A/N: Ready for the next chapter? Oh well too bad, because here it is. Enjoy. Please read and review. Warning: I am sort of quoting or 'summarising' a moment from Hueco Mundo, when he began fighting with Ulquiorra, so don't quote me please because I can't be bothered looking up what the exchance between them actually was, and I've probably made parts of it up.

Intervention

Chapter 5: Fame

Orihime awoke. She wondered where Hitori had gone, but then shuddered at the thought. Instead she decided that she would keep going on with her life until he appeared again. And when he did, she would go without question.

I can't believe I was so stupid...talking to Kurosaki-kun...I've met him twice in a couple of days! she thought.

Suddenly her cell phone rang and the orange haired healer picked it up and pressed the green talk button. "Hello?"

"Deliyla, its Tony," said the voice on the other line.

Orihime sighed in aprehension. "Tony, what can I do for you?" she asked politely.

"I've set up a meeting today with the American director, are you okay to go?" asked Tony.

Orihime looked at the clock and nodded to herself. Why not? After all, what else could she do?

"Sure. What time and where?" she asked.

"They said that they would meet you in Sakura. I've booked a Conference Room in the restaurant we always go to down town for dinner. What about 7pm?" said Tony.

"Sure, I have to go now, see you then," said Orihime, as she pushed the red button to end the conversation.

She tired of her life, tired of the fans, the meetings. All she really loved was the acting, which is why she hadn't given it up yet. It was the only thing she could cling to that was part of her life now; she already missed Ichigo, her dog.

Tears began to leak against her smooth cheeks, and guilt at what she had said to her poor Ichigo. She missed him terribly. But Orihime knew from the beginning what this life entailed, ever since the appearance of Hitori. She cursed him everyday, in her mind, but what was done was done. She had no choice but to give up her powers.

"I have no business with you," said Ichigo, his sword at his side.

Ulquiorra says nothing, but looks to him with a deathly expression, if you can call it that.

"Do you want to know why Orihime is here?" he asks.

Ichigo avoids the need to sigh, he didn't have time for this. He had to save her. That's all he was here for. Not to save Soul Society, not for his friends, for her. At that moment, he could see her. He could see her at lunch time, talking animatedly with Tatsuki and then she would look up at him and smile. But that image was fading...he wouldn't let her go!

"I-" began Ichigo (not facing the Espada), about to tell Ulquiorra to not bother; however the black haired Espada interrupted.

"She's a traitor in all of your eyes, but, that is what I intended from the beginning," said Ulquiorra, with no expression.

Ichigo stopped and turned. His rieatsu was rising and Ulquiorra felt pleasure. Was this the key to this shinigami's power? This mere ryoka Orihime?

"I brought her to Hueco Mundo, not giving her-" he began, but Ichigo was upon him in a second. The black rieatsu of his hollow, enveloped the orange haired being in front of him, but Ulquiorra simply held his sword up. He would admit that Ichigo showed the promise that Aizen had seen, in which he had said to Aizen that he was trash. But it was nothing more, if not a level up from trash. For Ulquiorra, it was interesting to guage human emotions, because he could not understand them. The aura coming from Ichigo was anger and rage.

"I knew she didn't come of her free will! I know she's not a traitor!" yelled Ichigo, pushing them into a pillar; destroying it. But the two fighters didn't pay any attention.

"I didn't give her a choice, but it fooled all of you. You can't tell me that you didn't doubt her at all," said Ulquiorra.

He noticed Ichigo's eyes turning black and yellow, he knew those eyes. CRACK. Ulquiorra was sent to the ground, but he had lifted his sword quickly to evade the strike.

"I never believed that."

Ichigo awoke with a start and was sweating again. He had that dream again. He shook his head and got up, rubbing his eyes and forehead. Ichigo looked at the clock and realised it was only 5am...way too early to be awake.

He began to try and go back to sleep, but, his body wouldn't allow it - he kept thinking about Orihime, and the last few days. The substitute shinigami decided to switch the television on low, since he couldn't sleep.

"Welcome to this weeks Entertainment Tonight." It was obviously a repeat from Monday.

"First up is the latest on Deliyla Inoue, the biggest star at the moment."

"Yes, that's right. This beautiful bright young woman is rumoured to be starring as a lead role in Charlie Blazenby's new movie based off a well known book."

A picture of Orihime in another movie popped onto the television.

She was a star alright and Ichigo couldn't believe it. Would she have to go to America for this?

"She's also been seen with a young man with orange hair, rumoured to be her new beau, however, she hasn't divulged anything and doesn't want to speak to the press at all."

Shows footage of a swarm of press trying to speak to Orihime, in which she has her hand up, trying to get away from them.

Ichigo scowled at this. Orihime didn't look happy at all. And plus, he wasn't her new beau! What the hell is that anyway? He switched the television off with furvor and the threw the remote on the ground in anger. He had to speak to her again, even if he didn't want to see her, he was going to make her.

*

"So, you got us up for that?" asked a tired Urahara Kisuke, yawning.

"Well, we would have come earlier, but there was a weird sign out the front saying you were out fishing," exclaimed Rukia narrowing her eyes at the shop keeper.

"Yeah, who the hell fishes at 7pm at night!" yelled Renji.

"Don't be angry at the boss, free loader," said a young man's voice from behind Kisuke.

It was Jinta. He was rubbing his red hair sleepily and Renji growled to himself, muttering things like 'that was ages ago' and 'I wish I had never stayed here'.

Urahara swatted toward Jinta which meant for him to not be so hard on the 'guests'.

"So, you say that Orihime is in trouble?" he asked, now fully awake and sat down on a cushion in front of a dining table.

Yoriuichi strode into the room. "Yes, I felt a strange rieatsu when I took a delivery to Sakura the other day," explained the purple haired woman. She sat next to her companion.

This comment made Renji and Rukia look to the former Captain for advice. Did they know who this person was that was threatening Orihime?

"Someone's after her, I just know it...and I promised her that I'd protect her no matter what!"

"Yes, Ichigo, we understand but what exactly is going on?" asked Rukia calmly. She put a hand on her friend's shoulder to calm him and it worked. "Ichigo?"

"Someone is after Inoue..." he began, but stopped to look at the little puppy who was whimpering. The little German Shephard jumped off the bed quickly and began to lick his leg, after all, Ichigo was the only familiar one to him now.

"Who is it?" asked Rukia, alarmed. "Well? Spit it out you fool!"

"...I don't know. All I do know is he tried to kill her, and if I wasn't there, she would have been dead. Her dog was the only one trying to protect her apart from me. She didn't even fight," explained Ichigo, but his story was all over the place.

"Slow down, when was this?" asked Renji, gruffly.

"About half an hour ago or less than that. I've only just come back from Sakura," explained Ichigo, still in a daze at what was going on. "Her dog tried to defend Inoue and he knocked it away like a feather. He was as good as dead, but she healed him and then dis-owned him. You should have seen her, Rukia. She was a mess, but then all of a sudden she changed and became cold. I've never seen her like that."

Rukia took this in and gave a frown to Renji, who returned it. They looked back to Ichigo.

"Why would this person just attack her?" asked Rukia, asking the obvious question.

Ichigo shrugged his shoulders. "He had a funny rieatsu and he definitely wasn't human...he had a zanpaku-to, I'm sure of it."

Rukia's eyes widened in realisation. "Do you remember when Orihime left?" Rukia asked.

Ichigo picked up Ichigo (the dog) and stared at it, as if trying to understand the point of it. "Yes, I was the only one whom she didn't tell that she was leaving."

Renji looked at Ichigo, observing him.

"Yes, but did you know a few days before her leaving, or it could have been a week or so, a prisoner escaped our prison?" asked Rukia.

Ichigo stopped playing with the puppy and looked to Rukia for the first time since they arrived. "No, I didn't."

"Also, I found out before I left for long service leave that a prisoner had escaped from our prison a week before Orihime decided to become an actress," explained Rukia.

This made Urahara frown. "How?" asked the mysterious shop keeper. Although he wasn't wearing his sandals and hat and didn't have his fan on him, he still had that odd glint in his eye that makes everyone nervous. The only person it didn't effect was Yuroichi.

"Apparently, he found out somehow when the guards have their breaks and found out when the least guards were on. He walked over to one of them at the exchange of shift when the door was open. The guard was walking through the door and he somehow ran past them. From there, he attacked anyone who got in his way," said Renji, scratching his head as he spoke.

"Yes, I remember now. Kisuke. We put him there. I recognise the reiatsu I felt now as there was only one person who would emitt such a rieatsu. I now know how he found out when the exact shift was...he can read minds," said Yoruichi wisely. "But why would he want Orihime?"

Kisuke frowned and looked to Rukia. "He was a shinigami once, he was in my squad. But he had ideals, weird ones. Of course, I didn't ever think that he would try to follow through on them, so I paid them no mind. He wanted to...rule. He wanted the world - all worlds. When I created the Hogyoku, he attempted to steal it. However, Yoruichi already had the suspicion that he was out to get it and informed me. Together we arrested him and he was sent to prison for life."

Rukia looked to Renji. "What was his name?" asked Renji, snapping his head toward the sandal wearing ex-captain.

"Hitori Matsuma."

A/N: Sorry, that's all I care to write at the moment. Please read and review. I'm sorry if think that I've done that scene wrong (Ulquiorra vs. Ichigo), and I apologize.

Bullet2tm