A/N: I think this is the longest oneshot that I have ever written...
This was originally written for ArtemisDay on DeviantArt (She has the same username here on FanFiction.) for the The-DA-Rangers-Group gift exchange for Christmas. I thought that I may as well post it here as well since is is FanFiction and since I had gotten permission from ArtemisDay. Make sure to check out ArtemisDay on DA and here on FFN. She has some great stories!
Well, on with this story!
"Okay, class! Settle down! We've got a new student here!" Misato Ochi announced to her students.
A pale young man with black hair and piercing green eyes stood next to her. His back was straight, arms by his sides. Compared to the teacher's more than common brunette hair, tanned skin, and bespeckled face, he seemed like an exotic creature.
He didn't appear to be nervous, but instead seemed bored with where he was and with whom he had seen so far. His emerald eyes had swept the classroom, quickly taking in his surroundings. The room, the furniture, his new classmates, and even the lone fly buzzing around in strange circles in a back corner of the room. It all seemed the same.
A hand floated near his shoulder, but never quite touching. It was the same as every other school he had been to. No one ever touched him, his unusual appearance always seemed to intimidate them in someway.
He glanced at the hand that hovered near his form, then moved his eyes from Ms. Ochi's hand to her face.
"Ready to share your name with the class?"
She directed a smile at him that was bright and welcoming, though still her hand didn't make contact with his uniform.
He looked away from her, bringing his attention to his new classmates. The males in the room all seemed to be wary of him, and the females in the room were whispering amongst themselves. A few of the people before him sent admiring or jealous gazes his way, obviously unable to see beyond his face.
"My name is Ulquiorra Cifer. I am seventeen years old and a third year high school student," he said, his voice soft and almost monotone.
The whispers increased for a moment before subsiding entirely as their teacher spoke again.
"Welcome to our class, Ulquiorra!" Ms. Ochi chirped cheerfully, her hand retreating back to her side, while her smile remained the same. "Why don't you have a seat next to Keigo Asano?"
A boy with brown hair that turned out barely on the tips raised his hand. Next to him on his left was one of the many empty seats that were scattered throughout the classroom.
Ulquiorra nodded to her, then stepped down and walked to the chair. There was another empty seat next to his, this one by the window.
Maybe he could get a seat change and sit next to the window.
xxx
"Nope! Sorry, Ulquiorra! But that seat belongs to another student," Ms. Ochi said sympathetically, somehow still using her overly cheerful tone.
"Is she sick?"
"If you're wondering why she wasn't in class today, then I don't know. She and her group of friends are missing quite often."
"If she is gone so often, then why is it that I am not allowed to have her seat?"
"I don't just give away my students seats, Mr. Cifer," the woman said seriously, "If you wish to have her seat, then you may ask her if she'd be willing to trade next time she is in class."
"I understand, ma'am." He took a few steps back, heading towards the door, "Thank you for your time."
Day 2 (Tuesday)
The rain drizzled outside, falling steadily from the sky and making large plops as it met the ground.
It was only the second day of being a student at Karakura High School and already Ulquiorra knew that this one was like all the others. No one bothered to be his friend, much less speak to him unless it was an utter necessity.
He stared over and out the window, watching the rain. He didn't need to pay attention in class. Since he didn't have any friends, he had time to study. Because of this he already knew the material that they would be covering for the next few weeks.
His eyes drifted down from the window.
The seat was empty again.
Day 3 (Wednesday)
Black locks tumbled down as Ulquiorra let his head rest on the surface of the desk. His eyes faced the window again, the one right next to the desired desk.
Like yesterday, the desk that he wanted was vacant.
Day 4 (Thursday)
The desk was still empty.
Already Thursday and the girl hadn't shown yet. Maybe she would be there tomorrow, though Ulquiorra wouldn't wait.
Day 5 (Friday)
"Alright! That's it! Class dismissed! I'll see you all next week!"
With that, the classroom buzzed to life. Students suddenly seemed to have energy, waking from the stupor that came with the last hour of school on Fridays.
Ulquiorra stood up, turning back to his desk, carefully placing his school books into his bag. Then, swinging the strap over his shoulder, he turned to walk between the two rows of desks and leave. Unfortunately for him, there was a pair of legs that were blocking his path.
Keigo Asano, the boy with the desk next to Ulquiorra's, was sitting on his desk with his legs bent up and against the side of the desk in front of Ulquiorra's. He was talking to a boy with black hair that fell to his shoulders and dark eyes, and a muscular girl who had longer hair the same dark shade, and eyes to match.
The Asano boy moved his legs down to the floor, speaking to Ulquiorra as he did so.
"Oh! I'm sorry- uh, what was your name?" He peered at Ulquiorra, bending his torso forward a bit as his rear rested on the edge of his desk, his head tilted up to view Ulquiorra's face.
Ulquiorra Cifer looked down on Keigo as he spoke. "I am Ulquiorra Cifer." He said, his words soft and near emotionless.
"Oh right! I'd forgotten your name!"
The brunet grinned at him, but it only lasted for a brief moment before he spoke again, this time his words unintentionally cutting deep into Ulquiorra.
"I'd forgotten that you were even here, actually."
Then, shrugging, the boy turned back to the conversation with his friends.
It was Friday: the last day of the week. He could leave all these people behind and forget for two full days that none of them wanted to be his friend. He could have two days of bliss.
Day 6 (Monday)
Ulquiorra stood up from his desk, stretching his limbs. It was lunch time, which was his favorite part of the school day.
He would take his bento on days that the weather was nice, and go to the roof of the school where he would sit against the wall of a metal structure that held some of the schools electrical circuits and air units behind it. There, he ate his lunch in peace and solitude, enjoying his meal.
He looked back at the desk next to the window as he walked out of the room. It was still empty. The girl still hadn't appeared. Did she even exist?
Day 7 (Tuesday)
"Ulquiorra? Do you know the answer?" Ms. Ochi asked, smiling at him from her place at the front of the class.
He looked at the board where the problem was written in the white chalk that always seemed to squeak against the board. After a moment of observing the scrawls, he spoke.
"The chemicals, when in that form, will create carbon monoxide."
"Good! You're correct!"
Of course he was. He always was.
Ignoring the class again, he watched some grey clouds drift by through the window that was next to the still empty desk. The shadows were longer against the ground than they were an hour before, and the sky was steadily growing darker. It looked like rain was coming.
Day 8 (Wednesday)
Ulquiorra's head jerked up as the door to the classroom slid open with a deafening bang. Keigo, the boy to his right, leapt up with a shout.
"Ichigo! You're back!"
A teen with vibrant orange hair had one hand on the door that had just slammed open. Accompanying him, on the left, a tall Hispanic man whose hair partially covered his eyes stood. On his other side was a smart looking teen with glasses. Behind them stood others; a short girl with violet eyes and black hair, a man with tattoos and red hair, a large breasted woman who quite obviously could make it as a model, a bald man, and even a man with what appeared to be feathers attached to his eyelashes. But none of those caught Ulquiorra's eye.
Instead it was a girl who had long, orange hair that fell down her back and over her shoulders. Her hair was held back by two blue hair pins, and her large, brown eyes sparkled as she surveyed the room.
She waved to the girl with long black hair who Keigo had been talking to last week, who responded with a grin and a wave of her own.
"Keigo! Still stuck here?" The orange haired male asked still standing in the doorway
He strode forward, then grinned at the teacher.
"Hey, Ms. Ochi! Sorry for our absences."
"Oh, Ichigo! It's okay. Just show me that you can keep up on your next test, alright?"
"Yes ma'am!"
Keigo placed his hands on his desk, speaking loudly to Ms. Ochi.
"Can I go off like Ichigo if I show that I can have high scores on my test too?"
"No, Mr. Asano! Show me you can get high scores now!"
The class snickered.
"Alright now everyone. We're in the middle of a lesson. Get to your seats!"
The students who had just arrived all filed in, going to their seats.
The girl with the orange hair who had caught Ulquiorra's eye walked through the classroom, then nearing Ulquiorra, she sat in the empty desk.
xxx
Just like he had done every day at lunchtime, Ulquiorra took his bento out, pulled out his pair of chopsticks, then exited the classroom. Just like everyone had done everyday at lunch since he arrived, everyone ignored him.
On his way up to the roof, Ulquiorra wondered when he could ask the girl who sat in the desk if they could switch seats. Surely she wouldn't mind having his. He only wanted hers because he never had had a window seat in a classroom before in his life.
He opened the door to the roof of the school, squinting as the sun hit his eyes. As they relaxed, he saw that his usual lunch spot was taken.
It was occupied by the group that had come in late that morning. Keigo Asano and his group of friends had joined them, making the place where he usually ate more than a little crowed and noisy. In fact, they reminded him of a small group of rowdy toddlers.
The orange haired boy had the fist of the short black haired girl in the middle of his face, which seemed to almost collapse inward from the pressure. The girl who sat in the desk next to the window had a worried expression on her face, and was saying something about strawberries needing to calm down.
The tattooed teen seemed to be in some sort of fight with the girl Keigo had been with the other day, and the boy with black hair who had been with the two was calmly trying to reason with them. But instead he kept getting stuck in the crossfire when the two would scream at him about his luck with the ladies.
The bald man was shouting at the large breasted woman and Keigo (who kept glancing at the woman's chest), and the man with the feathers that seemed glued to his eyelashes was slapping the bald man upside the head. He was apparently scolding him for something to do with beauty.
This left only two sane people in the group it would seem. The hispanic and the black haired boy with glasses. The large hispanic man sat quietly as he lifted a burrito to his mouth time after time to take large bites, and the boy with glasses sat with an empty bento next to him as his hand guided a needle though some lacy fabric at the speed of light.
Make that one sane person in the group.
Ulquiorra sighed, and resigned himself to sitting somewhere else for the day.
xxx
Looking out the window, Ulquiorra watched the girl who sat in the desk stand at the school gates next to the boy who had been sewing earlier as she waved to her other friends.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Rukia!"
"Alright, Orihime! Be careful! And have Tatsuki walk you home, okay?" the short, violet eyed girl cried back, a grin on her face as she held the hand of the boy she had been punching earlier.
"Of course! And if I get hurt, I'll stop by Ichigo's father's clinic to get all patched up!" She threw a fist up in the air in mock determination, making Rukia laugh at her. Orihime turned around and ran happily back inside the school. The boy who had been standing next to her, however, followed at a much slower pace.
She ran inside, then turned and ran past Ulquiorra. Her long hair fluttered behind her, and she seemed to almost fly down the hall. Her joyful expression made his emotions lift just a little.
xxx
It had been an hour and a half since Orihime, had entered the room that Ulquiorra was now seated in front of. He had waited to sit until her friend with the glasses had entered and shut the door behind him. Since then, he had been staring blankly at the closed door.
Muffled voices leaked out, many of them, but he couldn't tell what they were doing. Most of the voices, if not all but one, seemed to be from females. Why were they all in there? Were they all friends?
Ulquiorra continued to sit. He was determined that he would ask the girl today if they could swap desks. Hopefully she would be alone.
xxx
The door slid open in front of Ulquiorra. A girl with brown hair and cloth draped over her arm stepped out and waved behind her. "Thanks for fixing my skirt, Uryu!"
The boy with glasses, who apparently was named Uryu, stepped into view. "No problem, Mahana." He adjusted his glasses. "It was a simple fix."
She smiled at him, then walked down the hall towards the exit.
This continued in a similar manner with another person or two before Orihime stepped out with Uryu. Uryu's face was face was stoick while Orihime's face was bright and cheerful as she chattered on about small things with him.
"I was thinking about making miso soup for dinner tonight. Do you think that tomato paste mixed in with the broth would taste good?"
"No, I think it would taste terrible."
"Really? Then maybe some dijon mustard?"
"I do believe that that is a worse combination."
"Uryu…." she whined, apparently not approving of his non exploratory taste buds.
Ulquiorra didn't blame him.
Day 9 (Thursday)
Today was the day. Even if he had to ask her in front of her friends, he was going to ask the Orihime girl for her her desk.
He was already sitting at his, waiting for the class to start. Only two other people had arrived so far, and neither was Orihime, or even Ms. Ochi. They were Uryu and Keigo's friend with black hair who had been trying to reason with the tattooed boy and Keigo yesterday. They both had books out in front of them, their noses buried deep within the pages.
Uryu's book looked like it was about medical things, but the other's book seemed to be a steamy novel. Utter trash in Ulquiorra's opinion, had anyone bothered to ask.
A few more people slowly came into the classroom before Orihime walked in. Like the day before, she had a bright smile on her face. She was talking to the Rukia girl about some equations that they had gone over yesterday in class.
"No, Rukia. The x equals 122. You forgot to divide here," she pointed to something on her friends paper, "and also here. And this multiplication symbol wasn't a decimal point." She shook her head gently at her friend. "You have to look at where the dot is."
"Oh! I see what I was going wrong! Thanks, Orihime!"
The two girls made their way to their separate desks, Orihime's once empty desk, and Rukia's somewhere towards the back of the classroom.
Ulquiorra cleared his throat and leaned over to the orange haired girl. "Excuse me?"
She looked at him, her large, brown eyes looking at it with interest. "Yes?"
"Hello."
She grinned at him, then replied. "Hi!" She extended her arm, holding out her hand. "I'm Orihime Inoue!"
He cautiously took her hand, marveling at its warmth and softness.
"It is nice to make your acquaintance, Orihime."
Their hands sat between them, not moving until Orihime moved her hand up and down a few times, causing them to shake hands instead of just clasping them.
"What is your name?"
She didn't seem to be thrown off at all by his pale skin or brilliant eyes.
"My name is Ulquiorra Cifer."
"Well it's nice to meet you, Ulquiorra!" She smiled at him, her eyes closing just the slightest as her joy spread across her face.
xxx
Orihime' stand flew over the paper, her pencil quickly scribbling down the words on the board. Her hair fell around her face, some longer locks that had fallen from behind her back lay against the wood of the desk. The sun that came through the window glinted off of her hair, causing it to look almost like a golden red in some areas.
They were covering classic literature now, the last subject before lunch. Ulquiorra glanced at the clock that was above the chalkboard at the front of the room. One minute until noon when they were all released.
He looked back over at Orihime, wondering if she and her friends were going to sit in the same spot on the roof as they did yesterday. It was sunny again today, so there was no need to eat indoors.
He looks out the window that was just beyond the girl. A few leaves fell past the window, causing fluttering shadows to cross the girls features and drift over her paper. She paused in her writing, enjoying the dancing shadows for a moment.
Ulquiorra glanced back at the clock. Only ten seconds now. He closed his notebook and set his pencil down just as the bell rang shrilly. One student over by the door of the classroom snorted and jumped, obviously having just been abruptly woken from his nap.
"Okay! Everyone needs to be back in one hour, alright? We'll be going over the timelines that you were instructed to make last Friday, alright?" Ms. Ochi announced as she placed the chalk that she had been using on her deck.
Many of the students ignored her, a few replied back, but one unfortunate girl groaned and dropped her head in despair upon her desk. Orihime's hair fell a rounds the sides of her desk, for once her seemingly endless mood of joy vanishing.
"I could help you if you would like."
"What?" She turned her head towards Ulquiorra, one of her eyes peeking through her hair.
"I assume that you did not hear about the assignment since you were not in class on Friday. If you would like, I could assist you in doing it quickly over the lunch hour."
Her near constant mood of joy reappearing, she leapt from her desk and threw her arms around him him in gratitude. "Yes! That would be wonderful, Ulquiorra!"
Not sure what to do with an armful of girl, he sat stock still in his seat. She had remembered his name.
xxx
They had decided to stay inside and work on the timeline. They had out a long sheet of paper, and Orihime had taken out a set of colorful markers and was marking ten year periods along the foot long timeline every inch.
Together, they worked back and forth, marking dates and events that had happened over the 120 year period. After half an hour they were finished.
"Oh wow! Thanks so much, Ulquiorra!" Orihime beamed at him. "It would have taken me the entire lunch hour if I had to do it all alone! Now I get to eat lunch!"
Ulquiorra watched her as she took out a small bento, then sitting at her desk and opening it, she broke a pair of chopsticks, clasped her hands together, said thank you, then dug in with a pace the surprised Ulquiorra.
"Mmmm! This is delicious! I just knew that cocoa powder would taste amazing on these noodles!"
Ulquiorra's pale face paled a bit more, if that was even possible. Cocoa powder and noodles?
"How do you think that they would taste if I put a bit of honey on them?"
"I think that they would taste disgusting."
Orihime's face melted into a little pout. "But have you ever even had noodles with cocoa powder on them?"
"No." It was an obvious answer to him. Why would you ever do that? Cocoa powder was a form of chocolate which was for sweets. Noodles weren't sweets. Therefore, cocoa powder didn't go on noodles.
"Here!" she said, offering him a good bite size amount of noodles that were clenched between her chopsticks. "Try them!"
He looked doubtfully at them. They had a thin dusting of brown from the cocoa powder, and they looked limp, cold, and uninviting.
"Please?"
Sighing, he opened his mouth and leaned forward. Sliding his lips over the food so that it came to rest on his tongue, he widened his eyes.
Orihime watched as he slurped the rest of the noodles into his mouth, then quickly chewed them and swallowed. "So? What did you think?"
"They actually were not bad. They were rather good in my opinion. I am surprised." The odd combination of flavors still danced across his tongue in a delightful manner.
"See? I told you!"
He gave her a quick smile as he took out his own, now in comparison, boring bento lunch. It consisted of a few leftovers from the previous nights dinner, as well as a few things he had put together that morning.
"That looks yummy too! What is it?" Orihime watched as he placed his meal on the table in front of himself.
"Rice with a small bit of sweet jam, fresh and broken green beans, and a stick of dango."
"May I try some?"
He looked at her. She didn't appear to be mocking him, only interested in his food. Well, she had shared hers.
"Yes, you may," he granted. He copied her movements from a few minutes previous by laying some jam and fresh green beans over the rice, captured the rice between his own chopsticks and holding it out to her.
She leaned forward, closing her lips around the food. Her own eyes widened slightly, enjoying the flavor as it swept over her tongue. She swallowed after a moment, the praised him. "That was delicious!"
"Thank you."
xxx
Ulquiorra watched as Orihime packed her things. They had arranged that they would study together today since there was no club meeting for Orihime to attend like there was the day before. She needed help in science, and Ulquiorra had offered to help her understand the stoichiometry that they were covering in class at the moment.
They walked out the door together in comfortable silence, then down the hall and though the doors of the school library.
"Is this table alright?"
It was by the window in a more secluded corner. There were shelves on either side of it, and it was just out of sight of the front desk.
"Yes. This one is good."
Day 10 (Friday)
Ulquiorra stood at the front gates, waiting for them to open and of Orihime to arrive. Today he would ask her. Yesterday he had gotten distracted, but today he would remember.
Within a few minutes of him standing there, the gates opened. He walked inside and made his way to the classroom. He could wait for Orihime inside.
xxx
Orihime skipped through the door, her eyes immediately landing on Ulquiorra who was sitting stiffly in his seat, his head turned towards the window as he looked out. His pale skin had a golden tinge from the morning sunlight that streamed through the window. He certainly looked better today than he had yesterday, or even the day before.
"Good morning!" she practically sang out as she danced over to her desk on light feet.
"Good morning."
She sat down and took out her notebook, studying her notes from their study session in the library yesterday.
"Excuse me, Orihime?"
"Yes?"
He opened his mouth, then closed it again. "Is this what it felt like to be nervous?"
"Are you alright?"
He nodded to her.
"Was there something that you wanted?"
He shook his head slowly.
"Alright. Well if you need something just ask," she said kindly, turning back to her notes.
As he left her vision, he frowned, then nodded his head.
xxx
It was lunch time again. This time Orihime had brought carrots and pickles to dip in a barbeque sauce that she claimed had been imported from America.
He had brought noodles with cocoa powder.
They ate their lunches at their desks.
"Why do you not eat with your friends on the roof, Orihime? Why do you choose to eat with me, here in the classroom?"
"You're my friend too, Ulquiorra. And I think that you need a friend more than they need me right now." Her cheeks pinked slightly.
"Is this what having a friend feels like?"
Day 11 (Monday)
"Today. I will ask her today," he thought, watching Orihime sit at her desk and take notes. He still wanted to sit at that desk.
xxx
Orihime reached out and grabbed one of Ulquiorra's hands. It was still a shock to him when she did it. Someone was actually touching him and not being intimidated by his exotic appearance or by his uptight manner.
"Would you like to eat somewhere besides the classroom today?" she asked, smiling at him and drawing his hand closer to her body.
"If that is what you wish."
"Alright!" She pulled him from the classroom, making sure that they were each holding their bentos before departing. "How does the open hall between the main building and the gym sound?"
"That would be fine," he responded, allowing himself to be lead down the hall by the bright and energetic female before him.
xxx
They had just finished their lunches. They had decided to share what they had brought so that they could both enjoy the crab that was slathered in a sweet mustard that Orihime had brought, and the simple onigiri with chickpeas the Ulquiorra had brought.
"I will ask her now if I may sit at her desk."
"Ulquiorra?"
"Yes?"
"What are you thinking about?" In the process of his inner encouragement, she had somehow scooted closer to him, now leaving only a few inches between their arms, and only an inch between their hands that rested on the bench they were sitting on.
"I was thinking about your desk."
"My desk?" His answer had surprised her. It wasn't something that she had expected.
"Yes."
Their conversation halted for a moment while Ulquiorra attempted to find the courage to ask his new friend if he could have her desk and Orihime wondered why he was thinking about her desk.
"What about my desk?"
Ulquiorra sighed, then paused. He didn't usually sigh to allow himself to answer a question. "It is a very nice desk."
"Hm. I suppose it is."
Silence ruled for a few moments before the dark haired male turned to Orihime. "May I sit at it?"
"Hn? What did you say?" Apparently she had missed what he had said.
"I like your desk and I would like to sit there."
"Alright." She nodded a bit, watching a black butterfly flit past. "That means I get your desk, right?"
"Yes."
"Okay. We can switch desks," she granted serenely.
Ulquiorra closed his eyes, glad that he had finally asked her. "Thank you."
"No problem."
A warmth and slight weight rest itself against his sturdy shoulder, causing his eyes to fly open in shock and his head to snap to look at Orihime. Her head was resting against his shoulder as she continued to watch the black butterfly search for flowers to drink nectar from.
"Is this alright?"
He watched a strand of her hair fall from behind her ear and rest across her face for a moment before replying. "Yes." He lifted a hand and gently moved the bright hair back into place.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
A/N: Wow! Finally finished! This was a huge challenge for me, but was so much fun to write. I am really hoping that you guys give some feedback by way of a review so that I can improve. Think you could do that?
Real fast, I want to say a quick thanks to my English major boyfriend for correcting most of this. He managed to do a lot of it on Christmas Day. Thanks so much, Ryan!
I'll be posting the sequel to Prize Date next. It's almost finished! It's so close to wrapping up in the chapter I'm writing right now, and what I have finished is close to being all betaed! I'm feeling so proud of myself! This will be the first ever sequel I'll have ever written for anything! I can't wait to start posting it!
Oh, and if you're enjoying all of my works, then please head over to my main page and just vote on the poll I have. It will help me decide what fandom to write for next. All you need is to be logged into your account! So just go to my main page, view the poll, pick three options (Yes, you can pick three!) and push submit! That easy!
Anyway. Until next story!