A/N:

Disclamer: I don't own Bleach or Rosario + Vampire. If I did Ulquiorra would still be alive, Hichigo would take over Ichigo partially and Aizen would not turn into a butterfly and instead would go Bankai on everyone's asses. Moving on…

This story is an entry in a "Ulquiorra discovers what a Heart is" challenge by the author S. Knightshade, who's godness(not goodness) impressed me to no end. He's officially the best Fanfiction author out there, in my personal honest opinion. If you want to know the specifics go check out his profile. And without further ado let's get on with the story.

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"Hollow to Vampire" – "Chapter 1"

Ulquiorra Cifer was dead. His last moments were full of newfound emotion and understanding… yet so full of regret. Hollows were creatures born of sadness and regret amongst many other things such as anger, pain, loneliness, emptiness, sacrifice. The list went on and on and most negative emotions and experiences could be listed there. As Ulquiorra's mind drifted away into the darkness he wondered what would happen now? When humans died they went either to Soul Society or to Hueco Mundo, but what of the Arrancar? There was no life after the afterlife, right? He was destined to vanish into eternal darkness of the void – all his existence would turn to naught as his mind would dissolve and his memories vanish.

Perhaps it was fate that he would die at the hands of Kurosaki Ichigo. He and Inoue Orihime showed him what humans really were, what the "heart" really was. More than an organ – it was an emotion. A shame Ulquiorra would never know what it is. Love? Happiness? Sacrifice? The desire to protect? He didn't know and he would never know now.

He let the winds of darkness guide him further into oblivion until his consciousness finally disappeared.

. . .

Then something came, or perhaps it appeared. A sound of sorts, a feeling of something happening. It repeated itself slowly. He wondered how to best express this sound and the only way to do so was… Thump.

Thump – thump – thump.

It repeated again and again, covering his body in waves like the ocean coming onto the beach, waves hitting the shoreline. This sensation was weird and new – something that Ulquiorra never experienced before. 'But wait… I can think and feel… and this means that I must exist.' was the logical thought that came into his mind later. Without much other thought he let the sensation overcome him again and again, spreading warmth and giving him something else, something more. It felt reassuring and strong, yet it made the man feel insecure and a bit afraid. 'What is this place? Where am I?' he thought, trying to move his body, if it was even there. His attempts yielded no results whatsoever. It felt like only his mind existed in this plane of existence and nothing but thought was left of him. Perhaps it was the last stage of "life" – a state where all things physical were abandoned and cast off allowing the pure thought and mind to develop in full.

In time, however, the waves of warmth nearly ceased, and he could feel them only when he concentrated enough on himself. The sensation was replaced with a monotonous sound of rumbling. Like rocks were falling down a mountain, closer and closer, causing the rumbling sound to intensify. After some time Ulquiorra understood that the sound stopped getting louder and that he started feeling his body. 'My… body. I can feel my limbs and my torso. My neck hurts and my spine does as well. I've never felt like this before.'
His train on thought was interrupted by a voice.

"Hey kid are you awake yet?" the voice asked. Ulquiorra wondered why the voice sounded so low and the tone was nearly inhuman. Although his eyelids felt heavy as lead he tried to open his eyes, only to find himself in nearly total darkness. He could hear the rumbling and now he knew that there was also a feeling of continuous vibration throughout the room where he was. The arrancar tried to look around and moved his head left and right, slowly so not to strain his neck further.

To his great surprise he found himself in a sitting position. He was dressed in a set of clothes which consisted out of a light-green short coat, which reached down just below his waist, a white shirt underneath it and a red tie on his neck. On his legs was a pair of black pants and black shoes. Ulquiorra had enough knowledge of the human world to recognize the particular style of the uniform which could best be called a "school uniform". He slowly raised an eyebrow which showed exactly how big of a surprise it was for him. The arrancar was never one to show any emotion on his face unless something completely out of the ordinary happened… and that was very rare for him. As his head moved right he found his own reflection looking at him dead in the eyes. Now he raised both of his eyebrows because of the fact that his Hollow Mask Fragment was not present on his head. He still hand the same hairstyle and his eyes were unchanged. Even the green tear lines were still present, yet his bone mask was gone… as if it was never there in the first place. And there was one other thing – he looked about 15 years old, which was plain weird.

"Kid, hey kid!" the voice once again demanded to be recognized and drew Ulquiorra's attention to the opposite side of the room. He finally recognized what this room was. A bus – a sort of a vehicle with wheels that humans used to travel faster than on foot. Due to its size the bus was able to transport many people at once, and usually the buses had different routes which the humans used to gain knowledge to where they would go.
The arrancar also recognized that it was the bus driver who had addressed him, and the man was half turned towards his only passenger, who was sitting four seats behind him. The driver himself looked of unknown age due to the shadow on his face, caused by the hat he wore. His eyes however seemed to glow in the dark a bit. Ulquiorra cleared his throat and spoke after noticing that it was pitch-black outside the bus, which was definitely moving, and thus going somewhere.

"Who are you?"

"Heh, you just awoke and I bet you have a lot more questions than this one." the man smirked and continued. "As for this specific question – I am a bus driver, nothing more and nothing less."

Ulquiorra leaned back on his seat and flexed his hands and legs, making cracking noises when shifting his joints and bones. As he did he felt the stiffness and the pain in his body go away. It felt as if he had been sitting here in this bus for many years.

"Well I guess I'll need to fill you in on what happened. I know you can take a shock so let's begin. You died. Plain and simple – you got killed." The man smirked again and watched Ulquiorra frown ever so slightly. After a short pause the grim-looking youth gestured for the driver to continue. "After your death you haven't fallen into oblivion, but someone plucked you out and threw you down here. To be frank – you're in another world. A separate dimension where Shinigami and Hollows don't exist. You following me so far?" the man asked putting a cigar in his mouth, which he pulled out of the pocket of his jacket.

Ulquiorra slowly nodded. He was dead and not only that, but he was sent to another world by someone or something. The only question was…

"Why?"

"Sorry kid, but I don't know. All I know is that you have a purpose here, but I can't tell you more." The driver shrugged "What I'm here for is to drive you to Youkai Academy and give you some information. Here's what you need to know…"

And the man started to explain things. Ulquiorra simple nodded and sometimes asked questions to deepen his understanding on things. He learned that humans and monsters have lived together since the beginning of times and that the monsters were as varied as humans, if not more. He learned about Alucard and the evil that he brought, about the Three Dark Lords and their deeds, about the school and it's purpose. He also was instructed on most types of monsters and what they could do. It felt like he had spent days, if not weeks riding the bus, yet he never felt tired or sleepy, nor he wanted to eat or drink. As he asked why it was so the driver smirked.

"We're in a different sub-dimension, where the sense of time is very stretched out. Even if we took a ride that would last years only minutes could pass in the human world." Ulquiorra started to think that there was more, much more to the driver than he let on. He decided to keep that knowledge to himself though. "As for yourself – you're no longer a Hollow, but a Youkai like all the others. Your class and type are unknown, but I'd say you're S-class judging by your youki and all that. By the way – see that ring on your middle finger?" Ulquiorra looked down on the ring that he wore on the middle finger of his left hand. He noticed it before – it was a simple silver ring with a small square-shaped emerald on the "top" of it, which matched with the color of his eyes. "That thing there is your sword. It works like a seal and if you want to you can remove it and release your full power. Just be careful, since your released state can do a lot of damage, if what I've seen from your battle with an orange-haired kid is any indication. The seal can shift between two forms – a form of a sword and that ring you see on your finger there."

Ulquiorra nodded to show he understood. He concentrated on the ring and it shifted into a sword in his hand, just as its master wished. After a few minutes of studying the familiar sword without its sheath Ulquiorra transformed it back into the ring.

"What now? Am I to attend this… Yokai Academy, driver-san?" Ulquiorra asked in his usual monotonous voice, letting nothing show on his face as always.

"That's the idea. Now that you know everything you need to, we'll be picking up a second passenger. And remember – nobody's gotta know we had this talk but the school's Headmaster." The driver turned his head again, looking at his single passenger and smirked in his usual creepy way, as much as Ulquiorra could tell. He nodded in response, preferring simple gestures over speech.

As the bus finally emerged from the darkness Ulquiorra saw a town in the distance, not too far away. He wondered if the second passenger was living in that town and as to his identity, but decided not to dwell on this and instead started to concentrate on himself. He was no longer a Hollow, nor an Arrancar, but instead a living being even if a monster. He slowly raised his hand and put it to his chest to hear those very sounds he recognized from the time he was in the darkness. Thump-thump-thump. The sounds of his heart beating, slowly but surely. He wondered if that meant that he was capable of expressing those same emotions humans did or had… but he felt no different from his usual self, aside from the fact that he felt much warmer since now he had body heat. The blood coursing through his veins now was warm instead of being cold like it used to when he was a Hollow. Perhaps he was still like was used to be, even with the heart he had – it was nothing more than a simple organ which pumped the blood through his organism and that was it.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of opening doors and the fact that the bus stopped. When he opened his eyes and looked out the window he could see that they stopped at a bus stop, surrounded by lush green trees, which covered part of a building behind it. He saw human children and adults walking around about their business. What would they think if they knew that across the glass window in the bus beside them sat a monster with power enough to level their little city to the ground in five minutes? 'Humans and me can never coexist.' he felt a small pick in his chest at the thought, but he dismissed the feeling he had experienced for the first time in his entire existence, which lasted for hundreds of years.
Instead of dwelling on that thought or attempting to recognize a feeling of sadness he looked at the bus' entrance to see a young boy walk in. He was by all standards – ordinary. Brown short hair, eyes of matching color, ordinary height – neither short nor tall, and the same school uniform on his body. The boy paid little attention to the bus driver and Ulquiorra noticed the man grin wider as he smoked his cigar. After the boy entered and sat down in the seat in front of Ulquiorra, placing his bag near his legs, the door closed and the bus started its way towards Youkai Academy. Ulquiorra also had a bag, which was lying on the seat behind him – those were the basic things he would need in his life and during his stay at the academy. They were now his belongings which were given to him by either the bus driver or whoever sent him into this world.

Ulquiorra glanced over the bag the boy had and saw a small nametag – Aono Tsukune. So that was the boy's name. The raven-haired boy, seeing as he looked 15 or 16 years old, raised his hand to his throat and undid his tie, slipping it off and placing it in a pocket of his coat. Then he proceeded to unbutton his shirt, and when he was done he had the upper portion of his chest and his neck, which were almost as pale as snow, visible. He left the shirt that way and sighed lightly, looking at the place where his hollow hole used to be. He raised his eyes just in time to see the bus going into a tunnel. He also heard the boy speak his thoughts out loud.

"Totally mediocre. But… I never thought I'd end up flunking the High School entrance exam." The boy was looking out the window as they neared the tunnel and went into it.
Then the bus driver finally spoke, when the darkness enveloped them once again.

"… you are… the student enrolling at Youkai Academy?" Ulquiorra could see the boy shrink in his seat a bit from hearing the driver's voice. "Ah, yeah." The boy responded. The driver started chuckling as he spoke again. "In that case you better prepare yourself – when we come out of this loooong tunnel we'll end up right in front of the school." The creepy man made a small pause and Ulquiorra wondered if this man wanted to scare the crap out of this boy, seeing the dramatic effects he used. The driver turned his head to his side continuing. "Youkai Academy is a scaaaary place!"

Ulquiorra watched with slight amusement, which he would not show, as the boy nearly hit the roof of the bus when he jumped up from fright. It was actually a bit funny to watch and Ulquiorra had to admit that there was some fun in scaring other people, especially those who were susceptible to fright. Not that he would ever do it – no, he was far above such lowly ideas and acts.
And with that train of thought the black-haired boy watched as they emerged from the tunnel. The sight before him was strange, or rather – it would be if he had not seen the world of Hueco Mundo and the Forest of Menos, which were equally weird for a normal person.

"We've arrived boys, hehe, and be careful now." The driver gave his last advice as the two exited the bus. Tsukune stopped near the scarecrows that said 'Youkai Private Academy' and dropped his bags, only now acknowledging the presence of another boy who stopped nearby, holding his bag in his hand over his shoulder and studying the scene impassively. Tsukune was about to take a closer look at his comrade but then as if on cue a lighting strike flashed through the sky, just behind the academy building which could be seen in the distance. Tsukune jumped up a bit, startled and shouted.

"Wait a minute, what is this place?" the poor boy started looking around frantically, to which Ulquiorra simply raised an eyebrow. "N-no way… this place is so creepy! It's like an another world after we entered the tunnel!"

"It does seem rather unusual, I must say." Ulquiorra nodded slightly, while thinking 'You have no idea how right you are. Weird though… his youki… it feels like he is a human. I must be imagining things though, as no human could get in the academy, seeing as punishment for such a thing is death.'

Tsukune turned around to look at his companion. The boy was a bit taller than Tsukune, he had pale-white skin which made the brown-haired boy think he was an albino, but then he saw his eyes which were emerald-green, with pupils that looked a bit cat-like, which was weird. The boy was not only taller, but also thinner than Tsukune and looked somewhat fragile maybe. He had a black upper lip and a impassive look about him, his nails were black. 'Is this guy a goth or something? He's as weird as the place we're at, he even fits the atmosphere! Creepy!' said the voice in Tsukune's head, which were his own thoughts of course. Last things about his companion was that he had raven-black hair, which looked a bit messy and he had two green lines on his face, going down from his eyes and to the chin, resembling tears. He was dressed in the same uniform as Tsukune, with the exception of his tie missing and the top three buttons of his shirt undone, showing his pale neck and the middle of his upper chest area.

"Umm, yeah. Hey – my name is Tsukune Aono… and you are?" Tsukune may have thought this guy was weird, but it was rude to ignore him and appearances weren't everything – the boy knew that. He had to give this guy a chance. In the meantime Ulquiorra studied Tsukune as well and replied to his question, out of simple need to be polite. "My name is Ulquiorra Cifer." He told the other boy in his monotonous tone of voice.

"Umm… okay. Hello then Cifer-kun. Is it okay if I call you that?" he asked, unsure if he could even pronounce his first name. In response the black-haired boy only nodded and proceeded to look around, as if he had no interest in continuing the conversation. Tsukune too looked around and continued. "Freaky, seriously freeeeky. This makes me wanna go home." He turned his attention towards the school building in the distance, but before he had a chance to say anything else both boys heard distressed yell and turned around to see a girl on a bike heading their way with insane speed.

"COMING THROUGH!"

And with that Tsukune could only yell as the bike hit him and both kids and the girls bike went flying towards a nearby tree. Ulquiorra couldn't see a thing due to the smoke obstructing his view, but as it cleared away he saw Tsukune coming to, pushing himself off the ground… or rather off the girl's inner thigh, just below her short skirt. If Uqluiorra was a lesser man he'd probably have a nosebleed, instead his eyes widened slightly at the sight he observed.
The girl muttered something about anemia and then she raised her head, showing her face. Ulquiorra had to admit – she looked rather stunning for a girl her age, and she was definitely much prettier than any woman he had seen before, even though her chest was not as big as that woman's – Orihime's. Ulquiorra hurriedly banished the thought of comparing their breast sizes and shook his head from side to side. Then Tsukune got a nosebleed… quite predictable, really. Ulquiorra could only sigh lightly and as he made a few steps towards the pair to help them up, for some unknown reason, the girl suddenly bit Tsukune's neck. Ulquiorra once again raised his eyebrow, wondering if he had become easier to surprise, and finally stopped near them as the ordinary boy started screaming in different tones of "Gyaaah!" and "My blood's been sucked out of nowhere!".

"I'm sorry, I'm Moka Akashiya. Although I look like this I am a vampire!" the girl exclaimed and Ulquiorra only nodded since he had figured as much after hearing all that from the bus driver. He had a lot of information in his head about monster now and could probably recognize quite a few of them if they acted like the species they are.

After a few minutes when everybody settled down and Ulquiorra made a mental note that Tsukune's blood was delicious, as it seemed, and Tsukune saying that he was okay with vampires and being her friend, Moka finally turned to the other boy as they walked towards the Academy.

"I'm sorry – I was so distracted with Tsukune's blood that I forgot about you. Oh! I'm sorry – I didn't mean that! I mean… what's you name?" she tried to quickly change the topic to cover up her mistake. Ulquiorra simple nodded and spoke. "Ulquiorra Cifer."

The girl smiled happily. "Hello Ulquiorra-kun! Will you be my friend too?" the girl asked him with an innocent smile.

Ulquiorra was once again surprised, yet this time he hid his surprise, so not a muscle on his body twitched. Firstly he was greatly surprised that the girl was able to pronounce his name without mistake at all after hearing it only once and… there was the fact that she wanted him to be her friend. 'Friend… me being a friend? I never had anyone who I could call a friend and no one has ever wanted to be my friend, except Neliel, the previous Tercera Espada… I wonder what I should say. I think I shall play along with her wishes.'
Instead of saying anything Ulquiorra nodded while the girl and Tsukune stared at him. Both were interested as to what would be his answer it seemed, and both seemed to be satisfied when he nodded. He simply could not say that he would be her friend too. It was… not like him.

"I have two new friends already!" the girl smiled and jumped up a bit from joy, much to Ulquiorra's dismay and Tsukune's happiness. Ulquiorra could practically hear him say that she's cute with a face like that; however the girl seemed oblivious to the effect she caused on the other boy. Ulquiorra looked away, exhaling heavily though his nose. He was a bit confused by the girl's behavior, but he did not want them to know about it. The thought of calling them 'trash' or anything of the sort did not even cross his mind for a second, as well as trying to tell them that such emotions were stupid ad needless. He had changed… if only a little, however now was not the time for him to realize this.
He turned back towards the two when he heard Moka speak again, his emerald eyes focused on her profile.

"I'm very pleased to meet you two! When the entrance ceremony is over please talk to me some more, ok?" she made a cute expression, looking at Tsukune first and then at Ulquiorra. The black haired boy wondered if she really meant that… the only thing he had said was his name, and he only nodded when she asked if he would be her friend. He did that only because he did not want to upset her. He wondered why?

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The two finally arrived to class, which was supposed to be their homeroom. Ulquiorra did not exchange many words with Tsukune, and only had a minor conversation with the latter about "that vampire thing". Now the emerald eyed student knew for sure that his senses were right – Tsukune Aono was indeed a human child – a simple teenager who had no idea what he walked into. The revelation would shock the poor guy, but it was not Ulquiorra's place to tell him that, and he decided to wait a bit until perhaps someone else would mention the little fact. He could just tell someone from the faculty that Tsukune was a human, but he did not want to. He didn't know why, but his logical mind had an explanation for that. 'It is no coincidence that a human managed to get on the bus. The driver knew much about me and my world and he had to know about Tsukune being a human. That leaves a question – why was he allowed to get on and get in the school. And the things the driver said… he was giving him some advice. I should stay around the boy and find out. Perhaps the reason I am here has something to do with him.' and with that thought the bell rang, cutting Ulquiorra's thoughts and guiding him back to the real world.
The arrancar side-glanced to his right, observing the human boy out of the corner of his eye. He was also looking at the woman that walked in, she had a weird hairdo that looked like a cat-ears. 'Wonderful.' thought Ulquiorra. 'The sooner Tsukune realizes this is a school for monsters – the better.'
In the meantime the teacher showed the class a wide, cheerful smile that nearly blinded Ulquiorra

"Hello everyone, and welcome to Youkai Academy! I am your homeroom teacher Shizuka Nekonome. I think you all already know this but… this is a school built for the sake of monsters to attend!" the teach flashed her cheerful smile again.

Ulquiorra shifted his gaze towards Tsukune while Nekonome-san explained the ropes about rules in the Youkai Academy. The facts about humans and monsters, being in the human form for all times and other stuff about blending in. All the while the teacher talked the raven-haired arrancar observed Tsukune sweat bullets and trash around on his seat, while wondering how nobody else seemed to notice that. 'Finally he understands what kind of trouble he's in. I wonder what he will do. Good thing that Nekonome-sensei did not say anything about the death penalty.' And then Ulquiorra heard someone interrupt their sensei. It was a guy who sat in front of Ulquiorra – he looked rather troublesome, like a school punk or delinquent and his words made Ulquiorra a bit satisfied that his initial judgment was not wrong. He prided himself on being very-very observant.

"Hey teacher, wouldn't it be better for us to eat those humans? And in the case of beautiful girls, better to molest them?" the boy asked, making the usual 'delinquent-would be-badass' face, which Ulquiorra could not see, but guessed was present on his face, due to the tone of voice the guy used.
Out of some reason Ulquiorra felt the need to speak, which he could not contain, much to his own wonder and partial amusement/distress.

"This school is about coexisting with humans – not eating them and molesting females. Only worthless trash like you think that way." was the black-haired student's response. He felt like saying what he thought on the matter, since this guy reminded him so much of Nnoitra Jiruga, which he mostly ignored, yet now felt the need to respond… it was as if he said that to Nnoitra himself. He felt… weird after saying that.
In response the punk turned around, placing one of his hands on the back of his chair.

"What'chu say?" was the only response he could muster. The boy's face expressed tons of thing however, most of which was anger. Ulquiorra was unphased, however, much to Saizou's surprise. Ulquiorra replied. "I said that only trash would think that way about women."

The outcome of the staredown and verbal insults that was about to break out was interrupted by Nekonome-sensei who seemed to pay no attention to the both of them and carried on with her lectures and class. And then she mentioned humans and the death penalty. Ulquiorra glanced at Tsukune to see how distressed he was. Alas the arrancar could not imagine how the boy must have felt, aside the reason that he had no fear of anything.
Ulquiorra could also hear whispers from behind him, it sounded like girl voices and they were saying something along the lines of.

"Who's that pale boy?"
"He's so hot!"
"What are those tear lines?"
"I wanna ask him out! He stood up to Saizou."

Ulquiorra could only raise his brow as he listened. These things were really new to him and he was wondering if that meant he was received positively due to his small talk with the guy sitting in front of him? Just then, when Tsukune seemed to be at the peak of stress, a voice called out and the door to the classroom opened.

"Excuse me! Sorry I'm late, but I got lost in the school after the entrance ceremony…" the voice seemed familiar and Ulquiorra knew that there were only a few people who he could recognize by voice in this place, which meant it was someone he met, and seeing as the voice was tender and female that meant only one thing – it was Moka Akashiya. Ulquiorra turned his head to see the girl walk in, after their teacher said she could take a seat. The effect she had on the class' boys was peculiar and the raven-haired buy wondered if she was really that beautiful. Sure she was cute and all, but Ulquiorra would never cause such a riot. So he silently observed the commotion.
And then Moka lunged herself on Tsukune when she recognized him. Ulquiorra never felt such intensity of killing intent than the one that filled the room when she did that. He could guess that it was jealousy or something like that. He would noticed Saizou's expression if not for the fact that Moka noticed Ulquiorra as well and smiled at him, holding her bag in both hands, as she let go of Tsukune.

"Hello Ulquiorra-kun." The boy wondered why she demonstrated such different reactions between them. Not that Ulquiorra did not like it that way – he would not want the girl to hug him or throw herself at him too. He would only feel uncomfortable.
'Hmmmm.'

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Ulquiorra found himself dragged along the halls of the Academy. Moka Akashiya was holding him by the arm, as well as Tsukune, who was simply in a daze. Ulquiorra could see the swirls in his eyes. Weird. He himself was surprised when the vampire girl grabbed his arm out of nowhere and dragged him along with Tsukune to explore the school. He did not resist much, but noticed that she was pretty strong physically if she could drag him with such ease… perhaps a vampire was truly as strong as they said. Confusing was the fact that he felt very little youki from her. He could not make up his mind about whether she was strong or weak.
After a while she had let go of him and was holding only Tsukune's arm, noticing that Ulquiorra had no trouble keeping up with her pace. Right now the black-haired boy was walking beside them, his hands in the pockets of his black pants, a completely neutral expression on his face. His steps were wider than Moka's and so he had no trouble keeping up while he walked fast. He wondered why he even kept walking along with them – they were nobodies to him… just some random people he had met here, so why – why was he following them still? He could not say for sure.

Each time Moka said something about the school was cool and awesome and looked at Ulquiorra he simply nodded, confirming that he liked the Academy as well. For one – he had no wish to disappoint the girl, and two – he had no complaints about the academy as well. The halls were spacious and well-built. Classes and different other places – like the cafeteria were organized in a way that they could easily be accessed from any part of the school. Also while they were walking he could see and hear others complimenting Moka and calling her "hot" which to Ulquiorra's knowledge meant that she was very beautiful and desired by males. A funny thing was that as soon as the other boys noticed Tsukune they wanted nothing more than to kill him and take the girl for themselves, or were simply jealous. He also heard a few girl remark that he was "hot" as well, which he mostly dismissed… yet he could not help but feel a bit happy at that. Naturally he did not show it, nor did he give it much thought. Moka seemed to be oblivious of the killer intent sent Tsukune's way, while the boy himself could clearly feel and see it.
This made Ulquiorra wonder if the girl was what they called an "airhead".

Their merry expedition was abruptly interrupted as their way was blocked by the punk from before. Ulquiorra heard him mutter something and then speak clearly while raising his hand.

"You are called Moka Akashiya, are you not?" the buy winked. "I am your classmate Saizou Komiya! Hey there!" after those words the scene went silent and Ulquiorra sensed that people were afraid of this guy. His youki was mediocre at best though, and even while sealed, Ulquiorra would have no problem in beating this guy, whoever he was. However he speculated that perhaps while in human form the youkai gave off smaller amounts of energy, thus masking not only their appearance, but their power as well. If that was the case then Ulquiorra had no way to be certain, even with his superb Pesquisa. His thoughts were put behind as he watched Saizou grab Tsukune by the collar and lift him into the air. "By the way, why is a beautiful lady like yourself associating with a guy like this?"

Ulquiorra decided to step in and grabbed the man's hand. Their eyes met and Ulquiorra spoke, maintaining his usual monotonous tone, while lowering his brows a bit to add a sense of threat. "I suggest you let the boy go." was all he said. Saizou took a few seconds and released his grip, making Tsukune fall to the floor straight on his butt. Ulquiorra paid no attention to the ramblings of others about how bad this Saizou guy was and released his grip on the man's hand.

"So you're Ulkviora Cifer are ya? That's a funny name you got there, dude." Saizou taunted, licking his lips and then he turned towards Moka, much to Ulquiorra's irritation. "As I was saying… wouldn't a guy like me be far more superior to the sort of scummy guy? Why don't we go off somewhere just the two of us can have some fun?" Saizou leaned over Moka's small frame. "Well? Why don't we go out for a bit?"

Before Ulquiorra – our new hero of and protector of all things cute and weak – could do something Moka suddenly grabber their hands and quickly dragged both of them away, while saying. "I'm sorry! I'm having fun with Tsukune and Ulquiorra now!" and faster than one could clap their hands they were gone, leaving Saizou alone… but he was not about to give up. Oh no.

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The tree of them stopped to take a breather on one of the stairways. Ulquiorra moved away, while Moka and Tsukune started talking… it was not his place to stay and listen to such things, and he was not tired at all. Compared to the things he could do a small fast-paced run they just had was nothing. Just as he was about to walk away he stopped, around the corner, listening to Moka say that Tsukune was not mediocre or anything. When he heard her say that his blood was tasty and they were on blood-sucking terms he felt the tips of his lips go up, ever so slightly – just a little twitch. The twitch, however, caused his eyes to widen and he brought up his hands to his lips, feeling the corners with his fingers. They were already facing down, like always, but he felt the need to push them down nonetheless, and after he did he heard Moka raise her voice.

"Where's Ulquiorra-kun?" she exclaimed. "I don't know… he must have gone away after we stopped to take a breath. He was here a second ago. Weird guy… he's so silent it's really creepy." Tsukune answered and voiced his opinion on Ulquiorra, which made the man look down on the floor. 'Am I really that different? I guess I can never coexist with humans and other monsters… I am empty and soulless, unlike the rest of them. I should not have come here in the first place.' the thought he had were nothing like he ever had. He felt… sad? Perhaps… he quickly left, moving in a way that his footsteps made no sound.

"How can you say that Tsukune? He's our friend! And no matter what he's like he saved you from that Saizou boy when he grabbed you!" was Moka's answer. "I-I guess so. I'm sorry I said that about him – I wasn't thinking straight."

But Ulquiorra could no longer hear that.

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Ulquiorra was slowly walking towards the forest outside the academy, his hands in his pockets and his head hung low. He was confused – he had never felt like this. So weird, so alien it was to him that he could not understand what was happening. Even his genius observation skills could not help him understand the newly-awakened emotions he now felt and experienced… yes he could easily read anyone else, but he could not do so to himself right now. What he actually felt was sadness and hurt, even though he could not understand it. He had never had a need for companionship and understanding before in the hundreds of years of his existence – emptiness and hence solitude were the basic attributes of his previous "life". Unable to cope and recognize these emotions he desperately tried to get away, even though he declined the idea that Tsukune's words had hurt him so much, even if it was a single sentence of a new companion who knew nothing about him. On the other hand – there was not much to Ulquiorra after all.

All the while Moka and Tsukune were further exploring the academy and searching for him, while having fun, the raven-haired monster had gone deeper and deeper into the woods. He was alone, or so he thought. Finally he stopped, raising his emerald eyes and surveying his surroundings. His excellent pesquisa had found a few presences not too far away, but they were still and not moving around much, most likely a group of people hanging out in the woods. Ulquiorra forced himself off the ground with one light jump and landed on one of the higher branches of a big tree, and once on it he sat down, placing his back to the trunk of the tree, crossing his legs and outstretching them on the branch itself. He closed his eyes and let his mind clear of any thought, entering a state of meditation he sometimes used.
His estimations were that roughly twenty minutes had passed, until he felt someone nearby. Ulquiorra opened his eyes in an instant, shifting his gaze down onto the ground, only to find a group of six people standing below the tree, looking up at him. They were the very same group that he felt before, away in the distance. Judging by their appearances they were somewhat like that Saizou guy before and the look in their eyes told the arrancar to expect nothing pleasant from this encounter. And just as on cue their apparent leader spoke.

"Oi, you there – snow-skin. I heard ya called Saizou-san trash during class. Bad move, man, bad move." The leader cracked his knuckles and crossed his hands.

Ulquiorra thought about it for a second, keeping his emotionless eyes on the man. 'They seem to be from the same group, or perhaps they are simple underlings of Saizou. I think this would be a good opportunity to test my skills and teach that trash a lesson.'

And so the black-haired boy jumped down landing softly on the ground just before the group. Without as much as a warning he thrust his right hand towards the leader and grabbed him by the neck. The others could just stare in shock as Ulquiorra sent their leader flying into the nearest set of trees. When they came to – one of them jumped, aiming to punch the place boy, which resulted in his stomach being kicked, sending him in the opposite direction of the leader thug. The others watched, ready for anything, as their opponent vanished with a static booming sound and then they heard him speak just behind them.

"Bala." and Ulquiorra sent a small red ball of energy straight into the nape of one of the thugs, making the latter flip over and slam into one of the graves, breaking it in the process. The last three delinquents started shifting and transforming, attaining hulking forms of different creatures all made of muscle. Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow, inspecting the surge of their youki. "Trash, all of you. I will show you the difference between us and the futility of your struggling to beat me. Pointless."
And with three swift blows the last of them went down, destroying the scenery and cracking the earth. Even their transformed shapes could pose no threat to the sealed Ulquiorra. This made the boy remember his fight with Ichigo Kurosaki – even he was losing with his hollowfication against the unreleased Ulquiorra. To show him the futility of his actions the arrancar even went as far as to release his zanpakuto and then show him his Segunda Etapa transformation – all to make the young human see his actions would yield no results. Now this trash stood no chance whatsoever.

Ulquiorra cast one last glance over the scene, as if making sure they were all down for the count and vanished in a flash of sonido, escaping the scene so not to be caught red-handed in beating up other students on his first day at school.

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He appeared far away from his initial position, on the outskirts of the woods and near the academy. Weird as it was Ulquiorra almost instantly noticed Tsukune not too far away, still… or again… with his luggage in hands and pacing around nervously. Ulquiorra slowly got closer without being seen and listened on to the boy's ramblings.

"… he smashed the concrete to pieces with his bare hands." were the boy's words. Ulquiorra quickly deduced that the brown-haired boy must have found himself in some trouble recently and has probably been attacked. There were no visible wounds however. Ulquiorra heard someone approach and recognized Moka, who seemed to be very attached to Tsukune now. The arrancar wondered if the boy found it bothersome – Ulquiorra certainly would.

"Oh? Tsukune? If we don't hurry we're gonna be late." The vampire girl almost tackled the boy, placing her hands around him as she jumped on him. "M-Moka?" the boy responded with a fearful expression on his face.

The raven-haired boy continued to observe them, listening to Tsukune say that he wants to quit school. 'A wise decision. A human like yourself will most likely die here, and it's only logical to escape. It is futile and pointless to remain here, risking your life in vain.' Ulquiorra nodded to himself, observing the pair out of the corner of his eye as he stood behind one of the trees, his back placed against the dead bark. He could not see any other way out of this situation – if the human boy stayed here any longer he would prove to be foolish and suicidal.
Then he listened to her speak of her dislike of humans. Ironic it must have been that the one who she befriended now was a human as well. The situation escalated and no matter how strongly Ulquiorra wanted to interrupt and explain – he would not do this. It was not his place to do so, nor were they really friends. He heard Tsukune's real opinion about him. And then in the spur of the moment when Moka tried to talk to the human boy he left, saying that they were no longer friends, and while it was not exactly what he said the meaning had implied just that.

Ulquiorra stayed hidden, watching the girl cry and kick stones from the ground. Did this event really have such a grave blow on her spirits? He did not think she knew in full what it meant to be alone and empty. When he was "born", when he first acknowledged his existence he woke up in the depths of the Menos Forest, surrounded by those of his kind feasting on corpses, and he had been different from the rest of them. That is why they attacked him and tried to kill him… and they all died. For years he would remain alone, empty and without the slightest understand as to why he even existed. She knew nothing of pain.
Ulquiorra's thoughts were cut off as Saizou appeared, grabbing Moka and trying to hit on her. Not for long though, as it seemed he was more in the mood to take her by force, assuming his true form, which was for the most part quite ugly. Moka yelled, calling Tsukune. But he was not here and could not help her – only Ulquiorra could.

As Saizou chuckled and lashed out with his long tongue to lick Moka's tender skin a figure appeared between the two of them. A slender pale hand grabbed the monster's face and forced it away by throwing the aggressive thing away. Moka opened her eyes and looked up, meeting the emerald eyes of her savior.

"U-Ulquiorra-kun!" she exclaimed, full of surprise and a mix of happiness and disbelief. He only turned away from her to look back at Saizou, who was getting up by now and throwing away the debris that got in his way. Moka could only see his thin back now and his black hair, while he stood there, both of his hands in his pockets. "Don't worry. I won't let this trash touch you, Akashiya-san." his monotonous voice seemed to break the atmosphere, as it was too different from his kind words, however the girl seemed oblivious to that and pressed her hands together. "Thank you, Ulquiorra-kun."
A bestial roar emerged from Saizou's throat as the latter approached them. "You scum! You threw me… now I'm not gonna let it go this time and I'll skin ya alive for it!"

The hulking monster leapt forward drawing his hand backwards for a punch, but before he could even get half-way to his target Ulquiorra jumped forward as well, much faster than his opponent, and delivered a much faster punch, pulling one hand out of the pocket of his pants and slamming hi fist into the chest of his enemy. This time the ogre-thingy did not fly back away, but both seemed to stop mid-air, the monster letting out all the air out of his lungs along with gathered up saliva. Ulquiorra frowned slightly and sonido'd backwards, avoiding the spit, appearing a bit away from both Saizou and Moka. He spoke, his voice calm and quiet, yet every word heard clearly.

"A mere worm like you cannot match up to me in power. You have signed your own execution warrant when you decided to try and force an unwilling girl, who happened to be an acquaintance of mine, into your filthy embrace. More so – you would not stop there, and for that I shall remove trash like you from this world. Resist if you must… it is pointless."
Just then a voice echoed through the scene, alarming all three present here of another person here.

"MOOKAA!" and Ulquiorra saw the brown-haired boy run towards the vampire-girl. "TSUKUNE!" she responded with tears still in her eyes.

The following events played out almost too quickly for Ulquiorra, who was rather surprised, to intercept. Saizou, who had pretty much recovered due to the fact that Ulquiorra was using little strength behind his blows, even in his sealed form, had decided to beat up a weaker target and one that annoyed him too much. That resulted in him nearly killing Tsukune in two blows, who had told Moka that he still wanted to be friends with her even if she was a vampire and he was a human… a sort of friendship that transcended even the boundaries of different races. Ulquiorra was very shocked watching the scene unfold. What the boy did was beyond any logic and comprehension of the arrancar and he could still not understand what had driven the weak human boy to do what he did then.
When the raven-haired boy finally composed himself he quickly appeared before Saizou, who was aiming yet another kick at Tsukune and grabbed the former by the hand, throwing him into the ground, which he found a bit hard to do with even slightly more than a quarter of his strength. And just as he did…

… a loud clank resounded through the area, resulting in an explosion of dark youki which raised the wind pressure throughout the place. Ulquiorra turned his attention away from his enemy and jumped away a bit, watching in slight surprise as the girl – Moka – transformed before his very eyes. In addition to looking older and changing her hair color to silver instead of pink, her body seemed to mature and develop as well. She opened her eyes, revealing a completely different look from her usual one. Then Ulquiorra noticed that her Rosario was not present, and instead was in Tsukune's hands now. Perhaps that had something to do with this as it seemed the only thing that changed aside from Moka herself? The girl then spoke in a lower and more sensual voice, while looking at Saizou with her now-slitted eyes, much like what Ulquiorra had before.

"What's wrong? You want me, right? Just try and take me… by force, won't you?" the girl gestured towards Saizou, who seemed more than willing to do so. He punched her, or grabbed her… or at least tried to do something like that, which resulted in the ground cracking beneath her feet, but the girl herself had not moved even a bit. She taunted the creature's lack of power and then jumped into the air, delivering a powerful kick to his face.

"Know your place!" and then she softly landed on the ground, as Saizou slammed through multiple trees and graves as he flew away from her. Inner Moka spoke in the meantime. "A low-class monster like you, who has nothing to show for his size, doesn't even make for a decent opponent in a contest of strength."

The girl turned around and headed towards Tsukune, while Ulquiorra began to slowly approach the two of them as well, both his hands in his pockets again. Moka spoke to Tsukune, who seemed to be confused by something. "What's wrong? Are you scared of 'this' me?" she extended her hand and grabbed the Rosario from Tsukune's hand. "Don't get so worried, this me who has not awoken from slumber in a long time is still tired. I have no intention of harming you… as your blood is very delicious to my other self." she noted placing her hand to the boy's chin, which made him blush slightly, while still being confused. Then she turned towards Ulquiorra, with a much more cautious expression, yet it was as soft. "And you… you have protected my other self when she was in trouble and acted like a real gentleman. I thank you for that, and that only." Ulquiorra nodded, accepting her thanks, while making a mental note that this Moka was not only a powerful vampire, but seemed somewhat prideful at first glance, and superior to others in behavior. The girl then raised the Rosario to her neck "Until we meet again you had better take care of the other Moka." and placed it back onto herself, passing out straight into Tsukune's arms as a result. The boy blushed once again and turned his eyes towards Ulquiorra.
The raven-haired boy stood silently, watching the two with a still, emotionless expression before turning around and walking away. As he did he heard a voice behind him call out to him.

"Ulquiorra-san! Where are you going?" Tsukune was surprised that his new friend was leaving without a word. Ulquiorra stopped and stood still for a few moments, before speaking without turning back towards Tsukune. "I am creepy and silent, as I heard you say to Akashiya-san. I am sure you feel uneasy with me around and I shall not torment you by my presence. I shall leave." He explained.
Tsukune felt something gather in his throat, as if chocking him. Now he felt guilty, but he had no idea that Ulquiorra overheard what he said to Moka… but he changed his opinion towards the silent boy and he was actually grateful that he came to Moka's rescue when he wasn't around. He voiced his thoughts.

"I… I am sorry for what I said before, Ulquiorra-san. I was too quick to judge you and I am really thankful that you came to Moka's rescue when she was in danger. You are my and her friend and I'd like to hang around with you, if… that's okay with you." The boy asked. Ulquiorra finally turned his head around to look at Tsukune. He slowly nodded and turned around, approaching the two.

"I think we should take her to the school infirmary…" Ulquiorra proposed and Tsukune nodded.

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The next day Ulquiorra stood in the hallways near the stairs, with his back pressed against the railings and a school bag in his hand, while the other one was resting in the pocket of his school pants. He heard a commotion nearby and turned his head to his left, seeing Tsukune running down the hallways and Moka chasing him while the boys around gave the poor boy glares of death and jealousy. The cute vampire girl wished to suck his blood while he ran away screaming "Nooooo!" in Ulquiorra's direction.

'Perhaps this is a start of something new. A friendship. I don't know… but I will keep around them until I learn my purpose here and fulfill it. Perhaps this will be… fun.'

The raven-haired boy felt a smirk tug his lips slightly as Tsukune ran by and Moka waved her hand, calling Ulquiorra's name. He quickly followed them without breaking into a run. This was indeed a start of a new life – one with a purpose behind it and one filled with something, instead of being empty.

END OF CHAPTER 1

A/N: So here we are. This is chapter 1, and I hope people are going to like it. As you might have guessed - Ulquiorra will simply be an addition to the story instead of replacing Tsukune, like in most fics. There are bound to be some grammar mistakes, but meh - the most of it has to be "okay" to read. Now I tried to keep Ulquiorra as much In Charater as possible and if i made any mistakes - please point them out. Now remember thought, now the man has a heart, so he IS a bit different.
And with that - Grimankin OUT!