WARNING: MATURE CONTENT
Orihime arrived back with chocolate and snacks and ran them up to Eri's room. The girl was halfway asleep so she left the items by her bedside and came back down to her father. She made herself a cup of coffee and helped herself to the breakfast Ulquiorra had made for the girl. "She seems to be feeling better now. She's resting. Where's this laundry that needs conquering?" she asked before taking a sip of the steaming black beverage.
Ulquiorra was still grading papers when she spoke. He didn't even look up as he pointed to the big windows. "It's out there in that tub. I put cold water and peroxide in it. They've been soaking ever since I hung up with you earlier," he stated.
Orihime didn't respond. She took her time eating and drinking her coffee, observing Ulquiorra work. She wasn't making any judgments or revelations, just enjoying the quiet company. Ten minutes later she finished rinsing out her dishes, grabbed the bucket she brought, and went outside.
It was still a mess.
She spread out the sheets, blankets, nightclothes, and towels onto the grass and driveway and took out another bottle of peroxide. While Ulquiorra's quick actions kept the stains from setting, the now brown marks on the fabric had not gone away, but rather bled out into lighter blotches. She poured the solution from the brown bottle carefully over each spot, watching it foam up. When that was done, the bottle was empty. She poured the water out of the wash tub and stood up, stretching her back. She had about fifteen minutes to kill while the peroxide worked. It was a gorgeous day. Her skin was too pale. She took off her apron and handkerchief and found a sunny spot to lie down in, pulling the legs of her already short shorts up and rolling up the sleeves of her t-shirt.
As soon as he was done with his work, Ulquiorra walked out the sliding glass door and peered around for the woman. He found her lying in the yard. He walked down the steps and over to where she was. "What are you doing?" he asked, letting his eyes wander over her body.
She shaded her eyes with one hand as she opened them to look at him, squinting in the bright light. "Just getting some sun while I wait for the stain treatment to work. Are you taking a break?"
"I'm finished… for now. So yes, I suppose I am taking a break," he replied. Ulquiorra sat down next to her before fishing a hair tie from his pocket. The sun was making him regret having long hair. It only took several seconds for him to twist the black mass into a low bun, but tendrils of hair still escaped. "Is she okay?"
"She's fine," Orihime said, biting her lip, appreciating the messy hairdo. He looked good. "She's a lot better than she was this morning. I'm going to have to take her out shopping later. I hope she's up for it; she doesn't want to see Kazui today."
Not see Kazui? Had hell frozen over? Ulquiorra shook his head. "That might break your son's heart," he commented, placing a hand on her knee. "So my plan is to get you intoxicated so you can't leave tonight."
Orihime laughed hard enough that she had to hold onto her breasts to keep them from shaking uncomfortably. "Well, that is a decent plan. Sounds fun, too," she finally said, grinning up at him. Her heart thumped in her chest and she took a deep, steadying breath through her nostrils. She couldn't stop smiling. She couldn't remember the last time she felt like this. "And Kazui will get over it," she tacked on, remembering the other thing he said. "He takes things at face value most of the time; it will roll off his back if we just tell him she's not feeling well."
"Hmmm," he hummed as his fingers started stroking the skin above her knee. "I'm hoping one of these days we can have sex when alcohol isn't involved and when I don't have to make excuses to keep you near me."
Orihime bit her lip. The thing he was doing to her leg and the tone of his voice were doing things to her body. She rolled over to her side and propped her head up with her hand. "Well, we could have sober sex right now. I can be quiet."
The corner of his lip twitched as Ulquiorra contemplated their options. "You want to have sex outside again?" he asked, giving her a sly look.
"I have no objections. It rocked my world the first time," she replied, one leg sliding up and down the length of the other slowly as she walked the fingers of her free hand over to his knee.
Ulquiorra had to swallow down the feeling of desire for now. He had other things nagging at his thoughts at the moment. Why didn't Orihime want to go inside to do this? Was it because of Eriko? As he thought, lust creeped back into his mind. It was no use, as soon Orihime touched him he knew what he wanted. "This once a week schedule is bullshit," he said as he laid down on the grass next to her, facing Orihime.
She scooted her body closer to his, so that there was really not much space between them, and kissed his lips briefly. "I know. It's hard that we live so far apart and have so much going on," she kissed him again, nipping at his bottom lip.
He wasn't going to get his hopes up. This woman didn't want anything serious. They were fulfilling a need… Giving into primal instincts. Orihime just liked him, while he was falling madly in love with her. He wished he could demand that she move closer to him and he wished that he had the confidence to tell her that he would gladly move closer to her. Ulquiorra looked at Orihime before he pulled her closer to him, kissing her. It was somewhat aggressive, but he might as well take some of his frustration out this way.
Orihime gasped into his mouth, loving the way his tongue insisted on finding its way into hers. A soft moan left her nostrils as her leg hitched itself over his hip. He was so sexy. Everything about him… the way he moved and spoke and looked. They way he cared and worked and… Appreciated. What he said on the phone to her. She didn't know in what capacity he meant it, but he had said that he loved her.
She knew that in some capacity, she returned his feelings. If she had been a younger woman and had no child to think about, she would have thrown caution to the wind and declared her undying devotion to him already. As it was, though, she needed a bit more time to surrender to the idea. She couldn't lead Eri and Kazui down a path of broken hearts if there turned out to be something that would break them apart.
In the meantime, this physical part of their relationship was ten out of ten, would fuck again. Over and over and over again, she thought, as her hands wormed up under his shirt.
Damn. This woman already had him hard and wishing he was inside of her. She always had the power of bewitching him. "I want you, Orihime," he groaned as he pressed his body against hers.
"Then take me. I'm yours, remember?" she hissed back. Oops. She got carried away. She meant it, though.
Ulquiorra pulled back and stared at her for a moment. Maybe… maybe there was some miscommunication between them. Perhaps she did feel like he did. He rolled over so he was on his back and pulled her on top of him, one hand gripping her thigh while the other moved between her legs. "Mine," he breathed.
Oh god. Oh for fuck's sake. That should not have her quaking. Her heart should not be fluttering and threatening to beat out of her chest. That word and this gesture should make her livid; indignant, not a simpering… whatever.
'Should' could go fuck itself. Her body spoke for itself. "Yours," she whispered, her hands roaming under his shirt.
He didn't get the chance the first time, so Ulquiorra used this moment to pull her shorts to the side and tease her skin. Shit. She was already wet. Ulquiorra swallowed and looked up Orihime. The hand on her thigh came up and grabbed the front of her shirt, pulling her down so that he could kiss her. "You are so perfect, Woman."
"I- I-" The words caught in her throat. She hadn't known him long enough! How could she know that she loved him? Why did she feel an overwhelming compulsion to say it? It wasn't about reciprocation, either. She meant it.
She was afraid of destroying all of them with it, though, so she swallowed it down. "I need you, Ulquiorra. Everything about you," she admitted.
Hearing her say that made his blood hotter. It made his cock twitch. She needed him? He needed her in the same capacity. He wanted to monopolize her time. He wanted all of her attention. Ulquiorra wanted to help raise Kazui into a strong young man.
Fuck.
He was so fucked. This was much more than lust and copulation. This more than emotions and feelings. Ulquiorra wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. It was silly, though. His memories as an Arrancar were pushing at the edge of his mind. She had a hand in his death. Had she just stayed-No! He was not going to allow himself to think of this. She was in front of him now, and she was his.
"You can have me," he murmured against her neck, kissing and sucking on the skin there. Ulquiorra took his hands away from her body, once again reaching down between her legs. This time he was undoing the fastening on his own shorts, before he reached inside of them and his boxer briefs to pull out his already hard cock. "We need each other."
Orihime's hand pushed her shorts and panties to the side. There was enough space to make room for him. Her hand found his around his cock and she helped guide him to her entrance, then sunk down on him slowly. Once she settled on him, she sighed and leaned forward, kissing his lips, and then propped herself up with her palms on the grass at either side of his neck. She didn't move at first, just stared down at his face. What was this overwhelming feeling? She had never felt this way, well, not exactly, anyway, about her late husband. "Mine?" she whispered her question, her thumb stroking the side of his face as she began to rock on top of him.
The heat that engulfed him made his eyes roll back into his head and it took him a moment to calm down. Ulquiorra bit his lip and nodded his answer to her. "Yours," he said as he grabbed her hips. "I've always been yours."
Shit. There went all her good intentions. She wanted him. She wanted to be with him. She wanted Eriko to be her daughter as much as the girl said she wanted Orihime to be her mother. "I don't know what happened between us before," she whispered as she moved. "But I can feel it in my bones. We're connected."
He lifted his hips to thrust into the woman. "Shhh, don't think about it right now. Just focus on us, Orihime. Focus on how good you feel on top of me. Focus on how I'm moving in and out of you. You're so tight and hot."
Why would he say that? The idea troubled her a bit. But he was right, she felt amazing. Her legs were shaking and she collapsed on top of him, letting him thrust up into her. She whimpered softly. "You're so big and hard. I feel like you could rip me open and I'd beg for more."
"You want more?" Ulquiorra growled in her ear. He quickened his pace and the force of the thrusts. A groan left his throat. "Woman, I want to make love to you every night. I want to kiss you everyday."
He knew he should be quiet but this felt too good to censor himself.
Her walls clamped down on him, his words driving her to completion. "Ulquiorra," she whined into his neck, her emotions flooding her as she came. "I want that, too." Tears dripped onto his chest as she rode out her orgasm in quiet gasps.
That pressure flared up his spine and he had shut his eyes tightly to ride out his own release inside of her. Everything felt too intense with her. "I love you," he murmured once he could speak. It was a quiet declaration.
She pushed herself up a bit and looked down at him, then dipped her head down to kiss him deeply. A few moments later, she pushed back up again and stared into his eyes. She didn't know how. She didn't know why. But she knew.
"I love you, too."
Ulquiorra offered her a rare smile, before he wrapped his arms around her. "We should get cleaned up before Eriko wakes up or Kazui comes running up the drive. We will talk about this later tonight," he said, caressing her back.
She nodded against his chest and lifted her hips, letting him slip out of her.
"Is something wrong?" he asked as he sat up with her still on his lap.
"No," she murmured. "I just…" She sighed. She couldn't figure out how she felt, much less tell him. One thing stood out, though. "I wish we could just tell them."
Ulquiorra made a small noise and then cleared his throat. "Eriko knows," he finally said.
She chuckled. It figured. "I'm not as worried about her. She seems all for it."
He bit his lip again before sliding his hands into her hair. Her lips were soft against his and her taste sweet. Already, Ulquiorra wanted to be inside of her again. "I could talk to Kazui about it," he offered.
She smiled at him. "Maybe when the time is right. Soon, I hope. I just want him to start to see it for himself a bit first, I think. Hopefully then it won't be such a shock? I don't know. You're the teacher. What do you think?"
He didn't really know what to think. He didn't think it was right that their children got to dictate their time together, but what could Ulquiorra do? He shrugged. "I'm not saying let's tell them we're having sex, but we should present it to them in a logical way that we're seeing each other on a more intimate level. I know I will never replace Kurosaki in Kazui's eyes. "
Orihime sighed. "I'll talk to him this week. No promises about how far the conversation will go, but it will be a start," she offered, hoping to placate him somewhat.
"You don't have to, Orihime," Ulquiorra said. "It would just make things easier. We wouldn't need to come up with excuses." He sighed and turned his head towards the house. If he could talk to Urahara about breaking this thing, maybe Orihime would remember him. Maybe she would realize who he was and hate him. There were a lot of unknowns on the table at the moment.
Orihime nodded. It would be easier if they could be open about it, but it would only be easier for themselves. "We'll just play it by ear, for now. It seems like we do not have so much control over how things come out anyway, if Eriko is any indication, right?" she smiled at him.
"I've not asked Eriko for a reaction or asked her opinion on the matter. She asked and it irritated me, so I answered in an irrational fashion." Ulquiorra kissed Orihime again. "That's what happened on Thursday before dinner."
"Oh," Orihime was not surprised to learn this, but she didn't know the reason. "Why does it irritate you so much?" she asked, sitting up. She was curious.
Ulquiorra shrugged. "I think you will hate me if you ever recover your memory concerning me," he replied.
"Why do you think that?"
"Orihime, this is something that we should not talk about. It might trigger another episode."
"Maybe I should talk to someone about those… I just don't know who. I don't know who I can trust. I thought I could trust Ishida-kun, but he always advises that I allow the past to stay in the past. I don't know why no one will just tell me. It might make things easier."
"Have you had more of these episodes since I came into your life?"
"Hmm, I don't know. They always came in clusters before, too."
Ulquiorra looked at her for a moment. He almost wanted to tell her that she would be better off if he wasn't in her life. There was no way he would give her up though. He would probably fight tooth and nail to stay in Orihime's life. He decided he wouldn't think about that right now. "C'mon Woman. Let's see how that stain treatment is going."
"Oh, crap!" she said, standing quickly. It had totally slipped her mind already. She adjusted her shorts and waited for Ulquiorra to readjust, asking, "where is your washing machine?"
He stood up and turned away from Orihime as he made himself decent. "Uh, the bathroom on the first floor. Soap and everything is in there."
She smiled, amused at his modesty. "Okay," she said to herself as she bent over to grab her handkerchief and apron from the ground. She stood and put them back into place before grabbing the wash bin and refilling it with the soaked items. "So far so good, " she called out, under the assumption that Ulquiorra was still where she had left him.
As soon as she bent over, Ulquiorra had to turn his head away from the woman, his mouth set in a thin line. Once again he was being tested. He knew he was patient, but sometimes things had limits. So he quickly moved away from her due to his frustration with the situation. Why couldn't he be free to do as he wanted? He reached the deck before he answered her. "Do you want help carrying the tub inside?"
"Sure," she chirped, turning to face him with a smile. Damn, he was nice. Ichigo would have just watched her do it, then when she complained about a back ache later, he would have complained that she should have asked for help. She rolled her eyes at herself. Why was she comparing them against one another? They were different people and deserved to be treated as such… She could also keep ignoring the voice in her head telling her, "This might be the replacement to fill Ichigo's role."
Restraint, practice restraint, he told himself as he walked over to Orihime and grabbed the container from her. "Please, go ahead," Ulquiorra said to her.
"Okay," she replied. She again rolled her eyes at herself. Why had she used that breathy, lovestruck tone of voice? They were doing laundry, not getting married. Time, place, occasion, Orihime, she told herself. She led the way to the bathroom and turned to grab the stuff out of the bucket and then started the machine. Once it was turned on, she turned towards Ulquiorra, leaning against the washer, and said, "Now, we wait, unless there is something else you'd like to do."
Naughty mental images flooded his mind. Ulquiorra shook his head. "Not at the moment," he said. "I should go check on Eriko unless you'd like to..." It sounded more like a question than a statement.
Orihime bit her lip. "I should have brought a change of clothes. I should ask Kazui to bring me some. Maybe a couple. I'm going to need a shower eventually." What was it about Ulquiorra that made her feel like she could just be as forward as she wanted sometimes? She took a step toward him and then another one and another until she was a hairswidth before him. "What would you like to do?"
"Orihime," he murmured, catching the woman's mouth with his, Ulquiorra's tongue pushing into her mouth. "You are so fucking tempting. You can take a shower here. I have something that will fit you. But what I want to do… I want to take you upstairs and have my way with you until you scream out in pleasure. I want to take your body over and over."
Orihime felt weak and her face flushed. "Yours, remember?" she breathed, her glassy eyes finding his and her fingertips dipping into the waistband of his pants slightly.
Tilting his head, Ulquiorra listened for sounds around the house. He could hear Eriko's soft snores. He grabbed Orihime's hand and led her out of the bathroom, down the hall to the couch in the living room. Turning the woman around, he pushed her slightly so she was bent over the back of it. "Right now you're going to have to be quiet again. Do you think you can do that?"
A soft whine came out before Orihime nodded and answered, "Yes." She had never done anything like this before. Her blood was racing. The thrill of possibly getting caught, and the confidence with which he was directing the situation made her breathless already.
He had already had his hands hooked into the waistband of her shorts which he yanked down just far enough for her to be exposed to him. What he wouldn't give to just sink to his knees and bury his face in between her legs. He had to swallow that thought. Right now his cock was aching and he wanted to be inside of her again. Other activities would come later. Another second passed before he had his clothing undone again and was slipping the head of his dick against her flesh.
She gasped. She was still wet from their last encounter less than an hour ago. He was so hot against her. "Ulquiorra," she whispered. "I love you." Her lips throbbed as she spoke the words, and as they caressed the tip of his cock. She tipped her toes, pressing against him a bit more.
One hand wound through her hair, the other found her hip after just the tip of him sank into her. He leaned over her back to whisper, "Do you want this Orihime?"
"Yes, please," she hissed.
He hissed as he thrusted his hips into her, sheathing himself until he felt he could go no further. Ulquiorra closed his eyes and bit his lip to keep from moaning. The same heat from the last two times had engulfed him again.
Orihime shifted her hips, screwing them onto him deeper still. If he could just live inside of her she might be satisfied. She knew she wouldn't last. He felt too good. His hand in her hair intensified the sensation, making her focus only on what he was doing.
Ulquiorra tried not to fuck her as deep. He didn't want to have Eriko wake up to the sound of bodies slapping together. It was hard not to. She was so tight around him. She was so wet. "Woman," he said as he pulled her body against him, burying his cock as deep as it could get.
"Ulquiorra…" she answered in a whispered moan. Her hands curled into a blanket that hung over the top of the sofa as she let her head fall as far as it could against his fist in her hair. She crossed her ankles, clenching her thighs together, and sighed. There. That was the spot. Every move he made was amplified against the increased tightness.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. This was bad. This was- "Orihime," he said in a strained voice. He was going to come and they had just gotten started. He quickened the pace, trying to gauge if that would delay the orgasm building in his body.
Oh my god. It was like a train barrelling down the tracks at her. It started getting harder to stay quiet. She was going to come; it wasn't going to take long. She bit down hard on her lip and panted through her nostrils.
Shit. That was the exact opposite of prolonging the ending. "Orihime," Ulquiorra said, releasing the hold that he had on her hair and grabbing her hips tightly. "I'm going to come."
She could only answer him with a tiny squeak and a nod. Her body answered the rest for him as her walls drank him in and fluttered around his length as she came.
His breath came in ragged pants as he held himself up, trying not to collapse on her. "That's going to kill me one day," he said before kissing her neck.
She hummed a small chuckle. "I sure hope not. I rather want to keep you alive," she said, turning her face to return a small kiss.
He huffed with laughter. "I'm going to go check on Eriko and get you some clothes. I'm sure you're a mess."
She laughed then. "I'm sure you're right. Could you bring me a towel? I'll just get into the shower now, if you don't mind. I need to cool down anyway."
"Follow me," he said as he started towards the stairs. When they got to the second floor, Ulquiorra showed Orihime where the towels and linens were kept and then went down to his room and pulled out a pair of sweats for her to use. Maybe he'd bring up the subject of her keeping a change of clothes here… or at least underwear… Maybe several pairs.
He was getting ahead of himself. She was just saying those words to satisfy him. He had never really gotten over her. Walking back to the bathroom he knocked on the door. "I have things for you."
"Thank you," she said, turning around to take the items from him. She was already completely undressed, and smiled demurely, somehow finding a trace of modest embarrassment.
"The pants might be a little long," Ulquiorra said, smiling at her. He then grew serious. "I'm going to go check on the girl. Take your time."
She nodded and leaned forward to kiss his cheek and then blushed again before getting into the shower.
Ulquiorra was surprised to see Eriko awake when he walked into her room. She was sitting on her bed, reading a book. "Oh, you're awake."
"I've been awake."
"Oh," Ulquiorra replied. "How are you feeling?"
"Are you going to make babies with Orihime?"
"What?" Ulquiorra's voice was loud in the small room.
"Outside you-"
Ulquiorra's eyes went wide as he listened to his daughter. Was she saying that she saw what happened in the yard? "Eriko!"
"What?" the girl said, looking up at him.
"It's not what-"
She gave him a look like he was dumb. "Those handy books you gave me… I know what sex is, Dad."
Of course she did. Maybe he should have screened the books better than just taking a bookstore owner's word for it. He sighed. "Eriko..."
"What?"
"I love Orihime. You only do things like that with someone you love."
"I love Kazui but I don't want to do that with him," Eriko replied. "Ewww. He's like a brother to me anyway. I saw what you two were doing and I came back upstairs and took another nap."
Ulquiorra pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Look, what you saw outside was-"
"Dad, stop. Ewww. Anyway, I am feeling better; the things that Orihime gave me worked. The pain is still there but I can live with it."
It was amazing how mature his daughter was being about this. Most kids her age would probably be flipping their shit over whatever was going on. Eriko seemed to be level-headed about this. "Eri, Kazui cannot know, do you understand?"
She nodded.
Ulquiorra was waiting for Orihime in the kitchen. He was mulling over the information that he had just found out. It was troubling. His daughter should have never seen anything like that, but now the cat was out of the bag, he'd pushed the responsibility of telling Eriko things onto Orihime. It wasn't an adult thing to do, but it was what he could handle at the moment.
Orihime got out of the shower and started getting dressed. Her phone was on the sink counter and she saw that she had a missed call. Kazui had left her a message that he would be arriving at Naruki station in about fifteen minutes. She checked her reflection in the mirror; no hickeys this time, she thought with a relieved smirk, and then came down the stairs, calling out for Ulquiorra in an amplified whisper.
He turned in his seat. "I'm down here," he replied.
"Hey," she said, coming up behind him and setting a palm on his shoulder briefly. "Kazui called. He'll be at the station soon. Do you want me to go get him or do you want to? I ask because Eriko mentioned not wanting to see him."
"I can go get him. You need to talk to Eriko," Ulquiorra replied.
"Oh, is she awake?" Orihime asked with a pert smile.
"She saw us." His expression gave nothing away. He looked calm on the surface.
"Oh," she answered, the meaning behind his words not dawning on her. "Do you mind if I get myself a glass of water or something? I'm parched."
A small smirk graced his mouth before he nodded and cleared his throat. "You don't mind talking to her, do you? I can tell Kazui what our plan is for today while you're doing that."
"Alright, no problem," she said, cheerful and oblivious. "If we're gone before you get back, don't worry. I told her I'd take her shopping. My phone is well-charged, though. You don't mind me kind of swooping in here and taking over, do you?" She said, her brows knitting. It had occurred to her that maybe she was stepping on his toes.
Ulquiorra shook his head. "My home is your home, Woman. You are more than welcome to make a place for yourself," he said.
She stopped what she was doing and blushed. That was a bold declaration. It made her skin feel hot and buzzy. She returned to where he sat, leaning over and kissing him under his ear. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she gave a brief squeeze, murmuring, "Thank you," closing her eyes, and pressing the side of her face to his before standing up and backing away.
"Why are you thanking me," Ulquiorra asked, placing his fingers against his cheek. "What is it?"
She looked down at her feet before answering. "I have an expectation to be, um, alone. It has always been that way for me. I've had periods of happiness but in the end, I'm always left behind. So, I don't know. It just means a lot that you're making space in your life for me."
He opened his mouth to tell her the only reason he left her behind in that tower was because he did not want her to be harmed. He didn't want her to get hurt. Ulquiorra couldn't tell her that. It would possibly trigger another episode and he wanted to make today go smoothly. "Orihime, I do not let people into my life easily. If I'm doing that, then I plan for you to be beside me for a while. I know this might be sudden but... I've remembered you for years."
If it was possible for her to feel her skin get hotter, she did. She nodded, not really understanding, but knowing what feeling he was trying to convey. "It is a little sudden, for me, I'll admit," she answered softly. "But I'm glad to hear you say that." She took a deep breath and looked up at him. "I guess I'll go talk to her, now."
Giving Orihime a nod, Ulquiorra stood. "I'll go retrieve Kazui."
She smiled and nodded at him, then turned to the stairs and went straight up to Eriko's room and knocked. "Eri-chan, can I come in?"
"Yes," the girl said in a rather flat voice.
She opened the door and smiled at the girl. "How are you feeling now? Your father said you needed to talk to me."
Eriko lifted her head and stared at the woman with the funny colored hair. "He probably thinks I need to talk to someone. I don't know if I do," she admitted.
"Well, it doesn't hurt to try," Orihime said, coming into the room and sitting on the side of Eriko's bed. "Lay it on me," she said with a chuckle.
"You and my father had sex."
Orihime's life stopped. Her breathing stopped. Her brain stopped. The only part of her that functioned was a tiny, pissed off voice in her head. That voice said, "That fucker. That fucking fucker set me up!"
She took a breath after that, her eyes trailing off to the side and her brain kicking back into gear. Nope, he had told her, she had just been oblivious. She took a bigger, reassuring breath and looked back at Eriko. Apparently the cat was out of the bag. "That's true. Do you want to know anything about that? Why? Um… How?" she asked with an awkward quirk of the lips.
"Are you two having a baby?" Eriko asked, her cheeks turning red. This was private stuff; she knew that, but she wanted to know.
"No, we're not going to have a baby. There are ways to prevent making a baby during sex," she answered, leaving the details out of it. She answered as if this was an educational conversation, not the totally, mind-blowingly awkward experience that it was. She may as well satisfy the girl's curiosity, though. Orihime had been trying to remember how it felt to be eleven years old with questions and how anxious it made her to not know how to ask them. "Is there anything else you want to know?
Eriko gave the woman a scowl. "Are you using him like Yuko did? Are you using him because he's a foreigner?"
Orihime's eyes widened. "No! No, not at all. I don't have a preference for foreigners. My husband was Japanese."
She frowned. Eriko thought about this for a moment. It made sense. Kazui looked Japanese. The only part of Eriko that looked Japanese was her face. "Okay. you can stay then."
"That's it? You don't have any other questions?" Orihime was unsure. On the one hand, it would be nice and easy if that was it. On the other hand, she didn't want Eriko jumping to conclusions. "What do you think this means, Eriko?"
What kind of question was that? The girl tilted her head much like her father did and looked at Orihime. "My dad says he loves you and that you only do stuff like that with people you love. So you two must love each other."
Orihime nodded. "He's right. Are you sure that's it, though? I mean, when I was your age…" she trailed off, getting kind of lost her memories. There had been no internet at her house. She didn't have the kind of books she spied on the girl's desk. Maybe she would have been able to sate her own thirst for knowledge without a grown up. She wasn't sure.
"My dad keeps me well informed about things. I can find stuff out without embarrassing anyone. He's raised me this way," Eriko said, following the woman's gaze. "Be respectful to others, don't make a fuss."
"Well, sometimes it's okay to make a fuss if a fuss is warranted. And you don't have to worry about embarrassing me, Eriko. Your father… Well, I didn't want you or Kazui to know about our relationship right now because we haven't known each other for very long. But now that you do know, it's important that you don't feel shut out. I want you to feel like you can talk to me about the things you need to talk about. But, there is one thing I ask you to do that may be a bit uncomfortable for a little while," Orihime said, finding the girl's eyes and looking into them earnestly.
Eriko nodded. "I know, don't tell Kazui."
Orihime nodded, and decided to level with the girl. "I'm just worried he's going to be angry and feel like we're trying to erase the memory of his dad. That isn't what we want to do, but you know Kazui pretty well, Eri-chan. You know how he can react without thinking, right?"
"He's a hot headed neanderthal at times," the girl said. "Sometimes he doesn't see what's in front of his face."
"This is an astute observation, Eri," Orihime said with a melodious laugh. "So, are you about ready to go shopping? Your dad just left to go get Kazui from the station. We can sneak away and head to the drugstore and maybe find a place in Naruki City that sells decent sweets. Not that they'll be as good as mine, but you know, it's nice to give other people a chance sometimes, right?" she said, nudging the girl's shoulder with her own.
"It'll mess up Dad's routine, but sure, we can go. I think I need to pee first though and then we can leave. Dad can fend for himself at the grocery store."
Kazui walked out of the train station to see his teacher standing in front of his car. "Oh, Cifer-sensei, did you come to pick me up?" he asked. He didn't realize how stupid his question sounded.
"Yes, Kazui. Your mother is dealing with Eriko and her problem that erupted." Ulquiorra sighed. His choice of wording was horrendous.
The boy's brows knotted, making a face that looked exactly like his mother's. "Erupted?! Is Eri okay? Does she need to go to the hospital?"
The man shook his head. "She's fine. It was just a bit of blood. Your mother took care of everything. Are you ready for your lesson?"
"Yeah, but blood?" the boy asked, catching up to Ulquiorra and walking to the passenger seat of the car. "Did she get cut? Did a dog jump the fence and bite her? Was it a werewolf?"
Oh. Kazui didn't know about what women went through… Granted he wasn't sure exactly what went on but it was enough to know his daughter had her first period. "Blood. This might be a better question for your mother to answer," Ulquiorra replied.
The boy scowled, obviously deep in thought, then his face relaxed. "Oh, she got her period? Oh, big deal. My mom gets one all the time," he said, blowing a breath through closed lips and swatting at the air in front of him like he talked about this kind of thing everyday.
"It's a big deal when it happens the first time," Ulquiorra stated. "Come. Let's get your lesson underway."
"Yes, sir," he replied, quickly getting into the car.
Ulquiorra was silent as he drove back to the house. Normally he would have walked to the station and back but it didn't seem fair to make the kid walk all that way and then train for two hours. "So, do you think you can stand still for ten minutes today?"
"I bet I can!" the boy said. He wasn't one to back down from a challenge. "What's the longest you've stood still?"
Green eyes slid in Kazui's direction. "Several hours. I used to stand around for days."
The boys eyes grew huge. "No way! Were you some kind of super strong kendo dude?"
"Something like that," he said. "I fought your dad twice."
"You knew my dad?! Wow! Were you guys friends?"
Ulquiorra shook his head. "Friends do not fight, Kazui. No, I did not like your dad and he did not like me."
The boy was confused. His dad didn't talk about people he didn't like very much, so he had always assumed that his father liked most people. Also, if his dad didn't like his teacher, why did his mom seem to like him? "Why didn't you like each other?" he finally asked, unable to quiet his curiosity.
The man's brow furrowed and he squinted as he drove. "We wanted different things. We were on opposite sides of the war."
"Wait, you're not human?" the boy was getting psyched. If his teacher was a shinigami or something like that, maybe his mother would let him use his zanpakuto!
"What gives you that idea?" Ulquiorra asked carefully.
Kazui paused. "You're not a Quincy, are you?" he asked, withering with disappointment at the idea. "My Uncle Uryu is a Quincy and he is so boring." The boy was emphatic with his speech.
"I am an Espada… former Espada. I am what is known as an Arrancar."
The boy blew out a relieved breath and then went quiet, searching his memory for the terms Ulquiorra had used to describe himself. "Is that like… No, wait, you said you were on opposite sides of a war. There was only the two wars I heard them talk about. No, wait, there was that gang that Riruka was part of. So you are some kind of Fullbringer? Or did you work for that Aizen guy?"
Ulquiorra raised a brow at the kid. "Aizen. I was a bad guy. I think I died, but I woke up and left Hueco Mundo."
"Whoa…" the boy's mind was obviously blown at this news. He was quiet for a long few minutes, then finally asked, "So, were you some kind of hollow? Like my Uncle Sora? Or were you like the ones like Ichika told me about… the ones who are like Vizards?"
"I am a hollow." Ulquiorra's face was blank as he spoke. Now that he finally said those words, he wasn't sure how he felt.
Kazui blew out a long raspberry and then laughed. "No you're not! I'm a shinigami, so I would know if you were a hollow," he said, continuing to laugh, and not realizing that he had said what he was forbidden to say.
"My gigai conceals that fact. If I were to be released from it… my reiatsu would kill people," he stated. "I assure you, I am a hollow. I had a mask fragment. I had a hollow hole. I've been a human for a long time, though."
"Weirrrrrrrrrrrrrd," Kazui commented, looking out the window, thinking some more. "So, if you have a gigai, you know old man hat'n'clogs. You know my grandpa. My grandpa knows Eri. My grandpa was a shinigami captain and so was Urahara, y'know," he said, kind of bragging, kind of digging for more information, kind of rationalizing how all this conflicting information could work in his world.
Ulquiorra shook his head. He had revealed too much to the boy already. "Enough talk," he replied as he turned into the driveway. The car stopped in front of the house and Orihime's van was gone. "You know where your uniform is. Change and then meet me in the yard."
"Yes sir!" the boy barked, getting out of the car and running to get the uniform.
OOOOPS! Well, how awkward was that? LOL. Thanks for reading!