I think Hime liked him a lot but imo Ichigo just protected her because poor girl and out of his savior complex. Content for teens and adults often threads a thin line of mixing deep storylines with fanservice that basically plays into erotic content. The other side of the coin but with less meaning or backstory exept for a few of them. Because it is fun to see who has chemestry with whom and why. It gave the reader insight to this character and it gave Kubo a chance to flex his poetic chops.
nest...