Shout out to all my reviewers: XtremeGal87 – your reviews mean so much to me, as I am a huge fan of your fics, especially your latest "After Life." Thank you for the support, and I am glad you like how I split up the scenes. NaruHinafanboy – I hope I didn't anger you TOO much! Haha, I take it as a good thing though, right? Glad you are enjoying the fic. Nisey610, Lunarstar77, MeggzieofHyrule, Anom, Smexianime, tenma, orange drops, war90, blue flamingo, seth, nypsy, chuchootrain, pchan, Kaji Ginjou, and Odinson, thank you for your reviews as well! Much appreciated. (:

Ichigo made his way upstairs, despair filled behind his deep amber eyes. He had an intense feeling of uneasiness cast throughout his entire being. He was sure that if he still had his powers, his reiatsu would have been off the charts.

He knew, though, that he didn't need his powers to settle this. His fists would be enough.

Taking deep breaths, he made his was down the hall way, moving past the half conscious teenagers that littered the corridor. He ran as fast as his feet could carry him, praying he wouldn't be too late.

There were a few doors in this hallway, but he kept going until he came to one of the last doors. The dark wood of the door was foreboding; and Ichigo had a feeling it was an omen to what he was about to find on the other side. He threw open the door, and it made a loud banging noise as it connected with the wall behind it.

In that moment, the world ceased its spinning.

Ichigo felt his heart stop in his chest; the breath that had been in his lungs caught, stuck there as he processed the picture before him. He swore he could feel his blood boiling beneath his skin as he looked at the two men before him.

Lying on the giant bed laid Orihime, completely unconscious and stripped of her clothes. The only thing that still covered her body was her ruffled skirt that was pushed up to her barren, flat stomach. Ichigo's stomach twisted, the sight of her naked breasts piercing him like a sword.

There were two men inhabiting the room, one with his shirt off and pants unbuttoned, and the other one – Ichigo could feel fire rising inside him, ready to combust any second – was displaying his lower half, his jeans and boxers pushed down to his ankles as he propped himself above Orihime's unconscious form.

The men turned their attention to the livid orange-haired man staring at them, clearly seconds away from letting loose his anger on the two men.

The blonde man that had been on top of Orihime pulled away from the bed, his face portraying shock as he looked at Ichigo. He glanced at his friend, as if to say, "What are we going to do?"

The man smiled in response, clearly nonplussed by Ichigo's presence.

Ichigo's tempered flared, spiking to an all new high, past his breaking point. His rage was undeniable as his vision blurred; a malevolent expression took hold of Ichigo's face.

He clenched his fists; his knuckles white. He took that moment to etch their faces into his memory. He vowed to never forget them.

They stared back at him with a mixture of emotions on their face.

"What the fuck do you want, you little punk?" The shirtless man hissed, his eyes peering out from his thick, unruly waves. The blonde man stiffened, still standing at the edge of the bed.

"Maybe we should get out of here-," the smaller man began, only to be interrupted.

"No, fuck this, Koen! I asked this little fuck a question, and expect an answer! He better not have any ideas about joining in, that's for damn sure! She is ours!"

"I don't think that's what he came here for-," Koen tried once more, but was again ignored by Orochi.

"What the fuck do you want?" Orochi repeated.

Ichigo stared at the man, the silence filling the room. Orochi opened his mouth to speak again, but in the next instant, was pinned against the wall with strong hand tightly wrapped around his throat.

"What do I want? I want to rip off your fucking head, you bastard! I want to run a fucking sword through your body, and cut you to pieces one by fucking one, but lucky for you, I can't do any of the horrific things flashing through my mind that I so desperately want to do." Venom filled his voice as he practically spat the words out at the disgusting man, his hand still tightly clasped around his throat.

The man smirked, an evil twinkle in his eyes. He was not fazed by the fact Ichigo was right in his face, about to strangle him. He raised his own arm to throw a punch, but it was deflected before he even started to move it towards the angry teen's face. Ichigo had released the man's throat and had grabbed his half raised arm, twisting it back so the man yelped in pain and shock. Ichigo then punched the man in the face with all the strength he could muster. His head hit the wall, and he slid down it.

After the man fell to the floor, Ichigo turned his attention to the other man in the room.

"You probably should have run when you had the chance," Ichigo said, his voice low and threatening. Koen stepped in front of Orihime, defiance on his face.

The world Orihime currently inhabited was under attack, but she didn't know what was causing it. The gray skies were pouring rain, so much rain she was sure to drown if it kept up. The pavement beneath her feet was shaking, cracking, and ripping apart. Orihime tripped, never the graceful one anyway, and landed on her knees. Jagged rock stuck up from the ground, and her knees started to bleed from the cuts that formed. She looked up at the sky, tears forming in her eyes and mingling with the rain.

"What's happening? Is anyone here?" She called, panic in her voice. "Kurosaki-kun? Sado-kun? Ishida-kun? Please, anyone? I-I don't know what going on!" Her voice echoed across the deserted world, and the sky rumbled in angry reply, thundering above her head. Lightening blared across clouds, and rain continued to beat on the world below.

"Ah! Oh ow! It hurts!" Orihime moaned, wrapping her arms around herself. Pain shot throughout her body – her stomach, her head, arms, and legs- and she collapsed on the wet ground.

"What's h-happening?" Orihime stuttered, frightened by her current situation. Her body was in pain, but she didn't know what was causing it, nor did she even know where she was and why she was so alone in the first place.

The sky rumbled again as though responding, and a light appeared. Orihime squinted in the direction, trying to determine the source. Six little globes of light were floating down from the clouds, and Orihime opened her mouth in realization:

Her Shun Shun Rikka!

Relief settled through her body for the first time since she had landed in this terrible, isolated world.

"I don't want anymore trouble. Just mind your own business," Koen stuttered, staring at the orange haired man in front of him. He couldn't help but feel nervous and intimidated by him – he was clearly pissed, and had just successfully punched Orochi – not an easy task. At the same time, he wasn't going to just let him barge in and ruin everything he had worked for.

"If you seriously think I'm going to turn by back on her and let you do what you please, you must be out of your fucking mind." Ichigo hissed, preparing to lunge forward at the man.

A noise stirred behind him, and Ichigo did not hesitate. He smoothly turned and caught Orochi's fist right as it was about to connect with his skull. Ichigo swiftly kicked the offending man in the gut, knocking him back into the wall. Orochi stood up, his expression irate as he looked at Ichigo.

"You didn't think I was about to go down that easily, did you? You are nothing but a little punk, and you are not welcome here. I'm gonna show you how I deal with boys like you." Orochi said, his voice raspy and sinister.

"You got a lot of nerve talking about not being welcome! You stepped over the line of trespassing the moment you fucking touched her, you bastard! Men like you are disgusting, and I will never understand how you could do such a thing, especially to someone like her." Ichigo spat, advancing on the wavy haired man.

Koen took the opportunity to reclaim the woman lying on the bed, pulling her off the pillows quickly. Her body landed on the floor with a thud, catching Ichigo's attention. He dodged from the punch Orochi was about to throw once more, elbowed him forcefully in the ribs, causing him double over in pain-this gave Ichigo time to turn his attention to the other man in the room.

"What the fuck are you doing? Let her go!" Ichigo growled. He was about to advance on the blonde man in front of him, but stopped suddenly in his tracks. Koen had Orihime by the hair, her body flung across the floor, lifeless. He then tugged hard on her auburn locks, pulling her up by it, so he had his hands around her throat, her exposed skin glistening against the light. Ichigo clenched his jaw.

"I don't understand why you can't just leave me in piece – it's not like this triumphant rescue is going to salvage anything. It's much too late for that, I've already claimed her."

Ichigo's eyes widened in shock; realization flashing across his face. He hadn't thought they had gotten that far...

"Y-you didn't –," Ichigo stuttered, choking on this new bit of information.

"I was too late….I was too fucking late…those fucking bastards, how could they do that to her!"

"Don't you come near me, or I swear I will use her as a fucking shield. It won't bother me any." Koen said, but Ichigo could hear the fear laced in his voice. Ichigo furrowed his brow, and clenched his mouth tight.

"You're going to pay for what you did to her," he whispered just loud enough for Koen to hear. He flinched nervously, but did not let the girl in his hands go. He remained unmoving in his spot, back towards to door.

"W-w-why am I-I in so much p-pain?" a small voice said, causing everyone in the room to look down at the half naked woman in Koen's arms. Ichigo's stomach turned.

Orihime had woken up.

Ichigo already knew the situation couldn't get much worse, but he had hoped she would stay unconscious for the remainder of the time in this house. He knew it would be that much harder for both of them if she was awake, taking in the violation that had occurred.

And it was.

Her eyelids were heavy and appeared to be fighting to stay open, but the expression on her face was clearly one of panic and horror. Her mouth formed in a tiny 'o', and he watched the water pool in her deep gray eyes, soon followed by tears that streaked down her face.

"Now, now, Orihime, please don't get upset." Koen whispered into her ear, turning her so her face was buried in his chest. "I won't hurt you-,"

Ichigo moved to get Koen away from her, but was suddenly knocked down by Orochi.

"Damn it, I need him to fucking stay down! I can't get her out of here this way!"

Ichigo turned, striking the man with brute strength. Orochi kicked Ichigo in the gut, knocking him back for a second until Ichigo grabbed Orochi's foot mid air, and twisted it around until he heard a sickening crack. Orochi cursed, and fell to the floor once more, holding his foot in pain.

"You little fucker!" Orochi yelped, glaring at Ichigo. Ichigo wasn't taking anymore chances – his fist collided with Orochi's skull, knocking the man unconscious.

A painful yelp erupted into the air from behind Ichigo, causing him to spin around. Koen suddenly jumped back from Orihime, a hand clenching his pectoral while the other remained tightly wrapped around Orihime's wrist.

"You stupid bitch! I can't believe you bit me!" Koen looked at her disgustedly, raising his free hand to strike her. Ichigo's teeth ground together, anger sending him over the edge.

"Get away from me!" Orihime shrieked, fighting against the man's hold, terrified. He released his grip on her and she fell forward onto the floor, face first. Ichigo moved to retrieve her, picking her up bridal style, and Koen took the moment to pull up his pants and head for the door.

He was stopped by what appeared to be a wall – at first glance. A second longer, and Koen realized that it was not a wall blocking his exit, but a human.

Ichigo felt a moment of relief looking at the two men in the doorway. Ishida and Chad had finally arrived.

"Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime whimpered, her voice so small. Ichigo's heart broke, taking in the sight of her and hearing how fragile she truly sounded.

"Yes, Inoue, I'm here. It's over, I promise you, it's over," he said quietly, hoping to calm her. Instead she buried her face against his chest and bawled, her small body shaking in his hands.

"Oh Kurosaki-kun! It hurts…everything hurts!" Her hands flew to her bare chest, holding her heart. Ichigo grimaced, and looked away from the girl in his arms.

The image was going to kill him.

"Chad…Ishida…deal with these two. I'm going to get Orihime out of here."

Both men nodded, a solemn look on their faces.

I am SO sorry I have to end it there – I really wanted to update this fic since it's been sooo long, and I work in about 30 minutes, so this is the best I could do! It's not proofread, so please ignore any mistakes for now. This is less of a cliffhanger than usual though, right? I'll update soon, I promise! Please review!