Orihime Inoue walked along the carefully and wonderfully tended garden quietly, allowing the fresh smells of the roses and lilies waft gently around her. She inhaled deeply, letting the lovely aromas sink in before exhaling slowly. She looked at her surroundings calmly as she did this. It was early in the morning, and judging by the cool humid air and the dew drops on the flowers, it had previously rained last night. Orihime smiled.
'I love mornings like this,' she thought. It was true, she loved the fresh air along the palace's garden, it was one of her favorites places to be in. It was also the same place where she met Kurosaki-kun..
It was at night, when she was 9 years old. She had gone through an argument with her father, Keiji-dono. She was set out on running away. Ever since Sora died, she'd been miserable without his company. He was the only one that made her feel better, and the only one she ran to when she felt sad. Her father, Lord Inoue, was a good father, but very strict. He was also rather unemotional at times. There would be times when Orihime thought he wasn't human.
The argument had been a sever one. It had been about Sora, and unfortunately it was still a tender subject for the both of them. After all, without a son, and without his queen, how would Keiji Inoue die in peace without a new king to succeed his throne? To rule over Karakura?
Orihime was too frustrated at the time, so she foolishly thought about running away. She began running, but she had only made it as far as to the garden when she heard crying. Curious, she decided to investigate. Looking around for a bit, she finally found the source of the sobbing. Behind some bushes, there was a boy about her age openly crying, his head buried in his hands. He had the same brilliant orange hair that Orihime had. Intrigued, Orihime approached the boy.
"Wh-Why are you crying?" she stammered, inching closer to him. She sat down next to him when he didn't reply, he kept on crying. Somehow, Orihime understood his pain. There would be times when she would be alone like this, crying her heart out for Sora and her mother and anything that she felt sad about. And it was during these times of emotion that she desired someone to comfort her more than anything. Yes, she knew the boy's pain very well. She decided to tell this to him.
"You.. you know.. I understand how you feel," she said slowly and uncertainly, resting her hand hesitantly on his shoulder. "When my brother died, I really didn't know what to do. I was filled with so much.. so much guilt, because he died when I was angry at him." she revealed, her eyes starting to itch with tears. It's okay to cry, she thought. It's okay.
Just then the boy with the orange hair looked up at her, his face slightly red, and with tears marked on his face. His brown eyes and his nose were puffy. He wiped his nose with his sleeve.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I know how you feel too. My mother died a week ago. And.." his voice quivered. More tears began to spill. Orihime has never seen a boy cry. The only way she knew how to handle sadness and tears was..
She instinctively hugged him. Hugs always made her feel better.. Sora always hugged her when she was sad..
"It's okay to cry." she said, beginning to cry herself. They stayed like this for awhile, and after they eventually calmed down and the tears dried up, they introduced each other.
"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki." the boy said, smiling gently. "What's your name?"
"I.. I'm Orihime Inoue. Nice to meet you, Kurosaki-kun..." Ichigo's eyes widened when she revealed her name.
"No way! You're a princess! Aren't you supposed to be in the palace?" he asked curiously. Orihime turned red. She had almost forgotten she was supposed to run away..
"Well, yes.. I guess I should return soon. We'll be friends though, right?" she smiled. He nodded, returning the warm smile. They would always be good friends after that..
"Orihime...! Orihime! Keiji-dono wishes to speak with you!" Tatsuki called out to her. Why did she sound so far away?
Orihime snapped back to reality, and saw Tatsuki looking at her, slightly annoyed. She came over to Orihime and patted her on the head, as Orihime giggled, embarrassed. Tatsuki was the only servant that Orihime considered a true friend, and felt comfortable around. She was also the only servant who didn't address her as "Orihime-sama," but Orihime really didn't mind at all. In fact, she encouraged Tatsuki to call her Hime-chan. 'Oh! Or Champion! That would be nice..'
"Aiya, are you daydreaming again? It's too early for this.." Tatsuki complained, dragging Orihime back into the palace via the servant's kitchen while Orihime had a blissful look on her face. Even though Orihime was an elegant and beautiful princess, she was still such an airhead. At times, Tatsuki could swear Orihime acted like such a school girl.
Tatsuki lead Orihime through the servant's kitchen (of which Orihime dutifully began bubbling over the smell of today's breakfast, and suggesting colorful dish ideas, none of which appealed to Tatsuki), through the servant's hall, out of the servant's quarters, and into the main hall, which held a grand staircase leading towards two different areas of the palace, one of them going to Keiji-dono's study and the royal family's chambers. Tatsuki wondered what he had to speak with Orihime about. In truth, Orihime had just turned 17 a week ago on September 3rd, and Tatsuki had a bad feeling that it was something important. She hoped it didn't have anything to do with...
"Tatsuki-chan! I can walk on my own now, I'm not day dreaming anymore!" Orihime tried to struggle from Tatsuki's grip furiously.
"Alright, alright, I'll let you down." Tatsuki promptly let her loose, leaving Orihime looking flustered.
"So, what does Otou-sama want with me?" Orihime asked curiously. Usually her father didn't ask for her, only if she were required to be present in front of nobility. Especially for royal balls, dinners, and the like. It was very unlike him.
"I'm not sure, but Inoue-dono said it's urgent, and that he needs to speak with you immediately." Tatsuki said, taking a more serious tone. Orihime nodded firmly.
"Okay. I'll hang out with you after I'm done, okay?" Orihime assured her. Tatsuki simply smiled and nodded, then went off to fulfill other duties.
'Okay, here we go..' Orihime braced herself, and went in her father's study to see what the Lord of Karakura needed to speak to her about.
Orihime walked inside her father's study cautiously, peeking her head in a bit. "Otou-sama, I've been informed you needed to speak to me?"
"Yes, child, come in and sit. There are things I need to talk to you about. Personal, and political things." her father sat on his chair, weary eyed in front of her, a stack of papers and things piled up messily on his desk. He looked as if he hadn't slept in a long time. His brown hair looked messy, and his eyes were a bit red.
'What do his political problems have anything to do with me? I have a bad feeling about this..'
Orihime sat down timidly on the chair in front of his desk, and observed her father. She figured that this was important, yes, but how did it relate to her?
Her father gazed at her.
"Your mother was so beautiful. When she passed away, I still had hope that Sora would regain our kingdom one day. But now that he's left us, you're the only one that can mend things, Orihime." he said, firmly.
"Wh-what do you mean, Otou-sama?" Orihime asked, confused.
"You are now of age to be wedded to a potential suitor. One of these suitors lives in Gotei, the kingdom nearest here. We haven't had any form of alliance with them, so to prevent war, I think it'd be best to form an alliance with marriage. I've already sent a messenger to the kingdom of Gotei a week ago on your birthday to inform them of this, and I just received a message that you are to be wed next week."
Orihime took this all in, or at least tried to take it all in, all the while feeling shocked, stunned, and terrified. She was not ready for this. She has feelings for Kurosaki-kun.. and besides she really did not feel ready to marry any time soon, especially to someone she did not know.
"Otou-sama.. I'm sorry, but I can't do it. Can you give me some time to think about it?" she mumbled meekly, knowing full well it wasn't up to her, but for the peace and order of the country. It was her fate, after all..
He glared at her in response, and her suspicions were confirmed. She had no say in the matter. This was really it.
"I expect you to get ready for the journey by tomorrow." he waved at her dismissively. She got up, feeling a surge of so many emotions. None of them good. Her father was always so cold..
She left the room, starting to cry, and began to run to the only person who could comfort her.
.oOo.
"Are you serious?" Tatsuki exclaimed as Orihime told her everything her father had declared as she began to cry in Tatsuki's arms.
Orihime nodded, still shaken. 'To think that I'll never be able to see my friends again.. Tatsuki-chan.. Sado-kun.. Ishida-kun.. Chizuru-chan.. Kuchiki-san.. and especially Kurosaki-kun..'
Orihime looked at Tatsuki. She seemed to be deep in thought. After a while, Tatsuki spoke up.
"I know it's difficult to say this, Orihime.. but I don't think it will be so bad. Besides, I'll come visit you!" she said, smiling sadly. "I promise. We'll all come visit you."
Seeing how supportive Tatsuki was really made feel Orihime feel good. Her friends will always be there for her in times of trouble. 'I just wished it didn't have to end like this.. What if my arranged husband is ugly? Or if he doesn't like my cooking? Or.. Or..'
Tatsuki watched Orihime think. She felt really bad about all of this, but it would be for the best.
"Ah! Watch out, Champion! I mean, me! He has a gun! Take that!" Orihime blurted, obviously day dreaming about random things. Tatsuki sighed. Even when given a serious ultimatum, she still acted like a goofball. 'She'll be alright, I guess..' Tatsuki thought. 'She's a strong girl.'
Tatsuki took Orihime to Karakura Town, so that she could tell the news herself to her friends. They reacted mostly in the same way Tatsuki did when she told her.
"Inoue-sama. Don't worry about it. It's just a political marriage. I'm sure they'll let you come back to Karakura after the wedding." Uryuu Ishida assured her. Rukia Kuchiki nodded, smiling.
Rukia Kuchiki was actually from the Gotei Kingdom, who came from a noble clan, so she would know about these things. She actually already knew about the arranged marriage, although she didn't know who exactly Orihime was being married to.
"Orihime..san." Ichigo spoke. During the conversation Ichigo had been quiet. "Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime inquired. He seemed to be deep in thought.
"If anything bad happens, we'll protect you. We're your friends." he said, firmly.
"O-okay.." she said, looking down, blushing slightly. Until recently, she had begun having feelings for him. But she knew he didn't feel the same. She knew he felt something for someone else, or no one at all. In fact, he didn't seem to have any romantic interest in anyone.
She remembered the time when she was in Karakura Town one night, ready to go home after a day of spending time with her close friends. She remembered someone try to assault her, and they saved her. Ichigo, Rukia, Ishida, and Sado. She felt extremely grateful. There were many more times that they had saved her, so many times that she decided it would be best not to think about them anymore. For once, she wanted to protect them. If but a little, she wanted to protect them.
Orihime Inoue made her way back to the palace after she bid her farewells to her beloved friends, and packed her most treasured things, ready to go to an unfamiliar place to sacrifice herself, for the sake of peace and order of her father's kingdom.
Author's note: Thank you for reading my first story. If you're wondering, YES, this is an UlquiHime fan fiction. Ulquiorra won't appear too soon though. Also, Orihime's 'father' is named Keiji Inoue, not to be confused with Keigo, because I looked up the name and saw that it meant 'cautious ruler' and thought that it was an appropiate name. I made this story intending it to be an AU, but at the same time, with a similar plot. Aren't I awesome? And the Kingdom of 'Gotei' is obviously Gotei 13, Soul Society but the Kingdom of Soul Society doesn't really sound fitting, and so I made it simply Gotei. Please review? c: