OMG, You guys would be rocking my socks if I was wearing any.
Summer is barefoot time. ;P
But seriously, I come back and my inbox is filled with alerts. ^^ I wish I could've gotten this chapter out sooner, just to show how much I appreciate the feedback this story is getting.
Also, I noticed that Fanfiction had destroyed the time breaks I put in previous chapters. I'm sorry for any confusion this could have caused. They've been replaced now, I think, and I used periods instead of dashes. Tell me in your reviews if they still don't show up, please. Thank you…-hits Fanfiction-
If you see any Japanese characters or words you don't know, scroll to the bottom of the page. Doubtless, they'll be there.
Paint/glitter filled balloons go to: alanabanani, soulspirit18, A person, Tozase-Murcielago, kimichi, Sue Axel, Sheiri, Deviltrigger Dante, and yellowbricks for reviewing. :D -hands out various balloons-
My thanks go to: beachgurlkatie98, Maaiikee, wutai flea (whose stories I love), NotaRealPenName, GeneralCuster, Angel Peace, Headphone-bunny, and Sempi-Is-An-Angel for favoriting/alerting. ^-^
The list keeps getting longer. ^^
Stark, read our disclaimer.
S: -asleep-
Me: ^^" Stark, you're a main character in this chapter, you need to wake up…
S: -not caring, still asleep-
Me: -kicks him- WAKE UP AND READ THE FREAKING DISCLAIMER.
S: -blinks- Ok…3R15UK0UM31 does not own Bleach…or…any…-asleep again-
Me: -sigh- Enjoy the new chapter.
Hope
Her mind felt hazy and clouded; she couldn't see very well. All she could tell was that she was walking along the side of a road and it was nighttime; the sky ahead of her was that odd brown color that city lights made when they shone on the clouds.
She tried to see what she felt was pulling her along. It was like there was a chain on her chest, pulling her along towards some unknown destination. Something was calling to her…
She was confused; she knew she was going somewhere, somewhere important. Something kept drawing her towards that place and she couldn't stop, even though her feet hurt and she was tired and starting to get hungry. She heard a faint clinking as she walked, and saw jet black locks swishing around in the corners of her vision.
She wasn't sure how much farther she could go, she was really really tired, but that thing kept pulling her. It told her to keep moving and she found she couldn't deny it. There was somewhere she had to go, someone she had to find. She didn't know who it was, but it was someone she felt like she should know. The name was on the tip of her tongue…
Orihime woke with a start, her own name on her lips. She had a brief moment of hysteria where she wondered where the road had gone. Slowly, she remembered where she was, and how she had gotten there.
Orihime was quite used to having odd dreams, and often even horrific nightmares. Especially after the end of the war. But this went beyond strange. It was like she was someone else entirely in the dream. She wasn't sure she'd ever had that happen before…
She cleared away the last few cobwebs in her head with a huge yawn and some stretching. After brushing the wrinkles out of the yukata she had slept in, she walked down the hallway and into the main room, only to find that her host wasn't there.
Assuming he was still asleep, she walked quietly back down the hallway, poking her nose into rooms as she went.
She slid open the door of the first room. It was bare except for a scroll on the wall and a low table. A scroll was stretched out across the table, calligraphy scattered across it almost randomly, aimless and disorganized. It might have been poetry. Sun streamed in through a high window. Dust motes floated through the light, seeming trapped by the golden sunbeams, frozen in time. Silvery smoke curled up from two sticks of incense, sitting in their holders at either end of the table. The other scroll hung, solitary, on the wall. There were only a few characters written on it, stark black against snowy white: リリネット
She closed the door silently.
The next room was mostly filled by a fluffy, white, Western-style bed. It was covered in plushy, white cushions, and a white cotton blanket perched at the edge of the bed, looking as if it might fall off at any moment. This room had a window too, but it was covered over by thick white curtains. So much white…
She closed that door as well. That room was obviously Stark's bedroom, but if he wasn't sleeping, where was he…?
She returned to the main room and settled on a pile of cushions, watching the sun streaming in through the windows. She guessed it was about eight o'clock.
The haziness was returning. Her dream had left her feeling as exhausted as if she hadn't slept at all. She let her eyes slip shut as her mind wandered into a dim whitish world of half-sleep.
…
The sound of footsteps woke her up. She rubbed her eyes and ran her fingers through her messy hair. Stark had returned, carrying a small bag. He set it on the table they had eaten at before. "I knew you'd probably want something to eat. I don't really have anything here for breakfast, since I usually just skip it." He rubbed his eyes. There were dark circles under them.
She gave him an equally weary look before opening the bag and catching the scent of freshly baked pastries. "Oh, wow, I didn't know they sold stuff like this in Soul Society!" she exclaimed, brightening instantly.
Stark shrugged. "There are souls from all over here, there's bound to be food from all over too." His words were cut off abruptly by a huge yawn. Orihime realized he had probably gotten up early to get breakfast for her. Or maybe he hadn't slept well and had decided that since he was already up, he might as well.
Orihime had already finished an apple turnover. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until Stark had brought the pastries in. He sat across from her at the table and watched as she ate.
His stare wasn't like the looks most men gave her. There wasn't any lust, or even any real caring in his eyes. But behind the lethargy, she could see a thinly veiled excitement, as though it was thrilling just to have her around.
She was itching to ask him about the room with the scrolls, but just going in there she had felt as if she was disrupting something deeply personal and possibly intimate. It wasn't really her business anyway.
She ate another pastry.
He spoke up again, and if anything sounded more tired than ever. "There aren't as many houses in these districts. It should be a lot easier for you to search around. Everyone knows each other here," he added, almost as an afterthought. He yawned again.
She nodded. She finished the pastries quickly and walked back to her room, where she changed back into her original clothes. They had been washed, and still smelled faintly of hand-made soap. Her hood had disappeared somewhere along the way. She left the yukata folded on the futon.
She came back into the main room and bowed again, her hair falling in heavy orange waves around her face, unrestricted by the hair pins she used to wear. "Thank you very much for everything, Stark-san."
He smiled, barely, before replying in his usual lethargic way. "It was no trouble, Inoue-san. If you find Ulquiorra, be sure to come back with him and visit some time. He may have changed for the better."
She smiled brightly. "I will. Goodbye!" She waved cheerfully before heading out the door.
Stark leaned against the doorframe, the shadow of a smile still on his face. He waved to her back. "Goodbye." I do hope she comes back. Such a lively girl…
He turned tired eyes to the sky, and for a moment, warmth lit in them. I think you would have liked her, Lilinette. If things had been different…
He turned and silently went back inside his empty home, heading for the scroll room, and feeling the loneliness overtaking him again with every echoing footstep.
…
She had been to every house in the North 19th, and every house in the 20th and 21st as well. Everyone had had the same answer. Some had looked confused, some had looks of pity, some had been downright rude. And all of them seemed to say "You won't find him." It was as if they were trying to discourage her.
Well, if they'd been trying, they had succeeded. It was about 5 o'clock. The sky was just taking on the golden tones of a clear evening in early summertime. Birds chirped happily back and forth.
While Orihime would have normally wondered absentmindedly what they were talking about, today she simply pulled her knees to her chest and, resting her head on them, tried to chase the shadows out of her heart.
It was her fourth day in Soul Society. She had left that first day right after school and spent the night in the 13th division. The second day she had searched with Rukia and Grimmjow, and then the third day she had searched with Szayel. And now, at the end of the fourth day, her spirits were sinking with the sun.
She only had a week. She had checked almost every district he could possibly be in. There were only 3 left, and the chances she would find him there were slim and none. She remembered her last talk with Ukitake before she had left to search…
"Inoue-san, I checked the enrollment records in the Great Archives. There is no one enrolled in the Shinigami Academy by the name of Ulquiorra Schiffer. No one with that name has graduated from the Academy either. I'm afraid he isn't among our ranks. If he isn't here…" He let it trail off. Orihime understood. If he wasn't there, and he wasn't in the Rukongai, there was absolutely no telling where he was. And therefore, it would be impossible to find him.
A light breeze stirred her hair and helped to fend off the heat of the sun. Up until now, she had held onto the hope that she would be able to find him, despite the odds. She could feel that hope draining away slowly, like fading sunlight.
I should just go home…go home and enjoy the rest of my holiday and then go back to school and everything will be normal again. No Ulquiorra, no "woman", no prisoners or wars or killing, just me and my friends talking about lunch and the exams coming up and…
The tears flowed freely down her face as she choked back her sobs. It was impossible. Somehow, their lives had become twisted together. He couldn't be dead. He couldn't be dead, because if he was dead, she felt that some part of her would have gone with him. They had become too closely intertwined, like a tree growing into a cliff face. When the tree dies and falls, it takes a part of the cliff with it, leaving a permanent reminder of itself in the emptiness where rock should be. He just couldn't be dead.
She raised her eyes, just catching the last glimpse of the sun before it set completely. She wiped her eyes and sniffled a bit. Her throat felt tight and dry and swollen like it always did after she cried. She was having trouble swallowing. Her whole body ached, and she could feel the sunburn on her cheeks worsening. Her stomach was growling, demanding food. And yet, she felt lighter, and even smiled a little as the light faded from the sky.
She set off briskly in the opposite direction of the sunset, still wiping her eyes and sniffling occasionally.
She had a long way to go before morning.
…
A solitary figure sat by a similar river in Karakura Town, watching the water flow by. The grass was soft and whispered in the light summer breeze. Even though the sun had set, light still lingered in the west, and the first stars had yet to show up in the sky.
The figure dabbled elegant fingers in the water absentmindedly. It had taken him days to get to that particular spot by the river. Something had pulled him there, despite his fatigue and growing hunger, and despite the rapidly shortening chain hanging from his chest.
He turned his eyes to the sky, as if begging them for an answer. Faint sunlight gleamed for a moment in his viridian eyes, hazy with exhaustion, before he closed them slowly and lay down on the grass, letting sleep take him.
…
Orihime's dreams had been filled with rivers and starlight and soft green grass. She was grateful for the change from the more disturbing dreams she'd been having recently. She felt pure, refreshed, and hopeful.
Today, her fifth day in Soul Society, she was getting an early start. She was searching East Districts 30, 31, and 32.
She was now walking down the main street in East District 30, munching happily on a slice of melon. A fruit vendor had offered her a sample, and she had ended up buying four slices. It was alright, she had needed breakfast anyways. But her money was running dangerously low. No more buying things you don't really need, Orihime, she chided herself, glowering childishly.
The sounds of loud arguing distracted her from her inner conversation. Strangely, no one else on the street was taking notice. Was this normal…?
Since there was no crowd, Orihime could clearly see the two women standing in front of a weapons store. (She had noticed that most stores were actually in buildings here instead of in stalls, like the higher districts.) One was very tall and busty, with bronze skin and brown, wavy hair held back by a tiara. She was arguing animatedly with a much smaller, pale girl with short black hair and a ring of red makeup around her left eye. It was almost comical, watching them argue.
"Mila Rose, you promised you'd bring food for all of us! You're fat enough already, you don't need all that food, gimme some!" The shorter woman struggled to reach the package of food the taller woman (Mila Rose?) was carrying.
She scoffed. "You never said anything like that Apache! I remember getting you breakfast for the last week, and yesterday you promised it would be the last time. Get your own food!" Still holding the package tauntingly above Apache's head, Mila Rose began eating, smirking victoriously.
"I never promised you anything like that! We're a team, and teams have to share!" Apache was still struggling to reach the box of food.
A thin girl with long greenish hair and wearing a long white dress suddenly walked out of the store. She stepped between the arguing women, holding Apache back with a sleeve-covered hand while the other sleeve was held up to cover her face.
"Stop it, both of you," she said coolly, obviously not one to waste words. She faced Mila Rose. "Share your food for today, but" Here she turned back to face Apache. "You should start providing for yourself. Now both of you get inside. Halibel-sama is tired of your arguing." Without another word, she turned and went back inside. The two remaining women glared at each other before angrily muttering something that sounded vaguely like "Sun-sun". They went inside as well.
Throughout the whole encounter, they had failed to notice Orihime looking on. Halibel…that name seems very familiar… She threw away the remainders of her breakfast before stepping inside the shop.
It was cool and dark, and the walls were lined with an interesting selection of very finely crafted weapons. The green-haired woman from earlier was behind the counter. She gave Orihime a cool gaze before saying, "Would you like to see Halibel-sama?"
Orihime hesitated a moment before nodding. The woman turned and went into the back of the store. Now, in the silence, Orihime could still hear the faint arguing of Mila Rose and Apache in the back room. Suddenly, they stopped.
A new woman came into the main room of the shop, tall and tanned, with gleaming teal eyes and a face mostly hidden behind the high collar of her shirt. Her eyes widened for a moment in what Orihime correctly guessed was recognition. She closed her eyes slowly and dipped her head, before addressing Orihime coolly and formally: "Ohayougozaimasu, shuujin-sama."
Ohayougozaimasu is a very formal way to say good morning. Shuujin is a prisoner, and –sama is a suffix that denotes great respect. -san is a suffix that denotes a medium respect, akin to Mr. or Mrs. in English.
The kana written on the scroll, if you didn't guess, read "Ririnetto"; the Japanese way to spell Lilinette.
Remember what a yukata is? I'll give a refresher: It's a light cotton kimono worn in the summer, almost like a bathrobe.
I chose the East Districts to be last, because the East is where the sun rises, and it kinda symbolizes Orihime's renewal of hope. I guess. -shrug- Something like that. :D
Has anyone figured out her dreams yet? I sincerely hope so, I dropped massive hints.
R&R please. Reviewers get a lifetime supply of ultra stretchy rubber bands, paper clips, and duct tape. (C'mon, office supplies are the bomb! You can get into a lot of trouble with just those three things XD)