Circumstance: A Coincidental Fairytale

Disclaimer: Bleach isn't mine.

Word Count: About 1200 (Ugh…)

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Chapter 2: Grease, Singing Men in White

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Karakura truly was a magnificent sight.

It was the perfect seaside city, filled with towering structures, palaces fit for kings, and bridges fit for all Lloyd Wright wannabes. There were apartments, ponds, and smart stone cottages with fragrant gardens. It was the beachside town known for its bright sculptures and dark, dark roofs; roofs so dark, in fact, that they said if you were to fly above Karakura City and view it from above, it'd look like jagged coal against the emerald green grass and golden sands. That if you could become a bird, you would see the stars turn black on the ground below. And yet, on the day that Ishida surveyed the city from the very tallest star-shaped tower, he saw no green or gold.

The people were mourning. Mourning still.

They flooded the crowded streets, and threw their hands up in despair for their beloved princess, the guardian angel they swore to protect, had been captured. To so many, to everyone the princess had ever met, she had surpassed being an icon and had become the heir to the nation, a diplomat, and most of all, a friend.

And to Ishida, she was more.

His fists tightened, turning them milky white, as he mulled over what had happened, again and again. She was free. She was captured. She was free. She was captured. In. Out. Out. In.

And he had let it happen.

Ishida winced as he remembered that day, two weeks ago exactly. And Orihime had been chained, dragged along the ground like a captured beast. And he had always considered her the freest of birds, the kind of soul that could see the rooftops of Karakura even when locked in a cellar underground.

"You're being so stupid," said a voice from behind. "All you want to do is angst and be poetic. It wasn't your fault. There wasn't anything we could do, and we did all we could."

"Arisawa Tatsuki," Ishida acknowledged, and the boyish girl nodded. He gazed upon the town again, lost in thought.

She was impatient.

"Enlighten me with your brilliant thoughts," she snapped sarcastic. "Because you know, these great thoughts are probably much more important than Orihime."

"You can't stop those white storm clouds," Ishida sighed, "just as we couldn't stop the men in white."

Tatsuki rolled her eyes. "I thought that storm clouds were grey."

"Whatever!" Ishida replied, momentarily flustered. "All that matters is Orihime is gone." He croaked. "Gone forever! And this town's spirit… it's all gone."

"Get a grip, man," Tatsuki said. "When you're like this, you can't stop those people's cries. You can't assuage their grief."

"It isn't their grief I cry for," Ishida replied. "My sadness is my own." He looked past the town and into the sea. "But I can heal the town," he admitted. "You're right, Arisawa. I'm going to save her."

"Like I haven't told you to do that for the last two weeks," Tatsuki muttered dryly. "You said it was foolish. Said that you can't save her."

Shaking his head, Ishida said defiantly, "I have to try."

----

"Oh, they'll try," Aizen said as he swept back his grease-infected hair, letting an auburn strand fall perfectly into place between his eyes, "but they can't save her. They'll fail."

Still pacing the room, Ulquiorra protested flatly, "But, sir, they were highly adept at keeping their princess safe in the first place. Grimmjow and Noitora were injured, and Yami, badly so."

"They were good," Aizen admitted, "but not as good as us." He patted his well-toned chest. "That's why we didn't just invade their country in the first place."

"But, sir…"

Aizen sighed, momentarily stopping his physical inspection of his himself. He almost stood up. Almost. "Look, Ulquiorra, while I understand your concerns, I don't appreciate your lack of faith in me."

Ulquiorra bowed immediately.

"I apologize, sir."

Aizen waved him off. His too-skinny, green-eyed subordinate with black hair almost as greasy as his own, was beginning to annoy him, if only ever-so-slightly. Waving his hand again, Aizen gestured to the window.

"Tell me, Ulquiorra, what do you see?"

Cautiously, as if afraid, he'd be tossed out, the young man stepped toward the window and saw the brilliant sea.

"I see the ocean," he said, utterly uninterested.

"Correct," Aizen sighed. "But when Karakura's king signs the treaty, which I'm certain he will, it will be my ocean. Aizen's ocean. Aizen's world. Has a ring to it, doesn't it?"

Ulquiorra didn't miss a beat. "I don't disagree."

Aizen nodded. "Of course not."

"So the girl is the key?" Ulquiorra asked.

"Yes," Aizen replied. "I want a peaceful transition. Karakura's people will fight to the death, but without the princess…" His voice trailed off to great effect. "Well, they're wrapped around my finger."

"But they'll try to rescue her," Ulquiorra pointed out.

"But they'll fail," Aizen replied. "Our forces will stop theirs as they have before." He smiled. "But in the meantime, I have a task for you."

"What is it, sir?"

----

Rukia raced through the damn maze, lousy excuse for a building, panting heavily. She was so unbelievably late, so annoying late, for her meeting with Lord Aizen and this was her first mission! Her brother would be most displeased. Not like he wasn't always that. But he'd be more displeased than usual.

"Right, left, right, left," she repeated. "Damn, had that guy left his directions purposely vague?"

Actually, that guy had. Earlier, she received instructions from a spooky man with an evil grin plastered over his face like old paint. Their meeting had been unnaturally uncomfortable and his advice unhelpfully snide.

"Left, right, left, right," he said cheerfully. "If you keep turning, you're bound to end up somewhere."

Rukia groaned. "I'd run in a circle," she said, clearly annoyed. "Don't you have map?"

His grin widened.

"You can read maps?"

"Well," she snarled, "as long as they aren't blank…"

Lost in her thoughts, Rukia slammed into a wall. Only, she noticed dimly, it was not a wall but a door, and she flopped straight onto the ground. Before her were two men, one with black hair, one with red hair, and both remarkably greasy. Black-hair didn't even turn in her direction.

"Watch Inoue Orihime, Lord Aizen?" he questioned, and his unhappy face looked even more unhappy than usual.

"Yes," Aizen replied. "That would be much appreciated."

Ulquiorra nodded and walked out. Rukia scrambled to her feet.

"Lord Aizen," she gasped. "I apologize for my rude intrusion; I can assure you no insult-"

"Was taken," Aizen interrupted, almost kindly. Smiling, he threw a scroll at her feet. She examined it.

"A map," Aizen said. "One of my castle. Please enjoy your stay, and leave my sight."

Rukia stared at him. She was supposed to speak with him! She was…

Yes, her brother would be most displeased.

"But sir-"

"Leave."

Rukia immediately left, walking into the hall and staring miserably at the paper in her hand. She opened it.

The sheet was blank.

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AN: I'll be the first to admit this chapter sucked. But at least its alive, and there's IchiRuki interaction next chapter. Sorry Ishida was such as wuss. He'll be more manly… eventually. And yes… that is really is Aizen's plan. What? I really needed a plot.

(Yes, IT'S ALIVE!!11!)