She sat staring out her barred window. This place was miserable, depressing and worst of all lonely. she wondered if her friends thought about her as much as she thought about them. she came to this awful place in order to protect them, but deep down, she wished ichigo would come save her like he did unhesitantly when it was rukia in captive.... Rukia. she always knew how to make ichigo smile. how to lift his spirits when he doubted himself. and worst of all, how to protect him. orihime knew she could never live up to that. she was a burden. nothing but pure bagage. orihime closed her eyes and sighed. "why can't i be more like her" she thought to herself. "she's so strong, so independent.... so" orihime tightend the grip on her dress "so perfect for him" the mere thought of it destroyed her.

KNOCK KNOCK

"im coming in"
a familiar cold voice that never failed to send shivers down her spine.
Ulquiorra let himself in. orihime naturally tensed making her reatsu jump. Her head dropped to her lap immediately. Nothing good ever came from this man being in her room. but at the same time she was glad aizen had appointed him her caretaker. though he was cold, mean, and flatout heartless, he was much better then the other espada. all of which she knew hated her very presence in their home.
"relax woman... Aizen has asked for ur attendance for dinner with him tonight."
Orihime snapped her head up and made eye contact with her caretaker
"me? bu..but why?"

"i don't know. it's none of my buisness. my duty was to inform you. not to give u a full briefing," Ulquiorra said sharply. "He also requires you wear this" he lays a dress on her bed. "i will return in an hour. be ready. Aizen doesn't tolerate tardiness." he turned to leave, as orihime blurted out without thinking "Any news of my friends????" she immediately regretted asking.

ulquiorra turned back to face her. "why do you ask such useless questions? You still consider those beings your friends? it's been months, and they have left you here to rot in this cell. I dont understand why you care so much. it become quite obvious how much they care about you"

silence.....

orihime choked back tears. she knew the type of answer he would give. and yet, she had a slight hope that maybe, just maybe someone came to rescue her.

Ulquiorra stared at her curiously. he could tell she was upset, but didnt quite understand why. was it something he said? he wasnt trying to insult her.. he felt no need to degrade or hurt her. he saw no gain in making her feel like the trash she was. he was merely stating what he saw as facts.

"anything else??"

"...no" she said barely audible, still fighting with herself not to cry in front of him.

with that ulquiorra took his leave.
and orihime allowed those persistant tears to finally fall. "im so weak." she whispered between muffled sobs.

ulquiorra sat outside her door, listening to this young woman cry. this became almost a routine for him. everytime he would get this wierd sensation. every fiber of his being hated the sound, yet he just sat there.. he had a strange urge to go back in and apologize. "Wait.. what? apologize? no. i refuse. i''ve done nothing wrong" he thought. he continued to sit there an ponder on why he had this odd urge when his thoughts were interrupted.

"hmmph, this is embarrassing. how could aizen want someone so weak minded, with no will power to be HERE? what could we possibly gain from this woman. no wonder the soul society has shown no attempt to rescue her"

Ulquiorra shot his head up and standing infront of him was Nnoitra.

"god im SO sick of this girls constant crying. if she wants to cry ill give her something to cry about" he said sheepishly.

Ulquiorra's eyes narrowed. "you will do no such thing." since when did he care?

"my, my aren't we testy?? didnt ur mother to teach you to share your toys?" nnoitra's eyes narrowed back accusingly.

"hn, you truley are disgusting. ive done nothing of the sort." ulquiorra said standing back up. "Your buisness is elsewhere quinta, if i catch u lurking around here agian, i will not hesitate to cero the perve out of you."

"Tch..whatever she's probably bad at it anyway" the fifth espada rolled his eyes and went on his way

the cuarto espada's eyes not leaving him till he was completely out of sight.

"PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER!!! YOU CAN DO THIS!! i wont allow myself to be this useless. they WILL come for me, and until then, i need to put on a brave face"
orihime stood and wiped her tears. light-headedness from lack of nutrition suddenly overcame her and he had to grasp the side of her couch to keep from falling. she still refused to eat, even though ulquiorra had threatened her many times. her mind flashed back to the time he did hold true to his word and physically held her down and made her eat. it was short lived though, the moment she started to cry, he left her room. she didnt quite understand it. he didnt physically hurt her in anyway, she actually felt he was holding back a lot. almost too much. that was the first and last time she had seen what seemed like sympathy in his eyes. she shook her head and snapped back to reality.

she walked over to view the dress, which was layed neatly on the bed. "woah" it was beautiful. it was a beaded, black, short dress, but modest enough for her to not feel uncomfortable. The fabric, a smooth satin.
how could something this pretty be in such a drabby place? the change in clothing would definantly be nice. the black reminded her of ichigo. she frowned. "ichigo, where are you?" she walked to her bathroom to shower.

Orihime was rushing because she knew she didnt have much time to get ready. she threw her her up, with a few strands coming down over her face. she looked at herself in the mirror. "wow i've gotten pale, i guess a touch of blush wouldnt kill me." before she knew it she had applied some moderate eyeliner,lip gloss, eyeshadow aswell. she looked agian at herself. she couldnt deny that she looked older, and more mature. the eyeshadow had really brought out her grey eyes. for the first time since she got here she actually felt pretty. "i should probably get dressed" she said outloud realizing she was still in her towel.

Knock Knock

Ulquiorra comes in to a frustrated orihime fighting with the zipper of her dress.
He froze. when did she get so beautiful? he stood staring for a moment, partially cause he couldnt beleive how stunning she looked, partially out of amusment at how ridiculous she was being.
"woman."
"ahhhh" Orihime jumped. she was so pre occupied she hadn't even noticed him.
"when did you get here??"
"just now, i thought i told you not to make such a fuss about small things." he sighed
"oh, sorry......... uhm feel free to say no, but uh.. i uhh." orihime blushed and turned away
"do you require help miss Inoue?" he said with a little amusment in his voice.
Her blush deepend. "it refuses to go up"
"turn around" he ordered. she obeyed.
he walked over to her and placed his hands on the zipper. it appeared the foolish girl had gotten the zipper jammed, so he tugged it down slightly causing orihime the blush EVEN more. "does your face always get so red when someone is helping you?" he said while he slowly pulled the zipper up her back not realizing his thumb was trailing her spine above the zipper.
Orihime felt chills all up her spine which caused her to get slightly weak in the knees. she felt herself start to fall. but before she could ulquiorra had caught her around her waist. she held his arm for support and looked up at him. she had never realized this before, but ulquiorra was a very attractive guy. and his eyes were captivating. she stayed looking into them for what seemed like an eternity. he was looking back into hers. first he looked slightly annoyed that she had been so clumsy, but then she saw his eyes soften quite a bit. "are u okay woman?" he asked. she said nothing instead she had moved her hands up his arms and around his neck, and he instinctively pulled her closer. She was warm.. very warm. her hands at the nape of his neck were giving him chills. the mixture of the two was intense. he quickly pulled himself away. Orihime was little relieved but dissapointed at the same time. did she actually just embrace his touch? what was wrong with her??

"you didnt answer my questions"

"Oh, yes im fine.. just clumsy" she said nervously

"hn, and my other one?"

"well, uhh i" she paused. no she had never gotten this red before.. she could feel her cheeks burning yet agian.
"no.. i dont" she stated

"i see.. lets go. you're late as it is"