Ulquiorra: Welcome.
Grimmjow: Yo
Alexia: Hey there!
Me: …zzz
Alexia: (smacks me upside the head) T_T* That was your cue!
Me: (Yawns) Sorry 'bout that. A good morning/afternoon/night to you all…(starts to fall asleep again)
Alexia: Well, while I get her to wake up again, you guys can read the next chapter ^_^
Grimmjow: You'd better enjoy it.
DAY SIX
To say that the morning moved at a sluggish pace was an understatement. It was more like the amount of time it took for the Earth's continents to shift.
First, I'd gotten up at around six a.m., then went back to sleep. I wasn't sure why, but I'd had an extremely strange dream; a friend of mine, Daniela, was fooling and clowning around (something I could never imagine her doing—but, apparently, I could). With Luppi. It sort of made sense…their personalities were alike. The only difference was that Daniela wasn't annoying and purposely arrogant, and didn't get on my nerves. Usually.
When I woke up again, I'd immediately pinched myself to make sure I was fully awake and to assure myself that Daniela and Luppi weren't going to waltz into my room any given second. Literally.
The time had progressed a full whopping fifteen minutes. Great. Deciding that I wasn't going to get much Z's in anymore, I took a long bath to the point where my whole body felt like a raisin. That had taken an hour and a half, meaning that it was 7:45 by the time I'd gotten out and put on a new pair of pajamas. I didn't really feel like putting on something casual or an official outfit. There was a chance I'd end up falling asleep again, though, because of the comfortable fabric of my PJs.
"What is there to do now?" I asked myself as I made the bed and then plopped down on it, hugging a pillow to my body and starting to lull into sleep. "I hope…I don't have…another dream like that…"
A knock at the door just barely erased my drowsiness and replaced them with confusion. Cautiously, I got up and tiptoed to my door. It was pretty inconvenient that there wasn't a peephole to see who was there. Guess I'd just have to take a risk and…well, we'd cross that bridge when we got to it.
"Hello…who's there?" I said before opening the door a few inches. Nothing. My head peeked out and looked to the left and right. The eerie hallway was completely silent; more than I would've liked, although there shouldn't have been anything making noise anyways. I started to close the door, looked down and nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw something black rubbing itself against my calf.
"Holy shit!" I yelled, glaring at the snat. "How did you even get out here?" Moreover…as far as I could tell, I was pretty sure a cat/snake couldn't knock on doors. Uncertainty creeped up on me and I was about to usher the snat inside when it suddenly strode off. "Hey, get back here…"
"Mrow?" It stopped moving and became as still as a statue. Its ears perked up and she craned her neck, looking at me quizzically. Her eyes held the unspoken question: What's wrong?
I had no idea.
The snat finally decided to not continue its path to…wherever it was going…and trotted back inside my room. Sighing, I shut the door behind me, locked the door (and made sure it wasn't going to open anytime soon) and flopped on the couch. A smile made its way to my face when I felt the snat jump onto my lap and rest its head on the crook of my arm. It yawned loudly and I scratched its ears, chuckling when it started purring, reminding me of Grimmjow.
The knock.
My hand froze and the snat's purring stopped. It was just my imagination, wasn't it? Knowing Grimmjow, he'd probably just burst in. I hadn't heard the mystery knocker make any attempt to open the door before knocking, so it couldn't have been him. Szayel would've called out to me by now.
"So, when are ya gonna open the damn door?" A leering voice drawled out. My blood turned cold. "Ya can't stay in here forever, ya know…"
Nnoitora.
Calm down. Don't react to him. Just stay silent, I encouraged myself. What I wanted to do was shout and tell him to get the fuck away. But that wouldn't bring any good results. Even with my snat (yes, I now considered it mine; Thanks, Szayel) cuddling up to me and trying to make me relax by letting me hear its purr, I couldn't stop myself from getting nervous. I realized that my hands were trembling and got up shakily, hoping I wasn't making much noise as I went to the bathroom, the snat trailing after me.
"Lexi, what happened to ya? Grimmjow didn't tell me he was into bondage."
Stupid asshole—! I nearly shouted that out, but bit my lip so hard I'd drawn a bit of blood. Damn, didn't think my teeth were that lethal. To even start thinking that Grimmjow would gag me, let alone try to do any of that…I didn't know about him, but I definitely didn't like the sound of that.
I could tell Nnoitora was growing impatient as he said, "Ya bitch, open the damn door or I'll cero it to bits…and don't think for a second that I won't."
For once, he had a point.
"Wait a second—maybe I won't do that," he changed his mind, making me confused. "After all, if ya never come out then ya can't get to Ulquiorra. What time do ya have to be there? Time's running out, Lexi, make a choice. If ya agree to be my plaything for a while then I'll make sure he doesn't die." Anger consumed me. Stand your ground. What the hell are you doing, going over to the door? No, take your hand off the knob. That's right, hesitate. Calm down, take a deep breath.
No, don't turn the knob, you dumbass!
"Well, she does exist," Nnoitora cackled. His hand reached out and grabbed a fistful of my hair, pulling me ever-so-closer to him. I took a shaky breath as a perverse grin spread across Nnoitora's face. "I'm guessing you're gonna behave this time, like a good pet, right?" My teeth clenched and I barely managed to not spit in his face.
"…!" I noticed with a shock that Tesla was right behind me when I felt my hands being held behind my back. I started to struggle against them. Nnoitora was typical to act this way…I should've known that Tesla would go along with whatever he wanted, with no limitations. His voice was barely as soft as a whisper when he said, "I'm sorry." He was most likely apologizing for the sake of both of them.
"I didn't hear yer answer, bitch," he reminded me painfully by tugging on my hair, making me wince. "Tell me that you're gonna behave. Might be some problems if ya don't."
"…s."
"I didn't hear ya," he sneered. I narrowed my eyes and thrashed in his grasp. I was so damn helpless; like those stupid girls who were good-for-nothings and couldn't defend themselves. That was my fear; always having to have somebody to protect me. It was pathetic.
"¡Vete al diablo (Go to the devil)," I hissed. Though, telling him to go to Aizen wouldn't be that effective. His grin vanished and he nodded to Tesla. I was slammed against the wall and I let out a cry of pain, tears at the corner of my eyes.
"Whatever you just said, I don't like it," Nnoitora whispered in my ear. Mentally facepalming, I tried not to tell him to go learn Spanish before deciding that something I've said is bad. Not that it wasn't. "I guess we're gonna do this the hard way. Maybe then Ulquiorra can see how pathetic you are."
"No!" I yelled, trying to pry myself out of his grasp again. He wouldn't. He couldn't. "You…you wouldn't dare to—" I was cut off by Nnoitora's all-too-familiar mouth.
"Tesla, let's take this bitch to Ulquiorra's room," he instructed.
"Yes, master Nnoitora."
My heart beat frantically against my chest, feeling as if it were going to jump out at any second. I was dragged by the neck by Nnoitora, while Tesla held my hands behind my back and used some of my hair to tie it there. Clever bastard. The feeling of sobbing was slowly building up inside me and I fought desperately to contain it, but I still couldn't stop a tear from escaping my eyes.
We arrived at the espada's quarters too soon. The grip Nnoitora had on my neck was starting to cause pain, and my hands felt like their circulation was decreasing, resulting in them falling asleep.
"Ulquiorra!" Nnoitora called out once we were outside of said espada's room. "You there?"
"…What do you want, Gilga." It was a statement more than a question, as if he wanted to get this over with. Wait…there shouldn't have been an 'as if' in that sentence at all.
"Not much," Nnoitora replied casually, though his tone of voice clearly told Ulquiorra that he was hiding something.
"If there is something you must inform me of, do so quickly so I do not have to put up with you and your fracciòn any longer."
"In a hurry, much? Don't worry, I'm gonna make this worth your while, but I hafta take my time." With that Nnoitora swung the door open and shoved me inside, him striding behind. I landed on my knees and collapsed onto the floor.
Lifting my head up, I met confused and slightly fearful eyes. Ulquiorra's eyes. Time stopped for a few moments but was interrupted by Nnoitora lifting me up roughly and pressing me to him.
"Let go…," I whispered desperately. "Let go of me."
"I don't wanna," Nnoitora replied snidely.
"Let go, now."
"And if I don't feel like it?"
"Nnoitora, get your disgusting, bloody self away from me, you bastard!" I yelled as his face neared mine. Looking out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ulquiorra's expression. Indifferent for the most part, but there was a bit of surprise in his eyes, along with what could've been anger. "Get off of me! Nnoitora!" Honestly, I was surprised that he was letting me say this much.
Then again, he was probably letting me for the benefit of putting on a show for Ulquiorra.
"Let's see…where should I start?" he contemplated. "I could begin here:" he licked my ear and I shuddered in repulsion. "Or…here," he craned my neck back and bit down on the skin on my collar and I twisted in his grasp. "Wait, I know just the thing—" he grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him.
"Stop this!" I pleaded desperately. "Don't…not here…"
"So, ya wanna take this outside?"
Fuck.
"N-no…" I grimaced when I felt Nnoitora's tongue trail from my neck to my chin, then my temple. "You bastard…"
"Would one of you please explain what exactly is going on here?" My eyes widened when I realized who the new speaker was.
…Szayel.
"What's someone like you doin' here?" Nnoitora asked angrily.
"I should be asking you the same thing," Szayel replied in a calm yet firm voice. It made me regain some of my composure, but I didn't forget the vulnerable state I was in. "I'm not sure Alexia is quite comfortable with what you're doing, I'd appreciate it if you let her go."
"Tch, what if I don't let her go?" Nnoitora shot back at Szayel. His patience was wearing out, his grip on me getting tighter by the second.
"Let's just say that Lord Aizen will have many things to discuss with you if you don't stop; especially with the mess I'll have to make of things."
"Don't forget, Szayelapporo. You're the eighth—I'm the best. The only one who's gonna be made a mess of is you," he replied smugly.
In a flash, Szayel sonidoed in front of Nnoitora and I. He retreated something from his pocket, akin to what Ulquiorra's vial looked like, but I had a feeling that what Szayel had wasn't that. I watched in awe as he expertly drew a drop of the vial's liquid onto Nnoitora's hand, the one on my chin.
"The fuck are you trying to do?" Nnoitora snickered. "Your holy water ain't gonna stop me—huh?" His hand twitched and its grip on my chin lessened. "What the hell is this!?"
"This 'holy water' is specifically for stopping people like you," Szayel said, walking away from Nnoitora. "It will paralyze you; hence, you won't be able to do anything. You will be stopped."
"Why, you—!" He lost all control of the hand that used to be on my chin and I could already feel his other hand also loosening up. "You cunt!"
"Now, that's not very polite, Nnoitora," Szayel informed. "I would not like to be referred to as a woman's genitals. Especially since I am the person who paralyzed you…I could paralyze much more than your arms, if you'd like.." A small smile traced Szayel's features and I realized that his aspect of death, madness, was kicking in.
As soon as his grip was loose enough, I wrenched myself out of Nnoitora's grasp and fell onto Ulquiorra's bed from the force I'd used to do so. He sent me a death glare and I gave him an even harsher one in return.
"Nnoitora, I think your role in Alexia's life today is just about done," Szayel said in a commanding tone I'd never heard him use before. It scared me a little, but if Nnoitora was scared he did one hell of a good job hiding it…despite the fact that he couldn't use his arms at the moment.
Nnoitora's eyes narrowed before he warned, "There ain't gonna be a knight in shining armor to come to your rescue all the time, Lexi. Remember that." He shot a glare at Tesla, who in turn looked at him in confusion. "Let's go, dammit."
"Y-yes, sir," Tesla nodded curtly before following Nnoitora out of the room. He kicked the door closed with his foot (I wasn't sure how long his arms would be rendered useless; a few centuries, perhaps?) so forcefully I thought he might've broken its hinges, but apparently it was sturdier than it seemed. Szayel quickly untied me from my hair, granting me relief as I felt my arms freed from their uncomfortable position.
Everyone was silent for a moment as I processed what had just happened, Szayel sighed and got to preparing Ulquiorra's medications, and Ulquiorra…well, I wasn't sure. Turning to see him, I stifled a nervous laugh when I saw his still-in-shock expression. Seconds later, he realized it himself when I waved a hand in front of his face. Blinking a few times, his facial expression gradually returned to normal.
"Are you…unharmed?" He hesitantly asked.
"I'm okay," I replied nonchalantly, noticing how his eyes narrowed a bit as I said that. "Really, I'm fine. Don't worry about it, it's all over now."
"Is this what happened last time?" He wondered. I averted my eyes and gave a small nod. He also averted his eyes and looked up at the ceiling. "It seems that regardless of when it has happened, Nnoitora's actions are caused by me."
I raised an eyebrow at him. "What makes you think that?"
"I was not present the first time he had attempted to assault you…you made that point very clear," he said, reminding me of how I'd gone off on him and threw a pillow at him out of my anger. I looked away, embarrassed.
"C-continue."
"This time, for whatever reason, it seems his goal was either for you to feel degraded because of him acting upon you in front of me; or to make me feel helpless. Regardless of what the reason was, it is because of me that he has the opportunity to take advantage of you."
"Okay, the first part might be true, but this time was completely different," I disagreed with him. Both of us didn't seem to notice Szayel sitting down in the computer chair, watching our discussion. "It was mainly my fault that this happened…plus, Grimmjow still hasn't shown up," the last part, I said under my breath. Curious, I turned to Szayel and hesitated a moment before asking, "Uh, I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but why are you here? I didn't know that you came here before I did."
"It's not like that at all," Szayel replied, confusing me.
"Then why…"
"Each time Grimmjow goes to your room at the beginning of the day, he passes by my lab. You recall me having surveillance cameras around my lab, correct?" I nodded and motioned for him to continue. "I usually see him, but today I grew curious and a bit worried that I hadn't seen him. Then I decided to go to your room, but found the place completely empty, except for her."
"'Her'?" I wondered. Szayel nodded and pointed at something behind me; I became aware of soft, yet scaly fur against my arm and almost jumped out of my skin. "Oh. How did she get here?"
"She seemed to have a sense of what had happened to you and guided me over here. Hence, I was able to find you before anything could happen." A great amount of pride swelled up in me and I picked up the snat, cuddling it in a hearty thanks. "You were extremely lucky that she'd recognized your scent so easily."
"Yep, lucky me," I agreed happily. Sounds like something Ikkaku would say…lucky. But don't expect me to start dancing.
Don't. Seriously.
I watched as the snat jumped out of my arms and slowly creeped up on Ulquiorra, who stared at her in curiosity. He didn't move a millimeter as she sniffed his hand, then gave it a small lick. It was impossible to not start laughing when she curled up against him and turned over, paws in the air.
"So, do you know where Grimmjow is?" I asked, getting a shake of Szayel's head as an answer.
"I'm not sure, but my best guess is that he's still in his room, sleeping," he assumed, me rolling my eyes.
"Who's he trying to be, Stark?" Szayel gave a small chuckle at that. "Honestly, I have an urge to go and wake him up right now!"
"Well, I guess you can if you really want to," Szayel suggested. "I'll take care of Ulquiorra while you go and—"
"No." Szayel and I both looked at each other confusedly and knew that neither of us had said that. We turned to look at Ulquiorra, who had the same face as always. Unless the snat could talk…there was some deep shit going on here.
"Uh, was that you, Ulquiorra?" I asked, more surprised when he nodded. The idea that the snat could talk seemed easier to believe than Ulquiorra firmly voicing his opinion, whatever you want to call it. "Er…why don't you want me to go wake him up…?"
"Why not have Szayelapporo go instead?" He suggested, calmly evading my question, making me sweat drop. "I would like to spend more time with you." That caused a slight blush to cross my face.
"S-sure, I'll stay." I turned to Szayel, my expression giving him a silent apology. "Would you mi—"
"Not at all," Szayel quickly agreed with a smile and left to get Grimmjow's ass out of bed.
"So…what exactly did you want to do while he gets Grimmjow awake?" I asked. Ulquiorra stared at me before slowly giving a half-hearted shrug. My eye twitched. "You told me to stay yet you don't know what you're going to do to pass the time."
"That is correct," he confirmed confidently, as if that was something to be proud of. "I simply wanted to spend time alone with you." I felt my heart rate pick up a bit after he said that. Damn, you have Grimmjow. You're not supposed to react like this with other people, Alexia.
"…Is there something in particular you want to do?" I questioned, getting up from the bed; the snat immediately noticed and followed me.
"Would you mind reading to me?" He seemed to notice that I couldn't believe what he'd just said. Me? Read to him…?
"…I thought that the purpose of reading these books was for you to try to understand what love is."
"Well, you are the one who said that I should try to read a book and enjoy it, did you not?" he reminded me. "I am not in a condition to get out of bed, though, so you will have to do that for me."
Nodding in agreement, I went to the bookshelf and wondered what exactly he wanted me to read for him. "Uh…is there a certain book that you want me to read?"
"The one you've been reading the past few days," he chose. I got it, held it up to show it and he nodded in confirmation. "You may continue reading where you left off yesterday." It sounded more like a command than a suggestion…it might as well not be meant as a suggestion at all. Instead of answering, I decided to just start reading. It took a few second to find the place I'd finished at yesterday.
I cleared my throat before starting. Reading aloud wasn't something I did often, and when I did nothing would sink in and I'd have to read that part all over again. But for some reason, this time everything was immediately processed into my head. "Okay…
"'Ow!' The smell of crushed flowers filled the air.
Ivy laughed out loud.
'What's so funny?' Tristan asked, pulling from behind him the smashed flowers, but he was laughing, too.
'What if somebody had come along and seen your father's Clergy sticker on the bumper?'
Tristan tossed the flowers in the front seat and pulled her toward him again. He traced the silk strap of her dress, then tenderly kissed her shoulder. 'I'd have told them I was with an—"
"Why did he just do that?" Ulquiorra suddenly interrupted me and, therefore, my train of reading and thought was also interrupted. I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Do what?"
"Kiss her?" The question made me confused because of two things: he knew what it meant to kiss(?), and…well, the answer to his question was pretty obvious, but now that I looked at it from Ulquiorra's perspective I guess he was still wondering about the heart and all that shit.
"Well, they're both in a romantic relationship at this point in the story," I explained. "Kissing her is something normal for them both, I guess." Ulquiorra seemed to think about that for a minute or so before slowly nodding in understanding.
"I know what you are trying to say; you may continue." I waved a hand dismissively and looked back to the page, finding my spot once again.
" 'I'd have told them I was with an angel.'
'Oh, what a line!'
'Ivy, I love you!' Tristan said, his face suddenly serious.
She stared back at him, then bit her lip.
'This isn't some kind of game for me. I love you, Ivy, and one day you're going to believe me.'
She put her arms around him and held him tightly. 'Love YOU,' she whispered into his neck. Ivy did believe him, and she trusted him as she trusted no one else. One day she'd have the nerve to say it, all of the words out loud. I love you, Tristan. She'd shout it out the windows. She'd string a banner straight across the school pool.'"
"That does not make sense," Ulquiorra once again broke my speech off, making me roll my eyes. "Why would someone find it difficult to say four words?"
"Er…," I started. "Maybe she's…doubtful." All of a sudden, I was reminded of Grimmjow and I, our not-so-great relationship. "She isn't sure if she loves him or not. He might find it easy because of two things: either he doesn't care much or he really means it. In this case, it's the latter. You get what I'm trying to say, right?"
"Yes," he replied monotonously. "Continue." I mock saluted him and followed his instructions.
"It took a few minutes to straighten themselves up. Ivy started laughing again. Tristan smiled and watched her try to tame her gold tumbleweed of hair—a useless effort. Then he started the car, urging it over the ruts and stones and onto the narrow road.
'Last glimpse of the river,' he said as the road made a sharp turn away from it."
"Does he die?" Ulquiorra asked me suddenly. What I found surprising was the fact that he was completely right; in fact, it was going to be less than a few minutes until I got to that part of the story.
"Well…if I keep on reading, you'll find—"
"I do not like to be uninformed on what happens, whether it is regarding the real world or a story of sorts." I sweat dropped. "Now, tell me."
I signed before answering, "Yeah, he does. Can you try not to interrupt next time I start reading?" He only stared at me skeptically for a few moments, not even batting an eye. "I'm taking that as a yes.
"The June sun, dropping over the west ridge of the Connecticut countryside, shafted light on the very tops of the trees, flaking them with gold. The winding road slipped below, into a tunnel of maples, poplars and oaks. Ivy felt as if she was sliding under the waves with Tristan, the setting sun glittering on top, the two of them moving together through a chasm of blue, purple and deep green. Tristan flicked on his headlights."
"That's seems like too much of a perfect scenario." His constant comments and questions were starting to get on my nerves.
"It's fiction, remember, Ulqui-cielago?" I asked.
"I suppose."
"Now, this time don't interrupt until I'm done with the chapter." I showed him the two pages I hadn't read so that I could prove he wouldn't have to listen much longer. "Ok, let's see…ah, here.
"'You really don't have to hurry,' said Ivy. 'I'm not hungry anymore.'
'I ruined your appetite?'
She shook her head. 'I guess I'm all filled up with happiness,' she said softly."
"So, she lost her appetite because someone kissed her? That illogical."
I pretty much died at that point.
"This is supposed to be relaxing…," I groaned, falling back onto the bed with the book clutched to my chest.
"I do not think this is what you would call relaxing anymore," Ulquiorra stated. I tapped my forehead with my index finger in a no-kidding gesture. This's seriously giving me a head ache, I groaned in my head as I rubbed my temples to clear my mind.
"This is the first time I've gotten fed up with reading," I mumbled. "Anyways…" An awkward silence filled the room after I didn't find anything to say. But just as quickly as it had formed, it dispelled when the snat suddenly jumped onto my lap, giving another loud yawn before curling up and falling into what seemed like sleep. It could've just been relaxing, though.
"It takes an intense liking to you," Ulquiorra commented, staring intently at the scene portrayed in front of him. I smiled slightly and petted her head.
"It's cute," I said, not knowing what he'd say in response to that. "I've always preferred cats over dogs."
"…How do you classify something as cute?" asked Ulquiorra.
"Well…it's not something that scares you…" Real smart, Alexia. "It's something that…you could say it's attractive," I tried to explain. "Attractive in a childish way."
"So, when you look at something and feel like a pedophile, that means that thing is cute?"
"No. Not at all." I facepalmed. "When something is sweet, metaphorically—" I sent him a half glare, "—that thing makes you feel happy, in a way."
"Am I cute?"
All the blood in my body rushed to my head. "Er…um…well, as for you…well, you do make me feel happy," I managed to get out.
"Am I attractive?" asked Ulquiorra.
Do you want me to die of blood concentration in one spot of my body?! I wasn't sure if that was possible, but if not then I was going to be the first. "Well…um, I think…" Dammit, stop saying 'well' so much!
'Need help?'
For once: yes. If you're any help at all, that is.
'That's mean.'
Oh, I thought that was a compliment. Of course it's mean.
'Don't get all moody on me. You need to come up with an answer.' Coming out of my thoughts, I saw Ulquiorra patiently waiting for an answer. 'He's waiting~'
No shit.
'…That's it, I'm not helping you anymore.'
"W-wait!" Only a few seconds later did I realize that I'd spoken out loud. I nervously laughed, giving Ulquiorra a small wave before making a circular motion around my temple with my index finger. "Don't ask."
"…Your answer?" he asked again.
"Impatient, much?"
"Alexia, answer." I could feel that gooey feeling building up in me again as he called me by my name. Again.
My gaze and facial expression was averted from him as I replied, "Y-yeah. You are."
"So that is why you called me cute?"
"…Mhmm." After all, even I didn't know my intentions for doing that…when was it? Yesterday—or before that? It didn't matter. Him offering a reason was good enough for me.
"You are incorrect," he deadpanned. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion and turned to face him.
"Why is that wrong?" I asked.
"Having jet black hair, white-as-paper skin, serpent eyes and tear streaks going down my cheeks isn't what most would classify as cute." He was subconsciously tracing one of his tear marks as he explained.
"Well, different people think different things are cute," I offered my support. "I think that cats are cute, and…well, you too." Not breaking our eye contact was difficult to do when you said things like that.
'Hooray. She said it.'
Yeah, and I didn't need your help.
'I gave you motivation. Without it, you would've kept silent.'
…Shut up.
I watched as Ulquiorra continued to trace the tear; from his lower eyelid to the bottom of his cheek. As his finger neared the end of the tear, I noticed something on his neck.
"Ulquiorra, what happened…there…?" I murmured, crawling up next to him and pushing his head to the side a bit. A red mark was on his neck. Further inspecting it, I saw that it looked like it was in the shape of a hand. Realization hit me. Grimmjow.
"Do not worry, it was worse yesterday," he assured me, or rather, tried to. It just made me even more worried. How bad was it yesterday?
"Were you alright?" I questioned, gently touching the red mark. He flinched when my hand first made contact, but sighed and eventually got accustomed.
"Thanks to Szayel, I was. At first I had some trouble breathing," he told me, my eyes widening. He seemed to notice and assured me by saying, "It was not unbearable, but I would go into some cough attacks because of it. Szayel visited me before I fell asleep and gave me a gel to put on my…rash…and an herb to put in my drink in order to heal the bruise."
I crossed my legs and rested a hand on them, the other on my forehead. "I ought to make him apologize to you for bursting out in rage like that."
"It is partially my fault that he did so," Ulquiorra pointed out. "I taunted him even though my life was on the line. I am just as responsible for his actions as he is."
"Well…I guess you have a point," I agreed. He gave me a look I couldn't really define. "What? If that's what you think I'm not going to argue with you. Knowing you, your theories and concepts are hard to change by simply discussing."
"I suppose so. Though I thought you would've defended him." He sat up a bit and scooted over to his left, leaving some room on the right side of his pillow. For a second I only stared in confusion; then he patted the space next to him, motioning for me to sit there. I smiled and did exactly that, getting comfortable.
"So, just one more day."
"…It seems to be passing by too slow."
"Well, look at it this way: it'll be over before you can say…uh," I mumbled, thinking about what exactly I could say. "…Trash?"
"Trash."
"…"
"It definitely isn't over," stated Ulquiorra.
"I was saying it figuratively," I said, rolling my eyes. "As in, not literally."
"I know," he informed. "But I wanted to do that anyways."
Once again, I found myself useless and bored. Then, as if on cue, Grimmjow stormed in without so much as a 'hey.' Plopping himself down in a chair, he glared at us.
"The fuck are you doing?" he grumbled, his voice tinged with venom. Very ineffective venom. "Why're you next to him?"
"I suppose I should be sitting in his lap, then?" I teased. His glare only turned harsher at my words and he scowled on top of that. "Hey, calm down. You know I'm joking around."
"Yeah, well I don't feel like fuckin' joking around, alright?" It was my turn to glare this time. "I don't like being waked up by other people."
"Okay, one: it's woken, you dumbass." His negative aura was rubbing off on me, and frankly, I didn't care. "Second, although you apologized yesterday, I can tell you're still mad."
If Ulquiorra was curious about what I was talking about, either he figured that he didn't need to know—ouch. Wait, why 'ouch'?—or he didn't want to interrupt our extremely friendly conversation.
"S-so what if I'm still…sorta pissed…!" As he'd talked, I'd gotten up and grabbed his arm, hauling him to his feet with a shitload of effort. My arm could've broken with the force I'd used, but he was surprisingly less heavy than I thought. "What the hell are you trying to do?"
"Get your act together," I hissed. Only he could hear me, and by the way he'd reacted—his minor scowl going full out and his muscles going tense—I knew that he was liking this less and less. Not that he liked it to begin with.
His resolve wavered for a moment, pondering over what he should do. Finally, he sighed and his muscles' tension decreased. Running a hand through his hair, he said, "We should get going. I have a whole schedule planned out today and I think you're going to—"
"She will stay here," Ulquiorra interrupted. I looked over at him; he had his blank stare, as always. But there was something else in it…need. Sort of hard to believe.
"We need to get going," he told Ulquiorra, taking my hand. Ulquiorra stopped him from pulling me out of the room, though.
"I fail to see a problem with leaving her here a bit longer."
"Yeah, well, I do."
"Well then, if that's the case, why?"
"Why what?"
"Why do you have to take her with you?"
"Because."
"That is not a reason, Sexta."
"It is for me." Grimmjow tugged on my hand, making me stumble and almost fall into his chest; I was able to regain my balance before that could happen, to my relief. "Come on, let's get out of here already."
"Wait!" I said, trying to pry myself out of his grasp. This was too much. I felt like the person in the middle—one person tugging me to the left while the other pulled to my right.
"No. We're leaving, now," Grimmjow hissed, letting go of my hand but pulling even harder on my arm. I almost cried out in pain. Realizing what he'd done, his expression softened apologetically and he let go.
I was just about done forgiving him.
"Are you alright?" Ulquiorra's voice somewhat calmed me, only a little. I nodded stiffly, rubbing my sore arm. Great, now both Ulquiorra and I had bruises from Grimmjow.
"Yeah, I guess I'm alright now," I halfheartedly assured him. He was staring at the evident bruise beginning to form and I wished I'd worn my sweater long with my black button-up shirt that only covered up to my shoulders, leggings and denim skirt with converse.
Great, now I'm going fashionista on you. Sorry about that.
"Listen, I'm sorry about what I did," said Grimmjow, not sounding sorry at all. "Can we just go now?"
I crossed my arms and looked at him. It wasn't a glare or any type of facial expression that conveyed a message—it was just…a look. "I think I'm going to stay here for a little while longer."
Grimmjow's eyes narrowed. "I don't believe you."
"Well, you'd better start, cause this isn't some fantasy," I reminded him, turning my back and sitting down on the edge of Ulquiorra's bed. Grimmjow shot Ulquiorra and I a look before storming out and slamming the door with twenty times the amount of force Nnoitora had used.
Damn, these doors were really durable.
I grew restless after a few seconds (not to mention that I was still pissed out of my mind). "Honestly, he's so possessive when it comes to me being around other people," I complained, sitting down on the computer chair angrily and starting to spin around in it.
"Are we not all somewhat possessive?" asked Ulquiorra, tilting his head to the side. "Whether it is a person, animal or any thing, we feel a bit of possessiveness of that thing. Just that Grimmjow's possessiveness combined with his destructiveness and recklessness is not something one would like to encounter."
"Yeah, I figured that one out first-hand," I muttered, slowly coming to a stop. It took a while to drive the still-spinning sensation out of my head before I got up and flopped down on the bed, curling up in a fetal position. "Let me guess: you don't know why you wanted me to stay this time, either."
"You know me well," he responded. "But I do not feel a need to seek a reason to converse."
"…Ulquiorra, how're you feeling today?" I asked, trying to sound as innocently curious as possible. In fact, I'd been trying to figure out what he was like today—definitely not lust (thank god), so it was either wrath or greed. If it was Grimmjow whom I had to analyze, the answer would be obvious. He did almost break my arm. That animalistic look in his eyes had been there for most of the time, except for when he'd realized that he'd hurt me.
Of course, Ulquiorra was who I was supposed to be analyzing. It didn't take much to observe Grimmjow, if he was a human his social security number would be tattooed on his forehead.
There was that one point where I'd seen a 'need' in Ulquiorra's eyes, as if desiring something…me? That was foolish. Anyways…well, need was closer to greed than wrath. And I guess you could say Ulquiorra was being selfish…
'Please, if anyone's being selfish it's Grimmjow.'
Aww, I thought you died.
'That would've been just awesome, but I'm afraid I'm not that old yet and you're not as boring as I thought. Anyways, I thought I'd help you out with this.'
I inwardly sighed. I guess you can, if that means that you'll go away after you do.
'Keep dreaming.' I swear I could feel the roll of her eyes. 'But I'll try not to interfere when I'm not needed.'
You've been doing that perfectly lately, I noted sarcastically.
'I know, right?'
…Never should've said anything.
'Hey, did you even hear what Ulquiorra just said?'
…Shit, no.
"Sorry, Ulquiorra, I sorta spaced ou—what are you d-doing?" I said surprisedly. His face was in a very, very close range with mine, probably a few inches away. Shit, what if it is lust? What's he going to do now? What am I supposed to do!?
'Geez. If I could, I'd slap you right now.'
Shut up! Don't you see what's happening!? The nostalgia from that day two weeks ago replayed in my mind. But it definitely wasn't good nostalgia.
I heard a sigh. 'Just see how it plays out. Seriously, you're turning into Orihi—'
DON'T EVEN START TO COMPARE ME WITH THAT BITCH!
'…Well, now you're back to your normal self.'
"You seemed to be in deep thought," he said nonchalantly. "I thought that if I inspected your facial expression in a more detailed way, I could get an idea of what you were thinking about."
I sighed and laughed nervously. That was an extremely great relief. "Oh, that's it?"
"What else did you expect?"
"N-nothing, really!" I assured, waving my arms frantically. "But I never heard your answer to my question."
"I never answered," he remarked, making me sweat drop. "But I am glad you asked."
"Why's that…?" I stiffened when I felt one of Ulquiorra's hands make its way up to my face, playing around with a strand of my hair. A blush gradually made its way to my face.
"Remember what I had said about possessiveness?" I nodded meekly and silently grasped his hand and brought it away from my face. "Well, I am also possessive about you."
What the hell? What was I supposed to make out of this? Hey, what's supposed to happen now?
'…Why're you asking me?' She sounded just as panicked as I was.
"I feel that I need to protect you at all costs. Seeing you being hurt by him like that—" for a moment he let a minor scowl cross his face for a second before it disappeared, "—if I could kill him, I probably would've." Wrath seemed a little more dominant now.
"Ulquiorra…what do you feel right now?" I put some space between us, physically.
"It doesn't feel like I should be, but…I feel excessive want for the things I already have. There are things I want all to myself."
Greed. Definitely. "I don't think this's as bad as you think," I tried to convince him. "Everyone feels this in a way. Someone told me that today," I nudged his shoulder and smiled.
"Your smile…" Not blushing was impossible. "You're like…a jewel."
Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. I immediately got up from the bed. "U-ulquiorra, I'm g-going to go n-now."
"I'll see you tomorrow."
I left without responding.
[#]#[#]#[#]#[#]#[#]#[#]#[#]#[
Me: (Looks over shoulder)
Alexia: Holy crap…where is he…
Ulquiorra and Grimmjow: ?
Alexia and I: Ahhhhh!
Grimmjow: The fuck is going on!?
Ulquiorra: What is—
Me: I'm doing to lose sleep over this -.-' stupid…
Alexia: He reminds me of Nnoitora, appearing out of nowhere and trying to kill you (shivers)
Grimmjow: Let me get this straight: you have to collect pieces of paper…
Ulquiorra: While trying to escape from a man named Slenderman?
Me: T-T Yeah. You got the gist.
Alexia: S-some people think he's real…
Me: I swear, if my writing pace slows down even more after this -.-' oh, yeah; guys, I need you to vote on the poll I've posted on my profile T_T I'm going into half-harsh mode. Only five people in total have voted.
Grimmjow: That's three since last week.
Alexia: In order to know the effective results we need to have more voters T_T
Ulquiorra: Also, please review.
Me: I'm going to keep the poll up for two more weeks, so hurry up, please!
Alexia: See ya later!