חלק 1
"What _is_ that?" Was the first thing said to Inoue Orihime as she came into class that day, holding a box about the size of both her breasts combined. "Good morning, Michiru-chan, Ryou-chan!" Orihime calmly greeted as she moved to her seat, placing the box on her desk. It was the day after her late brother's anniversary, and she seemed like a completely different person… as much as Orihime could, as she was still Orihime. However, both hairpins were present and she hardly bumped into anything or anyone. She made sure to keep a safe distance from staircases still, however… "Hime! Good morning!" Honsho Chizuru chirped as she hoped next to Orihime, scaring the girl lightly. "Good morning, Chizuru-chan." She managed to babble. "Ara, what's this?" Chizuru asked as she blinked at the box, sniffling the air around it. "Smells… sweet…" "Ah, don't!" Orihime cried out as Chizuru attempted to open the box, jumping on it, protecting it with her body. A blush rose to Chizuru's cheeks as she took a step back. "Ara, Hime, so noble, to throw her life on the line to protect the treasure chest… HOW-ever!" Cracking her knuckles, a fire burned in the ecstatic girl's eyes. "That only means that I must stake my life to break through… itte!" She suddenly cried out and fell as she sole of Arisawa Tatsuki's shoe connected with the back of her head. "Idiot, go waste your life somewhere else!" "Ah, Tatsuki-chan! Good morning!" Orihime chirped, now more relaxed as another guardian for the box had appeared. Tatsuki ruffled her hair fondly before turning to look at the box. "Morning. What is that? Smells… sweet." She said, sniffling the box a bit. A slight blush came to Orihime's cheeks as she twiddled her fingers. "It's a thank you gift… for… ah! Here's yours!" Orihime suddenly announced as she quickly extracted a small bag from her backpack and handed it to the other girl, not giving Tatsuki a moment to wonder. Biting her lip, she continued in a hushed voice. "Thank you, Tatsuki-chan, for coming with me yesterday." A slight blush rose to Tatsuki's cheeks as she accepted the gift, not even managing to think about what was inside. "You really… didn't have to…" Orihime shook her head, sending her long hair waving around her. "What are you talking about? If it wasn't for Tatsuki-chan, I'd have been run over by that car and wouldn't even have been here now! Baking some of Tatsuki-chan's favorite chocolate-chips cookies is the least I could do!" Fear suddenly crept into Tatsuki's eyes. "You… baked this?" "Yes!" Came the over-excited reply. "I made the dough, and put in the chips, and then I dipped it in pineapple jam, and…" Tatsuki's hand covered the girl's mouth, stopping any farther description of the recipe. "I'll… try it out later… but…" She glanced at the small bag in her hand as she kept it out of Chizuru's reach as the other girl tried to grab it, muttering "Hime's cookies" like a mantra. "… If that's your reason behind it, then the big box must be for…" "I don't want to hear it!" Came a shout from the hallway outside the class, drawing the attention of all inside. They looked right on time to see Kuchiki Rukia march into the classroom… "I said, wait…!" …just to have her slam the door in Kurosaki Ichigo's face. She remained standing there, making sure the door to the classroom remained closed. "…up. Now that's real mature of you, Kuchiki!" "Ara, but I thought it'd be best for Kurosaki-kun if I stepped down to his level!" Rukia replied, now fully in her school-performance persona. "Good morning, Kuchiki-san!" Keigo cried out from his seat, small hearts dancing around him, matching Rukia's sparkles and shoujo bubbles. "Ara, good morning, Asano-ku—" She was cut short as she door was yanked open and she went flying sideways with it. "You're disrupting the entry to class, Kuchiki!" Ichigo barked as he stepped into the classroom, a vein throbbing madly in his forehead. Orihime's eyes widened as she hurried to hide the box, Tatsuki helping her as she seemed ready to just fall on it. Rukia looked away with an air of superiority to her. "Ara, but there is another door to class, Kurosaki-kun, were you not aware of that?" "I don't want to hear it from someone who can't even open a slide-door closet right." He said as he entered, leaving her behind to glare at his back. "Go, good morning, Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime declared as she stepped up to meet him. Upon noticing her, Ichigo's expression softened greatly, raising quite the confused cloud of mumbles around them. "Ah. You seem to be more like your normal self, Inoue." He said with a rather teasing air to him. With a nod she raised her arms, as though straining muscles she didn't have. "Hai! 100% hyperness restored! Inoue Orihime, back in business!" Then her pose faltered as did her voice; she looked away, blushing slightly. "All thanks… to Kurosaki-kun…" A dark look crossed Rukia's eyes as she passed by them, half walking into Ichigo on her way to his seat. He half glared at her momentarily before looking back at Orihime. "I didn't really do anything…" She shook her head. "That's not true! You bought us those drinks! They were really delicious!" A moment of staring at her content expression passed before he sighed in defeat. "I'm… glad you enjoyed that." He said with a soft smile, and her blush deepened as she looked away. Her mouth opened as she said something, but the words hardly came out. He leant a bit forward, straining his ears. "I'm sorry, Inoue, what did you…" "She said…" Tatsuki's voice came in, loud and clear from her place next to them, sitting on top of a struggling Chizuru to keep her from lunging at the orange haired boy in a violent spur of insanity. "'If you aren't busy, would Kurosaki-kun mind… having lunch with me?'" She finished with quite the disturbing grin on her face. A silence as though fell on the class as all eyes turned to them. Orihime's gaze was set on the floor, though her face became as red as her hair, and a similar though slightly lighter hue rose to Ichigo's cheeks as he turned to look at her, opening his mouth to reply… "Ok everybody, take your seats, class is in session!" Ochi-sensei declared as she walked in, breaking the scene. Orihime hurried to sit down in relief, as though hiding from prying eyes. "Nice atmosphere!" Mizuiro whispered from his seat behind Ichigo, making Rukia "humph" quietly from his side.
