Standard disclaimer applies.
Author's notes: This one is actually a one-sided IchiHime, but it does imply the IchiRuki (and even more the IshiHime) so I believe it still keeps the spirit of "DB". It may contain spoilers from manga chapters 160+. Set just after the end of Ichigo's fight with Byakuya, when the rest meet up with him. Please read and review if you liked it!
Determination
24.03.200
Kurosaki-kun won. He had won the fight against sixth-division captain Kuchiki Byakuya at last…
The two boys lift the almost limp body of their injured friend, the bloody gauzes draping from his dirty clothes. They set him on softer soil, and as they do, she leans over to inspect the severity of the battle's after-effects. He is covered with bruises and lacerations she is not sure she will be able to heal with her powers, but she will try. The rest of them stand around her and look on; Ganjyu-san, Sado-kun, Ishida-kun, and even the shinigami-san that has been following them are all gathered there, watching in utmost silence.
Orihime looks at the orange-haired boy almost helplessly, watching with worried eyes as she tries to heal the cuts with her powers and works hard to close deeper wounds. Her knuckles turn white as the boy on the ground winces, his body still very weak and hurting, but he smiles at her and tells her he is okay. Kurosaki-kun, though torn up everywhere, looks positively even more resolute than before.
She had to insist on letting her heal him with her own powers, as both Sado-kun and Ishida-kun had tried to restrain her from doing so. 'It's too much for you,' they had said sympathetically, apprehension stretched over their facesBut they didn't know that she would have gladly done so even if it drained all her energy. To protect him, she'd grown stronger; and just to ensure his safety, she'd come this far. It was the least she could do now.
The girl feels a hand tap her gently on her shoulder, and so she turns to gaze at a concerned-looking Ishida Uryuu, who holds out a white embroidered handkerchief to her. Her auburn hair moves with the wind as she smiles at the bespectacled-boy. Gratefully, she takes the piece of clean cloth to wipe her face from tears and sweat before she goes back to healing. The Quincy stays close behind her, watching them both, her and the shinigami she's healing, with worried eyes. Kurosaki-kun mocks Ishida suddenly, calling him worry-cat and smirking widely at him, only to gain a hard glare from the other boy. Orihime knows it is not likely that Ishida-kun will ever admit he is actually concerned about Kurosaki-kun's condition and this simple fact makes her smile to herself, just a bit.
It is a little bit more over an hour when Kurosaki Ichigo finally stands up with little help from Sado-kun, smiling weakly at his comrades and ribs still creaking strangely. His wounds are still making him frown deeper than she's ever seen and his body is almost completely covered with blood-stained gauzes, but the important thing is that he is alive and breathing on his own. She smiles thankfully to the sky as the orange-haired shinigami calls his companions forth to continue their mission.
It is right then when her faith is reaffirmed more than ever, because even if it isn't her for whom Kurosaki-kun is fighting, she will help him in every way she can. However little strength she's got left, she will lend it to Kurosaki-kun. She may not be the real princess he is striving so hard to save, the one who he wants and needs to see the most right now, but still she will stay by his side until the very end.
Her eyes lit up determinedly.
Kuchiki Rukia-san had better be ready, because Kurosaki-kun was going to save her no matter what. And she would be there to ensure that.
END
Not so long after, everyone but her would hear a female shinigami's voice, a shinigami from the fourth division. The message delivered would be of great significance and it would cause commotion upon her companions. And then, she would watch as Kurosaki-kun ran to save his princess once again.