Ulquiorra's green eyes widened as realization dawned on him.
"Kurosaki's…dead?" he asked quietly. Aizen nodded.
"You would know best," he said, smiling gently. "Do not worry- I'm not mad at you."
"I didn't kill him," Ulquiorra admitted. But who did…?
"Of course you didn't," Aizen said knowingly. "You have to tell Orihime, however."
"Tell…Orihime?" Ulquiorra repeated.
"Well, doesn't she have a right to know? She did love him," Aizen said. "Go, I'm awaiting a visit from Nnoitra so that we can have a talk about where he marks his territory." Ulquiorra slowly walked towards the door. It opened without him having to pull the handle, for Nnoitra slinked in the room, a scowl on his face.
"Ah, Nnoitra…I'm very disappointed in you…" Ulquiorra could hear Aizen say as he walked down the hallway. He reached Orihime's room in no time, much to his dislike. He knocked on the door twice.
"Come in!" came Orihime's voice. Ulquiorra opened the door, only to find that a large plate of food greeted him instead of Orihime's smile.
"One of the kitchen staff brought it," she explained. "I can't eat it all, so I was wondering if you would like some."
"Yes, but first-" Ulquiorra started, looking away from her face.
"Oh yeah, Grimmjow-san said that he wants his CD back…" she continued.
"Ok, I'll-"
"Also, he said that since Nnoitra might get ranked down, he could be the fifth Espada."
"Kurosaki Ichigo is dead." The room fell deathly silent. Orihime blinked twice, looking up at the Espada's calm face.
"What?" she asked, a hint of laughter in her voice, as if it was some cruel joke. "What do you mean?"
"He's dead, Orihime."
"Kurosaki-kun…is…dead?" Orihime whispered. Ulquiorra nodded.
"B-but, he was here a few days ago! He isn't dead!" she yelled.
"Aizen-sama told me that he was dead," Ulquiorra said.
"Is that why Tousen brought you to Aizen?" she asked.
"No, that was because he thought I killed Kurosaki." Orihime stared up at him blankly.
"You…killed…Kurosaki-kun?" she asked in disbelief. Ulquiorra's eyes widened.
"No, I didn't, someone else-" he started, but Orihime was already out the door.
"Orihime!" he called, rushing after her. She was nowhere in sight, however.
"Trouble in paradise?" came Grimmjow's voice from behind him.
"Hardly," Ulquiorra gritted through his teeth. Grimmjow smirked.
"This is your punishment for killing someone else's prey," he said.
"I didn't kill him," Ulquiorra said for a third time.
"It had to be you," Grimmjow said. "Who else could it have been?"
"He could have committed suicide," Ulquiorra suggested. Grimmjow laughed aloud and started down the hallway.
"The woman's in the kitchen if you're looking for her," he called back. Ulquiorra sighed and started down the hallway in the opposite direction, towards the kitchen.
He could smell the rice and fish that they were cooking. Upon entering the large kitchen, he immediately felt a wave of heat wash over him- it was burning hot in the room. He scanned the room for any sign of Orihime.
"Excuse me…" came a feeble voice from his left. He turned to face the small chef that had spoken to him.
"If you're looking for the hostage…" he continued. "She's working over there." Ulquiorra frowned. Since when did Orihime work in the kitchen?
"Thank you," he said, walking over to where the chef had pointed. He did not see anyone who could be her.
"Orihime?" he called. Then he found her grey eyes. He hadn't recognized her because her hair had been up and her face glued down to a pot of some brown substance.
"Why are you here?" he asked, rushing over to her.
"Don't talk to me," she said, her voice fierce.
"Answer the question," Ulquiorra ordered, raising his voice.
"Cooking calms me down," she explained. Ulquiorra took a deep breath.
"I didn't do it, Orihime."
"Didn't do what?" she snapped. "Didn't even think about what would come of murdering Kurosaki-kun?"
"I didn't kill him," Ulquiorra continued. Orihime looked down at the concoction she was cooking.
"Yes, you did," she said, tears falling into the pot. Ulquiorra put his hands on her shoulders and forced her face to face his.
"It wasn't me!" he repeated. She shook her head.
"Just…let me cook," she asked, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. "Please." Ulquiorra grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the kitchen and down they hallway. She had to run to keep up with his fast pace. He said nothing. Nor did he even look at her.
They stopped at a huge metal door. An odd blowing noise was emanating from it.
"What's this?" she asked.
"The door to Las Noches. The main one, at least," Ulquiorra explained, letting go of her hand. He pointed at the door with his right hand and it silently flew open.
"What do you plan to do?" she asked, curiously peering out to look at the blank stretch of desert before them.
"We're leaving," he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Ha! The plot is finally playing it's part! I wrote this chapter while listening to The Fray and Jimmy Hendrix. Mostly, at least. Please read and review!!