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Seeds of Destruction	By : blackdiamondprincess Category: Bleach > Het - Male/Female Views: 14158 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 8
- 9
- 10
9. Majestic Consort � The
Obsidian Queen

Walking footsteps sounded in the snow white room and soon halted a few
meters away from the motionless body lying on the center of the immense space.

"On your feet."

Brown eyes wearily blinked open to take in their immediate surroundings.
With a questioning look the addressed young man pushed his body off the cold
floor and lifted his head to see his father walking up to him in his Shinigami
attire. "The hell you've brought me to�?" he growled, sitting now,
"What is this place?"

Everything, from the ceiling, the walls and the floor was white and
small little windows ran along the border of the ceiling. He understood that he
was in a basement of some sort, one of extremely large proportions.

The footsteps sounded again and Isshin
approached Ichigo once more without answering, the remains of his captain cloak
waving behind him as he did.

Ichigo moved himself on his feet and was about to take a step to turn
himself around and look at this surroundings a bit more, when he suddenly felt
a wave of dizziness come over him and his breathing become short.

This sensation, even though highly uncomfortable, seemed vaguely
familiar to him and he sank to his knees, sweat breaking out from every pore of
his body.

"I said on your feet!"

It felt like gravity had increased a hundredfold; moving a muscle proved
itself to be excruciatingly agonizing.

"Fuck�! Ichigo gritted his teeth in pain as he fell over on his
hands, watching how drops of his sweat fell on the hard floor beneath him.
"Why do I feel so weak�?"

The former Captain crossed his arms over his chest and gave Ichigo a
disdainful look. "Because you are! Now move
yourself on your damned feet!"

"Ngh�" His limbs were trembling as
he struggled to move and he found himself gasping for air. "Damn it! Where
in Hell are we?!"

A pair of waraji halted right next to the
youth's shivering body. Isshin then squatted and
smiled goofily, "When Ryuuken brought me here
for the first time I spent the first 30 minutes trying to just breathe. That
bastard really gave me a run for my money back then, hee-hee�"

"Goddamnit! Dad!"
Ichigo spoke through gritted teeth, having reached the limits of his patience,
"The fuck is going on?!"

The older man grinned and stood again. "It's time you learned how
to control that massive amount of Reiatsu you have."

The younger Kurosaki grunted while he tried to move on his feet once
more with more success than the last time. He had managed to bring his right
foot flatly on the floor. "Right now I feel like I don't have any�"

Isshin smirked and wiggled his eyebrows wickedly. "Exactly."

"Huh?"

"Your memory seems quite the selective type, boy," he said,
eying his son with a smug look on his face.

"Quit with the cryptic talk, old man," Ichigo growled angrily,
pushing himself up on his feet now, breathing heavily from the effort.
"Where are we?"

"Whoa� Impressive!" the older man exclaimed at his now
standing son, "how did you do that?!"

Ichigo's left eye twitched, "I'm so going to kick your ass once I
get the hang of this!"

"I'll hold you to that," Isshin said
with a chuckle. "Saa," he continued,
spreading his arms, "look around you, where have you seen this
before?"

Ichigo let his eyes wander over the walls of the room again and then
suddenly remembered. "Lethality Stone�"

Isshin smirked, unsheathed his Katana slowly and then
slightly bent through his knees. "Seikai
desu."

Before Ichigo fully realized it, he saw his father come straight at him,
swinging his Zanpakuto in the air.

"The hell�?!" Ichigo jumped out of
the way of the Zanpakuto just in time, but received a harsh kick from Isshin's left foot as he twirled around with an impressive
demonstration of Captain Level Shunpo.

Isshin watched him hit a wall with a small scowl. "Osoi."

Ichigo fell back to the floor, breathing heavily while blood trickled
down in small rivers from his right temple. He slumped down and looked up at
his father who was approaching him again. He couldn't move a single muscle and
he found it harder and harder to breathe.

"Damn� it�"

"Lethality Stone has the ability to drain one completely of his Reiryoku," Isshin calmly
spoke, "even one blessed with an insanely amount like yours. But," he
lifted his Zanpakuto in the air while he fixed Ichigo sternly, "that doesn't
mean that you're supposed to lie down on the floor like you're doing right
now."

A sudden large increase in Spirit Pressure had Ichigo gasp for air and
he watched in growing astonishment and slight angst how Isshin's
Zanpakuto glowed fiercely in his held up hand.

"Either you
figure out how to boost your Reiatsu," Isshin
lowered his blade and pointed it at Ichigo.

"Or I may have to kill you� sonny boy."

__________________________________________

The damping mug of tea was laid on the low table in front of her and
Orihime looked up with an amiable smile.

Tatsuki grinned at her friend, "I need to go freshen up a little,
but I'll be right back so we can talk further, alright?" She began to walk
out of the living room, "Drink up while it's hot, it's my mother's special
blend."

"Okay!" Orihime enthusiastically said, taking the cup in both
her hands and bringing it up to her face as Tatsuki left with a content smile.

As soon as the black haired girl was out of sight though, Orihime's
smile disappeared and turned into a disgusted scowl. "Tea?" she whispered,
"Who the hell in their right mind drinks tea?!" She stood up and
walked over to a plant standing in a corner of the room, pouring the content of
her cup over it.

"Having fun?"

She twirled around and found her white haired version of Ichigo standing
near the window with an amused look on his face.

"You seriously need to get me out of here!" She said to him
from between her clenched teeth, "I can't stand doing field work like this!"

Hollow Ichigo grinned at her and reached out to her currently light
brown hair. "Whoa there, Hime-sama� we went over
this already," he pulled her closer to him and kissed her forehead.
"You need to bring Tatsuki into believing that Ichigo is the reason why
you allegedly moved away from Karakura so she'll start mistrusting him and even
hate him for hurting you."

Hime groaned in annoyance and leant up against him with a slight pout,
"Why can't I just kill her?"

He chuckled, "All in due time."

She huffed and turned away from him. "I can't feel him anywhere, you know."

Hollow Ichigo chuckled, stepped up to her and placed his hands on her
shoulders to whisper in her right ear. "Just as we
planned, ne?"

A malignant grin formed on her rosy lips and her eyes briefly flickered
between a brown and dark blue color as she rolled them to her right. "He's
so predictable."

He pressed his lips in her neck and slid his hands up her hips.
"Don't forget about the invisible shield you've put up. It wavered just
now."

Hime smirked and stepped away from him again, "You almost sound as
if you care about me, Shirosaki-kun�"

He smirked back, "I'm not going to lie about it; you're an
essential asset to me."

She laughed humorlessly and picked up a small figurine out of a showcase
to look at it up close. "To you or to Aizen?"

His amber eyes widened a little and he cracked another smile. "You
know what his goal is, you know what mine is� and unfortunately you're needed
to accomplish both of them."

"Unfortunately?" she echoed with one quirked eyebrow, still
not looking at him.

"If it were up to me alone�"

"But it isn't," Hime coldly said, looking at him now with an
evil smirk. "Please don't try and woe me like I'm some sort of cheap
ho."

Now it was his turn to quirk an eyebrow, a surprised one, yet he soon
had his signature grin on his lips again. "You're right." He reached
out to her, grabbed her by the nape of her neck and pulled her closer.
"You're royalty and equal to me."

Hime lifted her right hand and watched how he lifted his left one.
"You made me, we have the same goals." The palms of their hands
connected and she looked up at him. "That's the way it's always meant to
be. Aizen's plan is just a convenient coincidence.
Not the other way around."

He grinned, "Spoken like a true queen."

Hime licked her lips and chuckled. "I can't wait to see our plan
become reality."

Hollow Ichigo smirked and his eyes rolled to the corridor behind her.
"Remember; always be prepared."

He captured her lips with his briefly before disappearing into a cloud
of black smoke just as Tatsuki walked back into the room.

"Were you talking to someone?" she asked, running a hand
through her damp hair while she moved herself to the kitchen.

Hime followed her and shook her head, "I was on my cell
phone." She placed her empty cup of tea on a nearby counter. "With
Ichigo-kun," she then added with a smirk that went unnoticed by the other
girl.

"Are you going to meet up with him later on?" Tatsuki asked as
she now opened the fridge to find something to make her breakfast with.

"Iye, we are not�" Hime sadly
replied, "He says has some things to do. Shinigami related, I think."

Tatsuki frowned slightly at that and looked at her friend. "He
didn't want to see you?"

Hime gave her a startled look and quickly shook her head, "No! That's
not it, I just think that he can't right now�" Her voice died out and she
rolled her eyes to the side, "He's just busy�"

"Orihime�" Tatsuki whispered, standing now, "You've been gone
for over a week and he can't spare a few minutes to see you? What kind of a
boyfriend who truly loves his girlfriend does that?!"

"Mou ii,
Tatsuki-chan!" Hime assured her with an apologizing smile on her
face, waving her hands in front of her. "We give each other space like
that."

Tatsuki shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest, "Going
to the other side of the country is not giving each other space; it's
practically putting a relationship on hold!"

"Tatsuki-chan�" Hime sighed with a trembling smile, feeling
tears well up in her eyes.

The other girl sighed as she watched her friend's hopeless expression
and walked up to her to take her in her arms. "It's not going that well,
is it?"

"I don't know what else to do, Tatstuki-chan�"
was Hime's teary answer over her shoulder, "I
just feel like he's pushing me away."

"Have you guys talked?"

They let go of each other and Hime shook her head, wiping away her tears
with the back of her right hand. "I was hoping we could do so in the short
time that I'll be here, but I can't find the courage to confront him� it hurts
too much."

"I'm going to kill him, I swear I will�" Tatsuki whispered,
balling her fists. "Orihime, you don't have to put up with
this."��

"Arigatou, Tatsuki-chan�" she
sniffled and smiled, tucking a strand of her light brown hair behind an ear,
"But I shouldn't saddle you with mine and Ichigo-kun's problems like this.
It's between the two of us and I know we'll handle it by ourselves."

"Orihime�" Tatsuki whispered with a pained expression. Never
did Orihime ask for help, never did she back down from problems, even if they
emotionally tore her apart. It was an aspect of her personality that Tatsuki
greatly admired, but that she cursed at times as well. She couldn't stand
seeing her hurting like she did now, no matter how bravely she underwent her
suffering.

"Ne, Tatsuki-chan," Hime then said
with a smile, "let's go out to eat, my treat!"

The black haired girl smiled amenably and shook her head slightly,
"You don't have to�"

"I want to!" Hime giggled, grabbing her friend by her hand and
leading her out of the kitchen again. "I crave for some sweet red bean
paste on a bowl of chocolate ice cream with whipped soy bean cream! What do you
feel like having, Tatsuki-chan?"

Tatsuki gave a trembling smile while imagining what she had just said
and chuckled softly. "I think I'll just have a regular breakfast, heh�"

"Suit yourself," Hime said with a
chuckle, putting on her high heels boots now that they were both standing in
the income hall. "But you don't know what you'll be missing!"

Tatsuki laughed at that and stepped into her walking shoes before
opening the front door. "I think I'll live without knowing, thank
you."

They laughed and made their
way out of the door, which closed itself behind them, leaving the house empty.

__________________________________________

With a small sigh, her body lowered itself into the spring of warm water
and she closed her eyes.

"How did the report go?"

Rangiku glanced at Rukia who was sitting on the other side of the pool,
running her fingers through a lock of her hair to detangle it. The Vice-Captain
placed the palm of her right hand on her forehead and pouted. "The Captain
General assigned for the Captain and me to stay put until Captains Ukitake and Kurotsuchi were done analyzing what we came up
with so far."

"Did he seem to believe that it could've been Aizen
again?"

Rangiku removed the towel she had entered with and threw it on the bank
behind her, shaking her head slowly as she sat herself back down in the water.
"He didn't tell us anything, but it was clear that this sudden turn of
events has greatly shaken him up. Taichou said that if Orihime chose to take Aizen's side, he'd be able to bring all of the Espada back and carry on where he was stopped."

"We'd never be able to stop them a second time," Rukia
whispered alarmingly.

Rangiku nodded and stared into the damping water. "We know that�
what we don�t know is how we're ever supposed to find Orihime."

"Rangiku-san," Rukia spoke, wading towards her, "there
might be one possibility."

The blonde woman looked up at her colleague and crossed her arms
underneath her chest. "Do you have any leads?"

"Renji and I have one that may lead us to Ichigo, but..."
Rukia bit her lower lip and sighed silently, "That's about it."

"Where does it lead to?"

"To Ichigo's allies, the Vaizards."

Rangiku gave her a sceptic stare, "Are you sure they can be
trusted?"

"Ichigo trusted them in the past," the younger Shinigami
pensively said, "They've helped him a whole lot back then."

"I was not talking about that, Kuchiki-san," Rangiku argued
back. "After the battle with Aizen, the Hougyokou was lost and we still haven't figured out who of
the two other parties has it."

Rukia shook her head in refute, remembering how much the Vaizards helped
and saved not only Ichigo, but both Orihime and the entire physical and
metaphysical world as well. "Are you saying they might hold it?"

"I'm only saying that if Aizen still had
it, he would've used it by now to create a new army of Arrancars." The
Vice-Captain then sighed and leant back against the border of the pool.
"And God knows that that would be the end for us all."

Rukia felt a little confused now, there were some things that didn't
make any sense. If Aizen still had the Hougyokou, he wouldn't need Orihime, but on the other hand,
if he didn't have the Hougyokou, he wouldn't be so
stupid to call back his once defeated army with her help. But then, if that was
the case�

"Rangiku-san," Rukia said in sudden realisation, "I'm
sure Aizen still has the Hougyokou!"

"Eh?" The blonde woman sat herself up again, "How would you
know?"

"It all makes sense this way!" She said, "If Aizen asked Orihime to call back his fallen Espada, he wouldn't have the certainty of victory with
their previous failure and the fact that Soul Society now knows each one of
their specialities and attacks."

Rangiku nodded, now intrigued.

"But," Rukia continued, "If he had the Hougyokou, he would be able to make a new army of unknown
Arrancars and still use Orihime to call back the old ones, just so they could wear
us out before the true battle begins and he'd be able to create Ou Ken with us out of the way!"

By now Rangiku's eyes were spread wide in shock.

"Plus," Rukia said in a more silent tone, "last time we
gained victory with the help of the Vaizard, they were a big force for our
side... He could decide to wipe them out first now that he knows of their
existence."

"And what if the Vaizards were the ones holding the Hougyokou?" Rangiku asked with renewed scepticism.

"If they had the Hougyokou, wouldn't
there be more of them around? Ichigo would've told us if there were, no?" Rukia whispered back, a little uncertain.

Rangiku raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

"Look, Rangiku-san," The black haired girl said with a small
sigh, "I personally would prefer the Hougyokou
to be in the Vaizard's hands than in Aizen's right now, wouldn't you?"

The other woman nodded now, "I guess you have a point."

Rukia smiled and then turned to go retrieve her towel. "I'll go
inform Urahara and Renji about this."

Rangiku nodded consentingly and reached for her own towel behind her,
"I'll go speak with the Captain and ask for permission to accompany you
and Renji."

"Hai," Rukia then turned after she
had clad herself in a loose bathrobe, walking towards the exit of the
underground training room.

__________________________________________

With a nearly soundless thud the lifeless body of a young woman slumped
to the floor in the back of an abandoned, dark alley.

"Innocents and back alleys� when will they ever learn?"

The sound of high heels click-clacking over the wet, concrete ground was
then heard as she walked away. Still savouring the taste of her recent meal,
she then passed her tongue over her rosy lips and brought her hands up in her long
sandy brown hair. She shook it briefly and, as if someone was pouring coloured
water on it, her strands turned into the deepest black from the crown of her
head all the way to the ends. Also, a straight cut frontal fringe appeared and
with an additional shake of her head, loose curls formed in the rest of her
hair and her eyes turned from a warm brown to a chilly light blue and grey.

"Finally!" Hime exclaimed with a content
sigh as she felt her transparent shield shatter around her.

As soon as she had managed to gobble down her 'breakfast' with Tatsuki,
they parted after she had convinced her that she had some personal affairs to
attend to and that she'd contact her again later on the day.

"How Orihime ever managed to eat stuff like that is beyond
me�" she then whispered with a small shiver and a grimace. She shook her
head silently and then disappeared in a cloud of black smoke only to re-appear
several meters above the city, overlooking it silently from her sitting
position in the sky.

She didn't need to worry about anyone noticing her there as she had
already put up a shield to protect herself against the Shinigamis sensing her.
Additionally, now that she recovered her true form and given her body its
proper nutrition, she could sense the Spiritual Pulses that roamed around the
city more clearly and if she concentrated long enough, even could sense his.

She wasn't surprised to find a large concentration of high Reiatsu
levels huddled up in one and the same place somewhere in the western part of
Karakura. She did notice however a new comer amidst the group, but his
Spiritual Pressure level seemed to be negligible and she couldn't recognise to
whom it belonged to.

Three little flames appeared to have separated themselves from the group
a short while ago and were racing towards the abandoned industrial district.

Hime smirked and jumped onto her feet. "Renji-kun, Rangiku-san and
Kuchiki-san� off to see the Vaizards?"

__________________________________________

A small door appeared in the invisible shield that surrounded one of the
many warehouses in the forlorn district and the three Shinigami walked through,
entering the Vaizard's home.

Shinji walked up to them with a small smirk. "We were expecting
you."

Renji frowned and cast his colleagues a questioning look. "How so?"

Rukia took a step forward and nodded, "Ichigo's been here?"

"Oh yes, he has," the blonde Vaizard answered, turning away
from them and beckoning for the trio to follow him. "He even brought a
gift."

"A gift?" Rangiku echoed as they were
being led towards a room adjacent to the one they were in.

Shinji nodded, "You'll see what I mean."

They entered a smaller room that was lit up by a yellow glow coming from
a rectangular object standing in the centre of it. Hachi
was sitting next to it on the floor, apparently concentrating on the shield
that he was generating in front of him.

The three Shinigamis approached further, noticing with growing wonder
the bed of white flowers the rectangle was resting upon.

"Someone is lying in there," Renji whispered as the glow of
the shield lessened the closer they got to it.

"Iya�" Rukia whispered, bringing her
hands up to her mouth as she recognised the silhouette of the young woman lying
peacefully with her hands clasped together on her chest.

"Orihime-chan�" Rangiku whispered softly. "Why did he
bring her here?"

"Ano boke�"
Renji spoke with a shake of his head before resting his eyes on Rukia who now
kneeled next to her friend's inert body.

Rukia took a shaky breath and closed her eyes. "He must've had a
good reason�"

"She needs to be taken to Urahara," Shinji softly said,
catching their attention.

"She's already gone�" Rukia softly spoke with her eyes still
closed. "Her chain link is completely gone."

Renji kneeled next to her. "That guy is right, though Rukia. She'd
be safer with Urahara than here."

"There's nothing Urahara can do!" The younger Shinigami
suddenly cried before taking a calming breath and sniffling a little.
"There's nothing more we can do about her body," she then added
softly as she noticed the pained silence that she had created.

Rangiku placed a hand on the younger woman's right shoulder. "I
know this is hard, but it's no time to mix personal affairs with what is going
on right now."

Rukia remained silent and averted her eyes from Orihime.

"Did Ichigo say where he was going?" Renji asked Shinji as he
now stood again.

Shinji merely shook his head and walked over to Hachi.
"There's another reason why we would prefer for you to take her back to
Urahara. Hachi?"

The pink haired man nodded, "Ichigo-kun may not have noticed it
directly, but her body hadn't reached the rigor mortis phase when he brought
her in."��

"It hadn't?" Rukia echoed in disbelieve.

"Rigor mortis usually occurs 2 to 4 hours after death, leaving all
the muscles of the body rigid and nearly inflexible," Hachi
continued, moving to stand now, "In some cases, when death occurred during
sleep, for example, rigor mortis can stay out for a day or two."

The blonde Shinigami frowned, "We don't know exactly when she
could've died�"

"2 to 3 days ago at the very least," Hachi
answered with a small nod.

"Then what prevented her to enter rigor mortis so far?" Renji
asked.

Hachi didn't answer but simply raised his right hand
and snapped his fingers.

The shield burst apart into a thousand pieces and for a few moments they
all looked at the young woman lying there, looking as if she was merely
sleeping.

"What did you do?" Rukia asked, approaching Orihime
cautiously. "Why�?"

She was silenced by Renji who was fixing Orihime and urged her to look
more closely.

Small bubbles of yellow light suddenly began to emerge from Orihime's
body until they all floated right above her.

Rukia blinked,"W-what?!"

The small lights then began to disperse, forming the contours of the
previous coffin again before filling the holes and enclosing Orihime in a new
rectangular shield.

"Be sure, Hachi didn't do anything,"
Shinji said in response to all the varying expressions of disbelieve and utter
astonishment the Shinigamis showed. He then looked at Orihime again.
"She's the one carrying the next generation of Kurosakis."

"Nani�?!"
All three of them exclaimed.

"I'll leave the technicalities for Hachi
to explain," Shinji walked over to the door and was ready to exit, but
Rukia suddenly leapt up and ran after him, calling him back.

"It's about Aizen," she said,
standing in front of him now. "We think we figured out what his next move
will be�"

"So did we," he replied back with a
small smirk. "We know that he'll try and come after us this time. We're
prepared." He walked off again with that.

"How can I be sure that you're not the one holding the Sphere of
Distortion?" Rukia asked after him.

"Because," the blond Vaizard answered, still walking,
"you know it all makes sense if we don't!"

"It makes sense if you have it, too!" she replied, "It's
a motive for Aizen!"

"Kuchiki-san," he halted in his steps and turned to her a last
time, "No matter what Aizen's motive to attack
us is doesn't matter, because he has one
and he'll come after us whether we have the Hougyokou
or not."

"But do you?" Rukia insisted, "Because if you don't, then
Aizen has it."

"We don't." Shinji said, "And Aizen
doesn't have it either."

Rukia stood there in shock, "H-how would you�?"

"I just do and now you do too," he said and there was a slight
tone of irritation in his voice. "I bid you a good afternoon,
Kuchiki-san."

With her mind filled with more answerless questions Rukia returned to
the room Orihime was lying in and took place next to Renji on the floor.
"He says Aizen doesn't have the Hougyokou."

"Oushikuso ne!" Renji exclaimed, "He must be hiding it
himself!"

Rukia shook her head, "I don't think he'd be lying."

"Then who has it?" Rangiku wondered. "Maybe it was
destroyed?"

"Then why would Aizen have
resurfaced?" Rukia said to her, "It all wouldn't make any
sense�"

"Most of it doesn't make any sense to me right now," Renji
quietly said, turning his head to look at Hachi who
silently stood on the other side of the coffin.

"Hachi-san, please explain to us how all
of this is possible?" Rangiku asked bringing her attention back on
Orihime. "Her body is
dead."

"The child was conceived before her death, obviously." He
kneeled next to Orihime and passed his right hand through the barrier to brush
back a stray strand of hair off her face. "It may be a week or perhaps two
old, I'm not sure."

Renji shook his head, "It's only a few days old and it can do all of this already?"

"If Ichigo didn't know she was pregnant, how did you figure?"
Rukia wondered.

"The minute Ichigo-kun stepped through my barrier with her lifeless
body in his arms; I knew that Orihime wasn't there. We all felt she was gone,
but we also noticed a feint Spiritual Pulse emanating from her. That's when we
realised that even though her body was deceased, there was still a part of her
clinging to a thread of life. We silently agreed to not tell him, partly in the
supposition that he knew and partly because we couldn't have him lose control
if he didn't.

The first thing I noticed was that her body was well conserved and
nowhere near a decomposing status. I immediately placed her in a 3 layer-
shield to keep the unborn child alive at whatever the cost and to limit the
damages it could've had to endure.

I stayed up most of the night, registering the growing strength of the
Spiritual Pulse until I deemed the danger of death passed. And then, this
morning, I found out to my surprise that a small hole had been created in the
base layer of the shield. The spell I had cast had been weakened increasingly
on that spot, as if absorbed progressively."

"You think it fed upon it?" Rukia asked softly.

"Masaka�" Renji whispered in silent
awe, "It can sublimate spirit particles and convert them into useable
energy?!"

"Shinigamis use the spirit particles that linger in the air in the
same way, but I'll admit, in a much slower pace than this�It must be a survival
instinct, one passed down from its father, no doubt�" Hachi
whispered, putting up a pensive expression. "At this stage of its
development, the foetus greatly consists out of Reiryoku.
Since its host died, it needed another source to tap energy from in order to
survive�"

Rangiku laid her eyes on Orihime again, "So you're saying that it
put up a shield around itself the minute it sensed Orihime-chan's
death?"

Hachi nodded, "It probably managed to conserve
her body for a short while before Ichigo-kun brought it here and I could give
the foetus a new source of energy to tap from. However, it won't be able to
grow properly if kept in a lifeless environment for too long."

Rukia nodded in understanding. "I see� We need to take her to
Urahara in order to save her unborn child."

"Hai desu,"
Hachi confirmed with another nod.

"What I still don't get," Rangiku whispered as they now stood,
"is when."

Renji turned his head to her. "When what?"

"When they conceived it," Rukia answered, watching how Hachi destroyed the barrier and invoked a new protective
orb around the area of Orihime's lower belly. "I think I know."

"You do?" the redheaded Shinigami asked, raising one
suspicious eyebrow.

Rukia nodded, "He said he dreamt of her a few days ago."

"It wasn't a dream?" Rangiku asked.

"I think she really came to him," the young Shinigami
whispered with a loving smile as Renji bent over and scooped Orihime up from
her bed of flowers and into his arms. "To say
goodbye."

"That's where I recognise her," the blonde woman spoke with a
soft smile.

They bid Hachi goodbye and left the Vaizard's lair to return to the Urahara Shoten
to report this new turn of events.

__________________________________________

Soon, after the three Shinigami left, Shinji walked out of the hangar. He
had told his companions that he needed some fresh air to think.

The reality, however, was that he had sensed a familiar presence earlier
on when he had been talking to Rukia in the large entrance room. It had been
faint, but it had been there without a doubt.

He now walked up until the outer barrier and halted, hands dug deeply
into his pockets.

"I know you're there."

The wind blew softly and no movement could be witnessed from behind the
shield, everything seemed to be completely calm. There was no sign of anybody
being out there.

"You've been here ever since they arrived; don't you think it's
time you showed yourself?"

A soft chuckle carried onto the passing breeze and Shinji now fixed his
eyes up to the roofs of the surrounding buildings. Her silhouette was clearly
recognisable from afar as she sat comfortably on top of a hangar's fa�ade.

"Ohisashiburi ja
ne, Hirako-kun," she
whispered, crossing her arms underneath her large bosom and smirking wickedly. "Ogenki?"

"Just fine, thank you for asking," he replied with a slight
nod of his head. "I like your new hair style."

Hime jumped off the roof and landed gracefully on her high heeled feet.
"Ah well, it comes with the new post." She stood up right again and
threw her long locks back so she could begin to walk in his direction.

"As the Queen of Arrancars?" Shinji said with a
slightly derisive tone of voice. "Come on, you can do better than
that."

The smile she had been wearing faded away a little, "You sure do
talk big for a guy who's about to witness the extinction of his race."

Shinji chuckled her comment away, "What is it you came here for
exactly, little Arrancar Queen?"

Hime now stood right in front of the barrier and lifted her right hand
to touch it with her index, finding that the second she touched it a small
electric discharge kept her from having any further contact with it.
"What's this?" She asked with a small smile, eying him mockingly.
"The security seems to have tightened around here, ne?
Have the mighty Vaizards run scared?"

The blonde Vaizard didn't react and only stared at her, waiting for his
previous question to be answered.

She pursed her lips and turned away from him with an amused giggle.
"I figured that, since I was headed this way, I could pass by and greet
you peeps, see your faces a last time."

"So you have chosen to become Aizen's
puppet after all�" Shinji turned away from her as well and was ready to
walk back inside the hangar. "But don't worry, Orihime-chan," he
looked at her a last time, "there are many forces working to get you free."

She gritted her teeth at that and growled, "You're going to let me
go after them?"

"What do you want me to do?" Shinji spoke calmly, hauling his
shoulders. He did not plan to go into her forms of provocation. "I'm not
your conscience and I'm not planning on telling a queen what to do or not. No matter how indecisive she is."

"What are you saying?" Hime spoke from between her teeth,
eying him with cool anger.

Shinji grinned his teeth bare. "I'm saying
that there's still hope."

She blinked at that, her scowl suddenly disappearing. Words and images
suddenly filled her head.

"You just forgot about
it."

"Nani�?"

Shinji only smirked as she took hold of her head.

"What are you doing?!" she cried, taking shaky steps back and
whining in the process. "Stop it! Stay out of my mind!"

She then disappeared in black smoke, her tormented cries echoing on.

The blond Vaizard looked up at the sky and sighed silently. "You must remember, Orihime, you're our
only hope right now."

__________________________________________

A scream resounded in the darkness and she fell on her knees. Her eyes
then opened and she whimpered silently at the biting cold.

"Orihime�I hope you can
hear me."

Orihime twirled around at the sound of the voice, not knowing from where
it was coming from. She recognised it, but the proprietor was no where to be
found. Why was everything so dark?

"Please help me!" She cried, clasping her hands over her ears
as her own voice echoed back loudly.

"Remember Orihime,
remember what you forgot."

"I forgot?" she whispered, taking an unsure step forwards,
"Forgot what�?"

"That you, Orihime-chan,
hold the world in your hands�"

She now stood in a large, white room with a sole, barred window high up
against the ceiling. A comfy looking couch with plush pillows stood next to her
on her left and a tray with untouched food waited right from her. Her body was
clad in a white Arrancar outfit and her hair was
brown again. She turned away from the wall and gasped as she recognised the
room Aizen had used to keep her imprisoned in, before
Ichigo came and saved her.

"Surprisingly, it looks good on you."

She directed her herself towards the entrance of the room and found to
her grand surprise Ulquiorra standing there.

What? Wait, but this happened
already! How is this possible?!

"When did you get here?!"

The fourth Espada only fixed her with a closed
expression on his face. "Just now. Please cease
your idle banter. There is news."

No! Why is this happening all
over again?! Why am I here?!

Although she knew she had lived this scene before, it was as if she was
trapped in her own body, listening to that conversation again that had silently
given her hope when she had felt like the shadows of Hueco
Mundo had already swallowed her whole.

"Your nakama have invaded Hueco Mundo."

Orihime remembered how she hadn't wanted to believe it; how she hadn't
dared to even imagine it then. There was nothing that had given her a reason to
believe that she would mean that much to any of them.

"Why�?" She was beyond surprised to hear her guardian imply
the word 'nakama' in his sentence, not understanding why he would even think
that the bond she and the others had was that solid. Surely, Ichigo and the
others probably received orders from Soul Society to bring her back as a
traitor.

Why else?

"Why, you ask?" Ulquiorra calmly
questioned, eying her intently. "To rescue you."

To rescue me�

For some reason, after he had said that, an ardent shame took hold of
her and she only had been able of repeating his words in disbelieve. They were
coming to save her; they were willing to die to bring her back� and she
willingly turned her back away from them.

Despite feeling that bad�I
remember� how grounded I felt then� How I felt like I could endure anything
knowing that they cared that much�

"To them no other reason is necessary."

No other reason� Ichigo had no
other reason� He gave his life for mine� His power of compassion and his trust
lay entirely in my hands.

The scene around her faded and she found herself in standing in a
glowing green field. The sky above her was of the clearest blue without a
single cloud in sight. She twirled around as she recognised the place as her
interior world and was about to call out for her brother Sora when she suddenly
stood face to face with an entirely black version of herself.

She cried out in horror and surprise and fell backwards, staring with
angst up to this creature that looked down on her with amber eyes.

An abnormally long arm then shot out to her and clasped itself around
her throat, lifting her up and holding her suspended in the air. Orihime gasped
for air as she looked at her attacker, closing her trembling hands around the
wrist that held her. She couldn't seem to look away from her cold eyes,
whimpering in pain as she felt the grip on her throat tighten itself.

"Give it to me," the creature said, its voice sounding like a
mixture of different ones smashed together.

Orihime gasped, "Where is Sora-nii?"

The grip on her throat intensified itself a little more and she cried
out in pain.

"Don't play these games with me, stupid bitch, where is it?!"

Orihime gritted her teeth and rested her one opened eye on her
defiantly. "I� don't know what you're talking about."

The creature chuckled and threw her onto the grass harshly. "Fine,
then we'll do it this way."

Orihime watched, while coughing her lungs free, how the Hollow lifted
her hands and how her nails began to grow. She began to back away from her,
even though she knew she'd never get away this way.

"The Hougyokou, if you please,
princess."

Orihime crawled backwards away from her, shaking her head. "I don't
have it!"

Hollow Orihime smirked and threw her right hand towards her as if
handling a whip. Her nails elongated and Orihime managed to roll away from them
in time.

She scowled at her assailer and began to stand on her feet. "Why would you think that I have it?! I don't!"

A malignant chuckle was then heard and the Hollow drew her nails back.
"Then I guess they made you forget."

"Forget?" Orihime echoed, taking a cautious step back.

Hime took a step closer and threw her hair back. "Come on...
remember it... Aizen-sama showed you the Hougyokou solely in that purpose. He knew you'd try and
deny its existence the moment you had the chance."

"What are you talking about...?" the other young woman
whispered, shaking her head. "He showed me the Hougyokou
out of good faith�"

Hime broke out in laughter at that. "My, my... so
naive. Aizen-sama knew that if you managed to
erase the Hougyokou, you'd be able bring it back in
its original state, fully awakened, that is."

Orihime blinked now, realisation dawning upon her.

"Demo, that last part of his plan failed to be accomplished. You
erased the Hougyokou, but were never able to bring it
back because Soul Society managed to destroy Aizen-sama's
Espada and overthrow Hueco Mundo, causing you to get saved during your friends' second
rescue mission. Honestly said, I must say that that was a miscalculation from Aizen-sama's part, but somehow the hazard brought you back
into the palms of his hands.

I suspect that it was the Commander General who modified your memory
when you spoke with him about erasing the Hougyokou.
I guess that by doing so, the old fart hoped to have the Hougyokou
forgotten for eternity.

If Shirosaki never infected you with his
hollow essence, I don't think we'd be having this conversation, let alone be
talking about Aizen-sama."

Orihime sank through her knees now, understanding all that was at stake.
"Sou na... Minna... it was all in
vain...?"

Hime chuckled, "Of course not, princess. Everything you and your
friends fought for led to this! And you should be proud, Orihime! Aizen-sama couldn't have risen from the ashes without
you!"

"No!" Orihime whimpered, looking up at her alter ego. "I
won't let him...! I can't!"

"Oh..." Hime whispered with played concern. "I'm afraid
you won't have a choice, as it is now, I'm the one who controls your Reitai, remember? How did you like my little acting with
Tatsuki-chan earlier?"

The brunette gritted her teeth and shot her an angry stare. "I
won't let you have control over my soul any longer!"

Ichigo's life and the sake of
the world lie entirely in my hands�!

Hime laughed openly now. "Dame da yo! You're no match for
me, little princess! I was created from Ichigo Kurosaki's Hollow and I possess
all of your abilities."

A black projectile then suddenly appeared next to her and she grinned.
"All I need to do now is keep you busy long enough so I'm not bothered by
you."

Orihime gasped and called her Santen Kesshun
as the projectile was launched at her. The impact was heavy and she had a hard
time keeping herself grounded, her knees shaking.

The Hollow giggled at this and spread her arms. "Tsubaki, Hanshoku!"

With growing horror Orihime witnessed how the projectile suddenly began
to multiply over and over. She gulped and ordered for her shield to form a
protective bubble all around her, ready to withstand the upcoming assault.

I'm the one who knows how to
bring the Hougyokou back� I remember now�

Hime sneered at that and simply gave a small movement of hand as an
attacking command.

Sweat trickled down the side of Orihime's face as she looked at the
large, black swarm headed her way. She steadied herself and closed her eyes,
letting the darkness swallow her whole.

Ichigo... onegai, wait for me.

__________________________________________

The clouds had quickly drawn together in a compact grey mass again, the
clear sky of earlier now gone.

Rukia had her eyes on Orihime who was still lying in Renji's
arms as they sped their way towards Urahara's Shoten. It still felt like a surrealistic dream to see her
like that. Her mind continuously needed to be reminded that her friend was gone
and not just sleeping.

Rangiku silently watched Rukia from the corner of her eyes and sighed
softly. She remembered how, five months ago, she and Orihime had celebrated the
fact that Ichigo had finally made his move towards her. They had eaten so many
sweets then, that they both had had stomach aches for two consecutive days. The
young woman had reminded her of herself in a way. Her unwavering optimism and
her sweet na�vet� had brought her back to the days when she last felt like she
truly mattered to someone. She had wished for her friend to have nothing but
happiness with Ichigo and had silently prayed for her to never experience the
pain and loneliness a broken heart could procure... No one deserved suffering
of that kind. No valuable reason justified it either.

Realising that her mind drifted towards one particular person again,
Rangiku shook her head and grunted, bringing her focus back on synchronising
her flash steps with Renji and Rukia.

"There you guys are! I
was looking for you all over!"

The trio suddenly stopped in mid-air, having felt a hostile presence
looming around them.

"I wonder where you're
headed in such a hurry..."

Rangiku took a sharp intake of breath and began looking around
frantically. "It's her!" she whispered to her companions.

Rukia looked around alarmingly. "Orihime?"

"Iya," Renji whispered, tightening
his hold on Orihime's body. "Much worse."

A soft giggle could then be heard and Hime appeared, descending from a
black cloud that had materialized itself in front of them. "Hi
everybody, ogenki?"

"What do you want, Orihime?" Rangiku spoke, taking a step
forwards with one hand on her Haineko.

"Please, I've rejected that name already," she chuckled,
waving her hand in front of her, "Call me Hime, it sounds more
majestic."

Rukia stepped up next to Rangiku. "We have no business with
you."

Hime chuckled and sat herself in the air, crossing her legs one over the
other. "So? That doesn't mean I can't have fun with you guys." She
tilted her head to side to look behind the two female Shinigami. "Ne, Renji-kun? Watcha hiding
back there?"

Rukia unsheathed her Zanpakuto and pointed it at her. "That's none
of your business."

"Oh?" Hime grinned, "Would you really attack me,
Rukia-san? I thought we were friends?"

"I was friends with Orihime, not with you!" Rukia whispered
back, squinting her eyes in growing anger. "You
stole her away from us!"

"Hmm..." Hime pouted slightly and crossed her arms over her
chest unhappily. "It was to be expected; even Ichigo-kun didn't hesitate
to attack me last time." She then hauled her shoulders, "he was lucky
I wasn't allowed to kill him then no matter how much he pissed me off. But I
can't say the same about you guys, I'm allowed to kill you if I feel like
it."

Rukia growled and took in a defensive battle pose, "You
bitch..."

A grin cracked on Hime's lips and suddenly she
disappeared, only to appear behind them again. "Whoa, you guys found my
body!"

All three of them jumped away from her, Renji still holding Orihime's
body protectively in his arms. "Yeah, so what of it?" he defiantly
asked.

She only shrugged, "Nothing, it's but a corpse now anyway, right?
But then again," she continued, putting up a pensive expression, "why
go through so much trouble to just retrieve a corpse? Hmm..."

"Why go through so much trouble to just kill Ichigo?" Rangiku
retorted, remembering her last encounter with Orihime the day before.

Hime grinned, "Because its fun!"

Rukia sneered at that, "Oh really? Isn't it just because Shirosaki and Aizen are playing you
in the palm of their hands?"

"Watch your words, Rukia-chan..." she threateningly said, her
smile now gone.

"Don't tell me you think that you matter to them?" Renji added
with a disdainful chuckle. "You're nothing but a tool to them so they can
get what they want."

"I mean seriously," Rangiku said in turn, "You look nice
with your black hair and all, but let's be honest: What are the chances you'll
be kept in their team with a commanding position? All you can do is heal and
reverse time."

By now Hime had an infuriated look in her cold eyes and her Spiritual
Pressure began to rise, electric sparks now revolving
around her. "You guys will regret your words... Tsubaki!"

The black projectile appeared next to her and immediately launched
itself in their direction.

"Now!" Rangiku cried and she and
Rukia jumped behind Renji just in time.

"What...?" Hime watched how a large shield suddenly appeared
in front of the redheaded Shinigami and Tsubaki
bounced off against it. "How?!"

Rangiku took out Haineko and disappeared from
behind Renji to appear right in front of the still baffled Hime with her sword
raised high above her. "Are you sure you want to know?" she then
brought her Zanpakuto down with swift strike, but didn't count on her to
disappear again; consequently making her hit nothing but air.

Hime had appeared behind an unsuspecting Rukia now and chuckled,
"Not really, but I guess that this," with her right hand she
stabbed Rukia in the back, laughing at the shocked expressions of all the
bystanders as her sharp nails came out of the Shinigami's
stomach before withdrawing them quickly, "should be a good enough
answer."

"RUKIA!" Renji hollered as he watched
her fall to the ground ten meters below. He wanted to go after her, but
suddenly found himself face to face with Hime's
grinning face. A surprisingly strong hand then closed around his throat.

"Renji!" Rangiku cried and wanted to
go to his aide, but suddenly found herself trapped in an orb-formed shield,
unable to approach any further. "No!"

Hime grinned at her and lowered her left hand she had raised in her
direction before looking at the male in front of her once more. "Please
send Ichigo this message," she loudly spoke for Rangiku to hear as well,
"and if you can't find him, just ask Uryuu about his father's secret
training spot."

"What's the message...?" Renji hoarsely whispered, not wanting
to let go of the body he still held in his arms.

Hime let go of him and before he even realised, blood was gushing out of
a horizontal cut in his throat. She watched with a cold expression how his eyes
went blank and he began to fall backwards towards the surface of the earth. She
then turned to Rangiku who was hitting the barrier she was in with everything
she had.

"Tell him," Hime emotionlessly said, face covered in little specks
of blood, "that Orihime's time is running out and that by the end of the
day another one of his friends will be dead."

She then disappeared and the orb burst apart, releasing Rangiku.

"Kuchiki-san, Renji!" She cried, taking
out the emitter she kept hidden in the left fowl of her kimono. "Taichou! Please send Urahara-san over to my current
position, we've been attacked and there are some serious injuries!"

Nothing but static came out of the small device and she tried again, but
no answer whatsoever reached her.

"No! That barrier interfered with the frequency of the
emitter?!"

She descended to the ground to where Rukia and Renji had fallen, now
confronted with a cruel choice.

Who would she take back first?

"Looks like you could use some help, Matsumoto?"

She noticed a Jigokuchou fluttering by her and
she twirled around only to be blinded by a bright light coming from a Senkaimon that had materialized itself behind her. The
light lost in brightness a little as the gate began closed itself and she
gasped.

"Ikakku?! Shuhei?!"

__________________________________________

Japanese Vocabulary List

-Ano Boke: That
idiot

-Arigatou: Thank you

-Dame da: Stop it

-Demo: But

-Hai: Yes

-Iya/Iye: No

-Jigokuchou: Hell Butterfly

-Masaka: Impossible

-Minna: Everyone

-Mou ii: It's alright

-Nani: What?

-Ne: an Interjection that can be loosely translated in
English as �So�, �Well�, �And?�, �Hey� or �No?�, depending on its position in
the phrase

-Ogenki? : How are you?

-Ohisashiburi (ja
ne): Long time no see

-Onegai: Please

-Osoi: (Too) Slow

-Oushikuso: Bullshit

-Saa: In informal speech, it can be translated as 'come now'

-Sekai desu: That's
correct

-Senkaimon: World Piercing Gates

-Sou nai: No way

Fun Facts
1. Bleach facts.
I never really realised it before, but in both the anime and the manga, they speak about something that is called Reiryoku (Spiritual Energy). Up until a few days ago I
simply thought it was the same thing as Reiatsu (Spiritual Pressure), boy was I
wrong.

I searched for the difference between the two and my quest surprisingly
proved itself to be longsome and difficult, because I
could not find a satisfying answer to my question. I finally managed to find a
forum post on a site and it gave me this response:

Reiatsu ("Spirit pressure"): The energy in a soul that can
be used to attack. The amount of reiatsu a soul has is linked with the soul's
spiritual awareness, and the strength of its resolve. As long as the reiatsu
and reiryoku of a soul remain strong, the soul will
have a constant wave of strength. Reiatsu can become a shield to deflect
attacks from the enemy if the defender's reiatsu is much larger than the
attacker's.

Reiryoku ("Spirit Power"): The power obtained
when you become a spirit. It is possible to be born with reiryoku.

Excerpts
taken from Bleach Ban Forums � Bleach Terms

At first glance, the Reiryoku explanation did
not give me a satiable answer, but when I analysed the Reiatsu explanation, I
realised that Reiryoku can also be translated as Spiritual
Awareness and/or Energy and/or Strength. And yet, I still found it difficult to
understand the difference and that's when I suddenly remembered episode 117,
where I recalled hearing Rukia say that due to her stay in the Tower of Repentance, she lost her Reiryoku and therefore couldn't sense Spiritual Pressure
(Reiatsu) from afar.

It then made sense to me, after having read the (underlined) explanation
for Reiatsu again, why she lost her battle strength.

Do you remember the explanation I gave for the Saketsu
and the Hakusui? I wonder,
if the Saketsu is the boost for Spiritual Strength,
then the Hakusui is where Reiryoku
comes from, right?

Does that make any sense?

Does anything from the above make sense?

I just hope I didn't mess you guys up with my use of those terms in this
chapter!
1. Other (story)
  facts.
Orihime/Hime?

You guys may have noticed that I use both 'Orihime' and 'Hime' to depict
that fair-chested beauty we all know and love. Just so
everyone gets it for once and for all; when I use 'Hime' in narrating speech,
it refers to the Hollow. 'Orihime' refers to the perky and fun-loving girl. I
hope everyone gets it now�

About Shinji

Do you guys remember episode 123, in which Shinji forced Ichigo into his
interior world to battle his Hollow? Well, I kind of did the same thing here
with Orihime and added my personal touch to it. Also, the anime inspired me to
give Shinji a little bit of precognitive abilities, explaining why he knew
about Orihime and the Hougyokou.

About the title: Obsidian
Queen

Hollow Orihime's appearance in the interior world scene gave me the
inspiration for that. I wanted her true self to be a completely black creature,
like you sometimes see those sculptures in dark marble with light eyes. No need
to explain why I wanted her in black, ne?

Also, I kinda liked to explore her sense of
insecurity a little in this chapter; it foreshadows the things to come�

__________________________________________

OK OK OK!!

It's
been exactly 1 month and 6 days that I updated, I know, but honestly, I don't
want to keep apologising for being so late, I would like to have a life next to
writing too, without implying that I don't care about you guys out there! I
prefer to take my time and deliver a product of good quality than to do things
quickly and with poor results.

The
story has many, MANY sub-plots and I need to take care of each one of them with
extreme care or the final result won't be what I have in mind (I know exactly
how this story will end).

So,
thank you for being patient and wonderful readers and reviewers, it's an
author's pleasure to write for an audience like you!

Upcoming
Chapter: 10. Genesis � Return to Innocence (Rebirth)

�
- 8
- 9
- 10
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