Hello everybody! I have had this story idea floating around in my head for awhile now, but I've never had the guts to write it. Anways, here it is! I hope you like it! It's my first fic. The story will develop as I write it, meaning I don't know how it will end, so I can't warn any ichiruki fans to stay away or anything like that! Reviews are very welcome, whether they be constructive criticism, or just a note saying that you enjoyed my story, anything is great!

I'll try to be good and update as often as possible! You'll hear more from me soon!
PS since this is my first fanfic, I'm not that familiar with how to use the site, give me a shout if you have any advice!

I do not own BLEACH, Tite Kubo does!


Prologue

Ichigo looked Orihime straight in the eyes. He had just defeated Grimmjow and only one thought was passing through his mind; Thank God! I've finally got Inoue! I've done what we came to do, now we can go home. His body was pushing its limits and Ichigo was exhausted. Although during the fight Inoue was terrified of Ichigo and his hollow side, she had cheered him on and inspired him to victory. Now, she was just glad that he was alive.

Automatically, Orihime began to heal Ichigo, images of his dead body still haunting her as she did. Suddenly, Ichigo's eyes widened with realization and urgency.

"Inoue, we must find the others, now! I think that Chad is hurt, and before my fight with Ulquiorra, he told me that Rukia was dead! We need to find them, now!"

Orihime gasped. How could I have forgotten? She scolded herself in her head.

"I felt their reiatsu's drop too! But don't panic Kurosaki-kun, I didn't know this before I healed you, but if the worst happened, I can heal them. I can heal the dead." Orihime looked around at the barren landscape pondering "We just need to find them."

Ichigo looked down so that his bangs covered his eyes and Orihime's attention was focused directly on him. Then he slowly raised his arm and pointed out a direction.

"Rukia's reiatsu dropped so much that I could tell almost exactly where it was," his throat tightened as he spoke about it. He had lost it when Ulquiorra had taunted him about Rukia's death, but the reason he got so upset was because he knew himself that it was true. Rukia is dead. But this isn't a problem, Inoue can fix this. Ichigo's stomach stayed knotted and his voice stayed strained. "I'm pretty sure it was in this direction, c'mon we need to move quickly before Ulquiorra comes back."

With this, the pair took off running full speed in the direction of the ninth Espada's tower. Ichigo's face was sketched with worry, pain, and guilt—I shouldn't have let her go off by herself in the first place! Arrg Rukia!

Orihime had so many emotions running through her head that she didn't know what to do with herself. She felt, first and foremost, guilty. This entire thing is my fault. If it wasn't for me, Kurosaki-kun would not have had to fight, he would not have died, and Kuchiki-san would not be hurt—same with Sado-kun! I need to fix this, and now I know that I have the power.

They ran closer and closer to the tower.