This is a Ichigo x Rukia fanfic. I'm sorry, fans of Orihime. If you do not like seeing Orihime as the antagonist, please do not read on. With this advanced warning to O-fans, I hope you'll not flame or spam me for it. Thanks! By the way, this is still a work-in-progress and I've got no idea how's the ending will be like. It can be anything; I'll just go with the flow. I'm still refining Chapter 2, so you can expect it to be out soon. But due to my busy work schedule, it might take a little longer for subsequent chapters to be out. And just to let you know, I'm quite a big procrastinator. Moving on… …
Disclaimer:
It's obligatory, I have to say it (*sobz* to my deepest regret and my utmost reluctance)
"I DO NOT own Bleach and any of its characters"
There, I've said it, so now, let's move on to the story! Enjoy!
Notes:-
** - thoughts
( ) - the person who is having these thoughts
The Darkness Within Me
Chapter 1: The Beginning of Everything, The Start of Transformation
"Everyone has got 2 guardians by their side, the angel & the devil. They are 2 sides of the same coin and no one can run away from either of them. The domineering character at that any point of time will dictate your thoughts and actions for that moment. The more you gave in to the '7 Deadly Sins' the more control the devil has over you. On the other hand, the more the '7 Holy Virtues' you possess, the more inclined to the angel you are.
The devil will try to hold on to you, until the time when you became the devil himself. Only then will he release his hold over you. However, that would be too late as you will be left with nothing. Nothing but a hollow shell… So dear friends, please control the devil residing within you."
"Bravo!! Bravo!!" the whole class screamed and Rukia blushed tomato red.
"It's a classic and educational too. It teaches us the moral of good and evil. No wonder you are named 'Young Writer of the Year' Kuchiki-san. YOU are so damn talented. This will make a memorable grand finale for our annual festival." added Asano Keigo, a fellow classmate in Rukia's class.
"Oh well… The story just sort of pop into my mind, that's all. It's nothing, really. It is just a normal story. I just wrote it for fun and someone entered it on my behalf. I really didn't expect that I'll win. Heh heh... You are exaggerating Asano-san. I'm not that talented, really." says Kuchiki Rukia modestly.
"No need to be so modest Kuchiki-san. It's a fact that your story won by a landslide. Almost all teachers love it and voted for you. As what Asano-san had said, this is educational and we - those who have voted for you - felt that this will teach our youngsters nowadays to behave and be more socially responsible. And look around at your classmate, they are enchanted." says their literature teacher, Ochi-sensei. "Now that we have heard and commented on Kuchiki's story, we'll finalize on the stage play cast then. So now, who would like to volunteer or nominate a classmate? Please raise your hands. Quick! We don't have all day!" she continues.
*Heck. Who says this is a good story? It's boring!! Yawn!! I'm sooo bored to tears. How boring can a person get? To the hell with those guardians, who will believe it anyway? What a laugh!! (Inoue Orihime)*
"Alright! I shall nominate then. I'll say Ichigo be Prince Niji and Kuchiki-san Princess Aoi. Anyone second it?" shouted Keigo from the back of the class and he turned to look at Ichigo, giving him a look that plainly said "Go for it pal. I know you like her alot. Grab the chance that I've created for you."
"WHAT?!?! I OPPOSE!!" exclaimed Kurosaki Ichigo and Rukia, in unison.
"Keigo, stop your brainless joke. If not, I'll twist your neck off. I'll beat the crap out of you. I'll make sure you can't use your mouth for at least 3 months. I'll break your leg. I'll… I'll… I'll do anything just to make sure you can't stand up, ever again! Don't forget, I saved your life, twice at that! I can easily 'claim' it back." continued Ichigo fiercely.
"Now now Kurosaki-san. Don't get too violent. Princes, after all, are supposed to be gentle and caring towards their princess (looks at Rukia) and affable to their mates. And Asano-san, that's a really good idea. You might be poor in your studies but no doubt your ideas are certainly the best." says Ochi-sensei, smilingly.
"Haha... Thank you ma'am! I'm honored that you find my ideas brilliant. I just thought that since it's Kuchiki-san's story, she should be the lead. And I think Ichigo will suit her best as the prince. And since they are best of pals I'm sure they'll have the spark, acting as a couple on the verge of separation caused by the repulsive, vile, devious maid of hers." replied Keigo cheekily, slowly turning towards Ichigo and Rukia, only to find them glowering at him.
Noticing Rukia's and Ichigo's expressions, Ochi-sensei added: "So I'll put Kuchiki-san and Kurosaki-san to be the princess and prince respectively. Any objections, other than from those two? No? Cool!"
"And NO BUTS, both of you. I - we as a class - have already decided. I want to hear no more comments from you two. Objections from you will not be entertained." she added hastily, foreseeing resistance from both Ichigo and Rukia.
*What?!?! They are going to play the couple?!?! NO WAY!! I can't believe Ochi-sensei listened to that birdbrain Asano-kun. How dare he ruin things for me?? I have wanted the part of the princess and Kurosaki-kun to be the prince so I that can be close to him. And besides, I'm way way better looking than that plain Jane. AND it's ME, ME with GREATEST ASSET in the whole class. Anyone can see it. In what way can that flat chest midget compare with me? It's SO obvious! I'm much prettier and taller. Kurosaki-kun is so tall! He needs a taller princess to complement him. If not, the play will just be a flop due to the casting of an ugly midget as the princess. Yes! I'll reason with sensei using the difference in height. Hehehehe… (Orihime)*
So, raising her hands, Orihime started: "Erm… Ma'am, 'cuse me… Erm… I just wanted to say I d-…" but she was cut off by Ochi-sensei. "Oh, Inoue-san, you wanted to support my decision, isn't it? It's an excellent idea to cast Kuchiki-san and Kurosaki-san as the princess and the prince, right? Right?"
"Oh... Erm... Well... Ahh… Yea, that's right. I seconded your decision." teeth gritting tightly, saying unwillingly as Orihime notices that everyone had turned to looked at her, and she does not want to draw too much attention to her obsession over Ichigo.
"But ma'am, no matter what you say and who supported it, I wrote this story so I get to choose whether I want to play part in this school play or not, isn't it? And besides, I can't act, at all. I'm not an actress. I'll get stage fright and ruin the whole festival. If I were to choose, I want to be the scriptwriter and the overall director. After all, I wrote the story, so who knows it better than me to be the director? I want to work behind-the-scene, not in front of the curtains. So please, reconsider. Get somebody better, maybe someone like Inoue-san who is pretty, talented, popular and all." pleaded Rukia desperately.
*How fake can she be? How could she be so nice? She just wanna use me to get out of acting. And fancy her saying that she's not an actress. From the way she speaks, I'm sure that she aced her drama classes in her fancy world of Soul Society (Orihime)*
"Ma'am, I can't agree more with Rukia. She should get to choose. As for myself, I think you should get someone who looks more normal. Me, with my orange hair, do you want to ruin the show and Rukia's fantastic story? People shunned me because I looked different with my orange hair. They beat me up because of it. People hate anything that is different and I'm sure they will boycott the play if they find out that I'm the lead actor. So you REALLY have to reconsider!! We can't risk that!" Ichigo argued.
"Yes, yes. I agreed with Ichigo. Please replace the both of us." Rukia cajoled.
*He called her Rukia and she called him Ichigo?! Without honorifics at that. Are they REALLY that close? What kind of relationship does those two have? (Orihime)*
"STOP IT! Both of you! I have had enough of your arguing. You are getting on my nerves. I said I have already decided. So I want to hear no more from you two. UNDERSTAND?!?! You are good, Kuchiki-san. Don't belittle yourself. I'll let you be the director on top of being the lead actress. And I'm not afraid of your orange hair, Kurosaki-san. I'll think of something. I want the both of you in the play and THAT'S IT! PERIOD! Homeroom's ending in 10 minutes. We need to get the rest of the cast in order now!" says Ochi-sensei, now angry.
Subdued, with nothing more to say, both Rukia and Ichigo, looked at each other, defeated. They have to be resigned to their fate and act as THE couple. They can't argue anymore as Ochi-sensei is scary when she gets really angry and they don't want to be the source of her anger. And so the lesson continues with Ochi-sensei choosing the rest of the cast as follows:-
Ishida Uryu - lightning mage, King ShiKuro of the Murasaki Kingdom (father of Princess Aoi); in charge of designing and production of the costumes as well
Yasutora Sado - Midi, protector of Princess Aoi, powerful ancient shape shifting tree sage
Asano Keigo - Prince Niji's faithful Jack Russell Terrier by the name "Charpies"
Kojima Mizuiro - elder brother to Princess Aoi (Prince Aka)
Arisawa Tatsuki / Honsho Chizuru / Ogawa Michiru / Kunieda Ryo / Natsui Mahana - fortune-telling gypsies, traveling actresses
AND as if fated or ill-fate more like, Orihime ended up being Princess Aoi's pretty personal caretaker. The one secretly in love with Prince Niji…
That's it for Chapter 1. hope you like it. pls review ya!
And before I forget, I have based the names of the terrains & characters in Rukia's story/play on colors:-
Murasaki- Purple; Aoi - Blue; Aka - Red; ShiKuro - a combi of white (shiro) & black (kuro); Niji - rainbow; Midi - short for midori (green)