A/N: I miss you guys! I hate exams! TT TT I'm done with the first two, and I have two more on Tuesday, so hopefully I can update more regularly after. I'm sorry for the long wait! But I hope this chapter will be enough to hold you over until I'm done with my them. I'll try to write some more in my breaks. This chapter…I like it, but not as much as I usually do. Oh well. It's important for next chapter, so keep reading, enjoying, and reviewing.

The moment she unwinds her pinky from mine, she becomes so…I don't know the right word to describe the change in her. All I know is that her smile seems even more carefree than it usually is, her voice is just a bit more upbeat, and her steps have an extra kind of bounce, and I have to pin my hands to my sides just so that I won't pull her to me because I'm sure she's going to trip or something. Her reiatsu radiates off her and onto me, and it's like every move she makes and every word that leaves her mouth, everything about her, dispenses happiness and something else that I can't put my finger on.

It's overwhelming, but it's welcomed. And for the moment, I bask in it, in this warmth that seems to tear away from her so it can cling to me. I just listen to her recount this story she heard during lunch, and I don't worry about the cryptic promise or about the nightmare. I can't worry about anything when she's like this.

Even when she mentions Tatsuki, she doesn't lose her…glow.

"We're going to visit her college this weekend. I have to make sure that's it good enough for her," she declares as she grinds her fist into her hand like she's ready to gear up for a fight.

I smile. "So if it's not, you're going to what? Beat up the college?"

"Be honest, Kurosaki-kun. Who would win: my head or a building?" She head-butts the air, looking absolutely ridiculous while doing it. I can't help but trying to smother a laugh. "That's what I thought."

"I'm begging you, for the college's sake, don't go around doing that."

"I make no promise," she jokes. "Although, I don't want to embarrass Tatsuki in her future school, so maybe I should just restrain my attacks. Maybe I can…" she trails off, and she gets that look like she's about to enter a daydream. She shakes her head. "I'll come up with something."

"Don't think too hard about it," I advise.

"You're right. It'll come naturally." She stops walking, and I look at her, wondering why she isn't walking, but before I can ask her, I notice our surroundings. We are already at her work.

How did I not notice that? And why do I feel reluctant to let her go?

"Uh…Would you like to drop in for a bit?" My eyes widen. "You don't have to, but I mean, you wouldn't have to pay or anything. It'll be my treat, and you can sit down at one of table and rest or not. Or-or you can take something to go, and I-"

"I can stay for a while."

"Really?!" She blushes. "Okay! Follow me!" She marches ahead of me, but I stride forward to reach for the door to hold it out for her. She blushes even more. "Thank you." I blink at that.

"No problem." She enters the store, and she says that she needs to change and for me to sit anywhere I like. She disappears behind a door.

There's not a lot of places to sit, but I manage to get a seat at a small table near the back. I watch as the shop starts to fill up with those guys who only come by to leer at Inoue. They all seem rowdy, and when Inoue emerges, they become even louder. She bows to greet them, and although there are a lot of people in between us, she still manages to lock eyes with me and smile.

I see her whisper to one of her coworkers who's at the register. Inoue grabs something and walks out from the behind the corner. She says hello to all of the "customers" surrounding her as she passes them. I tell myself to remain seated because if I don't, I'm positive my fist will say hello to all of those guys' faces.

She squeezes her way through, and she stops in front of me. She hands me a menu and grins. She leans in a bit closer to me, and she lowers her voice when she says, "You can order anything. It's my treat."

I struggle a little with looking into her eyes with her sudden proximity. "Are you sure? I can pay. I wouldn't want to get you in trouble."

"Don't be silly. I got it covered." She backs up a little like she just noticed how close she is to me. "Umm…I'll give you a few minutes to look over the menu and choose what you want. I'll be back." She returns back to the corner and starts to work.

Today, she is listening to orders, getting them, and placing them into boxes or bags and handing the orders to the customers. I can tell by the overzealous reactions in the crowd that they are excited about this. I can feel my scowl deepen as I try to figure out why all the guys seem to be cheering even more.

And then I see it. I see it when a guy orders something, and Inoue goes to retrieve it. She has to stand on her tippy-toes to reach something, and she does this three times until I truly get it.

When she stretches for something, her chest…her chest pops out a bit more, and her dress rides up just a bit, revealing more of her legs. And in the moment that she settles her feet back on the ground from standing on the tip of her toes, her chest bounces.

My eye twitches.

Someone orders something from the bottom display, and I think there's no problem with that. It's better, but then I catch a glimpse of what's really happening.

Inoue bends over as she tries to pinpoint which dessert the customer wants. I can see that she tilts her head up to try to understand better, and in doing so, her hair falls over one shoulder leaving the other one bare, giving everyone the chance to look at her chest more closely. Some guys aren't looking at her. They are peering at the TV which is mounted at the top of the corner of the shop. It's turned off, so I don't know why they are pointing at it and looking at it with such fascination. Then I figure that out too.

I stand up with such force my chair falls to the floor. I don't even bother to pick it up as I storm over to the counter. I elbow my way to the front, not even caring if I'm being rude because, honestly, they should all be counting their blessings that I don't let my temper take over.

"Inoue."

She stands straight immediately, abandoning her task at hand. "Is something wrong, Kurosaki-kin?" I guess my facial expression gives me away.

"Can you turn on the TV?" She glances behind her and turns back to me. She opens her mouth like she is going to ask why, but she just presses her lips together and shrugs. She searches for something next to the register. She finds the remote and turns it on.

There is a collective of groans behind me.

I thank her over my shoulder as I walk back to my knocked over seat. I feel the eyes stabbing me in the back, and I all can I do is smile. But when I sit down, my smile falls.

How long has that been going on? How long have they been looking into the TV's reflection to see Inoue's…Inoue's…

I see red for more than one reason. My jaw clenches as do as my fists, and I can feel my anger build up in my chest. I am starting to lose my senses. All I can think of is beating up all of those perverts until their eyes are swollen shut because that's the only thing I could do that will stop them from eye-fucking her! Because that's what they are doing! They are treating her like she's an object to be viewed and not like a human being! She should be treated better! She should be admired! Adored! She should be…

"Are you alright?" I snap out of my thoughts. Her worried expression causes my fury to drain from my body. I nod. "Are you sure?" She presses. "Your spiritual pressure spiked."

"I'm fine," I lie. By the crease between her eyebrows, she doesn't believe me. "Really," I state a bit more firmly.

"Okay." She's still worried. "Do you see anything that you would like?"

"W-what?" I stutter out. She points at the menu. "Oh! Uh…I can't decide." I haven't even looked at the stupid thing.

"Would you like for me to surprise you with something?" Her eyes sparkle.

"Sure."

"I'll be back with your order soon!" And then she returns to her duties.

Shit! For a second, a brief second, maybe even less than that, I thought she was referring to herself when she asked if I saw anything I liked. I thought that she caught me watching her, and she was repeating that cheesy line that you hear every so often.

What the hell? Why does my face feel like it's burning? She hadn't meant it in the way I misconstrued. She would never say something like that. And if she did, she would never direct it at me. That kind of line, that kind of connotation attached to it, it's meant for the man that she likes. The man that she talked about. The man who isn't me. Not me and never could be…

"Ichigo." My breath leaves my body as her voice invades my mind. I stare up at her in shock. Did she…? Did she call my name?

I'm speechless.

"Do you not like it?"

Not like it? What is she talking about? If it's about her calling me by my first name, I didn't not like it. It's surprising, but the way her voice wrapped around my name, the way her voice hit my ears, the thought that my name passed her lips, it feels…good. Right.

"No! It's just that—"

"Because I can take it back," she quietly offers. I shake my head, and with relief, she smiles. "I'm glad you like it. I made the design myself."

Design? And then I look down. There is a piece of chocolate cake, but what captures my attention is the cup of coffee that is in front of me. It's the design she is talking about. A strawberry. The froth's design is a strawberry.

I feel foolish.

"Since I knew your name, I've always wanted to do something like this," she admits as she looks away. Her cheeks are pink. "Well, I better get back to work! Wave me down if you need anything, Kurosaki-kun!" She doesn't wait for my response.

What's the matter with me? Why am I feeling disappointed that she really didn't say my name? That she is using my surname like usual? Why does that bother me? Why do Inoue and I use our last name when addressing each other? We are friends. More than that, really, so why do we not call each other by our first name? She is understandable. There are only a select number of people in which she called by first name, but I call everyone who is close to me by their first names. Ishida is an exception, but I know why I keep to his surname. Despite our familiarity and our unbreakable friendship, we had this unspoken rivalry and respect for each other that it seems like it would be disrespectful to call him something other than his family name.

But what about her? Why do I make the subconscious distinction to refer to her as Inoue? What made her different from everyone else? It's not like we aren't close. It's not like we are not friends. It's not like we wouldn't do anything for the other. So why? Why is she so different?

And like a flood, all of the unanswerable questions that have been piling up since earlier wash over me, making me feel like I'm downing.