[DISCONTINUED] Strive | Bleach

Chapter Twenty-Three: Finalities and Truth.

The end result: not good. I found myself clinging onto the side of the cliff for dear life, after that final attack blew me away like a feather in the wind. I waited until the shaded turmoil above subsided and the remaining spiritual energies from Ichigo and Byakuya disappeared before climbing back up. Flopping over on my back from exhaustion and pain, I looked out of the corner of my eye to see them standing a few meters away from each other, their backs turned. At that moment, my shoulder ripped.

I forced my eyes open, as they had been trying to close ever since the end of their battle. Ichigo, who was beginning to tip over, used his zanpakutō to hold himself up by stabbing the end into the ground.

“I won’t fall,” he said, his body still shaking. Byakuya started limping away after his own wound burst open. He stopped, and raised a hand that was dangling at his side. He struggled to open it, but once he did, six flower petals flew from his palm.

“You wanted to know… why I would allow Rukia to be executed.” Ichigo turned around to see him.

“Criminals should be brought to justice. Once their punishment is decided, it must be carried out. That is the rule of the law.”

“So you’d follow the law over the life of your own sister?” I asked, crawling towards them.

“Sympathy towards a relative; what could be more pointless?”
“How can you say that?”
“Feelings and emotions have no value compared to law. Luckily, I’ve never been burdened by such useless sentiments. The Kuchiki Clan is one of the Four Great Noble Families. We’re duty-bound to serve as examples for all Soul Reapers. How can we enforce our laws if we ourselves are not willing to obey them?”

“I’m sorry, but I still can’t understand.” I fell off of my hands and knees near Ichigo’s feet. “I swear, even if I was in your position, I would fight the law. I would fight until I ended your stupid law!” I finally realized what he had been doing all this time.

Byakuya was never his enemy. What he was fighting was the law of the Soul Society.

“Ichigo Kurosaki, because of your free spirit and reckless abandon, you have broken my sword.” He started to walk away. “You have my word: I will pursue Rukia no more. You… have won.” He disappeared.

“Ichigo--“ I was cut off by his echoing screams. But then he gasped. My vision began to go blurry. The clouds above me became deformed.

“I c-can… barely stand up,” he said. “Everything’s spinning… around—““Heh, heh, heh, I’m sorry, Ichigo!” We held our heads in our hands. When Ichigo had started falling backwards, I saw that Orihime had run up behind him, and as a result, their heads smashed together. “I didn’t mean to sneak up on you like that, and I’m sorry I have such a hard head, I was just trying to catch you!”

“Orihime?” he said, as if he hadn’t really seen them a moment ago. “Uryū? Chad! Ganju! It’s good to see you all; I’m glad you’re all okay.”

“We’re not exactly okay,” Uryū said, smirking as he pushed his glasses up. “But then again, compared to you two, I guess we really shouldn’t be complaining.”

“Orihime, are you hurt?”

“Huh? Yes—I mean, no, no! I’m not hurt, I wasn’t hurt at all! I’m totally fine! I wasn’t any use to anyone so I didn’t even get involved, actually! Uryū protected me; Kenpachi carried me piggy-back—I wasn’t hurt at all! I was never really in any danger, though… it’s nice of you to ask…” She started blushing. “Mostly, I was just so worried about you the whole time we were separated, Ichigo. I’m so sorry I couldn’t do anything to protect you. I’m just so glad… that you’re alright! Thank you for surviving. Thank you for everything that you did.”