"…Or Forever Hold Your Peace" Chapter 3
The echoes of Orihime's confession rang throughout the chapel for a few seconds, then everything was quiet again. The young woman couldn't see or hear if anyone aside from Ichigo had reacted to her statement, her attention not wavering from her beloved. She saw his eyes widen and mouth open in shock.
Orihime didn't study his reaction for much longer, as she turned her head towards the floor again, and bowed slightly.
"Please forgive my rudeness, everyone." Orihime said, the grief in her tone rising. "I won't intrude on this happy day any longer." She paused, and then began again as her anguish completely filled her voice. "And I do truly wish the bride… and the g-groom… all the happiness in…"
Orihime couldn't say anymore, so she raised her head, then turned and walked out onto the aisle towards the entrance.
In their own dimension, five of the Shun Shun Rikka were sitting together, their heads bowed in sorrow at their master's state. The only one that was apart from his compatriots was Tsubaki, angrily growling to himself.
Orihime had intended to run away as soon as she left her pew, but her agony had weighed her down, slowing her pace considerably.
"Any minute now…" She thought to herself, her tears falling more freely from her face. "…they'll begin cursing me, telling me that I'm a horrible, selfish person…" She knew that she just ruined all of her relationships in one fell swoop.
Orihime was so wrapped up in her misery, in fact, that she didn't see Yuzu reach out towards her and cry, "Orihime, wait!"
She didn't see Isshin literally jump out of his seat and shout, "O-Orihime! Stop!"
She didn't see Uryu, Chad, Tatsuki, Rangiku and many others rise from their seats and cry out her name, surprise and concern written all over their faces.
But she did feel a certain spiritual pressure rush towards her, before its owner stopped behind her as he grabbed her right arm.
Orihime stopped, her eyes widening in shock and fear as she looked at the hand holding her arm.
"His grip… it's so strong… he's furious!" She dreaded the thought that her beloved could be so mad at her.
As he turned her around to face him, Orihime said, "Ichigo, please, I'm sor-"
And she couldn't say anything more as he bowed his head and brought his lips to hers.
Orihime's eyes stretched themselves to their limit as her brain processed the realization that Ichigo was kissing her. Her arms twitched slightly from the shock, then stabilized as she wrapped them around his neck. Her eyes closed as she calmed from the sensation and she pulled herself closer to him. For his part, Ichigo wrapped his arms around her slender waist.
The Shun Shun Rikka were cheering now, overjoyed that Orihime's affections had been returned. Even Tsubaki was happy at the turn of events.
"That's right!" The spirit cheered. "That's right! You'd better not hurt Orihime again, Ichigo, or I'm going to kick your ass!"
Ichigo and Orihime were in their own little world now, ignorant that the entire chapel had exploded into cheer. Many of their family, friends, and acquaintances were overjoyed that the pair had finally expressed their love for each other.
Uryu adjusted his glasses as he said in a rather smug tone, "Well, it's about time." Chad nodded in agreement, smiling at their friends as Isane and Nemu clapped their hands, glad that Orihime had finally told Ichigo how she felt about him.
Tatsuki and Rangiku were cheering their congratulations at their friends, with Tatsuki thrusting her left arm in the air, and Rangiku jumping up and down, her famous bust threatening to burst free of her dress.
Isshin was dancing and laughing like a madman. After a few seconds, he stopped and pulled a picture of Masaki from his pocket. Crying tears of fatherly joy as he looked at the picture, he cheered at the visage of his beautiful wife, "Masaki! Our third daughter has finally and truly revealed herself!"
Yoruichi watched her friend ramble happily at the picture of his wife and shook her head in amusement, before she resumed cheering for her student and his girlfriend. Soi Fon was upset that she couldn't get Yoruichi to return her affections like that, but had begrudgingly accepted some time ago that her master didn't love her like that, and was happy for Orihime nonetheless. Urahara, meanwhile, was laughing heartily as he waved his fan; while he was also glad for the pair, he knew a good business deal when he saw one. Why, if there was a wedding, he could arrange some exclusive catering!
Shinji was shaking his head at the scene. "Such a shame." He said to himself. His grin returned to his face as he brought his hands together. "Oh well! There's a whole lot of fish in the sea!"
Yuzu was jumping up and down, squealing with delight. Next to her, Karin was wearing the widest grin she ever had on her face.
Hiyori shouted, "It's about damn time, you idiots!"
Right next to her, Mashiro was cheering, "Yay! Yay! Yay! Now Ichigo and Orihime will be having LOTS AND LOTS OF SEX TONIGHT!"
Kensei took a moment from his cheering to groan in frustration at his "super lieutenant", before feeling some remorse for the green-haired girl as Hiyori wrapped both her hands around Mashiro's throat.
"YOU PERVERT!" Hiyori shouted at her friend.
Ikumi began crying joyously again, grabbing her son in a tight hug. "Young love is so beautiful!" The eccentric shopkeeper said between tears. Kaoru pleaded with his mother to ease up, finding it difficult to breath. Fortunately, his mother heard him and slackened her arms slightly.
Ikkaku grinned widely and thrust his arm in the air, shouting, "Hell yeah, Ichigo!" The bald fighter was glad that his one-time opponent had gotten a girl like Orihime.
Yumichika, however, was disappointed by this turn of events. "Typical." He said, the beauty-obsessed member of the 11th Squad crossing his arms. "A goddess like her wanting to be with a thug like him. Why can't they ever want to be with men like me? It would make more sense, we'd be a beautifu-URGGHK!"
Ikkaku had put Yumichika in a headlock, irritated at his friend's rambling. He bellowed, "LOVE ISN'T ABOUT LOOKS OR "MAKING SENSE" YOU NARCISSISTIC PRICK!"
Yumichika wasn't the only one displeased with Ichigo and Orihime's revealed affections, sadly. Keigo and Chizuru stared at their friends in shock, before they began crying and wrapped their arms around each other for support.
"My life is over!" Keigo said through his tears.
"My precious Orihime is being molested by that barbarian…" Chizuru cried, the militant lesbian putting as much contempt as she could muster into the word "barbarian." "…AND THERE'S NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT IT!"
The pair stopped crying when they felt pressure around their necks. Opening their eyes and looking in front of them, dread filled up their beings as they feared they had shortened their lives considerably as Tatsuki glared at them, her hands growing tighter around their throats. The karate champion was furious that anyone would be opposed to her best friends being together.
"What was that about a "barbarian", Chizuru?" Tatsuki asked, her tone low and dangerous.
The nobles that were with Byakuya were also displeased with what they considered the "impropriety" that Ichigo and Orihime were displaying.
"How dare that human harlot and that half-breed substitute interrupt Lady Rukia's wedding like that!" The female noble stated to the male one, who nodded in agreement.
They looked ready to stand up and protest what was happening-
"You will keep your opinions to yourselves."
The harshness in their clan head's voice caused the nobles to turn their attention to Byakuya, who was glaring murderously at them. They wisely decided to follow their leader's command, which by the tone in his voice, had also been a threat.
Having made sure the nobles wouldn't cause any more trouble, Byakuya turned his attention back to Ichigo and Orihime, smiling warmly at the scene.
"Congratulations to both of you." The 6th Squad's captain thought to himself.
At the altar, Jinta scoffed at the scene. "She's too good for him." The red-haired employee of Urahara's shop said, looking away. Ururu smiled at her co-worker before she punched him in the face, knocking him out.
The cheers in the chapel were momentarily deafened by a loud cackling. Kenpachi had been observing Ichigo and Orihime's kiss with a neutral expression on his face before a thought occurred to him. He then began laughing with delight, causing many around him to be startled, with the exceptions of Ichigo, Orihime, Unohana, and Yachiru; his pint-sized lieutenant and unofficially-adopted daughter was undeterred by his loud laughter as she continued to jump up and down and cheer "Yay, Ichi! Yay, Boobies!"
Kenpachi, like most of the people in the chapel, was overjoyed that Ichigo and Orihime had returned each other's feelings… but for his own reasons.
Unohana watched her fellow captain laugh heartily for a short time until he started to calm down, whereupon she asked, "What has made you so happy, Captain Zaraki?"
Kenpachi grinned at the captain of the Soul Reapers' medical unit. "Isn't it obvious, Unohana?" Kenpachi asked. "If things go well and I'm lucky, I'll have another worthy opponent in less than twenty years!" His free eye bulged in its socket as his grin widened. "And if I'm REALLY lucky, I'll get one in less than ten! This is truly a happy day!" The psychopathic captain of Squad 11 laughed for a few more seconds after that.
Unohana raised one of her eyebrows at his statement. "Are you sure you can wait even ten years?" She asked.
Kenpachi turned his attention back to the new couple as he said, "You should know me better than that, Unohana." His free eye narrowed at Ichigo and Orihime before he continued, "I can be patient when I need to."
Unohana shook her head at Kenpachi before she resumed clapping, quietly wishing Ichigo and Orihime the best of luck.
The rest of the chapel also resumed cheering, before some of the audience began teasing the couple about how long they had been in their kiss. Ikkaku even jokingly shouted at Ichigo to let Orihime go before he "sucked her soul out".
Intentionally or not, Ichigo heeded Ikkaku's advice as he separated his lips from Orihime's, having noticed that she had begun to struggle to breath. He looked down into her grey eyes, his own brown eyes filled with love for her.
"I've waited years to hear you say that." The Substitute Soul Reaper said to the healer.
Orihime's eyes widened at his words as a smile stretched across her face. She could see the future she wanted again; but this time, she knew she was going to have it.
But a thought occurred to her.
Confusion spread across Orihime's face. "But Ichigo, why-"
"Yeah, Orihime." The healer heard Rukia say. Ichigo turned, giving Orihime the ability to see their friend, who had been behind him for a few seconds. Orihime had expected Rukia to be furious at her for ruining the wedding, but here she was, smirking playfully at her. "It's about time."
Before Orihime could say anything, Rukia added, "By the way, I hope you weren't apologizing because you thought I was getting married to this idiot." She grinned, nodding her head towards Ichigo. His indignant 'Hey!' went unnoticed by everyone.
Now Orihime was more confused than ever. "B-But your letter!" She blurted. "You said-"
"Seriously, Orihime." Rukia interrupted, grinning at her friend. "Every 'him' who is referred to as "handsome" doesn't automatically refer to Ichigo."
Rukia's knowing grin was starting to scare Orihime. She turned her head right and left and saw that Tatsuki, Rangiku, Yoruichi, Lisa, and Hiyori had similar expressions on their faces; Hiyori had also closed her eyes and started shaking her head, chuckling as she did so.
Orihime blushed, embarrassed by all the attention that was on her. She turned her attention back to Rukia.
"B-But…"
"AGGGHHHHH!"
A sharp scream drew everyone's attention to the Vizard women's pew. While Hiyori wasn't paying attention, Mashiro had wriggled free enough of the headlock that her friend had put her in. Taking the opportunity, the green-haired, eccentric Vizard had bit Hiyori's right wrist hard in reprisal for trying to strangle her.
Hiyori let go of Mashiro as she grabbed her injured wrist. She then turned her attention back to Mashiro as the sclera in her eyes turned pitch black and her irises turned yellow. She snarled, "I'M GOING TO BEAT YOU TO DEATH WITH YOUR OWN SPINE!"
Hiyori jumped on Mashiro as both Vizards activated their Hollow masks. Their fight was turning nasty by the time everyone in the three pews surrounding them decided it was best to get away as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, Kensei and Love didn't get away fast enough; the poor men were unintentionally savaged by Hiyori and Mashiro as they tried to beat each other up. They survived though, but were in a lot of pain by the time they managed to crawl away with Rose and Lisa's help.
Turning her attention away from the spectacle, Orihime continued what she had tried to say before to Rukia, "But if you both aren't getting married, then-"
"Yo!" A deep voice from behind her interrupted. She turned around, and right there was none other than Renji Abarai, observing Hiyori and Mashiro's catfight with amusement. Turning his attention to Ichigo and Orihime, he continued, "What'd I miss?"
Before Orihime could answer, she felt herself being lifted up and turned her head to look at Ichigo. She was confused by the fearful expression he had on his face as he stepped off to the side, carrying Orihime with him.
"Ichigo, what-"
"Orihime…" Ichigo whispered to her. "…it might be a good idea for us to get out of the way" He had his attention on Rukia as he was whispering.
Orihime turned her head towards Rukia, and very soon had the same expression that Ichigo had.
Now Rukia was furious, her corneas narrowed into small beads as she gritted her teeth and had her hands clenched into fists. She was breathing short, harsh breaths, her attention not deviating from Renji.
Renji himself saw the state Rukia was in, and paled in fear. "Rukia…" He said, holding his hands up. "…R-Rukia, wait! RUKIA, WAIT! I CAN EXPLAIN-!"
His pleading got him nowhere, and the next few minutes were filled with the sounds of a certain someone getting hit. Badly.
"RENJI, YOU IDIOT!" Rukia bellowed as she stomped her foot down on a now-prone Renji's stomach. "HOW CAN YOU BE LATE TO YOUR OWN WEDDING?!"
The entire chapel erupted with laughter. Even Hiyori and Mashiro ended their feud to laugh at Renji's misfortune.
Orihime mouth was wide open in shock. Her attention was still on Renji's beating when she felt Ichigo wrap his arms around her. Looking back at her beloved, she saw him smile at her.
He whispered, "So glad you were here when Shinji said speak now…"
Orihime smiled back, tears in her eyes.
"Hey, Orihime!"
The orange-haired beauty turned her attention back to Rukia. The petite lieutenant was apparently finished beating Renji; from what Orihime could see, Rukia had beat him pretty badly, to the point that he was groaning in pain. Fortunately, it wasn't anything that Unohana or Orihime herself couldn't fix up quickly.
"I still need a maid of honor." Rukia said, smiling warmly at her friend.
It seemed it would be a perfect day for a perfect wedding after all.
THE END