Thanks to my beta-reader, PerennialLurker who had looked over the original version of this chapter. More thanks and love to those who had reviewed and gave feedback; it was invaluable. Hopefully if you've made it to this point you're enjoying the story so far. It's rather slow at this point, although things will start picking up soon.

Read and enjoy :)

Chapter 3

Back to the daily grind, with a twist

Ichigo was disoriented and confused when he first woke up. He glanced at his surroundings, his muscles tightened and ready to spring into action in this seemingly foreign environment. Then he saw them: his desk, his closet, and all his things.

He was home in his room.

That's right, I came home last night. He sat up, and rubbed his hand over his face. The shinigami had taken down the pillars in the human world, and the real Karakura Town returned the night before. Rukia and Renji stayed behind in Soul Society, promising they would see him the next day at school.

The transition from there to the human world had been weird, Ichigo remembered. Not only the process itself, but seeing the town for the first time since the war ended. The shinigami had done serious memory alterations on the people, and as he walked home that night, Ichigo could tell the residents remembered nothing of going to sleep or waking up. They were oblivious to the war that had threatened to destroy their very homes.

He sighed in agitation. Being in a human body again was also a little strange, although not quite as unfamiliar. His body's last inhabitant still sat in his pill form in Ichigo's closet, which was how he would remain until Ichigo felt like popping him into his plushie body. He had refused him details of what had happened, and instead just went to bed and crashed for the rest of the night. He was still exhausted, but he knew he needed to go to school and catch up on work. He and the others missed a lot, and he knew Shinji was right. I need to go back to a normal-

The attack came two seconds after he heard the footsteps.

Luckily, those seconds were enough. He braced himself and caught Isshin's foot as his father did a flying kick into the room, yelling, "Good morning Ichigoooooooo!"

The force of the kick slammed Ichigo into the wall, but he still had his hold. He gritted his teeth, and forced Isshin's foot up, and quickly delivered a kick right above his father's groin. Isshin "oomphed" as the kick sent him flying out the door.

"Damn it, Dad!" Ichigo glowered at his father. "Can't I have one peaceful wakeup call?"

Isshin pouted from his contortionist-like position on the floor, his arms and legs bent and twisted at odd angles from his landing. "But where's the fun in that? Besides, like any good father, I must keep you on your toes and prepared for anything!" He quickly righted himself.

Ichigo muttered under his breath, walking past his father and grabbing a towel out of the closet before going into the bathroom. We can't be from the same gene pool, I swear, he thought bitterly as he slammed the bathroom door behind him. He flung his towel onto the towel rack. He could hear his father sobbing pitifully from the hallway but ignored it. Nothing ever changes around here.

Once upon a time, he wished things were different around his home. That he had a sane father, that he didn't have such a fretting sister, or that his life wasn't always the same. Now, he couldn't be happier that things were like he left them.

He took off his clothes, letting them pool onto the floor as he stepped into the shower. Normal isn't such a bad thing anymore. Funny what a war does to you, he thought as he turned on the shower.

He came downstairs twenty minutes later, freshly showered and dressed for school. He greeted his sisters and sat down as Yuzu handed him a plate piled with food. "Thank you, Yuzu."

She beamed. "You'll need to eat well today! It's a big day for Onii-chan. You have a lot of work ahead, right?"

"You could say that," Ichigo answered, only vaguely alluding to the real work he had ahead of him, work Yuzu was, and if he had any say would remain unaware of along with the rest of his family. "I'll be home right after school, barring any emergencies."

He knew his disappearing act had scared his family, especially Yuzu and Karin. The utterly relieved look on Yuzu's face reminded him of that and how much the war had disrupted his life. "I'll see you when you get home then. Oh, your lunch is on the counter, along with your books."

"You gonna be okay?" Karin asked as Ichigo bit into his breakfast. "You did miss a lot."

Ichigo nodded. "I'll be fine, and I can ask my friends for help if I have to."

Isshin appeared out of nowhere, beaming like the idiot he pretended to be. "Don't worry, Ichigo! Daddy can help you with your homework and spend quality time-"

His suggestion was met with Ichigo's fist. The doctor was on his back, holding his nose as he wailed.

"Shut up," Ichigo muttered darkly. He took a few more bites of his food, and pushed it aside. "I'm gonna get going early. I'll see you guys later." He got up, and quickly scooped his lunch and books off the counter before hurrying out the door.

He had completely forgotten about Hitsugaya's promised excuse. His mind was far more occupied with the impending catch-up work he had. He only remembered Hitsugaya when he approached Ishida and Chad outside of school and overheard them talking about the captain. "Oi, you guys."

They turned around. Chad nodded to him, and Ishida pushed his glasses back. "Have you talked to Hitsugaya?" Ichigo asked.

"No, we haven't even seen him," Ishida said. "I can detect his reiatsu inside, however. Along with Kuchiki-san, Abarai, Shinji-"

"-And Inoue's." Ichigo looked up at the high school that loomed just before them. "I guess they're waiting for us."

Ishida raised his brow. "And here I thought you were hopeless at sensing reiatsu."

Prick, Ichigo thought with a suppressed glare. "I'm just not good at it. Inoue's is easy to feel." Orihime's reiatsu always stuck out to him. Despite how soft and gentle it was he could easily pick up on it.

"I always found hers a little challenging, actually." Ishida shifted the weight of his books in his arm.

"Then maybe you're the hopeless one," Ichigo countered.

Before the Quincy could retaliate, Sado gestured to them. "I can see Keigo and Mizuiro waving at us. I think they want us to hurry."

Ishida nodded and trained his gaze towards Ichigo. Ichigo met his stare, and suddenly he didn't like the smug, knowing look he had. "Or perhaps you're just hopeless in an entirely different way." Ishida quickly walked ahead before Ichigo could ask what he meant.

The substitute shinigami glared at his retreating back before looking at Sado. "That coward. Did you know what he meant?"

Blinking innocently, he shrugged. "Not really."

"Whatever then. Probably just trying to act smart," Ichigo reasoned as he walked towards his impatient friends waiting for them on the steps.

They caught up with Mizuiro and Keigo, and their greetings had been brief. Keigo didn't even try to enthusiastically greet (in other words, try to tackle) Ichigo. All of them were anxious to get to their classroom.

Once they got inside and made their way through the school, they approached their classroom. They peered cautiously inside. To their surprise, Hitsugaya was not the only one standing in front of Ochi's desk. Renji was talking to her, Hitsugaya by his side, as he pointed to a small pile of papers set on the desk. Tatsuki, Rukia, Shinji, and Orihime were sitting at their desks, conversing in low voices.

Before they could greet the new arrivals, Ochi smirked. "Ah, you're all here now. Come here." She motioned for all those who had been absent to stand before her desk. Nervous glances and expectant stares were traded amongst the friends. They converged as one group at their teacher's desk. Tatsuki, Keigo, and Mizuiro waited at their seats, as nervous as those up at the front of the room.

She paged through the documents, squinting slightly through her glasses as she nodded a few times to herself. After seven suspenseful minutes, she looked up at Hitsugaya. "So, this is all entirely true?"

He nodded solemnly. "Yes. I apologize about having to keep you in the dark about it, but it was top secret. Direct orders from the government. I had to obtain permission to reveal this to you, and only because we were concerned that those involved would be penalized for their missed schoolwork."

Ochi nodded, peering at the others. "So, secret government helpers, eh?" She kept her voice low. "Is this the end of it?"

Government agents? That's his excuse? It's… sort of true, Ichigo realized, and he nearly laughed. Hitsugaya was trying to tell Ochi-sensei the truth without really giving it away. They had been working for a type of government or authority, and their work was a secret. He had to give the tiny captain credit: he was clever.

"Hopefully," Hitsugaya answered, his voice serious and quiet, "but there are no guarantees. The worst is over, but something could come up at any time. I can't reveal much more to you, but all we ask is that you give those here who missed a lot of work time to catch up on it and not penalize them."

"Of course." Ochi shuffled the papers and handed them back to Hitsugaya. "I should have all the work and assignments they missed written up tomorrow. Today, you guys will just have to try and get a feel for what we're doing."

They nodded. "Thank you, Ochi-sensei," they murmured as they left to take their seats.

A scuffle broke out suddenly in the hall. Those in the classroom turned their heads towards the doors, listening as they heard muted shouts and yells. As Ochi-sensei hurried out to break it up, Shinji shook his head and glanced over at Hitsugaya. "Government helpers?"

The young captain gave him a deadpan look "I basically told her the government had an operation going on that required the assistance of adolescents because they fit the descriptions we needed to infiltrate a group. We picked them after various connections and background checks, etcetera."

Rukia raised a brow. "Those documents looked really official."

"Yes. With the ninth squad's resources in handling the magazine, plus Kurotsuchi-taichou's help and Kuchiki-taichou's calligraphy skills, we were able to make those elaborate looking papers." He sighed. "It was an effort, but it was the least we can do."

Sado nodded. "We appreciate it. What if sensei decides to check up on it, though?"

Renji shifted in his seat and glanced at Hitsugaya. "Memory alteration?"

He nodded. "It never fails, at least."

When the rest of the class filed in, things went on as if they had never left, once the initial shock of the missing students' return passed, at least. Their classmates made no effort to hide their surprised stares. Most of them said nothing to them about it, although one or two of Sado's friends did ask him if everything was all right.

A familiar girl walked in looking rather morose as she pushed her glasses back up her nose. She glanced around and her eyes widened when they fell on Orihime. "Orihime-chan?" It was no surprise Chizuru had noticed her crush's long absence, or that she was shocked to see her after so long.

Orihime smiled cheerfully. "Hey, Chizuru-chan!"

Chizuru tossed her books on her desk and immediately went for Orihime. Tatsuki began to get up, but when Chizuru reached Orihime, instead of making a grab for her breasts, she tightly hugged her. "I was so worried about you!" To everyone's surprise, she emitted a muffled sob into Orihime's shoulder.

Orihime wrapped her arms around Chizuru and smiled comfortingly. "I'm so sorry, Chizuru-chan. A lot happened."

Her sexually unabashed friend leaned back and attempted to smile as she wiped back a tear. "But you're okay?"

She nodded. "Yup! We're all okay."

"Good." Chizuru straightened. "It's been so hard without my Orihime-chan around!" She sighed longingly as she leaned into Orihime. "How about today, we go to my house and make up for all that lost time?" she said, her voice low and seductive.

That's where Tatsuki drew the line. With a well-aimed kick, she sent Chizuru skidding over the floor. "There will be no making up for lost time! Damn pervert!" Tatsuki crossed her arms, sending her a death glare.

"Your timing's impeccable," Chizuru said from the floor.

"Your boldness is extraordinary," Shinji murmured, making sure Chizuru didn't hear him as she stood back up. He always found her to be an interesting but at times frightening character. He had nearly been subject to her wrath, had it not been for Ichigo interfering and hauling him away before she could do her worst.

He glanced over at Ichigo, and raised his brow when he saw Ichigo's fist clenched around a pencil, his reiatsu slightly darkened. Is he… jealous? he thought, or mad at Chizuru's little suggestion?

This insight opened up a potential opportunity for Shinji's study of the two bonded friends. Jealousy, while petty, was the perfect tool to test how strongly someone felt about another.

Who would have thought the psycho lesbian would be useful?

Chortling quietly to himself, Shinji casually leaned over towards Ichigo, who sat at a neighboring desk, and said, "You kind of have to admire her forwardness. It's a little disturbin' at times, and I can only imagine the bruises she has from Arisawa, but at least it's entertaining."

He watched Ichigo closely. The boy was good at physically hiding his emotions, but he could see faint lines of tension and his hand was still clenching his pencil rather tightly. "It'd be better if Inoue just realized Chizuru's a nut."

Shinji flapped his hand dismissively. "Orihime-chan's too nice. Maybe one day when she's older and wiser she can look back on this and laugh." He watched as Tatsuki right-hooked Chizuru, who made a pass at Orihime's chest. "It's all friendly, if not slightly sexual, banter. Chizuru just seems to have a different idea of it than the rest of the population."

Ichigo opened a notebook, as if preparing to take notes or read over something. Trying to look like he didn't care about what was going on. "No, she just doesn't know how to take a hint."

Head tilted to the side, Shinji regarded Ichigo, suppressing a grin. "She gets it; she just chooses to ignore it. It's been goin' on fer awhile, from what I can tell."

His usual scowl deepened. "Doesn't make it any better."

Hook, line, and now sinker. "Why? Orihime-chan doesn't seem to… mind."

He was being an ass, and he knew it. He considered apologizing to Ichigo one day for all the instigating, but for now, he was having too much fun. He inched away when Ichigo's reiatsu flared, but his lipless grin emerged regardless.

"Yes, she does," Ichigo said through gritted teeth. "It's like you said, she's too nice to say anything about it. Chizuru deserves to be knocked on her ass for it, and it's a good thing Tatsuki feels the same."

"Oh? It's all harmless fun, really. Still, it's chivalrous of you to be so concerned about Orihime's comfort. Unless," Shinji glanced shiftily to the side, "you're jealous?"

The next flare of reiatsu, and Ichigo's murderous glare, finally garnered the attention of some of the others.

"Jealous of what?" he spat,"being able to harass Inoue?"

Shinji snorted. "Oh, come on. There isn't a guy here who doesn't wish to be Chizuru when she gets a hold of Orihime-chan's knockers." It was a crude comment, so he knew he rightly deserved the fist he got to his jaw. The force of the punch knocked him out of his chair and during the fall slammed his head into another desk.

Sado leaned over and grabbed Ichigo's shoulder, holding him back before he could continue his assault. After a couple seconds, Ichigo settled back into his desk, but his scowl remained deepened and angry.

Renji, whose seat had been assigned over in the row next to Shinji's, got up and helped him to his feet.

"Thanks," Shinji said, getting up and rubbing his jaw. "I forgot how much his fist hurts."

"All right! In your seats!" Ochi-sensei walked in, and the class immediately scrambled back to their desks. Shinji sat back down, doing his best to ignore Ichigo's ominous stare as he settled into his seat. He looked ahead at the blackboard, trying hard not to laugh at Ichigo and risk getting punched again.

After a few grueling hours of trying to keep up with or even understand the lessons, Ichigo and company got their much needed reprieve when lunchtime finally came. They escaped to the rooftop, where only the eleven of them gathered. Chizuru and Orihime's other friends had to meet with their physical education teacher about something during lunch. Chizuru swore before she left that she would sit with Orihime tomorrow, come hell or high water.

"I don't know how we're going to do this," Ishida said as he collapsed onto the floor. "We missed so much. I've never felt so lost before."

Sado nodded and kneeled down next to the Quincy. "It's going to be a rough few weeks."

Ichigo settled quietly on a spot next to Orihime and Rukia. He felt inexorably drained and wondered if his brain had gone into self-destruct mode. He didn't voice any complaints about the day and instead just took out his lunch.

Orihime was animatedly talking to Tatsuki when she caught a glimpse of Ichigo's lunch. Ichigo felt someone tap his shoulder and glanced over at Orihime. "Hey."

"What does Kurosaki-kun have for lunch?"

He glanced down and picked up a thermos. "Misou soup and a sandwich, I think. There might also be some fruit in here."

Tatsuki leaned over. "At least yours is normal compared to hers."

Orihime pouted slightly. "Aw, Tatsuki-chan, but this is my favorite. Red bean paste on wheat bread with leek cuts! I also packed some kiwi fruit."

The kiwi's normal enough, Ichigo thought.

"I brought some wasabi sauce to dip the fruit in too!"

Or not. He shook his head a little, but was suddenly caught in her gaze as she smiled at him. "Would you like to try some red bean paste on bread, Kurosaki-kun?"

The chatter from the others suddenly quieted. His stomach clenched, but he refused to look intimidated. Her food choices were flat-out weird, but it was obviously possible to ingest them and survive.

He nodded. "Sure."

Tatsuki shook her head vigorously, her eyes imploring Ichigo to not go through with the taste test. He ignored her and watched Orihime as she took out a slice of bread, and spread bean paste on it. She handed it to him, her smile bright. "Here you go."

Ichigo took it, and carefully balanced it on his fingertips. He felt Rukia tense next to him, her gaze riveted on the bread. He could feel the others' stares at well and could almost make out a distinct squeak from Keigo. Gathering his courage, he lifted the bread to his mouth and bit.

The others watched intensely as he chewed on the piece of bread. Rukia began biting her nail, and even Ishida look petrified as he continued chewing.

He looked down at the bitten bread thoughtfully and was quiet for half a minute. He then looked over at Orihime, and smiled. "It's not half bad."

Tatsuki nearly choked on her drink, and the others all exclaimed in surprise as Orihime beamed. "This is great! Aside from Matsumoto-san, I never met anyone who even half liked it!"

Ichigo shrugged, and as if to prove it, took another bite out of the slice of bread. As Orihime flapped her arms giddily and rambled on about how happy she was, Shinji watched the scene amusedly. Whipped bastard, he thought with a grin.

"Oi, Shinji."

Shinji quickly looked over at Ichigo. "Yo, chum."

Ichigo hesitated, chewing on his bread a little more. "What the captains said in the training arena…" His eyes suddenly hardened into knowing. "You were a captain once."

Now all eyes were on him.

Well, I was going to tell him eventually. Shinji stretched out his legs. "Looks like I'll be the one providin' the entertainment at lunch today." He settled his hands onto his stomach, leaning lazily against the roof's edge. "You are quite correct. I was a captain, the same time Urahara was one."

Hitsugaya's eyes narrowed slightly, but only in concentration. "So, when he was banned from Soul Society, you were as well?"

He nodded. "We all were. Me, the others, Urahara, Tessai, Yoruichi - well, she wasn't banned, but she did leave with us. If you wanna know the whole story, we gotta go back about 110 years." Shinji closed his eyes and let his mind wander back into the depths of his memory. He began to verbally recall those fateful events that led him from being the captain of the fifth squad to a Vizard posing as a school student.

At some point after lunch, Orihime gave up concentrating on what Ochi-sensei was lecturing about. Her mind wandered as it usually did. Instead of daydreaming though, her thoughts mulled over Shinji's past, or what he told them of it. Her eyes wandered over the room and rested on Shinji's relaxed form. He was scribbling things down in his notebook, although she was sure he was doing it just for show.

I feel so bad for him, she thought sadly. He had everything going for him, and then to have it all taken away and nearly die. Her eyes dropped to the floor and she turned her head away. He doesn't need my pity. He's already moved on. But still, it's sad, she thought as she looked back at him. It's amazing how far back the damage from Aizen's scheming goes. No wonder they wanted to fight him.

Shinji glanced over at Ichigo, and Orihime's eyes followed. She watched her friend attempt to take some notes, and she couldn't stop the smile forming. That's just like him, never giving up.

Lines of serious concentration etched into his face as he looked up at the board, and jotted down what sensei was pointing to. Orihime was surprised to suddenly realize that face much resembled the one he wore in battle. Only, it was a different kind of battle he was waging now, one that involved his mind, not his strength and power. She sighed quietly, unconsciously fingering one of her hairpins. It seems like he's always fighting something, or fighting for something. Battling with his intellect, battling his emotions, battling to decide what choices to make… I wish he could have some semblance of peace.

The shrill sound of the bell pulled her out of her thoughts, and she immediately began gathering her books as Ochi-sensei yelled out the assignment for homework. She made a mental note of it, although she knew she wouldn't be able to do it for some time. Not until she was caught up with her other work.

"For those of you who've been absent, I'll have your assignments tomorrow!"

Orihime nodded to her. Today, she planned to try catching up with subjects that would be easier to get up to speed with like history. Her weekend, though, was already going to be spent trying to do the rest.

The mere thought of the work ahead making her weary, she glanced behind her. She saw Mizuiro say something to Ichigo, only for the latter's eyes to widen in surprise. He tried to nod casually as he gathered up his books. Mizuiro said something else, and Ichigo rolled his eyes and nodded in agreement. She heard a faint "Thanks, Mizuiro" before Mizuiro walked away.

Wonder what that was about? she thought as she walked out of the classroom.

Droll day, Shinji thought as he gathered his books. Really, the most notable thing that happened was him telling his story to the others. He wasn't surprised at the subtle looks of pity and sympathy he got from them, but at least none of them said anything aside from "I'm so sorry that happened to you" or "That was totally unfair what they did to you!" Even Hitsugaya was disturbed by the events.

As he gathered his books under his arm, Shinji smiled wryly as he thought of the tenth division captain. Smart, steady, but he has emotions and a conscience. And with his attitude, I hold some hope for the squads.

From his peripheral, he saw Ichigo walk past him. He wouldn't have paid mind to it, except he seemed to be in a hurry. Frowning, he watched Ichigo quickly walk out the door. From the glimpses he caught of his face, he looked determined, if not rather nervous.

What the hell's gotten into him? Curious, and unlike his co-Vizard in no rush, Shinji strolled after him.

Ichigo knew he had to catch up with her before she either got too far away or he lost his nerve. He thought over the conversation he had with Mizuiro as he sped down the halls after her, trying to decide if his decision was the right one.

He had been ready to just walk out, remembering his promise to Yuzu that he would be home right after school.

"Ichigo!" Mizuiro's voice caught him by surprise.

He turned around and furrowed his brow in confusion as Mizuiro walked up to him. "I'm so sorry I forgot. I guess with, well, everything that's happened, it slipped my mind. But, do you remember the Bad Shield 2 ticket I gave you?"

"Yeah," he said, remembering the premiere ticket that still sat on top of his desk.

"You can bring a guest. The ticket will cover for two people. I didn't find out until after I gave it to you, and again, I sort of forgot once things got crazy."

He didn't know why he was so surprised, but he felt his eyes widen. "Oh. Whoa, I didn't know that."

His friend nodded. "It's a promotional thing, I guess. But you can bring anyone along, just as long as they're with you when you hand in the ticket."

He nodded, his mind already racing through the possibilities. Chad, Tatsuki, and Keigo are out of the question, since they're already going. Renji, Shinji, Rukia… sure, I could bring them. If I wanted a one way ticket to the insane asylum.

Ishida was just unthinkable. Besides, even if he began to magically feel chummy with the Quincy, he knew what his answer would be: a cold stare and a firm "no". That left just one person.

Mizuiro shifted on his feet. "You don't have to bring someone, but…"

Ichigo rolled his eyes and nodded. "It'd be a waste."

"Yeah, I agree." He smiled. "Any idea of who you're bringing?"

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah. I have someone in mind." He looked around the room, and his heart sped up in panic when he noticed she was already leaving. "And I need to hurry. I'll talk to you later. Thanks Mizuiro."

With that, he hotfooted it out of there, hurrying past Shinji and everyone else as he tried to cover ground quickly and catch up to Orihime.

Ichigo hurried out the doors, waving 'bye' to Rukia and the others before shouting out to Orihime. She spun around, her eyes slightly wide as he approached her. He didn't see the puzzled looks his nakama gave him, instead focused on Orihime. "Hey, Inoue. Sorry, but, uh…" He scratched his head. Don't lose your nerve. Just gonna ask her because she's the only available sane option left and I think she deserves to have a nice time out after what she's been through.

"Yes?" she asked.

With his rationalization to back him up, he regained some semblance of confidence. "Can I walk you home and talk to you about something along the way?"

Her eyes became huge, and she mumbled something incoherent. She blushed, and Ichigo secretly noted how pretty she was when her face was flush like that. The hell am I thinking? I mean, yeah, she is but since when do I notice these things?

"Yes."

Caught off guard, Ichigo blinked. "Er, what?"

She smiled wryly. "Yes, you can walk me home."

He laughed nervously, only adding to the already awkward situation. "Oh, uh, right. Sure. L-Lead the way."

She nodded, her smile sunny, although it didn't quite reach her eyes. They were concerned, probably because of his behavior, and as they began walking down the path to her house, Ichigo mentally cursed himself for his idiocy and tried to concentrate on the task ahead.

"And the Bumbling Idiot of the Day award goes to our very own Kurosaki Ichigo." Shinji shook his head at the awkward scene that unfolded between the teenagers. Orihime was blushing and Ichigo was laughing nervously: all telltale signs of the typical awkwardness and shyness that came with adolescents interacting with one another, especially when they were of the opposite gender. He walked down the steps, smirking as the pair walked away. "Gotta love the teenage years."

While he thought the scene was entertaining, and mildly cute, it also put him at a disadvantage. He had wanted to talk to Orihime about the training arena incident, but Ichigo had unwillingly ruined his plans.

As he was stretching his neck to work out a kink, Shinji spotted the other four friends. He glanced at Ichigo and Orihime, and then back at them again. Maybe this might be a better arrangement.

"Hey!" He jogged over to the four, who were about to go their separate ways. As he made his way to them, he noted the surprised and mildly suspicious looks they all wore. "Hope I wasn't interrupin' anything, but I'd like to talk to ya."

"Who, exactly?" Ishida asked, pushing his glasses back.

"All of ya," Shinji answered. "if you don't mind takin' a detour to your respective homes."

Rukia dusted off her skirt and shifted the weight of her books before nodding. "I will walk with you." She gestured for the men to follow as she began walking, leaving the others little choice but to comply. "After all, I think I know what you want to discuss with us."

The town around them was bustling with life and activity. People walked by them, chatting with their friends or into their phones. Despite the cool temperature, the streets were still flocked with vendors and customers, taking advantage of the little time they had left to be outside before winter came. Ichigo was relieved to no end to see the town and its people going about their daily business, knowing no danger threatened to annihilate them or ruin what they had built.

However, it wasn't helping him with his task. He and Orihime were constantly distracted by the sights and sounds around them. Ichigo was ready to beat his head with his fist, and admonished himself that if he didn't talk soon, they would be at her house and he would have to wait until tomorrow.

I really don't want to sweat this out for the rest of the day and into tomorrow. Get a grip and just talk to her. It's Inoue, your nakama. This is no big deal. Still, his heart raced whenever he made an effort to try and ask her about the movie. If it was anyone else, he was sure he could do it. But with Orihime it was different.

Why is this so intimidating? Just because she's a girl and I'm asking her to go to a movie with me? We're going as friends! He cursed silently. Why are girls so hard to approach? I went into Hueco Mundo and fought enemies like Grimmjow and Ulquiorra that would terrify anyone else. But here I am, trying to just make one simple suggestion and I'm ready to bolt.

A hand touched his arm. His gaze swung down to Orihime, who was looking at him as if she feared he was going to pass out or something. "Kurosaki-kun?"

His pulse slowed and calm filled him. She had that uncanny ability to level him out whenever he was getting out of sorts on the inside. It never ceased to amaze him and in a way, terrify him a little. "Sorry, Inoue. Uh, right, I wanted to talk to you. Do you know about the movie coming out, Bad Shield 2?" he asked, his nerves settled.

She nodded. "Yes. Are you going to see it, Kurosaki-kun?"

"Yeah, I am." He glanced up uneasily. "Mizuiro gave me a ticket to see the opening show, and I guess as a promotional deal, the ticket allows you to bring a guest with you." He shut his eyes. "I was wondering if, you know, you wanted to come… with me? I mean, with everything you've gone through, I thought you might like a fun night out, and…"I'm an idiot. What if she has plans or if she's going with Tatsuki? What if she doesn't like Bad Shield or just doesn't want to go?

"I'd love to."

If the town suddenly set on fire and chaos reigned, he wouldn't have noticed. He couldn't tear his wide, surprised eyes away from Orihime's face. She blushed a deep red and looked away shyly.

Once he managed to regain some form of composure, he nodded and cleared his throat. "Uh, oh, um… g-great. It's December 5th, so it's a little over a month away. We could make arrangements with time and all once it's, uh, a little closer to December."

"Y-Yeah," she smiled and nodded rapidly. "Good idea. Um, thank you, Kurosaki-kun."

He smiled, albeit a little shakily. "Sure."

Rukia walked confidently down the street, flanked by the four men. Not much had been said between the companions. She refused to discuss whatever it was Shinji wanted to talk to them about until they were far away from the school. When they turned onto a street devoid of people, she relaxed a little and glanced over her shoulder at Shinji. "Very well. I assume the whole point of this is to discuss what happened in the training arena, no?"

She was met with three blank stares and a grin. "Nothin' gets past you, it seems," Shinji said.

"Well, I figured whatever it was you wanted to talk to us about had to do with Ichigo and Inoue, and I wanted to talk to you about what happened, actually." She casually swung her arm at her side, gripping her books tightly. "Do you know what happened?"

Ishida looked at the conversing duo thoughtfully. "Am I to assume you two are referring to when Kurosaki got upset with the captains and Inoue-san's reiatsu disappearing afterwards?"

"Oh, that." Renji's words were punctuated with the heavy, tense atmosphere that settled over them.

Shinji lowered his head a bit, almost as if the tension were weighing down on him. "Yes, that. I suppose you all noticed?" He received four nods and continued. "I did as well, along with Urahara and a couple others. Did any of you, uh, observe the two of them when it happened?"

Rukia nodded. "Yeah. When Inoue's reiatsu vanished, she sort of looked… happy." She would never forget how shocked she was. Orihime was just standing there with her hand on Ichigo's shoulder, smiling gently at him, when Rukia herself would have been pounding him to bits for snapping at the captains. But then, she wasn't Orihime, and the healer was a lot less violent than she was. "It's not like her. She was worried the moment before, but she relaxed suddenly. And Ichigo got this… possessive look. I don't know how else to describe it." What unnerved her more than Orihime's surprising behavior was Ichigo's. The possessive look only lasted for a second, but she caught it. Ichigo was a dense-headed idiot, but he certainly wasn't the greedy, "this-woman-is-mine" type.

She wondered for a moment that maybe it wasn't totally Ichigo who gave Orihime that look.

Ishida shook his head. "Yes, I remember that quite distinctly. I was very surprised."

Sado looked down at Shinji. "What did Urahara have to say about it?"

"Well, he didn't seem to have any ideas at first." Shinji scratched the side of his head. "In regards to their behavior, we're clueless. As to the reiatsu disappearin' act, we talked about it again this morning on the phone while I walked to school. I dunno who he heard it from or where he got the idea, but it's plausible."

He paused, rolling his shoulders before elaborating. "Here's how it goes. There's this technique called "seireihei" which is more commonly referred to as "reihei". This technique is considered a lost art, although rumor has it that the Royal Guard still uses it." He began to motion with his free hand. "Simply, reihei is using your reiatsu to shield or cover someone else's. I guess it kinda wraps around another's reiatsu, pretty much blockin' it."

Ishida nodded. "It acts like a wall, as the name implies, or perhaps more like a blanket?"

"Bingo. The boys and girls at the RG are said to use it to cover the Reiou's reiatsu whenever he has to go outside the Royal Realm, which is next to never. They probably use it more in case there's an invasion or some such." He dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "Anyway, point is, we're thinkin' Ichigo might have inadvertently used this to cover Orihime-chan's reiatsu when he was on the defensive around the captains."

How is it that Ichigo always seems to be able to do these things without the slightest bit of conscious effort? Rukia thought, shaking her head. "But it wasn't like the captains were going to attack her or anything."

The Vizard shrugged. "Ichigo always has an extreme reaction to things, and I think he was still mentally recoverin' from everything that happened the day before." He stretched out his arms, slowing his pace down slightly. "He seems to do this around Orihime-chan rather easily. I'd expect more overprotective behavior from him in the future."

Renji snorted. "That wouldn't surprise me. You pissed him off enough today with those remarks about Chizuru."

Shinji chuckled good-humoredly. "It was too good to pass up."

Spinning around on her heel, Rukia was quickly facing Shinji. "I suggest you don't anger him too much, not when it comes to her. I'm all up for ribbing him, but he has a shorter fuse when it comes to Inoue."

"I know, but it's vital to my research."

"Research?" All four of them asked in union.

He nodded happily. "Yes. Hiyori and the gang, minus Hachi, will be heading off to Soul Society to do some in a day or two, while I'll be staying here and observing Orihime-chan and Ichigo closely. Look," He raised his hand before they could object. "I'm not going to be spying on them. I'm only going to be watching them at school.

"But they've changed. As their nakama, you can see it, I know it. I want to know more and really, it would be beneficial if ya helped. If anything, for their sake. I can't do it alone. You're closer to them than I am. I'd really appreciate it, and I think they may in the long run."

He was met with silence, initially. They were uneasy at first and were seriously debating it. Postures were tight and their pace slowed slightly.

"Fine." Rukia sighed. "I want to help them and I am curious, too."

The others nodded after a moment of hesitation.

"What can we do to help?" Sado asked cautiously.

"Right now, I would like to know what was going through Orihime-chan's head when Ichigo used reihei. If possible, maybe for someone else to wheedle out of him what he was thinking."

"I'll talk to Inoue," Rukia volunteered. "I think one of the guys should talk to Ichigo."

Sado raised his hand. "I'll talk to him."

Renji patted him on the back. "Good luck with that. It'll be like pulling teeth with that guy. Really," He rolled his eyes, "he's so dense and stubborn, yet he can do forgotten and weird techniques like this reihei thing and learn bankai in under three days and go into a full Hollow form that can crush a high ranking Espada. Will it never end?"

Shinji laughed. It echoed down the street and he quickly covered his mouth to muffle it. "That's a good one," he teased Renji as he uncovered his mouth, "but seriously, I think this is only the beginning of what that kid can do."And all for a girl, too.