And You Hope That They Will See
Orihime sat on the floor staring at the haunting crescent moon that hung at the center of Hueco Mundo. The room the Arrancars placed her in was sparsely filled, with only a couch to double as a bed for her, a table she could eat at and a rug. Though she knew it would essentially be a prison for her, she was relieved to have finally reached it. She would never have mentioned it, but her legs and back were sore from the ceaseless walking.
"Do you need anything at this time, Inoue-san?" the Arrancar charged with serving her, Menoly asked.
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"Ah, no," the teen girl replied nervously, not confident enough to ask even when her food would arrive, despite a grumble from her stomach, "I'm fine."
"Eh, okay," the Arrancar answered and stared at the ground, revealing herself to be equally nervous.
Orihime had been left alone with her by Ulquiorra. He mostly repeated Aizen's orders before exiting, "Make sure she eats and then is ready to be brought before Aizen-sama."
The young girl would never have been comfortable asking anyone to serve her in the best situations. Once, as a middle school student, she had even been chided by Tatsuki for being too shy to call for a waiter. She couldn't conceive how to request something of the Arrancar with her now.
While the two stewed in their awkwardness, the door creaked open.
"Orihime are you in here?" asked the child-like, green-haired Arrancar as she peeked inside.
"Ah, yes, I'm here," the girl answered, "It's Lilynette, right?"
"Yup, that's me," the tiny Arrancar replied, proudly puffing up as she entered, "Lilynette Gingerbuck, partner of the great Coyote Starrk."
"Do you need something?" Orihime asked, feeling mixed about the girl's arrival. The chestnut-haired girl knew she was a prisoner and should perhaps not be friendly with her captors, but she still could not help feeling happy to see the tiny Arrancar again.
"Aizen-sama said we can visit you whenever we like. I wanted to see how you getting along," the small Arrancar went on, "Besides, Starrk is just chatting with Ulquy again. Well, he's talking, and Ulquiorra is staring at him like he's a mark of the wall. After that Starrk'll probably just go nap. Then I'll really have nothing to do."
"Um, okay," Orihime replied still keeping a measure of caution.
Lilynette then turned to Menoly, "Have you fed her yet?"
"We're, uh, waiting for her food to arrive," the blond Arrancar answered.
"Hmm," Lilynette nodded, then walked over to again inspect the teen girl. Suddenly, she roughly slapped Orihime on the back. It was not hard enough to hurt her, but it was startling. It produced a small white cloud, which the tiny Arrancar sneezed at as it floated over her, "She's all dusty from the ride here. You can't present before Aizen-sama like this Menoly."
"Uh, well..." the blond Arrancar stammered.
"Ooh, let's take a bath together," the small girl offered excitedly, "Please Orihime?"
"Huh, okay," Orihime replied, too taken aback by this sudden request to fully grasp what she agreed to.
"Go prepare one for us down the hall, Menoly," Lilynette ordered, clearly jubilant.
"Huh, yes, of course, Lilynette," she replied, still sounding nervous, but left to do as instructed.
Orihime looked at the floor, contemplating what was happening. She had been grateful of the seeming kindness and defense both Lilynette and Starrk had shown with the other Arrancars. On the trek to her quarters though, she had thought about what it meant. It seemed genuine, that didn't mean the human girl could consider it safe to trust them, or refuse them.
If Lilynette was ignorant of Orihime's worries, or acting in spite of them, was unknown. She proceeded to take the human girl's hand and lead her out into the hall.
"Halibel would send Arrancars to meet with Aizen-sama to plan for taking Las Noches," she recounted, "A little bit before he came to stay in Hueco Mundo for good, there was this pretty one with purple hair and weird floppy horns on her mask. She was really, um, nice, yeah that's word, like you are. She would take baths with me. It was a lot of fun. She always said Starrk could join us if he wanted, but he never did."
Orihime was confused at what the small Arrancar was talking about, and a little flustered at the sudden mental image of bathing with Starrk. As Lilynette had started making a habit of, whether she was aware of Orihime's uncertainties or not, the child-like being immediately offered further explanation.
"Halibel is like Starrk, a really, really strong Arrancar," she continued, "She keeps a lot of other female Arrancars safe in her fortress from ones like Nnoitra and Yammy. The Arrancar I mentioned, Cherlindra, went back after Nnoitra tried to do something bad to her. Starrk stopped him and said she wanted to keep it a secret from Halibel and Aizen-sama."
Orihime's expression turned sterner at the mention of the tall Arrancar she'd met earlier and the possible confirmation of what she feared about him. She also felt a sting in her cheek remembering Yammy injuring her.
"Menoly comes from Halibel's too. It's some kind of deal where she would serve Aizen and Halibel keeps her fortress," Lilynette also mentioned.
Right as Lilynette finished her story, the two arrived at a new room where Menoly was waiting. It was more welcoming than Orihime's had been. The stone that it was forged in was a more pleasing white than the grey of her room. There was a large glass roof that extended into one of the walls. It still showed the night sky, but it created a brighter atmosphere. In the center of the room was a pool in the shape of a half sphere filled with steaming water and bubbles.
"It's nice too, huh?" the small Arrancar commented as she led Orihime to the edge of the pool, "Gin sometimes comes up here and takes crazy hot baths. Tōsen only likes cold showers, the weirdo. I'm not sure about Aizen-sama."
The child-like Arrancar then undressed. Orihime balked for a moment at the suddenness of this, but then realized it followed this would be a necessary thing. She also could not avoid looking over small Arrancar's body. She had a black Hollow hole in the middle of her body and the helmet piece remained. Orihime guessed that was something she could not remove. Otherwise Lilynette was indistinguishable from a regular child.
"Just a normal human," the teen girl accidentally said aloud.
"Hmm, what's that Orihime?" Lilynette asked, poking her head into high school girl's view, breaking her out of her thoughts.
"Oh, nothing," she replied, wondering if either of the two had heard her.
"Aren't you going get undressed too?" the small Arrancar inquired, "Humans don't wear clothes to bathe, right?"
Orihime blushed, having not previously considered this prospect, but knew she should have expected it. She had visited a local bath house with Tatsuki and her other school friends a few times in Karakura, but this was not a setting she was sure it was in anyway safe to relax in, if that was even possible.
"You have a change of clothes for her, right Melony?" Lilynette asked the blond Arrancar.
"Yes, whenever she's ready," she responded.
"You still want have a bath with me, right?" from Lilynette's tone it was clear she would be disappointed if Orihime refused.
"Oh, okay," Orihime replied, realizing somewhere inside her she had to make the best of this she could, "Yes, it will be fun."
Orihime slowly followed Lilynette's lead, removing first her sweater. The two Arrancars watched her with curiosity.
"What's that funny, lacy thing?" Lilynette asked as Orihime took off her blouse.
"I think it's called a bra," Melony offered, "Cherlindra-sama showed us them from the Living world once, but they never caught on."
"Bra," Lilynete said stretching the word, then examined her own chest, "Guess I'll never need one. Oh-"
Orihime had now let her skirt slide to the floor and was removing the discussed undergarment. Her two observers were now even further interested.
"She is really beautiful," the small Arrancar said.
"Maybe as much as Nelliel was in the legends," added Melony.
Orihime was a bit embarrassed over the Arrancars with her commenting on her body, but forgot about it at the mention of another figure of Hueco Mundo.
"Nelliel?" she asked.
"You don't know the story of Nelliel?"replied the surprised Menoly
"She is from the human world," Lilynette noted, "How could she know."
"Nelliel was supposed be the most beautiful and kind Arrancar to ever live in Hueco Mundo. It is said she was the only known one to not have a Hollow hole," Menoly recalled, "Over a thousand years ago, she led a small group that rebelled against the King."
"I never got what the big deal was," Lilynette said dismissively, "It's not like she won, and Starrk beat the King once."
"It's different because she got Arrancars to organize and follow her. She wasn't just some crazy powerful one like Starrk or, um, him, that could just do whatever they want. She didn't do it alone like them." Menoly argued back, "And they very nearly won. Besides, the King just came back again against Starrk, like he always does."
"Well, I guess …" Lilynette replied more thoughtfully.
As Orihime was reflecting on this bit of history, another voice disrupted the three of them.
"Lil, you in here? Uh, woah-" Starrk declared as he walked in.
Orihime had stripped to only a pair of lavender panties. She managed to resist any vocal expression of surprise, but she covered herself and ducked behind Lilynette.
"Ah, I'm sorry, Orihime-" Starrk apologized, covering his eyes.
"It's okay," Orihime replied blushing.
"Why are you hiding?" Lilynette asked with at first confusion, but realization starting to quickly dawn on her face, "Is Starrk not supposed to see you like this? Well then, he better get out! C'mon Menoly!"
The other three let out a collectively "Huh?" as the small Arrancar began pelting taller one with various bath implements. There was no real force in anything she threw. She was simply being playful. Orihime and Melony could only stare gape-mouthed.
"Out! Out! Out!" Lilynette cried as she chased Starrk back to the entrance.
"Okay, okay! I'm going!" Starrk said as he exited. Through the door, He could still be heard, "You could have warned me the human girl was in there, Ulquiorra!"
"Huh," the pale Espada could be heard also, "What is happening?"
"No, don't go in there!" Starrk shouted, then could heard storming off, "Ugh, I'm going to bed!"
After he was gone, Lilynette laughed in triumph, "We did it girls! We defeated the mighty Starrk!"
"You didn't need to do that, Lilynette," Orihime said, "He didn't mean any harm."
"Oh, was I wrong?" Lilynette replied now sounding worried.
"No, you meant well," Orihme quickly corrected, "Thank you, shall we get in the pool now?"
"Yeah, er, wait a moment," she said, "Menoly why don't you join us too?"
"Huh, me?" the blond Arrancar tried to refuse, "I shouldn't intrude on the two at this time."
"But you use at Halibel's right?" Lilynette pouted, "You did, what did Cherlindra call them, massages and stuff with the the other girls, right?"
"I mean, that was just a sort of thing everyone did for each other there," Menoly said as she now stared at the floor again, blushing.
"And Orihime deserves that too," the tiny Arrancar continued to persist, "It's alright, right Orihime?"
Orihime seeing that the shy blond Arrancar looked, to her, in need of a friend, went with her natural response, "We're happy to have you with us, if you want to Menoly."
"Uh," Menoly kept her vision on the ground. She brushed her hair away from the skull mask eyepiece. After another moment of silence, she said, "Uh, okay, let me get undressed."
"Yay!" Lilynette declared, "I'll go get everything ready and you two come join me."
The small Arrancar went to fill a trio of wash basins while Menoly quickly disrobed. As she had with Lilynette, Orihime again noted mentally that Menoly, aside from her mask, also looked no different from a regular teen girl. She did not see any visible Hollow hole. Orihime briefly pondered if it was rude to ask about its physical location.
"Is something wrong?" Menoly asked, defensibly covering her now naked breasts with her arm.
"No," Orihime said taking Menoly's hand, "Let's go."
They walked hand in hand to the waiting Lilynette.
"Cherlindra taught me before getting in the bath, you should always rinse with cool water," the tiny Arrancar instructed as she pushed two full basins to the two other girls. She then poured her own over herself and let out a loud shiver.
Orihime and Menoly both copied her actions. They also both were a bit startled at how cold the water was.
"And now we can get in," Lilynette directed them.
Orihime slowly lowered herself into the pool, finding it soothingly warm in comparison to the sudden colder water she had just rinsed with. Almost immediately, it relieved the various aches she had accumulated from earlier. After letting herself enjoy the heat for a few moments she found herself curious about her companions.
Lilynette was lounging back, her eyes shut, looking most pleased.
"This is really nice Lilynette," the teen girl commented, "Thank you for inviting me."
The tiny Arrancar didn't look her way, but responded with a smile.
Menoly still looked uncomfortable.
"Are you not enjoying it Menoly?" Orihime asked.
"The bath is fine," Menoly answered nervously, "I guess, I mean, is it okay that you are?"
"Huh," Orihime replied confused, "What do you mean?"
"Dumb question!" Lilynette interjected, "Of course she is!"
Following that statement, the green-haired Arrancar launched a small wave toward the blond one. Orihime responded by splashing Lilynette back, which she at laughed with glee. Then Orihime, now sporting an unexpected playful, but devious smile, turned and sent one to Menoly. The blond Arrancar let a surprised "Hey" and retaliated at both of them. A three way splash fight broke out until the green-haired girl somehow launched a massive wave that submerged the other two. Orihime and Menoly surfaced. After a few moments coughing and sputtering they both broke into laughter. Orihime then suddenly hugged the blond Arrancar. Menoly hesitated briefly, but soon returned the embrace. Lilynette then tackled both to join in.
"Let's wash each others' hair now" Lilynette next proposed.
"Okay" Orihime agreed.
"Sure" added Menoly.
Orihime handled Lilynette's. It proved an unusual exercise. The mask itself did not seem to move, but Orihime was able to slip her hands underneath it easily. The young-looking girl mentioned that area could be quite sensitive, so the teenager handled it very gently. Lilynette washed Menoly's hair with a surprising amount of care that the human girl did not expect from the rambunctious Arrancar.
"Yours will take both of us," Menoly commented to the high school girl, "Is that okay?"
"Of course," Orihime replied, apparently having abandoned any reluctance over her bath mates not being humans. It could be inferred that Menoly was still troubled by this fact, but none three said anything regarding it.
In the midst of this task, Lilynette again commented, "You really are gorgeous Orihime. More than either of us."
"That's not true Lilynette," the human girl offered sympathetically, "You're both very pretty too."
"Aww, that is really sweet of you to say," the small Arrancar replied, "Hey Menoly once we're done, why don't you give her one of those massage things?"
"Well, um, do you want one?" the blond Arrancar asked, still sounding unsure.
"Sure, if you want to," Orihime said back.
"Uh, okay," Menoly mumbled to agree.
The two finished rinsing the teenage girl. Menoly exited the pool and spread some towels.
"Please climb out and lie down on your stomach," the shy Arrancar instructed.
Orihime did so, then felt the female Arrancar mount her back, positioning her legs around the teen girl's hips. Menoly went to work. Orihime had thought the warm waters rejuvenating, but she was wholly unable suppress the various moans and gasps of pleasure the blond Arrancar elicited from her as Melony rubbed her and worked out the assorted knots of tension the human girl had been unaware she was carrying. After a few minutes Orihime was panting in relief. Lilynette swam up and locked eyes with the auburn-haired girl. Orihime reached out and lightly stroked the tiny Arrancar's face. She then drowsily turned to Menoly.
"Thank you Menoly," the teen girl said, sounding physically spent, but fully content, "That was wonderful."
Orihime then dozed off. Menoly slide back into the pool and, along side Lilynette, stared again at the sleeping human.
"She's too kind-hearted," Menoly criticized the high school girl "To think she could so easily become so trusting."
"Would it be so bad if we could be like her, like that?" Lilynettte questioned back, then laid back to float away.
Menoly found she could offer no retort. She stared at herself in the waters, then left to dress, still reflecting on her tiny companion's words.
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