Ichigo stumbled backwards, liquor slowing his motor abilities. His fist was still balled in an offensive position, warmed up and ready to go.
"And what do you think you're doing, kissing someone other than Orihime?" slurred Ichigo, eyebrow cocked. "I knew you were shit, Grimmjow."
Grimmjow's eyes were wide with irate incredulity, before a maniacal grin spread across his face, and he began guffawing.
"I was hoping you'd give me a reason to beat the shit out of you!" he said, cracking his knuckles. "I've always hated you, Kurosaki."
Around them, partygoers began to discern the emergent tension in the room, someone chanting "fight!" repetitively until it became a communal vocal. The two men circled each other like a pair of vultures over carrion until Grimmjow threw the first punch, which Ichigo just barely sidestepped, the side of Grimmjow's knuckle grazing his cheek. Though, with Ichigo's head going in the other direction, it unavoidably met with Grimmjow's other fist, head-on. His punch sent Ichigo sprawling backwards, into Nnoitra, who bounced him back into the imaginary fighting ring with ease.
"Come on, Ichigo!" shouted Sado from the sidelines. Rukia and Uryu also stood there, yelling reinforcement at him.
The two continued to throw punches at one another, both men being fairly bruised up. Grimmjow's smirk remained throughout the duel, until Ichigo hit him right in the gut, sending him down to the ground. The crowd of people booed loudly until the bluenette sprung back onto two feet. People cheered as he regained his posture.
"C'mon Kurosaki, I dare you to hit me again!" he spat, blood trickling from his nose. "I triple-fucking-doggy-dare you!"
In the other room, Orihime waited for a while, watching the other occupants of the kitchen come and go. She finished her drink and checked the clock on her phone; at least 15 minutes had passed. She sighed, sitting down on the stool she had pulled from underneath the countertop. She figured at this point she would go and look for Grimmjow. She was hesitant at first, not knowing very many people in the roomy frat house, but she had gotten tired of waiting. Stepping out of the kitchen, she heard a commotion down the hall. The loud noises weren't new, in fact, she was sure her hearing would be fuzzy in the morning after such a rowdy party. Coming around the corner, she struggled to see over the mass of people crowding the room. From what people were shouting, it seemed like someone was… fighting. Curious, she pushed through the thick, sweaty throng of people. The impenetrable scent of alcohol almost floored her, she wasn't sure if it was the atmosphere or the drink that gave her the buzz. Finally cutting through the mass of young adults, she was surprised – to some extent – to see who was duking it out.
"Ichigo? Grimmjow?" she said in confusion, her voice lost in the uproar. "What the hell are you doing?"
Grimmjow's ears perked up to her curse, head turning to see Orihime. Ichigo took this as an opportunity to strike his obviously beefier opponent, cricking his neck. Grimmjow shook it off, touching his face as if he were unsure the punch had really happened. Ichigo threw another punch, to which Grimmjow responded to by moving slightly. He avoided the ginger's punch while still moving forward, in one fluid motion. His arm pulled back before nailing Ichigo, hard in the jaw. It cracked softly under the pressure of his fist, sending him staggering backwards.
Ichigo roared, infuriated. He charged forward, to which his blue-haired opponent chuckled at. He extended his fist fully, confident in his punch, but to his surprise, Ichigo shifted his weight at the last second. He moved around the messy flurry of punches before punching Grimmjow, hitting him in the solar plexus. Grimmjow halted, bending over in pain, obviously winded. Ichigo kneed him in the jaw, making Grimmjow fold in on himself.
"Hey, Grimmjow," called Nnoitra over the crowd, "Stop being a pussy and kick this guy's ass so I don't have to."
Grimmjow slowly but surely regained his posture, growling wrathfully. Ichigo shook off the pain, smirking victoriously.
"Yo, that's it," growled Grimmjow, "You're gonna die, got that? Here and now."
"Okay there, big guy," taunted Ichigo. "Come at me."
Grimmjow roared as he rushed at Ichigo, hitting him square in the jaw once more. Ichigo could taste blood, and wondered vaguely if he had lost a tooth. He reeled back.
Orihime stepped out to interfere and mediate, but she felt someone grasp her arm.
"Hey, girl, can't let ya do that," said Nnoitra, not taking his eyes off the fight. "You gotta let Grimmjow finish this; otherwise he'll lose it on ya. No matter how fuckin' special you are."
Orihime grumbled, before shaking him off. She stepped out into the fray, watching the two boys at battle, who paid no attention to her.
"Ichigo, Grimmjo-!"
Ichigo nailed Grimmjow with a right hook, sending him flying sideways. Unfortunately, this meant he ended up knocking skulls with Orihime. Grimmjow fell right into Orihime's face, sending her back into Nnoitra.
"FUCK!" she cried, grasping at her nose desperately. If anyone had been sober, they would've been shocked to hear such a curse word in Orihime's delicate voice. She pushed through the crowd, back towards the hallway. People remained engrossed in the ongoing fight, paying no mind to her. She looked down at her hands, which were now covered in blood. Frowning as she walked upstairs to the bathroom, she silently hoped her nose wasn't broken.
In the dark hallway, she searched for the bathroom, cursing Ichigo and Grimmjow's stupidity, and their immaturity. Her nose throbbed; Orihime thanked the alcohol she had consumed. This would hurt a lot more tomorrow morning.
With one hand fumbling around with the doorknob and the other plugging her nose, she opened the door to the bathroom. Behind the door were Keigo and that green haired girl he had been chatting up earlier, although, she looked a lot different with her lips glued to Keigo's. It took a second, but when she realized that the door had been opened, the girl screamed. She pulled away from Keigo, and with evident thought and hesitation, she slapped him before rushing out of the bathroom. Keigo looked confused for a moment.
"God damnit," said Keigo, shuffling his feet, before fully noticing Orihime. "Shit, what happened to your face?!"
"Just a little accident," she muttered, "Do you mind?"
Keigo nodded and made way for her in the bathroom, leaving the door slightly open behind him. Orihime first started by washing her hands. She wiped away the blood on her face with dampened tissue paper, tossed it in the trash bin, and then grabbed some dry tissues. She twisted them up into cotton spires and deftly stuck them in her nostrils. Mid-way through putting the last one in her nose, the door opened again.
"What are you doing here?"
Ulquiorra stood in the frame of the door, wearing nothing but a loose pair of pyjama pants. Orihime was surprised to see him above anything, but felt heat rising in her face – and it wasn't the alcohol.
"And what are you stuffing into your nose?"
Orihime brought a hand up to her head, scratching her scalp as she searched for the right words.
"Well, er, I was invited to this party, and I, um, walked into a wall," she said, embarrassed. "Now I'm trying to patch up my nose, I guess."
Ulquiorra moved closer to her, closing the door behind him.
"You're making a mess up here, and wasting tissue paper," he said blankly, before reaching out to her. "Let me fix it. You look horrible."
Orihime blanched slightly at his comment. He bent, pulled a dark cloth from the cabinet beneath the sink, and dampened it. He wiped around her nose gently, before placing it in the laundry hamper. He tilted her chin for a closer inspection.
"I didn't think you went to parties," she spoke.
"I don't."
"Well, what are you doing here?"
"I live here."
A light went off in Orihime's head. Shock spread across her face, and understanding flashed in her eyes.
"So this is your frat house?" she asked warily. Ulquiorra paid no mind to what she was saying as he pinched the bridge of her nose. "Who else is in your fraternity?"
He finished inspecting her face, and gently tilted her chin upwards so she was at eye-level with him. Pink tinged her cheeks.
"Nnoitra Gilga, Szayelapporo Granz, Coyote Starrk, and –"
Suddenly, the door flew open. An irate, bloody Grimmjow stood in the doorway, holding his own nose.
"What the fuck is going on in here?"
