A/N: Thank you to those that have left a review and have liked the story so far! Its really encouraging and motivating; really the reason why this one gets updated so fast is basically because I'm a little stuck on the other story but I should have that one done soon; I really don't like to leave something unfinished, so whatever I make won't be abandoned and plus I really like this story :3

Chapter IV: Fear

Orihime made sure to lay him on her bed since the couch wasn't as comfortable and would probably make him uncomfortable. She also looked over his form making sure there wasn't any other wounds or anything that she may have missed even though her powers never failed her, she couldn't help but feel that there may still be something wrong. Satisfied that she found nothing she thought about going on her own to get the groceries that she would need for dinner, however, food wasn't really on her mind as she glanced at Muramasa's sleeping form. Her face grew hot again after recalling that simple kiss; it was something so meaningless yet it seemed that she cherished it. What girl wouldn't dream of having her love kiss her in such an innocent way?

The problem was that Ichigo was supposed to be her love; so many times she admired him from afar and hid her feelings for him. There were signs that obviously hinted at her little crush, but it seems that he never noticed. It was understandable in a way; sometimes when you've befriended someone you treat them as a sibling, that's just how close your bond with that person is and Ichigo has certainly made several bonds like that which would explain why he may just see her as nothing more than a close friend, but in all honesty no one really knows.

This, she knew. For all she knew, disorientation could have caused Muramasa to act that way; he did lose quite a bit of blood when he got stabbed. The blush that had appeared on her face had yet to fade, but Orihime refused to see his actions as anything other than an accident; something that was not meant to occur. Feeling that the warmth of the blush was cooling she was about to leave the dark room to try and focus on her previous objective.

"The flower garden…"

Orihime let out a squeak of surprise at the low voice that spoke in the darkness, feeling her heart skip a beat in fright she swiftly turned to see that Muramasa had awoken and was staring intently at the ceiling; he didn't seem to be fully awake but he was slowly getting there. He closed his eyes slowly and didn't open them again, but she could feel that he was still conscious. She went to his side and touched his head. It was far too warm and it worried her. Had the incident been that bad? Well for a human it would be, but Muramasa was no human, he was a zanpakutou and yet it puzzled her how he could look so ill; his skin had even paled a little. Asking if he was ok was rather stupid at this point; her brows creased as she began to feel more concerned than usual for his well being.

"This is normal; enough of your worrying, Inoue." He murmured lightly but that didn't make her feel any better at all.

"What do you mean this is normal?" She asked a bit taken back that looking so ill was normal for anyone. "Muramasa-san you don't look normal at all; you're sick!" He merely sighed as the girl began to slightly panic; it had surely not been that long and yet it seems that she has forgotten the whole reason, the whole point as to why he was here in the first place.

"I have been ill for a very long time, Inoue." He whispered.

"But now it seems to have gotten just a little worse but I assume that it is because of this gigai; it has lowered my endurance quite a bit." He made a mental note never to take anything from that foolish shop keeper ever again. He opened his eyes and slowly sat up to face her.

"I'm certain you know what I am, what I did and why." She nodded and he continued. "So you must always keep in mind: a zanpakutou cannot be without its shinigami." Orihime began to feel uncomfortable although she didn't know why, she's known of this fact but right now she didn't want to hear it again; she silently hoped he wouldn't go further, however, if he did then she wouldn't stop him.

"You are no fool but you must know that your powers cannot save everyone. Kouga couldn't be saved and I can't either. It wasn't immediate, but without Kouga I began to feel weak and it wouldn't be long before my entire being would disappear into nothing." He cleared his throat to rid that annoying cough creeping back.

"It came to the point that if I did nothing, I would truly be gone so I went to the hollows and used them to sustain my own existence." He looked at her, the information didn't seem to surprise her at all but it was clear that she didn't quite get what made him so ill. "Hollows consume each other to try and fill that emptiness left with that hole in their chest and in the process they would gain strength and become superior to others but even after so many obstacles, no matter what they've gone through, no matter what they've accomplished they have yet to ease that pain of being hollow; it is the same with me." He lowered his gaze and his features relaxed from being tense.

Orihime gasped as she saw a lone bloody tear make its way down his red eye, he closed them and wiped it away.

"I've endured the suffocating pain of the hollows inside me; all the clawing and the burning urge to just let go for so long but I was so sure that if I succeeded in freeing Kouga from his imprisonment I would be able to go back as a normal zanpakutou and continue to be his partner." His brows furrowed into an expression of anger, he clenched his fists and took a slow but calming breath.

"What a fool I was and even now I continue to be nothing but a fool." He looked at her with blood red eyes, they reflected his anger and his sorrow; every emotion he had under tight lock was laid bare before her just so that she could understand him. It would only be her that was allowed this opportunity to see him as he was.

"Why are you telling me this, Muramasa-san?" She wasn't annoyed, scared or angry; she just wanted to know what had brought this subject up in the first place. It was obviously important but she missed the catalyst that had brought this to be. His eyes softened as he allowed the walls of his broken heart to close around it.

"I tell you this because you deserve to know, you're the only one that would understand. No one else will and hopefully they never will; being alone is utter chaos." He suddenly looked as though he got poisoned, his eyes widened as he felt realization dawn on him and almost immediately he snapped his attention at her.

"I am terribly sorry!" He lowered his head in a bow, momentarily startling Orihime. His raised tone had broken the tense silence leaving Orihime to stare at him with wide confused eyes; things were just going too fast for her mind to take in.

"Um, Muramasa-san…?"

He didn't raise his head, refusing to meet her gaze until she finally got what he was referring to. She lightly touched her lips and looked at him with wonder.

He righted himself and cleared his throat. There was a scowl on his face as he looked at her with angry eyes but his voice was even and soft.

"Just forget what had happened, it didn't mean anything."

Orihime remained quiet, slowly taking in his words. They stung at her heart a bit she assumed that if told to any girl it would hurt. Aside from that she should feel angry that he had done so in the beginning, but she couldn't find it in her to be in such a mood instead she went to him and placed her hand once more on his fore head making him look at her warily.

"Your fever went down, that's good!" Her smile never lost that shine, it was as if she was genuinely happy for him and it did nothing but make his chest hurt all the more. He didn't reply and simply allowed her to do as she pleased, doing all these things that a doctor or just anyone would do when caring for a friend.

Though the awkward tension that had build up before, gradually disappeared into that of comfort. Although Muramasa had offered to accompany Orihime back to the store when he was up and about she simply declined and just sat on the bed deep in thought; it slightly unnerved him that she wasn't as active as before and it was unhealthy to skip a meal and not do anything. He exhaled a breath when he set himself on making sure she got something, it doesn't feel right when you make another lose interest in something that, not too long ago, were so happy to get even if it was something small, but instead of him asking her, she asked him a question.

"Can I ask you a question, Muramasa-san?"

"Go ahead." He turned away, staring at the pictures that were framed near her night stand.

"It's okay if you don't want to answer this but I was wondering: what did you mean by the flower garden?" She waited patiently to see if he would answer or not, anything to see if he would show something. A full minute passed as he pondered her question in his head not letting one single word get past him; he knew what she was asking about but he would rather not speak of what he had recalled in his sleep. Those stupid dreams were really bugging him now if it made him speak when he was not aware of it. Several moments passed and Orihime thought that he wasn't going to answer and was about to let it go until a small movement stopped her; he moved to sit beside her his eyes were closed and he had a tight frown on his face; whatever it was seemed to really bug him to make him this irked.

"The flower garden was where…Kouga had proposed to his wife." He mumbled it, as though if he weren't careful than other unwanted ears may hear. To Orihime it didn't seem like something so bad in fact she let out a little squeal acting like a child witnessing the part of a movie where the prince kissed the princess.

"Was there anything in particular about the garden? Was it beautiful?" The questions she asked were certainly not what he expected and really there wasn't anything really special about it; just a normal royal garden like any other wealthy family would have. Though it was where his master had a special moment it was not what he saw in his head; he knew full well what he did and it seemed to follow him inside his head. He huffed in frustration as he tried to find some excuse that would not give away what he saw.

"It was nothing of any importance, just the same as it's always been." He concluded in which Orihime seemed to buy and had settled with a small smile. He wouldn't tell her that inside that garden was a rare flower that had not been there before and was most likely misplaced, but that flower had allowed him to feel at ease, momentarily taking away all his troubles and he was reminded of what it felt like to belong. He would not tell her that instead of he or any other being helping the plant grow and thrive, it had healed him of the constant pains and the gnawing hunger of insanity. No he would not tell her who that flower was, he would not allow anything, no matter how small, to make this flower wilt. He wanted it to stay as it was and allow him to admire its alluring beauty of the brightly colored petals. It was never a single color and it wasn't terribly bright either; it would take its time and not rush into things so recklessly like others tend to do.

But something odd happened in his dream where he merely stood at a distance to watch it, he never took a step closer or a step back but it was unavoidable when that flower was near murderous flames; he took the burns all for that simple flower but in the process, he had came upon too close that the flower was scorched along with him. It was nothing but a burnt petal and it would be fine; nothing would change. Nothing to the flower anyway as for him he, would be sent to nothing but ashes. It was painful but he did not seem to mind as long as the flower was able to keep its beauty and be well but the flower could not help but feel sad for him and would only turn into dark but soft shades of blue.

The color of sadness.

That was when he was barely getting out of sleep and had taken notice of her presence. Though the dream was different it had the same meaning; these embers cackling in his soul would soon burst into flames and there would be nothing to stop it and it would be his fault for he knew that they had some connection, some sort of bond that it would be painful to part from such warm company. He tried to avoid it, he tried to change the course of his path but everything was already set in place, nothing could be taken back.

It was soon late, and the stores were mostly closed by now, it seemed to be alright with Orihime but it just didn't sit well with him that she didn't get to go shopping as she had hoped.

"It's okay, I'm actually happier that you're fine now." Even after what he had told her, after what he knew and saw, she still kept looking at the positive side of things rather than the negative. He couldn't help but allow himself to smile; it was small and barely noticeable but when Orihime saw it she laughed.

"You finally smiled!"

-X-X-X-

A/N: Yup, another short one. I should really stop typing so late; it screws with my head sometimes. Really not sure what to say about this but if it confused you then I must've messed up somewhere, I assure you though that the next chapter won't be so short and awkward at least I hope not. We'll just have to see, I hope this was ok for now though.