Chapter: Un Hueco Mundo Es La Tierra Sin Tu
Shalan's Chatter: Hmmm… I hope you guys are liking this story… I mean c'mon don't keep me in suspense or anything… tell me!
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"ALRIGHT! I NEED A TALL NONFAT SUGAR FREE THREE PUMPS OF CHOCOLATE MOCHA LATTE!" She called over the machines and listened as the word passed down the line. "Make that two!" She relayed and heard it pass down again.
"Inoue-san! Fukumiya-sama wants you!" The orange haired girl wiped her hands on her apron and passed off her notepad to her coworker and walked into the back of the coffee shop. Her long hair was pulled back in a high bun with two strands of hair on either side of her head braided, in order to keep her hairpins in.
"Yes Fukumiya-sama?" Orihime bowed and walked in, her dark blue polo was tucked into a pair of ripped jeans and the comfortable tennis shoes that covered her feet were dark.
"Ah, Orihime-san… please enter…" Orihime leaned against the doorway.
"It's the morning rush I better help them soon…" she smiled softly.
"Have you been getting much sleep?" The older Japanese woman lifted an eyebrow. Her black hair was pulled back in a strict bun but her bangs still brushed her face and the kindness in her eyes made Orihime look away.
"No ma'am… I apologize… a lot of homework…"
"And working here everyday and night… I know what you've been doing… something happened in your life that you'd like to forget… am I right?" Orihime nodded her head. "Well let me tell you this… keeping busy is good but overworking is killer…"
"I know… I have been working on moderating my schedule…"
"When was the last time you slept in? When was the last time you did anything?" Fukumiya lowered her glasses. The carrot-top toed the ground.
"Uhm… I can't remember…"
"Take a week off… relax, hang out with some friends…"
"All my friends are spread all over…" Orihime lied, her lips beginning to seal.
"Orihime… I care about you, you're good at what you do… but I can't have one of my employees collapsing on the job… I'll let you think about it… if you want to keep working then do it… but if you'd like the week off… just let me know…" Orihime nodded.
It had become a vicious cycle for the past year. Work, school, work, school, work, school. She hardly slept she hardly ate, she hardly did anything. She was trying as hard as she possibly could to keep her mind off of Hueco Mundo and Las Noches.
"El dormido esta muy importante princesa…(1)" she heard him recite it in her head. The girl shook her head as she set her keys on the counter. She was trying to cause herself as much pain as possible to keep her mind off of her life.
Work… she sighed and pressed her forehead against the fridge. Work work work work… her hand opened the door to the fridge but she found nothing. It seemed that she had lost all interest in everything, including her job and her life. Her grades were dropping in school and if she wasn't careful she would lose her college scholarship.
"Thank you…" she smiled tiredly and walked out of the convenience store on the corner, making her way back down the street towards her apartment. "Huh?" She heard a noise from behind her. "H-hollow…" her eyes widened. "Hinagiku, Baigon, Lily!"
"Santen Kesshun I reject!" She touched her pins and the three fairies arranged themselves to block the incoming attack. She felt her knees buckle under the pressure. "No…" her barrier shattered and for a moment, she felt the beautiful release of death… she closed her eyes.
The familiar sound of a sonido and a whisper of a cero blast echoed in her ears. She opened her eyes a crack, attempting to view her rescuer but all she could make out was a white coat and the turning feet before her eyes closed.
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Sunlight flooded through her windows, casting shadows across her face as she covered her eyes with her arm. "Huh?" She sat up in bed, quickly. She swung her feet over the side and took off down the hallway. "Hello?" She spun around in the living room. "Is anyone there?" She called.
"Shit!" She noticed the clock. "I'm late for work!" She took off running, grabbing her jacket and storming out the door.
"Sorry Fukumiya-sama!" She ran into the shop and the woman at the counter looked up.
"Orihime-chan… weren't you going to get dressed? Go, I'm working your shift, you can come back and mine in a few hours…" Orihime hung her head and looked at herself.
"GAH! I'm still in my pajamas!" She blushed furiously and sprinted out the door to the shop.
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"What's wrong with me?" She wondered out loud as she walked down the street towards her home. The streets were full of people and she was shoved lightly as she attempted to move against the flow. "Huh?" She turned her head as she heard a crash. "WAH!" She panicked as the hollow down the way from her turned. Her pupils contracted as she saw the child's plus curled up in the corner. "Koten Zanshun, I reject…" she touched her hairpin and felt her heart swell as Tsubaki roared into action, soaring towards the hollow and piercing its mask.
"You-you can see me?" Orihime nodded and knelt before the boy.
"A guide will be along soon to help you… if you have any more trouble… I'm right down the street…" she ruffled his hair and walked off towards her apartment.
"MISS!" Orihime turned around and gasped. Another hollow had appeared and as it approached she stumbled and fell, scraping her hands and one knee in the process.
"I-I rej-reje…" she felt her breath being sucked out of her as she attempted to summon the Santen Kesshun. "I rej…" she fell to her knees as the gigantic hollow towered over her.
He knew he had to risk it… her seeing him. His sonido whipped around him and he reappeared in front of her. "Tonta(2)…" he whispered and from his fingertips a cero blast sliced easily through the hollow, destroying it.
Though she could hardly see she did see his blurry silhouette. He disappeared quickly with another sonido but she did manage to register one thing… his silhouette was that… of a vasto lorde.
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"Oh darn…" she bit her lip as she dabbed off her bloody palms with alcohol. "I can't believe this… he must be following me…" she began to bandage her hands with white gauze. She jumped as thunder rumbled outside and she sighed. "Man now I'm going to get wet…" she finished one hand then bandaged the other without complaint.
"Do you want us to heal them Orihime?" Shun'o chirruped from the sink.
"No Shun'o… it's fine…" She tried to finish bandaging her right hand but felt a pair of small hands on her finger.
"Let me…" Shun'o wrapped her hand up the rest of the way and Orihime sighed, sitting down on the toilet cover.
"I'm sorry Tsubaki… did you get hurt again?" Tsubaki looked over at her then gave a thumbs up.
"No, I actually had some fun for once…" he rolled his eyes. "I never get to fight…"
"Sorry…" Orihime bowed her head and Shun'o patted her head.
"What is wrong Orihime… you are starting to act like you used to… before you were taken to Hueco Mundo…" The blonde fairy folded her arms and for a moment even Tsubaki looked worried.
"Nothing guys… I'm okay…" She forced a smile and heard Tsubaki scoff. Her smile faded as she looked over at him.
"Yeah right… lying is going to work for parts of your spirit…" He folded his arms and turned his back to her.
"You guys don't need to worry about me…" she touched her pins and the fairies disappeared. It was at that moment that she felt more alone than she ever had before. She pressed her face into her palms and began to sob. "Why… why is this happening to me?" She whispered through her tears. "I hate this…"
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"Damn… why did I start?" She cursed herself as she sprinted towards her work. She was late again… but only by a few minutes. "Sorry Fukumiya-sama!" She launched herself over the gate and ran into the back room.
"She finally arrives…" Fukumiya walked into the back. "Orihime… are you alright?"
"Yes, sorry I just lost track of time…" she pulled off her raincoat and wellies, slipping into her work shoes.
"Alright… like I said, that week off is still in the wings. For a moment Orihime paused. No one knew of her hostage situation, or that she had been there for nearly three years… no… that was what they didn't understand. If she took time off she would simply melt away into nothingness. She forced s wide smile and turned around.
"Nope, it's alright I just lost track of time… thank you Fukumiya-sama…" she ran past her and disappeared out to the bar.
"Oh darling…" she pressed her hand to her heart. "Poor child…"
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Her hair whipped out behind her as she walked into her apartment building, the cold rain making her shiver. "I should call someone… maybe they can help me… I mean… I can't just be going crazy… that's just not possible…" she put her jacket on the rack as she pulled off her wellies. She pulled off her soaked jeans and polo before picking up her cell phone. It had been some time since she had gotten it, on a request from Ichigo, Uryu and Rukia because of their inability to contact her, but she still found it to be slightly confusing, though at one point she had enjoyed texting.
"Maybe I should call Ruk-no…" her eyes dimmed. Rukia would tell Ichigo and Ichigo would come too… that was not something she wanted. She needed to find someone who wouldn't tell anyone that she was losing her mind. "Uryu…" she decided and pressed the speed dial.
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"Don't answer it…" Her voice rang across the room as his fingers reached for the phone on the dresser.
"Kazumi it's Orihime… what if she's in trouble?" He eyed the red head for a moment and she sighed, throwing herself onto the bed exasperatedly.
"Trouble shmouble… someone oughta teach her how ta defend herself!" The shinigami captain complained.
"Are you offering?" Uryu lifted his eyebrows and she lifted her head to look at him.
"What are you kidding?" Her reply was dry and sarcastic. He flipped the phone open.
"Uryu Ishida…" He wedged his thumb between his skin and the band of his boxers as he turned his back to the woman on the bed, despite the fact that she was now mumbling things under her breath, and things, which he perceived, that were directed at Orihime.
"Uryu…I know this is… weird… but can you come over? And t-talk? I-I'm worried about something…" Uryu turned his gaze toward Kazumi who lifted her head again. She had obviously heard what Orihime was saying. Her eyebrow cocked curiously.
"Yeah Orihime… I'll be there soon…" Uryu hung up the phone and tugged his shirt on over his head. Kazumi stood up, tossing her hair back behind her shoulder.
"So you're going to go play hero in the shadow of Ichigo Kurosaki… nice… daring…" she lifted an eyebrow and tugged at his jeans lightly.
"Don't be like that… you're too jealous for your own good…" Uryu brushed her off and she sat down on the bed. "I'll only be gone for an hour or so… just relax here until I get back…"
"Playing the hero…" She scoffed and dropped back onto the bed.
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She sighed softly as she toweled off her wet hair. "It's going to take him nearly an hour to get here…" she looked at the clock. "I guess I have time to go get something to eat…" she pursed her lips before blow drying her hair.
She ran her hand across the bathroom counter and found her hairpins. "Maybe I shouldn't take them…" she closed her eyes then for a moment her brother's face entered her mind. "Sora…" she pulled her hair back into a bun and braided two strands of hair before sliding her pins in.
"There…" she pulled on her yellow raincoat and buttoned it before slipping into her wellies.
It seemed that there was no stop to the rain... she looked up into the sky. "They sky is crying…" she said softly before walking towards the store at the end of the street. An image of the vasto lorde silhouette crossed her mind. It had to be him. If it wasn't him… she didn't know what she would do.
"I wonder what's with all of these hollows lately…" she asked aloud to no one in particular. Her mind was off somewhere else… but by the time she had figured out that she was being followed her fingers were stiff from cold and her reactions were slow.
"Huh…" she swung around as she heard the whispered voice. "AGH!" She fell back against the ground again. "Santen Kesshun! I REJECT!" The barrier did not come. "DAMN!" She turned to run but instead heard the familiar sonido.
"No puedes escapar!(3)" she heard a voice from above her. A green cero blast exited the extended fingertips.
"I knew it! Ulquiorra Schiffer…" she gasped, her eyes filling with tears. He whipped around to look at her and for a moment they were suspended in time.
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Translations:
Chapter: It's a Hollow World Without You
(1)El dormido es muy importante princesa...: sleep is very important princess...
(2)Tonta...: stupid woman
(3) No puedes escapar!: You can't escape!