Circumstance: A Coincidental Fairytale

Disclaimer: Bleach… oh, yeah. I own it. It's in a little bottle in the laundry room.

Word Count: About 970 (I keep lying. Deal with it.)

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Chapter 1: White Horse, Stray Dog

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"No."

The salesman inclined his head sharply.

"Why not?"

"I want a black horse, Mr. Zangetsu. A white horse would destroy my image," Ichigo said, annoyed.

"You have no image," Zangetsu scolded. "That is why you're buying a horse to begin with."

A large man standing next to Ichigo peered at him through his messy black hair.

"He's right, Ichigo."

"Shut up, Chad."

Chad shrugged. He didn't speak much anyway.

Ichigo glared at the salesman. The salesman glared back.

"Listen," Zangetsu sighed. "Why do you need a horse, then? It isn't for image, is it?"

"It's not," Ichigo replied curtly. "I told you – I have to rescue a princess. She's trapped in Huceo Mundo – you know, that church-palace thing by the shore."

Zangetsu nodded sagely.

"Church-palace thing… highly descriptive."

"Shut up, old man. You know what I'm talking about. We're too far inland, and I want to shorten my trip. Without a horse, it would be an even bigger ass-pain."

The old man shook his head.

"Either way," he said simply, "you aren't buying for image. So just take the white horse."

"No way."

Zangetsu shook his head again.

"Listen," he said. "Why do you want a black horse, anyway?"

"White horses are lame," Ichigo snorted. "Can you imagine? I'd rescue this princess on a white horse. She would never respect me."

Zangetsu paused.

"Yes," he mused, "it is true that Prince Charmings are out of fashion this year. There seems to be less and less these days. I suppose girls want the angsty, brooding type that writes horrible music and even worse lyrics."

"I'm not a musician. I'm a knight."

"Well, that's very charming."

"Yes it – hey!"

Ichigo's cheeks flushed to a dark red color, reminding Zangetsu of a strawberry and an orange. If he saw grapes, he'd lose his customer.

Take the tactful route.

"Do you really need to impress this girl? I thought you just wanted to save her. That's impressive enough, isn't it?"

Silence.

"Ah. Sex appeal."

More silence.

"Well, you do have an awfully big sword."

Chad coughed.

"I'm buying a horse someplace else."

Zangetsu sighed. So much for tactful.

"Please don't."

"Look," Ichigo said, "I need to rescue this Inoue Orihime girl. She's the princess of Karakura. That's a two week journey across the sea from the mainland. I don't need to waste my time chatting away with a sleazy salesperson like you. I want a black horse. A horse. A horse that is black."

Zangetsu shook his head again. He was beginning to get a headache from that.

"Seems that you are on an important mission at least. Almost like you need some kind of magical tools."

"Like what?"

"Like a talking sword or something."

"There's no such thing as talking swords."

"Ah."

Ichigo shrugged and said, "There is no magic or spirits or fate in this world. Nothing paves my destiny but me. I believe that with all my heart. Now, give me a horse! It doesn't even have to be black. Just anything but pure white."

Zangetsu winced.

"I only have a white horse."

Ichigo said nothing. Zangetsu said nothing.

"Looks like you're fated to play Prince Charming."

"Shut up, Chad."

Chad shrugged. He didn't talk much, anyway.

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"It's so sunny today," she said as the breeze tumbled through her hair. She and her companion stood on the dock.

"Well, there are a few clouds," he replied.

She nodded.

"That's true."

He looked at the girl who looked at the sun.

"Listen… Rukia… Kuchiki Rukia, I-"

"What is it, Renji?" she asked. "Do you want to tell me that I'm incompetent for this task?"

"N-no-"

"I'm just visiting for a few weeks," she said. "That's all. Just maintaining relations. It's so easy that it's almost insulting."

His eyes turned to the ground.

"I didn't mean to insult you."

She turned to him.

"I'm just going to miss you," he said, half mockingly, all tenderly. "Miss Ambassador. Staying at Huceo Mundo all alone."

She laughed. He laughed.

"This is my first time off Soul Society Island," she said. Her gaze softened. "I'm so happy."

He patted her head.

"Then, go."

She fell into his arms and felt his warmth. She didn't hug very often, but she'd regret it if she missed this chance.

"You know the way?" he asked as he let her go.

"Just follow the road," she replied. "After all, all paths lead to Huceo Mundo."

Indeed, Kuchiki. They really do.

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Orihime looked around her new room, quite a chance from her earlier compartment. It was elegantly furnished with large windows overlooking the sea and large balconies that basked in the breeze.

She wanted to cry. Trapped in Paradise.

Sucks to get royal treatment, huh?

She looked at the scary boy in her room, a little boy with blonde hair and freckles and wide-set eyes. The other people had told her that he was harmless and innocent.

Orihime thought he was creepy.

"What's your name?" she asked tentatively, not moving from her bed.

"Wonderwyce," he mumbled. His voice was soft and sweet, and Orihime felt her fears melt away.

"Wonderwyce," she began. "Do you know who I am?"

He didn't respond.

"Well," she continued, smiling, "I'm a princess. I'm Princess Orihime. But you should just call me Orihime. Being a princess is way too stuffy!"

Wonderwyce tilted his head.

Orihime giggled.

"You have to have proper etiquette, you have to be good at ordering people around, and you have to wear stiff clothing all the time!" she chirped. "It's not that bad. But I've been captured because I'm a princess."

She smiled sadly.

"My friends are probably worried about me," she said softly.

Wonderwyce stayed still.

"But there is one good thing about being a princess," she noted. "You know what it is?"

He crawled onto her bed. She stroked the wisps of hair out of his eyes.

"I'm going to be rescued by a prince. A prince on a white horse."

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AN: Please don't tell me about the length. All I can promise is that chapters will be less than a thousand words because, to be honest, that's too much to read, especially with a lot of banter going back and forth (when Ichigo and Rukia begin interacting around chapter five, it's gonna be editing hell). Yeah… anyway, this is the tone that most of the story will have. Sort of blah and sort of lighthearted at the same time. It should be about eighteen chapters (that's what the draft says anyway).

The reason the Ichigo/Zangetsu conversation went on so long is because I wanted to establish the basics of Ichigo's mission. It was kind of unclear. But now, it should be sort of making sense. Though what does it Ichigo owe? Sorry - that's a secret!

Also, look out for cameos of your favorite characters. The main characters are Ichigo, Rukia, Orihime, Ishida, and Ulquiorra. Renji stars at the end (if I follow my draft, but remember - I'm a liar through and through). But I'll try to get in as many as possible. It makes me happy to see a favorite minor character in a fic. :D

To everyone who reviewed, you guys all really touched my heart (hello, corny, but it is true). 'Interesting' and my anonymous reviewer called it 'cute'… exactly what I was aiming for! Gee, you guys psychic or something?

I admit that reviews make me feel as if my birthday comes early… which is pretty sweet. But I will update even if I get no reviews (they might come a bit slower, though, sorry). I don't believe in writing a story for only reviews (to people who do: that's cool, too), but they really do encourage, I would say, most writers.

So, next chapter – coming up ASAP! (It's actually already written.)