Chapter 4

Inoue sat at her table in contemplation. Last night was a complete failure because the very solution turned out to be the thing that initiated the problem. What's more the voice that had been trying to aid her had ceased to respond to her calls. It was almost like she was abandoned because she couldn't come up with anything else to fix her problem. She leaned back letting her eyes stare lazily at the ceiling. She might as well try to get him herself. Nothing else seems to be working.

Her doorbell rang causing her ears to prop up. She went down and opened the door to see a young looking man standing before her. He wore dark sunglasses and a ragged jacket that seemed like it had been used several times over. Underneath he wore a tank top that exposed his muscles and athletic physique.

"May I help you?" she asked. The man merely smiled as he said, "You sure as hell can. Your Orihime Inoue correct?" She nodded which allowed a larger smile to brighten his strong face.

"I hear you're having man trouble." he said.

"What? Who told you that?" she retorted.

"Doesn't matter. Important thing is I can help you."

"You're funny and you're crazy. I have things to do." she said about to close the door only to have him place his foot between it.

"You have things to do? Like what? Stare at the wall all day and bitch and moan about how you can't get this chump Kurosaki to like you?" Orihime stopped suddenly as his words pierced her. Her eyes widened as she said, "Have you been spying on me?"

The man merely chuckled in disbelief as he looked back at her.

"Don't flatter yourself baby. You already know me."

"I do?"

He stared at her.

"Oh yeah, you do."

Ichigo and Rukia walked in silence. The day wielded a bright blue sky along with gentle breezes but the awkward silence between them neglected these aspects. The atmosphere between them was not like heading to school where it felt like they were on patrol for hollows. This time it felt like they were together not out necessity but out of want which was quite different. Rukia stared down at the street before her nervously trying to seem as if she was cool about the whole thing. Ichigo on the other hand felt just plain weird. He wasn't used to going out to have fun let alone having someone to take. He stole a quick glance at her and quickly turned his gaze back when their eyes met. Something in him made his heart flutter and his stomach clench. He had to break the ice somehow. The silence was getting to him.

"I think the cinema is a couple more blocks." he said, his voice wavy and unsure. Rukia could only nod and give him a simple "uh-huh" in response. What else could she say? It wasn't like she was with any other person whom she could just joke around and say whatever she wished. She was for the first time in her life afraid of saying the wrong thing. She wasn't sure about how to act and that really made her nervous. She soon caught the scent of food in the area. They must've entered some sort of market district or plaza.

Her stomach growled.

Ichigo turned to her and she blushed this brilliant shade of red. She hadn't expected she would be hungry. Not at a time like this. She looked up into the air as if she hadn't heard anything but this only sent a smile to Ichigo's lips.

"Ha, you're hungry aren't you?" he said rubbing the back of his head. Her eyes turned his direction. There was no use in denying it.

"Well, maybe a little." she responded. He nodded and gestured her to continue the walk.

"There's a place around here I used to go to a lot when I was younger. They have good stuff there." he said sounding plain. He led her another block over until they hit a small stand. It was very small and could be easily missed if one were to walk too fast past it. Ichigo tapped the small counter until a small man came trotting behind it wearing a rather big smile.

"Kurosaki! My, I haven't seen you in a dog's age! I thought for a moment you had forgotten about me and my world famous curry rice." the old man said.

"No, no. How could I forget? I'm just showing my friend around and I thought I pay you a visit. How's the misses?" said Ichigo.

"Oh very well," he said, he turned to Rukia who stood slightly confused, "Is that your friend there?" Ichigo smiled and nodded. The small man was indeed old and adjusted his glasses to take a better view of Rukia who wasn't absolutely sure how to handle being scanned. He turned to Ichigo and said, "Well, you seemed to have a fine taste for women."

Rukia blushed and had to turn her face to conceal it.

"Stop pulling my chain, old man." said Ichigo slightly annoyed. The old man laughed as he prepared two plates of his concoction and handed it through the small window to Ichigo. He then placed several yen onto the counter but the old man only shook his head.

"That's my gift to you and your girlfriend." he said smiling slyly. Ichigo had stuffed his mouth full of rice only to spit it out as those words hit his ears. Rukia stood in wonder as she tried to decipher the idea of a girlfriend.

"She's not my girlfriend!" he said. The old man merely laughed and shrugged his shoulders before saying, "Alright, alright. But I'll tell you something you guys had me fooled. You two look as if you guys appreciate each others company."

Ichigo resumed walking before saying, "he's senile"

Rukia chuckled.

"And I'm not explaining what a girlfriend is." he finally said. Rukia shook her head.

"You don't have to. I think I know what it means."

The two of them reached the cinema moments later. Ichigo had asked Rukia what she had wanted to see but seeing her under pressure caused him to make a quick choice. She's not very good with handling a quick decision, he thought. He guided her within and into the theater. The two of them sat down as Rukia asked, "There were too many options. I couldn't decide." Ichigo held up his hand and laughed.

"Just relax. You're so uptight sometimes."

Her mind wanted to quickly counter him but she caught herself. Maybe she should just relax and have fun. Several rows behind Orihime stared with anger, the man she had met earlier that day sat next to her, his arm over her shoulder.

"See? If you would just have killed her last night the whole thing could've been avoided." he whispered. She couldn't have even if she wanted to. That wasn't her.

"You said a shinigami doesn't give their heart away easy."

"There are a few exceptions."

"Like what?"

"Well, in her case she found someone who would lay down their life for her own. Shinigami's don't necessarily share the exact same 'love' as humans but similar enough bind to keep them together. She may be a god but inside she's still female."

"So, it's too late then for me?"

"Oh no. This is just the beginning. If you really want him I can make that possible. I mean, humans should be with humans and Shinigami's should stay in their own world." Although the logic was slightly brutal it made enough sense in her eyes.

"What should we do now?"

"Don't worry. Leave it all to me." he said. With a snap of his fingers the two vanished.

Ichigo wished he had been more patient picking out a movie. He despised chick flicks and couldn't stand cliché plots but there was no getting out of it. He glanced over at Rukia who sat at the edge of her seat gazing worshipfully at the screen. Crying and laughing with the characters as their story began to unfold. He couldn't understand how a shinigami acted like a complete teenaged girl weeping after the death of the main protagonist of a story. It was similar to how his younger sisters would cry after an author of a crazed fan fiction would kill off the main character.

"Did you see the part when Michael said to Jennifer that he would return even though he knew he couldn't?" asked Rukia truly inspired by what she had seen. Ichigo humored her by saying, "Yup and in every movie that had to do with lost love." The two of them continued to talk as they approached the house. Ichigo checked his watched and was amazed it was already nine o' clock. Time flew faster than he imagined. They entered the bedroom as Ichigo fell onto his bed in exhaustion. He never knew going out to relax would cause him to be so tired. He sat up and moved away the curtains to his window exposing the moonlight through it. Rukia hummed the tune to the ending of the movie which he found to be quite annoying but nevertheless excusable.

"Damn, Ichigo you think your sister could let me borrow another set of pajama's? I keep forgetting to wash them." she said feeling around his closet. Without turning around he said, "Don't bother, I doubt she has anything else that could fit you. Just take my sweats and my t-shirt on the top shelf."

"You don't mind?"

"No, just take 'em." he assured her. She withdrew the garments and looked at them and jumped into the closet to change. She closed the closet door but once the door hit the frame it silently crept open again but only very slightly. Ichigo turned and felt his heartbeat sky rocket. He could see her bare back through the crack of the closet door. Her black hair that followed the curvature of her neck and curves of her lower back. He swallowed hard. He had never seen that side of her before and suddenly he desired to see more. She then placed on the long t-shirt and slowly slipped on the sweats and for a split second he caught a glimpse of her upper thigh which sent his body into overdrive heat. He quickly spun around when he heard the door creep open again. He didn't dare turn around.

"So, Ichigo. What did you think of the movie?" she said.

"It was... fine." he said. She walked over to him. He was sitting on his knees on top of his bed. A posture she rarely seen him in. He looked nervous for some reason. She sat close to him and placed her head within her palm.

"Can I ask you a question?" she asked. He simply nodded. "Have you ever been in love before?"

For some reason that statement seemed to knock him to his senses. He couldn't remember a time if that ever occurred to him. He knew of tolerating people but that was about it. He knew he wasn't unable to love but it never crossed his mind to actually open himself up to it. He looked at her and she looked at him. As they looked at each other the sense of awkwardness had disappeared.

"Nope. Never have." he said. Rukia nodded as her stare shifted to her feet. Ichigo however couldn't keep his eyes from wandering. Despite the fact she was wearing rather baggy clothing he could still make out her supple curves. He damned his testosterone under his breath.

"Well, I have... or at least I think I have." she said. She looked at him with a smile and said, "Thanks for spending your day with me."

He nodded and said, "No problem."

They locked eyes again. Ichigo couldn't help but remember part of the movie where the hero locked eyes with his sweetheart before kissing her. But that wasn't what she wanted was it? She didn't have feelings for him did she?

She eyed his lips.

Her heart couldn't stop racing and she could feel heat rise to her cheeks and other regions. She could feel his breath rush past her cheek. It was driving her crazy. Would she really lower her guard for him?

"Rukia?"

"Yeah?"

"Nothing"

He reached under her chin and brought her lips to his.