Bleach (c) Tite Kubo

Black and Blue

Struggle

One may wish to dismiss it as childish optimism, but in her heart of hearts Orihime sincerely hoped things would return to normal at the conclusion of that ugliness in Soul Society. Albeit with a few supernatural caveats.

Rukia's execution had been successfully averted, new friends were made and everyone parted on good terms.

And for at time, things did.

Like with every milestone in life, all of them came out of Soul Society changed a little for the better. The four of them were undeniably closer for the experience and for the most part, they enjoyed these halcyon days. But it wasn't long before the first cracks formed in that naïve fragile dream, as much as Orihime tried her level best to believe otherwise.

Before she knew it, those cracks swiftly and quietly expanded into gaping chasms that torn at the fabric of this pleasant illusion.

Hollows would still come and they - Chad, Ichigo and Orihime - would defend Karakura from their rampages (though they're hardly worth calling it that, considering Ichigo dispatched the Hollows with a single swing from his Zanpakutou before they had the opportunity to cause too much ruckus).

Out of the three of them, only Chad seemed to emerge from the Soul Society incursion relatively unscathed. Save for the stark reminder that while his powers were great for a human, they were still very much in their infancy, much like Orihime's. And he required a great deal more training and mastery if he wanted to fight the kinds of foes Ichigo and Uryuu contended with.

To that end, after Ichigo, Chad seemed to be the one throwing himself most into defending the town, completely dedicated to achieving new heights and becoming stronger to defend innocents.

Uryuu sporadically joined them for a time, but his outings became fewer and farther between as the days wore on. The Quincy privately confided to Orihime that the battles in Soul Society took their toil and left him temporarily bereft of his powers.

Fortunately for Uryuu, he could still sense spiritual presence and thus avoid direct confrontation. He'd assured Orihime that he has the tools to counter and escape safely if he was ever forced into a conflict, but Uryuu declared he wouldn't be taking part in any frontline work until he discovered a way to restore his offensive capabilities.

The fractional hesitancy when Uryuu added to that addendum betrayed the lie, as though his powers were only overtaxed and their recovery was a matter of 'when', not 'if'.

Orihime politely chose to take him at his word regardless. To do otherwise would've been churlish. (There's times she wonders if telling Ichigo and Chad about Uryuu's troubles would be the prudent thing to do, or if she should encourage Uryuu to do the same, but she convinces herself not to. The former would betray his trust and Uryuu surely must have his reasons for the latter.)

However, Orihime did offer to attempt to reject whatever damage Uryuu inflicted upon himself using her Shun Shun Rikka, especially since he pushed himself to that brink by defending her in the first place.

Uryuu graciously declined the offer.

That's when Orihime understood that her heartfelt but misplaced sympathy rankled on his pride, as both a warrior and a Quincy. He believed this was his burden to bare and he would do so with his chin held high.

It adds to Orihime's guilt but Uryuu reassured her that he was content with his choices.

As for Ichigo?

That was a whole other story.

It was only a few short days after they'd returned from Soul Society that Orihime noticed the first hint of something bothering him.

From then, something had privately frayed Ichigo's nerves for weeks. Dark bags formed under his eyes and he became increasingly haggard over time. That slow decline rapidly snowballed before taking a sharp turn for the worse when the new student Shinji Hirako transferred to their class (who Orihime quietly suspected was no ordinary student at all).

They all knew it. Sensed it in one form or another. But for all Ichigo was happy to throw himself into any cause in the name of protecting others, he jealously guarded his own true feelings under that ubiquitous scowling front or casual (sometimes not so casual) deflection of the topic. Despite being surrounded by friends who would do anything for him, Ichigo seemed more alone than ever, refusing to allow himself to share the burden of his personal grievances.

It hurt.

In a lesser man's case, the refusal to engage his friends would indicate a lack of trust. But the truth is Ichigo didn't want to foist what he'd describe as unnecessary baggage onto his friends.

Orihime doesn't claim to know his mind, but if she were anyone to guess, it's because Ichigo didn't want to be perceived as weak. More than that, he didn't want anyone to worry about him.

Despite that, Orihime dearly wished he'd talk to her - to any of them. They would rally to him, support him, help him along in any way they could, if Ichigo would only ask.

But that was simply Ichigo's nature; always the protector, never the protected.

That day in the park with those creatures called Arrancars was the day reality gave them all an ice cold dose of water.

Their fracturing fantasy of pretending Sosuke Aizen was some other problem that'd disappear into the good night was firmly and unequivocally shattered into a thousand pieces.

Chad got hurt. Tatsuki nearly died. Orihime's own Koten Zanshun was utterly destroyed, the fae Tsubaki with it.

As for Ichigo?

Orihime had never seen his Bankai up close, never sensed his reiatsu that way. She already knew it was potent, but it had such a coarse and dreadful texture to it now. It sent chills down her spine, even as she'd healed Chad's arm she watched the battle proceed. And before Ichigo lost consciousness... something happened that frightened her even more.

It still frightens her to think about it.

There was a point where Ichigo struggled, clutching at his head as though wounded. But when the Arrancar Yammy tried to take advantage of the lapse in concentration Ichigo snapped into action.

Orihime would've been relieved if she hadn't caught a glimpse of that minute but profound change in him. He was different. His eyes were different. Turned pitch black and his irises were rimmed by gold. His reiatsu skyrocketed while shifting to a darker more malicious cast.

Exactly like a Hollow's.

After that, Ichigo fought like a man possessed. Reckless and ruthless and semi-feral. Fighting with total abandon and terrifying aggression, uncaring of the various injuries he'd sustained in the process. With singular focus on pressing the assault, brutally mutilating the Arrancar in the process.

Even her great distance away, Orihime could hear Ichigo's bones break as he fought.

It was horrific to witness. Not like Ichigo at all.

The Arrancar found himself maimed and brought to his knees.

Then as Ichigo was about to deliver the final stroke and poised to decapitate the downed giant, the second lithe Arrancar pierced a hand through his shoulder and Ichigo collapsed.

If it hadn't been for the timely arrival of Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihoin forcing the Arrancar duo into a retreat, all of them would've died on the spot.

Orihime spent two days wearing herself out between restoring Ichigo's broken bones and shoulder and repairing the damage done to Chad's shredded arm. A task made more arduous by the lingering Arrancar reiatsu tainting their wounds.

From what Kisuke Urahara told her, Ichigo remained unconscious for two days after that. He showed up at school the next day covered in bandages, and when he spotted her at her desk he looked away with the shadow of guilt on his face.

Though despite his grievous injuries, Orihime did notice he seemed paradoxically refreshed. The bags under his eyes were no where near as pronounced as they were, and some liveliness and colour had returned to his features.

Orihime did accost him, pointedly asking after his health, but Ichigo deflected her concern with a cryptic answer and apology.

"I'm sorry if I scared you, its... it's a side-effect from how I got my powers back before we headed to Soul Society. It's nothing to worry about. Not anymore. I'm handling it. We're... negotiating." Ichigo informed her enigmatically.

Orihime's instinct was to press him further for details, but she held her tongue. The fact Ichigo shared that much was relief enough. If he did indeed have things under control then for now, she had no need to worry.

Or so she kept telling herself.

That was perhaps a week ago (or was it two? It's all starting to blend together). They haven't really spoken about it since, and perhaps that whole unfortunate situation could slip back into some delusional shared nightmare.

Not long after that, Soul Society sent their response team of high ranking officers to Karakura town. A shocking sight to be sure. And after they'd swaggered all the way into the classroom, dressed in school uniforms. Though they were thoroughly displeased to find out Ichigo hadn't come to school that day (Orihime doesn't want to admit it but she had to suppress a small giggle at the adorable scowl Toshiro gave her when she informed them of Ichigo's absence).

They'd asked Orihime if they knew where he was and she told the truth: she didn't.

Happily enough, Rukia was among their number. A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.

Temporarily forgetting herself and the severity of the situation, Orihime enthusiastically embraced her like an age old friend, which Rukia returned with a kind smile of her own before volunteering to find Ichigo.

Toshiro Hitsugaya, Captain of the Tenth, instructed Orihime to follow them to Kisuke's shop once the school day was done. And sometime later in the afternoon, Rukia had arrived with Ichigo in tow and Tessai prepared tea. After that, Toshiro engaged them in a lengthy thorough debriefing about their encounter with the Arrancars. When Toshiro interrogated them for the specifics, the atmosphere turned alarmingly tense.

Ichigo was uncharacteristically terse with his responses, neglecting to mention... whatever happened to him during that fight, outside the resultant injuries. When Rangiku and Renji both chastised him for the recklessness, Ichigo defended his actions as desperation.

Orihime supplied further elaboration where she could but followed Ichigo's lead and avoided discussing that rather unsettling transformation. When Toshiro seemed to privately consider this, Orihime caught Ichigo's eye and the subtle grateful nod. She retuned with a fleeting tentative smile of her own.

At the conclusion of that meeting and armed by the certainty Aizen would inevitably turn his sights to Karakura town for whatever twisted scheme, they'd all parted ways. Rangiku and Toshiro had come home with Orihime. And as luck would have it, they managed to get back to Orihime's apartment before the rainstorm hit in earnest.

She hadn't been expecting house guests, but the company was welcome and there was plenty of food to go around, so Orihime (with Rangiku's generous and enthusiastic assistance) prepared dinner for the three of them. For a moment, they could treat the whole affair like a great big interdimensional slumber party and discuss the more pressing details tomorrow after a good night's sleep.

Unfortunately, the rainstorm was only the prelude to the night's miseries, serving as the perfect backdrop for Aizen's assault party to invade.

Thanks to the efforts of Soul Society's Forward Vanguard, the Arrancars were dispatched as quickly as they arrived, though not without consequence.

Rangiku left her Gigai to protect Orihime while she and Toshiro dove into the fray, leaving Orihime as a powerless observer behind the protective aegis of her Santen Kesshun.

The rain was advantageous for Toshiro's ice-based Zanpakutou, but the young Captain collapsed soon after the battle was over. That's when Toshiro became the first of many patients Orihime had to tend to tonight. Fortunately for Toshiro, while his wounds were significant they weren't life threatening like others.

After the young Captain had recovered enough to be moved at least, they reconvened at Urahara's shop. One by one, Orihime, Tessai and Urahara himself cycled between the wounded, Orihime's powers reserved for the most critical injuries while Tessai and Urahara provided the minor first aid.

Orihime was already pushing herself by the time the most horrific sight of the evening unveiled itself.

Rukia stumbled into Urahara's shop just as Orihime finished healing the worst of the crippled Ikkaku Madarame's injuries, panic-stricken and shouting at the top of her lungs for help. Slumped and motionless, bleeding down the back and front of her battered shihakushou, was an unconscious Ichigo. Left horrendously brutalised and in dire straits by his opponent.

The ragged stump of his right arm bound by a makeshift tourniquet made from the torn shreds of Rukia's sleeve, and blood soaked through the bandage around his stomach at an alarming rate.

Immediately after Renji helped Rukia get their critically injured friend onto a futon, Orihime set to work while pushing down the nausea in her stomach and fighting past the heartbreak at seeing him so utterly mutilated. But truthfully, by the time she'd managed to cast her Soten Kisshun, Orihime was already at her limits. Her energy reserves near depleted and the shield wavered by the second in response.

In spite of that, of her own exhaustion, Orihime pushed herself to the brink.

She had to.

Precious minutes dragged on, or it could've been hours for all she knew, but as Ichigo lay there under an oval of orange healing energy, paler than she'd ever seen and covered in so much blood, Orihime made next to no headway. She hadn't been able to do much more than halt the bleeding from Ichigo's gruesome wounds. Foreign reiatsu infested the wounds as a lingering infection, and between her attempts to reject the reiatsu interfering with her technique and reversing the bleeding, Orihime couldn't do much more than keep Ichigo in a suspended state like this.

Several times, Orihime felt fear coil around her heart when she thought he'd stopped breathing only to give a tiny little rasp, sucking in one more breath.

The dreadful thought that kept crawling up unbidden to the front of her mind; incremental though it may be, this is an uphill battle. One she's losing. Badly.

Soten Kisshin's shell began to flicker and waver even more now as her stamina dwindled away. She only had so much to spare to begin with. Beads of perspiration gathered on her brow but Orihime was determined to keep fighting as long as possible. Ichigo was counting on her to push through. She couldn't give up now.

She won't.

Orihime was so focused on the task at hand, she didn't notice the subtle shift in the atmosphere inside Urahara's shop, a quiet gust sweeping through the hall accompanied by a tell-tale chime. It stirs a commotion behind her, but it wasn't until Orihime felt a maternal hand rest on her shoulder clad in a pale green aura that she finally looked up to address the visitor.

Her fretful eyes widen at the sight.

"M-Ms Unohana?" Orihime questions, unwilling to believe her eyes even as she felt her dwindling energy reserves surge with fresh life, restored to capacity and bolstered by the Captain's kaido technique.

The wavering Soten Kisshun re-solidified into a firm barrier, and for the first time in hours, Orihime's abilities were finally making headway in the right direction.

The gentle Captain Retsu Unohana offers her a ressureing smile before casting an appraising eye towards the mangled Ichigo and her lips set in a firm line. "By order of the Captain Commander, I've been dispatched to provide much required relief and aid. To that end, please allow me to offer my assistance."

The kind ancient Shinigami circles around the futon and kneels down, casting her grim appraising eyes over Ichigo's condition. It takes her only five seconds to make whatever mental assessments she requires before turning her attention to Tessai, who stands ready at the door.

With a firm even tone, she begins to relay instructions. "Mr Tsukubishi, may I ask you to deploy a Level Four Quarantine barrier around this bed as a precaution. With an injury of this severity, we must limit any and all potential vectors of infection. His internal organs are the most critically damaged, I will focus my attention on his abdomen followed by the cranial trauma. To that end, Ms Inoue please release your technique and dedicate the entirety of your focus to regenerating his right hand."

Orihime's head jerks up, panic and desperation in her eyes as the protest comes bumbling out of her mouth, "B-but if I disengage the technique, he'll bleed out. He'll die! Please, I can keep going a little while longer. I-I can finish this."

Captain Unohana's eyes close and she bows her head before speaking again.

"The circumstances have been difficult but you conducted yourself with utmost diligence. Take heart, you did a splendid job. Now please allow me to do mine. I swear to you that he will not die." Captain Unohana promises earnestly.

Orihime silently prays that's true. The Captain continues in her instructions, "Once you disengage this barrier, I will assume the responsibility of healing his torso. I ask again, please prioritize your attention on restoring his hand. I believe your capabilities are much more suited to that task than mine."

Orihime wants to voice her feeble protest but quells the desire. She draws in a steadying breath and tries her best to reign in her desperate impulses.

"Are you ready, Ms Inoue?" Captain Unohana prompts.

Orihime swallows down the lump in her throat, giving a shaky little nod. "Now, if you please."

"... okay...? felt a massive surge... reiatsu your way... just vanished... Did something..."

"... Arrancar released her Zanpakutou... someone else... defeated her..."

"Someone... Kisuke or Yoruichi...?"

Feeling more drained than she had in months, Orihime's eyes flutter open just in time to hear... was that Rukia? Yes, Rukia responding to a question in the next room over.

"It was too fast, I didn't see what happened. One minute the Arrancar charged me, the next... the Espada was dead."

Orihime sat up slowly, her eyes adjusting to the darkened room and notices the sheets pool at her waist. Instantly, she shakes off her exhausted daze and scans the room. She's alone on a futon, no sign of Ichigo or Captain Unohana. Those outside are keeping their voices low.

Pushing past her exhaustion Orihime climbs to her feet and pads outside, doing her best to quell the thundering heartbeat in her chest.

"Shouldn't that be cause for concern?" Yumichika questions, "There was a total of ten reiatsu signatures detected. Six are accounted for but the other four are missing. If Kuchiki's assessment is correct, there's another unknown party currently operating in Karakura town; one that could destroy enemies of that level without our detecting their presence and seemingly with complete ease at that. Outside other Captains, Shihoin or Urahara, I find it difficult to imagine who possesses that kind of power."

"Agreed. I recommend this be reported back to the Seireitei, Captain." Renji interjects.

"Whomever they are, they're not an enemy." Rukia interjects a little too quickly, she composes herself, "At the very least, I don't think they're a threat to us."

"How can you be so sure, Kuchiki?" Toshiro questions sternly.

"By the simple fact I'm still alive." Rukia points out, "If they were our enemy or bore outright hostile intentions to the Gotei 13, wouldn't they have killed me on the spot before I knew what hit me? They could've ambushed me or taken me out without me ever knowing. But they didn't. That implies to me that if not enemies, and by virtue of taking down the Arrancar, they have some degree of regard for the welfare of this town."

"That's awfully optimistic." Renji counters cynically, "It's just as likely that they simply didn't have time to deal with you after dealing with those four other Arrancar."

"Regardless, its a mystery we'll have to solve later. We'll get no where slowly with this baseless speculation. For now, all of you are to remain on guard. Report any strange sightings or report any suspicious individuals. Keep a weather eye out for more incursions. We have to ensure we're not taking off guard again. Dismissed." Toshiro instructs them sternly.

"Yes sir." They chorus.

Its then that Orihime finally musters the will to exit her temporary accommodations, bumping right into Rukia.

The smaller woman is at first shocked then relieved.

"Orihime. I was just coming to check up on you. How are you feeling?" Rukia asks, grave concern to her face.

"I'm... I'm fine. Just a little light headed is all. But what about the others? Rukia, is Ichigo-?" Orihime's question dies in her throat, and the rising core of anxiety is replaced with such heartfelt relief when Rukia responds with a tired smile.

"Ichigo's going to be fine. All thanks to you. So are the others. Once you and Captain Unohana finished treating to the worst of Ichigo's injuries, she tended to the others after you fell asleep. Everyone's expected to make a complete recovery. Come. See for yourself." Rukia reassures her, a hand on her back to guide her down the hall where they'd left Ichigo asleep in another room.

Rukia opens the slide door, allowing a sliver of hallway light to slice through the darkness.

Ichigo is there, lying on a futon with a sheet covering him. Bandages wrap around his brow, neck and down his arms. Mercifully, his right hand has been restored. Orihime watches his chest rise and lower gently in time with his slow breathing, and to Orihime's great relief, he seems to be resting peacefully.

"Thank goodness." Orihime sighs, feeling the tension leave her shoulders. She sags, a fresh wave of fatigue washing over her.

Rukia offers her a kind smile. "You've really something else, Orihime."

"I really couldn't do anything." Orihime laments, her heart ached and she felt the sting of tears gathering in her eyes. "Ichigo was dying right in front of me. And I couldn't do anything to stop it."

"That's not true." Rukia insists, "Even after you exceeded your limits, you pushed yourself to keep him alive long enough for emergency relief from the Soul Society. After that, despite completely exhaustion and all the challenges besides, you managed to heal the worst of his wounds completely. You've done an incredible job, Orihime."

Rukia takes Orihime's hand in hers, "There's no need to be so hard on yourself. He's alive because of your persistence, Orihime. Be proud. You saved him."

"Thank you, Rukia."

Author's note:

For starters, I will first apologize. This update was like pulling teeth and I am sorry about that. Frankly, I'm still not satisfied with it but I want the show to go on. There's a lot of juicy stuff on the horizon.

Regardless, I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and New Years! I'd like to be back to a regular update schedule from today onwards!

Edit: 18/01/2023 - swapped chapters 22 & 23 to better fit continuity.

Edited: 25/4/2023 - Cleaned up the chapter's grammatical errors and spruced up the language a little.

Regards,
Aurora313