Secret Attraction (Charlmeister / jackdlemon)

[Charlmeister]

The bell rang, signaling the end of the English lecture, and the end of the day. Everyone was moving around; chairs were scraped back against the hardwood floor, books were snapped shut and everyone's footsteps sounded like a stampede as they filed out the room, eager to either go home or get to their club meetings.

Inoue Orihime heard none of it. Her hand was at her jaw, her gray eyes focused on nothing in particular and her fingers drummed a dull, off-beat rhythm against her desk. The only thing she could hear was the echo of her thoughts, repeating the word that one of the men had used to describe her. Trash. She remembered his face; his pale face and black lips, the streaks down either of his cheeks that looked like tear stains. His dull green eyes.

She wondered if Kurosaki thought of her the same way. She hadn't been able to cheer him up earlier. Neither had she been able to help him when those two guys clad in white had come and fought him.

Her face throbbed from the memory of how hard she'd been slapped and she pressed her fingers to her cheek, gingerly massaging the flesh in circular motions. She wasn't capable either of cheering him up. Rukia had though. At least that made her happy.

"Inoue, Inoue! C'mon, class is over." Her friend, Tatsuki Arisawa, waved a hand before her face then poked her forehead. Inoue looked up at her, pulled from reverie and she looked around the classroom; empty except for them.
"Oh! Sorry, I didn't know," she said with a sheepish grin. She suppressed her feelings and put on a smile. That was her habit. She knew already that Tatsuki knew something was bothering her but she hoped she wouldn't ask about what bothered her. She didn't, though her look conveyed she wasn't convinced by Inoue's sudden change of mood.

Picking up her bag, she slung it over her shoulder and walked with Tatsuki outside the classroom. She looked around outside to see if she could catch a glimpse of Kurosaki but he was nowhere in her periphery. She sighed to herself, a soft sound that Tatsuki didn't hear.

She left her friend at her club meeting, and decided she didn't want to stay, lying to Tatsuki that she had a migraine.
By the time she got home, it was dark. She opened the door to her home and slammed it shut behind her, she went inside her room and stripped down to her underwear then flung herself on her bed.
She forced her lethargic body from the bed and took a quick shower.

She decided she wasn't hungry tonight and sat on her bed, in the dark and laid down, clutching her pillow to her person. Now she wasn't tired. She just thought back to the person who called her trash. She didn't even know why it bothered her so much but the word, spoken with such apathetic disdain, was stuck in her mind.

 

[jackieDemon]

In a large, almost empty room, two men in white stood before a telegraphic three dimensional projection. ONe of the men had dark skin, and braids. His eyes were covered over by some kind of dark visor. His purple hair hung loosely at his back. He stood with his hands, fists clenched, at his sides. There was a deep frown on his face, and with the way he looked it was hard to imagine anything else. The other man was a little taller than the first. His hair was a medium shade of brown, and cut short. His hands were casually held behind his back as he smiled at the image in front of him. On screen, there was a young, red-headed woman, who couldn't have been any more than sixteen. She lay on her bed, clutching a pillow, as if it would be capable of protecting her against some unseen nightmare.

"Lord Aizen." A deep voice said from behind them. "You summoned me." Both me turned to the figure, without changing the looks on their faces.

"Ulquiorra Cifer." The more relaxed man said. "It's good of you to come. I have something for you to do." The man only nodded. His strange eyes moved beyond the men in front of him, towards the young woman in tears. "Yes." The leader of the Espadas said, closing his eyes. His smile widened ever so slightly. "The woman you see behind me is the same one you encountered the other day, with the shinigami."

"I see." The pale figure whispered. "Do you wish for me to destroy her?"

"No." The man with the braids said, a little louder than was called for. "You are to bring this woman back, alive, and unharmed." Aizen, as his sergeant said this, only bowed his head as if he was doing his best to keep from laughing at the underling's need to assert himself. "Go now, and be quick about it."

The pale figure didn't move, but changed his stare, aiming it at the leader. "Do as Tousen says." Aizen said with a smile. "Yes Lord Aizen," and with that the fourth Espada vanished.

It didn't take long before Ulquiorra found himself in the world of the living, and less time than that before he found himself staring into the window of his target, still clutching the door. He thought for a moment of bursting in, but some of the debris could cause harm to something so fragile. He decided on the door. He walked over to it, ripped it from its hinges, and stepped inside. "Lord Aizen wishes for your company. Come without resisting, and no harm will come to you."

 

[Charlmeister]

She was close to falling asleep. Being curled in a fetal position, with the soft pillow against her frame induced her exhaustion and need to sleep. Her eyelids slowly became heavier and her vision became foggy in the dimly lit room. Unconsciousness was slowly enveloping her but recoiled quickly at the jarring sound of the door being taken from its hinges. Inoue turned over quickly, almost flinging her pillow away as she sat up and blinked rapidly to clear her vision to see who was at her door.

A nightmare. She wanted to think she was actually dreaming, that the man in white was just the monster of that nightmare; that his presence wasn't as real. But there was no amount of wishful thinking she could do to erase the reality of this situation. He had come, without preamble and without regard for her door. He stated his business and his tone remained as she remembered it; leveled and apathetic.
Aizen wished for her company? To do what?
"Why? What does he want with me?"

Did it even make sense for her to ask him anything? He wouldn't answer her would he? She couldn't imagine leaving Kurosaki behind. She wanted to stay by him and help him. How exactly would she do that if she went with him to Aizen? She wanted nothing to do with him either. He'd done more than enough to hurt her friends and those in Soul Society; and he had no remorse for his actions either. She didn't expect him to. He felt justified in his own actions, just as how she was sure his servant felt right now.
What would it benefit her if she went?