The room they had locked her in was freezing cold, and the outfit they had given her did little to help the cold air of Hueco Mundo from seeping into her body. Orihime rubbed her upper arms to help soothe her discomfort, but it didn't help much. She sighed. Of course, this type of climate was expected from a place where the sun never shined. No light, no warmth, no life...
She stared at the empty cup on the table; wishing there was more warm tea left to help her cope with the cold. She had immediately gulped down the heated beverage the moment Ulquiorra and the small Arrancar servant left her dinner. That had been an hour ago.
The plate of bland looking rice and vegetables, on the other hand, was untouched and had gotten cold by now.
Ulquiorra's words echoed in her head "Eat," He had ordered in his usual monotone voice. "If you refuse to eat I'll tie you down and shove it down your throat."
Orihime shuddered at the memory. The Cuarto Espada had been a complete mystery to her since day one.
At first, he would leave the plate behind and return exactly an hour later to pick up the tray.
Soon he started sitting across from her, silently watching her as she ate. His green eyes appeared to be fixated on her lips and the way her throat moved when she swallowed. It was quite awkward for her to eat with his eyes always following her every move. He made her feel self-conscious and vulnerable. It was like having a predator study its prey, so it would know when to attack.
Most of the time his behavior was cold and hostile. She would try to break the stiff atmosphere by asking him questions and making small talk, but he would only answer with short cutting responses or tell her that what she was asking didn't concern her. She often wondered what she might have done to make him hate her...
Other days he would be the one to initiate conversation out of nowhere. Often, it would be to make her swear her loyalty to Lord Aizen. But on a few occasions, it was to compliment her. He complimented her on how the uniform suited her, and how he was impressed by how well she was taking her change of environment. Another time he referred to the color of her hair as "Lovely," after she had caught him idly twirling a strand of it in his hand.
She would meekly obey, thank him and Aizen for their "generosity" and try to keep a calm and aloof facade; never daring to defy him. Until now.
Today was different. Today was the day she was missing home the most. The comfort of her blankets and stuffed animals, the taste of her favorite sweet bean paste miso soup with strawberry marmalade, the laughter and cheerfulness of her friends, Ichigo's warm embrace...
Tears had begun to trickle down her face when the door swung open. Ulquiorra shut the door behind him and marched directly to her, clearly not pleased with the full plate of food before her.
"What is the meaning of this, woman?"
Orihime quickly wiped her eyes, hoping he wouldn't see her in such a pathetic state. But, of course, nothing ever escaped his all-seeing eye.
She almost jumped in her seat when he lowered himself to eye level with her. She wondered if Arrancar even knew the meaning of personal space. His emerald gaze bore into hers; his handsome face was unreadable. Orihime blushed. 'handsome' shouldn't be a word she should associate with her captor.
Gently, Ulquiorra wiped a single tear off her cheek with his thumb and examined it.
"Are you ill?" He asked.
She looked up at him, confused. He sounded genuinely concerned.
She shook her head.
"You're crying, and you didn't eat the food I left you. You are either ill or deliberately going against my orders."
"N-no...I'm fine..." She lied. They both knew she did. She stopped being "fine" the moment he walked into her life and brought her here.
She turned away. Her auburn hair now served as a curtain between them.
Once more, his hand reached out towards her. He pushed a few strands of hair behind her ear to view her face; had it been anyone else Orihime would think it was an affectionate gesture.
"You need to eat. Humans grow weak if they don't." He stroked her hair all the way to the tips before letting go and proceeded to wipe two more stray tears from her face. She hated to admit it felt nice. His hands were surprisingly warm. She had no idea a Vasto Lorde could have body heat. They were technically dead, after all...
She didn't realize he had cupped the side of her face, almost tenderly.
She unconsciously leaned into his hand before she remembered who she was dealing with. As if waking up from a trance, she jerked away from his hand and scooted further away from him.
Ulquiorra remained stoic.
"I thought I had made it very clear that I have direct orders from Lord Aizen to keep you alive and well. Refusing to eat is an act of insolence to his-"
"I'm cold," she blurted out. "I'm cold and I miss my friends!" She tried her best to sound confident and defiant, but her cracking voice betrayed her. She ended up sounding more like a simpering child.
"You're not here to be pampered," He snapped, "You are a prisoner and you exist only to please Lord Aizen. What do you want me to say? That your trash friends will come soon to rescue you and take you home? They would drop dead the moment they set foot here."
Fresh new tears were stinging her eyes. "Please stop..." she pleaded.
His words were like daggers to her chest.
"This is your home now, and it's time you forget about your worthless Shinigami friend." He almost hissed the last part.
She knew he meant Ichigo. That's where she drew the line.
"Don't call him that." She said, softly.
She was done lying to him. Gathering all the courage she could muster, she spoke with an audacious tone.
"Ichigo is worth more than you ever will to me; and this will never be my home."
With those words, she sprung up from the couch and walked towards the single window in the room. She could have sworn his expression seemed slightly more melancholic than usual as she passed him.
Orihime made sure to keep her back turned towards him. She didn't want him to see the fresh new tears threatening to escape her eyes.
Her heart dropped when she felt his reiatsu flare. In a blink of an eye, he had used sonido to appear in front of her. She would have fallen back startled if it weren't for Ulquiorra roughly grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her against him.
"I think you have forgotten your place here, woman." On the surface, his voice was as monotone as ever. But there was a certain edge to it that Orihime had never heard. It sent shivers down her spine. His face inched closer to hers. "Shall I remind you?"
She let out a high pitched whimper as he flung her back onto the couch. She hardly had time to register what had just happened when Ulquiorra made her sit up, taking a hold of her jaw to force her to face him. She tried to pry his hand off, but it was futile. He overpowered her without even making an effort.
"Open your mouth," He commanded.
The odd demand only made Orihime clench her lips together, shaking her head violently.
"Open your mouth, woman- or do you want me to make you scream to do so?"
The threat was vague but terrifying enough to get her to do as she was told. She parted her lips.
"Wider," He instructed.
Fearing the worst, she shut her eyes tightly and complied.
She felt a spoonful of rice being shoved into her mouth. The action had caught her so off guard, she nearly spat it back out. Ulquiorra had taken precaution and covered her mouth with his hand.
"Swallow it."
Hesitantly, Orihime swallowed the cold rice. She had never felt so helpless and humiliated.
Ulquiorra scooped another spoonful of rice and proceeded to invade her mouth a second time before she could protest, he placed a hand over her unwilling mouth again and even stuck a finger in her mouth to make sure all the food was being consumed.
Her constant wriggling and kicking began to annoy him. He shot her a deadly glare.
"If you don't hold still, I will tie you down and leave you like that all night." He barked. The severity in his voice indicated that he wasn't lying.
Whimpering in defeat, she swallowed the bit of food, along with her pride. Finally, she sat still and opened her mouth for the next spoonful.
A ghost of what looked like a smirk appeared on his face. Her docility pleased him.
The force-feeding continued, and Ulquiorra was enjoying it more than he should have. He wasn't quite sure why. Maybe it was satisfaction born from a long overdue punishment, maybe it was the rush of power he received seeing her beautiful face contort in fear, and her body squirm beneath him. Or perhaps, the idea of having someone to own, care for, and to study excited him. Of course, he would never admit that.
He stopped shoveling in more food when she began coughing. She wheezed and between ragged breaths, she spoke.
"P-please, Ulquiorra, I can't chew that fast...You have to go slower."
He pulled back, realizing she could potentially choke to death if she didn't pre-digest her food properly. 'Humans are so weak and fragile' he mused.
He took another spoonful of rice, Orihime braced herself for more food being shoved ruthlessly in her mouth but was surprised to see the Espada put it into his own. She had no idea Vasto Lordes could eat regular food. Did they even need to eat?
Her trail of thought was cut off by his lips crashing down onto hers. Straddling her, his strong hands held her head in place, as he used his tongue to push the pre-chewed food into her mouth like a bird would to its hatchling. Orihime's cheeks flushed vermilion, she squirmed and attempted to push him off her, to no avail.
Once he was certain she had swallowed every last trace of the chewed food, he removed his lips from hers and proceeded to repeat this process four more times. His breathing had become uneven, an unreadable expression filled his now heavy-lidded eyes.
Orihime was speechless. She didn't know whether to feel flustered or disgusted. She had stopped struggling the third time he placed some chewed vegetables into her mouth. It was foolish to think she stood a chance against him. He was in charge and she would have to go along with whatever he desired. There came a point when Ulquiorra didn't have to pry her mouth open with his tongue since she had already opened it on her own accord.
Only a few more morsels of food were left. A wave of panic invaded her when she felt his lips had begun to linger on hers even after she had swallowed. His eyes were closed and his tongue seemed to stop trying to nourish her and was now more of a tool used to explore the inside of her mouth.
Orihime blushed fervently when a small moan escaped her lips, vibrating onto his own. This only seemed to peak his curiosity more; he relished in what had now become a kiss.
Soon he was sucking and nipping at her lips, not knowing exactly what was compelling him to do so. All he knew is that he wanted her to reciprocate. He pushed her shoulders further against the couch when he felt her try to shift away, deepening the one-sided show of affection.
Finally, he pulled away; she needed to breathe. Orihime panted heavily and let out a gasp when she felt soft kisses being planted along her jawline and down to her neck. He began to unzip her uniform but was stopped by a feeble cry that sounded like a "No."
He almost growled in frustration, but he did not allow emotionless demeanor to falter completely.
Softly, he pressed his lips against her ear. His hot and heavy breathing made Orihime shiver of fear combined with excitement.
"Are you afraid of me?" he asked.
"W-what?" she asked, perplexed.
"Are you afraid of me, woman?" He repeated, this time louder.
There was a pregnant pause between them. Was she afraid of him? She wasn't quite sure anymore. He was one of the most intimidating people she had ever encountered, despite his reserved nature. However, fear was too strong of a word to describe how she felt about him.
"I'm not afraid," Her voice was barely above a whisper. "You don't frighten me anymore."
Ulquiorra's green orbs seemed to penetrate her very soul. Leaning in once more, he gently took hold of her chin and tilted it toward him.
"Kiss me." he said.
Her heart skipped a beat. She dithered for a moment.
"I...Ulquiorra...no, I can't I-"
"The night you were in the Shinigami's room, that's what you intended to do, was it not?"
Her brown eyes widened like saucers, and she immediately pulled away from his grasp.
"You saw that?" Exclaimed the blushing girl; she waved both hands in an over the top manner. "I didn't...I would never! I mean, he wouldn't have wanted me to...he..." Her embarrassed expression turned forlorn, her gaze dropped to the floor as she sighed. "Kurosaki-Kun has never felt the same way about me..."
Her spiral of self-pity was cut short by Ulquiorra's harsh words. The sole mention of that shinigami's name made his blood boil.
"He's a weak piece of trash. I'll destroy him if he ever dares set foot in Hueco Mundo." With that, he stormed out the room; slamming the door behind him.
Orihime sat dumbfounded. She couldn't quite understand why the Espada's mood was so unpredictable today. All she knew was that the idea of Ichigo dying here because had come to her rescue anguished her to pieces.
To her dismay, another feeling lingered within her as well. One that was like a burning fever that was impossible to ignore by now. Her hand came up to her now slightly swollen lips. Her heart was beating rapidly, and it felt to her as if all of the blood in her body had come rushing up to her face.
Ulquiorra's touch was electrifying. He generally wouldn't even touch her in the past; today it seemed like he was looking for any excuse to do it.
His lips were so soft; however, the kiss had been so rough and demanding. His words were harsh and venomous, but he seemed hurt and gloomier than usual. His hands were warm and inviting, but he was dead. Dead. Like everything else in Hueco Mundo.
She curled up in the fetus position, trying to keep her body heat from escaping. Her lids began to feel heavy; she could have sworn she heard someone enter her room before sleep overtook her.
Later that night, she awoke to find herself wrapped in a thick white blanket.