Lost Souls Э Chapter One
Lost Souls
Rating: PG-13 (may change; violence, language)
Pairings: Implied Ishida x Orihime, Szayel x Ishida
Summary: The war is over and life continues, but when you’ve spend so much time fighting, how are you supposed to return to a normal life? Ishida Uryuu questions this, to the point where he is unsure of whom he is supposed to be now, and soon finds salvation in the most unlikely of sources.
Note: Chapter is shorter than my usual, but it was a good spot to end it. This fic is dedicated to Hound, who is largely responsible for the plot bunny. <3
CHAPTER ONE
His hand was outstretched, bow and arrow at the ready as he had done so many other times before, but this time was some how different. He could feel his fingers trembling, and no matter how much he fought against it, he could not stop the shaking. With a defeated sigh, he lowered his weapon, reigning his spiritual energy back in so the bow and arrow dissipated. He wished he could say that this was the first time this happened, that he was just tense today for some reason he did not know; but it was not the first time, and he doubted it would be the last.
Things had changed.
"Ishida-kun? Are you out here?"
Ishida Uryuu reached up to adjust his glasses, turning toward the sound of the voice. Unfortunately, the owner did not even come into view before he heard a crash, followed by a surprised shout, and the resulting thud drew another sigh out of him.
"Inoue-san, are you all right?" he asked, pushing his way through the undergrowth of his personal training ground to get to her. She was sprawled out rather comically over a tree root, with her rear end sticking high up in the air, her skirt hitched up almost high enough to see her panties. Orihime Inoue turned her head up to him, letting out a nervous laugh as she rubbed the back of her head.
"I'm fine! I just didn't see that tree root..."
Ishida stared at the root she was draped over. Seriously, how could she have missed it...?
He knew better than to ask questions at this point, so instead he knelt down to help her to her feet. She beamed up at him, smile as bright as always as she apologized for falling over. Orihime's smile quickly died soon after, however, a concerned look replacing it.
"Ishida-kun, are you all right? You've missed school for the past few days now..." she began.
As much as he was loath to admit it, it was true; he had been coming out to this training ground by the waterfall every day since Kurosaki had awoken from his coma. He felt it his personal duty after all; the shinigami Soul Society had on duty for Karakura Town was so undependable that even "inept" did not quite describe the man well enough. Still, despite all his training, instead of getting better, he was just getting worse.
"I'm fine... I'll be in school tomorrow," he replied. "I promise."
Orihime did not look convinced, but she did not try to push the point. She reached out, grasping his arm briefly as she looked down to the ground, mouth working a moment as she tried to find the best way to say what she wanted to.
"...they... were not much different from us, were they?" she asked softly. "They just... believed in the wrong person. I wonder... if we..."
Ishida frowned. "Inoue-san..."
She paused then... before shaking her head, letting him go and backing away a bit. "N-never mind! It's stupid to think of such things anyway, right?" She let out a nervous laugh, before turning to start off. "A-Anyway, I need to go to the store before I go home. Get a good night's sleep, Ishi-whao!"
Orihime cut herself off as she fell again... over the same tree root.
~.oOOo.~
They just... believed in the wrong person.
Those words were still on Ishida's mind as he made his way to school the next morning. It did not take much to know what she had meant by that; there were not many other "they"s out there that could fit that description. It was not something he wanted to think about: his encounter with those people had been less than pleasant, and had led to him having to deal with that damn morally bankrupt creature (because he refused to believe there had once been anything human under that makeup).
Ishida pushed the thoughts out of his mind as he made his way through the front gate of the school, glancing around to see if anyone he knew was there yet. He thought he spotted a head of orange hair, but after shaking his head, he was proven wrong, and of course: Kurosaki had not been to school for awhile, still recovering himself from the war and losing all of his powers. He doubted he would show up now just because he himself had returned as well.
He was the first to class, which was not much of a surprise. As students started to trickle in, however, he could not help but feel uneasy... something was making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, but no matter how far out he stretched his senses, he could not tell what, or who, could be the cause of it. Ishida tapped his papers against the desk stubbornly, trying to ignore it, but as everyone settled down and the homeroom professor came into the class, the feeling only continued to nag at him, getting even worse as the day wore on.
By lunch time, Ishida was practically snapping his pencil in half, tense from whatever bad feelings were crawling up his spine. Instead of eating, he set out through the halls, trying to find the source. Even a physical search proved useless, however, and by the time he came sulking back to his classroom, his stomach was letting out violent noises of protest against this unfair treatment.
Ishida stubbornly ignored it as he plopped down in his seat, pulling out his physics book in preparation for the next class. Though as the other students filed in and the bell rang, no professor came to teach the class. Confused murmurings went through the room, before the door finally opened, and a school aide came into the room.
"We're sorry for the delay, everyone. As you know, Takagawa-san retired last week, and the professor we have to take his place is filling out the last of his paperwork," she informed them, flitting her eyes back and forth from the room to the hallway, looking for the new professor. "He should be here any- Ah!"
She darted out of the room as the sound of steady, even footsteps could be heard from the hallway. Ishida squirmed in his seat, frowning as a knot twisted itself in his stomach; whatever it was that was making his senses respond poorly, it had to do with this professor, because it was getting worse. The aide came back in, much happier and less nervous now that the individual she was intended to introduce was here.
"Thank you for waiting, everyone!" she beamed. "Will you all please welcome your new Physics professor..."
Ishida did not hear her announce the name of their new professor, but then again, he really did not have to. His eyes widened as the man entered the room, taking in the neatly pressed and immaculately cleaned suit, the white rimmed glasses, and the perfectly groomed pink hair.
"GAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
He also did not realize that he screamed, bolting up from his seat and pointing at the individual, until he felt the eyes of everyone in the classroom staring at him. There was an awkward moment as Ishida deflated a bit, realizing how stupid he looked, lowering his arm.
"Ah, Ishida-kun," the new professor began, starting toward him. "I haven't seen you since you were a child. How is your father doing?"
He held a hand out to him, and Ishida glanced down at it, spotting writing on the palm.
Make a scene, and death is the least of your worries.
Ishida felt his stomach bottom out; since when had he swapped lives with Kurosaki?! He made a face, reluctantly taking his hand and giving it one shake before quickly dropping it.
"Fine, sir," he managed to get out, sinking back into his seat. The pink haired man smirked down at him, before starting back toward the front of the class.
"Now, as the dear woman was saying," he began, threading his fingers through his hair. "I will be your new physics professor for the next two weeks, after which time you will have a permanent replacement."
He paused long enough to turn around with a dramatic flourish.
"My name is Szayel Aporro Granz."
Rating: PG-13 (may change; violence, language)
Pairings: Implied Ishida x Orihime, Szayel x Ishida
Summary: The war is over and life continues, but when you’ve spend so much time fighting, how are you supposed to return to a normal life? Ishida Uryuu questions this, to the point where he is unsure of whom he is supposed to be now, and soon finds salvation in the most unlikely of sources.
Note: Chapter is shorter than my usual, but it was a good spot to end it. This fic is dedicated to Hound, who is largely responsible for the plot bunny. <3
CHAPTER ONE
His hand was outstretched, bow and arrow at the ready as he had done so many other times before, but this time was some how different. He could feel his fingers trembling, and no matter how much he fought against it, he could not stop the shaking. With a defeated sigh, he lowered his weapon, reigning his spiritual energy back in so the bow and arrow dissipated. He wished he could say that this was the first time this happened, that he was just tense today for some reason he did not know; but it was not the first time, and he doubted it would be the last.
Things had changed.
"Ishida-kun? Are you out here?"
Ishida Uryuu reached up to adjust his glasses, turning toward the sound of the voice. Unfortunately, the owner did not even come into view before he heard a crash, followed by a surprised shout, and the resulting thud drew another sigh out of him.
"Inoue-san, are you all right?" he asked, pushing his way through the undergrowth of his personal training ground to get to her. She was sprawled out rather comically over a tree root, with her rear end sticking high up in the air, her skirt hitched up almost high enough to see her panties. Orihime Inoue turned her head up to him, letting out a nervous laugh as she rubbed the back of her head.
"I'm fine! I just didn't see that tree root..."
Ishida stared at the root she was draped over. Seriously, how could she have missed it...?
He knew better than to ask questions at this point, so instead he knelt down to help her to her feet. She beamed up at him, smile as bright as always as she apologized for falling over. Orihime's smile quickly died soon after, however, a concerned look replacing it.
"Ishida-kun, are you all right? You've missed school for the past few days now..." she began.
As much as he was loath to admit it, it was true; he had been coming out to this training ground by the waterfall every day since Kurosaki had awoken from his coma. He felt it his personal duty after all; the shinigami Soul Society had on duty for Karakura Town was so undependable that even "inept" did not quite describe the man well enough. Still, despite all his training, instead of getting better, he was just getting worse.
"I'm fine... I'll be in school tomorrow," he replied. "I promise."
Orihime did not look convinced, but she did not try to push the point. She reached out, grasping his arm briefly as she looked down to the ground, mouth working a moment as she tried to find the best way to say what she wanted to.
"...they... were not much different from us, were they?" she asked softly. "They just... believed in the wrong person. I wonder... if we..."
Ishida frowned. "Inoue-san..."
She paused then... before shaking her head, letting him go and backing away a bit. "N-never mind! It's stupid to think of such things anyway, right?" She let out a nervous laugh, before turning to start off. "A-Anyway, I need to go to the store before I go home. Get a good night's sleep, Ishi-whao!"
Orihime cut herself off as she fell again... over the same tree root.
~.oOOo.~
They just... believed in the wrong person.
Those words were still on Ishida's mind as he made his way to school the next morning. It did not take much to know what she had meant by that; there were not many other "they"s out there that could fit that description. It was not something he wanted to think about: his encounter with those people had been less than pleasant, and had led to him having to deal with that damn morally bankrupt creature (because he refused to believe there had once been anything human under that makeup).
Ishida pushed the thoughts out of his mind as he made his way through the front gate of the school, glancing around to see if anyone he knew was there yet. He thought he spotted a head of orange hair, but after shaking his head, he was proven wrong, and of course: Kurosaki had not been to school for awhile, still recovering himself from the war and losing all of his powers. He doubted he would show up now just because he himself had returned as well.
He was the first to class, which was not much of a surprise. As students started to trickle in, however, he could not help but feel uneasy... something was making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, but no matter how far out he stretched his senses, he could not tell what, or who, could be the cause of it. Ishida tapped his papers against the desk stubbornly, trying to ignore it, but as everyone settled down and the homeroom professor came into the class, the feeling only continued to nag at him, getting even worse as the day wore on.
By lunch time, Ishida was practically snapping his pencil in half, tense from whatever bad feelings were crawling up his spine. Instead of eating, he set out through the halls, trying to find the source. Even a physical search proved useless, however, and by the time he came sulking back to his classroom, his stomach was letting out violent noises of protest against this unfair treatment.
Ishida stubbornly ignored it as he plopped down in his seat, pulling out his physics book in preparation for the next class. Though as the other students filed in and the bell rang, no professor came to teach the class. Confused murmurings went through the room, before the door finally opened, and a school aide came into the room.
"We're sorry for the delay, everyone. As you know, Takagawa-san retired last week, and the professor we have to take his place is filling out the last of his paperwork," she informed them, flitting her eyes back and forth from the room to the hallway, looking for the new professor. "He should be here any- Ah!"
She darted out of the room as the sound of steady, even footsteps could be heard from the hallway. Ishida squirmed in his seat, frowning as a knot twisted itself in his stomach; whatever it was that was making his senses respond poorly, it had to do with this professor, because it was getting worse. The aide came back in, much happier and less nervous now that the individual she was intended to introduce was here.
"Thank you for waiting, everyone!" she beamed. "Will you all please welcome your new Physics professor..."
Ishida did not hear her announce the name of their new professor, but then again, he really did not have to. His eyes widened as the man entered the room, taking in the neatly pressed and immaculately cleaned suit, the white rimmed glasses, and the perfectly groomed pink hair.
"GAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
He also did not realize that he screamed, bolting up from his seat and pointing at the individual, until he felt the eyes of everyone in the classroom staring at him. There was an awkward moment as Ishida deflated a bit, realizing how stupid he looked, lowering his arm.
"Ah, Ishida-kun," the new professor began, starting toward him. "I haven't seen you since you were a child. How is your father doing?"
He held a hand out to him, and Ishida glanced down at it, spotting writing on the palm.
Make a scene, and death is the least of your worries.
Ishida felt his stomach bottom out; since when had he swapped lives with Kurosaki?! He made a face, reluctantly taking his hand and giving it one shake before quickly dropping it.
"Fine, sir," he managed to get out, sinking back into his seat. The pink haired man smirked down at him, before starting back toward the front of the class.
"Now, as the dear woman was saying," he began, threading his fingers through his hair. "I will be your new physics professor for the next two weeks, after which time you will have a permanent replacement."
He paused long enough to turn around with a dramatic flourish.
"My name is Szayel Aporro Granz."