Dessa's Note: It's the final chapter! Celebrate! Thank you guys for sticking with me and for all you're support I hope I managed to get some brains ticking and tocking! Sorry about the late reply and to those of you who celebrate it: merry Christmas and a happy and healthy new year!

Dedication: My mum and Dad in recognition and gratitude for the way they brought me up.

Chapter 10 - Actions

Summer blazed its heat while students revised in a poorly ventilated library, most were studious, other were panicking, others were blasé, but there was one soul who could not think at all. Ichigo Kurosaki sat with several books splayed out in front of him, but his eyes were glossy, supposedly staring at his books but staring into space, his pupils frighteningly fixed. The same symptoms haunted him wherever he went, which had started to annoy him frankly, he could do nothing useful when his mind was so vacant.

He had spent so long inside his rooms that Orihime feared he had fallen into hibernation, so he had forcefully injected himself into the library with honest intentions to revise for his gruesomely close exams. But no such revision was practiced due to his absent mind and whirling thoughts; whose main focus was the even more anxious thought of his upcoming wedding.

The past six weeks had whizzed by him with blurred colours, Orihime had taken control of the wedding plans mainly because of his blocked focus and still stunted belief in the truth of his own wedding. He could not assume what Orihime thought of what was happening to him because he hadn't had much insight into his own state himself. There were days the realisation that he was to be married had come close to reaching him, the panic would nearly consume him and he would then find revision a welcome distraction and sink himself into his reading. Other days he caught himself pondering over a life with Orihime in it, the idea was strangely warm, he imagined her in some 1950's dress and apron, preparing a steaming meal for him with a wide smile on her face, then again he didn't really picture Orihime in such a stereotypical role, she was different and vibrant, he tried envisioning her as a wife, but he stopped there, mostly because he did not know what a wife actually did, but also because the idea of having a wife scared him beyond belief. He was too young when his mother died to have analysed her interaction with his dad and build an example, but he had always assumed that being a husband was for someone well over the age of thirty, who had a dog and a reclining hair line; a person who had spent his youth in adventure and lustre to then suddenly grow up and settle down.

It was strange when his friends found out about the engagement, they were all thoroughly shocked, thought him crazy, told him he was crazy… that Ichigo eventually believed them. But they all conceded to congratulate him, coloured by hints and advice of course. He did not know how to receive the jubilation when his own mind was spinning in confusion.

Invitations were sent, flowers were ordered, and a cake was to be baked. He had stuck true to his word and booked a venue close to Karakura, a small hall, big enough for their equally small acquaintance, but this was the only thing Ichigo seemed mentally capable of doing. Unconsciously he tried to ignore all the wedding preparations, his only solace was that it to be held after the exams.

He blinked and suddenly he was in the exam hall, sitting at a small square table, an examination paper lay deadly faced down in front of him.

Where in the name of hell had the time gone? He blinked again and decided he had not traveled through Time as he did vaguely remember getting out of bed that morning in a daze while taking note of the date. A moderator spoke the time and ordered the students to turn over the paper, but Ichigo simply stared at the massive clock facing him at the head of the hall. Within three days he would be married, forever, with only a messy divorce case to separate them if things went wrong, and for his case it could only go horribly wrong.

Three days he thought, that was 6 turns of the hour hand on the massive clock… only six turns.

He shook when someone poked him in the shoulder, he looked up to find a bespectacled exam moderator peeking at him curiously. 'Are you alright son?' whispered he, Ichigo then looked up in confusion, a brow arched as he gave the examiner a look that said "of course I'm not alright you idiot I'm getting married!" But then Ichigo looked down to the direction the moderator's hand was pointing to and was shocked to see his exam paper that lay face down, still in disguised innocence. Hurriedly Ichigo plucked his paper and opened it frantically, fighting a maddening blush that drifted onto his cheeks with ease.

The moderator walked on, a bemused look on his face while Ichigo shook his head in irritation and told himself to focus on the exam.

Time had flown by in a flurry of excitement and celebration for Orihime. Her friends all congratulated her on her engagement, most were genuine in their well wishes, others were blatantly shriveled with envy, and nearly all her friends' facial expression changed into one uniform look of disapproval when gazing down at Orihime's un-impressive engagement ring. It was a simple silver band with no jewel to ornament it, but Orihime didn't care what the other's thought, she didn't care what ring she wore or what dress she squashed herself into or what flowers she held, all she wanted to do was marry Ichigo. The idea made her stomach flutter in happy anxiety. She paused for a moment in thought… the food had to be perfect, that was one requisite she was particularly fixed on, nothing but the best red bean paste would do.

She had naturally picked the flowers, the table clothes, the menu and the wedding-wear. Her fiancé had unfortunately showed disappointing enthusiasm toward the organisation, and she knew it wasn't because of money matters because she had volunteered to work with a very limited budget. She had noticed a withdrawal in his composure, he seemed locked in his thoughts and tucked away in an unreachable realm. Orihime supposed this was pre-wedding jitters, and she didn't worry too much about it for she understood how he felt as she herself was remarkably anxious about the wedding, particularly the night of the wedding.

Her stomach fluttered again.

She had bought what she thought was a pretty dress, nothing flashy, no flowers of diamond embroidered on ivory silk, just a simple white dress with lacy flowing cuffs at the end of the sleeves. She hoped Ichigo would like it, but to assure she made no mistakes on other matters she asked Yuki and Hana for guidance on the more than embarrassing topic of lingerie, the girls barely contained their squeals of excitement and quickly took Orihime to underwear shops with almost certain questionability. She did eventually buy several articles from the shop at the gentle persuasion from her friends. Orihime did after all want to please Ichigo, she had no insight or experience whatsoever to offer on her wedding night, but she hoped Ichigo would appreciate the efforts she took to please him and to thank him for his patience and perseverance, which was what brought her to stressing over which pairs of underwear she would pack in her already stuffed suitcase. She was currently staying at Tatsuki's home, Hana was sharing the room with her as she was chosen as maid of honor. Orihime had originally declined the offer, feeling like an intruder in someone else's home, but Tatsuki had insisted and there was no longer room for rejection.

'They won't pack themselves if you just stare at them Orihime.' Said Hana without looking up from her book The Good Women of China scrawled across the cover.

Orihime startled, forgetting she wasn't alone in the room, 'I-I know that, I just can't seem to decide.'

'Why don't you just pack all of them, that way you won't have to.'

'I meant I can't decide which one to… to…'

'To wear?' supplied Hana, Orihime blushed thoroughly but nodded her head. 'This is for tomorrow night I assume?' again Orihime nodded her head.

'You scared?'

In all honesty she was exceedingly nervous, throwing herself into revision and wedding planning was the only thing keeping her mind from melting like the Wicked Witch of the West. But now that all the exams were written and the wedding preparations were finished she felt unhinged with nothing to distract her from what was to come.

She certainly was looking forward to it, her trust in Ichigo was absolute, she knew he wouldn't harm her and when she had the presence of mind to think about it she knew there was no real reason to be scared, but she was… illogically so, that she had to constantly repeat in her head that no one ever died from their wedding night. Orihime would prevent herself from thinking on what it would be like, she had heard many tales, read many books but still felt as though she was diving into deep waters with nothing to hold onto.

'A little.' She eventually replied.

'Want to talk about it?' offered Hana kindly,

Orihime deliberated for a moment, should she confide in her friend over thoughts that were very private? Thoughts she should in fact be sharing with her fiancé? She blushed, she hadn't shared a word with Ichigo on the matter. He was clearly too lost in his own thoughts for the subject to be broached but if Orihime was being honest with herself she knew deep down that she too purposely avoided the topic because it was just too embarrassing to talk about. But surely they must at some point between the present and the wedding night talk about it? She hoped Ichigo was brave enough to initiate the topic because she knew she was far too scared to.

Yuki had slipped a packet of condoms into Orihime's handbag one day with a cheeky note saying you couldn't leave everything up to the boys. Orihime had blushed deeply and zipped the contents of her bag right out of sight, though she was secretly grateful that it was one less excruciating thing for her to do.

'Orihime?' said woman startled and jumped, 'I take it you're not really capable of speaking right now?'

'Sorry Hana-chan, I'm just not up to much right now.' Orihime expected a sly remark or a witty reply, but she was surprised when her friend stood next to her and suddenly gave her a big cuddly comforting hug.

'Try not to think about it and get some rest, you'll need it, tomorrow is a busy day.' Orihime smiled at her friend and took her advice. But try as she might she could not distract her mind or heart and received very little sleep from Mercy that night.

Hana couldn't have been more right. The moment when Orihime was ruthlessly shaken awake to the moment when she had been mercilessly shoved into a hired car was certainly befuddled chaos. She had been plucked and waxed of all unwanted hair, bathed, forced to eat (as she had no working salivary glands) and stuffed into her dress which was the only thing she liked about the morning. The hair and make-up artist was her very own Hana-chan who had painted her face quite well without making her feel like a clown. The hair had been another problem; Orihime had worn it up in a bun and chopsticks for so long in fear of gaining unwanted attention to herself that she insisted stubbornly that it be done in no other way, even for her wedding day. After much argument, deliberation, pros and cons lists and input from ever member of the Tatsuki household Orihime and Hana had settled for a graceful chignon with dainty loose braids running along her scalp. Yuki concurred to the style when she arrived to the flutteringly tense house.

Orihime had double checked every preparation she made before leaving the house, her bag was packed for the simple honeymoon she had planned to Okinawa, the caterers were at the reception hall, the name tags were printed and the flowers were dispersed.

She had had no word from Ichigo.

Orihime didn't know what to expect or what he could possibly say to her, but she had thought he would communicate something to her. It was a very important day to the both of them, surely he would know that?

She took a deep sigh and told herself everything would be alright. She just needed to remain calm and let things take its natural course, she should not expect everything to go according to plan because plans were always meant to be ruined. All that she wanted to do was marry Ichigo and she did not need the dress or the cake for that to happen… not even the red bean paste was needed.

But Orihime hadn't expected to be ninety minutes late.

Frantically she called for her two friends to hurry and eventually they had started their short journey to the registry. Her phone buzzed with thoughtful texts from friends and distant relatives who couldn't be bothered to answer their invitation letters. Her two true friends' heels would occasionally poke the hem of her pristine white dress.

'I hope Ichigo-kun is alright.' Said Orihime to her knees, she missed Yuki and Hana share a look of worry.

'I'm sure he's alright.' Replied Yuki but there was no real conviction to her tone. Orihime decided not to talk anymore.

By the time they had reached the registry office Orihime was shocked to find herself not the only one to be late.

'Wh-Where is Ichigo-kun?' asked the bride desperately to a nervous looking Yuzu and Karin.

'Daddy said they were going to be a little late, he should be on his way now.' Replied Yuzu kindly, subsequently commenting on how beautiful Orihime looked, but she could not reply because her anxiety level, which had been tense all morning, had reached breaking point. Before Orihime had a chance to nearly scream and humiliate herself, Hana had come to her side and pulled her arm towards another room where the registry office had kindly allowed Orihime to take refuge in while she waited for her shamefully late groom.

'What could have happened for him to be this late Hana chan?!' said Orihime frantically.

'Who knows, you were quite late yourself.'

'But it's customary for the bride to be late! No one would have thought any different. Oh what has happened to Ichigo-kun!'

'I'm sure everything's fine, maybe they had a breakdown on the way here.' Said Yuki who had slinked into the room quietly unnoticed.

'Then they could have walked or taken the bus or something! They don't live far from here!'

'Orihime calm down, the last thing we need is for you to go bonkers. Just chill and wait patiently.'

Like always Orihime took her friend's advice but practiced it poorly. Not five minutes after sitting down did Orihime manage to stay so and she resumed pacing the room frantically, needing to somehow relieve the pressure in her legs.

The clock continued to tick, no change was made other than Yuzu's sudden entrances to check if the bride required anything. A new bouquet was requested as Orihime had shredded all the poor flower petals in her scissor-like fingers.

After precisely half an hour of waiting Orihime's heart leaped when she heard voices from outside. Without thinking she upped and ran to the window then gasped. Immediately Hana and Yuki were at her sides, pulling the white curtaining to have a better look.

Ichigo appeared to be having a physical fight with his father, both were persistent in their attacks, words were roughly exchanged in between blows and kicks. Ichigo looked as though he had been dragged to the registry, he had mud patches on his knees and his tuxedo had become scruffy with all his physical movement, his collar had come undone and there was blood dribbling down his chin. His father didn't look less off kilter either.

Within the blink of an eye Orihime was out of the room, her bouquet was clenched firmly in her hand has as was her skirt in her other hand as she ran past people, bumping into them and causing her hair to trip a bit out of its chignon. Passers-by stared, flabbergasted, as she ran and stumblingly passed them. She franticaly kicked her heeled shoes off when she approached the marble staircase and flew down them with reckless haste; the fear of stumbling and falling to her death not in her mind in the least as she intensely focused at reaching her groom.

When she arrived at the ground floor she heard Ichigo's deep voice loudly yell but crack at the same time, 'DAD! I CAN'T!' with trembling speed she tumbled into the entrance doors and stepped outside.

Later on she realised she had starting crying well before she had reached those forbidding doors, but her tears flowed down her cheeks tenaciously, no dam would stop them as her bouquet slipped from her nerveless fingers while she slumped boneless to her knees. She watched with hurtfully clear vision, her tears doing nothing to mercifully blur the scene, and as if in slow motion she continued to watch unblinkingly as her groom slipped from his father's hold and ran at a powerful speed away from her, from them and from her breaking heart.

The End

Dessa's Note: Don't hurt me! *hides behind brick wall* This was how it was meant to end from the beginning from when I started planning it! I know you're all hating me right now but I do have another sequel planned (the last of the trilogy). Thank you to all who review me for the last chapter: Nyspy, fsj101 (thank you for the 100'th review *hugs*) alice hattercandy, hapezibah, OrihimeKurosakiInoue, Eli77, Xtremefairy, Magdelena88, foxfang27 , dantheman23 and xlilslayerx. I will eventually right a sort of essay/epilogue at the end of the final trilogy which summarises some points I was trying to pass in all three of the fics, hopefully that should clear up a few things for you all. Thank you for reading and Goodnight from the UK!