It's 3:15am. This is about as much editing I'm going to do. I know there may be mistakes somewhere, so I apologize but I'm exhausted...sleep...
---I just wanted to mention something before I got any strange reviews. This is a Orihime x Ichigo story. The overall story is going to be 20+ chapters, so if it hasn't started to build up yet, it's just because I working up to some REALLY GOOD chapters, so trust me.---
I hope you enjoy the chapter:D
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach
"Karin!" Yuzu demanded as Karin grabbed her hand and dragged her down the stairs, "Karin! Let go!"
"There's something out there, Yuzu." Karin said, "We have to-"
There was a crash, and Karin froze. Leaning against the wall, she moved to peak around the side of the corner.
"Karin?"
"Yuzu, quiet."
She peaked around the corner as the hollow roamed around outside the glass doors. There was another crash as it's tail whipped through the air and shattered the doors. Karin frowned, feeling Yuzu's grip tighten on her arm, where was Dad?
The hollow stopped, and turned it's head towards them. Karin gasped and ducked behind the corner.
It could sense her spirit energy.
Yuzu shrieked as the hollow crashed through the glass doors. Grabbing her younger sister's wrist, Karin ran towards the back door. Before she could reach the doorknob, something grabbed onto her ankle, and yanked her to the floor. Yuzu called out to her, grabbing the doorknob and Karin's hand. The hollow gripped her ankle, slowly pulling her down the hallway.
She was not quite sure what happened next. There was a cry of a hollow, and the grip on her ankle went slack. Falling to the floor she turned around as Yuzu sunk to her side.
"You girls okay?"
Karin stared in shock at the figure in the Shinigami uniform. Pulling his sword back, the hollow vaporized into thin air. He turned around and smiled at them.
"Daddy?" Yuzu's eyes were so wide that Karin thought they would fall out of her head, "What are you wearing?"
"It's a good thing I got back in time." Isshin Kurosaki helped her up, "You okay, Karin?"
Karin recognized the uniform. She smiled, "Yeah, dad. I'm fine."
He nodded, "Come on, follow me."
The door opened and shut. Grimmjaw starred at the short Arancar woman named Tak. Tak was the assistent to Orihime, and probably the only friend she had in Hueco Mundo.
"How is she?" Rupee asked.
Tak stared at the small group outside the door. She sighed,
"She's sick. Exhausted, sick, and mentally drained. I'm not really used to dealing with human physiology, but I would say that she's been overworking herself, that or she's had one too many shocks and it finally caught up with her. I'll keep a close eye on her, but for the next couple of days, she's not moving. I would advise a guard posted outside her door though."
"I'll see that it's done." Ulquiorra replied, turning down the hallway.
Grimmjaw stood there as people began to dispearce down the hallway. Before he went to leave, Tak called him.
"Grimmjaw-sama." she said, "Did something happen?"
"It's none of your business."
She sighed again, "I think you should go see her."
"Why the hell would I do that?"
Shaking her head, "It's just a thought." she head down the hallway back towards the Healing Center.
Grimmjaw stared at the door to Orihime's villa. Making a face he reached towards the door and opened it.
He had only been in her villa once before this, when it was first built. Now it was decorated with furniture, rugs, and other things that had not been there before. There were plants resembling the quartz plants growing outside in the tundra.
Her room was huge. Leaving the french doors open as he strolled in, he sat in the chair next to her bedside. She looked fragile and vulnerable as she slept in the silk canopy bed.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
Grimmjaw frowned, staring at the black creature sitting on the pillow next to his mistress. Tsubaki made a face, and turned back to Orihime.
"What 'sit to you?"
"I'm curious that's all." Tsubaki leaned back against the pillow.
Grimmjaw snorted, "What the hell are you? Some kind of fly?"
"I'm her keeper."
Grimmjaw laughed.
"Don't laugh so loud. If you wake her up I'll kick your ass." Tsubaki said, "Actually, I should just do it anyway for kissing her."
The Espada made a face and sunk into the chair. That was not one of his crowning moments. Still, he really did not regret it. Grimmjaw always made a philosophy of doing things because he wanted to so he would never have to regret anything, and kissing Orihime Inoue was not one of them. It had not been a good idea, but it was not a regret.
Tsubaki caulked an eyebrow at him, "Why did you do it? You guys don't even like each other."
"Cause I wanted to."
The black gaurdian snorted, and turned as he heard a small noise from the sleeping girl next to him. With a flash, he was gone. Grimmjaw had a feeling that Tsubaki cared about Orihime more then he wanted her to know.
She opened her eyes and stared at him.
"What are you doing in my room?" she murmured.
"Well, I can see how thankful you are." he said sarcastically, "- and you're welcome for the fact that I saved your ass in the hallway."
"Go away." she rolled over, facing away from him, "I don't have the strength to deal with you right now."
He stared at her back.
"What's wrong?"
She pressed her face into the pillow, "You don't care."
He did not want to admit it, but he did.
"Just tell me."
"Or what?"
"What nothin, just tell me."
She rolled over again to look at him. There were times that he beared such a resemblence to Ichigo Kurosaki that it scary. Grimmjaw made the same faces, carried himself the same way...but she could not set aside the fact that he was a psychotic maniac.
"I want to go home."
"This is your home." he said, "You live here."
"You don't understand!" she sat up, "You don't understand what it's like-"
It was like his hand was moving on it's own. She froze as it stopped in front of her face, and then very slowly, came to rest on her cheek.
"You've been here for five years. Even if you hate everyone here...you live here." he said.
Orihime hung her head slightly, "I don't hate everyone."
"Sure you do." he said, "And you're still in love with Kurosaki, and that's why if I sit here and tell you that I want you, you're going to get all confused and flustered, and then blow a gasket on me later."
She was gapping at him now.
"Don't worry, Orihime." he leaned towards her, "I make it my business to know my enemies. He'll come for you..." She felt him lean foreward and kiss her. It was not like the kiss he gave her office room. He gently eased his lips over hers, tilting his head slightly. As he pulled his lips away, he stared into her eyes, "...and when he does, I'll be fighting for more then just Aizen-sama's victory."
There was a loud banging at the door, and Tak rushed in barely giving Grimmjaw enough time to phase through the room to the balcony.
"We have a massive amount wounded comming in!" Tak looked at her commrade, "I'm sorry, Orihime-dono, but we're bogged down and-"
"I'm comming." she eased herself from bed.
Grimmjaw heard the door shut, and let out a sigh.
He was an idiot. A fucking idiot.
Ichigo ran through the city, feeling his senses sweep the area. He could feel an increase in reiatsu in the area. Feeling the familiar sense, he found the lifeline of a Menos Grande. As he neared the center of the city, people ran in fright as buildings began to collapse. Though they could not see the monsters around them, or sense them, or hear them...it was clear something was terribly wrong.
Ichigo slashed through another Hollow, and was too distracted to notice a black streak that shot past him and slammed into the Hollow behind him. Tatsuki landed next to him, followed by a trenchcoat-clad Muruguma, who thrust his sword into the skull of the spirit monster. He landed behind her as the Hollow vaporized. Ichigo chuckled,
"Well, well...don't the two of you make a hell of team."
"Shut it, Kurosaki." Hansei said, "There isn't time. A Menos-"
"Yeah, I know." Ichigo said, "I'm going to go check it out."
"I don't sense any hollows in their direction." Muruguma said, "You can't face a Menos on your own, even with your power."
"What the hell is a Menos?" Tatsuki folded her arms.
"A really ridiculously powerful hollow." Ichigo told her, "I'll be able to scare it off. I have before."
"Because Ishida was here. His Quincy powers-"
"We can't rely on that." Ichigo interrupted him, "That dumbass isn't here, so no use cryin' over it."
The other two were silent a moment. Ichigo sighed loudly, patting his hands on his face,
"I'd better get to work. Go see if anyone else needs help." he said, leaping off onto the rooftops.
"He sure has a stick up his ass." Hansei said, "What's his beef with Ishida?"
"Long story." Tatsuki said, gripping his arm and pulling him in the direction of another hollow, "I'll tell you after we get the chaos figured out."
Urahara made no effort to really get up. There were wards protecting the store, and he had a sense that the person he expected to show up at his doorstep would show up.
And so...he did.
"Urahara-taicho." a familiar voice chuckled, "One would expect you to at least show a little more then apathy. The world is going to hell in a handbasket and your in here sipping tea."
"I was waiting for you, Kurosaki." Urahara turned and looked at Isshin, smiling at the man's daughters, "Karin-chan, Yuzu-chan...it's good to see you two are alright."
"Alright?" Karin roared, "There are hollows invading Karakura!"
Urahara chuckled, waving off the outburst, "I'll watch them, Isshin. You're foolish son deicided that it would be worth his while to go chasing after a Menos Grande by himself."
Isshin made a face, "I suppose I'll be the one to bail him out this time. He'll find out about my little secrets eventually, hm? Well, like Masaki used to tell me, no time like the present."
"Wise woman, that Masaki-san." Urahara nodded.
Isshin chuckled, patting Yuzu's head, he disappeared out the front door. Karin waited a few seconds, and then turned to Urahara.
"I want you to tell me everything." she said.
Urahara regarded her for a second. Karin Kurosaki would make a perfect Shinigami. She was dedicated, strong-willed, and had uncanny spirit abilities.
He shrugged, "Okay."
Ichigo ran through the crowd, watching the sky shatter like a broken mirror. It had been so long since he had faced a Menos Grande. Staying in the relative saftey of the humon world had kept him from that. He had no desire to get caught up in the wars of the Soul Society, but this did not mean that he was not prepared. As much as he gained experienced from fighting, he always got a chill when he heard the cry of a Menos Grande.
Holding Zangetsu in his fist, he stuck the sword out in front of him. With a roar, pulling his own reiatsu from the inner depths of his soul, he transformed Zangetsu into it's Bankai form. He was used to carrying around the huge sword, but against an enemy like the one he was facing a smaller sword was much easier to weild.
Ichigo gripped the sword, ready to fight as the gigantic hollow emerged.
Renji sat in the office, staring at the stacks of papers neatly placed in a circle around him, and piled on his desk. He had an odd habit of placing books and files on the floor in a circle around him while he was working to keep the desktop organized. If he needed something, he could just turn around and get it. With the amount of work he had, he really should have been working, but he was not.
He had a more pressing problem on his mind.
Glancing out of the window, he made a face.
Rukia walked in front of the building across the walkway, she was standing right in his field of view. But even though she was the main focus of his thoughts, it was not her that bothered him it was the black-robed man standing next to her. He was a man that looked like he was about Rukia's age, with short dark hair, and a generally pleasent look to him. Under normal circumstances, Renji would have thought that guy was pretty nice, but these were not normal circumstances.
Rukia nodded to the tall man, he smiled, and waved as she headed back down the street. Marou...what's-his-face? Renji could not remember the man's name to save his life. Not that he cared much, he hated him just the same.
The conversation that occured two nights ago played through his mind over and over. He could not forget it no matter how much work he had, or how many raids he went on. In fact, it was probably the one thing keeping him alert, other then the whirlwind of thoughts and emotions that had suddenly begun to invade his mind.
Renji sat in his quarters, taking a sip of sake, and looking back over the town of Seireitei.
His room was not messy. In his training, he had learned that piling things in the corners cluttered his thoughts as well as his room, though he had a habit of leaving the futon rolled out on the floor. When he was too tired from work, he would collapse into it without having to worry about pulling everything out. There was a banner hanging on the wall from his squad, as well as one from Zaraki's squad hanging in his room.
Once a member of Zaraki's squad, always a member. It was something Yachiru had made clear to him. Zaraki was among one of the most selective captains in the Gotei 13, he only accepted those with a certain will and temperment. In the corner of his room was a desk. Papers were stacked neatly in a circle around it, a single sheet of paper and a bottle of ink sat on the desktop. The character 'Perserverence' was curled neatly on the paper.
He was a street urchin from one of the most desolate places in Rokoungai, was one of the most powerful Shinigami alive, and could paint pretty letters.
So what?
Renji took another sip, letting his arm rest on his slightly bent knee. He was dressed for bed, but for some reason something was making him restless. His braided red hair lay over his shoulder. He contemplated cutting it once.
Once.
There was a knock on the door.
"It's open." he said. Loud enough for the person at the door to hear, but quiet enough not to wake the neighbors. Although, he already knew who was at the door, and that visitor probably knew that he was awake. Byakuya shut the door softly and sat on the floor, starring at his Vice-Captain.
"Kuchiki-taicho." Renji glanced at him. Raising a bottle, "Would you like some sake? I'm not usually a drinker on nights like this since I left Zaraki-taicho's squad, but...I felt like it tonight."
Byakuya stared at him, and nodded, "Alright."
"So tell me." Renji poured him a cup, "What did I do to deserve the honor of a night visit from one of the four house nobles?"
Renji was oddly observant for someone who wasn't of noble origins and spent most of his childhood stealing and running in dirty streets. Then again, Byakuya figured that was probably why he was so observant. He noticed things that seasoned, high-title Shinigami officals did not. At first, Byakuya did not really know why he had picked Renji Abarai as his vice-captain. Zaraki had warned him about Renji's firey temperment and his propensity to speak out of turn, but he was reliable. Reliability was something that Byakuya wanted. Knowing that he spoke out told him that if something was wrong, Renji wouldn't be afraid to shoot off his mouth saying so.
It also told him that Renji had an honest soul. That was a rare thing in any part of any plane of existence. Renji was also observent to know when Byakuya was addressing him as a noble, or as a captain.
"The Kuchiki Clan will be holding a meeting tommorrow."
Renji raised his eyebrows in the air, "No offense sir, but why should I care?"
"The Kuchiki Clan is entering into an allience with one of the other noble families." Byakuya said, "One of the members of the Kuchiki Clan will be married off to the other family."
"Zat' so?" Renji took another sip. Why was Byakuya telling him this?
"Renji..." Byakuya looked at his vice-captain straight in the eyes, "...most likely Rukia will be the one picked."
Renji felt his heart stop, "W-What?"
"It's very likely that Rukia will be chosen to be the one married off to the other clan."
"But...no!" Renji set the cup down viciously, "That's damn stupid! Forcing her-"
"There's nothing I can do. I have already done everything in my power."
Renji looked away, "Then why are you here? To rub it in my face?"
"Renji, I am not a fool, I know you're in love with Rukia."
Renji fell silent. That was not exactly the comment that he was expecting to get from Byakuya. His cheeks tinted slightly as his fingers tightened around the sake cup in his hand.
"I...I-"
"I've been married, Renji." Byakuya took a drink himself, "I understand what it's like to-"
"No, you don't." Renji snapped, "What the hell do you want? Why did you come here and tell me this?"
Byakuya stared at him a moment and then said, "Because I know that if Hisana was alive now...she would have approved of you. And to be honest...I would rather marry Rukia off to someone like you instead of an idiot I do not trust."
Renji gapped at him. Byakuya set down the cup on the floor, "I just thought you would like to know."
With that comment, he left.
To make a short story even shorter, Rukia was the one picked.
What the hell was he supposed to do about it now? Renji ran the conversation over and over in his head, wondering if there was something Kuchiki-taicho had been trying to hint at by telling him about Rukia's sudden social status of 'fiance'. Finding that it only infuriated him further, he loudly slammed his fist into the desk, rubbing his other hand over his face.
"You look like someone just rained on your parade, Abarai."
Ikkaku stood in the doorway, his arms crossed. Renji frowned, and let out a curse when he saw that he had just snapped the pen in his hand again.
"I suppose you could say that."
The bald man made a face, "Zaraki-taicho says that he wants a word with you when the meet is over."
"Meet?"
Ikkaku smirked, "The Soul Society sent me to come fetch you. Apparently, their sending you on some Class S rated mission. Something to do with Aizen's army."
Renji stared out the window once more. Now he was alone. Everyone he ever knew or loved was...gone. What did it matter if he threw himself into some suicide mission and got killed?
Renji sighed, and heaved himself to his feet, "Alright, I'm comming."
Now it's 3:23am. Yay for lacks of sleep.
Mmm...bed...
Thanks for reading. Send me a review and tell me what you think :P
Arigato
Lilith