Hee-ho everybody! Glad to see you all again, so here is a new chapter. Finally we get to move again and some stuff happens. Might want to grab a tissue just in case…

I do not own any characters or places. Everything is owned by its respective owner.

Enjoy!

…

Karin stood there, unsure of just what to do. Before her lied her sister Yuzu's killer yet not. Gone was the man known as Naoya and now before Karin, groveling at her feet was this girl, this girl with long purple hair and pink glasses. This girl named Midori who seemed so ditzy, so unbelievably apologetic that she couldn't have been her sister's killer. But what, just what was she, him, it, whatever the hell this creature before her was?

"Who are you" Karin asked once more to the groveling creature before her.

"I told you my name is Midori" the creature explained.

"No you're lying! Who are you and why" Karin began to tear up as she grabbed this 'Midori' by the throat"…why did you kill my sister!"

"Karin…I'm so-"

"No! You're not! You're a murderer! You killed my sister-"Karin, now visibly crying, pleaded as if trying not to believe her own words, she didn't want it to be true. Up until now she hadn't had the chance to fully grasp what had transpired but now, now that all the monsters were gone, she realized that the her only sister was now gone forever.

"Karin no it was Nao-"however no matter how much Midori tried, Karin just continued to ask why, why, why? Isshin, finally managing to free himself from the mute spell, quickly ran to his daughter's side.

"D-Daddy Karin's*sniffle* Karin's" Karin cried her mind somewhat regressing a few years due to the trauma.

"It's okay Karin, daddy's here. Everything's going to be alright" Isshin explained as he tried to console his daughter knowing full well that he wouldn't. This reminded him of the time when his wife had passed, only instead of Karin, who was still too little to truly grasp what happened at the time, it was Ichigo. 'Ichigo where are you' Isshin thought as tears began to well up in his eyes as well.

Orihime, who by now had finished every single soul inside the clinic, began to walk up to, who she believed to be, Naoya.

"Naoya…" Orihime began only for Midori to turn around, revealing her face. "N-Naoya? Who are you?"

"Orihime…" Midori began as she gently gripped her fist "…I'm sorry but please just…" Midori seemed to struggle to speak as Orihime continued closer only for Midori to flash her hand forward and call out the code phrase that she had learned from watching Naoya "Princess!"

"Wha…?!" suddenly the Atma tattoo in the center of Orihime's breast began to glow. "AGH! NaOYa…!" Orihime gasped in pain as she slowly began to transform back into her normal human form.

"Shush its okay, everything will be okay" Midori explained in a soft comforting sing song voice as Orihime continued to groan and grunt in agony.

Soon Orihime had returned to normal but due to the strain of devouring so much magasuhi in such a short time doubled with crushing power of the Atma virus going berserk inside her body and mind, Orihime could do little more than breathe as she slowly subsided into unconsciousness.

"Naoya…please don't-"Orihime's last words before sleep over took her, leaving this chaotic world for a small time.

Midori quickly lifted Orihime onto her shoulders and began to walk off, stopping only for a short moment as she looked at Isshin and Karin for, what she hoped, would be the last time, unfortunately.

"I'm…sorry" Midori apologized one last time, hoping for forgiveness. Instead she found only a glaring Isshin, staring bloody daggers at her with the utmost wicked intent.

"Get the hell away from the clinic! Never come back! You hear me?" Isshin roared grabbing the rock that Karin had used to beat Naoya with mere moments before, and then threw it at Midori and the monster that she now carried.

Midori quickly ran for it, easily dodging the rock, though she wished that it hit her. She felt horrible and wanted to cry just as much if not more than Isshin was.

"I'm sorry, please forgive me" Midori cried as she ran, Orihime barely clinging to her back, as she headed for the nearest yet farthest destination possible.

"Never come back! God damn you to hell" Isshin screamed as Midori exited his line of sight. Isshin then collapsed in the sand, before the ruins of his now destroyed clinic and the last remaining procession of his daughter, a stuffed lion that he had won for her some years ago, and cried.

…

A few hours later, Midori, out of breath and now too unnerved to even move another step, took shelter inside an abandoned subway that had partially collapsed. She sat Orihime down and began to speak.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry" again and again Midori apologized, even though she had long lost Isshin. There were tears in her eyes as she collapsed to the ground, sobbing. "I'm sorry daddy I'm sorry I-I couldn't stop him." Midori cried, as if try to speak with her deceased father.

"…" nothing, no one spoke to Midori. She couldn't talk to the dead even though she, in some way, was a member of the diseased herself. It all happened back then, back in the lockdown where she and her friends had faced utter annihilation at the hands of the final option. Yet somehow she survived, she and her friends survived while everyone else she knew died.

"Please forgive me…" Midori cried.

"Daddy, Karin, Orihime…please forgive me" Midori pleaded.

"…" suddenly Orihime began to stir "…huh? Naoya?"

"Orihime!" Midori cried quickly snapping out of her depression and running to the girl's side.

"Naoya? Wait, who are you" Orihime groaned, gripping her head as, what one could only describe as a hangover only much more painful, over took her. "Ow my head ugh and my stomach" she groaned as she grasped at her slightly bloated stomach.

"Orihime it's alright, you had a bad dream." Midori lied, mentally kicking herself for it in the process.

"Ugh…who are you, where's Naoya?" Orihime asked once again.

"Oh well Naoya…umm went away for a while! But I'm here in his place" Midori explained not really knowing exactly what happened to Naoya herself.

"But who-"

"Oh my name, its Midori, Midori Komaki" Midori explained smiling a halfhearted smile.

"Midori…ugh ow my head, w-what happened" Orihime asked innocently as she tried to stand.

"No don't! Its better if you sit down, let your stomach settle down. Just relax okay?" Midori explained hoping what she was saying would work. She didn't really know what this Atma thingy was but it gave Orihime a stomach ache. So maybe if she could get Orihime to just relax for a while maybe the stomach ache would go away?

"O-okay, um Midori…" Orihime began; still trying to fight threw her hangover as she sat back down against one of the cold cement wall of the subway.

"Yes what is it?" Midori asked waiting anxiously for Orihime to answer.

"My head hurts…" Orihime groaned. Midori nodded and gently raised her hand and placed it against Orihime's forehead.

"AGH" Midori jolted, quickly pulling her hand back from the orange haired girl's forehead as a thin line of steam rose from Orihime's brow.
"Ugh…so hot…ugh" Orihime groaned as her face began to flush red.

"Oh no you're burning up, literally. Umm uh…" Midori didn't know what to do, she didn't have an ice pack to give to the sick Orihime but she couldn't just leave her to go find one either.

"Ugh…" Orihime groaned as she began to remove part of her dress in an attempt to get cool.

"Umm agh…" Midori quickly darted her eyes all over but then gulped. 'I hope this works cause it's gonna hurt a lot!' Midori quickly began to move closer to Orihime, her hands ready and partially willing to do what Midori planned to do.

"M-Midori…? What are you-"however before Orihime could say anything more Midori called out a spell and quickly placed her hands onto the burning sick girl's head.

"Bufu!" Midori gasped as a wave of sheering heat shot through her hands, causing her nerves to shoot off like a horde of angry fire ants, angry fire ants that stung like a billion hypodermic needles on fire! Soon Midori's hands began burn almost to the second degree as the spell took its affect, sending an icy yet cool wave of magic into Orihime's body.

Midori quickly ripped her hands away as a thin layer of ice materialize on Orihime's forehead. Her hands now were blistered and bits of dead skin began to fall off, it was like she had just gotten a bad sun burn only a lot more concentrated. Midori quickly fought the urge to cry as she cast another spell in an attempt to heal her hands.

"D-dia" Midori managed to say just before a wave of pain burst to the surface causing her to scream out in agony! However soon the pain began to subside as Midori's hands began to glow with a somewhat bright pink light, the skin of her hands began to heal, carefully coming back together where the heat had forced it to break apart. Before long Midori's hands had healed enough for her to be able to use them without pain as she finally turned back to Orihime.

"Oh thank goodness she's still alright" Midori sighed thankfully as carefully placed another hand against Orihime forehead, to her splendid surprise the ice had worked! Orihime's temperature had begun to return to normal as noted by Orihime's skin tone turning a few shades less red and more back to a slight peach color.

…

A few hours pass as Midori tended to Orihime, her fever had diminished into almost nonexistence but her stomach ache still just wouldn't go away.

"My stomach…" Orihime groaned this time on the verge of gagging.

"Sorry I don't have any antacids" Midori apologized.

"It's okay Midori. It's not your fault." Orihime replied placing a gentle hand on the distraught purple haired girl's shoulder. Midori looked at the orange girl before her and on her face was that of smile, strange it almost made Midori kind of happy. It was as if Orihime just smiling made her want to smile, so she did and before long a small chuckle filled the empty subway.

However the quickly came to a screeching halt as Orihime let out a huge burst of vomit, sending a barrage of puke into a nearby trashcan.

"Oh no are you okay" Midori gasped in shock as Orihime removed her head from the trashcan.

"Y-yeah I'm alright. Actually I feel better" Orihime explained, she honestly did feel better, that pain in her stomach was gone that was for sure.

"Okay well that's good. Heh guess you just needed to get all that big bad magasuhi out of your system." Midori says while smiling.

"Magasuhi…? What's that" Orihime asked a little confused. Had she eaten something like that before? Maybe she did it while she blacked out? Then again was magasuhi even a food?

"Well magasuhi is…oh how did that meanie say? Umm it's…" Midori pondered aloud "Oh! Now I remember, silly me. Magasuhi is what makes this world. At least I think."

"So it's like reishi?" Orihiem asked?

"Umm I guess? To be honest I never really listened when Naoya was explaining this stuff to us" Midori explained rather embarrassed about the matter.

"So you're a friend of Naoya's?" Orihime asked only for Midori to scratch the back of her head and avoid eye contact.

"…I…I don't want to talk about it" Midori explained dodging the question.

"But-"

"Sorry but I don't want to talk about it anymore. Please just leave it alone. Beside we should probably get going." Midori explained standing up.

"Wait why? Can't we just rest here for the night?" Orihime asked still a bit weak.

"…" Midori looked down at the girl before her and sighed. "Fine but please if we say it's time to go then…"

'We…?' Orihime wondered only for Midori to give a slight glare at her. "Alright I understand" Orihime replied nodding.

"Alright then you get some sleep, I'll stand guard" Midori explained walking up the small flight of stairs before her that led to the outside world.

…

Well that's it for now. Good 'night' Orihime. Though anyone who's played Nocturne knows there isn't a night in the vortex world. Well facts aside, hope you enjoyed this little heart wrenching chapter along with the small bit of exposition I managed to fit in there. Maybe I tweaked your appetite, if so YAY! Well that's all for now and since its thanks giving when I'm finishing it (or at least for me anyway) I just want to wish everyone a happy holiday! Cheers! And have a nice night.

Your Zombie King

Alex