Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo. So, basically, aside from the plot and the unknown characters, nothing is mine.

Title: Handprint in My Heart

Rating: T

Genres: Romance, Drama, Friendship, Angst, Humour

Warnings: Language

Main Pairing: Ichigo/Orihime

Timeline of this Fic: This fic starts after the Hueco Mundo Arc, and before the Winter War Arc. This means that there were will be spoilers.

Summary: "What are you doing here?" he inquired, but she kept a blank expression as she answered him. "I'm here because I was chosen to be the one who will observe and help judging Inoue Orihime."

Authoress' Note: Okay, this is my first Bleach fic. I warn you there's going to be drama, romance and humour, which is basically what you can expect since this is Bleach we're talking about. Also, the main pairing here will be Ichihime; I tend to believe that most people look down at Orihime because of her bubbly personality, but to be honest, I think she's a far more complex character than what meets the eye. Also, I think that Orihime and Ichigo are opposites, and yet they shared experiences that can draw them together, and help them to understand each other. However, I'm not really a fan of making characters fall for each other by making them suffer some sort of an epiphany; therefore, don't expect characters to fall for each other overnight, ok? I also want to apologize for the errors you'll find; since English is my second language, it's rather hard for me to correct the mistakes that I leave on every page before posting the new chapter.

Handprint in My Heart

Chapter 1

Through Glass

Frozen tears were cascading from the dark-grey heavens above. Their path towards the earth was excruciatingly slow, making all the white tears seem as if they were waltzing among each others in one last celebration before succumbing to their destiny. Regrettably their dance was ignored by most people, who, in their rush to step inside some warm place, seemed oblivious of the performance that nature was revealing to them.

But not all people were that insensible. In fact, a pair of stormy-grey eyes, as dark as the clouds above, was watching as the dance of those frozen tears continued. A pair of hands was wrapped around a white cup, filled with hot cocoa; the steam that progressively left the cup continuously caressing the girl's cold cheeks.

Snowdrops... Yes, the snowflakes definitely reminded her of snowdrops, with their crestfallen white petals, delicate as snowflakes, beautiful as the pallid ballet she was witnessing.

She loved rain, but there was something in the snow that was magical. When she was little, she would spend hours making little snowmen with the form of animals. She would play around in the snow as she waited for her brother to return from work, and she could remember vividly an evening during which she had done a small bunny with snow, and used two brown leaves as its ears.

The corner of her lips twitched into a bittersweet smile as flashes of that evening crossed her mind, but she quickly shook her head. She hated when that happened because she disliked missing the dance of the snow; especially when she had prepared everything just to be able to watch that show with no interruptions. A blanket was covering her legs, protecting her from the cold, both her hands still holding the hot cup, continuously warming her fingers up.

There was, however, something different about that snowfall. The unhurried dance of the snowflakes was so hypnotizing that she found it impossible not to think about one thing that she had finally decided to accept.

Just like it was almost painful to watch how perfect nature was when in comparison with human beings, it was also agonizing for her to finally recognize that she had been fooling herself all that time. She had tried so hard to be strong; to finally be the one who protected others, to take care of the Hougyoku by herself, but…

"I…will become stronger. I'm getting stronger. Next time, I will definitely…protect you."

"Sorry. Are you scared? I suppose telling you to be at ease in this shape would be a bit difficult… But…please, allow me to say it. Be at ease. Because… I'm going to end this as soon as possible."

…At the end she was always the one who needed to be protected. She was always the one who needed someone to come to her, and force her to face reality as it truly was. Someone like Nel…

"Ichigo ith fighting for your thake! And yet it theemth like you're thill thcared of him! Didn't you say it before? Ichigo ith a kind perthon! You're right! I believe you too! That kind Ichigo…! Dove towarth Ulquiorra after hearing him thay your name! Ichigo ith a human! And yet he became a Thinigami, and put on a mathk and uthed this ridiculouth power! There'th no way he ithn't thuffering too! Of course he ith! But Ichigo ith uthing that power…for you…he'th fighting in his blood-thplattered body all for you! If…If you don't cheer him on…then what'th gonna happen to him?"

…And it had been then that she had understood how everything would end.

Without looking away from the snowflakes, Orihime raised the cup to her lips, and took a sip, feeling the warm liquid run down her throat. Aside from her reminiscing, there was also something else that was bothering her. Every since they had returned from Las Noches that Urahara Kisuke had been complaining about how Abarai Renji was practically trying to kill himself by training way too hard in the basement. Not only that, but Urahara had also been trying to convince Rukia to talk to Renji, to see if she could knock some sense in his head, while Rukia was too busy helping Ichigo with Hollows.

Even Sado was quite busy, also spending most of his time with Renji, training, while Uryū always disappeared after classes. For Orihime it was quite obvious though; all of them were doing their best to become stronger and powerful. All but her…

Gently Orihime lowered the cup, and rested it against her knees while she continued to hold it with both her hands. She had tried to improve her attack, and when nights were warmer she would usually go to her secret place, and practice, but now nights were so bitter that it was impossible to go out and Orihime knew she could not practice at home.

All she could do was to be present whenever someone needed their injuries to be healed. She guessed that was what she was best at; healing people, while they continuously risked their lives in battles.

And once again, Orihime questioned herself about why on earth she had been blessed with a power that did not allow her to help her friends in a fight. Once again, Orihime questioned herself about why her friends had gone through the trouble of saving her, when at the end she had been unable to conclude what she had convinced herself to do…

Unexpectedly the phone started ringing, and Orihime yelped when she almost let go of the cup in fright. After a relieved sigh, the girl quickly put the cup on the floor before pushing the blanket off her, and with quick steps she walked towards the phone.

"H-Hello?" Orihime asked after pressing the phone against her ear, her heart beating painfully against her chest. All of her misery diminished, however, as soon as a familiar voice answered her, "Oh, hello Tatsuki-chan!"

Urahara Kisuke was sitting on his small living room, cookies and tea in front of him while snow continued falling outside. Across from him, eating her snack enthusiastically as ever, was Shihouin Yoruichi. Ururu, Jinta and Tessai were in the basement, watching over Renji and Sado, making sure they did not die during their training. And since things were quite quiet in his shop, Urahara guessed that Ririn, Cloud and Nova where downstairs as well.

"Kisuke," Yoruichi called suddenly after taking a long sip of her milk, but the said man continued looking down, holding his fan with his right hand while his white and green hat covered his eyes. "What's troubling you?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing, just thinking about going to watch the snowflakes," Urahara answered as he opened his fan, a smile returning to his face, but Yoruichi simply continued staring at him, not convinced. "Oh fine, as always you're correct, Yoruichi-san. I'm just thinking about the guests we have today."

"You mean, the poor kids you decided to adopt for being unable to say 'no'." Yoruichi corrected, and Urahara sighed before nodding, and the woman raised an eyebrow. "What about them?"

"Nothing extraordinaire, but…" Urahara hold his fan over his lips, and proceeded. "There's a freeloader who's trying to kill himself as he trains, and a girl who's trying to kill the freeloader since she knows he's exaggerating. There's another guy who has an attitude problem, and a hyper girl who's all depressed. I guess what I'm saying is that…I need vacations."

"You're thinking about leaving the shop?" Yoruichi questioned, still with an eyebrow raised, and Urahara immediately started laughing at same time he shook his head.

"Heavens, of course I'm not going to leave the shop, Yoruichi-san!" he answered, the fan still covering his mouth. "I was merely stating that I need some vacations. Ever since Kurosaki-san and the others returned from Las Noches that things have become quite chaotic around here. But I guess that there's no way I can have some vacations now, especially since Aizen is still on the loose."

"And let's not forget Inoue." Yoruichi pointed out as she grabbed her glass of milk, but then she sighed. "I still don't know what General Yamamoto may be thinking, but truth is that it's not that hard to figure out what he may be planning."

"Ah Yoruichi-san, you should have some faith in me." Urahara started before lowering his fan, revealing his wide smile, and Yoruichi raised an eyebrow slightly once more, "General Yamamoto will try to find out if Orihime-san is a traitor or not, but there are…other ways of showing on which side she truly is."

"Oh, I have faith in you, but…" Yoruichi took another sip of her drink, her eyes never leaving Urahara's shadowed ones. "For some reason, my instinct is telling me that some crazy idea of yours is coming this way. So, stop with the suspense, and tell me."

"What makes you think I've already planned everything out?" Urahara questioned, but Yoruichi simply gazed at him before raising her glass to her lips again, "Oh, very well. It's quite simple, actually; I'm just going to contact the Bleach Bar."

At that, Yoruichi chocked, and Urahara laughed.

To Be Continued

Authoress Note: The first chapters are rather short in length, but they will grow bigger in time. Also, if you get confused with something, remember that things will be explained as the plot develops. If you have any doubts feel free to ask, though; I promise I'll do my best to answer them all.