These bones have outgrown these thin sheets of skin. Every stretch causes a mark, a blemish. The fear for the day they will rip, tear their outer shell, leaving them vulnerable, open, exposed.
Some things are meant to be hidden away. -Kayla Hollatz
I remember it far too vividly.
That faint sound of piercing skin—just as when my blade glides so smoothly along my victim, before subduing them with a final strike that penetrates completely through them. These very tactics were used against an innocent life—an innocent life in which I found I could not protect.
Before my eyes laid a body empty of hate and vexation, yet also rid of contentment and pleasure. Everything that composed a human had been vacuumed out of her soul.
Maybe if my face wasn't cooled with the sensation of blood then my spite wouldn't have controlled me like it did.
If I could have pulled myself together and grasped hold of the situation then perhaps blood would not have been shed.
And if only I hadn't lost myself to my conscious, then the last thing Orihime could have seen was my more gentle side; not the opposite of that... The part of me that frightened her like her brother did.
Her outstretched arms reached for me, her tears touched her lips in which were tightly pressed together. I started towards her despite my battle wounds, kicking up the sunbathed sand behind me, I dropped my sword and stretched my arm out as if I was going to touch the horizon. Our fingers brushed each other's and Orihime finally felt like she was free. I could tell, she had believed it would be okay because I was there. Then there was a force that tore her from me and stole the hope right off her face, it took the only shred of life that remained entwined in her.
Within an instant my sword was confiscated from the ground and used against Inoue, stabbing cleanly through her back. The point of the blade was set on me, gawking at me while it held Orihime's weight up.
Zangetsu...
She depended on me; maybe it was her mistake, or it was mine for not keeping my promise.
Yeah, that sounds about right.
Crimson blurred my vision slowly, probably Orihime's too. No matter how much I have witnessed with these eyes before, nothing would ever be the same as seeing someone close to me bleed so much, to see someone slowly dying, realizing they couldn't be saved by you. Her arms still reached for me faintly, even though she could barely hold them up, her arms still tried to touch me even after I let her down. Orihime's eyes dimmed and her head began to droop. Her skin was covered with her own blood, it even dripped from her mouth.
My blade made a quick move out of her, a sharp gulp escaped Inoue's lips before her body fell limp on the ground. The sand splashed her face and mixed with even more gore.
I quickly found I could not move. I was destined to bare watching as the life poured out of Orihime by the hands of my Zanpakuto. Her eyes went blank and looked as if they stared into nothing.
Her white dress became plastered with red, along with her hands and the tips of her hair. She wasn't there anymore, her life had vanished by my hands.
I woke up violently on a sunny day. My body thrashed up, I was breathing as hard as ever. There was sweat covering my back and it made my shirt stick to me. I grunted in disgust.
"Another crappy dream," I thought. "Inoue..." My eyes stung ever so slightly, like my dream had been a reality. I sat for a while, coaxing my mind.
I glanced at the clock, it was noon.
"Damn," I hadn't consistently woken up this late, maybe my body needed the extra rest.
"Rukia." I looked at the closed closet door when I was spared no answer; so I whipped my blanket off my legs and slid the door open only to find a neat stack of sleeping material in her place. She must have decided to make today more productive than I.
Yelling beyond my bedroom I called my sisters' names. Another silent response.
Where did everyone go? They all left without telling me.
I tried my best to act like I wasn't slightly offended from being left in the dark—I was alone though, no one could see how I felt. I went on to change my clothes and head down stairs. A slight ache in my chest became prominent enough for my attention; I touched my fingers to my heart and felt where the pain was present. How ironic, heart pain.
I breathed but found it wasn't enough to cure the sensation. "Maybe some fresh air." I began towards the front door and breathed in the warmth upon reaching the outer air. I shielded the sun from my eyes and looked up towards the clouds. What a charming day. I took to the side walk and continued to stare into the sky. I noticed how the sky was the same as the one in my dream-
A sudden sharp yelp was all I could make out before tumbling to the ground. I bumped into a girl, staring up at the sky.
"Ow!" Bittersweet, orange tinted hair whipped against my face.
"Oh, Inoue! I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention." Her legs were tangled with mine, she had been pinned down. I stood before her and offered a helping hand.
"Kurosaki! I'm fine, tough as nails." She brushed her hands together, back and forth. I watched as she ran her digits through her vast hair so effortlessly. Her hands were pure like porcelain—not a speck of blood.
"Ichigo..." Hearing her call my by my first name caught me with a bit of surprise. "It sure has been a while." Why hasn't she looked up at me yet? She stared at her feet and let her hair cascade her face.
"What do you mean?" She stood maybe a foot away from me; I could feel her warmth radiate off of her, and could smell her sweetness. I breathed in through my nose.
"Well what I meant was—I mean I think—er," Her eyes scanned her surroundings as if she was going to find what she wanted to say. "It's quiet, Kurosaki." This time she looked up at me, captivating me with her words. I thought about her reason.
"Today's finally a normal day, I get it." I smiled at her.
It hadn't dawned on me until she said something about it—all the fighting in Hueco Mundo seemed like an eternity, it had been so long since a quiet day had come around. I remembered my gratefulness, I'm sure Orihime remembered too.
"Hey, Inoue..." I touched my hand to the back of my head and pondered. "Why are you in this area?"
Her face flushed before she could answer me. "I-I was going to your house." Her gaze averted me again.
"Oh?"
"I wanted to show you something."
Rukia awoke in her usual spot, curled up under the blankets, in her usual dark blissful space.
She checked her phone for the date, just another hot summer day—no, she was wrong. Today was the day.
"Ichigo!" She was too late, he was gone.
"Why here?" I asked, stepping onto the school campus.
Orihime trailed me along with my hand in her grip. She laughed a little from time to time, every time I heard it I couldn't keep my lips pinned, I laughed with her.
"It's been an eternity," She looked up towards the empty building, Inoue kept walking towards it, right into the front doors.
"It's unlocked?"
I remembered everything so clearly, instinctively I almost began to remove my shoes. Orihime's grasp released and she skipped up the stairs. "Oi, wait!" I reached out to her and tried to close my footing in close to Inoue.
How long has it been? A week? A fleeing voice questioned.
"Inoue, why are we at school?" I reiterated, but getting spared no answer. We trailed the hallway hip to hip, my hands jammed in my pockets.
"I just wanted to see something..." Her words seemed detached, she was only partially listening to me.
She walked ahead of me and into our classroom, completely set on this endeavor of hers.
The room had been enveloped by the sun. Everything was tinted orange from the light, I squinted from its intensity. Orihime walked along each row of desks, feeling the surface of each of them with her fingertips. Her face was nostalgic—more so with each desk she touched, or rather, the closer she got to her own.
"Inoue…?" She was reluctant to answer any of my questions so far. I was so confused as to why this school was so sentimental to her. We come here every day.
"It's just been so long," I sighed to myself, her stubbornness picked away at me.
I studied her movements and tried to read her expression, perhaps I could have figured out her intentions in all this. Orihime continued to walk past her own desk, trashing my predictions. Her face continued to grow more blissful.
"I've always wanted to do this!"
"Orihime—" I tried to control it, but I could already feel my ears and cheeks getting hot. I looked away as she sat on top of my desk.
"Kurosaki Ichigo," She whispered to herself, I looked up at her but her back was to me. I wonder what she was looking at.
"One more place."
Rukia ran as fast as her legs would allow her. She was sprinting towards Ichigo's Spiritual pressure with everything she had. She had fumbled for her phone for what seemed like the hundredth time and dialed Ichigo's number again, she listened as it went to voice mail—her eyes hardened.
"Where are you now, Ichigo?"
The scent of grass filled my senses, so I let it rush through me with ease. I was feeling bliss just as Orihime was before at school. She stood before me, her hand was encased by her hair as she held it all back, taming it from the breeze.
No it had to have been longer than a week, maybe... a month? My conscious wondered, but leaving me in the dark.
"Inoue... please tell me why-"
"Do you remember this place?" Her face looked at me, then turned towards something else. A tree? After all, it was one of the only trees left in the vast green park. Vibrantly green, it shook violently in result of the wind. The leaves detached themselves and fell gracefully to the dense grass.
Her eyes dimmed and watered, yet kept their sense of graciousness. "This is the place you promised me." Her voice became small, drowned out by fast approaching tears.
"Do you remember that promise, Kurosaki?" Of course.
"I promised you that I would protect you... and keep you safe."
Inoue turned her footing towards me and came at me with open arms. The breeze filled the gap between us—chills ran down me as Orihime's breathing became dynamic. Her face flushed.
No, it's been years... But how many?
"Kurosaki I-" I didn't—couldn'tlet her finish.
That pain... My chest began to heave in time with my heart beating dangerously fast, I could feel it in my throat. Agony overwhelmed my soul but why?
How many years has it been...six?
The world came to a grinding halt as I grabbed Inoue's figure and held her as tight as I could. I enveloped her with my warmth in hope that I could shroud euphoria around her.
"It's been an eternity," "It's just been so long," six years is a long time indeed...
She began to cry into me, shrieking until her voice faltered from the stress. Inoue's fists pounded into me. I grabbed her harder, she only cried more.
"Inoue..." I pleaded, smoothing her intensity out. She had calmed herself, her arms became still but her fists grasped my shirt and her tears still scaled her face until they fell on me and dribbled onto my shirt.
"I don't want this to be it, Kurosaki!" I was taken by her words, my body went numb, my eyes glossing over.
"I don't want to leave!" She bellowed. Her fierce crying picked up and her hands felt around me, and resumed her tight grip on my shirt from the back. I lowered my head into her sweet scent and buried my nose in her hair.
"You don't have to though. I'm right here." I tried to assure her, but it just wasn't working; I might as well have been silent. I couldn't save her from her tears.
"But how can you? You said you would protect me Ichigo! You said you would keep me safe!" I tried to make sense of her words, I tried my best but something felt empty, I was in the pitch black, completely thrown off every time Orihime spoke.
"I am protecting you! I will always keep you safe."
Six years is a long time... Shut up!
Inoue let go of me, she backed up and studied my face. She placed her hand under my eye to wipe my tears I wasn't aware of. Then smoothed her light grasp around my ear; her cool fingers were doused with my hair.
"Orihime," She grew in tallness, standing on the tips of her toes to subtract the distance between our lips.
The same lips that were pressed together tightly and damp with tears, blood coming from her abdomen.
"Ichigo!" An unfamiliar voice...
Orihime loosened herself from me until we were no longer laced unto each other's bodies. She backed up with her fist closed tight near her chest. She said something but her voice was so small I couldn't hear.
Her figure began to fade and shrink. I reached out my hand to grasp her whitening body, she reached out as well. Our fingertips touched, but only briefly. Something had ripped her away from me, she was gone now.
"Ichigo." A stern voice called me again.
"R-Rukia?" My eyes dawned on her, she was gasping for air, her hair was blown back from the breeze.
"I finally found you," She could barely speak above her need for air.
"Rukia! You have to help, Orihime was here! We have to find her, she couldn't have gone far." I pleaded to her, but she merely watched as I fell to my knees, her face stayed cold and her eyes were hard. What was wrong with her?
"Ichigo, stop." Why won't she listen to me?
"You have to help, Rukia... please." My tears quickly scaled my burning face, one after the other.
Just like before...
"No!" I resisted the persistent memory.
"Ichigo..." Her tone was caring this time, but her stance remained stone like.
"Please..." Rukia bent down close to me, she placed both her hands on my shoulders roughly.
"Why aren't you helping me? What about Orihime..." My voice was raspy and pathetic, I could hardly speak.
"Because Orihime Inoue is dead, Ichigo."
I lost my self somewhere, sometime after hearing those words. Static was all I could hear in my brain, my whole body was numb and cold.
"You do this every year, you block everyone out around you..." I remembered the house being empty.
"She was just here," I fell lower on my knees, my hands touched the ground and my head dropped close to the grass.
It's been six years since then...
"No one's here." I looked around for Orihime, out into the distant field. But she wasn't there.
For a split second the grass turned to sand.
"This is a memorial." Rukia pointed at the closest tree in sight. I regained my composure and walked around the tree only to find a grave with hername on it.
Orihime Inoue
1993-2007
"W-What? No, this isn't-"
"Six years ago, in Hueco Mundo, Orihime died." Her words pierced me.
"No!I couldn't save her? I promised her though." I was dreadfully weary now, my whole self was feeling fatigued. Rukia's hands rested on my shoulders, trying to calm me.
"I couldn't keep her safe." I said, matter-of-a-factly.
My memories flooded in violently, despite that I kept then back for so long. The pain, the blood, the numbness. I rejected it, but the memory flashed it's self at me, beating on me with its existence until I couldn't handle it.
"Ichigo, come back!" My eyes blinked open.
I took in my surroundings, the wind blew past me with all its might, harboring a familiar essence—one that is bittersweet and reminds me of orange tinted hair.
A couple of minutes passed before anyone said anything.
"She's really... gone isn't she?" It pained me to say it.
"Yes." Rukia's voice was lighthearted and soothed me.
"I won't forget her." I became fiercer and regained my state of mind through the mess, trying my nest to recover from this episode.
"You won't."
My reality had returned with clarity, I turned my back on the bright orange sun, my feet etching forward.
My shirt was wrinkled and damp from tears—I looked behind me.
"Orihime..."