A/N: I'm so sorry for not updating! Life got pretty busy, but I'm hoping to get back into writing. Turns out I had Ch.8 ready to go already! Please enjoy and happy new year!
Tatsuki was shocked. Her instinct had been to run after Orihime, but the pain in Orihime's eyes and voice had been enough to stop her in her tracks. After all this planning and organizing to protect her, Tatsuki had failed. Grimmjow had still found her and worse of all, Tatsuki had hurt Orihime.
Roused by her cellphone ringing, Tatsuki blinked and looked at her caller ID. Ishida.
"H-hello?" Tatsuki answered shakily.
Ishida, sensing something was wrong, frowned. "Arisawa-san, is everything okay? I would've thought you and Inoue-san would be here by now."
Tatsuki swallowed a lump in her throat. "Ishida. We have a problem."
As Tatsuki relayed her conversation with Orihime to Ishida, Ishida clenched his fists and tried to think about what they should do. He hung up the phone after agreeing with Tatsuki that she should check Orihime's room and try to reconcile with her. He would follow after catching Sado and Ichigo up on what had happened. Hopefully Orihime would be in her room and hopefully Tatsuki could convince her to trust them again.
Knowing how vulnerable Orihime had been to Grimmjow at the club, it was imperative that Orihime not be left alone with her dangerous ex roaming the campus.
Ishida could only hope that they would not meet each other.
-x-
Orihime had run as fast as she could for as long as she could before her body had demanded that she stop. Her lungs were pained for fresh oxygen, her calves screamed at her, and already she could feel the beginning of blisters forming on her feet.
She hadn't even been paying attention to where she was running. She had just trusted her instincts that told her to fly from the situation as fast as humanly possible. She shook her head and wondered where her fight or flight response had been when she had seen Grimmjow.
She took out her phone to check the time, just as an incoming call came. Tatsuki. Orihime frowned and declined the call. It rang again immediately and just before Orihime declined it, she realized it wasn't Tatsuki.
Orihime answered. "Tsukishima-san!"
"Hi, Inoue-san. I was just calling to see if you were still coming to the lab today."
Orihime blanched as she remembered her earlier plans. Knowing she must already be late to the agreed upon time, she delved into a profuse apology, promising to be there in the next few minutes.
"Please don't apologize to me, Inoue-san. It's perfectly alright. Okay, I'll see you soon."
As Tsukishima hung up, a voice nearby sighed.
"It may be 'perfectly alright' with you, but believe it or not, I have better things to do than wait around for some first-year lab volunteer."
Tsukishima nodded towards the owner of the voice. "I'm very sorry, Ulquiorra-san."
-x-
Tatsuki stood outside Orihime's door knocking loudly and calling out her name.
At that moment, Ishida and Ichigo came running, both out of breath.
Tatsuki looked up at them, unspoken questions in her eyes.
Ishida shook his head. "I checked the buildings she usually has classes in. I didn't see her."
Ichigo shook his head. "She's not in the cafeteria and Chado hasn't seen her in the café or nearby."
Tatsuki sighed deeply. "She's not answering my calls and it doesn't seem like she's here."
Ichigo locked eyes with Tatsuki. "We'll find her, Tatsuki. I promise."
-x-
Orihime stood outside the entrance to the university hospital trying to catch her breath before she walked in. She smoothed her hair which had been tousled as she ran to the psychiatry wing and took a deep breath before entering.
The hallway led a number of ways and Orihime opted to follow signs to the waiting room. Upon arrival, she greeted the receptionist warmly.
"Hi there. I'm here to see Tsukishima-san."
The receptionist looked down at her directory. "Sorry, who? I think you may be in the wrong wing."
As Orihime began to panic, Tsukishima appeared in the doorway.
"Inoue-san!" He exclaimed as he walked into the waiting room with another man in a lab coat.
The other man's eyes widened in recognition at the sight of Orihime for just a moment, before he steeled his expression and turned to the receptionist.
"Hinamori-san." He began. "This is Inoue Orihime. She will be volunteering in Aizen-kyouju's lab here for some time. Please prepare the necessary paperwork to get her an access badge and be prepared to help her out from time to time."
Orihime and Tsukishima were both a bit shocked at the man's knowledge of her, but before they could comment on anything, Ulquiorra had already begun walking out of the room and down the hallway.
"Inoue-san, you will return here after the briefing to complete the paperwork with Hinamori-san."
"Y-yes, sir!"
Ulquiorra stopped abruptly and turned to face her. "You may call me Ulquiorra-san."
Turning to Tsukishima, he continued. "I believe your instructions were to introduce Inoue-san to me. As that has concluded, I can't imagine why you need to be here any longer, so I would rather you leave."
Tsukishima considered this and stood his ground. "I don't mind, Ulquiorra-san. I'd like to stay with Inoue-san."
Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes at Tsukishima. "May I remind you, Tsukishima-san, that I run this lab. I don't need you distracting Inoue-san; therefore, I must insist that you leave the premises now."
Orihime watched this exchange nervously, wondering what exactly she had gotten herself into by volunteering at the lab. Aizen had seemed like a warm and pleasant man but this Ulquiorra was another story. And it seemed she may be seeing more of him than Aizen or Tsukishima.
Realizing he wasn't being given a say in the matter, Tsukishima cleared his throat, nodded to Ulquiorra and then turned to Orihime. "Inoue-san, it seems like I'm heading out now. If you need anything from me, please let me know." He smiled reassuringly at her and gently held her arm before turning around and walking away.
Ulquiorra turned down the hallway and Orihime followed. He swiped a key card at a set of doors and led her down a hallway to an office. Taking a key from his pocket, he unlocked the door and led her inside. The sign on the door read: Ulquiorra Cifer, MD. Psychiatry Lab Manager.
Inside the plain office was a set of file cabinets, a desk with a desktop computer on it, and some chairs facing the desk. Orihime was reminded of a principal's office, but with even less personality and extra gloomy.
Ulquiorra motioned to the seat across from his desk and sat down at his desk. Orihime took the non-verbal instruction and sat down.
"Inoue-san, today will be the last time you will be late for an appointment at this facility. If you make a habit of being late, you will stop coming altogether, understood?"
Orihime nodded.
He grabbed a small stack of papers from his desk and placed it in front of her. "Here is your training package. The first page is a list of alarms that may be heard in the hospital and the second page is a map of the Psychiatry wing of this hospital. You will learn and memorize both before you are permitted to walk around on your own. In addition to running experiments, we actively treat patients with a number of psychological illnesses in this wing and therefore you must be prepared should an event occur."
Orihime tentatively raised her hand and he quirked an eyebrow at her. "What kinds of events occur, Ulquiorra-san?"
"Occasionally, patients will have negative episodes at which time they may become violent or try to leave the premises. In nearly all cases, they do not pose any threat to staff and volunteers, but it can be upsetting to see." Orihime nodded. "You must remember that dealing with patients during such events is not your role here and you must leave it to the professionals."
Orihime nodded again. "So what will my duties be?"
"It depends on what is happening in the lab on any given day. Some days you will either assist Hinamori-san or relieve her of reception duties if she is needed elsewhere. We also run various experiments with graduate students like Tsukishima-san. You may be asked to assist in facilitating experiments that are low-risk."
Orihime nodded again.
"Any other questions?"
Orihime began shaking her head no when they heard a knock on the door. Ulquiorra opened it and Aizen walked in, smiling as he noticed Orihime.
"Inoue-san! I'm glad you're here. Has Ulquiorra-san got you all caught up?"
"Aizen-kyouju! Yes, he has."
Aizen smiled at Orihime, then turned his smile towards Ulquiorra. "If you've nothing else for Inoue-san, shall I escort her back to Hinamori-san? I understand you and I need to talk about a relapsed patient."
Ulquiorra nodded silently as Aizen escorted Orihime back.
"Are you excited to begin volunteering Inoue-san?"
Orihime nodded. "Yes, thank you again for the opportunity Aizen-kyouju."
"Did Ulquiorra-san share any details of our ongoing research that we'd like your help on?"
Orihime shook her head as they returned to the waiting room.
"I see. Well, I'm sure there will be time for it next time."
Aizen nodded at Hinamori and she smiled brightly at him. Turning towards Orihime he said goodnight and returned to Ulquiorra's office. Sticking his head in the door, Aizen looked at Ulquiorra with a smirk.
"Shall we?"
Ulquiorra sighed as he handed Aizen a manila folder. "Preferably quickly."
Aizen chuckled as they walked deeper into the lab. Aizen paused at one door while Ulquiorra went to the next door. "I hear from Hinamori-san that he was making quite a ruckus."
Ulquiorra sighed. "Why do you bother with him, Aizen-kyouju?"
Aizen's eyes sparkled. "It is such an interesting case, isn't it?"
Both Aizen and Ulquiorra opened the doors in front of them. For Aizen, it revealed a fuming blue-haired man and for Ulquiorra, it revealed a slightly darker room with a large window, showing his superior and Grimmjow.
-x-
Orihime returned to Himawari Hall, finally sighing out a breath she had been holding since she left the hospital. Thankfully, she did not see Grimmjow anywhere along her route home.
As she stepped into the elevator, she took out her phone and frowned at the lock screen.
Tatsuki Arisawa: Text Message (11)
Ichigo Kurosaki: Text Message (3)
Ishida Uryuu: Text Message (5)
Sado Yasutora: Text Message (2)
Unknown: Text Message (1)
Tatsuki Arisawa: Voicemail (3)
Orihime hesitated for just a moment before she looked past the conversations with her so-called friends and checked the unknown text message.
Unknown: It's Byakuya Kuchiki. Rukia said you'd be stopping by sometime. I'm in my room all evening so come by whenever.
Orihime smiled defiantly as she put her phone away. Grimmjow is my problem, she thought to herself, I don't need people to pity me – I can take care of myself.
She exited the elevator and her previous conviction faltered as she almost walked into Tatsuki who was waiting for the elevator with Ichigo and Ishida.
"Orihime!" Tatsuki exclaimed as she moved towards her. Orihime deftly dodged her and looked away.
"Orihime." Tatsuki repeated more quietly, almost to herself.
"I have nothing to say to you," Orihime said in her direction and eyeing Ichigo and Ishida painfully, continued, "any of you. I can take care of myself and I don't need anyone pitying me and treating me like a child."
Orihime began walking briskly away from them when Ichigo went after her and grabbed her hand.
"Inoue." Ichigo pleaded. "Please, don't walk away from us."
Orihime's pained glare pierced his as the door in front of both of them opened.
"Inoue-san." A deep voice materialized as Byakuya quickly assessed the situation and forcefully grabbed Ichigo's wrist. Ichigo flinched but did not loosen his hold on Orihime.
"Is this guy bothering you?"
Orihime winced and looked at Ichigo. "Please let go of me, Kurosaki-kun."
Ichigo reluctantly loosened his grip on Orihime, and as he did so, Byakuya loosened his grip on him.
Orihime looked at Byakuya. "Are you free now, Kuchiki-senpai?"
Byakuya nodded. "Yes. Please come in, Inoue-san."
Orihime turned in to Byakuya's room as Ichigo looked on in confusion and Byakuya shut the door in his face.