I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.

Chapter Three

Ulquiorra sat at the kitchen table, his back erect against the hard wood of the chair, his feet flat on the floor beneath him. His eyes focused straight ahead as he replayed the scene from earlier in his office, over again in his head. He had been a part of Reiko's life from the moment she was born, caring for her by himself for the past three years since Hisae's death, and in all that time she had never raised her voice to him, let alone acted so defiantly.

Ukitake had encouraged him to enter into her fantasy world of creative play. The psychologist saying it would be good for both of them, but maybe the man had been wrong. Worse, maybe his parents had been right. Maybe he was not the best choice to raise the precocious little girl. Maybe he was incapable of helping her bridge the distance between reality and fantasy.

He heard her footsteps as she shuffled into the kitchen, but he remained as he was, faced fixed forward. She approached the table and placed the terrarium at the empty place beside her plate, and then without a word, she headed for the sink to wash her hands.

He stared at the plastic terrarium searching for any sign that there really was an imaginary being in there. Regardless, whether real or imagined, Orihime had not only disrupted his carefully laid routine, but had sparked a defiance in Reiko that was never there before.

He removed his gaze from the cage as Reiko returned to the table. She was still silent, as she plopped down onto her chair, and looking down at her plate, continued to avoid his gaze. Unsure of what to do he picked up his utensils and began to eat his meal.

Everything on his plate had been placed with meticulous care. Each item of food its own distinct color and texture, each placed so that it did not touch the other food sharing the plate with it. He took his time, cutting the meat with precision, and had eaten several bites before he glanced at the little girl. Reiko sat silently, her hands in her lap, her plate untouched.

Putting down his utensils he asked, "Do you need assistance cutting your chicken?"

She kept her head bowed, her eyes scrunched tightly, biting her bottom lip as if she were trying to keep the words she wished to say from escaping. Instead of speaking she merely shook her head.

"You need to eat before your food gets cold," he persisted as he grabbed her plate, and bringing it closer to him, began to cut her chicken into small pieces. When finished he pushed the plate back in front of her. "That should do."

He ate another piece of the chicken before looking up to see that Reiko hadn't moved.

"Reiko," his voice growing impatient, "You need to eat."

Her head bowed down further so that her chin almost rested on her chest. Silently tears began to slip from beneath her tightly closed lids. She took a deep breath, her shoulders shaking as she tried to keep from sobbing, but it did little good. Suddenly she bolted from her chair and plastered herself against his side, her arms gripping him tightly, as she rested her head against his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry papa," she sobbed. "I shouldn't have yelled at you."

Ulquiorra sat completely still, his gaze fixed ahead at Orihime's cage. His eyes registered surprise, but the rest of his features remained neutral. Inside he was fighting desperately to sift through all the emotions that were bombarding him with Reiko's actions. Somewhere, in the depth of his soul he realized that he had messed up, really messed up. His need for routine once more had consumed him to the point that he had missed how important this creature, real or imagined, had become to his daughter. Now the time had come to try to fix this mess he had unwittingly created.

He peeled the child from his body and scooting his chair back slightly, turned and picked her up so that she rested in his lap. Her legs straddled his hips as she hugged him tight, her head buried in his chest as she continued to sob. His hands rubbed her back in soft, soothing strokes, as he tried to comfort her. Words never quite worked for him; actions he could understand. Still he had to try.

"You understand that we have a schedule," he attempted. She nodded her head against his chest. "And it is important to keep to that schedule." Once more she nodded. "Still, I suppose that if the schedule allows, we could return Orihime to the park tomorrow after ballet."

She slackened her death grip on him and pulled back. Her eyes were wide with surprise.

"Really papa, you would do that for Orihime?"

"I would do that for you," he replied. "But I cannot promise that we will have time. You know that your teacher sometimes runs late, and if that happens we will need to go directly home."

"I understand," she hugged him tightly once more and then wriggled off of his lap. Turning to Orihime she beamed. She sat back down on her own chair and then looked once more to her father, "Thank you papa."

He moved his chair back to the table and started to eat again. Pausing he said, "Remember I cannot guarantee we will be able to return her."

That's okay," she smiled as she picked up her own fork, "I know that you are trying."

With that she began to eat her meal; her mood considerably lighter.

Reiko laid the terrarium housing Orihime on the sink in her bathroom. Her father had already come and started the water for her bath, making sure the temperature was just right before he left to go mop the floor in the kitchen.

The little girl quickly disrobed, placing her clothes in the hamper, and then gathered her various toys that she played with during her bath and set them in place around the sides of the tub. Her mood had lightened considerably since dinner. Her father's words had renewed her spirit, and Orihime believed it was not simply because he had agreed to relent this one time. Instead she felt that this had been a first for both of them. His agreeing to vary from his carefully constructed routine showed that he was willing to bend, at least partially, to the little girl's needs, and that seemed to please the child most.

Reiko carefully entered the tub and sat down with a contented sigh in the warm water. Gathering a few of her dolls she began to play, happily creating stories and acting them out with the tiny figures.

Orihime watched with amusement. Reiko had quite the imagination, and she could understand how this would confuse her father, a man who was more comfortable with facts and tangible things. She found herself smiling as the girl changed the pitch of her own voice when speaking for her dolls. She enjoyed Reiko very much, and if she did not have such an important job to do at this time, she would love nothing more than to spend time in the child's company.

She had never had contact with humans before, and in fact had been taught to fear them. But watching Reiko and her father, Orihime began to wonder if all the warnings were incorrect, or at least to some degree based on misconceptions. After all it was not unheard of for spiritual creatures like her to bond with humans, and eventually forsake their immortality so that they could spend their lives with them.

Suddenly Reiko interrupted her play, looked to Orihime and asked, "Do you take baths in your fairy world?"

A wistful smile graced Orihime's lips. "I enjoy a good shower when the rain is misting during a gentle storm. Other times I like to wash up in the dew that appears in the early morning."

"It must be fun to be so tiny that you can do such things."

"You could still bathe in the rain," Orihime stated.

The child laughed. "Papa would not think that was too smart. I could catch a cold," she confided. "Besides it would not be proper to be naked in public."

"But you are naked in front of me."

"But you're a girl, like me," Reiko giggled. "It's okay if you see me. I mean as a fairy it's not the same, and if papa doesn't mind then it must be alright."

She glanced at the girl and her smile faded, "I do not believe your papa believes I exist."

Reiko looked at her with great concentration. "I think you are right," she then smiled once again, "but if we work on him I'm sure he'll change his mind."

"But tomorrow I will return to the Great Oak," she reminded, surprised that this knowledge made her somewhat sad.

"We could still visit you though," the girl replied, "Whenever we come to the park to play." Orihime looked down and her features darkened further. "We can come to visit, can't we?"

She looked up at Reiko to see the child's expression had become anxious.

"It's just that after we paint the leaves, and before the first frost appears, we will go deep into the tree until the spring."

"So I won't see you until the spring?" the child's face fell even more.

"It is the way of the Sprites," Orihime continued. "We paint the leaves before they fall from the trees to signal the change of the season, but we must spend the winter inside the Great Oak or we will freeze."

Reiko bowed her head; her toys sank into the water around her.

"I don't want to wait until spring to see you again," she said. "Isn't there another way? Couldn't you stay with us instead?"

"Reiko, I wish I could, but I have obligations that I cannot dismiss. My friends need me, and I would miss them as well."

Though this was the truth, Orihime left out another factor in her need to return home quickly; a much more pressing reason. She feared the dangerous consequences that could befall Reiko and her father if she remained with them too long.

The child nodded her head, accepting Orihime's explanation, but she refused to look up. It was then that her father entered the room, and taking in her appearance asked, "Is everything okay Reiko?"

"Orihime is going to spend the winter in the Great Oak, and I won't be able to see her again until the spring," the child replied.

He strode over to the tub and knelt down beside it. Silently he grabbed the shampoo and squirted a dime sized amount onto his hand. He then reached out and gently began to scrub her hair, working the soap through her long black locks.

"Is that what Orihime told you?" he finally asked.

She nodded, but remained silent.

"Then I suppose you will have no choice but to wait," he replied. "Unless of course we keep her here and not bother returning her tomorrow."

Orihime's heart began to race furiously in her chest. No, he promised to try to return her. He couldn't go back on his word now.

"We said we would bring her back," Reiko spoke at last, "And it would be a lie if we didn't do what we promised."

Orihime breathed deeply in relief.

"Then I suppose you will have to do without her company until the spring," her father stated.

Reiko was silent again. He rinsed the shampoo from her hair and then grabbed a washcloth.

"You need to clean your body," he said as he stood and went for a fluffy pink towel embroidered with the girl's name.

Reiko slowly washed her body and then lay down in the tub to rinse completely. When she sat back up she pulled the plug and looking at the terrarium whispered, "I don't want her to go."

Ulquiorra approached her with the towel.

"You made a promise, and it is good that you will honor it, even if you would rather not," she stood and he began to towel her dry. "I am proud of you for that."

She nodded her head again, but did not speak. Orihime felt bad for the child, but she had no choice either. Her life existed elsewhere, and no matter what she or Reiko desired, she could not change that fact.

Reiko crawled into her bed and snuggled up under the covers. Her papa sat beside her, a book in his hand. He had read the story of Peter Pan a few months back, and she had enjoyed it so much that he had bought another story, Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, and was currently halfway through the tale with her. He read a little every night before she went to bed, and she found this to be her favorite part of the day.

She loved the idea of fairies, and took their world very seriously; truly believing that if she were to deny their existence like said in the books they would die. Meeting Orihime had reconfirmed her belief, but it saddened her that her papa could not see the Sprite. She knew if he could, he would understand how special Orihime was, and would not want her to go either.

Glancing to the terrarium placed on her bedside table she was surprised to see Orihime just as enrapt with the story as she was. The Sprite's eyes sparkled with unshed tears as she listened to her papa read about the young boy who had escaped his home to go off to Kensington Gardens to learn once more how to fly. She wondered if maybe Orihime knew Peter Pan, or if he truly was just a story. She would ask her later, she decided, after her papa had gone to bed.

She returned her gaze to him as he continued to read. His deep voice began to lull her to sleep, and she found herself struggling to remain awake. As her eyes began to drift shut he paused.

"You have had a busy day," he whispered. "We can continue tomorrow."

"But I don't want you to go," she pleaded as she opened her eyes again.

"I will remain until you are asleep," he reassured her.

Content with that knowledge she gave into her exhaustion and once more closed her eyes. As she began to drift away into her dreams she saw her papa, only he was a little boy like her, or more so Peter Pan. He too wished to fly, but had forgotten how. She wished nothing more than to help him, but she wasn't sure how to do such a thing. Suddenly Orihime appeared and told her that she would teach her papa to fly again, and this made Reiko very happy.

Her body woke just enough for her to open her eyes and look at the Sprite within her cage. She smiled contently, and Orihime returned it with a bright one of her own. She then closed them once more and fell into a deep slumber.

Ulquiorra sat in his bed, his back to the headboard, his touch pad in his hands. He had spent the last hour searching the Internet to find everything he could about fairies, or more precisely Sprites. Still even after all this time he had found very little about the supernatural creatures.

It would seem that Sprites existed in folklore and were sometimes referred to as fairies or pixies, but not quite the same. They tended to be carefree and playful, but could also become quite fierce if provoked. Yet the same could be said about many other mythological beings, and at first he began to believe that in fact his daughter was merely creating an imaginary friend based on what she already knew about these creatures. However, sprites, in particular, never had been in any of the books he had read to her.

Yet as he probed further, coming across the more obscure sites, he found other information that caused him to pause. Most disconcerting was the fact that Sprites were responsible for painting the colors on the leaves in the fall, before they would retreat deep within the tree in which they lived, to wait out the cold winter months. This was almost exactly what had distressed Reiko earlier, yet he had really had to dig to find this information. How could his daughter have known such a thing?

She must be learning this at school. It was the only reasonable explanation. Her teacher must be teaching the children about fairy tales. Maybe the woman, in her exuberance, had shared ideas that most people would overlook. It was possible. Just to be safe he brought up his email and composed a letter to Miss Kotetsu asking if she was indeed elaborating on such details with the children.

Satisfied at that point that he had found all he could for now, he turned off the machine and placed it in its case beside his bed. He then decided to head to Reiko's room to check on her one last time before turning in for the night.

The child was still soundly asleep and he was about to leave when his eyes caught a faint glow coming from the terrarium beside her bed. He leaned in and peered closely inside, before rubbing his eyes to clear them. He must be tired; that would explain the weird light he thought he saw. Yet as he lowered his hands from his eyes he noticed that the terrarium merely stood empty, just as it had been since they returned home.

All this talk of fairies must be going to his head. That was the only explanation for the odd glow he believed he had seen. Rising, he slowly made his way back to his room. Climbing under the covers, he closed his eyes and tried to quell the uneasy feeling that was starting to build within him. He hated change, and he especially hated things he could not control.

This Sprite that Reiko believed to have found had already intruded upon their lives enough for his liking. Regardless of her existence, Orihime was real enough to disrupt his life, and he could not have that. Tomorrow he would play along with his daughter and bring the Sprite back to the Great Oak. Then the creature would be gone, and by the time spring rolled around Reiko would have forgotten all about her.

Author's Notes:

I was so busy this week, but thanks to my beta lilarin for helping me get this ready to submit. Once more I was excited by the reviews from some new names, as well as some familiar ones. I am glad that most of you seem to be enjoying "papa" Ulquiorra, and find his behavior in character, even if the story is very AU.

If you are familiar with my writing then you know that I take a few chapters to set the story up, and then a few more to get the plot moving along. This story is more like Forever and a Day in that it is light romance, and the pace should move quick and easy.

I promise that your questions will get answered as well in time. And this romance will happen – it is magic after all – and if you believe, our couple will finally meet!

Thanks to all who reviewed. I appreciate every word. So please let me know what you thought.