For a while, Orihime's wearisome schedule first consisted of waking up and waiting for a meal. It was often brought by a lower-level hollow, and she was given 45 minutes to an hour to finish. She usually dragged out her meal to give herself something to do. The food wasn't too bad, but she dared not make suggestions, for fear of offending. She thanked the hollow every time he brought her the meal and afterward, but never got a response. She would then sit around or look outside her window, contemplating her circumstances. Sometimes she cried, but she tried to avoid this because she did not want anyone to see her with puffy eyes; she did not want to give the impression of weakness. Many of her thoughts were about her friends in the real world and in Soul Society, but she most often thought about Ichigo. Consumed in her thoughts, she would wait patiently for her second meal. With the exception of the first day, Ulquiorra never came to her first meal. He usually only came to her quarters once a day, if at all, usually during her second meal, to ensure she was eating. He came in a few minutes before the food-bearer, and would announce his presence before coming in. He stood silently by the door as she ate, and left as soon as she finished. They usually did not exchange words. She would eat her meal in silence, feeling awkward at his observation. She would look up at him from time to time to see if he was still observing her eat; he always was, but the expression on his face wasn't one of interest. It possessed an indifferent quality, which made her feel uneasy. She would sometimes go days where her only interaction with another person was with the hollow who brought her the meals.

On the days she did see Ulquiorra, it became more noticeable that he brought a strange, vacant atmosphere to the room whenever he walked in. Why does the room feel emptier when he's around…she often wondered. She could feel the room morph into something lighter the minute he left, as if he carried an air of barrenness within him. At first she thought this was the reiatsu of all hollows, but she did not get this feeling with the servant who brought her the food. She inferred that it could be that Ulquiorra's reiatsu was simply much stronger than most other hollow, but this idea soon changed.

Ulquiorra announced himself and entered Orihime's room. He was quiet as usual during her second meal. When she finished, instead of his usual turn-and-leave, he stated, "You will follow me to Aizen-sama. He wishes to speak to you about an important matter."

His voice startled her. She had not heard him say a word to her in weeks other than slight variations of "I'm coming in." She was initially at a loss of words to say, but she realized that this meant leaving the barren room and experiencing something new.

"Yes, of course."

Orihime followed Ulquiorra for about ten minutes. He walked relatively slowly. She noticed that he always seemed to walk at the same pace—he was never in a rush, always controlled. As she walked behind him, she noticed that the peculiar feeling of emptiness seemed to hover about them. It was hardly noticeable, but having been exposed to utter desolateness for several weeks, she grew keen to subtle changes in the atmosphere around her. They walked along two long stretches of corridors and through several smaller doorways. Upon entering a massive space that resembled a throne room, Orihime saw Aizen seated on a chaise at the top of an elegant, ivory staircase. She remembered this room from the first night she came to Las Noches, when Aizen showed her the Hyogoku and asked her to repair it. Throughout her long weeks in her small chambers, she had made up her mind to destroy the existence of the powerful stone, but upon realizing her circumstances, she lost hope in her plan.

As they walked through the huge doorway leading into Aizen's throne room, the feeling of emptiness that emanated from Ulquiorra grew less noticeable. She observed other higher-ranked hollows in the room as the empty sensation continued to grow dim. She didn't know what she felt now, with the exception of intimidation. Remaining expressionless, she wondered if perhaps the other hollow had similar auras they carried within them. As Orihime followed Ulquiorra to the foot of the staircase, Aizen spoke.

"Welcome once more, Orihime. How has your stay in Las Noches been? Adequate, I trust? I know you must find your stay in that room awfully boring, but I'm sure you can understand that our current priorities haven't exactly been directed towards the entertainment of our guests."

"Yes, sir."

"And your meals? I expect they meet the real world's standards?"

"Yes, sir."

"And I expect you find your new attire suitable? I chose the design of your dress myself. I hope you find it comfortable."

"Yes, sir. Thank you."

Aizen reclined in his chair, "Very good. Well, now, if you don't mind, I have a few questions about your powers."

Orihime nodded. She noticed in her peripheral vision that there were several other hollows staring at her. Ulquiorra was standing to the left of her, looking at Aizen.

"When did you first receive your powers?"

"Several months ago."

"How did you receive them?"

"They just sort of came to me. The Shun Shun Rikka explained who they were and obeyed my will. Urahara-san later explained to me that they existed to assist me in my powers."

"I see," Aizen retained the same expression. "And how often do you use your powers?"

"Well, mainly I use my powers to heal. Usually, I only use them when my friends are injured, or if I am protecting someone."

"I see. Well, you have a very extraordinary power. What about your offensive abilities?"

Orihime hesitated. She shifted her gaze and focused on a step on the staircase across from her. "Well, when I have…fought…" Orihime thought very carefully about her words. The only thing she could think of was how useless her offensive abilities were, and how she did not want to appear weak to those standing around her. Though she knew her powers were indeed unique, she always had Ichigo or someone else around protecting her, so she never got a real chance to develop her offensive skills. Nevertheless, she still felt that even if she would have had a chance to develop her abilities, she could never match those of Rukia, Ishida, or Chad, and especially not Ichigo. But she didn't want to admit this in front of a room full of people who could each annihilate her in one blow. She decided to take a very vague approach with her answer. "My offensive abilities," she stated, "just like my healing and protective abilities, are also connected to the Shun Shun Rikka. It consists of..."

But as Orihime was speaking, Aizen stood up and looked down at her. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared from his throne and stood but a few feet away from her. He gave her a few seconds to process his location before he took a step towards her. The expression on his face suggested that he knew she was hiding something. Orihime, startled and helpless, only looked up at him.

Very casually, Aizen gave her a crooked smirk and spoke. "Orihime Inoue. How would you like for your powers to be strengthened?"

.oOo.