed to that coldness.

"Where have you gone to?" A bit of frost melted away from his charming face when he saw her. "You're late."

"I've gone to visit Renji and had a talk with him. Ishida-san." She nodded gently to greet.

"Is your hand feeling better?" He said caringly with a worried look.

"Thank you for your concern. It's much better now." She sat down carefully beside Ichigo and saw the little presents of a get-well card and a bundle of flowers on the coffee table.

"Please leave, Ishida-san." Ichigo loosened his hard scowl. "Thank you for visiting Orihime. She's alright now, as you can see here. It's getting late, and I think it's time for us to call it a day and rest."

"That's true." The glassed man stood up elegantly. "Especially Orihime with that hurt wrist, it's good for you to rest early." They all went to the front gate of the house and Uryuu climbed into his car. "Ah, yes right, Inoue-san; it's the show the day after tomorrow. Are you interested in it? You're also welcome to come with us, Kurosaki-san."

Although he wanted to refuse, he noticed Orihime dropping her head a little to conceal her eagerness. He has been blaming himself for leaving Orihime all alone in the house with heavy fear as he was occupied by both his job and private life. However, she has not uttered a word of complaint and kept it all to herself. It pained him to see her depressed, and his heart softened as he learnt what could cheer her up and finally see her sunny smiles again.

"The one organized by Hueco Mundo? I'll be going with Orihime, so you don't have to trouble yourself to bring her." Ichigo said.

"I'll be looking forward to seeing both of you then." He smiled as he pushed his glasses. "After all, I'm also part with the business of doujinshi trading. I'm pretty obligated to go too."

"It's a society of freedom. None can stop you from exposing to publicity with the general public frequenting." The model shrugged. "We'll be arriving in the afternoon, so we'll meet, perhaps."

"Please also bring your artworks along with you that day to the venue, Inoue-san." He started the car. "I'm hoping to see them."

Ichigo tried to equip himself with the knowledge of doujinshi as much as he could before that day came. In the end, he just could not get to have the full picture with Orihime's three-hour lecture. Even so, he went to the venue with her with still a lot of unanswered questions flying around in his head. There was no way he would go back on his words as he has promised to go with her. On the way there, he tried to keep his face straight as not to show the signs of terror that have been brewing ever since they left home. He just knew in his guts that something was bound to happen very soon.

And let him be damn right.

From Orihime's point of view, it was a joyous day. She met with Chizuru again and the two hyper girls bounced around and squealed at whatever perked their interests. As asked by Uryuu, she has brought her drawings and let the people from Chizuru's company, Dangai, to have a look. They were all stunned by the fine work she did, and when they learnt that it was a professional model—not to mention super—standing in front of their eyes all that time, they broke out into shrieks after a full five-minute silence. They gave a least damn to Ichigo's cold dagger-like glares and intimidating expression, dragged him away and asked him to do cosplay with them. When all done, they squealed at the prefect make-ups Orihime did to bring out the verve of the original character: a coquettishly gorgeous female.

To Ichigo, on the other hand, it was a day of disasters. He just gave a soft grunt of approval to that "cosplaying" thing, and he nearly fainted at that huge rack of clothes he needed to fit in. Not that he had never seen that amount; heck, he has fitted in way more than those in a single show, but it was all rags and patches cut and made from window curtains, (Orihime scolded him harshly for that comment.) which they called them to be "clothes". He knew that Orihime's make-ups for him were always perfect; he knew it instantly from the girls' gasps. When he opened his eyes to look at the mirror, he felt like fainting for real, caring not a bit about his pride of being the strong. Was that really him in the mirror?! Why did he look like one of the characters he has seen in one of Orihime's video games?! To those otaku, his usual fearsome glare was the symbol of "coolness", "handsomeness" and "charisma", all in one. He was forced to give signatures until his hand was so sore that he could no longer hold the pen properly. When they finally stepped out from the "hellhole", he swore that he would never participate in any of these masquerades.

"What masquerade?!" Orihime protested. "Cosplaying is just part of the event! Aw ~ there're even peddling booths! There're so many creative mangas by those great artists, and you just turned them a cold shoulder! Then you positioned it as a masquerade…you're an enemy to the anime and manga universe!"

"So what?!" Ichigo retorted as she removed the make-up for him. "Once I stepped close to a booth, they came at me like flies attracted to a piece of rotting meat…"

From Orihime's joyous laughter, he finally discovered that women are way more horrible than man, and the same goes to the general law-abiding people and the ones in the Dark…

"You're so pathetic, Ichi-nii." Karin frowned. "Just a few women and you're scared of them? And you call yourself a fitting model for women's wears, a career you're having flocks of girls by your sides around the clock?"

"I'll bring you there next time if you want to, Karin." It was Ichigo's turn to scowl; he hardly did so in front of his sisters. "They could never find a suitable person for L. With the sleepy panda eyes you're having now, just give a bit of gel to your hair, you'll do it perfectly even without any make-up."

"Hey! Don't link me up with that dead-eyes sweet-tooth! Firstly, I'm not living like a caveman as you are, so I know Light, L and the others from Death Note. Besides, I'm a girl with boobs! Call me a tom again and you're dead by my fist!" And Ichigo knew that she was not joking; Karin could throw good punches at anyone—brother or not—if she wished to.

The two of them have been staying up for the night, looking through all the gathered information done by Karin's subordinates. They hoped to skim them through as much as go to sleep, but they did not want to miss out any important details. Now, late at three in the silent night at Ichigo's place, both sported bloodshot sleepy eyes. The pot kept screaming nonstop on the stove, and it seemed that they were in desperate need of buying a new jug of coffee. They did not have to worry about all the commotion that would wake Orihime up; Ichigo has placed tiny silencers in her room in case that he had to work late at night. However, after all the all-nights for days straight, he was now thinking that there were more caffeine streaming in his veins than his own blood cells.

"It's all normal." Karin rubbed her eyes and yawned loudly; her brother has forbidden tobacco within his territory, and she was now in a terrible mood without a puff. "The accounts of Ginrei Kojaku are so normal that it's like they're fake! They've reported the problem of amphetamine is the supplier's fault, but we've already verified with the supplier that their stocks are normal as well. Ishida Uryuu's hardly suspicious in actions in these few months. To popularize the culture of doujinshi, he's even gone to foreign countries in person for meetings, proposing to publish doujinshi of fine quality. I've already talked with Kurotsuchi about it." She nursed at her throbbing temples and shot a glance to her brother. "Do you think it's really the right place to start our investigation, Ichi-nii? It seems that we're now on the side tracks."

Ichigo shrugged as he rested a bit in the sofa. Indeed, these all commanded true hard evidences. Just a few times of delivering wrong goods could not be a proper reason to be dubious of. "How about the news from Chad?" He asked.

"It looks like they're having some sorts of commotions there, but he's noticed me that he doesn't have any relevant information for us." Karin furrowed her brows. "He told us that there's suddenly a man popping out to capture the throne of the Mexican Empire, claiming himself to be 'Hamlet'. It's no wonders; their old man had so many affairs that the hands are now coming back for the helm. With the civil war, how could he split himself to help us? Humph, I've long said that all the men in the world—no offence, Ichi-nii—are idiots without brains, following what their groins tell them to do…" Karin kept on babbling her Theory of Man's Horror, which Ichigo was no stranger to. Without another word, he turned around and came face-to-face with a white ceramic vase that Orihime has spent a load of time on polishing it into a mirror. With that, one could see his reflection on it.

"Oh God, after almost half a month of all-night, my skin's turned rough!" He lamented on his lot. "I couldn't even start to imagine how I could apply make-up. Oh God…"

"Damn it," Karin couldn't take it; oh, her admirable, heroic brother ~ ! "Could you please not bring in your spirit of being a model into your daily life, Ichi-nii? You're a fucking man, not a sissy woman!"

"Then could you please not carry on your O Great Theory of Man's Horror, Karin?" This tactic of violence-for-violence worked pretty well.

The sister sighed and raked her fingers through her messy hair. Being in the Dark Path means to be accompanied by rough violent men and female prostitutes, and the former came in greater numbers. Being a rough violent man meant trouble, and being a rough violent man without brains to hide his lust is a trouble with pounding headache. She had to hold her fiery tomboyish demeanour to keep those men at bay, or else they would pounce on her if she let her guard down for a moment. Finally, she came to a conclusion: other than her Ichi-nii, Sado-san and some nameable reliable man that the total amount never exceeded ten, all the male species are literally useless—save for leaving seeds for their offspring and another headache to them the women again—and have different degrees of brain damage.

"Will you still not go visit Dad?" She began to tidy the files tiredly.

"Did you forget that his heart beat raced wildly the last time I went?" He helped tidying. "I don't want him to die of heart failure albeit my hatred towards him."

"That old man had better not to die so early…" She muttered. "I've yet sought my revenge on him…"

Ichigo only shook his head and stretched his limbs to loosen them.

"Just help me for a few more days," Karin yawned again. "I've yet unearthed Dad's little evil side-job. If you don't, it'll get nasty when something do happen."

He nodded with a heavy sigh; he has been very busy these days, and the time he could offer on Orihime were greatly whittled down. However, it was the best for him to be frank.

He knew that covering the truth is nothing far from lying, and he detests it.

"My father's now in hospital because of apoplexy." He told the news to Orihime the next morning. "I've got to help my sister for the time being."

"…The one we met in Phuket?" She asked, slightly stunned.

"Yep, that wench. Now Oyaji's on the sickbed and even unable to speak. From what I've heard from Karin, he's yet overcome the critical stage…" Well, it was pretty amusing; unable to speak, but still have the strength to throw tempers. The last time he only made half a step into the room, the machine beeped at an alarmingly fast rate and he was being stared at with a pair of furious black eyes. "This sister's the one-and-only nearest and dearest I've got now, and I'm not that kind of hard-hearted person who would turn down on his family's requests…what's with the bulging eyes? It's giving me creeps." He frowned disapprovingly.

"You really have a family with a father!" Orihime exclaimed unbelievingly. "I've always thought that you popped out from a rock—hey, why you are hitting me again?! A sinfully gorgeous person should never use violence!"

He wondered about this damsel's brain construction. "In all, I'll be spending less time at home recently. If you're afraid of being alone, do you want to move to live with Yoruichi-san and Urahara-san for a few days? Other than the fact that they're acting lovey-dovey despite their age, they're very kind and would always welcome anyone with open arms. They won't mind a bit, as I can see that they've taken a liking towards you since you've met last time."

"No, I'll be waiting at home." She said determinedly. "Besides, it doesn't mean that you're not returning, right? Ah, that's right; do you know that Urahara-san's invited us to attend their Iron Wedding Anniversary? By the way…how many years is it for an Iron Wedding Anniversary?"

"Iron, huh? That's six years." Ichigo grinned brightly; it was the rarest sight that Orihime has ever beheld of him. This guy rarely showed a smile in front of anyone, let alone grinning like a sun. "I don't have time to attend, so please remember to remind me to order a nice present for them, okay?"

"Just six?" They were in their sixties albeit their young appearances, and she thought that they have been couples for decades. "A late accompany, then? Then whose nursemaid was Yoruichi-san? Your father's, or your mother's?" She has never imagined the life of a Sloane, let alone experienced it firsthand, so she was very curious about the little details with sparkling eyes.

"Mine." Looking at her evident disbelief on her face, he frowned disapprovingly. "What, I can't have a nursemaid myself? Because I'm the firstborn and my mother's very inexperienced about the things of pregnancy, so she's pretty weak when she gave birth to me. I've heard that she's nearly died then, and it's really a miracle that she's still able to give birth to my pair of twin sisters again, but they're the last for her."

Orihime wanted to hear more about his family, but Renji's words suddenly popped up in her mind and made her reign her horses in. So, she focused on their current topic and did the calculations in her mind. "So, Yoruichi-san's already forty-something then…"

Eh ~ ! She was an advanced mother, then?!

"Does being a nursemaid have an age-limit?" He knocked her head. "My family's straight to the rule of breastfeeding to bring up a baby. Yoruichi-san used to be taking care of my grandfather, but at that time, he passed away due to old age and her newborn baby couldn't live through its first day, so she's settled with caring me. All these years," His expression softened. "All those left to be my closest family members—blood-related or not—are Karin and Yoruichi-san."

It was so…legendary! Out of the blue, a storyline appeared in Orihime's mind, and fragments of scenes flashed here and there. Her dream of creating her own manga finally had a chance to come true at this moment.

The title? Let's call it El Modelo de Magia – the Magic Model. As for the main character, it must the glorious Ichigo, of course.

Her lips were pulled into a smile.

On the day of the celebration, the restaurant became boisterous, flooded by the invited guests' merry laughter. After helped by Orihime, in a bright-coloured dress, Yoruichi came out with redder cheeks on her dark-skinned face, and it was not because of the blushers Orihime used. A smile adorned her kind face, and her topaz-yellow eyes gleamed like a playful kitten. Despite her age with the little wrinkles, in Urahara-san's eyes, she's the most splendid woman in the world.

When receiving the present, the lady rejected nervously, "Oh, my! Such a wonderful gold necklace is meant to be worn by you young girls, not this old lady…"

"Yoruichi-san, I've searched throughout the entire jewellery shop for this necklace!" After some hand-fights, Orihime finally got to put it around her neck. "The design's called 'the Tracks of Love', and it contains the wish that both of you could make it to the Gold Anniversary! Here, Urahara-san, let me help you!"

"I-It's kind of…embarrassing…" The old man blushed despite having his bucket hat shadowing his face. "Of course, of course…"

The purple-haired lady cried as she saw her refraction in the mirror. "We're at such an old age, Kisuke, but I've never left you any child…not even a girl…"

"What're you talking about, my dear…don't cry on such a good day, it'll turn bad…"

Orihime wiped her tears away tenderly. "Isn't Ichigo like a son to you? Haven't you brought him up to a healthy adult man? He's been much occupied recently, but he's not forgotten you and asked me to get this necklace for you…" Speaking of him, her heart clenched a bit. "He asked me to help you put it on by myself. Please don't cry, Yoruichi-san…I want to too if you do so…" Oh, how I missed him…

"It's alright, it's alright," The lady sniffed and coaxed the girl into calmness. "Shh, Orihime-chan, don't cry anymore. Come, let's try some of Kisuke's own cooking…"

The frequent customers cheered. "Yeah, ol' Kisuke's cooking is great! We hope you have a happy life in the future, Yoruichi-san, and you may even have a baby next year too! Then we can have double parties! Keep it up, ol' Kisuke!"

Not knowing what to reply, Urahara stuttered with a flushed face, "Yes, of course…"

The entire restaurant was in such a ruckus that Orihime thought that it may collapse from the noise. She weaved her way out from the crowd with a bowl of noodles made by the old man himself in her hands. Just as she was looking for a quieter spot to sit down and eat, she was startled by a voice, "Over here, Inoue-san! A vacant seat!"

To her shocking surprise, she found that Ishida Uryuu was here too, waving at her.

"You…" Orihime was unconvinced by the sight. "Why're you here too, Ishida-san?" She could not imagine that such a finely-clothed man would appear in this plain little shop instead of grand restaurants.

"Well, it's because I love the dishes of this place, which give me a feeling of a caring mother cooking for her beloved children." He smiled as he pushed his glasses. "Come, it's rare to get ol' Urahara-san to cook, and he cooked soba noodles for everyone just for today!"

Orihime took a slurp of it and snorted a soft laugh. "I've never seen a wedding anniversary to be so extravagant with all the food and stuff. I believed that it's no birthday today, so why the noodles…?"

"Wedding is a sign of having a long happy life with your other half, like noodles (3), right?" Uryuu answered quietly. "So I don't see any weirdness in eating noodles today. Besides, it's my birthday today."

Orihime blinked. "Oh! Erm…happy birthday!"

How embarrassing…she never thought that it was his birthday! What could she now give him as a present? She was so deep in thoughts that she dropped her chopsticks. Out of good will, Uryuu bent down to pick them up for her and noticed something bulgy in her pocket as she bent down as well. He raised a brow.

"That shouldn't be a pocket pistol in the pocket at your waist as I've believed to be, right?"

Her hand moved to the holster and screamed in terror in her heart.

Instead of making a noise, Uryuu ate his noodles unhurriedly. With a red face, Orihime also ate in silence. After they have finished their shares, the glassed man stood up, "Come, let's talk in my car."

Orihime hesitated about whether she should go or not and he urged, "Come quickly. If you don't…I'll cry out that you're having a gun with you."

He was really a bad guy! Scrunching up her face, Orihime followed him into his car most unwillingly.

"Give it to me." That action was way more unwilling—well, if there is "more" beyond that of "most". "A survival gun? Do you know that it's only got one shot? This type of guns is very rare now, and it's used to be part of a secret agent's standard kit. Who gave this to you?" He twisted it around, playing it in his fingers.

"I'm not telling you!" Orihime said, puffing out her cheeks to pout. "Besides, I've no intention to kill anyone. It's just for some sort of self-defence in case I run into bad people."

"If you miss the single shot, what's the use of that? Have you ever practiced your marksmanship?"

She shook her head sadly.

"Let's go then and help you get some practice for that." A step on the accelerator, they whooshed off to the busier business district of the town and arrived at a special shop selling firearms for war games. Without another word, he chose a random BB gun with the price tag clearly indicating a number that made Orihime's jaw drop to the floor and paid for it generously. "Try practicing with it at home. You should go to the Philippines and have a taste of the real things, but I'm certain that your protective guardian would skin me alive if he's here and hears me saying so. Well, just have some simple drills with this toy; it's better than nothing, for you can't fire the real thing at home."

Baffled, she accepted this kind of present, not knowing how to define this man: bad or good. If she had not been able to decide on it for weeks, then it was still futile in the short travel back home in his car.

"Please wait me for a few minutes," She said to Uryuu, who was going to drive off after seeing her at the gate. She rushed in to fetch her sketchbook and drew a sketchy portrait of the glassed man. She handed to him shyly. "Well…happy birthday to you, Ishida-san!"

Though surprised, Uryuu recovered quickly and took it, admiring her sunshine smile.

"Thank you for driving me home! See you next time!" The smile never faltered, she waved energetically and finally disappeared behind the front door of the house.

He was deep in thoughts, pushing his glasses, as he looked at the true-to-life sketch. Is this how I look like with this expression? Do I look so sad and unhappy like this?

The more he thought, the more he wanted to rip it apart. However, he did not fathom why he could not bring himself to do so after a while of hesitation, as he slipped it into his suitcase like some kind of scarce treasure. He just did not know why, and he did not want to know why.

Settling his face to a hard expression, he drove off and it required him a lot to focus on the traffic. His thoughts were like a raging sea in his heart.

This could change nothing. Even with Orihime's cheery, radiant attitude, it fell weak for saving someone like him. It was already too late.

The day for him to rise the curtains…drew closer…closer…

Explanations:

(1) Same explanation as in Chapter 1.

(2) Cookies to those who know who's said this great logic originally! ^^

(3) I don't really know about Japanese culture, but in some parts of China, especially in the northern parts, noodles are eaten to celebrate one's birthday for a long life.

Author Speaking:

Whoa! Seems that there're a lot of confusions and problems brewing in here with the cliffhanger! I assure you that we're reaching to the main points very soon, so I ask for patience from you guys.

Before you want to know what's going to happen, please leave some nice comments and reviews by clicking the attractive blue link below!

Kuroi Kokoro 09