A/N: Hello again! I hope you're all as eager as I am to see where this chapter takes us! But, as I have nothing productive or amusing to add, I'll say no more! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Bleach is owned by someone who is not me.

Soul Mates

Chapter 11: The Waiting Game

It was late, and Ichigo was once again having trouble sleeping. So, after rolling onto his side in a failed attempt to get more comfortable, he decided to ask the question that he hadn't thought about until shortly after Chad and Uryuu had left for the night.

"Hey, Orihime," he called, knowing she wouldn't be asleep.

The healer perked up immediately, asking, "What is it, Ichigo?"

"Ah, I was wondering…and this might sound stupid, but, do you know why Tatsuki hasn't been over to beat the crap outta me yet?" He suspected that Rukia and Renji had forgotten about Orihime's best friend, as they weren't that close to her, but he had been surprised to realize that neither Chad nor Uryuu had mentioned her, either.

Orihime laughed softly before she said, "Did you forget about her tournament?"

Ichigo blinked. Come to think of it, he did remember something about Tatsuki having an out-of-town tournament during summer break. "Was that this week?"

Orihime nodded, though the gesture was pointless, and replied, "And next week, yes. She left the day before I ended up in here, and she's not supposed to be back until the weekend before school starts up again. Not that the tournament lasts that long; her family's detouring to her grandmother's for a little visit while they're out."

She paused in her explanation, and her next words were murmured, clearly thoughts that were being realized out loud. "That's probably part of why I felt so lonely that night…."

Ichigo's eyes widened. She couldn't mean…?

"Eh? Mean what?" Orihime asked, having heard his thoughts and clearly not realizing that she'd spoken hers aloud.

The hollow snickered, interrupting their conversation to tease, "Open channel, King."

Ignoring the fiend, Ichigo swallowed and replied, "Ah, what I meant was…that lonely feeling you were just talking about, were you thinking about that the night you ended up in my inner world?"

Orihime sucked in a breath, immensely glad he couldn't see her immediate flush, and she took a minute to compose her response before she admitted, "Yes. It was just one of those things that crops up every now and then, though; nothing to worry about!"

Ichigo allowed a brief chuckle to rumble up inside of him as he said, "I wasn't worried. I asked because…that's…what I was thinking about before I fell asleep that night."

Silence stretched between them for a minute before Orihime finally breathed, "It is?"

"Yeah," Ichigo replied honestly. He refused to get into the details, but in generic terms it certainly seemed noteworthy that they had been reflecting on the same concept. "I'll try to remember to tell Urahara about this in the morning. Maybe it's relevant somehow."

Orihime hummed an agreement, all the while secretly praying that Urahara wouldn't ask for detailed descriptions of their thoughts. There was no way she could admit the truth about that, especially when the very subject of those thoughts was the one who would have to repeat them aloud.

After another minute, in an attempt to change the subject, Orihime said, "You know, Ichigo, you should probably be trying to sleep."

Grinning now, Ichigo replied, "Yes, ma'am."

Kisuke Urahara hummed thoughtfully the following morning after Ichigo had given him the information that he'd learned the night before. "That is certainly interesting," he mumbled with a faint nod of his head.

Trying not to glare at him, Ichigo asked, "Do you think it's relevant?"

Urahara lifted his gaze from the table and smiled broadly. "I think it's too much of a coincidence not to be! But, for now, let's not worry about it. I've got some new information to mull over, so you should figure out a way to distract yourself for a few hours."

Ichigo grunted and turned his glare to the half-eaten breakfast before him. After a long minute he begrudgingly picked up his fork and resumed eating.

Quickly finishing his tea, Urahara pushed to his feet and exclaimed, "Well, if you'll excuse me, I'll be in my office for a while!" And then he swept from the room.

Ichigo, Renji, and Rukia stared after the shopkeeper in wide-eyed silence for a beat.

Finally, Renji asked, "He has an office?"

Yoruichi shifted in her seat opposite the trio, idly dancing her chopsticks around on her plate as she declared, "You know, Ichigo, if you want something to do to pass the time, I'm sure someone would be willing to spar with you."

Before Ichigo could respond, Rukia asked, "Is that a good idea? I thought Urahara said not to push himself?"

With a broad grin Yoruichi replied, "It's just a little sparring. He probably exerted more energy fighting those intruders the other day."

"Yeah, alright," Ichigo said, setting down his fork. "I'm game."

Yoruichi shifted her gaze back to Ichigo and gave him a pointed look. "Don't look at me like that; I never said I'd spar with you. I was just making a suggestion."

"Well," Renji declared as he pushed to his feet, "you'll have to call Chad or Uryuu then, 'cause I'm on patrol-duty this morning."

Ichigo slid his eyes toward Rukia curiously and she huffed at him.

"I'm not sparring with anyone until after lunch," Rukia stated firmly. "In fact, I'm going to go get some sleep." She stood as she spoke and strode purposefully from the room.

Ichigo sighed. "Great," he grumbled as he propped one elbow on his knee and dropped his chin into his hand. He paused a beat, turning over his options silently, and then he dipped his free hand into his pocket and fished out his cell phone.

Within minutes he had convinced both Chad and Uryuu to come over and meet him in Urahara's underground training room. Then he pushed to his feet, handed off his breakfast dishes, and started toward his borrowed room.

Orihime didn't speak up until he'd ditched his body and started for the ladder in the back of the shop. "Did you get Chad and Uryuu to agree to spar with you?"

Tone strangely light and teasing, Ichigo replied, "You mean you weren't listening?"

"I try to give you some privacy," Orihime defended self-consciously.

Ichigo chuckled before saying, "Yeah, they're on their way over. You gonna watch?"

Once again immensely glad that he couldn't see her flushing face, Orihime swallowed and nodded.

"He can't see you," the hollow whispered, suddenly crouching beside her. He was leaning close, and it was a long moment before he rocked back and stood properly.

"Orihime?" Ichigo asked. He suspected he was missing something again.

Snapping out of her startled shock, Orihime called, "Um, yes! I mean…if it's alright. If you'd rather I don't, that's ok-"

"As a matter of fact," Ichigo interrupted, "I'd prefer it."

Again Orihime was quiet for a moment, but this time only because she was surprised by his response. She had expected him to say something like 'it's up to you' or 'I don't really care,' but not 'I'd prefer it.'

She took another deep breath before finally saying, "Then I will."

Satisfied with her response, Ichigo pulled his attention outward again and lifted the hatch that led to the basement before jumping down.

Once he'd landed he took a moment to look around. I guess it's actually been a while since I've trained down here, he reflected. Training had come to seem rather unnecessary after the War, especially since he still had more than enough hollows to deal with to keep his skills honed.

Shrugging it off, Ichigo moved toward a tall pillar of rock and leapt to the top. He turned, then, and faced the ladder before settling back into a sitting position. Patience might not have been his strong suit, but he wasn't worried. His friends weren't likely to keep him waiting long.

And he was right.

Uryuu and Chad dropped down from the storefront only a few minutes later.

Both men stood easily and, brushing the light layer of dust that had been kicked up off of his clothes, Uryuu looked up at Ichigo and called, "Did you really call us here to spar?"

Ichigo smirked and leapt easily off of the pillar, landing before his friends as he said, "Yeah, something like that."

Uryuu lifted a quizzical eyebrow. "I can't help but feel like you had an ulterior motive. I thought Urahara recommended not pushing yourself?"

"You gonna try and kill me?" Ichigo returned, still smirking knowingly.

"Of course not," Uryuu replied as he adjusted his glasses reflexively.

Ichigo shrugged and said, "Then I'm not worried. But feel free to back down if you're not up for this."

Narrowing his eyes now at his friend, Uryuu asked, "I beg your pardon?"

Meeting his friend's challenging stare fearlessly, Ichigo said, "You heard me."

"Every man for himself?" Uryuu asked, right fist clenching in preparation.

"Nah," Ichigo replied, "I was thinking two-on-two."

The wide-eyed stares of his friends revealed their surprise before Uryuu repeated, "Two-on-two? Who's joining us?"

Ichigo lifted one hand, holding his index and middle fingers up and pointing them toward his friends as he slowly explained, "Two-on-two." He ended the gesture by turning those same fingers in and pressing them against his chest.

Realization dawning, Uryuu replied, "That's an interesting decision."

Arm falling back to his side, Ichigo said, "Someone put it into her head that she's weaker than the rest of us. I aim to change that by the time she's herself again."

Chad looked away, eyes narrowing in thought. He suspected he knew where that sense of weakness had come from.

Uryuu, however, held Ichigo's gaze firmly. "And did it ever occur to you that you might have something to do with that?"

Ichigo blanched at the accusation, but his shock quickly melted into anger and his fists clenched at his sides. "Where the hell do you come off suggesting that? I would never have said something like that to her!"

"Of course not," Uryuu agreed evenly. "But your actions could have. You're always the one insisting on walking her home from school or work. You always tell her to stand back from the fight. Those things suggest that you don't believe she can take care of herself."

He caught himself this time before he punched the Quincy. Because, as much as he wanted to be infuriated at the mere idea that someone could think he meant that, when Uryuu worded it that way he could actually see the argument. And, when he realized that he could well have contributed, he found he wanted to punch himself instead.

But he also knew that if he asked Orihime if she had interpreted his actions that way she would say she hadn't. Especially now that she knew (he hoped) that he didn't see her that way.

So, instead, he swallowed and kept his anger as far from his voice as he could manage. "It's not so black-and-white," he stated firmly. "Yeah, I don't like her walking home alone – especially at night; and yeah, I ask her to stand back from the fight when I can. But not because I don't think she can handle herself. I do those things because I want to protect her."

"We know that," Uryuu assured him. "But that in itself could be sending the wrong message. She could be under the impression that you're so desperate to protect her because she needs protecting."

Ichigo locked his jaw for a beat as he searched for the proper way to articulate his response. Words had never been his strong suit, but now – more than ever – his choice of words mattered. And he had somehow gotten himself cornered into a conversation that was going to force him to say something he wouldn't ordinarily be comfortable admitting.

"For the record," he finally said, "that's not how it is. I protect her because I need to protect her. Not because she can't protect herself, but because she shouldn't have to."

"Ichigo," Orihime breathed, her soft voice reverberating through him.

"I think I knew, deep down, that you protect me at least as much for your own sake as mine," she continued after a moment. "And I promise I was never bothered by you protecting me. If anything, I always hated that I was so weak that you had to – but I never thought you protected me because you thought I was weak." She paused, a matching smile curving her lips, and added, "Thank you, though."

Swallowing again, Ichigo released a breath and said, "You're welcome. And, just so you know, I really do intend to kick that 'weak' theory out of your head. But…I'm still going to protect you. So it's good that you can distinguish the difference."

"I can," she assured him calmly.

Silence stretched for a moment as Ichigo conversed with Orihime and Uryuu let his argument drop.

And then Chad spoke up quietly.

"I think I have an idea of where that thought came from," he admitted.

Ichigo turned his attention to his long-time friend, eyebrows raised in surprise.

Chad continued without provocation. "While everybody else was training for the War, Mr. Urahara called her over and told her that she needed to stay out of the fighting. He said she wasn't suited for that kind of battle, and that Squad Four would more than compensate for her abilities."

"He said what?" Ichigo's hollow demanded, giving voice to Ichigo's own thoughts.

Orihime cringed, knowing Ichigo would be displeased with that information.

Uryuu was still staring, wide-eyed, at Chad when Ichigo finally pulled together a response that didn't involve yelling. "Urahara…said that?"

Chad inclined his head. "I was right there when he told her. I heard the whole thing."

"That bastard," Ichigo growled, fists tight at his sides once more. He had half a mind to go beat the older man senseless right then and there. "Where the hell does he get off saying shit like that?"

"He said he wanted to shield her from the fighting," Chad replied.

"That's not how you shield someone, dammit!" Ichigo exclaimed as his feet began moving. He could spar later. Urahara had too much blood running through his veins, and he wholly intended to fix that for him.

"Ichigo," Uryuu called as the orange-haired teen stomped toward the ladder. The dark, twisting, heaviness of his spiritual pressure was verging on crushing.

"I'm gonna beat the ever-loving crap out of him," Ichigo declared. The ladder was almost in reach now.

"Don't do it," Orihime requested. Her voice was gentle, unobtrusive, but firm all the same. "That conversation happened a long time ago, and I'm not upset about it anymore."

Ichigo stopped walking, but he didn't turn around.

He'd been so focused on the words Urahara had said – and how he knew they had contributed to her self-image – that he hadn't thought about how she had actually reacted to them in the moment. He could only imagine how hard it was for her to hear those words.

"I won't say I wasn't hurt by what he said," Orihime admitted. "But…he was probably right, at least back then. And, in a strange way, what he said helped motivate me to make myself stronger. I wanted – want – to be stronger, so that I can fight beside you and not slow you down. But I also want to be stronger so that no one can say that to me again."

"He should never have said it to begin with," Ichigo replied. "And why is this the first I'm hearing about it?"

Orihime laughed self-consciously and said, "Actually, Rukia had wanted me to tell you, after I told her. But you were busy training and I didn't want to burden you with my hurt feelings, especially when I kind of agreed with him at the time. That was part of why I didn't stay to talk to you, though, after Hachi restored Tsubaki for me; I was afraid I'd start crying all over again and ruin your training."

Ichigo immediately recalled the time she was referring to. He'd put it out of his mind until then, but he remembered now that time she'd been brought to Hachi during his training with the Vizards. And he remembered wondering why she hadn't at least said hello. Guess now I know, he reflected.

"I'm sorry for keeping it from you," Orihime added softly. "I knew you'd only get upset, and with everything that happened after…it was pretty easy to put behind me. By the time I even remembered it again it seemed like kind of a silly point."

"But you talked to Rukia about it?" Ichigo asked.

"Heh, Rukia had the unfortunate luck of trying to walk into the shop as I was running out, and when I saw her I just sort of broke," Orihime explained. "I really had to tell her. And then she wanted me to tell you – I think so that the two of you could tag-team Mr. Urahara, but she never specified."

Ichigo took a deep breath. Orihime did have a point, if he was being honest with himself. It had been nearly two years now since that conversation had taken place; it would be stupid to make a big deal of it now. And she seemed to have genuinely put her initial reaction behind her.

Still, there was something he needed to know. "Did he ever at least apologize for what he said?"

Orihime hesitated. Technically the answer was simple. But telling him would be counterproductive to cooling his temper.

In the end, however, she could only be honest. "…No, he didn't."

"I say we kill him," the hollow suggested darkly. "Slice him open and dissect him – ought to be good irony, right?"

"We're not killing him," Ichigo replied after a beat. Voice firm, he added, "But he does owe you an apology, and I'm more than willing to beat it out of him if he doesn't offer it up."

"You really don't have to do that," Orihime insisted.

"That's up to me to decide," Ichigo argued. He turned around, however, and put his back to the ladder. "But I won't go out of my way to hunt him down, alright? And maybe this fight will get a little of the bloodlust out of my system."

Arching a brow pointedly, Uryuu asked, "Changed your mind already?"

Ichigo looked away and muttered, "Orihime doesn't think he deserves to have his ass handed to him."

Smirking now, Uryuu said, "Well, at least she seems to be a good influence on you."

Rolling his eyes now, Ichigo said, "Shut up. Are we doing this or not?"

Uryuu and Chad exchanged a brief look, nodding slightly, and then both men moved back, away from Ichigo.

"Oh, we're doing this," Uryuu assured him smugly. He easily summoned his bow, holding it with a faux-casualty at his side.

Chad silently activated the armor on his right arm, and together the two leapt, backwards, into the air.

Ichigo reached up and wrapped his hand around Zangetsu's hilt, a slow smirk curving his lips. Yeah, he was definitely in the mood for this.

"Now that's an interesting theory," Urahara murmured as he re-read the passage he had just discovered.

It was an old theory, one that was next to impossible to research and – therefore – virtually impossible to prove. But it was very well thought-out, and it fit the current situation better than anything else he'd found.

However, if it was true, then it would be a delicate subject to broach.

To Be Continued…

A/N: Can I just say that this story is tackling all sorts of issues/subjects that I did not see coming? This chapter alone is full of them! But I think it's working out well…although you're a better judge of that than I am! And, also, I'm sorry for the shorter-than-usual length of this one…I always seem to have that one chapter that just refuses to stretch any farther. Anyway, enough about me! Now it's your turn to do a little writing – right there in that review box. Just click the button! ^_~ Oh, and, I expect to see you all back for the next part!