Author's note: Thank you all for supporting my first one-shot, Choice. This is a sequel for Choice, hope you all like it. Please read and review and Thank you for reading.
" Hey look!"
Ichigo opened one eye to look at the excited Inoue. Everyone decided to go on a picnic as an informal way of celebrating the fall of Aizen. Rukia was the one who came up with the idea; those invited were mostly the gang. Which consisted of Inoue, Ishida, Chad, Ichigo and Renji.
Since it was still winter… It limited the number of places they could go for a picnic. Inoue had just recovered so they let her choose the location. She came up with 10 weird places that Rukia turned down almost immediately. They then settled on taking the cable car to a mountain and then have their picnic in snow. Ouch…
The cable car was quite big; they split the group into groups of 3. Ichigo almost fell asleep sitting on the cable car, but seeing how excited Inoue was, it wasn't such a bad idea. Chad was as silent as ever…
He sighed and looked down and noticed how high up they were over the frozen lake. He turned blue and looked away.
" Kurosaki-kun, are you okay? You look blue." She whispered.
" I'm fine… Just surprised that we are so high up in the air."
" I heard that your clinic received a lot of patients last night." Sado said.
" Yeah, about time to let my old man work." He told them.
He yawned and excused himself.
" Oh, my father asked if you were feeling better." He told Inoue.
Inoue just smiled and looked out of the window again. I take that as a yes. He thought to himself as he closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep.
The cable car entered the station and slowly went to a stop. They alighted and waited for Rukia, Renji and Ishida. Next, they took a bus to go there. Ichigo tried to sleep but the road was so bumpy that he almost jumped out of his seat. Plus, Renji and Ishida were shouting at each other…
Ichigo rolled his eyes and he looked at Inoue who was talking to Rukia about Curry Fish head with ice cream. Ichigo tried not to think too much about what the dish would look like….
After 3 hours,
The ground was covered with so much snow that no matter how thick the blanket was, Ichigo could still feel the coldness of the snow. He nearly fell asleep but it was Renji who slapped him awake. They ate lunch and had some snow fights. It was fun, after all he teamed up with Renji and they won.
Inoue asked him to take a walk with her. Ichigo got up and they walked into the woods. As they were walking, both of them were silent. Ichigo was wondering what to say, when Inoue broke the ice first.
" Kurosaki-kun, have you decided?" She asked.
" Huh? " He asked, confused.
" Did you remember what I told you?" she whispered.
She looked back at Rukia who was laughing at Renji's joke. Ichigo's eyes followed hers.
" What about Rukia?" He asked.
" I asked her on the bus, she told me that she's leaving after Christmas. She's celebrating the New Year in Soul Society. She sounded very excited as she told me that her brother volunteered to cook dinner for New Year Eve." She whispered.
Ichigo imagined Byakuya in the kitchen and cooking. He smiled wondering what Byakuya will come up with.
" Yeah, she deserves it. Renji told me that Byakuya and Rukia are on closer terms now." He told her.
Inoue smiled and looked at the ground.
" She's really lucky." She whispered.
Ichigo watched her in silence.
" I mean, she has Renji-kun, Captain Kuchiki and you." She whispered.
" And you have us too." He whispered.
Inoue met his eyes and smiled rather forcefully.
" Yeah, I have you guys too…"
" Inoue!"
They heard Rukia shout,
" Make up your mind and tell her." She told Ichigo and started running over to where Rukia was.
Ichigo watched her go; he dug his hand into his jacket's pocket.
They took a bus back to the cable car station. As they waited for their turn, Inoue started to panic.
" What's wrong?" Ichigo asked.
" I can't find it. I must have dropped it. Why don't you all go back first?" She asked.
She turned to get out of the queue.
" Inoue, where are you going?" Rukia asked.
" I'm going back to our picnic site. There's no need to wait for me, please go on without me." She told them.
" Ichigo." Rukia told him, giving him the " help her " look. Ichigo sighed and went after her.
" Inoue, wait up." He called after her.
" I'm really sorry, Kurosaki-kun." She whispered.
Both of them were on the bus.
" It's okay. It must be something important to you." He told her.
Inoue smiled a little.
" What are we looking for?" he asked.
" No, I can't ask you to help me. I really appreciate it when you volunteered to accompany me." She whispered.
" Since I am already here, I might as well help out. Two heads are better than one, right?" He asked.
Inoue nodded, Ichigo smiled at her.
They were searching the site they went to, Inoue didn't tell him what she was looking for.
" So, what are we looking for?" He asked.
" A bracelet, it was a present from my brother." She whispered.
They searched for a while, but finding a small item in white snow wasn't that easy. Ichigo wanted to give up, but when he saw how disappointed Inoue was, he told himself not to give up. He had to find it, for her.
He got lucky; he saw something shining on the ground. Ichigo dug it out with gloved hands and realized that it was a bracelet.
" Is this it?" He asked.
Inoue nodded, Ichigo passed it to her. After dusting of the snow, they found out that it had broken in half. Inoue smiled and thanked him as she pocketed it. Ichigo pulled off his glove to check his hands. They were red and numb. Inoue healed his hands back to normal.
They alighted from the bus and managed to get into the queue before the station was closed. They got into a cable car and it set off from the station.
" You know, today made me realized how important our siblings are to us." Ichigo told her.
She just smiled and looked out of the window.
" One never realizes how important they are, until you lost them." Inoue whispered.
Her eyes were closed.
" Inoue…" He whispered, his eyes softened.
" I'm fine, I just… you know… happy that we managed to find it." She whispered, looking away.
" Inoue… you…"
" Sometimes I wonder if I made the right choice… I could have chose to leave and I would be able to see him again. But then… life without friends… it would be lonely too…" Inoue whispered.
Ichigo noticed that she was crying.
" I'm really sorry, Kurosaki-kun. I promised not to cry but I… just can't help it. Facing an empty house all day… I know that friends and family are different… And here I am now, talking about nonsense again." She told him and forced a laugh.
" I must have caused you a lot of trouble and I must have hurt your ears by confessing so much." She whispered.
" Ears are used for listening, Inoue. I really don't mind." He whispered.
" Kurosaki-kun…"
" I can lend you my shoulder if you want to." He told her.
" Kurosaki-kun… There's something I want to tell you…" She whispered.
Ichigo noticed that she was blushing. Inoue felt her heart beating so fast, she had to do it now. After all they are alone… She has to tell him, even if she loses him…
" I… I…"
Ichigo suddenly jumped up and he hit the roof of the cable car.
" Ouch."
He looked at Inoue and looked down at his hollow charm it was sounding again.
" Well, I got to go. We will finish this conversation later. Help me look after my body." He told her.
He placed the charm on his chest and his shinigami form came out. He got out of the cable car and used flash jump. Inoue looked at Ichigo's body. She could still feel the heat on her face. What a way to ruin a moment… she almost said it…
She sensed a presence of a hollow nearby.
Ichigo saw a hollow appearing on the cable car's cable. The cable sank down under its weight. Oh no… He saw that the cable cars couldn't move anymore. He immediately pulled out Zangetsu and rushed over.
The cable car was shaking badly. Inoue looked out of the window to see a huge hollow. It was howling and it started walking, the cable sank down further, shaking the cable cars.
Inoue's heart started beating faster in fear; the hollow was getting closer to where she was… She looked at Ichigo's body.
Ichigo strikes at the hollow, it howled in pain but managed to shake the cable. Ichigo took time before he regains his balance. In the mean time, he looked down and noticed how high he was and he turned pale.
But he had to stop it, before the cable snaps? The hollow moved and he heard the tightening of the cable. The cable cars were shaking and he heard people screaming. He looked at the situation.
Okay, so there are 6 cable cars, filled with a maximum of four each. That would be 24 people… Plus Inoue, me and me… that would be 27… not it's 26… We are like " I don't know how high we are " from the ground… And we are hanging on a cable that is going to snap. So let's see, are we like going to die? AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! What am I doing? He shouted to himself as he ran over.
Inoue casted her shield just in case, she saw the Hollow howling in pain as Ichigo slashed at it. But the wind was getting stronger and the cable cars started swaying again. She closed her eyes and prayed that Ichigo will save everyone. Her grip around Ichigo's hand tightened.
Suspended in mid air, over a frozen lake. Damn, we are so going to make a movie out of this. Ichigo thought to himself.
He got distracted as the wind blew and the cable shook. The hollow took the chance and swiped at Ichigo. He fell off but managed to grab onto a cable car. He saw that it was making its way to where Inoue and his body were. His eyes widened but he reached for his shinigami cell phone.
Inoue saw the hollow getting bigger in size… The cable sank down further; no… it was going to break soon. She had to do something… It was coming towards her.
Ichigo had no choice; he had to kill it fast.
" Bankai."
Inoue sensed Ichigo's bankai release. She turned to see the face of the hollow. She closed her eyes and felt that half of the cable car was ripped off. The cable car swayed to one side and Inoue nearly fell off. She grabbed onto the seat.
" Kurosaki-kun!"
She closed her eyes but she heard the hollow howl in pain. She opened her eyes to see Ichigo in his Bankai outfit with Tensa Zangetsu.
" Sorry I'm late." He told her.
The cable shook again, Inoue screamed as she felt she was going to fall off.
" Getsuga Tenshō!!!!!!!"
The hollow was split into two, but the impact of the attack was so great that it cut the cable.
Oh dear me… Ichigo looked down at his black bankai and the cable.
He started falling, so did everyone else. He heard Inoue screaming, then he saw that she fell off. He released his own grip on the cable and he jumped over. He hugged Inoue who was holding onto his body. Together they fell towards the frozen lake.
" Hold on to me." He told Inoue.
" Santen Kesshun" Inoue released, forming the triangle shield below them to act as an airbag. They prepared for impact.
Meanwhile, the cable had snapped and the cable was swinging towards another mountain, everyone was screaming and then it stopped.
" Captain Hitsugaya." Matsumoto called out.
Ichigo had phoned Capatin Hitsugaya to help save everyone, in case the cable snapped, and it did.
" Luckily I came in time." Captain Hitsugaya told Matsumoto.
He was in his Bankai form, he froze the cable to the mountain, he managed to stop the cable from hiting it.
" Matsumoto, call for back up." He told her.
" Captain, I cannot locate Kurosaki-kun and Orihime-chan." She informed him.
Just then they heard a loud splash, they looked down to see the frozen lake cracking.
" Inoue!!!" Ichigo fought to surface, his teeth was chattering. The water was freezing cold.
But he couldn't locate her, he had entered his body before they hit the lake… But she wasn't with him. Oh god… images of Inoue dying during the last battle with Aizen flashed into his mind.
" INOUE!!!!!!"
" Ichigo."
He looked up to see Captain Hitsugaya.
" Inoue, she's missing…" He told him, through chattering teeth.
" Captain!" Matsumoto called out.
She pointed to his right, Ichigo dived down and started swimming over. He shed his outerwear as it was slowing him down. He swam over and saw Inoue sinking to the bottom. He surfaced for air.
" Get…back..up…" He shouted.
" I can freeze the lake." Captain Hitsugaya told him.
" No, she's near the bottom." He shouted.
He took in a deep breath and dived deep into the lake to save her. He swam over and pulled her up with him. He finally surfaced with Inoue. He tried to catch his breath, but the water was so cold.
" Toshiro!" Ichigo called out.
" It's Captain Hitsugaya!" Captain Hitsugaya called out.
He summoned an ice dragon to carry Ichigo and Inoue out of the water before he froze the lake.
Ichigo coughed and started trying to wake Inoue. She felt so cold… No, he wasn't losing her again. He tried to feel for a pulse, but he couldn't feel any. NO….
" Inoue, wake up, please. I can't lose you again." He told her.
He did Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), trying to make her breathe again.
" Inoue, please, breathe." He told her.
He continued doing CPR and he felt for a pulse again.
" Inoue, don't die on me. I promised…" He whispered.
But Inoue wasn't responding, she still felt cold.
" Inoue…" Ichigo whispered, looking downat the motionless Inoue.
" Orihime-chan…" Matsumoto whispered.
Ichigo continued doing CPR.
" You cannot die, not yet. You aren't married yet. Didn't you say you wanted 10 children? Why don't you wake up now so that you can fulfill your own dreams?" He asked.
Inoue didn't respond.
" Inoue…" He sobbed.
His hands clenched into fists, he looked at her. He couldn't believe that he was actually crying.
" Damn it I love you, Inoue. Wake up, please!" He shouted.
Matsumoto and Captain Hitsugaya's eyes widened in shock.
" Damn it, I love you!" He shouted again.
He looked down, he was losing her… No…
" And I love you too."
They turned to see Inoue in a shinigami uniform, she was floating in mid air. She landed on the ground and looked at Ichigo. He blinked and looked at her body. So it was her body?
" Inoue?" He asked, his eyes wide with shock.
Inoue nodded and entered her body. Ichigo blinked in shock as Inoue sat up and looked at him.
" When did you have a shinigami form?" He asked.
" That time with I died." She whispered.
Ichigo looked confused and surprised, Matsumoto and Captain Hitsugaya left the two of them alone.
" Er… er… I'm glad that you aren't dead." He stumbled on his words.
He was embarrassed.
OH MY GOD, she heard me… Ichigo thought to himself. He looked away and tried to think of a way to change topic.
" I er… help…" He tried to walk away.
" Kurosaki-kun… I er…"
Their eyes met and both of them look away. Both of them were blushing badly. He could act like he didn't say it or he could tell her the whole truth.
" I admit I love you, Inoue." He told her.
Inoue's eyes softened.
" I…er… I don't want to lose you again, Inoue. I had the shock of my life. I thought you were dead and in the end, I was the one who over reacted?" He asked.
" Er…"
" How could you not tell me that you were a shinigami?" He asked.
" I…"
" I mean how could you not tell me. I was scared shitless there and to find out that it was your body. Of course it can't breathe. What was I thinking?" He talked as if he was talking to himself.
" Damn it Inoue…." Ichigo was cut off when…
Inoue tiptoed and kissed him on his lips. He blinked but it was a rather short kiss.
" I believe I already gave you my first kiss when you did CPR on me." She whispered.
Both of them blushed like red apple.
" Hey! You two love birds!"
They turned to see Rukia with a camera.
" What's that for?" Ichigo asked.
" Oh, Renji bought it for me, so I thought I test it out. And look what I got." She told them.
She waved a photo of the two of them kissing. Ichigo grew red with anger, Inoue continued blushing.
" I will print thousands of it and pass it to everyone we know. I'm sure I can get it on a magazine too." Rukia told them and smiled.
" Give me that!" Ichigo shouted and ran over.
Rukia smiled and ran off first.
" RUKIA!!!!!!!!!!!" Ichigo shouted.
" Kurosaki-kun."
Ichigo stopped and turned to look back at Inoue. She walked over and hugged him.
" I don't mind if the whole world knows." She whispered.
" I…"
A flash interrupted him; Rukia was taking a photo again.
" I love you, Ichigo." Inoue whispered.
Ichigo smiled and kissed her. This time, it lasted a bit longer and damn she tasted sweet.
It wasn't long before the photos reached everyone. Rukia meant what she said. The worst part of it was the fact that his family found out.
Yuzu cried feeling upset that Ichigo was going to get married soon and was going to leave the family. Seriously, Ichigo felt that Yuzu was over-reacting a little bit too much. Karin was very surprised, and his crazy old man? He reported it to the poster of Masaki and he even pinned that photo on the poster.
He kept bothering him about Inoue. But it didn't matter…
" Ichigo?" Inoue asked.
" Yeah?" Ichigo asked.
They were holding each other's hands, he was walking her home.
" Can I celebrate the New Year with your family? " Inoue asked.
" Sure, the more the merrier." He told her and smiled.
" How did you know I wanted 10 children?" She whispered.
Ichigo blushed and looked away.
" I over heard your conversation about family with Tatsuki. I hope you don't mind." He whispered.
Inoue smiled and kissed him on his cheek.
" I didn't quite feel that." Ichigo whispered.
He pulled her close and kissed her on her lips… After breaking the kiss, Ichigo smiled at her.
" Inoue?" He asked.
" Yes?" She whispered.
" You are the one for me." He whispered and both of them smiled at each other.
Author's note: I am glad they finally found each other. Thank you for reading and please review. If I have to continue from here, it would be about their marriage. So, what do you think? Do you want another one-shot about their marriage?