The Recluse

Chapter 3

I don't own Bleach (or any of its characters), Greg Maroney (or any of his beautiful songs).

After the very awkward trip to the store, Orihime had noticed that Ulquiorra had not spoken very much. She had found it odd that most of the people in the store had been staring at them, somewhat surprised. Yet she had no idea as to why. She had briefly mentioned it to Ulquiorra but he had merely shrugged and had kept on walking. The rain had started pouring by the time she had gotten to her apartment and set up the litter box for Shiro. She grabbed her umbrella and headed over to Ulquiorra's place. The sun had set an hour before but she was relieved for the spotlights that shone brightly to guide her way. Orihime decided to walk around on the street in order to avoid getting mud on her shoes by taking the shortcut across. She suddenly stopped and turned as she heard a noise behind her near the entrance to Szayel's part of the house. She tried to focus her eyes but she didn't see anything out of the ordinary. She turned and headed toward Ulquiorra's house and knocked on his door.

Ulquiorra opened the door and let his guest in. "I took the liberty to make dinner; I hope you do not mind."

"Oh, you didn't have to go through the trouble, I was thinking of throwing stuff together when I got home. Literally." Orihime's mouth began to water once she smelled the delicious scent which wafted from the kitchen. "Wow, Ulquiorra, it smells delicious, what is it?"

"Grilled Portobello with Roasted Red Pepper and Mozzarella," was his response. Orihime turned to look at him with an astonished look on her face, "Oh, you're fast. A sandwich would have been fine." She said somewhat reluctantly.

"I had some of it prepared earlier today. The dish sounds fancy but easy to prepare." He explained and to that Orihime nodded.

Ulquiorra prepared the two plates and tea and they both sat to eat their meal. The silence was a heavy and a bit unpleasant. Orihime felt annoyed with herself as she remembered swearing to herself that she would never enter his house again. Yet, there she was, sitting there eating his food and liking it, too.

"Uh, so, what do you do for a living?" asked Orihime.

"I am a writer." He replied as he continued to delicately eat his food and drink his tea. Such manners impressed Orihime and somewhat made her self-conscious of her own lack of table etiquette. She tried to follow suit but continued to feel more nervous by the moment. She tried to concentrate on the conversation at hand.

"Ah, I am not sure I have read any of your books, what genre do you write?" she asked.

"I tend to focus on Fiction and sometimes dabble in Science Fiction." He replied.

"Ooh, my friends tell me that I should write Science Fiction novels because they think I have a very over active imagination," she giggled as she explained, "I don't blame them though, my mind has been known to wonder at times. I guess I just tend to see the unlimited possibilities in life, I suppose." The word unlimited seemed to be more of an understatement to her.

Ulquiorra listened intently to every word that his guest spoke. From what he had gathered since he had met her, she seemed clumsy, fidgety and silly at times. But he was surprised that her company did not bother him, it did just the opposite as a matter of fact, and it was mildly interesting. Every so often his eyes would meet hers and would linger longer than intended until she would quickly glance away.

"And what is it that you do, Orihime?" he asked coolly.

Orihime looked up and smiled, "I am a social worker. Actually, I just started today at the offices located close to the square. I think I am going to like it, the people seem really nice."

They continued making polite conversation. Feeling content as he finished his meal, Ulquiorra rested his elbows on the table and looked at the woman sitting across from him. He noticed that she was getting fidgety again; he couldn't ignore the incessant tapping of her foot against her chair. The silence and his staring were making her nervous. Orihime tried to think of something to say.

"You know, I am really passionate about dance; at least I used to be. I used to take ballet classes when I was a little girl. My brother used to take me to my dance recitals, and afterward we would head out for ice cream. As a little girl, I was convinced that I when I grew up, I would be dancing with the New York City Ballet Company. It's funny how things don't generally turn out how one plans them. Don't you agree?" she said.

Ulquiorra looked away from her and stood up suddenly. He walked and stood next to her and extended his hand. Looking up at him and then at his hand she slowly laid hers delicately onto his. "I would like to show you something, Orihime." Once she stood, he led her though the living room and slid the set of doors which led to the adjoining room open. The girl gasped as she saw the rows of books lining the walls, the mahogany leather couch and chairs and a baby grand piano sitting in the middle of the large room. Without turning to look at her, he let go of her hand and slowly walked to the instrument and carefully caressed the edge of the piano. He walked around until he reached the bench and sat down. "As a child, I wanted to be a pianist. Both my parents were diligent with my studying and understood that I had a talent and they helped me nurture that." He went silent and glanced at Orihime who was now standing next to the piano.

Orihime was not sure as to why she felt as if he had shared something really special with her but she couldn't bring herself to ask more. There was a heavy tension in the air and it was almost suffocating her. It left her throat feeling dry, made her spine tingle and she was having trouble looking away from him. The more she shared time and space with his person, the more she wanted to understand him, to really know him. Orihime couldn't deny that there was certain loneliness to his demeanor at times and it pulled at her heart.

"Ulquiorra, could you play something?" Orihime asked as she leaned closer. Ulquiorra lifted the fall board and placed his fingers on the keys. Orihime recognized the song and closed her eyes and enjoyed the beautiful melody resonating within the room. A smile began to spread across her face and she felt her mind begin to wander. She pictured herself dancing again with a background full of stars as she marveled at the swiftness of her feet like she once had. He mind took her to a place where the wind gently blew and she could feel it caress her skin and saw the moon shining brightly above her. She couldn't remember the last time she had danced or let alone imagined doing so. The sense of freedom that Orihime had once let her body possess began to spark and rise within her. The tempo slowed, and then sped up; it almost felt as if he was teasing her. Pushing and pulling. Ulquiorra's side glances of Orihime during the slow movements brought a tiny smile to his lips. He wanted her to enjoy this, to absorb it.

As Ulquiorra's talented fingers brought the song to an end. She began to feel the void that she had tried to ignore and fill with work and other unneccesary things. Her brother was no longer there and since his passing, she no longer had cared to dance. With that realization, she opened her misty eyes and avoided eye contact with her host.

"That was very beautiful, Ulquiorra. You are very talented, is it Dance of the Imagination by Greg Maroney? " she whispered.

"You recognized it?" Ulquiorra seemed pleased by this. The red haired girl nodded her head in agreement. She didn't want to ruin the mood by crying so she thought of a happier topic.

"I used to play a little as a young girl as well. Not as well as you, of course, but just some simple songs that friends and I would play together."

"I am afraid I never really had time for duets with other classmates. My parents were very strict and I was not allowed much company." He mentioned.

The smile on her face was full of understanding, "Maybe I could teach you a song? If that is okay with you?" she quietly asked. He signaled for her to sit next to him and he scooted over, "Uh, let's see. How about Chopsticks? It's simple enough for me," she paused and looked over at him. "One more thing, do not make fun of me during or after. I haven't played in years," she said as she giggled.

Ulquiorra nodded, "You may lead, Orihime." She began to play and he followed suit. Her fingers kept slipping and continuously played the wrong keys, which made her laugh even more. Ulquiorra finished his part of the song triumphantly, while Orihime tried desperately to salvage what she could of the song without success. She covered her face in embarrassment which muffled her laughter.

"Wow! That was much worse than I thought it would be."

Ulquiorra looked at her with a serious yet somewhat amused look, "It wasn't that bad," he paused, "Okay, maybe just a little…Alright, it was terrible." Orihime's mouth gaped at his amusing sincerity. She smiled and glanced down at the keys and lightly touched them. A sudden silence filled the room. They both quickly felt the close distance between them.

Ulquiorra took notice of the faint scent of magnolias that came from the woman sitting next to him. There was a slight heaviness in his chest and he could feel his pulse slightly quicken at the thought of his body getting closer to her. He noticed that she was biting her lower lip as she was staring at the piano keys. He glanced at her hair and wondered what it would feel like to run his hands through her silky strands. As if she could feel the gaze of his stare, she slowly turned her head to look at him.

Orihime held her breath as she made eye contact with his intense green eyes. She couldn't recall if she had ever seen such a piercing color on anyone before. Her mind was getting cloudy; it was getting really hard to think. The feeling of an invisible rope that pulled at their chest bringing them closer to each other became harder to resist. Ulquiorra had a burning desire to taste her lips and Orihime began to close eyes.

The intense moment was harshly interrupted by the sound of a telephone. Orihime's eyes flew open in surprise and as she pulled herself away from the intriguing man sitting next to her. She breathed heavily and a feeling of being exposed overwhelmed her. Ulquiorra furrowed his eyebrows and quickly stood, "Excuse me a moment," he said as he stepped out of the room.

Orihime looked around the room. She noticed a tiny clock and found that much time had passed. As she began to reflect on her previous moments, she felt embarrassed. Having just met him, Orihime didn't know what to think of her current situation. She had unknowingly broken into his house, found him half naked and fumbled many times in front of him. They had just shared several awkward moments, accompanied by dinner and tea, a very intimate piano recital and an incredibly awkward almost kiss. Reaching her hand to her chest, she could feel her heart violently thumping against it. Then she felt it; the sudden pressure on her temple that triggered her fight or flight response, together with her overwhelming feeling of exposure made her panic.

She stepped outside of the room and headed toward the front door and stopped. She could hear him speaking with someone on the other end of the line in the kitchen. Her sight blurred for a moment. It was the beginning of a migraine. Perfect, she sighed. Using that as another excuse, she opened the door and closed it gently behind her.

As Ulquiorra spoke to his editor, he noticed a movement in the direction of his neighbor's house. It was Orihime opening her door and quickly slipping inside her home. He sighed and continued speaking on the phone.

XXX

Orihime rushed into her apartment as fast as she could. She ran to her bathroom and reached for her medicine once she opened the cabinet. Throwing the pill inside her mouth, she turned the faucet on and leaned as she gulped water from the spout. She sighed as she slowly pulled herself away and turned the faucet off and leaned against the bathroom wall. Feeling her body slide down, she sat on the bathroom floor and breathed deeply. It had been months since her last headache and she didn't want a repeat of that. Throwing up was not something she particularly enjoyed doing.

Trying to not replay the moments she had just had in her head, she crawled out of the bathroom and into her bedroom. She noticed her temporary pet, Shiro, lying comfortably on her bed. "Ah, I can see you've made yourself at home already," she said to the yawning feline. Orihime looked for the light switch in her room and remembered that it was behind the open door. Turning the light on, she got up and grabbed her white nightgown and headed for the shower. She hoped that by the time she finished brushing her teeth, her medicine would have taken effect and make her sleep. And if there was any chance that it could also make her forget the odd evening she had, that would be great, too.

It had been quite some time since Orihime had been intimate with anyone. Her mind flashed to Ulquiorra's pale hands on the piano and the spark that had ignited while he so intricately played came back to her. She felt herself groan, how could I have been so careless?

Yet as she thought about it, such happiness had overwhelmed her for that moment and it had made her smile. Orihime's head began to swim with thoughts of her past and mixed with the ones in her present. She felt a sense of peace that only her medicine could give her during moments like this. Yet she still felt that spark of happiness. She finished with her shower, got dressed, brushed her teeth and with her eyes half closing, she went to bed. She dreamed of musical notes and dancing close to the moon and the stars and an unknown figure.

XXX

Ulquiorra lay awake in bed. The moon's bright beams were entering through his window. Yet that was not the reason for his unrest. His thoughts lazily kept heading to the woman who was probably asleep in the house next door. He had not played the piano in months, he had not the inspiration. Yet as he listened to the woman talk about passions as if she were talking about the weather, it quickly reminded him of the abandoned instrument that sat in a corner of his house. Not knowing as to why he wanted her to hear him play, he had immediately thought of a song to play for her. He remembered stealing glances from her as he had played. Noting that she had had her eyes closed and was swaying with the melody. For that one moment, Ulquiorra had wished to stay like that forever. Such unrealistic desires did not suit him, though.

Now here he was, awake, thinking of things that he should not be thinking about to his growing irritation. He was surprised that the moment they had shared scared her away so quickly. Ulquiorra did not blame her though; even for him it had been too sudden. And that was the trickiest part of all. From the very moment that he had met her, she had done nothing but made him trip over his own emotions and somehow question his understanding of people. Once he thought that he had figured her out, she would do something that would pull him out of his element. A lot was questionable with her around, it seemed.

Nevertheless, he was not going to waste anytime lying there when he could be getting some work done. He got up and headed toward his study but paused at the thought that maybe playing another tune on the piano might not sound so bad at the moment. His body created shadows as he crossed though the windows which interrupted the beams of light. Reaching the piano, he began to play a melancholy number. As he neared the end of the song, he heard a noise outside his window. Ulquiorra stood and headed toward the window a saw a small shadow run across. Following to see what it was, he headed toward the front door and opened it, only to find the neighbor's "temporary pet" looking up at him. It meowed at him. Ulquiorra furrowed his eyebrows as he wondered why the annoying beast was walking around outside and was not inside.

He heard another noise coming from the side of the house. Voices? He thought. He quickly ran inside, opened the hall closet door and grabbed a bat. Glancing at the soon to be weapon, he ran his fingers at the word Relampago that had been inscribed into the wood. Ulquiorra had always had the urge of using this but not necessarily to play baseball. He quickly walked outside and headed toward the side of the house. Edging closer to the corner of the house, he leaned and checked to see if he caught glimpse of anyone.

Rounding the house, he carefully stepped on the stones which were part of the walk way that led to his backyard. As the clouds began to part, he noticed a slight fog had set. Ulquiorra quickly turned as he heard someone humming behind him. Feeling slightly confused as to what was happening, he thought it almost dreamlike. A woman with long red hair and a white gown was dancing out on the middle of the street. Controlled movements and graceful pirouettes as the fog swirled around her were created a hypnotic effect that prevented Ulquiorra from looking away. He stood frozen in place without thinking. She extended her hands toward the moon which made her look hauntingly beautiful.

Ulquiorra's mind began to turn as he thought that the girl might possibly be crazy. He almost chuckled at the irony of it all as he realized that the single most interesting person that he had met in quite some time was plain out nutty. He then noticed her slow twirling body come to a completely stop, leaving her back facing him. He decided to get the girl inside before she ended up hurting herself.

"I think you should go back inside, Orihime." He called out to her.

She slowly turned and began to walk toward him at a slow pace. Ulquiorra sighed. We can finally put an end to this foolishness, he thought. Bringing the bat down, he took a couple of steps toward her as well.

"I think…"paused Orihime, "…I think you should dance with me."

Ulquiorra's eyebrow rose. "I am not much of a dancer, sorry to disappoint you," was his reply.

Orihime kept her steady pace until she stood right in front of him. He noticed a boldness that had not been there earlier in the evening. Her eyes looked glazed and distant. He was sure that even though she was looking at him, she really was not focusing on him. She began to hum and her body began to sway to her music. Her body obediently moved to a waltz and she waltzed around Ulquiorra. His eyes followed her as she twirled behind him and back again. The movements of her body were starting to make him feel dizzy. He wanted to stop this.

It was getting foggier and the moonlight created shadows and reflections from the midnight dew which glittered around him. Orihime's heavy breathing could be heard and tiny beads of sweat appeared on her forehead as she continued to waltz. The transparency of her gown clung to her well-formed body that showed her nicely shaped mounds and the soft curves of her body as she delicately moved from side to side.

"Dance with me…"she whispered. "Just dance…humor me…take my hand." The echoing whispers filled his ears and to maybe humor her, he took her hand and pulled her close to his body. Ulquiorra could feel the heat that radiated from her body and he slid his hand behind her back to press her firmly against him. A slight moan escaped Orihime's lips as he did so. Her hand rose and she grasped his shirt and pulled him closer down closer to her. The same intense electricity that had crackled between them seemed tenfold at that moment. Ulquiorra lowered his head and rested his lips on hers, pressing softly at first.

Orihime pressed her body closer and she intensified her kiss as she opened her mouth and allowed him to enter. Their tongues created their own dance and their bodies felt the heat of such actions. Ulquiorra began to explore the curvature of her back with more freedom while pulling her closer to him while the other held the back of her neck. Their heavy moans and breaths were intensifying as their hands explored one another.

Finally separating from such passionate kiss, Ulquiorra began to kiss and lap his tongue on Orihime's neck. Smelling the sweet scent of magnolia within her hair, he felt his groin stiffen rapidly. As they slowly began grinding each other, Ulquiorra felt Orihime's body get heavier. She soon began to slowly slip down and he quickly caught her. He kneeled down and moved her hair out of her face.

"Orihime, are you okay? Hey, answer me?" he asked a bit worried. Using his hand to caress her skin, he tried to get her attention but noted that her eyes were now closed. Shit, did she faint? He asked himself. Ulquiorra picked her up swiftly and carried her in his arms and headed toward her house. He walked up the stairs carefully, as to not drop her. The girl may look thin but she certainly weighed her share. Opening the door and headed straight into her bedroom and he gently laid her down. As he hovered over her as he caught his breath, he could hear a slight snoring sound coming from the girl he had just placed on the bed.

Maybe, the girl was not so crazy after all.

XXX

First, I want to thank Alotika for letting me bug her time and time again so she would read and re-read this fic.

Second, if you haven't already noticed, Orihime suffers from a sleepwalking disorder calledsomnambulism; yes, it exists, I am living proof. It can make for fun entertainment for the people watching or that experience one of my episodes. I've had full conversations, meals, worked out and surfed the internet.

Third, if you want to know what melancholy song Ulquiorra was playing, I had it in my mind that he might have enjoyed this: Echo by Helen Jane Long. You should be able to put that on youtube and have it come up. I love that song. I had it on repeat while writing this chapter.

***I want to thank all who have reviewed. I truly appreciate it. I never thought I would say this but it does encourage one to keep writing. Thank you again!