A/N: I've been mulling over the idea for this story for quite a while now, and I finally took the time to sit down and write it. I know OC's aren't exactly everybody's cup of tea, but I think it was necessary for me to create one in this story's case. Anyway, enough of my ranting, here is the first chapter to this story.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the plot and OC, everything else belongs to our dearly beloved Tite Kubo.
I've often heard people say that love knows no boundaries; as long as it's there it will find a way. In my case however, true love was something I would never be able to experience.
My entire life, I had been surrounded by people that had gotten a say in whom they got to love; I was the only one that was different. No matter how much I tried to reject the fact that I had never and would never receive such a privilege, the constant every day reminder that the person I was to marry had been decided on before I had even been born always came back to bring me bitterness.
I had been given the misfortune of being born to a family of great prestige and power in Japan; the Nakamura family. My mother and father, in the interests if insuring our family's rich and powerful influence, had agreed to marry me off to the son of another important family. Sosuke Aizen, the head of that family, was a good friend of my father's, and had agreed that both parties would benefit greatly from the union of their two only children.
These facts invaded my thoughts as I rigidly stood in an empty corner of my room and watched as two servants carefully packed every article of clothing that remained in my closet. I had offered to assist them, but as usual, they had firmly rejected any kind of help from me and ordered me to instead have some rest before I left the manor for my long trip in the morning. However, I knew that attempting to get any rest would be impossible because once morning came I would have to leave my home in order to live with my soon-to-be husband's family in Karakura town.
This was all some ploy to help us get to know each other, but I knew that as soon as I left I wouldn't be coming back. And it sickened me. Love was supposed to be something beautiful that was built up over time, not a sixteen-year-old girl being forced to live with and marry some rich jerk she had never met before in her life.
His name was Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, the notoriously handsome son of Sosuke Aizen. Everything I knew about him came from my parents or our servants, but I wasn't sure how much of what they said was actually accurate. It probably would have been easy for me to look up his name and face on the internet, given that his family was the owner of several prosperous companies, but I'd never allowed myself to. That, was one thing at least, that I did have a choice on.
The truth was, at that moment in time, I was so terrified that the only thing I could do was stand there, completely frozen, and stare into nothing. I had known this day was coming since I had first been able to comprehend the meaning of words, yet somehow all those years hadn't been enough to prepare me for the harsh reality that had caught up with me that night.
"Ah, good evening Nakamura-san, everything has been prepared according to your orders," Akiko, one of the maids that was putting away my clothes suddenly said, bowing her head slightly in respect. I turned my head to find my mother standing in the doorway to my room, her stern gaze fixed upon my face.
"Are you ready for tomorrow, Minori?" she asked, her voice as cold and calculating as ever. She had never made the effort to get close to me, using the excuse that she was too busy as the lady of the family to have time for immature children, and had instead left the job of raising me to her trusted maid, Ayame.
"As ready as I'll ever be," I replied flatly, not in the mood to have a full conversation with anybody at the moment, especially not one of the people that was responsible for my misery.
Her finely plucked eyebrows twitched downwards along with her mouth at my less-than-proper response, but she said nothing else for a while, instead choosing to inspect every inch of me while nodding her head in approval at different points during her examination. "Perfect. I'm sure you'll make a great first impression tomorrow," she said after she was finished, her voice somewhat breaking a little on "tomorrow". We stood silently after that, avoiding each other's gaze for some reason.
"You have my hair, you know," she finally said, lightly smoothing her hand over my honey-brown strands with an almost sad look settling in her features. It was rare for her to show any emotions around me, and watching her eyes begin to fill with tears somehow forced me out of my stupor and obligated me to focus on the present.
"Why are you.. crying?" I asked softly, not quite sure what to do since I had never seen my mother cry. I wrapped my arms around her in an embrace and patted her back in an effort to mollify her, my method proving itself effective as she quickly detached herself from me and end wiped her eyes with a silk handkerchief.
"I'm sorry, I hadn't really expected that myself either. And, even though I have never really been there for you, I am still your mother, and it saddens me to have to give up my only daughter so quickly. I really came here to say my goodbye's since I won't be able to see you off tomorrow because of an urgent business matter that just came up, and it cannot wait. "
"You're leaving now? I had hoped that tomorrow..."
"I am truly sorry Minori, I hope you can understand. But leave tomorrow knowing that your father and I love you, and you will be treated well in Aizen-san's household, I promise. I truly wish for your happiness." She gave me a curt bow and an awkward wave before quickly turning on her heel and walking briskly down the hall, her light footsteps slowly fading away until they were no longer audible.
"Farewell," I whispered so quietly that only I was able to hear, a single tear escaping from my eyes and falling onto the velvet rug beneath my slipper-clad feet. A part of me felt delighted that my mother actually cared about or acknowledged me, but another darker part couldn't help but feel resentment towards her because she and my father had been the root core to my sorrows ever since I was a little girl.
I slowly drew out a breath, my shoulders slumping down with exhaustion. All this stressing had become quite the arduous task; I hadn't eaten a single crumb all day, and it started becoming impossible to ignore the loud rumbling in my stomach.
I looked around my room to see if I had any food lying around, but it was hard to find any because the servants were always keeping it so clean. The walls were a soft blue, and the rest of my room was pretty much only my plush queen-sized bed, a large walk-in closet, and a desk holding my laptop and a few other things. I may have been rich, but I had never been one of extravagant taste, and I preferred to keep my room as simple as my mother would allow.
There was still no food in sight, so I walked down the hall into the second kitchen, digging through the refrigerator for a snack. I smiled to myself when I finally found a piece of chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, my favorite. Mother always scolded me for eating it because she said it would turn me fat, but I always just ignored her and went on eating.
I finished the piece of cake, and the rest of the evening flew by swiftly; before I knew it I was lying in my bed completely awake, worrying over what was to come. Even though I completely detested the idea of our arranged marriage, I spent most of the night wondering what kind of person Grimmjow was. Was he kind? Responsible? Smart? Arrogant? How did he feel about us? Did he feel the same way that I did? All these questions and many more swam around in my head endlessly, and I had the answer to none of them, which was beginning to frustrate me in unimaginable ways.
"Will I ever be able to love you for real?" I asked the wind, pulling my covers tightly over my body and sighing dejectedly.
(Earlier in the day, Grimmjow's POV)
"Oi! What the hell do you think you're doing Grimmjow?" the voice of an orange haired teenager yelled angrily, becoming louder as its owner strode quickly over to where I was standing with my hands jammed in my pockets, a bored expression on my face.
"What the fuck do you want Kurosaki? I already told you I won this from a fair bet against that four-eyed loser you call a friend," I said, holding up a silver bracelet with a single cross-shaped charm attached to the end, smiling in amusement as his already angry face turned furious.
"You lying shit, you stole that from Ishida's locker while he was showering in the gym locker room!" he accused, closing the gap between us with one final stride and fisting my shirt with a menacing growl.
"You wanna do this right now Kurosaki?" I spat, quickly losing my temper and roughly shoving his arm off my chest.
"Bring it on you asshole!" Ichigo retaliated, standing his ground and already preparing to take a swing at me.
"W-Wait hold on! You two can't keep on fighting each other, this has to stop!" the soft voice of the girl with the big boobs that was always following Kurosaki around cried as she stepped in between us out of nowhere, stopping Ichigo dead in his tracks.
"Inoue is right, you have to calm down Ichigo," the guy named Sado followed quickly, supporting the girl's desperate plea. Ichigo stared at them for a second before turning to face me, his glare filled with absolute hatred.
"Give me back Ishida's bracelet and let's forget about this," he demanded, thrusting out his hand and leaving it front of me so I could drop the bracelet on there and leave. But there was no way in hell I was about to back down from his earlier challenge, and if he thought otherwise then the coward had something else coming.
Just as I was about to taunt him and refuse his request, a pale hand snatched the thing out of my hand and placed it on Kurosaki's, effectively pissing me off. "What the fu-"
"Didn't I tell you that these pointless quarrels between the both of you get old really fast, Grimmjow?" Ulquiorra inquired in his usual detached tone, a tired look in his green eyes as he came into view.
"Seriously though Grim, doesn't it get boring always fighting with the same guy?" another person asked, appearing on the opposite side of Ulquiorra.
"The fuck's it to you Yammy?" I snapped, glaring at his freakishly large and muscular figure. I swear. These shits I called my friends were always coming between me and a good fight whenever the opportunity presented itself like they were in charge of me or something. They always said it was because I needed to keep my reputation in check since my family was one of high importance and rank, but that didn't matter to me. Sure, I loved being able to buy whatever the hell I wanted to and the fact that girls fell all over me wherever I went, but I had never been interested in keeping the family business once my father died.
At that moment Ishida came running down the hallway, and once he saw that Ichigo had successfully retrieved his precious bracelet from me, a relieved look immediately replaced the stressed expression on his face. "I'm glad no violence broke out between you guys. Thanks for returning this, Grimmjow," he said, nodding at me before reaching his group of friends.
"Tch," I muttered, turning sharply and beckoning for Ulquiorra and Yammy to follow me, deciding that I'd had enough shit for one day. The truth was, Kurosaki wasn't the reason for my aggravation, at least, not really. Tomorrow was that day, and the pressure was definitely doing bad things to my head. All day at school I hadn't been able to concentrate, in fact, before the conflict with Kurosaki, I hadn't even been able to maintain a short conversation with anyone.
Naturally I had taken my frustration out on Kurosaki and his friends, given that both of our groups mutually hated each other. Mostly though, the hate came from Kurosaki and I, who'd had problems with each other since the first day we'd met.
However, after going through all the trouble of stealing Ishida's bracelet in order to piss the carrot-top off, I still hadn't been able to get rid of the strange pounding in my chest. In fact, I think that the only thing I had succeeded in was making things worse for myself.
Apparently Ulquiorra had taken notice of this, because as soon as the bell rung at the end of school he took me aside to a grove of cherry-blossom trees shrouded behind a building and began questioning me. "What's going on with you Grimmjow? Don't think I haven't noticed your strangeness today, it was so obvious even that stupid ape Yammy asked me about it," he said, standing in front of me with a look in his eyes that told me they wanted the truth.
I debated on whether I should tell him (he was my best friend after all), but I guess the burden I was carrying was just too much for me to handle because I simply glared at him and said, "Nothing. You should mind your own business and stop poking your ass into issues that don't concern you." I felt my voice rise at the last part, and I turned away quickly to hide my slightly panicked expression, brushing away a drop of sweat that had formed at the base of my forehead.
The pressure I was under was beginning to take its toll on my body, which was a sign that I was definitely on edge. Every day of my life, that name had been repeated to me as a daily reminder of my fate. Hearing it had only every brought me nervousness and anger. Aizen, my father, had made it his personal mission to drill pressure into me about what I was to do when the owner of the name came into my life. He had made it clear that my loyalty to her was to be unconditional, and if he ever found out otherwise I would surely be punished. Coming from him, I definitely did not want to know what sort of punishment he had in mind, because once provoked, Aizen could go from seemingly tranquil to murderous in one second.
There was only one problem: I didn't think I would be able to keep that promise. First of all, women definitely don't make it easy for me when they're always practically begging for me to fuck them, and I happen to have many sexual needs. Besides, they're all the same, wanting sex immediately after meeting a guy with an attractive face. Even those that deny it, have revealed to me their true nature once I take them home for the night. So who was I to think that she'd be any different? It's always the same story with high school girls, and even though I enjoyed the feeling of sex just as much as the next guy, every time I woke up in the morning lying naked beside some girl who's name I had already forgotten, I felt wrong, like I was letting somebody down just by looking at her.
The point is, it was already too late for me, I had already slept with so many women I had lost count a while back. Even if I somehow miraculously was able to remain loyal to her for the rest of my life, my sins had already been committed, and I would have to tell her eventually.
"Grim, is this about Minori?" My head snapped up at the sound of that name, my heartbeat picking up so quickly I thought I may have been experiencing a heart attack for a brief moment.
The wind picked up and blew pink cherry blossom petals all around us before I could summon my voice again. "I thought I told you never to mention anything about that subject again, Ulquiorra," I managed to mutter, trying hard to mask the panic that had begun to build up in my throat. Not that it would help, though. Ulquiorra had been able to read me (and everyone else in our group) like an open book ever since he had spent the last summer volunteering with Orihime Inoue; which had really freaked me out at first because before that he'd had a hard time distinguishing the difference between 'sad' and 'happy'.
"I knew it. It's tomorrow isn't it? The day when you'll finally get to see your predetermined wife?" His gaze turned somewhat understanding, and he let out a big sigh while he ran his fingers through his jet-black hair. "Well, nobody said it would be easy. I can't blame you for feeling anxious, what with all the time that you've had to wait for this day. This may not help, but I feel it necessary to remind you that I'm always here for you, Grimmjow, even when you think I'm not."
"Will you shut up with that crap already? I know, okay. I just, it's indescribable, the way I feel, ya know? This girl, she's the real deal for me whether I chose to be in denial about it or not. But you know what the worst part of all this shit is? I have never -ever- felt any kind of anxiety towards a girl, but with her, with her, my palms begin to get sweaty just thinking about her, and my heart begins to pound along with the pain in my head. I become completely dysfunctional and all I know about her is her damn name! What the hell am I supposed to do when I actually meet her, Ulquiorra?"
He stared at me quietly throughout my entire spiel, and remained silent for a while after before saying, "Have you ever wondered about how she feels about all of this? Has it ever even occurred to you that there was a slight possibility that maybe-just maybe- she doesn't agree with this arrangement either? That you could confide in each other knowing that the only ones who could truly understand what you are each going through is each other?"
Then he did something unexpected; he punched me straight in the jaw, and I could do nothing but stumble backwards into a tree trunk and touch my face with a stunned expression. "I want you to go home and think about that Grimmjow. Maybe then you'll stop looking so pathetic," he said, clearly disgusted. I watched as his figure slowly disappeared onto the street, a cold breeze brushing my turquoise hair against my forehead, the sun already beginning to dip beneath the horizon.
All I could think about was what Ulquiorra had said to me as I walked to my parked blue Ferrari, and once inside, I sat there silently for over half an hour before finally jamming the keys into the ignition and stomping on the gas pedal, gunning down the street in an attempt to free my mind if even for just a little. This wasn't like me at all, and I decided that I was done worrying about all the shit in my life.
I arrived at the mansion in under five minutes, slamming the door upon entering, completely ignoring the greeting given to me by my butler, Haschwald.
I had just stepped foot on the stairs when a chilling voice called out behind me, "I sincerely hope you didn't just come from some other woman's home again, Grimmjow. You know what I'm expecting from you, and I'm sure that you do not want to find out what sort if punishments I have in mind for you in case you don't follow my exact orders. If what I said earlier was indeed the case, then you should now that that will be the last time you ever do something like that. Minori will arrive here tomorrow morning, and she is to be the only woman you ever touch again. Have I made myself clear?" Aizen's eyes were less than comforting as he waited for my response a little ways off from the stairs, a large stack of files resting in his hands.
"Since the first day you explained it to me, father," I answered, making sure to add emphasis on the word "father" to make sure he noticed my sarcasm. I almost never addressed him as father, and when I did, I was either in a very good mood, or I was extremely pissed off. In this specific situation though, it was the latter that was true, and I wanted nothing more than to rush up the stairs and get him out of my sight.
He opened his mouth to add something else, but at that moment his personal assistant, Hinamori, came bursting through the door with what seemed to be another file clutched in between both of her dainty hands. "O-Oh, I'm so sorry Aizen-sama, I didn't realize you were busy..." Her expression turning frantic, she hurriedly bowed and made to scamper out of the room, but Aizen stopped her with a slight shake of his head. With one final stern glance in my direction, he instead took the file from her hand and guided her in the direction of his office.
"You have no idea how much I despise you," I growled underneath my breath, pounding my hand into the wooden railing so hard that it made a dent in the shape of my fist. I looked at it for a bit before tearing up the stairs and slamming the door behind me with a loud bang.
"I really hope what Ulquiorra said was true, because at this point I don't know what the hell to think anymore," I whispered, slipping my hand off of the doorknob and sliding down against my door, spending the entire night in that crouched position, falling asleep for short periods of time before waking up again repeatedly.
(Minori's POV, the next morning)
The house was a frantic mess as servants ran back and forth trying to get everything in order before I left, and it was only four'o'clock in the morning. I was already fully dressed in Karakura High School's school uniform, my hair in a braid with loose stands falling on either side of my head. I was supposed to arrive in time to make it to my first day at Karakura High, despite the three-hour trip I had to make in order to get there.
I had an embarrassing habit of twiddling my fingers when I was really nervous, and I couldn't stop myself from doing it as I sat in one of the living rooms waiting for everything to get ready. I hadn't really thought about it before the incident with my mother the night before, but I really would miss my parents and all the servants I had grown up with. Sure, maybe my parents weren't very good at taking care of me, and maybe they had practically forced me into marrying a man I didn't know, but I would still miss them.
"Minori-san, everything has been loaded into the car and the chauffeur has arrived, it is time for you to go now." Akiko smiled at me, linking her arm with mine and accompanying me as I walked outside in a bit of a daze. I was finally leaving. I was finally going to meet him.
Akiko saw me off with the rest of my family's servants, and even though I really appreciated it, I couldn't help but wish it was my mother and father that were saying goodbye. I waved back in spite of myself, staring back at the mansion through the car window until it was no longer visible.
The entire car ride was completely unbearable, my fingers eventually becoming stiff with how much I was twiddling them. It felt like somebody had thrust a million knives in my heart, and I had a hard time breathing properly. If only I could change things; if only I could've been born as a different person. Who would I have fallen in love with, had not my fate already been chosen for me?
But for all my wishful thinking, I couldn't stop the fact that we were already entering the gates of Aizen-san's estate, and when I was told to exit the car I couldn't help stumbling clumsily into the arms of Aizen himself.
"I-I'm terribly sorry Aizen-san! I lost my balance and-"
"It's quite alright, Minori. I get that you are nervous. Please, allow me to escort you inside," he said with a smile so gentle and comforting I forgot where I was and what I was doing for a second. I quickly recovered though, and smiled back at him as best I could, admiring his warm brown eyes. Somehow there was something in them that had me feeling reassured, and I knew immediately that I trusted him.
"My son is waiting inside. He wanted to come see you with me, but I wanted to give you a little more time to breathe before you met each other; I also wanted to have a brief word with you," he added the last part with more seriousness, his expression darkening somehow.
"Of course, what is it you wanted to discuss with me Aizen-san?" I said while unconsciously playing with a loose strand of my hair. The sun had already begun to bathe the sky in soft orange light, and by the way the birds were singing, I could tell it was going to be a beautiful day.
"My son doesn't exactly posses the manners or social skills of a gentleman, so please excuse any rude thing he might say that is out of line or inappropriate. And, there is also another thing. If Grimmjow ever does anything to hurt you, whether it be physically or emotionally, please come talk to me. I will make sure he pays for it dearly, and you can trust me with anything." He stroked my bangs out of my eyes as he finished, looking me right in the eyes. It was only then that I noticed we were already standing outside the front door of his house, and we were about to step inside.
I didn't really know what Aizen meant about the possibility of Grimmjow hurting me, but I did know that I trusted him, even if a nagging little voice in my head told me it was too early for me to be thinking that. So I gave him the best smile I could muster out of my current condition and said, "You don't have to worry, I'll tell you if anything like that happens."
He seemed a bit taken aback at first, but his smile quickly returned and he nodded appretiatively. "That's a relief, thank you."
With those final words he turned the solid gold doorknob and opened the door to his mansion, stepping inside first and holding the door open for me as I followed suit.
The first thing I saw as I stepped inside was a head full of turquoise hair and eyes bluer than the sky itself.
So, how was it for a 1st chapter? I think we got to see more of Grimmjow than Minori, but I promise there'll be plenty more of her in upcoming chapters (she is the main character after all). I also forgot to mention earlier that I would be switching between POV's a lot in this chapter, and it will probably continue in the ensuing ones until each chapter starts getting into only one person's (mostly Minori's). I have to admit I had the most fun writing Grimmjow's part, and I don't know if anybody caught it while they were reading, but I decided to make Haschwald (Haschwalt, Haswaldt?) Aizen's butler because I thought it'd be funny at the time.. lol. Anyway, there will be plenty more character appearances from Bleach in the upcoming chapters, and as far as I know Minori will be the only OC (I personally hate it when there are too many OC's). Thanks for reading!
