"You should sleep now"

"Thank you, but to be honest the adrenelaine is still coarsing through my veins.. seeing you alive again it's so.. relieving"

Ulquiorra had walked Orihime all the way back to her quarters and was now sitting beside her as she layed down on the couch, her head propped up against a pillow at one end. Ulquiorra was sitting on a white wooden chair looking around every so often to watch over the room, to watch over her. He felt a protectiveness over her he couldn't shake, when he tried to get away from her he felt worried. He didn't know what was more sickening the feeling of losing her or the feeling he got from realizing he cared for her.

"I have to go now, to speak to Lord Aizen about the events that took place earlier today"

"Just a bit longer?"

She grabbed for his hand as he got up and started to walk away. She was just about to reach it when he snatched it away quickly, but soon regretted it and put it apprehensively into his pocket.

Ulquiorra hesitated to turn around and let her have her way but resisted. She had already gotten more then enough comfort from him today. Besides, he had to figure out what Lord Aizen, his most trusted and respected master, had been thinking when he pitted Nnoitora and an illusion of himself against one another infront of Orihime. A meeting which resulted in his apparent death, which surprisingly hurt Orihime very, very badly.

All she could do was watch Ulquiorra walk out the room in silence. An uneasy feeling that would normally envelop her after his departure never came, because she knew he would return.

Ulquiorra walked to Aizen's main throne room to see if he could have a brief meeting with his master to discuss the day's events. He walked by the empty halls trying to clear his head so that Aizen would not be able to sense any emotional compromise on his part. He would know that him and Orihime were becoming close but if Ulquiorra could convince him it would go no further then what he saw on the balcony, everything would be alright.

"EH, you look alot lik-ULQUIORRA!" A stunned Nnoitora didn't have all seeing eyes like Ulquiorra, but he certaintly saw his comrade's dead corpse infront of him only hours ago.

"Hmm" Ulquiorra turned around to see the towering espada come towards him with a look of disbelief and rage on his face.

"You sneaky little bastard! I KILLED YOU!.. WITH MY SWORD! IT WAS INFRONT OF THAT WO.. THAT WHORE SHE HEALED YOU BACK FROM THE DEAD?"

He was very loud, confused and not at all concerned with the scene he was making. Ulquiorra's execution was a direct order from Gin Ichimaru the man had come to his room and asked him to kill Ulquiorra for insobordanation among many other offences. Nnoitora's understanding of the conversation of course began and ended with the word "kill". He did also have another command, it was to be done infront of Orihime Inoue. The girl needed to be shown the dark side of the espada, and Nnoitora was happy to be an agent of darkness. If someone needed to die it might as well be at the hand of someone as powerful as himself, Ulquiorra being ranked a number ahead of him had seemed like a grave miscalculation after the balcony.

"Who told you to kill me?"

"DON'T MATTER, since I apparently didn't you lil cockroach"

"I will find out the source of your orders and when I do it won't be long until it is your head that's laying lifeless on the ground, if you ever come near me or my subordinate again."

"Who? Your Su..subor-HAHAHAHAH!" Nnoitora didn't understand who he was referring to at first but when he did he bent over laughing. Clenching his stomach he composed himself and returned to looking down upon Ulquiorra again.

"You're calling that insignificant human ant your subordinate? "

Ulquiorra walked past Nnoitora, ignoring his comment about his reference to Orihime as his subordinate. Most of the Espada had a fraccion of some type, some were treated as mindless monsters others seen as close companions. It was hard for Ulquiorra to ever imagine having someone to relate to, to rely on. He lived in a world with four walls, no doors, no windows. It was impossible for anyone on the outside to get in, and anyone on the inside to get out. Which was perfectly fine for Ulquiorra since he had realized that

Orihime Inoue had built herself a door and waltzed in like it was her own home, that was something Ulquiorra hated and thanked her for.

"My mistake, the prisoner and I will no longer be of a concern to you, Nnoitora"

"Comin' back from the dead didn't scare me off, what makes ya think your empty threats will"

Nnoitora only saw Ulquiorra begin to move his hand toward the hilt of his sword, before he knew it the blade was out and had been pierced through his right shoulder.

"AAAOOOOWW" He yelled out a blood curtling scream"DAMN IT UUULQUIORRRA!"

Ulquiorra slowly, painfully pulled out his zanpaktou and slid the blood stained blade right infront of Nnoitora's neck.

"I may be empty, but my threats are filled with enough hatred to slice your throat"

Nnoitora just snarled at Ulquiorra who sheathed his sword and continued down the hall. Nnoitora might be an overconfident beast with a taste for blood and battery, but he wasn't about to go try and kill a deadman.

"And there's this thing in the real world called cake! I find you can only really appreciate it if you eat the WHOLE thing!"

"Is there any meat in cake?"

"None I can think of.." Orihime had her index finger on her chin as she looked up actually thinking about any experiences she had had where she ate a meat cake.

"Then what's the point? on second thought.. I really don't give a shit woman.."

A strange sight. Grimmjow was sitting on the couch adjacent from Orihime with his right foot resting on his left knee and his chin in his hand. He was looking at anything, thinking of anything that could make this time go by a hell of a lot quicker. Ulquiorra had been soo paranoid about this human girl he couldn't wait to see the look on his face when he saw the two of them together. It was so easy to piss him off, the challenge was getting him to show it. Grimmjow liked a challenge.

"Ya know when Ulquiorra is getting back by any chance?"

"Soon, I hope" Her cheeks flushed and she looked at the ground as if he were standing there right before her. The look of a young girl in love, a look that didn't sit as well with Grimmjow as it did Orihime.

"Yeeuck" Grimmjow stuck out his tongue and groaned at her state of infatuation. He shifted his eyes to be looking right at Orihime.

I don't get it..This chick is helpless, an idiot, annoying as hell AND a human.. Ulquiorra must have some alterior motives.. or she helps with his..

"OH! I ALMOST FORGOT!"

Grimmjow kept his eyes on her but didn't change his body positioning at all, which was lacking any enthusiasm towards the girl since he had gottten there. He just stared at her and so she put her head back down thinking he didn't want to hear what she had to say. Which he didn't but sitting in an awkward silence having her looked like a kicked puppy was even worse then having her talk to him. So he gave in to the princess's pleas.

"What is it woman?"

Her expressions were as bipolar as Grimmjow and Ulquiorra's personalities. She went from an injured lap dog to a prize winning show dog as she glowed with excitement at the espada.

"ICECREAM, it goes on top, beside or sometimes inside the cake!"

Grimmjow's head cocked down in dissapointment.

There's gotta be better ways to piss off Ulquiorra then this..

A knock on the door.

"YES!" Grimmjow stood up and walked over to Orihime's couch, he put his arm on the back of the couch and pulled her in.

"Grim..what are you?"

"Say one more word, and your dead, got it?"

"Yes.." Yet Orihime didn't actually feel frightened by his threats more amused by them. He had arrived peacefully and had done nothing to hurt her in any way. She knew his intentions weren't to actually be with her, she wasn't quite sure what they were but as long as she wasn't in any real danger she felt at ease. It was weird to think her kidnappers were fighting like kids infront of her, malicious, blood lusting kids.. but childish ones none the less.

"I'm coming in Orih.. is someone in there with you?"

He always was pretty damn good at that reiatsu stuff..

Grimmjow had to step it up a notch, Ulquiorra would know it was him in here but he would never guess what he would find him doing.

"Grimmjow" The name came off his lips as icy as ever when he burst open the door to see what on earth the sixth espada was doing in Orihime's chambers.

There, sitting side by side on the couch Orihime Inoue and Grimmjow Jeagerjaqques... were sharing a kiss.