No one wanted to approach Aizen with news of Orihime Inoue's disappearance, but someone had to. It came down to Ulquiorra, who made note of the particulars, such as guard duties and first notice of her absence.

Grimmjow made notes, too, namely of the whereabouts of Loly and Menoly when the prisoner was discovered absent from her cell. All parties were summoned before Aizen the next day in the main meeting room, which set no one at ease.

Aizen sat at the head of the room in his usual throne out of the bright sun that shed into the palatial marble decor, reading the latest of the few remaining demands for ransom. Before him Ulquiorra, Grimmjow and Nnoitra waited, each with their own story at the ready, each with varying degrees of accuracy and sour expressions.

Aizen frowned at the parchment before him, rereading the last few lines on it. "So Sora Inoue of Weaver's Isle has no more ransom for our hostage," he finally said, looking at no one but speaking to all present. "I suppose it's time to dispose of his wife."

Ulquiorra cleared his throat, not looking at Nnoitra or Grimmjow. "We don't have his wife, sire."

Aizen nodded, still reading the letter. "Daughter? Is she profitable?"

"His sister," Ulquiorra reminded. "Yes, she has been profitable."

"How many times has her ransom been paid?"

"Four times," Ulquiorra answered.

Aizen's clinical stare flicked up. "Four? Very good. But if this Inoue is exhausted of ransom...Weaver's Isle? That could be a pivotal post in our war against the mainland."

Nnoitra chuckled. "Seireitei hasn't allowed trade with the island since the Silk Wars. They ain't exactly friendly."

Aizen waved this away. "That won't matter. With the Isle in my control I'll make it what I need it to be. A harbor that close to the mainland will be an ideal post for our fleet."

None of the other men present mentioned the fact that, so far, Aizen had very little fleet; there was a back to flog and each knew they were candidates for Tousen's whip.

"If there is no ransom to be had for the girl," Aizen continued, a cruel smile twisting one side of his mouth, "then another proposal will be made. This girl," he said, looking to each of the guards, "will she clean up well? Which is she? That little snip of a noble with the black hair?"

Grimmjow growled down a comment at the description. "No. Not that one."

"She's the curvy one," Nnoitra offered, nodding as he smiled. "With the copper hair."

Aizen's smiled turned appreciative. "Ah, I remember. The fragrant one. Yes, she'll clean up well." He looked to Ulquiorra's staid expression. "Have her bathed and brought to me."

Grimmjow couldn't let the moment pass without speaking. "She's also the one who went missing last night."

"From your sector," Nnoitra said to Grimmjow before Ulquiorra could speak.

"During your gate watch," Ulquiorra shot back as Grimmjow began to reply.

"That's the one who's missing?" Aizen said, lowering the letter as he looked to Nnoitra. "You let a profitable prisoner escape?"

Nnoitra shrugged, gesturing to the parchment. "She ain't worth so much now, sire. You said the brother is outta —"

"The brother is dead," Aizen corrected. "This letter is from a Quincy, apparently in some sort of official capacity now on the island." His severe stare leveled on Grimmjow. "How did she become absent?"

Grimmjow gave half a shrug, which was a much easier movement after his back and shoulder had been healed. "She was gone this morning. Shackle was unlocked from the wall." He grinned a little. "During last night's gate watch."

"Now wait a minute," Nnoitra said, hand going to his sword hilt as Grimmjow turned a steely glare on him. "Just because –"

"Our gate keep is the first and last line of defense," Aizen said briskly to Nnoitra, hand tightening on the letter. "I find allowing a profitable prisoner to disappear a greater offense than losing an unsuccessfully ransomed noble's sister. Your fine will be doubled." He nodded to a doorway to one side of the room that was curtained off. "You can meet Tousen for forty before leaving for your bounty mission."

Nnoitra rose to his full lanky height, lips losing their usual sneer. "Now wait, sire. I think it's –"

"Don't bother thinking," Aizen told him, glancing again to the letter. "You can meet Tousen now."

There was a moment of mumbled cursing, Nnoitra's hand gripping the sword at his side as he debated obeying. He finally nodded, not looking to Ulquiorra or Grimmjow as he crossed the room to the curtained doorway.

Grimmjow didn't grin, but he wanted to. Ulquiorra remained silent, watching Aizen read the letter again.

"This Inoue girl has obviously had assistance escaping," Aizen said, looking to Ulquiorra, and then to Grimmjow.

Neither spoke, and Aizen nodded.

"Bring in Loly and Menoly," he said, rolling the letter. "I've noted some tension with them about a few of the prisoners."


Renji didn't head them to the first oasis marked on the map. If anyone noticed the prison break and sent a recovery party after them, he figured they'd also assume the closest source of water would be the first place to search. He didn't want to chance it, not when he was in uncertain territory.

They departed the trade road soon after leaving Las Noches in the early nightfall and set off across the deep sandy dunes heading north. Within minutes they were engulfed in beige sand and gray-blue sky that darkened more by the moment.

Orihime's fear at being shackled in the belly of the prison was exchanged for one of her uncertain future. The exhilaration of leaving the prison for the first time in weeks gave way to the very real confines of the man sitting behind her.

Her rescuer, she knew, but she did not know why.

He'd offered no conversation during the first few hours of travel, and she didn't try to ask any questions. Her mouth was dry and her body weary. She'd missed the scant supper that was supplied every night in her cell, and the lack of water over the day made her thinking unclear.

She was aware, however, that they were in the midst of the desert. Her mind faded in and out over those hours as her weariness outweighed her fear and she found herself drifting into an uneasy and abrupt sleep a few times. Each time she awoke with a start as the arms around her kept her upright in the saddle.

The last time she flinched as the horse stopped, for a moment disoriented in the dark, warm night. The horse had dropped to a trot and the man's arms around her were especially snug. In her limbo of exhausted sleep and wariness she reacted with a sudden flinch, trying to shrug from the embrace immobilizing her.

Renji stifled her movements as he reined the horse down to a walk. "Stop fidgeting," he told her, feeling her tense again as she tried to turn to see him in the pale moonlight. He moved her shawl back to view her better. "We're stopping soon. You can walk around then."

He nodded ahead and she looked to see a small dark spot emerge from where the slope of one dune met another. A few upright shapes were clustered, and the smell of water hung in the air, making the horse's ears prick forward.

Orihime didn't fight him. Waking up on the horse and with her rescuer was enough of a startle, but she almost welcomed the contact. She hadn't realized she'd become so eager for human touch after deprivation over the weeks in the prison. She subsided, making an effort at stilling her fears at her new situation. At least in the dungeon she'd known the dangers.

She licked her lips, trying to moisten them enough to speak, but was too parched to attempt it. The horse readily approached the oasis, which was little more than a watering hole with a growth of bulrushes surrounding the pool of water and a few craggy rocks mingled with palm trees leaning east.

Renji stopped the horse at the small retreat and dismounted. He kept his hand on Orihime's shackle chain, seeing her hands grip the reins as soon as he was off the horse.

He gave her a sharp look, the warning in his eyes evident even in the dark. "You take that horse and get away from me, and you'll have the desert and anything Aizen sends after you to deal with single-handedly," he told her, seeing her posture stiffen. "Come down and get some water. We're resting here."

Orihime's hands remained firm on the reins, eyes searching his face, trying to determine anything familiar about him. "Who are you?" Her fingers tightened on the leather straps as his hand closed over them. "Why did you take me away?"

Renji tried to keep his voice calm. "Listen, I didn't steal you from Aizen to harm you." He pulled the reins from her hands, catching her skirt as her leg tensed at the horse's side. "If you start talking to me, maybe I can take you back to wherever you belong."

"Another ransom?" She caught her breath as he reached up and grabbed her waist, pulling her off the horse and steadying her on her trembling feet in the sand. "We don't have much money. My brother doesn't –"

"Enough with the ransom talk," he said, frowning as she turned her face from him, as if expecting to be struck. "You say you're not wealthy, but Aizen isn't stealing milk maids and net menders. He must think you've got some means of raising a ransom, so you're no vagabond or gypsy. You're worth something."

She nodded, looking back to him when he didn't strike her. "If you take me back to my brother, he'll pay you. I don't know how much," she added, hoping to allay his frustration with her, "but he'll pay you something. Whatever he can."

He brought the reins over the horse's head and tugged at the chain to Orihime's cuffs. "I'm not after a ransom for you. Let's get some water."

They went to the pool where the sandy beach front broke from the rushes and knelt to sample the cooler water, finding it sweet. For several long moments each satisfied their immediate thirst, Renji noting the girl watched him out of the corner of her eye as she cupped water in her hands to her lips. He didn't let her drink much, knowing the stomach spasms that accompanied too much water after being without for long. Just as he was going to mention it, she sat back on her knees, wiping her face with the shawl, taking some of the smudge from one cheek.

He stood and unbuckled the saddle from the horse, letting Orihime take the chains to her cuffs as he moved away to the tallest of the palm trees. He dropped the saddle against a rock and rubbed the horse's sides, feeling its stomach rumble as it eyed the water again.

He spoke to it for a few moments, watching the girl try to comb her hair with her fingers, a task that proved futile, hearing the rattle of the chain as she moved. He turned back to the horse and loosened the bridle and slipped out the bit from its mouth. "Don't go far," he told it.

Renji and Orihime settled at a rock near the rushes of the pool's edge, watching the horse drink greedily from the water as soon as it was left on its own. He removed the cloak and spread it on the sand, nodding to it as Orihime glanced at him.

She slowly sat on the edge, pulling her shawl to her shoulders, smiling at the cooler air on her neck. Renji sat down and took her arm and brought her wrist closer, turning it to inspect the shackle cuff.

He dug the keys he'd kept from the prison from his pocket. "You said your ransom has been paid?"

She nodded slowly, watching him choose a key from the ring. "Yes."

"How many times?"

"Three, I think."

He fit the first key into the lock at her wrist, turned it, and when that one remained tight, tried another. "You've really been there forty-seven days?"

She nodded again.

He tried a third key. "There's no point in lying to me," he said, discarding the third key for another on the ring. "You've either gotten there more recently than you claim or you've had some of the better upkeep in your daily habits, shall we say." He grinned when she pulled slightly from him, the alarm evident on her face even in the moonlight. "If your skin still holds any scent of perfume – which it does," he added leaning to her as she shied, "your family can afford a dozen ransoms. You're either nobility or a lesser princess. If you ranked high, the Emperor would have had you rescued."

"I'm not of royalty or nobility. We're not wealthy," she said as he hovered close, bracing herself from moving away again. She shook her head. "We're not rich. We, we trade when we can. That's all."

He nodded, holding her arm tight as he gave her neck and face a better scrutiny. Among the darker smudges of dirt he could see faint bluish spots on her neck and arms, something that immediately raised his fury. He scowled at the marks, bringing her closer to inspect a particularly dark abrasion at her collarbone.

She flinched as his hand moved the drape of her shawl, but stilled when he drew the embroidered material back.

"Who did that to you? A guard?"

"The women guards," she said, tensing as his fingers moved the shawl. She looked to each of his eyes, trying to discern the unusual appearance of his dark brows in the poor light. "One of the other male guards stopped them."

"Which one?" His gaze dropped over her figure, pausing at the generous shape her bosom made in the dirty dress until she pulled the shawl closer to her chest. "What did you give him in return?"

"Nothing," she said, shaking her head immediately, a blush forming at her cheeks. "I gave no one anything there."

He nodded. He went back to working on the cuff and a few seconds later it opened. He shucked off the metal band and rubbed her wrist, which he noted was scratched and raw in a few spots. "What's your name?"

She hesitated answering, which brought a deeper frown from him.

"Your name."

"Orihime." She took her arm as he released it, cradling it to her chest, her fingers rubbing the more tender areas where the metal had chaffed the skin.

He chuckled. "Do you spin or weave?"

"No." She smiled a little when he grinned.

He took her wrist still wearing the cuff, but before he could attempt the key, a labored cough came from the other side of the pool. They both looked there as the horse heaved noisily, its mouth open as its sides shook after drinking the water too quickly.

"Damnation," Renji said, standing and pocketing the keys. "Some camel. Making itself sick." He nodded to Orihime. "Get cleaned up while I walk the fool horse."

She nodded as he left, watching as he scolded the horse. She waited a few moments, seeing him rub the horse's side and neck, making it pick its drooping head from the water and walking it in circles to alleviate the stomach spasms.

She looked to her other cuffed wrist, and then stood and moved to the thicker rushes at the water's edge. It took a few moments to pull the torn and dirty dress off, but she managed to slip out of it and finagle it over her still shackled arm. She kept out of sight from the man and horse, rinsing the dress at the sandy pool water before laying it over a patch of stiff reeds. With a cautious glance to Renji at the other side of the pool, she waded into the water.

The cool liquid lapped at her skin as she quickly eased into it, smiling at the feel of so much water after her drought of prison life. She waded to her waist, the water level surprisingly deep, wiggling her feet in the soft sand in the dark depths. She lowered to her shoulders and washed her face, letting her nose and eyes dip into the water until she couldn't hold her breath any longer. She sank to her chin and let her hair fall back, closing her eyes against the starry sky as she washed the weeks of dust and filth from her hair.

She made a thorough cleaning of every strand of hair in the darkness, losing herself in the ritual, pulling the knots and tangles from her hair as it weighted with water. She scrubbed her skin as best she could with handfuls of sand she dove under to retrieve, smiling at the feel of the wet texture on her skin.

On impulse, she raised her arm to her nose, sniffing the wet skin from her elbow to as high as she could on her shoulder. It smelled no different to her. Well, she reconsidered, it didn't smell of perfumed oil; just of nothing. She supposed it was possible, after years of liberal use of perfume and fragrant oils, to retain some scent. She had never noticed it.

She frowned, recalling what her rescuer had said, looking around for him and the horse. She yelped and sunk to her chin again when she saw him sitting at the bank near her dress.

Renji grinned at her start, wishing she'd taken a moment longer before noticing his presence. She turned her back to him, for a few moments remaining unmoving in the dark, and then looked to him over her shoulder. It was that moment, at that angle, that he knew he'd gotten the right girl, the same one that had peeked at him from around the dungeon cell wall a week ago. He'd had misgivings it was the same girl a few times, knowing there were perhaps others in the underground confines of Las Noches. It had been a brief glimpse of her, but what he could see of Orihime's profile removed any doubts.

She saw him grab something from the sand near him and stand. She backed up a few steps, the water welling higher around her as it deepened.

He held up the dress he'd bought in Blue Haven with the shawl, surprising himself at the forethought. "You can change into something clean, if you want to," he called across the small pool, seeing her nod slightly. "It might fit you."

"Thank you," she said, watching him set the dress on the bank.

"We'll eat when you come out."

She nodded and waited for him to leave or at least turn his back.

Instead he knelt at the edge of the water and washed his face and arms, pushing back his sleeves as she remained nearly submerged in the water. When he stood and turned back to where the horse was belching near the saddle, Orihime eased slowly to the shore. She waited until Renji was occupied with the horse to slip out of the water and dry with her old dress before pulling on the new one. It was cornflower blue, with small seed beads of uncertain color sewn at the collar and neckline. She adjusted it over herself, deftly moving the chain and cuffs as she dressed, and smoothed the skirt, pleased at its length to her shins.

She combed her hair over her shoulder, feeling less resistance in her fingers as her hair lay smoother. She gathered the shawl and her old dress and joined Renji.

He'd set out the few pieces of smoked fish and hard bread he'd brought, watching her sit on her knees on the cloak, inching closer to the few offerings of food.

"Help yourself," he said, wishing the moon would shed more light on her so he could see better who he'd risked his neck for. "But eat slowly."

She nodded, breaking the biggest piece of tough bread in half and handing him the larger chunk as he sat down. "Thank you. My brother will repay you as much as he is able."

He shook his head, leaning against the tree behind him and taking a bite of the bread. "I don't want anything from your brother. Orihime."

The bulge of bite in her cheek stopped as she looked to him, her eyes growing rounder as she studied his face. "Then what do you want?"

He shook his head, grinning at the look crossing her face. "Not what you're thinking," he said, taking a moment to glimpse the fit she gave to the blue dress. "Not that you don't provide the provocation, but I didn't rip you away from Aizen for personal use," he told her, using the less invasive words that seemed necessary.

She swallowed the bite of bread, barely tasting it. "Then why did you help me?"

"I was at Las Noches about a week ago when we were searching for another girl," he said, leaving out names for the moment. He took a piece of smoked fish from the unwrapped cloth and broke it in half, handing her part. "I saw you then."

She took the fish he offered, frowning. "But you came back?"

He nodded, taking a bite of the fish, realizing salted, smoked fish was probably not the wisest choice for desert travel with limited water. No wonder the merchant had pushed it on him at such a fair price.

"I remember you," she said, nodding, studying him for a moment. "I remember seeing you."

"You were in another part of the dungeon then."

"They moved the remaining hostages."

He took a long drink from the flask he'd filled and handed it to her. "How many are left?"

"I don't know. Not many, I think."

For a few moments they ate in silence, the weariness of the long hours of travel catching up. To Renji's surprise, she ate nearly as much as he did. A few times he caught her staring at the black points of tattoos on his forehead at the edge of his black headrag. She said nothing, averting her eyes when he saw her attention. The day's exhaustion pulled at her, and he told her to sleep for a while before they set off again.

She did as he said, curling away at the far side of the cloak, the shawl at her shoulders and her old tattered dress draped over her feet. He watched her breathing beneath the dress, eyes following over the curve of her hip as her hands balled in the shawl's fringed edge at her chest.

"What's your name?" she asked, opening her eyes just enough to see him.

Renji wasn't sure it was a good idea to tell her. His name wasn't as well known as Zaraki's, and for different reasons, but what was known wasn't generally polite dinner conversation. Byakuya Kuchiki had made certain Renji knew that.

"Renji," he said, leaving it at that.

She nodded, eyes closing again. "Thank you for rescuing me."

He nodded slowly, leaning back against the tree. He glanced to the horse nibbling long blades of grass near the water. As far as he could see across the dunes was nothing but sheets of uninterrupted sand. There was no sound, no animals or birds to be heard. He looked to Orihime now sleeping. He hadn't really thought much about what to do with her except take her home. It seemed like the natural option.

But she was reluctant to tell him much. He wasn't sure why, except for the expected caution being imprisoned would bring. He closed his eyes against the low light of the moon. For a moment his mind wandered down the alleys of ransoms and rewards. It wasn't what had motivated him to extract her – Orihime – from Las Noches, but it was a tempting offer at compensation. Something about the idea, however, didn't appeal to him as much as he thought it should. He supposed Byakuya would call it an attempt at gallantry or succumbing to a guilty conscience.

He opened his eyes to see Orihime watching him.

"Is she your wife?" she asked quietly. "The girl you came to find last week."

"No."

Her fingers clutched tighter around the shawl at her chin. "A lover?"

He chuckled, shaking his head. "No. Not a lover. Is that what rich girls do to pass the time? Make up stories about lovers and rescues?"

Her lashes lowered as she looked to the shawl in her hands. "I'm not rich, Renji."

He nodded, watching her eyes close again.

For a few moments she laid still, and then her fingers relaxed, her breathing becoming rhythmic as she fell asleep.

Renji bent one knee and rested his elbow on it. Perhaps she'd be more forthcoming with information in the morning.


Morning saw a new problem on the horizon for Renji. No sooner had he awoke to the horse stomping impatiently than he spotted a horse and rider on a far dune behind them, the way they'd taken the night before from Las Noches.

He retied his headrag, eyes sharp on the small, tall figure in the distance of early morning heat ripples. The advancing figure was barely discernible, but moving at a constant speed.

He tightened the scabbard to his waist and moved to Orihime still sleeping at their campsite.

"Wake up," he told her, shaking one shoulder encased in the shawl. "We're leaving."

At first she pulled from him, eyes widening until she recognized him, recalling their flight together, and then she sat up so quickly her head butted under his chin, nearly making him bite his tongue completely off.

"Damn, girl," he grumbled, rubbing his chin as she shrugged on the shawl and stood up before he could.

"Oh, sorry," she said, whisking the cloak up and shaking it.

Renji stood and stopped her movements. "No time for that. We've got company."

She squinted in the bright morning and looked to where he pointed to the figure in the distance that was closing across the slope of dune. "Who is it?" she whispered, stepping closer to him as her fingers shook on the cloak.

He frowned at her, feeling her arm tremble in his hand. "Don't be afraid yet. They could be anyone."

He didn't mention that a lone traveler cutting across the desert half a day from any of the trade roads and without pack animals was most likely someone in pursuit of them.

Her, more precisely.

"Come on. Stay quiet."

"Okay."

Within moments Renji had the horse saddled and every canteen filled with water, and he set off with Orihime north again, toward where, he hoped, Izuru had taken the Scarlet Reaper to the port town called Dove. The horse was not eager to move away from the source of water, but obeyed Renji's commands as he turned it north.

For an hour the figure behind them stayed at a distance, never gaining or falling behind, and Orihime breathed easier that they could keep ahead. She didn't try to guess who it was, but she did know that the guard known as Nnoitra was generally summoned by Aizen when there was a bounty to collect. She shuddered thinking about it, knowing few of the remaining captives were still bringing ransoms, and knowing she was one.

Behind her Renji let one arm come around her waist as the horse moved at an easy canter across the hot sand. "He's not gaining," he said in her ear.

She nodded, swallowing down some of her fear.

He remained near and she chanced to look at him, eyes focusing on the black tattoos beneath his headrag. She looked back to the sand before them, mind scrambling for something familiar she couldn't quite grasp in the blazing morning sun.

For the next three hours the figure behind them kept its distance, but once they topped the tallest of dunes and the northern coast of Hueco Mundo came into view, the rider tailing them kicked his horse into a run.

Orihime watched this as Renji let the gray horse rest at the top of the dune, peeking around his shoulder at the small tall figure behind them growing larger.

"He's gaining now," she said, turning to look up at him.

He nodded and started the horse down the opposite side of the sandy hill that dissolved into scrub grass and jagged rocks. His eyes moved over the coast. The port of Dove was exactly as the merchant in Blue Haven had described it; tiny, with two docks, a smattering of buildings on the waterfront, barely enough to call it a village.

But most welcome was the sight of the Scarlet Reaper tethered at one of the docks, sails and flags furled in an attempt at anonymity.

Orihime leaned back against Renji as the horse took the slope of sand at a dangerous speed, raising a large dusty cloud in its wake. When they reached the faint trail leading through the scrub and bleached driftwood to the town, she sat straighter in the saddle, trying to see the ship at the dock. The pier was vacant except for a few crewmen loitering, angling fishing lines off into the water. No villagers were around, the day's heat calling for an early nap.

Renji let the horse slow to a trot, his arm anchored around Orihime as she turned to look behind them.

He glanced to the slope they'd just descended, seeing no one. "We're sailing soon," he told her as she bit her dry lower lip. "There's not another ship in sight. Whoever it is can't follow us once we board."

She spun around in the saddle, eyes locking onto the ship.

He felt her tense in his arm, a sudden shift away from him.

"We're sailing?" she gasped. "Where to?"

"Tell me where you belong, Orihime, and perhaps we'll set a course for there."

She shook her head as the horse jogged up to the dock. She glanced at Izuru crossing the ship's deck as he spotted Renji.

"I didn't ... I didn't know..." she said, dry voice faltering as she frantically searched the ship's hull for the escutcheon. She found it, a whimper escaping her. "The Scarlet Reaper?" She turned as much as she could on the horse to see him, one hand embedding in his cloak sleeve. "You're with the Scarlet Reaper?"

He grinned at her evident dismay, turning the horse to the dock. "Don't look so shocked, Orihime."

"You're a pirate?"

Renji halted the horse at the dock as three young boys ran out from seemingly nowhere to take the bridle, each clamoring to tend his mount. He climbed off the horse and kept the reins, reaching a hand up to Orihime.

Her eyes were still on the ship, shaking her head as Izuru was joined by more crewmen hailing them.

Renji waved to Izuru and the blond man immediately gave orders to ready for sailing.

"No," Orihime breathed, shaking her head as Renji looked back to her. "No, no, no, no..."

He took her wrist as she grabbed the reins. "Come on. We're sailing."

She shook her head, legs tightening on the horse's sides as it danced and snorting as the boys pulled at its bridle. "You're a pirate, Renji?"

"Not pirate. Come on," he growled, taking her arm and waist as she resisted. "I figure we've got fifteen minutes at most before our follower reaches us. Let's go."

He pulled her off the horse against her protests, and then waved the boys away with the horse. His arm came around Orihime's shoulders as she balked, bare feet bracing at the dock's edge as he tried to convince her to walk.

"Renji, please," she said, shaking her head and pushing against him, "I didn't know you – You're Captain Abarai?" She sucked in her breath, her elbow catching his side as he shoved her into motion again. "I didn't realize that's who you were. Please don't –"

"Damn it, Orihime," he said low in her ear, his arm anchoring at her waist to nearly lift her off her feet. "I'm not a pirate. We're getting out of hell before we get caught!"

Her resistance turned into desperation. "Please don't," she said weakly as he forced her up the dock. "I didn't know you were a pirate. I didn't –"

His hand came over her mouth as they reached the gangplank reaching from the ship to the dock. He glared at Izuru and the few crewmen watching them curiously. "Get us underway!" he ordered, heaving Orihime onto the gangplank and to the ship's deck. "We've got a follower."

Izuru looked to the end of the dock, and then down the lane leading to the docks from the small village as Nnoitra appeared astride a sweaty horse. "All hands to ropes!" he called, gesturing to the nearest crewman to retract the gangplank.

"Shove off!" Renji ordered to the dozen men standing at the portside rail watching Nnoitra kick the weary horse into a run.

It was the last command Orihime heard as Renji dragged her to the master cabin under the quarterdeck, the hand at her mouth moving to settle at his sword hilt. Her struggles ceased as she grabbed the stairwell rail to the causeway, effectively stopping their progress.

Renji turned on her, hand still on her cuffed wrist.

"Please don't take me away," she pleaded, pulling from him, her hand locked on the rail.

"Do you want to stay here for that?" he demanded, nodding to Nnoitra nearing the town side of the dock.

She glanced behind her at the tall bounty hunter. A sudden lurch of the ship made her hold on the rail change. She looked to the ropes being pulled from the posts on the dock, allowing the ship to slip free of the pier.

She shook her head at Renji. "But you're a pirate. What do you want with me?"

Renji growled down his choicest words and pulled her closer, scooped her up, and slung her over his shoulder and strode down the causeway to his quarters.

Orihime didn't object, seeing Nnoitra leap off his horse and start down the dock toward the departing ship. Her hands on Renji's back pressed nervously into him, feeling his arm tighten on her waist as his other hand pushed her head down as they descended into the ship.

Nnoitra was eclipsed by the deck as Renji walked, and Orihime found herself holding her breath as they entered the darkened master quarters.

"You'd rather be back in a dungeon cell, woman?" he barked at her. He dropped her on her feet in the dim room.

She stepped back at the venom in his tone. She shook her head. "I didn't know –"

"Stay here."

He turned and was gone, slamming the cabin's door behind him.

For a moment she didn't move, terror and a cold numbness creeping up her spine as she realized her change in circumstances. She felt the ship make a dip into a swell of waters, gaining speed as it left the port, Nnoitra's voice loud in cursing at the dock.

She hugged her arms tight, a weak trembling threatening to make her collapse.

She knew the name Scarlet Reaper. She also knew the name Abarai.

She also knew they were pirate.