Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. Not even one for my laundry. I also don't own the song. One Last Breath © Creed.

Dedication: for all IchiRuki fans out there—I hope you like this.

One Last Breath

Please come now, I think I'm falling

I'm holding on to all I think is safe

It seems that I found the road to nowhere

And I'm trying to escape

His Thought

I tasted blood.

I felt pain searing throughout my wasted body. The wounds covering my body must be uncountable—because I felt as if every inch of my body was being ripped and torn by invisible blades. Blood trickled down from my temple to my cheek, creating a slow trail of warm stickiness. I really wanted to wipe it away but my hand refused to move. Here I was, lying on the ground, wounded and done in, in the middle of final battle of Soul Society against Hueco Mondo.

Ten minutes ago I was still standing, even though severely injured, in my battle against Espada Halibel. But after my blade pierced through her abdomen and her attack hit my chest, both of us knew that it was a tie result. No one won and no one lost. We fought and ended up being put in a mortal ending. Although, it seemed that I still won at last because the only female Espada had given away her last breath a few minutes ago.

I hadn't given up. No matter how painful it was to stay alive, I refused to give up. Each breath I took was ripping my lungs and ribs—I wanted to cry out in agony but the only kind of sound I could make was a silent scream that nobody heard. I didn't expect my friends to hear anyway—some were occupied by their own fights and some others, well, they couldn't hear me anyway. Not anymore, because they were all dead.

The number of casualties from both sides seemed to increase as the battle went on. I knew Renji and Ikkaku had given away their lives even long before I sent the fatal last attack to Halibel. Great warriors, both of them. But their sacrifice didn't result in nothing. They had also taken five Arrancar along with them into the world of dead. I also knew that Ukitake had also stopped battling—Ulquiorra sent a blast of Cero to his chest and his body being ripped into pieces was the last sight of the kind captain of 13th Division. But Ulquiorra also paid a high price for his act as Kiyone and Sentarou immediately joined force and slashed the powerful Espada into six sickening pieces consisting of his head, body and limbs. Truly, anger could transform anyone into a different person.

I took in a deep breath again and coughed blood the moment the air entered my injured lungs. The warm liquid slowly flowed along my chin and I panted, only resulting in coughing more blood.

Nobody seemed to care about healing wounded people anymore. Everyone was fighting for their lives and their pride. From the tail of my eye I could catch a sight of a dying Hitsugaya, his small chest heaving in pain as he tried to hang on to anything that would keep him alive. I knew his attempt was as futile as mine—we knew that death would be coming anyway. But I knew that he, just like me, wouldn't give up yet.

Because he was waiting for someone.

I was also waiting for someone.

Out of everyone that came to Hueco Mondo, the only two who weren't in the battle arena were Rukia and Byakuya. I wondered where they were—it was unusual for Byakuya to miss a battle to defend Soul Society. The noble captain of 6th Division was almost always in the front line to defend Soul Society and also his pride, so his absence in this final showdown started to trouble me. Were they dead already? I really wished I could track their reiatsu but I had no more strength in me to do it. The last bit of news I heard about Rukia didn't help much either—that damned Ulquiorra told me that Rukia was dead. But I knew she wasn't—because I could still feel her reiatsu even though it was very faint. But it was long before I arrived at the final showdown.

Now I was helpless—swaying in between life and death. I couldn't tell if Rukia was still alive or not as I couldn't feel her reiatsu at all. My senses were numbed by the burning pain from my wounds and it seemed that the more I struggled to find her reiatsu the less lucid my vision and mind became. But I had this endless faith in her that she would come here. She was alive. I believed she was.

Hold me now

I'm six feet from the edge and I'm thinking

That maybe six feet

Ain't so far down

The clashing of blades was the only sound I could hear now. From the sound and the screams, it seemed that the battle was still as fiery as ever. Shinigami swung their swords against the troop from Hueco Mondo and received blasts of Cero in return. Many ordinary shinigami had also died, I believed. The best thing I could salvage from this was that other than Ukitake, the other captains were still standing strong against the Espadas and their leaders who were none other than Aizen, Gin and Tousen. Urahara and Yoruichi were also a great help—many Arrancars had fallen into defeat in their expert hands.

I was still clutching tight onto the last string that kept me alive—the thought of Rukia.

Where was she?

I was reduced to almost nothing—my body was slumped there against the dirty ground of Hueco Mondo and my power had been greatly decreased along with my broken sword and faint reiatsu. My mind refused to think of anything else except Rukia, and my vision was blurred by the mist of death. I smelled and tasted blood—it started to taste like three-day old spaghetti sauce now. I also could see death lurking behind me, dancing happily over my body as I struggled to live. It seemed as if death was teasing me, wanting to know my limit, wanting to see how long I would keep fighting until I finally gave in.

But no. I wouldn't give in yet. The dull night sky of Hueco Mondo was not the thing I wanted to see before I closed my eyes for eternity. No. I wanted to see her face. Her smile. I wanted to breathe her scent, feeling her presence and her touch against my cold skin. I wanted to have her beside me as I died, so that I could surrender my heart to her.

My heart had always been hers to hold, but sadly had never been hers to keep. But now as I died, she was the only person I could entrust my heart to keep. She was my first and last love, the only one I would never fall out of love with. She was white moon that lit up my nightmares and eerie nights. She was everything.

Another twinge of mind-numbing agony kicked into my senses and I cried out painfully. The sound that came out of my throat was as scary as the shriek of a wounded Hollow. It was animalistic and brutal, not to mention that it was more of my Hollow's than of my own. I tried to comfort myself by breathing in more air.

I was afraid of closing my eyes. I was afraid that once I closed it, I would claim my end and would never be able to see Rukia again. But my eyelids were getting heavy and it felt as if an invisible hand was working its way to close my eyes. I chose to be as obstinate as I could but I finally realised it—I was down to one last breath.

A weak, familiar small cry snapped me up. The next moment, my head was cradled against a pair of small but strong arms. I smiled contently—those violet eyes were unmistakably hers. There were blood and tears on her face but she never looked more beautiful than this.

She was crying. Her limpid violet eyes that would even cause amethysts shame were filled with crystal-coloured drops.

I'm looking down now that it's over

Reflecting on all of my mistakes

I cried out, "Heaven, save me…"

But I'm down to one last breath

I managed to smile at her as bravely as I could and mumbled quietly, "Hey."

"Ichigo…you idiot…" she sniffed, her hand stroking my face gently as her shoulders and chest heaving up and down. If I could, I would have rolled my eyes—that midget of a woman never changed. "You idiot…what did you do? You're all…" a painful sob, before, "…more than torn up. You're covered in blood…you stupid, stupid…you make me worry so much…"

I really wanted to laugh, but what escaped my lips was a blood-stained tiny chortle. She brushed away the blood gently as she cried again. Who was I to deserve her tears? I breathed in pain as I watched—or rather, felt—her caressing my bloody orange hair carefully, as if she was afraid to hurt me. Yes, it hurt—but it never felt more wonderful. Even if I had to endure the whole battle scars and stabs and cuts once again to feel her angelic touch, I would be more than happy to oblige.

"Hey midget, where have you been?" I mouthed, too tired and dead to say anything. She didn't seem to catch my word so I gathered my energy and croaked, face scrunching in raw agony, "Where…y' been?"

"That place where we parted." she whispered, her lips trembling as she spoke. "I nearly died, but Nii-sama saved me."

I nodded once, telling her that I understood what she said. "Come closer." I murmured, my voice cracking as I gave my order. She obediently obliged without asking any question.

I knew, more than anyone else, that my last breath was coming soon. It just got stuck a bit in the depths of my lungs. I smirked to myself as I gathered up my courage and strength then whispered affectionately to her ear, "Hey midget, I love you."

Violet orbs widened in surprise then followed by a string of choked sobs. She cried again—all because of me. Damn. If only I could give her something else other than pain! Then a crooked smile was formed on her lips as she mumbled, "I love you too, Ichigo. I have always been in love with you—and I will always be." she reached out a hand to wipe her tears hastily then stared at me lovingly for a second before tears started springing to her eyes again.

I knew I had to do this.

Sad eyes follow me

But I still believe there's something left for me

So please, come stay with me

Cause I still believe there's something left for you and me

Her Thought

I could feel tears rushing into my eyes again after I finished my words. I didn't want to cry in front of Ichigo, because I knew it would make him sad but I couldn't help it. Seeing him in such hopeless and helpless form was more than enough to trigger my tears over and over again. The man I loved was dying—and I could do nothing.

I buried my face on his chest and started sobbing. I was a shinigami for years already—I somehow could sense it when my fellow shinigami was about to die. And now I felt that on Ichigo. I couldn't take it anymore—he was slipping away, away from me. I would never see him again.

After a moment that seemed like eternity, I felt a weak hand stroking my hair. I snapped up and saw Ichigo, weak but seemingly content, smiled at me sincerely as he patted my hair. He coughed blood again and I screamed in panic again, but he weakly wiped the blood away as he motioned to me to get closer to him. I was already close enough, but it seemed that he wanted to say something more so I moved my face towards his and asked, "What is it, Ichigo?"

"My last breath is coming." he cringed in pain and panted for breath but he was smiling. "Come here," he ordered again, more urgently.

I lost words to say. I really wanted to deny reality, but who was I to fight back death? My power might be enough to inflict damage to Hollow, Menos or even Arrancar, but not death. I could never change death. We could never change death. When it came, it came. I pushed away the nightmarish reverie then focused back on the man in front of me. We were so close I could even feel his fragile breath. We were so close I could even see the depth of his amber eyes. They were shining brightly like a lake at sunset even when death was so close nearby.

"I want to use my last breath for good." he mouthed slowly so that I could catch his words. I furrowed my brows deep and questioned again, "What is it, Ichigo?"

He cringed then lifted his head so that our lips touched. It lasted for only a moment before he fell back, exhausted, then a smile adorned his lips as he whispered, "That," he paused to smile at me peacefully before he slowly closed his eyes as he chanted each words softly, "was half of my one last breath. The other half…" he grimaced a bit before he whispered, "…is this."

"I will always love you, Rukia."

Please come now, I think I'm falling

I'm holding on to all I think is safe…

The End