A/N - Wow! I never expected such a response! I'm so happy that people find this storyline intruiging, and this is such an improvement (review wise) over my previous story! I have no idea if even possible to do anything like Ichigo and Orihime do when they enter Zangetsu's world but... I suppose this story wouldn't work if it didn't. I pretty much have it so that if they channel a small amount of spirit energy into their thoughts, they can transfer their own, basically sending their consciousness to the thoughts as well.
Naien - Thanks for the review! Honestly, I doubt that having Orihime use her powers like this is even possible, but I thought that it made an interesting plotline!
Cheese Maiden - Ah, I've always loved any pairing that has Orihime in it. I'm not too sure this will end up as a large-scale IchigoxOrihime, but I guess we'll see.
Snowleaf - Thanks for the review! Hearing things like that really motivates me to write more )
Fahye - Wow, thanks for the review. I have to admit, I'm deeply in love with the IchigoxHollow Ichigo pairing, myself. But a pairing with Orihime is just too sweet to pass up!
Oxygen Pirate - Thanks for the tip! I'll go check that out D
Anyways, onnnn with Chapter 2!
P.S. - I do remember that Hurosaki or whatever began calling Ichigo "King" during the arrancar arc, but work with me here?
Other note - In case you didn't know, Hime princess in japanese! Thus the reason that Hurosaki will refer to her as "princess"
Sorry it's a bit shorter then the last chapter
Probably won't have another chapter into well after Christmas, as I'm going to see my Dad for a week or so )
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, and I'm making absolutely no profit off of this!!!
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Orihime's eyes raced back and forth wildly, searching for some hidden answer between the two men. What on earth was going on? Why were there two Ichig-- No. She had to remember that this wasn't Ichigo. There was such a... dark energy around him that made her shudder.
The thing raised an eyebrow at her confused state as Ichigo repeated his question from earlier, "Inoue-san? Can you reverse him?" She swallowed roughly, still finding it difficult to stand up straight in this strange atmosphere. So Kurosaki-kun wasn't speaking of a child. Good...
"Kurosaki-kun... What on earth is that thing?" she whispered hesitently to the orange-haired boy.
"Tch. Tha' was a bit harsh, don'tcha think?" the man responded before Ichigo could get a word in. Orihime had to strongly resist glaring directly at the thing.
Ignoring his lookalike, Ichigo responded to her question softly, trying to avoid the other's ears, "He's... a result of a certain incident including Urahara. Remember before we went to the Soul Society to rescue Rukia? When I was training to regain my Shinigami powers?" Orihime nodded quickly, growing anxious as the lookalike stood. "Well, during the lesson to regain my powers, he ended up as the result..."
She frowned, biting the bottom part of her lip softly. So this was what he meant by reversing something. He didn't want her to kill or muder anything or anyone... Ichigo wanted her to erase the darkest side of his soul.
"Oy, King! Whatcha talkin' 'bout tha' I can't hear?" the man shouted as he suddenly jumped over to the same building as them. So fast...
"Stop right there." Ichigo commanded, and the man smirked softly before oblidging. So there's a reason why he refers to Kurosaki-kun as "King." "I'm your superior, so if you lay a hand on Orihime, you will regret it."
She blushed slightly at Ichigo's protective nature. The other man let out a small laugh, and goosebumps formed on her bare arms.
"Orihime, huh? So what's your story, princess?" She stepped back slightly, taking partial cover behind the orange-haired shinigami. This only seemed to entertain the monster more.
"You touch her, you die," Ichigo warned yet again.
"Hah, like you could kill me." He raised his hands slowly, muttering under his breath, "I'd never even think 'bout it."
Satisfied, Ichigo returned to a regular stance, pulling Orihime up next to him. "Good. If all goes well, you'll never think again." He looked over to the orange-haired girl with a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Lets go. You've seen enough."
Orihime nodded anxiously, excited to get out of Zangetsu's world. Where was the thing anyways? "Yes, please."
"Bye bye, now!" the thing shouted cheerfully as the orange-haired boy channeling his spirit energy, causing them both to blink out of sight.
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After returning back to Orihime's house, Ichigo left abrubtly, staying only to assist her in clearing the table. Orihime finished cleaning the kitchen before going to bed, seeing that it had already reached 11, and tomorrow was a Monday.
She awoke to the sound of her alarm ringing, and she groaned slightly as she twisted around to turn it off. Orihime quickly removed her silk pyjamas, stepping into the hot shower.
After getting dressed, she moved to the kitchen, enjoying a tasty breakfast consisting of a chocolate-chip omlette and a raisen bagel covered in salsa.
"Good morning, Orihime," Tatsuki greeted as she sat down in her usual desk. Her dark-haired friend looked the same as she usually did, her hair gelled out in her uniform spikes.
"Morning, Tatsuki-chan!" she chirped in response. This was their usual conversation, and it saddened Orihime to think about how distant she had grown to her dear friend ever since she met Rukia. Looking over to a seat to her left, she noticed that nobody had ever occupied the seat she had left when she remained in the Soul Society. She missed Rukia...
Orihime blinked quickly, noticing how exhausted she was. She may have gotten to sleep at a normal time, but sleep was hard to come by when they were plauged by nightmares. How long had Ichigo lived with such a demon inside of his soul? What exactly was the thing?
"Orihime? Are you alright?" She blinked back to awareness, shaking her head slightly.
"Ah, sorry Tatsuki! I didn't get much sleep last night." she laughed in response, putting on her normal smile. "I'll be fine by lunch!" Tatsuki nodded as they continued on in their conversation. Orihime listened patiently, but half of her mind was on different matters.
Just as Ichigo walked in, carrying his bag over his shoulder, Orihime let out a small gasp. She frowned inwardly, realising that the only reason she reacted in such a way was because he had reminded her of... Well, exactly the thing she was thinking about. She looked down to her desk, blushing softly at her mistake, and Tatsuki laughed lightly at her foolishness.
"Morning, Inoue-san," another voice greeted, smoother then Ichigo's. She looked up brightly and met eyes with Uryuu Ishida, a little smile covering his face.
"Morning, Ishida-kun!" she responded, doing her best to ignore the orange-haired boy's wary glances. She hated to ignore him like this, but after last night, it was so hard to meet him eye to eye.
The first block of classes went by quite smoothly, and Orihime listened intently, regardless of the thoughts on her mind. She was in the top part of the class, and she hoped to maintain that.
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"Inoue-san. I'm sorry for putting this all on you at once," Ichigo muttered under his breath, sitting under a tree outside. Ever since they had returned from the Soul Society, he, Orihime, Ishida, and Chad always sat here for lunch. Whenever they were there, it was easy to sense the fact that Rukia was missing. He frowned, recalling the day that the raven-haired girl told him that she was staying in the Soul Society. He was happy for her, finally accepted by her family.
"Kurosaki-kun, it's alright," she smiled softly, both Chad and Ishida completely lost on the conversation. Perhaps that was for the better. "I still want to help you."
He smirked happily, truly pleased that she would still help him after being thrust into such a whirlwind of events. There really wasn't anyone that he could trust to help him other then Orihime. She had always been there for him. To heal his wounds, to help his problems.
"Heh, looks like th' princess would do anythin' for you," the hollow half of him laughed, and Ichigo pushed the voice away. It was pretty common for those voices to pop up now, but he ignored them nonetheless.
"Thank you, Inoue-san." He saw her face go red slightly before taking a large bite of her tomatoe and peanutbutter sandwhich, a small bit of his spreading on the right side of her mouth.
"Don't worry, I'll do my best."