AN: I love your reviews! They are so precious to me! Seriously... They make me unbelievably happy! Thanks for letting me know I was spelling "Karakura Town" and "Las Noches" wrong . I'm going to fix that!

And I'm sorry I was few days late for my update. I'm going to try to be a bit better with that. :/

In this chapter, Orihime is concussed half the time, so she doesn't make much sense. Also, I'm going to put in a teeny-tiny-itty-bitty ounce of IshidaHime in here, but don't freak out; it's mainly for the lolz.

Anyway, Enjoy!


Chapter Two

Orihime recognized that she was back on the Dome; her ruined Arrancar dress billowing around her face. Was she… Lying down? Her gray eyes blinked, bemused. This was different. She slowly pushed herself to the upright position; somehow knew she was too dizzy to stand, so she tucked in her knees close to her chest as she looked across the Dome. As she expected, her dark captor was staring at her with his green eyes, already fading away to ash.

"Are you afraid of me, woman?" His voice was harder than usual, more guarded.

"No," She sighed, remarkably weary, "I'm not afraid."

Ulquiorra slowly turned his head away from her and coldly stated, "I see."

"What's wrong?" Orihime's brow furrowed in confusion; her mind felt sloppy.

Intense green eyes glanced in her direction, "You are so fragile." His voice was a mix of despondence and irritation, "Why do you humans insist on tackling enemies so obviously stronger than you are? Is your life so insignificant you'll try to throw it away at every possible opportunity?"

—rihi—

What on earth was he talking about? Orihime hadn't the faintest idea. She blinked, trying to sort out his outburst, but for some reason, it was really hard to think. "Are you… Talking about Ichigo? He fought you to free me."

Ulquiorra looked at her like she was dumber than a brick; his condescending expression was insulting, "Woman, I'm referring to your behavior."

—ihim—

"Mine?" She rubbed her temple, "You're not making any sense…"

"Says the outmatched girl who ran headlong against a Gillian Menos." Only Ulquiorra's eyes smirked, undoubtedly he thought he had clarified any and all arguments against his logic. But Orihime could only stare at him, her mouth agape.

"H-how do you know about that?" Her gray eyes widened; unconsciously, she hugged her knees tighter to her chest.

—rihim—

"I told you before; my eyes see everything." He replied to her, his expression blank.

"How?" Her face crumbled. "How can you still see everything?"

Ulquiorra simply looked at her, his face expressionless, but Orihime caught the slight narrowing of his apathetic eyes; he knew something, but he wouldn't tell her!

—rihime!—

"Gosh, what is that? Don't you hear something?" Orihime asked, exasperated, "I swear someone's calling my name."

Ulquiorra fixed his green eyes on her, and there was an intensity surrounding him that engulfed her and made her feel small. He stretched out his pale arm, "Will you answer them, or reach out to me?"

"What?" Orihime was shivering. She was suddenly soaked, and was wearing her school uniform. When did this happen? What was going on?

—Orihime!—

"What will you do, woman?" Ulquiorra was relentlessly staring at her, his demeanor dark and threatening, while his outstretched arm was tenderly waiting for her.

—Orihime!—

She furrowed her brows; her mind was reeling. There seemed to be something vitally important happening. She sensed if she didn't make a decision, right now, something would be lost forever. But she didn't have all the answers; why did she have to choose now? What was she even choosing? This didn't make any sense! She pushed her soaking wet hair out of her face in agitation. What was the right thing to do?

"What will you do?"

—Orihime!—

There seemed to be multiple people calling her name. They sounded like they were a million miles away, but the fear and worry were plainly heard in their voices. Orihime's face crumbled and she looked her feet; she felt like crying. What was going on?

"Woman, look at me."

She couldn't look at him; she couldn't! He was just too intense; his presence alone was messing with her mind. She couldn't think straight when she had to gaze into his green eyes; he made everything so much harder. She was convinced he had all the answers she wanted, but was too cryptic and stubborn to tell her. He was so irritating!

"…Orihime," Ulquiorra's deep voice purred her name like silk. She instantly snapped her head up, locking her gray eyes with his green ones. Hearing her name on his lips caused something to churn within her body; she felt hyper-aware of all the emotions rushing through her system: fear, elation, excitement, nervousness… But then she noticed something she hadn't a second earlier: Ulquiorra was fading to ash much more quickly than usual. His wings were all but gone, and his long black hair was starting to go next; he was in the final stages of disappearing.

"Oh, my God!" Orihime's heart nearly jumped out of her chest with sudden, terrible anxiety. Ever since she started sharing her dreams with Ulquiorra, she nearly always had reached out to him before he got to this stage of deterioration. She had merely seconds left before he was entirely gone.

She leapt to her feet, pushing towards him with all of her strength, "Ulquiorra!" She screamed, frantic, as she scrambled nearer to him, reaching out her hand to try to grab what was left of his fading one. She was so close—so close!—to him now, a part of her wondered if she would be able to actually touch him this time. Her dainty fingers moved to curl around his strong ones.

And that's when something slammed into her, knocking her backwards.

—Orihime!— Some of the voices seemed shocked, the others, outraged.

She struggled to move against the heavy weight that was holding her on her back. She felt intense pressure to get to Ulquiorra. She needed to get to Ulquiorra Right. Now. She twisted and strained, but the weight was just so much stronger than her; she couldn't get up.

"No… Get off of me!" Orihime struggled on the asphalt, shredding her elbows and knees as the rain poured down on her. She stole a pathetic glance up just in time to see the last of Ulquiorra's ash fading into the gray, rainy city.

"Nooo! Please, no…!" Orihime cried out, but immediately stopped struggling. She suddenly felt more exhausted than she knew was possible. Her breath hitched, and she sniffed, already feeling the tears start to overflow from her eyes. But wait…City? Karakura Town? Or Las Noches? Right now, it made sense that she was in both. She sighed, utterly defeated.

"Orihime! Please, wake up!"

Was that Tatsuki's voice? What was she doing here? She tried to move again, but everything was still so heavy, and her head was throbbing…

"Orihime! Talk to us!"

That was definitely Rukia. So both Tatsuki and Rukia were here? Where was 'here,' anyway? What were they doing? What had she been doing? For the life of her, she couldn't remember. Everything was coming up blank. She was cold and wet, and raindrops were irritatingly falling onto her face. She groaned.

"I think it's safe to move her." Rukia was softly saying to someone, "We should get her to Urahara's shop."

"I think that's a good idea," a masculine voice agreed. Who was that? Orihime's brow wrinkled in concentration; was that Ichigo? When did he get here?

"I want to come with you!" Tatsuki complained as Orihime felt a strong pair of hands shuffle underneath her shoulders and knees, and she felt herself being lifted from the wet street. The movement almost immediately caused intense nausea to rock through Orihime, and her head felt like it was about to crack in two, it hurt so much. "Oh, God…" She groaned, slightly curling into herself, and resting her head against Ichigo's chest. Her brain was distantly aware, that, in another time, being carried in Ichigo's arms would have been an ultimate dream come true. But now all she wanted was not to throw up on the guy. In fact, she was actually a bit annoyed at Ichigo for being so rough with her. Couldn't he at least walk a little smoother? She was doing all that she could to combat her nausea, and his jostling wasn't helping! Sighing, she closed her eyes and nestled into Ichigo's warmth; it helped some.

When Orihime opened her eyes again, she could tell a long time had passed. She sat up slowly; her head and stomach were still bothering her, but at least her mind was clearer. It helped that the room was dim; it didn't hurt her head so much. Letting her eyes adjust to the low light, she found herself lying on a soft, white futon on a hardwood floor in a small, Japanese-style room with boxes and baubles stacked around her. A slated window on the far wall let in the sounds of the rain, and a few distant rolls of thunder, but the outside was dark and black. Bright, yellow light from the next room sneaked its way through the crack underneath the sliding shoji door, and she could distantly hear voices talking amongst each other.

She lightly stretched, pulling her muscles from stiffness, and discovered she had been changed from her school uniform to a simple yukata robe, with bandages wrapping around her palms, knees, and elbows. Touching her throbbing temple, she found that her head had also been tended to; it had been gauzed and bandaged all the way around. She sighed deeply; this was obviously Urahara's shop, and what he did always had a hidden motive, or was part of some grander plan. If Orihime was here, then something big was happening. Rocking herself to her knees, she started awkwardly crawling towards the shoji door, trying to spy on the conversation in the next room.

"…We've already been over this before; the Menos must've hit her when she was distracted. There's no way her shield would've broken so easily." Orihime heard Ichigo say. He sounded annoyed, and she could imagine him pacing back and forth along the length of the room he was in.

"But we scoured the area," she heard Rukia say, exasperated, "There was no other Hollow! What could have distracted her?"

"My, aren't we heated this evening?" the lackadaisical chastisement of the owner of Urahara Shop quieted the room. Even without seeing him, Orihime could imagine the former Shinigami's shaded eyes alight with fascination, despite the situation, and waving a fan over his mouth, "Perhaps we're all overestimating Miss Orihime's abilities? I've heard that her shield will break when confronted with a powerful head-on attack; it just lasts long enough to guard against the brunt of it." There seemed to be a few mutters of agreement, Orihime noticed with a bit of wounded pride.

"And I sensed Miss Orihime's reiatsu flare up just as I felt a Cero being fired." The former Shinigami continued matter-of-factly, "I think we can safely agree with Tatsuki's assessment; Orihime shielded against the Cero, and when it broke, she fell and hit her head."

Was that what they were auguring about? Orihime blinked with chagrin. How she hit her head? Granted, she couldn't remember any of this, but still… It seemed to be a 'back-burner' type of worry. Maybe she already missed the conversation about how the Gillian Menos got into Karakura Town undetected in the first place; she had been asleep for awhile, she reasoned, for surely her friends would've made the origins of how the Hollow appeared more important that the origins of her injury.

"I think you're all ignoring the elephant in the room," she heard Tatsuki say, the agitation clear in her voice, "When I felt that Hollow, I came running back to help Orihime. And when I turned the corner, she was already hurt and lying on the ground. And then I saw her catch that Cero in one hand like it was nothing. And that's right when we all felt that dark reiatsu."

The room was silent, and Orihime could feel her friends' questioning auras stab into Tatsuki, "It's not a coincidence!" Tatsuki reasoned, "That dark reiatsu must somehow be connected to Orihime. Like… Ichigo's Hollow mask, or…" She could imagine Tatsuki bristling under their inquiring stares, "I mean, when we tried to touch her to flip her onto her back, she flipped out and screamed, 'Ulquiorra.' He's an Arrancar, right? I think that huge reiatsu we felt was his. Orihime doesn't scare that easily; she went against that giant Hollow on her own! Yet this guy totally freaked her out to the point where she slipped up. They have to be connected somehow. "

Orihime's eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat. Had she really caught a Cero? Could she even do that? Maybe she had an ability that only manifests itself when she was in real danger. But more importantly… She called out Ulquiorra's name? She sleep-talked? She could feel the embarrassment rush through her, hot and shameful, along with a different emotion; she couldn't quite place what it was… Fear? Worry? Anxiety? Orihime unconsciously bit her lip. Ulquiorra had been her secret for all these months; he was her problem. Her nightmare. His only presence was in her head. Yet here were her friends, talking about him all of the sudden! Her heart was hammering in her chest. She didn't want them to find out about Ulquiorra!

"It can't be Ulquiorra," Ichigo said solemnly, and Orihime hoped the others would listen to him, "He was the Arrancar who kidnapped Orihime and brought her to Aizen." His voice faltered, "And I killed him with my own hands."

Orihime flinched behind the shoji door, remembering the horrific battle between the two men that encompassed her world.

"Well, maybe he did something to her when she was first kidnapped!" Tatsuki continued stubbornly, "We all know she has been acting differently ever since she got back, and you once told me that she only went with the Arrancar after she got caught by them in the Dangai; she would willingly do whatever those Arrancar told her after that!"

She heard Ichigo shuffle towards Tatsuki, "She was coerced!" He shouted, obviously angry, "She only did what they said because she thought it would save us!"

"Whoa, Ichigo…" Rukia started, trying to calm him.

"No!" Tatsuki shouted right back, "There's something more going on here. Maybe not Ulquiorra, but something else! Why can't you people sense it? There's something else going on!"

"Then why don't we ask her?" Urahara smoothly interjected, completely derailing the teens' argument. "She's awake right now, aren't you, Orihime?"

She froze, gray eyes wide with the sudden realization she was caught. Not only had she been caught eavesdropping, but she was caught between a rock and a hard place. She did not want to talk about Ulquiorra to them, yet she didn't want to lie to her friends…

The shoji screen was unexpectedly pulled open with a bright flooding of light that caused Orihime to be momentarily blinded. She squinted and looked up to see the owner of the shop gazing down upon her, his striped hat shading his eyes, "Won't you join us?" He asked her, smooth as silk.

Glancing around him, Orihime could see that Rukia, Ichigo and Tatsuki were all gathered around a kotatsu table in the next room, gazing curiously at her. Tatsuki was the first to move, "Orihime! Are you alright?" She ran towards her friend, and Urahara moved out of the doorway to let the girls reunite. Tatsuki kneeled on the floor next to Orihime, and hugged her fiercely, "God, I was so worried! How are you feeling? They said you have a concussion!"

"A concussion?" Orihime repeated, somewhat shocked. She lightly touched the bandage that wrapped around her head, "What happened to me?"

Tatsuki stared at her with questioning eyes, "What… happened…? That's what we wanted to ask you!"

Rukia had walked over to Tatsuki and tapped the spiky-haired girl on the shoulder, "Let's get Orihime off the cold floor."

"Would you like some tea?" Urahara offered.

"Um…" Orihime was confused by the bombardment of attention and questions, "I just woke up?"

Tatsuki and Rukia glanced at each other with an expression Orihime couldn't read, "Here," Tatsuki stood and offered Orihime her hand. She took hold of it tentatively, her gray eyes still worry-filled, and supported herself to the upright position. It concerned her that she was still shaky and stiff on her feet. She must've really hurt herself, but she really couldn't remember how…

The girls lead Orihime through the room towards Ichigo at the kotatsu table. They made Orihime sit on the futon surrounding the table, and Urahara summoned Ururu to fetch a fresh brew of herbal tea for Orihime to sip. The liquid was warm and soothing, but Orihime was anything but relaxed; her friends had been staring her expectantly across the table the entire time. She shifted uncomfortably under their eager gazes, and dropped her attention to her ceramic cup; absentmindedly she ran her forefinger around the lip. What did they want her to tell them?

"So," Ichigo started, breaking the awkward silence, "Are you feeling a little better, Inoue? Chad and Ishida were here a little awhile ago. Ishida left, but Chad went to tell your manager that you weren't coming into the bakery today, so…"

"They were here, too? And Chad did that for me?" Orihime was touched, "I'll have to thank him later, I guess, but yeah, I feel a little better," She started, still playing with her cup, "I'm not as nauseous anymore, so that's good. Though my head still hurts."

"I'd be surprised if you were still nauseous," Rukia chuckled darkly, "You threw up all over Ichigo."

"No!" Orihime gasped, snapping her head towards her long-time crush, her face flushing crimson, "I didn't…. Did I?"

"It's okay; as soon as I went back into my body the mess didn't matter." Ichigo tried to comfort her, but it was clear it had irrevocably scarred him for life.

"I don't even remember; I'm really sorry!"

"It's alright," Ichigo's brown eyes captured hers, "But what do you remember?"

She blinked and stared back at her drink, "I remember… um… I was shopping with Tatsuki… And then the Menos attacked. I called Tsubaki to fight, and…" She rubbed her head with the effort of recall, "I think… I think it was attacking me… But I don't remember anything after that. I remember a few bits and pieces, but I kinda remember them like a dream, it doesn't really make much sense.".

Rukia seemed disappointed, "You really don't remember anything after that?"

"No…" Orihime sighed, dropping her shoulders, "Why? Did I do something?"

"Nothing bad," Rukia comforted, "We're just trying to find out what happened here. There are a lot of things that didn't add up, and since you were the first on the scene, you probably could've filled in the gaps we have in our information."

"Like… how the Menos got into Karakura Town?" Orihime leaned forward, unconsciously getting closer; she really wanted to know this answer.

"Exactly," Rukia sounded pleased, "And there was the possibility of another, more powerful, Hollow nearby… We were really hoping you could tell us if you saw another one, or was it just the one Menos?"

Orihime's mind immediately went to Ulquiorra, but… He was gone. There was no way he could have been involved with any of this. She started to work through the events in her mind again and again; she remembered vaguely the Menos firing a Cero at her…

"Gosh, I really don't remember anything after that," Orihime mumbled, her brows furrowed, "But did you find out how the Menos opened a Kumon without us noticing?"

Ichigo shook his head, "No, but we think someone helped it through using either enhanced speed or a different, more subtle gate."

"Like a Garganta? Isn't Soul Society monitoring Hueco Mundo now?" She asked Rukia, "Shouldn't you know if something was going on there?"

"No, Hueco Mundo is the realm of the Hollows, and as far as I know, Soul Society has no real influence there." The petite Shinigami answered, "But, of course, we made some friends last time we were there, and I'm sure they'd make pretty good informants if something big was going on."

"That's true…" Orihime started.

Ichigo suddenly stood up, causing Orihime to jump a little, he was scratching his head with irritation, "Something's bugging me about all this; I'm going to look around again." He started down the hallway, and Rukia jumped up to follow him.

"Oi," She called, "You need to learn some better manners!" She turned to face Orihime and smiled, "I'm glad you're feeling better. Don't worry, we'll have this all figured out soon." The Shinigami waved slightly in goodbye before running down the hallway after the orange-haired Substitute.

Orihime smiled and watched them go, suddenly feeling like the room was much too quiet. Urahara, Tatsuki, and herself all sat around the table awkwardly, before the shop's owner got up to dismiss himself, "I think Chad and Uryuu are coming," he said as he started to leave the room, "Perhaps one of them could escort you two ladies home? It is getting pretty late."

Tatsuki looked at Orihime, "You think you could walk home?"

She waved off that idea, "I really don't want to. Maybe I could take the bus instead?"

"Maybe," Tatsuki answered, standing. "Let's find that Ururu girl to see if your clothes are done. We were washing them for you."

"Thanks," Orihime replied tiredly, before hauling herself upright and following her friend out of the room.


It was dark and rainy outside Urahara Shop. Soggy, muddy puddles plagued the cobblestone pathway, and rainwater was running in rivulets off the store's gabled roof. The occasional flash of lightning illuminated the churning skies. Ichigo and Rukia, both in their Shinigami forms, were talking with Chad, who was carrying a plastic grocery bag in one hand.

"…She says she doesn't remember anything," Ichigo was telling Chad, the frustration clear in his voice, "Or she doesn't want to tell us anything."

"Hm," The big man considered.

"Tatsuki was saying that Orihime may still be connected to the Arrancar." Ichigo looked down at the sidewalk, watching as the pounding rain made a million little splashes, "I don't want her to be right, but I fought Grimmjow and Ulquiorra, and they both told me that rescuing Orihime was useless because 'she was already one of them.'" He scoffed, kicking a pebble with his sandal, "I didn't want to believe them. I always thought that Orihime had been kidnapped, and would be fine once she got home." He looked at Chad, the rain soaking through his hair, "That's not the case, is it?"

"I have noticed Orihime has been… darker since she got home," Chad agreed, "But not by much."

"Maybe I'll talk to Renji or my brother," Rukia chimed in, "Perhaps they'll know something about this?"

"Well, maybe not Renji," Ichigo joked, which caused Rukia to playfully punch him in the arm.

Headlights, bright and blinding, turned the corner and faced the Shop, causing the three friends to glance with squinted eyes as a smooth, silver sedan rolled closer to them. The car slowed to a stop and parked in the front of the Shop, and the well-tuned purr of the engine was cut-off.

A slim-built man stepped out of the sleek vehicle, his visage was obscured into a silhouette by the bright headlights that had been left on. He popped open a black umbrella to shield himself from the downpour, and started to walk towards the weary group.

Ichigo's eyes grew as wide as saucers when the man became discernible as he drew near, "Ishida?!" Ichigo called out, shocked, "I didn't know you could drive!"

The Quincy, still in his school uniform, adjusted his glasses, pride oozing out of him, "Well, unlike some people, I actually make an effort to improve my human life, as well as my supernatural skills."

Ichigo ignored his insult, "What are you doing back here? I thought you went home?"

"Obviously, I went to go borrow my dad's car." Uryuu jabbed a thumb towards the silver sedan, lean and menacing, even parked. "I came to pick up Inoue."

"That's so sweet of you, Ishida!" Rukia smiled.

Ichigo titled his head to one side, "Why?"

Rukia scoffed at Ichigo as Uryuu questioned him, "Inoue has a concussion. Do you want her to walk home? In this?" He gestured around him at the pouring rain. He shook his head in disappointment before looking back at the Shinigami, "Where are you going, anyway?"

Answering for him, Rukia explained, "Orihime's awake, but doesn't remember much, so we're going to be looking around again."

"I see," Uryuu started, "So we're back to square one?"

"Not entirely," Chad's deep voice interjected, "There's a theory that the Arrancar might've subjected Orihime to something, which explains the dark reiatsu that occasionally manifests around her."

Everyone was still and uncomfortably quiet in the aftermath of the plain way Chad explained the situation.

"I hope you find something," Uryuu told Ichigo solemnly, "I really hope you find something." He started walking past them, when Chad called out, "Ishida," the Quincy stopped and looked the dark man, "Could you give this to Orihime for me?" He handed the plastic grocery bag to Uryuu, and then he shoved his hands in his pockets and turned around, lumbering off quietly into the wet night. Ichigo and Rukia exchanged a quick farewell with him, before leaping off along the rooftops. Uryuu watched them go under the safety of his umbrella for a moment, then dug into the plastic bag; he pulled out a tube of wasabi paste. A soft smile spread across his face. Placing the wasabi back in the bag, he started for the door of Urahara's shop.


Orihime had been asleep most of the ride home, but now it was truly quiet and peaceful. It was just her and Uryuu in his dad's shiny car; the sound of the rain was soothing her fried nerves, the driving motion was relaxing, and the rhythmic thumping of the windshield wipers caused enough noise to break up the silence between her and her driver.

She had been incredibly grateful for Uryuu's heroic timing; she had just changed back into her freshly washed and mended school uniform, and was thanking sweet Ururu for all her help when he had slid the front door open. She was very thankful he had gotten a car for her; she didn't want to wait for the bus in the rain. Tatsuki had pleaded to come with them, so she could spend the night with Orihime to make sure she was okay, but Orihime was tired of company. Uryuu must have noticed, because he intervened on her behalf and convinced her friend that Orihime would be all right, and even took Tatsuki home first, and he never attempted to make conversation the entire way to her apartment.

Orihime's gray eyes fluttered open when she felt the car roll to a stop. Uryuu cut the engine, and the placid sound of the rain hummed over the car. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder, "We're here," he announced softly.

Orihime blinked, dazedly glancing at the familiar shape of her apartment complex. She daintily yawned before turning towards her friend, "Thanks, Ishida," she started, her voice muted, "I owe you big."

"And Chad, too." Uryuu turned around and fished a plastic grocery sack from behind his seat, "He wanted me to give this to you." He held out the bag until she took it.

"What's this?" She asked as she reached inside, pulling out a tube, "Wasabi paste? Aww, you guys…" She cooed, looking longingly at her favorite cooking ingredient, "You're too sweet to me."

Uryuu adjusted his glasses, "Hardly…" he started, then faltered and looked at the steering wheel; Orihime had a hard time seeing his face through his thick bangs, "We've missed you in the handicrafts club. You should come by sometime. This month is dedicated to making plushies; we're making dolphins next."

"Dolphins?" Orihime chirped, instantly intrigued, "That's so cute! I've missed it too, I'll definitely come by." She smiled and noticed Uryuu's light blush through the curtain of his hair.

"Oi… Did you make this month plushie month just to entice me to come back?" Orihime started with fake offence ringing through her voice, "I know that look," she started, pointing at him, "This was all part of your plan, wasn't it?"

Sighing, Uryuu held up his hands in defeat, "You caught me. But really, the club was starting to lose members; you're like, the club mascot, and we need you to attract people."

"Ah, you're just using me, then?" The smile could be heard in Orihime's voice.

Uryuu laughed, "My pride as both a Quincy and a man says I never 'use' women; I simply capitalize on their feminine charms to my advantage." He nonchalantly shrugged.

"You're evil!" Orihime accused while barely containing her laughter, "Oh, I don't want to laugh…" She winced and held her head with her hands, "My brain is still rattled; it hurts to laugh!"

Uryuu sobered quickly, "C'mon…. Let's get you inside."

He reached behind him again and grabbed his umbrella off the backseat, and got out of the car; the cold draft from the door caused Orihime to shiver. Before she could even gather her things, Uryuu had walked around the car and had opened her door for her, holding the umbrella above her to shield her from the cold rain.

"How chivalrous of you," Orihime cattily complimented as she got of the sedan, and Uryuu shut the door behind her. They walked close together under the umbrella's protection in a comfortable silence until they got to her apartment's covered entryway. Uryuu shut his umbrella, shaking off the excess water, as Orihime dug into her pocket and fished out her keys. She opened the door; her apartment was dim and quiet inside.

"Hey, Inoue," Uryuu started as she crossed the threshold of her home, "You should probably just rest tomorrow; don't worry about school."

"Okay," she agreed softly.

"And if your headaches get any worse, or aren't getting better at all, or if your vision gets bad, you should seek medical help immediately."

"Good to know. Thanks Dr. Ishida." She playfully smiled, and started to retreat further into her apartment.

"If you have any other questions, you should call or text me."

"I'll do that, thanks again, Ishida, for everything. Good night." She started to slowly shut her front door.

"Inoue—!" He called out, and she stopped to look at him; he was awkwardly holding his umbrella, and had a very vulnerable expression on his face, "We've been through enough, you can call me 'Uryuu' now." She couldn't help but notice the slight blush dusting his cheeks.

"So I'm finally moving up in your world?" She teased him, smiling softly, "Then you may also call me 'Orihime.'"

"Good night… Orihime," Uryuu smiled and then started to walk towards his car.

"'Night Uryuu!" She retreated inside and closed and locked the door behind her.

It was dark, still, and quiet inside her apartment. She dropped all of her bags in the entryway around her, and stood motionless, lightly resting her sore forehead against the back of her front door. She had so much to think about, she couldn't think of anything. Where should she even begin? She had been so out of touch with her friends lately, and then they all suddenly came flocking to her side the moment they thought something was 'off' about her. She groaned aloud when she thought of her friends' conversation about her possible connection with Arrancar. She didn't want them to be think something was wrong with her! She was fine! And then there was Tatsuki, who was being a little too protective lately. And Uryuu who suddenly became even closer with her. Strange. All of them were acting so differently lately. Maybe she had done something really embarrassing, but just couldn't remember? Oh, gosh… what had she done? Would anyone tell her?

"Ugh, what I am going to do?" She whispered to no one; squeezing her eyes shut.

She sighed. "One thing at a time."

Orihime flicked on her lights and took off her shoes before heading straight to her medical cabinet in her bathroom. She fished out a generic white and red bottle of acetaminophen, and shook out the largest single dose allowed; she swallowed the pills without even drinking water. She needed pain relief, fast.

Padding on socked feet into her small kitchen, Orihime dug through her cupboards to find a shelve of saltine crackers. She started munching on a few of them as she plopped onto her couch, thoroughly spent.

She replayed the day's events in her mind over and over again, but she just couldn't seem to remember anything after she saw the Menos start to attack. How had she blocked that Cero? Gosh... Head injuries sucked.

Wait… Couldn't she just heal herself? Why hadn't anyone thought of that before! Why hadn't she? Well, she was the one with the head injury, of course; the others had no excuse.

She cupped her hand to her temple and declared, "Soten Kisshun, I reject." A welcoming light and warmth flooded around her head. Almost immediately, the pain started to dissipate; her knees and elbows were healing, too. Within moments, her memory started to come into focus. Orihime's eyes widened as her rejection of her injuries became complete; memories flashed across her vision in rapid fire: stopping the Cero, dreaming of Ulquiorra, reaching out to him…

"Oh, no…!" She whispered with a sudden fear. Ulquiorra! She hadn't made it in time. Had she chosen correctly? What if she never sees him again? She bit her lip with anxiety. She didn't want that; she...

She…

She hugged herself; the horrific realization was finally settling in.

"Oh, God…" Ulquiorra wasn't just a dream. He had saved her today. He was still around. Somehow… still… here… "How…?" How was this possible? She was shaking. Ulquiorra was still somehow alive; somehow connected to her. Her heart was hammering inside her chest. His reiastu had been coursing through her earlier today. She glanced at her hand like it was a foreign object. How? …How was this happening? "Oh, God…" She covered her face with her hands.

Tatsuki couldn't have been more right: Ulquiorra was connected to her.

There were too many questions: How, when, why…? And not enough answers. With a shaky hand, Orihime reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone and flipped it open. She quickly navigated through the menus and started a new text to Ishida.

"Uryuu," She typed, "What color is my Spirit Ribbon?" She knew Uryuu could see them, and he wouldn't give her some sugar-coated answer. Normal souls have a white colored Spirit Ribbon. Shinigami have red ones. If she was normal, hers would be white, right? It was the last test she could think of to prove nothing was wrong with her.

She stared at the message until her phone's screen almost went to sleep, then, before she could change her mind, she quickly hit the "Send" button.

She waited for what it seemed to be an eternity, curled up on her couch, her cell phone in her hand. The tic-tock of the clock on her wall was screaming out the seconds as they crawled by. She nervously was gnawing on her thumbnail, waiting for a response to her message.

Finally, her phone buzzed and chirped, signaling a new text message. Orihime sat up straight as she flipped open her phone and went to the message inbox.

It was from Uryuu! She opened the unread message with trembling fingers. It was short and very clear: "It was gray." He had replied.

Gray. Not white.

Not normal.

Her eyes glazed over with tears as she rapidly replied to the text, "Don't tell anyone." She typed, begging, "Please…" She hit "Send."

Uryuu's response came quicker this time, "Wasn't planning on it. We need to meet up and talk."

Orihime sighed with relief, clutching her phone to her chest; she said a silent prayer of thanks to whatever God would listen. "I know. Need time to sort out a few things."

"Don't wait too long."

Orihime shut her phone. Yes, she needed time to sort out things… Namely one thing: Ulquiorra. He had answers. She knew he had answers. He had to. Because she now knew that he was actually there; he wasn't just a dream—although dreaming seemed to be the only means of communication between them at the moment. And she was going to get her answers right now.

Orihime nearly pranced to her bedroom and jumped under her fluffy white comforter. She snuggled into a comfortable position before closing her eyes. "I'm going to dream of Ulquiorra," she whispered, "And I'm going to remember to ask him about being connected."

"I'm going to dream of Ulquiorra…" She repeated, over and over again, until she finally faded away into sleep.


End Chapter 2!

There was actually a little bit more I wanted to write, but I liked where this ended, and this chapter is about 1000 words longer than I wanted, anyway.

Please review, and follow! You have NO idea how happy they make me! I'm actually considering playing a little game (because I'm a review-whore, haha): In the next chapter, I'm going to put in an "Easter Egg" somewhere in here. It'll be a line of a song. If you notice it, you'll let me know in the comments! Doesn't that sound fun? I'll think of some way of rewarding the winner, or something. We'll see...

Remember, this will start NEXT chapter! And I plan to update that in about a week!

Thanks for reading!