~Someone just for me~
'What is it that you seek?'
"He sits there day by day, staring into nothing."
Rukia heard the sharp disapproving note in the Squad member's voice and frowned, "what's wrong with that?" The woman looked over her shoulder to the corner cell devoid of light from the high barred window. "I said, what's wrong with that?" irked for no reason at all, Rukia repeated.
The woman wasn't perturbed at all by her superior's irritation, instead seemed oblivious to it. "It's like there's nothing there. An empty shell--I don't know," she shrugged her shoulders suddenly feeling the weight of frigid listless eyes turn toward them.
Rukia glanced from the corner of her eye; it was hard to tell if he had moved at all.
"Why did they decide not to execute him?" the woman said more to herself then to Rukia. Arms crossed, rubbing chilled forearms briskly, "he's an ex Espada, for Gods sakes. Rotten like all the rest of them. He deserves to--" There was a slight shifting behind them; the woman froze.
"Leave, Nuriko." Rukia ordered calmly, relief broke out over the fourth seat's face. She didn't want to be there, she didn't want to be assigned the monotonous task of breaking down the apathetic Arrancar's defenses, judge his actions, ascertain his loyalties, and then at the end report let the higher-ups decide on her findings.
Would he be their enemy, or become their ally?
For the former, execution was certain.
For the latter, assimilation into the ranks of Soul reapers was assured.
Rukia didn't care for either option as neither appealed to her. The Arrancar was a cold-blooded murderer. He...she hesitated. Nuriko had been close to saying the same thing. Rukia hated her talking in the room as if he wasn't there, couldn't hear the finishing of the embittered sentence.
He deserves to--die.
~~~~~*~~~~~
'What is it that you are looking for?
"I see you haven't been eating," Rukia jerked her head to the tray of untouched food near his feet. The Arrancar gave no sign of hearing her, or of indeed taking an interest in her and Nuriko's brief conversation. "Is that what they taught you in Las Noches? To ignore people when they're talking to you?" Rukia pulled the hard chair from behind the desk and sat down, smirking a little to match the tease in her words.
"Iam not required to address trash such as yourself," he said quietly, eyes firmly ahead focused on the blank wall. "Oh ho, so I'm trash to you, is it?" Rukia leaned forward, openly staring at him as if were a kind of spectacle. "Then what's Nuriko?"
"Trash," he said without hesitation.
"Your ex comrade Grimmjow Jeagerjaques?"
"Trash."
"The rest of the numbers one-through-ten of the Espada?"
"All. Trash."
This was getting nowhere.
Rukia brushed her hand across her forehead, frowning thoughtfully in concentration, "Sosuke Aizen."
"...My Lord." The Arrancar said without reflecting that this was the very thing the Soul reapers didn't want to hear. Rukia cupped her chin in her palm, an eyebrow raised, "are you sure? There isn't anyone or anything that could change your mind?"
Unknown to her, he thought briefly of the former captive Orihime Inoue and her insistence of the existence of the heart. Her overwhelming desire to save him, even to the immense draining of her powers that day in the Las Noches palace. "Perhaps..." he began, finally shooting her a peculiar half-glance, "there is one."
"Who?" Rukia demanded without preamble.
The Arrancar looked her full in the face for a moment, before speaking flatly, "you'll have to figure that out yourself."
Jerk...
~~~~~*~~~~~
'Who is it that you strive so hard to see...'
It was conceivable that he was lying, trying to postpone the inevitable course his unyielding stubbornness would drive him to. Rukia somehow didn't think so, observing the Arrancar's quiet attitude of solitude. Nuriko was at the desk, pretending to get work done, but even Rukia could tell that not a page had been finished. The Arrancar had silently refused to rise to the fourth seat's sarcastic comments to her superior upon Rukia's arrival at the late five o'clock hour.
"I don't see much good it'll do, Lieutenant. I haven't been able to get a word out of him the whole day. Just sits there--"
"Nuriko. Thank you."
Recognizing the dismissive tone in which Rukia spoke; Nuriko hurriedly left, not wishing for a particular form of punishment being that of extra guard duty at night. With the quiet that wrapped around the room after the woman's hasty departure, they were quite alone.
"How was your day today?" Rukia began with the hopes of getting a response to small talk. The Arrancar from the corner of his eye, noted her careful movements in sitting near the bars. "Should you be trusting your safety in that proximity?" he turned to her.
Rukia ignored the implicit suggestion, frowning, "you didn't answer my question. How was your day today?"
"I told you I'm under no obligation to answer to trash like you."
"It's only being polite. Otherwise people will think you're retarded or something," Rukia shrugged. The Arrancar stared ahead at the wall through the gloom, "it...doesn't matter."
"What?" surprised, it was her turn to stare.
"You don't really care how anything goes for me. It is only because they ordered you to do it, that you are here now." he pointed out the obvious, leaving her feeling with a slightly disturbed feeling; knowing he was right.
"You're right." she smiled a little, colder perhaps then before, "Iam only here because my Captain is too sick to carry out this duty. I don't give a shit about you or what goes through that sick little sadistic mind of yours. Maybe Nuriko's right--" Rukia stood up, staring down at him, her voice taking on a high note of superiority, "--you do deserve to die."
~~~~~*~~~~~
'...with those beautiful eyes of hateful green?'
It felt good, Rukia had to admit, spitting those words in his face. He hadn't responded, most likely not caring what anyone thought of him, least of all her. Nuriko hadn't reported any behavior out of the norm for the ex Espada. He still ate once a day, refusing any other sustenance than that, sat in the same chair, staring straight ahead at the same wall every day, his expression never-changing.
Rukia still hadn't been able to figure out just who the person he wanted to see was. He had deemed all those below him and even those Arrancar above him in rank as trash. Despised the Soul reapers and Ichigo. Loathed the humans--wait a minute!
Could it be...?
~~~~~*~~~~~
'What is it you see with that frigid gaze?'
"I know who it is you want to see," Rukia said, strolling in abruptly to the consternation of Nuriko's staring contest. "Uh, Lieutenant--"
"Hush." Rukia walked to the bars, watching with interest the flicker of life in his half-lidded eyes. "Who then?" he asked without a trace of emotion stirring his impassive countenance. Rukia ignored Nuriko's small gasp of surprise at the easy way he spoke to her.
"Orihime Inoue." Rukia said flatly, guessing rather then knowing for sure her assumption correct. The change was almost imperceptible in the Arrancar's demeanor. "When is she coming?" he asked, lifting his face to the bars. Wiping away her expression of triumph, Rukia lied easily, "day after tomorrow."
He thought a moment, "good." Then, "thank you," quietly.
~~~~~*~~~~~
'Is it me you wish to see....'
"It can be arranged," her Captain said, a hint of surprise on his pale face after the most recent bout of illness had him in bed for two weeks, her request on the behalf of the imprisoned Arrancar, was shocking in the least. It was curious indeed, had the Arrancar during Orihime's time of captivity begun to develop feelings for her?
Feelings that may well turn him into a trusted member of Seireitei if only for her? Rukia wondered a little, she had known of her friend's infatuation with Ichigo. But never had she stopped to consider the time spent in the company of the stoic ex Espada. Had the cheerful-bubbly girl ever intimated anything of having a sort of fondness for him? Not that Rukia remembered.
It had seemed to be only a type of pity, the kind that Orihime reserved for beings such as him. There was a reason why she didn't have the resolve needed to be a warrior. She was just too kind.
~~~~~*~~~~~
'...or is it...her?'
"You came early," he was methodically breaking an apple into quarters with his bare hands. Rukia watched him curiously; as she had never seen him eat before. "Yeah," suddenly unsure of why her feet had carried her away from the rest of Squad Thirteen and her duties, she sat down warily. The Arrancar paid no attention to her halting, quiet manner, being submersed in the mundane everyday ritual of feeding himself.
"You know what , I should probably--"
"Here."
Rukia stared at the hand thrust between the bars, between two slender digits was held a small chunk of fruit. "Uh..." not knowing what to do, she slipped her fingers through and took it, "thanks. But I'm not hun--"
"You don't eat enough, Nuriko said so herself."
Her expression twitched, "that witch!" she said aloud, startled to hear the tiniest chortle of amusement escape charcoal lips. Did he just laugh?
The Arrancar's eyes carried a peculiar light in them. Rukia noticed it and wondered all throughout the day about it; had Orihime effected the heartless creature so much?
~~~~~*~~~~~
'Is it the 'someone just for me' that you seek?'
The day had come.
"Nuriko will stay in there, just to make sure he doesn't try anything. I don't think he will."
"O-okay."
"Orihime, you don't have to do this," they were walking along the corridor that would take them to the holding cell. Gray eyes flickered down a little guiltily, "I'll be okay."
"I'd stay with you myself, but he asked me specifically not to. Besides that," Rukia went ahead and unlocked the door with her key, "I have other duties to attend to."
"I understand," Orihime looked back at her friend, smiling kindly, "don't worry about me, Rukia. I have to do this." Nuriko waved vigorously from her seat behind the desk and in the far corner, he sat, facing the outer room.
~~~~~*~~~~~
'Tell me...'
"O-Orihime," he began at her approach. Another chair had been brought from storage and stood a little way from the barred door. She slowly folded herself down, her spirits dampening in such close proximity to all that the Arrancar sitting so still, had stood for.
"Yes...Ulquiorra?"
"Orihime...thank you."
Surprised, she stared at him, uncomprehending, "for what?"
Nuriko had been pretending to be writing a report but was really keeping an ear cocked for the confession she was sure of coming. After all it wasn't everyday that an Arrancar confessed his undying love for a human girl...or so she thought.
"For...giving me my heart back."
~~~~~*~~~~~
'....am I that person?'
"She didn't stay very long," Rukia observed, taking the seat Orihime had nearly sat in over an hour before. The Arrancar glanced thoughtfully at her, "no. She didn't." From his tone, she suspected something was amiss.
"Did...something happen?"
"No. Ask Nuriko."
His one-liners were starting to annoy her.
"You--"
"Yes?"
Rukia faltered beneath the full gaze of his dark green eyes, "wha--what did you talk about?"
"I...I thanked her."
"Huh? That's a new one."
He looked at her inquiringly.
"You actually spoke to me without addressing me as Trash at least once. What changed?"
Ulquiorra blinked, unsure of what she meant. But no matter, it seemed she didn't really know, in time he was sure she would.
"Nothing did, Rukia."
"Hey! You said my name! How did you learn it?"
"I always knew it, fool."
A scowl crossed Rukia's face, "then how come you never used it before?!"
~~~*~~~
'You're the one I seek.'
'You're the one whom my eyes search for.
'You're the one who changed me...by being the someone just for me.'
~~~Finis~~~
AN: isn't finis Latin? :) Anyway don't own Bleach. Took me forever to get this done but I rather like it...reviews are appreciated!