Act I: Scene I: Breaking the Rules

Shalan's Say: YAY! I'm on happy meds because I'm sick… so here we go! MORE ULQUIHIME!

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He sidestepped around a puddle of water and walked towards the car, opening the door and getting his wallet out of his dashboard before shutting the door again. He paused, hearing a thud from his trunk. His head whipped around, then he nearly knocked himself out. That would be breaking policy… he just had to transport whatever was in the back to its destination. He walked towards the gas station then paused again as he heard the thud again. He pursed his lips then turned towards the petrol station again and walked inside.

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"Mmmph!" She closed her eyes in regret again, tears beginning to form as she dropped her head on the bottom of the trunk. She shook her hair from her eyes and stared up at the trunk top. If only they hadn't bagged her hands. She twisted again, trying to arrange herself comfortably. She paused as she heard the man's familiar footsteps and she jerked her hips up against the hood, only to hear his door shut. She whined, feeling the sinking feeling in her stomach. He wasn't going to help her.

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"Hmmmm…" he rested his chin between his fingers as he examined the trunk. It was easy to open but… he closed his eyes. He usually didn't ask questions but if they had wanted him to transport a human why didn't they put her in the back of the car? Oh that's right… the jerks had gypped him and cut him short of the 1,000 euros extra he had to be paid to carry a human. Customs my ass… it's gonna be a trick getting past the authorities… he thought dryly.

"Damn it…" he jerked the hood open and watched as a girl with long orange hair curled into a ball like a roly-poly. "You're… kidding me…" he looked at her and he felt his lip twitch, giving him an oddly exasperated look. She uncurled slightly and looked up at him from beneath tossed hair. His eye twitched. He knew it… he KNEW! He slammed his fist into the bumper of the car and walked off, placing his hands against the small of his back as he looked up, rocking back onto his heels.

"Mmmph!" He turned his head to look at her and she jerked up to sitting, only to successfully smack her head on the roof of the trunk. He watched her drop back to the floor with a groan and lifted an eyebrow.

"Ooh boy, here we go…" he sighed, pursing his lips as he walked over to the trunk. He pulled off the duct tape from her mouth harshly.

"OW!" She shouted angrily. "That hurt!" Her accent was profoundly British and for a moment he wondered what a British woman was doing in the United States.

"Yeah, too bad…" he dropped it to the ground and walked off towards the front of the car.

"Where are you going?" She wriggled her way along the floor to poke her head around the car only to see his bottom half sticking out of the front of the car.

"Here…" he walked back with a paper bag and a pocket knife.

"What're you doing?" She blinked as he cut the ropes around her wrist.

"Eat this…" he set the paper bag in front of her and reached in, pulling out a tuna fish sandwich and a bottle of water.

"Wah're yoo beiin nife 'oo me?" She asked as she breathed the sandwich. He blinked.

"Because… you were annoying me…" he sighed. "Now hurry I'm not supposed to be feeding you…" he looked down as she poked him with the paper bag.

"Thank you…" she smiled and began to chug the water bottle. He pursed his lips in annoyance. He hated being thanked.

"What's your na-ame?" She was startled as he reached over and tied her hands again.

"Now be quiet…" he duct taped her mouth again. She 'mmmph'ed again and he shook his head, shoved her back into the boot and shut the door.

"Well this is going to be a loooong ride…" he sighed and got back into the driver's seat.

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By the time they arrived at their first stop he was practically fuming, they were nearly three hours behind schedule and being behind schedule made his clock stop. He slammed his car door open and slammed it shut again. His feet clicked against the ground as he walked back to the trunk and opened it.

"MMMPH!" She lurched out of the hole towards him and he reached up and caught her.

"What?" He pulled her all the way out and let her stand, he pulled the duct tape off her mouth and tugged the rope around her wrists. "Let's go…" he jerked it and she stumbled after him.

After they had checked in and made their way up the stairs she found herself thrown onto the futon as he walked towards the bed, dropping a leather suitcase onto the bouncy surface.

"You never did tell me your name…" She looked out the window, dragging her rope with her.

"You don't need to know my name…" he responded.

"Thank you…" he turned towards her.

"Let's get something straight… I don't like being thanked for anything. I'm not doing this because I like you, I'm doing this because I don't want you to be dead before we get there so I can't pick up my cash…" his voice was cold, steady and emotionless as he set the rules down.

"There are rules in this business. I don't ask questions and I don't answer them. I take whatever I am given to a location then I wipe my hands of it, take the money and move on. You are just another item for transport and though I have to stretch the rules slightly because technically your caretakers owe me an extra thousand euros. In all fairness I should have left you there when I found out you were a living creature but I'm not and now I have to take care of you until we get there…" she watched his body tense and the anger flare as he jerked his sunglasses off.

"AND I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANOTHER WORD OUT OF YOUR MOUTH!" She was dumb struck by him. Not by his shouting but by the sudden exposure to his beautiful bottle green irises. Her jaw dropped, parting her lips, for a moment she saw curiosity flash through those gorgeous evergreens.

"My name is Orihime… Orihime Inoue…" she held his gaze for a moment longer and he slid the sunglasses back on.

"I don't care…" he responded, his calm and collected façade returning to him. She sat down in a chair.

"I'm 21 years old and I'm a child psychology major at Stanford University… my favorite color is green…" she stopped and he secretly thanked god. Why did I say green? She closed her eyes and his eyes swam across her mind. Oh that's why…

"If you're done I have to take a shower…" He began to pull off his clothes and he heard her yelp. "What now?" He turned, his pants unbuckled and his shirt open. He began to pull his shirt the rest of the way off, his undershirt clinging to ever muscle on his abdomen.

"Not in front of me!" She protested. He sighed heavily.

"Then close your eyes, I'm not going to let my clothes get wet in the bathroom…" he pulled his undershirt off and gently folded it, pressing it into the bed on top of his neatly folded jacket, vest and shirt. He methodically pulled off his belt, curling it up and then began to remove his suit pants.

"Stop!" He paused again and turned towards her as he set his pants on the bed.

"Fine… I'll take my underwear off in the bathroom…" again his eye twitched his methods were being interrupted because he didn't want any trouble, after all, if she screamed… he would be in trouble that he didn't want to be in.

"Why do you undress outside the bathroom?"

"Steam causes wrinkling and wear…" he replied before picking up a small bundle and walking into the small bathroom. "If that door opens… I will not hesitate to kill you…" he lifted his eyebrows and pointed at the door. She felt her skin bristle as he shut the door.

"Nyaa…" she stuck her tongue out at the door. "Hmm…" she walked over to the suitcase on the bed and began to lift things out. She pulled out several neatly folded suits but that was about it. She ran her fingers around the inside of the case and found a button. She pressed it and watched a compartment open. "Hehehe… I'm not stupid ya'know…" she pursed her lips and began to rummage around in the papers. "Name… Ulq… heh?" She spun around as she heard the bathroom door open.

"THAT'S IT! THAT IS IT!" He stormed out of the bathroom, his black hair plastered to his head, a towel tied around his waist. "You are going to pay for that one!" He grabbed her wrist and twisted her harshly away from the case, she slammed into the wall and tumbled to the floor.

"Ouch…" he grabbed her and yanked her across the room, causing her to stumble into a table and smack into the chair.

"SIT!" He shoved her into the wooden chair and began to tie her hands. "That bastard is going to pay for this…" he tied her to the chair then tied her ankles to the legs of the chair. "Now stay put…" he hissed before he tied the rope to her hands to the TV stand. She glared at him as he walked over, closed the case and returned to the bathroom.

"Darn…" she hung her head. "He's quick…"