Chapter 4: "Ichigo's new side"

Shortly Ichigo and Orihime managed to arrive at the apartment without being seen. The man sighted at the sight of his former place, he didn't believe that Urahara would chose for him such a conspicuous place, but now it wasn't the time to be picky.

He was barefoot before he invited her in. The girl followed his example still pensively. He really did say to her the truth. He's a real criminal so is it safe for her to be around him? Her heart couldn't still accept the truth before her eyes while her brain was yelling at her to run away as fast as she can.

"I'm not going to hurt you!" He said from the kitchen grabbing two bottles of beer. Her eyes opened in amazed at his statement.

"No, that's…" But she couldn't finish her phrase nor to lie to him. She was undecided about what to think about it.

"Take this." The criminal announced her right before one bottle of beer landed in her hands. She looked at it but she hadn't said anything more yet. "Tsh… Like I said, I'm not going to hurt you, so you can relax. We're safe for a while." He tried to calm her hating to feel the bad tension in his apartment siting down on a black and white sofa near the window.

His words succeeded somehow to have almost the desired effect on her, making her to be aware of her surroundings. This place was way bigger than her, but it was somehow cold. There weren't many objects except of a picture with a couple and an orange haired boy. The boy's features resembled with Ichigo's so she asked what her mind dictated.

"Is this your place?" Maybe she was a little too direct, but she was too distracted by the woman's beauty to realize it.

"Yeah… But it's not like we're going to stay here for too much. In a way or another Aizen's spies will manage to find me and… what did happen will happen again, probably for real this time." The man took a sip of his drink before he finished his monologue. He didn't want to scare her neither to hide what's easily to be seen.

"Oh… That's terrible. But why is Aizen trying to hurt you?" She tried to learn more about him keeping the distance between them. Ichigo smirked, the pain from his wounds being annihilated by the alcoholic strength.

"That's something what you shouldn't know." He drank the rest of his bottle content, after what he was immersed in thought. His way of living isn't suited for such an innocent girl like her, but it's not like he could abandon her after all he did so he had better to protect her to pay his debts.

"Come here." Ichigo asked her taking again the suitcase back in his hands. The girl followed his order and she walked next to him. The man took something shining from it and put them in her hair. Orihime closed her eyes feeling his hot breath next to her face.

"I'm done. You'd better take them off under no circumstances." He warned her before he resumed his initial position.

"Arigato." She thanked him wondering what he could give to her.

"Tsh… Just go and take a shower. It can be a long time before you can take one again." She accepted his advice and went to the bathroom. She glanced over her reflection before he took off her clothes and entered in tub. Hot water started to stream as soon as her skin touched its porcelain surface.

Her left hand was washing her body while her right one was examining her new gift. They were two hair clips with hibiscus flower what were shining beautiful. She couldn't escape from the feeling that she'd seen them before, but she shouldn't take her sweet time, probably Ichigo needed a good bath more than her.

She soon exited from the tube but she faced another problem. She didn't have what to wear. She was feeling like her clothes are dirty after the incident, but here there was only a towel and a bathrobe. The towel was too short in order to hide her intimate zones so she took the bathrobe.

When she was back in the living room she discovered that Ichigo changed in a part of shorts half naked having a pair of woman clothes in his hands. His facial expression tended to change in a smirk when he saw her in his bathrobe. It was way too big for her body and she was looking like a sort of an alien.

"If you have nothing to wear you can take this. If it doesn't fit choose whatever you want from my closet." He let the clothes on the sofa then he made his leave. Orihime succeeded to not look for too long at his body and she went to look at what she should to wear.

They were way too small for her. They looked like children's clothes. She expired strong after what she entered in the open room what she thought it would be Ichigo's. It was indeed his room. She took a big breath before she continued her mission. First of all she took a pair of his black boxers and a white t-shirt. After she was sure that Ichigo was still in the shower she changed herself.

She was feeling somehow funny being dressed in boy's clothes. She was feeling exited like it was Halloween, but at the second thought she realized that the Halloween wasn't the reason of her happiness but the fact that she was dressed like him, that his smell was imprinted on her body. She became dizzy not knowing how to cope with this.

"You're faster than I thought." A masculine voice was heard from the door. It was no surprise that it was Ichigo, but his presence was making her even nervous. She tried somehow to hide her body feeling naked in front of him, despite his clothes were covering it well. "Tsh.. You look just fine. Nothing to be ashamed of." He assured her throwing his towel on his head trying to make her understand that nothing will change if she wants to hide from him. She didn't understand his message making the towel her new hideout. Ichigo took it away from her making her to look him right in his eyes.

"Look, you can play hide-and-seek all day, but we should eat too."

"Um… Just give me one minute." She excused herself more to be away of his touch before she would be aware of her feelings. When she was alone she understood his demanding. She looked at the fridge to see something fast to prepare for him. She decided to prepare some Tamagoyaki (Japanese Rolled Omlette) with some fried shrimps. It wasn't a super recipe but it was the fastest and the most normal one that she could invent on the moment.

'Alright… Let's hope to not burn his place.' She thought while she was searching a kitchen apron. She found one but it was too high for her. She tried to jump to reach it but hopeless. When she was trying to find another plan the apron was right before her eyes. "Kya…" She exclaimed shocked. The man laughed audible right before her.

"Tsh… You can ask me for help. It's not fair for you to always do all the things." He hid her face when he uttered his statement. Orihime was amazed to see this side of him, he didn't seem as mischievous as always.

"Well, you can give me the salt if you please." She asked half ashamed. Ichigo didn't complain and he did as she requested. At the end they cooked the meal together. The girl found him staring at her apron since time to time and he asked her why when the meal was ready.

"For the first time that stupid rabbit isn't so annoying." Orihime didn't understand him till she looked at the apron, indeed it was a rabbit on it. But why would Ichigo have an apron with a rabbit plus he's not the type of the man… Could it be ?

"This is your girlfriend's?" Her question was so innocent that it made him drown with his food. "Kya… Are you ok?" She wanted to help him to recover but he assured her that he's fine.

"Sort of. It's not like we're together anymore. I don't know why it's still here. I'd probably forgotten to throw it away." He justified himself. His voice was hoarse making her to be aware that it did happen recently so she didn't insist on the subject.

After they'd done eating she realized that it was past midnight. The time really flew away. She started to feel sleepy and probably Ichigo was the same despite he didn't show it.

"You'd better go to sleep." He advices her when he heard her yawns.

"No. I'm goo..ood." A yawn escaped past her lips before she could deny it.

"Tsh… You're going to make me even more problems if you don't sleep well." He explained still looking on the window.

"But you're probably even more tired than me and I didn't check your wounds." She replied feeling guilty to be the only one who could enjoy a good sleep.

"So what do you propose? Do you want to check my wounds and then sleep with me?" She could sense the teasing in his voice, but still…

"I just want you to be fine…"Her heart skips a beat when she said that and the man moved his look on her. Her face was red because of her bold statement. Ichigo didn't know what to say. He promised that he will take good care of her, she didn't need to care about him. He knew that she's not the time to accept the fact that she doesn't need to do this.

"You can stay awake as much as you want, but don't blame me if you will annoy me with your stubbornness." He concluded turning again in his initial position.

"Roger." She smiled moving her chair next to him. They spent the next hours of the night looking at the starts and putting their thoughts in order.

Chapter 5: "Shinji – agent X"