Title: Knocking, Rattling, Shaking
Characters: Orihime, Ulquiorra
Summary: I am not afraid, she tells herself.
Pairings: None
Rating: K+
Genres: Angst, Suspense
Warnings/Spoilers: Spoilers for Hueco Mundo arc
Timeline: Hueco Mundo arc
Author's Note: Nothing to report.
Word Count: 100
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
The knock on her door is familiar, so familiar, all too familiar.
Orihime stands immediately, stiff-backed and rigid and brittle as a dying pine tree, fists clenching and fingernails biting viciously into her skin, so hard that every time she expects to draw black jewel-drops of blood.
The sand blows at her feet, and she screws her eyes shut. Her stomach ties itself into Gordian knots and undoes itself again, repeating the process within seconds. She feels nauseous; blood roars in her ears.
I am not afraid, she tells herself. I am not afraid.
Just as she always tells herself.
