A/N: So! I have been away for a while, yes. Only one more chapter after this one, though, and this will be over!
So, mucho thanks are in order for: DancerGrl16, Enelya87, animelove4eva711, pinkie maz, Blitch, NaruHinaFanboy, , SierralaineWalsh, Lyhime, Ranger H, mickiressa, silver inu hanyou, CandyExpress, chuchootrain, CrimsonTora fallenmad, keithm8, Lady AlyseB630, lunatickat, pricrema, and SailorFrance.
Anyway, here we go, the long-awaited…CHAPTER 6!!!!!
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Chapter Six – Death and Disappearance
"Only about half a dozen times in recorded history has a godchild – or demigod – been found to be living outside the realm of heaven. No one knows if these demigods have fallen from the kingdom, or if they were deliberately placed on the earth as infants. As soon as a demigod is taken in by a family, the family accepts the child as their own, believing that the child was born to them, and this is part of what makes it so difficult to find out the presence of an angel. One thing is known for sure – there's no way back to heaven."
Orihime broke in. "So I – I'm a – what I mean is – there's a heaven?"
"Yes, but it is home only to the gods and their children, the angels.
"The last time there was an angel permanently inhabiting the earth was nearly eight hundred years ago. It is said, however, that shinigami are descended from these Earthangels, and that our power resembles merely a fraction of theirs.
"But you, with your rikka being so similar to our zanpaku-tou, and yet your powers so different and beyond anything we could ever do – I knew you were something different from the start. So I did some research and – it all fits. There's no doubt."
There was a long pause as Orihime took it all in. "So…I can see Ichigo again?"
Rukia smiled. "Yes. Only – of you come to Soul Society, you can't leave again. Any transferring between worlds by an angel is seen as 'celestial interference' and could destroy the balance of humanity. So long as you stay on one side constantly, it will be okay. But once you start moving back and forth…" Rukia shrugged. "I would imagine the demigods' laws have exceptions, but Yamamoto-soutaichou's do not. So, it's either come…or don't."
"Do I have to come now?"
"No; you can wait as long as you want – years even. Although, I wouldn't advise it," Rukia cautioned. "After staying in the Soul Society for an extended period of time, the aging cycle slows down, so a soul's lifespan is then measured in centuries and millennia. Ichigo's has already begun to slow, so if you don't want to be too much older than him when you see him again –"
"It's okay, Rukia-san; I've already decided," said Orihime. "I'll only need about a week." Her gaze suddenly became distant. "One week until I can be with Ichigo again…" she murmured. Then she wrapped Rukia in a huge hug.
"Thank you, so, so much, Rukia-san!" she cried.
Rukia laughed and hugged her back. "I really didn't do anything…but you're welcome," she said.
'Does Ichigo know about this?"
"No."
"Please don't tell him. I want him to be surprised."
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A week, Orihime had reasoned, was more than enough time to say her good-byes.
In the end, though, aside from telling the Kurosakis of her plight, the only formal good-bye she bid was to Tatsuki.
'Tatsuki-chan," Orihime said to her. "You know how you can sense certain things? Like, wehre everyone is and how they're doing?"
"Yeah…what're you saying?"
"What did you sense about Ichigo the night he…left?"
Tatsuki frowned. "You know, it was weird. I kind of felt him disappear, but it was just so sudden. I thought that, with drowning, it would be a little more, you know, drawn out. But it was like someone had flipped a switch. He was there – and then he wasn't. And I think that it was even before the rainstorm, although I'm not sure. I just had the hardest time believing he was dead. I still am – actually. Wait –" she hit Orihime with an intense gaze. "—you said the day he left. Then – he's not really –"
"He's not coming back," said Orihime softly. "But," she added on an impulse, "remember this; remember this always: to die is to disappear, but to disappear is not necessarily to die. Someday…you'll understand; I know it. But, Tatsuki-chan, I am going to – be with Ichigo."
'So you're going to – 'disappear'."
"Yes."
"And you won't be coming back either, I'm guessing?"
'No."
"I don't suppose I can come and visit you, wherever it is you're going?" Tatsuki suggested with a half-hearted smile that said she already knew it was futile.
"Not until you – get older."
"…How much older?"
"…That depends…"
Ever-perceptive Tatsuki got it. "Huh," she mused. "So there is an afterlife?"
Orihime nodded.
"So I guess I'll see you again in, what, seventy-five years or so? I'll still miss you a lot, though."
'I'll really miss you, too," said Orihime, and she and Tatsuki hugged. "Thanks for understanding, Tatsuki-chan."
"A part of me says this is crazy," she warned. "But there's another part that says this totally makes sense," she continued. "Weird, huh?"
'Not really," Orihime said.
"I guess not," Tatsuki smiled. "Say hi to Ichigo from all of us, will you?"
"I will," said Orihime. "Good-bye, Tatsuki-chan."
'Good-bye, Orihime."
Sharing one last smile, the two friends turned and walked away from each other for the last time…
…in this life, at least.
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A/N: You know the drill! Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease review!
~Love, Raye^^