A/N: WOW. I'm on a roll here, folks. Happiness.
Disclaimer: All Bleach characters and property belong to Tite Kubo and Viz Media. Bleed belongs to "Hot Chelle Rae" and the RCA/JIVE music group. (unfortunately)
himelove22: Yeah sorry about that. I don't really like the name either, but you know the story of Sadako and the 1000 paper cranes? Well, somehow the name seems fitting.
(If anyone doesn't know, Sadako and the 1000 paper cranes is a (true) story about a girl who was diagnosed with leukemia after the bomb was dropped at Hiroshima. There was a legend that said that if someone who was sick folded 1000 paper cranes they would get one wish, so she did that. She ended up folding 643, I think. She died. There's a statue of her in Japan, somewhere, don't know where. Correct me if I'm wrong, anyone.)
Saga: Okay…thanks?
nypsy: Haha, well, I don't do what's expected. (None of the characters in the SS were near doors when they got the news) Tatsuki is gonna be in this chapter, never fear. Yes, the three humans will (hopefully) be minor characters. And the konso thing is part of the story…just wait, you'll see.
whitechan16: Thank you! My goal is to make people emotional: laughing, crying, ect. So I see I've accomplished that. That's a very nice compliment, it means a lot to me. Okay, to the story!
I feel like I'm drowning in ice water – my lips have turned a shade of blue. I'm frozen with this fear that you may disappear before I've given you the truth. I bleed my heart out on this paper for you, so you can see what I can't say…I'm dying here! 'Cause I can't say what I want to!... I bleed my heart out just for you.
Sadako allows Kaori to drag her out of the alley and into the square/plaza/marketplace thing. She's not entirely sure what to call it. Did she have anything like this where she lived while she was alive? she wonders. She searches for a nagging feeling that tells her if she did or not…but there's nothing. She can't find a thing.
Kaori pulls her across the square, through the thronging crowd. Sadako attempts to follow the younger girl as she expertly slips in and out of the people, but her…well, she doesn't know quite what to call them. But they don't exactly make moving through tight spaces easy. She gasps as she loses her hold on Kaori's hand and the girl disappears.
Sadako falls to her knees, panting. Someone knocks into her and she curls up in the fetal position, shaking. The next thing she knows, the collar of her Karakura High School shirt has been grabbed and she is lifted into the air, squealing.
"Hello, my sweet," says a growly voice. Sadako follows the hand on her collar down to see a man with snaggle teeth and crooked eyes leering at her. "My, aren't you pretty. What's your name?"
He seems to be talking to the…things on her chest. Sadako draws in a breath, about to tell him where he can put her name, when all of a sudden she's in a heap in the ground. Her eyes travel upwards slowly to see Kaori standing with her foot on the man, her beads clattering in the wind of the people passing.
"Get up!" she urges Sadako, who does so earnestly. Kaori stomps on the man's head, and he groans. "Let's go!" she says, grabbing Sadako's wrist this time. They hurry off into the crowd, Sadako trying to stay stable on her feet.
Kaori, sensing that Sadako needs a second, pulls her into an alley. "Were you really out of shape in life?" she asks suspiciously.
"No…" Sadako gasps. "I'm just…trying to get my bearings…"
Kaori humphs. "Well, fine. But just warning you, you better get your bearings back fast, 'cause if you don't, you'll get trampled. Here in Rukongai, it's survival of the fittest. If you're not able to keep up, you'll get killed."
"I thought I was already dead," Sadako says, confused.
Kaori rolls her eyes. "I mean that technically. Not literally."
"Well, what will happen, then?"
"Let's hope you never find out." Kaori takes hold of Sadako's wrist. "Ready?"
Without letting Sadako answer, she takes off. Sadako gasps as her feet are pulled from underneath her. She stumbles, then regains her footing, running after Kaori. Her balance is back; she discovers that she is actually in excellent shape. Hm. Maybe she wasn't a couch potato in life, then. Hopefully not.
Then, with a small tug, Sadako flies free of the crowd. She and Kaori are suddenly running through a much more sparse area. She glances behind her to see the pulsing crowd, like a hive of bees. The place they had come through had already closed.
"WHERE ARE WE GOING?" she says, pelting after Kaori.
"MY HOUSE, STUPID!" Kaori yells back. "I TOLD YOU THAT ALREADY!"
Of course she doesn't live in the marketplace. Sadako gently chides herself as Kaori turns down a little lane, the dirt dustier from less people having traveled it. Sadako's shoes slap on the dirt. They run a little ways down it, past a few other little houses, before she turns down the path leading to one. It's identical to the rest. Sadako realizes that if she's going to stay here, she's going to need to spruce it up a bit.
"I'M HOME!" Kaori shouts, pounding on the door. She has to let go of Sadako's wrist to do this, and Sadako takes this chance to rub it, because Kaori's grip is tight for such a little kid. After a few seconds of pounding, someone opens the door. It's a boy. He has his hand out in front of his chest, so that Kaori's next pound falls right into it. This seems like a routine.
His eyes meet Sadako's. He's a little bit taller than her, and seems about her age. He has blood red hair the same color as Kaori's, and it's in a long braid that goes about halfway down his back. His eyes are violet. He's wearing a strange uniform – a white shirt with grayish pants, and he has what looks like a sword strapped to his belt.
"Oh," Kaori says, surprised. "When did you get here?"
The boy smiles down at Kaori. "I've been away for four months, and that's all you can say?" He grins and holds out his arms. A slow smile spreads across Kaori's face, and she gives him a big hug.
"Nice to see you," the boy says. "Who's this?" His eyes meet Sadako's again.
"Um…this is Sadako," Kaori says, pulling free of him. "Sadako, this is Ronin, my brother. He's just back from the Academy. The Shinigami Academy."
Sadako looks confused.
"Is she…did she just…?" Ronin doesn't look away from Sadako as he says this. His violet eyes are studying hers. "I mean, did she just arrive here?"
"Um…"
"What?"
"She doesn't remember anything. Like, where she lived, what her name was, all that." Kaori glances up at Sadako uneasily. "She can't remember konso, so…but she has clothes on from the World of the Living…"
"Well." Ronin purses his lips. "We'll have to fix that. Come on in," he says, and leads her into the house.
**!**
About twenty minutes after Uryū and Chad arrived, Ichigo woke up. Renji watched as he slowly opened his eyes, sitting up and looking around. He watched as the memory hit him, and Ichigo let his head fall into his hands.
Rukia had recovered a little bit, but she was still giving up her dignity to be comforted by Renji. She sat curled against his chest, her eyes open and blank, her nose red. Renji's hand rubbed her back, sliding over the smooth material. His chest was still wet from her tears.
Ichigo sat with his arms around himself for a moment. He was shaking slightly. He looked up at Renji.
"She's dead, right?" he said dully.
Renji bit his lip. He didn't want to say it so bluntly, but the look in his eyes was all Ichigo needed for the answer. He wrapped his arms tighter around himself, his eyes closed and his face screwed up in pain. He shook his head slowly.
"Kurosaki!" Uryū barked, sliding open the door with a bang. "Urahara wants to speak with you. So get yourself together."
Renji looked up at Uryū. Despite his harsh tone, the boy looked considerably shaken. By which Renji meant that his glasses had slid down to the tip of his nose and he hadn't even bothered to push them back up. It gave him the skewered appearance of someone who was attempting to imitate their grandmother. Uryū turned and hit the door, then moved over and made it out. "You too, Abarai. Better bring Rukia with you."
None of the three made any signs of moving. It was only when Chad passed by the door and glanced at them, saying, "Come on," that Renji stood, carrying Rukia, since she still seemed to be in shock.
"Come on, Ichigo," he said, gently. "Don't make me carry you, too."
Ichigo stood up slowly, his body creaking. He felt old. Watching Renji slip out with ease, despite the fact that he was carrying Rukia, made him feel even worse.
I love you, Ichigo.
The words wouldn't leave his head. He couldn't believe that all this time, he'd been completely oblivious to her feelings. It had been right in front of his face the entire time! Her enthusiastic "Hello!" every morning when he walked in the room, without fail; her anxious calls when he missed school; the way she always stood by him, no matter what he thought; how she always cheered for him – no matter if he was injured, or dying, or consumed by a monster – it just made him feel ten thousand times worse. Her desperate "Kurosaki-kun!" always filled his heart with new bravery, desperate not to fail her. The way she looked at him, her eyes filled with emotion - despite the fact that he unknowingly rejected her again and again, she always came back. And that's what killed him.
He stood and slouched out to the meeting.
**!**
Tatsuki sat straight up in bed. Her hands clutched panickedly at the blankets.
What was that?
She automatically searched for Orihime's presence. When she didn't find it right away, she began to panic even more. Sweat dotted her brow – she still had a fever – but she didn't care. Orihime needed her!
She leapt out of bed, changing out of her pajamas at light speed. Dashing through the house took nearly all of her energy, and she stumbled at the door, holding onto the doorframe for support. She pressed a hand to her chest and breathed hard.
"Tatsuki!" Her mother came out of the kitchen. "Where do you think you're going? You're still sick. Go back to bed!"
Determination renewed, Tatsuki stood straight. "Orihime needs me!" she said, wrenching open the door. "I'll be back in a minute, okay, Mom?"
Her mother stood helplessly as the door slammed behind Tatsuki, who dashed down the steps and out into the street. All Tatsuki knew was that Orihime had vanished…and she knew Ichigo was behind it.
**!**
"…konso?"
"Huh?" Ichigo said, snapping out of yet another Orihime-induced trance. "What?"
Urahara, and everyone else at the table, sighed. "I said, did you perform konso on her spirit? Cause if you didn't, she's probably wandering around…wherever it is that it happened. We need to go there right away. And Ichigo…" he said. "It'd be great if you could, you know, tell us…"
Ichigo stood. "No, I didn't. I forgot. I'll go there now."
Everyone stood.
"No, you sit down. I'll go," Renji said. "You've been through enough today."
"You sit, too," Uryū snapped. "Rukia needs you. You should stay with her."
"You can't do konso. You're a Quincy," Chad pointed out intelligently. "I'll go."
"You can't do konso either!" Rukia reminded him. "I'll go."
"Well!" Urahara said. He snapped his fan together. "All you go, and get out of my shop!"
Four pairs of eyes glared at him. Ichigo stared straight ahead, his eyes blank. All four pairs of eyes turned to look at him, plus Urahara, Tessai, Jinta, and Ururu.
"Uh-oh," Jinta whispered loudly. "He must be really sad. He didn't react at all!"
Tessai whapped him on the back of the head. Jinta glared up and the big man. "Fine, be that way," he muttered.
The five filed out of the shop. Ichigo didn't say anything about where they were going, so Renji, the most experienced, took the lead.
"So we don't know where it happened…but she's most likely at the scene or at her house. Since we know the location of one of these places, let's go there first."
Uryū and Renji both glared at Ichigo, whose facial expression did not change in the slightest.
"He's not even scowling," Rukia murmured.
Together, they set off for the apartment. When they got there, it had started raining again. They hurried inside, towing Ichigo along. They opened the door to her apartment, only to discover that someone was already there.
"Who's there?" Rukia called.
Tatsuki appeared from the kitchen. Her face was tight and furious. "What is the meaning of this?" she snapped, thrusting a piece of paper onto Ichigo's chest. He blinked and looked down at it.
What he'd mistaken for doodles on Orihime's page stared back at him. It was a picture of him. His eyes were warm, and there was a small smile on his face. His mouth was slightly open, like he was about to speak. He seemed to be looking right at the person holding the page, like he was speaking to them.
"Did she draw this?" he asked, looking up.
"I don't know!" Tatsuki snapped. "Look on the back!"
Ichigo looked, and then folded up the paper and put it in his pocket before any of the others could see. He seemed unmoved by the drawings.
"Well?" Tatsuki said, getting up in his face. "Where's Orihime?"
Everyone looked at each other, not wanting to be the one to break it to Tatsuki. She looked around, seeing the expressions on everyone's faces. She seemed to wilt a bit. "Where is she?" she said, sounding scared.
Rukia came forward, putting her hand on Tatsuki's shoulder. But Tatsuki's eyes were locked on Ichigo. His eyes, still red, and his blank expression.
She stepped forward and slapped Ichigo across the face. Ichigo's head snapped to the side, but he didn't do anything. He didn't even look up.
"Bastard!" Tatsuki said, sounding like she'd lost her mind. "Why?"
She pushed Ichigo. He stumbled and fell on his back, making no move to stand. She kicked his side, over and over, her chest heaving. Sobs fell from her mouth. Ichigo made no move to stop her, his body nudging with each connection she made to his body.
"Why?" she repeated. "…why?"
Okay, so that's it :) hope you liked it!
R&R!