Ichigo Awakens

Adjusting

together dinner of leftovers and self made desserts. They discussed what happened during the walk and the time up to the sleep over of getting to know each other. "If they were alone, I'm sure Ichigo would have made a move on cute little Orihime." She always supported her best friend's crush, wanting to see her friend happier made her feel better as she pushed Orihime to be more aggressive when it came to the strawberry.

"I'm sure you would have come out of nowhere and ruin the moment Tatsuki." Orihime sighed.

"What do you mean?" The tomboy asked, ignorant of doing anything but being helpful to her friend.

"You always show up at the worst times and ruin the moment." She knows Tatsuki wants to help her, but she also knows that Tatsuki in unintentionally sabotaging her as well. "Earlier today you did just that. And that's not even the first time."

"Well." Tatsuki thought back to every occasion that her friend was thinking of, which was a lot of times. "Yeah that's my bad." She said deflated. "But I just want to encourage-"

"Will you stop using that as an excuse and just admit it already?" Orihime suddenly said, rather forcefully. "Stop lying to yourself and admit it. You like Ichigo just as much as me." Now Tatsuki became a stuttering blushing mess.

"What!?" She waved her hands in front of her, shaking them and doing everything to deny Orihime's claims. "No! We're just childhood friends! There's no way I'd like that cry-" She stopped, remembering that Ichigo hasn't cried in years. "That we-" Ichigo was stronger than her, has been for years. "That crude-" She knew Ichigo only retaliates or helps others, never doing anything to be a jackass. "That... that..." She knew she didn't have many bad things to say about him, if there was anyone she'd consider dating it was him. But for Orihime, she was willing to set her feelings aside for so long she forgot she had them.

"Tatsuki, you look at Ichigo the same way I do." Orihime said. Whenever they were around him Tatsuki was happier, just being herself around someone that made her feel comfortable in her own skin. No judgments, no crudeness, no lies or manipulations, they were free to be themselves around each other and be at ease. Tatsuki let her mask fall apart, she had nothing else to say, no excuse to say Orihime was wrong.

"Of course I like that idiot." She silently admitted. "How could I not? He's strong, kind, always puts others before himself, treats me like a friend rather than a girl." She smiled warmly, remembering laughs, cheers, shared struggles, so many fond memories together. Just being friends was enough for her, but she couldn't deny what it would be like to be more girlish, being his girlfriend. "But you liked him first Orihime. You're my friend so I'll back off."

"Why?" Orihime asked, completely innocent. "Why would you? I'm alright if you want to being his girlfriend."

"Orihime I'm not becoming love rivals with you." Tatsuki told her. "I won't let our friendship end because we're fighting for the same guy."

"Why do we need to be rivals?" Orihime confused her friends. Does she even know what she's saying. "I'm saying let's share Ichigo." Rukia and Tatsuki took a moment to glance at each other, trying to comprehend what Orihime just said.

"...HUH!?" They looked back at Orihime with disbelief. "Share Ichigo?"

"Why not?" Orihime said with a smile. "You're my best friend! I can share Ichigo with you!" She never dropped that smile, that innocent, happy smile.

'She's too innocent.' The other two thought to themselves.

(Back with the boys)

"Yeah, I have no idea what we'd even talk about." Ichigo agreed with his cousin before a barrage of light arrows stormed down on the two boys.

"If you two have enough time to talk, you're not working hard enough." Ryuken said, glaring at the two with a silver short bow in his hand aimed at the two. "Let's fix that."

(Kurosaki household)

Inside the house two sisters were setting up a room, moving furniture about while setting out clothes that they'd figure their guest would enjoy. Because father and son had no taste in womanly décor the task fell to the Kurosaki twins, eager to help the family and its new guest as a way of apologizing for her situation. Hours passed and soon Ichigo returned home, with more than a few scratches and burns on his clothes to show that Ryuken was nowhere near as kind as his father.

"Looks good you two." He announced, smiling at his cute sisters.

"Ichi-Nii!" Yuzu rushed to her brother's side, hugging him tightly. Karin then stripped him of his top before Ichigo had any time to protest. "You've been pushing yourself again! Look at all these injuries!" Yuzu scolded before realizing her brother was physically fine.

"Yuzu," he said while patting his sister on her head, "how many times do I have to tell you that I heal fast?" Yuzu's response was to look up at her brother with teary puppy eyes.

"Is it wrong that I worry about you? You're fighting monsters Ichi-Nii."

"But I'm stronger than them so there's nothing to worry about." Karin then noticed an absence of another Shinigami.

"Hey! Where's Rukia?"

"At Orihime's, learning more about teenage girls." Instead of calming down, Yuzu became that much more worried.

"But what if another hollow attacks?" She asked before a gray and red hollow phased through the wall and charged at the hybrid. In that same instant, Ichigo reached out and grabbed onto the goat skull shaped mask before crushing it in his hands, his veins glowing blue with his reiatsu.

"Than that happens." Ichigo calmly assured his sisters. "Nothing will hurt you while I'm here." He told them while wrapping his arms around them protectively.