Title: I am Ai

Pairings/Characters: Orihime/Hichigo

Main Characters: Orihime, and Hichigo

Rating: M

Words: 1,739

Warning: Language and Sexual situations

Description: Elementary school teacher Inoue Orihime is the second mother to all children who enter Karakura's school doors, but harbors a dark secret. Working man Hichigo Kurosaki is a widower and is forgetting to reach out to his young son who grieves for the death of his mother. So why is the word "Love" revolving around their world?

We have to distrust each other. It is our only defense against betrayal.

Tennessee Wellians

The sound of high-pitched voices and rubber screeching against linoleum floors pulled Inoue Orihime from her thoughts. Turning over the graded quiz papers, she put down her pen with a soft sigh and ran her fingers through her long auburn colored hair. From the sound of locker doors slamming shut and excited voices of children, Orihime guessed that the school cafeteria must have served pizza at lunch.

She glanced at the clock on the far wall and smiled. Just then a gentle breeze wafted through the classroom, carrying with it the scent of freshly planted flowers. She looked over the sun-filled space and the corners of her mouth inched further upwards. If this was to be her penance, then Kami was truly good. She not only held a job she loved as an elementary school teacher, but she'd also recently found out that her older brother Sora had gotten a promotion at a prestigious company.

Orihime stood and moved towards the door, only to retreat as wave after wave of fresh-faced hyperactive kids raced into the room. She leaned against the wall and tried to recall a time when she'd felt so young and carefree. Her thoughts briefly drew her backwards to the time she spent growing up in her parent's house. Returning her thoughts to the present, Orihime watched as the last student walked slowly through the doorway and took his seat.

She had worked hard to fill the classroom with interesting books and objects that would inspire curiousity and excitement. Orihime closed the door and did a quick mental roll call of the small group before calling them to attention.

"Good afternoon, class,"

"Good afternoon, Orihime-sensei!" they shouted. "It's going to be a long one," she muttered under her breath. It was her last class of the day and by far the most unruly. She tried to be stern with the kids but usually failed. Her students smiled so sweetly and tried so hard, all the while attempting to wiggle out of doing their homework. They were a miniature bunch of con artists this class.

"Please take out your books; we're going to spend today reading out loud." Her announcement was met with a series of groans. Orihime watched as Ken raised his hand. "Orihime-sensei, I forgot to bring my book," he said. She shook her head to dispel the smile that threatened to overturn her frown of disapproval. Ken, her self-appointed class clown, had large, puppy dog eyes, curly dark hair, and round pink cheeks that gave him a deceptive look of innocence.

She smiled and picked up a photocopy of the reading assignment and put it on his desk. He did this every time. They both knew that he hated reading out loud. "Well, Ken, since you didn't bring your book, you get to start. Please read the first paragraph to the class." Orihime walked to the edge of her desk and leaned back, keeping an eye on the kids. She watched as they bent their heads to follow along with the story.

Orihime had picked out a book that she had known the kids would like. The Boy Who Drew Cats was one of the many old Japanese fairy tales she'd been told as a child. She listened to Ken as he read the first paragraph. She had each child read until they came to the end of the third chapter. "Now close your books. Who can tell me about the main character?" Orihime watched as their hands shot up into the air and their eyes glistened with interest. "Midori." she pointed a neatly manicured fingertip at the female student with stunning green eyes. "Teacher's pet," someone grumbled.

Orihime straightened and the room went quiet. "Who said that?" She looked across the classroom as all their little faces turned away from her and looked towards everyone else. Orihime knew the guilty party by the faint blush on the boy's cheeks. Generous as usual, she let him go with a general warning to the room. "Kids, you all know that I don't play favorites. It hurts my feelings to hear comments like that. You are all little munchkins and I care for you all the same," she said "Everyone will have their turn, I promise."

Her words had the desired affect. "I'm sorry, Orihime-sensei. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." Orihime hid a smile as she turned towards the boy. "That's okay, Jin. I know you didn't mean to hurt my feelings." She gave him a smile and a pat on the head before returning to her position at the front of the room. Just as Orihime opened her mouth to ask a question, the school bell rang, signaling the end of school. Having been trained since the first day of class, her little group kept their seats.

She sighed, "We'll continue to tomorrow, your homework is to read the next chapter." She watched them gather their notepads and scurry out the door. Orihime looked on as the kids ran out of the room, paying the most attention to the lone child slowly gathering his things and placing them neatly inside his backpack. Thinking back to her earlier words about not having favorites amongst her students, she knew that she had told a half-truth.

She approached the child and crouched down so that she was eye level with him. He was slim in a delicate way, with gentle dark eyes, prominent cheekbones, and scruffy brown hair. "Aki, how are you doing?" He nodded his head and looked at her with solemn eyes. "I'm fine, Orihime-sensei. How are you today?" She rarely saw him smile. She and the principle had discussed Aki during a meeting. Like other nine year olds, he loved to read and unlike others in his age group he had a remarkable memory. He was one of the brightest she had ever taught but he was also the quietest. He never spoke up in class and only reluctantly joined in the group projects or discussions. He even kept himself apart from the other kids in his class. She had watched as he sat by himself under the oak tree during recess.

Orihime couldn't help being drawn to this child. It was his eyes, she decided. He had an old soul. She knew his mother had died shortly after his parents had moved to Karakura town. Aki was the only one of Orihime's students to know such a loss and her heart ached for him because she could relate. She too had grown up motherless in a strange new world. Lee Inoue and Himeko Inoue had met at a University and married shortly after her father became a psychiatrist. Her mother whose mind had been troubled by her husband's demanding job became depressed and then died from what seemed to have a broken heart. Her mysterious death confused and saddened Orihime greatly. She had no clue what her father had done.

"How am I? I'm not sure." She shrugged her shoulders. "I think Nurse Sakura is a little mad at me." Having caught his interest, she watched as he leaned his head to the side in puzzlement. Orihime glanced towards the door to make sure they couldn't be overheard. "I ate the last Girl Scout cookie…and I even sprayed a little whip cream on top." All the children knew that Nurse Sakura had a sweet tooth and they also knew that Orihime loved to add something to the food that she ate.

Orihime watched as Aki's eyes widened and his lips curved into a smile. "You can take her, Orihime-sensei. You're way prettier." She chuckled and shook her head. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Welcome. See you tomorrow, Orihime-sensei."

She followed him to the door and stood in the long hallway as he walked towards the main entrance. As he went to leave the building, he turned and Orihime waved. Aki returned the gesture before slipping out the door. She walked back into her empty classroom, gathered her materials, packed up her briefcase, and headed for her car. She opened the trunk, dumped everything inside, and moved to close it.

"Damn," she cursed as she realized that she left the duffle bag containing her karate uniform at home. She took a quick peek at her watch and calculated the length of time it would take for her to drive home, then go out to the dojo. No matter how fast she drove, it was inevitable that she would be late. Making a mental note to call her karate teacher, she slammed the trunk, and then got behind the wheel of her Jetta. Orihime cranked the car and rolled back the sunroof, letting the warm sunshine in. It was another perfect day in Karakura Town. Pressing the play button for the CD player she let the smooth sounds of jazz pour through the car as she pulled out of the parking lot toward home.

To be continued…

So…do you like the story so far? If you do send me a review and if you don't then don't even think about trying to flame me. This story is about Orihime and Hichigo falling for each other while trying to get rid of the skeletons in their closet. I know Orihime was little out of character but in this story she is twenty two years old and in my opinion she's far too old to be acting like the ditzy girl she was in high school. Anyway I received some crappy flame in my last story saying that I wasn't being descriptive enough and that I wasn't fit to be a writer. For my sake and everyone else's…I hope I was descriptive in this story. I'll update soon!