Please Don't Go
"What you told them... You know... after I collapsed... Was it the truth?" Ichigo had asked Kisuke Urahara.
"What do you mean?" the other man replied, never turning to face the teen. "Of course it was."
"Are you sure there isn't more to it than that?" he asked, his voice slightly annoyed as he asked.
After he sighed, Kisuke walked over to the young man and sat across from him in the room of the Kuchiki household where they let Ichigo rest.
"Never could slip things by you, eh?" he said with a sad smile that caused Ichigo's heart to race but he kept his poker face set and his body relaxed. "You're not just going to lose your shinigami powers as simply as that. Your powers are so much a part of you that they'll cause your soul to destabilize. At this rate, you're going to die."
Ichigo's eyes widened slightly.
"How long?"
"It could be days, months or even years. What's for sure is that you'll lose your powers in two stages. You already encountered the first stage. The collapse and black out undid all of your time in the dangai precipice world. The second stage is more gradual and virtually painless," Urahara explained. "However, the third stage will develop much like a human disease. It will go unnoticed by even you in the beginning. Then, as you get closer to your death, you'll be in so much pain, you won't be able to move."
"This pain..." Ichigo whispered, his eyes cast down as he clenched his fists on the floor where he sat. "It'll be my soul ripping apart, won't it?"
Urahara simply nodded his response, the grim air remaining between the two.
"Damn..." Ichigo laughed as he sat back up and tossed his head back, looking up. He laughed softly to himself. "Figures... Well, I guess... thanks for telling me, Urahara."
"I didn't really want to tell you, Ichigo," he said after he sat silently for a moment. "Yoruichi would have killed me if she'd known and I didn't tell you, though. So, I guess, that's one good thing."
With that, Urahara stood silently and placed his hat back atop his blonde head. Without another word between them, he walked out, and Ichigo's friends all walked back in from their momentary dismissal, trying to ask Ichigo a number of questions as he put on an act about how Kisuke had only told him about how long he had left with his powers.
*******************************BLEACH************************************
Ichigo sat on the hill beside the river where he'd lost his mother, staring off into the sunset as he remembered the conversation with Kisuke. It had been a few months since he'd lost his shinigami powers and he was still trying to decide what to tell his friends about what had happened. He remembered, more than anything, the look on Tatsuki's face that day. The way she'd screamed at him, asking him what she was to him. He sighed as he closed his eyes and stretched out on the grassy hill.
"Hey Ichigo," came a familiar voice from the street above, causing his eyes to shoot open and look for the source. There, standing with her bag over her shoulder, was Tatsuki Arisawa. "What are you doing out here?"
"Oh, hey Tatsuki," he said, sitting up, his back to her. "Just out here thinking."
He heard her feet softly treading towards him before coming to a stop next to where he sat. After that, she sat down next to him, setting her bag between them.
"What are you doing here?" he asked her, without looking at her. Even without looking at her, he could tell she was staring at him from the corners of her eyes the way she always did. He pretended not to notice and waited for her response.
"I was walking home when I noticed you here and decided to see if you're okay. You've seemed kinda down the last couple of months," she stated flatly, but he could sense the worry.
"Yeah," he lied. "Yeah, I'm fine."
He looked over at her feeling her eyes boring into him again, this time filled with doubt.
"Ichigo," she said, in the softest voice he'd ever heard from her. "What's wrong?"
He turned his away, unable to face her.
"I'm sorry, Tatsuki," he said softly. "I can't tell you."
The girl groaned before he heard her stand up. Before he had time to turn and see what she was doing, she was on him, her arm around his neck as she put him into a professional sleeper-hold.
"Tell me," she said, pulling the choke tighter. He shook his head and she gripped tighter. This continued until his face was redder than his hair and he finally tapped.
"Jeez," he said, rubbing his neck as she stood in front of him, her hands on her hips and one hip popped out. They remained that way for a moment before she started approaching him again, preparing to make him pass out this time.
"Okay okay! Jeez!" he shouted, holding his hands up in a surrendering positon. "Can we go somewhere... I don't know... Somewhere a little more private first?"
"Ugh!" she groaned, tilting her head back. "Fine! Lets go over to my apartment. Just don't tell anyone. I can't have people thinking I'm into strawberries or anything."
Ichigo laughed softly as she lead the way.
*************Bleach*****************************
"What?!" she shouted, standing up in anger. "Are you fucking kidding me?!"
Ichigo looked down and away, his long hair covering his light brown eyes as he stood against the wall opposite the couch Tatsuki sat on.
"You've gotta be joking," she said, the anger disappearing quickly from her voice as she slowly paced backwards until her back hit the wall. Once she got there, she felt her knees beginning to give way as she lost all strength. "It can't be true..."
"Don't tell anyone, ok?" he said, softly. His eyes still not meeting hers. "You, me and Ryuken are the only ones who know... He only knows because he's the one that found it... Though, I'm sure Orihime and Uryu have sensed it by now... Hell, probably Chad too..."
"Isn't that unfair to your family, Ichigo?" Tatsuki asked, not wanting to acknowledge how it truly made her feel; how destroyed it made her feel inside. He'd been her first true friend growing up. He had stuck by her all these years and, despite what she told anyone else, she'd intentionally stayed at the same school as him all these years just so she could stay by his side.
"I just want to live my life a little while longer," he said, still averting his eyes. "I don't want people to treat me differently because of it."
"I understand that... But-"
"I couldn't stand to see Yuzu and Karin crying anymore..." he said, looking at the girl on the other side of the room, his eyes burning with an intensity she rarely saw from him. "I couldn't live with myself knowing that I did that to them..." He cast his eyes downward, the intensity quickly replaced with sorrow.
Tatsuki looked away, knowing that was what he would say but still wishing he'd have some other line on standby. She still couldn't help wishing that this would all turn out to be one sick joke and that he'd smile and say, 'I was just kidding. Let's go listen to music!'
"Tatsuki?"
"What?" she asked, meeting his gaze after a minute.
"Can I count on you to keep this a secret?" he asked, trying to smile reassuringly to her.
"Sure," she said, looking away again. "But how will we know when it's time? Will it be gradual or sudden?"
"If Ryuken is right, then it'll be gradual until around summer break time-frame, at which point it will aggressively progress until I can no longer fight it. When that happens, I'll die," he said, so calm and matter-of-factly that she just wanted to punch him in the face.
"You're dying, Ichigo," she said softly, still not looking at him. "How can you be so calm?"
"I guess it's because I had to be prepared to die so many times against all sorts of other enemies, now I just am ready whenever the time is right," he explained.
"Damn you," she said, softly, curling her knees up and pulling them to her chest. "Why must you always be the tough guy? Why can't you be a crybaby every once in a while, like you used to be?! Why can't you be sad that you're fucking dying?!"
Ichigo looked at his childhood friend surprised, finding her standing again with tears overflowing from her beautiful eyes.
"I'm sorry, Tats," he said, softly, averting his eyes from her again. "I guess I just changed too much."
"Ugh!" the girl groaned again before running across the room and jumping onto Ichigo, wrapping her arms round his neck and head, holding him as tightly as she possibly could. "Just shut up. You're not the hero this time. You're the one who needs saving."
Ichigo smiled as he held her close and they swayed to and fro to an inaudible tune for a moment.
"Hey, Ichigo?" she said, finally having finished crying on his shoulder.
"Yeah, Tatsuki?" he asked, continuing to hold her.
"Why did you stop singing?" she asked as they continued to sway to the silent rhythm.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"I mean you used to sing all the time when we were little," she said, leaning back and looking him in the eyes. "You were good, too."
He looked into the distance, contemplating a reason before he returned his gaze to the girl in his arms.
"I don't really know," he said, shrugging slightly with a sheepish grin. "Just kinda happened that way."
"Would you..." Tatsuki said, softly, not looking into his eyes. "Would you sing for me?"
Ichigo looked down at her and saw her blushing, furiously. As he noticed this side of her, he smiled softly and pulled her a little closer, resting his chin on top of her head.
"Sure, Tats," he said softly before he thought about which song to sing to her. After a moment's thought, he began softly singing 'Please Don't Go' by Joel Adams.
As he sang the soft tune, his gentle voice ringing throughout the apartment as the two danced slowly to the beautiful, sad tune. He could feel Tatsuki shaking with sobs as he continued the tune; he felt her warm tears soaking through the fabric of his t-shirt as she buried her face in his chest.
Once the tune was over, the girl looked up at him and, for a moment, he thought she was going to punch him for his song choice, but instead, she put on a sad little smile, her lips still quivering.
"You still have the voice of an angel," she said, resting her ear against his chest. After a moment like this, she pinched him, hard.
"Ow!" he shouted, backing away from her and grabbing the spot she'd pinched. "What the hell?!"
"You tell anyone, and I mean anyone about this, I swear to god, you won't have to wait until next summer," she said, scowling and pointing her finger at him with her other hand on her hip.
Ichigo couldn't help the fit of laughter he found himself suffering from as she started to wrestle him, trying to get him to give his word that he'd stay silent.
*********************BLEACH****************
"So, Ichigo," said Ryuken as he examined the boy's paperwork. "How is the pain?"
"It's manageable, for now," replied the teen as he sat in the chair across the desk from the doctor.
"I see," the man responds, reading the test results he'd found. "Are you sure you don't want to hear the official diagnosis?"
"Does it change anything?" Ichigo looked up at the man, his eyes shining with a deep sadness that he didn't appear to have otherwise.
"I'm afraid it does, but not for the better," he replied, gently setting the folder on the desk and turning it for the young man to pick up.
Ichigo reached out, hesitantly, to the folder, his face paling as his fingertips brushed the folder and he brought the package closer. He looked down at the folder, anxiety building in him as he tried to maintain a brave composure. With a deep breath, he pulled the folder onto his lap and opened it. He glanced through the files within for a few moments as Ryuken watched.
"Wow," he laughed softly.
"This is no laughing matter, Ichigo," Ryuken scolded as he scowled at him.
"No no, I know," he said, closing the folder and handing it back to the doctor. "I just... I just thought.. Just hoped..."
He found himself at a loss for words as the words he'd read ran through his mind.
"So what will happen to me when I die?" Ichigo asked, after a moment's thought. "I mean, all things considered."
"Your soul will be too unstable for you to continue in the reincarnation cycle," Ryuken said, softly, looking out the window with his back to Ichigo. "After that, your soul will turn into pure reishi and drift around between this world and soul society for who-knows how long, before it will return to being a soul, but there's no telling that that soul will actually be you anymore."
Ichigo looked down with a sad smile at the older man's words.
"So..." he said softly, running a hand through his hair. "The file said I have around six months left?"
"Maybe a year, if you're fortunate," he replied, still not looking at the boy.
"I see," Ichigo said, standing slowly from the chair. "Thank you, Ryuken."
"That's Doctor Ishida, to you," the man replied, still not turning to face the young man, but simply looking at him over his shoulder. Ichigo could see the sorrow in his eyes as their eyes met.
"Of course. I'm sorry," he apologized, bowing to the doctor. "I suppose it's time for me to go home now."
"Alright," Ryuken said, softly. "Shall I call Isshin?"
"I'll talk to him," Ichigo said, softly, as he reached the door. "Just keep this between us, ok? At least until I get around to telling them?"
"Of course," Ryuken said as he finally turned and sat down at his desk, face cast down as he organized everything on his desk.
"That means you too, Urahara," Ichigo said, his head and eyes straight forward as his hand rested on the door knob.
"Very good instincts, Ichigo," the man in a hat and clogs said as he let down his cloaking barrier, pulling the brim of his hat down as he bowed slightly to him. "By far my best student."
"Do I have your word, Kisuke?" Ichigo said, looking over his shoulder at the man.
"I owe you far too much to break a vow with you, Ichigo," Urahara replied with a smile. "Consider my lips sealed."
"Thank you," Ichigo said, opening the door and walking out, the hydraulics pulling the door closed.
After the orange haired teenager left the room, the two men remained still, silence filling the space left in the room. Without a word, Kisuke Urahara turned on his clog, walking towards the window of the office.
"What are you planning?" Ryuken said, not facing him as he reached the window behind him.
"I'm going to at least try to help half of his problem," Urahara said, solemnly, his face serious as he looked out the window at Ichigo from under the brim of his hat. "I owe him that much."
Before Ryuken could object or even say a word, the former shinigami captain had leapt from the window, quickly flash-stepping away from the hospital and back to his shop.
*****************************BLEACH*******************************************
"Hey Ichigo," Tatsuki said, having just clothes-lined Keigo for him. "Hime and I were wondering if you wanted to come with us to study for this test at her house tonight."
Orihime stood behind Tatsuki blushing furiously as she averted her eyes from the two before her. Ichigo smiled to himself as he saw this and turned his back to the girls, slinging his bag over his shoulder as he went back to a blank expression.
"Sure," he said, stepping off towards the basketball courts. "What time?"
"We're actually headed there now," Orihime said softly, stepping forward.
"Alright. Let's go."
With that, the three began walking towards Orihime's house, listening to Keigo yell profanities about why Ichigo was being chased after by the cutest girl in school. He even threw a barb at Tatsuki being a voyeur, which was quickly dealt with by the, now, shoulder-length haired girl before they continued on to Orihime's apartment.
Once they were there, Ichigo saw Tatsuki's attitude shift slightly and a silent agreement of some nature had clearly been made between the two girls. As they walked into the den and sat down, the attitude in the room suddenly became very ominous and Ichigo felt a bead of sweat resting at his temple slide down his face as he looked at the two girls awkwardly.
"So," he said, scratching the back of his head. "What do you guys think we should study for first?"
He reached towards his bag to pull out his textbook when he heard Orihime stand up. His eyes quickly found her and he watched her, eyes cast to the floor, walking to the kitchen where he heard the sink turn on and what sounded like a pitcher being filled with ice before being placed in the sink. As she did this, he heard Tatsuki clear her throat. His eyes quickly found hers and they stared into each other's eyes as they spoke.
"Ichigo," Tatsuki said softly, her voice sounding totally opposite the rock-solid look of her eyes. "I think we should tell 'Hime about it."
"Why?" he asked, suddenly feeling himself get angry.
"She can sense something is wrong with you," she whispered back angrily. "And if that's not good enough reason, then you should tell her because she lo-"
Orihime walked back into the den with a tray carrying three water glasses and a pitcher.
"What are you two talking about?" she asked, forcing a smile onto her face.
"Well, Ichigo?" Tatsuki said, crossing her arms and sitting back, her face contorted with anger.
Ichigo sat back and sighed, his face cast upwards. He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them and seeing an incredibly bright light. He felt a sudden headache strike, easily on the level of migraine and he slung himself forward, covering his eyes with his hands.
"Shit!" he shouted, sitting in that position for a little bit. "Ah fuck that hurt!"
"Are you okay?!" Orihime shouted as she quickly sat next to him on the couch and tentatively reached forward, her hands on his shoulders. "What's wrong?"
"The headaches are getting worse," he said, just loud enough for Tatsuki and Orihime to hear with both as close to him as possible without making physical contact.
"You talk like this is something that's been happening for a while," Orihime said, softly, reaching out and setting her hand gently on his shoulder. "Please, Ichigo..."
Ichigo uncovered his eyes, despite how bad it hurt, and saw tears streaming down her face and a fear he hadn't seen since Hueco Mundo in her eyes.
"Please..." she said again, her voice cracking slightly. "Tell me what's going on..."
Ichigo covered his eyes once again, the headache rapidly subsiding. He knew it would be back, however.
"I'm dying," he said, softly. He heard her breath catch and he continued. "I've been dying since the fight with Aizen. You remember how Urahara told all of us that my soul reaper powers leaving would just mean I'm a normal person?"
"Yeah," she said, softly.
"Well, it turns out that they were so much a part of me, that my soul cannot exist without them," he explained softly. He could hear Orihime holding back her crying as she shook. "I'm really sorry for not telling you sooner, Orihime. I didn't want anyone to know, honestly. But Tatsuki saw right through me and I had to tell her or she'd have killed me."
He sat back up and uncovered his eyes, noticing the room had darkened considerably. As he looked at the crying Orihime, he saw Tatsuki, who was holding in her tears, walk over to her and pull her into a hug. Both girls collapsed to their knees on the floor. He truly dreaded that there was more to tell but he met eyes with Tatsuki and knew he had to say it.
"On top of that, Ryuken Ishida has diagnosed me with a rare genetic disease called Batten's disease... He says it's astonishing and, most likely due to my high spirit pressure that it's gone unnoticed until now, but that I have, at best, until I'm twenty one to live. However, at its current progression rate, he says its likely it could kill me by the end of summer. He says that with the level its developed at while I've been able to ignore it and the sudden lack of spirit pressure to dull the symptoms, I could experience a super-accelerated progression."
By this point, Tatsuki was holding Orihime as she fell apart. Tatsuki was clearly not fairing too much better, and Ichigo got down onto the floor next to them, wrapping his arms around them both. He closed his eyes and began singing softly to them, holding them both to his chest. At the sound of his singing, Tatsuki finally lost her demeanor and clung onto him with all her strength as she sobbed, Orihime quickly doing the same.
After about five minutes, he felt them both breathing a little smoother and looked down to find them both, apparently, asleep against his chest. He was about to gently lay them down on the ground when he heard Orihime speak.
"When are you going to tell your family?" she asked, softly, her eyes barely open but cast up towards him. He saw Tatsuki also looking at him and could tell, just by their eyes, that they hadn't been sleeping right lately.
"I'm not sure," he said softly. holding both of them for a while longer as they all sat in silence.
"Ichigo..." Orihime said, quietly, sitting up from the embrace and looking him dead in the eye. "You have to tell your sisters. I'm sure they've seen your scars and they've got to be wondering where they've been coming from... And besides that..." her voice caught as she bit back more tears, "besides that... family should never hide anything from each other... Just like they shouldn't say bad things to each other..."
Ichigo held her as she got into a fresh crying fit but he could feel Tatsuki moving uneasily on his other side and cast his eyes down on her.
"What's wrong Tatsuki?" he asked, distracting Orihime from her crying.
"It's just..." she said, blushing slightly and hiding her face. "Well... I mean... I just... I've never seen your scars. I was wondering if you'd show me."
Orihime blushed slightly too and hid her face in his shirt, which was completely soaked from the pair's tears. He laughed softly and stood, finally managing to get free from underneath the two.
"Well, I guess," he said softly, lifting his shirt to reveal his well-toned, muscular torso slowly. "This will help me tell you how everything happened."
The rest of the night, rather than studying, he spent hours on end telling Tatsuki about each and every scar on his body and how he'd gotten them. He felt awkward when he tried to tell her about the one in the center of his chest and how he'd been killed by Ulquiorra Cifer, Orihime's captor, not once, but twice.
************************************BLEACH***************************************
August 1st
Orihime and Tatsuki stood at his side, only a few weeks after he'd told them both about his condition, as he stood outside his own door. He opened the door and was surprised when his father remained sitting at the table drinking a cup of coffee rather than attacking him. As he was about to ask what was going on, his father cast a knowing glance at him and he saw the phone in his father's other hand held to his ear.
"Of course," his father said into the phone. "Yes, of course. I am willing to take some interns from the university. I can always use more hands at the clinic. Business has been, however unfortunately, good here lately."
Ichigo motioned that he and the other two were going to sit in the living room and his father nodded, motioning that he'd be done in a moment.
Ichigo lead the girls into the living room and they sat down on his couch, admiring the decor. As they sat silently, Yuzu and Karin walked in from their schools and saw the girls in the living room. They immediately recognized the girls and were soon having interesting conversations with them as they sat together in the living room. Ichigo stood up and walked back to the kitchen where he saw his father hanging the phone back on the charger.
"What was it you wanted to talk about, son," Isshin said, his voice heavy as he looked over his shoulder at Ichigo.
"Well, I have something to tell you and the other two, old man," he said, softly, pointing his thumb behind him to the girls in the living room.
Isshin nodded and followed him into the living room where they all could sense the atmosphere change. Ichigo took a deep breath before telling his sisters and father everything.
Yuzu collapsed and Tatsuki went to her, lifting her into her arms. Orihime was almost in pieces watching the girl and Isshin cast his eyes away from his son. Karin sat completely silently, staring somewhat confused and angrily towards her brother.
"Damn it!" she shouted, standing up fast. "Damn it, damn it DAMN IT!"
As Ichigo watched, she raised her fist like she was going to punch the table but she quickly lost all the strength she had and collapsed to her knees as well.
"All these months I've been going to that Urahara guy, accepting my abilities so that I could protect you from ever having to go back to that world and here I am, useless!" she screamed, slamming her fists onto the floor.
Ichigo stood and knelt beside his sister, setting a hand, softly, between her shoulder blades.
"This was going to happen sooner or later anyway," he said, softly. "The only thing no one could've seen coming was my soul ceasing to exist. Anyway, I never wanted you to have to worry about and protect me, Karin. I've only ever sought to make sure you and Yuzu were taken care of. That's all that matters."
"No it isn't," Isshin finally spoke, looking at his son with sad eyes. "Damn it, son. Why do you have to be so over-mature whenever it comes to bad things happening to yourself?"
Ichigo smiled sadly at his father before he explained the best way he could.
"Because, dad," he said, continuing to run his hand up and down Karin's back as she failed to hold in her sobs and Orihime came over to her, holding her in her arms. "When I first got my powers, I only ever wanted to protect you guys. I couldn't think of anyone else but you guys. Aizen's gone now, so there's no need for me anymore. I've protected you guys like I never could do for mom, and that's why I can pass on in peace."
"But how can you be so accepting if you know that you'll never have an afterlife?!" Karin shouted. "Your soul will cease to exist after this!"
Ichigo smiled sadly to her and pulled her into his arms.
"I guess I just accepted, with the acceptance of losing my powers altogether, that I'd never see soul society again," he said, resting his chin atop her head. "I guess I was right."
Ichigo's family, still upset with the circumstances, said no more about it and simply opted to sob and hold onto him for as long as they could.
********************************************BLEACH**********************************
Over the next few weeks, Ichigo told all of his friends and, even, managed to get word to Soul Society. He'd met them all, in gigai, of course, and said his goodbyes to them all. He tried to spend as much time as he could with his family but also with Tatsuki and Orihime.
As was typical of Batten's disease, he had become nearly blind and needed someone to walk him home every day and pick him up for school to lead him to school. At first, he'd noticed the edges of his vision blurring but now everything was beginning to fade from the edges. He knew that in a couple of weeks, he would be completely blind.
What he wasn't prepared for, despite Ryuken's warnings, was the seizures. He had known they'd be a symptom, but he'd not even acknowledged them and, one day, as he was sitting in class, trying to will his vision to clear, he had felt a slight tingling sensation going through his body when, suddenly, he felt himself launched from his chair, violently convulsing on the floor as he heard Orihime and Tatsuki screaming his name.
It had been nearly two weeks since the seizures had started and, now, at least twice a day he had a major seizure. He remembered holding Tatsuki and Orihime's hands going home from school that day, after he'd had to explain to the teacher why he was never taking notes and about the seizures.
"Hey Ichigo," Tatsuki said quietly as they walked.
"Yeah?" he asked, looking in the direction of her voice but unable to see her.
"So... Orihime and I were wondering..." she said, nervously gripping his hand tighter, as did Orihime.
"What were you wondering?" he asked, knowing what she was going to say.
"Did you ever notice how much 'Hime loves you?"
"Of course I have," he said, catching a surprised gasp from Orihime as he was sure she was blushing.
"Then why didn't you say anything to her?" Tatsuki kept asking.
"I just have never really been good with emotions," he explained, after a minute of thought. "I mean, especially since..."
"Yeah," Tatsuki said, softly, cutting him off.
They walked a little further before Orihime spoke up, her voice uncertain and he could practically feel her blushing.
"You know, Tatsuki likes you too, right, Ichigo?" she managed to stammer before he felt himself run into something and he fell down, failing to catch himself as Orihime held his hand. His mouth had fallen open in surprise at the words she'd said and he knew, after a moment's thought, that the object he'd run into, was Tatsuki herself. He heard her frantically whispering to the princess.
"How could you just go off and say something so ridiculous, Orihime?!" she tried to keep from shouting. "I definitely do NOT like that stupid strawberry!"
"Oh come on, Tatsuki," Orihime replied, pulling him up to his feet. "You couldn't be much more obvious. I mean, seriously. Why do you think I haven't done anything myself?"
Tatsuki coughed in surprise at her words and Ichigo himself felt his cheeks flushing at the conversation.
"I didn't want to be right and break your heart," she explained, a sadness in her voice.
"Um..." Ichigo said, trying to diffuse the situation. "Can we get to Urahara's place soon? He said he really needed to talk to me..."
"NO!" Tatsuki shouted, placing a hand on his chest. "Orihime, I definitely do not like Ichigo. He's just way too stereotypical a hero for my tastes. Besides, he has always been such a crybaby."
"Hey!" he shouted as Orihime stood her ground and stepped forward.
"That's exactly what you would say about him if you were in love with him, Tatsuki," Orihime said, her voice confident now. "You can't let yourself show emotions, so that's just how you choose to cope!"
"Orihime, stop," Tatsuki said, her voice slightly sad. "I don't want to admit I have feelings for him, OK?"
Ichigo turned to face the blur that was Tatsuki, surprise on his face.
"I don't want to admit it in his last few days..." she said, softly. "Cause then it doesn't feel real... It feels totally situation driven..."
Orihime immediately stepped back and he could feel, from the way her grasp on his hand tightened, that she felt bad.
"Let's just get to Urahara's shop," Tatsuki said, taking his hand once again.
After a few more moments of silent walking, Ichigo spoke up, feeling the tension and sadness between the two girls.
"You two need to stop worrying so much about me," he said, softly gripping both their hands and the groups stopped again. He could feel the tension rising again as they both turned to face him.
"How could you fucking say that?" he heard Tatsuki say, her voice cracking slightly as he felt Orihime shaking with silent sobs.
"I just want you guys to be happy and healthy," he said, smiling at them. He listened to them cry for a moment, feeling them both cling onto him again as he gently stroked both of their long hair. "Can I ask you two to promise me something?"
The girls silently nodded and he continued whilst they cried into his chest.
"Promise me that, no matter what happens to me, you'll go on to be happy and live your lives to the fullest. I want you two to go have families and live your dreams," he said, feeling the two enter a new crying fit. "Please... Call it a last request..."
Reluctantly, both of the girls nodded and they continued crying as he held them for a few more minutes as they sobbed into his chest.
"Thank you," he said, holding them under his arms.
After a few more minutes of this, they resumed their walk in peace, changing the subject to lighter subjects like school, which Ichigo had currently stopped attending. He listened to them recount stories of Chizuru and Keigo having recently started dating, after they'd made a ridiculous bet. The mismatched pair seemed to be hitting it off well, however, and they were the talk of Karakura high.
Soon, they were at the shop and Ichigo heard a familiar voice call to him as he suddenly felt a cat rubbing up against his neck and purring loudly.
"Hello, Ichigo," Yoruichi said, in her deep cat voice. Despite the pleasant attitude she seemed to be conveying, he could hear the sadness in her voice. "How've you been kid?"
Almost in response, Ichigo suddenly blacked out and collapsed, his body convulsing in a seizure. This time, he didn't wake from it for about an hour and when he woke, he could hear a large group of people surrounding him.
"Ichigo?" he heard Tatsuki calling as he rolled his head lazily to face her. Next to her, he could faintly see Orihime's red hair.
"Yo, Tatsuki," he said, softly, finding himself suddenly too weak to even think, much less talk.
"Ichigo, you need to stay with us, ok?" he heard her say, her voice barely keeping from breaking. "You have to stay with us."
"I'm staying, I'm staying," he said, his eyesight suddenly dimming fully to black. The only thing keeping him from thinking he was dead was his hearing.
"Ichigo?" she said, gripping his hand tighter as Orihime, who now had his head in her lap, brushed his face.
"I'm right here," he said, softly. "I can't see, though."
He heard more choked sobs and he could tell that everyone was there just by the voices he heard crying.
"I guess it's about that time, huh?" he said, smiling softly as he felt Orihime's tears falling onto his face.
"Ichigo," Urahara said, stepping forward. Suddenly, Ichigo felt a zanpakuto run through his middle. He felt power surge into him but his vision didn't return and he still felt physically weak.
"Thanks for trying Kisuke," Ichigo said with a sad smile to his mentor. "It means a lot that you'd try that as a last resort."
"I wasn't trying to keep you from dying, Ichigo," he explained, to Ichigo's confusion. "I was simply saving you from the one problem I can fix. I'm unable to do anything for you with human sicknesses, but for soul problems, I can research and fix just about anything."
"I don't understand," Ichigo said, his voice becoming weaker.
"I guess, to explain it better, I mended your soul by giving you soul reaper energy again," Urahara explained further. "Now, when you die, instead of your soul ceasing to exist, at least you'll be able to go soul society. You won't be able to go as a soul reaper, but you'll at least be able to continue existing."
Ichigo smiled faintly as he gripped Tatsuki's hand and patted Orihime's leg with the other.
"It's time to go," Ichigo said, his body finally shutting down on him, despite his return of power.
"No..." Tatsuki and Orihime said in unison and he heard many other gasps of despair and sobs echo throughout the room. Despite the protest, Ichigo drew in one final shaky breath as they all watched and he smiled, looking with sightless eyes at all of their faces.
"Thank you all... so much..." he said, expelling the rest of his breath from his lungs as Orihime and Tatsuki felt his grip weaken and his head fall to the side in Orihime's lap.