Chapter 12: Breaking Ice
"You take these pretty photos
When will you be worthy of your good side?
Where will you be when the clouds break,
And it all takes just a little more than you have?"
Monkey - Bush - Sixteen Stone - 1994
10th of Starlight, 2035 at 11:00
The group approached the wrought iron gates at Sokyoku Cemetery with heavy hearts. They had stashed their vehicles half a mile away and made the rest of the journey by foot.
Pushing the massive gates open after unlatching the lock, Orihime swallowed thickly as they entered. The loud creaking and shuddering of the hinges echoed in the area from the disuse of the entryway. Nothing about the vicinity spoke of comfort or peace. The ground was burnt, multiple surfaces glistening like volcanic rock. Walking on it caused cracks and fissures to pop eerily. The plots for the dead had been rendered from grass, flowers, and soil to ashes, crystalline fragments of past plants, and ruined headstones. It was like a natural disaster had occurred here thousands of years ago when only a decade had passed, and the damage was man-made.
Cautious about speaking to each other in an unsecured area, the team had agreed to use sign language and Morse code either by flashlight or radio clicking. Ichigo gestured for Rukia and Renji to take point on the area's pillars. He tapped his fingers twice and signed for Tatsuki and Chad to watch both entries and exits. He signaled Uryû to follow him and Orihime.
Signing to Ichigo, Orihime expressed the sorrow she felt being there. Uryû watched the exchange intermittently, as the threesome approached a gravestone that was broken in half and charred beyond recognition. Orihime's expression went from shocked, to angry, to sorrowful at the gravesite. She fell to her knees, biting back a shriek of pain when the debris splintered between her leg armor.
With tears streaming down her face, Orihime cut off a fragile sob as she reached out to caress the tombstone tenderly. Ichigo wrapped an arm around her waist, taking the brunt of her trembling body and lending his strength.
Tapping in Morse code to Ichigo, Uryû asked whose grave they were at, although a heaviness in his gut had his instincts alarming. Ichigo looked from Licht to the broken headstone to Orihime. Uryû nodded his head in understanding to his friend, pulling out a few pressed flowers and offering them to Orihime.
Accepting the dried pressed flowers, Orihime examined the flora. Her friend gave her four: a pansy, a violet, a buttercup, and a marigold. Knowing each of the flowers' significance, she smiled tearfully at Uryû, mouthing a 'thank you'. She gingerly placed them on top of the broken headstone, reaching out with her free hand to caress the marred name engraved on it.
Ichigo felt almost consumed with both an emptiness and an inferno of emotions. Seeing the woman he loved in a mix of mourning and pain was difficult. It made him angry, as well as helpless. It was an uncomfortable feeling to push through. He offered his arm to her when she was done, leading their team towards the pavilion.
Hearing crackling from the petrified trees as ravens landed and cawed loudly at a disturbance, he pulled his crossbow forward, sliding the stock on his shoulder. He aimed the weapon's scope at the burnt branches, seeing a flock collectively taking off from it.
Ichigo looked back at Uryû, nodding his head in the direction of the noise. His friend let out a grunt of annoyance and pulled his bow forward as well. It was obvious by the way Orihime gripped the hilt of her blades that she was anxious. At a loss of what to do to offer her comfort verbally, he caught her nervous gaze and leaned his forehead against hers. She took a few deep breaths before nodding.
The three adjusted their face masks before continuing toward the pavilion. The small building was covered in ruined ivy, threads of stems still clinging to the rotting wood. Byakuya had made it look like a part of the surroundings, and they were grateful for that. Uryû pushed aside vines and gestured for Orihime and Ichigo to enter first. The inside of the alcove was well kept. Several wires were disguised in rotting foliage and sound-proof windows had been installed to ensure safety and discreet conditions. The room was dark and when Orihime switched the solar-paneled electricity on, the soft glow of halogen lights filled all the corners.
"So," a sultry but bored voice said from one end of the large room. "There you are."
Orihime whirled around to the person speaking. A tall woman with expensively tailored clothing and a pink scarf sat on one of the benches. Her soft blonde hair was short, the longest strands resting just above her shoulders and half pulled back in a plaited braid. Her eyes were a brilliant light blue, and her makeup was impeccable. She tapped the cigarette in her hand to flick away ash.
"Silhouette," Ichigo greeted the woman in a standoffish tone. "Seems you still enjoy making an entrance."
Silhouette rolled her eyes. "Right. That's what I'm doing by waiting here for thirty minutes. My ass fell asleep while the lot of you took your time."
"Thank you for meeting with us under such short notice," Licht tried a diplomatic approach. "I assure you that it is very important."
Silhouette tilted her head as she scrutinized each of them. Flicking her cigarette again, she gestured to Orihime. "I'm guessing she's the reason for it."
Feeling her cheeks burn at the attention, Orihime stepped forward. "That's correct. I want you to know, Silhouette, that I only need to speak with you about certain things I've cultivated from the intel. We need to know what to expect and plan closer to the thirty-first."
The other woman pursed her lips and stood, walking towards her with a leisurely gait. "Morningstar, right?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Cutting a look to Uryû, Silhouette muttered dramatically. "Is she always this polite or does she think me an old woman?"
Gritting his teeth, Ichigo opened his mouth to fire back at her, but stopped when Orihime patted his arm.
"I am Morningstar, and I called this meeting. And yes, I'm overly polite until I'm told I can be familiar. Please forgive me for keeping this short and to the point. You have a foot in the door and the good graces of the HoS. I'm not asking you to expose anything that could get you into trouble. But be as open as possible." Orihime stood tall against the narrowed gaze of the other woman.
Letting out a long sigh, Silhouette nodded, gesturing for them to sit.
"Fine then. You may call me Rangiku. I will tell you what I can."
After taking a seat on the benches, the auburn-haired woman removed one hairpin and pressed it, activating the scrambler.
"You're aware of the upcoming attack, yes?" Orihime questioned the other woman. After receiving a nod, she continued. "If we were to place something to avoid people becoming victims of the massacre, what would you suggest?"
Narrowing her light blue eyes at the question, Rangiku answered vaguely, "If you were to attempt that, the result would be suspicious and rile up the oligarchy even more. No blood can save those marked for death."
Ichigo grew impatient as the options were shot down one after another, feeling his anger rise.
"Could you please just stop avoiding the crux of the situation and give us a straight answer?"
"You are the ones presenting plans that will be easily suspect and futile. I'm not at fault here," Silhouette replied haughtily.
"Then tell us what we can do!" Ichigo's voice raised quickly along with his anger.
Rangiku studied Ichigo and the others closely before sighing. "You need to place a virus in the databases being used to count the victims. Every specific death needs to be accounted for. If you're able to work with Ichabod on this, he may have a way of fabricating the evidence and Orihime will oversee the virus. Find a way to fool the enemy without mistakes."
"Oh, is that all?" Ichigo snarked.
Rangiku stood up, nearly as tall as Ichigo in her designer heels, and poked him in the chest with a manicured nail. "You wanted an answer, you got one. I'm not here to hold your damn hand. Morningstar is more than capable of executing the hack, as she's infiltrated the government multiple times. Ichabod is clever to the point of being overfamiliar with deviancy. What YOU need to do is find a way to shelter the people that you will be saving. Whatever replacements you conjure up need to equal the body count from the census."
Turning to grab her purse, Silhouette gave Ichigo a scathing look before tilting her head to Orihime. "I've given you all that I can without outing myself or others. Be careful executing each plan. Some of us have other lives to protect outside of the Ryoka."
The woman departed quickly with an elegant stride, sweeping out from the pavilion.
Uryû stood and sighed. "Devil, what the hell?"
"She was beating around the damn bush, Licht. We're low on time and I don't trust her nearly enough to be led around by the nose." Ichigo responded in irritation.
Orihime tapped her radio com sending a message to their friends. She hummed thoughtfully and turned to the men. "Honestly, Licht? Datenshi used the right approach."
Looking like ice-cold water had been dumped on him, Uryû gaped at her. "You've got to be kidding me!"
"Without him pushing her buttons, we were wasting valuable time. I thought she'd be more forthcoming, but a gentle hand and diplomacy were getting us nowhere." She gestured around them. "We let her be difficult for almost an hour. We have very little time to form and execute a plan. It must be foolproof."
"What if this strains our already thin trust with her?" Licht demanded.
"Then we find another," she shrugged. "Either way, we've got what we wanted. Let's regroup with the others and head back. We have a lot of work to do."
Ichigo smirked at Uryû before walking over to Orihime and pressing a soft kiss to her right temple in thanks. She dazzled him with a bright smile and led them out.
"Well, that's new," Uryû observed to himself before following.
The group returned to the Kurosaki safe house by that evening. After filling in the others, things took a shift quickly. Orihime's attention was diverted to Urahara as they worked on their part of the plan. Ichigo conversed with Licht and Monolith on shelter and safety, alongside getting a bug into those most suspected of being turncoats. His gaze continued to drift to Orihime.
"How do you think she's doing?" Chad asked, noticing his friend's glances.
"I'm not sure," Ichigo replied as he watched her talking animatedly with Urahara. "She was able to focus on the mission, even spearheading it, but she's very good at pushing past her limits. To the point of harm. She's been teaching Renji and Yuzu how to use her encryptions and programs, but she has a penchant to ignore her own needs."
"Yeah," Licht agreed, sparing a glance in Orihime's direction. "I need you to keep an eye on her, Ichigo."
Looking at his friend curiously, Ichigo asked, "Why? What are you seeing that I'm missing?"
"This mission will consume her completely and I worry what it may harm when it disregards her welfare. She is a selfless and resilient woman but takes on enormous responsibility for things out of her control, past, present, and future." Uryû explained quietly.
"You're right," Ichigo sighed. "I'm worried about that as well. It's as if she's still feeling guilty about the trauma of her past. I'll talk to her."
Feeling eyes on the back of her head, Orihime turned to look at the men, who quickly looked away. Except for Ichigo. He didn't shy away, and the concern etched on his face pulled at her heart. She excused herself from the conversation with Urahara and stepped over to her boyfriend.
"Hey," she quietly said. "Everything all right?"
Dark amber irises shone crystal clear apprehension. "No."
Feeling confused, the auburn-haired woman searched Ichigo's body language for any indication of what he was thinking.
"Do you need to talk about it?"
"Yeah," Ichigo said softly, with an almost pained strain in his tone. "Are you okay heading back to the flat?"
"Now?" Orihime asked with confusion coloring her voice.
Ichigo nodded. "If we leave now, we can get back and have time together before we implement the plan."
"Is this wise? We're still unsure of all the Blighted."
"I don't care," Ichigo said bluntly. "This is more important."
Surprised by Ichigo's demanding way about it but knowing that this was something they needed to do as a couple, Orihime nodded.
"All right. Let's get back."
Orihime was sure of two things when she and Ichigo returned to the flat. The first was the atmosphere heavy, with a definite feeling of desperation. And two, Ichigo was hell-bent on her listening to him. He didn't even utter a single word; she knew how this was affecting him by his mannerisms and expression.
"Ichigo," she spoke softly after they entered the bedroom. "What's wrong? You're acting— "
"I need you to promise me something," He spoke over her. After the locking mechanism was slotted securely and the alarm reset, he led them to the bedroom. His tone was both torn and fraying like he knew the grave situation was serious and dismal.
Stunned silent by his words, Orihime closed her mouth and nodded.
"Things are going to accelerate quickly. You will go into a tunnel vision state. I need you to promise me that you will stop before it gets too risky." Ichigo's dark amber eyes flickered with an inner fire.
"I promise," she vowed. Orihime placed her palms on either side of his face and stroked the skin on his cheekbones with her fingertips soothingly. "I won't get recklessly consumed with it. But I also need you to promise me something as well."
"Anything," he whispered, feeling his soul pledge to her as much as his heart.
"Trust me when I say I'll need you to catch me."
"Hime," Ichigo cautiously began. "You're not going to force reboot again, are you?"
"No," she shook her head. "But if I fall, you need to catch me."
"I need more to go on, Love." He urged. "How will I know? Why will I need to?"
Biting her bottom lip, Orihime sighed. She took his hand, keeping her gaze on his. Cleverly, she placed his palm up, sandwiched between their torsos, and pressed her fingers in different movements against his skin. Her hand moved slowly at first, just until Ichigo's gaze sharpened, and he nodded.
Careful to not draw attention to the words she signed against his palm, Ichigo kissed her deliberately and slowly, drawing out each caress of his lips with hers. She was right to continue the conversation as hidden as possible when they hadn't scanned the flat for bugs or cameras.
Ichigo wrapped his free arm around her waist and hoisted her up to wrap her thick, strong thighs around his hips. He pressed her up against the bedroom wall and Orihime groaned as he pushed against her. She kissed him harder, pulling him by hooking her free arm about his shoulders. Nipping at Ichigo's bottom lip and lathing it with her tongue, she combed her fingers through his long orange hair. Quickly the heat began building between them as they finished their conversation. Ichigo pulled his hand free first, clenching his strong fingers in a needy grip on her full, rounded hip.
"Ichi-" Orihime gasped when his lips and teeth grazed downwards to her sensitive throat. She hiccuped a moan when he grabbed her wrists and held them above her head, balancing her weight against his body. One hand held fast to her wrists, keeping them in place as his hot breath teased her soft skin.
Orihime groaned softly, squeezing her thighs, drawing him closer. Her heels dug into the back of Ichigo's thighs, drawing a moan from his lips that made her shiver. He nipped and licked the skin of her sensitive throat, clenching her wrists as she wriggled against him. The more she arched against the wall, the more Ichigo felt his restraint fray. With one sudden roll of her hips, Ichigo let his grip on her wrists loosen and she quickly sank her trembling fingers into his long hair. She tilted his head to bring her lips to his while tugging on his orange locks. Lost in the moment, Orihime jolted against him when one of her hairpins began to overheat.
"I'm not done with you yet," Ichigo whispered huskily into her ear. Orihime groaned and opened her eyes to look at him. He grabbed her left hand and pushed it between them, signing against her palm.
"Well then," Orihime giggled. "You'd better get to it."
It was somewhat of a ruse they were doing. Understanding that the room was no longer safe, Ichigo carried her to the bathroom. He placed her bottom down on the counter and removed her glowing hairpin, pressing the petals in a coded pattern. Setting it down, he sighed heavily.
"Well fuck."
"We were so close too!" Orihime groused and rested her forehead against Ichigo's shoulder.
"Yeah, we were," Ichigo muttered. He laughed when seeing his girlfriend eye him like he was losing his mind. "What?"
"I meant we were close to having time to discuss the plan!" She held back a pout. Just barely.
"Yes, yes," Ichigo chuckled. "Well this room isn't setting the alarm off, so we must be safe."
"I was really hoping we could have had two types of talk," Orihime sighed, fluttering her bangs.
"Oh?" Ichigo raised a curious eyebrow at her.
"Yes," Orihime nodded. "The 'here's what we're gonna do' talk and the pillow talk."
Ichigo snorted in laughter.
"What?"
"The pillow talk," he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her as close as he could. "Do people even say that anymore?"
"Well I don't know," she shrugged, giggling softly. "I'm not a pro at this."
"Sounds like something from a bad romcom," Ichigo grinned cheekily.
"I'm more of a sci-fi, action, and horror girl myself," Orihime admitted, twirling her fingers in a long lock of his hair. "Also buddy comedies and fantasy series."
"I can see that," he smiled softly, making her cheeks warm. "You must have had a lot to choose from when you were younger."
"I did. Sora and I would have movie nights every Friday. He'd let me pick something he managed to smuggle away from our parents when I was still little, and then would bring movies and shows home with him after he got his internship." Orihime sighed wistfully. "He worked for Senator Shunsui Kyōraku, who was very kind and let Sora borrow from his personal collection."
"You miss it, don't you?" Ichigo asked, resting his forehead against hers.
"Yeah," she nodded, still fidgeting with the ends of his hair. "But after The Great Fall, the probability any of those things survived is close to nil."
Ichigo watched her for a few moments before speaking. "I may have some stowed away."
Orihime's face brightened immediately. "Really?"
"My mother is the Librarian of The Destroyed Archives, remember? She didn't just save books," Ichigo chuckled warmly.
"Okay!" Orihime smiled. "Let's figure out how to shut off the live feed that is recording us, decide how we're going to set the trap to be the bait in, and then we can watch some movies!"
"Yes ma'am," Ichigo grinned flirtatiously at her. His grin grew when he felt her legs clench around his hips. "Hime, do you like that?"
She admitted with a little embarrassment, letting out a puff of air and blushing. "Yes."
"Alright," he chuckled and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I'll catalog that away for later."
"Are we seriously going to discuss turn-ons while formulating a plan?" Orihime feigned shock.
"Yes, ma'am," something in Ichigo's voice rang with promises that had her mind whirling. "You'll find I'm quite the multi-tasker."
"Mmhm," Orihime laughed. "I know you are."
"Yeah, but to what extent?"
"Clearly you will prove that talent in spades," Orihime smiled against his lips as she pressed a kiss to them.
"Yes ma'am."
"Ichigo!" She laughed.
"Sorry."
He didn't look sorry at all.
Flowers and their meanings:
Marigold - symbolizes mourning a lost loved one and honoring their memory.
Pansy - symbolizes remembrance of the relationship you had with the lost loved one
Buttercup - symbolizes a happy childhood
Violet - symbolizes honesty and protection
I hope everyone enjoyed the long-awaited chapter! I will try to have at least one more chapter up before the 17th of October 2022! After that, they may become more sporadic, depending on how well I heal after major surgery.