Simply Deep

Chapter 3: Save Room


"So, how do you know Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, Orihime?" Ichigo asked.

They were all sitting in the university's student center, having lunch together. Orihime looked up from her book, totally blindsided by the question. She had not really discussed her connection with Grimmjow and what he had to do with Ulquiorra. Instead, she had pretty much just been disappearing with him after classes occasionally. This had been going on for about four weeks now.

"Oh, well... He's the roommate of Ulquiorra. You remember when I told you about Ulquiorra, right? Well, he takes me to see him every day. That's all. I don't want to walk all the way to the hospital," Orihime said with a weak smile. Tatsuki glared at Ichigo.

"You have a problem with Grimmjow, Ichigo?" she asked.

"Other than the fact that he's just as good at kendo as you are?" Rukia asked without looking up from her work. She slapped five with Tatsuki and they laughed at Ichigo's face. "Leave Orihime alone. I assure you Grimmjow isn't assaulting her."

"I just don't like him..."

"Yes, oh great Kurosaki. He who feels he must protect all females he knows. We're not all damsels in distress. I remember a time when you would cry if I so much as TAPPED you." Tatsuki sighed wistfully and shook her head. "Those were the days..."

"Shut up, Tatsuki. So what if I think you all need protecting; especially Orihime? Not everyone can break noses like you and Rukia."

Orihime listened as her friends began talking around her again; something they often did. The conversation would begin with a question regarding her and somehow evolve into them fighting over her safety; like they were doing now. She sighed and looked back down at her anatomy book. It was not long until she saw a shadow looming over her and noticed the group had grown quiet.

"Hey, chick. Let's go." Orihime looked up. Grimmjow was standing next to her, looking irritated. "You coming or not?"

Orihime nodded numbly and began gathering her things. The rest of her friends stared at Grimmjow. Grimmjow turned his eyes away from Orihime to them. The only one who did not avert his eyes way Ichigo. Grimmjow smirked as Orihime finished and stood up. Grimmjow turned away and walked out.

"See? The guy is bad news. Look how he talks to you, Orihime," Ichigo said.

"Ichigo, I talk to YOU like that," Rukia said dryly.

"It's fine, Ichigo. Grimmjow's actually really nice to me. Rukia, Tatsuki, I'll meet you back at the dorm," Orihime said. Tatsuki nodded and Rukia waved her hand as she socked Ichigo in the gut with her other hand. Orihime nodded and then walked off after Grimmjow. He'd already disappeared out of the center.


Outside in his car, Grimmjow drummed his finger against the steering wheel. He glanced at Orihime as she got in the car, bags and all. She grinned at him and he rolled his eyes.

"You don't have to flash that fake smile at me, chick." He put the car in drive and stepped on the gas. Orihime sighed and stopped smiling. She relaxed into the seat. "Are you like the baby of the group or something? They all looked like they wanted to rip me apart. Except the little one sitting by Kurosaki. She looked like she wanted to run as fast as possible in the other direction."

"That's Rukia. She's Ichigo's girlfriend. You are pretty scary, Grimmjow."

"Whatever. I've got kendo this afternoon. Maybe Harribel will give you a ride," Grimmjow said.

Orihime's eyes widened. She hated bothering Harribel for anything. It was not that Harribel was mean or unkind. Harribel was just very intimidating and had a tendency to make Orihime feel small; very, very small. Orihime had a feeling she would never have the kind of confidence Harribel exemplified on a regular basis.

"Harribel'll be there?" Orihime nearly whispered.

"Don't tell me you're scared of Harribel." Grimmjow thought for a moment. "I suppose she is a bit frightening."


Nel poked Ulquiorra's nose. She got no reaction. Frowning, she tapped his cheek. Still, she got no reaction. She was about to hold his nose and mouth closed when she heard a noise from the other side of the room.

"Do you really think that's a good idea? What are you trying to do? Kill him?"

"Shut up, Nnoitra. This always wakes you up when you fall asleep on me, you jerk," Nel said. Nnoitra Jiruga rolled his eyes and looked away from her. He went back to flipping through the channels on the TV. "You don't have to be here, you know. I'm just waiting for Harribel so she can take me home."

"What kind of, how do you put it, BOYFRIEND would I be if I just left you here alone? You're the one always talking about me being NICER to you. So just shut the hell up and take what you can fuckin' get," Nnoitra said. Nel pouted for a moment before looking back at Ulquiorra.

Harribel walked in the room. She took one glance at Nnoitra and grimaced. Nnoitra flashed a toothy grin at her. Harribel hated Nnoitra with a passion, but put up with him because for some unfathomable reason Nel enjoyed his company. She could not see how; the two were as different as night and day. Nnoitra also did not exactly treat Nel well, either. There had to be a reason Nel liked him. Harribel had yet to see what it was.

"Nelliel, are you ready?" Harribel asked. Nelliel turned and smiled at Harribel. "Well come on. You can leave, Nnoitra."

"I planned on it, Harribel." Nnoitra stood. Harribel resisted the urge to throw the nearest object at him. Instead she handed the keys to Nel. The two teenagers left the hospital room, throwing insults at one another, and Harribel walked over to Ulquiorra's bed.

She looked down at Ulquiorra. He still had shown no signs of waking. The one thing she did not understand was that he seemed to have "better" days when the redhead was around and spoke to him. Perhaps he liked her voice. It was odd that she was not there yet.

I wonder where she is. Normally she's here by now, Harribel thought. The one time she didn't come Ulquiorra had a "bad" day.

Just as Harribel finished thinking, Orihime entered the room. She was looking behind her. Harribel cringed as she could still hear Nel and Nnoitra arguing. Orihime finally looked at Harribel and smiled shyly. The girl always seemed to think Harribel would attack her.

"Will they always fight like that?" Orihime asked.

"I don't know why she stays around with him. He's... gross." Harribel shuddered again. "I'm taking Nelliel home." With that, Harribel was gone, leaving Orihime in the room alone with the comatose patient.

Orihime looked at Ulquiorra. After four weeks, she had become used to the routine. It was no longer awkward getting in position to talk to him. By now, his unconscious self knew almost everything about her; the entire story of her life. She left out a lot of what she really felt. She just skimmed the surface.

"What's up, Ulquiorra? It's me." Orihime looked down on him as she sat. She sighed and leaned forward on his bed. "Don't you think it's time you woke up? It's been about a month. I'm running out of things to tell you. What haven't I told you? What haven't I talked about?"

My love life...

"Huh?" Orihime blinked.

Well, it's not like he's really listening, she thought.

"You know, I've never had a boyfriend, Ulquiorra. Ever. I've never even kissed someone. Ever. Grimmjow told me I 'should be beating them off with a stick.' That was how he put it. I don't understand why. I don't think I'm all that great." Orihime sat back in her seat. "I did have a crush on someone for a long time. I don't know if I still like him. I shouldn't. He's one of my best friends and he's also my best friend's boyfriend. Am I a bad person for liking him?"

No. Technically, I was there first, she told herself. She sighed and looked back at Ulquiorra.

"I guess he's sort of the reason I don't date or anything. I've put so much energy into pining over him that I don't have time to pay attention to anyone else. He's always seen me as a friend; someone he's had to look out for. I'm nothing like his girlfriend. She's strong and smart and pretty. She can stand up and be heard. I guess that's the type he likes and I'm nothing like that. I'll never be..."

Orihime had not even realized that she had tears running down her face. She just let them run. No one was there watching her, anyway. She felt the inexplicable urge to cry. So, she started crying. And she cried. And she cried. She was crying for so long and so hard that she failed to see the fingers flinch on the bed.


It was off in the distance.

It was a sound he had heard before. It was pleasant because it was the sound that kept him going in the darkness. It was unpleasant because it sounded so sad. He wanted it to cease. The sound had been one of happiness for the longest. Why did it now sound so sad? He had to find out.

But how?

How do I leave this darkness? I must leave this darkness...

A sliver of light. More light. Even more light. Blurred vision...


Ulquiorra turned his head to the sad sound. He blinked a few times, trying to clear his vision. His right arm was not obeying his commands for some reason. He would sort out that problem later. Right now, he wanted to figure out why the redhead by his bed was crying.

"Woman..."

Orihime choked on her tears. She leaned forward to catch her breath. She turned her head slowly. For a moment, she forgot how to breathe. She could not figure out how to inhale or exhale. It was not until her lungs started to burn that she finally inhaled deeply and tore her gray eyes away from Ulquiorra's green ones.

"Woman..." Ulquiorra repeated in a scratchy voice. Orihime did not look back at him immediately, instead choosing to wipe her face off. "Why..." Ulquiorra mumbled. Orihime faced him, face dry but cheeks red and puffy.

"Ulquiorra! You're awake!" she said happily. "You just missed Harribel and Nel..."

"Where am I?" Ulquiorra asked, closing his eyes for a moment.

"Karakura Memorial Hospital. Do you remember what happened?" Orihime asked. She began searching for the call button. When she found it, she made to press it.

"Wait," Ulquiorra said. Orihime looked at him, her finger hovering over the button. "Why?" he asked. Orihime raised an eyebrow.

"Why what?"

"Why were you crying?" he asked. Orihime bit her lip, thinking about her answer. "I... I... I told you not to cry," Ulquiorra mumbled. He began to blink slowly. Orihime stared at him for a moment as he closed his eyes. He sighed. Orihime noticed his heart rate and blood pressure dropping. She immediately pressed the button.

Less than thirty seconds later, Orihime found herself outside the room, looking in. She had both hands up against the window, biting the inside of her lip, and bouncing up on her toes. She was worried. He had only been awake for three minutes at the most.

And he wanted to know why I was crying, Orihime thought. Then her eyebrows furrowed. He remembered me. He had to have remembered me... Her thoughts trailed off as she watched Dr. Kotetsu come out of the room. Orihime turned and faced her, anxiety written all over her features.

"How is he?" Orihime blurted out.

"Alive. He just got excited and it appeared that it was a bit much for his system to handle all at once. I didn't expect him to wake up quite so... lucid. If it weren't for the fact that he's so injured, I'd let him go home." Dr. Kotetsu smiled. "Once they've settled him, you can go back in," she said. Orihime let out a long sigh of relief and nodded as Dr. Kotetsu walked away.


The oxygen mask was uncomfortable. Ulquiorra was sure he did not like it. Unfortunately, with both arms in casts, there was nothing he could do to remedy that problem. His entire body was pretty much in a cast. He had almost died a few minutes ago and all he could think about was how uncomfortable the oxygen mask was on his face.

I can breathe just fine now. Is it really necessary that I have this thing on? he thought. He tried to turn his head as the door opened but the huge pillows that the nurses had put up against his back would not allow him to. That was another thing. It felt like there was some sort of rod in his back. What the hell happened to me exactly?

The crying redhead reappeared. Ulquiorra felt like he knew her name. In fact, he was sure he knew her name. He watched her converse with the nurse for a moment. As he listened to her voice, he recognized it. But from where? He remembered her face. He had once told her not to cry. Where had he seen her crying? He stared blankly at her as she sat down next to his bed. Her eyes immediately went to her hands.

"Your name..." Ulquiorra said through the mask. She glanced up at him slowly. "Your name is... Orihime," he said.

Orihime gaped. She must have been holding her mouth open for a few minutes. However, Ulquiorra's gaze never left hers. She nodded and faced him with renewed confidence. She finally closed her mouth.

"How did you know that? Did the doctor or nurses tell you?" Orihime asked.

"No. I remember hearing it somewhere," Ulquiorra answered. "Why were you crying?" He went back to his question from before. Orihime went back to biting her lip. She averted her eyes.

Should I tell him?

"You were talking about someone; someone who is strong," Ulquiorra muttered in the mask. Orihime narrowed her eyes. He was barely audible, but she heard him loud and clear.

He heard me even though he was unconscious, she thought. How?

"How do you remember me?" Orihime asked.

"You are the inattentive woman from the street. The last time I saw you, you were crying. I open my eyes again and you were doing what I told you not to do," Ulquiorra said. "You said I've been here a month?"

"Yes... but you were asleep when I did..."

"I heard you." He shifted slightly and rested his head so that he could look at her better.

For some reason, she was at ease. Orihime had expected that when she finally spoke to Ulquiorra that there would be a sense of awkwardness. Instead, she felt incredibly at ease. Even his piercing gaze did not make her feel nervous. It was by no means a "warm" look he was giving her. It was probably the exact opposite. She should have been deterred, but she was not uncomfortable.

"So, it worked," Orihime said quietly. She saw him try to move the mask with his face against the pillow. Orihime turned and looked out the window. She did not see anyone coming. She moved forward and took the mask down from Ulquiorra's face. He watched her curiously.

"What worked?"

"Dr. Unohana told me to talk to you. I've been here every day since the accident, except for one. I know we don't know each other, but I really wanted to thank you. It's not every day someone throws himself in front of a car for you," Orihime said. "If only you'd woken up ten minutes earlier you would've seen Nel and Harribel."

"Your crying," Ulquiorra said. Orihime appeared confused. "Your crying is apparently what pulled me out of that coma. I didn't like the sound." Another moment of silence passed as Orihime nodded her head. "Woman."

"Huh?" Orihime asked. She glanced back up at Ulquiorra. He only had one eye on her as his left eye was obscured by the massive pillow he was propped up against.

"I dislike your tears. I do not like the sound you make..."

"I know. I must sound pretty annoying, huh?" Orihime said with a false laugh.

"No. Your voice is not made for such a miserable sound. You should be singing; not crying. Why are you so sad?" Ulquiorra asked. He did not sound particularly interested. It sounded as if he was asking because she was there. But the eye that Orihime could see held something akin to curiosity in it.

Did he just compliment me? He said I have a nice voice. No one's ever said that to me before, Orihime thought. She could feel her face heating up and immediately looked away, trying in vain to hide the blush. Ulquiorra managed to lift his head a bit. Before he said something towards her blush, the door opened behind Orihime and the blue-haired athlete entered.

Grimmjow stopped when he saw the green eyes set on him. It took a few moments for him to come to conclusion that Ulquiorra was staring at him. He crossed his arms and shook his head. He made his way towards a chair across the room. He sat down hard and faced Ulquiorra. They stared at one another, acknowledging one another in silence. Orihime looked between the two, wondering if either was going to speak. After a moment, Grimmjow smirked.

"Took you long enough," he said. He looked away towards Orihime. "Looks like all that jabbering you did worked. Did you tell him?" he asked.

"Tell me what?" Ulquiorra asked. Orihime looked back Ulquiorra.

"I wanted to thank you, remember? So, tha..."

"Your gratitude is not needed, woman. I just did what was necessary at the time," Ulquiorra said dryly. Grimmjow snorted from across the room and Ulquiorra shot him a look of death.

"But, you're all hurt because of..."

"It's fine. I'm alive, aren't I?" Ulquiorra turned his attention back to Orihime. She nodded.

"How'd you wake up?" Grimmjow asked suddenly.

"She was crying," Ulquiorra said before Orihime could stop him. She lowered her head, trying to shrink away from the piercing blue eyes she knew were glaring at her. Ulquiorra was quick to catch on. "You know why she was crying?"

"If I had to guess I'd say it had something to do with her friends," Grimmjow muttered.

"Your friends cause you to cry?" Ulquiorra glanced at Orihime. She was shaking her head fervently.

"I was just frustrated. I wasn't expecting you to wake up, either." Then she glared at Grimmjow. The mischievous student just grinned at her. She frowned at him and looked back at Ulquiorra. "My feelings just got all twisted up. Sometimes crying helps it. You know... I'll be right back. I'm going to get something to eat."

Orihime stood up and hastily left the hospital room, leaving the two men alone. Ulquiorra closed his eyes and relaxed back into the pillows. His back was so stiff. He could tell Grimmjow was still looking at him. He opened his right eye and tried in vain to set that electric blue stuff atop Grimmjow's head aflame. His intense expression only led Grimmjow to grin that infuriating grin of his.

"What are you looking at, trash?" Ulquiorra asked irritably.

"Not much right now," Grimmjow retorted. "But, I think the chick likes you."

Ulquiorra opened both eyes. He only appeared shocked for a moment, but it was long enough for Grimmjow to catch on. Realizing his mistake, Ulquiorra looked away from him quickly. Grimmjow laughed low in his throat and sat back in his chair.

"That's ridiculous. She doesn't even know me."

"But I bet she wants to get to know you."

Orihime returned holding a bag of chips. She returned silently to her seat. She noticed the displeased look that Ulquiorra was giving Grimmjow. Grimmjow seemed pretty at ease, but when did he ever seem ill-at-ease?

"What's wrong, Ulquiorra?" Orihime asked as she opened the bag of chips. Ulquiorra turned his eyes towards her.

"Nothing that can't be fixed with a phone call," he muttered. Orihime did not dwell on what that meant, but she assumed it had something to do with him calling Harribel to tattle on Grimmjow. So, she simply nodded and began eating.

"Hey, chick. Will you still be coming around now that the green-eyed bugger is awake?" Grimmjow asked.

Orihime slowed the chewing on her chips. She had not really thought about what would happen once Ulquiorra DID wake. Now that he was staring at her with big eyes, awaiting her answer, she had no idea what to say. She would not mind getting to know him for real. After all, he knew everything about her even if it was on a subconscious level. Still, she wanted to stay around. But, she did not want to seem too eager.

"Only if Ulquiorra wants me to stay around. I mean, I did sorta push him in front of a car..."

"Ulquiorra threw himself in front of a car," Grimmjow reiterated.

"Shut up, trash."

"Grimmjow's trash?" Orihime looked between the two while chewing her chips.

"Just stating the truth, dipshit. Now do you wanna see the chick again or what?" Grimmjow pried. Ulquiorra sighed and relaxed into his pillows.

"She is free to do as she wishes. She is not bound to this place or me," he said. Grimmjow looked back at Orihime. She was looking at Ulquiorra.

"I'll stay. I'll come back. I've grown a little... attached, I suppose." She smiled at him. He had a strange look upon his face. Orihime tried not to laugh at him and continued to speak. "Besides, I said I would take you out for ice cream once you got out of here."


Save room for my love. Save room for a moment to be with me.