Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ God's Territory ❯ Prologue

God's Territory

 

In a desperate attempt to bring Ichigo back from the brink of death Orihime calls on every last bit of her mysterious power. And taps into something more dangerous than any of them ever thought possible. An unnatural rejection of the events that led up to Ichigo's demise has wiped his mind clean of any memory of the existence of Soul Society along with Seireitei's knowledge of the substitute shinigami. Trapped in the realm where only spirits dwell, Orihime races to try to save the world she's almost certainly doomed to destruction. For while the hot-headed shinigami has forgotten the world of hollows and lost souls they have definitely not forgotten him.

 

*~*~*Prologue*~*~*

 

The rejection of events. The girl's power takes so-called events which have befallen objects and restricts, rejects, and negates them. It's a power that can bring things back to the way they were before events happened. It's the power to infiltrate the territory of God.

- Aizen Souske

 

 

The curtains barely fluttered as the ghostly apparition floated seamlessly into the silent room. In the dead of night nothing should have been visible, but rays of distant moonlight filtered through the sheer fabric giving the entire area an otherworldly glow. The streaming light illuminated a dim pathway across the floor.

 

Orihime almost wished for the darkness.

 

At the edges of the wavering light she saw him. The bed with the covers untouched, its lone occupant lay as still as death. Almost. The only sign of life was the rhythmic rise and fall of his bandaged chest. Taking a deep breath to calm her scattered nerves she advanced slowly.

 

Each step seemed to take an eternity. The weight of her choice slowing her movement. Orihime's usual bubbly aura was nowhere to be found, but she couldn't help the wistful smile that appeared as she reached his side. Ichigo.

 

Her hands moved as she fought the uncontrollable urge to touch him. To ensure that he would really be alright. That someone else would again see his lazy smirk and determined glare. . .

 

She would not.

 

Hesitating a moment before actual contact, she pulled her trembling fingers away. No, this is not why I'm here. A sadness unlike anything she had ever felt bathed her soul. Eyes tracing his battered frame as though memorizing his every feature, she marveled at what she had lost.

 

Her friends. Her youth. Her very life.

 

But there was no bitterness in the pure-hearted girl. Because for all she'd lost she'd somehow managed to save what mattered most to her. Her love. The love she had for her closest friends.

 

 

The knowledge that her loss in essence ensured their survival. That they would live on. That he would live on.

 

At least for now.

 

Several glowing strands of her hair, almost the color of fire in the darkness, fell around her shoulders as she bent over the young man. She hovered inches above him, willing his eyes to open, yet unsurprised when they did not.

 

It wasn't as if he would be able to see her even if they did.

 

Orihime had known she would only get the chance to bid one of her companions farewell. Common sense insisted that it be someone who was conscious to actually receive it, but deep down from the moment she had heard the twisted command she had known it would be him.

 

 

She was a breath away from his sleeping face and she still could not bring herself to steal the kiss most would think she rightfully deserved. Not like this.

 

Orihime gave him her tears instead.

 

Hot glistening pieces of her soul that rolled down her flushed cheeks to land upon his skin. They were all she had to give. That and the knowledge that in the morning when her pain would be unbearable his would be long gone.

 

Her delicate hands hovered over his broken body, innate ability took over assessing the damage. The heartbroken girl sighed softly against his parched lips a moment before the healing light engulfed him.

 

“Goodbye, Kurosaki-kun.”

 

And though her voice was no more than a whisper she was almost positive he had heard.

 

 

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Eight months later

 

“Run, Orihime!” Frightened out of her wits, the girl didn't have to be told twice. She burst into motion. Her steps were light but fast across the quickly crumbling pathway. Arrancar robes were not best suited for escape, but she was doing the best she could. Grunting when the flapping fabric constantly became entangled around her long legs.

 

There was nothing to be done about it now. Not dying sort of took priority. She could scarcely believe she was even making an attempt.

 

Suddenly a chunk of ground wobbled beneath her already unsteady feet and she stumbled with a humiliating squeak.

 

A firm hand clasped her warm one at the last moment, preventing her descent into the darkness. Her terrified gaze hesitantly met Ichigo's determined one. Hefting her back onto the unstable path without breaking his stride he dragged her in his wake.

 

“When I said run I meant on the pathway, Orihime. I didn't come all this way to have you fall down a damn hole,” he uttered defiantly, dodging the spreading cracks beneath them.

 

She desperately wanted to ask him why he had come. Why he'd broken almost every rule, defied everyone's wishes including her own, and stormed Hueco Mundo with all the subtlety of a Menos grande. . . but couldn't bring herself to utter the words.

 

His attention was diverted by their impending death anyway.

 

They leaped over another piece of shattering spirit particles moments before it dissipated completely. The eerie blue road to freedom would lead to their deaths if someone didn't do something soon.

 

“Oi! Ishida, I thought you said you had this under control!”

 

The quincy in question barely spared the hot-headed shinigami a look, his entire face haggard with concentration. He hovered a few feet above his companions' heads, throwing worried glances over his shoulder and into the darkness.

 

“You're the one who wanted me to manipulate the particles for the bridge and mine,” Ishida retorted, panting from the extra effort.

 

“Well who else could get high enough to see them trailing us? Besides you're the best with control,” Ichigo grudgingly admitted.

 

“It doesn't take much to have more concentration than you, Kurosaki-san,” Ishida grumbled. “They're catching up by the way.”

 

Ichigo could have swore he heard Orihime release a low whimper at the quincy's comment. He couldn't blame her reaction and again felt a pang of guilt.

 

Rescuing Rukia had been different.

 

In Soul society she had been sentenced unjustly, but in reality had been held prisoner by those who held no malice towards her. Who hated the very punishment they were carrying out.

 

Inoue Orihime had been captured by the enemy. A group of already heartless bastards who would have liked nothing more than to wipe the poor girl's existence from the earth for all the damage she had done by healing the shinigami.

 

And if she had not been so useful they would have.

 

She had been trapped in a barren wasteland with her worse nightmares. Tormented and threatened with no hope that anyone would come for her. Mainly because she had done everything in her power to get them not to. Orihime had suffered a fate almost worse than death.

 

Ichigo couldn't help but feel responsible. In a way they all did. She had done it to protect them and had almost been forsaken in return. It had taken Ichigo approximately two days to pack up, wave goodbye to his family and friends, and give Soul Society and all affiliated the official “screw you!” before coming after her.

 

But actually getting to her had been a different story.

 

So here they were eight months later and Ichigo suspected that he had been much too late. He would give almost anything to erase the permanent sadness ingrained in her eyes.

 

The boy tightened his already crushing grip on her hand. She didn't seem to mind. In fact she inched closer to his side as though craving his nearness as he attempted to keep them from death's door. Increasing his speed was out of the question unless the pathway was stabilized. And shunpo for two was a skill he had yet to perfect.

 

 

It was obvious that Ishida was drawing near his limit. Though the shinigami understood this he couldn't resist a final taunt.

 

“Damnit, what happened to all that Quincy pride you're forever babbling about?” Ichigo was thankful he couldn't hear Ishida's retort and even more thankful as the pathway grew a bit more solid beneath his feet.

 

“Stop blaming the quincy Kurosaki, when it's you who can't keep up.” A tiring Renji threw that insult over his shoulder as he too shot towards the exit. His flickering movements were almost faster than the human eye could catch.

 

Ichigo could barely make out the petite figure of Rukia running beside him. She effortlessly kept pace with the redheaded shinigami, but was barely listening to those around her. The girl was frantically typing into the communicator she loved to carry around, but not too busy to roll her eyes at their antics.

 

Even in the bleakest of situations the men around her seemed to find time to purposely irritate each other. Except maybe Sado-kun, who was currently bringing up the rear of their escaping entourage. And sometimes even he would succumb to his testosterone.

 

At the moment the burly warrior seemed to wisely be conserving his strength, as he was the slowest of the group. He hadn't uttered a word sense they had left, but now as he stared into the distance he found reason to speak. “Is that the end of the pathway?”

 

The entire group stared with obvious hope at the growing light that indicated the exit between worlds. Rukia snapped the phone shut with a satisfying click. “We're finally close enough to receive a signal from Soul Society. I informed them of our position and we should have the full support of all thirteen squad captains upon exiting.”

 

“Hell of a lot of good it does now,” Ichigo snapped. The young man still hadn't quite forgiven Seireitei's decision to leave Orihime in Aizen's clutches. But even as he spitefully said the words, their mere presence was like a weight lifted from his shoulders.

 

They had actually done it. Dove into hell, escaped the devil, and returned unscathed. Even Orihime had a look of pure disbelief on her face, and he caught a glimpse of the sparkling girl of a year before in her fragile smile.

 

“Incoming!” Ishida's frantic shout was followed by a burst of flaming red light that exploded spectacularly above their heads. In a move that bordered on the miraculous the quincy dove off of his refuge of spirit particles and onto the pathway below.

 

The force of the cero had their hair and clothing whipping into a frenzy, singing all it touched. Orihime's dazzling smile froze on her face as her worst nightmare came to life.

 

Behind them and much too close lay an impossible foe. No less than three members of the Espada and enough hollow to form a small army. But all of that was nothing compared to the infuriated shinigami leading the charge.

 

Ichimaru Gin, to say the least, was not happy.

 

The months trapped with the sadistic traitor had dragged by and she thought she'd seen his worst. She was wrong. Orihime had never seen him devoid of his signature smile. And without it the man was simply terrifying.

 

He ran along the pathway like a man possessed, shoving any unfortunate creature in his path into the surrounding abyss. It was obvious that his wrath was centered on her. Her and the orange-haired shinigami literally dragging her along.

 

“Damn, Kurosaki! What the hell did you do to him?” Renji shouted as the group deciding against a fight they would never win desperately ran for the exit.

 

“I told you you should have left him alone,” she whispered, “You did it on purpose didn't you?”

 

Orihime gasped at the sheer hatred she saw in Ichigo's eyes as he turned to look at her. But she knew his feelings were directed at the raging maniac currently gaining on them. Her friend's eyes softened as he looked into the depths of her cool grey ones.

 

“He deserved worse,” Ichigo said simply. Much worse.

 

Ishida a little worse for the wear speed past the advancing pair. “We've got to pick up the pace. If they get any closer we'll be in range of another cero, and I wouldn't count on them missing us twice.”

 

Rukia's eyes were glued to her transmitter screen, gauging their dwindling chances. “Sixty seconds until re-entry,” she announced.

 

One minute from freedom and the reinforcements they needed. Orihime almost let hope snake into her heart.

 

Until she felt the horrendous rise in reitsu.

 

Her eyes frantically shot to her friends. The light heralding the barrier between worlds almost fully surrounded them now. But all it did was amplify her ability to see the looks of pure horror on their faces.

 

Gin had released his zanpakutou.

 

It all seemed to happen so slowly, as though she were no longer involved but a mere observer. The enormous spirit pressure flooded the air overtaking almost anything and everything in its path.

 

A desperate Renji, with the last of his strength, bent and scooped a struggling Rukia into his arms and faded into the brightness.

 

Ishida and Sado were simply to far away. With only themselves to worry about, they had gotten just a bit closer to their goal. Safely out of reach, but just close enough to be forced to watch helplessly.

 

Orihime was almost too terrified to turn around. She had known she would never make it out of this place alive. Weeks before when she'd whispered her fears to Ichigo he had told her to “shut up”. Do you think I'd ever let you die?

 

He'd said the words as an order and a statement and hadn't bothered to wait for her answer. The comment had reassured her then. But gone was his look of arrogant determination. Her hero was staring behind her and the horror she saw in his wine colored orbs told her that she had been right all along.

 

She closed her eyes in a moment of silent acceptance. Rejecting such a powerful reitsu wasn't even a question. Outrunning it was not an option. They couldn't fight the inevitable anymore.

 

I am going to die here.

 

“Shoot to kill!” The hate filled words reverberated in the air. It was followed by a brilliant flash that seemed to eclipse the entire world for a moment.

 

Orihime couldn't resist one last glance at the one who had dared to attempt the impossible. Bleeding and exhausted Ichigo's façade slipped a bit as the light overtook them, and she got one last look at the young man others rarely got to see.

 

Lonely, Honorable. . .

 

He disappeared before her stunned eyes in a flicker of movement.

 

Selfless.

 

Her eyes readjusted as the harsh light disappeared. The only light surrounding them now was the one leading them home. It took Orihime some time to fully understand what happened. One moment she had been the target of a ruthless attack. The next she was safely encased in Ichigo's embrace. No.

 

His arms trembled visibly around her, and she fought against the knowledge his presence brought her. No.

 

Denial was futile. Forehead pressed desperately against hers, Orihime couldn't help but see the pain in his eyes. Though he tried valiantly to hide it.

 

Ichigo's muffled moan was drowned out by Gin's primal scream of rage. But even that was growing distant. Fading with each passing moment. This couldn't be happening. She had done everything in her power to prevent this. To keep him safe.

 

Shaking as much as the shinigami in her arms Orihime lifted quivering fingers to touch his back. Blood.

 

No. No. No. It clung to her skin, trailing a damning path down her arms. There was so much of it. And yet he remained standing, sheltering her from the passing threat. She could feel his rapid heartbeat against her heaving chest.

 

One straining step. . . Then another. Until the stale familiar air of Hueco Mundo dissipated then disappeared altogether.

 

They clung together hopelessly, and at some point she realized that he was no longer holding her up but she him. She watched transfixed as Ichigo slowly dipped his head until the rough skin of his cheek touched her soft one.

 

His breath was warm against her ear but as his lips moved the words just wouldn't come. But she knew.

 

The thunderous tempo of his heart against her slowed as he leaned back away from her clutching hands. He was a breath away from her lips and though there were no tears it remained a pitiful echo of her final actions towards him months before. No!

 

Orihime didn't have the heart to look away though the very sight of him tortured her. And for a moment she realized the pain she had put him through. It was one thing to leave, another thing altogether to be the one left alone.

 

Goodbye Orihime.

 

As they crossed the barrier between worlds the light grew even more radiant, but she could only watch in horror as the light in Ichigo's eyes dimmed then darkened completely.

 

 

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