Several days after Orihime's previous exchange with the Fourth Espada, there was a sharp knock on her door. It opened to reveal a tall Espada with brown hair.

"Surprise," Starrk sarcastically said.

"Oh! Starrk-san! What are you doing here?"

"Ulquiorra had to go to the human world for some research, so Aizen-sama asked me to train you today."

"Oh, I see."

Wondering about the odd turn of events, Orihime followed Starrk outside. They walked to a random spot Starrk had picked out. It was in the middle of the desert sands and away from the dome of Las Noches. Orihime liked the change.

Upon arriving, Starrk stood very close to her and eased his reiatsu out immediately instead of backing away from her like Ulquiorra usually did. This caught Orihime off guard, and she crumpled to the floor.

"Ah! I'm sorry, Inoue-san!" he yelled, absolutely horrified. "Are you alright?"

"Heh, heh. It's OK. I guess I'm just not used to your reiatsu, that's all," she said, dusting the sand off of her dress. "I've gotten so accustomed to the feel and style of Ulquiorra's method. Let's try again."

"Right."

Starrk eased out his reiatsu much more slowly and at a much lower density than the last time. It was very light.

"You can increase your level; this is a bit lower than I'm used to."

"Right."

He raised his reiatsu very hesitantly, afraid to make her collapse, but the change was marginal. She told him once again that he could raise his reiatsu.

He shot her a worried glance and raised it again, but the difference was still very slight.

"Is that too much?"

"No, you can raise it higher. Really, Ulquiorra-kun has trained me to handle a fairly large level."

"Hmmm."

Ignoring her comment, his pattern of raising his reiatsu at minimal levels continued. It was not until about fifteen minutes later that he realized she could handle much heavier power. After seeing her collapse the first time, however, he remained hesitant. Seeing her fall had brought back memories of the countless hollow that had dissipated from mere exposure to his reiatsu. She seemed to have progressed fairly well under Ulquiorra, but he still did not fully trust himself. Nevertheless, he did not want her to think him a failure, and he wanted to be able to report something useful back to Aizen. Starrk's meeting with Orihime in the hallway had eventually reached Aizen's ears. Even though Ulquiorra was indeed doing work in the human world, the real reason behind her session with Starrk was to strengthen her ties with the Espada. Ulquiorra wasted no time telling Aizen about the trust she had spoken of, so Aizen thought it would be beneficial to give Orihime exposure to some of his more reasonable subordinates.

"What does Ulquiorra usually do during your training?" Starrk finally asked.

"Oh, well, first he walks about several yards away from me and then he raises his reiatsu to a level that he knows I'm used to, and then slowly raises it until he can tell I can't really handle it anymore, and then—"

"How does he know that?"

"How does he know what?"

"What level you can handle?"

"Well, part of it is that he's used to training with me. But, I don't know, we both sort of have this system. He can read my expressions really well, and I can tell when he's going to raise his reiatsu next. It's taken us a little while to learn how to train this way, but it's really effective. He's really very good at it. It still surprises me, to be honest."

"Sounds impressive—so he just looks at you and can tell?"

"Well…something like that."

Starrk gave her a smirk.

"What?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Shall we continue?"

"Uh—yes."

"Good. I'll try Ulquiorra's way. I will raise my reiatsu higher. Be ready."

He walked several yards away, facing her. He decided to raise it several notches lower than when he had started.

Unfortunately, it was still too high. Orihime fainted.

.oOo.

Orihime awoke an hour later. She found Starrk seated in the corner of her room, on the floor. When he heard her shuffle, he walked over to her and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I thought you were in a coma. I apologize. It has…been a while since I have practiced with my reiatsu levels." His expression was very dark.

"Oh, it's ok. It's happened with Ulquiorra before."

Judging by the look on his face, Orhime could tell this did not appease him. There was suddenly a knock on her door.

"That must be the food. Come in!" she called.

Ulquiorra walked in, followed by the usual servant.

"Ulquiorra. I thought you were out in the human world today," said Starrk.

"My work did not take as long as I had anticipated. I also came to inspect the woman's state. I heard from one of the servants that she was unconscious."

The scowl on Starrk's face grew dimmer. "I'm afraid I'm not as good as training her as you are. She told me about the system you have. She spoke very highly of your skills. I must say, I'm impressed. You must know her very well to be able to shift your reiatsu so sensitively."

Remembering her previous conversation with Ulquiorra, Orihime's eyes grew wide at Starrk's comment. She did not look at the Fourth Espada.

Ulquiorra said nothing at Starrk's remark, though his eyes shifted briefly to the young woman on the sofa. Her expression was expected.

"Well, I must leave; I have other matters to attend to," Starrk replied. But his tone was melancholy, as if he suddenly remembered something he wanted to forget.

.oOo.

Coyote Starrk anxiously left Orihime's room. He could not bear to see another person negatively impacted by his reiatsu.

He cursed.

I didn't think I would have to deal with this again, he thought. It had been a while since anyone had died in his presence. He had spent so much of his time wasting away in his room, communicating only with Lilynette, Aizen, and relatively strong arrancar. He had almost forgotten the gloom of effortless victory—almost. But this was no victory. If Orhime had not been trained by Ulquiorra, she might have been dead. She was the first person outside of the realm of Las Noches who did not disappear in his presence. The whole time he stood in the hallway talking to her during their first meeting, he was amazed at her ability to withstand him. It seemed that Ulquiorra had indeed cultivated something extraordinary through her training.

Nevertheless, he was still hesitant to accept his order to train her. He coddled his isolation because it was something familiar to him—a very deep part of his existence he was reluctant to relinquish, however short the time period he was required to be without it. That a human being was able to withstand him was certainly impressive, but his capacity to kill her was still a very real threat. Because of this, he would much rather stick to his confinement routine.

After all, his soul had long since adapted to the bitter taste of solitude; these days, its effect on him was practically saccharine.

.oOo.

Orihime had not spoken to Ulquiorra since their awkward conversation. She welcomed the change in routine when she trained with Starrk, but it had proved to be a disaster. I think I actually missed training with him, she realized upon contemplation. She tried telling herself that this was because of his skill, but the blaring anxiety in waiting to see him hinted otherwise. Deathly afraid of the implications of this, she rationalized her thoughts. Orihime! There's no reason to be worried! He's just really good at what he does, and it was frustrating not being able to keep up with Starrk-san. You feel better with Ulquiorra-kun because you can handle yourself with him. Starrk-san just makes you feel weak because you're not strong enough to train with him…The fact that Orihime had recently been taken in by Ulquiorra's appealing features was something she conveniently did not affirm, but the energy she spent ruminating on her inner conflict was beginning to bother her. You shouldn't be thinking about it so much. It's not a big deal. She continued analyzing her feelings, suddenly coming to the conclusion that it was almost time for her training that day. The butterflies in her stomach instantly danced about, extracting a harsh frown on her face. Stop it!

A familiar voice announced itself at her door. She felt her heart skip a beat.

As soon as she laid eyes on him, the dancing in her stomach switched to romp and frolic, forcing her to acknowledge that what was happening could no longer be ignored.

Ulquiorra walked in, impassive and apathetic. She hesitantly followed him out, taking utter care to act normally as her thoughts raced.

The training went smoothly as usual, but she reluctantly found herself searching for his eyes more intensely than usual. Usually she would periodically look off to the side throughout their routine, but not that day. She was startled to find that his eyes never left hers. She wondered whether this was normal, and her heart jumped at the notion of his continuous gaze. Calm down! None of this means anything, and it shouldn't mean anything…

Recognizing that even if the thing she dreaded was true, she could never, ever allow herself to hope for requital of any sort. It was an impossibility of magnanimous proportions, and she must immediately take the proper steps to prevent herself from sinking into another emotional misfortune.

Upon the end of her training, she dejectedly followed him back to her room.

"See you tomorrow," she said as he shut the door.

.oOo.

Several hours later, Orihime heard the knock. Expecting the servant to take her on her daily outing within the dome, she was utterly shocked to find Ulquiorra standing several feet away from her.

"What are you doing here?"

"The servants are no longer disposed to escorting you. I will be accompanying you in their stead from now on."

"Oh. Well, that's OK. I just hope you don't get too bored!"

"Let us get on with it," he retorted, indicating that she had spoken too soon.

She walked alongside of him nervously, mapping out in her mind how she was going to address this suspicious turn of events. He lifted them up to the room with the clouds and sky. When they arrived at her favorite spot, she looked upwards for several minutes before something suddenly dawned on her.

"How did you know that this is where I wanted to go?" she asked, eyes wide.

"The servants have instructed me of your whereabouts. I am aware that you come here often."

"Oh." This brought her immense satisfaction. She tried reasoning it away, but she could not with him standing beside her. She started blushing, and quickly grew fearful that he would see. She swiftly looked away from him and up at the clouds. I absolutely don't want him reading my thoughts about this.

She decided her best option was to merely avoid him. Make no conversation whatsoever. She would remain silent, and she would only look at him during training. She was determined.

"You are staring at the sky rather intently. In my view, the inside of the palace walls are far more aesthetically pleasing than this location."

Orihime stifled a laugh. She could not help but look at him, vexed at the lack of her fortitude.

His eyes were shifted upwards, in an expression of mild distaste.

"Bahahahaha!" she laughed, "This sky is so bright and beautiful! How can you possibly not prefer it to the white walls?"

"Beauty is a relative preference. I prefer the symmetry of architecture."

"Well, IIIIIII don't!" She resumed her admiration of the clouds above, cocking her head to the side, and placing her hands on her hips.

He watched her, watching the skies, noting her effervescence. Her personality compared to his was utterly opposite—opposite from this world, opposite from himself.

"Me and my brother always used to pick out shapes and clouds," she spoke, unable to contain herself. It was so easy to talk to Ulquiorra. He always listened in silence, storing her every word into a vast bank of memory. Though she was convinced this was not out of interest, she appreciated it nonetheless.

"We would always fight over what we thought something was. Him trying convince me something was a bicycle, and me trying to tell him that no, it was a pair of eyeglasses, haha! He usually won those fights. Look!" she abruptly shouted, "That one is JUST like a zanpakuto!" She pointed to a long cloud above her.

Uninterested, Ulquiorra shifted his eyes to the cloud.

"Doesn't it?" she yelped excitedly. She looked at him, waiting for a response. He merely glanced at her, annoyed.

"Oh my gosh, you agree with me!" she squeaked.

"I am not inclined to play these silly games."

"But you agree! I know that look; you knowit looks like a sword!"

"These games are—"

"Ahahahaha! I got you to play a game with me!"

"Nonsense, I—"

"Oh, come on, it's something different, you can't argue with that!" she smiled. After several moments, she turned very serious, remembering her loneliness in the forsaken kingdom.

"Novelty is so much more meaningful after being trapped in routine for so long."

Ulquiorra stared at her. She kept talking, completely oblivious of the significance of her words.

"Sitting there all of those weeks in my chambers, you have no idea what it meant to go out and train, to do something of use. I really was about to go crazy. And being out here, not just doing this all by myself, well, it's more than a prisoner could ask for."

"How can you do this?"

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You are a prisoner. You are hardly given any freedoms, yet your optimism persists."

"I-I don't know," she finally said. "My heart finds strength in the little things. Not being completely alone in this process has helped me a lot. Please—" she said quickly, before he could object, "I know you're just following orders. But the other day when I trained with Starrk-san, I realized that even though they're just orders, you follow them well. This has really…helped me. I know that probably wasn't your intention, but I'm really grateful for it anyway."

Orihime could not avoid his eyes. Those glimmering, aquamarine irises were locked on her face, as though she had just uttered something incomprehensible. She could not look away.

"Thank you," she whispered.

The look she gave him was perplexing, and Ulquiorra found it difficult to bend his gaze. Her eyes were honest and warm, her expression free of any hesitation. He felt himself react internally to what was happening, unable to pinpoint precisely what was causing him to respond. He stood in uncertainty for several moments before finally, he recognized it in her face. It was very subtle, but it was familiar. In all of his years of observing humans, in all of his elaborate notes, in all of his exhaustive analysis, never once did he think he would ever see this directed at him. Unable to believe what he thought he saw, he arched his back upwards. This cannot be.

"Enough of this."

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to say—" Orihime squeaked, realizing her grave mistake.

"It is unnecessary," he said coldly. "We must leave. It is time to return to your chambers."

She nodded in silence, a pink shade coloring her cheeks.

Their walk to her door was pregnant with awkward tension.

.oOo.