Title: The Devil's Plaything, Chapter 19 - Breaking the Eyewall
Series: Bleach
Rating: R
Warnings: AU, het (IchiHime, lots of other pairings eventually), blood, guts,testosterone, ANGST, the usual
Spoilers: This is AU. We don't need spoilers, where we're going.
Disclaimer: These characters belong to a lot of Japanese people, namely people like Tite Kubo and Shonen Jump. You'll notice how none of those are me. This will probably (never) be updated weekly, until I eventually drop it like every other project ever. Not responsible for epileptic seizures or allergic reactions. May contain eye-and-brain-bleeding levels of radioactive ANGST and/or peanut products. Please sit a reasonable distance from your computer screen.
Author's Note: Hi, guys! Sorry for the delay (as usual) - school got the better of me for a few months. Now that summer is here, I can finally get back to my fics! Mwahaha~!
The next morning dawned muggy and grey. Ichigo's eyes cracked open, barely registering where he was. A sliver of dim light slanted across his vision. It took a few moments for the gears in his brain to shift back into place and get up and running. When they finally did, his eyes shot open.
The night before came back to him in a rush. The sights, the sounds, they all pounded through his ears like a drum. What he and Orihime had done...
Upon thinking of her, Ichigo was immediately struck that she wasn't there. She'd gone to sleep in the crook of his arm and he'd nuzzled into the crown of her head before drifting off. Now, though, he was waking alone in the rumpled futon in her room, dull early morning light glancing across his face.
With a gasp, he sat up. His head whipped from side to side, eyes scanning the room for her. She was nowhere to be seen. After another couple moments, though, he felt it; she was actually nearby. His heartbeat returning to normal, and clutching his silver pendant in his hand, he was profoundly relieved he could finally feel her again. A few moments later, she hopped into the doorway, one stocking half-way up her leg.
"Oh, Kurosaki-kun!" she yelped, trying to stand while also putting on her hosiery, "I'm so glad you're awake! I tried to wake you up before, but you just rolled over! We need to leave soon, or we'll be late!"
He stared dumbly for a few moments before shaking his head with a smile. Even after last night, Orihime was still the same. With a groan, he pushed himself up, letting the blankets fall away to reveal that he hadn't bothered wearing anything to bed but his boxers and his silver regulator. While he was busy stretching, Orihime squealed and snapped the bedroom door shut. When he looked up, Ichigo's face was dusted pink.
"Y-Your clothes are just getting dry," Orihime stammered from the other side of the door, "I'll go get them for you!"
He could feel her move, as though she was tethered to him by a string. She zipped down the hall, around the corner, and to an alcove by the kitchen. After another few moments of dealing with the dryer, she returned to the door, leaving the clothes for him to collect. Then, she went to the kitchen to rummage for breakfast.
It was strange, but Ichigo didn't exactly dislike it. It was comforting to know she was nearby, that she hadn't gone too far away. Although she still seemed just as endearingly awkward as normal after what they'd done...
What they'd done...
Ichigo covered his mouth with his hand, stopping in mid stride as he put his pants on.
"Shit..."
Suddenly, he was wracked with second thoughts. Should they have gone all the way? Should he even have asked her out, with his feelings being as muddled as they were? Clearly, she had feelings for him - how long had she felt that way? Was this dishonest? And what about the white monster inside of him? He'd been born from Orihime's blood: would he hurt her? There was a pang in his chest at the thought. What was worse was the thought of turning her away; the ache that idea gave him told him it wasn't even an option.
Still, as he slid into his jeans he couldn't help but wonder if things would ever be normal again. Even more, now he wasn't sure he wanted them to be.
After a slow start and a detour to Ichigo's house to pick up his school clothes (and subsequent dodging of salacious questions from his father), the two of them were finally on their way to school.
An uneasy silence settled between them. Orihime should have been walking on air; the boy she loved had confessed to her, asked her out, and made love to her, all in one night. And regardless of anything else, she actually was pretty thrilled by it. Still, though, she was pensive.
Wasn't this supposed to make them closer than ever? She didn't feel any different, though. There was, however, a knot in her stomach at the thought that Ichigo had just been following his instincts. And what did this mean for him, with her blood's contamination? He'd survived the initial onset of symptoms, but would consuming more make his condition worse? Or maybe he needed it now? Orihime wasn't sure she necessarily liked being needed instead of wanted. This wasn't even approaching the issue of how his house would respond if they found out - or Abbadon.
As they approached the gates of the school, Ichigo stopped short, causing Orihime to almost walk into him. She looked up with a start. At first, she couldn't see his expression, but after a moment, he turned to look at her with a soft smile.
"Are you worried?" he asked gently. Orihime's expression betrayed everything as she brought her fingers to her mouth.
"How did you know..?"
It struck her then how uncanny it was that he'd noticed. He'd been three steps ahead of her the whole time, after all, so it wasn't as if he'd seen the expression on her face. Ichigo, however, looked abashed at her question.
"I can just feel it," he answered softly. "Can't you?" Her stare betrayed her confusion.
"N-No," she hesitantly replied. What did he mean, he could feel it? Could her blood have served as a connection to him? If that was true, why didn't it go both ways?
No. That wasn't exactly true. She could feel something foreign in the back of her mind, but it was hazy, like a radio station just barely audible amidst static. She had definitely felt a connection last night, though. At the time, she'd written it off as a love rush, a thing you were supposed to feel when you were with the person you loved. But in the grey light of morning, it was nearly non-existent.
Did that mean she didn't love him as much as he loved her? Ichigo's expression certainly bespoke a bit of pain, but he hid it handily.
"I-It's okay!" she said quickly, waving her hands nervously in front of her chest. "I'm sure it's just because of how I'm... umm... d-different from you..." It was hard to hide her disappointment at that line of thought. Orihime wasn't sure how much she could hide from Ichigo at this point anyway. But she smiled and hoped for the best regardless. Ichigo didn't seem convinced.
"Inoue," he said, his countenance turning at once soft and serious. Orihime's entire being paid attention. When he spoke again, it was quiet, conspiratorial. "This whole thing might be just a trick being played on us by... by our biology. But I want you to know, no matter what... you can count on me." Orihime nodded, matching his tone. There was no silly flight of fancy, no drifting thoughts. She understood his meaning: he would be with her through thick and thin, no matter whether he loved her or her blood. He wanted her to know she could trust him, before anything else. She gave him a small smile meant to reassure and took his hand.
"Alright, Kurosaki-kun," she agreed softly, "You can count on me, too."
He gave her hand a squeeze and pulled her with him towards the school gate.
"C'mon. We'll be late for class."
This time, Keigo's wailing was worse than the last. Not only was he hysterical because Ichigo had walked in hand-in-hand with the most fantasized-about girl in class, clearly representing himself as her boyfriend now, but also because he'd heard that Ichigo had been stuck in a full-body cast for weeks.
Before Ichigo could wonder who would've floated that rumor, his eyes met Shinji's. The blonde had gone back to his cover, presumably to keep an eye on Ichigo. He, too, seemed distraught at the couple, claiming Ichigo had taken his first love - which was twice as odd since it was their first meeting - and draping a melancholy arm around Orihime's shoulders. Of course, in between Keigo and Shinji's declarations of betrayal, very few of the rest of the class seemed to approve either. In fact, the only two Ichigo noticed who weren't glaring daggers were Chad and Tatsuki, the latter of which was delighting in making obscene gestures with her fingers when she could catch Ichigo's eye. Uryuu, on the other hand, was pointedly ignoring Ichigo's presence. As they took their seats (and Ichigo avoided Keigo's flailing), he idly wondered if something had happened with his self-appointed rival.
He needed wait no longer than lunch. Of course he wanted to join Orihime, but by this point he was expecting to be grabbed by his collar and dragged into an empty locker room. He even rolled his eyes as the door snapped shut behind him.
"Haven't you ever heard of passing notes?" Ichigo asked Uryuu pointedly, folding his arms, "You know, like normal people?" Uryuu cut him a pointed glare.
"You and I both know we are far from normal," he said without missing a beat. "But I digress. I needed to talk to you." Ichigo shrugged and leaned back against a bank of lockers.
"That was obvious," he replied, unimpressed. ""Bout what?"
"To begin with," the demon hunter began, "I owe you an apology." Ichigo wobbled and almost tipped over at this admission. There was no hint of shame or self-admonishment when he said it; just an admission as plain as if he was discussing the weather. He could've at least pretended to be embarrassed!
"What brought that on?" Ichigo finally recovered enough to ask. Uryuu pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, hiding his face with his hand.
"The case of the missing girls has concluded," the bespectacled teenager replied somberly. "I can now say with one-hundred percent certainty that you are not the culprit." Ichigo at once realized that Uryuu must have found the culprit, and judging from the tone of his voice, the results weren't pretty.
"That's what I've been saying," he scoffed. "Nice of you to finally catch up." Uryuu did not react.
"More importantly," the hunter continued, "I wanted to warn you. About Inoue-san." Ichigo's eyebrows did arch then. What exactly did Uryuu know for him to be making this warning?
"What about Inoue?" Perhaps that came out a bit more defensive than what was necessary, but Ichigo's hackles were raised.
"If my guess is correct, she's like the other girls who were kidnapped," he continued, his voice clinical. "The culprit escaped. Please keep that in mind. But also..."
Ichigo was definitely interested now. He knew that people like Orihime were highly prized by the demon race, that entire wars could be fought for their possession. Perhaps this would help explain why.
"Yeah?"
"Be aware that if my hypothesis is correct, that would make her physiology very... alien." Uryuu blanched at the last word, looking somewhat shaken. "I'm not trying to give you a lecture on morality, but... please mind what you do with her." His eyes had cast off to the side as he was speaking, but at the end he looked back at Ichigo... to see him smirking like an idiot.
"You mean like this?" Ichigo tugged his collar open to show the little white bite mark Orihime had left the night before. Uryuu's eyes widened almost comically. Ichigo couldn't help the thrill he got from Uryuu's consternation.
"Kurosaki, you idiot!" Uryuu seemed more panicked than Ichigo had thought necessary, but the reaction was certainly gratifying regardless. "You don't know what that could do to you! I don't even know what one of them can do, and I technically am one of them!"
Now this got Ichigo's attention. Far from wanting to aggravate Uryuu, now he wanted to know exactly what he was taking about.
"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked breathlessly. Uryuu cast him an uncertain look, but then continued.
"Whatever we are," Uryuu said hesitantly, "The female of the species has much more powerful traits than the male. It was described to me like... like the queen bee of a hive." He paused, and seemed to Ichigo to be having some sort of disturbing thought. But then, the realization stabbed Ichigo right through the heart.
"Wait - what does that mean? Like... like they command an army?" he asked, eyes wide. He had to stop himself from reaching over and grabbing Uryuu by the shoulders. What Uryuu had just described, without having seen him in weeks, was every waking minute of his life since having Orihime's blood forcefully injected into him. Or perhaps Ichigo was jumping to conclusions. Either way, it sounded like Uryuu might know more about his situation than he'd ever thought possible.
"Possibly," he responded, all emotion scrubbed as he returned to full business mode. "It's hard to say. The research I discovered was... unethical, to say the least."
"And you think this applies to Inoue?" Ichigo's brow furrowed and his heart beat hard as he asked for the answer to a question he already knew.
"Certainly," Uryuu replied. "That is my suspicion, at least. It's hard not to notice she's attracted a circle of demonic support lately. And there was that night in the park." His side-glance was sharp, but it wasn't as if Ichigo could deny it. From Urahara to the heads of the noble demon houses, she'd been treated with substantially more difference than if she'd been an average human, and certainly with more respect. Then there were the Fallen, and how they'd reacted to having their own blood changed. Was it possible they were looking for their "queen", too? Ichigo's mouth went dry; no wonder Shinji had draped himself over her as soon as he saw her today. He probably felt the difference, too, even beyond her regulators.
"In any case," Uryuu continued, interrupting Ichigo's reverie, "Just be cautious. The research was destroyed, but girls like that... they have the potential to be very dangerous." Ichigo's eyes narrowed, but he nodded anyway. He might not have liked Uryuu very much, but he knew now that his heart had been in the right place all along.
"So?"
The lunchtime conversation on the lawn was much lighter. Orihime had been absent for a couple of weeks, and hadn't seen most of her school friends in that time. Of course, Rukia had visited; the black-haired girl sat with them today, her red-haired partner having vanished somewhere over lunch. Orihime idly wondered if perhaps he'd found himself a fight under an underpass somewhere. He looked the part, anyway.
So when Tatsuki leaned in close with raised eyebrows and asked her a leading "so?", Orihime was a bit confused.
"Huh?" she replied, blinking. "So... what?" The other girls seemed keenly attentive while Tatsuki's expression turned singularly mischievous.
"You know," her best friend pressed on. "How was it?" A furrow dug itself between Orihime's eyebrows as Rukia seemed to choke on her juice box.
"How was... what?" Orihime asked, truly confused, but feeling as though she'd been left out of a joke.
"You can't be that dense, Orihime," Ryo sighed. Orihime pouted in response.
"Geez," Tatsuki followed up. "How was it? You know, it! Playing doctor, hiding the sausage, you and Ichigo - augh! Sex, Orihime!"
It was like a domino reaction. Not only did Orihime blush to the roots of her hair, but Rukia sprayed her apple juice across the lawn and Chizuru looked absolutely apoplectic. They all three spoke at once, with Orihime stuttering gibberish, Rukia protesting, and Chizuru possibly speaking in tongues. Tatsuki casually caught their red-haired friend by her collar and forced her back into her seat.
"Th-That's not possible!" Rukia finally managed to form intelligible speech before the other two. She looked genuinely upset, although Orihime suspected it was for a different reason than her classmates would think. Ichigo would probably get in a lot of trouble if what they'd done got out, although she doubted Rukia would tell.
"C'mon, Kuchiki," Tatsuki said dismissively, and then with a smirk added: "Why are you worried anyway? You have that big tattooed guy following you around. You can't tell me you guys haven't tried anything!" Now it was Rukia's turn to blush as her mouth snapped shut. Orihime doubted such an accusation was true; Rukia's brother would probably kill them both.
"A-Anyway!" Orihime deflected chipperly, "Nothing happened! Really! Kurosaki-kun just asked me to be his g-girlfriend!" Tatsuki clearly wasn't buying it, and Orihime felt a pang when she lied to her. Still, the black-haired girl leaned in beyond the earshot of the others and spoke with a grin.
"Oh yeah?" she teased, "Your neighbor, Sumeragi-san, says different. I stopped by this morning to walk you to school, cuz I heard you were better..." Orihime squealed with fright while the other girls looked on in confusion.
"...she said you guys were making an awful racket last night..."
"T-T-Tatsuki-chan-!"
"...he at least wore a condom, right..?"
"H-He-!"
Orihime couldn't finish. It was too embarrassing. Meanwhile, the other girls had gone from being confused to trying to eavesdrop, with mixed results. Rukia was nearly blue in the face while Ryo and Michiru looked mildly disturbed. Chizuru simply looked quietly furious.
Orihime knew Tatsuki was just teasing, like any friend would. The black-haired girl clearly didn't see it as a bad thing; if anything, Orihime expected she'd slap her on the back and congratulate her for fulfilling a life goal. Still, that didn't stop her teasing from being very uncomfortable, mostly for reasons Tatsuki couldn't have even guessed at.
"Ugh," Ryo finally said, cutting through the tension, "I don't see what the big deal is. I mean, I guess he looks alright, but that attitude..." Orihime could've kissed Ryo right then for changing the subject.
"Not like Ishida-kun, right, Ryo-chan?" Tatsuki said, taking the bait and causing Orihime to exhale. Ryo seemed to bristle, but cast an understanding look in Orihime's direction. Orihime gave her a grateful smile as the conversation continued on. Tatsuki would get her later, she was sure. But it wouldn't be in front of all the other girls.
She didn't have to wait too long for that prediction to come true. At the end of the school day, as Orihime approached the gates, she could see Ichigo, Renji, Rukia, Chad, and Tatsuki chatting. They were clearly waiting for her.
"Oi, Inoue," Ichigo called, a welcoming smile on his face. Her best friend turned to watch her approach with the rest of the group, too.
"Ah-? Are you going to...?" Orihime wasn't sure what she could and couldn't say in front of Tatsuki, so she just allowed herself to trail off. Rukia nodded in response.
"Yes," she replied, "He's been missed at his part-time job." Orihime's eyebrows rose, but she didn't say anything. Instead, Tatsuki looked quietly pleased by this information, and even gave Ichigo an elbow to the ribs to show it.
"Eeeh-! Good goin', Ichigo," she said knowingly before leaning in with an arm around his shoulders. "I'm glad to know you'll be treating Orihime right. Because if you don't..." She need not have said anything else; the threat was implied. Orihime simply sputtered.
"T-Tatsuki-chan! Don't threaten him!" Orihime could barely believe it, but Ichigo actually seemed rankled by the threat.
"Yeesh, Tatsuki," he huffed, shrugging off her arm, "I'm not some low life." Tatsuki seemed pleased by this answer while Renji and Rukia seemed mystified by the exchange. Sado seemed unsurprised, as much as Orihime; they were both aware that Tatsuki and Ichigo were old friends.
"Alright, great!" She chimed with a smirk. "You guys can go to your part-time job. I'll take Orihime home." Orihime was about to protest when Ichigo stopped her with a shake of his head.
"I know you want to go, Inoue," he said softly, "But it'd probably be better to stay away for a few days, at least until I'm settled back in." Orihime was disappointed, but she understood; Rangiku would certainly ask questions, and while she might not mind the answers, there was no telling how anyone else would feel. She smiled in return.
"Alright," she said. "Besides, Tatsuki-chan hasn't walked me home in a while." Ichigo nodded his approval before bending his head to give her a quick peck beside her ear.
"I'll be by to check on you later tonight, okay?" he whispered, low enough for only Orihime to hear. She blushed a little but nodded her agreement anyway. Maybe Ichigo only meant to make sure she was safe before he headed home, but she couldn't help but entertain other, less innocent possibilities. As though he'd read her mind, Ichigo's mouth crooked up on the side, but he let it pass without comment.
"C'mon, you two love birds," Renji called with thinly veiled disgust. "I'm gonna get a toothache."
"Haaaah?" Rukia observed, "Abarai Renji, are you jealous?" Now it was Renji's turn to be indignant as all eyes moved towards him. Rukia pinned him with a knowing smirk, which caused him to squirm.
"Shut up, Rukia-!" he retorted weakly as they began moving away.
"Hooh? Is that all you have to say for yourself? How interesting!" Then, before they were out of earshot, Orihime heard one last volley.
"Are you taking notes?! Dammit Rukia, you're going to tell your brother?!" Orihime and Tatsuki watched them go, looks of morbid fascination on their faces.
"I guess we should take off too, huh?" Orihime nodded with a smile. Even though she was sure to grill her over everything that had happened last night, Orihime felt safe with Tatsuki. Her presence was like a comfortable old sweater; her world had gone absolutely insane over the past few months, but she knew she could always come home to Tatsuki.
They walked along in companionable silence, down a hill by the waterway, and under the underpass by the old Karasu river. Just as they were emerging into the park a few blocks away from Orihime's apartment, Tatsuki turned to her with a sheepish smile.
"Heh, sorry about earlier," she said, rubbing the back of her head. Orihime didn't have to ask what for; instead, she favored her best friend with a warm smile. Tatsuki's apology stung sweetly at her heart.
"It's alright," Orihime replied. "I know you were just happy for me. If anything, I should apologize. I feel like I've been blowing you off."
"Haaaaah, so it is true!" Tatsuki grinned at the confirmation, causing Orihime to blush again. "But... I can't say it hasn't felt like it sometimes. When I heard you'd been hurt, I couldn't even visit. They said you were being treated by some nobles, so of course us human scum shouldn't bother coming around." Orihime felt guilt lance her heart. Before this, she'd never lied to Tatsuki about anything; she'd never needed or wanted to. But this strange new turn had necessitated a level of secrecy she had never dealt with before. She felt different from her human friends now. Not better or worse, just with a sad realization that they'd never really know what was going on with her. In fact, simply thinking of them as "human friends" was testament to how much had changed.
"I'm sorry," Orihime said softly, glancing off to the side. She had no way of knowing what Tatsuki had been told while she was recovering, so she couldn't confirm or deny anything herself. The most she could do was offer a heartfelt apology.
Tatsuki's open palm slapping her back brought Orihime out of her morose thoughts. She looked up to see her friend grinning at her.
"Stop being so down, Orihime," she said with no small amount of compassion. "You're here now, and I'm not mad at you. Look..." With one hand wrapped around her friend's waist, Tatsuki gestured to the vaguely yellow, overcast sky. Orihime's gaze followed her motion.
"I know there's something weird going on with you and Ichigo and the nobility," she continued on, raising her face to the cloudy light, "but look at that! No matter where you are, we'll still be under the same sky - right?"
A smile spread across Orihime's lips as she nodded. Tatsuki had certainly summed most of her problems up succinctly: when compared against the vastness of the sky, they seemed small.
"I guess I could say the same thing about all of my friends, huh?" Orihime replied, walking in time with Tatsuki. The black-haired girl grinned in agreement.
"Yep," she answered. "Even Ichigo. Even Chizuru." Orihime laughed then, a real laugh like she laughed six months prior, before all of these problems started, before she was some kind of magical fairy princess - back when she was just plain old Inoue Orihime, human schoolgirl. She reminded herself, though, that it was also six months before she and Ichigo had become a couple, too.
"C'mon," Tatsuki said, taking her hand, "Let's stop at the convenience store and get something to eat before I take you home." Orihime nodded, and with an affirmative "hnn!" began to follow behind.
Ichigo's walk to Wrath House was considerably less light-hearted.
"Ichigo," Rukia had finally said after minutes of silence. Neither she nor Renji stopped, but Ichigo knew she was serious by the tone of her voice. In a way, it was comforting; getting nagged by Rukia was ever the same, no matter what.
"Yeah?" he replied with a nonchalance that he didn't feel.
"I'm not going to pry into your personal affairs," she said softly, casting him a sympathetic look, "But do know that not everyone will be so easy-going." While Ichigo knew Rukia meant well, being spoken to euphemistically bothered him.
"Tch," he scoffed, although it was mostly for show, "You can ask if you're curious, you know." Rukia looked a bit like a bird whose feathers had been ruffled.
"I said I don't want to know!" she responded briskly. Ichigo grinned at the opportunity to tease her. Renji and Chad were now listening surreptitiously, interested to see what came of this.
"If you didn't want to know, you wouldn't have said anything," he pressed. "Come to think of it, haven't you guys been way too into my personal life since we met?" Renji's tattooed eyebrows rose, but Rukia sputtered. It was pretty obvious she was flustered.
"That's beside the point!" she defended, "What I'm saying is, as your mentor, I want what is best for you. Do not go about flaunting how you lost your virginity!"
Now it was Ichigo's turn to be flustered. He turned a bright pink to complement his hair while Renji and even Chad were aghast. Rukia had pierced his defenses, simply and easily, leaving him sputtering helplessly.
"Th-That's-! I'm not flaunting!" As soon as the words left his mouth, a feeble attempt at defense, he knew he'd made a terrible mistake. In one stroke, he'd admitted that until the night before he had been a virgin, he currently was not, and that Orihime was certainly the cause. Judging by the look of smug triumph on Rukia's face, she wasn't going to get him in trouble with the authorities; no, she was more likely to taunt him mercilessly from now on.
As if in solidarity, Renji moved to pat him on the back, head hung low, his expression grim.
"She'll never let this go, man," he grumbled, barely loud enough for Rukia to hear. Rukia's eyes slid like a knife to Renji as she decided whether to pursue him or Ichigo.
"It doesn't matter, alright?" Ichigo snapped, cutting any further exchange off. "What I do with Inoue is our business. That sort of thing is normal!" Rukia's eyebrow rose as she considered her next words.
"To an extent," she said slowly. "Ichigo, you must also understand that being a part of demon society means upholding certain social morees, as well. One does not flaunt their human lover. That is beneath us. And yet..."
Ichigo's gaze drifted resentfully off to the side. He couldn't quite tell Rukia or Renji just yet that Orihime wasn't exactly "human". He wasn't sure they'd even know what she was.
"And yet, she is so easy to accept," Rukia finished, a slight rosy dusting visible on her cheeks. "It is almost as if she is also a part of Wrath House. Do not let that make you complacent, Ichigo. That is all I am saying."
Normally, Ichigo would resent being lectured by Rukia over something so obvious. Of course he had to watch out for Orihime, even amongst his housemates; not out of their danger to her, but because situations could so easily spiral out of all control. The encounter with Kenpachi and his house proved that. But beyond that, there was a softness to what Rukia had just said that Ichigo found hard to be annoyed by. She was genuinely concerned for Orihime's well-being, at least he fancied she might be. So what would normally be met with scorn instead was met with a sort of tepid acceptance.
"Point taken," he grumbled, ruffling the short hair at the back of his head. Rukia nodded solemnly before fixing him with a mischievous gaze.
"Besides which," she said over her shoulder as she began walking again, "If I hear that you have hurt my friend in any way at all, I will show no mercy." Dammit, how many girls were going to tell him that today?!
"Who said I was gonna hurt her?!" he snapped back in exasperation, "Geez, you guys already act like I'm the biggest disappointment ever!"
"If you think this is bad, it's nothing to how Rangiku will behave," Rukia said nonchalantly. Ichigo didn't know which bothered him more: the needling or the prospect that he was about to have to face Rangiku.
Rangiku was absolutely insufferable. She was clearly set on holding Ichigo responsible for Orihime's injuries, and did so in a way that wasn't exactly easy to dispute. The situation was made worse so by the fact that Ichigo had failed to bring Orihime along. But she didn't have much of a chance to harangue him, although her annoyance was palpable, because he spent the better part of his time there that evening being dressed down by Toushiro.
The smaller demon was not only incensed that Ichigo had dragged three of his house members - including his Lieutenant - off to an unsanctioned house in a horrible part of town, but that they'd all been injured in doing so. This was further compounded by the unnamed demon party that had interrupted and shut down the brawl. Clearly all of the other parties were working outside the law of the nobility, and none of that was a very good way for Ichigo to begin to join proper demon society.
To this point, Ichigo could somewhat contain his irritation. Toushiro had surely heard about the full situation from Rangiku, and it was unquestionable that Urahara was not exactly a well-regarded figure by the nobility. And it was a sure bet that he'd been informed by Abbadon about Orihime's peculiarity: if he hadn't been already, then after the incident with Kenpachi, he surely would be. Of course, Ichigo received a stern warning about her, too. It was a good thing he'd decided against her tagging along today, after all.
After all the lectures were done, Ichigo had just a few hours of toilet duty before it was time for him to head out. At some point, he figured, he'd have to move up from toilet duty. Judging from the state of the restrooms after his long absence, though, it was highly likely that they'd reserved that special duty just for him.
For the most part, though, the others seemed sympathetic to him. Shuuhei and Kira cast him pitying looks on his way into Toushiro's office, and Momo interrupted the lectures twice when the white-haired demon had gotten too loud. Ichigo was at least grateful for those three.
Finally after what seemed like days of toilet bowl scented torment, Ichigo was released to go home. Sado walked down to the house gates with him before giving a silent wave and heading off on his own in the direction of his apartment. Ichigo was grateful for that, at least; he wasn't heading home just yet.
True to his word, he was heading over to see Orihime.
The muggy, cloudy night suddenly made him feel alive. He walked, hands in pockets, toward her place. The promise of just seeing her again - regardless of whatever else might happen - was enough to placate Ichigo's raw nerves.
After a brief stop at the convenience store for sandwiches and a certain small box - for just-in-case - he found himself at the bottom of the stairs leading to Orihime's door. A quick glance off towards one of the neighboring windows let him know he was being watched; the quickly sliding curtain was a dead giveaway. That must have been the Sumeragi woman Orihime had been worried about earlier. Ichigo bit back a chuckle at the idea of how his returning might look to her. Well, she could just get used to it; he wasn't going to stop coming around now.
As he ascended the stairs, though, something began to feel out of place. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. Perhaps it was that Orihime's windows were dark. Ichigo figured it was possible she'd already fallen asleep. But she knew very well he'd be coming over after his visit to Wrath House. Still, it was probably nothing.
By the time he reached the landing in front of her door, Ichigo's heart was in his throat. He couldn't quite grasp what was making him so anxious; even his white counterpart was stirring, agitated by something intangible. Then, as he reached for the door, something happened that made his stomach flip.
The door swung easily inward as soon as he touched it.
Terror seized Ichigo's heart as he threw the door open and stepped into the darkened apartment. He slammed on the lights to find the apartment just like they'd left it that morning. His mind raced as he tried to figure out what exactly was going on.
"Inoue?!" he called frantically, making his way back to the bedroom. He threw the door open and turned on the light to find nothing there different from that morning either. A quick check of the bathroom, living room, and kichenette also revealed that Orihime was nowhere to be found. Worse yet, when Ichigo tried to feel her presence with his mind, there was nothing. She was absolutely gone without a single trace.
Ichigo's breathing thickened as his thoughts whirled. Had she even made it home? They definitely locked the door when they left that morning, and there didn't seem to be a struggle or anything missing. Besides, he knew Tatsuki would have gotten her home or died trying; and if she couldn't help dying, she'd have at least texted to let him know. It was as if Orihime had come home and then left again, changing nothing.
As he came to stand in the kitchen, thoughts buzzing with confusion, agitation, and fear, Ichigo placed his hand on the counter. His hand brushed something cold and hard, causing him to look down in response. It was a cup - the mug that Ichigo had seen her drink tea from the night before. It was full of room temperature tea, the teabag string still dangling over the edge of the cup. Beside it sat the electric kettle she'd used to heat the water, the open tin of teabags, and a folded piece of paper. Ichigo's brows furrowed as he picked it up: it was clearly a note.
As he unfolded it, his heart beat in his throat and his fingers trembled. He swallowed, his mouth dry with fear. Ichigo read the words, barely making sense of them.
"I must go away now. Please do not look for me."
