Her Turn

Summary: This time, she would save him. No matter the costs.

xoxoxo

2

Sachiko Fujiwara gulped as she stared at the ominous black door a few feet in front of her. She took a nervous step forwards and then recoiled in fear, sensing the overbearing reiatsu that was waiting for her behind the door. A soft whimper fell from her pursed lips, why on earth had she volunteered for this again?

Right.

She wanted a promotion.

Being a member of the 4th squad was hard enough. None of the other squads took them seriously, despite the fact that they were the ones who saved their lives on multiple occasions, and Sachiko was ashamed to say that the bullying didn't stop outside of the 4th. If you weren't a powerful member, recognised by the Captain, then you simply got no attention within the squad. It was like they were simply cannon fodder. And Sachiko was tired of it. She didn't spend hours and hours on end with her nose buried in textbooks whilst her classmates were out partying and having fun at the Academy, only for her to be brushed to the side when push came to shove.

So, when Sachiko had overheard a few of the higher up members murmuring about a high profile criminal who would be brought in soon and who would probably need medical attention, she decided to take the chance and immediately ran to Lieutenant Kotetsu and volunteered herself for the job.

Now, she realised in hindsight, she probably should have listened to her lieutenant when she tried to talk her out of the job.

"It's not that I don't trust you…um…"

"12th seat, Sachiko Fujiwara."

"Yes, Fujiwara-san, but well…I've worked with the man before and…well, to put it bluntly, he can be very difficult. And considering the circumstances, I'd say his temper isn't going to be very contained. I'd rather assign someone else to the-"

But Sachiko had cut her off and all but begged for the chance. It had taken a lot of coaxing, but eventually she wore her down and Isane agreed to let her heal the criminal when he was brought in.

She ran a nervous hand through her short mousy hair, before inhaling deeply and taken that all important step forward towards the door.

xoxoxo

He didn't bother to mask his scowl as he gently rubbed the sore areas around his wrists where the kido bindings had squeezed too tightly. Once Renji and the others had all entered the senkai gate and it had shut firmly behind them, Byakuya had ordered that they keep conversation with him to a minimum.

"Abandon all your feelings of friendship, he is to be treated as an extremely dangerous criminal".

Ichigo swore loudly as he recalled Byakuya's emotionless words. He knew that he wasn't Byakuya's favourite person in the world, but he would have been lying if he didn't say that he had expected better treatment from the man. It hurt him, he realised, to see his Shinigami friends turn on him just like that. They had stood side by side throughout numerous battles, as comrades in arms. Hadn't he proved his loyalty to Soul Society with his help in the defeat of Aizen? Did that not count for anything?

He ran a stressed hand through his tousled hair, wincing slightly as his still open wounds stretched with every slight movement.

The pain was nothing compared to what he'd been through since becoming a substitute Shinigami, but it was extremely irritating and stung like a bitch. As soon as they arrived in Soul Society, his impromptu guards took him straight to some sort of holding room that they seemed to have already prepared for him. Once he reluctantly allowed them to guide him into the room, Rangiku and Hitsuguya left, both of them inclining their heads in what he assumed was apology as they left.

"You are to wait here until a member of the Royal Guard arrives to begin your interrogation. A member of the 4th will be here soon to tend to your wounds."

Byakuya had said in the same emotionless voice he'd been using since detaining him. After that he had turned swiftly on his heel and left the room, motioning for both Rukia and Renji to follow him. They both looked at him with guilty eyes before sighing and following Byakuya out of the room.

The sound of the lock on the door being clicked into place made him feel sick.

This was real, this wasn't some sort of messed up joke.

They actually thoughthe killed someone.

With a heavy sigh, he settled himself down on the small bed that had been set up in the room. His eyes narrowed suspiciously as he stared around the room. From his general knowledge from previous visits to Soul Society, he figured that he had been placed in a spare room in one of the barracks. The room was pretty basic, there was a small bed, a sink and a two person sofa. He wondered just how long they were planning on keeping him there.

The worried faces of his sisters drifted to the forefront of him mind and he couldn't stop the sudden pang of guilt he felt. No doubt it was way past dinner time back home, and Yuzu always worried if he didn't call to say where he was. The guilt he felt was quickly replaced by anger. Anger at Soul Society for messing up his life even more than it already was. He had genuinely been trying to remove himself from the spiritual world as much as possible for the past few months, and here they were, dragging him back into it all again.

The frowning face of Karin and the crying face of Yuzu eventually morphed into the unusually serious face of his father and the feeling of sadness in chest tightened even more. Since his mother had died, he knew he had adopted a rather independent attitude, choosing to shoulder his worries on himself and not bother his father with his problems. But now…well now he could honestly admit that he needed his father by his side.

Isshin's worried face faded into the concerned faces of his friends. Uryu, Chad, Urahara, Yoruichi, Keigo, Tatsuki, and finally…

He blinked.

Orihime's tearful face clouded his vision and he felt something tug hard at his heartstrings. He frowned deeper as he watched his imaginary Orihime shed tears over him. Growling slightly, he clenched his fists tightly together, shaking his head to rid his mind of her face. He needed to stop feeling sorry for himself, he had promised her that he would come back didn't he?

The sound of the door being unlocked and then pushed open slowly interrupted his thoughts and he found himself immediately on the offensive. His arm instinctively moved behind him to make a grab for Zangetsu, and for a second he frowned as his hand only grasped the cold air. It took him a millisecond for him to remember that Zangetsu had been left behind, and he felt strangely empty without his trusted blade strapped to his back.

He ended up springing from the bed, and taking a step backwards, so he was hugging the wall and glaring angrily at the door. If he couldn't ram Zangetsu through whoever was about to enter the room, he would simply have to settle with trying to intimidate them with one of his signature glares.

An extremely short woman entered the room. If Ichigo had to guess, he would have said that she was about Yuzu's height, with short light brown hair that stopped just above her chin. She looked like a little kid he decided.

She closed the door gently behind her and then turned around to fully face Ichigo.

He could clearly see the bulge in her throat where she gulped thickly, and he couldn't help but roll his eyes. Was she really that scared of him? He wondered what she had been told about him.

"I am 12th Seat S-Sachiko Fujiwara!" she stammered nervously as she inched further and further into the room, "I…" she gulped again, "I'm here to heal your wounds!"

He made no move to even acknowledge her presence in the room, apart from perhaps narrowing his eyes as she moved closer towards the bed he was sat on.

She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and chewed on it lightly as she approached Ichigo. She could clearly feel is reiatsu smouldering angrily and she wondered how stable he was.

"Would you, um…" she paused and gestured towards the bed, a faint blush on her cheeks, "would you mind taking a seat? Please!" she added quickly, wincing at just how unsure and weak she sounded.

There was a very pregnant pause as Ichigo did nothing except glare at her, and she began to wonder if coming alone was a wise idea. Perhaps she should have requested some assistance from the 11th division.

"Fine."

His deep voice startled her slightly as she hadn't been expecting him to speak. Her eyes widened slightly as he slowly pushed himself away from the wall and took a tentative seat on the edge of the bed.

"Thank you," she murmured earnestly.

He simply grunted in reply.

Taking a deep breath, she raised both hands and placed them a few inches away from his forehead, deciding that she would begin with healing the shallow gash just above his brows.

She worked steadily and in silence for a few minutes, slowly healing the cuts and bruises on his face and moving down to the ones on his neck.

She began to relax as she worked, she felt more at home. Sachiko may not have been one of the highest ranked members of the 4th division, but she was pretty damn good at what she did. She took pride in watching the unsightly blemishes on his tanned skin fade into non-existence as she worked her magic over him.

If she was honest with herself, she was rather surprised that he was cooperating with her. From the brief comment Lieutenant Isane had made about his temper, and the fact that he was a dangerous criminal, she had expected him to be more reluctant. As it stood, the only unsociable behaviour he offered up to her was a scathing glare, and she supposed that was to be expected considering his situation.

A light hiss of pain snapped her out of her thoughts and she glanced up at the area she was healing. Within seconds she cursed her foolishness. She had been slowly moving down his body, healing all his cuts and gashes, but had failed to notice a large area of bruising on his torso. Because she had been so focused on healing cuts, she had applied the wrong amount of reiatsu onto the injury, causing him discomfort.

"I'm sorry!" she apologised quickly, reigning in her reiatsu as she gently prodded the bruise, trying to heal the area. She winced as she noticed his muscles tense as she began to continue her work and she tried to force herself not to panic and maintain control of the situation.

"You don't have to be so afraid of me, you know?"

His voice startled her, and she ceased healing him for a moment.

"Eh?" she managed to spit out, her eyes wide and she stared cautiously at him.

He rose an eyebrow at his medic before repeating, "you don't have to be so afraid of me. I'm not gonna attack you."

She nodded shakily, dropping her gaze from his own, "right," she mumbled.

"I didn't kill anyone," he said sharply, jerking away as she attempted to begin healing the injuries on his arm.

"I'm…I'm not here to judge you," she said quietly, still avoiding his gaze as she resumed her healing, "I just have to heal you."

"I'm not asking you to judge me," he snapped, temper rising, "I just want someone to fucking believe me. I've helped you guys out with so much crap, and this is how you repay me?"

Against her better judgement, she couldn't help but ask in confusion, "repay you?"

Ichigo nodded, "with Aizen and all that mess."

"I…I…" she sighed and shook her head, "I'm afraid I don't understand. Who…are you?"

"Ichigo Kurosaki, Substitute Shinigami."

"O-oh."

"Yeah."

Now, Sachiko may not have been the wisest person when it came to the inner going ons of Soul Society, but she would have had to have been blind, deaf, and dumb not to know about Ichigo Kurosaki.

He was a legend in the Academy. The human being who mastered bankai in three days? Who defied Soul Society and rescued his friends on two occasions. Who was a key figure in the taking down of the traitor Aizen?

She felt dizzy knowing she was in the same room as him.

"Oi, Samino was it?"

She blushed, "Sachiko," she corrected.

"Oh right. Sachiko, tell me about this Spirit guy I've supposedly killed."

She paused her healing process as she contemplated his question, "I don't know where to begin," she admitted, scratching her head nervously, "he's the King," she ended up saying lamely before resuming his healing, "lift up your sleeve please."

He complied, pushing the sleeve up on his right arm up his forearm, "so…he's a pretty big deal?"

A brief snort of laughter escaped the nervous young healers mouth before she could stop herself, "yes, Ichigo-san. He's a big deal."

"You got any idea why they think I killed him?"

She shook her head, "I don't know anything," she admitted bitterly, "I...I didn't even know who it was I'd be treating."

He didn't say anything else to his healer, instead he decided to focus his attention on watching her heal his arm. Whenever he let his mind drift off to the severity of the situation he was actually in, a ripple of anger would swim through his body and he decided he was better off not taking his anger out on the one person so far who seemed even a little bit interested in helping him.

xoxoxo

Two sharp knocks distracted his attention away from the faint green glow Sachiko was making appear on his forearm and his eyes immediately narrowed in suspicion.

"Ah, t-that'll be the representative from the Royal Guard, come to…um," she avoided his gaze as she pushed herself up to get the door, "to question you."

He nodded curtly, his eyes still fixated on the door in front of him.

Sachiko paused for a few seconds, shooting Ichigo a worried glance. She could clearly sense the sudden peak in his reiatsu and guessed that his temper was beginning to rile up.

"Please Ichigo-san," she said quietly as she walked across the room towards the door, "try not to start an argument."

"Eh," Ichigo replied, blinking in shock at her words. Before he got the chance to reply properly to her request she quickly walked the last few steps to the door and pulled it open.

"Good afternoon," she said politely, bowing her head as she took a step backwards and allowed the people behind the door to enter the room, "I am the 4th divisions 12th seat Sachiko Fujiwara. How may I help you," she glanced up and quickly added, "C-Captain?" after noting the distinct Captain's haori clinging to the young man's back.

Ichigo's eyebrows shot up in surprise as he stared at the group of three people who had entered his room.

"Thank you Sachiko-chan, but your help will no longer be needed."

"B-but, I haven't finished healing him!"

"He'll live."

Sachiko opened her mouth and closed it several times, as if she were trying to build up the courage to answer back. Apparently she couldn't quite manage it, for after a few seconds of gaping like a goldfish she nodded curtly before turning on her heel and fleeing.

Once she had left, the man who had spoken to the young healer walked further into the room.

He had long black hair that was pulled into a loose ponytail and he wore what Ichigo recognised to be the usual Shinigami dress, but judging by the haori on his back, he was also a Captain. However, instead of the white haori that the other Captain's wore, this mans was a dark blue. Behind the mysterious Captain, a tall, large breasted woman followed, she glared angrily at Ichigo as she stood beside her Captain, and Ichigo glared back - not one to be intimidated by anyone. Judging by the dark blue band wrapped around her upper left shoulder, she was his Lieutenant. The final person who walked in surprised Ichigo the most. He didn't know who he had been expecting, but it certainly wasn't the young blonde haired child who ambled in. Her hair was pulled into two pigtails and she wore a bright grin on her face, that made her look even younger and youthful than Yachiru. She appeared to pay no attention to Ichigo and skipped across the room before settling herself on the sofa. From the insides of her pink kimono, she pulled out a pad of paper and from the pocket she pulled out a box of crayons. Ichigo was slightly perplexed by her behaviour but said nothing, as his attention was drawn back to the Captain once more.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, I presume?" the Captain said as he strode briskly across the room until he was standing a mere couple of feet away from Ichigo.

"Yeah," he replied shortly, "and who the hell are you?"

He briefly considered Sachiko's plea for him not to start an argument but quickly pushed it aside, he wanted to get home already.

He rose an eyebrow but said nothing about Ichigo's rudeness, instead he stuck out a cordial hand,

"Captain of the Royal Guard, Masao Gato."

Ichigo did not shake his hand, instead he glared up at him defiantly,

"So you're the idiot who got me arrested, huh?"

"Have some respect for your superiors, brat!" the woman spoke up, stepping forward angrily, "you will refer to the Captain as either Captain or Sir or-"

"Calm down Riru-chan," Masao said, waving a lazy hand in the air, "you've read his file. Young Kurosaki here doesn't respond well to authority."

"What files?" Ichigo asked curiously, wondering what Soul Society had written about him, "and what the hell do you want with me?"

Masao took a step backwards, his eyes narrowed as he surveyed Ichigo properly, "you haven't been told? You're our primary suspect in regards to the murder of the…" he paused, a hint of sadness showing on his face, "the murder of the Spirit King."

Ichigo's fists reflexively clenched at his words, "and I already told Byakuya when they arrested me, I don't know what you're talking about!" he ground out angrily.

"And what if I told you we have evidence that you were by the King at his time of death?"

"It's wrong."

"And if I told you we have several eyewitnesses who have described a Shinigami fitting your description fleeing the scene?"

"They're wrong."

Masao rose a slim eyebrow, but said nothing. Riru on the other hand, stepped forward,

"Listen kid," she began, running a hand through her long red locks, "we want to help you, but you have to help us," she purred, leaning forward slightly so her robes fell open at the breast.

"Not gonna work," Ichigo said bluntly, swiftly turning his head to the side, "I've met Matsumoto."

Her hiss of indignation brought a grim smile to Masao's lips,

"Relax Riru-chan," he said slowly, placing a gentle hand over her shoulder, "it appears your methods of interrogation aren't going to work here."

"What kind of teenager is he," she mumbled angrily, taking a step backwards, her ego feeling rather bruised.

Despite the severity of the situation, Ichigo couldn't help the smirk from spreading over his face as he watched her recoil backwards.

"She's right you know, Kurosaki," Masao said, "if you're as innocent as you say, prove it. Explain to me how your reiatsu was found lingering over the Kings dead body. Go."

His tone was calm, but with underlying ripples of authority and anger.

"I don't know," Ichigo replied exasperatedly, "how do you even know it's mine?"

"Soul Society keeps a sample of all active Shinigami's reiatsu on file, think of it as our version of you human's fingerprinting system for criminals. Everyone's reiatsu is unique and the reiatsu found by the King was undoubtedly yours."

"So explain how it got there," Riru reiterated harshly.

Ichigo opened his mouth to respond, but quickly slammed it shut again.

"Well…?"

He shot Riru a scathing glare, deciding that she was rapidly climbing to the top of his list of people he loathed.

"I don't know," he admitted sullenly, dropping his gaze from his two interrogators, "but I didn't do it."

Riru nodded to herself as she crossed her arms over her chest and let out a victorious, "ha!"

Masao on the other hand sighed before scratching at his head.

"Riru-chan, take Aiko and wait outside for me please."

Riru blinked, "excuse me? Why?"

"I want to have a little chat with Ichigo privately. Man to man if you will."

Riru stared closely at Masao for a few seconds before reluctantly nodding, "yes Captain," she then pointed dramatically at Ichigo, "don't think that because I'm not here, the Captain'll go easy on you. You hear?"

"Riru," Masao said firmly, dropping the honorific, "please."

She blushed lightly before turning around and hollering, "Aiko! Aiko! Aiko!"

The little blonde haired girl, Aiko, did not reply. In fact, she made no move to even act like she had heard Riru's hollers.

Masao shook his head in defeat as he and Ichigo watched Riru march across the room and grab Aiko's hand.

"I'll be with you two shortly," Masao said as they crossed the room, "see you later."

"See you," Riru waved lazily as she exited the room, with Aiko waving happily as she allowed the older woman to drag her out.

"I don't know how many times I've told her," Masao said with a sigh as he settled himself down on the bed next to Ichigo - much to Ichigo's displeasure, "stop yelling at her, it's a waste of time."

Ichigo didn't reply, instead he shuffled further towards the other edge of the bed.

"She's deaf you know," Masao continued, acting like he didn't notice Ichigo edging away from him, "Aiko."

"Oh," Ichigo muttered, understanding now why Aiko didn't reply to Riru's yells, "who is she to you?" he asked with interest, wondering what prompted him to bring the small girl with him in a manner that reminded him of Zaraki's relationship with Yachiru.

"Someone I owe everything," he replied cryptically before shaking his head and saying, "I believe you, you know? I've read your file. The noble substitute Shinigami who risked everything to help Soul Society with the whole Aizen catastrophe-"

"I didn't do it for Soul Society," Ichigo butt in, scowling, "I did it to protect my friends. That's all."

Masao smiled, "either way, you did Soul Society a great favour with all your help back then."

"And I'm still being treated like a criminal now?"

His smile vanished, "the murder of the Spirit King is a very serious matter. What you've done for Soul Society will give you very little help here."

"Why would I murder him? What would I have to gain? I don't give a fuck about the politics of Soul Society or whatever the hell's happening over here!" he snapped angrily, jumping up from the bed and pacing forwards a few steps, "I was trying to get away from this stupid world. Trying to live a normal life. I didn't do anything!"

"No matter what you say, the odds are stacked against you. Your reiatsu was found at the scene of the crime. And we have eyewitnesses willing to testify against you. Your word counts for very little."

"Well it shouldn't!"

"I agree."

There was a pause as Ichigo appeared to struggle with trying to find a way to phrase his next sentence.

"What's going to happen to me," he ended up blurting out, a look of strange innocence on his face. It was at that moment that Masao really appreciated how young Ichigo really was, on how many life threatening situations he had been in.

He doesn't deserve this, he admitted to himself.

"What's going to happen to me?" he repeated, louder this time.

"Your trial has been set for a week from today."

"Trial?"

"Yes. You will be trialled by the judges of the Central 46 Chambers."

Ichigo felt his heart leap into his throat, "and…" he swallowed thickly, "and if they find me guilty?"

Masao paused before lowering his gaze, "it's is very likely that you will be executed."

Executed.

Executed.

Executed.

He felt sick.

xoxoxo

Almost an hour had passed since Ichigo had been arrested and his friends had yet to leave Urahara's shop. Zangetsu still lay on the floor, untouched from when Ichigo had dropped it after being attacked.

Nobody wanted to say it aloud, but they were all worried.

None more so than Orihime, who, if Urahara hadn't teasingly whacked her with his fan, would have bitten her nails down to a mere stub out of worry for her orange haired friend.

She felt guilty for worrying so much.

Ichigo had promised her specifically that he would return and she had no reason to doubt his words. She barely paid any attention to the conversation Uryu and Chad were having with Urahara, instead she refocused all her efforts into recalling any information she knew about the Spirit King.

Admittedly, her knowledge was very limited. From what she remembered from the fleeting pieces of conversation she had heard throughout the last few years, the Spirit King was a force to be reckoned with. She knew that just about everything in Soul Society relied on his power.

Her brows furrowed in confusion as that thought popped into his mind.

"Urahara-san?" she called, not really noticing that she had interrupted his conversation with Uryu and Chad.

"Hm?" he replied, looking up.

She pushed herself up onto her haunches and stood up, "I remember someone saying something along the lines of, everything in Soul Society depends on the Spirit King's power" she said as walked over to the corner of the room he was sat in, "is that right?"

Urahara nodded, "exactly. But not just Soul Society, his power has a sort of domino effect, if you will, on all the realms."

"So," Uryu said slowly, "not only does his power affect Soul Society, but Heuco Mundo as well?"

"Heuco Mundo, Hell and…the Human world," Urahara filled in, "without his power the barriers between the worlds would cease to exist. Everyone would be plunged into utter chaos."

"But he's dead," Orihime said bluntly, "and we're ok. How does that work?"

"Ah, to understand that, you first have to understand how the Royal Family works within Soul Society…

The Kiyomizu Family have been the Royal Family since the beginning of time-"

"The beginning of time?" Uryu cut in sceptically.

"Yes or rather," Urahara amended, "since the beginning of civilised time. Records state that before the Royal Family came into being, the realms were an utter catastrophe. Hollows roamed the Earth unbidden, souls from Hell could enter Soul Society, and all the life of Earth were hunted like rabbits - it was the Hollows who pushed the dinosaurs to extinction you know? The Kiyomizu Family put a stop to that. Nobody is exactly sure why, perhaps they are just a freak of nature, but each member of the Kiyomizu Family is born with an enormous amount of spiritual energy.

"Like Kurosaki-kun's?"

Urahara laughed grimly, "not even close."

"The Head Captain's?" Chad put it.

Once again, Urahara laughed tersely before shaking his head, "the spiritual pressure of Ichigo and any of the Captain's combined wouldn't hold a torch to the power members of the Kiyomizu Family hold. Remember, they have to support the foundation of four separate realms on a daily basis, that's not even including the Royal Realm, whilst still going about their own daily duties. They have to provide enough reishi for billions of souls. If the King wanted to, he could flatten us with barely a twitch of his finger."

"Wow," Orihime murmured, trying to fathom just how strong the Spirit King was.

"Wow indeed," Urahara agreed, allowing a small smile to grace his features as he realised just how awestruck his three listeners were, "which is why nobody else can rule over Soul Society apart from a direct descendent of the Kiyomizu Family. Understood?"

"This still doesn't explain how we're all not about to be attacked by Hollows and the like," Uryu commented with a slight frown.

Urahara waved his fan lazily in front of Uryu's face, "I'm getting to it, I'm getting to it!"

Orihime suppressed a giggle as she watched Uryu twitch in annoyance as Urahara's fan slapped his cheeks.

"I've heard from a reliable source-"

"So Yoruichi-san," Chad said quietly, and both Orihime and Uryu nodded in agreement.

"Fine, yes! I've heard from Yourichi that Soul Society has spent the last couple of months in a state of turmoil. A few months ago, The Spirit King fell ill, and the illness affected his spiritual power. It was weakened drastically, and the inhabitants of Soul Society were witness to the destruction it caused. There were tales of Hollows in Rukongai, crumbling buildings and just simply not enough spiritual energy to go around some days. To try and rectify the problem, and - I assume - in case of an untimely death that would only worsen the problem, the King poured every single ounce of his spiritual energy into several reservoirs dotted around the realms. It by no means fixed the situation, instead it has left the realms in the state they were in before he died."

"Why would anyone want to kill the King?" Uryu asked.

"And why do Soul Society think Kurosaki-kun did it?" Orihime added.

"I believe I can answer those two questions."

The unexpected addition of a new voice startled the group and four pairs of eyes darted towards the door.

"Yoruichi-san!" Orihime cried with a smile as she noted the tall purple haired woman leaning casually against the doorframe.

Yoruichi offered up a wave in way of greeting as she entered the room properly, "yo."

"I was wondering when you'd get back," Urahara commented casually as Yoruichi propped herself up against the window frame.

"Mmm, well I was meant to come back earlier this morning, imagine my surprise when I hear a rumour that Ichigo's about to get arrested for killing the King."

"So you thought you'd nose around?" Urahara said with a grin.

"Exactly," she replied with an equally large catlike grin on her face.

"You believe that Kurosaki-kun didn't do anything, right?" Orihime asked earnestly, her eyes wide as she wondered what Yoruichi thought.

"Tch," she scoffed, "Ichigo kill the King? I doubt the brat even knew that the Royal Realm existed until today."

Uryu nodded in agreement.

"You said you knew why someone would want to kill the King, and why Ichigo's getting blamed," Chad prompted.

"Urahara's told you about the Kings illness, right?"

They all nodded.

"Well…because of it, a lot of people wanted him to give up his throne to one of his children."

"Why didn't he?"

"They're both very young, the eldest is only 14 years old. You can imagine why he didn't want to give the throne to her. Because of his refusal to give the throne up, and the rapidly declining state of Soul Society things got…violent. And," she sighed, "well, you know how it ended."

"But why is Ichigo getting blamed for his murder? We had no idea of the situation in Soul Society until now."

"I'm not too sure why he's been framed for this," she admitted, "but I do know why he's their prime suspect. His reiatsu was found at the scene of the crime, and they have several eye witnesses who swear they saw a Shinigami matching his description fleeing the Royal Palace around the time of death."

"But they're lying!" Orihime burst out, feeling outraged on Ichigo's behalf, "Kurosaki-kun would never do anything like that! Never, ne-"

"We know that, Orihime," Yoruichi said with a frown, "but someone…someone out there is out to get Ichigo, and so far, they're doing a pretty good job of it."

The knowledge that someone was vindictively attempting to frame Ichigo for the murder of the King was sickening.

"What's going to happen to him?" Uryu piped up, "being accused of killing the King is a serious crime."

Orihime gulped as she stared at Yoruichi, waiting for her answer. She wanted her to laugh it off and say something like,

"Oh, he'll be back next week,"

But deep down she supposed she knew those words would never come out of her mouth.

"A trial has been set for next week…"

"And?"

"…should the trial go well, he'll be released and allowed to return back to Karakura."

There was a silence before Orihime said slowly and quietly,

"And if the trial doesn't go well? What happens then?"

Yoruichi didn't reply.

"What happens?" Orihime prodded, her hands balling up into tiny fists.

Still no replys.

"Yoruichi-san…what happens to Kurosaki-kun?"

"It's very likely that," she paused, "Orihime please, you don't need to hear this and-"

"What happens," she demanded, her voice thick with unshed tears, "I need to know."

"It's very likely that he will be sentenced to execution."

"Ex…execution?" she whispered back, "they'll kill him?"

The sullen and regretful nod Yoruichi gave her made bile rise in her throat.

xoxoxo


A/N: HELLO, I'm so pleased (mostly, one flame haha) with the feedback I've been given for this so far. You may or may not have noticed I've posted an OC list on my profile. It's not a full list, I'll add to it when I reveal more important OC's as they come, but it's a start!

For anyone wondering, Ichigo's power level is more or less before he entered that world with Isshin to train!

Anyway, I'll try and update soon, I would have updated this chapter sooner but I had exam week at university and then two weeks off which I admittedly spent partying but hey, it's here now!

REVIEW LOVELIES

until next time~