Kubo Tite owns Bleach.

Please excuse any typos.

Ichigo was pretty sure Orihime knew he was watching her by this point. He hadn't been able to take his eyes off her for the entire all throughout class and he already glanced away whenever Tatsuki looked over at him - she looked more suspicious than he'd prefer. Once class was dismissed and the students were told to stand and bow, Ichigo was quick to grab his things and head straight over to the redhead only to get blocked by Keigo on his way. "Ichigooooo~ Where're you going?"

Ichigo felt his eyebrow twitch, glancing past Keigo to see Orihime discussing something with Tatsuki and Chizuru. His grimace only deepened, "Home."

Keigo's mouth fell open. Eyes welled up.

Oh, here we go–

"But, Ichigoooo! You promised, you promised!"

Before Ichigo could complain, Mizuiro decided to speak up from behind the substitute, "He's right. You did promise."

"Mhm."

Ichigo balked, "Even you, Chad?!"

"You promised," Sado replied calmly, holding out Keigo's bag toward him.

The brunet took it, but continued to whine to himself. "You said you would come with us to the comic store. That new series is dropping today! You said you would!" Ichigo narrowly resisted the urge curse underneath his breath. It was all coming back to him - a couple weeks ago, Keigo had brought it up and Ichigo could vaguely remembering giving a casual promise towards his friend. He didn't think Keigo would be so upset over it, plus with the recent events, he hadn't been that concerned with such trivial things. There was no more gossip surrounding the strange rumor of Orihime being snatched up - thanks to Rukia's mind-erasing thing. And Tatsuki had let the subject go rather easily, much to Ichigo's surprise. But that didn't stop her from sending him small glances throughout the day.

And she hadn't really let him get close to Orihime either. He hadn't gotten a chance to speak with her, really. Besides the night he walked her home. Either way, Orihime didn't seem to be up for much talking. From what Ichigo could tell, she looked as if she was even more out of it than usual - yeah, her daydreams got to her a lot, but he hadn't seen her this bad in awhile.

It reminded him a lot of–

( draped in white clothes

screaming, screaming, screaming

get up. get up and protect her )

"Ichigo! Ichigo, are you even listening? What're you staring at anyway?" Ichigo blinked and looked over just in time to see Keigo following his line of sight. He was quick to glance away, but Keigo was already grinning knowingly, eyebrows raised high on his forehead, "Ooohhh?"

Ichigo's eyebrows came together, a scowl working onto his face, "Oi–"

"Were you lookin' at our pretty, beautiful, smart–"

"Shut it."

"–gorgeous, popular–"

"Keigo."

"–Inoue Orihime?"

Mizuiro and Sado merely watched as Ichigo's mouth twitched downwards, his forehead wrinkling. They were already prepared for what was coming, but Ichigo surprised them. Sado raised his head slightly when he saw his long-time friend glance over to the side, towards the far wall. Then clenched his jaw and moved past Keigo. "You wanted to go to the comic book store, right? Let's go already."

Keigo blinked. And then blinked again, "Eh?" He made a quick glimpse towards Mizuiro, "Did I say something wrong?"

"You're an idiot, Asano-san."

"Eh?!"

Sado said nothing, following after Ichigo in silence. He only stopped a couple feet away when Ichigo did the same. It was almost like watching magnets react to the other. Orihime, from her desk, looked up and caught Ichigo's eye from across the room. Sado couldn't really see Ichigo's face from the angle he was standing from the substitute, but whatever passed between the two friends made Orihime quickly look back down, cheeks a soft pink. And for Ichigo to continue on his way out the classroom.

.

.

Mizuiro and Keigo bickered most of the way on the train, Sado putting in his two cents every few minutes. Ichigo kept to himself, following after the group with a slow pace. He wasn't sure what the three were talking about and he only added a few hums and nods every time he was asked for his opinion. As they neared the comic book store, Keigo grew more excited. He was pretty much dancing in spot at that point. Sado rested a large hand on his shoulder to hold him still

For once, that didn't keep Keigo down for long. Mizuiro had to rush in after the guy when he hurried into the comic store without warning and a loud "YAHOO!". Ichigo could only watch, blowing out a sigh.

"You alright?"

He looked up at Sado's deep voice. There was concern there. "Huh? Oh, yeah."

Sado continued to stare at him through his thick curtain of dark hair. "...Is this about the other day?"

He should've known. There was no way he was hiding anything from Sado - the guy might've been pretty quiet and reserved, but he just made up for it with these kinds of things. Ichigo almost frowned, but instead just raised a hand and roughly swiped it over the back of his neck, fingers brushing against the stray hairs there ( he would have to get it trimmed soon, hopefully Yuzu would be up for it ). "What else? No one seems worried about it. And that damn getaboshi...he never tells us anything, you know? It's frustrating..."

Sado said nothing, only continuing to stare.

"I just...I have to make sure Inoue's safe. I can't let anything like that happen again," He wasn't completely sure whether he was referring to the stranger snatching her up or something else. Of course, both events were still fresh in his mind. Neither of them were going away anytime soon. "Something's wrong, I know it."

"Inoue rejected the Hogyoku."

"I know, I know," He jammed his hands in his pockets since he was close to pulling at his hair, "I know she did." Inoue had done the impossible, as Urahara had called it. It'd taken a few months for Ichigo and the others to get the weird shopkeeper ( and a few other Captain's, scientists, etc from the Soul Society ) off Inoue's back after the war. Even Rukia looked curious after the entire ordeal - Ichigo didn't like any of the looks the Shinigami had been aiming at the healer.

Her powers cross over into a God's territory, Kurosaki-san, Urahara had said, you can't blame me for being a little curious.

Actually, Ichigo could. And he would. Which was why he didn't like Inoue hanging over there so much in the first place. He must've been making a pretty harsh face since a few seconds later, Chad placed a hand on his shoulder. Ichigo released another sigh, irritated, "I'm fine. Just thinking." A pause, "I don't get it. Maybe I should go talk to Urahara-san again."

"I'll come with you."

"Thanks, Chad–"

"Ooooohhhhhh! I got it! I got it, you guys! Limited edition!" Sado and Ichigo both looked up Keigo standing in the doorway of the comic book store, Mizuiro trailing after him. Ichigo watched as his friends walked over to him, one much more excited than the other. "I got it, I got it, I got it~! Look, look!" Ichigo wasn't very interested, his lips pressed in a firm line as his friend leaned closer to him, "I got you something too, Ichigo!"

"I don't want it."

"Here!" The manga was practically shoved in his face and Ichigo had no choice but to take it. Once he read the title, he almost ended up slapping Keigo in the face with it. Obviously a shoujo manga, a girl with voluptuous curves on the cover, cheeks red and cherry blossoms spreading all around her. The brunet had a large grin on his face, obviously pleased with himself. "Thought you would need that. Give you some pointers." From beside Ichigo, Chad released a small huff under his breath that suspiciously close to a laugh. Even Mizuiro looked close to breaking his calm facade. Ichigo rolled the manga up, smacking it against the side of Keigo's head with enough force to make him cry out.

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"Are you an idiot?!"

"I'm just trying to help you get laid, geez–Ow! Stop it!"

.

.

Once the two of them got to Urahara shop, it was late. Thanks to Keigo and Ichigo's bickering ( Ichigo had been red in the cheeks the entire time ), they'd missed the four o'clock train. With a quick snack from a local fast-food place, they'd managed to catch the five o'clock on time and go their separate ways. Ichigo's ears still felt warm from all the crap Keigo had been spewing for the last hour and a half. His bag also felt twenty times heavier with the shoujo manga inside - he was tempted to throw it away, but Sado had chided him, saying it would be rude.

"That idiot."

"He's funny," Chad rumbled softly from beside him. Even a small smile was on his face. "Keigo's only messing with you, Ichigo."

"Still!" The substitute protested, reaching a hand forward to open Urahara's entrance, "I should've–"

Ichigo could only stop where he was, fingers a few inches from the handle on the sliding door. Chad watched, growing curious. "Ichigo?"

"...Inoue's been here."

"...?"

"She's here now."

Without any further explanation, Ichigo wrenched open the door and stepped inside. Chad took more time, removing his shoes carefully and placing them beside the door, watching as his friend disappeared into the back room. Ichigo shoved another door out of his way, ignoring the bright lights and the smell of freshly baked sweets, probably Tessai cooking. Ururu, Jinta, and Yoruichi all looked up once Ichigo opened the door - Yoruichi's expression immediately became far too alarmed for Ichigo's liking.

Jinta was already yelling his head off, "Oi! The hell're you doing–Hey! I'm talking to you!"

Ichigo paid none of them any mind, heading further into the shop, only for a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Ichigo–"

"Where's Urahara?"

Once Yoruichi saw Ichigo's expression, her eyes sombered, lips turning down at the sides. She crossed her arms over her chest, quiet for a few moments, "Busy."

"Inoue's here."

At that, Yoruichi's golden gaze widened. "You can still feel it? Even past the spell he set up?"

So they were trying to hide Inoue's reiastu or something? It only made Ichigo's hands tighten into fists, "The hell're you people doing here?" He moved away from Yoruichi, probably too sudden since she was still stunned. She followed him, calling his name numerous times, but the teenager continued on his way. Once he was down in the training area, he opened his mouth to say, "Inoue–"

All the air around him completely vanished.

Or so, that's what it felt like. Chest constricting, eyesight blurry, Ichigo forced his weak legs to move, lifting his chin with great difficulty to try and see through the sudden chaos. When had he fell to his knees? He wasn't certain. Usually, inside of Urahara's Super Secret Training Grounds, the sun was beating down and it was typically peaceful, miles and miles of unforeseen sights.

But now–

Ichigo could only stare. It felt as if it were freezing - like the temperature had dropped significantly all of a sudden. He wasn't able to see the sky, but he was pretty sure it was dark as well. Light was nonexistent and it took him a few seconds to realize what was going on - what he was seeing through his blurred gaze. The overwhelming reiatsu, the whirlwind of sand and black reishi creating a large spiral dip in the center of the training grounds, the small bundle of red and gold right in the center of the tornado-like energy.

Inoue!

Ichigo's body moved on instinct. It always did when it came to Orihime, when it came to situations like this. There wasn't much he could do to keep himself in control. His legs forced him up, taking one step at a time - slowly until he gained more speed and suddenly he was sprinting straight towards the dark reishi whirlwinds. The closer he got, the warmer it felt and somehow freezing at the same time. He could only force himself through, picking up speed as he neared her.

Inoue, what're you–

"Stop! Inoue, stop!"

Now that he was closer, he could see that she was standing, her knees pressed together, her form shaking. Her hair a tangled mess over her shoulders, face, moving with ease with the high-powered winds. In her small hands, she clutched something to her chest. It didn't take a genius to guess what it was. His eyes narrowed, teeth grinding together and muscles tensing almost violently. He moved again, much faster than before. He hadn't meant to knock her off her feet, but it just happened. He landed on the ground first, the hard ground knocking the air from his lungs almost immediately. Once they hit the floor, the reaction was instantaneous.

The loud, howling winds stopped. The black formed reishi was no more. The temperature returned to normal.

It was quiet.

Without thinking, Ichigo gripped Orihime's wrist, forcing her to release the darkened Hogyoku from her grasp. The small orb rolled away, clinking against the ground once or twice before coming to a stop. He was panting, sweat working on his brow. The entire scene kept playing in his eyes, like a movie. The darkness around her form had nearly made him come undone, just the thought of it.

Orihime suddenly coughed from beneath him, wriggling lightly. It reminded Ichigo of their position - he was so exhausted from pushing himself through that cluster-fuck, he didn't even have the energy to be embarrassed, no matter how much he wanted to be. Instead, he pulled back, trying to catch his breath. Once Orihime raised herself on her knees, her legs a W-shape underneath her, Ichigo spoke, "Inoue...Inoue, you okay?" Orihime didn't answer at first. Which only made him more worried. He could only grab a hold of her shoulders, probably much too rough for someone as small as her. "Inoue!"

Her large honeyed eyes stared up at him, dazed. "K...Kurosaki-kun? When did you get here?"

Ichigo didn't say anything. He couldn't really. His eyes darted over her face - no cuts, no bruises. Then down her neck, hands following the descent and touching over her arms. He wasn't completely sure of the reason–

( she's fine,

she's here,

she's real )

but once he dropped his hands, he pressed the heel of his palm against his forehead hard. "Shit..."

Orihime seemed befuddled, the color was returning to her cheeks though, which was good. "Kuros–"

"Is everything okay over here~?" Both teenagers looked up. Urahara stood a couple feet away, watching them. Though his tone seemed light, his expression was anything but. Orihime still seemed pretty out of it - once she lifted her head, she looked a bit dizzy from the sudden movement. Ichigo was quicker than her though, standing all of a sudden and grabbing a hold of Urahara's robes roughly. "Now, Kurosaki-san–"

"What the fuck is this?!" The sudden booming voice that left Ichigo didn't sound like him at all. It was venomous, almost murderous intent. "What the fuck're you doing down here?! What the hell was that? Why're you trying to cloak over Inoue's reiastu?! Why was she holding that?" With every word, his voice was becoming louder and angrier.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime spoke up from behind him - she'd managed to get to her knees at that point, "Kurosaki-kun, it's okay–"

"Kurosaki-san is right, Inoue-chan," Urahara said, his tone far to pleasant for Ichigo's liking. Glowering up at him through orange strands, he slowly released his hold on the shopkeeper. If it weren't for Orihime standing right there, he probably would've done far worst, just because of his temper. His shoulders were tense, hands clenched into fists at his side. Urahara gave him a smile, though it looked forced, "Forgive me, Kurosaki-san. It was just a bit of experimentation~"

Experimentation and Inoue being the same premise wasn't sitting very well for Ichigo. His dark brown eyes narrowed further, body instinctively moving in front of Inoue even more than before. "Experimentation? Experimenting her and that thing? I thought you were just running some tests."

"This is one of those tests." The ex-captain replied coolly.

Ichigo glared. He could pretty much feel Orihime's worried gaze boring into his back.

"Nothing else was working, Kurosaki-san. I'm not able to help if I don't know what exactly this Hogyoku will react to. And so far, the only thing it's reacted to...is Inoue-chan." On instinct, Ichigo glanced back towards Inoue to see her face. Her eyes were large and concerned, hands clasping into her skirt so tightly her knuckles were visible. He could see the small tremble racking through her every few seconds, even though the heat was nearly overbearing in the training grounds. "When she released a bit of her spiritual pressure around it, the Hogyoku immediately reacted this way."

"What if she'd gotten hurt?! Then what?"

"Then I would've stepped in."

Urahara was regarding him with a rather laid-back expression, calm and collected. It made Ichigo's teeth clench, grinding them together. "If you don't know what it's capable of, then don't use Inoue as a lab rat!"

"Kurosaki-kun," He felt a hand on his arm, tugging at the sleeve there. He tried to calm down, taking in a deep breath before facing her again. Her eyes were watery at this point, shoulders shaking - from the stress or from the chill before, he wasn't sure. "It's okay. I wanted to see what I could do to help."

Of course she did. She was always trying to help, no matter the cost. She was unbelievably selfless. His eyes flickered towards the getaboshi again and then back to Orihime. Blowing out a long, frustrated sigh, he grumbled, "Right." Once he caught sight of her school bag lying on the ground, he took three long steps to get to it, pick it up, and hand it over to her. Without saying anything else to the shopkeeper, the orange-haired grabbed a hold of Orihime's arm and tugged her in the direction of the exit.

"Kurosaki-san, if we're going to know anything about the Henpinfuka World, I'm going to need Inoue-chan to be involved. To know why that stranger decided to choose her out of everything. If you want me to help, you have to–"

"If you ever try to cloak Inoue's reiastu again, I'll find out." Ichigo didn't bother glancing back at the shopkeeper, only keeping a firm grip on Orihime's arm as he lead her out of the shop and away from the tainted Hogyoku.

.

.

"GOOOOOOOD–"

Dark brown eyes opened.

"MOOOOORNING–"

He sat up in bed.

"ICHIGOOOOOOO!"

And dodged out of the way, just in time for his father to slam face first into the far wall. Irritated, Ichigo whirled around, pulling himself from the bed quickly to avoid his father's Sneaky Belly Flop Attack. "Hey! Are you a damn idiot?! You could've hit me!"

"Haha! My son's reflexes are even quicker than yesterday! My parenting skills are out of this world!"

"I'll show you somethin' outta this world, you Old Goat!"

"Come, son! Hop right into your Daddy's chest! Let us spread the Father and Son love!"

"Wh-What're you doing?! Get away from me, you dumbass!"

"Onii-chan! You're going to be late for school!"

"Oi! Old Goat, leave Ichi-nii alone!"

.

.

"...! Kurosaki-kun?"

Large brown eyes stared up at him. Frustrated, Ichigo fought down the blush rising in his face and spreading to his ears. Was he too early? He hoped not. From what Tatsuki said in her text last night, this was right around the time Orihime left ( Ichigo had pestered Tatsuki the night before for the information, he could practically hear her laugh at his obvious irritation ).

"Hey, Inoue."

"What...are you doing here?" She closed her apartment door behind her, head tilting slightly to the side. A lock of red-gold hair fell over her shoulder and he frowned at how aware he was of her. "Did something happen?"

"What? No. Nothing happened. I'm gonna walk you to school."

Her reaction was surprising. She straightened up almost instantly, a pink flush appearing in her face. Ichigo blinked.

"Y-Y-You don't have to do that!"

Now, he was curious. "Of course I do. There's some weird guy snatching people up. Plus, I don't trust that damn getaboshi." Without waiting for her reply, he stepped down the stairs, indicating her to follow. "C'mon, we'll be late."

He heard her light steps following after him quickly, "Ah! Wait for me, Kurosaki-kun."

Hi, guys! It's been three years since I updated this story, and I apologize for that! I've been busy with school, my job, and Mystic Messenger. Like most of Tumblr, I've been obsessed with that game. Zen and Seven are my favs, tbh. Sorry for being MIA for so long, you guys! I know I keep promising updates for Hidden Screams, but that's the only fic I have writer's block for. I've started the chapter, but every time I go back to it, I'm stuck. I promise it'll be coming out next though, I have to focus on it!

It's either Hidden Screams or You Desire. I won't let you guys wait too long for another update! Thank you for following my fics even though I take forever.

-Star