TRICK OR TREAT
CHAPTER 3: CANDY TASTE
"We don't have things called like that in Las Noches."
Replying with his calm voice, Ulquiorra closed the door and disappeared on the other side of the wall.
Unknowing to Orihime, Ulquiorra still hadn't gotten away from the door outside the hallway yet.
In his mind, there were puzzled thoughts about the human prisoner he was assigned to take charge of.
What was with this woman?
I knew that she was a strange human, but I didn't expect she would be THAT strange.
Why did she talk with me so care-freely? She didn't make any sound during the way coming here.
Why did she suddenly come to talk with me – the hollow who forced her get into this bloody monster world?
Why is she not scared at all?
What a strange woman!
Also… What are those "some candies" that woman was talking about? And what is "Halloween"?
Curiosity took over him. He decided to come in one more to ask the woman.
Almost there was no sound to be made, he pushed the door half-open and got in. But this time, instead of finding her standing somewhere in the room, he just saw a figure on the couch.
Her eyes closed and her body was lying still on one's side. Some of her reddish-orange hair had fallen down and almost touched the floor marble.
She was sleeping.
Her human body probably exhausted its function because she drained all the strength by running today. Still, do humans usually make those kinds of expression in their sleep? What was it called again, "blissful" maybe?
Arrancar usually didn't sleep (except to Starrk who was just laid back and lazy and Yammy who was an idiot) so Ulquiorra didn't understand why the woman made those faces in her sleep. Because Ulquiorra was sure that no Arrancar even when awaking had ever made those expressions like her.
Noticing some hairs on her bangs fallen down on her face, pulling his hand out of the pocket, he reached out with intention to put it up back behind her ear.
"Kurosaki-kun"
She muttered a name and Ulquiorra's hand stopped its motion in the midair. He clenched it into a fist and shoved it back to his pocket.
Lingering his look over her feature for a moment, he turned his feet and walked out of the room.
He felt something clawing at the edge of his hollow hole. There was no wound or injury… but the pain was there.
From what caused it?
He didn't know.
He just didn't like it.
He walked and walked through the long hallway with no accurate destination to go in his mind.
"Hey ya, Ulquiorra!"
A man's voice called out stopping Ulquiorra's track.
On the opposite side of the hallway, Ulquiorra saw a man with silver hair walking down towards him with his grin almost stretched up to the ear. He folded his arms inside the sleeves of the Arrancar uniform in a strange way. Moreover, his eyes were always strangely closed.
Ulquiorra realized the man. He's Aizen-sama's right hand man. An ex-shinigami like Aizen-sama.
"Ichimaru Gin" He confirmed the name.
"I heard from Aizen-san that you have to take care of a human girl. How are you today?" Gin was in his good mood and looked like he just wanted to bother Ulquiorra who happened inside his range vision.
"Aizen-sama's order is absolute. It's just a trivial matter." Ulquiorra replied.
"Is that so? Aizen-san said that she has an interesting power and she is quite a beauty too. So I want to take a look." Gin spoke about the woman prisoner with an amusing tone.
He didn't look like he was curious. Or rather he seemed to know the girl enough to have some other fun. "I heard that Ran-chan befriended with her in the human world. I wonder if she would chat with me about my Ran-chan."
"I'm afraid that you can't do that with the woman's current state right now." Ulquiorra answered Gin's subtle intention.
"Hm? What's wrong with her?" Gin asked.
"She has exhausted her body and is sleeping now." Ulquiorra said with his monotone voice.
"Oh! What a pity! I had even brought some candies that I took from Kaname for her." Gin sighed and made his look-alike disappointed face.
"Candy?"
Ulquiorra repeated the strange word about the things that the woman had said before with a look-alike question tone.
"Ah… Ulquiorra had never had candy before right? You're a hollow after all. Okay, I'm giving you some. Here. You should try some and hope it would change that frowning face of yours just like mine."
Gin threw something to Ulquiorra to catch.
Ulquiorra looked at the transparent plastic little bag in his hand strangely and suspiciously. Inside that bag, there were some odd circular shaped things which were wrapped by colorful papers in the middle.
He saw Gin making an example as taking off the paper wrapping around and revealing another small, colorful, and circular thing look like a marble ball. Gin threw one in his mouth.
Ulquiorra tried to do the same. He opened the bag, picked one of the "candies", peeled off the paper wrap and brought the marble near his lips to taste.
"Weird taste. This is candy?" Ulquiorra commented.
After testing that the taste was fine with him, he put it in the mouth.
"There're other flavors too. But my most favorite is persimmon flavor after all."
Gin talked his mouth filled with "candies" and then he heard an odd sound coming from Ulquiorra's mouth, "Argh, Ulquiorra, you're supposed to keep it in the mouth for it melting inside, not to crunch it."
Gin sighed. "Well, it can't be helped. Hollows never had any sweets in their life right. They don't know how to flavor it at all. I have to go now. See ya, Ulquiorra"
Gin waved his hand and walked back the path that he had strolled down before.
Meanwhile, Ulquiorra still contemplated with the bag in his hand.
How can those sweet things change my face into his? Ichimaru Gin doesn't make sense.
But I don't understand why the woman wanted those things in her meal desperately. They didn't give her any more nutrients nor serve any other purposes. In fact, eating those things might cause more problems in her health.
She said something because of "Halloween" that she wanted "candy". What does that "Halloween" have to do with "candy"? A kind of human ritual?
When that woman wakes up, I will ask her.
Content with that thought, he shoved the small bag into his pocket and walked away.
To be continued...
JinxJen's note: Gin made his cameo appearance in this chapter so random, but it was because he has his motive and role for the plot.
