Orihimeeee! Yo! You called back! [ SOUNDS SO HAPPEH. ] Sometimes people don't, I dunno, and I didn't know if you'd hear this, I don't always check my messages an' stuff, it can be days and one time I threw my Fansuwoth out the window, so I guess that didn't help.
[ Forgive her, Naruto, it's taking Orihime a little while longer to reply than she would have liked. She's just sort of staring at your ID on her Fansuwoth, remembering how broken and beaten you looked and sounded the last (and first) time she'd seen you and now... listening to all that happiness in your voice.
Something awful bubbles up deep inside her, but she swallows it back before replying. ]
Oh, n-nothing much, I... I've just been training for work. [ A pause. When she speaks again, her voice is pitched a little higher. ] It's really fun! I'm not allowed to really cook yet but they let me watch anyway and I always come back smelling like cakes and that's never a bad thing!
Zuko-kun. [ Just his name, but with it, all her worries are poured out. She hadn't been able to see him since that post he'd made, and after all that had happened...
She should have called. She doesn't know why she didn't. ]
Y-Yes, I do, I... [ She casts a quick glance around, turning away from the rest to cover the device against her mouth. ] Where are you? Are you okay? [ Her hand flutters up to grip her clips, pinned once more to her yukata. ]
[ He calls her righ t after this and there's no hesitation when he speaks. His voice is steady, almost mechanical. Permeating everything is an eerie cam. ]
Orihime. Ichigo needs your help. It's his curse, s'pretty bad, probably getting worse, I dunno if he's in his room, but he was when he called. You--
[ A pause, but it's not much of a one. He's not intent on wasting time. ]
You have to help him, ne?
It'll drive him crazy. He'll die. You have to help him. Wherever you are, leave right now. Help him.
[ voice message ] - early morning 8/3transcendensAugust 3 2011, 22:49:25 UTC
[ There’s a faint, but noticeable, slur to his words. Something abstracted and vague that speaks of having had too much to drink. Obviously he has, why else would he think making this call a good idea? ]
You’re still frightened of what I mean to do here, aren’t you? You still worry for the safety of your friends. You needn’t. You will, of course you will. But it isn’t necessary.
[ There’s a pause, and something wry and slightly resigned enters his voice. ]
This isn’t helping, is it? Reassurances never do. Probably shouldn’t have said anything. But occasionally we try anyway. Just in case, as the saying goes.
Forget I contacted you, Inoue Orihime. No doubt by morning’s light, so too shall I.
[ It helped, knowing beforehand that Aizen would have already been drinking. That talk with Ed still feels raw, unfinished somehow, and not in any good way. It's something of a standstill, until one of them yields, though Orihime has to wonder if she hasn't yielded enough already...
In any case, she isn't regretting the conversation. If only because it prepared her for this one. There is disappointment there, in hearing that telltale slur of a drunk, and it makes her wonder how honest this message is. There's a fine line there, with alcohol, between loosened lips and a loosened mind.
Still, she can't help but recall Ed's words, while listening to Aizen's.
She might not be ready to forgive (who knows if she ever will be), but... ]
Aizen-san. [ Soft, steady, clear. ] I'm not going to forget anything. And you can be sure I'm not going to let you forget any of it either.
Thank you for calling. And for trying. If - If you still want to talk... I'm ready to listen.
[ return call a few minutes later ]transcendensAugust 5 2011, 03:01:47 UTC
[ No longer slurred, his voice is slightly hoarse, evidence of a night spent drinking and smoking too much. It's also very quiet, as if talking is a chore. Or it pains him. If anything can pain him. ]
I would not ask you to forget, Inoue Orihime, any more than I would wish to do so myself. Such an action would dishonor the choices that were made. Mine. Yours. And those of the individuals we know. I would not do that.
[ A pause, as if he's searching for the right words. He is. ]
I remember the message I left you, and disorganized as it was, the sentiment was sincere. I would not have your stay here one colored by fear of me. There is enough to fear as it is.
[ She listens, like she promised she would, even though it pains her to hear his voice again. Even affected, vulnerable, it still rings like the voice of the man who'd kidnapped her, the man who'd promised the safety of her friends in exchange for her freedom... the man who'd once given her reason to believe she was greater than she thought she was (worthy, useful)... only for her to find out it had been a lie all along.
The only use she was to him was as a bait.
So she can't help it, now, even now, listening to him and trying to understand. She can't help how her stomach twists and her heart aches and that little seed of doubt in her mind to blossom, fester.
Is it truth? Is it lie?
Does it even matter to him? ]
We're all powerless here, Aizen-san, but even without your zanpakuto, your words are still strong. Kurosaki-kun trusted you, believed in you before. [ And Zuko, and now Ed too... ] And you hurt him. You hurt him more then, than you ever have before
( ... )
Comments 132
[ Best message ever. ]
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Ah. Hello!
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That just means whatever it is you have to talk about... it's that important, right? [ She has a feeling already, but. ]
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Maybe you're workin' or something. In any case, call me back, okay?!
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...ah. Hello?
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[ Pause. ] What's shakin'?
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Something awful bubbles up deep inside her, but she swallows it back before replying. ]
Oh, n-nothing much, I... I've just been training for work. [ A pause. When she speaks again, her voice is pitched a little higher. ] It's really fun! I'm not allowed to really cook yet but they let me watch anyway and I always come back smelling like cakes and that's never a bad thing!
[ Another long pause. ]
How are you?
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Hello?
[ She hadn't thought to check who'd been calling before picking up. ]
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[Sorry if I'm bothering you is implied.]
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And then a shaky, relieved breath. ]
Zuko-kun. [ Just his name, but with it, all her worries are poured out. She hadn't been able to see him since that post he'd made, and after all that had happened...
She should have called. She doesn't know why she didn't. ]
Y-Yes, I do, I... [ She casts a quick glance around, turning away from the rest to cover the device against her mouth. ] Where are you? Are you okay? [ Her hand flutters up to grip her clips, pinned once more to her yukata. ]
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Orihime. Ichigo needs your help. It's his curse, s'pretty bad, probably getting worse, I dunno if he's in his room, but he was when he called. You--
[ A pause, but it's not much of a one. He's not intent on wasting time. ]
You have to help him, ne?
It'll drive him crazy. He'll die. You have to help him. Wherever you are, leave right now. Help him.
...please.
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[ It all came so fast, with hardly much inflection, that for a moment Orihime doesn't even know what she's hearing. ]
S-Slow down, what are you... Where are you? You're not with him?
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M'not with him. Try his room first. Satouzuke.
Go now. [ You don't have time to waste, goes unsaid. But she loves Ichigo, he knows where her priorities lie. She'll help. ]
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But she knows Naruto does as well. And that's why she hesitates. ]
But he's yours--
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You’re still frightened of what I mean to do here, aren’t you? You still worry for the safety of your friends. You needn’t. You will, of course you will. But it isn’t necessary.
[ There’s a pause, and something wry and slightly resigned enters his voice. ]
This isn’t helping, is it? Reassurances never do. Probably shouldn’t have said anything. But occasionally we try anyway. Just in case, as the saying goes.
Forget I contacted you, Inoue Orihime. No doubt by morning’s light, so too shall I.
[ The call disconnects immediately. ]
Reply
In any case, she isn't regretting the conversation. If only because it prepared her for this one. There is disappointment there, in hearing that telltale slur of a drunk, and it makes her wonder how honest this message is. There's a fine line there, with alcohol, between loosened lips and a loosened mind.
Still, she can't help but recall Ed's words, while listening to Aizen's.
She might not be ready to forgive (who knows if she ever will be), but... ]
Aizen-san. [ Soft, steady, clear. ] I'm not going to forget anything. And you can be sure I'm not going to let you forget any of it either.
Thank you for calling. And for trying. If - If you still want to talk... I'm ready to listen.
Reply
I would not ask you to forget, Inoue Orihime, any more than I would wish to do so myself. Such an action would dishonor the choices that were made. Mine. Yours. And those of the individuals we know. I would not do that.
[ A pause, as if he's searching for the right words. He is. ]
I remember the message I left you, and disorganized as it was, the sentiment was sincere. I would not have your stay here one colored by fear of me. There is enough to fear as it is.
Reply
The only use she was to him was as a bait.
So she can't help it, now, even now, listening to him and trying to understand. She can't help how her stomach twists and her heart aches and that little seed of doubt in her mind to blossom, fester.
Is it truth? Is it lie?
Does it even matter to him? ]
We're all powerless here, Aizen-san, but even without your zanpakuto, your words are still strong. Kurosaki-kun trusted you, believed in you before. [ And Zuko, and now Ed too... ] And you hurt him. You hurt him more then, than you ever have before ( ... )
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