Well here it goes, the first chapter of the story so hope you all enjoy it as much as I did writing it!
Oh, and I would like to thank the person who Reviewed the prologue and the person who already added this story to their favorites. THANK YOU!!!! I hope the story lives up to your expectations!! Lol
Enjoy and Review!!
Chapter 1- Overwhelming Confusion
Once she was obliterated by Aizen and died, Orihime decided that death wasn't so bad. Sure it was complete darkness but it wasn't cold or lonely like she had originally thought, quite the opposite. It was really warm and comfortable, much like her bed was in her apartment , and for some reason she felt completely relaxed and safe.
I think I like being dead… Did I really just think that? I wonder if Kurosaki-kun is as happy as I am in death. It feels so… normal.
She decided not to put more thought into it, after all she didn't want to ruin the feeling by thinking to much. For a moment she thought she was going to become completely consumed by this feeling until she heard a noise. A loud, annoying beeping noise.
Go away. I like where I'm at. I don't want to leave this place! Ugh!
Suddenly Orihime felt her eyes start to open.
Have they been closed this whole time?
Slowly her blurry vision began to clear and what she saw was a little too nostalgic to her liking. Huge ceiling, white floors, and a window that shows a sky with a lone reverse crescent moon?
Las Noches? Was all of that a dream? Am I still being held prisoner and Kurosaki-kun hasn't even came here yet?
She absentmindedly rubbed her head,
My head hurts… to much thinking.
She slowly sat up and noticed that although this was indeed Las Noches, this was not her old room. This room had decorations and colors, unlike the old room where it was completely white. She rose to her feet to find that this room was full of normal household items, along with them a nightstand with the alarm clock that was still obnoxiously beeping. Orihime reached over and turned it off then walked over to the dresser and opened it. She was surprised to see different clothes other than her normal white Espada dress she had been issued when she first arrived to Las Noches.
"These are all my normal clothes and all these things in this room used to be in my apartment. What is going on?"
Despite the new attire, she instinctively put on her Espada dress and looked around the rest of the room. It had a kitchen, equipped with her favorite foods, a master bathroom, living space with couch and television, and a small personal study with a few bookshelves and a desk.
I may still be in Las Noches but at least I have a awesome room…
Then it hit her, Ichigo.
"Oh my God! Where's Ichigo!? If I'm alive does that mean he's alive or anybody else is?"
During this sudden realization she didn't notice her door open or the person sneaking up behind her.
"Maybe Aizen took me before the blast hit or…"
"Your late for the meeting Inoue-sama."
"AHHHH!!!!!!!"
Orihime whipped around and fell backwards onto the floor from the unexpected presence. Halibel was apparently used to these type of antics and just continued forward into the kitchen.
"It started 5 minutes ago and from the looks of it you haven't even eaten yet."
Her voice held it's normal seriousness but she was smiling. Orihime was still in a state of shock. Halibel came out of the kitchen with 2 pieces of toast topped with bean paste.
"Here"
She offered the food to the stunned girl who just stared blankly at her. Now Halibel was somewhat worried. She knew that Orihime would space out more often than most but this was starting to get ridicules.
"Inoue-sama, is there something wrong?"
Halibel was taken by surprise when Orihime got to her feet and touched the Espada's face. "Where's your mask? I thought you had a mask covering your mouth?"
It was true, Orihime hadn't noticed it at first but the third Espada didn't have the usual mask covering her face. Halibel sat the toast aside for the moment to try to figure out what was happening.
"Inoue-sama you…"
She was cut off by Orihime,
"And why do you keep calling me Inoue-sama? I'm not your superior, I'm your prisoner. What is going on? Did Aizen kill my friends? I'm I just dead and went to Hell… or perhaps Heaven? It's not like this is all that bad… I guess."
She didn't notice that she was verbally voicing her thoughts. Halibel was now the one with the shocked face,
She thinks that she's dead and that she's my prisoner? What have I done to make Inoue-sama think that?
"Do you think maybe that when you soul get's destroyed you continue living in your memories? Maybe this is just my memories jumbled together. Your supposed to be Sora getting my toast and this is suppose to be my apartment but instead it's Las Noches."
Orihime's eyes were glassed over as she was in another state of mind, completely isolated from the world around her.
"Inoue-sama please, you are not dead and you are not my prisoner. You are our creator, Inoue-sama. Without you we would still be mindless Hollow."
Orihime stared at her intensely, then started to laugh.
"I'm your creator? This must be a dream!"
Very few things can make the stoic Tia Halibel speechless but this was definitely one of them.
"Do you have no memories of coming to Las Noches and creating us? Here, why don't we just go to the meeting and I'll prove to you that you are not my prisoner."
Orihime gave here a scared look,
"A meeting? Like an Espada meeting?"
Halibel noticed the twinge of fear in her voice,
"Your our creator Inoue-sama, why would we want to harm you. We serve you and you are a kind creator. We would die for you, there is no reason to be scared of us. Perhaps I should call Szayel to take a look at you…"
Halibel now knew 100% something was terribly wrong because at the mention of Szayel, Orihime grew pale and knelt down in an obedient stance, much like a lowly servant would and said with a pleading voice,
"Please no, I-I'll g-go to the meeting. P-Please don't call him. I'm sorry Halibel-sama, I shouldn't have question your authority."
Halibel's eyes widened in shock.
This is not Inoue-sama. She would never be so meek or submissive. Something is wrong with her.
Halibel grabbed her by the shoulder and gently pulled her to her feet.
"Don't worry I won't call him but let's just go to the meeting. Maybe you'll see something that'll make you remember."
Orihime, still trapped in her old submissive state of mind, just obediently nodded and followed the Espada out of the room. Halibel looked back at how she stayed a few feet behind her much like a fraccion or servant would.
What has happened to you, Inoue-sama?
They reached the large double doors and Halibel pushed one open, holding it so Orihime could pass through first. She was extremely scared as she saw the large table holding the Espada, she was after all never allowed to come to the meetings before this so she was understandably nervous. She thought it was odd that none of the traitorous shinigami were present, Aizen in particular, but maybe he wasn't at every meeting, maybe he allowed them to talk alone. Halibel lead her toward the table and Orihime noticed how all the Espada turned their attention to her.
This is bad, I shouldn't be here…
If she thought she was nervous before now she was outright sick from the anxiety as Halibel told her that she sat at the head of the table.
"M-me? Why am I sitting here? Isn't this were the Aizen or whoever is in charge of the meetings sits?"
Every one of the Espada turned their head to the girl with looks confusion, even Stark lifted his sleepy head at the question.
"Oh, and who is this 'Aizen' that you speak of be, Inoue-sama?"
Orihime almost fainted at the sight of the speaker. It was none other then her former captor, Ulquiorra Schiffer.
"I-I… I thought you were dead."
Her voice was full of emotion, joy, sorrow, and fear. Everyone looked at Ulquiorra who for once was at a loss for words and looked as confused as they were. Orihime stood up and angrily yelled,
"I saw you die! I know you died! And don't ask me who Aizen is, after all that he has done to everyone, including you all."
She started to tear up,
"I don't know what's going on… Where's Kurosaki-kun? Why isn't he here?"
Nel stood up and walked over to their leader.
"Orihime-sama, what's wrong? What do you mean you 'don't know what's going on?'"
Halibel sighed, "She's been acting like this since I found her this morning."
Zommari got to his feet quickly, "Has someone done something to Inoue-sama?! This is unacceptable!"
"Quiet down we don't know what's even wrong with her. I think it would be best if we took her down to my labs…"
"Don't mention your labs, she seems to get even more upset for some reason."
Szayel gave Halibel a questionably look but didn't comment any further. Nel grabbed Orihime's face so that she was looking directly at her and in a very calm and gentle voice started,
"Orihime-sama, listen to me. You are not in any danger and we are not your enemy. You are our creator and we serve you. We have done so for almost 2 years now and this 'Aizen' is not our leader. Ulquiorra is not dead and Ichigo will be back from his mission shortly so don't worry. Your Ok, just calm down."
Orihime hadn't noticed Nel there before that because of the state of disorientation she was in and felt slightly more at ease. Now that she was calm, she noticed that the current Espada before her wasn't the one she remembered. For starters, Nel was there but there were other changes as well. She remembered what Nel had said,
"So Kurosaki-kun is alive?"
Nel smiled, "Yes, he is fine. You sent him out to recruit an Adjuchas with Chad and Uryuu. You don't remember?"
Orihime was now smiling,
Chad and Uryuu are alive too.
Still confused about what was happening but seeing that they weren't a threat she relaxed a little.
"Amnesia."
Everyone looked at the pink haired scientist, Grimmjow being the first one to question him,
"What the hell is Amnesia?"
Szayel gave a small chuckle at Grimmjow's ignorance,
"Amnesia is a mental condition that humans get from various types of incidents. Sometimes physical trauma, sometimes mental. It makes them forget their personal memories but usually leaves normal motor skill and common knowledge intact, an example I'm sure she knows how to use her powers and how to cook, but she may not know who we are."
Grimmjow scrunched his face in confusion, "How do you explain how she remembers who some of use are then, like Halibel?"
Szayel sighed in annoyance,
"Amnesia is a truly remarkable affliction, even I don't know how it works completely but I would assume that some of her memories are more affected then others. Some patients even regain their memories with time and informational input of what they're suppose to remember."
Grimmjow grunted in reluctant acceptance of the explanation, Nel looked toward them,
"Well then let's introduce ourselves!"
Orihime looked at all of them in disbelief as they started to stand up one by one.
Why are they being so respectful toward me? Do they really think I'm their leader?
"I guess I'll start, Yammy Riyalgo, Nuevo Espada."
The large Arrancar bowed before sitting back down. Orihime watched as the next person stood,
"I am Szayel Aporro Granz, Octava Espada."
It kept going in order like that, Zommari 7th, Grimmjow 6th, Nel 5th, Halibel 4th, and Stark 3rd. Orihime held up here hand after Stark realizing something was mission and Halibel gave her a strange look before saying,
"Is there something you would like to ask Inoue-sama?"
Orihime fidgeted in her seat, "Umm, well I was just wondering what position Ulquiorra is and why there is 2 people missing?"
Halibel opened her mouth but was cut off,
"Oh I'm sorry! And I also was wondering where Barragan, Nnoitra, and that other guy with the tall head are because I know they were part of the Espada."
Halibel quirked an eyebrow and Ulquiorra stood,
"I am the Primera Espada, Ulquiorra Schiffer and the Segunda Espada is Ichigo Kurosaki but as Halibel has already pointed out, he is currently out on a mission to recruit a powerful Adjuchas to complete our ranks. As for your second question, Barragan Luisenbarn was never an Espada. He was the former ruler of Hueco Mundo but after you came here and created us, we were forced to eliminate him. The other two that you speak of, I have no recollection of who they are."
Orihime gave him a look of disbelief before turning to Nel,
"Nel, you know who Nnoitra is right?"
Nel looked to the other Espada for some help before turning back to her,
"Umm, no I'm sorry Orihime-sama I don't know who he is. Where do you know him from?"
Orihime looked around the whole table and for the first time that the Espada appeared to be worried, excluding Ulquiorra who had his normal emotionless mask on. She looked down at her lap and folded her hands together,
They're worried? About what? Surely not me, right…
Szayel stood up, "I think it is possible that her mind may have made a fantasy or alternative reality do to the Amnesia. It's possible that her subconscious knows that there are memories missing and tried to internal create new ones to fill the void. This would explain why some of her memories have accurate depictions of us and her friends but are twisted because of the trauma."
Everyone looked at him and Grimmjow was about to yell something at him when it seemed to make sense to him. Orihime looked up,
"An alternative reality? No, I know what happened. How could you think I making this all up? I saw Ulquiorra die and I healed Grimmjow's arm after Tousen cut it off. I know all those things happened!"
She was getting hysterical and was about to start crying when Halibel placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "Perhaps you could tell us what all that you do remember and we'll fill in the blanks and weed out the fake memories from the real ones. Does this sound acceptable Inoue-sama?"
Orihime wiped away the tears that had built up in her eyes and nodded unable to talk at the moment. Grimmjow looked down at his left arm as it started tingling and angrily got up and said,
"Alright Inoue-sama, tell me who the fuck is Tousen and where I can find him."
The way he said it made Orihime give a small giggle at his pride being attacked. She looked to the table full of her former superiors and gave a small smile,
"Well it all started when…"
She had recited all of what had happened to her since gaining her powers all the way to Aizen killing her by creating the King's Key. Halibel had to give a few glares at various Espada when they tried to interrupt her, signaling them to 'wait until she is finished, or I'll throw you through the wall'. When she finally was finished Szayel the first to speak,
"Inoue-sama, I would like to first say that I would never work with this 'Nnoitra' and would never try to harm Nelliel. I admit I am a bit of a 'mad scientist', for lack of a better word, but I would never attack my fellow Espada."
He smirked and looked toward a scowling Nel,
"Besides she is a valuable member of our Espada, even if she is a just child."
Szayel let out the laugh he had been holding in and Grimmjow, Yammy, and even Stark join in. Nel quickly stood up,
"SHE SAID I WAS FORCED INTO THE FORM OF A CHILD!"
They slowly regained their composure, occasionally letting out a lone chuckle.
Ulquiorra sighed, "Perhaps if you didn't always act childish, then Inoue-sama wouldn't regard you as being a child in her subconscious."
Nel looked like she was going to leap across the table to attack the Primera but stayed where she was. Halibel spoke,
"So in your 'memories', the Espada ranks were…"
Orihime noticed that she had intentionally cut her sentence off so she could fill it in,
"Oh, umm, well the 10th was Yammy, 9th the tall headed guy, Szayel was the 8th, the 7th Zommari, Grimmjow, Nnoitra, Ulquiorra, Halibel, Barragan, then Stark."
Ulquiorra gave her a very cold look,
"I was the Cuarto Espada and Stark was the Primera?"
Stark gave a chuckle, "It seems Inoue-sama's subconscious thinks I'm the strongest."
"The fuck is this shit! I'm behind the Barragan and the Nnoitra guy!"
Halibel had to hide a blush, "You thought I was the Tereca?"
Nel practically threw herself beside Orihime,
"I wasn't even an Espada?! Do you really think that badly of me?"
Orihime quickly spoke up, feeling bad at hurting Nel's feelings,
"Oh no, you were the 3rd before Nnoitra and Szayel tried to kill you."
Szayel visibly flinched at the statement. Nel was flabbergasted,
"T-The third! Yes, I knew it! You do think highly of me!"
Ulquiorra sighed and an obvious question,
"I assume that Kurosaki did not make the Espada?"
This earned a grin from Grimmjow and Nel, for two very different reasons.
"Well he isn't an Arrancar, actually now that I think about it how is he an Espada now? I thought it was only for Arrancar?"
Even Ulquiorra gave a dumbfounded expression, as Halibel leaned across the table a little, "Inoue-sama, are you sure he wasn't turned into an Arrancar in your memories?"
Orihime laughed, "Of course not, I mean he has a Hollow in him but he is a shinigami. I think he is technically called a Vizard."
They stared at her in dead silence without saying a word. Orihime started to fidget nervously again,
"What? What's wrong?"
Breaking the silence was the large double doors opening and the her three friends walking in with a large Hollow. She jumped to her feet and was about to run to him when she was frozen to her spot. That mask… His left side of his face was covered by his fearsome Vasto Lorde mask. It wasn't covering the whole left side of his face, just from midway down the jawbone then straight up covering most of his left eye. It did, however, stop after it went up through his hair, a single horn protruding out, and partially wrapped around his ear leaving a open cavity. He waved over to her,
"Hey Inoue, here's the Adjuchas I was talking about and.."
He stopped when he saw her trembling in fear and slowly backing behind Halibel.
"What's wrong?"
Halibel sighed, "You better sit down."
Well here is my first real chapter of the story and please don't get confused, there is still a bit of explaining to do. I like the direction it's going and there is still a whole lot of twists and turns so be prepared! Oh and if you want a visual of what Ichigo looks like here--- .com/Bleach/352/07/--- If the link doesn't work then got to OneManga dot com/bleach then click on chapter 352 page 7. Lol Thanks for reading and please Review!!!!
PeAcE OuT
