A/N- Hey readers! Forth chapter is up!! Please leave a review telling me how I can improve, or any errors I made. I will try to write characters as in character as possible, but I might have to bend them a little for the sake of the story. Hints of GinRan in this chapter, sorry if you don't like.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach
Chapter 4
The "Truth" Revealed, Doubts are formed
Halibel kneeled in Aizen's throne room, having left Orihime in her room.
"How did it go?" Aizen inquired casually.
"It was a complete success Lord Aizen," she replied," The girl has already begun forming a bond with me."
"Perfect," Aizen smiled.
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"Thank goodness you're alright," Ichimaru said with mocking enthusiasm," I looked everywhere for you."
Orihime stared at his position on the couch, which looked identical to the one he was in when she left.
"I looked on the couch, behind the couch, under the couch, in between the cushions, in the corner of the room, and on the ceiling," he rattled off.
"Sounds like you don't know what 'everywhere' means," she muttered, tired from a trying day. She didn't think he would hear her, but he had hearing like a bat.
His twisted smile widened, revealing his teeth. Orihime suddenly missed Halibel's comforting presence.
"I didn't have much time to look, you know. After all, you were only gone for about four hours." His voice was saturated in sarcasm.
Orihime's eyes widened. "No way," she whispered, mainly to herself. She just arrived in Szayel's lab in an orange flash about 15 minutes ago, meaning for 3 hours and 45 minutes she had ceased to exist.
Ichimaru just shrugged.
All of the sudden, his smile turned a little sad, almost haunted. The change shocked Orihime, who didn't know that he could look so… human. It confused her.
"You've been to Rukongai, right?"
His questioned surprised her, as it lacked his usual mocking undertones.
She thought back to her time in Soul Society, back to the dusty roads of Rukongai. She nodded, not sure where he was going with this.
"You know what Soul Society's catchphrase is? The place where you don't go hungry. I almost died of starvation during my first year after my death," he said, sounding almost haunted, as if reliving his past.
"But," she said weakly," I thought you couldn't go hungry."
He looked intensely at her, and while she couldn't see his eyes, she felt like he was looking into the depths of her soul, reading it like an open book. She cast her eyes down, breaking contact.
After what felt like hours he answered," That's exactly what they want people to believe. They want people to think Soul Society is heaven. It's true, most people can't go hungry. You only get hungry if you have spiritual powers." He paused, letting his words sink into her, laying the foundation for his part to play.
"I had strong powers, meaning I felt a deep hunger, constantly. I had to steal everyday just to survive. It wasn't a life, but an existence, was nothing more than day to day routine. There was no meaning to anything I did." He watched sympathy pour out her eyes, etching itself on her pretty face. This was just too easy.
"I thought it would go on forever, living without a purpose. But something happened, the second year after my death. I met a girl who had power like I did, passed out from hunger. I had finally found someone like me, and for the first time in so long, I felt hope. Do you know who I had found? Rangiku Matsumoto." He silently apologized to Rangiku for using her in the plan.
Orihime was thoroughly enthralled in his story. She felt emotions swirling through her as this man she thought she hated opened up before her. It must be hard for him, sharing his inner demons with someone he barely knows.
"You're a lot like Rangiku, Orihime," he said slowly.
She felt a blush rise to her cheeks when she thought about being compared to the beautiful strawberry-blonde. Her blush deepened as she realized he was comparing her to the first person who gave him hope.
"You are a good person, Orihime. You're such a good person, that you practically radiate light and goodness, even in such a dark place as Hueco Mundo. Just like Rangiku did for the hopeless pit called Rukongai. When ever I see you, it's like looking at a reflection of Rangiku."
He smiled more happily," The only difference between you guys is that she found my antics funny."
She thought about how afraid she had been of him, and felt a bit guilty of how she had treated him.
The sad look returned to his face. He returned to his story," We both became Soul Reapers after that. It was too hard to keep living on stolen food. Suddenly, our lives were luxurious, filled with things we had never dared to hope for before. But living the good life, it consumes you. It makes you slowly forget everything before that, all the 'unimportant' things, like the suffering that happens every day in Rukongai, all the crime. And that works for some people."
"But I didn't want to forget. I wanted to change things, use my power to make things better. I approached higher-ups about it frequently, but every time they said,' Things work the way they are now. The citizens of Rukongai should live in freedom.' But that wasn't enough for me."
Orihime stared, transfixed, at Ichimaru, marveling at thins new side of him. She really didn't want to interrupt him, but she had a burning question for him.
"What about Rangiku?" she asked softly.
His smile, sad as it was, disappeared. "She fell under the charm of our new lives, just like they wanted."
"Just when it seemed hopeless," he continued, his sad smile reforming," I got promoted to Lieutenant, under Captain Aizen. He agreed with me, the only other person I knew who acknowledged Soul Society's corruption. Unlike me, however, he had a plan for how to stop it. I'm not going to lie to you; the plan is incredibly Machiavellian, but that's really the only way to change things, it seems."
She stared ahead dumbly, trying to digest this new information. His words went against everything she had thought up to this point. In a way, her pre-set ideas (Aizen is evil, Soul Society is right) were comforting. They were reliable. But in one conversation everything she considered truth was shattered so easily, and she realized how weak they really were.
She was about to say something when a loud, frantic knocking came at her door.
"Come on in," Ichimaru hollered, his face once again donning his usual smile.
A flustered-looking female arrancar burst into the room, panting heavily.
"Commander Ichimaru, Lord Aizen needs to speak with you right away," she gasped out, slouching and clutching her side.
"All right," he replied," Would you mind watching Orihime until Ulquiorra gets here?"
She straightened out and said," Yes sir."
He waved to Orihime and disappeared with a flash step. The pale arrancar leaned against the wall, breathing hard.
"Are you all right?" Orihime asked timidly, unsure about this new girl.
"Yea," she replied breathlessly," It's just that Las Noches is friggin' huge, and I just sprinted across the entire thing."
Orihime noticed how strange her hair was. It was an odd shade of green, and worn in a high ponytail. Her piece of hollow mask took form as a ring around her left eye. Together with her milk-colored eyes, she looked really weird.
"Congratulations," the funny-looking arrancar said suddenly, surprising Orihime.
Upon seeing Orihime's confusion, she elaborated," Congratulations on your engagement."
"Oh, thank you," she said, not mentioning that she didn't have a choice in the matter.
The arrancar smiled, not picking up on Orihime's sudden sadness.
"My name's Okashii, by the way," Okashii chirped.
When Orihime didn't respond, Okashii noticed the sad look on her face. Not wanting to be nosey, but not wanting her to be sad, she said the first thing that popped into her head," Want to see something really cool?"
The despondent girl looked up, and nodded. That being all encouragement she needed, Okashii formed a small ball of cero in her hand, then threw it up in the air. She quickly formed another, and tossed it up as well. She added a third and began juggling them.
Orihime felt herself smile as Okashii juggled the red, glowing cero balls behind her back and under her leg. She actually laughed when Okashii stood on her hands and juggled with her feet.
"What is going on here?" a detached voice asked from the door. In surprise, Okashii's arms buckled beneath her, landing her in a heap on the floor. The cero she had been juggling flew into the walls, leaving smoking craters.
"Whoops," Okashii muttered nervously, meeting harsh green eyes.
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A/N- That chapter was pretty boring, but I needed that for the story. At least I got to introduce my OC, Okashii (Okashii means strange or funny). For those of you who don't like Ocs, don't worry. Okashii isn't really that important. She only shows up, like, three times in the entire story. Next chapter's going to have some action, so tune in next Friday! Please review!