Hey!
this is my fist fanfic C: I know this chapters kind of long, especially for my first, and it probably isnt the best, but please enjoy~ and please, if I make a mistake feel free to point it out and I would love tips!
Bleach belongs to tite kubo~ :)
The last thing I remember was her face. The very last thing that I could remember, that I could think about, was her face. Her silky auburn hair blowing in the slight breeze that carried my ashes off the top of Las Noches to mix with the white sands. Her milky white skin, paled by her days as a prisoner, slightly scratched and dirtied. And her eyes. Her beautiful gray eyes shining in an invisible light, digging into my own with an invisible force that wanted me to reach out to her, touch her, comfort her, to let her know that I was okay. That my disappearing body wasn't the end of me, and that I was going to stay there. That wouldn't work though. I killed the person she loved, and if I didn't die now... Nothing good would come from my survival.
Her flawless face was contorted into something I couldn't understand. Pain was evident, but why? Did I not take her away from her home, threaten the safety of her loved ones, and kill Ichigo Kurosaki right in front of her eyes? Why were tears threatening to spill down her cheeks? Why did her expression right now make me feel this way? This way... what was this feeling...? This heavy feeling in my chest; in my body, gluing my entire being to her... I reached out to her, lifting my heavy limb with every fiber of my being.
"... Are you scared of me girl...?"
She shifted slightly, removing her hand from its place on her chest.
"I am not scared," she stated, lifting her slim arm up to meet mine.
"... I see..."
I felt the pain wash over me, but it wasn't the pain of my failing body, but the pain of realizing it was too late to do anything.
For the first time in my life, I wanted to live. I wanted to live to feel her warm hands against my own, my own hand that right there disappeared, as if telling me it was impossible. It was impossible to touch her now, no matter how much I wanted to. I could have touched her as much as I wanted within the time she spent as my prisoner, but why didn't I? I saw her every day, yet the only time we touched was when she struck my. Why did I crave her now? … That reminded me of something... Something she said to me... That memory strangely made me feel content. How she spoke to me so easily...
Now I understand, I thought. This here, in my hand.
The heart.
"Orihime what are you doing?" Ichigo shouted, yanking her arm back. He immediately regretted it.
Tears were flowing freely down her face, along with a runny nose and wet lips. She was a crying hysterically, shaking, gasping, and struggling to stay on her feet. Just a moment ago she calmly walked over to the small pile of ashes that were not completely blown away and called out her fairies. Now she was panicking. He wasn't healing. Nothing was happening. She didn't want this, she didn't want anyone to die, especially like this.
"LET GO!" She pushed him away, not even looking at him, and focused her attention back to the pile of ashes. Nothing was happening. She got down on her knees and put all of her strength into her shield. Nothing.
"Ul... Ulquiorra... Ulquiorra..." She sobbed, leaning on the shield.
Please... Please... Please come back Ulquiorra... Please... Why did it have to be like this? Why did she want to save him so bad? Why did it hurt so bad seeing him turn to dust right before her eyes? Was it because her way of thinking, that no one deserved a death like that? Maybe, but either way she had to try. Something inside her was screaming to be set free, to do something, to bring him back.
She closed her eyes, resting her forehead against the orange glow. What was she going to do? Was this the end? No. She could not let it end like this. Not in one million years. Thinking of what he said right before he disappeared, the expression on his face that she thought she would never get to see, she pulled out strength she never knew she had. Whatever she had bottle up was uncapped. It coursed through her veins like a gasp of fresh air, blowing away all of her worries and doubtful thoughts until only clear, positive thoughts were left. She could do this. She opened her eyes.
There he was. Eyes closed, chest heaving, but in one piece. She forgot to breathe. Was this really happening? She couldn't believe it. It was a miracle. Never in her life did she feel so relieved, so happy. She was crying tears of joy now, pressing her hands against her Sōten Kisshun that held the naked but alive Ulquiorra, giggling and nearly bouncing up and down from pure glee. He was alive!
"Ichigo, look! He's okay! I really did it!"
She turned around to look him in his eyes, but met Uryuu's instead. Oops.
"Orihim-BLEHGH!" Uryuu's knees gave out, causing him to swing on Ichigo just in time for his blood barf to splat all over Ichigo's chest. He reacted by dropping Uryuu flat on his back, to which he rolled over and vomited more fluids.
"Gross! What the hell Uryuu?" Ichigo raged as he attempted to remove the little bit of soiled clothing from his chest.
"Sh-shut the f-fuck up," he managed to grunt between clenched teeth before he fell unconscious. Orihime didn't waste a second. The moment he closed his eyes she extended her Sōten Kisshun until his entire body was under the orange field. Mission accomplished. How could she forget about him though? It made her feel bad...
"Orihime do you realize what you just did?" His voice augmented after every syllable.
"Ichigo I-"
"You brought him back to life! He kidnapped you and tried to kill me!" He was yelling now. Orihime cowered, staring at him with eyes as big as dinner plates. Of course he would be angry, but he wasn't even giving her a chance to speak. Her mind fell numb, looking for something to say, some sort of excuse, but nothing would come out of her mouth.
"Wai-!" She tried again.
"Are you really even our friend anymore? Uryuu, Chad, Rukia... Everyone came here to save you and now you are betraying us? Did you really le-!"
"I DONT KNOW!" She finally had enough. She was tired of no one listening to her, no one waiting to hear her out. It was always like this. Protect protect protect, like she was some toddler who couldn't do anything by herself. She knew what she did was wrong, but that was the last thought on her mind when she saw Ulquiorra fade to dust right before her eyes. Her mind was running a million miles a minute, but she knew she had to do something, and that's what she did. She did was her heart told her to do, no matter how wrong it was, because at that moment it felt right.
"I dont know... I just did it! I just did..." She managed between gasps and sobs, a fresh coat of tears trailing from her eyes. "I just wanted him to live..." There was no other way to say it. The real reason was still a question in her mind, and now she was suffering from shock. Had she really done the right thing? Yes, or at least it felt that way. Then why was she struggling with the words in her mouth? Was it really too much? What would Ichigo think of she said the words in her throat? It was all pointing in different directions.
"You wanted him to live? Orihime-"
"Ichigo," Uryuu cut in, awake and looking better. "That's enough. We don't have time to argue, there are more important matters at hand."
All eyes were on the Quincy, absorbing what he said. Ichigo then relaxed his face and nodded in agreement. Orihime was glad he interrupted, she would have had a total meltdown if he didn't.
"Uryuu are you okay now?" Orihime asked, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"I'm fine Orihime, thank you," he nodded to her. "We better get going guys."
Ichigo nodded, taking a glance at Orihime before he pursued Uryuu. Orihime didn't move, looking at them both quizzically. Had they forgotten, or they just didn't care? Well, she wasn't moving either way. Not without Ulquiorra.
"U-um..." They both stopped on cue, finally remembering the unconscious man Orihime saved. "We can't... leave him..." If they forced her to leave him now he would surely die. He was in no condition to travel either. Someone had to carry him.
"Orihime..." Uryuu turned his head and looked at her for a long moment. He then turned around completely. If it's what she wants, there is no helping it...
"Uryuu what are you doing?" Ichigo reached out and grabbed his arm, gaining his full attention. "Are you really going to help him?"
"I'm helping her! Her decision was to bring him back, and we are not going to kill him now that Orihime made that decision!" He yanked his arm out of the bewildered man's grip. "She is our friend, Ichigo. No matter what happens, she will always be our friend! Did we not come here to save her?"
"Yes, but we didn't come here to save Ulquiorra! We came here to save her from Ulquiorra! He kidnapped her and now she wants to bring him back? That doesn't make sense! You should see that—NGH!"
Uryuu, not even listening to his last sentence, turned around and punched him square in the face faster than lightning, sending him flying backwards a few feet. Orihime covered her mouth in shock, diverting her gaze from the sprawled out Ichigo to the fuming Uryuu.
"Shut up! I already explained, It doesn't matter! This was Orihime's choice!" He blocked Ichigo's kick, getting into a defensive position. "Are you not her friend Ichigo? She needs our help right no—OWH!" Ichigo got him back with a punch to the left side of his face, causing him to fly to the left a few yards, earning a startled scream as he landed right next to Orihime.
"You guys, stop!" She looked between the two, trying not to lose concentration on her Sōten Kisshun. "Uryuu are you okay?" He flew really far...
"I'm fine." He wiped the blood off his face and got back up. "You can do what you want, Ichigo, but I'm helping Orihime with Ulquiorra."
"... Fine." He jumped off the tower, heading for Everyone's spiritual pressure. The tension disappeared immediately. What was his problem? I mean, Ulquiorra did kind of kill him... and I guess it pissed him off pretty bad, but their was no reason for him to hit Uryuu! Orihime thought, flustered by his attitude. Well, at least hes okay... She stared at Ulquiorra's teal tear marks, running through the events that happened.
"... Do you think hes really that mad at me...?" She gazed at her hands, waiting for an answer. He couldn't... hate me. Right? He came here to save me after all...
"He'll get over it, don't worry." Uryuu patted her shoulder trying to comfort her. He's just a crybaby.
A smile graced her face, "Yeah, probably." Uryuu, your such a good person. It was true, Uryuu was always there for her and usually knew just what to say, He was always so kind and serious, but he always managed to put a smile on her face, but most people could do that.
Uryuu's eyes lingered for a bit. She was always cuter when she smiled. It suited her, he thought as he focused on Ulquiorra. He closed his eyes slowly, feeling a little uncomfortable. Had she not noticed? Probably not. I'd better let her know... "Orihime, he's naked."
"... Well yeah, he cam beck from ash-" Just then she realized what he really meant. Her face turned a dark shade of red, like a tomato. She stared blankly at him for a second before closing her eyes with her hands. Sōten Kisshun shattered.
OMGOMGOMGOMG HOW EMBARASSING. I really was staring at him naked the whole time- OHMYGOSH! She suddenly remembered staring at his naked white body, the image of his smooth skin, perfect build, and... everything else carved into her mind. Her eyes shot open in a panic only to meet the image of Uryuu stripping to cover Ulquiorra. Who was still naked. Her mind scattered into 5,000 different directions, causing her to have a blinking, twitching, 'eep'ing fit for at least three seconds before she received a nosebleed and fainted. It was the strangest thing Uryuu had seen in a long time. It worried him at first, but then again... It was Orihime... He thought, removing his cape, coat, and belt. Luckily he had a sewing kit with him.
Is this what it felt like to be dead...? How strange. It felt like a 'dream', or at least what that woman described it as. I felt warm, content, like I could stay this was forever; with her in my mind, playing back the last words that fell from her pink lips like rain drops. Rain drops that blurred my vision; leaving a melancholy feeling, like I was sinking in a bottomless ocean. I would never get to see her again, not the light of day nor the stars of night. I sank deeper, deeper, but something stopped me from drowning. It felt like I was floating upward, like the heavy chains dragging me down into this epitome of depression were untangled from my body, lifting me up for oxygen. Now I was here, in this nostalgic, tangible darkness, thinking about her. Her long, beautiful hair cascading over her shoulders-
Nudge.
…
Nudge.
… What is that?
"Hey! I'm not dressing you! Get up!"
My eyes flew open, immediately making contact with a blinding light and an angry teen's face. Scrambled thoughts left me light headed; millions of questions running through my mind all at once. I managed to pull some together. The Quincy?
"Why are you yelling such indecent things? Get out of my face." Apparently, I didn't die. How did I live, then? No, I did die, I remember turning to ash. Then what am I doing here? That woman-
"Hey, shut the hell up! I spent forever on these clothes so you wouldn't give Orihime a heart attack!" His face was red from anger and embarrassment.
Orihime? That hit me like a cero to the face. Everything came rushing back to my mind, leaving me speechless. Surprise must have been evident on my expression; the atmosphere shifted, placing tension in the air.
"Where is she?" I almost sounded desperate.
"Tch!" The Quincy was annoyed now, getting up and throwing a neatly folded pile of cloth on my chest. "Just put it on."
I stared at him for a moment before I painfully rose off of my back and saw that I was nude. So I was brought back. I looked around at my surroundings, which were unsurprisingly familiar, when something orange caught my eye. The world froze for a moment. It felt like the skin on my head was pulled off, scrambling my thoughts once again into chaos. It was her, lying there on her back, as if asleep. It took me a moment to gather my brain again, making me well aware of the throbbing in my temple.
Did she do this to me? Was it her that brought me back?
… Wasn't it I who wanted to live? I asked myself this, almost forcing it to surface my mind. This one question drowned all other questions out, like calming a storm at sea. I needed to hear her voice. I needed her to tell me right from wrong, to answer all of my questions; because she was the only one who would listen. She was the only one I would let break me down because she would bring me right back up. I was sinking again, and she was the only one close enough to save me. I need to talk to her.
I pushed off of the ground with the little strength in my limbs only to see that I was naked still. How long had I been sitting there in the nude? I looked at the clothes with distaste, but it wouldn't be a good idea to walk around naked; I think.
The outfit consisted of a white, loose, stitched together pair of shorts, covering up to my knees. The shirt was also stitched together, but in a strange fashion, with no sleeves. It had a very tight collar that I had trouble getting over my hallow mask, and hugged my mid section, hinting my small build. Now I really wanted to walk around nude, this was ridiculous.
END OF CHAPER ONE
too long? D: well, i hope it was satisfactory, and sorry for my lack of imagination for a title x.x