A/N: YES, I'VE FINALLY DONE AN ULQUIHIME FIC! *cheers insanely*

I promised dragonballzlover I'd do one ageeesss ago, so now this one's dedicated to her! Hope you like it, doll!

This will be my first three-shot, and I've already finished it. So, the normal weekly updates every Saturday (even though it's Sunday today), unless I suddenly die or go on holiday or something. I really hope I don't die.

This is inspired by the song Hello by Evanescence, but it isn't a song fic. I haven't got the lyrics in the story, but they're really beautiful, and after you've read the thing (amazing vocabulary, no?) you could guess which lyrics inspired which bit of the fic. It's a suggestion. You don't have to. XP

Btw, this is an AU, in which Orihime lives in England, and Ulquiorra is not a Hollow. So he's not going to be so...emotionless in this fic. He's not going to be skipping round waving sunflowers either, though, don't worry. Just don't flame me for some of his more OOC moments, please. You will be ignored.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. All credit to Kubo Tite (the author, in case you didn't know). I also don't own the song Hello by Evanescence. Or Evanescence, for that matter. Do not sue. I can't afford it.

Hello

I sit in my corner of the playground, listlessly poking at some daisies growing in front of me. Daisies are my favourite flowers, but nothing is as much fun without Anwynne about.

Anwynne's my best friend. We moved here, to England, at the same time, her from Wales and me from Japan. I don't really remember Japan much, but I know how to speak the language because my brother Sora always used to speak to me in it. I don't think it was a happy place for us, though, because Sora doesn't like talking about it. I don't think Mummy and Daddy were very nice to us, so we ran away.

We arrived in England just in time for my third birthday, and I remember my first Wednesday in pre-school was also the birthday of a little blonde girl with a funny accent. We made friends and shared our birthday cupcakes with each other, because that's what friends do.

I remember that we laughed at the strangeness of each other's names, too. Mine means Caged Princess, and hers means Owl.

We've been friends ever since then. Four years now, almost. Only one more finger, and it will be a whole hand! We've decided to have a big party on that day.

But Anwynne hasn't been in school for three days now. One day isn't too bad; probably a cold or something. Her parents are really strict about her being safe. But two days is a bit weird. And three is…very, very strange.

My brow furrows in worry. I hope she's okay, she's the only person I can play with now that Sora's working all the time.

Determined, I make plans to go round her house after school; it's only a two-minute walk from my own. Her parents have never liked me, but they can't not tell me what's wrong, right?

My mind made up, I nod to myself. That's what I'll do.

"Orihime? What on Earth are you doing here?" Anwynne's mum opens the door. I sigh inwardly. She's more snooty than Anwynne's dad, so I don't really like her.

"I came to ask if Anwynne's okay?" I whisper softly, keeping my eyes trained on my feet, feeling her eyes burn holes in the back of my head.

Anwynne's mother sniffs, and her eyes go all watery and weird. I'm really scared now, because grown-ups aren't supposed to cry. Ever.

"Anwynne was hit by a car on Saturday. She died in hospital later that evening," Anywynne's mum chokes out before she slams the door in my face.

I stay there, on the doorstep, for a very long time.

I don't understand, I think desperately, Anwynne's gone? Forever? But we haven't been friends for a whole hand yet! It can't be real. It's not real.

Finally, my feet un-stick themselves from the ground and I plod off in the direction of my own home. Sora won't be back yet, the short hand's only on three, so it's four more hours to go yet.

I let myself in through the back door, fetching the secret key only me and Sora know about. I drop my satchel carelessly onto the floor, not bothering to unpack my lunch as I normally do. I feel a fleeting guilt about the extra work for Sora, but I soon forget it.

I thought I'd cry, or scream, or curl up in a ball and dry up, but I don't do any of these things. I just…live.

I feel nothing, and it's scary. It's really, really scary because it makes me a monster, and monsters are scary and I don't want to be a monster. When Sora's angry, he says Mummy and Daddy were monsters, and he hates them. I don't want to be a monster that's hated by everyone!

I want my friend back.

Why won't she come back?

Finally, the tears come, and I stumble to my bedroom door. I will curl up under my special blanket and cry for a bit and then everything will be better. Everything's always better after I cry.

I open the door.

And stop.

Forgotten tears stream down my face and fall onto the carpet with a dull plopping sound, but I don't pay any attention to them.

There's someone sitting on my bed.

And they're looking right at me.

The someone opens his mouth and speaks. "Hello," he says.

"He—hello?" I whisper back, manners overriding the shock in my head.

There is a long silence, until I speak again. "Um…who are you?"

The someone looks at me with bright green eyes that look dead behind the colour. "I am the apparition created by your mind to give you what you need most," he tells me.

I'm confused. I'm not really sure what apparition means, but I can guess. I'm confused about how he could have been created by my mind. I don't remember making him. And I don't think I could make anyone as perfect as he is, anyway.

"What do I need most?" I ask, wiping tears off my cheeks and looking at him properly, without them making my sight go blurry.

"A friend," he replies simply.

"My friend's gone," I say, feeling my voice stick in my throat, though it comes out normal-ish.

"I know." The someone doesn't look happy, sad, or sorry for me. He just…looks.

"How are you going to be my friend?" Sora once told me you can't just make friends because you have to. You have to want to as well. And this person doesn't look like he wants anything.

"You don't like burdening others with your troubles, do you?" The someone doesn't answer my question, only replying with another. I frown. Sora told me that was rude.

But it is even ruder not to answer a question at all, especially if the person asking you is older. "No."

"Talk to me, then. I will not be burdened. I am a part of your subconscious, after all." The someone finally moves, if only to blink those huge, green eyes.

I hesitate for a second. Then I burst into tears and burble everything out to him.

Anwynne's dead.

No one else talks to me at school.

We weren't friends for a whole hand, and now we never will be.

Sora's never here when I need him.

Anwynne's dead.

I'm a monster for blaming others for my own faults, and giving them trouble.

I don't want to be a monster.

Anwynne's dead.

I'm a monster.

Anwynne's never coming back.

I'm alone.

After I'm finished, the someone stays quiet for a while, then says, "You are not a monster, Inoue Orihime. Anyone who acknowledges that they could be a monster is most definitely not."

I blink at him. "How do you know my name?" I ask him.

"I am a part of you."

I bite my lip. It makes sense. "Do you have a name?" He can't be called Orihime too. That would just be weird.

"Ulquiorra Schiffer."

I stare at him blankly for a bit. "That's really hard to say," I tell him finally.

It's so quick that if I'd blinked, I would have missed it, but I didn't blink and I didn't miss it. A small twitch upwards at the corner of his mouth.

"I'm sure you'll learn eventually," Ulquiorra assures me.

I nod. "Are you going to be here for a long time, then?" I ask before I can stop myself. It's a bit rude, but I have to know if he's just going to disappear like Anwynne has.

"I will be here for as long as you want me, Inoue Orihime."

"Forever?"

"If you wish."

And I smile.

A/N: So? Didja like it so far? I was really trying to get into the psyche of a child for this one (which is surprisingly hard, seeing as I was one once), but I'm not entirely sure it worked. Please review and tell me. Or just review, even. I love reviews, they make me burst. With happiness, not gas or anything.

...Okayy...I think I'll go now before I creep you guys out any more. I'm so weird... XD