Everybody Seems So Far Away From Me
Orihime and her friends ran as fast they could down the halls of a spooky old mansion. She couldn't recall how they got there, but she knew they had to keep moving. She also noticed everyone was in strange clothes that were decades out of date. She was in a white shirt with a blue collar, matching blue pants and an orange ascot tied around her neck.
"Keep moving, gang!" Orihime told them.
"Like, zoinks! Guys, he's right behind us!" Rukia announced.
Rukia was in a baggy, comfy-looking green shirt and brown slacks.
"Ah, she's always so adorable, even in old hippies clothed!" Orihime commented to herself.
"Jinxies, guys I'm sorry," Uryu declared as they ran, "I was sure Inoue-san's and my trap would work."
"It's okay Ishida," Ichigo reassured, "There's a first time for everything."
Ichigo and Uryu were both in women's clothing. The former dressed in a tiny purple tress, the latter an orange skirt paired a turtleneck sweater in a different shade of orange. They seemed to be both clkearly themselves, for lack of a beter word Orihime thought to hersself, but different somehow..
"Still both look really hot though," she admitted to herself aloud agqinn.
"Ruh-roh!" Chad added.
Chad's attire was the maybe the strangest. He was dressed in some type of pajama like clothes or a costume that appeared tobe a dog. Much like how they got there, the chestnut-haired girl had no clue why they were all dressed like they were, but it seemed a part of whatever was happening to them.
"Sado-kun…" Orihime thought to herself once more, "Kinda does make that work."
A deep growl that rumbled from behind them partially answered why they had to keep running. She glanced back to find they were being pursued by the Arrancar Yammy. He looked as she remembered him, a massive being with monstrous forehead ridges that differentiated him from other more human-looking Arrancars. He did lack the Hollow mask jaw that usually covered his chin. He was not in the typical white uniform of the Arrancars either. Instead he had on only a dark brown loincloth. He chased after the group with his arms outstretched. He ran at a pace of a normal human, but was closing in on them fast.
"Grrraaaahhh Brrraaahhh!" he bellowed as he drew nearer.
The group encountered long hallway lined on each side with doors. In strange, stilted almost limited movement, the five of them entered the nearest door. Inexplicably, as soon as she had, Orihime found herself back in the hall, entering it through another of the doors. The rest of her friends ran though the hall in a the same way, eachcoming a different door than they had entered. They kept moving through the impossible doorways, baffling the huge monster. At various times, Orihime caught sight of Rukia using her tiny size to pass right between Yammy's legs. She also saw Chad carrying Rukia, Rukia carrying Chad and Ishida carrying both of them.
"Ah, Kurosaki-kun," Orihime exclaimed as she and Ichigo managed to stop just before they collided.
"Inoue, are you-" Ichigo began to ask when he noticed Yammy approaching,"Hurry!"
He seized her hand and pulled her into another door. Despite the situation, she couldn't help feeling her heart flutter at him holding her hand. She also couldn't help feeling proud of herself when she was able to return the favor a few moments later, dragging him to safety also.
Yammy then let out a massive growl of frustration. The five of them each peered out from their own respective door. They then regrouped and fled the hallway.
They next reached a large open room with a double-sided staircase meeting at a larger one that led to the lower level. Orihime stood aside to wave her friends on, making sure they all got out.
"C'mon gang, we're almost out!" Inoue encouraged them as they passed.
Just as Chad made his way through, Yammy was right on top of him and Orihime.
"Inoue, watch out!" Ichigo called from the staircase midway.
As the huge Arrancar reached to grab the teen girl, Chad quickly pulled her to safety and tossed her to the waiting arms of Ichigo.
"Look out Sado!" Uryu now warned as Yammy then went after the huge teen.
Chad jumped to escape Yammy. He grabbed a hold of a chandelier above the mid stairs. It went into a wobbling rotation, carrying Chad with it. He swung around, circling back to Yammy who moved to grab at the boy.
"Gggrraaahh, huh?" the towering beast exclaimed, confused as Chad continued to rotate around, evading Yammy's grasp. As Chad circled again, Yammy prepared to capture him once more.
"Gggrraaahh, huh?" the monster repeated, again mystified as the circling chandelier carried Chad away. Yammy growled louder and even more angrily as he waited for the teen to return. The third time though, the rope holding the chandelier snapped and flew towards Yammy.
There was a terrific crash. Chad had leapt clear of the wreckage. He landed in a heroic, kneeling pose with his arms outstretched. The chandelier had flown onto Yammy. It managed to topple him and trap his arms, as well as leaving him dazed.
"Sado did it!" declared Rukia, "Way to go!"
"That's our Sado!" added Ishida, the turned to their unlikely leader, "Inoue?"
Ichigo had placed Orihime down after catching her. The two had still been holding hands and gazing in each other's eyes when Ishida snapped them back to reality.
"Right," Orihime responded reluctantly pulling herself away from Ichigo, "Okay gang, let's see who he really is."
Orihime removed the false head of the captured Yammy. She then gasped as she found her own face staring back at her with bitterness and malice.
"Well, who did you think the monster was?" said this other Orihime. As she spoke, she clawed her way out of the Yammy disguise, which itself dissolved away. This other her was wearing the sweater and skirt Orihime had when she was brought to Hueco Mundo, but it and she was colored white and black like a negative of a photo. Orihime suddenly found herself in the same outfit in its original colors. The second her stepped forward and forcibly spun Orihime around, bringing her down onto her hands and knees. The world changed around her as she was turned round. They were in a void like Orihime crosed in the Garganta, but in distance, all around them there, was a shifting mist of black, grey and a dull red and purple.
"She just wanted her precious Kurosaki-kun to come save her," she heard from a spiteful sounding Uryu.
"Oh no, you have to listen!" said the doppelganger Orihme as she pulled the teen girl's hair, forcing her to look up. Her friends were back in their familiar clothes. Black voids covered the eyes of Rukia, Uryu and Chad. They loomed over the downed girl. Ichigo stood apart from them staring away into the void..
"She thinks he would ever care about her," Rukia said mockingly, putting her arms around Ichgo's waist from behind him.
"No, please," Orihime pleaded, "That's not why I left, please..."
"I don't think I could be more disappointed in you, Inoue," Chad said coldly, "I imagined you were a good person."
"Please," Orihime begged again.
"So pathetic," Rukia said, mocking Orihime further, "You really can't manage anything yourself at all? How could dream of protecting Ichigo?"
"Well, she's very good at crying," Uryu added, "And being helpless."
"I tried," Orihime said desperately, "I…"
"Did you though?" said Chad, "All you can manage is to be in everyone's way."
Orihime buried her face and sobbed.
"Time to fulfill your true purpose," she heard the other her say.
Then she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Come now, Orihime," said whomever was touching her. The voice sounded soft and understanding on the surface, but there was an undercurrent to it that was sinister and insincere, just as the hand on her shoulder felt, "Dry your eyes now. You have a most important appointment to keep."
Orihime looked up, still shaken from before. The other her was gone, but Aizen knelt before her now. She was in Hueco Mundo. Rukia, Chad and Uryu in the distance. She couldn't hear what they said any longer, but she knew it would be painful things she feared within herself. Ichigo remained, still looking away from her. That somehow hurt more than the things her other friends had said.
Orihime also saw her clothes had again changed. She was no longer wearing any top, only white lace barely covering her breasts. She had black bikini briefs with a half dress running down the back and white boots with a black stripe thru the front. She then noticed something over her left eye. It was an oval piece with segmented horn extending past her face.
"A, a Hollow mask piece," she recoiled in horror. She then saw she indeed had a hole through her body positioned between her neck and breasts, "I've become a Hollow."
"Please, no more delays," said Aizen, "Las Noches awaits."
Orihime turned slowly, hoping not to see what she knew was behind her. The cluster of towers stretched before her. Above them, there was a swirling black mass darker the eternal night sky of Hueco Mundo. The other Arrancars were lined along side an opening between the towers, surrounding Orihime and Aizen.
"Dear Orihime, you'll have the honor of leading our taking of Las Noches," Aizen said.
"No, please…" the terrified girl replied as the towers shook with an unholy laughter.
"Do not be afraid," Aizen said with his constant malicious serenity, "Ulquiorra, guide her along the way."
Ulquiorra marched forward and seized Orihime by her hair and began dragging her into the castle.
"Please, please don't make me,"she begged again. She caught sight of Starrk and Lilynette among the other Arrancars. Both of them looked ashamed of what she was being forced into. She called to them, "Starrk, Lily, please help me!"
"Yes, help her Starrk," said Aizen, "You're free to take Ulquiorras's place."
"Stop it!" Orihime now screamed, "I'll, I'll go."
Aizen only smiled as a response.
"Come along girl," Ulquiorra ordered. Orihime followed him into Las Noches. The black mass descended upon them. As it consumed them, she looked past Aizen to where Ichigo stood.
"Goodbye, Kuro-"
Orihime sat up abruptly. She did so so abruptly that Lilynette stumbled back into the pool.
"Ah, Lilynette, I'm so sorry!" the teen girl said, immediately remembering she was still bathing in tower somewhere in Hueco Mundo, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," the tiny Arrancar said with a laugh as she climbed back to the pool edge. She then turned more serious, "Are you okay? You were mumbling in your sleep."
"I was? I, I'm fine," she replied, though in truth, she was still reeling emotionally.
"You're crying," Lilynette said, even more compassionately, "Was it a bad dream?"
"Uh, it was…" Orihime paused. The details of her dream were rapidly fading for her, though the feeling still remained. She found herself unable to articulate more, "It…"
"Sometimes, I have bad dreams about the things Starrk and I have seen," Lilynette offered sympathetically, placing her hand atop Orihime's, "Usually, they're never so bad as my dreams about them."
Suddenly, Orihime pulled the tiny Arrancar into a hug.
"Orihime?" Lillynette said in surprise. She could feel the human girl shaking , and returned her embrace, "Hey, it'll be okay."
"Whatever happens," Orihime with a quiver in her voice, "I just want you to know I don't blame you or Starrk."
"I know," Lilynette said as the teen girl continued to hold her.
"Um, Inoue-san," Menoly, now dressed, said to make the human girl awre of her presence, "Would you like to get dressed now? You may need to see Aizen-sama soon."
Orihime and Lilynette parted and the small Arrancar dove back into the pool. Orihime nodded and followed Menoly. She had prepared for the teen girl a white dress similar to other Arrancars' clothes. It had skirt overlay, formal round shoulders, a black sash belt and a cape. Despite the circumstances Orihime did think it was a cute outfit.
Menoly had taken to task of brushing Orihime's hair when another Arrancar entered with a wheeled tray carrying a covered dish. She appeared to be a young-looking woman in a green outfit and short, black hair. She had half her face covered in a skull-shaped Hollow mask.
"Excuse me," she said with an emotionless tone similar to a certain white-skinned Arrancar, although with more meekness to her manner, "Ulquiorra-sama said to bring the human girl's food to this room."
"Ah, Roka," said Menoly, sounding slightly confused, "Yes, we have been waiting."
"You don't want to join me, do you, Roka?" Lilynette suddenly asked from the pool.
The dark-haired Arrancar paused for a moment at Lilynette's question. Then answered in the same emotionless demeanor, "I must return to Szayel-sama's lab."
She then exited, leaving the tray.
"She doesn't seems like a mean one, but she is odd" Lilynette commented.
"I thought Roka was still at Halibel-sama's fortress," said a puzzled sounding Menoly.
"I heard a rumor that jerk Yammy had killed her," said Lilynette, "Well, I'm glad she's okay. What kind food did she bring Orihime? Is its those mushroom things or is it from the Living world or the South?"
Menoly uncovered the tray, revealing a bowl of soup with vegetables and white pieces and loaf of bread.
"Looks like a mix of them," Menoly replied.
Orihime had forgotten, but now recalled her stomach gurgling with hunger pangs. That and curiosity of the things Lilynette mentioned got her eager to try the dish. The white substance did taste sort of like a mushroom. She also didn't recognize the leafy green vegetables they were served with. It was all seasoned with a very distinct flavor. None of it was bad-tasting, simply new to her.
"What'cha think?" Lilynette rather suddenly asked, popping up beside Orihime.
"It's unusual, but still tastes good," Orihime evaluated the meal, "Do either of you want some?"
Menoly refused, but Lilynette requested some bread. Orihime could tell from the smell and feel it was a simple recipe and very fresh. She gave some to the tiny Arrancar.
"Arrancars don't need food. We can simply breath in reishi particles," she said tearing into the offered piece. "But some appreciate the taste"
"Cherlindra-sama always has wine," Menoly commented, "I don't know if she gets it from Earth or the South."
"They grow food in the south of Hueco Mundo?" Orihime asked, again interested in further information of the Hollows' land.
"Yeah, not really sure why," Lilynette elaborated, "They have a whole fake sun down there. Starrk and I thought of living there once, but we didn't want to deal with their crazy preacher leader. He also really hates Shinigami. Maybe that's why Aizen didn't bother recruiting him."
The green-haired Arrancar rose and stretched, "They send stuff they grow to the King in Las Noches. I guess so he'll leave them alone. It's easy enough for goons working for Aizen to swipe some for him, Gin and Tosen. And now you too, I guess."
Orihime paused to consider on Lilynette's inclusion of her in those ranks , but only briefly as Ulquiorra then barged into the bathing room, "Girl, you've kept Aizen-sama waiting long enough."
"Oh Lilynette" Orihime immediately stood up to hide the still naked Lilynette.
"Ha, like Ulquiorra cares about anything he sees," Lilynette replied with a splash as she returned to the pool.
Although his expression did not seem to change, something told Orihime, much like Grimmjow, Ulquiorra was not pleased of Lilynette's assessment of him.
"Come along girl," Ulquiorra now ordered, turning to leave.
"Ah, yes sir," Orihime replied, snapping back into submissive demenaor as a prisoner of those around her, despite moments earlier enjoying their company.
"You will also accompany us, Menoly," Ulquiorra added.
"Yes, Ulquiorra-sama," the blond Arrancar said following them.
"Oh, and girl, that dress," the pale Espada said in the same emotionless tone, "It does look quite good on you. Now we must go to Aizen-sama."
Orihime and Menoly exchanged confused looks at the dour Arrancar's awkward compliment as they followed him. From the pool Lilynette could be heard adding her contribution with a dismissive, "Pfftt, whatever."