Hey peeps, sooo this is going to be 7 chapters, if the title gives any clue :p I figured since UlquiHime is so popular, (and yes I'm a sucker for it ;-; come on...it's cute...) I got an idea of a story for them! Updates might be once or maybe even twice a week? I dunno, I'll try to update chapters as soon as possible, but I have another story already rolling so it might be tough! Nevertheless, enjoy...

Chapter 1

She trudged on, not sure of where she was going, and didn't particularly care for that reason. She supposed she hadn't dropped dead by now because she wanted to be warm. A stupid reason, huh? But it really was so cold, and at that moment, all she wanted was to be sitting next to a roaring fireplace, mug of hot cocoa in both her hands.

At least the snow was lighter. The snowflakes fell in flurries, coating her hair and well- worn clothes in a fine dusting of white. A few little flakes clung to her eyelashes, melting when she blinked slowly and cleared them off. One foot in front of the other... left, right, left, right, left, right...

How long had she been walking anyways? It felt like she'd been trudging for hours on end, without stopping. Her legs had long gone numb and she wasn't really sure if she was even in control of them anymore. She figured if she just fell dead right then and there, they would just keep moving, like a toy that had been wound up for too long.

She had no idea what she was going to do. Was she really going to die in the middle of nowhere? With not a soul around to at least give her the gift of a company in her last moments? With no possessions to be buried with her? Was her casket going to be a coffin of ice and snow, gradually getting thicker as time went by?

It seemed so, because she didn't see an alternative. She should have stayed there, sucked in her complaints, and kept quiet. At least there she had a roof over her head, albeit a shabby one, and at least there she had company surrounding her, albeit more times than not she was the one keeping them in line and babysitting them while they ran around without a care in the world.

There was a distant howl of an animal- probably a wolf. Didn't they travel in packs? It seemed every tier of the food chain had others they could rely on. Even the animals of the wild had each other's backs. They worked as one unit. She had always enjoyed being around other people, had cherished friendship and family, even though her own conditions weren't always ideal. None of that seemed to matter now.

A light.

Was it really there? She didn't even have the energy to rub her eyes, and her arms were probably frozen in the position they were in- tightly wrapping her only protection from the cold, a shabby, secondhand cloak. Was that fuzzy yellow light really getting bigger, or was she just walking closer to it? Maybe she was supposed to, and this was the end. A humorless, stiff smile graced her lips. How ironic it was that in the end, it was a light greeting her, when all her life she had been shrouded in bleak darkness, in a hopeless situation that she had always tried to make the best out of.

No matter now, she was going to be ok. Was there food where she was going? If so, she'd eat all she could without having to worry about others filling their stomach before she did. She'd eat everything that was on her plate, lick it clean, then ask- no- she'd demand seconds. Her cheeks would be bulging from a thick chocolate- iced cake, with soybean filling and a rich, jelly topping. Where she was going, she'd have friends to compensate for the lifetime where she'd had so few. She would only have one sibling, preferably an older brother, one that would take care of her for a change, not the other way around.

A thin, trembling arm stretched out, dainty fingers longing to reach the nearly tangible paradise. She could almost see it, feel it, taste it. And was it just her imagination, or did it seem like there was practically a door open, a figure there to accompany her there?

"Help." She choked out, the one word faint and strained with her throat dry. Why had she said help of all words? Oh yes, it was probably because she needed help getting there. That must have been it. Help, because she was so ready to move on to her next life, or at least thought she was.

Her next few steps strayed from the usual pattern of left, right, left, right. Her stiff legs tangled in each other, tripping over the snags of her cloak, and she toppled over, face first into the snow.


A/N: This was pretty short... hope you liked it! What do you think the "light" was? ;) Haha, I could just imagine Orihime stuffing her face full of weird concoctions, but ugh... soybean- filled chocolate cake... anyways please review, follow, favorite, {insert more shameless advertising} And as always, thanks for reading ^_^