A/N: Hello readers! This is a small series that will consist of 5 chapters that I couldn't get out of my brain and have been hoping to write for a while. This fic shouldn't be too sad but there are mature themes within it. This is an Ulquihime fic. Please enjoy and 'click' that little button below to let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any other copyrighted material.

Sympathy for the Devil

Chapter 1: Visitor

In a quaint little hospital located in Karakura, Japan sat a woman riddled with terminal lung cancer. She didn't smoke, nor did she partake in any drugs that would've caused this condition, she was just simply one of those good people who ended up in a bad situation.

Struggling to breath, Orihime Inoue fluttered her grey eyes open as she awoke from a particularly interesting dream about robots and humans falling in love and conquering the earth together. She sucked in oxygen through the nozzle strapped around her face and sat up in the plush mattress of her hospital bed.

She pulled the gas spewing mask off her face and rubbed her bleary eyes as she made out the faces of her best friends on the pictures they hung, secured with close-pins, on a string of her wall. The doctors had been kind enough to let her decorate the sparse expanse. Of course, it didn't hurt that she was dying. You could get people to do just about anything for you if you were dying.

As Orihime's vision came into focus she began to realize that she wasn't alone in her small dwelling, which was as unusual as the fact that she would soon die of lung cancer. She felt a chill in the ordinarily warm air of the room and pulled the blankets around her tightly. She turned her head towards the sole window in the place and gazed at her strange visitor. He sat perched on the frame of the window the pink curtains with small cherry blossoms embroidered on it billowing out behind him like a cape.

He was tall, that much she could gather just by looking at him, he possessed long raven hair that trickled down his neck and framed his brilliant animalistic yellow eyes that had dark tear marks trailing to his sharp jawline. The whites of his eyes were pitch black which only added to the dramatic look he held on his handsome features. She made out long midnight colored talon-like fingers and toes. The furry blackness that covered his hands and feet stopped at his forearm and waist line giving way to shockingly pale skin. He had a lithe muscular build and long terrifying wings that spread out behind his back, darkening the entire atmosphere and blocking the light from the room. He had a mysterious nature about him that made her think she was still dreaming. But, perhaps the most out of the ordinary thing about this stranger was the gaping hole in his chest that made her shift uneasy. It was something that commanded attention and when she realized she was staring at it she looked away guiltily.

"Who are you?" she asked in a sweet gentle pitch, tilting her head to the side in fascination.

"I believe you already know the answer to that question woman, but if you can't recall, you may address me as Ulquiorra." He responded in a low monotonous voice, his gaze narrowing on the tubes hooked up to her wrist and the oxygen mask hanging loosely to the wayside.

She tried to place this Ulquiorra while tapping a porcelain finger to her chin lightly. She was interrupted by a sputter of coughs that made her scramble to put the mask back on the bridge of her nose. She felt instant relief when she breathed in as deeply as she could without going into another fit and then refocused her attention on the being before her.

He would look rather scary if she wasn't so undeterred by the fact that she was soon going to heaven. The thought left her wide-eyed and she covered her already covered mouth with her hands as she figured out who had paid her a visit.

She smiled at Ulquiorra sweetly and exclaimed,

"You're the angel of death, aren't you?", in a tone muffled by the machine connected to her mouth and nostrils.

Ulquiorra's dark brows furrowed slightly at the woman's reaction and he slid off his perch to stand upright. What kind of human sat in his presence and didn't quiver with fear?

"You have realized this fact and are not upset by its meaning?" he questioned, his voice never wavering.

"Nope!" she chimed, still enthralled that an angel had taken it's time from…well…whatever they did up in heaven to come and see her. Her colorless cheeks turning pink with excitement.

Ulquiorra moved closer to her, looming over her bed-ridden body as if to try and intimidate her good spirit. Her smile resided, but she felt nothing but intrigued by him. Yes, his presence clearly indicated she was gonna kick the bucket soon, but this was something she'd come to terms with months ago after her diagnosis. No amount of reminders would make her change her feelings towards it.

"Do I frighten you woman?" he asked in a deep tone, his features never changing. His yellow orbs scanning over her face for any hesitation.

"No, I'm not afraid." Orihime responded serenely as she gazed into his perplexed orbs with just as much willpower and determination. The angel said nothing in response but merely continued to stare into her silver eyes as if she would break under the pressure, but instead she found herself pitying the angel because in the depths of his gaze there was loneliness. She was sure that being the bringer of bad news wasn't easy. But if he'd been doing this for several lifetimes, she was sure it was even more difficult to find many friends. She wondered if spending his whole existence with despairing souls of mortals who feared him and tried their hardest to escape his reach had turned him cold?

"Why don't you try and bargain with me for life, as many of your kind do?" he asked looking at the red-headed woman intrigued by her compassionate façade.

"Well, whether I was pass away here in this hospital or ten years from now at my home, it doesn't really matter because whenever my body perishes and I'm no longer here physically my heart will stay in the memories of my friends and so it doesn't bother me, Ulquiorra." She said thoughtfully, discarding the mask from her again.

She gazed out of the window and looked at the bright blue hue of the sky. There were no clouds in the visible distance and if she squinted she could make out the figures of people walking on the street. She wished she could be a part of them, healthy and bathing in the warmness of the sun, but it would be okay in the end. Afterall, she'd experienced many hot sunny days in Karakura, and she could relish the feelings of those below her from her own store of memories. She was curious if Ulquiorra ever looked down on humans and wanted to walk among them too.

"Woman." Ulquiorra called, bringing her attention back to the angel preceding before her. She blushed in embarrassment. She had an unfortunate habit of getting stuck in daydreams ever since she was little.

"I will appear to you three times more before it is your time, do you understand this?" he said in such a serious tone that it moved her to nod and laugh cheerily at his severe mannerisms.

"I know you probably don't get this much but I hope I see you again soon. It gets pretty boring sitting around here all day with no one to talk to." She mumbled her gleeful eyes turning a bit melancholy. This change did not go unnoticed by Ulquiorra who was moving towards the window.

When Ulquiorra reached the frame, he paused before flying out to look back at the bizarre woman once more. Her tired complexion was understandable given her circumstance but her outward appearance contradicted her lively auburn tresses and bubbly personality that left him longing to question her longer than he could. He locked eyes with her once more before pulling himself up on the ledge of the building.

"Farewell, Orihime Inoue."