Chapter 3: Only You

A/N: Hello out there ^^ Sooo… here is Chapter 3. I don't have much to say this time for some reason… Uhm… how are all of you? xD I actually notice those of you who review my fic's regularly and I really appreciate the fact that you guys love them so much ^^ I work hard at them, and really enjoy to write them, so it's nice to be praised like that.

Well, enjoy the new chapter and R&R ^^

Words lost their meaning long before I met you

The taste of food was long lost in the passing hours of eternity

The white colors blinded my eyes and stole my sight

Pain and grief was a distant feeling that I couldn't relate to

You brought them back to me;

Brought back my otherwise empty words

Brought back my hunger

Brought back my sight

Brought back the pain and grief…

Even now I can't help but wonder why you did that

Why couldn't you leave me be in the white hallways like another marionette in life's endless play?

Why couldn't you let me remain a blindfolded fool with no direction in life, than to serve a higher authority?

Why couldn't you just look the other way…


"Come on, just one spoonfull"

"Woman, I don't think what you're trying to feed me with is healthy"

"Aaaaw, don't say that when I worked so hard at making it"

"Besides, I don't eat human food"

"Oh yes you do now! Your gigai must have some kind of nutrition, otherwise you'll pass out"

"I'm not a fragile human like yourself, woman, I'll eat once something… 'eatable'… is presented to me"

"But this is Eatable, look!"

"D-did you just?!"

"Mmmm, it tastes soooo delicious!"

"Woman… I'm surprised that you haven't died of food poisoning yet"


He felt her presence behind him in a matter of seconds. She was looking intensely at the cooking stow in front of him, while slowly turning her eyes to the vegetables he was cutting into thin slices – it was as if, she had never seen anything like it before.

"You can… cook?"

He nodded quickly to her question.

Wasn't it logical that he was able to make eatable human food? Even though he didn't like the human substance or the taste of it, he had needed the abilities several times in Hueco Mundo. After all, no other Espada's had any knowledge about human nutrition, so because of his caretaker role, he had been the one to prepare most of her meals.

"I'll make sure that you get a balanced diet from now on"

He turned his eyes towards her for a short second before he continued to cut the vegetables.

He suddenly felt like her caretaker again…


It didn't take him long to finish the meal, and very soon afterwards, Orihime was found in the kitchen.

However, this time instead of her mere presence, he was more fascinated by her change of wardrobe than anything else… She was wearing a white shirt with a red bow and a sinfully short gray skirt that made him remember too many things from the time where they had 'Bumped' into each other in the changing room. He didn't think it was wrong of him to think of her as a beautiful being… She simply was… that was a fact he couldn't deny no matter how much he wanted to.

It was also the outfit he had first met her in…

He removed his green eyes from her once she moved towards him.

"Wow!"

Orihime exclaimed as Ulquiorra started placing the dishes at her dinner table. He immediately took notice of the amazement in her deep brown eyes, and the way she rushed to the table in disbelief.

"How did you make all of this so fast?! If I had made the same amount of dishes, it would have taken me several hours!" She placed her hands on top of the table, and moved closer to one of the dishes – inhaling sharply so even Ulquiorra could see it. She sighed. "It smells so good"

Even though he appreciated her compliments, he simply sat down at one of the chairs at the table, and placed one hand neatly in his pocket. He didn't feel like it was necessary to say 'thank you' for her praising words… It just wasn't his thing to do.

She smiled and softly whispered; "Thank you"

He turned his head away from her, and stared at a non existing spot on the wall next to him. He wasn't sure what to do in the current situation… It wasn't often that anyone said 'thank you' to him… that was, except for Aizen-sama when he had done an exceptional piece of work for him.

And even then, the difference in Orihime's and Aizen's 'thank you' was like day and night… While Aizen-sama's 'thank you' usually felt strangely… empty… Orihime's seemed completely genuine and from the 'heart'…

'Heart'…

He placed his eyes at her once again, while he followed her every movement, as she placed herself at the chair next to him.

For a long time he simply gazed at her with his analyzing green eyes.

He couldn't believe and quiet accept how much she had changed him. After she had brought colors to his otherwise monochrome existence, he was suddenly able to see her being as much more than just a 'woman'… more than just another 'object' in his masters world.

She was so much more than that…

He watched with a mixed feeling of fascination and something unfamiliar as she grabbed the chopsticks at the table and brought a piece of pork to her mouth. He watched how she parted her lips slightly, how she allowed the food to rest at her tongue before closing her mouth, and how she chewed her food which made her jaw move slightly in synchronization with the motion.

It was fascinating to say the least… Especially since he had never eaten anything quite like that before. Souls were, after all, not something one had to chew on in order to devour.

As Orihime continued to eat, and small content sounds left her throat once in a while, he slowly dazed away… just for a moment… but none the less, long enough for him to be caught completely off guard when Orihime placed a hand at the table – Moving her upper body forward so she could see him better. In one of her hands, he held her chopsticks and between those a piece of the pork she seemed to love so much.

"Don't just sit there and stare at it, taste the food" She said in a soft voice while moving the pork closer to his mouth.

At first he felt temped to decline her offer completely. Simply point out, that he wasn't that hungry… However, since the deep brown eyes held his gaze locked in place, and he could practically smell her sweet scent, he felt completely immobilized.

When the brown eyes never left his, and the pork only moved closer to him, he sound found himself surrendering. He bent towards her in a slow motion and opened his mouth slightly. She placed the piece of meat in his mouth while she smiled wider.

The smile was worth it…

"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?"

He chewed the pork slowly while trying to find out if he liked the unusual taste or not. He didn't particularly dislike it… and for some reason his gigai body seemed to crave more of the unfamiliar substance, once he had swallowed it.

When the need to eat more became too unbearable, he picked up his own chopsticks and in his own slow pace, began to eat.

It seemed to please Orihime, because the soft smile never left her lips while they ate together.


"School?"

She nodded to his question "Yes, school, I'll be back in about 5 hours so just stay here until I'm back"

Even though Ulquiorra wasn't very familiar with human society or their traditions, he possessed some vague information about the so called 'schools' - They were apparently public educational places where young people became ready for future jobs.

Her words about him staying at home, however, weren't really an option he wanted to accept.

"I'm afraid I cannot do that" He quickly stated with his usual calm voice. "I would prefer to accompany you at this so called 'school'"

Orihime swung a bag across her shoulder and turned her brown eyes towards him – it was clear, that she wasn't so sure about his proposal.

"Do you really think that would be a good idea?"

He raised one of his eyebrows slightly. "Why wouldn't it?"

"A lot of people will be there… Including some of the people you probably don't like so much"

He looked down at her, as she sat down close to the front door and began to tie her shoes.

"I'm not here as an Espada or your friends enemy – It's not my intention to provoke them in any way"

That was, unless they made the move to provoke him first…

"… You're gonna promise that?"

He felt her deep brown eyes pierce deeply into his green ones. Even though he wanted to, he probably wouldn't be able to lie to her in that moment… He wasn't gonna lie to her… simply tell her a twisted truth.

"I do"


They hadn't spoken a lot since they had left the house. Orihime took the lead and they walked down several small alleys and big roads that had a full view to the blue sky above them. The sun was shining, and a mild wind was blowing once in a while. It was first now that he noticed how he enjoyed the sun, the blue sky and the soft wind…

It wasn't in its natural state that he loved the weather. It was because of the light it put Orihime in. Instead of the dark shadows that always seemed to shroud her body in Hueco Mundo, she was shining like another small sun… She was absolutely breathtaking.

The human world, no matter how much he loathed it, still made Orihime look so much more beautiful than she had ever been in Hueco Mundo's white hallways…

Once they arrived at a big gate and Ulquiorra was able to see the first glimpse of the school building, Orihime grabbed him by the shoulder and stopped him from advancing any further.

"Wait"

He turned towards her, and gazed down at the fingers at his arm.

"Please keep a low profile once we get in – I'm not sure how they're gonna react to your presence"

He nodded quickly to her words, not knowing if he could keep the promise or not. At the least, he would try… After all, the point of visiting the school wasn't so he could make any new enemies… It was to observe Orihime while he still had time left in the human world.

There was no time to waste… he had to locate his confusing feelings towards her and either come to terms with them, or destroy them. Either would do, as long as it left him with a content 'heart'.


"What were you thinking?! He's our enemy?! Why would you just take him in like that?!"

"He needed my help! He have changed, I can feel it, just give him a chance!, Please Kurosaki-Kun!"

"He nearly killed me and Ishida, it seems you've forgotten that?!"

"He has changed!"

"Changed? He won't deny the fact that he haven't left Aizen's side completely, what if he's simply here to gather information about us and later kidnap you when the time is right?"

"Then he would have done so a long time ago!! He has accepted a gigai from soul society and turned his Zanpaktou over. Isn't that enough proof that his motives are pure?"

"That's exactly what he wants us to think Inoue, can't you see that? He's gonna strike down when we least expect it – I can't let your life be threatened like that again"

"He isn't gonna hurt me, I'm sure of that! Why won't you believe me?"

"I would like to believe you… I just… can't right now"

Ulquiorra had listened to the conversation from the corner of the room for a couple of minutes. There had been tensions in the air ever since the red headed Shinigami had seen him enter the classroom. At first the red headed Shinigami almost jumped from his seat and wanted to attack out of impulse, but Orihime had averted any upcoming battles by standing between them…. And that was when the discussion had begun.

Because of Orihime's earlier words by the school gate, he had kept quiet after entering the building and had chosen not to utter a word.

However, as the discussion had developed and had become more and more personal, he felt like breaking into the conversation. He fully understood the read headed Shinigami's reaction and had no intention of trying to change it… not until he were absolutely sure that he wasn't working for Aizen-sama anymore. After all, it wasn't the red headed Shinigami that made him slightly annoyed… it was 'her'.

As the discussion continued and only became more and more heated, he finally took the decision to stop the scene.

He left the corner he had been standing in, and instead moved to Orihime's side and grabbed her by the wrist before she had the opportunity to react.

Not even looking at the read headed Shinigami he pulled her towards the door out of the classroom.

"H-hey!" She exclaimed once in a while as the only sign of resistance to his actions.

Even when the Shinigami's voice rang in the back of his head, asking what he was doing, he kept dragging her along – that was, until they had left the classroom and was, more or less, secured at a distant hallway.

Because most classes had already started, Ulquiorra appreciated that they were alone.

"Please tell me what you're doing? I was trying to put my heart into protecting you in there."

Protecting him?

And that was about all it took. Before he knew what his body had done, he had secluded her up against a wall and placed his palms in a solid position at each side of her head.

His green eyes stared intensely down at her with such a power that it was completely impossible to ignore. He wasn't mad… but not fond of her actions either.

"You're trying to convert the villain into a hero"

He whispered in a low voice, while he held her confused gaze in place. She didn't move… her arms simply hanging limply down her body.

He forced her scent out of his mind once it tried to distract him – his frame alone, casting dark shadows at her otherwise bright being.

"Try to look at the situation with realistic eyes, woman, I'm not here to make unnecessary social bonds with your friends, so don't make it look like that"

He tilted his head slightly, while the silence slowly spread across them. The only thing that cut through the silence was the sound of Orihime's breathing… a breathing that gradually shrouded his mind.

Slowly removing one of his hands from the wall, he moved the tip of his fingers down the side of her head where he felt the soft locks of her hair, before tracing the fingers down her neck and all the way down her collarbone… First when the fingers reached a certain place, a place that always had fascinated him, he stopped - The place where her 'so called heart' was supposed to be.

"I'm here for you that's all – don't fool your little foolish heart with other thoughts than that"


A/N: I hope all of you enjoyed reading this, R&R and I'll update once again when the needed inspiration and time hits me ^^