Story Title: This Twisted Fate

Disclaimer: Sorry, but I still don't own bleach.

Warning: None.

Edit: 8/20/2020

A/N: Hi, I'm back. :,) (Please don't hate me.)

I know I haven't really worked on this story, and it's been freaking years. But I wanted to post an update anyways because I got bored, and I finally found some inspiration for this story again, and I really wanted to write it again.

I hope everyone is healthy and safe during these times, wherever you are.

Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Coexistence

"Everyone settle down. We're going to get started."

After Orihime got out her notebook and pen, following her natural routine of daily Academy life, she sat back into her chair nonchalantly, arms bent and folded across her chest as she paid keen attention to the two guest lecturers and to also the chatter and whispers of her classmates surrounding her that weren't all so hush hush.

"Look, I cant believe it's really them!"

"You've read Urahara-san's publication right? It's so interesting!"

"I wonder why they're here? Could it be-!"

Of course the entire class was losing it. Orihime thought.

You see, Urahara Kisuke and Yoruichi Shihoin weren't just ordinary individuals. At least in the gaze of the public, they were probably the most well-respected and highly regarded members of society, right next to Aizen Sosuke himself.

Back a decade ago, Urahara Kisuke was a mad scientist, who served as the 1st President of the Las Noches' Research and Development Unit, where he was responsible for a variety of experiments that involved analyzing the structure of human blood, its components, and how it satisfied the needs of vampires in their everyday lives. He was a devoted follower of the practice and essentially sacrificed his every day to the profession in the name of science.

However, the more he studied the properties of human blood and how it functioned in everyday life, he slowly began to realize that humans weren't all that different from vampires and that the practice of enslavement wasn't necessary at all.

If anything, he grew utterly disturbed by how Aizen Sosuke essentially manipulated innocent humans to create a monopoly on their species, putting a high premium on the price of blood, when in reality, humans and vampires were possibly fated to coexist and from then on, he began to question the entire values and foundation of Aizen's Manufactory - Las Noches- and this society.

So when it came to publishing his first paper (without Aizen's consent of course) about his theory on coexistence some time ago, it obviously caused a massive ripple that shook the entire society, creating flares of chaos and debate among vampires of all classes.

To put it shortly, Aizen Sosuke was beyond furious. He attempted to discard all scraps and traces of Urarhara Kisuke's publication, threatening death if he ever spoke of it again; however, it was already too late since there was unofficial research being conducted amongst the high scholars who worked in academia, who have taken note of how uniform the quality of blood has been and how his points were in fact valid to say the least.

On top of that, he's accumulated a mass following just from this one theory, thus creating a safeguard around his name in high society.

So yeah, maybe it was a pretty big deal that the oh so controversial Urahara Kisuke had made a guest appearance for today's lecture, alongside his partner Yoruichi Shihoin, who was an avid follower of Urahara's ideals in creating justice in an ever so corrupt society during his time.

So regardless of whether vampires agreed with Urahara-san's theory or not, everyone could agree on the fact that he was a well-respected member of Karakura Town, due to his unbound intelligence and innovations.

Thus why it was so astonishing to see the two of them together in Inoue Orihime's Room 4A.

And it made the auburn hair girl even more restless to see her adoptive vampire parents at the front of her classroom, bright and early on a Monday morning, without any forewarning whatsoever.

After all, she knew nothing would go well if any of her peers were to find out the truth about their relationship.

"Ara ara, seems like we have ourselves quite the audience today, right Yoruichi-san." Urahara Kisuke started, sporting his coy grin, as he slowly took a moment to observe all the members in the lecture hall.

"It appears so." the woman beside him said matter-of-factly, "Shall we get started then?"

The two of them made their way closer to the front of the classroom, taking advantage of all the floor space that was provided for them. Not only were they two of the most intellectual laboratorians vampires had ever come to know, but they were also incredible public speakers as well, effortlessly catching the attention all of those listening.

"Hello, and welcome. As some of you may know, I'm Urahara Kisuke and to the left of me is my partner, Yoruichi Shihoin. It's a pleasure to be here." As he spoke, the noise in the classroom started to settle as the students began to give the two lecturers their undivided attention.

"Today, we're here for a very special reason," Urahara-san said with a hint of glee, "But before we get into it, we'd like to open it up to a little discussion."

At that response, Orihime sat up and leaned forward into her desk to get a better read of the situation.

Ever since Urahara-san had voluntarily left his position at Las Noches years ago (because well, he smuggled a human girl from the laboratory and couldn't let the world find out), he's made very scarce public appearances, and if there was one thing Urahara-san was known for, it was his ability to debate on topics such as these, so if anything, Inoue Orihime was even more interested in knowing what he was about to say next.

"I want to see a show of hands. How many of you have have heard the coexistence theory?"

From this, nearly everyone in the room had raised their hands without any hesitation.

Orihime had to look around to take note of the students.

Some were eager to show their knowledge of the theory, while others tried to mask their excitement. Overall, the students seemed elated by the discussion - all except Kurosaki Ichigo, who had sat back in his chair with his hands in his pants pocket, with an unamused expression on his face.

"Interesting." Urahara-san responded as he observed the numbers, "Now, can I have a volunteer who can kindly explain to us what this theory exactly entails?"

All the vampire boys and girls began to side-eyed each other anxiously, afraid to speak up on such a topic, before one brave soul raised her hand confidently.

"Ah, yes, Kuchiki-san, be my guest."

This was no surprise to Orihime. If there was anything she knew about the raven haired girl from being friends with her all these years, it was the fact that she had a knack for entertaining ideas.

And according to the Kuchiki girl's standards, the coexistence theory was something that was definitely worth entertaining.

"Coexistence theory illustrates two different groups of species inhabiting the same place in balance and harmony. In this case, we are speaking of the coexistence between vampires and humans - where one group depends on the others' blood for strength and survival."

As always, Rukia's voice was confident and direct - not a hint of hesitation in her voice.

"Wonderful! That was such an excellent description, Kuchiki-san." Yoruichi-san replied eagerly, as her eyes lit up from her response, "Now out of curiosity, is there anybody in this room that thinks coexistence between humans and vampires is possible?"

At that whispers could be heard across the room as students wearily looked at one another left and right, waiting to see if anybody would dare to raise their hand.

Orihime knew, admitting to something so controversial in this day and age was essentially equivalent to social suicide, which was the very thing the students of Karakura Academy learned to avoid since the beginning of Academy life.

Seconds would tick by, and not a single hand would go up. When the full minute was up, Urahara Kisuke decided it was reasonable if nobody wanted to admit to believing in something so taboo.

"Well I supposed then-"

Until one girl had the courage to raise her hand.

"I do."

A small, soft voice spoke up.

Gasps filed the lecture hall, and side conversations erupted spontaneously as students stared incredulously at the auburn-haired beauty, as she raised her right hand high up in the air.

For a split second, Inoue Orihime regretted making such a bold and impulsive decision to put her banishable beliefs out on display, for the entire class to see. Especially since Orihime was the type to keep her opinions all bottled up.

But for something like this, she couldn't bear to watch in silence.

Just when she thought she had jumped off the deep end solo, a familiar voice emerged from the murmurs.

"I do as well." Kuchiki Rukia piped up, raising her hand.

At that, the classroom grew louder in frenzy as they realized two of the most popular females in the Senior class had just fessed up to thinking coexistence between vampires and humans was a somewhat feasible concept and to that, Rukia logically backed her reasoning.

"Is the idea absurd?" she asked. But, it was more if a question she asked herself before addressing the class.

"Absolutely." she responded, mouth set in a hard line.

"However." she paused, giving the class a moment to anticipate her next sentence, "There isn't enough information as of right now to outright prove that the idea itself is impossible, so therefore, yes. I do think coexistence is indeed possible."

As she said that, Orihime turned to her female vampire friend in appreciation, giving her a genuine, whole-hearted smile only for her to see.

Something warm blossomed within Orihime, knowing that if there was ever a day the human girl's identity was revealed to the public, then there was going to be at least one person standing by her side.

But all of those fond emotions of gratitude and admiration swept away in an instant as everyone could hear a certain orange-haired male whisper under his breathe mockingly, in utter disbelief.

"This is ridiculous."

The human girl turned swiftly in her seat to face Kurosaki Ichigo head-on, only to find him already staring blankly at her, with his jaws set and an impossibly unreadable expression plastered across his face.

"I'm sorry." You could hear the raven-haired vampire girl say defensively and impatiently as she stayed grounded in her seat, trying to collect whatever strand of self-control she had, "What did you just say?"

The entire room fell still as Ichigo's chair screeched across the wooden floorboards, creating a deafening shriek, as he took a moment to stand abruptly from his chair, not wanting to waste another second.

"I said," Ichigo reiterated, making sure the entire class was listening this time, "This is ridiculous."

His voice carried high toward the ceiling, echoing off of the walls, as he stood and made his way down the long lecture hall stairs, over to where a certain orange-haired female student sat.

"Do you have any idea what you two are saying?" He questioned incredulously, as he paused and looked around the classroom before continuing, "You know, I expected this much from Rukia - not surprised." He said point blank.

"But you, Inoue." He emphasized, as his expression hardened, continuing over to where his academic rival sat, approaching her with a look of pure disappointment that broke Orihime's heart into a million pieces.

"I thought you were better."

From those words alone, Orihime felt as if the whole world was falling down on her.

Anybody.

Orihime wordlessly thought.

It could have been anybody else.

She would have begged for it to have been someone else to stand up and challenge her.

Anybody else but him.

But what on Earth was she thinking?

I should've known.

She finally admitted in surrender.

Of course she should have known that this topic would get the entire class riled up.

And of course out of everyone who wasn't afraid to speak their mind, Orihime should have known that the infamous Kurosaki Ichigo would be the first to outright vocalize his disagreement on this particular subject.

After all, there wasn't a single being in this entire nation that didn't know of the kind of power the Kurosaki family held.

To put it simply, the Kurosaki clan was a lineage of the most powerful, the most coveted, but also the most feared pureblood vampires anybody had come to know.

And that - in and of itself - was a complete understatement.

Tracing back to the beginning of this society, the Kurosaki family was incredibly well-known for their untouchable wealth and status.

They possessed immense political and economic power due to their contributions to Las Noches.

With over tens of thousands of stocks and over millions of dollars in capital invested into Aizen's Manufactory, there wasn't a single person who didn't know of the consequences of standing against one of them.

After all, they had the authority to ruin anybody's lives, at will, if they truly wanted to.

And here Orihime was, an ordinary simpleton at best, talking about the idea of coexistence to a prestigious member of the upper echelon.

To someone who was destined to be crowned heir to the Kurosaki throne and one day inherit Aizen Sosuke's multibillion dollar blood producing factory.

He wasn't entirely wrong about calling her belief ridiculous.

Of course to eyes of the ordinary, the idea was outright laughable.

Vampires and humans.

Predatory and prey.

Master and slave.

Living together?

What the hell was she thinking?

Anybody with common sense would say it's beyond ludicrous.

But as the fearsome vampire heir stared down on the meek human girl with an expression that made her want to never step foot in front of him again -

Something within her snapped.

...

How dare he say that to her.

Her inner demon spoke.

How dare he try to publicly shame her.

After everything they've been through together.

No.

...

"What makes you so sure, Kurosaki-kun."

At those words, the room grew eerily quiet once again, and Orihime didn't falter at the chance to stand up from her seat to face him head on.

She couldn't accept it.

Not like this.

"It's funny." The human girl scoffed in disbelief, "For someone who's supposed to take over Aizen's little Manufactory one day, you don't seem to know much about humans. Do you?"

At that, you could hear the room hold their breathe, as the auburn haired girl stood and practically dissed Kurosaki Ichigo in front of everyone to see.

For the second time since their Freshman year.

Nostalgia sure hit hard in the feels.

"Let me ask you," Orhime continued, "in the times you have encountered a human being, have you thought about talking to one?"

Ichigo looked at her in disbelief, trying his best to follow her drift.

"What?"

At his response, Orihime stepped forward to close the distance between them, only for the male to instinctively step backwards in precaution as he stared widely into Orihime's ashen ones, unable to look away even if he tried.

"I'm just asking - vampire and humans - what would it look like, if they were friends?"

As she said that, she could feel her heart ache, thinking about all the fond moments she's had with the pureblood before her.

All the afternoons they stayed in the library studying for final exams together, encouraging each other to outgrow their limits.

All the evenings they walked along the river late at night on their way home, looking up at the stars, reimagining a completely different reality.

All the nights they've spent pondering about their exact purpose in society and wondering exactly what the future held for each of them.

Dreaming about what their lives would look like if they didn't have to worry about academics, power, appearance, or wealth.

In completely different world where the status quo didn't matter, and they could roam the roads without having to worry about a single thing regarding what anybody thought of them.

In a world where they were free to do whatever they could.

Whatever they wanted. Whatever they desired.

A hopeful individual. And a hopeless romantic.

A pureblood vampire. A human being.

Speaking of the endless possibilities of a better future under the same sky. A future that allowed the two of them to exist together.

If such a world could ever exist.

Orihime could feel her chest tighten, emotions overwhelming her immensely, thinking about the possibility of the alternative, all too suddenly realizing that this world was just too cruel to her.

And with that, Inoue Orihime leaned in dangerously close to Kurosaki Ichigo, to fully ensure that the next words she said were heard by him, and only him.

"What would it look like, if they were lovers?"

She didn't wait for him to respond.

Orihime pulled away as quickly as she said it, watched as the boy's warm, golden eyes grow wide in shock, and as his face went completely blank, leaving him speechless to say the least.

She gave a sad smile as she swiftly turned away and gave her attention to the other half of the room. She took deep breathes in order to have a clear sense of mind because right now, she knew that if she even stole a glance at the orange-haired boy, she wouldn't be able to hold her composure a moment longer.

"Everyone." she spoke, making sure the entire class was listening to her next words, completely changing the tone of the discussion, "If you ever have a chance to read Urahara-san's publication, you will be able to see that there is sound reasoning to all of this - nonsense, if that's what you would like to call it."

She made her way down to the front of the lecture hall to ensure that the rest of the class was able to hear the rest of her explanation because at the bottom of her heart, she thought it was important to at least inform the masses.

"One of the basis for his theory is under the assumption that the human blood has limitless potential." she said slowly, annunciating each syllable coherently, "In other words, human blood in its raw form, is just simple substance. If I took two samples of human blood, they would more or less smell and taste exactly the same..."

"But hypothetically speaking, lets say, a human and a vampire were to meet and start a relationship and over time, develop a very strong attraction for each other..."

She paused midway in her explanation. She wanted to make sure everyone was following before addressing her next point.

"Then it had been theorized that the greater the attraction a vampire and a human had for one another, then the more pleasurable and more irresistible the human blood would smell and taste to the vampire."

She decided she'd pause here.

For now.

There was definitely more that could've been unpacked in that sentence alone, but Orihime realized: she couldn't handle opening Pandora's box all at once.

So there she was, as the class remained silent, even after her last words.

This was it.

Orihime guarded herself.

By noon, she would be the new talking topic of the entire Academy, just when she thought she could go the entire fours years without causing any drama whatsoever because why would a human girl want to bring any sort of attention to herself in a school full of vampires.

Right?

Right?!

Just as chaos ensued within Orihime's thoughts, the entire class started clapping in praise and admiration.

To say the least, they were moved by her unshaken passion and professionalism.

Everyone knew Inoue Orihime ranked second in the Senior class, rivaling next to the Kurosaki heir himself.

And it was a position that was well-deserved.

And even the said vampire himself, who was left speechless and frozen in place, was smiling at her weakly, in complete awe at how she had proven her worth once again.

And it was a rare look that he wouldn't give to anybody else.

"Thank you for that, Inoue-san."

Urahara Kisuke and Yoruichi Shihoin addressed their adoptive human daughter with a voice filled with so much content, Orihime could feel her heart melt, knowing that she had and will always have the two of them to lean on, no matter what.

Before going back to her seat, Orihime turned to look at the two, with a gaze filled with much fondness, knowing very well that deep down, she couldn't have made it without them.

No, I should be thanking you.

And as the class settled down, Urahara Kisuke and Yoruichi Shihoin proceeded to continue on with the lecture, circling back to the reason they had shown up to Karakura Academy in the first place.

"Now, as we mentioned earlier in class, we are here today to make a very important announcement." Yoruichi-san spoke up and turned to Urahara-san beside her, signaling for him to carry on.

"Yes. That is correct." He continued casually. "Today, we are here to announce that Yoruichi-san and I will be going abroad to London to pursue further studies in hematology this coming summer."

For probably the hundredth time that day, the classroom erupted into frantic conversations, unable to stay calm at the the announcement of the two scientists' departure from Karakura Town after decades of research and progress.

Orihime on the other hand, her mouth fell wide open, as she had no idea what her adoptive vampire parents were even saying.

What?

Hematology?

Abroad?

Since when?!

"We also wanted to share that we have offered a four-year post-graduate internship opportunity to one special student in today's class."

Chaotic excitement filled the class again, as names of possible candidates started to be thrown into the void.

This had to be a joke.

This had to be a -

Her mind was spiraling out of control at the announcement alone, but just as she thought matters couldn't get any worse, the next few words that came out the two lecturers' mouths left her in utter disbelief.

...

...

"Please join us in welcoming, Inoue Orihime, to our intensive research program!"

A/N: BTW - Hematology is the study of human blood. Anyways, I know this chapter was more information-heavy, had a lot of typos, and was kind of boring or whatever, but I swear it was necessary for the upcoming chapters that is guaranteed to have more ~action~ hehe.

Next chapter coming soon! (I've already written half of it. :))