Welcome~ Please review or criticise at your leisure =^v^=
Timeline No.: 4
Genre: Humour
Word Count: 1129
Date: 16.6.2019
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.
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..
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"Be quiet, woman."
"But – I'm not saying anything."
"Silence."
"Don't!"
"What?!"
"Hmph!"
"Oh, he stomped off."
"Ulquiorraaaaa~~
"You suck." The woman of orange hair and storm-coloured eyes paused and peered over to another pair of eyes that was positively screaming of annoyance. She decided to end her sentence quickly. "As a bodyguard."
Her black-haired companion sighed. "I know."
His acknowledgment – the first this month – of her statement surprised her. She scrutinised his visage. Indeed, he look a bit haggard with twitchy fingers and eyebrows and oh, were his green eyes just shimmering with emotion?! Her bodyguard, being an Arrancar, often times felt like a piece of rock to her. Maybe not a plain rock, per say. He was comparable to a piece of marble. White and milky in appearance but with a tint of expression.
"Wow, you look tired." She gave as an afterthought.
"I am."
"Reeealllly tired." She whistled innocently.
"Woman." He sighed again, looking back at his charge, then asked begrudgingly. "Do you have a point you wish to make?"
She laughed and he glared upsetly. Was he that evil in his past life? He sure felt like he was. Oh no, he wasn't blaming it on the princess before him. Not this strange, cheerful girl he knew to be his king's younger sister. No, he was mad at his situation and how in four realms they were stranded here – all by his own incompetence.
"Now you get it, Ulqui-chan." The girl chuckled.
He gritted his teeth. Ok, maybe he was a little irritated at her.
The girl started pulling open her robes, searching for something. He watched as she jiggled around the inside of her clothing and almost frowned as the top of her feminine parts peeked through. Really, the woman was so strange!
"AHA!" She pulled out a slip of paper. Noticing his further confusion, she said "It's a map."
Silence.
"What." He managed to utter, the syllable slipping through his teeth like the edge of a dulled sword against obsidian glass.
"You know the thing that shows you where you are?" She explained quickly as though he was a simpleton for not understanding. Her annoyance faded quickly as she looked more closely the map. "Oh my, it even tells you where to go! It's been enchanted! Hey Ulqui-chan, I'll lead the way!"
She skipped away, not waiting for him.
"Hime-sama."
She turned back, ponytail fanning in a curtain of orange as it swung around. She hummed questioningly, gaze curious.
"Did you know all along?" He gritted out, still quite motionless. "About the map?"
Were you waiting for me to salvage my indignity? was his silent question.
"Of course!" The woman just smiled at him. Her lips spread so wide he wondered if her face would eventually split in half. But he had to admit that smile was so radiant, even her hair shone. Such a beautiful orange, it paled in comparison to any solar entity. With that smile and strong reply, he thought that was what a true queen should be like. He was ready to throw himself to her feet, to see that smile for forever. And he also wondered if she understood his hidden question, the goddess that she looked like.
"I just wanted to see you squirm a little bit, Ulqui-chan." Her voice interrupted slyly. "But then I couldn't help it when I saw your dejected face. You looked so cute, like a puppy! Are you sure your release form is not a giant fluffy, green-eyed dog or something? Wait…maybe a cat!" She gasped and continued muttering, forgetting the map in her hand.
Ulquiorra seethed. He snatched the map from her making her pout immediately and put the precious item into his robes. It was getting dark so there was simply no point to go further for today.
His charge crossed her arms and sat down, refusing to do her part to set up for the night.
"What are so upset about?" He snapped. He should not be doing this. He was not a babysitter. He didn't do well with feelings. He was a bodyguard – an Arrancar soldier. Period. Heavens, he didn't even have feelings!
"Nothing."
"Woman, I can't deal with this." He said in exasperation and stomped away, irritated. Again, he just felt so useless, but he was also equally mad at his charge. How did she manage to raise all these doubts within himself?
When he returned, there was already a fire going and he dropped the wood he had carried with him. He gave up.
"Oh this?" She pointed to the fire that was roaring away cheerfully and almost innocently. "Don't worry about it. It's my job anyway, right?"
They both looked quietly into the fire.
A few minutes later, she slipped off her cloak, folded it and put it on a clean enough spot on the ground, next to a tree. She curled up, ready to go to sleep while he remained alert and awake. He didn't need sleep, and he didn't want it anytime. He turned away to give her some privacy.
"Hey Ulquiorra." She paused and he paused. "If you need anything, you know, just ask."
He thought at the moment her voice was soft and so reassuring. He wondered if she was turned over, speaking over her back; or if she was staring into the burning embers, her grey eyes as wistful as the king's...
He grunted and shook away those thoughts. He needed to get to studying that map.
Leaning on others doesn't make you weak. And also...I think you're plenty strong. You're a great knight and bodyguard; you just need to realise it yourself." She said.
"Hn."
"Alright g'night!" She called out and he had no trouble making out the grin in her voice. "You go knock yourself out with the map, alright?"
He huffed. Speaking to him as if he was the child, is she? He headed into the darkness, pensive and seeking solitude.
Secretly, he was satisfied with the outcome of the day.
"Hey Ulqui-chan, are we there yet?"
"No."
"Hey Ulqui-chan?
"Ulqui-chan?
"Ulqui- yooohooo!
"Hey! Ulquiorra!"
"What." Came back the incredibly irritated growl.
"Ulqui..."
"If you have nothing to say, woman, be quiet."
"So rude!" Her voice pouted. It seemed a distance away. The Arrancar frowned. What was that strange woman doing now?!
"Oh, Ulqui-chan. Did you realise you've walked into quicksand?"
Why, that girl...! He looked down and found it true. The substance covered his boots completely. How he hadn't realised it was beyond him.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he groaned.