A/N- Hey people! Sixth chapter FINALY done!! Please leave a review telling me how I can improve, or any errors I made. I will try to write characters as in character as possible, but I might have to bend them a little for the sake of the story. Thanks so much to everyone who's read this far!

Warning: May contain minor spoilers Turn Back the Pendulum arc

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach

Chapter 6

Something's Amiss, Dinner with the Enemy

He placed his hand lightly on her arm. He led her out of the room, leading her to his private quarters. His private quarters. She felt her stomach lurch.

Somehow, he managed to keep eye contact with her the entire walk there. If you had asked her, she couldn't tell you how long it had taken. Time lost all meaning when looking into his impossibly warm, chocolate-colored eyes. She walked in a trance-like state, staring into his eyes like a moth stares at light, completely unaware of the hungry spider lurking in the shadows.

The dining room was lavishly designed, but that came as no surprise. Red silk curtains hung over a large round window. The moon shone beautifully through the window, casting a romantic glow throughout the room. This was amplified by the numerous candles in the room, sending warm, flickering light across the room.

Orihime felt somewhat overwhelmed by the thick, romantic atmosphere. She didn't really have any experience with romance. The only man she had ever loved was Ichigo, and heaven knew he wasn't interested. Ichigo had his sights set firmly on Rukia, and that was the way it was.

She felt hot tears form. Useless on the battlefield, meaningless to Ichigo, she felt so worthless. Her tears spilt over. No one needs me. Maybe it is better I'm here. At least now I won't get in their way.

She felt him slowly, gently, wipe away her tears. She marveled silently at the smoothness of his skin. It seem almost wrong that a hand so stained in blood would be so soft. Yet that comfort was exactly what she needed.

Ulquiorra's words still echoed in her mind. Lord Aizen thinks you are beautiful and precious.

That feeling of being wanted, even by the enemy, was like a drug for her. She needed it, needed anything that could reassure her that she wasn't worthless.

He led to the table. In her mind, she had pictured it as a huge oak table, where they would sit at opposite ends, luxurious foods covering every inch. In reality, the table was a nice, comfortable size. All of her favorite foods were there. She remembered telling Halibel about her favorite foods, and was surprised she had remembered them. But without a doubt, the best thing on that table was the framed picture of Sora.

She stared at it, afraid that if her eyes left it, even for a moment, that it would disappear. Aizen smiled at her reaction. It was exactly what he had been hoping for, of course. When Halibel reported that Orihime had a deceased brother, he had sent a low-level arrancar to her house, in search of a picture. It was clear that she liked it.

Slowly, reluctantly, she turned to face him. Her voice was weak but she managed," Thank you… so much."

He smiled in return. He motioned for her to sit. She did, immediately taking the picture and hugging it to her. She set it right next to her plate, and continually looked at it throughout dinner.

He noticed with some surprise that she ate quite a lot, contrary to Ulquiorra's reports. She tried so hard to eat politely, but days of avoiding meal and eating the bare minimum had left her ravenous.

When dinner was done, she sat still, unsure of what to do. She had been avoiding eye contact with him the entire time, worried about the effect he had on her, and she knew that it hadn't escaped him.

"What did you think, Orihime?" he asked softly, breaking her out her reverie.

She looked up. She realized how rude she must seem, not even looking at the man who had gone to such great lengths to make her happy.

She forced a cheerful smile. "It was great! These were all my favorite dishes. I… I really appreciate it."

He smiled," I'm glad."

He stood up form the table, walking over to her, slowly. Something she had noticed, he was never in a hurry. Everything he did, he did as if he had all the time in the world. For all she knew, maybe he did.

He held out his hand, and she took it. She rose unsteadily, not really trusting her legs to support her. She leaned a little closer into him. In her defense, she still felt tired from her overexertion earlier, and he was really warm.

He figured now was as good a time as any. He carefully leaned down, and gently brushed his lips against hers. It was a small kiss, really, and very chaste. He was most definitely not prepared for her response.

When he brushed his lips against hers, something in her snapped. Suddenly, every feeling of doubt, self-consciousness, and jealousy blast into her mind. She felt a sharp pang of need, need to be held, need to be loved. She was so filled that need, she kissed him back. Not a brush of the lips, definitely not chaste. She kissed him back with such fervor that he was momentarily taken aback.

She was just as surprised as he was. She felt very out of control. Yet, she didn't want to pull away, not when she was finally feeling appreciated. He kissed her so softly, gently, patiently. She kissed him roughly, desperately, hungrily. She wondered when she had changed from an innocent little girl into this. For goodness' sake, she was kissing the enemy! And enjoying it…

Aizen was surprised. This was completely unexpected. It seemed his plan was working much better than he had hoped. Her arms moved up to his neck, so that he supported all of her weight, which wasn't much. The girl was very skinny.

So he kissed her, though not with the same desperation that she did. Without breaking the kiss, he lifted her off the ground, holding her bridal-style. She curled into his chest, savoring the warmth he emanated from his being. A soft moan vibrated from deep within her throat. She deepened the kiss a little further.

At this point, Orihime gave up trying to justify her response. She settled for enjoying the kiss. She felt so sad when he pulled away, but he still held her, and she was glad. Her legs were in no condition to hold her up. Now that the adrenaline was subsiding, the truth about what she had just done was hitting her at full force. Her cheeks turned scarlet, and her head hung, partially in shame and partially in exhaustion.

She felt so fatigued, after such a long day. He noticed, and without a word, he carried her off, her arms around his neck and him holding her. Walls passed by in a blur, and suddenly, they were in his bedroom. If she wasn't so drained, she would have started hyperventilating.

He smiled reassuringly. He gently lowered her onto his bed. His bed was like a cloud beneath her aching back. She had never felt such comfort in her life. She wondered, idely, if this large mattress was made out something not found on earth.

He remained standing, looking at her. His gaze wasn't lecherous, like Nnoitra's, in fact; it was almost child-like admiration. She felt a faint blush creeping back into her cheeks. Never before had anyone looked at her like that. From her first kiss to this, she was having new experiences all over the place.

He eventually lay down next to her, although at a respectful distance. His hand reached over and started tracing circles on the back of her hand. Ethereal was his touch, so light over her skin. By this she was lulled into the darkness.

()()()()()()()()()()()()

Her nightmare was different than the others she had in Los Noches. While they normally were about her friends fighting and getting hurt, this one strayed from the rut.

She was kissing Aizen in the dining room, just like she had last night. Every feeling she experienced that night was back, making her tremble by the sheer force of it.

Suddenly, he turned to a sparkling dust and blew away when a gentle breeze came. She was no longer in the dining room, but at a beautiful lake surrounded by a lush, green forest. The full moon shone brightly in the sky, but for some reason, it's reflection in the lake was brighter.

The lake too disappeared, and she was in a modest Japanese home from the feudal era. A large mirror sat in the middle of the floor. A purple flower in the room was reflected in the mirror, yet the reflection's beauty far surpassed that of the real thing. Hesitantly, she approached the mirror. Upon looking into it, it was not her own reflection that she saw.

A young soul reaper girl with dark hair and tired eyes stared back. Her hair was pulled back into a bun, and it was covered by teal fabric. Her eyes were dark and clouded. The most horrible thing of all was a gaping sword would in her chest. Blood was all over her clothes. Her lips were moving, but no sound came. Finally Orihime realized that the girl was mouthing, over and over again, Aizen.

()()()()()()()()()()()()

Grimmjow and Ulquiorra being together for any period of time without arguing was an extremely rare occurrence in Hueco Mundo. The two were, quite frankly, as different as night and day. Grimmjow, for some reason, wanted desperately to prove he was stronger than Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra, for some reason, didn't want to hurt Grimmjow. For some reason, he felt indebted to him. Go figure.

But both were putting aside their disagreement for a new problem, which had taken priority.

"It's something about that name, Abby. It sounds so familiar," Grimmjow said for the fourth time in the last twenty minutes. He was pacing back and forth in Ulquiorra's room, where they had met to discuss the problem that had recently dropped into their lives. The problem's name was Orihime Inoue.

"We've already established that," Ulquiorra responded in a tone that vaguely resembled annoyance.

"Yeah, well it's the only lead we have," Grimmjow shot back hotly.

"Not really," Ulquiorra replied," Earlier today, she laughed. The noise sounded startlingly familiar."

Grimmjow raised an eyebrow. "You made her laugh? You can feel startled?"

"Yes. But that's not the important part."

"Che, whatever. We're missing something, something big. Something that makes her seem so familiar."

Ulquiorra sighed," Obviously. In any case, act normal around others. We don't want to draw attention to this."

"Whatever this is," Grimmjow muttered. Louder, he declared," And I don't take orders from you."

()()()()()()()()()()()()

Meanwhile, in the world of the living, a certain orange-haired teen was very pissed-off. It had been about a week and a half since Orihime's abduction (He still refused to think of it as betrayal). Had it been up to him, he would have invaded Hueco Mundo right away, guns blaring. Unfortunately…

"Hey idiot! Don't space out while we're training. In a real fight, you'd be dead."

Ichigo glared at Shinji. The blonde just snorted and charged again, causing Ichigo to jump back.

As much as he resented the Vizard leader for keeping him here, he had to admit it had been a pretty good idea. His time with his hollow mask had increased from 11 seconds to 5 minutes, and he had learned a lot about Aizen. Apparently the Vizard were Aizen experts.

"Shut up. This isn't a real fight. It could be, if you would let me go to Hueco Mundo."

Shinji didn't miss a beat. "If you went to Hueco Mundo at your current level, you'd be dead in an instant. Then who would save Orihime, my precious first crush?"

Ichigo growled. He knew Shinji was right, but he still hated leaving Orihime alone. Who knew what kind of horrible torture they were putting her through? Someone like Orihime couldn't handle that kind of distress.

"When will I be ready then?" Ichigo demanded impatiently. As if to prove his point, he sent an especially spirited Getsuga Tenshou toward Shinji.

Said Vizard ducked out of the way in a nick of time. He stood back to admire the rock that the attack had obliterated.

"Five days, max."

Ichigo sighed. He could wait for five days. He would spend every minute of those five days pushing his power to the max. He would get strong enough to save Orihime. He would gain the power to protect his friends. If possible, he would get strong enough to kick Aizen's ass.

"Then let's do this."

()()()()()()()()()()()()

Rukia Kuchiki was not a happy camper. She had been very moody since her forceful return to Soul Society. Sure, openly opposing the Commander-General probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, but they shouldn't have sent her brother! Of all the people they could have sent, they chose to send the one person who would make her feel the absolute worst. He had given her that look, like look what Rukia did this time.

The Squad 6 barracks, which had recently been converted into the Anti-Rukia Shelter, currently housed the two men in her life she would most likely take out her aggression on.

"I still feel she is over-reacting. Why should she be so upset about this human girl?" Byakuya asked.

Renji, who shared in Rukia's sentiments, if not to the same degree, had the common sense not to get in her way when she got pissed. He had, in fact, been the one to suggest the shelter. He was also more of less acting as a mediator between Rukia's ideas and Byakuya's.

"Orihime is her friend. She risked her life to save Rukia, and saved her from the brink of death. It's really only natural that Rukia would want to return the favor, you know?"

Byakuya pondered this. "Yes," he said," That does make sense. But still, to act that disrespectful to the Commander-General, it sullies the great Kuchiki name."

Renji looked at his captain wearily. "You're not going to do the same thing you did the last time she sullied the Kuchiki name, are you?"

Byakuya raised an eyebrow.

"You know," Renji continued," Try to kill her. 'Cause last time you did, I had to learn Bankai. I'm not really sure what else I could do if you decided to try again."

"That's foolish," Byakuya said dismissively," I didn't try to kill her because she had sullied the Kuchiki name. I tried to kill her because she had broken the law, and I swore on my parents' grave I would uphold the law."

A tense silence filled the room.

"Um… Captain?" Renji asked, slowly.

"Yes, Renji?" Byakuya asked, having a bad feeling he knew what his Lieutenant was about to ask him.

"Did you suddenly feel Rukia's spiritual pressure disappear?"

Byakuya sighed. "Yes, Renji."

()()()()()()()()()()()()

Ichigo was in the middle of a heated fight with Hiyori, so he didn't Rukia's spiritual pressure outside the barrier right away.

When he did, he got so distracted that Hiyori landed a decent kick to the side of his head. He slammed face first into a large rock nearby.

"What the heck! My friend is out there! Why didn't one of you say something?" he yelled.

Shinji looked up lazily. "We noticed her, like, five minutes ago. We figured if we left her alone she would go away."

Ichigo grimaced. Rukia would be mad for being ignored. He flashed over to the stairs. "Open the friggin' barrier, Hachi."

Hachi looked to Shinji, who nodded. He opened a door-sized portion of the barrier. Ichigo flashed out.

The first thing he noticed was that Rukia was not anywhere near him. In fact, he couldn't sense her spiritual pressure in this dimension at all. The second thing he noticed was that Rukia had left a note in the dirt saying," Friends don't leave friends behind. Attempts to do this will result in a ass-kicking. Consider yourself warned." But that, of course, wasn't enough for Rukia. She had to leave the message in fire, no doubt from Kido.

Ichigo sighed deeply. He turned around, seeing Shinji's face peeking curiously out the door.

"You don't happen to have a fire extinguisher in there, do you?"

()()()()()()()()()()()()

"So," Renji asked tentatively," should we go get her?"

The guard of the gate to the living world had just confirmed that Rukia had left, about five minutes ago.

"Yes. She has been ordered to return to Soul Society. Those orders must be enforced."

"What orders?" an overly sweet, innocent voice asked from behind them. Both men spun around to see the source of their problems smiling up at them.

"Rukia," Byakuya began in a dangerously calm voice," Do you know what your orders were? Orders that came from the Commander-General himself?"

Renji sensed danger. Without thinking he blurted," Hey Captain! Remember, we have to interview that new fifth seat officer today. We should go do that, immediately."

Byakuya didn't look impressed. "The interview is tomorrow."

Renji persisted," I'm pretty sure it was today. That's not a chance we want to take, right? We wouldn't want some new officer to think badly of the 6th squad because we missed an interview, right?"

"Very well," Byakuya relented, seeing what his lieutenant was trying to do. "Let's go."

Renji sighed in relief. Another crisis averted.

()()()()()()()()()()()()

If it hadn't been for Ulquiorra, Orihime wouldn't have woken up until very much later. She had been absolutely exhausted yesterday, had an awful nightmare in the middle of the night, and had really hoped to sleep in. That plan had been effectively ruined when Ulquiorra entered Aizen's room and woke her up.

"Come. Lord Aizen has requested your presence at a meeting of the Espada."

()()()()()()()()()()()()

A/N- That scene with Renji, Byakuya, and Rukia was supposed to be funny, but I have a weird sense of humor, so you guys might have thought it was lame. And OOC. Oh, well. Better to take a swing and a miss then to never swing at all.

For those who thought Orihime was OOC, think of it as Aizen being in character. He's a maniacal genius, so it would make sense if his plan worked. Plus he's pretty attractive, at least according to all my Aizen Fangirl friends. Consider this chapter a shout-out to them, and to Aizen+Orihime shippers.

Who wanted to punch Aizen in the face after reading this chapter? I did, and I'm the one who wrote it. Come on, guys, Ulqui needs encouragement! Go Ulqui!

Wow this chapter was long. 2,857 words not counting A/N!!