1000 Years: One Shots (Part 1)

36. Different Set of Twins

Title: Different Set of Twins (530)

Genre: Family/Angst

Characters: Ichigo and Orihime

Summary: There is something that Ichigo and Orihime have something they have to tell the other, but what they have to tell each other only makes their relationship awkward.

Notes: This is a theory I discussed with my brother before, but didn't want to write it as the theory will bother some Ichigo/Orihime fans. However, chapter 530 caused the theory to be brought up and discussed again as this particular chapter helps the theory out one might say.

Rating: T

Different Set of Twins

Ichigo sat in his room tapping his pencil as he thought about what his father had told him. His phone rang and his hand reached for the device and he placed it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Kurosaki-kun?"

"In... Orihime?" Ichigo frowned He glanced down at his notes before closing his eyes and leaning back. "Where are you?"

"I'm calling from Urahara's shop. We just got back. You aren't training in Soul Society?"

"How about you and I meet up so we can discuss that?"

"All right, We'll meet you at the shop."

"No. I need to talk to just you. Could you come by the clinic?" Ichigo listened to her voice and felt his throat tightened. "I can't call it the my family home considering what father told me."

"Sure. I'll be right over."

The phone clicked off and the boy clicked it shut. "Seriously... she sounded a bit to enthusiastic about coming over here." Ichigo then got up and headed down the stairs and noticed that his father was sitting at the kitchen table. "Just a heads up that Orihime is heading over here."

"Ichigo, I'm not sure if that is a good idea."

"I told you when you told me, it is only fair that she hears the truth. So you better not go and hide yourself old man" The boy pulled out a chair and then leaned on his arm until he heard the doorbell ring. He then got up and headed towards the door and opened it up. Orihime was beaming at him. "Ahh... you're here. Come in and sit on the couch. I'll get you a soda."

The boy headed over to the kitchen refrigerator. Orihime glanced over at Ichigo's father. "Umm... hello Mr. Kurosaki."

"It's all right Orihime. He knows about Soul Society." The boy walked over and handed her a soda.

He watched as the busty teen glanced away. "Kurosaki-kun... why aren't you training in Soul Society. I thought the Zero Squad was supposed to be training you."

Ichigo sat down and opened his soda. "They were. One of them banished me from Soul Society. I can't go back."

The girl paused, before turning her head. "Umm... Kurosaki-kun... I need to tell you something."

"What..." The teen swallowed his soda

"I... umm... like you."

Ichigo found himself glad he hadn't taken another sip. "Well, this is far from the way I wanted my first confession from a girl to go." Letting out a deep sigh, he reached up his free hand to ruffle his orange hair. "Good grief. I'm sorry I can't reciprocate your feelings."

Looking over he saw that Orihime had bent down so that her arms hung down and the soda was close to the ground. "I get it. You like Rukia-chan. I can wait though."

"Rukia? What does that..." The boy glanced at the ceiling. "I really hadn't thought about that, but yes... I guess I like her. But that isn't..."

"Should we... umm... be really talking about this in front of your father? You're kind of loud." Ichigo glanced over to see that her cheeks had heated up.

"It's all right Orihime."

"You're finally calling me by my first name, so I thought you had given up on her."

"Again, I hadn't really thought about it. The reason I can't accept your feelings has nothing to do with that."

"Then what?"

"Umm... well, you're betrothed to Uryu aren't you?" Ichigo glanced away and scratched his head

"Lame!" Ichigo glared at his father who was making the baseball strike out symbol.

"No I'm not. I don't know where you got that idea." Orhime continued to look at the ground. "If that's the only problem..."

A sigh came from the teens mouth. "I can't reciprocate your feelings because we're twins." The busty female's eyes went wide as she continued to look at her feet. She then dropped the unopened soda onto the ground and raised her hands to her eyes as she began to cry. Ichigo reached out to touch her shoulder. "Orihime."

"It's not possible! Why would you lie about something like this?"

"I'm not lying!"

"Sora is my brother and we don't share the same birthday."

Isshin let out a deep sigh. "Orihime, come here and sit at the table. It was wrong of me to let Ichigo explain this to you, but I went ahead and let him do it because he took the initiative."

"Oh... thanks old man."

The female stood up and walked over to the table and pulled out a chair and sat down. She held her hands tightly in her lap. The man folded his arms. "First, there is an arranged marriage between you and Uryu, but I doubt his father is the type to hold you to a promise that his mother forced me and Masaki into before you were born."

"Second, your birthday is not your real birthday. It's actually fifty days away from your real birthday and is the day you were adopted into the branch family of the Ishida clan, the Inoue family. You were raised by your adoptive parents until they died in a sudden accident and your adoptive brother Sora then took over."

"That's a lie. I was told that my father was a drunk and my mother a prostitute. I was taken away from them for my safety."

"Well... the part of you being taken away for your safety holds some truth, but I'm not a drunk and Masaki isn't a prostitute. I can see why your great-aunt would have said that to you. I tend to have rather strange behavior and I made the mistake of joking that I was drunk once and she took me seriously despite the fact I wasn't being serious."

"But why would she call Kurosaki-kun's mother a prostitute! That's cruel!" Orihime's head darted up, her lips pushing together.

"That would be because Ryukin and Masaki were in an arranged marriage before I met to preserve the Quincy bloodline. Masaki and I fell in love and got married, ruining her plans. So that woman made us promise out first born daughter to be the betrothed of the Ryukin's first born son."

"But why? Why let her take me?"

"That... she promised you would be taken care of, your aunt did."

"But you could have taken care of me!"

"Dad used to be Toshiro's former taicho as well as the head of the Shiba clan." Ichigo spoke up. "You are all to familiar with how the laws worked back then. That's why it isn't a lie that it was for your safety either. If they ever found us, you would have been with another family and no one would have known."

"It's not fair." Orihime felt the tears fall down just as the door opened.

"We're home." The busty female suddenly began to cry even harder.

Ichigo pointed at his father. "You old man get to explain the situation to Karin and Yuzu. I'm going to go and do my homework."

"Explain what situation?"