'This feeling in my heart…what is it? Why is it that I feel this way…I no longer feel empty…and yet, I don't even know this boy—or do I?'

Gray eyes scanned the person in front of her, questions running through her mind.

"D-Do I know you?" She formed the words, her eyes shimmering. The man in front of her shrugged his shoulders, his sunglasses catching the light from the shining sun. The guy that was standing next to him rolled his eyes before turning to look at the flabbergasted girl.

"This is my friend, Orihime, he's…" He was about to say more when the man in the sunglasses next to him placed his hand on his shoulder, successfully cutting him off.

"Don't." Was the only word that left his mouth, but it was enough to send shivers down her spine. 'Wait…that voice…why does it seem familiar?' Her eyes widened which caused the man to turn away from her. Orihime reached out, her hand almost coming in contact with his skin, but before it could, he shrugged away.

"Sorry Orihime. He doesn't really like any physical contact." Her friend Uryu pushed his glasses up his nose. "Don't worry about it, it wasn't you."

Orihime clasped her hands together as she watched the mysterious person walk away. She licked her lips to moisten them. "Uryu…What's his name?"

Uryu rubbed his left arm as he contemplated how to answer. When he didn't answer right away she turned so she was looking at him. He gulped. "I don't know if you should want to know Orihime…Trust me on this one."

"Oh." She turned her head back in the direction that he disappeared in. "Hey Uryu?"

"Hm?"

"This may seem really weird and a little crazy but…I think I met him somewhere before. It's like… I don't know, somewhere it nags at me that I know him…I just haven't figured out where."

Uryu gasped but quickly recovered. "That is crazy, there's no way you could know him."

"Really?" Orihime asked her eyes dulling in intensity.

Uryu nodded his head. "Trust me, you can't know him he's…not in the best of crowds, if you know what I mean."

Her mouth formed an 'o' shape as realization set in. "I wouldn't roam with that type of crowd." She said with her happy smile. Uryu agreed with her and started to walk with her in the direction of her home. He listened intently while she told him about her day and what she had been doing before she saw the two of them.

"Thanks for walking me home," she said brightly her eyes closing.

"Sure it's no problem." Setting one of her bags on the counter, he smiled awkwardly.

Orihime started to pull the items out of the bags and place them in the spots they went. She began to hum to herself, which caused Uryu to chuckle quietly. With a wave of his hand, he walked out of her apartment.

"Ichigo…what are we going to do with her?" He asked no one in particular as he walked down the street. "She knows you—what if this plan of yours doesn't work after all?"

He fell exhausted onto his bed, so many emotions streamed through his mind and heart. 'Shit, why did this have to happen?'

"Welcome home Ichigo!"

Before a fist could make contact with his face, he reached up and stopped it.

"Knock it off dad; I'm not in the mood."

His father's face became solemn as he pulled his fist out of Ichigo's palm. "Why are you home? You have your own place now. I thought you decided it would be best to stay far away from here."

Ichigo groaned as he covered his eyes with his hand. "Just leave me alone."

"All right but your sisters are going to worry about you." Was all that was said and when Ichigo heard his door close, he took his hand away. Looking up at the ceiling, he sighed.

"It's better this way…I can't trust myself…not anymore."

His cell phone went off which caused him to nearly jump out of his skin. Why in the world did he get one again? Checking the caller ID, he flipped it open and placed it to his ear.

"What?"

"You know I hate to talk to you more than is necessary but we need to talk about her."

Ichigo's blood ran cold. He clenched his hand into a tight fist, trying to suppress the sudden anger that flamed through his body.

"She can sense it—I don't know if this is such a…"

"Shut up. This is the only way and there's no turning back. I wasn't even supposed to be out there today but I broke the rules anyway…Which is never going to happen again."

There was a sigh from the person on the other line.

"Ichigo, do you really think you have the strength to stay away from her? I know you have good intentions but…"

"Uryu if you don't shut up you better start praying to your God to save you because I will have no mercy," Ichigo threatened his voice ice cold.

"Huh, wouldn't that be interesting? You really have allowed it to overcome your emotions."

Ichigo closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry Uryu, I just…This is the best thing for her, even if it kills me, I'm going to stand behind my decision."

There was some noise in the background which made Ichigo raise an eyebrow.

"Okay, that's all fine and dandy, but what about me and Chad that have to deal with the Orihime that no longer remembers anything? What do we tell her when her powers suddenly flare up?"

With a groan, Ichigo got into a sitting position. Running a hand through his longer orange hair he grumbled, "How the hell am I supposed to know? You guys will just have to think about something to say to her. You don't have to worry about that for a while, you know her powers are sealed."

"Yes, but for how long Ichigo? There are a lot of things to consider which you obviously didn't do. Now we'll have to clean up…"

"Hey it's done and over with now. Just forget about it and get on with your life."

Uryu sighed once again. "Fine, take care of yourself Ichigo."

There was a click and then nothing. Ichigo flipped his phone shut and tossed it to the end of his bed. Standing up, he left his room and made it into the bathroom. Looking in the mirror he groaned.

"You look like someone shitted on you…Might as well have."

"Ichigo…are you okay?" Yuzu asked her eyes filled with concern. He put on a small smile.

"Yeah, everything's fine Yuzu, don't worry about anything."

"But Ichigo…You never let your hair get that long…It's always been on the longer side but now…Honestly you look like a sheep dog or something, which shows you aren't taking care of yourself and you promised that you would."

Her eyes began to pool with tears as they looked at each other. Closing his eyes, he turned to her and enveloped her in a hug. She grasped tightly onto his shirt as she sobbed.

"Everything will be okay Yuzu…I promise."

'Don't forget I'm right here…and I'm not going anywhere either.' A sinister voice chanted in his head. Unconsciously his hold tightened.

It was his damn hollow again. Was there no way to get away from him?

"Ichigo? What's wrong?" Yuzu asked her eyes widening.

"Just stay here with me for a minute…Sorry, Yuzu…"

Her eyes shook with emotion as she put her arms around her older brother holding him tight. "It's okay…I'm here, we all are."

'No…not everyone…' He thought and struggled to hold back the moisture that was gathering in his eyes. 'Not everyone…'

A/N: Hey I'm here with a new story. And it's Bleach! my current favorite anime/manga. I hope you guys like this first chapter and stick around. I realize it may seem a little confusing at first but I promise it'll make more sense later. Thanks for reading and please review!!