JC: First of all, I'd like to thank the reviewers and readers. You guys are such an inspiration. I've been busy with all the artwork for the Orihime Appreciation Week that I almost lost focus on this story. Prepare for some GrimmxHime moments. Of course, there will be UlquiHime moments too. I confess that I extremely love a lot of Hime pairs, namely UlquiHime, GrimmHime and IshiHime! They're all so cute!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. All rights belong to Kubo Tite, except for this plot of this story.


Love in the Mask

Chapter 4: Jealousy at its Best

At last Orihime and Nelliel came out of the creepy Menos Forest onto the lonely desert of Hueco Mundo. Las Noches was just a few meters away from where they stood. Exhausted as Orihime was, she jogged up the steep hill, keeping up with Nelliel's pace. She breathed the sigh of relief when she got to Las Noches. Training in the forest sure built up her appetite. She decided to take a quick shower first before grabbing a bite to eat. Nelliel agreed to do the same.

"And where have you been?" Ulquiorra asked when Orihime closed her bedroom door behind her.

"Ah, you scared me!" Orihime said in surprise. "Why are you in my room? How long have you been here?"

"I believe I asked you a question and you're obliged to answer it." His voice was steady.

She hesitated. He'd probably can tell if she's lying or not, but she wondered if he'll get mad if she told the truth. "I went hiking with Nel," she admitted. Well, technically they did hike through the forest.

His eyes were tight. "Is fighting against the Menos Grande your idea of hiking?" He walked toward her and grabbed her upper right arm. "You know better than to lie to me, woman." He carefully squeezed her arm, digging his fingers into her skin.

Orihime winced in pain.

"This injury—don't try to hide it. You may have fooled the Tres Espada, but nothing escapes my eyes." He released her arm and slipped his hands into the pockets of his hakama. "Know your place, woman. You are not a warrior. You are not a hollow. You are simply a weak human being."

Unnerved by his unblinking stare, she strolled over to the bed. Sitting down, she drew a deep breath to steady her voice. "I know," she said, wrapping her fingers around her right arm. "That's why I was training so hard. And this injury is nothing. I can just heal it and everything will be all right."

"How presumptuous."

She forced herself to lower her hand and lift her chin, boldly meeting his gaze. It should not matter to her anymore if he would disregard her efforts once again, but his words still felt like a stab in the chest. "It does not concern you." She said it calmly. "I train because I want to. It's none of your business."

There was a heartbeat's silence. Then Ulquiorra's voice came flatly: "You're making it my business, and I, myself, wonder why." He spun on his heel and walked to the door without another word.

"Ulquiorra, I—" She made him stop by grabbing his arm. But he kept walking so that her hand grazed off is arm and fell to her side. When he was out, Orihime sat back on the bed, trying to think calmly and sensibly. You're too difficult to understand! She snapped in her thoughts. And why were you in my room? Were you really waiting for me just so you can scold me?

She sat up and heaved a sigh. "From the way he's acting…He's just like a father…" She started imagining Ulquiorra in a business suit with a tie—a stereotypical business-type father. Her wild imagination only made her laugh. "All right! Enough of that for now!" She perked up. "Time to heal my injury." She summoned Shun'o and Ayame to perform Souten Kisshun on her arm.

When her arm was all better, she hurried up to the bathroom after removing the hairpins and setting them down on the bed. She took a quick shower, applied moisturizer on her skin, and brushed her teeth. And after putting on her clothes again, she skipped to her room.

To her utter surprise, Grimmjow was in the center of her bed, toying idly with her hairpins.

"What took you so long?" His voice was grim.

She went to bed and took her Shun Shun Rikka from his hands, and sat down. "What are you doing in my room, Grimmjow?" she asked, putting her hairpins on.

"I saw Ulquiorra coming out of your room a while ago. What the hell was that guy doing here?"

Orihime grimaced for an instant before perking up. "He asked me to cook dinner for him later! He said he wanted to try out my rice balls filled with sweet red bean paste and wasabi!"

A pillow hit her face. It got stuck there for a while before it fell on her lap. But the girl still had a goofy smile on her face.

Grimmjow got annoyed. "Stop spitting nonsense!" he yelled. "You think I'd believe the crap you're saying? This is stone-face we're talking about!"

Fiddling with her fingers while laughing nervously, Orihime said, "Um…Well…You see…Ulquiorra was just…"

The Espada sighed in frustration. Before she could even open her mouth again, he clamped it with his left hand. "You don't have to tell me. I wasn't interested anyway." He scratched the back of his head and lay down. "You know, you should really learn to lock your door."

Orihime blinked. "Oh, I didn't lock it?"

Grimmjow sat up in an instant and shoved his face toward Orihime's ear. "Don't give me that shit! Of course you didn't lock it! How else could I and that bastard Ulquiorra enter here in the first place? Use that damn head of yours for once!"

"Oh, I see, s—"

He pinched her cheeks before she could finish. "What did I just tell you?"

"Ah! Grimmjow, it hurts! Please stop!" Orihime wailed childishly. "Grimmjow! Stop it! You're gonna leave a mark! Grimmjow!"


Perhaps he had been so hard on her, Ulquiorra thought as his feet dragged him toward her bedroom once more. It bothered him to know he had hurt her again, whether it was intended or not. Normally he would be able to think rationally, but he becomes perplexed when it comes to the woman.

"Grimmjow, not so hard!" It was a cry from the woman. "It hurts! Please stop! You're gonna leave a mark!" And it seemed like she was enjoying whatever Grimmjow was doing to her. All sorts of perverted images popped out of his head.

His first emotion was irritation, and jealousy.

He glared at the door as he heard more of her cries. Enough was enough. He opened the door and saw a very disturbing sight.

Both Grimmjow and Orihime turned their heads in surprise towards the door.

Ulquiorra's face darkened. The two were on the bed, with Grimmjow literally on top of Orihime. His hands rested at either side of her head and his face was dangerously close to her own. Her silky hair was sprawled on her pillow, her legs was a bit apart as Grimmjow's leg were in between.

Turning to her, Grimmjow said, "Didn't think he'll show up here so soon."

Nelliel came prancing in and said, "Orihime, let's go and—" She stopped as she realized the scene before her. "Grimmjow, you pervert! What do you think you're doing? Get off of her before—" She stopped her mouth again as she felt Ulquiorra's spiritual pressure increasing. "Ul-Ulquiorra?"

Ulquiorra pointed a finger at Grimmjow and charged up for a Cero attack.

Grimmjow pushed himself away from Orihime. "Bastard, don't tell me you're gonna—"

"Cero," Ulquiorra muttered stoically as he fired.

Grimmjow dodged comically. "Damn you! Don't go shooting—" He was interrupted again by another Cero. "You freaking bastard! Stop it!" More Ceros kept coming and he did best to dodge them.

The chaos in the room forced Nelliel and Orihime to retreat outside. Their expressions were still dumbfounded.

"Stop shooting me, you freak!"

"Cero."

"I'm gonna kill you!"

"Cero."

"Dammit! Just stop!"

"Those two—they don't really get along, do they?" Orihime said, maintaining a stunned face, as she sweat-dropped.

Nelliel gave out a light, awkward laugh. "After what Ulquiorra had seen today, I doubt they'll ever get along," she said. "I feel sorry for your room."

Orihime smiled gawkily as she rubbed the side of her head. "About the room…well, I can just fix it with my Shun Shun Rikka." She then heard Grimmjow yell out another string of curses at Ulquiorra. She couldn't help but sigh. "I wonder if it's going to end any time soon."

Nelliel sweat-dropped. "I really don't think so."


Because of the farce earlier, Orihime was ordered by Ulquiorra to use his room for the meantime until her bedroom was completely restored. She had left Shun'o and Ayame to fix it. Orihime sat down on the bed, watching him, noticing the taut muscles of his bare back as he stood looking at the darkness, his hands resting inside the pockets of his hakama. The reason for him being shirtless was because of Grimmjow. The guy really tore Ulquiorra's coat into pieces.

After minutes of agonizing silence, Ulquiorra spun around to look at her. "I won't ask you why you invited Grimmjow into your room," he said flatly.

Though his eyes seemed cold, Orihime could see hidden contemptuous anger in them. "I didn't invite him," she told him.

His mouth twisted bitterly. "How could you let Grimmjow violate you like that?"

The flare of surprise quickly lighted in her eyes. "Violate? He didn't violate me," she uttered, flushing red like mad. "He was just teasing me. He stretched out my face, so I tried wriggling out. Then we sort of ended in that position. It wasn't intentional, honest!"

His face was hard and his eyes were darkly glittering. "But you didn't seem bothered when he was on top of you."

Appalled, she stared at him. "I never had the chance to react because you came in all of a sudden." It was weird. Why did Ulquiorra seem so hung up with what happened between her and Grimmjow? Knowing his personality, it should matter not to him. She turned her head away and sighed. "He wasn't trying anything funny. He was just fooling around."

"This is Grimmjow you're talking about." Ulquiorra's step forward was menacing, but she was firm enough to stare back at him defiantly. "He may be a hollow but he's also a male. I suppose, thinking of you, it would be logical to conclude that you are also capable of sexual desires as well."

Orihime was bright red now. She stood up, hands clenched and against her sides. "It's not like that with Grimmjow at all!" she said, tired of making excuses. "We weren't doing anything wrong. We didn't even kiss, if you want to know more!" She lowered her head and clutched the hems of her skirt.

He raised his hand and his thumb brushed her lips in soft caress. "I badly wanted to skewer Grimmjow when I saw him on top of you."

Orihime flinched away from his touch, but he caught her chin and forced her to face him. His eyes were absolute coldness. "Ulquiorra…"

"I've never felt the need to kill just for irrational reasons." His hand moved from her chin to the nape of her neck and began moving against her skin rather smoothly in an involuntary caress.

She swallowed. "Irrational reasons?"

His jaw tightened. "Feelings that I do not understand. They came up against some hard facts."

She saw him clench a fist. Even now, as his eyes blazed in coldness, the nearness of him acted like a drug on her senses. The quiet different desire aroused by the touch of his fingers against her skin sent chills up and down her spine. His eyes held hers, and her breath quickened, her eyes dilating as she read the gleam of awareness in him. Her lips parted on a soft sound, and he released her, almost pushing her away.

His mouth compressed, and he turned and began to stride toward the door. He had already opened it when she managed to ask, "Where are you going?"

"That is none of your concern, woman." His left hand went up to the framework of the door, and he seemed to be leaning on it. Without looking at her, he said, "This is one temptation I've been fighting ever since. I have a strong desire and I cannot guarantee to withstand that if I stay here any longer." He stood there for a moment longer, then looked back at her, standing still and shocked with wide, dazed eyes, and her orange hair falling about her shoulders. Then he turned away and left.

Orihime dropped down on the bed and sighed deeply. Her courage failed her, knowing that her heart wanted him to stay. She held questions for him, regarding about his feelings at the time he saw her with Grimmjow and about his feelings toward her. "You're so complicated, Ulquiorra…" she muttered under her breath.


"Hinagiku, Baigon, Lily!" Orihime uttered, summoning three fairies. "Santen Kesshun, I reject!" She formed a triangular shield in front of her just in time to block Nelliel's Cero.

Nelliel smiled. "Not bad, Orihime! You barriers are getting stronger again."

"Thank you, Nel," Orihime said, smiling back.

The two of them had been practicing in the training room since morning. Orihime had suggested to train early because she wanted to get her mind off Ulquiorra for a while. Her relationship with Ulquiorra over the last three days had been worse that she feared he would forcefully return her to the Human World. In more ways the one, he had threatened her, insisted that she didn't belong in Hueco Mundo, and sometimes would ignore her. The uneasy memory of their little moment three nights ago had never faded. Ulquiorra had mentioned about how he's been fighting one temptation, and Orihime could not figure him out.

"Grimmjow, do you know where Ulquiorra is?" she asked the blue-haired Espada upon entering the lounge. "He's neither in his room nor the library. I already checked the kitchen, dining room, and the lab too!"

Grimmjow raised a brow. "And why would he be in the kitchen?" He scratched his head as he lazily stood up from the sofa. "Stop wasting your time looking for that freak. He still owes me from last time. What do you want from him anyway?"

The uneasiness stirred again. "I just wanted to talk to him," she said.

"For what? In case you didn't notice, he's been ignoring you," Grimmjow said, which pricked her heart.

"I know…But still…" She lowered her head and fiddled with her hands nervously.

Grimmjow sighed in frustration. "That damn bastard is good at hiding his spiritual pressure," he told her as he grabbed her wrist. "But I have a good idea to where he is." He tugged her wrist before dragging her out.

"Ah, wait a minute, Grimmjow, I—"

"Shut your trap and walk faster!" he demanded.

She pursed her lips and looked down at the floor. As usual, Grimmjow was being so pushy.

As he swung round the corner into another hallway, he said, "You know, I'm tempted to take you away from that bastard."

"What?" she asked lightly.

He said nothing for a few moments, walking up to a set of stairs, still holding onto her wrist firmly yet carefully. They reached the next floor, and Orihime managed to trip on her own foot again. But Grimmjow caught her, taking the other hand in his. "I meant what I said." His eyes strayed hotly over her face and figure. "Every time I see you together with that gloomy excuse for a guy, I get so frustrated!"

Though a bit confused, Orihime figured that it was probably their longtime rivalry that got Grimmjow so annoyed. "You two don't get along so well, huh?" she said with an innocent smile on her face.

"We'll probably never will because you're here," he said furiously, and dragged her into his arms, holding her in a grip that hurt.

"G-Grimmjow?" Even if she would struggle, efforts would be useless against his strength. She began to feel nervous. Never had she imagined being held by Grimmjow. She couldn't help but blush. But what did he mean by what he said? He and Ulquiorra will never get along because of her? She found it hard to believe. "I'm sorry…" The words just came out of her mouth automatically. "I'm sorry for being such a bother to the two of you." Words, those were sincere, coming from her heart.

Carefully pushing her away, he saw the sad expression on her face. Her silver eyes were neared to tears. "Don't cry, you idiot!" he exclaimed, grabbing her upper arms, shaking her a bit. "When did I ever say you're a bother? Sure you're fucking annoying as hell, but you're not a bother!"

The look he gave her surprised her, and quickly she bowed her head and murmured another apology. Grimmjow slapped his own forehead as he groaned. Orihime blinked up at him and said, "Are you all right, Grimmjow—AH! Ouchie!"

Grimmjow started pinching her cheeks again.

"Ah! That hurts! That hurts! Grimmjow!" She struggled against him, flapping her arms frantically.

"Man, I'm gonna strangle you if you say sorry one more time," he said in a rough tone.

"Okay, I got it, Grimmjow! Ouch! Please let me go now!" She held both of his hands and looked up at him. "Let go now, please." Her tone was softer and a smile was present on her face.

Grimmjow grew uneasy and released her cheeks but his hands stayed. He handled her face very carefully, pressing just the tips of his fingers softly against her cheekbones as if she was easily breakable. "I don't want to let go," he said, his breath fanning across her face.

Orihime could only stare at him in utter surprise.

"Fuck, I think I'm going crazy!" He dropped his hands and turned abruptly from her. He raked a hand through his hair and let out a sigh of frustration. "Dammit! This is all your fault!"

"W-What?" replied Orihime, on a long pent-up breath. "Grimmjow, I-I don't understand. She moved towards him, touching him, and saying, "How is it my fault—"

He put up his hands and held her arms in a grip that hurt, and for a moment she thought he was going to toss her aside. Then he removed his hands and stuffed them into his pockets. "I'm outta here!"

Orihime had been shocked and worried by the flare-up of the Espada. It was so weird to see him acting so confused.

To be continued…


JC: Oh, Grimmjow's jealous of Ulquiorra and he's confused with his own feelings for Orihime. He's putting on a tough guy act but he cares. I enjoyed writing about Grimmjow here. I'd like to know what you think. Please leave some feedbacks. No flaming!