ALERT: (almost inexistent) Bleach chapters 429-432 Spoilers.
The art of going. Someplace. Else.
[Short story]
by Aimless Logic
"It's not your fault" Inoue whispered, raising her hand till she touched his cheeck.
Ichigo felt how something deep in his chest was starting to hurt. Suddenly he couldn't breathe, he couldn't move, he couldn't…
Reach her.
"I'll take you to Urahara's shop or Ryuuken's hospital, don't worry, I'll save you" Ichigo said with a note of despair in his voice. "So don't go anywhere. Did you hear me, Inoue?"
She barely smiled before nodding. But for some inexplicable reason, it seemed exactly the opposite.
"Don't go!" he shouted at her. Or maybe not at her, but the whole world.
"What if it's time?" she said in a voice's trickle.
"Don't say nonsense!"
Why all this had happened?
Kuugo would bring back soon his powers. He just needed a little of time.
But now.
I don't have any time, he desesperately thought . Carefully, he took Inoue's body in his arms and cursed when a little moan came out from Orihime's mouth. She was suffering all because he couldn't protect her.
Why now?
He started to run as fast as he could. But it wasn't enough. Not good enough.
"Damn it!" he said when he had to stop to catch some air.
Why the street was so empty? Why was no one else there, when most they needed?
And why…?
"Kurosaki-kun" he listened she said.
He looked at her and just wanted to scream because she seemed to be going somewhere else. To a place where he really couldn't save her.
If you had told her the truth, echoed in his mind.
"Kurosaki-kun, did something happened recently?"
Shit, shit.
"Don't try" she said.
Was night, so he hardly could see her face. But he did saw her when she spoke. A ray of light illuminated her brown eyes who were shining like if they were turn off
"What?" he asked, confusing.
"You're bleeding too" she said, touching one more time his cheeck. "Let me here and go for some help"
"Don't say…" he started.
"Nonsense?" she whispered and just when words came out she coughed.
Blood.
"No" he muttered, wiping the trickle of blood on her chin, and started to run again, but the wound in his abdomen hurt so bad, that he had to stop again.
"Inoue, what are you doing here?"he asked when he saw her. He just had left Xcution group.
She had smiled and saying that she was lost.
A sweet lie, he thought, and felt happy for some reason he couldn't explain.
"I'll take you home" he had said, but he didn't fulfill his word. He couldn't.
Suddenly his legs couldn't keep him stand. He fell, clutching her body against him.
"Sorry" he said.
"It's not your fault" she repeated.
But indeed, It was his fault. All of this.
If he had told her what's going on, from the start. If he just had been honest for one fucking time she wouldn't be there.
"Crap!" he screamed, holding her tight. "This can't end like this. I refuse!"
But it wasn't good enough. Again. He couldn't run. God, He even couldn't stand up.
They had been walking like for thirty minutes when something attacked them and it hadn't been a hollow. He saw it. So probably was a fullbring, but it really didn't meant a shit.
He just had felt how something stabbed his abdomen, and the next thing was he seeing Inoue being hitting and stabbing countless times. He had screamed so loud but no one seemed heard him. He tried to run to her. Protected her, no matter what.
"You just had to run and let me there" Ichigo hardly said, looking at her pale face.
She incredibly smiled.
"But I defeated it, didn't I?"
"Yes you did, you fool, but look at you now" he said with a broken voice. Her blood was draining between his fingers.
"Don't worry, it'll be okay" she whispered, touching gently his abdomen. "Sōten Kisshun" she said and a little barrier formed on his wound.
He opened his eyes in surprise.
"Don't do this!" he screamed. But she continued doing. "Fool, fool. Your energy" he repeated while he felt how little by little the pain disappeared like Inoue's life.
Seconds left, the barrier got broken.
"Sorry, It's all I can do" she said, hardly breathing.
He put his forehead against hers.
"It's enough. You don't have to try to save me" his voice sounded weak, like if it was breaking. "With this I can go for some help. Wait for me, did you get it Inoue? Wait for me no matter what."
"But…" she started said, in a whisper. Then, she touched his cheeck, caressing him. Her touch was so warm, he thought. For a while there're was anything more than her touch and her little, almost inexistent, breath.
"If I can't wait for you, promise me we'll meet again. No matter the life. No matter the time. We'll meet and this time we'll be honest. Absolutely honest. Okay?" she could say before she coughed again.
Gently, he removed a tiny brown lock on her forehead and kissed there.
"Don't say nonsense, Inoue. How suppose can I exist in a world without you?" he said, letting her on the floor. "I'll be right back. Just wait" he said and started to run.
She heared his steps going away. Like two thousand miles away.
She smiled, sadly.
"The moon looks beautiful" she said, looking at the black sky. "You can show you now" she said to the thing hiding in a corner. "I'm still pretty ingénue, ain't I?"
"What the hell just happened here?" asked an surprised Urahara.
Are you really going? Desesperately Ichigo thought. It isn't what suppose would be.
Are you really going?
He started to run again. He just could see the bloody body on the grass, meters away from where he had left her.
No! he wanted cry, but his voice had just disappeared.
Are you already gone, Inoue?
He tripped and fell on the ground, to centimeters of her hand. His wound was bleeding again and all the fucking pain was there and he couldn't stand up.
Why when I just want to reach you?
He moved his arm, trying to reach her hand.
You know, Inoue. I don't know why but today I saw everything so brilliant.
A few centimeters more and he took her hand.
And everything was so warm.
"Hey, Inoue" he hardly said. His eyesight got blur. "Are you really going to someplace else where I can't save you?"
Inoue didn't answer.
And you were there. You were there, Inoue.
But I don't know why.
"Little fool" he said, closing his eyes. "You didn't wait for me."
So sorry, Inoue.
Everything was so damn brilliant.
But I wasn't looking at the light.
"You didn't wait for me" he repeated, feeling how tears were coming out. "And now I can't reach you."
So sorry, Inoue.
For some estrange reason, today I wasn't looking at the light.
Don't know why, for some damn reason.
I wasn't looking
at you.
End
Author's notes:
Oh, for God's sake. This short story took me like three hours (now I watch the time, think probably was more D: ). But whatever. This was an idea I had when I read chap 431 of Bleach and I thought it'd have more sense in English (because –don'tknowwhy- I think this doesn't sound as corny? as in Spanish xD. But bleh, I'll translate this soon).
So, sorry for mistakes, you know, English isn't my natal language ;D
Hope you enjoyed it
Hugs and happy new year :3!