Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Drawn to the Rhythm (The Easiest Thing ) ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer

I don't own Bleach and I am not making any money off of it. Some other lucky bastard is!

1

1

Author's Note(s)

`Text like this' = thoughts and internal dialogue

Chapters will probably be short. It's easier for me that way.

Sorry for any bad writing, I don't have a/any beta/s.

Thank you for the reviews. Constructive feedback does motivate me to spend more time writing. Especially since this is the first story I've ever written.

Beta'ed after the chapter was originally posted by Aurorawhisperwind

1

1

Chapter Edit History

03-12-2208 grammar and spelling adjustments

1

1

Chapter Summary

Everyone is still in the lone room at the Urahara Shop. Ishida has some stuff to do and needs a few hours away from Orihime. Tatsuki and Orihime reconnect.

1

1 

CHAPTER 3

 

 

Ishida was woken by a soft knock at the door and the confident voice of Arisawa Tatsuki. “Your relief's here Geek, I'm kicking you out. Yoruichi will be here soon too I'm sure.”

 

 

Before he had time to reply the paper doors slid open and the spikey haired karate champ stepped into the room. Her eyes went wide when she noticed the absence of her best friend from her mattress in the middle of the room. She instinctively paned the room in search of the missing girl. It was safe to say she was less than thrilled when she found her Orihime-chan.

 

 

Naturally, after protecting her innocent Orihime day in and day out since middle school from the onslaught of sleazy boys and perverted lesbians, her first reaction was to kill. Her brow furrowed and fists clinched when she found Orihime wrapped up very happily in the all consuming and very intimate embrace of a teenage boy.

 

 

Ishida's face turned bright red from being caught in such an affectionate position with the girl he secretly loved. The average teenage boy in him seemed to fear the wrath of Arisawa almost as strongly as the Quincy in him loathed Kurotsuchi Mayuri. Still, his first concern was for the precious cargo in his arms, and with strength he didn't know he had he quietly and commandingly met the scary karate champion head on, “Inoue-san sleeps. You will lower your voice Arisawa.”

 

 

Tatsuki's eye twitched at the challenge. She didn't want to be the one responsible for waking her friend up, especially not when she was clearly very happy to be right where she was. The two stood in the silent challenge of a stare-down for a moment. `Wow, he's gorgeous without his glasses and tousled hair. Argh, shut up Arisawa!' She was caught momentarily off guard by her own very unexpected and strayed thought. She stomped her foot sporting an angry glare before sitting in the corner of the room opposite the cozy couple.

 

They spoke back and forth in quiet, hushed, and threatening tones in some bizarre alpha-dog challenge to win protective rights over the sleeping princess.

 

 

`It was such a bad idea to leave her alone with a boy. Damn him for refusing to leave her. If he hurt her it's my fault.' “Does she have all her clothes on under there? Did they come off at anytime?

 

 

He couldn't help but blush at the thought of a scantily clad Orihime. `Funny, I thought I'd wake up to find everything that happened last night to be just a dream. Hah, I really did actually expect to be dreamy Ishida-kun. But she's really here with me, wrapped around me!' For a moment he basked in the euphoric disbelief of the entire setting. “Do not insult me Arisawa!” He reveled in the auburn beauty's sweet scent and the wonderful warmth her small body generated against his.

 

 

`If' he's taken advantage of her at all these past two weeks, he's dead. I don't care how smart and cute he is, good thing his family owns a damn hospital!' “If you've touched her in any inappropriate ways Ishida, I'm going to kick your ass! … I demand to see your hands!”

 

 

`She's pissed! Arisawa's going to kick my ass the first chance she gets!' “Again, do not insult me or make me repeat myself. Besides if I move she will most likely wake up.” His thoughts took a turn for the worse as the expression on his face shifted to sadness. `Besides, it's likely I'll never be able to hold her like this again.'

 

 

Tatsuki noted the drastic change in the boy; he did nothing to hide it. He sat in the corner and seemed to hold onto Orihime even tighter as if he might loose her. She watched him; it seemed he had completely forgotten she was in the room with him and itching to beat him to a bloody pulp. He closed his eyes and buried his nose in the soft head of silky hair resting on his chest before leaving a chaste kiss on Orihime's head.

 

 

Tatsuki watched the whole thing in hidden awe, `ok that's either really creepy or really sweet.'

 

 

Ishida felt the girl in his arms begin to stir. “Tatsuki-chan please stop upsetting Ishida-kun. Ishida-kun is good. Ishida-kun's a perfect gentleman. Please be nice to him Tatsuki-chan, please.” She tilted her sleepy head and big doe eyes back to look at the boy that kept her safe all night, “thank-you Ishida-kun.” A tiny tinge of pink crossed her cheeks, “you're so comfortable, it was like sleeping in a Quincy cocoon.” She giggled a bit as she watched him blush before adjusting her position in his lap so that her back settled against his chest. The sleepy girl moved the blanket so that it still covered them both thoroughly, effectively trapping their combined body heat and shielding them from Tatsuki; though that wasn't necessarily her intent.

 

 

Carefully gauging the reaction of the girl who proclaimed him a cocoon, the usually shy boy kept his arms possessively wrapped around her, fixed snuggly across her flat cotton covered stomach. He was very happy when Orihime seem to welcome his advance; she snuggled into his morning-after embrace before draping her own arms and hands across her stomach to rest comfortably on top of his. She settled into the delighted boy like a custom made chair.

 

 

“Ishida-kun?”

 

 

“Hai, Inoue-san?”

 

 

“Is that dreamy Tatsuki-chan or Tatsuki-chan?”

 

 

Tatsuki's eyes were overcome with worry when they locked with the violet eyes if the Quincy boy.

 

 

“She's real Inoue-san, just like you and me. You are home.”

 

 

The concerned eyes of the karate champ traveled back and forth from her best friend to her geeky bedfellow, “Of course I'm real Inoue-san. Why wouldn't I be? Ishida, why is she asking that? That's uh… well, it's kind of scary.”

 

 

Ishida saw the worry in Tatsuki's eyes, he imagined that's exactly how he looked when he discovered Orihime's dissociation of reality. Once again Ishida adjusted himself over the side of Orihime's head so he could talk to her. “Inoue-san, you want to explain to her or should I?”

 

 

She gasped audibly enough for them to hear. `His eyes' she remembered, she remembered what she saw behind his beautiful amethyst eyes last night. `His power? His spirit? What is that?' Even with his glasses she could see the very power of the Universe ceaselessly bursting inside of him. She tentatively reached up to touch his face as the memories of last night commanded her attention. Whatever it was that she was seeing was so enormously vast. `There's no way I could've known Ishida-kun all these years and missed that. Why now?' Then she remembered his reiatsu flare last night. She vividly recollected what he shared with her and she momentarily forgot to breathe when her body recalled the feeling she was overcome with when his spirit energy seemed to pull from hers and she was consumed by his boundless propensity to love. `That was the first time I ever saw his eyes like this.'

 

 

“Inoue-san… Is everything ok? What's wrong?” He was worried for the girl in his arms, he didn't understand what was happening to her, and he didn't understand why she starred so intently at him. For a moment he was worried that she had slipped into an even deeper state of dissociation.

 

 

The dazed girl's blank eyes shot back to life, “Huh..?”

 

 

The panicked boy drew a sigh of relief. “Tatsuki-san wants to know why you think she might be a dream. Do you want to tell her or would you like me to.”

 

 

`He's asking me? Why's he asking me, no one cares what I have to say? Even Tatsuki-chan laughs at me all the time... Am I really home?... My dreamy Ishida-kun is real?' She felt disoriented. Memories of last night wouldn't let her rest. Intricately detailed thoughts of Aizen and the Espada treating her like a sleazy and worthless broken-in blow up doll kept trying to force their way to the forefront of her thoughts. It was so hard to believe it was over. It seemed even harder to believe the unexpected and completely wonderful and strange ways Ishida Uryuu made her feel, she craved his closeness. `How can I even want anyone to touch me after… after the way they touched me?' So unexpected - all of it so much! No matter how hard she tried she just couldn't stop thinking about Ishida's eyes as she unconsciously tightened her grip on her Quincy. He was her only source of comfort and stability.

 

 

He felt the girl in his arms begin to tremble and paw at him as she blankly seemed to space out again just as she had a moment ago. Under the mild-stealth of the blanket he hugged her tighter and placed on hand on top of hers, pausing a moment before interlacing their fingers. Immediately she began to calm. “How about we both tell her Inoue-san? You go first and tell what you know, and then I'll go after you?” `She'll never be able to accept anything if she can't even talk about it.'

 

 

Tatsuki felt powerless. Useless to help her friend as she watched Orihime slip back and forth between reality and whatever horrors were assaulting her mind. She thought about the double life her friend had been living all this time. The powerful friends she had, the extraordinary places she'd been to, the dangerous situations that seemed to be a daily norm. `I really can't protect Orihime anymore can I? I can't compare to any of that!' It wasn't the first time she'd felt completely useless to help. Tatsuki remembered the afternoon her friends returned from Hueco Mundo; she felt Orihime the moment she crossed the border back into the world of the living. Orihime's spiritual energy actually felt nothing at all like how it normally did, but she still some how knew that the faint and twisted spiritual force belonged to Orihime. In the middle of the day, without explanation or warning, she left everything behind and bolted from class at a frantic speed to track down Orihime. Her search led her to the Urahara shop, it was a verifiable circus; everyone was already there.

 

 

Tatsuki stood, unable to believe the nightmare she suddenly found herself trapped in. She remained motionless as she took in the circus of a scene that surrounded her. Her head began to throb and swim. An ever silent Sado sat watching in disbelief from the corner, Rukia was on the floor softly running her fingers through the spikey orange hair of an unconscious Ichigo, Renji was hollering something about going to get the 4th division before he disappeared, some gorgeous purple haired woman she now knew to be Yoruichi was trying desperately to silence a shrillingly loud and freakish looking little girl with a speech impediment who clearly wanted to be near `Itsygo', and Mr. Hat-n-Clogs was trying equally as hard to get the other weird looking creatures to follow the purple haired woman and the noisy kid to the basement.

 

 

A stabbing sense of despair filled Tatsuki's heart when her eyes settled on the girl she came here to find; she was no longer capable of providing for her cherished auburn haired best friend. The special girl she'd sworn to always protect.

 

 

In a state of chilling abeyance, in a room separate from the rest of the choas, lay a horribly battered Orihime. Limp on the cold floor scantily clad in a white jacket. Her soft, ivory, innocent flesh eroded with red crusted lacerations and a myriad of black and blue hues. Above her a shaken Ishida Uryuu, teetering on the brink of shock, vehemently threatened anyone who tried to get near while he carefully tried to straighten her matted and disheveled hair. Unable to move, Tatsuki watched him as he tenderly looked down on her and softly pleaded with whichever God was real to make her better in between his broken sobs of pleading inaudible urgent words to the vacant girl before. She watched him lay down at her side. He whispered something - Tatsuki watched - Orihime glowed - Ishida looked stunned - everyone saw. Orihime was healthy, as radiant as ever.

 

 

Tatsuki heard the distinct voice of the unusual shop keeper when his stunned voice broke the silence. “Ishida-san, what did you do?”

 

 

Speechless and stunned the young Quincy fought to find his voice. “Nothing Urahara-san, nothing; I was just… I was just talking to her.”

 

 

“What as the last thing you said?” It wasn't often that Urahara was completely taken by surprise.

 

 

“I… I was angry Urahara-san, I thought I'd lost her. I was angry, mean, and demanding to her.”

 

 

The unexpected deep baritone of a mystified Sado wanted to know, “What did you say Ishida?”

 

 

Ishida Uryuu sat up on his knees and adjusted his coat to cover as much as her pristine soft and exposed ivory flesh as it could, “I demanded that she heal herself… She's, I think she's asleep now.”

 

 

“Wow that was definitely her Shun Shun Rikka.” Urahara slapped his hand to the back of his neck, he was completely taken back. “She healed herself, on command, unconscious, and without an incantation! That's incredible!” `I wonder how Aizen forced her to pull that trick out of her hat. If he thinks she's who I think she is - he won't stop coming after her.' He sighed, `poor girl, she better make a decision soon.'

 

 

Now, two weeks later Tatsuki still could not believe that it was the same Ishida Uryuu that she'd known for years who she watched that day, who sat across from her now, and again seemed to flourish where she now failed. Sadly the spikey haired champ watched again as Orihime respond instantly to the boy as he tried to comfort her and convince her to talk, `she needs to be convinced to talk to ME, what, why?'

 

 

A conflicted Orihime shifted onto her side and buried her face into Ishida's chest like a timid child trying to hide from the world by burrowing into a trusty safety blanket. She loved her Tatsuki-chan so much, but she couldn't bear to have her friend laugh at her - not now; she didn't think she could handle adding that particular nail to her already lead heavy coffin. “She'll laugh at me Ishida-kun. Can you tell her please?”

 

 

Ishida had never been to one of Tatsuki's tournaments, but he now had a pretty good idea of what the kind hearted warrior looked like after a firm and unexpected kick to the face. Orihime's words hurt.

 

 

He began to recant the story, more for Orihime's sake than Tatsuki's. He'd hoped that the more his Hime-chan heard about her life, out loud, infused with details of simple things that seemed both reasonable and logical, that she might continue to work on accepting that she was indeed back home. “Yesterday Inoue-san woke up. It wasn't like the brief moments of waking unconsciousness that she'd been having for the past two weeks. She woke up and I think she was laughing at me, I must have looked ridiculous. Anyway, when she woke up she was convinced that this, being here at the Urahara Shop, was all a dream and that she might still be in Las Noches fast asleep…”

 

 

Ishida was interrupted as Orihime gasped and sat straight up! `He told her about Las Noches!' “Tatsuki-chan, Tatsuki-chan doesn't know Ishida-kun.”

 

 

The other two seemed puzzled for a moment; they didn't know what Orihime was referring to.

 

 

Tatsuki, who was much more adept at conversing with her best friend clued in quickly enough. “I do know Orihime.” Orihime settled back into Ishida's grasp and looked questioningly at her best friend. “I followed Ichhhh… well to the Urahara Shop the night they left to go rescue you. We… I mean I,” Tatsuki mentally scolded herself for her inability to keep Ichigo and the others out of her explanation, “snuck in the basement and watched them disappear through this freakishly large and completely creepy unreal looking doorway. Urahara kindly filled in all the blanks after he caught us hiding. I might not know everything, but I know enough to understand.”… “I was… I, well, I was also here the night you came back.” `Will I ever be able to talk about Ichigo in front of her again? Will I ever be able to get the sight of her that night out of my head?' The karate champ woke up at least once a night in a feverishly cold sweat assaulted with the nightmares of her own cruel and self made scenarios of the horrors her best friend might have lived through.

 

 

“We?” Came Orihime's simple question.

 

 

“Keigo and Mizuiro were with me that night they left to go to Hueco Mundo.” Tatsuki scooted a little closer to her friend; she tried to shake all worry from her face. `She doesn't trust me to take her seriously? When did that happen?' “Please Orihime, will you finish the story Ishida-san started? What happened last night?”

 

 

“But Ishida-kun will tell it so much better,” Orihime's eyes shot down and diverted to the side momentarily, “no one ever laughs at him, besides he has the best voice in the world.” She looked up and smiled big at the boy who blushingly held her before turning brightly toward her best friend, “Don't you think Tatsuki-chan?”

 

 

Tatsuki sweat dropped as her hand slapped the back of her neck and mild blush seemed to materialize, “Uh well, actually, Ishida does have a really nice voice.” The fearless karate champion found a very interesting spot on the floor that was apparently in great need of her attention. “Sorry Ishida, I'm with Orihime, you give the best oral reports in school. A lot of girls and probably a few guys seem think so too.”

 

 

Orihime was so happy and pleased with herself. So much so that she completely overlooked that both boy and best friend were trying desperately hard not to look at each other or die of embarrassment.

 

 

“But uh… Orihime-chan, you're my best friend. I'd much rather hear you talk than Ishida, especially if it's important.” Tatsuki turned a sudden and pleading gaze toward her best friend, “Please, Orihime, you've been so distant for the past couple of years, and then this thing happened and I can't help but think how close I may have come to never seeing you again.” Ishida watched silently as tears began to streak down Tatsuki's normally composed face as her own Inoue Orihime floodgates opened. “Orihime, I don't ever want to loose you. I can't loose you, and I feel like I already have, you never talk to me anymore. You never tell me anything. I don't even know where you are half the time. I miss my best friend Orihime, please let be a part of your life again.”

 

 

A sharp, very unpleasant and cool breeze filled the once warm space around quiet Quincy boy where a soft and sweet smelling girl once sat as Orihime flew out of his lap to wrap her arms around her best friend's neck in an picture perfect tackle hug. He couldn't help but smile, `this is god for Orihime'. He slipped his glasses on and watched a moment as Tatsuki seemed to try and find a nice way to tell Orihime that she needed air. Ishida couldn't help himself, he was still just a teenage boy and two very hot looking girls in a near wrestling position wiggling around right in front of him commanded his attention and the attention of his now hyper-sensitive purple Quincy spear. He quickly threw the disheveled blanket across his lap. A motion that somehow even the oxygen deprived Tatsuki caught and somehow still had enough energy to glare and snarl at him for. For the moment, Orihime was just happy to be with her Ishida-kun and her Tatsuki-chan.

 

 

Tatsuki managed to peel her best friend off of her. She was happy Orihime was smiling and took this lighter moment to get rid of blue haired Quincy boy that her best friend had literally over night, become rather attached to. Even though she questioned her own ability to effectively calm Orihime if the need arose. “Hey you, it's not the weekend yet. Don't you have someplace to be?”

 

 

“Hmph”…. Ishida gathered the piles of books and papers around him into neater stacks. He really didn't want to leave Orihime, but he only had a few hours a day to do everything he needed to do, and he knew Tatsuki wanted to spend some alone time with her best friend. `Besides, Yoruichi will be here soon and she'll kick me out rather I want to go or not.' A small frown crept over his face as he came to a rather demasculinizing realization. `I'm surrounded by girls who can brutally kick my ass, what the hell! How did that happen? Orihime could leave me six feet under easily and that tiny little rocket blasting Tessai Tsukabishi that works for Urahara,” a small shiver ran down his spine, “that little girl makes me want to wear a steel enforced cup everyday. If she even kicks me once I will definitely be the last Quincy! It's un-natural for a girl to be able to kick that hard! Ugh… then there's Rukia too! '

 

 

The sweet girl looked back and forth between the other two people in the room. “What?” Worry started to etch her face. “Ishida-kun is leaving?” Immediately she tensed and seemed to take a few steps backward in the little progress she had been making.

 

 

`What the hell! Why is she so attached to him? I swear to God I'll kill him if he did anything even more inappropriate than what I walked in on! It's bad enough he saw her naked when he rescued her!' “Don't worry Orihime; he'll be back in three hours, at 5:30. You've got me all to yourself till then. Oh, that and Yoruichi will be here soon.”

 

 

Ishida dropped his backpack by the open door; the look on Orihime's face would be his undoing. He'd do anything to keep her happy. He knew how scared she was, he knew that she didn't feel safe or trust her surroundings and it was clear that she didn't trust her own judgment but for some reason she felt comfortable with him, she trusted him. Though he wasn't sure why. In a brief moment of chivalrous delusion he momentarily convinced himself that he could take on both Tatsuki and Yoruichi and force the girls to let him stay with his Orihime. `But it won't help Orihime at all if she sees or hears any of us fighting or yelling at one another.' He pulled her into a reassuring hug. “I'll only be gone 3 hours Inoue-san. Arisawa and Yoruichi-san will be with you. I promise I'll come right back and then we'll do whatever you want, we have all weekend.”

 

 

She wrapped her arms tighter around him and mumbled into his cheat. “Why do you need to go Ishida-kun? If you go you won't come back. Please stay here, you can play with me and Tatsuki-chan.”

 

 

“Well I need to go home and get a shower and some clean clothes or you won't ever want to hug me again, then I have a meeting to go to, then I need to run by the optometrist in the mall really quickly to get my glasses fixed, they keep sliding off my face and I have to keep pushing them up. Or haven't you noticed?”

 

 

His heart lightened a little when he felt her loosen her grip on him and chuckle a little. “I like the way you smell Ishida-kun. You don't need a shower.”

 

 

“Ahh, but will you feel that way tomorrow. I'm not sure you'd like the smell of a teenage Quincy after 48 hours of not having a shower.”

 

 

The more he talked and reassured her that he wasn't going to abandon her, the more relaxed Orihime became. “What meeting do you have Ishida-kun?”

 

 

Tatsuki just stood and starred at the boy wondering if he was going to answer her best friend's question truthfully.

 

 

He thought about his answer for a moment and decided that he didn't want to ever lie or hide things from Orihime, she'd been through enough. He knew that all the bad things that had happened to her in life, not having parents, loosing her brother, living alone, being neglected and being over looked by her friends, often being treated like a imbecile by those she cared for, and then everything that happened in Huecho Mundo had all but effectively annihilated her ability to trust and lying to her most certainly wouldn't help her get past her trust issues and alarming dissociative problems. He couldn't disrespect her by or even claim to be doing everything he cold to help her get better by presenting her with lies instead of truths. She deserved far-far better than all of that! `She's been through a lot and needs help right now, but she's the farthest thing from weak and helpless.' She'd literally been through hell and quite frankly he was in awe of her resilient and unrelenting strength. `I won't insult you Hime-chan, you aren't a child.'

 

 

“Inoue-san, every weekday afternoon Arisawa comes by to see you after she gets out from school. While she's here I go home, shower, and change and meet with a group of people at the Karakura Community Center.”

 

 

“What kind of group Ishida-kun? Is it fun? Can I come?”

 

 

“You can't come today Inoue-san, but when I get back we can talk about going to groups together on Monday if you'd like. The group I go to isn't fun but I think it's really important for me to be there, it's a peer-support group.”

 

 

Orihime loosened her grip around his waist and looked up at him, her curiosity was peaked. He could see it in her eyes.

 

 

In the back of his mind he decided that teaching a sex education class, especially being the supremely inexperienced virgin that he was, would be easier than this, though he honestly couldn't figure out why it was so hard to get out. He looked into her beautiful eyes and took a deep breath, determined to get it over with. “It's a peer-support group for the friends and family members of rape victims.”

 

 

Tatsuki's jaw dropped. `I can't believe he actually told her the truth.'

 

 

He paused for a moment, “and when that's over I usually come back here to be with you. So you see. I'll be back. I never really leave.” In a rare sight, he smiled; it was a smile just for her. He pulled her back into a hug, he could tell she didn't know what to say or even how to react. Truthfully he wasn't even sure how honest with herself she was about having been raped. He suspected that it was very possible she was dissociating those memories. “So, Inoue-san, will it be ok if I leave for just three hours?”

 

 

She didn't move or even acknowledge his question.

 

 

Slowly he broke the hug and leaned over to pull his wallet from his school bag. “Inoue-san, do you remember when we were in the Soul Society to save Rukia? Do you remember one night when we were hiding out and resting I told you about Sensei, my grandfather?”

 

 

She nodded. She remembered everything he told her about his grandfather. His words, at that time, seemed so uncharacteristic of him. He spoke of his Grandfather with such endearment and respect. She knew he loved his grandfather more than anyone else.

 

 

He reached into his wallet and pulled out a picture, he looked at it for a minute before handing it to her. “That's him, that's Sensei, and that's me when I was 9 years old.”

 

 

Before he could go any further he heard a girly high pitched squeal of delight that caused him to stumble back a bit. He thought noises of that sort were just vibrant literary descriptions; he didn't know girls actually made that sound! Orihime grabbed the picture and ran right for her best friend.

 

 

“Look Tatsuki-chan… look, look how cute Ishida-kun was. He looks so happy too, and they match. They're both dressed like Quincy's!” Ishida wondered what the future held and if he should ever be lucky enough to have Orihime by his side everyday if he should permanently sport a sunburn to hide the constant state of blush she seemed determined to keep him in.

 

 

Normally Tatsuki would just grin and pat her friend on the head, happy that Orihime was happy but not actually sharing anything with her. That's exactly what she caught herself in the process of doing! `Oh my God! Orihime's right. Do I do things like that to her all the time?' She tried to recall the last time she actually attempted to relate to her friend rather than just play the role of the sounding board or the body guard. Honestly she couldn't remember anything in recent years. Then a rather unpleasant epiphany caused a horrible tightness in her chest `maybe I am the reason I've been loosing my best friend.'

 

 

She looked at how happy something so simple, a picture of a boy and his grandfather, could make Orihime even after everything she'd been through. She stared at the wide sparkling eyes and radiant smile of her best friend and suddenly remembered why she had been drawn to Orihime in the first place, why she had always been drawn to Orihime. Orihime was wonderfulness; she was the best of everything the world could possibly put into one person. It was the day that she realized how special Inoue Orihime was that she vowed to protect her. Some things were so wonderful you would just fight willingly till your dying breath - not to protect them, but to preserve them. Inoue Orihime did not need to be protected, she needed to be preserved.

 

 

Tatsuki grabbed her friend and with tear streaked eyes she hugged her fiercely. “I'm so sorry. I love you Orihime! I'll always love you. I'll never leave you again. I love you!”

 

 

After a moment the hug broke and a bewildered Orihime gently used the blanket to help her Tatsuki-chan clean her face. “I really do love you Orihime.”

 

 

Orihime smiled a sweet smile that Tatsuki hadn't seen in ages. The spikey haired girl knew Orihime had a million smiles, but that one was just for her; Orihime's smile for her best friend.

 

 

“I love you too Tatsuki-chan.” Orihime reached out to grab her friend's hand and laced their fingers together; “forever Tatsuki-chan!”

 

 

Determined to start making things right again, the karate champ reached over to take the picture from Orihime. “Ok now, let's see what all the fuss is about.” She studied the picture and decided she'd just never paid any attention to Ishida Uryuu in the past because he was a rude, loner, geek… but she really couldn't deny that Orihime might be on to something. “For a 9 year old you're a definite hottie Ishida!”

 

 

Ishida's jaw dropped right before he miscalculated the stair step behind him and fell flat on his ass. His face just kept getting redder! He mumbled something under his breath about hot girls… early grave… and embarrassment as an unethical weapon of destruction.

 

 

Orihime and Tatsuki just giggled at his apparent discomfort and walked over to help him up. The sweet buxom beauty placed a soft kiss on his cheek hoping to make him feel better before leaning up against him to use him as a human wall. He wrapped his arm around her to provide support. Ishida glared out of the corner of his eye at Tatsuki and hoped with every fiber of his being that she didn't plan on kissing him too. He breathed a very audible sigh of relief when he figured he was in the clear.

 

 

Tatsuki seemed to have understood exactly what he was thinking and decided to punch him in his free arm for being a brat, she was very-very surprised when her lightening fast fist hit a small glowing triangular shield and the look on her best friends face went from happy to menacing. “Oh-K…” Tatsuki took a few steps back. “I got it, don't pick on Ishida. I'm sorry Orihime; I was just joking around with him.”

 

 

“Ok Tatsuki-chan.” The shield dropped. “Please be nice to Ishida-kun though. He's very nice and I don't want anything to happen to him or to you,” was Orihime's reply before she resumed her previous cheerful demeanor.

 

 

Ishida's eyes were wide with disbelief. `She just defended me! She protected me against her Tatsuki??? Tatsuki, she loves Tatsuki.' He stood in complete awe at the tiny and wonderful girl who leaned comfortably against him. `Incredible! Her powers have grown so much in such a short time! How did she react so fast? There was no incantation.' He remembered the reiatsu flare that nearly crippled him in Las Noches; he knew that was her spirit energy. `Orihime just how powerful are you? And why are you protecting me?'

 

 

Tatsuki starred dumbfounded at the boy to find that he was just as surprised! `What the hell is with those two? Uh… are they like together now? I don't care what she says; I'll still kill him if he hurts her that is if she lets me!'

 

 

“Here you go Ishida-kun, thank you for showing me the picture. Your Sensei looks like a very nice man. I bet it's so wonderful to have a grandfather.”

 

 

“Oh wait, where was I?” He scratched the back of his head and tried to remember why he took the picture out in the first place. Oddly it seemed like it was ages ago that he reached for his wallet. “Oh, I remember. Inoue-san I still have to head out for a few hours.” He watched the smile waiver from her face, but he was happy that she wasn't as strongly opposed to the idea as she had been. “You hold onto that picture ok Inoue-san. It's the only picture I have of my Sensei. So will you hold onto it until I come back in a few hours? I don't trust anyone else with that picture. It means too much to me.”

 

 

She still felt an extreme sense of separation anxiety. She was comfortable with him and now she was comfortable with her Tatsuki-chan, but she trusted him. Just being near him made everything so much easier to deal with, even though she couldn't understand why. She still feared that he would leave and never come back, but holding onto the picture he so clearly treasured did help. “I don't want you to go Ishida-kun, but if you promise you'll be back and if you say Tatsuki-chan will stay with me till you do, then I trust you. Please hurry back Ishida-kun.” You could tell she was forcing herself to let him go. She was still too scared, and truthfully some part of her still expected the Espada to appear any minute. The boy was the only thing that could chase those vile fears from her soul.

 

 

He hefted up his school bag before turning to the one girl he never wanted to be apart from. He gave her another reassuring hug and a lingering kiss on the head before eye-balling Tatsuki in a silent command that she better take very good care of Orihime in his absence.

 

 

He was going to be late. He bolted out the door and nodded a curt hello to Yoruichi as he passed her. He couldn't hide the smile on his face that was so stretched it was slowly becoming painful. He'd never been so happy in his life!

 

 

------------

 

 

Urahara caught Yoruichi outside the shop on her way to check on Orihime.

 

 

“Oi… Yoruichi-chan, we were right. It happened last night?”

 

 

Yoruichi didn't seem at all surprise with the news her oldest friend had to offer. “Does anyone else know?”

 

 

“Just us, there's a strong reiatsu container around the room they've been sleeping in and around both of their apartments. Nothing leaked out. We're safe for the moment.”

 

 

END OF CHAPTER, but not the end of the story