Enjoy! I wrote this a long time ago and decided to re-write and edit it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. Ever.
"Kurosaki-kun, you'd better study for the chemistry test!" Orihime said before Ichigo and her parted after school.
"Okay bye, Inoue!" Ichigo waved back at his girlfriend.
1 month ago-
After the Hueco Mundo dilemma, everything was normal for a while. Until Ulquiorra Schiffer came back and kidnapped her again, with the same threats, the same ultimatum. It turned out that Aizen wasn't dead and there was a new place that he was currently in. Not only that, but he had a whole army of even stronger beasts - not just arrancars or espadas.
She had to say goodbye to Ichigo again.
She went into his room through his window again. "There..we...go! Eheheh... I end up here...again..." She giggled. "Again, I'll have to say farewell. A lot of things happened but I guess it had to happen again."
She sighed. "Maybe I won't see Kurosaki-kun ever this time." She smiled sadly and tears started coming out her eyes, "It's only an unrequited love for me."
She turned around looked up at the sky. "If my existence never existed," She looked back at Ichigo. "Then, no one would worry about me and they wouldn't have to repeat this again."
She paused. "No one...no one..." Her words faded. "I should just say good-bye to Kurosaki-kun and leave!"
She wiped her tears, put back her smile and exclaimed softly, "Okay." She breathed deeply and out. "Kurosaki-kun. This is my 2nd time in your room... And um...now..." Her eyes watered up again. "Kurosaki-kun! I love you so much but I would never tell you that!
Ku-ku-kuro-sa-saki-k-kun... I ca-can't do this a-anymore. G-goodbye, forever."
She took off her hairpins and dropped it in Ichigo's hand. "I won't need these anymore. My power is inside me, not in my hairpins."
"Wait, he shouldn't find out that I'm gone."
She took off her hairpins and placed it under Ichigo's bed. "He'll never check there." She sighed. "Okay, last time. Goodbye...forever."
The next day-
Ichigo woke up smelling Inoue's scent. "What the hell? Inoue? Why do I smell her scent?" He fell off his bed, looked to his right and saw her hairpins. "What's this doing here..?
He picked them up and stared at them. "It smells nice." He thought to himself.
"Inoue...Inoue...Inoue! I knew it! She's gone again!" He turned in Shinigami mode and raced to Inoue's house
(A/N: Luckily, it's not a school day)
"DAMMIT! IT HAPPENED AGAIN!" He broke into her house and found some clues. Her clothes were neatly placed. She had left her diary open with a note there.
"Dear diary,
If Kurosaki-kun ever reads this, I'm leaving for good. Don't come and get me again. I'm serious. Please don't but I have to tell you this. Not in person. I'm too ashamed to do that but Kurosaki-kun, I have feelings for you. In fact, I'm in love with you. I know it's dumb to tell you this now... Yeah. If you are in love with Kuchiki-san, forget you ever read this note. Live your happy life with her and leave me alone. It's better for both of us and if you ever come for me, I'll be- I'm sorry, I can't tell you that or my current location right now. Don't try to find me or else you'll have to face danger.
Goodbye Halcyon days, again.
Love,
Inoue Orihime"
Ichigo's eyes widened. "Dammit, she's in Hueco Mundo, again!" Those were the last words he had said before he went out to find Inoue Orihime.
Later, Rukia and Renji found out and TRIED to follow Ichigo but he had said, "Don't help me, guys. Inoue needs only MY help. Don't help, please."
He searched not in Hueco Mundo but the streets of Kakakura town. He saw an orange-haired girl facing her back sitting on a bench. He shouted, "INOUE!"
The girl turned her head. It was Orihime. "Ahh!" Inoue ran as fast as she could but gravity forced her down a steep hill and she fell in a river. The river was at the exact place where Tatsuki and Inoue said goodbye to each other before they all went to save Rukia in Soul Society. Ichigo dived in the river, grabbed Inoue and pulled her up to shore.
"K-Kurosa-saki-ku-kunn...Why are you h-here?" she said while blushing pink.
"Inoue, I read your diary page in your apartment."
Her eyes widened. "Uhm...It was a joke. Haha. I was kidding about...that." she lied and giggled.
Ichigo looked at her deeply, "No, you were not. I know you're not the type of person to pull a prank like this."
She looked into his eyes and blinked as tears fell out one by one.
"That wasn't for you to read!" she shouted. "I can't believe I said that to Kurosaki-kun," she thought as she got up and ran for it.
"INOUE!" Ichigo shouted.
"Go away, Kurosaki-kun! I don't need you! I don't need anyone." She took out a red pill from her pocket and was about to eat it.
Flashback
"Take this, woman." the unpleasent espada handed her a red pill, "eat this when you have no escape route." Inoue gulped as she turned her hands.
"W-what does it do?" she asked sheepishly.
"You will die and your soul will be sent to our location. Your soul will go into an espada body." Ulquiorra said with a sad look but still emotionless.
Flashback end
She looked back and gulped again. She put it in her mouth and took some river water into her mouth as she was about to swallow the pill.
Suddenly, Ichigo ran up, wrapped his arms around her waist and pushed her stomach. The pill went out of her mouth and landed in the river stream and flowed away.
The two teenagers stared at the pill for a second and it exploded. The water blasted and went all of Ichigo and Orihime.
"Aah!" Inoue gasped quietly. They were slient for a moment. "Kurosaki-kun, I'm sorry for what I have said...but...I must go. Please?" She asked quietly as she tried to form a smile. But she couldn't smile when he was in front of her.
Ichigo let go and looked down, "Inoue, I don't love Rukia. What were you ever thinking? Nothing ever happened between me and her. Point is, I don't love her like that."
Orihime was about to burst into tears but stopped herself, "Be strong, Orihime. You're not the girl Kurosaki-kun knew before." she thought.
Ichigo grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to him. Ichigo was kneeling down while Inoue was too. They were less than a meter apart. "Although," He thought hard on what to say next, without hurting her feelings, "Although I don't really have fallen in love with anyone before. Although I don't feel the same towards you right now, I'm willing to give it a shot at um, dating you." He blushed nervously and cleared his throat to continue, "Y'know, as long as you stay here, beside me. I know that you're really important to me right now and I need you to be with me. I need to protect you. I want to keep our promise. Can you stay?"
"I...Yes." She said, tears falling out rapidly. "Guuuuh!" she sobbed. "I'm so sorry for doing this again!" She strengthened their hug. "B-But, what do I do about Ulquiorra and Aizen and... If I don't go along with them, you'll be in danger!"
A bit stunned by her words, he said reassuring. "I'll take care of it. I'll protect Karakura Town. I'll do whatever it takes." He pulled out of the hug, still hands on her shoulders, and looked right into her eyes.
"T-Thank you, Kurosaki-kun."
A/N: I'm not good at endings. So I'll just leave it at that.