A/N: This is an other one-shoot for the newest manga arc, so expect SPOILERS! Starts form almost the same spot as my other story titled "Heart over Head". Just as angsty and full of tension as that one, but I hope it will have some of the sweetness too.
An other take on how things could develop... Ichihime. (But that comes as no surprise, am I right?)
Enjoy!
To be like the rain
Urahara and Isshin were sitting side by side, with narrowed eyes, waiting. The fights were still in full swing. Kenpachi and Renji have returned pretty quickly, but they didn't have any information about how the rest of the fights were going, because they couldn't see into the different dimensions Yukio's „Invaders must die" ability had created. They conversed a little now and then, but mostly, they just waited.
They had laid down Chad's and Orihime's bodies behind them. Both teens were still knocked out.
'Is it really impossible to at least peek into the fights? I'm bored!' complained Isshin.
'I bet it would be a trifle to conjure up screens for us for that fullbringer with the straw colored hair... his ability really is intriguing...' answered Urahara.
'Well you are the scientist! Surprise me, and just come up with something!'
The shopkeeper smiled.
'Patience my friend... don't you trust everybody to take care of things nicely? Especially your son... You were the one who asked me to help restore Ichigo's power... you must trust him...'
Isshin growled. He leaned back, looking up at the ceiling to hide his expressions.
'Like hell I do! That kid's such a hot headed, dense... What?' Isshin had been supporting his weight with his arms stretched out behind him, but now he realized, that there was some strange moisture on the floor. He turned around quickly, and looked at his own hand, disbelieving. It was ruby red. From blood... 'Urahara!' he cried out in alarm.
'It can't be...' the other whispered, springing to his feet.
A thin line of blood was oozing from Orihime Inoue. Urahara quickly turned her over. The girl's beautiful face was ashen, her robes damp with her own blood, and there was a huge gash on her shoulder. Both men's eyes bulged when seeing it.
'I swear! This wasn't here a moment ago... what in the name of Hell happened to her?' Isshin cried.
Urahara's eyes narrowed under his hat.
oOoOoOo
Ichigo was fighting Ginjo.
'Stay out of this, Ishida... This is my fight!'
'I have just as much reason to fight as you! I must pay him back for violating my Quincy pride!' the Quincy retorted, angrily.
'I don't give a damn to your pride! He plotted against my family! Against my friends!' the orange head shouted.
'But you are already injured!' Uryu stated, pointing unnecessarily at the huge gash on Ichigo's shoulder. 'You let your anger rule your actions again, Idiot, instead of fighting with a cool head, and a real intent!'
'This is nothing!' Ichigo cried angrily, pressing a hand on the wound. 'And don't tell me how it's done! I don't need your advice in fighting!'
He rushed ahead, and clashed with Ginjo again. Zangetsu pushed back the Cross of Scaffold blade easily at first, but inches from Ginjo's neck, it stopped.
'You're so pathetic, Kurosaki...' Ginjo forced out angering words through gritted teeth. 'Tell me... have you ever really killed anyone?'
Ighigo's grip on his sword wavered. An unbidden memory filled his mind.
Roaring... Clawed hands clasped around white skinned throat... A red cero ball forming between two hollow horns...
Ginjo's mad laugh, and the pain from his opponent's sword reaching his skin brought him back to reality.
'Kurosaki!' Uryu cried.
Ichigo jumped back from the contact immediately. Blood dripped from his chest.
'Damn!'
Uryu raised his shining blue arrow, firing at the still laughing Ginjo, who jumped out of the attack's range easily, only the glimmer of the bringer light showing his way.
oOoOoOo
'Oh, no! Did you see that?' Isshin cried out.
'Sure did...' murmured Urahara. His palms glowed from the light of the healing kido he was using to close Orihime's wound.
But suddenly, and other gash opened up on her chest, fresh blood spilling forth. There was no visible cause. Her body was just breaking to pieces, before their eyes, out of it's own accord...
'She's lost so much blood already... what ever is going on here? I thought that that Thukishima guy's ability only messed with her memory, not her body!' Isshin said, desperate, kneeling next to Urahara.
'It did... look at Sado-san! He is still all right.' the scientist answered, looking grave. 'I'm guessing these wounds are not related to the memory modification at all...'
'But then... what?'
'I don't really know... this is something I've never seen before...'
'Hang in there, Orihime-chan...' Isshin said, while starting to rip some clothes apart, to make bandages out of them. 'We'll figure something out...'
oOoOoOo
'Orihime!'
'Orihime! Orihime!'
'Princess!'
The voices were faint at first, and the girl didn't want to hear them. It was so much better just floating in the darkness of nothing... No pain, no confusion, no choices...
'Wake up, woman!' a more shrill voice, than the ones before commanded.
She finally opened her eyes, still reluctantly.
'Umm... Tsubaki-kun?'
'That's right! Now wake up already! We are in serious trouble! You have to do something quick, before it's too late!'
Orihime sat up slowly, looking around. She seemed to be sitting in the middle of a flowery field. She realized she had already seen this place a few times before, in her dreams. So many colors! Blue, yellow, pink, violet, white, and many-many shades of green. There was even a little stream on one side, babbling merrily.
'Wow! How beautiful!'
'This is no time to be admiring, Princess!' Shun'o told her seriously.
Orihime looked around again, this time focusing on her Shun Shun Rikka fairies, floating around herself. But no matter how she looked, she couldn't see any threat near by, which could cause the little creatures' alarm.
'Hi, guys!' she greeted joyfully.
Tsubaki lost his patience, and flied in, hitting the brim of her nose. She whined.
'Honestly, Woman! This is serious!'
'All right... then tell me what is! I can't see any... Ah!'
She was cut short by a sudden sharp pain coming from her chest. She put her hand to the throbbing part instinctively, but could see nothing there. The pain shook her, and she fell back to the ground, unable to support herself.
'That's what we are talking about...' Shun'o said sadly.
'But what's happening?' Orihime asked weakly, with tears in her eyes. She was not used to endure such heavy pains.
'Focus your spiritual pressure... it will be easier that way.' Ayame instructed.
Orihime inhaled sharply, and did as she was told. After a few seconds, she could sit up, but she was still highly uncomfortable.
'It hurts...' she moaned.
'And it's your own damn fault it is!' Tsubaki fumed.
'Tsubaki! Don't be so cruel with her! She needs to understand!' Lily defended her.
'But she's endangering all of us! And for what I ask you? For that undeserving, fool of a human brat!'
'Don't mind Tsubaki, Orihime-chan! He just has trouble understanding, that failings are what make humans human...' scowled Shun'o. 'Including you... And we are the Princess shielding flowers, the 6 Rikka, we're here to serve you, not to question your actions...'
'But... what ever did I do? I... I can't remember...' Orihime looked at all the little creatures confused.
'It's a bit complicated.' Hinagiku said. 'Start at the beginning, Shun'o, but make it quick!'
'Right!' the male fairy answered. 'You already know that we six make up your power, and you know that there is more to what we can do, than just the 3 basic combinations we had taught you back when we had first met.'
Orihime nodded. She had trained after Kurosaki-kun lost his powers, in order to become stronger, and with the help of the little fairies, she had discovered the use of her Shiten Koshun, the new technique, which put Tsubaki's attacking force in the middle of her protective Santen Kesshun. She did grasp the possibility of there still being other combinations, but had felt she hadn't been ready for them...
'There was a reason for us not wanting to reveal our full power to you until now...' Baigon said.
'Because it is so dangerous...' revealed Ayame.
'Not that that matters now!' Tsubaki scowled. 'It seems you just by-passed us, and tampered into that power unconsciously...'
Orihime cried out, as she now felt a new pain shoot through her left leg. She clutched the aching limb in a wain attempt to dull it.
'And this new power is what makes me feel these pains now?'
'It is... look!' Shun'o said, waving a hand before himself, and making something like a cloud appear before her.
She watched with wide eyes, as the middle of the cloud became transparent, and she could see figures move through it. She could see blades clashing, bodies straining against each other. She recognized the fighters...
'Kurosaki-kun!' she cried out.
'Yes! Kurosaki-kun!' Tsubaki said, mocking her desperate voice. 'It's all about him, of course! With you, everything is!'
But Orihime didn't hear him. She had tuned him out, as her attention was turned solely to the the fight before her. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest, and she leaned a little closer to the strange cloud-thing in her agitation. She could see Kurosaki-kun stopping Ginjo's blade before it could hurt Ishida-kun. Then Ginjo murmured something, with a fierce grin on his features, and Kurosaki-kun was thrown back, with an explosion.
'Kuro...' she wanted to cry out his name again, but her breath was caught in her lungs, as her whole body suddenly seemed to be aflame...
'Orihime!' her fairies cried out, alarmed, in union.
For one terrible moment, all she could feel was pain, like all the world was made out of that. But it retreated after a minute, and she realized that underneath all of that cruel pain, there was something else...
'So much pain...' Orihime whispered brokenly. Tears were running down her cheeks, but she directed her eyes back to the vision of the fight. She could see that Kurosaki-kun was standing up, though angry burned marks covered most of his body.
'Orihime! You must listen to us! It's the only way to put a stop to this!' said Lily.
She teared her eyes away from the fight, and focused on Shun'o again.
'He got hurt... and I felt pain... It's his pain I'm feeling...' Orihime whispered. 'But how...?'
'Finally! Some sense!' Tsubaki approved. 'Now just brake that connection already, before it's too late!'
'Connection?' Orihime asked, confused.
'Yes...' Shun'o answered. 'That's what I've been trying to tell you... We, your powers were born inside you, in your moment of need, under the influence of the hogyoku, which has power to will someone's heart, someone's deepest desires into reality...'
Orihime looked puzzled.
'Each and every one of us represents some of your heart's desires.' Lily added.
'For example, Tsubaki represents your wish to be stronger, and be able to fight.' Shun'o continued, while Tsubaki folded his arms, and looked away, scowling.
'I represent your desire to protect others!' Baigon said.
'And I'm self protection!' declared Hinagiku.
'I was born out of your desire of not to let others suffer.' Ayame said. 'But there were other desires too, deep inside your heart... Not all of them this easily described...'
'Can you think back, to the time when it all started, what were your most powerful wishes from that time?' Shun'o asked.
Orihime racked her brain, but the question was hard. Just as Ayame said: those desires were not easily caught by words. She remembered, that Yoruichi-san had asked her almost the same question, when she had trained her for being able to control her powers...
'Let me jog your memory!' Tsubaki offered, still scowling. 'If I were the rain, could I connect two hearts together, like the rain connects the eternally separated earth and sky?'
Orihime froze. Her eyes lost in the distance. She had spaced out completely, as she traveled back to her earlier self. True, it had been long ago, but the desire was still there... even now...
A new pain brought her back, and brought a new round of tears into her eyes. But this time she fought it. She balled her hands into fists, her nails boring into the skin of her palms. She ignored the pain, and forced her mind to follow the previous train of thought.
'Connect two hearts together...' she whispered to herself.
'That's right.' Lily answered.
'And we understand why you had to do it. This was the only way for you to overcome Thukishima's power.' Shun'o said.
'Thukishima?' Orihime became confused again. She looked back to the most recent memories she could call forth. More and more memories came, and first it was all disturbing and painful. But slowly, very slowly, the pieces seemed to fit together, like a giant jigsaw, and everything started to make sense...
Thukishima had stabbed her. Right after it had happened, she strangely started to think about him as a friend. These feelings only intensified with time, until she could actually REMEMBER him being a friend... and couldn't comprehend why Kurosaki-kun wanted to fight him. She remembered standing up AGAINST Kurosaki-kun, to defend that man! She had been so sure, he was a friend! This must be Thukishima's power. But Kurosaki-kun had been crying... and she hadn't been able to bare seeing him in pain. That's when it had happened...
She had connected her heart to him. She had felt his pain. And that had the power to come over Thukishima's charm... She could remember everything now. All the memories. The trues and the false. And she could remember the overwhelming force of being connected to Kurosaki-kun...
'Wait... is she... smiling?' Tsubaki's indignant voice reached her ear. 'Don't tell me she's actually smiling!'
'She is...' sighed Hinagiku.
'Give her one minute, you brutes!' Lily scolded them.
'Orihime!' Shun'o addressed the girl again. 'You must understand how dangerous this ability is... especially now! It is good that you managed to overcome the false memories by opening your heart, but you had left yourself extremely vulnerable! You must put your defensive walls back in place!Orihime! Are you listening to me?'
Orihime closed her eyes. She concentrated hard. She knew what to search for...
'Looks like your words are falling on deaf ears...' Hinagiku said.
'What is she doing now?' Baigon asked.
Orihime found the familiar, jet new spiritual pressure easily. It was unbelievably strong. And comforting... It dulled the pain instantly. She could almost see the fight again, but not through the cloud of Shun'o's but inside her mind's eye. More acutely, she could feel it with her heart.
She felt anger. Lots and lots of anger. She felt pain, both physical, and emotional. She felt shame and confusion. And anxiety. Faces flashed inside her mind, her own one amongst them: the people he was fighting for right now...
For one long moment, these pictures and emotions pressed so strongly on her, that she felt like drowning in them. She almost lost herself... It would have been so easy. To just let go... to forget... to just fade into his strongness...
But she held on. She held on, using her one great weapon against the suffocating tide. She called out his name...
'Kurosaki-kun...'
oOoOoOo
Ichigo countered blow after blow. The injuries he had suffered weren't stopping him. He didn't even care about them! He wanted revenge... Or at least he thought he did.
'I knew it!' Ginjo was laughing. 'This is your greatest weakness, Kurosaki! You care for even your enemy! And by spending time with me before, you've grown attached to me, and even though I have now shown my true colors, and you know everything we plotted with Thukishima against you from the start, you can't bring yourself to really hurt me! Because you care! Hah!' he sounded triumphant. 'And besides that, you have no real grudge left... you got your powers back, even without me... your friends are in safe hands now... Isn't this great? We all got what we wanted, without anybody being the shorter!'
Ichigo gritted his teeth.
'You talk as if I needed a reason to fight a filthy scumbag like you, Ginjo! Getsuga Tenso!' he fired his attack, but Ginjo was prepared for him, and dogged it.
'Huh! I almost believed that! But let me help you out! I can still give you new reasons!'
'Ishida!' Ichigo cried in alarm, as he just realized the fullbringer's motive. The Quincy raised his bow as a shield, and stopped the deadly thrust, but he wouldn't have been able to fight it back, without Ichigo coming to his aid. 'Are you all right, Ishida!'
'Yes, of course...'
'Cross of Scaffold!' Ginjo said, with an evil grin, and Ichigo caught off guard, was thrown back. Ginjo's energy burst forth from his blade, exploding around him.
Ichigo's body burned. He choked heavily as he stood up, leaning on his sword. This had been his own damn fault... He fired a Getsuga Tenso again, not even needing to say the words out to make it a highly charged one, his anger did the trick for it...
In truth, he was angry at himself. Angry, because he could feel some truth behind his opponent's previous taunting, and even more angry, that he was letting that get to him.
His energy beam hit Ginjo, throwing him off his feet too. Everything around the fullbringer turned to ashes, and was smoking slightly.
'Is he finished?' Uryu asked, half hopeful, half skeptical.
They heard a grunt, and Ginjo sat up. He looked bad, but was still grinning.
'You know, kid!' he addressed the scowling Ichigo. 'That's why we had chosen you! So strong... all this power! Luckily, it's not only strong on the "attacking" side, but on the "resisting" side as well! And that's exactly what the power I took from you enables me to use! It really is like wearing a mantle! An iron-ring mantle! Thanks to you, I'm almost invincible!' As he spoke the last words, he stood up, and lifted his sword again. 'And of course, a gentleman like you, would never take advantage of his opponent's moment of weakness!' he attacked again. 'Don't expect me to make mistakes like that!'
The two men continued the fight, both receiving cuts and bruises equally, Ginjo's grin and Ichigo's scowl becoming more and more pronounced.
Uryu watched, feeling hesitant to interfere, but uneasy about the outcome. 'Come on Kurosaki... just get yourself finally together... This has to be a mere trifle to you... the way you are now...' he thought.
Suddenly Ichigo froze. Even Uryu could see his expression change to that of shock. Ginjo didn't care what was behind Ichigo's sudden halt, he took advantage of it, just as he had promised, and with a triumphant cry, he aimed a sharp blow, which would have been enough to cut the soul reaper's body completely in two...
Except that it didn't. Ichigo's bare left hand had reached out, and stopped the coming blade.
'Impossible!' cried Ginjo, anger distorting his every feature. He pushed at the sword more, but it stayed in place.
Ichigo wasn't even looking at him. His eyes were lost in the distance, as thought he were spaced out.
'Kurosaki!' cried Uryu, hoping to bring him back.
The seconds passed, and still nothing happened...
Then suddenly Ichigo smiled.
'You have already asked me that once before...' he murmured, in a soft voice.
Ginjo and Uryu were both looking at the soul reaper as though he had lost it...
Ichigo turned to Ginjo, finally returning to reality. He was almost surprised to see his own hand still hold the blade of the others sword. Then his expression changed, showing determination, with a nice, fierce light glowing in his eyes.
'Sorry, Ginjo... but I will end this right now! I was ordered not to get hurt any more!'
Ginjo hardly had time to raise an eyebrow with confusion, before Zangetsu flashed, cutting his body wide open. Ichigo gave an additional kick, before he could hit the ground, sending his mangled body flying, and he even released a Getsuga after him, to be sure.
He turned back to the shocked Uryu, not even spearing a glance to the fullbringer's impact behind him. Ginjo's blade was still in his hand. He looked down on it with disgust, and gripped the scull looking addiction on it's hilt, and pulled. He had to use force, but it finally came off, transforming back to his own substitute soul reaper badge. He sighed contently, as he felt it's power settle inside himself. The Cross of Scaffold blade vanished, leaving only the cross shaped medallion behind. Ichigo tossed the useless object away, carelessly.
'Come on, Ishida! Let's get out of here...'
oOoOoOo
Isshin and Urahara were still busy around Orihime's body. There were now many gashes on her, and even blue prints of bruises had formed. They did everything they could for her, but still felt they were loosing out to time...
But then, her body suddenly started to glow with a yellow light, and Urahara was just able to pull back in time, realizing what it was, before her Soten Kisshun shield formed.
'Finally...' he sighed, brushing some sweat-drops from his forehead, from which he had even taken his hat down.
The two men sat down, and just watched the yellow dome work.
'Will she awake now?' Isshin asked. 'And what will we do, if she does? I mean she is still under Thukishima's spell!'
'No she is not!' came a sure voice from behind them.
Isshin and Urahara looked up, to see Ichigo coming slowly closer. He looked bloody, beaten up, but there was a steady light in his eyes, which told them he had finished his business all right... Orihime's shield disappeared. Her body was whole again, with no visible damage...
'Let me to her!' Ichigo demanded, putting Zangetsu back to it's place on his back.
The two men stepped away, with confused looks.
Ichigo knelt down next to Orihime, and put one hand on her forehead.
'Hey! Inoue!'
Orihime's eyes fluttered slowly open. She smiled. For her, this had to be the most perfect way of waking up: opening her eyes to the sight of his lovable scowling face...
'Kurosaki-kun!' she whispered in a hoarse voice, because her throat was dry.
He smiled back at her, and for a moment they were lost in each others eyes.
'Are you all right?' Ichigo finally asked.
Orihime contemplated the answer for a moment. She wanted to make sure it was really true, before saying it.
'Yes, I am.'
'Good...' he looked away, and a shadow hid his eyes. 'I'm glad. But I know you had suffered... I'm so sorry for that... I...'
'You don't need to apologize!' she said hastily. 'Have you defeated him? Ginjo?'
'Yes.'
'Than everything is all right!'
They smiled at each other again, but this time it was a little strained. Uryu arrived too, but he could only shook his shoulders at Isshin's and Urahara's questioning gazes.
'Inoue... I don't know what it was exactly that you did, but it doesn't matter right now. I want to thank you...'
This time her smile was sincere. She lifted her hand, and touched his face. He looked surprised by the contact, but didn't draw back.
Orihime thought about how intense it had felt, when she had connected her heart to him. And even though most of the things she had experienced through him were either painful or angsty, she felt longing... Longing after that close connection. The connection that was even closer then physical touch...
But she knew that Shun'o had been right abut her needing those walls of protection most of the time. After all, she wouldn't be able to live, if her heart was continually beating outside her body...
She had to be patient.
Right now, his touch and the feel of his comforting spiritual pressure had to be enough...
But she could hope... hope, that maybe some day, he would find it in himself to return her heart, so that she needn't be empty, when giving him hers...
oOoOoOo
A/N: I'm so totally sorry! I really meant to end this on a happier note... but this is how it came out... It reflects my overall depressed mood nicely, I must say...
And I can almost hear you all complaining, wanting me to add at least an other chapter, with pure fluff. The best that could be said about this, as it is, that it could be pictureable like something happening in the real manga storyline.
Please review, and I might just consider that second chapter...