"He's the one who killed that brat, you know," Nnoitra said, his grin becoming wider as he advanced even more. Orihime was up against the wall now. One of her hairpins glittered, but Nnoitra brought his giant scythe-like weapon to level with her face, causing her to gasp. "What? Don't believe me? I could take you to where that brat lays dead." His smile twisted into a scowl.

"I wouldn't try it," he growled. Then, still scowling, he lowered his blade and approached her, grabbing her chin. "I bet you're a little slut, ain'tcha? After all, even Ulquiorra's gotta have some need for you, and I bet there's a good reason why he comes here so often." Nnoitra's grin was sickening. Orihime gasped and tried to look away but Nnoitra grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him as he leaned in closer.

"Ulquiorra!" Orihime gasped, closing her eyes tight. But he was probably far away by now, even though it had only been a short time since she had seen him. As if in response, a large red cero shot towards Nnoitra, hitting him and blasting him through the wall. Orihime sank to the ground, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Tch, even you can get caught off guard," came a familiar voice. Orihime turned to look at Grimmjow as he walked in through the hole he blasted in the wall. "Woman, let's go," he said, pulling her gently, much to Orihime's surprise, to her feet. Nnoitra, however, was not finished. He climbed out of the rubble created from Grimmjow's cero and scowled.

"Even you want a piece of her," Nnoitra said. "She must be one hell of a-" his words were cut off by Grimmjow planting a kick in his side; at least, that's where he aimed. Nnoitra blocked it with his zanpakuto, grinning as he did so. "Sorry, didn't quite catch that." Grimmjow sneered and acted as if to throw a punch, but instead, ripped Nnoitra's eye patch from his head. Orihime screamed when she saw, but Grimmjow was quick, tossing a tiny cube into Nnoitra's hollow hole.

"You fu-" he started, but was sucked in.

"Tch." Grimmjow turned back to Orihime. "Come on, let's get outta here before Ulquiorra finds us." Without saying anything else, he grabbed her by the arm.

Not very long after, Grimmjow appeared at the spot where Ichigo lay dead. Nel looked up at him, her nose red and her face covered in tears. The Espada scowled and tossed the bundle he carried over his shoulder, releasing Orihime. When she saw Ichigo, her eyes grew wide. So it was true… Everything Nnoitra said was true. Suddenly her gag and bindings were taken off, and Grimmjow sat down on a stone behind her.

"Hurry up and heal him," he demanded. Although Orihime at first refused, she eventually summoned her Soten Kisshun, and began reversing time. She did not get very far when Ulquiorra appeared. Grimmjow's eyes narrowed. "Shit!"

"Return the woman to me," Ulquiorra said. "You step out of line here, Grimmjow."

In defiance, Grimmjow fired off a cero, but Ulquiorra deflected it. The two exchanged blows, each one landing several good hits, before they realized Ichigo was regaining consciousness.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime cried, causing Ulquiorra to frown even more. Grimmjow would pay for this- not just taking Orihime, but also allowing her to revive the one person who threatened Ulquiorra's place in her heart.

Suddenly Ulquiorra disappeared, a sonido taking him straight to Orihime. He grabbed her arms, and before Ichigo knew what was happening, the two vanished.

Grimmjow watched them go, but soon lost interest. Orihime had done what he wanted- managed to revive Ichigo completely. He turned his mad gaze onto the Shinigami. "Well now, Kurosaki! What do you say we have that rematch!"

"Sorry, Grimmjow, I don't have time for you!"

"I'd make time, if I were you!" Grimmjow shouted, firing a cero at Ichigo.

"Dammit," Ichigo said under his breath. He did not have time to fight Grimmjow, but it looked like it was a fight he could not avoid.

Ulquiorra and Orihime returned to her room, and Ulquiorra released her. She immediately turned around and backed away, sinking to the floor against the wall. "So it was true… why did you kill him? Why did you kill Kurosaki-kun?"

Ulquiorra closed his eyes and came towards her. Crouching down so that he was eye level, he said softly, "Because I wanted your mind… your heart… to be mine alone." These words caused Orihime to look at him, her eyes wide. Ulquiorra took this moment to lean in, and surprising not only Orihime but himself as well, pressed his lips to hers.

Orihime was surprised by his sudden action, but did not move away. Instead, she did just the opposite of what her mind told her she should do, she let it continue. She closed her eyes, and everything else seemed to melt away.

What seemed like minutes, but was only seconds, later, the two broke the kiss. Ulquiorra made no move to touch her, the two merely looked at each other, before coming back together again, slowly, timidly. So this is that feeling, Orihime thought, this is the feeling which I thought I had felt for Kurosaki-kun. It was as if she now saw that perhaps her 'love' for Ichigo was more of an admiration of his strength, a reliance on his friendship. She realized, this feeling that was welling up in her heart was the reason why, when both Loly and Menolly attacked her, and when Nnoitra came, she had called not Ichigo's name, but Ulquiorra's.

So this is what heart feels like, Ulquiorra thought. The feeling of wanting that person all to yourself, to have thoughts only of you. The two stayed like this for several moments, each one unsure as to what was next. Finally, Ulquiorra stood up, bringing Orihime with him.

"I am… selfish…" he began. He raised his hand to touch her hair. "I wanted your heart only to think of me. I wanted you… to show me what having a heart is like." Ulquiorra realized then the reasoning behind Gin's frantic need to help Rangiku escape. It was not your heart that was the most important, but the heart of the person you loved. Ulquiorra did not want to see Orihime leave them, he wanted her for himself, and in that reasoning, he had killed the one who came to rescue her.

But he realized then, that Orihime could not live here. Not only would she be a captive forever, but she would never truly be his. He began to question if taking her away, and letting Grimmjow have his way with Kurosaki, was the right thing to do.

"When I first saw you, searching so frantically for your lost power, I thought it fruitless," he said. "But I was drawn to your determination, to something I could not explain. When Aizen-sama expressed his wish to bring you here, I did not want to do so. Taking you away, would mean taking you away from your… home, from your heart. But a part of me wanted to bring you here, so that I could visit you often, and settle this confusion in my mind.

"Seeing you with others angered me. Seeing you hurt clouded my judgment."

Orihime remained silent throughout this entire speech, her eyes widening with each revelation. In truth, while it was Ulquiorra who had brought her here, he had let her make her own terms, he was gentler to her than anyone else had been. And, in the depths of her loneliness, had been the one to visit her, to show her that she was not alone here, even if it had felt like it. Somewhere in the course of her captivity, she had fallen in love with Ulquiorra.

A/N: ! I struggled so hard with this chapter because, well, I'm such a HUGE GrimmHime fan! I had to struggle to keep it UlquiHime! I also had difficulty writing the kissing scene- if only because, as much as I enjoy UlquiorraOrihime, I cannot imagine Ulquiorra kissing or embracing ANYONE, even the woman he loves..

I do apologize if this entire thing seems rushed- I had to get the ball rolling with these two!