I hate hospitals. They send you in for one thing, and you end up having another. And the service is crap. You wait for hours. Hardly relevant, I just thought I'd stress that point. It sucks having migraines.

It also sucks having your laptop banned.

And it sucks when you get new ideas and you have to post new stories instead of updating your old ones. Though I am kind of proud about my new stories.

Anyway, IchiRuki for those who waited.

Best. Damn. Night. Ever

If any of you have ever wondered what it's like, walking through a darkened forest with nothing but your alter ego for company is not fun.

Whether it's Grimmjow or Momo's fault that all of this happened, my friends are still somehow screwed and I am still a complete and utter idiot for letting this happen. And if my low self-esteem isn't enough, Shiro's sarcastic attitude and pessimistic responses to every question I ask is enough to make me think one simple thing:

What's the difference between Ichigo Kurosaki/Number Four and a bucket of shit? The bucket.

Oh, are we taking the piss out of you now? I've got one-

I don't want to hear it. Stay silent until I actually develop you as my final Legacy.

… Someone's acting awfully moody.

I'm serious, Shiro. Shut up.

And surprisingly, he does. I wonder how long that will last.

If it was Momo's fault, then what does she want with them? Is she holding them hostage in the hope that I will come looking for them, and then she and her little Hollow friends can kill me? But I thought she likes Toshiro and Rukia. They're friends, aren't they? As much as I know Hollows are evil, surely they must feel some remorse or restraint and at all the evil acts they commit.

They destroyed Lorien and killed everybody.

They didn't kill me. Their mistake.

Ooh, was that a vow that you're going to destroy all of them?

Don't be so dramatic, Shiro.

Okay, let's asses the next possibility that all of this was Grimmjow's fault. Holy crap, this is medieval. What the hell is he trying to prove?!

I stop walking as I notice something small at the foot of the tree in front of me. I bend down slowly to take a closer look, and anger flares through me as I realise what it is.

Rukia's Chappy plushie.

She must have dropped it when they dragged her off.

Or they left it here for me to find.

'Bastards,' I hiss.

I stand up again and quicken my pace, fury coursing through me as I think of what they might have done to my friends.

If they've hurt Rukia-

If they lay one finger on her-

And your friend Toshiro.

Oh yeah. Him too.

But mainly Rukia.

What are you talking about?

Shiro wolf-whistles.

All right, fine. I guess I like Rukia. Like that. A little bit. HARDLY RELEVANT!

So I guess she's the damsel in distress, huh?

She'd kill me if she ever heard me use those words.

'RUKIA!' I shout, wondering whether she'll be able to shout back to me. No luck. Of course. Maybe I should go back and alert the authorities.

No, no way! What the hell made me think to do that?! If this is Momo's fault, then there's no way the humans would ever be able to help me. What if I went home to Zangetsu...?

… So he could find out there's a Hollow here. He'd drag me out of this town faster than you can say Pittacus Lore and I'll never be able to save Rukia. And Toshiro.

Not just considering your girlfriend are you?

I said 'And Toshiro.'

You're such a great friend.

ENOUGH! YOU'RE MY LEGACY, SO HELP ME!

… Detect their spiritual pressure.

'Of course!' I yell, face palming as I realise how ridiculously obvious it was. I should have done this ages ago!

I close my eyes and focus hard. Already, right behind me and off in the distance I can feel the usual human spirit energy, along with a small group not too far away, and one particular person with the spiritual pressure of a Hollow.

Right. So Momo is there. What the responsible thing for a Loric to do in this situation would be is to turn around and walk in the other direction, but I can easily recognise two very particular human friends of mine with her and then there's... Grimmjow and his mates.

Right. I should get started.

Do a surprise attack, their faces will be priceless! Shiro urges.

I press myself up against a nearby tree, analysing the situation. From what I can see, this is Grimmjow's doing, because Rukia, Toshiro and Momo appear to be the hostages. They're sitting on a group of boulders in the centre of the clearing, just mere feet from a small river. Grimmjow and his mates are surrounding them and they're all laughing and jeering. Momo is clutching her cheek as if it's stinging, Toshiro has the makings of a black eye as well as another bruise on his neck which looks rather worrying and Rukia as a rather visible gash on her forehead.

'… shouldn't have fought back then, should you?' Grimmjow is saying to the three of them.

Toshiro swears under his breath.

'This is bullshit,' Rukia hisses. 'What the hell is wrong with you?'

'It's just a bit of fun,' Nnoitora says mockingly with an ugly grin.

Rukia scowls up at him. 'You need another good punch.'

'Like you could ever manage, midget.'

'We don't want any trouble,' Momo whispers, getting to her feet. Is she about to try something? I can't let her.

'Oh, then you won't be needing me then,' I say, stepping out from behind the tree.

This has the desired affect. A few of the boys jump violently and they all spin around to face me, panic written over the faces. Obviously didn't want to get framed.

'What's wrong?' I goad. 'You're not scared, are you?'

'Ichigo!' Rukia calls, a look of wonder crossing over her face that I have never seen before. It makes me feel pretty good.

'Come to join us, Kurosaki?' Grimmjow says after a moment.

'Obviously.'

'Well, good luck,' Grimmjow says with a grin, giving a nod towards his mates, who immediately advance towards me.

'I'm not going to need it.'

Asshole No. 1 gets a punch straight in the face before he can do anything. I don't hit extremely hard, but as a Loric Garde I have been blessed with super strength, and so I feel his nose break under my fist. He falls to the ground with a cry, and Assole No. 2 hesitates before he lifts up his hands to protect his face. I push him away with a bit of force and he goes slamming into a tree five feet away.

Sweet.

You're enjoying this.

Oh, hell yeah!

Shiro gives a laugh that echoes around my head. Dammit, it's contagious. I just wanna laugh now, but I manage to restrain myself, especially when the image of Rukia and the wound on her head come into view. I let fury instead of insanity power me.

Asshole No. 3 gets a face plant in the mud at my feet after a second of dealing with him and Asshole No. 4 gets a punch in the stomach so hard that he goes stumbling back into the river.

Asshole No. 5 happens to be Nnoitora. I spin around, kicking him in the face and I notice one of his teeth go shooting from his mouth, alongside a flood of blood. He falls to the ground with a groan, clutching his face in pain. I walk on past him, taking note that the only one left is Grimmjow.

Holy crap, that was easy.

Grimmjow's eyes are wide open in shock as he stares at the position all his friends are in. I glance at my friends, briefly wondering whether I'll be getting accusatory stares. They've seen what I can do, and this should creep them out. Even Momo looks surprised, and I worry slightly that she may call her Hollow buddies. I have the horrible feeling that she was about to before I appeared.

The next thing I know, Grimmjow is sending a blow to the side of my head. I retaliate immediately, everything in my brain going a dark shade of red. Son of a bitch... I'm going to...

… kill...

It's just a little whisper, the merest sound behind the storm in my ears, but my fits react immediately. I grab Grimmjow by the hair, viciously satisfied by his outraged yell of pain. I drag him over to the river and push his head down into the water, grimly pleased with the way be struggles violently as he is submerged. There's a darkness crossing over my vision and all I can think to do is to...

… kill...

His shaking is stopping now... almost there...

'Ichigo! Stop!'

It's a irritating buzz inside my ears, that girl's voice. Why can't whoever she is realise that this is right...?

'ICHIGO! LISTEN TO ME!'

I don't want to...

'Ichigo! DON'T IGNORE ME!'

It's...

… her.

Rukia.

Oh, damn.

Holy shit.

I have to stop.

But my body can't respond as if it's not mine. I can hear faint echoing laughter ringing around my head, and I can barely see because it's so dark. Beneath my hands, Grimmjow has stopped moving.

And then... I feel a gentle hand being placed on my skin, but with enough of a grip to make me look up... and see. No more darkness.

'You've saved us,' Rukia whispers. 'There's no need to do any more.'

The blood roaring in my ears fades away and the laughter ceases. Now it's just the sounds that should be here- the trickling of the water, my heavy breathing, the hurried beat of my heart.

I pull Grimmjow out the water and lay him on the bank. He splutters weakly, then takes a huge breath and lies still. He's unconscious. He didn't take in any water while he was being held under, and instead decided to hold his breath. His chest must have hurt a lot.

But no permanent damage done. Except a possible pathological fear of me and maybe even the need for therapy.

I can live with that.

Toshiro has been ranting none-stop since he, Momo, Rukia and I left the kidnappers behind. They're all alive and no one is in a critical condition (thankfully).

And I am feeling really, really sick.

I almost killed someone. I was almost a murderer. If Rukia hadn't stopped me...

'Ichigo.'

I turn to look at her. She gazes back. The two of us stand there for a few seconds, just staring at each other.

'Um...' Toshiro begins.

'We'll be back in a minute, guys,' I say, not taking my eyes off Rukia.

'You sure you'll be okay?' Momo asks.

'Fine,' Rukia says.

I lead Rukia off to the left, taking her towards the tree where I found her Chappy plushie. She races over to it and snatches it up, holding it close to her chest.

'Thanks,' she says quietly.

'No problem.'

I wish awkward silences don't have to exist.

'A... about what happened... I...'

'I understand, Ichigo,' she says, turning to face me. 'You lost it. And it was bad timing.'

'I'm a monster...' I say, my voice barely audible, coming out as more of a whimper. I hate myself for sounding so weak.

'You're still you. Nothing changes the way I see you.'

'You're not... angry...?'

That's when I feel her lips pressed against mine, and my mind goes blank. For several seconds (or hours. Or days. Or months. Or years. Take your pick) the guilt disappears, and all I can think of is this perfect moment that I never want to end. And I kiss her back. Hollows, Loric, humans, no one else matters any more. I could forget everything. I have forgotten everything. What's there to remember? It's just me, and Rukia, and possibilities. Possibilities I love the sound of. I begin to visualise the two of us together. Not just this moment. Every moment. In school, after school, a perfect little world where I don't have a planet to save. A human life.

With the girl I love.

With Rukia.

... finally!