It was an understatement to say that Orihime hadn't wanted to be her when she had arrived. She missed her friends and family but it would be a lie to say that she hadn't found comfort in two very unlikely friends. UIquiorra and Grimmjow had become two as-solid-as-can-be-for-who-they-were companions, ones that Orihime never fully trusted but had taken solace in having them around.
Orihime had been more than unnerved the first time Grimmjow had stopped by her private space in order to check up on her; he had made it abundantly clear that he was solely interested in the abilities she had, especially after she had been able to restore the entirety of his missing arm and untarnished his prized six. For the first month that she had been there every visit he had made revolved round questioning her on what she could do and at some point in time, she wasn't sure exactly when it had happened, he began asking her questions about her.
"What's your favorite color?" Orihime blinked once, twice. She had been in the middle of reading a book UIquiorra had brought her from the world of the living, but with the sudden question her hand stilled. Orihime looked at the man laying on her bed, it had not taken his long to make himself comfortable in her corridors; Grimmjow's legs dangled over the side of the bed one foot placed on the knee of the other leg, his left arm tucked underneath his head while his right arm was placed limply on his stomach. She blinked again, not comprehending his question.
"I'm sorry," then she had asked, "what?"
He lifted his head up enough to giver her a once over and then dropping it down, "What's your favorite color?"
Orihime had felt nervous at his sudden interest in something so ordinary. She hadn't known what to say to him so she asked, "Why?"
Grimmjow shrugged and she could tell that he didn't even understand his sudden interests. "You've been wearing white and black since you got here and I don't know," he had said, "it just doesn't seem like you." She didn't know what to say and she was thankful when he had continued on, "I just think brighter colors would suit you better."
Orihime didn't feel like she should have to explain to him that she wore black and white because those were the colors of Hueco Mundo and she had been forced to wear them, that she had not been given a choice on the matter of the clothes she wore. That yes, she did prefer brighter colors but it had been made a point to strip her of the clothes she wore to come here. So instead she said, "I'm fine in this."
That had just been the start. Grimmjow had wanted to know little things about her like her favorite time of the year or her favorite book or when her birthday was or what she had done for fun before coming here. Soon, though, his questions began getting more personal. He wanted to know her favorite memory and who her first kiss had been with and who was her crush because he knew it was the stupid orange haired bastard. At first Orihime hadn't known how to respond to all his questions and she wasn't sure if it was because she was blindsided by his sudden interest or because she had been in Hueco Mundo far too long and just couldn't remember even the smallest details of who she was.
It had taken an off handed remark from UIquiorra about how she had changed for her to realize that she wasn't the girl she once was anymore. Orihime had realized for the first time that she was now a caged woman, trapped in a room and lead around by an invisible leash if she ever stepped out from her lodgings —it felt too weird to refer to the room as her own. Even with the strangeness of Grimmjow's overwhelming presence becoming somewhat routine nothing had prepared her for when UIquiorra had become as considerate as UIquiorra could be.
"You've been sighing a lot today." The comment from UIquiorra had caused Orihime to sigh once again. "Whats wrong?" Orihime had laughed at the question in her head before the idea of it became so funny that she was even laughing out loud. UIquiorra looked at her in a way Orihime could only describe as confused as he asked her again.
"It's nothing," she had said. Now that her dinner had been delivered and he had completed his mission she fully expected him to turn in leave as he always did, both of them far past the point of their comments to one another. Orihime was surprised by his still form still standing in the doorway, waiting for an answer. She sighed, again, "It's really nothing," she said, "I was just thinking about the sun and fresh air."
And from there he had started to take her feelings into consideration, not often but on days that were particularly hard he would knock at her door —knowing that she had requested that one of her first days here, he had begun to bring her books —even allowing her to request a few, he'd take her out on walks, and on days that Grimmjow didn't come UIquiorra would come in all his quietness to keep her company.
Orihime had never been much of a liar so it was the truth when she had acknowledged to herself that the presence of the two had been nice, because in little ways she didn't feel so alone anymore. It had been nearly three years since she had been tricked into coming here and even now she still found herself missing Kurosaki-kun. It was her own quite sadness, one that she didn't let the ever watching UIquiorra or the ever curious Grimmjow to know, even as she allowed the to look much deeper into her life. She had been told on more than one occasion while here that the two of them spoiled her too much and they warned her not to get too use to it because it was only a passing curiosity. Orihime didn't feel the need to tell them that she already knew that.
