This is a One-Shot I've been working on for some time now and until recently I decided to actually complete it. It is also a prelude to a longer story that is saved onto my computer that deals with an AU of the Fake Karakura Town. It will focus on the pairing that this story details and introduces. Honestly I know that this isn't really a popular pairing and few stories about it exist, but really I like and can actually see it as slightly canon plausible.
Harribel stood outside of the gathering hall. Her back to the door, she had been with the rest of the Espada hiding within the shadows of the columns; watching the girl's incredible power of restoring the Sexta's arm. Afterward witnessing Grimmjow's overly excessive show of power and slaughtering the loudmouth named Luppi.
The girl walked out submissively behind Zommari, avoiding eye contact and walking as though she had been completely defeated. Harribel couldn't help but be disgusted by the girl and what was worse is that behind that emotion was another that she didn't even want to name. Yet, when she heard of Ulquiorra's assignment to keep watch over the girl, she couldn't continue lying to herself.
Harribel was jealous and she hated herself for falling so low. To feel such a pitiful emotion was bad enough, but because of a weak human made her want to throw-up.
As Ulquiorra made his way out, he caught her eye and with a miniscule nod signaled for her to follow him. They walked silently, neither one acknowledging the presences of the other, until they arrived in an empty room with Harribel's tower.
"Things are changing," the Tercera stated simply holding his gaze.
Ulquiorra stared at the woman, waiting for her to continue. He knew that she had more to say then just stating the obvious and interrupting her wouldn't be wise.
Tier looked at the man in front of her coldly. She knew that he was waiting and if she didn't say what she wanted now, then they could spend hours standing there, staring at one another. At the start of their 'relationship' (if you could call it that), it had been like that. Neither moving nor willing to admit the attraction that existed between the two, it wasn't till the tension was driving the Tercera insane that she confronted the stoic man.
Tier raised her hand and in an unusual turn of events placed it on Ulquiorra's chest. "We are heartless beings. The holes on our bodies are evidence of this, as well as are a reminder to us of why and how we became hollows. You once told me that you didn't believe in 'feelings' and to this day I still think that is true. However, as hollows we are driven by our most primitive instincts, no matter how much we have evolved."
The Cuarto Espada stared at the woman carefully before him, hearing what she was saying but also listening at what she wasn't. If he were anybody else he would have smirked smugly down at her. The Tercera in her vague way was admitting that she felt possessive over what she claimed to be hers.
Instinctually, Ulquiorra placed his arm firmly around her waist and pulled her towards him. Harribel's eyes clearly showed her shock.
"The girl's powers are strong. I saw the girl bring a person back from the brick of death; an ability that will be useful for any of the Arrancar during this war. Nonetheless, the girl is a human and will never be able to truly understand what we are. The girl will no doubt try to humanize us in order to feel more comfortable here."
Harribel chuckled darkly at the hidden disgust under layers of stoicism. Though for some reason she felt that there was something more that Ulquiorra wasn't telling her.
"What else is on your mind?"
Ulquiorra was inwardly surprised, "Aizen has inform me that I am to stay here during the attack. He expects that a force of the enemy will come to rescue the girl. I am to trap as many of them here."
Tier's eyes narrowed, she did not like this one bit. It made the Cuarto's chances of survival extraordinarily slim. Still it was not her place to question their Lord.
"How did you get the girl to come here so willingly. She was rather quiet."
"I told her that she was to come with me quietly or to watch her friends die."
"They'll know that she came here against her will. They'll come before the Hōgyoku is ready."
Ulquiorra inaudibly sighed and let her go, he silently walked over the wall window. They had randomly picked one of the rooms that gave them a view of the giant colorless desert.
"You doubt me Tier," he stated simply and if he were anybody else Harribel would have been afraid that she had insulted him. "I allowed the girl to heal the guards that were accompanying her through the Dangai and to say farewell to any one person. If she is as foolish as I predict then she should have chosen Kurosaki and idiotically healed his wounds."
Harribel walked toward the statue like Arrancar, eyes widening in realization. "The Soul Society will think that the girl came here by her own will and if anything it'll delay a rescue attempt."
The Cuarto gave the slightest of nods as his answer.
"How long does that give us?" she asked absently. She may have been a high-ranking member of Aizen's army but that didn't mean he told them everything. For some reason, Ulquiorra was closer to Aizen's inner circle then she could ever hope to be.
"By human standards four months till the winter, less if somebody decides to come rescue the girl."
Tier froze; that was no time at all.
Ulquiorra turned slightly and gazed at the golden blonde next to him. "I have been tasked with keeping an eye on the girl. She is to be my responsibility for the time."
Harribel tensed and the emotion from the meeting came roaring back to the surface.
"Will I see you later?" she asked emptily.
If Ulquiorra didn't know any better he would have said that he was bewildered by the sudden question. However, he kept his expression neutral. "Yes Tier, I will come back here when I am finish with my duties."
Harribel smiled behind her mask and nodded contently. "I will hold you to that." With that she turned around and headed for the door.
The Cuarto watched her leave, though before she was completely out of hearing range. He said one of the few things that if she still had a heart, it would have stopped beating.
"I will always come back, Tier."
-o-o-o-
Harribel walked the halls of Las Noches, unconsciously strolling through the Cuarto's empty tower. It was a disturbing laughter that broke her from her trance like state. She noticed where she was. She felt two distinct reiatsu up a head and if whom she felt was correct then the scene wasn't going to be pretty.
"Well pet-sama, are you going to answer my question." A tall lanky male stood before Orihime.
The human girl looked at her current tormentor with wide panic eyes. Neither noticing the entrance of the Tercera Espada. Harribel's disgust of the girl's obvious weakness resurfaced, nonetheless she couldn't let this continue. It went against everything she stood for.
"Nnoitra I believe that is enough." She said confidently. Mentally preparing for a confrontation with the Quinto. His inferiority complex and battles with the former Tercera were well known throughout Las Noches.
Nnoitra's mocking smile for a quick second vanished, however he quickly composed himself. He had been trying for years to get a fight out of Harribel, though unlike Nelliel she would never give him the satisfaction of a fight.
"Well if it isn't dear Harribel," he greeted disdainfully. "Batty isn't anywhere near by, so tell us what are you doing here?"
The Tercera's eyes narrowed an inch, "Ulquiorra asked me to watch over the girl while he was away." She easily lied.
Nnoitra's looked between the two woman, "is that right? Have you also been helping Ulquiorra in taming the girl?"
Orihime's cheeks flushed red not missing the innuendo. Harribel scuffed at the absurdity of the Quinto's comment.
"You truly are disgusting Nnoitra," she deadpanned.
The fifth cackled and looked down at the higher ranked Espada. "¿Dime Harribel, que se siente estar con una roca?"
"Remember who you are speaking to Quinto, you have never been able to defeat Ulquiorra what makes you think that you will win against me?" She countered easily, deflecting his question.
Nnoitra lost his insane grin and straighten in suppressed anger. "You're a filthy bitch Harribel. Must I remind you that I was the one that defeated the former Tercera."
Tier snorted softly, "yes by underhanded tactics."
The taller Arrancar chuckled dryly, "in a battle there is no such things as fairness. All that matters is that at the end there is a winner."
Orihime stared between the two Espada greatly regretting leaving her room. Though she knew that if she had to choose; the golden hair woman would be the safer decision. By now, Orihime had figured out that 'Harribel' was stronger then Nnoitra and wasn't as violent as the fifth. In truth the female Espada reminded her slightly of Ulquiorra's cold demeanor.
"Don't compare yourself with that bat, shark even you have to admit that there is something strange going on." He concluded before he sonido out of the tower.
Harribel remain silent for a few seconds, hating that Nnoitra was able to plant that small seed of doubt so easily within her mind. Deep down in an instinctual level she knew that Ulquiorra was more powerful than he let them all to believe. How deep that truth ran, Harribel was sure that not even Aizen was aware of.
The Tercera's eyes turned to the human girl. Orihime squeaked in surprise at being acknowledged by the Arrancar. Organizing her thoughts she bowed rapidly in gratitude.
"Thank you very much, I didn't know that Ulquiorra had asked you to look out for me. My name is Inoue Orihime."
The blonde stared at the teen quizzically. "Tier Harribel, Tercera Espada. And Ulquiorra didn't ask anything of me, I just happened to be passing by."
Orihime looked at the woman, confused over why she would lie to the taller Arrancar. Still she decided it was best to let it go. "May I ask you a question, Harribel-san?"
Tier sighed inwardly and started walking, sure that the naïve girl will follow her. "Just Harribel, I am not human so do not call me as such. You may ask any question you wish, though I will not guaranty that I will answer."
Orihime nodded absently, not missing how Ulquiorra had told her nearly the same thing.
"What happened to Ulquiorra?"
Harribel stopped in her tracks at the unexpected question. Yet she had to admit that she should have expected it. Ulquiorra was the one constant in the teen's life and it should be predictable that she will be curious about her captor.
"He is out on a mission for Aizen-sama." She answered in a monotonous voice.
Orihime gazed at the female Arrancar, but realize that her question had been too general.
"No, no that isn't what I meant, I was asking about what happened to him? How did he lose his heart?"
The question was so innocent and sweet. This girl was so incredible naïve. Harribel looked closer at the girl and thought back on her questions. She almost choked on her contained laughter at the sudden realization.
The girl felt something for her captor and in her adolescent ways, she was attempting to connect to the cold Espada. Whatever jealousy Harribel had possessed before vanished as she looked at the now blushing girl.
"Inoue, it is by our very name that every being in Hueco Mundo… is hollow. We are all without our hearts. It is our very nature."
"But you all still feel, sight?"
Harribel looked at the girl carefully. "Yes, in an instinctual animalistic way. Inoue you should not expect any of us to act in any way similar to a human. We all left that part of ourselves behind us many years ago."
Orihime stood still, not daring to meet the Tercera's eyes as she lost herself to hopeless thoughts.
"How c-could you all just decide to…?" the human girl asked with anguish confusion.
The Arrancar tilted her head and for some unknown reason chose to answer her honestly. She began walking towards the center of the tower. Like its owner it was empty, though still had an intricate design.
"We were all mindless beasts at the start of our Hollow life. We were not aware of what we were doing or of how much time was passing. After we unknowingly consumed a large amount of weak human souls and perhaps a shinigami or two. We were able to open a Garganta to this world.
"After a while, we began to crave stronger souls… and what would be more appetizing to a starving Hollow then another Hollow that was also filled with hundreds of souls? By this time we start to become conscious of our actions, though when we entered a feeding frenzy every rational thought disappeared.
"It is in one of this episodes that a large number of Hollows gather and the huge amount of reiatsu in one area create a Gillian. Here dozens of Hollows become one entity and within this creature an internal battle rages; we fight for domination, control and to regain our identity. It is when we do that the Menos evolves into the next stage: Adjuchas. However, in this stage, we can still hear the voices, the screams of the other Hollows. Those don't fade, yet if we want to retain our conscious we have to continue feeding and adding more and more voices to our endless torture.
"That is until, if a Hollow has the power inside of them, to evolve into a Vasto Lorde. When that happens the torturous voices at last fade into nothing and our power becomes absolute. However there is a down side… as Vasto Lorde we cannot leave Hueco Mundo. The low Reishi filled air of the Living World would awaken our uncontrollable hunger and we would be force to feed again.
"By becoming Arrancar; in a Gillian the dominant hollow gains the power, the voices for the Adjuchas are silenced, the limitations for a Vasto Lorde are lifted. We all owe Aizen-sama a great debt and we will fight for him till our contracts are fulfilled. Nonetheless, all the fighting, struggling, destruction, and killing… we could never have endured it if we hadn't given up our hearts. It is a decision that to this day none of us regret. We still exist because we were merciless, willing to do anything to survive. Of course we each had our different crude ways of doing things."
She finished, knowing that the girl had understood. That no matter how much she told herself, she would never comprehend the Cuarto Espada. Orihime could never grasp the severity of the struggle that Ulquiorra had to endure.
"Do you all still need to feed?" Inoue asked quietly, hoping for a speck of light in all the overwhelming darkness.
Harribel exhales and opened the giant doors that lead to the girl's enormous room.
"Yes, at least once a week and preferably an Adjuchas or stronger, if at all possible. Yet only when we are severely weakened will our bodies demand us to feed in order to regain our reiatsu and be able to heal."
Orihime flinched, realizing that she was still a food source to these beings; if the situation ever requires it.
"We are Hollows Inoue, the hole on our bodies is proof of this. You are human and still whole, never think any different of what we are. That will only lead you to get killed…" Tier gazed at the girl almost pitying, "and a broken heart if you keep going down this path."
With that Tier Harribel turned around and left the dazed girl. Confident that she had straightened her out, without any violent action, Tier could only wait to see if the girl had heard her hidden warning. Her possessiveness demanding blood and wishing for the female that has managed to get her mates attention. Harribel had to reminded herself that Aizen-sama would be most displeased if harm came to the girl and Ulquiorra would be blame for her transgression. The worst part would be that Ulquiorra wouldn't even blame her, he would understand and take his punishment silently.
Harribel made her way back to her tower where her ever faithful fracción were waiting for her. Apacci, Mila Rose and Sung-sun knew nothing about what has been going on between her and the Cuatro Espada. Really as far as Harribel knows no one has even tried to guess, why Ulquiorra never tried to advance in the ranks. While they all feel his hidden strength far out reach even that of Starrk. She does hope that Aizen-sama has come to realize the threat that her mate could ever become if he choses to fight against the Shinigami.
Hope you enjoyed it and even if you didn't please review and express your thoughts on the matter.
Til' next time, MusingAIR