Notice: I am looking for a Beta Reader! Chapter Five of "Western Princess" will not be posted until I have a Beta Reader.
I wrote this while working on another one-shot. It just stuck in my mind and I had to get it out. Read and review. Constructive criticism is appreciated.
She has never been strong.
That is why everyone around her feels as though they must protect her. First Sora, then Tatsuki, and then the rest of her friends: Chad, Uryuu, Rukia, and Ichigo.
Especially Ichigo. He was the one who got hurt the most due to her inability to fight.
So she works hard to become stronger. She doesn't want anyone being injured on her account.
So the injuries he receives on her behalf are a good thing, she realizes with a jolt. They encourage her to become stronger so she doesn't have to rely on him to save her all the time. But until she becomes that strong, he is there to protect her. And when he gets hurt, she will be there to heal him.
But secretly, in the deepest part of her mind, she selfishly wishes that she will never become that strong. It would no longer give her an excuse to be with Ichigo. So although she practices, she is dreading that fateful day when she will be able to defend herself.
But every time Ichigo gets beat up and bruised, she is ashamed at how selfish she has become. Because she knows that if she had practiced a little harder, or a little longer, that would not have happened.
And so she is torn between her desire to be strong and her desire to be with Ichigo. That is what it all boils down to.
So until she decides what to do, she will forever feel the pain every time she defeats an enemy by herself and feel the guilt every time she looks at his bloody body.
Because even she doesn't know what she wants.