A/N: Sorry for any grammar mistakes I missed. I will eventually upload revised chapters. I dun really wanna talk about the guy who was supposed to be revising for me. -_-
Chapter Five
Ulquiorra sat in his recliner with his laptop, reading the news. He could imagine himself 50 years in the future, with visiting young family members, where it might be common for old men to read news websites like they now read the newspaper, sitting at a table with a futuristic computer, reading the headlines.
After he read enough, he exhaled and and tried busying himself with a weight set in the corner of the room. Anything to get his mind off the evenings events.
His mother had totally belittled him. It was true that he usually doesn't care about what people thing about him, but this was different. Someone put him out there without his consent.
And to top it all off, Orihime was coming again tomorrow.
The weights weren't working.
Frustrated, Ulquiorra set down the weights he put them back and decided he would go to sleep early. He did a little self grooming before changing for bed.
Laying down in his sweatpants, he stared at the moon through the window and chanted mentally...
Don't think about it.
Don't think about it.
DON'T fucking THINK about it.
But his mother liked Orihime, and he had to bring her home sometimes. His mother would undoubtedly invite Orihime to eat every single time. And every time Orihime ate dinner at the house, his mother would never let him eat alone in his room.
And if he wasn't in his room, he'd be at the table—with his mom, and Orihime... again...
Ulquiorra could not let that happen again.
After a pleasant breakfast with Tatsuki, Orihime noticed Uryu Ishida—a average height boy with black hair—walk into one of the halls from the cafeteria while disposing of her tray. Remembering what Ichigo and Rukia said the previous day, she quickly ran after him.
When Orihime caught up to Ishida, she was focusing so much on panting than running that she actually bumped into him.
Uryu turned around quickly with a slight scorn, probably expecting to see Ichigo looking all smug. But then he was just as quickly surprised when he saw the curious eyed redhead.
And just as quickly as he was surprised, he blushed.
"Orihime." Uyru's start had caused his glasses to almost slide off his nose. He pushed them back up and kept his hand covering his face, "How are you this morning?"
"I'm fine," she inhaled deeply before saying quickly, "I saw Ichigo and Rukia yesterday and I know I haven't talked to you in a while but Ichigo said you were worried about me so I said I would talk to you so here I am!" She paused for breath, "Hi Ishida-san!"
Uyru frowned. He wasn't pleased the only reason she was talking to him was because of Ichigo, "You don't have to be so formal Orihime. We are the same age."
"Oh. I know. But with your current work aspirations I will someday have to be formal so might as well start now! Gotta get used to it," by work aspirations, Orihime was talking about Ishida studying to be a priest, like his grandfather, "Not that I'm religious but I don't like feeling disrespectful."
Uyru nodded and moved his hand to cross his arms, "So have you been busy, Orihime-chan?"
"Well not really," Orihime paused to gather her thoughts, "Though I could probably say I've had a lot on my mind recently."
Uyru nodded.
The silence went on for a while.
"Hey!"
They both turned around to see Ichigo waving and walking toward them, "Glad to see you two together. You weren't up to anything were you, Uyru?"
Uryu glared at the strawberry blood teenager. He wasn't very happy with him recently.
Orihime glance between the two, "Umm... do you guys hate each other again?"
Uryu glanced over at Orihime briefly before staring off into the crowds of people that were starting to swarm, "You could say that."
Ichigo shrugged, then a mischievous grin , "Hey Uryu, you'd never guess where I caught Orihime heading yesterday."
Orihime giggled nervously, "It was no big deal really..."
Uryu look disinterested.
Ichigo laughed and played it up, "Yeah right. She was heading over to that one kid's house... Cifer. You have a class with that guy, don't you Uryu?"
Uryu flinched and looked at Ichigo, telling him merely with his eyes that he wouldn't be toyed with and it better be serious, "Fourth hour. English."
Ichigo nodded, "Yeah, I knew you would know him. So Orihime, what did you guy's do last night?"
"We just did some research... not a real big—"
A large clang was heard as Ishida slammed his locker, "I have to go to class."
Orihime nodded and waved, "Nice seeing you Ishida-san!"
"To much stress is bad for your health!" Ichigo yelled after.
Ulquiorra got to first hour early. Large chalked stars were all over the board, pointing to a piece of paper that was in the middle of it. Above it were the chalked letters 'Seating Assignments' and on the paper was the title 'Chemistry/hr 1'. One edge of the paper was label 'front' and in the middle was a buch of tiny squares with names on them.
When Ulquiorra found his name, he went and sat in a desk that was in the back row of the class room and waited patiently. Sometimes a person would come in and look at the board then drop off their stuff at what was hopefully their spot. After a while, people actually came in to sit down.
Right before class started, Orihime ran in and was stumped by the change in where people were sitting, then took the seat next to Ulquiorra's.
Ulquiorra turned and stared at her, "You are usually here before I am but you were almost late today."
Orihime shrugged, "I got caught up in something," she received a disapproving look, "Why? What's wrong?"
"I had something to discuss with you," Ulquiorra stated.
Orihime looked around the class room and didn't see a sign of Mr. Kanonji, "You could talk to me now, right?"
There was a sigh, "I guess so," Ulquiorra gave her a serious look, "We are working at your house tonight."
Orihime jumped in surprise, "Do we have to? Are you sure?"
Ulquiorra nodded with the utmost certainty, "I do not need you at my house with my mom being as...excitable as she is."
Orihime nodded but then looked a little concerned, "We have to take the bus. Do you have money?"
There was a brief break in the conversation as the bell rang, "No."
"Oh," Orihime looked troubled, "Well I guess I will have to buy you a bus coupon at the office. It's not that much."
"Whatever. That's fine."
"We'll have to meet somewhere after school then."
"Where?"
"Umm..." Orihime thought it over, "On the side walk that is under the trees by the student parking lot. Can you get a ride home?"
Ulquiorra nodded as Mr. Kanonji came in to yell excitedly about the new seating arrangement.
Tatsuki wasn't at her locker after school. Orihime vaguely remembered her mentioning she had a doctors appointment during breakfast.
But Orihime did definitely remember something else. She dug through her pocket and pulled out a little piece of paper. Printed on it was 'Karakura Public Transport/Student Ticket/Value: $3.00' . Orihime was proud of herself, because she had actually remembered to go to the Office during lunch and buy it. Orihime tucked the ticket into her coat pocket and made sure the pocket was zipped shut.
After dropping off some of her text books at her locker, she started making for the exit. She got a little worried that maybe Ulquiorra would look down on her because she didn't have a fancy study. Orihime had a four year old computer with about a 14" monitor in the corner of her living room. It was dirt in comparison to the computer she got to work on the previous day.
And Orihime really hoped she didn't leave any garbage on the living room floor. Not that she was a a slob, but sometimes when she was eating chips in front of the TV, she would throw the bag on the floor and and wait for a commercial and forget to pick up. And even worse—she sometimes changed in the living room.
Almost certain that her apartment must be a chaotic mess, she was set on making Ulquiorra wait outside when they got there so she could tidy up. Nodding to herself, she exited toward the parking lot.
Ulquiorra was a little puzzled as he watched the nice, richer districts of town passed by and Orihime didn't request for the bus to stop. Soon all the nicer houses and building passed by and the surroundings started to look like slums. Graffiti was on most of the walls, sometimes in really bizarre places—like the people were not just running around with five spray cans, but a ladder as well.
The road became more bumpy. If you looked into the gas stations hard enough, you could see bullet proof glass and odd contraptions between the cash registers and the counter. A lot of other commercial buildings were closed. Some condemned looking houses and apartment buildings had broken windows and occasionally beer bottles on the steps.
He assumed they would just be passing though that part of town. Ulquiorra didn't expect the bus to be stopped outside a brick building with really old looking window and door structures that were rusting in some areas, the bricks painted maroon since they probably didn't have the money to sand blast it but the paint chipped harshly in places.
Orihime unlocked the front entrance and held the door for Ulquiorra who waited inside for her to pass him since he didn't know where they were going. Orihime ran up the steps with Ulquiorra close behind. He noted that even if the walls were probably suppose to be white, they were tinted yellow, with some larger orange stains near the ceiling.
When Ulquiorra and Orihime arrived outside Orihime's apartment, she shoved his shoulder a little bit when he got close to the door.
"Umm... wait," Orihime said, unlocked the door and opened a small crack and that allowed her to peek inside. She stayed there for a few seconds before straightening up and giggling nervously, "Oh. I guess it's not as messy as I thought it was," she continued to giggle as she pushed the door open.
The furnishing was minimal. Nothing like Ulquiorra expected a peppy girl to live in. The apartment door lead straight into a living room that only had a well worn down couch, a small TV on a footstool that was serving as a makeshift TV stand with a DVD VHR player and a computer in a corner that wasn't even on a desk. A glimpse though an archway in the back of the living room showed a bit of a table and a chair, a wooden counter, cupboards painted white, a window with a nice view of the side of a neighboring building and more off white walls. On the right side of the living room from where Ulquiorra was standing was a hall way that was too dark to see down.
Orihime took her shoes off and left them by the door, "Well.. make yourself comfortable. I got a pressure cooker at a garage sale about a month ago so I'm gonna put some stuff in it right now and hopefully dinner will be done in a few hours."
Ulquiorra looked around and little more, trying to find a lighter side to it all, but it all just seemed depressing, "I am surprised this is even in the limits of the school district."
"Oh yeah!" Orihime nodded, "It's right on the edge actually. If I was on the other side of the street I would be going to a different school," she giggled, "It's nice though because I am in school with all my friends from middle school."
Ulquiorra nodded as Orihime ran into the kitchen. There was a bit of a noise as Orihime presumably shifted around some pots and pans.
"I hope you like pot roast! I don't have to watch it! And it's what I wanted to use the pressure cooker for!"
Ulquiorra finally stepped inside and let the door close. Everything looked tidy, but just because of Ulquiorra upbringing, he felt out of place, and he couldn't stop thinking that everything was dirty. He tried to kick himself for thinking it, but he couldn't stop. He had never been in a place in such sorry state with the idea that they were living conditions.
Another sound came from the kitchen that sounded like chopping before another one joined it that sounded like a blender. And then a sink ran for a while it sounded like some more things were being move around. He heard the lighting of a stove and a couple more noises before Orihime ran back into the living room.
"I just have to wait for the meat to thaw..." she said as she came in and started taking off her snow gear and putting it on the couch. She looked up at Ulquiorra when he didn't make a move at all, "Umm... are you okay?" she grabbed his hand and lead him to the half of the couch she didn't have her stuff on, "Just sit here and wait," she ran back into the kitchen and the water was heard running again.
Ulquiorra didn't sit though. It was like he was experiencing some version of culture shock—and didn't want to touch the couch.
Orihime came back in while later, spending some time staring at Ulquiorra from the edges of the living room and kitchen, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he finally said.
Orihime went over and picked up her coat and stuffed her hat, mittens and other extras in the sleeve. She motioned to Ulquiorra to hand her his coat and he eventually slipped out of it and handed it off to her. She disappeared down the hallway and came back, "So... do you have a memory card with the project on it?"
In a swift motion, Ulquiorra dug into his pocket and pulled out a red, transparent flash-drive.
Orihime took it in one hand and looked it over, "Oh. It's pretty," Orihime walked over to her computer and switched it on then plugged the flashdrive, "I hope my computer can open the file," she sat down cross-legged in front of the computer, "It takes forever to update my software so I don't do it that often..."
"Couldn't you just set it to update and leave it alone?" Ulquiorra said without looking over.
"Well... yeah... but..." she stopped and pouted.
After a while the computer started up and Ulquiorra was coaxed into sitting next to Orihime in front of the computer. So they huddled close together, bent over trying to work on the same computer. Orihime occasionally brushed against him and Ulquiorra tried to avoid touching her but it was just impossible due to their sheer proximity.
After about a half our of him feeling uncomfortable and her being completely oblivious, Orihime stood up, happy with all the information they had gathered and organized stood up and moved into the kitchen while Ulquiorra stayed and buffed out the presentation.
"When did you say you're mom was picking you up?" Orihime yelled from the kitchen.
"I told her at six," Ulquiorra stated, feeling relieved to have his own space, but the places where there shoulders still tingled slightly.
"Well it's four now and dinner should be done in an hour," there was a pause, "Do you want to stay 'til then?"
Ulquiorra tossed the idea around in his head. He was sure that if he called his mom she would just insist she was busy until the time they already had arranged. And eating with Orihime also should be fine without his mom there. Just as long as—
"I can stay," Ulquiorra said calmly, "When do your parents get home?"
There was a long period of silence.
"They don't."
That didn't make sense to Ulquiorra. A ton of different scenarios went though his head, but he didn't want to ask. So he just remained silent.
"I have basic cable! A remote should be on the couch!"
Ulquiorra noted it but he was still busy with the finishing touches on the powerpoint. Eventually he was content enough to save and hesitantly moved to the couch and found the remote half buried between two seat cushions. He pressed the power button and tuned to channel 2, because that was most likely the TV guide channel. The channels looped once and nothing interesting appeared, so he decided to watch the actual TV guide's programming. There was a lady in a very clean kitchen that contrasted with his current surroundings and she was explaining how to make a dish with the main ingredient being eggs.
Orihime came in later and looked at the TV, "Hmm... let's watch cartoons."
Ulquiorra shot her a look. A 'what-would-make-you-possibly-think-that-is-a-good-idea' look. But he didn't protest because he didn't believe he had any control over what the woman wanted to watch on her own television.
Orihime tuned the TV to a more kid oriented station and sat on the opposite side of the couch from Ulquiorra. He didn't find himself loathing the mindless programming as much as he thought he would but he still didn't like it. He didn't understand the point of rabbits talking or why it was funny that only stars floated above a person's head if they were hit by a hammer.
Meanwhile, Orihime was in the middle of a giggling fit. Ulquiorra glanced at her occasionally, wondering what could be wrong with her that he hadn't noticed yet, and how long the list was.
He finally could resist it, "What could you find funny about the theft of one's food?"
"Huh?" Orihime murmured, "I don't find food theft funny!" she paused then added, "It's how smart and naughty they are!"
Ulquiorra didn't respond. Perhaps 'naughty' was a good word for it but the word itself made him feel squirmy, like a child who was caught in a lie but didn't want to tell the truth because it didn't sound proper. And 'smart'? Well Ulquiorra didn't find a single character on the show as such—running around and keeping cooking implements in their pockets.
Ulquiorra finally admitted it to himself: He was utterly uncomfortable. He did his best not to move to appear so because Ulquiorra is cool and collected, and being uneasy was not in his self claimed character. But he couldn't help it when his leg started bouncing lightly in that way that some people find comforting. He crossed it over the other one and glanced around at the carpeting.
As Ulquiorra stared at a random spot on the carpet, something in the corner of his eye seemed to wave around in a crazed fashion. He relocated his vision to the wall beside the television where the light coming from the archway to the kitchen wrapped around Orihime's still shadow.
Perhaps she was laughing and her motions were a little exaggerated. Was she laughing at the time? He wasn't paying attention so he might have just missed it.
He stared over at her out of the corner of his eye until she bent over in another wave of laughter, holding herself like she could sooth her lungs after fazing her arms through her chest.
Ulquiorra glanced over at the wall where Orihime's shadow mimicked someone completely composed, and sat still. He turned his head toward Orihime again, watching her heave with laughter, throwing her head back on occasion and slowly letting it slump forward. He looked back at the wall, and watched as the shadows shoulders heaved up and down with Orihime's recovery panting and quieting giggles.
Ulquiorra passed it off, thinking perhaps it was it was just a trick of the light, or perhaps he glanced over too fast the first time.
Later on, a timer went off in the kitchen. Orihime asked if she could turn off the television, and Ulquiorra slowly inclined his head and she took it as a 'yes' and fumbled with the remote to turn the TV off before running into the kitchen.
Soon Ulquiorra found himself sitting at a round wood table in Orihime's kitchen area. The table was very simple with four legs, no fancy engravings, and a line down the middle where you could presumably widen the table with a unseen piece of wood. The chairs were metal folding chairs, that looked like they would never be folded again due to the occasional dents in the legs.
Orihime fixed Ulquiorra a bowl with a whole potato, chunks of meat that had tiny bits of fat on them, carrots and a broth that appeared more orange than it should be.
"I hope you don't mind tomatoes... I blend them and throw them in," Orihime said.
Ulquiorra was surprised that Orihime had managed to soften the potatoes and carrots and make the meat so tender in the short time they had been there. His mom made similar dishes but she had to start making them the night before they would have it for dinner. He remembered this because she would make absolutely sure Ulquiorra wanted pot roast before she starting cooking, stressing over and over that she wouldn't make anything different for him the next day.
Orihime started up conversations about school and her friends and certain television shows she likes. Well not conversations per say, but she talked about them and Ulquiorra listened because he had nothing else to do but chew his food. And every time Ulquiorra nodded or shook his head or made a small comment, Orihime would either beam or rant and became much more flamboyant.
Towards the end, Ulquiorra had slipped into giving out short comments and motioning his head much more then what he would have thought necessary. But he didn't catch himself doing it.
His cheeks and the tip of his nose tingled every time she paused. He would look up and give her a blank look before he responded. Then he watch her react like the little feedback he gave her was of the utmost importance. Then he looked down because if he looked straight on longer than needed then his face would feel warm and it felt like he was getting a sinus headache.