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queenofchalices) wrote2010-08-31 05:44 pm
queenofchalices) wrote2010-08-31 05:44 pm
Entry tags:
Rapid Fire chapter!
Title: Oedipus Complex – Chapter Two
Series: Bleach
Rating: T
Warnings: het (IchiHime, IsshinHime), May/December relationship
Spoilers: Through current chapters (417)
Disclaimer: These characters belong to a lot of Japanese people, namely people like Tite Kubo and Shonen Jump. You'll notice how none of those are me. The LiveJournal format that you'll probably be reading this in (if you're one of my friends) is rough draft and is subject to revision. Consider this a 'sneak peek'. If something sits the wrong way with you, let me know. Not responsible for epileptic seizures or allergic reactions. May contain eye-and-brain-bleeding levels of radioactive ANGST and/or peanut products. Please sit a reasonable distance from your computer screen.
Author’s Notes: I’m going to try to update this daily because that’s about how long it takes me to edit the chapters. I don’t want to spam the Ichi_Hime LJ comm with it, though, so if you want to follow through LJ, friend my writing journal! And yes, sixteen IS old enough to get married in Japan. And now you know.
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"What the fuck is she doing here?!" Ichigo bellowed, pointing angrily at the pretty redhead in front of him, "What do you mean new mother?! She's my age!" Isshin reached over and popped Ichigo on the ear soundly as the young woman flinched.
"Language, young man!" his father bellowed, "How dare you speak in front of your new mother that way!? Apologize to Orihime-chan right this instant!" This did nothing to soothe Ichigo's anger.
"Orihime-cha--" he sputtered in disbelief before turning to his sisters, "Did you two know about this?!" Yuzu smiled happily while Karin shrugged.
"I think it's sweet," the blonde sister said, "And it'll be nice to have another woman around the house!"
"The old goat can do whatever he wants," Karin added with a bored wave, "It's none of my business."
Seeing he was going to have no help from his sisters, Ichigo turned back to his father and his new girlfriend in angry disbelief.
"But it's... It's illegal!" Ichigo sputtered, grasping at straws. Surely there were laws against this, right?
"Actually," Isshin said, waggling his eyebrows, "Sixteen is old enough to get married legally. And thirteen is the age of consent..." Ichigo's face nearly turned purple at that comment.
"Age of--" he spat, not wanting to even think about why his father knew that, "That's only if you're a minor, too! And what do you mean married?!"
"I mean I just proposed to Orihime-chan, and she said yes," Isshin said proudly, putting an arm around Orihime's shoulder and nearly dwarfing the smaller girl, "We're going to the family registry next week to make her a real Kurosaki!" Ichigo stared openly at Orihime. She'd been standing timidly beside Isshin this entire time, not making a peep. Currently, she was studying the linoleum beneath her little feet.
Finally having heard enough, Ichigo reached out and grabbed Orihime by the arm. She squeaked as he pulled her away from his father's grip, stumbling after him as he headed toward the living room with her.
"We need to talk," Ichigo growled, ignoring the puzzled looks Isshin and his sisters were giving him.
When he finally released her well out of earshot of his nosy family, he couldn't even stand to look at her face. Her eyes were wide and watery, looking for all the world like she might cry at any second. That hurt look caused a pang of regret to briefly flicker through Ichigo.
"Ichigo-kun?" she asked, causing him to look at her, "What's wrong? I thought you'd be happy for us..." His eyebrows shot up at the familiar address.
"What's with the 'Ichigo-kun'?" he asked bluntly. Orihime's face colored as she looked away from his intense gaze.
"I-I figured I should be more familiar since... since we're going to be family now," she said quietly, not meeting his eyes, "I'd really like it if you could call me 'Mom' from now on, too."
Ichigo wanted to be angry with her. And maybe some part of him was. But the larger part of him knew that she probably didn't know what had happened to his mother, and was probably only doing this to please his father. So instead of the outrage his father had invoked, he simply gave Orihime an exasperated sigh.
"I will not call you 'Mom', Inoue," he said firmly, before changing the subject, "I want to know why you're doing this. If that old man is blackmailing you, I swear by all that is holy, I'll--"
"He's not blackmailing me, Ichigo-kun," she said with a bit of a nervous smile, "It's just that... Well, I've always been grateful for how he tried to help Onii-chan, and he asked, and I'm tired of relying on my relatives for everything, a-and it wouldn't be a bad marriage, so I figured I might as well give it a shot, right?" Ichigo's expression went from confused to agitated as she spoke.
"So you don't even love him?" Ichigo questioned her. Surprisingly, he felt less upset at the idea of a woman marrying his father without loving him and more upset that Orihime was going to marry someone she didn't love. Either one would be a pretty bad prospect, but the fact that it was this woman in particular was what was irritating Ichigo the most.
"Well, no..." she said softly, averting her eyes again, "But I can learn to really love him, right? That's a part of growing up, isn't it? Taking what's possible instead of what's perfect? If he likes me, and it'll be a good marriage, I should do it. I might not get another chance..."
Instead of calming Ichigo down, though, this had the opposite effect - he was positively fuming. Why was she so desperate? Did she really think so little of herself that she'd take the first thing that was offered to her? He wanted to grab her and shake her, but he refrained; his fists were shaking from the effort, though.
"What do you mean, you won't get another chance?" Ichigo ground out, "You're only sixteen! I know at least a dozen guys in our class that would kill for a chance to go out with you!" Ichigo left out the part about that being the exact number of guys who'd picked a fight with him over Orihime in the past three months. It evened out to about one jackass a week taking over his lunch hour so Ichigo could pound some sense into him.
"But I don't know any of them," Orihime replied simply, looking up at Ichigo with wide, earnest eyes, "Please, Ichigo-kun. Try to understand. We really want this." He cursed to himself, looking away from her. He wasn't going to be able to tell her 'no' while she was making that face at him. Instead, he simply didn't reply.
"Besides," she went on, trying nervously to fill the silence, "We're already friends, right? So it shouldn't be hard for us to all get along from now on. A-And it'll be nice for me to have a family, too."
Ichigo's eyes softened at that. He knew Orihime lived alone with nothing but her brother's picture to keep her company. Who was he to tell her she couldn't have a family after so long without one? So at that admission, he sighed and admitted defeat. He might not approve of it, he might not even like it, but this was what was best for her, right? At least this way, he wasn't a threat to her any longer, and she had someone who'd look after her and treat her right.
"Alright, Inoue," he finally sighed, "I guess I'll... deal with it. If that's what you really want..." Orihime gave him a watery smile. For some reason suddenly, it made his heart ache, but he returned it anyway.
"Thank you, Ichigo-kun," she said softly, "You'll see - I'll take great care of all of you!" Then she did something that made his heart stop; she reached up and gave him a little peck on the cheek.
Ichigo felt his cheeks fill with heat. Inoue Orihime had just kissed him. And it was actually a pleasant experience. She had placed her hands on his chest when she leaned up to do it, and her soft lips had burned her clean smell of rain and powder into his senses. And as his heart rate soared, he remembered that in a week, she'd be marrying his Dad. That thought alone was like dumping a bucket of ice water on his new-found hormones.
"I'll see you back in the kitchen, okay?" she said gently before turning away.
As he watched the curtain of her hair fall over her back, and her hips sway lightly beneath her school skirt, Ichigo was hit by a sudden pang of guilt. Maybe if he'd said something earlier, this wouldn't be happening. Maybe this was punishment for being so hardhearted to her before. Contrary to popular belief, Ichigo wasn't stupid or unobservant. He could tell very well that Orihime had been nursing a crush on him for at least the past three months, but he'd chosen to ignore it for her own good. Now, he not only had to know she was happily with another man, but he had to live with them as well. He couldn't simply block it out because he would have to see it every day from now until he moved out to go to college.
It was going to be a very long time indeed.
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After he talked with Orihime, Ichigo ignored everyone in the kitchen and went straight to his room. He had no plans to come out for the night, not even for dinner. He wasn't ready to watch the happy domestic scenes between his Dad and his new girlfriend just yet.
After an hour or so, boredom began to set in, though, and he began to work on his homework. He found his concentration was garbage and he could barely answer even the simplest questions. He kept imagining Orihime helping his sisters with their Pre-Algebra, like his mother would have if she was still alive. After snapping a couple pencils accidentally, he slammed his book shut and shoved himself away from his desk, standing in a huff.
Having nothing better to do, he began to pace. His head was spinning from the movement and from his thoughts. Maybe it wasn't too late. Maybe he could stop this insanity. What if Tatsuki found out? Wouldn't she unleash hellfire and damnation until this whole thing was fixed? He resolved to talk to her first thing Monday. If Orihime wouldn't listen to him, maybe she'd listen to another girl.
More importantly, he hoped she'd go back to her own apartment soon so Ichigo could come out and get something to eat. His stomach was already growling angrily to compliment his mental state. If he had to stay like this all night, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to maintain what was left of his sanity.
"Ichigo-kun? Are you busy?"
Ichigo froze, mid-pace. Speak of the devil. When he didn't answer, the girl on the other side pushed open his door and peeked inside. Upon finding him standing and looking rather preoccupied, Orihime looked around the room shyly before shrinking back to close the door once more.
"Umm, I-I'll come back later," she stammered, "You look busy." Before she could shut the door, Ichigo stopped it with his foot.
"No, Inoue," he replied quietly, "I'm not busy. What do you need?" She blushed up at him shyly at his tone. It was much gentler than it had been earlier.
"Your father wanted me to come get you for dinner," she said with an awkward smile, "I helped Yuzu-chan with it, a-and I was really hoping you could try it."
As much as Ichigo hated to admit it, her pleading, hopeful tone made him keenly aware that he would be unable to refuse her anything. If she'd asked him to go to the moon and pick up some mochi from the rabbit up there, he'd have grudgingly said yes.
"Alright," he said, lowering his eyelids before following her downstairs.
Dinner was much the same as normal, just with the addition of Orihime. Karin fought with Isshin, Yuzu and Orihime tried to break them up, and Isshin filled in any awkward silences with his boisterous cheer. It seemed like only Ichigo felt anything amiss at all. All throughout the meal, his countenance grew darker and darker, until he was eating with a full-fledged scowl. And out of everyone at the table, only Orihime seemed to notice that something wasn't quite right.
She would often pause in mid-bite to look quizzically at Ichigo, as if to ask if he was alright. Finally, after what felt like the thirtieth such stare, she spoke up.
"Ichigo-kun," she said softly, so the others could barely hear, "Is everything alright? I didn't over-salt the beef, did I?" Ichigo shook his head; it was a bit too salty, but he wasn't going to tell her that.
"It's fine, Inoue," he said flatly, waving off her concerns. From across the table, Karin snorted behind her chopsticks.
"Geez, they sound more like a married couple than you two do," Karin remarked, looking askance at her father, "Better watch it, old man, or she'll leave you for someone younger." Isshin simply grinned as he stroked his sparse beard.
"Now, now, Ichigo," he commented, addressing the source of the problem, "One day, you'll have a woman as beautiful and amazing as your mother, too. Don't be jealous."
That was the last straw. He could almost handle this awkward new situation, but he wouldn't stand for his mother's memory being replaced like that.
Ichigo rose wordlessly, slamming his hands onto the table so hard that the dishes clattered. Without so much as a by-your-leave, he pushed his chair back to go.
"Ichi-nii!" Yuzu cried after him, "Aren't you hungry?"
"I'm fine," he growled, stalking towards the stairs to the second floor.
"But you barely touched your food!" she protested, earning herself an angry glare.
"I said I'm fine!" he yelled over his shoulder, causing the younger girl to pout and Orihime to flinch. He felt a sudden pang of regret at Orihime's pained expression, but shoved it aside; instead, he stomped up the stairs before anyone else could add any of their thoughts to the situation.
Series: Bleach
Rating: T
Warnings: het (IchiHime, IsshinHime), May/December relationship
Spoilers: Through current chapters (417)
Disclaimer: These characters belong to a lot of Japanese people, namely people like Tite Kubo and Shonen Jump. You'll notice how none of those are me. The LiveJournal format that you'll probably be reading this in (if you're one of my friends) is rough draft and is subject to revision. Consider this a 'sneak peek'. If something sits the wrong way with you, let me know. Not responsible for epileptic seizures or allergic reactions. May contain eye-and-brain-bleeding levels of radioactive ANGST and/or peanut products. Please sit a reasonable distance from your computer screen.
Author’s Notes: I’m going to try to update this daily because that’s about how long it takes me to edit the chapters. I don’t want to spam the Ichi_Hime LJ comm with it, though, so if you want to follow through LJ, friend my writing journal! And yes, sixteen IS old enough to get married in Japan. And now you know.
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"What the fuck is she doing here?!" Ichigo bellowed, pointing angrily at the pretty redhead in front of him, "What do you mean new mother?! She's my age!" Isshin reached over and popped Ichigo on the ear soundly as the young woman flinched.
"Language, young man!" his father bellowed, "How dare you speak in front of your new mother that way!? Apologize to Orihime-chan right this instant!" This did nothing to soothe Ichigo's anger.
"Orihime-cha--" he sputtered in disbelief before turning to his sisters, "Did you two know about this?!" Yuzu smiled happily while Karin shrugged.
"I think it's sweet," the blonde sister said, "And it'll be nice to have another woman around the house!"
"The old goat can do whatever he wants," Karin added with a bored wave, "It's none of my business."
Seeing he was going to have no help from his sisters, Ichigo turned back to his father and his new girlfriend in angry disbelief.
"But it's... It's illegal!" Ichigo sputtered, grasping at straws. Surely there were laws against this, right?
"Actually," Isshin said, waggling his eyebrows, "Sixteen is old enough to get married legally. And thirteen is the age of consent..." Ichigo's face nearly turned purple at that comment.
"Age of--" he spat, not wanting to even think about why his father knew that, "That's only if you're a minor, too! And what do you mean married?!"
"I mean I just proposed to Orihime-chan, and she said yes," Isshin said proudly, putting an arm around Orihime's shoulder and nearly dwarfing the smaller girl, "We're going to the family registry next week to make her a real Kurosaki!" Ichigo stared openly at Orihime. She'd been standing timidly beside Isshin this entire time, not making a peep. Currently, she was studying the linoleum beneath her little feet.
Finally having heard enough, Ichigo reached out and grabbed Orihime by the arm. She squeaked as he pulled her away from his father's grip, stumbling after him as he headed toward the living room with her.
"We need to talk," Ichigo growled, ignoring the puzzled looks Isshin and his sisters were giving him.
When he finally released her well out of earshot of his nosy family, he couldn't even stand to look at her face. Her eyes were wide and watery, looking for all the world like she might cry at any second. That hurt look caused a pang of regret to briefly flicker through Ichigo.
"Ichigo-kun?" she asked, causing him to look at her, "What's wrong? I thought you'd be happy for us..." His eyebrows shot up at the familiar address.
"What's with the 'Ichigo-kun'?" he asked bluntly. Orihime's face colored as she looked away from his intense gaze.
"I-I figured I should be more familiar since... since we're going to be family now," she said quietly, not meeting his eyes, "I'd really like it if you could call me 'Mom' from now on, too."
Ichigo wanted to be angry with her. And maybe some part of him was. But the larger part of him knew that she probably didn't know what had happened to his mother, and was probably only doing this to please his father. So instead of the outrage his father had invoked, he simply gave Orihime an exasperated sigh.
"I will not call you 'Mom', Inoue," he said firmly, before changing the subject, "I want to know why you're doing this. If that old man is blackmailing you, I swear by all that is holy, I'll--"
"He's not blackmailing me, Ichigo-kun," she said with a bit of a nervous smile, "It's just that... Well, I've always been grateful for how he tried to help Onii-chan, and he asked, and I'm tired of relying on my relatives for everything, a-and it wouldn't be a bad marriage, so I figured I might as well give it a shot, right?" Ichigo's expression went from confused to agitated as she spoke.
"So you don't even love him?" Ichigo questioned her. Surprisingly, he felt less upset at the idea of a woman marrying his father without loving him and more upset that Orihime was going to marry someone she didn't love. Either one would be a pretty bad prospect, but the fact that it was this woman in particular was what was irritating Ichigo the most.
"Well, no..." she said softly, averting her eyes again, "But I can learn to really love him, right? That's a part of growing up, isn't it? Taking what's possible instead of what's perfect? If he likes me, and it'll be a good marriage, I should do it. I might not get another chance..."
Instead of calming Ichigo down, though, this had the opposite effect - he was positively fuming. Why was she so desperate? Did she really think so little of herself that she'd take the first thing that was offered to her? He wanted to grab her and shake her, but he refrained; his fists were shaking from the effort, though.
"What do you mean, you won't get another chance?" Ichigo ground out, "You're only sixteen! I know at least a dozen guys in our class that would kill for a chance to go out with you!" Ichigo left out the part about that being the exact number of guys who'd picked a fight with him over Orihime in the past three months. It evened out to about one jackass a week taking over his lunch hour so Ichigo could pound some sense into him.
"But I don't know any of them," Orihime replied simply, looking up at Ichigo with wide, earnest eyes, "Please, Ichigo-kun. Try to understand. We really want this." He cursed to himself, looking away from her. He wasn't going to be able to tell her 'no' while she was making that face at him. Instead, he simply didn't reply.
"Besides," she went on, trying nervously to fill the silence, "We're already friends, right? So it shouldn't be hard for us to all get along from now on. A-And it'll be nice for me to have a family, too."
Ichigo's eyes softened at that. He knew Orihime lived alone with nothing but her brother's picture to keep her company. Who was he to tell her she couldn't have a family after so long without one? So at that admission, he sighed and admitted defeat. He might not approve of it, he might not even like it, but this was what was best for her, right? At least this way, he wasn't a threat to her any longer, and she had someone who'd look after her and treat her right.
"Alright, Inoue," he finally sighed, "I guess I'll... deal with it. If that's what you really want..." Orihime gave him a watery smile. For some reason suddenly, it made his heart ache, but he returned it anyway.
"Thank you, Ichigo-kun," she said softly, "You'll see - I'll take great care of all of you!" Then she did something that made his heart stop; she reached up and gave him a little peck on the cheek.
Ichigo felt his cheeks fill with heat. Inoue Orihime had just kissed him. And it was actually a pleasant experience. She had placed her hands on his chest when she leaned up to do it, and her soft lips had burned her clean smell of rain and powder into his senses. And as his heart rate soared, he remembered that in a week, she'd be marrying his Dad. That thought alone was like dumping a bucket of ice water on his new-found hormones.
"I'll see you back in the kitchen, okay?" she said gently before turning away.
As he watched the curtain of her hair fall over her back, and her hips sway lightly beneath her school skirt, Ichigo was hit by a sudden pang of guilt. Maybe if he'd said something earlier, this wouldn't be happening. Maybe this was punishment for being so hardhearted to her before. Contrary to popular belief, Ichigo wasn't stupid or unobservant. He could tell very well that Orihime had been nursing a crush on him for at least the past three months, but he'd chosen to ignore it for her own good. Now, he not only had to know she was happily with another man, but he had to live with them as well. He couldn't simply block it out because he would have to see it every day from now until he moved out to go to college.
It was going to be a very long time indeed.
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After he talked with Orihime, Ichigo ignored everyone in the kitchen and went straight to his room. He had no plans to come out for the night, not even for dinner. He wasn't ready to watch the happy domestic scenes between his Dad and his new girlfriend just yet.
After an hour or so, boredom began to set in, though, and he began to work on his homework. He found his concentration was garbage and he could barely answer even the simplest questions. He kept imagining Orihime helping his sisters with their Pre-Algebra, like his mother would have if she was still alive. After snapping a couple pencils accidentally, he slammed his book shut and shoved himself away from his desk, standing in a huff.
Having nothing better to do, he began to pace. His head was spinning from the movement and from his thoughts. Maybe it wasn't too late. Maybe he could stop this insanity. What if Tatsuki found out? Wouldn't she unleash hellfire and damnation until this whole thing was fixed? He resolved to talk to her first thing Monday. If Orihime wouldn't listen to him, maybe she'd listen to another girl.
More importantly, he hoped she'd go back to her own apartment soon so Ichigo could come out and get something to eat. His stomach was already growling angrily to compliment his mental state. If he had to stay like this all night, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to maintain what was left of his sanity.
"Ichigo-kun? Are you busy?"
Ichigo froze, mid-pace. Speak of the devil. When he didn't answer, the girl on the other side pushed open his door and peeked inside. Upon finding him standing and looking rather preoccupied, Orihime looked around the room shyly before shrinking back to close the door once more.
"Umm, I-I'll come back later," she stammered, "You look busy." Before she could shut the door, Ichigo stopped it with his foot.
"No, Inoue," he replied quietly, "I'm not busy. What do you need?" She blushed up at him shyly at his tone. It was much gentler than it had been earlier.
"Your father wanted me to come get you for dinner," she said with an awkward smile, "I helped Yuzu-chan with it, a-and I was really hoping you could try it."
As much as Ichigo hated to admit it, her pleading, hopeful tone made him keenly aware that he would be unable to refuse her anything. If she'd asked him to go to the moon and pick up some mochi from the rabbit up there, he'd have grudgingly said yes.
"Alright," he said, lowering his eyelids before following her downstairs.
Dinner was much the same as normal, just with the addition of Orihime. Karin fought with Isshin, Yuzu and Orihime tried to break them up, and Isshin filled in any awkward silences with his boisterous cheer. It seemed like only Ichigo felt anything amiss at all. All throughout the meal, his countenance grew darker and darker, until he was eating with a full-fledged scowl. And out of everyone at the table, only Orihime seemed to notice that something wasn't quite right.
She would often pause in mid-bite to look quizzically at Ichigo, as if to ask if he was alright. Finally, after what felt like the thirtieth such stare, she spoke up.
"Ichigo-kun," she said softly, so the others could barely hear, "Is everything alright? I didn't over-salt the beef, did I?" Ichigo shook his head; it was a bit too salty, but he wasn't going to tell her that.
"It's fine, Inoue," he said flatly, waving off her concerns. From across the table, Karin snorted behind her chopsticks.
"Geez, they sound more like a married couple than you two do," Karin remarked, looking askance at her father, "Better watch it, old man, or she'll leave you for someone younger." Isshin simply grinned as he stroked his sparse beard.
"Now, now, Ichigo," he commented, addressing the source of the problem, "One day, you'll have a woman as beautiful and amazing as your mother, too. Don't be jealous."
That was the last straw. He could almost handle this awkward new situation, but he wouldn't stand for his mother's memory being replaced like that.
Ichigo rose wordlessly, slamming his hands onto the table so hard that the dishes clattered. Without so much as a by-your-leave, he pushed his chair back to go.
"Ichi-nii!" Yuzu cried after him, "Aren't you hungry?"
"I'm fine," he growled, stalking towards the stairs to the second floor.
"But you barely touched your food!" she protested, earning herself an angry glare.
"I said I'm fine!" he yelled over his shoulder, causing the younger girl to pout and Orihime to flinch. He felt a sudden pang of regret at Orihime's pained expression, but shoved it aside; instead, he stomped up the stairs before anyone else could add any of their thoughts to the situation.