*DING*
The timer on the oven went off, announcing its contents were done baking. The chef came over and placed oven-mitts on her delicate hands, carefully pulling the creation out of the heat and placing on a cooling rack to her left. She peeled off the mitts and grabbed a large knife from above the fridge, smiling and humming to herself. It was normal for her to be awake this early, to cook herself food for the day, and even though school wasn't in session today her body clock just went off at 5:30 every morning, so who was she to fight it? As she sliced up her lunch and placed it in a box she wondered how her friends were doing. It had only been a few weeks since they'd escaped from Hueco Mundo and the Gotei 13 had managed to repel Aizen's attack on the living world, and she could tell the others were still a little scarred from what had happened. Placing the knife down on the counter, Inoue Orihime sighed.
It's all my fault... Kurosaki-kun... Kuchiki-san... Ishida-kun... they wouldn't have been hurt if I...
*RIIIIINNNNGGG - RIIIIINNNNGGG* Her phone suddenly rang, startling her from her guilty thoughts.
Wondering who would be calling this early, she picked up as the third ring began: "Moshi-moshi?"
The voice on the other end was so familiar and yet unexpected she almost dropped the phone in shock.
"Ah... It's Ichigo." Oh my gosh! Kurosaki-kun? Wha-why is he calling me? Whew, just calm down Inoue, it's probably nothing! "I need to talk to you." WHAT? He... he needs to talk... to me? Don't get your hopes up, Inoue, you know that's bad...
Her mood had gone from melancholy to near-heavenly elation. Her crush, the man she'd loved for so long, was actually calling her! She had always dreamed of this moment, and such dreams had always left her smiling and feeling warm inside, but here she was panicking and unable to speak! He did sound serious though, so she gathered her thoughts and replied.
"Oh! Um. Alright, come on over, it's Saturday right?" she asked, kicking herself for sounding so dumb on the phone with him. Why couldn't she just be less of a ditz around him for once?
His voice was heavy with some dark emotion, "Yeah... I'll see you in a bit... Inoue."
"Alright! I... I have breakfast here too! Pancakes with chocolate syrup filling and macaroni bits!" she said, glad words were finally coming to her mouth.
Ichigo, meanwhile, was staring at the phone in his hands in shock. "Did... did she say... Uuurrrghh..." he fought the urge to puke and brought the phone back to his ear, saying: "Oh, that sounds very good! I already ate though, and I really shouldn't eat too much, Yuzu says she'll stop cooking if I get fat, so... Haha! Anyways, I'm on my way over now, alright? I'll see you soon." -click-
Back in Inoue's home, she was trembling with barely suppressed glee. Kurosaki Ichigo not only called her - he called her - he was coming over to her house. As in, her place of residence, where she was living, and the first step towards a d-... a da-... she couldn't even think the word she was so excited! "Yatta! Ano, I should really clean this place before he comes..."
She suddenly flew into a storm of superhero speed and cleaned every surface in her home, picked up every last bit of clutter, and was just putting the vacuum back in her closet when she heard the doorbell ring. Quickly removing her apron and folding it into a drawer, she ran to the door to let in the man of her dreams, a massive smile on her face. It disappeared as she saw who walked through the door.
It was Ichigo, that much was certain, but this wasn't the Kurosaki Ichigo she knew, the man she loved with every fiber of her being. His scowl was gone, replaced by a much more worrisome frown that reached into his eyes. Speaking of which, she noticed his usually vibrant amber eyes had a deathly quality to them, with large dark rings and bags forming under them. She couldn't imagine a worse state for him to be in without any physical injuries.
"Kurosaki-kun? What's... what's wrong? You look terrible! Is everything alright? Come into the living room and sit down!" she was leading him by the hand - oh kami, their hands were touching - into her apartment, her good mood replaced by worry. She sat him down on the futon and found a place next to him, still holding his hand.
"Please, Kurosaki-kun, what did you need to talk to me about?" she asked quietly, a begging look in her eyes as she tried to meet his. His frown only deepened as he looked away.
"I..." he began, seemingly choking on his words. "I'm sorry, Inoue. I'm so sorry."
She didn't understand. He hadn't done anything wrong, had he? A thought flashed through her head, maybe something had happened between him and Rukia, and he was apologizing to Inoue because he knew how she felt? She sincerely hoped not, but her mind wouldn't shut up. She shook her head to clear it, and asked: "For what? You haven't done any-"
Ichigo interrupted: "I was weak! I couldn't protect all of you... What saved you... That wasn't me. That was my hollow. It took over when I... When I died." his words were thick with guilt and self-pity. A small tear was traveling down his cheek from his closed eyes. "I wasn't strong enough to stop him, and he... he nearly killed Ishida, and if Ulquiorra hadn't attacked when he did, my hollow would have killed you too. I'm sorry I was so weak, Inoue! I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, and Ishida!" he said through gritted teeth.
Inoue could feel the pain he was going through with every word, and it cut her to her core. She couldn't stand to see him like this, so she did the first thing she could think of to try and ease his pain.
She reached over and kissed him on the cheek. As her lips brushed against his impossibly smooth cheeks, her stomach exploded with massive fluttering butterflies and her eyes shut instinctively. His skin was soft, not how she'd imagined, but better. She had kissed him right over his tear, and as the salty taste of it mingled with the sweet taste of his skin, she felt such an intense happiness that if she had died at that very moment she would have been content to spend another eternity waiting for another moment like it.
Ichigo's brain was freaking out while he tried desperately to figure out what the hell had just happened, while Inoue pulled away with a slight blush and small smile gracing her features.
Did Inoue really just kiss him?
His mouth fumbled over the apology as his hands twitched. Oh sure, it felt great, but it was freakin' Inoue! He didn't know what to do, much less say. Fortunately for him, his instincts, honed from thousands of hours of aloofness, kicked in and he... acted like nothing had happened. He continued his apology, going on about how he noticed Ishida was still a little pale from the blood loss - he knew Inoue's powers had restored all the lost blood, but still - and how he had seen Chad actually limp the other day. Chad! Limping!
Inoue was still blissfully unaware of her surroundings, and whatever her Kurosaki-kun was saying... Her Kurosaki-kun... Huh? What did I just - Oh no! Did I just kiss Kurosaki? She noticed her blush and tried to will it away, but was unsuccessful. Her emotions had got the better of her, and now she was sitting in the one the most awkward situations she'd ever had, next to the object of her affections. Kami, she was embarassed.
She finally realized he was still apologizing and blinked. Maybe he hadn't thought anything of it? That'd be okay, I guess... She laid her hand on his shoulder, stopping him with a smile.
"Dont apologize, Kurosaki-kun," she began, meeting his sorrowful gaze. "You came to rescue me, when I wasn't expecting to see any of you ever again. You couldn't have known how powerful he was, that he would... would kill you..." she trailed off, caught up in the memories.
Jumping a little out of her reverie, she laughed: "Hah, sorry! I just started remembering things... Anyways, please don't feel bad Kurosaki-kun, none of us blame you for what happened, and I'm still very grateful you came to rescue me!"
As she finished she became overwhelmed with a sudden desire to kiss Ichigo again, as though he were a drug she had become addicted to after one small taste. She leaned towards him, tilting her head up, and began to close her eyes as she moved within inches of his perfect, untouched lips. His breath tickled her face and she was only an inch away, so very close.
"Inoue?"
She cursed herself internally. How could she be so stupid? Why was she acting so boldly all of a sudden? She had never been this forward with him before now and - "Inoue? Ano... I think... I think I should go."
No! Don't go! she started in her thoughts. Oh kami, I scared him off didn't I? You're such a fool Inoue!
Ichigo had stopped when he noticed the auburn headed girl next to him leaning in with her eyes closed, and recognized that as something he'd seen in hundreds of movies and television shows: a kiss. He had, of course, decided that he did NOT need to be going hooking up with someone he was trying to apologize to. He still felt guilty, after all! What if this was some sort of... Stockholm Syndrome thing? He wouldn't take advantage of someone he'd hurt and caused psychological damage to! Especially not Orihime, she was just his friend! Oh sure, any other guy in his situation would be all over her, but he'd never really thought of her that way. Actually, he'd never really thought of her at all, come to think of it.
