Thanks so much for the reviews! This will [sadly] come to an end next chapter, so no longer will you have to be kept waiting for weeks for another chapter. Even though it's *technically* done. I just don't like the typing phase.

More OCs in this chapter, but this is it. Well, mostly. But stay with me, if you will.

Disclaimer: Do not own Bleach. Not even the cleaning kind.

Orphan

By Kouzumi93

Chapter 3: Monster

It's been a year since I documented about my daily life here in the orphanage. The routines have hardly changed, but the faces surrounding me have changed so much and so often that I've given up on trying to remember all of the names and faces to go with them. Mika and Neko-chan died a few months ago from a nasty illness that they had caught. Ri-san and Daisuke, who is a year older than her and is—was another 'original', had left one day to run an errand, and they never came back.

Only four orphans, including myself, have remained constant throughout the past year, but time hasn't particularly brought us any closer to one another. In fact, it's probably pushed us even further from each other's company, because as we're all getting older, we're trying to lessen the ties to everyone around us so we don't feel such a tremendous amount of pain when something happens to another. As a child, it's difficult to get by on your own, but the older you get, the more you realize that you really don't need people to be by your side all the time.

Today has, for the most part, started out just as any other day might have. Wake up, have a short breakfast with everyone and start on the morning's chores. The floors never really have to be cleaned as thoroughly as we make them, but Nakamura-san would notice if we slacked off at all, so I carry on as usual. After lunch, I find myself on outdoor cleaning duty, which is, in my opinion, the best set of chores that one can be required to do.

Especially around this time of year.

I step out into the afternoon sun and take a deep breath. We aren't allowed outside all too often, so the autumn air feels nice with its cool, light breeze brushing gently against my dirtied skin and yukata. I pick up the rake from its position behind the small building and begin to relocate the fallen, colourful leaves into one pile that I can manage with ease.

That's when I hear it.

Out of nowhere, a terrible roar that resonates throughout my entire being.

I look around in all directions, but I don't see it right away. Turning to the dirt road in front of the gate, I finally manage to see it. It's some sort of giant creature that stands taller than all of the surrounding buildings. From where I am, I can't see it completely, but it has what looks like scaly, tan flesh covering its body, sharp teeth and vicious looking claws. There is a large, gaping hole in its chest, but that seems to hinder it not.

It roars again, and I realize that something must be off. No one else has emerged from their homes to investigate the noise. There's not even anyone in the windows of any place I can see.

Why? I wonder as I toss the rake to the ground frantically and dash into the orphanage.

A few other orphans glance up from their work to see why I've come in during chore time.

"What is it, Matsumoto-san?" Eleven year old Minami stands up from where she had been cleaning the faces of the very young ones and walks over to me.

As if on cue, I hear another roar. "Don't you hear that?" I ask, incredulous.

"Hear what?"

"That loud roar. There's some monster-like thing yelling outside and down the street a bit, but I can still hear it in here." No change in her expression. "Come with me!" I exclaim. She continues to stand there, unmoving. "Come on! I'm not lying!" I run outside.

Finally, Minami gives in and, along with a few of the other children who overheard, follows me through the door. They stop behind me when I come to a halt and point right at the creature. I notice that their eyes dart all around the area I pointed at, but none of them show even the slightest bit of fear, confusion or shock.

Minami glares down at me. "Matsumoto-san, please stop fooling around. Some people have work to do." She and the others began to walk away.

"Wait! How can you tell me that you don't see that?!" I demand.

"How? That's easy. It's because there is nothing there." One of the others sneers.

"What is going on out here?" Some one asks.

I turn around to find Nakamura-san hovering over me like a bee to a flower.

"Matsumoto-san claims that there is some sort of monster out in the town somewhere, when it's plainly obvious that she's just vying for attention." Minami answers.

"I'm not vying for attention, you suck-up! There really is a monster there! Maybe it's just invisible to idiots like you!" I retort, rather angered that our caretaker is here. Now the situation is only likely to get worse.

"If it is invisible to idiots, then why can you see it?"

Nakamura-san glances at the area where the monster was, then turns back to me. "Matsu--!"

There's a loud crash in the town and we can see smoke rise from a destroyed building. I hear the monster roaring louder, almost as if it is in pain. I gasp.

Something is attacking the monster!

Of course, it just so happens that I managed to say that out loud. While I'm completely surrounded by people who are far less than enthusiastic about my so-called antics.

"Someone probably was fixing up their house and it collapsed on them." Nakamura-san said, more trying to reassure the other kids who were freaked out by now. "There's no such thing as monsters."

"But--!"

"I don't want to hear another word about it." With that, he begins to walk away.

"But it's there. I can see it." I mutter under my breath, thinking that he might not hear me.

He spins around. "Did you not hear me? I thought I just said that I did not want to hear another spoken word on this matter."

I gulp. "But...but I..."

"Matsumoto-san, I'm warning you. If you say another word, you will not be staying here for much longer."

I'm stunned. No one has ever really been kicked out unless they were eighteen. To kick me out over something as trivial as this would be absurd, but I can tell that he's serious. I clamp my mouth shut and fight back the tears of rage that threaten to fall.

There's another crash and I see something small clothed in black shoot out into the air from the cloud of dust that had formed. The monster yells out again and I see the sun glint off of something in the hands of the black-clad figure. Something that appears to be long and shiny.

It almost looks like the katana of a samurai, which I've seen once or twice.

The thing in black dives back into the dust cloud while bringing the sword down, and then there's a spurt of blood flying out of the cloud. The creature lets out one final howl as it dies. That cry echoes in my mind for a few minutes as I continue to stare onwards, awed at the bravery of that person. Surely an average person could never do something like that.

I must have ended up saying something out lout without realizing it again, for Nakamura-san is coming back at me. I instinctively tense up. I can't recall having said anything, but if I did, then he surely heard it, meaning the end of the line for me at this place.

"Did you say something, Matsumoto?" He asks, standing over me once again.

I slowly shake my head.

He cocks his head to one side. "Are you sure? Because I thought I heard you say something along the lines of 'That was amazing.' Didn't you?"

"I-I don't know. I might have." I respond in the worst way possible.

"You might have? You mean to imply that you 'absentmindedly' spoke of something that I just told you not to mention?"

What he asks sounds to me like a rhetorical question, so I stay quiet instead of answering. Another mistake that could—should have been avoided.

"So you have nothing to say, then? Che." He spits. "I'm sick of this defiant behaviour of yours, Matsumoto. I hope that you've enjoyed your time here, because it's probably the last bit of enjoyment you'll ever have!" I cower under his rage at first, but something in me suddenly snaps out of control.

"Why?"

"Hm?"

"Why is it such a problem that I'm talking about something that no one else can see? Who is it hurting? And what if one of the others could see those creatures over there? Would you kick them out as well?" I let out a dry laugh. "I'm sure you would like that though, wouldn't you?"

I don't look at the expression on his face. I'm afraid to. I know he's pissed off, and that worries me a bit. Before he can do anything, I make a run for it. As soon as I had made the decision to speak out, I knew I was gonna have to run. You couldn't talk back like that and get away with it. As I run, my rage grows stronger as the idiocy of the whole situation hits me like a ton of bricks.

I've been kicked out because I saw monsters that are invisible to everyone else, I say to myself. It's so absurd that I can't help but to find amusement in it. I start to laugh. I laugh loud and hard for what seemed like hours, but my sides soon hurt and I have to stop and rest.

After I've stopped, I look around to see where I am. I discern that I am no longer in that dingy old town. I don't recognise anything within my sight, and I don't see anything around that is able to give me a clue as to where I am. This place looks better from where I came from, but certainly not by much. The roads are still dirt, although the buildings don't look quite as rundown.

Well, at least it's better than being back at that place. I decide.

And there you have chapter three! It's a *hell* of a lot later than anticipated, but I'm in a typing mood, so I figured I'd get this out there before it got abandoned. I'll try to have chapter four posted as soon as possible, but I won't make any promises. School is getting crazy, so I haven't been looking forward to sitting in front of a computer screen typing lately.

Let me know what you think of this chapter. Those reviews really did help, because I nearly forgot about this story. I got a new notebook (again), so I haven't been seeing this everyday saying 'Hey, type me!'

Thanks for your time!