Hey everyone! Sorry for the wait, I work a lot and have been finding time to write hard to come by. Things are taking a turn for the fun side, definitely a lighthearted chapter. Please review and of course, enjoy!
Telling Layla's story spoken
'Bout how all her bones are broken
Hammers fall on all the pieces
Two months in the cover creases
(Chorus)
Fully alive All my complaints shrink to nothing
More than most
Ready to smile and love life
Fully alive and she knows
How to believe in futures
I'm ashamed of all my somethings
She's glad for one day of comfort
Only because she has suffered
The alarm sounded loudly through the quiet apartment the next morning. Groaning loudly, Orihime reached over to silence it but was stopped short by a large lump lying next to her in the bed. Slightly confused in her sleepy fog, she prodded the mass, not exactly sure what it was. A tired grunt sounded from it and she launched herself out of the bed.
"Holy crap! Ulquiorra what are you doing?!" She had completely forgotten his insistence on sleeping in a bed last night, and after passing out she was so deeply asleep that she hadn't noticed another person slip into her sheets.
"Onna, it is far too early in the morning to be so loud. I believe I informed you last night that this was to be the sleeping arrangement so you have no possible reason to be shouting."
"I didn't think you were being serious!" I just slept with Ulquiorra, how could he expect me to be calm?
"What the fuck is going on? Hime, you are fucking loud." A messy haired half naked Grimmjow sauntered into the small bedroom looking less than pleased at being woken up so abruptly.
"The Onna forgot about our agreement of sharing the bed and apparently deems it necessary to shout about it." Ulquiorra had decided that he was not a morning person and so much energy was giving him a headache.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing in Hime's bed? You were supposed to sleep on the floor!"
"That is false, you claimed the couch and I conceded. I said nothing about sleeping on the floor."
"Why you-" He dodged a pillow that had gone sailing towards his head and launched at the sleepy espada, only to be stopped by a rogue pillow that smacked him square in the nose.
"Hime what the fuck!" She had grabbed the previously fired pillow and promptly swung it at his face to prevent the destruction of her only bed.
"First of all my name is Orihime not Hime, and you are not fighting on my bed-" Another pillow had been launched, this time at the back of her head, stopping her scolding mid sentence.
"Ulquiorra! Growing some balls finally I see." A hearty laugh busted out of the blue haired man.
"It was simply to silence the noise, I wish to sleep and that is not possible with the Onna talking."
"So it's a pillow fight you two want is it?" An evil grin spread across her face, this was her best game that she often played with her brother when he was alive. "Then get ready boys because you are going to lose!" She swung another pillow at Grimmjow's legs attempting to sweep his legs out which he jumped over.
"A fight? Alright!"
"This is pointless Onna, cease this immediately." This is not what he needed right now.
"What? Afraid you're going to lose emo boy? If you can't take the heat just run back to that freak shopkeeper's place and Hime and I will share the bed inst-" Another pillow sailed right into his open mouth from the bed. Ulquiorra may hate the blue haired man but he was not going to leave the Onna alone with the freak.
"Don't let your guard down!" Orihime jumped and launched another round right at Ulquiorra's head, which he barely avoided.
"This is pointless, you cannot hope to hit me with something so pathetic Onna."
"Then you had better move or else you're done for!" Ulquiorra dodged another assault on his head and was forced to leave the bed, which he was not pleased about.
"If it is defeat you desire than I will oblige you." He spun a pillow fast and hard at her torso. She managed to dip out just in time but was hit in the back by Grimmjow who beamed at his success.
"No double teaming, that's not fair!"
"No such thing as fair in a battle Hime! You have a lot to learn." He grabbed her arms from behind stretching her back up and arching it so she couldn't move.
"This battle is over." Ulquiorra launched another shot hitting them both in the head. "I believe I am the victor, and as such I demand the ability to sleep without being disturbed for the next hour."
"Oh my god, the time! We're going to be late for school!" She darted from the room, frantically grabbing her things and stuffing a bizarre looking pastry into her mouth.
"School? What the hell is that?"
"It is a pointless waste of time, however the Onna is correct, we must leave." He hated wasting his time at the institution, however he didn't have much of a choice if he was to continue his training.
"Well what am I supposed to do then?"
"That does not concern me. Knowing that fool shopkeeper, he will have something for you to do so I suggest you go there." Calmly grabbing his bag and changing, he joined the frantic Orihime at the door and left.
"Shit. I really don't want to know what that guy has for me to do..."
o0o
They arrived at school just in time, Orihime out of breath and Ulquiorra as calm as ever. They joined the group at the back of the classroom as the teacher walked in and called the class to attention.
"Alright listen up everyone, we're going to do an activity today." Groans erupted from the class. "No complaining! The project is about discovering yourself, your strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes and then sharing it with others. This is to make us closer as a class since we have seemed to become a bit disjointed lately. Get together with someone you don't usually talk to and ask them these questions. Get started!"
Tatsuki walked over to the group and patted Orihime on the shoulder. "This should be pretty interesting, I wonder what everyone is going to say." A big smile spread across the sporty girl's face. "Especially Ulquiorra since he never talks about himself."
"There is nothing that you need to know about me, human. This is absurd."
Orihime's interest had actually been piqued. What did Ulquiorra like? She knew a plethora of things he didn't like, primarily trash, and that he was extremely intelligent and strong, but did he even have a weakness?
"Man, this is lame, I hate this kind of project." Ichigo had joined in on the trio, the short shinigami by his side as always. "I'm not good at talking about myself."
"I think this will be fun! We never had to do this kind of thing at the academy." Rukia loved how the human world was so much more laid back than soul society.
"Psh, I already know your weakness, drawing." He stuck his tongue out at her, mocking her drawing ability. Next thing he knew he had a moustache on his face and the short girl satisfactorily spun a marker in her fingers.
"What the hell! That's permanent marker!"
"Then don't make fun of my drawings!" They became lost in yet another battle about drawing as the rest of the group became lost in thought as to what they would say. Just then, a large group of girls approached the pensive group looking apprehensive but excited. One girl stepped up, which Orihime recognized as the girl from yesterday's ordeal, and poked Ulquiorra on the shoulder.
"Um, can I be your partner for the project?" Silence swept the room as everyone waited for his response, genuinely curious as to what he would say.
"The Onna is my partner so your endeavor is pointless." Sighs passed around, this was exactly what they expected him to say.
"You can't be her partner, you have to be partners with someone you don't know." A smug look set on her face. Ulquiorra couldn't help but notice what a contrast this girl was to the Onna. She had plain black hair cropped at her shoulders and a very pointy face; he couldn't shake the fact that she reminded him of a very ugly bird. The sporty teen laughed.
"She has a point Ulquiorra, you can't be Orihime's partner." She was disappointed that she couldn't be her partner, but was highly satisfied that he couldn't either.
"It seems I have no choice then. Fine, I will be your partner." The girl could barely contain her excitement, which was a stark contrast to the look on his face, which was reminiscent of having just eaten one of Orihime's dinners.
She had to stifle a laugh, while she was disappointed that she couldn't ask him the questions, she knew that being around other people would be good for him too. Just as she was picturing him having his own group of friends, she felt a finger tap her on the shoulder. It was a slimmer boy with short hair and a kind face. He looked a little nervous to approach her but seemed to gain confidence when she gave him a small smile.
"Hi Inoue-san, I was wondering if you would be my partner." He gave her a nice smile and waited for a reply.
"Sure, I don't mind." She could feel a pair of deep green eyes settle on her from across the room and she knew he was staring at her.
"Great! I'm Takahashi Hideki, I don't think we've ever really talked before." He let out a shy laugh.
"No I don't think we have Takahashi-san, nice to meet you. So what do you like to do?" As they talked she couldn't help but notice that the back of her head was being bored into, she didn't feel his eyes shift from them until the teacher called the class to attention twenty minutes later.
The bell sounded for lunch and she made her way to the roof as usual, Ulquiorra not far behind. They sat as they always did in a comfortable silence, Orihime lost in thought.
"So what did you and that girl talk about?" She couldn't contain her curiosity anymore; she wanted to know what he really would have said.
"That girl is trash, why would I talk to her?" She hadn't stopped talking the entire time and her voice had grated on his nerves.
"I suppose I should have guessed you would say that. Since you cheated on the project you should do it with me instead."
"What is the purpose of that?"
She let out a sigh, she should have expected that too. She wasn't done yet though, she had one more trick up her sleeve.
"Well fine then, I guess since you wont talk to me then I'll just go talk more with Hideki-kun." She saw his eye twitch at the mention of the boy's name and knew she had won.
"That boy is trash, if you really wish to talk then fine. What do you want to know?"
Her eyes lit up, she hadn't been this excited since their conversations back in Las Noches. She felt a little guilty using his possessiveness to provoke him but she had so many questions.
"Well for starters, what do you like? Do you have a favorite color?" He just sat there for a minute in silence thinking of a response.
"I like the color of your hair. In Las Noches it complimented your uniform very well."
She was caught speechless, having expected him to say white or black, and certainly not giving her a compliment. It was rare that people said that her hair was pretty and in elementary school it had been the primary source of her being bullied.
"Wow, nobody has ever said they liked my hair, usually they hate it."
"It is because they were jealous of being outshone by the sun." Her hair had always fascinated him; it had all the shades of the sun or a vibrant sunset, bursting with color and rich with red, orange and yellow. He had constantly had to catch himself from grasping a strand to feel if it was really as soft as he thought it was.
The bell rung out for the end of lunch and he rose elegantly and extended a hand out to help her up. She took it and allowed herself to be pulled up, dusting off her skirt as her mind ran rampant with thoughts of what he had said. As he turned to leave she felt herself grab his sleeve.
"Did you really mean that? What you said about my hair?"
"I do not say things that I do not mean, you know this Onna."
o0o
"Alright class I have an announcement to make. It seems that our little family here keeps getting bigger and frankly, weirder. You can come in now."
The door opened and a head of bright blue hair and a wide smile took everyone, except for a certain group of people who figured this would happen, aback.
"Yo, I'm Grimmjow Jagerjaques, I'm from wherever Ulquiorra said he's from and if you want to remember something it's this. One, I am the king and two, Hime is mine." He laughed heartily at the various reactions from the crowd, ignoring the fact that Orihime was pinching her eyes shut in exasperation.
"Wow Orihime, you seem to have become quite popular with new students, though I have no idea how they seem to know you so well. Anyways, you can join Ulquiorra and Orihime in the back. Now lets get back to our lesson shall we?"
The rest of the day seemed to drag on forever. Whenever they had breaks girls would swarm to their desks, drooling over the new boy. He loved having his ego stroked so much and of course soaked it all up, much to Orihime's discomfort and Ulquiorra's annoyance.
"Look ladies, I know that I'm a lot to take in but there's only one girl for this king, and that's a princess." He proceeded to grab Orihime out of her chair and hug her close to his side, her face turning beet red with embarrassment.
"Psh, what's so special about her anyway? She just sits around and smiles like a fake bitch all the time. Fake hair, fake smile and fake personality. Makes you wonder how she gets so many hot guy friends, probably because she has fake tits too." The girl looked very satisfied with her insult.
It took a lot to push Orihime over the edge and honestly she didn't really care, but insinuating that she was basically a fake cheap whore was enough to get her there.
"Look, I don't care if you think I'm fake, you're entitled to your own opinions. Frankly, I'm not friends with people who think of me that way, I'm not as desperate as you seem to be." A hush ran through the classroom. Nobody had ever heard so much as a negative word come out of the girl, and to hear her call someone desperate was unheard of. Realizing this, the black haired girl burned red with fury.
"Ha! That's my girl!" Grimmjow pulled her into an even tighter hug to the point where she could barely breathe.
"We'll see who's desperate in the end bitch." And with that she turned and stormed out of the room in utter defeat.
o0o
Orihime had remained very quiet for the remainder of the day. She had experienced so many things she had never had before, Ulquiorra complimenting her hair, Grimmjow hugging her like they were some sort of 'item,' and of course her spat with that girl. Her friends had all checked up on her to make sure she was ok, and she had to physically stop Tatsuki from beating the holy living shit out of the girl, but what she didn't know was the growing amount of concern bubbling up in her two housemates.
"Oy Ulquiorra, has Hime ever been this quiet? I always took her for the chatty type."
Of course, Ulquiorra had observed almost immediately after the girl left that the Onna was upset. He had decided not to ask her about it, however, as he knew that she most likely wanted to be alone with her thoughts.
"You are correct, she is uncharacteristically quiet."
"I don't like it. How do we fix it?"
He just stared at him, showing that he obviously thought the bluenette was an idiot. He had to admit, though, that he much preferred the chatty Onna to the one that reminded him of Las Noches. She was much more attractive when her face lit up and seemed to be brimming with life and happiness.
"You are asking the wrong person. I would suggest you ask her short haired friend instead."
"Yeah, why the hell am I asking the king of solitude how to cheer someone up, that's stupid. I'm going to go find her." And with that he left in search of Tatsuki. Ulquiorra, in the meantime, went over to join Orihime, as he had nothing better to do in the meantime. She was still sitting lost in thought, staring out the window.
"Ne, Ulquiorra." She turned to face the pale man with bright green eyes. "You don't think I'm fake do you?" The question had been burning in her mind ever since the girl had left. She felt silly needing confirmation to boost her self-esteem, especially from Ulquiorra, but it was something she had always struggled with.
Ulquiorra couldn't quite hide his look of incredulity. How could someone so vibrant and strong as she let such trash affect her so much? She was so much more than she knew she was. She was entrancing, philosophical, in her own way, and stood strongly by her beliefs. Even after all the torture he had put her through she still stayed strong and resilient, however this one piece of putrescence had broken her with one blow.
Seeing the look on his face, she immediately felt stupid, having thought that he saw her as a weakling for letting it get to her so much. With a sigh she decided that she should have never burdened him with the question in the first place. She plastered the best smile she could on her face and looked at him again.
"Never mind, it was a silly question, don't worry about it."
"If you were being fake it would be now, do not smile unless it is genuine, it suits you much better."
She was a little confused by his statement, not sure if he was confirming what she thought or complimenting her. Sensing this, he decided to rephrase his previous comment.
"Onna, you should not let petty trash affect you so much. You are far more than she will ever be. Never doubt your strength or worth; they are far more valuable than you know."
With this, a real smile spread across her face and she beamed up at him. He couldn't help but wonder at the warmth that spread through his chest at having successfully cheered her up. Why did he feel this way when she smiled? When she was genuinely herself? It shouldn't matter to him, but he couldn't resist feeling a small amount of pride and accomplishment at knowing that he was the source of her smile.
"Thanks Ulquiorra, I really needed to hear that. Oh! Tatsuki-chan! What are you up to?" She was surprised to see Grimmjow standing next to her with a lazy smile as he looked at the pair of them.
The small teen was relieved at seeing her friend's mood improved and was slightly conflicted. She had always been the one to cheer her friend up, however what really mattered was that she was happy. With a big smile she hugged her friend.
"We're going out tonight, the four of us. We can go to the amusement park, and then get dinner together."
"Wow I haven't been there in ages, that sounds like a lot of fun!"
The teen and bluenette felt highly satisfied with their plan and Orihime was excited that Tatsuki had seemed to warm up to her unusual roommates. She hoped that they could all become close friends since she rarely saw her best friend.
With renewed vigor, she finished out the school day with enthusiasm and couldn't wait to get home. She practically dragged the boys back to the apartment when the bell rang, she couldn't remember the last time she had hung out like a normal teen or just felt so much like her old self. She couldn't help but contribute this to her new friends though; they appreciated her strength and accepted her as she was.
Once they got to the apartment Orihime dashed to her room and started rifling through her closet for the perfect outfit. She couldn't make up her mind between a blue and silver top and white shorts or a purple t-shirt with a swirly white skirt. She finally made up her mind on the former choice and began to get dressed. Once she was done she went into the living room where the two boys were waiting, she was still getting used to the idea of seeing them in normal clothes.
The two boys couldn't help but gawk a little when Orihime came out of her room to join them. Her aqua and silver shirt hugged her curves and showed off her small waist while only showing a small hint of her chest and her shorts accentuated her long slender legs and curved right under her perfectly round rump.
"Are you guys ready to head out? Tatsuki said she would meet us at the park so we can go whenever you're ready."
Ulquiorra nodded in response and Grimmjow gave her a satisfied smile and slung an arm casually over her shoulder. "Alright Hime let's go have some fun." He gave her a wink and Ulquiorra clenched his fists in his pocket, if it were not for the fact that this was supposed to make the Onna happy he would have ripped that idiot's arm off right then and there. As it was he could only stand by and seethe quietly.
As they approached the park Orihime squealed with excitement and grabbed her friend. The two boys joined them at a leisurely pace and looked upon the park. They could hear all of the screams coming from inside and couldn't help but wonder what the hell they had just gotten themselves into.