Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters, I am just a fan who is soooo crazy about Ichigo and Inoue
Was it meant to be this way?
She looked at the pathway and all she saw were the leaves that fell from the trees and the movement of the wind that blew the leaves away. She longed to see that figure once again, that someone who approaches her every time she's down. She longed to hear that voice that always told her not to worry. But everything's different now. He's no longer near her; she can never have what she wanted…
She made her way through the park; her coat covered her, her hair flowing along with the wind. Chills made their way through her body every time a strong wind blows. Suddenly, she lost grip of her bag and it fell to the ground. She stood still as if nothing happened, her bag was on the ground, and papers scattered and so did her pens and accessories. She closed her eyes then tears started to fall down her cheek, she felt so lost, so confused…
"Aren't you going to pick that up? You're still clumsy, aren't you?"
She froze when she heard that voice. She turned around and saw who it was, "I…Ichigo" she stammered. Ichigo bent down to take her bag and all the scattered things. Inoue looked at him as he fixed it, she quickly wiped her tears and bent down to help him.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying much attention to myself, that's why" she said as she forced out a smile. She waited for a reply but all she got was a quick smile which faded easily.
"Here you go Inoue-san" Ichigo said, handing the bag to Inoue. "It's been a long time, huh?" he asked, placing his hands inside his pocket as he stood up. "Who would've thought I'd find you here"
"Find me here?..."
"Yeah… I never thought you'd leave that day, you never even said goodbye"
His words left her in silence. That day she left, she never did say goodbye, she couldn't bear the thought of having to leave. She just smiled during those last seconds she saw his face. She could still remember his last smile before he turned away.
"I'm sorry… I was just so… it was hard to say goodbye, that's all" she managed to say…
"It was hard to find out you were gone…"
She froze once again, her heart beating faster than she could imagine, his words left her suspended in thin air, she couldn't think of anything to say, all she did was stand there and look at Ichigo with her eyes left wondering…
"Inoue…"
His lips curved and he took out his hand to fix Inoue's hair which covered her eyes…
"I wish I found you sooner…"
"I wish I stopped you from leaving…"
Tears flowed from her eyes when she heard his words, she was so confused, she can't even tell how she feels right now. Was she happy that Ichigo felt this way or was she sad that she allowed all of this to happen to both of them?
He looked at Inoue one last time, he turned around, light reflected on the tear drop that fell from his eye. He faced Inoue once more and took a deep breath…
"Inoue…" he called out as he held out a card to her…
"Rukia… Rukia and I are getting married… she wants you to be a special guest in our wedding"…