**Small disclaimer before you begin reading: The setting and timeline before this fic begins is all the same as the real Bleach. Everything that follows will likely diverge from the real plot.

Chapter 1: Endless Night

By: Castawaycal

It had been one week since Orihime left the human world to Hueco Mundo.

One week since she had stood beside Ichigo's bed, tears streaming down her face, wondering if she would ever see him again. Wondering if he could ever forgive her for helping Aizen's scheme. She had left her home, her friends, her dreams all under the order of a single Espada whose power threatened to steal her life as soon as he appeared on her way back from Soul Society.

To keep track of the days in her moonlit cell, Orihime would tear off tiny threads of fabric from her pillow case. She collected them by the small ledge next to her window, knowing that the lack of wind in this wretched place would keep them stationary. She passed each day by lying on her bed or sitting on the couch, thinking about nothing and everything.

How long would she be forced to stay here? How often would she be forced to heal the very people that existed to hurt her friends? How would she be able to forgive herself?

These were questions she asked herself every day. Yet, she still had no answer.

Three knocks sounded on her door. She never bothered to answer because she knew there was no power to her words anyways. After a slight pause, the lock clicked open and a nameless Arrancar entered pushing a small cart with a tray of food. Orihime looked away from the door, unable to bear looking at Espada who entered shortly after.

She was never one to harbor negative feelings towards another being. No, after her parents passed and only her older brother stood between her and the rest of the world, she decided that she could never be cruel to anyone. She never felt she was entitled to judge someone without knowing their circumstance - and even then, she felt too deeply, cared far too much about the well-being of others to find even a pinch of hatred within her.

But looking at Ulquiorra made her feel traitorous. She knew he had just been following orders when he ordered her to leave with him to Las Noches, but she couldn't bring herself to forget the feeling of fear he bestowed upon her as he threatened her freedom with the life of her friends. The one thing she could never forgive was anything that brought despair upon the people she cared for most.

He always stayed to watch her finish her food. This time was no different as the lower Arrancar left the cell and he closed the door, leaning against it with his hands in his pockets. Every time, Orihime noticed, every time he looks the same.

"Eat," was all Ulquiorra said.

She rose slowly from the couch and walked over to the small table at the middle of her cell. The food was always bland - so different to what she was used to back home.

Ulquiorra remained silent as she picked at her food. She wondered if hollows ever ate anything besides human souls or other hollows.

Last week, lifetimes ago, she would have felt self-conscious eating in front of another person while they simply watched. But such feelings had evaded her within hours of her arrival here. That feeling of shame was a luxury, she realized. Now, all she could think about was the fate of her life in this world of endless night. What her place was here, despite feeling so small.

Minutes passed and she finally finished her plate of food. She grabbed the plate and set it gently back on to the cart. Without another word or acknowledgement to Ulquiorra, Orihime proceeded back to the couch where she would stare out the small barred window either until her next meal or until sleep overtook her. It had been so long since she'd spoken more than a few words at a time.

Her eyes closed, she heard only the faint sounds of the door reopening and closing again. The lock turned and she was confined once more. If there was one thing she could have at this moment, it was to go outside. To feel air move against her skin, to have the sun beating down, for her to feel oxygen in her lungs once more.

Because she was beginning to suffocate in here and nobody seemed to care at all.

A couple more days passed. Everything was the same and Orihime was beginning to grow accustomed to the thoughts that plagued her constantly. With each meal she had under Ulquiorra's watchful eye, she began to feel the last remnants of hope slipping away. She would never expect her friends to risk their lives to save her, but still the thought of being left completely alone was too hard to bear at times. During her first few days in Las Noches, she would have dreams of Ichigo, Ishida, Chad, and Rukia barging into the large castle demanding for her to be returned to them. She had savored those visions, let herself hope if only for the sake of her slowly crumbling sanity.

But they would not come. She knew it - after all, she had given them no indication of her being kidnapped, rather that she had left of her own accord. They were likely thinking of her as no more than Aizen - someone who they had trusted only to be completely and utterly betrayed.

Orihime told herself that she was glad to be labelled a traitor. Her friends should never come here - she could never truly wish that upon them, even if it was for her own sake. The Espada were too dangerous, Aizen and the other two former captains even more so. She convinced herself that they were much better off without her, after all, she was just another burden. She had seen it too many times now, Ichigo pushing her aside for the sake of her safety.

Lost in thought, Orihime barely registered the three knocks that landed on her door. Was it already that time again?

This time she didn't bother averting her gaze as Ulquiorra stepped in. However, she quickly noticed that he came in with no cart.

"Get up," he said as he approached her on the couch.

She blinked. What was going on?

"Get up," he repeated after she failed to move.

She stood abruptly, nearly stumbling over herself. Ulquiorra motioned for her to follow him... outside her cell?

Her legs felt so weak after days of barely walking. Even so, she followed wordlessly, her insides feeling like they would constrict the moment she stepped foot out into the hallway.

Really it was pathetic how much that semblance of freedom lifted her spirits. How many nights now had she wondered when she would even step foot outside her dark, lonely room?

Looking around, she'd forgotten how tall the ceilings in this castle were. Ulquiorra waited until she stepped further out before he swung the door closed and resumed his position in front. He walked down the moderately lit corridor towards the foyer where she had first been brought in front of Aizen. She basked in the space despite her suspicion that perhaps Ulquiorra was taking her there once more. Maybe Aizen had already tired of her, realized that he didn't need her powers at all.

If that was the case, Orihime found it difficult to feel pity for herself now. It frightened her how unafraid she had become of all this. How complacent she had become when it came to her own fate.

She continued to follow Ulquiorra until he stopped at another door further down. "Aizen-sama has requested your presence," he explained finally. "I will be waiting here until you are ready to return back to your room."

Orihime nodded, not sure what else she could do besides comply. Ulquiorra then opened the door, leading her inside before turning back.

The first thing she noticed was the incredibly long table that seemed to be the centerpiece of the room. Just beyond on the other side of the room was a large opening that extended into a balcony. Standing at the rail was Aizen facing away from her. Orihime swallowed and clasped her hands in front of her.

"Welcome, Orihime," Aizen said, turning from his position looking out into the wilderness of Hueco Mundo. He walked slowly towards her, that gentle smile resting on his face. "Have you been doing well?"

His sheer power made her feel as if she was naked before him. She held her hands tighter to stop herself from shaking. "Yes, Aizen-sama."

He stopped, keeping a modest distance away from her. "I'm glad to hear that. You see, I would have liked to give you a little more time to adjust to your new home, but I'm afraid something has come up where I require your powers immediately."

Orihime barely registered any words. Home, he had said. She truly would be here for eternity and the next.

"But before I indulge you further," he continued while taking a seat at the table. He motioned for her to join him. "Please sit."

She obeyed and took the seat she stood closest to. When she first arrived, Aizen had her demonstrate her capabilities on Grimmjow who was missing an arm. Within seconds, the sixth Espada had two functioning arms from her powers - something she wasn't even sure she could fully do until she saw it herself. Before, she used Soten Kisshun only for cuts and bruises. She discovered that restoring an arm required much more reiatsu than a regular scrape - meaning if he was going to ask her to do anything beyond that... she may not be able to withstand it.

But perhaps exhausting herself from her own powers would be a fitting end for a traitor like her. The irony of dying by the very power that caused Aizen to desire her in the first place.

"You seemed troubled," Aizen said, his eyes showing not a single drop of empathy along with his serpentine smile. "Tell me, Orihime, what is it you believe I need from you?"

The way he seemed to be able to slip into her thoughts was terrifying. Aizen had always managed to be one step ahead of them at all times - even before she had even met him. Not only was he to be feared for his brute force but for his cunning mind, the one he used to trick the entirety of Soul Society along with the help of his perfect hypnosis Zanpakuto.

"My powers," she answered after a moment of hesitation.

Aizen chuckled and leaned back into his seat. "That's right. So painfully simple, isn't it? Yet your face tells me that you fear for something else. I'm thinking that maybe it's because you think that your friends might come to save you and endanger themselves in the process?"

Orihime froze.

"Your friends will not come."

Her eyes snapped to Aizen's as she heard the firmness in his tone. He knew they wouldn't come. But how?

"I have my own spies - in the real world and in Soul Society. It was a rather easy decision for the 13 Squads to abandon you, for reasons I have no doubt you have come to understand. As for Ichigo and the rest... they will not come simply because they do not wish to risk their lives for someone who potentially betrayed them."

The words plunged into her heart. She knew that from the day she arrived. She knew they wouldn't come for her because she was a traitor. So why was she so surprised? How could she feel so betrayed?

Because in the end, she was weak. For so long she'd relied on Ichigo's strength and kindness to carry her to places she could have never reached alone. Even though she had managed to convince herself of her inevitable solitude, that weakness of her had never truly gone. She was still selfish - still desired to be saved.

Orihime lost track of how much time she stared at nothing at all. Her eyes burned, her chest ached. There was nothing more she hated in this moment than herself. For allowing herself to hope despite being undeserving, for letting Aizen see exactly what he wanted.

Icy yet gentle fingers traced the underside of her chin, tilting her head back up. This snapped Orihime out of her trance, her eyes glancing up at Aizen with alarm.

He smiled, a fearful and heartless act. "Don't be afraid, Orihime. We will take care of you here in Hueco Mundo. You see, your powers are so valuable to us that it will be a very long time until I ever see the need for you to be thrown out."

She blinked. Thrown out. That's what her friends had done to her.

"Now that we've gotten that out of the way," Aizen said while rising from his seat. "I would like to show you why I have summoned you here. Please, follow me."

For a moment she couldn't muster enough strength to obey. She was still in shock, imagining the faces of her friends staring at her with disdain. But still, a small part of her relished in Aizen's command, granting her with some sort of purpose, that she was still needed.

After a moment, she got up from her seat and followed Aizen as he walked towards the balcony. A breeze touched her cheek as she neared the opening. He stopped at the edge and leaned against the railing. Orihime dared a glance to the outside world, the world of hollows and darkness, and saw only an endless desert.

"Orihime, when you look out at Hueco Mundo, what do you see?" This time he didn't look at her, didn't seem to have any malicious intent behind the words. Rather, Aizen kept his eyes pointed on the desert as she had, staring off into dunes as if he was searching for something.

"I see deep hunger and deep deprivation." She had thought that the very first time she'd seen a hollow, seen her brother's sadness and loneliness manifest in a beast.

Aizen said nothing for a moment. She couldn't help but think about how quickly his demeanor had changed.

"Hueco Mundo has been missing something for a long time. Before it was a home for hollows, it was a home for lost souls. It used to be a place of solace - the in-between. It wasn't until a group of corrupted souls began feeding on one another to feel something deeper that hollows became commonplace."

Orihime had never heard of anything like that before. Lost souls… were those like the spirits she would sometimes see wandering in the human world?

"These lost souls, I have come to call them the Vagabond, possess powers that are unimaginable to you and I. Like Espada, they are the physical manifestation of two powers - life and death. However, rather than having powers honed in on one idea, they have the ability to control everything. For example, Ulquiorra, who you have grown accustomed to in the past week, uses the power of emptiness. But what if he controlled that - and everything else? Water, fire, wind. Even joy. That's what these Vagabonds had once consisted of. Their very existence is one that doesn't belong, thus they came to acquire powers of all kinds to compensate. Poetic, isn't it?"

She knew that Aizen had been striving for greater powers by experimenting with the Espada and she'd assumed that was the climax. Yet he was still reaching, still searching for greater depths of power he could obtain. If she wasn't still so affected by his words from earlier, she might have been brave enough to ask what drove him to this extent.

But all she said was, "You want me to bring them back."

Aizen's brows raised slightly, his only show of surprise. "That's right. I want you to restore Hueco Mundo to what it was before and bring me the powers of the Vagabond."

Something of that scale… she wouldn't do it. Couldn't do it. Even if she wanted to. "I don't think I can help you," she replied honestly. "Restoring Grimmjow's arm was already a difficult task for me."

"With sufficient training, I believe you will be able to achieve this." He said it so simply that Orihime almost believed him. "The Hogyoku's power will be yours to rely on in the meantime."

"The Hogyoku?"

"Under my or an Espada's supervision, of course. Although I'm sure you wouldn't try something as foolish as using it to escape."

After all, you don't have a home to go back to anyways. The underlying words he knew would elicit a reaction from her. She swallowed the pain in her heart that had begun hardening into something permanent.

"You'll start your training tomorrow," Aizen said as he looked back out into the darkness.

Orihime followed the former captain's gaze. Sand swirled in the distance and she noticed that the horizon of Hueco Mundo seemed to go on forever. This is where she would spend the rest of her life, if she was fortunate enough to actually prove useful to Aizen. To restore this desolate place and grant him such power would be her duty. She would aid this deceiving murderer, enable him to hurt the people she held dearest.

She wished she could summon the courage to deny his request, remain loyal to the friends who had betrayed her, but days of loneliness had really begun to take a toll. She found herself heavy with exhaustion, unable to conjure any response other than the easiest.

"Yes, Aizen-sama," was all she said.