Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, or any of the Bleach characters used in this fic. They all belong to Tite Kubo: the genius behind the captivating manga that started it all. I only own any of my original characters that I choose to include, as well as any of my own original plot ideas.

Chapter 5: My Friend, My Hero
Character(s): Nel Tu, Ichigo Kurosaki
Rating: K
Note: Pre-War
Summary: She'd like for him to stay, but it just wouldn't work.

She'd just snapped, watching him suffer. It would have been wrong had she just sat there and endured it.

He didn't have to risk his neck to help her and her brothers. To him, to his world, they were just monsters. Lost souls that needed to be cleansed before the final rite of passage. Even so, he hadn't looked at her the way others had, even after she'd told him that she was a Hollow. He'd stuck around, easily accepting her as a tag-along or even a friend. He hadn't shunned her, mask or not, or run off screaming like others in his world had.

To him, it was as if she were one of his own.

The trip to their destination had been a long one, even with Bawa Bawa to plow through the near-endless sands. The more time she had spent with him, the more welcome she felt in the group. His friends hadn't hated her either. They'd shown her the same compassion as he, which was a welcome change of pace coming from humans and Soul Reapers.

Maybe that's why she'd saved him; why she'd fought off Nnoitra. Still, her impressive rescue hadn't gone as planned. Her abilities had cut out before the end, forcing him back into the fray. In the end, it seemed that he was really the one suited to the hero role.

He'd come to Hueco Mundo for his friend, and all he'd left behind were memories and the footprints in the sand.

She'd very much like for him to stay, to be her playmate for a longer time, but he was of another world, and it just wouldn't work.