Seems that I'm still alive...
Well, what're we waiting for? Here's the last chapter!
Although It Didn't Start Well, It Ends Well.
The grand yet dreadfully still Kurosaki Chateau was echoing with deafeningly loud bangs and crashes, as if there was a serial of landmine explosions. After the racket came a rumble of scurrying feet. It took all the men's efforts which they were trained to have to suppress the impulse of doubling over with roaring laughter, as they all witnessed a dishevelled and dusty stumbling-down-the-stairs Ichigo, who could fight and claim victory over a beaten-up Death's body but never his fiancée's feminine might.
However, Karin—who just got out from jail—and Chad were doubling over with roaring laughter for minutes.
"What? You can't even bring your own woman down?" Karin said though hiccups as she wiped away her streaming tears. "No offence, Ichi-nii, Chad-nii; that's why I say that men are such useless refuses in the world…"
Ichigo could not stop his eyes from rolling to the sky. He has grown tired with the matter of Orihime at hand that he couldn't bring himself to stop Karin from babbling her fabulous "Theory of Man's Horror".
"Orihime's still throwing feats?" Chad smiled behind the sunglasses which he has never taken off. "She's still turning a deaf ear to any of your explanations?"
"If I'm willing to face the possibility of dying again, perhaps then I can put everything into a clear explanation as my last words." The orange-top rubbed his temples with a groan. He rushed to stand between his friend and the stairs as the brawn made his way upstairs. "Orihime's already lost her rational mind, Chad. She threatens to shoot those who dare to step into the room!"
Chad kept his smile and placed a calming hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "Since I'm the conductor, she has the right to give me some bullets to smooth away her fury. Don't worry about me." Pushing his friend gently out of the way, he made up the stairs and reach to Orihime's room. Once he knocked lightly on the door, the momentary tranquillity was dissolved by a furious howl.
"IF YOU DARE TO MAKE ONE STEP INSIDE, KUROSAKI ICHIGO, I GRANT YOU AN ABSOLUTE, NON-REVIVABLE DEATH!"
Chad chuckled to himself lightly. "It's me, Sado."
"C-Chad-san?" By his words, Orihime popped her head from the door. Seeing it was really him, she opened the door in embarrassment as she revealed the devastation that was worse than a combined explosion of an atomic bomb and a nuclear bomb. There was hardly a square inch of area to stand with all the scattered broken chips and parts of the vases and furniture. However, Chad was not shaken by the sight. He strode over the objects calmly and sat on the only chair that has survived from being smashed into smithereens.
"So, you're still mad with Ichigo?" He said.
The barely halted tears burst out again along with another wave of rage. "Why am I not?! How he dared to hide away from me for so long…he had no idea how hurt and pained I was that I've thought of suicide for numerous times! He didn't care about my thoughts at all! Why was I the only one who knew nothing?! He…He's never valued me!"
"It's my proposition for feigning his death." He was still in a state of calmness and with his sunglasses, nobody could read his expressions.
"W-Why?" Orihime's jaw fell.
Heaving a sigh, he started the story.
* Flashback *
After Orihime passed out, everything was still in a mess, but it was getting under control. Despite her horror, Yuzu checked her dear brother's state and pulses. He has slipped into a deep state of unconsciousness, but from the fluttery irregular beats on the wrist, he was barely alive. Trying to suppress her trembling hands, Yuzu performed all the necessary first-aid as they brought him to her place. Although she has left the family for years, it did not need much for Yuzu to lend her help, as it concerned about her only brother, held dear in a huge part of her heart. She went out to such great lengths that she even operated on him personally and looked after him, being a talented doctor with numerous medical honours.
"He's extremely lucky that he'll need to thank a galaxy of lucky stars." She said seriously. "The bullet didn't explode. It just stuck between the ribs without bringing any damage to the heart and the lungs. Onii-chan only fell unconscious due to the sudden heavy blood loss, so it's not as bad as we thought to be, but still worth worrying."
It occurred to Chad the graze on Orihime's arm. Perhaps that was the reason for Ichigo to still breathe.
"Alright, so Onii-chan's not in danger anymore. But what now?" It was a rarity for Yuzu, the sweetest soul among the three siblings, to scowl as hard as her brother did all the time. "That cobra's slithered away from our grip, and he'll make his comeback anytime. Dad's put too much faith in Ishida Uryuu that all his private dirty works are handled by him. His power's reached to a state that we can't turn a blind eye to…"
She shared the exactly same feelings towards her father as her other two siblings, though in a less degree, but it still pained her that their father whom they greatly revered as much as hated died because of an injection of poison.
"And so, Kurosaki Ichigo's dead." Chad lit a cigarette.
"…To lure the enemy?" Ichigo said in a weak low voice as he just woke up from the operation. "It frightens me not."
"You'll be killed at any time if we spread the news of you being alive." Chad said. "Such a GBH requires you bedridden for at least a month. If Yuzu openly claims her protection over you, she'll be placed in jeopardy which you originally wished to get her away from. After all, we're in the light where we couldn't spot the enemy and his doings in the dark."
"…Relay a message to Orihime." Ichigo did not protest. "God knows how much she's cried…"
"No."
"No?" He struggled to get up. "But Orihime—"
"Now, Onii-chan, stay put or you'll tear your wound open." Yuzu said immediately and pushed him back down gently.
"She's also under close surveillance. We can't even differentiate our friends and foes after all that's happened." Chad analyzed patiently. "Her sadness could make them believe that you're really dead. It sounds cruel to Orihime, but not dangerous. I don't understand the reason behind Ishida Uryuu's persistence on her, but I can assure you that he won't lay a hostile finger on her. If we can observe her every move in details, Ishida Uryuu will surely fall into our trap."
"…You're insane!" Ichigo could not trust his ears. "You're using a fragile female as some dainty bait!"
"If not, you all will live under haunting threats for the rest of your lives!" Even Chad's temper was triggered, though he could not bring himself to flare his full anger on this close intimate. "Besides, Orihime's not as weak as you think! She has enough courage to face her destiny!"
They engaged themselves in a hot staring contest, brown locked into brown. After minutes, Ichigo ground his teeth.
"…Fine!" He grunted. "However, swear that you'll keep Orihime in absolute safety. Say your words!"
"Do you not trust me, Ichigo?" Chad blew out a puff of smelly smoke from his cigarette. Upon seeing that the patient would not give up glaring at him, he sighed, "Alright…"
* Flashback *
"So, none of you tells me the truth! I'm the only one who knew nothing?!" Orihime's wrath gradually vanished, but the tears of fear still swelled around her eyes. She could not believe that these people entered Ichigo's bedroom like the spidery secret agents and had her under their watch for so long without her noticing?!
"Not everyone; it's only me and Ichigo. Whenever he's out for actions, he always had disguises and sunglasses."
After thinking about it thoroughly, Orihime had to admit that it was the only possible move. In the next second, she pouted. "But who's compensating for my tears? All those I've shed could fill several huge reservoirs!"
"Well, I think that Ichigo's willing to compensate with the rest of his life." Chad nearly laughed out. The naïve and innocent girl has finally returned.
"…I'm really sorry, Chad-san. Because of the events in the Kurosaki House, on your side…" Orihime could only now worry about other things. "Ishida Uryuu's said that you're also on the stage of Hamlet at the same time, yet…"
"It's because I'm smarter—or I should put it that the 'prince' at our side was way stupider that his actions alerted me at an early stage. Besides, there's a 'spirit' from the Kurosaki House who always help me. The lesson of these incidents tells us that things don't always go as planned despite all the careful formulations." He smiled. Even though the father has passed away, neither the siblings nor the person in question wished to return to the place which has jailed her for years. She only wished to be the supporting pillar in the shadows, helping them quietly without getting known of her true name. "My bond with the Kurosaki siblings runs deep, and we're destined to be allies for life. Now that I've helped them, they'll wordlessly reach out their help whenever I'm in troubles."
"Me too!" Orihime said determinedly. When she spotted Chad smiling, her cheeriness fell again. "How can you make fun of that, Chad-san?! You're looking down on women's bonds of friendship? I do have some use to you!"
"It's not your determination." He ruffled her hair slightly. "I'm just glad. Perhaps we've been in the Dark Path for so long that we're blind to a girl as pure as you are. Probably it's the reason behind Ishida Uryuu's persistence on you? You're a ray of light to this World of Darkness. I hope that you'll always remain the same. C'mon, Ichigo's waiting for you."
Ichigo was of course happy that he did not have to bear with Orihime's bullets, but it did not stop him from having waves of headaches. Orihime was probably been in a state of dread for so long that she always nervously held onto his arm without any special reasons. Her weight hindered him from even walking properly.
"Orihime…!" Ichigo always found that she would place him in situations with no alternatives. "I won't play dead anymore, but at least let me go to deal with the matters I need to do!"
At a distance, Karin heaved a heavy grunting sigh.
"No!" She started to climb onto him in order to squash him down. "I'm following you to wherever you go! Didn't you say so yourself, 'you'll follow me to wherever I go.'? You shouldn't go back on your words!"
Both the Kurosaki siblings could not make her get loss—and now they both thought that they have grown pathetic that they were afraid of nothing except this appeared-to-be-feeble woman. Chad, the only one who could persuade her, has gone back to Mexico.
"Just let her come!" Karin groaned again. "Otherwise, we'll never be able to leave the doors!"
Ishida Uryuu was put under house arrest with many guards in the deserted eastern side of Karakura Town. He traded all the information on the drug factory and such for his life. Although Chad advocated for his death, the Kurosaki siblings had no intention of dirtying their hands unnecessarily.
"We offered him conditions of exchanging." Karin was insistent. "He's being honest, so I'll spare him. He'll be under our watch from now on. If he dares to escape, then I'll show no more mercy, and I mean it!"
With the information, they went all over the locations to destroy all the things.
"Really?" Some of the subordinates found it to be a pity. "It's an enormous fortune, boss! Even if you don't sell them, some just will…"
"I have no intention of walking down the same path as my forefathers had. Stop babbling and get on with the work!" Karin let out a heavy sigh and felt that it was a new feeling with the weight now lifted from her. "Such filth's something that we've never and will never lay our hands on. Those who dare to do it will lose his hand! Besides, getting our hands away from these stuffs is a way of accumulating fortune of virtues for your descendents (1). Do you thickheads understand?!"
"But it's alright to sell firearms?" The men still grumbled.
"It's another story for firearms." She frowned and glared at them. "They mean more to instil fear in people's heart than doing real damage. With us the Kurosaki Enterprise here, none of the Japanese armaments will reach to terrorists. It's also another way of accumulating virtues, don't you see, you all backbone-less pea-brain idiotic losers? From now on, we're a lawful enterprise! Ha, we're making attributes to the world's peace ~ ! Everyone's buying firearms in Japan for jaw-dropping low prices! HA ~ !"
How bold her laugh was; that was the sister he knew. Ichigo grinned at his sister's fallacious reasons, but Orihime was in deep thoughts.
"What're you thinking?" He stayed by her side as they witnessed the destruction of the last storehouse.
"I'm just thinking what's after that?" Despite being involved with the Kokudou for months, Orihime was not quite used to such a life, full of thrills and excitements. However, she could not find any proper words to deny. "You…still want to continue with a life in the Dark Path?"
"Why do you have such thoughts?" Ichigo glanced at her. "As Karin's acquitted, there's nothing that can relate me to the Kurosaki House anymore." There were not enough evidence, and it was so messed up that he wondered how these could happen—the bag of heroin turned out to be flour, and all the deponents denied of their own testimony.
"Well, I just feel that you're not that pleased to be a model…it's such a pity for you to be a fitting model for women's wears only…" She lamented.
"Hey, you're insulting me, a professional." In the flash when he smiled, the out-of-ordinary-fair "El Modelo de Magia" who she has well-known of made a crashing comeback. "It's a transition stage in the beginning, but I've grown to like the job that can display your beauty. I'm so gorgeous that everyone who looks at me would gasp in surprise, aren't I?"
…This egomania that was beyond any treatments! Orihime rolled her eyes to the sky. "Yeah, yeah…"
Despite what she said from her mouth, she still loved this egomania with all her heart, as well as the moments of drawing out the different degrees and styles of fabulous glory on his face.
After everything was settled, they went to register their marriage hand in hand. All they invited as witnesses were only Renji and Taki—or now preferred by both her and the others to call by her original name, Tatsuki.
"Congratulations." She has devoted herself to be a pious follower of Buddhism (2). After such terrifying experiences, all she really asked for was a life of peaceful quietness, especially when her sick parents could now receive the best treatment Karakura Hospital could provide with the generous sum from an anonymous "donator". "I hope you a long happy life."
On the contrast, Renji was all tears and runny nose; your typical wailing manga character. "I'm so happy ~ " He blew his nose into the tenth tissue paper. "However, the registrar's on the verge of having a mental breakdown; he must have thought 'why the heck would two women come to register'…ouch! Hey, why do you hit me, Ichigo?!"
Back to a simple life in the house of two storeys, Orihime no longer woke up from nightmares, and she inhaled fresh air without a whiff of choking sulphur from the gunpowder. However, she has developed a new hobby: she practised her marksmanship every day with enthusiasm.
Whenever he stepped on a dead cockroach which has fallen victim to be Orihime's target, Ichigo would take his time to say a little prayer for its peace.
"Alas," Orihime, her sketchbook in hands with a sketch of Ichigo in progress, said. "What happens if you age? Models have to retire really early; as early as thirty! By the way, you're turning twenty-six, right? When the time comes that the foundation could no longer conceal your wrinkles or it cracks, you'll still stand in the flashlights and go down the runway?"
"Well," He was in a relaxed lying position in the sofa with another Shakespeare's—this time The London Prodigal. "Don't fret 'bout that. My beauty lasts till I'm mid-forty. However, I should retreat to be a bookstore owner when thirty. Otherwise, when I'm always known as the 'Number One Supermodel', then what about women's faces and honours?"
Orihime narrowed her eyes. This egomania…he was incurable for the rest of his life. "On their heads, naturally."
Ichigo chuckled. The long fans of eyelashes casted an alluring shadow on his peachy cheeks, along with the glossy lips, casting an attractive charm on her. He turned his eyes on her, and just as the first time she looked into them, they were soul-pulling ambers. They remained staring at each other in a moment of silence.
"Come." His voice was rasp and full of bedevilment.
She sat down quietly beside him and placed her lips on his gently. "S…So soft…"
"Hmm…?" He flipped them over and pressed her under him, sucking her neck greedily. "If I open a bookstore, what about you, Hime? Still be a make-up artist? I ban you from applying make-up for others."
"Y-You're so domineering…!" Orihime gasped as his fingers grazed her bare skin. "I…I want to continue…drawing…"
"What; manga?" Her creation only published 1000 copies, and the money came from her wallet. Once it was on sale, all the copies were sold instantly. Kurotsuchi called her thrice a day begging for more, but she had no more interest in it.
"No…" This time, she did not stop him from undoing her buttons. "…You."
"I'll turn old." Though he was reluctant to admit it, but it is the Circle of Life, Nature's greatest law.
"That's better. A frozen beauty is boring, but with changes…" Her cheeks flushed and snaked her arms around him. "If you're a woman, you're Aphrodite. Your arrogance…narcissism…your soul and flesh…they all are gorgeous. My source material remains the same…you, and only you."
Their appendages got entangled in the sofa, turning the chills of fore-winter into the warmth of mid-spring. They forgot the curtains, but there were just the serene moon and the stars, gazing as they wondered why the love of these short-lived creatures could last—no, surpass eternity.
Explanations:
(1) That's a Chinese saying that's roughly translated; somehow it's like giving your children a blessed life from the gods after what you've done in the past that have pleased them. I'm sorry if it sounds odd.
(2) Most of the Japanese believe in Shintou, and Buddhism comes in second.
Author Speaking:
Hello there guys! This is the last chapter of the whole story! If you've read it from the beginning word by word, I thank you for staying with me to the end!
I was so happy that I've stayed up late at night with just roughly five hours of sleep for the next day when I finally get to the ending, and the situation lasted for nearly a week! I'm so dead tired, but absolutely happy that I can finally bring this fic into the light and share it with you! I hope that I've kept you guys happy and given you a wonderful time when reading this fic!
Kuroi Kokoro 09