A/N: Hello everyone! Thank you so much for checking out my story.
This is a new idea I have been working on for awhile. I plan to outline at least the majority of this story before posting it so that y'all (hopefully) don't have to wait months for me to update and also so I don't have to rush chapters.
I appreciate every review, although I might not be able to reply to everyone, I shall try. If you have something you really need to say to me then please private message me and I will try to reply in a timely matter.
Also sorry for any errors my proofreading was rushed!
Anyways thanks again and I hope you enjoy!
stay away from las noches
💀 hollow bones 💀
standard disclaimer implied
one: ballistic trauma
There's a lot of bitterness, there's a lot of anger out there. We all have to work hard to heal those wounds. - Allen Boyd
Although she would hate to admit it; Orihime was lost. Orihime was a former resident of Karakura town so arriving in Hueco Mundo, she had no clue as to how to get to her new residence. She had gotten off the bus about two hours ago and she was pretty sure she's been walking in circles since. Walking throughout her new neighborhood, she started to question her Aunt's judgment about moving her to Hueco Mundo. But then again she could tell from her surroundings that her Aunt pushed her into moving here for one simple reason: it was cheaper. Although it was cheaper it was obvious the woman had not done a shred of research on the neighborhood so Orihime took it upon herself, and the way the internet described the neighborhood made Hueco Mundo sound like a red light district.
When Orihime turned around the corner and noticed the same convenience store for the third time she wished she had taken Ichigo up on his offer to drive her to her new apartment; but she felt it would do her some good distancing herself from him after what happened the last time she saw him. Although her timing was not perfect, she kept her feelings for him in for far too long. The rejection she knew that would come still stung as it crushed the last bit of hope she had left. She knew there would be a time when she would have to face him again, but she hoped by then her feelings for him would be long gone.
She broke away from her trance when she noticed a man - not too far away from her - stepping out of the alleyway created by the gap between the two buildings. The man looked to his right and then to his left where Orihime stood. Even with the distance between them, the young woman was able to feel the intensity of his gaze settling on her. The stranger with his spiky light blue hair and eyes to match looked at her with both curiosity and confusion clear on his face. He wore a plain white T-shirt that touched his torso in all the right places along with a simple pair of jeans that covered the top of his combat boots. Although Orihime could feel his intimidating aura this was the first person she had seen in the past two hours, which made her wonder if Hueco Mundo was always this desolate. Aside from that right now she just wanted to get settled into her new apartment.
"Excuse me," she said taking a few steps closer to him, "I'm not exactly sure where I am and I was hoping you wouldn't mind pointing me in the right direction." Orihime asked politely giving him one of her sweetest smiles.
"Do I look like a fucking tour guide to you!" he yelled as he began to walk away from her. Orihime's face fell as she took a step back realizing that she probably did not pick the best person to be her guide, but her feet were starting hurt and the clouds were beginning to move in front of the sun with intentions of a downpour. With the clouds taking on a darker shade of grey, Orihime could not brush off the bad premonition she felt that made the hairs on her arms stand.
"No, you don't look like a tour guide," she said falling into step beside him, "but I'm lost and your help would be greatly appreciated." Orihime said as she struggled to keep up with his strides.
"Listen," he said as he quickened his pace, "I don't have time to waste helping some lost little girl, who can't tell her left from her right." He said. Orihime grabbed the man by the sleeve of his T-shirt in an attempt to get him to stop walking. He stopped and looked down at her, his frame towering over her at six foot one almost a foot above her smaller frame.
"Can you just point me in the right direction, please?" Orihime asked her tone bordering on desperate. He sighed while his eyes took in her appearance. She had eyes the shade of dark mahogany and burnt orange waist length hair that framed her face nicely. She wore a cerulean sleeveless crewneck dress that contrasted sharply with her hair color and hugged her waist and flared out only to stop above her knees. And on her feet, she wore white strappy sandals showcasing her coral colored toes nails that matched her freshly manicured fingernails, both of which were polished to perfection. She wore no jewelry but did have two light blue flower-shaped hairpins clipped to the collar of her dress.
His roaming eyes noted her youthful appearance and the innocent air that surrounded her and could not help but wonder what she was doing in a place like Hueco Mundo.
"Where are you trying to go?" He asked placing his hands in his pocket as she released her hold on his sleeve.
Before Orihime could open her mouth to answer him, a lone black SUV slowed down beside them. Orihime looked past the man to her left and peered into the darkly tinted window that slowly began to slide down revealing a man who had half his face covered with a bandana, he held a gun in his hand. His hand reached out of the car windows his eyes glazed over and bloodshot the man's hand shook as if there was an earthquake beneath his seat
Before the man could focus on the task at hand, The shock she felt did not sit with her long before she reached for the stranger's arm beside her and backpedaled in the opposite direction they were heading. Her taller companion let out a loud string of profanities before she heard the explosive gunshots that ricocheted to where they stood only seconds ago. She felt the adrenaline rush throughout her entire body making her move faster than ever before. She stretched her legs trying to take the largest steps possible for her short frame. When that same convenience store came into sight she saw the man behind her go in a different direction; into the alleyway, she saw him emerge from earlier. Orihime turned to look for the black SUV only to find the vehicle in reverse and a gun still aimed at them.
She followed the stranger through the twist and turns of the connected alleys. Sidestepping rats and jumping over overturned trash can, soon they emerged in front of a huge building that had to have over ten floors. The man punch in a code on the number pad beside the door before the door unlocked with a click and - without thinking - she followed him inside.
"Why the fuck are you following me?" He started to yell as he turned toward her, but before he could bellow out any insults or swears he noticed the scarlet streams of blood rolling down her right arm. Orihime followed his eyes to her arm and looked in disbelief at her own bloodshed.
"I got hit." She said quietly turning her eyes toward him.
"No fucking shit!" He yelled at her.
"I... didn't feel it." She trailed off slowly her eyes inspecting her arm looking for the wound. Slowly lifting her arm, she felt the sharp sting travel from her shoulder to her fingertips.
"You will later." He said calmly.
"Grimmjow?" He heard the smooth masculine voice behind him.
"Aizen." Grimmjow said turning to look at the owner of the building.
"What happened here?" Aizen asked as he eyed the young woman whose blood was creating a small puddle on the linoleum floor. The man Orihime presumed to be Grimmjow gave a quick synopsis of their encounter with the black SUV using the most colorful language she ever her in her entire life. The man named Aizen shook his head, understanding the circumstances before looking toward her.
"Well..." Aizen trailed off waiting for her to fill in the blank.
"Inoue, Inoue Orihime." She said quickly.
"Well, Orihime we have someone here that would be more than glad to patch you up." He said smoothly hoping she would not prefer a visit to the hospital.
"Shouldn't I go to the hospital?" Orihime asked. Looking up into Aizen's chocolate brown eyes, she noticed the slight shift in the air and the shift in his demeanor. Grimmjow, standing not too far behind Aizen, gave her a sharp look before glancing back to Aizen. Grimmjow has been living with Aizen for a few years now and he knew how manipulative the man could be. He always got want he wanted by any means necessary.
"With a wound like yours, they're bound to ask questions, and then they would be forced to involve the police. Then Hueco Mundo would be crawling with policemen, and disturbing the peace over something so minuscule. You wouldn't want to cause trouble for the nice people of Hueco Mundo, right?" He said slowly as if teaching a small child. Orihime noted that under all of his condescension there was intimidation underlying his tone, she felt as if he was threatening her more than he was trying to help her. And although his method of intimidation was affecting her she pushed one last time.
"No. I don't want to cause trouble, but what about the people who did this? They shouldn't go unpunished." Orihime declared firmly.
"You're right," Aizen said with a sigh as he placed his hand on the small of her back as he guiding her toward the shiny elevator doors, "Orihime-chan I am a strong believer in karma and trust me they will not go unpunished." He said as his voice got lower as he spoke. With his other hand, he pressed the up arrow and within seconds the two metal doors parted. He gave her a light push into the elevator and pressed a button taking her to the eighth floor.
"Ask for Szayelaporro. I'll come see you later " Aizen said before the door closed in from of him.
In the elevator, Orihime started feeling the weary effects of the adrenaline leaving her body. She leaned against the wall in front of the pad with many buttons. She noticed how unlike most building elevators this building had the top floor as the first floor and the numbers grew larger the closer you got to the lobby. So Orihime was only in the elevator for a moment before the doors opened to a sterile white corridor. She stumbled out of the elevator her hand leaving a bloody imprint that contrasted harshly against the white walls. The ivory corridor was completely vacant of all life and sounds. She was only able to take a few steps before her vision blurred and she tripped over her own feet. She yelped as she landed with a loud thud. Her skull banged hard against the tile floor, and she groaned in pain as black spots appeared in her vision.
With her good arm she tried to push herself up, but with the sudden wave of weakness she had little success. Orihime managed to sit up; she put her back against the wall just as she heard the ding of the elevator and watched the shiny doors part.
"Why the hell are you sitting here?" Grimmjow yelled. Orihime gazed up at his towering form unsure of how to respond so she decided not to. Her eyes fell to look at the tip of his boot instead of his intense light blue eyes. Before she could say anything, he grabbed her left arm and pulled her to her feet.
"Don't be so dramatic." He said pulling her down the corridor. Passing all the doors, she noticed that they all had different numbers etched into them. Eventually, they made it to the end of the hallway and without knocking Grimmjow swung the door open causing it to crash into the wall behind it. The loud sound made her flinch because everything was starting to give her a headache.
"Szayelaporro!" Grimmjow yelled as he entered the room. Orihime took a look around the room and noticed it was identical to an average hospital room, aside from the dark undersaturated blue curtain hanging in one of the doorways. A man taller than her with light pink hair and silver framed glasses emerged from behind the dark curtain holding his hand to his head.
He had the appearance of a scientist. He wore a white lab coat over a white button-down shirt and black pants. On his feet, were white slip resistant shoes which were a normal thing for doctors which she was assuming he was, but there was one odd thing. He wore thick black rubber gloves that went all the way to his elbows over the sleeves of his lab coat. Although she wasn't the most familiar with the medical field she had never seen a doctor wear gloves like that.
"Must you always be so loud, Grimmjow." Szayelaporro stated looking from Grimmjow to Orihime standing at the taller man's side.
"Shut up. Just fix her up so I can leave." Grimmjow said obviously annoyed. Szayelaporro pointed toward the exam table watching as she fidget on the crisp paper. Szayelaporro first removed his thick black gloves showing his slender hands that hid inside before washing his hands and grabbing a pair of latex gloves from a box that sat on a nearby counter. He then turned and fixed his amber eyes on Orihime before moving closer to inspect her wound.
"It seems the bullet skimmed you. How lucky of you," He said sounding a bit jealous. She sighed in relief thanking every powerful deity that she wouldn't have to undergo surgery to remove leftover bullet fragments - especially since this wasn't an actual hospital and these people were starting to scare her.
"I'll just have to clean it and then some simple stitches." Szayelaporro said filling a small cup with a light green liquid. He put the small plastic cup in her hand and gestured for her to drink before gathering more things from the cabinets. Orihime stared at the seafoam colored liquid the appearance reminded her of mouthwash probably mint or spearmint flavored. The aroma reminded her of a star anise tea she'd tried once that tasted of black licorice.
"What is this?" She asked preferring to know what it was she was consuming.
"It's an anesthetic that I personally made. It's the first local anesthetic that I created that you can ingest. It will numb your arm so you don't have to feel any pain. So hurry and drink it." He said setting a spool of thread on the metal tray along with a needle and a bottle of alcohol. Orihime decided it would probably be best not to feel every time the needle broke into her skin or the sting of the alcohol; so she downed the drink quickly hoping it would bypass her taste buds. However it didn't and the concoction tasted bitter and she almost gagged on the terrible taste. She looked from Szayelaporro, who was cleaning his tools, to Grimmjow, who sat in one the chairs opposite it of her. He sat with his arms crossed over his chest, his head tilted back against the wall and his eyes closed.
Orihime wasn't sure what happened, but the tips of her fingers were starting to go numb. The plastic cup she was holding onto fell from her hands and she realized she couldn't feel her hands. The feeling slowly worked it's way up her arms causing them to sit limply at her sides. The feeling spread throughout her whole body and before she realized it she had flopped onto her back unable to move.
The cup made a quiet thud against the tile floor, causing Grimmjow to crack open an eye to assess the situation. He looked up at Orihime who laid in a puddle on the exam table, eyes wide and body still. He groaned knowing Szayelaporro had done something to the poor girl. This is exactly why he never accepted sedatives from this lunatic. Grimmjow knew Szayelaporro long enough to know that he was the mad scientist type and if given the chance he would dissect a conscious person in a heartbeat.
"What the hell did you do, Szayel?" The pink haired man turned away from his task to see his patient laid out on his exam table, conscious but paralyzed. Grimmjow went to stand beside the table, looking down at her she looked back at him terrified. Szayelaporro came to stand on the other side of the table and made a tsk sound before turning away.
"It would seem I didn't dilute the sedative properly so the dose was too much for her," He said pulling the metal tray next to the exam table. Grimmjow watched as Szayelaporro turned her over on her side and began threading his needle.
"You can leave now, Grimmjow." Szayelaporro said without looking at him. Grimmjow knew many things and one of them was that you don't leave paralyzed girls in the room alone with crazy lunatics like Szayelaporro Granz.
"As if. If something goes wrong it's gonna be my fault. So I'll stay right here so you can't sell her for parts." He said with a smirk on his face.
"Oh no, you ruined my diabolical plan." Szayelaporro said sarcastically sending a dry glance in his direction. Grimmjow looked at him before pulling his abandoned chair to the side of the exam table and taking a seat. He watched as Szayel finally began to stitch up the young woman's wound and began to feel nostalgic. Grimmjow had been in this room so many times but he was usually the one on the exam table, and that's because Grimmjow is a fighter. He had never backed down from a fight and was often the one to initiate them.
He could admit to himself that he had a fiery temper that has caused him to run into trouble with the law on multiple occasions and gain many enemies at the same time. But nevertheless he didn't care, because when it came down to it: he liked to fight, hell maybe even loved fighting and that didn't include verbal spats between him and his fellow Espadas, although it was entertaining to fuss with Szayel and provoke Ulquiorra there was nothing like crushing someone's face.
When he tried to explain his love of causing others pain he was always meet with the same few responses:
"Psycho!" Courtesy of one of the girls he had been fooling around with as well classmates back in high school.
"I think you should see a psychiatrist." He was told on more than one occasion by many different police officers. And on one particular occasion was forced to visit a psychiatrist, but there was no way in hell he was going back there.
"You're such an idiot." Now this one was by far the one he heard the most, usually from his comrades. But it didn't matter what anyone else had to say about him because he loved what he loved and wouldn't apologize for it to anyone. He looked back down toward Orihime who obviously couldn't control her jaw because there was drool dripping from the corner of her mouth and soaking through the white paper that laid along the exam table. Her warm brown eyes gazed at him desperately wordlessly begging him for help.
"How long before this shit wears off anyway?" he asked Szayel still looking at Orihime.
"Uh, from fifteen to twenty minutes." He said trying to focus on his task.
"See? Stop being so fucking dramatic. It'll be over before you know it." He said patting her face before pulling back when he felt cool saliva on the palm of his hand. He frowned and wiped it on his pants before leaning back in his chair.
Ten minutes later Szayelaporro stood up and began to push the metal tray toward the sink, ready to begin sanitizing his tools. Orihime laid on the exam table listening to the metal equipment hit against the stainless steel sink she hadn't felt the procedure at all nor could she feel the cold saliva that pooled around the side of her face that was pressed up against the exam table. She tried to lift her head, but her efforts were in vain since she didn't move even a millimeter.
Orihime watched as the blue haired man stood from his chair and began to pull her by her arms. When she was sitting upright he released his hold on her and without the support she fell onto her back into her own drool.
"You're like a doll." Grimmjow laughed as he grabbed her by her elbows and pulled her back up again but this time, he supported her weight. Her head fell against his stomach as his hands reached down ready to lift her up. He lifted her with ease as her head laid on his broad shoulder and she sat on his forearm like a sleeping child.
"See ya, Szayel." He howled loudly near Szayelaporro ear making the shorter man frown.
"It's not like you'll be away for very long." he said to him as he began to pull his black rubber gloves back on.
Grimmjow snickered as he opened the door and began to stride down the corridor. He stopped in front of the elevator and pressed the down arrow on the small silver panel. He waited several minutes before the elevator made a ding and the silver doors parted and inside was Aizen and a shorter man with deadly white skin, unruly obsidian hair, and blazing green eyes. While Aizen wore a white crisp button-down shirt tucked into a pair of charcoal grey slacks and a shiny pair of black dress shoes, Ulquiorra was wearing an oversized black sweatshirt, a pair of camouflage cargo pants, and brown boots. Aizen gestured for the two of them to enter and Grimmjow obliged as he stood off to the left staring back at the shorter man whose eyes were glued to the drooping body laying on his shoulder.
"What's wrong now?" Aizen asked as he pressed the button to take them to the fourth floor.
"Szayelaporro gave her some shit in a cup and now she can't move, but she's still conscious. I'm pretty sure the bastard did it on purpose." Grimmjow replied.
"I wouldn't be surprised. Everyone else refuses to drink his concoctions so he jumped at the first chance he got. At least, you know now Miss. Inoue, don't trust anyone here no matter how you might perceive them." Aizen said as the doors closed in front of them.
Despite her inability to move and the fact that her face was buried into the crook of Grimmjow's neck, she listened to the words Aizen said closely. He talked as if he was her teacher and it would be best if she learned her lessons quickly. When she heard the ding of the elevator again Grimmjow left the elevator first with the other two men trailing behind them.
"I remembered your name when you told me, but you seemed very concerned about your injury and we needed to be sure this incident didn't become a nuisance. Also, the check your Aunt gave me bounced and I have yet to contact her regarding the matter," Aizen said quickly barely giving her enough time to process his words.
"As of now you be on this floor which is the fourth floor." Aizen stated.
"Wait, isn't there only one apartment and a bunch of storage rooms on this floor?" Grimmjow asked as he turned to glance at Aizen.
"Yes, I informed your Aunt that you would have a roommate. Her words were; It's not like I'm the one living here. She seemed like a callous woman." Aizen said with a smirk. Aizen was a man who was used to people of all personalities, but callous woman were probably his least favorite they were too smart and always had this uncanny ability to call his bullshit. He liked his woman empty-headed and simple they were much easier to manipulate and he noticed how he was always able to string them along a lot longer. They were the ones that were always too polite to question his plans and went along with his demands half-heartedly.
"She isn't," Orihime said so quietly they almost didn't hear her soft voice. She struggled to lift her head the from crook of the tall man's neck. As the feeling began to return to her body, she was able to feel the stitches in her arm, Grimmjow's sky blue hair tickling the back of her neck, and the strong forearm beneath her thighs.
"Although she is harsh sometimes, she is a good person. She has been supporting me since I was twelve so please don't talk about her that way." Orihime said quietly. She could recall the many times her Aunt had thrown insult after insult her way and often threatened to stop supporting her if she didn't study harder. Her Aunt had a tough persona and was quick-tempered but never once had the woman raised a hand to her like her parents had. She respected her Aunt very much so she didn't want to hear someone speak about her in such a way.
"Oh, I did not mean to offend. It just seemed the woman did not care much about your situation." Aizen replied smoothly hoping the young woman would drop the conversation there.
"I think I can walk on my own now." She murmured to Grimmjow. Although being carried around was fun she wanted to hold onto her dignity and that was hard to do when she was being carried around like a child. Carefully, Grimmjow lowered her feet to the floor as she held onto his biceps because her legs still felt a little weak under her weight. She turned around as Ulquiorra approached the cloud-colored door. She noticed the dark grey Biometric Fingerprint Reader that sat above the silver door handle. The screen above the number pad was lit with a dark cerulean color that displayed the time, date, and said welcome back across the screen. Off to the right of the number pad was a small groove that was backlighted with a shamrock green color, and assuming from the depth of the groove, she guessed it was the thumbprint scanner.
Ulquiorra stood close to the device so that the others would be unable to duplicate the number combination that he entered. After pressing in the correct number combination, he pressed his thumb into the small groove. When the device recognized Ulquiorra's thumbprint they all heard the lock make a loud click before Ulquiorra opened the door to let them inside.
"Here at Las Noches, we work very hard to make sure all of our tenants have all the security and privacy they could ask for." Aizen told her sounding like a salesman. Ulquiorra stood holding the door open as Orihime and Aizen passed through the threshold, but as Grimmjow began to enter he was denied entry.
"This is as far as you go, Jaegerjaquez." Ulquiorra said as he began to close the door.
"What? You scared of letting me in." Grimmjow said as he grabbed the door preventing him from shutting it in his face.
"You've done enough today, Grimmjow. Leave." Aizen commanded firmly. Grimmjow let out a frustrated sigh before letting go of the door and stomping away. Orihime was a little disappointed to see him leave she had not properly thanked him for his help and although she would never admit it she found comfort in his presence. Compared to Aizen, who looked as if he was mentally dissecting her and Ulquiorra whose gaze she could practically feel burning through her; he was a lot less intense. Which said a lot because Grimmjow was pretty intense himself.
"We'll be sure to program your prints into all locks you are authorized to open. Until then you'll have proximity card to use." Aizen told her as he walked through the foyer. The pearl colored walls reached up high before touching the ceiling that held a grand iridescent tiered crystal chandelier. Opposite of the door was a large staircase that ascended high up into the apartment.
Aizen lead the way up the stairs while she followed a few steps behind. Although she could feel her legs again they were still pretty weak and she wasn't too sure her legs could handle the trek up this many stairs.
"Walk." She heard Ulquiorra say from behind her as he brushed past her and up the stair. Slowly, she lifted one leg at a time up the stairs traveling slowly behind the two men.
"Do you need help, Miss. Inoue?" Aizen asked from the top of the staircase with a smug expression and condescending attitude. Before Orihime could deny him the satisfaction he motioned to Ulquiorra to assist her. Ulquiorra descended the steps to stand in front of her before placed both hands on either side of her waist and lifted her easily. He carried her like she was a mannequin up the remainder of the stairs before planting her on her feet at the top.
"Thank you." She murmured reluctantly as she looked around the large apartment. Although it was exceptionally large, it was extremely bland. The walls were the same pearl shade of white as the foyer while there was charcoal grey wood flooring. There was a single white sofa that sat against the far left wall facing the large flat screen television mounted on the opposite wall. In front of the sofa was a glass coffee table with nothing on it aside from what looked to be a crisp shiny silver folder. A smaller glass end table was to the right of the sofa, that held a miniature antique lamp the color of obsidian rocks.
"I'm sure Ulquiorra can give you a tour later, but right now there are somethings you must know. So please have a seat." Aizen said to her and gestured to the white sofa. She sat on the sofa obediently and her eyes were instantly drawn to the shiny silver folder. In a white cursive font across the folder, it said welcome to las noches.
"Go ahead. It's an informational folder inside is everything you need to know. Inside you will find emergency plans in case of fires, natural disasters, etcetera. A list of our amenities offered on every floor as well as access codes and proximity cards for the front door to the building, to your apartment door, and bedroom door. My business card is also in there in case you ever need to contact me directly. Any questions?" Aizen asked as she browsed through the content of the folder.
"No." Orihime told him hoping he would leave so she could get settled in.
"Okay, well I'll leave you to get settled in. Explore your apartment and you can explore the lobby if you like and if you are ever looking for me I stay on the top floor so feel free to visit whenever. But try not to explore the different floors not all of our tenants are very friendly," He said as he moved toward the staircase. "Oh and one more thing. Welcome to Las Noches, may your stay here be unforgettable." He added before descending the stairs and leaving the apartment. With Aizen gone she was left alone in the quiet apartment with Ulquiorra who looked as if he would rather be anywhere else.
Ulquiorra had only just found out that he would be sharing his apartment this morning. Although he liked living alone, he did not mind sharing the apartment it was rather large and it had a spare bedroom. The problem he had was with her. Not only did he not know that it was a her, but he could tell right away she was not associated with the business that went on not only in Las Noches but in all of Hueco Mundo. She appeared naive, sheltered, and innocent to the ways of the world. How was he supposed to conduct business here with her around? His musing was interrupted when he realized she was speaking to him.
"Umm, I think I'll take this stuff to my room and start unpacking." She said closing the folder and stood to walk down the hallway. She stopped looking from the left to the right confused on which way her bedroom would be.
"The left leads to the kitchen, dining room, my bedroom, and guest bathroom. The right leads to your bedroom and laundry room." As he finished talking they both heard the phone in his pocket start to ring. Walking away from her, he looked at the caller ID that read Aizen, and with the swipe of his finger he answered.
"Come to the top floor. We have things to discuss about your new roommate." Aizen said through the phone before hanging up. Ulquiorra looked toward the young woman looking down the hallway, confused.
"I'm leaving." Ulquiorra announced as he trekked down the stairs and out the front door. Orihime watched him as he left and was slightly relieved. She made her way down the hallway following his directions and saw two doors on either side of the hallway. Opening the door on the left, inside was a medium sized room that had a white washer and dryer and a white laundry hamper sat beside the washer. The one thing she found strange was the laundry chute on the opposite wall. Why would you need a laundry chute in the laundry room on the fourth floor? She shrugged and decided not to think about it too much, it was probably something they left in after the renovations. When researching Las Noches she remembered the site saying that the building had been here for over twenty-five years. It had been an abandoned structure until Sousuke Aizen purchased it eight years ago. The young millionaire renovated the building into a fortress with reinforced doors, fingerprint scanners instead of key locks, and ballistic glass wherever needed.
Orihime stopped her musing and moved to the door on the other side of the hallway. The door had a fingerprint scanner identical to the one at the front door. Fishing through the silver folder, she found a blank white proximity card. She lifted the card near the black device sitting above the door handle and with a click the door unlocked. The room she saw when she opened the door was massive. The room seemed to stretch on forever, even with her dresser, the boxes of all her belongings, and her queen sized bed it only took up a portion of space in the room. Setting the folder on her dresser against the wall, she looked at her naked mattress and the box with her new bed frame and decided to get to work.
After putting her bed together and taking a shower, Orihime had decided to turn in for the night. She slept dreamlessly for almost two hours before she felt hunger gnawing at her stomach. Using her phone to check the time she saw that it was two in the morning and she knew most stores wouldn't be open this late. Being sure to grab her proximity card she left her room and wandered down the dark hallway. Walking down the hall, she walked into the first doorway she saw, although it was still pretty dark the night light filtering through the window helped her realize she made it to the kitchen. The kitchen just like the rest of the rooms was large in size but bland in color. White walls, grey tile floor, black appliances, and black countertops. Noticing the doorway attached to the kitchen, she followed it into the dining room. With her attention on the window, she finally realized how far up they were from the ground.
"What are you doing?" Ulquiorra said from his spot at the dining table. Orihime let out a shriek as she quite literally jumped out of her skin. She whirled around and saw him sitting at the dining room table his face visible from the light of his laptop. He sat there staring at her with his shamrock eyes that almost seemed to glow.
"Oh, Ulquiorra. I didn't notice you." She sighed as she walked to sit down opposite of him at the dining table.
"That much is obvious. Now answer my question." He said looking her in the eye. His gaze was so intense she couldn't help but look away.
"I was just exploring." She told him with an uncomfortable laugh. His eyes scanned her once more before returning to his task at hand.
"Exploring? In the dark at two o'clock in the morning." Ulquiorra questioned aloud as his fingers sped across the keyboard.
"Well, I couldn't sleep. How come you're up so late?" She asked trying to change the subject.
"I do not sleep much," He said simply. Before she could ask anything else, her stomach rumbled loudly in the quiet dining room.
"There is food in the kitchen. You may have some, but do not make a habit out of it." He told her without looking up from the screen.
"Thank you." Orihime said rising from her seat. Glancing back from the doorway, she decided maybe he isn't as mean as she thought.
A/N: Final word count 6,236!
I'm so happy to post this. I plan to introduce more Espadas in upcoming chapters and I'm sorry if this chapter seemed a little slow the pace will be picking up soon I promise.
I am also debating ships for this story so let me know what you want to see and I might make it happen.