Orihime walked into her apartment, just in time to see perhaps the strangest thing she had ever come across; and she had seen some fairly strange things in the recent year or so.
"This is Hitsugaya Toshiro, Captain of Squad 10."
"Yes, sir! I'll connect you right away!"
The large television-like object sparked a few times, and the static screen began to show an image of the Captain-Commander, taking Orihime by surprise.
"Cap...Captain-Commander-san?"
The Captain-Commander ignored her, speaking directly to Hitsugaya. "You've finished dthe job quickly. Just what I've come to expect of you, Hitsugaya-taichou. There is only one reason for having you so urgently set up this line. Aizen Sousuke's true objective has been made clear."
This took everyone, Hitsugaya, Matsumoto, as well as Orihime by surprise. "Aizen's.. true objective!?"
Yamamoto nodded. "Indeed."
Orihime blinked, then started to turn and leave. "Um.. This sounds kind of important, so I'll just step outside!" she said as she reached for the door. She was stopped by Yamamoto, who told her to stay and listen. She swallowed and nodded. "Yes, sir."
Orihime thought about what was said the evening before. She was growing more and more concerned with the passing events; and Ichigo was still not back from wherever he was. It had been two days since she had last seen Ulquiorra; but that was not so strange, and even a relief.
"Why am I thinking about him now?" Orihime demanded of herself. He was frightening, that was true. But he did not seem.. evil. Not like the first one she had fought, or the ones that had come to Karakura Town. Of course, he was evil, he had to be. He just did not seem.. malicious. Orihime shook her head, ridding herself of the thoughts. She stood up from her spot on the balcony.
She needed to find Ichigo.
That would be the easy part. Orihime was excellent at finding and following reiatsu; and it did not take long for her to detect the faintest hint of Ichigo's spiritual pressure. Feeling a bit more at ease, she followed it. It became stronger as she walked, until it led her down a street that seemed deserted; as if no one had ventured near it for a long time. Orihime stopped, as if unsure now, but she swallowed and kept going, eventually arriving at a building.
"A barrier..." she said quietly. She looked around; no animals were going near it. They could not. But she could, she knew, somehow, that she could get through it. She placed a hand on it timidly. It's like my Shun Shun Rikka... she thought as she gently slid her hand through the barrier. When she opened her eyes, her face was set with determination and she finally slipped through the barrier, not shattering it or destroying it.
On the other side, she stumbled a bit from surprise. "Oh wow! I didn't think I could get in so easily! But still, that's a pretty amazing barrier!" Orihime straightened and smiled, her eyebrows raised and her hopes high once more. "Alright!" she said, clenching her fist. "Let's find Kurosaki-kun!"
Orihime looked around. "But.. which way do I go?" The building she had entered was, for the most part, one large room, with stairs leading up to an open loft. She looked around and scratched her head, starting her search. "Kurosaki-kun? Kurosaki-kun!" she asked the silence.
"Hmm, that's strange! I know I sense his reiatsu around here!" Orihime continued searching, and near the back of the room, finally found something interesting. A staircase, leading down, far down, similar to Urahara's shop. She swallowed hard. "That must be it!" Without anymore hesitation, she started down the stairs.
When she arrived, she was met by a group of people she had never seen. Well, Shinji was there.. Though she was not quite sure how she felt about seeing Shinji there. "Ah.. eheh," was all she managed to voice when they turned to look at her.
"A human!?" they said, almost together.
Orihime rubbed the back of her head, still unsure of what to say. Then she heard someone shout Ichigo's name, and she turned around in time to see the orange-haired shinigami fly towards the ground. "Kurosaki-kun!!"
Ichigo looked up. "Inoue?"
"Kurosaki-kun! I have to tell you something! It's important!" Orihime ran towards him, only to be blocked by a small girl with a mask on the side of her head.
"Hey! You think you can just waltz in here and pull Ichigo from his training! Don't think so, Princess!"
"H-Hiyori-san!?" Orihime said, remembering her name from their previous encounter. She laughed nervously, remembering how the girl threatened to kill her if it had not been for Shinji. I guess I still haven't properly thanked Shinji-kun yet, Orihime thought. She turned towards Shinji, bowing. "Shinji-kun! Thank you for the other day! I forgot to tell you!"
Shinji raised an eyebrow, and Hiyori slammed her foot into the side of Orihime's face. "Don't turn around when I'm talking to you!"
Orihime fell to the ground, holding her cheek. "Ow! That hurt, Hiyori-san!"
At this point, Ichigo had stood up, and walked over to Hiyori. He picked her up by the jacket and turned her to face him. "Oi. Don't treat my friends like that," he said, then unceremoniously dropped Hiyori to the ground and went to Orihime. "What was it you had to tell me?"
Orihime looked up. "Ah.. Oh, yes! It's about Aizen-san!"
Aizen sat, as always, in his throne of Hueco Mundo. He had summoned Ulquiorra, intending to hold the Espada to his promise. As Ulquiorra entered the Throne Room, he bowed, as always.
"Ulquiorra, it's time to set my plan into motion. I have that job for you," Aizen narrowed his eyes but never lost his smile, "unless you are wanting me to entrust it to someone else?"
The Arrancar bowed again. "Of course not, Aizen-sama." He gazed up at Aizen with emerald eyes that held no emotion, but his mind was fuming. He already knew what Aizen was planning. And Aizen probably knew that Ulquiorra suspected. Aizen knew everything that happened in Las Noches, as well as the World of the Living. He knew the object of Ulquiorra's fascination, and choosing the Cuarto to do this assignment was both a punishment, and a test of loyalty.
Ulquiorra was torn. He had never been confused, and he hated not knowing what his soul wanted. On one hand, he did not want to have to be the one to carry out Aizen's orders. On the other hand, he could not entrust her to anyone else. Instead, he mildly and obediently awaited his Lord's command.
Aizen closed his eyes for a moment in a kind of nod. "Very well. I wish you to pay a visit to someone for me... It's been too long since Las Noches has had a guest."
AN: Oh my Aizen! Finally the plot begins! With my previous story it went fairly fast; I was working with a limited time frame in the anime/manga, so it was actually easier. Since I began Heart right were WYWG left off, I felt like I had to give a few chapters of intro. Things should speed up from here, I may have to do several time jumps, but hopefully not too many!
Please continue! And thank you!
