Hello Minna-san! I..um..kind of back.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. I wish I did...
"Ichimaru-san," said Sousuke Aizen as he walked toward the elder.
"Captain Aizen," Ichimaru acknowledged his presence. "I know what you've been doing." The elder went straight to the point.
'My dear Ichimaru-san, you only know because I let you know,' Aizen smiled inwardly.
"Oh?" he said aloud.
"Yes, and I would like to help you," Ichimaru family-head said as he looked in Aizen's cold brown eyes.
"And how might that be?" Aizen said with a smile.
"I am the head of one of the noble families in this kingdom. Is my mere presence not enough?" Ichimaru Haruo said coldly.
"Of course, of course!" Aizen said as he continued to smile.
"No," Ichigo said.
"But…please, Onni-chan!" Yuzu pleaded.
"I said no!" Ichigo said again.
"Well, Orihime-chan and Toushiro are coming with us," said Karin and smirked.
"Who gave you permission to take Orihime with you?" Ichigo asked, crocking a brow.
"We asked her and she said 'yes,' right, Orihime-chan?!" Yuzu said quickly.
Orihime and Toushiro were standing a little farther way a listening to the royalties.
The princesses wanted Ichigo to go to the picnic with them. They asked Ichigo if he could take them next time he goes. Of course Ichigo refused.
"Yes! Ichigo-kun, please go. Karin-chan and Yuzu-chan really want you to come!" Orihime said softly as she made the puppy eyes.
Ichigo knew that his decision was made the second he saw Orihime make those eyes again. How could he say no?
Ichigo knew what this was all about. Probably, his idiot dad set his sisters up for this. Ichigo normally didn't go to picnics. His parents wanted him to come. So they asked his sisters to convince Orihime and Toushiro to come with them. His father knew very well that he would go if Orihime went. There was no way, he would NOT go if Orihime went.
"Ugh, fine! I'll go. Happy now?" Ichigo said.
"Yay! Arigatou, Onni-chan!" Yuzu hugged her brother.
"See, Orihime-chan. I told you Ichi-nii would agree to go if you said," Karin smirked when she saw a tiny blush covering Orihime's cheeks.
"Karin-chan!" Yuzu scolded her twin sister for giving away their secret.
"It's alright. I knew you set her up and I already said I would go," Ichigo said as he smiled.
With that, the Yuzu hugged Orihime who hugged the younger girl back. Karin also joined them when Orihime gestured her to join the group hug.
Toushiro looked from the girls to Ichigo.
"Not so tough now, eh?" Toushiro smirked.
"Oh, look Toushiro-kun! Orihime is calling you for the group hug," Ichigo smirked back.
Before Toushiro knew it, he was pulled to the group hug by Karin. Karin smirked at the white-haired boy's horrified expression and Yuzu and Orihime laughed. Ichigo also smiled when he heard Orihime laugh. He also felt a little sad that he wasn't part of the hug. As silly as it might sound, Ichigo actually wanted to be a part of the hug.
His sadness soon disappeared when Orihime looked in his direction and smiled. She waved at him, gesturing him to join her. He gladly walked toward her and joined the group hug. Everyone laughed.
The hug only ended when they heard the sound of paper dropping on the floor. They looked up and saw Hanataro. Hanataro looked like he saw a ghost. He rubbed his eyes with his hands.
Everyone laughed.
"No, Hanataro, You aren't going crazy. Ichi-nii really was a part of the group hug," Karin smirked.
Hanataro fainted and Ichigo scowled.
"You were right, daddy! Onee-chan really agreed to come when Orihime-chan asked him to come!" Yuzu beamed as she hugged her father.
"Yes, my princess! Daddy is a genius!" Isshin cried with happiness.
"I KNEW YOU WERE BEHIND ALL THIS!" Ichigo yelled at his father.
"Thank you, Orihime-chan! Ichigo doesn't normally go to things like this," Masaki smiled at Orihime.
"E-Eh! I-I just asked him to come. I didn't do anything special," Orihime protested with a blush. Masaki smiled again.
"AND STAY DOWN!" Ichigo kicked his father for one last time then turned to his mother. "Mom, when are we going to the picnic?"
"Isshin said he can make time on the day after tomorrow. So I am guessing that day is final unless you have something to do," Masaki said softly.
"No, I am free. Where are we going anyway?"
"I thought we should go to the river-side on the west. We used to go there quite often when you were little," the queen replied with a smile.
Orihime was having fun. She never imagined a picnic could be so…grand. Carriage after carriage filled with guards came with them. Many boxes filled with food and many other things. Then again, it was a royal picnic. She reasoned this was to be expected. The river-side was a beautiful place. She would've never learned about such beautiful places if she didn't meet Ichigo. And she was thankful for that. Not only to Ichigo but the whole royal family.
The princesses and Orihime were picking flowers after their lunch. The king and queen were talking about some royal matter and Ichigo and Toushiro were trying to beat each other at some silly games. Everyone was relaxed. Suddenly, a guard ran toward them and told the king something that made the king a little surprised and worried. He gave the graud his order and he left.
"Ichigo, it seems Mrs. Ichimaru had a carriage accident nearby and she is in the care of our guards. Your mom and I are going to see if she is alright," said the king.
"Mrs. Ichimaru? We will come with you. She has always been kind to me," replied Ichigo.
The royal family, Orihime and Toushiro went to see the noble. It wasn't a severe accident. The Lady of the Ichimaru household only received a gash on her forehead and she was immediately tended by the royal guards. When she saw the king, she immediately apologized for causing them inconvenience.
"You majesty, I apologize for causing you inconvenience during your relaxing time. There was no need for you to come see an old lady like me," she said with a smile.
"Madam, it was no inconvenience. It is my duty as the king to look out for the well being of my people," The king replied.
The the lady's eyes fell on Orihime and Toushio who were standing next to the royalties. The Lady of the Ichimaru house keenly observed them for a moment and then her eyes widened.
"Your majesty, if I may ask, who are these two children? I've never seen them before," she asked, her eyes never leaving the two children.
"They are Ichigo's friends, madam. You have not seen them before because they were recently brought to live with us from the village called Mushashima. They are practically family," the king replied.
The lady's eyes widened even more. Both the king and the queen noticed this. The question was, did her eyes widen because the two children were from the same village Ichimaru Gin lived in or was there more to the story?
Orihime was exhausted by the end of the day. She lied down on her bed but couldn't fall asleep. She thought about the old lady she met. She couldn't put her finger on it but there was something oddly familiar about this old lady. Orihime fell asleep at some point. She dreamed about her parents and when they were still alive. She saw her parents smiling, their eyes twinkling with happiness. Orihime woke up with a gasp.
The old lady had the same beautiful blue eyes as her father.
Morning came. Orihime, as usual went to wake up the prince. On the way, she bumped into her little brother. Toushiro was just walking around the corridor.
"Shiro-kun? You already woke up?" Orihime questioned.
"Yes, sis. I didn't sleep very well last night."
"Why? Are you not feeling well, Shiro-kun?" Orihime questioned worriedly.
"No, no. Sis, you know the lady from yesterday, didn't she have the same colored eyes as dad?"
"Shiro-kun, honestly, I was thinking about the same thing last night. Dad had such beautiful eyes," Orihime smiled at the thought.
"Coincidence, I suppose. By the way, sis, you are going to be late waking up that lazy-ass," Toushiro stated as a matter-of-fact.
"Oh no!" Orihime sprinted toward the prince's room.
Coincidence, is it really? The question kept coming back to Toushiro's head.
Lady Akemi had a sad life. She was married off to the Ichimaru head when she was barely twenty. It was not a love marriage. It was a marriage for convenience. However, she was able to fit in with her husband, Ichimaru Haruo. She became the mother of Ichimaru Gin when she was twenty-five. Gin was a talented child. Akemi couldn't have been happier. She watched as her little child grew up. Her happiness did not last. Her son fell in love with a commoner. Ichimaru family was a very conservative family who cared about tradition and status more than anyone else. Her son was going to be killed but only her cries and pleading prevented it. She only saw her daughter-in-law once. But she would always remember that beautiful face. She was glad that her son was at least alive. Even if he was living like a mere peasant. But her happiness was yet again taken away. When she got the news that a group of bandits killed her san and her daughter-in-law by her secret informant. She wasn't even able to show her sadness because no one in the Ichimaru household knew that she still hadn't cut ties with her son. When she saw the two children with the royalties, she could not believe her eyes. When she learned where they came from, she had no doubts.
Those two children were her grandchildren.
Ichimaru Haruo was in a great distress. After all these years, nuisances appeared to interfere with his household again. He couldn't stand peasant blood. They were filthy and deserved to be treated like trash. The second he saw that girl with the auburn hair, he just knew she was his grand-daughter. His grand-daughter who had peasant blood in her. Because her mother was a orphan peasant. Haruo reasoned that the girl did not know of her heritage nor did the royal family.
The royal family.
The whole lot of them were peasant loving creatures and were not fit to run the kingdom. He could not bare how Kurosaki Isshin seemed to think peasants were to be treated as human. He had tolerated with him till now because his father had listened to what he had to say and did not help that retched village called Mushashima. But he will not tolerate anymore. If the girl finds out that she was a descendent from the Ichimaru family, she will for sure try to cause problem. He could not have that.
Only one that can help him is Sousuke Aizen, an ambitious bastard of a captain. His distress only increased when he received the news that the girl had a younger brother.
Sousuke Aizen was an interesting man. He was born in a poor family. He saw what poverty was. He knew what it was like to not eat for days. He knew what pain was because his scum-bag father. His father was a sadist bastard who hit him all the time and beat his mom for no apparent reason. He hated his father, the poverty, the pain. He was talented ever since he was young. He was smart and handsome. He was a great swordsman as well. And that is how he was able to get into the royal army. He wasn't poor anymore. His dad wasn't there to beat him anymore because he finally died. He thought he could be happy. But he couldn't. His ambition kept urging him to go further, to become more powerful. He hated his past. He hated peasants.
He eventually became a captain. His ambition still did not stop. He had to have more power. His lust for power couldn't be satiated by that captain position. Then he finally acknowledged it. He knew what he really wanted. He wanted the whole kingdom. He wanted everyone at his mercy. That wouldn't be possible if he wasn't the king. But Kurosaki Isshin was loved by the peasants and the nobles alike. He also maintained good relationships with foreign kingdoms. There was no way Aizen would win the throne by using sheer force. That was why he planned for all those years.
He needed help from at least one noble family. And he finally found a way.
Aizen looked at the distant sky with the handsome smile still plastered on his face.
Um...hehe...e-eto...
P-PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!
I am very sorry for not updating in about an year. I was very busy with school work. Junior year in high school is the hardest thing I have ever done. Currently I am in spring break. So... I probably lost all the readers. I won't be surprised. You guys were with me and then I let you down. Gomen.
School will be over soon for summer vacation and then I will be able to spend more time with this story. I know this chapter was very short. But I just wanted to see if people still reads this story. I am sorry guys. I feel very bad.
I hope you can all forgive me, onegai.
Orihime: Please, forgive her. *Puppy-dog eyes*
Hahaha...(nervous laugh...) I hope you guys are still with me...
Adios! I will definitely come back with new chapter.
I am sorry again.
RainingLight~
