Why did it end up this way?
"You will be permitted one last goodbye before leaving for Hueco Mundo. Any more than that, and they will all be killed."
It moved so fast. Everyone's faces raced through my mind like a blur. Tatsuki, Ishida, Renji, Chad, Rukia, Matsumoto, Toshiro... Ichigo. Especially Ichigo. After I made up my mind to say my last farewell to Ichigo, I was gone.
And now I'm here. Barren white walls, one single couch (white too, of course) and a single, long, rectangular window. My only chance at light was the moon, staining the ground with it's bright radiance in the dark.
"Who do you belong to?" His pale face contrasted strongly with his dark teal tear lines under his eyes. Ulquiorra. "Woman, I said who do you belong to?"
As much as I hated to admit it... "Aizen-sama."
Utter defeat. That's what runs through my mind these days. I have nothing to do but cycle through each thought endlessly, 'defeat, guilt, sadness, Ichigo, and repeat.' The stark white room, although bright, brought no comfort.
Ulquiorra, despite his thin appearance, can slam a door hard enough to make your skin curl. "Dinner time, woman."
"Will you STOP calling me that? My name is Orihime." I wasn't gonna let his chauvinistic attitude bring me down. "Orihime Inoue. Just respect that, please." Adding please sounded whiny, but I had to do SOMETHING.
"I will call you what I please. After dinner, Aizen-sama requests a presence with you."
I sighed. It seems I was going to be called 'woman' for the rest of my stay here. He shut the door and I was all by my lonesome. Again. Being lonely really took a toll on me. I couldn't control my tears as they streaked across my cheeks. How much longer will I have to stay here? Ichigo... I miss you.
This really sucks. I have no left arm, I'm kicked out of the Espada and I'm STILL being called to the meetings? Do they just want to rub the fact in MORE that I can't do anything, or do they actually need me?
"Hey there Grimmjow." The arrogant sexta Espada smirked. Lupi, I can't stand that guy. As long as he's here, I'm still gonna be exiled from the Espada, no matter what I do. I gotta get him. Dead.
The seats at the table filled up fast and I was left standing around like a clueless puppy. Seriously, what was I here for?
"Hello Grimmjow." He stared intently at me with a smile and I nearly lost consciousness. If just being in Aizen-sama's prescence brings me to my knees, what would being in a battle with him be like?
"You must be wondering why I brought you here."
I nodded.
"Well, our last mission to recover a certain... someone, did not go in vain." He let this sentence linger in the air for a while. As if I needed anyone else to point out my previous mistake.
"Orihime-chan?" Aizen-sama gestured to a dark part of the room and out of the midst comes a girl! A HUMAN girl. First thing I noticed were those, HUGE jugs, but then I noticed something was a little off about her appearance, I just couldn't tell what.
"Orihime-chan, can you heal Mr. Jaegerjaquez's arm for me, please?" Suddenly, I was stunned. What can this pathetic female human do to my arm? My arm is nonexistant! It isn't there anymore! But I'm not the only one who was doubting her powers.
"Aizen-sama, are you serious? This, piece of trash, HUMAN can't do a THING to Grimmjow's arm! She'll fail! It's impossible!" Lupi seemed pretty confident about his nay-saying.
Nevertheless, the human walked up to me hesitantly and stared at my arm. 'As if she can-' and right before my eyes, my arm started to reform and build itself back to it's former glory.
I took my eyes off my regenerating arm and stared at this human girl. But right when my eyes turned to her, her eyes locked on mine. Her expression was one of guilt mixed with curiosity.
Why couldn't my eyes move? She wasn't intimidating me. Then why were they stuck like glue onto her amber colored pupils? Her eyes darted back down and she said timidly, "I'm finished."
Sure enough, my arm was back. And it was WORKING! I forgot all about the human for a moment and my eyes flicked over to Lupi, who was staring in horror.
"Impossible.." he whispered. His eyes shot to mine. And in my head, revenge was the only option for stealing my spot.
The arrancar who I just healed looked maniacally at a smaller, more timid arrancar, with the worst expression on his face.
I had to turn my entire body around and cover my ears to ignore the murder that was going on behind me.
Why was this happening?
"Oi, woman. Heal THIS." the blue haired arrancar grinned and pointed to a fleshy scar on his back.
And just a few seconds ago, I felt a spark when I looked at him. My heart felt warm, for just a millisecond as I stared into his azure blue eyes. I guess that was just my imagination, because, a monster like that CAN'T have emotions.
I obeyed reluctantly and healed his scar which revealed a number six underneath the flesh. Realization set over me, this guy is dangerous. He's number 6 out of 10 Espada.
Horror sent electric shocks throughout my body as I realized the potential of this man.
The man caught me staring and he smirked at my trembling. He leaned in too close for comfort, to the point where I could smell his entire being around me. His nose brushed mine and he said, "Much thanks. I owe you one," he leaned even closer that, as he bent over, he was hovering over my chest, "Woman."
And he walked away. Just like that, after causing me to go into a fit of panic. What I had felt for this man earlier, washed away quickly.
Ulquiorra escorted me to my room and I took a seat on the couch, taking in what I had done that evening.
But Ulquiorra didn't leave immediately and this puzzled me. He usually didn't want to have anything to do with me but now, he was hanging around.
He cleared his throat and I glanced over at him. He looked to be in deep thought and I said, "Ulquiorra..?"
He snapped out of the trance and answered, "Woman?"
"Is there any reason why you're sticking around tonight?" He looked at me incredulously and answered, "I'm not sticking around. I was just thinking. Good night."
He prepared to leave but in the doorway he said, "Don't... don't pay any mind to Grimmjow. He likes to feel like he intimidates people."
This was my chance! My chance to actually have a conversation that WASN'T about forcing me to eat food or not having him call me woman! Too bad I couldn't think of anything to say.
All I could muster was a small, "Oh." I wanted to talk more but he closed the door gently, with no hints of slamming it. Maybe Ulquiorra could be a nice guy after all.
"GRAHHH!" It was so IRRITATING. Why can't I sleep? I should be ECSTATIC! Beyond ecstatic, yet I can't take my mind off that girl.
What kind of powers did she possess? The power to heal AND to keep people up at night thinking about her?
Look at this human. Reducing Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez into a pile of human emotions.
I DON'T CARE ABOUT HER. I DON'T CARE ABOUT HER.
I DON'T WANT TO THINK ABOUT HER EITHER.
But I do.
That's it, I'll make her regret doing this to me. It IS her fault she's running around in my mind.
Tomorrow, I'll make her pay.
The door opened revealing a luminescent hallway as Ulquiorra entered.
I just pretended to sleep. That blue haired freak spun around in my thoughts all night. His terrifying display of violence last night. His criminally insane grin. And his bright blue eyes, piercing mine.
"Hmmph. Stupid woman."
Well, that's a nice thing to wake up to. But right after saying this, Ulquiorra pulled a warm, green fleece blanket over me. It wasn't until then, that I realized I was freezing.
I shifted over to lay my face on the couch and opened my eye just a crack. To my surprise, Ulquiorra was standing right over me, staring intently at my face.
Why?
I shut my eye again and waited until I heard him leave. But no sound emanated from him as he strode away from me.
Carefully, I moved onto my elbow looking out at the door which had already shut. Boy, he was a silent one.
I smiled to myself and snuggled up with the blanket and drifted into a deep sleep.
My dreams were filled with Ichigo. Images of him, gliding through my mind's eye. How I missed him.
"Orihime, wake up! Wake up Orihime!" Ichigo was calling out to me sweetly and shaking my arms.
Then his bright orange hair melted into a shade of blue I never wanted to see again. His cheek grew a bone and his smile distorted itself to show a terrifying grimace.
"WAKE UP, WOMAN! YOU USELESS PIECE OF MEAT!" Ichigo disappeared. And the one called Grimmjow stood looming over me.
Her eyes fluttered open. FINALLY. I wasn't coming here to be her gentle wake up call.
She scanned the room with those intense eyes and when they landed on me, her eyes widened in fear. Good.
She scrambled off the couch and onto the ground, looking for some way to be rid of me, to no avail.
"Calm down, human." I took two steps toward her and she stood, bravely with her hands in front of her.
Too bad for her, I could still see her shaking.
I lunged at her and she squeaked and we both landed on the ground. I had dominated her and she knew it.
I pinned her down by her hands and stared deeply in her face. She stared right back, with those big eyes. I looked at my hands holding her wrists and noticed how small she was compared to me.
I could wrap my hands around her wrists twice.
To test her, I squeezed my hand around her bones. A pained look appeared on her worn face but no noise. Not even a groan of hurt.
This human was stronger than she looked.
We sat in silence for a moment because... I couldn't think of what to do next. I needed her out of my brain but nothing came to mind.
"Get off." she whispered. Did I hear her correctly? Did she just order the sexta Espada to do something for her?
"Why?" I leaned on her stomach and used my weight to take the breath out of her. "Is this hurting the little princess?" She started gasping for air little by little but tried not to show pain.
"I said get OFF! Koten Zanshun, I REPEL THEE!" All of a sudden, I was blasted off the girl and hit the wall.
She had fight in her too. I liked that.
Breathing heavily, I stood up and made a run for the door.
Why was he doing this to me? I healed his arm, for goodness sake. The least he could do is say thank you! Not... this.
Right as my fingertips grazed the doorknob, he used some strange technique and sped in front of me, grabbed my hand and said, "You're not going anywhere."
"I WILL use my powers again." Hopefully he didn't catch that hint of hesitation I had.
"Your POWERS? Heh, you call that a power? That tickled. I'm getting bored, so let's spice this up a bit."
Before I could protest, he grabbed the back of my head and pressed his lips against mine.
I felt warm again.
But I put up a fight anyway. My hands pressed against his chest and I pushed as hard as I could. His chest was really hard.
Ichigo's face blazed a trail in my head and I tried so hard. Believe me, I tried so much to escape but he just overpowered me... by a lot.
But I had one means of keeping my control. I clenched my jaw shut so he wouldn't pry it open with his disgusting tongue. And he tried quite a few times but he finally gave up and released me.
I could breathe! I breathed hard and fell to the ground on my knees as he just stared at me.
"So, you can make that kind of face too, huh?" What face? All I could feel was heat surging in my face and my eyes half shut because it felt as though he sucked the life out of me.
"Well that was fun. I'll see you tomorrow, woman."
"My name is Orihime Inoue." He inspected me with just a slight pinch of irritation clouding his rigid features.
"I'm Grimmjow. Nice to meet you." And just like that, he was gone.
I broke down into sobs and my body rattled tremulously. That man, was truly a behemoth.
I stood outside the door for a while and listened to the girl.
She cries loudly.
Ulquiorra headed down the hall and spotted me outside the doorway.
"And what, can I ask, are you doing here?"
"Just hanging around. Am I not allowed outside pet-sama's room? Are you feeling THAT possessive about her already?"
He narrowed his eyes and, for a moment, he seemed, angry. But the emotion was easily replaced by his stone cold usual face. "You already know that Aizen-sama would not be appreciative if you harmed the girl."
"Well, duh, baka. Why would I do that? I don't have a death wish." I stalked away and hid behind the corner to check if emo-Espada actually did have feelings for her.
He opened the door and I'm guessing he saw the heap of human on the ground because the bawling got immensely louder as the door swung open.
I couldn't see a change in his face but he DID look over to me as if he suspected something. Moving inside the room, he started to speak but I wasn't going to stick around for that.
I strode to my room and Nnoitra approached me. "I heard you inside pet-sama's room. Care to tell me what that was all about?"
The 7 foot tall man in front of me grinned suggestively and leaned lower as I started to whisper, "She's a good kisser. Stubborn thing wouldn't open her mouth though."
He cackled and said, "You nasty animal! Mind if I have a turn? Or woul-"
"No."
He was positively confused by my quick answer but I simply replied, "Pet-sama is mine."
Was it just me, or was I too becoming possessive also? She was just a fun toy... that's all.
I wasn't going to make Ulquiorra comfort me, though I sure needed it. Not that he would anyway. He's an arrancar. A soulless being. But I didn't need him.
Thinking of my friends back home and the good times we shared were good enough.
He didn't ask what was wrong anyways.
All he said through my sobs was, "Lunch time, woman."
"I – I d-don't nee-" I hiccuped, "need it."
"If you don't eat, I will be forced to feed you myself." He said, stony cold, "Aizen-sama wants you to be in the best of health."
I stayed silent because I couldn't argue with him. Heck, I could barely speak.
"I'll be back in an hour. If you haven't eaten it by then, I'll shove it down your throat."
And he stepped out silently, leaving me to my thoughts.
No one here was capable of kindness.
I laid down on the ground in my room after minutes of pacing.
She wouldn't leave my mind. AGAIN. Actually, after kissing her, it got worse.
Why did I kiss her in the first place? I was intent on torturing her, but the temptation to kiss her grew largely and... I couldn't resist myself.
She was soft. Everything about her was soft. Her lips, her skin... her heart.
WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?
I stormed out of my room only to face Gin. He always gave me the creeps, but today seemed especially different. A murderous aura was given off by him and he said, "Ah, just the person I needed. Aizen-sama wants to see you in the meeting hall. Now."
Man... I screwed up.
Shortly after leaving, Ulquiorra rushed in, looking strangely distressed. He usually has this armor of non-expression but there was something off about his armor right then.
"Aizen-sama would like to see you in the meeting hall." He glanced over at the uneaten tray of food then back at me.
"Why does he want to see ME?"
"I... do not know. I just know he wants to see you right now."
What could shake the almighty Ulquiorra? That's what I wanted to know.
I entered the meeting hall, interrupting a serious conversation Aizen-sama was having with another Espada. Aizen-sama's body blocked my view of the Espada, but I could tell the arrancar was quite distressed, telling from his reiatsu.
"Orihime-chan. Thank you for joining us on such short notice." He turned his head but not his entire body, so he covered the Espada fully, "You see, I can tell you had a problem earlier today, so I decided to confront it."
Oh no.
Aizen-sama stepped to the right and revealed the hidden Espada.
Grimmjow.
Uncontrollably, my body went into fits of tremors and I shook endlessly.
"I see. So he DID do something to you. Would you mind telling me what that was?"
Grimmjow's face told me to stay quiet. But Aizen-sama's entire being told me to spit it out. But for Grimmjow's sake, I was going to tone it down.
"He... just kissed me. That's it." See, that wasn't so bad!
"You're lying."
The tremors grew ever worse and I sank to the ground on my hands and knees. I couldn't do anything, let alone talk. Aizen-sama's spirtitual pressure pushed down on me until I lay flat on the ground. Tears dripping from my eyes, and vomit trickling down my chin.
What I wouldn't do to kill Aizen-sama right then.
He saw that she was suffering and barely concious. Aizen-sama probably read my mind because he said, "If you can't stand to see her suffering so much, why don't you help her?"
I looked up, bewildered. Why would he let me get near HIS pet?
"Go on." His spirtual prowess lessened and I could actually start moving again.
I walked over to the girl, unbeknownst what I could do.
"Just pick her up, and take her to her room. And she's unconscious, so you can have some fun with her, if you'd like." Was this really Aizen-sama?
I looked at him and he looked right back at me. As if he was TESTING me. He stood prominently with his hair mussed and muscles hidden well under his clothing.
I bent over and picked up the human and held her in my arms. Slowly, I walked out, making sure to not let out any of my doubts I was running over in my head.
Nnoitra's door was open and he saw me carrying the unconscious female in my arms and he sped out.
"How in the heck did you get her unconscious? And can I have her?" He said, arms wide open.
If I let her go, I might be spared an unknown fate that Aizen-sama has for me if I mess with her.
I decided to give her up to the willing arrancar, despite the screaming in my head to hold her tight in my arms.
Nnoitra's face lit up like a lantern in the night sky and he said, "Thanks! I was so bored, it was ridiculous." And the door slammed behind him.
I wasn't sure whether I had done the right thing or not.
I was on a bed when I woke up.
I don't have a bed.
I whipped my head around the room in a confusion and saw the Espada sitting on the couch.
Why him? Anybody but him.
The black haired Espada always freaked me out the most. Just looking at him gave me the chills. He always looked at me like I was a piece of meat, ready to be devored.
Suddenly, I remembered where I just was. Grimmjow. I wonder what happened to him. I wonder why I'm not in my own room.
"Wakey, wakey pet-sama."
Just the sound of his voice paralyzed me.
He slid across the room like a snake and settled on the bed next to me. His tongue lolled out of his mouth and came my way.
He licked the side of my neck up to my cheekbone.
Astonished and petrified, I fell off the bed and onto my back. The landing was harder than I intended so I lay there in slight agony.
His head popped over the rim of the bed and he grinned maliciously at me. Rolling onto my stomach, I army-crawled towards the door, but it wasn't long before he lay on top of me, pinning me down like Grimmjow once did.
What did I do to deserve this?
He whispered in my ear, "This won't be painful at all. Just let me do what I want, and you can be on your way." The last words out of his mouth, a hiss.
He tugged on the collar of my clothes and prepared to rip them when I screamed.
I screamed long and hard, 'til I really couldn't breathe anymore.
I knew I was wrong to leave her with him. I sprinted down the hallway towards Nnoitra's room.
I was going to get in so much trouble.
The screaming ceased after a second and that encouraged me to run harder. 'Please keep screaming.' I thought.
I wrenched the door open to find Nnoitra, who used one hand and stuffed two enlongated fingers in the woman's mouth, and the other ripping apart her clothing.
The look on the girl's face brought me guilt.
She had tears in her eyes, and on her face, running down Nnoitra's hand. Nnoitra did not like this disturbance.
"GET OUT OF MY ROOM! Can't you see I'm busy?" he barked. With a final tug, her clothing ripped in half and Nnoitra's smile returned.
She thrashed violently while he pinned her down with his body.
This felt like deja-vu.
I kicked Nnoitra in the face and he barely moved an inch. "What was that?" He looked up menacingly and I tried to kick him again but he grabbed my foot and slammed my toes on the ground, breaking a few.
"Get off! Remember what Aizen-sama said!" I sat on the ground, unmoving, hoping this would get to him, but to no relief.
"Whatever, Aizen-sama doesn't care if his lovely pet gets roughed up a bit, does he, sexta?"
I growled. Just because he was quinta doesn't mean he had THAT much power over me.
"I beg to differ." This was the only time I was ever glad to see emo-cuatro's face. Nnoitra groaned and lept off the human's body.
"All I wanted was some fun. This place is boring. Especially 'cos Halibel doesn't let me get anywhere near her."
"No matter. Come, woman."
I can't believe what had just happened. I was almost raped by this nasty arrancar. And now, I had to get up by myself, basically naked.
"Why are you dawdling? Hurry up."
"Erm.. um... I don't have any other clothes..." I muttered. I could feel my face turning red.
"Nobody wants to look at your body. Besides Nnoitra, but just come with me and we'll get you a change of clothes."
"O-...okay." I stood up, covering my front half with what remained of my clothes when I remembered Grimmjow was still there, and I know I heard something break.
"W.. wait! Can I help him?" I gestured to Grimmjow as he looked away from me. If I didn't know him that well, I might think that he was blushing by looking at me. But that could never happen..
"I don't see anything wrong with him." Ulquiorra was unfazed by my request but when Grimmjow said, "She's right, I have broken bones in my feet." He reconsidered.
I silently bent over to his foot and I used Soten Kisshun on his foot and I couldn't help but feel his eyes staring at me. I looked up at him and sure enough, our eyes met again. The warm feeling came back.
And I welcomed it.
I didn't realize that I was finished healing him until Ulquiorra woke me back up to reality.
"Woman, it's time to go."
I followed him but before I left, Nnoitra groped my backside and whisped, "Until next time, kitten."
I shuddered and left the room, happy to be away from that molester.
Before the girl left Nnoitra completely grabbed her butt and whispered in her ear. And I didn't know why, but I was infuriated.
I grabbed his shoulder forcefully and said, "Leave Orihime alone." That was the first time I used her name. And I liked the way it felt on my lips. I wasn't going to be stupid with my feelings.
I liked her, and I knew it. Unfortunately, Nnoitra knew it too.
"Grimmjow... you have a crush on pet-sama? Oh, I mean, Orihime-chan?"
I didn't like the way he said her name, pointless I know, but I replied, "Shut your mouth, you sickening snake."
But this just pressed him forward. He smiled a smile that sent chills down my spine. "Little Orihime-chan. She's going to LOVE it when she finds out that this big kitty-cat likes her. But isn't it illegal? I mean, she's 16 years old and you're, what, 2000?"
I hadn't thought about it before but it's true. We were from totally different eras in time. I can't like her.
I shouldn't.
But she wouldn't leave my mind. For 2 days straight, she hasn't disappeared from my mind once. I have to kiss her again.
I want to.
This feels out of character for me but, I want something, besides getting stronger.
I released Nnoitra and evacuated the room.
But I knew I had a reputation to uphold. I can't be mushy, pushover Grimmjow. I had to let Orihime know who's boss.
The walk through the hallway was immensely embarrassing. I asked Ulquiorra if he would walk behind me to protect my... behind, and he said, "No." Point blank! Szaylel watched me walk past him and he whistled. Pervert.
Arriving in my room was a complete relief. Ulquiorra said he would be back with clothes in a few minutes and to just stay here.
Yes. Because I would go out there naked. Well technically, I had a bra and underwear on but, still. I sat on the couch, bare and just soaked in the events that had just recently happened.
Nnoitra's bold dominance over me. And Grimmjow's rescue. What spurred that rescue anyway? I didn't think he cared about me. At all.
The door opened a crack and let a sliver of light in and I said, "Thank goodness, Ulqui-"
It wasn't Ulquiorra.
I couldn't cover myself up with anything because Ulquiorra took the shredded clothing with him, so I covered myself up with a pillow.
"Orihime-chaaaan." Grimmjow slurred. He WOULD take advantage of me. That... jerk.
"Go away. Ulquiorra wil-" I started but he cut me off with, "Ulquiorra's not here."
I got up to run but he pressed me against the wall with his body. He purred slightly as he caressed his face across my chest but I headbutted him. I wasn't afraid anymore.
"I'm not afraid of you, Grimmjow. Now, I'm just plain aggravated!" I laughed sort of manic-like.
He eyed me like he didn't believe me, but I was dead serious. He released me and said, with his hands up, "Alright, pet-sama! But, I don't plan on coming to your room anymore. Why don't you let this last?"
A part of me said, 'ABSOLUTELY, NO WAY! He's far too dangerous.' And the other part of me said, 'One last time... who can it hurt?'
I stayed silent because I didn't know what to choose, and pouted angrily at his face.
"I mean, you're already practically naked!" He chuckled.
He made me become conscious once more about my clothing issue and I covered myself up with my hands. He was definitely too dangerous to let him stay in here.
"Get out, please."
"What did you say? It sounded like you refused me. I'm going to let you in on a little secret." I said, leaning down to whisper in her ear, "No matter what you said, I was going to stay."
She stared at me furiously, as if she wanted to punch me right in the jaw. I leaned my hips closer to her and caressed her small arms.
Man. They were really small.
But I felt like I was being too gentle, so I growled and kissed her multiple times roughly on the upper part of her chest.
If she was going to say goodbye, the time was now. I glanced up at her face and she looked confused. Like, she WANTED me to stay.
But she mustered whatever self control she had left and said, voice wavering, "Please leave, Grimmjow."
"Yes. Please leave, Grimmjow."
We both whipped our heads around to see Ulquiorra standing in the doorway with a fresh pair of clothes. Immediately, we separated and looked away, as if we were little kids, caught of sneaking a cookie out of the cookie jar.
I rubbed the back of my head and stuck my left hand in my pocket and said, "Ahh, I was going to anyway."
As I neared the doorway, I looked back at the curvacious Orihime Inoue and said, "Goodbye, Orihime." I glanced over at Ulquiorra and saw him staring at me intently.
Pleased with myself, I strode out, closing the door behind me.
Down the hall I walked until a familiar spiritual pressure filled the air around me, along with 2 other unidentified pressures with it.
Kurosaki Ichigo. Revenge was going to be sweet.
It seems I got what I wanted from the human girl. She's not running through my mind anymore. She was an interesting prey, indeed.
Ulquiorra handed me my clothing silently and walked out of the room. Did I make him mad?
I dressed myself slowly, mind whirring about Grimmjow. I never expected him to do that because... I enjoyed it myself.
I sat in my usual spot on the ground, in the light of the moon from the window in my room when suddenly 3 familiar reiatsu surrounded me.
Ishida, Chad and... Ichigo! Grimmjow would have to wait.
Ichigo was back.