Yeah, I know… I have a poll up saying that I should update my stories…but this one just popped up! I gotta start it at least! So…here's a twisted little story. It's a Hichigo X Ichigo, with one sided Grimmjow X Ichigo and Ulquiorra X Ichigo and hints of Uryu X Orihime. I know, confusing, right? Well, you'll get it soon enough! Here's the prologue of Protect You With My Life! XD If you don't like torture fics, well…you won't like this at all and you'll wanna stop here…

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Chapter 1: Return…

Uryu's POV

I have no idea how long we've been sitting here. We were all waiting inside Kisuke's Shop, well, except for Ichigo. He's the reason we were here in the first place. After he rescued Orihime, he got cornered by another Espada, Nnoitora, and told Orihime to run and find us. At least, that's what Orihime told us. It's been 3 weeks now. Outside there was a raging storm, preventing us all from leaving. Needless to say, it matched our moods completely, well, mine and Renji's.

"Where the fuck is Kisuke?" Renji snapped angrily. I sighed and looked at him.

"Renji, he'll be back in a minuet." I told him for the thousandth time. He just gave me his usual 'evil' stare and sat back down. When Kisuke walked back in, we all stood up, hoping to get some good news for once, but the look on his face made all our hearts fall.

"What happened? What did the old man say now?" I snapped. He let out a slow sigh.

"We now have permission to re-enter Hueco Mundo to find Ichigo and rescue him." He said. Although it was good news, the way he sounded made it sound like that was the worst possible outcome.

"Well that's good right?" Rukia asked nervously. "So what's with the upset face?"

"It's going to take at least a week, maybe two, to re-open the Gargantuan." I just exploded there, right there.

"What? Then why the fuck didn't we start to open it a weak ago?" I yelled. I'm actually well known for my calm mood in really tough situations, but this…this was just pissing me off!

"Well well, Uryu! I thought you hated Ichigo. Why are you so angry?" Renji taunted. I grabbed the collar of his shihakusho and forced him against a wall.

"I don't hate him! I just find him annoying." I felt so mad… "He's still our friend! He would've already come for us by now if we were still trapped there. Hell, he would've never left!" I let him go and punched the wall angrily, god I was pissed off! "We should've never left Hueco Mundo! We should've-"

"Calm down, Uryu." I looked at everyone in the room and realized the commotion I had just caused. Kisuke walked up to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "We don't like this as much as you do."

"I'm…I'm sorry about that…" I apologized, feeling really stupid. Another clap of thunder sounded outside and the electricity blew.

"Aww, damnit…" Renji muttered. We all went around and lit candles and sat back down at the table. The rain began to fall even harder and made loud noises on the roof.

"I hope it stops raining…" Orihime whispered, grabbing my arm gently.

"It will…" I whispered to her. After sitting in silence for about an hour or so, there was a loud crashing outside.

"Damn these thunderstorms!" Renji muttered under his breath. There was a soft knock at the store door. At first we thought that it was the wind, but when it came again, this time a little louder, we all sat up.

"I'll get it!" Orihime got up and ran towards the door.

"It's probably the sign hitting the door 'cause it fell." Renji muttered. I rolled my eyes.

"Will you stop being so damn negative?" I asked him.

"Will you stop bitching so much?" he retorted.

"Both of you, please stop arguing!" Rukia snapped at us both. We both stared at her.

"B-but Rukia…!"

"He started it!" We both said at the same time.

"I don't give a damn! If you don't stop, I'll-"

"AHHHHHHH!" Orihime screamed from the front of the store.

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Normal POV

Everyone ran towards the front of the store. When they got there, Orihime was covering her mouth, trying to stop her screaming. "What is it? What's wrong, Orihime?" Uryu asked worriedly.

"It…it's…" she pointed at the door, her voice filled with horror. When they all turned, they all gasped in shock. Standing in front of them was a pale white figure, white skin and hair, and a striking resemblance to Ichigo. He had cuts on his face and his shihakusho had tears in some places. His hair was a mess and dull, even though it was snow-white. But he wasn't the one they were staring at. They were staring at the figure in his arms.

The figure in his hands was barely clothed, wrapped up in a white and black cape, but even that wasn't much, just barely covering his chest. His legs were completely exposed, revealing the jagged scars running down them. In certain spots, it looked like an animal had taken a large bite out of his legs. There were burns on his legs and his arms and cuts on his face as well. A large, deep jagged scar went across his collarbone and down his chest, hidden under the limply draped cape.

As the white Ichigo walked just a little closer, they could see even more scars appear on his legs, some so deep they went down to the bone. His face was still and emotionless, a huge burn on his cheek and one that went around his neck. His wrists had scars on them as well, mixed with multiple burns. If his chest wasn't rising and falling softly, they would've sworn he was dead. They almost couldn't recognize who it was, except for one thing. Although it was filthy, unkempt and dull, his hair was orange.

"No…" Orihime whispered. "No, no…"

"H…help him…" The pale Ichigo whispered under his breath. His voice even sounded like Ichigo's, but with a faint echo in it. They all looked up at him to see his golden eyes. They were dull and weak and filled with an unbearable sorrow. "You…need to…h-help him…" He collapsed on his knees, his legs unable to hold him up anymore, pulling Ichigo in closer and cradling him like he was a fragile, sleeping child about to break. "PLEASE! HELP HIM!"

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Rukia and Renji knelt down next to the pale Ichigo and tried to take Ichigo from him. He pulled him closer suddenly, looking at everyone wide-eyed. His eyes seemed slightly unfocused. "N-no, please…don't…"

"It's ok, we're his friends." Rukia whispered gently. His eyes refocused and he nodded slowly, handing him to Renji. When Renji picked him up, he almost gasped.

He's so damn light…he thought in shock. Now that he got a better look at him, his entire body seemed bony and emaciated. Is he really alive? He wondered. He leaned his head closer to his chest, and sighed when he heard his heartbeat. He's alive…but, I don't know if he's glad about that… he thought and sighed. Uryu and Rukia helped the other Ichigo slowly to his feet. His legs shook violently and he stumbled as they walked him into the store and out of the rain. He was completely soaked as if he'd been out in the rain for hours.

"Uryu, help him get some warm clothes." Kisuke said as they took him to a small back room.

"Sure." He slowly sat the pale Ichigo against the wall and tried to find some decent clothes. The look alike glanced around slowly, taking in his surroundings. He was holding his knees, slowly curling up in the fetal position. "Hey, you ok?" he asked. What a stupid ass question…he thought. The look-alike jumped as Uryu knelt down next to him.

"Wh…what do you…?" He let out a loud cough and shivered. Uryu slowly slipped his hand to the albino's forehead. He could feel heat radiating from him and sighed.

"You're soaked and you're getting a fever." He mumbled. The albino shivered and flinched as Uryu turned and held out some clothes. "Do you need any help? He asked. The albino shook his head and water flipped around.

"N-no…I think I'm…" He tried to stand, but his legs shook and he sat back down again.

"Yeah, you need some help." He said. He placed his hand gently on the albino's back and slowly forced him to lean up. As he slid his shihakusho off, the albino shivered violently.

"No…not again…don't do it again…not to him…" he mumbled in fear.

"Hey." Uryu shook his shoulder some. When the albino looked at him, for a brief moment, he had a look of absolute horror on his face. But it faded away quickly.

"You're…Uryu Ishida…" he whispered slowly. Uryu nodded.

"I need to get you out of these wet clothes before you get any worse." he said calmly. The albino nodded. Good, we're getting somewhere now…he thought.

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Orihime's POV

I watched as Renji laid Ichigo gently on the floor. I was trying not to cry, to scream, but it was getting hard. "What did this to him?" I asked quietly.

"I have no idea, but whoever did is really going to regret this when I find them." Renji practically growled, clenching his fists. I could understand why he was angry, but getting mad now wasn't going to help. "Can you heal him?" he asked.

"I'll…I'll try…" I said. Just looking at him hurt. His face was unresponsive and his breathing was so quiet, I didn't know if he was actually alive or not. This was just so horrible… I allowed my shield to cover him and began to heal him. I had my eyes closed as I concentrated, but from the distress in Renji's tone, I knew something was wrong.

"It…it isn't working…" he said. I opened my eyes to look. He was right; the wounds were still there and bleeding.

"Renji, go get some bandages and disinfectant." I told him. He nodded and went to get them. I fell on my knees then and started to cry. Why…why did this happen to him? I felt so horrid, so responsible…

"Hey…" I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Renji holding the equipment I asked him to get. "It's ok now…" he reassured me. I sniffed and wiped my face.

"Right. Let's try and fix him up some…" I said through a short snob. We slowly removed the white cape and I gasped in horror. His entire chest was bloody, covered in puncture wounds and burns. The wound on his chest wrapped around his entire body. His ribs were visible…god he was so skinny. What happened?

"By the way…that other Ichigo…" I looked at Renji to see his eyes flare in anger. "Did you sense his spiritual pressure?" he asked me.

"N-no…Why, is something off?" I asked nervously. I've never seen him his angry before.

"Go ahead and sense it." I closed my eyes and picked up on his spiritual pressure. It was off all right, but in a creepy sense.

"It's…got hollow in it…" I whispered.

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Normal POV

As they all sat back down, they all stared at the pale figure. Orihime noticed his shivering and grabbed a blanket and wrapped him in it. "Th…thank you Orihime…" he whispered quietly, his voice scratchy. She backed away a little.

"You…know my name?" she asked. He nodded and let out another cough. Kisuke walked in and placed a tray on the table that had cups of hot tea. They all took one, but the albino just stared at it, his gaze slightly blank.

"Hey…you ok?" Uryu asked him. He seemed to shake out of it and nodded.

"Just a little shaken…" he mumbled and slowly took a cup. As he sipped it, it scalded his mouth, but he didn't care. "I know all of your names…" he answered Orihime's question.

"And what exactly are you?" Renji asked with a slight bitterness in his tone. The albino flinched at the tone.

"I believe you know…Renji Abarai." He whispered, meeting the red head's gaze. Renji let out a huff.

"Damn hollow…" he snarled. Once again, he flinched as if he was struck.

"Renji…" Rukia hissed and elbowed him in the chest. Kisuke walked up and placed a gntle hand on the hollow's shaking shoulder.

"Do you have a name, hollow?" he asked.

"He…Shiro…he calls me Shiro…" he said quietly. They didn't need to guess what he meant by 'he'.

"You mean…Ichigo calls you that?" Orihime asked anyways. Saying the Substitute's name made Shiro's eyes dart up.

"Yes. Tell me, is he going to be ok? Is he going to recover?" he asked, slightly panicky.

"Well, his wounds have been bandaged, but my powers didn't work…" she said sadly. Shiro leaned back and sighed.

"As long as he's still alive…" There was a sudden flash of lightning and Shiro jumped. He pulled the blanket closer around him as if its warmth would run away.

"What's wrong, Shiro?" Rukia asked. His eyes were wide with fear. If he's a hollow, he has a heart…otherwise, he wouldn't feel emotion… she thought.

"I…need to be with Ichigo…" he whispered in fear. Renji lost it then.

"We can't trust him! He's a fucking hollow! For all we know…" he pointed at the hollow shivering against the wall. "…he's the one that did this to Ichigo!" he snapped.

"Renji!" Rukia stared in shock.

"Well, where the fuck were you?" All eyes turned towards the hollow, who was know glaring angrily, not just at Renji, but at everyone.

"Sh-Shiro-" Orihime tried to speak, but he continued.

"All of you? When he was in pain…he waited! Waited and hoped…hoped for you all to come! But none of you…" he waved his arm at all of them. "None of you came! He suffered…suffered so much…" He was standing now, but his eyes suddenly grew unfocused and his legs buckled, unable to support him. Rukia and Uryu managed to catch him.

"You need to rest…" Uryu told him, but he didn't seem to hear him.

"No…please stop them…don't let them hurt him again…it hurts him so much…" he mumbled to himself, his eyes staring at nothing. Rukia placed a hand on his head, but he struggled away from it. "No! Don't touch him! St-stop…"

"Shiro!" Uryu snapped. Shiro's eyes suddenly regained their focus and stared at the Quincy.

"Uryu…" he whispered.

"Shiro… tell us please. What happened?" he asked. Shiro sat up slowly.

"I'll…I'll try…" he said shakily. "It all began…after Ichigo ran into Nnoitora…"

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Chapter 1 end

Noooo~! I made myself cry doing this one chapter, and it's gonna get worse! *cries* Oh well. Also, I friend of mine drew a picture of Ichigo and Shiro in this horrendous state and I must say…I feel like a huge bitch because of this! *sniffs* Please review!