A/N: O. M. G., this chapter took SOOOO freaking long. XD I'm so glad to have it done though... (Now it can be out of my hands while I catch up on a week's worth of missed homework, sets for people, doujins, etc... Sigh, SO MUCH!) DX Anywho, you are all in luck, because I've made my goal to write every chapter at 7,000 for sure. :D Whether it's more than that or not, I don't know(though it's probably unlikely, cuz it's just soooo many words...). Yeah.... XD Anywho, Thank you to those who have reviewed my first few chapters! Also, HUGE thanks to my wifey, copperheadfightingninja, who beta'd my story, helped me with a bazillion ideas(also, making sure Ichigo isn't out of character by yelling, "BANZAI! I love you Inoue!!" XD Jk.), and yeah... Thanks for just being awesome, copper. XD Blah, I'll stop now so you can read. Enjoy!

Chapter title: Resolve

--

A small ray of sunlight shone through the curtain, a small beam hitting part of Ichigo's face. His eyes gazed at the ceiling with various thoughts running through his head. He didn't sleep very well and now fatigue was catching up with him.

He sighed heavily, unsure of what to do. 'I'm supposed to watch and protect Inoue, but I don't know what to do or say,' Ichigo thought to himself, letting his eyelids close slowly, still fighting back his sleepiness. 'This sucks…' He rolled onto his side, still keeping his eyes closed. 'I can never protect her right… Damn, what am I-' Ichigo's mind wandered, until he heard clangs and bangs coming from somewhere on the other side of the door, which caused him to raise his head in confusion. He glanced over to the clock on the wall, to find that it was still very early, even for Orihime to be up.

Sighing once more, he forced his tired body to sit up and go investigate what the noise was. After slowly, but surely, dressing himself, he left the room he was staying in and wandered the halls, to eventually find a familiar auburn-haired teenager in the kitchen, quietly humming to herself. He couldn't help but feel at ease and his lips curved into a small smile.

"Morning Inoue… You're up early," his scratchy voice called out to her, interrupting her faint tune. She turned around and gave him a tired smile.

"Good morning Kurosaki-kun! I hope I didn't wake you up, I accidentally dropped a few pans…" She apologized, turning around to resume to her cooking.

"No, it's fine, I was kinda awake anyway," he told her, sitting down at the small table in her tiny kitchen. "But why were you awake? It's still really early." He glanced at a second clock in the area he was in. 'Seriously… It's only 5:43…'

There was a long, hesitated pause before she started to speak, and Ichigo couldn't help but notice the sudden tension in the air around her during that time. "I just thought I'd make breakfast, is all…" Orihime replied, her voiced sounding slightly strained. "Since you're company." She turned around again, giving him a bigger smile than before. He couldn't help but think of how silly she looked while holding such a big pan. Cute too. Ichigo's eyes went big at his own thoughts. 'C-Cute? Dammit, what am I thinking?' He quickly suppressed the slowly creeping blush on his face.

He leaned his cheek in his right palm and watched her work, listening to her humming from before. He watched the way she moved from one place to another and noticed small things he never saw before. He watched how her eyebrows furrowed slightly when she was finding something difficult, or how she stuck out her tongue when she determined to get something done.

And he noticed just how oddly right it felt to be here, with her. To be by her side and her shining face being the first thing he saw in the morning. Again, his eyes grew wide as he realized what he was actually thinking, this time, however, he didn't turn red from his thoughts. His eyebrows grew angled and his mouth arched to a deep scowl.

'What the hell?… I don't deserve to be around her, so I shouldn't be thinking it's okay… Because it's not.'

"Wow, that's a big scowl you have on, Kurosaki-kun," her lighthearted laugh brought him out of his thoughts. She set a plate of food in front of him, flashing him another one of her supernova smiles. He gave her a small smile in return, but felt his heart drop as he wondered how she could be so carefree with her fate being decided in less than 72 hours. He quickly diverted his attention to the food, which regrettably caused his stomach to do a flip.

"Uh… What's exactly in this, Inoue?" he spoke, pointing to his food nervously.

"It's just normal eggs and pancakes," she started to laugh, "Tatsuki-chan bought me a cookbook a while back, telling me I needed to make normal food for once." She picked up her fork and lightly pushed her food around her plate. "Since you're here, I thought I'd try it for you."

Ichigo just stared at her, trying to figure out something, no, anything not stupid, to respond with, along with trying to keep that creeping blush from showing up again. "Oh… Cool…" He hardened his gaze on his scrambled eggs, mentally beating himself up for coming up with such a lame reply. 'Cool?? Is that all I can come up with?'

"So, what do you plan on doing…?" Orihime asked, her tone now very quiet, not as cheerful sounding as it previously was. Ichigo looked up from his food, to her serene face. She kept a small smile on her face, despite the way she was feeling. "I mean, there's not much to do around here, for one, and you don't need to bother yourself by watching me… I know Soul Society forced you to do it anyway…"

He swallowed thickly; letting his mind wander again and allowing silence consume them both. 'It's not just because Soul Society told me to… I need to watch her… I owe it to her, for everything that's happened.' He took another bite, chewing slowly. He tried to suppress the feeling that he also wanted to spend these last three days with her, mentally telling himself it wasn't right to think such things.

"I dunno…" was all he could mutter, "what do you want to do?" Orihime's eyes got big at the question, holding confusion at the same time. He wanted to chuckle at the face she was making, but he knew it wasn't the right time to laugh and he continued on.

"You've only got three days… Right?" He asked her somewhat painfully, in which she averted her gaze back to table and nodded. "Then… I'm going to make sure you do everything you've always wanted to do," Ichigo told her, feeling a newfound determination. A determination to make her the happiest she'd ever be.

Orihime's eyes wandered back to his, seeing burning resolve in his chocolate brown eyes. Her heart lightly jumped as she saw him so resolute.

'Kurosaki-kun knows what he wants to do… Why can't I do the same?' Her gaze softened hurtfully but she gave him a small smile and spoke in a gentle tone.

"Thank you."

--

"Wah, sorry for the wait, Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime quickly apologized as she stumbled down the hall. She was trying to put her hair into a ponytail, the ends of her hairpins in her mouth.

"It's fine, Inoue," Ichigo responded, trying to reassure her. "Here, let me hold those for you..." His hands reached dangerously close to her mouth, to take the hairpins from her. Orihime's eyes grew big at the close proximity of his fingers to her lips. Her heart raced and her cheeks sported a dark shade of red. He grasped the ends of her hairpins and took them from her mouth. He held them up, a diluted smile on his face. "Now you can put your hair up without worrying about these." Orihime couldn't help but stare at him, completely embarrassed at what just happened. Ichigo took note of her gaze and crimson-brushed cheeks and started to turn red himself, with a scowl replacing his smile. "What…?"

"N-Nothing… Thank you, Kurosaki-kun," she spoke quietly, giving him a nervous smile and continued putting her hair up. "What are you dressed up for?" Orihime inquired, noticing his winter jacket he had on.

"I thought we'd wander around town or something…" he replied, fiddling around with her hairpins, looking at them curiously. "There's only so much we can do inside."

"But, they said we can't go outside!" Orihime protested, finishing putting her hair up. He raised his eyebrows at her sudden rise in volume. "Er, I mean… I just don't want to get you in trouble…" His scowl melted again and he handed her the hairpins back.

"Screw what Soul Society says, we'll do whatever the hell we want," Ichigo spoke in an irritated tone. She noticed lingering warmth on her hairpins, from when they were in his hand and her face flushed a bit more. He watched her put her hairpins in and continued, "And you shouldn't worry, Inoue. I'm here to protect you, so nothing bad will happen." She couldn't help but feel her heart fall at his statement.

' Yeah… He's only here to make sure I don't do anything that causes myself damage.' She bit her bottom lip. 'Because harm to me is harm to the key…' She finished putting her hairpins and gave him a forced smile. "Let me just get my coat and I'll be right back." Ichigo nodded in understanding, sliding his hands into his pockets as he waited for her.

As she maneuvered back to into the hall and towards the closet that held her coat, she couldn't help but feel hurt. 'I have no reason to feel this way… Why do I have to think like this when Kurosaki-kun is here?' She bit her lip again, opening the closet and retrieved her coat and a scarf that hung with it. Hastily slipping it on, and hurrying back to her orange-haired shinigami friend, she feigned another smile.

"Ready!" she faked a new mood, just for him. After all, the last thing she did was wanted to burden him more than she already was and cause him to worry. He furrowed his eyes, feeling more concerned than he was before.

'Was I thinking wrong that she should be really sad about all this…?' Ichigo quickly shook off his thoughts and turned to open the door. A cold blast of air hit them both and Orihime shuddered involuntarily.

"Brrrr, it's cold! Isn't it, Kurosaki-kun?" she laughed lightly, pulling up her scarf further, covering more of her face. His scowl faded again, a weak smile now tugging at the corner of his lips. Ichigo chuckled lightly and started to walk out the door.

"I guess it kinda is…" he replied, a tone of relief hidden in his voice. They started to descend the steps from her apartment when he realized something. "Inoue, did you lock the door to your apartment…?" Her eyes showed confusion at his 'strange' question.

"Lock the door?" Orihime paused, trying to think of what he meant. "Oh!! Lock the door! Right!" She quickly turned around and went back up the stairs, to pull out a small key and lock the door, as he requested. Ichigo looked at her intensely.

"Please tell me that you don't always forget to lock your door…"

"Eh? Oh… Um, now that I think about it… I kinda do," she responded, shrugging her shoulders lightly. "Whoops." Ichigo brought up his hand to his face, and as he did so, resulted in a loud 'slap' sound. She jumped back at his sudden action. "Kurosaki-kun, is something wrong?" He sighed heavily before speaking.

"Inoue… You need to lock your door when you're home, and when you're out. What if someone came in when you were home alone? Or if a stranger came in when you were away, and took something important to you?" Ichigo asked her in a frustrated tone. 'Damn, there's so much that could've happened to her! She needs to watch what she's doing.' He heard a small 'sorry' come from her as she averted her gaze to the ground, the tension around the two rising. 'S-Shit, why did I have to go say something like that?'

"Sorry Kurosaki-kun… I'm just forgetful sometimes…" She quietly apologized again. 'More like all the time…' Orihime mentally added in her head. She just heard a heavy groan come from the man standing in front of her.

"It's fine Inoue… You just have to be careful. I worry about you, you know…" He told her, still bewildered as to how she can constantly forget to lock her door. Her face heated up and she looked at him with big eyes.

"W-What did you say?"

"I worry about… You?" He spoke hesitantly, now realizing what he had just said and his face started burning up. He hastily turned around and started walking ahead of her. "Damn…" Ichigo quietly muttered under his breath. "Let's go."

"Eh? W-Wait for me Kurosaki-kun!" the auburn-haired healer immediately started followed him but missed the last step of the staircase, resulting in a big fall. "O-Oww…" He stopped, hearing her cries of pain, and spun around to see her current situation. His scowl soon appeared on his face, and he gave another heavy sigh. 'This is not my morning…'

"Inoue… You need to be more careful," Ichigo lightly scolded her, offering his hand to help her up. She looked up to him hesitantly, not taking it at first.

"Because I'm the Key… Right?" she asked with a tinge of sorrow in her voice. Ichigo, who was taken aback by her sudden question, couldn't respond. He just shoved his hand closer to her, motioning that she should take it.

Orihime skeptically grasped his hand and he slowly helped her up. It was as if time was slowing down, as she felt his rough, callused hand holding hers. 'I wish I could stay like this forever…' she thought as everything around her slowed. The warmth alone from his hold made her heart flutter in delight. She gazed up to him, and saw his fiery brown eyes staring back at her, which caused her heart to beat even faster and snap out of her trance.

"S-Sorry… Thank you, Kurosaki-kun…" the healer apologized, taking her hand out of his. She was sure her face was as red as a strawberry now. In a daze, she curled her fingers into a fist, thinking about his lingering warmth still in her palm. Ichigo scratched the back of his neck, unconsciously flexing his opposite hand as well.

"Just watch where you're walking… Alright?" Ichigo told her, trying to keep his composure as he continually remembered her small, soft hand, taking his. 'Damn… Why did it feel so right for her to take my hand like that? And the way she looked at me…' He felt his own heart skip a beat as he pondered what her look could possibly mean.

"Okay, sorry, Kurosaki-kun…" Orihime apologized quietly, following him from behind. An uncomfortable silence consumed them both, as they were both lost in their thoughts. 'Damn… Gotta think of something to say…' He struggled to come up with a topic, until he realized they were just wandering around.

"Inoue," he started, turning around abruptly. She jumped back in surprise, her eyes wide from being startled. "Sorry… But where are we going?"

"Huh?" she asked, confused. "I thought you were leading…" She pulled up her scarf, hiding her face. She couldn't tell if her cheeks were burning from embarrassment or from the cold.

"We're doing what you want to do, remember?"

"Oh… Right…" She replied in a muffled tone, trying to keep her face warm and rub her hands together at the same time. The cold was really getting to her.

"Want to sit down while you decide?" Ichigo offered, pointing to a nearby café in the direction they were heading. After squinting her eyes to see what he was pointing to, she gave him a quick smile and nodded.

Again, a cessation of sound kept the two teens quiet as they walked along the snowy street. Orihime was busy thinking to herself.

Ever since she found out about being the Royal Key, it was as if her brain couldn't shut off. It was like she was unconsciously trying to think out every last thought she could before she met her fate; this included during the night as well. Like Ichigo, she hadn't slept very well; waking up often with a new thought in her head, usually more frightening in idea than her last. She yawned lightly as they walked, as remembering her lack of good sleep made her tired. 'I can't show that I'm tired or worried about anything… It'll only concern Kurosaki-kun.' She tried to suppress another yawn, but to no avail, she let out a bigger yawn than before. As her eyes closed slightly, she accidentally bumped into a larger body, which had stopped in front of her.

"We're here," Ichigo mumbled, pointing to the shop again. Her lips curved into a small smile, but it was forced, as her mind was wandering to less pleasant subjects again. She gave him a nod and walked in ahead into the café, where a rush of warm air met her body. Her face heated up as she compared the warmth of Ichigo's hand to the temperature of the room. 'Better…' She thought nervously, her pros of his hand outweighing the cons. 'Definitely much better…' She took a seat at a small table in the middle of the café, motioning to Ichigo to sit at the same table.

"Inoue, did you want something to drink while you think?" Ichigo offered to her, before sitting down. 'No reason to sit down if I'm just going to get up again…' She looked at him confused at first.

"Eh? Oh, no Kurosaki-kun, it's alright, I'm fine," she tried explaining to him, but her body spoke differently and shuddered involuntarily, still adjusting to the new temperature. He raised his eyebrows, noticing this action of hers. Orihime blushed, inwardly scolding her body for doing that to her. "Um, hot chocolate please?" He nodded, leaving to go get the hot drinks. She sighed lightly and started to draw imaginary circles on the table.

'I feel so embarrassed… I've acted nothing but silly or stupid in front of Kurosaki-kun. First it was the door, then it was falling down the stairs, and now it's not deciding what I want…' her thoughts stretched out again, leaving her more and more rueful, as well as confused. Even though she was alone, she shook her head, trying to free her head from those thoughts again. 'No, I need to think of what I want to do today! Otherwise Kurosaki-kun will only worry...Although… Just spending the day with him is enough for me,' she blushed heavily. 'But there's no way I can tell him that… It's almost like we're on a date, Kurosaki-kun will surely-' Orihime cut off her own thoughts again, her face now on fire at just the mention of 'date'. She buried her face in her hands in embarrassment.

"Inoue?" Ichigo's voice broke her thinking, startling her and causing her to jump in her seat.

"O-Oh, hello Kurosaki-kun! Back already?" Orihime spoke, trying to keep her stuttering down to a minimum. It wasn't working so well though. He set the drink down in front of her.

"Yeah, the line wasn't too bad," he replied, taking a sip from his own. "Have you thought at all about what you want to do?"

'Spending the day with you is enough for me…' she thought again, swallowing thickly as she tried to force that embarrassing conviction out of her head.

"Oh, sorta… I really wouldn't mind just wandering around, to be honest," she told him, giving him a soft smile. 'As long as I'm with you, I'll be happy…' she mentally finished, as her cheeks grew hot again.

"Okay then… We'll just go wherever then?" Ichigo asked awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck again. Orihime gave him a definite nod and took a drink of her hot chocolate. Her eyes went big at the taste.

"Wow, this is so good!!" she gave out an excited cry, quickly taking another sip. Ichigo couldn't help but crack a smile at her silly reaction to the drink.

"That great?"

"Yes!! It's delicious!" Orihime exclaimed, cradling the cup in her hands. "Thank you Kurosaki-kun!" she gave him a warm-hearted smile, which caused his heart to skip a beat. 'Damn… She's being cute again…' His eyes grew big at his own thoughts. He did it again; he thought she was cute. 'Dammit!' She took note of his… Interesting facial expression. His fierce scowl, furrowed eyebrows, and rapidly increasing amount of blush in his cheeks.

"Something wrong, Kurosaki-kun?" she asked him curiously, now putting on a cute pout, which caused his face to only turn redder.

He inaudibly mouthed a "No," as he tightly gripped the cup in his hand. Her face fell, as he refused to tell her what was really bugging him. Orihime looked at the table half-heartedly, now absorbed into her thoughts once more.

'This isn't right… Who knows what's going to happen… I can't let myself get so attached…' Ichigo thought, silently telling himself reasons not to make her hurt more by being with him. 'But I just can't leave her alone… She's my friend…'

Her eyes hovered back up to look at his hunched form, frowning lightly in the process. "Sorry…" she quietly mumbled to him. Ichigo snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at her, a confused expression etched onto his face.

"For what?"

Orihime didn't respond. Her heart couldn't decide whether it wanted to beat fast at his gaze connecting with hers, or it wanted to fall at all the pain and frustration she was probably causing him.

'Everything…'

--

Orihime now walked ahead of him, lightly humming the same tune from earlier that morning. He walked at a leisurely pace behind her; slightly relaxing at the soft melody she quietly voiced. Like he did earlier that morning, Ichigo just watched her, how she moved, her actions and reactions. Never had he found her so fascinating before. He knew she was a good person, with beauty inside and out but the small things she did seriously interested him. It was only until he was very intrigued and intensely watching her, that he realized what he was doing and turned a dark red, shutting himself, and his hollow, up from their thoughts.

She couldn't see him directly all the time, but most of the time, she could feel his hard gaze, just watching her. There had been plenty of times she wanted to turn around and ask if something was up, but she knew it would only result in embarrassment for them both. So instead, she continued to walk along, him following in pursuit, with a heavy stare at her backside. Her cheeks grew warm as she repeatedly hummed the tune from earlier.

"Kurosaki-kun, let's go in here!" Orihime spoke, breaking her quiet tune and pointing to the donut shop on her left. He snapped out of his thoughts, which were more or less caused by his staring again and tried to force the creeping blush to go away.

"Oh, you're still hungry, Inoue?" Ichigo asked, somewhat surprised. She had eaten a somewhat large breakfast, later followed by an entire cup of hot chocolate. Her eyes widened slightly, now realizing what she had said. 'Now Kurosaki-kun probably thinks I'm a pig! I'm so stupid for saying I wanted to eat more.' At the same time, her stomach gave a small growl in protest to remaining hunger, which caused her to flush bright red; He couldn't help but chuckle a bit at her embarrassment.

"I'll take that as a yes," he assumed, starting to walk towards the small shop.

"Eh? B-But Kurosaki-kun, I'm fine!" Orihime tried explaining to him, only to have her stomach growl again. He suppressed another laugh, and took her hand, leading her into the store. She thought she couldn't think straight before but when he grabbed her hand, just like earlier, everything slowed down. Besides blushing at his warm hand, she stared at the back of his orange head, wondering what was running through his mind.

"Oi, Inoue, what do you want to eat?" She heard his voice, snapping out of her daze. She looked toward him, her face burning up and a confused expression nicely placed on her features.

"H-Huh?" She questioned, thinking she probably sounded like a fool. Ichigo sighed lightly, pointing to the display case with his opposite hand.

"What do you want to eat?" He asked again. She still couldn't focus on what he was saying, due to the still warmth present in her left hand.

"U-Um, I…" Orihime stuttered with her lack of focus because of his large hand, still grasping her small one. She wondered if he didn't realize that he was still holding on. "K-Kurosaki-kun?" He raised his eyebrows, connecting his eyes with hers. He was clearly confused.

"What is it Inoue?"

"H-Ha-Han-" She stuttered, her face growing hotter, if possible, by the second. He only looked at her more bewildered, obviously not understanding what she was trying to say. 'M-Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if I didn't say anything… But then that would be wrong to take advantage of Kurosaki-kun…' Her mind raced between the two ideas; of whether to let go or keep holding on.

"Hi, welcome to Mr. Donut! What can I get for you?" The counter-lady asked, snapping out of her thoughts. Orihime put on a smile for the worker, temporarily forgetting about her hand dilemma to order her food.

"Hello, I'd like to get… Hm…" she pondered over the delicious treats. 'If I wanted to do that, now's the best time to do it…' She boldly decided before looking back up to the lady. Orihime put on another smile, feeling butterflies in her stomach at her bold idea.

"One of everything please!"

Both Ichigo and the lady's eyes bugged out at her sudden appetite for donuts. "E-Excuse me? she asked, making sure she heard right.

"May I please get one of everything?" Orihime asked again, pointing to the display case with a smile on her face. "It all looks so delicious!"

"Inoue… Are you sure you'll eat it all?" Ichigo asked wearily, his eyes still wide. She turned to him and gave him a smile, her lashes lowered, covering up part of her eyes.

"Even if I don't eat it all now, I'll eat it eventually-" she spoke to him a small voice, but paused, realizing eventually now had a time limit. Her gaze fell to the floor, but she still kept the smile on her face, though it changed to a small, fragile one. She felt if she smiled any bigger, tears would start streaming down her face again. "I mean, I'll eat them before all this is over…" she slowly finished her sentence. Orihime felt his hand tense up at what she said, as it was still unknowingly held in hers. She returned her gaze back to the worker.

"Please," was all she said. Reluctantly, with raised eyebrows, the counter-lady began to fill a large bag with one of every donut, looking back to Orihime every time she put a pastry in, a bewildered look on her face.

"Are you and your boyfriend going to share them together?" she lightly teased, still feeling astonished about the large request of donuts. Orihime felt a light blush crawl up her face, as she tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"Boyfriend?"

"Yeah, the orange-haired kid you're holding hands with," she replied, pointing her tongs at the two, before resuming her bagging. "Aren't you two dating?"

"What? I'm not her boyfriend!" Ichigo told her a little too quickly, turning red himself. He quickly released his hand from hers, upon realizing they were still linked. "Er, I mean… W-We're not…" He spoke with a stutter, feeling very embarrassed.

"Really? You two look so cute together though," she continued on, finishing putting the donuts in the bag. "Your total is 2,762.70 yen." Orihime nodded and paid for her food, still forcing the small smile.

"Thank you," she spoke in a quiet voice, "but we're not dating." She took the bag of food from the lady. "Right Kurosaki-kun?" She locked eyes with him, giving an even larger, forced smile, with feeling the tears stinging at the corner of her eyes. 'Why do I want to cry? It's no big deal, it's just the truth… I'm being so stupid…' was the thought that ran through her head as she looked at him. Ichigo was a bit taken back by her question. He knew it was the truth, that they weren't dating, but there was something in her smile, the look in her eyes, which just didn't sit well with him.

"Uh, right…" was all he could say, in which, again, he cursed himself for giving such a bad response. Orihime gave the worker one last thanks, and she proceed to exit the store, whether Ichigo was in pursuit or not.

"You are to stay with Orihime Inoue until the decision is made. It is to ensure that she is watched at all times."

Ichigo silently swore to himself, now turning to follow his healer friend. He remembered vaguely seeing a pained feeling in her eyes and was at times like this that he wondered if she did want to be alone. But thinking that made him erupted an inner battle. He couldn't just leave her alone, and that wasn't because of what Soul Society said; he could care less about them. When it came to the person herself, he wanted to give her space, if she requested it but he also knew what it was like to be alone. He knew it hurt a lot.

Orihime sighed to herself, knowing she was walking a few paces ahead of her shinigami friend. "And if it all falls apart…" she quietly muttered to herself, rethinking the same words from the previous night. 'It's okay… It'll all be okay…' she silently thought, forcing those tears to remain where they were. 'Now is not the time to be sad…' In her eyes and not on her face.

"Inoue, wait!" she heard the familiar voice call out for her. She stopped hesitantly, remembering how he yelled those same words not so long ago, from the place that caused their current predicament. She shuddered involuntarily as memories of Hueco Mundo, Aizen, Arrancar and Ichigo all came flooding back to her mind. Her grip on the handle of her bag unconsciously tightened and her knuckles started to turn white.

She slowly turned around to face him, who sported a confused look on his face. "Sorry, Kurosaki-kun, I was just so deep in thought, I didn't hear you," Orihime flashed another smile, explaining herself to him, while partially telling him the truth. She knew there was no way she could turn around and face him before, when first leaving the bakery, knowing there was such a sad expression obvious on her face.

Ichigo just looked at her with soft eyes, but Orihime couldn't help but notice a quick flash of emotion in them. It looked like, possibly pain, sadness… Pity? Her smile faded a bit. 'Kurosaki-kun… Please don't look at me like that.' She could never say that out loud though.

Still, he said nothing. She smiled one last time before turning around to have her back facing him. She couldn't stand to see his face showing so many emotions and not even bother wanting to say anything. Not like she was one to talk. Orihime knew she could be an open book at times and she'd still deny anything was wrong, just to avoid burdening others.

"Where do you want to go next, Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked him in the most normal tone she could muster, trying to calm herself.

"I thought we were doing what you wanted to do," Ichigo spoke. She could tell his voice was strained as he talked and she wondered if it was because she was being burdensome again.

"It doesn't matter…"

"It does matter."

She remained silent for a few moments, repeating his last phrase in her head. 'Why? How does it matter…?' Orihime thought bitterly to herself. 'Everything and anything we do will be meaningless in a few days…' She swallowed thickly, forcing the painful butterflies in her stomach to go away.

"Can we go to that store next, Kurosaki-kun?" she asked him, continuing to face away but she merely pointed at a store just a few blocks away from where they were. To Ichigo, it appeared to be a small jewelry store.

"Jewelry?" He asked, his voice forced. She nodded, despite still facing away from him.

"Yup! There was one last thing that I wanted to get, then we can go back to my place," she replied, starting to walk ahead. "Plus I know the person who owns the store, so I want to say hello to her as well."

Ichigo, realizing that she was gaining distance between them, quickly hurried to catch up to her and walk by her side. "Are you sure that's all you want to do?" He asked her. He figured there must be so many other things she wanted to do. Why hadn't she said anything else?

"Yup… That's all."

"You're not serious," Ichigo spoke, his tone in a harsher tone than he intended. Orihime turned around and looked to him with raised eyebrows at his sudden raise in tone. She smiled and laughed lightly before continuing.

"I'm very serious, Kurosaki-kun. Sure, I have lots of things I want to do, but three days isn't enough time to do it," she explained to him, giving him a small smile. "So I'm just doing the things I know I can do, before the decision is made." Ichigo tensed up at the remembrance of the Soul Society's and the Soul King's "decision".

"Like what?" He inquired. 'Now that I think about it, I really don't know much about Inoue…' He scowled at his realizations. 'I've really haven't had the time to get to know her though… No, I could've taken the chance, I just never did.' Ichigo thought sourly.

As Ichigo pondered about his own thoughts, Orihime's mind was wandering just the same, although on an entirely different wavelength. Her cheeks grew hot as she remembered her exact words, of how she told him her hopes and dreams. The words she spoke to him on the night she left for Hueco Mundo. Maybe she could use them now. After all, they were still the same dreams as before.

"I had a lot of things I wanted to do. I want to be a teacher, but I also want to be an astronaut... And also have my own cake shop..." Orihime felt her heartbeat quicken at her close repeat of her confession of that night. 'Too bad he'll never know I've told him this before…' he stopped for a moment, a surprised look on his face.

"Was going to Mr. Donut and ordering one of everything part of that too?" He inquired, as she looked to him, giving him a smile, also a bit confused how he came up with the question he did.

"It was! I wanted to go to Baskin Robbins and order one of everything there too, but since it's Winter, ice cream might not be the best idea…" she spoke, pouting playfully. She resumed walking, as they were almost to the store. Ichigo was left somewhat behind again, immersing himself in his own thoughts, but again, it didn't take him long to catch up with her. Orihime started to swing her bag lightly with her right hand, while using the other to pull up her scarf in attempt to hide her growing blush.

She sighed, a puff of white air appearing in front of her. "If only I had five lifetimes to do it all!" Her mouth now curved up into a smile. "I think it would be so cool… I could be born in five different towns, eat five lifetimes worth of food, being different every time, and I could have five different jobs." Her heart hammered against her chest as she stopped walking, now in front of the store. Her face was very flushed, but she hoped that he would just guess it was from the cold air. "W-What do you think, Kurosaki-kun?" she asked, trying to hide her embarrassment as much as she could. 'There's no way I can tell him the last part of that though…'

Ichigo stood next to her, bemused by her speech. But there it was again; that uneasy feeling in his stomach, the one that didn't feel right. He cleared his throat before speaking.

"H-Honestly…? I can't help but feel like you've told me that before," he told her, not wanting to lie, but trying to hide his apprehensiveness about it all. "Did you maybe say that to me already?" Orihime's heart about jumped from her chest upon him asking. How he felt like it was familiar, she didn't want to answer, but she thought of a better, but more silent way to explain.

Instead of becoming flustered and hiding her face from embarrassment, she gave him a big smile. Ichigo couldn't help but feel his face heat up at her radiant smile, rosy cheeks and deep gray eyes. 'God, not the cute thing again…'

She quickly turned towards the door and entered the store. Ichigo's eyes grew wide at her silent answer, unfathomed at the fact she was no longer standing in front of him. His face grew hotter as he tried to comprehend her unsaid answer, until he realized he was left alone for the third time again, which he had to get back to her side once more.

He quickly and followed her path into the small store, in which he found her chatting to an elderly lady at the counter. He looked over to the two, and noticed Orihime had a bright smile on her face. It was one of those 'real' smiles he'd been missing from her. His lips cracked up at a tiny smile of his own, and he shoved his hands into his pockets and joined Orihime at her side, who gave him another smile.

"Ah, Yuuka-san, this is Ichigo Kurosaki-kun," Orihime introduced the elderly lady to him. She felt her face growing hotter as she said his first name. She knew it was just an introduction but it was the first time she'd said his first name in general. She silently urged the butterflies in her stomach to calm down, but it was to no avail. "Kurosaki-kun, this is Yuuka Satou-san."

"So you're Kurosaki-kun?" Yuuka spoke, a joking tone hidden in her voice and her eyes closed in amusement. Ichigo raised his eyebrows skeptically at her odd question.

"Yeah, that's me…" he answered hesitantly. Had Orihime talked about him before?

Yuuka cracked open an eye and glanced at Orihime, with a sly smile on her face. Orihime's face flushed harder than before and her grip on her bag grew tighter. Ichigo stared at the two women, completely confused as to what was happening… Or the possibility of what had happened.

"Oh, Orihime-chan, I almost forgot! I got a shipment of new necklaces in, that I think you'd like." She spoke and smiled as she remembered her latest addition to her stock. Her head quickly disappeared under the glass case and quickly popped back out, now with a small box in hand. Orihime let out a soft, "Eh?" as Yuuka handed her the precious necklace.

She opened it slowly, wondering what it could look like. As soon as she opened it, a bigger smile stretched across her face. "Yuuka-san, this is really cute!" She cheered, as the elderly lady gave her a big smile.

"I thought you'd like it," she whistled, happy to see her own customer and friend happy as well.

"What is it?" Ichigo asked, as he was starting to feel somewhat out of the loop. Orihime gave him a bright smile, which again, surprised him, as she showed him the necklace. Ichigo tilted his head in confusion as he stared at a small red, glass orb with some out-of-place green glass on top of it, all together strung on a thin, silver chain.

"Uh… What's it supposed to be?" He asked hesitantly, not sure what it was supposed to look like. Orihime pouted at his question, and Yuuka only laughed at her expression.

"I got a shipment of new, assorted glass fruit necklaces. I knew Orihime-chan's favorite fruit, so I pulled it out especially for her," she explained, pointing to the case with her bony finger. Orihime continued to admire the jewelry as she half-listened to their conversation.

"But what fruit is it? It just looks like colored glass."

"A strawberry," Yuuka replied, a big grin now adorning her face. "Like I said, Orihime-chan's favorite fruit." Ichigo looked at her dumbfounded, a blush threatening to crawl up his cheeks. 'It's the fruit, dumbass… Not you…' But still, he couldn't help but get embarrassed from finding out his good friend's favorite fruit was "Ichigo".

"How much is it??" Orihime asked excitedly, her smile still apparent on her face. Yuuka's smile faded and turned to a light frown.

"3,408.47 yen."

Orihime's face fell at the expensive price. "Oh… Well, that's okay…" She closed the case up gently and put in on the counter. "It's a beautiful necklace, but I'm not sure I can afford it now..." Orihime responded, before putting on a silly smile and laughing lightly, "After all, I did buy almost that much in donuts." She held up the bag to show the plethora of assorted sweets. "Before we go, did you want one Yuuka-san?" Orihime asked, kindly offering one to the old lady.

"Aw, that's nice of you to offer, Orihime-chan but you and Kurosaki-san should have them yourselves," Yuuka smiled gently at her, taking the small necklace case off the countertop and into her hands. "And I'm sorry, I'd give you a discount, since you're a regular and all, but these are new, and-"

Orihime lightly cut her off, shaking her head. "Nope! It's completely fine. Thank you for showing it to me though, it's lovely…" She spoke, now looking up to Ichigo. "We should probably get going, Kurosaki-kun," her voice rang out, a tone of understanding and contentment evident, Ichigo noticing a tinge of sadness in there too. 'She really wants that necklace… Maybe I-' He snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of her voice, calling his name.

"Kurosaki-kun, I'll be waiting outside, okay?" Orihime told him, pointing to the door with a smile. "Yuuka-san, it was nice seeing you again! Hopefully we can meet again soon." She spoke, her voice sounding more forced at the last part. He nodded in understanding and she quickly left to wait outside in the cold. Ichigo knew he couldn't keep her out there long but his glance wandered back to the small case.

"So, will I be seeing you back here?" Yuuka asked, a small, but gentle smirk gracing her face. His stare lingered at the box, before looking back up to her and shrugging.

"Maybe…"

"Take care of her." He hesitated a bit before replying, even though he already knew his resolve; the resolve to protect her.

"I will."

--

A/N: Waaah, sorry, it probably sounds so rushed now. *cries* I'm trying my hardest to write everything slower, so it's not rushed, but it's just so hard! XD Fwah.... Hopefully the next chapter can be up soon... And when I say soon, I mean like... Within the next month? I dunno... We'll just see where this goes... Ta ta my readers, I luff you so much for reading! XD I hoped you liked it!