L'indigo a Embrassé La Princesse

(The Indigo Kissed Princess)

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CHAPTER ONE- Première Rencontre: Princesse Touchée par Indigo

(FIRST ENCOUNTER: INDIGO TOUCHED PRINCESS)

Solitary.

That is the word that describes Orihime Inoue's current state. Ever since she had arrived, if you could call it that, to Las Noches that has been her only state. Orihime was not stupid, careless and scatter-brained at times, but she was an intelligent being. Most people made an assumption that her mind was filled with as much air as her breasts were in size. In addition, being an outcast and ridiculed since she was a young girl because of her hair color did not help her social image. She knew it was futile to have hope. As she lay on the floor, her fingertips dancing along the cold marble in patterns of different size circles, she goes through her stay here in her mind. Calculating. Counting. One could lose their sanity, stuck in a painfully bright white room with no way to tell how many days it has been. One minute could seem as long as an hour, a day could seem as long as a lifetime, only God knows how long Orihime was in that room, and he wasn't telling. She counted every moment until Ulquiorra had come and continued as soon as he left. She counted the seconds to the minutes, the minutes to the hours, and the hours to the days. Every moment was constantly counted. Numbers became her new language. She had an estimate that she was fed every five to six hours. She stood brushing her hakama and arms off. Quietly she spoke to herself; her voice seemed foreign, for after hours of not speaking she forgot how her voice sounded.

"Two minutes I assume." Her hair, which had grown quite long, swayed as she walked to her small chair beside her coffee table. She sat and counted, tapping her fingernails on the white marble. 'Five, four, three, two, one' As the door swung open Orihime gave herself a mental pat on the back and a small smile graced her lips.

"Woman" Ulquiorra's cold monotone voice called out "Tonight you will not dine--" His emerald eyes slithered, scanning her now puzzled face. The 'O' shape of her mouth showing she was about to interject. As her mouth slowly closed, he continued. "Tonight you will not dine here. Aizen-sama has requested that you have a meal with him." Orihime's face twisted, her forehead creased and her mouth slowly turned downward. A look of confusion. "Have you something to say." This wasn't a question, no, anyone could see that he was stating the obvious. Pale gray eyes averted to the right looking at nothing in particular.

"No… Nothing at all Shiffer-san. Just when are we leaving?" Orihime quietly stood, her own womanlike grace complimenting such a simple move. As she walked towards Ulquiorra, her head bowed in respect. She knew exactly when they were leaving. It was now.

"Now. Follow me, I am not going to be the one who is to blame if we are late." His feet made a slight clacking sound as he walked through the open door, making no indication that he was going to stop. Orihime soon fell into step behind him. As expected Orihime had many ideas and questions as to why the lord of Las Noches had decided that out of all the days, nights, she had been here he chose this night to dine with her. 'What is it exactly that I did to peak his interest?' Her contemplating was soon cut short as she almost bumped into the Vasto Lorde in front of her. They had stopped in front of a massive door. 'Well, time to find out…' Ulquiorra opened the door and stepped aside, silently commanding her to go on. Picking up her feet she slowly treaded ahead. Trying to keep her body from falling over at her newfound qualms, she walked towards the table ahead. She would have laughed at the sick twisted psychological humor if she weren't so modest. The table ahead of her had four chairs, a clear sign that she had a choice of where she wanted to sit, but in actuality, she had no choice whatsoever. The lord himself however had found himself content in one of them. She decided as a game of her own to sit on the side right next to the lord. She bowed with all her womanly grace and gave a quiet "Aizen-dono" then seated herself.

A small smile graced her lips.

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Aizen Sousuke was man of mystery, and so was this girl before him. She chose the seat closest to him when she could have sat at the seat farthest from his own. 'What a mystery indeed.' A smirk was clearly evident on his face as he scanned the human before him. She had a certain natural beauty about her, and he did not mean the natural size of her breasts. Her eyes were an stunning grey color, and her hair was an eye-catching strawberry orange with a shine that caught in the moonlight. He had no real reason to call her for dinner this night, he was simply…how to put this, bored. This girl had always seemed afraid of him, and it was not surprising with his strength, yet now she seemed to have a newfound strength of her own. It definitely piqued something in him. His crimson tinted brown eyes lifted from the teacup in his hand to the girl's face right next to him.

"I am truly glad you have joined me for dinner, I honestly want to get to know you better…seeing as how you are my guest." Aizen set his teacup down on the saucer in front of him, getting a better look at Orihime. He of course didn't care in the least bit if she wanted to be here or not. He however did want to get to know her better, and Aizen Sousuke got what he want.

Orihime gradually got her senses back. She had trapped herself in her own little dimension of thought as her eyes scanned the shinigami's mahogany hair and his crimson-brown eyes. She wondered if he really needed the glasses he used in soul society. One more thought irked her continuously 'That strand of hair just has to be annoying, I mean how can he not stare at it?! It's always right smack in the middle of his eyes! Wait… what did he just say?' Grey eyes blinked twice before they looked into the deep eyes of the man before them.

"I-I appreciate that you t-take a liking to me. Thank you f-for have- for having me for dinner." Orihime glanced back to the teacup in front of her and saw a unfamiliar image staring back. How long had it been since she had seen her own reflection. Her eyes had died, never to hold that once youthful life they had again. The once child-like round face she had has shaped into a more womanly figure. Her cheekbones had started to protrude out of her face giving her an older appearance, much to her dislike the once dimples she loved had disappeared for she had not smiled for what could have been ages. 'Sora always used to pinch my cheeks and say 'My pretty little sister…any man would be lucky to have you' then he would pat my hair giving me that smile…the one I'll never see again…the one that has haunted my dreams for six years.' Orihime bit her lip and emptily watched the warm tea before her slosh around in the cup as she ever so slightly shook it. The man before her tilted his head slightly.

"Is something troubling you, my dear? Is this not to your liking?" Frankly, anyone could tell by the lazy drawl of his words and the tone he spoke that he didn't give a damn about what was the matter with her. He was just annoyed that she wasn't paying any attention and was lost in her own world.

"Huh? Oh, n-nothing is the matter Aizen-dono…I just…just thought of something inconsequential… forgive me." Orihime had lifted her head to look at the now semi-interested man. His smile turned into a scrunched up frown and his perfectly symmetrical eyebrows creased a look of concentration as if he was trying to figure out what she was thinking.

The lord opened his plump lips and spoke, his perfect white teeth making an appearance now and then. "It is not 'nothing' if it is troubling you, my dear. There is no need to lie" He set his hand on top of her own, his lanky fingers covering hers fully. "Tell me what is wrong, will you?"

Orihime noticed that his hand was strangely warm, unlike her own, ever since she had arrived to Las Noches, she had been oddly cold. She had become used to it of course, but it was still strange to feel such warmth from the man in front of her. His hands, amazingly ,didn't feel calloused at all much to her surprise, seeing as how a taichou of the gotei thirteen has to use their hands everyday. Unless this man lotions his hands every moment, it would appear he rarely ever did any hard labor.

"I…I was just thinking of my older brother Sora… Like I said, it wasn't anything im-important." Bringing herself to look away from the handsome man before her, Orihime sub-consciously wrapped her free arm around herself as she stared back into the teacup in front of her. Finding a new interest in the substance.

"Do you miss him, Inoue-san?" Sousuke gave her hand a soft comforting squeeze. His tone could have been mistaken for actual consideration, yet the way this man was, everything he said were false lies and every expression were fake smiles. A mask that has cunningly hidden the true nature of the man it hides, though, for that moment it didn't.

"I…I do." Orihime's voice hid a sob deep inside her throat.

"He must be looking for you, isn't he?" His deep voice had a hint of concern, something unfamiliar to himself and anyone else that knows him personally which is a number that is limited to two people. The girl before him shook slightly her head softly bobbing up and down. As her shoulders began to shake, her resolve began to crumble.

"N-no. He isn't… " Sousuke began to tenderly stroke her hand and then he spoke in a tone so soft it surprised himself more than the girl before him.

"Inoue-san I am sure your brother is looking for you… what kind of brother wouldn't look for a beautiful sister like you?" Sousuke began to see the girl before him lift her head and look him straight in the eye. The words that came out of her mouth, the way she cringed when she said them, seemed as if they cut her lips as they left.

"A dead one." Orihime's eyes were brimmed with tears as she looked to the lords eyes. Her purple hued grey orbs screamed regret, self hatred, and sorrow. "My brother, my Sora is dead… and it's my fault." She tightened her grip on around her waist and suddenly found herself feeling sick to the pit of her stomach. As the lord of Las Noches looked pitifully at the girl before him, he felt an odd sense of…what was it guilt? No, what should he feel guilty for? Sadness? No, Sousuke Aizen felt no such pathetic human emotion. Apprehensive? Yes, that was it. He felt concerned for the human before him. How could such a small girl that he doesn't even know bother him in this way?

"My dear Inoue-san, forgive me. If I had known I wouldn't have pried, Im sorry to hear that your brother is dead. Have you no other family?" The Las Noches lord took his hand away from the girl and set it on top of her thin shoulder giving it a soft squeeze. The orange haired girl regained her composure as she took a long intake of breath. The slow outtake came out in quivers. She never would have thought about telling a complete stranger of her life yet somehow now she found herself blurting her whole life story to a man that probably won't even give a damn.

"My- my mother and my father… they didn't care about me or my brother! My- My father he was an alcoholic… my mother was never around and when she was, she beat us. Sora took me away when he turned eighteen…I was only three. We lived together for six year. The last time I had ever saw him alive he gave me my hair pins and--and the next day…he was hurt in a car accident. Later on he-he died in the Kurosaki Clinic. So, I live on my own…some family members help me with money issues. It's been six years… My big brother…my Sora, I saw him again, he was a hollow… Ichigo refused to purify him…Sora, being the great- the great brother he was he-he purified himself." Tears began to flow, the salty water broke through Orihime's willpower to keep them back. "I never stop dr-dreaming about him!" Orihime covered her face her hands clawing at her hair, her knuckles began to whiten a shade lighter than her already pale skin. The ex-shinigami captain abruptly stood and scared the girl before him as his chair screeched on the cold blue marble-tiles. He swiftly walked along the edge of the table and kneeled before her, looking into her frantic eyes.

"My dear Orihime," His deep godly voice startled the girl as he spoke with no other tone than care. "Forgive me, for I should have not have said something to make you speak of such a sensitive subject. It was highly rude of me, I meant not to make you cry." Tenderly, the lord removed the small hand clawing at her hair and placed a hand on the petal soft cheek of the girl before him. The hand that was removed reached up and covered the large hand of the shinigami, and fondly pressed down, enjoying the warmth his hand emitted. White porcelain skin had become coated with tears and a small line of spittle had fallen from Orihime's quivering lips and dried on her chin. The lord before her gathered the light maroon color napkin from her empty plate and quite delicately wiped the face of the princess.

"There, there, how do you feel? Are you ready to continue with dinner?" He felt a slight nod on his hand. The girl slowly, which the lord deduced was reluctance, let go of his hand and straightened herself. Aizen stood back up and delicately fell back into his chair making no sound but the scrape of cloth against stone.

"Now, I do hope you are hungry." He ended his statement with a smirk and gave a wink, a gesture that Orihime didn't know whether to fear or to feel comforted by.

"O-of course. It's been six hours…I-I uh mean that's what I've been counting…I-- I mean uh…" Orihime began to stutter and then slightly covered her newly flushed cheeks.

"Now, you make me feel like a horrible host. You mean to tell me that all the time in your room all you do is just count the days away?" The lord of Las Noches looked… honestly shocked, then again Sousuke Aizen was not an honest man.

"U-uh, sort….sort of," Her voice had suddenly dropped a few octaves. "But! Uh… I do other things… L-Like umm singing!" Orihime shot her hand up in a pointing motion then quickly snaked it back, surprised at her somewhat rude outburst in front of the man before her. The lord raised an eyebrow at her.

"Singing? My, I honestly never would have guess that." He smiled at her and took a sip of his tea before continuing. "I would love to hear you, if you would ever let me that is." Crimson tinted brown eyes slid over to the face of the girl. "I would be more than delighted." Orihime could do nothing but blush and give a slight nod. "Well, lets eat shall we?" Aizen gave a snap. Orihime narrowed her eyes slightly. What is that going to do? Is food magically waltz through the door?! As soon as the echo in the room had ended, four servants with trays on trolleys came…waltzing through. Orihime recognized one of the servants as her own, she was a small girl who's hollow mask was similar to that of Grimmjow's yet covered her whole lower face like Harribel's. It extended to her collarbone where it spiked out. The servants stopped their trolleys before the table. Well, didn't expect that… One by one, the hollows uncovered their trays and set them on the table. Aizen gave them a final nod and the left just as quickly as they came. Orihime was speechless as she looked before the newly covered table. She recognized a few of her favorite dishes such as Tsuke mono, Yakitori, and Takoyaki. In front of the lord she noticed was a medium size tofu miso soup and a bowl of Yakisoba.

"Wow." Was the only word that she could muster. The lord gave a hearty chuckle and nodded.

"Yes, well, I like many things and food is one of them" His sentence was finished with him taking a long sip of his tea. The girl began to pile mountainous and various items of food onto her plate and took a bite of what she believed to be udon noodles and boiled egg. She gave a satisfied moan, for it had been God knows how long she had been eating stale bread and bland potato soup as her regular meal. "I see you are enjoying your meal." Orihime turned a beautiful scarlet and meekly nodded. Aizen had a slight twinkle in is eyes and continued sipping his tea.

"It-it's delicious! Very, very delicious indeed." The princess gave a brilliant smile to the man before her. It honestly shocked the lord of Las Noches, for she had never smiled, at him at least. He set his teacup down and chuckled heartily.

"My dear, you do please me. The fact that you are smiling at me for the first time, means I did one thing right." The lord took a spoonful from his soup and quietly ate it smiling contently. It had to have been at least two hours before they both had finished their meals. Orihime was patting her stomach and smiling to herself, while Aizen was sitting back and sipping his somewhat never empty cup of tea. As the lord set his cup on the saucer, he swiftly stood and held out a hand to the girl sitting beside him. He spoke with a gentlemanly tone and nodded his head slightly. "As a true gentleman I wish to walk you to your room." Orihime looked to his hand and then in his eyes, she saw nothing to be afraid of and took his hand while she stood up.

"H-Hai, Aizen-dono." The lord guided her out the door and down the hall. Orihime noticed something was off, she could have sworn that Ulquiorra had brought her from the opposite direction. Where are we going? The lord could feel her confusion and smirked to himself. After a few twists and turns, they had reached a door with very intricate designs on the pure white doorway. This wasn't her door. This wasn't her hallway. What was Aizen doing?

"Welcome to your new room." He opened the door and tugged her along gently. The room itself was entirely beautiful. The paint job was a stark white, as was everything else in Hueco Mundo, but the furnishing was any and every tint of blue. The massive couch along the far wall was a light cyan with white pillows. "I hope it is to your liking." Orihime was stunned, this room was spectacular in many ways. And it was hers? It was hers! She was ecstatic, she had a completely new room. She even had a balcony! Orihime was so happy she ran to the large windowed doors and opened them. She almost fell over in her excitement. She found beauty in the white barren deathly empty desert before her. The bright moon shone down on the sand and illuminated Hueco Mundo. The princess leaned on the railing and breathed in, even if the air was dense and cold she found it to be light and perfect. Orihime heard the short clacks of Aizen's boots as he walked towards her. "I see you like the view." His voice was laced with amusement. Orihime nodded while the lord also leaned on the railing next to her. His arms quite uncharacteristically hanging over its edge. "I even find myself lost in thought for hours when I look out into the dessert landscape." He smiled contently as Orihime turned to look to the lord.

"I-I want to thank you…so- uh so…" She had no idea how it happened, why it happened, or how in the world she let it happen, but in that next moment she had found herself wrapping her arms around the waist of the lord. She would have pulled away if the lord hadn't wrapped his own arms around her and interlocked his hands behind her. "Thank you." She let go of the lord yet he didn't let go of her, he slid his hands down and set them on her waist. Orihime gazed up at the man before her, a questioning look on her face.

"I am overjoyed and you are most welcome." He leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. "Good night." With that, the lord let go of the now crimson girl and left. Orihime was paralyzed; the world had stopped for that one moment. She still felt the warmth on her lips. Her first kiss. Her FIRST kiss. It was taken by the man she would have never suspected in her life. A traitor. A liar. A MURDERER had taken her first kiss. Though despite all that, as she walked to her new white and azure queen size bed, took off her boots and crawled under the covers.

Some part deep down inside of her…wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

For once in her life Orihime didn't have a nightmare about her brother again, no, she dreamt of a king with mahogany hair, crimson-tinted eyes, and a devious smile.

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AN: Well, I have had this idea for quite a while yet I never typed it up until now :\ heh, heh my fault for being so lazy I guess. I have an idea where this story will go yet im not fully sure on how its going to get there… -scratches neck- heh heh. I may just leave it at this but im not sure. Anyway, I was happy to write this, Im in love with Aizen and Orihime is my second favorite female character (next to Harribel). Its one of my MANY favorite bleach pairings umm my third favorite (?) I think… lessee um AiGin, UlquHarri, GinRan, oh, its my fourth actually :D Heh heh, anyway if you read this I apreciate it very much, Thank you -sets platter of various cookies cupcakes and brownies out- Take a few if you please :D

Review if you want. :]

Arigatou 3