Sunshine and Darkness

She was the embodiment of all things good and nice. She was the bright sun that lightened up everyone's world and the heat that warmed every individual up in its presence. She was a beauty beyond compare. Her hair was liquid fire; it ran down her back like a waterfall yet its unique color was that of a wild flame. Her grey orbs were like the moon on a clear starry night. Her lips were full and her body curvaceous. She was a striking individual whom men admired and women envied.

She was pure

innocent

gentle like a cool flowing breeze.

The aura she carried around her whether aware of it or not could touch even the most sinister man's heart.

He was everything she's not. He was no sunshine and happiness. He was dark, cold, and callous. His sinister and demonic aura sent chills down the spines of anyone in its presence. It didn't matter to him though. He didn't care what people thought of him. He didn't care about anything. He was a nihilist... live itself had no meaning to him. Some believed that he had learned to keep his emotions suppressed and well hidden inside him but that wasn't true. He had no emotions to do so. Inside him was a deep and dark abyss. There were no emotions.

No happiness. No joy. Not even anger or malice. There was nothing but that deep and dark abyss. If he had any emotions they were at the very bottom. But they were so far out of reach nor did he want to retrieve them from the bottomless trench they resided in. The closest thing to emotion he felt was void... if you could call that an emotion. He was an empty and wandering soul; his feet forever roaming the streets of Karakura Town as his form disappeared only to reappear under each and every street light. With pale skin and hair as black as night, it was no wonder why people called him a prince of darkness. The darkness was his domain and he roamed through it with piercing green eyes that were hard and cold. A true demon of the night.

And yet fate had brought these two beings together. And like her fiery hair and bright demeanor, she lighted up his world and set his nihilistic beliefs ablaze. She came to him like fireworks. At first there was nothing... and then she lit up his dark sky without warning. He was curious about her in the beginning. Why couldn't he block out her presence like he did with the rest of the world? What had made her different from the rest? Was it her bubbly personality? They how she was gentle and caring to everyone? But what had really sent his curiosity over the deep edge was her belief of the heart. "It's impossible to feel exactly the same as someone else... but when you both care for each other, your hearts are able to draw a little closer together. I think that's what it means to make your hearts as one."

It was a belief she had put so much faith in and a belief he couldn't comprehend. How foolish he had said to her. How could one put there all into something so trivial?

The heart?

People like her said that word so lightly. As if it were a tangible object you could grab and hold on to. His eyes saw everything. What they didn't see didn't exist. It was how he always lived. And so he would show her. He would show her that hope and faith led to nothing but despair in the end. This "heart" she believed in was nothing more than an illusion. He wanted to break her and her ridiculous belief. But the odds however, were not in his favor for the more they dwelled in each other's presence, the more aware he became of his own heart. Yes, this strange woman had touched his heart, a thing he never believed in. It was not too long after that Orihime Inoue became his new obsession. He wanted her both body and soul. He wanted her fiery hair and grey orbs. Her full lips and well-shaped body would belong to him. Being in her presence was his drunken pleasure. She was so tempting and his restraints grew weaker and weaker each time. He was addicted to her positive aura. She was the sun that brought light and heat to his dark and cold world. No one could have her. He wouldn't allow it. She belonged to him and him only.

Ah yes, it was quite selfish of him to put such claims on her but he couldn't let her go. He just couldn't. He needed her and in a strange way she needed him too. While his dark appearance and cold demeanor kept people at bay, she dared to venture forward. She had found him... interesting. Everything about him intrigued her. Those piercing green eyes that bore into her sole sending chills down her spine. His soft pale skin she found herself wanting to touch. His dark velvet voice was so strangely alluring to her. Yes, Ulquiorra Cifer was indeed different from all the individuals she had ever met.

"Stay away from that man Orihime, he will bring nothing but trouble"

"A sweet girl like you shouldn't get involved with a man so sinister and devil like"

"Leave him be, for a man so dark and detached couldn't possibly function with other beings"

They were words said by people who had feared something they didn't understand. She heard their warnings but didn't listen. She let herself be lured to him as if he were a sweet aroma. Since their first in what would become multiple encounters she had begun to harbor feelings for him. In the beginning she felt fear. Their first encounter was an interesting one. He had saved her from two thugs that were proceeding to assault her one night. She was grateful nonetheless, but how could she not be a little frightened by the pool of blood he stood in. His cold green eyes that showed absolutely no remorse upon two dead thugs as the moonlight lit up his emotionless face. In that moment He indeed looked very demonic with the bodies lying around him. But this demon of the night had just saved her from what could have been a very traumatic event. She didn't care what the others said. If he truly had no heart he wouldn't have bothered to help her. After fear she had felt curiosity. She wanted to know more about him. Ulquiorra Cifer was a mystery to her as she was sure Orihime Inoue was to him.

Curiosity was replaced with happiness. She was glad to be in his presence. She felt comfortable and safe around him. She was the only being he let around him and she was happy about it. Happiness gradually became hurt and anger. How could he say that the heart wasn't real? How could he say it was foolish? The heart was real! She wanted to prove it to him so much it hurt. Anger and hurt didn't last too long and she felt affection. And it wasn't to long for affection to become love. She loved him. Her whole life people treated her like an innocent child, not worthy of being taken seriously. They always saw her as a fragile being that needed to be protected. It made her feel like such a burden. She was always being put on a pedestal like a shiny object only to be seen and admired. Nothing else. They didn't see her heart. They didn't see how her heart yearned for her to be acknowledged. He was different. He didn't see her as a child nor did he treat her like one. He saw her for her. Orihime Inoue. As harsh and uncaring as he was at first, it was through him that she had found her resolve. No one had made her try to find her own inner strength like he did. It was something she loved and admired about him. And all she wanted to do now was reach out to him. To his heart. It was there. Hidden away in the dark abyss of his soul. If only she could reach out to him. She wanted to show him that there was more to the black and white world he saw through his eyes. The world was filled with color and it was lively and beautiful. She needed to reach out harder! She sensed that he was reaching out too. He was searching for an explanation. What is the heart? He had found his answer in Orihime and so he reached out for her. If only they could reach out.

Reach out

And when they had finally reached each other their fates were sealed. They were total opposites. She was fire and he was ice. She was light he was darkness. She was the bright sunshine of the day he was dim moonlight at night. And yet, they strangely complemented each other. Some people accepted it while others didn't. It didn't matter to them either way. There were destined to be lovers. Their fate written in the stars above. And so they continued to dwell in each other's presence. Facing the world together. Hand and hand.

Two hearts beating as one.

A/N: This is my very first story (or in this case a oneshot) I've ever written! How did I do? Was it good? Bad? Too long? Too short? Please let me hear your thoughts!