A/N: Okay, so here's the new chapter. I'm sorry that it took so long, but I had a small moment of insanity when I decided to start two more stories on top of the three others that I already had. So right now I have five in-progress stories as well as one that I'm helping my cyber-friend out with. So please forgive me if I'm not right on top of it all the time. :-|

Disclaimer: All Bleach characters and property belong to Tite Kubo and Viz Media; If I Die Young belongs to "The Band Perry" and Nashville Republic.

nypsy: Yeah, I agree, poor Ichi! You will see what happens! It will be good! I promise!

himelove22: Yeah, poor Tatsuki as well T-T I cry at my own stories… very sad I know :')

: (Um yeah someone reviewed without a name…like, what? But I'll still reply to your review…:)) Well I'm glad that my story is good enough to get a review out of you, thanks. It means a lot that you'd take the time even if you don't put a name down.

Chuain: I'm sorry if you don't like Tatsuki. If you really feel that strongly about it then I suggest you stop reading this fic. She's a pretty major character.

Firework's Feelings: Yeah, I know…*sniffs* okay, I give up…*bawls*

Mosspaw: YEAH! PAIN! DRAMA! HEARTACHE! EMOTIONS! LOVE TRIANGLES! All these things are my middle names! Similar to Albus Dumbledore, I have a very crowded birth certificate!

easylikesundaymorning: Um, wow, that was a very heartfelt review…it sounded like you had your own gut-wrenching experience, I hope you're okay. Whatever happened, I hope it's all as better as it'll get at this point. And yes, there is definitely a Love Triangle in the future! *Evil laughter* I do love those.

If I die young, bury me in satin, lay me down on a bed of roses. Sink me in the river at dawn…send me away with the words of a love song. The sharp knife of a short life…well, I've had just enough time. And I'll be wearing white, when I come into your kingdom. I'm as green as the ring on my little, cold finger. I've never known the loving of a man, but it sure felt nice when he was holding my hand…There's a boy here in town who says he'll love me forever. Who would have thought forever could be severed by the sharp knife of a short life? Well, I've had just enough time… So put on your best, boys, and I'll wear my pearls. What I never did is done.

"So Ronin! How are you? How's school? How's the zanpaku-tô training coming along? How's the Kidô? How's -"

Ronin makes shushing noises towards Kaori. "Hush up, you. You're overwhelming Sadako." He looks up at her, his violet eyes wide and smiling. Sadako does feel slightly overwhelmed, but she doesn't think it's for the reason he said.

"And anyway," he says, looking back at Kaori, "I don't want to have to say everything twice, so I'm going to wait for Eiko to get here...Where is she, anyway?"

"She went out," Kaori says shortly. "I thought she'd be back by now. When did you get here?"

"Literally five minutes before you. I haven't even set up my stuff yet." He stands. "How about we take Sadako for a tour?" He smiles at her again. She stands as well, her head feeling slightly dizzy. He grabs a big long stick from next to the door as well as a bag and heads back into the house. Sadako pads after him, leaving Kaori behind at the kitchen table.

"Okay, so this is Kaori's room," he says, tapping his knuckles on a closed door as they pass. "But you better wait until she shows you it. This is Eiko's room. Just across the hall from Kaori's. Eiko is actually Kaori's biological mother. I'm just someone they knew from when they were alive." He frowns. "Well, actually, Kaori and Eiko were dead for seventeen years when I passed, and we all came here together. I was, like, one when they died. But that's another story." He smiles.

"Kaori mentioned something about a zanpaku-tô?" Sadako asks as he stops outside another door.

"Yeah. My sword," he says, and hands her the big long stick. "Doesn't have a name yet. I'm hoping to make contact with it while I'm here."

Sadako looks up, about to ask if talking to and naming swords is something that most people do around here, when she is distracted by Ronin's room.

There's a large picture of a man on the wall. The man's got black hair, small eyes, and what looks like a piece of tape across his right cheek and nose. Three scars mar the left side of his face, and there's a 69 tattooed under the tape. His neck and upper arms are circled by what looked like pieces of filmstrip. His black robe is cut off at the shoulders. He looks like a very serious person.

"That's Shûhei Hisagi, lieutenant of squad 9," Ronin says, noticing her noticing. "He's from here, you know, this town. He's been through a lot. Totally my idol." Ronin scowls. "Not like that good-for-nothing squad six fukutaicho." He mutters the last words under his breath. "Thinks he's so cool..."

"What?" Sadako asks, a bit confused.

Ronin shakes his head. "Nothing." He holds out his hand, and Sadako places the sword in it, but not without studying it first. It's just a plain sword, with black wrappings and an ordinary guard. The scabbard is brown and plain.

"When my zanpaku-tô awakens, it'll reveal its true design," Ronin says, seeing the plain decorations. "I have to hurry up though. Everyone else in my year has already met theirs." He looks a little concerned for a second, clenching his hands on the hilt. "Well, whatever. I guess it'll just...wake when it's ready."

He set the sword down in the opening of the door as someone called from the front of the house. "Well, that's our cue," he said, ushering a still-overwhelmed Sadako out the door. She walks down the hall, entering the kitchen to see a young redheaded woman sit down hard on a chair.

"Mom! Are you okay?" Kaori asks, bending over her mother.

"Spiritual...Pressure..." the woman says slowly. "Are you not feeling this? There's a boatload of Spiritual Pressure nearby." She closes her eyes, and then they snap open again and look right at Sadako.

"Who is this?" she asks.

"I'm Sadako," Sadako says timidly.

"Who? Ronin, did you bring her from the Academy? Is she your girlfriend?"

Both Sadako and Ronin turn red. "No!" Ronin says quickly. "No," he says calmer. "She's not. She just arrived here in the Soul Society. Kaori picked her up." He puts a hand on her shoulder, squeezing a bit.

"So she doesn't go to the Academy." The lady looks at Sadako. Sadako shakes her head. The woman looks thoughtful. "How soon do you think we can get her enrolled there?"

"What?" Sadako asks, shocked.

"I said, how soon do you think we can get her enrolled there?" the woman says again. "Sadako's spiritual pressure is about to know the house down. She needs to learn how to harness it. How did you not sense something like that, Ronin?"

"'Cause he sucks," Kaori mutters. Ronin's arm shifts a little on Sadako's shoulder as he turns and glares at his sister.

"Well, I guess we'll see what we can do," says the woman, holding out her hand. "I'm Eiko, Eiko Abarai."

**!**

He weaves in and out of her dreams that night, the man. She cannot see his face but she knows that he is smiling. The man doesn't seem hostile, but instead emerges from behind the corners in her mind, parts of his body sheathed in smoke so that she never knows what he looks like all pieced together. He smiles and holds out his hand to her, calloused skin looming in her vision. She reaches out her own hand and takes it.

Suddenly she's in a park of some kind, the pavement wet after a good rain. She's sitting on a bench. Trees are scattered throughout the park. She notices warmth on her hand and looks over to see the man sitting next to her, his smile lighting up his face. She can see his features now: his head is topped by a mop of spiky orange hair, and his eyes are a warm chocolate brown. His smile is elated and joyful; like his own personal angel is sitting on the wet bench with him.

"Hello, Orihime," he whispers.

"Ichigo," she murmurs back, and suddenly his lips are on hers, gently, his hand behind her head, cupping her neck and bringing her closer to him. His lips are soft and sweet and they taste like everything she's ever wanted. She wraps her arm around his back and draws him even closer, his chest warm and hard. She pulls away for a moment.

"I missed you so much," she says against his chest.

"Sh." He puts a finger under her chin and draws her face toward his again, his eyelashes closing on her own. He feels so amazing. Tears run down her cheeks with the happiness of being in his arms again.

And then, suddenly, something happens. Pain pierces her chest like a million knives stabbing her all at once, and she looks up to see him falling away through a tunnel, agony in his eyes. He reaches out for her, but she is sucked back, away from him.

It's only then that she notices that the puddle at their feet is red with blood.

Sadako sits up in bed, gasping.

Her forehead is clammy with sweat and her legs are tangled in the sheets. Her chest heaves with the pain of the nightmare. But even now she feels the dream slipping away from her. Like water in her cupped hands, the more she tries to hold on to the memory of the man, the more it slips out of her grasp, until she is left with only nothing.

She shudders, and without warning, tears begin to fall from her eyes. Her body is wracked with the pain of not knowing. Her hair falls across her back and shoulders, spilling over her nightgown. She buries her face in her hands, tears streaking across her pale face. But she makes no noise; Ronin is sleeping in this room, too, and she mustn't wake him. Or at least, that's what she tells herself. She raises her head to look over at him.

Since Kaori and Eiko's rooms were both slightly larger than broom closets, they decided that she'd stay in Ronin's room. Despite her protests, they gave her Ronin's bed and made one up for him. And so here she was.

But what is going on over there with Ronin?

As she watches, the room grows brighter. The source of the light seems to be coming from Ronin's hand, which is clutched around his zanpaku-tô. It's a strange light: light blue with dark purple shafts weaving around it. Wind whips through the room and blows Sadako's hair back. As she watches, the light grows steadily brighter and brighter until she has to shield her eyes against it. When she looks again, there is someone else in the room.

She is a woman: tall, with dark purple hair that flows down her back. She has a golden circlet running around her forehead with a ruby in the center. She is clothed in a loose strip of cloth around her chest and another around her waist, both light blue. They seem to be made of almost a silky material that ruffles in the breeze, giving the illusion that it is traveling around and around, encircling her body. Her legs end in a kind of vapor-like wisp instead of feet, and she hovers a few inches off the ground. From her back sprouts a pair of golden wings, bird wings, with each feather defined in gold. They're thick at the top and come inwards towards her ankles, then widen out again a little. The feathers near her head are about the size of quarters, while the ones at the bottom are longer than Sadako's forearm. Sadako stares in amazement, and the woman looks up at her. Her eyes are light blue, almost white. She meets Sadako's gaze for a moment before she disappears, all the light sucking into the zanpaku-tô as well as the wind.

The zanpaku-tô is different as well, now. The hilt is scarlet with purple diamonds underneath, and the guard is in the shape of a pair of golden spread wings. The scabbard is purple, as well. Attached to the end is a piece of swirly blue material like the kind she was wearing. It is long enough to make it just past the guard. It looks like if you flattened it out, it would be a square with one corner tied to the sword. It's gorgeous.

As Sadako is noticing these things, Ronin sits bolt upright it bed. He meets Sadako's eyes; her still-sweaty hair curled over one side of her neck.

"I did it," he whispers. He brings the zanpaku-tô up between them, holding it out so that they both can see. "I did it!" he says again. "I DID IT!"

He springs out of bed and pelts down the hallway, waving the sword over his head. "EIKO! KAORI! I DID IT! I DID IT!"

Sadako sinks back between the covers, listening to them exclaiming over his new weapon.

"What's its name?" she hears Kaori ask.

"Rubitori," Ronin says happily. "Her name is Rubitori."

"Okay, okay," Rukia said. "That's enough, Tatsuki."

She pulled Tatsuki away from Ichigo's still body. She hadn't wanted to defend him because she thought that he could do it himself. Apparently all the others had thought the same thing.

But Ichigo was still. He made no move to stop the attack, just stood, his eyes lifeless.

What had Orihime said to him in the moments before she died? Rukia wondered. It must have been something important to make him act this way. Her curiosity was rising, but she pushed it down out of respect. Holding a limp Tatsuki just made it feel worse.

Does Orihime know what she's doing to us? she wondered. Somewhere, does she know?

"Hey, Tape Man! Jiggles wants to see you!"

Shûhei turned at the sound of Yachiru's voice. She was alone for once, and a solemn pull graced her features. Her shoulders slumped uncharacteristically like she'd been denied candy from her favorite noble taicho. He felt a slight thrill of alarm.

Jiggles? Who could that -? Oh, she means Rangiku. Shûhei blushed. Then he realized – Tape Man? What the hell?

Then came his next thought. Rangiku wants to see me? Oh, I better get there ASAP. He waved to the small girl.

"Thanks, Yachiru." He broke into a run, his sandals slapping the pavement, unaccustomed to the sound of no laughter coming from the girl as he raced by. It must be serious. He shifted out of focus as he took a leap forward with flash step and was at the 10th company lieutenant's office in record time. He slid open the door, poking his head in.

"Rangiku?" he called.

Rangiku had her head down on her desk, her shoulders shaking. He paused, his mouth slightly open, wondering if she was playing some kind of trick on him. But after a moment, when she still didn't say anything, he slid the door closed and walked over to her desk. Crouching on his toes, he tentatively placed a hand on her back, bewildered.

"Rangiku, are you all right?" he asked. A piece of paper caught his eye, and he looked at it briefly, his eyes widening.

ORIHIME INOUE IS DEAD, the paper proclaimed.

He rubbed her back comfortingly, now realizing why she was crying like this – crying in a way he hadn't seen since the death of Gin Ichimaru. He bounced a little on his toes, trying to see her face.

The door opened. Shûhei looked up. It was Izuru Kira, looking depressed as usual. His eyes widened when he saw Shûhei and Rangiku. Shûhei blushed and snatched his hand away.

"Hisagi! What's going on here?" Izuru asked.

Wordlessly, Shûhei extended the paper to Izuru, who came forward and scanned it. His brows came together. "Who –?"

"Rangiku's ryoka friend, remember? The woman with the healing powers that Aizen abducted?" Shûhei reminded him.

Izuru's facial expression didn't change. "Oh, yeah. Captain Hitsugaya and Rangiku stayed at her house a couple times. Oh, man, that's a bummer."

Shûhei looked down at the mourning woman.

"Yeah, it surely is."

Wind whipped Yuzu and Karin's short dresses as they hunched into their jackets. It was an oddly dismal day. Dismal for the time of year, but not for the occasion. Yuzu stifled a sob and leaned into her sister as Orihime's coffin was lowered into the ground.

Karin squeezed her arm around her sister. She hadn't needed to be asked to wear a dress today, instead, she had donned it out of respect for her brother's classmate. It made her feel more feminine than she was used to. She scrubbed angrily at her own eyes and watched as Sado stepped forward with a shovel and tossed in a mound of dirt.

Gazing at her brother, Karin felt a pang of worry go through her. Not for the first time, either. Ichigo's head was bowed so low that his eyes were rendered invisible. He stood with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his black pants, completely motionless. Next to him, his ruby-haired friend (whose name Karin did not know) stood slumped with his arms around Rukia. Rukia was buried in his chest, her small arms encircling his body. Karin wondered about the man –maybe he was Rukia's boyfriend? He was more than twice her size. He was also watching Ichigo concernedly, his large hand making slow, comforting circles on Rukia's back unconsciously.

Next to them, another of Ichigo's classmates stepped forward with the shovel. His name was Ishida or something. He took off his glasses to swipe at his own eyes and then jammed them back on, nearly stabbing out his eyeball. His white-gloved hands wrapped around the shovel, digging into the dirt and then gently tossing it into the hole. He added a rose from his lapel to the ground.

"Goodbye, Orihime," he whispered into the wind.

Yuzu gave another sob, and Karin pulled her tighter. Funny, Karin didn't know Yuzu and Orihime were that close. It seemed strange that her siblings were mourning her so much, and yet Karin felt she hardly knew the girl.

To her, that was the saddest part of the day.

Rukia detached herself from the man and stepped forward, accepting the shovel from Ishida. She gently pushed the shovel into the dirt but seemed unable to lift it, her whole body trembling with grief. She dropped her eyes and swiped at her face, growing angry at her weakness. Her friend stepped forward and wrapped his hands around hers, lifting the shovel with her and tossing it into the hole. Rukia broke down sobbing again.

Man, this was depressing. Karin clenched her teeth, fighting her emotions. Tatsuki came forward and angrily hacked into the dirt, throwing it into the hole. Her face was soaked with tears and she was shaking. Karin had never seen the girl this way before. Keigo Asano, another classmate, stepped forward and wrapped his arm comfortingly around her shoulders, but she pushed him away. He stumbled back Chizuru and Mizuiro, looking even more depressed than ever. Tatsuki cried into her hands instead.

Someone held out the shovel to Ichigo. He still had his head bowed. Without looking up, he accepted the shovel from them and slowly slid it into the dirt, each second agonizing. His knuckles whitened on the handle, and Karin was surprised to see blood running down the handle from his hands. The dirt slid off the handle into the ground, and Ichigo stepped back, pulling something from his pocket. He let it fall from his fingers and into the hole. It looked like a folded-up piece of paper. He opened his mouth, and –

HOLLOW! HOLLOW! HOLLOW!

Karin's head jerked up, but Yuzu didn't stir. Ichigo tensed, his head looking upward. Rukia and her friend's faces went from grief to panic. Keigo and Tatsuki looked confused.

"Shit." Rukia's friend stepped forward, pulling what looked like a Pez dispenser from his pocket. He thumbed the lid and dropped a small pellet into his hand, Rukia doing the same. Ichigo ripped a hexagonal badge from his waistline and slammed it to his forehead just as Rukia and her friend popped the pills in their mouths.

There were a bunch of these blue lightning things and the three of them burst forward, except…what? Their bodies stumbled backwards, but the new ones stood coldly and looked at the other ones. Two Rukia's stood, as well as a clone of her friend. Ichigo's body fell limply to the ground.

His new body stood tall, a black shihaksho cloaking it. A red sash fell from one shoulder and encircled his torso, and a ginourmous sword was bound to his back. His feet were sheathed in sandals, and a white cloth was tied around his waist. Rukia and her friend were clothed similarly, except that their swords were more reasonable sized and sheathed at their waists. They looked dangerous, now – inhuman, almost.

"I think Ichigo just knocked himself out," Chizuru whispered loudly to Mizuiro.

What? No, Ichigo was standing right there, in the weird black clothes! Karin thought. Then she thought – what if they can't see him? Like that Hitsugaya guy?

"Ichigo, protect your sisters," Rukia's friend ordered.

Ichigo nodded limply. Rukia barked, "Come on, Renji," and the two of them jumped into the air and – flew? Ishida and Sado followed them.

"Where is everyone going?" Keigo cried. "They're leaving without me!"

"Keigo," Ichigo said.

Everyone except Chizuru, Mizuiro, and Yuzu straightened at the sound of his voice. He sounded hollow.

"Keigo, take Mizuiro and Chizuru and run," he said. Then, confirming Karin's suspicions: "If you can hear me, then do what I say." He dropped his head so that his eyes were shaded again. "Tatsuki, you too."

"Ichigo, what –"

"GO!" Ichigo roared suddenly, and Keigo scrambled backwards.

"O-of course," he said fearfully, and grabbed his two friends. "Alright, guys, the funeral's over. Let's scram."

"Mr. Asano! What's happening?" Mizuiro said.

"N-nothing – let's go." Keigo pulled the two out of sight.

"Tatsuki, get out of here," Ichigo said.

Tatsuki's head was also bowed, her black dress blowing in the wind. She looked up at Ichigo, her eyes red. Determination was written on her face. "No," she said.

"No? Hop!" giggled Rukia. Karin blinked at her. Yeah, this wasn't Rukia. It was something else entirely. "You have to go, hop!"

"NO!" Tatsuki bellowed. Ichigo blinked at her. "I'm not leaving! This is what killed Orihime, isn't it?" she yelled, waving behind her.

Agony slammed into Ichigo's face. The look there was pure pain and torture. Tatsuki took a step back at his expression.

"You….have no idea," he croaked. "YOU HAVE NO IDEA!" he yelled. "NO IDEA! WHY WON'T YOU JUST…."

He dropped his head into his hands. Everything was dead silent for a moment, and then, from a distance, came Rukia's voice. "ICHIGO! IT'S HEADING THIS WAY! GET THE HUMANS OUT OF THE AREA!"

Humans? The way she says it…it makes her sound like she's not. Human, I mean.

"Okay," Ichigo said. "Chappy! You!" He snapped his fingers at Rukia and her friend Renji. "Take care of Tatsuki, and my body, since Kon's not here. I'll get Yuzu and Karin." He turned to his sisters, huddled against each other in the cold and fear.

"Come on, guys," he said, and crouched by Yuzu and Karin. "I know it's confusing, but just bear with me for now, and I promise I'll explain everything."

"Ichi-nii? Is that you?" Yuzu's voice sounded pitiful.

"Can you hear me, Yuzu?" Ichigo asked.

"I…kind of." Yuzu sniffed, and Ichigo stood, looking at Karin.

"You can see me, right?"

"Yes." Karin narrowed her eyes. "And I want an explanation, RIGHT NOW."

Ichigo sighed. He picked Yuzu up around the waist and cradled her to his chest. She had her eyes squeezed closed, breathing in deeply to reassure herself that it really was her brother. Then he bent low.

"Climb on my back," he said to Karin, who did so, nudging the huge sword out of the way as best she could. Then Ichigo took a leap forward, going faster that Karin had thought possible. He was going so fast that the world disappeared around them.

"WHAT! THE! HELL?" she screamed at the top of her voice. Yuzu's eyes were still squeezed closed, and she was murmuring frantically to herself.

Then there was a crash that shook Ichigo's frame, and he stumbled. The world reappeared around Karin. Ichigo stumbled, but kept his balance.

Lying stunned next to him was Rukia.

"Are you all right?" Ichigo asked her. She opened her eyes and winced.

"I'm fine…are you okay?" she asked. "I did hit you, after all." She winced again, and Ichigo knelt next to her, still holding Yuzu. Karin slid off of his back.

"You sure you're okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she said, wincing once more. "Let me just….OW."

She had tried to stand and collapsed. Her face was greenish and beaded with sweat. "I think my legs are broken," she hissed through gritted teeth.

Renji appeared next to them, blood covering his forehead. He was holding a weirdly shaped sword with spikes on one side. Karin was positive that he hadn't had it before. "I got it," he said proudly, then noticed Rukia on the ground. "Oy! Rukia!"

His sword fell to the ground with a clatter and he dropped to his knees next to her. "Are you okay? What's wrong?" He felt her neck. "I can't find a pulse!"

"Pulses are over here, idiot," Ichigo said drily, moving Renji's hand a couple inches to the right. "Plus, she's obviously alive. She's breathing, isn't she?"

"I think my…legs are broken," Rukia said shallowly.

"Let's take the whole gang over to Urahara's," Renji said, grabbing his sword. It glowed red momentarily, then thinned back to regular size. Karin stared at him as he sheathed it. What the hell was going on here?"

"Can she see us?" he asked, pointing at Karin, who gritted her teeth.

"Yes, I can see you, numbskull." She aimed a punch at his face, but he grabbed her wrist and used her momentum to flip her onto her back, landing with a slam on the ground. The wind was knocked out of her. He didn't even look at her.

"That's my sister you're knocking around, dumbass," Ichigo said, kicking the man in the face and knocking him to the ground. "Be glad I don't do reactions like Byakuya, or else your head and your body would no longer be together."

Renji stood and wiped his face. He gathered up Rukia, who winced as she was jostled. Karin climbed back onto Ichigo's back, and the two men leaped forward faster than light itself.

A/N: Wow. That is the longest chapter I have ever written in my whole entire life (total word count: 4,789 words) –pants- If I don't get a lot of reviews, I will be angry! –makes mad face- -laughs-

Okay, I have two fics to recommend – first, Fifty Ways to Annoy the Soutaicho, by Pipidae. And second, Bleach Summer Camp by MJLCoyoteStarrk. Both of these, but especially the second one, are the funniest fanfictions I have ever read in my author career. (Except anything by St. Fang of Boredom but she's over in Maximum Ride.)

Anyway, that's it for today. See you later, and don't forget to review!