This is a one shot that I wrote for the 6th Annual IchixHime Tanabata Festival hosted at Five Lifetimes, One Love. I decided to upload this on here. I am really behind in all my other stories on here. Followers are probably miffed. All I can say is that I am having a hard time writing the next few chapters. I will try to get them out as fast as I can.

This is set after of the LSS arc, but before the final arc. The timeline is modified for the sake of the story. You may have to look up Tanabata Festival before reading this, so you can understand the little reference to that will be made here, but it is nothing major in here.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach in anyway.

It was a hot summer afternoon. The sun was burning as intensely as it always did in July. It simply refused to let up. No it was determined to beat the earth with its rays, seemingly not content until it made sure all beneath it felt its wrath. There was no gentle breeze to offer any relief. The trees were shriveling up as the water within them was being evaporated by the heat. The beautiful life green leaves were now an ugly dead yellow. The trees were not the only ones to suffer from the oppressive ruler of the skies known as the sun. Inside the buildings of Karakura High School both students and teachers alike were crumbling underneath it. Beads of sweat trickled down the brows. Heads became unable to support their weight and fell to desks.

Even the most studious of students could not keep their minds on the lesson. The sun had their energy robbed from them as well. No one was listening to the teacher droning on anymore. It would not only have to be the hottest day of the summer when the air conditioner broke down, but the heater would be on due to some technical glitch. Irony was a cruel mistress. The only student who did not appear or at least try not to look overheated was the man once deemed a bleached haired punk, now considered to be the number one athlete of the school and one of the best looking guys (according to Keigo) of the seniors. Ichigo sat at his desk resting his cheek on his hand, while he tapped his thumb on the desktop. He prayed that a hollow would arrive just so he could leave this deathtrap of a room.

The badge did not go off even one time that day. The substitute Shinigami had no choice, but to endure. 'It figures today would be the day there are no hollow attacks. Damn. When my powers were gone Ishida was getting called by Urahara-san to deal with hollows regularly, but now that my powers are back the hollows decide to stop coming,' he thought bitterly. It was folly to expect a hollow to rescue him from his torment anytime soon. Ichigo tore his eyes away from his instructor to the clock at the corner of the room. His lips curved upward for a second as the knot in his chest came undone. Finally the school day was nearing its end. Only two more minutes until this torture ended. He looked forward to leaving the chair his backside had become stuck too, courtesy of the sweat drenched clothes and going into the cool hallway.

How he dreamed to be in a moderately cool room over this furnace. There was only a minute to go now. His dreams were interrupted by his teacher's need to clear his throat. He suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. His teacher was a hard ass. Ever since the term started in April he had been dishing out mountain loads of work in preparation for when they took college entrance exams later in the year. His motto was to prepare for even the most unlikely events and you will be covered for anything. Ichigo had no doubt that he was about to assign them another grueling homework load to prepare them for their upcoming finals.

"I see we are almost out of time today," the teacher stated. He was red in the face. To Ichigo it looked like he was wobbling as if he was about to collapse. The natural born protector became concerned with his teacher's health. "You had to sit in this classroom with the heat and none of you complained once. I will reward your behavior by letting you leave now. Forget the homework today. Just study for finals tonight. Class dismissed."

The students found enough energy to race to the door like bats out of hell. Keigo was among the first students to reach the door. Ichigo stayed back. When the door was free of students fighting over it he collected his stuff and left, bidding his teacher a farewell. As soon as he got into the hall he was bombarded by a babbling Keigo.

"What took you so long?" whined his annoying friend. "I don't want to stay here any longer than I have too! Plus it was so hot in there that I was just ready to go."

"I waited for everyone else to leave that way I didn't have to overheat myself fighting it out to get to the door," he explained nonchalantly.

"Well you took forever! Because of you we missed our early release and have to deal with the crowd." It was as Keigo said the hallways were littered with students all racing towards the nearest exits.

Ichigo scoffed. Keigo was so dramatic. Did everything have to be the end of world with him? He had experience a near world ending crisis 20 months ago with Aizen. It made it hard to take Keigo's melodramatics seriously. "We were released like a minute early. We would be here when everyone else got out. We have to wait for Mizuiro and Chad anyway, so it is not like me taking a little longer to leave changed all of that." He didn't hear a rebuttal from his loud friend. Ichigo took it as a sign that Keigo submitted to his reasoning. The duo journeyed to Mizuiro's classroom. Shame as it was the trio of friends was not assigned the same class as they had been their first year of high school. Ichigo and Keigo were in the same class, but Mizuiro was cast out into a new class along with Chad.

At least Mizuiro was fortunate enough to be in the same class as Inoue. Their smooth talking friend was not completely alone, although Ichigo did not like the idea of Mizuiro being in the same class as Inoue without Tatsuki being there. Mizuiro was a known player. He had a parade of girls waiting on him hand and foot. The shrimp could sweet talk girls into doing almost anything. Ichigo feared Mizuiro would put the moves on Inoue. The healer was so trusting. She never would suspect Mizuiro of foul play. He didn't approve of Mizuiro's life style, but said nothing. However, if he tried to ensnare the Goddess of Karakura High Ichigo would put a stop to it. He had taken it upon himself to protect Inoue from not only supernatural threats, but hormonal and scheming boys always up to no good.

After Inoue was kidnapped by Aizen he vowed to never let anything bad happen to her again. Even when he was powerless he continued to watch over her. He had to swallow his pride and ask Ishida to watch over her in case hollows or arrancar invaded the town during his powerless period. The truth was he almost swallowed more than his pride when he asked. One of the positives about being a Shinigami again was he could now protect Inoue with his own hands and not have to rely completely on Ishida or Chad to watch her back. It wasn't that he thought she was weak. He knew how strong she was and could take care of herself. Hell, she surprised him by injuring Ginjo with her new Shiten Koshun. It was just the thought of Inoue in pain or worse made his heart stop. He needed her to be safe and happy. With everything Inoue had been through in her life she deserved to be happy. Anyone who threatened her happiness even a friend like Mizuiro would have to answer to him.

They found Mizuiro's class fairly fast considering all the students rushing to the nearest exits. Keigo was yammering on about how they should go to the arcade and play video games or buy manga just like the old days before he Ichigo got a job. He caught the jab Keigo threw his way and it only caused his scowl to intensify. It wasn't Ichigo's fault that he needed money. It was only natural that he got an after school job. Most of their friends were working now except for Keigo, Mizuiro, and Ishida. At least Ishida had an excuse with so many duties he had at school. Keigo just came off as a bum, with always begging Ichigo for some yen.

'The first one to complain about me working all the time, but always asks me for money when he is running low, lazy bastard.'

He opened the door and went through it. Mizuiro was still packing his things away, running late for a change. Ichigo wondered if Mizuiro's lateness had to do with copying notes. It would make sense considering how serious he had gotten about school since their final year started. Much to his and Keigo's surprise he had aspirations for college.

Keigo let out an exasperated gasp. "You still aren't ready yet!" he exclaimed in the same childish whining.

Mizuiro looked up from his desk and smirked at the brunet's aggravation. "Sorry, Asano-san, but I had to finish copying the last of the notes from a neighbor."

Keigo's face melted as his cheek lit up red, not from heat, but from anger. His fist shook with an unnerving fury he was not known for. "D-Don't call me that!" he wailed. Ichigo covered his face in embarrassment. Why did Keigo have to make a scene? "You know how much it bugs me and yet you do it anyway!" Keigo continued his tirade. He made all sorts of gestures that the students laying back to for one reason or another stared at him with disbelief and contempt. Naturally Keigo was oblivious to it all. "You can't keep treating me like this! We have been friends for so long! If you keep this up I may not be around and then you will be very sorry!"

Mizuiro's smirk only widened. He looked like the cat that swallowed the canary. Keigo shot a dark (well dark for him) glare at their shorter friend. Ichigo knew were this was going. It was too hot for this. He was about to speak up to end this when he heard a voice full of unbridled jubilation squeal, "Kurosaki-kun!"

The voice had instantly beckoned him to look for her. He saw the beautiful orange haired woman he had known for almost three years now. The brown eyes sparked with an innocence that defied belief. Her red-orange strands possessed a heavenly glow to it. She had the largest smile plastered on her face. Anyone who saw it would be infected with happiness that could evict any sadness or anger if only for a moment. Ichigo was prey to it. He found his frown turn into a small smile. It quickly left him though before she could see it.

He raised a hand almost slowly, waving it at the goddess. "Hi, Inoue," he said in his usual low, but slightly lighter tone. He had begun to notice that whenever he conversed with Inoue that his tone became much softer. He found this behavior odd.

"Hi, Kurosaki-kun!" she waved ecstatically and cheerfully. That was dumb. She already called him, so there was no need for a formal greeting. Why did she have to do silly things around Kurosaki-kun? He probably thought she was an air head. He was walking right over to her! 'What should I do? This is not time to panic, just act normal. Be normal, so he doesn't think you are a total oddball. It is just like Tatsuki-chan said. Keep a cool head, assess my options, find a weakness, and then I can take him down. Wait, that doesn't really sound like it would apply to this situation. Ah, Tatsuki-chan this is not a karate match!' She could just see her dark haired friend's lips spread apart into a fierce yet equally prideful teeth revealing grin. The healer pouted her bottom lip out at the imaginary image of Tatsuki.

"Uh, Inoue….."

The phantom image of Tatsuki was nowhere to be found, but her heart's desire was giving her a look that spelled out crazy. God, she could just die. "Y-yes," she answered, feeling mortified over her idiotic antics.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked worriedly.

Great just what she needed. The boy she was head over heels in love thinking she had lost her marvels. The universe was not kind. "Ai, I mean I am fine. I was just um…thinking about something…..unpleasant." He shifted from odd look he wore to one filled with worry. The shift in his reiatsu was also noticeable. It engulfed her within its embrace to protect her from any and all threats. Orihime couldn't help, but feel at peace despite the obvious awkwardness she felt, almost as if he was a security blanket.

"Nothing bad happened did it?" He half barked out. His tone was rough. He reasoned that it was only because of his concern for her wellbeing. "Did someone give you a hard time?" The substitute's mind went to an overly hormonal boy pestering her. She had many admirers, so it wouldn't surprise him if one of them would not take no for an answer. Usually Tatsuki was enough to deter most perverts, but on the rare occasions she wasn't around Inoue or they were willing to risk Tatsuki's wrath he would step in form the background to make his presence known. It did not require much, besides greeting Inoue or starting a conversation to warn them if they did anything that would make her cry they would have to answer to him. The guy would never come sniffing around Inoue again. The question was did he have to put the fear of God into anyone.

Sensing her beloved tensing up and noticing the little furrow in his brow, Orihime already knew he was already in full protector mode. His reiatsu had already darkened with ill intent. Kurosaki-kun was preparing himself to harm anyone who may have offended her. "No! Nobody was giving me a hard time!" she cried quickly. Orihime couldn't let some poor unsuspecting person suffer the terrible wrath of Kurosaki-kun just, because she was reveling in humiliation for fighting with an imaginary Tatsuki.

He narrowed his eyes, searching for any sign of deception. Inoue was pure hearted and she absolutely hated lying, but she wasn't above doing it to protect others. If some asshole gave her the business she would defend him or her, because she could not bear to see anyone get hurt. It was one of her best qualities. In fact he loved that about her. 'Wait did I just say love? No I like that about her. I really like that about her.' He hurriedly shook that stray thought out of his head. He needed to keep his promise to her and protect her. His scanning finished and he saw none of her usual tells. He accepted her truth. If no guy was harassing her he would not pry any further. Ichigo had no right to and hated when people invaded his privacy. He would not do the same to Inoue.

An awkward silence fell over the two oddly colored haired teenagers. Ichigo ran a hand in his almost golden mane, while Orihime tapped his thumbs on her school bag. "I have some bread," she blurted out. He became baffled at her declaration. God, he must have thought she was such ditz? "I mean my boss gave me some more bread that we didn't sale. I could give you and your family some more bread if you need some." Her voice got lower with every word spoken, until she looked down to the ground to avoid those beautiful chocolate eyes she adored.

"You know you do not have to give us bread all the time. You should save some for yourself. Yuzu really likes getting free bread and it is good most of the time, but you live on your own. You should really save bread for yourself, so you can save some money."

Her lips curved into a wide U shape. He was always worrying about her wellbeing. She knew she shouldn't take any joy from that, but a part of her relished the fact that he was always worried about her. It was very sweet. "Don't worry. I make sure to keep bread for myself as well. I prefer pastries and cakes, but I still love to eat bread! I am happy that I get to work at bakery. You know one day I really want to open my own bakery, but there are other things I want to do as well. Oi, it is very difficult for me to make up my mind sometimes."

There she was, prattling on again about little stuff. It was nice to see Inoue so happy. With all the craziness that had engulfed their lives for these last two years, with Aizen and his Arrancar army or Ginjo and the Fullbringers, that it was so rewarding to get a nice reprieve from it all and enjoy their normal lives. Inoue happily chattering away about all the things that delighted her was a sight he enjoyed. Her hazel eyes would light up with child-like wonder and her nose would wiggle just a bit. Most importantly that beautiful smile that could bring out the sun materialized on her face. He loved her smiles. 'Damn it! I said love again. What the hell is wrong with me?'

Orihime knew she was yammering on. It was a habit of hers she just couldn't seem to break. "Look at me just going on and on about stuff. I am probably boring you. You are here to visit Kojima-kun, so you can walk home together." Oh how she envied Kojima-kun and Asano-kun. They always got to walk home with Ichigo. Every time he extended the offer to her something seemed to always come up. Just once she wished she could walk home with Kurosaki-kun, just the two of them.

"Yeah, but he and Keigo are in another one of their famous spats." He ventured a glance over to his friends. It was as he said Mizuiro was highly amused at Keigo's overactive and unnecessary gestures as he melted down. A sweat drop fell down the back of his head. They were tiring sometimes. Even Orihime chuckled uneasily. "Those two could be at it for a while." The carrot top man let out an exhausted breath. "How come Tatsuki isn't here yet?" He combed the room for any signs of his childhood friend in case he had missed her entrance.

"Tatsuki-chan had to cover for one of the instructors at the dojo today. His shift starts half an hour after school, so she doesn't have time to walk with me today."

His infamous scowl made an appearance. Why didn't Tatsuki tell him if she could not walk with Inoue today? He should have known about this. That overbearing Tatsuki probably saw fit to let Ishida know. Did she expect him to walk Inoue home? That idea did not appeal to him in the slightest. Not when he could walk her home. "Do you want me to walk you home?"

The healer shrunk away. Her heart's beating increased in speed thanks to her agitated nerves. It beat on her chest wildly, perhaps trying in vain to get out. Her face felt flushed. Oh no, her cheeks were burning. She was blushing uncontrollably in front of Kurosaki-kun! She needed to get a hold of herself. "Y-you w-want to walk me h-home?" she barely managed to stutter.

He raised an eyebrow questioningly at her. "Yes," he said plainly. Ichigo did not see what the big deal was. They were friends, why wouldn't he want to walk her home.

Her wish had finally come true. The auburn princess was tempted to say yes, but she couldn't, much to her dismay. "I have to go to the bakery today after school. My shift starts in…." She checked her watch. "…..in 45 minutes," she finished with a hint of gloom in her voice. Once again something else came up to ruin her dream.

"I can walk you to your job," Ichigo pointed out.

Excitement started to rebuild itself. "What about your job? Won't Ikumi-san be angry with you if you skip work again?" She had met the woman once to return a book she had borrowed from Ichigo. He told her to come to the Unagiya Shop to return it. The single mother was strong willed, a bit short tempered, tough as nails, and as motherly as one could be. The dark haired mother gushed over Orihime when they met. Ikumi-san assumed she was Kurosaki-kun's girlfriend, an assumption both red cheek stained teens reject vehemently. The stories Kurosaki-kun had told her about Ikumi-san's escapades when he tried to ditch work made Orihime cringe. She did not want to be the reason Ikumi-san hunted down and humiliated her beloved for all to see.

"Don't worry. Ikumi-san has given me time off to study for my finals. She is trying to work around my schedule, since it is our final year of high school." Of course he neglected to tell Orihime that Ikumi was doing this because she planned to work him over time during his break to make up for lost time. That woman was truly monstrous.

"There is still Asano-kun and Kojima-kun. They expect you to walk home with them."

He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I can hang out with those guys anytime. They'll understand." Mizuiro would understand. Keigo on the other hand would throw a hissy fit. "You shouldn't be walking alone," he lectured.

She almost rolled her eyes at her self-proclaimed protector. If he wasn't so cute when he got overprotective she might have brought up how Tatsuki had trained her to defend herself. Kurosaki-kun was the type of man who had to protect his cherished ones with his own hands. Ever since he regained his Shinigami powers he had much more upbeat than he had been before. This was a perfect opportunity to spend some time with him alone and bring her dream to life. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," he said again.

"I accept your offer then." The moment the words left her mouth the robotic Orihimes inside her head were already panicking, realizing how dumb that sounded. They were looking for words to erase her blunder. Before she could say anything Ichigo turned his back to her.

"Mizuiro, Keigo, I am going to walk Inoue to her job, because Tatsuki had to leave right away." Mizuiro acknowledged him with a nod. Keigo however….

"But we were going to hang out at the arcade today! You are off today and everything. Who knows when you will get another day off for us to hang out," he argued. One glare from Ichigo was enough to effectively silence him. "I ah, mean we can always hang out later."

"Let's go, Inoue." If he hurried her along she wouldn't have time to try to talk him out of this, because of her empathy for that idiot Keigo. She looked like she was about to say something, but decided against it. They left the classroom together.

"I want to be mad at him, but an impromptu date with Inoue-chan is too impossible to resist." He cursed under his breath at his friend's luck. How he would give to be the one to hold Orihime's interest. "Lucky, bastard," he muttered.

Mizuiro nodded in agreement with his hyper-enthusiastic chum. He may have been into older girls, but even he had to acknowledge Orihime's beauty. A small part of him might have envied Ichigo at the moment. Only a small microscopic part of him felt some envy. "Did you think Ichigo will realize Inoue-san's feelings for him soon?"

Keigo snorted. "He hasn't noticed Inoue-chan's obvious signs yet. There is no telling when or if he will ever notice them. I mean now that he has his Shinigami powers back and he has been more upbeat, well upbeat for him anyway, maybe he will actually notice. Sometimes I feel like we should say something to him, but he would probably just shrug it off you know." The pair of friends continued to ponder if today would be the day Ichigo's obliviousness would clear and he would see the truth. They were not hopefully at the prospect.

They left the school gates ten minutes ago. By this time they had escaped most of the fleeing Karakura High students who were not on any teams or in clubs. Conversation had been light. He found out Orihime was doing well at her job and that her boss had taken a liking to her, treating her as something of a granddaughter. Ichigo told her about how slow hollow hunting had become, which was good with finals looming.

"Kurosaki-kun, you do not have to hunt hollows alone you know." He turned an eye on her in curiosity. He hadn't expected her to comment on hollow hunting. "I mean if there is an increase in hollows you do not have to do everything alone. There is Ishida-kun, Sado-kun, and me. We can help you out. Not that you need help taking down normal hollows!" she quickly added, not wishing to insult him. Orihime collected her thoughts. She wanted to use the right words to articulate what she was trying to get across to him without chastising him. "Finals are coming and I know you need to study for them. If you are overwhelmed just please call us for help. The four of us can finish things much faster than one person alone. That will give you more time to study. Before your duties as a substitute Shinigami were so time consuming that it hurt your grades. I want help you, so that does not happen again." She shared with him a modest smile that said she cared.

Ichigo could recognize this smile for what it was. The straight serious mask he often wore shattered when he curved his lips into small yet true smile of his own. "I appreciate that, Inoue." He really did. He knew he could count on Inoue to always help him whenever she could. She was a great help when he was on a mission to bring his grades back up during the remainder of his freshman year. More recently she had already expressed her desire to fight by his side during his training session with Ginjo. "That reminds me I never did get the chance to properly thank you for helping me during my Fullbring training."

Orihime shrugged it off. She shook her head. "There is no need to. I did not really do much of anything. I just healed your injuries. I didn't do anything else…." She trailed off remembering how useless she had been during the whole Xcution ordeal and how she had to yet again be rescued by Kurosaki-kun. Despite training for 17 months to be able to actually help him she found herself in the same position as before.

He picked up her dimming mood immediately. It was easy to deduce the cause of her new sour disposition. "Stop attacking yourself." Inoue was taken aback. It seemed she was not expecting his input on a subject as well he thought amusingly. "The whole mess with Ginjo and Tsukishima, I couldn't have gotten through it without you."

He had to be joking. She was one of Tsukishima's first victims, put under the influence of his Fullbring, Book of the End and used as a pawn to fight the man who was both her love and savior. When Kuchiki-san told her the truth of what happened she was sick to her stomach. "I didn't keep my promise. I wanted to be able to help you, so I trained for those 17 months you were powerless and when I finally get the opportunity to help you I failed, again. In the end was another burden to Kurosaki-kun. I made you feel pain…."

"Inoue," he uttered. A strong urge to comfort her, reassure her that she was never a burden to him emerged from her chest. The substitute did not know how to do that. He was never good at conveying his emotions with his words.

"I hate when you are in pain, but to know I was the one who caused you that pain. I…." He put a hand on her shoulder sheepishly. When she stared at him he shrank back a bit. He invaded her personal space without her permission. Crimson stained cheeks were apparently enough for her, because she muttered a no problem. She too was blushing.

"You didn't cause me pain. It was Ginjo and Tsukishima."

"But…."

"No but. Ginjo was deceiving us from the start. I was the one who went along with Ginjo's plans even though I was unsure I could trust him. I knew there was a risk that he was lying to me. I knew he could turn on me, but I thought if there was even the slightest chance I could get my Shinigami powers back that I had to go for it. I needed that power to protect you and everyone else."

Orihime wondered if Kurosaki-kun realized he singled her out from everyone else and if she was reading too much into it.

"In the end Ginjo used my desire against me." He still felt some bitterness for Ginjo's betrayal. A memory of Inoue's pained expression as she had to use her power to stop him from harming Tsukishima who she perceived as a dear friend flooded his mind. It was hard to completely forgive Ginjo for his transgressions; because of the pain it caused Inoue.

He felt something touch his hand. It was Orihime touching the hand that still rested on her shoulder. It hit him. He was touching Inoue's hand. It felt so intimate. It scared him at how natural it felt. They were friends and friends had boundaries. This was close to crossing those boundaries. "Please do not blame yourself, Kurosaki-kun. You did everything you could to protect us."

He knew she was right, but he couldn't stop thinking. If he had just gone back to visit Ishida even once, he could have learned more about his attack and would have found out Ginjo was the enemy he should have been wary of. His carelessness had consequences. "I should have been able to protect you from all of that." To the healer it sounded like he was talking more to himself than to her. "The reason I didn't tell you about the Xcution was because I wanted to keep you out of this. As long as I was powerless I couldn't protect you. I couldn't keep my promise to you. I let that bastard Tsukishima attack you." The orange haired man could not bear to look into those big doe eyes. He felt so naked. Ichigo tore his eyes away from her face not caring where he was looking.

"I tried my hardest to keep you away. I thought I failed to keep you safe from the Arrancar like I promised you. I was determined to keep you safe this time around. I tried my hardest to keep you away from danger. Because I left you alone it made you a perfect target for Tsukishima."

Orihime wanted to tell him that wasn't true. He was training to regain his power, so he could help her. He feared if she was around him that he would bring trouble her way. She didn't say anything though. Something inside of the auburn princess stopped her from speaking up.

Ichigo continued, "Chad brought you to help me. I was angry with him at first. I thought he just threw you back into danger, but the truth was you were already involved. I realized just how selfish I was being." She gasped, clearly surprised at his admittance. "I completely missed that you and Chad had been training to help me. You wanted to protect me the same way I wanted to protect you. You made realize that I had to stop shutting you out and lean on you. You helped me get stronger." He mumbled the last part, still uncomfortable at being so vulnerable.

Feeling bold after hearing his kind words Orihime placed a hand on his cheek and gently guided his face back to her eye sight. She just smiled brightly at him to thank him. The substitute unconsciously took advantage of the situation by taking in her appearance. 'Beautiful.' Neither had the courage to continue their gaze and quietly turned away. No words were spoken as they continued their walk. It wasn't until Orihime broke the silence that they spoke again.

"The Tanabata Festival is coming up this weekend." She had no idea why she mentioned it. The silence was killing her, so she said the first thing that came to her mind. "Are you going to take Yuzu-chan and Karin-chan this year?"

"Probably, I mean Yuzu has been on me about spending more time with the family. She has it in her head once high school ends I am going to move far away and won't see them for a long time." Inoue giggled arousing his curiosity. "What is it?"

"Yuzu-chan really adores you. Kurosaki-kun, you are a good older brother," she declared.

"I try to be, but I make Yuzu and Karin upset when I come home late if a crisis or battle is going on. Hollows haven't been coming around a lot. It gives me a chance to spend time at home. It makes them feel better. I guess I can kind of see why Yuzu is afraid I will go far away when high school ends."

"Are you going far away?" Her interest was piqued. Kurosaki-kun never mentioned what he would do after high school. Every time she tried to steer a conversation there when they spent time together he would tactfully avoid it. The healer really wanted to know. After all once high school ended it could be a very long time until she met him again. A lot could change in that time. 'He could get a girlfriend.' Orihime lips fell into a frown. The thought of Kurosaki-kun with some girl evoked negative emotions, which of course made her feel awful for being jealous. Whatever the future held, so long as her Kurosaki-kun was happy that should be enough for her, even if that happiness was not with her.

The thought of being separated from her beloved for so long still left an ache in her heart. What would it be like to not see Kurosaki-kun every day? How could she get through a day without seeing his scowl or his watchful eye? All the little things he did like dwelling over her safety, lending her some manga that they both followed, and offering to walk her home were treasured moments that she could possibly not share with him for months on end. How did the Orihime of legend survive only seeing her love one day of the year?

Ichigo looked into the sky thoughtfully. Keigo asked him similar question months ago when the term started. He had no answer for him then and had no answer for Inoue now. "I don't know."

"Do you think you will go to college?" Orihime pressed on.

"Yeah, I guess. I haven't really figured out where I want to go. Once I do I have to pass their entrance exams. My teacher keeps nagging me to pick a college to go to, so I can start getting ready. He means well, but it is such a pain in the ass you know."

"I understand." A small personalized smile appeared on her lips. He recognized it as her smile meant just for him.

That was another quality of Inoue's that he loved. She never judged him. She listened to what he had to say, gave her opinion, but never tried to force him to do anything.

She continued, "I am unsure what I want to do for a career myself. I want to do a lot of different things. I am interested in own a bakery though. I love eating cakes and pastries and cook or bake. I want to share my love with people. That is how I came up with the idea of running my own bakery. Maybe you have something you want to do that can help you figure it out what you want to do." Color seemed to have faded from his cheeks. He became fidgety.

"There is something, but I am not really sure."

"You can tell me if you want," she ventured. "I promise I won't laugh at you."

He still did not look like he was willing to divulge his secret to her. Orihime wasn't expecting him to tell her. If he didn't want to share with her she was not going to make him. If he wanted to tell her he would and if not it was his business.

"I want to protect people," the substitute finally revealed.

The goddess' eyes bulged out of their sockets. He was confiding in her in something he had not shared with anyone else? He trusted her that much? A sense of pride beamed down on her.

"I am not sure how I can make that a career though. It is so broad. I could enter police force, but I am not really sure I want to do that. I can't exactly use my Shinigami powers to get a job or anything either."

"Y-you could join the Gotei 13 though," she whispered. If he joined the Gotei 13 and became a full time Shinigami he would be able to protect people. On the other hand he would have to go to the Soul Society. He would live there. In other words his life would be in another world far away from here, far away from her. In a split second Orihime knew the pain that the Orihime of the Tanabata story felt from being separated so far from her beloved. "Have you considered it?"

"Join the Gotei 13?" he repeated dumbly. He would be lying if he said the idea of becoming a full time Shinigami had not crossed his mind ever since he regained his powers. It fit with his wishes to protect people. However, that meant leaving the Human World. Could he really leave Yuzu, Karin, his dad, and friends for a world he had no strong ties to? Sure he was friends with Rukia and the other Shinigami, but it wasn't enough to tie him to the Soul Society and sever ties to the Human World. He had no idea where or what division he would be assigned to. If he was a high ranking officer he would not be stationed in the Human World. He wouldn't see the girl walking beside him.

'I would not get to see Inoue every day. It feels weird to think I could not see her again. It was one thing to be separated by college, but to think I would be separated from her and everyone else by worlds. I can't imagine not seeing Inoue's smiling face to greet me every morning. We would literally be worlds apart. I couldn't protect her. I would be out of her life.'

If he was in the Soul Society life would move on here without him. Things went so much slowed in the Soul Society. It would be as if he stood still, while everyone else moved on with their lives. He wondered what Inoue would do in that time. Perhaps she would find some guy she would learn to lean on as his replacement. His stomach dropped at that thought. Ichigo did not want to let Inoue out of his life completely. She was a big part of his life now. He couldn't let her go completely. He certainly wasn't willing to give her up to someone else. "I don't want to be that far away from everyone."

Orihime let go of the breath she had not even realized she was holding. He was staying earthbound. What a relief. "I do not want to be that far away from you either."

"What?" She didn't want to be far away from him. His heart was racing for a reason unknown to him.

Her face returned to its default red color, when her brain processed the meaning of her words. "I don't want to be that far away from you or Tatsuki-chan, and our other friends!" Phew that was a good save at least. He seemed to have bought it because the shock abandoned his face. "It is hard to believe that after this year ends that we will all be going our separate ways. It is possible we will not see each other for a long time." 'Maybe never again,' she thought sadly.

It was obvious to Ichigo that Inoue was bothered by their possible separation with their friends. Again the need to comfort her came over him. His promise to protect her didn't necessarily limit itself from physical harm. "Just because we are going our different ways does not mean we won't stay in touch. We forged these bonds the last three years. Something like that won't be destroyed by distance, especially everything we have been through." The gorgeous girl fully understood he was referring to their fearsome foursome now. "I don't want us lose contact with each other," Ichigo said truthfully.

"I don't either." This was their final year. Orihime knew that. With each passing day they drew closer to graduating. She couldn't leave high school without letting Ichigo know how she felt for him. "Kurosaki-kun you are very important to me." The atmosphere around them became tense between them. This was different from their usual talks. She had just laid something serious on the table. "I can't imagine you not in my life. I know we will probably be separated by distance, but I still want…." Orihime couldn't finish. It was so hard to choke out. She was such a coward. With the threat of being separated from him she could not say it. "Does it scare you that we might now see each other for a long time? You have always been so kind to me and encourage me to do my best. I really admire you and...Kurosaki-kun, I want…..I will miss you so much."

What was wrong with her? She wanted to say so much, but couldn't. Curse her fear. She feared once school ended their relationship would crumble. The goddess just wanted some reassurance from him that it wouldn't that their bond was stronger than that. Most importantly she wanted him to acknowledge that she was special to him. But perhaps she was deluding herself. Perhaps she should accept that after school ended they would drift apart that her bond wasn't so special after all.

This was about them. He knew it. Theirs was a unique bond. They never said it out loud, but they both knew they were very important to each other. Their trials in Hueco Mundo had shown him that much. "Inoue, you know you are very important to me as well." Ichigo cleared his throat. "I…..It is hard for me to think you won't be in my life. I am going to miss everyone, Chad, Tatsuki, Mizuiro, hell even Keigo and Ishida, but you are going to be the person I miss the most."

Orihime's mouth fell open. She could not believe her ears. She was going to be the person he missed the most. Warmth burst from her chest. Her eyes narrowed. The healer looked upon him fondly. "Kurosaki-kun," she uttered in a hushed tone.

Ichigo felt awkward to speak so honestly with her he also knew he owed her the truth. "When high school ends and we go to college I'll try to keep in touch with you." She didn't like the word try. "I don't want to make any promises I can't keep, so I won't say I will definitely call you every week or text you. I will come back here to Karakura Town when I get the chance. During our breaks we can meet up here."

"Like a reunion!" she nearly squealed. Orihime was ignorant to happiness it gave him to her so giddy. The healer composed herself. "I would like that. Maybe we could make plans to meet back here. It doesn't have to just be on breaks from school." The bakery she worked at was in view. Their time together was about to end, much to her disappointment. "Ha," she sighed.

He was going to ask her what was wrong until he saw they were near the bakery. She was expecting him to use the bakery as an excuse to leave this discussion unfinished. He was tempted to leave things as they were it did not sit well with him to end their discussion like this. "We could make plans to meet up you know whenever." Damn that sounded really, really lame. "We could always visit each other at college wherever we end up at on weekends if our schedule allows it. You will see we can hang out like we do now. We will know how to plan this out once we know what we are doing. I promise we will stay in each other's lives."

That's all she needed. When Kurosaki-kun made a promise he did everything in his power to keep it. She was in his heart. It was all she needed to know. The promised day she would get to see her Hikoboshi brought her tranquility. Unlike the other Orihime she would not be limited to one day to see hers. "You are right Thank you for walking me here, Kurosaki-kun." The red-orange haired woman gave him a polite bow. "Tell Karin-chan and Yuzu-chan I said hi. Maybe I will see them at the Tanabata Festival."

"I will. Hey, if you want you could come over to my house on Saturday and you can come to the festival with us." He knew she liked going to the festival last year. Ichigo did want to spend more time with Orihime. It seemed like a perfect solution.

She stood their frozen in awe. This man did not cease to surprise her. "Y-you want me to come over and go to the festival?" God she hoped she hid her eagerness well enough for him.

"Yes," he said. Suddenly he felt extremely anxious for some reason. "If you are already going with Tatsuki and some of the other girls I….."

"No! I mean I would love or I mean…..I um….yes I would like to come to the festival with you and your sisters."

A huge weight was lifted off his chest. He relaxed. "Cool. Text me what time you will meet us Saturday."

"Ai!" she exclaimed enthusiastically. Kurosaki-kun made an impromptu date with her! Ichigo waved her goodbye and left. She stood there to linger on him for just a little longer. After a few moments passed, Orihime practically skipped to the bakery. She came through the door full of delight. Orihime's boss commented on her even brighter than usual mood. She replied, "Someone made me a promise."

The story comes to an end. How did you like it? If you are a reader for 1 year and 5 months again I am sorry for not updating in a long time. I will try to get something up.