A/N: My first ever romance fic! I thought I'd start with a one-shot just to see how it goes. I do believe that Orihime and Ulquiorra are a canon pairing! It's sad that he died the way he did. I wrote this fic for a friend, because she loves this pairing. Please read & review!

Love That Wasn't shown

The heart.

The key that shows love.

The key that brings others together.

The key that makes people become one.

However, love cannot be shown without the heart. Nothing is shown without a heart. Just emptiness. The mind can help us to think about love, but it cannot be shown. Can eyes show the sparkle or twinkle which represent love? Can words speak the love? Can actions show the love? But how can one feel love, if the heart is not present?

Opposites.

One being a human, the other an arrancar. The human being with a heart. The arrancar being without a heart.

The fourth arrancar, known as Ulquiorra, didn't understand the reason behind the heart. He thought it was a burden. Though he could only think what his mind told him. He couldn't rely on his emotions. He wanted to understand the purpose of the heart. He wanted a heart. Surely it was impossible, being something created by Aizen. He wouldn't give arramcars hearts, because he knew they were pointless. Who would want to love an arrancar? They're just creatures made to serve under Aizen. Their purpose is just to serve him. Not to be distracted by pointless human life. Or to live human or to act human. Or maybe even feel like a human.

Orihime Inoue, understood the reason behind the heart and it's purpose. She often was told that love can be shown in different ways, such as love towards family or friends. In couple relationships true love was shown from the heart. That was what kept the bonds together in love. She thought the heart was strong and powerful in ways of emotion. It's what keeps people sticking together and looking out for each other. Without the heart, people wouldn't be able to remain close to each other. The love wouldn't be shown.

When Orihime was taken to Hueco Mundo by Ulquiorra, she didn't sense emotion which represented love. Just pure hatred. When she wasn't of need, she was locked in a cell and was watched by Ulquiorra. She often wondered if he had a heart. But she often thought he was just empty. Considering he kept saying, "you're friends are trying to rescue you" she would often reply that she knew because she could sense their spiritual pressure. One time she got so angry by the hurtful words he was saying about her friends that she even slapped him. Does he not care about others feelings? She didn't know why he was so cruel and hurtful. Then it occurred to her, he didn't have a heart. She wanted to feel his pain, to feel the emotion that he couldn't feel. The feeling that you couldn't show love.

Ulquiorra was defeated by Ichigo Kurosaki. He knew that he would soon no longer be in this world. He started feeling this emotional pain, it was faint at first but it started to grow. He turned to look at the girl who had just witnessed the final blow. He asked her, "are you afraid of me?" She shook her head and replied, "no, I'm not afraid of you." He lifted his arm so that it was facing her. His final words were, "I see. This in my hand. Is a heart." The girl rose her arm and reached for his hand. He then slowly withered away into the atmosphere. She wanted to cry. But why would she cry over him? Was it because he finally gained a heart? Was it because he never got a chance to show or have love? Or was it because she loved him?

The girl knew now that he had claimed a heart. And she knew he wanted to show that love. Sadly, it was never meant to be.