Characters: Orihime Inoue
Anime/Manga/Game: Bleach
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They all belong to Kubo Tite.
A/N: This is my first entry here for Bleach. I'll see if I could make another one in the days to come.
She was at a loss for words.
She knew that she detested the place, the moment she had stepped into it.
She knew that she detested her captor, the moment he had set those emerald eyes of his upon her.
She knew that she detested everything that was happening, detested the fact that she was helpless there. That she thought she was helping, but in the end just caused far more trouble than what it was worth.
And yet...
She was at a loss for words.
Had the solitude finally gotten to her? Had her depression slowly melted away her sanity-or whatever was left of it? Had her loneliness crushed whatever hope she had left in heart..?
Her heart...
She raised a hand to her chest, her palm resting gently on the spot directly above where her heart was. It was beating, a sign that she was still alive. A sign that she still could fight. But in the days following her arrival at Hueco Mundo, that heart almost ceased beating for anyone and everyone. Almost. The memories of her beloved friends kept her going. Her will to protect them shielded her heart from the influences of the barren land, from the influences of the people surrounding her. But...
She could not shield herself from the man who brought her there. The man who made her into his captive.
At first, she was angry at him for imposing orders upon her, orders that she could not dismiss or disobey, for if she had, her friends would all be in danger. Far more danger than they were already in. She wanted to continue hating him, despising him. Blaming him for everything that has happened and was happening. And yet...
Her heart beat faster as the thought of him entered her mind. She wanted to believe that what she was feeling was nothing, that it was just a trick of her deprived and bereaved mind. But the way her stomach fluttered every time he appeared, the way she would feel nervous every time he would just stare at her as if trying to fathom what lies beyond her human shell-such actions became her torment, far more torturous than the words that escaped his mouth whenever he decided to speak to her. When did it start? How did it start? Was it because, of all the Arrancars, he was the only one who actually paid her attention? The only one who actually spoke to her, even if she was not allowed to answer back? Even if what he said to her were reflections of negativity? Of emptiness? Of despair?
He wanted to break her-that was what she thought he was doing. But in the end, it was he who was keeping her from breaking apart. It was his presence that kept her sanity from escaping her. It was he-of all people-who was able to reach into her heart.