CHAPTER 1: TYPICAL DAY AT SCHOOL
Blood was everywhere! It stained the floor, the walls, even the ceiling. It also stained his clothes. The reason: the body of an innocent girl cradled in his arms. He looked down at her still face, hoping in vain for any signs of life. But she was completely limb- completely void of any life force.
"Why? Why like this?" he cried out to the heavens. There came no reply. He was alone- left behind to mourn in his misery.
Ichigo's eyes snapped open at the sound of his alarm clock going off. He reached over and hit the snooze button before sitting up in his bed, face buried in his hands.
Why do I keep having the same dream, he thought. He searched his mind desperately for answers. He came up with no possible answers like all the other times he tried.
The reoccurring nightmare began about two weeks ago. Every night, he had the same exact vision of a bloody scene and a dear friend dying in his arms. He concluded that he'd talk to Urahara later today. As he dressed into his school uniform, a knock came from Ichigo's bedroom door.
"Ichi-nii, breakfast is on the table," Yuzu called through the door. Ichigo headed downstairs about a minute later and was met by a flying kick courtesy of his father, Isshin Kurosaki.
"Good morning, son!" Isshin proclaimed loudly as his son hit the floor headfirst. Yuzu gasped in shock at what just transpired while Karin sighed in annoyance.
"Let it go," Karin told Yuzu, "You know our brother always comes out just fine."
"But what if he doesn't, this time?" Yuzu argued.
"Relax, Yuzu," Ichigo groaned as he rose from the floor and joined his sisters at the table, "I'm perfectly fine."
"See, told you," Karin said between bites.
Casual chatter went on around Ichigo as he walked down the school hallway to his first class. He ignored all that, as he was deep in thought about the reoccurring nightmare. His pondering was soon interrupted by a familiar male voice.
"IIIIIIIII-CHIIIIIIII-GOOOOOOOO!" The shout was cut short by a backhand from the carrot top.
"Good morning to you, too, Keigo," he said in annoyance as he walked on.
"Kurosaki-kun!" a feminine voice called out. Ichigo looked past the door to the classroom to see a certain caramel-haired and busty girl jogging up to him from farther down the hallway.
"Inoue, good morning," Ichigo greeted his female friend. They walked into the classroom and set their stuff down on their desks. Orihime looked up at where Ichigo was and strode up to him.
"You seem bothered by something," she asked softly while placing a hand over one of Ichigo's, "Are you okay?"
"Inoue…" Ichigo said nothing more, just looking in his friend's direction with an expression he hardly ever shows. This one response, however, was all too familiar to Orihime.
"You had that dream again?" she pushed further. Ichigo responded with a gentle squeeze of her hand, also all too familiar.
"It's been two weeks now," he finally managed to utter. Orihime nodded slowly, taking it in and remembering the day it all started.
Start of Flashback, 2 weeks ago
Orihime sat under the cherry blossom, waiting for Ichigo to arrive. She saw him come to class looking a little disturbed and then show a hint of relief once he saw her. Plus, his eyes kept moving to her all throughout class.
When class concluded, she met Ichigo in the hallway. She made sure she was directly in front of him, cutting off any potential escape routes.
"Kurosaki-kun, there's something bothering you," Orihime addressed in a worried tone, "You're not your usual self and I'm worried because of it."
"Inoue, I….." Ichigo tried to speak but Orihime wouldn't have it.
"Please don't, Kurosaki-kun," the healer asserted, "You're not invincible and you have friends to fall back on." She sighed to steady herself before continuing, "You have been there for me so many times. Just let me be there for you, too."
Ichigo said nothing for what seemed like an eternity but finally said softly, "Okay, Inoue." Orihime showed a gentle smile and said, "Meet me where we usually eat together for lunch. If you don't show up, I'm come looking for you." Ichigo nodded in acknowledgement and Orihime went on her way.
Ichigo came walking up to where Orihime sat under the cherry blossom, bento in hand. He lowered himself next to her and they began to eat.
"There's a reason I was acting the way I was this morning," Ichigo suddenly spoke. Orihime set her bento down and looked at him intently.
"Last night, I had a nightmare that felt real," Ichigo continued. He explained every detail, including the blood being everywhere. Orihime was on the verge of tears. She gently took Ichigo's hand and held it over her heart.
"As long as my heart still beats, I am there for you," she promised, "I promise you, Kurosaki Ichigo, it is nothing more than a dream."
End of Flashback
Other students began filing into the classroom, serving as Orihime's cue to return to her desk.
"We'll talk more later," the busty healer assured. She gave Ichigo's hand a gentle squeeze and returned to her desk.
The school day was quite typical. Orihime sat and listened while she took notes. About halfway through the class, she noticed Ichigo and Rukia replace themselves with Kon and Chappy as they left to take care of an apparent Hollow appearance. The giveaway was "Ichigo" staring intently at the instructor's butt while trying to keep from drooling and "Rukia" suppressing her giggling while she doodled poorly drawn rabbits.
What is it with Rukia and Chappy and their obsession with bunnies, Orihime pondered.
The downtown part of Kurakura Town was basically a large battlefield. Ichigo was having a hard time with the four Menos attacking him at once. He was alone in this fight since Rukia was in a similar predicament. Renji arrived a while earlier but was struck down while defending Rukia from an attack from behind.
Dammit! Rukia's not gonna last much longer, Ichigo thought desperately. He dodged another attack and jumped away, giving himself space.
"Bankai!" Ichigo powered up and charged the Menos who attacked him, destroying two of them in a second then taking the other two with an enormous Getsuga-Tenshou. He immediately hurried to where Rukia was still struggling with her own group of Menos. He fired off another Getsuga-Tenshou, leaving only one left for Rukia to deal with.
"Thanks, Ichigo," was what Rukia started say. As she turned her head in his direction to speak, she heard a strange sound from the last remaining Menos. She snapped her head back to it finish charging up for a massive Cero- aimed directly at Ichigo.
All Rukia had time to do was shout at her friend, "Look out!" She watched in horror as the Cero hit Ichigo dead center, slamming him into a nearby building that collapsed from the impact.
Renji appeared beside Rukia, having recovered enough from his injury to continue fighting.
"Go help him," he asserted, "I'll finish this fight." Rukia gave him a grateful glance before hurrying off to where Ichigo landed.
"Ichigo!" Rukia cried out as she neared her fallen carrot-topped ally. She knelt over Ichigo and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder before tightly gripping the fabric.
"Please, don't die!" she whimpered. Using the grip she had on the fabric over Ichigo's shoulder, she hoisted said comrade to a position where he had one arm draped over her shoulder while she gripped his midsection with both arms. Without hesitation, she made a huge leap for the Urahara Shop.