A/N: Writer's block is visiting me right now. I told it to leave, but it's being stubborn and won't. Someone call reinforcements!
This one-shot? Hmm…Do I ship Tsukishima with Orihime? I don't know? Maybe? To be fair, though, I ship everyone with Orihime because she gets along with everyone so…But this is definitely an Ichihime piece. If you squint, of course.
She's pretty, and you wonder if that is all she is. But the wonder doesn't last long. She is more than that. You know she is some kind of unearthly being with impossible powers and abilities, and you aren't even thinking about the powers that manifest from her blue clips. What you are thinking of is the power she has over people.
You know what it means to serve someone. To be so loyal that self-preservation exists only as a means to preserve the life of who you serve. You know devotion. You live it.
But she…she doesn't deserve it, and yet, she has it. She just breathes, and it's almost like there are a line of people ready to sacrifice everything to ensure that her breath remains steady and normal. People she knows and people she has yet to meet are all at her disposal.
What is it about her that can completely brainwash someone? You feel like whatever trait or traits that she has surpass your Book of the End. Because you have to insert yourself into a person's life by splitting the past, but all she has to do is live in the present with someone, and she has that person wrapped around her finger.
You remember hearing about her. Ginjō informed you of her importance in the whole scheme of things. Her importance to Kurosaki Ichigo. In the beginning, looking at just her picture, you couldn't find one remarkable thing about her. Not one but you were instructed to not harm her. Instructed to just change her past. That's all.
But you couldn't leave it alone, leave her alone after you completed your task. Something about her disturbed you. It wasn't Shishigawara-kun's inability to attack her nor was it her kindness that she denied. It was her memories.
From her memories, you learned of her humble, sad past. You learned it all, but what you didn't learn, what you didn't understand was how she smiled so freely. How was she still able to afford to be kind to everyone? How was she so different from you?
You had questions that couldn't be asked because you had a job. Change the past of the people who matter to Ichigo. Drive him to attack. Steal his Fullbring. You had a job, but she crept into your mind without your permission. But you believed that it was your instinct telling you the best way to anger Ichigo. Mention her in Ichigo's presence and rationality seemed to fly out the window. And so that was what you did.
You nearly pushed Ichigo to the edge just by being in his home. You had already altered Yuzu and Karin's memories, and it had enraged Ichigo. But it was not enough. Then Ichigo's friends came, and you still hadn't succeeded at ruining him.
"Don't make such a scary face," you had mocked. And a scary face it was, but Ichigo still hadn't reached his breaking point. But you knew just what to do to break him.
"Ah," You breathed in the phone. "Orihime? It's me." And that had done it. The use of her name, the knowledge that you had gotten to her, the idea that you changed her, it had been enough. You had broken Ichigo.
You should've just killed her from the beginning. It would have made things go faster. You thought that as you watched Ichigo's expression of devastation as Orihime healed your arm, as she sided with a false narrative, as she chose you instead of him.
Yes, it would have made things so much easier if you just killed her. Kill her and you would have had an unhinged Ichigo. How strong would he have become if you ended her life? Would he become a savage like he did when she begged for his help on top of that dome? A hollow whose only desire was to protect her? Or would he collapse into himself? Would he become so weak that even a passing breeze would be able to take him down?
Till this day you wonder. What would Ichigo do if you were to take her from him? You know what would happen to her if you ended his life. You saw her feelings interwoven in her memories. You know she would be destroyed. What's interesting is that you cut him. You know all about his past. You know him. But you still don't know what kind of hold she has over him. A hold that shouldn't be so consuming, that doesn't make a lick of sense, that should not exist.
But she has a hold on him. You've seen it. She means so much to him, and you still, still, don't know why. And it must be some kind of hidden power she has. It must be.