Disclaimer: Bleach? Nay. It has become too silly for my taste. Fortunately, my fondness of Ulquiorra won't change.
Another Christmas UlquiHime.
She opened her eyes just to find herself in an unfamiliar room. The walls were painted with white. The smell of antiseptics lingered in the air.
'Hospital', she thought.
"What day is it?" she mumbled to herself.
To her luck, Orihime eyes found calendar hanged on the white wall.
"December 24th!" she cried on disbelief.
What was she doing here in hospital on the day that was supposed to be Christmas Eve?
Orihime checked the current time. It was almost five in the afternoon. She had to get out from here. She absolutely didn't want to spend her Christmas Eve alone in this hospital.
Orihime peeked outside her room. She saw no one. Now that she thought about it, the hospital seemed so quiet. Well, tonight would be Christmas Eve but come on, it's impossible for a hospital to be this quiet, right? Where were the doctors? And the nurses? And the other patients? Why no one checked on her? Something was fishy, but she didn't have time to think about it. Not when she had promise to meet her love for celebrating Christmas Eve together.
With that in thought, Orihime fled from the hospital hurriedly and headed towards the place where she supposed to meet her boyfriend.
The sky was getting darker. The ground was covered by thick snow. Christmas melodies were all over the city. Everything was lit up by colorful lights. People were busy with themselves. No one paid her attention. Of course, why should them? She was just an ordinary young woman in this crowded city.
Orihime made her way carefully and tried her best to not bump into someone. She hoped she was not late yet. Her boyfriend would excuse her tardiness but she wouldn't. Her boyfriend was always punctual, so why couldn't she? Especially on a night as special as this one.
Speaking of her boyfriend, why wasn't he in hospital? Well, she herself didn't remember why she was in there in the first place, but she knew her boyfriend really cared about her to the point that she considered herself as the luckiest woman alive. If something happened to her that required her to be brought to hospital, it should be something serious, so her boyfriend should accompany her, shouldn't he?
'It's not something to be worried of,' she chided herself inwardly.
She needed to see him now.
The orange-haired young woman arrived in the appointed place, in front of the amusement park entrance.
"It was closed," she mused.
And where exactly was her boyfriend?
Suddenly she sensed someone behind her. Orihime turned around and found herself staring at the most brilliant emerald eyes.
"Ulquiorra-kun! You scared me!" she cried feeling relieved.
Orihime encircled her arms around his neck and embraced him. Ulquiorra also encircled his arms around her waist.
"I miss you," she whispered.
Ulquiorra responded by giving her a kiss on top of her head.
They stayed in that position for a few minutes before Ulquiorra released the hug and reached for her hand.
"Come on."
He tugged her gently.
"Eh, are you sure we can come in? It is closed," Orihime asked him hesitantly.
To her surprise, her boyfriend just entered the supposedly restricted area - well, in her defense the closed amusement park was restricted area – and made her do the same thing.
"Oh my God, Ulquiorra-kun! We are trespassing!" she gasped.
She started to huff and puff in panicky. Orihime considered herself as someone who never broke rules. And now somehow because of her beloved boyfriend, she had just tarnished her record.
"Chill, Orihime. Do I look like some trespasser for you?"
Orihime stopped panicking. He was right. If there was someone who always went by the rules it was her boyfriend. She never saw him disobeyed one. Her boyfriend was also loyal to fault. When other girls couldn't help but doubt their significant others, she never did. Ulquiorra would never cheat on her even when the majority of female population back in their college practically worshipped him. How could they not? He was perfect.
She shook her head. The realization hit her then.
"Don't tell me you rent this entire place?! Ulquiorra-kun?" she inquired in disbelief.
Ulquiorra didn't answer but she could see the end of his lips twitched slightly. She pouted.
"You don't have to do this, you know. Why are you always spoiling me?" she asked tiredly.
Oh, the joy of having a well-off boyfriend.
"Stop protesting, woman. You know you like it."
Orihime smiled sheepishly. Well, she couldn't deny it. No woman would refuse a chance to be pampered by her loved one.
"Let's go. It's rather cold if we just stand without doing anything here."
Ulquiorra started to walk. Orihime reached him and intertwined their fingers, letting his warmth seeped into her. She smiled giddily. Ulquiorra just wore his usual stoic face but she knew her boyfriend wouldn't mind a bit of affection gesture, as long as it was not PDA.
"Are you cold?"
She responded by shaking her head.
They were currently riding Ferris wheel. Orihime wouldn't deny that she enjoyed every second of their little adventure. To think that her boyfriend had prepared all of this made her smile. Ulquiorra understood perfectly that she was a child by heart. He even taught her to ice skate earlier, which she still couldn't execute well considering how clumsy she was. All those happy thoughts halted when she suddenly remembered her earlier suspicion. She stared at him.
"Ulquiorra-kun, where were you before?" she inquired.
He just watched her intently before answering.
"I was nowhere," he said aloofly.
Orihime furrowed her eyebrows. What was that? But Ulquiorra's expression didn't change a bit. Besides, he was not someone who just threw lies, especially at her.
"Really?"
All she got was a nod.
Orihime sighed. If that so, she didn't have other choice but to believe.
"You know, Ulquiorra-kun, I woke up several hours ago in the hospital."
When he didn't respond she continued.
"And I have no recollections of what happened."
Ulquiorra secretly clenched his fist.
"Is that so?" he asked indifferently.
To say that Orihime was confused was an understatement. Shouldn't he asking something about it by now? Didn't he care about what happened to her?
"You don't seem to care…." she murmured sadly.
Beside her, Ulquiorra sighed.
"Don't get me wrong, woman. I do care about you, but you are well now, aren't you?"
"Yeah, but do you know what happened to me?" she insisted.
"It's not important. What important is you are here with me. Is that enough for you?"
Her smile bloomed. He was right. They had each other. It was enough for her.
Orihime snuggled closer to her boyfriend.
"You know, Ulquiorra-kun, I hope I can stop time, so we can be in this position for a very long time," she sighed contently.
The pale man rubbed her arm gently and placed a long kiss on her temple.
"I want to be with you. Growing old together, having our own little family, living in a homey house where you will announce 'I am home' everytime you come back from work which I will answer 'Welcome home' to. Then we'll see our children grow up beautifully in their own way. You can teach them playing piano like you always do, and I will watch you. Maybe I'll prepare snacks for your breaks."
Ulquiorra shivered at that.
"Don't worry, I will learn cooking your favorite dishes. I won't even add extra wasabi or red bean paste."
She giggled.
"And finally you will declare how much you love me everyday," she stated happily.
Ulquiorra had to raise an eyebrow at that.
Orihime relented.
"Okay, not everday, but maybe twice a week?" she asked hopefully.
Her boyfriend grunted. She smiled softly.
"And we will live happily ever after, together. Forever," she concluded.
"Forever is such a strong word, Orihime," Ulquiorra uttered firmly.
The girlfriend shook her head.
"As long as it is with you…."
Ulquiorra tightened the arm around her.
Several minutes passed and they heard a sound of bell ringing, indicating it was midnight already.
"Merry Christmas, Ulquiorra-kun."
"Merry Christmas."
"Well, it's time for me to go," Ulquiorra spoke after they stepped out from the amusement park area. He kissed her forehead. His lips lingered there for a moment before drawing back.
"What?! Where?" she exclaimed.
"Nowhere," the pale man answered indifferently.
Orihime shot him an annoyed look.
"What's with all this secretion? What are you hiding from me?"
The young man sighed.
"Nothing. I told you so, didn't I?"
Orihime gave up.
"I'm coming with you," she stated firmly.
Ulquiorra shot her disbelief look.
"You can't. You have to go back. Your friends are waiting for you."
She almost relented but she collected her resolve.
"Wherever you go, I will follow you. Yes, my friends are important, but you are my most important person."
Ulquiorra stared at her intently.
"You will regret it," he stated simply.
Orihime just shook her head. Her eyes glimmered in determination.
"I won't."
The emerald-eyed man continued to stare at her before smirking and offering his hand.
"If you say so, come with me, woman."
She didn't even hesitant to reach his hand and entwined their fingers.
The dark sky witnessed both of them left everything behind, hand in hand.
Wherever you went, I would follow you
The moderate hospital room was filled by gloom.
"It's Christmas already, but she still doesn't open her eyes," a petite woman whose name was Rukia stated melancholy.
"Already a month but still no development," a glasses-wielder man stated grimly.
The bulky man beside him nodded quietly.
"Ulquiorra told me once, this Christmas he planned to rent the whole amusement park in the central city and would spend Christmas Eve together with Orihime. But now…"
An orange-head man told them sadly.
"If Orihime wakes up, she will be heartbroken when she knows that Ulquiorra has….he has…."
Rukia sobbed quietly. Ichigo hugged her and stroke her back.
"It's not 'if', but 'when'. We have to believe Orihime will open her eyes."
This time a slightly tomboy woman spoke.
"It's not fair. They were so happy together. Why must that accident happen? Ulquiorra was a good guy," Ishida said quietly.
"I considered him as my close friend," he choked.
Ichigo cried silently. Tatsuki balled her fists. Sado sat there sorrowfully.
"Yes, he was. That's why this time we'll protect Orihime. Not only because she is our friend, but also for Ulquiorra's sake," Ichigo stated.
They all nodded.
The tomboy woman reached for the hand of the orange-haired woman on the bed.
"We'll be waiting for you to open your eyes, Orihime," she said hopefully before continuing, "Merry Christmas, my friend."
Isaiah 9: 6
For to us a child is born,
To us a son is given'
And the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Well, I hope that was not too depressing.
If you prefer a sweet one, please visit my other UlquiHime Christmas story: Her Wish.
Please kindly leave me some reviews.
This will be my last update before Christmas, so I want to wish you Merry Christmas, guys!
God bless you!