Embrace Your Fears

-Powerless-

"Orihime! Orihime! Damn it, what's going on?" Ichigo shouted in dire concern as he tried to get her attention, but as he looked her in the eyes he quickly noted how dark and blank they were like the life was being sucked out of them.

"Ori...hime?"

Her arms were limp now as she knelt in a slumped position upon the ground, giving no response. Seeing as he wasn't able to do anything he quickly placed his representative badge against his chest as he separated from his body to enter his Shinigami form.
"Grimmjow I think we better…" he started as he turned to face the Arrancar, but Grimmjow was in the exact same state as Orihime "...Grimmjow!" Ichigo yelled as he rushed over to the blue haired devil, but as he approached Grimmjow and tried to reach out to him, the Arrancar suddenly disappeared.

"W-What?"

Fearing the worse, he turned back to Orihime, but she too disappeared upon him approaching her again as he suddenly found himself in front of his house, but everything around him although appeared normal, was instead completely blackened over and shaded in crimson red. The sky was darkened over and the clouds speeding by making it seem like time was rapidly moving forward as what would appear to be a blackened over sun was racing through the skin from day into what appeared to be a nighttime as the moon too cycled. Ichigo was extremely confused as fear began to build in his heart.

"What...is going on? Why am I in front of my house?"

Before he had time to react he heard a scream sound from the house.

"Yuzu! Karin!"

As he ran into the house he swiftly was overtaken with a horrifying scene before him. Entering into the main living room he found his father and two sisters lying lifeless upon the floor in a pool of cold blood that was also splashed up against all the furniture and walls like some massacre.

"K-arin...Y-Y-Yuzu...d-dad..." he began to stammer as his heart was being wrapped in revulsion, feeling his stomach twisting and a dizziness hitting his head, but before he could comprehend what was before him he heard another scream cry out as he instantly recognized it to be Orihime's voice. In a panic he ran out from the house only for the entire town around him to be gone as he suddenly slipped upon the ground from a liquid his feet had touched upon. It was blood. There was blood everywhere around him as he felt like he was going to go insane when he had gotten up from the ground and found everyone he had ever cared about to be decimated in bloody murder all around him.

-Worthless-

Orihime found herself in a similar black void like Ichigo and Grimmjow as she was highly confused. Looking around she heard nothing but the sound of her own breathing.

"I don't understand, where am I

"Orihime..." a voice called out to her as she smiled, recognizing that it was "...Chad?"

She chirped as she turned around quickly to face him.

Although she thought it odd that Chad was there, she was glad to see a comforting familiar face, but his face was the least bit comforting as it had an odd expression upon it like it was covered in disgust.

"This place is so strange. Do you know where—"

"—why are you bothering me?" He interrupted her with a cold tone.

"Wh...What?"

Suddenly another image appeared beside Chad as it took the form of...

"Uryuu! You're here too? That's a bit strange, but—"

"—why are you even talking to her? It's not like she's worth the time and effort."

Their words began to echo within her as she was stricken speechless. She knew what she was hearing, but she couldn't quite absorb it as she knew it was something her friends would never say to her, but strangely enough it was something she always feared they would say. Before she could make a comment of any kind another image appeared on the other side of Chad yet again as it this time took the image of "...Rukia?"

"She's such a damn crybaby. I don't know why we were friends to begin with. It's not like she did anything when you guys came to rescue me."

Orihime felt tears well up in her eyes as their words began to pierce through her heart.

"B-But Rukia...I—"

"—you didn't do a damn thing. All you could do was sit and cry when Ichigo got injured like some sad little puppy following him around. What kind of friend does that? A worthless one I say."

"Took the words right out of my mouth," a voice sounded out behind her as she froze. She knew this voice above any other as she slowly turned around to find Ichigo standing before her, but he wasn't the least bit amused as his expression felt unforgiving and stagnant.

"Oh look she's going to cry again. Is that the only thing you're good for?"

Orihime could take harsh words from just about anyone, but hearing them from Ichigo was the most devastating. It felt like her heart was stabbed as she put her hands up to her ears and closed her eyes, falling to her knees in denial

"No, stop it! This isn't real!"

"There she goes again, babbling on about absolutely nothing," Uryuu added.
"What's the point of her existing? It's not like she's worth anything," Ichigo added in.
"STOP IT!" She yelled as she tried to ignore their onslaught of insults and taunts, but they refused to let up as she felt an inner darkness taking over as more of her high school friends began to appear and their combined talking was overwhelming her.

-Believe in Your Abilities-

Grimmjow got on all fours as his nails dug into the ground below him. He knew attacking them would do no good since it was all an illusion, but no matter how he tried to rationalize everything around him, he could not escape his own superiority complex. If there was one thing he couldn't stand was the thought of being looked down upon by anyone be it Hollow, Human or Shinigami. It dug at him like nails on a chalkboard as every muscle in his body cringed. However, just as he was about to slip into his final madness an image appeared before him as all the voices in his head stopped, giving him a chance to recover a little as he looked up to find Kein standing at his feet. Grimmjow wasn't one to really express specific emotions, but for the first time in a while he felt glad to see her in this darkness, but her presence was anything but comforting as the comfort he was hoping to seek in her words quickly became poison in his heart.

"I should have never gone to Hueco Mundo with you."

Grimmjow instantly gritted his teeth as he retorted, "You going to explain what the hell is going on here?"

"Why? So I have to save your ass again?"

"What did you say?" He barked back in anger.

"You know exactly what I said. If it weren't for me you would have died at Ichigo's hands the second time we fought, and you would have died yet again if I hadn't decided to take you with me after Nnoitra attacked you."

"Bullshit. That's utter BULLSHIT! Nnoitra attacked me out of some cheap attempt to overthrow me and I wasn't even at half strength!"

"So you're using your weaker rank as a copout for him defeating you?"

"You damn bitch. There's no TIME FOR THIS! We need to get out of here and—"

"—what do you mean we?"

Already under the heavy influence of the illusion, Grimmjow's senses were off and he couldn't help but feel tormented by these words to come from Kein herself. She was the last person he ever wanted to hear utter words of him being pathetic. However, in its own reverse psychological twisting sense of rational, those same words suddenly struck him back to his senses.

"Ichigo was right. I should have never convinced you to fight against Aizen. You can't even advance any further than you already have. You're at your limit and have been at it for quite some time. You theorized that if Ulquiorra could obtain a second transformation, then you could as well, but how could you possibly achieve such a feet at such a low level? Who are you trying to kid? You're an insect that needs to be crushed and you're weak! And those who are weak...deserve to die."

Kein waited for him to break down completely, but she got the exact opposite reaction as he grinned wildly with his hands merely stuck inside the slit side openings of his hakama, his stature cool and collected once more, the massive images of his Espada brethren slowly fading away.

"Heh, I don't know who you are or what the hell you want with Kein, but you obviously don't know jack shit about her. She didn't challenge me all those times because she thought I was weak or worthless and needed to be put down. She fought me because I was the first to ever push her to her true limits and it was that same reason she was so desperate to keep me alive so that she could continue to be challenged and continue to be tested because she had never faced anyone like me before. It was I that she wanted to fight and no one else and it is I that she continues to battle even today no matter how much stronger she becomes. She may be stronger than me, but it is my power and strength alone that she seeks and it is my power and strength that she respects. She never once looked down upon me and she never once called me weak. The only weakling here is you; hiding incognito like some feeble coward."

The illusion around him began to fade as the fake Kein dissolved into nothingness. Without further warning, Grimmjow quickly withdrew his sword as he rapidly sliced his finger down along the blade, blood trickling down it as he then swung up his arm.
"Gran Ray CERO!" The massive attack burst forth as it impacted with the blackened dark void around him and shattered it to pieces.

-Believe in Yourself-

Standing in a macabre nightmare Ichigo began to call out the names of each person his eyes laid upon, but as his eyes touched upon each body, he could hear their voices inside his head

"...why didn't you save me...you're too weak...you could have stopped this...I trusted you to help me...it's all your fault...I'm dead because of you...why didn't you come in time..."

"Why...why is this happening? No...please this isn't my fault...I..." he began to try to rationalize with himself that this wasn't real, but the images in front of him he couldn't ignore. It was his worst fear come true in front of his eyes. It was like his mother's death all over again.

"No...stop please I..." he continued to stammer as the voices in his head were rapid and never-ending as he fell to all fours, his hands and knees dipped in the blood as he could see his reflection within the crimson liquid.

"Why..." a voice began as he quickly shot his bewildered gaze upwards and found Kein to be standing before him "...why didn't you save them?"

Not quite taking in her question, he was just happy to see she was alright as he stood to his feet, still shocked from everything that was around him.

"Kein, thank god you're okay, but...I don't understand. Do you know what's going on? I mean...is...is this all real?"

"You failed them Ichigo," she answered his question with a disheartening statement. He gasped slightly as he asked further.

"What do you mean?"

"You failed Ichigo...you failed to save them...all of them. You failed again."

"I...I failed?"

"Yes. They're all dead because of you. They're all dead because you were too weak to stop this from happening."

The horrors around him were too much for him to truly except as he looked around in a great state of denial. Orihime...Chad...Ishida...Grimmjow...all his high school friends...not to mention his family...they were all lifeless and covered in blood.
"Who did this? WHO DID THIS?"

"You did."

"What?"

"It's because of you...because you are too weak that they're all dead."

The life in his eyes began to fade as he slipped into accepting the illusion before him as reality.

"Those who cannot protect their friends do not deserve to live. Since you could not save them it is only fair that you sacrifice your life in return for theirs, don't you agree...Kurosaki?"

She asked as she approached Ichigo and looked up at him with a devilish type of expression. The last flicker of life in his eyes was going to fade out until Kein had spoke those last words. Something was off. Something was horribly off as her strange speech echoed through his mind. When the light had come back in his eyes he looked down upon Kein rather unamused as he spoke out against her.

"I don't know who or what you are, but no matter the situation, Kein never once blamed me for anything that happened as a result. Even in her moment of being heavily distraught, she still found the words to try to convince me that my mother's death was not my fault. She was the first and only one to say to me that my mother would be proud of the man I've become. No one has ever said that to me."

With a new awakened confidence in himself and in his own power, the horrifying images around him began to fade away.

"No matter how badly I wanted to blame myself for anything that happened to the others, she refused to ever let me believe that I was to blame, that their agony or pain was not because of me. Because of her I was able to finally take up my sword against Aizen without fear or doubt in my mind and no matter what happened, I knew in the end that I did everything I could to stop him. That is the Kein I know, not the one that stands before me here, not the one that only seeks to cast blame where it can't be cast, and most certainly not the one that would be so unkind in her words."

The final remaining bodies around him disappeared as it was just himself and the fake Kein standing before him.

"What have you done with Kein?"

But the fake Kein could only smile devilishly and cackle loudly as it refused to give an answer, slowly dissolving away. No longer amused with this reality he was in, he withdrew his sword and powered up his reiatsu as he swung his sword downward with an abrupt and violent slash as his power alone was enough to shatter the illusion void

-Believe in Your Friends-

Out from their voices called out yet one last person as Orihime looked up and saw Kein standing a few feet from her.

"K-Kein? Oh thank goodness you're alright!"

She chirped brightly, glad to see that maybe something could make sense out of all this. She quickly got up and went over to Kein who unexpectedly threw up a hand and pushed Orihime roughly back down to the ground.

"Ow! Kein? No...not you too. What's wrong with you guys? What's going on?"

"You're worthless Orihime. You always have been and always will be."

Orihime gasped as a deep sadness hit her. "Why, why are you doing this?"

"Because you're PATHETIC!" Kein yelled in her usual abrupt voice when she would get passionate about something be it good or bad.

"How can you even live with yourself? Looking at you makes me want to puke!"

"Please...don't say that."

"You can't even stick up for yourself. All you do is let others walk all over you like it's no big deal. Don't you have any dignity at all? Oh wait, of course you don't. Because you're worthless trash. You're worthless in their eyes and worthless...in mine."

Tears began to fall down Orihime's face as she gave in more and more to this nightmare as her shining light was dimming to a dying out flame.

"So why don't you just make it easier on all of us and just jump off a building?"

Orihime wasn't one to confront and she wasn't one to step on people's toes, but there was only so much she could tolerate even if it was coming from a friend. Instead of crying, she rose to her feet in anger as she ran up to Kein and slapped her across the face, causing Kein to nearly fall over, leaving her with a red mark across her cheek and a shocked look in her eyes.

"You're wrong. Kein would never say that to me and neither would Ichigo or any of my friends! When we went to save Rukia it was Ishida that congratulated me on defending him when we were getting attacked. When Mr. Kisuke told me to stand down and to stay out of the fight with the Arrancars it was Chad that defended me and even after that it was Rukia that encouraged me to believe in myself and that I was just as important as everyone else, that my abilities were just as vital. After the Arrancar's first attack, it was Ichigo that apologized to me for not being strong enough, instead of me apologizing to him, but most of all it was Kein that taught me the importance of how each and every one of us plays a specific role in defending what is most important. It was Kein that said that I, above anyone else, had the most difficult, but most rewarding of roles and that without me, our group would be nothing."

As her confidence in herself and in her real friends began to take over, the images around her began to fade away one by one, her worst inner fear trickling into nothingness.

"I will never stop having faith in my friends, but most of all I am not worthless."

And then the final image of Kein faded away as Orihime yelled out, "Soten Kisshun I REJECT!"

Upon using her power the dark void around her shattered and broke away as she was returned to her consciousness only to find herself in the arms of Ichigo who was holding her gently upright.

"I-Ichigo?"

The carrot top smiled at her as he panted a little, sweat easily seen upon his brow. Orihime too was panting a bit as she stammered, "Wh...W-What just happened? And where's...Mr. Grimmjow?"

"He went after his gigai that he sent to find Kein. He said to split up and keep looking once we caught our breath and to send out a reiatsu signal for whoever finds Kein first."
Being able to hold herself up, Ichigo let go of her as he helped her up from the ground, her strength slowly returning to her.

"That nightmare felt...s-so real..." she admitted openly as Ichigo replied "...you too huh?"

The look on her face was almost distraught, like someone had taken her heart and stuck it in a blender.

"It was like...my inner worst fear was made a reality."

"Yeah...sounds about right."

"Ichigo do...do you..."

"...hm?"

She hesitated as she couldn't help but to ask, "Do you think I'm worthless?"

Ichigo gasped at her question as he instantly asked back, "What in the world made you ask that? Of course you're not worthless. That's the last thing in the world that you could ever..." his words were cut short as tears streamed down her face and it was then he realized and had a pretty good idea of what nightmare she had to endure.

"Orihime..." he began as he drew her into a warm embrace, cupping her head in his hand as she began to cry in his arms "...how could the world exist without its shining sun?"