Minna! You made me touch 50 reviews! I'm so happy! I never thought I'd even get this many (shows how much confidence I have in myself XD). I would've posted this earlier, but my laptop crashed like 60 times and my brother wouldn't let me use his. Plus I had no idea what to do with this. *sigh* Alas, the chapter is up and ready (somewhat) for your eyes to read. Please enjoy this filler chapter to digress from the seriousness for a while.

Disclaimer: Kubo Tite, Tite Kubo, same difference. He owns this and not me, a lowly American commoner.

o0 Trapped Within These Clear Walls 0o

o0 Chapter Six: Of Weird Feelings and Bonding 0o

Written By: o0Virgo0o

Orihime didn't expect any visitors that day. Truth be told, she didn't expect any visitors for a while.

So when Kurosaki-kun stepped through the Garganta, she was more than surprised.

She was also very happy.

"Kurosaki-kun!" she exclaimed, smiling brightly. Letting his own smirk grace his face, he dropped to the floor gracefully.

"Yo, Inoue," he greeted.

It felt like years since she last heard his voice.

Why did it hurt her chest so much?

Nevertheless, Orihime plastered a smile on her face as she looked over his form. No visible injuries, thank goodness. He was also alone and carrying a bundle of clothes and a small bento. The auburn furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and tilted her head.

While she stood there looking him over, Ichigo was doing the same thing to her. From what he could tell, she didn't have any injuries to the naked eye, but he also didn't rule out the possibility of her healing her own injuries beforehand.

Seeing her confused expression, a small blush painted his cheeks as he thrust out the objects in his hand. "Here."

Orihime blinked and carefully took the items, their hands brushing against one another. The healer jerked, her fingers tingling pleasantly while Ichigo jerked his arms back as if they were on fire.

"S-Sorry," he mumbled. Orihime smiled and shook her head.

"It's nothing!"

"I uh..." He cleared his throat before speaking again. "I brought you some clothes since those ones are looking a little...uh... ripped."

Orihime looked down at her tattered attire and blushed in embarrassment, lifting her hand to the cover the slight cleavage peeking out. "T-Thank you..." She smiled gratefully.

"And there's also some food in that bento. You're looking a little skinny lately and I'm pretty sure you haven't had a decent meal since... shit hit the fan."

Orihime giggled, the soft sound caressing his ears.

That was a sound he hadn't heard in a while. It was... nice.

"Thank you again, Kurosaki-kun. I really am grateful." Her smile was small, but soft as she ran a slender finger over the bento box. "Really..."

"It's just food Inoue."

"Not for just the food," she whispered, shaking her head and causing her thick hair to fall over her shoulder. "I'm grateful for everything everyone is doing for me. You all came here to help and save me." Her small hands clenched around the clothes. "Even after everything you all went through, I'm still causing trouble for Urahara-san-"

A dark aura engulfed her frame and Orihime shuddered. Did the room just get colder? Her hazel orbs raised up to look at her visitor and she gasped softly at the look of pure rage on his face.

Never before was his anger directed at her.

"Inoue," he growled. "You're not causing any one of us trouble."

When she degraded herself like that, when she made herself seem like she was the cause of everyone's problems, it pissed him off. She literally did nothing to make anyone think she was the villain.

She did not cause the problem with Hueco Mundo. That shit was already started, she just helped speed it up. If anything, it was Urahara's fault for making the damn Hogyoku.

She didn't cause the war in Karakura. Once again, already started.

She didn't cause the shit happening with her soul. Aizen's fucking fault.

She literally did nothing.

"You just happened to get caught in the crossfire," Ichigo said, scratching the back of his neck. "So don't... think you causing us to struggle, alright?"

He was so awkward it was adorable.

Orihime smiled brightly and nodded. He was always trying to reassure her that he was there, that it wasn't her fault, that she was the problem.

That was why she loved him.

After changing her clothes into the long skirt and sweater Ichigo brought her (blushing throughout the whole process), they both relaxed on her cement chair.

Vaguely, Orihime questioned why he was still there with her. Was it because he didn't know how to open a Garganta? Whatever the reason, Orihime didn't complain.

She was glad to have someone beside her, even if it was just for a little bit of time.

The auburn smiled at the bento in her lap as she picked through the vegetables and rice packed inside. Somewhere in her slightly damaged mind, she heard a voice whispering how much this was like a date. Well, if setting was less bloody, more stable, cleaner, warmer, and more romantic in general, it could be just like a 'date.'

It almost worried Ichigo how nervous he was feeling. Since when did he feel nervous since the time he was about to battle Aizen?

No. That wasn't nervousness.

That was fear.

Ichigo leaned his head on his palm as his eyes strayed towards Inoue's form as she shoved a carrot in her mouth. She wasn't there when that battle had happened, was she? She didn't see the true form of that monster he struck down.

Lucky for her.

"Kurosaki-kun?" He heard Orihime say and felt her hand land on his own. Sliding his eyes to meet hers, he saw the worry clear as day shining in her hazel orbs. "Are you okay?"

Why was it the he could clearly feel her hand? Why was it that he was hyper aware of the lines on her palm and her finger prints?

And why did he have the urge to... hold her small hand?

Ichigo furrowed his eyebrows at the weird feelings coursing through his chest. Why the hell was he feeling this way? Never in his seventeen years of life had he ever experienced this. So why the hell was he feeling it now?

It confused him.

It irritated him.

It annoyed him.

He hated not knowing what the fuck was going on. Even more so when that shit was happening inside his body.

"Yeah. I'm fine," he assured her. At least he thought he was. Hopefully he was. "You really need to start worrying more about yourself instead of others."

"I've tried," Orihime admitted, looking a tad ashamed. "It didn't work too well."

A small grin tugged at Ichigo's lips. "Now this, I need to hear."

"You see, I remember walking across the crosswalk on my home from the store one day. There was little old lady on the other side waiting for the light to turn red so she could walk across, but there was only one car and it had already drove away," Orihime said. Ichigo paid close attention to her story, but he couldn't help but notice little things as she talked.

Little things like how her eyes lit up with the memory.

Little things like how she couldn't keep her hands still.

Little things like how she blinked more often as she talked.

Despite the fact that they had been friends for about a year, maybe longer, he noticed that he barely knew anything about her.

Why did he want to know more? About her? About everything involving her?

Shit. He felt sick. What the fuck was happening to him?

"Kurosaki-kun? Are you sure you're alright?" Orihime asked, placing her hand on his forehead.

Fuck.

His heart was beating all fast and shit.

He jerked his head away from his hand, surveying the slightly hurt look on her face.

Fuck.

His heart was hurting for some reason.

"I'm fine," he said, trying so hard to get rid of that pained looked on her face. It made him feel uneasy and uncomfortable.

Out of the expressions she could make, that one suited her the least.

"I'm fine, really. Just think I'm getting a little sick," Ichigo said.

"I think I can heal that for you!" she piped.

"I don't think you can. It's something that can't be rejected... I think."

Orihime pouted.

"But..."

"I'm fine. I promise." For extra points, he let a small, reassuring smile grace his face. That seemed to appease her worries, for she smiled and let the subject drop.

Seeing her so worried for a person like him made him a tad happy.

But he didn't know the reason why.

o0V0o

Orihime felt completely satisfied by the time the Garganta appeared. Three hours. Three hours was the time she spent with Kurosaki-kun alone.

Of course her nerves were all tangled together and shooting nervous signals throughout her system during the time. But despite all of that, she was relaxed. They just sat and talked, something she hadn't done in about two weeks.

Those three hours spent with him could last her three lifetimes.

Orihime smiled brightly at him as he approached the Garganta. "It was really nice talking to you, Kurosaki-kun."

"You, too, Inoue. Still don't like the thought of you being here alone though," Ichigo said, looking outside of the barred window.

"It's alright!" she chirped, flexing a slender arm and showing off the tiny lump of muscle. "I'm strong enough to protect myself!"

He smirked and reached out to squeeze the muscle, feeling it flatten under his large hand. She gasped and Ichigo chuckled. "Yeah. Real strong."

"I-I have more muscle than that!" she squeaked. "You haven't seen my full form!"

"If you can get more muscle than me, then I can officially say you're physically strong. You're already mentally strong."

Orihime blushed at the compliment, twisting her fingers nervously as she looked down at the gray floor. "I'm not that strong... Mentally I mean."

Ichigo sighed and ruffled her hair. "Say whatever makes your boat float, but I know you're stronger than you think."

"It's 'whatever floats your boat' Kurosaki-kun."

"Same difference."

Orihime giggled, resting her hand on the hand on top of her head. She smiled softly, finally feeling as though she was home. Feeling as though he was just leaving her flat in Karakura.

But he wasn't.

He was leaving her in a whole other world. One more dangerous than Karakura.

Alone.

Orihime really wanted to stop thinking so darkly. She was supposed to be happy person! Someone who always wore a smile on their face. Not one who frowned and cried.

That was the Orihime she wanted to be.

She knew that they would be back for her. So there was no need to cry. No need to feel lonely.

Especially not when she had someone in front of her who would fight to the ends of the earth for her.

"Oh Inoue," she heard Kurosaki-kun say. He pulled his hand from her head and reached into the pocket of his hakama, pulling out a small tube. "I don't know what this shit is, but Getaboshi wants you to try drinking it. He said it wasn't anything that hurt."

That's what he said last time, they thought.

Orihime swirled it around, testing the thickness. It was green this time and not bubbling. It also wasn't very thick, unlike the last one.

This was a new substance altogether.

"What does it do?" she asked, popping the cork out and smelling it. Lemon. Odd scent again.

"It's just supposed to 'coat your soul'. At least that's what he said."

Orihime hummed, pressing the cold tube to her lips.

Though the liquid wasn't thick at all, Orihime had a hard time swallowing it. It was almost as if something was keeping it from going down.

After a few attempts, she finally managed to swallow down half of it before giving up and closing the tube. "I-I can't... It's hard."

Ichigo smiled reassuringly. "It's alright. Getaboshi said something not being able to swallow the whole thing."

But still...

A harsh on her forehead kept her thoughts from running in the wrong direction. Orihime squeaked, touching her forehead softly and looked up at Ichigo.

"Don't you even think like that. You're not a failure for not drinking it all."

How did he...

Orihime smiled and decided to not to think about the answer. He stopped her from being pessimistic and that was all that mattered.

It was because he cared for her as a friend.

And, bitterly, she decided that she was content with just staying his friend.

Yeah yeah yeah I know. Not a lot going on considering the super long wait. But please understand that words have let me and so has my ability to be creative. It's like they grabbed their bags filled with pieces of my brain and ran away. It's okay though. They'll be back.

They always come back...

Anyway! I hope you enjoyed this little filler even though it was disgustingly horrible (can't believe I wrote such trash and POSTED it). I'll try to get the next chapter posted before my brain decides to leave me forever. I'll show it how much I need it and how much it needs me!

Please review if you can!