A/N: I cannot say thank you enough for all of your kind words both about this story and my choice of occupation after the last update. I've never felt more appreciated, and your words have led to the sudden spurt of inspiration that caused this rapid update. So, thank you!

That said, I have to call out some of the people that have been following and commenting on this story from the very beginning. You inspire me with your words and lift my spirits up when I'm struggling with what/how to write what I want to write. Thank you, thank you, thank you suzaanoelofse01 (welcome back my dear!), JimmyLane, hiMe-iChi-uLqUi-gRim, Veraozao, and daianapotter. To the rest of you, you are no less appreciated; so of course, you also have my thanks! I hope I can continue to keep you entertained and following this story. Now, enough blabbering and on to the story!

Their laps done, Ichigo caught up to Orihime and leaned forward on his knees, panting softly. She was likewise out of breath and looked at him with a quick smile that nearly made him fall over. Her cheeks were pink, but this time clearly out of exertion, and some of her bangs had come loose from her quick ponytail to prettily frame her face, despite the faint sheen of perspiration covering her skin. Her easy smile immediately brought one out of Ichigo – one of his small, gentle smiles reserved specifically for her. He had been worried about the sudden awkwardness between them, the way her eyes would meet his for only a moment before darting away; not that he wasn't guilty of doing the exact same thing. It was suddenly too much to gaze into the storms of her eyes without feeling like he was an open book – naked and exposed in front of her. The feeling was just as exhilarating as it was terrifying. Even so, the sudden distance he could feel beginning to gape between them wasn't something he could allow – it simply was not an option anymore. So, seeing her smile and act so at ease beside him once more, as he'd been becoming accustomed to, sent a huge wave of relief washing over him that settled his tormented heart; until his traitorous mind turned back to what had started their punishment in the first place and he immediately found himself unable to meet her eyes once again. Suddenly he couldn't help the nearly overwhelming surge of curiosity that hit him. What had Rukia been talking about? Just what happened in the girls' locker room? And how long has it been going on? How long has Tatsuki been fielding unwanted advances towards Orihime? And was it only Chizuru, or who else? How many?! A wild flame of jealousy licked at his heart, burning it to the point of near physical pain as he forced himself to stand upright once more, ruffling the hair at the back of his neck in an effort to distract himself.

His concentration was immediately broken when Renji ran by and slapped him hard on the back.

"Damn it," Ichigo grumbled, wishing he could tackle the obnoxious red head. Renji had hit him so hard, and he'd been so unprepared for the blow, lost as he was in his thoughts about Orihime; he actually had to take a step or risk losing his balance entirely. A quick glance at the coach's sharp gaze told him it wasn't a good idea and he let out a huff of annoyance instead.

"Kurosaki! Inoue!" The two flinched and looked towards their coach, his smile doing nothing to hide his ill intent based on the sound of his voice. "Since you two are done so early, and clearly need more to do, how about setting up the volleyball net?"

It wasn't actually a question, and Ichigo and Orihime simply nodded, muttering a quiet, "Yes, sir," before moving to do as asked.

The equipment room was a small closet located on the opposite side of the gym from the lockers, and they quickly made their way through their still running schoolmates – many of whom had also finished, but clearly had not agitated the coach. The room was well organized, and literally stacked floor to ceiling with equipment of all kinds – free weights; climbing gear; make-shift archery supplies; wooden staffs; hurdles; nets for volleyball, badminton, and tennis; pads for gymnastics, wrestling, or self-defense practice; and much more. It had the smell of an equipment room – both pleasant like used and worn leather, and old with a touch of stale sweat. While Orihime searched for the ball in the giant netted bin of balls, Ichigo found the poles and nets stacked on the shelves with relative ease, tossing them onto his shoulder to carry back out.

"You need any help?" he asked quietly, looking towards Orihime and finding his breath suddenly stuck in his throat before he could force himself to immediately look away. Orihime was still all but doubled over, bending at her hips where they were braced against the top of the bin, and balancing on the tips of her toes as she dug through the seemingly never-ending pile of balls. Her shorts had ridden up considerably high in the back thanks to her positioning, and Ichigo was behind her, already heading for the door before looking back at her and realizing his mistake.

The uniform skirts worn by the girls were not any longer than the shorts she was wearing, so it wasn't like he (and unfortunately every other male in the school) hadn't caught glimpses of the girl's legs throughout the course of their high school career. It was one of the things that drove him mad now that he realized how he felt about Orihime. No one but him was supposed to be able to see such things. As soon as the thought entered his head, he shook himself. Wait, what?! He nearly screamed at his own thoughts, his hollow chuckling darkly within his mind as he quickly turned away, screwing his eyes shut as tight as he could. If he thought that, how was he any better than Chizuru?

'Do you really need me to answer that for you, King?'

The insinuation was clear in his hollow's ringing voice and Ichigo quickly shook his head. But if he was thinking such things, what did that mean was going on in Chizuru's head? "Fuck!" he cursed quietly (although not as quietly as he would have liked), and turned to leave, needing to create some distance between himself and the subject of his own inner turmoil. He was in such a hurry, his mind completely elsewhere, that he ran right into the doorjamb; the heavy metal edging thankfully colliding painfully with his shoulder and not his face. Regardless, he almost dropped the poles and netting balanced on his opposing shoulder. His hollow's cackling ringing through his head did nothing to soothe his worsening irritation.

Finally getting the volleyball in her grasp, Orihime spun on her toes at the jarring sound that came from behind her; only to be met with Ichigo's scowl as he frantically caught the poles he had almost dropped before rubbing his shoulder. She was the only one close enough to hear his hushed curse. "Kurosaki-kun?" she asked, immediately coming to his side with the volleyball braced against her hip.

He had no choice but to look at her, the picture of innocence and completely unaware of where his mind had just gone. The increase in his heartrate warned him she was getting too close as her concerned gaze searched his, her brow furrowed in confusion. It was rare for him to be so clumsy. She's rubbing off on me, he inwardly mused to his own chagrin.

'Ha!' Ichigo could practically feel the forceful poke to his forehead his hollow clearly wished he could do. 'Just not in the way you'd like, huh?'

It was all he could do to keep from outwardly reacting to his hollow's insinuations, and even though he fought it, he could feel the heat rising to the tips of his ears – the tell for his embarrassment both at his clumsiness and his hollow's vulgar ideas. To his relief, she clearly hadn't heard his question, or thankfully seen exactly what he'd done in his stupid haste; but that didn't stop her from reaching out towards his shoulder that he was dumbly still holding. He quickly dropped his own hand away from it. "It's fine, Inoue." He managed a nervous smile, feeling the back of his neck now also growing warm from her closeness. What the fuck is wrong with me, he inwardly grumbled, not at all appreciating his hollow's responding laughter.

Orihime immediately dropped her hand back to her side, a hot sting of dejection flashing through her before she forced it away. "Okay." The look of confusion on her face quickly morphed into excitement as she bounced up onto her toes, her ponytail swaying behind her. "Let's get this out there before coach yells at us again!"

Relieved that she still had her wits about her, Ichigo released an inward sigh. "Right."

Scarcely waiting for his answer, Orihime swept by him, brushing against his arm with her own and somehow managing not to react to it outwardly, although she was squealing inside. "Are you ready to get your ass kicked?" she teased, spinning around on her toes once again to taunt him as she walked backwards.

Stunned that the sweet and innocent Orihime would curse, at him no less, Ichigo nearly stumbled once again, his voice leaving him to gape at her in amazement as her smile only grew more and more smug. Despite her usual clumsiness, she was calm and confident, her steps sure as she walked backwards towards the open space of the gym. Ichigo realized with a hot flash from his head to his toes that he'd never felt more attracted to her than in that moment. Coughing to clear his throat, he cocked his head to the side with a leer. "Who are you and what have you done with Inoue?" he jeered right back.

To both of their utter surprise, Orihime stuck her tongue out at him, screwing her eyes shut as she did so, before spinning back around with a ringing giggle and racing across the gym to their coach. Ichigo was left to hurry after her or risk being rooted in place once more in his surprise.

By the time they returned, the rest of the students were warmed up, and it took only moments to erect the indoor volleyball net. Conversation broke out amongst the students once more, every whisper echoing against the brick walls. Without needing to be told to do so, the boys organized on one side while the girls congregated on the other. There were just the right number of students to allow for equal teams, and so that they could rotate through to allow the extras time to play as well as force everyone to take a turn at each position.

Ichigo and Renji found themselves in front of the net as spikers first, glancing at each other before nodding to show their seriousness. Uryu and Chad were behind them, Chad acting as server with Uryu between him and Mizuiro. Keigo was up front beside Ichigo. On the opposite side of the net, Rukia was set up to serve with Tatsuki, Orihime, and another girl up front. Chizuru was beside Rukia and flanked by another girl.

Grinning at Orihime, Ichigo elbowed Renji in the side. "Inoue told me they are going to kick our asses. Can you believe that?"

At first, Renji's eyes went wide in shock, then he threw his head back and laughed when Orihime looked so scandalized that Ichigo had outed her. Her lips drew down in what could only be described as an adorable pout the longer Renji laughed and before he knew it, Ichigo found himself holding his hands up in surrender. He'd never seen her look so angry before.

"Kurosaki-kun!" she hissed, grinding her teeth together out of sheer determination.

Hearing the conversation, Tatsuki dropped her arm over Orihime's shoulders, her dark eyes flashing in challenge. "You don't believe her?"

Finally done laughing, Renji wiped the tears from his eyes and grinned. "I'd like to see you try."

Pushing herself back from her friend, Tatsuki winked at Orihime. "Don't blame me if you end up coming to the dance with a black eye, then."

Renji paled. "Wait, what?"

"Ready?! 3-2-1!" the coach boomed, and he tossed the ball to Rukia.

The ball in her hands, Rukia's lips curled into a sneer that made both Renji's and Ichigo's blood run cold. "Why'd you have to go and say that?!" Ichigo hissed, just before Rukia served.

With her short height, Rukia didn't throw the ball up very high before slamming the palm of her hand against it, loosing a shrill, "Ha!" as she threw all of her force behind it.

The ball soared high and fast over the net. Ichigo and Renji both watched it sail over their heads as Uryu shouted, "Got it!" and hit the ball back up into the air using his forearms. Mizuiro caught the rebound and smacked the ball back to the girls' side. The ball was intercepted by Tatsuki, whose high jump surprised no one as she attempted to spike it down onto the guys' side of the net. She hit with such speed and force, the three at the front could barely react before the ball hit the ground.

"1-0!" the coach shouted as Keigo raced after the ball and lobbed it back over to the girls. Their chorus of grins made him pout as the girls rotated positions, but the guys stayed in place. Orihime was now across from Renji and Tatsuki was in the back. Chizuru served and this time, Ichigo let his anger out on the ball. Her serve was low, but he still had to jump to spike it back onto the girls' side, leaving no chance for anyone else to even think about getting the ball. He put his full force behind the attack, and the ball rocketed to the gym floor with a solid thwack! A pleasant warmth blossomed in his chest when he saw Chizuru's shocked and shaken expression.

"1-1!" the coach shouted this time, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his lips as Orihime went after the ball and tossed it back to the boys. This time the girls did not rotate and neither did the boys – Chad finally getting his chance to serve.

Unsurprisingly, Chad was silent as he caught the ball Orihime threw to him, hefting it in the air only once before tossing it up to prepare for his serve. There was no grunt to emphasize his effort – it didn't even look like he had to try at all – as the ball soared high and fast over the net.

Tatsuki was the one to cry out, "Got it!" and jump to receive the serve. However, the force behind his serve was still too much, and she was forced to set the ball up to the front line. Orihime, forever in tune to her best friend, caught the set and set up for an attack, attempting to spike the ball at the guys. Her aim was very close to Renji, who managed to block the spike, setting it up for Ichigo to send back. In the end, the ball ended up back to Renji, who managed to spike the ball back to the girls, who were not able to recover it this time.

"1-2!" the coach called, and the boys rotated positions.

Now finding himself in front of Orihime again, with Renji set up to serve behind him, Ichigo cocked a crooked smile. "Still think you're going to kick our asses?" he taunted, enjoying the flush to Orihime's cheeks and the determined flash in her eyes.

"The game is still young, Kurosaki-kun."

He couldn't help but chuckle at her attempt at a glare. "We'll see about that."

Renji's serve resulted in an ace – a direct point that the girls weren't even able to contest. Even though the boys were grinning, Ichigo couldn't help but feel more than a little nervous at the murderous glare Tatsuki was throwing at them when the coach announced the new score of 1-3.

Rotating positions once again, Ichigo found it his turn to serve. Like Chad, it would appear that very little effort actually went into his heavy strike – the ball flying fast but low over the net. He knew it could be hit if someone jumped. The hope was that it would be going too fast to give them the chance.

"Ha!" Orihime cried out, jumping up to spike the ball back.

Uryu dove for the ball, now in the front line, and managed to set it back up towards the back row. Renji lunged for it, setting it up for Keigo to spike it back. The ball ended up heading straight for Tatsuki, who assisted it back to the front line where Orihime spiked it back, this time resulting in a point.

Orihime's squeals of excitement, along with Rukia and Tatsuki's praise rang through Ichigo's ears as the boys rotated, but he couldn't even be upset. Despite the fact that it had been his serve, Orihime's success genuinely made him happy; and when her grin met him, her eyes flashing with happiness, he couldn't help but smile back and offer her a soft little nod.

The game progressed rapidly over the course of the next hour, the girls giving the guys more of a run for their money than they would have expected. Not used to such activities, their force was less well-regulated as the game went on and penalties started piling up against them. Even without that, Tatsuki's athletic prowess was evident as she shared tactics with the rest of the girls, pointing out the weaknesses in the guys' offense and defense that they were readily able to exploit. Without someone with her knowledge on their side, the guys were sorely vulnerable; but the game ended with them trailing by just two points.

"All right, that's it! Good game! Now, go and change. I'll get this put away." He waited until they were all heading back to the lockers. "And behave yourselves tonight. I'll see you there!"

This announcement was greeted with more than a few cautious eye rolls and silent groans. The coach was known for being strict – it was why their sport's teams were so successful – but it also meant that he didn't let much slip past him.

"I can't believe we lost," Renji whined, his eyes wide in shock as they entered the boys' locker with an eerie sense of quiet over them. They were pouting.

Running a hand through his hair, Ichigo couldn't even think of a snappy reply. He was too distracted by how happy Orihime had been when they'd won, bouncing up and down and hugging Tatsuki and Rukia for all they were worth. He hadn't been too taken with their celebration to miss the fact that Chizuru simply high-fived the others, smiled at Orihime, and made her way to the locker room by herself. Even so, that victory paled in the light cast by Orihime's dazzling smile and sparkling eyes.

"I can," Chad answered, but didn't elaborate. His rumbling voice pulled Ichigo from his musings.

Keigo and Mizuiro looked at Chad with matching expressions of shock and bewilderment. "By all means, don't offer to elaborate there, Sado," Keigo groused, pulling open his locker with a sour frown adorning his features.

They changed quickly, pressed for time if they wanted to look at least semi-presentable before their next class. Renji was abnormally quiet as he splashed cold water on his face, rinsing what sweat off he could before changing back into his clothes. Ichigo was silent next to him, following through the same ablutions. The lack of taunts (or even whining over their loss) from Renji set his nerves on edge, but the fact that the redhead kept glancing towards the door to the locker room only mounted his suspicions – and was, in fact, why he was keeping such a close eye on the Soul Reaper. "Hey, what," Ichigo started, just when the fire alarm started blaring overhead.

"Really?" Uryu groused, hurrying to right his hair before grabbing his things from his locker.

Chad was silent, simply hurrying to gather his belongings while Ichigo rushed to do the same, catching sight of Renji's smile in the process. "Don't tell me you had something to do with this," he warned, careful to keep his voice low.

His smile turning smug, Renji shrugged his shoulders, putting his headband back into place. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Now, shouldn't we get out of here?"

"Damn it," Ichigo grumbled, grabbing his bag and throwing it over his shoulder. They quickly exited the locker room and into the gym, meeting up with the equally confused girls. Ichigo was not at all surprised to see Rukia smiling as well, which only made his sense of unease grow.

"What are you all waiting for?! Get outside!" the gym coach shouted, pulling out his roster to check off students as they filed past him and out into the chilled afternoon air.

Ichigo waited until it was just the seven of them before turning his accusing glare on the Soul Reapers. "What the hell did you two do?"

The picture of innocence, Rukia grasped her hands in front of her, looking up towards the sky while Renji wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Why do you always assume it was us, Kurosaki?" Renji argued.

Deadpanned, Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Do I really have to answer that?"

Just as Orihime went to say something from his side, the principal's voice rang out over the intercom, startling all of them from their thoughts. "Attention all students, this is your principal. Due to an unfortunate incident in the chemistry lab, we are going to have to cancel classes for the rest of today. Rest assured, we have your safety in mind, and before I start getting a bunch of questions, yes, the dance will still be on. We will use the time between now and the dance to contain the situation and take all necessary precautions to ensure your safety. Please do not re-enter the building to retrieve valuables at this time and proceed directly home. Thank you."

One eyebrow raised, Ichigo turned steely brown eyes on the two suspects.

"Rukia-chan!" Orihime gasped from beside him, her eyes wide in disbelief.

"What? It's perfectly safe." Rukia gestured with her hands to emphasize her point, all but rolling her eyes at the astounded healer. "Kurotsuchi promised it was."

"Kurotsuchi?!" Ichigo cried. "You mean the Kurotsuchi that likes to conduct experiments on people without their consent?" Ichigo snapped.

"You mean this was his idea?!" Uryu shrieked. He had more reason than anyone to panic.

"No, no, no." Rukia shook her head, the picture of calm. "It was Rangiku's. He just helped."

"Matsumoto?" Ichigo echoed.

Renji stepped in then, a placating smile on his face as he grasped Ichigo's shoulder and looked at the remaining guys. "Think of it this way. Now there's a lot more time to get everything done before tonight, right?" He relished in the way Ichigo avoided eye contact at the mention of the dance, shrugging his hand off his shoulder.

"Can't say I approve of your methods, but it is nice."

Everyone turned at the unexpected words from the unexpected voice. Tatsuki was agreeing with them violating school rules and potentially damaging school property? Who would have thought?!

"Right," Uryu drawled, his glasses flashing as he looked at Tatsuki in a new light. The martial arts expert stood next to Orihime with her arms folded across her chest, but an approving light in her eyes.

"So, do you need any help getting what you need for dinner?" Renji asked, causing Ichigo to look up at him in alarm.

"What? No!" His reaction made it seem like Renji had just asked him if he'd like to try dog for dinner, not something so simple as an offer for help.

Chuckling, Renji winked and turned to Rukia. "All right, then. Don't say I didn't offer."

Uryu spoke up then, drawing everyone's attention to him. "We might as well go pick up our tuxes before they get mobbed."

Ichigo didn't want to go pick up his tux with everyone else. That would mean everyone else would be present when he picked up his flowers, and he wanted to at least attempt to keep the bouquet he had gotten for Orihime a secret. Plus, he didn't want to get the flowers too early and risk them beginning to wilt while he ran to the grocery store to purchase what he needed for dinner. No, he had his own plans. Mustering up his courage to say so in front of everyone, Ichigo answered, "Nah. I'll meet you guys at Inoue's. I have some stuff to take care of."

Not understanding what he was talking about or why he would refuse Renji's simple offer for help, Orihime looked up at him with eyes wide in surprise. Her concern was only somewhat eased by Ichigo's gentle smile, the kind of smile that made her stomach both drop and fly at the same time. "I'll see you later," he murmured, scarcely loud enough for anyone else to hear. His fingers twitched, unseen, at his side – the urge to brush his knuckles against her flushed cheek nearly too strong to ignore.

Of course, Rukia had been watching his every move as though he were a mouse and she were a prowling cat. Rather than draw attention to their quiet exchange, she chose to help him out, and cleared her throat to get everyone else's attention. "Have we decided when we're meeting for dinner?" She paused only a moment before raising her voice, so that Ichigo could hear her since he'd already turned and started walking away. "What time can we expect your delicious meal to be done?" Her lips twisted into a wry grin at his heavy frown.

Really, Rukia? Why?! He ranted in his head, but kept his thoughts to himself, instead choosing to actually answer. "When do we need to be back here?" He hadn't paid much attention to when the dance actually started – he'd been too focused on other details, and… just too distracted.

"Seven," Uryu immediately answered. He was not surprised Ichigo didn't know the time in the slightest.

He barely needed to pause to calculate. "Then I can have it ready by five-thirty. That give everyone enough time?"

Too excited to speak, Orihime simply clasped her hands in front of her chest and nodded enthusiastically. Tatsuki offered a meek, "Sure," in the affirmative, while Rukia chimed, "Of course!" She lowered her voice before adding, "Especially now," and bumped her hip against Renji in a silent show of appreciation. He simply looked down at her and smiled, squeezing his arm that was draped casually across her shoulders.

"So, we will all meet up at Inoue's at five-thirty?" Uryu asked, ever the dutiful, detail-oriented one of the group.

"Sounds like it," Renji answered with a smile. Ichigo had already turned to continue on his way. "All right! Let's go!" He turned, intent on bringing Rukia with him.

"We'll see you at Orihime's," Rukia replied, causing her boyfriend's smile to falter as she stepped out of his grasp.

"Don't you have to pick up something too?"

With a shrug, Rukia weaved one arm through Orihime's. "Rangiku picked up our boutonnieres. You go on without us." She squeezed Orihime gently. "We ladies got to go get pretty."

Uryu's brows lowered at Rukia's words, but he knew better than to make any sort of comment on the appearance of the girls. Shaking his head slightly, he turned his attention away from them and to Chad and Renji. "I would say we could do the same for Kurosaki, but something tells me that's a bad idea," he offered, dropping his fist into an open palm to emphasize his point. Although Ichigo had tried to hide it, Renji had outed his plans with the bouquet the previous Saturday night, when on the way to Orihime's for their impromptu "movie night". Knowing how private the substitute soul reaper could be, he knew it was better to make him have to work harder rather than draw attention to something that Uryu honestly found quite sweet – not that he could ever admit to such.

"I agree," Chad rumbled from beside him. "But let's get going."

"Right."

A/N: There you have it! I hope you enjoyed! Sorry I skimped on the volleyball-playing part. I thought about including more detail, but honestly didn't feel like it, haha. And I thought it might be more appreciated to keep things moving towards the long-awaited dance! I hope I was right. ;) Sorry this is a little on the short side, but your thoughts feed my writer's soul! And please, stay safe and healthy out there!

As I keep saying, I do not own Bleach or any of the characters. They all belong to Tite Kubo. I just own this story.