"Hime." He cooed as he could feel the heat of her lips radiating into the space between them. He closed his eyes in anticipation of their contact. Suddenly the shadow she cast over him was replaced with the bright sunlight. He sat up immediately.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be throwing myself at you like this." She had returned to his side after a change of heart. "It isn't very ladylike."
"It is fine. We have a... History. It will always be imprinted on us through our spiritual pressure." He stared at her as she fussed with the hem of her dress. The act reminded him of when he first started getting to know the young woman. When she was innocent and unsure of herself she fidgeted a lot, usually taking her anxiety out on whatever she was wearing. Even her nervousness was ravishing. He smiled and added. "I was not protesting."
"How long ago were we..." She swallowed hard. How was one supposed to being up such things?
"Intimate?" He finished her question for her. She grinned awkwardly, a dust of pink showing on her cheeks. "It's been over a year and not by choice."
"I suppose I shouldn't ask much more."
"No. It is not good to dwell on the past when you are starting a new future." He stood, offering the her his hand. "Now, we must get started on that future."
She took his hand and could feel the electricity of his touch. She wondered if that simple contact felt so good, how would it feel to have it - everywhere. She staggered a bit as her knees shook at the thought. She coughed, attempting to shake the naughty thoughts from her mind.
"You said our histories are imprinted on us through our... Spiritual pressure? She questioned as they slowly walked towards there destination.
"Yes. The emotions we experience are recorded on them. It is why we tend to repeat certain acts, are attracted to certain objects, places, and... People. The things in our lives that have impacted us, given us some sort of emotional awakening, good or bad, stays with us for all eternity."
"That is incredible." The redheaded woman responded in awe." I wonder what things will incite different emotions! It's so exciting!"
He always loved her childlike enthusiasm. She loved life and would love the afterlife just as much, if not more. There were more wonders of this world than a human could fathom and he could not wait to share it all with...
"We must make haste." He stated coldly. He was losing himself yet again. He could not fall into this woman's spell. For Rukia's sake and for his family's sake. He could not bear to be the cause of her discomfort and to bring shame upon his arrogant family. He and the young woman had no future. The raven haired man stiffly gathered her into his arms, preparing to shunpo the two of them away, when she wrapped her arms around his neck. She smiled warmly at him, a look of trust and admiration in her eyes. Instantly his arms relaxed and molded to the shape of her body. "You will be the end of me, Miss Inoue."
"And why is that?" She asked sincerely.
"You are forbidden fruit. I cannot have you." Was his honest answer. Before she could have a chance to respond, he was off, sprinting to the city where the woman would make her new home. With each bounce she squealed with delight. The short trip was filled with smiles, laughter, and sounds of excitement. It thrilled him and he wished he could make the moment last forever, but alas, he could not. When they would make it to their destination he would have to say his final goodbye and avoid this angelic creature at all cost.
"We must walk from here. It would be improper if we were to be seen like this." A look of disappointment washed over her face at his words and the sad truth that their exciting journey was soon to be at an end. He slowly let her slide from his arms and held into her tightly to make sure she could gain proper balance.
"Thank you... It was fun." She said, arms still locked around the man's neck. "I hope that we can-"
"Forbidden fruit." He reminded her of his earlier spoken words as he gently unhooked her from him.
"But why?" She asked him sadly, eyes watering at his quick rejection. "You are my only friend."
"You have many and you will make many. I am sure of it." He turned, urging her to follow him. "You have never been without friends, nor will you ever be."
"What about our history? Our spiritual... Pressure?" She strove to keep up as his legs were long and covered more distance with each quick stride.
"It is best that we never speak of this, or continue any sort of a relationship." His step quickened as his irritation with their situation increased.
"Slow down!" She pleaded as the distance between them widened. He did not comply and she struggled in vain to keep up. Tears welled in her eyes and threatened to spill. Her body was tired, her heart was breaking, and everything was spinning. "Bya..."
He heard an object hit the cobblestone road behind him. He turned his body to see what it was. Off in the distance, farther than a gentleman would care to admit, was the collapsed body of his charge.
()()()()()
"It's Orihime... She's..." Ichigo was trying his best to keep himself from falling apart. He had to remain strong for their mutual friend - Orihime's best friend.
"She's what?" The angry voice on the other end of the line snapped. "What the fuck did you do to her?"
"Tatsuki, she's gone." The young Kurosaki finally said what he needed to without bursting into tears yet again.
"Where did she go? Did she run away because of your loser ass?"
"Byakuya took her soul back to -"
"You're lying." The pain seeped through her voice. He could hear her soft breathing turning into sobs. "Y-you're..."
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry." It was all he could say. He knew nothing he could do would sooth the woman's breaking heart. Orihime was the main focal point in her life for so long. She was her sister, her closest friend, an extension of her person. He knew what she was experiencing was more painful than anything she had ever felt before in her life. She would gladly give up a limb, or even her life to save their dear friend.
"How? The headaches? She didn't think to heal herself? What the fuck did you do to help?" She began to rant, anger pouring from her mouth as she formed each question. "Couldn't you have prevented this? Why didn't you?"
"Fuck! She wouldn't let me do a God damned thing, Tatsuki!" He yelled over the rambling woman. "She couldn't heal herself either. I didn't know the severity of it until..."
"Until what?" She spat out.
"Until a couple of hours ago when it was too fucking late, that's what!" The tears began to stream down his face again. The knot in his chest tightened even more and he wondered how he could still breath. He knew there was nothing he could have done, or could do at present to change all that had transpired and it shook him to his core. Anger, regret, sadness, and guilt flowed hot through his veins. He simply wished that either he woke up from this nightmare, or that he be struck down and allowed to join his former lover in the afterlife. Neither were possible.
"I... I have to go. I..." There was a click and the phone went dead.
"Tatsuki..." Ichigo whispered. "I'm so sorry."
()()()()()
Ichigo stood at the center of his deceased friend's apartment, remembering all that had transpired between them there. He recalled the love making on her couch, the takeout dinners eaten on the floor by the warmth of the fireplace, and the evenings they spent peering out the window at the city lights. All of the days he spent in bliss, coaxing the stubborn woman out of her shell, would be no more. Just when he had thought himself closer to winning her over, the battle was lost in a way he thought unimaginable. The invincible healer had been unable to heal herself.
"Wait." She had been unable to heal herself. The thought ran through his mind over and over. He remembered many a time she had taken care of her wounds along with countless others' injuries without any issue. There had never been a time she could not fix anything unless it was beyond repair, or already dead. Was she beyond repair in some form or another? She certainly was not dead while she was trying to cure herself of whatever ailed her. Heavens forgive him for not saving her before it was too late. "What really killed you, Orihime?"
()()()()()
"She should not be this weak. I do not understand it." Byakuya paced the room he had always kept for the woman of his affections, where he brought her to rest and have examined by his doctor. "Unless I caused her too much vexation."
"Calm yourself, Captain Kuchiki. It couldn't have been anything you'd done. Not when she is so new." The doctor looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. In all of her life she hadn't seen this much activity from the royal outside of battle since - ever. She then realized that this woman must be the one all the rumors floating around Soul Society was about. "I will take these samples to the lab and let you know what I find. Until then, let her rest."
The raven haired man gave the young woman a curt nod and she took that as a signal to leave. She quickly gathered all her medical instruments and made haste towards the lab. Under normal circumstances she could afford a more leisurely and graceful exit, but the Captain's sense of urgency oozed from his body, practically pushing her out the door. It was almost enough to strangle anyone in the vicinity.
As soon as the doctor disappeared, Byakuya locked the door to dissuade any unwelcome visitors as he stayed with the young redhead. Something was wrong and he would get to the bottom of it.