Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach but I really wish I did because Tite Kubo is ending the manga! I wouldn't do that if I owned Bleach.. Well, maybe I would but only after it has covered all the plot possibilities...

AN: AAAAAAHHH! Bleach manga is ending! NOOOOOOHHH! I'LL DIE WITHOUT BLEACH!

Summary: "I love her. I always have. I always will."

Ripple

The wind blew coolly on my face as I sat on the lush green grass. All around me, the tree swayed to the breeze and the birds sung. The sun shone brightly; its brilliant rays radiating everywhere. She would've loved this.

I can still hear her angelic voice talking to me, begging me to stand up and enjoy the view around me. I love her. I always have. I always will.

She's pulling my arm enthusiastically. She was always like this. Nothing ever seemed to bring her down. At least, that's what she wanted us to think. She was too afraid that her desolation would also make us sad. So, she kept it all inside her and bore all the pain by herself. Still, she smiled glowingly despite her suffering.

"Kurosaki-kun! It's such a beautiful day!"

She spun around and laughed. As she spun, her simple white dress twirled with her and her long auburn hair flew majestically in the air. Her porcelain skin was completely flawless and her round gray eyes lighted up with joy. She was so beautiful. I can't help but smile because of her. She ran around and skipped merrily.

Stooping slightly down, she picked up a small stone and threw it to the nearby pond. The pond was clear and along its banks, there were several blooming flowers. Slowly, the water rippled from where the stone hit and the stone sunk into the depths.

She walked toward the pond and smiled warmly. Her laugh was gone now. She dipped her toes in the water before she submerged her legs up to her knees in the water and sat on a large wet rock at the edge of the pond.

"Kurosaki-kun," she called.

"Inoue?"

She turned her head to face me and looked straight into my eyes before she turned away again and started talking.

"Kurosaki-kun, arigatou."

"Huh? Why? What for?"

"For everything. You see, I'm like the water and you are the stone. I get so… stuck up in things… and so lost and lonely. Like the water, I've become stagnant… Everyone may think I'm clear but deep inside I'm really all murky and dark. But you come along. Everything you do causes ripples in me and changes me. You make me feel like I'm alive again, like I'm free to move and to be who I want to be. Hontouni arigatou, Kurosaki-kun."

Her words left me puzzled and confused. Suddenly, she pulled me closer to her and her soft warm lips met mine. I could not believe it. I was kissing the girl of my dreams.

The skies darkened and the rain slowly poured. We ran for cover and held each other's hands when in an instant, a loud shriek filled the place. A hollow had arrived.

It was no ordinary hollow. Its reiatsu was massive and it definitely looked stronger than most of the ordinary hollows. I searched my pockets for my Shinigami badge but I could not find it.

The hollow positioned itself for the first move. I froze. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how I was going to protect her. I promised her I would protect her but here I was, standing stupidly waiting for an attack. She screamed my name countless times but I couldn't find the strength to respond or move. As the hollow's piercing arm headed straight for me, I closed my eyes and accepted my fate.

How I regret how much of a coward I was that day. When I opened my eyes, I saw the girl I loved, all covered in blood. She was half-kneeling. Fragments of her shield fell down on the grass. The hollow's arm had gotten through it… through her. It was as if she wore a red dress. Blood dripped from the tips of her hair and from the dangling claws that the hollow had left in her body. It had aimed directly for her chest and had only missed by a few inches. She was critically wounded nonetheless.

Still, I couldn't move. I didn't know what was wrong with me. As I watched her blood drift through the once verdant grass, I became numb and immobile. The gut-wrenching fear that I might lose her took over me but no sense of resolve came to me. I couldn't even lift a finger. I could hardly breathe.

She was silent and she placed her hand over her wound.

"Tsu- Tsubaki…"

It flew to the direction of the hollow but the hollow quickly flicked it away and laughed. Several more arms and limbs came out of it, each headed for Inoue. I watched as the hollow beat her up and broke her but I couldn't move. Then, I heard it speak to her.

"Foolish woman. If your friend over there can't even overcome my spell, what makes you think you can defeat me? It is pointless to resist. I will eat you. I will devour your pretty body completely and make you mine."

Its words infuriated me but it was right. I couldn't overcome it. I struggled as hard as I could but to no avail.

"Kurosaki-kun is a strong man, he can beat your spell. I know he can. And he will!" she yelled desperately.

The monster gripped her small neck tightly and spat on her.

"You really are stupid, aren't you? Every second he spends under that spell, he loses his power, in fact, his very life!"

She managed to speak despite him choking her.

"He will not die!"

"Then I will prove it to you!"

It threw her to the ground and ran to me.

"NOOOOOOOOHHH!"

My vision dimmed once again. I felt her body wrapped around me and her warm blood on my shirt. She had used her body to shield me from its attack. Its claws had gone straight to her chest.

She looked into my eyes and desperately tried to smile, as if trying to reassure me that everything was going to be fine. She kissed my cheeks lightly and said,

"Goodbye, Kurosaki-kun."

She closed her eyes and placed her hands over her heart and yelled as loud as she could.

"Tsubaki!"

The flying creature sprang to life once again, this time with more reaitsu than ever. Instantly, it cut apart the hollows mask and killed the hollow.

Inoue had won but I had lost.

For on that day, I lost the woman I loved.

I will never forget. It was a day just like this. I love her. I always have. I always will. But now she's gone and her death has made ripples in me that I can not cease.

End.

AN: Thank you for reading the fic! Reviews please. :)