Someone Like You

She was nice.

Yukio wasn't sure what else about that strange human girl struck an empathetic chord within him. He certainly wasn't romantically attracted to her. Sure she was pretty, on par with Riruka, but that was never a factor.

Grinding the heels of his hands into his tired eyes, slightly crusty from gazing at a computer monitor to rebuild his empire again, he took the opportunity to lean back and rest his aching neck on the back of the rolling office chair he'd palmed for his current temporary base.

She had been polite.

"I want to ask for a chair too please!" Those were her exact words. And it was actually quite nice to hear such courtesy. He had been a little surprised but hoped it was masked then by a façade of contemplation. He had teased Riruka about learning some manners from her.

"You should learn to ask nicely like her, Riruka. It's a perfect opportunity!"

It wasn't easy dealing with the Xcution group. They had been unified by their Fullbrings against the world but at the same time, there was never full cohesion within their ranks. Jackie, for one, never wanted her Fullbring. Riruka was plagued by guilty memories, hid behind a façade of cuteness and a rattling energy of criticism. And Yukio himself…

He wondered if he had met people like Kurosaki Ichigo and Inoue Orihime earlier, if he might have turned towards a different route…one not based on revenge. He had told the creepy white-haired captain from Soul Society that he had no regrets about stealing money from his father's corporation, inducing his parents to commit suicide. They deserved it for abandoning him. And yet…

Always that niggling factor of what if, potential paths he might have taken instead if his parents had been more caring, had paid more attention to him, had accepted him as he is…was nice and polite to him. Yukio wonders if he might not have nursed such a bile-scouring loathing and a grudge.

I peer through windows,
Watch life go by,
Dream of tomorrow,
And wonder "why"?

The past is holding me,
Keeping life at bay,
I wander lost in yesterday,
Wanting to fly -
But scared to try.

But if someone like you
Found someone like me,
Then suddenly
Nothing would ever be the same!

My heart would take wing,
And I'd feel so alive -
If someone like you
Found me!

So many secrets
I've longed to share!
All I have needed
Is someone there,

To help me see a world
I've never seen before –

It meant a lot to him, more than he initially thought, that someone would ask instead of demand, thank instead of taking his work for granted. Hey, don't think it was easy for him to build that safe house for the girl including a bed, a sink, pajamas, and a digital hot dog for breakfast to boot! That effort required extra points via his other video games. But she had been polite and acted normal towards him.

So when Yukio had to imprison her in that silent cage to halt her from going to a blinded Kurosaki's aid, he had acted quite uncharacteristically.

"Sorry…but I can't hear you."

What he didn't say was that she would be safe that cage-house, his sphere of influence where he could control all the variables, where he had absolute control.

But still…

Maybe one day he'll have a chance to apologise to her. He wonders if she even remembers him since Tsukishima's death erased her memories while she and Chad were under the latter's control.

After all, Yukio didn't have a plan. Sure he was putting his talent to good use and securing funds to eventually rebuild their group, but he still wasn't sure what his plan was, what to do with himself actually.

But maybe that's alright…not knowing what to do with himself.

Heaving a light sigh, he went back to his computer monitor.

A/N Just a light drabble about Orihime's interaction with an Xcution member. The lyrics are from the musical Jekyll and Hyde, song: "Someone like you".

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Cheers,

Checkmate