[AliCe InChains]

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

[Innocence Is No Excuse]



The dark descended upon them as heavily as a starless night, a moonless night, devoid of wind, comfort- hope. That door closing with such an air of finality- Abandon hope all ye who enter here. The words over her own personal portal to hell. A hell she had been looking for, a hell she had been awaiting, had seen coming for so long now it amazed her how unprepared she found herself. She'd sought out the Dragon- intentionally or no- and she had no other choice now but to burn in its hell fire. Had she expected anything less? ( Dare she had hoped for anything more?)

Haha! She wanted to skip, run madly around the room, 'nananananana! In yo faise! There were honestly no words for how crazy she had to be, for how insane she had to be. Where had the reason, the morals gone?

Her ragged intake of breath was the only sound in the dark. Her sweat soaked t-shirt clung to her like a second skin- she wanted to calm her heaving chest, to soothe her pounding heart- and yet she wanted to keep this feeling, this forbidden feeling in her gut. She was tied up, strung up in the dark- alone- with him. With him. If they knew- if her friends knew- picturing the disbelief on their faces almost made her smile. They would hardly believe her- maybe they would be disgusted, horrified even. Because really- their darling, darling princess was really-

"Orihime Inoue. You will explain yourself."

You will. And she would. There was no begging, pleading, no-please-and-thank-you-sir. It was a curt demand, one for which he not only deserved an answer, but expected her to have one readily available. There was no pity for her, no compassion- the brutality of that thinly veiled command could have made the most steadfast in step falter, made the most docile bristle with something that was not quite rage. The intent behind the words was obvious- I am Lord and Master here. And you will answer to me.

And that was how it needed to be, how it should be. The owner of that cold voice, that ramrod straight back, that lithe form laced with something that could have easily brought her to her knees. Were she able to stand, she would have long since been on them, she could barely believe now from whence the courage had come to finally meet his eyes- months of sly glances, of faltering steps in the wake of his shadow, of hiding around corners, praying for a glance of that form striding away from her with that abnormal grace. She'd saved that feeling, had re-imagined the man behind that stare countless times- but the reality was far beyond the scope of her imagination. Even she could not have made up that passion less glance.

She wanted to search the dark for him, blindly, seeing with her hands. She wanted to find him, feel the expanse of him. He would be cold. His skin would freeze her fingertips, like pressing them to freshly fallen snow. She wanted to- her lips against his. She wondered if it would be like kissing an ice cube. And she wanted to-

"Onna. I will not repeat myself."

She snapped to attention hastily- if she let herself wander for anything less than a second- that was all it would take. Nothing, absolutely nothing, held his interest for long. If she didn't do something, say something- he would regard her anew with that passing and disregarding glance. Trash. Because in his eyes that's what they all were- they were all alike. Filth. Was it purely selfishness then? To this cold, being- What was it?

She stuttered for a moment, the words lost- she could only stare blankly at him- and not in that cute, confused way she showed everyone else. No…he was better than that. He deserved more than that. There would be no flowery words from him, nor should she expect to give any in return. She thought about her typical response- giggle giggle, say something cute- cock her head, playfully flustered- 'What a coincidence! She hadn't been strung up like this since she'd gotten it into her head to find out what being a human piñata was like. Not fun. Little kids with bats didn't have mercy for a stuffed donkey, much lest a cheerleader hanging from a tree upside down. She'd been feeling particularly outrageous that day…must've been the sugar toasted wheat thins she'd been eating…speaking of those things, the brand maker had to be the biggest liar on the planet! One hundred calories? The Blasphemy!'

She didn't know what to say- she couldn't talk to him like she talked to everyone else. He wasn't her friend. She couldn't amuse him with her daily trifles, her adorable monologues, her outlandish thoughts. He would scoff at them, make them even more absurd than they were supposed to be. He wasn't her friend, her comrade…he wasn't even her classmate. She'd never spoken to him face to face since…..heck, she'd never even fully looked him in the face.

How would that imaginary princess have survived in the realm of the dragon? He wouldn't have cared about her title, her beauty, her accomplishments- that beast wouldn't have given a damn about the people she loved, nor the ones who loved her. How did you speak with something like that?

It was almost 'haha' funny. She had to remind herself that some hidden, deep, dark, stupid part of her had been waiting for something like this.

He was waiting- there was no movement- just an eerie expectant silence. She would tell him nothing but the truth. She swallowed, the dry gulp doing nothing to alleviate her parched throat. She fumbled for a moment- in the dark, she couldn't see his eyes- those vivid green eyes should have been beacons in the night- she couldn't see them- and it made her anxious. Goosebumps once again broke out along the length of her skin. She instinctively knew that before the words left her mouth they would sound weak in the dark. Scared. Pathetic.

"Well um…Ul-Ulquiorra-san I-I live here- on the third floor- I mean…I had no idea that you-"

"Spare me the trivialities Onna."

His voice was suddenly so close to her ear that she nearly bit her tongue off in surprise- she whipped her head around instantly to the side from which she'd heard his voice- even though she felt that as suddenly as he been there, he had once more faded into the gloom. The beat of her heart began to quicken again- when she heard a strange click, she winced as a light exploded overhead. She blinked owlishly in the sudden light, craning her neck backwards to look upwards at the single light illuminating her form- it was perfectly angled, bathing her in a halo of white light- while the rest of the room remained in complete shadow. It made her feel even more uncomfortable due to the fact that she was suddenly made aware of the small tidbit that he could see her perfectly- while she had no idea where in that darkness he was.

She squirmed in her bonds, feeling extremely awkward now- and her arms were beginning to hurt from holding her weight- she could just barely touch the ground with the tips of her toes, but she could only imagine how ridiculous she must appear to him- like a pig hung up for the slaughter. Her eyes searched the dark anxiously, and she gulped despite herself. Somewhere, in that darkness he was- watching her. Just…watching her.

"I'm sorry I was just…you dropped your k-key so I thought I'd bring it to you-"

"If that was merely the case, simply sliding it beneath the door would have been sufficient. It was completely unnecessary to enter my dwelling of your own free will."-yeah but she thought of that! She didn't know he had a spare-"Based on this assumption, you entered based on some misguided reasoning, or to perform some manner of mischief- and by appearances- it was the latter."

He didn't expand on his point- she blushed to the roots of her ginger colored hair and looked down at her socked feet- the fact that she was literally strapped to his wall seemed irrefutable proof. She tried to imagine what he must be thinking- arriving home to find a school mate he'd only seen from a distance, strapped to the wall of his basement. The thought was suddenly so hilarious, she cracked a smile- how stupid could she get? Maybe she was going crazy, maybe she was losing her mind- and then he was on her- she blinked and he was there. Blinked, and those impossibly vivid emerald eyes were staring her right in the face. The smile literally shriveled up and faded from her face. The blood- the heat left- she closed her mouth abruptly and whipped her head back- those eyes, this close to her, were too intense, literally boggling her mind.

He stepped forward into the light, and for the first time she got a good, hard look at the enigma that had plagued her since the year began. The green eyed monster that had haunted her thoughts and dreams, that had seeped into the darkest corners of her most disturbing fantasies and nightmares. Ulquiorra Schiffer.

His skin- she could feel the cold, radiating off of him like a tangible thing- the ghostly white pallor of his skin- was the color of a fresh corpse. Those blank eyes, soulless, passionless- that face, that exquisitely beautiful face- made even more so by the frigid expression ghosted along its planes. That face that was frozen over- devoid of emotion, life, anything remotely human-marred by an unchanging perpetual frown. The inky black bangs of his hair was almost casually draped over his forehead- but there was nothing casual about him.

The crisp white collared shirt was visibly perfect- without so much as a single wrinkle- the hands casually shoved into the pockets of those perfectly creased black slacks- she had seen the length of those long fingers, spindly, with black tipped fingernails. There was even a cold fluidity in his every movement- from that one step from the dark to the light surrounding her, every movement was precise and controlled. It made perfect sense to her now- the bareness of the apartment, as if its owner did not "live" there- for him an apartment was a place to dwell, not to sustain with comforts. She didn't know him but… how like him it seemed.

He stood silently in front of her, unflinchingly staring at her, allowing his eyes to unabashedly run up and down the length of her form. She shivered beneath his scrutiny- but refused to look away from his eyes- even though she could feel her legs begin to tremble- her resolve wavering to ash.

"You find yourself in a compromising position, at the mercy of a being who is only discernible to you by name. And yet you find this amusing? Onna. I do not think you fully comprehend your current situation."

And she lost her breath. He stepped closer to her- she felt her legs turn to mush as he casually removed his hand from his pocket- the simplicity of that action was more than enough to make her hastily draw her tongue over her lips. He was looking at her but not at her- past her, into her- and dear god the heat was burning in her veins! He was close now, too close- she clenched her thighs together, ground them together because this wasn't allowed, this wasn't allowed-

Too close to her, too close!- she couldn't look at him as he leaned forward, turned her head away and slammed her eyes shut- but his clothed chest drew closer to hers, and she could feel the cold radiating from him- and she smothered a sound far too inhuman to be coming from her, a barely concealed whimper, an incoherent plea- her face was on fire, her entire body was on fire- dear god was he going to touch her? If he so much as put a finger on her she would explode into flames she would- her chest ached, those awkward breasts boys had worshiped and girls had envied felt too heavy for her frame- she didn't know what this feeling was, she couldn't take it she couldn't-

And then that cold hand encircled her wrist, and the liquid heat overwhelmed her.


He freed her in silence.

He had given her a moment to collect herself after her embarrassing display- needless to say, by that time, she had been so utterly baffled, ashamed- she could barely stumble to her feet at his call, could barely comprehend his words- not that he said anything more. Just unclamped her- and when she toppled to the floor, a babbling mess, her thighs clenched tight with her secret shame- she had nothing to say. Her burning face, ragged breath- was it enough? Was it more than enough? It seemed as if there was no way he couldn't have known- he had to know- she couldn't tell by the aura of him- he was too cold to read- that expressionless face could have held anything from disgust to contempt.

She didn't say anything as he silently led her up the stairs- she was content to follow in his soundless wake. He stood in the hall to await her ascension, then silently reached behind her to close the basement door. Her face was one mess of boiling nerves and shame, her sun tinted skin now a deep crimson- she hastily moved out of his way, shuffling as fast as she could. She felt heavy, languid- and the sudden calm from her body was frightening- especially when her mind was in hyper drive. He stood behind her as she hurriedly scuffled across the floor in her socks, hastily sliding her feet into her shoes. All done in the heaviest silence she ever had to bear. She grabbed her pack from the floor, slung it onto her back- the silence was a living, tangible thing- she could have touched it, this heavy silence.

She wondered why he hadn't said anything- why he wouldn't say anything- what now? What of this? Did they leave it like this? Was she supposed to just…leave? Without saying anything, without acknowledging anything? If she let it go like this, this was how it would remain- it would just go back to normal- she would have to go back to normal- back to denial. Because princess's didn't do things like this, didn't do things like what she had done- she felt so dirty, so deliciously dirty- and in this filth was a freedom she had wanted, had craved since she knew how to crave- had wanted but didn't know she had wanted- until now.

She couldn't believe it (but she wanted to)- this had to be a dream, that couldn't possibly have just happened- that couldn't possibly have been real- she flushed darker at the thought of it. (A single touch! The girl who was constantly told that she had the body and-surely- some innate sexual prowess to rival that of a sex goddess- had, at only a single touch-)

She felt almost light headed from the ridiculous amount of blood she was sure was pooling into her head- she didn't want to recall that moment- didn't want to relive it- but she knew she would. She knew she would- nothing in her wildest fantasies could match the feel of him- the feeling of those cold hands as they encircled her wrist-(- as they encircled her waist, her entire body, the heat from her burning flesh cooled and ignited by the cold in those fingers- those-) – and she gnawed fiercely on her bottom lip to calm herself- calm herself because stupid girl the man you're fantasizing about is right behind you and waiting for you to get the french toast out of his apartment.

She envisioned her arm in motion, watched her palm settle around the door knob- it seemed like an eternity before it actually happened in reality. She hated this silence, this cold detached silence that would lead to her dismissal- but there was something about that chill knowing his eyes were resting on her back. She made no move to open the door.

If she let it stay like this- she knew this would be the first, last, and only time. And she didn't…she didn't want that. She didn't know why she wanted that. (And she was lying to herself because she knew exactly why she wanted that.) She tried to muster her legs to move- to turn- but it was as if her bones had turned to jelly beneath her flesh. Her very insides felt like nothing short of rotating mush in her belly, her blood slow and lazy now, that liquid heat cooled to a sated blaze. And he didn't know- did he? Did he? The question plagued her- she felt a cheek- it burned beneath her palm. Did he know enough about girls too know? Could he possibly know? That immovable blush on her face- could he? Did he?

She turned suddenly- and he was right there in front of her. She gasped and pressed her back flush against the door- her dazed grey orbs hesitantly meeting his. His face was blank- too blank- when he spoke.

"This situation will not repeat itself. In the unlikely occurrence that I once again find you violating my premises without my explicit permission, I will not be so lenient. Do I make myself clear Onna?"

Her heart seemed lodged into her throat as she tucked her head, staring down at her feet- but it was no longer any use, he'd already seen it- she scraped the bottom of her rapidly dissolving brain for words (say something! Anything! Weather! Ice Cream! Pull a Rukia! Lie woman! Lie!)-but her inner voice might as well have been silent. She failed miserably.

" L-Listen I-" (Listen? To what? There was nothing to say!)

A pale hand collided with the door beside her head- and she jumped instinctively, her head shooting upwards to once more be assaulted by those vivid green eyes. This close- not just to his eyes but to him, like this, again made her body rouse back to life. She struggled to control herself, to measure her breath- she averted her eyes to the floor. She felt as if she had been pinned to the wall- she was hovering against it so, pressed as far back as it allowed her, to give her some fleeting comfort, some space- but he didn't care about her space or her needs- he had given her a command and-

"Do not make me repeat myself."

-he didn't like to repeat himself. She bobbed her head up and down awkwardly, trembling in his shadow- like some pathetic, frail thing- this was why- without someone around to shelter her, to protect her- she was like this. This was how she really was- the princess was only bold amongst her company- alone she was a spineless coward. And he was too much of everything she wasn't- she sucked in a breath, and kept her gaze rooted on the floor- she couldn't meet his eyes again.

"I…understand. I won't come back unless you say I can, and I'll be sure not to bother you again…scout's honor. I didn't mean to cause you any trouble so…um…I'm sorry."

He backed away from her, carefully- she wasn't blessed with another touch of those cold fingers. She gave him a wavering, half hearted smile as she turned and fumbled with the doorknob- she didn't want him to see the disappointment on her face and the tears she knew were in her eyes. Because it didn't make sense, even to her. What had she been expecting? A passionate display of affection? A love confession? Tender parting words? What had she been expecting? Even if he knew, or suspected- she would receive nothing in return. Not a smile, smirk or anything of the like. She was stupid for having thought that just because it had turned out to be him…that it would mean anything.

She left.

He didn't stop her.


She hurled her pack into a corner, kicked her shoes off more ferociously than necessary- she all but ripped her cotton shirt from her shoulders, flying through the buttons and viciously pulling it down her arms. The zipper of her skirt stuck when she attempted to yank it down- in her haste she kicked the cotton thing from her legs. She walked steadily, with purpose, to her room- flicked the light on, barely glancing at the clothes tornado that was scattered around her room.

She closed her bedroom door with more force than the act required, and stood in front of the door length mirror in her black bra and matching underwear. She took in her red face, the disheveled hair- the proof of the struggle imprinted on her wrists. She let her hands race blindly over the reddened cheeks, down the graceful column of her neck- across the sculpted planes of her shoulders- tentatively feeling along the perfectly formed globes that made up her impressive bust- over the flat stomach too- she stopped- and felt her face scrunch up with something that could have been a strangled cry.

She sat down on the edge of her bed, and took a deep breath- just because she'd thought it was so- didn't mean that it was! After all, what did she of all people know about these things! She might have played ignorant about a lot of things, but this one left her completely clueless- most of what she knew came from Animal Planet wild life specials and late night documentaries on human anatomy. In all her seventeen years of life, she had never had a boyfriend. She had almost kissed a boy (once) but…it hadn't exactly gone through. And now, she was almost a little glad.

And then of course there were….the dreams. But they belonged entirely in a realm of their own. Just even the thought of comparing them to reality made her want to cover her face and crawl under the bed. In fact, that was she what she should be doing at this very moment. How was she still standing, let alone sane?

She'd miraculously survived her encounter with the green eyed monster- and like the naive idiot she was- she wondered if now, it would be stupid of her to be anticipating seeing him again. But why should she want to? He had a white freakishly clean windowless apartment on the top floor with a basement complete with (what she was 99.99999% sure) had to be a torture chamber, where he could (true to his dragoness-ness) barbecue his helpless victims over pit fires and devour virgins at his leisure.

She took a deep breath and buried her face into her palms- she tried to call that image back up- bald syringe wielding serial killer, out to pump her full of LSD so he could skin her with a cookie cutter and make bootleg purses out of her flesh to sell at the flee market- but what she got instead was (-cold hands encircling her wrists and slowly venturing downward- burning a frigid trail down the heated expanse of her burning flesh- along the curve of her shoulder, delicately circling against the top of her-) she sucked in a breath so deep it made her cheeks pucker, and slapped her legs together in a fierce motion that made her inner thighs sting. (BALD SYRINGE WIELDING SERIAL KILLER RAPIST WHO MAKES COOKIES OUT OF VIRGIN BOOB FLESH. GREEN EYED SYRINGE WIELDING SERIAL RAPIST WHO LIKES EATING COOKIES OFF VIRGIN BR-)

She screamed into her palms in frustration, fiercely slapping her cheeks to chase away the rapidly evolving image in her mind that had gone from bald serial killer to Ulquiorra before she had time to even know she was thinking thoughts she was absolutely NOT supposed to be thinking about! What was wrong with her? She groaned in exasperation at her plight- she just had to be going insane. There was no other way…

…Because she had just known then, immediately, without any Tatsuki, Rukia or the like- she'd found out all by herself, without a mother or father or brother. Her imagination had been her teacher- and in it some green eyed monster with frigid hands. She gulped, trying to psyche herself up for what needed to be done. She could always pretend this had never happened, she could pretend she'd never known anything and tomorrow be back to that cheerful, outlandish girl everyone knew and loved. No one else had to know- not even herself. Sure, she might need to stay addicted to Nyquil for a couple of months, but surely it was only a matter of time before-

["You find yourself in a compromising position, at the mercy of a being who is only discernible to you by name. And yet you find this amusing? Onna. I do not think you truly comprehend your current situation."]

She sighed, dropping her hands, dejectedly, back into her lap. Maybe she should have told him the truth then- it would have made her life easier. Or maybe she was lying to herself- she didn't get far into happily ever after with him, and that was even within the confines of her own mind. And even that was overly optimistic of her. As much as she wanted to tear at her hair, crawl in the fetal position or otherwise drown her sorrows in mint banana flavored ice cream in front of a six hour nickelodeon marathon- she had a sinking feeling those days were about to be over.

Tentatively, she parted her thighs, already feeling the harsh intake of breath released at even that simple notion. And even that was enough to make her flush- and it took everything within her to stay committed to this. She sucked in another breath, trying to psyche herself up- (C'mon Orihime…say it with me- I'm a Big Kid Now-) She voiced the words, tried to smile at her own foolishness at the very wrongness of quoting a toddler commercial for diapers while doing something like this- but she didn't feel it.

The thin cotton of her lingerie felt heavy between her legs- she didn't have to do this in order to understand what he did to her- what he could do to her. But she wanted to. Slowly, she raised her hand, drawing her fingertips up the flesh of her inner thigh with a barely contained shiver. She hesitated, the thought of what she was about to do so foreign, so not-Orihime that she wished someone else were doing this instead of her. But that thought, innocent enough as she meant it to be- took on a dangerous turn when she considered the someone else she had in mind.

She sucked in another deep breath, and hooked one of her fingers around the thin elastic waistband, and cautiously pulled. There was a bizarre, almost otherworldly feeling of something leaving her- and in a completely scary 'I-didn't-know-I-was-pregnant!' kind of way. Either that, or when she felt her insides turned to mush maybe they had- literally. Liquefied right there in her belly like jello in the mircrowave.

Experimentally, she slid her hand between the cloth layer and her own flesh- the foreign feeling overwhelming her. She really didn't want to do this. It was near five o' clock, and Sponge bob was on. Flapjack would come on shortly, and she could laugh at the strange adventures of a big nosed blue man and his questionably homo underaged playmate (and their giant whale mama).

But slowly, inch by inch her fingers descended- until her fingertip cautiously probed against one of the velvety folds that was her. The slight touch sent an electric pulse running through her legs that effectively melted them once more- she slammed her lips together to hold in the whimper- from a pleasure so foreign and unknown to her it could have been pain. It was a more pronounced version of that other subtle feeling- the one he had incited in her.

She froze when she felt something hot and slick coat her fingertips, and she hastily pulled her hand back, held it up in front of her face- and her fingers were coated with it, the proof of her pleasure. Whether she had wanted it or not, it had happened.

…and the man who caused it hadn't even really touched her yet.

She felt backwards onto her bed, burrowing her face into the silken strands of her hair. What was she supposed to do? There was no one to tell, no one to confide in- but honestly- why this? Honestly- Why him? It could have been anyone else, Ichigo, Uryuu, Chad- of all the wonderful men that were present in her life, why did her body crave the one she wasn't allowed to have?


She'd instinctively known the day following this incident of her life was going to suck.

It was probably going to be even worse than the day she'd gotten stuck in the super market line behind an old lady counting out ninety-nine pennies, then got line jumped by a man so frightening she dared not remind him she was there, then had needed a nickel and had to bum one from a kid in the parking lot who made her dance for it, dropped it in the gutter, had to fish it out with gum and a strand of her hair, managed to get it, and had gone in the store just in time to get mixed up in a robbery in process by a man with an ax and a stocking pulled over his head. Then he'd held the store hostage, and she was stuck tied up beside a grandpa who smelled like wet dog while the police negotiated with the robber- then they maced the place, saved the day, and sent everyone home…and then she had to testify in court the next day against the robber, who just happened to be the driver of the taxi she had taken over to the super market in the first place.

"Holy Shit Orihime! You look like someone mugged you in a back alley on the way to school, took your lunch money, pushed you in a puddle, gave you a noogie, and then proceeded to river dance over your lifeless body. So whose ass do I need to kick?"

-Ah, the sound of cracking knuckles in the morning.

She laughed eerily, wondering when Tatsuki had made her way over to her desk- or when she'd gotten their herself. Funny, she didn't remember waking up this morning, much less walking to school. Hmm…had she even showered? Or was she sitting here naked? No, no cause them they wouldn't have let her in school…unless it was 'pretend to be a naked lad' day and she was really blending right in.

"-Must've been those closest leprechauns that live under my bed again. If I leave them my homemade carrot banana oatmeal pies they'll wash my underwear."

(Of course, she thought she had said that anyway, but due to a long sleepless night spent staring blindly with bloodshot eyes at an all night movie marathon to keep her mind off of the underwear currently burning in her sink, and the fire alarm going off over her head, what really came out of her mouth was "Mmpfh bo clommen libre 'ive wedgin. Ifi leaf homma 'arrot 'nana mepie watch wear.")

Tatsuki's familiar face drifted closer to her own, a dark eyebrow raised as she stared at the incoherent blob that was Orihime. She took in the wild hair, the absent look in her eyes, the bags beneath them, the awkwardly placed hairpins, the collared shirt buttoned up wrong, the skirt on backwards, the mismatched socks. And then there was the nonsensical nonsense to consider of course.

"Uhhh Orihime? Maybe you should go wash your face really quick…it might help you function better. I'll cover for you this time, but the next time you stay up for eight hours straight watching all night movie marathons on TV instead of going to sleep, I'm coming to your apartment and hurling that shit out the nearest window. Got me?"

She looked up- and saw Big Bird standing in front of her, spouting something about 'watch faise', as he readied his light saber for battle against flying radioactive star fish on the way to take over the school and enslave the entire highschool population. She had to get to her battle station, make sure all the preparations were complete for interstellar time travel, reload the plasma guns and-

"ORIHIME INOUE GET YOUR ASS TO THE BATHROOM NOW OR SO HELP ME I'M GOING TO CARRY YOU THERE MYSELF!"

Ohhh yeah. Tatsuki. Shaking her back to life. (she'd fallen into a coma sitting up, head lolling on her shoulders and drool seeping from between her closed lips.)

"Aye Aye Captain!"

She shot up, the chair clattering to the floor behind her as she spun dizzily out of the room, leaving a frowning Tatsuki in her wake, sighing and shaking her head.


She washed her face, combed her hair, straightened her skirt, re-buttoned up her shirt, fixed the placement of her hairpins, smiled and made faces in the mirror, was ready for action, and then hopped out of the bathroom feeling like a million-fa-fillion dollars.

She strolled lazily down the university corridors- they were quiet and vacant without the mad rush of students that usually occupied them- it was kind of comforting, knowing she was the only one out here. The walls were covered in posters and flyers for this that and the other, as well as the occasional rainbow colored smudge where graffiti had been sprayed there and vigorously scrubbed away by the janitors.

She looked both ways, then grinned cheerfully to herself at the wonderful opportunity- it wasn't every day she got a chance like this. She spread her arms wide, set her feet, and closed her eyes. What would she be? Maybe an airplane fighter pilot? Or perhaps an astronaut blasting through space in a space shuttle? Dodging meteors, up, up and away to unknown worlds! Left, left! The alarm bell was ringing, flashing a glaring red in her vision- her leprechaun sized comrades looked to her for assistance, hastily beating multicolored keys in unison- 'They'd been hit! The ship synchronization had dropped 50%, they were going to have to crash land on a nearby planet-' 'No Dammit!' She stood up, her eyes narrowed with years of wisdom, the scars of battle etched into the lines of her face. She strode to the front of the ship, grey eyes eerily calm. She wouldn't let it end like this. They thought she could be taken down this easily? Those damn aliens wouldn't know what hit them. To the battle stations! She'd be damned if she was going to go down without a fight! Tatsuki nodded her approval, grinning impishly as she loaded up their last round. She swallowed, raising her hand to give the command- perhaps the last she would ever give. 'On my mark- ready…set…"

"Fire! Pewpewpew! Down goes the alien battleship in a plume of smoke, lost in the vacuum of space, as it EXPLODES! Boom! Pow! Captain Orihime and her loyal crew are victorious!"

She pumped her fist in the air, grinning and pivoting on her heel to take a mock bow to her imaginary crew. See? She still had it! She grinned wider, thumbing her nose sheepishly as she strode down the hall. She let loose a breath she didn't know she had been holding. It was fine, everything was fine- she could still do things like that. She could still be crazy, and fun, she could still imagine otherworldly adventures like she used to, she could still loose herself in her imaginary world- she could still do it. Nothing had changed, she was still the same Orihime…right?

She shook her head wildly from side to side, ducking around a corner as she hastily slapped her cheeks with both hands. Of course she was still the same! Did she have peanut flavored french fries with soy sauce in her lunch box? Of course nothing had changed! Just because she…had…an 'experience'…didn't mean she had changed for good! In fact, she was better than ever! Yep, yes siree she was fine- perfectly fine.

She leaned against the wall, admiring her shadow against the floor tiles. She struck a pose, watching as it mimicked her- made the V for Victory sign, and smiled- but of course if it smiled back she wouldn't have known. She (knew she was lying) and because she did know at least that much, her smile dropped. Now it was only a matter of time before-

She froze, her eyes widening as another shadow formed behind hers. She spun around so fast she tripped over her own feet and fell flat on her back, her heart pounding in her ears- she didn't look up she didn't-

"What the hell? You on some bad shit or what? I hadn't even touched you yet!"

She blinked in surprise, and looked up at the imposing figure towering over her- she took in at a glance the wrinkled and baggy slacks, the half unbuttoned shirt with the rolled up sleeves, the powerful build, the blue hair, unkempt and wild. There was always an odd expression of contempt laced in the lines of his grin- that was more smirk than smile. His eyes were narrowed, assessing- he took her in at a glance, and the pronounced smirk on his face made her realize than when she'd fallen her legs had spread of their own accord. She hurried to close them.

"Well what do ya know…if it isn't the darling princess." The way his words rolled over the words made a funny shiver roll down her spine. It suddenly came to her attention that this was the first time she had ever found herself talking to him since- well- she hadn't said anything back yet.

She stood up hastily, hurrying to her feet as she knocked the dust off her skirt- it was fine (she tried to tell herself) she could do this. Noted differences aside, it wasn't that hard- he couldn't be that bad, he was fine, she preferred him any day to- well….him. She smiled, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head her instant defense mechanisms kicking in- rambling to hide her nervousness.

"I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention, and for a second there I thought for sure you were the boogeyman, or at least the President Mr. Miyagi and he isn't very nice about students being out of class you know, so you should probably head there yourself, we may be college freshmen now, but detention's still no fun at all, especially on today- it's Wednesday , and every Wednesday they give out free ice cream after class at the parlor downtown- it's really the best- especially the pistachio one with almonds and sprinkles- and you wouldn't want to be stuck in the dorms doing extra work knowing that all your friends were busy licking melted ice cream off their fingers would you?"

She sucked in a breath, prepared to continue her mini rant when she nearly jumped out of her shoes through the roof at a harsh sound that struck oddly in the empty hall- it was a funny mix of a dog barking and a cat growling ( was that even a sound?) and it took her a moment to realize that it was Grimmjow- laughing.

She managed to pick her jaw up in time as his eyes made their way back to her face, the grin on it more impish and mischievous now than that scary smirk he seemed to always wear. She didn't know which one to be more wary of- his 'slasher' smile or the fact that she had made him laugh which had been deemed nigh impossible- so she was going to make it her business to call Guinness as soon as she got herself straight.

She blinked as Grimmjow leaned towards her, calming herself and resisting the urge to hop back a couple of steps- just in case making him laugh happened to be his berserk button.

"You're fucking crazy you know that? You're lucky you're not a man or I'd have punched your face in, lecturing me like that. Either you're really naïve or just plain stupid."

She didn't miss a beat, matching his funny smirky grin with one of her own. She was surprised at how nonchalant she was, being this close to the university's resident 'socio-psychopath'- but after getting over his odd facial expressions, she could honestly say at the heart of her she wasn't afraid of him. He reminded her a little of her nearest neighbor, a reformed gangster- it just took a lot to get his mind off bloody knuckles and bullet wounds and onto more pleasant things- and to remind him that he didn't have to live that life anymore. Her smile to him was honest and pure.

"No you wouldn't have! Everyone else makes you out to be this really scary, out of control monster, but you seem okay to me!"

He scoffed, taking a step back from her- and she wondered if she imagined him rolling his eyes at her.

"No shit huh? Guess they don't call you the fucking princess for nothing. Well in that case you had better run on to class little girl, I've got business to handle."

He strode past her, his hands shoved into his pockets and his shoulders hunched in a way that was so eerily familiar it made a funny tingle run down her spine. She turned and watched him stride away- his walk wasn't exactly as graceful or as fluent- but it seemed- almost angry, with an anxious, barely contained power to it. As if he would literally strike out in one moment, without warning, and rip the nearest thing to shreds. She imagined that if he ran on all fours, he would stalk like a panther- or a wild cat. Maybe a lion. She could imagine him with a shaggy blue mane.

She smiled to herself- honestly, what had been the problem with him? He seemed a little mad half the time, but he seemed fine to her. She called after him, feeling bold suddenly, and waved after him-

"I'll see you later Grimmjow! You should still get to class! Remember, ice cream Wednesdays!"

He turned and shot her a glance over his shoulder, an eyebrow raised at the ferocity of her waving arm as she motioned good bye. He scoffed again, as if he couldn't believe her stupidity. She didn't blame him, she couldn't get herself sometimes either.

"Yeah, yeah whatever! Next time I see you, bring that Ichibitch with you. Tell him I'm still waiting on that ass whooping he promised me. He had better grow a pair soon, or else. I'm tired of waiting as it is."

He walked off grumbling the rest of his words under his breath, although she was sure he had said his fair share of profanities. She watched him turn the corner, shaking her head. It was no secret that Grimmjow and Ichigo couldn't stand each other, and each had said their fair share of insults. In fact, the only thing that had stopped them thus far from literally turning the school inside out in an all out battle royale to kill each other had been a merciful difference in schedules. Luckily for everyone else, they were almost always at opposite ends of the school at any given time.

She sighed at a bullet successfully dodged, wiping an invisible stream of sweat from her brow. Lucky! If he'd been half as bad as people made him out to be, she'd have had her face through a wall by now and been halfway to heaven. But she was glad she'd gotten to talk to him- a little rough around the edges, but he seemed like an ok guy- a little bit on the wild side, and yeah admittedly scary (kind of) but if nothing else, if she ever found herself in a strange part of time about to get manhandled in a bar fight, she would know who to call.

Either him or-

And impossibly, she blinked back to reality just in time to see that tall form, a blur of black and white, stride past the hall she was on after Grimmjow. She thought for sure, in that moment, that the world spun around her, a vacuum that stripped her of breath. He was gone before she even found the time to blink. And when she did blink, only empty hall greeted her.

She gripped hastily at the fabric of her shirt, feeling the cotton tightly grasped in her fingers, the heat of her body beneath, the pulse of her heart beneath her hand. She realized that the world had not spun- but her body had swayed, she had fallen heavily against the wall- if it had not been there she would have hit the floor.

She should run.

Run right back to class. She'd been gone too long.

Run back to class and apologize to her crazy English professor, muttering something about having her shoe swept away by a deranged janitor who would only give it back to her if she beat him in a rap battle. He'd motion for her to sit down. She'd plop down beside Tatsuki with a grin, one that would be met with a knowing look, as if this was all part of the daily routine. She'd get a poke from behind her, turn to Rukia, who'd wonder what took her so long- then she'd have to tell it again, more animatedly then the first time- then a paper airplane would fly across the room and land in her hair- it was Uryuu from three rows over- she would raise her head and meet his worried gaze behind his glasses. Via sign/body language and wacky facial expressions she'd tell him too. And then Ichigo from the back of the class would whisper loudly to know what had happened to her, and she'd have to lean sideways out of her desk into the aisle, and just as loudly whisper back- and then the professor would ask her if there was something she'd liked to share. No sir! But she'd yell too loud or he would think she was being funny, he'd ask her to leave- and then in unison, five people would stand, four yelling in protest (Chad would merely stand silently like the behemoth he was at the back of the class) until the poor guy would get so frazzled he'd try to send them all out- and that's when the insults, knuckle cracking, and desk flipping would start- and ultimately, they would all be stuck in detention doing extra work for ice cream Wednesday.

The third ice cream Wednesday in a row, as a matter of fact. The inner monologue left her feeling more like herself- if she even knew what that was- not like that swooned, wobbly legged girl she'd been for a moment. She knew that's what she should be doing right now- skipping back to class, thinking idly of what random concoction she could make for dinner, of talking sponges and flying whales.

Not green eyed dragons making off with ginger haired, gray eyed princesses.

Her feet were running after him before she could stop them.


She leaned up against the wall, hands pressed against the wood- she wished she could wipe the trickle of sweat that was running down the side of her face, but she feared the sudden movement- any at all- would betray her. She gulped and swallowed- she thought for sure they could hear it, as well as the pounding of her heart. She was acutely aware of the fact that by now, Tatsuki could very well have organized a search party to find her.

But they wouldn't check back here- why would they? This was forbidden territory, a damned domain. 'Come back here if you dare! We assure you that you won't make it out of here alive!' That kind of place. Where all the bad kids went. In the past, it had inhabited the chain smoking junkies who met between classes for a fix, gangs of unruly thugs who mercilessly pummeled innocent bystanders for lunch money, and even the occasional loner secretly plotting world domination.

But she doubted than in all its years of existence (as another shady abandoned structure behind a University gym) had it housed a group quite like this. She sucked in a breath- her body was crouched awkwardly behind the building, beneath its only window, set high up into the wall. It was half opened, to maybe let a breeze in, since the summer heat could be quite stifling.

Cautiously, she shimmied her way upwards- nearly saying a bad word under her breath when she found she was no wear near tall enough. She anxiously moved her glance from side to side- there was a bevy of cardboard boxes, and other likewise discarded items, and as silently as she could she stacked a few of them up, and managed to climb up on top of them- they wobbled, but she was sure she could keep her balance long enough. She could reach the window now- and for a moment she was afraid of what she would find.

One of Nnoitra's fantastical orgies? Grimmjow beating the snot out of some kid? Harribel finally lowering her collar to reveal a face so horribly disfigured that it would scar her for life? Or something even worse? She doubted she could find anything worse on school property- but with him in the room there was honestly no telling.

She held her breath, and slowly rose her head up to the window sill, allowing her to look down on the scene inside.

The abandoned shed looked just like the inside of an abandoned shed should look- filled with a random assortment of wooden crates, broken chairs, old gym equipment and other random items. It seems like whatever they had been talking about, had really gotten them all riled up- Grimmjow stood in the center of the room, his fists clenched and his face murderously angry.

Nnoitra (with that filthy smile off his face for once) was sitting on a stool, his arms draped casually over his knees, his tongue probing the inside of his cheek. He dressed, looked, and acted like he had a couple of girls 'working' for him on some god forsaken corner. It wasn't hard to believe the rumors about him. Harribel was leaning against one of the walls, her head lowered slightly, her arms crossed over her chest- she seemed to not be paying anyone much attention, but her perceptive blue eyes followed the slightest movement everyone made. And stretched out on the floor, was the massive form of Yammy, with a face that was hardly considered attractive, and with a slightly idiotic disposition to match. He was lying on his side, with his head resting in a meaty hand.

And the cold shudder that racked through her body told her that he was there too.

Although Grimmjow seemed to be the only one openly angry, she could feel a strange tension had descended on everyone inside. She tried to get her pulse to stop racing so madly, and pressed closer against the thin glass to hear what was going on.

"-bullshit! I'm tired of fucking playing around like this already! For fuck's sake let's go head and waste 'em! We know they're here, and they know we're here, so let's cut the crap and bring it to those bitches!"

"Shut up Grimmjow. You know as well as we do the foolishness of such an act. As fun as it would be too finally have one at my disposal, I dare say even I am not that eager to die. Besides- why can't you just calm down and enjoy the free buffet hmm? As long as they continue to hide, I see no reason for us to come out of hiding."

Her eyes roved around the room to find the owner of the new voice, but he must've been against the wall she was leaning against, and she couldn't see him. Grimmjow proved her right by scowling at whoever it was leaning against her wall-

"You would say that Syazel. Because that's what bitches do. They bitch out when it comes to shit like this."

Syazel didn't take that too well, and stepped away from the wall for her to barely make out the top of his pink haired head.

"Now see here you barbarian! If we weren't forced to be comrades I'd-"

Grimmjow strode up to him and without a moment's hesitation was in his face, his form towering over Syazel's.

"You'd what? Tell it to me loud and clear you pink haired faggot! Finish that statement so I can knock your fucking teeth in!"

There was another barely concealed shuffle, as a tall, full figured girl stood up, the dark, curling mass of her hair and the childish edge to her voice allowing Orihime to instantly recognize her as Nel- the most relatable and friendly of the entire group of them- and although she was talkative enough, she had a speech impediment that made her sound younger than she was. She ran forward hastily, hurrying between the two men, before they could resort to blows.

"Der's no 'eed for dat! We're famwy! Famwy 'ont fite!"

Grimmjow glared into the eyes of Syazel so fiercely she felt a shiver run down the back of her neck and gulped loudly for him. She closed her eyes and squinted through her eyelids, the look of hatred on Grimmjows face twisting it into some unrecognizable mask she could have only imagined in a nightmare. She just knew it was coming- he would draw his fist back and swing- poor Syazel would go flying through the air like a rag doll- a shower of blood-

-he turned his head and spit on the ground so viciously it made her wince.

"Family huh? Bullshit. You're just lucky this mother fucker isn't worth it. I'll save my fists for someone who'll fight back."

He scoffed and scowled even harder than before, roughly shoving his hands into his pockets. She wondered if she was the only one who sighed with relief. After this brief display of drama had been peacefully resolved, the room sunk once more into heavy silence. Orihime shuffled for a better position- only a few minutes and already her shoulders and neck were beginning to ache. She wondered what they had been arguing about- what could have been so important that they had all abandoned class to discuss it? Well sure, they were questionable students with questionable background stories and behavior- but as far as she knew, despite the rumors they were all decent students.

Grimmjow had mentioned it- something about –to use his words exactly- "bringing it to some bitches"- but then again, it was Grimmjow, and it didn't seem weird to her that he was ranting about his desires to beat some people up. That seemed just like him, so she didn't worry about it for long. Whatever the issue really was, she'd learned one thing- don't bring it up around him again, that was for sure.

Nnoitra shifted, leaning forward to rest his long arms over his knees. His tongue slithered out of his mouth for a moment- and she must have looked too hard, because she could've sworn there was something tattooed on the slimy appendage.

"Look- if this is all we had to say, I would have stayed with those chicks-" Syazel ran a hand through his (pink) hair, frowning over at Nnoitra with distaste.

"Must you be so conspicuous? The rest of us are trying awfully hard to be good little boys and girls about this."

Nnoitra shrugged, rolling his shoulders in a way that made her stomach squirm uncomfortably.

"Hell I do need to feed too ya know?"

Huh. He'd said feed as if he had just gotten back from some wild safari in which he had hunted down animals and then proceeded to skin and eat them alive. The image of Nnoitra doing so startled her so much she almost lost her balance atop the crates. She stumbled for a moment, biting her tongue as she hastily grabbed a fiercer grip against the window pane. She managed to look back up and refocus herself right before she tumbled to her death- and she wondered if she had imagined the pair of shifty eyes that for the moment seemed to have rested on her. Syazel's voice brought her back to the matter at hand.

"Well there's nothing else to be done for the moment I'd say. We've gotten nothing accomplished here besides wasted time. I do have a shift to work you know- can't 'pal around' with the 'crazy college kids' all day."

He laughed at his own joke, chuckling under his breath in a creepy way that only emphasized how silent everyone else was- she even caught Nel rolling her eyes and making a face in a way that made her giggle under her breath. Nnoitra rose, sighing with relief as his long joints clicked into place.

"Well there is only one more thing- who gets dibs?" –and the smile that spread across his face was so sickening she felt her skin scrawl. It was nothing short of a 'rape face' made of High Octane Nightmare fuel. She knew she wouldn't sleep well tonight because of it.

Grimmjow raised his head and took a breath- he blinked with something that could have been surprise. Then he scowled deeper than before. He was going to give himself wrinkles if he kept doing that- "Aw fuck. Son of a bitch!"

Syazel scoffed again, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "No need for all that profanity this early in the day Grimmjow. These things do need to be appropriately handled. And calm down Nnoitra- you already had yours for the day."

Nnoitra glared in that squinty eyed way of his and shrugged in that sickening way again. "Damn right. They're both pretty fucking hot too. I'll let you guys decide then."- without another word he slouched out of the room, and it was all she could do not to watch- he had a funny way of walking that could make good, morally driven girls pick up on his perversion from a mile away. But despite that despicable walk, that rape face, that slimy smile- he could still get sane women to literally fall at his feet! She still hadn't figured out why though! And as soon as she looked down, she saw Nel's face crumple- the girl bit her lip, and before she could blink had ran after that slouching form.

Orihime remembered just in time- they were supposedly dating- but from the looks of things it was anything but. She felt a stab of pity in her for the poor girl- chasing after someone whose attention was obviously elsewhere- she knew what that feeling was like.

"Well I have work to attend to- I'll just let the vultures have it out amongst themselves hmm?"

He smiled, somehow managing to do a perfect hair flip as he left. She smiled, really envying his talent for it. As soon as he had left, her eyes strode around the room, keeping note of who was left to 'claim dibs' as Nnoitra put it.

Yammy rolled his massive body, sitting upwards with what looked to her to have been a momentous effort in itself, to carry his girth. Grimmjow still stood, glaring angrily into space- she noticed then that Harribel had slipped- unnoticed- out of the room.

As her eyes searched the room, she jumped and darted back to Grimmjow as he gave an intelligible curse, and kicked her wall so hard it shook and made her momentarily lose her footing. Her teeth rattled, and she was momentarily dazed- she struggled to retain her footing, and nearly screamed when the crates toppled out from under her- she bit her tongue in her haste to keep quiet, latching onto the window sill with a death grip as she once again felt that weightless feeling that came with her suddenly finding herself hanging precariously in mid air. She huffed in a breath, using every single inch of her upper body strength to hold on. She had sent girls twice her size hurling up into the air, and caught them according to whatever cheerleader move they'd been practicing- but holding up her own body weight was an entirely different story- her upper arms tingled with the effort- she dared not turn her head and look down.

It wasn't a never ending drop that would lead to her doom- but one that would leave her with a lot of explaining to do, should she fall with the audience still inside- and she couldn't bear having to explain anything to him again.

She struggled to hang on, her cheeks puffed out, silently heaving with the effort- she couldn't stand much more of this- but she had to last, had to last until-

-she managed to barely peek over the edge again- Grimmjow had stormed out-

-she fell back down a few centimeters-

-she huffed and pulled back up-

-"…Hey Ulquiorra? Shall I-"-fall; Yammy's rugged voice saying that name did it- rise-"-trash too?"

She wanted to hear his response- she needed to hear it. What? What had he asked to do? What about this dibs? Trash? What was?

"No Yammy. I shall handle this matter myself."

Handle what? She fell back- heaved, hoisted herself back up with her last strain of effort. Yammy's massive form had vanished from the room. He stood in the middle, eyes lifted and staring straight at her. Her breath caught in her throat- and her grip slackened- she forgot she was suspended in the air.

Those emerald eyes staring straight at her.

"Onna-"

She let go.


AN:/Disclaimer: I no own Bleach. Ever.

Yeah I know, the chapter was a little long. Shoot me. I still haven't exactly figured out how long this is going to be yet, and now I won't get any complaints about short chapters at least. I felt like I was forgetting who Orihime was 'or the girl she's supposed to be' anyway so I tried to remember she was pretty random as hell during the good times. I may have over done it though...hell, I tried! It's hard to fine the line between keeping her Orihime, or making her into this ditsy airhead. The random space fighter moment actually occured b/c I was asked by a reviewer what Orihime was studying in college. Cue WTF moment. Ugh...um...-cue ass pull- she wants to direct...um...child approved action dramas. -face palm-

And awkward sexual tension is awkward. I really messed Orihime up didn't I? And I don't think she's going to get better any time soon.

Anyway, the chapter actually came out pretty quickly b/c while I was writing the next chapter for BAI I found the MOTHER OF ALL FUCKING PLOT HOLES. The kind that made me sit back and say 'Shitdamnfuck' in that order, and made me punch a hole in the wall. See also: 'WHY THE HELL DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT SOONER' and 'HOW THE FUCK COULD I LET THAT HAPPEN.' That said, I had to 180 the plot I was going to do because I fucked up the smallest thing and refuse to rewrite the last couple of chapters to fix it. Aw hell.

Yeah anyway, love you guys long time for the reviews and alerts! :,)