"Are you sure this is a good idea, Ulquiorra-sama?" a certain little redhead piped out.

"As long as you're with me, there is no way you will get in trouble," the pale skinned Espada replied.

"Okay…If you say so," the girl replied with a hesitant sigh.

Ulquiorra had felt that he needed some fresh air. The air of Hueco Mundo was just as refreshing a cold glass of freshly poured dirt—leaving the musty land surrounding Las Noches would be his best bet for unsullied oxygen. His head was definitely too murky from Szayel's poisonous words to the point where he felt he would surely suffocate if he didn't leave Las Noches for a bit.

Not to mention the fact that he would surely need a deep breath of fresh air before even thinking about reading that book Szayel gave him. Lord knows what was going to be in that thing…Frankly, he didn't want to find out just yet.

"So where are we going, Ulquiorra-sama?" rang out the soft voice of the female.

"You will find out momentarily," the Espada replied monotonously.

Even though he desired nothing more than to be alone, he couldn't ignore Aizen's previous orders. He had been ordered to befriend the girl and treat her with benevolence. Although kindness wasn't his expertise, he knew of a few things he could do to bring a smile upon the girl's face.

Even caged birds would eagerly sing if they were to catch a glimpse of the sky.

They both walked down in the hallway in silence, neither of them knowing what to say to the other. Orihime walked alongside him, her hands neatly at her sides while Ulquiorra had his hidden in the depths of his pockets.

Orihime couldn't help but sigh lightly as she gave the young man next to her a side glance. He seemed to be lost in his own thoughts; disturbing him didn't seem to be a good idea.

Even so, the girl couldn't help but feel as if she was wasting precious time by not talking. It wasn't often she could speak with anyone. These days, she was to the point where she actually looked forward to Ulquiorra's visits. He was the only source of company she could receive. Not to mention the fact that Aizen had asked her to befriend the boy as well. What better way to make a friend then by conversing?

But if she did speak, what would she say? What common interests did they share that could strike an exciting conversation?

"If you have something to say, then say it," broke out Ulquiorra's cold voice. He had detected her staring from the corner of his eye. Either there was something strange upon his face or she had something she wanted to say.

"Um, uh, eh…" Orihime stammered, not knowing where to start. She honestly didn't care what words they exchanged to each other…She just desperately needed to converse with him.

"So uh, Las Noches is pretty big, eh!" the girl finally managed to blurt out, not being able to come up with anything better.

"Indeed," Ulquiorra replied as he stared straight ahead, his facial expression unfaltering.

"I've never been on a tour of this place before," she continued on, trying to draw out the conversation. "It kind of looks like a sports dome from the outside, you know? It even kind of resembles the Tokyo Dome! Well, maybe not…the Tokyo Dome is so much more colorful and exciting."

Ulquiorra said nothing while the girl rambled. What was she even talking about?

"…Oh, but I never went to the Tokyo Dome much because watching sports isn't my cup of tea. I much prefer to play them with Tatsuki-chan, Chizuru-san, and all the other girls in my class. Baseball was always fun to play! Oh, but tag and hide-and-go-seek were my favorites. We never played those much 'cause Tatsuki-chan always said those were childish games," Orihime continued to babble as they made their way down the long hallway.

Her voice was beginning to cause his eardrums to twinge. Was the woman always this talkative amongst her friends back in the human world? She was being quite the nuisance.

"…Tatsuki-chan always protected me as a kid when Sora left. She's my very best friend! I wonder how she's doing? I hope she's not too upset over my absence…But when I go back home, maybe she and I can go to our favorite café and order lots and lots of dango. And—"

"Enough," Ulquiorra nearly hissed, causing Orihime to jump slightly in panic. His voice was so cold and harsh that it made her instantly shut her mouth.

"You must forget about your previous life. There is no hope of you ever returning back to your home. You live only to serve Aizen-sama. To make matters easier on yourself, you should forget all about your friends and any memories you possess of them." It took a lot of will power to keep himself from lashing out at her with a callous tone. Luckily, he managed to keep himself calm as they continued to walk. His words must have affected her in some way since the girl was dead silent.

In fact, she was too silent.

The Espada glanced over at the girl only to notice that she looked as if she was about to burst into tears. The scene caught him by surprise as he felt a slight pang in his chest. Why did she look so sad?

"Woman," he stopped in his tracks for a moment as he continued to hook his emerald orbs upon her watery gray eyes.

"Why are you so mean?" the ginger haired girl asked in a hushed tone, a solemn frown imprinted on her face.

"Woman, I am only here to bring you the truth. If you cannot handle it then that is your own fault," Ulquiorra replied coldly, returning his marble-like hand to his pocket. He then turned his back to her as he once again made his way down the long, narrow hallway.

"Memories of my friends are the only thing that keeps me going. If I didn't have their smiling faces constantly plastered in my mind, then there would be no way I'd be able to survive without losing my sanity," the girl admitted grudgingly as she turned her eyes away from him, no longer wanting to meet his steely gaze.

"I'm not here to comfort you by filling your mind with lies. The only thing that comes from my mouth is the pure truth," the Espada calmly answered. Humans were so difficult to deal with—especially overly emotional human girls like Orihime Inoue.

Orihime huffed slightly, folding her arms over her chest as she stared at the ground as if she was trying to burn a hole in it with her eyes, "That doesn't give you a right to say such mean things, though. And to think I was thought of us as friends…Friends are supposed to comfort each other whether or not they have to lie in order to do so."

The word friends seemed to light a spark within the Espada. His eyes widened ever so lightly as he snuck a glance at her over his shoulder. She thought of him as a friend? Perhaps his job of befriending her was a lot simpler than he thought. All he did was enchant her with fancy foods one day and occasionally converse with her. Was the recipe to a friendship truly that simplistic?

"You see us…as friends?" the young man asked, wanting to make sure he heard her right.

"Well, I did….But now you're being too mean so I'm going to reconsider our friendship!" the human grumbled before childishly sticking her tongue out at him.

Ulquiorra had no real need for human relationships. Comrades and allies were useful but they did not follow in the same definition as friendship. Nevertheless, he wasn't about to bring that up to the girl. If she believed they were friends, then the first stage his of mission was complete. Now all he had to do was keeptheir supposed 'friendship' secured in order to carry out Aizen-sama's plan.

Whatever that plan of his was…

The Espada sighed lightly at the girl's immature reaction, "Friends or not, I refuse to lie to you, woman, just to appease you. Now cease your useless babbling and quicken your pace. I have something I'd like to show you."

Orihime blinked a few times in confusion as her gray eyes peered at him with a questioning glance. So he wasn't just taking her on a tour of the hallway?

With the snap of his fingers, a black vortex began to rip through the empty space of the hallway. Orihime had seen this trick of his before. What did he call it? A garganta? He had used it during their first meeting when he had appeared out of nowhere from the underground tunnel. The second time he used it was to bring her to Hueco Mundo.

Seeing the black abyss of the portal caused the girl's stomach to clench with uneasiness and uncertainty. He was planning on taking her somewhere far away to a place she probably wouldn't want to go to.

Ulquiorra could see the hesitance reflecting in her eyes. What she was worried about? It wasn't like he was planning on kidnapping her or anything. Those orders had already been carried out, naturally.

"What discourages you, woman?" the dark haired male asked as his eyes fixated upon her.

Orihime took a step back in caution from the garganta, eyes staring suspiciously at it as if it were about to attack her. "It's just that," the girl began nervously, "every time I see that thing, something bad happens. It's scary looking…I don't like it."

"It's simply a portal, woman. No harm will come to you as long as you stay beside me," Ulquiorra reassured as he outstretched his hands towards her.

She stared at his porcelain hand for a moment, recalling the time when he had first taken her to Hueco Mundo.

After he had allowed her to say her farewells to one person, he had ordered her to meet him in the same underground tunnel where they had met. She clearly remembered him stepping out of the garganta again, that same blank expression upon his features.

"I hope you are prepared, woman," Ulquiorra had told her, "Now, come with me."

The Espada had then outstretched his hand to her, his deep eyes locked upon hers. Even at that time, he appeared to have no desire to harm her. She had reluctantly placed her slender hand into his cold and firm grasp. He had then pulled her into the endless darkness of the garganta, holding her hand during the entire time.

"Woman, do not dawdle. Come," Ulquiorra commanded, breaking Orihime from her thoughts. With a small nod, the girl gave him her hand. Once again, his cold fingers wrapped around her palm as he pulled her towards the garganta.

In less than a second, Orihime was purged into total darkness. Out of fear, she grasped the hand she was holding rather tightly. Much to her surprise, she felt a small reassuring squeeze press against her palm. Her eyes were sealed tightly as she held her breath, wondering when this would all end.

The darkness came and went in the blink of eye. One second she was in total obscurity and the next she could feel bright rays upon her face.

"We are here," said Ulquiorra as he released her hand. The garganta closed up behind them as the redhead slowly peeled open her eyes.

Instantly, her jaw dropped open as her eyes widened as far as they could.

Sunlight. Sand. Waves.

"We're…at the beach…" Orihime managed to mutter out as she stared at the vast sea directly in front of her. It was such an astonishing sight to the point where she actually believed she was dreaming. The girl lightly pinched herself and flinched once she realized that this was no dream but a very strange, mind-boggling reality.

Ulquiorra had taken her to a tropical paradise.

The sunlight reflected upon the ocean's surface, causing it to sparkle on the horizon. The sound of waves crashing filled the girl's ears while the salty smell of the sea tickled her nostrils. The cry of seagulls could be heard for miles as they desperately tried to soar amongst the fluffy, white clouds overhead. The sand was so white, so pure, as it seemed to stretch on for many miles. In the distance, Orihime could see many tall buildings but other than that there appeared to be no form of human civilization.

"What's the meaning of this?" Orihime piped out as she tore her eyes from the crystal clear waters to stare at the Espada beside her, "Why did you take me here? Is this still Hueco Mundo?"

"No, we are no longer in Hueco Mundo. We are back on Earth in a country I believe is called Mexico," Ulquiorra answered, eyes gazing out at the deep blue sea before him.

"You didn't answer my other question," Orihime whispered quietly, taking a step towards him, "Why did you take me here?"

Ulquiorra took his eyes off the scenery to stare at the questioning girl. What could he say? This place was a spot he would often retreat to when he needed to get away from Hueco Mundo or the other Arrancar. Occasionally, it even allowed him to escape Aizen-sama himself…

It was his own little secret hiding spot. Not once had he encountered any humans on this beach so he was certain that he and Orihime would not be discovered.

"You still have the bracelet I gave you upon your wrist, correct?" the Espada asked, avoiding her question.

Orihime blinked in confusion a few times before rolling up her sleeve to expose the silver bracelet dangling from her thin wrist, "Of course. You told me to never take it off."

"Good girl," Ulquiorra nodded as he looked away from her gray eyes and back towards the ocean. "Not even Soul Society will be able to detect that you are temporarily back in the human world."

"You still haven't answered my question, Ulquiorra-sama," the human sighed lightly before placing her hands on her hips.

Why was he being so difficult? She had assumed that Aizen-sama had ordered him to bring her there, and yet, she had a small ray of hope in her chest that he did it of his own free will.

That he took her to this marvelous place in order to cheer her up.

Ulquiorra turned his cheek the other way as he stared at the endless miles of sand. What could he say? All he wanted was a breath of fresh air. It's not like he actually enjoyed her company and wanted her to tag along.

And yet, he felt as if that wasn't the entire truth. His jade eyes flashed back to the girl's form for a moment, taking notice of her helpless, pitiful eyes.

"It's okay…I know why you took me here. You don't have to say it…" Orihime mumbled lightly as she sat down nimbly on the soft, sandy ground. She buried her hands in the sand, enjoying the way it felt as it slid between her fingers. She had never been Mexico before so the thought of a miniature vacation excited her. Unfortunately, this little vacation probably wouldn't last more than ten minutes, she figured.

"Why do you believe I took you here?" the young man asked as he watched her fiery hair dance in the light breeze like the blazing flames of a fireplace.

"Aizen-sama probably told you, too. He probably told you to be nice to me as well…" Orihime sighed, bringing her knees up to her chest. She deeply enjoyed the feeling of the sun beating down upon her face. Her white uniform completely covered her arms and legs, causing her to wish she was wearing one of her bikinis. Even when she lived in Japan, it wasn't too often that she went to the beach.

"You're right on one of those things, woman," Ulquiorra answered as he stood over her. "Aizen-sama has in fact ordered me to be kind to you."

The words stung her like a bee. She knew that was the case but she had never wanted to believe it…She had wanted to believe that their incident after her shower wasn't an act. Yes, the entire situation was extremely awkward but he had looked at her with a certain kind of gentleness in his eyes. Sniffing her was a little strange but at least he hadn't been rough with her or anything.

"However, I brought you here of my own free will. You always gaze mindlessly at the moon outside your window. You often remind me of a caged bird that will eventually refuse to sing if continuously locked away from the world. I concluded you had tired of those surroundings and was in need of some sunlight. If you are restless and distressed then your powers will not be able to work to the best of their ability," the dark haired male replied, his pale skin gleaming lightly from the sun's powerful beams.

Orihime stared up at the man beside her in bewilderment. He had taken her there of his own free will?

"Won't you get in trouble when Aizen-sama finds out I'm gone?" the girl asked worriedly as the wind continued to toss her hair around and about.

"No. He trusts that I would never return you back to your home and that everything I do benefits him in some way," the Espada answered as he continued to watch the waves crash against the shore.

"I see…" Orihime mumbled as she began to kick off her boots. After her boots were completely removed she slid off her socks, allowing her toes to envelop themselves in the sand. With a jovial smile, the girl stood up from her comfortable perch on the ground and hurried over the shoreline.

The cold water rushed over her bare feet, filling the girl's soul with a sense of tranquility and peace. For the first time in awhile, she actually believed that things weren't so bad. Sure, she was a prisoner of the most evil and sinister man the world had ever known, yet here she was enjoying an afternoon at the beach. The only thing missing was a lovely picnic basket full of her favorite foods.

She inhaled a deep breath of fresh, salty air before exhaling happily. If only Kurosaki-kun was there to enjoy the beautiful view of the Gulf of Mexico with her. At least, she had assumed this was the Gulf of Mexico…

"Kurosaki-kun…" Orihime found herself muttering as she glanced at the glamorous sky above her. Every night, the girl would pray over and pray for her friends' safety. She knew the Arrancar were strong and that the Espada were even stronger. Even so, she had high hopes that her friends would overcome them without bringing any harm to themselves. Orihime made a silent promise to herself that once they returned home together; they would all go to the beach and play all day long.

"Let's go, woman," came the voice of Ulquiorra. He seemed to have a habit of crushing her train of thought. With a regrettable sigh, the redhead nodded while reluctantly stepping away from the water. She shoved her feet back into her socks and boots while waiting for Ulquiorra to open the garganta once more.

Now that she had a taste of freedom, the thought of going back to that isolated dark room of hers depressed her. Who knows when she would see the light of day again…

Ulquiorra could see the anguish in her eyes—the girl was always easy to read. "If you perform all your duties as necessary and do everything I tell you, then I shall reward you by bringing you back here again."

She stared up at him with hopeful eyes, beaming brightly all the while. "You really mean it, Ulquiorra-sama?! Really?! Truly?!"

The pale Espada simply nodded once. How could he say no after seeing that smile? Her smile was even more blinding then the radiating sun above them.

The black portal ripped through empty space once more. Ulquiorra approached it swiftly as he extended his hand towards the girl once more. Orihime skipped over to him cheerfully, not even slightly worried about being surrounded by the darkness of the garganta. She knew she'd be safe as long as Ulquiorra Schiffer was there with her, holding her hand.


Her trip to the ocean that day had felt like a pure, blissful dream. If she closed her eyes, she could still feel the sun's warm rays beating down on her face and the whistling sound of the sea flowing through her ears.

"I have some business to attend to but I will return in a few hours to bring you your meal," Ulquiorra informed her as he escorted her back to the room.

"All right, Ulquiorra-sama," Orihime continued to smile cheerfully, having a hard time containing her happiness. She knew the warm feeling in her chest wouldn't last very long so she planned on enjoying it while it lasted.

Without giving her so much as a good-bye, Ulquiorra turned towards the door to leave.

"Oh, Ulquiorra-sama! I'm sorry…I completely forgot something!" Orihime called out as she skidded over towards him.

"What is it, woman?" he asked flatly, that same empty expression plastered upon his face.

The girl stood a few inches from him as she stood on her toes, planting a small, tender kiss upon his stone hard cheek. When she pulled away, a light pink blush crossed over her cheeks, "Thank you so much for today! You've made me happier than anyone else has before. So thank you…Thank you very much!"

Ulquiorra didn't respond with anything as he quickly fled from the room, nearly slamming the door in the process. If the man was capable of blushing, his cheeks would have been redder than any rose. If his heart could beat, it would be pounding harder than any drum. If he could feel, then his soul would be soaring higher than any cloud.

Unfortunately, he was incapable of any of those things. His cheeks were unable to blush, he had no heart to pound, and his soul bared no wings for it soul.

And yet, there was something he could in fact do to make up for his lack of abilities.

His lips unconsciously began to pull into a tiny, minuscule smile.

No one was around in the hallway. No one was able to witness it, yet it was there. A small smile upon Ulquiorra Schiffer's lips was there.

At that very moment, the Espada decided it was about time he read that book Szayel gave him. If it was able to explain the strange sensations that had occurred simultaneously in his body, then maybe it could explain why he had felt the urge to curl his lips into an infinitesimal smile.


Author's Note: Hey guys ^.^ I hope you enjoy this chapter! I didn't want to jump straight into the secrets of the book yet—I thought a little UlquiHime fluff was needed before we could all go into that ;) As usual, let me know what you guys think! Thank you SOOOO much for all those wonderful reviews!! Each one brings a huge smile to my face and that's the real reason why I update so quickly! But thank you so much again!! It means the world to me ^.^ The next chapter should be up by the beginning of next week so be on the lookout ^_~ Maybe we'll even get a better hint as to what Aizen-sama's sinister plan is…XD Oh, and I hope "please wait" and "image not available" don't show up again ^^;; I checked it a thousand times but I hope they don't randomly pop up anymore....