Author's Note: Here's my second chapter. Sorry that I took so long to update my story. And dear Readers and Reviewers, sorry if this chapter isn't very good. I find that writing this chapter is very challenging. Since English isn't my first language, I don't usually think in English so it's hard for me to write descriptions in English and I think I'm very weak in writing dialogues. Anyway, I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and review if you have time, of course. After all, a writer's greatest joy is when people read his/her story. Enjoy!! XD

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

If loving you means losing you…

Then I would rather not have loved at all…

* * * * *

He had been very anxious to see her when he'd heard Ishida's words earlier that he'd been practically running towards the Emergency Room. But as soon as the three of them reached the door to the room, he suddenly felt as if his legs were betraying him. He stopped, his muscles no longer able to move.

Isshin, aware of his son's abrupt stop, shot a questioning look at him.

"I can't…"

As much as he wanted to see her, he knew that he couldn't face her yet. He was scared. Scared that as soon as he saw her face, he's going to lose every little amount of strength he'd been desperately clinging to and broke down in front of her. He knew that if she came out of this ordeal alive, she's going to need everyone's support. HE wanted to be able to support her, wanted to be able to help her get back on her feet and showing his weakness to her wouldn't do her any good.

Isshin and Ishida had both stopped next to him, obviously impatient to get inside but still waiting for him to change his mind.

"Go on ahead…"

Ishida was about to shot out some witty remarks about how pathetic Ichigo was being when he felt Isshin's strong grip on his shoulder, pulling the Quincy along as his other hand opened the door to the Emergency Door and walked in, leaving Ichigo behind.

* * * * *

The room was small but somehow they all managed to squeeze in, towering over a very pale-looking girl who was lying on a bed in the middle of the room. The fact that Hacchi's presence alone took almost half of the room's space didn't help very much either. A few "Oww's!" and "Arghh's!" were heard when they accidentally stepped on each other's foot.

Rangiku and Rukia both went to sit on the right and left sides of Orihime's bed. Yoruichi and Urahara stood behind Rukia while the other took their positions standing around Orihime's bed. Captain Unohana Retsu and her Vice-Captain watched from the corner of the room, giving some sort of privacy. They were reluctant to leave the room for fear that Orihime might fall unconscious again.

When Isshin and Ishida went into the room, Isshin gave a polite nod to Captain Unohana and walked over to Urahara's side while Ishida squeezed in between Renji and Hitsugaya.

Inoue Orihime looked so fragile and broken yet still so beautiful under the cover. She appeared to be much thinner than she had been, and there were bruises on her face. They knew that there were definitely some on her body as well and silently uttered a prayer that they were hidden under the cover for the sight of bruises on her face was enough to make their hearts went out of pity for the girl.

Long auburn hair framed her pale face while her big gray eyes blinked a few times as she scanned the faces surrounding her through her thick, long lashes. A serene expression grazed her face, and there were no signs that she was in pain. Despite being almost dead a few moments ago, her eyes were shining brightly now when she recognized her friends all around her and slowly, a small smile formed on her lips.

Relief washed over Rangiku when she saw Orihime's smile. She wanted to envelop the young human girl in her bosom but refrained herself, knowing that such physical contact was not appropriate for someone who had been battling death earlier. Instead, she cried again. "Oh… Orihime-chan, I'm so glad you're alive…" she choked out between sobs.

Orihime's small smile stretched into a bigger grin, as she turned to look at Rangiku. "What are you talking about, Rangiku-san? Of course I am…"

Then she returned her gaze to every person in the room. "Everyone… Sorry if I made you guys worried," then, a pause, "I'm so glad everyone's okay too…"

Rangiku sobbed louder, touched by her words. Even when her own life was in danger, Orihime still had time to worry about other people's well being. Rukia wiped silent tears from her eyes. Renji muttered a quiet "Hmm.." while Chad flashed her his trademark thumbs-up. Hitsugaya smiled back to her and Ishida calmly said, "The feeling's mutual, Inoue-san," as he pushed his glasses up his nose. Isshin, Urahara and Yoruichi flashed Orihime a calming smile. Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, Hacchi started to cry loudly.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't do anything to help you earlier, Orihime-chan!" he cried out.

"Everyone… Just being by my side was enough… It made me know that I have important people wanting me to stay alive… And that's what kept me alive… Captain Unohana is a great healer, you guys shouldn't worry so much… I promise I'll get better as soon as I can…"

Urahara waved his fan, "Now, now… Don't push yourself too hard, Inoue-san. You should take your time and rest as much as possible."

"Speaking of which, I think we should all leave her to rest for the time being," Captain Unohana piped in, ever so concerned with her patient.

"Yeah…" Yoruichi agreed. Hitsugaya murmured his agreement as well. The white-haired boy had been rather quite, there seemed to be something weighing his mind at the moment.

Orihime gave them another appreciative smile as the turned and exit the room. "Thanks, everyone…"

Rangiku gave her a peck on the cheek and left. Rukia squeezed her shoulder lightly and started to walk away when she felt Orihime's hand suddenly grab her.

"Kurosaki-kun… Is he alright…?"

Rukia smiled, "Ichigo's fine, don't worry..."

"Thanks, Kuchiki-san…"

* * * * *

Shortly afterwards, Isshin, Urahara, Yoruichi, Hitsugaya and Hacchi along with Captain Unohana left the 4th Squad Barracks and went to the 1st Squad's after being summoned with a Hell Butterfly, bringing the message of Captain Commander Yamamoto Genryuusai, calling them forth to attend an emergency meeting.

Rukia, Rangiku, Renji, Ishida, Chad and Ichigo were left behind at the Waiting Room. Their worn-out bodies needed rest after having fought battles after battles. All of them had suffered near-fatal injuries in the war. All of them, except for Ichigo were almost completely healed, but their energy wouldn't be fully restored until they had their much-needed rest.

Despite their body screaming for rest, their heart insisted that they should stay by their nakama's side. The silence in the atmosphere was deafening. So many underlying tensions. So many unanswered questions between them.

The door to the Emergency Room opened and a very calm Kotetsu Isane, which was a total contrast to the other six persons present in the room, stepped out. She took a long and lingering look at all of them.

"You guys really need to rest."

Ishida spoke out, "We understand. But we feel the need to stay and look out after Inoue-san."

Isane looked over at Ishida, "We are trained in healing, Ishida-san. Have you absolutely no faith in our ability?"

Reddened, Ishida pushed up his glass. He hadn't meant to offend the 4th Squad but he was really worried about Orihime. Worried enough to not want to leave her even with the world's best healer without him watching over.

"I'm sorry, Vice-Captain Isane, but you have to understand, we almost lost a very dear friend to us… What if… What if that had happened without us knowing it? Without us by her side…?" Rukia's words ended in almost a whisper.

Isane sighed. Having faced deaths of friends and squad members herself, she understood how all of them must have felt.

"Please trust in us. I promise she will be fine." Then, Isane added, "I myself would be on duty tonight."

Renji, who'd been sitting quietly at a corner suddenly stood up. "She's right. Inoue would still get better without us meddling around. Let the 4th Squad do what they do best."

"There, there. It's decided then. You kids can go and get some sleep. I, myself need a drink to regain my energy." Rangiku glanced over at Renji, "You coming?"

Renji grunted in agreement.

"I'm staying here."

Unsurprisingly, those words came out of Ichigo's mouth. Rukia sighed. 'Ichigo can really be stubborn sometimes…'

"Kurosaki-san, you don't have to."

Ichigo turned to face Isane, determination flashed in his eyes. "I want to."

Isane sighed again. She didn't know Kurosaki Ichigo well enough but recalling how that boy had acted prior to Orihime's admittance to the Emergency Room, and from her brief encounter with him up on the Soukyoku Hill, she knew that once Ichigo had made his mind, he's not one to be deterred. It also seemed to her that out of all Inoue Orihime's nakamas, the substitute shinigami was the one who takes this incident the worst.

"Then, I'll stay too."

It was Rukia.

"No." Then, Ichigo looked over to Ishida and Chad. "You two get some rest too."

"What's that supposed to mean? She's my friend too, you know. Everyone wants the best for her. Don't try to act as if this only affects you. Try to get it through your thick skull that~"

Renji's hand on her shoulder stopped Rukia.

"Renji…"

Their eyes met. Renji's were full of understanding and he silently begged her to just let go of the argument. She wanted to protest, but finally she gave in. She knew Orihime was important to Ichigo, in fact, she was important enough to him that he'd willingly go against Soul Society and had intended to invade Hueco Mundo alone to save her. She knew Ichigo had blamed himself for letting Orihime got hurt after he'd vowed to protect her, and she'd noticed they had formed a closer bond throughout the times in Hueco Mundo. A bond she herself couldn't understand… 'Perhaps Renji's right. Maybe it's for the best to leave Ichigo alone with Orihime…'

Rukia forced a smile. "Okay, then. Come, Renji, Vice-Captain Matsumoto. We're going."

Rukia grabbed Renji's hand and caught Rangiku by the wrist before leading them both out of the room.

Ishida and Chad followed suit, knowing that was the best thing to do since arguing with Ichigo would mean like arguing with a brick wall. Ishida managed a "We're leaving, Kurosaki" and bowed as he walked pass Kotetsu Isane. Chad merely flashed a thumb at Ichigo and bowed at Isane too on his way out.

* * * * *

In the 1st Squad Barracks, tensions were brewing as well. Captain Commander Yamamoto Genryuusai had summoned his captains, or what's left of them, to attend an emergency meeting.

Out of the remaining ten captains, of the 13 Protection Squads, only five were present. Soi Fon and the Covert Ops Squad were patrolling the vicinity, while Kurotsuchi Mayuri with his Vice-Captain had locked themselves inside the 12th Squad Barracks to carry on some research. Zaraki Kenpachi and his pink-haired Vice-Captain were pulling their usual disappearing tricks. Kyouraku Shunsui and Captain Komamura were in the 4th Squad Barracks, recovering from injuries as a result of their fights with the Primera Espada and Tousen Kaname respectively.

Aside from the Captain Commander himself, there were Captain Unohana, Captain Ukitake, Captain Kuchiki Byakuya and the young Captain Hitsugaya.

Also present were the Vaizards, Hirako Shinji, Mugurama Kensei and Hacchi. The rest of the Vaizards were still treated for their injuries as well. Then there were three other faces, the ones who were once a part of the Soul Society, Urahara Kisuke, Shihouin Yoruichi and Kurosaki Isshin. Some of them had vowed to never even lift a hand to help Soul Society but in dire situations as one they were in, personal revenges had to take a backseat for the survival of mankind.

"Sorry to have summoned you in such a short notice, but there were few urgent matters need to be brought to light." Yamamoto Genryuusai paused tentatively and glanced across the room. His gaze lingered on the Urahara, Yoruichi Isshin and the Vaizards who no longer served under Soul Society orders but were kind enough to offer their help to Soul Society. "And long time no see, my respected former captains."

"First of all, the Kyoka Suigetsu."

Expectant silence.

"The remnants of the Kyoka Suigetsu were brought here by the 12th Squad. However, after few hours had passed, the zanpakutou hadn't returned to its true form yet."

Few surprised gasps were heard. As long as the hilt wasn't destroyed, a broken zanpakutou can return to its normal form.

"It was reported that the sword was 'empty', with no hints of spiritual presence in it."

More surprised gasps.

Ukitake was the first to actually spoke out, "That's impossible. A zanpakutou's soul can never leave the sword itself."

"Captain Soi Fon and the Covert Ops were scouring the place where the sword was destroyed for any remnants that could have been left there. As of now, we have no insight on this matter except for one speculation."

"What was it?" Shinji's strained voice was heard.

"The sword's soul somehow left the soul and now resides inside another soul."

Slightly amused, Urahara flapped open his fan, "Hmm… Interesting…"

Isshin shot an irritated look at Urahara. "Is that even possible?"

"It was merely speculation as of now. But it is best to take precautions for there's a possibility that the sword's powers could fall into yet another wrong hand this time," Yamamoto Genryuusai stated calmly.

"And then, there's the matter of Inoue Orihime."

* * * * *