Her mind was elsewhere. Her eyes saw the dress Yoruichi was holding up to her, but she was not completely there with them. All she could do was give a quick smile and nod. She didn't really care how she looked in the dress. She just wanted to get back home.
Back at Orihime's house, Kon had taken a walk to clear his head. It was annoying to just sit there and watch Ichigo. He walked quickly through the forest near the house and felt refreshed as he opened the door. What he saw next stopped him in his tracks. Ichigo was awake. More than awake, he was standing.
"Ichigo, you're up!" Kon walked over and watched as weak eyes stared back at him. "Uh...can I get you anything?" Ichigo's mouth opened, but only noises came out. He cleared his throat and tried again.
"W..wa..water."
"Oh right." Kon rushed over to the kitchen and got Ichigo the tallest glass of water he could find. When he came back in, Ichigo was leaning on the wall. Kon gave him the water and he tried sipping, nearly choking on the liquid from how dry his mouth was. He drank slowly, and after a few minutes, was able to finish the water. Kon took Ichigo's arm up to look closer at the indicator. He saw it raise just a bit, now the color was an orange. "All right! It looks like that helped. Do you want anything else?"
Ichigo pulled his arm back weakly and looked at Kon. "Orihime's co...cooking."
Kon smiled and ran back into the kitchen. A few minutes later, Kon returned with some rice porridge. She had added apples and cinnamon to it and the place smelled like it from heating it up. Ichigo smelled the air and then pulled up the blanket he had wrapped up around him. "Do you want to sit?" Ichigo nodded and walked back to the couch slowly. Kon put the bowl on the table and Ichigo took the bowl and put the spoon to his mouth. The first bite was like a thousand sparks went off in his head. He could feel it move down his throat and hit his stomach. This was probably a good choice for food since he hadn't eaten in technically 5 years. Over the next 15 minutes, he ate the porridge and listened to Kon's stories. He didn't mind hearing them now, because all he wanted to do was laugh. He wanted to regain as much energy as he can, so when Orihime came home, he would be able to properly walk to her and give her their first kiss in the new body.
It was getting to be after 4, and there was still no sign of anyone. Ichigo had since eaten the porridge, a banana, more water, and some liquid vitamins that he found. He was actually feeling pretty good and even had to double check his watch to see that the indicator was now almost yellow. He was now determined to get it to the maximum and be permanently in the body before they got back. He paced through the house and even did a few push ups, frantically looking at the indicator the whole time. Kon sat back and watched. He continued to tell amusing stories to get Ichigo to laugh, which he liked versus being shoved in a bag or punched in the face. Those were the usual reactions to his stories, so this was definitely better for him as well. Ichigo ran into Orihime's room looking for another pillow to use. He paused for a moment and then flopped down onto the bed. He got under the covers and laid there, looking up at the ceiling. He was suddenly filled with content. He knew that he would be able to look up at the ceiling again. That when he turned over, she would be there smiling back at him. A stray tear left his eye and he wiped it away quickly. He needed to protect her from anything that would tarnish that smile. He knew that he had found the person that he would want to be with. He got up and made the bed again. As he sat on the edge of the bed, he looked over and saw a picture of Orihime with Tatsuki and brought it over to him. He looked at it for a while and then placed it back on the nightstand. "I love you Orihime. Let's spend this life together." He could hear something drop and turned around. There in the doorway was Orihime. Tearing up and looking at a surprised Ichigo, she walked slowly over to him. He smiled and stood up. Her eyes were too full of tears to see clearly. She tried to think of what to say, but nothing came out. Her stomach was in knots and her mind was racing. They met at the end of the bed and she looked up at his soft smile. He put his hand on her cheek and wiped away her tears. With one quick move, he had her in his arms. She returned the hug and placed her ear to his chest. She could hear his heart racing and was overcome with the reality that he was actually going to be there now. She looked up to his now tear filled eyes and they leaned in for their first kiss. It was soft and gentle, filled with emotion, and not long enough. Orihime looked down to Ichigo's arm and thought about the watch. She grabbed his arm and looked at it. The flashing congratulations and animated balloons gave away the obvious. The indicator was now green. Ichigo glanced over, but already knew that it had happened. He was now human again. Urahara strolled into the room. "Ah, congratulations Ichigo. You did it!" Everyone else walked over and cheered. Ichigo put out his hand to shake Urahara's. Urahara took it and gave a firm handshake then pulled him in and gave him a hug. "Thank you." Ichigo's voice was hoarse and his hand was shaking, but Urahara took his other hand and steadied his shoulder.
"You are very welcome." Ichigo looked and saw Kon jumping behind everyone, cheering when everyone else had stopped. Ichigo looked over at Orihime, who nodded. They seemed to have the same idea.
"Urahara, is there anything that you can do for Kon? He has been such a help to both myself and Orihime. I just wish he wouldn't have to return to the mod soul ball again." Urahara held up his fan and turned to Kon.
"As a matter of fact, I was thinking the same thing. How about it Kon, would you like to customize a body for yourself?" Kon's eyes widened to size of saucers. Everyone was looking back and smiling at him. He backed up and shot his arm into the air. "Hell yeah!"Everyone burst out laughing as Kon ran through the house, jumping on furniture and dancing in the hallway. Everyone slowly moved out into the living room. Ichigo grabbed Orihime's hand and she blushed at the contact. This seemed different. She no longer felt the strong positive and negative emotions that she had experienced for weeks. Once he grabbed her hand, it all melted away.
Kon had to be held down while he still celebrated. Urahara knew that they would want Kon to have a body because Kon had really stepped up and done a good job being there for them. Urahara had pre-packed a full gigai that Kon could use for the night. It was younger looking, thin and tall with short shaggy blond hair and stubble. Urahara had this one in storage. He was trying to make a younger version of himself, but ended up messing up on it and threw it in storage until the time came to use it again. He chuckled at how this dusty old gigai that he had nearly thrown away was now going to get so much use and be so valuable to Kon. He pulled it out of the trunk and Kon lit up with even more excitement. "It's perfect! I don't want to make a new one. I want this one! Look at that lean form and chiseled jaw. I look sexy!" Everyone was nearly on the floor laughing. The movements he was making while talking just added to the amusement. Urahara openly laughed without hiding it behind his fan.
Everyone calmed down and Urahara spoke. "Kon, this is a full gigai, but you can't stay in it for too long. We can make more modifications to it later. If this is the one that you'd like it'd make it much easier seeing as how this was just in the back of storage and saves me space anyway."
Kon grabbed the gigai. "How could you be so mean! You can't let a stunning face like this go unseen." Urahara rolled his eyes and knocked the mod soul out of the temp gigai and into the new one. Kon popped up and took a look at himself in the mirror.
"The rest of you better get ready. Kon will be there for a while."
Everyone changed their clothes into their suits and dresses. All the men wore black suits with various shades of ties. Ichigo's suit was a three piece, and he wore a red-orange tie that looked good with his hair. Rukia's dress was navy with slightly lighter lace and beaded accents that made the dress look elegant and yet innocent. She wore taller heels that Renji joked now made her almost to his chest. Yoruichi's was black and sleek with a high slit. She showed it off to Urahara, who gave an approving nod. Orihime stepped out of her room and all eyes were on her. Kon spoke first. "Oh mama, that's more like it!" Orihime blushed and wanted to walk away. She wore a strapless red dress that flattered her form very well while being somewhat modest. She had found jewelry that complimented the dress and gave her a little extra confidence that hopefully they were looking at the jewelry and not her form fitting dress. Renji looked over at Ichigo, who had his mouth open slightly and Renji snickered. He shoved Ichigo, sending him back to reality.
"Lucky bastard." Ichigo scowled at him, then looked down at Rukia, who was giving Renji the death stare again. Renji knew she was doing this and continued. "Not as lucky as me though." He smiled wide and nudged Rukia. All death stares stopped and she stepped closer with a smile and blushing cheeks.
Orihime took a quick glance around. "Um...I don't think I have enough room in my car."
Urahara, now cleaned up and looking dashing, opened the door. "I already arranged for a carriage to take us." There was a collective, "A carriage?!" From everyone except Yoruichi.
Yoruichi smirked. "We didn't forget about you either Kon. The driver of the carriage is a feisty mod soul we gave a full gigai to as well. Go and meet her." Kon's eyes brightened and he raced out the door without saying a word. Everyone could hear them yelling perverted lines to each other and it made Orihime feel happy that Urahara thought about Kon's feelings as well. They all stepped out to see the beautiful carriage pulled by white horses. Urahara called out to the driver, who was busy being ogled by Kon.
"Oh Kana, do you have the steps to put down for the ladies?"
"Huh? Oh yeah. Sorry, this weirdo wants me to talk more about how good he looks. Ya got yourself a dandy Urahara." Kana walked around and put the step down in front of the door. She was beautiful with long red hair and fair skin. She wore a green dress that looked nice, but still comfortable. Kana saw the looks in Orihime's face. She grinned. "Don't worry about me, I can handle driving this thing while lookin' all fancied up. If not, I can bribe the pervert to drive for me if I offer to show him some skin." Orhime chuckled weakly and was the first to be led by Ichigo up to the carriage. Renji went next helping up Rukia. Finally, Yoruichi was led up. Kon sat up front with Kana and there were heaters on the floor that kept the open carriage warm enough. As they carriage took off, Orihime scooted in closer to Ichigo. He wrapped his arm around her and they both watched their home as it got smaller and smaller. They both felt homesick already and wanted to be back soon. The sound of Kon getting hit in the head knocked them out of their thoughts and they both laughed as Kon started arguing with Kana. Orihime looked around and saw that everyone was smiling and looking at their dates. She looked up to Ichigo and saw him looking back. She shifted again and rested in his arms, hoping the romantic ride would take extra roads and take as long as they can because she never wanted to leave from his arms.
Note: Thank you to all for reading. There are only a few chapters left. I will update as soon as I actually write it!