The New Mrs. Kurosaki
Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

A few weeks later….
Karakura High School; 6:00 PM

Ichigo sat on the rooftop of his school, eating a sandwich he'd been given thanks to Tessai. He'd hardly come home anymore thanks to his father's budding relationship with Orihime. Now he just ate at Kisuke's place and slept on a rooftop. Kisuke was alright with feeding Ichigo but he, like everyone else, was becoming more and more perplexed about what Ichigo's problem was.

Taking a break from his Hollow hunting duties, Ichigo looked out at the sky and watched the sun set. He looked in the direction of his home and sighed. He hadn't been home in days now and he knew his sisters must be getting worried.

Shaking his head, he merely looked down at the ground and felt glumness take over. He'd told himself that he should be happy for his father and Orihime a thousand times, that this shouldn't bother him. Orihime was practically a full-grown adult and could make her own choices. It was clear to him when he saw them at the festival that they had feelings for each other that hadn't been from the booze. And he knew his father, one of the best men he'd ever known in his life, deserved some companionship to make up for the years since he'd lost his wife, Ichigo's mother. Still…

Ichigo just couldn't accept this.

The boy sat on the rooftop, watching the sun go down while wallowing in confusion. Was he jealous of them? Was he angry at Orihime for falling for his father? Or was he angry that she was trying to replace his mother? Did his deep-seated resentment come from his father having sexual relations with one of his best friends? Or did it come from some weird envy that made Ichigo jealous it wasn't him sleeping with Orihime.

Whatever Ichigo felt, his musings were halted when he heard footsteps on the rooftop. Turning around, he expected to see Uryu or Rukia and readied himself for their cynical scolding only to find it wasn't either of them walking towards him.

It was Orihime.

The orangette, still in her school uniform, walked over to Ichigo and sat down next him. The two friends sat in awkward silence until Orihime broke the ice between them. "Your dad is worried about you. You haven't been home for a while."

Ichigo was silent for a moment before finally turning to look at her. He examined her face and saw that she was looking at him with a stern gaze. He'd never seen her like this before and it unnerved him a little. "Do my sisters know about you and my Dad?" was the first thing he asked.

Orihime scooted closer and nodded. "Yeah. They were a little shocked. But Karin approves and Yuzu is really supportive of your dad." When Ichigo returned to being silent, Orihime turned away, choosing her next words. Finally, she asked what she and Isshin had been wondering for days. "Ichigo…do you hate me?"

The orange-haired boy's eyes widened and he quickly shook his head. "No, I don't hate you. I don't know why I feel like this." When Orihime turned back to him he looked her in the eyes. "I should be happy for you. I keep wondering why I keep feelng angry and bitter." Looking in Orihime's eyes, Ichigo was reminded of the night he caught her and his father in bed together. "Orihime, are you happy being with my father?"

"Yes," Orihime replied immediately. "He makes me feel wonderful." She put her hands to her heart and smiled. "I don't think he's been this happy for a long time either." Saying those words, however, gave Orihime a clue to Ichigo's problem. "Ichigo, can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Do you love me?"

Time stood still as Ichigo and Orihime looked each other in the eye. Ichigo was at a loss for words, having never anticipating that question from Orihime of all people. He closed his eyes and looked deep into his own maze of emotions before coming with the answer to the question that had plagued Orihime for so very long.

"No," he finally admitted. "You're my friend, Orihime. And you'll always be my friend but…I don't love you the same way you love me.

A tiny part of Orihime was saddened when he said the word, having always dreamed of Ichigo confessing his love for her. However, her growing affection for Isshin held tempered the disappointment. Closing her eyes, she remembered the moment she almost kissed Ichigo and finally understood why she couldn't go through with it. What she had for him wasn't genuine love but just schoolgirl affection.

She didn't love him either.

"I see…" Orihime said, turning away.

Ichigo took her reaction for utter heartbreak and took hold of her hand. "I'm sorry…."

"It's okay. You were honest with me, that's all that matters. But…" when she looked up again Ichigo could see the hurt in her eyes. "You knew, didn't you? You knew I had feelings for you." It was a statement, not a question and Ichigo knew it. "Why didn't you say anything before?"

Ichigo looked away ashamed at himself. "You were always kind to me. You treated me with such generosity and care that I didn't know how to turn you down without trampling all over your heart," he said.

Orihime took her hand out of Ichigo's and frowned. "So were you just going to string me along until I got fed up?" she asked angrily.

Suddenly Ichigo was wishing he wasn't there at the moment. "No!" he quickly said, trying to calm down the fire in Orihime's eyes. "I just…didn't want to hurt you."

Orihime sighed. On one hand she could see why Ichigo didn't say anything. If he'd told her he didn't love her before her new relationship with his father, she'd have been completely heartbroken. But on the other hand, Ichigo would have strung her along until her feelings had petered out. "So why are you angry?"

Ichigo opened his mouth to reply when he realized something: the anger and jealousy he'd been feeling was dying away inside of him. "I think…I think I was just as confused for my feelings towards you. I knew you loved me but when I saw you with my father I didn't know what to feel. I think telling you about how I feel helped a little." He took hold of her hand again and looked her in her hazel eyes. "I'm sorry for putting you through all of that."

The smile on Orihime's face helped melt his shame. "It's alright. I can accept that you didn't want to hurt me." She squeezed his hand before smiling. "You should really come home. Yuzu's cooking is super good."

Deciding that he needed to stop being so childish and accept that his father and Orihime were happy together, Ichigo reached out and hugged her. "Okay. Let's go home." He stood up and put Zangetsu on his back. Reaching for Orihime he wrapped an arm around her. "Hang on, I'll Flashstep us home."

Happy that the rift between them had been mended, Orihime wrapped her arms around Ichigo and together the two sped away, Ichigo not stopping until they were standing in his bedroom. Breaking the embrace, Ichigo walked over to Kon, who was napping in his Human body, and knocked him out of it with his combat pass. Getting back into his Human body, he opened the door and the two walked downstairs. The sound of his sisters making dinner came from the kitchen. He saw his father on the sofa and took a deep breath. "Hey, Dad?"

Isshin looked up and realized that it was the real Ichigo standing before him, not Kon. "Yeah, Ichigo?" he asked with uncertain eyes.

"Can I talk to you? Alone?" he said, giving a glance to Orihime. Isshin looked at Orihime, who understood and left the room to go help the twins. Getting up, Isshin gestured for Ichigo to follow into his room. When he closed the door he turned around to face his son.

"Dad…" Ichigo took a deep breath before looking at his father. "I'm…I'm sorry for the way I've been acting." As Isshin sat down on the bed, he gestured for his son to take a seat next to them. "I've thought about it long and hard and…if you and Orihime want to be a couple, then I'm okay with it. It's just going to take a while to get used to it."

Smiling, Isshin put a hand on his son's shoulder and nodded. "Okay. I'm glad we managed to get past this. I would've gone to you sooner but I felt that this was something that Orihime could handle better than I."

"Yeah," Ichigo said scratching the back of his head. "Um…just promise me one thing?"

"Shoot."

All Ichigo could do was deadpan as he stared at his father. "Please don't make a giant poster of Orihime like you did Mom…."

Isshin chuckled awkwardly before kicking the large poster he had rolled up under the bed. "Sounds reasonable enough…." Standing up, he opened the door. "C'mon, Ichigo. Let's go have some dinner." Ichigo nodded and followed him out of the door.

To be continued