-flails arms-

Is...Is this what you think it is? OH YES IT IS. AWIP 6 is finally in da house!!

I hope this is as good as I think it is. I've been working my butt off for the last several months (like...eight?) to get this done, but it seemed very insistent on not being completed. O.o

But I persevered and here it is. This is more fluff than funny, but I don't think you guys'll care. ;D

Oh, and...THIRTY EIGHT reviews for chapter five?! Really? You guys are amazing.

Unbeta'd...currently. I sent this to my amazing wife Copper, but she's busy (probably with work...) and hasn't gotten back to me, and I couldn't wait. XD So forgive any spelling errors, yeah?

Disclaimer applied.

P.S. 'Yellow Tulips' means 'hopelessly in love.'

The dull crunch of knuckles hitting cheekbone seemed to echo in the large room, as the force of Tatsuki's punch shoved Ichigo back up against the wall. Crumpling to the ground, he spat out a mix of saliva and blood and onto the mat and then gingerly prodded a couple of teeth inside his mouth, determining that they were indeed very loose, and wincing. "Get up, idiot. I'm not done kicking your ass."

Tatsuki cracked her knuckles threateningly above him, and he briefly debated just staying down but eventually decided that her beating of him would be that much worse. Trying to ignore the way his ribs were creaking in a way that was distinctly not good, Ichigo climbed to his feet, only to have Tatsuki shove her knee viciously into his abdomen, and he buckled to the ground, gasping. "Is this all you can take? Get up you bastard." She snapped, arms crossed defiantly.

Ichigo clambered to his feet once more, wiping away a trail of blood from his chin with the back of his hand. He lifted his hands defensively. "Look, I know you're mad that I kissed Orihime-"

Tatsuki, who had already pulled back her fist in yet another attempt to shatter his face, paused, confused as her eyebrows furrowed. "Why would I be mad about that?"

He gaped at her. "You're not mad?"

"No. Why would I be?"

Temporarily forgetting that he was in a fair amount of pain, Ichigo stared back at her, his scowl deepening in his confusion. "Because…I kissed… Orihime?" He answered haltingly, bewildered.

Now her fist slammed into his face with all the force of a wrecking ball behind it. Ichigo crumpled like a wilted flower, clutching his nose. "I'm not mad about that, you fucking retard!" Tatsuki's voice carried through the otherwise empty dojo, and Ichigo winced yet again.

After gently prodding his nose to determine that it was still attached, though dislocated, Ichigo grasped it, and with the exact amount of force that only somebody whose had to pop noses back into socket a lot, wrenched it back into place with a merciless twist. "So…what are you mad about?"

Tatsuki tensed for a fraction of a second, and her responding kick to his already sore abdomen was so fast, he didn't even see it coming. "I'm pissed that you left her there, you bastard!"

Resembling a fish with his open mouth, Ichigo was able to take in several gasping breaths, "Oh."

Tatsuki saw red. "Oh? OH!?" She practically bellowed into his face, blue eyes nearly black with rage.

Ichigo flinched back. "Look, I'm sorry that I left her there, okay? I hadn't meant to leave her! It just kinda…happened."

Tatsuki took several shuddering breaths, still looking like she wanted to paint her room red with his blood. "And, pray tell, why did it "just happen?"" She quoted bitterly. Ichigo shivered.

Brrr…did it just get cold in here?

"I freaked alright? She was confused, hell, I was confused. I just bolted."

Another shuddering breath. "Do you regret it?"

"What?"

"I said, do you regret it? Make me say it again, and it'll be coming with another punch," she snapped angrily.

He didn't even think about it. "No."

She nodded, looking marginally calmer. A moment went by before she spoke once more, "You will apologize."

"For what?!" Ichigo knew he had to apologize, but he certainly didn't want Tatsuki reminding him of this.

Her stormy blue eyes snapped open, and without answering, she stuck her face so close to his that there was barely an inch between them. "For being a coward and leaving her alone like that. For being too much of a pussy to act like you've got a pair and ask her out. For being a complete asshole. Take your pick," she practically hissed at him. Swiftly, she rocked her weight to the balls of her feet and rose, spinning away quickly.

"And besides, if you don't ask her out, then I will have to give Aido the impression that I like him, and he's too bony to be a good punching bag."

To say he was confused would have been like saying that Keigo was only a little gay.

He was so beyond that, he wasn't sure up was down anymore.

Deciding that he was dwell on what Tatsuki' baffling statement could possibly mean at a later point when his head didn't feel that it was being the ball in a racquetball match, Ichigo clambered slowly to his feet, looking around for his bookbag. I think it wound up over there by the do-

A knee to his stomach caused him to drop.

Tatsuki cracked her knuckles. "Did I say that we were done?"

Thirty seconds to the bell, Ichigo stumbled through the door. On his way to his desk, Tatsuki was pleased to see him drop a tightly folded note onto the absent-looking Orihime's desk before retreating quietly to his desk.

Orihime stared down at the heads of her classmates, feeling nervousness flutter in her stomach. Ichigo's note from earlier had told her to meet him on the other side of the roof during lunch.

Maybe he's going to confess! She thought, eyes brightening. Already, her mind began to wonder on what kind of metal his robot head would be made of, whether he would have laser eyes or not, and if his fingers were detachable projectiles.

"Orihime?" Ichigo's voice came from behind her. She yelped, spinning around, eyes wide, half expecting to see a bronze, gleaming Ichigo with laser eyes and no hands. After a moment, she realized that it was human Ichigo and not robot Ichigo, who had fought the purple stuffed hippos. "Robots again?" Ichigo asked knowingly.

She warmed expectedly and she didn't answer. They fell into an awkward silence for several minutes for several long minutes.

"Orihime, I'm sorry-"

"Ichigo-kun, I-"

They paused when they both began to try and talk at the same time and smiled uncertainly at each other momentarily.

Then she cocked her head. "What are you apologizing for, Ichigo-kun?"

Badboy image temporarily on hold, Ichigo couldn't help but gape at her, blinking owlishly at her. "The-The kiss?" He offered, almost like a question.

She flushed again. "Oh." Studying her, he couldn't help but notice that she didn't look saddened, instead she looked…pleased. Cheeks still tinted, she looked up at him, beaming.

"There's no reason to apologize, Ichigo-kun! I enjoyed it!"

The orange-haired substitute shinigami had trouble picking his jaw up off the floor. "But-But, it was against your will…"

She looked confused. "It wasn't against my will. I kissed you back, remember?"

He remembered. Vividly. "Well, yeah, but I thought-"

"You thought what?" She looked curious.

"Stockholm syndrome," he mumbled, almost sheepish. When Orihime didn't respond, he glanced up at her, only to see the strangest expression on her face. It was a mix between looking like she was about to start laughing and like she wanted to hug him.

"Well, I don't have Stockholm Syndrome," she assured him warmly.

"…Oh," he mumbled once more, feeling stupid. "So what were you going to say, Orihime?"

"I was going to apologize," she told him, looking remarkably composed despite the fact that her slim fingers were fiddling with the hem of her skirt.

"Apologize? For what?" His bewilderment made him brusque, though she took no offense.

"Well, because I wasn't very good," she explained, cheeks warming in embarrassment.

"What do you mean?"

"The kissing," she offered sheepishly. "You ran away rather unexpectedly, so I thought that I hadn't been very good."

"No, Orihime. You were fine. I was the screw-up." He responded with a shrug.

She smiled uncertainly. "Oh. Well, for what it's worth, I enjoyed it very much." She flushed all sorts of bright red, biting down on her lip fiercely as her gray eyes averted downward. The twiddling with her skirt hem increased threefold.

Unsure of how to respond to that, Ichigo merely looked contemplative, before extending his hand to her. Pausing in her twiddling, she looked up at his hand and briefly examined the multiple scars on his tanned, broad hand, lined with multiple calluses. As her flush darkened to an almost magenta, she slipped her small hand into his, which tightened slightly around it.

"So," he cleared his throat awkwardly, "I'm going to this trail of lights thing on Saturday, and I have enough money to buy a ticket for this girl with gray eyes…"

After a moment of staring at him uncomprehendingly, her smile, like a thousand suns, suddenly made his world just a bit brighter. "What time?"

He smirked. "I'll pick you up."

Then her forehead creased slightly. "But what about your family? We'd said we'd go with them."

He arched an eyebrow, unconcerned. "We'll go twice."

Her eyes lit up. "Are you sure?"

"You want to go, right?" She nodded emphatically. "Then yeah, I'm sure."

Her gray eyes sparkling, she stared up at him with worship in her expression.

When the pair walked into the circle hand in hand, it spawned several overly dramatic responses. Keigo burst into loud tears, sniffling and calling out incomprehensible words, threw himself at their feet, trying to grasp at Orihime's ankles, until Ichigo kicked at his wrist. Afterwards, he curled into the fetal position, sobbing mindlessly.

Chizuru, on the other hand, proceeded to climb onto the railing, wailing something about leaving the cruel, cruel world that wouldn't let her have her Hime-chan. After swearing that she would jump, she was abruptly cut off by Tatsuki's tackle which caused her to crack her skull on the roof.

Their lunch was remarkably quiet that day. Though that didn't stop Orihime from explaining to the very dazed Chizuru (who was suddenly very insistent on the fact that she was a purple bunny with sparkles coming out of her ears and that she was late for a very important date with a penguin) that their relationship wasn't 'like that.'

"Ooooh, I don't know what to wear!" Orihime exclaimed, staring down at her clothes, which were in a small closet that Isshin had been kind enough to clean out. She bit her lip.

"Orihime, relax. This is the idiot. I'm relatively certain that you could wear a trash bag with boxes for shoes, and he wouldn't notice," Tatsuki assured the nervous wreck through the phone. "Even though I don't think it'll be very warm, if at all." She added on as an afterthought, sounding thoughtful.

"Tatsuki-chaaan!"

"Alright, alright," she laughed. "It's cold out, so I don't suggest a skirt. Wear those jeans Rangiku got you, and your light lilac shirt. The one that hangs off one shoulder, and has the long sleeves. Grab the gray sweater also." Tatsuki recommended in her normal tactful way, the smirk audible in her voice. "And besides, if this isn't an official date, why are you so stressed?"

"Well, I…" Orihime trailed nervously. "I-I-I mean that I just want to look nice for Ichigo-kun! I don't want to look overdressed but I don't want him to think I'm a slob either!"

"Orihime, trust me, a slob is the last thing Ichigo thinks about you," Tatsuki assured, sounding amused at her friend's embarrassing dilemma. The auburn-haired girl, silent, proceeded to turn a vivid red even as she proceeded to change into the clothes her best friend had told her to wear.

"O-Okay, if you think so…" Orihime sounded doubtful, and Tatsuki rolled her eyes.

A knock at the door interrupted them. "Orihime, you ready to go?" Ichigo's voice called from the other side of the door.

"Um, y-yes!" Orihime felt her nerves begin to quake even as Tatsuki's chuckle grew.

"I'll let you go. Have fun getting your first kiss again," the karate master insinuated bluntly, before disconnecting the phone. Orihime's 'Tatsuki-chaaan' came a second too late, even as she placed the phone on the cabinet to pull on the shirt and sweater. Smoothing down her hair, Orihime took a quick glance in the mirror to make sure she didn't have any smears of red bean paste and chocolate on her face before picking up the phone and throwing open the door, only to run nose first into the broad, hard chest of Ichigo.

Reeling back, she would have crashed into the door frame as Ichigo not caught her. "You alright?"

Feeling warm, she blurted out some semi-coherent response, earning an amused eyebrow raise from her crush. "I'll take that as a yes," he told her, sounding vaguely amused as he guided her down the stairs, hand on the small of her back. Feeling rather warm, she couldn't help but notice that Ichigo, too, had deigned not to wear his normal clothing. Instead, he was wearing a plain, off-white shirt with a black skull on it and a black jacket. Leather? She wondered. He wore a pair of worn jeans that seemed on the verge of ripping at the knees.

"Yo, old man. We're leaving," Ichigo addressed his father in his normal loving way. Isshin spun in an undoubtedly flamboyant move and bounded to them, sweeping Inoue into a bear hug. She squeaked, fingers twitching nervously.

"Be careful with my Hime-chan, you hear?!" Isshin demanded of his son even as he spun in circles.

"Stupid old man, let her go!" Ichigo snapped, yanking out a hand to grab his dad's shoulder, stopping the twirling. "You'll make her sick!" Orihime did indeed look a little green even as she stumbled away from Isshin, nearly colliding with Ichigo's shoulder in her dizziness. Ichigo grasped her small shoulder to keep her from tripping over her own two feet. Muttering something profane about his idiot of his father, he pushed the auburn-haired healer towards the front door gently before following.

They took a moment to slip on their shoes before leaving.

"Oh, Ichigo-kun! Look at the lights!"

Orihime's cry drew the attention of several onlookers as she darted to the makeshift railing, a chain threaded through poles, and grasped it. She leaned over as much as she could, the lights of the attraction flickering in her oh so gray eyes. Her expression was enraptured, mouth ever so slightly open in amazement. Ichigo walked up behind her at a more sedate pace, hands shoved into his pockets.

"Pretty," he agreed halfheartedly, eyeing the attraction, a cartoonish scene with characters he recognized vaguely from childhood lit up in various colors and with light music playing loudly.

After another second or two of examining the attraction, Orihime moved on to the next one across the way, letting out another ecstatic exclamation. Ichigo followed behind her once more, content to watch her be happy over some lights and music.

Halfway through the trail, the cold had efficiently wormed its way through both of their jackets and Ichigo had decided to buy both of them hot chocolates, despite Orihime's many attempts to turn it down. But eventually, the smell of the drink, which Ichigo had been kind enough to dress up in chocolate sprinkles and whipped cream with vanilla flavoring, had caused her attempts to become more and more feeble before she finally accepted it, pink in the face.

Then they split a funnel cake, flaky and warm and practically drowned in powdered sugar, though Ichigo only had a little bit after Orihime had used those gray eyes of her's and somehow had gotten him to agree to let her smother the Western confection in bean paste and wasabi sauce. The end effect was a vile-looking confection that Orihime wolfed down with gusto. The image of her licking her fingers clung to the back of his eyelids for the rest of the night.

"That was yummy! Thank you, Ichigo-kun!" She chirped, incredibly cheerful as she blinked over the edge of her saliva-slick fingers. Momentarily distracted, Ichigo took a moment to respond before fumbling for an answer that didn't come.

"Welcome," he finally grunted gruffly before standing and dusting the powdered sugar off of his broad hands. He extended a hand down towards her. "Ready to continue? We haven't gotten to your rainbow yet."

She stared down at his hand for a moment as her cheeks slowly darkened to the omnipresent pink. "You remembered?" She asked shyly, full lips curling up in a sweet smile. He blinked, mystified.

"'Course I did. I remember everything you've told me," he told her, slightly surprised even as he wiggled his fingers slightly. Her blush darkened, even as she slipped her hand into his. Wrapping his long fingers around her hand, he tugged her gently to her feet as he tossed the destroyed remains of what could have been a tasty snack away. "C'mon, there's still a lot of ground to cover." Feeling strangely embarrassed, he dropped her hand and stuffed his own appendage back into the free pocket.

Not seeming to notice his embarrassment, Orihime bounced ahead, auburn hair swinging behind her. It was clear that she was ecstatic to be here, though he had caught the occasional wistful moments whenever she paused to examine an obviously familiar light scene. Watching as her expression grew somber and then almost longing as she looked at a bunch of kids all posing in wooden thrones for the cameras of their parents, grinning cheekily and with varying amounts of food products on their face.

Walking up beside her, his arm brushed her's in silent comfort. "My brother brought me here when I was little," she explained softly, eyes downcast. "He snapped a picture of me with this flashing headband with reindeer antlers on it, and told me it was his favorite picture ever. Shortly after that, I lost the headband and never found them." She told him softly, tone wistful.

Comfort was not Ichigo's forte, and awkward words tangled on his tongue and he stayed quiet, rubbing his arm against her again in silent comfort. "I'll…be right back, okay?" He asked her quietly. She hummed an equally quiet response even as she continued to watch the young children clambering over the wooden thrones. Ichigo walked away from her side slowly, having caught the flashing out of the corner of his eye.

Only a few moments later, a cheap reindeer headband with bright red flashing lights was placed clumsily onto her head, mussing up her long light brown hair that promptly became flyaways. "Neh? Ichigo-kun?" She blinked owlishly up at him, as she immediately reached up to try and smooth down the few strands that were blowing wildly in the wind.

He shrugged, trying to seem casual. "Not sure if its exactly the same, but its close enough, right? And these have music." He tugged lightly on one of the prongs of the antlers to prove his point.

Her eyes lit up even as her cheeks darkened drastically. She reached up to feel the rough material of the dark brown antlers curiously, though she didn't take it off. "Thank you, Ichigo-kun!" She chirped, spontaneously throwing her arms around him in an exuberant hug. Surprised, Ichigo barely kept himself from stumbling back, though he quickly righted himself before patting her awkwardly on the back. "Itsmmkay," he mumbled sheepishly under his breath, feeling a hot flush creep up his neck uncomfortably.

A moment later, her thin arms released him and he realized, a moment after she had begun to tug him down the walkway to see more lights, his hand wound up being interlinked with her's.

And he didn't have the heart to drop her grasp this time.

A wistful sigh escaped Orihime's full lips as she stared contentedly at the glowing, flashing rainbow. "Isn't it pretty, Ichigo-kun?"

Standing beside her with their hands still connected, Ichigo merely stared apathetically at the cheery little rainbow, which flickered steadily over the light river, accompanied with rushing water sounds. "Hn," he agreed vaguely. It wasn't the best attraction he'd seen so far (his personal favorite had been the lights strung up in the trees at the beginning), but he could definitely see why Orihime treasured this one so much. It was a light cheery one, and while the rainbow was lacking a color, it was colorful and seemed like something that she would very much enjoy.

The flickering lights reflecting in her big gray eyes, Orihime leaned forward, looking wistful and cheerful and sad but happy. This girl was a master of the contradictions, he mused absently. Sensing that this was not a conversation moment, Ichigo kept his mouth shut, as he waited while Orihime mused on her deceased brother. After a few minutes of watching the flickering lights in Orihime's so very gray eyes, she finally turned to him and the smile she offered him was brave, though still wistful. "Are you ready to continue on, Ichigo-kun?" She asked him, now looking faintly tired.

He blinked. "Sure, if you are." They were almost at the end of the trail, he could tell. Clear in the distance was the tall, light tree that spiraled to easily four stories into the air. If he remembered correctly, the tree served as the end of the trail and people were allowed to spin and twirl under it until they vomited. In other words, it sounded like something Orihime loved to do.

She smiled again, tiredly. "Of course I am."

Kindly, Ichigo didn't comment on her sudden lack of energy. He understood, after all. Thinking on one's dead family member exhausted oneself mentally, and thus physically. Instead, he placed his hand on the small of her back once more, he guided her along the path. This time, they paused only for short bursts at the rest of the impressive light set ups.

In what seemed like no time, they found themselves at the part that led into the tree. Now Orihime brightened, eyes lighting up as she seized Ichigo's hand once more and tugged him forward as she quickened her pace. "Oh, this is so much fun, Ichigo-kun! You must spin with me!" She gushed, turning slightly to beam at him and nearly running towards the spiraling light tree. Ichigo stumbled along behind her, easily keeping up with her pace due to his long legs.

In what seemed like no time, he was peering up at the spiraling lights, feeling a sense of vertigo as he did so. As he continued to study the top, he felt small hands grasp his and tug him, before rapidly beginning to spin him. After nearly tripping over his feet for a few seconds, Ichigo quickly gathered his feet underneath him and grudgingly allowed himself to be lead in a circle by the almost giddy Orihime, feeling ridiculous.

Within a few minutes, his stomach was telling him to stop and he stumbled off to a hay bale, watching with a faintly green face as Orihime tilted her head back and spun in small, tight circles, laughing ecstatically as she did so. However, even a few minutes later, Orihime collapsed next to him, not looking queasy but winded and exhilarated. Her bright auburn hair was windblown and clinging to her flushed face. Her lips were slightly parted as she gasped in short breaths, gray eyes almost silver with joy.

"Oh, Ichigo-kun! This is so much fun!" She gushed breathlessly, and he gave her an almost smile.

"Glad to have helped, Orihime," he replied gruffly, feeling embarrassed by her obvious thankfulness. She studied him for a moment, looking almost wistful before smiling, tucking hair behind her ear. Dusting the stalks of hay off of her, she stood up. Smiling once last time at him, she almost danced back to where she was almost directly under the peak of the tree before slowly beginning to twirl once more.

"And besides, if you don't ask her out, then I will have to give Aido the impression that I like him, and he's too bony to be a good punching bag."

A brief image of Tatsuki appeared in his mind, foot tapping and arms crossed, looking angry. Feeling a corner of his lips quirking up sardonically, Ichigo got to his feet before dusting off his own jeans. Eyes narrowing in determination, he proceeded to cross over to where Orihime was still swirling in circles. Reaching out, he grasped the petite, fragile girl by her elbow gently, stopping her movements.

Pausing, she blinked those big almost-silver eyes at him. "Ichigo-kun? Is something wrong?" She looked concerned now, twisting her body to face him. Silent, Ichigo shook his head. She opened her mouth, probably to ask another question, but stopped when he slid his hand into her tousled hair, cupping the back of her head gently.

He slowly pulled her to him, pressing his lips to her's softly. Obviously surprised, Orihime was frozen for only a split second before responding as her own thin arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer. Her lips tasted like powdered sugar still from the funnel cake and Ichigo deepened the kiss.

It was a chaste kiss and he pulled away after a few minutes, smirking down at her flushed face. "Better?"

Looking dazed, eyes bright, she nodded, silent.

"Good." he dropped his hands from her cheeks, looking smug and pleased.

"Oh dear."

They both froze at the almost girly squeal, riddled with shock. Their eyes met, as they recognized that almost squeak anywhere. Slowly, they twisted to Keigo there with Ryo, of all people. Keigo already had tears flowing down his face while Ryo only had an eyebrow quirked in vague amusement.

"Oh shit."

When they got home, Isshin was standing there at the phone, saying, "She should be back soon."

Then he said them, and proceeded to change his mind. "Here Hime-chan, its for you," he handed the phone over to her, smiling faintly. Trading a glance with Ichigo, she accepted the phone and turned away from them.

"Moshi moshi?"

Glowering at his father's knowing look, Ichigo walked up to his room. After the fiasco with Keigo and Ryo-

("Never happened?"

"Never happened.")

They had decided to skip getting something else to eat and went home.

Once in his room, he proceeded to change into a plain gray wife beater and a pair of pajama bottoms, feeling tiredness settle into his body. The adrenaline from the…date with Orihime was wearing off, making him more familiar with the length of the past nine days.

He was about to flip off the light and go to bed when a tentative knock on the door caused his finger to pause. Twisting the door knob, he opened the door to reveal Orihime's anxious face. "Orihime? Is something wrong?"

"Oh, um, not really," she bit her lip. "Well, um, I mean-"

"Orihime, shut up and think a minute," he told her in his normal smooth manner. She smiled thankfully, before taking a deep breath.

"I mean," she twiddled her thumbs before smiling tentatively. "I found a new home!"

Dah dah dah!

Here ends the second-to-last chapter. Yes, that's right. The next chapter is the last one, -sniffle-

I tried to make this one as long as I could, but that didn't happen. So, sorry.

I'd love it if I could reach 150 reviews by the end of the story, so dare I ask for reviews, despite the freakishly long time I took to post? -bambi eyes-

Oh, and I'm a girl.

-Vampyre Heartbreak