Welcome to the Jungle

"And by using Ulquiorra's zero time technique, the girl has no chance of escaping despair."

"The despair she finds at the root of pure justice that is, Aizen-sama. She must understand that her death will benefit no one."

The brown-haired ex-shinigami looked at his subordinate, Tousen Kaname, and the corners of his lips curled subtly. "You read my mind."

The two inwardly smiled, basking in their mutual understanding.

"Don't I get a say in this, gent'lmen?" a silver-haired also ex-shinigami interjected. "I myself think it's rather cruel to set tha' moody espada on her. Now, someone like Luppi? She would'a started eating a-days ago." he sighed, "But that bull of yours blew him to pieces. I'm forever pained, y'know that?"

Aizen simply dismissed his colleague's comment, choosing rather to concentrate on the panel before him, set full of controls and levers, and a wall filled with screens.

"Gin-san, if you want another one, all you have to do is ask." the lucrative ex-captain finally said, casting Gin a devious sideways glance.

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Orihime was back in her own room when she came to. Her blurred vision slowly came to a focus as she tried to blink away the pain she felt in her head and her chest. All memory regarding the previous incident was at a standdstill for now, which was just as well because she wasn't able to think about anything other than the pain for that moment. In addition, her stomach resounded the most vicious growl she'd ever heard; she was hungry.

"Hate to admit he's right but you should'a ate."

Grimmjow was sat atop the huge couch opposite Orihime, his arms crossed and his legs spread widely out in front of him; a dark, brooding expression on his face. He did not have his trademark smirk on, instead his lips turned upwards in a pensive frown, if you could even put 'pensive' in the same sentence as Grimmjow's name.

The orange-haired girl fully opened her eyes, and on realising there was somebody else in the room sat up abruptly, which was a mistake from the start. The pain shot up her chest directly into her head as a result, and she curled up into a ball on her bed in agony. She felt and looked weak, a sign that she had been malnutritioned for days now.

It was night time outside. The moon hung on the flat skies of Hueco Mundo like a taunt. Usually Orihime looked at the moon in times of distress. It consoled her to think that we were all under the same moon, and even moreso that her Kurosaki-kun was sleeping safely underneath it, but that was not the case here. This moon was apathetic and unrelenting, it was an angry, vengeful moon that spat down on everything that looked up at it.

Grimmjow walked over to her and stood still until she finally looked at him. They remained motionless for a few seconds before he grabbed her by the collar and pulled her out of bed and onto the ground, half onto her feet. He took her over to the couch again, but not before grabbing a vial from the table next to it. Before Inoue could comprehend the situation, not that she could even think straight thanks to the ache in her body, Grimmjow had already pulled her half along the floor and placed her firmly in front of him between his legs, her back to his chest. The next thing she knew, he had forced her mouth open and shoved the vial to her lips.

The liquid was sickly sweet and tasted like cough medicine, but the bitter aftertaste soon got rid of that notion. She half choked on the mixture, but while doing so she noticed that the pain was quickly residing from her chest. It was as though the pit of darkness present in her body was slowly shrinking into nothing, and dare she say it, it felt liberating. Inoue was able to open her eyes without it hurting now, but the room in its perpetual darkness made it difficult to make anything out clearly anyway. She regained her composure, her heart slowing to a regular beat, and she sighed, forgetting that she was cradled in the lap of the sexta espada.

"I could get used to this."

She jumped when Grimmjow shifted, moving her closer to him. It was a weird sensation, feeling the warmth of his body so close to her. She was bewildered for a moment as she assumed that all espada were cold-blooded, but it was increasingly difficult- and surprising- for her to believe that now that she knew otherwise.

Realising the situation she shivered. Orihime didn't like being in his presence, let alone so close to him. She broke away from the sexta espada, standing up with ease and fluidity this time.

"Why?" she asked, feeling that one word capable of easing the confusion she felt. "Why are you here? What did you just give me?"

The medicine of sorts had felt surprisingly refreshing, and in addition to the erasure of her pains was the disappearance of her hunger. What was this bewitching concoction that she'd just drank?

"Reiatsu." Grimmjow muttered nonchalantly, glaring up at Orihime, who according to him had just dented a rare moment of relaxation. He continued in slight irratation, "It's what the espada consume after training. It has the effects of an elixir. So for you, it's a freaking miracle, that's what it is."

-Orihime frowned at his condescending and unpleasant words, but only being able to do so for a couple of seconds, as the elixir sent another wave of restoration through her body, the effects visible on her face as her skin glowed a bright pink, instead of the sallow pale green of before.

"But, why... you? Where's Ulquiorra? He's in charge of me, not you."

Grimmjow's face darkened, and he rose from the couch, stepping into a strip of black that separated them; the shadow of the window frame. He emerged from it slowly, so that his eyes were visible foremost. He had a solemn expression on his face.

"You're hurting my feelings." he said calmly yet tauntingly, the fire inside burning viciously, Orihime's contempt being the fuel. "I didn't know you two were such good friends." And still he came closer, fully immersed in light now. "He didn't do a damn thing when you were crying out-- for your poor Kurosaki."

Inoue looked into his eyes, searching the blue for something that made sense, and then it hit her. She slapped her mouth with her hand as memories came rushing back into her mind from not moments before.

"You get the picture!" Grimmjow roared as he snatched her wrist up, which was held tightly across her chest. It didn't take him much strength to do this however; she was so weak.

Orihime stifled a sniff as a tear ran down her cheek and onto the spot where the '1' tattoo had been in her vision. It was somewhat of a relief, as it confirmed to her that her horrid ordeal had been an illusion, induced by Ulquiorra, whom she had underestimated until then. Another tear hit the same spot, and another Grimmjow's hand.

"Get your tears off me!" he growled, shaking her arm, but never letting go. "Your dirty human tears burn my skin."

"Then let go of me!" she cried, the image of a bloody Ichigo prominent in her mind.

It was at this that Grimmjow finally let go of her, infuriated for some reason she didn't know. Who had asked him to come here and insult her? It was as if he got a kick out of torturing people, and bad enough that he did it to the other espada, and Ichigo, who were all strong, but to bully a helpless person such as her, she couldn't comprehend it. And as far as she understood Ulquiorra was- by Aizen's word- her guardian, so the aggressive espada's appearance here made things much worse.

Yet, she couldn't help but feel a pressing sense of guilt. He had, after all, given her the reiatsu to drink. Without that she'd be paralysed with hunger by now. She watched him heading for the door, and in a fit of frantic impulse made after him, automonously pushing any hesitation aside. It was within her essence to do it, she couldn't let him leave without him acknowledging her gratitude, regardless of the circumstances.

She reached for his arm, the same arm that she had healed weeks before. The tears now stained her face, but they had dried and felt tight. However she had no time to regard this, for as soon as she touched him the espada shot her away in fury, having decided the whole association a waste of his time.

"Don't touch me, woman!" he snapped, without even turning around. "The next time you're about to die, I'm letting you! Two times I've saved you is far too many."

"I just want to say thank you!" she coughed after him, finding herself in a shockingly unexpected situation. Had she really just ran after him like that? She had just actually attempted to grab him? Half of her was disgusted at herself, but the other half was adamant to display her gratitude, for she wasn't an ignorant girl, and found it impossible to do anything but stay true to herself. A good deed was never forgotten, no matter who it was from.

Grimmjow was just about to leave through the door when he paused for a moment, and looked like he was going to turn around.

"Does it look like I care?"

That was all he said, and walked straight on.