Hitomi POV
I was in love with Kurosaki Ichigo. From the day I saw him to the day I am telling you this. His aloof attitude and scowling face, meant to repel any company, only attracted me more. At first it had only been a small crush, something I thought would pass. But soon that small affection transformed into love. I guess you could say my case was similar to Inoue Orihime's, at the time. I, like her, was too shy to admit my feelings, and often I would be caught by my best friend, staring at the orange-haired boy. But unlike Orihime, I had no connection with him. She was his childhood friend's best friend. I was an admiring classmate.
I knew that my chance in capturing his heart was little, but I took comfort in the knowledge that no one else would either. He never noticed Orihime that much, and probably thought her a nuisance. Even when the new student, Kuchiki Rukia, arrived, I wasn't worried. The two always argued and never had any kind of friendship.
It was only when he, Rukia, Chad, Ishida, and Orihime became a group that I took a good look at my rivals. Ichigo had many silent admirers, but I knew them to be no threat. Tatsuki and he never had anything more than a friendship. Rukia and he were still arguing; they didn't show any signs of a close friendship. The only one I regarded as an actual threat was Orihime. The princess was pretty, popular, and totally in love with the boy. But Ishida was in love with her, so I hoped she would reciprocate those feelings soon.
Then, the next year came. The group returned, but this time, Rukia was gone. They didn't hang around each other much anymore. It seemed that everything was back to normal. But it wasn't. Ichigo was even more distant and cold; there always seemed to be this sadness around him.
But when Rukia appeared in the window, his eyes lit up, and he whispered her name. That was my first warning.
Then, one day, the original group, along with the new kids, had an aura of worry around them. Another day, they weren't arguing like usual. These days continued, but the arguing returned. That was just a taste of what was to come. They altogether disappeared. No one really knows what happened during that time, all we know is that the group was gone for 9 months. They were proclaimed dead. It broke our hearts to hear that some of our best-loved classmates were dead. I mean, we heard about it in the news, and read about the tragedies, but we never thought it would happen to us personally. The reason why we couldn't believe it is mainly because of Ichigo and Rukia. As their arguments portrayed, they were just too stubborn. We had all seen the protectiveness Ichigo had for his friends, and the determination Rukia had in everything.
But they returned, though without the more recent students. They said nothing about what had happened, only confirmed that the other students were alive. Then he told us he and Rukia were going to a boarding school, at least, that's what he told the whole class. I had a feeling he told his friends something different. My heart was tearing apart. The only consolation I had was that he said he would visit occasionally.
When he was saying farewell to his friends, Rukia did something that made him smile. It wasn't a smirk, it was and actual smile. That was my second warning.
On all of his visits, he would always come with Rukia. His visits to Karakura Town were fleeting. One minute he was there, the next, he was already gone, heading to his school. On all of his visits, he would stay with Rukia. Then the visits were more frequent. At first, I was ecstatic; maybe I could have a chance to talk to him. But my mood soon dampened. His visits always seemed serious, and he seemed to have a commanding and powerful tone that was usually obeyed. But it wasn't unkind. Even though he was like this, so different from before Rukia came, I loved him all the more.
Then, my whole world crashed on that day. I was walking by the hospital that was owned by his father, when I saw him carrying an injured Rukia, running so fast, he was almost invisible. This didn't alarm me; my brain had not registered the seemingly impossible fact.
Chad, who saw me watching, invited me in, and I slowly walked to where Rukia was laying. She had no more injuries; they seemed to have disappeared. Then she woke up. She looked to Ichigo, who I noticed was injured greatly. He was covered in blood. She immediately started yelling at him, scolding him for whatever reason she had. I wasn't listening, because as the yelling died down, they sat and smiled at each other. That was my third and final warning; the only one I paid attention to. I knew right there and then, that I could not beat Kuchiki Rukia. My world was destroyed. My only love had completely ignored me and was in love with another woman. I didn't even have Inoue's consolation. She had realized her feelings for Ishida and was dating him. But even if she wasn't, I knew she wouldn't have cared. Rukia was one of her best friends, second only under Tatsuki. She would have been happy for the raven-haired girl. I had nothing. I had no lover, no comfort. That was when I something that was in front of me all along. He had always loved Rukia; there were even warnings for me to try to avoid pain. But in the end, I finally knew.
I never stood a chance.
I know, it's a little confusing, and some rules are ignored, but that's because I haven't posted the companion multi-chapter fic yet. I have it all planned out. I just haven't written it yet. But I just had to post this, so please don't ask questions about that stuff i.e. why can Hitomi see Ichigo?
I might be posting new Bleach stories, but I need your opinion on this particular one. Please leave a review of your opinion on the summary. Does it interest you?
Summary: It's been 3 years. It's been 3 years since the war ended. It's been 3 years since the death and fighting ended. It's been 3 years since Kurosaki Ichigo died. But as a new possible threat appears, questions arise. The most important being: is Kurosaki Ichigo, hero of the Winter War, truly dead?