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kurokawaia · 7 months ago

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❛ The Balance ❜ ─ 01

Yandere!JugramHaschwalth X Fem!Quincy!Reader

WC; 2.6k+ | !MDNI! | TW/CW; yandere themes, eventual smut, eventual pregnancy, kidnapping, coercion, reader is a virgin, reader acts dumb/oblivious, kind of an airhead guys so if you don't like that then don't read it, she's shy and timid!

⋆·˚ ༘ *𝑅𝐸𝒬𝒰𝐸𝒮𝒯; Yandere!Jugram kidnaps the reader with the help of the Bambies. The reader becomes pregnant with Jugram's child but wants to abort due to the circumstances and tries to keep it a secret. Jugram finds out, becomes furious, and insists on a coerced marriage. The reader escapes to the human world, but Jugram tracks her down, discovers her plan to abort the child, and forcibly takes her back - @sahara-solaris-solace

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 - m.list | bleach m.list

That day stands clear in my memory.

It's all many years past, but today, it comes home to me most sweetly, for I was at work in my flower shop, putting half-finished bouquets in their vases, when disaster struck our quiet, small town, which now contained but a few of the last holdout Quincies. The peace was shattered, people taken. but it was nobody but me. It was just my bad luck that it happened to be me that was kidnapped at that time.

This will forever be in my mind. Five women-strong, unstoppable-entered my store. Their faces were grim, the intentions obvious to the point of glaring. They took me against my will, the hold not letting up.

I cried out for help, yet not a soul replied to my call. The fear that gushed within me as I yelled for help—none of the villagers came to my rescue. It felt like the world had frozen me.

The first to catch my eyes were the uniforms the five ladies wore. They all had immaculate white trench coats, trimmed with gold. What I saw in those clothes brought out haunting familiarity in my mind. It was the same attire worn by a man who appeared in my shop not so long before this occurred.

Tall, curling lines of blonde hair loosely down over his shoulders. He looked every bit the part of strong authority. He was also in a white trench coat, dark green fur from his left collar going down the front, a dark green belt, and a golden belt buckle.

I couldn't help thinking that he must be of the same group as those women, not otherwise than having inherited the membership from them. But if so, why didn't he just take me himself where and when he would have had a chance? Why send these women after me?

I turned back to the gentle tinkle of a bell heralding a would-be customer. My eyes met a man's—tall, pretty, handsome.

He did have chiseled features—eyes of mixed blue-green, almost catching the eye, like gazing at the still sea on a sunny day. With that odd kind of fashion look, I could not take my eyes off him.

I greeted him warmly, with a small smile and a clutch close to my chest where a bouquet was held, almost too carefully arranged.

HIS eyes roved over the scarlet anemones. He began quietly, watchfully look at the bouquet I am holding. But under the surface of that quiet front, just below the call, appeared to me a thin kind of leavening of uncertainty, a flicker of something I could not at once define.

And that was just when I thought I caught a flicker of what had been vulnerability in his eyes, and my heart went out to the man. Surprising was the fact that already I was forming a sense of pity for this stranger who was so obviously mysterious to me.

"Mister, if you would not think me prying," my voice was both soft and genuinely concerned, automatically tilting my head, "but you look lost. Any way I could help?"

The words had fallen gently, laced with true warmth.

He just remained silent, continuing to look at me sharply, as if in search of something.

I shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, a wave of unease passing through me at his intentness. Curiosity, suspicion, or something else of the sort—that powered this stare, I didn't know.

I mustered up every droplet of courage and made a suggestion. "If you fall ill," I slowly spoke in a very soft and almost hushed but extremely sincere tone, "my way of herbal and natural remedies and medicine stuff—it may be that I often make stuff that could ease your discomfort."

Then, it was as though my words fell into some uncertain silence as his eyes held mine, an inscrutable look still in the gaze. Nervously, I pressed my mouth closed; the only sound was my held breath, waiting for him to speak.

"What I guess I'd like is some herbal tea," he said, and for just a second, I was taken aback by his request.

"Oh, sure," I said, just slightly dazed. "Sorry, it's just that it's kind of rare when someone asks quite this directly."

I began to unfasten his cape. I focused on what was underneath—the white trenchcoat, equally well-mended, and equally clean, featuring the dark green fur, and the glinting gold belt-buckle which had been the first thing that had attracted my attention.

His uniform was so familiar, but still, I could not place it.

He slightly nodded in response, no expression on his face, but his eyes were dark, which all of a sudden gave me the chills. "The one who says himself that he sure is an exceptional chap at herbs and natural healing technique.", he asked back, his voice now low and measured.

I caught myself swallowing and nodding firmly, taking a brief moment to work very hard at keeping my cool. "Yes, that's right," I replied. "And what ails you? The more specific you can be with your details, the better I shall be able to mix up something that will serve you well."

"Clouded mind," he replied.

"I see," I nodded, with a half-smile reassuringly, though feeling quite ill at ease right now with a gnawing sensation in my stomach. "Please, sit there at that table and chair—and I will mix something up that will help you think more clearly."

I felt his eyes still burning on my back as I turned away and headed towards the store's back room, watching every move I made with an intensity bordering on creepy.

I closed the door to the back room behind me. I slid back against the door and let out a soft sigh that freed my tension from my body, before I then had sunk to the floor in one movement. Still, I held the bouquet against my chest.

That stare of his had been so intimidating—one might even have gone so far as to say a tad creepy—that it had left behind an impression. Shivers went down my spine just from that thought.

I shook my head to rid it of the remains of his overpowering aura and squared myself in preparation for the task at hand. He needed help and it was my duty to provide him with precisely that. I walked toward the shelves that carried the plethora of dried flowers and herbs, each of them selected for explicit healing properties.

Lavender, peppermint, sage, rosemary, holy basil, gotu kola—the only purpose they had now was to come together under my hands. Their smells fanned the room, where I worked in silence. Each herb had its own peculiarity, and in a mighty combination of nature's cure.

Turning my steady hand, herbs got ground into fine powder, and the required amount was put into the pot, which held a little hot water. I could see them swirling in this steaming liquid. It had already settled from boiling in the blink of an eye, and bright colors of the herbs were now laid asleep on the bottom of the pot.

The tea made, I poured it carefully into the fragile porcelain cup, whose brim I raised hot to the touch. And looking into the saucer, with a new cup of brewed tea, I sipped cautiously to check the temperature. It was just right for the man whose return I was getting ready for.

I balanced the tea cup, full of herbal tea on the saucer, into the front region of the shop. Wordlessly, his body relaxed into the chair, although his face was shut down, and I felt a sort of fluttery little tickle in my chest.

I set the cup down in front of him with a gentle clink, giving a small smile that I hoped would seem kind. "Here you go," I offered softly, almost whispering. "I hope this helps."

He nodded a bit, finally looking up to meet my eyes, his features softened. "Thanks," he rumbled in a low.

I sat down beside him and watched, riveted, as he tipped the cup to his lips, the rising steam soft and curly around his face. He himself was expressionless following a small sip, the face focused with narrowed eyes in his effort to sort out all the flavors.

I waited, my heart practically thudding outside my ribcage as he neared the end. Agonizingly silent seconds ticked past, each dragging into eternity as I waited to see if there was any sign of approval or disdain.

Finally, he set the cup back onto its saucer, and his fingers made only light contact with the porcelain when he handed me a warning look. "This is good," he announced, "Thank you."

I felt completely relaxed at that moment for the first time since his arrival. "You're welcome," I replied.

Just as the bell rang, I frowned because of the disturbance at the door. The air had changed slightly, a sure sign that another had entered.

"Sorry," I whispered and lamely smiled before getting up from sitting down— a futile attempt to swallow the discomfort that lived inside me. Though he had nodded in understanding, I still felt the heaviness of his eyes pinned on me.

I had made it behind the counter, trying to distance myself from this newcomer. "{Y/n}!" a voice called out, too familiar, as I found myself forcefully pushing down the rising annoyance.

"Hello," I said, my voice strained as I tried to pretend that everything he did didn't bother me in the least.

Ayame flirted shamelessly, leaning much too casually against the counter, his eyes all aglow with this dreamy look. He was yet another of my regular customers—well, apart from the fact that he didn't come in for flowers half the time.

"I haven't seen you in so long," he replied, his voice smeared with lust, I feel neausious.

"You saw me yesterday," I said, pushing the words at him a little hard because I knew he was going to insist on another round of his insufferable advances, and I was running short on patience.

"Did I really?" he mused, words trailing off into thought with the severity of a self-absorbed hum - grating on my nerves.

"Yes, you did," I muttered, my voice barely above a whisper, instinctively stepping back as my eyes were careful to not be too close.

I gasped sharply and was surprised when his hand closed around mine, his grip firm and surprisingly pulling me close to him. My pounding heart raced wild in my chest, but the sudden contact left me speechless.

I nibbled at my bottom lip, torn between pushing him away and not really knowing how to react. Ayame had never been this touchy-feely with me before.

Coming toward us, came the blond one, whose name I forgot, his huge shadow shading the scene.

Ayame's grip on my hand faltered. He let go of me with a sudden bashful apology and laughter that erupted from his face. In exactly the same manner he quickly retreated from that place, rubbing the back of his head nervously, atrocity from his part since he was intimidated by the blonde guy.

I felt relief. He gave me a look that pierced me, unreadable, leaving him in an intimidating air. It was as if he saw through me..

As Ayame ducked out the door, I swallowed a lump in my throat, my heart pounding in my chest as I waited, just waited, for whatever would come next.

"Thank you," I muttered in conclusion.

He whirled away to leave, his figure swallowed up by the sweep of his cloak, and a pang shot through me—a regret that I would never know his name.

"Tea was good, it helped a lot," he said.

"You're welcome," I called after him, even though I couldn't shake the feeling my words were lost in the rush of the wind when the door swung shut behind him.

Do not copy, steal, modify, etc.Relogs and like are appreciated.

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#⋆·˚ ༘ * The Balance - Series #tw: dark content #tw: yandere themes #cw: dark content #cw: yandere themes #jugram x reader #jugram haschwalth x reader #haschwalth x reader #jugram x you #jugram x y/n #bleach x reader

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rainbowberriesandcookies · 1 month ago

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"Orihime being afraid of Ichigo's hollow power shows she doesn't fully accept him."

I see this take and similar ones pop up from anti fans of Ichigo and Orihime and try to say that Orihime is bad, in the wrong, etc. for being afraid of his hollowfication powers when her first encounter with a hollow was her brother Sora.

I know the anime did a lot of damage to Orihime's character - especially by taking these scenes out and altering them compared to the manga - but when Ichigo begins to undergo the same process as Sora, it only makes sense that she's afraid.

Not because she's afraid of Ichigo but because what he can become.

And just like Sora said, "It would be [her] fault"

Also - this is to counter the whole "Ichigo and Orihime were never close/barely friends/just acquaintances" that I see floating around often too.

But all in all - Orihime was never afraid of Ichigo. She was afraid of what he could have become.

As Acidwire, Sora targeted Orihime because of her growing bonds with Tatsuki and Ichigo. He even says that he attacked them because they tried to tear him and Orihime apart and that she already knew why.

For clarity - what I'm about to say isn't me saying that Sora was abusive in life and I'm going to specifically try to use his name as a hollow "Acidwire" as much as possible to express the slight separation between Sora as he was while he was alive and Sora as he was when he became Acidwire.

Especially since early on, it established that hollows - while they were once former humans - often end up being twisted versions of the people they once were.

Now onto the point -

The "You already know why" isn't dissimilar from how abusers, manipulators, etc. often talk to their victims when they're angry or upset. It's similar to the silent treatment in a way where it implies that the victim intentionally made the abuser upset.

He references her prayers for him every day helped ease his own suffering before she became friends with Tatsuki and entered high school before she stopped praying for him altogether. He then says how it hurt him that when she got home, all she would talk about was Ichigo.

For one - the fact that Acidwire knows this proves that Ichigo and Orihime were at least already friends by the time the manga started. In contrast to the anime where Ichigo outright says to Rukia that they've "never had a real conversation"

Anyways - this here in and of itself proves Ichigo and Orihime at least knew each other beyond just acquaintances - because they were close enough for Acidwire to notice and be hurt by it.

She tries to defend herself but he cuts her off before attacking Ichigo again

Acidwire tells her to come with him back to when it was just the two of them. In the context of the story, this would basically be him killing her.

However, this is also a tactic abusers use known as isolation.

When she questions why she should go with him and why he'd hurt Ichigo and Tatsuki before saying that the brother she loved would have never done anything like this.

I feel like in the anime, it kinda breezed by these moments which are honestly heartbreaking in hindsight and key for the leadup to why Orihime was afraid when Ichigo would use his hollow mask.

but Acidwire's response to her refusal and saying that the brother she loved would never do this is to not just harm her, but blame her and say that he is going to kill her.

In the time that she's become friends with Ichigo and Tatsuki and slowly grew happier, Acidwire blamed her for his own despair and sadness.

The kind, loving older brother that she had always known became a monster that would kill her and everyone close to her, and it would be her fault that he did because she stopped praying for him.

Here, it shows how Acidwire views Orihime not as a person who should live her own fulfilling life, but as an object who should live for him because he gave up his entire life to raise and protect her.

Once again, not to say that Sora was an abuser or abusive person, but this line of logic is the same one that abusive and toxic parents often use when it comes to emotionally abusing their children. Saying how the sacrificed so much for their children to control how their children live their own lives when the child never asked to be born. Similarly, Orihime didn't ask to be born or ask for Sora to raise her.

Sora did because that's the kind of person that he is, but Acidwire turns these loving traits of Sora's into a manifestation of abuse.

And even though she has nothing to be sorry for... She apologizes to Acidwire because that's the kind of person she is.

It also shows how she puts on a smile so that way others don't have to worry about her. She didn't want Sora to think that she was sad and hurting, she didn't want him to worry about her so she buried and hid her own sadness.

She apologizes to Acidwire for making him sad and (in what she thinks are probably her last moments) says that she loves him and that she didn't mean to hurt him.

As he's slowly regaining himself, Sora admits that he already knew that Orihime was just trying to shield her sadness from him but still wanted her to pray for him because it was only in those moments that her heart was his.

Ichigo then tells him that it's the same, those who die and those who survive are just as sad as the other.

It's in this moment Sora had fully regained himself, enough to know that he couldn't stay in a form like this or else he'd come to hurt Orihime again. If he killed the little sister that he raised like a daughter over his own heartache, would he have been any better than their own abusive parents?

And finally, the two get to say goodbye properly.

Also - a side note - a lot of people criticize Orihime's passive nature and how she never seems to fight or argue with anyone but it's because the one time that she did have a fight with someone, they died and became a monster.

This entire sequence emphasizes why Orihime always tries to reach out to others in need and never argues or fights. She doesn't want her friends or even strangers, to become like how Sora became Acidwire.

Now, Rukia had changed/erased Orihime's memories following this event but it likely didn't work as intended since during the Rukia rescue arc, Orihime mentions that she's been able to see hollows and spirits ever since the encounter with Acidwire.

Now let's go ahead and jump ahead to VL Ichigo -

Going to Hueco Mundo - Ichigo already knew without having to be told or convinced by anyone that Orihime was in danger. Aizen did his best to make it look like Orihime was a traitor to the Soul Society and Ichigo never bought it

It's being put in plainer and plainer terms that Ichigo transformed as a response to Orihime's call for help.

Even if you want to argue that there was a mistranslation or that Ichigo doesn't directly reference Orihime, even if you remove all of the text the sequence of events goes

Orihime's cries

Ichigo began to move and get up - functionally coming back from being dead

Once again, even if you want to remove the text avoid arguing about whether or not it was properly translated - nevermind the fact that in Japanese pronouns are often omitted and there is a big assumption to just know who/what you are talking about -

Even without text, the images show Orihime crying, and Ichigo beginning to come back to life.

Both she and Ulquiorra question whether that is Ichigo

Now that said, I think that Ichigo vs Ulquiorra is one of the most brutal and best fights in the series. Both Uryu and Orihime know that this isn't Ichigo.

Yet remember how it is established that hollows often become twisted versions of the people they once were? This is a power that Ichigo can't control and yet uses it to protect the person who called out to him.

While I don't disagree with the notion that this is also White protecting Ichigo, it doesn't change the fact that Kubo intentionally drew Orihime and Ichigo rising side by side multiple times. Even without text, Kubo places emphasis on her and her cries for help against VL Ichigo - not White or Zangetsu.

And when Uryu tries to bring him back to his senses what does Ichigo do? Put a sword through him.

Once again, even if you want to remove any and all text, Kubo puts VL Ichigo paneled side by side with Orihime, and when Ichigo comes back to his senses

The first person that he sees is Orihime.

As much as I want, I'll save my yapping about Ulquiorra for a separate time.

But for a moment, even if only briefly, his desires to protect were twisted in a way that hurt those around him, and once again - Orihime was the catalyst.

Ichigo says that he didn't want to win like this - showing that he views fights as something more honorable than what White/VL Ichigo had done. His last memory being that he had a hole put in his chest, also shows that he more or less "blacked out" and had no control over his actions.

What is one of the things established when people become hollows?

That they lose control of themselves and their desires are twisted.

The difference between Ichigo and Acidwire is that Ichigo wants to protect Orihime while Acidwire wanted to own her - which is why Ichigo never directly harms Orihime even as he loses control of himself.

But - all of this yapping is to show how from Orihime's perspective, hollowfication and hollow powers aren't good. They turn people into monsters that hurt their friends and loved ones.

It's also established that Orihime is the type of person who will internalize her own thoughts and feelings (it isn't ""hubris"" as some people call it).

Whether or not you want to argue that it was an assumption that Ichigo became a VL because she cried for help, it doesn't change the fact that she still cried for help and that Ichigo became a hollow/VL.

From her own perspective, she blames herself regardless of whether or not you think that it is an assumption on her part that Ichigo became a VL to protect her.

And after all - why wouldn't she blame herself when her first encounter with a hollow - Acidwire - blamed her for the monster that he became?

I know I skipped over him using his mask in the fight with Grimmjow, but I already yap too much and wanted to try to keep an already long post short(er).

Anyway - all of this illustrates the trauma that Orihime has regarding hollows and hollowfication. It's not truly her fault - yet in both instances she blames herself.

And not just Kubo, but Ichigo himself is fully aware of this.

Which is why when he tells her not to worry and that he's still himself is so important - because it shows that Ichigo has learned to control that side of himself while at the same time, being aware that Orihime is someone who has been traumatized by hollows and hollowfication.

Ultimately - she doesn't want Ichigo to become a monster like Sora. For Ichigo, it's growth in his own ability while for Orihime it's comfort in knowing that Ichigo won't lose himself fighting to protect those he cares about.

In short, she isn't afraid of Ichigo - she was scared of him becoming a monster like Sora had.