𝕎𝕚𝕥𝕔𝕙, 𝕎𝕚𝕥𝕔𝕙, 𝕍𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕚𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝔹𝕚- »« 𝙱𝙻𝙴𝙰𝙲𝙷/𝐡𝐩

𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫. 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧

Ichigo bites the inside of her cheek with a wince as her father tightens the bandages around her upper back and arms. She glances at an incredibly subdued and spaced out Orihime before focusing on an unconscious Tatsuki.

"You must've flown through the windshield with how deep these cuts are," Kurosaki Isshin comments, cleaning up the bloodied bandages and the surgical sutures.

Ichigo nods silently, gazing down at her lap. "Bastard got away when I came too and landed a few hits."

Isshin laughs loudly and lightly wraps an arm around Ichigo's neck. She winces at the slight pull to her stitches before growling under her breath.

"My beautiful daughter is so strong! He'll be sorry in the morning, wherever he is!" Isshin exclaims, ruffling his eldest daughter's hair. Ichigo growls louder and lifts her fist up, slamming it right into his father's nose. He stumbles back with a yelp, grabbing his nose.

"MASAKI, OUR LOVELY DAUGHTER IS BEING MEAN TO ME AGAIN! SHE HAS NO RESPECT FOR HER OTŌSAN!" Isshin cries out dramatically sprinting out of the clinic to sob at the gaudy poster of Kurosaki Masaki in the living room.

Ichigo sighs heavily before standing up. She walks over to Orihime and gently grabs her hand in hers.

"Orihime-san... Orihime-san," Ichigo calls out softly, startling Orihime out of her thoughts.

"Oh! Ichigo-hime... sorry, I keep spacing out. What's going on?" Orihime asks cheerfully, smiling up at her fellow orange haired female.

Ichigo squeezes Orihime's hand and sits beside her on the cot. "It's not good to bottle it up."

"What are you talking about? Nīchan is in a better place now! I'm not sad," Orihime denies brightly, still smiling.

"It's not your fault. Every spirit turns into a Hollow if they aren't given a soul burial soon enough," Rukia states quietly as she walks into the clinic with no expression. Ichigo turns and stares at the object in the black haired female's hand.

"Rukia..." Ichigo trails off, narrowing her gaze. Rukia gives her a look before focusing back on Orihime.

"...I didn't want him to leave... when he-when he died... I told him he couldn't leave me," Orihime speaks with her eyes downcast. She clenches her hands around her skirt, glaring down at her lap. She sniffs loudly and quickly brings up a hand to furiously wipe away her tears.

"He'd worry too much to leave you by yourself. Big siblings can't bear to leave their younger siblings without making sure they can live without them." Ichigo smiles softly and leans forward to gently kiss Orihime's forehead. "Even then, it's hard when you're forced to sit back and watch your younger sibling stumble through life without being able to receive your help."

"Ichigo-hime... why-why did he have to die? W-why him?" Orihime finally breaks after years of pushing it back, tears falling down her cheeks. Ichigo continues to smile softly, pulling the other orange haired female into her arms.

"Death is not a fair Mistress, She's not allowed to be. She is kind, but She must uphold a balance between Life and Herself, good and evil, light and dark," Ichigo says softly, running her fingers through Orihime's hair. Orihime sobs brokenly, pressing her face against Ichigo's neck.

She doesn't notice Rukia's eyes widening, or the stutter in her gasp. She doesn't notice her sudden lax grip around the object in her hand, or the flicker of disbelieving shock passing by her face.

Ichigo smiles as Orihime continues to weep, recalling the ancient lullaby She would always sing to make her sleep. She hums the soft tune and rests her head on Orihime's.