I'm not dead! And nor is this story. Only my free time. I'm giving up on promises to write faster, since getting the combination of time and concentration seems night-on impossible lately, so I shall just humbly cast myself at the feet of all you readers who are still sticking with me and beg forgiveness.

On the plus side, I can finally call myself Dr Caraniente, since my PhD has gone through... just waiting on the final confirmation... so hurrah for work-related writing being mostly over, at least. Now I just have to learn the hundred or so kanji I'm supposed to know to take the JPLT level 5 this year... thank god it's japanese and not chinese, is all I can say. Now that's REALLY complicated.

I warn you in advance that this chapter sort of jumps around a bit... I've been focusing on Orihime, Renji and Rukia so far and will continue to do so in future chapters, but I wanted to use this chapter to take a quick look at all of the group, at their motivations the day before battle. Hope it's not too jarring.

Also, severe overuse of italics prevails throughout :)

They prepare.

Alone in a small clearing in the woods, Ishida lets his bow drop, and shields his eyes as he looks up at the sky. Away from the others, from their noise and their energy, he can fully concentrate on mastering Ginrei Kojaku. And he would need it, need all the power he could get, if he was to be of use in this fight. The reiatsu coming from that thing...

Ichigo, he corrects himself firmly.

"I will teach you regain your powers, on one condition."

Lifting the bow again, he draws the string back to his chin, posture steady, sighting through the web-shaped body.

I swore.

The Shinigami killed grandfather. They killed the Quincy.

But…Ichigo is not that kind of Shinigami. He doesn't fight to kill. He fights to protect...

I may fight alongside Shinigami. I may work alongside them. But this… this is not for them. This is for Ichigo.

He may be shinigami, but he is also human.

Ishida lets the arrow fly, cutting through the air in a blur of blue light until it hits the centre of the specially prepared target.

...Let him still be human.

In the fields outside of the main town, Sado reaches inside himself for his power. It comes at his call, manifesting into the hardened shield that covers his right arm. He closes his left fist around the cool, solid skin, allowing the power to flow through him, feeling the renewed strength of his body.

Abuelo… why do I have this strength?

"How 'bout this, Chad? You hit for my sake. And I'll hit for yours. If it's something you'd risk your life to protect, I'll risk my life for it to."

"It's a promise, ne?"

Ichigo…. You risked your life for me. You risked your life for Rukia. And I know you'd risk your life to stop a monster – even if the monster is you.

It's a promise – my friend.

Across the field, Renji adjusts his bandana, eyes narrowed, then lifts Zabimaru into a ready stance. The light glints from the jagged edges of the segmented blade.

Eyes meet; two warriors, sizing each other up. And then Sado roars, charges, and Renji meets him halfway, the clash of steel against armoured skin ringing through the air.

Ichigo, you dumb kid. You stormed into Soul Society for Rukia when you knew you didn't stand a fuckin' chance. You fought me when I was too angry and too stupid and too afraid to do what I should'a done in the first place. Ya saved me from makin' the dumbest mistake of my whole dumb life.

'Bout time I returned the favour. Just hope I can hold up long enough to help ya. An' if I don't make it... well, you'll look after Rukia for me, ne?

"Santun Kesshun!"

In the grounds of an abandoned warehouse, Orihime shields herself from Rukia's white blade.

"Koten Zanshun!"

Tsubaki howls as he arrows through the air, to be turned aside by a shield of solid ice. He growls as he darts back to Orihime, but he does not complain about her weak will anymore.

Kurosaki-kun…

You were always strong, no matter what. Even when you had no way of winning. You saved us all, time and time again.

Kurosaki-kun… I will not be weak anymore. This time, we will save you.

Rukia begins the first dance, calling Tsukishiro's pillar of ice from the ground to create a barrier between herself and Orihime. She hears the chink of the ice as Tsubaki strikes against it – and the pillar shatters. Above the jagged remains, she raises her eyes to Orihime's determined grey ones.

Ichigo… forgive me. Because of me, you took this power upon yourself. Because of me, you were almost killed, left powerless. Because of me, you risked everything to find that strength again.

And then you risked it all again, to save me.

She remembers falling on the mountaintop that day, remembered the solid wall that was Ichigo and Renji as they squared off, teamed up, to face Aizen. Remembers each of them falling, bloodied and broken, to the ground, while all she could do was shiver in her thin robe, her reiatsu drained, Sode no Shirayuki unreachable.

Ichigo. I will save you. Even if… even if it means risking everything I hold dear…

Orihime stretches her tired muscles. Even though she has been training hard over the last few months, helping to protect the town against Hollows since Ichigo vanished, it always made her ache.

She reaches up to pat her hairclips, whispering a soft "Arigatou". In her mind, she senses the warmth that is Lily and the others beaming – and Tsubaki's snort as he folds his arms grumpily.

Before her, Rukia polishes and sheathes Sode no Shirayuki, then looks away toward the fields where clouds of dust are still rising. Orihime notes the concerned look on her face.

"Kuchiki-san?"

Rukia doesn't seem to hear, and it isn't until Orihime lays a tentative hand on her shoulder that the petite shinigami jumps and turns to look at her.

"Are you worried about Renji-san?"

"Hmph." Rukia scowls and folds her arms. "Why should I worry about that idiot? If he gets himself hurt, it'll be his own fault for not calling for help."

But Orihime sees the way the smaller girl's eyes slide away from hers, back toward the dust and reiatsu and Zabimaru's echoing howl.

"Stubborn fool," Rukia mutters as she folds her arms defensively.

"He'll be alright, you know." When Rukia raises surprised eyes to her, Orihime offers her a tentative smile.

"He's got all of us to help him, after all."

"Ah." But Rukia stays quiet as they start back to the small hotel, her eyes on the floor as if deep in thought. Orihime fills the silence as best she can, trying to cheer her friend up, chattering about things they would do after this – what Ichigo would think of the new teacher at school, how they should have a party to celebrate him being back…

"Orihime… you care a lot for Ichigo, don't you?"

"Eh? Oh!" Orihime feels heat rush to her cheeks at the question, her head whipping around to see if Rukia has noticed – but the petite shinigami's eyes are still on the floor.

"Ah, I like him, no! …I mean, he's always been kind to me, but… oh…" Orihime stutters, trying to find some way of answering that won't incriminate her, face burning, heart racing. Why is Rukia asking this? Orihime feels her cheeks flame hotter as she remembers the camaraderie between Ichigo and Rukia. Was Rukia… was she asking because..? But Renji…

"I'm just wondering…" Rukia continues, her voice low. "If Ichigo did something… something you didn't like, something he knew you wouldn't like but he did it anyway… would you… do you think you could forgive him?"

"Eh?" The question takes Orihime aback, and she frowns as the rhetorical situation begins to tickle at her thoughts.

"I suppose…" She glances up at the sky. Ichigo doing something she didn't like? But… there had never been anything… had there…?

But then… he had hurt her brother… but he had done it to save her… he was…

"Kurosaki-kun… he's a good person," she begins thoughtfully after a few moments. "And anything he does, even if I didn't like it for some reason, I'd always know he did it because he thought it was the right thing to do. Or because it would help someone. So I guess…" Orihime allows a small smile to curve her lips as the image of Ichigo, bursting with that righteous anger, sword raised to defend the whole world it sometimes seemed, flashed before her eyes.

"I don't think there'd ever be any question of having to forgive." She finishes lightly.

Though she doesn't know why, Orihime is relieved when Rukia's lips curve into a small smile.

"Arigatou, Orihime-chan."

Orihime throws the covers off, tangled around her from her restless doze. The tension of the upcoming fight has left her stomach knotted and tense, her mind whirring with a thousand things. Padding to the window, she twists her fingers together, looks out at the sky. It's a full moon, round and large and somehow…

…yellow…

…against the dark sky, and for moment she sees the monsters eyes as it turns, looks back, blood dripping from white claws and black sword, Renji's figure a broken doll at its feet.

"Could you forgive him?"

Can I…. can I really forgive that? If any of us were to be hurt… if any of us were to die?

Could I really forgive him?

Thank-you so much if you're still reading and hope you enjoyed it... I'm looking forward to trying to write the battle itself, but it's gonna be a pretty major challenge for me, so bear with me ne?

Reviews are love and encouragement... :)