Hey guys, sorry it's taken me a while to post up a new chapter. I have this writer block which just won't go away. it makes me happy to see the reviews I have received. In order to make up for not updating frequently I'll leave you guys a long chapter which I hope you like. And in case you didn't know bleach doesn't belong to me in any way nor do the characters. Anyways on to the story
It had been a couple of days now since Orihime woke up and no appearance had been made by any of the espada. Everyone was still on their guards but no one had any luck in finding clues as to where the espada where hiding.
Orihime
Her body was still sore and she did her best to hide her bruises, not letting even Yoruichi see them, telling her that she no longer had them. She was walking to school with Ishida on one side and chad on the other making her feel very noticeable. She tried to convince them that she didn't need an escort and that school wouldn't be normal with them trailing her everywhere but they didn't listen. Resigned she let out a soft sigh and carried on, there was nothing she could do. After they saw how bruised her face was they took up the duty to watch after her to and from school.
School felt longer than normal and she kept wishing for it to end. She had plans to go over to Urahara's shop for a remedying tea which he had been giving her ever since she woke up. It helped her, it subdued the pain and helped her body relax and she also noticed that her bruises were disappearing a lot faster.
Finally school was over, chad and Ishida were walking Inue to Urahara's. Once arriving at the doorstep she dismissed them and walked inside. "Ah, Orihime. You're here" Urahara welcomed her as she stepped through the door. "Mmm, thank you" she smiled at him and nodded. They sat down and her tea cup was already in front of her. "I would like to ask for a favor" Orihime quietly spoke still looking down at her cup. "Mmm? "Oh? Really? What is it?" Urahara spoke with a wide smile on his face.
Renji
It's been a couple of weeks with no sightings and no one has sensed the presence of the espada. Orihime seems to be more at ease, maybe it's the tea or maybe it could be something Urahara says to her but ever since she started to spend those extra couple of hours there she doesn't seem so worried anymore. It even seems that she has settled down on her own routine, she goes to school and heads directly to Urahara's, after a couple of hours they head home. She doesn't allow Renji to stay with her while she's at the shop and that makes him wonder why. Still as long as she is being watched there is no danger in leaving her for a couple of hours and Urahara is very capable of taking care of her. They spent every day together and the only times they would be apart was when she was at school or Urahara's shop.
'I should be heading back now it's getting late' he turned to look at the other side of town. Orihime is still at Urahara's but she would probably be wanting to head home. He started to make his way jumping swiftly over the rooftops. He arrived and greeted Urahara and Yoruichi, they said goodnight started their walk home. "How are you feeling today?" Renji asked nervously. Lately he found himself feeling nervous around her but he figured it was because the time they had to spend together. He got a warm smile with a soft "a lot better, thank you" he could tell she was happy, she started to hum, with a small smile on her face.
She hummed all the way home, it somehow soothed him. He smiled as they made their way up to Orihime's front door. "You're in for a treat tonight Abarai-kun" catching him off guard he snapped his redden face towards her. She was busy with unlocking the door so she couldn't see how priceless his reaction was. "w-what?!" he exclaimed. "Yea I found a new recipe for a sweet desert" 'oh that's what she was talking about' feeling like a pervert because his mind went to a completely different place. Once the words sank in, he clenched his stomach, he knew Orihime tried but some of her meals were really hard to swallow, she would spend hours in the kitchen doing who knows what. Stepping inside he sat on the sofa, while Orihime made her way to the kitchen. He was starting to doze off when he heard her steps coming closer. "Abarai-kun" he heard her whisper. He opened his eyes and sat up.
"Hey, are you done?" he asked mentally preparing himself for what was to come. "Yea come one" she led him to the kitchen grabbing his hand and pulling him up. Her hand felt so small and it was so warm, he looked down and his hand was a lot bigger in comparison to him. She sat him down at a little counter and went to the other side. She took a seat and placed a bowl in between them "Oh, let me grab some spoons" she got up and quickly retrieved them, taking her seat again. She scooped up a white creamy substance with what looked like strawberries and put it in front of him "here" she smiled and closed her eyes. He was stunned for a minute, in front of him he had Orihime looking radiant, with one of those smiles that lit up her face. He felt his heart beat go up to a thousand miles an hour. He quickly stood up "I have to go scout first!" he semi shouted and flew out the door. 'What the hell was that?!' he said to himself when he was around the block. 'Such an idiot' he scorned himself more.
Orihime
"Huh?" she opened her eyes and Renji wasn't there anymore, she heard the door close and footsteps going down the stairway. She frowned and thought to herself 'does it smell funny?" she sniffed it and didn't sense anything wrong. She sat there wondering when she heard a soft click and figured Renji came back and was locking the door. After a short period of silence she cautiously stood up and walked towards the living room. "Abarai-kun?" she called out softly. She peeked her head around but didn't see anyone, she walked into the living room and didn't notice anything out of place. "Hmm…must be my imagination" she said to herself and turned around. She dropped the spoon she was carrying when she saw someone in her doorway to the kitchen "hey, longtime no see" followed by a wide grin. "Grimmjow" she whispered. She didn't see anyone else around but she was sure Menoly and Loly were near. "What do you want?" she stood straight and erased any sense of fear she had felt once. "What? No greetings?" he smirked and stepped closer to her. She stared at him, determination in her eyes not to back down.
"Guess not. But it doesn't matter, we just need you to do us a favor" he paused as if to think what he was going to say. "We need you to—""just tell her what we want and get it over with" Loly appeared out of nowhere coming from Orihime's room "Loly?!" Orihime exclaimed a little surprised, she didn't sense any kind of spiritual pressure so she was sure Grimmjow was alone. "Surprised?" Menoly asked coming out from behind Loly. 'Oh no, this could be bad' Orihime thought. "For some reason your face is one of the few things we can remember" Loly stepped closer to her. Reaching out to grab her by her hair, Orihime quickly moved out of the way. "Oh?" Loly smiled and turned to Orihime once again. A lot faster and with more force she reached out for Orihime but once again Orihime was out of her reach. "Learned a few tricks did ya bitch?" ignoring her Orihime spoke out "what do you mean few things you can remember?" "We only have bits and pieces of memory and the most recent ones are you, we know you were some kind of prisoner of ours and for some reason I hated you which means you did this to us!" Loly reached out and was able to make contact with Orihime's cheek. Snickering Loly delivered a second punch only to have Orihime move away. "koten zanshun!" Orihime aimed her attack. "Ow! That actually hurt you bitch!" full of rage and anger Loly lunged herself at Orihime. A little proud of herself Orihime was glad she took those extra hours with Urahara.
Renji
"What the hell am I doing?" Renji looked up into the night sky "why the hell am I running away for?" turning back towards Orihime he sensed her spiritual pressure it seemed like everything was fine. Jumping from rooftop to rooftop, he was almost there, all of a sudden appeared the energy of one of the espada. "No!" quickening his pace he hurried to her.
Ichigo, Rukia, Ishida and Urahara all turned their heads as they sensed the espada and quickly headed towards the source, all and everyone with a hurried pace and a sense of dread.