Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or its characters. If I did, I wouldn't be writing Bleach fanfiction. Bleach and its characters belong to Tite Kubo.
They were doomed. Senna came to realize this before anyone else. Although the Valley of Screams was destroyed, and Senna was safe, the Dark Ones achieved their goal. The Human World and the Soul Society were on the verge of colliding with one another. Countless people, in both worlds, would die, and there was nothing they could do to stop it.
Unless... Senna shuttered at the thought, but they were left with no other options. It was the only thing she could do if she didn't want to see both worlds destroyed. She grabbed Ichigo's sleeve, startling him. "Ichigo... I'm scared," Senna said quietly.
"Senna..." Ichigo said quietly.
"I won't do it... I just can't. I can't allow it," Senna said, looking up at Ichigo. "Not when this is such a wonderful world... with so many beautiful people living in it." Senna recalled her time in the Human World, with her memories flooding through her mind: when she first met Ichigo, when she spent time with him at the mall, when she met his family... even when Ichigo risked his life to protect and save her. "Not where you live, Ichigo. I can't let that happen!" Senna released her grip on Ichigo's sleeve. "It's okay. The Blanks are still close to me, and I'm not afraid of them now. If I return their memories to them, then they'll be at peace… and the barrier between the two worlds will be strong again." Senna's clothes began to change, her shihakusho being replaced by her school uniform.
It didn't take long for her words to sink in. "But Senna..." Ichigo knew what would happen if Senna returned the memories to the Blanks.
"If the world were destroyed, then there would be no Ichigo," Senna said. She turned towards Ichigo and smiled sadly. "I can't imagine a world without you." Without another word, Senna's body began glowing.
"Stop! You can't do this!" Ichigo yelled.
"No Ichigo! I could never allow you to die instead of me!" Senna declared with tears in her eyes.
Ichigo could only watch helplessly as Senna's plan progressed. A strong cyclone of wind began spinning outward from Senna's form. "No! Senna! SENNNAAAAAAA!"
With the deed done, Senna's vision began to fade, and she plummeted straight to the ground. She wasn't sure how much longer she would last, but at the very least, she saved both the Human World and the Soul Society. Ichigo... I'm sorry...
"No!" She heard Ichigo cry out. With no power left, she expected to plummet into the river below. However, before she made contact with the water, she felt herself being caught. She needn't the ability to see to tell who it was. Ichigo swiftly caught her and brought her back to the bridge. "Senna! SENNA!"
Senna's consciousness was slipping away fast. She heard Ichigo talking with the others present on the bridge, but she could no longer understand what was being said. However, she didn't need the ability to see or hear to know how distraught Ichigo was. Ichigo... I'm sorry. But... at least you're safe. As Senna's consciousness continued to slip away, she heard only two more words clearly.
"I reject."
Senna opened her eyes and saw that she was indoors. The room looked rather plain, and small, with only a little furniture around her. Senna's eyes widened in realization. I'm... alive? But how? Senna felt fine. She knew that she was supposed to die or fade away once the Blanks had their memories back. So how was she still here?
Senna's thoughts were cut off when the door opened. Two figures walked through, one of which Senna recognized. "Ichigo." Before Ichigo could say anything, Senna tackled him.
"Gah! Senna! Get off of me," Ichigo yelled.
"Thank goodness! I'm glad... I'm glad you're okay," Senna said, crying.
Ichigo's anger calmed down immediately. "I'm... glad you're okay too, Senna," Ichigo said.
"My, my. I didn't know you had a girlfriend Ichigo," the other man said.
"Shut up, Hat-and-Clogs!" Ichigo snapped. Senna got off of Ichigo and faced towards the man Ichigo dubbed "Hat-and-Clogs".
"My name is Kisuke Urahara, owner of the Urahara Shop," the man said, introducing himself.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Senna," Senna said, shaking Urahara's hand. "I'm sorry if it seems a bit sudden, but I have a few questions."
"Of course. Why don't we take a seat in the next room?" Urahara suggested. Senna nodded and followed Ichigo and Urahara into the next room, and they each took a seat around the table in the room. Urahara poured them each a cup of tea before taking a seat himself. "So, what would you like to know?"
"I think it's obvious. Why am I still alive?" Senna asked.
"Of course. Well, shortly after you returned the memories to the Blanks, you plummeted towards the river. Ichigo caught you before you hit the water," Urahara explained. Senna nodded in understanding, remembering that much, despite not being able to see at the time. "Ichigo put you on the bridge, but nobody was sure what to do. Even if we had Retsu Unohana or Mayuri Kurotsuchi with us, there was nothing the Soul Reapers could do to stabilize your being. I'm afraid I don't possess the means to do so either."
"I thought so," Senna said. "So, if you or the Soul Reapers couldn't do anything to save me, then what happened?"
"My friend... Orihime Inoue, saved you," Ichigo replied, surprising Senna. "I'm not sure how long we were arguing on what we should do to save you, but without saying a word, Orihime walked up to you and used her powers to try to save you. To be honest... I'm not sure if she knew it would work."
Senna did not know what to make of this news. She did see Ichigo's friends on the bridge, but she didn't really speak with them, and thus, didn't really know them... well, except for the petite Soul Reaper, Rukia Kuchiki. "So, what about the Soul Society?" Senna asked them. "They wanted to detain me earlier. Will they try to do so again?"
"You should be fine," Urahara answered her. "The entire reason why the Soul Society wanted to detain you in the first place was so that the Dark Ones couldn't use your powers to ram the Soul Society and the Human World into each other. With the Dark Ones defeated and the Valley of Screams gone, they will no longer consider it necessary to keep an eye on you." Senna sighed in relief. Truthfully, she didn't want to have to go through an ordeal like that ever again, and if the Soul Society was truly not interested in her anymore, then she should be safe. "Is there anything else you wanted to ask?"
"No... that's all," Senna said. She looked over at Ichigo. Despite his calm appearance, she could tell he was eager to say something. "If it's not too much trouble... could you leave us alone for a few miutes, Mr. Urahara?"
Urahara looked over at Ichigo and smiled knowingly. "Of course. Take all the time you need," Urahara said, standing up. Without a moment's hesitation, he left the room and shut the door, leaving Ichigo and Senna alone.
Senna turned towards Ichigo, who only stared at the floor. "Ichigo... what is it?" Senna asked him.
"Senna... I'm... I'm sorry. It's all my fault," Ichigo said, surprising her. "You needed my help, and I couldn't protect you. I let them take you to the Valley of Screams and put you in that danger in the first place." Ichigo clenched fists and close his eyes. "If it wasn't for me, you would have been safe. If only I were stronger... If only I-" Ichigo didn't have the chance to continue, as he was interrupted by Senna ramming her elbow into
his side. "Ow! What the hell did you do that for!?"
"I should be asking you the same thing, you idiot!" Senna shouted back, with tears in her eyes. Senna's words caught Ichigo off-guard. Just what was she talking about? "I don't know why you're so quick to make this your fault. You make it sound like you didn't do anything to save me, and we both know that isn't true!" Ichigo's gaze softened under Senna's words. "You did everything you could to protect me. You stood up to the Soul Reapers when they came to take me into custody. You went after Ganryu to save me when the
other Soul Reapers were unable to stop him. You even went into the Valley of Screams and used all of your power to stop Ganryu and get me out! After everything you've done, don't you dare talk to me like you haven't done anything to help me, because you and I both know that's a damn lie!" Ichigo turned away, unable to face Senna. Despite the heavy feeling of regret that he previously held for not being able to stop Ganryu from taking Senna, he knew that she was right.
Ichigo's thoughts were broken when he felt a smaller body pressed against his. He turned towards his front and saw Senna hugging him. Ichigo blushed, not used to this sort of contact. "Ichigo... regardless of whether or not you think this is your fault, you did protect me. Please... never forget that," Senna said softly. "Ichigo... thank you for protecting me... Ichigo didn't know why, but hearing those words from Senna made him feel better. "Thank you... for saving me." Feeling touched by Senna's thanks, without a word, Ichigo returned the hug.
"Senna... I-"
"So, how are you kids feeling?" Urahara asked, bursting in through the door without warning. Ichigo and Senna broke the hug quickly. Both of them were blushing in embarrassment. Urahara smirked and hid it behind his fan. "Am I interrupting anything?"
"N-no!" Ichigo and Senna answered in unison.
"It didn't look like nothing to me," Urahara said. "Ichigo, you sly dog, I didn't know you had it in you. So, what's the next step, tiger? Are you going to take her to dinner? Going to buy her a present? Are you going to-" Urahara didn't get a chance to finish his teasing, as Ichigo punched him square in the face, giving him a bruise. "Ouch. You still have no sense of humor, you know," Urahara winced.
"It wasn't funny," Ichigo angrily stated. "Keep jokes like that to yourself." He turned over towards Senna, who was giggling at Ichigo's antics with Urahara. Ichigo smiled, happy that she was able to smile again after suffering through such a difficult ordeal. "So, do you want to meet my friends?"
"Yes... I'd like that, Ichigo," Senna said, heading towards the shop's exit.
Urahara stopped Ichigo with his cane, confusing him. Urahara motioned his eyes towards the girl heading out, as if he was trying to tell Ichigo something. Although he was confused, Ichigo managed to catch on to what Urahara was trying to tell him. "Senna, wait," Ichigo said, stopping her. Ichigo reached into his pocket and pulled out a familiar red ribbon. "Here. I almost lost it, but I managed to get it back." Ichigo held the ribbon out, expecting her to take it.
Senna smiled and took the ribbon without saying a word, and tied it in her hair. She smiled at Ichigo, who smiled at her back. "Thank you very much, Ichigo," Senna gleamed. "Come on! I want to meet your friends." Senna walked towards the exit, with Ichigo following close behind her.
After everything that has happened, Ichigo was glad that Senna was safe. He was glad to have met her, and he was glad that she was spared from death. Without saying a word, he made a promise to himself: he would do everything in his power to protect her and keep her safe... and he swore it upon his soul.
A/N: And that's the end. It's been a long time since I've submitted anything, but I really did want to get this one-shot out. I admit that I don't feel it's as good as I think it should be, but I still consider this an important step in my writing process.
I won't go on a full rant about that here though. Please read and review, but no flames. Flamers will be laughed at.