ICE HEART
xx. their
❝IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT.❞

"OWWWWW'! THAT HURTS!" Ikkaku whined while pushing Tessai away from him. "AREN'T YOU LISTENING TO ME? THAT'S ENOUGH! BACK OFF!"

"Forget it! I can't do that!" Tessai told Ikkaku as he neared the angered man once more.

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT CRAP! THE BANDAGES ARE ALREADY TOO TIGHT!" Ikkaku snarled while Ururu crept up behind him and put him in a headlock.

"Good work, Ururu. Don't let him go. Make him pass out and then we can finish him off." Tessai ordered the younger female as Ikkaku squirmed around.

"Stop it! Let go off Ikkaku! Leave him alone you bullies!" Yumichika screeched while he was behind held back by the three mod souls, Ririn, Claude and Noba.

"You need to calm down and stay still, Yumichika. If you keep struggling you'll make your injuries worse." Tessai informed him while Yumichika squirmed around in hopes of behind released.

"You're getting very worked up! This is for your own good!" Ririn shrieked as she pulled Yumichika back and he fell to the ground.

"Uh oh! That's gonna' leave a mark! The man is injured. Ririn, if you want to restrain him you need to find a way to do it more gently. You can't just yank him like that!" Claude lectured the female.

"Don't get on my case! It's his fault for not doing what he was told!" Ririn growled as Claude began to giggle slightly.

"You're okay, right Yumichika?" Claude asked innocently.

"Of course he is." Noba sighed.

"Don't worry. When he comes to, I'm sure he'll forgive us!" Ririn exclaimed just before Yumichika stood up with murder written on his face and began to chase the three mod souls around in circles.

"Run for it!"

"We're sorry!"

"If I catch you, I'm gonna' turn you inside out!"

"That was predictable." Ayame sighed softly, turning her gaze towards the white-haired male next to her.

"They always get so manic wherever they go." Toshiro grumbled lightly.

The blonde noticed that he was glaring at something above them and she snapped her head towards what he was looking at. The small woman set her sights upon a rather glum looking Kisuke while he gazed off into the distance, obviously deep in thought. The female knew what he was thinking about as well, and she couldn't get it off of her mind either.

-flashback-

"Tch, our mission's over?"

-end of flashback-

Ayame shook her head slightly before returning her gaze back to Toshiro who looked deep in thought. The blonde could tell that he was stressed due to the bags under his eyes and his furrowed eyebrows and Ayame sighed softly before pulling him in for a hug. He seemed quite shocked at first, but then returned the hug a few seconds later.

"You seem worried about something." Ayame stated, her eyebrows furrowing.

"I guess you could say that." He sighed softly.

"Listen, if you ever need to talk to somebody then don't hesitate to come to me. Okay?" Ayame instructed him.

"Okay." He grumbled lightly as the pair pulled away from the tight hug and turned to face his lazy Lieutenant. "Rangiku."

"Yes." Rangiku replied.

"Have you been able to contact the Soul Society yet?" Toshiro asked.

"No, I'm not having any luck." Rangiku began, until her phone began to beep furiously.

Ayame sighed softly and flash stepped towards Kisuke. He didn't seem to notice that the blonde was next to him, so she simply nudged him, bringing him back into reality.

"Huh? Oh. Hey, Ayame." Kisuke smiled lightly.

"I know what you're thinking about." Ayame told him while his eyes widened slightly.

"What do you mean?" He asked, his eyes narrowing and his voice turning serious.

"I heard Yammy speaking about their mission being over. I couldn't get it out of my mind." The blonde answered, directing her gaze to the ground.

"So I wasn't the only person who heard it, huh?" He replied, looking into the distance.

"Apparently not. What do you think he was talking about?" Ayame questioned, knowing that Kisuke was extremely smart and he was the one who fought Yammy.

"Orihime Inoue." He responded, covering his mouth with his fan.

"Orihime?" Ayame repeated hesitantly, her blue orbs narrowing with concern and worry for the orange-haired female.

"How do I put this? Orihime has some special abilities that are able to reverse time." He explained. "If Aizen has his hands on Orihime, that means that we'd be in trouble. It was partially my fault. I told her that she couldn't participate in the battle so Aizen never got his hands on her, but look what happened."

The blonde placed a hand on his shoulder for reassurance and smiled lightly, "It isn't your fault, Kisuke. You tried your best to protect her. That's all that matters."

A few hours later, everyone was gathered at Orihime's home as they awaited for Toshiro to return with Ichigo Kurosaki. Kisuke was right with his assumption. Orihime Inoue had gone missing, and Ayame could only presume the worst.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." The blonde heard a familiar voice speak as everybody snapped their heads back to see the white-haired Captain enter the room with the orange-haired Substitute Shinigami.

"Rukia... What's this? Why is everyone standing here in Orihime's room? And where is she anyway?" Ichigo questioned with his eyes narrowed.

He didn't know yet.

"Well..." Rukia began, but was cut off by Toshiro.

"What is the status?"

"Sir, we have regulated the spiritual wave." Rangiku replied.

"Fine, put me through." Toshiro told her as Jushiro appeared on the screen.

"Jushiro? We were looking for the Head Captain." Ayame told him, her eyes narrowing with confusion.

"I had him switched to me." Jushiro replied; his tone deadly serious.

"And your reason?" Toshiro asked.

"Because I'm the last person who saw Orihime Inoue before she went through the Senkaimon to return to the World of the Living." He informed the group as Ayame's blue orbs widened. "Judging by your reaction, it doesn't appear as though she arrived there safely like I had hoped."

"What is the meaning of this, Jushiro? Do you know anything?" Ayame questioned, desperate to know why somebody who she referred to as her brother was talking to them instead of the Head Captain.

"Where exactly did she disappear to? Where is she?" Ichigo asked, his tone filled with worry for his friend.

"I'll give you my assessment. The two guards I had sent with her when she went through the Senkaimon came back alive. According to them, it's likely that Orihime Inoue has either been abducted or killed by the Arrancars." Jushiro explained as Ayame's blue eyes widened once more.

Kisuke was correct.

"Killed?" Ichigo hesitated, causing him to stutter as he said those words, not wanting to believe that somebody he was close to could be dead.

"Captain Ukitake, I believe you're jumping to conclusions!" Rukia yelled out.

"I understand. I don't want to believe it either. I'm simply stating the worse possible scenario there is. We think it more likely however that Orihime Inoue was attacked by an Arrancar and then disappeared with him." Jushiro replied as Ichigo's fist tightened.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME? IS THAT REALLY ALL YOU HAVE? ORIHIME HAS DISAPPEARED! YOU SAY THAT THERE'S NO PROOF AND THAT SHE MIGHT BE DEAD. WELL TAKE A LOOK AT THIS!" Ichigo yelled out while raising his wrist. "I was seriously injured in yesterday's battle. No one here could heal my wounds, but when I woke up this morning it was already completely healed, and not only that but on my wrist... THERE'S STILL SOME OF ORIHIME'S SPIRITUAL PRESSURE!"

"No. She couldn't have. She wouldn't!" Ayame thought to herself.

"Are you still gonna' stand there and tell me she might be dead?" Ichigo continued; his eyes narrowed.

"I see. That is most unfortunate." Ayame heard the familiar, commanding voice speak.

"Unfortunate? Wait, what do you mean by that?" Ichigo questioned with a confused expression plastered on his face.

"If what you say is true, then it would be safe to assume that Orihime Inoue is indeed alive, but at the same time, unfortunately it also means that this is an act of betrayal. If she had been abducted, she would not of had the time to visit you while you slept. In other words, the fact that she healed your wounds before disappearing can only mean one thing, that Orihime Inoue had actually volunteered to go along with the Arrancar of her own free will." Yamamoto explained bluntly, and Ayame closed her eyes, already knowing what was coming.

"YOU BETTER TAKE THAT BACK-!" Ichigo screeched, knowing that Orihime would never betray him.

"STOP!" Renji told Ichigo, grabbing his arm, "You'll just end up worsening your position if you say anything else. Sir, I understand what you're saying Head Captain Yamamoto. Therefore as a member of the advanced troops, and because I'm the Lieutenant of Squad Six, I will head to Hueco Mondo to bring the traitor, Orihime Inoue, back to her senses."

"Renji..." Ichigo murmured, a glint of happiness in his eyes.

"You must not!" Yamamoto ordered as he thumped his cane.

"What?" Ichigo asked, getting frustrated with him.

"With this new information, we now know that the Arrancars are ready for battle. All members of Captain Hitsugaya's and Captain Kireina's advanced troops are to return immediately and defend the Soul Society!" Yamamoto ordered, and Ayame nodded.

"Are you saying that Orihime is to be abandoned by us, Head Captain?" Rukia hesitated, her eyes widening with shock.

"Exactly. We cannot risk the safety of the entire world just to go chasing after one simple human." Yamamoto replied without sugar coating it, and Ayame winced slightly.

"Unfortunately, Head Captain, with all due respect I can't follow that order." Rukia gritted her teeth slightly, and Ayame snapped her head back to face Rukia with worry in her eyes, knowing that the Head Captain wouldn't allow her to get away with that.

"Unfortunate indeed. I thought that this might happen, so I'm glad that I have prepared for it." Yamamoto frowned lightly as a Senkaimon appeared behind the group.

The Senkaimon opened, revealing Byakuya and Kenpachi looking as uninterested as ever.

Of course Yamamoto would've chose those two Captains. Byakuya Kuchiki was Rukia's older brother, and all that she wanted to do was to make him proud. Byakuya was also Renji's Captain, and if he wanted, the cold-hearted Captain could easily demote the fiery red-head. Kenpachi Zaraki never really cared about what his subordinates did as long as they could fight, but he was obviously chosen as he was the Captain of Ikkaku and Yumichika. Nobody had to come for Rangiku, seeing as her Captain, Toshiro, was already here.

"Captain Kuchiki..." Renji murmured, shocked at the arrival of his Captain.

"Alright now, I want you all to head on back." Kenpachi grumbled, and Ayame knew that he probably just wanted to head back to the training ground or relax.

"Don't fight us, we have been ordered to take you back by force if necessary." Byakuya added with his cold expression plastered on his face.

"Alright then. In that case I'm not gonna' ask the Soul Society to help me get Orihime back. However, the least you can do is tell me how I can get to Hueco Mondo. After all, she's still my friend so I'll just go save her myself." Ichigo told the group, and Ayame sighed in frustration.

"Idiot. Are you asking for a death wish?" She thought to herself as she approached the Senkaimon and stood next to Byakuya and Kenpachi, who merely nodded at her.

"Ichigo..." Rukia spoke lightly.

Yamamoto opened one of his eyes and Ayame that knew he was growing impatient and irritated with the boy's idiotic and reckless behaviour.

"You must not! We are going to need your help in this battle, Ichigo Kurosaki. I won't allow you to plot your own course of action and die for nothing. Stand by until you receive orders. That is all for now." Yamamoto told him as the screen flickered off.

"Alright, let's go." Kenpachi ordered as the group walked through the Senkaimon back to the Soul Society.