The next day was an uncharacteristically warm autumn day. The tempest had passed, and warm yellow sunshine was streaming through Orihime's bedroom window. Its welcoming rays reached the sleeping girl underneath as she slept peacefully. Her chest, inclined towards the sunlight, rose and fell in a slow equilibrium as the orange-haired girl breathed deeply in and out. At some point during the long night, Orihime's heart had found tranquillity.

The heart-shaped face, while still pale from lack of sun and sleep, held a warmth about it entirely different from the golden beams in which she was basking. At the moment, Orihime was having a beautiful dream, nicer than any dream she had had in months.

She was walking down a forest trail, surrounded by deep green fir trees with deep mahogany trunks. Birds chirped happily, singing stories of love and life to the bewildered girl. At her feet, rich thick undergrowth was growing wildly, coiling around randomly. The heart of the earth was emanating from everywhere, so tangible that the orange-haired girl could almost see the faeries that were dancing all around her. The green arabesque of the underbrush was decorated with raspberries, blackberries, blueberries. She even saw a very pretty strawberry bush, and she stopped to taste one of the juicy pink fruits. It was sweet, but she would not linger at this place. The orange-haired girl continued on, lured by the sunlight filtering through the foliage. It was such an enchanting emerald colour when it was warmed by the sunshine…

The redhead, following the sun, found herself stepping out of the forest into a meadow. The scenery was breathtaking. Among the tall green grass before her, there grew long innocent white flowers, reaching towards a deep indigo sky. Farther ahead, Orihime could see patches of wildflowers of all colours blooming, and, among them, a figure all in white. Gazing at the back of the slim figure, as if in a trance, Orihime recited, as if the words surfaced from the most ancient part of her soul, "this is the eternal ruler." The figure, although dressed all in white, was the source of a dark aura. His regal stature was unmovable as a mountain, holding a king's graceful dignity. Only his hair stirred, ruffled by the tender Zephyr. In this realm of life and light, he was the one shadow, and yet his dark beauty outshone even the most remarkable of flowers.

Suddenly, without warning, the king turned his head towards the enchanted woman, his striking emerald eyes overwhelming even from a distance. They were cold as stone and yet as deep as the ocean. The spellbound woman watched him as he bent down and picked something off the ground. Raising himself back up to full height, he held up in her direction a large indigo anemone. The wildflower was beautiful, the most beautiful she had ever seen, but it could not keep her attention for long. The king's emerald eyes returned to hers, smouldering her, instructing her silently to come retrieve his offering. Without knowing why, Orihime started walking towards the white figure, his eyes her whole world. She kept walking, ever closer, ever closer. But right when the figure was within reach, the deep indigo anemone just a few paces away, the redhead was nudged from her sleep.

Immediately, the scenery of her dream dissolves before her eyes, and a deep sense of disappointment permeates her subconscious. She doesn't want to leave this place, not yet… She won't let go, she will return…


Back in reality, the doorbell rang again. Whoever it was, they were getting impatient. Emerald green eyes, feeling the sensation of grogginess for the first time ever, opened to see Orihime sleeping comfortably before him, peach face glowing in the dawn sunlight. The annoyed Ulquiorra had been roused from his sleep, slightly perplexed as to how he had ended up at the foot of the woman's bed. His weak human body was aching from the position, and he was experiencing several odd phenomena that his recollections could not account for. Further aggravating him, somehow, during the night, he and the woman had ended up hand in hand. Although the hand was soft (delicate, warm…), expressions of sentimentality would only be allowed to spur revulsion in the distant Arrancar.

Once again, the screeching sound of the doorbell reached Ulquiorra's ears. Inexplicably annoyed, he tore his hand out of Orihime's and made his way to the door. The former Espada was not in a good mood today, so unless the trash at the door had a damn good excuse for rousing him from his sleep, they were about to die. And then Ulquiorra was going to go back to 'sleep,' because that seemingly useless human activity was, for some reason, now desperately desired.

Without even bothering to straighten his cloths, the pallid arrancar swung open the door. Dark emerald eyes focused on a slender, panting, black-haired woman who looked at him with shock in her eyes. How easily he could read her every emotion. This is the woman's friend, the trash she was trying to protect when we first met… She did not run from us, therefore she could not sense our reiatsu. She is not connected with Soul Society, so she is unaware as to why I would be here…

"Who are you?" Tatsuki demanded, her voice as firm as her navy blue eyes, even when faced with Ulquiorra's intimidating stature, "and what are you doing here?" Ulquiorra just glared at her, wondering if Orihime would hate him very much if he killed this girl. He didn't want her to hate him; she was so much more beautiful when her delicate face shone with a happy expression…

"I asked you a question," the distressed girl raised her voice, approaching the distracted Arrancar. I've never seen this guy before. What the hell is he doing at Orihime's place? I can finally sense her presence after a week, and I find this freak in her apartment? What's going on?

"My name is Ulquiorra Schiffer. You are a friend of Inoue Orihime's, correct?" Ulquiorra, shaken out of one of his increasingly frequent dazes, looked down at the wary girl before him with dark piercing eyes. The girl was obviously desperate to see Orihime. They must have been close. Quelling his irritation, Ulquiorra decided he wouldn't kill her. Such an act would probably result in being killed by the shinigami, and, more importantly, being despised by the woman.

"Yes, I am. And I want to see her. Move out of the way." The girl in the school uniform was bold, Ulquiorra could give her that much. He held his stance at the door, his hands in the pockets of his black joggers.

"No. The woman is sleeping. Return from whence you came." Ulquiorra still did not want to deal with trash so early in the morning. The Arrancar's unmovable eyes were met with the enraged ones of the fierce woman before him.

"She is my nakama, and she has been missing for a month and a half. I need to see her now." Angry now, Tatsuki grabbed a fist full of Ulquiorra's black shirt. "Get out of the way or I'll make you!"

As stoically as ever, the former Espada pulled his right hand out of his pocket, and raised it to his collar. Grabbing a hold of her hand, he tightened his grip on her wrist, not tightly enough to break it, but with enough pressure to leave a mark. As expected, the girl didn't back down. She tried to retract her hand, and when that failed, raised her other hand to her side to jab him in the gut. Striking as fast as she could, her right hand still in his grip, her punch didn't go through as he blocked her attack with his other hand.

It would seem that his incredible reiatsu, even while almost completely sealed by his gigai, was sufficient for him to easily deal with any human. The girl before him was obviously skilled, but she was powerless against him, even in this form.

Eyes still impassive, thin pale hands holding onto Tatsuki's wrists, Ulquiorra lowered his hands to belt level, easily pulling the girl's upper body down to bow before him. Her dark blue eyes burned with hatred. This one is proving to be quite an annoyance…

"Nakama? If you were the woman's 'nakama,' you would know exactly who I am and why I am here." Ulquiorra looked down on the woman in his grasp with a cold stare. Her expression, while still enraged, betrayed her pain. He had struck a nerve.

"No, her 'nakama' are Kurosaki Ichigo, Sado Yasutora, Ishida Uryuu, and Kuchiki Rukia. You have no part in any of her affaires." With these words, Ulquiorra released his hold on Tatsuki's wrists, shoving her back away from the door. Her wrists were already beginning to bruise, but her eyes were clouded with rage.

"You – Bastard!" The trash shouted, as she lunged towards Ulquiorra with one of her signature karate moves. Right before her kick could reach the unmoving man with green tear marks, two hands behind her pulled her back by her shoulders. Tatsuki couldn't believe her eyes as she turned around and saw the sandal hat guy, a duffle bag over his shoulder, holding her back.

Ulquiorra, wondering if the girl's cry had awakened Orihime, was hardly paying the girl in front of him, or the shop keeper, any attention. Uninterested in the situation, and anxious to get back to Orihime's bedroom, Ulquiorra casually walked back inside and closed the door behind him. He would deal with Urahara later.

"My, my," Urahara sang with mock astonishment, his hat, as always, shading his eyes. "You two wouldn't happen to be quarrelling so early in the morning, would you? The sun has barely risen!"

"Ah, Urahara-san, let me go!" Tatsuki had only met the shop owner once, when she had sneaked into his store, but had figured that he was one of the good guys. Why was he letting this creep (with a crumpled up shirt! And makeup!) stay overnight with Orihime? What had happened in the last month and a half that she was missing out on?

"Arisawa-san, you shouldn't act aggressively until you know all the facts," Urahara lectured with a wag of his finger. "This is Ulquiorra-san, he is a friend of Orihime-san's."

Tatsuki could not see how someone like the man she had just met, with distant dark eyes, make-up on his face and black nail polish, could be a friend of Orihime's. This guy was exactly the kind of cold, dangerous guy that Orihime would usually avoid. She couldn't have changed so much in her absence… could she?

"Do you remember what I told you a week ago, when you sneaked into my store? When you saw Kurosaki-san going through my portal, I told you that they were going to go rescue Orihime-san." Urahara, mouth shielded behind a cheap paper fan, had now let go of the Tatsuki's shoulders and was facing her. "Ulquiorra-san was the one she was being rescued from, but now they're friends, and he's on special permission to be here, so let's not ruin it for him by getting him into trouble, okay?" The shop owner ended with a bright grin and a light tone.

Flabbergasted, Tatsuki turned angrily towards Ulquiorra's direction, fully intending to smack his face in. He had kidnapped Orihime, and that was all the girl's protector needed to know. However, as she turned around, she saw that Ulquiorra was gone, and the door to the apartment closed. Enraged, she was just about to kick the door down when Urahara once again interceded.

"I understand that it's hard to absorb, Arisawa-san," his voice was kind, this was still his mistake to deal with, after all. Ulquiorra was lucky that Urahara had come himself to deliver his surprise. "Orihime-san is safe now, the danger has passed. Kurosaki-san's back, so I suggest you ask him about all of the details. Orihime-san needs a little space, and Ulquiorra-san will be able to help her."

"What do you mean, he'll be able to help her?" Lowering her fists, Tatsuki allowed the shop keeper to explain.

And what he had to say almost made the trained fighter faint with shock.


Closing the door silently behind him, Ulquiorra made his way to Orihime's bedroom. Whatever nonsense Urahara wanted with him could wait until later. The emerald-eyed former Espada figured it had something to do with integrating him into the human world, and Ulquiorra was having his misgivings. This was the first time that Ulquiorra regretted having little to no knowledge of current human society, having lived in Hueco Mundo for the last couple of decades.

In the daylight, Ulquiorra now noticed many things about his new abode. Firstly, it was very colourful. Extremely colourful, especially compared to Las Noches. The brightness of the yellow walls and the living room in general assaulted his senses. It is no wonder that the woman had trouble coping in Las Noches…

Coolly analyzing everything in the apartment from where he stood in the middle of the living room, Ulquiorra realized that the couch was too small for him to sleep on. Orihime might fit, but he immediately rejected the idea of making her sleep on the navy couch just so that he could have the bed. For some reason, the idea of making her uncomfortable disturbed him. How odd, just a few days ago I found pleasure in her distress…

Striding into the bedroom, the sight meeting Ulquiorra's eyes was awe-inspiring. The already warm face of the orange-haired girl was kissed by the warm yellow rays of the morning sun, innocence and inner peace in her relaxed brow and slightly-parted strawberry lips. Orihime's position on the bed beneath the shining window, white cape cascading down the side, reminded of an angelic Snow White. Her fiery hair was sprawled all around her head in a halo of flames, and stood out in stark contrast to her sky blue sheets and pillow. Only half covered by the deep blue comforter, the sleeping woman's alluring figure was hinted at from underneath her tight-fitting white robes.

Ulquiorra stood looking down at his woman from her bedside, swift eyes taking in all that was her. Seeing her breath so deeply, after what he knew must have been a hard night for her, brought on a strange sense of relief in the black-haired Arrancar. He knew that he had put her through a lot of trauma while she was in his care, and some obscure part of him made him feel glad that she hadn't been permanently scarred. She seems to have recovered completely after just one night… She is truly a strong woman…

Silently, ever silently, the emerald-eyed teenager sat beside his former charge on the bed. She stirred gently, but was still in a light sleep. I will have to be careful if I am not to wake her…

A slender pallid hand wove its way into Orihime's bright orange hair. Ulquiorra couldn't get over it; her hair was softer than silk. The woman's fiery tresses felt so good in his hands.

Remembering the previous night, the stoic former Espada brought his other hand up to touch her sun-kissed cheeks with his fingertips. Her cheeks, too, were impossibly soft, like pink cashmere. The orange-haired woman shuddered under the soldier's touch, and lifted her head towards his hand. Realizing what the girl wanted, Ulquiorra pressed his palm against her cheek, cupping her delicate face in his pale hand.

A blush crept onto the girl's face as she sighed deeply. Ulquiorra enjoyed the thought that she was enjoying this almost as much as he was. He leaned forward on the cramped bed to get a better look at her. Although she was still semi-conscious, her expressive heart-shaped face betrayed her excitement. The green-eyed man moved his hand from her cheek, brushing her delicate jaw, her clear forehead, her small nose. He even followed the shape of her ear softly with his fingertip, inciting from her the softest of gasps.

Approaching her face even more, now completely absorbed, he once again noticed the warmth emanating from Orihime's parted lips. The warmth was oddly inviting, and Ulquiorra was having trouble resisting the urge to touch those rosen lips. Raising his ashen hand, his fingernails black, even while in human form, the curious Arrancar gently touched her pink lips. To his surprise, the redhead's lips parted even more under his touch, and released a warm breath of air somewhere between a sigh and a moan. How thoroughly enchanting…

Intent on mapping out this woman's body, Ulquiorra enjoyed the sensation of her lips against his fingertips. Like everything else about her, they were so soft. He never thought he would enjoy something soft, always equating softness with weakness, but somehow this woman was able to make tenderness her strength. She was unlike anything Ulquiorra had ever seen. Never could another person keep his attention like this, nor inspire such foreign feelings in him; she was someone he couldn't get enough of. And the emerald-eyed Arrancar was sure that there would be much more to see.

"Ulquiorra…" Orihime murmured in a voice barely audible. Stunned, Ulquiorra considered escaping the room before she found him touching her in her sleep. From what little Ulquiorra knew of human social norms, that never goes over well. But the orange-haired girl just stirred slightly, her eyes still closed, and shifted her body closer to his.

She is still asleep? He paused to gaze at her sleeping form. The woman called my name in her sleep… Why is it that such a thought excites me? Ulquiorra had to marvel at his own emotions. Something as useless as her saying his name in her sleep brought him a surge of excitement. Such worthless emotions he thought would never surface in him, but she was proving him wrong. Inoue Orihime was infecting him, he knew, but despite the change being completely contrary to his nature, he found himself enjoying her presence more and more. He had already decided on this path and, as always, he would see it though to the end, whatever the consequences. For this reason, he would not reject this woman, or her detrimental effect on his concentration.

Ulquiorra had even begun to enjoy the feelings that came along with the woman's interference in his existence. The excitement, the pleasure, the satisfaction, the pride, emotions he would never admit to having, that would never be read on his face, but that surfaced in him at seemingly random times while in Orihime's presence. Such an odd existence she is…

Just then, Ulquiorra's quick mind detected that that trash that had disturbed his sleep was retreating. Realizing that he didn't have much time left before he would have to go address Urahara, Ulquiorra's usually calculated mind lapsed, and he acted on yet another reckless impulse. Hovering over the sleeping Orihime, Ulquiorra lowered his head, burying his face in her hair. Breathing her scent in deeply, indulging in the softness of her hair and her jaw, Ulquiorra traced the length of her neck with his thin nose. He had never felt anything like it; it was like he was immersed in her essence. Adding to his astonishment, the sleeping Orihime turned her head towards him, releasing a strangled sigh.

Ulquiorra never wanted to leave. Orihime smelt like wildflowers, so gentle and yet so free. The green-eyed man had no idea what he was doing with this angel, where these strange impulses were coming from, nor whether this was the reason that he had wanted her so badly, but he knew that he didn't want this feeling to end.

Despite Ulquiorra's distracted state of mind, the arrancar's keen senses easily picked up on Urahara's intrusion into the small apartment. Ulquiorra lifted himself up off of Orihime, and gazed down at her infuriatingly endearing frustrated and disappointed expression. She doesn't want it to end, either…

Rising to his feet, the slender teenager reluctantly left the room and the sleeping Orihime, her scent still lingering in his nostrils. Walking down the hall to the living room, he found Urahara carefully closing the front door. Turning to face the Arrancar, Urahara noticed Ulquiorra's slightly out-of-focused eyes, and opened his mouth to comment.

"What is in the bag?" Ulquiorra cut in quickly.

"Perceptive as usual, Ulquiorra-san," Urahara praised lightly, after a pause, letting the duffle bag drop to the floor. Under the gaze of piercing emerald eyes, the exiled shinigami just smiled widely, mischievousness etched into his every feature.

A few minutes later, the two men had left the small apartment.


"Awwww… Not again…"

The orange-haired teenager moaned longingly as she stretched in her bed, her white-clad arms folded above her head as she arched her back. She had had the nicest dream earlier that morning, and she had really not wanted to wake up without finishing it. So she had tried to get back to her dreamland, and had ended up having another really great dream. And now, just a few minutes ago, it too had ended half-way through. The second dream was… a little different, though… Orihime blushed a deep pink. She had never felt that way before, and she had definitely never had those kinds of dreams. It embarrassed her to remember…

Even though the second dream was… great… Orihime still wished she could have finished the first dream. Grey eyes turning towards the ceiling, Orihime figured, with an indignant huff, that she would never know how it ended. But she was already fully awake, so there was no point to staying in bed all day.

Is today a school day? If it is, I can go and see Tatsuki-chan. It's been a month already! Wow, Tatsuki-chan must be really worried by now. And my nakama, they must be really worried, especially after yesterday…

Orihime stopped short. Yesterday? Yeah, she had been an emotional train wreck yesterday, and even though she was feeling better by the time she had fallen asleep, she couldn't understand why she was feeling genuinely happy today. Why was she feeling so much better? Had she cried all her tears? Orihime sat up in bed.

She was so happy that she even had such a wonderful dream about… what? After a moment of thinking about it, her clear eyes raised in thought, the orange-haired woman smiled brightly and, lifting herself up, decided to make herself celery with ketchup and bacon bits for breakfast.

The redhead was ravenous. She tore off her dirty white Arrancar cloths and slipped on a bathrobe. After breakfast, she would take a long shower… no a bath! And then she'd go find her friends and tell them that everything was alright.

Making her way to the kitchen, Orihime couldn't stop thinking about her first dream. Not only was it a way to distract herself from another emotional crash, which she was warily anticipating, but for some reason, it felt to her like it was vitally important, as opposed to all her other dreams, which were all random nonsense. She remembered certain parts of this dream, but they didn't seem to go together at all…

Life. She felt life all around her. It was a part of her; she, a part of it. It was like the universe's silent promise, expressed in that striking green, that her existence held meaning…

Orihime knew that she still hadn't really worked through all her shadows, but for some reason it was really hard for her insecurities to weigh her down today. The mid-morning sun was shining so beautifully, bathing her small apartment in its warming rays.

Orihime fixed herself breakfast and began eating. Oh, how she had missed her food! The food at Las Noches was so bland…

Faery. Although she couldn't see them, she knew they were there. She felt them playing all around her, like children chasing butterflies on a spring day...

Finishing her meal, Orihime checked the date. It was a Tuesday. She made her way to the bathroom and began running the water. She still felt great, and she figured that by midday she would be ready to head over to school. How her nakama would be proud of her…

Eternal ruler. A man who carried himself with dignity and grace. Orihime couldn't tell who he was or what he looked like, nor could she figure out the significance of seeing him there in her dream. Whoever he was, his countenance was oddly familiar to her. Had she dreamt of him before?

Submerging herself in the warm water, Orihime sighed contently from the relaxing feeling that was seeping into her. Her body was sore from all the strain her muscles had been put through yesterday. It finally sank in that Aizen had been defeated, and the world was safe. Orihime smiled to herself. Even if it had been just a small part, she had helped bring him down, and that was what was important. And this time, those words weren't hollow.

Zephyr. The gentle wind that caressed that man's hair, making it sway so beautifully. Such an ethereal existence he was…

After her long bath, Orihime dried herself off thoroughly, taking her time. It was only 11 o'clock and she was anxious to see her friends, but it felt so good to relax for once. She got dressed in her school uniform, enjoying the nostalgia it brought. Some of her happiest times were when she was wearing that grey uniform. But, for some reason, it felt odd to the girl to be wearing something other than white.

A dark beauty. He was the only figment that was dark in her entire dream, but he was also the most beautiful creation. He was solemn, deep. His eyes were sharp as daggers, and yet his gaze was so welcoming. He, too, was a contradiction…

Orihime stepped out of her home, locking the door behind her. Her face glowing with a cheerful smile, she walked down the street towards her school. Her mind still on her dream, the orange-haired girl found it surprisingly easy to hold back her excitement at finally going back to school. Even after thinking about it the whole morning, she had only remembered certain random aspects.

Looking around, the grey-eyed woman absorbed her surroundings, gratitude swelling within her that she could see this wonderful world again. The almost-bare trees, the grass covered in red leaves, the people going about, there was just so much to be thankful for that even Orihime's huge heart couldn't hold it all at once. Looking up to the clear autumn sky, something important struck the redhead.

Anemone… His offering, the beautiful indigo wildflower…

What is the meaning of all this?


"You will find at the back of your new agenda all kinds of student service numbers… There are suicide prevention hotlines, you know, if you ever need to talk things over with someone. And there are bullying and parental abuse support groups, in case, well… Anyway, if there are any problems with the other students, you just come see me, OK?" The man finished, congratulating himself for having saved another one.

The teenager, who had seemed bored before, suddenly looked like his eyes could sear through solid iron. If looks could kill… The man behind the desk backed away in his chair.

Perhaps I misunderstood the problem…


"What the hell is taking Ichigo so long?" Ichigo had disappeared with Arisawa a couple of hours ago, and Rukia was obviously getting annoyed. Walking down the school corridors towards their next class, she broke the silence between herself, Uryuu and Yasutora. The purple-eyed girl was fuming rather visibly. Wasn't he just supposed to be bringing her up to date?

"Arisawa-san is Inoue-san's best friend. With what happened to Inoue-san, she'll want to know every detail from the very beginning." Uryuu was getting annoyed himself with the petite shinigami. So what if Kurosaki wasn't around? Uryuu was happy.

The group arrived early to class. Stepping in, the friends were met with a rather unexpected surprise.

The orange-haired, big-breasted beauty, in all her glory, was sitting at her usual seat, her nose in a thick book. Her grey-eyes, only the day before filled with unspeakable pain and sadness, were now intent as they skimmed the pages of the large volume before her, flipping pages vigorously. Once the trio recovered from sheer shock, they dashed towards their dear friend.

"Inoue-san, wha-what are you doing here?" Uryuu managed to pronounce, fumbling on the words.

"Eva, Fay, Erica, Zephie, Layla, and Anemone." Orihime muttered after a pause. She then closed the book shut with a clack, and looked up to the ceiling, her eyes sparkling.

"Wha-" Catching her friends' gaping expressions, Orihime got up energetically, clasped her hands behind her back and repeated herself.

"Eva, Fay, Erica, Zephie, Layla, and Anemone." Satisfaction coated every word as the orange-haired girl smiled impossibly brightly, further stunning her friends. "It's perfect!"

Just as Rukia was about to ask a question, her mouth open and her pointer finger up, a loud gasp was heard from the entrance of the classroom. Other students had begun to file in, and one of them in particular was very excited.

"Hime-chaaaan!" Chizuru threw herself onto Orihime, knocking down her chair and pinning the poor redhead onto the desk behind her. All of the students were pleasantly surprised to see Orihime back, but no one quite as much as Chizuru.

"I'm so happy you're back! My life was so empty without you!" Tears of happiness were overflowing from the red-haired girl's eyes in her usual melodramatic manner. Her hands were on Orihime's shoulders and were finding their way lower down her body with each passing second. As usual, the grey-eyed girl's panicked expression was entirely ignored. Rukia, Yasutora and Uryuu backed away awkwardly, knowing better than to get between Chizuru and her "Hime-chan."

"No woman could ever replace you in my heart, Hime-chan! I waited for you faithfully! Hime-chan, I–"

Before anyone could understand what had happened, Chizuru had been yanked off Orihime and thrown half-way across the classroom. Looking severely pissed, a handsome black-haired foreigner wearing the school uniform, with piercing green eyes and black tear streaks down his cheeks, stood firmly on the ground where Chizuru just was. The redhead rebounded, her inner ferocity burning in her eyes.

"What the hell," Chizuru roared, a lioness ready to pounce. The thin pale man grabbed Orihime by the wrist and pulled her up next to him, his possessive eyes daring Chizuru to lay a hand on his woman again. Shifting his glance, Ulquiorra noticed that Orihime's eyes were wide like saucers; she obviously hadn't been expecting him here. Well, he hadn't expected that the result of Urahara's visit was that he would be spending three hours pretending to listen as a balding man behind a desk explained the importance of education, hard work, and suicide support groups. So it was tit-for-tat in Ulquiorra's mind. All this was her fault, after all, her with her enchanting hair and her overly-expressive eyes.

"How dare you touch my Hime-chan, you filthy man!" The innocent bystanders backed away to avoid the raw killing intent bursting out of the enraged lesbian. Completely undaunted, the impassive Ulquiorra stared daggers at Chizuru.

"Inoue Orihime belongs to no one but me. She forfeited her freedom to me eight days ago, and agreed to serve me of her own free will." Despite Ulquiorra's monotone voice, his insides were burning, aggravating his already foul mood. How dare this trash lay a hand on his woman? He placed his pallid hand against the center of Orihime's back and pushed her up against him. Perhaps this will make the message clear. "This woman's body and soul exist only for my purposes."

Just like every other time Ulquiorra opened his mouth in public, everyone could just gape, their jaws dropping to the floor. The fertile young adolescent minds immediately drew very colourful conclusions as to what their classmate Inoue had been doing for the last week. The tension in the classroom dissolved completely as everyone openly stared at the most awkward couple any of them had ever seen.

Ulquiorra probably doesn't even realize how that sounds to us… Orihime forced herself to laugh, more embarrassed than ever before.