Hearts of Glass, Steel, Fire and Ice: Part 17

The sound of weakly crackling embers and steady breathing of the sleeping would have been all but imperceptible to most ears, but in the hours of twilight they were not hard to pick out. One lone figure sat in the shadows between the faint glow of the fire and the pale moonlight. Yoruichi had seen Orihime rise from her bed and then leave in an almost trance-like manner after she heard the singing voice on the wind.

Closing her golden eyes, Yoruichi clasped her hands and whispered hoarsely, "Please…please…you are our only hope…no matter what, you cannot lose yours…"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Despite the fact that Orihime was fully conscious so therefore felt and saw everything around her as she followed the sound of singing up the mountain, the moment an icy wind ripped through her skin to her bones, Orihime thought a kind of fog lifted from her brain and she looked around her in a little confusion. Over to her left, Orihime's eyes drifted upwards slowly as she took in the overwhelming sight of the castle in front of her.

Never in her life had Orihime seen such a structure created and she almost wondered if it was possible for humans to build something so complicated. On the one hand, it seemed to be trying to blend in with the surroundings of the mountain side by having most of its outside colored white to match the snow and different shades of brown and black to match the rock face. However, while the structure holding everything together were those various colors, there were enormous panes of glass everywhere, so that it almost looked like a castle made of ice. One could see the inside without any difficulty at all.

After taking a moment to absorb the sight of the castle, Orihime's eye caught movement and the breath caught in her throat. A figure had just emerged from the tree line and while Orihime couldn't be entirely sure from this distance, she was fairly certain the figure was none other than Rukia Kuchiki. Everything from the posture to the hairstyle (or what Orihime could see of it in the moonlight) to the way she walked reminded Orihime so strongly of Hisana and a bit of Retsu, that Orihime couldn't see how the figure could be anyone else.

As she started moving forward, Orihime's eye noticed a figure coming out of the palace to greet Rukia. They wore a black cloak with a hood that completely engulfed the figure. Under normal circumstances, Orihime would never have been able to see the figure at night, however, because the moon was directly shining on the palace and lighting it up, the darkness of the figure contrasted with the light so that the person was easy to spot.

Acting instinctually, Orihime rushed towards the two figures, waving her arm and calling out, "Miss Kuchiki! Miss Kuchiki! Rukia!"

Only upon hearing the last name did the two figures react to Orihime's voice. They both turned in her direction and Orihime automatically slowed her pace and tried to put on her friendliest smile. As her mind began racing and trying to think of what she could possibly say next, the hooded figure stepped protectively between Rukia and Orihime.

"Who goes there? What business do you have with my lady?" said a rough almost gravelly voice.

Stopping fifteen paces away, Orihime held out her hands palms up and replied, "My name is Orihime Inoue and I've come a long way."

"I repeat, what business brings you here?" the figure demanded and Orihime noticed a movement under the cloak that was most likely a hand reaching for a sword or some other weapon.

Trying to keep her voice calm and under control, Orihime said, "No business in particular, actually. I heard singing and before I knew it I was following the voice and I climbed all the way up this mountain and then when I saw her clearly I realized that she must be Rukia Kuchiki who is a relative of a really nice family I happened to stay with and I just wan-"

"Enough!" barked the harsh voice, "You prattle too much."

The words slammed into her chest like a battering ram and Orihime could only manage to open and close her mouth a few times before she mumbled a meek apology. Sure, she knew that when she got nervous, she tended to run sentences together, but that was just hurtful. Why would anyone say something so unkind to a complete stranger.

Stepping out from behind her guard, Rukia said in a stern tone, "That was uncalled for. Your question and manner made the poor girl nervous."

Turning to give Rukia a deep bow, the figure said, "I apologize for acting so uncouth in front of you, My Lady. It will not happen again."

Inclining her head, Rukia said, "I expect it will not. However, I am not the person you really should be apologizing to, am I?"

The figure hesitated for three heartbeats before he turned, walked towards Orihime and bowed to her. It was not a deep as the one he had given Rukia, but Orihime could sense that he was trying to show her courtesy.

"Please forgive my rude behavior towards you. As I promised my mistress, it shall not happen again."

Clasping her hands tightly in her skirt to keep them from flapping around uselessly, Orihime squeaked, "I do forgive you, but there is really nothing to forgive since I most certainly was being rude before and calling out like a maniac so it's only right that you should be-oh…" Orihime clamped her hands over her mouth when she realized that she was blabbering on again.

A melodious chuckle reached Orihime's ears and she saw Rukia giving her a kind smile as she said, "Please don't feel embarrassed. My knight and I are the only ones who live in this enormous palace and neither one of us is much inclined towards conversation most of the time, so your enthusiastic talk is most refreshing."

Inclining her head, half out of respect and half to try and cover her flushed cheeks with her hair, Orihime said, "Well, I will try to find a good balance then."

"By the way," continued Rukia, "when you called out to me earlier, you used a name I did not recognize. And just now, you referred to several people whose names I didn't know either."

Looking up and blinking a few times, Orihime replied slowly, "I don't understand. Which names are you talking about?"

"Well," said Rukia, "for starters, I only ever introduce myself as Rukia, but you just called me 'Miss Kuchekin' or something."

"You mean 'Miss Kuchiki', right?" asked Orihime, "You are Rukia Kuchiki, adopted daughter of Jyuushiro and Retsu Ukitake, sister to Byakuya and Hisana Kuchiki…aren't you?"

Shaking her head, Rukia answered, "I'm not sure. The first memory I have is one of being brought to this palace and even that one is very hazy. After that, I simply started doing my duty and didn't really think about the time passing…until I came upon my faithful knight here."

At those words, Rukia patted the knight's shoulder, to which he responded with, "I am indebted to my lady for finding me and giving me such an honorable post," the hood turned in Orihime's direction as he went on, "Like my lady, I have no recollection of my life before I came to this palace…but in my heart I remember that I was completely miserable before she came and took me away and gave me a job to do."

Something in the tone of voice made Orihime's intuition begin to prickle uncomfortably, but she shoved it to the back of her mind as she focused on Rukia and asked fearfully, "You really don't remember your own family? Retsu and Jyuushiro and Byakuya and Hisana and Kaien and Miyako and Kukaku and Ganju…why can't you remember them?"

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Orihime and she reached out to clasp Rukia's hand and asked breathlessly, "Would you come down the mountain with me?"

Rukia's eyes widened in surprise, but she made no move to retrieve her hand as she asked, "Why?"

Trying to slow down her racing thoughts so that she could speak coherently, Orihime answered, "When I was with the Ukitake's and everyone else, I forgot why I set out on a journey-"

"Why did you come all the way here on a journey?" cut in the knight.

"A childhood friend of mine mysteriously disappeared a couple of years ago and I set out to try and find him and bring him back home if I can or at least bring back news of him to his family," answered Orihime hastily before turning back to Rukia and saying, "I promise I will tell you my whole story later, but the point is that while I was in that house, I completely forgot what I was supposed to be doing and how I had come to be there and everything."

Squeezing Rukia's hand gently, Orihime continued, "I think the same thing might have happened to you here in the palace and I'd like to see if maybe by coming away with me a distance would possibly help your memories to come back."

"My lady, I don't think you sh-"

"Peace," Rukia cut in calmly, "There is no need for you to get so upset. The young woman's theory sounds most intriguing and I don't see that there can be any harm done in simply walking away from my palace for a nighttime stroll."

Orihime was sure the knight was about to protest again when Rukia said smoothly, "Of course, if it would make you feel any better, you may accompany the two of us on our stroll. Who knows? Maybe both of us will recover our memories in the company of this young woman."

A derisive but soft snort came from the depths of the hood, but the knight's voice sounded completely composed and polite when he said simply, "As you wish, my lady."

Nodding in approval, Rukia turned to Orihime and said, "Well, as we walk, you can tell me more about this family I supposedly have forgotten. If, as you say, I they really are my relatives, hearing about them might just help to bring those memories back to me. But even if I'm not related to them, I am quite interested to hear more about them and about yourself."

As they walked, while Orihime was appreciative of the fact that Rukia was not a passive listener, but would comment every so often or ask for clarification on certain points, in the back of her mind, Orihime couldn't help the negative emotions being to stir.

Part of her didn't know what to make of the knight walking along silently behind them. There was something about him that made her very uneasy, but she couldn't understand what it was.

Another part of her was immensely worried that her plan wouldn't work and Rukia's memories would remain locked away forever. Orihime had no doubt that she had found the right Rukia, but how could she convince Rukia of that fact if she didn't remember her family?

However, most of Orihime's heart was consumed with sadness over the fact that Rukia had no recollection of the loving family she had left behind. Images of Retsu kneeling in the garden and talking cheerfully about the different herbs and what they were used for, of Jyuushiro graciously sitting with a cup of tea in his hand and laughing gently with Orihime as they talked about the day, of saying good-bye to Byakuya…so many memories came flashing before her eyes and Orihime wished desperately that there was some way she could copy them all from her brain and share them with Rukia.

With a start, Orihime realized that she was doing exactly that. Rukia had already said before that maybe with Orihime's help, she might actually remember her family. So, with renewed hope and energy, Orihime painted such a vivid picture of her time with the Ukitake's with her words that she almost started crying herself for homesickness.

Just as she was about to bring Norainu into the story, the knight suddenly ordered, "Don't move!" before he raced around them to once again shield his mistress. Only this time, Orihime had no idea what was going on.

Drawing his sword and pointing it towards a patch of trees, the knight growled, "Show yourselves. I know you're out there."

Before Orihime could ask what was going on, five figures emerged from the trees and Orihime instinctually felt the need to take a step back from an overwhelming and menacing presence.

The man in the middle spread his hands as he said in a low but easily understood rumble, "Well, Princess of Snow…we meet at last."