Chapter 18: You belong to me! I will protect Orihime!
Yet another day had descended upon alternate Karakura town, Ichigo Kurosaki anxiously shuffled towards Karakura High School. Only two more days until Ichigo's deadline. He was running out of time. However, Ichigo was not the insensitive type, he knew that Orihime was suffering, and it would take time to save her from her fate.
Despite Ichigo's pessimistic thinking, the girl in question was currently distracted from her previous misfortune. Orihime's mind was adrift, escaping from the bullying, her abusive parents', and her possessive boyfriend, Orihime's thoughts were focused on something completely different or more accurately somebody else. Ichigo Kurosaki, the mysterious transfer student, a man who despite Orihime's reputation has treated her with nothing but kindness and has even gone out of his way to protect her. Putting himself in danger to protect her.
Orihime P.O.V
And yet he never asks for anything in return? He just smiles at me.
Usually when a boy smiles at me a shiver runs down my spine and like a mind reader, I can tell what's on their minds.
But it's not like that with Kurosaki Ichigo. Instead of a shiver I feel a warmth, an intoxicating warmth which would keep me from shivering even through the toughest winters.
Normal P.O.V
Orihime gasped in delight as she saw his spiky orange hair poke out from the corner.
With clenched fists and a nervous expression, Orihime was determined to say at least one thing to him today.
"G... Good morning, Kurosaki." Orihime stuttered as she addressed Ichigo by his surname in a formal manner.
"Hey Inoue." Ichigo replied in a cheerful tone.
Ichigo as much as he wanted to refrain from calling Orihime by her first name since this Orihime saw him as a complete stranger. A man she had never met before this week.
Orihime tightly gripped the fashioned boxes behind her back as the substitute soul reaper stared right at her.
"So, um... are you buying your lunch again today, Kurosaki?" Orihime enquired as she continued to hide her hands behind her back.
Ichigo recalled his sister's lunch box back in his world and felt a slight and short-lived sadness.
"Yeah, I don't really have time to make myself lunch everyday." Ichigo stated referring to his trial and the limited time he had to waste.
"Then! Would you like to eat this? I had some spare ingredients and you're always eating by yourself." Orihime said in a slightly excited tone.
Ichigo was lost for words seeing a partial resemblance of the Orihime of his world and this one.
"Is it not good enough?" Orihime asked her lack of self-esteem beginning to make an appearance.
"No, that's not it at all! I'd love to eat lunch with you Inoue." Ichigo replied feeling relieved that Orihime was finally opening up to him.
"Alright, well I'll see you in class Kurosaki!" Orihime practically yelled as she rushed off to the school's entrance.
Ichigo chuckled to himself a smile suddenly forming on his face.
"She really is Orihime." Ichigo stated to himself as he started to feel as if he had finally made some progress.
Later that day….
It felt like years for the hands on the clock to rotate, Orihime could not help but feel like she was trapped in a prison of time a punishment of her good fortune.
The nervous and excited teen continued to fidget in her seat her hands inside her desk grasping hold of the lunch boxes as if they were prized jewels under her personal protection.
The second the bell rung, Orihime shot out of her seat as if her chair were covered in springs.
Ichigo casually lifted himself out of his seat and made his way out of the classroom.
Orihime was in the process of following after him. However, her pathway was suddenly blocked.
"Hey Hime, want to have lunch with us today?" Chizuru asked interfering with Orihime's plans for lunch.
"No thank you, please excuse me." Orihime said trying to sneak past the intimidating wall in front of her.
"Don't ignore me Hime, I'm talking to you!" The bully ordered causing her friends to act.
"Please stop, you're hurting me!" Orihime pleaded as the girls grabbed hold of her hair.
"Did you just try to give me orders? Take her lunch!" Chizuru commanded causing Orihime to shield her bento boxes.
Chizuru's minions attempted to steal the lunch boxes, but to no avail.
"Hand it over Hime!" Chizuru ordered when Orihime refused to give away hers and Ichigo's lunch.
"Get away!" Orihime shouted as she uncharacteristically shoved into Chizuru with all of her might.
Chizuru plummeted to the ground in shock, unable to comprehend how Orihime managed to stand against her after years of bullying.
Orihime mirrored Chizuru's expression of shock.
However, with no plans of standing still, Orihime took off down the hallway in a clumsy sprinting fashion.
The adrenaline fuelled teen did not stop running from the monsters that may be in pursuit behind her.
Sprinting up the staircase towards the roof, the cool breeze washed over Orihime and brought her back to reality.
Her eyes shot wide open, suddenly feeling a powerful presence like Kurosaki was in the immediate location.
Almost as if she could sense him, his essence, his being, and his scent.
Like a professional tracking hound, Orihime followed her bizarrely accurate nose and pursued the scent, as if like his name implied, he was a strawberry.
To Orihime's shock and immediate joy, she had found him.
Ichigo Kurosaki was leaning against the railings of the roof and staring off into the distance creating an air of mystery and an inescapable mind puzzle.
Orihime was approaching Ichigo without even realising it, as if her body was moving on autopilot and yet, she wasn't upset by this sudden release of courage it just felt right.
All of a sudden, Ichigo turned towards her causing Orihime's heart to rapidly beat within her chest.
A calming aura began to soothe Orihime like a gentle cool rain shower gently washing over her.
"You actually came to see me?" Orihime asked feeling both amazed and confused.
"Well, yeah, you invited me for lunch, didn't you?" Ichigo responded with a blissful, gleaming smile.
"Yes." Was all Orihime could say, hiding her face and holding the bento boxes close to her chest.
The flustered girl bent her head forwards creating something like a shield around the lunches like a mother bird defending her eggs from nearby predators.
Orihime's cheeks began to redden like an early morning sky and her heart continued to beat like a drum.
"So can I have one of those?" Ichigo asked with a cheeky grin.
Orihime smiled back and practically raced towards him.
"Sure here." Orihime said as she prepared to deliver the precious cargo to him.
"Ahh." Orihime practically shrieked as she clumsily tripped over her own feet.
Orihime mentally kicked herself, how could she be so stupid? How could she drop the lunch that she spent so long making for him?
Prepared for the worst-case scenario, Orihime began to open her eyes expecting to see her lunch catastrophically splayed on the floor.
To Orihime's sudden surprise, her lunches were perfectly fine, and she wasn't even on the floor where she expected them to be.
"That was a close one, you okay Inoue?" Ichigo enquired as he held her close to his well-built chest.
However, Orihime was lost for words.
Her heart was racing, and her cheeks were flushed as red as if she were sunburnt.
"Orihime?" Ichigo asked, accidentally calling her by her first name for the first time since he had been in this alternate world.
Although, Ichigo's major slip up wasn't as disastrous as he had hoped.
In fact, it had the complete opposite effect.
Orihime's heart began to rapidly race like a continuous drum beat, her eyes gleaming and filled with a new-found glimmering hope.
Orihime was stunned, the second Kurosaki called her by her first name, she felt a huge sense of familiarity, as if she was destined to meet this man.
The young maidens eyes glistened, her heartbeat continued to increase, and her cheeks reddened, matching the shade of her school ribbon.
It was by far the most fulfilling lunch hour that Orihime had ever experienced.
However, to Orihime's disappointment and misfortune, her day was about to take a turn for the worse.
"What's the deal Hime?! Huh?! Tell me now!" Keith bellowed as his vice like grip clenched around Orihime's school ribbon.
"I don't know? what do you mean? Please Keith! Please just tell me what I did wrong." Orihime begged as she struggled to escape his persistent and constricting grasp.
"Don't play dumb with me you bitch! I've seen what you've been up to, you filthy slut! After everything I've done for you, you're fucking that loser Kurosaki, aren't you?! Let's get this straight Home, you belong to me!" Keith roared causing Orihime to tear up.
Although, to Keith's surprise, it wasn't out of fear or timidness like usual. Orihime was angry!
"Kurosaki isn't a loser, he's so kind and he's helped me so much ever since he transferred here." Orihime said in a quiet tone.
"What was that?!" Keith aggressively inquired tightening his grip further.
"Where were you when I was being bullied Keith? Why didn't you do anything when you saw my father break my arm with a huge grin on his face? Why do you just look at me when I cry, why haven't you ever comforted me?" Orihime asked her tone and volume becoming focused and louder.
Keith hesitated for a second through the sheer shock of Orihime standing up to him.
"You didn't even worry about me that day, did you? You just grinned at me like I was merely an object, a toy that you can put together without fixing it completely." Orihime faced her abuser with eyes filled with delayed rage.
Keith released Orihime and let her drop to the floor.
"I see, I didn't know you felt that way. You ungrateful whore!" Keith bellowed, glaring at her with the eyes of a serial killer tallying up his next victim.
"It seems like you need to be taught a lesson." Keith said revealing the wooden sword he had procured from the kendo dojo.
"Wait!" Orihime said in a panicked tone but this just made Keith grin maliciously.
"It's too late for that my precious Hime!" Keith declared as he raised his weapon, preparing to bring it down upon her.
All of a sudden, Keith realised the truth. Orihime wasn't begging him for mercy like he initially thought. She was referring to the unknown creature that was approaching him from behind.
A shiver ran down Keith's spine, as he heard the unknown entity unleash an ominous cry.
The previously self-believed tough guy was rooted to the spot as the thunderous, thudding footsteps got closer and closer.
The thug felt like he would meet his demise if he turned around, but against his senses, he turned.
The sight before him was an image of nightmares, death incarnate was staring at him with its golden, yellow lifeless eyes.
It's skin was an icy snow-white with charcoal black tribal stripes across it's arms. It's claws were razor sharp like buzz saw blades.
The creature stood 8ft tall and began to salivate at the thought of his next meal before him.
Keith prepared to protect himself with his melee weapon, but he couldn't proceed towards this freak of nature.
Suddenly, Keith felt a warm sensation in his trousers and turned to flee in the opposite direction as fast as his mortal legs could carry him.
The monster took no notice of his prey departing from the scene, noticing a much more delectable dish to consume.
Its earth-shattering footsteps closed in on the female until she could feel it's warm breath graze her skin.
"Back off!" A heroic voice commanded as their fist smashed into the creatures face.
Orihime slowly turned towards her saviour's voice and began to weep as soon as she realised, he had once again come to her aid.
"Kurosaki?" She thought to herself as she was too afraid to speak.
Ichigo gripped tight the previous cowards discarded weapon between his calloused palms.
"Back off you hollow scum! I won't let you devour her!" Ichigo bellowed with a fiery determination.
Ichigo charged the ferocious hollow, armed only with a wooden sword to protect himself.
The substitute soul reaper managed to land blow after blow on the persistent hollow, but alas, the beast wouldn't retreat.
"Damn it, I told you to stay back!" Ichigo yelled thrusted the blade directly into its stomach.
Ichigo began to worry when a severe crack emerged upon his weapon.
"Don't worry Orihime, everything's going to be alright. I will protect you." Ichigo declared once again turning to face his opponent.
With a matter of urgency, Ichigo was prepared to put all of his strength into this final attack.
Ichigo unleashed a battle cry as he charged the beast.
The hollow slightly grinned as it concluded that it would soon be time to feast on Ichigo's reiatsu.
"Ichigo!" Orihime suddenly screamed making Ichigo turned towards her.
"Please don't die, don't die Ichigo!" Orihime begged as Ichigo prepared to end this battle.
Ichigo felt an enormous power begin to well up inside of him as he recalled Orihime saying those exact words to him whilst he fought against Grimmjow in Las Noches.
Ichigo was no longer in the Karakura high school uniform, he was now wearing his soul reaper robe and his fragile wooden blade was replaced with his trusty weapon which helped him vanquish several hollows, Zangetsu!
"Getsuga, Tenshou!" Ichigo exclaimed reducing the hollow to ashes in an instant.
With the monster finally annihilated, Orihime was about to faint.
"Orihime! Are you alright?" Ichigo asked as he used his flash step to catch the distraught girl before she hit the ground.
"You came for me? You really came for me?!" Was all Orihime could say as she gripped onto the collar of Ichigo's shihakusho.
"I'll always protect you Orihime, I swear it." Ichigo promised as he held her close to his chest.
Before Ichigo could anticipate it, Orihime boldly wrapped her good arm around his neck and placed her quivering lips on his.
Ichigo wrapped his arms around Orihime and felt the satisfaction of her warm embrace.
Orihime backed out of her surprise attack and looked up at her mysterious saviour.
With a burning feeling of heartfelt love and relief racing through her core, she spoke only two words.
"Thank you." Within seconds, Orihime's form began to glow in a sunlit, golden light and her body began to transform into illuminous particles along with their surroundings.
"Orihime!" Ichigo screamed as he began to fall into the depths of the endless abyss beneath him.
Ichigo sat bolt upright, drenched in sweat as he processed his surroundings.
He wasn't falling into a pit of blackness anymore; he was back in a familiar room with Japanese tatami floors.
"Welcome back." A nostalgic voice chimed to him.
"Sora?" Ichigo said as he tried to comprehend what was going on.
"Congratulations Ichigo, you passed the test. I give you, my blessing. Please look after my sister." Sora said as he bowed towards Ichigo respectfully in a dogeza position.
Ichigo smiled before collapsing onto the floor feeling like he'd just been to Hueco Muendo and back.
With Ichigo's trial finally completed, only one or two chapters remain in this story. The wedding chapter and possibly a time-skip of their future together I'm not sure yet. Thanks again for reading and the continuous support! Love you all!