Happy Friday! :) Enjoy this next chapter.

You see me through,
I was alone in the dark and the fear was my truth.

And I feel all the faint morning light
Filled with hope 'cause you're here in my life.

All That You Are - The Goo Goo Dolls

Chapter 5: So Long, Karakura!

-Ichigo-

"Everyone ready to go?" Ichigo asked. The group had met at Tatsuki's that morning to set out for Emerald Beach.

Tatsuki and Uryuu's cars were filled with suitcases and various other beach necessities along with snacks and random forms of entertainment. After ensuring that everything was packed and nobody had forgotten anything important, the girls got into Tatsuki's white SUV and the guys into Uryuu's silver Impala.

"We're going to get there first!" Orihime shouted out the window as Tatsuki pulled out of her driveway.

Uryuu waved good-naturedly and followed Tatsuki out of Karakura. Once they were on the highway, Ichigo reclined his chair and closed his eyes.

"You can't go to sleep now. We just started." Uryuu turned the radio up louder.

"Gimme a break. I had to get up early to help Dad pack for their cruise." Ichigo rolled over to face away from the driver's seat.

"C'mon," Uryuu griped. "Who am I supposed to talk to? Chad?"

Ichigo chuckled when a blow came from the back seat, jerking Uryuu's chair forward.

"I think I'll take a nap as well. I was there this morning too," Chad said in his own defense.

Uryuu laughed at his own joke and continued teasing, "Think Karin'll be ok without you all week? She might just find another guy on that giant boat and-"

"Orihime might find another guy if you don't ask her out soon." Chad commented, making the boy in the driver's seat turn red.

"I don't know. I'm not sure it's such a good idea anymore." Uryuu spoke quietly, his tone now serious.

"She didn't like your bear thing?" The conversation had caught Ichigo's attention.

"It was a L-I-O-N, Ichigo." Uryuu drew out the word, obviously annoyed. "And she did. At least, she said it was the best graduation present she had ever gotten."

Ichigo snickered. "It was probably the only graduation present she's ever gotten."

Orihime's parents had died while they were all in middle school. Tatsuki was the only person from their group who had been close friends with her at the time but she had sort of adopted Orihime into her home until she turned 16 and moved out on her own.

"That's what I was thinking." Uryuu frowned as he spoke. Tatsuki had been the one to introduce her to the group the summer before high school started and, at the beginning of this year, Uryuu decided that he was developing feelings for the sweet redhead.

"She took it to school with her the last few days; I noticed it in her backpack," Chad said encouragingly.

"Did she really?" Uryuu's eyebrows furrowed again. "I still think she has a crush on you, Ichigo. She certainly talks to you enough."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "I'm telling you, it's only because Tatsuki and I have been friends since we were kids. She just knows me better."

"And you're sure you wouldn't mind?"

"I am positive. She's all yours, Uryuu." Ichigo replied, reminding his friend, once again, that he had no romantic interest in her.

Orihime's sweet and all but… she's sweet.

In a sense, Ichigo figured, he actually cared for his female friends more than he had cared for most of the girls he had dated.

"Girlfriend" was not a familiar term to Ichigo. Usually, a girl asked him out and he either declined or they messed around for a week or two before the girl got boring and clingy. And then, she would cry. They always cried. Ichigo usually just chose to avoid the whole mess entirely.

But Orihime and Tatsuki were special. They didn't put up with his usual attitude that made him attractive to most other girls. Tatsuki was almost like an older sister to him; they had been friends as long as Ichigo could remember and she certainly bossed him around enough.

"And you're going to ask Rukia out, right?" Uryuu's question snapped Ichigo out of his thoughts.

"Why would I do that?" He responded casually. "Besides, you said yourself that she's completely focused on her business stuff."

"I think everyone's noticed that you've taken an interest in her." Uryuu's voice has a suggestive lilt. "And, like I also said, this trip is most likely not an opportunity for her to focus on business."

"Tatsuki might get upset with you." Chad warned.

"Exactly." Ichigo agreed, thankful that Chad had provided him with a reasonable excuse. "Let me know when you ask Orihime out and then we can talk about my love life. In the meantime, I'm going to sleep."

He heard Uryuu mutter some snide comment before turning the music up again. Ichigo smiled at his friend's obvious embarrassment and then covered his eyes with the crook of his elbow to block out the sunlight. Letting his mind wander before he fell asleep, he found himself drifting towards thoughts of the dark-haired girl.

What if Uryuu's right? What if I did ask her out?

-Rukia-

Rukia was pleasantly surprised when Tatsuki started playing some sort of rock music, very similar to what she listened to during her workouts.

"What's the name of this band?" Rukia leaned forward from the back seat, attempting to make conversation after the quiet start.

A small smirk crossed Tatsuki's face. "You can just ask me to turn it down, you know."

Rukia was about to protest that she had been misunderstood when Orihime smiled kindly and turned the volume down. Then, she turned to face Rukia with mischievous expression.

What's her deal?

"So. You really like Ichigo, right?" She looked expectant but Rukia couldn't seem to find her voice.

"Oh, come on!" Tatsuki chimed in. "It's totally obvious that's why you planned this whole trip. You might as well admit it!"

Rukia felt her face heat up. "That's not it at all! I really don't have any feelings for Ichigo." She blushed harder as the girls laughed, clearly not believing her.

"I'm serious! Besides, I thought you liked him, Orihime."

Oddly, this caused Tatsuki to laugh harder.

Orihime blushed and spoke quietly. "We're just friends. I… I'm hoping that Uryuu will ask me out soon. I'm trying to act like Ichigo and I are really close so that he'll get jealous."

Rukia paused. Is that how flirting works?

"Are you sure that will work?" Rukia spoke carefully, cautious about admitting her obvious lack of romantic experience.

She watched Tatsuki shrug in the driver's seat and Orihime sighed deeply.

"Well, I don't really know. I saw it in a movie but Tatsuki keeps saying that I should just tell him." The girl's cheeks tinged pink. "Do you want to see what he got me for graduation?"

Still mulling over the idea of pretending to like someone to gain another's attention, Rukia tried to give an engaging smile and nodded.

After rummaging through a bag at her feet for a few minutes, Orihime finally pulled out a dark orange stuffed animal.

"How cute!" Rukia's eye was immediately drawn to the adorable little animal. "Can I hold it?"

Pleased with her friend's reaction, Orihime proudly handed her the toy.

"Have you named it yet?" Rukia asked, letting her fingers run along the soft fur and odd patch of hair sticking out from around its head.

"Why does a bear have so much hair around its face?" Rukia asked before Orihime could answer her first question.

This caused Tatsuki to chuckle again and Orihime snatched the animal back.

"It's a lion!" She protested, hugging it to her chest defensively.

Could've fooled me…

"Don't feel bad, Rukia! I told her it looks like a bear!" Tatsuki teased.

The redhead swatted at her friend in defense before turning to face Rukia again.

"I haven't decided what I'm going to name him yet. I call him Kon because that's the name of the band that played when Uryuu and I had our first dance but I could never tell anyone that."

Her eyes widened when she realized what she had admitted. "You can't tell anyone!"

Rukia was startled when the girl grabbed her hand, looking into her eyes with a worried expression. Unsure of what to do, Rukia nodded seriously to hide her discomfort.

"I would never do something like that. You can trust me." She tried to give a small smile to return the large grin that covered Orihime's face.

Orihime sat back in the passenger's seat and giggled. "I just knew we'd be friends."

Tatsuki increased the volume on the radio again and the car fell into a comfortable silence for a few moments before the tomboy spoke.

"By the way, the band is Eyeshine!" She paused to give Orihime a sly smile before speaking again. "You should remember them; they're Ichigo's favorite. It'll be a good conversation starter!"

Rukia blushed at the comment but she didn't bother objecting over the loud music. Instead, she sat back and enjoyed the feeling of laughing about anything with her new friends.

So, if you haven't already, go look up Eyeshine. The lead singer is Johnny Yong Bosch and the music in general is great :) I thought I was being clever by making them Ichigo's favorite band.

Leave a review if you have the time and make me smile.