"You do realize you're supposed to eat it, right?" Ichigo let his signature scowl fall into place as he looked up from his chocolate parfait. Chika smiled around the spoon hanging from her mouth. His eyes drifted to the empty bowl before her, tiny spots of melted vanilla being the only evidence of the banana split she had just consumed. "Is my hospitality not welcome?"

"I'm just not a sweets kind of guy. Not to mention that I hate when other people buy me stuff when I can get it myself." He slides his melting dessert to her, earning a larger smile before she dug in.

"You don't know what you're missing out on. Besides, what's the harm in letting someone treat you to something? It's not like they're doing it out of pity or anything." The brunette managed to say in between bites. He sighs at his friends antics.

"You're going to get a headache if you eat it that fast." She sends him a flat 'yeah right' look and begins to shovel the dessert into her mouth, stopping at the fifth spoonful to clutch her head in pain. "I warned you." A small smile tugs at his lips when she angrily pouts at him. She begins to smile herself when she notices.

"You have a nice smile. I like it." A pink tint finds his cheeks. She's the only one who can fluster him so easily and she knows it. She's the only one he really sees as a girl. "Oh? Are you blushing?" Her playful tone and mirthful eyes heating up his face even more.

"Like hell. It's just hot in here." He avoids her gaze by looking out the window, allowing himself to watch the people passing by the café.

"Mm Hm." The clatter of metal on glass draws his attention to the now empty dish and the content smile on her face.

"You sure can put those down." If anyone else had said those words she would have put them through a table.

"Of course, it would just be a waste if I let them melt." She says with a hint of pride, leaving Ichigo to wonder why she was proud.

"What exactly was the point of this anyway?"

"What do you mean?" She asks with her head cocked to the side.

"I mean what was the point of today?" A little irritation filters into his voice.

"You mean other than being able to hang out with one of my best friends for a day?" She glared at him.

"I didn't mean it like that." She was still glaring. "You know I didn't mean it like that. Come on Chika, you know you're one of my best friends."

"You certainly don't act like it." He flinches at her retort. He hangs his head before he answers.

"I'm sorry." Hazel eyes met hazel eyes and Chika knew he was sincere. Her anger melted away.

"I guess I overreacted a bit too."

"No, you're right. I guess I'm just not a good friend."

"You're a great friend! You were…" She looks down before continuing. "You were the only one to visit me when I was…asleep, besides my family anyway." The temperature drops a bit and Chika looks up to see pain in his eyes. Her own eyes widen in realization. "Oh Kami, I'm sorry Ichigo." He feels her hands grasp his. He relishes the feeling before he pulls away.

"It's fine."

"If it was fine then it wouldn't hurt." He turns back to the window. "Ichigo." She pleads softly. "Please let me in."

"Do you really want to know?" If anyone else had asked, he would have blown it off or changed the subject. Not even his sisters could get him to consider opening up.

"That's what friends are for." Ichigo sighs.

"I hate them." She doesn't show any surprise when he looks back to her. "I was in a coma for three weeks after fighting Ovan and they didn't visit or call. There wasn't even a shinigami to check up on me. I know my energy came back during that fight. I may not be a shinigami anymore but I know my power is back. I can even see the spirit standing at the street corner." He jerks his head at said corner and Chika turns on instinct. "Not to mention that white bastard has been acting up again."

"Hey Ichigo."

"Hm?"

"The spirit on the corner, it wouldn't happen to be a floating twelve year old kid in an orange shirt and brown cargo shorts with a chain hanging out of his chest would it?" Ichigo blinks. He blinks again when he realizes that she's right. "It is isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Do they usually look like that?"

"Unless they're Hollows or Shinigami then they look the same as they did when they died."

"I was talking about the chain."

"Oh, oh yeah spirits usually have those unless they're…"

"Hollows or Shinigami?" She asks.

"Yeah." Ichigo's brain catches up with the conversation. "Wait, have you seen spirits before?"

"If they all have that chain, then yeah."

"How long have you been seeing them?"

"Ever since I was a kid. I just never knew they were spirits before. I always though they were weirdoes so I just ignored them."

"I wish it had been that easy for me. I was like some kind of dead people magnet. The closest I got to peace was when I only had to deal with one of them." He chuckles lowly. "You're the only person I told about all this without being asked."

"If you hadn't been the one to tell me then I wouldn't have believed it."

He quirks an eyebrow. "Why's that?"

"The one thing you've never been able to do is lie."

"That's a good point. I've never even needed to lie until I gained Shinigami powers." He shrugs his shoulders. "Even then it was just asking to use the bathroom when a Hollow showed up during school."

"How did you do that anyway?"

"Hollows are pretty stupid. I just had to be stronger and I took them out pretty easily."

"Well that explains a lot." Ichigo's eye twitches at her statement.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I didn't mean anything bad by it. It's just easy to see where your play style in [The World] comes from."

"Huh?"

"Well you tend to focus on overpowering one enemy at a time and only use your speed to dodge around attacks." She gestures to herself. "While I prefer charging at my opponents weak spots and doing as much damage as I can before I have to back off making speed essential for me."

"Isn't that more due to the fact that Twin Blades generally have low HP and a poor defense stat?" He chuckles at her glare.

"Shut up! Not everyone picks an Adept Rouge for their first character."

"That's only because people are usually lazy and don't want to invest that much time in strengthening their characters." They share a shrug.

"Not to mention unoriginal. They just recolor the default model when they pick their class."

"Ugh. Don't remind me. It's so damn confusing when you're trying to find a particular player to trade with."

"You actually trade with people?"

"Not usually. I prefer to farm Skill Books and sell them in the market."

"You what?! You don't use them?"

"Never. I level my skills up easily enough without them."

"Lucky you." Ichigo cocks an eyebrow at her.

"Why are you complaining? I thought the Arena was the best place to increase Skill Level."

"But it's SOOOOOO boring!" Ichigo just grins.

"How the mighty have fallen. What would all your fans say if they knew the girl behind Alkaid was a drama queen?"

"This coming from the guy who customized his character to look exactly like the real you until you earned your first Job Extension? You couldn't even think up an original name. You just used your own."

"It's not like I was trying to hide anything. I just didn't see the point of making something up."

"I thought it was because you're worse at naming things then you are at lying." Ichigo groans in response. "You wouldn't happen to have a gaming headset on you?"

"Considering it was apart of my personal effects when I was admitted to the hospital, yes. Why?"

"Well since you slept through all the Cubia excitement I figured we could go to my place and get you back in the game. No pun intended."

"So you're dragging me to your place to 'play with me'."

"Yup!" She blinks in realization. "You actually made a joke! And it was a good one. The world must be ending."

"Hey, I can be funny."

"Ichigo, you never joke about anything. You're one of the most serious people I've ever had the pleasure knowing. I can handle you smiling but actually hearing you make a joke is kind of scary."

"Thanks. Can we leave now?"

"One last thing." She slips out of her seat and moves to Ichigo's side. He's caught off guard when she wraps her arms around him in a crushing (for a girl) hug. "I'm happy you're okay. I don't know what I would have done if something worse happened to you."

"That's my line." Ichigo stands to return the gesture, drawing her in closer as he speaks. "Besides, I'd do the same for any of my friends."

"I know." She tightens her hold, her head resting on his chest. "That's what scares me. I don't want to lose you."

He pulls away causing her to look up at him. She's shocked when his lips crash into hers. She's stunned that the normally guarded Ichigo would be so forward and blushes once she realizes she likes it and begins to kiss back.

"Same to you." He whispers, pulling away to go settle their bill. She watches with a small smile as he walks back to her side. He holds a hand out to her with a small smirk on his face. "Shall we go?"

She takes his hand, interlocking her fingers with his. "We shall."

END NOTE: This story isn't going to be in any particular order due to there not being any clear segway from one chapter to the next so I'll just be posting whatever I've happened to write up and and a rough date to fit it into my set timeline but expect it to be all over the place. PLOT BUNNIES SUCK!