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i found this post of our co-Ichihime Fan
haruomi
(even though i didn't read chapter 0 yet...)

here's what she said...

"I spent last night and most of this morning trying to find something called “Bleach Chapter 0”. I don’t remember where I read about it, but I got curious and tried looking for it from among the omake chapters, thinking it was some kind of special. However, I have discovered that it’s actually the original pilot chapter Kubo Tite ended up scrapping, but I thought it’d be interesting to read anyway.

Of course, I want to say right now that it was such a hassle to find. I don’t think I want to do that again any time soon.

After spending quite some time hunting through several different forums and scanlations sites, I finally found a download link that was still working. (Unfortunately, now I don’t remember where I found it. …I guess I accidentally cleaned out my history before saving the link. Just great.) It would have made a great one shot, I think. Or it might be a very interesting alternative universe, but I think I’m glad Kubo Tite eventually changed it to what we now know as Bleach.

For one thing, it seems like the reason Ichigo can see ghosts is because his father owns a mortuary instead of a clinic. However, Isshin and the rest of the Kurosaki family never make an appearance, which I found a bit disappointing. I’m sure they all have their eccentric personalities, though, so I guess it’s not too bad.

Also, Ichigo’s school uniform is different. It’s more of a dress suit than the one we see him wearing in the series, and he even has a tie with it too. I tried not to fangirl all that much, especially since I tend to have a soft spot for sophisticatedly dressed men. The clothes Kubo Tite decided on in the end for Karakura High is better, though. It’s difficult to imagine Ichigo in anything other than that.

While we’re on this subject of outfits, I should probably point out that the Shinigami robes are different too. The white part of the collar is thicker and there is a large star on each sleeve for Ichigo. I know it’s supposed to give off a modern look, but it kind of looks… tacky, for lack of a better word.

Rukia is, of course, in it as well. She ends up losing her Shinigami powers after saving Ichigo’s life, but –instead of being forced into a gigai- her body shrinks and she’s about the size of teacup. Somehow, she’s found the school uniform for girls that can actually fit her, but I’ve decided not to question it. (Just like I’ve decided that it’s just best not to question why she travels around in Ichigo’s shirt.) At least she’s still her sarcastic self and bosses people around, just because she can. You know we love her because of that.

I was a bit disappointed because the only school friend you ever see is Mizuiro (I'm rather fond of Tatsuki and Keigo), but he was never given a name in Chapter 0. Although he knows that Ichigo can see ghosts -and thinks it’s rather amusing- he doesn’t have the power to see them himself. (I’m not sure, but eventually Kubo Tite scraps this idea as well, right? Because when they were younger, Tatsuki asks Ichigo about being able to see ghosts and he quickly denies having such abilities.)

You also learn that when a person dies, they’re also given a paper ticket, which allows them to go to Soul Society. If you lose it or if it’s somehow damaged, I guess you can’t be given another one and end up stuck in the living world. Of course, that’s obviously very dangerous because that gives any hungry hollow the opportunity to eat your soul. Just great.

Orihime is also one of the main characters, and she’s still her adorably eccentric and optimistic self. However, it’s her father this time who raised her by himself and who died three years previous. Unfortunately, he’s also the one who becomes a hollow and is jealous that she spends every day talking about Ichigo rather than pray for him. But instead of just trying to kill her like Sora did, he shoves her from a high place and kills her before she even notices what happened.

Honestly, it’s quite painful to see how Ichigo reacts when he learns that she’s dead. Even though he admits that they’ve spoken with each other only once, he looks so shocked and… tortured by the news. It still surprises me, because it’s such an unexpected reaction for someone he hardly knows.

As they head over to where Orihime had died, Ichigo takes a moment to ask Rukia if there’s even the slightest chance of her father being in Soul Society. When she confirms that, yes, -it might be possible- he has this relieved but melancholy expression on his face. “…Then, she won’t feel lonely,” he says softly.

When they arrive, Orihime is still in disbelief over her death and is telling her corpse why she can’t die just yet. “I was going to do my best tomorrow,” she says, “So that Kurosaki-kun-…” Unfortunately, Ichigo interrupts before she can finish, but it’s obvious what’s left unsaid. She doesn’t want to die before confessing her feelings to him. Because, even in this alternate universe, Orihime is still head over heels in love with him. There’s even a moment when she’s going to tell him anyway, but her father interrupts and talks her out of it, saying it’ll just leave a heavy burden on the both of them. Ichigo, oblivious to all of this, says it’s great that her father came to pick her up and watches them leave with a sad smile on his face.

Of course, they all find out that her father has actually become a hollow due to the loneliness of being “abandoned” by his daughter, so Ichigo goes to rescue her. “I knew that you were lonely,” he says to her father, “That’s why I came when I heard Inoue died. I wanted to see her off without crying, because if I did, she would have an attachment to this world.”

Oh, Ichigo, sometimes you’re so kind it hurts.

After they send Orihime’s father off ahead of her, Rukia’s powers return and she grows back to her normal size. It’s thanks to her that Ichigo and Orihime are given an extra moment to say goodbye before she takes her to Soul Society. However, Ichigo seems really awkward about it, so Orihime –embarrassed- tells him that when she explained to her father that she “liked” him, it was only as a classmate. He freaks out about it and tries to deny of ever thinking about it too deeply, saying, “Everyone’s making fun of me!” It's really cute. biggrin Idiot Ichigo is so much love.

There's a long moment of where Ichigo blushes and struggles to think of the right thing to say, but Orihime beats him to it. “When I’m reborn,” she tells him, “Let's meet again and we'll get to know each other better, okay?” And he smiles at her.

All in all, I liked this chapter. I’m glad Kubo Tite eventually changed this idea (because if Orihime had died, Bleach would have definitely turned out quite differently), but it wasn’t all that bad.

I also wonder if Ichigo may have actually liked Orihime back, even before he really knew who she was. Like that one time they ever spoke to one another, he acts so bashful and can’t even look her in the eye. It makes me wish the real Ichigo would recognize whether he likes Orihime or not a bit more, the way this one does.

And for anyone who is wondering, at the end, Rukia and Orihime apparently can’t go back to Soul Society just yet. They eventually decide to stick around and end up ambushing Ichigo while he’s on his way to school. Yay."

i only found the RAW version and i tried to decipher the story from their facial expressions...but i failed xp

anyway, about the post, i like what Ichigo said to Hime-chan's father...so sweet! and if Kubo-sama kept Chapter Zero and killed off Orihime so early in the manga, i would've been very angry and sad because there would be no IchiHime...

Ichigo is definitely in love with Orihime in the pilot. Rukia knows it too.