Hello! After many years I'm taking the dust off of this story, and decided to give it another chance, but this time I'm rewriting the chapters already posted now that my english has improved. I'm changing Princess Tsubasa's name to Sakura to make things easier but it's still her and not her CCS counterpart. I hope that those who had liked the story before can enjoy this version, and thank you for your patience, all the loving reviews and follows and favorites. Thank you so much! And new readers, welcome!

Ever since he was a child, Ichigo was able to see the ghosts of those who had passed from this world. Around his hometown, Karakura, and later, even inside his own house. Men, women, elderly, and even children. He could see all of them.

As soon as he could distinguish the dead from the living, he thought it first to be mildly annoying. But when he realized he could speak with them, hear their stories, and feel their loneliness, the annoyance soon turned into sadness. And an empty void was all that was left behind, along with the blood splattered on the places these spirits were before. It pained him, to not know what happened with them, or why this happened at all and he could see it, powerless to stop it.

Ichigo learned how to "deal" with these feelings, suppressing them at the back of his mind, and trying to go on with his life. But it never went away, deep down he knew that someday he would have to face them. Right now, he couldn't. Just like he couldn't think of what happened on the day his mother had passed away, when these feelings of powerlessness worsened. The less he thought about it, the better.

He was in his 3rd year in Mashiba Middle School when he met a singular ghost that was quite different from others he met before. She looked like a Middle Schooler just like him, except her uniform was from the neighboring town of Tomoeda. Just like other spirits, she also had a chain coming out of her chest, except hers wasn't broken. It was extensive as if was leading somewhere, probably her physical body but he couldn't be sure.

Her name was Sakura. That was all she could remember at first.

To Ichigo, it didn't matter as much, however. All he cared about was that he found in her a kindred spirit, and she was now his friend.

—-

In the following months of their friendship, Ichigo knew better than to ask certain things about Sakura, particularly where she came from. It seemed she remembered a lot of things from her life before, but an irrational fear had prevented her from even trying to find what happened just before she became a "ghost". Ichigo would always change the subject when he realized she was uncomfortable and try to make her smile - it always worked.

Sakura was a gentle soul, and one of the things that saddened the boy was that he couldn't meet her before she was like this, invisible to the eyes of everyone but him. While Ichigo had a friend in Tatsuki since childhood, the girl was a lot closer as of late to a classmate of hers named Orihime, and they were drifting apart. His sisters, particularly Yuzu, always were there for him, but the distance grew as Ichigo became a teen and felt isolated at his school. His classmates ignored him. His teachers often treated him with veiled contempt. Rumors ran around that his hair was black but he kept bleaching it orange as a sign that he was a troublemaker. That he was involved with the yakuza. The delinquents from other schools were often picking a fight with him, as if they were better than such a punk no matter how many times they got beaten by him. Could things have been better if he and Sakura had known each other before? Ichigo wished that the answer was a firm "yes".

He tried to be optimistic and focus on the ghost girl in front of him, while ignoring the fact that to the others, he was all but talking to the wall in the corner of a street of his town.

—-

He shared a bit of his daily life: the silly things that his father had done the day before, the food his sister had cooked, the math test he was going to take and how he would rather study English instead and found reading Shaekespere a lot more interesting than he expected. Meanwhile, Sakura would listen and tell him the things she had seen after he was gone, and comment about her own past experiences. That gave him a bit more information about her background. Ichigo knew she had a father, an older brother, but she always mentioned her mother in the past tense.

She, too, had lost her mom.

Sakura would also talk about the three girls that were her classmates, Hikaru, Umi and Fuu. While she said they were all very different from each other, they were inseparable and great friends. And how they would always make sure to have her included when they all hung out. Ichigo noticed that there was a lot of warmth in Sakura's life, how welcoming people were of her by the way she was talking.

She was lucky.

Was. She's not alive anymore to be around the people she cared the most.

—-

Ichigo's biggest fear concerning his friend was that one day, he would arrive at the same spot where Sakura was always waiting for him, and find the dreaded blood splats in her place instead. Whatever happened to the other ghosts could happen to her anytime. And he didn't know what he would do if she, too, disappeared.

How could he protect a ghost? How could he protect those who others cannot see?

.. If fate is a millstone, then we are the grist. There is nothing we can do. So I wish for strength. If I cannot protect them from the wheel, then give me a strong blade, and enough strength... to shatter fate.

—-

One day Ichigo finally decided to ask about the chain, and if Sakura had tried to see where it led before.

"I've never tried… I'm too scared to find out where my body is." She shook her head, and her shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Are you…Afraid of what it will look like?" He asked carefully, trying to measure his words. Sakura nodded in response.

"I'm sorry. I feel like I'm a coward, avoiding to see how my, uh, corpse is right now."

Ichigo sighed, feeling bad for his friend. Of course it would be scary, shocking even, depending on how and where she was, to look at your own body after your death.

But what if she wasn't dead at all? What if she was still breathing, but just unconscious?

"I understand, you don't want to see what it looks like. But I have a feeling that you might be alive."

"Eh? Why?"

"I've seen spirits since I was a child, and your chain is whole unlike others. All the spirits I've seen before you had their chains cut short, Sakura. You might still be connected to your body."

"You think so?" She seemed hesitant, and he could see she was shivering.

"Yeah, I do." He gave her his hand to take, "C'mon, what do you have to lose? At least you'll get confirmation. And I promise you I'll check out first if you're alive, so you don't need to see your body if the answer isn't good. You don't need to be afraid, I'll be by your side the whole time."

"You promise?"

"I Promise! I'll always be your friend, Sakura, no matter if you're alive or dead, you understand? You're stuck with me now." She took his hand and chuckled despite the tears forming on the corner of her eyes.

"You have a funny way to be reassuring, Ichigo-kun. But I like that about you."

"Heh." Ichigo smiled but averted his eyes when he felt the heat rising on his cheeks, and nervously scratched the back of his neck with his free hand. "Now let's go?"

"Let's!"

—-

They followed the path where the chain led, going through streets and alleys, until they ended up in front of the Karakura Hospital. The chain was extending to the building, and Ichigo's heart skipped a beat in anticipation. I don't want to give her false hope. I need to know for sure she's alive. Gods please, don't let me screw this up.

He swallowed hard, and he and Sakura exchanged looks for the first time in a while. They had walked the whole path in silence until there. Ichigo could see in her eyes the fear of finding out the truth, but there was also hope. And that bit of hope was what made her a few steps go ahead of him. "I'm ready to find out the whole truth. Ichigo-kun should ask at reception if they have anyone admitted with my name. Ask if they have a 'Kinomoto Sakura' in there and tell them you're my friend."

Ichigo nodded in agreement and went inside the building with Sakura.

Even if others couldn't see her, Ichigo couldn't stop checking on Sakura to see if she was alright. They kept a wide distance from each other when Ichigo asked the receptionist for information. From the way his expression lit up, Sakura knew he had received positive news on her behalf.

After a few minutes, a nurse came in to guide Ichigo to the floor and the room where Sakura was, and the spirit followed after. The nurse then told him about how the girl had been admitted after a car hit her on the street. Ever since, she was in a coma, and Sakura could breathe for herself. It felt like she was in a deep slumber, and could wake up at any moment.

The nurse guided Ichigo back to the reception and told him that if he wanted to visit, he should come the next day in the morning, when her father and brother would also check on her to ask for their permission.

The whole time, he and Sakura could only trade a few glances here and there, and it was obvious she was pretty shocked but also happy to know she was still alive, the chain leading to her physical body.

"You're alive! I told you there was a chance to be true!"

"I know! And they said I had an accident with a car… to be honest I don't remember how it happened. Could it be that I just forgot because of the initial shock?"

"Your body seemed fine, though. They only mentioned you had some trauma in your head, but it wasn't serious to the point of causing permanent damage, and that you healed fast. Could be something else that made you separate from your body."

"Still, we don't know if I can go back to my body just like that. What if I never wake up again? What if I forget you when I wake?"

"My answer remains the same: I'll still be your friend no matter what. I have a feeling you'll be back to your body soon now that you know what happened."

"Thank you, Ichigo-kun." She smiled, teary-eyed and sniffling, rushing to wipe the tears away from her cheeks with the back of her hands.

"No, I'm the one thanking you for being brave today and trusting me to find out what happened."

"Mou, you're making me want to cry more!" Sakura protested weakly but they both laughed together.

—-

The Bleach TYBW anime made me inspired to come back to this story! What did you guys think of this new version of chapter 1? Would you like to read the following chapters? Would you prefer that I keep the old chapters until I rewrite them all and then update with new content or would you guys think it would be better to delete the old chapters? Let me know in the comments.