Okay so this is my first time ever trying to write up a fanfic after years of reading all of yours. It sounded okay as I typed it out but as I re-read it...it suddenly became super lame. Then I compared it to some of the other fanfics uploaded and it became even lamer. But I just spent a couple hours trying to write this up so it'll be a waste if I don't upload it lol.

This story won't be completely accurate to the manga, but it will probably follow in a similar direction...at least for the first couple chapters.

Oh well, enjoy! I hope.

Chapter 1 - Leaving

"Keep in mind you are only allowed contact with one person and one person only. Fail to comply and I will crush everything that is important to you. I will retrieve you in 24 hours."

She could barely hear the green eyed man's words through the fuzzy static filling her mind. Suddenly nauseous, she reached out with her hands trying to find her balance but only managing to grasp empty air. Falling to her knees and trying to hold back the sick sensation creeping up her throat, she watched the man disappear through a black hole.

"W-what am I going to do…" she thought. She had to leave. If she didn't, that man would come back and kill everyone she had ever cared for. Tears began to brim the corners of her eyes. The lives of her friends were in danger, those who protected her at the risk of their lives. What was she going to do?! If she left, her friends would be safe. But would she ever see her friends again?

But she had to. How could she be so selfish to risk her friend's lives? Her thoughts began to drift to her other friends as the tears started to flow in rivers, soaking the sleeves of her shirt as she sobbed into her hands. "Tatsuki-chan...Kuchiki-san…Ishida-san…Sado-san…why am I such a burden? Why am I so weak? Why must I always be the one that needs to be protected?"

Underneath the moonlight, she sat on the footpath outside her apartment, crying, remembering the faces she would have to leave behind. To leave the human world for…Hueco Mundo? She would become a traitor, rendering all the hard work and training they had accomplished to waste. For her to come this far with her powers…with her friends…Kuro…and him.

The first hollow she had ever encountered was her very own brother. Her brother had lost his mind and form to evil and had tried to kill her and it was HIM who had protected her. He had come out of nowhere, screaming for her to run but she could not leave her brother in such a state; he was still her brother. She ran in between the orange-haired boy and her deformed brother with closed eyes, screaming.

"INOUE! RUN! HE ISN'T YOUR BROTHER!" he yelled. "I HAVE TO KILL HIM OR ELSE HE WILL KILL YOU!"

"NOOO! You can't! He's still my bro-" she cried but her words were cut short as she felt something strong wrap around and constrict her body. She couldn't breathe and the monster's grip did not relent. She could not hear anything above the chilling cries coming from the monster as she struggled to loosen the muscle strangling her. As she looked up, she saw the face of who she used to call her brother. The hair that covered his kind face was still there, but it now covered a hideous white mask that held evil red eyes. Her mind began to short circuit. "This can't be my brother?! Onii-san…what happened to you…"

"INOUE!" Her eyes moved to the source of the fierce voice. The lack of oxygen was working its toll on her body, blurring her vision and clouding her thoughts but she could make out the orange hair. But he was dressed in a black robe and brandishing a huge knife. Since when did he dress like this…? And carry huge knives?

"K-Kuro…sa-AAAH!" Her voice failed her as the grip around her tightened, crushing her ribcage.

"INOUE! LISTEN TO ME! HE'S NOT YOUR BROTHER ANYMORE!"

The pain was becoming unbearable and her struggling was futile. With one last effort, she tried to make room for her chest. The grip around her loosened slightly and it was enough for her to breathe in a rush of fresh air, renewing her resolve.

"HE IS! HE IS MY BROTHER! I-I KNOW HE MAY LOOK DIFFERENT BUT HE'S STILL MY BRO-" but again she was cut off by the snake like coil around her body cutting off her intake of oxygen. Expecting an angry rebuttal from his scowling face, she was shocked to hear a voice from above her.

"…Hehehe you heard her," said the voice. "I'm her brother and she's mine. I WILL TAKE HER TO THE NEXT WORLD WITH ME!"

She looked up in horror as the ghostly white mask lowered itself to her, opening its mouth to reveal the bottomless pit inside it. Her brother was going to eat her?! He had taken care of her ever since she could remember and for that she was eternally grateful. If her brother wanted to take her to the next world, then she would go. She closed her eyes and readied herself for what was to come next. Maybe this way, she could finally repay him…

But whatever she had expected never happened. A shrill cry pierced the night sky as a dark, viscous liquid pooled onto the ground before her. Looking up again, she could not contain herself after seeing the horrid sight above her.

The boy had jumped onto the shoulders of the monster and plunged the tip of his sword through the top of the monster's mask and pushed it through the bottom, effectively slicing the monsters face in half. The mask began to crack and crumble, revealing the soft skin of her brother. As blood splashed from his face onto the ground, she let loose the sickness building in her chest. She looked at the ground to see more blood drip down and mix into the putrid mess in front of her.

"…Onii-san…" she murmured through semi-closed lips. She felt the monsters body still tightly coiled around her body. Her eyes widened in shock at the sudden re-realization of her surroundings. The blood still dripping down not far from the front of her face, she looked up and saw the mutilated face of her brother, split in half and spilling its contents.

"ONII-SAN!!! ONII-SAN!!!" she screamed. She felt nausea wash over her again, chills running up her spine. The acidic aftertaste in her mouth only intensified the nausea and she could feel it rising up again. Writhing against the confines of her brother's deathly embrace, she tried to free her arms, until she heard the muffled yells of someone in front of her. The voice seemed to be calling her name. That voice…it was so familiar to her...as if it belonged to the orange-haired boy she knew…

"Inoue! Get a hold of yourself! It's me. Ichigo. Kurosaki-kun. I'm here now. You're safe now. No one's going to hurt you now."

Her vision slowly came into focus and she saw him suddenly standing in front of her. His brown eyes were boring holes into her face. She felt something warm on both sides of her face and realized his hands were keeping her head from flailing in her period of madness. She couldn't stop shaking and her sobs didn't make it much easier to stop. Her tears fell from her face onto his hands.

"Inoue…" he whispered. "Everything is going to be okay. I will protect you."

"K-Kuro…Kurosa..saki-kun…"

And then she had blacked out.

"Kurosaki-kun…," she murmured. Snapping out of her thoughts, she pressed her hands against both her cheeks, trying to recreate the warmth she had felt from his hands that traumatic night only to feel her cold and sweaty palms. Wiping the wetness off her face, she got up and went inside her apartment.

Was she meant to bring anything with her? Did he expect her to go to Hueco Mundo in the clothes she was in? What about food? Did Hueco Mundo have any red bean paste?! WASABI?! She looked around her bedroom and figured that there wasn't much worth bringing with her anyway. Why bring her clothes when there was no need to worry about her appearance? Why worry about food? Would she even have the will to live? Stepping out into the living room, she walked before her brother's shrine and knelt down. The day her brother had become a hollow, she had built the shrine for him. She wanted him to know that she had forgiven him, knowing that it wasn't his fault, that what he had become and what he had done was out of his control. The shrine acted as the gateway between him and her as a means for them to communicate, even though they held one-sided conversations. She always consulted him when making any sort of decisions, whether they were small or big. Regardless of whatever she discussed with him, he always managed to console her from his photo, his kind face smiling upon her as if he supported any decision that she made.

"Onii-san, today has been…ummm…a pretty long day. I mean, it started out pretty good!" With a finger pressed on her chin, she smiled as she recalled the events of this morning. "Tatsuki-chan didn't bring her lunch today, so I offered her some of mine but she said she wasn't. I wonder why she didn't want any. I made wasabi steamed rice with red bean marinated chicken! And it was so delicious…hmmm…maybe she will have some next time…" she trailed off as she grasped the meaning of what she just said. Trying to blink away the tears, she continued sharing her recount with her brother.

"A-and Tatsuki-chan…she..she went and..." She trailed off, contemplating her next words. "...and..."

She couldn't keep up the façade anymore. What the green-eyed man had asked of her was tearing her apart. To leave everyone she loved was so much to ask of her. She couldn't help but feel the guilt take over as she thought about ignoring his request and to stay. How could she leave the ones she loved…and her love. Eyeing the floor and her hands in her lap, she spoke her mind to her brother.

"Onii-san…a strange green-eyed man visited me today. He was…really scary. He told me that Aizen…he's the evil man that hurt Hinamori-san and Hitsugaya-taichou…Aizen wants me to join him. I don't know why..but..but…Onii-san…" she quietly told her brother. "I think I'm going to join him. I'm so sorry Onii-san…I…that I have to l-lea-leave y..you." She broke down into an uncontrollable sob. A few minutes passed before she spoke again.

"I...I love you Onii-san." She stood up and bowed to the shrine. Taking one last look at her brother through her teary eyes, she turned around and walked towards the front door.

"Damn hollows."

Ichigo had been fighting hollows all night. There were a lot more than usual tonight and he felt a huge spike in reiatsu nearby, but it had gone as quickly as it had come. He made his way towards the source of the spike and found himself outside Orihime's house only to find nothing there.

"I wonder if Inoue felt anything…" he thought to himself.

He looked up into the black sky. There wasn't a cloud in sight, with a full moon and legions of stars casting shadows around every corner. How long had he been fighting hollows? He could have sworn that the sun was still up when his shinigami badge had woken him from his afternoon nap. As he walked towards the front of her home, he thought he had heard footsteps approaching the doorway. He stood at the front door and knocked a couple of times with his knuckles.

"Inoue? It's me Ichigo. Are you awake? I was wondering if you felt that reiatsu spike?" No response.

"…Inoue...? You there...?" No response. "Meh, she must be asleep then... it's pretty late anyways." Walking back into the street, he sighed as he took one last look at the full moon before heading home.

Her hand was on the door knob and was about to open it until she heard the knock. She jumped at the sound and quickly looked at the clock behind her on the wall. 2:35am. Who could be visiting her at this time of night? As she was about to open her mouth and ask who it was, her heart skipped a beat when she heard his muffled voice from the other side of the door. It was unclear but she knew it was him.

"Inoue? It's me Ichigo. Are you awake?" he said.

She placed a hand over her mouth to prevent herself from squealing but couldn't control her other hand from flailing all over the place. "He's here! Kurosaki-kun is here! Why would he be visiting me at this time of night?" she thought to herself. She could feel her mouth form a smile and her cheeks flush at the possibilities before shaking those thoughts from her head. "He only thinks of me as a friend." As she placed her hand on the door knob again to let him in, he spoke again.

"I was wondering if you felt that reiatsu spike?" he asked.

She froze. He must have sensed the green-eyed man. How could she explain that to him? If he found out, there would be no way for her to leave. He wouldn't allow it even though it would mean trouble for him. He would protect her again. She felt so helpless.

"I'm nothing but a burden to him! How can he stand me?!" she thought. She let her hand slip away from the door and she slowly sank to the floor and pulled her knees up to support her chin. She shouldn't let him see her now. She COULDN'T let him see her now. Feeling the familiar sensation in her eyes again, she buried her face in her arms muffling her cries.

"Inoue? You there?"

She flinched at the sound of her name.

"Please go, Kurosaki-kun…" she begged in her head.

As she heard his feet scraping against the concrete and walking away from her door, she felt relieved but she could feel strings tugging at her heart. It wasn't fair. On the other side of the door stood the man she had given her heart, yet she couldn't even open the door for him. It was torture knowing that this would be the last time she would hear his voice. The last time he would say her name…Inoue…Inoue…She replayed his voice in her mind over and over again, savoring the sound of her name rolling off the tip of his tongue. How she wished that he would one day call her by her first name. To call her by her first name as he held her in his strong arms…as she would rest her head in the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent…how she wished. It wasn't fair.

Climbing through his bedroom window, he landed on his bed and found his body lying on the floor where he had left it hours ago. Slipping back into his body, he stretched out his muscles and lay down on his bed.

"Damn hollows," he sighed. "Where the heck are those stupid shinigami who were meant to patrol this place?" Ever since he had received his powers from Rukia, the Gotei 13 had failed to find a replacement for her to overtake her duties and as a consequence, he had to singlehandedly oversee the control of hollows over all of Karakura in the meantime. But tonight was the first time he had felt a spiritual power that large, though brief as it was. He would ask Inoue about it tomorrow morning at school. He turned his head sideways to look at his clock. 2:45am. 2:45am?!?!?!

"WHAT THE FU-OUCH!" The corner of a book had hit him square in the face before he could continue his profanities. Picking the book up from his face, he scowled as he took a look at its cover sporting a bikini clad woman and titled 'Unbalance x Unbalance'.

"SOME PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP! IDIOT."

He looked in the direction of his closet, seeing a pair of large violet ovals eyeballing him through the small gap between the sliding door and wall of his closet.

"YEH WELL SOME PEOPLE SHOULD GET BACK TO DOING THEIR JOB! IDIOT." He shot back.

"YEH WELL I THINK I SENSE A HOLLOW OUTSIDE SO GET BACK TO WORK! HMPH" And with that, the closet door closed. He could hear her still muttering on about loud idiots.

"Stupid Rukia, does nothing but complain." Resting his head on the pillow, he pulled his blanket over himself and closed his eyes. "Oh well, better get some sleep...school tomorrow. Hmmm…gotta return Inoue's lunch box tomorrow too…"

The bell had rung, signaling the end of class and the start of lunch.

"Damn hollows," he thought to himself. "Kept me up all night, couldn't even make my lunch this morning." Yuzu was sick that morning and she couldn't get up in time to make everyone's lunch. He laid his head on the surface of his table, arms wrapped around his stomach trying to contain the growling noises emanating from it.

"So hungry…" he grumbled to no one in particular. Looking over to his left, he watched her face light up at the open lunchbox placed on her table.

"Itadakimasu!" she said with a smile before clapping her hands together. She picked up a sushi roll with her chopsticks and just before she popped it into her mouth, she heard a loud rumble next to her right. She looked at him and giggled, probably at his pathetic pose.

"Umm..where is your lunch K-Kurosaki-kun?" Her face seemed to glow pink as she asked him in a quiet voice. He figured it was a pretty hot day.

"Ergh…I didn't bring my lunch today," he replied. "Damn hollows."

"Oh Kurosaki-kun! You must be really hungry then!" She shuffled her chair closer to him and held the sushi roll in her chopsticks beneath his nose. "Say aaaah!"

"Wha-"

Before he could finish his sentence, she had stuffed the sushi roll into his mouth. Inoue always had a strange sense of taste, putting wasabi into everything. But since this was sushi, wasabi should be okay. Shouldn't it?

Not when its FILLED with the damn green paste.

"MmMMPH! aAara!" His tongue and nostrils were on fire and tears started to form from the corners of his bulging bloodshot eyes. His eyeballs started to fog up from the steam leaving his mouth and nose. The girl watched him with her eyes wide open, with a questioning look on her face. She placed a finger on her bottom lip and leaned closer to him.

"Umm..K-Kuro…saki-kun? Is something wrong?"

"WHO THE HELL MAKES A WASABI-ONLY SUSHI ROLL! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FRIGGIN' MIND" was what he wanted to scream as the wasabi paste lay stationary on his tongue. But as he looked at the face staring at him, time slowed and the pain numbed. Her innocence radiated from her pearl skin, with a delicate finger on her shiny, moist lips. Unconsciously, he felt himself lick his own lips whilst staring at hers. Those grey eyes bore into his own and he lost himself in their depths. What he didn't notice was that those eyes had left is own, making their way down his face, watching him wet his lips. The colour of her skin seemed to go from a light pink to a deep red. Wait, why is she turning red? Did she have a fever? This distraction woke him from his thoughts and he opened his mouth to ask her what was wrong.

Big mistake.

The pain returned with a vengeance, plunging him back into the pits of Hell to burn.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Re-opening his eyes, he stared at the lunch box on his desk against the wall. He had pretended that her inedible food was edible and even called it delicious. Concerned that he didn't bring his own lunch and delighted that he had enjoyed hers, she gave him her second packed lunch. Filled with the same wasabi filled sushi rolls. Horrified at the thought of having even one more bite of her atrocious 'food', he still could not bring himself to refuse her offer. The smile she had on her face seemed to light up every part of his body. Her happy expression seemed to ooze out of her and into him, making him wander back into that hypnotic state her eyes had put him in. He couldn't bear to wipe that smile she had on her face. She seemed so…happy…and full of life…and…cute.

"Cute?" he scowled. "What am I talking about. Sheesh…get some sleep Ichigo." But the scowl couldn't hang around for much longer, not the way he was feeling at the moment. As he rolled over to his side, the corners of his mouth curled up as he fell asleep.

Rukia watched the boys scowls morph into smiles as he daydreamed about whatever he was daydreaming. It was a rare sight to see his permanently scowling face…not scowling? The boy had re-opened his eyes and she quickly moved back into the darkness of her closet hoping he wouldn't see her spying on him. Whatever he was looking at though had him completely fixated. Curious, she shifted forward and followed his line of sight towards the lunchbox on his desk. A grin crept up on her face and she lay back down in her makeshift closet-bed.

As she walked down the street, she wondered who she should visit. It would be the last time she would see anyone from this world and it killed her to have to make a decision like this. Selfish! Selfish! If she couldn't bid farewell to all of them, how could she choose only one and ignore the rest? Selfish! Selfish! But she knew deep in her heart that ultimately, it would be a tussle between her best friend and…him.

Tatsuki had always taken care of her even before her brother had passed on. There was something about herself that attracted a lot of people. Especially boys like Asano Keigo. Every morning she would enter the classroom, Asano-san would throw himself onto her only to be peeled off and kicked away by the karate sensation followed by an angry "STAY AWAY YOU PERVERTED FREAK!" and then she would flail her arms about telling her agitated friend that "It's okay Tatsuki! I-I'm sure Asano-san meant no harm!" Tatsuki was her oldest friend. Her best friend and no one in the world could ever replace her. She was the sister she never had. No, she was and IS her sister.

But she had to see him.

She stopped walking, unable to continue whilst her body shook and trembled with each breath she took, the tears gushing in torrents down her face. The green-eyed man had asked so much more of her than just to leave the human realm. Looking forward, Tatsuki's house was in front of her.

"T-Tat…Tatsuki-chan…I…I'm s-so sor-sorry," she whispered between sobs. "I hope…that y-you will understand…"

She turned around and began to run.

I hope anyone enjoyed that haha. I'll keep reading everyone elses fanfics.