A/N: Just so you all know, the story is rated T for now but future chapters will definitely be bumped up to M (because there will be saucy lemons!). But for now we have some good, kinda clean, fun.
"So, Ulquiorra... How is Orihime adjusting?"
The raven haired espada looked up at Aizen. He was sitting on in his white armchair, smiling thoughtfully. Aizen's reiatsu was so strong that is smothered Ulquiorra's to almost nothing. Hands deep inside his pockets, he bowed down.
"The woman is very moody. On rare occasions is she upbeat, but most of the time she switches between despair and anger," replied Ulquiorra.
Aizen chuckled. "She's not quite as sweet as her appearance would lead us to believe."
"Indeed," said Ulquiorra. Understatement of the year, he mused silently. "Although her insubordinate behavior has subsided with her time here."
"Precisely as I expected," nodded Aizen. He watched Ulquiorra, grinning. "The reason I asked you here today is I have something I want you to think about."
"I know you are very terse and most likely don't spend time with the woman. But, I think it would be a good idea to talk to her. Feel out her intellect, discover her vulnerabilities," said Aizen.
"Yes, sir."
Aizen rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Now that she has adjusted to living here, I think it is time we make use of her powers. But first we must learn the best ways to manipulate her. That's where you step in, Ulquiorra."
"I will do my best, Aizen-sama," replied Ulquiorra. He looked expectantly up at Aizen.
The brown haired man nodded. "Good to hear. For tomorrow afternoon, however, I have a mission for you. There is something very important that needs attending to that I will only entrust to an espada as fine as yourself. The details are still very muddy so I will fill you in tomorrow, just be ready."
"I shall be back after I fetch the woman's breakfast to discuss it with you further," the espada replied.
"Very good. And Ulquiorra?"
The green eyed espada turned back around to face Aizen, gazing up expectantly. "Yes master?"
"I quite enjoyed our little chat. Feel free to report to me more often," he replied with a warm smile. But Aizen's smirk held more than just kindness, anybody who witnessed him grinning could tell that he was an evil mastermind with something cruel and twisted in mind.
"Yes, sir," replied Ulquiorra shortly. He swiftly exited the room, coattails swishing behind him
Orihime's feet didn't quite reach the floor when she dangled them off the edge of the bed. This didn't matter much to her considering how icy the marble floor was against her warm skin. The girl stood up and began to pace her cell. Her feet were numb with cold, but she disliked the tiny black flats that were provided to her so she walked around barefoot.
There wasn't too much to look at in Orihime's room, just some white furniture arranged in a minimalist style. She missed the bright colors and flashy patterns of her own bedroom. Orihime longed to go home and sink down into her fluffy, purple bed. The longer she waited patiently for rescue, the more that the small bubble of hope inside of her shrunk. It had already been almost a month, why did it seem like all of her friends were doing nothing about her kidnapping?
She looked up when the lock clicked softly, and Grimmjow Jagerjacques threw open the door.
"Hey, woman, how's it going?" he asked, entering the room. Orihime glanced at the white shards of mask on the right side of his jawbone, which always bore the appearance of a maniacal grin similar to the one Grimmjow was sporting on his lips. Her eyes traveled down to his exposed abdomen, where she could see straight through his hollow hole.
"I, uh, I'm fine," replied Orihime.
Grimmjow laughed. "Like I care," he snorted, dropping Orihime's tray of food so roughly that some of the tea spilled out of the porcelain mug. The lunch was a chicken breast, white rice, and some assorted vegetables that seemed to be drained of almost all of their color.
"That bastard Ulquiorra is lucky, getting to come in here and check you out all the time. Although your tits would be much nicer if you actually ate," said Grimmjow, giving Orihime a once over. She bit down on her lower lip, trying not to appear fazed. It would only make Grimmjow taunt her more.
What he said held some truth though, Orihime had dropped weight since arriving at Las Noches. Being served nothing but horrifically unappetizing food had withered her figure down. Orihime could count each of her ribs when she sucked in.
"Where is Ulquiorra-san today?" asked Orihime.
Grimmjow sneered a little bit. "He's out on a mission that should have been mine. Fuck him, he always gets the missions."
The red haired girl could hear Grimmjow's loathing for the fourth espada drip maliciously in every word he spoke about the other man.
" Besides, Aizen has been keeping tabs on me ever since I almost killed your precious little Ichigo," growled Grimmjow. Orihime flinched when he mentioned Ichigo.
"What happened with Kurosaki-san?" asked Orihime, curiosity getting the best of her. She immediately regretted it as his smile faded.
Grimmjow leaned in close to her face. So close that Orihime could feel his cold, inhuman breath brushing past her cheeks. "I would tell you, woman, but you wouldn't like the things I have to say," he said darkly. Grimmjow raised his eyebrows suggestively.
Orihime felt overwhelmed with sadness. She tried to keep her expression impassive for Grimmjow, thinking of Ulquiorra and how he always appeared emotionless.
"Stand still, woman," ordered Grimmjow. He walked around to her backside. Orihime squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself.
Grimmjow grabbed her butt. "Looks like your ass is small too, such a shame. No wonder that puny orange haired shinigami won't have you!" he taunted, throwing back his head in laughter. Orihime bowed her head down so that her bangs fell into her eyes, still biting down on her lip so hard she feared it might split open.
The rage building inside Orihime was immeasurable. She could barely constrain the urge to lash out at Grimmjow, but she knew that he would surely strike her back. Or even worse.
The blue haired espada wiped tears from the corners of his eyes. "Whew, I guess I'd better get going. There are a thousand places around this castle better than here," he said.
After Grimmjow finally left, Orihime sat down on her oversized white couch and sighed loudly. It was as comfortable as having a rest on a pile of plywood, but she could bear it.
Orihime folded her hands in her lap and sighed a little louder. She had tried to pry information about her friends out of Ulquiorra, and now Grimmjow, but her efforts appeared to be futile.
Maybe they hadn't come to rescue her because they marked her as a traitor. Ulquiorra had made it seem like she came to Hueco Mundo of her own free will, maybe everybody truly believed that she had turned to the dark side
Orihime sat in the porcelain bathtub, hugging her knees. Her sopping wet hair cascaded down her chest and floated on top of the soapy water. The girl quite enjoyed that Ulquiorra allowed her to use one of the third floor bathrooms for a change, for they were much nicer than the ones in the servants' quarters.
The bathroom was large and dimly lit with candles, a stark contrast to the blindingly white hallways. Every splash of the water and contented sigh that escaped Orihime's lips echoed off of the immaculate ivory tiles lining the walls and floor.
She relaxed her eyes and breathed in the sweet, fresh, scent of the soap. Being there put her mind more at ease than it had been ever since the kidnapping. The sensuality of the situation almost, almost made Orihime forget that she was being held prisoner by Sosuke Aizen.
Ulquiorra knocked on the door. "Woman, are you almost finished?"
"Yeah, um gimme a few minutes," chirped back Orihime. She rubbed soap up and down her forearms, scrubbing the skin clean and washing it off. She savored the hot, bubbly water.
Orihime's skin glistened in the candle light. She enjoyed her solitude in the bathroom much more than in her cell. Arrancars couldn't barge in to torment her, and the room was warm and sweet smelling.
She leaned back in the tub and breathed easily. The steam rising off the hot bath water was ultimately calming, and Orihime began to doze off.
"Woman!" called out Ulquiorra. "Get out now or I'm coming in to get you."
"Oh!" squealed Orihime, snapping back into consciousness so abruptly that she banged her head on the porcelain bathtub, causing a wave of water to splash onto the floor. She hopped out of the tub and wrapped a fluffy white towel around her waist just as Ulquiorra entered the room.
"Ulquiorra-san! Sorry, I fell asleep!" she blurted out, cheeks flushing crimson as she clutched the towel tightly against her sopping wet body. It covered her body from high up on her thigh to just barely above her breasts.
Ulquiorra looked down at her luscious body and felt a warmth in the pit of his stomach. His eyes widened for just a moment.
Recovering quickly, he scoffed and looked Orihime in the eyes. "Was it an error of my judgment to trust your word? That was much longer than a few minutes."
"I told you, I fell asleep. It's just so nice in here," replied Orihime with a nervous laugh. She twirled a strand of hair around her finger. "I like this bathroom much better. Thank you for bringing me here."
"Dress yourself immediately, woman. My patience wears thin."
"Yes sir!" replied Orihime. She watched intently as Ulquiorra turned to face the opposite wall. His hands were still deep in his pockets, posture upright.
Orihime let the towel slide to the slippery, soaked floor, flipping her hair back before pulling on her arrancar robes. She dressed quickly, writing the wetness out of her hair before moving to stand with Ulquiorra.
"Let's go, it's almost dinner time," he said.
"Hai," replied Orihime. The two of them set off down the winding corridor with high-vaulted ceilings and gothic style windows.
"You may be interested to know that a small group of your little friends have invaded Hueco Mundo. Most likely in pursuit of you," said Ulquiorra tonelessly.
"Omigod! They're coming for me after all!" exclaimed Orihime. "I was afraid that everybody thought I was a traitor."
Ulquiorra nodded. "That was the idea, however, it seems a handful who know you well weren't persuaded. You shouldn't be quite so excited as you should be anxious."
"What do you mean?" replied Orihime. She glanced up at Ulquiorra's perpetually grim expression.
"They will all be dead soon. You think Aizen-sama will let any of them live after they invaded our territory?"
"My friends are stronger than you think!" snapped back Orihime.
Ulquiorra had grown quite accustomed to Orihime's volatile temperament. He simply scoffed and walked on in silence. She is very touchy about the subject of her friends, he noted mentally.
"I know Ichigo is coming. Probably Rukia and Sado, too! Ishida would come and save me," babbled Orihime.
A muscle in Ulquiorra's jaw twitched. "Let me assure you, woman, I will not for one moment entertain the notion that any of your friends will make it out of here a live. Consider yourself lucky that you will not have to witness any of these trivial executions," he said solemnly.
A swarm of angry thoughts ran rampant through Orihime's mind, yet she didn't speak a word. Whenever she held a conversation with Ulquiorra, the intensity of his speech and mannerisms was overwhelming. She wanted so badly to reject everything around her, to stay strong and not believe a single word, but she found such a thing impossible with Ulquiorra.
They walked down flights of pristine staircases and down winding corridors back to Orihime's cell in silence. Ulquiorra held the door open.
"You're wrong about my friends, I just know it," said Orihime defiantly before retreating into her bedroom.
Ulquiorra slid the door shut and locked the door. "I will be back in one hour with dinner. You had better be finished with your childish antics by then.
A/N: Please take the time to leave me a review and let me know what you think, I appreciate each and every one.