Chapter 1
They all thought she was a ditzy airhead. It was safer to let them see her that way. She didn't want them to know of the gnawing loneliness in her soul, of how that apartment seemed bigger and more emptier every day she spent in it.
Only she knew that her smile was dimming, that her eyes were losing it's shine. She tried to maintain that mask and sometimes it slipped.
Rangiku noticed. She always noticed.
Maybe because she was also lonely. However, she never talked to her about it. The lientenant would drop by often, mostly at night, for a sleepover. They would laugh together, eat together, watch movies together. It helped the both of them.
When she had come back from Hueco Mundo, Rangiku had come to her and stayed with her. She had lost Gin, the one man she loved and he had died, branded as a traitor. She had cried then. They had both cried and had healed. But now Rangiku didn't come by so often. Her captain had started taking care of her, and once again, just like that, Orihime was left all alone.