Utopia:
Grimmjow had been drifting in and out of consciousness. The princess had probably saved his life, but she hadn't restored all the energy he'd lost trying to keep himself from dying all that time in Hueco Mundo. His reserves were completely drained, and he was pretty sure he had never in his life been more weak and vulnerable.
Ulquiorra had dragged him none-too-gently into this shitty little room and shoved him almost violently onto the creaky, stained bed in the corner. Grimmjow couldn't remember the pale bastard ever getting this physical with anyone like that before, and his only consolation was that he had probably pissed him off when he'd trapped him with the caja de negacion. His face was still just as dull and infuriating as before, but judging by the way he was yanking him around like a bad dog, the oh-so-calm-and-collected-suck-up-bitchspada was feeling a bit temperamental.
And given how Grimmjow barely had the energy to walk, he was going to count getting under Ulquiorra's pasty-white skin as a win. It was nice to know that even though he couldn't protect himself for shit, he could still annoy Ulquiorra at least half as much as Ulquiorra annoyed him.
And so he had forced himself to smirk, even whilst being manhandled by those white hands, giving the green eyed freak the most unfazed look he could manage. "Are you sure you wanna get my blood all over these sheets?" he had asked casually as Ulquiorra stood over him. The fourth gave him a questioning look and Grimmjow leered. "I figure you'll be pounding that little princess into them sooner or later."
Ulquiorra's eyes had narrowed. "Excuse me?" he said dangerously. Grimmjow let out a bark of laughter that tore painfully through his chest, but he paid that no mind.
"What, you think I haven't noticed the way you look at her? Tche." Grimmjow scoffed. " Aizen's gone and you've got her all to yourself now. So..." He returned Ulquiorra's narrow gaze in challenge. "I expect you'll have her face down beneath you in no time."
He sensed Ulquiorra's reiatsu beginning to leak out from his perfectly mastered control, half-shocked that his words had elicited any response whatsoever. He gave the man above him his most psychotic grin, thoughts racing as he considered how best to incense the Espada he had hated more and more every day since he'd first met him.
"I'll admit, I had my doubts about you. Seemed like Aizen had created some sort of walking statue to run his damn errands. You acted like you were better than the rest of us for fucking and fighting, and yet here you are, kidnapping teenage girls. You gonna make her scream for you?" He laughed loudly as Ulquiorra's eyes widened. "Don't get your hopes up that she'll tough it out like a brave little girl, she'll be in tears before her clothes are even off, begging you to let her go, begging you not to hurt her. And you-"
Grimmjow choked as his air supply was suddenly cut of, Ulquiorra's long fingers digging mercilessly into his throat. He had stared up into at the fourth Espada, supremely satisfied to see the rage simmering in those green eyes he hated so damn much. Even as Ulquiorra's lips had curled slightly to reveal clenched teeth, he had grinned, relishing that he could provoke such a strong reaction. When had Ulquiorra become so damn emotional?
He honestly hadn't given much thought to the things he had said, mostly just going ahead and saying whatever came to mind to get a reaction he had only half-expected to receive. And yet there Ulquiorra was, going ahead and strangling him for saying some nasty things about him and the little princess. Perhaps his words had hit a bit closer to home than he had thought.
How fucking hilarious. The most indifferent, cold-hearted son of a bitch out of them all had gone and got the hots for some annoying little human. How truly pathetic.
"What I do with her is none of your concern." Ulquiorra somehow still managed to sound dull and unimpressed, even though his fingers were digging into his windpipe like he wanted to tear it out. "You will keep your vulgar thoughts to yourself from now on, particularly in front of the woman. If I catch you trying to frighten her..."
Sadly, the rest of Ulquiorra's no doubt terrifying speech was cut off as he had lost consciousness at that point. He had woken up a couple of times since then. Ulquiorra had left and returned at some point, leaning against the wall adjacent to the door, eyes closed. The fourth had just barely begun to glance in his direction, somehow sensing his gaze, before Grimmjow had passed out again.
It wasn't his injuries weakening him like this he knew, but rather his complete and utter lack of reiatsu. Like a tank on empty, his injuries could heal, but his fighting power would take longer to return if that woman didn't work her magic some more.
He had never hated someone more than he did Ulquiorra at that moment. Everything about the guy set him on edge, made his blood boil. He had deliberately stopped the princess from healing him just to keep him in line - for what reason he had no idea. Even Kurosaki had been less infuriating.
And yet both of them, Ulquiorra, and that orange haired twat...both of them had done something utterly unforgivable.
They had saved his life.
"Ulquiorra-san, can I ask you something?"
Orihime leaned over the tub, replacing the wet towel in its place on the rail and letting her hair hang in limp, damp stands over her shoulders. As if to further emphasize the tragic absence of her Shun Shun Rika, her bangs fell into her face. She took advantage of this to partly hide her somber expression as she turned back to her captor, standing with his hands in his pockets behind her. He somehow still managed to look intimidating even though he was a few feet away from a toilet.
"You may," he said monotonously, though there was the barest hint of curiosity shining through his words. Orihime hesitated, the question she had been putting off for so long rattling around inside her. She wasn't sure she could handle hearing the answer.
In an attempt to distract herself, she sat down on the edge of the tub, lifting each foot up in a rather unlady-like manner to remove her wet socks. Ulquiorra watched her patiently as she fidgeted with the damp cloth, the look on his face indicating that he really didn't care if she asked or not, he would still stare at her in silence for as long as she continued to sit there.
She cleared her throat, steeling her nerves. No matter what he said now, she would have to maintain her resolve. She couldn't cry in front of him. She couldn't break down.
The only reaction she might allow would be another hearty slap to his face. Depending on his answer, she really wouldn't care what he did to her afterwards.
"Is...Did you..." She shook her head, clenching her fists, abusing and stretching the socks in her hands with a vengeance. She had to get this out of the way now. And she couldn't mumble it into her lap. She raised her eyes to his, noting the way he studied her nervousness and fidgeting with a mild display of interest. She took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders and settling her hands peacefully on her legs, not without some difficulty. She had to know. "Is Ishida-kun...aliv-" She choked, swallowed thickly, gave her resolve a hard kick. "Is Ishida-kun alright? Did you hurt him?"
Whatever it had been in Ulquiorra's expression that had made her think he was interested vanished without a trace, and she couldn't shake the thought that he suddenly looked incredibly bored with her, as if she had raised his hopes and then disappointed him. As if she had failed some weird test that only he knew about. He closed his eyes and turned away. "He is fine. I saw no reason to end his life."
And it was like all her breath returned to her, and the small bundle of nerves she had unknowingly been carrying around with her dispersed. She was unable to hold back a sigh of relief, slumping as if all her bones were sighing with her. Her trembling hands locked together in her lap. Thank god Ishida-kun was alright. That meant that, from when she had last sensed them all, everyone she loved was alive and well.
"Why does this information effect you so much? It does nothing to change your situation. Your life is still in my hands."
She shivered at Ulquiorra's cold, undoubtedly annoyed words. The irate Espada was now glaring at her through the corner of one green eye, and she did her best to give him a smile, though she knew it must have looked pitying. It was sad - after everything, he still didn't get it. "Because I don't care what happens to me, Ulquiorra-san. My heart is with them. So long as they are safe, I will be happy."
A movement on the side of his hakama caught her eye, and Orihime got the disturbing impression that Ulquiorra had just flexed his fingers in a physical manifestation of his frustration. That couldn't be a good sign.
"Idiot. Even now, where there is no one to impress with your selflessness, you would let your life come second to the safety of others? Those are not the instincts of any creature who wishes to survive in this world."
Orihime shrugged, aware that she was treading on dangerous ground by brushing him off but also unable to refrain from speaking her mind when he was so clearly wrong. "People evolved past the need to prioritize themselves a long time ago. Society would never have come as far as it has if everyone did that." She sighed wistfully. "If everyone in the world put others first, we would live in utopia. There would be no need for survival instincts anymore because no one would be in danger. Do you see what I'm saying?"
She studied his profile hopefully and managed not to flinch when he turned his head towards her and responded, his eyes unfriendly and his tone glacial. "Those are the naive sentiments of someone who has no true appreciation for reality. If you apply ideologies that require the rest of the world's co-operation you will be very disappointed with the result, woman. You do not live in this 'utopia'. Behaving as if you do will get you killed."
Orihime mulled over his words for a long moment, aware that Ulquiorra was waiting for her to lower her head in submission and accept his harsh words. Instead she frowned intently and asked another question that had been crawling around in her mind, and which she was fairly certain would throw him off his argumentative horse. "Are you going to kill me, Ulquiorra-san?"
As expected, his response was a noticeable stiffening of his shoulders and a slight widening of his eyes. He stared at her in what had to have been the loudest silence Orihime had ever experienced. If her suspicions were correct, he would try to evade the question altogether.
"You miss the point," he answered with far more calm than his posture suggested he had. Orihime smiled, inwardly giving herself a thumbs up that she had predicted Ulquiorra's reaction.
"No, I don't. You're saying that my feelings should have more to do with reality. So what is my reality then?" She blinked up at him innocently. "Are you going to kill me or not?"
There was yet another long silence. Orihime had to resist a satisfied grin, not wanting to push her luck with the frosty Espada, especially when he was giving her that look.
"If you were, you would have just said yes. So, since you're not going to, at least for now, and since you won't let Grimmjow-san hurt me, I'd say my reality is pretty safe right now and I can think whatever I want." She rested her hands on either side of her, gripping the tub and leaning backwards, eyes clearly narrowed at him in triumph. It wasn't often that she got to beat someone in an argument because she had never been an argumentative person. Only Ulquiorra made her feel this weird competitive urge to be right.
Perhaps because he actively challenged her beliefs and philosophies every time they spoke.
Ulquiorra observed her for a moment before saying rather ominously, "You make a lot of assumptions. Another habit that will get you killed."
Orihime's high wavered and she pouted. It wasn't fair that he could get the last word by saying something vague like that just to scare her. He was playing dirty.
But before she could respond he had already turned around and crossed over to the door, his coat tails whipping around the corner into the corridor. Orihime stared at the doorway huffily, for the first time feeling the urge to chase after someone and pick a fight.
He was such a bully. He was the one who knew nothing about the world. Did he think she was some pampered princess who had never experienced the pain life could offer? She could still remember her mother screaming at her, calling her filthy names when she stole her makeup and used half of it with the result of making her four-year-old self look like a clown. She could remember her father breaking her arm for throwing up on the carpet. Those girls at school punching and kicking and tugging, cutting her hair, calling her things that made her feel hideous and worthless. Having her brother die after their last conversation that had contained some of the nastiest things she had ever said. She had been so upset after her day at school, and he had only wanted to cheer her up, but she had taken it out on him and then he had died. And years later, when she had spent the majority of her life seeing a heartless monster every time she looked in the mirror, that same brother had come back and tried to kill her.
And that was before she had ever been to Soul Society or Hueco Mundo, where she had been threatened and beaten and psychologically abused by him, the heartless Espada who even now carried with him so nonchalantly the most precious gift she had ever received. And he thought that just because she found reasons to smile and be happy she didn't understand the world. He was the one who-! Who...
Who...
And then Orihime's growing hot rage was slowly doused in an icy wave of pity. Someone like her, who had been hurt so many times, could still find reasons to smile...and he couldn't.
The grey eyes that had moments ago contained fury now softened on the empty doorway. Tatsuki-chan had told her something once. The karate champion had chased away yet another group of hostile girls, and had begun rubbing Orihime's back as she sobbed. Tatsuki-chan had stared after the girls retreating backs and said; "You know Orihime, I'll tell you a secret that might make you feel better." Orihime had looked up at her with wet, puffy, curious eyes.
She had applied Tatsuki-chan's secret so many times since then. Most recently with those two unforgettable Arrancar girls back at Hueco Mundo, who had looked at her with so much hatred and jealousy she had been powerless to do anything else.
"There's no one in this world more deserving of your pity than a bully."
Urahara looked up as the shoji screen door slid open, revealing a rather grim looking bespectacled young man. He grinned pleasantly in greeting.
"Ishida-san, back so soon! I had no idea you were so fond of my patient."
Ignoring him completely, as people were wont to do with most of Urahara's babbling, Uryuu looked down at the comatose Ichigo on the floor and asked, "How is he?"
Urahara raised his fan to his face, only his somber eyes peering out from the shadow of his hat visible. "The same. We can expect his recovery to take some time, Ishida-san. But I think you know that. So why are you really here?"
Uryuu stepped further into the room, moving to shut the sliding door behind him before a deep voice barked up at him from the ground. "Not so fast, Uryuu!"
Uryuu glanced down at the amber eyed black cat that sauntered into the room, taking a seat beside Urahara.
"Yoruichi-san! You've been avoiding me all morning and yet here you are, gracing me with your wonderful presence just as Ishida-san arrives. I'm hurt!"
The cat seemed to be grinning. "I figured he might have something interesting to say since he ran off to Soul Society as soon as he got out of the garganta." She turned disdainful eyes on the candy salesman. "And I wasn't avoiding you, Kisuke. I have better things to do, you know."
"Ah, of course, of course, birds to catch, dogs to chase, I understand completely Yoruichi-san!"
The cat smirked. "Yeah."
The door sliding shut caused the friends to once again turn their attention to Uryuu, who took a seat on the other side of Ichigo as if he were some morbid coffee table.
"Inoue-san has been taken again," he said, not bothering to beat about the bush.
Twin expressions of shock graced Urahara and Yoruichi's faces.
"Taken?" Urahara murmured.
"Where? By whom?" Yoruichi demanded.
Uryuu shook his head. "I have no idea. So far I've just barely managed to convince Soul Society not to publicly brand her a traitor and to keep us updated on their investigation. I told them that if they find her they'll have to hand her over to us, but as to whether they'll comply..." he pushed his glasses up his nose. "Well, I'm dubious."
The cat and the candy salesman shared a look. "How did her abduction come about?" Urahara asked. Uryuu shifted uncomfortably.
"Under some very suspicious circumstances, I'll admit. I was knocked unconscious from behind. Inoue-san was behind me at the time, and I didn't sense anyone else around. When I woke up she was gone."
"Hmmm." Urahara slammed his fan shut on his palm. "That is a rather unfortunate set of facts, Ishida-san. I take it you told Soul Society the same story?"
"What was I supposed to do? Make something else up randomly?"
Urahara sighed. "I wouldn't expect you to do such a thing, but it probably would have been for the best. The Soul Society is not known for their understanding nature. I'm surprised you even got as much out of them as you did."
"I had to name-drop Kurosaki more than once," Uryuu admitted "And I may have implied some things about you two and the Vizards."
Yoruichi chuckled. "Nice going, Uryuu. You're quite the diplomat."
The quincy nodded. "I won't actually expect you two to help after everything you've already done, but I have to ask that you at least do me the favour of receiving and dealing the information from Soul Society to me."
Urahara chuckled. "And leave dear Inoue-san's fate up to you alone? The poor girl will disappear forever!"
A nerve twitched in Uryuu's temple. "I think you just insulted me..."
"Ah, no, of course not, of course not Ishida-san!" Urahara exclaimed, "You've already proven your competence a hundred times over, but to be honest you're not really-" He was stopped by sharp claws digging into his knee, eliciting a loud cry of pain, "Ah, Yoruichi-san, that hurts! That hurts!"
"What Kisuke is trying to say is that obviously we'll help you find her," Yoruichi said before releasing her claw's hold on Urahara's tender flesh.
"The war has made you cruel, my dear Yoruichi-san," Urahara said, far too cheerfully.
"Don't sound so happy about it," the cat grumbled as Urahara's large hand gently petted her back.
Uryuu glanced between them somewhat hesitantly. "You don't think she's a traitor then?"
Urahara then gave the most devious smirk Uryuu had ever seen, for once revealing the ominous inner personality that he held within him, before covering it up once again with his fan. "Frankly, Ishida-san, I wouldn't care if she was."
Uryuu had no idea how to interpret that, and he wasn't given the chance to try as Urahara's intense gaze bore into him. "Now...tell us exactly what happened."
"He doesn't look so scary when he's asleep, does he?"
Orihime addressed the question to Ulquiorra as she stared down at the peacefully resting sixth Espada. She didn't expect him to answer, though she turned to look at him anyway. She wasn't surprised to find his eyes already on her. He said nothing, though his gaze did drift towards Grimmjow for a moment, a clearly dissatisfied expression making its way onto his face.
Orihime had calmed down from her earlier emotional distress enough to follow her captor into the mysterious third room. It was about the same size as the kitchen, sporting a rickety looking metal bed, an empty bookshelf, a large chest at the foot of the bed and a wooden desk next to the door. It looked and smelled very much abandoned, and the windows were similarly boarded up, the only light source coming from the old lamp on the desk. It made Ulquiorra and Grimmjow's white, alien forms seem all the more mysterious and interesting, shadows playing over their faces.
She knew Ulquiorra was surprised to see her so calm after their little spat, because she herself was surprised. She silently relished that she had come out of that bathroom in as good a mood as her situation would allow. If Ulquiorra wasn't planning on hurting her physically, then the worst he could do was play with her emotions. And she sure as hell wasn't going to sit back and let him.
"What are you thinking about?"
She realized when green eyes came suddenly into focus that she had been staring at him fairly intently for some time. She shrugged. "Nothing really." Her eyes landed on Grimmjow and she voiced a suspicion that began to form in her mind from the moment she'd walked into the room..
"Ah, Ulquiorra-san...you didn't...make him go to sleep, did you?" Her hand moved to the back of her head, where the large lump still ached from where Ulquiorra had no doubt knocked her unconscious. It hurt quite a bit, but she could imagine Ulquiorra had even less gentle with Grimmjow. Ulquiorra only confirmed her suspicion by remaining stubbornly silent.
She sighed, probing the hard bump. It felt like something large had crawled under her scalp. She shuddered - once again her imagination going too far. Ulquiorra noticed and frowned at her.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Huh? Oh." She shook her head, lowering her arm to her side. "It's nothing." She didn't want to have to tell Ulquiorra that he had hit her too hard when she was lucky he hadn't cracked her skull. How strong people like him and Kurosaki-kun didn't go around snapping off door handles and breaking glasses by accident, she would never know. Maybe that was why there were no door handles in Las Noches?
She could never have that much control over so much power. If she had Ulquiorra's strength she would screw up all the time. If she tried to brush her teeth, she would probably squeeze all the toothpaste out in one go. What a nightmare that would be.
So really, one little bump wasn't a big deal...
"Woman," Ulquiorra broke through her thoughts, "Don't lie to me."
She sighed, taking a step back and leaning against the wall opposite the pale Espada, next to the book shelf. "It's no big deal, really, it's just a little bump is all."
Ulquiorra's face didn't really lend itself to looking puzzled, but it was giving a good attempt. "What?"
She blushed. God, she was going to sound so whiny. Ulquiorra had already called her pathetic more than once. "Well, the back of my head...I guess where you..." She had no earthly idea what he had done, she could only remember a burst of pain and then darkness. "Um, hit me I guess...it's a bit sore."
Comprehension dawned and Ulquiorra moved towards her. She didn't think she would ever get used to him doing that. Ulquiorra's presence when he got near felt like an overwhelming ...well, it was just overwhelming. She became very aware of him when he was close like this - aware of how crisp and neat his coat was, perfectly hugging his body, his posture so stern and commanding, his hair ironically messy under that massive, heavy looking bone helmet. That intense, unreadable look in freakishly green eyes. He was only a few inches taller than her and yet he made her feel tiny in a way not even Aizen had.
She stood completely frozen as his hand left his pocket, an intense sense of déjà vu assaulting her as it lifted through the air, pale and slender. It reached around her head, the cuffs of his sleeves brushing her cheek, his eyes locked with hers. She gasped in pain as his fingers slid through her damp hair, gently probing the sizable goose-egg. He frowned before retracting his hand and reaching into his pocket, holding out her Shun Shun Rika for her once again.
"Heal it," he said. Orihime flushed, still very uncomfortable with how close he was standing.
"I-it's fine, I don't need to use them for something so trivial." How embarrassing! He probably thought she was a big cry baby.
His frown deepened. "It will cause you discomfort for many days. Heal it." This time, it was an obvious command. Hesitantly, she took her hairpins into her hands.
"Sorry," she mumbled.
"For what?" He sounded like he really didn't know. She blinked up at him.
That was a damn good point. For a minute there, she had almost forgotten that Ulquiorra was a no-good kidnapper and any inconvenience she caused to him was his own damn fault. Why was she apologizing because she was going to heal an injury he caused? What the heck was going on with her brain?
She shook her head, summoned her fairies silently, and pouted at the floor. "Nothing."
Ulquiorra stared at her while she avoided his gaze as slowly the pain faded from her head. She wondered if Ayame and Shuno could reject whatever it was up there that had her thoughts so muddled.
She sullenly handed Ulquiorra the pins when she was done, and only then did he turn away from her, pocketing her brother's precious gift as he did so.
"Well, aint that sweet."
They both turned to stare at the source of the voice. Grimmjow stared up at them from his position on the bed before slowly sitting up, swinging his legs over the edge and placing his boots on the floor. He smirked at them with heavy eyes. "Ulquiorra...I don't think I've ever see you so concerned over something as pathetic as a bump on the head."
Orihime sighed internally. So if it wasn't Ulquiorra, it was Grimmjow calling her pathetic.
"Don't feel so guilty," Grimmjow continued, "How else were you supposed to get her away from her precious friends without her screaming your ears off?" He grinned.
Orihime's eyes slid over to the pale Espada, nervously anticipating his response. How Grimmjow could be comfortable talking smack to Ulquiorra when he probably didn't even have the energy to walk straight baffled her. But...she was curious, eagerly searching Ulquiorra's face for any sign of a reaction. Did he feel guilty? Concerned? The mere thought made her eye twitch in defiance of such a reality-shattering possibility. Ulquiorra may have been the least violent Espada she had met so far, but he also seemed the least likely to have second thoughts about causing serious harm if he saw the need for it.
But Ulquiorra simply gave the sixth a particularly cold look. "If you are awake now, we can get going."
Grimmjow quirked a brow, seemingly taken aback. "Going where?" he demanded.
"Back to Hueco Mundo."
Grimmjow scowled. "We just got back from Hueco Mundo, dipshit. Why'd you bring us here in the first place?"
Orihime watched Ulquiorra's lips thin in annoyance, glancing back and forth between the two Espada, not exactly happy to be caught between the two of them. "Idiot." Ulquiorra deadpanned, "I needed to remove the both of you from Hueco Mundo before the Shinigami there discovered us, and she needed to wash away some of her scent."
Grimmjow's nostrils flared, and he turned in Orihime's direction, quite blatantly sniffing her. He settled back after a moment. "Hn. So she did."
Colour rose to her cheeks and she stared at the floor. "Oh, uh - I didn't know I smelled that bad. Sorry."
Ulquiorra studied her in silence, but Grimmjow let out a loud snort. "Your scent made you smell like a meal, girly," he drawled, "It's quite appetizing. Nothing smells better to a hollow than sweat, blood and fear." He licked his lips to give the full menacing effect.
Orihime turned to Ulquiorra, eyes wide, and her blush intensified when the fourth said nothing to contradict Grimmjow's claim. She fidgeted
"But won't the hollow sense me?"
"My reiatsu renders your presence negligible. So long as your scent is not inhibiting their judgement, none will approach you while Grimmjow or I am near."
"Oh, okay." She hesitated. "But, just in case, shouldn't I have my hairpins with me?"
Ulquiorra's answer was a solid, "No."
"But what if for some reason I need to defend myself and you're distracted?"
"I am not easily distracted."
Orihime bit her lip, trying to come up with a way to counter his rather simple, yet elegant argument.
"But what if-"
"Enough." Ulquiorra said firmly, his eyes freezing her blood. "You're annoying me. This is not a negotiation. "
Her face fell. Ulquiorra snapped his fingers without warning, and immediately the gaping maw of the garganta opened. That was one way to end a conversation.
"Come," he told them, and disappeared into the darkness.