Pain and Pleasure
Chapter 3
His nostrils were filled with her scent. He was keen on finding this girl, whether it is the one he was looking for, or just because she had a pure soul.
After that little pole incident, where he had taken in all the soul remnants of that girl, Ulquiorra wandered the dark streets or Karukura. That ever-foreign yet pleasant feeling took over his whole body, while the pain fought for dominance.
He would be in a state far off from reality with every step he took, in search of this girl. Then a sudden shock of pain would course threw his whole body, the aftertaste of this girl still lingering on his tongue. Then he would go back to remembering her shimmering silver orbs and drift off from reality once more.
Ulquiorra's hands reached out longingly, as if reaching for her.
Suddenly, an ever-piercing ray of sunlight shown on Ulquiorra's back, it stung, as if it was fire on his bleached white skin. Yet not nearly as bad as the pain from the girl….
He turned around, anxiety tainting his eyes. The demon had been so indulged with his thoughts of this human, he failed to keep track of time. The rays of sunlight were growing, and he knew he had to get out of there.
The sun…was his enemy. Not just because of the burning sensation caused from it, but because everything that was wrong with him was shown to the world. As the saying goes, the criminals show themselves only at night. Same with Ulquiorra.
When in the dark, he felt secure, hidden, it made it seem as the filthy soul he owned wasn't nearly as bad as it would be in the light. Taking away his figment of imagination, hiding from what exactly he truly was, yet he knew. Oh yes he knew.
A demon….. with no home.
He ran down the streets, away from the sun and into the shadows of what was left of the night as he made his way….back to his current residence.
As usual Orihime awoke from her dreams in the early morning. She tiredly sat up and eyed her alarm clock, only to see it was about an hour earlier from her common time at waking up.
"I must have gone to bed real early then…" she commented to herself. The young girl yawned and stretched before deciding to get ready for school, even if it was very early, for the sun was just dawning the horizon.
Ulquiorra sat on the ragged mattress in his abandoned…home. His back stung with pain, as if burnt with fire. But this pain could never be compared to the pain internally caused by this girl.
His black locks fell over his face, as he blinked hazily, the time of sleep was drawing him in, and…he gave in. The demon fell on his side into the mattress, his wings folded over him as a blanket. One of his legs was hanging over on the floor…and his breathing died down…as he dreamt of shimmering silver and fiery tresses.
Orihime was dressed and set off for school.
Because she woke up extra early, she took extra time getting ready. She was actually able to enjoy a long and warm shower, and create a delicious breakfast the consisted something of read bean paste.
There was still plenty of time to reach Tatsuki's house, so she thought she'd take the long way.
Not many people were out, most were businessmen rushing by, but Orihime managed to give them a smile or a "good morning."
She would have liked it better if there were more people, gives her a better sense of life, but at least there were some sunlight and a few people.
Not like that night…
Orihime was entering that plaza she was at the day before when she remembered the cold and dark feeling she came to face to face with that night.
"Oi…..not again." The auburn haired girl flicked her forehead as is punishing herself. "I'm only supposed to remember happy dreams. Remembering nightmares is nota good thing."
And yet, she still couldn't be rid herself of that feeling, as she walked through the plaza, passing the familiar ice cream shop. The feeling as if all happiness was taken away from the world and….
As she passed the pole and-
Orihime stopped dead in her tracks, "…the feeling of misery…"
She glanced behind her shoulder at the pole, the same one she was at yesterday. Her eyes widened, as she recalled being there yesterday.
Hesitantly, she took a step towards it and instantly felt this...feeling….grow.
The ice cold aura, the happiness pulled from life, the misery over many centuries piled together….yes this was it.
Orihime reached her hand up, her eyes still as big as saucers, and touched the pole. It was as cold as ice, odd since it was under the sun's rays, as images from her 'dream'began to course through her mind.
"Was it…actually a dream?"
Out of all the dreams Orihime has had, whether it be nightmare or not, there was never a feeling she was able to pinpoint in reality. This was the first time she actually felt the same way as in her dream.
Yet still, past the pole, was the same feeling. She followed it, carefully detecting which way to go.
It wasn't a long distance from the pole, only about 10 feet before she was unable to detect a clear path of the misery. But now, she knew, something was here. Was it because she was here yesterday? If so, then she'd stay here again.
Not now though, it was time for Tatsuk's place at the moment.
The young girl took a step back and stared up into the sky. "It was not a dream." She clutched her schoolbag, the sight of glowing predatory eyes came to mind, the demon….
"Thank You…for rescuing me that night…" Her goal was to say that to the creature's face. How? She did not know how, but she knew she'd find a way.
About two miles away from Karukura was yet another quaint town. Down the streets, passed the buildings and homes, was a forest.
Passed a few bushes and land, towards a tree with a gaping hollow, stood two angels.
One had orange hair and brown eyes. The other was quite short with raven black hair. Both were dresses in white cloaks and held a staff.
"He was here…" The raven haired angel spoke up, pointing her staff towards the tree. "A few days ago…." She added.
The orange haired angel took a step closer and sniffed the air. "As filthy as always, that demon."
"Ichigo, we've been after him for years…."
Said, angel turned towards her. "And? What do you want us to do Rukia?" The raven-haired spirit frowned, "He only eats souls of those that were meant for Hell anyways, maybe it's betrayal?"
Ichigo furrowed his eyebrows. "If so he wouldn't be on the run, and no other demons are after him. Betrayal? I doubt it. They probably banished him. Dam bastards can't get rid of him themselves, instead leaving that hunk of filth in this world."
"Or…" Rukia started.
"Or?"
"He's in search or something." She said, leaning on one of the trees, "Maybe one of…them."
"You don't mean…"
Rukia nodded. "I do….I mean, it doesn't make sense when you think about it. Demons are after all, born from misery. They're not stupid either, he should know its hopeless, and yet he is still fighting. There's nothing in this world a demon could have of use besides souls for food, while there's plenty of food in Hell to begin with…and….them."
Ichigo nodded, "But still, even after having one of them…what the fuck happens? I'd like to know. They make such a big deal of them, they say to bring them to Heaven if we ever meet one, but still I wanna know, what happens when a demon devours a…pure soul?"
The raven-haired shinigami began walking off. "I don't know…they say the devil had one and he gained mass power, but I doubt it. It's only a legend. Either way though, if this demon is in search of one, we'll just beat him to it and take them to Heaven."
She paused for a moment, "But the chances of that are slim. Last time anyone found a pure soul was 200 years ago."
"What happened to them?" Ichigo asked, following the angel ahead of him.
"They took him to Heaven and made use of his powers."
The orange head nodded, "But you're right," he added, "God I just want to get rid of this guy and go home."
At that, the two angels walked away from the scene, in search for this demon.
School day was passing as usual. Orihime ate lunch outside with Nel and Tatsuki. Nel was another one of the young girl's friends. They weren't as close as her and Tatsuki, but she was a good friend nonetheless.
But of course…meaningless school gossip arose from the small group.
"Orihime, he looked at you again today in class. I swear he was staring for a whole minute."
The auburn haired girl was barely aware of the current conversation. "A huh…"
"He so has the hots for you." Nel continued, "A nice guy like Ishida checking you out, geez I'm jealous."
"What do you think, Orihime?" The green haired girl asked.
"Oh..yeah…" She answered, staring off into space, her cheek resting in the palm of her hand. "Orihime?" Tatsuki asked as well, "You seem rather dazed, more so than usual."
The silver-eyed girl jumped, "Oh, what was that Tatsuki?"
Her raven-haired friend sighed. "Never mind."
Once the final bell rang, Orihime found herself dashing out the door. She was eager in going to a specific spot today…
She rushed passed the crowds of people in the town of Karukura, making her way to the familiar plaza. It took her a good while to locate the ice cream shop, and right past it, the pole.
She smiled lightly, and made her way towards it.
Even it was just a figment of her imagination, she just had this gut feeling something she met before came towards that area. She could sense it.
Her hand made contact with the metal. The sense of dread and ice reached her. A slight smile tugged at her lips, recalling coming face to face with it. Pinpointing her energy into the pole, she was able to feel the icy cold melt away with the warmth radiating from her hand.
"Just a little bit more." She pressured herself. Orihime had to let the creature know she'd return his calls. Taking a step, she began walking away, leaving her soul trail to flow behind her, purposely.
Orihime smiled. She felt proud of herself for doing something as eccentric as this. But she knew, if she told any of her friends about this, they'd think she was crazier then before. At the same time though, a disappointing thought reached her mind.
"What if he doesn't respond?"
Pushing it aside, she made her way home to begin her schoolwork, and go to bed.
The sun had set, and yet again, green eyes shot into the darkness.
The burning sensation on Ulquiorra's back disappeared, and it was time to go on the hunt for a soul to eat. Although that would have been the normal plan on any other night, today was different. He'll go back to that place….shewas the only thing contaminating his thoughts.
Hurriedly, he jumped out the window, spreading his magnificent black wings, and descended into the sky.
From a bird's eye view, he pinpointed each and every location in Karukura, in search of where he was the previous night. Although angels can easily spot him in the sky, he couldn't help himself. Flying was quicker, and the faster he got to that pole, to see if her scent was even there, the better.
Finally he found it, a sense of eagerness coursed through him as he made his way down to the ground.
Ulquiorra landed gracefully, about ten feet away from the-oh so familiar piece of metal. Taking a deep breath, he could smell it.
"She was here again."
He rushed towards the area and once again took another whiff of air. A smile almost tugged at his lips, if only he was capable of such things.
It was more then before, more then the previous night. He knew it, she felt his presence here and responded back to him with her oh so…sweet….scent. His cheek rested on the metal, a sigh of content escaped his lips.
The pleasure began to take over.
How lucky he was. It was rare for anyone to meet a pure soul. In Hell, one demon spoke of it, that was 200 years ago. Another spoke of one they met 500 years ago, and another from 1000 years ago.
Now look where he was. He almost had her in his grasp, she was actually responding with him. Most demons would most certainly only have thoughts of eating one, but for Ulquiorra, it wasn't so. He didn't know what'd he do, but he knew he wouldn't eat her.
Then the pain took over.
AN:
Well 4 day weekend here, was able to squeeze in writing this chappy for you. Hope you enjoy it. Yeah o_e I actually finished writing this last night….and was rereading it for mistakes…but then I fell asleep D': sorry …-_-
Thank you for taking the time to read! If you enjoyed please let me know what you think :)
