Absence of Senses

Disclaimer: Do not own. KT owns and blows my mind. Wow.


"Bye, Rukia."

She was infuriated. Disappointed. So utterly…lonely. Here she was, standing before her best friend, and he couldn't even see her.

He looked up toward the sky with a look of sadness in his eyes. She just wanted to scream "I'm here! Look at me, Ichigo! I'm right in front of you! I'll be by your side like I've always been, and I'll never leave!" But what good would it do? He couldn't see her, touch her, or hear her.

"Thank you," he said, as if hoping that it would cross the non-existent distance between them and magically reach her.

She felt like crying. Wiping her watering eyes, she reached up to cup his cheek. He couldn't feel her, but she could feel him.

"You have nothing to thank me for, you dummy," she whispered fondly.

"You changed my world," he said. "You gave me the power to protect the people closest to me. You were my friend, my confidant, my equal. And even if I can't see, feel, or hear you, you can count on the fact that I will never forget you."

She hugged him, cherishing the familiar warmth he always brought her before drawing away and saying the rest of her goodbyes. She needed to get out of here.

Summoning a portal, she followed the butterflies back into the world she belonged in. Still, she couldn't help looking back at the boy who changed her entire life. Then she was gone without a trace, leaving behind only a few words that he wouldn't even hear.

"Bye, Ichigo."


A/N: Written very quickly in response to the latest chapter, which touched me in a way not a lot of Bleach chapters could. I cried. This one's for Ichigo and Rukia.