Here it is. I apologize sincerely that it took this long for the chapter to come up. NaNoWriMo took up a lot of November, but I did finish about mid-way. However, there was an unexpected turn of events in my life that stopped me from writing for a few weeks. That and finals just didn't make it possible. Then of course, there's the whole beta-reading process, and that's why it's only being posted now. It's a nice little New Year's gift, no?

Thanks to Rachel, thatEndlessOblivion, Kamiko no Ummei, Huheh, E.J, zodious, Yanaril, Emuri, Lyhime, chuchootrain, anthem2521, war90, aki6, Agent-G, and shadowanime1 (holy crap what a list) for the reviews! I was hoping for 100 by the end of THIS chapter, but we're already at 110! You guys are freaking awesome. Reviews are such great motivators for continuing and improving. Uber big hugs and glomps for everyone.

Of course, PerennialLurker gets the special thanks for beta-reading and making good suggestions. I have no idea what I'd do without her.

Hmmm... review awards this chapter will be a Yoruichi plushie that can magically transform into a black kitty plushie. Review and enjoy!

Chapter 10

A day of many firsts

Ichigo's alarm clock went off at 8:30, its shrill sound filling the room. Ichigo's arm snaked out from beneath the covers. His hand balled into a fist, and slammed on top of the alarm, silencing it. Even though it was Saturday morning, and he didn't need to be up for at least another hour, Ichigo didn't try to fall back asleep. He needed to think.

The past week had been so busy. School and training had eaten up his time, as usual. However, two things had also occurred during the week that had thrown Ichigo for a loop and kept his mind busy: one, he realized he was in love with Orihime, and two, Urahara had disappeared.

The latter had occurred only a day after the former. From what Tessai told everyone, Urahara had gotten a visitor the night before. Whatever had been said disturbed and worried Urahara, because he left the next day to "investigate a few important matters." Urahara pulling a disappearing act didn't surprise Ichigo as much as Urahara actually being worried about something. Whatever it was, the shopkeeper was withholding details from everyone, even Tessai.

It can't be good, Ichigo concluded. He tried to tell himself Urahara would reveal everything when he was ready, but this had not provided much comfort.

Shinji and the other Vizards had not eased his mind – they were even more troubled by the mysterious disappearance. Instead of training, they mainly hung out at the warehouse and chatted. Although Orihime hearing a strange voice in her head was still of much concern, no one knew what to do about it. Without Urahara's advice and suggestions, the Vizards could not continue the training.

Ichigo winced as a pang of guilt hit him. He hadn't told Shinji about his conversation with Shirosaki. He should have, but thinking about it still made his head reel. His only excuse was that he didn't want to raise the issue until he was sure about what he wanted to do and until he'd spoken to Orihime about it, and speaking to Orihime, post revelation number one, was a whole other can of worms all by itself.

Inoue Orihime. His nakama. A girl who lit up the whole room with her smile. The person he shared a strange and unknown bond with. The girl he had fallen for. She was all of these things and more, but in the end, she was still Inoue, and they were still friends. That was what he was to her: a nakama. Really, Inoue Orihime, of all the girls, loving him in return? Absurd.

So why did Rukia seem hellbent on making him tell her his feelings?

"You should tell her," she had told him when he admitted his feelings. She sat with him on his bed, her legs dangling over the edge.

"It's Inoue. She's – she's…"

"She's what?"

"Pretty." He wished Rukia wouldn't make him spell everything out. "No, more like, she's already got a school-wide reputation as the most beautiful girl to have attended Karakura high in a decade."

"Oh, so what? That means she would never consider you? Ichigo, have you seen her show even remote interest in another guy? Arisawa only has to beat off Chizuru. If Orihime was flirting with other boys, Arisawa would have her hands full."

He hadn't thought of that. "Yeah, okay. But we're nakama. She-"

His arm stung from the smack she gave it. "Give yourself some credit! You're good-looking, and you'd be even attractive if you smiled sometimes. And the 'we're friends' bit won't work. You're friends with her, and yet, here you are, in love. It's very possible."

He still didn't agree with her. However, a promise was a promise.

"Look, I'll think about it, okay? But my thoughts are just – I can't seem to pin down the right words in my own head, let alone talk to her about it. I need time."

She had nodded seriously. "Understandable. If that's the case, then think. In the meantime, I won't say a word about it to the others, I promise. I'll try to make sure they don't catch on, either."

She had kept her end of the promise. Their friends were still under the impression that Ichigo was clueless about his feelings. Per Rukia's instructions on the walk to school the next morning, Ichigo acted oblivious. He tried to, anyway. He purposely made himself mumble and stutter whenever someone made a sly remark about him and Orihime. He tried to appear dumbstruck and enraged whenever Shinji teased him about Orihime.

But the hardest part had been hiding it from her. Orihime was perceptive. He tried to act the same as always around her. She didn't seem to notice any changes, or at least said nothing about them to his face. Which Ichigo was eternally grateful for. If she had any idea what ran through his head when he was around her…

Well, he didn't want to dwell on that.

Despite his attempts to act like nothing was different, his behavior had changed, particularly his involuntary reactions. Rukia was quick to draw attention to these, but even her advice didn't help in the end.

Take Chizuru's behavior. Whenever the lesbian would make some lewd remark about Orihime's breasts or try to grab them, anger would rise in the pit of Ichigo's stomach, and he would glare viciously at her. No matter how hard he tried to control his expression, the anger was always there. When Shinji teasingly asked him about it one day in the middle of this past week, Ichigo had forgotten about the façade he was supposed to keep up and simply had said that he didn't like Chizuru or her behavior towards Orihime. No mumbling or bumbling, no attempts at justifying his thoughts, nothing. By the time he had realized his error, it was too late.

The Vizard from then on would glance at Ichigo questioningly every so often. Ichigo tried to hide his confidence, and tried to pretend to be oblivious about his feelings, but he feared Shinji had caught on. Part of the reason also might have had to do with the amount of time they spent together. Whereas Ichigo saw most of his friends only at school, Ichigo hung out with Shinji frequently at the warehouse afterwards during their supposed training sessions. That gave him a lot more time to observe.

For a guy who acts so much like an idiot, he can be as perceptive as Inoue, Ichigo thought dryly.

Inoue…

His gaze drifted up towards the window. He rolled over onto his side in bed, and shut his eyes. He searched for her reiatsu as he had every morning for the past week, and smiled when he felt it. It was calm and level; she was still asleep. Then again, it was Saturday. Most normal teenagers tried to sleep in if they could.

Then again, he hadn't been "normal" for quite some time. But he would be doing something very normal later: Bad Shield 2 was premiering that night, and he would be going with his friends to see it on the big screen. His body tingled in excitement, but for two different reasons. One was obviously because he had wanted to see it since he first heard about it, but the second was because he would be with Orihime in a dark movie theater.

Get a grip, he thought with a roll of his eyes. It's not like we'll be alone. We're going with our friends. Besides, if I tried to do something, Tatsuki would rip my balls off.

Orihime's reiatsu fluctuated, and Ichigo fixated on it. Though still calm, her reiatsu was more active and vibrant. She's awake. Ichigo rolled to his other side, and glanced at his clock. It was 9 AM already. He could stay in bed for another half hour, but he decided to get up. Ichigo pushed the covers back, and groaned when the cold air hit his body.

He hated mornings, and he hated that training was pushed to 11 AM that day. Although the change in time was necessary, Ichigo detested the idea of having to train or do any semblance of work on a Saturday morning. Still, no matter what time the training was, he got to walk with Orihime. That was enough motivation to get him going and get ready for the day ahead.

He flew through his morning routine, and was downstairs eating breakfast twenty minutes later. His family was chatting all around him. Yuzu was scolding Karin, who had beaten Isshin to floor after he made yet another one of his stupid comments.

Rukia slid in the chair next to Ichigo, having snuck past the arguing trio. "You're going to be gone all day?"

"Probably," Ichigo said as he sipped his miso soup. "Training might take awhile today. Shinji actually wants to get something done, although it's hard with Urahara-san gone."

She nodded. "I'm meeting with Renji at the Shouten today. We want to look for him, although we don't know where to start, honestly." Her forehead creased in concentration, but she forced a smile. "We'll be fine. Have fun at the movie tonight," she said with a chuckle. "And don't try anything with Orihime. Just because it's dark in there and no one pays attention-"

"Shut up," Ichigo muttered, sending Rukia sharp glare. "The arrangement was not for you to tease me incessantly about it." He kept his voice low, glancing cautiously over his shoulder to make sure his family didn't hear.

"Oh come on, I need to benefit from this somehow," Rukia said. "Besides, I haven't told a soul and that was my promise." She then whispered, "What about you? Have you given it any thought?"

"Plenty," Ichigo murmured. His glance fell to the table, unable to meet hers. "I just… it's getting harder to keep it secret. I don't know what I'm going to do today."

Rukia got up from the table. She patted Ichigo's head gently, and smiled. "I think the answer's obvious."

Was it? Maybe it was. Ichigo had contemplated Rukia's words all the way to Orihime's house, and was still mulling them over when she walked outside. His thoughts quieted when his eyes met hers, and he warmed inside when she smiled in greeting. "Good morning, Kurosaki-kun!"

"Oi, Inoue," he said in return. "Ready for today?"

"You bet!" she said cheerfully as she walked to his side. "We get to see Shinji-kun and the others and have lunch and then a movie!" She paused, her expression suddenly quizzical. "Huh. I don't think I've done so much in one day in awhile. So much that was fun, anyway."

Ichigo blinked, and looked down at her. "Huh. Same here."

They stared at each other for a few moments before Orihime giggled and Ichigo snorted.

"We better get going," Ichigo said.

Orihime nodded, and they walked side by side towards the warehouse section of town. Orihime began to tell Ichigo about a dream she had involving armed penguins.

Although he did listen to her story, and during so tried not to question her sanity too seriously, Ichigo also noticed smaller things. Like how her eyes brightened when she got really excited, and how rapidly she gesticulated. Her hands always made such big motions when she talked and once or twice they nearly smacked him in the face. Still, he would gladly risk a bloody nose to hear her sound so happy.

"So you see, Kurosaki-kun, that's why you can't trust penguins. Especially with chopsticks." Orihime nodded very seriously to herself, her lips puckered slightly.

"Uh-huh," he said, suppressing an amused smirk.

Her face fell slightly. "Ah, you don't believe me?"

"I don't believe penguins would invade Japan with just chopsticks." He shrugged nonchalantly. "I figured they'd use, you know, armored tanks and bazookas."

"And rocket launchers?" she suggested excitedly.

"Sure, why not?"

That's what their conversation was for the rest of the walk: how penguins would invade Japan. Ichigo gave up on his own sanity when they concluded that the penguins would use their natural adaptation to a cold climate to induce an ice age that only they could survive in with their allies the polar bears, but he wouldn't have stopped himself for anything. Orihime had looked so excited…

They turned the final corner in the warehouse district, and both of them halted. Shinji was on the ground, his arms carefully folded on his chest. Sakanade was also on the ground by his side.

"Shinji-kun?" Orihime called out in worry.

He turned his head towards them. "Yo."

Ichigo rolled his eyes, assured Shinji wasn't injured. "The hell are you doing?"

He pointed to the sky. "Look at how dark it's getting. I think it's gonna snow."

Orihime gasped excitedly. "Really?" She hurried over to Shinji, and sat next to him, her head tilted up, her hair falling back over her shoulders to touch the ground. "I can't wait! I love the snow!"

"You, too?" Shinji said. He looked back up at the sky. "Even when I was in Soul Society, I looked forward to the first snow."

Ichigo opened his mouth, but closed it. He seemed to struggle for words for a minute. "Uh…"

Orihime smiled sympathetically at Ichigo. "Sorry, Kurosaki-kun. We should get to work, huh?"

He shook his head. "If you guys wanna stay out here a bit-"

"We'll be inside in a few minutes," Shinji said suddenly. "Why don't you go in and warm up a bit with Kensei? He's wanted to take a shot at you."

"Great," Ichigo mumbled. He nodded to them, and shuffled inside. He opened the warehouse door, and shot another look over his shoulder at Orihime and Shinji before walking inside.

The moment Ichigo disappeared inside and was out of earshot, Shinji brusquely asked Orihime, "So, what're yer thoughts on Ichigo?"

Her eyes widened. Her face turned bright red, and she looked up at the sky. "Um, wh-what do you mean?"

"I just meant with the weird way he's been acting lately," he said, "but it seems ya thought I meant somethin' else." He grinned. "Which makes me wonder: what did ya think I meant?"

"N-nothing! I just thought it sounded odd, and well, you know… um…"

Shinji was chuckling rather mischievously. "It's okay. You don't need to answer it. Not in that respect, anyway." His expression turned serious. "But I would like to know if ya've noticed how strange he's been actin' the past week."

As her flush died down, Orihime thought about Shinji's words. "Yes, I have," she said quietly. "He seems to be forcing himself to act normally."

"That's what Ishida concluded," Shinji said. "He was askin' me about it yesterday. He was wonderin' if somethin' happened."

"You know, I asked Rukia-chan about it two days ago, but she insisted nothing was wrong."

Shinji frowned suspiciously. "Strange. Kuchiki is usually one of the first to know if somethin's wrong."

"Maybe she doesn't know."

"Or maybe they're hidin' somethin'," Shinji said. He grabbed Sakanade and got to his feet. "Well, if it's gonna snow, it won't 'til later." He reached his hand out towards her.

She took it, and stood up. "Thanks."

They walked inside together. As Shinji shut the door, he asked her, "Hey, Orihime-chan. Would you talk to him about what's goin' on? Especially since Kuchiki's actin' so odd about it?"

"Me? But-"

"If he'll tell anyone, it's you," Shinji said with quiet confidence.

Orihime blinked, but nodded. "Okay. I'll try."

He nodded back, and they said nothing further to each other. When they got downstairs, they were greeted to Ichigo and Kensei going at it with zeal.

"All right!" Shinji called out as he descended the stairs with Orihime. "What's his time?"

Love checked the timer. "About five minutes and doing the same as before."

"Hmm." Shinji scratched his head. "Well," he turned towards Orihime, "you haven't heard any more voices, right?"

"No."

He glanced over at Ichigo. "And nothing from your Hollow?"

"…No."

Orihime caught the hesitant pause. She waited until his eyes met hers. She tried reading them, but he was guarding whatever he was feeling very carefully, which was a give-away in itself. Her heart clenched as she considered Shinji's words: "Or maybe they're hidin' somethin'." What if he was right? But why would they?

"Well, that doesn't help much," Hiyori said, bringing Orihime out of her thoughts. "The hell are we supposed to do?"

"Maybe we just have to wait," Riza suggested. When her friends turned around to protest, she cut them off with a wave of her hand. "I know, I don't like it either. I don't want to wait for something to happen, but we might not have a choice."

Kensei sighed in aggravation. "The problem is, there's no safe way of doing it. Quite frankly, all we'd need to do is go all out and attack Ichigo, blow a hole in his chest, and then threaten Orihime."

"But obviously that's not happening," Rose said quickly when Ichigo began to take a step towards Kensei. "He was being hypothetical. None of us here want to blow open chests or threaten Orihime-san."

"There has to be another way," Shinji said. "We just haven't figured it out." He unsheathed Sakanade. "Well, let's just try and draw out his Hollow powers as much as possible. Maybe something will come to us along the way."

Tatsuki, Kegio, Mizuiro, and Sado arrived at the warehouse around 3 in the afternoon to pick up Ichigo and Orihime. When they walked down into the basement, they found Ichigo, Orihime, and the Vizards sitting in a circle, deep in thought.

"Uh, hey guys," Tatsuki said as she hurried down the stairs. "Any luck?"

"Does it look like we had any?" Shinji remarked dryly, shoving away the empty bags and plastic wrappers from lunch. "Hell, we've just been sitting and talking for the past two hours."

Sado nodded to Ichigo and Orihime as they got. "At least you're not too tired."

"That's right!" Keigo said, waving his arms in jubilation. "We've got the show at 10 tonight! A special preview before everyone else!"

Mizuiro glanced away from his phone at Keigo for a moment. "We won't be the only ones in the theater, Asano-san."

"Well, duh. I meant the general public!" He grinned broadly. "And three of us brought dates!"

Tatsuki glared at him. "Keigo, for the umpteenth time, I did not bring Sado along as a date." When Keigo opened his mouth to protest, she clenched her fist and drew it back.

"Er, right… sorry. Well, two of us did, then!" He sighed dramatically. "Sadly, I'm not one."

Mizuiro patted him on the back without looking up from his phone. "It'd be crowded if we all had one."

Orihime smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Kurosaki-kun and I are just going as friends, Asano-kun."

Ichigo's gaze fell to floor. Why don't I like the sound of that?

"Really?" Keigo said in disbelief.

"Yes, Keigo," Ichigo said through gritted teeth. "Look, can we just get going?"

Tatsuki eyed him warily. "Yeah, yeah. We're just going to my house for awhile, anyway."

Ichigo then realized his slip-up, and mentally winced. Shit. "Sorry. Just tired, and I don't want to hold up Shinji and the others." He glanced back at him. "Thanks again. We'll see you tomorrow."

The elder Vizard nodded to him. "Sure."

The others began to move out, saying their good-byes as they climbed up the stairs. Ichigo put his foot on the first step when Shinji called out, "Wait, Ichigo."

He stopped, and looked behind him. "What is it?" He frowned in confusion when Shinji seemed to hesitate and said nothing. "Shinji?"

"You okay?" he finally asked.

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked defensively. He hadn't expected the question.

"You sounded kind of upset before," Riza said before Shinji could.

Not upset. Just – wait, why do they care? He shook his head. "Not really."

When he was met with eight expectant gazes, he sighed. "I don't know. I was just…"

"I think the answer's obvious." Rukia's words rung true again. Ichigo closed his eyes, and turned back towards the stairs. He made himself take a step back in his mind, and just accept the first answer that came. "Disappointed."

He bounded up the stairs. He never saw their reactions. He didn't want to. He wasn't sure how he was even supposed to react.

The hours spent at Tatsuki's house sped by in a blur of activity, food, and thoughts. Ichigo had distanced himself a little from the others. He hadn't meant to, but he was so absorbed in his thoughts that he couldn't help it.

He loved Orihime, he knew that. However, he thought he would be fine with keeping that fact to himself. Though he promised Rukia he'd think about it, that didn't mean he had to tell her in the end. Still, it felt like something wrung and twisted his insides when Orihime said they were just going as friends. I'm being selfish, Ichigo thought bitterly. He had no right being upset that they weren't together. Hell, he should feel grateful she was even friends with him.

He was spaced out on Tatsuki's couch when he felt someone touch his shoulder. He didn't need to look up to know who it was. "Inoue."

"Are you okay?" she whispered. When he met her eyes, his heart fell. Her eyes were wide in concern, and there was a slight fear in them. He had her worried.

"Yeah, I'm sorry." Ichigo shifted on the couch to meet her stare evenly. "A lot on my mind."

Orihime nodded from her perch on the couch. She hunched over herself, away from him, her hair falling forward and shielding her face. "It seems like something's been on your mind the whole week, Kurosaki-kun. Everyone's a little worried."

Damn it. I hadn't fooled them for a second. At least they don't know why. "Did I seem like that?"

"Yes." She clutched her hands tightly together. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay, and if you needed to talk that… um, well… I'm here. I mean, I don't know if I'm the one you want to talk to, or if Sado or Tatsuki are better at it, but-"

He hadn't meant to do it, but before he could stop himself, he pulled her to him. He held her in a close embrace, with his cheek against her hair. "Just stay still for a minute."

"Um… okay."

I should let go. It's not like before, when I was too blind to realize what I was doing. Knowledge doesn't help here; it just makes me more liable to try something. His arms clutched her tighter. Let go. Let go let go let. Her. Go.

Orihime sighed lightly as she leaned into Ichigo and hugged him. He nearly froze in surprise. He knew she would be too kind to push him away, but he hadn't expected her to return his gesture. It didn't help there was a niggling voice in his head that reveled in it, and whispered its joy into the recesses of his mind. Worse still, he couldn't even blame it on his Hollow, though he idly wondered what that bastard would say if he saw this.

"Oi, it's 8:30! We need to go!" Tatsuki hollered from the other room.

He wasn't sure whether to be grateful or pissed that Tatsuki interrupted them. Ichigo let go of Orihime, and rubbed the back of his head. "Uh, thanks. We better go. So we get good seats."

"Y – yeah." Orihime got up, Ichigo following suit. "Do you have the tickets?"

He nodded, patting his back pocket. "Got 'em. Let's head out before Tatsuki throws a fit."

The theater building was packed, but they had all expected that. Bad Shield 2 was a highly anticipated movie, after all. Mizuiro's date, an older woman who should have been stunning to Ichigo but who simply looked pale and wan next to Inoue, complained about the long lines for concessions, but otherwise none of them uttered a word about the crowd.

It was almost 9:30 by the time they got into the theater where their movie was showing. Tatsuki turned around to count heads when she noticed one orange haired friend was missing. "Orihime?"

Ichigo was staring off into space. Again. Tatsuki frowned at him and kicked his foot lightly. "Ichigo, where's Orihime?"

He blinked, and looked around. "What the hell? I saw her in line with us when we got the food." His voice held a distinct note of worry, even to himself.

Tatsuki then slapped her forehead. "Oh, I know where she is. Check the arcade games. Sometimes she likes watching people play when we come here. If not, well, there's always the bathrooms."

Ichigo nodded and took off without a word. Tatsuki smirked in satisfaction before walking with the others towards the seats.

Mizuiro peered around people, and sighed. "I don't think we're going to get to sit with each other. There are five seats in the one row, but that's it."

Tatsuki looked to where he was pointing. She was about to curse out their luck when she noticed something peculiar. Right behind the five vacant seats Mizuiro found were two other empty seats. Well, if the five of us go in those seats, then… oh, this is too perfect. She couldn't help but grin. "It'll be fine. I know who can sit there."

Ichigo weaved through the swarm of people. His eyes darted from face to face, searching for those wide brown eyes and auburn hair. Really, how hard could it be to-

There. She was by the arcade games, like Tatsuki said, watching a young boy play an old school arcade game. "Inoue!" he called out in relief.

She turned around. She blinked, and then her face suddenly flushed red. "Oh! I'm so sorry, Kurosaki-kun! I just wanted to watch for a minute and then I…"

"It's okay," he said. "Tatsuki and the others were getting seats."

She nodded sheepishly, following him with her head slightly bowed as they hurried towards the theater. Ichigo looked for his friends among the seated crowd. He stopped mid-step when he found them. "Uh…"

Tatsuki spotted him, and shrugged helplessly. She then pointed to the seats behind them, and grinned.

Tatsuki, I'm going to kill you, Ichigo swore as he climbed the stairs to that row of seats. How am I going to survive this? I was counting on her ripping out my balls if I tried something, but now she's making – no, letting me sit with her, alone?

"Looks like Kurosaki-kun got stuck next to me," Orihime said sadly. She looked up at him apologetically. "I'm not fun to sit next to when watching a movie."

Ichigo shook his head as they sat down in their seats. "I doubt that," he said.

Tatsuki and Sado passed back Ichigo and Orihime's chosen snacks and drinks. The martial artist gave Ichigo a subtle thumbs up before turning around to talk to Mizuiro's date.

Great. Ichigo wanted to bash his head into the seat. Tatsuki's head would also have been an acceptable substitute.

"Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime bit her lip lightly. "Um, this might sound stupid to say now, but I never saw the first movie."

"Oh." Ichigo took a breath, and explained the plot of the first movie to her. He lowered his voice as exciting previews for upcoming movies began. It wasn't until the end of the third preview that he finally finished summarizing the last movie for her.

Orihime nodded excitedly. "Okay! I think I can get it from there." She looked towards the screen, and tilted her head to the side. "What kinds of movies do you like?" she asked him.

Ichigo shrugged. "Action, comedy, and some classics."

"No horror?" Orihime questioned.

He shrank back into his seat. "I hate horror," he muttered.

The screen flashed, and the movie began. Ichigo rolled his eyes at all the cheering. He nestled into his seat, and waited for the first action sequence.

During a dialogue bit some twenty minutes later, he glanced over at Orihime. Her eyes were glued to the screen, her mouth slightly open. There was a sudden explosion, and she gasped out loud.

Is that what she meant about not being fun to sit next to? Ichigo thought. He shook his head slightly. There's nothing wrong with showing your emotions during a movie.

He looked back to the screen, and grinned slightly. His favorite character just made his appearance. Ichigo grabbed his drink, took a sip and enjoyed the scene.

After about an hour, he looked back at Orihime. She looked pensive as she watched the scene. I wonder what she's thinking about…

Suddenly, he thought back to his fight on the dome weeks ago. He winced, remembering that there had been a moment where he could hear her thoughts. Nevermind. It's an invasion of privacy, and it's bad enough I did once. He suddenly didn't care whatever was being said in the movie as he thought back to that night. He hadn't given it much serious thought since the few days following it. Why haven't I? he thought angrily. Maybe because so much has happened lately. Still, I should keep trying to remember what I did to… turn into that thing.

It was hard to figure out a way when no one around him seemed to know. No. It's my problem. I need to figure it out so it won't happen again. At least, not so unexpectedly. He still didn't like the thought of purposely bringing that form back out, and a part of him was almost glad the Vizards were stumped in figuring out how.

He rubbed a hand over his face. Think about it later.

Orihime twitched, and Ichigo looked over at her. Her eyes went wide in excitement, and his gaze followed hers to the screen. His mouth nearly dropped for a moment. Is… is that a spaceship? No way, it can't be – no, it's not. He shook his head when what looked like a flying saucer proved to be only a hallucination of one of the main character's.

He heard a disappointed sigh. Ichigo glanced over at his neighbor. When Orihime finally noticed he was looking, she met his gaze with a nervous smile. "Sorry," she whispered quietly.

He shook his head. "Something the matter?"

She chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully. "Well, no, but I…" She sunk a little in her seat. "I was kinda hoping it would be the penguins coming to attack."

Ichigo blurted out a laugh. He slapped a hand over his mouth, and tried to contain the rest of his chuckling.

Tatsuki turned in her seat, and frowned. "What are you two doing?" she whispered.

Orihime and Ichigo exchanged glances before they started cracking up. They both fought to suppress their laughter. Tatsuki kept staring in bewilderment until Orihime whispered, "Penguins with – with rocket launchers, Tatsuki."

Their mutual friend slapped her forehead. "Nevermind," she muttered before turning back to the movie.

Ichigo spent the rest of the movie trying not to look at Orihime. It wasn't like he didn't enjoy looking at her, but he was just so afraid he would start laughing again. Orihime seemed to do the same, keeping her eyes glued on the screen. Both of them hardly moved to eat their snacks.

When the movie came to a close and the credits began to roll, Ichigo stretched out in his seat. "I thought it was pretty good."

"It was awesome!" Keigo said, nearly throwing his drink into the air. "Better than the first!"

"No way," Mizuiro's date argued. "You can't beat the original of any series."

"Can, too!" Keigo shot back.

"Can not!"

Tatsuki glanced at Sado. "Someone needs to shut them up before I do."

Mizuiro gathered up the trash. "I personally thought it had its flaws, but it was all right."

Ichigo was suddenly glad he was in a different row. He was inclined to agree with Tatsuki, and considered lobbing his empty candy box at Keigo's head.

Orihime looked over at Ichigo, and smiled sweetly as she gathered her things. "Thank you, Kurosaki-kun."

"Huh? Oh," Ichigo nodded to her. "No problem."

"I, um…" Orihime stared at the floor, her cheeks flushing a pretty pink. "I'm really glad you invited me, and that I got to see it… with you." There was a slight emphasis on 'you' which Ichigo did not miss.

In return, he could only stare at her. His lips twitched as he struggled for words. His initial instinct was to say that he was glad she came with him, but the words failed him. Maybe because there's a lot more I want to say, like I can't believe she didn't mind being seen going to the movies with me, or that I'm really happy that she's glad she came with me. I…

There's a lot I want to say, now that I think about it.

"Okay people, I need to pee," Tatsuki grumbled as she got to her feet.

"A – ah! Me, too!" Orihime shot up from her seat, nearly falling into the row in front of her. Ichigo snatched his arm out, and caught her in time.

"Easy, Inoue," he said with a forced smile.

Her brow creased as she met his gaze. "Um, thank you, Kurosaki-kun."

He blinked, and realized he was still gripping her elbow. He let go, and looked away. Smooth move, he mentally muttered as he grabbed his trash.

The seven of them shuffled out of the theater with everyone else, tossing their trash into the bins and hurrying to the bathrooms. Keigo plowed through the line to get to the men's room, ignoring the curses and complaints. Mizuiro followed after him, texting away on his phone all the while.

His date skipped into the bathroom, with Tatsuki following behind her with a puzzled look. Orihime was walking next to Tatsuki. Before she went into the bathroom, she turned and gave Ichigo a bright smile.

He almost gawked as she disappeared into the restroom. He leaned against the wall with Sado as they waited for everyone to be done in the bathrooms. He was glad his tall friend didn't make small talk. His thoughts were elsewhere.

For whatever strange reason, Orihime's words had given him hope. He didn't know why, but he just felt like he had a chance. It's so stupid, but… I... what should I do?

"I think the answer's obvious."

His resolve hardened. Maybe he was setting himself up for failure and pain, but he had to try. You're right, Rukia. The answer is obvious.

It was well past midnight when Ichigo and Orihime rounded the corner onto her street. The wind was bone-bitingly cold but not too strong. Orihime's long hair blew around her face, so that every few minutes she had to push it back behind her red ears. The two of them walked closely side by side, trying to stay warm in the dark December night.

"Ah, we – we're here!" Orihime said when they reached her apartment building. "S – sorry you had to walk so far in the cold, Kurosaki-kun."

"I don't mind," he said softly, his breath floating in the air between them.

They climbed the stairs to her level. Ichigo glanced around them, making sure no one was around. He had no idea how he was going to do this, but he was determined. Face forward, abandon your fear, all that jazz Zangetsu said…

The pair paused outside Orihime's front door. The front window was dark. The three reiatsu inside were calm and still. "Looks like Rangiku-san and the others are asleep," Orihime murmured in the cold. "It is pretty late."

"Yeah…" Ichigo looked down at the cement floor. Damn it, I have no idea how to even start.

"Kurosaki-kun."

His head shot up and their brown eyes met. "Yeah?"

"Are you sure you're okay?" Orihime asked. Her hands, covered in pink mittens, reached out for his bare ones. She rubbed them in between her own. "You need gloves," she added thoughtfully.

He looked at her as she warmed his hands in between her own. "You always look after me," he said slowly, "even though I'm the one always trying to protect you."

"I just want to help you," Orihime whispered in the wind. "You work and try so hard. I'm – I'm really grateful for it, you know. I just wish there was more I could do."

To this Ichigo let out a pained laugh. "You have no idea what you've done for me."

"Eh?"

His legs moved of their own accord, pushing her gently into the wall next to her door. "I can't do it."

Orihime, with her hands still covering his asked, "Do what?"

Just then, it began snowing. They looked up at the sky as the flakes fell. Ichigo sighed softly, but found the snowfall oddly comforting. It helped him regain his confidence as he spoke again. "Hide it. What I've been hiding the past week." He shook his head. "What Rukia knows, what the others know but don't think I know…" He gave her a half-smile. "They know a lot more than they let on."

He understood the confusion on her face. Hadn't he felt the same when he first figured it out? "They know something?"

"Yeah. I know it, too. And I can't fight it." His forehead bumped against hers. "It's funny, because I don't want to anymore. But, Inoue, please stop me if you want."

Maybe she knew what was coming, because she didn't say anything when his face came close to hers. She didn't move when his lips pressed against hers, either. As he kissed her, he waited for it. Waited for her to push him away or crane her head to the side to avoid him.

What he hadn't expected (the day had been full of things he didn't see coming) and what made him so happy was when she kissed him back. It was nothing like what they had shared so far. This was something he had done of his own conscious accord and of course, this kiss was infinitely better than everything else.

Their lips parted for a moment, leaving both of them smiling. Ichigo released one of his hands from Orihime's, and cupped her cheek. "Can I see you tomorrow, after training?"

It was one of the small things he loved about her; he didn't have to elaborate on anything he said for her. She nodded happily. "Yes. I'd like that. Where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere" was all he said before he leaned in for another kiss. The wind began blowing fiercely and both their noses and ears were red and cold, but the new couple hardly cared as their kiss deepened, and all the world just seemed to disappear.

A/N: ...Well, that'll teach Kensei to bet against a Shihouin, eh? Yoruichi's intuition FTW.