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Seeds of Destruction	By : blackdiamondprincess Category: Bleach > Het - Male/Female Views: 14158 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
7. Path to redemption - The sacrifice

Her footsteps echoed in the large empty
hall.

�You�ve returned.�

Orihime looked up at the man sitting in
front of her at the bottom of the steps leading up to the higher apartments of
Las Noches� Northern Tower.

Hollow Ichigo stood and let his eyes run
over her body, looking for signs of struggle. �He was already asleep then?�

�Hai,� she
whispered, beginning to walk passed him and up the stairs.

He followed her with his amber gaze and
then smirked. �Where did you dump it?�

She halted briefly in her steps and faced
to her side before resuming the climb towards her quarters. �That is none of
your concern.�

Once arrived inside the room she had
made her own to stay in, Orihime took off her red ankle boots and walked to her
large bed. She could feel that he was following her and so, wasn�t surprised
when he sat himself in one of her seats in the living area of her room.

She sat herself down on her bed and
crossed her legs as she fixed him silently.

In the three days that she had been made
a forced resident of this cold castle, their conversations had quickly worn off
against the one-sided feelings of resentment she had towards him, not that he
blamed her, it rather amused him to see her harden herself in her shell of
bitter contempt. Just the thought of it being useless almost made him break
down in uncontrollable laughter.

A chamber maid walked in quietly and sat
herself next to her on the bed so she could begin to tie Orihime�s hair back
into a bun.

He grinned as he saw how she stood and
began to undress herself slowly. Her voluptuous body had no secrets for him
anymore, but that still didn�t keep him from admiring its beauty.

Orihime sat back down on her bed now,
clad in nothing but an expensive looking white yukata
with black flower patterns and a slight trail. It was loosely tied at her waist
with a black obi and revealed the alluring path of white skin from the valley
between her breasts to the middle of her abdomen.

�Was there something you wanted me to
know?�

The maid now retreated silently with the
pile of Orihime�s clothes in her hands.

Hollow Ichigo stood and slowly walked up
to her. �You seem� how shall I put it... unhappy, dear.�

She turned her face away from his and
stood gracefully. �And you�re the one surprised,� she whispered sarcastically,
her bare feet descending the few steps off the platform her bed rested upon.
�Spare me the heartbreak.�

He cocked his head to the side with an
evil grin on his face. �It�s remarkable how much you still seem to be attached
to that two-time loser.�

Orihime turned to him again and chuckled
mockingly. �Is mister bad-ass jealous?�

He was suddenly standing in front of her
again and one of his hands shot out to her throat. �Don�t get witty with me,
Hime. I made you, I could easily destroy you.�

She fixed him defiantly with no sign of
emotion on her face and whispered; �And what a relief that would be if you
actually did it, instead of constantly threatening me about it.�

He slapped her in her face hard, sending
her flying back on the bed. He smirked then as he watched her regain her
composure, one hand held up against her left cheek as she sat up and fixed him
again with that same indifference in her eyes. �Don�t go begging for death, or
I might get tempted, Hime-chan.�

Orihime lowered her hand from her cheek
and shook the strands of hair that had come to cover her face out of her eyes.
�You can�t scare me anymore with threats,� she whispered. �There�s nothing left
for me to gain or lose, you�ve taken everything from me.� She stood up again
and walked passed him once more towards the room that neighboured with hers.
�Death is the only thing I look forward to.�

Hollow Ichigo chuckled and captured her
left hand, holding her back from going onwards. �Do you really think death is
the worse thing that I can inflict upon you?�

She sighed and smiled softly. �Not the
worst, but the kindest.�

He began to laugh and she looked up at
him in silent wonder. �I never thought I�d see this side of you, Hime� do you
have any idea how selfish that sounded?�

Orihime fell silent and cast her eyes to
the floor in shame. She knew he was right, but if she wasn�t around anymore she
wouldn�t be able to hurt him�

�How broken would Ichigo be if he came
to find out that you rushed into death! Is your trust in him that low?� He
cackled, �If I kill you, I admit it would speed up my plans, but what would
that bring me? Ichigo wouldn�t be able to fight me and the fights I�ve been
looking out for will be but a joke! I want him to get mad, I want him to go
crazy now that he�s lost his most beloved bitch, and I want to see him break
down in utter defeat when he�ll realise that there�s no hope left and when you
and I bring destruction upon him!� He then cupped her face with his right hand
in a nearly tender gesture. �Now, I will forgive your suicidal rant because that
was still the old Orihime speaking, the weak one. The new Orihime will embrace
my plans and become a willing partner��

�You may own my soul now,� she pushed
his hand off from her face and blinked back her tears, �but you�ll never, ever own my feelings!� She walked off
again with that.

�Hime-chan,� Hollow Ichigo whispered in
a sing-song voice as he watched her walk towards her private baths. �Next time
you go see him again without my permission, I�ll kill everyone you held dear in
your life. One by one.�

Orihime halted in her footsteps and took
a shaky breath.

�And if you try and leave me, I�ll slit
his throat in his sleep. Am I making myself clear?�

She closed her eyes and bent her head.

�I said,
am I making myself fuckin� clear?�

�Yes�� she whispered, balling her hands
up in fists. �Crystal clear.�

�Good,� he said with a grin and an
acknowledging movement of his head. �Be sure to be rested up for tomorrow,
it�ll be your big day.�

Orihime opened her eyes and waited for him
to get out of her room. She then fell to her knees, trembling violently.

There wasn�t much time left and she did
not know how much longer she�d be able to control the monster that housed
within her. It grew stronger with every passing hour and soon�

She crawled herself into a foetus position on the
floor and held on to her stomach, praying for someone to give her a miracle.

An explosion of white light illuminated
the entire underground training area.

Focusing the full of his reiatsu into
his sword, Ichigo could feel how Zangetsu vibrated in his hands and how in
turn, lend him its strength to complement his own.

A new surge of energy emanated from the
young orange haired Shinigami and Renji and Urahara watched with heartfelt
astonishment at the clearly renewed power Ichigo had managed to attain.

Ichigo then opened his eyes and they
both saw the silver flicker in them and felt the tremendous spirit pressure
they were used of feeling whenever he was around.

Urahara cracked an approving smile and
nodded.

�BAN-KAI!�

�He�s done it,� Rukia whispered from her
position on a high rock near the ladder.

�How he�s managed to realise that in
just two days is pretty amazing.� Uryuu nodded in consent, pushing his glasses
up his nose.

�He must really love her,� RinRin whispered, sitting on the picnic blanket with the
three other modsouls as well as Tessai, Jinta and
Ururu.

Rukia smiled and chuckled softly. �He
told me he dreamt about her a couple of days ago and that he realised that even
if she�s physically far away from him, their hearts are always connected. He�s
mad about her and she loves him equally as much.�

�If there�s someone who can bring
Inoue-san back, then it�s him,� Chad
said, looking into the distance where Urahara and Renji stood with Ichigo.

�I agree,� Rukia whispered with a smile.

�Let�s go, Renji! I�m ready!�

Ichigo lifted his Tensa
Zangetsu up to the other Shinigami and smiled. �Let�s see if you can kill me
this time!�

Renji smirked in growing excitement and
released Zabimaru. �Show me what you got, Strawberry!�

Urahara watched with growing
satisfaction how their swords clashed, smiling to himself.

Ichigo had finally managed to unlock his
former latent powers, but he could still see that he still let too much of his
spirit pressure slip into the air. If his attacks were to be fully effective
and perhaps 3 times as strong as they were now, it would certainly be a great
asset to his fighting skills. Urahara knew this would ask for more time from
the young man, but he also knew that Ichigo would need all the extra advantages
when he�d face his adversary in an all-out confrontation.

�Oi Renji!�
Ichigo chuckled as he jumped out of the way of an attack. �Send your Bankai on
me! What are you waiting for?�

Renji smirked and set in the pursuit,
throwing Zabimaru towards Ichigo. �That would be a
total waste of energy and you know it! I can beat your ass just fine this way!�

Ichigo laughed and off-handed Zabimaru�s attack with a single strike, making a graceful
back flip so he could land on his feet on a nearby rock. �What�s the matter?
You chicken, monkey boy?� he teased with a grin, pointing his black Katana to
him. �Give me a frickin� challenge here!�

�Don�t go crying after I whoop your
sorry ass!� Renji mockingly said, moving himself into a new battle pose.

Ichigo positioned himself as well and
returned Renji�s smirk with one of his own. �Bring it
on.�

A sudden increase in hostile spirit
pressure made the entire underground training area quiver on its foundations.

�What the�?�

Urahara turned towards the entrance of
the cave and scowled. �They�re here.�

�A good Hollow is a dead one,� Ichigo
smirked darkly and cast his partner a look. �Let�s go.�

�That excited, eh?� Renji chuckled and
followed him to the exit. �You could use the practice.�

Rukia jumped off her rock and took out
her Soul Phone. �Ichi, ni,
san, shi, go� there�s 8 of them! Gillians!�

Ichigo laughed in excitement at that and
nodded. �Yosh! Minna, let�s
go!�

Urahara watched how Ichigo and his
friends left the training grounds. He calmly walked towards his three employees
and yawned and the mod souls. �Well I guess we could also go stretch our legs a
little, ne?�

The lantern post fell right on the spot
his feet had been a scant second before.

The blonde haired female Gillian softly
smirked her pointed teeth bare and cocked her head to the side mockingly.
�Where are you, pretty boy? Let me put my teeth in you, I bet you�ll taste
great��Her green eyes flashed from side to side as she searched for her
adversary who had suddenly disappeared.

�Up here!�

She looked up and evaded his attack but
barely, noticing, once she landed a few meters further that a couple of
centimetres of her long hair had been cut off. She laid her angry stare on
Ichigo�s smirking one. �You bitch!�

Ichigo hauled his shoulders innocently.
�Woops, I missed?�

She launched herself at him and made a
swirling movement of her head so she could throw her long hair at him, from
which bone-white spikes shot out.

Ichigo jumped out of the line of fire
and searched for the freedom of movement only an airborne position could
procure. �Try this!�

By the time she realised that he had
evaded her attack and that he was hovering in the air, she saw a black crescent
descent upon her, consequently making it the last thing she ever saw.

�Yo, Ichigo.�

He looked up ahead of him and saw Chad standing a
few meters away from where the Arrancar had been, at
a crossroad. �Urahara and his group are taking care of the nearest Gillian.�

�How about the rest?� Ichigo asked as he
descended from the sky and landed next to him.

�Uryuu defeated the one he battled not
too long ago and I saw Renji taking care of another on my way here.�

Ichigo nodded and concentrated on the
remaining intruding spirit pressures, picking out the strongest one. �Rukia
should be able to handle the one she�s battling with ease as well. There are
two more left, Chad.
If you go take care of the other one I�ll finish the last one.�

Chad nodded and sped off in the opposite direction.

Jumping onto the rooftops so he could
move more easily towards the place his senses were pointing, Ichigo could feel
how the amount of hollow reiatsu decreased all around him, suddenly leaving him
in a state of mild confusion when he realised that the Gillian he was headed to
seemed to have vanished into thin air.

��Kuso!� he
cursed and stopped on top of a tall building to overlook the city.

�That�s odd.�

Ichigo turned and found Rukia standing
next to him.

�It vanished?� She whispered and took
out her Soul Phone. �Ah! There!�

�Doko?� He
asked her impatiently.

�On the 4th bridge that tides over Karasu
River!� She informed him
and then watched how he sped off without another word.

�He�s more determined than I thought
he�d be, I must admit.�

Rukia looked to her side and saw Renji
landing next to her soundlessly. She nodded and crossed her arms over her chest
with a small smirk. �I told you he would be.�

�Still,� Renji whispered, bringing his
Zanpakuto back to its initial state, �this doesn�t smell right.�

Rukia shot him a confused look. �What?�

�It�s like that time they kidnapped
Inoue for the first time,� he whispered pensively. �It�s a diversion.�

�The shop?� Rukia wondered alarmingly.
�You think they�ve called us out for�?�

Renji turned and began to walk away.
�Ichigo can handle that Gillian.�

Rukia nodded in agreement and followed
him off the rooftop.

With a soft grunt Ichigo looked around
as he was now arrived at the bridge.

There�s no one here!

�Damn it!� he cursed, stepping towards
the middle of the bridge. He closed his eyes and tried to feel the Hollow�s
reiatsu again.

A large concentration of hostile reiatsu
made him open his eyes again and he jumped out of the way just in time to avoid
a cero blast.

Ichigo turned his eyes to the left and
found the Gillian smirking up at him with his right hand still stretched out.
�Oh crap. I missed.�

A burning rage grew within Ichigo and he
scowled at him. �I won�t let you make that mistake again!�

�Then come and get me, Shinigami!� The
grey haired Gillian chuckled, jumping off the bridge and landing on the surface
of the water before running down the River at an amazing speed.

�Tch, stupid
bastard,� Ichigo whispered. �Not even worth wasting my energy on.�

In three flash-steps he was in front of
the surprised Gillian and in two movements of his blade he had decapitated him.

Ichigo swung his black blade to the side
with a satisfied look on his face and was about to leave when he suddenly heard
someone clapping his hands.

There, on the riverbank, sitting in the
grass, was�

�You look well, Ichigo-kun.�

He only stared for a full minute and
even after that he still wasn�t sure of what he was seeing.

�Douka shita no, Ichigo-kun? Have you seen a ghost?�

�Ori� hime?��

No.

Something was off.

Terribly off.

She gave him a small grin and her long black
hair waved in the soft breeze that passed by as she now stood. Her eyes were of
a blue-ish grey and she wore a short, black layered
skirt with black knee-high boots and a strapless black leather corset. Her
lower arms were clad in dark red arm warmers and her long nails were of the
same colour as the rest of her gothic ensemble.

�What�s wrong?� she asked again, taking
a step closer to him and stepping onto the surface of the water without sinking
through.

Ichigo felt like someone had just
punched him in his stomach and ripped his heart out.

He could feel it with every fibre of his
soul: this was a Hollow.

But why? Why had it taken her appearance?

�Ichigo-ku~un?�
she sang. �Say something! Aren�t you happy to see me? I at least expected a
kiss from my boyfr��

�Shut up!� Ichigo cried, pointing his
Zanpakuto at her. �You�re not Orihime!�

A powerful reiatsu suddenly emanated
from the creature that stood in front of him and he was blown off guard for a
brief second from the peaks of sheer hatred that came his way and seemed to
pierce through his soul.

She then giggled and spun around
happily. �But of course I am, Ichigo-san!� she sweetly said with her hands on
her back. �Nani itende yo?�

Ichigo growled in growing rage. �How
dare you show yourself to me disguised like that?!� he yelled, feeling an
uncontrollable urge to rip this creature apart.

She looked down at her clothes and
frowned. �Oh? You don�t like?�

�Quit playing those fucking games with
me!� Ichigo hollered, his spirit force now swirling around him in fierce anger.
�Where is Orihime?!�

Her smile lessened and she gave him a
dark look. �Apparently your hearing is beginning to give out on you,
Ichigo-kun��

Ichigo gave an infuriated yell and shook
his head. �Tell me or I�m going to fuckin� tear you
apart!�

�Eh?� she cried, upset, �That�s not very
nice, Ichigo-ku�� Her phrase was kept hanging in the
air as he suddenly launched himself at her.

Ichigo thrust his sword forward and was
sure to pierce her through, but instead, hit a yellow barrier that kept him from
approaching her any further.

�Santen Kesshun�?�
he whispered in disbelieve and surprise. �But h-how?�

A malignant smirk began to grow on her
lips and she jumped away from him. �Who else but Orihime has these powers?� she
asked softly with a raised eyebrow.

N-Nani�?! This can�t be!

�I am Inoue Orihime,� she whispered,
brushing a strand of her hair back. �Or at least the new and improved version��
She placed her right hand on her hip and bit her lower lip innocently. �That
wasn�t nice, Ichigo-kun.�

Ichigo gritted his teeth and scowled,
torn between trusting his eyes and his feelings or believing in his senses that
told him that this creature was a Hollow and that if it was a Hollow that it
wasn�t possible that there was something left of the Orihime he knew�

But maybe�

�I�m not going to repeat myself
endlessly, Hollow,� he whispered, calmly lowering his sword and taking in a
normal standing position, his eyes burning with the sheer force of his growing
reiatsu as he looked at her. �Tell me where she is, or I�ll stick Zangetsu
through your chest.�

She lifted her head to the side and
looked at him from the corner of her eyes, her expression a fa�ade of cold
disdain. �Then you and I have the same problem, Ichigo-kun. I�m not planning on
repeating myself endlessly either.�

Ichigo silently took in his battling
pose once more and lifted his Zanpakuto at shoulder length with the tip pointed
at her. �Fine.�

�Why won�t you believe it?� she asked
softly, showing no sign of eventually counter attacking. �Oh� I know,� her lips
curled into a minim smile and she closed her eyes in understanding. �You think
I perhaps copied her powers or that I share similar ones like Hachi-san did.�

Ichigo frowned at that. �How would you
know about Hachi�s��

�Ok, now,� she tranquilly whispered with
a scowl, �You�re beginning to piss me off.�

Her hair slowly began to lift into the
air around her and Ichigo watched in silent astonishment as her reiatsu reached
unseen levels and a new wave of pure hatred shot his way, colliding violently
against his surrounding wall of reiatsu.

�You�re not Orihime,� he whispered
resolutely before launching himself towards her again in an all out attack.

She cracked a smirk and lifted her right
arm. �Tsubaki,� she whispered, �Koten
Zanshun.�

Ichigo pushed his blade forwards and
closed his eyes, feeling Zangetsu cut through a tender substance.

�It�s over.�

Blood gushed out of the wound and onto
his face, the metallic smell filling his nostrils. With a soft grunt he pulled
out and stood.

His eyes then opened and he froze.

�Ok, I�ll admit that you looked cool in
that pose, but this is far from over, yo!�

Ichigo was staring at nothing but air;
she wasn�t standing there! But he cut something didn�t he? H-How did she manage
to get behind him all of a sudden?!

A stinging pain then suddenly took over
his right thigh and he watched in horror as blood gushed from his torn up
flesh.

W-What?

He fell on his left knee and held back a
pained growl. With some difficulty he turned himself around to see her call
back the black projectile that had just cut him.

�What�s your astonished face for?� she
asked with a sinister chuckle. �I�ve been here all this time.�

His eyes spread wide open.

Genkaku�?

She laughed a little and turned her head
to the small projectile floating next to her in the air. �I�m not satisfied
after all. He�s not bleeding that much. You want to try again, Tsubaki-kun?� Her eyes rested on Ichigo again, a malignant
gleam in them. �Though this time make him bleed much, much more.�

Ichigo stood on his feet again, readily
pointing his Zanpakuto on her. �You won�t fool me this time!�

�Whatever,� she giggled and shrugged. �Tsubaki, Hanshoku!�

Before he even got a chance at lifting
his Tensa Zangetsu, his body was already being
assaulted from all sides, his clothes and skin tearing apart as if someone was
firing an ultra-sonic machine gun on him.

She lifted an arm and the attack
suddenly stopped, leaving the orange haired Shinigami trembling on his legs as
he was bleeding from every possible part of his body, his shredded clothing
barely recognisable.

�That�s more like it.�

Ichigo fell on his knees, breathing
heavily as he felt his body beginning to give out on him. He couldn�t believe
what he was witnessing and he stood there, looking to the ground in profound
shock.

This isn�t happening! How could she beat me this
easily?

�Anzuru na, Ichigo-kun.�

He looked up at her and saw her
approaching him before she kneeled in front of him with a small smirk. �I�m not
going to kill you. That�s not why I came here today.�

Ichigo�s vision was beginning to blur
and his breathing became more laboured from the increasing pain he felt of his
injuries. �O-Orihime�� he managed to breathe out, �Doushite�?�

�Why? Why?!� She laughed, lifting his
chin up with a finger as his head began to lean forwards. �Why what? Why am I
like this?�

Ichigo looked her in the eyes and for a
moment he thought he saw his Orihime before him, smiling gently and lovingly at
him. �Hime��

�I�m like this because of you, Ichigo��
she whispered softly, bringing her face closer to his, her lips nearly
caressing his. �You let me become
like this... Every particle of my Reitai feels this
urge,� she let her tongue dart out against his right cheek, licking the blood
that trickled down from a cut, �this huge urge to rip you apart with my hands
and feed upon you to satisfy the endless emptiness you�ve created within me,
Ichigo.�

�Orihime�� Ichigo whispered as he felt
how his heart filled itself with a deep grief.

�If only you listened when I told you to
leave me alone�� Her voice was playing sensually against his left earlobe, �If
only you listened then, then I wouldn�t have become like this.� She chuckled
softly at the sound of his hawking and trembling breathing. �Oh yeah� this one
is on you, Ichigo��

Ichigo let his eyes fall closed and
winced, feeling what he had secretly dreaded all along.

This creature used to be his Orihime.

Orihime pulled back with an
expressionless face and watched how he gritted his teeth and bent his head to
hide the tears that fell down his cheeks.

�If only I was strong enough back then��
Ichigo whispered, �if only I had protected you the way I should�ve...� He
raised his head up to hers again and lifted his bloodied right hand, placing it
on her left cheek. �Gomen ne,
Hime��

Something broke within her at the sound
of those heartfelt words and she gasped with her eyes wide open in confusion.
�The�fuck�?�

Ichigo saw how her big depths of
coldness suddenly began to water up. The tears overflowed and they rolled down
her face, changing into drops of blood as they continued to fall. The icy blue
of her eyes then briefly faded into a honey brown colour and she gasped once
more before she blinked and lifted a hand over the one he held against her face.
�Ori��

�Get your hands away from me!� She
cried, jumping away from him. Her feet landed on the surface of the water again
and she raised her hands up to her face in utter incomprehension of what was
happening. �Why does it�� she whispered before crying out and clutching to her
chest in pain.

Ichigo planted Tensa
Zangetsu in the ground and managed to stand on his feet. He knew exactly what
was going on; he had experienced it so many times before.

�Orihime! Don�t let it gain control!� he
called to her, �Fight it!�

She fell down to her knees, trembling
uncontrollably and gasping for air. �S-Stay away!�

He only continued his way towards her
until he reached her and then fell on his knees in front of her.

The brown colour of her eyes had
returned and he smiled in relief, raising one of his hands to cup her face.
�You�re still fighting it�� he whispered, his lips quivering slightly. �Hime��

The trembling of her body had subsided a
little and she looked up at him with a pained expression. �Ichi�go�
anata��

�It is
you�� He softly said, letting Zangetsu fall next to him on the surface.
�Orihime��

Orihime broke down in more tears.
�Ichigo� I�m lost�� she whimpered as he moved in to embrace her. �Lost in the
dark��

Ichigo held her to him tightly, despite
his wounds and pressed his lips on her head. �I�ll find a way to bring you
back��

She shook her head and sniffled,
bringing her arms up his back to hold him to her. �Ichigo� It�s too late�� she
softly whispered. �My Reitai has begun to fuse with
the hollow essence he had put in my body��

Ichigo was shaking his head in response,
not wanting to hear it. �There must be a way��

�Ichigo,� she silenced him again,
looking at him now. �It�s a part of me, as much as your Hollow is��

�Don�t say things like these, Hime,�
Ichigo could feel his eyes stinging again as they prepared for the new wave of
tears that threatened to well up.

�It�s the truth,� Orihime said with a
small trembling smile. �He can�t exist without you, as much as you can�t exist
without him. The same goes for the Hollow in me� A fusion of two spirit
entities can and should never be dissolved��

�W-What are you talking about�?�

Fresh tears rolled out of her eyes as
she gave him a pleading look. �Ichigo� you have to find a way to reclaim him,
otherwise you�ll die!�

Ichigo only stared at her for a few
moments, his brain not willing to let the facts sink in.

�It�s part of his plan�� she continued
calmly, �A soul split in half has a short life span if it�s pushed to its limit
for too long. Your Bankai-form drains a lot of reiatsu and it shortens your
life! Can�t you see? He knows that if you die, he�ll die too, but a part of him
already exists in me! It�s a fight you can�t win, unless you manage to subdue
him for once and for all� and kill me.�

�No�nonono...!�
Ichigo held her to him again and closed his eyes. �I must find��

Orihime chuckled softly despite her
tears and shut her eyes, breathing in the soft sandalwood scent of his hair. �Mou ii yo, Ichigo-kun�� she
whispered, pressing herself up to him. �Souten Kisshun.�

He could feel how a warm glow spread
itself all over his body and how the pain he felt began to disappear. She was
healing all of his wounds with the sheer force of her soul.

�I reject.�

Ichigo suddenly found himself in his
regular Shinigami form and Zangetsu was strapped against his back. �Orihime�?�

�Forgive me, Ichigo-kun,� she whispered,
moving away to face him. �I can�t have you drain all of your life force yet.�

�I will save you, Hime. I promise you
that I will,� Ichigo whispered back, biting on his lower lip to keep it from
trembling.

�I know you�ll be the one, Ichigo� It�s
the path I�ve chosen and it�s how it was meant to be�� she whispered with a
small smile. �Please don�t feel bad. Know that loving you and being with you
was the best thing that happened to me. If I get a chance to return in this
World of the Living again, let�s fall in love all over again, ne? You�ve made me so happy, Ichigo-kun.�

Ichigo was crying now as he shook his
head violently, refusing what was happening. �Mou yamero, Orihime�!�

A flash of white lightening then hit in
between them, barely a second after she had pushed him away from her.

They both looked towards the bridge and
found a familiar eying Shinigami standing there with her right middle finger
pointed out towards them.

�Rangiku-san!� Ichigo whispered, now
lying on his back on the riverbank.

Rangiku then jumped off the bridge
before appearing by his side a second later. �Are you alright?�

�What are you doing here?� he asked,
still surprised by her presence. �Has Yoruichi-san returned�?�

�That can wait,� the vice-captain of the
10^th squad replied, still eying Orihime with a scowl. �I�ve found
him, taichou!� She then spoke into the emitter she kept underneath the left
fowl of her kimono. Next she unsheathed her Zanpakuto. �Howl, Haine��

�Rangiku-san! No!� Ichigo cried out,
reaching out to her and grabbing her hands. �Don�t!�

The blonde haired woman looked at him in
mild confusion. �What are you doing? This is an Arrancar��

�Look at her,� Ichigo whispered.

Orihime took a shaky step back before
falling on one knee and holding on to her wounded right arm. She was trembling
feverishly and sweat was trickling down the side of her face. �Ichigo� please,
hear me out.�

He let go of Rangiku and rushed to her.
�Hime,� he took her in his arms, �I�m here.�

Rangiku tilted her head to the side and
took a step closer. �Orihime-chan�?� She whispered, recognising the woman lying
in Ichigo�s lap.

�H-hey, Rangiku-san�� Orihime shakily
whispered with a wavering smile. She then looked up at Ichigo and reached out
to touch his face. �Please� get stronger. The Hollow�� her breath caught in her
throat as she was trying her best to keep her Demon from coming out for just a
little bit longer. �He�s taken in Aizen�s throne in
H-Hueco Mundo� and he�s so�
so determined to destroy you� and this world�He�s formed a new army of left
over Arrancars� a-and Menos� Please get stronger, Ichigo, so you can kill me
when the time comes.�

�This isn�t happening�� Ichigo whispered
softly, seeing the flickers of dark blue in her eyes. �Hime��

�Onegai��
Orihime said with a trembling smile, �I�ve already died� endless darkness is
around me and I�m lost. But I don�t blame you, anata��
She pressed her lips against his in a final kiss and tasted the bitterness of
their mingled tears. �Be my knight in shining armour and save me again� just
this last time��

�Orihime�!� he sobbed, holding on to her
face as he kissed her back desperately. This time there was another form of
pain that tore through him like no blade had ever done before.

The pain of a broken heart.

�Forgive me, Ichigo,� Orihime murmured
once more against his lips, looking into his eyes a last time before she took a
deep breath and disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.

�Orihime-chan�� Rangiku whispered with a
sorrowful expression on her face. �So Kurotsuchi-
taichou was right��

Ichigo simply sat there on his knees,
now blankly staring at the bottom of the river with his arms still held in the
same position in which they had been holding Orihime just a couple of moments
before.

Rangiku closed her eyes and averted her
face. �Kurosaki�I�m sorry��

Is this how it feels like�?

Orihime was never going to come back.

�Oh God�� he shakily whispered, bending
his head. So your agenda is finally
becoming clear, you bastard�

Ichigo stood and simply walked away,
feeling no urge whatsoever to hear what Rangiku was doing here. He was angry,
sad and vengeful. A combination of emotions he knew proved itself to be
extremely destructive when he was around people and for now he would deeply
appreciate any form of isolation.

�Ichigo-kun��

He looked up at the sky and could�ve
sworn to have smelled the sweet scent of lavender and vanilla. She was still
with him, he could feel it.

�I�ve left my body in my room, on the bed. Please give
me a spot next to my brother on the graveyard��

A small smile formed on his lips and he
closed his eyes again.

�Wait for me, Hime.�

A cackling laughter sounded through the
halls of �Las Noches�.

�Does it please you, my lord?� Hime
whispered as she bowed her head from her position next to the large mirror.

Stretching and flexing his fingers in
supreme enjoyment, he then turned to the mirror and looked at his reflection in
utter satisfaction.� �Yes, Hime-chan!
This will do just fine.�

Hime bowed her head again in
acknowledgement and smirked. �I�m glad you are pleased, master.�

�With this gigai,� the Hollow whispered
with growing glee, �I don�t need to use Ichigo�s body to go to the Living
World.� He laughed out loud and admired himself a bit more.

�With this, I�m one step closer to
destroying Ichigo for once and for all!� He then moved his new naked body
towards her and reached out to her face, cupping it in his right hand. �How do
you think I look?�

Hime lifted her eyes up to the face she
knew so well and smiled impishly in response.

The gigai, that Urahara had specially
developed, had taken the appearance of Ichigo�s body, mainly because Hollow
Ichigo and he are but one and the same. Still, the Hollow�s characteristics
dominated the Gigai�s appearance, like the
amber/black eyes and the pale hair. Other than that, one could say that he was
the exact twin of Ichigo Kurosaki.

�I expected for you to like it�� he
whispered and drew her closer to him with a grin, pulling her by her hair so
her head snapped backwards and he could plant his hungry lips in her throat.

Hime closed her eyes and opened her
mouth in a soundless moan as her hands slid up his arms and shoulders.

By the time he had her on the floor
gasping his name in undeniable pleasure, she never noticed the dried up traces
her scarlet tears had left on her pale skin.

Nor the screams that hopelessly tried to
get heard from the depths of her soul.

Japanese Vocabulary
List

-Anata: You
(My love)

-�Anzuru na� : Don�t worry

-Doko? :
Where?

-�Douka shita
no?� :� What�s wrong?

-Doushite? :
Why?

-Gigai : Faux body

-Go : Five

-Hai: Yes

-Ichi : One

-(chi) �Kuso :
Damn it

-Minna :
Everyone

- Mou ii yo : It�s alright

- Mou yamero : That�s enough

-Nande: What

- N-Nani :
What

- Nani itende (yo)? : What are you talking about?

-Ne : an
Interjection that can be loosely translated in English as �So�, �Well�, �And?�,
�Hey� or �No?�, depending on its position in the phrase

-Ni : two

- Onegai :
Please

- Reitai :
Spirit Entity/Body

-San : Three

-Shi : Four

-Taichou : Captain

-Yosh :
Interjection that can be loosely translated in English as �Alright� or �Okay�

-Yukata : A
light version of a Kimono. Used as a bathrobe here

Yosh! Time for a break everyone! I�ll be putting this story
on hold for a few weeks, maybe a month, just so I can finish the remaining
chapters in peace. I�m a busy person, so please bare with me, ne? Hehehe, thanx
for the reviews and the encouraging mails and PM�s,
you peeps are the best!

Ja ne, minna-san!

Upcoming chapter: 8.
Resurrection � From the bottom of my little black heart

To be continued�

-BDP-
- 6
- 7
- 8
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Seeds of Destruction