"What are you doing!? Don't you
know that the dishes should've
been washed AGES ago?"
Orihime looked up fearfully at her
stepsister, her body shaking. Aoiko,
her atrocious stepsister, slapped
her sharply across her cheek,
knocking Orihime into the table.
The force shook the table, sending
the vase tumbling to the floor,
breaking the beautiful container
into dangerous shards. "Clean this
mess up! Or you'll have double the
work tomorrow!" Aoiko smirked
when Orihime whispered a small
"Yes sister" and began to clean the
floor. -If only I was in a different
home with kinder sisters and a
sweeter mother, then maybe I
would be the one giving orders..-
She thought as she put the larger
pieces of the broken vase into her
pale hands."Aoiko!" Schreeched an
unpleasent voice that belonged to a
much more unpleasant girl. "Aoi,
you wench! Stealing my hair
oranaments like that! And-" Aoiko
cupped her hand over her sister's
mouth. "Relax. Mother is getting
you new ones, Akane. Just shut up."
Akane gave a rude "hmph" and
turned her attention to Orihime.
"You!" She pointed her finger at
her, eyes smoldering. "Why did you
break Mother's vase?! She'll wring
your scrawny neck for that!"
Orihime began shaking again, and
stood. "Akane, I h-hadn't m-meant
t-to...a-Aoiko h-had punished me f-
for being late on my chores, a-and
m-my clumsiness made m-me
break the vase..." She murmured,
her eyes downcast. Akane and
Aoiko "hmphed" in unison, their
eyes rolling simutaniously.
"Excuses, excuses! It matters not
how you managed to break
something precious again, Orihime.
It only matters that you clean up
the damned mess so I don't harm
my fragile feet." Aoiko said,
stepping past her on her toes. "If
Mother sees you this way, she may
even triple your work tomorrow.
She might send you to the fields
with all the poor peasants." She
said, crouching down to her. "You
don't want to look like peasant, do
you?" Orihime shook her head no,
scared to open her mouth and
speak. Aoiko slapped her cruelly
across her face, much harder than
before. "Too bad, little sister! You
already look like a common
peasant!" Akane laughed. "More like
the common SLUT, sister Aoiko!
Come, let's return to our rooms.
Orihime's ugliness may rub off on
us if we stay too long." The girls
flipped their hair behind them,
walking upstairs as poor Orihime
began cleaning again.
The door banged open as their
Mother walked in curtly. "Orihime."
She said, taking long strides to her.
"Where is the vase?" Orihime
looked down from the woman's icy
cold eyes. "Look at me when I'm
talking to you!" Her Mother snarled,
yanking her hair upwards, taking
her head along with them. "Mother,
I'm so-sorry! I a-accidently h-hit t-
the table and the v-vase fell over!"
She stammered, tears falling down
her cheeks. "I feed you, I clothe you.
I give you a nice home, and you
repay me by breaking the only
material possesion I value!" Rei, the
mother, pushed Orihime into the
wall, her eyes fiery. "You will clean
the entire house tomorrow and do
yardwork! You don't get lunch and
dinner, either. Go up into your
room, and leave me be. Don't you
even think about bothering your
sisters! you're a selfish, evil,
spitefull demon, Orihime! You will
burn in the underworld if you
continue this way." Orihime began
crying silently as she walked into
the attic, the only place she had a
bit of solitude. When she had
stopped crying, she noticed that Rei
was telling Aoiko and Akane
something. She pressed her ear
against the door, straining to hear.
When she couldn't, she took a risk,
walking silently down the stairs.
Orihime stopped halfway, knowing
that they couldn't see her. "Girls, I
have the pleasure to announce the
Kurosaki Ichigo, the Prince of
Karakura, is old enough to marry.
Since he has no particular interest
in girls yet, the king has a ball
going on tonight. Prince Ichigo is
to dance with every girl, and
whoever he feels that he had the
most fun with, he will marry. It's
YOUR job to get to him first, and to
get him to have the most fun with
you!" Rei said, grinning. "I have
already arranged a carriage and
escort. All we need now is to go
shopping for elegant dresses and
such. Dont' bother telling Orihime,
she won't be coming." She smirked
slightly, walking out the door with
her two squealing daughters.
"Prince Ichigo is going to marry...?"
She whispered, running down the
stairs and sitting in chair nearby a
window. "No! He can't...I..." Orihime
looked down. "I love him, and if he
marries...I won't have a chance."
She starting crying loudly, and
shaking in despair. "This isn't fair!"
Uryuu Ishida, a rich archer as well
as being a part-time wizard,
happened to be walking past that
weeping girl at the window.
noticing her tears, he became quite
melancholy himself, finding that
even though he didn't know the
cause of her crying, it was
depressing to see. "A girl that
young has no business being that
sad." He said thoughtfully, and
knocked on the door. "Excuse me!"
Exclaimed Uryuu, "I would like to
come in." Slowly, Orihime wiped her
tears away, forcing on a fake, but
happy smile. "What do you need,
sir?" She asked when she opened
the door. She stood to the side to
let him in. He walked in, a
thoughtful expression on his face.
"Tell me...what is your name?"
"Inoue Orihime." She said softly,
sitting in her chair by the window.
"Orihime...I noticed you crying
when I walked by a second ago. I
want to know why." More tears
brimmed up to her eyes, falling
over her pale cheeks like rivers. "b-
Because my sisters and mother are
practically demons to me, and
they're going to the ball to marry
Prince
Ichigo and I'm not allowed to go,
and I love him!" Orihime said in one
breath as she covered her face in
her hands. Uryuu turned his head
away from her, not wanting to see
her tears. "Orihime, you musn't tell
anyone about these." He said,
pulling out a small blue box. "a-
About what...?" She asked, calming
a little. "These hairpins are called
Shun Shun Rikka. They will grant
you wishes if your heart is pure. If
you are not pure of heart, they will
not stay in your hair." Orihime
nodded, placing the two pins in her
hair fearfully. The Shun Shun Rikka
stayed in, twinkling beautifully
against her auburn locks. Uryuu
gave a rare smile, and placed the
box on the table. "They should help
you if your are to marry Prince
Ichigo." He said, and was about to
walk out the door, but Orihime
grabbed his hand. "Wait..what is
your name, kind sir?" "Uryuu
Ishida. and please, do not call me
sir." Uryuu replied, and walked
away swiftly, leaving an incredibly
giddy Orihime.
Orihime ran into her room, and put
the Shun Shun Rikka on her table.
"Oh, dear Shun Shun Rikka, will you
please show yourself?" She asked,
and nearly fell out of her chair
when the hairpins transformed
into llittle..people! "Hiya! And who
might you be?" Questioned the
blond of the six of them. "I'm Inoue
Orihime...but shouldn't I be asking
you all that?" The blond one started
to laugh. "i'm Shonou, that's
Hinagiku," Shonou pointed to what
seemed to look like an old man.
"That's Ayame," Shonou pointed to
a shy looking purple haired girl.
"There's Baigon," He was tanned,
and muscular. "Lily," Her finger
pointed to the pink haired girl with
the strange eye piece. "And Tsubaki,
the always mean and rude guy with
no sense of humour." That was
accompanied by a dark growl from
him. Shonou flew up to Orihime's
face. "Don't tell anyone, but I think
he likes Ayame." Another growl, but
not as loud. "Anyway, we're here to
grant any wish you may have,
Orihime. What do you need?"
Orihime gave a tiny smile. "There's
a ball tonight and-" "Done!" Shonou
cut her off, and clapped her hands.
"Come on you guys, Orihime here
needs a fancy outfit for the ball, a
carriage, and an escort! Hurry
hurry, it's tonight!" Lily flitted
around, the sparkled coming from
her arranged into a familiar way.
Soon, it all came together, a
gorgeous blue dress.
"Lily...it's..beautiful." Ayame said
softly, as she worked on the shoes
and stocking. "Well, Shun Shun
Rikka dust IS the best for making
dresses, stockings, and shoes,
don't you think Orihime?" Lily
asked, and she only nodded. "Oi!
Woman!" Tsubaki yelled, flying in
through the window. "I got your
damn carriage." Hinagiku shook his
head. "WE got the carriage, and
through an unfortunate turn of
events, it seems as though Tsubaki
has to be your escort." Tsubaki
groaned. "It's bad enough having to
serve this clueless woman, and her
brainless head." Orihime smiled,
using one finger to pat his head.
Tsubaki grumbled something
about biting her finger off as he
stalked towards Ayame. "How's
everything else comin' along?" He
asked. "It seems as though Baigon
has the horses, Lily has finished the
dress, and I have finished as well."
She said in a small voice. "Oh thank
you all! I'll be able to go to the ball
and everything!" "You must listen,
Orihime." Hinagiku said. "our magic
does not last forever. You must
return home at exactly midnight, or
everyone will know your true
identity." Lily smacked Hinagiku's
head. "You just have to ruin
EVERYONE's fun, don't you,
Hinagiku!?"
Orihime fidgeted nervously in the
carriage. "What if he doesn't like
me, Tsubaki?" She asked. "He'd
better like you, or I'll rip of his
head." She shuddered at his
response. "Do you have to be that
extreme?" "After all the work we
did, something good had better
come from the ball, or your prince
will have hell to pay." Orihime
sighed, and looked through the
window separating the carriage
space from the driver. "Your human
form is quite handsome, Tsubaki."
"you're starting to sound like
Ayame." She giggled, still
wondering how in the world all this
happened. "We're here." His voice
snapped her out of her thoughts.
He walked around the carriage, and
opened the door. "Bye, Tsubaki-
kun." Orihime said, and he just
rolled his eyes. "Remember,
midnight." He said, taking the
carriage somewhere, she didn't
know. He returned to her hairpins
just as he had promised, though.
Orihime walked down the steps into
the ballroom, scared to death but
happy at the same time. "There he
is!" She thought excitedly.
Ichigo groaned. "Dad, I hate you."
He thought, as he looked at was
seemed like billions of girls in the
ballroom. "How the hell am I
supposed to dance with all of
them!?" Came another thought, and
he scanned the room for anyone
particuarly interesting, which he
doubted. His eyes kept wandering
to this ginger-haired, petite girl,
which Ichigo couldn't understand.
"What's so interesting 'bout her
anyway, Ichigo?" Princess Karin, his
sister, asked. "You keep staring at
her. Just dance with her and get it
over with." He sighed, knowing that
she was right. He still didn't like the
sound of it though. "Go on, Ichigo.
She won't bite you, she looks
exceptionally kind. " Princess Yuzu
piped in, smiling at him. "You have
to get a wife sooner or later, so let
it be her. She's the prettiest, you
have to admit it." "Okay, okay, I'll go
dance with her. Get off my ass
about it." He said rudely, and
walked towards her. Orihime's eyes
grew wide, trying to convince
herself that he's going to dance
with someone else, someone that
must be much more beautiful than
her...
"May I have this dance?" Ichigo's
voice rang throughout her mind,
and she took his awaiting hand. "O-
Of course, Prince Ichigo..." She said
softly, and gasped faintly when he
wrapped his arm around her waist.
His eyebrows furrowed in what
seemed to be concern. "You don't
like it when I touch you, miss?" He
asked, loosening his grip. "I
just..um, I...I've never danced with
anyone before.." Ichigo gave a rare
smile to her. "I'll go slowly with
you. I'll be leading." He said, his
hardened grip returning around
her waist as he spun her around
the dance floor elegantly. "Look,
Karin, look how happy brother is!"
Yuzu exclaimed, smiling.
"He's...SMILING at her! She must be
the one he must marry!"
"Look at that wench, dancing with
OUR Ichigo." Aoiko said, crossing
her arms. "Say...don't you think that
the slut looks a lot like Orihime,
doesn't she..?" Akane said.
"Nah...Orihime doesn't have
anything expensive like that. Or
hairpins. She doesn't smile, either,
remember? No matter what." Aoiko
replied, shifting her weight to one
foot. "It doesn't matter, she's still
all over our Ichigo."
Ichigo's heartbeat sped up as he
looked into her grey orbs. "W-
What's your name?" He stuttered
out, surprising himself that he
even stuttered in the first place.
Orihime was about to tell him, but
the giant clock striked 12.
Midnight.
She gasped. "I'm sorry, but, Prince,
I have to leave." Orihime said,
running towards the exit. "Wait!" He
grabbed her wrist, but she
wriggled free, mixing in with all the
other girls and out the door. She
ran into the carriage, where
Tsubaki drove her home as fast as
the horses could run. When the last
ring of the giant tower clock in
town, all of the magic faded,
everything turning into Shun Shun
Rikka dust...
She burst through the door,
running up into the attic, nearly
collapsing onto her bed. Orihime
reached to take her hairpins out,
but only felt one. She kept telling
herself that it was surreal, not
happening. "Shun Shun Rikka come
out!" The 6 of them came out
obidently, looking tired. "You lost
the other half...half our power is
gone, Orihime." Ayame said softly,
rubbing at her eyes. "You've..."
Shonou yawned in the middle of
the sentence. "Gotta find it. Half of
our power won't keep us going for
long. We've already used so much
magic in getting you to the ball and
providing everything else for you."
Shonou sat down, nearly falling
asleep. "You guys can return and
rest. I will get the other half."
Orihime said, and put the hairpin in
it's box. She glanced down at her
tattered clothes, wishing for that
sparkling dress again.
"I have got to find her!" "Sir, you
don't understand. If you don't know
her name, many women could
dress up as her an-" Ichigo stalked
towards the messenger, taking a
fistful of his shirt into his hand,
hoisting him up into the air. "I don't
care what the hell it takes. I will find
her, and marry her. No matter how
long it takes." Ichigo threw him
down, and walked downstairs,
growling. "Where are you going,
Ichigo?" Isshin asked, walking
towards him. "To find my goddamn
wife." He said, walking out the door
hastily. Mounted upon his horse,
Ichigo galloped into the town,
looking for Orihime, the hairpin
tucked into his pocket. All the
young girls ran outside, just Ichigo
expected. "Oh Ichigo! Marry me!"
Half of them shouted. "No me!"
"Dont' pick her, I love you Ichigo!"
"In a straight line, women!" He
shouted over top of them. Almost
immediately, the women got into
single file, awaiting for what their
"love" wanted to tell them.
Orihime peeked out her window,
wondering what was going on, and
why almost all the girls where in a
straight line stretching as far as
the eye could see. "Mother, Ichigo is
outside! Can we go, too?!" Akane
asked excitedly. "Of course." The
two sisters squealed, running
outside and into the line. Rei
walked up the stairs silently, and
locked Orihime's door. The only
problem with her plan of starving
Orihime was that she had a window
and many bedsheets...
Hastily, she tied the bedsheets
together. "Come on, come on, I have
to get there." Orihime said, tying
faster. "There!" Orihime tucked the
hairpin Shun Shun Rikka into her
hair. She threw the bedsheet rope
out the window, and, even though
she was completely scared to,
climbed down the side of her
house.
Ichigo glanced past all the women,
and saw something auburn. He
gave a confused look, wondering
what it was. He noticed that it was
getting closer, shoving past people.
His eyes grew wide. "Y-You're...that
girl from last night..." "P-Prince
Ichigo! Prince Ichigo!" She called.
"Move, girls, make room for her."
He commanded, the girls doing
exactly what he said. "Orihime go
back home!" Aoiko said, throwing a
rock at her. Many of the other girls
followed suit. "Stop it!" Ichigo
growled, and they immediately
stopped, their eyes looking down.
"Prince Ichigo...I have the matching
hairpin." She said, pulling the Shun
Shun Rikka, and holding it out to
him. Ichigo got off his horse,
walking towards her. "This is
surreal" He thought. "She's found
me...I can finally love her.."
He fished through his pocket, and
pulled out her hairpin. "Here." He
said, putting into her hair for her.
Orihime smiled up at him. "Who's
going to be your wife, Prince
Ichigo?" "Well," Ichigo started.
"She's got auburn hair, grey eyes,
two blue hairpins, and she's on a
horse." He said, picking her up
gently and setting her on the back
of the horse. He climbed on in front
of her, holding the reins firmly in
his hands. "I never did catch your
name last night." He said, despite
all the of heartbroken looks he was
getting. "I'm Orihime Inoue." Ichigo
turned the horse around, making it
run towards the palace. "You mean
Orihime Kurosaki."