"Ulquiorra, I need to speak with you. Alone."
"What is it, Szayel?" Orihime looked at Ulquiorra, brows knitted. But he did not ask her to stay, nor did he do anything to reassure her, so she left the examination room.
Once she had closed the door, Szayel approached Ulquiorra from behind his laboratory workbench, running a gloved hand through his faint pink hair with a perfunctory knowing smirk.
"That girl is useless."
Ulquiorra was silent for a moment, then spoke in his usual even tones. "How do you mean?"
"I mean exactly what I said. From what I know about the Hogyoku, which is, in fact, far more than Aizen thinks I comprehend, the Hogyoku is not actually deteriorating. Therefore, her presence is not actually required."
"But she has power over life and death. I have seen it myself, as have you. I am certain Aizen has some use for her. He has no obligation to us to tell us in what way he finds such assets particularly useful, for he has no obligations to us to do anything at all."
"I have examined this girl, psychologically as well as physically. There is nothing in her that would make me believe she could prove of any particular use to him. Besides, she does not have the will to use that power, if she does indeed posses it at all. I am beginning to think she is merely bait for the captains of the Gotei 13, to lure them away from their posts so that Aizen can more easily invade Karakura Town."
"What does it matter?"
"Well, obviously, that ruse failed. The captains have not come. So why bother to protect her now?"
"Clearly, Aizen-sama's objective differs from what you have assumed to be the case."
"Well, to be frank, I think it is all a game to him." He looked at Ulquiorra with an impudent glint in his eyes, a subtle, involuntary sneer curling the corner of his mouth. "Does he really need us? You, who think so highly of his power, should have deduced by now that he does not. The Gotei 13 are not coming; we now only have to dispose of the girl's pathetic nakama. Surely you, who believe so firmly in the immensity of his power, do not believe her continued existence to be necessary."
"It is obvious that you want to do something to her, Szayel. However, I have been ordered to keep her safe, and I will do so until I am told to do otherwise." Ulquiorra's impassive demeanor hadn't changed – his gaze remained steady and disinterested, anything but hostile, and his hands hadn't moved from his pockets. Yet the tension in the lab was palpable.
"We've talked about this before. I'll say now what I said then: Aizen's only stipulation is that you keep her alive and capable of using her powers. Why are you so set on exempting her from experimentation?" There was an edge to Szayel's voice now, more than the mild irritation and condescension with which he had begun the conversation. Yet he retained that glimmer of delight in his eyes, and he tutted under his breath at Ulquiorra's every reply.
"You say 'exempt' as if it is your right to do what you will with any prisoner we take. Don't forget your place. We serve Aizen-sama, and that is all. We have no further purpose."
"I heard about how you protected her from Grimmjow. You risked a fight with him just to save her from pain! A mere human who, as you yourself have acknowledged, could have healed herself anyway! At the very least, you are going far above and beyond your duty to Aizen. It is more likely that you…" Here Szayel stopped and laughed caustically, fully and openly. "…that you…that you care for her!" He was inches from Ulquiorra's face now, lips curled into a smile that was now more snarl than sneer. Ulquiorra did not move. He did not even blink.
"Save your idle blather for one who would listen to it. I don't have time for it." He pivoted on the spot and turned to walk away from Szayel. He did not look back.
Ulquiorra waited outside of the long white doors that opened onto Aizen's balcony. He reported to Aizen every day at this time, immediately after taking the woman for a walk. They had had to forgo that walk today because of her medical appointment.
Aizen's aides, Loly and Menoly, flanked the entrance, sulking sullenly in the smooth, slender alcoves on either side of the door meant for Arrancar sentries like themselves.
"So, Ulquiorra," said Loly, walking straight up to him and jabbing him in the arm. Menoly, who Ulquiorra took to be the more sensible one, silently mouthed something like "Stop" in her direction, but Loly paid her no heed.
"What?" he asked her.
"When are you going to let us mess with that girl?"
"What could you possibly gain by doing as such?"
"Don't change the subject!" she snapped. The flinty glare of her magenta eyes fixed on the unchanging emerald stare of his own.
"I am not changing the subject. I am merely suggesting that your pursuit is a pointless one."
"You are infuriating." She roughly gathered the folds of the front of his hakama in her small fists. "Why do you care so much about her?"
Ulquiorra slowly, but forcefully, prized Loly off himself. "Please," he said, adjusting the front of his hakama, "I have already been confronted once today about that woman who it is my duty to protect from meddling. I would rather not have to deal with your feeble attempts to defy Aizen-sama's will."
"But it's not his will!" Teeth gritted and eyes alight with that undying contempt of hers, Loly lunged at him, only to be stopped by Menoly. Ulquiorra hadn't bothered to move, but Menoly used Sonído to put herself between the two of them.
"Loly, calm down. Ulquiorra-sama takes his orders from Aizen-sama just like us," said Menoly, who now restrained an increasingly feral Loly.
"Don't be stupid, Menoly! He does nothing just like us. The other Números and Espada defend Hueco Mundo while he skulks here, wandering through the halls of Las Noches with his precious human in tow. The only person he serves is that girl!"
"Shut up! Do you want to get yourself killed?"
But Ulquiorra said nothing, and was in fact not even looking at the two of them, his eyes closed now, as was his wont when overtaxed by social interaction he found bothersome. The doors opened and he entered.
Aizen sat languidly in his high-backed, lily-white throne, neck craned sideways so as to afford him a view of Hueco Mundo from this highest balcony in Las Noches. Once before Aizen, Ulquiorra gave his report. "All is as before, Aizen-sama. The woman is physically safe and mentally sound."
"Very well," said Aizen dismissively, as he turned from the panorama of the pale desert beyond the balcony to face the fourth Espada. "But we will not be needing her any longer. You might as well hand her over to Szayel for experimentation now."
There was a pronounced silence in the room for a moment. "Aizen-sama…why is she no longer useful?"
"From the start, her presence was merely a means by which to attract the attention of the Gotei 13. This proving futile, her existence is no longer necessary. Do what you will with her."
"How do you mean?"
"Exactly that. You can do whatever you want with her. Szayel has been going on and on about how perfect a subject she would be in his latest pet project. I'm sure Nnoitra would have fun with her; he seemed keen on her."
Another pronounced silence. "I take it you will not require an audience with me at this time any longer, then?"
"No, Ulquiorra, I shall not."
Ulquiorra silently and deliberately took his leave, the door closing on its own behind him. Loly and Menoly stood at their posts once again. He descended the stairs, heading back for the woman's cell, and reviewed his course of action: he would keep the woman, alive and whole, until such time that he understood what it was about her that rejected the nonexistent, that which nullified the void, that which had rent a gaping hole in his comprehension of life, death, and vulgar purpose.
~To My Reviewers~
Thanks again! As always, compliments are great, but I especially appreciate the critiques. I always reply by PM to all signed reviews, and I respond to substantive non-signed reviews here.
JustKy, I cannot thank you enough for your thoughtful review. I focused on Ulquiorra's interaction with the other Arrancar in this chapter - I hope it is seen as conducive to his character development.
XY, your English is good, no worries. :3 I'm so glad you liked my story so much!
~For the Curious Reader~
A Note on Orihime's Powers: I think Orihime's ability to regenerate the dead should be limited, for plot purposes. If she can just bring anyone back, anytime she wants, there would be no reason for her to ever worry about her friends. Heck, if they died trying to rescue her in Las Noches, she could just regenerate them inside her cell and they could fight their way out. I think this is a huge oversight on Kubo-sensei's part – it makes no sense for Orihime and the other characters to not take advantage of this, so she shouldn't have such ridiculously epic abilities. That said, I have complete respect for Kubo Tite, I just have issues with his characterization of Orihime and such problematic plot points concerning her.
So, via my artistic license, Orihime's regeneration of the dead will be limited to regeneration within 5 minutes of death. Also, she can regenerate humans and Shinigami, but not "in-between" beings like Hollows and Arrancar. Furthermore, there is no time limit on her regeneration of spiritual beings like Tsubaki, which explains how she was able to bring him back as Hachi suggested.
Title Explanation: "Velut Luna" means "variable as the moon" in Latin. I became attached to this phrase when I read the lyrics of the choral portion of Carmina Burana, a cantata by Karl Orff. ( youtube .com/watch?v=64SpAIuZ3o0) The "Luna," in case you didn't guess, is a reference to Ulquiorra, who Kubo Tite often associates with the moon. In fact, the theme song Kubo-sensei chose for Ulquiorra is entitled "The Moonshield." ( youtube .com/watch?NR=1&v=xN3O7ZUg1J0&feature=fvwp)
