Kana rolled to her side groaning.

"Ugh…"

When Ichigo had hung up on her last night she screamed so loud her younger sister ran into her room asking her what happened. Kana apologized to the entire house before spending the rest of the night in bed thinking of all the things Ichigo and Orihime could be doing. Going over every possible scenario until she ran out of ideas. She hated it. She hated that she even felt the need to compete with some other girl. It had been so effortless with guys before. But Ichigo was different. He wasn't like the rest of the guys that were willing to play the part of a good boyfriend. Maybe that's what attracted her the most. If he did finally choose her then it would mean more. She would mean more. After a couple of hours torturing herself with thoughts of Ichigo, she finally fell into a restless sleep. No… I can't just give up, she thought to herself.

She pulled herself out of bed knowing if she didn't, she would lay there all day spiraling deeper. So instead she got ready for the day hoping she would find something to preoccupy her mind.

Shopping! Kana thought. Her second most favorite activity. She hadn't forgotten the class assignment she planned with Ichigo and their classmates. Kana of course had planned to go with Ichigo alone but she saw his hesitation and decided to invite the entire class before he could decline. She smiled to herself thinking of all the different outfits she could wear in order for Ichigo to finally look at her. Of course she still was unsure of what would get his attention. He always seemed so oblivious but whatever she chose she knew he couldn't play dumb this time.

Ms. Ikumi had a knack for finding Ichigo the strangest and sometimes downright miserable jobs. But today he couldn't complain. She had arranged a decently paying job as an elementary soccer coach for a local school. Ichigo had been reluctant to start this job for a number of reasons, for one he had never been a coach, and two he wasn't sure he liked kids. Sure he had been a kid himself and grew up with two younger sisters. But still he knew kids were loud, cried, and always managed to have sticky hands. But in the end Ms. Ikumi left him no choice as she could be very persuasive. And he had to admit he could really use the money.

But it wasn't long before he warmed up to the kids and looked forward to his weekly practices with them. They provided him the opportunity to engage in conversations he didn't mind. Easy subjects like popular shows, games, and mangas. Easy solutions to the silly disagreements they would have with their friends. Ichigo seemed to be a natural when it came to kids. Even the other faculty noticed he was doing great as a coach. And above all these children listened. He rarely had to scold them and they readily took his advice.

On his first day the 9 year olds stared at him. Examining him from head to toe. Their previous coach had been an older gentleman that yelled at them more than actually taught them anything so they were feeling a bit hopeful when they saw Ichigo. He was young and from the looks of it seemed like he was in shape.

Ichigo took the opportunity to study the group of children. It was evenly split between boys and girls. He started to sort them mentally from who looked the most athletic to the ones who looked like their parents had forced them to join the team. While planning on where he would start he heard the kids whispering. Why is his hair orange? Why does his face look like that?

Ichigo cleared his throat loudly, trying to remove the natural scowl from his face, and began.

"Alright, that's enough. Your previous coach did leave me some instructions. So let's start with a warm up." With those simple instructions the children began to jog in place. Ichigo smirked, that was easy. Maybe this coach job isn't too bad.

As their warm up came to an end one of the boys decided to challenge their new coach.

"Excuse me, Mr. Kurosaki, do you even know how to play soccer?"

The children giggled, others chimed in questioning him. Ichigo scowled but didn't reply. Instead he kicked one of the nearest balls next to him straight up in the air, catching it with the top of his foot. He easily eased into juggling the ball, alternating feet.

The kids stood silent watching him still unconvinced. One yelled "my grandpa can do that!"

Ichigo sighed, a small vein pulsing on his forehead.

"Okay well can your grandpa do this?"

He bounced the ball to his foot doing some small foot dribbles before kicking it up vertically, and as the ball was high in the air he effortlessly flipped his body in the air making contact with the ball again kicking it right into the goal over half way across the field. An easy trick but effective as the kids oohed and awed at Ichigo.

The kid who had called him out, rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but still be impressed.

"Teach us!" All the kids began shouting excitedly wanting to see more tricks.

"Okay, okay one step at a time" Ichigo laughed, tossing several balls towards the children's feet. "First let's master the basics."

He began with correcting their feet placement and having them jog around the field to build their endurance. The kids were very tired after that first day but didn't complain too much knowing their coach was apparently very good at soccer. They wanted to be like Ichigo.

Today the kids were scrimmaging. From time to time Ichigo would shout out and give them direction but overall they were playing well. He noticed the improvements that they made and he couldn't help but feel proud of the hard work they had put in. They had gotten so much better and he couldn't wait for their first real game against the neighboring school.

"Alright guys that's all for today. Get some rest and I will see you all next week!" He waved to the kids as their parents hauled their kids' gear to their cars.

The other benefit of this job was it only took half his morning on Saturday. He had the rest of the day for other odd jobs or studying. Studying usually won since he dodged Ms. Ikumi's phone calls not wanting to take any more jobs.

Ichigo headed down the sidewalk slightly distracted recalling the night before. It wasn't until he had been on his way home last night that he wondered where that piece of paper Orihime had been hiding. He came to the conclusion that she must have stashed the paper in her pocket when his family barged in. Damn. I was so close.

His mind quieted as it had for the past couple of months only to bring up the memories of his mother. The first time he heard the truth about his mom he had not had time to fully process the magnitude of what happened during her life and how it led him to where he was today.

The reality of it began to weigh on him more and more. Not only did his father lose his soul reaper powers, his captaincy, his former life, but he lost the one person losing all of that had been worth it for.

His father described his mother as the sun, enveloping everyone in her light, spinning everyone in her orbit. Ichigo recalled that being the perfect description of her. That's why the emptiness she left behind had at times been unbearable. It had been difficult after that to ever wish to feel that kind of love again. The sun that was his mother had set that day.

He was grateful now to have the knowledge of who his mother was. He tried to imagine his mother as a high school girl living her normal Quincy life and how Uryu's dad had been part of it. It was odd to think that in a different timeline his mother would have lived longer. Had the hollow never attacked her. Had she never met his father, Isshin. Albeit Ichigo would not exist, rather a mix of Uryu and himself. It didn't sit well with Ichigo but the image itself did appear more in his mind than he cared for.

Apart from discovering the truth he discovered something else. He couldn't describe it at the time. He only knew it was familiar. The way Isshin described Masaki it was like he was describing a feeling he began to feel more recently. A feeling he had been keeping at bay. At first he thought it was his imagination. Everyone gravitated towards Orihime; it was only natural he did too. But he knew it wasn't just that. The more he saw her the more he could feel that enveloping light, the warmth in his chest. It was a new star rising in his own world. A light so bright and beautiful, he had to make sure it would always be there. Forever.

Orihime found herself staring out the bakery's front doors looking for that familiar orange hair. Her cheeks were still a soft pink from the night before. She had never been that close to Ichigo for that extended amount of time. Everything replayed in her mind like an endless reel. So much happened it was hard to concentrate on just one moment. But one memory that stood out was the one where Ichigo had asked her out with his class. She had been so heavy with sleep she wasn't sure if she had just imagined it. But the look on Ichigo's face when he asked her had the heat threatening to take over her face all over again. She shook her head blaming it on her wild imagination. NO! He is just being nice to me because we're friends…

Orihime's head shot up to the front of the store when the familiar chime rang. Ichigo walked in the door searching for Orihime when their eyes met. A small smile played on their lips for a fraction of a second.

"Hi Ichigo!" Orihime shouted brightly and as usual startled her customers.

"Hi Orihime." Ichigo walked up to the counter smiling gently at his friend. She was wearing her fitted uniform. Pink with ruffles along the hems. It looked good on her, too good. He felt a sting of jealousy at the fact that men would stare at her. And he would be lying if he said he wasn't starting to feel somewhat possessive. He didn't like that. He knew if she wanted to wear revealing clothes it was up to her but he knew it wasn't her preferred style. If it wasn't for uniforms she was forced to wear by schools or a certain unhinged ex-captain, Orhime dressed modestly, which he was thankful for.

Orhime served Ichigo an order of her famous brownies. She sat down at the table watching him patiently as he took the first bite.

"Mmmm." Ichigo of course knew they were going to be delicious but this was exceptionally good. It was the right amount of chocolate with hints of other aromatic flavors. Orihime was a talented baker and he admired how she excelled at everything she set her mind on. "So.. good." He managed to mumble.

Orihime blushed as she watched him eat. She focused on his mouth as he licked his bottom lip removing the crumbs left behind.

Before she could ask him if he wanted to take some she heard Makoto call her from behind the counter. He had been silently watching the two of them. Trying to leave them alone and not bring too much attention to himself. Kana had warned him to be cool. But after only 10 minutes he couldn't take it any longer. Jealousy seared inside of him. Was Kana right? He began to question if he would even stick to this idiotic plan. He didn't know if it was worth this aggravation. What did Orihime even see in this Kurosaki guy? He had heard so many wild stories of this orange haired prick. Makoto knew he wasn't deserving of Orihime in any way. He wouldn't let him have her.

"Sorry Ichigo, I need to help Makoto."

"Oh, yeah, no problem."

He finished his dessert watching her get back to work. He wouldn't prolong his stay if it meant interfering with her work. That's when he noticed that it was the guy from last night. He felt like he was being watched since the moment he stepped in the bakery. Ichigo studied the two of them working side by side filling orders. He didn't know if he was just being paranoid but something about Makoto didn't sit well with him. Ichigo felt no spiritual pressure emanating from him. But even if Ichigo had felt any power from Makoto it wouldn't have mattered much. Ichigo had recently won his greatest battle to date, faced death again, he wouldn't have worried, at least not for himself, but for Orihime. He glanced back at Makoto who was now glaring at Ichigo. Both men tensed for a second before quickly regaining their composure. Makoto forced a tight smile, unnatural, before looking away. Ichigo only turned his face neutral. Fuck is up with that guy? He thought for a moment trying to remember if Makoto was someone who had a grudge against him. Maybe a guy he fought in the street, a too common occurrence. Yet nothing came to mind. He had been dragged into so many fights he couldn't remember every inconsequential encounter.

Ichigo momentarily thought about leaving the bakery but after that weird stand off he decided to stay. Even if he couldn't spend too much time talking with Orihime he could at least continue to observe Makoto. He seemed normal from what he could tell. But just then he came to realize something he had not yet put too much thought into. What if this was someone Orihime was interested in. They did spend a lot of time together. They shared the same interests in this bakery business. If Orihime did already have feelings for another man, was that something he was ready to accept? He tensed in his seat. No… He was too close to telling her his true feelings. Feelings too strong to keep hidden any longer. And thinking of Renji giving him shit for not telling her made him even more resolved. He would tell her. Just had to find the right time.

Makoto had been mulling over the reasons Orihime spent any time with some guy who was known for always getting into trouble. He couldn't see Orihime falling for the bad boy type. She was smarter than that. Maybe she really wasn't interested in him. She was friendly to everyone, maybe he was just confusing her kindness for something else.

"So, uh that's your friend from last night. Ichigo, right?"

"Yes!" Orihime busied herself with sweeping the bread crumbs.

"He's not the same Ichigo Kurosaki I heard who spent his teens fighting with gangs?"

"Yes, that's him," Orihime chuckled. "Well when you put it like that, it sounds bad."

"Isn't it though? I didn't expect you to be hanging around thugs like him." He managed to keep the edge out of his voice with a small chuckle.

She didn't really know how to answer that question. Ichigo did get into a lot of fights with terrifying enemies. The image of a half human half bat arrancar came to mind. She almost shivered at the thought. Ichigo did fight but it was because he had to not because of the reasons Makoto was probably thinking. And when he was fighting regular humans in the street it was usually because they picked fights with him or he was helping someone. She wondered how many other people had the wrong idea of Ichigo. She tried not to smile knowing how wrong Makoto was.

"Ichigo is good. Once you get to know him you'll see."

Makoto clenched his jaw, calming himself. No part of him wanted to think about him, much less get to know him. It annoyed him to no end seeing him in the bakery. He was used to having Orihime to himself. Why the fuck did he decide to show up now, he thought. He didn't want to get to know him. He still didn't have a good enough reason as to why Orihime didn't find more suitable friends. Why didn't she show interest in him? He was taller, smarter, and had better hair. None of that mattered, he guessed. He would just have to make things more clear to Orihime and let her decide who would win in the end. Scheming wasn't his thing but Orihime had bewitched him somehow. She was so beautiful. She was so kind. He was in love with everything about her. He would never dare fantasize about her in public. He knew it would only leave his pants uncomfortably tight.

"Yeah, sure Orihime." He ended the conversation. He couldn't bear to talk about this anymore.

Makoto had not looked up towards Ichigo since meeting eyes with him but he could feel him staring at him. It made him uneasy to say the least but he wasn't going to let Kurosaki ruin his entire day. He was getting off early to meet up with Kana to figure out exactly what the next move was. At 5pm his shift was over leaving Orihime and another coworker to close the shop. On his way out he waved to Orihime and gave a quick glance over to Ichigo only to give him a brief nod. It was hard for Makoto to admit to himself that Ichigo did intimidate him. It's almost as if the room was stuffy when Ichigo was in it. Something weighed on him and he wasn't completely sure he was just imagining it. But either way he didn't like it. And the faster he could get him out of the way the better.