Author's Note: This drabble is dedicated to FLOL( The Five Lifetimes One Love forum). I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the existence of this forum.

(Warning: Slight spoilers from recent chapters! And some fangirlspazzing XD)

This fic is also cause I'm a little disappointed with the timeskip. I was really looking forward to seeing that Bad Shield ( I hope I got the name of the movie right?) date happenL. But the stupid ticket went to waste, cause Ichigo was unconscious for a month or more after they came back, I think?

That's pretty much what my next few drabbles are going to be centered on. Hence the lame title- Bad Shield! XD You know Ichigo was going to ask her to it, if he was conscious and able !

Or maybe they did get to go on that date, except, they went as friends, cause poor Ichi stumbled on his words, and Hime misunderstood, and Ichi was too nervous to correct her? What do you guys think? Gahhhhh, I'm sooooo inspired now! I'm gonna write it both ways, one where they do get to go, and one where they don't.

The best thing about the timeskip are the new looks. Most all of them look sooooo fantastic, especially Orihime. I'm sooo happy to see her again. I love the dear girl! And I looooooooove her new look! I think she looks absolutely gorgeous. Her hair is to die for! I bet my strawberry pie, Ichigo was bowled over by her the first time he saw her like that. You just know he was, lol!

Oooooh, And I love grownup versions of Karin & Yuzu.

By the way, I totally think my first drabble is almost exactly how Ichi feels about Hime in canonzJ. I think I've pegged him down pretty well. I'm just worried the flow of thoughts aren't as smooth as I hoped for it to be. Its kind of angsty.

I wanted to capture the essence of Orihime and why I believe Ichigo (& Ulquiorra too) are soooo strongly attracted to her, consciously/subconsciously, doesn't matter. This fic also clearly expresses why I love IchiHime/UlquiHime, and why exactly Orihime is my favourite Character in Bleach !

I really hope you enjoy it! And please please leave a Review!

Disclaimer: I swear, as much as I'm content with all the awesome IchiHime Kubo has given us, I really would have given us the Bad Shield date as well, lame movie or not!%^! If Only 'Bleach' and 'Ichigo' and 'Orihime' belonged to me. T_T.

Out Of His League

Ichigo was irritated. He'd just sold his soul to the soccer team yesterday, for a good amount of money, but despite the satisfactory negotiation he was still irritated as hell.

The awed lovestruck whispers about her were getting on his nerves, as he forcefully made his way through the school corridors.

Great, he thought a little morosely. Now she was an idol.

It wasn't like she was far enough out of his reach already, he scowled darkly.

His fingers itched to start a fight with the clambering, indecent idiots that were running around stalking her, and taking pictures of her.

He refrained with difficulty, since he didn't think Orihime would like it if he suddenly started acting like a jealous boyfriend.

She'd also probably abhorr it, if he came down hard on them. She wasn't big on violence.

And she'd seen enough of it back in Hueco Mundo, he grimly acknowledged.

Besides, he thought grudgingly, she had Tatsuki to protect her. He knew Tatsuki would make damn sure, none of these lowlifes ever got too close to her.

But he still couldn't help worrying about her anyway. Its how she was. And Its what he did. Because she was Orihime. And he was Ichigo.

Orihime. He liked calling her that in the private corner of his head, though he wouldn't dare call her anything, but Inoue to her face.

He couldn't break out of the habit of calling her Inoue yet, not on his own, not until she asked him to, which, disappointingly enough, she never did.

He'd always maintained that distance between them, because he felt he didn't quite measure up to what he thought she should have. And that hadn't changed. He still felt like that. Karin was right.

Inoue Orihime was way out of his league.

He knew she cared a lot about him regardless. But he could never tell how much.

It was hard to tell with someone like Orihime. She was always way too nice for her own good.

How could he know if he meant something special to her, if she always treated everyone especially nice?

She . . .was puzzling.

Strange as they come, with her weird nonsensical ramblings, but sharp as a needle, when the situation called for it. Seemingly fragile, but unexpected strength and maturity to be found in her ever present smile, and impartial compassion.

She lived in a daydream, yet, never too far removed from reality.

A beautiful clumsy contradiction.

She was really something. That girl.

He still starkly remembered her astonishing compassion for Ulquiorra and those female arrancars who had roughed her up pretty bad out of spite.

It was humbling. And envious. The way she moved through life.

Always smiling. A genuine regard for life and all it held in store, despite her painful scars.

Looking at her carelessly skipping through life, laughing the frowns away with weird randomness, you'd never know there was a wealth of pain and loss and loneliness, carefully hidden behind those smiling bright brown eyes.

Her amazing capacity for kindness and her enthusiasm for everything, even the most weird, mundane things, stunned him. She was so very alive, so full of emotion, even when she was crying and full of despair.

Her willingness to reach out through her pain, even to those directly responsible for it, was a powerful aphrodisiac.

She'd forgiven him so easily for letting her get hurt despite his earnest promise to always protect her. And she'd been hurt so brutally because of him so many times now, he'd lost count.

Maybe it was the same for Ulquiorra too, as he recalled Orihime's parting words to him. He seemed to find Orihime fascinating as well.

Maybe it meant something to Ulquiorra to have Orihime say she wasn't scared of him, despite his demonic form and all he'd put her through. It was the last thing he'd wanted of her, before his body turned to ashes.

Just like he'd needed to know she was okay with his hollow form, while fighting with Grimmjow. He felt an involuntary pang of empathy for Ulquiorra. He understood him a little better now.

Suddenly, an unwanted thought floated evilly across his mind,

What about Orihime? Did she have some kind of attachment to Ulquiorra? She'd been under Ulquiorra's care for quite a while. . . What if . . It was pointless to ask himself questions he didn't have answers to, and had no business to wonder even, but he couldn't seem to help himself where she was concerned.

She drove him crazy. with worry. doubt. jealousy. . . .

She was random. funny. weird. adorable. cooked/ate weird food that gave him a weeks worth of stomach cramps merely thinking about it. And beautiful. Inside and out.

She made him feel warm. awkward. comfortable. afraid. unsure. terribly conscious of himself. on top of the world. loved. And more. . . All at the same time.

She made him feel five lifetimes worth of emotions. Some he couldn't even name.

She was just really frustrating on the whole.

And, he reminded himself once again, completely out of his league.

So what the heck was he doing, still thinking about her like a lovesick fool?

There could never be anything between them.

She was better off never knowing how he felt.

So he'd go about his life, watching over her from afar, pretending he didn't feel anything more for her than was appropriate to feel, as her friend.

Authors Note:

! Ichigo is a reallllll BAKA!

Orihime is a BAKA too! They're both BAKA's (idiots) for each other. And, they don't know it!

At the rate they're going, they'll never know it. Cause they're two helpless, insecure idiots, each for their own reasons. These two desperately need some outside intervention to push them off their insecure arses.

Oh, and Ichigo's supposed to be really good at English and a huge fan of Shakespeare, so the language in the fic shouldn't feel like its too sophisticated, romanticised or out of character for him . . .I hope. . . Anyways, Please Review and tell me what you thinkJ.