Ulquiorra, for the life of him, could not understand the woman. Walking in his usual poised yet nonchalant manner, he made his way down to the woman's quarters, his head full of thoughts. When he mentally harassed her, she broke down, and even once, slapped him in the face. That of course, Ulquiorra could understand.
Yet, much to Ulquiorra's chagrin, she still remained hopeful. Looking out the high, slated window, staring at the solitary moon, as if expecting someone to swoop down and rescue her. With that pathetic smile on her face.
Ulquiorra definitely did not like the pathetic face she makes when she's crying, in fact, he preferred not to see it, because if he did he feels a strange tugging in his chest that he does not like at all. He did not understand the cause of such a sensation.
However, that pathetic smile annoyed him to no end. Ulquiorra knew that the woman would be considered a beautiful one in the human world, even if he did not care much for aesthetics. He admitted (to himself, of course) that the woman's smile is stunningly radiant, but her sappy yet beautiful smile irritated him for reasons he was not sure of. It's because she is wasting her smile on a lost cause, he would repeat to himself. Yes, her little friends will not last one minute here.
It has been months. Time does not go by according to human perception here in Hueco Mundo, but Ulquiorra knew that by human standards, about six months has passed since he heartlessly kidnapped the woman.
'Heartlessly'. Ulquiorra scoffed. He was anything but one with a heart. He absent-mindedly fingered the gaping hole, where his heart is supposed to be. There was no rhythmic pounding, no signs of life, yet he lives. That was enough proof that hearts are for the deluded. They think they can feel more than just a cold, cruel world, but the world they find so full of life, hope, and emotion, is not that. It is, indeed, a cold, cruel world. If Ulquiorra, the one who was not blinded by useless emotions, saw that the world was cold and cruel, it is that, and nothing more, for he withholds the power to see all.
His thoughts came to a stop as he saw the double white doors, leading to the woman's cell. Suddenly, realisation hit him. He was doing it again! Pondering about the woman, when she is obviously trash. Why waste thoughts on her? He mentally berated himself for letting his thoughts wander to the woman. However, this mental scolding was definitely not the first. Even when realisation hit him earlier, Ulquiorra swore that he felt his green eyes widen fractionally. Betraying any sort of emotion he felt, no matter how slight, on his face, was pathetic. What was coming over him? Is having to babysit a measly human doing strange things to him?
But indeed, the woman had changed. Her emotional vulnerability had been incredibly high the first few months she had been here. Ulquiorra remembered how he could twist that constantly depressed expression into one completely awash with tears. However it was not long before he felt that tugging sensation in his chest whenever the woman broke down. "Pathetic," he said, though actually not directing this at the woman. He tried to break her morale for a few more weeks, suffering that strange tugging at his chest, but recently, the woman has stopped her pathetic antics, which he was secretly a bit thankful for. Instead, she would look at him with a melancholic expression, one that, he decided, mirrored his.
This change was something that he truly did not understand. Has she grown accustomed to such treatment? She also no longer resisted his command to eat, which pleased him fairly. Yet this sudden change in behavior bothered him, even if he preferred a much more controlled being that did not wear her emotions on her sleeve. He was determined to get to the bottom of this, and ultimately to the bottom of human emotions, for he is curious of what he cannot grasp fully. This is why he has taken to observing the woman every time he visited her cell, noting that this change in his behavior caused the woman's cheeks to occasionally turn very slightly pink. Again, Ulquiorra did not know the root cause of the colour saturation in the woman's cheeks.
What a confusing woman. She may be trash, but she's definitely not common trash. Ulquiorra thought to himself finally. He also concluded something else. Her smile, the only positive emotion she showed here, annoyed him to a great extent.
Realising that he has not stopped thinking about the woman, he squashed any thoughts that raced to the front of his brain. He also remembered why he was here in the first place. To act on Aizen-sama's moronic task (he didn't enlighten Aizen-sama with his feelings about this particular task, obviously). He composed himself to take his normal stance of nonchalance (though he has never been anything but nonchalant), before rapping smartly on the doors. Without waiting for any reply, he entered the cell.
Orihime knew that her guardian would say that it's utterly hopeless, and she's trash for thinking otherwise. No, scratch that, she's trash and always will be trash, despite whatever she thinks or do, because trash is what everything below him is. If that is so, then why does she not harbour any intense hatred for Ulquiorra?
Orihime sighed, pushing away the thoughts of her pale captor. It has been a very, very long time since she came to Hueco Mundo. Orihime couldn't quite tell exactly how long, because her window always showed the eternal darkness that Hueco Mundo offered. But in this period of time, Orihime has soon resigned to her fate of being trapped here, but she could not deny that a small part of her still held hope, and it always will.
Is she really trapped here, though? Aizen once said, with deceivingly gentle eyes that did not fool her, "Orihime-chan, you are not a prisoner. You are one of us, and even if you deny it, you are then simply a guest," he paused for a moment, before adding, "albeit quite a deprived one."
Even if Orihime did not trust Aizen at all, she saw the truth in his words. What's the point of moping? Back in the human world, whenever she got sad about being alone without her brother, she would eventually shake off all the depressing thoughts and declare, "Why am I being sad? I cannot change what has happened! Instead, I will make Nii-chan happy by being happy myself!" And with those lines, she would rub away all her tears and make some nice red bean ice cream with Worcestershire sauce.
Similarly, Orihime declared that she will not mope any more, and be more positive about her stay in Hueco Mundo. She is, after all, a guest.
Also, Orihime didn't really need people to protect her; neither did she want to burden people by forcing them to. This is why she went to Hueco Mundo without any complaint or struggle. It is true that Ulquiorra said that her coming was 'not a request, but an order', but by submitting, part of her wanted to show people that she could take care of herself. That she is not a burden.
And that is another reason why, she decided to pull it together and not give in to Ulquiorra's and Aizen's psychological harassment. She will be strong, for Tatsuki-chan… all her friends… especially Kurosaki-kun…
Her mind was about to wander to Kurosaki-kun, and how his soft brown eyes kind of complimented his orange hair, but she instead shifted it back to Ulquiorra. Like she said, after she pulled it together, Ulquiorra soon noticed that his taunts and insults soon had little effect. Maybe that is why he stopped it altogether, and started observing her instead. Orihime also learnt to do things without struggle, so she ate Hueco Mundo's poor excuse for food without any threats of being strapped down and force fed.
So whenever she ate, Ulquiorra will sit and quietly watch. Sometimes she could feel his emerald gaze burning into her skin, which in turn made her cheeks tint with pink. She was not sure of exactly what he was doing or looking for, but she admittedly enjoyed his company.
She was about to think of Ulquiorra's vividly coloured eyes ("Such beautiful eyes, the windows of the soul, are wasted on someone who doesn't believe in souls!" she once thought aloud to herself), when someone rapped the door. She didn't bother replying because Ulquiorra immediately entered.
Ulquiorra analysed the room for a bit first, before speaking. "Woman, on Aizen-sama's orders, I am required to provide you with social interaction. Apparently this is for the benefit of your sanity." He bluntly said. With that, he sat himself down on her couch, looking at her standing form below the window.
Orihime thought she didn't hear him clearly. Social interaction? Ulquiorra? The thought was very amusing. After repeating the words in her head, for the very first time, she giggled. It sounded a bit unnatural and unreal in Orihime's ears, but it's just because she hasn't heard her own laughter in ages.
Ulquiorra, on the other hand, continued to look at her with the same indifference. "Did I say anything amusing, woman?" he asked monotonously.
Orihime bit back her last peals of laughter, waiting for Ulquiorra to elaborate. He did. "Aizen-sama says that it is important for humans to interact and be socially active, or it may drive them into depression or even insanity." Orihime immediately agreed. Sometimes she felt so lonely she imagined the strangest things, like what would Grimmjow look like if he had pink hair, and what would Szayel look like if he had blue hair, and how different Yammy would be if he spoke with a British accent, and so on.
Orihime was thinking of all the weird things she once imagined when Ulquiorra halted her thoughts. "So woman, how do you do this social interaction? Am I supposed to listen to your rambling or am I supposed to tell you about myself?" He asked this with the slightest dread in his voice.
Orihime, being the sensitive girl she is, noticed his discomfort, so she giggled some again. "Don't worry about it, Ulquiorra-san. Or Ulquiorra-sama? Or how about just Ulquiorra? Or-"
"Ulquiorra is fine, woman." He interrupted. He did not ask her how he should address her. Orihime didn't ask him to refer to her by her name either, she was glad for whatever company he offered.
Feeling tons better than she ever did at the prospect of someone to talk to, she was about to launch into a rant about purple dinosaurs and astronauts. But she held back. She didn't think Ulquiorra would appreciate that, and he probably wouldn't be able to relate with her anyway. She was very curious about Ulquiorra and arrancars in general, but yet a bit apprehensive to ask too personal questions, as she knew he was very capable of ripping out her limbs. After all, his orders were to ensure that his hostage lived, not to ensure that his hostage had all of her limbs intact.
So she asked a very basic question. "So Ulquiorra-san, uhh… where did you come from?" Darn! That question sounded much less awkward in her head, but she really wanted to know. And she knew that she was supposed to refer to Ulquiorra just by his name, but she couldn't bring herself to do it in speech.
Ulquiorra however did not appear to think it was awkward at all, nor did he seem to notice. He said smoothly, "I am not a natural arrancar, woman. Aizen-sama created me with the help of the Hogyoku."
Orihime sort of expected this answer, but she couldn't help the next question. "So when you were created were you a kid first or were you an adult? Did you just pop out of nowhere?"
"I assume that I was created just like how you see me, woman."
"Then how about the other arrancars? Are they all created artificially?"
"No, Grimmjow evolved into what he is today, and Aizen accepted him into the army because of his exceptional powers." Ulquiorra replied. He paused, as if contemplating whether it is necessary to add this, but he did anyway. "He still is trash, though. And his hair is extremely distracting. I find my attention on it whenever he is in my peripheral vision."
Orihime giggled again, a melodius soft tinkle. Before Orihime thought it through, however, she blurted out a comment.
"Ulquiorra-san, that is the only light-hearted thing you have ever said."
Ulquiorra paused. Something in his face shifted.
"Ulquiorra-san, you're not mad at me, are you? I'm sorry."
Ulquiorra felt a little shocked. How did the woman know? He hated to think that all this time he could not conceal his emotions. How weak.
Also, Ulquiorra was mildly enjoying the banter he was making with the woman. He was slightly surprised that she had not driven him insane with her humanity yet. He found her laughter much preferable compared to her pathetic sobbing, and it did not annoy him like how her pathetic smile did.
But back to the situation at hand, Ulquiorra had noticed that the woman is quite good at sensing emotion, even if he is absolutely sure that he is concealing it. Maybe humans could truly read emotions better than arrancars can with their hypothesised 'hearts'. It was an interesting thought, and with that, Ulquiorra ground his emerald stare into the woman, as if searching for her heart.
Orihime felt highly uncomfortable when Ulquiorra was staring straight at her chest. She did not really want to know what he was thinking, but she knew that Ulquiorra was not like Nnoitra at all. As a teenager, she tried her best to hide her especially curvaceous figure, but it was not like she could help how her body developed. So she just let it be, and decided that she could defend herself from any lewd, strange man.
Orihime felt the need to break the silence, because Ulquiorra was still staring right through her chest, as if looking for something. She realised his expression was sombre and serious, like it always was. He wasn't smiling in any way. Good, that probably meant no dirty thoughts. Then it hit her, that Ulquoirra never smiled.
"Ulquiorra-san, have you ever smiled?"
Ulquiorra brought his gaze back to the woman's eyes.
"No."
"Why not?" Orihime immediately fired back.
Orihime was shocked. Never smiled? How is that possible? She was only greeted with silence at her question. So she decided to continue.
"But if you're not using your smile, you're like a man with a million dollars in his bank but with no checkbook! A smile is a curve that sets everything straight! Life is short but a smile takes barely a second! A smile is a light in the window of the soul indicating that the heart is at home! A smile-" Orihime was rant off another memorised quote about smiling, but she just realised that she proved Ulquiorra's point of why he never smiles in her last statement. She could tell by seeing his more pointed gaze.
"Alright fine. I know you don't believe in hearts. But that doesn't mean you can't smile! I will make you smile!"
Orihime felt a sudden rush of determination. Finally, she had a goal here in Hueco Mundo! Today is such a great day! Not only did she have someone new to talk to, she also had something to do! Her signature smile was already on her face, and she felt all her happiness rush back to her body, warming her every fibre of being. The happiness she was so well known for in the human world. Orihime will not let anyone take away that happiness now!
"I would like to see you try, woman." Ulquiorra replied after a while, with a hint of contempt to his voice.
That contempt, no matter how small, shook Orihime's last thought a bit. But she was determined. She needed a plan, and maybe she needed more than one plan. The ultimate goal of a simple smile on the melancholic Espada's part will not be easy to achieve, but she will get there. She tried forming a concrete plan on how to warm Ulquiorra of the idea of a simple smile, nothing to flashy, but all her thoughts just led her to one place. The quote said it all. 'A smile is a light in the window of the soul indicating that the heart is at home'. She needed to somehow make Ulquiorra believe in the concept of the heart and soul, before he can ever feel happiness to smile.
Orihime was thinking so hard, she did not know how much time has passed before Ulquiorra stood up. Thirty seconds? One minute? Five minutes? An hour? She didn't know.
"I have to go, woman. I will be back with your dinner in a few hours." With that, Ulquiorra turned on his heels and left, almost as suddenly as he came.
Orihime wasted no time. She already thought of what to do first. Grabbing a piece of paper and a blunt pencil, she ran to the dining table. Immediately, with her best, cheerful handwriting (even handwriting had moods and emotions to Orihime), she wrote a large heading, "Orihime's Guide To Smiling".
Well this is my first attempt at romance! I'm not too confident at this whole romance business. Is it too long? (This is definitely the most I have ever wrote) Too short? Not enough romance or fluff? Noticed my weird tendency to shift back and forth from Orihime's and Ulquiorra's point of view? Anyone OOC? See any grammar mistakes? (I could not decide on a common tense to use throughout the story.)
Oh, and this isn't a long, drawn out fic, hell, I may even finish it off before this week before my tests! (Yes, because I have a very bad sense of timing, I started this fic when my tests are next week. I was in dire need of a creative outlet.)
I will appreciate ANY sort of criticism or encouragement. From the bottom of my heart, unlike Ulquiorra! Heck, I will even appreciate it if you call me a dirty whore or whatever, because at least you bothered reading and commenting. (: