Disclaimer: I own no copyrights for anything and make no money off of this draining activity. It's a hobby that only feels like a job.
Disclaimer #2: There will be no kissing of white lips in this chapter! I repeat. NO KISSING!!!
Enjoying the winter phenomena of the human world was not something Ulquiorra had expected. Yet he found himself actually enjoying the crunch of the graying snow beneath his feet, the sight of the barren trees, and the steel grey of the blanketing clouds. It was decidedly different from Hueco Mundo's sandy deserts, and all he had know of earthly and unearthly landscapes during his life as a hollow, yet somehow pleasant in its quiet melancholy all the same.
The silence of the season remained unbroken as they continued on toward the apartment complex. Neither particularly wished to speak of their last moments together in Hueco Mundo. It was awkward to say the least. A person's dying words are often a confession they would have never otherwise uttered if they ever believed they would have to face what they had confessed in the morning.
The hunkered and scurrying forms of several humans passed them, paying no more mind to the bright-haired girl and her invisible companion than to anything else beyond their feet. The difference between these lowly humans scrabbling like near-sighted rats through their short lives and the girl beside him was self-evident to Ulquiorra. Walking along beside him with her chin up and her nose and cheeks pink with cold he realized once again what a remarkable and rare woman she was; a needle in a haystack, or more accurately, a jewel amid a trash heap.
"Um. Ulquiorra?"
"Yes?"
"Aren't you cold?"
He glanced down at the woman walking alongside him. She was obviously fidgeting with the long, belt-like cloth in an uncomfortable shade of orange that she had previously had wrapped around her neck. He was slightly curious. His knowledge of clothing, especially human clothing, was limited. The only clothes he had any sort of familiarity with were his uniform as an Arrancar and the uniform of the Shinigami of Soul Society.
W-would you like to wear my scarf? It might help you stay warm?" She offered a small hopeful smile along with the proffered 'scarf' that was suddenly much closer to his face. He understood that she was attempting to be friendly with him. After all, even hollows understand the concept of reciprocity. He already owed the woman enough, and the chill was not something that particularly affected him. A hollow's body does not need to keep a static temperature as a human body does. His body cooled and warmed depending on what conditions it was exposed to with no negative effects to his constitution.
"I do not need it."
Her smile slipped a bit.
"It should remain around your own neck, woman. It is used for keeping warm is it not?"He stopped suddenly, startling Orihime. He could clearly sense several high-level reiatsu's converging on their location. His foolish leisurely, yet enjoyable, stroll with the girl would have to be cut short. Grabbing the girl's 'scarf' from her hands, to ensure it would not be dropped in the snow, he swiftly wound it back round her neck. A partially muffled shriek came from beneath the sickeningly orange garment as a brittle arm snaked around her waist and roughly hoisted her up. Using sonido Ulquiorra pushed himself to reach the woman's apartment before the substitute soul reaper and his friends could overtake him.
The use of sonido on his weak and overtaxed body left him winded and feeling the disappointing lack of spiritual particles in the atmosphere of the human world. He hadn't anticipated his body to consume the energy from his last meal so soon. In his normal state the consumption of several Menos would have lasted him several months, yet with his already weakened body it was obvious he had managed to completely expend the same amount of energy in only several hours. He felt staggeringly hungry. In his arms the girl was close, too close, and naively oblivious to the danger she was in. Burying his face in her hair he inhaled deeply. She smelled extraordinarily good. Good enough to eat. She was rambling on about something, but he couldn't concentrate on her words. The overpowering need for sustenance was taking a toll on his mind.
His lack of control was infuriating. He was a Vasto Lorde, not some sub-gillian Menos.
"DAMN YOU ULQUIORRA!"
For once Ulquiorra was glad to see the Shinigami representative Kurosaki Ichigo. The Quincy boy was with him as well as the shinigami Kuchiki Rukia and the Soul Society outcasts Urahara Kisuke and Shihoin Yoruichi. He inhaled her scent one last time then gently set her down on the rooftop in front of him, keeping an arm on her waist in case he needed to make a quick retreat. That must have been what she had been rambling about. Her precious 'nakama' had witnessed her 'fraternizing with the enemy'.
"UUURRAAAAHHH!!!!"
That foolish orange-haired brat was making a direct charge up at him while Orihime was clearly placed in the least advantageous spot for her survival. Besides, though he was weak and tired he could still deal with the boy's bankai form. It would only become truly dangerous for him if the shinigami utilized the power of his inner-hollow. The foolish brat, or one of his friends, could also end up becoming his next meal if they played their cards poorly. Although that would be advantageous for Ulquiorra he doubted the woman would ever forgive him for consuming one, or more, of her friends. As Kurosaki charged forward Ulquiorra kept an eye on the outlaw scientist and his female companion. They were the true threats in the little group clustered at the base of the apartments.
Catching Orihime round the middle and pulling her to his pale chest he quickly leapt backwards over the peak of the roof just as Kurosaki landed in the spot they had been standing just seconds before. The now out of sight substitute shinigami was bellowing a string of expletives directed at the former Espada. Ulquiorra ignored the 'unnecessary racket', as he deemed it, and swiftly flipped himself and Orihime over the edge of the roof and easily swung her through the open window of her apartment without incident before following himself. Unfortunately, though the window was open, it was far too small to accommodate even a moderately sized Espada. The window was demolished, along with a sizable amount of the surrounding wall, as the steel window frame burst from the plaster and drywall. Ulquiorra easily snapped the metal frame from his chest, letting it carelessly clatter to the floor. 'Trash.'
Orihime whimpered softly."Mrs. Hachida will kill me . . ."
"Mrs. Hachida?"
"The-the landlady!" Orihime visibly gulped before standing up from where she had landed after being expertly tossed through the window. Staring at the debris-ridden floor of her apartment she unsteadily surveyed the damage and attempted to mentally calculate exactly how much the repairs were going to cost. "She lives downstairs. Do you think she heard that?"
"Undoubtedly."
Orihime wilted.
Ulquiorra quickly strode over to Orihime's family shrine, and plucked the pickle jar off the shelf from amongst her brother's picture and various other related knickknacks. Orihime's eyes darted from the jar in Ulquiorra's clawed hands to his face, then back to the jar. Looking more embarrassed by the second.
"Uh, erm, sorry it's in a, ahem, pickle jar. I just used what I had at the time. I-I meant to buy a fancy urn for it tomorrow. Really."
Ulquiorra merely stood there, unresponsive to her attempt to explain away the very obvious pickle jar.
"Woman, we don-"
"ARRARRARRUOOHHH!!!"
As the door was kicked in and Ichigo and company burst into Orihime's suddenly overcrowded apartment, Ulquiorra snatched Orihime and turned to flee out of the large hole that had formerly been a rather nice window in an attempt to escape. He could not open a garganta in his half-starved condition, but he could try to outrun the shinigami for long enough to reabsorb the remainder of his ashes.
In a single fluid move, Urahara swiftly flash-stepped in front of a battle ready Ichigo, drew his zanpakuto, and pinned a distracted Ulquiorra by his shoulder to the wall. Orihime dropped to the floor along with the jar, which rolled to a stop near the feet of Rukia.
"I wasn't aware Espada were in the habit of paying house calls, Cuatro." Looking uncommonly serious the storeowner waited for an acknowledgement or explanation from the stoic former Espada.
Ulquiorra hissed as Urahara angled his sword slightly, hitting a sensitive nerve, when the arrancar remained tight-lipped and unresponsive.
Standing in a spot near the door, Ishida breathed angrily out of his nose as he tried to keep his composure. He would have loved to skin the Fourth Espada alive if he could. Unfortunately, it didn't seem as though he would ever have the chance. If they did manage to capture the elusive arrancar he would undoubtedly be sent directly to Mayuri's lab in Soul Society. Getting in a verbal dig, while petty was, sadly, the best he could do at the moment.
"How does it feel to be the last of your kind, Arrancar?"
"I was already aware that all other arrancar have been terminated, or otherwise disposed of." Ulquiorra stated dispassionately, meeting the Quincy's eyes over Urahara's shoulder.
Ishida angrily shoved his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "Hmph. I see."
Urahara's blade pressed harder into Ulquiorra's flesh in order to regain his attention.
"STOP!!!" All eyes turned onto Orihime. Who's flushed face was trained on Urahara's blade from which a thin trail of dark blood sluggishly trickled down the Espada's chest and rhythmically dripped to the floor.
"Please, Urahara-san! He's not evil!"
"He is still dangerous Inoue. Whether or not you ignore the fact is up to you."
Orihime leaped at Ulquiorra, startling the Espada, Urahara, and her friends. His eyes widening in surprise, Ulquiorra caught her as she hit his chest, plastering herself against him. He gave a barely perceptible shudder as her hands ghosted along his sides and clutched at his back, further driving himself upon Urahara's zanpakuto. His skin felt dry and just slightly rough. Like fine-grain sandpaper against her hands.
"Orihime!?" Rukia called in a scandalized and shocked voice from beside the couch.
"I'm sorry. But he's not bad. Please, you have to believe me!" Orihime's choked sobs seemed to make everyone in the room uncomfortable as Ichigo and Ishida shifted around uneasily.
"Woman, you need to let go." Ulquiorra said coldly, as he pried her off his front.
An unnaturally dark line of smudged blood ran down one side of her shirt. Ulquiorra's grip on her arms tightened, holding her at arms length. His weaker, less complete hand coming up to gently wipe away a few tears before pushing her away from him toward Urahara, who quickly steered her toward Rukia. Quickly catching her in an iron hold Rukia wrapped her arms around Orihime. Both to keep her out of the way and try to comfort her.
Yoruichi swiftly stepped up behind Urahara as he motioned her forward. After sharing a few whispered words Yoruichi gave a nod before taking a small metallic sphere from a pocket. Yoruichi took one flash-step, and before Ulquiorra could try to dodge or escape, placed it into his weeping hollow hole. Bands of bright purple light shot out from the miniscule ball hidden from view within his dark and cavernous abdomen binding him uncomfortably tightly and inescapably.
. . . . .
AN:
White Lips Kissed is the name of a song by Mew.
Lyrics(not that they're important or relevant or anything):
Wake me up
Only nightmares take me in
Through these walls the winter bites
A draft from all sides
Why did you not include me on your list?
Let me in through the ceiling
White lips kissed
Truthfully I didn't listen to this song at all while I was writing this. I actually was listening to Dance of The Manatee by Fair to Midland and Split Needles by The Shins most of the time, until the part about the broken window, where my itunes suddenly switched me over to Spamalot if you can't tell. I feel like I've jumped on some sort of bandwagon by naming my chapters after song titles (I never knew I had so many songs that are related to snow/winter! Jebus!), but it's my fic and if I want to be unoriginal and put weird elitist poems and songs no one's probably ever heard of into my fanfiction then, then I can't remember what I was going to write here. Make up something indignant yourself.
P.S. I must confess I have not watched the anime in ages and cannot remember what Orihime's apartment looks like. I just tried to keep it vague and assumed her roof is the standard triangle thingamajigger. However, if it's wrong don't tell me! Otherwise I'll feel compelled to go back and fix it.
PREVIEW:
"If I don't feed on some form of spirit particles within the next 10 minutes. I will most likely absorb all humans with a low reiatsu level within a 4 mile radius without being able to stop myself."