I'm jumping on the Bleach bandwagon and making a story. Yes, after the chapter last week, I have suddenly found the inspiration to do a Bleach fic. I'll tell you right now, it'll probably end up being a long story, and there will be parts people like, and parts that piss people off. Then again, the good stories are always like that, yes:D
Well, I hope you enjoy it. Send a review and tell me what you think.
Note: I am slowly revising this story. There may be mistakes here and there, but I am slowly fixing them. Thanks for your patience.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach
Orihime followed him through the complex, finding herself glancing out one of the windows. Looking at the dead landscape made her shiver. There were rocks and gravel, cliffs...no trees, plants, animals...nothing. It was completely dead. Either that, or nothing had ever lived there in the first place.
"Aizen-sama has instructed you to begin healing the returning squad."
"Pardon?"
Ulquiorra still had his hands in his pockets. When he spoke, it was only when something needed to be said.
"Aizen-sama wants you to heal the wounded first, and then to report to the Great Hall." he said, "It's an order."
"Yes, sir."
She followed him into a large hall, the Healing Room.
The wounded team had just returned. Yami was busy berating Wyce in the corner. Ulquiorra suspected that the young Espada gave him the creeps. Then again, for an Arancar, he was pretty strange.
"Ah, Grimmjow, another bout with Kurosaki?" Ulquiorra stood next to the half-dead Espada. The tall man glarred at him,
"Shut the fuck up. It's not like you can beat him." he said.
"Maybe not. But at least I would have the brains to die trying. Aizen-sama will not be pleased that you failed to kill him again."
Orihime felt her breath catch. So this was the one that had injured Kurosaki-kun so badly...
"This is Orihime Inoue. Treat her with respect. She will heal you all and then you will report back to your duties. Harm her in any fashion, and you will die."
They all stared at her intently.
"I must brief Aizen-sama myself." he said, "Call security if they give you trouble. Excuse me."
Ulquiorra left. He left her with a whole group of Espada that were now staring at her as if they wanted to eat her. She stepped forward and assessed Grimmjow's injuries first. He was the most injured, and he was missing an arm. She raised her hands,
"Ayame..." she whispered to herself.
Grimmjow couldn't help but stare at the petite woman that was now healing his wounds.
"Who the fuck are you?"
Ulquiorra had left her alone with this barbarian that had tried to kill Kurosaki-kun twice now. Orihime made a face at him,
"I believe that is the rudest thing anyone has ever said to me."
"Whatever. Answer the question."
"No."
Rupee started laughing hysterically, and Yami looked like he was about to bust. Giving them both hard glares, he turned back to her. Wyce still curled in the corner, looking as spacey as ever. It was still obvious that even he was rather intently focused on the situation.
"Answer it or I'll kill you, woman."
"Fine." she snapped, "Not that I care at this point anyway. While your at it-" she stopped healing him, "-you can heal your own wounds yourself, you jerk!"
His mouth dropped open. Now Rupee was laughing.
"Hey!" he yelled, "Don't help her." Grimmjow glared at her, "Heal my wounds, woman!"
"Apologize."
There was instant silence.
"Wh...what?" Grimmjow's mouth fell open again.
"Apologize or bleed. Pick one." Orihime folded her arms.
"...so...y..."
"What? I didn't hear you."
"...sorry..."
"Pardon?"
"SORRY, OKAY?!" he roared, "Damn, damn, shit, damn it..."
She sighed, and resumed healing his wounds.
It was a start.
Ulquiorra wandered into the Healing room, and stared at the sight before him. Yami and Rupee were trying their best to not die laughing, Grimmjow was silently brooding, and Wyce was quiet as normal. Inoue had complete control of his Espada crew without his aid, or the aid of the any of the other leaders.
He was not one to be surprised or impressed. But there was a sense of...unexpectedness that came from the entire scene. There was obviously more to this human girl then they thought, and she seemed a lot more capable.
"Must you all stand in here and waste time?" Ulquiorra glared across the room, "If you are not injured, report back to your duties till I summon you."
"Ah! You're such a killjoy!" Rupee shrieked, "If I was commander I wouldn't care!"
"That's why your not giving orders. If you don't like it, talk to Aizen-sama." he said, "Inoue-san already has enough work to do."
Grimmjow gave a grunt, and Yami glared off to the side. He was again in the sickbay, and he was again being treated for being injured in battle. Ulquiorra could tell it would be a while for the big man to stop being in a crappy mood.
"Aizen-sama requests your presence in the Great Hall when you are finished. Grimmjow, Wyce...you two will escort her." he said.
Orihime glared back at the shorter Espada. It was true that he was not as powerful as Grimmjow or Rupee, but he was powerful enough to look strong and give orders. The others followed him, even though they complained so much Inoue was close to attempting to fry them all herself.
"Yes, sir." she nodded.
"Yes, nuthin'." Grimmjow said, "There's no way I'm baby-sitting a woman and a noron."
Wyce seemed slightly indigent to the comment, but said nothing.
"Do what I say or I will cut off your other arm, Grimmjow."
He made a face, and then resigned to the fact that he was weakened. Ulquiorra exchanged a glance with her, and nodded,
"You will have assigned quarters tonight." he said, "When you are finished with all your work, and the meeting with Aizen-sama, you will be permitted to rest for the next 5 hours."
5 hours?
She would take it anyway. It would take a while getting used to their work hours.
When she was finished, Grimmjow had retrieved new clothes from somewhere, and had disappeared to go dress. She found herself curious about the young-looking boy in the corner. Walking over to him, she looked him over.
"Are you injured?"
He said nothing, staring back at her. There was a creepy sense about him, like he was all there. When she meant not 'all there', she was talking about mentally. Holding out a hand to him, she gave him the biggest smile she could muster without looking terrified,
"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." she said, "I'm Orihime."
Wyce stared back at her, and then poked her hand with a finger. Slowly, he began to creep forward, and she crawled back. She found dread wash over her as he began to crawl closer and closer, not caring that he was now gripping her arms till she thought they would break-
"Damn kid." Grimmjow grabbed his collar, lifting him high in the air off of her, "You numbskull."
"That's not very nice. Calling someone a numbskull." she managed to reply, although she was rattled.
"I was talking about you." he said, "You're an idiot for approaching someone like this looney. Come on, or I'll blame you for all this shit and laugh as Aizen-sama takes your head off."
"Gee, thanks."
She followed them down the hallway. Or rather, followed Grimmjow, and Wyce crept behind the two of them. Some guards.
"Well, you're welcome..." she muttered.
"Wha 'zat?" he glared at her.
"Nothing."
He started murmuring another string profanity to himself, again, as he pushed open the large doors. A voice boomed towards her that sent shivers down her spine.
"Ah, Inoue-san, come in."
She walked past Grimmjow, how glowered down at her, and he and Wyce entered in after her, closing the door. They stood off to the side as she walked down the isle, staring up at the former Shinigami captain.
"Aizen Sousuke." he looked at her, "You are quite the remarkable young lady."
"Orihime Inoue." she bowed slightly, "Thank you, sir."
"It is an honor to have such talent among us, even though it has been...helped along, so to speak?" he said, "I hope the Espada are not giving you too much trouble. I know they are uncivilized, barbaric creatures. A sophisticated young lady such as yourself must be disgusted."
If Grimmjow new that it wouldn't mean a death sentence, he probably would have killed everyone in that room. Barbaric and uncivilized? Maybe. But Aizen was sure being a bastard about it. Waiting for the woman's response, Grimmjow folded his arms.
"It's alright, sir. They have been quite...amusing." she said, "I can handle them just fine on my own."
"Good, good." he said, "Kaname Tousen and Gin Ichimaru are around the complex. If you see them, they will introduce themselves, otherwise they will not interfere with you."
"Yes, sir."
"You are to follow their orders and mine at all times, and to the letter. If you ever give me a reason to doubt your defection, Inoue-san, I will not hesitate to end the lives of Kurosaki-kun and the others. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir."
He sneered, "I hope you enjoy your stay here. Whether you do or not, this is your home now."
She felt like crying, but instead she gulped it down and nodded, "Yes...sir."
"Grimmjow." Aizen turned to the insolent man next to Orihime, "Take this lovely young lady to her room."
He sighed, "Yes sir."
Orihime found herself, once again, walking behind Grimmjow. When she thought about it, he had a face somewhat like Ichigo. Except for the large piece of bone that covered a good portion of his face, and that gave her the creeps. He had a strange feel about him, like he would turn around and pull out a sword on her at any time.
They stopped in a hallway full of doors.
"Here we are."
Orihime gave him a weird look, "Where are we?"
"This is the residential block." he said.
"So which one in my room?"
Grimmjow turned his head to the side, "Does it matter?"
She frowned, and walked down the hallway, glancing at all the doors. Exasperation crossed his face,
"Just pick one."
Orihime glared at him, gripping one of the doorhandles, "It doesn't matter anyway."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Eventually Kurosaki-kun and the others will realize I'm gone, and they'll come for me." she said.
He snorted, folding his arms, "Keep hopin', woman."
"He's beaten you twice now."
"Yeah?! " Grimmjow turned to her, temper flaring, "Well, you can't take all that optimistic shit and swallow it! I'll be fucking stupid if I ever let that bastard Ichigo beat me-"
She was tired of his ranting, and he was irritating her to no end.
"Kurosaki-kun will never loose to someone like you!" she yelled, raising her voice, "And you know what?! You want to put it that way...I can do that too!"
He caulked an eyebrow at her, "Wha-"
"You're a insensitive, moronic, idiotic, jerk!" she screamed, grabbing the door handle, "And if you kill Kurosaki-kun, I'll make sure I'll kill you for him!"
She slammed the door in his face.
It was the third time today she had made his mouth drop open.
My name is Ichigo Kurosaki.
I'm 22 years old, live in a condo, drive a Mercedes, and I have a million dollars. Mostly, I spend my days at the gym training in kick-boxing, karate, ju-jitsu, and tai chi. Afterwards, I jump on my private jet and have dinner in New York with a sexy, blond, supermodel who I am pretty certain I'll end up married too. I hire aids and secretaries to do all my work, and spend most of my time laying on a beach staring at the ocean...
Ha. I had you there for a second.
"Bloody hell!" Ichigo turned around to the class, "If you two don't be quiet I am going to come over there and quiet you myself!"
It really was not an usual threat for the class, it was often that Ichigo found himself threatening his class. Yeah, maybe they were all technically geniuses, with IQs that went off the charts, but that did not mean they still were not a pain in the ass. Turning to the two young students in question, they instantly quieted down and sat.
"Sorry!" both of them trumpeted obediently. Yeah, as obedient as they were five seconds ago...
My name is Ichigo Kurosaki. I'm 22 years old, live in an apartment in Karakura three blocks away from the high school that I spent 4 years of my life slaving away at. I go and work out at the gym once a night, go to karate class once in a while to have my weekly match with Tatsuki, and spent my nights at home or at my 'other job'.
Oh...and did I mention I teach second-year advanced English?
Please don't laugh. I know it's pathetic enough.
Zangetsu stopped giving him crap about it. Sure, he was a teacher, whatever the hell that meant. He spent most of his day-shifts at the school haggling students, breaking up fights, and trying to keep his sanity. During nights, he would usually sleep 4-5 hours, and then go to the Soul Society for training and reports.
Go to the Soul Society?
Urahara Kisuke had invented a way to construct a porthole from one realm to the other. All Ichigo had to do was go to the Shouten store, pay a yen, and he was off on his journey. Personally, he thought having to pay a yen was a pain, but Urahara thought it was hilarious. Besides, he always said something about 'I run a business. Pay up or get out'.
"...In Europe, during the years of the Black Death, theater was scarcely used form of entertainment because people were too afraid of catching the disease from each other. It wasn't till after the Black Death era that people started back into the subject of Fine Arts and fine literature. During this time, the church of England put a heavy ban on many plays because they were deemed unfit for viewing. Whililam Shakespere preformed many of his plays at the Globe Theatre, and was often at odds with the church..."
Sometimes he hated listening to himself drawl on, he could not blame the kids for nodding off. With his back turned, they thought he could not see them falling asleep during the lecture. Then again, they did not know that their teacher was actually one of the most powerful Shinigami alive, and a Vizard to top that.
"...the queen of England however took a particular interest in theatre arts and entertainment-"
SLAM!
There were shrieks from a few girls, and some other students jumped as he slammed the hard copy of Shakespere's plays on the blackboard. Doing something unexpected once in a while kept people attentive and awake. He was glad his back was turned so they could not see him sneering at the board as he continued with the class. After 20 or so minutes, the bell rang. Giving the next assignment, getting slightly pissed off at the multitude of groans, he flopped in a chair as they filed out of his classroom.
HIS classroom.
It was like some sort of dark comedy. He hated school, and he ended up working there. Something about Dante's levels of hell came into Ichigo's mind.
"Hard night, Kurosaki?"
His old teacher smiled at him. She was not that old, maybe her forties, and more spry then he was. Ochi-sensei still taught the same homeroom class, the same math lessons, everything. Ichigo smiled tiredly at her,
"You could say that." he nodded.
"You going home tonight?"
"Well, I think I might head to the gym, and then go to my Dad's place for a while." he said, "There's a leak in the roof, and he needs a little help repairing it. Karin and Yuzu have school, so that means I get to volunteer."
"Get to?" she chuckled.
He nodded, she had understood his joke. There were a lot of teachers in the school that needed to be a little more flexible in life. Ochi-sensei was not one of those teachers. Other than her, there were four or five other teachers that he got along with. All the rest of them would greet him, chat with him for a while, and that was it. Although, generally, the faculty appreciated him when it came to breaking up fights. Having a black belt and a Shinigami on staff, they did not know about the Shinigami part, was a good advantage for both parties.
Speaking of fights...
There were noises in the hallway, and a young girl ran to the door, "Sensei! There's a fight down on the second floor!"
Ichigo let out a sigh and stood up. They should really pay him extra for this stuff. Picking up his things, he hoisted the black bag over his shoulder along with his black, waist-length jacket and strolled down the hallway. His office was on the way there.
Ichigo wore the same kind of clothes as all the other male teachers: white button-down shirt, tie, black pants, jacket. It was not really a hard thing to do, and as long as it fit the way he wanted it to, he did not really mind. He had a habit of sticking to his old shoes instead of buying black dress shoes like most of the other men, because they hurt like hell after standing for 6 or more hours. Sometimes he wished he could wear his Shinigami shoes while teaching, they were the only shoes to this date that had never made his feet sore.
Stopping in his office, he dumped the bag in his chair, and slipped the jacket on the hook on the back of the door. Taking the keys out of his pocket, he locked the door. The Hallow sensor was still clipped on his keys, but these days the Soul Society had other patrols around Karakura. It was the center of Espada-Arancar activity and there were always guards around. Once in a while he wave at one as they checked over the school, but generally left him alone. If there were any serious problems, they would contact him.
Last year, a Menos Grande appeared in the town square. After reeking havoc on most of the square, and they had contacted him during a English final. Ichigo was starting to get the feeling that they did not like contacting him because then it meant that they were not skilled enough to complete the tasks themselves. It was a good thing the final was almost over, and as the last student left, he grabbed his things, and had promptly reported to the town square to save all their butts just in time.
Having two jobs was tricky.
Shoving the keys in his pocket, a chain clipped to his waist, he put his hands in his pockets and walked down the stairs. The school principle was already waiting there, the coach Yamada-sensei who was already trying to subdue the group, and a large burly man that he recognized as Haruno-sensei, who taught advanced chemistry.
"Kurosaki...we waited till you got here to do anything." the principle looked at him. Fortunately for him, the principle was one of his biggest supporters. Ichigo worked hard, demanded hard work, and pulled good results from his students. For that some teachers hated him, some liked him, and the overall administration left him alone.
Ichigo dragged a hand through his orange hair, "Pretty soon I might start demanding hazard pay for this, sir."
The principle laughed at that thought as Ichigo took his hands out of his pockets, and strolled through the crowd.
Stepping into the middle of the fight, he reached out an arm and grabbed the collar of one boy, slamming him to the ground, and planting his size ten foot on his back. It would not hurt him, but it was strong enough to hold him to the floor. Leaving the first one for Yamada-sensei, he grabbed the second offender and pulled him to the ground as well.
Everyone watched as Ichigo subdued every single one. The last one gave him a little trouble, however, if you could call it that. Deciding that he could try his chances by turning his aggression on the spiky-haired teacher, Ichigo raised his fists and blocked the first punch, leaning to the side as one almost hit him in the face.
"Damn it..." Ichigo grabbed one of the kid's arms, and promptly flipped him over his shoulder to the floor, leaning close to the kid's face, he smirked, "...next time, raise the guard on your left, and work out a little before you decide to take a crack at fighting me."
Standing, Ichigo yawned and headed back to his office. God, his life was boring.
When the bell rang, he left. Of course he had a car, but driving the short distance to school was nutty. Walking was good exercise, and he could get reports for other Shinigami in the area.
Walking past the river, he stopped.
That was the river that Inoue always liked to sit at.
He found his legs carrying himself to the river, and he stood still. It had rained a lot lately, so it was a little higher than normal. Setting down his things, he sat on the grass, and spread out his legs, leaning back on his arms. It was a warm, humid day. Summer break was quickly approaching, in which he would be returning to the Soul Society for while to get some backed-up work done, and to resume his training routine.
"You come here often?"
He shrugged, "When I'm thinking."
The tall, young man had surprised everyone by ending up much taller then he used to be. Toushirou Hitsugaya walked silently towards his comrade, and stood next to him.
"What are you doing here?"
"Work." he said. Running his hand through his white hair, he leaned slightly on one leg.
"How's everyone doing?"
"Everyone is alright. Zaraki still demands that you fight him."
"I don't fight crazies."
Hitsugaya smirked at that comment, "Rukia is still the stand-in vice-captain of Ukitake's group, Shunsui says he still owes you a drink, and Byakuya-san says that if you miss even one meeting during your summer break he's going to boot your ass back to the academy."
Ichigo chuckled, that sounded like him.
"What about Hinamori?" he asked.
Sometimes Ichigo knew better then to pry into people's lives, but he was curious. Every time her name was mentioned, the young captain would always drop a serious look in his eyes.
"She's well enough." he said, "She's doing well as the new captain."
Ichigo was not an idiot. Nor was anyone else that knew Hitsugaya. He was in love with Hinamori. But he never said anything. Hinamori was still fragile, and Hitsugaya figured that it would just hurt her even more then she had been. Ichigo could not help but feel sorry for then kid. Overall, he had a feeling that Hitsugaya's life was not any better then when he lived in the wilderness. He had just turned 100 last week, and spent his birthday in a trench during a battle with an army of Menos Grandes.
"When are you going to suck it up and just tell her?" Ichigo glared at him.
The young man was now glaring at the river, his fists tight at his sides.
"Because I care too much about her not too." Hitsugaya spoke as his cell rang, looking at the ID, he sighed, "The front on the western area of the Soul Society has been breached with another attack. Please excuse me."
"You're wasting your life away, Captain."
"Then I'll waste it." he said, "Take care, Kurosaki-sensei."
He was gone before Ichigo could open his mouth to respond.
Walking over the threshold of the porthole, his hands in his pockets, he headed towards headquarters. Before head reached the entrance of the complex, Renji Abrai whistled,
"Nice threads, commander."
Hitsugaya shrugged, personally he preferred human world clothes. His uniform got a little boring after a while, and variety was a good thing. The black turtleneck, long-sleeve shirt and the blue jeans seemed to suit him well.
"Is everything ready?" he asked.
"Byakuya-san is waiting for you. I was just about to meet up with the gang." he said, "How's Kurosaki doing?"
"Lethargic as ever."
"Sounds like him. Well, see ya later." he disappeared in the crowd.
Wandering back to his building, Rangiku stood outside the office door.
"What's the status?"
"Byakuya sent word." she said, "I told him that we'd be there as soon as possible."
The blond woman was probably one of his best friends. They seemed to have a lot of the same anxieties, which was what helped their relationship some. Hitsugaya would never actually contemplate trying to be more then friends with her, she was older then he was, and he really could not bring himself to think of her in any other way other than a friend. Plus, she would always be in love with a certain ex-Shinigami captain, and Hitsugaya would always be in love with-
He dashed the thought from his mind.
"We should leave." he said, "Round up the squad, report to Captain Kuchiki's location."
"Aye, sir."
She walked past him, then stopped, "Captain?"
"Yes, Matsumoto?"
Rangiku thought a moment, "Never mind."
He nodded his head slightly as she left.
I have no idea where this story it going, thus, I don't know when I'll update next. I'm starting to lay out the second chapter, but I'm not quite sure where to go with it yet. Depending on what people say with the first chapter will give me an idea what people think, so send a review please :D
Arigato
Lilith