Hello, everyone! Thank you for your encouraging reviews, and for your kind words. I'm sorry for the long delay, I just haven't had time to finish writing part 3 yet, but that one I promise will be posted the moment I finish and edit it. Also, I would like to apologize in advance if it sucks, because I really haven't written in a LONG time, so it's possible I've lost my touch, lol. But really, I kind of love and hate this chapter, and it's really big, so much happens so it might feel rushed, but I had to break it down into 3 parts only, so a lot had to be squeezed in this chapter.

If any of you have any doubts, please let me know in your review and I'll try answering it through PM or when I post the next chapter. Also, I tried my best to keep this in character and the relationships faithful to how they were in the novel WDKAL, and if IchiHime seem to be a bit too comfortable with one another it's because I view them being more open to each other now that they're adults, and hey, she was sitting on his bed during the last arc, so I'm sure some touching and hugging isn't that much of a big deal anymore. But most of all, sorry for any grammar mistakes or if any of the sentences sound weird, English isn't my mother language, so if I mess up it's bc of that.

Now, onto the chapter!

PS: there are a few moments there, which mention certain events that happened during the timeskip, and I hint at those particular moments through thoughts and lines of the characters, so if there's anything you would like for me to expand in a different chapter, please let me know.

-x-

Act II: the happening

"How did you find my house?" Ichigo asked, not even attempting to hide just how freaked out he was. "As a matter of fact, how did you even know who I was?! I don't remember telling you my name!"

"I only heard your last name, so I asked around. Heard about the Kurosaki Clinic," She explained herself. "It's kinda cold out here. Do you mind if I come in?"

Instead of responding to her, Ichigo walked towards her, and closed the door behind him.

"Guess that's a no then," Erina said, bitterly.

"I don't know you, so I have no reason to let you in my house," he talked back. "And I don't have any reason to be nice to someone Inoue doesn't see as trustworthy."

"Fair point," she shrugged. "Even so, I would… like to ask you for your help."

"My help?!"

"Yes. You're Orihime's boyfriend, right?"

Ichigo turned into very different shades of red, in a matter of seconds.

"I-ah-I… you… No!" He yelled, looking at the sides to see if anyone had heard. Meanwhile, a drop of sweat formed in the older woman's head. "Inoue is my friend! Friends! We're just friends!"

Although, I guess I am kinda trying to shift into something more than friends…

"Oh. My mistake, then. Regardless, you two seem close." Ichigo gulped, wishing he could stop blushing so much. "So maybe you can still help me out,"

"And why would I do that?" Who did this woman think she was?

"I already told you. Because of Orihime!"

"From what I know, Inoue wants to keep her distance from you!" he exclaimed. "You can't blame her for that! Her brother literally ran away with her because of how abusive you and your husband were!"

Erina's face fell into a frown, and she looked down.

"It's… it's true. Warren and I were terrible parents. We put ourselves before our children. I don't blame Sora for running away from us," she looked up at him, determination in her eyes. "But that was almost two decades ago! Things have changed! Warren passed away three years ago, and I was finally free from his abusive hands and mind. I was able to think clearly and realize just how many mistakes I've made! Don't I have the right to try and fix my wrongs?!"

Ichigo stayed silent to that. He let her continue.

"So I called my sister Meiko. I knew that if anyone knew were my children were, it was her. And she…" her green eyes filled with tears. "She told me about Sora. He got into an accident many years ago. I felt like my world shattered beneath my feet. Then all I could think about was Orihime. Was she alone in the world? Is she safe? Is she happy? And Meiko told me where she was." She stopped, to see if the boy had anything to say, but he simply stared at her. So she continued. "I'm… I'm really trying to change, to be a better person. I just want… I want the chance to get to know my daughter, be good enough for her…"

Ichigo snorted, much to her shock.

"Be good enough for her? Please! Inoue is literally the best person I know. She's everything that's good in this miserable, stinking world. There's no such thing as being good enough for her," I would know. He leaned against the door. "You're right. You have the right to change and to become a better person. You have the right to want to get to know your daughter, but how you'll get there is up to you. If Inoue doesn't want you around, that's her right too."

"But she's confused right now! The only thing she knows about me is the things Sora said to her!" Erina argued back. "Maybe if you could talk to her, ask her to give me just one chance to prove myself…"

"Sorry, but you'll have to get there with your own efforts. Inoue is a precious friend to me. I won't betray her trust," Ichigo turned his back on the woman, and took a hold of the door's handle. "Have a good evening. Or don't. I don't really care."

"Do you have a mother?"

Once again, he stopped in his tracks.

"What did you say?" He asked, between gritted teeth.

"I asked if you have a mother," She didn't back down, despite noticing how his demeanor changed. "If you do, you must understand how important it is to have one. If you don't…"

"Don't you dare compare yourself to my mother!" He yelled, letting his anger speak for him. "My mother was good and gentle! She would never hurt her children the way you did!"

Was.

The woman ahead of him simply bowed her head, nodding.

"Then you know how painful it is to not have one,"

Ichigo's hands closed into fists, and his nails dug onto his skin.

"Don't presume to understand how I feel. The only reason my mother isn't with me is because she can't. You chose to be a shitty mother," he turned his back on her again. "If you want to be in Inoue's life, you gotta work for it. Don't burden other people to fix the mess you've made,"

The woman behind him sighed.

"I should've known this wasn't going to work." She said, more to herself than to him. "But I really want to get close to my daughter. I'm not going to give up. I think you really care about her, and you seem to be a good person. That hair is kinda weird though," Ichigo scowled. "But I'm sure you'll do the right thing. I have to believe that. If you need to find me or contact me, I'm staying at the hotel 'Piece of Paradise'."

He didn't turn to look at her, but he could tell she was leaving.

"She's not."

"What?" The woman asked, confused.

"You asked if she was alone. She's not. She might've lost her family, but she was never alone. And she never will be. I'll make sure of that,"

Before leaving, Erina allowed herself to smile.

"I'm glad," was all she said.

-x-

Monday, 12:30 PM.

"… so I agreed to meet with her this afternoon so we could figure out better how to perform together."

"Hm,"

"As expected of Ishida-kun! It appears that you and Kido-san are getting along very well! When can we meet her?!"

Uryuu choked on his drink.

Did things always escalate so quickly in Orihime's mind? Yuzuriha Kido was a fellow classmate from college, and they'd been grouped together for a project. They had asked him about his day, so he'd just been merely explaining how he would be working with her this afternoon.

"W-why should you meet her? It's just a project," Uryuu argued.

"So? I love meeting new people! She must be really cool if she's captured Ishida-kun's attention," was it just him, or Orihime's voice sounded teasing?

Regardless, he blushed.

"She didn't capture my anything! We're not even friends, we're just classmates!"

"Your voice softened while you were talking about her," Great, now Chad was teasing too.

Now all he could wait was for Ichigo to enter this pointless debate.

He waited.

Waited.

Then blinked.

Ichigo was surprisingly quiet, simply staring at them, or mostly just staring at Orihime, with a very worried look in his eyes. Uryuu didn't understand. Did this have something to do with Orihime's mother being in town? Could it be that maybe the woman had disapproved of him? He already knew Orihime's aunt, Meiko, wasn't very fond of Ichigo from the short time she'd spent at Orihime's place during their last year of school. Maybe he was upset another member of her family disliked him? Though it's not like it counted.

The one person that mattered did love him. And Ichigo was just too stupid to notice.

Could it be because he hadn't confessed his feelings yet?

This was all very confusing for Uryuu. He could never read Ichigo, could only know for sure that he would act like a fool.

"Idiot," he muttered, without even noticing.

"Sorry, I guess we've gone a little too far," Orihime apologized, blushing.

"N-no, Inoue-san," He clarified. "I wasn't talking about you or Sado-kun. I was just…" He eyed Ichigo quickly. "Just talking to myself,"

"It's okay. I do that a lot too!" Orihime cheerfully added.

"She does," was all Sado had to say.

Uryuu allowed himself to smile. His friends…

Orihime opened her mouth to speak again, but her phone suddenly beeped. All of her three companions looked up to her, surprised, Ichigo included.

She checked the phone and then gasped in surprise.

"Oh, no!" she exclaimed, grabbing her purse. "I'm so sorry, guys. Aria-chan has to leave earlier because of personal reasons, so I need to go over there and help Boss-san!"

"You're…" Ichigo finally spoke. "You're leaving now? Already?"

"Yes, I'm so sorry. I wanted to spend more time with you guys, but… it's only me and Natsu-kun this afternoon," at the mention of her co-worker, Uryuu noted something flashing in Ichigo's eyes. Jealousy, no doubt.

Although it wasn't as bad as it had been last year, when Orihime did introduce said Natsu to them, and their friends such as Tatsuki and Rukia had teased Ichigo mercilessly over the fact that Orihime referred to the boy with his given name, instead of his surname. It was only after Orihime had slipped to them that Natsu had a girlfriend that Ichigo's broody demeanor begun to melt. This boy, Uryuu laughed internally, thought he was so good at hiding how he felt. Although, he was certain that despite his feelings, if there had been something going on between Orihime and her co-worker, Ichigo would never get mad at her or try to impose his feelings on her. He was the kind of man who would respect her decision to be with someone and just keep himself out of the way. Uryuu hated to admit it, but he did respect Ichigo for this.

"I'll make it up to you guys another day," she kept apologizing, waking Uryuu from his thoughts.

"It's okay, Inoue-san. We understand," Uryuu smiled, filling his cup with more juice and drinking it. "The rest of us has to get going soon, too."

"I'll walk you there," Ichigo said suddenly, getting up. Uryuu and Chad looked at him, surprised. Orihime did, too. "It's a different path from my college, but I know a detour that'll help me get back there fast,"

"I couldn't ask you to do that!" Orihime interjected, blushing, waving her hands. "Your lunch break doesn't end for another half hour, so there's no way I…"

"Exactly. My lunch break. I choose how I spend it," Ichigo grabbed his bag and threw it over his shoulder. "Let's get going,"

"But…"

"I'll see you two later. Chad. Ishida."

"Hm,"

"As if I'd have any reason to see you later, Kurosaki," Uryuu simply turned away from Ichigo, focusing on finishing his lunch, and missing the sassy smirk Ichigo had thrown at him.

"That's right, you'll be too busy meeting with your sweetheart, Kido-san,"

For the second time that day, Uryuu choked on his food, Chad opened a smile and Orihime giggled behind her hand.

"Why you…"

"Let's go, Inoue," Ichigo said, ignoring the Quincy, and gently pushing the girl towards the exit.

Uryuu angrily slammed his hand on the table, a dark blush covering his cheeks.

The never of that little smug punk!

-x-

Despite hearing him talk to her, Orihime knew something else was going on with Ichigo. He seemed desperate to tell her something, but every time he would open his mouth, his eyes would give up and he'd talk about something else. She let him, though.

Besides, it's not like she herself hadn't been avoiding the topic of something unpleasant.

"I'm your mother,"

Orihime shook her head.

A true mother wouldn't harm her children, right? All the mothers Orihime knew or heard about would do anything for their child. Masaki Kurosaki had died protecting her son; Katagiri Ishida had been a good mother to her son, until a sickness took her away; Tatsuki's mother had her daughter's feisty spirit, but was a great woman regardless. She'd been motherly even to those who hadn't been her blood, such as Orihime herself.

It's better off this way, Orihime thought. She'd survived all those years without this woman. I'm better of this way.

Wasn't that right?

"Inoue?"

"Yes, Kurosaki-kun?" She turned to him as they walked. She hoped he could finally say what was bothering him.

He stopped walking, and took a deep breath. Orihime stopped a few steps ahead of him, and then turned to his direction, so they were face to face. The sounds of the cars around in the street were loud, as no words were uttered between them.

"What is it?" She asked. "Y-you… You can tell me,"

Ichigo sighed.

"It's about your mother,"

Orihime's eyes widened.

"What?!" without even realizing it, her right hand gripped her own left arm. Why? Why every time she was mentioned, Orihime felt as though she was stuck in a never-ending fight? "What about that woman?"

Despite knowing how she felt about her mother, Ichigo still looked surprised whenever she spoke coldly of the older woman. She didn't blame him.

It surprised her too, sometimes.

"That night, the day she came to see you, she showed up at my place," he explained. "She… wanted to talk to me,"

Orihime squeezed her own arm so much, it began to hurt.

"What about?"

"You,"

"Me?"

"Yes," Ichigo cleaned his throat. "She… wanted to convince me… to convince you to… get to know her."

Orihime's eyebrows narrowed, and she hesitantly took a step back.

"That's… not what you're trying to do… is it, Kurosaki-kun?"

It was Ichigo's time to widen his eyes.

"No! Not at all! I respect your decision! I just…" he did that thing when he was nervous, and ran his hand through his orange locks. "I just wanted y-you to know… I didn't think it was right to hide this from you,"

"Oh," Orihime slowly let go of her arm, as her heart filled with guilt. What was wrong with her, suspecting him like this? Was her problem with her mother so impacting that had her doubting Ichigo? Of course he would never do something like that! He'd always been the one who respected her the most, out of all her friends. "I'm… I'm sorry,"

"Aaah," Ichigo shook his head, negatively. "Stop apologizing to me, Inoue."

"But I… I should've known you would never… I don't know why…"

He flicked her forehead, causing her to wince slightly.

And his fingers to hurt.

Kami, what was her head made of?

"Listen, I know you're used to being kind to everyone, but even you are bound to lash out sometimes," Ichigo said, walking again. She immediately followed him, rubbing her forehead. "Plus, you tend to get all sassy with me whenever I talk about that discarded bread you bring to us once in a while, so you being upset with me is nothing new, right?"

Orihime narrowed her eyes.

"They aren't discarded. They just weren't sold,"

"That's another way to say discarded,"

"The feeling is different!" she argued.

"See? Look at you getting all worked up over bread," Ichigo teased.

Despite the fact that he'd always eat the bread she'd bring to him, and knowing the bread was actually good, he loved messing with her like this. It was something neither Chad or Uryuu did, so it was just between the two of them.

Orihime pouted, and looked at the other way, crossing her arms.

"Well then, if any there's any bread left again, I'm not giving Kurosaki-kun any,"

"Relax, I'm just kidding,"

They walked some more in silence, both with their minds still full, but more at ease now that they'd talked.

"What did she say to you?" She asked, after a while. "Onii-chan told me she was a very… a woman very hard to re-refuse." She couldn't help the blush that covered her cheeks. "She… huh… s-she didn't try to do anything weird to you, did she, Kurosaki-kun?"

"Eh?!" Ichigo felt his face burn. "Of course not, why would she?! She's old enough to be my mother!"

Orihime laughed, in an attempt to end the awkward tension between them.

"I know! I know! I was just asking…"

"I'm not interested in women older than me! Geez!" Ichigo said, looking away from her, his cheeks still red.

Orihime couldn't help but be warmed at the sight. It wasn't always that she saw Ichigo blushing. Although… he did seem to be doing a lot of that around her, since Rukia's wedding day.

"Whatever she'd try to throw at me wouldn't have worked. The power of decision here lies entirely with you," Ichigo said, shrugging. "And you've made your decision,"

Silence took over again.

Orihime lowered her gaze to the ground, feeling a weight on her shoulders that she couldn't shrug off. Yes, she had made her decision. She had lived on her own, without any of her parents, for pretty much her entire life. Her brother had been the parent she had needed for 12 years. Ever since she'd lost him, she'd cooked her own food, brushed her own hair, picked her own clothes and took care of her own things.

She didn't need a mother.

She hadn't needed one before, and she didn't need one now.

So why?

Why was her heart clenching with such uncertainty?

I don't owe her anything. So why do I feel like this? It doesn't make any sense…

"What would you have done?" She asked, not being able to hold back.

"Huh?" Ichigo was confused for a second, but with the way his face fell into a worried frown, he seemed to understand what she meant. "I don't think it's my place to answer this, Inoue,"

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I shouldn't have asked about Kurosaki-san…"

"It's not that! It's just… you and I… it was different… for both of us," Ichigo tried to explain. "My mom, she…" He clenched his fist. He'd gotten better at talking about this; after the war, he'd sat down with all his friends, Rukia, Orihime, Chad, Uryuu and Renji and told them all about his mother. What had happened and how he'd lost her. Even so, there was still a tug at his heart whenever he talked about the woman he had loved so much. The woman he had wanted to protect so badly… and failed. "She was always kind to me and my sisters. Never treated us with indifference and never let anyone hurt us."

"I know," Orihime said, a bittersweet smile gracing her pink lips. "I'm not trying to compare our situations. I just…"

I need to know I made the right decision.

"I would do anything to have the chance to have one more minute with my mother," Ichigo said, softly and honestly. Orihime's eyes rose to meet his. "If I had the chance, I would take it without a thought. For me, for my sisters, and for my father too."

But he'd never have a chance like this.

And you do, the evil annoying voice in her head reminded her.

"I'm trying to change! I'm trying to be better! Please, give me the chance to show you!"

This wasn't fair.

None about this was fair.

"But my mother isn't your mother. They're different. With everything your mother has done to you and your brother…"

"That's who I was before! I know I was a bad person; I made all the wrong choices, and because of those choices I lost you and Sora! But I'm willing to stick around now. If you… if you'll have me… if you just give me one chance, Orihime…"

"… it's okay for you to not want her in your life,"

It's okay.

It's okay, was what everyone had told her.

It's the right decision, was what none of them had told her.

Kurosaki-kun would give anything to have his mother back… so would Ishida-kun… Sado-kun too… and here I am, with mine back and I'm pushing her away…

Selfish girl, the mean voice said. That's what you are.

"Thank you, Kurosaki-kun," she said, eyes not meeting his.

"What for?" He asked.

"Just because," She turned to him, and gently brushed his arm with her hand, squeezing it in a form of thanking him. "Kurosaki-kun always helps me, even when he doesn't have to…"

"Silly," he said, but didn't pull away from her. "I'm going to be here whenever you need me, so you might as well just get used to it. You don't have to thank me. That's what friends are for."

"Yup," she opened as smile. "We're friends,"

"Y-yeah," his voice faltered for a second, but he smiled back at her. "F-friends,"

Both looked down at the ground, their smiles disappearing.

"We're here!" She exclaimed, suddenly, pointing at the place she worked at. "I better get going. Can't leave all the work on Natsu-kun's hands."

"Sure," Ichigo felt disappointment as her hand let go of his arm. "You, huh… if you need anything, call me, okay?"

"Will do," she waved goodbye as she moved away from him, keeping her head low so he wouldn't see the amount of doubts that were eating up her brain.

She reached for the door of the building, hoping that maybe cooking and working would ease her mind a little more. She needed to find a way to relax. She couldn't be like this for the rest of the day.

"Minna-san, I've arrived!" she put on a cheery voice and called out as soon as she entered the place.

"Orihime-chan, I'm glad you're finally here," her boss had said, though his voice seemed strained.

"Where is Aria-chan? Has she already left?" She asked, entering the kitchen.

"Yes, she… she did."

"Oh, that's too bad. I wish I could've said goodbye to her," Orihime was actually at fault for this. She'd gotten so caught up talking to Ichigo that she forgot all about how the girl had to leave.

Closing the kitchen door behind her, she turned to her work place, landing there her purse, and grabbing her apron. A familiar face approached her, waving.

"Natsu-kun!" she exclaimed, happily.

"Hey there, Orihime-chan," he said, returning her smile, though he didn't seem like his happy self that day. "You heard about Aria-chan?"

"Boss-san told me she had to leave for personal reasons. That's all I know. Why? Did something happen?" Orihime liked all of her co-workers, and she had a very good relationship with Aria Komuro. She hoped nothing bad had happened to the girl. "She's okay, right?"

Natsu sighed.

"Physically, I'd say so. Nothing happened to her," he said, continuing his work at washing the dishes. "It's about her mother,"

Orihime froze.

"W-what?"

"Yeah. It's pretty sad, actually. She passed away this morning. Aria was devastated when her father called, to let her know. Apparently, Komuro-san had been sick for a while now, but she'd been fighting against that. After some time, she seemed okay, so they thought she was getting better. Must've been a big loss," Natsu sighed, sadly. "She always seemed like a kind soul, those times Aria brought her here. I was thinking maybe we could go over to her house when we're done working, to give her some support. She— Orihime-chan?! Are you okay?!"

Orihime wiped her teary eyes, waving with her hand when Natsu tried to approach her.

"Don't worry. I'm fine, I just…"

Her hand closed into a fist, and her nails dug so hard into her skin, she could feel it bruising, could feel the wetness of blood trying to spill out.

"I'm just sad for Aria-chan,"

"I would do anything to have the chance to have one more minute with my mother".

-x-

Still Monday, 8:02 PM.

Ichigo felt his phone beeping in his pocket.

Closing his book (he might as well just give up, because he was never going to finish that thing), with a grunt, he reached for said pocket and pulled out his phone.

Tatsuki calling.

Now that was odd.

Arching his eyebrows, Ichigo clicked on the green button and answered her phone call, putting the phone on his ear.

"What?"

"What? Seriously, punk? Is that way to answer to your oldest friend in the world?"

"What do you want, Tatsuki? This better be quick! I'm supposed to be studying!" Ichigo groaned.

"I just wanted to know if you've heard from Orihime. She didn't talk to me at all today,"

"Oh," Ichigo felt worry building up in his chest. "Is that so?"

"Yeah. She always calls me when she gets back from work, even when Natsu-san drops her off at home…" Ichigo scowled at this. He knew this Natsu guy was actually a good person, but it bothered him a little bit how close he seemed to his healer friend. "… but I have yet to hear from her. Despite being a city away, I can definitely sense her spiritual pressure in Karakura, but I can't tell where she is. I'm not very good with this detecting thing,"

"I'll look for her," Ichigo offered. "It's patrolling night, anyway,"

"Fine, fine. I'm trusting you with her safety. At least that you can do well,"

"Fuck you,"

"Cute. Anyways, call me if you find her!"

Ichigo didn't even say goodbye, simply grunted in a way to say 'yes', and closed the phone. He closed his eyes, and searched for Orihime's presence. It didn't take him too long to find it – out of all his friends, her spiritual pressure always stood out the most to him. The minute he found it, his eyebrows arched and he opened his eyes.

What was she doing there, at this time of the night?

-x-

INOUE SORA

LOVING BROTHER AND FRIEND

XXXX – XXXX

Orihime sighed loudly while staring at her brother's grave. She lifted her hand and caressed the stone with his name engraved and lowered her finger, softly. She lowered her eyes to the wet sand around the grave, as she laid a simple white flower.

She hadn't come over to visit his grave since the day of his burial, to which only she and her aunt, and some of Sora's work friends had showed up to. Every time she talked to and prayed for him, she did it at her place, with the only picture she had of him.

This was the first time, in a very long time, she'd come over to see the place where they'd buried his body.

"Hey, Onii-chan," She said, getting on her knees. "Is there any way a cosmic loophole could allow you to talk to me? I really need some adult guidance right now, and I don't think Urahara-san or Yoruichi-san would be comfortable talking about this with me," She closed her eyes. "And despite the last time we saw each other, you tried to kill me and my friends, I like to believe we got past that,"

She interlaced her own fingers, as her lips trembled. However, she refused to cry. She was tired of doing that. There had been enough subtle, silent tears when she and Natsu had gone over to Aria's place, to give her condolences and show some support. She, once again, sighed loudly.

"To be honest, Onii-chan, I haven't been doing very well lately," She looked at the sides, watching as the flowers moved along with the wind. What an interesting view. "I'm trying to stay strong because I don't want to worry my friends. But that's getting harder and harder. Mother came to see me, I've already told you. I thought I was doing the right thing, for both you and me, by telling her I didn't want her to be in my life. But the more I think about it, the more I think I'm just scared," she lowered her eyes. "I hate feeling like this. That's it, hate. I should hate her! That's what I always thought. But when I looked at her, I didn't… I didn't feel that. I tried to, I… I knew what my decision would be the moment she told me who she was. But… even for just a moment, I guess I… I wanted to take that chance!" She hid her face between her hands. "I don't need a mother, I know that I don't, but for that one moment, I wanted one! And I yelled at myself for it! But now I've stopped to think and I realized how everyone else would give anything to have a second chance with their mothers!"

She embraced herself. It was so cold in there, especially being alone.

"What do you think, Onii-chan? If I give her a chance, am I selfish for ignoring your wish to protect me from her? Or am I selfish for not giving her a chance, when any one of my friends would wish for one?" She touched the graveyard once more. "What am I supposed to do now?"

Obviously, Sora wouldn't answer. She knew that. That's why she laughed silently at herself for being so stupid as to ask a question knowing she'd receive no answer.

It was with surprise then that she watched as a wave of wind passed by, and a petal of the white flower flew along, and landed on the hard face of her long-time friend, and also love, Ichigo Kurosaki.

Orihime blinked, in surprise.

"Kurosaki-kun," she said, still not believing her eyes.

The orange-haired boy smiled softly at her.

He approached her, and she took her time to observe him. He was obviously in his spiritual form, seen as he wore his shinigami kimono and she could see his sword thrown at his back. As he got to where she was, he extended a hand, which she shyly took (the recent increase in their physical touching was something she was still getting used to) and got up, face to face with him.

"Didn't I tell you before? Your brother would've wanted you to choose what was right for you. Stop being so damn selfless and thinking about others. Think about what you want for once," He said, trying his best to sound reprimanding, but he couldn't do that when she was looking right into his eyes. "It's your life. Take a stand. You deserve it."

"Won't that make me awful?" She asked, almost in a whisper.

"Tch. Awful. As if you could be awful." He mocked.

"This is serious!" She pouted.

"So am I! I came here to support you in whatever decision you want to make. Weren't you the one who said to me, when I was doubting myself about going to Soul Society to save Rukia, that as long as you're alive, you can always meet your family?" She didn't know what to say. She'd forgotten about that. "That choice was relevant for her, and it's relevant for you too. She and Byakuya had a shitty relationship, until it changed; you have the chance to change your relationship with your mother too. If that's what you want, I'll stand by you. And if it's not, I'll still stand by you. No matter what you decide, you are not alone. I promise you,"

This time, Orihime couldn't help the tears.

Before she could stop herself, she threw herself at Ichigo, burying her face into his chest and crying out all she'd tried to hold in all day. It took him a while to respond, because he was still surprised at her sudden gesture, but he moved both his arms, resting them on her back, squeezing her gently and bringing her closer to him. One of his hands moved and went to her head, caressing her hair.

They stayed like that for a while, with her crying softening by the minute, until she was simply breathing in his scent, wondering if she could possibly fall in love with him more. He smelt like home, and felt like the comfort she'd been needing all day. Actually, maybe for longer than just this day.

Meanwhile, Ichigo, too, was savoring the moment for as long as he could. For how long had he wanted to hold her like this? He'd gotten a quick tease of what her hug felt like when she'd grabbed him out of the way so he wouldn't follow Uryuu, when they found out he was "betraying" them; another when he'd pulled her out of the way so those weird Quincy statues wouldn't hurt her, and he'd held her close to his chest, resting his hand into her soft hair. But this, what they were doing right now, was so much better.

She fit so well in his arms, as though as she'd been made to stay there.

"Thank you," she whispered against his chest, and he felt a shiver run down his spine.

He opened his mouth to say that's what friends were for, but couldn't bring himself to do so. Not when he was this intoxicated in her flowery scent, and holding her so close; friendship was the last thing on his mind at the moment.

"Always," was what he ended up responding to her 'thank you'.

After a while, they slowly parted, both blushing immediately at how close they'd just been and for how long they had been like that. But despite that, Orihime opened up a confident smile, and lifted up her arms with determination.

"I've made my decision,"

-x-

Erina was almost done reading her novel, when she heard the phone ringing on the wall. She closed the book and walked to the place near her bed, picking it up and pressing it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Ms. Erina Inoue, we have a phone call for you,"

She blinked and waited. Her heart started to fill with hope, knowing there was only one person who could possibly know this number. Her toes began to fidget, and her throat was suddenly dry.

"Yo,"

What?

A male voice?

"Who is this?" It couldn't have been one of her old clients, right? He sounded too young and, even so, she'd left that life behind for years now.

"It's Ichigo Kurosaki," the voice said, annoyed.

"Whaaat?" She asked, genuinely surprised, but feeling relieved she had been wrong. "How did you get this number, boy?"

"I asked around," he asked, his voice dripping with mockery. She rolled her eyes when she remembered their last talk. "Inoue has made her choice,"

She gulped.

"I-I thought so…" She looked at the wall, silently praying in her head. Something she hadn't done for so long, it almost felt weird now. "And what was that?"

There was a brief silence on the other line, and she could almost hear the boy pondering over what he'd say.

"She decided to give you a chance,"

The hope that had been growing like a flower inside her heart, at last bloomed. She closed her eyes, feeling them wet with tears, and sighed in relief. She could feel the sobs of joy trying to come out, but she controlled herself. She was still in the middle of a phone call, anyway.

"I'm so glad!" She exclaimed. "Is she there? C-could I talk to her now?"

"Nah. She's here, but I told her to take a nap. She's… been through enough today. You can talk to her tomorrow; she wanted to know if you wanna have lunch with her…"

"Of course I do!" She yelled, so distracted with her own happiness that she didn't hear the orange haired boy complaining about her loud voice. "Just give me the address and the time and I'll be there!"

"Yeah, yeah. But before that, there's something you should know," His voice suddenly turned serious, and despite her happiness, Erina started to frown.

"What is it?"

"Inoue has already been through a lot of shit during her life. She's been hurt by many people. So you better not be one of them, do you understand?" Erina swallowed, dryly. For someone who was barely an adult, this boy had a threatening voice. "When you meet her tomorrow, and from now on, you better be a fucking angel or something like that, and you better not make Inoue sad! Mess with her, and I won't hesitate to mess with you!"

Erina repeatedly blinked, still surprised by the boy's words. However, she slowly smiled and nodded, even though he couldn't see it.

"I'll do my best,"

"Of course you will. Inoue is willing to take a chance on you, so you better not screw this up!"

"Is that why you're the one speaking to me, instead of my daughter? You wanted to warn me before we proceed with this? Does she know?"

"She wanted to talk to you, but I offered to do so for her. I wanted to make sure you were serious about her," He said, without hesitating.

"I really am," she said, putting up a hand in her heart. "I don't like being threatened, especially by a boy decades younger than me, but… thank you. I'm glad to know she's got people like you in her life, who look after her,"

The boy didn't say anything, but from the little she'd seen when she suggested he and Orihime were a thing, she could only imagine he was flustered at her words.

"Yeah. Whatever. I'll give you the address now, so write it down…"

She did as he told her to, and when he hung up the phone, she allowed herself to drop to her knees. For so long, she had suffered at the hands of her husband. For so long, she had doomed her children the same fate; had never lifted a finger to protect them. For so long, she'd been numb with drinks and money, anything she could use to distract herself from just how empty she was.

Kami-sama, please, she begged in her mind, eyes closed, I know I wasn't a good person. But please, let this be my chance to redeem myself.

"That girl is good. She's suffered and been hurt, but somehow, she continues to be good," Her sister, Meiko, had told her, just before Erina told her she wanted to meet with her daughter. "Take advantage of that, and I won't be able to forgive you,".

If she did screw this up somehow, Erina was sure she would never be able to forgive herself.

-x-

Tuesday, 12:01 PM.

"You came," Orihime had said, slightly gentler than she'd been when they met, but still on guard.

"Of course I did," Erina said, sitting down on the chair. She was practically glowing with excitement, and that made Orihime move uncomfortably in her chair. "I would never miss the chance of meeting you."

You sure were fine not seeing me for the last 17 years, she bitterly thought, then shook her head. Those were the little blue men trying to get into her head, filling her with negative thoughts. And it wasn't time for negative thoughts. She promised herself she'd actually try.

"I'm… I'm glad you decided to come, Erina-san," Orihime said, politely. "I have a bit of limited time, so if you have something to say…"

"I've already said so much," Erina said, reaching out with her hand, trying to grab Orihime's, but the girl pulled away. Erina tried to hide her disappointment. "I just… I want to get to know you. Tell me about you,"

"Okay. I will. But before, there's something I want to ask you," Orihime looked nervously at the side. This was so much harder than she ever thought.

"Of course, anything!"

"Why did you…" Control yourself, Orihime, she told herself. "What happened that was so bad that Onii-chan had enough with you and my father? That made him decide to run away?"

Erina's gentle smile started to drop, and she looked at the table, her eyes filled with shame and remorse.

"You really want to know about that?"

"Yes, I do," Orihime replied, her voice tight.

"Okay, then. It's not exactly a happy story, like you might imagine," Erina sighed. She really didn't want to talk about this. "Warren and I were fighting, like we'd been doing for most of our lives since I got pregnant with Sora. This time, the fight was worse, because I… I…"

"You?" Orihime asked.

Please, forgive me, Erina begged in her head.

"I'd received visit from… a friend, while Warren was at work and Sora was at school, his last day there. So it was just you and me. This friend of mine, he… took an interest in you. I was too drugged to comprehend what was going on, so when he offered me money in exchange of you, I… I accepted it,"

She looked up to see Orihime's eyes, but they were clouded with something she couldn't identify. Even though there sitting face to face, her daughter seemed far away, more distant than ever.

"I see," Orihime replied. The cold in her voice had shivers running down Erina's spine.

The woman opened her mouth to apologize, but gave up, and decided to continue with the story.

"Before he could leave with you, Sora arrived. Since my friend was also too drugged, Sora didn't have any problem in taking him down. I remember him yelling at me, calling me horrible names, and I deserved all of those. I just didn't care, then. Then Warren got home too, and the fighting just got worse. He slapped me in the face, and told me he'd kill me if I tried to sell his daughter again. I was so angry then, I ended up telling him the truth,"

"The truth?" Her daughter arched an eyebrow.

"About you," Erina ran her hand through her brown hair. "Warren… you're not Warren's daughter,"

Orihime's eyes widened.

"What?!" The younger girl asked. "That… that means…"

"Yes. Sora and you only shared a mother. Sora always knew that, but that didn't stop him from caring for you and taking care of you. That's how good he was," Erina's chest tightened at the memory of her son. "But Warren didn't know. Truth is, I don't actually know who your father is… or was… we only met once, and he was just passing by the town. I saw him as nothing other than harmless fun… but three weeks after that, I winded up pregnant. I was terrified of what Warren would do to me, so I just told him it was his. He had one hell of a temper. So as you can imagine, he lost it when I told him that you weren't his daughter. He hit me… so many times. He broke my left arm, and gave me a horrible black eye that night. Then he told me he'd kill you." Erina covered her face with her hands. "My guess is that Sora heard what he said. Not too long after that, all we heard was the door slamming shut, and when Warren looked for you and Sora, you were both long gone. I laughed at the bastard, mocked him for not doing anything right. So instead of looking for you two, he just came back and took his anger out on me,"

Erina looked sadly at the table.

"Did he…?" The sudden change in Orihime's tone surprised her, and when she looked up to her daughter, said girl's eyes were filled with worry and sadness. "What did he do to you?"

"Nothing he hadn't done before," Erina replied, bitterly. "Though he was definitely more aggressive than he'd ever been,"

She heard and sob, and only then noticed that tears threatened to fall from Orihime's eyes.

"I'm… I'm sorry this happened to you," The younger girl said, rubbing her eyes, in an attempt to stop her tears from coming out. "No person should have to go through this,"

"I deserved it," Erina whispered. "Didn't you hear me? What I did to you…"

"Nobody deserves this!" Orihime cried. "You don't fix a bad thing with another bad thing!"

Erina felt her own eyes filling with tears. She'd just told this girl about the horrible things she'd done, to her own three year old, and instead of crying for herself, Orihime was crying… for her? She'd been used so long to all the abuse Warren had given her for years that it had become like a numb memory for her; her daughter was the first person, ever since Meiko had given up on her, that had shed tears for what she'd been through.

"Please, don't cry for me," Erina asked, trying again to reach for Orihime's hand, and her chest exploded with joy when Orihime allowed her to grab it, and actually squeezed it back. "I promised that boy… your friend… that I wouldn't screw this up, and…"

"Don't worry, you're… you only gave an answer to my question." Orihime interjected, waving her free hand. "I needed to hear this, I just… I didn't expect things to be this bad…"

"I know," Erina said, with a sad smile.

"Thanks for telling me," Orihime said, resting her another hand over the top of her mother's. "There's another thing I'd like to ask,"

"Ask away," Erina nodded.

Orihime opened a shy smile.

"What's your favorite food?"

And so they talked. They talked about food, animals, and even movies (Orihime was shocked to hear that Erina hadn't watched a movie since she was 17), and discovered many things about each other. Orihime choked on her drink when Erina confessed she was 51 years old, and she'd asked the older woman how she still looked so good in her age, which had made the woman laugh like she hadn't in years. The more Erina heard about her daughter, the more she fell in love with her, and the more her heart ached with regret for all the years she'd missed. She asked about Sora's grave, and Orihime told her she'd take her there someday, so she could ask for her forgiveness and say her goodbyes.

"So, what do you think?" Erina had asked, when it was almost time for their meeting to end. "You think we can have the mother/daughter relationship we both lost?"

Orihime eyed her with suspicion in her eyes, and sighed.

"No, we can't,"

Erina felt her whole world crashing at her feet.

"W-what?" But… they'd been getting along fine. They'd told each other stories and they… they even laughed together. What had gone wrong?

"I'm sorry, but I think it's too late for that," Orihime said, genuinely sorry. "The truth is… all the moments in which I needed a mother, someone else was there, and not you. That's something I can't change. Back when I didn't know to do it myself, it was Onii-chan who brushed my hair. My first period, it was Tatsuki-chan's mother who helped. When I felt uncertain of myself, and needed someone to support me, it was Rangiku-san who stood by my side and let me cry. For every Mother's day that happened, it was to Meiko-san whom I sent all the cards and drawings I made at school. Those things are not things I can get back,"

"I understand," Erina said, tears burning in her eyes.

"But…" Erina looked up to her. Orihime was smiling gently again. "I don't see why we can't have a familial relationship. Maybe we can't be as close as a mother and a daughter, but… we can still be close. You were a bad person, Erina-san," she pointed out. "But as long as you're alive, you have the power to change, and if you really want to, I'm willing to let that person in my life. And I… I do… forgive you. Not for what you did for Onii-chan. That's not up to me. But what I can forgive… I do."

Sighing in relief, Erina held onto Orihime's hands again.

"Thank you," She said, between the tears. "I promise… you won't regret it!"

"Hm," Orihime nodded.

-x-

Tuesday, 12:56 PM.

Ichigo's foot was tapping against the floor, and he kept flicking his forehead with his pen. It was unusual for him to be having lunch alone, during the week. Usually he'd meet up with his friends, or even with just Orihime (but those were rare, and most of the meetings between friends she couldn't show up), but today was a different occasion. He was very nervous about what must be happening between the mother and daughter, but as he kept track of Orihime's reiatsu, it seemed normal and calm, sometimes a bit conflicted, but no negative reactions so far.

It was funny, he'd never been that good at sensing his friends' or even other people's reiatsu. It had been a huge issue during the beginning of his career as Substitute Shinigami, but he'd gotten better at it. Out of his friends, the first person whose presence he began to recognize at first was Orihime's. It was different from the others, there was a different sense to it. It could only belong to her, so it was distinct from Uryuu's and Chad's. With time, he began to sense better stronger presences like Rukia's and Renji's, but there was no other like Orihime's.

And then she'd left, to Hueco Mundo, and all there was left of her reiatsu was in his wrist… he remembered it, holding onto that small amount of reiatsu, for as long as he could, until it disappeared. And when it did, a part of him felt smaller and darker, not being able to sense her anymore. He'd gotten so used to her being around, and then she was gone, just like that. As soon as he got his powers back, every time he'd wake up in the morning, after his family, her presence was the first one he searched for.

Maybe it was because they spent a lot of time together, or maybe because he felt this need to protect her since they became friends, so he looked out for her the most out of his friends.

Or maybe it's because you're in love with her, another voice in his head suggested, mockingly.

Ichigo sighed.

Then his phone rang, and he lazily took it out his pocket. The minute he saw Orihime's name on the screen, he nearly jumped from his chair and picked it up.

"Inoue, hi!" He said, not noticing the weird looks people were giving him.

"Hello, Kurosaki-kun! I'm not bothering you, am I? You told me to call you as soon as I left…" Her voice changed from cheery to hesitant in a whiplash.

"Of course not, you could never bother me." He blushed, as soon as he realized what he'd said. "S-so… the meeting, how did it go? Is everything alright?"

"It was… okay. Good, actually. I think… I think maybe I really needed this," he heard her sigh over the phone, almost out of relief. "Thank you, Kurosaki-kun,"

"What're you thanking me for?" Genuine curiosity filled his voice.

"Because you helped me! Just like you always do! I was afraid of getting hurt again, but you gave me the courage to move forward. So thank you. Thank you very much," she kept saying, her voice sounding so sweet and gentle that his heart started beating ridiculously fast.

"I-I-I-er… ah…" What the fuck was he even trying to say? "D-don't sweat it,"

"Even so, I w-want to thank you properly! I'm kinda busy tomorrow, but this Thursday I'm coming from work a bit earlier, since I've worked extra hard these days, so d-do you want to watch a movie? It can be at my place!" Despite stuttering a bit, she managed to speak what she meant.

"A-a movie at your place?!" He asked, trying to ignore the little part inside of him that began to get hopeful. "Of course! N-not that you need to thank me, or anything, b-but I'm always up for a movie!"

Just the thought of being alone with her was beginning to give him goose bumps, in a very good way.

She giggled, happily.

"Great! Now all I have to do is invite Ishida-kun and Sado-kun as well!"

Ichigo's forming smile dropped and turned into a scowl.

"Oh… yeah, them,"

"I'd invite Tatsuki-chan too, but she's currently of exams week, so I don't want to trouble her by making her come all the way here. Kuchiki-san and Abarai-kun are probably still on their… ho… honeymoon," He could almost see her blushing. "So that leaves just the four of us!"

"Yes, it does," Ichigo said, trying not to sound bitter.

"Is everything okay?" Apparently, it didn't work.

"Yeah, yeah, it is, I'm just annoyed that I have to get to class," which wasn't a lie, his class was about to start, but was still a cover up for his actual feelings. "Hm… talk to you later?"

"O-of course! Good class, Kurosaki-kun! I'm sure you'll do well!"

"Thanks! Bye," he heard her say goodbye, and waited for her to end the phone call. As soon as she did, he took a deep breath and pressed the phone to his chest. "Why am I doing this to myself?"

"I don't know either, man," a boy who was sitting nearby said, giving him a weird thumbs up.

Ichigo buried his face into his hand, groaning.

-x-

Later, that same day…

"So, Inoue-san called me and Sado-kun, apparently, to watch a movie this Thursday night," Uryuu said.

"HOW THE FUCK DO YOU HAVE MY NUMBER?!" Ichigo yelled out at the phone, freaking out.

"You idiot! I've had your number for two years now! You gave it to me!" Uryuu yelled back.

"Oh… okay," Ichigo calmed down. "But why would I do that?"

"Who knows? You're an idiot,"

"Hey!" Ichigo complained.

"Anyway," Uryuu continued, ignoring his friend's yells of protest. "I assume this means you still haven't told her… about your feelings,"

"Don't say that out loud! And what is it to you, anyway?!" Ichigo asked, annoyed. "Did you call me just to annoy me?"

"I'll take that as confirmation," Uryuu sighed. "So the boy who went to Soul Society to save his friend, invaded Hueco Mundo to save another friend, and who has fought shinigamis, Arrancars, Fullbringers, Aizen, and Yhwach, and any threat that has ever appeared… just can't put himself out there to get hurt,"

"HEY!" Ichigo yelled again, then lowered his voice in fear of his family hearing him. God help him if his father, too, found out about his feelings for the healer… he would definitely die then. "I'm gonna tell her, I just…! She's got a lot going on right now! I can't impose my feelings on her like that and just add more weight onto her back!"

"Sounds like you're just using this situation with Inoue-san's mother as an excuse to not tell her how you feel,"

This fucker!

"Fuck you, Ishida!" He voiced his own thoughts. "Why does this matter to you?! This concerns no one other than me and Inoue!"

"Because it's tiring! Not just for me, but Sado-kun too! Arisawa-san too!"

"Wait, Tatsuki knows?!" Ichigo's eyes nearly bugged out of his face. "WHO TOLD HER?! WAS IT YOU?! ISHIDA, YOU BASTARD!"

"Onii-chan, stop yelling!" Yuzu yelled from downstairs, and Ichigo's eye twitched.

Instead of replying, all Uryuu did was give out a defeated sigh.

"This is hopeless…" the Quincy whispered.

"Why are you complaining? You are the one bothering me!"

Uryuu groaned.

Why had Orihime fallen for such a bonehead?

"Just forget about it, Kurosaki. I just wanted to confirm your presence. Make sure you go to Inoue-san's get together," there was a tone of authority in his friend's voice, and that only annoyed Ichigo more.

"You don't have to tell me that, you jackass! Of course I'll go!" Ichigo said, while scratching his head. Time with Orihime was now more precious than ever; there's no way he'd miss out on the chance of seeing her.

"You better,"

Before Ichigo could reply, the Quincy hung up, leaving Ichigo to groan and complain about how much all his friends, except Orihime, of course, were vicious little shits. Why did they always give him an earful whenever it came to his feelings for Orihime? Shit, now Tatsuki knew too…

He was surprised she hadn't come back from her trip to castrate him.

The possibility made him close his legs in fear. Even so…

Ichigo sighed, as the image of Orihime's smiling face came to his mind. He hadn't seen her all day, had only just talked to her; she'd sounded hesitant on the phone, probably still scared to allow herself to be happy for having a family member back into her life, but he could still hear the tinge of hope in her voice, and his heart swelled at it.

He liked it when she was happy.

He wanted to make her happy.

He wanted to be the reason why she was happy.

"I'm so pathetic," Ichigo told himself, running his hand through his spikey orange locks. "How am I supposed to tell her?"

He wasn't good with words. He might as well just give into his own feelings, and take her into his arms (like Yoruichi had suggested, years ago) and kiss her like they did in that shoujo shit Yuzu and Rukia liked so much… she'd probably slap him. Nah, Orihime was too good for that. She'd probably let him do it, and then apologize for not returning his feelings… then their friendship would eventually get awkward, until it would be reduced to nothing other than polite occasional meetings in the streets, or at supermarkets, and one day he'd notice the engagement ring on her finger, and would curse at whoever the lucky bastard she was marrying was and…

Ichigo slammed his face against the wall.

-x-

"… so, what do you think of my plan, Sado-kun?"

"Hm,"

"I thought you'd say so,"

"So neither of us is supposed to show up?"

"No. If none of us show up they will probably be suspicious, Kurosaki especially. I'll find a way to be busy by then, and you show up to Inoue-san's get-together. You just find a way to have to leave in the middle. Yes, that way it will feel more natural,"

"Hm,"

"I'll take that as a yes,"

-x-

Thursday, the day for their friendly get together had finally arrived, and despite still being a bit annoyed about Uryuu and Chad also going (he felt horrible about feeling this way), Ichigo was still excited about spending time with them. College was necessary, but still very tiring, and being with his friends always gave him a sense of ease, and helped him relax. They were going to watch a new zombie movie; personally, he wasn't a big fan of them, thought there was too much gore and too many stupid people, but they always got Orihime looking fascinated, scared and, surprisingly, hungry, and she claimed they were her favorite kind of movies, so he looked forward to watching them with her.

Orihime had spent most of the previous day with her mother, she'd told him when they spoke at night. Not only they had lunch together again, but when she'd come back from work, they went out and she'd showed Erina around the town; he could tell she was slowly beginning to open up to the older woman, even if a part of their relationship would always be strained because of the past, it relieved him that things were working out. She didn't want to get too attached, she'd said, after all Erina had come to the town just to meet her, and she would leave back to her aunt's place after three weeks. Before he could stop himself, he'd told her that what mattered was that she was happy, and he had turned into a blushing mess, again, when she said he was "so kind".

This is good, Ichigo thought, this is us being just friends, and it's good.

But then he'd knocked on her door, that night, and saw her smiling face, a soft blush on her cheeks, and his heart constricted. It was beginning to hurt physically, not saying what he felt.

Thankfully, Chad had gone all the way to her house with him, so he was able to keep his emotions at check, and disguised it pretty well by giving her a simple smile and a 'yo'.

"Come on in, Kurosaki-kun, Sado-kun!"

The boys did as they were told, and as they entered her house, Ichigo's head cocked to the sides, looking for their Quincy friend.

"Where is Ishida?"

"Ishida-kun just called me. Said he wasn't gonna be able to make it," Orihime said, sounding slightly sad. "But he told me he'd watch the movie some other time, and for us to just watch it without him,"

"Don't have to tell me that twice," Ichigo said, shrugging, and moving towards Orihime's couch. It was his job to bring the movie, and Chad's job to bring the popcorn. As he, after asking for permission, started to turn on the DVD, Ichigo noticed there was a cake colored in orange atop of Orihime's dinner table. "What's that?"

"Oh!" Orihime smiled brightly, and walked quickly to the dinner table, pointing at the cake. "I made this for Kurosaki-kun!"

"For me?!" Ichigo choked.

"Yes! I told you I wanted to thank you properly! You don't have to worry, I didn't add any of my usual tastes in it! It has chocolate, just like Kurosaki-kun likes it!"

Once again, Ichigo found himself speechless. His brain shut off, and therefore he missed the part where Orihime blushingly yelled at Chad that he could eat the cake too, after she caught him looking at her, with a little smirk on his lips.

"Y-you didn't have to do this, Inoue! I already told you that I help you because I want to… a-and I didn't really do anything other than talk to you!" Ichigo exclaimed, waving his hands.

"I… I-I wanted to," Orihime stopped explaining herself to Chad, and then turned to Ichigo, still blushing. Then she looked incredibly sad. "B-but… Kurosaki-kun doesn't have to eat it if he doesn't want to…"

"Of course I want to eat your cake!" Ichigo half-yelled, blushing even harder when he realized what he said. "I-I mean, the ca-cake y-you made f-for me… I was just trying to tell you that… I… I don't want you to worry yourself with these things… I…"

The rare sound of Chad's laughter filled the room, and made both of the blushing adults look at their tall friend. Noticing they'd stopped talking, Chad slowly stopped laughing.

"Sado-kun?" Orihime questioned.

"Nothing," the tall man replied, then pointed at the TV. "Are we gonna watch it now?"

"Yes!" Orihime yelled, catching the two boys by surprise. "I'll start making the popcorn! Make yourselves comfortable!"

After making a fool of himself, Ichigo found it a bit hard to get "comfortable", especially when Chad kept giving him knowing looks; he tried to ignore those by focusing on the movie as much as he could, avoiding even looking at Orihime.

His healer friend didn't take too long to forget about their flustered talk, getting engaged into the movie as soon as she sat, eating her popcorn with ketchup and drinking cola. The cake she'd made had tasted great, and he'd had more than one slice; he could definitely taste the chocolate, and also tasted a bit of orange, which would explain why the cake's filling was orange colored. Had he not been so smitten with his cake, he would've noticed the endearing look Orihime was giving him as he ate.

But Chad had noticed. Like always, he didn't say anything, he just watched his friends dance around each other, both pining and agonizing over their own feelings. Uryuu constantly said it tired him to see them do that, but Chad actually thought it was cute. He wanted them to sort things out, obviously, but sitting there knowing how they both felt, whereas they had no idea, and seeing them act like blushing fools around each other… it was so cute, it made him blush.

He felt his phone vibrating in his pocket, and as he opened it, he saw the message.

He'd been sitting by Ichigo's side, who was sitting in the middle, and Orihime was right by Ichigo's other side, unknowingly scooting closer to him, holding her knees and eyes wide. Despite both being too caught up in the film, both jumped in surprise when he suddenly got up.

"I have to go," Chad said.

"What?!" Orihime said, popcorn still in her mouth. "Now, Sado-kun?! The movie isn't even over yet!"

"Don't worry about it. I'll finish watching it another day,," Chad quickly came up with the excuse. "Something urgent came up,"

"Oh, really? What?" Ichigo asked, his mouth full of cake, Chad could only barely hear what he meant.

"My sensei sent me a message. He wants to see me now," Chad explained. He'd began boxing lessons for the past few months, and so far he was one of the best at his class, and his sensei constantly called him so they could discuss his future career as a boxer. Nothing urgent. Ichigo and Orihime didn't have to know that, though.

"Oh," Orihime made, lowering her eyes to the ground. "Well… I guess that's okay, then,"

"I'm sorry about this," Chad genuinely said. Half-genuinely, at least. "Keep watching the movie anyway. Ichigo will stay here, won't you, Ichigo?"

"Yeah. Don't really got anything to do," the orange-haired said. "You and Ishida need to watch for your schedules a bit more, though,"

"Yep. I know. Sorry, Inoue," Chad bowed to his friend, respectfully. "I'll re-schedule soon. This time, it will be at my place,"

"Of course, Sado-kun," Orihime softly said, smiling at her tall friend.

The friends said their goodbyes, and Chad left, taking Orihime's umbrella with him, because the girl kept insisting it might rain. After he left, Orihime closed the door and went back to Ichigo's side, and it was only then that both realized the current situation.

It was just the two of them.

Suddenly their focus on the movie weakened, and both started to sweat nervously; the air that had been chilly all night became too hot. As Ichigo tried to pay attention to the movie and ignore the situation, Orihime was having a hard time finishing her food, her mind now beginning to fill up with thoughts and thoughts.

Truth is, she'd wanted to invite just Ichigo to watch the movie with her, but panicked at last minute and decided to invite their friends along. She felt incredibly bad now, especially because a part of her liked being alone with Ichigo…

You're so selfish, one of the little blue men told her.

Listening to her sigh, Ichigo immediately turned to her.

"What's wrong, Inoue?"

"N-Nothing," she said, surprised. "I'm just thinking it's sad neither Ishida-kun nor Sado-kun could stay… this is such a great movie!"

"They both had their reasons," Ichigo shrugged. Then he swallowed dryly. "I'm… sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable… or something…"

"No! No, no! You could never make me uncomfortable!" Orihime said. "I… uh…" she lowered her hands, holding herself. "I'm actually glad you're still here with me,"

"That so?" Ichigo asked, smiling.

"Yup! It's… it's nice," her mouth formed a U shape.

"It is,"

And so the awkwardness began to weaver, and both unconsciously moved closer to one another. They watched the movie with ease, even when Orihime was holding onto Ichigo's shoulder tightly as the main character faced a horde of zombies by himself, or when their legs began to brush against the other, whenever they moved.

"How are things with Erina-san?" He asked, after the movie ended, and as the credits rolled on the black screen. "She treating you well?"

"We're getting along well, I believe," Orihime said, getting up and throwing her arms up, yawning. "We didn't see much of each other today, but we decided to go out this weekend again. I'm taking her to see Onii-chan's grave… she's not gonna be here for long, so it's best to take her there now,"

"I'm glad to see things are working out," he replied, picking up their plates and taking them to the kitchen.

"Because you encouraged me… I was able to open up like this," she said, rolling a curl of brown hair between her fingers.

"You keep praising me… I don't deserve all that…" Ichigo said, starting to get flustered. "I was just doing what any of our other friends would have done. And I already told you that I'm always here to help, if you need me,"

"I know, and I'm grateful for that," Orihime nodded. "Did you… huh… what did you think of the cake?"

For some reason, Ichigo flashbacked to three years ago, after they'd discovered about Uryuu's "betrayal", when Chad had turned to him and asked what he thought of Orihime's clothes. God, he'd made such a fool of himself then! And he'd even made Orihime cry…

"It was good. Really good," he said, smirking. "Your cooking really has improved,"

"Thank you!" she said, blushing at the compliment. "I've learned a lot of recipes at ABC Cookies, and Boss-san has been a really good sensei!"

"Your weeks sound better than mine," Ichigo whined. "All college gives me is work… I have an upcoming test two weeks from now on, and I haven't been able to study anything!"

"What's the subject?" Orihime asked, setting the plates Ichigo had brought at the sink.

"Math. You know how good I am at that," he said, resting his back against the wall and watching her. "You're not gonna need any math with medicine! It doesn't make sense!"

Orihime giggled.

"I can help you study, if you want," she suggested. "I've always liked Math. And Aria-chan is coming back to work, so maybe Monday we can reunite after I'm done with work,"

"That sounds great!" Ichigo said, trying to hide his excitement. "You really are a guardian angel, Inoue!"

"Don't say that," she blushed.

"You are. You…" it was only then that Ichigo had realized they'd both walked towards each other, and now they were so close their chests were practically touching. "You… are…"

Despite taking notice of their proximity, none of them made a move to back away.

Despite the light being on, it was weak, so he could barely make out what else there was around them. In the darkness, all he could see now was Orihime's eyes, shining, and her pink lips, half-parted, as she looked at him, with something else in her eyes… something that had his heart racing, as though he was running a marathon. He wondered if she could heart his loud heartbeats.

"… amazing," was all that came out of his mouth.

As if it had decided for itself, his right hand moved and found its way to her left cheek, caressing it right where her bright blush was. She gasped lowly when his hand touched her skin, but her eyes never left his, and she didn't make a move to push his hand away. Had they ever been this close before? She'd had, the night when she left to Hueco Mundo, but this was the first time she'd been looking into his eyes, up close, this close. That color of amber was so strong, bright, and beautiful…

And so close.

"Kuro… Kurosaki-kun…"

"Inoue…"

Ichigo never really knew which one of them moved first.

The kiss that followed was sweet and soft, and slow, tinged with an emotion neither of them could describe. Orihime's lips were better than anything he'd ever tasted, molding so perfectly against his own, he couldn't help but groan and suck on her lower lip, drinking the gasp she let out. His free hand rested against her back, bringing her closer to his chest, as her hands moved to his shoulders, fisting his shirt, trying to bring him closer as well.

As the kiss deepened, Orihime allowed her arms to wrap around his neck, falling into the kiss more and more, taking solace in the arms she'd wanted to be in so badly, for so long. It felt better than anything she'd ever imagined or dreamed of; even though both of them had never kissed anyone, so both were unexperienced and that showed, but that just didn't matter now.

It was so easy, too easy, to lose themselves in one another.

As the kiss stopped, both still lingered with their eyes closed for one moment, still caught up in the moment. Their noses brushed, and their ragged breaths mingled. Ichigo's mouth burned with want, and he felt the need to continue what they'd stopped, to dive in and feel her one more time.

But then both of slowly opened their eyes, and stared deeply at each other.

And they both realized what they'd done.

Orihime was the first to pull away, her face reddening like he'd never seen before, and covering her mouth, gasping in shock. Ichigo blinked three times before blushing madly as well, and taking three steps back. Both tried to say something, but nothing would come out.

"Ku… Ku… Kuro-…" Orihime was stuttering, unable to form words.

"I should go!" Ichigo exclaimed all of a sudden, making her jump. "That's right, go, I need to… go. Look, it's late! It's almost time to sleep! It's… 8:52, and I-I-I really need to go! See you tomorrow!"

"See… you…"

She sounded as confused and flustered as he felt, and he was unsure of what to make of that. He turned away from her and walked towards the door, even forgetting to grab his coat and the movie he'd brought. He closed the door behind him, and only then allowed himself to cover his face, touching his lips in shock.

He'd actually done it.

He'd actually kissed her.

As he practically ran towards his house, the chastised himself. So much for not giving into his feelings! So much for not imposing them on her! What a bastard he was, forcing himself on her like that and…

His eyes widened. Forcing himself? But she'd… she'd…

She kissed me back.

What did that mean?

Does she like me back? Does she actually like me back? Did she want this as much as I? Or… or…

But she'd thrown that get-together as a way to thank him for what he'd done to her, so what if…?

Did she kiss me back because she likes me or because she's been feeling grateful to me? She seemed so surprised with what happened…

Gah! His mind as all messed up now! He scratched his head. If he thought he was confused before this night, what he was feeling now must be the overload of confusion at 100% volts. But the hope that had died, so long ago, that she might like him back, slowly started to renew inside his heart.

Maybe… maybe she could actually… love me…

TO BE CONTINUED….

-x-

Yeah, no shit Ichigo!

If y'all are thinking bc they've already kissed it's gonna be easy and peasy you've got a big storm coming, lmao. Jk, I just intend to explore on the lack of confidence and self-doubts both Ichigo and Orihime have when it comes to their own feelings. There's some drama going on, but hey… I brought Erina in the story for a reason…

Review?