Well, yeah, you could put it like that, ("I don't want to be a hollow") but to me, when the scene was showing, it just naturally flitted across my mind that Ichigo tore off the mask because even if he gained power from it, he'd lose himself and in losing himself he'd be the cause of Rukia's death. Although Renji and Rukia are a cute couple, I mean, really.
I don't watch Bleach anymore; it got a little... mehh. I'm more into Naruto, FLCL, Death Note, Fullmetal Alchemist, OHSHC, the like.
Woah, Ohio? I knew it; you DO live in the States.
I live in Daegu, South Korea.
I've never lived in the States, but I've visited; and that was only in the Florida area to visit my dad's family.
Whenever I tell people I'm from Korea, they ask me if I'm part of the Communist party.
It's really kind of funny, how ignorant some Americans are. (No offense; I hold you in the highest respect.)
What's it like, in Ohio? That's... up there, isn't it? Like, north? Is it cold there? Do they distribute manga in the bookstores? And anime figurines? What's the school system like? Did you guys switch periods in 5th-8th year? Sorry! I'm really curious!
Oh, my God. Do they sell that imported Monster?

Author's Response: Whoa, whoa, whoa! So many questions, ha ha ha! But first, Bleach: I love RenjiRuki, IchiHime. Those couples are awesome! Look, if it turns out that it IS IchiRuki, then, well, okay. That's how it turned out. I mean, sure, I will be absolutely desolate for a month, but what the hell-- what can I do about it? It's the same with NaruSaku/NaruHina. If it does end up being NaruHina, I will be dead for weeks. I really hope it's NaruSaku. And so, let's skip on over to you next questions. Ohio-- it's actually pretty nice, as far as he temperature goes. It's kind of humid right now, and in the morning when I go to catch the bus, it's kinda chilly, but it warms up as the day goes on. Um, we're not too far up north, but we're in what they call the midwest, which is a little cluster of states that are sort of in the middle of being too hot or too cold. And when I say midwest, that has nothing to do with the "wild west" and cowboys. But if you want hillbillies, you can go to my home state of Kentucky where everyone talks with a southern accent. In Ohio, though, the accent is very neutral. Um, let's see...anyway, we have decidedly short summers, ridiculously long winters, and spring and fall are without argument the best seasons here in terms of colors, temperature, and the scenery. Um, with the manga, yes, we do have manga in bookstores...often times, there will be several shelves devoted to it...we also have anime figurines, but those are mostly in video/cd stores or available through online order...and the school system is actually not that complicated. Speaking of school, I'm writing this at 6:30 in the morning, and I've gotta catch my bus at 6:40, so I kinda have to go. I'll tell you more in another reply, okay? And about the Monster...yes, we do sell it, but being a pretty devoted athlete, I would never drink that stuff. Oh, and I looked up Daegu on Wiipedia, and...holy crap, it's big.

Haha, I'm sorry. I just think that Ichigo and Rukia go together nicely; since Rukia's the one who basically started his life as a Shinigami, and I thought it was so romantic that Ichigo went after her when she was being excecuted. And the fact that I think that Rukia was the only thing that was keeping him from becoming a full-fledged hollow; the thought of saving her kept him going.
I don't like Orihime as a character as much. She kind of comes across to me as Hinata, emotionally.
Tatsuki is probably my favourite character, second to Ichigo. She's just awesome. Well... that was random, I'm sorry.

It always bugged me in the back of my mind, but I never voiced it: in Japanese culture, the surname is first, and the given name is last. So, the name would be Haruno Sakura instead of Sakura Haruno. Sorry... I just hate the English dub of Naruto, and the name 'Sakura Haruno' just makes me imagine her English voice saying the words you write.
Speaking of Naruto... on my profile, there's a link to my MySpace. Check out the AMV on my profile, seriously. It's the fight between Sasuke and Naruto with Bullet for my Valentine as the background music. Honestly, it's beast.

Author's Response: It's okay, about the whole IchiRuki thing. It's just, how far in the series are you? Because haven't you read the whole thing about the Arrancars kidnapping Orihime? When Ichigo went after Rukia, he felt that he had a debt he had to pay for her for helping him become a shinigami. But when the Arrancars go after Orihime and her powers, the soul Society turns its back on her, but Ichigo goes after her. But I want to ask you-- what makes you think that the thought of Rukia kept him from becoming a full-fledged Hollow? (I'm just curious.) And, when Ichigo is attempting to rescue Orihime in Hueco Mundo, his two largest enemies ask him about Orihime's importance to him, which never happened with Rukia. Ulquiorra asked him what kept it going-- was it Orihime? And Grimmjow asked Ichigo if he relaxed because he was happy to see Orihime unhurt-- but did he know what they had done to her? The latter question made Ichigo absolutely furious and he fought seriously. Also, when Uryu is being beaten up and Ichigo is supposedly dead, Orihime is going out of her mind, wondering what she should do, and eventually yells, "Help me, Kurosaki!" Not SAVE me, Kurosaki-- just "help me." Help her understand where she pulls the strength for what she should do next. Anyway, that's when Ichigo, supposedly dead, comes back in a double-Hollow form, which completely consumes him. he's not even human anymore, can't form human thoughts or words. The only words he says while in this form were obviously fought for-- he had to gain strength to control the Hollow to tell Orihime: "I will help you...protect you." Before that, something that never happened with Rukia, Ichigo's half-dead when he realizes that Orihime's calling for him, and that he can't die yet-- he has to stand up and protect her. Also! The only romantic relationships mentioned in the series are Kaien Shiba and his wife, Isshin Kurosaki and his wife, Byakuya Kuchiki and his wife, and Ichigo and Orihime's love. (I say "love" and not "crush." Unlike Hinata, who has a monster crush, Orihime's really in love. Also, she's a lot stronger-willed, not shy, and has a lot more emotional depth than Hinata-- but the two are constantly compared because people like IchiRuki and just say, "Oh, Orihime's just like Hinata, it sucks"-- No, Orihime is NOT like Hinata! She's a very, very different character who has a lot of strength and power and character. There's a lot of things that show this, and also, the power she has shows just how good she is-- it's a god-like power, and Orihime's wise and pure-hearted enough to use it to save and heal people. Others would use to do things that they shouldn't, y'know? Like bringing people back from the dead. Also! There are only a few reasons why a character would have a crush on someone: 1) To have their feelings returned later, possibly in the ironic sense. Like Harry and Ginny from Harry Potter. Ginny was in love with him, but decided it was time to move on and started dating other guys, never forgetting Harry. Harry, meanwhile, finally notices her and kicks himself for not realizing his feelings before. 2) To become an evil character as a revenge for not being loved. ...Okay, I can't even imagine that. 3) To make a sacrifice for the one they love. Orihime did this already-- she agreed to go to Hueco Mundo to save Ichigo. Perhaps she'll make a bigger sacrifice later on...? ...........Sorry about that tangent. It was kind of unnecessary, but I jsut had to say it. *sweatdrop* Okay, onto your thing about surnames: believe me, I'd prefer to put names Surname Firstname, but when I wrote on other sites, a lot of people told me that it threw them off and they thought the last name was the first name. I asked them if they were stupid, and then they stopped reviewing my stories. Now it's just become a bad habit, and I read the book version of the manga, usually. When I do read it online, with scanlations, then I get back into the Surname Firstname.

That's on my bio, too.
Sasuke/Sakura sucks ass, and so does Naruto/Hinata.
Honestly, they're both the same.
Sasuke doesn't give a shit about anybody but himself and Itachi. He's totally incapable of a relationship; let alone with a little schoolgirl with a crush.
Naruto's too busy pining over Sakura to even notice that Hinata exists.
Then, in Shippuuden, when most of the Sasu/Saku/Naru/Hina stories take place, Naruto only cares about capturing Sasuke, and Sakura's falling for Naruto.
Yes, Naru/Saku is a logical pairing. They don't look bad together, either.
But even though Sasuke's incapable of a relationship, I still think he and Naruto should become Canon. LOL. I don't know why, I just think that Naruto's the only possible mate for him.
Hinata - in my mind - should end up with Neji.
Sorry if this sounds unintelligible or scrambled, but I wrote this entire paragraph while watching a movie, so... yeah, it kinda is unintelligible and scrambled.
But, yeah, those are my thoughts.

Author's Response: I KNOW! I mean, Sasuke is really a conceited, arrogant sort of guy-- but I always try to make him halfway decent and nice and friendly in my stories, because the world would be a better place with a Sasuke like that. Like in the episode when they were trying to see under Kakashi's mask-- now that was a funny, cool Sasuke! I loved him! But then, in all the other episodes, he was his sullen, egotistical self. It made me soooooooo pissed!!!! I was like, "If I could design Sasuke's character, he'd be soooo cool!" But whatever. Yeah... you've probably heard me mention that I'm a NaruSaku fan. I am. I think Naruto and Sakura a nice couple-- they balance each other nicely, and Sakura's falling for Naruto, which is nice. But, didn't it say in the original Naruto, not in Shippuden, that Naruto was going to get Sasuke back, partly because he was his first real friend, and partly because he knew Sakura cared for Sasuke, and he wanted to make her happy? I just MELTED. I mean, that's super precious!!!!!!!! And he never notices Hinata-- just thinks of her as a friend! I think Kiba and Hinata are a good couple, but for a while I really like NejiHina too. But whatever-- I tend to think there won't really be incest in it, though it would be a almost logical-- that way they could continue passing the bloodline, right? Hyuugas, I would think, have to continue marrying and reproducing with relatives because they have to keep their byakugan pure, no? I also think that shonen mangas aren't focused on the story-- meaning relationships, etc.-- nearly so much as they are the action and stuff, y'know? So this could end up that NOBODY in the series ends up with anyone and the author just leaves it at that. But how horrifying that would be! Lol.

i really liked the way u matched within temptation's song ""Angels"" with your story :)

Author's Response: thank you-- i thought it was a perfect song for the situation. :D