Story: Opened Eyes, Shattered Mask

Author: Claes Winterspell

Rated: T

Summary: I&I have collaborated with Hueco World Corp. to create the greatest fashion show history has ever seen.

o.O.o

It has been two months ever since Ulquiorra arrived- literally- at the studio’s doorstep. He had been cold, blunt and almost rude, but Orihime eventually adjusted. She had even gotten better at assessing his moods; she later found out that he was (definitely?) not a morning person.

It had happened during the first week. At first, the green-eyed assistant had been arriving before Inoue, waiting in front of the studio’s locked door patiently. So, the brunette decided she would come earlier than him.- it is very rude to keep guests waiting. She came at 4 o’clock in the morning high in spirits and sure that she had arrived earlier. But she didn’t. He was there. And sipping on a steaming hot cup of coffee; it was then that our grey-eyed protagonist realized loosely how long he has to wait every morning.

The following day proved to be another loss to her; she had over-slept and checked in late in the afternoon due to her extra work. Ishida-kun had ended up unlocking the door to him, and he did not look happy at all. However, the day after that, she had skipped sleep and arrived in the studio in record time- three o’clock in the morning. She gave herself a pat on the head- since she cannot pat herself on the back without feeling stupid- and relished on her victory, despite her severe lack of sleep. Ulquiorra came later, three shots of espresso this time.

“Schiffer-san, do you have an addiction to coffee?” she had asked, accidentally blurting out her thoughts. He stared at her for a while- and she could have sworn there was something akin to annoyance inside those emerald orbs- before he answered.

“Perhaps.” A slight twitch one the corner of his lips and another emotion that Orihime could not understand flashed momentarily.

The next days, Orihime had trained herself in waking up early- three thirty to be exact.

o.O.o

“Ah, ohayou, Schiffer-san.” Inoue greeted, as the melancholic man came in, the expected coffee in hand. He nodded in reply.

“These are the cloths and designs chosen by Barragan.” Ulquiorra held out papers with sketches sandwiched by the cloth samples for each sketch. Barragan, Orihime later found out, was they’re fashion and fabric designer; a very talented one, in fact. One wouldn’t have guessed that Hueco World Corp. was new to the fashion industry.

“Thank you, Schiffer-san.” She nodded, taking the papers and cloth samples for her. Ulquiorra watched her for a while before saying something unexpected,

“You are welcome” –a slight pause—“Orihime.”

The grey-eyed woman froze all actions; her eyes are wide as saucers. He watched her reaction with vague amusement. A few blinks, the closing of her slightly opened mouth, then her dazzling smile. “Schiffer-san! You said my first name again.” She almost squealed, her sparkling eyes turning to him.

“…Indeed…” he replied before heading for his “work place” which was actually just a desk- purchased by Orihime- placed on the opposite wall.

Orihime’s eyes followed his retreating back and watched as he settled behind his desk, but the twin obsidian orbs were glazed; she was, again, lost in her thoughts.

This is lots of progress! She had only asked him three days ago to call her by her name and not by “woman”. And he just did! And this was, most certainly, far less embarrassing then the first time… Orihime blushed crimson from the flashing memory.

o.O.o

The night she had first asked him tocall her by her first name, he and Orihime had to work later than usual; Barragan had lagged up on his work, which explains the incredibly light work I&I has had the past weeks; Ulquiorra later explained that, not only was Barragan the designer of H.W.C., but also he worked in other jobs H.W.C. had engaged in.

“Woman, that is not the proper cloth for the design.” He had pointed out, after his explanation, gesturing towards the cloth and design she had just re-arranged.

“Oops.” She laughed shakily, embarrassed. “Which one was it again?”

Ulquiorra fought the urge to roll his eyes.-why is she so ditzy? -, and handed her the correct cloth. They had been arranging and rearranging the cloths for over three hours now. How she managed to knock over the piles of clothes and materials with a single bump from coffee mug to the table was a mystery to him. And where did her partner go? Wasn’t he most weary of leaving her with him? Ulquiorra closed his eyes, too much irritating questions were buzzing about in his head.

“Mou, Schiffer-san, I am not ‘woman’,” Inoue said, her brows scrunching together, lips curved into a pout. “My name is Inoue Orihime.”

He regarded her for a while. “I know that.”

“Then please,” she said, unconsciously moving closer. “Call me by my name. Not woman.”

He said nothing; she tried as hard as she could to be cold and to ignore him as much as she can, miffed at his cold behavior for the rest of the evening. Ishida came back to this pleasant- to him- arrangement.

“Welcome back, Ishida-kun.” Inoue smiled as much as she could- which is to say, not much- then went back to her sewing. Ulquiorra did not even look up from his paperwork.

Then the buzzing that resulted from vibration was heard, and the bespectacled man got out his celphone from his pocket. His expression turned from blank to annoyance to panic then to shock. Orihime approached her partner, worried about whatever’s unnerved him so. She clutched his sleeve; his eyes flickered to hers then nodded to whatever is being spoken. A few tense moments later, Ishida hung up the phone and started to explain.

“That was Ryuken. It appears my grandfather collapsed from a mild stroke.” Orihime immediately noticed his increasing worry, despite his attempt to keep a calm visage; his voice shook. “He has been admitted to a nearby hospital; I have to go.”

Inoue nodded and didn’t say anymore. He nodded back and headed for the door, grabbing his jacket along the way.

There was silence.

Then, a click. Inoue hadn’t even remembered that some one was still there. She turned to see Ulquiorra, briefcase in hand, headed to her…or more precisely, to the door. A slight breeze brushed against her face as he passed, her hair swayed slightly. Then she did the unexpected- she pirouetted and grabbed hold of his arm.

“Wait!” she cried; then added, “Please…”

He had stared at her in reply.

“Please stay…” she then reiterated.

“Why?” He said, finally, but his eyes held no question. They were just blank.

Why, indeed? What was the point in asking Schiffer-san to stay? You’re just bothering him, thought Inoue.

She had no answer- she couldn’t understand her own actions then so how could she? Ukquiorra broke free from her hold, but to her surprise, he headed for the sofa instead. He set his briefcase on the floor and sat down on the crimson furniture, hands inside his pockets. At first grey eyes just stared in surprise, but the emotion that flashed in those orbs later changed into relief and gratitude.

She had mumbled her thanks before heading for the sofa herself. They sat in silence, but she didn’t mind. Knowing that some one was with her was enough.

She didn’t know how much time has passed, but as she was about to tell the emerald-eyed man something, her alarm set off and her watch started beeping; the sound reverberated throughout the room.

She clicked the alarm button and the noise died down. She turned to her companion to apologize for being loud only to find him staring at her some sort of faint emotion flashing in his eyes that was unknown to her.

“I have to go,” she admitted, her eyes admiring the features of the floor. She felt him nod, and the two of them stood to leave. They headed for the door, Inoue leading, and just as she was out of the door, she turned.

“Thank you, Schiffer-san,” she said, smiling.

The black-haired man closed his eyes briefly; then, suddenly, the feel of the room changed and what Orihime felt made her speechless. The vibes that rolled off on him were very intense; whether in a good or bad way, she could not tell. His eyes were the same, but – Orihime was struck on how different his presence felt.

“Schiffer-san…?” was all she managed choke out before his index and middle fingers lifted towards her and softly touched her lips. They slid down and stopped underneath her chin, his thumb pressing the skin right under her lower lip. He added slight pressure on that spot; her mouth opened slightly, white teeth showing themselves.

She had watched him watch her; and both did not speak. Then his hand left her…only to replace itself unto her nape. He tugged, and her chin nestled itself on his shoulder. His scent washed over her almost immediately. She could feel his breath fanning her neck. Her breath caught in her throat and her eyes had turned wide as saucers.

“Orihime…” he had whispered; his voice sent shivers down her spine. She waited for him to continue what he was about to say, but he pulled away and said nothing more.

He left, but she stayed frozen, her mind’s gear stuck in limbo.

o.O.o

“Inoue,” Ishida said yet again. To say he was worried was dead-on; not only was Inoue deeper submerged in her thoughts than usual, but- this part irked him the most- she had been staring at the go-between for five minutes now- with a blush, even!

“Inoue-saaan…!” Ishida sighed loudly, deliberately elongating the san. Then, finally, her daze left her.

”I…shida-kun?” she asked, her grey-eyes focusing on him.

“Welcome back to earth, Inoue-san,” Ishida straightened up from his crouch, a tiny smile adorning his face. “You’ve been sitting in a daze for five minutes now.”

“Eh?’ She asked, evidently surprised. “I’ve been thinking for that long?”

He gave her a nod. “It was quite hard to make you snap out of it this time. Is something troubling you?” -A brief pointed look at the dark-haired man to his left- “Anyone bothering you?”

Orihime nodded negative, “I’m alright, Ishida-kun. You should worry more about your grandfather- oh! How is he, by the way?”

Ishida could not help but smile. She is as caring as always- putting others before her; such a caring soul. “His condition has improved. He merely needs rest.”

She smiled. “That’s wonderful! Please tell him to get well soon for me.” Ishida nodded and headed to his side of the table.

Inoue was relieved. She had met the old man before, and he was incredibly kind. It would be quite saddening if he were to leave; especially to Ishida-kun, who is attached to him the most.

o.O.o

“Ichigo! Where’s that bastard, Ichigo?” A voice boomed suddenly as soon as a tiny opening could be seen from the (automatic sliding) door.

Ishida, Inoue and Ulquiorra turned to the door, shock written all-over their faces- well, except for the emerald-eyed go-between.

“T-tatsuki-chan,” Inoue mumbled. She was surprised, excited and curious all at the same time. Said raven-haired girl literally jumped into view, her clothes were wrinkled and her hair in total disarray; she appeared to have come immediately from a competition- if her karate outfit and towel that hung on her shoulders were proof enough.

Once she caught sight of her friend she immediately approached her and grasped her arms. “Hime, where’s Ichigo?”

“Well, I think at his clinic…” she replied, befuddled by her friend panic/irritation/urgency. “What is it, Tatsuki-chan? What’s the problem?”

The karate champion looked at her sister for a while before nodding. “There’s no problem, Hime, it’s just that I really, really need to find Ichigo. And he’s not at his clinic.”

“I believe he’s at his sister’s place, Arisawa.” Ishida piped in, adjusting his glasses, a sign that he was interested. “It’s their weekly family gathering today.”

Tatsuki nodded and turned to leave. “Gomen, Hime-chan, Ishida. I’ll come back later.”

Then she was out of sight again.

“That was…” Ishida started.

“Mind-boggling!” Orihime offered cheerfully. Not exactly, he thought, but-oh well.

o.O.o

True to her word, Tatsuki came back at around four o’clock. And she brought some one with her.

“Would you like more tea, Kurosaki-kun?” Inoue smiled, holding out the teapot. The orange-head faced her and waved a hand.

“No thank you, Inoue, I’m good.” He turned to the woman in front of him. “Why’d you bring me here, Tatsuki?”

“Because it’s better than a place where your dad is.” The raven-haired woman rolled her eyes; her look clearly stating “No duh.”

“So, what do you want to talk about?” Ishida piped in from beside Inoue.

“Before I start,” She said looking over Inoue’s shoulder and pointed. “Who’s that?”

The two sitting on the sofa turned towards Ulquiorra and back to their friends.

“Ah, Tatsuki-chan, I haven’t introduced you guys yet!” Inoue stood, clapping her hands. But just as she was about to drag Tatsuki-chan to Ulquiorra, said guy stood up from his desk, snapped his briefcase shut and left the room saying he will return tomorrow.

“That’s just weird,” Tatsuki commented dryly, looking at the closed door. Ichigo couldn’t agree more.

“Anyway,” Ishida started. “What did you want to talk to us about?”

Tatsuki’s fiery eyes returned and she turned dead serious.

“Last time I was here, I talked to Ichigo remember?” They all nodded. “Well, it was about a certain competition last spring. One of my teammates almost died.”

o.O.o

“It was the finals then. The one who got fatally injured, Gichin, was up against some guy from a new dojo.

“The guy he was up against was huge and abnormally strong. He was about 7’9 feet tall- I’m not exaggerating, Ishida. That’s what the stats say about him. Anyway, that guy is supposedly new to these things but he beat the crap out of Gichin! His punches missed him at first since Gichin is one of the fastest in the group, but he eventually slowed down- which is weird since he hasn’t received any blow yet nor has no minutes passed.

“Then when Gichin was finally slow enough, his blows started to hit. Gichin was hit twice; then he passed out. We couldn’t tell if there was anything wrong- that brute’s punches looked weak,-, but when we checked him out after the match…there were bruises everywhere! It was as if he all the punches that were delivered by that giant actually hit him.

“But it was when he was rushed to the clinic that we learned the extent of his injuries. Some of his organs were almost crushed and several hematoma could be spotted in several parts of his body. Ichigo was one of the doctors who operated on him.

“It wasn’t only Gachin, though. The others who had to fight against the members of that team either passed out eventually in a fight or was barely conscious by the time the fight was declared finished.”

o.O.o

Tatsuki finished her narrative and waited for their reactions. Inoue was, to say frankly, shocked and scared for those who fought against that team. Ishida however was just curious as to how they managed that-air pressure perhaps?- he was a bit shocked about the injured but curiosity to him was stronger- he was just not that overly sympathetic.

“But why did you tell this to us?” Ishida stated after re-adjusting his glasses. “Surely it not to just make us concerned for your teammate, Arisawa.”

Tatsuki nodded her head, no.

“It’s not about the injured. It’s about the corporation that supports the team that did the damage,” she looked into Orhime’s eyes then, pure concern in Tatsuki’s eyes. “They’re from the Hueco World Corp.”

o.O.o

A/N: Here's chapter two, guys! I'm sorry if it's kinda rushed...it actually is. --; Sorry about that. There's not much to talk about that I could think of, but if you have questions just leave a Private Message or a Review. Thanks to all who bothered to read/alert/review/favorite(?) my story. You dont know how happy I am to know that people bother to click the link of my story. See'ya next chapter! xD

-Claes Winterspell