Notes- There are definitely spoilers in this if you don't already know the things that happened during the Soul Society Arc. Also, a reviewer pointed out something about the lack of honorifics in this fic. Thanks for reminding me about that... I should probably let you all know...that the reason why the characters say "Uryuu" instead of "Ishida-kun", or "Ichigo" instead of "Kurosaki-kun", is because--for the most part--I read the professionally published English version of the manga, not the Japanese anime or the unofficially translated online versions of the manga. In the official manga, there are no honorifics or anything...so that's why I don't have any. I just wanted to clear that up...
Disclaimer- I do not own Bleach or the characters in it. Tite Kubo owns both Bleach (the manga, not the chemical, people) and the italicized poem within this chapter.
Please, enjoy.
Dedication-Brie, for beta-ing this. Thanks!
"A Reflection"
->->-
We will not stop walking,
Though the path may eventually fork.
->->-
The young woman glanced upward at the soul reaper before her, watching as a whistling stream of air swept through the street and ruffled both his shihakushō uniform and his peculiar strawberry-colored hair. As the 15-year-old shinigami harrumphed and put away his zanpakutō, Orihime could not help but to admire the proud, determined expression that had appeared on his features the second he had finished defeating the Hollow.
He rested his hands on top of his head and drew nearer to Chad, Uryū, and her. "You guys didn't need to come, you know," he said coolly, a smirk emerging on his face. "Won't you get in trouble for skipping class?"
—Who is Ichigo Kurosaki?—
Orihime exchanged glances with Chad before shrugging and saying, "Well, yeah..." She beamed. "But we really wanted to see what it was like to ditch school for once! Right, Chad?"
Awkwardly, at first "……" was the only response. Then, the man glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and said, "Right."
Orihime laughed. "We'll get in trouble," she said, smiling, "but…watching you fight is always so exciting! And if you need it, we can help you!"
But the Quincy beside her merely sighed and lightly pushed the rim of his glasses so that they were positioned farther up the tip of his nose. His eyes were half-lidded, showing obvious impassiveness, but the amused smirk on his face said differently.
"I don't know…" Uryū muttered. "Still seems like I've seen small rodents with better Hollow-banishing skills than you."
->->-
It turns without stopping.
And we never stop either.
->->-
Ichigo whipped out his zanpakutō once more and brandished it threateningly. "What was that you said?!"
—Who is Ichigo Kurosaki, you ask?—
Orihime quickly stepped in between the two of them, holding up her index finger importantly as if to make a key point.
"Uryuuuuuuuu!" she moaned. "We must be nice- !"
But she was trampled over, as an angry Ichigo began to chase the Quincy up and down the street, shouting, "I'LL BEAT YOUR ASS!", "YOU HAVEN'T CHANGED ONE BIT!", "YOU'RE WORSE THAN KON!" and "IF I EVER CATCH UP TO YOU, I SWEAR I'LL—"
Chad frowned, stuck out his foot, and tripped the both of them.
The man calmly walked forward, grabbed the two twitching lumps on the ground, tranquilly placed them in proper standing positions, and murmured, "Maybe you two should calm down."
Orihime, after having recovered from the sudden stampede, giggled quietly to herself.
->->-
But when the time comes…
When we learn fear, and look back…
Could we call that fate?
->->-
—You still want to know?—
Lately there had been a sort of connection amongst the four of them. Saving Rukia from her sentence at the Soul Society had forced them to constantly support one another and watch one another's backs…. They had had to be there for each other, because if one person's life was in danger—all of their lives were in danger. It had been an "all or nothing" situation.
But…through the 'rain' and the 'storms…' She looked downward, smiling in remembrance of all that they had been through in the past few days. …we still emerged—dry.
Orihime looked up at the young soul reaper before her, a suddenly grave look appearing on her face. Furrowing his brow, Ichigo scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and said, "Huh? What is it, Orihime?"
The other two were staring at her strangely as well.
"Um..." She swallowed tentatively."I- Ichigo, I was wondering…. What happened when you saved her?" When the others merely stared at her uncomprehendingly, she continued, "Rukia, that is…. I mean…how were you able to do it? How were you able to improve that much?"
She had been wondering it for a while. Orihime had always known him to have an extraordinarily strong will and heart, but to be able to overcome so many soul reapers at once seemed like a miracle. Could it truly have just been… luck?
Or…is there more? As she thought more about it, she realized there must have been a special relationship between him and Rukia—or else he would not have been able to do it. She knew that Rukia had changed his life, and that Ichigo had wanted to repay her for that. She also knew that earlier in the week she had told Rukia that it was too bad she didn't have feelings for Ichigo…because if she did, then it would be two girls against one boy, and the two of them would have a better chance winning against him.
It seemed perfectly logical.
But…now that she thought about it, perhaps Ichigo truly did have feelings for Rukia Kuchiki. Orihime knew the question she really wanted to ask, but she would never have the audacity to utter it aloud: If I were to leave…would you come to save me, too?
->->-
And we begin to walk the same path…
->->-
Ichigo shrugged. "I…never really thought about it, but I guess I was just… determined," he replied. "Ms. Yoruichi trained me to use bankai, and I was able to stop the Soukyoku…" He paused. "It was…a bit of a long story."
Orihime looked from Chad to Uryū, and they both nodded.
"We...have time."
---
'So...this is the end?'
Rukia looked up at the Kikou, the mass of flames in the shape of an enormous bird, her heart beginning to thump mercilessly on her chest, pounding like the beat of a drum.
Small beads of sweat formed on her face, dripping down the sides of her cheeks—but she was unable to do anything about it. The ex-soul reaper thought of all the decent people she had met in her lifetime: Renji, Byakuya…
… and then there was Ichigo.
All three of them had changed her life, and she was grateful for all of the good times they had brought. As the execution mechanism gradually lifted her into the air, the only thing she could think was…
'…I'm content with it all.'
She closed her eyelids, allowing herself to feel truly liberated for the first and last time in her life, as the Kikou burst forward.
But something was wrong.
There had been an audible gasp in the crowd below her; apparently something significant was occurring. Ignoring it, the woman continued to wait as patiently as possible for her last moment to come—but it had been several seconds, and still nothing was occurring. Frowning slightly, she opened one eye to see an image of a man in a shihakushō with strawberry-colored hair grinning back at her, clutching his zanpakutō in a familiar manner. Gradually opening her other eye, she took a closer look—and gaped.
It was…Ichigo.
— That is Ichigo Kurosaki. —
---
Orihime nodded. I think I understand it now… she thought.
It doesn't matter whether he has feelings for her or not…
It was still…the right thing to do.
The girl smiled to herself. Ichigo… He was something different. When he said he would do something, he would do it. There was no question about it. Orihime understood that and liked that about him. He was…strong, inside and out.
Why couldn't she be like that?
Orihime walked a few paces to the nearest store on the edge of the street, and faced its window. She was not looking into it—but she was staring pensively at the reflection that she saw in it. A young woman dressed in her appropriate school attire stared back at her with large, almost tearful eyes, as her orange-brown hair blew to the side by the wind. Orihime had heard many people tell it to her before, but for the first time, she truly realized…she was absolutely beautiful.
…and she couldn't stand it.
She had been spending far too much time making herself pretty with her attractive clothing and the oh-so cute little flower that she spent all that time tucking into her hair every morning. She had been so busy making herself cute for the males—or, just Ichigo, she realized—that she had never practiced using the Shun Shun Rikka, or anything else.
And yet, she realized, she had wondered why she had been so useless in the Soul Society.
She had traveled all the way there so that she could help save Rukia and help support Ichigo by constantly having his back and maybe even try to protect him from harm. And what? She had done nothing. Nothing… she echoed internally, shaking her head. I went so I could protect him…
…but I ended up needing the protection…
And, to her, the truth of the matter was, she did not help save Rukia at all.
The girl recalled what had happened when she had fired Tsubaki at a particular enemy in the Soul Society… In the end, she was the one who had been damaged, not him; Uryū had been the one to step in and protect her, not the opposite.
"I wish I could've…been of use…" she murmured to herself quietly.
But apparently the others could hear her, for Uryū exclaimed, "What?! What are you talking about? You were great! You saved our butts when that seimichio almost destroyed us all when we first arrived!"
"Oh…" Surprised that she had been heard, the young woman forced a grin, and said, "Thanks!!"Thanks, Uryū… Within moments the grin had faded, and she was locked in her own thoughts again. …but I don't think so.
->->-
That is why we won't stop walking,
Though the road may eventually fork.
->->-
The girl imagined how Rukia must have felt when she saw Ichigo standing before her, ready to save her from the most physically painful death known to any of the soul reapers.
She wanted to save Ichigo like that one day. She wanted…to be needed.
->->-
We won't stop walking...
Even though the road…
…may eventually end.
->->-
And she would be, she decided. She would fight so that she could become more powerful, so that she could one day protect Ichigo like he protected Rukia.
So, she thought sadly, I guess the real question here is…
—…Who is Orihime Inoue?—