Author's note: I dont own Bleach, and would be happy to hear any reviews. Flames, even. This is my first post, and I hope to improve with each chapter.

Orihime

Cold green eyes watched her slightest movement, making sure she ate every last bit of the disgusting mush he had set before her. She had gagged and nearly emptied the pitiful contents of her stomach the first few times she had tried to eat it. However, everything had gotten easier as time had moved on in Hueco Mundo and now she could at least stomach most of the mush. Wasting food, in her captor's view, was not permissible. She had figured it out the hard way. Ulquiorra Cifer had to keep her alive, but did not have to be kind.

A childish thought entered her mind, and she wondered what his reaction would be if she stuck her tongue out at him. The realistic (and life-preserving) voice inside of her quickly reminded her that Ulquiorra would most likely cut her tongue off. Moreover, would most likely do so without even blinking. Her food suddenly became a bit harder to swallow, and she risked a glance at her captor. An odd thought came to her mind. He was beautiful. She quickly shook her head, trying to clear out that thought. She was Kurosaki's woman! Orihime was positive that she only loved Ichigo. Or perhaps, maybe she was not so sure anymore. She tried to swallow the last of the horrible mush, but gave up when it stuck in her throat. Drinking some of the stale water that accompanied the meal helped. Her thoughts wandered back to Ulquiorra. Beautiful in a tragic way, she decided. Like a petal falling off a dying rose, or the last ray of light before night came. Laughter bubbled in her throat and she quickly suppressed it. Thinking of Ulqiorra as a ray of light or a beautiful rose was completely wrong. She had to wonder where she came up with these comparisons sometimes. He was perhaps the most 'emo' person she had ever come across. Of course, that was his looks alone. Orihime was certain that even the most stereotypical emo showed more emotion than Ulquiorra.

It must have been those eyes that were making her think of things like the sun. They were green, no not just green, intense emerald green. To her, green represented life. It was the trees, the grass, spring…all things she missed in this desolate wasteland.

"Woman, what are you staring at? Finish your food. Now." his voice startled her out of her daze and she realized she had been staring into his eyes. She blushed deeply and hurriedly resumed trying to choke down her food.

Once she had finally finished and he had left, she sat down on her hard bed. Her brain was completely muddled. 'Work of the hobgoblins, surely' she muttered as she lay down. The last thought to cross her mind before sleep overcame her…What exactly is Ulquiorra to me?

Ulquiorra

She was so much color, so much everything, that she overwhelmed his thoughts and reason. Yellow, he decided, was her color. It vaguely annoyed and intrigued him, with its obnoxious brightness and cheeriness. He much preferred the colors of Hueco Mundo. Black, shades of gray, and endless halls of white.

He continued walking towards Aizen's main room to give him the daily report of the woman. He knocked lightly and was permitted entry.

"What is it, dear Ulquiorra?" Aizen said with a slight sneer on his face.

Ulquiorra blandly gave his report. "I have come to report the woman's condition. Her body is in seemingly good health, and her mental state is slowly breaking as planned. She will soon be completely in your control, Aizen-sama."

"Excellent, you may leave now." Ulquiorra was dismissed with a small flick of Aizen's hand. He briefly considered returning to his room to read, but decided that further analyzing the woman was more appealing.

Why did he find her so interesting, after all? It bothered him to know that anyone could even catch his interest. He found other beings to be boring, all the same. Like the grains of sand in outside the tower, all the same except the miniscule details you would find if you looked closely enough. And really, who could be bothered to look closely at so many grains of sand?

Ulquiorra assumed his fascination was with her and her emotions. He understood none of this sorrow, or happiness. His life was only blindly following rules, boredom, and the very rare spark of interest for something. He paused outside of her door, hand one inch away from knocking on it to alert her of his presence. Something in his mind had clicked on the issue he had been trying to solve for days. Why had he kept trying to understand her emotions, then trying to break her down? It wasn't only for Aizen-sama. Realization hit him.

He wanted her to be empty and cold, just like him.