Kneeling down next to the tub, Chad gently placed Ichigo in the warm water and then released her so that she could get settled more comfortably and was about to get up and leave her to bathe in private when he felt one of her small hands grasp his wrist- stopping him.

"Ichigo?" He looked at her questioningly. Wondering why she was stopping him from leaving when Ichigo glanced at him from under her bangs for a moment before finally saying softly,

"Stay." Earning a small smile from him as he carefully took her hand from his wrist and brought it up to his mouth and kissed it tenderly before replying.

"I would love too, angel. But I can't. I need to go get you're overnight bag from your place and then come back and start on dinner." Shifting a little bit, and winching a bit at the sliver of pain she felt in her lower stomach and said,

"You don't have to. I could get my stuff and cook-"

"No," Chad said harshly, cutting her off at the knees and causing her to give him a slightly startled look as she took in his- well, pissed expression as he closed his eyes for a moment and seemed to mentally be counting to calm his temper before speaking again, this time in a much calmer and kinder tone.

"No. Look, I'm sorry for snapping like that Ichigo but you're hurt. I don't want you doing anything that may cause you to become even more hurt. That means standing for long periods of time, walking, ect... Just leave that stuff to me and let me take care of you-" He reached out and gently brushed her hair back from her eyes with his finger tips as she slowly nodded her head. Causing him to smile in a way that sent her pulse to racing before he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek and then got to his feet and muttered a quick, but heart felt 'thanks' before disappearing out the door.

Leaving Ichigo alone to soak undisturbed as he had originally intended.

(********************************************************************************************************************)

Chad was acting weird.

Well okay, even weirder than usual. Which had Ichigo puzzling over what the normally calm and gentle giant could be thinking since he wasn't acting like himself at the moment. Closing her eyes, she let herself slip a little further into the water, letting it come up to almost her shoulders as she reclined against the back of the tub and tried to think of a time when he had acted even remotely similar to how he was now.

It took several moments of shifting through any and all information she had stored away in her mind, but she finally found another instance when he had acted so strangely.

It had been the day after they had finally become friends.

Chad had showed up at her house at five in the morning and had waited until her dad had started to open the doors of the clinic for someone to notice him so that he could introduce himself to her dad and sisters.

He'd managed to wrangle his way into the house, and had even cooked everyone breakfast and fixed her, and her two little sister's each a home made bento lunch to take with them to school. Thoroughly impressing her dad- even though he was an idiot and easy to impress.

Thus earning him an open invitation from her dad for him to come over any time he wanted. Which he had shamelessly taken advantage of. For over a month before Ichigo had stopped him one morning by staying up all night to wait on Chad to show up. And when he had, she still remembered the look of surprise on his face as he'd taken in her appearance.

From her messy collar length orange colored hair, to her loose fitting overly large turquoise button down shirt, to her bare, long slender legs and shoeless feet- as she stood with her back against the side of her home, right across from the street light.

She'd been tired that day. Exhausted really.

Even more so than usual due to her monthly cycle having just ended and her body was recovering from the ordeal as she had faced him down and plainly told him that if he wanted to crash or hang out- that was one thing, but he didn't need to come over every morning and cook for them.

He'd looked pissed at first. In all honesty she hadn't expected that.

But when he had told her that he wouldn't stop because it was his 'job' as her friend to take care of her and her family, whether she liked it or not- she had gained a better understanding of why he did what he did.

And that was when he had startled her by coming at her like a linebacker and picked her up around the waist and had placed her over his left shoulder and then promptly marched her freezing ass back into her house and put her back into her bed before dropping himself down to the floor with his back to her and saying softly that she needed someone to help her take care of herself.

He worried.

And he'd probably been right too in that instance at least. She'd caught a cold and had had to spend almost a week in bed thanks to a high fever of over a hundred and two. Something that Chad had bitched at her for endlessly until she had gotten better.

So that was what he was doing now- She thought as she picked up the soap and began to rub it between her hands. He was re-assuming the role of her caretaker.

She didn't exactly know how she felt about that. But she supposed that since she had let him take her innocence...he was sort of entitled to act a specific way towards her now. It didn't mean that he thought any less of her. It was just Chad being himself and trying to express his feelings.

And as long as he didn't bitch at her endlessly like he had that time she'd had the cold.

She could deal.