Strength
2 - Fall
from Grace
Disclaimer: Do I look like Tite Kubo to you? No? Then yeah.. I don't own Bleach nor am I making any profit from this ficlet. Okay, I lied I'm making a profit but it's only in fangirl squees. No money.
Rating:
PG
Warning: Minor spoiler warning. Very minor.
He had failed.
His mind kept replaying the scene over and over again – how Chad and Tatsuki had been on the ground injured already when he had shown up. He had been too late to protect his friends. Still, the memory that hurt the worse was watching as that bastards hand came down – as if in slow motion – and struck Inoue. She had only been trying to protect everyone… she had been trying to protect him.
And the concept of her protecting him was unfathomable.
He was supposed to be the strong one, able to take down any threat that would hurt them. He was a Shinigami and it was his job to protect the innocent. Instead, he couldn't even win a difficult battle without loosing control. He could feel it, even now – the darkness was drawing closer and he was slipping further into it.
It wasn't like she wasn't strong as well. Inoue Orihime was indeed a strong woman, she had many great qualities that benefited her both in the way she lived her life and the way she stood by her friends. She was brave too, willing to risk her own life to protect as many as she could. The problem was, she wasn't the one that should have to carry the burden. Ichigo had made the promise to protect his family, his friends and the town. Inoue… she shouldn't have that weight to carry on her shoulders.
…And he was afraid for her.
She was too gentle a soul to have to carry the weight of battle on her shoulders, and he was losing more of himself every day, every second. Hirako had been right. The hollow inside of Ichigo drew closer and closer, and he couldn't keep fighting it off. Anytime things got tough, anytime he was too weak to keep going – he would come and take control. He made it a game almost, taunting Ichigo with the power and strength that he held, but Ichigo could never control it for himself.
And unlike Ichigo, he hungered for battle.
All he could do was bide his time until the darkness would completely devour him, and then he would be in control. He would destroy this town. Eventually, his friends would be forced to kill him. And what about Inoue? She was too gentle and caring, there was no way she'd be able to fend off the hollow inside, because all she ever saw when she looked at him, washim.
Inoue Orihime saw through the tough exterior and the constant scowl. She recognized when Ichigo was not as well as he let on to be. She may seem like the typical airhead, with a strange taste in foods, but she was also a true friend. She had always been there, on the sidelines – even before they began to work together. Inoue knew Ichigo better than most people, and she knew him because she paid attention.
If he lost to the hollow inside, there was no way she'd be able to fight back. The best he could hope for is that she would run away and not look back when it happened. However, he knew… without having to ask or thinking very hard about it, he knew that Inoue wouldn't do that. That wasn't like her. She would stay because she would want to try and help him, however she could.
He could really only pray that she would manage to defend against the attacks of the hollow. If Ichigo hurt her – or worse – he would not be able to live with himself.
Because even though it was his job to protect everyone and to fight, she was the true hero. Ichigo fought because it was all he was good at, and now… he fought because he wanted to protect them all, and he kept on failing. Inoue, she fought with a different kind of strength. The Shun Shun Rikka were strengthened by her will to protect. With someone like Inoue, her heart was always in the right place.
Part of Ichigo hoped she'd keep her distance and that she wouldn't get much closer to him. The other part wanted her there to catch him. Believing that maybe… just maybe she'd be the one there to catch him when he did fall from grace.
Author: Rachey
