[Log] 09 - What Can You Do
Date: 04-25-08
Characters: Orihime, Ulquiorra
Summary: Orihime wants to know why she's been brought here. To indulge her with answers or not...
-=[La Cadena - Las Noches]=-----------------------------------------------------
This is where Orihime Inoue is kept prisoner. The door is locked on the outside, for the inside has no knob or lever. It's flat and featureless on the inside, making it virtually impossible for someone to get out. The room itself is large and rectangular, and beautifully decorated (if a little monochromatic). The floors, the walls, the high-vaulted ceilings, the furniture...everything is white. A couch that could comfortably seat four is set in the middle of the room, a pair of throw pillows on each side. There's a small, round table with a solitary small, round chair, where Orihime sits to take her meals. A white throw rug that gradiates to a deep, dark gray on the ends is sit on the floor.
One could almost forget that this place is a prison, if not for the window set high out of reach, furnished with solid steel bars that grant entrance to none but the moonlight.
Orihime is a very well-behaved prisoner. The throw pillows aren't torn apart. The furniture isn't overturned. The rug isn't even moved out of place. It's almost as though nothing's been touched. Probably because it hasn't. She's slept on the couch a little, but mostly spends her time sitting on the floor, looking up at the moon, thinking. Just thinking. About what, no one could say, but she's managed to stay calm and collected since she arrived. Considering what kind of beings patrol the hallway outside, that's pretty remarkable for a sixteen-year-old girl.
She sits on the floor now, head upturned towards the only real source of light. Her hands are clasped in her lap, legs curled back to either side of her.
This is a very lonely place. But considering the alternatives, maybe that's not so bad.
It's safer here than outside. She should be thankful that Aizen has given her personal quarters rather than bunk her with one of the other Arrancar. She would likely not last long at all.
There's a quiet knock on the tall doors, followed by an "I'm coming in." The voice isn't too hard to place, considering Orihime's only met so many of them thus far. The doorway opens to admit the ever stoic, half-helmed Espada, and he takes several steps inside, hands in pockets as they usually are found to be. His vibrant gaze takes not a second to sweep the room before settling upon the girl that sits there with her eyes towards the window.
That...was surprisingly polite. She never expected to hear anyone knock on a cell door before, that's for sure. And yet, the way she's sitting, it's as though she didn't hear anything at all.
She's a little dispirited at the moment.
But even so, Orihime's always been a very polite person. And if one of her captors shows her courtesy, how could she not return it? It's much nicer than being threatened or beat up.
Her head turns, shoulders following as she blinks at the newcomer. "Ah...? Ulquiorra-san...?" He hasn't come to feed her, it seems. What's going on?
He crosses the room, the only sound being the material of his hakama as he walks towards her, a muted swishing noise just a notch above being non-existant. He looks down at her, the girl that sits there on the floor as if she's merely spending the night at a friend's for a slumber party.
"...I've been placed in charge of you, so I have come to see how you are doing," Ulquiorra states, looking at her for two seconds longer before he lifts gaze to look over the rest of the room. "...it does not seem as though anyone else has thought to intrude here...." he observes, eyes flicking back to her for verification.
She knows very well what he means, and intentionally avoids looking at the pocked marks in the wall left by the fifth Espada's weapon. "No... No one else," she replies quietly, gaze drifting away to the floor. There was Gin, but considering that he's one of the chief operators here, his visit could hardly be construed as an 'intrusion.' And he'd brought her a persimmon besides.
She peeks up at Ulquiorra again through her lashes, gripping her hands a little more tightly. She wants to know why she's here, and desperately so. But if Gin said he wasn't the one to tell her, then it's unlikely Ulquiorra would. Ah well...nothing ventured, nothing gained.
"Ulquiorra-san...why was I brought here? Am I useful?"
Upon receiving Orihime's verbal acknowledgment, Ulquiorra nods before looking away again. His eyes glance up towards the impossibly high window. Most of the windows established in the fortress held any great view for scenery, and even those in his room lacked for any purpose other than symmetrical design. He knows better than to wonder, much less ask why the girl spends so much time gazing up hopelessly at the sky that never gives way to daylight.
"...do you really not know?" he answers her question with a question, not yet turning to face her as he continues to muse at the moonlit sky beyond the barred windows.
There's a soft noise of decline from Orihime as she shakes her head, seen or unseen. "No... I know my healing abilities are unique, but..." She reaches up to touch the left hairpin briefly, then allows her hand to fall back to her lap. "But there are many who can heal." Most likely those in the Fourth Division are far more adept at it, too. Wasn't that what Urahara had said? That she should stay out of battle because the Fourth could do everything she could and more?
What interest could a human girl possibly hold for someone like Aizen?
Her thoughts of information and torture return, and her shoulders hunch a little higher. "I wasn't told anything of vital importance either. So really..."
The Espada looks back to her as she speaks, weighing her words, but no change twitches in his expression. "...'healing abilities'..." There's the faintest hint of a smirk, but it might simply be an implication for all the difference that shows on his face. "Think about what you have done with this 'healing' power of your's..." He turns, taking a step closer, not truly meaning to be threatening a gesture, but it doesn't make him any less imposing.
"...you restored your comrade's arm from near nothingness... You shield those that would cause you harm." Another step, those unblinking eyes continuing to look down. "The very words you speak when you invoke your power. Have you not thought about it at all?"
Aw, great...now she just feels dumb for not understanding. And she still doesn't! Ah, but didn't
one of their ranks lose an arm? The one with blue hair and sharp pointy teeth? Is that it?
"Then...I'm to heal those who return injured...?" Orihime ventures a guess, on the verge of flinching. She half-expects him to swat her upside the head if she gets it wrong. But just the same, she'd really like to know her purpose, just so she knows what to expect of her fate.
"....." Were it any other Arrancar, Orihime likely wouldn't even be having such a conversation. Ulquiorra exhibits unfathomable patience sometimes, and this moment is no exception. "...you miss my point," he says, but there is no warmth in his words. Not that there was any before, but in those four words, it just seems to be more apparent. "I was speculating about your abilities- that which you believe to be 'healing.' If you do not understand the extent of your true abilities, then it is no wonder you are seen as weak by those you call your comrades."
Ouch. Like a dagger to the ribs. Orihime visibly flinches, and drops her gaze to her lap. Weak... She had little hope of seeing them again, but that pretty much seals the deal. She /is/ weak. In every fight that had cropped up, Orihime had never been able to contribute anything of real worth. Every fight. She hasn't had her powers for long, but she never questioned them. Why would she? As long as she knows what she can do, that's all that matters. All that ever mattered.
She says nothing in response, feeling more than a little wounded at his words.
There will be no comfort nor consolation offered by the Espada. He continues to look at her in silence, as if his gaze were an extra weight to be added to her shoulders. Eventually he lifts this extra pressure, turning his green gaze back towards the window high above them.
The seconds tick past, turn into minutes, and when a handful of them has gone by, Ulquiorra turns and begins to retrace his steps back towards the door.
He's like an angry girlfriend! If she doesn't know then he won't tell her! But that solves noooooothing!
Maybe Orihime does know, deep down inside. But for the life of her, there's simply no way she could reconcile that kind of power as belonging to her. The hold on her hand rises to grip her arm, her head bent further to spill a few locks of chestnut hair over her slumped shoulders. "Please...just tell me...I really don't know, and..." And she's more than a little bit scared. Supposing she has to announce her ignorance in front of Aizen, and many others? She really doesn't want a repeat of what Nnoitra did, and he hadn't been pleased with her answer either. Still, if /he/ hadn't known, then how is it Ulquiorra does?
Does she expect him to pity her? His footsteps slow, and he pauses perhaps several feet from the doorway. "...'and?'" he repeats, his tone implying the arch of a brow as he glances over his shoulder, just enough to glimpse her out of the corner of an eye.
For a moment, it looks like she's not going to say anything else. She grips her arm a little harder, and speaks again. There's no tremor in her voice. But the hand curled in her lap, hidden from view, is shaking. "And...if I don't know my purpose...if I have no use here..." Surely he understands what that could mean? Anyone could tell her a pretty lie, persuade her into doing something awful while stating that it was what Aizen had meant for her to do. Would she be the wiser?
"It's all so precarious." She looks up at the moonlight again, taking a deep breath to steady herself. "I feel like I'm walking on a narrow beam, and I can't see my next step. I need to know my purpose. Please..." She looks over her shoulder again, imploring. "...Ulquiorra-san."
For what seems like an eternity they remain as they stand, each at one end of the room, unmoving, only half-turned towards the other.
...she is weak in realizing the extent of her abilities... but she herself is strong, unhesitating. Even when she is separated from her comrades in the depths of the enemy stronghold, she fearlessly seeks answers...
Silence settles after her words for perhaps several minutes longer before being broken again, this time by his voice. "...what is the incantation you speak, when you release your power."
"Ah... 'I reject,'" Orihime replies. He has her attention now, and there on the floor, she turns herself further, halfway to facing him instead of the wall. There's a vague tickling at the back of her mind, whispering that she should know exactly what this means. And yet it's /just/ beyond her grasp, slipping past her fingertips like teasing silk. Orihime opens her mouth as though to inquire further, but closes it again. She'd rather hear what he has to say. She needs to hear it confirmed from somebody else.
The half-helmed Espada nods but once, and he turns, not completely facing her, but halfways
so that he won't have to crane his neck so far to look back in her direction. "....reject what? This phrase is spoken at the end of each of your invocations, and they all do different things." He waits a beat before pushing on with it. "Name each ability, what does it do, and how does it change your perspective when you take into consideration that key phrase."
Orihime is silent. There's a faint widening around the corners of her eyes, reflecting just a tiny bit more white. But it's just a phrase, isn't it...?
No. She knows that it is not something so trite. The cutting shield is self-explanatory. She rejects the particles in question, forcing them apart. It's what Tsubaki told her. And the Tri-Link shield is just that. It keeps the enemy from getting through, rejecting their harm. ...That's actually a little alarming. Now that she thinks about it, nothing has ever been able to penetrate her shield /yet/. Yammy cracked it, yes, but it only shattered when her emotions welled up, when she could no longer find the heart to maintain it.
But it's the 'healing' ability that really interests them, isn't it? She rejects the injury itself. There's no scar tissue, no lingering effects. And when she really thinks back, she realizes that even the clothing itself is repaired, without tear or scuff or bloodstain.
~If I can reject something from happening.../what else could I reject besides wounds?/~ How completely could she undo something? Her powers have never been tested to such an extent.
She's been holding her breath for several seconds now, her heart thundering madly. That can't be true. And yet, it is. It resonates with her soul, and she knows it, just as she knows that solemn, emerald-eyed gaze would never lie.
He watches her carefully as she falls into deep thought on what he has prompted. The realization is there, but then she's known it all this time, just not truly understanded it. Ulquiorra remembers when he first observed Orihime's powers, his own speculations. Aizen had suggested it was not a temporal displacement, as he had initially suggested it to be, but if indeed the girl's abilities extended beyond mere displacement of time, beyond mere healing...
The rejection of events, of restoring what had been... truly a frightening power, one of great capabilities were one to realize its full potential.
His gaze remains unblinking, and likewise he refrains from saying anything more. There's nothing that needs be said, is there?
It's a little chilling. ...No, a /lot/ chilling. She may have to experiment a little to find out if it's true. Again her eyes move to the marks in the wall. She could start with that...later. She'd rather find out when she's alone and secure in her privacy.
But that's not what really scares her. What worries her the most? What on earth would Aizen want her to reject? She'd have to wait for the answer on that one, she's pretty sure. It seems like the sort of thing only Aizen himself would want to reveal, all the while wearing that crocodile smile.
"I...I think I understand a little better now," she finally exhales, turning to fully face forward. "Thank you, Ulquiorra-san."
There's no promise in the nod offered back to her. He regards her for perhaps a few seconds longer before he turns. He slips a hand out to open the door.
"...I'll return within a few hours with your meal." That's as much of a good bye as she is like to receive, the only words of parting Ulquiorra leaves her before he steps out and into the hall, the door closing behind him.
Characters: Orihime, Ulquiorra
Summary: Orihime wants to know why she's been brought here. To indulge her with answers or not...
-=[La Cadena - Las Noches]=-----------------------------------------------------
This is where Orihime Inoue is kept prisoner. The door is locked on the outside, for the inside has no knob or lever. It's flat and featureless on the inside, making it virtually impossible for someone to get out. The room itself is large and rectangular, and beautifully decorated (if a little monochromatic). The floors, the walls, the high-vaulted ceilings, the furniture...everything is white. A couch that could comfortably seat four is set in the middle of the room, a pair of throw pillows on each side. There's a small, round table with a solitary small, round chair, where Orihime sits to take her meals. A white throw rug that gradiates to a deep, dark gray on the ends is sit on the floor.
One could almost forget that this place is a prison, if not for the window set high out of reach, furnished with solid steel bars that grant entrance to none but the moonlight.
Orihime is a very well-behaved prisoner. The throw pillows aren't torn apart. The furniture isn't overturned. The rug isn't even moved out of place. It's almost as though nothing's been touched. Probably because it hasn't. She's slept on the couch a little, but mostly spends her time sitting on the floor, looking up at the moon, thinking. Just thinking. About what, no one could say, but she's managed to stay calm and collected since she arrived. Considering what kind of beings patrol the hallway outside, that's pretty remarkable for a sixteen-year-old girl.
She sits on the floor now, head upturned towards the only real source of light. Her hands are clasped in her lap, legs curled back to either side of her.
This is a very lonely place. But considering the alternatives, maybe that's not so bad.
It's safer here than outside. She should be thankful that Aizen has given her personal quarters rather than bunk her with one of the other Arrancar. She would likely not last long at all.
There's a quiet knock on the tall doors, followed by an "I'm coming in." The voice isn't too hard to place, considering Orihime's only met so many of them thus far. The doorway opens to admit the ever stoic, half-helmed Espada, and he takes several steps inside, hands in pockets as they usually are found to be. His vibrant gaze takes not a second to sweep the room before settling upon the girl that sits there with her eyes towards the window.
That...was surprisingly polite. She never expected to hear anyone knock on a cell door before, that's for sure. And yet, the way she's sitting, it's as though she didn't hear anything at all.
She's a little dispirited at the moment.
But even so, Orihime's always been a very polite person. And if one of her captors shows her courtesy, how could she not return it? It's much nicer than being threatened or beat up.
Her head turns, shoulders following as she blinks at the newcomer. "Ah...? Ulquiorra-san...?" He hasn't come to feed her, it seems. What's going on?
He crosses the room, the only sound being the material of his hakama as he walks towards her, a muted swishing noise just a notch above being non-existant. He looks down at her, the girl that sits there on the floor as if she's merely spending the night at a friend's for a slumber party.
"...I've been placed in charge of you, so I have come to see how you are doing," Ulquiorra states, looking at her for two seconds longer before he lifts gaze to look over the rest of the room. "...it does not seem as though anyone else has thought to intrude here...." he observes, eyes flicking back to her for verification.
She knows very well what he means, and intentionally avoids looking at the pocked marks in the wall left by the fifth Espada's weapon. "No... No one else," she replies quietly, gaze drifting away to the floor. There was Gin, but considering that he's one of the chief operators here, his visit could hardly be construed as an 'intrusion.' And he'd brought her a persimmon besides.
She peeks up at Ulquiorra again through her lashes, gripping her hands a little more tightly. She wants to know why she's here, and desperately so. But if Gin said he wasn't the one to tell her, then it's unlikely Ulquiorra would. Ah well...nothing ventured, nothing gained.
"Ulquiorra-san...why was I brought here? Am I useful?"
Upon receiving Orihime's verbal acknowledgment, Ulquiorra nods before looking away again. His eyes glance up towards the impossibly high window. Most of the windows established in the fortress held any great view for scenery, and even those in his room lacked for any purpose other than symmetrical design. He knows better than to wonder, much less ask why the girl spends so much time gazing up hopelessly at the sky that never gives way to daylight.
"...do you really not know?" he answers her question with a question, not yet turning to face her as he continues to muse at the moonlit sky beyond the barred windows.
There's a soft noise of decline from Orihime as she shakes her head, seen or unseen. "No... I know my healing abilities are unique, but..." She reaches up to touch the left hairpin briefly, then allows her hand to fall back to her lap. "But there are many who can heal." Most likely those in the Fourth Division are far more adept at it, too. Wasn't that what Urahara had said? That she should stay out of battle because the Fourth could do everything she could and more?
What interest could a human girl possibly hold for someone like Aizen?
Her thoughts of information and torture return, and her shoulders hunch a little higher. "I wasn't told anything of vital importance either. So really..."
The Espada looks back to her as she speaks, weighing her words, but no change twitches in his expression. "...'healing abilities'..." There's the faintest hint of a smirk, but it might simply be an implication for all the difference that shows on his face. "Think about what you have done with this 'healing' power of your's..." He turns, taking a step closer, not truly meaning to be threatening a gesture, but it doesn't make him any less imposing.
"...you restored your comrade's arm from near nothingness... You shield those that would cause you harm." Another step, those unblinking eyes continuing to look down. "The very words you speak when you invoke your power. Have you not thought about it at all?"
Aw, great...now she just feels dumb for not understanding. And she still doesn't! Ah, but didn't
one of their ranks lose an arm? The one with blue hair and sharp pointy teeth? Is that it?
"Then...I'm to heal those who return injured...?" Orihime ventures a guess, on the verge of flinching. She half-expects him to swat her upside the head if she gets it wrong. But just the same, she'd really like to know her purpose, just so she knows what to expect of her fate.
"....." Were it any other Arrancar, Orihime likely wouldn't even be having such a conversation. Ulquiorra exhibits unfathomable patience sometimes, and this moment is no exception. "...you miss my point," he says, but there is no warmth in his words. Not that there was any before, but in those four words, it just seems to be more apparent. "I was speculating about your abilities- that which you believe to be 'healing.' If you do not understand the extent of your true abilities, then it is no wonder you are seen as weak by those you call your comrades."
Ouch. Like a dagger to the ribs. Orihime visibly flinches, and drops her gaze to her lap. Weak... She had little hope of seeing them again, but that pretty much seals the deal. She /is/ weak. In every fight that had cropped up, Orihime had never been able to contribute anything of real worth. Every fight. She hasn't had her powers for long, but she never questioned them. Why would she? As long as she knows what she can do, that's all that matters. All that ever mattered.
She says nothing in response, feeling more than a little wounded at his words.
There will be no comfort nor consolation offered by the Espada. He continues to look at her in silence, as if his gaze were an extra weight to be added to her shoulders. Eventually he lifts this extra pressure, turning his green gaze back towards the window high above them.
The seconds tick past, turn into minutes, and when a handful of them has gone by, Ulquiorra turns and begins to retrace his steps back towards the door.
He's like an angry girlfriend! If she doesn't know then he won't tell her! But that solves noooooothing!
Maybe Orihime does know, deep down inside. But for the life of her, there's simply no way she could reconcile that kind of power as belonging to her. The hold on her hand rises to grip her arm, her head bent further to spill a few locks of chestnut hair over her slumped shoulders. "Please...just tell me...I really don't know, and..." And she's more than a little bit scared. Supposing she has to announce her ignorance in front of Aizen, and many others? She really doesn't want a repeat of what Nnoitra did, and he hadn't been pleased with her answer either. Still, if /he/ hadn't known, then how is it Ulquiorra does?
Does she expect him to pity her? His footsteps slow, and he pauses perhaps several feet from the doorway. "...'and?'" he repeats, his tone implying the arch of a brow as he glances over his shoulder, just enough to glimpse her out of the corner of an eye.
For a moment, it looks like she's not going to say anything else. She grips her arm a little harder, and speaks again. There's no tremor in her voice. But the hand curled in her lap, hidden from view, is shaking. "And...if I don't know my purpose...if I have no use here..." Surely he understands what that could mean? Anyone could tell her a pretty lie, persuade her into doing something awful while stating that it was what Aizen had meant for her to do. Would she be the wiser?
"It's all so precarious." She looks up at the moonlight again, taking a deep breath to steady herself. "I feel like I'm walking on a narrow beam, and I can't see my next step. I need to know my purpose. Please..." She looks over her shoulder again, imploring. "...Ulquiorra-san."
For what seems like an eternity they remain as they stand, each at one end of the room, unmoving, only half-turned towards the other.
...she is weak in realizing the extent of her abilities... but she herself is strong, unhesitating. Even when she is separated from her comrades in the depths of the enemy stronghold, she fearlessly seeks answers...
Silence settles after her words for perhaps several minutes longer before being broken again, this time by his voice. "...what is the incantation you speak, when you release your power."
"Ah... 'I reject,'" Orihime replies. He has her attention now, and there on the floor, she turns herself further, halfway to facing him instead of the wall. There's a vague tickling at the back of her mind, whispering that she should know exactly what this means. And yet it's /just/ beyond her grasp, slipping past her fingertips like teasing silk. Orihime opens her mouth as though to inquire further, but closes it again. She'd rather hear what he has to say. She needs to hear it confirmed from somebody else.
The half-helmed Espada nods but once, and he turns, not completely facing her, but halfways
so that he won't have to crane his neck so far to look back in her direction. "....reject what? This phrase is spoken at the end of each of your invocations, and they all do different things." He waits a beat before pushing on with it. "Name each ability, what does it do, and how does it change your perspective when you take into consideration that key phrase."
Orihime is silent. There's a faint widening around the corners of her eyes, reflecting just a tiny bit more white. But it's just a phrase, isn't it...?
No. She knows that it is not something so trite. The cutting shield is self-explanatory. She rejects the particles in question, forcing them apart. It's what Tsubaki told her. And the Tri-Link shield is just that. It keeps the enemy from getting through, rejecting their harm. ...That's actually a little alarming. Now that she thinks about it, nothing has ever been able to penetrate her shield /yet/. Yammy cracked it, yes, but it only shattered when her emotions welled up, when she could no longer find the heart to maintain it.
But it's the 'healing' ability that really interests them, isn't it? She rejects the injury itself. There's no scar tissue, no lingering effects. And when she really thinks back, she realizes that even the clothing itself is repaired, without tear or scuff or bloodstain.
~If I can reject something from happening.../what else could I reject besides wounds?/~ How completely could she undo something? Her powers have never been tested to such an extent.
She's been holding her breath for several seconds now, her heart thundering madly. That can't be true. And yet, it is. It resonates with her soul, and she knows it, just as she knows that solemn, emerald-eyed gaze would never lie.
He watches her carefully as she falls into deep thought on what he has prompted. The realization is there, but then she's known it all this time, just not truly understanded it. Ulquiorra remembers when he first observed Orihime's powers, his own speculations. Aizen had suggested it was not a temporal displacement, as he had initially suggested it to be, but if indeed the girl's abilities extended beyond mere displacement of time, beyond mere healing...
The rejection of events, of restoring what had been... truly a frightening power, one of great capabilities were one to realize its full potential.
His gaze remains unblinking, and likewise he refrains from saying anything more. There's nothing that needs be said, is there?
It's a little chilling. ...No, a /lot/ chilling. She may have to experiment a little to find out if it's true. Again her eyes move to the marks in the wall. She could start with that...later. She'd rather find out when she's alone and secure in her privacy.
But that's not what really scares her. What worries her the most? What on earth would Aizen want her to reject? She'd have to wait for the answer on that one, she's pretty sure. It seems like the sort of thing only Aizen himself would want to reveal, all the while wearing that crocodile smile.
"I...I think I understand a little better now," she finally exhales, turning to fully face forward. "Thank you, Ulquiorra-san."
There's no promise in the nod offered back to her. He regards her for perhaps a few seconds longer before he turns. He slips a hand out to open the door.
"...I'll return within a few hours with your meal." That's as much of a good bye as she is like to receive, the only words of parting Ulquiorra leaves her before he steps out and into the hall, the door closing behind him.