A/N: Hello all! I do hope your continued return means that you're enjoying this story! And, obviously, I hope you enjoy this chapter, too!

Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to: someone else. Occasional OCs belong to: me. Got it?

Second Chance

Chapter Eight: Calm Before the Storm

Over a week had passed since Ichigo had begun shadowing Orihime, and everything had been peaceful. With not even one hint of a threat several of the volunteers had stopped showing up in the morning, and most of Squad Four had stopped looking over their shoulders whenever they traveled. Even Orihime seemed convinced that everyone had overreacted.

Ichigo, however, was less than convinced. Every day that passed without incident made him that much more alert.

He wanted to blame the tension in his muscles on the situation, too, but that would be mostly a lie. The tension was pure Orihime.

Still, if he had a choice, he would blame that tension for why he actually pulled Zangetsu from his back the moment an explosion echoed from down the hall. He felt Orihime move behind him, standing and reaching for her own zanpakutou no doubt, so he said, "Stay behind me."

Together they ran down the hall, Orihime directly behind him, towards the shouting that had begun a moment after the explosion.

"-out of my way!" a gruff, male voice demanded as they rounded the far corner.

Hanatarou held his hands in a pacifying gesture as he took a step backwards, away from the angry patient. "Now, please, there's no need to attack anyone, we're just trying to dress your wounds!"

The man Hanatarou was talking to had his back to the corner Ichigo and Orihime had just come around, so he had no idea that anyone was behind him. Not that he cared as he waved his axe-styled zanpakutou in the air to emphasize his point. "I don't need help! Get out of my way already, or I won't miss next time!"

Hanatarou paled and swallowed as his eyes flickered to the large weapon that was currently being pointed at him. It certainly looked dangerous.

Ichigo growled under his breath, sheathing Zangetsu and returning him to his back before flash-stepping toward the confrontation.

Orihime watched silently, telling herself she should intervene before Ichigo vented his frustrations on her patient, but not feeling particularly inclined to listen to her own advice.

The aggravated man swung his axe forward when Hanatarou didn't move, and Hanatarou's eyes went wide as he watched it descend.

The handle of the axe slammed into Ichigo's raised forearm as he appeared between them with his back to Hanatarou. The blade hung in the air over Ichigo's face, mere inches from his forehead. Ichigo leveled a dangerous glare at the man – Ninth Seat of Squad Eleven – without so much as flinching from the impact.

After a long moment of stretched, tense silence, Ichigo finally said, "What the hell makes you think it's alright to release your zanpakutou here of all places?"

The Ninth Seat swallowed and quickly pulled his weapon back. "I was just trying to leave! That little punk wouldn't let me pass, I couldn't stand for that!"

"Is that so?" Ichigo asked, his arm lowering to his side and his glare never wavering. "And what if I refuse to let you pass?"

"L-lieutenant?"

"You're bleeding all over their floor, dumbass," Ichigo pointed out darkly, with barely a glance at the blood that was, indeed, dripping onto the formerly-clean floor. When he was again holding the other man's gaze, he asked, "You don't want me to make the mess worse, do you?"

There was no denying the promise of his words, and again the Ninth Seat swallowed before taking a single step backwards and sheathing his weapon. "No, sir," he replied, head bowed.

Hanatarou stepped around Ichigo, confident now that he wouldn't be maimed, and held an open hand out toward the door beside them. "If you'll come with me, I can patch you up and get you on your way."

The Ninth Seat followed quietly, well aware of the deadly gaze that watched his every move.

They were back in Orihime's office before she finally broke the silence, turning to look at him as she said, "You know, for a minute there, I thought you were really going to hurt him."

Ichigo looked away, knowing she wouldn't like his response. "So did I."

To his surprise, Orihime offered him a small smile and stepped forward, dropping one hand lightly over the loosely-clenched fist at his side. "Ichigo, I really appreciate everything you're doing for me, but if it's getting to you, I would completely understand if you wanted to go home."

Eyes narrowed stubbornly Ichigo locked his gaze with hers and replied, "I'm not going anywhere until I'm absolutely sure you're safe, Orihime. I promise I'll try to curb my temper, but you're not getting rid of me until this is over."

For a moment Orihime remained silent, studying his eyes. Then she smiled and gave his hand a squeeze before pulling back as she said, "I'm not trying to get rid of you, silly! I just don't want you to resent me or something because of all this…."

Resent? Ichigo repeated, eyes widening. Had she lost her mind? "Orihime," he began as he attempted to figure out how to say what he was thinking. Eventually he decided to go with the most direct response, so he said, "I would never."

Orihime blinked up at him before a bright smile lit up her face, along with a faint blush, and she said, "That's good!"

She had turned, stepping toward her desk and the report she'd only just begun to go through before the explosion, when a question slipped thoughtlessly past Ichigo's lips. "Do the people from Eleventh always give you guys crap like that?"

Orihime paused, standing beside her desk, and looked back at him, her head tilting as she thought about his question. "Well," she began carefully, "it's true that they are some of our worst patients. We very rarely have incidents like that one, though. Usually they're more like the other ones you've witnessed."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed. "Why don't they listen to you?"

With a shrug, Orihime replied, "I always figured it's because I'm not very scary. They used to always listen to Captain Unohana – she can be very scary when she wants to be."

Natural scowl deepening, Ichigo said, "You shouldn't need to be scary to make them listen." He paused, glancing thoughtfully out the window before grumbling, "Damn, I never realized how disrespectful they can be."

Orihime frowned. She hadn't meant to upset him, and she knew he'd originally been a member of Eleventh. Oh, darn, I shouldn't have said that. "You don't need to worry about it, Ichigo. I almost always get them to listen to me somehow!"

Ichigo sighed and returned his gaze to hers. "It's alright. The good news is the Ninth Seat has a big mouth, so with a little luck they'll start figuring out that that shit won't fly anymore."

With a laughing smile Orihime asked, "Are you going to be my Intimidator?"

A faint chuckle rumbling up in his chest, Ichigo replied, "Yeah, I'll be your Intimidator."

They shared a brief laugh before Orihime settled at her desk and made a face at the report before her. It was her turn to blurt a question as she suddenly asked, "Say, does Juushirou have this much paperwork? Or is it just me?"

"It's not just you," Ichigo assured her with a faint grin as he moved to his usual position against the wall beside her desk.

"Well, that's a relief at least," Orihime said with a half-sigh, half-laugh. She looked back up at Ichigo long enough to smile at him, her eyes twinkling in the sunlight that was streaming in from the window behind her.

She turned her head, then, and attempted to focus on the report, and Ichigo released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

But, then, he noticed she'd been doing that to him a lot this past week.

Barely an hour passed before a voice suddenly called their attention from the other side of the door. A voice Ichigo knew fairly well.

"Forgive my interruption, Captain Inoue!" the male voice called formally. "May I please enter?"

Curiously, Orihime lifted her gaze to Ichigo and whispered, "Who?"

Instead of answering her question directly, Ichigo called, "Oi, Sentarou, quit yelling."

The door slid open a moment later, revealing the co-Third Seat of Squad Thirteen. He wore a grave expression as he stepped into the room. Even so, he paused to smirk at Ichigo and say, "Long time no see, Slacker."

Ichigo narrowed his eyes. "Shut up."

Orihime stood, smiling and feeling embarrassed for not having recognized the man's voice. "Good afternoon, Sentarou. What can I do for you? Is Captain Ukitake alright?"

Sentarou bowed quickly, replying, "Yes, ma'am, he's feeling fine. Unfortunately, there was an accident, and I'm afraid Kiyone is actually the one in need of your services today."

Ichigo lifted Zangetsu from the wall at his side as Orihime moved, reaching for her own zanpakutou and saying, "Oh, of course! I'll come right away!"

Bowing again, Sentarou said, "Thank you, Captain!"

They made short time of the journey between barracks, and Juushirou ushered them quickly into Kiyone's private quarters, where she was resting. Orihime rushed immediately to her side and wasted no time in getting her treatment underway. Ichigo stayed back, standing with Juushirou and Sentarou and watching silently.

Once Orihime had done all she could, and Kiyone was sleeping, the group moved to the adjoining sitting room quietly.

"She'll be fine," Orihime promised with a smile. "What she needs now is sleep, to give her body time to finish regaining energy. She should be up and around by tomorrow morning."

"Thank goodness," Juushirou breathed. He offered a grateful smile to the younger Captain and added, "I do appreciate you rushing over here, Orihime."

"I was happy to," Orihime said. "Kiyone's a sweet girl, and her sister is one of my closest friends remember."

Juushirou laughed faintly and nodded. "That's all very true, but I wanted to say 'thank you' anyway."

Orihime smiled, silently accepting his gratitude.

After a moment, Ichigo shifted and pushed to his feet. Looking over at his Captain, he asked, "Can I trust you two to keep an eye on Orihime for a minute? While we're here I wanna pick up a few things."

"Of course," Juushirou said with a nod, opting not to comment on Ichigo's casual use of her name.

Orihime looked up to Ichigo as he glanced her way and said, "Ichigo, if you needed to pick something up, you could've come sooner."

"I'd have asked someone to bring 'em to me if I needed them," Ichigo assured her. "I'll be back in a minute." He slipped from the room without another word, quietly shutting the door behind himself.

Juushirou turned an easy smile to Orihime and said, "I do hope Ichigo's behaving himself."

Orihime's smile was genuine as she replied, "Oh, he's been great. He's helped with lots of little things, and he takes his job very seriously. Sometimes I even think he sleeps outside my door the whole night, but he swears he doesn't."

Juushirou laughed faintly. "Yes, he is rather serious about things, isn't he? But that's good, I'm glad to hear it. Rumor has it he's broken up more than a few fights, too."

"It's true," she replied. "Sometimes we have a real problem with Squad Eleven – they don't like being treated – and Ichigo's always been good about stepping in and getting them to listen to me."

"I'm sure he has," Juushirou said with another quiet chuckle. "Has everything else been quiet?"

Knowing what he was really asking, Orihime nodded. "Yes. There hasn't been anything at all out of the ordinary, other than the volunteers – and those numbers have been getting smaller, too."

Ichigo returned with a small bag slung over one shoulder a short while later, and after a final check-in on Kiyone, he and Orihime made their exit. They traveled at a more casual pace back to Fourth, and once they were there Orihime decided they should detour to what she had deemed 'Ichigo's home away from home.'

He cocked an eyebrow at her when she led them to his door, and she smiled. "This way you can drop off your things without actually letting me out of your sight."

With a faint shrug he stepped forward and easily opened the door.

He was fully inside when he realized she wasn't following him, so he turned and asked, "What're you doing out there?"

Her cheeks were instantly pink at his words, and she said, "I can just wait out here for you."

He scowled, not angrily but pointedly, and said, "Using your own logic, you should come inside. I can't keep my eye on you if you're out there."

"Heh, that's true," Orihime relented, looking away as the heat on her face increased. I should really think about how I word things! Without further argument, she stepped inside and pulled the door shut behind her.

She wasn't surprised to see that he hadn't done much with the space, as it wasn't intended to be permanent, and she tried to keep her wandering eyes hidden as she followed him toward the bedroom. Something about the obvious temporary status of the quarters was bothering her, and the sensation only grew as she followed him deeper inside.

She followed him until she reached the entrance to the bedroom, and then she stopped, not wanting to further invade his space. This was the only place he could come anymore to really get away from her after all, and she felt a little like she was invading.

Ichigo continued on, depositing the bag against one of the walls before standing upright again and turning to her. "Done," he said, lips twitching in a half-grin.

Orihime smiled softly, but said nothing.

It was strange how just walking through his sitting room could really bring home that his time at her side was temporary. It was always supposed to be temporary, of course, and she thought she'd known that, but now it was so glaringly obvious that – for no reason that made any sense – it hurt.

It's not like our friendship will end when he leaves, she reminded herself. She knew he wasn't the kind of guy who forgot about his friends, but the idea of not having him around constantly caused a strange pain to flare inside her chest.

Ichigo scowled when he noticed the flash in her eyes that indicated something was wrong, and he stepped up to her in concern. His concern mounted when he realized she hadn't noticed him move closer. "Orihime?" he asked carefully, reaching out and resting one hand lightly on her shoulder.

Orihime started at the contact, at the same time registering his inquiry, and her eyes re-focused, bringing her gaze to his. She flushed immediately, partly in embarrassment and partly because of their close proximity, and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry! I got lost in my own head again!"

The deepening scowl on his face told her he knew she was hiding something.

Letting his hand drop to his side, Ichigo asked, "Care to tell me about it?"

She laughed self-consciously, waving her hands in front of herself as she said, "It's really nothing important, I promise! Are you ready to go, then?" She turned as she talked, hoping to get out of having to answer – especially since she had no idea how she'd answer.

Ichigo reached out again and snagged her elbow in a light, but firm, grip as he said, "No, I think it is important. Why won't you tell me?"

Orihime sighed and turned back around to face him properly. She looked down reflexively as he released her arm and pursed her lips for a moment. Without looking up, she finally said, "It's…silly, and kind of embarrassing. And, honestly, I don't really know how to explain it completely…."

Keeping his voice gentle, Ichigo asked, "Can you at least tell me why you looked upset?"

Orihime pulled her lip between her teeth and dragged her eyes back up to his. Hesitantly, she asked, "You know how…you get used to things really easily sometimes? But, sometimes, those things don't last – or maybe they're not supposed to in the first place – and then, when they're gone, it just feels…wrong?"

"Yeah," Ichigo replied, eyebrows furrowed. Where's she going with this?

"Well, it's just that…I, um, I've gotten kind of used to having you around," Orihime mumbled, unable to hold his gaze as the words tumbled awkwardly from her lips. "And I…I know I'm going to miss your company…when you go back, I mean. Eh, heh, see? It's silly…."

Ichigo had to swallow heavily as he digested her words. Granted, she hadn't really said anything like what he'd been feeling, but what she had said could lead there – and, moreover, it was nice to hear anyway.

Finally gathering himself, he felt his lips curve into a small smile as he reached out, this time capturing one of her hands in his (and subsequently removing it from the fabric it had been twisted in). When her eyes lifted back to his he said quietly, "It's not silly."

Orihime smiled slowly, glad he seemed to understand, and she squeezed his hand gently in silent gratitude.

Ichigo curled his hand a little tighter around hers and suddenly found himself nearly overwhelmed by the desire to kiss her. With the way she was looking at him in that moment, he could almost believe that she wanted it, too, and it would be so easy. All he'd have to do would be to lean in, just a little, and then he'd finally know what her lips tasted like.

But that would be crossing a line, he reminded himself firmly the moment he felt his head begin to lower. She's your friend, not to mention your superior. And he couldn't put her in that position, it wouldn't be right – especially not when he was still supposed to be protecting her.

The decision was taken from him a moment later, when a familiar tinkling sound suddenly filled the air as a Hell Butterfly fluttered into the room.

Their hands fell apart immediately, both flushing as if they'd been caught doing something inappropriate, and they turned their full attention to the small, magical creature.

As the Hell Butterfly approached them a pre-recorded message began playing. "Attention: Ryouka detected near the Southern Gate. All squad members are to return to their designations immediately. The Ryouka are suspected allies of the prisoners recently apprehended in outer West Rukon. Repeat: Ryouka detected near Southern Gate…."

Startled gray eyes met narrowed brown for a long moment before Ichigo grabbed her hand again and started for the door. "Come on, this is no place to set up, and no one will come looking for you here if they need you."

"This is it, isn't it?" Orihime asked as she let Ichigo lead her quickly down the hall.

"Probably," Ichigo replied as he navigated the shortest possible route to her office. It wasn't much better in terms of defensibility, but it was centrally located, so she would be able to do her job better from there – whether he liked it or not.

"Captain!" Hanatarou called as he joined them after they'd rounded another corner. He immediately began jogging to keep up with their pace, as Ichigo did not slow down. "I assume you got the message?"

"Yes," Orihime replied. "I need you to make sure the occupied infirmary rooms are properly defended. Please, hurry, it's incredibly important that we don't let our patients get dragged into any fighting."

"Of course, Captain!" Hanatarou replied, turning at the next corner to carry out his assignment.

They passed many more Soul Reapers, all rushing to their stations or to finish something that they'd been in the middle of when the announcement had come. And then they were finally at Orihime's office, and Ichigo came to a stop.

He held a hand out, keeping her behind him, as he slid the door partially open and looked around. When he was sure that it was safe, he stepped in and pulled Orihime in after him.

To her surprise, he left the door open. Curiously, she asked, "Ichigo…why did you leave the door open?"

"We'd be pretty much blind if it was closed," he explained. "If someone's gonna attack, this way I'll see them coming." He paused, glancing again around the office, and finally asked, "But, do me a favor and stay away from the windows, alright?"

Orihime glanced behind her, to the window she had reflexively moved towards, and quickly moved away. Keeping away from the windows she at least understood.

As she sat down on the couch, she asked, "Are we just going to stay in here the whole time?"

Ichigo narrowed his eyes as he mulled over her question. "Probably not," he replied after a minute. "But until we have a better idea of the situation, this is the best way to keep you safe."

"If my squad needs me…" Orihime began carefully, not wanting to upset him but needing him to understand that she still intended to fulfill her duties.

"Then of course we'll go," Ichigo replied before she could finish. "I'm not asking you to shirk your duties; I just want you to be as safe as possible."

Orihime smiled. Of course he understands. "Ichigo…thank you."

Ichigo turned and smirked at her silently.

Another Hell Butterfly fluttered into the room, then, once again drawing their attention. "Update: the Ryouka have split into groups. The Stealth Force has lost sight of them, but they were last seen moving north. The Department of Research and Development has reported complete technical failure. All Captains and Lieutenants are to report their status immediately to the Head Captain via Hell Butterfly. Repeat: the Ryouka are moving north in multiple groups…."

"Squad Twelve," Orihime breathed as the message finished, "weren't they on the list?"

"Yeah," Ichigo replied.

Silently they released their own Hell Butterflies, sending their requested status information to the Head Captain. Another Hell Butterfly gently fluttered away, down the hall, as Orihime added a message of her own to Hanatarou.

Ichigo cut a glance in her direction, one eyebrow arched.

"If these intruders were organized enough to cause a technical failure at the Department of Research and Development, then I don't want to think about what they have planned for us," Orihime explained. "But I want to be as prepared as possible."

"Understandable," Ichigo replied with a short nod.

Eyes downcast, Orihime said, "I don't know how well we can rea-." She was cut off by an explosion that rocked the entire office.

"Dammit!" Ichigo cursed, his right hand automatically reaching for Zangetsu as he braced himself to keep his balance. A quick glance down the hall told him that no one was coming, but it did little to reassure him.

As the explosion settled Orihime's eyes widened in fear. "No!" she exclaimed, jumping to her feet and bolting for the door. She knew where the explosion had been, and she could only pray she moved fast enough.

Ichigo cursed again as Orihime raced past him, clearly disregarding her own safety. "Orihime!" he called, chasing after her.

Multiple Hell Butterflies were circling her, then, as she called, "Out! I want everybody to evacuate the barracks immediately!"

She was running straight for the medical wing, and it didn't take Ichigo long to realize that that was where the explosion had come from. The moment that realization hit he knew why she was worried. Someone was targeting them, aiming to take out not only the medical crew, but their supplies as well.

Which still meant that Orihime would be the prime target.

To Be Continued…

A/N: Uh-oh, Orihime is targeted! (Wait, haven't we had, like, three episodes with that in the title? LOL) Anyway, don't mind my goofiness! Did you all enjoy this chapter? Did you like the building fluff? Should I shut up and get to work on chapter nine so you don't have to kill me? Yeah, I thought so. But please review while you're waiting!