Hey, everyone! Have I ever uploaded a Bleach story before? I don't know that I have. Anyway, I'm a huge fangirl of the UlquiHime pairing, so here's one of the little jaunts I've come up with in the past... few months. xP More of these to come!
I do have a few requests... I know it's a little OOC, so what can I do to keep it more IC? If you use the 'review' button, please use it to give me honest, constructive criticism, not just as a comment box to tell me you like the story. I really appreciate the sentiments, but I feel the same warm, fuzzy feeling if you just hit 'favorite!' Thank you! 3
[Probably AU... I have yet to get used to these tags.]
Finally, Orihime thought, she was out of that room.
Ulquiorra had been in earlier, as usual, with a bowl of that chalky soup. She wasn't sure exactly how soup could be chalky, but Hueco Mundo pulled it off. At least he'd been kind enough to bring a few spices so she could experiment with giving it more flavor. Where he'd gotten them, she preferred not to think.
Maybe it was Ulquiorra, maybe it was the little minion who rolled the food cart, but one of them had left the door slightly ajar. Now Orihime was wandering the hallways, feeling remarkably like a hospital patient sneaking a walk after having surgery- her legs shook and she peered around every corner with fear.
The halls were deserted. Was this a usual thing? Or was Aizen perhaps having another of those Espada tea parties she heard Grimmjow complain about?
She rounded a corner that opened into a small room (windowless, of course). There was a blocky couch in the middle. She froze.
The couch… had a horn growing out of it?
No, that was Ulquiorra's… helmet-thing. He was sitting on the couch.
Oh, she was in so much trouble. He would sense her and ship her right back off to her room.
Only… he wasn't turning around. Had he expected her to come here? Was he okay?
Taking a deep breath- and hoping she wouldn't get her spice privileges revoked- she peered around the edge of the couch.
His eyes were closed, his head balanced on one hand. His breathing was soft and even, the collar on his coat unzipped a little, even though it was freezing in there.
"Ulquiorra," she whispered. He didn't respond.
The Espada was… asleep? Orihime wasn't accustomed to this. She wasn't even sure they did sleep.
"Ulquiorra," she hissed again. He shifted a tiny bit. The little light that was in the room beamed through the hole in his throat, lighting up the couch behind him.
Hm.
How did that work, anyway?
She reached out a hand. The Espada didn't move as her fingers moved through the void and poked into the fabric beyond.
Okay, that was disturbing. Nauseated, Orihime dashed back through the halls back to her room.
As the girl's footsteps faded through the hall, a faint hint of a smirk played upon the fourth Espada's lips.