AN: Thank you again my lovely readers for your reviews. I hope I do a good job in Ichigo's point of view, if not, then I apologize ahead of time for OOC. I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.

Chapter 7 Ichigo's Point Of View

Orihime trembles all the way to her apartment but I can't be sure it's because she's scared. This is all my fault for jumping to conclusions…

When we reach the door to her apartment, she invites me in for tea. I nod and follow her inside. She apologizes, "I'm sorry the couch is occupied with some of my things, come sit at the kitchen table while I prepare the tea."

I follow her to the kitchen, unsure of how to respond to her politeness. I need to apologize, however.

She says quietly as she sets down two cups of tea, "Thank you, Ichigo. If it weren't for you-"

"If it weren't for me, this wouldn't have happened."

She looks at me worriedly as she places a hand on my shoulder. I feel a bit calmer but continue, "I found your items out on the street, I knew they were yours because of the red bean paste, so I looked around for you. It was dark and I was worried. That's when I saw him kiss you except I thought it was out of sheer will from both of you, so I didn't do or say anything."

Orihime exclaims, interrupting me, "It wasn't your fault, it was dark out!"

"No, Orihime! It was my fault that you had to go through what you did! I got angry and left but I stopped by your things, still hesitating and that's when you knocked me over and that's when I found out what was really going on."

She shakes her head as she tries again, "Don't blame yourself, you said it yourself, you saw when he kissed me, so you couldn't have prevented it, and that's all he did before I knocked you over."

"But I should've been there to protect you from the start!"

"You did protect me!"

I finally look at her. Her eyes are watery and still red from her earlier crying but she still looks beautiful. She kneels in front of me and rests her head on my lap as she whispers, "Please, stop blaming yourself, Ichigo. You did what you could, and it was enough. If not for you, things would have gotten worse."

I slide a hand under her chin and gently tilt her head up so I can see her face. A faint blush appears on her cheeks as I make eye contact with her. I stroke her cheek gently, wiping away the wet streaks caused by her tears.

I want to kiss her so badly but I know it'd be a bad idea because of what happened earlier, so instead I wipe away her tears that slowly come to a stop. I smile at her, hoping that she would be okay.

I get up and say softly, "I guess I should get going, I shouldn't keep you up much longer."

"Wait, Ichigo!"She exclaims but quickly turns away from me.

"What is it, Orihime?"I ask quietly.

"W-will you stay with me…just for tonight…"

I smile to myself as I answer, "Of course."

I should have known that she'd still be a bit afraid to be by herself after what happened, I'm so inconsiderate. "Thank you, I'll set something up in the spare room."

I thank her before sitting back at the table. I take a sip of the tea and wait for her to call me over or come and get me. As I finish my cup of tea, I hear her scream. I stand quickly and run in the direction I saw her go in, exclaiming, "Orihime, what is it?!"

I run into the room with the light on and see Orihime pointing to the top corner of the room. I look over to see what it is that she's pointing at. I sweat drop as I spot a spider. I mumble as I get closer, "You're kidding me right?"

"I don't like spiders! Get rid of it, please…"I hold back a chuckle as I look around the room for something. I see a slipper and grab it, ready to squish the little creature when she yells, "Not with that! Those were a gift from my mother! Use this," She tosses me a rolled up newspaper.

I sigh and hand her back her slipper. After all the commotion, I finally get rid of the spider and calm her down again. I laugh lightly as she leaves to do something. She's still so innocent and cute, just like I remember.

I lie down on the bed that she told me to wait on, trying not to fall asleep but before I know it, I doze off.

I feel movement. I sit up and look around. I find Orihime, covering me with a blanket. She blushes and apologizes, "I'm sorry I took so long in the shower. It's alright if you want to sleep here, I can go in the other room."

I grab her wrist to stop her from leaving. She looks back at me, the blush still tainting her cheeks. The words that come out of me next, surprise both of us, "Stay…stay with me, so I can protect you overnight."

I feel my cheeks heat up as she stares at me and bites her lower lip. I plead again, surprising myself only this time, "Let me protect you."

Orihime nods and slides under the blanket and actually scoots closer to me. I rigidly pull the blanket over both of us as she nuzzles her face against my chest. I hesitate to wrap my arms around her but finally do so when she nods against my chest.

"This feels right,"I whisper above her head.

She murmurs against my chest, "Ichigo…don't leave me…"

"I promise I won't. Orihime?"

All I get as a response is light breathing. She must've fallen asleep. I kiss the top of her head gently as I let myself drift off to sleep as well. I can tell her in the morning.

AN: Hmm…I'm not sure about this chapter but please review and tell me your thoughts.