Chapter 11

Orihime woke up feeling a little sad. It was Thursday morning. The project that she had been working on with Ulquiorra was due tomorrow. She figured that once the project was over, the two would never speak again. This surprisingly upset her far more than she had anticipated it would. She gloomily entered the shower completely unmotivated to participate in anything. In the short time she spent with him, the girl realized how interesting and complex he was. One complication of their friendship was the fact that people thought there was something more to it. Something involving love.

"There's no way I love Ulquiorra! He's just a friend…" Orihime thought while she let the warm water run over her body. "But… why would I have a dream of us… kissing? It doesn't make sense at all!" The girl then turned the water off and stood in place thinking to herself. "Even if I did like him, it wouldn't matter anyways. He would never like somebody as loud and obnoxious as me. Once this project ends, he'll be happy he won't have to deal with me anymore and he'll forget I even existed."

Entering the classroom, Ulquiorra glanced around for a certain orange haired girl and walked to his seat after noticing that she wasn't there. He usually always beat her- along with many of his other, irrelevant classmates- but he was never able to shrug off the urge of looking around for her. Orihime had always been an important part in his life. Even when they hadn't talked for years, he would never forget how she helped him. Ulquiorra couldn't help but want to hurry up and tell Orihime just how much she had helped him.

FLASHBACK

"Ulquiorra, hurry up and say your goodbyes."

The small, dark haired child slowly walked over to the cold, marble stone. Looking inside the coffin, he could not hold back the tears falling from his eyes as he stared into the lifeless face of his mother. The tears fell from his eyes and landed onto her pale skin. Her dark hair was neatly to the side of her as her hands were placed onto her stomach. Flowers were piling on top of her stomach as grieving people were saying their goodbyes. Placing one white rose on his mother, the kid started to whimper and he slowly knelt on the ground to cry. Everyone watched with pity and sympathetic frowns.

"Ulquiorra! Get up!" The child looked to face his father. The man had also clearly shed tears but his posture had remained firm and professional. "You are not to show any weakness, Ulquiorra. I did not raise you to be like this! You will get up and you will never disgrace me again by showing your tears!" Ulquiorra got up and wiped his tears away. The two of them then walked and sat in the front to continue on with the service.

Approximately four months later, his father had remarried a younger woman, much to Ulquiorra's dissatisfaction. Since his mother's death, his father rarely spoke to him, and when he did, they were mainly commands. There was no love left after his mother's passing, not even for his new wife, which to him was more like a business matter. The couple had two kids since then, both going to a prestige private school. They were both twins- one boy one girl- with light brown hair and brown eyes. It was obvious that they were not fully related to Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra was an outsider inside and beyond his household. He only sees his siblings while he is walking to get food or passing in the halls, but all that was exchanged when they were kids were just awkward glances. All three are old enough now that they simply pretend that they do not exist. The woman his father married detests Ulquiorra and has tried to have him removed from the house many times. As a compromise, his father agreed to having Ulquiorra's room on the opposite side of their huge house, away from everyone else, further proving the point that Ulquiorra is just an outsider.

The boy's favorite part of town to go to, although he was never welcome, was the park. One fateful day, after being yelled and glared at by his wicked stepmother, he went to the park and cried. He missed his mother very much and he felt that his life was completely useless. He was nothing. That is, until Orihime defended him. After that the boy grew up some more and met Grimmjow, who toughened him up even more. Since that fateful day at the park, Ulquiorra wasn't just a child crying all the time that tears stained his face. He was now a boy with a thick shield of armor around him. Although it keeps most people out, it also keeps him from getting hurt. People didn't relentlessly bully him anymore. No, they only talked about him behind his back, which is the most common activity for teenagers.

END OF FLASHBACK

When Ulquiorra finally saw Orihime enter the classroom, his heart skipped a beat. "Finally, onna." The girl quickly glanced at him and gave a shy smile and sat in her seat. He instantly knew something was wrong. "Foolish girl cannot even hide her feelings at all."

Once the bell rang for lunch, Ulquiorra walked towards Orihime. Standing in front of her and gaining her attention, he simply stared at her, silently implying to follow him. Finally understanding what the boy wanted, Orihime grabbed her coat and followed him out the door to their special spot. The entire walk there, the orange haired girl couldn't help but be moody. Ulquiorra sighed and playfully nudged her.

"Hey, what was that for?" Orihime asked, nudging him back.

"That was for the way you have been acting," Ulquiorra answered, sitting on the bench.

"The way I've been acting?"

"Sad."

"Oh…"

"Explain what is wrong right now."

Orihime looked at him and said, "You actually care how I'm feeling?"

"…No."

Orihime gave a gentle smile and looked back down at her lap. "Ulquiorra… Do you think that you and I will still be friends after all of this?"

Ulquiorra's eyes widened in the slightest way as he gazed at her face. "What do you mean?"

"Well… the only reason we've been talking is because of this assignment. I don't want us to stop talking after this… I want us to still be friends! I want us to talk every day and hang out after school and eat lunch here together! I want to know more about you and know what makes you happy and what makes you sad! I don't want this to stop…" Orihime hadn't even realized the tears flowing from her eyes when they first appeared, but when she finally noticed that, she was mortified. "I-I'm sorry! I don't know why I'm crying!"

Ulquiorra just stared at her in shock. Finally, he lifted one arm and wiped the tears from her face. Then, he gently stated, "There is no need to worry, onna. I am nowhere near done with you. I am entrapped by you."