Ichigo sat on his bed, his back against the wall simply staring up at the ceiling. His thoughts on what he had to do the last few days to simply survive in this cruel new world... he's had to kill three people, allowing Saeko to kill another. He had kicked Shido off the bus and allowed the other students to go after him, even after what he saw Shido do at the school he still allowed those students to go with that man. Barely half of them were alive now and were in such a state that they may not recover. They didn't have the means to treat people with such physiological issues.

He had left a man to die at the gas station, he had attacked them and without even caring... he made the man defenceless against the incoming threat and even made it so that he couldn't escape. He might has well have killed him, himself. Then he had abandoned everyone to go save Yuzu and Karin only for it to be in vain, Karin the only family he knew that was alive, his dad could have been anywhere by now. He didn't blame the group if they didn't trust him, he had just upped and left them there.

When he and Saeko had gotten taken by Nnotoria and the blonde man Ichigo had honestly thought he was going to die, that being like Nnotoria was the only way he could survive in that world but... he couldn't bring him to turn into a monster like him, to do the things he did. That was when he realised, he had already done things Nnotoria had done, albeit not for the same reasons but he had done the same. What he found the most strange about that entire situation... was that Saeko hadn't judged him, she hadn't looked away when he killed Nnotoria with the same wires he had been held captive with, she hadn't shunned away from him. She had accepted what he had done.

When he had been decided the leader of the group, Ichigo thought it was a mistake but he wasn't ready for it. To be thrust into a situation where you had to lead, that your every order could be one of your friends lives. But how could he tell them? They wanted him to be the leader so that they could rely one someone, so they didn't have to make the choice themselves... but even so. When he had thrust a gun into Hirano's face and pulled the trigger... they all had their opinions to say about that.

As soon as he had pulled the trigger and the resounding gun shot rang out and Shido's dead body hit the ground, he had seen the horror on the faces of his friends as they turned towards him. The one most horrified was undoubtedly Rei, she hadn't wanted to kill Shido but to Ichigo, just by looking at the students that had been with him face's... Shido would be the one to survive out there, to grow stronger while the weak died. Ichigo couldn't allow that to happen.

Ichigo's head shot to the door to which closed and his eyes widened momentarily to see Saeko walking over to him, he hadn't even heard the door open, to lost in his own thoughts about what had been transpiring over the days that could only be named as Hell.

"I knocked but you didn't answer." Saeko said with a frown walking over to the bedside table and flicking on the lamp illuminating the dark room with a dark orange glow. "Why are you sitting in the dark on your own for?" She questioned turning towards him, her frown still present.

"Just thinking is all." Ichigo told her. Saeko sat down on the side of the bed, her body facing Ichigo who was now once again looking up at the ceiling. "Did you need something?" He asked noticing her gaze on him once more.

"I came to make sure that you were alright." Saeko told him. "The two of us have been through hell together, and you've been through more. I just wanted to make sure everything was ok." Ichigo's gaze locked with hers before he sighed and slumped down his chin resting on his chest.

"Have I been doing the right thing?" Ichigo questioned. "Did I really have to kill Shido?" Saeko stayed quiet for some time before she placed a hand on Ichigo's making him look up at her.

"Honestly?" Ichigo nodded. "You did the right thing, we both saw what he did back at the school how he left that student to die just so he could live. Unfortunately it's people like him that will live the longest in this world." Ichigo sighed, telling Saeko he had expected as much. "Ichigo, back when we escaped from Nnotoria. I asked if you would hear me out on something." Ichigo recalled what she was talking about and nodded his head.

"We really haven't had much time since coming here have we?" He questioned.

"No not really." She smiled lightly gripping his hand tightly under her own. "Ichigo... I have never told anyone this before." She said looking into his eyes. "I'm a monster." She told him.

"What? I don't understand Saeko." Ichigo asked confused as Saeko avoided his gaze.

"Not the physical kind... but the mental one. I'm fit for this new world Ichigo to fight...to kill... it's all too easy for me." She told him. "I... I enjoy the fight, the thrill of being on the verge of death every second in the streets. To know that one wrong move can and will end it all." She continued lowering her head more, her long dark hair covering her face from his view. "When... when you killed Nnotoria... I... I don't know, I felt that you understood, I felt like you and I were alike. But it may have just been a spur of the moment, the adrenalin." She lifted her hand from Ichigo's and drew it back before she felt Ichigo wrap his fingers around her hand. She looked up to see Ichigo looking at her.

"Saeko..." He whispered out.

"It's fine, you don't have to pretend." She told him.

"I don't care about who you are, what you think you are, you're Saeko, the girl that I rescued, the one who's been on my side since the beginning." Ichigo told her a small smile gracing his face. "If you're a monster, I'm a demon. You've been able to hold yourself back from doing what you want... I haven't, although I might not have wanted to kill those people but I did, didn't I? Without a second thought without a moment's hesitation." He shook his head. "It doesn't matter anymore, simple things like morals don't matter in a world like this. It's live or die, there is no in-between." Saeko looked at him, her eyes wide as she realised he accepted her.

"Thank you Ichigo." She said lowering her gaze from his. "You don't know how much this means to me." She told him.

"Hey Saeko..." Her head rose as she locked eyes with him. "You'll be on my side right? Always?" She smiled and nodded her head before manoeuvring herself so that she was sitting beside him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"If you need to talk, I'll listen." She said gripping his hand in between her own. "If you need me to fight for you, my blade is yours." She raised his hand to her chest pushing it against her breasts. "If you want my body, have it." Saeko looked up at Ichigo to see him wide-eyed. "I told you Ichigo, I like you. Our lives can end at a moment's notice, there is no time for love, not yet." Before Ichigo could react she raised her head and captured his lips with her own. Saeko's tongue darted into Ichigo's already open mouth and toyed with his tongue, enticing him to kiss her back, which he did.

Wrapping an arm around her waist pulling her into his lap, his other hand going the back of her head as her legs wrapped around his waist. Saeko moaned into his mouth as his tongue danced into hers, winning the battle of dominance, her arms wrapped around the back of his neck before she leaned back pulling Ichigo atop of her.

When the two broke their kiss they pulled their faces away from one another, Saeko's legs still wrapped firmly around his waist, her skirt bunching up at her hips, her hair was a dazzled mess as she looked up at him with a serene smile. Her arms fell to her sides before going for the top button of her shirt but was stopped as Ichigo gripped her wrists and sat up.

"Is everything ok?" She asked looking up at him, slightly concerned he might actually reject her.

"Saeko..." He breathed out. "We need to be careful about this." He told her before her eyes widened and she giggled, bringing her hands to her mouth trying to mask them as tears came to her eyes from trying to stop herself laughing. "It's not that funny." Ichigo mumbled out, quite embarrassed.

"Sorry." She said wiping the tears from her eyes. "Here I was about to give myself away to you without even thinking about the repercussions of what it might entail in the future. I should have known better." She told him letting her hands rest on her stomach, her legs not unwrapping themselves from around Ichigo's waist. She looked up to the ceiling and took a deep breath.

"Even though we can't be together like that, I'd still like to spend the night." She pushed herself up so she was once again sitting in his lap and looked him in the eye. "Not just for my sake, but it looks like you could really use someone right now. I want to be there for you Ichigo." She said draping her arms over his shoulders. "Even if it's not intimately, we can still be there for one another." Ichigo nodded his head and she smiled before leaning in and pecking him on the cheek. The two managed to lay back on the bed, Saeko draping an arm over Ichigo's stomach as she rested her head on his chest, the blanket over them both.

Saeko soon fell asleep to the rhythm of Ichigo's breathing and heartbeat along with the gentle strokes that Ichigo made over her back with his hand as he continued to stare at the ceiling, his mind still fogged with thoughts from the past events he has had to suffer through. He looked down to see Saeko sleeping peacefully and frowned.

"I think she needed to be comforted more than I did." he thought as he continued to watch her sleep before caressing her face slightly. He looked back to the ceiling and took another deep breath. "This world has always been hell... now people can just pray on the weak without feeling bad about it." He said quietly to the empty room, before turning the bedside lamp off making the room completely dark as he closed his eyes.