A/N: Greetings readers! I am wafting in on a cloud here because only two of you managed to guess the right anime! Some background: If you were tuning in to Cartoon Network's Adult Swim back in 2003, you might have caught glimpses of this series. If you live in Hawaii, you might recognize it as the anime interpretation of a Japanese Power Rangers-style super hero show called…

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, the song "Can't Get You" by Fallbrooke, or any other copyrighted material!

Tell Yourself

By: Princess Kitty1

Love Story V

"I can't get you

and I want you so bad."

Because Orihime had never seen Kikaider: The Animation, she sat attentively next to Ulquiorra on the rainy afternoon that he decided to watch the series. With knees drawn up to her chest, eyes open wide and no attention paid to the snacks that she was shoveling into her mouth, she found herself in tears from the very first episode. But she tried not to blubber too loud, for Ulquiorra's sake. He seemed to be devoting a special amount of attention to what was going on.

The story followed an android named Jiro, who was created to look human and given a conscience circuit that produced human emotions within him. Coincidentally, he had a 'release' form of sorts – in which he was more powerful but lost his human characteristics – and android 'siblings' who had no conscience to prevent them from carrying out the deadly orders of their master.

Ulquiorra did not see the love story in it at first. Then the daughter of Jiro's creator, a woman named Mitsuko, came into the picture. She had been entrusted with the task of taking care of Jiro, but her hatred and fear of androids had initially driven him away. As the episodes went on, however, she became the first to see him as human, and fell deeply in love with him. She repaired his arm after it had been broken – a scene that Orihime blushed all the way through because it was made to look like they were doing something else. She kissed Jiro before leaving him to fight his opponent. She cried for him when she thought that he had died.

But, as the Quincy had promised, neither Jiro nor Mitsuko ended up dead.

The conclusion of the series should have left Ulquiorra dissatisfied. With Mitsuko and the others left wondering what had happened to Jiro, the final scene showed the melancholy protagonist glancing over his shoulder before walking off into the misty forest, away from the woman he loved.

"I don't get it," Orihime said quietly, wiping her cheeks, "why did he leave her?" She turned a questioning look to Ulquiorra, who stared silently at the television screen as the credits rolled. For a moment, she wondered if he'd become so lost in thought that he hadn't heard her, but then he responded.

"He did not feel human enough."

…

There wasn't much to do on rainy days. Orihime wanted to go out and splash in the puddles, but she'd put herself at risk of getting sick. She then tried to get Ulquiorra to play checkers with her, seeing as he had a tendency to indulge her in the games that involved either war or strategy – he would not go anywhere near Pictionary – but he seemed preoccupied.

"Ulquiorra!" she yelled from the living room, upon receiving a text from Rukia. "We've been invited on a weekend trip to the beach! Want to go?"

When there was no response from his bedroom, she crawled along the carpet on all fours until she reached the door and peered inside. He was there, staring vacantly at the ceiling, the virtual pet in his hand. "Did you hear me?" Orihime asked, and tilted her head. "You can bring Jackson along. I wouldn't suggest letting him get wet, though." She saw him blink. "I'm taking that as a yes."

"Woman," Ulquiorra addressed her before she could crab-walk back into the living room, "I do not ever wish to be in the extended company of your nakama."

Orihime let out a loud whine. "But… but I'll be there! And it'll be fun!" She entered into his gloomy domain, getting close enough for him to notice her batting eyelashes. "Wouldn't you like to feel sand beneath your feet again?"

Ulquiorra stared at her for a long time, thinking. Over-thinking, really. It was absurd how much he had let that story get to him.

Did the woman see him as human? Had she ever hated him for what he'd done to her and her friends in the past? He had never heard her talk about these things before, but he had assumed. Another human act. Was he human? He walked the line somewhere in between. And this woman, whatever ambiguous feelings she held for him…

Would he be better off leaving her, too?

Orihime frowned. She couldn't quite place it, but there was something different about the way that he was glaring at her. Was he sick? "Ulquiorra, you don't look so good," she said, reaching out to feel his forehead.

He caught her wrist in a tight grip before her fingers could even touch him. She gasped, but he ignored the surprise on her face, the confusion. In the end, it had come down to this, correct? The answers to the questions that he sought couldn't be conveyed through words. No, words had the potential to come out wrong, to be misconstrued.

It was this… the pulse at her wrist, the warmth of her skin, that brought together the thousands of ways in which she could have said that she did see him as something similar to herself, that she'd forgiven his inhuman actions, or else she would have never offered him that which she'd held in her palm.

Orihime sensed that something strange was going on, but she didn't pull away from him. Not when he was scrutinizing her hand in such a way. And then, the lights went on in her mind. She knew what was happening. It almost made her laugh.

The universe was giving her its rarest gift: a second chance.

His hold on her wrist loosened, and she gratefully seized the opportunity. Her arm lowered ever so slightly. She touched solid skin, not scattering ashes. Fingers straightened, moved upwards until her palm and his palm lay flat against each other. Her hand was slightly smaller than his, so the lines didn't match up exactly, but what did it matter? She raised it more, lifted it so that their fingertips would touch, like the reflection in a mirror.

Only, there was warmth there, not the coolness of glass. Nothing divided them. And Orihime remembered her original intent, her reason for reaching out to Ulquiorra even when there was no hand left for her to grab onto, the feeble plea fighting the lump in her throat.

Don't go.

Her fingers slipped between his, closing down over his knuckles. He felt the pulse between their palms. Whether it was his heart or her heart, he couldn't tell. Perhaps it was both, moving in sync. So different, yet able to come to an understanding, without a single spoken word. His fingers closed over hers, securing the connection, and their hearts skipped a beat.

Maybe Jiro wouldn't ever return to Mitsuko, but Ulquiorra was never leaving Orihime again.

…

When the weather cleared on Monday, Ulquiorra turned up at the Ishida residence, surprising both father and son when they opened the door and found him there. "Ah, umm…" Uryuu began uncertainly, while Ryuuken willed Ulquiorra's head to spontaneously combust.

Ulquiorra held the DVD case out to him. "I am returning these."

"Oh." Ishida took it and stared at the cover for a moment, then looked up at Ulquiorra, who was fiddling with – was that a Tamagotchi? "Did you find it better than the books?"

It was strange; Ulquiorra's facial expression didn't change in the slightest, but Uryuu suddenly sensed that the former Espada was in a very good mood. Like he was recalling something pleasant behind that impenetrable poker face. "It was not displeasing."

"That's… good."

"And if you were trying to get rid of me, it was a thinly veiled attempt, and will not work."

"What?" Uryuu's mouth fell open as Ulquiorra walked off down the street, looking entirely too pleased with himself. "I wasn't!" he yelled, turning to his father with wide eyes. "I wasn't!"

Ryuuken held up his hands. "I didn't say anything."

/TBC/

A/N: If y'all want to see Android Kikaider: The Animation, it's online somewhere. I think it's dubbed on youtube. Just watch the opening theme. That alone will give you an idea of how terribly depressing this show is. And it's filled with symbolism! Human blood on gears, wires used as puppet strings, Jiro's shadow turning into a complex system of machinery… ah. It's beautiful. But so sad. So very, very sad. It's always raining and gloomy and the romance is a tragedy without the death… augh.