A/N: This is the part where I tell you that I don't own any of the characters. They belong to Kubo... lucky jerk lol. Be prepared for angst, death, and bittersweet fluff throughout the fic, and enjoy!


Fulfill It

The two shinigami stood frozen in place. It had all been a trick.

"Heh, so the bastard's thought of everything," scoffed the older shinigami as he looked up at the fake sky of Hueco Mundo. He turned around to see the young orange-haired teen walking away with his sword in hand. "Where are you going, Kurosaki? There's no way out now."

Ichigo stopped, glancing over his shoulder with a hardened stare. "I'm going to the fifth tower."

"To save that girl? What good will that do? Even if you do get her out of there without getting yourself killed, you've got nowhere to go."

Ichigo clenched his fist and tightened his grip around the hilt of his zanpakuto. "I don't care."

Captain Zaraki rubbed some of the dirt off of one of his arms so as to avoid getting any into his wounds. "Aizen's not gonna waste anymore time with her, but I'm pretty sure he wants you dead. He's not just gonna let you waltz in to play the hero."

"I don't care."

"You care enough about that chick enough to stupidly throw your life awa-"

"I made her a promise!" Ichigo snapped as he spun around. "So far I've done one hell of a job at breaking it. I… I can't do that to her." Without another word, he rushed off to the tower of Las Noches.

Kenpachi rubbed the back of his neck and watched as the young shinigami disappeared into the distance. "Don't get caught up on stupid things like that, kid," he muttered. "You'll only land yourself in more trouble."


Ichigo ran as fast as he could, flash step after flash step. The cold air whipped against his face and stung his cheeks, but he paid it no mind. "I'm sorry, Orihime. I was an idiot and I let my guard down. I'm sorry… just hold on a little longer."


"He'll come for you." Aizen's cold, deep brown eyes stared down at the young girl before him. "He's foolish enough to try."

Orihime took a step back, her eyes filled with terror. "N-no...!"

"You mean you don't want him to save you?" He smirked and raised his eyebrow. "Not your knight in shining armor?"

"Stop it," Orihime tried to fight back the tears. "I-I'll stay... I'll stay! You don't have to hurt him!"

Aizen's mouth curled into a cold smile. He walked up to her and placed his hand on her shoulder as he leaned in close to her ear. "It does me no good to have you stay. I already told you, I have no further use for you."

Orihime's eyes flashed up to him as he stood up and walked to the door. He grabbed the handle and paused. "If Ichigo Kurosaki insists on standing in my way, then he will die."

Orihime raced after him as he slammed the door shut. As the latch turned, she banged on the door and pressed her forehead to its cold white surface. Her shoulders trembled as she sank to the floor. "Ichigo…," she sobbed.

Orihime opened her eyes, still glassy with fresh tears. She hoped Aizen had been wrong- that Ichigo would focus on getting back to Karakura, that he wouldn't risk his life for her sake. But with every passing minute, she could feel his spiritual pressure becoming stronger and closer. Even if she could tell him to turn back, she knew he wouldn't listen. Ichigo was just like that, never thinking about himself, always willing to fight for the people who were close to him.

But she wasn't worth all of this. The only reason anyone was here, why anyone was being hurt, was because of her. In an act of helpless bravery, she thought she could save her friends. They were never supposed to come after her, but how could she have expected different? At times she wondered if there was a part of her that had made the decision only to prove that she could be of some use. She hoped against hope that she hadn't been so selfish.

She was startled from her thoughts when she heard something move outside of her window, accompanied by a familiar rush of spiritual pressure. Up through the bars she could see a hand clinging onto the cold metal, and Orihime watched as a head of orange hair came up into view. "Ichigo!"

"Yeah," he mumbled tiredly. He smiled and drew his zanpakuto to slash through the metal bars. While he hoisted himself up, the pieces fell to the floor, clanking heavily as they hit the tiles. Orihime looked around nervously while Ichigo jumped in through the newly made opening in the wall.

He brushed some of the debris off of his sleeves and looked up at her. "Orihime, are you alright?"

She tugged anxiously at the sleeve of her dress as her eyebrows knitted together in worry. "I-I'm fine, but Ichigo, you need to-"

"Don't even try it." Ichigo looked at her sternly. "I'm not leaving without you."

"I'll be okay, really. But someone will be here soon to find out what that noise was. If you hurry, you can still get away and help the others. I-I'll make sure they think I was the one who cut the bars. They don't have to know you were here."

"Leaving you here to take the fall for an escape attempt isn't part of the plan." He held out his hand as a soft smile spread across his face. "Come on, I'm going to get us out of here."

"Ichigo…" Realizing nothing she said would change his mind, Orihime tentatively reached out for his hand. Just as her fingertips brushed against his, the door suddenly flew open with a resounding bang. Ichigo and Orihime both whirled around to see a pale face staring at them with emerald green eyes.

Orihime's eyes widened in alarm as the lifeless green orbs focused on her. "U-Ulquiorra…!"