This is a story I first realized was possible when I finished the first Bleach movie, Memories of Nobody. I was utterly disappointed by the ending, Because by the end of the movie, Senna, the silly, goofy, adorable, endearing girl had stolen both Ichigo's and my own heart.
So, to have the movie end the way it did is a crime. I wanted to fix that, to open up new doors, and most of all, keep Senna alive. She is the only love interest Ichigo has shown actual feelings for, seeing as he rescued Rukia to repay his debt to her, and simply to save a friend, and the same goes for Orihime. He saved Senna when he knew it might bring about the apocalypse, and yet...he did it anyway. He was even prepared to fight Soul society-and Rukia- to protect her. AND He actually called Senna his "Not quite" Girlfriend in the japanese subbed version of the movie.
There might be elements of other anime, Characters from other anime, and other media references in this story, as well as characters from other stories I have written. I may also include "Reviewer chapters", Where Reviewers who wish for it may appear in the AN at the beggining of each chapter, perhaps with a small skit, or maybe a discussion, much like those of one of my major inspirations, the author Leaf Ranger. These "Reviewer Chapters" may also, depending on reader interest and demand, start appearing in other fanfics I write, like The Tale of Warring worlds, Within Saphire Eyes, and Privaron Primera.
So, please Read and review, leave your opinions, and remember:
Lord Gale loves you all.
Bofu-Sama Ai shimasu anata minna.
I do not own Bleach, the Bleach movie(s), any of the characters from said movie(s) and anime, the poem at the start of the story, or Saosin. I sure as hell wish I did. I do, however, own a Claymore. Plagierists, you have been warned.
One night You and I were walking along the beach. As scenes from your life flashed before you, you looked at the path of footprints and noticed that during the saddest times of your life, there was only one set of prints. Troubled, you asked me "Why did you leave when I needed you most?" I replied "I would never leave you. When you see only on set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."
Anata teimasu kuarimase hitoride
You're not alone
The two hovered above the river, the green portal beneath gaping and undulating. The smaller of the pair broke away from the larger's embrace, her loose purple-tinted hair fluttering in the night air.
"I know it will be fine...the Blanks are still close to me, if I could just-" Her companion grabbed her shoulder, his anxiety and worry evident in his voice.
"But if you do that, you'll-"
"I'd rather sacrifice myself than see you die!! I can't live in a world with no Ichigo!" She cried out. Ichigo blinked, stunned, then his expression darkened,quickly growing angrier,
"And how do you think that makes me feel, knowing my precious friend is practically Suicidal?" Senna flinched, a pained expression on her face.
"I-I..." She stopped when Ichigo slipped his hand around hers, and she felt massive amounts of reiatsu being exuded.
"We do this together, Senna" Ichigo whispered, before summoning every ounce of power he could. At first, it seemed like nothing would come of his efforts, but then Ichigo saw it.
Slowly, bit by bit, the rift between the human world and the Soul Society began to grow, seperating the two. Ichigo's hopes soared 'It's working!' He thought, a grin of relief and joy spreading across his face, only to fall as the rift began to close again.
"No!" Senna cried out in shock, her controll of the Blanks slipping as she lost focus.
Consequently, the worlds drew even closer together, bringing doom closer by the second. Watching Senna struggle with the rift, Ichigo knew what he had to reached deep inside himself, into the depths of his soul where the other resided.
"Alright...listen up, Hollow." from the tingling presence, Ichigo could tell It was listening. "You and I share a body, right?" This time, it replied.
"Of course, you weakling. You die, and I die. but if I manage to swipe control, I can guarantee you I'd be able to do everything you couldn't."
"That's not the problem, you bastard...thing is...I need your help." This time, a harsh, mocking laugh was the Hollow's answer. Nearly instantly, Ichigo felt the Hollow's reiatsu spike, rushing thoughout his body, filling his veins with gold and fire. 'yes, with him on my side this one time, we can do it!' With this in mind, he turned to Senna, still fighting for control over the rift, and placed his hand over hers once more. When she turned to look at him, he saw just how much of a toll this had taken out of her. Senna was covered in sweat, and she was beginning to look exhausted.
"Senna!" Immediately, Ichigo diverted a portion of his reiatsu to her, hoping to reenergize the girl. And while it worked, Ichigo felt there was something different about his reiatsu, minus the hollow's spirit energy, flowing into Senna's soul. 'I will NOT let her die!' He thought fiercely.
Finally, after years, it seemed, the two worlds seperated, leaving each other behind. And as Senna watched the two dimensions grow further and further apart of thier own voiltion, the insane, monsterous reiatsu lifted, and was replaced with the comforting feel of Ichigo's own fierce, protective Spiritual pressure. 'Would you look at that, Ichigo...' Senna thought, slowly sinking deeper into unconciousness.
"We...did it.."
Senna slumped forwards, and for a second, looked like she was going to fall into the river. Until Ichigo caught her, supporting her even as they desended, before touching on the riverbank. With Senna in his arms, Ichigo began to walk home, with only one thing to say.
"We'll ride that Feris Wheel tomorrow, Senna. 'S a promise..." With that, he lost conciousness, collapsing, only barely aware of the people coming toward him.
"Kurosaki-kun!"
"Ichigo!"
--
From afar, the events at the river looked like a mere lightshow, but for them it was no problem. They had seen it all, from Ichigo's entry in the Valley to Senna's nearly sacrificial act. One of them growled, displeased.
"She didn't die. The boy saved her." There was a sort silence. The speaker, shrouded in pitch black, turned to its neighbor. "Well? What say you? No comments?" The other hardly moved, but the reply was clear enough.
"It's quite a development. I almost thought he wouldn't succeed, given the task and handicap. This would require further field study." The figure glared at the other, their tone darkening.
"Watch yourself, now. You can't treat this like some jest or experiment. This boy has power, otherwise Ganryu wouldn't have lost." Another spoke up, adding their voice to the mix.
"Ganryu was a fool. He ignored our offers, and perished in exchange." The second waved these words aside.
"Let me assure you, I do not consider this a game. I take my subjects and experiments very seriously." The first scoffed, then, facing the third, declared,
"I'll be off now. Keep this madman under control, will you?" The third nodded, and the first stalked off, leaving them to watch Ichigo Kurosaki's friends gather up both him, and Senna, though neither, it seemed, wanted to let go of eachother. As they made their ways to the Kurosaki clinic, the second smiled. Oh, yes, this would be fun indeed.
--
The first thing he saw was his bedroom ceiling. The second thing he saw was Senna practically flying at him.
"ICHIGO!"
"Huh?"
The glomp hit full on, and Senna tackled Ichigo from the sitting-up position he had achieved before being struck. She buried her face in his shoulder in a death-hug, clinging to him like a limpet. Her quiet shaking stopped him from commenting on her greeting, and he opted for wrapping his own arms around her instead. He could hear her saying his name, over and over, and knew what she was really saying.
"Ichigo...Ichigo...Ichigo..."
"Don't leave me, please don't go, please stay"
Slowly, he tightened his hug, leaning to whisper into her ear.
"Senna,"
She stopped, then turned to look at him, her large, golden eyes still tearing up a little. Ichigo continued, though it was hard to, with eyes like Senna's giving him such an emotional look.
"Do you know why I stopped you from sacrificing yourself?"
She looked startled, but shook her head. He smiled, then gulped, preparing himself.
"This is why."
And he reached up, hooking one finger underneath her chin, leaned forward, and kissed her square on the lips. Her eyes widened in surprise, then slowly closed as she kissed him back. They stayed like this for a few minutes, simply holding each other, maintaining the kiss, until they broke apart, slightly out of breath. Ichigo turned his gaze away, and tried to find the right words.
"Senna, these last few days, I...I've realized that, something was missing. I was always worried, always focused...But, when I was with you, my worries, my anxiety, they faded. I found what was missing." He said, before turning back to look her in the eye. "If you had given your life to save us, I would have lost that. If you had left me, I don't know what would've happened."
"Senna..I-I....I love you..."
Senna's eye slowly widened more as is words sank in, her lips barely forming coherent words.
"I-Ichigo, You-I-......Me too..." She breathed, the last words naught but a whisper, but just loud enough for him to hear them. Once more, they leaned closer, but this time, they were interupted. The door burst open, followed by one of the last people Ichigo wanted to see them like this.
Kuchiki Rukia barged in, a worried look on her face, then suddenly stopped. Blushing at the implications of the way the two were positioned - Senna with her arms around ichigo, practically straddling the strawberry, And Ichigo, with his own arms around Senna, looking perfectly content with it- She suddenly, and understandably, developed a stutter.
"D-d-dd I m-miss something here?"
Senna blushed, giggling nervously, While Ichigo simply deadpanned,
"Yes." Making Senna laugh harder. Rukia merely "hmphed", before quickly becoming serious. Ichigo had dubbed this mood her "Shinigami buisiness mode," As she only entered it when something involving Soul Society or "Chappy" Usagi happened. Usually the later, but this degree of seriousness was only seen when Soul society was subject.
"Ichigo, While you were unconcious, the Gotei 13 had enough time to convene." She stated, giving Ichigo time enough to look worried before continuing.
"The Captains were mainly concerned with the fact that Senna is still alive at all."
"But that's a good thing!" Ichigo protested, quickly becoming protective of his violet-haired charge. Rukia sighed, and nodded wearily, finaly showing some kind of fatigue.
"I know that Ichigo, but the question is: do they? Think about it. Senna, the Memory Rosary herself, shows up, weilding a zanpakuto that's been missing for centuries, the blanks appear, causing havoc, and then those exiled Shinigami pop up, all in three days? There's an obvious catalyst, who happens to be in your lap right now." The last part was said with a tone that was half annoyed, half amused, then became mostly amused as the two, blushing like mad, tried to untangle themselves without further embarassment. As she watched them, Rukia felt the laughter bubbling up, spilling out. Soon she was doubled over laughing, leaving the two before her to wonder what was so funny. As her laughter died down, she quickly became serious, and Ichigo could tell, she was concerned. He waited, patiently, until she regained her composure.
"Ichigo, Believe me, I don't want Senna to be arrested, especially since she has done nothing." The look in Rukia's eye spoke of more, however, like the teasing and humiliation to come. 'She is NOT gonna let this go, is she?' Ichigo thought. Meanwhile, Rukia wasn't done.
"So, unless we can convince the captains of soul society that Senna is an asset and ally, She will be taken away, and I can bet you that one captain would give a good deal to know just what makes her so special." This solidified Ichigo's resolve. If there was one Shinigami that disgusted him, it was Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Having met the nightmarish captain once, and recalling Ishida Uryu and Inoue Orihime's descriptions of their encounters with him, as well as Ishida's rather one-sided battle with the crazed scientist, Anyone could come to the same conclusion. Ichigo would have to be bat-shit insane to let that abomidable man anywhere near Senna or vice versa. Seeing Ichigo's disgust, Rukia pressed her point.
"And Ichigo, some of the captains believe that as long as the Memory Rosary, Senna, is still alive, these events will repeat themselves. And other...captains...think that to prevent this, Senna should be...removed, entirely." From Rukia's tone, the orange-haired Freelancer could tell just who the "Other captain" was. 'Byakuya's actions really have an impact on her, the bastard.' He thought, Before turning to Senna, who had been sitting quietly this whole time, with a thoughtful look on her face. Ichigo put his hand over hers, and she looked up into his eyes, her smile meeting his own inward one. She turned back, and revealed what she was thinking.
"Well, if I need to stay safe, doesn't that mean I could just stay with Ichigo? He's waay stronger than those guys who kidnapped me, and I bet he could make these "captains" scream and run, if he wanted." She emphisized many of her points with wild hand motions (Which included, but were not limited to: Swinging an imaginary sword, A heroic stance, explosions, and one Ichigo and Rukia couldn't identify.), strange voices, and a grin, just as Ichigo had grown to expect. He gave her a smile, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, hugging her to him. Rukia looked on in mild shock.
Never had she seen Ichigo smile as purely as he did now. Not once. Of course, neither had she seen him so happy. It seemed Senna really was the cure to his sickness. If teen angst and anti-socialness could be considered sicknessess. Still, the strawberry did have his moments. Quite a lot of them, really. Like his rescues of both Senna and herself. Both times, he had been the Knight in Shining Armor, protecting them from all danger. That had been one of the few tmes she had allowed anyone she cared about to see her like that, weak and helpless. But something bothered her, in the very back of her mind. She struggled to voice it, however, taking a few minutes just to put it into words. Finally, she said,
"Ichigo.." He turned back to look at Rukia, meeting her eyes.
"How....how is Senna still alive?" Ichigo blinked, his expression turning thoughtful. Rukia comntinued undettered.
"I mean, Senna gave all her memories to the blanks, right? How can she be here?" She was a little worked up towards the end, but she managed to calm down. Senna looked at Ichigo, bewildered as well. 'What did he do?' She thought, staring at her orange-haired protector. 'How did he save me?' Ichigo, however, just shook his head.
"I only did what I thought would work. Whether it did or not is question for someone wo knows what they're doing." After saying this, the two shinigami looked at each other and Rukia asked:
"Urahara?"
Ichigo nodded.
"Urahara." He said.
Senna looked between the two repeatedly, not recognizing the name. She tapped Ichigo's shoulder, and when he turned to her, she asked,
"Umm, who is this Urahara person?"
Ichigo sighed.
"That's right, you've never met him, Senna." She shook her head, and Ichigo slipped his arm around her shoulder once again."Don't worry. He's not bad at all. A wierd scientist, yeah, but not bad." Senna giggled, and nodded soundly. Rukia smiled at the sight of the two. Now if only Life were so simple.
Unbeknownst to the teens, outside the room, lurked Isshin Kurosaki. The fact that he had just invaded the privacy of three teenagers, on a subject noone was supposed to know about, didn't seem to bother him in the least. What did bother him was the fact that his son's girlfriend was alive when she was supposed to have died. He grimaced to himself, running a hand through his hair. Yet another of Hitsuzen's prophecies had been misinterpretted. "'Memories will die' my ass." he muttered, staring at the small Tanto hidden on his belt mutinously. 'It's odd enough for a Shinigami to have two zanpakuto, but for one of them to give faulty foretellings... That's just pushing it.' He looked up as the door opened, and out walked a smiling Ichigo and Senna, followed by Rukia, who still wore a concerned expression. His now-ingrained instincts to attack kicked in, and he threw himself around the corner in a leaping, Chinese-martial-arts-movie kick, his usual silly expression on his face.
"ICHI-GOOOO~! ARE YOU PREPARED TO FACE DADDY'S FLYING-AROUND-THE-CORNER-KI--!" He was cut off as Ichigo spun to the side, pulling Senna with him, and, bringing his leg up, clotheslined Isshin instantly and knocked him to the floor. Isshin lay on the floor, smiling wackily despite his pain. "Y-you h-have done well son.....surely now I can-OOF~!" Ichigo stomped on his father's stomach, winding him.
"Don't give me that, you! I just wake up and already you try to kill me! Jeez!" He made his way down the stairs, grumbling as he descended. Senna followed close behind, giggling at Ichigo's interaction with his dad. Rukia gave him an appolagetic glance, then turned to follow them, only to be stopped by Isshin's words.
"Don't do anything you'll regret, Rukia." She spun about, surprised by both his serious tone and the implied meaning behind his statement.
"Wha-what are you talking about, Mr. Kurosaki?" She feigned ignorance, but he saw through it.
"If you report too much, you'll jepordize Senna's very existance. It's best you just give them the bare minimum." He almost turned away, having gotten up from where Ichigo kicked him, but turned back a second later. "Oh, It's best you keep quiet about this, 'K? I think Ichigo knowing that I know would be...problematic." Ichigo chose that moment to ascend the stairs, looking impatient.
"Rukia, we're kinda waiting on you...should we go ahead?" He asked, not really managing to keep the annoyance out of his voice. She shook her head, sending a glance to Isshin.
"No, I'm coming." Ichigo nodded, then descended, Rukia following. She sent one last look at Isshin before walking down the stairs. The bearded ex-captain grinned to himself, as well as the spectral figure behind him.
"So, Hitsuzen? Your prophecy didn't come true again. What now, huh?" The figure bristled at his words, and spoke in a strained, hoarse voice.
"I told you you misinterpretted that one! He WAS meant to die! And the Senna girl....somehow, your boy goes against the very laws of my abilities... We shall have to see what he has in store for the next foretelling..." Isshin just smirked.
"Or maybe you're not as good as you think." The figure hissed at him.
"Don't underestimate my powers, Kurosaki...You chose me, so don't whine when it's your fault!" It spat, its Chalkboard-grating tone having no effect on Isshin, who just laughed it off.
"Yeah, yeah. You can pin the blame all you want, Foggy." He quipped, calling the zanpakutou by its hated nickname. The figure merely glared at him, fading slowly. Before it was completely gone, however, it stared at Isshin pointedly.
"Watch out for him, Kurosaki. He isn't the only one who can deny my powers over fate. If they were to clash, it could be catastrophic for all." Isshin nodded seriously, then the slightest trace of a smirk arose.
"Is that a prediction?" There was no reply.
--