A/N Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, favourited and encouraged me to continue with 'She's no traitor'. After this chapter, I need to take a hiatus due to upcoming exams. Please continue with your reviews nevertheless! You have no idea how touching it is to see readers leave behind a message, which pops up in your email inbox after hours spent on revision.
Much appreciation for your patience and understanding! (P.S. I will leave Yamamoto's and Orihime's POVs until the end – they will form the conclusion of the entire story.)
She's no traitor
Hitsugaya Toshirou – Guardian of her shattered soul
Hitsugaya would never forget her screams.
They were not the high-pitched, hysterical ones like Hinamori's at her discovery of Aizen's body pinned to the wall.
No, such was the pain within them that at first there had been no sound emitted. Then, a low choked wailing, which was intermittently cut off by pain from thousand-voltage electric currents hammered into her temples, by gasping and not getting enough, and at the same time too much, air into her lungs.
Like the screams Orihime is screaming now as she struggled against his hold to beat her head against barred window of her new prison room.
As he held onto the despairing girl, refusing to let go, Hitsugaya thought to how everything came to this.
He had no idea that he meant so much to his human hostess during the little time that he and Matsumoto had spent with her during their reconnaissance mission in the World of the Living before she was captured by Aizen. That is not to say that he was not fond of Inoue Orihime for he was – and remains fond of her, more so now than ever – but had it not been for the memory sift that the human girl was subjected to, he would not have realised, would not have finally understood, the extent that she cared for him so.
Nakama.
She thought of him as one of her nakama, and never has a word struck such a deep impression within the child prodigy captain as it did when he saw Orihime led away by Unohana.
Could he use his decades of independence and self-reliance as an excuse?
It was no secret that Hitsugaya Toshirou had difficulty making friends. His white hair, teal eyes – eyes which she had been the first to describe to her female classmates as "the most beautiful pair I've ever seen" – and his icy demeanour, matching his zanpakutou, had alienated him among his peers, whether it was in the West Rukongai or in the classroom of the Seireitei, regardless of the intention or the lack of intention behind his barriers.
So when Orihime had so warmly welcomed him to her home, cheerfully preparing him and his lieutenant with their daily bentos without complaint regardless of some the strangest combinations which she can cook up, Hitsugaya found himself strangely enjoying minty mushrooms with egg omelette for breakfast, and assimilating him into the Human World beyond the classroom, he had no idea how to behave himself.
To be given friendship without being asked for something in exchange, to be accepted as a friend without even being asked, had been an unfamiliar and frankly discomfiting experience for Hitsugaya. He searched for deceit, but quickly tossed that option into the trashcan when he quickly analysed Orihime's friendly nature. He tried to discern for ulterior motives and found none.
He kept pondering why as he was pulled along to shopping trips and arcades despite his initial vehement protests.
He was introduced to fast food, plushie toys and ice cream.
Why?
Hitsugaya nearly thought he must have broken some sort of taboo when Orihime's face dawned into horror (there's simply no other way of describing it) when she found out he did not know what a Yoda, hobbit or Harry Potter was.
Why are you doing this?
Games of 'Go-Fish' and Monopoly around the kitchen table after dinner.
Why do you care?
Movie marathons over the weekend of Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter. Somehow, Orihime had managed to convince Madarame, Yumichika, Abarai, Kuchiki and Kurosaki to come over and join in those crazy sessions before the tv on the weekends. Thus, Hitsugaya was introduced to popcorn, his first sleepovers, DDR, and the highly successful human marketing industry of film and fantasy literature.
Why, all this, for me?
The day they had gathered at Orihime's apartment when they noted her absence after the fights with the Espada the day she was branded as a traitor had been a movie night to watch The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Because.
Inoue, that's not a reason.
But it is, Toshirou-kun. You are reason enough.
He had been a coward that day.
Me?
Yup! Toshirou-kun is more than a good enough reason. (smiles and laughter)
For not speaking up, for not defending her. He had not doubted her innocence, not once, but he had chosen to remain silent when their group was forcefully escorted back by Zaraki and Kuchiki. As a captain, he understood the Soutaichou's reasoning and followed orders.
As a friend, he had betrayed her. And she did not even hold him to blame.
At first, Hitsugaya had thought he would have no further reason to hate Aizen beyond what he did to Hinamori. He had been proved wrong once more when he saw through Orihime's flashbacks of the regenerative tasks of the Arrancar and the Hogyouku and the punitive mind games Aizen submitted her to.
That near kiss when he stroked her lips and told her to smile.
His nonchalance when he watched Syazel Aporro hook her up to those torture devices.
That very same bastard has caused the emotional and mental breakdown of another of Hitsugaya's important people to protect. It was because of Aizen that now, somehow, Orihime is being re-investigated and placed in prison under further notice.
Something is dreadfully wrong.
When Hitsugaya heard the news, he and Matsumoto had sped to the joint Captains and Vice-captains meeting with the Soutaichou. The reasoning had knocked the air clean from his lungs.
The Soutaichou has expressed his understanding of Orihime's situation, but has put forth the startling proposition that her powers must be drained from her. To avoid another Hueco Mundo. Because she can be taken again by another enemy tempted by her anti-God like powers. She would be too weak to physically defend herself, and Soul Society would need to intervene once more.
The separation process could kill her considering that the power of the Shun Shun Rika is linked to Orihime's strength of will.
Hitsugaya had not been the only one to protest aloud. Another meeting has already been scheduled to debate this proposition.
Now?
Now Hitsugaya is using his strength and the reassurance that he knew Orihime drew from his icy reiatsu and Hyourinmaru to stop her from injuring herself on the prison bars of her window. Just before he and Matsumoto had entered her cell in the Barbican of Atonement, the sister tower to the Tower of Penitence, Kurosutchi had exited her cell, having successfully fought the human girl and took away her hairpins.
That was when the screams had started once more.
"Inoue, don't! Stop it!" The crying girl raised her grey-amethyst eyes, now shimmering with diamond tears, to meet his teal ones.
"Nii-chan…Sora-nii-chan…He took away Sora-nii-chan's hairpins…" Orihime gasped out before letting loose another heartbreaking scream. "Nii-chan…Onii-chan…his gift…promise…my promise…to treasure them…AAAHHUHHH!"
Hitsugaya sensed and recognized the approaching reiatsu of both Kuchiki siblings, Kurosaki, the Quincy, Unohana, and Yasutora. He forced them back with his own reiatsu.
"My soul…he has torn my soul…away from me…AAAHHUHHH…Sora-nii-chan! Why?"
When Kuchiki Byakuya and Kurosaki reached for Orihime, Hitsugaya's reiatsu pulsed furiously, his eyes glowing aquamarine, before a physical ice wall appeared, separating him, Inoue and Matsumoto from the rest of the others. Hitsugaya could not care less when Kurosaki started pounding on the wall, his voice muffled by the ice in between them. Hitsugaya urged Hyourinmaru to shield Orihime from view, the dragon's misty breath wrapped around the girl like a downy, cold veil.
Nothing was more important than her. Nothing is more important than Inoue at this moment.
Hitsugaya realizes that for all the talk about him being a child prodigy he is inadequate. Incapable of protecting those who needed him, and who he needed in turn.
Hinamori from Aizen.
Matsumoto from Ichimaru.
And now, Orihime from Aizen and the interrogation of the Soutaichou and Kurosutchi.
Orihime clung to him now, crying into his haori, no longer struggling to break free from his tight embrace. She cried, screamed, and cried some more, and all the while, Hitsugaya merely rocked her back and forth, held her, carding his fingers through her hair. He felt the others leave until only Kuchiki Byakuya and Unohana were left.
Still, he waited. His barrier would not break without her consent. He will stay as she needs him for.
Like what she had healed within him, like how she gave his childhood back to him.
Finally, even the tears and trembling stopped.
"Toushirou-kun" That drew Hitsugaya's attention. Tired, puffy red, beautiful, grey eyes met his guiltily. "I'm so sor-"
"No." Hitsugaya cut in, his voice raspy with unshed tears. He lifted his hands until his fingers rested gently against her temples. He noted the flinch that coursed through Orihime's body. His own heart clenched bitterly.
"Don't apologise for something that is not your fault."
Keeping only the tips of his fingers on her sunset hair, he watched Orihime as he silently, mentally instructed Hyourinmaru to weave, to take care.
Orihime felt a cool circlet wreathe her head. She gazed into the ice wall and quietly gasped. Toushirou-kun is making a laurel for her. It took form with intricate tiny leaves and silver flowers. He has made a replica of her Shun Shun Rika to protect her temples while the centerpiece of the laurel took on the shape of a different flower.
No, it is a star, the same star on the clip which he attached Hyourinmaru.
Orihime allowed her reiatsu to reflect her happiness and her silent tears. She had none left to cry.
Hitsugaya leant his head on the crown of Orihime's as she gently burrowed her face into the crook of his neck. As his thoughts whipped through his observations Orihime's recovery (which he can already feel), Hinamori's continued sadness and occasional delusions, Matsumoto's distant gaze, the possibility that he might love Orihime more than Hinamori, Hitsugaya whispered two words.
"I'm sorry."
But no matter what, I shall always protect you – no matter how inadequate I may be.
Matsumoto Rangiku – Eve Before the Fall
Rangiku loves Orihime for many reasons. The both of them are actually so similar. Not just physically with their big breasts and naturally attractive looks.
Unrequited love.
Jealousy.
Loneliness.
The strength to hide all of the above.
Rangiku sees in Orihime, the younger, more innocent sister that she had always wanted but never had. But most of all, she sees herself in Orihime. A more pure and optimistic self.
And that's why, Rangiku is so determined that the pretty human girl will not repeat the same mistakes that Rangiku has done.
Not to be jaded and self-depreciating.
Not to feel awkward and unhappy about her body.
Not to turn towards the bottle for solace and comfort.
Not to turn to sex, no matter how willing the other party, for one-night love, which is not love but merely physical lust.
Rangiku knows that she cannot relive herself through Orihime, that the other girl has her own life to live, but she'd been damned if she sees Orihime put herself down for an emotionally-dense boy.
Don't make the same mistakes that I did.
Orihime may not know this, but she is much braver than Rangiku will ever be. Suffering through that month in Hueco Mundo, bravely stepping up to the challenges of a tyrant and taunts of the Vasto Lorde, while forming her own counterplans, and keeping intact her sanity and kindness is not something everyone can accomplish.
Likewise, not anyone will find the time and the care within herself to defend a complete stranger in the Human World's peer-pressure classrooms. Technically, Rangiku still counted as a stranger to Orihime even if she had at that point stayed over for just over a week at the younger girl's apartment.
When some sempais, upperclassmen, published in the school newspaper demeaning remarks and dirty insinuations about her breasts and open uniform because she had turned them down for dates and sex, Orihime had been the one to tell the first-year and second-year students to stop distributing the newspaper.
"Any problems or complaints about stopping the circulation, I will bear them. But please tell everyone to stop delivering the newspapers and to take them to the Recycling Bin."
It had not just been about herself. Pointless scathing comments had been made about taichou, Yumichika and Ikakku as well. Things to do with punks who think too highly of themselves, who have no fashion sense, etc. It was a pity that Ichigo had been absent from school that day, that week. Had he been there, he would have seen an unfamiliar, strong and independent side to his friend.
Orihime had taken the initiative to send a copy of the paper to the principal, requesting a public written apology that was sincere. What was most astonishing perhaps was when she decided to skip the beginning of class to speak with those senior students by herself. Unknowingly their heated conversation in the Newspaper Club's room had been broadcasted live to every classroom with a speaker.
Rangiku will never forget the climax of the argument when the sempai insisted his lack of blame and his unwillingness to write any sort of apology.
"Have you any idea what this would do to the reputation of my friends?"
"Sempai, if you were in the actual journalism industry, you would already be sued for libel!"
"Do not raise your head on me, sempai! I know black-belt karate to defend myself!"
"I am not threatening you sempai. I am just saying that the ball is in your court as to what you choose to do now."
"Sempai, as long as sensei does not criticize Rangiku-san's uniform, you have no right to either."
"How can you print such, such lies and despicable bullocks? Have you even spoken with any of them or are you just going by stereotypes?"
"Rangiku-san is beautiful and is not afraid of admitting that she is. Don't you dare call her a slut!"
No one had ever defended Rangiku so vocally and unashamedly.
Gin had silently defended her honour by murdering those whom he considered took a step too far.
Arbitrary Russian Roulette.
Nanao-chan, probably Rangiku's closest female confidant, would chide Rangiku about her dress habit in private, even agreeing with Rangiku about the demeaning aggressor would be done behind closed doors.
Rangiku knows that now is not the time as she watches her taichou comfort Orihime behind their ice wall, but she will make sure that once Orihime-chan is relaxed, she will thank the younger girl for all that she has done, for all that Rangiku could not do.
She will thank Orihime not only for defending her at school, thinking about her in the Dangai when the Cuatro Espada threatened to take Rangiku's life, but also for healing Gin in Hueco Mundo.
Kurosutchi's machine had shown Orihime staining her hands with Gin's blood as she removed glass shards from his wounds after an encounter with an unusually angry Aizen. The young healer had patiently stitch by stitch sewed Gin's wounds closed in the dark. Aizen had forbidden her to use her fairies to heal Gin. That had not stopped Orihime from using her fairies to provide the necessary light as she knelt beside the former Shinigami captain all the night through until the task of disinfecting his wounds was finally done.
She had overheard Izuru and Shuuhei briefly mention that when Rangiku held and let go of Orihime's hand during their walk up to Kurosutchi's memory contraption during the interrogation it was like watching an older sister losing her younger sibling.
Rangiku wished that she had only been more courageous to refuse and argue against the whole interrogation itself.
Thank you.
A thousand times thank you, Orihime, for your kindness which I don't deserve.
As she gazed at the sleeping girl in the Fourth Division bed now after Unohana had Orihime removed from the Barbican, Rangiku knew that now was the time to show her gratitude. To prove Orihime's innocence.
Orihime, her sister in everything but blood and name, the Other Her, would not die nor have her powers drained from her, not if Rangiku had a say about it, not if Rangiku still has breath left within her.
Kyouraku Shunsui – All saints have a past, all sinners have a future
Shunsui stared into his drink as he sat with Jyuushiro in the latter's bonsai garden.
"Not sake tonight?"
Shunsui looked up at his best friend, unable to even muster up his usual happy-go-lucky smile. That should have been a warning sign to anyone that something was extremely wrong.
"Too bitter."
Shunsui notices his friend's puzzled glance as he takes a sip from the cup. Jyuushiro meets his gaze in surprise.
"Wine?" The look of surprise manages to draw an empty chuckle and a shell of Shunsui's grin back to the surface as he replies.
"Hai. … It was actually Orihime-chan who introduced me to this."
"What!"
Shunsui takes a long swig of the golden, nearly amber liquid, swilling the mouthful for a bit. A honey-like sweetness not cloyingly sweet though flows down his throat before it is immediately followed by a scorching by some unknown spice or was it fruit? before there is a hint of –
"The sourness does not seem to be sourness." Jyuushiro commented.
"Not quite, Jyuu. You're right. It's not exactly sourness because it's something else."
"What is it, Shun? It doesn't taste like pomegranate."
Kyouraku paused, taking another mouthful, before he replied.
"Tears."
And he then remembers that night.
That wholely unsuspecting night during the month when the pretty human was training in the Seireitei with Rukia-chan, when she showed up without announcement outside the door of his barracks.
He had been left without a drinking partner that night.
Matsumoto was in the Human World, as is Abarai-kun.
Kira and Hisagi had been involved in training and reinforcements, the wound from the betrayal of their captains had stung deeply. Their way to deal with it: work.
And of course, Nanao-chan had been away running some errand. Her staunch ethics would not even let her consider drinking sake with her taichou while on the job.
So he had been drinking when he heard a timid tap on his doorframe and then an unexpected voice, "Kyouraku-taichou?"
He had looked up then to see the former female ryoka Inoue Orihime standing on the porch with a wooden crate in her hands.
"Orihime-chan? How may I help you?"
The young girl had hesitated before approaching him. "Would you care to try this wine with me?" He had been surprised and shocked.
"I didn't know you drink, Orihime-chan. Your secret?" he teased her, though his eyes observed her reactions sharply.
"Oh I don't, Kyouraku-taichou. Actually… that is why I'm here. I wanted to ask you to teach me how to drink."
Shunsui had been caught off guard the second time within the span of five minutes.
"Teach you how to drink?" he wondered if he had heard wrong.
"Yes… if it would not inconvenience you… Rangiku-san told me how you enjoyed…" Orihime blushed. Shunsui tried to ease her back into a comfort zone by laughing.
"I don't mind. And it's true that I am fond of drinking, though I generally have a preference for sake."
"Oh I see." Shunsui watched the disappointment on her features. Despite her odd request, he cannot sense malice or seduction as her aims.
"Come here anyways, and let's see what we've got." Smile brightening, Orihime came within a respectful distance before she gently set down the wooden crate. "Does Rukia-chan know you're here?"
Flush and guilty look.
"N-no, she doesn't. I did not wish to worry her or Byakuya-san. Nor do I wish to lower Byakuya-san's opinion of me. Today he has a late patrol so this should not bother him." Shunsui quirked an eyebrow. If he did not know better, that Orihime-chan had a very obvious crush on Ichigo, he would have thought that she seemed to care quite a bit for –
"Kyouraku-taichou?" Grey-amethyst eyes how unusual though very pretty peered curiously at him.
"Betsuni. I just got distracted by Orihime-chan's loveliness."
Carmine stole over the human girl's features once more.
"No, no taichou. I've never thought of myself like that…" No lies there.
"You should call me Shunsui instead. Kyouraku-taichou is so formal-"
"Oh I couldn't. That would be disrespectful."
"I'm not your captain, you know, Orihime-chan?"
"Still…it would be improper…very well, Shunsui-san..."
"Hmm…better. Now Orihime-chan, why do you want to learn how to drink? To be honest, it can't really be taught."
"It can't?" Orihime sounded so distraught that Shunsui rethought about his own supposed understanding of women.
"Generally, it's a matter of building up alcohol tolerance over time."
"Shunsui-san, you misunderstand me. I'm not trying to improve my tolerance level of alcohol. I – I am drinking because … I want to forget."
That was not the answer Shunsui was expecting. Forget? That is something that someone with regrets and bitterness would try. The fact that Orihime-chan did not take sake sounds like she already tri-
"I've already tried sake, Shunsui-san, but sake only amplifies the feelings of the drinker. It can't help me forget. So I thought I would try wine." Solemn greys met Shunsui's brown irises head on. "Rangiku-san once told me that alcohol heals the pain within you, the hurt or loneliness. How you would feel happy, peaceful…"
Throughout their conversation, the both of them had been sampling the strange wine. Sweet. Easy to drink, especially for beginners. Shunsui glanced over at the girl, noticing the light pink flush on her cheeks until a glimmer of light caught on her cheek. Tears? Crying?
"Orihime-chan?" Shunsui had never seen a drinker like her before. Not drinking for pleasure. Not drinking for leisure. And certainly not a drinker who has steadily downed two whole bottles of such wine but exhibited not the slightest trace of drunkenness, except for a light flush which could pass for rouge or a blush. And certainly Shunsui had never met a drinker who could still smile so tragically with tears running down her cheeks…
"Shunsui-san, why is the feeling not coming? I must be drinking wrong. Where is that glowing feeling that Rangiku-san mentioned?" Slight panic seemed to colour her distress and solemnity. Grey diamonds floored the Shinigami captain as he found himself uncertain as to how to proceed.
"Why is it that I can't do anything right? I am too weak to fight in combat. I am a burden to all my friends. And now, something as simple as drinking, trying to be drunk, I cannot do either." Silent sobs and continual tears fell from her cheeks to the cherry wood table, darkening the ochre shade of wood.
Throughout all this, Orihime continued to gracefully swallow copious amounts of wine.
"What are you trying to forget, Orihime-chan?"
The girl looked at him for a moment, perhaps gauging whether or not to tell him. Reaching a decision, she smiled sadly.
"Kurosaki-kun." Ahh, young love. Unrequited love.
"Kurosaki-kun is not emotionally developed, Orihime-chan. You should know that. I bet you that the thought of love has not even crossed his mind. Have you tried telling hi-"
"No, I haven't, Shunsui-san. It wouldn't matter anyways. Kurosaki-kun likes Kuchiki-san."
"Rukia-chan?" Again, how odd that she should call Rukia-chan 'Kuchiki-san' but be comfortable enough to call Byakuya 'Byakuya-san'…
"Kurosaki-kun may not realize it, but it shows in his eyes. Only Kuchiki-san can make him smile, snap him out of his depression…something that I cannot do, no matter how much I care for him…love him… he cannot see me, Shunsui-san."
Reaching out, Shunsui disentangled the bottle from Orihime's grasp, his sympathy rising.
"Enough, Orihime-chan."
"No please Shunsui-san, maybe one more glass."
"Orihime-chan, you're not the type of person to turn to alcohol to solve your problems. Which is a good quality you know. Look at Nanao-chan's criticisms about me. Haha! As for that comfort that you, we are seeking, sometimes it comes to you, sometimes it doesn't. The pain, though, is never really gone. It can fade, dull, but it's never gone."
Shunsui then felt himself getting a taste of his own medicine when Orihime gazed quietly at him. Eyes which pierce, which could see beyond. Understanding. Melancholy.
"I see." She gently reclaimed the wine bottle from Shunsui. Orihime poured herself and the Captain another full glass.
"We don't choose who we fall in love with, do we, Shunsui-san?" Said captain felt as if the tables were turned on him. This human girl could understand, could feel, knows his secret… which wasn't really a secret if anyone looks past it carefully enough…reading between the lines.
"That's what makes love so special though." Orihime calmly drank the honeyed wine, her tears never stopping to flow into the cup, into the wine bottle and the other jars. Gazing out of the shoji doors towards the full moon, she whispered, "If love were a choice, who would choose such exquisite pain?"
She smiled at Shunsui, her reiatsu much more stable. "But I hope you know Shunsui-san, Ise-san does care for you. She is just more… subtle about it."
"I could say the same for you and Ichigo-kun."
Orihime shook her head. "Kurosaki-kun is a very polite person, protective. I'm sure he knows of my feelings. How can he not when everyone else can see it, think me a fool for it?"
Shunsui reached out, hand on her hand. "You are not being foolish, Orihime-chan. If there is someone who deserves to be called that, well, that would apply to our boy in question."
The smile Shunsui received in return is one given in politeness, when one agrees so as to not cause disputes when in reality one disagrees. "Maybe the drinking didn't work because I actually had a goal in mind." Shunsui regards Orihime with curiousity.
"A goal?"
"I was drinking to forget, but perhaps it would be more accurate to say, I was drinking to let go of Kurosaki-kun. My… affections for him are tying me down. I think it's time for me to move on. Not necessarily to go to another boy, just to think about myself a little more instead. Think of myself first. Do you think that is selfish, Shunsui-san?"
"No. That sounds like self-preservation."
"Shunsui-san sounds like he doesn't agree." Orihime waits for the Captain's reply which was not forthcoming. "Shunsui-san, I am not you. Nor is Kurosaki-kun, Ise-san."
"You're quite perceptive, Orihime-chan."
"No, I can feel your – I can empathize with you." Shunsui is grateful she doesn't say pain.
She continued. "I just never realised that letting go of someone … would be so painful." Two more tears rolled down.
"This will be the last time I shall ever cry over him."
Shunsui-san glances in surprise at the girl's resolution. Orihime sheepishly smiles back at him.
"I have a feeling I will break this vow easily, but it's the first step in the right direction. It's like a New Year's resolution, easily broken, but worth trying to achieve. Won't you wish me luck, Shunsui-san?"
Shunsui's smile was heavy as he gently clinked his bottle of wine against hers. "Only if you wish me the same luck with my sweet Nanao-chan."
Orihime paused before the bottle met her lips. "Shunsui-san, don't give up." Shunsui mirrored her actions, not drinking his wine. "The difference between Ise-san and you, and me and Kurosaki-kun is that Ise-san already cares for you, already knows about your regards towards her. … If I were not so content right now, I could almost be jealous of you, Shunsui-san."
Orihime smiled at him, before she resumed drinking her wine. She did not notice Shunsui not drinking his, just thoughtfully looking at her.
It was after that bottle that Orihime had cushioned her head within her arms on the edge of the table and promptly fell fast asleep. Two minutes after that, Shunsui had faced the repressed simmering wrath of Kuchiki Byakuya, who scanned the table and floor's neat organization of empty wine bottles before narrowing his eyes at Shunsui. Without a word at four in the morning Shunsui later realised Kuchiki Byakuya disappeared with Inoue Orihime safely cradled in his arms, still asleep.
Shunsui arrives to the end of his story as he sets down the wine bottle.
"So you spoke with the wine maker, told him about this new recipe, and encouraged him to change the wine name to "Red Hibiscus River"?"
"You don't miss anything do you, Jyuu?" The white-haired man gave a tired nod before they both turned their eyes towards the Barbican of Atonement, white from the moonlight, like an obelisk against the darkness.
Shunsui had heard Orihime's screams. Who hadn't? It would be the same as with Rukia-chan. He and Jyuu would protest, and if needed fight Yama-jii.
Shunsui remembers the words of one of his former professors, now gone like so many other.
"Some measure of peace, all of us seek, yet few of us so ever find."
Shunsui may be uncertain as to whether alcohol would provide that 'measure of peace', but he does know, that of so many souls both living and dead, Orihime-chan is deserving of that peace.
He will make sure she gains it.
A/N And here we are, phew. This is the longest piece that I've ever written. I doubt you can notice my favouritism towards a certain Shiro-chan, right? *sheepish rub of the head
But yes, our Weaving Princess will not get outright pardon or amnesty. What will happen?
You need to review to find out. :) Please, please, please review. As always I look forward to reading your feedback and building upon your suggestions. (This is one piece that I've actually pulled an all-nighter so I could finish it among other things.)
So please review!
And yes, everything belongs to Tite Kubo, except the Barbican of Atonement, which was my creation.
P.S. I based Orihime's screams on Natalie Dormer's wonderful performance as Anne Boleyn in The Tudors when she's watching her brother and supposed lovers get beheaded. Watch it on Youtube. She is an amazing actress!