Update! Enjoy! :D

Chapter 12

Ichigo smiled, listening to the orange haired woman giggling next to him. He had guessed right when he thought Inoue would enjoy going to sculpting class with him. She seemed to be having the time of her life and that made him happy. Throughout the time that Grimmjow had been gone, it had gotten lonely and he didn't want to be stuck in the house anymore. Renji had been working a few more hours a week saying that he would need a lot more money when summer came around. The man always took a vacation during that time and he liked to have a large amount of money when doing so.

Ichigo thought it was silly. The man really never did anything during his vacation. He just sat around playing video games and pigging out like the world depended on it. The only thing Ichigo even cared about when summer came was that Grimmjow would be home around that time. It had already been a month and the oranget was counting down the days until he could feel Grimmjow next to him again.

He scowled at his thoughts, thinking that he sounded like some girl. He knew he shouldn't care about such things. He was happy, far happier than he had ever been in a long time.

"Ichigo? What's with that look?" The man blushed, coughing into his shirtsleeve. He hadn't realized Orihime was looking his way. He tried to think of a good explanation, but failed to do so. "Were you thinking about Grimmj-"

"So, Inoue, how's your relationship with Ulquiorra?" Ichigo had to quickly change the subject before it started to get too detailed. Inoue's gray eyes went large and a blush rose across her face. Ichigo couldn't see it, but he could feel the embarrassment rolling off of her and he figured she was blushing. He smiled to himself, his hands still working against the clay.

"I-It's going fine. Uhm, Ulquiorra is sweet. He's a little quiet, but it's not bothersome at all. When he does talk, we have a lot of interesting conversations. I never thought he would be Grimmjow's best friend though." Ichigo chuckled. He had to agree, Ulquiorra and Grimmjow weren't exactly the type to seem like best friends. He guessed they balanced each other out, just like Inoue balanced the stoic man out.

"I-Ichigo. Uhm, can I ask you something?" The man nodded and he listened to the chatter of the other people in the studio room. She seemed to be nervous about whatever she wanted to ask.

"Uh, uhm, how do you know w-when the feeling is, uh, mutual between two people?" Ichigo gave her a lop-sided grin. He guessed she was still worried about catching feelings for someone who didn't feel the same for her. He wasn't really the right person to ask. He didn't know much about love. All he knew was that he was falling for Grimmjow, big time. He had yet to voice that to the man, but he didn't think he ever would. He didn't want to jeopardize what they already had. Their relationship was always a complicated one to him. He didn't want to see Grimmjow as nothing less than his partner, but they had such a good friendship that the man was considered really nothing more than a friend. Were they really "dating"? He wasn't sure. It had never been officially said between the two of them, so Ichigo really wasn't ever sure of their status.

If anyone asked him, he would say he was single, but what would Grimmjow say if someone asked him? It was so confusing to him and he found himself wondering what they really were. Could he say with confidence that Grimmjow loved him? No, he couldn't, but could he say the feeling of caring for each other was mutual? Or that they enjoyed each other's company was a mutual feeling? He could probably answer that with a confident answer that, yes, they both cared for each other and enjoyed to be around each other. Love was a matter on another level entirely. He knew he loved Grimmjow, but he didn't know in what way.

He sighed, a headache starting to form and making him a little dizzy. He hated when he thought about things too much.

"Uh…Inoue, to answer your question, I guess you just…know. You get a feeling when you know it's mutual. I'm not really the right person to ask this of. I'm really new to all of this as well."

Orihime watched Ichigo for a moment and realized that something was wrong. She could see the pain lines creasing across his forehead. "…How about we go get some lunch? It might make you feel better. Besides I'm starving!" Ichigo glanced over in the direction where Inoue's voice had been coming from. He smiled at her, knowing exactly what she was doing. He guessed some things were just instinct.


Lunch was calming, though Inoue wondered if Ichigo was in any pain. He had been furrowing his brows for a couple of minutes and she wondered if she should do something. She knew the man didn't like asking for help, so she didn't want to step over hr boundaries. She frowned and wondered what Grimmjow would do. He knew she was nothing like the tall man. She didn't have his strength and the ability to calm Ichigo down. She frowned and started biting at her nails.

She watched Ichigo reach into his bag and pull out a small container of pills. She had remembered them always being in a bottle and was surprised to see the change. Had Grimmjow been the one to suggest something easier for the man to be able to open? She pulled her fingers from her lips and gazed at him as he took the recommended dosage of pain pills. After a matter of minutes, lunch went smoothly again.

She had noticed this about Ichigo in the past month. The confidence he used to have before going blind. The knowledge of knowing he could do things on his own. It was as if nothing had ever happened to the man she once loved. She smiled, gazing down at her fingers. That was the reason she had fell for him in the first place, the will to be able to fight his own battles no matter the circumstances. She was happy to see the old Ichigo returning. She knew it had to be the sudden change in the man's lifestyle. The newfound friendship with Grimmjow and the compassion the man had for Ichigo. She could tell that they depended on each other in some way shape or form.

She was happy to see Ichigo smiling again and she would have to thank Grimmjow the next time she got a chance.

"…Inoue." She was jerked out of her thoughts by Ichigo's voice. She hummed at him in response. "Your cell phone is ringing."

"…Oh!" She quickly reached for her cell phone and Ichigo chuckled at her cheery voice. "Yes! Yes! Hello!" Her eyes went wide at the deep monotone voice on the opposite end. "Ulquiorra!" She listened to him speak and she could feel a blush slowly rise across her face. "No! I'm not doing any- I mean I'm having lunch with Ichigo right now. But we can meet up later, I mean if you like to. Or, uhm…" Oriihime's voice died in her throat when she felt Ichigo's hand upon hers. She looked up at him and he mouthed to her that she could go on and go.

"But, Ichigo…" The man shook his head and told her to go. She smiled at him and went back to her call with Ulquiorra. Ichigo smiled, pulling his hand away from hers. He gazed off to the side and waited for her to finish her call. "Ichigo, you really didn't have to-"

"It's fine. I was probably just going to head home anyway. I want to check up on Pantera." The orange haired woman mumbled a quiet okay. She slowly gathered her things and said her goodbyes to Ichigo. He listened as Orihime left and sat back in the booth. He had long been finished eating and he was just waiting for the waiter to come along.

After paying, he had one of the hostesses call him a cab. He was still having a hard time walking around by himself. He didn't enjoy the feeling of getting lost, so he had been taking cabs mostly everywhere that was farther than a few blocks. It was kind of the easy way out, but he was still gathering the courage to walk around by himself. He stepped out of the diner and made his way towards the curb, pulling out his walking stick. Standing there, he waited for the cap to make it to his destination.

He wondered what Orihime was going off to do with Ulquiorra. They had been spending quite a lot of time together and he wondered if it was starting to get serious between them. It was good that she finally had someone for her. He had been worried that she wouldn't find any happiness, but low and behold, it seemed someone was looking out for her. He smirked, looking up towards the sky. Life seemed to be getting back on track for everyone and it made him feel good about everything. He quickly looked down, hearing a ringing sound. Pulling his cell phone out of his pocket, he pressed th call button and answered.

"Hey, Grimm."


It had been a long while since Grimmjow practically disappeared off of the face of the earth. Everywhere the petite man had searched, he had come up empty. No one would explain to him where Grimmjow was. His apartment was empty and his mail had been being forwarded to a new address, which Luppi wasn't able to figure out. Of course he had already knew that he was no longer working at his job and every time he went there to ask questions, he was ignored. All he wanted to know was where his boyfriend was. He needed to know. He needed to know why his blue haired lover had been all over some blind freak of nature. It didn't sit too well with him.

He then realized that if he couldn't find Grimmjow, then he would look for the abomination that his boyfriend had been hanging around with. Thus, he started doing some detective work. He had been using Loly's connections to find some kind of information on the man. It wasn't easy at first, only because Loly thought it was stupid and a waste of time, but after much convincing she had joined in on looking for information.

She had used her daddy, asking him to help look through the database of citizens in Japan. It wouldn't be that hard to find a blind orange haired man in the country. But oh how wrong they were. It had taken days and days to go through people, even if the guy had orange hair, so did a lot of other people. Orange wasn't really common, but when coupled with the large amount of people with red hair, it started getting difficult. After a few weeks of searching they had finally found him.

So there Luppi was following Ichigo's every move. He had found out enough information and figured to stalk to pitiful excuse around. He didn't feel bad that the boy had lost his parents to a tragic car accident or the fact that he had lost his eyesight to an explosion downtown, killing and injuring a large amount of people. No, all he cared about was that he needed to get rid of this man so that he could get Grimmjow back.

He had followed him to some diner and waited for the man to come out. He was lucky that the orange haired woman had left long before and that the orange haired man was alone. This person was getting in-between of what he wanted and he wouldn't just stand there and let it happen. He found his legs moving quicker than they should, getting closer to the target in front of him. He inconspicuously pulled a switchblade out from his pocket and held it to his side. He wanted to make sure it looked like an accident or some kind of health problem. He made his way closer, an angry maniacal glint in his lavender eyes. He gripped the handle of the blade and slightly pulled his arm back. When he was ready to strike, he watched as the boy pulled out his cell phone.

"Hey, Grimm." Luppi stopped in his tracks and gazed at the smiling boy. He listened to how this man spoke to his boyfriend, the love in the man's voice, the response and blushes. It was all making him want to puke. He wanted to die a little inside. He felt his hand start to shake, the grip on the handle making his fingers turn white. He could feel the tears forming in his eyes. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Grimmjow was supposed to be with him. It wasn't fair. How could Grimmjow dump him for such a person? He was so perfect and compared to that blind orange haired freak, he had been the right choice.

He frowned, feeling the tears roll down his face. He watched the boy obliviously slip into a taxi, leaving him alone on the sidewalk. He slowly slid the knife back into his pocket and stiffly made his way down the sidewalk. He would just have to think of another plan.


Orihime didn't know how to react. She had never been a real date at such a fancy place. She stared down at the row of forks and wondered why there were so many. After separating with Ichigo, she had went home. The man had said he would pick her up in a couple of hours and she wondered what was going on. After Ulquiorra picked her up, he had taken her to some fancy dress shop. He started helping her pick out dresses and she wondered what it was all about. After picking out a short, but exquisite pastel green dress, they proceeded to dinner.

She had looked around to see that there was nothing by high-class people around. There was classical music coming from the piano set off in the corner and Orihime wondered why he had brought her here of all places. She glanced over to him and noticed his eyes gazing down at the menu. She had to admit that he did look handsome in a suit. His skin blended well with the white silk collared shirt and the pastel green waistcoat hide part of his patterned chartreuse tie.

"Uh, Ulquiorra." She watched as crystal green eyes gazed her way, his mouth pulled into a thin line like always. "Why are we here?"

"To eat." If only it was that simple to Inoue. "Are you not hungry?" The orange haired woman pouted, twirling her finger through an orange lock.

"Ye-yes, I'm hungry. It's just…this place is so fancy. I don't really…I mean, I've never been to such a nice place."

"There is a first for everything. Besides, tonight is special."

"S-special?" Inoue squeaked. Was it the man's birthday? It couldn't be, his birthday had long past. Was it her own? She frowned trying to remember when her own birthday was. No, no, her birthday wouldn't be for a few more months.

"Yes. It is our one month anniversary." Orihime's eyes went large and she gapped at the man in front of her. "Did you forget?" It wasn't that she forgot. It was the fact that Ulquiorra even thought that there was something so important between them that he would think being together for a month was sentimental. Her bottom lip started to tremble and her eyes started to become blurry.

"Orihime?" That seemed to make her more emotional. He had never called her by her name. She was always considered "woman" to him. "I apologize if I have made you sad." The orange haired woman shook her head and reached for the napkin sitting on the table. She dabbed at her eyes, hoping it would stop her from crying.

"N-no, I'm happy." The man's face showed a sign of emotion for the first time and Orihime could tell that he was confused about her statement. "I-I never thought that… you know, that you liked me so much."

"…You are such a silly woman." That seemed to make her smile and she chuckled quietly.

"I didn't get you anything."

"I do not need a gift. I have you." Inoue blushed as she gazed at Ulquiorra. "But, I have gotten you something. If you will have it." She nodded, wondering what else he could have possibly bought. There was the dress, the dinner that had yet to come and now something more. She watched as he pulled a small black box out of his suit jacket and set it down on the table. She slowly reached for it, gazing at the velvety curved black container. She was afraid to open it, in fear that it would be something too extravagant. Everything seemed to be going that way lately.

She sighed and opened the box, her slate gray eyes enlarging and her mouth dropping open. On a small black velvet pillow sat two aqua blue flower hair pins. They were encrusted with blue crystals and Orihime could see them sparkle in the light. They reminded her of the pins her brother had given her before he passed away. She had told Ulquiorra about them and how special they had been to her. She had lost them in high school and hadn't been able to replace them yet. She felt tears form in her eyes again and this time she couldn't stop them from falling. She felt a hand on her cheek and looked over to see the dark haired man sitting next to her. She couldn't even begin to describe how thankful she was. On impulse, she leaned over and pressed her lips against his. There were so many emotions welling up inside her that she did the only thing that she thought was right. Ulquiorra had been such an amazing person towards her and even when there were times that she probably annoyed him, he stood by her side.

She felt him press softly against her lips making it their first kiss, ever. Her cheeks started to redden and she slowly pulled away, gazing up into his green eyes.

"Th-thank you," she breathed. He smiled at her and for the first time since she had been around Ulquiorra, she realized that the feelings they had for each other were in fact mutual.


One Month Later

Ichigo smiled at the sounds going on in his kitchen. Yuzu trying to explain to Orihime that potatoes and kiwi didn't go together. He listened to Ulquiorra say that he thought it was a great combination and hoped that she would cook it for him. The sounds of video games being played in the living room between Karin and Renji sounded exciting. Even Rukia was there. She had long apologized to both he and Orihime and claimed that she was just upset that her best friend wasn't getting the man of her dreams. He was glad that everyone was happy now. It seemed that things were turning around for every one. Grimmjow was doing so well in San Francisco, getting amazing reviews from the local papers and magazines about musicians.

Ichigo was so happy for what Grimmjow was able to achieve. He had only been there for two months and he was already doing so well. Grimmjow talked about the language barrier, but he said it wasn't as bad as he thought it was. He had said he spent most of his time in Japantown and Ichigo even received a large amount of souvenirs from the blue haired man. Grimmjow was gaining friends, even if the man didn't sound too enthusiastic about it.

He sighed, sitting at the kitchen table. He was so happy for everyone. Orihime had found happiness in an interesting guy. Ulquiorra wasn't that bad. The more Ichigo hung around him, the more he could see the humor in the man. It was cruel and dry, but it was still completely funny.

Renji had gotten over the fact that Ichigo and Grimmjow were some kind of item. He knew that he would always be Ichigo's best friend and he chose to continue down that road. Of course he couldn't just turn off his romantic feelings for Ichigo, but he was able to tone it down to a decent level. He was happy to see Ichigo smiling. He was happy to see the man being more social, like he had been in high school.

The sounds of dishes and food sizzling filled the small apartment, accompanied with chatter and laughter. The sound of family and friends enjoying each other's company was something that had been missing from Ichigo's apartment. And all that was missing was a head full of soft blue hair. Ichigo frowned at the thought of Grimmjow not being around to enjoy this. The man was so far away, away from his friends, but Ichigo knew he was making a life for himself in America.

The noise seemed to die down when the house phone rung. People stared at it and it rang again. Yuzu ran over and looked down at the caller id. She smiled to herself, before telling everyone who it was. She glanced over seeing how perky it made Ichigo.

Pressing a few buttons, Yuzu indicated that she was putting the caller on speaker phone. Orihime giggled and Ichigo wondered what was going on.

A deep baritone voice filled the air and Ichigo's heart started to beat rapidly.

"Hey Grimmjow!" everyone shouted, making Ichigo jump slightly and glare at nothing particular. He listened to Orihime giggle louder before Yuzu handed him the phone.

"Hello," he said.

"…Uh…what was that about?" Ichigo seemed to melt at the sound of the man's voice, completely forgetting everything around him.

"They seem to be in a good mood," the oranget responded, listening as Grimmjow chuckled.

"Yeah…I can imagine. I'm in a good mood too."

"…Really? …What for?" Ichigo could feel eyes on him and realized that he probably should have went into the bedroom. People were always so nosy.

"Because I'm talking to you." Ichigo felt his face light up, his cheeks turning a bright shade of red.

"D-Don't be so mushy!" Ichigo exclaimed, making the man on the other line laugh.

"Did I make you blush?"

"N-n-no!"

Grimmjow continued to chuckle. "Liar," he breathed and Ichigo could feel something in him boil with desire.

Ichigo found himself smiling slightly, listening to the sounds around him continue, the loud chatter and sound of food, and beeping of video games in the distance.

"Bastard," he responded, his lips still upturned. Now everything was perfect.


:D Two months down! Hip Hip Hooray! So a lot of people were asking for some more Ulquihime. I hope that was enough for you for this chapter. They will stay pretty consistent in the story now. I will talk about them as much as I can without it turning into a story about them.

Also a lot of people wanted to know how Ichigo became blind. I kind of hinted about it in this chapter. Yes it was some kind of accident. An explosion to be exact. I didn't really want to say much about it, but to give you an idea of what happened. He had been in downtown Karakura, the subway. There had been a malfunction with one of the cars and a crash happened resulting in some type of explosion. He received head trauma and debris was flowing around. Some people were severely injured, while other's died. He was one of the ones that was injured and it left him blinded and he does have a gash on the back of his head, but I don't take much about it. It is a fictional accident to my knowledge. I do hope nothing like that happened in real life, though I know things like that do happen. I hope that clarifies anything for the people that wanted to know how Ichigo became blind.

Please review and see you guys next chapter.