A throbbing headache raged inside of Orihime's head as she finally stirred from sleep. She groaned, irritation forming as she tried ignoring the pain developing in her head. Her fingers got to work massaging her temple in order to ease the ache away.
"Sleep well, Hime-chan?" She looked up at the nickname, catching sight of Lilynette perched on the arm of a sofa. Her singular eye lingered on Orihime for a bit before closing, a smile spreading across her face. "You certainly slept like a baby!"
Orihime felt a blush come on. "Oh, sorry." She sat up, looking sheepish. "Was I snoring too loud?"
"Nah, I was just messing with you!" Lilynette jumped over, landing right in front of her. "You weren't even out that long. Glad you're up, though. Starrk was boring me."
"Huh… where is Coyote-kun, anyway?"
"He leefft. I guess I was boring him too. He didn't say anything when he walked out, so I don't know if he's coming back or what."
Orihime made a slight noise in confirmation, eyes looking in the direction of the door. She saw the telltale lighting of the door being accessed, the swooshing open to reveal the Primera Espada himself. She yelped at the close proximity, although it didn't stop her from crashing into his chest.
"Whoa! Are you all right, Orihime?" His hands caught her by the arms, steadying her.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine." She noticed her hands were planted on his chest, quickly amending the action by backing away. "Uh, I didn't know you were coming back so soon."
He stared at her for a moment before answering. "I was just confirming a few things." He stared across the room, probably at Lilynette, when he next turned back to her. "Are you well enough to go walking?" Her hand subconsciously lifted to her head.
"Starrk! Come on! She just woke up!"
His eyes shifted over to Lilynette after her outburst. He lowered his head, sighing. "You're right. Sorry about that. I'll be back."
He turned to leave, stopping in place when he felt the back of his uniform bunch up in place. "Wait, don't go." The pleading in her tone confessed him to turn back. His breath hitched when he caught on to her large doe eyes looking pleadingly at him. "You just got back! Do you have to go?" He sighed.
"No, I don't." He turned back around, placing a hand on top of her head, ruffling her hair. "I can stay if you want."
She shook her head. "No, I've been inside a lot. You said you can take me out for a little bit?" He nodded. "Then I can come with you."
"Hime-chan, are you sure?" Lilynette walked up beside the two, looking up at them. Orihime nodded.
"Sure. I won't feel better if I just stay cooped up in here." The blonde arched a brow.
"Feel better? See you don't feel all right!"
"Well, I really would like to finish the tour around Las Noches. I mean, it's because of me that it got interrupted anyway…"
Starrk gave her a look. "Do you regret what you did?"
With a fierce shake of her head, she answered. "No, no, of course not!"
To her surprise, he smiled. A rather faint one, but it was plain on his face. "Glad to hear it."
"Is it really a good idea to go out right now, though?"
"Lilynette, I thought you'd be the first to jump at the opportunity to leave."
"You know, what I mean." Her sole pink eye stared hard into her partner's eyes. He frowned.
"What's wrong?" Starrk shook his head before responding to the human's question.
"It's nothing. Don't worry about it. We can still do this. Orihi- Ow!"
Lilynette put more pressure into her foot, stepping harder on Starrk's foot. He bended forward, his head dipping down to the girl's level. In the next moment, he strengthen up, a grim look on his face. Nevertheless, the smile from before returned to his face. "Like I said, let's go." Lilynette huffed, throwing her hands in the air and stomping outside. Orihime held out a hand after her, but another hand caught her wrist.
"Don't worry about it." He moved her hand towards his general direction. A clicking sound rang from her hand as he moved it towards his face –
Clicking?
"Huh? When did that get there?" Her eyes fell on the thin form of a bracelet on her wrist. She pulled her hand back, wondering why it looked so familiar. "Wait a minute, isn't this…"
She recalled when Ulquiorra came with a change of clothes – the Arrancar uniform she wore now – she had removed the gadget. Up to now, she believed she had placed next to a table in the room, although she hadn't seen ever since.
"Oh, I found it lying around. I thought it would fit with your clothes so I slipped it on. Is there something wrong with that?" Starrk asked pulling her hand back his way.
"No, I thought I lost it, is all." A moment passed and Starrk let her hand go. "Um, I didn't know what to do with it, so I held on to it here…"
Starrk hummed in confirmation, walking out into the hallway. His fingers flicked towards him in a gesture demanding her to move. She hesitated, feeling a slight dizzy spell pass over her. Nonetheless, she moved forward. The hall was the same as before, the white walls as spotless as before, the black floor reflecting the image of those standing on it. She watched her legs and its shadow moved on the floor until she caught with another pair of legs.
"Are you all right, Hime?"
"…I'm fine." Her hand reached to her warm forehead. The halls were all the same, and yet she felt so out of place standing in the midst of the likeness. She closed her eyes for a moment taking in some deep breathes. From beyond her shut lids, past the darkness she saw a shimmer of light flickering, reaching for her. A soft cool touch made contact with her hand, a tiny touch she felt some time before. Just a moment after she recalled, a refreshing wave swept through her. It took away some form of weight of her. She didn't even realize how heavy she felt until it came off of her.
The next moment she opened her eyes. The pointed end of a horn met her sight. Following the extended bone led her to eye of Lilynette. The girl Arrancar looked up at her with a little bit of concern.
"You sure you don't want to go back to the room, Hime?" Orihime met her look with a reassuring smile, a hand reaching for her covered head.
"I'm fine. In fact, I'm feeling better now."
Lilynette looked at the human weirdly, but decided against pushing it. If she were being honest with herself, she was glad Orihime left. She didn't like remaining in one place for too long – she could blame Starrk for that – so she was looking forward to ditching the place for a little bit.
"Hey, Hime, you up for a game?" The human turned to her at full attention, nodding in agreement. Lilynette grinned. "Great. It's called 'Hiding away from the Starrk.'"