Deep emerald eyes watched from afar as the young substitute-shinigami walked alone down the sidewalk in his stone grey school outfit, school bag hanging limp over his shoulder, and the fading sun falling on his bright orange hair, making it look as though it were burning flames. Ulquiorra had been sent from the hollow realm to rid of orange haired shinigami once and for all, but he found himself following the boy out of boredom and curiosity rather than his mission.
He had silently been following the substitute-shinigami called kurosaki ichigo, observing his odd lifestyle as he mingled with other humans that were so dense as to not feel the reiatsu flowing off ichigo uncontrollably. There was his closest companions that were aware of it, but even they could not see when ichigo's reiatsu would flare, due to the hollow that dwelled inside of him, aizen had informed ulquiorra. The orange haired boy really was rather dense when it came to his strength, and ulquiorra knew by the boy's schedule, when he would be most vulnerable, but he couldn't bring himself to rid of the boy yet. Something inside him, an odd feeling he couldn't quite put into words, would force him to sheath his sword, stand back, and simply watch the boy without taking action.
Ichigo finally returned home and then went straight to his bedroom where he locked the door behind him and quickly searched for kon. Luckily it seemed both rukia and kon were gone, giving ichigo a moment of peace to rest his tired muscles. He threw his bag down and without taking his shoes off, flopped down onto the bed and stared out the window beside him dully. Shiro, his hollow, had been rather restless lately, constantly trying to break out for freedom, but ichigo had somehow managed to contain him for a time longer. He would have to visit urahara's shop later to see if there was any form of extra training he could take to help suppress shiro's violent fits. 'oi king, ya' know someone's been followin' ya' right?' shiro suddenly asked within ichigo's mind. Ichigo gave a puzzled look and opened his window and stretched his senses as far as he could go without finding a slight trace of a suspicious reiatsu. But then again, now that he focused in on the subject, he could feel someone's eyes, and it wasn't only today, but for an entire week already. 'hey king! Let me out and I'll take care of em' for ya'!' shiro piped in devilishly. Ichigo ignored shiro and continued to stare out of his window warily as he grew tired once more and then flopped back down onto his bed with an exhausted sigh and fell asleep.
Ulquiorra allowed his reiatsu to relax again once ichigo had recoiled his own and then watched as the boy flopped down and fell asleep instantly with his window still open, allowing ulquiorra full entrance into ichigo's room. He quickly used shunpo and in a flat second, was standing from out on a tree branch, to right over ichigo beside his bed in his room. He watched silently as the usual stern facial features on ichigo turned soft and relaxed, giving him a much younger appearance. Ulquiorra stared at ichigo intently and once again was consumed by an overwhelming unfamiliar feeling as his stomach did slight twists and his heart beat quickened. He quickly turned away and attempted to steady his heart, when he suddenly heard ichigo shift and snapped his attention back to see ichigo had flipped onto his side and was now cuddling with his bunched up blankets and pillow as he slept. Ulquiorra breathed a small breath of relief and stared once more at the sleeping boy. He allowed his hand to fall from the hilt of his blade, but in the process, his hand ventured out and stroked ichigo's soft orange hair that looked so brittle, yet felt like mink fur. He quickly recoiled as his senses came back to him and gripped his hilt in frustration. He couldn't be so foolish as to fall for a boy like this one, no, but then why couldn't he carry out a simple mission as to kill him? ichigo was foolish enough to not watch his back, so it was easy enough, but yet……..Ulquiorra could not unsheathe he blade and use it against ichigo just as he had done so many times before when ichigo had come to save his companion orange haired girl. He turned away from ichigo, and with one final glare, left. He would come again, and then he would fulfill his mission, but for now, he needed to clear his mind of all doubt and summon the lost lust of victory over ichigo's downfall.