Salvation

Chapter 7

Ichigo had made a huge mistake on going out, yet there he was with the most annoying girl he'd ever had the bad luck to have sex with. Only his stupid desperation had put him in such an unescapable predicament.

Unfortunately Ito Misuki mistook their little fling as an official relationship. If he had known that she would have grown so clingy in just a period of days, he wouldn't have ever had sex with her. The girl had become a nuisance that not only called out to him whenever she mysteriously 'spotted' him, but had somehow found out the number of his house through the directory and called him there.

That was how he winded up at a restaurant downtown with her talking his ear off. As soon as he had gotten back to his house after the tense ride with his family, he had gone to lie down like he always did. Sleep tended to help him in forgetting troubles when there was no sex and just plain mental insults meant to keep him in line.

Just as he had been about to sleep, his father had barged into his room in his usual obnoxious way to announce that Ito had called and was demanding to speak with him. When he finally did speak with her, all she had to tell him was that she wanted to 'hang out' which was very far from the truth.

The girl was obsessed. Upon arriving at the restaurant he had seen that she hadn't wasted time in calling a couple of friends from work to be introduced to him. She didn't say that he was her boyfriend but by how the laughing group had been treating him as one of their own, he got the nagging suspicion that they thought he was.

This kind of thing had happened to him before. Back in Tokyo yet another girl had assumed wrongly after making out with him. There hadn't been any actual sex because his roommate had to spoil his plans by getting back to the dorm drunk and beaten up, just spoiling for a fight.

The girl, who he thought was named Yuki and was actually Suna (he really had a hard time with names) had thought that they had 'something', when in fact he'd already given up the idea of having any form of intercourse with her after being interrupted. After that night, her insistence on seeing him during class, free-time or just any time had gotten bad enough to the point that he had to press charges against her. It had been one of the most talked about events in the university's wild gossip mill and also the most embarassing moment of his life. If someone had told him years earlier that things would get to the point that he would have a stalker to take to court for a restraining order he would have laughed his ass off.

He had never thought of himself as attractive and was always surprised when girls told him he was. During his growing up years, he had been accostumed to being jumped by bigger boys and having girls sneer at him in distaste because of the mere fact that his hair wasn't black. In his school there had always been a barely discernable line between acceptance and outright racism; his hair color plainly stated that he wasn't one-hundred percent like the rest of the 'normal kids'.

If it hadn't been for the memory of his mother, he would have dyed it. Her hair had been a bright strawberry blonde and it people hated him because he had inherited it, they could go straight to hell.

He wasn't changing it.

Now... Going to an university that particular feature that had caused him so much trouble while growing up, including his above average height and fit body drew the attention he hadn't gotten back in high school. Instead of getting beaten up, he had girls smiling at him and people invinting him to parties.

And in Karakura, he had just earned himself yet another stalker by doing things without thinking clearly first.

Why did I come here anyway?, his flat gaze fell on the strangers of the table surrounding him. He didn't know any of those people and yet he could tell by the way they laughed without worries, that not a single one had known a true day of suffering in their lives. Thoughts such as those always embittered him around certain jovial types. He tried to avoid thinking that way since Orihime herself had been cheerful while carrying a load of grief at being invisible to everyone.

Unlike her, he couldn't always pretend. He only did so for brief periods of time before his smiles faded and the coldness entered his eyes. How he despised so much noise and happy smiling faces. It was a slap to the face along with a hateful declaration stating 'you're alone in your misery, deal with it!'

Like when he had seen Tatsuki after so long... Unchanging and with a life full of promise and possible happiness ahead of her. For all he knew she'd probably graduate, get more trophies as head champion in vale tudo and meet some guy that could keep up with her... Just a productive, predictable life that smacked of fate and contentment. Even Orihime had started a happy existance with a once bitter hateful Hollow that had turned his life into a living hell by opening his eyes to the bleakness within him.

At times such at these he hated everything and everyone. None of them understood him and never would if they tried. But then again, it wasn't like he let anyone get close enough to see what he kept hidden. He didn't relish the idea of someone knowing all of his secrets and that was one of the reasons why he had pushed Tatsuki away.

She already knew too much.

Their table was close to the window facing the crowded street. When he wasn't looking at the strangers that joked and acted immaturely in his point of view, his eyes would occasionally fleet over to the other strangers going past the glass.

The ones with families and other lives. The people that were too busy arguing with their kids for being too slow in catching up or gossiping over cell-phones while jingling their house keys between their fingers as if they were toys.

"Kurosaki?!"

"Huh?!" he jumped at realizing that his mind had been blank while staring at the passersby. Grinning at the pretty brunnette beside him, he raised his brows,"What's up?"

"Tetsuo was asking you if you want to go camping this weekend!"

He almost winced at that. His main intention for going to the restaurant was to tell her that they had nothing together, yet her friends had botched his plans of letting her go 'easy'. He had never been good at break-ups, most of all when there had never been a relationship to begin with. When the incident with Rukia had happened they hadn't said anything... All she had done was empty out the closet while he was out and not come back until nearly a month later to make amends with Orihime for being cruel in not understanding what was going on.

Nothing else.

So telling a girl 'it's over' was a foreign thing to him.

"I-I," regardless of the things he did, he still blushed when nervous. Scratching the back of his head while stretching on the straight-backed metal seat he was on, he gave a strained apologetic smile,"I have plans with my family this weekend."

"Oh...," Misuki pouted prettily before brightening again. "What is it you guys are planning?!"

Fuck! This girl is like cancer!, his eyes widened slightly at how difficult it was to give her a hint to 'back off'. At first he had wondered why she had been single, especially since she had been the prettiest and most popular girl in Karakura High School and now he understood why.

She was persistent and extremely irritating.

"We're...," he trailed off, hating how bad he was at lying. Some people actually fell for his excuses and he had no doubt that Misuki wasn't too bright, but he really sucked at coming up with things at the last minute.

Not wanting to seem hesitant, mostly since everyone around the table were eyeing him strangely, he forced another grin,"We're going to visit my grandmother in Hokkaido."

My grandmother has been dead since I was six and lived here in Karakura, but Misuki didn't need to know that.

"That's quite a way off, Kurosaki," a young man whose name he had already forgot mentioned, narrowing his eyes.

Damn asshole.

"That's because we're leaving tonight." That could keep Misuki from following him. She wouldn't have enough time to both buy a train ticket and take a ferry or special leave from work. It was perfect. Hokkaido was on a separate island.

"Kurosaki! If I didn't know any better I'd say you're trying to hide from me!" Misuke sang playfully.

That's because I am, don't you get it?

"That's nonsence!" he laughed without meeting her eyes as her ever-present smile widened. "I don't need to hide from anyone!" There went his plans on getting rid of her. If he continued being nice she'd never go away.

"Oh, okay!" her cool slender hands grabbed one of his arms to hug it to her chest. "Because I'm not leeeeeeetting you gooooo!" That sounded more like a threat than anything.

Blanching at how far things had gone, his smile faltered just as his eyes looked distantly at the glass next to their table. Misuki was a nice girl, but her psychotic behavior in clinging to him after just having sex was wearing him down. He usually just brushed the girls off and treated them like aquaintances. In the university there were some girls he frequented; girls that didn't actually expect anything other than sex. As long as they didn't want to 'hang out' and 'date', he could stay with them for months, just seeing them when he needed to do it.

Hearing someone speaking to Misuki, steering away from the conversation regarding plans for the weekend, he relaxed and left her gripping hands linger on his forearm.

I'll have to talk to dad about changing the number at least until I leave.

Suddenly the last thing he would expect entered his line of vision. Faces he hadn't wanted to see for a long time.

His body became rigid as he saw Tatsuki walking beside Mizuiro right on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant, but that wasn't what had him stiffening in dread.

It was the couple meeting up with them from the opposite direction.

Ogichi and Orihime. His eyes stung at the sight of them. Seeing Orihime so radiant rushing up to her friend while dragging a sulky Ogichi behind was the worsest thing he could see at that moment.

Reaching Tatsuki and Mizuiro, Orihime spoke excitedly to them and though he couldn't hear the words due to the glass, he could tell that Tatsuki was uncomfortable by what she had said. When she spoke, her shoulders were tense and Orihime's bright smile began to fade little by little.

What the hell...?

Pointing a some place further down the street, Tatsuki continued speaking solemnly until Ogichi burst out laughing before appearing to have spat some words that had her glare and snap back at him. Orihime being the peace-keeper chastised her sneering husband and then looked at Tatsuki beseechingly. After a couple of moments, she nodded and murmured something that had the tension between them dissipate.

She can't be telling them... about me, is she?

"Kurosaki?"

His brows lowered as the four of them walked off further up the street.

"Kurosaki?!"

"Ah!" he looked down at Misuki and laughed out nervously while awkwardly removing his arm from her hold,"Listen! I just saw someone that I have to talk to walk by and I-I," seeing her fulminating glare he stammered, abruptly rising off his seat making the rest of the group look at him, "and I have to talk to her-I mean him!"

I really suck at this!

"But what do you mean? You-?"

"Yeah! So... Later!" just as she opened her mouth to speak again, begining to stand up from her own seat, he waved and quickly exited the restaurant as if his ass was on fire.

I really have to be careful who I do stuff with in the future!

Glancing over his shoulder a couple of times, he saw that he wasn't being followed once outside of the restaurant. Seeing the group of four ahead of him, the familiar backs of their heads coming into view through the milling people, he began to walk after them, one of his hands distractedly going into his right pant pocket.

Without removing his eyes from them, he flipped a cellphone open and hit speeddial, putting the phone next to his ear.

It was picked up after two rings.

"Kurosaki residence! How may we help you and if you are calling for the clinic, this is the wrong number, but what the heck?!"

Rolling his eyes at his father's greeting, he snapped,"It's me, dad!"

"Oh! You've just made me waste so much spit in my friendly-"

"I need you to do something for me," he cut his words, while speeding up his pace to keep tracking the group that were nearly swallowed up by other people busily walking the same sidewalk.

"I don't like the sound of that! You never ask me for favors!"

"Yeah, well I need you to listen very carefully," the group stopped in front of a bussiness and were met by other familiar faces, "I want you to tell Ito-shit!" he finished in a hiss when someone that was obviously Keigo glanced his way absentmindedly. Lucky for him, he rushed into the entryway of a clothing store just in time.

"Alright... Tell Ito SHIT! Got it loud and clear, son!"

Widening his eyes, Ichigo yelled into the cellphone drawing far too much attention to him from the women shopping in the store, "Not that, you goddamned idiot! I want you tell her that I'm in Hokkaido visiting grandma!"

"Visiting grandma?! She's been dead since you were in kindergarden! And what the heck is in Hokkaido?! She lived here!"

"That's the thing! I'm not going to Hokkaido! I just want her to back off because she thinks we're going out after having sex a couple of times! She just doesn't get it!" A chorus of feminine gasps echoed his words and his face heated at what he had just blurted out in public.

Slapping a hand to his forehead and wincing, he slowly turned his head to see a group of women holding their shopping bags to exit the store gaping at him in horror.

"This is just great," he muttered through his teeth, noting how offended the women looked, especially two of them that were covering the ears of their children.

"Can't get them off you, huh?! You've made your papa so happy! Even though you didn't inherit my rugged sexy looks, you have a way with the ladies! I'm so proud after so many years of dissappointment and thinking you were gay...!" sniffling ended his father's emotional words.

"Shut up and just do it!" he gritted, backing out slowly from the shadowed entrance of the all female clothing store. The last thing he wanted was an angry mob of women beating the living shit out of him.

***

"Kurosaki-kun doesn't want to see us?" Orihime asked meekly as Tatsuki winced.

She hadn't meant for it to come out that way. When they had all taken seats in a back booth hidden away from the rest of the restaurant slash bar, she had chosen her words carefully. All that had been said was that Ichigo was going through a stressful time and that it wasn't good to surround him by people. Unfortunately, Orihime and Ogichi had caught on immediately. Uryuu and Rukia who already had a good idea of Ichigo's emotional state were intrigued but remained quiet for her to continue.

"It's not that...," she lied, her voice showing some reluctance that a certain albino sitting next to her best friend caught on to if his flashing yellow gold eyes were anything to go by.

"So, Ichigo is still emo about that shit that happened, ain't he?" he asked smugly, making everyone else in the group shift in discomfort at how callous he could be.

Goddamned Ogichi and that psychic connection! Glaring at him, she clenched her jaw.

"I don't think it's that, Shirosaki. He is going to an university in a highly populated city. A lot of things there could be distressing to him," Uryuu murmured as if trying to make the albino's attention shift to something else.

It worked to no avail. Ogichi was tenacious and when something sparked his interest he didn't let it go. Orihime was the perfect example of how determined he could be.

"Hah! Don't sell me that load of shit, Quincy boy! I know, King and he's still hung up about it! I can feel it, remember?!" finding that funny, he snorted wearing a smirk, draping his arm lazily around a saddened Orihime's shoulders.

"Who's 'King'?" Mizuiro who didn't know half the things they did asked.

"That's what I was wondering!" Keigo just had to pipe in.

Looking as nonchalant as only he could be, Tatsuki saw as Ogichi opened his mouth to explain as if it were no problem.

"Ogichi!" she hissed through her teeth just in time.

Closing his mouth, his pale expressive face hardened, stopping any unneeded information from being revealed to both Keigo and Mizuiro.

Everyone else in the group knew his true origin and still had a long way to go in coming to grips with it. He was still a part of Ichigo except he moved more freely and in a physical body. Everyone that knew the 'original' thought they were closely related due to how similar they were to each other in looks and build. Telling the others that Ogichi was actually a inner Hollow would have caused a panic.

Thankfully, he knew that he had to shut up when she had said his name. He rarely showed any patience for anyone, including her. Often times he just cursed her out and threw a fit until Orihime stepped in. She guessed that it was because he was still a Hollow. Nothing could change that. The only person that could keep his temper under wraps was Orihime herself. She was also the only person he showed any affection to, meaning that he was pretty much a mouthy smartass to everybody else.

He did have his good points though... Like the fact that he avoided hurting Orihime's feelings at all costs. He had been learning how to keep that from happening which was a hard task considering that she was hurt easily. A year ealier her friend had cried plenty of times for him and because of her tears almost physically hurting him, he tried to prevent them from falling.

For that Tatsuki was grateful. Orihime had cried enough in her life, especially with what happened to her friendship with Ichigo.

At that moment as if she had predicted it, Ogichi's face contorted in a pained grimace as Orihime sniffed wetly.

"Sorry! I-I'm okay!" giving a quick watery smile, Orihime's nose was reddening as her eyes grew moist. Hastily yanking a napkin off the round table they were sitting at, she quickly dabbed at the tears that had begun to pool in the corners of her eyes.

"I-I think it's th-the hormones!" she lamely explained, sniffing loudly, mustering up another fleeting smile.

"Do you think...?" Rukia spoke up uncertainly as all eyes moved to her. "When do you think would be a good time to see him? He won't always be like this, right?"

Tatsuki didn't know how to answer that question. Rukia knew more details than Uryuu and was perhaps blaming herself just as much as Orihime was.

"It'll take him some time..."

"Is he upset because of me and Ogichi?" Orihime whispered, taking all of them by surprise. She had just asked what many of them had been thinking.

"Actually...," For once Tatsuki felt sure in answering truthfully. "I don't think it has anything to do with that anymore."

At that Ogichi snorted but didn't comment.

It has to do with his whole life.

"He's had issues before," she swallowed and looked away from her best friend's teary grey eyes,"so it's not you or Ogichi, Orihime-chan. I... I can't say any more than that."

Ichigo would never forgive her if she told their friends about his near permanent grieving. It was something that had been difficult to reveal for him and she had to respect that. The subject of his mother and the way he had constantly pushed people away seemed to always put him on edge. His true reasons were far too intimate to tell to just anyone, even if those people were considered to be friends.

Orihime nodded, but at that precise moment Ogichi suddenly exclaimed.

"Speak of the fuckin' ghost! Look who's here!"

Noting that his smiling eyes were directed to somewhere behind her, she stiffened as the rest of the group looked in the same direction in shock.

He shouldn't be here! Her fists tightened under the table as she shut her eyes tightly.

A smiling voice said,"Long time, no see!"

"Ichigo!" Keigo shouted, jumping off his seat so fast that the chair clattered to the ground. People surrounding the table began to stand to greet him, speaking all at once while Tatsuki remained sitting. She knew full well that he was just pretending.

"We were just talking about you!" Mizuiro sounded genuinely pleased to see him again.

"I can see that!" Ichigo barked out a laugh.

That fucking moron is putting himself through this...

"Kurosaki-kun-?!"

"Inoue or should I say 'Shirosaki'?! Heard about the marriage! Congratulations! Also about the baby-!"

"You knew about that?!" Orihime squeaked and Tatsuki shivered at hearing the conversation taking place just feet behind her.

"Yeah! I guess, that means you're a mom now! That's great!"

He's such a liar. Her fists were now growing numb at how tightly she clenched them. He was probably doing what he always did when in pain; laughing and smiling without meeting their eyes directly.

It felt as if his suffering was actually physically touching her. There was a dull pain growing in her chest that was making it hard for her to breathe with every passing moment that he tortured himself through his acting.

"Don't say that load bullshit, Ichigo!" Ogichi snapped moodily, not too happy about seeing him after a year.

There was a lengthly silence after his words and Tatsuki began to fear that Ichigo had finally broken down by how quiet the group had become.

I have to stop this! Opening her eyes slowly, she began to rise from her seat as Ichigo laughed again.

"It's not bullshit! I'm really happy for the both of you!"

Who was he trying to fool?

"Are you sure you're okay, Ichigo?" Sado, who rarely spoke, asked lowly.

"Yeah, yeah..."

Standing up, she turned around to face the group, her whole body feeling cold. The emotion that had been assaulting her earlier seemed to intensify once her stinging eyes fell on his fakely smiling face. It felt as if her chest was being torn apart from the inside out. She sincerely hoped that the pain she was undergoing wasn't what Ichigo was suffering. It was downright excruciating that it was like someone was trying to tear her soul from her body.

Anyone that didn't know Ichigo the way she did would assume that he was a very nice guy with his bright smile, but she knew better. He was dying by merely standing there.

"Ichigo," saying his name brought a piercing pain to her stomach that had her gasp inwardly.

"Tatsuki! Just who I wanted to see!" he looked at her the moment his name left her lips; that familiar and unnerving hot and cold draft hitting her face full force.

Oh, Kami...!, all blood drained from her face and she had to quickly put her hands behind her to grasp the back of her abandoned seat to keep standing. It was getting painful whenever his eyes looked at her a certain way. The first time it had just been disorienting, but now it brought nausea and dizziness.

"Tatsuki-chan...?" Orihime's voice was closer as she shut her eyes to take deep breaths in hopes that she could get back to normal.

Ichigo's emotions had become toxic to her. She had to be feeling what he was... at least the physical ailments of it. The cold heat on her face could be his shame or anger and the urge to vomit was perhaps how sickened he was by being around Ogichi.

Why is this happening?! As Orihime approached her, her worry was so pure it touched her heightened senses soothingly. Just what the hell was wrong with her? It was like the emotions of everyone in the group were passing off to her and it was driving her crazy! Her body was soaking it all up like a greedy sponge, making it a part of her.

"Ichigo...," she panted, her pained eyes still closed,"did you come here... to see me?"

"Yeah... but if you're sick maybe we should go to the hospital-"

She shook her head quickly, yet he continued.

"-or the clinic."

"Kurosaki is right, Arisawa-san. You don't look too well," Uryuu reasoned, some concern entering his voice.

She smirked weakly at that. She must really look like crap if even Ishida was worried.

"We should all go!" Orihime agreed.

No!

Forcing her eyes open, she looked squarely at Ichigo who finally stopped his fake smiling and currently stared back at her worriedly. She was wondering about what was wrong with her... and she was also wanting to find a way to get both Ichigo and herself away from the rest of them. Being around all of them at once was making her sick, or maybe just Ichigo sick which in some way was affecting her.

In spite of how obvious her plan of escape was, she managed to say quietly,"I'll let Ichigo take me to the clinic... but the rest of you should stay here."

***

A/N: Wooooohoooo! EVERYONE WAS IN CHAP! About freaking time all of the others showed up, right?As for (OC)Misuki? She was just convenient for certain scenes so this is her last appearance. (she annoys me) Everything will CHANGE drastically once the actual plot of this fic is revealed (don't expect it to just revolve around Ichigo getting over his depression.) Also I couldn't update sooner since I had to deal with my Grimm/OC. I do that once in awhile. I really hate the thought of leaving a story unfinished. (seen too many of those already). Hope people liked! And yes, I do add humor to my fics. I don't like being depressing all of the time. At BattleCry Thanks! And I really hope you liked this chapter! Especially the one coming up! Hehehehe...

Please rate and/or review, readers!