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Kakashi, the impression I got from your posts is that Ichigo is somehow less dedicated to protecting Rukia because he has not sworn to "protect her" as he did with Orihime.
My response was simply putting forward that though he may not have sworn outwardly to Rukia that he would protect her, it's clear that he has taken it upon himself to do so, despite the fact that he is no longer "obligated." The lack of a verbalized declaration should not detract from the fact that Ichigo's actions have illustrated on numerous occasions that he is determined to protect Rukia from both physical and emotional harm. With that, I fail to see how his promise to protect Orihime should have any romantic connotations or be interpreted as an "advantage" that Orihime has over Rukia in terms of Ichigo's feelings.
Furthermore, though I would agree with the sentiments that Renji's (platonic?) attachment towards Rukia is more obvious than Ichigo's; however, simply because Renji's attachment is more apparent does not mean that Ichigo lacks such feelings. Kubo paralleled the swearing of their souls for a reason: he wanted to illustrate that despite their past conflicts and differences, in that moment these two characters shared the same feelings.
I also cannot agree with the assessment in that Ichigo has shown as much passion and determination to rescue Orihime, but I doubt this is going to be something we see eye-to-eye on anyway. In my opinion, though he clearly cares about her and wants her safe, I just don't think Ichigo feels anything beyond simple friendship for Orihime, and so far as I'm concerned, they still lack the sense of a strong, mutual interpersonal connection.
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