Lost in a New City

[leekspin]

Characters: Orihime Inoue, OPEN!
When: March 11, 2012
Where: ??????
Rating: PG
Summary: Orihime arrives...and has no idea what to do about that.

Comments

[mysteriouswhite]

As Orihime walks down the barren streets, she might be able to catch a flash of white, as if someone is dressed completely in the color. It appears every few buildings, always on the same side of the street, as if she were being indirectly followed.

And watched. She was definitely being watched.

[leekspin]

Orihime stiffened slightly, but she kept her pace the same. White. She used to like that color an awful lot, but after spending so much time in Hueco Mundo, it was no longer a pleasant association in these kinds of circumstances. Could it be an Arrancar, or even an Espada? Here?

And where was here, anyway? She didn't want to think that it could possibly be her hometown, and the ghostly shadow of a ferris wheel out on the horizon reassured her as much. Karakura Town might have been fairly good-sized for one of Tokyo's suburbs, but there had never been any fairgrounds established. Not in the middle of winter, anyway!

She pretended not to notice, forcing her shoulders to relax, while keeping her eyes and spiritual senses open. Whatever was out there didn't really feel like an Arrancar, but she knew they had ways of disguising their reiatsu.

[mysteriouswhite]

The white form started to get closer, almost as if hesitating in approaching Orihime. Once there was only a building between them, it seems, did the form start to giggle.

Light and childish, but there was also..something underneath that giggle, like it wasn't as innocent as it sounded.

Ominous.

Then, after a moment, humming started. Whoever it was was definitely a child.

[leekspin]

Orihime shivered a little. She couldn't help it! The situation felt just like one of those horror movies she used to watch with her best friend. All it needed now was the plunking of an out-of-tune piano.

She had no idea what she was supposed to do about this. Was she to run? Fight? Keep feigning ignorance? All of the above somehow?!

Resisting the urge to smooth down the goosebumps prickled on her arms, Orihime kept walking, and after swallowing the dryness in her throat, she started to hum too. Why not? Maybe it would help.

[mysteriouswhite]

-You know, Libitina could do that if she wanted. Give appropriate music. It wouldn't be the first time she's done it.

But she won't. She'd rather watch and observe her new "toy" for a moment longer. She just wanted to watch the reactions of her new "toy," just because.

She didn't need a reason for why she did things.

Libitina allowed a couple of minutes to pass before rolling her white ball towards Orihima

[leekspin]

Finally, Orihime stopped. Maybe she was just being silly about this. If there was a ghost tailing her, was that really so terrible? She was trained to fight Hollows. Besides, this one wasn't behaving in a hostile way...just following, watching, and humming. And now she was being offered a little white ball. Maybe the ghost didn't really know it was being creepy.

Besides, she needed to find out where she was, and so far the ghost was the only option she had to figure it out.

She stooped to pick up the ball, turning it over in her hands for a few moments. Then she turned her head to actually look at the ghost. ...It was really just a little girl. Kneeling, Orihime rolled the ball back. Perhaps the girl only wanted to play for a bit.

[mysteriouswhite]

Libitina held her hands behind her back innocently as she watched, slowly making her way toward Orihime. She stopped when the ball was rolled back to her and knelt down to pick it up, cradling it against her. Like it was the most precious thing in the world.

"New toy?" Totally an innocent question, though she already knew the answer to it. She tilted her head slightly, white hair bobbing along with the motion.

Really, she looked too well-kept to live here. Her hair was...perfect, pretty much. Dress stainless. Shoes unscathed.

Really unnatural.

[leekspin]

Thinking that the girl was referring to the ball, Orihime smiled and inclined her head.

"It sure looks new, doesn't it? It's amazing that you keep it so clean!"

The girl seemed pretty friendly so far. Ethereal, a little off, but what ghost wasn't, really? Clasping her hands in front of her, Orihime bowed a little in greeting.

"Inoue Orihime. Pleased to meet you!"

[mysteriouswhite]

Libitina just thinks you're silly, Orihime. She likes silly toys. They're fun to watch, in her opinion.

"I Libitina." Broken English is the best she can do, unfortunately. She was never that great with it when she was alive, having been still learning back then.

"You toy." Maybe that would help get her point across? Maybe. "Toy get 702."

[leekspin]

"I'm the toy?" Orihime pointed at herself, straightening in surprise. ...Huh. She wasn't entirely sure what to make of that! Maybe it was just a mistranslation, meant to be 'playmate'.

"Do you want to play, Libitina-chan?" she offered. There didn't seem to be any harm in it. As for what 702 was, she hadn't the foggiest! She'd figure it out later, she supposed.

[mysteriouswhite]

Libitina gave a nod. Yes, this toy was definitely not as dumb as she looked. Mostly, anyway. Which was still good. "All toys here." And then she moved, pointing at the single building in the entire city standing in good condition.

"Toy stay in 702. Play You Stay, Me Watch."

[leekspin]

Orihime thought she could understand that much. She regarded the building thoughtfully, then Libitina again. It was possible that the little girl was responsible for drawing Orihime here, but she wasn't really certain. After all, Libitina had seemed very inquisitive when first speaking to Orihime, as if trying to make sense of her. At least, that was the impression she'd had.

"Well thank you very much, that looks like a nice building to live in!" she beamed, bowing her thanks. "You don't have to just watch, though, I don't mind if you want to come visit. Do you mind telling me anything else you know about this place?" She had a lot of questions, but the ghost was still just a kid.

[mysteriouswhite]

It was something Libitina always did, give the new "toys" a place to stay. While it was indeed entertaining to watch them struggle to survive without provided shelter...well, she liked to keep them all in one place.

But it was good Orihime picked up on things quickly. She didn't have to insist like she did with others.

"Always play with toys." She tilted her head at the question though, pausing for a moment. "Toys try to fix it."

[leekspin]

She had to wonder if she meant fixing the apartment building, or the situation they found themselves in. Orihime would probably find out sooner or later, so that was a question she could skip for now. At least now she knew she wasn't the only one here, though none of the spiritual presences she felt now were even remotely familiar.

"What happened to this place, Libitina-chan?" she asked, turning her head to once more take in all of the destruction. "Was it bombed?"

[mysteriouswhite]

Libitina tilted her head to the right, then the left, almost as if she were contemplating telling Orihime or not. Decisions, decisions, what should she say next?

"Master happened." Well, it was the truth, though the actual details...weren't there. She knew giving more details than that would get her in trouble.

[leekspin]

Orihime looked thoughtful. So there was a Master of some sort involved. "Is Master responsible for bringing toys here too?" she asked. She kind of hoped not. Anyone who could destroy an entire town like this was dangerous. And considering that her home had been threatened with a very similar kind of fate, she couldn't help thinking of 'Master' along the same lines as Aizen.

Needless to say, she wasn't a fan of that particular notion. The universe didn't need two of those guys!