Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Seeds of Destruction ❯ Return to innocence ( Chapter 10 )

10. Genesis - Return to innocence

The dark content of the vase splattered against the white wall as the crystal shattered against it, the black calla lilies scattering all over the blank marble floor.

Her naked feet ran towards another vase and she threw it against another wall, screaming her lungs out in pure frustration.

"How dare they?!" Hime yelled, picking up the black boots she had been wearing earlier and throwing them out through a window, adding more glass on the immaculate floors of her room. "I'll kill them!" She now grabbed onto a nearby chair and smashed it against the mirror standing next to her bed. "I'll fuckin' kill them all!"

Her enraged screams echoed throughout the entire Northern Tower of Las Noches Castle, while she continued to add new degrees of devastation to her room.

Shirosaki appeared in the opening of her room and watched silently how a crystal glass hit the opened door next to him. He put his hands in the pockets of his white hakama and calmly made his way towards her, dodging any flying projectile that accidentally came his way.

Hime was breathing heavily as she had suddenly ran out of things to throw with and screamed again as she could feel the anger within her subside and make place for a growing feeling of insecurity. She could hear her voice loudly in her mind now whereas before it had been but a negligible whisper. Why was she still there? Why didn't she just give up already?

"You bitch!" She cried, falling onto her knees on the wet floor, holding on to her head. "Shut the fuck up! Shut up!"

Shirosaki kneeled next to her and placed his hand on her head in silent comfort.

She threw herself in his arms, trembling all over. "Make her stop…" she whispered through her gritted teeth, "Make her stop right now!"

He closed his eyes and held her close. "Visualize our goal before your eyes. Don't let anything else break through your resolve."

She took a breath and did as told.

Now it felt like the voice was screaming through her mind.

Hime cried it out again. "Shit! Why isn't she growing weaker?!"

"Calm down," Hollow Ichigo sternly said, "There's nothing a weakling like her can do to you, you're the one in control. You're the queen of your interior world, so squash her like the meaningless insect she is."

"I'm the queen…" A serene smile appeared on Hime's lips as she began to find her focus back, reaching the calmness of her mind once more. She looked up at him and they shared a smirk.

"Don't let your determination waver now, we're so close."

Hime nodded and silently watched him as he looked around the room. She couldn't help but think that every time she had a meltdown, he seemed to be by her side in an instant, there to bring her back on track. If she didn't know any better, she could've sworn that he maybe cared for her more than was good for the both of them.

That form of naiveté was not something she couldn't afford right now, thinking like that didn't change anything.

Hollows couldn't love let alone care for others; they had no heart to carry such emotion in the first place.

Yet, don't you secretly wish he did?

Hime growled and whimpered silently, taking hold of her forehead in order to cast Orihime's voice out.

Shirosaki was looking at her again and for some reason, she couldn't bring it up to look at him and instead roughly undid herself of the hold he still had on her. "I need to be alone now."

Hollow Ichigo raised a silent eyebrow and rose to his feet again, watching how she moved herself towards her large bed. He squinted a little in unspoken suspicion when she curled herself up in the centre of her bed.

He hadn't been oblivious to the growing lack of focus his little protégé had been showing over the past few days and he knew that things needed to accelerate in order to have his goals fulfilled.

Perhaps the time had finally come for him to step out of the shadows…

"Matsumoto."

Her head shot up from where she had been resting it on her drawn up knees and she stood. "Taichou."

The white haired adolescent gave his Vice-Captain a sympathising expression before leaning against the wall next to the room they had brought Renji and Rukia in earlier. "How is it going in there?"

Rangiku sighed, "It's taking longer than expected because of Orihime's Reiatsu that is obstructing the healing process."

Toushirou closed his eyes and nodded silently. "I see."

"Taichou—"

He looked at her, "I'm taking Madarame with me to go find Kurosaki so we can inform him on the recent turn of events." A small smile then crossed his young features. "You seem to have had your share of action around here."

She shook her head in protest, "I can go with you—"

"Matsumoto," Toushirou sternly said, giving her a glare. "You've done enough already."

Rangiku watched how he turned and walked on. She sat herself back down next to the door and pulled her knees up to her body, resting her chin on her folded arms. Even though her captain didn't say it out loud, he had gotten the message clearly and she silently thanked him for being so perceptive.

She may not have shown it on the outside, but her insides were one shambled mess and apparently the ones closest to her were beginning to notice the trail of broken glass she was leaving behind her.

The back of her head hit the wooden wall as she looked up to the ceiling to blink back the tears that had begun to form behind her eyelids. She closed them and quickly wiped away the twin drops that rolled sideways her face, sniffling softly.

It's so easy to put on a smiley face and act like nothing bothers you and you don't have a care in the world. All you need to do is prevent from being alone with your thoughts for too long periods of time. They could betray you so nastily that the thought of it alone becomes a reason to run away from it.

Opening her eyes again, she looked around herself and then smiled in relief as she found no one standing around to see her brief weak moment.

The shoji then slid open and Yoruichi stepped out onto the corridor, finding Rangiku moving herself on her feet. "How does it present itself now?"

The purple haired woman sighed silently, and cast her gaze to the wooden floor. "Kisuke is considering the idea of sending them back to Soul Society, seen the fact that he doesn't have the adequate equipment to heal wounds like theirs efficiently."

Rangiku nodded in understanding. "If only Orihime was here…"

A brief silence then settled between them in which both women pondered on their current situation.

"Rangiku-san," Yoruichi then pensively said, turning away from her, "Perhaps it is time to consider the idea that Inoue is lost to us."

"What…?"

Yoruichi closed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, taking a few steps away from the door. "We had a meeting earlier with Hitsugaya-Taichou, Madarame and Hisagi. The reason for their advent was to bring us a message from the Counsel of Captains. They've deemed that the time has come for us to take the proper decisions. We can't keep making plans in order to save Inoue when we know that time is starting to run out on us—"

"I can't believe what I'm hearing!" Rangiku exclaimed, completely dumbfounded. "Orihime is a companion, a friend to all of us! How can they forget what she means to us, to our side, just like that?!"

"It's exactly because of that that Hitsugaya-Taichou, Kisuke and I have taken this decision," Yoruichi calmly spoke, looking at her again, "Because she's our nakama."

At that Rangiku fell silent again and closed her eyes. Our nakama…The former chief of the MSC was right and admitting it felt like someone was burning a hole through her chest.

Up until now, almost no one had taken Orihime's feelings into account. The way she must've been feeling to be there and watch her friends get butchered by her own hands without being able to intervene or take back control over her own Spirit Body… Pure torture was the only way to describe it…

A fate worse than death.

The golden eyed woman nodded as their eyes met and she read the silent understanding in the Vice-Captain's pained eyes. "Soul Society must now usher an order for us to cease the rampage she's inflicting upon this world."

Rangiku nodded, not in the capacity of doing anything else but comply. "Then Taichou will go inform Ichigo about this as well?"

Yoruichi gave a court nod. "We know he's doing the very best he can to save her, but we're afraid that the feelings he harbours for her are clouding his judgement."

Rangiku silently had to agree no matter how much it pained her to do so. She had seen the absence of Orihime's Chain Link and therefore the impossibility to bring her back to her mortal state. Ever.

"Rangiku-san."

She looked up at the other woman, shaken out of her thoughts.

"Even though Hitsugaya-Taichou didn't say it directly to you, he deems it best for you to return to Soul Society as well."

Rangiku could only smile wryly at that. She had expected it in some way, and in truth, her captain had already said it somehow. If she couldn't participate in the missions and battles, what good was she to have around for? She was an emotional mess; there was no reason to beat around the bush about it any longer.

She gave Yoruichi an understanding nod. "How about Orihime's baby?"

Yoruichi sighed with a small relieved smile as she thought about it. "Kisuke says he'll build a gigai for it, so it can grow inside of its artificial womb. He'll also create a special Artificial Soul for this Gigai only."

"A special Artificial Soul?" Rangiku echoed.

Yoruichi rolled her eyes, "Knowing him, it'll probably be an overly motherly type of soul or something of that sort."

Rangiku chuckled at that and nodded. "Then the child will live?"

"I'm a hundred percent sure of it."

"Then I'm relieved to hear that."

Yoruichi nodded and watched the 10th Squad Vice-Captain take her leave with a somewhat compassionate expression on her features. "A warrior needs to cut his heart out in order to be as cold as the blade he wields… Matsumoto, you still carry yours and its bleeding is tearing you apart…"

She sighed as she realised that this was true for another struggling warrior out there.

A sweaty hand hit the white floor and the young orange haired male made an elegant back flip just as a fireball shot right next to him against a nearby wall.

Ichigo landed on his feet and immediately held Zangestu in front of him to repel the flash of lightening that had been aimed his way. With a neat demonstration of Shunpo he appeared in front of his attacker, clashing swords with him in a frenzied rhythm until a large white crescent illuminated the training area.

"Ooh-wee!" The older male of the two exclaimed once the smoke had cleared, revealing him to be jumping from one leg on the other while he dusted off the right leg of his black hakama. "That was a little too close to my liking!"

Ichigo chuckled from his position in mid-air, pointing Zangetsu at his father triumphantly, "I told you I'd beat your ass and I'm not planning on backing down from that promise."

Isshin grinned at him defiantly before disappearing suddenly only to appear behind Ichigo again.

Planting his Zanpakuto flatly on his back, Ichigo sneered at the sound of steel against steel. "Is it me, or are you moving slower than before?"

The former captain grinned, "It only means that I can finally go full out on you now."

"Eh?"

The next thing the younger Shinigami knew was that a right fist collided violently against his left cheek, sending him flying through the enormous space.

"Shit," Ichigo breathed, having stopped in the air now and wiping off the blood on the corner of his lips. "Don't underestimate me, old man."

"Oh? Underestimate, you say?" Isshin chuckled and lowered his sword, calmly walking towards him. "I never did such a thing, be thankful that I gave you the time to build up your resilience and power by not using my full strength and speed on you. You're strong, boy, but for now—"

Ichigo lost him from his sight again until he felt a hand press flatly against his back and a growing heat that began to sting there.

Isshin smirked at the astonished look on his son's face. "—I'm stronger, so don't underestimate me just yet."

The fireball spell went off and exploded, filling a good part of the room with an impenetrable smoke. Ichigo shot out of the cloud and barely managed to come to a halt in the air when his father attacked him head on again with his sword.

"You bastard…!" Ichigo spoke through gritted teeth, pushing Zangetsu back against the other man's sword, "What kind of a disrespectful way of fighting is this?!"

Isshin shook his head in a reprimanding manner. "You still don't get it, do you?"

Ichigo growled and silently concentrated a part of his Reiatsu into Zangetsu. "Don't treat me like I'm some kid!"

A grin formed on the older Shinigami's features as he saw the beginning of the black manifestation of the boy's Spiritual force through his sword. "Bankai?"

Ichigo didn't answer but only released himself from their clutching sword position so he could have enough space. He brought Zangetsu down to point straight ahead of him and placed his left hand on the arm holding his sword, feeling how the white ribbons of cloth circled themselves around it.

"Go on boy," Isshin whispered, feeling how the space in the training room vibrated from the accumulated levels of Reiatsu that concentrated themselves into Ichigo. "You can do it, keep pushing…"

Drops of sweat were rolling down Ichigo's temples as he concentrated harder in an effort to reach the Reiatsu levels required for him to reach Bankai. With the Lethality Stone that kept absorbing his Spiritual Energy the task proved itself to be nearly impossible, but he had managed to fight his father with enough Reiryoku for a whole day. The more he pushed up his Reiatsu levels, the more it got absorbed into the walls surrounding him. All he needed to do was to compensate the amount that was going to get absorbed without loosing his focus, for that could mean that he'd lose all of his strength in a heartbeat, or so his father explained.

"Come on, just a little more!" He shouted, boosting his Reiatsu up further. "Almost… there…"

Isshin took a step back to stand up against the continuous blasts of Spiritual Energy that threw themselves his way, smiling proudly. "Even if you don't manage to attain Bankai here Ichigo, you've most definitely managed to increase your Reiryoku level exponentially. An impressive feat, without a doubt."

"GRAAAAAAAAAHH!"

The white room filled itself with an enormous surge of blinding light, leaving even the former Captain in awe.

"BAN-KAI!"

Amazing... what a remarkable strength of will…Isshin thought, watching a whirlpool of pure energy concentrating itself around Ichigo and feeling the air loading itself with a nearly unbearable pressure that would leave any normal being gasping for air. It was only when a particular sound caught his hearing that he knew for certain.

Ichigo's Spiritual Pressure was too much for even this room to contain.

He rolled his eyes to the wall right from him and found what he had expected to see.

The normally flawless wall now had a fissure of medium length in it.

"Damn."

"Whatcha looking at, old man?" Ichigo now appeared right in front of him with his Tensa Zangetsu readily pointed in his direction, obstructing the older man's view of the wall. "It's here your business is at!"

Isshin closed his eyes and without an apparent effort, pushed the tip of the black Katana to the side with nothing more than the point of his left hand index, calmly walking his way to the wall. "I think this'll be enough for today."

"But—"

"Besides," Isshin continued, now looking at his son with a small smile, "I think we have company." He then approached the wall further and a small wince appeared on his face as he looked at the damage the wall had endured. The son of his father, huh?

A door in the distance opened and closed and both Shinigamis watched how the Tenth Squad Captain and the 3rd Seat officer of the Zaraki Corps stepped into the room with grim expressions on their faces.

The sound of chirping crickets carried through her opened window as she stared at the waning moon up into the starlit, nocturnal sky. Dancing shadows flowed on the wooden walls of the room as the sole candle swayed in the small breeze that passed by.

Sleep had decided to forsake her and she abided herself to the fact that she wouldn't find it tonight. She turned in her makeshift bed and was about to blow out the candle when she noticed a moth fluttering close to the flame, sure to get burned. She caught it gently in her hands and stood up to set it free through her opened window. Her eyes followed it until it disappeared and then she turned to her room again, only to gasp in surprise at who she found standing in her opened doorway.

"Like a moth to a flame, huh?"

Rangiku sighed out softly and pulled her yukata closer around herself. "They don't know that the flame can hurt them."

"Right." Gin smiled gently, but didn't move from his position by the door.

She kneeled next to her bed and began to tie her long golden hair back in a bun. "Was there anything you wanted to inform me about?"

"I hear you'll return to Soul Society tomorrow with Rukia-chan and Abarai-kun."

The last pin went into her hair and she lowered her arms, giving him an indifferent look. "What about it?"

"Can I come in?"

"No."

He chuckled softly in slight embarrassment and scratched the back of his head. "Rangiku—"

"You've lost the right to call me by my first name a long time ago, Ichimaru-san." She stood now and walked over to her door and placed her right hand on the shoji, beginning to close it. "Oyasumi—"

The door stuck suddenly and she realised he had placed his foot in between.

"I've lost so many things, it's a fact I can't ignore." He took a step closer as she rolled her eyes. "Not even if I tried."

Rangiku closed her eyes and shook her head, feeling a headache coming on. "Please. Stop. I don't have time for this—"

"Let me in," Gin whispered, his face a mirror of his inner torment.

Her eyes opened and she shot him an ice-cold glare. "Don't make me restrain you, because I will." And with that she shut the shoji-door, not caring if the foot was still there or not.

She turned and walked back into her room, awaiting the sound of his departing footsteps.

But then, the door slid open and he stepped in, closing it behind him again.

"What—?"

"How long do you plan on running?" Gin spoke softly, walking up to her while she stepped back in silent consternation. "I thought that used to be my job."

Rangiku gritted her teeth and lifted her right hand in front of her, letting a few electric sparks appear as she prepared to fend him off with violence if she had to. "I won't say it again," she threatened, "Get out."

He never stopped approaching her and finally halted once her hand pressed against his chest, right above his heart. "Go ahead; I'm not planning on going anywhere anytime soon."

Her breath hitched in her throat as he placed a hand on her wrist and held her hand to his chest. "What…?"

"I broke your heart," Gin whispered, taking a step closer, noticing silently how her arm retreated as he did. "I betrayed your trust…" He could now feel her erratic breathing against his face, while she couldn't but look up at him, knowing that her weakened barriers were beginning to give away completely.

"Rangiku… "

She tried to push him away, she wanted for him to leave her alone, for him to not see how much his last departure scarred her already wounded heart. But most of all she didn't want for him to know that she had always… always—

"Oh God…!" She whimpered, pulling her hand out of his grip and falling on her knees on the futon with her back to him. Her breathing was coming in small gasps as she tried to keep herself from crying, wishing now more than anything that he wasn't standing there at all and that she didn't feel the way she felt for this man that had trampled and crushed her heart so many times.

Gin kneeled behind her and placed his hands on her shivering shoulders. "I'm sorry."

She began to laugh bitterly at that and the first tear finally rolled down her right cheek. Rangiku turned to him and punched him in his face hard.

He stumbled backwards and held on to his sore left cheek. "That one was overdue…"

"Shut up!" Rangiku exclaimed shakily, angrily wiping off the tear from her cheek. "I can't handle this right now, I just—" her voice grew unsteady and she looked away. "What do you want from me…?! What more of me do you want to tear apart? To shatter? God…"

"I never meant to hurt you like this, Rangiku…" Gin whispered, moving himself to sit on his knees. "I wanted for you to know this before you were to leave tomorrow."

No matter how much she had wanted to ignore it before, it really pained her that she had to leave now that she met up with him again, but at the same time it relieved her that she was going so she wouldn't have to deal with her tormented feelings.

She didn't respond to him and only scooted away, holding the folds of her yukata firmly against her chest.

"And also, that this could be the last time I'll ever see you. I wanted to see your face at least once before that." Seeing that she wasn't reacting at all anymore, Gin nodded in understanding and began to stand. "I always used to turn my back to you in a vain attempt to hide my true self and to protect you from harbouring these feelings… Guess I failed you, once again."

"You wanted to protect me from yourself?"

"For as long as I can remember, you've always been the one," Gin whispered, his grin fading a little as he stared outside the sole window. "I never thought you'd return what I felt, and when I found out that you did… I got frightened."

Rangiku turned to him now, "All I ever wanted was for you to tell me you cared, even if just once. I needed to feel that my childhood friend was still there. I saw everything we shared go up in smoke when you joined Aizen, I couldn't understand."

"I couldn't return what you felt then," he spoke softy, kneeling in front of her once more. "I couldn't jeopardise the mission. Rangiku, believe me when I say that I do care, so much that I preferred to detach myself from you in order to protect you from what I had become."

Rangiku shook her head as she understood it all now, not caring anymore if the tears were rolling down her face. "Can't you see? Even when you turned away from me, I still loved you. I still waited for you to come back to me. I just wish you had told me what you were planning, I wouldn't have said anything!" she closed her eyes as he reached out to touch her face with his right hand, leaning into the warmth it radiated without touching her. "I would've waited! For you!"

The silver haired male gulped slightly and brushed away one of her tears with his thumb. "Rangiku…"

"You broke the last trust I had in you on that day…" she whispered, reaching up to the hand that rested against her cheek now and pulling it off her face slowly, "I have nothing left to give you, Gin."

He didn't say anything, but only gazed into her quivering pools of blue, knowing that there was nothing he could ever say that could make it okay. So he only stared at her, feeling his breath catch in his throat as he admired her fair-haired beauty, thinking of how beautiful she had always been both on the inside and out. He had been around so much ugliness in the past year that her appearance soothed his heart like a breath of fresh air. The man he had become did not deserve her anymore… or perhaps never did.

If only…

They could've been so happy together, he knew that now.

And then, without giving it a second thought, his lips lowered on hers and he claimed them in a passionate kiss. "I don't need for you to give me anything, Rangiku." He whispered against her lips, looking at her dumbfounded face, "Let me give you what you've been wanting for so long now."

Rangiku was breathing hard, realizing that her heart was beating like mad inside her heaving chest. Her lips tingled and the smell of his skin so close to hers made her head spin, taking her into a whirlwind of erotic desire. She had dreamt of this, passionately fantasised of him kissing her like this and taking her breath away.

Before she got the time to realise, he kissed her again, this time longer and deeper, slowly making them fall backwards on the small futon, her hair now freed from the clips she had previously put in there.

Gin took her in wordlessly as she panted beneath him, the generous swell of her breasts threatening to make the folds of her yukata completely slide off her skin now that he had loosened the sash that kept them together. Her lips were red and deliciously swollen and her eyes closed in silent anticipation.

He realised that they both needed what was about to happen, whether the circumstances were right or not. There was only one thing that he was certain of and he wouldn't let the chance pass him by.

His lips planted themselves in her throat and she arched her back, moaning softly at the feel of his obvious state of arousal pressing up against her right thigh. She had felt aroused men against her body before, but with none of them did she get this electric feeling of all-consuming desire that began to take her over. Tomorrow seemed so far away now and he was all she craved for.

He retreated, their eyes met and she gave him a nod, silently telling him to go on. His hands reached for the folds and the robe fell open.

Breath catching in his throat, Gin felt the raw desire that took him over, his eyes gazing at her now naked body and voluptuous curves hungrily. His hands soon followed the path his eyes had already taken and he ran them up her thighs to her hips, paying attention to the slight gasp she voiced before moving up further to touch the graceful rounding of her large breasts, letting his fingertips ghost-touch the areas around her erected nipples.

She watched impatiently how his hands caressed her, biting back moans with every small contact he made. "Gin…" her body arched up to him in an attempt to satisfy the longing he was only making worse, "Stop the teasing…!"

He chuckled low in his throat and lowered his head, tentatively letting the tip of his tongue stroke against one rigid bud while he let his right hand slide down her body until he reached the apex of her thighs.

Rangiku bit her lower lip as his finger entered her moist warmth and winced slightly when he slid inside, breathing in soft gasps. Her right hand fingers were playing in his hair, holding him close to her, urging for him to continue. "Gin…"

His ruby eyes opened and he locked eyes with her pleading ones, beginning to stroke his inserted finger in and out of her in an agonizing slow pace. Her tormented, yet pleasure struck face aroused him more and he grinned in amusement as she viciously pulled his hair in silent protest. Another finger found its way within her and before she could even begin to moan or cry out, he covered her lips with his in a sultry kiss, drinking in all of her passionate responses.

Whether it was because of his long and nimble fingers working within her or his constant teasing and breathtaking kisses, Rangiku felt like she was approaching her first climax and fast. She didn't want to get to that peak alone; she needed and wanted him to be with her.

Gin was attentively watching her and noticed the small spasms that were taking hold of her, indicating that she was nearing that much coveted point of no return. Her soft whispers and high pitched gasps were driving him insane and yet he couldn't bring himself to take her. He had wanted to do it for so long and now that he had the chance, an overwhelming feeling of inadequacy began to take hold of him and he felt more and more unworthy of her.

A trembling hand was then placed against his left cheek and he looked into her reassuring eyes, reading her understanding there. "Rangiku—"

"I know." She closed her eyes and smiled, "Perhaps we are moving too fast, ne?"

He cracked a smirk at that, they both knew that waiting for this night for over 40 years was hardly moving too fast, but he appreciated the fact that she choose not to voice his worries.

"This may be the last night we get," he whispered, "and I want you to know that after all of these years, you were the only woman on my mind and in my heart."

She sat up and nodded, cupping his face in both her hands. "You don't have to say it, Gin. I know it now and I always will. You just need to know that no matter what you've done and no matter where you're going, I'll be waiting for you to return to me. It's how it's always been and I know that it's fine this way."

A strange, elated feeling grew within him and he took her in his arms, holding her tightly to him. "This is not what I wanted for us, believe me."

"Mou ii, anata…" Rangiku whispered back, burying her face in the crook of his right shoulder and neck. "It's fine this way, because you're the only one that I want."

He laid them back on the bed, facing each other without saying anything. Even if they didn't consummate their love, knowing that it was there was enough.

Just being together now, after all these years, was enough.

His eyes were staring blankly to the floor now that the initial shock had subsided. It was like his brain had short-circuited and he couldn't but stare stupidly to the broken, white floor.

The door shut itself in the distance and he barely noticed, still not believing what he had just heard.

Tatsuki was in danger, Rukia and Renji had been taken out and Orihime—

"Maybe you should go to her."

Ichigo slowly turned his still flabbergasted expression towards his father who was sitting on an elevated platform a few meters away from him. "What—?"

"Go to her and to your friends."

Ichigo closed his eyes and averted his gaze now that a new feeling of shame washed over him.

"There was nothing you could've done, boy. Stop beating yourself up about it." Isshin jumped off his platform and walked over to him. He reached out a hand to his son and helped him to stand. He then placed his hands on his shoulders and smiled at him. "You've proven to me that with enough will power you can accomplish whatever you want. I know you can save Orihime-chan as well as Tatsuki-chan. And I'm certain that both Renji and Rukia don't blame you for what has happened to them."

A small smile appeared on the younger Kurosaki's face and he nodded reluctantly. "Thanks, I guess."

Isshin grinned and tapped him over his shoulder rather harshly, nearly sending him flying across the room. "I can't wait to be a grand-dad! Ha ha ha!"

Ichigo rubbed over his sore right shoulder with an annoyed expression and rolled his eyes. "Like there'd be a chance in Hell that I'd let you get anywhere near it!"

He laughed, "Oh, I'll find a way around that! I just hope it gets the good looks of its mother and my intellect!"

"And why would it get your intellect?! It's my child!"

Isshin shrugged innocently, "Those things tend to skip a generation…"

Ichigo had his mouth open to reply, but refrained himself as he realised that there was no point to it. He did pray however that the baby didn't get its grandfather's intellect or the entire Kurosaki humour for that matter. With a rather awkward feeling of amusement he then began to make his way to the exit.

The park was abandoned during this time of the evening, the waning moon shining up in the starlit sky casting eerie shadows on the fountain she had been told to wait at. It was a quarter past ten at night and she should be lying in bed to prepare for the Karate Tournament of tomorrow, but Ichigo had insisted on meeting her here, saying that it was important for them to meet. Normally she would've gladly stood him up, but after her morning with Orihime and the things she had heard from her about her relationship with him, she couldn't let a chance for beating him up just pass her by when it proposed itself to her.

So there she was, waiting and realising that he was already running late. "Shit, Kurosaki!" she whispered, standing up and getting ready to leave. "To Hell with you!"

"Jeez, I'm only a minute late."

Tatsuki turned around and found him leaning against a tree in the distance, wearing white pants and a black hoodie that covered his face. He then began to walk towards her, his hair falling in such a manner that she could impossibly see his eyes. The only thing she could see, was that in the light of the moon, his skin seemed to be sickly pale and his hair, she now realised, although still characteristically his, was also of a pale white colour.

"Kurosaki?" She called, squinting her eyes, "Is that you?"

He only grinned and she suddenly felt an indescribable angst take hold of her. She couldn't move a muscle and simply fell to the ground on her knees, her body trembling all over. It felt like that time… when those two monsters appeared in this same park so many months ago. It was that same oppressing pressure…

The creature then stopped right in front of her and looked down at her. If she had been able to scream, she would've, and hard, because his eyes— they we're— she couldn't look away and it felt like her soul was being sucked out of her body right then and there.

"Hi, Tatsuki." The creature grinned and grabbed her by the collar of her jacket and pulled her up easily like she was a bag of potatoes. "How I've longed to meet you in person."

"Who…?" she managed to voice out, balancing on the verge of unconsciousness.

"Why it's me, Ichigo, who else?" He chuckled, "Ready for lights out?"

The last thing Tatsuki saw was a pale hand with black nails that shot out towards her and a flash of something white before she tumbled into the darkness of her subconscious.

With a startled gasp, she awoke, her body shivering from an all consuming fear, the angsty rhythm of her heart thumping loudly in her ears.

The grass beneath her body felt soft against her naked skin and it would've felt comforting if she hadn't been her current distressed state.

She emitted a soft whimper as she strained her bruised body to move, the many scrape wounds on her exposed backside glistening from the mixture of sweat and blood. Her head then lifted and she observed her surroundings wearily, soon realising that she was alone in her interior world.

Orihime managed to move her naked body into a sitting position and wrapped her arms around herself in a futile attempt to cover herself. The air that usually felt gentle and warm now felt cold and stung her flesh, making it hard to breathe. She instinctively knew that the Hollow had taken over a larger part of her soul, for she felt as if every second that passed made her weaker.

Pulling her knees up to her upper body, Orihime hugged herself and cried, knowing instinctively that no matter what she would do now nothing would prevent Ichigo and the others to meet their untimely demise.

"Tatsuki-chan… I'm so sorry…"

A chilly wind flew passed her and she trembled more, casting her teary eyes up to the grey skies of her prison.

"Orihime…"

Orihime froze briefly and looked around, having recognised that voice. "Sora-nii?" She whispered hesitantly, "Sora-nii, is that you?"

She couldn't see him anywhere, only the grass that was swaying in another chilly breeze was staring back at her.

"You fought bravely, Orihime-chan…"

"Sora-nii?" She called again, worried now that she heard the exhausted tone in his voice. "Where are you? Please answer me!"

Silence was her only reply and she crawled upon her feet, her hair flapping behind her in the suddenly increasing wind around her. She was numbed by the piercing cold, but she wouldn't let it stop her, not now that she had found back a little speck of hope with the sound of her brother's voice.

"Orihime… I couldn't protect this world for you…"

She frowned as she tried hard to hear him over the howling wind. "Wait! What does that mean?"

It was only when she cast another look around her that she noticed the full impact of the battle she had lost against her Hollow.

In the distance, the fields of green were beginning to disintegrate; big chunks of earth detached themselves from the scenery and simply vanished. The destruction was occurring all around her and soon she realized that only a circle of roughly 30 feet in diameter was left and that she was standing in it, too petrified to move.

"Don't be frightened, though, Orihime…"

"There's nothing left…" She whispered, sinking to her knees.

"Orihime… there's still hope. The grass around you is proof of that…"

Orihime sniffled and shook her head, "But I'm trapped here… I lost to her and I have no power left in me!"

"That's not true… How else do you explain me being here?"

She opened her eyes and looked up, finding her brother now standing in front of her with an encouraging smile on his tired features. "Onii-chan…"

He kneeled next to her and took off the blue vest of his ensemble and covered her with it. "Orihime, I am the physical manifestation of your Shun-Shun Rikka. As long as I am here, your powers are as well."

Big tears rolled down her cheeks and he took her quivering body in his arms. "I couldn't appear before you because you believed me to be gone…"

Orihime whimpered and broke down in heartbreaking sobs. "Everything is lost… They entrusted me with this one mission and I failed. I failed miserably…"

"I wouldn't say that," Sora whispered back comfortingly, "Look."

He gestured around her and they both saw the transparent shield of golden light that was enclosing the small area they were both in. "As long as we keep this one spot protected against her, her mind will never be at ease. And that, Orihime-chan, is your ticket to defeating her."

It was like a light illuminated her features and she stared at him, a small smile slowly forming itself on her lips. "I can enter her thoughts…"

Sora nodded. "You could use her moments of weakness to take over, just like she did with you before."

"Give Ichigo-kun a fighting chance…" she whispered softly with a nod, realising even more what that implied now. She would let her determination waver no more.

Orihime began to stand again, despite her aching body and concentrated on her remaining Reiatsu.

I won't admit defeat. Not now.

Not yet.

Shirosaki licked the small flesh wound on the side of his right hand clean as he watched his alter ego standing a few meters away with and unconscious Tatsuki in his left arm and his Tensa Zangetsu in his right hand.

"What took you, partner?"

"Sorry, familial duties." Ichigo answered back, placing Tatsuki on a safe spot between the trees behind him. "How about finishing this somewhere else?"

Shirosaki grinned evilly and rolled his eyes, "You're still as considerate as ever aren't you?"

"You tell me," Ichigo smirked back, walking away from Tatsuki without breaking the eye contact he had with his other half, "aren't you the one who knows me best?"

The other chuckled and shrugged, "We have been apart for some time now…"

"True…" Ichigo admitted, furtively letting his eyes go around his surroundings.

"She's not here."

Ichigo smiled, "Oh?"

"What would you have done if she was?" Shirosaki asked smugly, "Killed her?"

A grim smirk appeared on the orange haired Shinigami's face. "If necessary."

"If necessary?" Shirosaki cackled, "Whoa, there really is a tin line between love and hate…"

"How would you know? You've only experienced one end?"

Shirosaki extended his right hand and out of nothing, his white Zangetsu appeared in it. "Hn. How would you know?"

Ichigo took in a battle stance and tilted his head to the side, "Don't tell me you have?"

Shirosaki followed his lead and raised his sword. "Let's just say that any man would fall in love once they've had a taste of Orihime's sweet cherry…"

At that Ichigo's smile disappeared and his eyes began to glow dangerously. "I'll make sure you never resurface again, you pathetic piece of shit."

"Bring it, wuss."

A blast of white light then illuminated the dark park as Ichigo released his Reiatsu, letting it tremble in the nocturnal air with all of his killing intend concentrated within it.

Shirosaki's grin disappeared and he took a steadying step backwards. "Seems like you've been training…"

Ichigo smirked and launched himself forward. "Impressed?"

Their swords clashed and they stood face to face. The Hollow pushed back against the black Zangetsu with a sneer and a disdainful chuckle, creating some distance between them again. "Hardly."

Ichigo lifted his sword and took back his fighting pose. "Scared then?"

Shirosaki only smirked back and then disappeared from his spot only to appear above Ichigo, flinging his large sword down. "Don't make me laugh!"

Their swords collided again as Ichigo brought his up to his face to receive the blow. "Then what's the matter?" he asked, adding more pressure on his sword so he could push back harder, "Why don't you go Bankai on me, partner?"

"I'd be touched if I wasn't annoyed by how predictable you are, Ichigo." he whispered back with a grin, "You're trying to give me a fair chance at winning?"

A loud laugh then sounded through the night and the orange haired youth shook his head, seemingly amused. "I'm passed that, aibou."

Shirosaki's eyes grew wide as Ichigo suddenly vanished from his sight. "What—"

Ichigo was now looking down on him from his airborne position above the park, the silver gleam of his reiatsu bursting around him. "I'm going to kill you if I have to, even if it means dying in the process. I'm going to erase you from this plane of existence and lock you away from good."

Shirosaki smiled smugly. "You bastard! What's with all of the confidence all of a sudden? You don't stand a chance and you know it!"

Ichigo eyed him coldly and then chuckled back. "Why not let Zangetsu be the judge, partner. I for one have had enough of this little chat." He lifted his Zanpakuto and fired a series of black Getsuga Tenshous towards his white haired counter part, having decided to go full out on his Hollow now that he had the chance. He watched how a large cloud of smoke masked his vision of him and smiled to himself before rolling his eyes to his right. "You've done enough damage; your little escapade is over."

The Hollow appeared, like Ichigo had expected, on his right with an infuriated look in his amber eyes. "It'll only be over when I say it's over!"

"Ok," Ichigo calmly said, turning to him fully, "but I say that that Gigai you stole is slowing you down quite a bit. Why not give me a challenge, ne? I'll try to let you live for at least 2 minutes."

Shirosaki began to chuckle and then burst out in an insane laughter. "You really are the worst, Ichigo. Just because you've had the upper hand for 5 seconds you feel like you can win this battle? You haven't realised it yet, have you?"

Ichigo didn't respond to him in any way, but only continued to stare at him coldly.

"You're already slowly dying, more with every minute you spend in that nearly completed Bankai form of yours." He grinned, "She did tell you about the dangers of going Bankai without me, didn't she—?"

With one flash-step Ichigo had appeared behind the Hollow and was now holding the sharp side of his blade against his throat. "I thought I told you that I'm prepared to do anything, even sacrifice my body, in order to destroy you and save Orihime."

Hollow Ichigo grinned his evil smile and closed his eyes, shrugging before using his Shunpo to release himself from Ichigo's hold. He appeared a few feet in front of him again, scratching the back of his head. "Well, that counts for you, but I for one would like to bypass the part where you drag me into dying along with you, at least, for now." He took in a battle stance and slowly began to lift his right arm to point his white Zanpakuto at Ichigo. His left arm then followed and he laid its hand on his already stretched out right upper arm. "Let's go, partner. Bankai."

All air was suddenly sucked out of the atmosphere and Ichigo gasped scant seconds before an enormous blast of Spiritual Energy exploded, creating a whirlwind of dust and broken off branches from the nearby trees, spiralling around the spot where Shirosaki was still standing.

Ichigo scowled at the oppressing Reiatsu that weighed down upon him and he readied Zangetsu in his right hand. "So you've finally decided to be serious?"

The Hollow cackled, "You think I'll just let you have her back like that? Only one of us can be present in that body of yours at a time. Since separating us weakens both of us considerably, I figure I'll just suppress you and lock you up inside of me…"

"Sounds like a plan," Ichigo replied with an equally defying smirk, "Let's see if you can manage to realise it."

They both disappeared from each other's sight only to appear a few meters higher in the skies, swords linked together in a deadly angle, their energies swirling around them and colliding violently against one and other.

"Wanna know who she calls when she's about to climax?" Shirosaki teasingly whispered, licking his lips while his eyes glared at him dangerously.

"It doesn't matter," Ichigo replied with a grin, pushing back with his sword, "because the creature you're fucking, isn't her."

"Ha!" Shirosaki yelled, releasing a white Getsuga Tenshou which Ichigo dodged but barely. "Says you, partner! The Hollow within her is as much a part of her as I'm a part of you!"

"Asshole!" The young Shinigami cried, firing an array of black Getsuga Tenshous his counterpart's way. "The Orihime I know would never approve of the things you've done to her!"

Hollow Ichigo dodged most of the attacks aimed his way until he was standing right in front of him again. "She doesn't need to approve of it…" he murmured, eying him wickedly, "As long as she's satisfied, it doesn't really matter, does it?"

A fraction of a second later, Ichigo knew he had been hit.

He turned his head to his right shoulder and the pain commenced to manifest itself in waves of searing heat that practically numbed his right arm movements.

"Shit!" he cursed underneath his breath, holding on to his wounded member.

Shirosaki huffed mockingly as he now stood behind Ichigo, bringing his bloodied sword to the side with an impatient movement. "Finished already?"

Ichigo glared at him, "You seriously need to shut up."

The Hollow began to laugh, but that soon ended abruptly when a gush of blood erupted from behind his left shoulder. "What the—?"

Then suddenly, Ichigo vanished into thin air, like a mirage, and he could feel his presence looming behind him. "How—?"

Ichigo, who was by now breathing hard, managed to grin and pointed Zangetsu at him with his left arm. "Searching for an explanation?"

Shirosaki turned to him with an infuriated expression. "You haven't been honest with me, partner."

"Sorry for that, I guess. " Ichigo shrugged, "I should've told you about this new ability of mine, right? It's called Celerity."

"Celerity?"

He nodded, "Arrancars and Shinigamis can move as fast as the speed of sound. I've always been able to move faster than that with my Bankai. My speed was equivalent to that of light, creating the illusion that I was on different places at one time. But I could only move at that speed between a certain amount of distance, plus my bones couldn't handle the pressure provoked by the accumulated quantity of Reiatsu I needed to compress within myself to make it work.

Now that I know how to control a part of my Spiritual Energy effectively, I can send it out around me in doses, so I don't pressure my own body anymore. I can even make it so that my Reiatsu holds on to the light particles that float in the air, creating illusions of me before your eyes, so you can never see me use Celerity."

"Faster than the speed of light, eh?" Shirosaki smirked, groaning in annoyance. "I should've known."

Ichigo frowned as he saw him shrug and then turn away from him. "The Hell do you think you're going?"

The Hollow turned his head to him with a mischievous grin on his lips. "She's calling."

"What?"

He only kept on grinning and cocked his head to the side. "You can't hear her? She's being loud, though."

Then, with no warning, the air behind Shirosaki began to distort before tearing apart like a piece of paper to reveal a very pale and very infuriated Hime. Her red ankle shoes landed in the air with an echoing tap as if she was walking on solid ground. The rest of her outfit was black, from her skinny jeans to her wrapping short jacket. Her lips were coloured with red and her black hair hung straight next to her face and in a bang right above her black-lines eyes.

She didn't seem to pay attention to Ichigo standing a few meters away, who was paralyzed by an indescribable feeling of loss and hurt.

"What the Hell are you doing here?" She asked coldly, looking at Shirosaki.

"Having fun," The Hollow replied, walking around her to whisper in her ear, "my Queen." He then made sure that his eyes locked with the orange haired Shinigami's as he pressed a kiss on her cheek.

Hime then rolled her eyes Ichigo's way and huffed impatiently, "With that?"

"Orihime…" Ichigo called softly, ready to take a step forwards, but hitting a golden barrier as he did.

"Sorry baby," Hime said with an indifferent shrug while holding up her right arm in his direction, "not tonight, I have a headache."

"You heard the lady," Hollow Ichigo said, turning around in the direction of the gate behind them. "Time to go."

With her eyes still fixed on Ichigo, Hime reached her right hand out for Shirosaki to take as she turned.

There was a brief flicker of brown in her eyes and Ichigo froze.

Don't follow me, not just yet, Ichigo. Trust me. Tell Tatsuki I'm sorry.

And as sudden as she came, she was gone again, leaving Ichigo alone with his heart thumping loudly in his ears.

That was Orihime.

And for the first time in days, hope bloomed within him and it would be a while before he realised that his lips were carrying a heartfelt smile.

-Aibou : Partner

Fun Facts

Bleach + Story facts

"Celerity?"

Hn. I'm going to admit it, it isn't the most original of my invention thus far, but I wanted to give Ichigo a new ability that wouldn't change the basic form of his Bankai; high speed. The idea actually came when I was reading through volume 23 and 24 of the manga and I realised that since 'Sonido' means 'sound' in Spanish, it could have something to do with the fact that Arrancars move at the speed of sound when they use that ability. And since it's practically similar to the Shunpo of Shinigami's, I deduced that they also moved at the speed of sound when using Shunpo.

When Ichigo goes Bankai, he obviously surpasses that speed, giving him the ability to be at two places at once, right? I thought it wouldn't be possible for him to be moving at the speed of light, for if that was true, he'd be able to bend space and time or something like that (yeah, I kinda watch sf-series a little). And that's where I got the idea to give him the ability to create illusions of himself (bending space and time), by being consciously in two places at the same time by moving so fast no one could see. Add his tremendous Reiatsu to it, and it would almost be like time-travelling (just by seconds though).

I really do suck at explaining this stuff, ne? But trust me, it's so much clearer in my head…

Ichimaru + Rangiku

I had no idea how or when I was going to let these two have their romance in this story. I was reluctant to write a lemon for them, because I knew it would feel strange to the story. They had to make up, I had no doubt about it, but to insert a classical lemon in would've been overdone, I think. That's why I made it an 'half'-lemon. When putting myself into Gin's character in this story I just knew it would be wrong to let them have sex. I wanted the feelings they have for each other have the front row without having to revert to a lemon. It's by the way, not how I want this story remembered; a collection of lemons.

No matter how much I love writing lemons… heehee.

Exams, work, eat, sleep.

That's how my life's been for the past two months. Oh, I'm not complaining, but I know some of you are, right? Hn.

Therefore, for all of the terribly impatient people out there I'm introducing a new feature to this story!

Dun-Dun!!

Starting from this chapter, I'm going to put a preview on my MySpace page of the upcoming chapter with each new chapter. The link to my page stands in my bio!

Comments are welcome and highly appreciated.

Happy Reading!

Upcoming Chapter: Shattered Prison - Flight of the Golden Winged Angel

To be continued...