Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters...

Now off to the story! (And I think it might be better if you listen to "I'm With You" by Avril Lavigne :D )

I'm With You

Rain. There was nothing but the rain as Inoue Orihime huddled there in the darkness of the night at the bottom of a random bridge. She was trembling, but not from the cold of her wet Karakura High school uniform. Instead, her body was shaking at the sobs that wracked her form. Where was she? She didn't care where. How did she end up there? She didn't want to recall. However, she was doomed to remember. She cried harder than the rain was falling as memories of that afternoon wafted in her brain.

"Tatsuki-chan, is it okay if you go home ahead of me?" she asked her spiky-haired brunette best friend as the two of them went out of the gate of their school.

"You don't have work today Orihime.. Nor there isn't any club today… So why are you going to stay behind?" questioned Tatsuki.

She brought up a hand to her head, a blush coloring her cheeks, and replied, "Well.. um…I wanted to um.. check whether there really were robots running on the track at the field earlier! You see, I swear I saw an orange male robot with a 'v' for eyebrows running there with two female robots! One was black while the other was orange too when we were having English class.. So I'm just going to check if they left some footprints to see if it was really real! Who knows, maybe they were actually training to take over the world!"

Tatsuki sweatdropped at her answer but nonetheless nodded in consent, "Well okay.. Okay.. Go ahead.."

"Ah! Arigato Tatsuki-chan! Don't worry! If the robots see me, I'll be sure to run immediately to safety!" she said.

Her best friend chuckled and then ruffled her hair.

"See ya Orihime," Tatsuki told her as she walked away, "And good luck with Ichigo!"

Her blush turned seven shades deeper as she waved goodbye to the brunette. How did Tatsuki find out about her plan? But anyways, she needed to compose herself before she will finally confess to Kurosaki-kun! She's been practicing for this day for months already!

And so as planned, she stood to the side of the school's gate as she waited for Kurosaki-kun to go out. To kill the time, she observed the students wearing the customary Karakura High uniform and the ones wearing the black Seiretei High attire going out of the school. Karakura High School and Seiretei High School have been neighbors for years. However, it was only during this school year that the two actually did interact with each other, and in fact, work with each other in a contest for the best cultural festival against Hueco Mundo University. And so, it was a very wonderful sight to her seeing students from her school and Seiretei having fun with each other. Of course, she could never forget that this alliance was made possible only by the efforts of Ichigo!

"Kurosaki-kun…" she whispered to herself in a dreamy voice.

As though hearing her call his name, he appeared in her line of sight. She didn't actually see his face or anything over the crowd of students coming out of the school. However, the mop of orange hair a few ways behind the crowd was unmistakably his.

She immediately ran to his direction, rehearsing in her head the things she was supposed to say. When she did catch sight of Ichigo, however, she was greeted with a scene she never would have anticipated. …

Her grey eyes widened and tears started to pool them. She couldn't believe what she was seeing! One of Ichigo's arms was around Kuchiki Rukia's petite waist while the other was on the back of her head. Rukia's arms were wrapped around Ichigo's neck… And the two of them… The two of them…. Her book bag slipped from her grasp, causing the couple in front of her to break their kiss.

"Inoue?"

"Inoue-san?"

"Ah.. Kurosaki-kun… Kuchiki-san… Gomen nasai.. I didn't know.. I.. I shouldn't have interfered… " she said in between sobs.

Ichigo opened his mouth to say something, but before he could say anything, she grabbed her book bag from the ground and started running at full speed to who knows where..

"Kurosaki-kun…" she muttered in between sobs, hugging her knees closer to her.

He likes Kuchiki-san.. And it hurt so bad. It was as though her heart was ripped off her chest, pound to dust in front of her very eyes, and was then placed back inside of her. But still… she couldn't help but hope, as she sat there in the darkness as it rained cats and dogs, that somehow.. Her beloved Kurosaki-kun would come and whisk her away to happily ever after.

"Kurosaki-kun… help…" she called out weakly "Kurosaki-kun.. find me.. please… Kurosaki-kun.. please.. save me…"

But all her cries were in vain, and only the sound of rain came in reply. She didn't lose hope, however. She thought maybe, just maybe, Kurosaki-kun didn't really like Kuchiki-san.. Maybe, just maybe, Kuchiki-san just kissed him out of nowhere when she walked in on them! And maybe, just maybe, Kurosaki-kun was just about to explain that to her when she ran away!

"But that couldn't be… The way their arms were wrapped around each other…. It screamed of intimacy and what else but… but love…" Orihime thought out loud. But still, she couldn't let go of that train of thought. It was her only hope and light in the darkness she was in.

A cold, strong wind blew, and Orihime shivered badly. She was getting cold.. Too cold that it took her mind off about Ichigo and instead focus on more important matters that she should have thought of and dealt with first..

"Whe- where am I?" she asked herself, finally caring enough to take in her surroundings. There was a river nearby… And there's concrete a few ways over her head, which should be the bottom of a bridge. However, she didn't recognize this place. Even when she's been in Karakura town since birth, she still was unfamiliar to some parts of it..

"You are in Karakura town.." a deep, silky male voice answered her previous question.

Orihime jumped back and fell on her butt in surprise. She seriously wasn't expecting an answer.. To get one in the darkness she was in shocked more than the living daylights in her. What's worse was the voice was unmistakably a male's! What if it was a robber? Orihime reached for her book bag, stood up, and readied it for attacking. Her two hardbound algebra books were in her bag. And also, her very thick English book was there! Surely, if she hit the robber at the head, the weight of her book bag might knock him out!

"Who's there? If you're a robber, then just go away. I have nothing of value with me.. But if you're a booklover, then that's an entirely different story.." she spoke up, her voice not as strong as she wished it would have been.

Once again, only the sound of rain answered her. Orihime sighed. Maybe she was just imagining the voice? But it was too foreign… she couldn't have just made it up, right? Orihime let her hands go limp at her sides. But then again, she had an admittedly overactive imagination.

"If I were a robber, then you should have not said anything and instead should have run away, onna," the voice replied out of the blue.

"Uwah!" Orihime exclaimed, accidentally throwing her book bag in the air as her hands flailed in shock, "Ah! No! My book bag!"

"You are a strange one, onna," the voice stated. Simultaneously, a pale figure appeared in front of her.

Orihime's eyes widened as she took in the appearance of the stranger. He seemed to be around her age and was of average height; just a few inches taller than her. His left hand was in his pocket, while the other held her book bag. He was very pale—almost as if he has never been under the sun all his life. And as if to contradict his snow white skin, he had midnight black hair. His face, admittedly, was the kind that would have made her classmates swoon and faint even though he looked slightly melancholic and quite emotionless as his voice. What caught her attention the most, though, were the stranger's eyes. They were the most vivid and intense green yet the most lifeless she has ever seen.

"Who.. who are you?" she asked.

"I find no reason to tell you that, onna," he replied curtly.

Orihime's eyebrow twitched. Basing from his looks, one would have thought that the guy must be a tad bit of a gentleman. Looks aside, this guy was awfully rude! Orihime once again gave the stranger a glance over. He was wearing a pristine white uniform with black trims- the typical Hueco Mundo University uniform. Orihime's brows furrowed. No wonder he's rude.

"And why is that?" questioned Orihime.

"Because you are trash," he answered in monotone.

Orihime, for the first time in a long time in her life, felt anger course in through her. What in the world was this guy's problem? Trash? Trash? Her emotions have already been a jumble thanks to the incident with Ichigo, and now this? Orihime felt something in her snap.

SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!

The guy's head snapped to the side at the force of her slap, the cheek that was hit a stark red against his skin. However, his face remained impassive as though it didn't hurt at all. His head still facing to the side, his emerald orbs flickered to her silver ones, making Orihime's heart beat faster in her chest. What did she just do? She didn't just slap him, did she? What is he going to do now? HMU students were known to be quite aggressive… She saw his right hand move. She closed her eyes, clutching her aching hand she used to slap him to her chest, waiting the inevitable hit he was going to give her…

One heartbeat.. Six heartbeats…. 20 heartbeats… The punch never came. Instead, she heard a thud in front of her. Opening her eyes, she saw it was her book bag making contact with the ground that caused the sound. Looking up, she noticed that the guy was now facing her once again. His eyes looked at her as though not really seeing her, which unnerved her.

"It would seem that you Karakura High students are aggressive and rude, slapping a stranger who happened to have caught your book bag before it fell from the river.. Much like how you describe us from Hueco Mundo," he spoke calmly, emotionlessly. However, Orihime didn't miss a flash of anger in his eyes.

Orihime gulped, looked down and said, "I- I'm sorry… I didn't mean to hurt you… I.. My emotions were just messed up due to an incident a while ago and when you said I was trash.. Well.. I guess I kind of snapped… So.. please forgive me" And with that, Orihime gave an apologizing bow.

When she stood straight once again, she saw that the guy was looking at her as though she was an unknown specimen under a microscope, hands leisurely in his pockets. She gazed at his forest green eyes, and immediately, she felt like she was drowning under their intense gaze. Unable to hold the gaze any longer, she averted her eyes to the side. Why wasn't he saying anything?

"E-eto.. I'm Inoue Orihime.. And um… I guess it's kind of awkward to say this but.. well.. nice to meet you…" she told him, trying to strike a conversation and start off new with the stranger to forget what happened earlier.

"You do not need to say 'nice to meet you' when it is obvious that it was not so," the man replied bluntly.

Once again, Orihime's eyebrow twitched. But this time, she kind of understood the stranger already. It would seem, to her, that he was a guy who speaks the truth and facts bluntly and in all honesty without thinking about what the other person on the receiving end might feel that he comes out rude. And, it seemed that the slap earlier vented out all her frustrations since now she could feel that she can control her emotions more.

"Ahahaha… I guess you're right.. but it's just the common way of introducing one's self, right?" Orihime replied, putting a hand on her head as she stooped down to take her book bag off the ground.

"You are a strange onna," the guy remarked, again.

"So.. um… what are you doing here?" asked Orihime.

"I could ask you the same onna," retorted the stranger.

"But I asked you first," Orihime replied as come back with a slight smile on her face.

"I was merely passing down this street from school when I saw a figure huddled up under the bridge," he said.

"And?" urged Orihime, "That still doesn't answer the question on why you're here!"

A flash of what seemed to be irritation passed through the man's eyes and Orihime suppressed the sudden urge to giggle. It was amusing to her to find some emotion on the man, seeing that he seemed to have a face that was as expressive as a statue!

"Curiosity brought me here," continued the man, "And I found a Karakura High student soaked to the bone, hair windblown and face stained with tears. If you did not notice onna, you look pathetic."

Orihime's amusement died at down his downright harsh words. Anger once again coursed through her, but this time, she didn't let it control her actions. Instead, she took a deep breath and then sighed.

"Well forgive me for looking pathetic.. but you don't know what I've been through…" Orihime stated, gathering courage as she looked at the guy straight to the eye.

"Oh? And what would that be?" questioned the man.

"Oh nothing much… just…" Orihime bit her lip. She wasn't going to cry in front of a stranger. Much less an HMU (Hueco Mundo University) student who just called her pathetic. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing how right he was when he called her that. However, her tears were more stubborn than she was, and they tumbled down her cheeks in a mad race.

The man tilted his head upwards, as if telling her to continue. Orihime took a deep, yet shaky breath before continuing, "It was just that I was about to confess to the man I love my feelings but then I found him kissing another girl.. so I ran away without knowing where I was headed to and tada! I ended up here!"

The guy blinked, as though a show of confusion. "That is the reason why you ended up at the borders of Karakura?" he asked, as if in disbelief but his voice was still in monotone, which now seemed to have a relaxing effect on Orihime at how calm it sounded.

Orihime wiped her tears with her hands and nodded in reply. She knew it. He was going to comment on how pathetic her excuse was. She wasn't disappointed.

"Pathetic," he remarked.

"I know," she agreed, "But I can't help it…. My heart just practically screams for him you know?"

And then, she didn't know what made her do it, but she shared it to him anyway, "Even when I saw him kissing another girl.. I couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, the girl was merely forcing herself on him.. And as I cried here... I couldn't stop myself from wishing.. hoping that he'd come and tell me that he loves me too..."

"Why are you telling me this onna?" he questioned, "I am a stranger, and your love life is none of my business."

She was expecting that, and somehow, she had an answer.

"I know... But maybe it's because you're a stranger that I just shared it to you?" Orihime answered.

"I do not understand your logic onna," he responded.

Orihime laughed awkwardly and rambled, "Well, since you're a stranger and you know little of me... It was easier to tell you something that I couldn't normally to my friends... I guess... and... um... you looked like the type of person who would not judge others so easily and I just feel comfortable talking to you and venting out my feelings after that slap so I guess the words just came out of my mouth..."

"I see.." he stated.

Silence fell on them after that. And then Orihime noticed how much time has passed since she has been talking with this stranger. The rain, which was borderline a storm a while ago, was now nothing but a light drizzle. The night was darker too. Another realization hit her. The excruciating heartache she has been feeling earlier due to Ichigo and Rukia has dulled to an extent that she even forgot it while talking to this guy earlier!

"Oh my.. What time is it?" Orihime exclaimed, checking her wristwatch. However, it was broken because it was soaked in the rain when it wasn't even waterproof.

"7: 04," the man replied.

Silence, again.

Orihime was about to break it by saying goodbye, but the stranger beat her to it.

"Ulquiorra Cifer," he said.

"Excuse me?" she questioned.

"Ulquiorra Cifer. My name," he answered.

"Oh… Well um.. Cifer-san-"

"Do not refer to me as you would to other people using honorifics you Karakura High students are taught to use. When you call me, call me only 'Ulquiorra'. Call me only that," 'Ulquiorra' interrupted her.

Orihime's eyes widened. THAT was new. How did this 'Ulquiorra' have the guts to say that to her when he doesn't even call her by her name and instead merely addresses her as 'onna'? AND, didn't the guy know that when you refer to someone else by their first name alone, it means that you two are really close? But then again, there was also that case that when you refer to someone without using honorifics, it means being rude.. But still.. his first name alone?

"But…" she was about to voice out her opinion when he cut her off once again.

"Come with me onna," he told her as though it was a command.

Orihime's eyes widened. Say what now?

"Don't speak," he ordered, "Don't ask anything. Don't say anything. Allow me to explain first."

Orihime did as she was told to do. What was up with the sudden change?

"Aizen-sama, the director of Hueco Mundo University, has asked us students to know what we can of the plans of Karakura High and/or of Seiretei High on the upcoming cultural festival contest…. After all, the name and glory of the schools are at stake here…You are a Karakura High student, and would be of valuable source of information," he explained.

Thinking that he was done, Orihime was about to say that there was no way she was going to leak out any information about the plans of Karakura and Seiretei High. Before she could open her mouth though, he started speaking once again.

"You will say 'Yes' onna.. Do not worry.. Aizen-sama has instructed us not to use force or violence to extract the information we need…. I will only ask for the information that you are willing to share, nothing more," he continued speaking,

"I hope you understand, onna, responding to the affirmative is your only option. No one else but me goes down this way at this time of the night… You will be alone here in the darkness if you respond to the negative. Asides from that, Aizen-sama is going to send the Espada, the top 10 students in the honor roll, to glean information that we need.. There are idiots among the Espada who I know will not follow Aizen-sama's instructions and might use force against the students of your school or Seiretei… Kurosaki Ichigo or any other friends you have may get involved in the crossfire."

Orihime's eyes widened at Ulquiorra's mention of her beloved Kurosaki-kun… How did he know that she was affiliated with him somehow? Maybe he heard her cries earlier.. Then that would mean that he's been watching her all along? How long has he been there anyways? More importantly, he looked like the silent type.. but it seemed that Ulquiorra was talkative when he wanted to, huh? Orihime almost giggled at the thought. Almost. Ulquiorra just started talking again.

"I am a member of the Espada… If you are going to cooperate, onna, then any information you are going to share to me will prove to be suffice to Aizen-sama and he won't send the Espada anymore to your school and Seiretei and cause havoc there," he further elaborated,

"But this isn't the right place to gather information.. And I assume that you must be getting hungry after all that running you did.. So we might as well do those in a restaurant I know not far from here… I'm going to repeat this one last time onna: come with me," he finished, holding out a hand for her to take.

As if to prove Ulquiorra's point, Orihime's stomach growled. Pushing hungry thoughts aside, it sounded like Ulquiorra was asking her out on a date (using a very long speech with detailed excuses at that) if Orihime didn't know any better. Pushing thoughts about school and the cultural festival aside, Orihime realized that she wanted to stay with Ulquiorra for a little longer and better know him. He was so different from her and the friends she knew that he entranced her somehow. And so, Inoue Orihime made a decision that she would further know to be a life-changing one.

"But I'm a mess.. I can't go to a restaurant like this…" Orihime stated, indirectly implying her answer but making no move in taking Ulquiorra's outstretched hand.

"Indeed… But that is of little consequence. There is a clothes store nearby.. I'll buy you a fresh set of clothes to wear," Ulquiorra replied, letting his hand drop to his side.

"Eh? But—"

"Onna, no 'buts'" Ulquiorra once again effectively interrupted her as he turned around and signalled to someone on the street above them.

It was then that Orihime noticed a black car (or limousine) was parked there with a man in a suit standing by the car door. And it was then that Orihime remembered another fact about HMU students: they were awfully rich, which explains how they can commit violence and trash a whole place up but still get away with it.

"Onna, what is your answer?" asked Ulquiorra, holding his hand out again for her to take.

Orihime looked at his hand and then on hers. She barely even knew who he was, except for the fact that he studies in HMU and of course his name… However, she's already made up her decision a while ago.

Orihime took his hand and answered with a smile,

"I'm with you, Ulquiorra Cifer.."

A/N: Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed it! And well, this story was just a random thing that popped into my mind while listening to Avril Lavigne songs... I hope it wasn't too crappy.. and was at least presentable...