"Kana."

She gasped hearing her name and looked at the face who called it. Her eyes were red and puffy, making it obvious to Ichigo and the others to know that she was crying. She still was since tears continued to roll down her cheeks.

"Ichigo."

Her voice was hoarse from crying so much. Slowly, she stood up and clung to the wall for support.

Ichigo let out a sigh of relief. She was okay, except for the fact she was crying. Even if she was related to someone who was a captain, he couldn't help but think the worst had happened to her.

"Kana, we..." Ichigo took a step toward her but she just took two small steps back in response. He looked at her confused. "What are you..."

"You're not Ichigo," she stated flatly. "He's dead. There's no way you're the real Ichigo."

"But, Kana, I am Ichigo."

"No, you're not. I saw him lying in his own pool of blood," she cried out before looking away and closing her eyes. "Captain Kuchiki said there was no way he would survive with the wounds he had."

"I think she's gone off the deep end," Ganju stated in a whisper so neither Ichigo nor Kana could hear.

"Ganju! Kana's hurt. For weeks, she believed that Ichigo was dead. Now that she sees him alive, she is just confused what is true and what is false," Hanataro tried to explain, also in a whisper.

"Hm... I still think she's nuts," he replied, making Hanataro sigh heavily.

"Kana..." Ichigo tried to talk to her to make her believe that it was really him, but she interrupted him.

"No!" she cried out and opened her eyes. She then gasped when she realized Ichigo was only a few inches from where she was. Apparently he walked closer to her when her eyes were shut. "Get away!"

"I'm not going away," he told her.

"Please go! I didn't do anything to you," she pleaded. "If you don't go now I'll... I'll..."

"You'll kill me?" Ichigo finished her sentence, but as a question. He threw his zanpakuto to the side to show that he didn't care about the thread. Then he grabbed of both of her wrists and held them up. He looked right into her eyes and said, "You could never kill anyone. You're too nice and way too sweet to do that. I know this because I bam/b Ichigo."

"Let me go!" Kana cried out in fear and snatched her hands out of his grip. Then she did something Ichigo wouldn't expect her to do. She began to hit him. It was only his chest and it didn't hurt him all because she was and had been crying so hard that she couldn't hit him with full force.

"Go away," she sobbed as she continued to hit him. "I'm sick of this! Threats! Kidnappings! Just leave me alone!"

Ichigo didn't budge. Instead he wrapped his arms around her to calm her down.

"Just go..." Her hitting, then, began to cease. Soon she was just crying in his chest. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around his torso. "I'm sorry, Ichigo," she said, realizing her mistake. "It's just... I thought you were dead," Kana continued to say with her voice being shaky. "I thought I'd never see you again."

"Me too," Ichigo said back in a whisper.

Ganju gave a strange look at the two and said, "Well, that was unexpected."

Hanataro just nodded to agree with his comment.

.: - :.

After that emotional rollercoaster of Kana's, Ichigo got her go calm down. She ended up falling asleep from all her crying. Ichigo carried her as he, Ganju, and Hanataro made their way to the Repentance Cell.

As they walked, Kana began to talk in her sleep.

"No please... I won't tell anyone... I promise..."

Ichigo stopped walking and looked at her pained expression that played on her face.

"What's the matter with Kana?" Hanataro asked in worry.""I don't know," Ichigo answered.

Her face scrunched up and began to whimper as if she had been hit. "Please... don't hurt me anymore..."

Ichigo didn't waste another second and tried to wake her up. Something told him that her dream wasn't just a normal nightmare.

"Kana, wake up!"

Her facial expression changed to a calm and peaceful one and her eyes fluttered open. She looked at Ichigo and noticed the worry that hid in his eyes so she asked, "Is something wrong?"

Everyone was taken aback. She was just having a nightmare. How could she act like nothing happened?

"You were talking in your sleep," Hanataro told her since neither Ichigo nor Ganju didn't answer her.

"Hanataro, hey. I didn't know you were with Ichigo," she said with a tired smile. "And I was talking in my sleep? What did I say? Nothing embarrassing, I hope," she added with a soft laugh.

"Something about not telling anyone and you pleaded not to get hurt," Ganju told her.

Her eyes widened and fear was shown instantly in her eyes.

"What's wrong? Did someone hurt you?" Ichigo asked her sternly.

"Ganju? Is that you?" Kana asked purposely changing the subject. "I'm sorry about before. I should have believed you."

"It's okay."

"Kana! Answer me, dammit!"

Kana cringed slightly at Ichigo's angered tone. It scared her. She was use to him yelling at Keigo and other students at school but his anger was focused on her for the first time.

"Okay. No one hurt me. It was just a nightmare," she told him. He looked at her like he didn't believe her. "I promise, Ichigo. No one has even touched me. I'm not hurt in any way."

He rolled his eyes and put Kana so she could walk. Kana saw that he still didn't believe her and sighed.

"I swear on my life that no one hurt me," she said trying to convince him. She held up her pinky finger. "I even pinky promise that no one has hurt me."

Ichigo smirked at her ways to brighten up the mood and attached his finger to hers.

"Fine. I believe you," he said.

Kana smiled and looked forward but couldn't help to let one thought run through her mind.

I promise, Ichigo, no one has hurt me... yet...