Date written: 01/04/10 – 09/04/10

Posted on FanFiction: 11/04/10

A/N: Even if one of my reviewers, PrincessOfHeartsNYP, had initially believed I am a woman due to my choice of protagonist (and probably the female majority of the fanfiction community), I have no experience whatsoever in regards to women's conversation (I'd like to call it a conference). This way of thinking may have sprung up from something stereotypical, but every time I try to initiate the women's convo in this chapter, I always have this feeling that it lacked something in it. It's probably just paranoia similar to how Hermione Granger feels before being given OWL results . . . that, or I really did botch up the whole convo.

Onto more manga-related matters (Up to Chapter 399: DEICIDE): With the current development of the fight on Aizen escalating, I had this thought in my head. I mean we all know Isshin has black hair (which Karin inherited) and Masaki, his wife, has dirty blonde hair (which Yuzu inherited), but where does Ichigo get his bright orange hair? You can hit me now for being so goddamn retarded. Ow... you didn't have to hit that hard, people. Anyway, with all this stuff Aizen started talking about with Ichigo before the "interference" (spoiler censoring for those who haven't read the latest manga chapters), it led me to wondering if Ichigo was adopted or something. The chances have gone up a bit. Or maybe Isshin is not the real father, but Ichigo's still Masaki's firstborn. And now I'm starting to believe Isshin is (or was) part of the Zero Division; not only from his raw display of power but that shoulder piece of his must be an indicator of his rank, since no other captain seems to possess it.

--- CHAPTER 24 ---

She Who Has Gone

On the next morning, Orihime awoke with a sense of alienation at her surroundings. Probably a case of her mind still half-asleep since she was lying on her bed and inside her own apartment. It was not as if there was something missing in her simple abode, but the feeling seemed to come more from within her. She didn't know why this was so, but it didn't stop her from continuing on with her day. Scanning her apartment once more just to be sure there wasn't anything amiss, her eyes fell upon a small device placed on the center of her work desk. Urahara had given it to her before she and the others left his shop. He said it was something she could use to instantly 'go shinigami,' as he put it, since he (or anyone else, for that matter) didn't want a repeat of the incident in Karakura High School. The man seemed inclined to help them in more ways than one, almost like a Good Samaritan.

After the whole fiasco yesterday, Urahara had shown his genius to her and Ichigo by making the school look good as new; the windows that were broken looked like they were before the incident, and the student body that had been there to help with the mess did not remember a thing. Just the way it should be.

She rose from her bed, stretching her arms out as the morning greeted her with not only the sun's basking light but also the soothing melody of the morning birds singing and tweeting from outside her window. After finishing up her morning rituals and some breakfast (natto with strawberry jam), she made her way to school, but doubled back after forgetting to bring the device Urahara gave her. She and Tatsuki met close to the school and walked there together. Neither said much this morning, which was odd since they often had something to talk about.

Orihime took the silence between them as a worrying sign. Her best friend had just been in a life-or-death situation yesterday that might've left her with some emotional scars after seeing whatever horror she had seen. Not only that, there was also the matter of her spiritual sensitivity mysteriously disappearing. Urahara had told her and Ichigo that the loss of Tatsuki's spiritual power might've been the result of her using Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka, and if that wasn't enough to deal with, he also believed that Emi had a hand in this. Orihime wasn't sure what to think of it. Sure she was sad that Tatsuki could no longer connect deeply with her as before, but that also meant she would no longer be involved in any of the dangers. One incident where Tatsuki used her hairpins to take care of a threat, leaving her physically and spiritually exhausted afterwards, was enough for her to decide that. Though it pained Orihime to think of it, she was actually glad that this happened to her best friend. Even if it seemed like an Ichigo-ish way of protecting someone, somehow she felt that this was the best course of action to do.

And that made her wonder if Ichigo felt the same way about her whenever he tried to push her out of danger . . .

They arrived at school in time, and Orihime resisted the urge to hug Chizuru and say that she was glad the redhead was okay. Ditzy as Orihime was, something pulled her back before she could make a very big mistake by hugging the school's most open lesbian without preamble. Tatsuki would surely understand her action, but the others wouldn't, especially Chizuru, who would take the hug the wrong way. So as they passed her by with just a simple "Good morning," there was nothing worthwhile to take note as they entered their classroom and went to their respective seats. Orihime glanced over Ichigo's seat, finding it empty. Rukia was nowhere to be found, either, but Sado was in his seat, as was Ishida. Both males gave a small nod her way, to which she nodded back with a small smile.

Ichigo and Rukia arrived just before the first school bell rang, signaling homeroom. Ochi-sensei did the roll call and quickly left, and soon it was just another day in school as first period arrived. During the ten minute break before the next period started, Orihime went to ask Ishida if his hand was still okay.

"It's fine, Inoue-san," he answered, pushing back his glasses. His nonplussed expression never quivered. "Thank you again."

Her cheeks blushed pinkly. "It was no biggie." She gave him a smile before she sauntered back to her seat. Their exchange did not go unnoticed by some of the more . . . observant students in the class. They held their tongues for the moment; they had all the time in the world to learn the truth at lunch.

"Why did you invite me, Kurosaki?" Ishida asked.

Ichigo, Ishida, Chad, Keigo, and Mizuiro were currently on the school's rooftop, eating the lunch Keigo bought with all the money he had in his pockets. He murmured about being ripped off, but he didn't voice it out too loudly to everyone. Good thing, too, because Ichigo was not in the mood for his bitching.

"No reason," Ichigo answered before taking a bite from his melon bread. "I just felt like it."

"If it's because you feel sorry for me, then there is no need." His tone was almost condescending—almost. "I happen to like eating lunch alone."

He wanted to say that he was the same, but that didn't seem to be a good reply. "Then try eating lunch with people for once. See if you like it better than your old routine." Ichigo suddenly felt hypocritical.

"Why do you care?" Not wanting to look rude to Keigo, seeing that he did buy him his lunch, Ishida tore the wrappers off his curry bread and started eating.

"You had every reason to decline my offer, yet you didn't."

"I doubt anyone would decline the chance of getting free lunch," Ishida replied matter-of-factly.

"Really?" Ichigo didn't believe him. "That sure tells a whole lot about you, you know."

"Oh? And what might that be, Kurosaki?"

"Introverted, cheap, a bookworm, and a closet hopeless romantic."

"I don't know how you end up with that last description . . . but something tells me that you're looking for a fight." His right cheek rose, narrowing his eye, giving him that look that shouted 'I'm royally pissed right now.'

"I just think you look tense being in an unfamiliar environment, is all. Couldn't think of anything else to make you loosen up a little."

"And annoying me is your idea for me to 'loosen up a little,' huh." Ishida was close to snarling, Ichigo could feel it.

"Not at all. If I hadn't said anything I was sure you would've just sat there and stayed quiet like you were a shadow." Before he could let the Quincy reply, he said to Keigo, "Keigo, tell a joke."

"Eh? Eh, well, uh . . ." he stammered some more, but quickly stopped when Ichigo gave him a very heated glare.

"Tell. A. Joke."

Keigo's defenses must've snapped at the veiled threat in his words. He stood up and began waving his arms around, catching the attention of everyone else. The joke was quite lost to them because Keigo seemed content to spew out nonsensical bullshit. Ichigo wasn't complaining; he only wanted a distraction, not a ready-made standup comedy act. That would've been too much to expect from someone like Keigo.

"And what about you, Mister Social?" Keigo pointed at Ishida. "Don't think we didn't see your little 'love talk' with Orihime Inoue! The whole class saw you two talking like you were very close with each other."

Open mouth, insert foot. Ichigo should've expected that from Keigo.

"Do I have an obligation to divulge you of my relationship status with Inoue-san?" Ishida questioned, eating the last bit of his curry bread before finishing up his juice.

"Yes you do!"

Mizuiro, having been as quiet as Chad since the start of the conversation, did a dramatic cough to gain everyone's attention and said, "While I don't agree with Asano-san's accusation—"

"There you go with the 'Asano-san' thing again!"

"—I am curious about that conversation you had with Inoue-san. She said something about your hand still hurting?"

"Oh yeah, that's right," Ichigo interjected, and looked at Ishida's hand. "You hurt your hand yesterday. It looks fine now." Ishida had informed him last night about the condition his hand was in. When the sandal-hat guy's Jamaican-looking friend inspected it, he ended up with the same conclusion Ishida did: his hand had to be healed the old-fashioned way. It was heavily bandaged the last time he saw it, but now there wasn't even a trace of anything wrapped around it. As if the wound was never there in the first place.

"Yes," Ishida murmured, looking at his once injured hand with an expression Ichigo couldn't quite understand. Mystified, maybe? "Inoue-san . . . has a surprising talent for healing."

"But I thought you weren't supposed to, er . . ." He looked at Keigo and Mizuiro from the corner of his eye, and reworded what he was about to say. ". . . um, apply anything on it until after a few days."

"That's what I thought, too, but her technique seems to defy that notion."

"Technique?"

"Yes, technique."

". . . what the hell are you talking about?"

He pushed back his glasses. "Then you are not aware of it?" He didn't wait for a reply. "I see. I guess you are not the only one keeping secrets."

"Okay, you lost me here. What do you mean by keeping secrets?"

"Don't we have the right to know what's happening in this conversation?" Keigo interrupted. "It's like Ishida here is implying Orihime-chan is like a nurse who gives her patients a secret 'special' service—"

Ichigo glared at him, and Ishida also joined.

"Uhm, yeah. I . . . uh . . . am just gonna back away slowly and keep my mouth shut. Right." And backed away, he did. But he forgot to bring his lunch with him, so he hustled back, apologizing and explaining, and ran to the opposite side of the rooftop.

The two looked at Mizuiro, who then sighed.

"All right. I'll keep Keigo busy."

When he was out of earshot, Ishida said, "You didn't tell Inoue-san about the Quincy. With that said, did she approach you about this?"

"Yeah, I remembered her asking me about that. Rukia gave her the basic rundown of the whole thing." He remembered it well. She used the same illustrations, too. Ugh. "What's that got to do with this?"

"I don't see the logic of you trying to keep Inoue-san from danger, Kurosaki. She had already proven herself capable of defending herself."

Ichigo gave him a skeptical look.

"Well, her alter-ego at least." Ichigo was the one who informed him of Orihime's Jekyll-and-Hyde situation.

"You don't have to understand the logic in this. I didn't tell her about you because I didn't have to. I wanted to settle the whole thing before it gets too complicated."

"She looked hurt last night when she realized you didn't tell her about me, you know."

"What?"

"I don't know what kind of history you two have with each other, but I can clearly determine that there is a bit of a trust issue between you two. You keep secrets from each other that are dangerous and risky for the other to know."

His eyes widened. "That's—"

"Absurd? Hmph. In denial, are we?" Ishida crushed his empty juice box. "It matters little, I suppose. We may have come to a truce for a cease fire, but that doesn't change the fact that I do not want to get involved with you or Inoue-san any more than I have to. And by the way I see it, this issue between you and her would most likely be the cause of your downfall."

"I'm not in denial," Ichigo grumbled.

"Is that so? Hmn."

Ichigo couldn't deny his statement in his head, though. That bespectacled archer was observant, but he only got the bare essentials of the situation and not the whole thing. There was no possible way he could understand the reason behind his way of keeping Orihime in the dark. He already established with himself long ago that whether she was in the dark or not, Orihime still had this tendency to get hurt if left unsupervised, and it was only through the strange workings of her alter-ego that she had survived those close calls. Ichigo was no fool. Orihime was not cut out for this duty, seeing that every time an opportunity arose for her to show him and Rukia what she was capable of, it was taken away by a hostile body takeover courtesy of Emi. But there was one time where she showed an incredible display of iaijutsu when something dark and evil escaped the Gates of Hell and attacked him. However, that did not mean it was solely Orihime. Her back had been to him, so he couldn't discern her eye color and she had been avoiding making direct eye contact with him until he ordered her to look him in the eye. The brownish tint of her gray eyes was enough of a sign to tell him that it was still borrowed strength from Emi. Suffice to say, he was a little hesitant in informing Orihime if her help was not exactly needed at the time. With what happened yesterday, he wondered if not informing her about Ishida's hostility would've improved the whole thing.

No, he thought, I don't think it would have.

Sighing, Ichigo rubbed the bridge of his nose. A headache was inevitably coming, and there was no way of stopping it. He was grateful for Orihime's help, he really was, but like Rukia, he was wary of Emi's motives. And the veiled threat she gave to Rukia a few weeks ago did not bode well for him. He had a hard time categorizing her as a friend or a foe.

Chad . . . well, he just sat there silently, eating his curry bread with his trademark silence. If he had a comment he wanted to say to the others, he didn't voice it out. The conversation between Ichigo and Ishida was going too fast for him to find the right timing. He was not the kind of guy who liked interrupting people.

Around the same time the boys were having their discussion on the school's rooftop, the girls in Class 3-1 were having their own interesting conversation at the back of the school under the shade of the biggest tree in the lot. A large picnic blanket was sprawled out on the ground and the girls situated themselves over it as they dug into their respective bento.

Orihime was having a fun time eating one of her favorite creations, though some of the fun had been sapped away when she caught the disgusted looks the other girls except Tatsuki and Chizuru were giving her. Tatsuki always told her that her choice of food was not what you would call 'normal' (was it because of her being a half-shinigami or was it just her?), but those looks always hurt. It was like back when she was in middle school and everybody alienated her because of the strange color of her hair (which she also suspected is because of her shinigami heritage).

Her eyes traveled to the dignified pose of Rukia as she ate her bought lunch with the grace of a noble. Some of the girls were fascinated by this grace which seemed to be more prominent on Rukia than any rich and sophisticated person they met. And more than one person had asked her if she was of noble blood or something similar. It sure put her off sometimes, but the façade she had been using since her transfer was always in place and that was enough to change the subject matter before she was forced to give out an answer. It was like Rukia didn't want to connect with anyone, let alone inform others of her past.

"So, Kuchiki-san," Mahana Natsui, the curious girl of the group, said with a pause, waiting for Rukia to acknowledge her. Once she did, she continued, "Do you like Ichigo Kurosaki?"

Rukia was at that moment drinking from her strawberry juice box. The question came out with such blunt force that she spat the juice out of her mouth. "Uh . . . what?"

"You're always seen walking with Kurosaki before and after school. So tell us. Are you two intimate or something?"

"I—I—uh—I—"

Rukia breathed deeply, calming her down before her sputtering got any worse.

"Kurosaki-kun and I are just friends, that's all," she stated simply, the smile she placed on her face was enough of a bluff that everybody believed it.

The girls groaned in unison. "Darn. I was so sure you had a thing for Kurosaki," Mahana said.

Ryo Kunieda, the track and field star and bookworm of Class 1-3, said, "Are you sure Kuchiki is the right person to ask that, Natsui?" Not once did she leave her eyes from the book she was reading. "Inoue has been getting close to Kurosaki these past few weeks."

There was silence as Orihime squirmed at everyone's attention towards her. She looked down, unable to face the facts in their purest form. She was sure someone in the group would start to ask her about her relationship with Ichigo, and she was not one to lie with a straight face often. Whether she liked to keep her current closeness to Ichigo a secret or not was irrelevant. The problem lay with their 'extracurricular' activities, which also involved Rukia. How could she lie her way out of that if they pestered on with the questions?

Chizuru giggled. "What are you talking about, Ryo-chan? Hime doesn't affiliate herself with such riffraff like Kurosaki, right, Hime?"

"Um, well . . ."

"Chizuru."

"Yes, Tatsuki?"

"If you don't get your hands off Orihime's shoulders this instant, I will grind your face with the ground."

Chizuru complied. "Hehehe. Let's not get violent here . . ."

"Then don't provoke me."

"Well, Orihime," Mahana said, getting interested on the idea of a secret love triangle between Ichigo, Orihime, and Rukia, despite the latter person's denial, "tell us. Are you and Kurosaki dating?"

Orihime blushed. She couldn't reply. Her thoughts dragged her to that one simple question, while her imagination conjured up very vivid images of what she and Ichigo would be doing if they were actually dating. From having romantic candlelit dinners, watching movies, and some of that good ole 'couple courtship' to skydiving on top of Tokyo Tower, having a red bean paste eating contest, and headbutting each other . . . all at the same time.

"Hello? Orihime?"

Mahana's hand waved in front of Orihime's face. When that didn't work, she snapped her fingers several times.

"Heh?" Orihime tilted her head, slightly dazed from being pulled out of her inner thoughts just when the Ichigo of her imagination was about to loudly proclaim his love of her to the world through a giant bullhorn. "What?"

"Are you and Kurosaki dating?" Mahana reiterated, though she wasn't really looking for an answer from the orangehead; the blush and the dazed look were enough to give her an idea of what was going on inside that head of hers. Unfortunately, the others who saw Orihime's face had similar ideas.

Orihime shook her head. "No, no. We're just getting to know each other better."

"Then, become an item," Mahana retorted, "Right?"

Blush deepening, she shook her head once more, more vigorously this time.

"You mean you haven't made moves on Kurosaki yet?"

Orihime just looked down, embarrassed to the point that she couldn't make any replies to any of the girls' queries, even Tatsuki's when she asked if she was all right.

"All right, girls, let's leave Orihime alone," Tatsuki said to the others. "I think she's had enough of the teasing."

"She must be quite love-struck to clam up like that," Ryo commented, then turning the page of her book. ". . . or probably just embarrassed."

"It can't be true! It can't be!" Chizuru yelled. "Hime, please tell me that all they're saying is just lies. You can't have a crush on Ichigo Kurosaki of all people."

"Then what about Ishida-kun?" Michiru Ogawa asked. "Orihime-chan seemed to have gotten closer to him, too."

"Oh yeah," Mahana mused. "Orihime and Ishida acted like really close friends back in class."

"You think so?" Orihime inquired. While grateful that the topic had changed, she was lost on how asking Ishida about the state of his injury could be considered a conversation between 'really close friends' for the other girls. She didn't realize that maybe Mahana was exaggerating things since it concerned one of the coldest students in Karakura High warming up to a person of the opposite sex. It was sure to turn a lot of heads their way.

"I know so," Mahana replied as if she knew a lot more about Ishida than she let on. "So, Orihime, you've set your eyes on not one but two boys in our class."

"Eh?" Confusion. Reprocessing information . . . complete. "EEEEH?!!"

"Mahana!" Tatsuki scolded. "Stop teasing her."

She pouted. "I was only curious."

"But you could've been less blunt about it."

"Oh, so you also think Orihime is getting into a love triangle?"

Orihime looked at her best friend, aghast. "You really think that of me, Tatsuki-chan?"

"Of course not! Mahana's just putting words in my mouth."

"And I'll keep on teasing until I hear what I want to hear, Orihime."

"Which is what?" Orihime asked.

Mahana cocked an eyebrow, her mouth forming a lopsided grin. "Two boys, one girl. You get what I mean?"

"Ah . . ." She pondered for another two seconds. "No, I don't."

She sighed. "Just tell me straight: who do you like, Kurosaki or Ishida?"

"Neither!" Chizuru exclaimed. "There is no way that my dear Hime would love some dirty, worthless man. Right, Hime?"

Orihime murmured something, her head down and her cheeks flaming a beet root red. It was so quiet that none of the girls had heard it, but they knew she said something.

"Eh? What was that again?" Mahana said, leaning closer towards the orangehead. "Say it louder."

She murmured again, louder but not quite enough to be understood.

"Suki?" Michiru repeated. Orihime probably meant she needed some room since they were huddling her, somewhat.

"I like Kurosaki-kun," she said, louder and clearer. By the end of it, Orihime was so embarrassed that she covered her face with her hands. "Uuuuhh . . . I can't believe I just said that."

While Chizuru was in an almost permanent state of shock, the other girls were squealing at the proclamation, and so the real interrogation began. When did you realize it? What do you see in him? Does he know? Does he look interested? Will you be the one making the first move or him?

It got to the point that they asked two to three questions at a time, and Orihime got overwhelmed. She turned to Rukia and Tatsuki for help, but the two were already engaging to her aid before she thought of it. It was easy enough for them to placate the stampede of curious questions. That didn't stop the teasing, though, and Tatsuki and Rukia were more than happy to join in on it.

By the end of lunch, Orihime wished Rukia could allow her to use the memory modifier on everyone who was there. And she meant everyone.

Night was upon the sky. The winds picked up and it swayed her raven hair to her left. She stood outside Ichigo's house, a small pack on her back and a heavy heart that was reluctant to let everything go. Rukia was not a very sentimental person—well, at least not openly—but there was just something about this place, this town, the people she had befriended that made her want to stay. But her selfish desire was not a wish to be granted. Reality was harsh, she knew that all too well, and she didn't dwell long inside her foolish fantasies of a world where everything was all right.

She delayed this for too long. Her indecision had cost her valuable time to get out of Karakura and disappear. Soul Society is a by-the-book organization, thus there was a limited moment of opportunity for her to make a head start in her disappearing, but she didn't take it. This town held her back. The people—Orihime, Ichigo, Kon, her classmates—held her back. She dreamed for too long, and now the small window of escape might've already eluded her.

But there was no turning back now. If she stayed until the troops Soul Society would send came and got her, Ichigo and Orihime would be caught in the crossfire. As long as she kept them away from the confrontation, then there might still be a chance for her to live long enough to warn Soul Society about the Lückenhaft, although those bureaucrats would more than likely dismiss her like some raging lunatic. But still, she had to try.

Rukia looked away from the house and towards the dark street. The moon shone full tonight, but it did little to brighten the calm night. The wind subsided. It was cold, but she didn't give notice.

As she started her dash towards the edge of town, she hoped against hope that Ichigo would listen to her for once and obey the contents of the letter she had left behind on his desk. Knowing him, he would probably ignore it until he realized she wasn't coming back. That'd give her at least until morning before he suspected something.

A part of her wanted to glance at the Kurosaki household one final time but—

"No," she said to herself, quickening her pace. "It's better this way. Better for all of us."

Her footsteps were fast, her form light and contrasting to the dark colors of the background. Her mind was set straight, and her goal unwavering. Nothing could stop her.

Rukia Kuchiki was gone.

Chapter Afterword:

Orihime's choice of breakfast is not what you'd consider normal, I suppose. Natto is an acquired taste, and though I haven't tasted one in my life, I'm sure that it is far from tasting sweet. Hence, the presence of strawberry jam. If natto tasted somewhat bitter, maybe she was thinking something along these lines: "If it tastes bitter, won't the jam make it bittersweet, like dark chocolate?"

'Suki' has around four meanings, if Wiktionary is to be trusted. It means 'space,' 'shovel,' and 'room,' apart from the well-known English-translation 'love.' "Ichigo-kun. Suki desu." ("Ichigo-kun. I love you.")