Disclaimer: Tite Kubo owns Bleach and its characters, not me. Ryuunosuke Akutagawa owns the original plot of In A Grove. This story is based on, but not really the same, as the story plot of the original In A Grove.
* A little note to those who haven't read 'In A Grove' yet: In A Grove is a story composed of first POVs of multiple characters. The words inside double quotation marks are the words of the High Police Commissioner.
In A Grove
The Testimony of a Woodcutter Questioned by a High Police Commissioner
Indeed, it was I, Asano Keigo, (proudly smiles but in a lethargic way), the most popular woodcutter in Karakura among women, who found the body (smile falls) …the body of one of my closest friends… (bows head in sadness) in a grove in a hollow in the mountains.. (voice cracks) when I went to cut my daily quota of cedars.. You ask where exactly? Well, it was about 150 meters off the Yamashina stage road… It's an out-of-the-way grove of bamboo and cedars wherein my family had always went to for our living….
(Looks up and narrates wistfully) I was whistling a happy tune that time, never expecting that I'd find Ichigo's bloodied and cut body! He… He (covers eyes with his right hand) His… body… was lying flat on its back, dressed in his usual black silk yukata… Ah, and a kasa hat lay a few centimeters beside his head…
Ichigo.. He had once taught me a little bit of swordplay.. and so I recognized that a single sword-stroke had pierced his breast….. The fallen bamboo-blades around his bod—it were stained with blood red petals….
You ask if the blood was still running?
No… no.. the wound had dried up… A sword? No, I didn't see any weapon nearby.. Or anything else for that matter except a gad-fly hovering over I- Ichigo's body…..
"A horse was nearby?"
No, sir. It's hard enough for a man to enter, let alone a horse…
"Did you notice anything else?"
Well, yes sir I did. Apparently, Ichigo must have fought before he was murdered… How do I know? The grass and fallen bamboo-blades had been trampled down all around….
That's Ichigo for you sir, never giving up (smiles wistfully). Always fighting till the end….. He didn't deserve to die… He was a very good man… But with all the other people envious of his abilities, perhaps it was better if he died already than suffer an even worse fate…..
The Testimony of a Travelling Quincy Priest Questioned by a High Police Commissioner
The time? It was around noon yesterday, sir… The unfortunate man was on the road from Sekiyama to Yamashina… He was heading toward Sekiyama with a woman accompanying him on horseback, who I have since learned was his wife. A veil hid her face from view… All I saw was the color of her clothes, a pure white kimono with black trims, and a familiar vibrant, orange hue of her long, soft-looking hair… (pushes back glasses) Her horse was a sorrel with quite a fine mane, I might say.
Huh? The lady's height?
Let me see… I estimate her to be about five feet three inches. What? How come I took so much notice on the woman despite the fact that I am a priest? (takes a deep breath and interlaces fingers in front of him) That is none of your business, but to explain myself, the woman felt and looked so similar with someone I used to know…
You ask about the man?
A kasa hat obscured his whole head…. But, he was wearing a forest green yukata… And, he was armed. A katana was on his hip.. And might I add, the guard of his katana had a queer design.
"By any chance, do you know a man named Kurosaki Ichigo?"
(eye widens) Kurosaki Ichigo?! He and I have a score to settle! Why are you asking about him?
What did you just say? He.. He was the one who was killed? That's…. (murmurs to himself) Then that must mean she really was Inoue…
You're asking how I know Kurosaki Ichigo? (adjusts glasses) I am Ishida Uryuu, and Kurosaki and I grew up in the same town… Him, being a Shinigami samurai, and I, being a Quincy priest, had rivalries between us…. Don't get me wrong. I'd never wish for his death. We were comrades, despite our differences…. (murmurs to self) Although, I have quite a heavy reason to kill him…
The Testimony of a Shinigami Questioned by a High Police Commissioner
Ichigo? (eyes widen) Dead? (drops katana)
(sobs) Who am I? I.. I'm Kuchiki Rukia.. Ichigo and I were assigned to arrest the Espadas, a group of yokai bandits under Sosuke Aizen, here in Karakura…. Ichigo… (sobs even more)
You…. You…. You said he was murdered right? I bet it was one of those Arrancars who killed him! (goes ballistic) Yes! It must be that Ulquiorra! We were just hunting him the last time I was with Ichigo!
Who is this Ulquiorra?
He's a calloused, heartless man from Kyoto! He was the fourth in command in the Espadas! He murdered half of the people in Edo during a mission all by himself and without any emotion in his face!
What did you just ask? When was the last time I saw Ichigo? (tries to calm down as she remembers)
It.. The last I saw him was yesterday.. We were together around noon time actually… We had a talk about… (sniffs) some.. important, (looks to the side) personal matters….. It's not something I can freely share to you….
And then, suddenly, Arisawa Tatsuki came. Who's she? Well, she's Inoue Orihime's adoptive sister… Ah, and Orihime's a best friend of mine…. (smiles wistfully) Ichigo and Arisawa talked about something privately.. And then suddenly, Ichigo grabbed his sword…. You ask how Ichigo's sword looked like? Well, it was like a giant knife with no hilt or whatsoever.
Continuing on, I heard Orihime's name being mentioned and afterwards, Ichigo approached me with an apologetic face and said, 'Later Rukia…' Then, he left, all by himself… Whereas before, he'd always ask me to come with him….. (looks down and mourns silently)
The Testimony of a Young Lady Questioned by a High Police Commissioner
Why yes, I'm Arisawa Tatsuki, got a problem with me? (crosses arm)
What?! (grabs high police commissioner by the collar) What did you just say?! Ichigo's dead?! You're lying! (throws high police commissioner to the ground) I.. That's impossible! Ichigo's an overpowered bastard! Even if he was a cry baby when he was younger, he wouldn't die that easily… Unless… (punches a wall) Never mind that.. What did you want to ask me?
"How do you know Kurosaki Ichigo?"
Ichigo's a childhood friend of mine. I used to beat him every time during our fist-to-fist fights… Until he suddenly became an overpowered Shinigami thanks to that Rukia (scoffs) Then he dies huh? (clenches fist) All because he rushed away yesterday thanks to what I said….
"Said about Inoue Orihime?"
(glares) How did you know about that?! I bet from Rukia, right? Heh…. (places a hand on forehead in frustration) I've become such a useless adoptive sister to Orihime ever since Ichigo became a Shinigami… I couldn't protect her from bandits.. Ichigo can.. Orihime admired him so much…. So much that I almost came to the point of disliking him for being such an overpowered asshole and wanting to beat him half-dead and prove who's so much better….
(falls to her knees) …. If only Orihime didn't change…Ichigo would still be here right now… And so would Orihime…
But it's too late… and it's all because of me… All because I wasn't able to properly watch over Orihime…. (starts to breakdown)
What? You're asking how Orihime looks like? She… She's around five feet three.. She has long, vibrant orange hair you'd never miss… Her eyes are a storm gray color…. Orihime.. Orihime was like the Sun… Always smiling brightly.. Always bubbly….
But, every time she's around Ichigo, she goes all weak-kneed and unsure of herself… I used to loathe Ichigo because of the fact that Orihime becomes a helpless little girl waiting to be rescued around him… But now… I regret ever feeling such a thing….
Because of me.. Because of me…. Orihime..she.. (shuts off from talking)
Ulquiorra's Confession
(suddenly appears in front of the High Police Commissioner)
Urahara Kisuke, I killed Kurosaki Ichigo, but not the onna.
"How did you know my real identity? Who are you?"
(glares and throws a sword resembling an oversized knife a few inches in front of the High Police Commissioner) Do not take me for a fool, Urahara Kisuke. I am Cifer Ulquiorra, Aizen's Cuarta Espada... Aizen-sama provides us Espadas all the information we need.
"I see…. Why are you here?"
To be arrested.
"Why?"
(looks to the side)...Inoue Orihime was a very strange onna….. She was unlike anyone else. She kept talking of the heart, as if she can see them whereas I cannot, and she strongly believed in it like a fool. She was far too kind, or perhaps too much of an idiot, that she would heal everyone and anyone, even an enemy… She refused to accept the natural law of nature: 'the strongest shall live and the weak shall die; kill or be killed.' She had an inner strength inside of her, yet she turns to a pathetic thing that is far from herself every time that Kurosaki Ichigo is with her… She and the heart she kept on spouting were a puzzle I couldn't quite understand and a flame that I couldn't avoid.
Because of the heart she kept on spouting, I envied Kurosaki Ichigo.
Because of the heart she kept on spouting, I learned greed; to keep the onna all to myself.
Because of the heart she kept on spouting, I coveted; to steal the onna from those who had a hold on her.
Because of the heart she kept on spouting, I became haughty; thirsting to prove that I am far better than that trash Shinigami.
Because of the heart she kept on spouting, I learned sloth; pushing my missions at the back of my mind just to be with the onna for a little while longer.
Because of the heart she kept on spouting, I angered every time the onna turns into a pathetic shadow of the her I know and every time she defied me.
Because of the heart and the fact that the onna was the onna, I wanted everything of her.
Because of the heart she taught me and the heart inside me which she awakened, that nihilism and emptiness I have lived with for so long was destroyed in the blink of an eye.
(looks down at the High Police Commissioner) It would seem that I am not as heartless as that black-haired Shinigami described me to you a while ago, am I? If what that Shinigami said was true, I wouldn't be doing this... (closes eyes) It would have been the best though if that Shinigami were right.
Nontheless, to continue on, the day before yesterday, Aizen-sama ordered me to capture the woman. Because of the heart the onna gave me, (looks up at the sky) I made up my mind to capture her but not kill her comrades.
It was quite easy. I only had to say certain half-truths and the onna did not resist coming with me. The onna trusted her heart too much… Isn't the heart such a foolish thing that makes an idiot of people? The onna was an idiot for believing in it fervently… But, I am also a fool for going with the whims of the heart.
By noon yesterday, I had the onna with me. However, there were some things that can never be avoided. Kurosaki Ichigo managed to learn of the onna's disappearance and have somehow found a way to catch up to us at the Yamashina stage road.
As I said, because of the heart, I did not want to kill. Most especially, I did not want to shed blood in front of the onna…. I had knowledge that there was a grove approximately 150 meters off the Yamashina stage road. I lured Kurosaki Ichigo there, leaving the onna on the road.
The grove is only bamboo for some distance. About fifty yards ahead, there's an open clump of cedars. It was a convenient spot for my purpose. Pushing my way through the grove, I dodged all the sword swings the trash threw at my way while taunting him, blinding him with more rage. However, all the envy, gluttony, covetousness, pride, sloth, wrath, and lust were clouding my own heart at the same time…. As soon as we got to the open clump of cedars, I started to fight back, parrying his attacks and sending in his direction some of my own.
Kurosaki Ichigo was just trash, and he proved that fact during our battle. He was reckless. His sword swings were crude. He was easy to read, despite being a well-trained samurai. I was holding back because, as I said, I did not want to kill him and cause the onna pain. After all, that onna loved the trash.
However, Kurosaki Ichigo was throwing his own taunts at me, and one managed to make me lose my composure since it touched that growing darkness in my heart. I threw away all inhibitions and swung at him with all my might.
That would've been the finishing blow, if the onna didn't arrive that is. She tackled me, clinging to me and begging to not kill her friend. I regained my composure, and because of the heart, gave in to her request….. By then, it was not only lust nor my mission that I desired to fulfill.. It was something stronger when it came to the onna…
The foolish trash, seeing that moment as an opening, recklessly moved to strike, despite the consequence that he would certainly slice in half not just me but the onna who was clinging to me. Unfortunately for him, my reflexes were fast… In a blink of an eye, my body had moved on its own and pierced my sword through the Shinigami's heart before my mind could even process what happened.
Kurosaki Ichigo fell. The onna let out a scream. I could only blink. The moment my mind caught up with the events, the onna was beside Kurosaki Ichigo's body, crying his name. It was too late though. He was dead.
I walked towards the onna's side, about to tell her that it was too late and that I did not mean for that to happen, when she faced my way. Her silver grey eyes that held in the stars in them weren't shining. They were a dull, pained ash grey orbs that betrayed hurt, betrayal and confusion….. I reached out my hand towards her. She recoiled away from me and then ran….
I was frozen by surprise and self-loathing….. I wanted so much to make the onna mine… I wanted to protect her from everything that might cause her pain, but it was I who caused her so much hurt and grief… But, she had replaced my world and I don't want to let her go. (looks at the High Police Commissioner straight to the eye) Not at that moment, not now, and not ever….
I ran after her… But she had gone with her horse… I searched for her.. But with no results…Perhaps I wasn't made to find her…. Either way, even I found her, I don't deserve her…
Which is why, Urahara Kisuke, Karakura's High Police Commissioner, ex-Shinigami Captain of the 12th division, I'm surrendering myself to you… To atone for my sins at the onna.. Even if it's death your hands will bring to me… (throws a sheathed sword with guard shaped like an eye at the High Police Commissioner)
The Confession of a Young Lady who arrived from the Shimizu Temple
(crying) Ulquiorra….. Ulquiorra didn't kill Kurosaki-kun! I…I did! Ulquiorra lied to protect me!
I came with Ulquiorra willingly yesterday…. Why? It's because I love him more than I did to Ichigo! I'm tired of being treated like a weakling by Kurosaki-kun, Tatsuki-chan and the rest! I'm tired of keeping a bubbly façade in front of others! In front of Ulquiorra, I can just be myself… I can tell him many things and he'll listen to me! He doesn't treat me like a child! He doesn't cage me and rule over my own decisions unlike my own friends, even if they just want to protect me…. I've known him for years and my friends just doesn't know!
(falls to her knees) Please.. don't kill Ulquiorra…... Ye- Yesterday noon, I was contentedly travelling with Ulquiorra… I know he was going to deliver me to Aizen, but that was fine by me… As long as I'm beside him…. (wipes a tear away)
Finally, I was free from the overprotective cage that had kept me for years (smiles wistfully)… I was chatting with Ulquiorra when suddenly, Kurosaki-kun arrived… (smile falls) He yelled things at Ulquiorra, accusing him of forcefully making me come with him.. I told Kurosaki-kun that wasn't the case, that I was sorry for leaving, and that I wanted to go with Ulquiorra… That I love Ulquiorra.. Kurosaki-kun wouldn't listen to my calls…. He attacked Ulquiorra… and then, Ulquiorra started to move away, taunting Kurosaki-kun to make him follow… They were heading somewhere off the road..
I… I was frozen for a bit in shock at the sudden clash of swords, but when I regained control of my body, I immediately willed my horse to follow Ulquiorra and Kurosaki-kun… Then, I came face-to-face with a grove.. Due to the bamboos, the horse couldn't pass through, so I had to continue by foot… It was hard, but I managed…
After a while, I came into an open clump of cedars, and there, I saw Ulquiorra, who was just a flash of green in his yukata due to the distance, about to deal a lethal blow at Kurosaki-kun, who was a black blur with his Shinigami clothing… Even if I love Ulquiorra, I couldn't just watch and let my friends die.. So, I tackled Ulquiorra as hard as I can… I clung to him and begged him to not kill Kurosaki-kun… Ulquiorra wasn't the type of person who'd kill meaninglessly.. He wouldn't hurt me on purpose either…
Ulquiorra's grip on his sword loosened. I smiled at him and then turned my head to look at Kurosaki-kun…. Only to see him charging with Zangetsu in attack, targeting a caught off-guard Ulquiorra… The cold hands of fear gripped my body hard but the fiery protectiveness for Ulquiorra made my body move on its own. With the dagger Ulquiorra gave me in the morning to protect myself in case something happens, I… I… (body shakes as more onslaught of sobs come) I… I… s-s-s-stabbed Ku-Ku-Kurosaki-kun….
And when I realized what happened, I was so…. So… I.. I…loathed myself… I… I.. (clenches hands into fists) I ki-ki-killed Kurosaki-kun! I heard Ulquiorra approach… I faced him….. But.. I lacked the courage to stay in his presence any longer….. I.. I just couldn't…. Not after what happened….
So I ran away… I looked back once, and never did so again.. As fast as my feet can carry without pausing for breath, I continued to run….. I then rode my horse and made it gallop away so that Ulquiorra can't follow me….
It was when I arrived at Shimizu Temple that I regretted separating myself from Ulquiorra….. The look on his face when I ran away… It.. It… His face… His face was sorrowful…No, 'so sorrowful and hurt' couldn't even properly describe the expression on his face..…..
I… I.. Because of me, K-K-Kurosaki-kun's dead… More importantly, because of m-m-me… Ulquiorra's.. Ulquiorra's…. (Gradually, erratic sobbing)
The Story of the Murdered Man, as Told Through a Medium
After Tatsuki told me that Orihime was gone, I immediately headed towards where she said Orihime might be, using all means to get there as fast as possible and even leaving Rukia hanging with an unfinished conversation….When I arrived in Yamashina stage road, however, I was greeted with an unexpected scene..
Orihime and Ulquiorra were talking like lovers! Like lovers! That bastard Ulquiorra.. And Orihime! I didn't believe what I saw. Rage filled me, and without thinking, I charged head on, assuring Orihime that I was going to protect her from Ulquiorra and apologizing that I have kept her waiting for so long.. What did she answer? She said she didn't need to be rescued! That she was sorry for leaving! That she wanted to be with that Espada and that she loved him! That bandit! A bandit! Worse than those who killed her brother and the one who killed my mother!
I didn't believe her words of course. The Orihime I know wouldn't say such a thing! Moreover, she wouldn't love a heartless bastard like Ulquiorra! The Orihime I know loves me and only me! What the hell Ulquiorra did to brainwash Orihime, I'd never know since he didn't answer my question.
I didn't want to kill Ulquiorra. I only wanted to rescue Orihime from his hold and leave him in a state that he wouldn't be able to chase us. Despite knowing his words were meant to taunt me to recklessness, I took all his bait, feeding on them to find the resolution to finish the battle as fast as I can.
Cutting a path through the grove that bandit led me to, I slashed at him with all my might, insulting him at the same time to make him lose his cool. When we arrived in an open clump of cedars, that bastard Ulquiorra finally fought back. We continued psychologically and physically attacking each other.
At first, I thought my words weren't making any impact at him at all…. Although, I was pushing him back to a corner. What would I expect? I was a Shinigami, trained in the arts of swordmanship. He was just a lowly bandit….I thought I was at the advantage.. Until I said something that must've struck a nerve… All of a sudden, the intent to fight and kill burned in Ulquiorra's eyes… His attacks became more unreadable and fast…. I tried parrying all of them. A lowly bandit wouldn't be able to kill me, Kurosaki Ichigo! However, I was tiring. Ulquiorra readied his sword for a fatal blow… I thought I would die right then and there, when there was a blur of orange hair and the flutter of white cloth…
Then, I saw Orihime clinging to Ulquiorra, begging him not to kill me… It was a scene that made my blood boil and made my body move on its own… Rage controlling over me, my hands raised themselves and prepared to slice in half Ulquiorra… But then, I noticed Orihime was clinging to him and that she'll get hit too…
At the last moment, I changed the course of my sword and hit a cedar instead.. However, seeing Orihime clutching Ulquiorra like a life line and looking at me like some kind of monster… I.. My resolve broke… and so did my heart….
I wanted to tell Orihime that I love her.. That I was finally going to return her feelings… But… Seeing her with another man, I knew I've lost my chance….. And I wasn't going to live with it… Smiling wistfully at her and glaring hard at the man holding her in his arms, I impaled myself with Zangetsu, my sword…
I felt myself fall… Afterwards, I heard Orihime cry my name in a broken voice… I felt a bittersweet, twisted satisfaction hearing her calling my name desperately, in a very needy voice… Her voice was the last sound I heard until everything was swallowed with silence…. Such a profound silence….
Only a lonely light remained… The orange hue of the sun's rays that came with sunset through the cedars and the bamboo… The same color as Orihime's hair…. Yet, by and by, the light gradually grew fainter until the cedars and bamboos were lost to view…
Lying there, I was slowly being swallowed too by the silence…. Then, someone crept to me.. I tried to see who it was.. But to no avail… Darkness was gathering all around me… That someone… Funny how his silhouette was similar to Ulquiorra's…
That someone drew Zangetsu softly out of my breast… And then… I was drowned in the blackness of death…
A/N: Thanks for reading and I hope it was worth your time! So, what do you think really happened? Who killed Ichigo? Who's telling the truth? If you wanna, please do tell me your guesses!
It's been such a long time since I wrote in first person POV! Just sharing XD
Anyways, once again, thank you for reading this and I hope you enjoyed! :D