OSPREY…SWOOOSH

UO: Hey guys ready for a psudeo filler?

Ichigo: What's that supposed to mean.

UO: It means that while it's a filler there will be an important plot point. And well…(Mumble)

Andrew: What did you say?

UO: I said that there may be an implied sex scene or a full blown one or two. So this will serve as a warning as to why this story is M rated. I did it originally to be safe but now I feel it will be justified.

Tatsuki: Uh who will it be?

UO: Now that would be telling. Orihime are you here?

Orihime:…Yes. Do you have to do…those scenes?

UO: Orihime if you don't want to I'll understand and work around them.

Orihime: No! I'll…do it. Just let me know.

UO: Hime, you didn't have to fall to peer pressure. But thank you for your commitment. And I will let the readers know as well. Disclaimer please.

Ichigo: UnitedOsprey1991 does not own Bleach or the various drivers and teams. He also does not own any youtube personalities, like Totalbiscuit he will sue his butt, PressHeartoContinue as she will attack with her cats, and Jessiecox who will more than likely go one a soda fuelled rampage. He only owns this plot and makes no money.

Normal: Dialogue

"Italics and quotations": Radio, track announcer, phone conversation

Underlined and Italics: Lyrics or TV broadcast

'Italics and apostrophe': Thoughts

Bold: Yelling

Bold and Italics: Yelling in head:

Name followed by a colon: In-race TV Announcer

Chapter 27: Reflections and Passions of life

July 25th Somewhere over Eastern Europe

When we last left our heroes, they had finished the Hungary Grand Prix and kept their momentum heading into the break. But before they could leave, the Souske camp had decided they were fed up with Kurosaki team and instigated a brawl with the Kuchiki team assisting. After reviewing the videos, the only ones getting punished severely were the Souske team. The two instigators, Ulquiorra and Grimmjow were fined the entirety of their race checks, $250,000 at least and at Belgium they were going to be starting from the rear. Their crew chiefs were also suspended until the China race. The Kuchiki team were all fined $100,000 each but no further punishment was warranted as they were going to the defense of the other drivers. The Kurosaki team had three members suspended and the drivers were given a warning but were praised for trying to diffuse the situation.

With a month long break ahead of them, the Kurosaki team split off. Ichigo, Orihime, Chad and Uryuu went back to Japan while Andrew and Tatsuki went to Andrew's home in the U.S. Orihime was tearful because this was the longest time they spent apart. But they promised they would keep in touch. With good-byes out of the way, Andrew and Tatsuki left for Paris earlier this morning on their way to Paris and then to New York.

Orihime was watching the sky through the window of their plane. The sun was above their plane creating a pretty picture of the Eastern European landscape. She was shaken out of her thoughts when a familiar pair of arms wrapped around her.

"Hey Hime." Ichigo said into her ear. "What are you thinking about?"

Orihime smiled. "Just how much has happened this year. I remember when our boss gave us this assignment. As you know we were supposed to be with the Hendrick camp. But when Jushiro retired, we were given this assignment. Tatsuki was so mad because we did all of this research on the Hendrick team and especially Serenity. We had to start over and up until we went to Melbourne we tried to find all we could. Tatsuki took one look at yours and Uryuu's files and immediately thought very arrogant and stuck up." The gentle girl giggle. "Well most of it was false assumption thank goodness."

Ichigo chuckled. "Well, when we heard that we were getting a camera crew embedded with our team, we were prepared for a couple of geeks. Let's just say I'd rather have the pretty woman than the geeks."

Orihime looked behind her. "Well I was one of those geeks in school. Yet I could probably charm anyone, what does that say about you."

"That I feel for a very intelligent princess." Ichigo said kissing her. Orihime's moan reminded him of how close he was to letting go of his instincts.

"One of these days…I'm going to ravish you till you can't walk." He said against her lips.

Orihime blushed but grinned as he saw the look in his eyes. "It's getting harder and harder to resist that. And quite honestly, I hope you do, but not yet."

"Only as far as you want Hime. I promise." Ichigo said as they leaned back to watch the clouds roll by.

Paris Charles De Gaulle, About 10:00 AM Local time

Andrew and Tatsuki were now sitting at one of the bars eating some breakfast at one of the bars. They had about three hours in Paris before flying home to New Jersey.

Andrew was watching the planes taxi around the airports while playing on his game system. The waitress brought over his food just as Tatsuki came back from calling Orihime.

"Hey there. Breakfast is here." Tatsuki said sitting down.

Andrew powered down his game. "Oh good we've been up since 4 o'clock, we really didn't get much before we left."

Tatsuki nodded and they started to eat. She took a bite of her eggs. "We've seen a lot haven't we."

Andrew sighed. "Yeah. So much traveling, so many sights. So many memories. I can't even imagine what we have seen."

Tatsuki hummed. "From the deserts of the Middle East to the plains of America and even several historic sites in Europe and Asia"

"We also had some fun memories. Like the casino in Monaco and that resort in Abu Dhabi."

Tatsuki blushed. "I had a fun time at both. I'm glad you liked my dress. Not often I dress liked that."

"Yeah. I also liked you in that swimsuit. You looked amazing."

Tatsuki blushed but smiled. "Any other memories you enjoyed?"

"A few. One of the big ones was us celebrating our birthdays together. I gave you two big gifts, a win in Germany and that cross."

Tatsuki gripped it. "All I cared about was your safety and after that wreck…who could blame me."

Andrew smiled sadly. "I'm sorry to have scare you. But I'm okay see." Tatsuki looked at him, but instead of the confidence she normally showed, she had a sense of vulnerability. Almost like a second version of Tatsuki.

"You know you don't have to show a tough façade in front of me." Andrew said shocking her. "I don't mind seeing you like this. It shows your emotions. Those eyes show me that underneath the tough girl act, you want to act like a girl but you're scared of not being taken seriously."

Tatsuki was shocked. Was she that easy to read? Andrew took her hands. "It's okay. It can just be between us. But acting like a regular woman doesn't mean I won't think any less of you."

Tatsuki nodded and leaned to kiss Andrew gently. "Thanks." The two resumed their breakfast as they waited for their flight back home.

Next day about 12:00 PM Eastern (Prepare for some laughs)

Andrew yawned as he looked at his computer screen with a pair of headphones on. Through his contact with John Wheeler from the Runaway Guys, he got in touch with the man who ran this podcast. This man was on the top left of his screen. He had blue eyes and glasses, a rough beard and was wearing a black shirt and a hat that said StarCraft. This was Totalbiscuit, a prominent video game critic and a very deadpan person with his British accent. The bottom left of his screen had a red haired man with glasses and a red shirt. He looked like the stereotypical nerd. This was Jessiecox, a relatively well-known let's player. The top right of his screen was a girl with blonde hair and looked extremely perky considering the time she was up. This was Dodger, of the channel Presshearttocontinue. The podcast they hosted was a popular one and Andrew promised to divulge some of the more interesting tidbits of the season.

"Are we all set?" TB said.

"We're good." Jessie said.

"Ready." Dodger said.

"I'm awake and alive." Andrew said,

"Alright cue our theme music." TB said. An upbeat song played for the next minute as the chat started to wake up.

"Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to the Co-optional Podcast. It is the 26th? 7th?" TB looked at his phone. "It's the 26th of July. Seriously, its 2070 and you bloody Americans still don't have this date thing right. Its simple. You read it smallest to biggest."

"Not in America they don't. That's how we won the Revolution, you guy spent so much time debating over the date."

Andrew looked at Dodger. "Is this how it always starts?" As the two other guys started to argue.

"You have no idea." Dodger said as the two guys brought their attention back.

"Welcome to the Co-optional Podcast. We do occasionally talk about video games. Our special guess today is a celebrity that is gaining popularity in most gaming circles. It is Gaming's favorite racer, Andrew Michaels, welcome to the show." TB announced.

"Hey there guys. Speaking of time and date measuring, without my phone I wouldn't know what time it is. Most of the past six months, I've spent on Japan time but I've gone several other zones and it's a wonder I can race. I am still on Budapest time so excuse me if I get a little irritable today."

"You didn't have to do this podcast you know." Dodger said concerned.

"I made a commitment, I am going to honor it. It's what I do." Andrew said.

"Well then thanks for showing up. Speaking of showing up finally, Jessie welcome to the show."

A half hour went by as Dodger and Jessie did their introductions and other shenanigans amid the laughs of the podcast.

"Coming up we are going to talk about games and the upcoming conventions. But I suppose most of those paying attention have no idea what you do, Andrew. Care to enlighten us?" TB asked.

Andrew chuckled. "If I told you all I did, it would take up the whole podcast."

"Wouldn't be the worst thing that happened on this podcast." Jessie said.

"Yeah….whenever I am not around something always buggers up. Must be Crendor."

"I seem to recall that one podcast where we kicked someone off." Dodger said while picking up her cat.

"Oh yeah, we never talk about him. So Andrew care to share your story like how you got started and what you have done this past season?"

Andrew leaned back slightly. "Well let's see, I started racing when I was seven doing go-karts in the local area."

"Did you have blue shells?" Jessie said which got the other commentators to laugh and Andrew to facepalm.

"No. Think of the racing tiers as the soccer pyramids."

"Oh yes that system works so much better than your American way of giving the worst team the chance at picking a product that will more than likely fizzle out." TB said proudly.

"So instead of picking players you just make to worse teams leave?"

"Yep. Much better system, keep the worse players out of the top leagues."

Andrew groaned. "Guys as much as I like your banter. I honestly don't know how much l can stay awake."

"Sorry man keep going." TB said.

"So anyway, I worked my way up. When I was 16 I entered the NASCAR Junior Division. That's where I met my teammate Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Oh wow, so you knew him for that long?" Dodger asked.

"Yep, though we weren't friends at first. Social classes being the primary one. We actually bonded over surprisingly Pokémon and Stewart's Root Beer. There is this track about an hour south of me and it was up the road from this place that sole Stewart's. I lamented that I wouldn't be able to get any and well it evolved from there.

TB laughed. "That's really f***ing funny that you turned into friends like that.

"Yep. And it's that friendship that not only got me the current team I am on but it saved my career. I made a deal due to the economy tanking that if I didn't secure sponsorships I would quite racing. He rallied the other drivers after the big jerk crashed me intentionally and well the rest is history."

"Holy cow, that is so awesome." Jessie said.

"Indeed. Friends should always stick together and that seems to be a good story of comradery. Anyway let's take a break and then we can talk about your season so far. This is the Co-optional Podcast with Andrew Michaels. We will be back 15 minutes."

Andrew leaned back in his chair and sighed. The door opened to reveal Tatsuki with a sandwich, some cookies and something to drink.

"A girl after my own heart. Thanks Tatsuki."

"Yeah, well considering what Orihime calls cooking, I had to learn to cook and make my own food."

Andrew chuckled. "Yeah go figure."

Tatsuki decided to stick around and plopped on the bed to watch the rest of the podcast.

"Hello and welcome back to the Co-optional podcast where two of our talkers have decided that eating food is more important than this podcast." TB snarked.

"Hey, Jessie eats candy bars for our amusement why can't I eat my breakfast." Dodger complained.

"Excuse me Mr. I can run without food for several hours but my girlfriend made this lunch. I ain't throwing it out."

"Excuse me. I eat that candy for fun, not that healthy stuff you two seem to be eating." Jessie said backing TB.

"Your just jealous you don't have a significant other that lovingly prepares meals for you. TB if I recall is married, Dodger is engaged and I'm dating." Andrew retorted.

This got TB and Dodger to laugh at Jessie who decided to shut up. Andrew motioned off screen and Tatsuki appeared. "So this is Tatsuki Arisawa."

"Hello." Tatsuki said waving.

"Ah your ever dependable lady friend. How lovely to meet you." TB said as kindly.

"Hey there pretty lady." Jessie said trying to hit on her only to be rebuffed by Tatsuki looking at Dodger who was gushing over.

"So you were about to talk your season?" TB said trying to steer the conversation back.

"Yes well I can say my season started around the time Jushiro Ukitake retired. I was a free agent and was looking to jump to GP1. Originally I was going to Hendrick but the retirement allowed Isshin, the CEO to reach out and call me. I signed on the spot and I went to Japan three weeks before we went to Australia."

"About the same time, my bosses at Nat Geo changed our assignments to cover the team." Tatsuki said as she pulled up a chair to talk more.

"We literally ran into each other as they were looking for us." Andrew said getting the others to chuckle.

"How many races have you won this year?" Dodger asked.

Andrew smiled. "Myself? Three." Which praise from all three gamers. "Combined my team has won seven races including three of the first four, two of those being mine. Part of the reason we are on top in the team standings. The only reason Ichigo is in front is because he's finished better than me in more races. Fewer DNF's as well.

Andrew leaned back. "First race was in Melbourne, Australia. That was actually pretty special we finished 1-2-3-4. Ichigo, me, Uryuu, Chad. The next race and I want to tell you this most of our wins have been down to luck. Melbourne was because Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez from the Souske team ran out pit of gas. Abu Dhabi, I won because Tier Harribel sped down pit road on the last stop. My engine were nearly fried.

My second win was in Korea and I duel Soi Fong who had some unsavory comments during qualifying. My third win was at Germany. I should not have been running at the end, I nearly got into a wreck about eight to nine laps in. Scared the bajesus out of Tatsuki here." Andrew said looking at the karate girl.

"I saw those highlights. That wreck looked really scary. That was the race where you were honoring Monty right?" Dodger said. At the nod, Jessie spoke up. "Maybe Monty was watching out for ya."

"Who knows? Let's see the other four wins were split among the other team members. In addition to winning at Melbourne, Ichigo won at Watkins Glen on Father's Day. That was a really emotional day. Like my Germany win, he avoided a big wreck. That weekend marked the anniversary of his mother's, also Uryuu's Aunt's, death. It was really sweet to see Ichigo and Orihime kiss at the end.

"Aw that sounds sweet." Dodger said.

"Yep. Let's see, Uryuu won at Road America in the rain after George Schumacher ran out of gas. Chad's win was at Monaco. Same issue befell Ulquiorra with about two laps to go."

"Jesus you guys have the luck of the Irish." TB said.

"Yeah. Though that luck has been reversed a few times. At Malaysia, me and Chad got into a huge wreck. That race was won by Serenity Gordon from the Hendrick team. She also won at Barcelona where I tried to gamble on tires and lost. I had to make a decision who to let by as I had three faster cars on my tail.

"Ah yes, a Kingmaker scenario. You couldn't win but you can throw your hat to support the winner." TB answered.

"Yep. In this case it was queen maker. I had Soi Fong, Serenity Gordon and Tier Harribel chasing me. Given my animosity to Soi Fong and despite my boss telling me otherwise, I let Serenity by. One of the closer finishes I've seen.

Anyway third race won by the Hendricks was Dale Earnhardt who won at Daytona on the fourth of July."

"Very nice. What about the other eight races?" Dodger asked.

"Two were won by the Souske team. Grimmjow won at Laguna Seca, no one on our team was close. Ulquiorra won at Russia. Me and Ichigo wrecked, something with my axel broke at the worst time. Took it out on Ichigo, the girls set us straight." Andrew said

Tatsuki picked up from there. "Two wins were by the Red Bull team well by one driver Jason Webber. One was at Austria, after someone broke into their museum. The other was Sunday at Hungary. We had a fight break out between all three of the Japanese teams. Souske got hit the hardest.

"Two wins were by the Kuchiki drivers. Renji Abarai won at Suzuka in Japan, the first race there since Kaien Shiba died. The other was Kira Izuru at Montreal. He managed to battle the wind and beat out a lot of different drivers who trouble that day.

Last two wins were Brian Mcnish from Audi who along with Rebecca Kirkland gave us a race to remember at Silverstone, England. It was awesome. The other race not so awesome, that race was won by Marcus Andretti breaking a family curse on that place. That race nearly gave me a bleeping concussion. One of the hardest wrecks I've had ever."

Jessie took the time to look up the wreck. "Holy crap! How did you walk away from that wreck?"

Andrew grimaced. "All the safety precautions like the SAFER barrier and the HANS device saved me. But it still hurt.

Andrew crossed his hands. "You guys travel just for all of these conventions, we have to travel, be away from our families and essentially put our bodies on the line every race. They might say racing is a stupid sport, it is the deadliest sport in the world."

Andrew pulled up a notebook. "Want to know how much I traveled since the end of January. Here we go and this is all in miles, feel free to convert to kilometers TB."

Andrew cleared his throat. "Newark-Tokyo: 6,824 mi. Tokyo-Melbourne Roundtrip: 14,703. Tokyo-Abu Dhabi Roundtrip: 10,071.78. Tokyo-Kuala Lampur Round trip: 6,574.38. Tokyo-Yenogem Korea Roundtrip: 1,485.28. No traveling for Japan. Then Tokyo-San Francisco: 5,196. San Francisco-Elkhart Lake for Road America: 2,193.8. Elkhart Lake-Indianapolis: 336.6. Indianapolis-Tokyo: 6,459. Tokyo-Salzburg, Austria, Roundtrip: 11,644.40. Tokyo-Sochi, Russia roundtrip: 10,128.42. Tokyo-Monaco: 12,529.92. Monaco-Barcelona: 302.9. Barcelona-Silverstone, England: 774.93. Silverstone-White Plains, New York: 3,391.72. Franklin's Woods, New Jersey to Watkins Glen: 226.9. White Plains to Montreal Round trip: 684.16, plus traveling to Hamilton, Ontario for Conbravo which is another 673 miles. Then Franklin Woods to Daytona Beach 1,040. Orlando to Daytona Beach for Fourth of July: 55. Orlando to Atlanta: 433.5. Atlanta to Tokyo: 6,844. Tokyo to Nürburgring, Germany: 5,893.6. Nürburgring to Budapest: 701.2. And finally, Budapest to Newark: 4361.48. In total, 113,529.05 miles travelled."

The podcast went silent while chat blew up over the mind blowing numbers.

"I…have no words for that." TB said.

"That is a lot." Dodger said leaning back on her seat.

"Holy S&!%." Jessie said.

"Racing is all about commitment and sacrifice. I made this choice long ago. For those who think about racing, think long and hard about what you are doing. I was lucky to get funding to keep racing." Andrew sought out Tatsuki's hand. "If you have a great support system like I have, then you can succeed anywhere. I am Autistic, I got help when I needed. I can compete with the big boys. I have a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. I was able to do all this because I had family and friends to support me in all my endeavors."

TB did something that surprised even his co-commentators. He clapped. "You sir, are a great man. You do not let anything keep you down and for all those who put down people like this I have two words for you. Fuck. You."

He turned to Andrew. "Speaking of Autism I hear your trying to get some sort of charity going?"

"Yeah. I just haven't found a. the time to file the paperwork b. what type of angle I want to take with this charity."

"Well I hope you do well. Now then I believe that finally after an hour and half we can finally talk about video games."

For the next hour the show continued as such with Andrew providing valuable commentary to all off the games brought up and even provided some of his own humor. Soon enough the podcast came to an end and they began signing off.

"Now we come to the end of the show and we have our obligatory plugs. I hopefully will have stuff out this week on my channel Total Biscuit. Follow me on Facebook and Twitter with the same tag." TB said

"I don't know what I'll be doing, but I can assure you it will be fun, probably upload a few videos I made as we get ready for Pax Prime." Jessie concluded

"I will probably be discussing wedding plans this week but you can find me on the coffee hour blog and I hope that I can get some more stuff out." Dodger commented.

Then it was Andrew's turn. "Well then I hopefully can get some game playing in when I'm not being tired. You can follow me on Twitter GarnetOsprey91. You can catch me and the rest of the Kurosaki team in Belgium on August 28th at 1:00 local time that's about 8 Eastern, 5 pacific, and whatever your time conversion is. Hope you enjoy it. Also be on the lookout for TheRunawayGuys, who will be stopping by my place for a recording session and we might do a live stream.

"Alright then, I say to all good day and see you all next time." TB said. The feed went off and Andrew groaned.

"Ugh…I need a nap." Andrew said. He stood up from his chair and walked over to his drapes and closed them.

Tatsuki walked in as he was doing so. "Taking a nap?"

Andrew nodded. Considering it was nearly 90 degrees out, they stripped down to their undergarments and crawled in. Though they wanted to nap, they felt too lethargic to really fall asleep and ended up in a state of semi-awareness, barely moving for hours only dressing to go down for dinner and then returning to their barely dressed state. But they were content to be lazy, they deserved it after the long season they've had.

Hiroshima Japan, July 29th about 4:00PM Local Time 9:00 AM Brussels Time.

Aizen had been in a frenzy all week. First his drivers were punished for a brawl that he unsuccessfully petitioned was the fault of the Kurosaki drivers especially Andrew who had provoked them on track. This fell on deaf ears and now his drivers were being fined, forced to start from the rear at the next race, the crew chiefs for both Ulquiorra and Grimmjow had been suspended and now the Grand Prix was starting to look into their behavior this year and previous years. He had previously swept these concerns aside, but with the incidents this year they decided to look over their previous behavior.

Now if it was the only thing bugging him, he would be able to ignore it and leave it to a subordinate to handle it, but he was now in a bit of a problem financially. He was now forced to start using money in his private accounts to supplement the fees, but now that was starting to get his creditors worried. His stocks have been going up and down, mostly down the last three weeks. If he was going to make his move on Kurosaki, he needed the deal with Shell if he wanted to make it to the end of the year. He could definitely fund his race team with his own funds but he would need to start cutting some key staff soon. Damn contracts, especially with Grimmjow.

He composed himself and waited for the call. Given the seven hour time difference it was still early for them. (A/N: I took a wild guess at the difference and then looked it up. I was right on the money.) He wasn't waiting long when he received the notification from his secretary that the Shell board was on the line.

Pressing a button a video screen popped up and nine different people showed up around a table. It was still early in the day for them as evident by the coffee mugs. But it was all business with them.

"Gentlemen, Ladies. I assume we all know why we are here."

"Yes Mr. Souske. We are discussing a merging of Shell's Hydrogen production division with that of Souske's given you access to the North Sea, or barring that create a partnership that allows access for the North Sea on your end and the Middle East for us." The first man said

"Yes. I believe we have set a price at $600 Billion. I believe that should be a fair price and I can sell it to you in stock. All I need is about a 25% stake in your company and we can both benefit in the long run.

The nervous murmurings tipped off to Aizen something had indeed changed. A female who looked to be the CFO cleared her throat. "As much as we respect you Mr. Souske with your incredible feats, we have some concerns about your…financial stability."

"I can assure you, whatever rumors about our financials and our stock values is nothing more than a temporary setback that all companies go through."

"Regardless, the energy markets are starting to see a down turn and most companies have started to cut down on production to compensate. Why do you feel that we should enter this partnership now?" Said a younger man to the woman's right.

Aizen frowned, he was sure that Shell would not question his motives.

"What's more, is that we are concerned that we would be investing into a company that constantly seems to antagonize other drivers."

Aizen cursed in his head. He knew that Ulquiorra and Grimmjow's behavior would come back to haunt him. He kept his façade. "Now I am sure their behavior is just drivers being drivers." Aizen tried to explain.

"Regardless, this is not the first incident involving your company and your drivers. The two biggest of course being the deaths of Kaien Shiba and the former division head of Kurosaki-Ishida Enterprises, Miguel Williams."

"What about them?"

"It is clear that while Kaien Shiba's death was ruled an accident there have been rumors that it wasn't the case. As you were the team that was fighting Kuchiki that season, it stands to reason that you had the most to gain from his removal from racing."

"I can assure you that was not the case. Shiba's brakes failed at the worst possible spot."

"Much like Miguel Williams' crash this year. There is also the other rumors surrounding your company.

"What rumors?" Aizen said with an edge.

"That you are a war monger and you also have ties with the mafia."

Aizen clenched his fists. No way was he telling them that they were close to the truth but had no idea of the scale of how much.

"With these factors in mind and through talking with the board, we have decided to not pursue the partnership deal any further."

Aizen widened his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"It means we do not want to conduct business with you anymore. We feel that a different direction is needed.

"In addition, the Middle East has long been the energy hub for the last century. Despite being at peace for the last fifteen years we are still worried about another conflict breaking out. We feel that moving to another place is necessary. We are still researching other sources and feel that we should scale back production to allow the planet to recover. The ice caps are still recovering from their 2035 lows and the Netherlands was one of the hardest hit. We were on the frontlines of this while you were in primary school. We know what's best for the company and the planet. Good day to you sir."

And with that the conversation ended. Aizen for once in his life was stunned into silence. The last best chance for a public recovery was pretty much over. Aizen growled and then with a loud roar threw his chair into the bookcase. Taking a few calming breaths, he signaled or Gin to come in.

"Something wrong Aizen?"

"Yes. Tell our largest contractors to begin operations against Shell. If they won't come to us willingly I am going to drive them out of business."

"Sir, is that wise?"

"I don't care. I do not have the time or the money to deal with failures. I will be lucky to make to the end of the calendar year before I have to file for bankruptcy protection. If I have to do that I am finished. We need that deal and then we need to force the Kurosaki and the Kuchiki into backing down and ceding their control over the important markets.

"The Americas and East Asia correct?"

"Yes. Despite a few disasters in Southern Asia disrupting the population, some of them natural like the glacial melting's and others caused by war, Asia and especially China and Japan are still valuable.

"The pollution notwithstanding." Gin theorized.

Aizen growled. "There is a company in the U.S that developed a way to clean up the polluted water. It is the first major step that any country has taken to repair the waters. If this works in Gulf of Mexico, they will definitely develop it to work on the Pacific and in the areas affected. And that damn buffoon Isshin invested in it. If we can't do anything, Kurosaki will fund this venture and then allow it to be sold to the consumer. We are finished if this happens."

Gin raised an eyebrow. "I am sure your exaggerating."

"No I am not. Also tell your teammates that they are not to hold back anymore." Aizen said leaving the room.

Gin sighed. "Oh Aizen, when will you learn that trusting a fox…will get you burned." Gin said as he pulled out his flash drive and downloaded the plans. He left the building to go to his car and called Byakuya.

"Yes Gin?"

"Aizen lost the deal, now he's going to try to scare Shell into submission."

"That is concerning. Have you made progress on the diary?"

"No I'm afraid. The decryption would take too long without raising suspicion what do I do?"

"Send the files to me, I'll pass it onto Isshin and they he'll pass it to Eagle's father."

"Roger. This is going to be tricky, if we don't crack the code there is no way we can prove Aizen did anything. It will be considered heresy.

"I know that Gin! But we are stuck until we can find concrete proof of his actions."

Gin sighed. "Sigh….I think I might know one way we can crack this."

"What?

"Eagle has friends with the gaming community, perhaps one of them has the means to hack it."

"That's if they get it. As far as I know, Isshin issued a gag order."

"Just tossing out ideas, how's Hisanna?"

"She is doing well, though she has been emotional about her stomach. She still looks beautiful in any circumstance. She's due at the beginning of the next month so I might not attend Italy. I've sent an offer for the Kurosaki team to visit the manor around that time."

"Extra protection?"

"You never know what will happen. Anyway we will talk later." Byakuya said hanging up.

Gin sighed. "I fear this will get worse before it gets better." Gin said driving away.

August 5th Karakura Town, about 7:00 PM (Warning Mature scene ahead. This is warning number two.)

Ichigo was waiting at the foyer dressed in a grey men's yukata and glancing back to the stairs. The reason? It was Tanabata, the Star festival. It did not hurt that his girlfriend shared the name with the princess in the legend but this was legitimately the first time he celebrated the festival since he was young. He honestly didn't have a reason to attend and half the time he was on the road when the festival happened. His father had a business dinner, Karin was attending with Toshiro and Yuzu was going with some friends from school. He was waiting on Orihime who was finishing getting ready.

"Ichigo? I'm coming down." Orihime called out.

Ichigo turned to the stairs and his eyes slowly widened. When Orihime wanted to doll herself up she nailed it. Her yukata was a light blue a traditionally long sleeves and had a matching obi and it was embroidered with doves which fit Orihime's peaceful nature. Just looking at how her body was covered, it looked form fitting and tastefully showed her body, leaving Ichigo with a very tempting imagination of what laid beneath. Looking up at her face it was done up beautifully with a light blush, painted lips and lovely purple eyeshadow. Her long hair was neatly combed and done up in a bun that was held up by ornamental chopsticks. To Ichigo, she was a goddess in human form.

Orihime tilted her head cutely. "Ichigo, are you okay?"

Ichigo snapped out of his thoughts. "Yes. I just was admiring the way you looked Hime."

Orihime giggled. "I always like this holiday and I celebrated with Tatsuki. But this is the first time I'm going as a date."

Ichigo smiled. "I'm glad I could enjoy it with you. Shall we?" He said. Orihime nodded and after putting on their sandals they went to the festival.

(Play Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Golding. I like the song hate the movie it's attached to. *Cough Fifty Shades of Gray* Cough)

As the two approached the festival they were arm in arm taking in the very colorful atmosphere. A few kids went past obviously enjoying their time. Orihime giggled at how cute the kids were being.

At a game booth, Orihime was able to win a game of darts. Selecting her prize which was a large teddy bear, she was about to turn to Ichigo when she saw a little girl sniffling and her mother trying to placate her. Kneeling down as much as she could in her outfit, she smiled and talked to the little girl. She handed her the teddy bear which caused the little girl to lighten up. The mother turned and thanked Orihime and went on their way. Ichigo smirked as Orihime bounded up to him.

After getting a couple of treats, they ran into Karin in her black and white yukata and Toshiro in an ice blue one. Ichigo gave a stern look at the elder Kuchiki crew chief but then smiled after talking to him about treating Karin right.

They then ran in Yuzu who introduced her friends to Ichigo. Recognizing Ichigo from the Grand Prix, they asked for pictures with him. He obliged and Orihime smiled at how despite him being with these fans his eyes were focused on her. Yuzu saw that and smiled at that and took a photo of the pair, with her friends commenting on the cuteness of the couple.

They walked up to a place that sold paper for their wishes for the future. The two looked at each other and blushed. They wrote out their wishes and handed them to the vendor to hang on a tree,

Walking through the vendors again, Orihime looked at Ichigo who was watching festival. Considering the late hour the stalls were starting to close and starting to the hill overlooking the festival. Ichigo turned and saw Orihime watching him. He smiled and kissed her tenderly. When they released, Orihime laid her on his shoulder and closed her eyes in contentment.

(End the song)

The two lovers had found a good spot to watch the closing fireworks. Orihime looked up at Ichigo. "Thanks for coming with me."

"No problem Hime. To be honest I haven't attended this festival in years. Probably since mom died. I guess I haven't found the time to go."

Orihime smiled. She looked up at the stars. "The star road is pretty tonight. I'm sure Orihime and Hikobushi are going to meet today."

Ichigo nodded. "Thousands of years, they've been separated by the stars. I'm sure one day, their union will be permanent."

"I hope so too. Lovers should not be separated. Even in the heavens." Orihime replied.

Ichigo leaned in kissed Orihime on the head. She then lit up as the fireworks began. Ichigo just laughed at her innocence and watched the show, as the Orihime and Hikobushi reunited again.

At home an hour later. (Last warning lemon scene approaching, for those under 18 stop reading. Or if your mature enough and old enough keep reading.)

The two had arrived back at the mansion. They were the only ones there as Yuzu had a sleepover and Karin had decided to stay over at Toshiro's place. Taking their sandals off, they climbed the stairs to their room.

"I had a great time Ichigo. Thank you for coming with me."

"Anytime Hime. Especially if it means I see you happy."

They walked into their room, Orihime entering first and sitting on the bed as Ichigo closed the door. Ichigo walked over to his bath room and came back with a wash cloth which Orihime was glad for and wiped the make-up off.

He saw the curious look on the girl's face. "What's up Hime?"

"Ichigo…what did you wish for?" She asked innocently.

He sat down next to her and chuckled. "I could have wished for a lot of things. But the one thing I wished for…is that the world is a better place for our children to live in. And I hope that our future continues to brighten for all of us on the team."

Orihime laughed sheepishly. "Wow that's kind of cool. Makes my wish kind of silly." She looked down smiling. "I wished that my future, whatever it was involved you."

"Of course Hime. Why would you doubt that?" Ichigo asked.

Orihime said nothing and stood up. Before Ichigo could ask, Orihime spoke. "Ichigo, what do you find attractive about me? I mean you're a celebrity and I'm a reporter, we shouldn't even be conversing like this."

"Like what?" Ichigo asked.

"Like…lovers." Orihime trailed off.

Ichigo realized what Orihime was trying to say and smiled. "Alright." Ichigo stood up to his full height. "What made me fall in love with you?" He said in mock thought. "Well, you have this air of innocence about you. Something about that makes me want to treasure it.

You have this way of thinking that gets me to laugh. I don't think I can go a day without hearing you laugh.

You're always happy, no matter the situation. You keep me grounded. And your personality, most people with your…figure would be vain, petty, and false. You're none of those. You are humble, generous and real."

Orihime was starting to tear up. Who knew that Ichigo fell in love with all of that?

She hitched her breath as Ichigo was now in her personal space and she was starting to feel something in her body. It was definitely love but it was mixed with something more primal, something that until this moment, she wouldn't have entertained. Looking at Ichigo, she could see something similar in his eyes, and she had no

"And those are your best traits. I don't even care about what people lust for. They are just bonuses to me." Ichigo said quietly. He raised a hand to her face. "Your silver eyes remind of the moon, always looking at me with it beautiful gaze. Your skin feels like if I did anything I would bruise it." He reached up to her hair which was still done up and gently pulled the sticks out and set them on the dresser. The hair fell like a waterfall to the top of her butt. He ran his hand through it lovingly. "Your hair feels like silk, I can never get enough of playing with it." He stopped at her mid back and pulled her close. "And do you realize what your body does to me. That fire suit is like a second skin. Your face looks like an angel, , your legs are like a statue and your hands, they feel like they could be broken if I squeezed and your breasts just adds more to what I already love about you Kami Orihime, you weren't born, you were sculpted to be a goddess. That's what I love the most about you. You look so amazing yet you are humble, kind and innocent. If anyone doesn't have a right to be with you, it's me. Any guy would be lucky to have you, and I guess I hit the jackpot." He said looking into the pools of silver he loved so much.

Orihime teared up at the description. She a goddess? Looking at Ichigo she saw the truth in his eyes and saw something flickering in them as well. She realized she was feeling and what Ichigo was feeling. It love and lust, and she had no desire to fight it. She took a deep breath knowing the next few words would be the last coherent thoughts she would have tonight.

"Then…prove it."

Ichigo was taken aback at her words. "What?" He asked.

"You said I'm a goddess right? Then prove it to me. I'm on the pill, and no one is in the house. What's stopping you from worshipping me like I know we both want?" Orihime asked.

Ichigo looked at Orihime like she grew a second head. Where was this confidence coming from? Looking at her eyes, he had his answer. It was the love she had for him and it was mixed with an emotion he finally figured out, because it mirrored his own.

He leaned and whispered against her lips. "Nothing my beautiful goddess." And kissed her.

Warning Lemon Scene ahead (Those under 18 or not mature enough for this fic please leave a review on your way out)

The two lovers kissed each other tenderly. Orihime reached up with her left hand into Ichigo's spiky hair, gripping it gently while wrapping her right arm around his neck. Ichigo took his right hand held it against the small of her back, pulling her head closer with his left. Opening his mouth, he let his tongue explore her mouth; she opened her mouth, allowing their tongues to dance together. Ichigo moved backwards, taking Orihime with him onto the bed, allowing her weight fall on him.

After a couple of minutes they broke for air. This was brief, as Ichigo went for her throat, getting a pleasured moan out of her with each nuzzle on her throat. He wished he could go further but the yukata was in the way. As a compromise, he started threading his hand through her silky soft hair, getting her to purr. His already erect cock had practically become stony with every moan.

Orihime regained enough cognition to gently raise herself off the bed. Ichigo sat up to watch her stand on her knees. She reached down to the obi and began fiddling with it. Once it came loose, she let it drop but held onto the sides, still trembling from nervousness about the situation. Seeing her distress, Ichigo stood up and started undo his outfit as well. A minute later, he divested himself of his yukata, allowing Orihime to see every inch of his bare body. A muscled torso toned from years of working out and handling g-forces greeted her, increasing her heartbeat as he strode confidently to her.

"I saw your nervousness, Hime; thought I'd make you more comfortable." Ichigo said.

Orihime smiled. "Thank you."

Ichigo leaned down to kiss her. Once he broke off the kiss, he took a shoulder of the garment, pulling it past her chest and allowing it fall to the floor.

Now naked, Ichigo stepped back to take in her form. When he said she was a goddess, he wasn't kidding: small, dainty feet gave way to long legs that were perfectly pale in complexion; wide hips that looked like they were sculpted with a bubbly butt to match; a narrow waist and a flat abdominals that never seemed to gain any weight; what completed the package was a generous bust that seemed to fit her body, giving her an alluringly and naturally curvy appearance. Going past her graceful neck he stopped on her face. Her innocent eyes were tracing every shape of his body, and her face had a luminescent blush.

Subconsciously, she licked her lips. That seemed to break his trance, causing him to pounce and pick her up. Ichigo brought her over to the bed, initiating another round of passionate kissing. When he broke free, he started trailing kisses down her throat, to the junction where her chest and her neck met, and then into the valley between her breasts.

Orihime began panting slightly, the kisses giving her a high. If this was just from kissing, she was going to lose it when they actually had intercourse. She was brought out her of musings when she felt Ichigo reach her breasts. She gasped when he took a tentative suck of her right breast and reached and massaged the left one. An instinct went through her and reached and held his head to the breasts. Seeing as she enjoyed it, Ichigo kept at it. He changed which breasts he massaged and sucked every couple of minutes. Orihime began panting and after a few minutes she arched up and cried out as her first orgasm happened.

Ichigo sat up and smiled. In the moonlit room, he saw a vision of loveliness. Orihime's hair was splayed out in a halo and her breasts were heaving up and down as she calmed down from her orgasmic high with a bright blush on her face. If sucking her breasts did this, she was going to be undone by the end of the night.

Orihime finally recovered from her haze. "Ichigo…" She said breathlessly. Ichigo looked back at his princess - angel more like it. "May I return the favor? I mean…I don't mind if you have control; I know you won't hurt me."

Ichigo chuckled. "Whatever you want Hime, I won't go further than what you want." Ichigo leaned down to kiss her. He gently rolled back so that she was on top, and he got a personal view of her body.

"I hope when you're pregnant, your milk is delicious." Ichigo said from his position under her.

Orihime blushed and giggled. "I guess my breasts were really sensitive." She stayed balanced on his stomach allowed the two to admire the other. Orihime then gently dropped to his chest and started kissing his chest, leaving white hot marks on Ichigo's skin. Ichigo groaned and fell back on to the pillows.

'This girl is driving me nuts.' Ichigo thought. It only got worse when Orihime found herself hypnotized at the size of his cock. She hesitantly reached it and grabbed it. This caused Ichigo to hiss at the touch. Orihime stroked it till it was fully erect, and then she put her mouth over it.

Ichigo had to restrain himself from bucking into her mouth. Instead he gripped the bed sheets as Orihime sucked him like a lollipop. Ichigo groaned, seeing Orihime's content expression through his hooded eye. He looked up at the ceiling, he was getting close. Who knew, that despite her inexperience, Orihime could do this to him.

"Hime…I'm close." He said. This seemed to break through the fog of pleasure in her brain but she kept sucking. One big suck later, he exploded in her mouth. He pulled out after a couple of shots and it splattered over her face as she coughed.

Ichigo looked sheepish. "Sorry Hime." He waited for her to settle down before he reached over to the wash cloth on the nightstand. Before he could do anything, Orihime took a piece of what fell on her face and licked it like it was one of her strange confections.

"You're tasty Ichigo." Orihime said with her innocent smile. Ichigo looked flabbergasted at what Orihime said. He just handed her the cloth to wipe off the excess.

"I think we're going to be a little messy." Orihime said.

Ichigo shook his head. "Yeah, but I don't mind being messy with you."

Orihime beamed and leaned into to kiss Ichigo. Their tongues battled shortly before Orihime submitted. He turned and once again Orihime was on the bottom, reached down to her waist, and checked her core. It was wet, but Ichigo had a plan to make her slick enough for his member. Looking at Orihime, she smiled and spread her legs wide given him perfect access to her virgin vagina.

He reached down and started teasing her hole with one hand, while at the same time reaching back down onto her breast and started sucking. With his other hand, he teased the breast and he got the reaction he wanted. With three pleasure areas being stimulated, her moans became louder as she was slowly coming undone. Ichigo added a finger to pump in and out of her core, then a second and then a third while rubbing her clit. All of this stimulation added up and it nearly became too much for her brain as she screamed, arching her back thrusting her breasts up as Ichigo let go before she came undone. Releasing his fingers he tasted them. "Sweet, like…berries." Ichigo smiled as he waited for Orihime to regain her functions.

In Orihime's mind, her whole body felt like jello; her arms and legs were spread eagle, and she had little strength to move them. Calming down her breathing, she looked up at Ichigo who looked like he accomplished something. Considering that he wanted to fuck her senseless, he definitely did that without even entering her.

With what cognition she still had left, she raised her hand to his cheek. "Please…be gentle."

Ichigo nodded. "I would never hurt you intentionally, Hime. But we both know this is going to hurt."

Orihime nodded and dropped her hand. She watched as Ichigo slowly entered as her heart starting to beat faster.

One last look at Orihime's face, Ichigo watched as her eyes closed in anticipation. One thrust was all it took to break through her hymen; Orihime snapped her eyes open and was about to scream in pain, but Ichigo was quick and kissed her silencing her screams shortly after they left her mouth. For the next couple of minutes, they laid there bathed in moonlight in perfect serenity. When she felt the pain pass, she let go and the adrenaline from what they were doing gave her legs the strength to lock onto his back.

"Are you okay?" Ichigo asked seeing the tears.

"I'm fine. I've never felt this loved before, its beautiful." Orihime said sniffling. Ichigo leaned into kiss the tears away. "I'm glad. Ready?"

Orihime nodded and Ichigo pulled back and thrust in. Backing out again he increased the pace until there was a steady rhythm. Orihime's moans increased in tandem with Ichigo's grunts. Ichigo thrusted harder eliciting more moans from the red-headed girl below her. At this point, Orihime was starting to flail wildly, the adrenaline keeping her body moving. She was going to be sore tomorrow, but at this point she didn't care, she craved this pleasure. To be driven into a sexual frenzy, to take it all in knowing she would be cared for, to know that she was a goddess in her beloved's eyes. Just then Ichigo hit a certain spot and she screamed as he hit her g-spot.

"I…Ichigo (Moan) I'm…(Moan) close.

"(Grunt) So am I…(Grunt) let me know when."

Ichigo thrusted and hit her g-spot a couple more times. Each time Orihime saw stars. With one more thrust, Orihime screamed.

"ICHIGO!"

"ORIHIME!"

The two came together in almost synchronized fashion. Ichigo fired powerful streams into Orihime as he leaned over her. Orihime's entire body shook and then went rigid as she whited out. For a whole minute, neither moved so engrossed into the experience. Then with a shudder, Orihime's legs went limp and fell to the side while Ichigo collapsed to her right. They began catching their breath, unable to believe they just went through that. Ichigo recovered first and saw Orihime passed out in pleasure. He went to go get another wash cloth and started to clean her up.

Orihime's last memory was when Ichigo hit her G-spot the first time. She felt something warm touch her face as she came around and she moaned at the touch. She opened her bleary eyes and smiled at Ichigo.

"Hey." She said incredibly weak. "That….was amazing."

"Yeah. It was." Ichigo said as he wiped her down, paying attention to her breasts and her legs getting pleasured purrs from her. "I'm going to be sore tomorrow. My legs feel like jello."

Ichigo chuckled. "If we do get out of bed tomorrow, you're going to be carried around. I hope you realize, this isn't going to be the only time we have sex this weekend.

Orihime giggled weakly. "It will be fun. I hope we can try different stuff."

Ichigo chuckled and they rearranged themselves so Ichigo was on the pillows and Orihime was on his chest. They were losing the battle with sleep but they had enough energy for one more kiss.

"Good night, Ichigo-kun."

"Good night, Hime-chan."

(End Lemon)

The two fell asleep with the stars shining down on them. The two lovers fell asleep with dreams of each other and the future. But Aizen continues to plan and soon, the drivers will learn of his machinations. What will happen? Find out.

END OF CHAPTER

UO: Geez. That was my first lemon. I hope I did well on it. Review and call me out on mistakes. I have the lemon scene in editing so expect that to be fixed up. Tell me how I did and thank Kurogane7 for betaing it.

Preview: As the break continues, a chance find threatens to destabilize two long standing relationships and reveals that what they have found could threaten the world's economy. What is it? Find out

Next Time: Plots revealed,

Next update is Journeys of the Dreamer.

Please Review and leave your name when you do especially if they are nice. Also check out my pals, Lalapie203, Spartan719, Code-Emperor07, Kurogane 7, Soleneus, Soulsilverlord, Vanishing Raptor, Kage Bijuu, Giratina Zero EvashinobiKaiserKnight Kamen Rider Super-fan and ShadowPhantom929. I help on a lot of their works.

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