I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.

Chapter 14

Orihime entered her house only to be accosted by the smell of burnt food coming from her kitchen. She didn't remember leaving anything cooking this morning when she left, but what other reason could there be for the awful smell. It wasn't like a burglar would sneak into her apartment only to burn her food that was set aside for dinner. Rather than think of the possible dangers that could await her she walked towards the kitchen to see what was going on.

"Orihime!"

She gasped as a figure came up beside her and enveloped her in a tight hug.

"They really should let you out of that school at a more respectable hour. I had this meal ready almost two hours ago."

"Rangiku-san?" she grunted.

Matsumoto released her and stood back slightly smiling.

"Oh just look at you. One would never know that it was only a month ago that you were rescued from that horrible place and Aizen's clutches." She said in a rush.

Orihime couldn't help but blush at her friend's remarks.

"I knew that you would never defect to Aizen's side, but it was so frustrating to be forced back to the Soul Society after we discovered you were gone. I guess Captain Yamamoto must have planned on Ichigo going to Hueco Mundo to rescue you. Still he could have let us in on that small detail." She pouted. "It would have made things a lot more bearable initially. Still here you are no worse for wear."

She nodded in agreement and said, "I am glad to see that you are well also. Yoruichi-san told me about your injuries. I wish I could have been there to help."

Matsumoto waved her hand in dismissal of Orihime's comment.

"You were where you needed to be. Besides it would seem that Hueco Mundo was a much safer place for you than Karakura Town. Nothing too eventful besides the defeat of seven of Aizen's Espada." She said with a wink.

Orihime smiled and said nervously, "Yeah nothing but that. So I guess the Soul Society has nothing to worry about now that they're all gone."

Matsumoto sighed and said, "There is always something going on in the Soul Society. It really is beginning to interfere with my sleep."

Orihime laughed and asked, "So are you here on business?"

"Not really," she began. "Ikkaku and Yumichika had an assignment, something about unusual spirit energy, so I told Captain Hitsugaya that I should go with them. That way I could check on you and make sure that you had settled back into your routine without any complications. Now that I'm here I can see that everything is just fine, so instead we can spend tomorrow shopping!"

"Oh." Orihime replied. It was hard to keep the disappointment from her voice. She had promised to spend the weekend with Ulquiorra, and quite honestly she was looking forward to it. But she hadn't visited with Rangiku in so long and would love to spend time with her as well.

"Huh?" Rangiku asked. "You don't already have plans do you?"

"Well," she began uneasily, "I do sort of…"

"With that karate friend of yours?"

"No she's at a tournament."

"Ishida-san?"

"No…"

"Ah is it Kurosaki-san then?" she asked with a little more excitement.

Orihime couldn't help but blush at Rangiku's question.

"No, it's someone you haven't met." At least she hoped so. It would really be bad if Matsumoto recognized Ulquiorra. Maybe it would be best to cancel out with him.

"Oh a new friend. Is it a boy friend?"

"Yes, I mean no, I mean he is a boy and he is a friend, but he not my boyfriend." She said in an embarrassed rush.

"So he is a new friend that is a boy, and you have plans to spend time alone with him this weekend?"

"Yes exactly."

"Sounds a little romantic to me."

"No," she exclaimed waving her hands in front of her. "It's not like that. I just want to show him a good time…"

Rangiku raised her eyebrow.

"No I don't mean that. I mean he used to live in a place where there wasn't anything fun to do, so I am showing him around and making sure he enjoys himself."

Rangiku still continued to look at her with a puzzled expression.

"So," she began after a moment, "Is this new friend that is a boy, cute?"

Orihime's eyes grew wide. Ulquiorra cute? She hadn't really thought about it, but lately she had noticed that she couldn't stop staring at him in class. Could she be attracted to him?

"Well a lot of the girls in class seem to like him."

"But do you think he's cute?"

"Um," she said as she bit her lower lip. "He has really pretty green eyes. And his voice…"

"Yes."

"Well it is deep and …" she stopped again.

Would Rangiku understand about how his voice could calm and excite her at the same time?"

Bowing her head she said in a whisper, "It kind of makes my stomach flip flop."

"Ahh… well…"

Orihime looked up at her friend.

"Is that a bad thing?" she asked.

"Bad, oh no, not in the least," Rangiku replied.

"Have you ever felt that way around a guy before?" she asked.

"Me," she began and then paused to think. A small, wistful smile graced her face. "Once, a long time ago."

"Really?" Orihime asked excitedly.

"Yes," Rangiku said and then looking intently at Orihime continued, "It would seem to me that you like this guy."

"Like Ulquiorra-san? Oh no, I mean he's my friend, and I enjoy spending time with him, and he makes me laugh…"

"Say no more." Her friend said. Suddenly her expression changed slightly and she asked, "What about Kurosaki-san? Does he make your stomach flip flop?"

Orihime felt her cheeks redden and said softly, "He used to, but I haven't noticed it as much lately."

"Not since this boy, Ulquiorra you say, came to school?"

"I guess."

This caused Rangiku to smile again.

"Now the more important question is whether or not his stomach gets all flip floppy when he spends time with you."

"Ulquiorra-san is not the kind of guy who would get a flip floppy stomach."

"Really? Well I'll just have to be the judge of that."

"What do you mean?"

"He's coming over tomorrow?"

"Well, yes, but…"

"Good, I look forward to meeting him."

"I don't know. Maybe it would be best if I cancel."

"No you won't. I want to meet the boy who has replaced Kurosaki Ichigo in my little Orihime's heart."

This caused Orihime to blush a deep scarlet. Her worries about whether or not Rangiku would realize that Ulquiorra used to be an Espada, were replaced by the fear that her friend would completely embarrass her by exposing her feelings to him.

"Now," Matsumoto said, "Since dinner is a little over cooked, how about we order out?"

A deep blanket of snow covered Karakura Town. Ulquiorra made the trek to Orihime's apartment wondering just what fun activities she had in store for them today. Knocking on her door he waited for her to answer.

From inside the apartment he heard a voice call out, "Don't worry Orihime, I'll get it."

The door opened and he was greeted by the sight of a ginger-haired woman with enormous breasts. She smiled warmly at him and said, "So you must be Ulquiorra. Orihime told me all about you last night. I'm a friend of hers from out of town, Matsumoto Rangiku"

He couldn't help but be surprised. Matsumoto was the lieutenant of the 10th Division of the Gotei 13. Though he knew that she and Inoue were close, he had not even considered the possibility of running into her, at least not this soon after becoming human.

She stared intently at him and he wondered if maybe she knew who he really was, but when she spoke again he found his fears were completely off base.

"Orihime wasn't kidding. You do have really pretty, green eyes."

Her remark caused him slight discomfort, and he was shocked to feel a heat creep into his cheeks.

"Am I embarrassing you?" she asked, but continued on not waiting for him to reply, "That is so cute. Yes, so far I like what I see."

He couldn't help but back away slightly at her remark. He knew about Matsumoto. She was most likely the only true friend that Gin Ichimaru had ever had, so he had spent much time investigating her. He knew that she liked to drink, a lot, and she was not averse to throwing around her charms, as well as her ample cleavage, at the men that she encountered.

"Oh come on, I'm not going to eat you," she said and then added with a wink, "yet."

His eyes opened wide in shock at her words, but he barely had time to form a response when she grabbed his arm and pulled him into Orihime's apartment. Slamming the door behind him she turned and smiled. Reaching towards him she pulled the woolen cap from his head.

"Mmm, very different from Kurosaki-san." She thought aloud. "Still dark hair can be very attractive."

For some reason her statement bothered him more than anything else she had said. He did not like being compared to Kurosaki, especially when it came to Orihime's affections. He reached forward and grabbed his hat back from the Shinigami.

"Are you finished with your assessment or should I strip naked so you can get an even better look." He said. It was hard to keep the anger from his voice.

It was her turn to be surprised. She stared at him for a moment with a slightly shocked expression on her face. Suddenly she smiled and burst into laughter.

"Oh I definitely like what I see." She said and then turning towards the bathroom yelled, "Orihime your friend is here!"

Inoue came rushing out; her toothbrush still in her hands.

"Ulquiorra, I didn't quite expect you yet. Rangiku-san and I were up late, and then we slept in, and I told her not to answer the door, but I guess she didn't listen…"

"Oh come on, I was just trying to get an unbiased feel for your friend." She pouted.

"I was unaware that you were going to have a houseguest." He stated.

She smiled awkwardly and said, "Neither did I. Rangiku-san was here when I got home, but I haven't seen her in quite some time and I couldn't just make her leave. Besides she doesn't mind spending the day with us…"

"Maybe it would be better if I left the two of you alone to enjoy her visit more fully." He replied.

Spending the day with Matsumoto would not only be embarrassing, but potentially dangerous if either of them said anything that gave him away. It was better to sacrifice his time with Inoue than to risk their lives and stay.

"Oh come on, you don't have to go. I don't mind sharing my time with Orihime." Rangiku said.

He never had a chance to respond due to a loud persistent knocking at the door to the apartment. He could hear voices from outside arguing.

"I think they heard you the first time, Ikkaku."

"Well they're not answering."

"Give them time to move."

Suddenly there was silence as the banging stopped.

"Enough already!" This voice he recognized as Kurosaki. "The whole neighborhood is going to know you're here."

"Oh my." Orihime said as she started for the door.

"Idiots," Matsumoto said under her breath. "I told them not to come for me until later. I hate shopping with them."

Ulquiorra thought this morning couldn't get much worse. Having Matsumoto here was risky enough, but now he had to deal with more Shinigami.

Orihime opened the door and smiled. Two men that he knew were Shinigami, stood beside Kurosaki and Asano.

"Inoue-san." Ichigo began, scratching his head as if embarrassed. "I was out this morning when I ran into these guys, so I thought I would come with them to check on you, since they seemed, uh, worried, and well…"

One of the Shinigami, a bald man, pushed Kurosaki aside and said, "Hey Rangiku, we finished up early so we thought we come see what you two were up too."

"I told you to come get me later. Orihime and I haven't even gotten out of the apartment yet."

"We can't help it if you're so lazy that you've slept the morning away…"

"We were up late talking girl things."

The man gave her a strange look. His friend though came up next to him and smiling said, "Any good gossip?"

"Only that Orihime has a new friend." She replied nodding her head in his direction.

Both Shinigami turned to look at him. The bald man came to stand in front of him, his look scrutinizing.

"Ikkaku don't be rude." The other Shinigami said as he walked over. Even though he had just chastised his friend, he also gave Ulquiorra a good once over.

From the doorway he could hear Asano saying, "See I told you that something was going on with these two, but you didn't believe me."

"Nothing is going on." Ichigo said as he too walked over to join the Shinigami. "Inoue is just too nice for her own good."

"Too nice you say?" asked Ikkaku. "Is this guy some kind of punk?" He grabbed the handle of a wooden katana that was slung through his belt strap. "I can take care of him for you."

"No, no, please it's just a misunderstanding." Orihime said as she rushed over to stand between him and the Shinigami. "Ulquiorra just moved here recently. I'm trying to help him have some fun. We had plans to do something together today, but then Rangiku showed up, so now we're going to do something fun as a threesome."

Asano made an odd, strangled noise and promptly fell to the floor, the two Shinigami gave each other a look, and Ichigo turned a violent shade of red.

"Oh my gosh!" Orihime exclaimed.

Matsumoto bent down to inspect Asano.

"He really is a weird boy." She said. Poking him rather roughly, she said, "Hey wake up."

The teen began to stir and then opened his eyes. Rangiku leaned closer, her breasts inches from Asano's face. He screamed and scrambled backwards.

"I don't understand the mind of the teenage boy." Matsumoto continued. She rose and looked at Kurosaki. Her cleavage now swung in his direction. The teen turned an even darker shade of red. "Am I that intimidating?"

Ichigo backed up a few feet.

"Maybe it has a little to do with personal space." Ichigo said.

"Or modesty." Ikkaku grumbled from beside him.

"What was that?" she turned and glared at the Shinigami.

"Nothing."

"You know I'd really like to hear a little more about this threesome." The dark haired Shinigami said.

Ulquiorra had had enough. Speaking to the Shinigami, Ichigo, and Asano he said, "I find your reaction to Inoue's innocent blunder rather juvenile. I would expect this from Asano, but I'm rather surprised at Kurosaki. And you two," he said looking at the Shinigami, "seem rather old to be thinking such lewd thoughts."

"I am not old." The dark haired Shinigami pouted.

"Why you little shit." Ikkaku growled as his katana was placed against Ulquiorra's throat. "You can't talk to us like that."

He only glared back at the bald Shinigami. Matsumoto though walked up and grabbed the katana by the tip and pushed it away from his throat.

"Must you always be such a hot-headed idiot." She said harshly. "He only spoke the truth."

"I am not old!" her friend continued to whine.

"Really Yumichika, I don't think we really need to talk about your true age." She said, and then turning to Ulquiorra continued, "I like you. Your honesty is very refreshing."

"Only because it's directed at us," Ichigo said hotly. "Just give it time. You'll find it just as annoying as everyone else."

Rangiku just smiled and said, "We'll see."

The room fell silent at her remark. The Shinigami and Ichigo continued to glare menacingly at him. Asano recovered his senses and came to stand by Kurosaki.

Orihime, obviously uncomfortable with the tension said nervously, "Well, um, this is kind of unexpected, all these people I mean, not that it's not great to see everybody together again, but I, um, didn't plan anything for a crowd."

Matsumoto walked over to Inoue and putting her arm around her said, "Now don't worry Orihime. The boys don't mind going shopping with us. After all it'll be nice to have someone strong to carry all the bags."

"I am not going shopping with you." Ikkaku growled.

Rangiku ignored him and continued, "And Yumichika could help Ulquiorra find some more fashionable clothes…"

"There is nothing wrong with the clothing I am wearing." He stated.

"Of course not," she said. "But I think we could do better; something to play up the color of your eyes. Maybe a little more form fitting…"

"What the hell!" Ichigo burst out. "What kind of pervert are you?"

"It's not for me, it's for Orihime."

He noticed Inoue turn a bright red at her friend's statement. Ichigo's face though drained of all color.

"What are you suggesting?" Kurosaki asked.

"Rangiku is just teasing you, Kurosaki-kun." Orihime said hurriedly. "Maybe shopping isn't such a good choice for a large group. I think I could think of something that we all could enjoy." She paused as she thought it over. Suddenly she smiled and shouted, "I know, we can have a snowball fight!"

"A fight?" Ikkaku asked finally interested.

"Well not a fight, fight. It's for fun. You pick teams and then you attack each other with snowballs. But you have to use fluffy, soft snow, not icy or wet snow that could really hurt someone…"

"Attack?" Ikkaku continued sounding more interested than before.

"Well yes, but it's for fun."

"Fighting is fun." The Shinigami smiled.

"But you can't hurt anyone…"

"Then what's the point?" he asked.

"Look you idiot," Ichigo started. "It's for fun. It's like a child's game. You chase each other and throw snowballs for fun."

"Then how do you win?" Yumichika joined in.

"Well no one really wins…" Orihime started.

"Then what's the point?" Ikkaku reiterated.

"It's for fun." Rangiku yelled. "Aren't you listening? How many times does the poor girl have to tell you?"

"I just don't see the point in it if no one gets hurt." Ikkaku growled.

"I could hurt you if you so desire." Ulquiorra said irritated by the bickering.

The Shinigami stared at him and then smiled.

"You're on."

"No wait." Orihime cried. "We are only playing a friendly game…"

"But he just challenged me." Ikkaku said.

"You are Orihime's guest." Matsumoto said as she approached her comrade. "You will play by her rules and leave her boyfriend alone."

Orihime gasped at her friend's bold statement.

"He is not her boyfriend!" Ichigo yelled.

"Are you a little jealous Kurosaki-san?" Matsumoto asked teasingly. "You had your chance. Now it's Ulquiorra's turn."

Kurosaki began to respond and then stopped.

"So I see we have moved on to stating the obvious in the most painfully embarrassing way." Yumichika said.

"Why should anyone be embarrassed?" Rangiku asked seemingly oblivious to Orihime's discomfort.

Once again his irritation caused him to speak. "You are an overly presumptuous woman. By making rather rash assumptions, you have made Orihime extremely uncomfortable. Whatever her intentions they are hers to declare, no one else's."

Rangiku's expression changed. She stared at him for a moment and then at Orihime.

"Told you the honesty got old real quick." Ichigo blurted out.

Ikkaku laughed and said, "Actually, I think I may be starting to like this guy."

Matsumoto ignored them all.

"Orihime," she began, "Do you think I've overstepped my bounds?"

"Did you ever!" Yumichika said.

"I didn't ask you!" Matsumoto exclaimed. "I want to hear from Orihime."

Everyone turned to look at Inoue. She smiled nervously and said, "I… well… I really would rather that you hadn't said that…"

Matsumoto began to pout.

"But it's ok… I mean Ulquiorra is right, but I'm not mad…"

"Well you should be." Yumichika said. "Rangiku never thinks about what she says."

Matsumoto turned on him and said angrily, "No one asked you."

"Look," Orihime started, "Let's just forget all of this and go have some fun. I think once we start our game we'll all forget about this conversation."

Ulquiorra thought another lifetime wouldn't be able to erase this debacle from his memory. Still he wanted to get out of Orihime's apartment.

"I agree with Inoue." He said.

"Of course you do," Asano piped up. "Now that you two are dating…"

"Shut up Keigo." Ichigo said.

"But…"

Kurosaki never gave him a chance to finish. He grabbed his friend by the collar and started to push him towards the door. Once there he turned back.

"Well, are we going or not?"

"Only if I don't have to be on his team." Matsumoto said as she pointed to Yumichika.

"Feeling's mutual!" he replied.

"I really don't care what team you're on. Let's just get going." Kurosaki said.

"Alright then." Orihime said. "I know just the place that will be perfect for a match of this proportion."

Ulquiorra sighed as he followed her out. Keeping from being discovered seemed to be the least of his problems with this group of idiots, he thought. It amazed him that the Soul Society had won the war against Aizen if these were the people leading the fight.

He stayed with Orihime as she locked the door to her apartment, but before they headed down to join her friends she said, "Don't worry. This will still be lots of fun. You'll see."

Her idea of fun left much to the imagination. He honestly didn't see how this was going to end in anything but a disaster. Still he would see it through. He figured he owed Orihime at least that much.

A.N. These chapters are taking a lot more time to write. I find that I am becoming very picky and a little anxious about each one. This chapter deviates from what I had originally planned, but I wanted Rangiku and company involved due to later developments in the story. Though it may seem like a lot of nonsense with little direction, it is going somewhere. Due to size though I had to split the chapter. Hopefully I can find some quiet time this weekend to crank out the rest.

Thanks to all who reviewed last time. Please let me know what you think of this chapter.