Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters! They're Tite Kubo's!
chAngE
Chapter 1: Orihime's Decision
"Ohayo, Orihime!"
"Ohayo, Tatsuki-chan!"
And the cycle would once again begin. Orihime Inoue would smile brighter than the sun, and she and her friends would walk to school, beaming and laughing… Ah, but that wasn't the exactly the case anymore….
Orihime's steps slowed down to a halt, while Tatsuki, Chizuru and the rest of her friends continued walking. Her eyes were on the receding back of her friends, looking but not exactly seeing. Physically, she was in the present. Her mind and heart, however, were in the past. She wasn't seeing the back of the Karakura High uniforms and the heads of her friends. Instead, what she saw was the back of a black-haired person who had a bone-like horned half-helmet covering the left side of his head and was clad in a white long sleeved jacket with billowing tailcoats and a hakama, posture detached, and so painfully faraway…
A gentle, cold gust of wind blew, caressing her face and playing with her hair, but she didn't feel it. What she felt was the sensation of a pale hand with black-manicured fingernails running through her cinnamon tresses while the other hand ghosted over her cheeks.
"Orihime!" her ears picked up the distant voice of Tatsuki calling out to her. Yet, what her mind heard was another voice altogether. A voice that was a silky deep monotone; a voice that she'd get lost into just by hearing it. She almost did, if not for the warm pressure that suddenly introduced itself on her right shoulder. Orihime blinked.
"Oi! Orihime, are you okay?" both her ears and her mind this time recognized the concerned voice of her best friend.
Orihime locked her eyes with Tatsuki, smiled and answered, "Hai! I was just feeling sleepy! The weather's quite cold and is really perfect for a peaceful nap you know?" Orihime then brought a hand up to her head, closed her eyes and laughed nervously.
Fwip!
A sting on her forehead made Orihime open her eyes once again. She was greeted with the sight of Tatsuki, her arms folded and her face wearing her trademarked worried and soft looked reserved only for Orihime.
"Get some proper sleep next time Hime, okay? You don't want to doze off like that," scolded Tatsuki.
"Hai! I will!" Orihime bubbly chirped.
"Good, now let's get to class. Ichigo and the others would be there already," said Tatsuki, grabbing Orihime's hand.
Orihime didn't say anything back and just let herself be dragged to school, surprising her best friend and causing her to turn her head to the auburn haired girl and ask,
"Orihime… Aren't you excited to see Ichigo again in school after what you've came back from- I mean, after what you've been through?"
Orihime smiled at Tatsuki. That's right. She was going to see Kurosaki-kun once again in his school uniform… Not in his Shinigami robes….. Kurosaki-kun would look like Kurosaki-kun again. Not that monster he became on top of Las Noches Dome.. But Orihime couldn't look at Ichigo Kurosaki the same way again as she did before, no matter how hard she'd tried. No matter how much Kurosaki-kun would change his appearance. He has become a just a friend when once upon a time, he was someone more, and was for an instance, someone less.
Orihime locked gazes with her best friend, her smile becoming a tad bit wistful, and answered, "I am Tatsuki-chan. And I feel the same for everyone else in our class."
The grip on Orihime's hand loosened to nothing as Tatsuki was frozen in her tracks. The spiky haired brunette stared at Orihime with wide eyes, getting the implication of the caramel brown haired girl's words. Orihime merely smiled, laughed nervously and then continued to walk ahead.
After a few steps, Orihime stood still and turned her head back to the still stupefied martial artist and cheerfully teased, "Come on Tatsuki-chan! We're going to be late! Everyone's waiting! If you're going to just stand there, I'm going to leave you behind!"
With that said, Orihime returned her gaze forward and continued walking. A sigh escaped her lips and unconsciously, her right hand slipped into the pocket of her skirt, fiddling the only thing inside of it: something metallic and circular in shape that was bidding its time until it will be used. Orihime's violet-tinted grey eyes looked up briefly at the sky and saw an oncoming mass of dark clouds, causing a wistful smile to grace her beautiful face.
She was going to have a long day…
Contrary to what she thought, Orihime's day passed like a blur and before she knew it, she was sitting on a swing in the park that changed her life - the park where she and HE first met- as the sun set in the sky. Once again, she was physically there, but her mind and heart were elsewhere. This time, they were swimming across her ocean of thoughts, realizations and "what ifs"..
What if I have realized it sooner?
What if I haven't been blinded by my crush for Kurosaki-kun?
What if I was stronger?
…Would things have been different?
…..Would he be here with me now?
A soft sigh escaped Orihime's naturally pink lips, and her eyes travelled towards her right wrist, landing on the silver bracelet there. Like the last time she wore it, she was visible to no one else but HIS kind… But unlike before, she wasn't threatened to use it. She was wearing it because she wanted to. She was wearing it because she had to, or else Kurosaki-kun, Tatsuki-chan and the others would try to stop her.
I'm tired.. I don't want to just stand around and wait for someone to save me…
I don't need Kurosaki-kun to do that for me anymore….
I'm going to go my own way…
I'm going to change…
I'll be stronger…. I'll set things to happen this time…
And I'm going to be the 'woman' he kept calling me…
Dakara… gomen nasai.. Kurosaki-kun.. Tatsuki-chan.. minna…
(That's why.. I'm sorry.. Kurosaki-kun.. Tatsuki-chan… everyone..)
Arriving at that thought, Orihime stood up from the swing, just as a distant thunder rumbled and the last few of the sun's rays were disappearing into the darkness of the night. She has found her resolve, and she was going to act by it. Her face determined, Orihime ran towards her destination, not once looking back nor hesitating.
The next morning, Tatsuki was greeted by the grim faces of Ichigo, Ishida, Rukia and Chad, and a note that said:
Kurosaki-kun, Tatsuki-chan, Ishida-kun, Kuchiki-san, Sado-kun…. Minna…
Hontoni, hontoni gomen nasai…
(I'm really, really sorry…)
But..I'm going on my own way….
I won't yield.. I won't step away…
I'm going to be honest to how I feel now..
I'm not going to lose..
I want to change…
- Orihime
A/N: That's all for now folks! Hope you enjoyed reading! Thank you very much for taking the time to read it! :D Please, if it's okay with you, leave a review ^_^
Once again, thank you very much! *bows* Hope you have a nice day!