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Heavenly Chain by Boogermeister

Chapter 8

"My mother was killed . . . . by filthy humans."

Orihme kept reeling the revelation Ichigo told her last night; he hated humans because of his mother's death. Was that the reason why he felt uneasy being out yesterday? She felt so stupid, she can't believe that she had missed the obvious signs. But why Ichigo liked her, she didn't get a chance to ask him when she was hastily taken back home and Ichigo left without saying a word. She understood the feeling of losing someone but in his case, it must have felt more deeper and devastating.

"Orihime, what's wrong?" asked Tatsuki, sitting in front of her desk during lunchtime. "You seem sad about something."

"Huh? I do?" Orihime muttered, snapping out of her stupor.

"Does it have to do with that guy we met yesterday?" frowned Tatsuki. "I swear, I'll kick his ass if he had done something to you."

"No, it's not that," Orihime replied quietly. "I just found out something terrible about him."

"Really? What's that, Orihime?" she questioned.

". . . . Well, I just found out that his mother died," she muttered.

"Oh . . . ." muttered the tomboy, glancing downward. "Was he okay about telling you?"

"I don't think he was, Tatsuki," sighed Orihime. "I think it made him even sadder. I didn't even ask him to reveal anything to me but it just happened. I don't know what to do now."

"Well, why not talk to him about it?" Tatsuki suggested. "It looks like you guys have the same problems."

"No, it seems different," the auburn-haired girl mumbled. "He blames . . . . some people for her death, and I don't want to pester him about it."

"All right, I understand."

She didn't understand it, but Orihime felt like she was being followed. It was daytime so she doubted that Ichigo couldn't be tailing her, he probably would be too busy brooding from last night. She turned a corner of a street when she finally heard footsteps tapping softly behind her. She proceeded to walk faster but the footsteps persisted. She didn't want to turn around to confront the stalker, nor she wants to yell for help. Instead, she bolted to a run and ran across the street.

Orihime didn't bother to try to look back but continued running. Despite learning martial arts from Tatsuki, she was too scared to try to fight her stalker. Out of nowhere, someone grabbed her wrist. Reflexively, Orihime swung around to punch with her other hand but her fist was nonchalantly caught by a familiar person. "He hadn't hurt you all this time, had he?" muttered Shinji.

"No," Orihime replied promptly as he let go of her hands. "He hasn't done anything wrong with me."

"How would you know? He'd probably done something to your mind," frowned the blonde Vizard.

"But he didn't," debated Orihime. "He's been . . . . nice to me for the past couple of weeks."

"Oh really? What of his friends?" Shinji questioned. Orihime was about to glance at his eyes but looked away, Ichigo's friends had told her about his hypnotic abilities.

"They're just as nice," she muttered, glancing away.

"Ah, I see that they told you about me," shrugged Shinji. "Anything bad?"

"Not really."

"Well, that's good."

"I was told about . . . . what type of people you guys are," muttered Orihime. "I'm just wondering if that's true."

"Yeah, somewhat," Shinji simply replied. "Never knew the guy, all I knew that he seduced both my Ma and Auntie. I did say that me and Hiyori were half-cousins, remember?" Orihime glanced at him and nodded a little. "It's not like I wanted this, it just happen that way. To be honest, I don't really hate Ichigo."

"Huh? Really?"

"No, I just like messing with him," Shinji shrugged nonchalantly. "Anyway, I can't stop doing my job of destroying vampires. However, I'll stop teasing Ichigo as long as he doesn't do anything to you. Is that a deal, Miss Orihime?"

"Um, I guess so . . . ." Orihime muttered. Shinji simply grinned as he turned and walked away, she sighed softly once he was out of sight. She wasn't sure if Ichigo would come by tonight; he might not due to that uncovering secret.

"Still think that everybody's good . . . .?"

She wanted to believe but she knew inside that not everbody can be good. She knew when jealous schoolgirls once cornered her in middle school and cut off her hair, she lied to her brother that she needed a change through a false smile. She was once got hurt in a hit-and-run accident but decided not to do anything about it, despite consideration from the police. She kept thinking that anybody has a good heart, just like Ichigo had said.

"Hmm, so you just blurted out to her, Mr. Kurosaki," stated Urahara, lazily fanning himself as he was lying down with his raised palm resting against his cheek. "Well, what are you gonna do now?"

"I don't know . . . . it's just the way she thinks made me agitated," muttered Ichigo, pacing around slowly. "Her opinions were nothing but foolish rambles and I just blurted it out. But . . . . I think I made her feel bad about it. I should talk to her about it, Urahara."

"Nonsense, you should let her feel bad!" chided Urahara, earning a large rock thrown at his face. "Hey, I was just kidding!" he pouted as he easily dodged out of the way.

"Who in the hell would kid like that?" scowled Ichigo.

"Only me! But seriously . . . . if you thinks it's right, then you should talk to her," replied Urahara. "Besides, you're the one that drop the ball last night. In any case, it's your fault." In response, the orange-haired vampire chucked a few more rocks at him before leaving; he may had hurt her feelings but he didn't want to feel guilty about what he had told her. As soon as he rushed away from the building, he barely noticed the upcoming presence of Grimmjow. The blue-haired vampire growled in frustration when he missed him in his arrival, he wanted to challenge him again despite Aizen's orders about the human girl.

"This is some bullshit . . . ." he scoffed as he cracked his neck, obviously aware of his friends suddenly appearing behind him.

"The hell are you doing here?" muttered Renji.

"What? Can I just come here for a friendly visit?" sneered Grimmjow as he glanced at them, his eyes glowed ice-blue as he narrowed them.

"Only Nel can come here, but you're just not welcome," Chad replied defensively.

"Oh, I thought I was," Grimmjow smirked as his fangs lengthened.

"You're mistaken, you fucking cat," growled Renji, his eyes glowed bright garnet as his fingers clenched around a reddish glow forming in his hand. Grimmjow suddenly jumped aside the moment red-hot flames shot out at him, he quickly transformed into the black panther and snarled tauntingly at them.

"I'm not here to fight you fuckers," he smirked through their minds. "I was actually sent here by Aizen's orders."

"What kinds of orders?" questioned Rukia.

"Like I'd tell you," Grimmjow snorted in amusement, completely blocking his mind.

"You'd better, or else you'll be a fried pussycat," Renji growled. The jungle cat seemingly smirked at the group and began to walk away.

"Where do you think you're going?" Uryuu frowned, all of them quickly surrounded Grimmjow and positioned to attack. "We're not letting you leave until you tell us why you're here."

"Heh, you guys are so fucking dense," scoffed Grimmjow. "I said I'm here on Aizen's orders. I don't have to tell you, I'm not a part of your shitty little coven."

"Wait a second, you're here . . . . to find out about Orihime?" questioned Chad. Grimmjow merely smirked before making a break for it. Renji tried to stop him with his fire power but his fingers were singed instantly from the premature explosion.

"Damn it!" he cursed in pain. Quickly, Rukia managed to block Grimmjow's escape with a thick wall of ice and the panther snarled angrily as he glared at them.

"You don't fucking know when to give up, do you?" he snarled as he turned back to his normal form.

"Not until you tell us about Aizen's orders about Orihime," muttered Uryuu.

"Blow me, Four-Eyes," growled Grimmjow. "Who said that I'm here for that human?"

"You're not getting out of this until you tell us," Renji growled.

"Fine, I'll tell you," the blue-haired vampired sneered mockingly. "I'm just here to talk to Ichigo about the human."

"Talk? You expect us to believe that bullshit?"

"Why should we take your word for it?" questioned Rukia.

"Read my mind, I got nothing to hide," smirked Grimmjow. Reluctantly, they peeked into his opened mind. He was right, Aizen ordered him to discuss with Ichigo about Orihime. "Happy now? Can I leave?"

"No . . . . Ichigo's with Orihime, you can't go," Chad replied lowly.

"All the more reasons, I must talk to him," Grimmjow countered. "My leader believes he's not capable enough to lead his own shitty coven because of his distraction with the human. He thinks it's making his powers obsolete."

"What gives you the right to say that?" scoffed the red-headed vampire, and ice-blue eyes glared at him.

"Kurosaki's length of position is baby shit compared to Aizen's, his leadership continued for over fifteen years and has dozens of subordinates. There's only four of you under Ichigo, five if you count that crazy fucker with the hat." He then sneered once again and chuckled a little. "It's not even a coven, it's a fucking club."

"You take that back, Grimmjow!" frowned Rukia.

"Why should I? Maybe you should think about what I said, it's the truth after all," he shrugged. "You should even consider joining Las Noches, it's better."

"I'm not going back to that hellhole," scoffed Renji.

"The coven changed since you left, Abarai," smirked Grimmjow. "Aizen rid most of the weak defects and brought in stronger followers. Rest assured, me and Nel are the only ones who are allowed to come here. Just be fucking grateful that it's just us and not some blood-crazy vampire."

"Still, even we did want to go back, it would be to the Seireitei," muttered Chad.

"Tch, you guys are such pussies," scoffed Grimmjow. "Going to a coven that act so fucking pacifistic towards their prey is too boring to me. I can see why Aizen left that place, the old man was getting too senile to continue as a leader."

"Watch your mouth!" Rukia warned.

"Or what?" Grimmjow barely had a chance to dodge Chad's strong punch, which shattered the ground into a small crater. "Picking a fight on me doesn't help you guys one bit, I already said that I'm here on official orders. Unless you wanna start some type of war, then I suggest that you let me go." All of them frowned in anger, once again he was right. Reluctantly, they retreated away and Grimmjow grinned smugly. "As much as I wanna track Ichigo straight to that girl's place, I'd rather wait somewhere in the town to deal with him myself. See you punks later." He immediately vanished off to town, leaving the rest of the vampires to fume silently.

"Damn him, what does this have to do with Aizen?" gritted Renji.

"We wouldn't know anyway," Rukia muttered. "Aizen's a very secretive person, and his powers almost rival Yamamoto's. Going against his subordinates that are on special assignments can lead to conflicts. And if that were to happen, then a lot of innocent people will get caught in the crossfire."

"Should we warn Ichigo about Grimmjow?" questioned Chad.

"You know how he is, he stubbornly blocks his mind so we can't bother him mentally," frowned Uryuu. "He'll figure it out sooner or later."

Ichigo stepped into Orihime's apartment without any confrontation. He frowned a little since the incident with Shinji occured just last night but frowned again when he noticed that the entire aparment was dark and empty. "Where could she have gone at this time?" he muttered as he glanced around the living room, judging by her scent she had left not too long ago. "Great, what to do now?" he muttered as he walked across the room. He peeked inside the spotless kitchen before stepping in.

It was pretty small, only two people was big enough to walk around. He glanced at the fridge and opened it to peek inside; what caught his eyes was a pitcher of red fruit punch. He blinked at it; he hadn't drank the sweet concotion for years, not since he was a kid. He took it out and opened the cover lid, completely forgetting to close the fridge door as he tilted the pitcher towards his mouth and sipped at the juice.

"Huh, this is actually good," muttered Ichigo before drinking it again. This time, he took large gulps of the punch, not caring that the sweet drink trickled from his mouth and chin and staining his shirt. All of the sudden, he heard a key inserting into the lock and he stopped drinking, coughing a little from the juice.

"Huh? Is someone here?" Orhime called out as she opened the door and walked into her dark home.

"Uh, yeah it's me, Orihime," muttered Ichigo, clearing his throat.

"Ichigo?" Orihime flicked on the living room light and saw the orange-haired vampire in the dim kitchen. "I didn't know you were here."

"Yeah, I should've greeted you," he muttered as he stepped into the living room. Orihime blinked in surprise, she noticed Ichigo's reddened shirt and he was holding her now empty pitcher. "What?"

"What's that on your shirt?" she asked.

"Oh, I didn't mean to drink your juice," Ichigo replied. "I just got curious, Orihime."

"That's okay, I just brought some more," she smiled, settling the grocery bag onto the coffee table. "Oh, but you ruined your shirt. Let me wash it for you."

"No, it's okay," muttered Ichigo, stepping back into the kitchen.

"I insist, you're gonna get sticky if you leave it there."

". . . . All right, fine," he sighed, setting the pitcher down on the counter and walked back into the living room. Casually, he took off his shirt and gave it to her but Orihime nearly went red at his physique. He was lean yet muscular, which explained his super-speed during those times. "I thought you said you're gonna wash it," muttered Ichigo, breaking out of her trance.

"What? Oh, yeah! Sorry!" stammered Orihime, hurrying into the short hallway. The washing machine was right next to the bathroom so she can easily reach for the detergent, she poured a bit into the machine along with the shirt and started it. She walked back into the living room, where Ichigo was nosing into her grocery bag. "Um . . . . do you need something, Ichigo?" she asked.

"Not really," he muttered, sitting down on the floor. Orihime sat across from him, trying not to notice his half-nudity as he stared at her. "Listen, Orihime . . . ." he muttered.

"Yeah?"

"Sorry about what happened last," he muttered. "I didn't mean to say that . . . . but it made me a bit annoyed about what you said."

"No, it's actually my fault," muttered Orihime, lowering her eyelids. "I'm just too naive for my own good. I always keep being optimistic about the world, no matter how evil it is. That way, I would feel happy under any circumstances."

". . . . Are humans like you that complex?" he asked quietly.

"No, I guess I'm the only one," she smiled sheepishly, but Ichigo glanced at her with a slightly grim look on his face. "Oh, sorry . . . ."

"Would you . . . . like to know how she died?" he muttered.

"What? No, I don't need to know!" Orihime stuttered frantically but he glanced at her again before looking away. "Uh, Ichigo . . . .?"

"I always hated rain," muttered Ichigo, his voice sounded low yet distant. "It would make the days look gloomy, but my mother would always said that rain must come so the other days will be happy by colorful flowers. She was always smiling, never let anything to make her worry so the rest of my family wouldn't feel that way. She often made everybody happy, that's why my eccentric Dad fell in love with her. I was born first, and immediately stayed at her side since then. But I would cry whenever she leaves to go somewhere, or when I would get teased by other people. But in the end, I would stop the instant she came back.

"There were times when she would take me to the town and we got to walk by humans. At first, I was scared of being find out but as always Mom would just smile the problems away. That was her powers, to nullify the negative emotions of those around her. It was very unique but a lot of people in the Seireitei coven thought it was a useless power, they think it was her weakness and she wasn't strong enough to go against an enemy. Regardless, she would take the risk by walking among the humans. She told me a secret that she wanted the vampires to co-exist with the humans.

"It was an impossible dream, but she believed in it nonetheless. Even I believed it, because she was always right. But . . . . I stopped believing in it completely, on that rainy day ten years ago." He stood up momentarily and walked towards the opened window, the light breeze ruffled through his hair. "It was started to rain when we left town, my mother held my hand as we walked by the river. Despite our above average speed, she preferred to walk and she usually took a long way home. Because of the rain, we didn't know that a few humans were following us, the water masked their scents.

"All I remembered was that I blacked out from a blow to the head, and my mother's frightened scream. When I came to, my mother was laying over me. I touched her shoulder and I felt blood, I quickly sat up and saw the blank stare on her face. I just shook her and begged her to wake up until I found myself screaming in realization. She was dead, I couldn't have done anything to stop it. It was their fault, they took her away from me and my family. It has to be the humans that did this because her powers were not as strong as other vampires so she couldn't fight back. When I finally calmed down, my personality changed completely.

"I became distant and resentful of anyone, I didn't trust anyone near me. My behavior was extremely catastrophic for years until the Seireitei coven leader Yamamoto and my father decided to give me my own coven. They assumed I would gain a bit of freedom and a sense of responsibility. Most of the time, I just caused problems in Karakura Town and that's why the Vizards came after me. Still, I didn't care during those time. But after four years . . . . on a rainy night . . . . I saw you, Orihme."

Orihime gasped softly in a mix of shock and surprise, but Ichigo didn't turn to glance at her. Instead, he continued to stare out of the window. "Wh-why me, Ichigo?" she muttered. "Why do you have feeling for me?"

". . . . You actually remind me of her," he muttered, and Orihime flinched in surprise. "Your hair were the first thing I noticed, and at first I couldn't stop thinking about you. When I met you again, I realized that you were more than that. Still, I tried to deny myself about my feelings for a human like you but it would keep coming back until I finally kissed you. Now, I admitted about liking you . . . . and possibly even more." Orihime blinked in surprise and as she reopened her eyes, Ichigo suddenly appeared beside her.

"Ichigo?" she squeaked in surprise, she nearly stumbled back as the orange-haired vampire crouched over her and stared at her dark grey eyes.

"Don't worry about it," he muttered softly as he leaned closer to her. "I don't even have the power of hypnosis, so I can't really persuade you unless you want to kiss me again."

"What . . . . what kind of powers do you have?" whispered Orihime.

"Speed is my greatest strength," Ichigo replied quietly, trying not to focus on the rapid fluttering of her heartbeats. "I'm very agile, that's why I'm able to dodge harsh attacks."

"Is that all?"

"No . . . . I got more, but I cannot tell you," he muttered. "It's too dangerous for you to understand."

"Why?" she questioned, but gulped silently as Ichigo leaned close to her lips.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep . . . .!

"Ah! The washing machine!" Orihime realized as she stood up, accidently hitting Ichigo's face with her rock-hard head.

"Ouch! The hell?!" he grunted in pain, clutching his mouth and nose.

"Sorry!" Orihime exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

"I think you broke my nose," gritted Ichigo as he felt the warm liquid oozing from his nostrils.

"I'm so sorry," she replied again, helping him to stand up. "The bathroom's right down the hall, I'll dry your shirt for you."

"Thanks," he mumbled through his hand as he walked towards the bathroom. Within twenty seconds, the bleeding stopped but he went to the sink and washed his face and hand from the drying blood. He was vaguely aware of Orihime taking out the shirt and went to her bedroom. Suddenly, he heard a small shriek and he ran out of the bathroom and into her bedroom. "What's wrong?" he questioned.

"There's someone out there," muttered Orihime, pointing towards her balcony window. Ichigo opened the window and peered at the pointed sight. He narrowed his eyes as they turned golden, there's no doubt about it.

Waah, slack-jawed slap! I like cliffhangers, it makes people wanting more.

Read, review and no flames.

I'll update ASAP!!