A/N: I can't believe I'm back writing again. Guys, it's only for this week, I promise you, haha. I had the inspiration to do something like this three days ago and actually decided to act on it. This is the result. Don't expect too much!
-whoosh19
Orihime looked around and sighed, discouraged.
"Well," Ayame offered quietly, "at least they left the house this time."
She stood at the house's entrance, crestfallen, staring at today's chores. Shun'o huffed.
"This place is trashed! Hime, let's get to work."
"A-alright. Soten Kisshun; I reject." Room by room, the dirtied home was restored to its original luster. Orihime swept the kitchen as Shun'o and Ayame flew to each room to reject all filth. It had been morning when her late brother's wife Cirucci and her younger sisters Loly and Menoly stepped out, and by the time the house was respectably clean it was late afternoon. Exhausted, she collapsed on her modest bed, breathing heavily. The two fairies retired to their place in her jewelry box-hidden hairpins given to her by Sora. At the thought of him, she closed her eyes and willed herself not to cry.
"I wish you were here, Sora," she whispered to the empty room. After catching her breath, she sat up and chose to uplift her mood by continuing her latest sewing project, a beautiful, sequined purple blouse. So what if Cirucci was just going to sell it as all the other countless pieces Orihime crafted had been? That was beside the point; a little drawback that she vowed to overlook. Whether she got to keep it or not, Orihime wanted put her all into her work. At least someone would appreciate it.
Thirty minutes into the sleeve, she heard the unmistakable sound of the front door and the twins bickering.
"Orihime, darling, we're home!" Cirucci called in her superficially pleasant purr. The young woman dropped her sewing project and ran downstairs to greet her unofficial family.
"Welcome back Loly, Menoly, Cirucci," she spoke, immediately grabbing the groceries from Cirucci's hands and making her way into the kitchen.
"Wow, Princess, you're good at this cleaning thing," Menoly praised insincerely, following her.
"Too bad we can't say the same about your appearance. You look disgusting!" Loly commented.
"I-I just got done with the house," Orihime defended, placing the paper bags on the counter.
"Well you're not making my supper looking the mess you are. I don't want dirt in my food! Go take a shower!" sneered Loly, crossing her arms. Menoly put her hands on her hips, giving Orihime the same glare as her twin.
The red-haired woman retreated to the stairs, with Menoly calling out to her. "And hurry up! We're starving!"
A knock on the door brought Prince Ichigo out of his reverie.
"Your Highness?"
"Come in," he spoke, turning from his arithmetic book. The door handle moved, and a girl with short, strawberry blonde hair peered at him from behind the door.
"Ah, Kiyone. What brings you here?"
"Um, the King would like to speak with you…" she whispered, fearful of his reaction. Ichigo closed his eyes, frowning as an irritated smile ghosted his face.
"Does he now?" he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. Kiyone flushed, embarrassed at causing him distress.
"Your Highness, I'm so sorry!" she interjected quickly.
"Kiyone, it's not your fault. And I thought I told you to not call me that," he remarked.
"Sorry, Prince—"
"Just Ichigo," he corrected, staring at her flustered face.
"…Ichigo. Right," she voiced reluctantly.
"Tell him I'll be there in fifteen minutes," he proposed.
"Sure thing, Your—" he shot her a look, "—I mean Ichigo." She scurried out of his room, shutting the door behind her. He groaned. This was not going to be pleasant.
Fifteen minutes later, he stood inside the Kurosaki Family Meeting Hall, eyeing the table where the rest of his immediate family sat. He nodded to his sisters, seated across from each other, before taking the opposite end of the table from his father.
"Ichigo," King Isshin boomed, "It's been nine years since your mother passed. You've grown into a young man and I've let you make choices on your own and experience independence, but you simply accomplish everything except this one request. Why?"
Ichigo rolled his eyes.
"I am not going to marry Rukia. Not now, not ever. We are friends, Father. Do you understand me? Friends," he emphasized. To his surprise, Isshin replied with probably the greatest thing his son had ever heard from his lips.
"Okay. I understand."
"Wait, what?!" Ichigo blurted.
"It would be nice if you and Rukia became the royalty of Karakura Kingdom after I die. The alliance between us and Gotei Kingdom would be strengthened and our threats quelled."
"Are you kidding? Byakuya dislikes our eccentric family enough as is. Imagine if I stole his precious sister from Gotei," Ichigo interjected.
"I am not done," Isshin declared. "It would politically benefit both Karakura and Gotei. However, times are definitely changing, and royal families are no longer marrying off their children solely for these benefits. I cannot force you to marry Rukia as much as I beseech you to."
Ichigo relaxed.
"But!" Isshin bellowed, and Ichigo took in a small breath. "You will be eighteen in one month, and since there is no current queen, by that time you must have a young woman in line to take the place. These are my orders. Do you understand?"
"Father, you have to be joking!"
"Ah, but I am not, my son. Take heed of my command. Should you not listen, I will personally arrange your wedding to Rukia. This is not debatable. You are all excused." Isshin stood and made his way to the door, not bothering to give his children a second glance as he pushed the doors open and left the hall.
Ichigo growled in anger.
"This is ridiculous!" He bolted from his seat and exited the room, frustrated. Karin sat quietly with her eyes closed as Yuzu tried to recover from the meeting.
"Karin, we have to do something!"
The young, black-haired princess opened her eyes to stare at her twin.
"No we don't. I could care less about who Ichigo marries."
Yuzu glared at her.
"You should. I like Princess Rukia, but I don't want her to be queen. She's not all that friendly," Yuzu commented.
"She's like me; done with all the useless responsibilities of being royalty." Karin stood up. "And we're both a little cold-hearted. I'd like her as queen, if you ask me."
Yuzu groaned.
"Fine, Karin. Fine. She can become the queen. But only if Ichigo doesn't find anyone else! We have to help him find somebody. There has to be someone in this kingdom befitting for a queen!" Yuzu exclaimed.
"And just how are you gonna find her? Hold a couple interviews?" Karin quipped sarcastically. When Yuzu's eyes lit up, she rolled her own.
"Karin, we can hold a ball!"
"Oh no."
"Oh yes! We can hold a ball, and invite all the young women of Karakura and neighboring villages to it! And if he sees someone he likes, he asks her to marry him!"
"The same day?" Karin deadpanned. Yuzu made a face.
"Karin, stop it! No! But he will eventually. Do you see my point?"
"Sure I do. Do I want to be involved? Not at all," she declared.
"I'll do all the work, Karin. All you have to do is give your approval to whomever he decides he likes," she offered.
"…Okay."
"Great! And we can get Uryuu in on it too! I'm sure he'd agree to help!"
*#*#*
"Not a chance." Uryuu made way to walk past the twin princesses.
"But Uryuu, please! You and Ichigo have been friends for years!" Yuzu exclaimed.
"I'm sorry Yuzu, but I really don't want to help. And we're more of rivals than friends," he pointed out. Yuzu became flustered when she realized she was losing the argument. And then Karin chipped in.
"Ishida, imagine Ichigo's reaction when he learns we're throwing a ball for him. He'll flip shit!" Yuzu elbowed her and softly chided her for her profanity. She ignored her and continued. "And for you to be the mastermind behind it all? Priceless. He'll get so much unwanted attention and practically be tortured when he thinks of it all. C'mon, ya can't pass this one up."
Uryuu considered her words.
"Actually, when you put it that way, it sounds pretty enjoyable," he confessed. "I'll do it."
Orihime worked fast. She had gone through knitting a pair of socks and a tank top in the past week and a half. And usually Cirucci sold her work without Orihime being there, but this time she got to see who bought the purple blouse! It was a little girl named Ururu with Kisuke Urahara, the man who owned the magic shop on the outskirts of Karakura. What business a Karakura citizen had with the Hueco Mundo village was beyond her. Though, she was a Karakura citizen, too.
And would still be living there, had Mom and Dad not died from the plague, she thought bitterly. It was the same plague that claimed Queen Masaki of Karakura's life and what inspired Sora to move to the neighboring village to be an apothecary. And as fate would have it, he would marry a woman who was also looking after her bratty younger siblings and then he would be murdered during a robbery, poisoned by his own products. Not to add that the hair clips he worked so hard to purchase for her thirteenth birthday reacted to her unawakened reiatsu and she developed magic powers that could have saved him. Two weeks after he died. Four years later here she was, cleaning up after her family's messes, cooking for them, sewing things she wished she could keep but were unwillingly sold. Yeah, fate didn't like her. But Mr. Urahara thought otherwise, apparently.
"You're a very lucky girl, Orihime," he'd whispered when Cirucci was with another customer in her shop. Orihime usually stayed at home and cleaned when Cirucci worked at her shop, but today she had to stock the shelves with new items. She had been rearranging the cashier desk when Mr. Urahara and Ururu had come in.
"That's a very nice thing for you to say, even if I don't believe so," she replied, smiling at the pair.
"Oh, why, you should, my child," he softly opposed. "I can feel it. You're a magical being. That secret power of yours, one day it will change your life."
Her eyes widened. No one knew about that except her! She never wore those hairpins in case she lost them or somebody noticed they were special!
"What… how did you know about—!"
"Shh," he spoke with a low voice, a ghost of a smile on his lips. "I'm a magician. I know when people are like me. Treasure your gift, my lady."
With that, he exited the shop with Ururu following close behind.
Orihime watched their retreating forms, silently thanking Mr. Urahara for somewhat restoring her hope.
Back at home, Orihime sat with her family at the dining table eating the vegetable soup she'd made. Honestly, if life had been different for her, she would've become a cook. She had amazing tastes for interesting combinations, like ketchup-flavored sugar cookies and roasted eggplant with chocolate glaze. Cirucci and the twins didn't really appreciate her ideas, so she was stuck making boring recipes. If she could've opened a restaurant or a bakery, other people could appreciate the exotic flavors! Oh well. Maybe Mr. Urahara was trying to tell her that her powers would help her become a chef! She grinned to herself as she chewed on a cooked piece of carrot. What would she name her business? Princess Creations. No, that sounded too girly. She had to go about it seriously.
"What are you smiling about, Orihime?" Loly shot, swallowing a spoonful of soup.
"N-Nothing!" Orihime drew a breath. "I-um, how is the soup? Not enough salt?" She tried distracting her sibling, knowing that if she didn't, she and Menoly would harass her the rest of the night.
As Loly opened her mouth to retort with probably an incredibly rude comment, there was a knock at the door.
"I'll get it," Orihime offered even though she really didn't have the choice. She walked to the door, unlocked it, and pulled it open. In front of her stood a tall, dark, muscular mail man. Which was weird, because it was a Tuesday, and the mail only came on Saturdays.
"Directly from the Karakura Castle, ma'am," he spoke, giving her an envelope stamped with the official Kurosaki seal.
"O-Oh! Uh, thanks," she replied, smiling briefly before bidding him farewell. She shut the door, confused. Sure, Hueco Mundo was a tiny village and Karakura Kingdom was the closest authority, but Karakura didn't own the village, neither did they ever really contact them. Hueco Mundo was independent and had their own designated leadership. This was weird.
"What is it?!" Menoly yelled as Orihime walked back and sat down at the round table. Loly snatched the envelope from her fingers.
"Ooh, stamped with the Kurosaki seal. This looks im-por-tant!" she sang. Cirucci grabbed the envelope from her.
"I am the guardian here, therefore I will be opening it," she declared, sliding her finger under the flap and ripping it open. She pulled the letter out and opened it, reading out loud,
"'In light of the eighteenth birthday of Your Royal Highness Prince Ichigo Kurosaki of the Kingdom of Karakura, all maidens are cordially invited to the Royal Summer Ball, held Friday, July 6th at 7:30 pm. Dress formally, and we look forward to seeing you at this event!'"
"What?! That's next week! He's finally looking for a bride?!" Menoly screeched.
"I thought Princess Rukia Kuchiki of Gotei was in line to marry him," Orihime commented. "Then Karakura and Gotei would be allies."
"They already are allies, idiot," Loly spat, rolling her eyes. "Plus, how could someone as hot as him wanna marry her ugly ass?"
"Loly!" Cirucci snapped. "That could get you killed!"
"Please. This is Hueco Mundo. We do what we want here."
Loly and Cirucci bickered with Menoly occasionally chiming in as Orihime sat quietly, finishing off her soup. She immediately dismissed the letter as out of her grasp. She was basically an ex-citizen of Karakura. She had no business attending their royal ball.
Well, she thought as much, until later that night when she called out her winged friends to have their daily talk.
"You are going!" Shun'o snapped, crossing his arms.
"What does a village girl from Hueco Mundo have to do with the prince of Karakura?"
Lily scoffed.
"Everything! Hime, they gave you that letter! That means you have to go!"
"I don't even stand a chance. Karakura is home to many beautiful young women. And what about Princess Rukia? This doesn't add up," she voiced.
"Orihime, there wouldn't be a ball if Prince Ichigo was marrying Princess Rukia. That's called a wedding," Lily replied.
"Fine. So he's not marrying Princess Rukia. I still can't compete with the maidens of Karakura!"
"Orihime, you are a maiden of Karakura, don't you see? Loly and Menoly are probably going to go, and Hueco Mundo is in their blood!" Tsubaki argued. Baigon nodded.
"You are entitled to this ball," he agreed quietly. Hinagiku murmured in agreement as well.
She sat there silently, out of counterarguments.
"Well—" she started, "—well I don't have a dress!"
"Hime, it's a week and a half away! You can make one!" Shun'o barked.
"I guess I could…" she began to realize. "I guess I could!" Orihime looked up in awe at the six fairies, her only friends. Maybe Sora had known she was magical. Such an ordinary gift as hairpins was now an extraordinary gesture of companionship. Love swelled in her heart, and she made a declaration never done before.
"I'll wear the hairpins that night," she whispered, smiling. They all rejoiced.
"You're gonna look so pretty!"
"I can't wait!"
"I'll help design the dress!"
The Kurosaki princesses lasted three days before their older brother found out about their extensive plans. They were at supper with Ryuken Ishida, the king's top counselor and his son Uryuu Ishida, as well as Karin and Yuzu's tutor, Tatsuki Arisawa.
Ichigo cleared his throat after swallowing.
"So, Yuzu, do you have something to tell me?"
The young princess froze, a spoonful of mashed potatoes halfway to her face. She stared blankly at Ichigo before realization hit her face and she shoved the food into her mouth.
"No," she mumbled while chewing, trying to hide a blush.
"Oh, really? You don't?" he pressed. She shook her head violently.
"Karin, what about you?"
Karin glared at him.
"Do I look like I have something to tell you?" she shot. He narrowed his eyes.
"Fine." He went back to his food. "Then of course my trip to Gotei next Friday and Saturday isn't a problem." Ichigo picked up his goblet. "Rukia and I are gonna play tennis and swim and just relax until I have to start searching for a wife." The word rolled off his tongue like bile. He narrowed his eyes at his father. "You have to enjoy the single life while you can, don't you agree?"
Tatsuki snorted.
"Sure thing, son," Isshin stated without missing a beat, clearly unaffected by his son's bitterness. Yuzu sputtered.
"You're going next Friday?" she asked, eyes wide.
"The 6th? Yep. I confirmed it with her and everything," Ichigo responded, spearing a piece of broccoli with his fork.
"Y-You can't!"
Her outburst earned her the surprised looks of all the people at the supper table. Her face heated instantly.
"Y-Yuzu, no need to be so loud," Isshin spoke calmly.
"I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to," she whispered, on the brink of tears. "Can I be excused? I must use the Ladies' Room."
She didn't wait for a reply before she got up and rushed to the door, not looking back as she flew out of the room.
"Way to go, dumbass," Karin snapped, looking Ichigo dead in the eye.
"Karin!" her father growled.
"I'm the dumbass, Karin? I sure felt like one when I heard castle servants speaking about a certain Royal Summer Ball that I'm apparently the star of!"
"So? I'm not sure how that warrants you a free pass to make Yuzu cry," Karin hissed.
"I'm not sure how anything warrants you two a free pass to meddle in my life! And Ishida, somehow I just know you're a part of this. It will be a cold day in hell before I go along with any of your plans," Ichigo spat.
"You know, Ichigo, Ishida could've cared less about your love life, or lack thereof, I should say." Karin pointed her fork at her brother in annoyance. "And you can be sure I don't give a damn." She ignored the enraged look her father gave her for her language. "Yuzu planned everything because she wanted to help. She wants you to be happy. And while the rest of us seated here pretty much don't care about you at all, Yuzu actually genuinely worries about your well-being, and now you've made her upset. Congratulations dobe, you pushed away the only person who gives two shits about you. Good freaking luck finding a woman who can put up with you. Go ahead and cancel the ball because I don't think there's anyone in Karakura that's up for that task."
Karin loudly stood up from the table and walked out of the dining room, not bothering to ask to be excused.
Tatsuki cleared her throat.
"I'll uh, I'll go talk to them."
"No," Ichigo grumbled. "I'll do it."
*#*#*
The young prince knocked softly on Yuzu's bedroom door. He could hear her muffled sniffling. With a sigh he grasped the door handle and with a push, entered her room.
She was lying face down on her bed, her face in her pillow as her body shook occasionally with her sobs.
"Yuzu… oh Yuzu, I'm sorry," he apologized, standing at the side of her bed.
"Go away," her pillow said. He closed his eyes and sat on the edge, placing his warm hand on her back to calm her crying.
"Will you look at me please? Yuzu?"
"No."
He sighed.
"Okay. It's just that, well, I don't like when you and Karin get involved with my private life. But you do it because you care. So I'm sorry that I upset you at supper, and I want you to know that I'm not going anywhere next Friday."
Her sniffling ceased immediately.
"You're not going to play tennis with Princess Rukia?" she whispered. He smiled, holding back a chuckle.
"No. I just made that up. I don't think Rukia does recreation," he confirmed. Yuzu sat up, hugging her pillow to her chest.
"So you'll go? To the Summer Ball?" she asked, sniffling. Ichigo grinned.
"I don't think I have a choice," he replied. She smiled brightly through her tears and squealed, propelling her body into her brother's lap, enclosing him in a hug.
"Yes! I can't wait!" she exclaimed.
He laughed, returning her hug.
"Neither can I."
That's that! I promise you the next chapter will be up like, in the next three days lmao. I think this will only be two chapters, though I've already written 5,000 words total and I'm not close to the end, so it might be three. Idk, we'll see. And if I don't upload by Saturday, just give me a couple days. I got the inspiration during a really busy week school-wise. I'm supposed to be reading a Greek play right now, lol. But this should definitely be done in the next two weeks. Hope you enjoyed so far!
