You won't see me cry, I'm hiding inside
My heart is in pain but I'm smiling for you
Oh baby I'll try to make the things right
I need you more than air when I'm not with you
Please don't ask me why, just kiss me this time
My only dream is about you and I .
Stereo Love – Edward Maya ft. Alicia
"KUROSAKIIII! WHERE ARE YOU- GET BACK HERE!" Nanao yelled in the middle of the dining area, startling the few people who were scattered amongst the tables of the dining area. "Mattaku… I guess I'll just have to get someone else to haul… What exactly do you find so funny, Inoue-san?" Nanao asked, irritated by the girl's persistent laughter.
Inoue clamped both hands over her mouth in an attempt to stifle her laughter. Unfortunately, Nanao chose that precise moment to adjust her glasses. Snapping her head down to the table, Inoue hid her head in the crook of her arm in an attempt to conceal another fit of laughter. After taking a brief look around the room, Nanao realized that her bizarre outburst had turned her into the center of attention.
"There will be a short meeting after sunset tonight," Nanao stated as she turned to make her escape. She paused a moment to add, "If Kurosaki isn't back by the time you are finished with your rounds, please be so kind to go and fetch him."
"Please test the range of motion of your hand," she instructed after removing the last of the bandages. His eyes were glued to his hand as he ran through every motion he could think of. His mouth dropped slightly and eyebrows rose in astonishment. "How does it feel?" she asked.
"It feels like the battle never happened and it was all a bad dream," he stated quietly. He shook his head and looked up into her grey eyes. "Your abilities are quite astonishing to experience firsthand. Truly amazing, Inoue-san."
"Arigatou, Akon-san," she replied with a smile. "I'm glad your hand has made a full recovery." Orihime bowed before moving to continue her rounds. She turned to look at him in confusion when he grabbed her wrist with his newly regenerated hand.
"How did you know the attack was coming?"
Orhime looked around to see if anyone was listening before responding hesitantly, "Eto..."
"Onegaishimasu… I need to know. The curiosity is killing me," he pleaded softly. Akon reassured her worried look with a small smile and pointed to the horns on his forehead. "I'm not going to judge you upon your abilities."
Orihime let out a sigh. She had been working a few hours already, maybe a break wouldn't be such a horrible thing. "I guess I can sit and chat for a few minutes. I have some questions I'd like to ask you as well." A flash of apprehension crossed his face before he nodded. Orihime grabbed a nearby chair and placed it next to his bed. "I'm sure you already have a basic understanding of my powers by now, right?" she asked as she sat down.
"Hai," he affirmed before blurting out a quick summary of her abilities. "Three basic abilities split amongst 6 faeries called the Shun Shun Rikka. When not released, they reside within your hairpins. Santen Kesshun utilizes three of the six to create a shield that rejects something from occurring. Souten Kisshun utilizes two of the faeries to reject damage that has occurred within the target area. Kouten Zanshun utilizes one faerie in an offensive ability that rejects the existence of something within its path."
She chuckled a bit at his summary of her powers. "Sou desu-yo. My powers originally began to awaken around the time Kurosaki-kun received Kuchiki-san's powers and became a shinigami for the first time. You are aware of Kurosaki-kun's hollow abilities. My abilities are not very similar to his but they do possess some hollow-like qualities. My abilities are similar to one of the other vizards."
"Which one?"
"My shields are similar to the abilities Hachi-san created once he became a vizard," she explained. "I trained with him for a while before the war escalated."
"So… You think that you can sense these arrancar attacks because you posses hollow-like abilities," Akon concluded.
"I believe so. I've only begin to notice something strange before attacks recently. The last attack was the only instance I had enough time to warn anyone."
"Sou ka… Omoshiroi ne," he mused.
"My turn!" she cheered, bringing her hands together with a clap. "I've never gotten a chance to talk to anyone from the 12th division before! Do you enjoy working in the 12th division?"
"Uhh.. Yea," he admitted sheepishly. "I guess it's become sort of like a home for me over the last 100 years or so."
Inoue smiled; glad that he was happy despite all the rumors she had heard about the division. Her eyes wandered to his horns. "Ano… "
"Taicho encourages us to experiment and modify ourselves," he quickly explained.
"Did it hurt?"
"A little, but I don't mind pain," he replied with a shrug, sitting up on his bed and letting his legs hang over the edge.
"What's your favorite food?"
He blanked for a moment at the randomness of the question. "Spicy salmon onigiri."
"Oooh! That sounds tasty!" Orihime gushed with excitement.
"Yea- It's quick and simple to make. Easy to eat. We don't get much time for meals."
"How do you get all those cigarettes?"
"I occasionally slip into the real world to buy them in bulk."
"But aren't they bad for you?"
"I'm already dead," he stated.
"Oh… I'm sorry." She stared down into her lap.
"Don't be. It's just the way things are. Sometimes it's easy to forget how young you humans are. Hey, doc- Can we finish this outside?" he asked wryly and grinned. "I'm dying for a smoke."
"Sure," she replied with a giggle. "Your hand is all healed. If you're feeling better, you can be released anyways."
"Good deal," he said, sliding off the bed to stand and grabbing his trusty pack of smokes from inside his shirt. Orihime followed him as he headed outside. He lit his cigarette and leaned back against the side of the building as he took a drag. She joined him leaning against the wall.
"What is between you and the Kurosaki kid anyways?"
Orihime froze and a blush began to color her cheeks. "Huh? I- Err…" She took a deep breath before turning her gaze to her feet and replying quietly, "We're just friends…"
"Uh huh." He replied mockingly.
"We are!" she insisted.
Akon rolled his eyes, leaned his head back, and let the smoke roll out of his mouth. "Well, you might be friends," he conceded and paused a moment before looking over at her out of the corner of his eye, "but you love him."
"Eeeeh?" Orihime looked over at him in shock.
"I'm a scientist. You're not exactly very adept at hiding it," he explained and frowned as Orihime groaned and sank down to the ground, sticking her head between her knees and putting her hands over her head. "He's also extremely protective of you."
She looked at Akon for a moment before mumbling, "He's like that with everyone. Does everyone know?"
"I doubt it," he reassured her. "I'm just unnaturally observant. It's my job." He paused a moment and took another drag from his cigarette. "He is different around you, you know."
Orihime fiddled around with a piece of grass for a minute before Akon broke the silence. "You have other friends in this war too, yet you follow him. Is it because you love him?"
"iie... Chigau. I…" Orihime clenched her eyes shut and swallowed before continuing, "If he died because I wasn't there, I wouldn't be able to live with myself." She dropped the piece of grass and buried her head in her arms. "I don't think couldn't live with myself if any of my nakama died… But he always volunteers for the most dangerous battles."
Orihime stood a few moments later, wiping her eyes then wrapping her arms around herself and sighed. "With our abilities, I suppose it works out for the best in the end. He's so strong… I may not be strong, but I know my place is to utilize my healing and defensive abilities for the people involved in those battles." She took a few steps then turned to face him, eyes red from crying. "Why are you studying the both of us so intensely?"
He stared at the girl for a moment before taking one last drag from his cigarette. "What are-"
"I've noticed you observing Kurosaki-kun during this mission," she interrupted. "You observe me to a lesser extent. Why are you really here?"
He dropped his cigarette to the ground and put it out with his foot. "You two are an oddity," he said simply. "It piques my interest."
"It's more than that," she insisted. "Your captain would literally kill to have me as a research subject. I'm certain he feels the same about Kurosaki-kun. However, I never thought he'd stoop so low as to have one of his officers stalk us. All you had to do was ask."
Akon laughed at the girl's sudden change in demeanor and lit another cigarette. He didn't realize she could be this observant and confrontational. She truly was much more intelligent than she tried to let on. "Sorry. My captain prefers observation over interviews. Of course, he'd rather have a good dissection any day, but he knows the other captains would never allow it. If it makes you feel any better, I wasn't too fond of the idea," he said and looked towards the sky with a smile. "It is nice to get out of the lab though."
His eyes went wide in shock. The pain was suffocating him. His shihakusho was already shredded and bloody from all the cuts and blood he had already lost. He looked down and saw his arm hit the ground. Pure black sword landed a foot away as a stray cero disintegrated the arm. His brain sent messages to move the arm that was no longer attached, but it was no use. His sword was gone. His eyes rolled back in shock, barely noticing when he was stabbed though the chest. He lost consciousness and began to fall.
"ICHIGO!" Rukia shrieked as she saw him falling towards the ground.
Orihime immediately turned around and gasped as she spotted a blur of orange and black spiraling towards the ground. Three faeries shot out of her hairpins and rocketed away to attempt to catch the boy before he hit the ground.
Rukia froze her enemy in place and shunpo'd over to face Ichigo's previous opponent in a fit of rage.
Orihime stood and sprinted towards Ichigo. Behind her the shield covering an unconscious Chad dissipated as the faeries flew off to join their master. Ichigo landed on an orange triangle just above the ground. An arrancar sonido'd in front of her but dissipated a second later when Tsubaki swiftly sliced him in two.
Rukia was frantically lashing out at Ichigo's opponent. The arrancar seemed amused at the response he had elicited, which only served to infuriate her more.
Orihime fell to her knees as she reached Ichigo and murmured, "Shun'o. Ayame. Souten kisshun. Watashi wa kyozetsu suru." The shield glowed brightly as it erected over Ichigo. Tears began to roll down her face as she inspected his injuries. The damage was extensive. He had been stabbed several times, lacerations were everywhere and he was missing an arm. He looked so helpless, lying there face down in the dirt.
Above her, Ishida took over the fight with the arrancar as Renji grabbed Rukia and dragged her away, screaming.
Tsubaki popped out of her pins once more and appeared in front of the healer. "Reinforcements. Now. Update the captain," she murmured. The faerie flew off. She shook her head. "Someone else go find the vizards." A moment later another faerie popped out and sped off.
Rukia was struggling fiercely against Renji, determined to kill that bastard arrancar. Renji sighed and took the butt of his sword to knock out the fiery midget with a well placed blow. Renji was sure he'd get a beating from Rukia tomorrow, but it was better than having her get hurt because she wasn't thinking clearly. He propped her up against a tree a good distance away before quickly returning to assist the Quincy with his opponent.
Orihime stared blankly at the shield in front of her, eyes lifeless. He lost his arm. The one he wielded his Zanpakutou with. She glanced over at the nearby sword; two remaining faeries materialized and went to retrieve the sword for her, placing it next to the girl before returning.
How would he ever fight again? As much as the idea of not him not being hurt like this again appealed to her, she knew he wouldn't be able to live like that. She could feel the reiatsu emanating from the sword as she fingered the worn black and red handle of the sword fondly. She let a small smile grace her lips as she felt its reiatsu begin to thrum with something akin to recognition.
Zangetsu must be really worried right now… Would his hollow even care? Or would he just smile and wait for an opportune time to take over?
"Orihime-sama…"
She shook her head, breaking herself out of her thoughts. "Hai. What is it, Ayame?"
"Ano… Should we begin restoring his arm?"
"EH? But, his arm was turned to ash."
"Do you really think that matters?" the timid faerie asked quietly.
"Of cour-" Orihime cut herself off and stopped to contemplate the situation. "Huh… I… I can restore his arm, can't I?"
"BAKA! Of course you can!" Tsubaki yelled at the girl, kicking her in the cheek. "Quit moping around and focus, woman!"
"Itai! Tsubaki-kuuuuun!" she pouted as she rubbed her cheek.
"The captain is busy but will call for reinforcements," Tsubaki reported. His veins began to pop out of his forehead when he saw the sad look on her face. "Just hurry up and heal the idiot!" he yelled before returning back to her hairpins.
"Right." Orihime wiped her eyes and pulled up her sleeves of her borrowed shihakusho. She closed her eyes and focused completely on her shield. Her hands hovered directly above the shield as it began to glow brighter. She grit her teeth as she transferred her energy into her shield. "Shun'o, Ayame…"
"Hai." The two repositioned themselves; one just above his shoulder, the other beside his thigh.
Orihime let out a shaky breath and opened her eyes slowly to take in the sight of his arm slowly beginning to repair itself out of thin air. First the bones, then the muscles and tendons, then the veins and skin. She had seen the same type of thing happen whenever she restored missing chunks of flesh to other patients… This was of an entirely different magnitude however. The process was quickly sapping what little energy she had left, but refused to stop until his arm was completely restored.
Several minutes later, the last bits of his arm had reappeared. Blood once again began to flow within the veins of his arm causing his skin to revert back to its usual tone. Her shield dissipated and her faeries immediately returned to her hairpins to rest. Orihime used her last bit of energy to flip the unconscious boy over on his back. Tears began to fall onto his face as she wiped the dirt off his face. Orihime cupped his face and murmured softly, "I love you. I have for a long time." She clutched onto what remained of his uniform. "I… don't think I could bear to lose you," she confessed. "Don't you ever worry me like that again, Kurosaki Ichigo!" She blurted out as she began to sob uncontrollably. "I'll… I would… never… forgive you." Fatigue eventually began to overcome her, sobs slowly starting to subside as she simply let herself pass out on his chest.
…
Orihime stared off blankly as she recalled what had occurred a little over a month ago. She sat alone in the corner, naked, arms wrapped around her knees, shivering. The shower's water had gone cold a while ago. Tears ran down her face. She failed once again to keep herself from remembering. He almost lost an arm. He had almost died… just like…
She clutched her head and rocked back and forth, willing herself to repress and forget.
Orihime froze when she heard a knock on the door. "Inoue-sama? Is everything alright?"
She quickly wiped her face and took a deep breath before trying to respond in a normal voice. "Hai. I just forgot to take a shower this morning."
"Alright. Sugiyama-san was looking for you…"
"Okay. Tell him I'll be back shortly," she replied.
Memories continued to play through her mind unwillingly as she got up to finish washing her hair.
…
Shortly after, the vizards had shown up to, once again, save the Shinigamis' pathetic asses. They shifted the battle further away from the city and the battle began to come to an end.
Ichigo began to stir. He yawned and went to stretch when he noticed a something was on top of his chest. He propped himself up on his elbows and looked down to find Inoue on his chest. His eyebrows knit together in confusion. Her hair was disheveled and her face puffy and wet from crying. He moved her hair behind her ear before the last hour hit him all at once. "How in the world…" he mumbled as he stared at his hand in disbelief.
Orihime began to move and her eyes slowly opened. She shot back when she realized she had passed out on him and he was awake now looking at her in disbelief. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to… I-"
"You're sorry?" he cut her off. "Sorry about what? You completely restored my arm, didn't you? It was completely disintegrated by a cero but you… You can heal something from nothing now?" he rambled quickly in disbelief.
"I- oof!" She froze and her eyes shot open as he suddenly enveloped her in a hug.
"You're truly amazing," he murmured. "I don't think I can ever thank you enough. For everything."
"Well, will ya look at that?"
Ichigo released her and turned around. "Shut up, baka. Look at this," he said, pointing to his arm.
"It's an arm, big deal. Have you finally lost yer marbles, Ichigo?"
"Don't be a jerk, Shinji," Ichigo replied as he stood up. "It was cut off and cero'd into oblivion..."
"Huh? Then…" His mouth dropped open and pointed. "Hime-chan?"
Ichigo rolled his eyes and Orihime just nodded solemnly.
"Well then. I can't wait ta tell Hachi. This calls fer a celebration, ne?"
"Eh?" She asked confused.
"Come on! You just made a ton of progress with your powers. Let's go grab something to eat, just you and me," he suggested with a huge smile and wiggle of his eyebrows. Shinji received a swift punch to the gut from Ichigo's newly regenerated arm for his efforts. "The hell was that for?" Shinji yelled, bent over clutching his stomach in pain.
"Don't hit on her, asshole. She's obviously not in the mood to celebrate," Ichigo growled.
The two continued to argue for several minutes before being interrupted with a quiet, "Ano…" The two stopped fighting and looked at her. "Unless I'm needed, I think I'll just go home for the night and sleep in my own bed."
"Unohana-taichou is here now, along several officers of the 4th. I'm sure you've done more than enough fer one day, Hime-chan."
"Inoue…"
"Yer comin' with me, prick." Shinji grabbed Ichigo by the arm and dragged him away.
After a 15 minute walk through the woods, Orihime finally spotted a clearing up ahead. She had finished her rounds an hour before sunset and headed off to collect the flighty vizard for the meeting. Ducking under branches and climbing over a few more rocks, the lake was looking rather tempting for a swim. 'That shower I took earlier has completely gone to waste after that walk.' She felt around her head, picking out a couple of twigs and leaves from her hair when she heard something from the lake. "Kurosaki-kun?"
"EH? Inoue? Shit… How did you find me?" he asked, quickly sinking into the water and looking around frantically.
"Well… I've always been able to sense you if I put my mind to it. Don't worry though, I don't think the fukutaicho was able to figure out where you were," she said with a smile. "How's the water?"
"Uhhh…. Good?"
She looked around to take in the scenery as she said, "I was thinking about taking a quick dip myself. It's so beauti-" She cut herself off when she spotted a pile of his clothes hung against the trees a few yards away. She felt her face flame up as she realized his entire uniform was hanging on the tree's branches. "Umm…. I… Errr…."
"Yea… I hadn't taken a shower yet and I wasn't exactly expecting company," he explained nervously.
"That's ok, um… I'll just be going…" she said, pointing back towards the forest.
"Matte!" Orihime turned around to look at him. "You don't have to go. I mean… Just turn around. I'll put something on then you can swim."
"Uhh… Ok."
She walked back towards the woods and leaned against a tree, facing away from the lake and his clothes. 'Right. This is no big deal. I just need to behave myself and not turn around,' Orihime thought to herself.
A little devil popped into existence over her left shoulder. "You should go for it. I mean, when do you think you'll ever get a chance like this again?" Dressed in a Shihakusho with little red horns sticking out of his head with a tail to match, he looked awfully similar to Tsubaki except without a bandanna to cover his mouth.
"But I couldn't betray Kurosaki-kun's trust like that," she murmured.
An angel appeared over her other shoulder, looking identical to the devil except dressed in a white shihakusho; halo and wings replacing the horns and tail. "Will you quit it with the Kurosaki-kun already?" he exclaimed, rolling his eyes. "I think you two know each other well enough to go by first names by now. I mean, you even shared a bed with him last night…"
"She didn't even get any action either! How lame is that?" the devil ranted.
"I know right?" the angel agreed.
"Aren't you supposed to be telling me that the other guy's idea is bad?" she questioned the angel, pointing to the devil on her other shoulder.
"As long as you don't get caught," the angel replied with a shrug. "Hell, even if you do get caught, at least it would show some direct interest in the boy! Besides, the Kurosaki-kun thing is much more important. It's really annoying…"
"You've got that right," the devil agreed.
"It'd be awkward though."
"NO!" they both yelled in unison before the devil continued, "You would do anything to not seem forward in anyway whatsoever. The boy is obviously as dense as they come. If you don't make a move, I doubt that boy will get laid this decade..."
"Inoue?"
"HAI?" she yelled after being startled back into reality.
He let out a soft laugh before replying, "I said I was dressed about 3 times already."
"Ahh… Gomen…" she apologized before explaining in a rush. "A little devil and angel landed on my shoulders and started arguing with me. I kept telling them no but they kept insisting and what kind of angel agrees with the devil anyways?"
He rolled his eyes and put a hand on her shoulder and guided her towards the beach. "Hai, hai. Wakattayo. Let's swim a bit before the sun goes down."
"Oh yea, Nanao-san told me there was a meeting tonight after sunset before dinner tonight. That's why I came to get you."
Ichigo groaned. "Alright, we probably need to make it a quick swim if we're going to get into dry clothes before the meeting and not get yelled at." He flash stepped up to dive into the lake.
"Woa, kakko ii…" she murmured to herself in awe.
"Yosh! All finished." Orihime said excitedly.
"That's so cool. It's completely dry," Ichigo said, running a hand through his hair.
"I've never tried anything like it before. Your shunpo dive gave me the idea," she explained, moving to dry her own clothes and hair with her souten kisshun.
Ichigo shrugged. "I didn't really think about it, just seemed like the thing to do." He watched the sun setting over the lake, vivid colors spread across the sky and reflected off the water.
"So beautiful," Orihime murmured.
Ichigo looked over at the girl standing next to him, completely enchanted by the sunset. Her auburn hair seemed to glow as it was lit up with the colors of the sunset. His eyes followed her tongue as it flicked out to wet her slightly parted lips. "Yea… beautiful."
"Oh no," she groaned. "It's going to be dark soon and we still have to walk back!"
Ichigo smirked. "Who says we're walking back?" Orihime looked at him confused, squeaking as he grabbed her and slid her around onto his back. "Hold on tight," he instructed as he shifted her into place and supported her under each of her knees.
"Kurosaki-kun is going to give me a piggy-back ride?" she asked with a giggle, wrapping her arms securely around his chest and shoulders.
"Hai, Ikuzo."
"Woaaa! Segoi!" she exclaimed as they took off into the sky. Ichigo quickly shunpo'd them towards the camp just over the tops of the trees as the sun began to sink below the horizon.
A minute later, Ichigo landed and let her down. Orihime's smile took his breath away when he turned to look at her. "It's so much fun!" she gushed excitedly. "It's such a rush! No wonder you shunpo around when you're bored! How do you do it anyways?"
He snapped out of his trance and they began walking towards the meeting place. "Oh, it's kinda simple. You just focus your spiritual energy on your feet to increase your speed. Do you think you'd be able to do it if you learned?"
"Well, Ishida-kun has his Hirenkyaku and Sado-kun has an ability to move faster as well so I don't see why not. I've just never really worked on it. I'll have to ask Hachi-san when we get back to Karakura. On second thought, I don't think he can shunpo either…" Orihime said, face falling slightly.
"I'll teach you."
"Ehhh? Honto?" she asked, blushing furiously.
"Err…" Ichigo backtracked, realizing what he had just offered to do. "I'm not sure how good of a teacher I'd be or anything. It just kind of came naturally to me. Maybe Urahara or that perverted cat woman could help out too."
"YOU CAN WAIT UNTIL AFTER THE MEETING TO SMOKE!" They heard Nanao yelling as they approached the door.
"Okay! Okay. No need to get so worked up about it," Akon replied, leaned up against the back wall, arms crossed across his chest. He had a slight smirk on his face as he watched the two humans arrive together out of the corner of his eye.
"How kind of you to join us, Kurosaki. Take a seat," Nanao instructed. Ichigo rolled his eyes but complied. "Alright, now that we're all here… I can start. I talked with my taichou earlier. He has been in contact with Seireitei. The other group is to meet up with us tomorrow after finishing the basic repairs on the bridge. Since it has been made obvious that you are the target of their attacks, Kurosaki, you will be sent to the real world along with several others."
"How exactly is the real world any safer than here?" Ichigo questioned.
"You are to meet up and stay with Urahara-san until further notice."
"Oh. Well that's convenient."
"Yes, very. Moving on, the soutaichou has made this trip a top priority. I realize you will not appreciate being guarded, but since your inner hollow is obviously unstable, you have no choice in the matter," Nanao stated resolutely.
"He is NOT unstable!" Ichigo defended, reiatsu spiking and rage boiling before he felt Inoue's hand on his leg. A sense of calm soothed him as he looked over at her. Ichigo took a deep breath before continuing, "I am unstable. I got injected with something. Don't blame what happened on him, it was obviously the purpose of their injection. He is as stable as I am." Ichigo was fully aware that although vizards were tolerated by soul society, there was still a heavy stigma associated with having hollow powers.
"I apologize. You still have no choice in the matter."
"Fine. Whatever."
"Good! Now that it's settled. Inoue-san, you will be going with and act as the healing officer, much like you have the past few days. Hanataro will be staying with us. Only one other healer will be leaving with you, but more will meet you on the other side."
"Hai."
"Akon-sanseki, you have been requested to accompany Kurosaki by Urahara-san. He would like you to stay in the real world for a few days. Your captain approved his request," Nanao explained.
"Wakarimashita."
"You are the only 3 going from this group. Kyouraku-taicho is briefing the other group. He will be accompanying you as well. That's all for tonight. Get a good night sleep," she ordered before taking her leave. Akon followed a moment later, lighting up a cigarette as soon as he was outside and walked off.
Ichigo stood and held out his hand to Inoue. Orihime smiled as she took his hand and allowing herself to be pulled up. "So… What all has changed?" she questioned as they walked outside.
"Uhh… My inner world changed a lot. It's almost as if its split in two now," Ichigo explained. "The buildings changed colors. My hollow seems to be more in tune with me than before. He was acting a little weird when I went there earlier…"
"Oh no! Did he attack you? Is he trying to take advantage of this to take over?" she asked, worried.
"No, it's nothing like that. That's what is so weird about it." Ichigo glanced over at Orihime, noting how beautiful she looked in the moonlight. He could see the reflection of the stars in her eyes as she looked at him, confused. Ichigo quickly tore his eyes away before he let himself get carried away. "He was nice. Too nice," he said with a shudder, wincing as he could hear his hollow laughing at him from within the recesses of his mind.
"Well, at least he's alright. Did you talk to Zangetsu? Was he ok?"
That shut his hollow up quickly. Ichigo looked over at her again, concern written all over her face. "Uhh, un…"
"What's wrong?"
"iie! Nandemo nee. We should hurry to the dining area before all the food is gone though."
"You're right!" Orihime agreed and increased her pace towards the dining area.
Akon was bent over gathering everything up from his projector when he heard Nanao's voice come up from behind him. "I don't know what your captain's scheme is or why you are here, but I don't want anything happening on the trip to the real world," she said, deadly serious.
He turned to look at her for a moment before standing and replying, "I didn't realize you cared."
"Of course I care!" she shouted. "Look, your captain gave you permission to be a part of this mission; as such you will act accordingly as a member of the squad."
"Obviously," he replied, rolling his eyes as he resumed his prior task.
"I don't want anything happening to either of them," Nanao pressed.
"Me either."
"Well… good," she said, mildly surprised. "Umm… Do you need any help with that?"
"Nope."
"Thank you for showing the movie tonight. I'm sure everyone appreciated it."
"It's not a problem," Akon assured her. He started to walk off with the projector and its accessories stacked securely in his arms, bidding her a quick good night over his shoulder.
Oh. My. God. You are such a fucking pussy! You're in a bed with a beautiful girl, AGAIN, and you aren't even touching her. AT ALL!
Just shut up. I don't want to make her feel uncomfortable.
Yea. This isn't awkward at all, the hollow replied sarcastically.
Lying on their backs several inches apart, Ichigo and Orihime didn't dare move a muscle, each not wanting to disturb the other. Ichigo had lost track of how long he had been staring at the ceiling, his thoughts persistently straying to the girl next to him. Was Orihime really becoming more than just a friend to him?
You certainly enjoyed snuggling with her last night and waking up with her across your chest this morning, his hollow taunted.
Ichigo let out a groan. Why can't you just keep your opinions to yourself?
I don't have to play nice you know, the hollow responded, irritated. I could take over at any time so you might want to at least pretend to care about what I have to say, King. I'm just trying to give you some advice.
"Do you ever think about what our lives would have been like without this war?" Orihime asked in a whisper.
Ichigo looked over at her thoughtfully for a moment before replying, "Yea actually."
"What do you think about?"
"How ridiculous the life of a normal high school student would be after all of this."
"Mmm. It's pretty hard to imagine going back now," she agreed, keeping her focus on the ceiling.
"What do you think about?" Ichigo questioned as he rolled onto his side to face her.
Orihime looked over at him, unsure of what to say. "I wonder what life would be like without everyone. It seems like it would be lonely. We probably wouldn't have become friends," she murmured, returning her gaze upwards.
Ichigo's eyebrows knit together. "That's not true."
"You barely talked to me before you became a Shinigami," Orihime reminded him.
"You're good friends with Tatsuki. We said hello every morning..." Ichigo trailed off as he realized his argument was coming up short. "I guess we weren't exactly close. I was pretty stressed out because of all the spirits stalking me, even before I became a shinigami."
"Spirits stalked you?" Orihime asked.
"I've been able to see ghosts since I was little, but later on, I guess my spiritual pressure attracted spirits. I spent a lot of time after school trying to help them," he explained, looking down to study her face. "I'd like to think we would have become friends eventually either way."
"Really?" she asked, finally meeting his gaze again.
Ichigo nodded. He wanted to look away, but found himself unable to tear his eyes away from her gaze. There was something hidden in her eyes that he desperately wanted to understand.
Pathetic, King. You're really just going to stare at the girl. Do something, baka!
Ichigo scowled, rolled over, and lay back down.
"What's wrong?" Orihime asked, confused by his sudden change.
"Nothing," he replied, hoping she would drop the subject and go to sleep.
She rolled over and looked into his eyes. "Tell me."
"You don't want to know," he insisted, returning his gaze to the ceiling.
Tell her how you really feel, King. Stop being such an idiot!
Shut up!
NO!
Ichigo looked back over at her, noticing that she hadn't backed down. "Sorry, it's just my hollow," he relented.
"Huh?" she said, confused.
Yea, King. Tell her you hear voices talking to you inside your head… Better yet, tell her how much I want to fuck her.
"I don't really understand what goes on between you and your hollow..."
"He talks to me sometimes," Ichigo admitted. "So does Zangetsu, but he's not really the talkative type."
"Your hollow talks to you? Cool!" Ichigo flinched when he heard his hollow laughing. "What is he saying?" Orihime asked excitedly, finding it difficult to keep herself quiet.
"Nothing you'd want to hear," he assured her.
"Tell him I said hello," she whispered.
Ichigo cocked an eyebrow and gave her an apprehensive look; his hollow howling with laughter. Ichigo was about to ask her why when he suddenly clutched his head as he felt his hollow pulling him into his inner world.
Orihime sat up and leaned over him, worried he was in pain. "What's wrong, Kurosaki-kun?" After a few moments, he relaxed. "What happened?"
Suddenly his hand shot out, grabbed her behind her neck, and pulled her down into a sudden kiss. Orihime froze as her brain frantically tried to catch up with what was happening. "Hiya, Hime." He cooed quietly, smirk slowly spreading across his face as he opened his eyes to reveal black and gold eyes.
Orihime proceeded to do a rather convincing imitation of a goldfish as she attempted to keep her brain from melting completely.
"Awww… Did I leave ya speechless? It was my first kiss ya know, I didn't realize I was such a natural." He could feel Ichigo thrashing wildly in an attempt to take control and just mentally laughed in response.
"Ano…"
"What is it princess?" he asked, playing with a strand of her hair.
"You… You just kissed me! That's what." Orihime blurted out incredulously, keeping her voice as quiet as she could manage. She had no idea what was going on, but didn't want anyone else finding out that Ichigo's hollow was currently in control of his body.
"Yep," the hollow replied with a smile. "I wanted to give you a proper hello. I'm sorry we didn't have more time to talk the first time. I was a bit pre-occupied, ne?"
"But… Kurosaki-kun…" Orihime whispered anxiously as she put her fingers to her lips. She had always wanted Ichigo to be her first kiss. His hollow wasn't really the same. How would Kurosaki-kun feel about this? It was making her head spin.
"Don't worry about Ichigo, sweet heart. I'll let him back out again in a few minutes," he reassured her. Orihime let out a squeak when she felt him snake an arm around her and press her firmly against his body. "In the meantime," he drawled, "I think we should enjoy this while it lasts. What do you think?"
"But-" Orihime started to protest before she was cut off by another sudden kiss. Her mind was reeling. She didn't know what to do or how to react. It felt so good to finally be held like this, even if it was just by his body with his hollow in control. Orihime couldn't help but moan when he softly bit her lower lip and palmed her ass. He briefly licked her lips and rolled on top of her.
Inside his inner world, Ichigo paused his struggle against the confines his hollow had set in place when he heard her moan.
Orihime grabbed the back of Ichigo's neck and ran her fingers through his soft hair. She had always wondered what his hair would feel like when she had dreamed about this so many times before. Finally letting herself go, she returned his kiss as she decided to simply enjoy the moment. The hollow grinned against her lips, pleased with her response. He slowly slid his hand up her side to cup her breast and pinch her nipple. She let out another muffled moan under his ministrations and arced her back against him. He groaned softly and rocked his hips against her, pressing his arousal against her. He placed a hand over her mouth as he moved to whisper in her ear, "Be quiet, Hime." He licked her neck slowly before taunting her, "Unless you want an audience."
He looked down at her for a moment, taking in the sight of her looking up at him, eyes half lidded, face flushed, and impatiently squirming beneath him. Orihime pulled him down into another kiss, running her other arm up his back.
You owe me. Big time, the hollow told Ichigo as he relinquished control.
Orihime felt him slow his movements for a moment, so she decided to try something from her dreams. Ichigo found himself deeply entangled with Orihime when he regained control of his body. One hand was thread through the hair on the back of his head, the other firmly gripping his waist. He bit back a moan when he felt her writhe against him as she slowly caressed his earlobe with her tongue before softly nipping it.
Ichigo grabbed the back of her hair roughly and pulled her back, slamming his lips against hers. He smirked as Orihime softly moaned against his lips, desperately wanting nothing more than to completely lose control.
That's more like it, Aibou.
Ichigo froze for a moment before regaining control of his senses. He pulled back and rolled off the girl, smirking when she let out a low whine. He stroked her cheek with his thumb for a moment. Orihime's eyes fluttered open, sighing in content. She rolled over to snuggle into his chest when she saw his eyes, freezing when she noticed that his eyes had returned to his usual brown.
"I-" she started before being cut off by his finger pressing against her lips.
"I'm so sorry," Ichigo apologized. "I shouldn't have let him take control like that." Orihime had never felt more embarrassed in her life. She had just taken advantage of him while his hollow had fought him for control. Orihime tried to roll over to hide her face from him, but Ichigo held her firmly against his chest.
"Inoue, look at me." She shook her head. "Look at me." She willed herself not to cry as she shook her head again. "Please?" he asked. Ichigo grabbed her chin and forced Orihime to look up at him.
"I'm sorry," he repeated, looking into her eyes.
Ichigo frowned when she averted her eyes. "Please don't hate me, Orihime," he begged.
Orihime froze when she heard her given name leave his mouth in such a low needy tone.
Ichigo caressed her flushed cheek. "I don't think I could bare it if you hated me," he admitted quietly.
Orihime looked up at him, mind spinning. Confused about what had happened and what it all meant. 'Does he actually like me? What about his hollow? When did Ichigo take over? Did he kiss me?' she thought in a rush.
Her eyes widened in panic as Orihime saw him closing the distance between them. His other hand stroked her hair as he gently pressed his lips to hers one last time, trying to convey what he couldn't say. Orihime melted into his lips, going limp in his arms. When he pulled back this time, he rolled over onto his back and pressed her head to his chest. Ichigo stroked her hair as she snuggled into his chest and relaxed. Orihime fell asleep with a small smile etched on her face, listening to his heartbeat.
I wanna know why the only lyrics that ever come to mind are the oddities of my playlist lol… Either way- I love the song. I've been listening a remix of it entirely too much. I thought it fit well.
I thought this chapter would have been easy and quick to write… Man was I wrong. Sorry for the delay, but it is the longest chapter so far… 7,500+ words… That's almost the length of 2 chapters… -_-; I wrote ahead a bit as well, so eventually the chapters should start coming out faster and faster. I'm not going to try to predict when I'll finish the next chapter though. I'm always wrong. At least I'm learning. _
I've been debating about whether or not I'll keep posting chapters on dA once things get a little more hot and steamy… I've come up with an excellent idea of how to deal with it and I think people on both sites will enjoy it.
After some careful deliberation, I've decided that Ichigo wears boxers underneath his shihakusho. The guy obviously wears boxers in his day to day life, so I'm going to go ahead and say since he's spending all his time in a shihakusho these days, he's gonna figure out how to wear some boxers. He probably wraps his fundoshi over them. [I'm still a little confused about the whole fundoshi thing to be honest. I can't imagine Ichigo fighting in one of those thong style ones. Lolwedgies… If I had to guess, it's one of the ones that you wrap around multiple times and somehow has a flap in the front and the back. So confusing. ANYWAYS, I'm fairly certain Ichigo wouldn't appreciate me making him swim in just his fundoshi and I'd rather not be haunted by an angry Ichigo… So he's swimming in his boxers. ;p
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!
Japanese for the Chapter-
全く[mattaku] - Honestly
お願いします[onegaishimasu] - please
そうですよ[sou desu yo.] -That's right.
そうか 面白いね [Sou ka… Omoshiroi ne.] – Is that right… Interesting…
いいえ… 違う[iie… chigau.] - No… It's different.
痛い [itai] – Ow! (it hurts!)
待って [matte] - wait
格好良い[Kakko ii]- cool
行くぞ [ikuzo] – Here we go.
うん[un]-Yea…
いいえ! 何でもネェ.[Nan demo nee]-Nope! It's nothing. 何でも無い [nan demo nai] is how it's more commonly said. I don't hear Ichigo saying ~nai much. Usually he says ~nee. I looked it up and apparently it's a tougher way to say it. lolsthe strawberry actin' all tough all the time. ;p Anyways, it'd be I learned something and found this neat little excerpt. ^_^ If you want to take a look just go to google books and search Kansai Japanese. It's the first book.