A/N: Wooho! A longer chapter in a week! That must be a record, right?! Yay!

I forgot to mention that bleachfanficfanatic helped me last chapter. Sorry about that! I was just in a rush to get the chapter out that it slipped my mind.

So as you get to the end of the chapter, you are going to notice that I totally could have wrote more (I had planned to write more), but if you can tell, I like keeping my readers, my readers who I love and cherish, in forced suspense, so I ended it the way I did (insert evil laughter). But that means next chapter will be…will be worth the wait. Anyways, keep reading, enjoying, and reviewing.

P.S. I put in a reference to my all-time favorite anime. Can you guess it? (If not, it'll be on my tumblr as a gif).

"You okay? You look kind of ragged."

I ignore her remark as she walks past me to take a seat on the couch. I look outside, searching the streets, waiting for my eyes to soak up that smile which I need to see. That smile which can calm this festering pensive feeling in me.

I close the door and turn around. "Where's Inoue?"

Tatsuki smirks as she places an arm on the back of the couch. "It's sort of interesting that the first thing you ask about is Orihime, isn't it?"

I cross my arms and glare at her, trying to make her answer me. She clicks her tongue.

"She got called in to work today.

I'm not disappointed.

"But she said that she'll meet us there as soon as she gets out."

And I'm not relieved, either.

"They are working her too hard," I state, a bit disgruntled.

"Well, you know Orihime. She can't say no, and she likes to help. A deadly combo." I frown at her words, and she laughs to herself. "Anyways, she actually likes to work unlike you who has been skipping work all this week."

"Who are you? My boss?"

"If I were your boss, you would've already been fired."

"Tch. As if I'd work for someone like you in the first place…Wait. How'd you know that I haven't gone to work?"

"Orihime. She said that you've been ditching your job to watch over her in the bakery."

I walk over to a seat, keeping my head down to cover the blush in my cheeks.

"She's fine. You don't have to watch over her every second of the day."

"It's not every second," I defend. She laughs.

"It's not like I don't appreciate it. She gave me a hell-of-a-scare last week. If it weren't for her begging, I would've dropped out of college to stay here." She exhales heavily. "It's a huge relief to know that you'll be here protecting her." I nod in agreement. It is a relief that Inoue will stay so I can protect her.

"Hey. Can I ask you a question?"

It's weird of her to even ask. "If I told you no, would you listen?"

"Nope."

"Guess I have no choice." I lay my head back to stare at the ceiling. "Go ahead."

"Would you be willing to kill a guy?"

I lift my head to scowl at her. "No. Why?"

She shrugs her shoulders. "Just wondering."

"What a stupid question." I go back to staring at the ceiling.

"What if this guy hurt Orihime?"

I don't look at her this time. "There are exceptions to the rule, I suppose."

She laughs. "Good. Remember this conversation."

I close my eyes in annoyance. "Why?"

"Because she's going to ask someone out today."

My eyelids snap open. "She-she is?"

Her face is blank. "Yup."

I try to copy her expression. I try to be casual as I ask, "When?"

"Who knows? She could be doing it right now for all I know." I flinch at her casualness.

"Oh." I lay my head back onto the couch again. My eyes close. Not in annoyance this time. "Do you…do you think he'll say yes?"

It's hard to keep my voice steady. To keep myself completely detached when her next words have the potential to send me plummeting to a special kind of pain that's reserved for romance. It's very hard, indeed, to keep myself tightly wound so I can remain emotionally stable.

"I have no idea." I still hold my breath. "He's a tough cookie to read sometimes." Still holding. "But if he does, he better watch himself. And if he turns her down, he better get ready."

Despite how I feel, I let out a shaky chuckle. "So this guy is screwed either way, huh."

"You bet your ass he is."

"Poor sap." What's even poorer is that a part of me still wants, still hopes when I shouldn't, to be that poor sap.

"Don't feel too sorry for him," she remarks. "Do you know how many hearts she'll be breaking if he accepts her confession?"

"You mean when he accepts her confession," I correct. I fail at masking the bitterness because I'm almost positive that something in me will break, too.

"Like I said, I don't know what his response will be."

"He would have to be a first-class moron to turn someone like Inoue down."

"He would have to be, wouldn't he?" It sounds like she has laughter in her voice.

I breathe out harshly through my nose.

"Would you be mad if I bailed today?"

"Hell yeah. We only have so many days before high school is over." I squeeze my eyes shut even harder. "Plus, I promised Orihime that you'd be there, and you know how I hate to break promises to her."

"Fine. But don't expect me to be—"

"Ichigooooo! It's me! Open up!"

I groan. "Tatsuki, do you mind?"

She gets up to answer the door, letting in a blast of energy that I don't have the patience for, that I don't want to deal with, but I have to. Even if all I want to do is go back into my room and pretend today is yesterday, I have to tolerate today. Because Inoue asked for me to be at the festival, so I will be.

Toleration is all that I can muster, though. I rely on Mizuiro, Tatsuki, and Chad to keep Keigo's excitement contained. Ishida provides no help. Not like I expected him to, but he does keep his infuriating quips to himself.

As we walk around, I learn that it's not really just a musical festival. The music portion starts in the evening while food stands and games take up the morning and afternoon, so we spend the day eating various foods and watching Keigo lose his money while trying to impress some girls who run their booths.

Everything is barely bearable. And it's only when I sense her spiritual pressure nearing that the headache I have retreats. The ache in my chest is still there, but I don't expect it to leave. In fact, it grows as I turn around and see her waving at us, calling out a greeting with her carefree smile.

"It's about time you got here!" Tatsuki yells as she runs to us.

"Sorry! I had to stop by my apartment to change, but I come with gifts!" She reaches into her bag and pulls out small plastic cups, and she hands them out. She then pulls out a bottle.

"Wow! Is that alcohol?!"

"Huh?" She blushes. "Oh, no! It's just sparkling juice. Don't worry, Asano-kun, it's non-alcoholic."

She doesn't hear when Keigo says that he wouldn't worry if she tried to get him drunk, but I hear it. And I send him glare. He pales and looks down at his cup.

"I hope you all have been enjoying yourselves! It's a shame that I couldn't be here earlier." She pouts but then quickly smiles. "But I'm here now! And I'd like to make a toast!" She pours the juice into the cups, and she holds out hers. "It's been a month since we all had a group-hang, right?" She glances up at the sky, and she purses up her lips like she's thinking. "A month of news," she leans a bit on Tatsuki as she says this, "a month of laughter, a month of peacefulness," I frown at that, "a month of change." She smiles as she moves her eyes across our faces. "But no matter what change we have in stored for us, I hope our bonds will stay," she looks at Tatsuki, "Loyal," she looks at Chad, "Strong," then at Mizuiro, "Attentive," next at Keigo, "Goofy," and then at Ishida, "Resilient," and she finally looks at me, and she stares into my eyes. "And forever protected." She holds her cup higher. "Cheers to our last months of high school! Cheers to us!" We all meet our cups in the middle. Only her and Keigo shout Banzai. Chad quietly says it. The rest of us drink the juice silently; although I'm sure we are all saying it in our heads.

"Oh! I forgot!" She grins at me. "Cheers to Kurosaki-kun for getting his powers back!" She begins to pour more juice into our cups, frowning when she realizes she doesn't have enough. "I ran out."

"It's okay," Tatsuki pets her head. "Hey, let's go get you some food. You must be starving, right?"

Inoue brightens as she nods. Tatsuki leads her to a Yakitori stand, telling us that they'll meet up with us once Inoue is fed.

"That was a pretty speech. Almost as pretty as she is," Mizuiro compliments.

"Yeah…" Keigo gazes after them. "Inoue-san totally loves me!"

"How did you get that from what she said?" Ishida asks.

"She said, 'Goofy!'"

We all stare at him.

"Everyone knows that women fall for guys who can make them laugh! I'm in!"

I stuff my hands in my pockets. "You're an idiot."

He starts whining as I walk away, ignoring their questions about where I'm going.

I spot her having an animated conversation with a food vendor. She smiling, and the old man is laughing as he grills the Yakitori. I step closer to them.

"It's the same!" She insists.

"The name implies that it has to be grilled. If it's not grilled, it's not Yakitori!"

"It tastes the same."

He shakes his head. "Try this. You won't ever be able to say that again." He hands her a skewer. She takes it while reaching into her bag. "This one is on me. Just try it out."

"Thank you, Ojii-san!" She takes a bite, and she laughs. "You're right! Yours is more delicious!" The old man looks proud. "I guess it's not the same if you cook them on the stove."

"That's what I've been saying, Ojou-chan!" I blink at the enduring suffix.

"Have you two met before, Inoue?"

She turns toward me with wide eyes and a piece of chicken caught between her teeth.

The old man bellows out a hearty-laugh.

She swallows and licks her lips quickly. I blink.

"Kurosaki-kun! You surprised me!" She gives a smile to the man. "No, we just met. Why?"

"No reason." It's just like her to immediately get someone to like her. To make friends so quickly.

She finishes her food fast, and she pulls out some money. "I'll take six more, Ojii-san!"

He shakes his head. "You sure know how to eat."

"Of course!" She stands a bit taller. "Eating is one of my talents!"

I chuckle as I pull out my wallet. "Eating is not a talent," I direct to her. "This is for her food," I say to him while I hand him a couple of bills.

"What are you doing, Kurosaki-kun?"

"I did say I would treat you next time. It's next time."

She blushes. "You…you don't have to."

"I want to." She blushes even more.

"You must be going broke trying to feed her," he teases.

She puffs out her cheeks. "Ojii-san!" She's embarrassed.

He laughs as he hands her a plate with her food. There's an extra one. "It'll be the best way to go broke, though. Right?" He gives me a sly smile while I try to respond. "You kids enjoy! The music part is about to start."

She thanks him again, and we walk aimlessly as she eats. She offers me one, but I turn it down. I'm not in the mood for food. Especially not when my stomach is in knots.

"Where's Tatsuki?"

"She met some students from her dojo, and she's treating them to shaved ice. She says she'll be back soon."

"She left you alone?"

"I'm capable of taking care of myself, Kurosaki-kun."

I glare at all the males who are casting her appreciate glances. Yes, she's pretty with her long-sleeved sweater and short skirt, shorter than I'm comfortable looking at, but they don't have to stare so much.

"I know you are. It's just...I heard that there has been an increase in stalkers."

She snorts. "Don't you know, Kurosaki-kun? Everyone is a stalker in search of love." She laughs. "I heard that from this funny anime! You should watch it!"

I nod even though I'm a bit disturbed by her comment about stalkers. It's stuff like that that make me worried about her. It's her trusting nature that's making me hypervigilant and protective. It's her innocence. Not jealousy.

"You've been having fun?"

I shrug my shoulders. "You could say that." She gives me a confused look. "How was your day?"

She pauses. "It was fine."

What does that mean? I try to subtly inspect her expression, and I can't understand it. I can't tell if she confessed already, and if she did, did he say yes? What does fine mean? Fine is not the same as happy. Chad told me that, so does this mean that the guy turned her down?

"So nothing exciting happened?"

She thinks for a second. She grins. "I did make a cake from scratch. I even decorated it with frosting I made!"

Again, her words and her expression reveal nothing to me. I know nothing, but those knots in my stomach become more taunt. And I am wound tighter and tighter.

I see a dango stand.

"Do you want something sweet?" I point at the yatai.

She shakes her head. "I think…well, I have something sweet at home."

Something? Or someone?

I pull at my hair at the stupid thought. At the ridiculous, out-of-line, paranoid, and yes, jealous filled thought.

And tighter and tighter I'm wound.

"Oh! It's starting! Come on!"

Her fingers grab at the sleeve of my hoodie, and she pulls me with her.

When we find the others, she lets me go. She tries to run into the crowd, I think to get closer to the stage, but Ishida holds her back from the shoulders.

Wound tighter and tighter.

With Tatsuki by her side, she slowly maneuvers her way into the crowd while everyone else follows. Chad stays behind, and I walk until I'm next to him.

"How long?"

My question goes unanswered, and maybe it's because he can't hear me over the pop-rock music playing.

"How long have I liked her?"

My voice is strained and loud. Loud but not loud enough to cover the thunderous sound of my heartbeats.

He looks at me from the corner of his eyes.

"Years."

Tighter and tighter.

I don't say anything anymore. I just watch the band play with unseeing eyes. I hear with closed ears.

And I think. I just stand and think. Think of fleeting things, fleeting emotions. Think in a nonsensical stream of consciousness. Think until she pops out from the crowd, a crowd that seems to part for her, for her and only her. Think as we start to leave. And I think she asks me to walk her home, and I think I agree. And I think she's nervous because she's rambling in the same way I'm thinking. And I think this is it. I think this is the end. I think she's going to tell me. I think Chad's right.

I think I can't be wound more than this.

As soon as we reach her apartment complex, I try to leave. I give her some excuse that it's late and we have school tomorrow, but she asks if I could just hold on while she gets something from her apartment. And because she asks, I stay even though I want to run. Because it's her that asks, I fight my instinct to flight even though pain is the only thing that's waiting for me now.

She runs down the stairs, holding a box in her hands. And she is blushing. She's blushing so much that it's not an exaggeration when I think I can feel the heat radiating off her cheeks.

"You…well…Kurosaki-kun…hehehe," she takes a deep breath. "This is for you."

She bows slightly as she hands me the box, and her hair covers her face.

"What's this for?"

She doesn't straighten up. I can't see her face, but I can see her wringing her hands.

"It's-it's…" She tries to stutter out an explanation, but she can't get out an understandable sentence.

"Inoue, are you okay?"

She nods, but she doesn't look at me as she asks me to open the box, and because it's her that asks, I do.

And time stands still.