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Different Circumstances	By : orionshadow Category: Bleach > Het - Male/Female > Kenpachi/Rangiku Views: 42085 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Tite Kubo owns Bleach and the characters depicted therein. The characters in this story are not mine, except for the original characters. I make no money from the publication of this work.

The News

A battlefield is not a wonderful place for disclosures of abuse and trying to comfort the person who has been abused in such a situation would challenge most people's ingenuity. It certainly challenged mine. If a person is suffering trauma the clash of weapons, exchange of insults, smell of blood and general noise is hard to ignore.

I was torn. Having experienced abuse by Aizen it seemed I should be able to help, to understand all that Orihime was feeling and assist her try to cope with the raw hurt she was obviously feeling, but we were on a battlefield.

To emphasise the point, Grimmjow appeared behind Ichigo and nearly caught him off guard, "Too scared to fight Shinigami? Came to get protection from a girl? She can only heal, otherwise she's useless. Don't know what Aizen or Ulquiorra see in her. Are you going to hold hands with her or fight me?"

Ichigo turned to him, his cheeks ablaze with rage and ignored his question. "You are part of this!"

Grimmjow frowned for a second then shook his head. "Yeah, sure, I am part of this fight. The question is, are you? I'll kill you where you stand if you don't fight."

Ichigo looked at Orihime and then at Grimmjow, apparently weighing his optins. "Only a coward would make that threat. Ishida, protect Orihime while I beat this guy," Ichigo said and looked at Orihime closely before he left. "I'll kill Aizen for you. I promise," he said gently and then turned and moved away from us, trying to find a clear space to fight.

After Ichigo left Nemu and Ishida stared at Orihime and Ulquiorra. "You will come with me," Nemu said. "I can help. If you stay here, you cannot move on from what happened. Every day you will be reminded and it will eat away at you while you make more and more compromises to cope with how you feel."

Yachiru chimed in. "If you want, you can bring No Fun, but Ken-chan might not like it. Look, No Fun, let Orihime go."

"I cannot willingly surrender a hostage," Ulquiorra replied curtly. "Nor do I have any inclination to join your group of Shinigami."

"Then we return to my original offer," Nemu said, drawing her blade and standing straight, her long hair still in its braid flowed down her back, emphasising her poise. "Fight me. The winner protects Orihime."

"No," said Ishida strongly and squared his shoulders. "Ichigo said I was to protect Orihime."

Nemu looked at him briefly, one side of her mouth lifting slightly. "I do not take orders from a substitute Shinigami. I am a lieutenant of the Seireitei and from now on I am not prepared to listen with much favour to a man instructing me on what to do or how to behave."

"If you lose, I will fight him?" Ishida sounded less certain.

"I have said it before. Find your own battle to fight. This one is mine," Nemu said, her eyes fixed on Ulquiorra.

"This one doesn't want anyone fighting over her," Orihime said quietly. "Fighting achieves nothing."

Yachiru gasped at the words. "Orihime! Stop being silly. People fight for freedom, to stop oppressors and if it is Ken-chan, they may fight for fun. It isn't just about you, anyway," she continued. "You don't know the full story."

"Fighting leads to injury or death," Orihime replied. "Any liberties are quickly lost."

Ulquiorra interrupted, "Be quiet, woman. I didn't say you could speak. Stand there silently while we decide your fate."

Swiftly Ulquiorra and Nemu clashed blades as Orihime backed away, her head bent down and her shoulders slumped. Nemu, instead of withholding and fighting carefully was advancing her attack as quickly as she could, almost like she believed her time was limited or there was some other force motivating her attack.

Tearing my eyes from this fight I quickly scanned the other battles, wondering what I should do. Yammy had grown larger and still kept making futile attacks against Captain Kuchiki and Zaraki. They were laughing as they evaded his fists and continued making barbed personal observations about him, at least that is what I assumed. I could see their mouths moving and the hard smiles fixed firmly in place but the noise of the battlefield blocked out any words. Yammy appeared to become increasingly enraged as they spoke. Ichigo and Grimmjow were now fighting in a large cleared space as they seemed to believe running, while trying to hit each other, was the best tactic. At least it kept them busy and out of trouble for the moment and they seemed to be trying to impress each other with their abilities rather than really fighting. Ishida seemed to be battling a female and I noticed Chad was still chatting to Stark. Both were now sitting down at the edge of the battlefield, watching and making observations to each other. It seemed odd that Chad was happily talking to an Arrancar but in the midst of such major conflict it was striking to see an area of quiet. I almost wandered over to join in the conversation when I felt Yachiru catch my hand.

"No. Stay here. Arai and I are here to protect you and we can protect Orihime too. Do you think we should get closer to her and try to talk to her?"

We could get past Nemu and Ulquiorra and they both seemed absorbed in their fight, but was it a good idea? Orihime as she was now seemed to be a problem. She almost clung to Ulquiorra and had lost whatever self assurance and confidence she once possessed. Being in a foreign and threatening environment and experiencing cruelty and assault had affected her. I wondered if she had been assured many times we had deserted and forgotten her, making her feel abandoned and friendless with no chance of escape.

Until now I had been certain her love for Ichigo would have sustained her, but the revelation of the events which had occurred may have affected her in ways I didn't understand. Walking quietly and slowly I approached Orihime, with Yachiru holding my hand and Arai walking behind, his eyes fixed on the people closest to us, ready to protect us from any threat.

Clearing my throat, I tried to think of what I could say to Orihime. While I was thinking, Yachiru let go of my hand and ran up to Orihime and hugged her. She got as close as she could and just hugged Orihime as if she was trying to assure her someone cared, someone was on her side.

The object of her attention tensed and tried to pull away, but Yachiru kept hold of her, not letting her move outside her embrace. Orihime struggled slightly, her eyes opened wide with shock and a look of terror and incomprehension on her face. Her eyes filled with tears and they began to course down her cheeks as Yachiru continued to hug her.

'What is Yachiru doing?' I wondered. 'Is she talking to her or something? Whispering words of reassurance?'

I moved closer and could hear no sound of whispering or talking, only a simple comforting, crooning noise, the sort you make to frightened children who need the comfort of sound but not the disturbance of words.

"Help me hug her, Matsomummy. She needs to be shown that she can be hugged without problems. Not all touch is bad," Yachiru hissed at me.

A glimmer of understanding passed over my mind. "Stay and watch, Arai. I don't think you should join in the hugging," I said quietly and walked over to the two girls. I stood on the other side of Orihime and placed my arms around her gently. I didn't say anything, but leant my head against hers, feeling her quiver under the touch. Her shoulders began to shake as Orihime started to sob, deep, heart wrenching utterances of her grief. We held her gently as she cried, Yachiru, still crooning quietly in the background.

"What are you doing with my hostage. Let her go!" Oblivious to the fight, we hadn't noticed Ulquiorra breaking away from Nemu and running past Arai.

"What does it look like they're doing? I thought you wanted to fight me," Nemu said angrily appearing at his side.

"I don't know what they're doing," Ulquiorra said. "That was why I asked."

"We're hugging Orihime," Yachiru told him pertly. "Do you want a hug? We're busy at the moment, but if you feel like you're missing out, I'm sure either Nemu or Arai will be able to help you."

I had to press my lips together to prevent the laugh those words conjured. Offering to hug Ulquiorra? I wouldn't be prepared to hug him but I was certain Yachiru would because she might sense he wouldn't like it.

"No. I do not hug people I am fighting," Nemu spoke loudly. "It would be wrong."

"If you really want a hug, I suppose I could give you one as my lieutenant had given me the instruction," Arai said and reluctantly stretched out his arms toward Ulquiorra. The expression on his face was a mixture of repugnance and determination with a suspicious indication of a sly hint of humour.

Ulquiorra backed away very fast from the proffered embrace. "I do not need or want any physical contact with any human or Shinigami."

"Then fight me, Arrancar. We are wasting time and they seem to be hugging rather than abducting," Nemu said with a glimmer of a smile on her face.

Neither of us had moved away from Orihime and she had stopped sobbing from shock when she'd heard Ulquiorra's voice but now she began again, but quieter.

Instead of crooning, Yachiru spoke quietly. "You are not to blame. What happened is not because of any of your actions. People told lies and threatened the people who mean the most to you so you did what they told you."

I thought I heard Orihime say something, but it was only the merest whisper.

"I didn't hear you. What did you say?" Yachiru said with concern and care present in her voice.

Orihime spoke again, still very quietly and I had to listen very hard to catch her words. "I am sick of being a victim."

I patted her shoulder as I wondered. Normally a person with her recent experiences might be in a storm of guilt and recrimination, blaming herself for everything which had happened. A small or large belief usually existed in many the bad experiences were due to some sin or crime they had committed and the experience was a punishment. Despite the truth that most people had done little evil in their lives to warrant the 'punishment', it was almost as if they needed an explanation, one which focused on the self to explain why it was happening to them. Believing the person inflicting the mental or physical pain was evil or cruel was not enough, they had to create a reason why they were the victim. Possibly it was their way of framing the world in a way they could understand rather than having to face unpleasant truths about the world and people who lived in it.

Shaking my head to clear it of these confusing and tangential thoughts, I said, "You can choose not to be a victim," as quietly as I could.

"It isn't a matter of choice," Orihime said, a small amount of bitterness in her voice. "I am or have been a victim and it makes me feel weak and sick to my stomach."

Her words recalled how I'd felt after Aizen's rape. Sick to my stomach, revolted by my body and weakness in not being able to repel the attack. Even though I knew it had not been my fault, that small whisper at the back of my mind reminded me of the guilt and shame I'd experienced and the dread of being considered a victim. Having others see me as weak made any good feeling drain away and only a sense of disgust was left. The experience had robbed me of much of my innocence and it seemed Orihime had similar feelings.

"Ken-chan will kill Aizen, or Ichi might. Hey, there's Rukia's ex. He doesn't look happy, does he?" Yachiru said pointing to the left.

"I'm not sure Renji would like being called Rukia's ex," I murmured quietly but then noticed a slight change in Orihime.

"Rukia's ex? Ex what?"

A simple comment had drawn her attention away from herself to something else. It was interest in gossip which didn't seem like Orihime but she had been away from us for a long time and couldn't know all the unusual romances which had blossomed in her absence or other events which had occupied our time.

"Yachiru means Renji. Captain Kuchiki had agreed, due to a mistake on my part, to let Renji marry Rukia," I explained.

Orihime pushed me away slightly so she could look at me and looked over to where Renji stood. He was watching the fight between the unfamiliar female Arrancar and the male with the large hat. His look of concentration followed all the moves made by the female and at one time it seemed he was going to unsheathe his zanpakuto and join in the fight but he restrained himself, biting his lip. Quickly glancing around he appeared to notice the antics of Grimmjow and Ichigo, the baiting of Yammy and Nemu fighting against Ulquiorra. He frowned slightly when he saw that but the his attention was drawn by the appearance of a new Arrancar with pink hair. The whole area was teeming with people and more seemed to arrive as time passed. At least no Gillian had been attracted which meant there was still some room.

"Why is he Rukia's ex? I thought they were really close and good friends. They grew up together!" Orihime seemed bewildered. "Rukia seemed to really like Renji once the whole problem about her execution was cleared up."

"She likes him but she likes someone more," Yachiru said with a teasing smile on her face. "Renji almost turned the same colour as him hair when he found out she was seeing someone else and who it was."

"Who was it? I can't think of anyone who Rukia might like, unless it was..." she hesitated and turned pale. "Was it Ichigo?" she asked in a very quiet voice.

"No," I said immediately. She was talking, distracted from her own problems for the moment, as the noise swirled around us a few brief words and shouts heard for a second and then being immersed back into the sea of sound. While I said she spoke quietly, it was still louder than she normally spoke in order to be heard against the background, but often the words seemed to be forced from her, not uttered without some amount of effort. "It wasn't Ichigo. He's been worried about you," I finished lamely.

I thought he'd been worried about her but now he seemed more interested in fighting and showing off. Or was it he didn't want to show his feelings? How could I know? Even though he posed as being mature he was still a teenager and experiencing all the uncomfortable emotions that that state brought to the front. He'd perfected the brooding anger and discontent beloved of so many teenagers, but his finer feelings were more often hidden as he feared displaying anything that might be seen as kindness, at least in a large group.

Did her interest and her earlier reaction to the criticism of Ichigo mean she still felt the same way as she had confessed to me, which seemed so long ago? At the same time her defence of Ulquiorra didn't seem completely forced either.

"I worried about him," Orihime said, her eyes darting in his direction, then a quick look at Ulquiorra before she fixed her eyes on the ground once more. "He can be so brave and rush into danger not thinking of himself. I was scared he'd come here, alone, and try to free me. I'm so pleased he didn't."

Before I could warn her, Yachiru said, "He tried, but Renji and Rukia wouldn't let him and then Yamamoto sent some more of us. We can't let Ichigo, Renji and Rukia have all the fun, can we? Ken-chan would have sulked, or maybe not sulked but not been happy..."

"Zaraki doesn't sulk," I corrected her, while smiling at the thought. It wasn't in his character to sulk. Brood, possibly. Become angry, definitely.

"He sulked when you went to the Human world," Yachiru said.

"I don't believe you." How could I believe my beloved husband did something as infantile as sulking?

"He said he was brooding and upset, but he was sulking," Yachiru was standing her ground. "Ask Baldy if you don't believe me. Even Arai would have noticed."

"I wouldn't say 'sulk'," Arai contributed, as he watched the people around us carefully. "He was unhappy and didn't want to talk about it."

As far as I could remember, that was pretty close to a definition of sulking. It was time to change the subject. "Orihime, you should come with us now, while Ulquiorra is busy fighting Nemu. If we can show the others you are free and ready to come with us, they may stop fighting and we can all go home."

"Lieutenant, nice though that idea is, I don't think the Arrancar will be prepared to just permit Miss Orihime to leave without the battle being won," Arai said, his eyes still roving to see any possible danger.

"I think they stole Orihime so we would come here and fight them," Yachiru said with firm decision. "They failed pretty badly each time they tried to urrrrr... I mean," she broke off and looked at the ground.

"Gin abducted me. He knew the Seireitei and had someone working with him. We cannot forget that even though Aizen, Tosen and Gin betrayed us all, they are still powerful fighters and strategists in their own right," I said, realising she was uncomfortable about reminding me of one of my abductions. "Could we stop talking about the past and concentrate on what we should do now?"

"This one cannot just leave," Orihime said, and the way she referred to herself was not lost on any of us.

"Why?" Yachiru asked.

"This one made a promise. Promises are important," Orihime said, her eyes on Ulquiorra.

I bit my lip. This reversion worried me and it made little sense. Why was she acting like this after she had seemed to be recovering and more relaxed around us?

"Is one person's promise more important than another?" There was no smile on Yachiru's face as she asked the question. On this occasion she was very serious and seemed to be very focused on Orihime's reply.

"This one's promises are important to her. This one must keep her promises or bad things will happen and honour will be lost,"

That did not sound like Orihime. Worrying about bad things happening, yes, but honour? In our conversations I didn't recall her speaking about it, except in relation to Ichigo and the importance he placed on it.

"Ichigo made a promise to protect you, didn't he?" I said, feeling I was dimly aware of where Yachiru was heading with this. I might be wrong, but we had to get through to Orihime.

"Kurosaki san may have made a promise to protect me, but this one made a promise to protect him," Orihime said, with a wistful tone. "This one must protect Kurosaki san."

"Ichigo made a promise to protect you. Ken-chan made a promise to protect Matsomummy and kill Aizen. He also promised Matsomummy that he would rescue you. Ichigo promised himself he would rescue you. Chad promised to help as did Glasses and so did everyone else. You see? Other people made promises they believe they have to keep and lots of them are about saving you. Is your one promise more important than all the other promises people have made?" Yachiru had made a valid point, but was it going to be of any use? "Can you trust a man who abused you to keep his promise and not harm Ichi?"

My focus had been drawn away from Nemu and Ulquiorra and I thought I'd vaguely heard them talking over the clash of blades, then I heard a gasp and turned to see Nemu knocked back as Ulquiorra gave her a reposte which almost knocked her blade from her hand. "My father is not dead," she exclaimed. "He is evil and needs to be punished for all the crimes he has committed."

Now all our attention was drawn away from Orihime to Nemu. It was easy to understand how the news might affect her. Though she might have no affection for the man who created her, it had always seemed she wanted some kind of acknowledgement of her abilities from him. Perhaps even a kind word instead of a curse.

"I wanted to see him reform and then he might have been less hostile and critical.." Nemu continued.

"He died when Ichimaru was protecting your the other abductee," Ulquiorra said quietly and politely. "His head was removed from his body with one slice of a blade."

Nemu was standing still, her blade held in a defensive position and her stance proved she was still alert and aware even though in shock. "But, he had made alterations to his body so he would dissolve and later reform. It was careful engineering on his part so he wouldn't die," her voice rose abruptly and broke on the last word. "He didn't want to die!"

"He also created a poison which over-rode it," I said as calmly as I could. It had to be the only way in which Gin had obtained the specimen. It may have even been one of the reasons he'd returned to the Seireitei, aside from his mission to abduct me under Aizen's orders. Thinking about it in this manner made me feel nauseated and unsteady. It seemed the were plots and counter plots and layers of actions and intents stacked on top of each other which were difficult to penetrate or even sort out from each other. "I'm sorry, Nemu, but your father is dead."

Orihime started forward as if she were preparing to reach out to Nemu and hug her, as she once would have done without thinking. Ulquiorra stepped between them. "You will have no contact with her."

"She's only now learnt her father is dead," Orihime protested. "I didn't promise not to help anyone who was upset."

"The spirit of the promise..."

"What are you saying? The spirit of the promise?" Yachiru jeered. "I wish you would forget about this ridiculous promise, Big Boobies. It makes you seem stupid and gullible. Anyone who would make a promise to Aizen had to know he'd break his part of it as soon as it was to his advantage."

"Aizen sama has kept this woman safe," Ulquiorra stated firmly.

"You mean you've kept her safe, despite Aizen," I said, finding I had placed my hands on my hips in anger.

"And not as safe as he promised," Arai said sotte voce.

Orihime looked at all of us, tears shining in her eyes and she once more looked at Nemu. "I remember how I felt when I was told my brother had died," she said. "I have never felt more alone or scared." Pushing past Ulquiorra she went to Nemu and hugged her, holding her close. Yachiru run up and hugged the two of them while Ulquiorra moved in their direction. Both Arai and I stepped between him and the three girls.

"Leave them, please," I said. "You must care for Orihime...."

"I care for no human," Ulquiorra said bluntly. "How could I care for something which is so far beneath me? She is little more than a pet. My sole purpose is to protect her and make certain she keeps the promise she made."

"You care about your duty," I substituted. "Her mental health is questionable and she is possibly on the verge of a breakdown," I said, saying anything which might provide some reaction that didn't provoke him into an angry, physical response. "Hugging Nemu might help her."

Standing stiffly upright, Ulquiorra's cold green eyes met mine. "I had nearly perfected her training. This interaction will spoil my work."

Training her? Into what, I wondered.

"Did Orihime promise to stay in Las Noches?" I asked.

"I will not tell you the promise she made," was the stilted reply.

"Was it loyalty to Aizen?" I asked, as that seemed to be the only real promise that would mean anything to that man. I noticed Ulquiorra's eyes flicker momentarily and wondered if I had guessed correctly.

"I don't see how leaving Los Noches means she is not loyal to Aizen," my words pushed at him slightly.

"You understand nothing," he said as he once more tried to push past us. "Let me retrieve my hostage or you will feel the sting of my blade as it passes through your stomach to remove the monstrosity that grows within you."

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A.N.

Really long break between updates. I know. I know. Things happen.

Soundtrack

'Night of the Disco Dead' Bronx Dogs

'Bitter Sweet Symphony' The Verve

'G.B.H' Death In Vegas

'Promises' Nero

And because the song keeps playing in my head

'Better the Devil You Know' Kylie Minogue

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