Leaving Town Chapter 12: Here Without You, a bleach fanfic

A/N: You know, I just have to say that I'm sorry. I wanted to get this up last Wednesday but my friends decided to make me go out for the past few days, so I was delayed. But now I'm exhausted so gahh. But anyway. I'm sorry about that but here it is. I hope I didn't disappoint. The title is, "Here Without You," by 3 Doors Down. Enjoy

Disclaimer - No.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 12: Here Without You

-Flashback-

"What was that about?"

"Huh?" Ichigo said walking over to Rukia, who was waiting for him to walk home.

"Who was that?" she asked, secretly annoyed.

"That?" he said turning around to look back at the purple haired girl who was talking with some other female students. "She's a new student here. She said her names Senna," he said looking back at the raven haired girl analyzing her competition.

"Wow. It looks like you know a lot about her already…" she said in a suggestive tone.

"All I did was pick up a book she dropped and she introduced herself. I only know her name," he said irritated by her suggestion.

"Who flings themselves on someone for picking up their book?" she said still looking at the new girl. There hadn't been a new student since she came, so in a way she was feeling replaced.

"She gave me a hug. She was just saying thanks. Geez what's wrong with you?" He said waving a hand through her field of vision.

"Nothing," she said simply, swatting his hand away.

"What do you have against her all of a sudden?" he asked interested, cocking his head to the side.

"Nothing. Let it go Ichigo," she said, turning around and starting to walk away.

"Hold on a second. Are you- are you jealous?" he asked with an amused smirk growing rapidly across his face.

Rukia stopped in her tracks, even losing her balance a little and dropping two books she was holding in her arms. She swung around, "Jealous?! Me?! Over you?! In your dreams Kurosaki. She can have you," she said turning back around. "Can we go home already?" she asked not turning around.

He continued to try and read her with an amused glare. "Yeah," he said bending down. He picked up the books she dropped and handed them to her. "Here," he said still trying to read her with the slightest curve of his lips. "By the way, did you do something different with your hair or something? Looks different."

She was surprised from his action and took the books slowly. "Thanks," she said taking a step in the right direction. "Yeah, I, um, didn't really do anything. Let's just go."

"What? You're not going to throw yourself on me?" he said chuckling slightly.

"Excuse me?" she said with the slightest bit of pink coloring her cheeks.

"Isn't that how you're supposed to thank someone?" he said with a cocky smile.

Rukia rolled her eyes, "Great. Your ego can get bigger," she said sarcastically.

"Yes, but its one of the many things that you like about me, otherwise you wouldn't be so jealous…" he said slyly.

Her nostrils flared slightly, "For the last time! I'm not jealous!" she said stomping off ahead of him.

Ichigo chuckled to himself as he walked slowly to catch up to the infuriated shinigami. Then he caught eye of a redhead talking to her about twenty feet ahead of him. He was within hearing range now and heard what Renji was saying.

"Your hair looks nice today Rukia. You look very pretty," he said rubbing the back of his neck as his face turned a shade of his hair.

Rukia knew Ichigo was listening. She turned slightly to look at him with a glare and smirk before replying to Renji. "Thank you Renji! Hey let's go and talk about orders you were sent to give me. We can get some food if you like."

Renji smiled brightly, "I'd- I'd love to." Rukia grabbed his arm and walked side by side with him. She could feel Ichigo glaring into her from behind.

He was growling as he watched them walk of, but still being able to hear their conversation.

"Now who's jealous?" Rukia whispered to herself with a smirk.

"What?" Renji asked, not being able to hear her.

"Cows are a new fetish!" she yelled, not being able to think of something else and being too paranoid.

Ichigo smirked, being able to hear her real remark.

-End Flashback-

Ichigo had a soft smiled plastered on his face. There was no way he was going to let anything happen to someone he cared about this much. A simple memory with her was able to keep a smile on his face longer than one with anyone else.

He was now running towards the stairs leading to the white tower until he saw a stretched zanpaktou swing at him from behind. It was being swung at his side, where the tip of the zanpaktou could bend around to the front of his body.

Ichigo barely reacted in time but blocked the strike with Zangetsu. The attacking zanpaktou recoiled and brought his attention to its owner. Ichigo glared but smirked. "Hey Renji. Ya finally caught up."

"Yeah and this time I won't let you get away, Kurosaki."

"So, I guess we gotta do this then," Ichigo said holding Zangetsu stretched out to his side.

"I don't plan on killing you. I just can't let you get by," Renji stated holding Zabimaru out perpendicular to his body, in front of him.

"That's where we differ, Abarai," he said gripping his zanpaktou tighter. "I can easily get by, but I'm deciding not to run. I'm deciding not to save your ass."

He paused slightly. "'Cause if you're not willing to save Rukia, then why the fuck should I save you?" he stated without yelling, feeling something inside him getting stronger.

Renji frowned, "Save me from what?" he asked irritated by not understanding him.

"Me," Ichigo said slamming Zangetsu in front of him so his other arm could grip it as well. "Bankai!"

Renji's eyes grew, but he needed to react to Ichigo's move. "Bankai!" Renji yelled as well.

They were ready. Their energy was soaring, as well as their emotions. The last time they battled it was in the same spot, for the same reason.

Renji flung Zabimaru at him, who was about fifty yards away. Ichigo began to use shunpo, blocking and clashing with Zabimaru whenever Renji lunged it towards him. He got within ten feet of Renji when he lunged in for a hit, thinking he was too close for Zabimaru to attack him, but he was wrong. It ended up crossing his path and hitting him dead, making him fly back about thirty feet.

Renji just stood there with a determined look. He watched as Ichigo knelt up from the ground. His body was leaning over in front of him and you could see he was breathing heavily.

After a few more seconds Ichigo raised his head. There seemed to be a deep gash going diagonally from the right side of his forehead, down his temple and ending at his cheek. A cut was visible on his right shoulder as well. The blood was starting to drip, but that wasn't what caught Renji's attention.

Ichigo delivered a maniacal look. Everything on his face showed loathing and rage. His eyes were piercing into his body. Renji could only faintly see it but, he knew it was coming. Ichigo's eyes were swarming with a black cloud in each. He then let out a slight yell as he raised his head up into the air. White was forming around his face within seconds, and when it seemed to stop, Ichigo slowly lowered his head.

"Shit," was all Renji could say. Ichigo was in his hollow form and he knew just how powerful he was like that. The part that scared him the most though, was the fact that he knew Ichigo didn't have control over him. This was the hollow he was fighting. Not Ichigo.

He started to have a laughing fit, more sadistic than hilarious. Then, in an instant, he shot at Renji. Allowing Renji the smallest time to react, but he still did. Their zanpaktous clashed only making the lunatic smile even more as they went on.

Finally, he slammed Zangetsu against Zabimaru, causing it to go flying to the side. Before Renji could recover, he had already launched his next attack: Getsuga Tenshou.

Renji was done. After the atmosphere had cleared from the attack, Renji was seen lying on the ground with his limbs spread in different directions. Blood was all around him.

Hollow-Ichigo walked up to him, able to see him still breathing. He held Zangetsu out, ready to plunge it into Renji's chest. He was smiling sadistically as he continued to hold out the zanpaktou. Then, his face slowly fell from the smile and into a scowl as he fell back losing his balance. His hands flew to his head as he tossed and turned. He ended up standing up and starting to move towards the stairs as he kept fighting for control.

He reached the stairs and fell forwards. He laid there for a few seconds until his hands pushed him up from the steps. The mask fell from his face to the steps and shattered. Ichigo stayed in this bending over position breathing heavily. Blood was dripping down his face again. He slowly turned to look back at his friend's body, limp on the ground. He grimaced at the sight and turned around, leaning on the stairs again. He tried swallowing the bulge in his throat.

"I- I didn't want it to go that far," he whispered with his eyes clenched tight. "I didn't even want to fight him." He opened his eyes and slammed a fist against the steps. "I don't have control," he said through clenched teeth.

He stood up slowly and walked up a few steps. He turned around to face Renji again, "Forgive me." He turned back around and started to run up the steps.

"Rukia, I see Ishida!" Orihime said pointing into the direction.

"Right! Let's go!" she yelled as they started to run towards the Quincy.

"Ishida! We're here to help!" Rukia said as she held out her zanpaktou.

"Thanks, but I think Kurosaki needs it more than I do," he said letting arrows fly towards Tousen.

Rukia immediately looked around and saw Ichigo fighting about two hundred yards away. He was fighting Aizen.

"Leave me. I'm fine," Ishida said dodging an arrow Tousen had reflected with his zanpaktou.

"Ishida-" Orihime protested.

"Go, you two. Now!" he yelled beginning to dodge more and more.

Rukia nodded and began to run. Ishida's arrows were being reflected profusely now and he was having trouble dodging them. He was letting out grunts and yells out of desperation to avoid getting hit. He saw one coming straight for him while he was in the middle of a dodge and he knew he couldn't avoid it. He closed his eyes, waiting for it to hit, but it didn't.

He slowly opened his eyes only to find Orihime standing in front of him erecting a barrier.

"O-Orihime!" he said in shock.

She turned her head to look back at him. "I'm not leaving you, Ishida," she said softly, with piercing brown eyes and a smile.

Rukia saw everything was all right. She had stopped running when she heard Ishida yelling and Orihime ran back. She received a nod from Orihime and began to run towards Ichigo again.

She was closer. Only one hundred yards now. She could see the battle was intense, but she could also see that Aizen seemed to have the upper hand. "Please, hold on Ichigo. Don't die on me," she begged.

Aizen and Ichigo seemed like they were dancing around in circles. They were moving so fast; attacking every chance they could and then dodging. Her eyes were glued to them.

Ichigo went in for another attack but Aizen seemed to just wipe it away with his zanpaktou. Ichigo then went in for another, but this time Aizen blocked it and then forced it up in the air, lunging towards Ichigo.

Rukia's eyes went wide. Aizen's zanpaktou had gone straight through Ichigo's upper abdomen. She was within fifty yards now. She could see him gagging and then opening his mouth to let the blood fall. She was running so fast now. The adrenaline had definitely kicked in. She screamed out his name seeing him spit even more blood.

"Ichigo!" she yelled, waking up from a nightmare of the past. She was breathing heavily. She started to catch her breath and then laid back down. Rukia couldn't help but think of the remainder of that memory.

Rukia ran up and was now ten feet behind Aizen. Ichigo and Aizen hadn't moved from their close proximity. She stopped and listened as she heard him speak. Sode no Shirayuki gripped tightly in her hand as her eyes filled with hatred.

Ichigo got to the top of the stairs and leaned against the wall. He was surprisingly light headed. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back to shake off the feeling. He opened his eyes and was taken over by a time in the past.

"You're done, Kurosaki. You've been defeated," he said in a cold voice.

Ichigo's pained face slowly morphed into a smirk. "So- are you- Sosuke," he coughed up more blood, "So are you." He looked down with his eyes and then back up into the face of his opponent.

Aizen looked down, only to see Zangetsu had been shoved into his lower stomach. The older shinigami looked up with an evil smirk. "You're full of surprises, Kurosaki, but that won't be enough to kill me."

"Then maybe this will!" she yelled from behind and shoved her zanpaktou through his back. He reacted to this hit, as oppose to Ichigo's. After leaving it in for about twenty seconds she slipped it out of his body, as did Ichigo. They watched as his body fell to the floor and a blinding light surrounded him. To their surprise, he was gone when the light faded.

Ichigo fell to the ground immediately after they realized Aizen was gone. He had lost a lot of blood.

"Ichigo!" Rukia yelled falling to the ground beside him. "Don't you dare die on me!" she yelled pulling open his clothes to get to his wound. She held her hands over his enormous gash as she began to heal him.

His breathing was still decreasing. "Come on! Stay with me Ichigo!"

He slowly opened his amber eyes as he was drawn to her water-filled violets. She was begging him with one look to hold on. He moved his hand to hers and grasped it with as much strength he could muster up. "R-rukia…" he said falling into darkness.

Ichigo blinked a few times and he saw that he was in Soul Society again. Not in Hueco Mundo. He began to walk into the next area and noticed it was a bridge. He made it to the shrine. He began to walk forward.

"No!" she yelled trying to use more of her energy to heal him. But she saw it was no use. He was healed. The problem must have been the fact that he lost too much blood. "I'm- I'm sorry," she said through horrified sobs.

"I couldn't save you." She buried her face into his chest, crying harder than she ever had. She slowly lifted her head and looked at his motionless face.

Rukia put her hand against his cheek and leaned her head down so that it was a foot away from his. "Ichigo," she said as another tear came sliding down her cheek. She closed her violet pools to hold back more tears, and then opened them again when she felt they had stopped falling from her eyes for the moment. "I love you," she finished and closed the gap between their faces. Her lips planted softly on his.

She pulled up slowly and looked at his still motionless face. Another tear flew down her cheek as her jaw shook. "Ichigo, come back to me." She lowered her head and began to cry, silently this time.

The next thing she knew, her name was being said in a soft, confused tone. "Rukia?"

She was still lying down as she remembered. She smiled as she lifted her fingers to her lips. 'That was the first time I kissed him.'

Ichigo was halfway across the bridge, when he felt dizzy again. He held on to the side railing and closed his eyes. He then opened them, finding he was in Hueco Mundo again.

Her head flew up. He was leaning up on his elbows, "What's wrong with you?" he asked with concern in his eyes.

Her mouth dropped. "I- I thought- I thought you were dead!" she said looking at him shocked.

"Well did you heal me or something? 'Cause my shirts open. Unless you were trying to do something with my dead body…" he said with a raised eyebrow.

She glared, "Of course I healed you."

"Then why the hell would you think I'm dead?!" he said not understanding her.

"Because after I healed you, you still weren't breathing!" she yelled back at him.

"Well there's no need to yell about it!" he yelled back.

"You were the one who seemed to think it was a sin to cry for you when I thought you were dead!" she yelled back.

"But I wasn't dead!"

"Yes you were!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No, damn it!"

"You're- heart- stopped- beating. What about that don't you get?!" she asked incredulously.

"Well it seems to be going now!" he said sitting completely up in front of her.

"Well aren't you a genuine genius!" They sat in front of each other and glared, until they both turned their heads away, crossing their arms.

Ichigo sighed and looked back at her, who was still looking away. "Thanks," he paused. "For saving me."

She didn't turn to look at him, but let a smile visible on her face. "Let's get you out of here," she said standing up and holding her hand down to him.

He blinked again, now back in Soul Society. He stood still against the railing and smiled as he looked at the tower, knowing she was in there waiting for him.

A hundred days have made me older
Since the last time that I saw your pretty face
A thousand lies have made me colder
And I don't think I can look at this the same
But all the miles that separate
Disappear now when I'm dreaming of your face

I'm here without you baby
But you're still on my lonely mind
I think about you baby
And I dream about you all the time
I'm here without you baby
But you're still with me in my dreams
And tonight it's only you and me

The miles just keep rollin'
As the people leave their way to say hello
I've heard this life is overrated
But I hope that it gets better as we go

Everything I know, and anywhere I go
It gets hard but it wont take away my love
And when the last one falls
When it's all said and done
It gets hard but it wont take away my love

"You've gotten way too far, Kurosaki."

Ichigo's ears ringed with the familiarity of that voice. He slowly turned around and was welcomed by what he presumed.

"You're not stopping me, Byakuya," Ichigo stated coldly.

"You have no idea what is going on. Step away from the shrine now. I don't have to kill you."

"Not gonna happen," Ichigo said taking small steps backwards toward the tower.

"Then, I'm going to have to use force."

Ichigo honestly didn't want to fight anyone anymore. 'I just left Renji to die. I can't bare to kill someone else. They aren't my enemies. I don't know what's going on, but I'm going to try to get Rukia out of here without anymore destruction on my part,' he thought stepping back another step.

Byakuya had just unsheathed his zanpaktou, when Ichigo saw Ishida and Orihime run up behind him. Once they saw who it was, they stopped in their tracks. He would turn and attack them first if he realized they were there; Ichigo knew that.

Ichigo knew what he had to do. He lifted Zangetsu and charged for him. Their blades hit and sparks were even created. Ichigo began to turn his body; manipulating Byakuya to turn as well, as their zanpaktous were still against each other in a battle of strength.

Finally, Ichigo made it so that his back was against the railing and Byakuya was in front of him. This allowed Orihime and Ishida to run across the bridge without being spotted by the Squad Six Captain. The Captain was far too distracted by Ichigo's energy level to recognize theirs passing by.

The two ran to the door immediately taking care of the two guards. Ishida shot one in the shoulder with an arrow, while Orihime used Tsubaki and aimed him for the guard's head. They didn't want to kill anyone. Only get Rukia out of there.

They ran through the door and saw the shinigami lying on the floor. "Rukia," Orihime said softly.

The said shinigami didn't move at first. She knew whose voice that was, but didn't want to assume anything too quickly. She slowly sat up and saw two of her friends standing near the doorway.

She quickly stood up and was welcomed by Orihime throwing her arms around her. "Thank god you're alright!"

The two parted. Ishida smiled and said, "Come on. I don't know how long Ichigo can last."

Rukia's ears rang from those words. "Ichigo?" she asked in surprise.

Orihime nodded with a smile. "He's the one that got us here. He's the one that would have gotten to you before us if Byakuya didn't come."

"Byakuya?"

"They're fighting as we speak," Ishida clarified.

"Kurosaki, back down. You don't know what's going on. You're ruining our plan."

"Plan?! To kill Rukia?! Well excuse me for intervening!" he said breaking their zanpaktou contact. They had started to actually fight and left the bridge into a different area.

"No, just listen! Let's go back to te main hall. Everything will be fine," he said as Ichigo swung his sword at him, causing him to block.

"I'm not leaving without Rukia!" Ichigo yelled slamming his sword at him again.

"She's not even going to be executed, Kurosaki!" Byakuya yelled.

Ichigo's face went shocked as he started to lower Zangetsu. "What?"

Byakuya sighed heavily. "Rukia isn't in any danger."

They ran out of the shrine, only to see the bridge was empty. "We have to get you out of here, Rukia. Ichigo can take care of himself," Ishida assured her.

They started to run, making it to the long stairway. They were greeted by Chad and Tatsuki, who were followed by Shuuhei, Momo, Toushirou, and Rangiku. Apparently after Momo and Toushirou couldn't find Orihime and Ishida, they joined the other two.

"Shit!" Tatsuki yelled seeing the band of shinigami approach. "Looks like its time to stop running."

"Yeah, it is," Shuuhei agreed.

"But it's not time to start fighting either," Rangiku said.

"We just got word from a hell butterfly. Byakuya has just told Kurosaki the plan. It's time to tell you," Toushirou stated.

The humans and Rukia were shocked. They had no idea what just happened, but the whole situation had just altered.

"You were never going to be executed, Rukia," Momo said.

"That was supposed to be a distraction for Aizen. Soul Society knew that if we planned to execute you, the humans would come and save you," Rangiku explained.

"And your point?" Rukia asked.

"The point is, if the humans leave the living world to come here, the spiritual energy in Karakura Town decreases tremendously. This prevents Aizen from creating the key. It gives us more time," Shuuhei elaborated.

"Wow. It really was just a distraction…" Orihime said.

"Yeah, but now that you guys know it's a hoax, Aizen might find out soon. He has spies everywhere. And once he knows, there is no telling what he will do. He could attack Soul Society," Toushirou explained.

"Come on. Let's get back to the main hall," Momo said.

"We've told them of our situation, sir," Toushirou said to Yamamato.

"Where is Kuchiki now?" the older man asked.

"We told her to retreat back to the Shrine of Penitence. If there are spies lurking around, they won't think anything of it."

"Good. What about the humans?"

"They are being kept in a shack in the Rukongai district. No one will find them. We're making sure that everyone still thinks they are running around in Seireitei."

Yamamoto nodded in approvement. "Where is Kurosaki? I can feel him still in Seireitei."

"Yes, we believe he is still with Byakuya. He'll bring him directly to his comrades soon, sir.

"I hope Ichigo is alright," Orihime said placing a bowl of rice in the middle of a table.

"I'm sure he's fine Orihime," Tatsuki said starting to take some rice out of the said bowl.

"I just hope we didn't ruin anything for the shinigami. What if Aizen finds out about this whole thing being a hoax just because of us?" Orihime asked, concern evident in her voice as she sat in her chair with the rest at the table.

Ishida reached his hand over and placed it on top of hers. His eyes were piercing into hers. "We're still pretending that Rukia is going to be executed tomorrow. Aizen should know this because I've heard word that there are spies in Soul Society. Everything is still according to plan. Everything is going to be alright."

He kept staring into her eyes until hers flickered and an apologetic smile was drawn across her face. "I'm sorry. I know you're right. I'm just worrying again," she said looking down.

Ishida shook her hand gently to grab her attention back to him. "Don't be sorry. You have nothing to be sorry about." He smiled at her gently, followed by her giving him one back in gratitude.

Byakuya and Ichigo stopped outside a shack in the Rukongai district.

"I hope you understand all I've told you. I' sorry but that's the way it has to be," Byakuya said.

Ichigo avoided eye contact and didn't respond, but just looked out into the distance.

"Your friends are inside," he said motioning his head in the direction of the shack.

"Yeah," was all he said as he walked towards the door.

When Ichigo reached the door, he turned and saw Byakuya almost turning around the corner. He then went inside and saw his four companions sitting at a table eating.

"Ichigo!" Chad said in surprise.

"Hey, I'm leaving. I'll be back. Don't worry about me," he said going out of the door.

"Wait! Where are you going?!" Tatsuki yelled, but he was already long gone.

She was more at ease now knowing she wasn't going to actually be killed tomorrow, but just sitting in that place gave her the creeps. Why would you want to in a place that you were almost killed twice in? But she knew this was something she had to do.

She was lying on the floor. It was late and she should have been trying to get some sleep, but her mind was racing. "He came. Why did he come? How did he come? Where is he now? Does he remember anything?"

She shook her head and closed her eyes. There were too many questions that weren't going to be answered as quickly as they came.

The moonlight came through the window, shining onto her on the floor. Even through her closed eyelids she could see the light shining into her.

Suddenly, the light altered. She didn't think much of it, but thought it was the moon hiding behind the clouds, which disturbed the light from shining through the window.

She slowly fluttered her eyes up and was greeted by something she didn't expect. A shadowy image was sitting on the window ledge blocking the light from flooding into the room.

Rukia slowly sat up, leaning her weight on her elbows as she squinted to see who it was.

The shadowy figure spoke as Rukia tried to identify it.

"I promised to meet you again someday," a man's voice projected towards her.

Rukia's eyes widened. Her breathing seemed to stop. The voice pierced through her heart in a way that made one main emotion flood throughout her body.

"I- I," she was hesitant. "I waited for that day to come."

The figure stood up from the ledge and walked over to her, kneeling next to her as she was still leaning up on her elbows.

The moonlight shined on his face now, revealing what she already knew. Amber met violet once again in one of the most intense gazes they ever shared.

They spoke together now, as if it had been rehearsed. "And now that it came, I'll never let you go."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

So, what are you thinking? I'm thinking the ending was the same ending of chapter two only they are together this time! Ahhh! Okay, I got excited there but I don't care. Byakuya had some sort of discussion with Ichigo that apparently he didn't like, if you couldn't tell. And the next chapter is climactic, I think. Thanks to everyone for the reviews and please keep it up. I'm not sure how much longer this story is going to be, but I hope you'll stay with me until the end. Well, that's about it. Later