Hey, I'm back. Just one more chapter to go. I so hope that I can get it done soon. Thanks for your continued support. I'm flattered.
Chapter 23
Slowly, without making a sound, Uryuu Ishida stepped out of the apartment. He didn't want to be spotted by either of them. It was bad enough that he'd walked in on the woman he loved hugging another man but what was worse was that he's heard her declaring her love for that same man. To top it all up, the man seemed to be responding. He rushed down the stairs as fast as he could and made it to his car. A sharp pain rose deep within him and he clutched his chest, face contorted in a tortured grimace. A shaking breath slowly escaped his lips just as a tear escaped his eye.
"Why?" he asked, to whom he didn't know. "Why? What is wrong? Why?"
Somebody tapped on his shoulder. Uryuu whipped around, ready to punch whoever was disrupting this private moment. The sight that met his eyes made him do a double take. In front of him stood a tall man with pale blond hair, sticking out in different angles from under his green and white striped hat. His clothes matched his hat and he had an odd, old-fashioned cloak on.
"Stop whining," the man said not unkindly. "You're not to be blamed."
Uryuu blinked, his pain forgotten owing to the appearance of the bizarre man. "Sorry, do I know you?"
The man shook his head, "No, you've never met me."
"Then how do you know what my problem is?"
The man grinned, "I said you've never met me. I didn't say I haven't met you, did I?"
"What? That makes no sense!" Uryuu retorted.
The man threw back his head and laughed, "Sense? Much of the world doesn't make sense, and that's what makes it worth living. What say Uryuu Ishida?"
The black haired man took a step back, his body alert. "How do you know my name?" his tone was brusque and demanding.
"Like I said," the man said in a singsong voice. "You don't know me, but I know you. I know everything about you."
Getting increasingly flustered, Uryuu gripped the hood of his car, "What do you mean?"
"Twenty four years of age. The only son of Ryuuken and Katagiri Ishida," the man was counting on his fingers as he listed what he knew about Uryuu. "Five feet nine and a half inches tall. You possess an extraordinarily high IQ of 137. Ryuuken wanted you to be a Neuro-surgeon but you were more interested in Fashion designing. Rebelled against your totalitarian father at the age of fourteen and moved to your grandparent's house and haven't spoken to him since then. Now you are well on your way to become a very talented and renowned name in the fashion industry. Have been in love with Orihime Inoue almost all your life. Oh and you had a dog named Snuffy at the age of four. You cried a lot when it died."
Uryuu's eyes flew wide. Depressed, scared and worried, he did the first thing that crossed his mind, although it was uncharacteristic for him. He threw his fist at the grinning man. The man's demeanour changed instantly as he blocked the punch rather effortlessly.
"Don't take it personally Uryuu Ishida," he said in a business-like voice. "It's not you. I have scrutinized anyone who's come in touch with Orihime Inoue."
Not expecting that answer, Uryuu dropped his hand. "Why?"
"She's special to me. I needed to make sure that she isn't harmed."
A disturbing thought crossed Uryuu's mind, "You sick old pervert!"
To his intense surprise, the man chuckled, "I can see why that thought would occur to you, but trust me, I prefer women closer to my age. Orihime is actually… my responsibility. She's my ward."
"She has parents," Uryuu replied tersely. "Tell me the whole truth. Who are you and what do you want?"
"Ah! Apologies! I haven't introduced myself, have I? How rude of me!" The man bowed, tipping his hat slightly, "I'm Kisuke Urahara. Pleased to have finally shown you my face."
"Why have you been spying on Orihime, and don't give me the 'she's my ward' bullshit. I know there's more to the story."
"Indeed there is, but you don't need to know it," Urahara said. "What you do need to know is, you're not at fault. There's nothing you could have done to make her love you. Orihime and Ulquiorra, they're destined to be together. I just want to tell you to give up and move on. Find yourself a better girl. Ryo Kunieda has harboured a thing for you for a while, you should go to her."
Uryuu had had enough of it, "Listen up old man, whoever you are, if you know so much about me, you know what I can do. You've really angered me and so I suggest you run. Run fast and hide, for I'm going to look for you, hunt you down and destroy you."
Uarahara laughed heartily, "By all means, go ahead. I would love to see you try. See you later Uryuu Ishida or not."
Before Uryuu could say anything, the man waved and walked away. Uryuu paused for a few seconds and then decided to follow him. He took a few of steps after him but to his immense surprise, there was no sign of the weird, creepy old man. He seemed to have disappeared into thin air.
"Tsuruga!" his friend grasped the young man's arms tightly. "Don't you realize what you're doing?"
Tsuruga smiled, "Relax! Nothing will go wrong. Love is a wonderful thing."
The Shinigami shook his head, "Love? And what about your duty? Your loyalty to your family? Don't they count?"
"Kisuke," Tsuruga said in patient tones, "Love is bigger than everything. It is our destiny to be together. Duty, loyalty, familial ties – they're important, but not nearly as much as love. For too long our families have been marked with hatred and bitterness. It is time for the darkness to go and let love spread the light. Zumi and I will do it. We will bridge our families together."
"Listen to yourself!" the young Shinigami shouted. "That woman has the power of the devil, you told me about them yourself. How can you associate with someone like that?"
"That's the power of the Gods, not the devil. Don't ever say that again."
Urahara changed tack, "So you think her God- like powers will help you bridge the gap of hatred? These words look good in a book. There's no place for them in real life. Wake up Tsuruga!"
Tsuruga merely smiled.
She was in her garden, picking flowers when suddenly someone ran up to her. Someone she had met only once.
"Urahara- san?"
Tears were streaming down his eyes as he kneeled in front of her, "Help him! Forgive me Akazumi San, but help him. I'm forbidden from attacking humans, but you can help him with your powers. Please, help him!"
She frowned, "Help who? What are you talking about Urahara San?"
"Tsuruga!" the Shinigami screamed clutching his hair. "I thought I was helping him. I went to your father and told him about you both."
The basket dropped from her hands as her eyes flew wide. Without thinking, her hand made a resounding contact with the Shinigami's cheek. "And you call yourself his friend?"
"Please," the young boy sobbed. "Help him. They'll kill him."
Akazumi ran with the Shinigami following on her heels. The duo reached the scene that looked straight from nightmares. The entire clans of Ishikaga and Miyagi stood facing each other, their swords drawn. Amidst the blood thirsty Miyagi men stood a bloodied, bruised and heavily injured Tsuruga.
"Tsuruga!" Akazumi screamed, drawing the attention of thirty or so enraged men.
"And here comes the Miyagi wench," one Ishikaga spat.
"Watch your mouth Ishikaga!" one of her brothers screamed.
"STOP!" Akazumi pleaded. "Please everyone, stop! Don't harm him! He's done nothing!"
"You stay out of this Akazumi," her father ordered. "I will punish you once I'm done with him."
"YOU will punish her?" Tsuruga's father said derisively. "How is that fair? If you're going to kill my son, it's only fair that we kill your daughter!"
"You will not touch her!" her brother yelled.
"Then hand Tsuruga over, we will deal with him."
The offer was met with silence.
"Hand Tsuruga over or there's going to be a war and innocent blood will be spilled," the Ishikaga patriarch said. "You can deal with your daughter as you deem fit and we'll take care of our son as we deem right."
"No father!" Akazumi breathed. She caught Tsuruga's eyes, who shook his head slightly telling her to stay quiet.
It was the Miyagi patriarch who spoke next, "Fine. Hand the boy over."
"But Ojichan…," her brother began heatedly but her grandfather held up a hand.
"Both clans know how to fight," the old man explained. "I do not want to lose my sons and grandsons for an errant granddaughter. Hand the boy over."
Akazumi watched, trembling to her toes as Tsuruga stumbled and limped towards his family. He had barely made it up them when the Miyagi patriarch walked up to him. The shriek never escaped her mouth when she saw the blade slit his throat in one swift motion. As Tsuruga's limp, lifeless body fell, darkness overtook Akazumi.
The pain! The excruciating, all prevailing pain! It threatened to take over his self, making him want to do things. It hurt the most when she cried and she cried all the time. Locked in that small, dark room, she simply laid and cried. He watched as she grew bigger and bigger, but he didn't understand why. Her pain hurt him but he couldn't look away. She kept calling out for him, touching her big stomach.
One man came to visit her sometimes but he too only gave her food and walked away. She spent her days alone in that cramped space and that hurt him. Why? Who was she? Oh the hunger!
Today she was screaming louder than ever before and no one came. Seeing her twisted in agony made him angry. She was calling out his name, withering in agony yet no one paid heed. An older woman sat outside the door, crying but the three men who stood outside didn't let her go in. She was hurting badly and that was driving him mad. He was hungry, very hungry. Maybe if he ate her, it would end the torture for both?
She arched, screamed and suddenly she started to bleed. He watched as she shivered, moaned and then let out a high, piercing yell. Blood gushed out of her in rivers, drowning her and something started to emerge from between her legs. But she had stopped moving. Why wasn't she moving? She wasn't even screaming. Why?
The doors of the room suddenly burst open and the woman came in, crying. It was then that he saw her. She stood by the door, watching everything dispassionately. But how could that be? She was here, in front of him, lying in the pool of her own blood. A bright light shone from within her and then she was gone. All that was left of her was that bloodied, unmoving body.
An unparalleled rage and hunger encompassed him. He let out a loud shriek. The next thing he knew, the older woman and those three men lay on the floor, motionless, their eyes closed.
Orihime sobbed softly, her head buried into the crook of Ulquiorra's neck. He stroked her hair gently, letting her cry. Unhindered and unrestricted, she cried; for Tsuruga and his unfair death, for Akazumi's imprisonment, for the death of their child, for Tsuruga's spirit who became Ulquiorra and finally for herself. These were her tears and Ulquiorra's, the ones which he couldn't shed. Once the pain flowed out, she looked up into the viridian eyes and asked the one thing she didn't understand. "How come Akazumi didn't use Shun Shun Rikka?"
Lying next to her, Ulquiorra frowned a little, "What do you mean? You don't remember?"
She shook her head, "The last thing I remember is her grandfather imprisoning her. I don't remember anything after that."
Ulquiorra hummed. "I'm not sure I fully understand human emotions yet but I'm positing this theory based on what I do know of humans. I don't think she even remembered that she had the power to save herself. Or the will to live. I think she'd either lost or was very close to losing her mind."
"They were cruel," Orihime muttered, wiping her residual tears. "Just because they wanted to maintain some stupid status quo, they killed three innocent individuals. One of whom died before it was even born. Did they have any idea how far-reaching the consequences would be? How many years, how many centuries it would take for their hate to die? You… you're a direct outcome of their mindless disgust. They…"
"Humans don't often think the consequences of their actions," Ulquiorra interrupted her. "Did you think what your actions were doing to your brother? Did Uryuu Ishida pause to think how dangerous it could be to befriend the stranger that he met on the street? No. Not because humans don't want to, simply because they're ill equipped to do so."
Orihime nodded. "You're right. They're long gone; I shouldn't hold a grudge against them, even if they were downright inhuman."
Ulquiorra nodded, "That's wise. You shouldn't hold on to hate. It never bodes well."
She nodded slowly and lapsed into silence. After a while she stared at him and asked, "Ulquiorra, can I kiss you?"
His eyes showed a flicker of confusion, "Why do you have to ask?"
Her smile was bright and glorious. She swiftly closed the distance and placed her lips on his. His embrace tightened as he pulled her closer to himself, delving deeper into her mouth. With the return of his memories, he now knew there was nothing wrong with desiring her, wanting her as his mate because that's exactly what she was. His fears, his doubts were all put to rest as he gave in to his long held wish.
He turned around, placing himself over her as he slowly moved from her lips down to her jaw and throat, gently placing scalding kisses all over. Orihime arched, allowing him greater access. Her eyes closed inadvertently as her arms went around him, her fingers interlacing around his hair. The two souls who had lost themselves for centuries found each other again as their new bodies discovered each other that night.
Orihime's peaceful slumber was broken by the sound of someone huffing and panting. She rubbed her eyes to get rid of her sleep and sat up, trying to figure out what was going on. In the light of the bedside lamp, she saw Ulquiorra was on the floor down on all fours, heaving. She hurried down the bed and crouched next to him, her face crumpled with concern. "Ulquiorra! What's happening?"
He didn't answer and continued to pant.
"Ulquiorra!"
"My hollow hole," he heaved. "It burns!"
"What? Why? Has that happened before?"
Not answering her, he tore his shirt and gaped at the hole. His pants increased as he shivered uncontrollably. Orihime pulled him into her embrace, trying to calm him down. To her surprise, he suddenly stopped moving and slumped into her lap unconscious.