I don't own Bleach

As hasty as he usually was, Kurosaki had gone down where battle was still raging. So that left him alone with Inoue-san. It had been so long that they hadn't seen each other, but still he wished they reunited in a more pleasant circumstance.

Inoue-san had started tending to his wounds a few seconds ago and now he could feel better. Smiling a little, he mentally complimented her that her skills had gotten better. But he felt that he shouldn't say a thing, he reasoned, as her stare always wandered off to the corpse of that Arrancar. And every time they'd get sad and then she'd force them back to the wound she was treating.

Ishida could only watch her silently and wish that he was like Kurosaki. He could only wish that he didn't notice things that were just under his nose.

Inoue-san had been away from them for quite some time now. It was normal for her to have changed. To have found people to care for.

Of course Ishida knew of the Stockholm syndrome: when the captured fell in love with the captor. It was a quite common syndrome but this, this was something else, something more potent, more powerful.

At first the Arrancar had been cold toward her, Ishida was sure, but then she had changed him. It was obvious during the short time he had observed him. Inoue-san's influence had been obvious. Even now, dead as he was, Ishida could see her handwriting all over his dead face. It looked peaceful.

Ishida knew Inoue-san cared for that Arrancar who had cared for her in his own strange way too. It had been a special bond. And the consequences of that bond were now evident: it was obvious (so obvious that even Kurosaki would have noticed it) that Inoue-san wanted to cry, wanted so desperately to mourn for him but she was straining herself not to do for the sake of the others.

Finally Inoue-san finished healing his wounds and stood up, almost shaking. Her eyes once again fell on the corpse, as if not believing that he had been killed.

"Ishida-kun," she turned to him, "What do we do now?"

Her voice was different now. More composed, more mature but, yet, it was still the voice of a teenager. A teenager gone through a lot.

He could tell her that they had to fight more. He could tell her that there were more to be killed. If he did that, it would be too much for her (after all, she had always hated death).

"Nothing for the moment," he smiled slightly for a second, disliking to do so, "Our part is done for now. We can only wait now."

She nodded at him, then once again looked over at the corpse.

"Inoue-san," at the sound of her voice she looked up, startled "It's okay to mourn for those you care about. You know that, right?"

For a second, she just stood there, without even acknowledging his words. But then, one by one, they sunk into her and slowly, slowly, her eyes watered.

"Y-yes," she whispered.

And then she was crying, right in his chest. Slowly he wrapped his arms around her.

He dared not say things were going to be all right.

OOC-ness much? xD