"And our guest, Ulquiorra- how is she?"

Ulquiorra could envision the slippery smile spread across Aizen's face as he bowed, hear the poison in the words as they slithered out, masked under the guise of a calm polite man. The storm that raged behind the dark brown eyes spoke volumes more than words could however, and Ulquiorra straightened and responded robotically "She fares well, Aizen-sama. The refusal of food is frequent, yet she always eats in the end after I have threatened her with other… less pleasant methods."

He gauged the cold ruler's reaction to this- seeing emotions and inner turmoil within others had come naturally for him, but Aizen was always read with difficulty. He watched his eyes narrow, and then after a beat a resolution of sorts seemed to have presented itself, causing the snake in human skin to faintly smile a smile that promised ill to come for whomever he chose to inflict the verdict upon. Leaning his chin in his hand as he often did, sardonic smile never faltering, Aizen's breath came out a little choppier and louder than normal breathing- this was as close to laughter as Ulquiorra surmised he would ever get.

"Are you still threatening to force feed her, my dear quarto Espada? Hmmm….You don't understand humans well, do you Ulquiorra?" The words snaked through the air, the friendly reference to him overshadowed by the veiled antagonism that laced itself through the posed question.

Ulquiorra knew it was a rhetorical question, but he still raised his head enough to give an inquiring stare. Aizen returned the stare, and seeming to find something within Ulquiorra's suppressed glare, leaned back in his throne with an inscrutable expression.

"Do yourself a favor Ulquiorra- humoring her a bit would undoubtedly make her easier to deal with." Aizen paused, and then his gaze hardened in irritation. "Under normal circumstances, as long as she is healthy enough to be of use to me, I could care less about her mental well being. Yet she is one of the weak, annoying humans whom relies on their emotions for everything." Meeting Ulquiorra's slightly confused eyes, Aizen deepened his frown. His eyes darkened and he said dangerously "Trust is a thing earned, and a thing most easily lost or betrayed. Earn her trust- I want her unwavering loyalty when the time comes for her to be useful."

Ulquiorra bowed immediately, hiding the confusion still floating within his person. "Yes, Aizen-sama." was ground out as the fourth Espada turned on heel and exited the throne room, Aizen letting loose an eerie chuckle. Apparently some things could make him laugh- taking note of the way the sound made his hair stand on end, Ulquiorra reminded himself to avoid instigating that same laugh ever again.

Closing his eyes as he glided smoothly down the vacant, glaringly white halls of Las Noches, Ulquiorra replayed the most recent Espada meeting in his mind. Stark had been sleeping, Szayel reading a book and occasionally scoffing at what were presumably incorrect statements, Grimmjow arm wrestling Nnoitra, and the remaining Espada talking quietly amongst themselves.

Ulquiorra had surreptitiously glanced around at each of the members as Aizen had seated himself at the head of the table. There was a mixture of anger in the eyes of Barragan and Grimmjow, jealousy in Nnoitra and Yammy's, disgust in Stark and Harribel's, and indifference in his own. Szayel had stared at a spot above Nnoitra's head in sheer disinterest at the entirety of the situation, while Zommari had meditated and Aaroniero made quiet bubbling noises occasionally. The majority either hadn't cared, or hadn't wanted to be there much less under Aizen. He had brought them into existence, certainly, but that did not warrant devoted obedience. Had his power not been so great, his will not so ironclad, Ulquiorra was sure Grimmjow would have led a rebellion at some point.

That fact was solidified when Aizen had gone into a monologue about the Hōgyoku, and Grimmjow had purposely made an unnecessarily loud sigh and propped his head on his hand on the table. Aizen had stopped instantly, and Grimmjow's head dropped off his hand and was shoved into the table under Aizen's spiritual pressure. This had elicited a snicker from Nnoitra and a snort from Yammy, but the display of power was not mistaken for what it truly was- it proved Aizen's absolute rule, and as he had observed the gathered Espada levelly, a single command of "dismissed" sent the congregation scuttling away.

Ulquiorra understood the negative feelings the Espada held for their cruel dictator, and he would be lying if he said he did not share them. He however, was not so foolish as to make such a blatant disobedient action that his face was crushed into a table like Grimmjow's.

His posture was what Orihime had once mentioned was "painfully straight" as he came to a stop in front of her door, the lesser arrancar appearing immediately with a cart of food. It had learned quickly to arrive before Ulquiorra was bothered to summon it (the wall still had the crack from when he'd been shoved into it after a tardy of a mere ten seconds) and it gulped nervously as it wheeled the cart to the table, bowed low to Ulquiorra, and fled the room as quickly as possible.

"Poor thing. He's terrified of you." The voice drifted over to him from where Orihime sat spinning a fork on the floor absently, Ulquiorra doing no more than blinking at her uncomprehendingly. He studied her as she huffed, cheeks puffing out a bit, and stood to walk closer to him. She stopped a respectful distance away, rocking back and forth on her heels with her hands clasped behind her back, studying him studying her.

"You could at least thank him for bringing the food, you know. I know you'd never do it if it came to it." She said, and then pursed her lips, waiting for something expectantly. What did she expect, he wondered?

"He is a servant. He exists only to serve us. His desires are of no consequence." Ulquiorra returned harshly, emerald eyes flicking over to the still covered tray of food that sat on the cart by the table. "Now, eat your food, woman." He too paused expectantly, knowing exactly what she'd say. It was in a way a game of banter the two exchanged- occasionally either would word or say something differently, and the other would launch back a volley of words or comparisons, each trying to make a point over the other.

"I'm not hungry." This was spoken evenly, and Ulquiorra held back the trickle of annoyance he felt coming on, instead responding in turn. "If you do not eat, I-" "Will force the food down your throat or give you an IV?"

There was silence for an instant, until Ulquiorra let a frown slip.

"Oh come on, you say that every. Single. Day. " Orihime said, over enunciating certain words. "How could I not have memorized that by now? It's been….it's…been…." She trailed off then, features softening as she turned to look out the window, unfeeling moon seated in the dark empty sky.

"…Ulquiorra? How long have I been here?" She asked this without facing him, hands behind her back disconnecting only to come together again in front of her, fingers twining together limply.

Ulquiorra opened his mouth, tongue forming the words he knew would provide her no answer and fill her with only more despair, but Aizen's command stilled the words at the back of his throat- "humor her."

"…It has been in human time, roughly….. roughly four months." He said monotonously, pulling the answer blindly from the air, as he had only the barest sense of mortal world time flow. His hands were stuffed in his pockets and he scrutinized the woman's face when she whipped around, orange hair flitting behind her- it had become quite long from her time here.

Her eyes were widened, lips parted just so, posture slightly rigid. "F…four months?" She parroted blankly, crossing the room to the table and plunking herself on the chair as though the strength holding her upright had all left her. Wordlessly she lifted the cover off the food and ate it, not a single complaint escaping. Her shoulders were hunched, and Ulquiorra looked closely at her figure. She had been eating yet her uniform hung off of her in some places, indicating she had lost weight.

Ulquiorra felt the smallest chill run down his spine as the woman turned her eyes towards him. Her gaze, moments before vibrant, was now dull. The stormy eyes, now calm, left behind only the path of destruction the tempest had caused. It was a haggard, haunted look.

"You should have expected a timeframe such as that, woman. How can it so surprise you in this way?" Ulquiorra asked, tipping his head at the slightest of angles as the woman's thin delicate brows drew together angrily. It was a new look for her, and he note the way she also drew a fast breath, and pinched her lips into a straight tight line.

"I've been here for four entire months" she began, a fire suddenly lashing across her eyes, the storm within the orbs stirred back up with a greater fury than he has so far seen "and not once have I been let out of this room. I've built a fortress out of pillows, climbed up to the window by stacking the few things in this room like some sort of circus performer, and spun a fork. Spun a fork. How bored do you have to be to find entertainment in this?" She asked lividly, spinning said fork on the table.

It whipped around in circle after circle, scratching with a grating metal noise against the white marble table. It stopped with the prongs pointed at him, as though accusing him of something. He narrowed his eyes at it in return, before striding over to the table, proximity closer to Orihime than she'd felt from any creature- living , dead, or caught between- for months. He saw her stiffen, heard the sharp intake of air, and contemplated her a moment more.

"You…" he began quietly, capturing her gaze sternly "are all humans as odd as you, so as to spin a fork when bored? " He finally asked, taking a hand from his pocket to flick the fork himself, switching gazes to it. It spun, and stopped. He failed to see the entertainment she claimed that came from doing this pointless action.

"I never said it was fun- just that it was something." Orihime mumbled as his persistent green eyes wandered back to her face. "Besides, would you even know the meaning of the word anyways? Do you want nothing for yourself? I hope serving Aizen-sama isn't your ultimate goal- It'd be sad if it was. But is there anything that you like?" Orihime asked him with an equal amount of persistence. "Is there something you could ever do for you?"

She raised a forefinger to poke him in the chest, but quickly paled and let out a quiet, high pitched shriek as the fabric of his jacket gave way. "Ah…tell me I just imagined that…?" she tried, leaning away with her eyes fixed on the junction right above his collar bones.

Ulquiorra too leaned away, still reeling from the contact, even as unintentional as it had been. Wordlessly he tugged the zipper down a few inches, the hole above his sternum exposed. Orihime's eyes widened, and she lifted a hand hesitantly. Her fingers trembled as she touched the edge of the hollow hole, pressure almost nonexistent as though she would hurt him. Her previous question seemed to have gone out the window for her, but it still echoed in Ulquiorra's thoughts.

"If you're done touching me, then…?" He said flatly, watching with interest as Orihime snatched her hand back and stuttered out an apology as her face reddened.


"I will return later." He notified her, sweeping out of the room while Orihime gaped after him. Once the door blended seamlessly with the wall, Orihime turned back to the fork Ulquiorra had spun. It pointed towards the door he had left through and she picked it up, trying to bend the prongs distractedly. She would occasionally flick her hand as though trying to rid the feeling of his skin from them. He wasn't as cold as his personality, but he didn't have the warmth all humans possessed either.

It was like he was caught between being the cold person he was, and the possibility of being more.

Orihime spun the fork, it scraping along in endless circles. She sighed and spun it the other direction.

It truly was boring here.


Second chapter. I know this one is short too, but I had to wrap things up for chapter 2 quickly because I'm going somewhere tomorrow and as a result can't write. All the reviews blew my brain up they were so awesome. I got a lot of smart-ass replies to my dis is kewl thing, and those made me laugh XD So, as always, reader shoutouts. Yaaay!

wutai flea: Yes, she would compare things like that. I actually never noticed but when I first started writing this, I realized how alone everything in Hueco Mundo was- the moon, the trees, Orihime, the far-from-familial relationships between the Espada- everything was alone.

Katey123: Yes, first chapter was short because it was sort of a mini test run of how well I could do Ulquiorra and Orihime in Las Noches. You know- the despair, the loneliness, blablabla. I wanted to see if I could write that, and then gradually change it because let's face it- it's the most OOC thing ever when Ulquiorra immediately goes from being all somber and vacant to being emotional and such. He needs time to argue with himself until his emotions win.

SpicyLove: I'm glad you liked it. I did try hard on the detail in this one, yes :3

Minako-senpai: Haha! Your review made me laugh XD Ulquiorra is indeed a complex character- I find myself often devoting entire walls of text to him just so that this little thing he does here makes sense, or what he said there is ironic or funny. He eats up personality analysis like a starving person :p

IceFire Dragon Alchemist73: Yeah, I figured I'd let Orihime have that one bit of fun with him at her comment. He's so stiff and he doesn't even know it, so the remark sent him for a loop I guess. XD

daheath: A pencil can get rusty because I SAY IT CAAAANNNN. Just kidding. Maybe the top part that holds the eraser would rust? Anyways, I know it's short, but it was a bit of a test chapter. I like it though so I'll finish it through quickly, I should think.

LovetheWords: I agree- Orihime makes me want to bop her on the head at times. I can't stand writing her inane comments, because really she's only like that around Kurosaki. I find it odd how her personality changes depending on who she's with. Kurosaki- "Omg! Help me Kurosaki! Save meeee!" Ulquiorra- "*bitch slap* Don't talk about my friends like that! D:" So, yeah.

soulspirit18: As I said, ditzy Orihime makes me want to bop her one. =3= I figured "Hey, she's what, 17? Around there? There's a difference between having fun childishly and just being childish all the time." So I made her grow up a little. Spending months in an empty tower with only a stoic guard and their friend's lives on the line would mess up anyone's head.

REVIEW! IT MAKES ME WRITE FASTER! I mean, look at this- the second chapter was up in a day thanks to reviews.