Prologue

Haunting Memories

"It's such a beautiful day, isn't it Orihime?" asked Ichigo.

"Yes it is," Orihime giggled.

That day was just another regular day. They were out an another one of their dates. Regular, right? Not so.

He grabbed her left hand, where a shining engagement ring sat. He smiled and kissed her passionately on the lips, "And to think that in a few weeks' time, you'll be known as Mrs. Kurosaki. Oh, the irony. I still remember Dad's expression when we said that we were engaged."

That day would be one of the days that changed her life forever.

Orihime smiled and kissed him back, "So do I. That was a funny day."

She remembered that day very well. The day that he died.

They laid down on the grass in silence, basking in the afternoon sun, and watching the clouds lazily drift by. He played with strands of her hair while she laid her head back against his chest. Even though she was watching the clouds, Orihime's thoughts were elsewhere. She remembered the day that he proposed to her; it was one of her fondest memories. She remembered everything about that day.

"Orihime, how did you like our date?" asked Ichigo.

"It was fun, Ichigo!" replied Orihime. It was around the end of last year when he proposed to her. That day was the best day of her life.

"That's good," He smiled, "I love you Orihime, you know that right?"

"Yes, I do and I love you too Ichigo."

Ichigo smiled and kissed her, "Good." He walked up to her apartment door and opened it for her, "After you."

Orihime walked in and Ichigo closed the door behind them. Orihime was shocked to see him standing there, "Ichigo! Aren't you supposed to be getting home now?" He surprised her by grabbing her hand and going down on one knee. He had a ring case in his hand.

"Orihime, will you marry me?"

Orihime's eyes widened and she couldn't speak for a few moments. She had been wanting this day to come for all of her life and now it had finally come. Words could not explain the happiness that she was feeling at this time.

"I'm sorry, did I upset you?" asked Ichigo, "You're crying."

Orihime's eyes widened and she immediately wiped her tears away. She hadn't even noticed that she had been crying, "Oh, sorry, I'm just so happy… I mean, yes! Yes, I will marry you Ichigo."

He stood up and slid the ring on to her finger, "Good." And he kissed her, his hand still in hers. That day was the best day of her life.

Ichigo was likewise deep in thought. Where should we go on our honeymoon? I want it to be the best time of her life. He had always liked her smile, and he had always enjoyed seeing it. He never realized his feeling for her, though, until she was kidnapped by Aizen. Then, he realized he needed that girl with the beautiful smile. He wanted to make her smile like that again and again, so he wanted their honeymoon to be the best day of her life. Because of their distracting thoughts, neither of them noticed the slight disturbance in the sky as nearby a large garganta lazily opened its jaws, allowing a hollow to slip through. If this had been an ordinary hollow, it would have allow for an easy defeat, but it wasn't and on this day Ichigo just happened to leave his shinigami badge and Kon behind in his room…

"Shall we get going Orihime?" asked Ichigo holding out his arm for her. The sun was starting to set and nothing bad had happened, at least, nothing bad had happened yet.

"Yes, let's go before it gets dark," said Orihime as she took her arm. Together they headed to the park, where there were great seats to watch a beautiful sunset. They stood together in front of the setting star and he put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

"Orihime…" Orihime's eyes widened.

"Orihime, what's wrong?" Ichigo asked.

"Ichigo behind you!"

Ichigo turned and found himself face-to-face with a huge hollow. It roared and prepared to strike. Immediately Ichigo reached for his shinigami badge and found that it wasn't there. Oh, shit. He had left it back home!

"Damn it!"

The hollow lunged, straight for Orihime. Ichigo, not know what else to do threw himself in front of her. It tore right through him, not stopping once.

"Ichigo!" Orihime's eyes filled with tears at seeing her lover being killed. She wanted to help, but she knew she couldn't. Her hairpins had been left at home. She closed her eyes, no longer caring whether she died or not. The man she loved fell to her knees, blood dripping from his mouth and the wound in his chest bleeding profusely. The hollow prepared to commence its second strike but was immediately pushed back by numerous arrows.

"Orihime, are you alright?" asked Ishida.

"I-i-ichi- Ichigo...," was her only response.

"Ichigo!" yelled Chad, who had just arrived at the scene.

"Sado, you take of Inoue-san and Kurosaki! I'll take care of this thing!"

"Got it!"

"Ichigo...Ichigo! Open your eyes, come on! You can't leave me! We're engaged! ICHIGO, PLEASE!" Orihime was only answered by lifeless eyes.

"Oi!" Rukia and Renji fly into the scene, zanpakutos' drawn. They quickly disposed of the hollow, while Uryu ran over.

"Kurosaki!" shouted Uryu, shocked, "How could he have been killed?"

It was a mess. There was blood everywhere. Ichigo had been stabbed right through his aorta, which resulted in an immediate death. Even the Substitute Shinigami can't survive an injury like that. People were coming out to see what the ruckus was all about.

"Can't he be saved?" asked Chad, a hint of desperation in his voice.

Uryu shook his head, "Without Inoue-san's powers, it's too late. He's gone."

"It's all... my fault. He had forgotten.. his shinigami badge... at his house and... he still tried to... protect me..." said Orihime through her tears, "It's-

"No it's not your fault, Inoue-san," said Uryu. Rukia and Renji came rushing over. Then they saw Ichigo and stopped, their eyes wide.

"What happened?" demanded Renji.

"He had forgotten his badge and didn't have Kon with him, but he still tried to protect Orihime," said Uryu, his voice cracking. Even he can't hold in his emotions forever. Now there were people surrounding them, trying to get to the center. There were shouts of alarm, screams of terror, and cries of sorrow. From a distance, sirens could be heard coming closer and closer.

"Ichigo, that idiot. Stubborn to the end." Rukia sobbed, breaking down in tears.

"There's nothing we can do now," said Renji, trying to comfort Rukia. "Let's perform a konso. It's the least we can do for him."

Rukia nodded, "Yes, that's all we can do now."

"No...no...ICHIGOOOO!" screamed Orihime, and broke down completely. Uryu and Chad led her away to her house.

And that day would continue to haunt her life forever.