AN: Thank you, Guest and Azkaban again for your reviews, they mean a lot to me. Sorry, Anya to have gotten your hopes up. I hope those of you still reading, enjoy this chapter as well. I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.

Chapter 6 Orihime's Point Of View

As I'm walking back to my apartment, I get the sudden urge to go to the river. I hesitate, since I have a couple of grocery bags in my hand but then decide to do so anyway.

Before I can go down, closer to the river, something tells me to look around. That's when I spot Ichigo and Rukia, talking, no, arguing, in front of the river. I know I should leave but for some reason I can't tear my eyes off the scene before me.

She smacks him a couple times and then it looks like they've calmed down. I'm about to walk down, towards them for some reason, when suddenly, Rukia hugs him and he hugs her back.

They look like the perfect couple, in the perfect hug, in the perfect setting. Her head against his chest and his chin resting on her head. I flee the scene as quickly as my feet would carry me.

I didn't want to stay to see how they would reconcile, I didn't want to interrupt them, and I sure did not want to continue seeing something that's hurting me. Oh why, oh why, do I still have feelings for Ichigo? This isn't right!

As I reach my apartment, I take a few deep breaths before walking in. I cannot cry over this anymore. I put away the groceries and go back to cleaning before making dinner for myself.

As I prepare myself something simple, I get a craving for some red bean paste and bread. By the time I finish making my food, and eating it, it's very dark out. I bite my lip in frustration. Finally, I decide to go get a lot of bread and red bean paste; those are must haves in the kitchen!

I grab my purse and keys, and head to the nearest grocery store. Once I pay for everything, I leave like a happy camper, humming to myself.

Halfway to my apartment, I get this strange feeling that I'm being followed. I quicken my pace, hoping for dear life that I'm just being paranoid. I'm one block away from my apartment when a hand covers my mouth and pulls me back into an alley with them.

I drop my grocery bag and purse, attempting to use both my hands to pull the stranger off of me, but it's no use. All of sudden, I'm thrown against the wall, a furious voice exclaiming, "You can't get rid of me so easily, princess! Did you think you could hide from me here?"

I try focusing on the face but I don't have to. Even if I'm only half conscious, I recognize the voice. Panic strikes me as I look at him again, "Joshua…how?"

"You owe me big time, for making a fool of me. And now, your brother isn't here to protect you."

"I never did anything to you! You're delusional!"I exclaim as I stand against the wall.

Joshua glares at me before coming up to me and grabbing my face, forcing me to look at him. I attempt to push him away from me but he reacts quickly and holds my arms against my body. "Let go of me! I owe you nothing!"

"Remember all those times you said no because you didn't want to give yourself away before getting married? Or when you sprayed me with mace when I tried to have you by force after you started cheating on me? This is for all those times!"

My eyes widen with fear as I try to plead him to stop again, "I never cheated on you! Please…let me go!"

"You're going to be mine, Orihime. After that you can go back to being the little slut you are,"He says with a crazy glint in his eyes.

He then presses his lips to mine, forcing my mouth open, shoving his tongue down my throat. I begin to cry as I think of any way to get away from him. I take my chance when he pulls away to do something else.

I stomp on his foot and elbow his gut. He releases his hold on me and I begin to run out of the alley; hopefully there is someone out on the street.

Just as I reach where I dropped my things, I bump into someone, knocking them over. I fall on top of them and begin to cry as I plead and apologize with my eyes closed,"I'm so sorry but please help me…"

"What…Orihime? Are you okay? What's wrong?" I open my eyes then, to look at the person I stumbled on.

"Ichigo…thank goodness!"I exclaim all too soon.

Suddenly, Joshua grabs me by the hair and pulls me off of Ichigo and back to him. I hold on to my hair, hoping that it'd make the pain more bearable. Ichigo exclaims as he stands, "Let go of her!"

"Or what? Wait, don't tell me you're the one that Orihime cheated on me with?"

Ichigo doesn't waste a second. He punches Joshua in the face and catches me as Joshua pushes me forward. He orders quietly, "Wait by your things and call the cops and an ambulance, I'll finish this quickly."

I nod rigidly as I go pick up my grocery bag. As Ichigo charges Joshua, I call for the cops and an ambulance with shaky hands and a shaky voice. I explain the situation as vaguely as I can, without compromising Ichigo.

By the time I hang up, Joshua is unconscious on the floor. Ichigo appears to be unwounded but I still ask, "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, what about you? How much did he do to you?" Ichigo asks as he approaches me with a worried look.

I begin to cry as he closes the distance between us and holds me. He murmurs above my head, "It's going to be okay, Orihime. I'll protect you from now on. I won't let anyone else hurt you. I am sorry that I couldn't have prevented this, however."

I cry even harder as I listen to his words. He has no idea how much he's hurting me himself. Ichigo holds me more tightly as the police begin to appear.

I let Ichigo speak for me since I can't bring myself to talk about what happened just yet. I agree to tell the police the full back story in a few days though.

While they take Joshua away, I bury my face in Ichigo's chest as he wraps an arm around me, whispering, "I'll take you home."

I nod and let him lead me home while I still hold onto him. I've never felt this safe up until now.

AN: So there is probably going to be a couple more chapters to this story before it ends. Please review:)