Chapter 12: The Way Forward

"Have you been waiting long, Kurosaki-kun?"

"Not at all. Sorry, I didn't mean to make you rush."

"Oh, no, I'm alright. So what movie are we going to see?"

"I thought you could pick since I picked the last one."

—

"Oh, you're early, Inoue."

"I beat you to it, Kurosaki-kun! Blehehehe!"

"You beat me, you beat me. Now what say we duke it out for real, over some bowling?"

"You're on!"

—

"Hi, Kurosaki-kun!"

"Sorry. Traffic was really bad around the university. Thanks for waiting for me."

"No worries, Kurosaki-kun. Are you ready to try out that new pizza place?"

"Definitely, I'm starving!"

—

"Thanks for walking me home, Kurosaki-kun."

"It's nothing, Inoue. Don't stay up too late watching your comedy shows!"

"I won't!"

—

"Thank you, Kurosaki-kun. I'm in your debt."

"Not at all, Inoue. I'll text you when I get home."

"Okay!"

When Orihime gets into her home, she waves goodbye at Ichigo, and slowly, wobbling, she slumps into bed, somewhat exasperated.

Meanwhile, Ichigo, who is heading home, looks back toward Orihime's place for a brief moment, and then focuses forward.

—

At ABCookies, Orihime is up front at the till when another worker tells her to take her break. Orihime decides to sit at a free table while eating a pink-glazed donut.

She checks her messages and sees one from Ichigo:

"Professor brought their cat to class," and she sees a picture of Ichigo holding a spotted kitten with other classmates. Orihime sends a cat sticker with a lot of hearts. She stares at her message for a moment, her fingers hovering over the floating animated hearts.

Oh, Kurosaki-kun… she thinks, still looking at the photo of him.

Orihime squeals to herself but then quickly finds decorum. She looks at the picture of Ichigo again, and upon zooming into his face, she notices something different from before.

—

"Thanks for waiting, Inoue," says Ichigo as he meets with Orihime at the bus station.

"Not at all," she says, shaking her head.

"Well, should we head to that movie?" As Ichigo is about to lunge forward, Orihime takes hold of his shirt with the number 15 in bold on his back.

"Hm?"

"Kurosaki-kun, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"And please be honest with me."

As they are amidst pedestrians, Ichigo gives a listening look to the girl.

"You're not pushing yourself too much to see me, are you?" she asks, letting go of his shirt. "I've noticed the bags under your eyes. I know college and working can be mentally draining. I mean, even for me, between work and seeing you, it's been a lot for me, too."

"... I'm not gonna lie, I have gone through a few all-nighters these last few weeks," he says, but he smiles. "But it's nothing I can't handle."

"... That won't do, Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime then grabs his hand and they walk in the direction opposite the movie theatre.

"W-Wait! Inoue?" Though Ichigo could take Orihime in strength, he did decide to let her take the lead.

—

At Orihime's house, she has set up her bed for Ichigo to sleep in.

Ichigo looks quite grim.

"I refuse."

"Why?" Orihime asks rather thoughtfully.

"There are just too many reasons why I shouldn't be sleeping in my girlfriend's bed!"

By now, Ichigo has his arms in the shape of an X. Orihime pouts and brings him to the living room area.

"There."

Before he can understand what had happened, Orihime seems to have seated the two of them, but then she tipped Ichigo to the side until his head reached her thighs in a lap pillow.

"I-Inoue!" Ichigo turns red. "This is much worse!"

"I don't wanna hear it!" Orihime says, pressing his head on her thighs, flustering him more. "I already hate the idea that you're spreading yourself thin because of me!

"We're supposed to support one another, aren't we? So why does it have to be this way…?" she asks, sounding a bit teary now.

"Inoue…" Ichigo sits up to face her properly. "Of course we're supporting each other. I just…

"... I didn't want to neglect you."

Orihime wipes the corner of one of her eyes. "Neglect me?"

"That's right. I just didn't know how else to show that you're important to me."

Ichigo grips his hands into fists.

Am I doing this wrong? he wonders.

Now that he is staring directly at her, Ichigo suddenly realizes something.

"... Close your eyes, Inoue."