I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.

Beta: lilarin

Chapter Two

Ulquiorra unlocked the door to their home while precariously balancing both backpacks as well as Reiko's lunch box in his other hand. The little girl stood beside him, a grave expression marred her usually joyful features, as she stared at the imaginary creature still asleep in her hands.

As he pushed the door open and turned on the light he reminded her, "You will need to get your homework done before dinner."

She glanced up, anxiety still written all over her face, "I will papa, but first I need to get something to put the fairy in so she stays safe."

"You could use the terrarium we bought you last year to house that fish you won at the fair," he suggested as he dropped his keys into the basket he kept on the table by the door.

"The fish died," tears began to build in her eyes at the reminder of her last attempt at taking care of a living creature.

"I cleaned and disinfected it after that," he added, oblivious to her growing concerns. To him there was no reason the terrarium could not serve as a suitable home for her fairy creature. All the books he had read stated that you should never place an aquatic pet in a tank after it had formally housed a mammal, but the reverse was fine. Besides it wasn't as if the creature truly existed anyways.

"I suppose," she whispered, head bent, eyes fixed on the imaginary creature in her hand. Her feet shuffled across the hard wood floor as she made her way to the stairs that led to the second story of their home, and her bedroom.

"I placed it on the second shelf in your closet," he continued as he turned to head to the kitchen to deposit her lunch box. The backpacks would be placed in his office, where he kept a child's desk for Reiko to do her school work.

"Thank you papa," she headed up the stairs, her hands still cradled carefully around the imaginary creature.

As he made his way towards the kitchen he felt confused. Ukitake had encouraged him to engage in Reiko's imaginary play, but acknowledging this fairy had done little to make his daughter happy. In fact her mood was deteriorating so fast he questioned whether he should simply put an end to it now.

Placing her lunch box on the gray granite counter-top, he decided that if she was still upset at dinnertime he would say something.

Reiko laid the tiny fairy carefully on the soft pillow on her bed. She went to her closet to retrieve the terrarium that her father had suggested. She found it exactly where he said it would be and placed it next to the creature.

The fairy hadn't woken up yet, and Reiko feared that she had somehow damaged the magical creature. She said a silent prayer as she headed back to the bed, asking God to spare her. After all she was his creation as well, she reasoned, so he would want her to live too; at least that was the way she interpreted the lessons learned at school.

She grabbed a soft, fluffy blanket that she kept with her various baby dolls and placed it inside the container, creating a bed to place the fairy. She then scooped the creature carefully and laid it gently in the terrarium. Snapping the vented lid securely in place, she stepped back and stared, her expression still grim.

Suddenly the tiny thing began to stir. A pained looked appeared on her face as she rolled over and tried to sit up. A hand went to her head touching it rather gingerly. Her eyes opened slowly, looking around as she took in her new environment.

Reiko released an excited gasp, and the creature turned quickly, gray eyes focused on the young child.

"Ouch," the fairy cried out, grabbing her head more firmly in her hands. "Ooh I shouldn't have moved so quickly. My head is killing me."

"You can talk," Reiko's eyes grew wide in excitement and disbelief; her mood lightening now that the fairy was awake. She kneeled down directly in front of the container on her bed.

The creature rose to her feet and faced the young child completely and said with wonder, "And you can see me."

"Why wouldn't I see you?"

"You are a human child," the tiny fairy began as she edged a fraction closer to the side of the terrarium, "And humans cannot see sprites, Well most humans can't," she tapped a finger against her lip as she thought it over.

"Sprites?" Reiko asked, bending forward to give the tiny thing a closer look. "Aren't you a fairy?"

The tiny creature laughed melodiously, "Sprites are a special type of fairy, only we tend to live in cool places, and unlike other fairies we have a very important job to do, especially now that the season is set to change."

"A job?"

"Oh yes," she nodded her head and moved even closer to the edge of the container, walking right into the clear plastic that separated them. She let out a startled yelp as her hands touched and moved along the side, "What is this barrier?"

The sprite moved closer until her nose touched the plastic wall of the terrarium and Reiko placed her fingers against it as well.

"It's plastic," Reiko began and tapped the side gently. "I wasn't sure where to put you so that you would be safe, so my papa suggested the terrarium," the child lowered her hand back into her lap and sat straight again.

"Is this…," she began to run her hands once again along the side and then the back trying to find a way out. "Is this a cage? Have I been caught?" she turned back to Reiko," Oh Tatsuki is going to be so mad at me. She warned me not to stay out late, and she really is leery of humans. What am I going to do? I've never been caught before. Tatsuki says that humans like to pull off a sprite's wings and use them in potions," she looked in terror at Reiko as she dropped her hands and began to back further away from the plastic that separated them. "You're not going to pull off my wings are you?" she tried to move the aforementioned appendages, but stopped, crying out in pain as she grabbed her right arm.

"Are you hurt?" Reiko moved her face closer again to get a better look.

"I don't know," the sprite admitted. "I mean my wings don't work properly, but it's my arm that is sore," She held it close to her side. "I think I did some damage earlier."

"Oh I knew it," Reiko sat back on her knees, hands wringing in her lap. "I really did hurt you when we collided.

"We collided?"

"Yeah, don't you remember?"

"I don't know," the creature replied. "I was playing chase with a few of my friends and got a little too far from the oak tree. Then…well then…I woke up here."

"Head injury," Reiko stated very matter-of-factly, her hand moved to rest under her chin. "Papa says that sometimes people can't remember accidents because they hit their head and the memory gets all mixed up."

"Oh," she bowed her head; a red flush stained her cheeks. "I tend to be clumsy. It's rather embarrassing because sprites are such nimble beings."

"That's okay," the little girl said, "I'm clumsy as well. Papa has me taking ballet because he thinks it will help me become more graceful." The sprite smiled at her words and Reiko drew closer, her face to the plastic. "My name is Reiko by the way."

"Orihime," the Sprite replied cheerfully.

"That's beautiful."

"Thank you," Orihime replied and then, hands on hips, she searched her surroundings once more and continued, "Now about this cage…"

"Reiko," Ulquiorra's deep voice suddenly interrupted the conversation.

Orihime stared at the grown human male that walked into Reiko's room.

"Orihime is awake!" Reiko stated excitedly as she jumped up and ran to her father.

"Orihime?" he questioned as he met her halfway, looking down on her.

"The fairy I found," Reiko replied as she pointed excitedly at the terrarium. "Well actually she's not a fairy, she's a sprite.

"A sprite? I've never heard of a creature called that before."

"Neither had I until Orihime told me. They're like fairies, but not exactly," Reiko replied.

Relaxing his features once more he came over to the bed and crouched down, his face close to the plastic. Orihime's breath caught at the sight of him. Deep green eyes, framed by thick, black lashes, stared with absolute focus in her direction. It was well known that creatures like sprites and fairies were some of the most beautiful known in existence, but his face, delicate for a male, was more beautiful than any she had seen before. Completely captivated by him she drew closer to the side of the cage, forgetting her earlier fear of humans.

"Orihime," his voice low and deep, sent an unexpected chill up her spine. Cocking his head slightly he mused, "Interesting." His eyes fixed on a point slightly next to her.

"It's such a pretty name," Reiko leaned closer to her father, affectionately placing a hand on his face, pushing it an inch to the side, so that he now indeed looked directly at Orihime as she looked towards her as well, "Don't you think so?"

"Yes, I suppose it is," he straightened back up and then turned to Reiko, any trace of interest now gone from his rather emotionless voice, "You have your homework still to do. Now that your sprite," he paused, "Now that Orihime is awake, maybe you can focus better on that task."

"Yes papa," Reiko looked down at her feet, a slight pout on her lips. "I suppose."

"You did promise," he reminded.

"I know," she reached towards the container, "Can I bring Orihime?"

He glanced once more at the terrarium, but Orihime knew he could not see her. He was merely humoring his daughter. "As long a she does not interfere with your work."

"She won't," Reiko shook her head and then turned to face the sprite, "Will you Orihime?"

Orihime shook her head as well, not wanting to be left alone in this strange new world that she had found herself now stuck.

Reiko turned back to her father, and giving him the thumbs up smiled, "See, no problem."

His eyes stared intently at the terrarium, as if making up his mind about something. He then nodded at his daughter, turned, and left the room without another word.

Orihime stared after him. What an odd man. Just as his features were unlike any other being she had ever come across, his mannerisms were even more foreign. His lack of expression and emotion was in such contrast to his child, who was bursting with life.

Reiko reached for the terrarium and grabbed the handle at the top, she lifted it cautiously and then placed her other hand under the bottom to offer support. Orihime knelt down and laid her hands, palms flat against the soft blankets that lined the floor of the cage, trying to brace herself from the sudden movement.

Reiko's face turned to one of utmost concentration as she began to walk down the stairs. Orihime tried to balance herself, hands once more plastered to the floor of the cage for support, as the container swayed lightly with the child's uneven footsteps. Once they reached the bottom of the stairs the sprite let out a sigh of relief as the jostling stopped.

Reiko walked down a brightly lit hallway. On one side of the hall was a rather large room that held various pieces of furniture for sitting. All the chairs were covered in beige fabric, with small pillows, all in differing shades of blue, placed neatly against the backs.

"This is the family room," Reiko explained when she noticed that Orihime's gaze turned that way, "This is where papa and I play board games, read stories, or watch television."

Orihime wondered who television was, but held her question as the little girl quickly turned towards another, slightly smaller room. This one had various tables for working. Windows covered the outer walls, and the one closest to the hall was lined entirely with bookshelves. The remaining wall had an archway in the middle that led to another room with a large table surrounded by chairs, set in the middle. She imagined that during the daytime this room would be bright and cheery; quickly deciding it was her favorite so far.

Reiko made her way to a table that was smaller than the others in the room. It was made of light colored wood, and had various shelves with compartments to place things, lining the back. The child placed the terrarium on the top shelf giving Orihime an unobstructed view. "This is papa's office. That," she pointed to another, larger table, "is papa's drafting desk."

Orihime was intrigued by its design. Unlike Reiko's desk, which had a flat surface to work, her father's desk had a portion that popped up at an angle. Papers were attached to it and she could make out the drawings already in progress. Another part of the desk lay flat.

"What is that box with the moving pictures?" Orihime asked.

"Oh that's his computer," Reiko began. "Well actually that part is called the monitor. The computer is attached beneath the desk right there." she pointed to the side below where the monitor sat, "Those moving pictures are called a screen saver. It comes up when you stay away from the computer for too long." Orihime stared as different images, human dwellings, appeared and then disappeared. "Those pictures are some of the buildings that my papa designed."

Orihime furrowed her brows, "I don't understand."

Reiko looked back at the sprite and said, "Papa is an architect. He meets with people and they tell him what kind of house they want him to create, and then he draws out plans and his company builds them." She turned to the wall that held the bookshelf and pointed to the various framed pictures and documents. "Those are some of the buildings he designed, and all the awards he has gotten since he started his business." She glanced back at Orihime and with great pride said, "Papa is really good at being an architect."

Once more the man confused her. It was hard to believe that such beautifully detailed creations came from the reserved man she had met earlier. Suddenly a shadow was cast from the doorway, causing Orihime to turn in that direction. There stood the man they were just discussing.

"Reiko," he reminded, his tone a little more firm, "You promised to get your homework done."

"Sorry papa, but I was just showing Orihime your office," Reiko glanced over to Orihime's cage.

He stared once more at the terrarium, "You said that she would not interfere with your work."

"She won't," Reiko said as she grabbed her backpack and pulled out a folder. She laid it on her desk and sat in the chair, "See papa, I'm getting right to work."

He watched her a moment more and then spoke softly, "I will be back shortly to check your work. Dinner will be ready in thirty minutes."

"I'll be done," she vowed. He nodded and then disappeared as quickly as he had come.

Reiko turned to the folder she had taken from her backpack. Opening it up, she pulled out a list of words. She then reached into one of the shelves lining the back of her desk and pulled out a blank paper.

"This is my spelling," she said as she took a pencil and wrote her name in bold and precise strokes. She then began to copy words from the printed list. "These words are called sight words. They're words people use a lot, and I have to be able to read them without getting stuck." She glanced up at Orihime. "Can you read?"

Orihime shook her head. "I know about human books, but sprites have no need to read."

"I could teach you," Reiko said, "Here let me move you closer." She took the terrarium and placed it on the flat surface of her desktop. "Can you see better?" Orihime nodded. "Good. Okay so this first word is all, a…l…l…all." She wrote the letters as she spoke them aloud. "I have to write them five times to practice. Tomorrow I have a game I use to learn them. I get to play it with papa." She leaned towards Orihime and confided, "I like the games a lot better than the writing."

Orihime giggled at her honesty. Reiko smiled and then went back to her work. She continued on until all ten words had been written five times each. Sitting back the little girl sighed and said, "Tomorrow I'll quiz you." Orihime's smile faded. "What's wrong?" Reiko asked suddenly concerned.

"It's just that I hoped to be back at the Oak Tree tomorrow…well actually tonight," she whispered as she turned and looked out the window closest to the desk. Everything was now dark. Surely she would be missed.

Reiko looked away, and began to put the completed work back into her folder. She then grabbed her backpack and shoved it in rather roughly.

"Reiko?" Orihime asked, "You do understand that I need to go back home." Reiko faced her again and Orihime noticed that the child's eyes were glazed over with unshed tears. Wishing to avoid upsetting the child any further the sprite continued, "I really like you and this has been fun, but I have a job to do and very little time left to get it done."

Reiko looked down; a tear ran down her cheek. Wiping it away she cried, "Even if I wanted you to leave I wouldn't be able to get you back until next week."

"Next week!" Orihime began to pace within her cage. "I need to get back now. It's important."

"Papa won't bring you back."

"Why," Orihime stopped her pacing and looked at the child, "Is it because he doesn't believe I exist?"

The little girl kept her head bowed down with her eyes tightly shut. She took a deep breath as she attempted to calm herself enough to speak. When she finally did her voice was whisper soft; the words forced and almost rote, as if she had practiced them many times before, "Papa likes his schedule. It's real important to him. Mondays are park days. We go to the park on Monday only, so he won't bring you back until the next time we go."

"That makes no sense," Orihime replied shaking her head furiously.

Reiko looked up. Her brows were drawn together tightly and her eyes narrowed as she said firmly, "But to my papa it makes perfect sense."

"But life doesn't always fit into a schedule," Orihime stated as she walked over to the side of the cage closest to Reiko. "Things get messed up, like today. I didn't plan on crashing into you and getting taken from my home…"

"I'm sorry," Reiko bent her head again, her fury gone as quickly as it came.

"No Reiko," Orihime waved her hands frantically to get the girls attention. "If I had stuck to my normal routine I wouldn't have met you, and I'm happy that I did, but I also want to go home."

"Papa won't change his mind." Reiko hugged her arms close to her body.

"Can't you try?" Orihime pleaded as she put her hand against the plastic.

"He won't change his mind for any reason," Reiko reached towards the sprite, but at the last second withdrew her hand. Instead she dropped both and began to wring them nervously. "He's not trying to be mean, he just…can't."

That sounded odd to Orihime. Stepping back slightly she brought her hand to her mouth and started to bite her nails, her anxiety mounting.

"Please don't hate him. He's not a bad person. He just has these things, quirks my Aunt Nel calls them, and he can't help it."

Orihime felt bad for the child, and reluctantly for her father as well. Still she needed to get home. "Maybe someone else could bring me back."

"I don't know," Reiko thought for a moment, "Maybe Uncle Grimmjow. And of course if Mr. Ishida comes by to collect any work from papa, he might be able to do it, but I can't promise."

Orihime smiled, slightly relieved. "Well I don't suppose it will be the end of the world if I don't get back until tomorrow, but my friends will be worried. Are you sure he won't change his mind?"

The child simply nodded her head.

"Reiko," Ulquiorra's deep voice interrupted the conversation. "Dinner is ready." Walking over to the desk he frowned. "You put away your work. You know I need to check it."

"Oops, sorry," Reiko said as she reached down and grabbed the folder from her backpack. As her papa looked over the paper she glanced at Orihime. The sprite gave her an encouraging smile and the girl decided to make a plea. "Papa, I was wondering."

His eyes never left the paper, "Yes Reiko?"

"Well, Orihime is feeling better, and she's anxious that her friends will be worried when they can't find her, and so maybe, well do you think, could we bring her back to the park?"

He placed the paper back in the folder and then returned it to her backpack, zipping the bag shut. Turning to Reiko said, "Our schedule does not allow for such a thing. We will be eating dinner in a few minutes, and then after your chores you have your bath, and then a story, and then bed…"

"Maybe we could skip my bath."

"You cannot go to bed dirty," he said as he straightened from the desk. "Our time at the park is over for the week. Orihime can wait until next Monday."

Caught in the middle of Orihime's desire to return home, and her father's unrelenting need to stay in routine, Reiko stomped her foot and yelled in frustration, "You don't think she's real do you? That's why you won't take her back."

His eyes grew wide at her unusual defiance, "You know the schedule," his voice grew firm and cold once more. "Do not try to make this about anything else. Now," he turned to head back to the kitchen, "You need to wash your hands and meet me at the table so that we can eat."

He then left her with Orihime. Reiko stood absolutely still; her head bent and her shoulders were hunched over.

"Reiko, thank you for trying," Orihime said.

"No problem," she whispered as she wiped the back of her hand across her eyes. Lifting her head she moved closer to the desk and picked up the terrarium, her voice growing just as cold as her father's moments before, "I told you he would say no."

With that she walked out of the room and headed to the kitchen. Orihime sat back in her cage. She had hurt the child without meaning to. It was wrong to ask her to defy her father, but Orihime was desperate to return home. Humans and sprites were not meant to coexist like this. It was inevitable that someone would be harmed.

Reiko had only good intentions when she brought Orihime home, but there were those who would not see the innocence of her actions. Powerful beings existed in Orihime's world, and one did not push them into action. The results could be deadly.

Author's Note:

Thank you all for the reviews and follows. I was so excited to hear from many readers that I had not before!

I hope this chapter helps to provide a little more information as the story unfolds. I will be out of town at the beginning of the week, so I will try to update on Thursday.

Please let me know what you thought. I always love to hear from the readers.