Summary: Would you still continue to love, when there is no hope left? When you were broken beyond repair? Would you still love, even without a heart?

Spoilerish summary for those of you who want it: Ichigo dies, and becomes a hollow. Can the power of love relieve him? And who pulls the strings from behind?Ichi/Hichi/Hime. Onesided Uryu/Hime (maybe Uryu/Tatsuki later on).

Warning: Character death. Darkness. Smut. (At some point.) And I hope to end it on a happier note, than the beginning.

Expect not too long, dabble-styled chapters for the most part.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. (And even if I did, I would never really kill Ichigo! So I don't know what's got into me... blame the stupid muse!)

Embracing darkness

Chapter 1

Darkness. Cold. Sand. The desolate land of Hueco Mundo.

Two figures stood in the shadow of a bare tree. One was clearly a hollow, with a huge monster body, standing on four legs. The other... who knows? He had human form, but he concealed himself under a heavy black cloak. Only his deep voice gave away his gender.

'Do we have a deal? Attack him... lure him away from his body. Just do it... and my Master will reward you richly! I'll make sure to send you when the girl is with him, so you can run off with her, as a bait!'

A malicious roar from the hollow answered to the cloaked figure's words, showing eagerness. The man narrowed his eyes under the hood, and his mouth curved slightly upwards into a taunting grin.

'Just be careful! Least your appetite should prove bigger than what you can stomach!

…...

Zangetsu rose and fell... the hollow stood no chance.

'Orihime! Are you all right?'

Ichigo rushed to her side, and growled seeing the little gash on her cheek. He started cursing heavily. Orihime only smiled.

'Don't be silly. Of course I'm all right. You protected me... as always.'

She wanted to threw herself into his arms, but he held her back.

'Heal yourself first!'

She sighed.

'Really! This is nothing!'

Ichigo cupped the still whole side of her face, and gently ran his thumb across it, looking deeply into her eyes.

'For me, it's not.'

Orihime blushed a little. Even after a month of dating him, it still felt like a dream... Being this close to him. Seeing caring, even adoring light in his eyes when he looked at her. She now knew that it had been there before, but now he was letting her see it, feel it freely. She was so happy! Her world seemed finally completed.

She obediently called out her powers, and made the golden dome surround her wound. When she was done, Ichigo studied the reformed skin critically. He found no fault, so he kissed the formerly violated spot, and then her mouth too. But he drew back... too soon in Orihime's opinion.

'And now... let's get my body back, before some idiot takes it to the hospital again!' he said, scowling.

'All right!'

Neither of them realized anything when Ichigo returned to his living human body. Not even on the way, as he walked her home (only slowly, to lengthen the time spent together). Not even when they stood on her doorstep, kissing, and reluctantly saying goodby.

Ichigo started walking home alone, and he was already halfway, when he felt disturbance in the spiritual waves again. He knew immediately, that some hollow had come, and that the level of it's pressure was way higher than the one's before...

He immediately reached into his jeans back pocket, for his substitute badge... and found nothing! He searched, but it was nowhere. He couldn't transform...

And the monster roared...

…...

Orihime was preparing her dinner. She was cutting up the vegetables, humming a merry song. But then the notes suddenly died on her lips. The knife fell out of her hand.

…...

She was still standing there, not having moved an inch, when Chad and Uryu arrived, a complete hour later. They just let themselves in, Chad having to push the door open by force. She could hear them calling her softly. When she turned, and looked into their eyes, like a scared kitty-cat caught in the light of a car's headlamps, she knew that whatever hope she had left, was in wain.

She'd always been the best in sensing his spiritual pressure after all, and now it's gone. Disappeared completely. Without a trace.

When ever he went to Soul Society, she could still feel him, like through a veil. When he had lost his powers, and practically didn't have any spiritual pressure at all, she had still felt his presence somehow. Now, even that was missing...

And there was only one logical answer to why that could be.

…...

Orihime felt she would never be able to stand being there, at his funeral. But Tatsuki insisted she must go, and since she got closer to his family after they started dating she felt she owed this much to Isshin and the twins.

She stood her ground, not even crying until the black coffin was lowered into the grave, into the same one in which his mother already rested. But after she heard the first scoop of dirt falling down, making a horrible hollow sound banging on the lid, her head also fell, slamming into the ground.

…...

She regained consciousness in the Urahara Shop, surrounded by Tatsuki, Uryu and Chad. Her friends were talking in low voices, not realizing she was already awake. She kept her eyes closed, and listened.

'… so Urahara-san speculates, that the whole thing was planned? A set up?' Tatsuki asked.

'Yes. And I got to admit it makes sense.' Uryu answered. 'It had been fishy in the first place: two hollow attacks the same day, both focused on him... And we couldn't understand why he never transformed. If he did, we would have felt it, and rushed to his aid. But he didn't. While he had his faults, at least he was never careless about this. He always carried his substitute badge everywhere. That's why we think it must have been taken form him, without his knowledge, probably in time with the first attack.'

Tatsuki sighed.

'I see. It just feels so stupid... he was so strong. Could fight anyone. He fought so much for others... and in the end, he died not even being able to fight... for himself. I just know how he would hate this!'

'Arisawa-san...' Chad spoke up for the first time. The gentle giant spoke even less than his custom since his best friend's departure. 'I promise to you, we will find the one, or ones responsible.'

'Yes.' Uryu said. 'And we will found the hollow that took him! The least we can do for him is to cleanse that hollow, allowing his spirit to rest in peace in soul society...'

…...

A/N: Chapter 2 is up too, I want to get you into the feel of this story...You are welcome to review! :-)