Thank you LylithB, rizki28, Guest, MarianaMa, Harbinger of Kaos, Nii-Sama97, and himeichigulquigrim for your reviews since the last chapter and for the new follows/faves! I hope you enjoy this chapter, I really enjoyed writing it!

Chapter 26: What Could Go Wrong?

January 10th, Urahara Shoten

The door slammed shut. The sound of fabric being slapped against the ground could be heard before an irritated hiss filled the entryway of the Urahara residence. The master of the house turned his head slightly from his work in curiosity as he heard the stomping of two gigai-clad feet approach his office. "I hope you did not leave your jacket on the floor, Cifer-san," he called gently, "Ururu really hates that."

Urahara turned fully to face Ulquiorra, who stood in the doorway to his office, apparently quite disturbed, but holding his jacket out to Urahara as evidence that he had committed no such offense to Ururu. "So, Karate practice was a bust, was it? Or is something else on your mind?"

"This gigai is defective," Ulquiorra answered, leveling him a look that would kill, if looks could do such a thing.

"My, my, Cifer-san. Were you badly defeated?" Urahara responded with false concern.

"Certainly not. My opponents were so quickly felled that it was laughable. Where combat is concerned, this gigai responds to my impulses flawlessly. However, in certain non-combat situations, it acts autonomously and fails to heed simple and specific commands."

Urahara was almost sure he heard a tinge of fear in the former Espada's voice, and regretted teasing him. "Well, I'm very sorry to hear that, Cifer-san. Have a seat and I'll take a record of the events surrounding the malfunction."

Ulquiorra looked taken aback, and his face colored a rather loud shade of crimson. "Is that really necessary, Urahara-san?" he nearly stammered after a moment.

Urahara's curiosity was piqued. "My dear Cifer-san, was it a biological malfunction? If that is the case it I do apologize; it sounds most inconvenient. It should be easy to remedy, however, and you need not feel any embarrassment. Remember, I built your gigai from scratch, so there is nothing about it that would shock me."

Ulquiorra considered Urahara for a moment, and finally nodded.

"I see. I am sorry to hear it. So what was it? Incontinence? Flatulence?"

Ulquiorra furrowed his brows in disgust. "No! I am perfectly capable of anticipating such events and handling them appropriately."

Urahara looked past Ulquiorra into the hallway, checking that the coast was clear, before leaning in and asking quietly, "Do you have diarrhea?"

"NO!"

Urahara sat back and sighed. "I'm sorry then, Cifer-san. You'll have to explain to me what the problem is."

Ulquiorra looked to the side as his blush came back with a vengeance. Pain shone on his face, and he appeared to contemplate his words carefully before he finally spoke. "There is a, certain, er, anatomical feature, that… acts without notice, intention, or consent… in the presence of certain stimuli…" Ulquiorra had pressed his eyelids closed by the time he finished his explanation, wishing he could disappear. He didn't know why he felt this way. It seemed an instinctual reaction to the situation though, and he was having a hard time fighting it.

Urahara fought to restrain himself, trying with all his strength to not humiliate his charge. It was a difficult task to swallow down the delight and laughter he felt at present, but he succeeded. He nodded thoughtfully, trying to buy time both for him to shake off his glee and for Ulquiorra to regain some semblance of dignity.

"Cifer-san," he started delicately after a few moments, "could you please describe the stimuli to which you are referring?"

Ulquiorra was starting to get annoyed by the confusion he felt. Pride and shame warred as he struggled to find the words that would communicate the necessary information without falling deeper into embarrassment. He finally snapped, looking directly into Urahara's eyes, and blurting, "The woman put her hands on my skin and pressed her breast into my leg as part of a warm-up exercise."

"Ah, so Inoue-san was there. I see. Well, that explains it."

"What explains what?"

"There is no defect in your gigai. You simply experienced a normal biological response. With experience, you will develop skills to minimize the disruption caused by such response."

"Such response? Elaborate," Ulquiorra commanded with authority.

"Your gigai is designed to mimic the experience of being a biological human. While in it, you are subject to the same instinctual urges that humans are. To eat. To rest. To conquer. To survive. To procreate."

"You do not see this as a design flaw?" Ulquiorra asked, genuinely shocked.

Urahara smiled. "On the contrary, my dear Cifer-san. To replicate the human experience in its entirety is the only proper way to house a soul such as your own. While you are a powerful anomaly, your soul is still most closely aligned with human souls. Even without the biological imperatives driven by the gigai, your soul, in its incorporeal form, would eventually submit to similar responses to such stimuli, which is driven by an emotional response native to even most non-human souls, including many hollows."

"And what emotional response is that, if you would care to enlighten me?" Ulquiorra asked with an air of petulance.

"Attraction."

"Attraction?"

"Sexual or romantic attraction, to be specific, but yes. It is generally an unclear force, often intertwined in some measure with feelings of love, affection, and/or lust."

Ulquiorra was suddenly subdued. While he understood the concepts from an academic perspective, he had never considered that he himself would ever be subject to such feelings. He had been the embodiment of nothingness, after all. He sighed to himself, turning his back to Urahara. Of course things were different now. If this short life had taught him anything yet, it was that he still had a lot to learn about his new self and his emotions. He was about to turn back toward Urahara to ask a follow-up question, when an echo from the past floated through his memory:

'I envy because of the heart.

I hunger because of the heart.

I covet because of the heart.

I am prideful because of the heart.

I sloth because of the heart.

I rage because of the heart.

Because of the heart, I lust for everything about you.'

Silently, he started walking toward his room, shaking his head at himself. He was a fool for not recognizing what was happening sooner.

Orihime's Apartment

Orihime lay on her stomach on her bed, her phone's screen illuminated as she spoke with Tatsuki on speaker. They had been talking for the better part of an hour already about the events of the day and Tatsuki's impressions of Chad as a potential romantic partner. Orihime had not forgotten Ulquiorra's pep talk or his portrayal of her friendships as non-reciprocal, but she had put that aside for now, much too interested in the romantic tale her best friend was telling.

From Tatsuki's account, it appeared Chad had done everything right. He was quite the gentleman and, although it was uncharacteristic, he put effort into making conversation on the walk home. They had even agreed to go on another date the following weekend.

Orihime sighed, delirious with visions of Tatsuki in a wedding dress. Her reverie was broken, though, when Tatsuki mentioned that Chad told her he hadn't been allowed to see Ichigo either.

"What? Why not?"

"He said Urahara told him his power was too similar to a hollow's, so it was best if they avoided each other while Ichigo is so unstable."

"Oh, poor Sado-kun. He must be lonely. No wonder he reached out to Ulquiorra."

"Um, Orihime, is that why you are reaching out to him?"

"No! I mean, I do miss Ichigo, but me spending time with Ulquiorra has nothing to do with that."

"Oh yeah? Do you really think you would be spending time with him if Ichigo was not in lock-up?"

"Well, to be honest, Tatsuki-chan, Ichigo doesn't really get to decide. I want to help Ulquiorra. He is my friend now, too."

"You know Ichigo probably wouldn't like it, right?"

"He would understand, I think, once he realizes that Ulquiorra isn't our enemy anymore."

Tatsuki sighed. "Hime, listen. You have the purest heart I know. I love you for that. Heck, I think everyone you meet loves you for that. But you have to open your eyes."

Orihime was hurt by what Tatsuki was saying, especially in light of her earlier conversation with Ulquiorra. "What do you mean, open my eyes?" she asked, trying not to be offended.

"Chad didn't send me to your place the day I met Ulquiorra because he was worried about him being your enemy. He sent me there because he couldn't let his best friend's girlfriend hang out at her place alone with a guy who clearly has the hots for her."

Orihime didn't know how to react. "What?! No! First of all, I can take care of myself and make my own decisions. He has no right to try to interfere, especially when the last time I spoke to Ichigo he told me that there was no longer any relationship between us and recommended I go ahead and jump into bed with Ishida-kun!"

Tatsuki gasped in horror; she hadn't heard about what was said at Ichigo's intervention yet.

Orihime continued indignantly, "Second, Ulquiorra has no interest in me that way. We only agreed we were friends today! He just became human – well, kind of human – like a month ago. As a hollow, he was pretty much empty and emotionless until after I met him. It wasn't until he was dying that he even acknowledged that the heart as an emotional connection between people existed."

Tatsuki was reeling. "Hime, hold up – first of all, Ichigo is a fucking asshole! Excuse my language, Hime, but hollow or no I can't believe he would say something like that to you. I am so, so sorry." She paused a moment to allow the heartfelt meaning behind her words to reach Orihime.

"Thanks, Tatsuki. I know he probably didn't mean it at all, but part of me worries that if he could say it, it means at least part of him thinks it. I don't know how to take it. One minute I think, 'of course, it's his hollow, Ichigo doesn't mean it!' and next I feel like everything is over between us."

"Hime, sweetie, I had no idea! Why didn't you tell me?" Tatsuki asked, heartbroken for her friend.

Orihime started to cry a bit. "I didn't even really want to articulate it to myself, much less anyone else, Tatsuki-chan. It hurts too much."

Tatsuki let a few unseen tears fall listening to her best friend's confession. She offered a few generic words of comfort, aware that only Ichigo himself could right the wrongs done to Orihime.

After a few tender moments, Tatsuki shifted focus again. "Anyway, Hime, about Ulquiorra, don't get me wrong, he's a little weird but I actually like him. And honestly, it's your life and I just want you to be happy. But you have to know, he may be your friend, but to him, you are more than just a friend."

"Maybe, Tatsuki-chan, but I don't think it's in the way you think it is. I am just the only person who can bridge the gap between this life and the last for him."

"Orihime, if you saw the way he watches you when you are not looking, you would agree with me. It is so intense. Like, more intense than Ichigo, and Ichigo is pretty intense."

"Tatsuki-chan, if you say the word 'intense' one more time it's going to lose all its meaning."

Tatsuki laughed, relieved that Orihime was still able to find humor in the situation. "You still don't believe me, do you?"

"Nope!"

"Ignorance is bliss, they say. Poor Uryuu. I mean, Ulquiorra," Tatsuki slipped in slyly.

"Ughh, Tatsuki-chan. Ishida-kun is my F-R-I-E-N-D furr-ienn-duh. Next are you going to tell me that Chad likes me as more than a friend, too?"

Tatsuki laughed. "No way, he's all mine! But seriously, Hime, you are like, most guys' ideal girl. You are hot, you are nice, and you are approachable when you don't have a gang of supernaturally charged guardians beside you. You leave broken hearts in your wake whether you want to or not."

"Fine. I don't believe you, but I promise to try not to string anyone along, okay?"

"That's all I ask."

"Good. So tell me about what you and Sado-kun are going to do next weekend?"

Karakura Hospital Roof – Nightfall

Uryuu stood with his eyes closed, his chin-length bangs fluttering around his face in the breeze, searching for the reiatsu of any individuals who might be resistant to his and Ichigo's plans. After a moment, he opened his eyes again and smiled. "Looks like everyone is tucked it for the night. Shall we?"

Ichigo only set his jaw and nodded in response, and the two boys leapt off the hospital roof to the building across the street in a quick burst of Hirenkyaku. They continued silently until they were close to Orihime's building, landing on the street outside. As they did, Uryuu felt a pulse of Orihime's reiatsu; it felt like she was distressed.

"Maybe I should go up first, Kurosaki."

"Why?"

"I just have a feeling that it might be better –

Ichigo was already gone, at Orihime's door. He knocked twice.

"Kurosaki-kun, is that you?" Orihime had sensed his reiatsu as soon as he had landed in the street.

"Yes. Can I come in?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I just want to talk to you."

Uryuu was at his side at this point. "Don't worry, Inoue-san. I'm here too."

Ichigo gave Uryuu an offended look, but his attention was diverted when he heard Orihime unlocking her door.

She opened it slowly, until she saw Ichigo's face, then she sighed and opened the door all the way, allowing him entrance.

"I'll wait out here, just to be safe, Inoue-san, but I'm sure everything will be fine."

Ichigo tsked and rolled his eyes, closing the door behind him, before turning his attention back to Orihime and starting before his lost his nerve. "Inoue, I've had a long time to think about it, and I'm so sorry for what I said that day. I know you aren't that kind of person. I felt attacked and I lashed out at you. It wasn't right…"

Orihime listened silently. It was hard for her to believe this was happening. When he stopped speaking, he looked at her and she let her eyes meet his. All she could do was burst into tears.

"Inoue! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry. Please don't cry!" Ichigo reached for her hand, but she blindly moved it out of his reach to wipe her face before he could grab it.

"Kurosaki-kun, I know. I know it wasn't your fault. I knew it was just your hollow talking," Orihime choked out between sobs. She turned toward her living room, sitting down on the floor at the low table. Ichigo followed, taking a seat on the sofa. Orihime continued to wipe her eyes, willing herself to calm down. Finally, she was able to say in a shaky voice, "I'm just so glad to see you."

At that, Ichigo smiled kindly. "Me too," was all he said, before exhaling through his nostrils loudly.

The pair met one another's eyes and smiled again, this time laughing in mild embarrassment. "So how is your training going?"

Ichigo smiled again and started to fill her in on everything Uryuu had already told her, but she listened with rapt attention, just happy to be in his presence again. After a while, Orihime felt herself relaxing. Staring into his familiar, handsome face, she began to blush recalling what they had done the last time they had been in that room together, before Ichigo had his hollow episode.

Ichigo noticed her flushed face and asked if she was alright. Orihime nodded and got up to sit next to him. "I just really missed you," she said, looking into his eyes.

He looked into hers and saw the adoration there. He let himself enjoy the feeling. He relaxed as he recalled the nights he had spent with her on that sofa, lying in her warm spiritual embrace. He was filled with an overwhelming feeling of fond affection and reached to her, pulling her into his chest, burying his nose in her hair.

Orihime felt redeemed. She took a long, deep inhalation of his scent and melted into his chest, wrapping her arms around his torso. They sat there for a long while, Orihime finally feeling the relief she had been searching for since his intervention.

She felt him breathe the scent of her hair deeply, and she smiled, nuzzling her forehead closer to him. He did it again. And again. She began to notice his arms tighten around her. He breathed again, harder. Again, harder. It was coming faster and his breath was rougher each time. She tried to back up, but his arms were like steel around her. "Ichigo, what's wrong?" she asked, worried.

Ichigo had enjoyed the feeling of her in his arms, and relaxed as he breathed in the familiar almond scent of her shampoo. The second time he breathed it in though, he detected something else. Someone else. Then, he heard a voice inside his head, as his arms tightened around Orihime.

'Ah, ha ha ha ha! So, Ishida was right, another dog has been trying to sniff the Queen's crotch! Can't you sense how his reiatsu clings to her?'

Ichigo shook his head and released Orihime abruptly. She looked up at him, startled. He backed up, as black began to flicker again around his sclera. "No, no, no…" he whimpered, backing up frantically, as the voice inside his head grew louder.

'Claim her now, King. Before the dog comes back and does it himself! When he does, she'll cut us off from her power! Claim her! Do it now!'

Orihime was terrified, watching Ichigo's face contort in fear. She reached out to him. "Ichigo! What's wrong?! Please, talk to me!"

"Don't touch me, Inoue!" He shrieked in response, now on his feet.

Uryuu rushed in at that point, and Ichigo turned to look at him with a pitiful expression. Only his black and yellow eyes gave away what was happening.

"Get away from him, Inoue-san!" Uryuu shouted, grabbing Ichigo by the arm and pulling him toward the door. When he looked down, he saw the pale blue glow of Blut Vene begin to shine brighter on Ichigo's wrist. "We have to go, NOW!" he shouted, and with one more effort, Ichigo pushed his hollow farther to the back of his mind and followed Uryuu out the door without looking back.

Orihime ran to the door behind them, looking around the street outside, but they were gone. She went back inside, closed the door, and wept.

Urahara Shoten

Ichigo and Uryuu arrived at the shop moments later, having traveled as fast as possible away from Orihime. Ichigo still had not silenced his hollow, and his reiatsu was chaotic. Before they announced their arrival, the door flew open, and Ichigo was faced with what was probably the last thing he ever expected to see at that moment: the face of his killer.

Ulquiorra's eyes burned as he beheld Ichigo in his current state, with Orihime's residual reiatsu all over him.

The only good thing about the situation was that Ichigo had been so shocked that he was able to completely forget about Orihime for a moment, silencing his hollow. He began to advance on Ulquiorra threateningly. "What are you doing here? How are you alive?" he demanded, before he got close enough to pick up the building reiatsu leaking from Ulquiorra's gigai; the same reiatsu he had detected on Orihime earlier.

In the blink of an eye, Ichigo was changing. His hair started to grow longer and his hollow mask began to manifest. Any patch of skin visible was glowing bright blue as Blut Vene worked to protect his body while his hollow roared to life over it. "It was YOU!" a voice screeched, a voice that was both Ichigo's and his hollow's. Lacking a zanpakuto, Ichigo lifted the only weapons he had: A quincy bow, upon which an cero-infused arrow was nocked.

Urahara reached the group at the door just as the Ichigo loosed the arrow, and deflected it with Benihime. Ichigo's hollow was quickly gaining control, and he began charging another cero, sans bow.

"I'm going to need your help, Cifer-san! Please gather your reiatsu!" Urahara shouted, jumping in front of him again to deflect the cero, before turning and placing a gloved palm flat on Ulquiorra's chest. Ulquiorra's gigai went flaccid as his soul was set free. Surprisingly, Ulquiorra's soul was not as Urahara expected. Large, leathery black wings deflected another cero as Ulquiorra advanced on Ichigo, waist-length black hair and long, prehensile tail whipping behind him.

"Don't kill him, Cifer-san!" Urahara shouted, before the pair ascended into the sky above Karakura.

When the fighters stopped, they each took a moment to regard one another. Ichigo looked more or less the same as usual with the exception of the glowing lines on his skin, long hair and hollow mask. Ulquiorra stood before Ichigo in what appeared to be half of his Segunda Etapa release, wings, tail, and blackened eyes that trailed down his cheeks visible, but with the marked exception of no fur, horns, or any other visible hollow artifacts, for that matter. He wore the same clothes as his gigai had been wearing, torn to allow for his wings and tail to be freed, the scraps of his black t-shirt covering the spot where his hollow hole would be.

"So we meet again, Ulquiorra. Can't seem to leave Orihime alone, can you? How many times do I have to kill you before I make my point?" Ichigo rasped through his mask, another quincy bow forming at his wrist.

"I would ask you the same question, Ichigo Kurosaki, but I know you are not capable of an intelligent response," he replied, easily dodging the arrow and appearing suddenly before Ichigo, his tail wrapping painfully around Ichigo's wrist, crushing the quincy cross on it.

"No matter, Ulquiorra. I'll stick to a technique you are more familiar with," Ichigo said, pointing a finger at Ulquiorra, and releasing a cero at his face at point blank range.

Ichigo cackled in his hollow's voice, sure of his victory, until he tried to raise his hands, and realized his left was still being strangled by Ulquiorra's tail. As he tried to pull it off, Ulquiorra's face appeared from behind the smoke left by Ichigo's cero, completely unaffected.

"Do you really not recognize me from your intervention? Who do you think it was that stopped you before?"

"What does it matter? Apparently I am a lot stronger now!"

"You deceive yourself," Ulquiorra retorted, "I only exert myself now in order to satisfy the urge to make you suffer as you have made the woman suffer."

"The woman?! You mean Orihime? She wouldn't give you a chance, Espada. You kidnapped her! Besides, she worships me. I could destroy everything she loves and she would still be at my beck and call!" Ichigo ended his speech with a cruel laugh, before adding, "What would sweet little Orihime want with a hollow, anyway?"

"That is the question, isn't it, Ichigo Kurosaki? Perhaps you'll find the answer one day. Sadly, I won't be able to help you; I am not a hollow," he said, ripping the remains of his t-shirt to reveal a clean white chest, with no trace of a hole.

Ichigo keened backward, trying to make sense of what he saw.

Ulquiorra was tired of it, though. "Brace yourself, Ichigo Kurosaki. For the woman's sake, I'll try not to make this hurt too much," he said, and immediately he was before Ichigo, hand on his hollow mask.

Ichigo felt his power drain instantly. Before he lost consciousness, he asked, "What are you?"

Ulquiorra whispered, knowing Ichigo could no longer hear, "I am the Hogyoku."

When Ichigo awoke, it was morning already, and he was in Urahara's training room. He felt exhausted and his wrist was sore, but he was otherwise no worse for wear. He began to sit up and looked around, blinking at the bright lights. His eyes came across a pair of black combat boots standing in stark contrast to the golden sand of the training ground. Ichigo's sight rose up the attached figure, past its black jeans and gray long-sleeved t-shirt, up to the beige, unmarked face of Ulquiorra Cifer. Much to Ichigo's surprise, he just looked like a normal, albeit very bored, guy.

Ichigo groaned and caught Ulquiorra's attention. Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes and squared off his posture at him, growling, "Don't make me get out of my gigai again, Ichigo Kurosaki."

Ichigo turned his face away from Ulquiorra and saw Urahara shuffling toward them. "Ah, Cifer-san! I asked you to let me know as soon as he woke up!"

"I did just wake up," Ichigo interrupted. "What is he doing here?"

"He lives here. He is a member of my household."

"What the fuck, Urahara!? You're bunking with Arrancar now?"

"Language, Kurosaki-san. First, Cifer-san is not an Arrancar, and he has you to thank for that."

"What?!"

"You killed him with your Zanpakuto, Kurosaki-san."

"If that was true, then why is he walking around? Last I checked zombies weren't a real thing – or did I not get that memo?"

Ulquiorra huffed and walked away in annoyance, busying himself out of earshot.

"Very funny, Kurosaki-san. You did kill Ulquiorra Cifer, the Arrancar and Fourth Espada in Aizen's army. However, the Ulquiorra Cifer you see before you is not the same person. Not exactly, anyway. You purified his soul when you struck him down with your Zanpakuto. He was reborn in Soul Society months ago as a plus."

Ichigo was not interested in the specifics. "Whatever. What was he doing here, though?"

"Commander Yamamoto's orders."

"Whoa, so everyone knows?"

"No, his existence is classified. Only the commander, his lieutenant, Yoruichi-san, Abarai-san, Rukia-san, myself, and you in Karakura know.

"Good. So there won't be many to miss him when I kill him again."

"You will do no such thing. You couldn't if you tried. You should be thanking him, anyway. Last night was the second time he's saved your life."

"What?"

"Your intervention. He was the one who stopped your own hollow from killing you. He stopped me from having to kill you last night. He uses his power surgically; he only uses as much as is necessary to stop you, not to hurt you. He doesn't have to do that. A little gratitude is in order, don't you think?"

Ichigo grumbled quietly and the two went silent for a moment.

"I have one other question. What's he doing hanging around with Orihime?"

"Perhaps you should ask them, Kurosaki-san."

"I'd rather not talk to him, thanks. And I'm sure you know by now how well my last conversation with Orihime went."

"Indeed. Well, in short, Inoue-san has been kind enough to help introduce Cifer-san to the way of life in the World of the Living from time to time. They seem to have developed a camaraderie. "

Ichigo smiled a bit, "She would do that." Then he sighed and put his head in his hands. "I don't know what to do about her, Urahara-san. I thought it would be fine seeing her last night, but it was worse than ever. When my hollow first took an interest in her, it was kind of – I don't know – normal? But what he tried to make me do last night…" He stopped and shivered, gripping his left shoulder with his right hand until his knuckles went white. "I can't be with her like this. I don't want to be with her like this. It will destroy us both."

Urahara tipped his hat down over his eyes and his voice took an ominous tone. "I'm glad we agree, Kurosaki-san. It's sooner than we planned, but I believe the time has come for you to go to Soul Society."

Ichigo nodded silently. He was going to ask for it anyway if it hadn't been suggested.

"Your father and Ishida-san will be here soon to see you off. I've brought a notebook if you'd like to write a note to anyone else. I know you meant to tell Inoue-san goodbye in person, but perhaps this will be better."

"Thanks, Urahara-san."

Later that day, Uryuu stopped by Orihime's house to check in on her and give her Ichigo's letter. She sat with Uryuu for fifteen minutes or so, assuring him that she was alright considering the circumstances. When he finally left, she closed and locked the door, went to her room, and opened Ichigo's letter:

Dear Orihime,

I am so sorry. I don't think I can ever tell you how sorry I am. I never meant to hurt you or let my hollow hurt you, but I did, and I can't forgive myself for that.

I am sure you know that by now I am in Soul Society, to begin training to get my hollow under control. The reason I came by your apartment last night was to see you before I left, because I don't know how long I'll be gone. I hadn't heard my hollow's voice since the last time I saw you, so I thought it would be safe. I was wrong.

I wish I could tell you that everything is going to be alright, that I'll train hard and get better, and things can go back to the way they were. But I can't promise you that. I don't know what's going to happen, and right now, I can't trust myself to be anywhere near you.

This is more than either of us should have to deal with. We are too young to worry about this kind of crap when it comes to dating and relationships. We're supposed to be teenagers getting to know each other and having fun! Not worrying about when my hollow is going to take over my body and possibly hurt you.

I want you to know that up until my hollow started coming between us, I, at least, did have a lot of fun being with you. You are so sweet, and funny, and kind, and beautiful. I meant everything I ever said to you about that kind of stuff. I really wish it could have lasted longer. Despite this hollow crap, I don't regret becoming your boyfriend, Orihime. I hope you don't regret being my first girlfriend.

I'm not saying this is for sure the end for us. I still care about you a lot. But, I can't make you any promises now, and I don't think it's fair to you to keep you hanging on and waiting for something that might never happen. I may never get my hollow under control when it comes to you. And if that is the case, we can't be together.

I wish it didn't have to be this way. I'll miss you, Orihime. If you have a chance at happiness while I'm gone, please take it.

I'm sorry.

Goodbye, Hime.

-Ichigo

WOW! That was long, thanks for reading! Please review/PM or both! This is a pivotal chapter, obviously, and I anxious to hear what you think of it!