As it turned out, Ulquiorra couldn't manifest when there were many other people around. As soon as she had gotten into a busy part of town he had started to vanish, to her slight panic, but he had assured her that it was normal for him. He also told her he would be there the whole time, but that she wouldn't be able to see him. He described it as an out of body experience, like he was just a floating consciousness, but Orihime was still put out by the lack of a body next to her.
Operation show-Ulquiorra-kun-the-wonders-of-the-human-world was a no-go.
So, instead, Orihime went to work again. She worked all day and then went home a little early so that she would have plenty of time to do a couple of things before dinner in the evening.
She was happy to count down in her mind how long until Ulquiorra would get a body: just nine days to go.
She figured she could put off the mission until then.
Inside her room, Orihime changed into a pair of sweats and a light blue T shirt, pulling a brush through the hair she let down.
She suddenly stopped.
"Ulquiorra?"
He didn't appear right away, but after a second he was suddenly standing beside her. "What is it?"
She felt her face flush red as she slowly turned her head up to look at him. "Wait a second… if you can still see and hear things when you're body isn't around…" She looked at her uniform, discarded in the corner of her room. "… Does that mean that all this time… you've just been silently letting me get dressed with you around?" her face went beat read with the implication.
He might have blushed, if he had blood. As it was, he looked sharply away from her. "You do not change in out in the middle of the public, do you woman? It is quite simple for me to place myself outside of your bedroom when you desire to change clothing."
Slowly she felt her blush reseed. "Oh… thank goodness. That would have been so embarrassing!"
He said nothing.
"Anyway, I've been wondering. Can you pick things up?"
In answer, he reached out and grabbed her brush holding it up for her to see.
"Wow! That's so cool!"
"Hardly. I am unable to pick up any object if I am not within five feet of yourself, and never if there is anyone else in the immediate vicinity."
"Still, though, it's kind of cool. I mean, you are supposed to just been a ghost!"
"Do I need yet remind you-"
"A ghost-ghost." She amended.
Again he did not reply.
"Can you do things, though?"
"Like what, woman?"
"Like…" She looked around, before finally just settling on the brush in his hands. "Like brush hair?"
"I would not know."
"You should brush it!"
"Objects in the real world do not have much affect on my currant body." He informed her.
"No, I mean, you can brush my hair! You can hold the brush, so why not?"
"… I suppose, but-"
"Yay! Here," She sat down on the bed, patting the spot behind her. "you can sit down behind me."
"I never said I would-"
"Please?"
Ulquiorra thought he was immune to any, and every, type of Orihime's attacks. He had failed to realize that she had attacks outside of her shun shun rika, he found, as suddenly he discovered that she could do something with her eyes that was so compelling he could not help but move to sit behind her on the bed and begrudgingly brush the woman's hair.
And he had thought that becoming her babysitter was as low as she would bring him.
"You're good at this." She commented. After a long pause, she added, "You could be a hairstylist."
"As if brushing your own hair is not humiliating enough."
"You don't like it?"
"It is odd."
"Odd like…?"
"I am an espada." He deadpanned. "I do not brush hair."
She giggled. "But you do it so well!"
"Do not try your luck, Onna, or you will find yourself without company for the remainder of the evening."
She had just laughed softly again.
Then, after a moment, she softly spoke. "Thank you."
"It is no trouble, you could easily do it yourself."
"No, not for that…"
"Then for what?"
"Thank you for saving me."
After a long pause, he answered, "It is you whom saved me."
"I guess we can call it even then?"
"I suppose."
Review replies and PMs may not happen today- I'm feeling really sick and I need to focus on my schoolwork. Thank you all so much anyway, though, and I'll get to replies tomorrow, possibly. I hope everyone enjoys!