Story Title: This Twisted Fate

Disclaimer: Still don't own Bleach.

Warnings: Swearing.

A/N: Blessing my readers with not only one, but TWO chapters this weekend! :) Last chapter was mainly a set-up for this chapter, but I feel like there were too many open ended themes from last chapter (which is typically how I like to keep my writing). But maybe it was a little too ambigious, which may have been a bit confusing to follow, so hopefully this get the ball rolling on things.

P.S. Hope this clarifies what happened between Ichigo and Orihime at the end of Chapter 4, heh. (Also if you haven't read Chapter 5 as of July 2022, I would suggest you to turn back one page first).

Enjoy!

Chapter 6: Soul Society

News regarding the Academy's hottest couple allegedly breaking up trekked through campus grounds all week. And as a result, much of the student population had grown attentive toward the silence between the beauty and the beast, and if it weren't for Rukia's constant efforts toward getting her auburn-haired friend to pipe up about the conflict, then the entire social life at the Academy would've been doomed.

"Please Orihime, you have to let us know what happened, so we can help you!" Rukia practically had to double her steps to catch-up to the said human girl, who was racing down the halls of the Academy to attend regularly scheduled events, as usual, but in utter silence. "I mean c'mon, have you even looked at yourself in the mirror this morning?!"

It was true.

Orihime was looking like a hot mess.

And unfortunately, not in the best way possible.

Under eyebags dragged down her face like no-face from Spirited Away, haunting every student that she'd crossed paths with, shocking them into oblivion at how someone so alluring could have such an unsightly side to her.

But she continued walking toward her destination, blocking out all those around her, as if none of them existed.

And it was clear that Orihime wanted to keep it that way.

She tuned out the entire world, just like she had done so during the very beginning days of her Freshman year, leaving the students to practically discuss amongst themselves what happened between her and the Kurosaki heir.

Ever since the two returned from the piano room that Monday afternoon, nothing about the Academy was the same again.

But to go from being nearly inseparable with frustratingly explosive chemistry to practically strangers who never want to look at each other again.

The entire situation got the Academy flipped upside down.

But for the first time all week, she finally broke silence.

"I look that awful?"

Rukia tumbled on her next step, almost running into Orihime herself, perplexed that her one-sided conversation finally broke through to her.

"What? Oh-! No, nooo… Orihime, you? Neverrrrr." Rukia replied, stunned that she finally heard a response come from the walking corpse herself.

But the lie only lasted for a split second before she eventually caved at her own front, "Actually, yes - you look very awful, Orihime."

Then a few seconds of awkward silence ticked by before the smaller girl continued, "But hey! At least you're finally talking now, so that's a good sign and-"

"Arrggggh!" Orihime let out a frustrated grunt as she slammed her locker closed and banged her thick forehead against the front, catching everyone's attention at her sudden outbreak.

"I hate my life."

"Look on the bright side!" Rukia continued, completely ignoring her internal distress, "If it's any reassurance to you, Ichigo hasn't said anything all week either. I mean, nobody knows what went on between you two, so if you guys can just quietly settle your differences and make-up, or even make-out, so that things between our friends aren't awkward anymore, that would be much appreciated and-"

"No." Orihime managed to get out, dead-serious, "Rukia, he wants nothing to do with me anymore, and I think it's better if we kept it that way."

Before Orihime was able to storm off and close herself from the world again, Rukia blocked her from trekking her path forward.

"Look." Rukia sighed and rustled her already tousled bed-hair, "I know this is none of my business, but as your best friend, I'm concerned for both of you. And I'm only saying this because I've known Ichigo practically my entire life, and heaven knows I've seen him at his worst, but man… I didn't think he could get this bad."

"Please, even your exaggerations can be a little -"

"He's missed almost all of his classes this week, and Ichigo's never missed a day in his life."

"Maybe he'll show up later."

"The Kurosaki Estate secretary even called me last night to ask what happened to him."

"Maybe because you guys are just that close and-"

"Orihime, don't you understand?! The Kurosaki Ichigo locked out the entire world and hasn't left his room since he's gone home on Monday, and according to Kuchiki nii-sama, Kurosaki Isshin and Masakai are in the process of issuing a search warrant for the girl who's responsible for disheveling their only heir, so don't come crying to me when their private military comes knocking on your front door!"

Upon hearing her words, Orihime went frozen in place, utterly shocked by the news she had just received.

"No fucking way."

If that was all it needed to bring her best friend back to her goddamn senses, Rukia cursed at herself for not trying to get her point across sooner.

"God for someone so smart, Orihime you can be so. freaking. dense!"

But before Orihime could let out another exasperated sigh, she heard a familiar chime ring from her cellular device.

"What's this?" the human girl replied as she began to fish out her phone frantically.

"Texted you the details to my party this weekend."

"Rukia - what! Ugh, please!" the taller girl stressed, "I don't have time for this. I have to figure out what I'm going to do about the Kurosaki family and how I'm going to fix this and-"

"Orihime, just read the goddamn text message."

Knowing that there was no fighting Rukia, Orihime quickly skimmed over the details and her eyes visibly bulged at the sight of…

"Soul Society?! What-! How did you guys booked out Soul Society!"

It was as if the earth-shattering information Rukia had given her thirty seconds ago hadn't mattered to her anymore because well, to most, Soul Society was no typical place.

To put it simply and shortly, it was the hottest and the most exclusive nightclub there was to exist in the entirety of Karakura. This place was so incredibly secretive and elitist that anything that happened behind closed nightclub doors, never got to see the light of day.

And Orihime has always wondered what kind of place this was.

Because it was a place that wasn't frequently visited, even by the most elitist of vampires.

"What the hell! Isn't that place, like, impossible to get into?!"

"Yes," Rukia stated, matter-of-factly, "but we may have borrowed Kurosaki's ID, pulled a few strings here and there, and forked over a handsome amount of money, so we were able to manage for the most part … buuut most importantly, our friends are expecting you to be there, not for our sake but for-"

"I can't." Orihime immediately responded.

Knowing very well who else was going to be in attendance and after hearing the rumors, she knew that Soul Society was no place for a human like her.

"Thank you, really, but it's best if-"

"Listen, honey, I get it." her raven-haired friend interrupted, "You and Ichigo had a bit of a fall out. And I honestly think you're so much better off than that idiot." Then she gave a sad smile, "I hate to admit it, but you guys get along really well, and I fucking hate to see you two like this."

Orihime tried to shove all the feelings that were crawling up her throat at Rukia's response and let her logic do the talking, but all of those thoughts flushed away at her next response.

"And if you don't want to be personally beheaded by the incredibly merciless and fearsome Kurosaki Masaki for brekaing her poor baby boy's heart, I suggest you clean yourself up real good and get on with it."

There were many things wrong with this, Orihime realized.

More than she can even imagine, but she knew she couldn't afford to have the Kurosaki family going around looking for her body, especially given everything that has happened so far. As Urahara and Yoruichi mentioned during their conversation, there was too much to risk right now and if attending a little party to make things right again was the only way.

Then she would swallow everything that happened in the piano room that Monday afternoon.

And so, taking Orihime's silence as compliance, Rukia beamed, feeling that the wheels on the bus were starting to turn again.

"Great! I've already made appointments for hair and picked out your dress and everything, so can't wait!"

Inoue Orihime should've thought twice before she entrusted Kuchiki Rukia with her wardrobe for the evening.

"I can't do this."

"Yes you can."

"Why is this dress so short?"

"That's normal."

"Why are these heels so tall?"

"Who cares? They accentuate your long legs."

"Why is-"

"Orihime, will you quit complaining?"

They've made it successfully out of the cab and in front of Soul Society. Bright neon lights hung high above the double doors of the infamous nightclub that held every scandal and secret there was to tell.

"Lets go." Rukia ordered, and Orihime had no choice by to follow in.

Security didn't seem too much of a hassle, given that they were on the top of the guest list and all, but more importantly, it seemed that her friend knew exactly how this place operated. Considering how she navigated each twist and turn without hesitancy, the human girl was barely catching up to speed.

She only registered the flashing strobe lights and drowning sounds of the music echoing off the walls. She saw the nightclub employees dressed clad in thin white uniforms with blindfolds, and she felt a strange presence to them, but she was too busy tailing Rukia to even get a good sight of the place, but she knew one thing:

Orihime had a bad feeling about this place.

But she didn't give that itch much of an afterthought, as Rukia dragged her up a flight of metal stairs to the top of the nightclub. There were bouncers guarding the back area to what appeared to be for VVIPs only, but one smile from Kuchiki Rukia herself, and they parted to the sides and allowed both of them to enter without question.

"Are you ready for this, Orihime?"

"Not really."

"Well good, cause here comes the party!"

At that Rukia opened the door to a suspicious backroom, and Orihime was not ready for what was to come.

Kurosaki Ichigo lost track of not only the time, but also the number of shots he had tonight, as he brought his alcohol-filled glass to his lips, hoping that the taste of poison would make him forget all that he ever knew.

This week has been especially shitty, and if going to one of Rukia's silly parties would take the edge off, then he decided, so be it.

For all he could cared, tequila could replace his water.

But even in a moment like this.

All he could think about was the very first time he laid his eyes on Inoue Orihime.

Doe-eyed and frightened, yet oddly confident and hopeful for someone who practically had no idea what the Academy was capable of doing to her.

Like a lost little lamb who walked right into a hungry wolves' den.

He concluded she was simply naive and her optimism was just purely derived from negligence.

Either way, he couldn't help but think briefly to himself.

Poor girl, doesn't know what's coming for her.

Better yet, he was certain, the moment she walked through the Academy double doors their Freshman year, she might as well have been on her way out.

Because the Academy was no place for someone like her.

And Kurosaki Ichigo was hardly ever wrong about anything.

But just when he thought his ordinary, predictable life at the Academy would carry on without hiccup, like a walking storm, she came in uninvited and flipped it upside down, forcing him to see all that there was to his life when someone proved him wrong.

Because life before meeting Inoue Orihime, was completely unlike any of that.

Life prior to meeting her was routine and predictable. Oftentimes, it felt a little too mundane.

As a Kurosaki, having been genetically blessed, academics posed almost no challenge to him. His physical looks could allow him to get away with practically anything, and more often than not, he didn't have a problem with getting what he wanted as long as he spoke it into existence.

Given these implications, it was safe to say that it was very rare for someone, let alone a classmate with no title to her name, dare to challenge him in front of a whole graduating class.

She hadn't been attending school for that long, yet she was asking to be socially casted aside for the rest of her life.

And it made no sense to him, how someone so unbelievably clueless was also unapologetically herself, ingeniously smart, and alluringly beautiful, all at the same time.

What a crime it was.

And what absolutely killed him, was that she didn't even realize any of this herself.

Soon, life that he once thought was predictable, and boring, and repetitive, started to change.

Not that Orihime had ever surpassed him in any regard.

But it was somewhat thrilling to have someone, completely out of the norm, come very close to it.

With every chance she got, she didn't fail to remind him that if there was anybody at the Academy who would be able to top him, she had a good shot at it if she tried.

And for someone who didn't get to mingle with the upper echelon as often as he did, she was quite impressive.

And Kurosaki Ichigo concluded, she was anything like the others, and keeping her close wouldn't do him any harm.

If anything, it brought him more delight than he had originally anticipated.

Because she was able to keep all the other girls at the Academy at a safe enough distance.

Since they knew, at the very least, if they wanted to be one of Kurosaki Ichigo's hot companions, they'd at least have to be good enough to rival against Inoue Orihime.

And in reality, no one could even come close to someone like her.

So ever since then, little by little, Kurosaki Ichigo began to see his life in a little bit of color.

She wasn't aware of any of this of course, but her presence alone had an unbelievably calming and charming effect on him.

Because all she was, was herself.

Unlike everyone else at the Academy, who would fight tooth and nail to grab his attention.

Pull any dirty little trick from their sleeve to catch his eye.

Do anything in their grasp to edge their way into his inner circle.

Inoue Orihime was none of that.

Even when he felt the whole world was after him, waiting for him to break in the palm of their hands. She was there, without a hinder of judgment, ready to accept him for who he was. And that for him, that was enough. And he didn't dare think that there would be anything more complicated than that.

Until that very moment.

.

.

.

"I'm not who you think I am."

He heard her finally say. It was only a whisper, but he heard it loud and clear. He stopped dead in his tracks, bringing him back to where they stood.

That exact situation, he thought, was unthinkable.

Real life becoming his worst nightmare.

Her words hit him like the truth of it all, and it seared him to no end.

Because she was absolutely right.

After everything they've been through.

Every moment spent together, now tainted by the doubt that started to creep from within. A feeling so painful he would have rather had her jab a dagger in him from behind.

Ichigo hated to think, she was far away from anything he thought she was. Overwhelmed by the sheer intensity of it all, he began to crumble at the thought that he doubted what it was that he really knew about her.

If he even knew anything at all.

Scoffing at the truth, he laughed bitterly.

"Do you even know what I think, Inoue?" he questioned.

Finally, he turned around to face her.

"You know, I was trying to let you go, while I was still able to keep a smile on my face, but I guess that's not possible anymore."

His tone no longer tender, face set in a hard line, showing not an ounce of empathy, this was the Kuroksaki Ichigo everyone in society had come to know of and deeply fear.

Ichigo kept his distance this time, because he had no idea what he would do if he were to hold Orihime's vulnerable figure in his arms now.

He's almost sure her touch would set him ablaze at the ferocity of what he felt for her, and his passion turned to anger almost in an instant, at the thought of it all.

"You're the one who walked into my life uninvited, and turned it upside down." he began, his face contouring at the deep thought, "You're the one who showed me what it was like to actually feel, what it was that I felt." And then his words turned cold, just like his heart, " You're the one who kept all of these secrets, when I... always let my guard down."

And the tension in the room was so painfully suffocating, it was able to choke the life out of both of them.

"And I didn't care what anybody else said about me. I didn't care what anybody would say about us." He paused for a moment, making sure she heard him. "Because I did it all for you." he said in finality.

If Orihime was keeping her tears at bay, then his last words broke her from within.

At the sight of it all, Ichigo balled his fists so hard, he could feel his nails rip painfully into his skin, but it didn't compare to the ache he was feeling in his heart.

"So why are you the one crying?" he said bitterly.

"Why am I the bad guy here, when you were the one who hurt me."

"That's not true." she said. It was the only thing she could say, while she stared at him with her tear-brimmed eyes, "It's not true, Kurosaki-kun."

He hated it when she called him that.

In that weak, helpless voice.

And Ichigo simply couldn't stand it anymore.

"You meant so much to me, Inoue." he whispered, giving it everything he had.

Not being able to stand it a second longer, he forced the next words out of his mouth, before walking away.

"But I guess you didn't feel the same."

.

.

.

And that was the last of their interaction from that day.

So why was it that when he tried so hard to forget her, she was standing there, next to Rukia, like the biggest plot twist there ever was.

Standing there clad in something that was supposed to be a fucking dress.

Exposed for all to feast their eyes on.

And he knew, this night wasn't going to end well.

"Oh my god! The Senior girls are here!"

Everyone in attendance was waiting for this exact moment.

"Look at Rukia's makeup! Her eyeliner can definitely cut a bitch."

"But have you seen Orihime's dress? Damn, her body looking fine as hell."

The few classmates who were lucky enough to be invited were fangirling over the two most popular girls of the Senior class, and Kurosaki Ichigo had just enough of them.

"Inoue, what are you doing here?" Ichigo managed to get out, the frustation was evident in the way he gritted his teeth.

"Sorry, but there's no room for you." one jealous girl spoke up.

"Nonsense, Senna." Grimmjow pointed out, "There's plenty of space, see." With that he gave Orihime a hard tug by her wrist, forcing her to tumble forward and land on his lap, straddling him in place.

"And besides, she's just in time." he slurred, gently patting the side of her face, grinning eagerly, clearly excited for what's to follow, and you could see Ichigo's eyes narrow, enraged by the fact that someone had touched her without his permission.

"Quit it, Grimmjow." he said in warning.

Orihime shoved herself off of the blue-eyed playboy, bewildered by how fast the situation had turned.

"Inoue, leave." Ichigo demanded, his demeanor quickly turning into something serious and possessive. If he was drinking earlier, Orihime couldn't tell because he was dead sober now.

"C'mon, Ichigo, quit being a killjoy. We have to show our Princess over here how we have fun, right?"

Ichigo stood from where he was sitting, shoving all the girls in his proximity away, and made a beeline to where Orihime was standing, grabbing her by the wrist forcefully.

"We're leaving."

Before he had a chance to move, the door swung wide open, revealing the nightclub workers Orihime had seen earlier.

Again, they were dressed in thin white oversized shirts, complementing their delicate skins. Although they were in blindfolds, they each had an alluring aura to them, but something about them seemed off, and she couldn't exactly pinpoint why.

However, the vampire heir's tightening grip on her wrist shook her out of her reverie because whatever was about to happen, wasn't something that was meant for her to see.

"Here, ladies and gentlemen. We've finally made it to the moment we've all been waiting for."

And upon second look, realization started to seep in as she registered faint blue veins along delicate skin, cut-out of their white uniform, purposefully exposing delicate collarbones, and finally, markings along their shoulder, each of them decorated in a unique black tattoo, a series of numerical digits.

And then knew.

She froze immediately.

And her heart stopped.

Time went still.

.

.

.

These workers were human.

A/N: Okay that's all from me! /Hides/