"Smile!" Tatsuki's mom exclaimed, and the two girls dressed in black graduation gowns and hats were blinded by a flash of bright light.
"Mom," Tatsuki shouted, "would you stop doing that? You're embarrassing me!" She ripped her hat off her head and held it in front of her face.
"Sorry, sweetie, I'm just so happy!" Tatsuki's mother wiped a tear from her eye and put her camera back in her purse. She and her daughter were practically mirror images now that Tatsuki had grown her hair out, but their personalities were worlds apart.
She embraced her daughter in a bone crushing hug. "My baby's all grown up and graduated! How can I not be happy?"
Orihime smiled and laughed as Tatsuki struggled to free herself from her mother's clutches. They had just finished the graduation ceremony and everyone in their group had received recognition for their services to the school. For her it was her art and musical talent, and for Tatsuki it was her bold, courageous fighting abilities in gym, Uryu had obtained valedictorian of their class, and Chad was given a special thank you for taking part in so many sports clubs.
Because they had all received special acknowledgments, they were all required to present a speech. Everything had gone well at first. Tatsuki gave her thirty second remark, Chad had somehow gotten everyone in the class to cheer with just a nod and a 'thank you', Uryu had taken the best part of an hour and nearly bored everyone to death, and Orihime had kept everything short, sweet, and to the point. Everything had gone fine, that is, until Ichigo had showed up right in the middle of her speech.
Ichigo had shown up out of nowhere and leaned against a flagpole in the far back, left corner of the designated seating reserved for the graduating class. He looked awful. His eyes were sunken in so far he looked like he had two empty sockets instead of eyes, his face had lost any boyish charm he had and looked like a skeleton, there was a little stubble visible even high up on the podium where Orihime had been giving her speech, his jeans were practically falling off his hips, and his arms and shoulders were covered with so much muscle that they threatened to rip his white and blue stripped shirt and light tan jacket into four separate pieces. He looked like a fate worse than death.
Orihime had paused in mid-sentence and stared at him in horror. Everyone in the crowd, both parents and students alike, had turned in their seats to see what she had been staring at and an earsplitting silence screamed through the audience. It wasn't until Ichigo gave a 'move on' signal to her that she continued speaking.
She did not know what happened to him after that; her eyes never left her paper for the rest of the speech. But she had heard a few of the students say that Ulquiorra, Chad, Uryu, and a few other boys had dragged him off campus, once she sat down. There were a couple other explanations that involved the same boys, but stated that they hauled Ichigo off school grounds and beat him to a bloody pulp before returning to their seats. For some strange reason, she thought that it was probably the latter.
"Orihime," a deep, attractive voice said behind her.
Orihime snapped out of her daze and turned around. Ulquiorra was standing with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his black jeans, wearing a green, dress shirt and a brown, leather jacket. He was staring at her intensely with his bright green eyes.
"Are you-" He did not get to finish his question. Orihime flung her arms around his neck and rubbed her face in his shoulder. He gently wrapped his arms around her shaking frame and gazed down at her.
"Why did he come?" she asked shakily. "He wasn't supposed to get out of jail for another month. His parole shouldn't have started yet."
Ulquiorra stroked her hair and whispered soothingly. "It's alright, Orihime. Do not worry about him. I made sure he would not return to the school, or anywhere else you may be today. You needn't worry about him."
"But," Orihime's hold on his jacket tightened as tears slid down her face, "but the wedding's in five days. What if he decides to show up? What if he tries to mess everything up? What if he tries to kill you while we're standing at the altar?"
"I honestly doubt that he would come to the wedding after two years of sitting in jail just to kill me," Ulquiorra replied. He held the crying red head out slightly and wiped the tears from her eyes. "And if he does, I will just get rid of him."
"Do you promise?" Orihime asked.
Ulquiorra could not help but smile slightly. He kissed the top of her head and nuzzled his face in her hair. "I promise."
Orihime sniffed and smiled into his chest. Of course she was still worried about Ichigo, but Ulquiorra had made a promise. He never went back on a promise.
"You must be Ulquiorra?" Tatsuki's mother exclaimed; dragging the two from their isolated heaven.
Ulquiorra stared blankly at the older version of Tatsuki. "I am."
Tatsuki's mother held her hand out and smiled. "It's so nice to finally meet you. I'm Tatsuki's mother, but you can call me Koharu."
Ulquiorra gently grasped the woman's hand. "The pleasure is mine."
Koharu blushed slightly. "Oh, I have heard such wonderful things about you from both Tatsuki and Orihime. It seems like you're all they talk about whenever Orihime comes over. If it weren't for the fact that you two were getting married here soon, I would've thought that you would have made a fine man for my little girl. You wouldn't happen to have any brothers, would you?"
Tatsuki blushed slightly and punched her mother in the shoulder. "Mom! What the hell? You're talking to Orihime's fiancé!"
"Ow! Tatsuki, it's not polite to hit your mother," Koharu stated and put her daughter in a headlock. "Besides, I am trying to find you a nice, young man like Ulquiorra; seeing as to how you talk about him constantly."
"I do not!" Tatsuki yelled and punched her mother in the ribs.
Ulquiorra and Orihime watched in awkward silence as Tatsuki and her mother brawled like two brothers in the grass. If this was how her mother acted, Ulquiorra was slightly nervous to meet her father.
"What the hell's going on here?" a booming voice exploded like a shot-gun behind them.
Ulquiorra turned around and stared in amazement while Orihime smiled happily at the man in front of them. The man was huge! He put Chad's mountain-like structure to shame. He had spiky, black hair, was a full two, if not three, heads taller than Ulquiorra, had a slight beard, hard eyes, and a body mass that could have taken on five full grown, male tigers on at once. His shirt was practically crying from the strain.
"Oh, hi, Mr.-" Orihime began cheerily, but was cut off by the mountain of a man's middle and index finger covering her whole mouth.
"Please, Orihime, how many times have I told you? Call me Susano," the man boomed. Something told Ulquiorra that this was his "inside voice," though he found that hard to believe.
Orihime beamed up at the tower standing before them. "Right, I'm sorry, Mr.- I mean, Susano."
The man smiled at her. "No problem, Orihime, you're just trying to be polite." He suddenly noticed Ulquiorra's presence and glowered at him. "And, you are?"
"My name is Ulquiorra Schiffer, Sir," Ulquiorra replied, standing erect.
"Aw, so you're Orihime's fiancé?" Susano replied. He looked him up and down in a slightly disapproving manner. "You don't seem like much."
"Not to sound rude, but you would be surprised," Ulquiorra stated bluntly.
"That so?" Susano raised an eyebrow. "Why don't we settle it then?"
"Settle what exactly?" Ulquiorra asked in confusion, though he did not look it.
Orihime pressed her hands to her face. "Oh no, please don't tell me he's planning on doing THAT," she thought in distress.
Susano whipped his shirt off and flexed. There was muscle stacked on top of even harder muscle stacked on top of steel rippling over his arms, chest, shoulders, and neck. "What do you have to say about this?"
Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow. "I think you are insane for exposing yourself in such a disgusting manner at a school event. There are students around."
"What's the matter?" Susano laughed haughtily. "Are you afraid to show me what you're made of?"
"No. I simply do not wish to take part in such an idiotic competition on who can make themselves look more like a fool," Ulquiorra stated bluntly.
"Come on," Susano taunted. "I dare you!"
Orihime slapped her forehead. That did it.
Ulquiorra raised his eyebrows and closed his eyes slightly. "Was that a challenge?"
Susano smiled slightly. "You bet it was."
"In that case, what are your terms?" Ulquiorra asked, taking off his jacket. He had never backed down from a challenge, and he had never lost a single one. If this man wished to seek defeat at his hand, then so be it.
"One round," Susano held up his index finger, "no shirts, anything goes. The first person to tap out loses. And, boy, I've never tapped out."
Ulquiorra unbuttoned his shirt and folded it before handing his jacket and shirt to Orihime. "Never is an inevitability that was never meant to be."
Susano threw his head back and laughed a booming, thunderous laugh. "The only way you're gonna win this is if you knock me out!"
"Then I hope you enjoy defeat as you loose consciousness," Ulquiorra half taunted, and crouched down into a fighting stance.
"Do you two need to fight here?" Orihime sighed, but didn't have quite the impact she had expected it to have. It was hard to sound serious when she was eying Ulquiorra like a piece of candy. She suddenly wished they were at home with a huge container of vanilla frosting or a can of whipped cream and chocolate sauce.
"Oh, come on, Orihime. You know you like it," a short girl with dark eyes and even darker, short hair teased as she popped up behind her.
"Rukia!" Orihime exclaimed in shock. "When did you get here?"
"When I saw the giant crowd of people standing in a giant circle, I couldn't help but come and see what was going on." Rukia smiled, pointing at the giant hoard of people surrounding them. "It looks like Ulquiorra's getting a lot of bets from the girls while all the men are putting their money on Susano."
Orihime closed her eyes and let her head hang. "Why did he have to challenge him? Why?"
"Shh," Tatsuki hushed, "they're starting!"
Orihime's head snapped up and her eyes grew wide. They weren't just starting. They had already started.
Ulquiorra had waited for the oversized mountain to make the first move. It was not in his nature to rush, and he did not plan on starting now.
Susano lunged at him with his fist in the air. "You're not gonna get anywhere if you just stand there, boy!"
Ulquiorra dodged the attack with ease and swept the man's feet out from under him. He jumped back and circled him as he stood up. For a man his size, he was surprisingly nimble.
The crowd cheered as Ulquiorra watched Susano get up as if nothing had ever happened. This was what he was used to. The cheering, bloodthirsty crowd eging two fighters on as they pummeled each other into the dirt with only their bare hands and their wits. The only difference between what he was doing now, compared to the brawls he had fought when he was one of the captains in the most ruthless band of mercenaries throughout the country, was that he was not allowed to kill this man when he won.
Susano sidestepped and kicked Ulquiorra's legs out from underneath him, however, plan backfired as Ulquiorra somersaulted in the air and brought his foot down on the man's head.
"Dad, what the hell are you doing?" Tatsuki shouted. "Come on, I know you can fight better than that!"
Susano stumbled backwards in a daze and wiped the blood off his lip. The truth was that he couldn't fight better than this. He was pulling every move he knew, including those that were considered completely lethal, and yet Ulquiorra was still beating him like he was a rookie. He had to give the boy credit, if anything, but now he was getting annoyed. It was time he pulled out his ace in the hole.
"Ulquiorra, wasn't it?" Susano asked, and spit a stream of blood from his mouth. "I've gotta hand it to you. You're better than I thought you'd be. But playtime's over," he lunged at him again.
Ulquiorra exhaled through his nose. This man must have been getting desperate. He was executing the same move he had performed at the beginning of the fight. There was no point in letting this match continue.
He dodged the blow easily and kicked Susano's feet out from underneath him. Only this time the man used gravity to his advantage and came plummeting down on top of him. There was an audible snap as his neck cracked under the pressure and he was flattened under the mountain like a penny on the railroad tracks.
Everyone was silent; including Susano as he lifted himself off of his opponent and froze. Ulquiorra's eyes were closed and he wasn't moving so much as a centimeter. That was never a good sign.
Orihime's eyes grew wide in shock. She was watching Ulquiorra's fingers twitch slightly and suddenly go limp.
A man in the crowd took a step into the circle. "Is he?"
Susano was suddenly thrown into the air like a rag doll and Ulquiorra got into a kneeling position just in time to catch him as he came crashing down to the earth.
"One thing I learned over years of fighting," he grunted as he turned his head to look Susano in the eye, "is that you never assume the fight to be over," he lifted the man high over his head as he stood up, "until it's over!" He brought the mountain down on his knee; knocking him out instantly.
There was a moment of silence as Ulquiorra stood up, carrying Susano over his shoulders, and gently set him down at his wife and daughter's feet. "He should wake up if you just dump some water on him."
Tatsuki knelt down next to her unconscious father and slapped him repeatedly. "Wake up, you old coot!"
Susano jerked awake and quickly scanned his surroundings. "Huh, what?" He saw Ulquiorra standing above him and started laughing. "Well, I'll be damned! I can't believe I lost!" He slowly stood up and extended his hand. "You did good, Ulquiorra."
Ulquiorra shook the man's hand firmly. "Thank you." He rubbed his neck with his free hand and cracked the dislodged disks back into place. He might not have had his immortality anymore, but all those years of training had taught his body to be resilient.
A flash of red-orange hair suddenly tackled Ulquiorra to the ground.
"What is wrong with you?" Orihime scolded. "You scared the life out of me! What would possess you to pretend to be dead like that? Have you lost your mind?"
She never got to finish her rant. Ulquiorra had gotten tired of hearing her yell at him and kissed her to shut her up. It worked a little too well.
He pulled away and was surprised to see a slightly foreign, yet familiar, haze clouding her eyes. "Are you alright?" he asked. The expression she was giving him was beginning to make him nervous.
"Oh, I'm fine," Orihime sighed happily and stood up, "but I'm starting to feel a little dizzy. Do you think we could go home?" There was a playful taunt coating her words as she spoke.
Ulquiorra's eyebrows raised slightly as he stood up and put his shirt and jacket back on. "I do not see why we cannot." He stared at Orihime's slightly blushing face in confusion. "Are you sure you are alright?" he asked, putting his hand to her forehead.
Orihime nuzzled up to his side. "I'm sure. I just feel like going home."
Two streaks of black and a flash of red suddenly bolted past Ulquiorra and dragged Orihime along with them.
"Oh no you don't," Tatsuki scolded. "We had a deal. You didn't want a graduation party and a bacheloret party, so we're going to get you ready for your bacheloret party before you go home and get overly friendly with your fiancé."
"Renji, you, Uryu, and Chad are going to take care of Ulquiorra's bachelor party," Rukia waved as she helped Tatsuki and Chizuru drag a protesting Orihime off the campus with a cloud of dust trailing behind them.
"You got it, babe," Renji saluted.
Ulquiorra stared after the girls in a daze. What the hell were they talking about?
Renji, Chad, and Uryu suddenly grabbed him under the arms and carried him in the opposite direction.
"What the? Put me down!" Ulquiorra ordered. He kicked his legs and pulled against the three boys' firm grasps. "What are you three doing?"
"Come on, Ulquiorra," Renji laughed. "You're getting married in five days. This is gonna be the last time you'll ever be able to cut loose and have a good time!"
Ulquiorra rolled his eyes. Where had he heard that before?
"Well, as much as I hate to admit it, Renji's got a point," Uryu agreed. "We know that you're probably not used to this kind of thing, but we still need to get you away from Orihime so she can enjoy her party. You'll see her again later tonight."
"And I suppose that no matter what I do, you will do everything in your power to make sure I "cut-loose" tonight?" Ulquiorra growled.
"Precisely," Uryu affirmed.
Ulquiorra closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and sighed. This was going to be a long night.