Tainted

Chapter 5

By: Midnight Lost

Months had passed since she began her training, her skill was flawless in everyway possible. Through the combined training of Stark, Hailbel, and Ulquirra she had perfected everything; speed, defense and offense. Aizen had even announced their relationship to his espada, whom didn't seem the least bit surprised by this bit of news. Only Tousen seemed to be the only one disappointed in this, though she couldn't figure out why. During this length of time she had come up with a plan to aid Aizen in acquiring the Kings Key easily. However, it would be risky as well. It involved her going back in the company of her 'friends'. After speaking it over with Aizen, he had approved of it under strict conditions. Two arrcanar would accompany her in disguise as well. To this she chose Loly and Menoly. She would of liked to request Hailbel as well, but knew she would be too recognizable to her supposed friends. The second condition was that she was to report to him every week, though she figured he had other reasons for that, not that she minded at all.

"I am concerned that when you return there, that due to you being unharmed they may become suspicious from the start" Aizen spoke.

"I have that covered my Lord" though he had said she didn't have to, she always addressed him by his title. It was a reminder to him that she still regarded him above her. That she would follow his orders. Even though they discovered that with the Orb's aid, her own reitsu was equal to his own. "I have come up with a rather elaborate cover story."

"Oh, and would you do me the honor of sharing your story?" he smiled

"Mmm, well. First off I will not returned unharmed." she started slowly. "I have arranged that I will be beaten by a group of Arrcanars." she swallowed. She didn't want to think of the pain she would have to endure.

"And how do you plan to explain the two going with you?" he was intrigued with how much thought she had put into this.

"Simple enough, two young girls who stumble across me and bring me to the hospital. Thus a close friendship is formed." she smirked.

"I see." he mused "And when is this all to happen?"

"The end of this week." she replied sadly. Through her long imprisonment and afterwards this large palace had become her home. At first she hated the place, with its only white walls and cloths, but it had grown onto her. And now she had to return to the pitiful excuse of an apartment she used to call home.

"If that be the case, then it is a good thing that tonight is a celebration that only happens once every two thousand years." he smiled "Tonight there is a ball if you well, I assure you that you will love it."

Needless to say since he had mentioned the celebration that would be going on tonight, Orihime was restless. She didn't even considered that the Hollows celebrated anything, but then again she didn't think she would fall in love with Aizen either. None of espadas or even the arrcanar would tell her anything about it either. It appeared that Aizen had ordered them all to keep it a surprise for her. This frustrated her a little as it seemed the more she looked forward to it, the longer it took to arrive. While she eagerly awaited, she met with Loly and Menoly and went over in detail what their mission was and to remind them to keep their tempers in control. She had even gone into extreme detail of the cover story they were going to use to explain their close friendship. Both the arrcanar girls closely paid attention. They were excited to say the least. This was the first time they were given such an important mission. Such missions usually befell the espadas and they did not want to fail their lord and master, nor his queen to be.

Finally the time had come. Orihime was busy in her chambers preparing for the celebration that was to be happening soon. Her mind was nearly exhausted with all the possibilities it could be. Every human holiday was even considered, though she wasn't sure if they celebrated Christmas here, though she concluded that Halloween was a must. She giggled a little at these thoughts, they were like her old, weaker self. Moving over to her large mirror she inspected how her evening gown looked on her. It was extremely beautiful, something she would only imagine a movie star wearing. She didn't have long to wait till Aizen arrived at her door to escort her to where the celebration was to be held.

They said not a word as they navigated the large hall ways. Going into a section she never knew existed. He could tell she was anticipating what was about to happen, though her face didn't betray it. She had truly mastered her own expressions during her hard training, this would pay off in the final confrontation against the Soul Society. But now was not the time to contemplate what was to come, no this was a celebration that should be celebrated. Finally at the end of the corridor was two giant doors, much larger then any others within the palace. Aizen proceeded to push them open, revealing a large balcony where the rest of the espada had already gathered. She was a little shocked by this, they all seemed to be enjoying this moment, even Hailbels stone like face could show traces of a smile under her uniform.

"You see my dear, " Aizen started. "Once every two thousand years a comet shoots over us, creating the illusion of daylight for one hour. That is why this day is celebrated. Its called Dia de la Luz"

"Day of the Light" she whispered, it was a beautiful name. At the end of the large opening a group of Arrcanars played various, unrecognizable instruments. It seemed weird to see them playing classical music, but then again this was to be a ball of sorts.

"May I have this dance?" he smiled as he offered her his hand. She took it gladly as he proceeded to lead her to the dance floor. She was pleasantly surprised to find that he was an exceptional dancer, following his lead as the music played. It seemed sort of surreal to her, but she did feel like a queen of sorts.

Almost as if on cue, as soon as the music stopped a giant fireball flew over in the sky. Lighting up everything she could see. The once night filled land was filled with a bright light that almost resembled daylight itself. As she scanned over the lighted desert, she could see thousands of blossoms shoot fourth, almost as if they had waited for an eternity to do so. It was beautiful.

"You see my dear, that is why they call it Day of the Light. It is the only time flowers such as yourself will bloom." he commented. After the comment passed the music picked up again. However this time both Lord and Mistress retired to his room. It would be some time before they got to see each other again. And they wanted to make it memorable.

The rest of the week passed by quickly. Orihime was feeling anxious, sometimes afraid of having to return to the world she had left behind. Both Loly and Menoly were feeling the same as the time quickly approached. As the time grew closer, Orihime had calmed her emotions and boosted her confidence. This wouldn't fail, and nothing would stand in her way of aiding her Lord and lover in taking over the Soul Society. However, Tousen had other plans. He was none to pleased with her plan, and called her deception of her so called friends on earth an injustice. He had chosen to voice this as they were meeting before Aizen in his throne room. All of the espada had gathered around.

"I do not trust your intentions." Tousen confronted Orihime.

"It is not up to you to trust me." she spat, "I have given Lord Aizen all of my loyalty. And you dare assume I will so easily return to those who had abandoned me?"

"Forgive me Lord Aizen but I must end her injustice acts!." he yelled as he pulled his zanpaktu out and assaulted her. At this all the espada watched on. They knew well of Tousens rage when it came to defending his sense of justice. However Orihime was quicker then him. Using her sonido to avoid his attack she responded with a flurry of her own which he could barely keep up with. Aizen watched in amusement as he saw she was holding back.

Finally it happened, Tousen having enough of being on the defense jumped back and held out his blade. "BANKAI!"

The room around the two combatants filled with darkness. This was Tousens home, The darkness. Despite all of her senses being shut down, she remained calm. In fact she smirked, which Tousen saw. It made him rather uneasy. Her lips moved but he heard nothing. Suddenly there was a flash of light which burst the black ball that had surrounded them in the room. Tousen was thrown back, crashing through a large pillar till the wall stopped him. Coughing up blood as he collided with it he felt another painful stab in his left shoulder. When he regained his sense of 'vision' he could see the young girl had developed strands of what appeared to be like wispy like wings made of light. One of which was stabbed through his shoulder. She was the angel of death. Four more launched towards him, wrapping around each of his limbs. The one that had stabbed him retracted. There was coldness in her eyes.

"None shall doubt my intentions for my Lord." she stated coldly. And with a small gesture Tousen was torn apart. Blood showered the floor beneath him. After disposing of him, she reverted back to her normal self and beamed a small smile to Aizen, she had wanted to keep it a secret a little longer but Tousen had forced her hand.

"I am impressed." he smiled, disregarding the heap of blood along the wall. "You have already achieved Bankai."

"I was hoping not to show it till the final battle." she sighed. "Forgive me, I grew overly irritated by his constant rant about what is justice and what is not."

"No need to forgive my dear, he challenged you." he assured her. "Now, I trust your preparations are complete?"

"Yes my Lord."

He leaned in and gave her a brief kiss before sending her off. He did not want to watch what she was going follow through with. He had ordered his Espadas not to mention anything of it as well. Even Loly and Menoly stayed outside the room their queen had entered. Though they could hear the beating going on inside. Soon it was over, the group of arrcanar carried out her battered and bruised body and handed her over to the two girls. It was in their hands now.

The final part of the return in place they headed towards the earth realm. When they arrived, it was well into the night. They remembered everything Orihime had practically beaten into their heads about where to go, what to do and how to act. They arrived in an abandoned park, thankfully no one seen them. Quickly they scurried towards the Kurosaki residence, at this time Orihime began to regain consciousness.

"Ow, the next time I come up with a plan like this, stop me." she groaned and half laughed. This broke a little tension and allowed the other two to giggle a little as well.

It didn't take them long to arrive there, stopping quickly to make sure everything was set, Loly knocked on the door. A few seconds later Ichigo himself appeared, looking sleepy as they had woken him up. But upon seeing Orihime he was wide awake.

"Orihime what happened!?" he nearly shouted, looking at the other two suspiciously. He had never seen them before.

"I.. managed to escape, but not before…" He didn't let her finish, as he ushered her inside, almost leaving the other two outside if Orihime hadn't said anything. Setting her down on a free bed he hurried to wake up his father. When he left, Orihime let a small smirk cross her face, things were already working perfectly. She met the others two girls eyes, silently telling them to remember what they were told, and how much was at stake.

Soon after Ichigo and his father returned. Isshin examined Orihimes injuries and let out a sigh of relief. Even though he never let it show he knew of what happened to the young girl.

"Only a few bruises and scratches. Some rest should do you good." He stated and looked at his son. "Be sure she gets plenty of rest."

"What about the other two?" Ichigo asked.

"Let the stay, they were the ones who found me and brought me here." Orihime interjected.

"Alright, I'm just glad to have you back." Ichigo smiled after his father left. "I'm sure everyone else will be excited as well."

He turned away for a moment to put some of the instruments away. When he turned back she was asleep. He watched as the other two girls proceeded to tuck her in, a shadow of worry over their faces. Perhaps he could trust them a little.

A week had passed quickly, and Orihime was back in her small apartment. However she hardly ever got a moment of peace as Rukia, Ichigo, Chad, and the others would constantly come over to see how she was doing. To say the least it was rather annoying and made it that much harder for her to report back on her progress. Ichigo wasn't to happy with the fact the other two girls had moved in with her as well and seemed to follow her around everywhere she went. Something was strange about them, but he couldn't seem to place what it was. Orihime on the other hand, seemed completely comfortable around them, but also seemed to distance herself from the original group. Another thing he noticed was that she did not return to school, instead she stayed at home or went out elsewhere. But he concluded that being away for so long made it hard to return to her normal routine.

"Yes, things are going exactly as planned my Lord." Orihime said to a large screen that was in her bed room now. A small invention by Syzael. A smile graced upon Aizens face as she reported while they seem overly concerned none of them are suspicious of anything yet.

"Proceed, but remember." Aizen spoke through the screen. "If your discovered, return here at once. Report again next week."

"Yes my Lord." with that the screen went blank and shrunk down into a small device that looked no bigger then a AC adaptor. A smile graced her lips as she returned to the living room area where Loly and Menoly where.

"He is pleased with our progress, we only need to keep this up for a few months. By then their guard shall be down enough to split them from the inside out."

Authors Notes: Well, a quick small update. I know the story is moving faster now but I also wanna get into the real good stuff, like say Orihime kicking the crap out of Ichigo ^^. Anyways, read and review. Thanks!