A/N: Hello all! I'm in a writer's block in my story, Stolen. This fanfic explores what I do not see at all: Orihime aging. The ending is sad and part two will come shortly.
The nights prolonged to one constant blur. Days turned to months until Orihime Inoue began to fathom that she was spending years in Los Noches. After Kurosaki's attempt to retrieve his friend, Aizen's plans to take over Soul Society screeched to a sudden halt. Aizen's stay in Soul Society as a Vice Captain was merely a blink of an eye compared to the damage done to his plans. And to the unfortunate red head girl, she was going to be stuck into oblivion until what seemed like the end of time.
The whites on the walls began to become more familiar, the halls swirled into one room, but the moon remains the same, majestic and the purest thing in the damned castle. Orihime slowly accepted the fact that she was going to live the rest of her human life in the fortress. Face it, Ichigo's rescue mission failed for what seemed like centuries ago and another one wasn't going to happen anytime soon.
Her tears were staining her cheeks which were getting paler by each day without the sun to warm her body. Somehow her hair continued to be vibrant like the red hot sun in the middle of July. Her teeth were cringing together in hopes to turn off the water faucets in her eyes. Hands were trembling as she tried to shake her head.
"You're not in a nightmare." A familiar distant voice poured into the stale and somber air.
"I wish- I wish I was." She muttered to her captor. Orihime looked down to the floor, knowing that Ulquiorra will approach her and chide her for being so weak, but he didn't. His eyes were filled with concern. With his black-fingered hands, Ulquiorra lifted her chin and forced her to look into his grass-colored orbs.
"If it helps, you brighten my dreams. I can make you happy here." He whispers as though they are sharing a scandalous secret. Orihime couldn't help but smile; he always finds a way to make her lips stretch. This time it is Orihime's turn to lift his chin. She closes her cement colored eyes and pulls Ulquiorra so that her pink lips met with thin black ones.
Orihime wanted to become many things; she wanted to be a teacher, a baker, and an astronaut. She eventually became all of those during her life-long stay in Hueco Mundo. When the new arrancar generation was born, they all arrived as babies and slowly they would all grow into soldiers. It was Aizen's cruel way to become the father of all beings and with the help of Aporro, anything was possible.
Aizen thought it would be the best if Orihime taught them the normal things like walking, talking, and manners. In a way, Orihime became the mother to the new arrancar. She couldn't deny the cuteness of the babies with their huge eyes and tiny smiles and quickly began the mothering process. Ulquiorra would occasionally tag along just in case anything went out of hand or if Orihime was corrupting the babies into her sugary happy-go-lucky ways. It was a challenging feat which to this day could not overcome.
He didn't mind to watch Orihime caring for the new generation. Her hair was pinned back into a loose bun as she sat on the floor encouraging a small baby girl to walk toward her. The baby oddly enough had orange hair as well and her pink bow tickled the air with its adorable beauty. Orihime's face lit with life and her eyes seemed to be brighter than ever. When the baby fell, Orihime gave a small laugh and encouraged her to walk again. Without notice, a smile crept onto Ulquiorra's face and his chest filled with an indescribable feeling.
"Woman…" Ulquiorra rang out. Orihime looked up instantly, slightly embarrassed.
"You look…lovely." He says hoping to find to right word. He leaves Orihime blushing and unaware that her minuscule soldier walked up to her and is pulling her orange locks.
When the children celebrated their fourth birthday, it is time to "play school." Aizen gave Inoue a classroom beside Aporro's lab in case of a medical emergency. Excited, Orihime took out her white chalk and began to write the alphabet on the board. Sometimes Gin would stop by and give the arrancar chibies a lesson on cero blasts, attack strategies, and Espadas' releases. After a few months, Orihime felt inadequate for teaching and sadly gave the job to Gin.
"Do you know what today is, Ulquiorra?" Orihime chirped, throwing ingredients out from the pantries and cabinets of the large marble white kitchen.
"Monday?" Ulquiorra asked, catching any food they would dispel out of the table.
"Yes, but today is also my twenty second birthday. Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday to me!" Orihime sang. Ulquiorra noted that her voice was smooth as water pouring into a glass vase.
"Then I am assuming that we are making a cake?" Ulquiorra asked. He didn't catch the egg in time and the clear and yellow goo splashed onto the polished floor.
Orihime nodded blithely when she poured flour, milk, and chocolate into the bowl. She hummed a tune as the plastic spoon swirled the brown mixture into a greased pan. Orihime could sense someone coming closer to her from behind. Pale hands wrapped around her body and the warmth from his body made Orihime sigh happily.
"I wish that you informed me sooner. I would've done something for you." Ulquiorra spoke softly into her ear.
"I don't need much and the day isn't over." Orihime answered quickly before she slid the pan into the heated oven. She remained in Ulquiorra's arms until the loud ting could be heard in front of her. Ulquiorra unwound his arms to fetch the cake. He opened a drawer and revealed a chief's knife and cut the cake into generous slices.
"Close your eyes, woman." Ulquiorra demanded. Orihime giggled tenderly before doing what she was told.
Then she heard silence before the flick of the switch gave its audible tune. Under her lids, the world seemed darker, more relaxing. Suddenly, he felt the same warm arms circle under her knees and shoulders as he pulls her up, cradling her as if she is a special and rare gem. Her eyelids ask Orihime to open themselves, but she knows better than ruin the surprise.
As she finds herself wrapping her own arms around his broad shoulders, Ulquiorra's spiritual pressure builds up until Orihime cannot take it and she feels as though someone has a plastic bag against her face. The breeze dancing around them increases before Orihime cannot feel the safe ground beneath her feet. The grip on Ulquiorra's shoulder gets increasingly tighter as Orihime's smoky eyes open up.
They are airborne. Surprised, Orihime stares into the blank sky and even blanker sea of sand. The sight holds her captive in its lonely beauty. In a moment, Orihime feels like a bird, like the astronaut that she always wanted to be. She looked up to Ulquiorra who is in his second released form. His cat-like tail holds a bag where her cake gleefully bounces up and down from the air current.
"Are you scared?"
"No, not when I'm with you."
They tumble harshly into a dune, but Ulquiorra doesn't mind because Orihime is laughing; she fails to notice that Ulquiorra is smiling. They share the cake together, giggling and smiling as they go. However, her real present is not there until they go back to her room and make love for the first time.
As a few years pass, their relationship advances to the next level and something blossoms in Orihime.
"Ulquiorra?"
"Yes, Orihime?"
"You might want to sit down."
"My health is adequate enough to stand."
Orihime paces in front of her lover, her body jerking a couple times.
"I'm pregnant."
She does not know how he will react, expecting the worse. He sits down while his eyes stare at her and then her stomach. After an hour of silence and Orihime fast asleep on her couch, Ulquiorra finally comes up to her. He sinks down to her level and rests his helmet-less side of his head on Orihime's stomach. He searches for a heartbeat, but cannot find one. His touch makes her eyelids flutter open.
"The baby is very small right now. But when it grows, you can feel the heartbeat." Orihime says in a low voice.
"I am worried and afraid." Ulquiorra admits almost ignoring her. Almost.
Orihime strokes his hair and answers, "Me too." The simple response gives them some solace because they are scared together.
The first two trimesters go "as planned" according to Aporro. The bubblegum-colored haired scientist is still astonished that the Espada were even capable to have children. Orihime blushes as he says this and Ulquiorra can't help but look the other way while his hands uniformly digs themselves in the comfort of his pockets.
"It's not a bad thing." Aporro insists, "Will you like to know the sex?"
Orihime gazes at Ulquiorra, who shrugs and still new to this baby stuff. He gives a slight nod and Orihime enthusiastically nods to the mad scientist.
"She is very healthy and due in a couple months." Aporro explains as his wicked grin casts over the couple.
"A g-girl?" Ulquiorra stutters right before he is tackled by his princess. Aporro laughs and shoos them so that he can continue with his experiments.
"What do you think about getting married, Ulquiorra?" the sun kissed twenty-eight-year- old asks. Ulquiorra's helmet-less side of his head lays on top of Orihime's growing belly. She cannot see her toes anymore as they lay down on her bed.
"The world already knows that we are together, Orihime." Ulquiorra answers. He doesn't want to move to look into her stormy eyes. He is studying his baby's heartbeat, finding the hidden pattern behind it.
"It will mean a lot to me. I don't want you to leave me." Orihime assures.
"I will never leave you. I think that I'll rather die than to spend another minute without you." This time he looks up at her blushing and wide smile.
"I still want a wedding. It doesn't have to be big." Orihime insists as she strokes his hair.
"Alright. We'll have a wedding." Ulquiorra finally considers.
That night Orihime wakes up with perspiration written all over her forehead and chest. She quickly wipes it off and slides her arm to the side of her bed. She finds it cold and empty.
"Ulquiorra?" Orihime asks. Nervous, Orihime slides her legs out of bed and dons a light jacket. It isn't like him to not be there. Orihime opens the door and only finds darkness swelling her.
"Ulquiorra?" Orihime repeats. Maybe he's on a mission. Maybe he went to kitchens to eat. As Orihime ponders on the whereabouts of Ulquiorra, she heads for the stairs toward the kitchens. The baby is asking for bananas with brown rice and sesame sauce. As Orihime hums a happy tune, she doesn't realize that she misses a step. One ankle tangles into the other and before she knows it, she is tumbling down the stairs; her gasps fall on deaf ears.
Tears begin to fall in the puddle of the baby's blood surrounding the expecting mother. Orihime feels pain shoot down in her groin and she is finding it hard to breathe.
"ULQUIORRA! SOMEBODY! HELP ME!" Orihime cries out. Her hands fall on her beach ball stomach and cries louder because she feels the baby's heartbeat slowly diminishing and her hairpins are no where to be found.
END OF PART ONE