To Protect…
Secrets.
Sometimes, secrets are kept out of a sense of shame, to hide something so heinous it could ruin a reputation. Sometimes they are kept simply to be a surprise for someone at a later date, and sometimes they are kept in order to protect an individual from a potentially harmful truth.
Someone like Orihime Inoue.
Hands in his pockets, Ichigo Kurosaki reluctantly trudged down the sidewalk towards Orihime's house, trying to think of how best to tell her that Starrk, a member of the dreaded Espada, the very group that had kidnapped her and held her hostage in the nightmare realm of Los Noches, was currently living in Karakura Town.
It was a cloudy Friday afternoon and tomorrow would make it two weeks since encountering the former Espada at the soccer field near Karin's school, and ever since then Ichigo had been debating on whether to tell Orihime or to keep it secret, and how best to break it to her if he did tell her. A part of him wanted to keep it secret permanently to protect her, but sheltering her from the truth wasn't really protection; she had a right to know before she found out for herself somehow.
Orihime had a kind heart, perhaps too kind, and he knew without a doubt that she would forgive the Primera for his past sins without hesitation, but she deserved to have advanced warning that he was around; if she were to turn a corner one day and happen to run into him unexpectedly, it might send her into a panic. As long as she was aware of the former Espada's existence, then in theory everything should be fine.
Should be, because Orihime was normally the nicest, most forgiving person one could ever hope to meet. Of course, Orihime had been acting rather strange for the past few months, ever since the end of the Winter War and her rescue from Hueco Mundo…
Ichigo hadn't pressed the issue; for someone with such a gentle soul as Orihime, the past few months…hell, the past year had to be traumatic in ways other people couldn't even begin to imagine. Her bright, friendly smile was always there, but she wasn't always eager to get together with the others outside of school anymore; instead, she seemed to spend most of her time cooped up in her house, alone.
Mentally, he added another item to his agenda at Orihime's: remind her that her friends were still there for her, and would always be ready to talk with her about what may have happened to her in Los Noches.
Unfortunately, today would not be a good day for Ichigo to sit down and have an extended talk with her; as part of his new arrangement with Head-Captain Yamamoto, he was expected to be in the Soul Society in a couple of hours where he would stay until late Sunday evening, helping out Hisagi in Squad 9 and learning more about what it truly meant to be a Soul Reaper.
He scowled at the thought of the kidō training; kidō was by far his worst skill, and also the least-fun. Twice now he had nearly blown himself up, and once he had accidentally fired a stray shot into the Squad 9 barracks, sending dozens of panicked shinigami running and screaming.
At least I'm not as bad as Renji… he thought to himself, grinning. Despite having finally been promoted to the rank of Captain over Squad 5, Renji Abarai still couldn't manage to use a kidō spell without blowing himself up or setting himself on fire, but Ichigo had managed to get a couple of spells right.
Sure, he'd only gotten them right once, but it was still one more than Renji…
Thinking about his friends in the Soul Society gave Ichigo another idea; maybe Orihime would feel more comfortable talking with Rangiku about everything that had happened. He knew that the two had become pretty close friends ever since Rangiku had stayed with her during the early part of the war, when the arrancar first began showing up, and the female Soul Reaper would almost certainly do anything to help her 'bosom buddy.'
Next item on his mental checklist: talk to Rangiku about Orihime.
Finally he stood on Orihime's doorstop as lightning flashed overhead and thunder rolled, signaling an approaching storm.
The single fat droplet of rain that managed to come down and hit him square between the eyes was an even bigger sign and he wiped it away before rapping his knuckles against the door.
"Hey, Orihime, you home?" he called casually.
"Um… Just a minute!" came the reply from the other side of the door and Ichigo could hear a note of nervousness in her voice.
He frowned at that; why did she sound nervous? Was she still afraid of his inner hollow? Did she not feel safe around him without the others around? That sent of pang of guilt shooting through his soul; he remembered the monster he had become in Los Noches, remembered her tears…
The door opened just barely, and Orihime slipped outside to stand on the porch with Ichigo, closing the door behind her quickly.
"Um, hi Ichigo!" she said brightly, "I didn't expect to see you; I thought you had to go to the Seireitei today…"
"I've got a couple of hours… Listen, Orihime, I really need to talk to you about some things; can we go inside and sit down?"
"But it's a perfectly beautiful day out here…" she said weakly. At that, another crack of thunder split the sky open and the rain began to fall in earnest.
"You were saying?" said Ichigo, the tone of his voice the only dry thing left at the moment.
"Hehe…" she giggled forcibly. "I guess it's okay for a little while…just a minute."
Orihime quickly opened the door just enough to slide herself in real quick before shutting it again in Ichigo's face and after a moment's hesitation she finally opened the door for him. Ichigo ran a hand through his wet hair as he stepped inside, glancing around. Something about the house felt different from before, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it… Maybe she had just redecorated or something and it was throwing him off, but he couldn't be sure.
"Anyway, Orihime, you've been acting different ever since Hueco Mundo and I'm concerned for you…everyone's concerned for you," he began and Orihime blushed slightly as she went to the kitchen to prepare some hot tea for the both of them.
"That's really sweet of you, Ichigo, but—"
"I'm not going to push you to talk about it yet; I'll wait until you're ready to tell me whatever's bugging you," he said abruptly, raising his hands and silencing what he assumed to be a denial that anything was wrong, "but I do have something important to tell you, something you may not like."
"Oh, Ichigo, you can tell me anything!" she chirped over her shoulder, "It's not like I could ever be really mad at my friends."
"That's not exactly it…" he mumbled, picking up some sort of tag that was lying face down on the table curiously. "See, a couple of weeks ago, I ran into Coyote Starrk, Aizen's primera Espada… He's still alive, Orihime, and living here in Karakura in a gigai."
"He's not doing anything wrong, is he? I mean, is he dangerous? He never seemed like a bad guy the one or two times I saw him in Los Noches."
"Starrk? I don't think so, not unless he's pushed into fighting. Somehow, he's managed to survive the war and I think now he just wants a quiet life with his other half, the little kid…what's her name again? Lily-something or other."
"Lilynette…" offered Orihime as she brought over two cups of hot tea. "Well, as long as he's not evil, I think it's okay, don't you?"
"Yeah…" agreed Ichigo slowly as he turned the little tag over finally, instantly recognizing it as a nametag from Burger World.
Ulquiorra.
"But then, you already knew all about it, didn't you?" Ichigo asked irritably as he looked down at the tag. "That's why you've been acting different! You knew Starrk survived, and Ulquiorra, too, apparently!"
"Well… It's not like they're hurting anyone; Starrk even said that you told him everyone deserves a second chance, and they do! Aizen used them, just like he did everyone in the Soul Society," said Orihime defensively.
"Where's Ulquiorra?" Ichigo asked firmly as he sat the tag and the teacup down, struggling to remain calm in the face of this very unwelcome surprise. "Where is he, and who else survived?"
"I am right here, Kurosaki," said a voice from behind him. He whirled around and found the former cuarto Espada standing in the doorway to the bedroom that had once belonged to Orihime's brother.
To anyone else, Ulquiorra appeared a normal human, even if he was a bit pale: black jeans, dark gray sneakers, his red Burger World employee shirt that clashed with his alabaster skin, neatly combed black hair…the gigai didn't show his mask remnants or his green facial markings, but Ichigo could still clearly see the quietly intimidating figure of the Demon Bat of Los Noches in there.
"How careless of me to forget my nametag…" mused the ex-Espada, "I suppose living here peacefully for so many months has made me lax."
"I saw you die…" Ichigo growled. "I watched your body turn to ash and disappear! How are you still alive?"
"I am not sure 'alive' is an appropriate term to use for a spirit creature, but I still exist because Orihime attempted to save me…" responded Ulquiorra as he walked into the living room. "While she gave up when it looked hopeless, she did just enough to re-vitalize my own regenerative powers. My body re-grew, even my organs, which would not have been possible without her assistance, and I was given another chance. Orihime has graciously allowed me to stay with her ever since, and she has been trying to help me understand what it truly means to be human."
"But you're a monster!" bellowed Ichigo. "I know what you're capable of! Hell, you're the one who originally kidnapped her!"
"She came willingly," corrected Ulquiorra, deliberately omitting the part of how he coerced her into surrendering herself. "And if you truly remember our fight, then you also know that you were more monstrous than I; you even tried to murder one of your friends for attempting to reason with your inner demon. Stop distorting the facts in your favor, Kurosaki; you are no more pure and innocent than I am."
"Ichigo, it's okay…" said Orihime, stepping between the two men. "We've all made mistakes and we've all learned from them; Aizen is gone and Ulquiorra and the others just want the right to exist, nothing more! They've been here for months and nothing has happened! Doesn't that tell you that they've changed? Come on, just give them a chance to prove it to you!"
"You cannot tell the Soul Society of our existence," Ulquiorra said. "They would not be as understanding as Orihime and their judgment would most certainly be death to us all, including Urahara for supplying us with gigais and Orihime for housing me."
Ichigo sighed and slumped back against the wall, rubbing his face with his hands as he absorbed this new information.
"Who else?" he asked finally. "Who else survived and please don't say Grimmjow."
"He is one," Ulquiorra confirmed. "Aside from him, there are only two others you have not met; Tia Halibel, the tercera, and Tyn Tethis, our new quinto."
"A new number five?" asked Ichigo suspiciously, "If you're not up to anything, why do you need to re-fill your ranks?"
"We are not re-forming the Espada. Tyn was the original sexta before he refused to served Aizen and fled Los Noches, but when we made a group decision to have our old numbers tattooed to our gigais as a reminder of our past, it made no sense to have two sixes. Since he was going to be the new number five after Neliel's disappearance, he took the quinto position."
"Alright, I guess that makes some sense…" grumbled Ichigo. "Look, as long as you guys continue to do…whatever it is you're doing without actually harming anyone, then I won't tell the Soul Society. You can keep Grimmjow under control, can't you?"
"So far he has continued to obey orders from myself and Halibel… She has already promised to kill him if he jeopardizes our safety with his antics," Ulquiorra assured him. "I do not believe he will risk her wrath, or the collective wrath of the group as a whole, by misbehaving too badly."
"Too badly?" echoed Ichigo cautiously.
"Grimmjow is…Grimmjow," said Ulquiorra simply. "It is very likely that he will never be entirely free of his violent impulses; our goal is simply to keep him from harming or killing anyone. He routinely loses his temper and threatens customers and I do not think that will ever change."
"But so long as he's not actually hurting anyone…" added Orihime hopefully.
"As long as I don't see something about him on the evening news, I guess I can handle him being here…" sighed Ichigo. "Just do your best to keep that lunatic on a leash and everything should be fine."
"We have made it four and a half months without a major incident."
"I'll feel better after four and a half years without a major incident…" said Ichigo sourly as he headed for the door. "I need to get going; I've got less than an hour before I'm supposed to be in the Seireitei. I'll keep your existence a secret…just don't make me regret it."
"Oh, thank you, Ichigo!" gushed Orihime, hugging him. "You won't regret it, you'll see!"
"Yeah…" he mumbled as he pried himself from her grip and excused himself, "We'll see."
Friday night and Halibel had to work the night shift at the bar for once instead of the usual day shift, leaving Tyn with the apartment all to himself until she got home around two in the morning: no yelling, no screaming, no insults, no abuse…
The peace was almost enough to make him believe that there was a god smiling down on him somewhere.
Almost, but not quite.
Peace and quiet in the apartment, but the fridge was empty, and the television…well, it wasn't broke this time, but given the lack of good shows on, it may as well have been. Tyn sat on his customary end of the couch, flipping through the channels in an attempt to find something, anything, that might be entertaining.
"Try new OXYCLEAN and you'll see—" spouted an overly-enthusiastic spokesman on the screen, and Tyn quickly shuffled to another channel.
*CLICK!*
"Call now for the hottest live girls in Karakura! Only—"
Yeah, that was just what he wanted to do; waste money talking to some human bimbo on the phone…
*CLICK!*
"Edward or Jacob?"
How about dying in a fire? he thought bitterly as he skipped channels.
*CLICK!*
"The Spirits are always with you!"
*CLICK!*
After several minutes and many, many infomercials and bad shows, he couldn't take it anymore and hefted his arm back as he prepared to throw the remote through the screen and simply end it all…and then he remembered Tia's dark promise of pain and suffering if he were to break another television.
"God damn it…" he growled as he turned the television off and dropped the remote on the glass coffee table roughly.
It wasn't supposed to be like this, it really wasn't; it was the first time in weeks he'd had the television all to himself and not a single thing on anywhere worth watching. Scowling, he began to tear through the small collection of blu-ray movies he and Halibel had purchased, but nothing in there caught his eye, either. In fact, the only idea he could think of to alleviate his overwhelming boredom was quite possibly the stupidest idea he'd ever had; after all, going to The Oasis and waiting for Tia's shift to end was very likely to get him seriously hurt.
Then again, considering how much she hated working the night shift, it might do her good to see a friendly face…
Yes, surely she wouldn't be too mad at him for stopping by to check on her…
Just four more hours and this nightmare would all be over with…
Halibel couldn't wait; working as a bartender during the day was irritating enough, but the night shift was a completely different animal and Friday nights were even worse.
While The Oasis was a much cleaner and more-upscale bar than most others in the city, that didn't mean there was any shortage of drunken males making passes at her and the occasional fool who tried to grope her ass whenever she walked by; the bouncers had already thrown four morons out for that tonight and while she desperately hoped that little demonstration by the bouncers would deter others, she knew better.
It wasn't like she was scantily dressed, either; the standard 'uniform' for a bartender at The Oasis was a simple white button-up shirt with long sleeves, a small black vest, and matching black slacks. While her ego would permit Halibel to admit to herself that she made the unisex outfit look damn good, she also conceded that there was absolutely nothing sexy enough about it that cried out to the world to "please grope me!"
At least the tips were great; being attractive and young-looking (even if her true age was nearly double what she appeared to be) was very, very rewarding.
Of course there was usually a phone number included with the cash slipped her way, but that didn't bother her too much anymore; let them go home and sit by their phones waiting and hoping if they wished, but it would be a cold day in hell before she even considered a human's 'company.'
Still, better a human than Grimmjow… she thought, or Tyn.
Feigning a smile and giving a polite "Thank you, sir," Halibel accepted payment and another tip from one more patron as he left the bar, leaving an empty stool in his wake. Sighing as soon as the man was out of earshot, she crumpled up the note containing yet another unwanted telephone number that had been mixed in with the bills and discarded it before depositing the payment into the register and the tip into her pocket. She grabbed the empty beer stein he'd left on the bar and turned around, putting her back to the bar as she began to clean the used mug with a washcloth.
She heard movement behind her and knew that someone else had just claimed the vacant barstool and she hoped whoever it was had the good sense to not reach over and grab her ass. Halibel sat the glass down and turned around to face her new customer, placing her fake grin back onto her face and asking what he'd like.
"Welcome to The Oasis! What can I—Tyn!" she hissed in surprise, glaring death at the redhead perched on the barstool.
"Hi, Tia!" he replied, grinning idiotically.
"Home! Now!" she demanded, incensed that he would dare come to her place of work to make her feel even more miserable.
"No. Beer. Now," he countered coolly.
"Go. Home," she growled, emphasizing each word darkly.
"Don't be like that; I came all the way here—"
"To annoy me!" she snarled, reaching across the bar and seizing him by the ear, hauling his torso across the countertop to be nose-to-nose with her. "Go home or else."
Their bickering had drawn a small crowd unfortunately, and along with them, the attention of one of the bouncers; a large muscular man who looked like he probably spent his weekends either lifting weights or popping steroids.
Maybe both, Tia thought as she looked at him and released her death grip on Tyn's ear.
"Miss Halibel, is this twerp bothering you?" asked the large man, preparing to grab Tyn and drag him from the bar violently if need be. Halibel didn't miss the grin that was nothing short of evil spreading across Tyn's face as he just waited for the bouncer to try and get physical; Tyn may have been the smaller of the two and the gigai may have greatly limited his natural strength, but he was still far, far beyond what any human could hope to contend with.
"It's fine, Dunc; this is my roommate, Tyn," she grumbled reluctantly. "He just came by to say hello and have a drink before going home."
Dunc looked at Tyn a moment, giving him a warning glare that would have been utterly terrifying to a mere human, but the arrancar simply kept grinning darkly at him. Halibel was quite certain that Dunc could see the malice behind Tyn's smile and the unspoken promise of violence that accompanied it.
Better that than for him to openly laugh at Dunc, though, Tia admitted to herself. The big man would most likely get angry and try to throw Tyn out, and then the raptor would undoubtedly rip his head off in a bloody shower of violence. After a long, tense standoff-ish moment, Dunc finally walked away, leaving Tyn to sit at the bar in relative peace.
"One drink…" Halibel hissed as she slid a full mug across the polished wood countertop to her roommate, "and then you go home!"
"I don't get why you have to be so hostile about it…" Tyn complained as he poked at the foamy head of beer at the mug's rim. "I mean, I know you hate working nights and on a Friday to boot, so I just thought I'd come keep you company for a little while."
Halibel crossed her arms as she glared at him dubiously, not buying his story for one instant.
"There's nothing on TV, is there?" she asked finally.
"Not a goddamned thing," Tyn admitted, taking his first sip of the beer and making a face. "Jesus, this stuff is pretty foul. Humans actually drink this?"
"If you're not going to drink it, just go home," sighed an exasperated Halibel as she massaged her forehead to alleviate the headache that was beginning to set in.
"Eh, I might be able to get used to it…" said Tyn, taking another small sip. "Is it even possible for us to get drunk?"
"If you do get drunk, I swear I'm going to drag you outside and make you sleep on the sidewalk," the blonde promised bitterly as she rolled up her sleeves to her elbows and began to wipe off the dirty bar. Tyn remained silent for a couple of minutes, slowly sipping at the beer as he watched her aggressively scrub the wooden countertop clean.
"You're in a bad mood, aren't you?"
"Of course I'm in a bad mood, you idiot!" Halibel snarled, almost losing control and shouting at the moron, "I'm working on a Friday night, surrounded by humans, you're here, and people keep trying to grope me!"
"Is that normal around here? Am I supposed to be trying to—"
"No!" she yelled, wondering how anyone could be so stupid, "I don't want to be groped by you or anyone else! All I want is for you to go home and for my shift to end!"
"I was kidding, anyway; why would I even want to try and grab your—"
"Go home, Tyn!' she spat angrily, snatching the now half-empty mug away from him. "Just go home now!"
"…can I finish my beer?"
"No! Just go, damn it!" seethed Halibel, gripping the mug so tightly that the glass began to crack under the pressure.
"Okay, okay, no need to get so angry…" sulked Tyn as he stood to leave.
"Yeah, come on, lady, don't be such a mouthy bitch about everything," slurred the intoxicated man on the stool beside Tyn.
Enraged, Tia opened her mouth to lay into him verbally as well, but that was as far as she made it before Tyn grabbed the man by the back of his head and slammed his face into the bar roughly, shattering his nose and sending a splash of crimson across the wooden surface. He released the now-unconscious human, letting him fall to the floor as the bouncers made their way over and the other patrons cleared away from the sudden explosion of violence.
"If anyone else ever talks to her like that again or touches her, you will answer to me," Tyn announced threateningly to the crowd inside the bar. Never before had Halibel ever heard the bar go so unearthly quiet, not even after closing time and all the customers had left.
He handed Tia a few bills for his half-finished drink, including a small tip, and made his way to the door, brushing past the bouncers as he went. They looked to Halibel to see if she wanted them to try and throw him out, but she shook her head and they let him pass without incident. She gestured to the man on the floor and Dunc hauled him outside as she began to wipe the blood off the bar.
God damn that moron, she thought angrily as she scrubbed the countertop down again. The nerve of him, coming down to her place of business and pestering her, and then, then having the audacity to act like he was looking out for her! Oh, Halibel definitely planned on making him answer for his crimes when she got home; they were going to have a long "discussion" about minding his own business. One way or another, the idiot would learn his place, even if she literally had to beat some sense into him.
With some effort, she forced herself back into a routine of smiling and pretending to be nice to the bar patrons as they came and went throughout the rest of the night, mentally cursing her roommate's foolishness the entire time.
Still, despite how stupid and annoying he could be, Tyn had at least accomplished something useful in the end…
No one else dared to harass Tia for the rest of the night.