I've been busy writing the remaining chapters of this fic! There will probably be about ten more chapters, and I have half of them written and am working on the rest. Thanks very much for reading, here's to some quicker updates!

I need your loving

Like the sunshine

Everybody's gotta learn sometime

Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime - Beck

Change Your Heart

The bell rang, and students leapt up and started chattering, squabbling, packing up their things. Ishida-san strolled over to Orihime's desk as she swept up her pens into her pencil case.

"Are you ready for the test, Inoue-san?" he asked, leaning on the table in front of her.

"I think so, Ishida-san!" she replied happily. "But are you?" she challenged, pointing finger guns at him.

He rubbed the side of his head, blood glistening down his face. "Maybe. I'm not sure."

She blinked. The evening wind gently swept past her, and her eyes watered at the juxtaposition between the black night sky and the convenience store's glaring neon. She could hear Kuchiki-san and Kurosaki-kun yelling and fighting in the distance. "Ah," Orihime said, disappointed and surprised at how realistic this dream felt. The ground shook slightly as some lumbering hollow crashed along Karakura town, and it was hard to believe how scared she used to be of those howling, monstrous creatures. There was only one fear now, impossible to surmount: the terror that her friends would die.

"I'm worried about you guys," Orihime said softly. "I am only surviving by chance."

"You should give yourself more credit, Inoue-san," Ishida disagreed, frowning at her as he shifted his grocery bag from one hand to the other. "And you can't give up on us yet." A huge crash erupted from the direction where Kuchiki-san and Kurosaki-kun were fighting, and she could hear Kurosaki-kun's angry yell and Kuchiki-san's teasing taunts. "You hear that idiot, there's no way we're going out without a fight, Inoue-san."

She gave him a small smile, crossing her arms to contain her worry. He walked over to pat her shoulder awkwardly, and she looked ahead as their shadows stretched long across the pavement, sun setting warmly and brightly behind them. Tatsuki-chan and Keigo-san were running around on the school field, Kuchiki-san feigning girl-talk with classmates. The orange glow of the sunset looked so warm but she could feel the chill in her lower spine, the pain in her arms. "Can you see him, Ishida-san?"

He looked at her uneasily, glancing quickly behind her. "Since the start."

She smiled, and then a ragged sob escaped her throat, tears streaming down her face. "I can't do this," she cried, crouching and hugging her knees in despair. "How can I do this without Kurosaki-kun? Without anyone?" Face blurred before her: Kuchiki-san, Kurosaki-kun, Ishida-san, but Orihime knew it wasn't real. Her world had only one other person in it now. She could hear his footsteps approaching. Breathe, she willed herself as she could hear him behind her. Focus. Closer to her. Remember. In front of her.

Her eyes flashed open. It was dark but she could see him perfectly, green eyes startled at how quickly she had woken. Her cheeks were dry and her voice was silent. It's time. Do it. She smiled at him, conceding. "Hello, Ulquiorra," she said quietly. The Espada nodded at her, approving and oblivious.

"Inoue Orihime," he acknowledged.