Chapter Text
"Oi you bastard, here!"
Ichigo sighed as he moved towards the direction of the voice.
Another day. Another fight.
Well, that is something you could expect from people who call themselves delinquents.
To be fair, the Karakura gang did not get into fights unless things were actually serious. But today, things had gotten a little bit out of hand...
"You're Ichigo Kurosaki, right?" The 'big guy' of the gang, who appeared to be the 'leader' spoke.
"Are you the cowardly assholes who ganged up on Ishida and beat him up?" Ichigo spoke, not sounding very friendly.
"First answer me, you're Ichigo Kurosaki, right?"
"Yes, I am. Now answer me, are you the guys that ganged up on my friend and beat him?"
"Of course we are! And we're going to do the same to you and your gang!" The leader smirked.
"One, two, three..." Ichigo counted the gang members.
"What are you doing?"
"Hmm...there are 17 of you guys here, so it would roughly be an average of three guys for each person...That's easy..."
"The hell you mean by that?"
"Oi Renji! It'll be fine to bring out the others now."
On command, Renji along with Chad, Ikkaku, Yumichika and Toshiro arrived in view.
"Is this all of you guys?" The leader asked being underwhelmed.
"Well, Ishida cannot fight yet and Hirako didn't want to come today, so yeah, that's all of us for today..." Ichigo answered.
"And what's with this shorty doing here? Go to your Mama, you pipsqueak." One of the members laughed as he put his hand on Toshiro's head.
"Say that again." Toshiro spoke solemnly.
"Huh?"
"I said say that again."
"You pip-" The gang member's hand was instantly held and twisted by Toshiro before he slammed him to the ground.
"Are you the Pierrot Clown gang from Mashiba High school?" Renji asked, a grin plastered on his face.
"It's not 'Pierrot', It's 'Pyro', you bastard!" A member spoke.
"That's one and the same thing." Renji snorted.
"It's not! Pierrot means clown and Pyro--"
"Seriously... just stop yapping, you guys are clowns anyway..." Renji spoke nonchalantly. infuriating the gang members.
"I heard Ishida beat half of your members that day. Alas! You guys played dirty, and that guy just lost like that." Renji scoffed.
"You..." one of the members lunged forward to hit him, Renji immediately punched him on the stomach knocking him out.
"I'll take the big guy first!" Another member spoke as he took out his baseball bat and tried to attack Chad from behind. Chad immediately struck his elbow at the member's face, knocking him out as well.
"Three down, now it's two for each member." Ichigo smirked as he cracked his knuckles.
"And I'll take on you, all by myself, so that makes up for it." Ichigo spoke pointing towards the leader. The leader was enraged.
"You guys are so dead!"
---
"Seriously, why did these guys even bother fighting?" Ikkaku spoke as he sat on top of one of the members, eating an onigiri.
"They were weaker than I'd expected." Yumichika spoke as he twirled his hair.
"Weak Bastards." Toshiro scoffed.
"I'm going home." Ichigo announced as he got up.
"Gonna meet your girlfriend in the way?" Renji spoke.
"Inoue is not my girlfriend." Ichigo refuted.
"And you want me to believe that?"
"Shut up Pineapple head!"
Ichigo sighed. Of course, Inoue used to care for him, and he cared for her in his own way, but she was just a good friend. The most popular girl of the school deserved someone way better than a delinquent like him anyway.
Ichigo felt a stinging pain on his lip. He sighed before chuckling a bit.
She was definitely going to reprimand him for getting into a fight again and then tend to his wounds...
"Give my regards to Inoue." Chad spoke.
"Sure." Ichigo turned to leave.
"He pretty much has the hots for her, doesn't he?" Ikkaku spoke.
"And he goes on denying that shit." Yumichika scoffed. Renji smirked at Ichigo's distant figure.
"Seriously, kids these days..."
---
"You got into a fight again, didn't you?"
"Inoue, I..."
"Kurosaki-kun, please don't go hurting yourself like that again..." Orihime spoke as she examined his wounds.
"Mhmm..."
"Let's go to my apartment, I'll tend to your wounds..."
"..."
"And no need to walk me home every day, you shall always go home and rest."
"I can't do that knowing how many creeps from school go there to 'see' you!" He scoffed.
She used to work as a part-time waitress in a restaurant nearby their school and of course those lecherous bastards used to go there deliberately, just to stalk Orihime. Ichigo was not sure if Orihime had any knowledge about that...
"They are not creeps, Kurosaki-kun! They are just regular customers..."
Of course she did not. She was as naive as ever...
Ichigo's blood boiled at that. There were so many people who could potentially take advantage of her naivety, and she would never know!
"Are you fine?" She stopped to check up on him.
"Yeah..."
The rest of the trip to her apartment was silent. When they reached her apartment, Orihime made him sit down before she went rummaging through her things.
"Where did I keep the first aid box again..." Ichigo just looked at her, crouched down as she searched for the box. She gently bent forward, such that her rear was up in the air. Ichigo felt heat rush to his cheeks before his averted his gaze from her.
Definitely naive...
"Here!" Orihime spoke cheerfully as she went towards a still flustered Ichigo.
"Your face is all red! Did they beat you up that badly?" She asked worriedly.
"No... it's just..." Ichigo felt her gaze on him deepen.
"Ouch!" Ichigo held his foot feigning pain.
"It hurts here..." He spoke. Orihime looked at him pitifully before bent down and started tending his wounds. Ichigo sighed in relief.
"I know it must be stinging, but just gimme 5 minutes..." Orihime spoke as she dabbed the cotton on his foot. Ichigo just looked at her.
She looked serious disinfecting his wounds. This made him chuckle.
"Why are you laughing?"
"It's nothing."
"Really? Are you sure you're not making fun of me in your mind?" She pouted.
"I can never do that, Inoue..."
"Yes yes, I believe you." She spoke sarcastically as she got up and sat beside him before she started tending to the wounds on his face.
"But it's ok. I'm an airhead anyway."
"Who said that?" Ichigo asked gritting his teeth. Who could be saying such things to her?
"Someone in school."
"Who?"
"Just some male students..."
"Male students?" Ichigo asked, disbelieved.
"Well, everyone has their haters, Kurosaki-kun. I am no exception..." She spoke as she peeled off the bandaged before placing in on his forehead.
"Why would anyone hate you?"
"Because I have my flaws, and they are people who notice them..."
"Who were those guys, tell me the names..."
"No, I won't. You'll just beat them up!"
"That's because they deserve it!" He exclaimed. Orihime did not speak anything.
"Inoue, tell me their names."
"No."
"Inoue..."
"..."
"Inoue! Just tell-"
"I don't want you to get into a fight or hurt yourself because of me!" She spoke as she held his face in her palms as she wiped the blood from his lips, her fingers softly brushing against his chin.
"It's okay, I go hurting myself anyways..."
"But I don't want to hurt you in any way, even if it's like this..." She spoke sadly.
"You can never hurt me Inoue, instead it's me who's hurting you..." He spoke as he cupped her cheek as he felt her flinch under his touch.
"Kurosaki-kun..."
"Being with a delinquent like me surely tarnishes your reputation, doesn't it?"
He was right. Being with him had done a considerable damage to her reputation. She was called a slut, his side-chick, an outlet for his desires. People even bet when Ichigo would throw her away.
Like she gave a damn about anything like that.
He was a special person in her life. Even if they grow up and he finds someone else, he'd still be special to her.
Because he was her first Love.
"But believe me Inoue, I'd beat sense into each one of those bastards and make them bow down to you..." He gritted his teeth as he removed his hand from her face.
"No Kurosaki-kun, you don't need to do anything like that." Orihime sighed as she closed the first aid box.
"No Inoue, it's the bare minimum..."
"..."
"I don't want to be a blemish or a bad memory in your life, I just want to be a good memory, to be your-" Ichigo immediately ate up his words and turned away from her. Orihime's eyes widened in realization.
No...it was nothing like that...
She was just getting her hopes up, right?
"Be what?" She spoke.
"Nothing..."
"Kurosaki-kun..."
"I should leave, Inoue. Karin, Yuzu and that damned old man must be waiting for me." He spoke getting up.
"Kurosaki-kun, complete the sentence...what do you want to be?"
"Some things are better left unanswered, Inoue..." He spoke in a somber tone leaving her speechless.
"And it'd be better for us to meet less often from now on..."
"..."
"Take care..."
He did not see her in school the day after. Maybe it was his fault for hurting her...but he needed to do that.
If she was associated with him any further, she would eventually be targeted because of him. And her being hurt would be the last thing he'd want...
"Ichigo!"
"Tatsuki?" Ichigo turned around to see his childhood friend, fuming. But before he could speak anything further, she held him by the collar.
"Where's Orihime?"
"What do you mean by that?" Ichigo questioned her back. Was she not at her apartment?
"I went to her apartment yesterday and she was not there. And when I called her, her phone was switched off. I panicked at first but then shook it off thinking she must've gone grocery shopping or something. But when I went there in the morning, there was still no sign of her..." Tatsuki spoke sadly, her voice breaking in between. She sighed before she left his collar.
"What?" It came out almost as a whisper. Ichigo's throat went dry at her words and horror gripped his body. He felt his heart ripping out his chest.
Did she leave? Or did something happen to-
"That's why I was skeptical of letting her near you. But she said everything would be fine, so I..."
"No..." He whispered again.
"Huh? Ichi-" Before Tatsuki could speak further, Ichigo sprinted off.
His heart was beating faster as he ran. The thought that something might've happened to her shook his entire body with terror, but he forced himself to run. He had to reach there, as fast as possible... to make sure that she was safe.
Tatsuki must've been lying to make him suffer, right?
He knew that this thought of him might not be true, but he wanted to be it to be...
'Please be a joke, please be a bloody joke...'
'Please be safe...Orihime...'
He continued running towards her apartment before his phone rang.
"Hey Renji, Inoue's missing, inform me if you find anything..."
"Actually I was about to tell you that, Ichigo..." Ichigo stopped in his tracks. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"What..."
"Inoue has been taken hostage by the Nikuya gang..."
---
"This is Ichigo Kurosaki's chick?" Orihime heard one of the guys speak. Last evening after Ichigo left, she felt a knock upon her door as she went up to open it, and the next thing she remembered was her waking up here, her hands and legs restrained and her mouth muffled with a cloth.
"Seems so." The other guy spoke.
"She's quite the package, can see why a lousy, emotionless bastard would go after her..." The first guy spoke, leering at her.
"Don't..." They heard her muffled voice.
"Huh? What you saying there, bitch?" The other guy bent down to face her.
"Don't...hurt...Kuro...saki...kun"
"You see that Takuya? A dog is pleading to not hurt its owner." The guy chuckled as he turned to look at his fellow.
"Listen here, bitch..." He grabbed her hair making her wince in pain.
"Your only fault here is that you are Kurosaki's chick, and he beat up our errand boys..." He spat.
"So if you gotta blame anyone, it'd be your man." He got up leaving her hair as a tear left her eye.
"Sleep well."
'Please be safe, Kurosaki-kun...'
---
"This is the place?" Shinji asked.
"Yeah..." Renji spoke.
"You fine, Ishida? As much as I've heard, they used weapons on you..." Renji asked Ishida, who was all bandaged.
"I'm fine enough to fight at least four of these bastards." Ishida replied.
"Inoue!" Ichigo almost ran inside before he was stopped by Toshiro.
"Stay there Ichigo, don't make your presence known...it can be dangerous for Inoue..." He advised Ichigo.
Ichigo gritted his teeth. This was his fault. This was all his fault. He should have not been close to her...
No, he should've never met her.
"Calm down Ichigo, we'll save her." Chad spoke patting his back. Ichigo slowly nodded in answer.
"I knew you guys will arrive, but I did not expect it to be this soon, I just sent you guys that message..." A guy with short blonde hair and several tattoos appeared before them. He was of average height and had an odd smile on his face.
"Let me introduce myself, I'm Ryo Kurokawa, leader of the Nikuya gang..." He spoke as he approached Ichigo. Everyone from Ichigo's group got ready to fight.
"Look at the pathetic look on your face... You must really love her." he mocked Ichigo who just scowled at him.
"I thought those Pyro gang members were only useful for running errands, but it was quite impressive of them to carry such important information about the infamous Karakura gang's leader..." He snickered making Ichigo's blood boil.
"You..." Renji gritted his teeth.
"To think the famous Ichigo Kurosaki would go such lengths for his chick is truly-" His words were cut off as Ichigo punched him on the face. The other gang members turned to attack Ichigo before they were halted by the Karakura gang members as a fight broke out.
Ikkaku who had an odd stick with a red horsehair tassel, effortlessly tackled the several members who had lunged towards him before taking them down- kicking one member, two were easily knocked out with the help of his stick, one taken down with a punch and another by a headbutt.
"A plain black uniform? Seriously? You guys don't have a sense of style. I don't like talking to ugly people like you, let alone fighting them." Yumichika spoke as he fought the members who had approached him.
"I can understand everything else, but bringing a beautiful girl into this? That's the bottom line." Shinji spoke as he turned to punch the guy who tackled him from behind.
Ishida who also felt a few members tackle him from behind immediately bent down before he knocked out one of them with a back kick. "You thought an injured person would not be able to do anything? I can fight bastards like you all day." He spoke before he continued fighting them.
And if there was a contest about who would knock down most of the members, Chad would win by a margin.
Renji and Toshiro also assisted in the fight as they went on with the full-blown brawl.
Ichigo just held Ryo by his collar, his hands shaking with a mixture of fear and anger.
"Where's Inoue?"
"As if I'd tell you that."
"Why her?"
"Come again?"
"Why did you involve Inoue into all this, you bastard!" Ichigo roared, his voice breaking in the end.
"Why you ask? I involved her because that would make this whole situation even more pleasurable, and I'm all up for it!" He smirked. Ichigo gritted his teeth.
"Leave Inoue out of this, she has nothing to do with this!"
"Nothing with this? She's associated with you; that's her mistake, not mine." Ryo spoke as he landed a punch on Ichigo, who stumbled back. He turned to kick him before Ichigo blocked it.
"You are playing dirty by dragging an innocent person into this!" Ichigo yelled, anger and desperation lacing his tone.
"Why should I not play dirty?" Ryo smirked before he kicked Ichigo on the stomach, knocking him down.
"Ichigo!" Renji called out for him.
"Give me a reason why I should not play dirty!" Ryo said hovering over Ichigo and holding him by the collar.
"You guys are going around Karakura beating gang members and had the audacity to do the same to my errand boys. People are saying how you guys may come up as the strongest gang in Karakura, even stronger than the Nikuya gang itself!" He spat; resentment evident in his tone.
"Why should I spare you and your cutesy girlfriend?" He snorted before punching Ichigo on the face.
"Infact I should do the worst possible things to her, just to make you suffer!" Ichigo's pupils went dark at his words.
"How about I tie you up as you look at her getting beaten up by my men..."
"No, I should just get her--" Ryo's horrendous words were cut off as Ichigo pounded him on the face. Ryo fell on the ground, not being able to withstand the intensity of his hit. The other members turned to aid him before they were stopped by the Karakura gang.
"Don't even dare to think about such things!" Ichigo held him by the collar before whacking him again.
"Not about her, not about anyone in that matter!" He roared as he continued to punch Ryo, who had stopped retaliating by now.
"Ichigo!" Renji called for him.
"Orihime has got nothing to do with this and you will not hurt her!" Ichigo spoke infuriatingly as he pummeled Ryo, who was now unconscious.
"Ichigo stop!"
"If you even dare to lay a finger on her-" Ichigo's movements were halted as Uryu held his bloodied fist.
"Stop it Kurosaki, you're going to kill him." He spoke.
"Let me do it, Ishida!" Ichigo cried as he snatched away his hand from Uryu.
"You already defeated the leader; the gang has surrendered themselves." Uryu held his arm.
"No Ishida I-"
"Kurosaki-Kun!" They turned to look at the direction of the voice.
"Inoue..." Ichigo whispered as he got up. Orihime ran up to him as she examined his wounds.
"You got hurt because of me, huh?" She spoke sadly.
"Talk about yourself. Did they hurt you?" Orihime shook her head in answer.
"He..." Orihime pointed towards Ryo, who was being carried away by his members.
"Don't worry, he'll be fine; would only need hospitalization for a day or two. You arrived just at the right time, Inoue-san." Uryu spoke.
"Did I?" Orihime seemed to be puzzled.
"How did you get out?" Ichigo questioned her.
"I asked one of the men to open my restraints because I wanted to go to the washroom, and when they let their guard down, I knocked one of them out by striking his nose with my palm and other one by striking his...umm you-know-what... I guess Tatsuki chan's lessons came in handy today!" She explained as she imitated the movements.
"I'm glad you're fine..." He spoke as he lightly patted her head.
"I guess All is well that ends well." Renji spoke grinning. Everybody agreed with him.
----
"Hey stop that!"
"No, you both need to sort out your feelings!"
"There's no need to push us to do that!" Ichigo exclaimed, his face all red.
"Seriously? Even after enduring so many things, you gotta procrastinate that?" Renji grimaced.
"If you don't confess today, Imma tell Rukia and Tatsuki you hurt Inoue, be ready for that." Renji warned before he left.
"Asshole." Ichigo muttered.
"Kurosaki-kun..." Orihime spoke making Ichigo flinch.
Right now, he was in a room with the girl he liked, who just looked at him worriedly, and his friend had basically told him to confess to her.
This was a very difficult situation...
"May I tend to your wounds?" She spoke as he slowly nodded. Orihime took the box and started tending to his wounds as he looked at her.
Would she always tend to him like this?
Will things always be like this?
No...
Nothing lasts forever... You can only make it last a bit longer and that's it...
Was it alright for him to be greedy now?
But above all, did she also...
"Inoue..." He spoke but she did not answer making Ichigo worry.
Was she angry with him?
"Inoue...say something." He spoke again. She looked at him as she put another band-aid on his cheek.
"You might not want to talk to me about this now...but I'll always be ready to listen to you." She spoke as she got up.
"And don't worry, I'll stop Tatsuki-chan and Rukia-chan..." She turned to leave before Ichigo held her wrist. Orihime looked at him but before she could say anything, he embraced her.
"I'm scared." He spoke. Orihime looked up to see his face.
"I'm scared that these things might happen in the future again. I don't want you to be hurt so I thought it'd be better to maintain our distance from now on..." He spoke again, his voice breaking a bit. Orihime embraced him back before gently patting his back.
"Would me being with you be that awful?" She questioned.
"No Inoue it could never be like that awful, not to me..." He answered.
"Then why are you pushing me away?" She broke the hug and looked at him intently.
"I'm not push-"
"Am I that repulsive? Or was everything my own delusion..." She lamented.
"Inoue..."
"Are my feelings not requited?" She looked down on the floor.
"If you being a delinquent doesn't hurt our or anyone's friendship, then what is stopping me from being your-" Orihime stopped realizing she'd spoken too much. Ichigo's eyebrows rose in surprise.
Did she just...
"I'm going to-"
"Wait!" Ichigo stopped her. She looked at him, her face filled with embarrassment. Ichigo, noticing this, gently held her hand with his shaky one before he looked at her with a warm gaze.
"When I heard you were not in your apartment, I was scared to death..." He spoke, she looked up to him as he gave her a small smile.
"At that moment I just wanted to save you, even if it meant going to another world to find you..."
Gently raising their hands in the air, Ichigo intertwined their fingers, his hands still shaking.
"My hands tremble like this whenever I see you or you touch me..." Ichigo softly kissed her fingers, igniting sparks all over her body.
"And my heart skips a beat whenever you are close to me like this..." Orihime was tongue-tied. And she had no idea if it was due to the fact that he was basically confirming that her feelings were indeed requited, or from the physical closeness between the two of them...
"Is this what they call being in love?" Orihime not knowing what to say or do, gently nodded her head in approval. Ichigo gently held her face in his hands before he leaned down as Orihime closed her eyes, indicating consent. He felt goosebumps rise all over his body as he placed his lips on hers. The kiss was as sloppy and immature as you could expect from two teenagers sharing their first kiss, but at the same moment it held its own special meaning.
"But..." He breathed. Orihime looked at him, still in a daze.
"But something inside me tells me that if I love you like this, I'd commit atrocities. If someone tries to touch you, they could die by my hands y'know? That asshole was just lucky today..." he mumbled the last part.
"Do you want to make me a real convict- a sinner, huh Orihime?" He questioned as he joined their foreheads. Her name sounded foreign yet familiar on his tongue.
"If it's like that...then I'd be a sinner too..." She spoke as she gently cupped his cheeks.
"How?"
"Isn't loving a sinner a sin as well?"
"You're getting better at the word play, Inoue." He chuckled and she did as well.
"You want to stay for dinner?" She asked breaking apart from him.
"Only if you agree to go out with me." He demanded as he folded his arms, grinning at her sight.
"That's not even a question!"