Hello again, so happy about last chapters response!

And even though this chapter is so much longer than my usual updates- it still looks so small!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bleach or any of its characters.

Here we go!-

By the time we had made it down from the wall, the sun had completely set. Very slowly, candles were lit, illuminating the streets of the city. Everything always seemed so large after my patrol. Looking down on it for so long always warped my memory of how completely huge the buildings really were.

I had given up on the idea that I would have some say in where we ate. I had attempted to stop at four restaurants, and Ichigo wouldn't even pause, or look up back to see if I'd kept on following him. And eventually, I didn't bother stopping, letting him have his way.

Perhaps, I gave in so easily because walking in the lower end of the city with Ichigo gave me an odd sense of normality. Maybe it was because I had no armor weighing me down, or that I had left Vladimir back at the Center, but as I walked I felt like a completely different person. As I strolled down the back alleys of the Merchant District, I imagined what it would be like to live this life, to simply be a poor girl who was perhaps a little hungry but still free. In this life, I would have no responsibilities, I could go anywhere and do anything. I could work in a bread shop, and live in a tiny house. And I could be with whoever I wanted … I would never be forced to marry for position.

Peeking over at Ichigo, I continued to imagine that life. I engraved it into my memory where I could cherish it later, in times when the good was harder to see.

"Do I have something on my face?" He said, never even looking in my direction. I snapped my gaze away, embarrassed for my day dreaming. How foolish of me to think he couldn't sense my eyes as easily as I could sense his.

"I was just thinking you don't look like most Bellatonians usual do." I may have pulled the excuse out of thin air but he took the bait, laughing slightly at my directness. Though I had never been less direct in my life.

"Well, that's easy enough to explain." He kept his pace casual, likely so I could keep up, his hands resting, once again, in his pockets. "My father wasn't from anywhere in particular, he moved around, saw the world. When he stopped in Bellator he met my mother, he died when I was two so I don't really remember much about him, but my mother says he was devilishly handsome." He elbowed me in the shoulder as he talked, raising his eyebrows suggestively. 'Must be where I got it from.' His eyes seemed to say.

"I may have been born in Bellator and my mother may have raised me there, but I have my father's wandering soul. When I was sixteen I left Bellator, I didn't have anything, no money, no where to even go, but I think if I stayed put for even one more minute I would have gone insane." I watched him as he spoke, his eyes shining with the memories of his past. He spoke about it as if it was so ordinary, that anyone could simply up and leave their entire life behind. As if everyone were that free.

"I'd lived everywhere, worked in pretty much every field, when I decided I would come here, see how the capitol lived it up. I can't really explain it, but just walking into this city seemed to put a darkness inside of me. I did some questionable things when I first arrived, things I thought I would never do. Almost like the city itself brought out all the dormant terribleness inside me."

Even I knew what he meant, I had grown up here and had never really left, I had always lived in the darkness that surrounded this place, and even I could tell that there was something sickeningly wrong. But I didn't want to hear about the bad, I wanted him to tell me everything good about the world outside of these walls that imprisoned me.

"You're truly lucky. I wish I could have seen all the things you have." I sighed deeply, the sound not nearly conveying the depth of my regret.

Ichigo bumped me with his elbow again, "You're still young; you have time."

His words, though kind, only made me feel worse. Because he was right, I would leave these walls, I would travel to the North, into the cold snow that would hopefully freeze me solid before I reached the city in the heart of it.

"When I leave, I will only be trading this cage for another." I had meant to say it sharply, but it seemed that my body was filled with so much regret that there was no room for anything else, not even the anger that usually followed me everywhere.

Ichigo was uncharacteristically quiet as we continued to walk past food stand after food stand. The only sound between us, our heavy footsteps and steady breaths.

I wondered if my words were too serious. If I had unknowingly crossed a line I didn't know existed between us. Ichigo always had a way of evoking words from me that I never knew I needed to say. But finally having the words out in the open, having finally shared them with someone else, I felt better, some of the burden lifted off my heart. Even still, I kept my mouth clamped shut, fearing if I even opened it to breathe, more words would come spilling out. I had a lot of regrets to share.

"Why are you allowing this to happen?" Ichigo suddenly demanded.

I looked over at him, and was stunned to see that his face was infuriated- his eyes glaring down into mine. A line was definitely crossed. The confusion must have shown on my face because he continued, his voice hard as stone. "Why are you going to marry him? Why are you letting Clark decide which life you will live?"

When his words seeped past my surprise I became furious. How dare he? He, who had lived his life with no responsibilities, with no restrictions, how dare he judge me.

"Clark is not just my king but also my father, what would you have me do?"

He stopped walking suddenly, and I whirled on him, facing him fully. He flung his hands out, "I'd have you fight for your right to choose!"

Ichigo was shouting now, drawing the attention of shopkeepers and pedestrians, they all watched, but didn't try to interfere. Domestic brawls must be common in this part of the city.

"I've been fighting my entire-"

"You've been hiding your entire life! Hiding from what you really want, hiding from your people. You live in the comfort of your father's' shadow! Never having to make the hard decisions. You've let your fear cloud your judgment, but eventually you will have to decide who you are and what it is that you want!"

A snarl worked its way up my throat, there was so much anger I could barely see past it. But deep down, past my fury and self-loathing, I could see that his words rang a sliver of truth. I had been running from my desires, trying desperately to suffocate them. I forced myself to destroy when I wanted to create, fought when I wanted peace, and killed my people when I just wanted to protect them. My entire sense of purpose was a lie, something I told myself to smother my towering guilt.

He was completely right, but I also didn't care.

I would break his teeth and make him choke on them. But before I could move even an inch or mumble a word, he was throwing himself into me, moving us swiftly into an alley between two shops. He pressed me against the wall, his body molding to mine, his hand clamped securely around my mouth.

Blinding fear flowed into every inch of me, my entire body going as still as death. And then it was if I was floating outside my body- looking down on three men holding me down, one working his way over me- before I snapped back into my body. Grinding my teeth, I threw my knee up and it landed solidly between Ichigo's legs. With a grunt, he withdrew from me, his hand flying from my mouth to cradle his crouch.

"What the hell was that for?" He wheezed, bending over slightly.

With him away from me, my mind suddenly cleared and I felt shockingly sheepish. Ichigo was annoying and infuriating but he would never assault me. My body had just felt a man pressed against it and retaliated, but it was his own fault for throwing himself at me so unexpectedly. Plus, I had wanted to destroy his teeth for his harsh words, but a good kick in the balls seemed like payment enough.

"There are royal guards up ahead, I figured you didn't want them to see you having an argument with a lowly man like me." He justified himself, straightening up. The pain seemed to be passing; telling me that I must not have kicked him hard enough. Though, I hated to admit, he had a point. My soldiers seeing me walking the streets with a strange man, my hair wild from my fall, would turn very bad, very quickly.

Ichigo was sure to keep his distance, as I leaned to glance around the corner. Sure enough, three guards- dressed in their full uniforms, armor and all, were speaking in a circle about 100 yards away. Heads huddled together.

They were far enough away that I couldn't pick up on their conversation; whether or not they had seen their general squalling in the square with a rugged looking man, remained unknown. I just could not catch a break.

I groaned, as I slumped back, banging my head lightly against the brick. Ichigo had leaned himself against the wall across from me, arms crossed, looking very unpleased. I rolled my eyes. If he was expecting an apology, he was setting himself up for immense disappointment.

He sucked on his lip, looking me up and down before saying, "Don't want to meet up with your buddies?"

The complete distaste and judgment wrapped inside those words, gave me a slight start, but I worked past it quickly. Those were emotions I was used to seeing in people, and I knew how to conduct myself inside their shadows. "They would certainly be a more welcomed company."

He looked away with a huff, and clenched teeth, before tilting slightly, so he could see around the corner. I watched his face as all that built up irritation melted and reformed as clear untainted rage. The way the emotion took over his whole body, from his dark brows down to his near trembling legs, was remarkable.

It threw me into a frozen state, so he was already moving past me, stepping free from the alley and towards the King's Guards before I regained myself and gripped him by the arm, yanking him back into our protective darkness.

"What do you think you're doing?" I seethed, only inches from his face.

In his eyes, was an unhinged- broken man, and, if I had not seen that look every day of my life, it could have made me pause. Ichigo didn't speak, perhaps he couldn't. And so I looked for myself, to what had caused such a sudden, unpredictable part of him to emerge.

The guards had not been huddled around themselves, but instead around a boy. Still in his teenage years, the boy was on his knees in the center of his antagonizers, his hair, a honey gold, matted with sweat and rush of fresh blood.

I tried not to jump to conclusions. They were apart of my army, and I needed to give them the benefit of the doubt. Surely, there was a reason… though, I could not see one.

Ichigo tried to pull free from my grip, and I tightened my hold, "There is nothing you can do, I have trained them to treat interrupters as guilty accomplices."

We must watch.

The boy was speaking, his head bowed. I could not hear his words, merely the vibrations of his small, young voice. The people in the surrounding shops did not stop their conversations, but most looked on.

Something was not quite right… I could feel it in the air.

And while I had not been able to hear the accused, I surely heard his judges, as they laughed, their bellowing echoing. "Did you hear that, boys?" Said the one with his back fully to me. "He's sorry. It was only an 'accident'. Well maybe, you should have thought of that before bumping your slimy body into me. You smudged my armor."

The other two laughed as my teeth clenched, and I felt something begin to brew in the pit of my empty stomach, something angry and ancient.

"Do you know how expensive military issue armor is? It's worth more than your miserable life, kid. You got the money to repair it?" The boy shook his head, his tears catching the street light, flashing as they slid down his dirty cheeks. "Maybe your sister can pay that debt for you. She's a supple thing if I remember right."

I released Ichigo, and he turned a bit to look at me, but I couldn't tear my eyes away, as the boy found some borrowed courage, looked into the man's face, and snarled something too low for me to hear- yet I could imagine it well enough.

The man's whole back went rigid, "You little twit," He brought his fat fist back, gripping the young boy by the shirt, but that blow would never make contact.

Because I was already there, channeling all of the remaining strength in my bones into the hand that held his arm back, my fingers not even long enough to wrap entirely around his wrist. I caught his attention nevertheless, and he whirled on me, snarling out words I had no interest in repeating. The anger and corruption still very clear on his aged face, all of which evaporated when he saw who held him, when he took in who he'd just hissed his vile words at.

"Heir." He breathed.

I released his wrist, allowing him to drop to a knee in front of me, the other two following without a seconds delay. The boy, however, gawked up at me, his eyes somewhat glazed. I motioned for them to rise, knowing I would feel no satisfaction if they were not standing, and they did so quickly.

"We weren't told you'd be making rounds in this district today, General." Remarked one of the other men. I did not take my eyes from their apparent leader- though I would get to the rest of them soon enough.

"Explain to me what I just witnessed." It was an order, my voice going no louder than it would in a civilized conversation. I had grown accustomed to speaking past the burning emotion in my chest, luckily for them. I felt as if I could spur fire over them all.

"The boy assaulted me." Told the vile one. "Attempted to steal the Silver Blade right off me."

A clever story. It happened a lot within the lower rim. Silver Sword's are priceless, and are given to the recruits that pass their tasks, and some people, often those pushed to the edge of starvation, have tried to steal them from their districts officers. Not a very wise plan, but desperation can make a person do just about anything.

I looked to the boy, dirty, but not too thin. His hair long and healthy.

Pushing past the soldier, I kneeled before him. He met my eyes easily, not even trying to shy away from my closeness. Actually, he seemed to shift closer. "And what do you say of these accusations?"

"It is pointless, Heir, you know he will only lie to protect himself."

I turned, very slowly, to peer up at the guard, being sure to alter my eyes; hard and vicious. The man had the foresight to look down. "When I want your opinion, I will ask for it." I looked to the boy again. "Go on."

He gulped, "I didn't try to steal anything, Heir. I was running home, and I stumbled into him. It was just an accident." I watched his eyes as he spoke, telling me the small bit that I had already seen. His eyes remained calm and clear, his voice faltering at points, but I dismissed that as his fear of the guards. And when he finished with his tale, "What is your name?"

He seemed taken off guard by such a simple request, taking moments before answering. "Quentin Sanchez, Heir."

I nodded, solemn. "Thank you for your candor, Quentin Sanchez."

I stood, turning. Taking in the faces of the three men who had taken advantage of their position over my people, I allowed the disgust to finally overtake my features. "I have entrusted you to wear my seal, to patrol my city and enforce its laws in my name. And you have failed me." They shook their heads, slowly, taking a few steps back as I advanced them.

"Kneel." I ordered loudly.

The other two looked to the man in the middle, who had shock written in the lines of his face, engraved so deeply I didn't think it would ever fully leave. And only when he dropped roughly to his knees, did the other two follow.

I knew what I wanted to do, and if Vladimir had been with me they would have been dead before I'd said a word but over their shoulders I saw the watching face of Ichigo, his arms still crossed, but on his face- I looked away, their fates were not my hands today. I motioned for Quentin to rise and he did, standing as straight as an arrow, arms taunt at his sides as he waited for me to speak. And when i did, I could tell it was far from what he'd expected: "I'll handover the terms of their punishment to you. Do with them what you will."

Quentin, a very soft spoken young boy, replied quickly, "Is executed an option?"

A few hushed laughs broke out among the lingering onlookers, that quieted abruptly when I nodded in approval. The soldiers looked like they might be sick at any moment, and while anyone else would have reveled in their obvious misery, Quentin was a better person than I could ever hope to be, "Just make them leave the merchant district, and never come back."

"If that is all you think they deserve."

"It's all my conscious can take."

Fair enough.

The crowd continued watching, a murmur going through them as Quentin and his three tormentors escaped in opposite directions. I watched them go, switching my gaze between them all. Quentin ran with a new sense of enthusiasm, seeming to have an almost skip in his step.

I felt the heat from his body as he came up behind me, not saying a word. Ichigo waited for me to look up at him, but I didn't, I continued to watch Quentin's retreating back, growing smaller and smaller in the distance. I thought of what could have happened, if I had not been here, if I had not come on my wall patrol, if Ichigo had not led me away after my jump, and no longer felt hungry.

I knew why some men joined the military, not as a sense of duty but to gain authority, which they thought meant gaining respect. I had never seen it before with my own eyes, the corruption. And it made me feel sick that the people in the Merchant District or even in the Lower Rim have some guards that overuse their power to torment them. And when they looked at me, they saw them.

Ichigo laid a hand on my shoulder, soft and slow, as not to startle me and only then did I look up at him. And, somehow, I felt he understood. "You can do so much good, Orihime." It was odd to hear my name in his voice. I had grown so accustomed to his pet names.

We did not stand there long, before I began walking once more, towards whichever shop he'd wanted to stop in. And Ichigo stayed close to my side, like he was worried I'd be swallowed up by the crowd.

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AHHHHH

Orihime is so soft hearted, I just wanted her to accept that!

Oh well, these things take time.

Please leave a review and tell me how you liked it!

Till next time-