I apologise for the delay but as you can see, these chapters are kinda getting out of control length wise and it's getting harder for me to write them in time. So you can expect this fic to be updated approx every two weeks beCAUSE HOLY SHIT I'M NOT USED TO WRITING THIS MUCH.
This chapter still is not written in the way I would like it to be since it would take more time and words and bullshit !
I have edited it but keep in mind that I don't have a beta so there are probably some things that could have been written better. I'm probably going to revise it later but for now I'll post it just because I don't want to keep stalling lol
There is also a scene that include some major graphic... stuff... well it's pretty gruesome and I would not advise reading this story if you get triggered by gore because it tends to take some pretty disturbing turns and I'll probably change the rating on this.
Two nights had passed since Orihime's last encounter with Aizen, or so she thought. It was hard to measure time in Hueco Mundo because there were no sun to start the days and the moon was always fixed in the same spot on the starless sky. What an odd phenomenon, she thought, where did all the stars go? If there's a moon clearly visible on the sky, then there must be a star of which light it's reflecting. Here was another mystery to which he could know the answer to. This was actually quite fascinating and she wondered about how would her physics professor react if he was here. The thought of a bunch of scientists freaking out over the empty night sky hovering above Hollow's realm made her grin like a fool. Researching this seemingly dead environment would be a lot of fun. Perhaps they would learn something that could help them explain certain events in the World of the Living?
A pillow slap in the face had ripped her out of her daydreaming. It seemed that Nenya and Narya were making a mess out of the sheets. They were throwing pillows at each other and rolling in the blankets right next to her, giggling like it was the funniest thing in the world. Orihime briefly recalled her meeting with their father three days ago, wondering about his last words before he kicked her out of his study. What did he mean by saying that they will be free from this place? Is he planning to finally move them to some more friendly area?
Before she got to ponder too much about the cryptic words of the Lord one of the girls had wriggled herself onto her lap, panting and sweaty, and the sight of her damp shirt made her frown.
"Okay, that's enough." She stated while wrapping her arms around the child and the other had crawled up to them. "You two need to get cleaned up. Let's give you a bath."
As soon as the word "bath" had left Orihime's mouth the kids gave a happy cry and Nenya pushed herself off the bed and ran to the bathroom shortly followed by Narya who had slipped out of her guardian's arms and rushed behind her sister. Before Orihime managed to catch up to them, the girls were already starting to take their clothes off.
"Wait! Not so fast. There is no water in the bathtub yet." She gestured towards a pristine white tub placed in on the other end of the bathroom.
"Un." Nerya pointed at the faucet, apparently not remembering how this particular item was called.
"This is a faucet… or a tap!" Their guardian informed, choosing a shorter word to describe the shiny piece of pipe sticking out of the wall. "Come here, help me turn the water on." She said and picked up one of the toddlers but as soon as she did that the other demanded an equal treatment as well, obviously jealous of her sister's chance to turn the cork. "Just a second, you're going to twist the other one." Orihime tried to calm down the impatient child.
It had taken some time to give each twin an opportunity to play with the tap and fill the tub with not too hot, and not too cold water but after all was said and done and both of them were out of their sweaty clothes and splashing in the water, she sat down next to the bathtub and watched them play. Babysitting actually wasn't a hard thing to do, it just required a lot of time and energy which she had more than enough since she was trapped in an enemy's territory without anything else to do. She wondered briefly about what she is missing at school and if she will ever be able to go back there and see her friends again. Studying was something that she was more than good at and being ranked 3rd in the table of best students in school gave her a high possibility of receiving a stipendium, which she was hoping to obtain for some time already, but such a long absence would probably remove her from the long list of candidates. Who would have thought that she'll actually miss doing her homework?
A splash of water was hurled at her face, waking Orihime from her thoughts once again.
"Oh don't do that. The floor is going to get wet." She pointed at the wet tiles but the kids didn't listen, they were far too entertained by trying to dissolve the foam that was surrounding them from every direction. There was so much of it, that it made her wonder if the soap that was given them was actually safe to use for children, but on the other hand the girls at least had something to play with. Nonetheless she put the question about the bathing supplies on the list of things she meant to ask Aizen about, or maybe Ulquiorra. He probably would know something like this since he's in charge of maintaining the washtower and providing them with all the essentials.
Speaking of essentials, she couldn't shake off the feeling that she had forgotten about something. Orihime turned her head around to take a good look at the bathroom, trying to spot something that could possibly be missing. It took her a few minutes to realize that she had forgotten to prepare clean clothes for the kids, and she's definitely not using the one they just had taken off. Her absentmindedness is such an annoying trait to have. Someday she's going to forget her own head! She glanced at the girls who were chatting and playing with the bubbles and made a decision to walk to the wardrobe and pick some fresh clothes and towels. It was placed on the side of their room, facing the entrance to the bathroom and there wasn't enough water in the tub to be of any danger to the twins.
"Don't get up, I'll be right back." She pointed at them, then stood up and trotted towards the closet but when she opened it and started pulling towels out a wave of distress washed through her. She suddenly felt like she was being watched. The room was filled with peaceful sounds of water splashing and lit only by the moon, and the additional light spilling through the wide open bathroom door. For a second Orihime thought that she heard hushed voices coming from the hall outside, but she had quickly dismissed her observation taking it for a trick that her overdeveloped imagination was playing on her. She was sure that Ulquiorra was guarding this place so strictly that if she had tried to walk out of this room right now, he would be standing on the other way of the hallway glaring daggers at her.
With that thought in mind, the girl had gathered the white, cotton skirts, a pair of diapers and towels, and then skipped back to watch over the bathing toddlers. They were chatting again, and after she had placed the clothes on the nearest shelf she tried to decipher their ridiculous gibberish which sometimes contained actual words, while dipping her hand in the water to check if it haven't gotten too cold. Satisfied with the temperature, she straightened up and was about to take a comb and brush the girls' hair when the faint sound of the door to their room being slowly cracked open resonated through the air. The thought that the nagging feeling of being watched and the whispers coming from the outside of the room may not have been a product of her wild imagination entered her mind along with a wave of panic. This stronghold was full of hostile creatures and people who seemed to not be entirely sane nor friendly. Fearing a sudden attack she stalked towards the open bathroom door to take a look at what's going on. She flattened herself against the wall next to the doorframe and stuck her head out only to find herself face to face with an unknown, pigtailed Arrancar who was in the exact same position on the other side of the wall, staring right back at her with a sinister frown on her face. One of her eyes was covered by her mask whilst the other flashed with malevolent gleam.
She quickly grabbed Orihime by her throat before the girl could call for help.
"Gotcha!" The intruder yelled victoriously as if she had successfully caught her long sought prey. "I knew Lord Aizen was hiding you somewhere in here!"
Orihime gasped and grabbed the hand that was tightening its grip on her neck, in a futile attempt to get the Arrancar to let her go but this only seemed to anger the hollow. For a moment her mind almost went blank and from the corner of her eye she spotted the exact same soldier whom she had brought to life at Aizen's request, standing a few feet behind her attacker. The girl couldn't understand why did Menoly brought to her someone who wants to harm her. She saved her life! Was that considered to be an offense by inhabitants of Hueco Mundo? It wasn't even her own decision to do it!
All of sudden the sound of sobbing came from the other end of the bathroom and both intruder's gaze fell on the twins who, startled by the unforeseen act of violence, began crying. The sight of two toddlers drained all the color from their assailant's face and she threw Orihime against the wall in rage.
"Loly… are those what I think they are?" The blonde soldier pointed towards the bathtub.
Her friend who had been focusing her attention entirely on her prey until now took a step back and turned her head a few times to Orihime and then again towards the twins.
"I-It cannot be! They have offspring already… together!" Disgusted and appalled she seethed through her clenched teeth and before she could make any other moves Orihime threw her shield between the kids and the two intruders while trying to run back to them and stop them from crying. She didn't get far however because Menoly had quickly spotted her attempts to move away and brought her foot onto the girl's lower back, successfully pinning her to the floor, this time having no reservation whatsoever to come in contact with her. Orihime yelped at the sudden jolt of pain shooting through her spine as her hips were being crushed into the polished tiles underneath her. It lasted only a couple of seconds because the other Arrancar grabbed her by her hair and effortlessly lifted her body up to face her again.
"This was supposed to be mine. How dare, a filthy, human whore like you lay her hands on someone like Lord Aizen!." She growled with a voice full of hardly contained fury.
"I d-don't-" Orihime tried to explain the apparent misunderstanding but she didn't manage to finish her sentence because Loly kneed her in the abdomen. The force of that blow made her head spin and as if this wasn't enough the angry hollow punched her in the face.
Amidst the children's terrified cries and the sound of blood buzzing in her ears she could hear the soldier whom she had saved before, try to persuade her attacker into lessening the strength of her hits, apparently concerned that they might turn out fatal but the other one was far too gone into her hysteria to take her friend's words into account.
"Shut up and guard the door! I'm going to kill her, I don't care what happens next." Loly raved with her eye fixated on Orihime who was now laying on the floor between the bathtub and the two intruders. "Then I'm going to silence these brats! I can't stand them!"
Mention of bringing harm to the twins fueled Orihime's fierce need to protect them and with her shaking arms she tried to lift herself up, but her attempt at fighting back had enraged the Arrancar even more. Without a warning she had been kicked in the chest and could feel her ribs cracking; within seconds blood was flowing up to her mouth and nose. That wasn't enough for Loly however, who kicked her again but this time she aimed at her victim's groin making Orihime cry out in pain and spit out more blood. The shield that was protecting the children up until now had flickered and went out, and the faerie involuntary retreated back to their respective places in the hairpins.
Menoly was about to say something again to stop her friend from making any other harsh decisions but a voice from behind her had interrupted her.
"I knew you two bitches were up to something but not in my wildest dreams I would have guessed it was going to be this fucked up." Grimmjow stood behind the blonde with a sneer on his face, slowly eyeing their victim. "No, scratch that, this is exactly something the likes of you are capable of- holy shit! Shut up!" He yelled at the crying toddlers in irritation.
"G-Grimmjow… what do you want?" Menoly stuttered while taking a step back when the sudden sense of panic overcame her.
He didn't reply, instead of answering her question the Espada had grabbed the woman by her neck and lifted her up.
"To think Aizen actually bothered with putting back together a piece of shit like you after I blasted your head off." He growled and threw her out of the bathroom with such force, that her body ended up shattering the wardrobe.
"Don't tell me you are protecting this human wench, Grimmjow!" Loly shouted in outrage and inched closer towards the kids, toppling backwards over Orihime.
"Since when am I answerable to nasty bitches like you?" With his eyes set intensely on her, the angry Sexta was preparing himself to attack.
"Don't come any closer! Or I'll-" She stopped mid-sentence, looking behind Grimmjow with fear and disbelief which made the Espada halt and turn his gaze around.
There, in the doorframe stood Aizen. He was looming behind Grimmjow's back and staring down at Orihime's bloodied body, a few steps behind him, in the shadows of dimly lit room Tosen, his blind commander and closest advisor was loosely holding his zanpakuto's handle.
"Or you'll what?" The Lord of Las Noches asked with a clear, even tone and looked up at his subordinate. "Answer me. I want to know." The command resonated through the air and everyone fell silent except the kids, who went ecstatic at the sight of their father.
"I-I-I wanted to say, that… that I'll kill him!" Loly stammered out when she finally overcame the shock of being caught red handed by their master. "It's his fault!" She pointed a finger at Grimmjow. "He attacked the prisoner and tried to get rid of-of these!" Shrieking, she waved her hand in front of the noisy twins.
"What!? What the fuck are you talking about, you stupid, crazed heifer!?" Grimmjow's eyes flashed with anger at Loly's attempt to frame him. "You were about to kick a hole through this bimbo's stomach!"
While the two hollows were arguing an incoherent mumbling came from the room accompanied by the sound of shuffling, and cracking wood. The blind commander, who stood silent up until that point turned his head ever so slightly in the direction of the additional noise vaguely noting that Menoly, one of the intruders, had previously lost consciousness and now began to regain it. Still without direct orders from the Lord he decided to leave her to struggle to get up on her own. His attention was brought back to the scene in front of him by his leader.
"Get out and line up under the wall." Aizen said visibly irritated and then turned to his direct subordinate. "Put the kids to sleep, Tosen."
Following the command, the two Arrancar rushed out, past both, their master and one of his trusty followers, and nervously took their places alongside each other as well as next to confused Menoly who just now started to notice that they had company.
While the intruders were busy worrying about themselves, Tosen strode into the bathroom and grabbed the towels which Orihime prepared before she was attacked; carefully avoiding her body he had placed them on the rug, next to the bathtub. He then turned to the crying toddlers who were lifting their hands, demanding to be picked up but instead of complying he bend over and wrapped his arms around both of them, whispering a spell while they were clinging to him. Within seconds the cries subsided and he pulled them out of the water, placing each of them on a separate towel. After quickly wrapping them with the dry cloth he took both of their sleeping forms into his arms again and carried them to the bed, leaving Aizen alone with Orihime.
She was struggling to breath and to keep herself conscious. The blood was dripping from her nose and mouth while the nauseating pain in her abdomen was becoming more, and more difficult to bear. She remembered being bullied in school and thought that she could handle a few hits from a jealous, low ranked Arrancar but clearly she had underestimated her opponent's strength. It was making her angry and ashamed of her own inability to face an enemy that none of her friends would have a problem defeating. If Grimmjow hadn't come she may not have come out of this situation alive and Orihime was scared to even think of what would Loly do to Nenya and Narya. What made the situation even more grievous was that now Aizen himself had somehow found out what was happening and came to examine the problem in person. There was no telling what he would do with her now, she failed to protect his kids and was so battered that she couldn't even use her powers to heal herself. She felt a warm hand shaking lightly her shoulder.
"Orihime, look at me." Aizen's voice sounded above her head. He was kneeling beside her to examine the extent of the damage that was dealt to her body, and when she tried to lift her gaze he brushed a portion of disheveled locks away from her eyes.
Hearing his soft breath and hushed tone somehow helped with getting her worries under control and she tried to grasp his outstretched arm feeling like the action would keep her from passing out.
"... sorry… " She whispered, not exactly sure what she was apologizing for.
"Where hurts the most?" He asked while running his fingers through her hair. "You have to tell me."
His calm, repetitive moves and gentle words made Orihime relax and she started slipping out of her consciousness. Perhaps her dazed state made her imagine things again but she was quite sure that his body temperature was unusually high. Definitely warmer than during the time when he supported her while they were putting one of his soldiers back together…
"Don't sleep yet. Tell me, where hurts the most." The Lord slowly repeated the question.
"Down, ribs… " Were the only things she was capable of saying but soon after she cried out in pain when he pressed his fingers softly to her hip. With the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of him shaking his head.
"Your pelvis is probably broken and judging by the blood and the way you're breathing at least one of your ribs had pierced your lung… Tosen!" He called for his commander and the man had immediately showed up at the door. "Make space on the bed for her."
"I have already done this. Shall I call the nurses?" Tosen asked, ready to flash step into infirmary.
"No. I will take care of her." Aizen replied and pushed his hands under Orhime's chest and knees. "It will hurt, brace yourself." He whispered directly into her ear but no amount of bracing would prepare her for the wave of pain that went through her entire body when he had lifted her up.
With just a few strides he was at the side of the bed, lowering Orihime down and laying her on her back while she was shaking and struggling to catch her breath. When he was done putting her on the sheets he turned around and walked towards the Arrancar who were still lined up by the wall. One by one, he looked them in the eyes.
"Which one of you had done this?" His expression was unreadable and when Menoly had started to grit her teeth.
"Isn't it obvious? These two were came here to play cat and mouse with your honey to teach her a lesson." Grimmjow growled with a frown.
"It's not true!" Loly squeaked in panic. "W-We would do no such thing! Why would we even bother with a lowly human like her!? I am loyal to you, Lord Aizen and- and I only protect what's yours!"
"Yes!" Menoly picked up her comrade's idea. "We were here to stop him!" She pointed at the Espada next to her. "He wanted to kidnap the kids and make you kneel!"
"I'm going to fucking obliterate you, filthy sluts!" Grimmjow leapt at the lying Arrancars but Tosen's sword had crossed his way.
"Make me kneel… ?" Aizen repeated with an amused smile.
"Yes! That's what he said! I heard it and I wanted to stop him! I had to! I would do anything for you!" The pig tailed hollow declared with a glimmer of hope in her eye.
"Oh really!? Haven't you jackasses forgotten that your prey is still alive!? How about we ask her!?" The sixth general of Lash Noches retorted and nodded his head at the bed.
Both girls went pale and looked at their victim with sudden realization that she could testify against them at any moment. Aizen had turned around to take a look at her as well and the sight had evidently displeased him even further than before when he caught a glimpse of fresh blood soaking the fabric under her bottom.
"First you attack her and now you want to interrogate her? Don't you know when to stop?" Menoly scowled at him, trying to change the subject.
"Better stop pissing me off you sick fuck. It didn't end well for you the last time we've met." Sexta snarled and his eyes shone with an unnaturally vibrant, blue light.
"That's enough." The Lord faced them once again and started to take his coat off, revealing a sleeveless tunic. He approached Loly while handling the cloth to Tosen and regarded her with a genuine smile on his lips. "I believe you."
These words made the two soldiers straighten their back and grin at the thought of victory which made the angry Espada raise his eyebrows in disbelief. He opened his mouth, ready to protest but before he managed to say anything Aizen's hand was inside Menoly's chest. She gasped and looked down in horror.
"L-Lord A-Aizen?" She stammered out, unable to move.
The man himself had not even spared her a glance, instead he was staring at Loly while he proceeded to rip the blonde's heart out. "You said that you would do anything for me, and I believe you." He stared intensely into his petrified subordinate's eye. With his left hand painted crimson and dripping fresh blood he brought the twitching heart to her parted lips. "Eat it."
Loly looked at her comrade's shaking body, sprawled under the wall in a growing pool of red but her attention snapped back to her master as he started to push the organ against her face.
"Why aren't you doing what I said? Were you lying to me?" He asked impatiently.
Grimmjow on the other hand, was watching the whole scene with not only a dash of satisfaction, but also a great amount of amusement. It was extremely rare to see such a collected person as Aizen get his own hands dirty. Not to mention he was unexpectedly brutal. It was known far and wide in Hueco Mundo that the Lord of Las Noches had no equal when it came to wits and power but it was the first time the Espada had seem him handle someone in such savage manner.
The sound of panicked whimpers filled the room while Aizen pushed the heart harder into Loly's mouth. Her head was pressed against the wall and she tried to chew the dripping piece of flesh. Tears were streaming down her face and she tried to catch her shaky breath. It didn't take long for her to finish consuming the still warm muscle because her master kept forcefully shoving it down her throat with his fingers while tilting his head left, right and sometimes a little to the back. He seemed to be quite engrossed with the task and made sure to stuff her face with her dead friend's meat.
"Seems like you were right. You are indeed very deeply devoted to me." He noted after the Arrancar gulped the last bits of Menoly's heart. "It would be a shame to get rid of someone as loyal as you therefore I will pardon you for what you had done. Take whatever is left of your comrade and leave this room. In fact, all of you get out. You too Tosen, make sure nobody interrupts me and have someone bring a pot of tea if you will, a few rags to take care of this mess would be nice as well. You'll be in charge during my absence."
"As you wish, my Lord." Tosen bowed and led the hollows out of the room while carrying his leader's coat with him.
After a few moments of staring at the door after them, Aizen turned to Orihime and walked towards the bed. With his chin held high he looked down on her, as if contemplating what to do next. Her breaths were shallow and by the way the sheets and clothes around her pelvis were slowly turning red he guessed that one of Loly's blows had caused an internal bleeding somewhere within the abdomen.
"I'm assuming you can't fix this in your current condition?" It was a rhetorical question, of course. Without waiting for any confirmation he walked away again after suddenly remembering that his hand was still covered up to his elbow in Arrancar blood. He stepped into the bathroom, quickly taking in all the little bloodstains that were scattered on the tiles and then thoroughly washed his hands in the tub. It didn't take long and in a span of few minutes, after turning the lights off he was back at the bedside, taking a brief glance at his two daughters who were still sleeping soundly thanks to Tosen's kido spell. Aizen outstretched his hand and placed it on Orihime's lower abdomen.
She drew in her breath at the feeling of his fingers pressing slightly her bruised body. When he was satisfied with his examination, she heard him mutter something under his breath. The language he was chanting in seemed to differ from the one people in Soul Society were using on daily basis. His words were incomprehensible however, because of the low tone of his voice and the speed he was reciting them with, or maybe it was the fault of her cloudy mind that could barely comprehend the events that were taking place around her since she was attacked. Now, when Orihime was thinking about it, this was the second time she faced her kidnapper while her body was in questionable condition. Receiving any kind of support from a person like him was starting to feel a little confusing and awkward. She lifted her gaze to take a look at his face, illuminated by the soft light of the moon that was pooling in through the window above the bed. It was different from the last time though, instead of thrilled gleam in his brown eyes like when they were bringing Menoly back to life his expression was somber and weary. Maybe he didn't sleep well lately? She thought without noticing that the pain in her abdomen had decreased.
It was a little disturbing how accustomed she was getting to his presence despite spending so little time with him, she didn't want to develop feelings for someone like Aizen. Especially after he did just now. She couldn't tell if she was feeling this sick because of her injuries or because of an execution that just took place almost in front of her. If only this man was uglier hating him would be way easier. The fact that he was very polite and supportive towards her whenever they met did not help either. There was also another feeling that he awoke in her. The kind of thing someone feels when they're getting attention from a person who is somewhat special and respected by everyone. A sense of pride perhaps? She didn't know how to name it, but having the Lord of Las Noches, Seireitei's bane, who was feared by the strongest people she had ever known, come to her just to stroke her hair and heal her wounds was filling her with something she hadn't had much of an opportunity to experience yet. It was not like her friend didn't pay attention to her. Tatsuki always hugged her a lot and spent a significant amount of time with her, Sado and Ishida used to walk with her to school sometimes and whenever there was something dangerous going on they always made sure she's fine, Kurosaki too seemed to finally acknowledge her as one of his close friends, and yet it did not feel as good as being taken care of by Sosuke Aizen. The realization made her feel ashamed for not valuing her friends more than their enemy and a blush had spread across her cheeks. She looked away from him not wanting to fall any deeper into his charms.
"What is it?" He asked, apparently noticing the change in her mood. "You have turned away from me as if I have stricken you."
Hearing him say it send a shiver down her spine. The last thing she wanted to do was offending him.
"It's nothing… my neck just got stiff." She huffed out, still having problems with breathing due to her damaged lung, but he saw right through her lie.
"What are you afraid of?" He whispered while staring at her with a spark of interest.
"I'm not… afraid… " Panic made her struggle for breath even more and she started coughing while sharp jolts of pain coming from her chest made her dizzy again.
Aizen sat down next to her with his hand still placed on her lower abdomen, unmoved by her sudden coughing fit.
"Oh my, you shouldn't get so worked up about such little things." He said. "Perhaps if you tell me, I will be able to do something about it."
She couldn't tell if he was serious about what he had just said or if he only wanted to mock her, Orihime was pretty sure that he had already guessed what was on her mind but the tone of his voice did not give out his intentions. Not knowing how to respond, she decided to change the topic.
"Why are there… no stars… on Hueco Mundo's sky?" She whispered with difficulty.
The question had genuinely surprised him but it also seemed to bring down his mood again because his lips twisted into a slight frown.
"The stars had fallen."
His short reply made her look back at him again. "Fallen?"
"That's what the Hollows say."
Silence hung between them for a few minutes and she kept looking him in the eyes, searching for some kind of a hint but he just kept looking back at her without elaborating any further and just when she thought that he's not going to say anything more on the topic Aizen had leaned forward, bringing his face closer to hers.
"Now they are walking amongst us. The stars." He smiled when her eyes widened, and continued his tale. "The Sun had shone above these lands once, and a starry nights were taking over skies when it was time for it to rest. Just like in the World of the Living. But then someone came and shook the heavens with such force that all the stars, including the Sun went crashing down onto the grounds. No day had even come since that time and no star gleamed on this dark sky. Only the moon had been allowed to stay for it has no power on it's own and cannot bring Hueco Mundo back to it's former glory without aid of the Sun."
With each word he seemed to be slowly closing the distance between them and pushing his hand higher up to her chest. It has come to the point where the tips of their noses were nearly touching and Orihime was so engrossed with both, the story and the light that it brought into his eyes that she couldn't look away. Just when she thought that Aizen has no intention of stopping a knock came from the door and he had pulled away, breaking the eye contact with her and ordering the visitor to enter the room.
It was one of his many servants, pushing forward the tray with a pot of hot tea and two cups on it. She bowed deeply and greeted them with words "Hail Lord Aizen, master of all hollows!" which made Orihime feel a little awkward. Thankfully, the Arrancar did not mention their human captive and stood with her back straight and stiff, waiting for orders.
"Be quiet and clean up all this mess. I'll help myself with the tea." Aizen said and the servant only bowed before immediately settling to work. "Is your hip still hurting?" He asked after turning his attention back to the task at hand.
She could tell that the bleeding from her lower parts had stopped and the only feeling that remained was a dull ache coming from her left hip. It was obvious that he did not heal her injury entirely and she didn't know if she should tell him about that or if it will be safer to just nod and let him do whatever he plans to do. Without a word he stood up and walked to the tray, pouring himself a cup of tea while his servant was scrubbing the floor with a wet cloth that she brought along. The withdrawal of his hand resulted in a wave of cold spreading through Orihime's body and she found herself missing his gentle touch, but only until she remembered where that hand was just a half an hour ago, then her body went stiff. For a moment she had forgotten about the gruesome scene she'd witnessed while he was interrogating his soldiers. The pain and nausea were not enough to make her oblivious to the brutal set of actions that Aizen had performed without even a hint of second thought.
When he took his place beside her again and laid his hand on her fractured ribs while taking a sip of tea she grabbed his wrist and pushed it away.
"Thank you… but… " She took a shallow breath. "I can finish healing myself… you don't need to strain yourself."
"Strain?" He looked down at her hand that was still wrapped around his wrist. "Very well, if you feel strong enough to do it, I won't stop you." With that, he pulled his hand away and rested it on his lap but made no move to leave. Instead of going back to the main dome he kept watching her and drinking his tea while she was struggling to cast Soten Kisshun on herself. It took some time for it to start working and she almost gave up on trying to call Ayame and Shun'o out of her hairpins but eventually she managed to succeed.
Aizen was glancing at her through the entire time she was struggling to heal herself but did not comment on her attempts. She wondered if he was contemplating interrupting her and taking the matter into his own hands again, but his expression did not betray any of his thoughts. Soon she had found it easier to breathe and the ache in her lower abdomen was gone. Her face started slowly regaining its color and she felt like her strength was coming back to her body.
The gentle sounds of light steps and sweeping died out and the servant emerged from the bathroom to announce that she had finished cleaning up after the disaster that had taken place in kids' living area. Without even looking at her Aizen had bidden her to leave.
Silence filled the room again while Orihime worked to fix her injuries. It was heavy and made her feel a little awkward. She turned to look at the twins who kept sleeping beside her. They were tucked under the white covers and just now she had taken notice of how messy their hair were. She didn't have the chance to brush them before Loly and Menoly showed up.
"Narya and Nenya… " She said and Aizen looked down at her, waiting for her to finish even though he had already guessed how this sentence is going to end. "... where's Vilya?"
"Dead. That's what she got for hiding her pregnancy from me." He informed but decided to elaborate more about the condition of his children's mother demise when Orihime gasped and turned her head back to him. "I did not kill her, if that's what you're thinking."
"She got sick?" The girl asked, not sure if she could trust his words and before she received a reply, his hand was touching her healing shield. It seemed to her that he was very physical in nature and whenever he was interacting with someone, he also felt the need to do something with his hands, so, naturally the current person of interest tended to become a primary target.
"Something like that." He tapped his fingers against the glowing layer of reiatsu and she lifted her hand up and pressed it against the imprint of his own palm, they stared at their hands for some time and then he moved his to the other side of the shield. Orihime did the same, trying to keep their hands aligned but when she did that, he moved his hand again, but this time faster, watching as she's trying to follow his movements. They played like that for a couple of minutes until he began sweeping his hand across the shield too fast for her to catch up.
"So, what happened?" Orihime continued pressing her captor for an answer. She wanted to know everything he was willing to tell her.
"Excessive blood loss. She was nearly dead when I've found her." Aizen said without much emotion in his voice.
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"There is no need to be sorry, she got what she deserved in the first place. If she had gotten rid of them as any sensible person would before her condition became to grievous, things would be looking differently for her. Instead she choose to die because of her sentiments."
"You really think it would have been better if your kids were never born?" There was a great amount of sadness and disappointment filling her heart after hearing him say something like this. She already knew that he wasn't the most loving father in the world but she still held some hope that he would care about the twins at least to some extent.
"Yes. I do." He stood up and after taking a one final look at her walked to the tray and set his cup down on it while a heavy sigh escaped his lips. "I believe you are well enough to finish fixing yourself on your own."
Orihime only stared at his back while he was walking out of the room. The door clicked softly behind him and she had taken a deep breath to calm herself. This meeting was an even bigger emotional rollercoaster for her than the previous one but at least she managed to not get on his nerves, or so she hoped. Perhaps she'll be able to learn something more from him later.