Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach and/or its characters

Failure

Orihime blinked a few times as she felt tears stream down her face. She clenched her fist tightly. All of her friends were hurt because of her...

No... by her.

Even though Aizen had hypnotized her, it was no excuse.

But that control was broken now, although only for a short time and no one had noticed yet... and the least she could do now was to help her friends get away. Biting her lip, she recited her incantation for attack and sent Tsubaki at Aizen, creating a big explosion of dust and residue.

Orihime, eyes now dry, clenched her fists and hesitantly turned to her friends. Her voice was filled with urgency as she yelled, "Run away... go now!"

Ichigo grabbed her arm in one hand, his sword in the other just in case Aizen and the rest of them tried to pull anything funny. "Not without you. Chad, Ishida, Renji, Rukia. We came all this way to save you."

The thought of all of them coming to get her back brought a smile to Orihime's lips, but it wasn't a happy one.

She removed her arm from Ichigo's comforting grasp, letting his hand hold onto nothing while she held her hand to her chest. "I'm sorry Kurosaki-kun... everyone... you wasted a trip here then..."

Ichigo blinked as he looked at the honey haired girl. She moved a few steps back, her eyes locked with his and a small, sad smile still present on her lips.

"You can't save me."

The substitute shinagami was not getting what Orihime was saying. She couldn't be save? He wasted a trip? It was almost like she was saying she couldn't leave, but that couldn't be right. Why would Orihime want to stay? Why did she say she couldn't be saved?

As if sensing his confusion, Orihime began to clarify her response. Her eyes find themselves looking at her shoes as she began, "I gave up my freedom…"

She paused for a few seconds as if to find the right words to say. She didn't want Ichigo blaming himself again. She never wanted to see him unhappy like that again. Especially not because of her.

With that in mind, she lifted her head and gave Ichigo and all the others that had come to rescue her a small eyes closed smile, tears forming behind her eyelids. "I gave up my freedom in exchange for your lives."

Ichigo's eyes widened as something came back to his memory.

"This is the end. There is no way for you to intervene. The sun has already sunken into our grasp."

He didn't get it until now… and now it was too late!

He shook his head violently as he made to grab Orihime's hand again, but was being pulled away by Chad and Renji. They broke out into a run while Aizen was still recovering from the brown haired girl's attack. Ichigo tried to fight against them but his body was giving out on him. "Let go! We have to save Inoue!" he yelled angrily at them as they pulled him farther and farther away from the girl.

Both of the men looked at him with grave eyes as they continued to pull him towards what seemed to be the exit.

"Let me go!" Ichigo continued as he tried to struggle against his two friends. He heard Rukia screaming similar words as she struggled against Ishida who tried to drag her out as well. But both of their cries fell upon deaf ears.

His eyes began to burn with tears of helplessness as he saw Orihime's back for what might have been the last time. She shouldn't have to do this. She was a girl who had dreams to fulfill and people to make smile. She was a girl he still had to apologize to for when Kon kissed her, a girl he had to protect because she seemed that fragile… a girl with the body of a woman, but not yet reached that stage.

She was still just a girl.

And he failed to protect her… again.