Author's Notes: Thanks to my friend Rain and Thunder for her wonderful ideas. Again would like to mention, forgive me if Gin sounds OOC, he is in a situation he's never been in before and this story is about pairing Gin with Orihime and how they get together and what they have to do to over come the problems that are laid out before them.

School Trip

After that night from having no power, Gin went back to sleeping on the couch. However, more often than not, Orihime began to have more disturbing dreams. Every time she had a bad dream, he would enter her room to wake her, ending her horrible nightmare. With each passing night, this had happened; his concern for her kept rising. He didn't know what to do about it. Even she was scared from these dreams. The dreams were when she was in Heuco Mundo on events that never happened.

When she would wake, she'd wake in a cold sweat, screaming. Gin would go on automatic and comfort her, which would ultimately end up having her fall asleep in his arms. Even now, a month later, Orihime would still wake in the night screaming or crying and Gin would have to barge into her room to comfort her. The dreams were beginning to actually piss him off, but he was sure he wasn't the only one feeling that way.

"Good morning class," Gin replied as he walked into the classroom. The very second he walked into class; he once again felt Ichigo's eyes on him. Ever since the day Gin became their teacher, the young teen would never let up on his glare.

Gin reached his desk, setting his books down. "I have great news to tell you all. Today we shall be going on a class trip."

Keigo's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "Ohhhhhhh YESSSSSSSS!" He threw a fist in the air.

Gin arched a brow, taken aback by Keigo's reaction. "Well you're sure in a good mood all of a sudden," he teased, resorting for his voice to sound very condescending.

Keigo cringed as the man's grinned widened. "Well… umm…"

"Mr. Ichimaru, what my friend here is trying to say," Mizuiro interrupted. "Is it's always fun when we have school trips."

"Why? Because it allows you to have a day off of classes?"

Mizuiro nodded. "Yeah. So where will we be going?"

"That's a good question," Gin then looked down on the desk, looking at what yesterday's lessons were in history. "As part of your next history assignment, we shall be going to a museum."

Orihime kept quiet, as she didn't look at Gin. She couldn't believe how often she kept waking in the morning with Gin at her side. She couldn't understand why she was having nightmares, now of all times, of Heuco Mundo, since Gin arrived. She just couldn't understand any of it. She wanted to talk to her friends about the matter, but had a feeling they would tell her the same thing, 'kick Gin out'.

One of the students, nearby Orihime, who had no idea who Gin really was, lifted a hand. "Mr. Ichimaru, when are we leaving for this trip?"

"Glad you asked," he replied, looking over in the student's direction. "Just as soon as we're all ready."

"You mean basically right now!?" blurted Keigo, shocked.

Tatsuki rolled her eyes. "I think that's what he just said you moron."

Chizuru stood up. "Mr. Ichimaru, would I be able to sit with Orihime?"

Gin looked at the obvious known lesbian. "Unfortunately no. Everyone will have assigned seats."

Chizuru pouted. "Awwwwwww. How will that go?"

"If you must know," Gin replied. "Orihime and Ichigo will sit together. While you, Chizuru, will be sitting with Mizuiro." He then went and explained who would be sitting with whom.

"What!?" Chizuru gasped. "But…but…"

"The decision is final. I chose this as I feel it is beneficial to place certain students with one skilled with students of another. This way each group is evenly balanced out."

Chizuru gawked, mouth hanging open as Ichigo's eyes narrowed. He knew better. 'Beneficial my ass' he thought 'You're just playing around with my classmates.'

Uryu and Chad also knew the man was playing around with the class but, they, like Ichigo, kept quiet. They couldn't let the class know they knew Gin on a more personal level.

"With that now out of the way, does anyone need the bathroom before we head down and get on the bus?" Gin asked suddenly. "Who ever needs to go, go now and meet us in the parking lot."

Three students immediately raised their hands and slid from their chairs, making their way to the bathroom, taking their coats with them. The other students carefully stood and grabbed their coats and began to make their way to the parking lot with Gin taking the lead.

/

Arriving at the museum, the students began to make their way out of the bus. Gin was the first to step out and then waited for his students to step out. He gave Orihime a smile but then grinned when Ichigo glared at him.

"Now, now Ichigo, wouldn't want to make a scene now would we?"

Ichigo stepped towards the man and hissed quietly under his breath. "Whatever your game plan, I will find it and stop you. Then I'll be sure the Soul Society revokes your life sentence to spending an eternity there like Aizen."

"Ichigo," Orihime quietly said as she grabbed his arm. "Gin, won't hurt me. I promise." Why would he hurt her? He had been comforting her every night when she would have a bad dream and then she would wake in the morning with him at her side. If he was going to hurt her, he would have done that by now.

"She's right you know," Gin replied.

"I don't care." Ichigo was about to say something more when Keigo stepped off the bus. "This is soooo cool!" he exclaimed excitedly.

Ichigo turned away from Gin walking towards the entrance to the museum. He was still annoyed with Gin being his teacher. And unfortunately, his own father told him to do his work Gin gives him but just keep an eye on him. Ichigo couldn't afford his marks to go down just because of Gin.

Seeing Ichigo head towards the entrance of the museum, Gin continued to wait until all the students were off the bus before he then walked towards the front of the group. When the group entered the building an employee came up to them, giving them a greeting. Gin was quick to get to the front of everyone, shaking the employee's hand, thanking him for allowing the class trip.

Gin then turned to the class. "Remember everyone, this is for your next history assignment, so be sure to pay close attention to what we're seen here."

Tatsuki couldn't believe the guy. If she hadn't known who he truly was, she would have actually fallen for his words. He played his role as their teacher very well. Too well in fact for someone who was an enemy to the Soul Society after betraying them.

"This is sooooo cool," Keigo exclaimed again, barely able to keep his voice quiet. He couldn't believe how cool this former enemy really was. Yeah, the guy had a creepy smile and worked with that even bigger creepy guy with the long hair but he did look like he was no longer working for the creep and seemed to enjoy teaching the class.

Both Mizuiro and Chizuru were sceptical about their teacher but he did seem to be doing a good job so far. He was playing the part well. But was it all for show, or was he actually being sincere? Ichigo surely made his feelings clear. He didn't like or trust the guy and most of all didn't want the man anywhere near Orihime, but that was useless as he was staying with her.

Ichigo walked over to Gin. "Yeah, I'll be paying close attention, but it won't be on this pathetic trip."

Gin's smile never faltered as he stared at the teen through his narrowly slit eyes. "Come now, Ichigo. You've already made a scene once, do you really want to freak out your classmates again?"

Ichigo's eyes narrowed. "I will kill you, if you harm her."

Gin could see the teen was ignoring his remark. "I assure you, no harm will come to Orihime in my presence. She brought me back as you can see."

Orihime looked at the two quietly talking. She took a deep breath, knowing it was about her again. Feeling her heart begin to race again, she stepped over to the two.

"Ichigo?" she asked.

Ichigo's brown eyes blazed in her direction. "How can you handle this bastard in staying with you? He makes me sick."

"Ichigo," she began. "He's been nothing but nice to me. Please, stop this."

"Not until that bastard is not in your home." With that Ichigo turned away, heading towards the back of the group.

Orihime felt tears wanting to drop, but her classmates surrounded her. She looked over to Uryu and Chad and saw they were giving the same questionable look as her other friends. Would Gin actually hurt her or not? She felt his presence step closer to her.

"I will never harm you," he whispered. "But you can't blame him for being so jumpy. You were held…"

"I know," she whispered, voice nearly cracking. "But he can't keep treating you like that. People will talk and you're our teacher now." She wanted to add more in about him staying in her room, but she couldn't find her voice to do so.

"Mr. Ichimaru?" the head manager asked as he walked up to him. "If you're ready, I'd like to start the tour now."

Gin turned. "Why of course," he replied loudly. "By all means." He turned back to the class. "This gentleman will now begin our history tour, so listen up."

The students quietly murmured amongst themselves before the manager took the lead and began the tour by introducing himself and talking a few minutes about the point of the museum.

/

As the tour near its end, Orihime no longer could hold in feeling really bad for how Ichigo was glaring at Gin the whole time. She tried to get him to listen to what their tour guide was explaining, but he refused. It was bugging her to no end. By the end of it, Orihime excused herself, saying she had to go to the bathroom and went to the public washroom. Just before the doors to the women's washroom, she crumpled to the floor and started crying. She no longer could hold it in. The frustrations of her friend she was in love with and her plaguing dreams finally caught up with her.

Finally when the tour was over, Gin had everyone gathered at the front entrance when he noticed Orihime was missing. He had seen her excuse herself a few minutes earlier but thought she had returned already.

"Has anyone seen Orihime?" he asked.

Tatsuki looked around, eyes wide. "She was here a few minutes ago."

Ichigo whipped his head around, heart hammering. Where was she? He noticed Uryu and Chad were doing the same.

"Maybe I should go find her," Chizuru offered. Could be her perfect opportunity to be alone with her.

"No, that may not be a good idea," Gin answered. "Uryu, may I speak with you for a moment?"

Uryu blinked, wondering what the man wanted to talk to him about. But then again, with Orihime missing, there weren't many who could probably find her. Ichigo wasn't going to keep himself out of this as Uryu stepped forward to the man.

"I didn't ask to speak with you," Gin remarked.

"Orihime is missing and I'm holding you responsible," Ichigo hissed.

"Ichigo, now is not the time or place," Uryu replied calmly. "I can assure you, she's quite safe."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I can sense her spiritual pressure," the Quincy answered. "She's not far from here."

Ichigo clammed up, giving a small grunt in surprise. Was that why Gin wanted to talk to Uryu?

Uryu turned to Gin. "I'm assuming that's why you wanted to talk to me."

Gin nodded. "It's well known, myself nor Ichigo can sense spiritual pressure."

Ichigo snorted. "Go ahead, rub it in."

"Ichigo, this is a matter of power here. Orihime is missing and we are both concerned for her well being."

Uryu could see Ichigo was about to snap a retort on the former Soul Reaper's words, but he felt it was now time to intervene. "Since she left the group, I've been keeping an eye on her spiritual pressure and from what I can feel, she has not left the bathroom area. I don't think she's even in the bathroom."

"I'll go and get her," Gin offered.

"No you're not!" Ichigo hissed.

"Ichigo, have you once thought on how Orihime feels about you glaring at me all hours of the day?" Again Ichigo was flabbergasted and both Quincy and former Soul Reaper could see it. "Perhaps next time you ignore Orihime's words, you may want to take her feelings into consideration."

With that Gin stepped away. "Alright class. I want you all to remain here until I get back. I believe I know where Orihime is."

"Mr. Ichimaru," Tatsuki replied. "Maybe I should go."

"That's not necessary," he answered. "But if I do need your assistance, I will come and ask you." With that, he left the class as Ichigo crossed his arms and huffed in a corner. Chad, Uryu, Keigo, Tatsuki, Mizuiro and Chizuru decided to go and join him, asking him what was going on with Orihime, which of course the teen had no answer to give.

Gin knew Orihime's friends were worried about her and he had to admit so was he. He saw her when she went to the bathroom, tears in her eyes. As he approached the public washrooms, he heard quiet sobs coming from the end of the hall. He turned the corner, finding her huddled on the floor, crying.

"Orihime?" He took a careful step towards her.

She gasped, lifting her head, seeing Gin. "Gin…" she whispered.

"What are you doing on the floor, crying?" he asked, getting closer until he was close enough to crouch down on his knees. "I hope I didn't upset you."

"No," she whimpered, rubbing her eyes. "It's just…"

"Ichigo isn't it?" he guessed.

She numbly nodded. "Why is he being like this?"

"He's concerned for you." He rested a hand on her shoulder. "Look, I know this is upsetting, but you can't go and let Ichigo do that to you. The class is waiting for us."

"He wasn't like this before he lost his powers," she insisted. "He wasn't so hostile like this."

"Orihime, can you actually blame him? I mean I worked for Aizen for many years, allowed him to manipulate me, to kill for him. My track record isn't going to disappear any time soon and Ichigo wants to be sure it's never forgotten either. What he saw was Aizen had you prisoner and I was there as his right hand man. I never lifted a finger to help Ichigo when Aizen made his escape."

She listened as she tried to stop her tears. He was speaking the truth and she knew that. What he couldn't stop was her feelings. She had already been hurt by the taller teen because of his fallen out about his powers. Probably Gin being there was adding insult to injury.

"What do I do?" she quietly asked.

"You must stand up for yourself," he answered. "Come Orihime. The others are waiting and I for one, do not wish for Ichigo to come looking for us. He doesn't know where we are and I don't want him to get the wrong impression." He held out his hand for her to take. "Quickly go in the bathroom to freshen yourself up and I'll remain here until you get out."

"You promise?" she asked weakly.

"You know I could never leave you alone," he smirked, humor returning. "Besides, I'm sure he'd probably kill me to know you're having bad dreams and I'm the one who comforts you."

Again he was right. Ichigo would have a fit if he knew that Orihime was sharing her bed with the 'enemy'. Ichigo would immediately think the wrong thing. Probably would think she and Gin were having sex and it was Gin who somehow swindled himself into her doing it with him. Just the thought alone caused a blush to form. Yes, they have slept in the same bed, but she was still very much a virgin, but with her healing powers, she could very easily heal her purity, making it look as though she never lost her virginity and Ichigo would probably think of it that way.

She took his proffered hand and carefully stood, being sure to keep her body from indecent exposure in front of him. His eyes never left hers as he lifted her up and then pushed her towards the women's bathroom. He was amused by her blush, but now wasn't the time to play on her embarrassment. She went without a fuss and was soon washing her face. It took only a few minutes for her to wash her face, and rubbed her face really hard to hide the red puffy eyes.

Within moments, she then returned to Gin's side and the two made their way to the rest of the class where the girl was immediately hounded down on what happened. Orihime was about to speak when Gin called to the others to pipe down and make their way to the bus, ceasing whatever questions were thrown at Orihime.

/

Once getting to the school, Ichigo kept quiet and even was quick to make his exit off the bus to leave the school. The class was gone for the entire day and now it was time to go home for the night. Orihime felt a little hurt he left so abruptly but then thought perhaps it was for the best. Gin was right; Ichigo was just trying to be protective of her.

Not wanting to leave her alone, Gin offered to walk home with her. At first she was a little apprehensive in the gesture because he was her teacher, but he ended up bringing up a valid point. He would only be walking her home to ensure her safety after her breakdown at the museum. She kinda thought it was actually sweet of him to offer to walk home with her. Besides the two were currently roommates.

"You didn't have to walk with me," Orihime replied as the two walked down the street.

"I know," he agreed. "But I am worried about you." Turning away from her, he looked up to see a nearby market. "I have an idea. Why don't we go and get some food for the next couple of days? We have yet to go together and there's something I want to see if they have."

She looked up, seeing the market. Her mood perked a little, but he knew it was just a cover. "That's an idea." She turned to him. "And what is it that you want to know if they have?"

"I would love to have dried persimmons."

"Oh!" she gasped. "They have them."

Gin gave her a genuine grin. "That's good to know." He slightly changed direction, intending to go into the market. He wanted his favorite food and he wanted to have them with dinner.

With a shrug, she followed him into the market. The two weren't inside two minutes when he found what he really was looking for. Orihime couldn't stop giggling on how he seemed to be truly happy about seeing his favorite food. Something, she was sure, he was deprived of when the Soul Society held him in custody.

Grabbing a cart, Orihime made her way over to him. "You know, you don't have to make too much of a spectacle about it."

Gin turned to her, his mocking grin in place. "What, are you jealous?" he teased.

"In your dreams," she remarked. The two had been staying together long enough for her to know when he was just teasing her. She could see past his grins and was able to know which grin was for what mood.

At the mention of dreams, Gin felt his mood drop. He had to speak with her about it. The dreams were getting too much and they needed to stop. Keeping with his mocking grin, hiding his true feelings, he then placed his persimmons in the cart.

"And what more shall we buy?" he asked, grin ever in place.

She shook her head as she pushed the cart towards a nearby aisle, heading towards the cold section where she could pick up some eggs and milk. They did need to have breakfast for the next couple days. At the same time Orihime went to the cold section, Gin decided to stop over at the meat location and picked up a few packages of meat. Of course one or both would need to return in a couple days time again, but at least the three he grabbed would be enough for now.

"And rice?" Gin suddenly asked after getting back to her.

Orihime shook her head. "We still have plenty from that large bag I bought the other week, I think it will last for some time."

"That's good to know." He then observed what was in the cart. "Well, I think we have enough for now. There's still enough at home for lunches and knowing you, you'll probably take some leftovers."

Soon the two found their way back up to the front of the store where they waited in line to pay for the food. As Orihime went to pull her money out, Gin was quick to beat her to it, by pulling out his 'new' wallet and brought out the right amount of money. The person behind the counter gave the two an odd look but remained quiet and did what was needed.

With Orihime carrying two bags and Gin carrying two, the heavier ones, the two left the market and continued their travels down the street. Just as they approached her apartment, the two spotted a lone kitty.

"Oh look!" she gasped. "A kitty!"

"Stray cats are common in a city from what I've heard," he remarked.

"Yes, but that one is sooo cute. I would love to take it home, but I don't have time to care for a kitty. Besides…" she paused and looked at him. "He's pretty looking and looks like you."

"Like me!?" he gasped. "How do you get that?" He tilted his head, trying to decipher what she was seeing. As he tilted, the kitty also moved its head opposite of him.

Orihime thought it was too adorable, and she released a giggle. "See? He's even mimicking you. His eyes are slanted nearly closed like yours are."

He looked at her with a frown. "You really have quite the imagination, you know that. I don't think that thing looks anything like me."

She giggled again as he took a step towards the building they lived in. "Come on, I would like to start on supper before it gets too late."

Again another giggle came out of Orihime before she picked up her speed and caught up with Gin. Gin offered to take her bags as she sifted through her coat to get her keys. Once safe in the warmth of the apartment, Gin put the bags down carefully and removed his shoes before taking the bags again and moved to the kitchen to put them away and start on dinner.

Revised July 26, 2016