A/N: I made some people angry last chapter, didn't I? Well, there is a reason for everything. I promise. Also, this is in Ichigo's perspective. He is an unreliable narrator (first person usually is), so what he sees and knows are only what he perceives to see and know. Anyways, thanks for the love of the story! Enjoy and review!

The next morning, not only do I feel tired, I feel guilty.

"Ichigo, are you alright?" Mizuiro asks as we walk to school.

"Yeah. I'm fine," I lie. Why?"

"You look out of it. Is this about yesterday?"

So he noticed too. That means that I didn't imagine anything. "What are you talking about?" I need confirmation.

"Arisawa-san seemed kind of cold towards you."

I roll my eyes. "Tatsuki is a little pissed at me. It'll blow over. We never hold grudges against each other."

He nods. "Is it about Inoue-san?"

The moment he says her name, I try to fake my interest by shoving my hands into my pockets and looking at the sky. "What about Inoue?"

"She seemed uncomfortable." I was right. I had hurt Inoue. "Then again, Honshō-san was being a little aggressive with her hugs."

My jaw locks. When I look back at yesterday, Chizuru had been hanging on Inoue the whole day. Try as she might, Tatsuki couldn't keep her off Inoue the entire time.

"Did you notice anything else?" I prompt.

"No. Did you?" Mizuiro looks at me, and I just shake my head. Maybe I had imagined everything.

Then why did I still have this uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach?

She doesn't come up as we continue to walk to school. It is not till we pass the school gate when I hear her name. Multiple times.

I look around, and I see group of guys scattered. "Do you keep hearing Inoue's name?"

Mizuiro looks too. "Well, Inoue-san is very popular among the males, and since she has been gone for a while, I guess they are a little excited that she's back."

I remember I had once told Inoue that it was more likely that she would be the one to be followed. Now it seems more true than ever.

"Bunch of perverts," I grunt out, glaring at them slightly.

"It's normal, isn't it? I mean, you are one of the few that doesn't think Inoue is beautiful."

It catches me off guard. "I-I never said that she…" I leave the most important word out.

"You gotta wonder how many people are going to confess to her this year."

"What do you mean?" My voice raises a notch. I clear my throat.

"We're about to graduate. A lot of people become brave when the end is near. You know?"

By this time, we are close to our homeroom. Keigo comes to greet us, and my bicep greets his throat. I sit down in my seat, lost in thought.

We are about to graduate. We only have a couple of months left. Then we would all be heading our different ways. Where would we all go? Where would she go?

The pit becomes even bigger.

My eyes stray forward to the desk that she would usually sit in if she were in my class. This year, though, we were separated.

"Kurosaki." I glance at Ishida. "Inoue-san came by earlier. She told me to tell you that she is sorry."

"Sorry for what?" What did she have to apologize for? I was the jerk, not her. Never her.

"She didn't say." He returns to his seat, and class starts.

When it is finally lunch, I try to pin-point her reiatsu, so I could find and go talk to her.

"Ichigo."

"Oh, hey Chad." My concentration wavers.

"You coming for lunch?" I nod and get up. As we walk to get food, I try again to locate her. I spot Tatsuki along with Chizuru and the other brown-haired girl. She gives me a nod and walks over to Chad and I. Just like I thought, her anger at me disappeared.

"Oi, Tatsuki! Where's Inoue?" She shrugs her shoulders and checks her phone.

"I don't know. She didn't tell me. Maybe I should call her."

"She said she had something to do. She'll be back before class starts," Chad reveals. I forgot that Inoue and Chad were in the same homeroom. She probably told him so he could tell us.

I'm a bit distracted during lunch and for the rest of the day. I'd been planning to confront Inoue as soon as possible, but I haven't seen her at all today. She couldn't be avoiding me, could she? The thought that she might be…I didn't like it.

Something hits me. My head turns toward Ishida who had thrown a paper ball at me. He points to the window, and I look. Smiling and waving outside the window is Inoue. I jump to my feet.

"Is everything okay, Kurosaki?" Sensei looks at where I was staring.

"I'm good. Actually, I gotta go to the bathroom." I sprint out the room, stealthily grabbing my bag before I head out.

I run down the hall, and I stop and open a window. I stick out my head, glancing left and right, trying to spot Inoue.

"Kurosaki-kun!" She hollers as her hand cuts through the air above her.

"Stay there!" I call back. She nods.

I make sure no one is around, and when I think the coast is clear, I jump out. My spiritual pressure usually acts as a cushion for my landings, so I would barely feel the ache that comes from a jump so high. This time, though, Inoue's Santen Kesshun shines under me. It lowers me to the ground and breaks away.

"That was dangerous, Kurosaki-kun." I want to disagree, but by her tone and her action, I could tell that she is just worried about me.

"Sorry. But what about you? You could have fallen!" I have the urge to scold her in the way that Tatsuki usually does when Inoue acts recklessly. I smother the urge by resting my hand behind my neck.

She giggles.

"What's so funny?"

"I actually did fall. It's actually harder to climb up a rain gutter than it is to shimmy down one."

"Inoue!"

"It's okay! I just fell on my butt. It's just a little sore." She moves a hand to rub her backside. My neck moves so quickly I hear a crack. "Kurosaki-kun? Are you okay?" I turn my head back to look at her. "You were sighing a lot in class, and your scowl looked more troubled than usual."

"You saw that? I'm really fine, Inoue."

She lets out a deep breath. "Good! You look the best when you scowl!" She laughs. What did she mean by that? "And when you smile," she adds almost inaudibly. She shakes her head like she is trying to clear it. "Can you wait here for a second, Kurosaki-kun?" She darts away and reappears with a bag in her hand. She stops in front of me, inhales, and bows. "I'm sorry, Kurosaki-kun!"

"Inoue…"

"Yesterday, I was very rude. I showed up early in excitement, I selfishly used your food to make onigiri, I answered the door without permission due to my eagerness, and I inexcusably didn't stay to clean. I'm sorry! Please accept these bread as a token of my sincerity and apology." She holds out the bag.

"Inoue…" I try again a little louder.

"Even if you don't accept my apology, please take the bread and share them with your family. It was very nice of them to welcome me into their home."

"Inoue. Stop." She does. She stares up at me and waits. "I'm not mad."

"You're not?"

"No. I must've been cranky from lack of sleep. I didn't mean to snap." I rub my neck, strangely self-conscious as I admit, "I really thought you were mad at me." Her hair whips in the wind as she shakes her head. I snort out a chuckle. "So we agree? We are not mad at each other, right?"

"Hai!" She smiles, and I feel my lips follow suit. "But you can still take the bread! Owner-san gave me a lot today!" I do as she says. "And they are the fresh, popular ones, Kurosaki-kun. He was really happy about me coming back to work."

"I feel a little special," I tease her while I scratch my cheek with my finger.

"You are special." What's that supposed to mean?! "Oh, I gotta go! I promised that I would go back to the bakery as soon as school ended." She begins to leave.

"Wait, Inoue." She looks behind her shoulder at me. "I'll walk you."

She doesn't protest like I thought she would. She just lets me catch up to her. so we could walk together.