"…Or Forever Hold Your Peace" Chapter 2
Author's Note: I'd like to thank mayu87, Unwavering Heart, sheblunar, Tahaku, narusaku143, and Clninja96 for following my first fanfic, and to Saint Sita, blackroserocker, and narusaku143 for reviewing it! Sorry about the delay; I've been busy with work.
Caution: This chapter will contain angst, but not enough that I would think appropriate for putting the overall work under that category.
Orihime was miserable. She was at a wedding – Ichigo's wedding, in fact. And she wasn't the bride.
Ichigo Kurosaki, the man she had sworn to love for five lifetimes, was getting married to one of her best friends – Rukia Kuchiki, the woman that Orihime knew in her heart that Ichigo had loved for years.
And she had a front row seat to it all. She would rather die than bear witness to what was going to happen in front of her eyes in a few minutes, but here she was anyway.
In spite of Orihime's misery, though, she smiled as best as she could, not wanting to have anybody worry about her or think she didn't approve of her beloved's impending union. She had thought that, after she had learned about the wedding, her friends would be there to comfort her and offer her reassurance that she would find happiness again… but to her dismay, all of them were overjoyed that Ichigo wanted to spend the rest of eternity with Rukia. Even Tatsuki, Rangiku, Chad, and Uryu, all of whom she had confided with her feelings for Ichigo, had stated that they were glad that Rukia was "finally" getting married to the man she had "loved for so long." So, ever since she had received Rukia's invitation letter, she stayed silent, pretending to be happy for her friends' sake.
To Orihime's confusion, she could hear Rukia shouting in the chapel's foyer, calling someone a "dumbass" and saying things like "he is so not getting away with this." Orihime couldn't think of a reason why Rukia was so upset; if anything, she should be overjoyed that she was getting married to the man she loved.
Turning her attention to Ichigo, Orihime let out a quiet sigh. He looked so handsome in his grey suit and blue tie… but then again, he was always handsome to her, no matter what he was wearing. Ichigo was currently adjusting his tie, an irritated expression on his face making it clear he was uncomfortable with the way he was wearing it.
"Oh, Ichigo…" Orihime thought to herself, still wishing that she would be the one walking down the aisle in a few minutes. "If you would let me adjust your tie for you and smooth out your brow, you'd be as happy as you should be on your special day…" Her smile widened a little, some sincerity inserting itself in her expression, then receded back to its former size as her thoughts continued, "… but I can't do that. I'm not the one who has the right to make you happy… I never was."
Orihime watched as Isane sat next to Chad, the pair smiling at each other; the orange-haired healer was glad for them, but felt jealous that she couldn't have that happiness with Ichigo. Almost a minute later, Nemu sat next to Uryu. Isane seemed scared of Mayuri's lieutenant for some reason, but Orihime was glad for her and her Quincy friend; she had known for a few months that they were seeing each other in secret, and it seemed like they were using the wedding to make their relationship public. Still, like with Chad and Isane, she couldn't help but be jealous at them, though she still showed no hint of it.
Orihime wished she was that brave, to tell Ichigo and the rest of the world how she felt… but to do that here, when he was about to be wed to his true beloved? That would be the most selfish thing to do, to tell someone that you loved them more than the one that they wanted to be with forever.
She couldn't help but think back to when she first learned about the wedding, back to when all her dreams had been broken into pieces…
It had been a surprisingly quiet day at the bakery. When Orihime became assistant manager almost a year before, business had dropped when some of her culinary creations were put on the menu, but then had skyrocketed when customers discovered that many of her unappealing-looking treats turned out to be some of the best food they had ever eaten. That day, however, there hadn't been many customers visiting – maybe it was the virus that had been going through Karakura's prefecture for the last week.
Regardless, Orihime didn't mind. She and many of her friends had been partying the night before, celebrating Tatsuki's acceptance into the Japanese Olympic team for karate. It hadn't been much of a surprise – Tatsuki had just been declared the national female karate champion, but it was cause for celebration nonetheless. There wasn't any alcohol at the party, but it did last until midnight, well past the time Orihime was used to getting into bed. She had worried that she wouldn't be able to work as hard as she needed to, but the extra time given by the lax patronage had given her ample opportunity to rest, giving her the energy to continue working the rest of the day.
Orihime had just arrived at her apartment complex and was looking through the inventory of her mailbox. Most of it was junk mail, but a pink envelope with Urahara's shop's address caught her attention.
Looking at the back of the envelope, Orihime's eyes lit up with delight when she saw her friend's name written above the Kuchiki clan wax seal.
"It's from Rukia!" Orihime said to herself. While that was obvious, it had been almost a month since she had seen her friend. Ichigo, on the other hand, had been going to the Soul Society at least once a week ever since he regained his Soul Reaper powers.
Orihime walked into her apartment, turned on the lights, and closed the door behind her, turning its lock into place. Giggling to herself, she wondered what Rukia had written to her about. Was her diminutive friend simply writing to her to see how she was doing? Maybe Captain Kurotsuchi had discovered that the little blue men existed after all?
Orihime walked to her couch, placing the junk mail on her coffee table. Not yet sitting down, the orange-haired beauty opened the pink envelope, taking out a finely-embroidered letter. She began to read it, her curiosity at the occasion reaching its peak.
"Dear Orihime,
It's happening. It's really happening. I'm getting married. To him. I couldn't believe it when he proposed. God, I've liked him for ages and it literally took him years to finally realize. You know how thick-headed and dense that idiot is! I accepted, of course. Even with that stupid bright hair of his, he's so handsome…
I'd love for you to be my maid of honor. Let me know.
Hugs and Chappies!
Rukia"
Orihime's mind went blank. Eyes widening in shock, she re-read the letter, and then again. And again, and again, and again.
"No…" She muttered to herself, then suddenly said aloud, "No!"
Orihime fell back onto her couch, having lost control of her legs and feeling nauseous. She read the letter one last time, each word seemingly jumping out at her, confirming her worst fear.
Rukia was marrying Ichigo.
Her eyes stung as she began to cry, some of her tears falling on the letter.
The letter that ended all of her dreams of being with her beloved Ichigo.
Orihime didn't know how long she had been crying before her phone began to ring. She didn't answer it, too tired and weak from her misery to get up from the coach and pick her phone up from the coffee table. When it stopped ringing, it played the pre-recorded message telling her she had a voicemail. After a half hour later, she had eventually stopped crying and stood up enough to reach over and picked it up, sitting back down on the couch and pressing the appropriate icons to reach her voicemail log.
Orihime saw that the call had been from Tatsuki. She wondered why her best friend had called her. Pressing the "play voicemail" button, she put her phone to her ear.
"Hey, Orihime!" The beauty heard Tatsuki's voice on the phone, her best friend sounding very excited about something. "Did you get your letter? Rukia's getting married! Isn't that great?"
Orihime's heart skipped a beat in shock.
"She said that she asked you to be the maid of honor!" Her best friend's voice continued, the excited tone in her voice growing. "That was nice of her, don't you think? I hope you're going to accept. I can't think of anyone better for the job! Talk to you later!"
Orihime's hand began to shake from the shock, her phone falling from it and onto the couch. She brought both of her hands to her mouth as she began sobbing.
"Tatsuki… Tatsuki's happy that Rukia's marrying Ichigo?" Orihime thought, her horror at the situation growing. "Why?! I told her how I felt…"
Orihime had told Tatsuki and Rangiku that she loved Ichigo during one of their outings a few months before, and to her surprise, they had told her that they had known for "a long time." Her friends had encouraged her to tell him, but eventually relented after she had repeatedly asserted that she didn't want to do so yet. Shortly thereafter, she told Uryu and Chad, as well – they replied the same as Tatsuki and Rangiku did. Chad had been very enthusiastic in encouraging her to tell Ichigo, having just started his relationship with Isane; Uryu had been less keen in his encouragement, but had given her some tips on how she could tell him, claiming that he learned them from a psychology book's section on romance. Orihime understood now how he truly knew those tips, but…
…it didn't matter, none of her friends seemed to care anymore.
She had called Uryu and Chad when she gained control of herself again. Both of them had said they were glad for Rukia and her "lucky man."
None of her friends cared…
Later that night, Orihime was in her bed, crying into her pillow. Her Shun Shun Rikka were around her, trying to comfort her to no avail. They were all saddened by their master's state; even the normally energetic Shuno, Lily, and Hinagiku were depressed. Tsubaki, meanwhile, was absolutely livid; most of what he said was to himself, swearing that if he ever saw Ichigo again, he would rip the Substitute Soul Reaper to pieces – not that that would ever happen, his ability to use his power controlled by Orihime.
"That damn, good-for-nothing Ichigo!" Tsubaki growled, his tiny fists clenched and shaking. "That dumbass is a damn fool for-"
"Tsubaki!" Ayame shouted, the usually quiet and reserved spirit having become fed up with Tsubaki's ranting. "That is enough! You will stop saying such foul things about Ichigo immediately!"
"Why?! Why should I not give that idiot's name a good cussing out?!" Tsubaki shouted, hovering closer to Ayame. "Don't you see that Orihime's miserable because of that fool and that midget he's marrying?"
"Tsubaki, Ichigo is still important to Orihime!" Shuno said, joining in. "You don't have the right to-"
"Don't tell me you're protecting that idiot, too!" Tsubaki shouted, glaring at his compatriot. "Orihime's loved him for years, and all this time, he's been too stupid to figure it out! If Tatsuki, Uryu, Chad, and Rangiku could figure it out no problem, what's his excuse?!"
"He probably doesn't understand love enough to-"
"It seems to me he understands it enough to think that his Soul Reaper girlfriend is better for him than Orihime!" Tsubaki snarled, his anger growing. "And stop protecting him! I know you're just as pissed at him as I am!"
"I am!" Shuno shouted at Tsubaki as she closed the distance between the two of them. "I want to rip his head off myself! But I can't do that! Orihime would never allow it!"
"She should!" Lily yelled, hovering closer to Tsubaki, Shuno, and Ayame. Baigon and Hinagiku followed her. "She should use us and-"
"THAT IS ENOUGH!"
All of the spirits stared at Orihime in shock, their master sitting upright and glaring at them. They had never heard her yell that loud before.
"Ichigo and Rukia love each other." Orihime said, her glare firm at her Shun Shun Rikka. "I've known that for years. Having it spelled out for me doesn't matter." She looked down into her lap. "I'm happy for them."
The spirits looked at each other, unconvinced. Orihime certainly didn't sound happy.
"Orihime…" Shuno said quietly, hovering up to her master's right, placing her small hands on Orihime's shoulder. Ayame copied Shuno's actions. "We know that's not true. You've wanted to be with Ichigo for years. It's okay to be upset…"
"No, Shuno, it's not." Orihime said, turning her head to look at the blond spirit. "It's selfish to be mad at Rukia. And I'm not mad at Ichigo for wanting to be with her."
"Stop worrying about whether or not something's selfish!" Tsubaki said, hovering in front of Orihime's face.
"Then what should I do, Tsubaki?" Orihime said to her spirit. "Call Ichigo and Rukia vile names for wanting to be together? Act like a spoiled child since I didn't get what I wanted? I had so many opportunities to tell Ichigo how I feel, and I wasted every single one of them!" The anger in her voice was rising, but the Shun Shun Rikka knew somehow that she wasn't angry at Tsubaki or her friends.
"Orihime, you still have time." Ayame said. "You can tell Ichigo how you feel, he might feel the same about you, call off the wedding…"
"And spend the rest of my life with Rukia and the others hating me for taking Ichigo away from her, like some… some…" Orihime couldn't bear to refer to herself by her mother's profession. "No. I'll be happy for them, like a good friend should."
Orihime laid her head back down on her pillow, closing her eyes as she began to sob again. The Shun Shun Rikka knew that it was pointless to continue arguing with her, so they quietly returned to her hairpins when she ordered them to.
Orihime called in sick the next morning, explaining to her boss that she had been feeling weak since the night before, possibly having caught the virus that had been going around from a customer that had been sneezing. Her manager didn't question her, having seen the customer Orihime described herself, so she recommended that Orihime go to a clinic and then immediately return home and rest.
Orihime instead took the time to work out her response letter to Rukia. By two o'clock in the afternoon, she had finished it.
"Dear Rukia,
I'm so glad that you're getting married! Unfortunately, I will be unable to attend the wedding. The bakery has received several orders for the week of the wedding, and my boss has said we will need as many employees as possible to be at work.
I hope you're not upset, and I wish you and your fiancé all the happiness in the World of the Living and Soul Society.
Orihime"
Orihime waited until the day after the next, one of her off days, to take her letter to Urahara's. The shopkeeper was surprised to learn that she wouldn't be at the wedding, but accepted her reason.
"It's such a shame, though, my dear Orihime." Urahara had said, folding his fan. "You would've been the loveliest maid of honor in Karakura Town." Tessai and Ururu had nodded in agreement, Jinta didn't seem to care much, and Yoruichi was away dealing with some business in the Soul Society, so obviously she couldn't give her opinion.
Orihime politely smiled and agreed with the first three, then left. She received Rukia's response the next day.
"Hey Orihime,
Fine, I understand, you don't have to come. It's alright if you can't.
Rukia"
In spite of everything, though, the next day Orihime asked her boss if she could have a day off for the wedding. There was a voice in the back of her head that had been telling her to go, to see the truth for herself. She had hoped that her boss would tell her no, but she had delightedly told Orihime she could have the day off, and to give her regards to the bride and groom.
Three weeks went by, and then the night before the wedding, Orihime called Tatsuki, telling her that she was going to attend.
"That's wonderful, Orihime!" Tatsuki had said, unable to contain her excitement. "Rukia will be so happy! You'll get to be the maid of honor, and-"
"No, Tatsuki, I'm not."
"What? Why?" Tatsuki's confusion and dismay was painfully obvious.
"It would be in bad form for me to show up with barely any notice and ask Rukia to accept me as maid of honor, Tatsuki." Orihime explained, saddened that she was lying to her best friend. "I'm sure she's gotten someone else, and I don't want to take that away from them."
"Oh. Okay then, Orihime, if that's what you want to do."
"It is. Can you come by my apartment tomorrow at eleven, and then we'll go to the chapel together?"
"Alright." Tatsuki said. Orihime thought she heard a tone of disappointment in the karate champion's voice. "I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Orihime"
"Goodnight, Tatsuki."
Tatsuki came the next morning at eleven, as Orihime had asked. She was wearing a purple dress that reached to her thighs and had narrow black shoulder straps, and had straightened her hair for the event. Orihime had put on a blue dress that reached to her knees with wide white shoulder straps. Tatsuki tried to convince Orihime to ask Rukia about being the maid of honor one last time, but gave up when she told her no once again.
They left Orihime's apartment and went to the chapel. When they arrived, they saw that many of their friends, both human and Soul Reaper, had arrived before them. Several of them were surprised to see Orihime with Tatsuki.
"Orihime! Tatsuki! You've made it!"
Both girls turned their attention to where they heard the voice come from. They saw Rangiku running towards them, waving one hand above her head excitedly. To their shock, she was wearing a shiny red mini-dress; such an outfit was inappropriate for a guest to wear to a wedding, but it was impossible to convince the 10th Squad's lieutenant of that.
Rangiku stopped a few feet in front of Orihime and Tatsuki, a confused expression suddenly appearing on her face.
"Wait, Orihime?" Rangiku said, blinking twice in surprise. Her eyes then lit up and her smile returned. "Orihime, you're here!" The buxom Soul Reaper hugged her human friend, saying, "I thought you couldn't come because of your job!"
"Rangiku… I…" Orihime struggled to speak, Rangiku's tight hug squeezing the air out of her. Fortunately, the lieutenant noticed her friend's trouble and let her go.
As Orihime was recovering her breath, Tatsuki spoke for her. "A bunch of the orders at the bakery were cancelled." Tatsuki explained. "Her boss gave her the day off."
Rangiku clapped her hands together. "Yes! That's wonderful!" She cheered. "Now you can be the maid of honor, and-"
"No, I'm not."
Rangiku stared at Orihime, shocked by her sudden declaration.
"What? Orihime, why? Rukia wanted you to be the maid of honor!"
"I just can't do it, Rangiku." Orihime replied, her expression sad. "It would be in bad form for me to just go up to Rukia and ask her if I could be the maid of honor after I told her I couldn't come. Besides, she's probably got Momo or someone else to be-"
"She hasn't asked anyone else, Orihime."
Orihime blinked twice at her Soul Reaper friend. "What?" She asked, not fully understanding what Rangiku just said. "What do you mean?"
"Rukia only wanted you as maid of honor, Orihime." Rangiku told her, the 10th's lieutenant dropping her former cheerful expression. "She was so disappointed when she got your letter. She said that if you weren't going to be the maid of honor, then she wasn't going to have one."
"I… But…" Orihime stammered, unable to say anything coherent.
"Rukia wanted just me? Why?" She wondered to herself.
"Why…"
"Orihime Inoue." A deep voice suddenly arose behind Orihime and Tatsuki. Both girls, plus Rangiku, turned their attention to the owner of the voice. To their surprise, it belonged to none other than Byakuya Kuchiki, the head of the Kuchiki clan and Rukia's older brother. With him were a man and a woman, both of them nobles of the Kuchiki clan. All three had their focus solely on Orihime, with Byakuya glaring at her.
"Why are you here?" The 6th Squad's captain asked the young woman. "You told Rukia you couldn't attend."
"Oh! Byakuya!" Orihime said. Both of the Kuchiki nobles glowered at her for using Byakuya's name informally. "I… My boss told me yesterday that most of the orders at the bakery were cancelled, and that I could come to the wedding."
While the nobles maintained their indignant glares, Byakuya's expression completely lost its edge.
"I see." The Kuchiki clan leader said. "Will you be Rukia's maid of honor, then?"
"I'm afraid I can't." Orihime responded, desperate to hide the pain she was feeling from what everyone seemed to expect from her. "It would be rude to ask Rukia after I've already turned her down."
Byakuya studied the healer for a moment, seemingly disappointed by her answer, then said "It can't be helped, I suppose." He walked off, the nobles on his heels. "Please enjoy the wedding, regardless." He said over his shoulder.
Orihime, Tatsuki, and Rangiku watched Byakuya and the nobles walk away, before Rangiku and Tatsuki turned their attention back to their friend.
"Are you sure about this, Orihime?" Tatsuki asked.
Orihime cleared her throat before answering, "I am." Her tone was firm, indicating that she wasn't going to argue anymore.
Seeing as how Orihime seemed resolute in her decision, Tatsuki and Rangiku dropped the subject.
"Ah, well." Rangiku said. Her expression lightened up as her smile returned to her face. "Oh! I forgot to mention that they've got some of the Kuchiki reserves at the reception."
Turning her attention to Rangiku, Tatsuki asked, "What reserves?"
"Sake, of course!" Rangiku answered. She then rubbed her hands together as she began to drool. "Those bottles aren't any of that common bar crap in the Soul Society, either! They've been handled by the best brewers in the Rukongai!" Giggling for a moment, she continued, "I can't wait!"
Tatsuki shook her head in amused disbelief, while Orihime simply smiled at her friend. Excusing herself, she went off and into the crowd.
Giving her greetings to her friends and acquaintances and receiving theirs in return, Orihime engaged in conversation with some of them. Many of them asked her the same question that Tatsuki, Rangiku, and Byakuya had asked, and she gave them the same response.
Eventually, she found herself talking with Nanao and Momo.
"Rukia's so lucky, isn't she?" Momo said a few minutes into the conversation. "Even Tier Harribel sent her regards."
That surprised Orihime, but not too much. When the Soul Reapers and the humans began interacting again, she learned that the captains held a meeting concerning the surviving Arrancar in Hueco Mundo not long after the battle with Aizen and his Espada. They had considered invading the realm and "pacifying" it, but Tier Harribel and her Fraccion – Emilou Apacci, Franceska Mila Rose, and Cyan Sung-Sun – had appeared before the assembled Soul Reapers.
Normally, the captains would've attacked such intruders immediately, but Tier had asked for parley before they could act, and to the surprise of all, Yamamoto had declared that he would listen. The former Tres Espada told Yamamoto that she would assume leadership of Hueco Mundo. She assured the Head Captain that she would maintain order over the realm, and also that she had no interest whatsoever in avenging Aizen; any Arrancar that wanted to avenge him would be dealt with by her personally. Yamamoto accepted this, telling Tier that Soul Society would not interfere in Hueco Mundo's affairs so long as she kept the peace, surprising those who thought he would attack her after she was done speaking.
Soul Society and Hueco Mundo kept a tense but welcome peace since then. Only a week before the wedding, an Arrancar had appeared in Soul Society under a banner of peace, giving Rukia Tier's congratulations on her impending union.
"Even our former enemy has given Rukia her blessing." Orihime said, her tone cheerful and approving, when the news had truthfully worsened her inner turmoil.
"Indeed." Nanao said, adjusting her glasses. "It was unexpected of Tier Harribel to approve of Lieutenant Kuchiki's marriage."
"Come on Nanao, you know that Rukia wants to be called by her first name." Momo said, clearly frustrated with her fellow lieutenant's insistence on propriety.
"Regardless, I – LISA!" Nanao suddenly shouted, her eyes and smile stretching wide as she saw her friend arrive with the rest of the Vizards who had opted to stay in the World of the Living. She ran past Orihime and Momo towards her old friend, waving her arms and laughing hysterically.
"She's lightened up a lot since she started visiting Lisa." Momo said, smiling at the sight. "Just yesterday, she caught Captain Kyoraku drinking when he was supposed to be doing paperwork, and she didn't even take his sake away. She just scolded him!"
"Yeah, it's great." Orihime said, her voice wavering.
Momo noticed this. "Orihime, are you okay?"
Surprised by Momo's question, Orihime blinked before answering, "Oh! Yes, yes." She nodded her head. "I'm fine."
Momo didn't look convinced. "If you say so." She said regardless.
"Orihime!"
Both women heard Tatsuki call Orihime's name. They turned their attention to the karate champion and Rangiku, both of whom were approaching their friend together.
"We should go find our seats. It's almost time for the wedding to begin!" Tatsuki said.
"Alright then." Orihime replied, smiling at her best friend.
"I should find Toshiro, too." Momo said, politely waving as she walked away.
The trio of friends walked into the chapel, Tatsuki and Rangiku talking about the superhero movie they saw a month before…
"Orihime?"
Orihime was snapped out of her daze by her best friend's voice. Turning her head to the right, she saw her friends looking at her with concern.
"Orihime, what's wrong?" Rangiku asked. "We thought you'd be happier, but you've been acting weird this whole time."
"Did something happen, Orihime?" Tatsuki asked, her eyes narrowing at the orange-haired beauty; if anything was troubling her best friend, she wanted to know.
Orihime said nothing nor gave any expression that indicated her true feelings. She desperately thought of an excuse to give her friends, not wanting them to know that she didn't want Rukia to marry Ichigo.
"Oh! Nothing's wrong." She said at last, smiling at Tatsuki and Rangiku. "I just had a really bad dream about the little blue men last night, and I haven't gotten over it. I really am glad for Rukia! She's the luckiest girl in the world right now!"
Orihime turned her attention back to the altar. Ichigo was still there.
Ichigo, the one who had saved her and Tatsuki from Acid Wire, the corrupted form of her brother. Ichigo, the one who had saved Rukia from her unjust execution. Ichigo, the one who had defeated the treacherous Aizen and Ginjo. Ichigo, the man she loved with all her being… and whom didn't love her.
"She really is the luckiest girl…"
Orihime wished she hadn't said that. Even she noticed that her tone had slipped and held some grief in it. She tensed up as she heard Tatsuki's voice.
"Orihime…"
Before Tatsuki could say anything else, however, the volume of the wedding music rose significantly.
Orihime, along with everyone else, turned her attention to the entrance of the chapel as the doors opened. She was amazed by how beautiful Rukia looked, how dignified she was as she walked down the aisle, looking every bit the Kuchiki princess that she was.
Rukia was perfect…
"The perfect princess for the perfect king…" Orihime thought to herself, her depression at the situation fully enveloping her inner voice.
As Rukia's entourage passed her pew, Orihime realized something: not once during the whole wedding did she see Renji. She had figured out some time before that the red-haired and tattooed lieutenant of the 6th Squad had a crush on his childhood friend. She had thought that he was jealous of how close Ichigo and Rukia were, just like she had been.
"Renji must have decided to stay away… just like I should have."
Orihime could only imagine the pain that Renji was going through. It must have been too much to see his beloved be wed to someone else.
Finally, Rukia and her entourage reached the altar. The music continued playing for a moment, then stopped. To Orihime's confusion, Shinji didn't begin his speech as officiator.
"Why isn't Shinji saying anything?" Orihime wondered, not noticing that Tatsuki was whispering to Rangiku, asking her if "this was some kind of Soul Reaper tradition," to which Rangiku answered negatively. A small flicker of hope arose in Orihime. "Maybe Ichigo decided he didn't want to be married to Rukia after all!"
And then that hope was snuffed out when she saw Ichigo and Rukia smile at each other.
Orihime's eyes widened and her lips started trembling. The smile that Ichigo and Rukia had on their faces was the kind that Orihime thought that lovers would have for each other.
"That's it, then." Orihime thought, her inner voice filled with grief. "All my dreams… are truly over."
She turned her head towards the floor as she began to cry as quietly as she could.
"Well…" Orihime heard Shinji begin to speak, but she didn't turn her head up. "…we're a bit behind schedule, so let's get this out of the way. If anybody has a reason that these two not be wed, then speak now."
Many members of the audience began laughing at this, for a reason that Orihime couldn't fathom.
"Why's everyone laughing? To object to two people in love being wed… there's nothing more selfish."
In spite of this thought, Orihime stood up. She heard the laughter in the chapel begin to fade away, with more and more people noticing her action. Eventually, only Mashiro was laughing, and then even she stopped when Orihime heard her gasp in pain and yell "HEY!", and then became completely silent.
Orihime was in too much inner turmoil to hold inside anymore. She knew that she had no place to tell Ichigo she loved him now that he was marrying Rukia, but she couldn't bear to not tell him now.
Orihime kept telling herself, however, that if she confessed her love, then everyone she knew would hate her for objecting to Ichigo and Rukia's wedding. She could already see in her mind all her friends, their faces twisted with anger and disappointment in her for being so selfish. Several of them were scolding her for her actions: Tatsuki declaring that she wasn't her best friend anymore; Uryu and Chad with Nemu and Isane telling her that they couldn't believe she could be that selfish; Yuzu telling her to never come back to the Kurosaki household as Isshin and Karin glowered at her; Yachiru telling her that her actions were rude as Kenpachi called her pathetic and Unohana glared at her; and Shinji bitterly lamenting that his "first love" had "such poor character."
Then came the worst part. All the figures cleared away, except for Ichigo and Rukia. Ichigo was facing Orihime, his handsome face twisted into a cruel visage of hatred, and Rukia facing away from her, arms crossed over her chest.
"Orihime…" The vision of Ichigo said, his voice tainted with contempt. "… Rukia and I never want to see you again."
Orihime stopped crying as the visions completely cleared from her mind. She turned her head up to look at the altar and the people there. She heard some people gasp, and saw that those in her field of vision were startled, taken aback by her sorrowful expression.
Orihime focused on Ichigo, his handsome face holding none of the scorn that she saw in her vision; instead, he was confused by her actions.
Ichigo finally said, "Orihime…?" His voice sounded bewildered and concerned for her.
When he spoke, Orihime saw visions of the life she wanted to have: Her confession… his reciprocation… marriage… children… grandchildren… eternity. All the things she couldn't have now.
"Rukia…" She finally spoke, her voice devoid of all emotion except for the grief that slipped in. "…please forgive me."
Orihime didn't hear Rukia's reply. Her short, black-haired friend and almost everyone was gone from her narrowed vision. Only Ichigo remained, his questioning expression begging her for an answer.
"Ichigo…" Orihime felt her tears begin to fall down her face again. "… I love you."
TO BE RESOLVED
Author's Note: Yes, I'm well aware that karate was recently rejected as an official Olympic sport. Let's just say that in the Bleach world, it was accepted a long time ago.
And don't worry, folks! Things will get better!