Chapter 23
Ulquiorra looked up at Riruka with a glare. "My girlfriend is allowed to be clingy. She's gestating a human."
"You're doing what? Do you have to do it down here?" Riruka said, wrinkling her nose in disgust.
"I'm pregnant, Riruka. If all goes to plan, we'll be having a baby on or around March seventh," Orihime said with a flat inflection.
"Oh, great. So you're going to be busy with a baby and I'll have to run this place on my own. That's just super." The pink-haired woman slammed a menu down on the counter and stormed away.
Again anger surged through Ulquiorra and he hissed. "Get up, Orihime," he said.
Orihime has been stunned at Riruka's reaction and was slow to respond to Ulquiorra. After a couple seconds, she started to stand and said, "What do you want to do?"
"You're going to stay here. I'm going after that bitch and having several words with her. Then we're going home. You're under too much stress at the moment to be dealing with all of this," Ulquiorra answered. He helped the redhead to her feet and then stood. "I really dislike her."
Orihime just nodded. She had been through too much today.
He stalked after the pink-haired woman, quietly seething until they were behind the closed door of the kitchen. "What the hell is your problem with Orihime? What is your problem with me? Are you so fucking lazy that you shirk responsibility?" He asked.
"What about her responsibility? To this shop? To Kazui? To me?" the pigtailed woman snapped, spinning around to face off with Ulquiorra.
"She knows she has responsibilities. She does a fine job of upholding those. You are the one who runs away at the slightest hint of them. She is not responsible for you. She does not answer to you. Do you want me to buy out your interest in this place? I could relieve you of that responsibility," Ulquiorra sneered at her, hands forming into fists. This was not how he wanted today to go.
The woman's angry expression dropped along with her jaw, leaving her mouth hanging open a bit. "You— You could do that?"
Ulquiorra continued to scowl at her. His finances were none of Riruka's concerns. "I'm smart with my money. I'm sure I have enough to do that."
Riruka jutted put her chin, cocking it to one side and smiling with a hand on her hip as she regarded Ulquiorra. After a moment, she replied, "Then where the hell do I sign?"
His expression deepened. "I'll find a lawyer to draw up a contract," Ulquiorra said. He studied the pink-haired woman for a moment, wondering what her motive for this was. Was she really that lazy that she didn't want to work? "I still would like to know what your issue is with Orihime. She doesn't deserve to be treated like shit. You treat everyone like they're garbage. Whatever your problem is, get over it."
She rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry that I'm not mesmerized by her boobs and big innocent-act eyes. She's not the princess everyone treats her as. So she's smiley. So her perfect husband died. So what?! Why does she get all the sympathy and attention?"
"She is my fucking princess!" Ulquiorra shouted. He was tired of people treating Orihime poorly. "Maybe if you didn't act like a twat, people would give you the attention you want. Act like a decent human, Riruka, or go fuck yourself. As soon as this is all finalized, you will not be allowed back into this cafe."
"Oh I plan on getting out of this hellhole of a town as soon as possible. I only got involved with this company because I thought Ichigo would be dropping in all the time. These past two years have been bullshit."
He scoffed. "I see. You had the hots for Ichigo and he never looked at you," Ulquiorra said. He shook his head. The people in this town were ridiculous. He turned and walked out of the kitchen, returning to Orihime.
"What happened?" she asked with a worried expression. She had heard the shouting in from the other room but couldn't make it out.
Ulquiorra shook his head. "Don't worry about it right now. I want you to sit there and tell me what needs to be done in order for you to go home for the rest of the day."
"Oh, um, I need to do payroll, so I need the time cards and the laptop; then I need to make sure the plants are all watered and the merchandise is dusted. Um, check the napkin dispensers and the sugar dishes; um… The rest Satomi and Riruka can handle, right Satomi?"
The part-time girl smiled bigger than she had in weeks and nodded. She had overheard Ulquiorra and Riruka's conversation and was delighted that the nasty woman might be moving on.
The man followed her instructions and had everything handled except the payroll things. He looked at Orihime. "What would you say to me becoming your business partner?"
"Usually I'd say don't mix business with pleasure, but hypothetically speaking, I think you're the type of person who can handle having designated roles in designated spaces. Why do you ask?"
"I've offered to buy Riruka out."
Orihime looked gobsmacked. "You- Wha- How much?" She had no idea what Riruka would demand for her share of the business. She only knew how much she had put up front, and it wasn't a small amount. Three and a half million yen was not a small chunk of change, and the business had definitely increased in value over time.
"I have no clue. I don't know what she paid, but it's clear she doesn't want any part of this. She does nothing to contribute around here," Ulquiorra said with a sigh. "She could be hurting your business."
Orihime raised her brows and nodded with a small sigh. She had seen with her own eyes how Riruka increasingly drove business away. "I'm almost done here and then we can go home."
"Are you sure there's nothing else I can do for you?" Ulquiorra gave her a smile before looking around the cafe.
"No. Oh, could you go upstairs and check that I didn't leave anything on?"
He got up and went over to the door that would lead him upstairs. When he got to the landing, Ulquiorra stood there for a moment. Somehow things had gotten messy and tangled, but there was nothing he could do to fix it at the moment. There was no magical button that would rewind time. After he took a couple seconds to freak out, Ulquiorra went into the apartment.
The phone was ringing when he opened the door, and after the second ring the answering machine picked it up. After a message instructing the caller to leave a message played, a familiar voice came over a speaker.
"Orihime, why are you avoiding my calls? We have to talk about this. He'd probably say anything to make you believe him over me, but please, Orihime. I know about the baby. It's not a problem. Just call me, okay?" A click and a dial tone and the call ended.
His eyes went to the machine, once again scowling. It figured Ishida would do this. Ulquiorra brought his phone out and pulled up the voice message app. It wouldn't be hard to record the message and then play it back for the redhead. The only thing that stopped him from doing it was the fact that Ishida's voice was fucking annoying and whiny.
Instead of recording the message, he called Orihime, although she was right downstairs.
"Hey, is there a problem up there?" Orihime answered.
"Ishida called and left a message," Ulquiorra said. "Do you want to listen to it?"
Orihime groaned. "Do I need to? I imagine there is nothing worth listening to. Use your discretion, you can delete it if it's garbage."
"No, I think you should listen to it." With that, Ulquiorra pressed the button that would play the message and made sure he was close enough to the machine that she could hear it. When it finished playing, the green-eyed man said, "Why wouldn't the baby be a problem?"
Orihime scoffed twice, the second time more offended than the first. "He probably means to convey that he would have a big enough heart to allow me to keep it should I come to my senses and choose him over you. As if!" Another scoff. "Delete it. Ishida needs to get his head checked. Also, I know he's lying."
"What? What do you mean? I'm going to kill him. I should have done it years ago instead of just tearing his wrist off," Ulquiorra muttered in annoyance. He did as she said to do and deleted the message. "This is bullshit. Ishida's trying to woo you. Riruka's pissed off because your late husband never paid any attention to her. The people you've surrounded yourself with have issues."
Orihime cleared her throat. "Myself included, if we're going to be fair. My little episodes are far from normal. But back up a second, did you say you ripped off Ishida's wrist?"
"It happened on the dome, Woman. It's one of those things they made you forget."
"That asshole. I knew he was lying! He swears he has never met you. I asked him about it on two separate occasions and both times he denied any knowledge of you, and today he said he only knew about you because of Riruka and Urahara! I knew he was lying! I knew it!" She was upset. How could Ishida lie to her?
Honestly, Ishida was receiving all of her ire, including that which belonged to Ichigo. He just wasn't around to lash out at. Orihime didn't have any sympathy for the Quincy, though. It was one thing to lie. It was another thing to perpetuate a lie.
"I met Ishida in that tower in Hueco Mundo. He used those Quincy arrows against me, trying to stop me from stopping you from healing Kurosaki. You were trying to bring your husband back to life, rejecting the damage I had done to him."
She was curious. "What did you do to him?"
"Orihime," Ulquiorra warned. This wasn't something that they should be discussing at the moment. It wasn't something that should be discussed over the phone. "As soon as you're done, come up here and we will talk."
Orihime hummed her consent. "I'll be there in about ten minutes. Make yourself comfortable. There's tea in the fridge," she said before hanging up and finishing her task.
About ten minutes later, she stood at the front door, trying to pry it open. In the heat and humidity the door had expanded and she was having a harder time than usual. "Ulquiorra," she whined when it wouldn't budge. She didn't have the power in her today to wrestle it open.
He was instantly on the other side of the door, nudging it open as soon as he heard her voice. When she hung up on him she sounded irritated, but he knew it wasn't directed at him. It was due to Ishida. When the door swung open, Ulquiorra looked at his girlfriend, before pulling her into the apartment and kissing her.
Orihime's eyes widened in response but she had no objection to this, and she quickly melted into him, sighing against his lips in contentment. Her hands slid up his back as she leaned her body into his and closed her eyes. She would be happy to get lost in his kiss for the rest of the day.
"You need to get comfortable. I would suggest the bedroom so you can lie down and relax," he said as he straightened his body, breaking the kiss. "I'll answer your questions then."
She was disappointed to break the contact so soon, but he was right. "Okay, bedroom it is. We've never really hung out in there, anyway," she said, leading the way and stripping out of her apron and skirt on the way. Once inside she pulled a pair of comfortable shorts out of one of her drawers, put them on and sat on the bed. "So, you were going to answer my question about what you did to Ichigo?"
"I said to lie down," Ulquiorra said as he sat down on the other side of the bed. "There's a reason why we don't hang out in here. It feels weird… Kurosaki and you; the idea… I killed him. I blasted a hole through his chest with a Cero because he wouldn't stop. He wanted to take you away from me."
"Well, I'll admit that it wasn't very nice to kill him but, I mean, it was a war and you were on opposing sides. Anyway, why does this room feel weird? He was never here." Ulquiorra had already told her that he had killed Ichigo twice. He also said that she had revived him. That and the fact that Ichigo survived the war and Ulquiorra didn't made this information less than traumatizing.
"I know he was never in here but this bed. You and him-I don't want to disrespect the memories you have of him," Ulquiorra replied, studying Orihime for a moment. He didn't want to tell her the reason why he felt uncomfortable was because of the fact that Orihime and her late husband probably had sex in this bed. The idea didn't sit well with him. He rubbed his forehead for a moment before he answered her other question. "I, uh, killed him because he was going to take you away from me. He thought he could win. He thought he could defeat me."
Orihime's hand reached out for him and her fingers went between his. "And why did you care that he was going to take me away if you thought he couldn't win? I'm not trying to say you shouldn't have cared or anything, but you were a hollow, loyal to Aizen. I'm just trying to understand."
His brows furrowed. He knew this answer. He said he would never admit to it though. Ulquiorra opened his mouth and decided it was time to face his decisions; to come to terms with things that he realized on the dome of Las Noches. "You made me curious. You made me want you. You made me have a heart. You made me fall in love with you. I didn't realize this until I was dying, of course."
Orihime's eyes pressed closed and a pained expression pulled down the corners of her mouth. She squeezed Ulquiorra's hand. "Did I love you?" It killed her to imagine that she did and was unable to remember it.
"No. You were stuck on Kurosaki and your five lifetimes."
For some reason his words struck her like a punch to the gut. She let go of his hand and laid her arms over her belly. "I'm sorry," she whispered, looking toward the window. She felt ashamed.
"Not your fault, Woman. I was a hollow. I was the worst sort of creature."
"And yet, your death devastated me. I can remember… I can't remember you. I can't remember you dying, but I can remember the grief I felt when you were gone. I can recall the bitter taste in my mouth and the ache in my belly. I can remember how oppressive your absence was. You were gone. I remember feeling…" she trailed off, her memory blocking further access to her feelings at that time.
Ulquiorra gathered her into his arms, holding Orihime. He felt conflicted for a moment. Was she feeling that way for him or for the memory of Tsukishima? He frowned. Maybe being around him was helping to chip away at that mental block she had. "I can see why Ishida doesn't want me with you. I understand that I'm the bad man. I'm the villain. I took you from them. I made it seem like you were a traitor. I tried to brainwash you into thinking Aizen was some kind of god. I let others hurt you. I don't know why I was brought back to life. That's something that has baffled Urahara since I showed up seventeen years ago."
"Seventeen years is a long time, Ulquiorra. Maybe not to hollows or shinigami, but to humans it's a long time. And you have been living as one, so I'm sure you know. Anyway, a lot can change in seventeen years. You're not a bad man or a villain now. Maybe you were purified. Maybe you were not really killed, but, like, went dormant and metamorphasized. Who knows? All I know is that I love you. I love you and I don't care if Ishida doesn't like it. We're a family and he can't come between us."
A long exhale left Ulquiorra. It was a relief hearing Orihime say those words. Weight lifted off his shoulders and he chuckled at her made up word. "I love you, Woman. I'm happy with you. I want to spend the rest of my life beside you," he said. His fingers tilted her head up and he kissed her again, gently this time.
Her eyes fluttered shut as he kissed her, and a feeling of peace settled over her. When he pulled back and his breath washed over her face, her eyes opened again and found his. "I'm happy with you, too. I only see one future, and it's with you and the kids." She smiled and kissed him again. "And when the kids are grown and move on, it'll be you and me, right?"
"You and me, all alone. We'll go somewhere nice and have a long holiday," Ulquiorra smirked. He liked seeing the look of content on her face. He liked seeing Orihime at ease. It quieted his mind. "I still want to murder Ishida. How dare he even-Ugh."
Orihime giggled and tapped him gently on the nose. "Do you remember Ishida from back then? He hasn't changed a bit. He has always been high and mighty. He'll realize he's wrong soon enough and then he'll slink away to lick his wounds. He will never apologize, either. He'll try to find some justification to explain away his actions."
A relaxed sigh left her as she burrowed her nose into the hollow of his neck. "You smell so good, even on a sweaty day like today. How do you manage that?" She murmured after taking a long sniff and then settled down close beside him, one of her legs finding its way between his at the knee. She smiled and nearly drifted off to sleep when her pocket started buzzing. She groaned and pulled her phone out, thinking it might be the kids.
Uryu Ishida.
"Oh my god!" she grumbled. "He just won't quit. I am not up to this today," she said, tossing the phone a couple feet down the bed.
Ulquiorra tried not to get angry but he was really getting irritated at the Quincy. "I have half a mind to fuck you silly and then have you call him while riding my cock. I won't because that's not polite and those sounds are for my ears alone, but I am really annoyed by his actions."
"Me too! I thought he was a friend. If he's really just been waiting in the wings for an opportunity, then I am very disappointed," she grumbled. "Should I tell him that I am moving in with you? I know we did not technically decide yet, but maybe he'll back off."
A fuzzy feeling went through his chest as he heard her say that. He wished they could come to a decision about moving in with each other. So far neither of them had confirmed that's what they wanted to do. "Are you going to move in with me? You should only tell him that if it's true. If he finds out that you deceived him then he might double his efforts in trying to sway you from me."
"Are you asking me to move in?" So far it had only been a hypothetical discussion; no official offers had been made.
"I would like you to, but I know it would be a huge change for all of us. We're practically living together now," Ulquiorra replied. He looked at her for a moment. "How many mornings have I woken up next to you?"
"A lot, but still not enough," she replied with a small smile. "You don't sound ready for this step, though."
He was quiet. Was he ready for this step? He knew he wanted her there with him. Ulquiorra didn't like it when she stayed at her apartment. It was rare now, but it still happened. "It's not that I'm not ready for it, Woman. I want you to be sure that's what you want. I want you and Kaz there all the time. I want your things at my home. I want it to be our home."
"I'm ready. I'm ready for the photo in my drawer to go into an album for Kazui." She knew he knew it was in there. "I'm ready to use the frame for a picture of the four of us. I'm ready to have this place just be for storage, or to rent out. My heart is with you, Eri, and Kazui. Not here. And Kaz is beyond ready," she laughed.
"Then we shall make if official," he stated. It seemed like the natural thing to do. Sure it wasn't the slow progression of a relationship he was used to when he was a human the first time, but this was the present and he had to get with the times, so to speak. "We will move your belongings into our home."
Orihime was nervous as she laid on the examination table in Ryuken Ishida's office. Isshin was on pins and needles, anxiously asking when the ultrasound technician would arrive over and over again. The white-haired doctor ignored him, focusing on the paperwork on his desk.
Once again, Orihime sought out Ulquiorra's hand. It had been busy for them the past two weeks, moving her and Kazui's things to their new shared residence in Naruki City. They were done, for the most part. They just had to decide what to do with the furniture in the old place. Orihime was on the fence; thinking it might be nice to use it as an Airbnb place so that they could use it if they ever got stuck in Karakura. She also loved that roof. Still, she owned the building. She could just not allow a renter access to the roof and use it for herself. These thoughts occupied her mind as she waited.
She was drawn out of those thoughts as a soft spoken young woman rolled a tray in next to the large machine they had set up in the office. "Hello, you must be Kurosaki-san. My name is Hayumi Kikuchi and I will be performing your ultrasound today. Have you had one before?"
Orihime nodded. "It has been a while though, so any information is appreciated."
The other woman nodded and looked around the room. "I recognize Dr. Ishida, of course, but who else do we have here? Is this dad and Grandpa?"
"Yes, I'm the father," Ulquiorra said quietly. He wasn't sure what to expect, although Isshin assured him this wouldn't be painful for Orihime.
Isshin grinned and nodded at the tech. "Let's get started! I'm too excited"
The woman smiled and pulled up Orihime's shirt and pulled down the sheet covering her lower half as she had done for Isshin, then squirted some, mercifully, heated gel onto her belly and turned a switch on for her machine. She entered a bit of information and asked, "So we're at twelve weeks now, right? Still feeling tired all the time? Sick?"
Orihime shook her head. "In just the past week I have been feeling much better."
"Good. Watch out for dizziness from now on, though. Your hormones are going to open up your blood vessels for the baby and you might feel a bit faint from time to time. Okay, now I'm just going to push around here; it might be a little uncomfortable, but I promise it's not going to hurt the baby," the tech responded.
Orihime nodded. She knew what to expect. When the tech got to a spot right above her pubic bone, she inhaled sharply and squeezed Ulquiorra's hand. That spot was tender.
"What's wrong?" He asked, worried. Ulquiorra was already feeling frantic and this wasn't helping. "Are you okay? Are you in pain? Sick?"
"Just a bit of tenderness," she replied, giving him a pinched smile.
"Don't worry, Kurosaki-san," the tech erroneously addressed Ulquiorra. I have to use some pressure to get a clear picture. It won't cause any damage.
He opened his mouth to say something but Isshin put a hand on his shoulder, probably to stop him from making an ass of himself. "Oh, it's just… I don't like to see Orihime in pain."
Isshin smiled at him and said softly, "I know. Just watch." The dark-haired doctor used his finger to direct Ulquiorra's attention to the monitor attached to the machine.
"Ah ha!" The tech said. There it is. Your little one is about the size of a lime, now. Have a look," she offered, tilting the monitor in their direction.
Orihime squinted and looked at the image on the screen. "What am I looking at?" she asked with an embarrassed chuckle.
"That looks nothing like a child," the father mumbled as he scowled at the screen. "It looks like some… alien thing."
The technician chuckled. "That's how they look at this stage of development. Big head and tiny appendages."
Oh. Well… Ulquiorra didn't know these things and he hadn't bought any books to read about this sort of thing. He should probably do that, but since they had been busy with the move and finding a lawyer for the Riruka thing, there wasn't time. "Are we supposed to be looking for something then? Is it a girl or a boy?"
"It's too soon to tell. In about eight more weeks you'll come back for an anatomy scan and then your little one will look like a real baby. We should be able to tell the sex then. Today we just want to see that we're on track and that our due date looks accurate and that the placenta and umbilical cord are properly developed. So far so good, too. Your due date is March seventh, right?"
"Yes," Orihime responded, distracted by trying to see what Ulquiorra saw on the monitor. All she saw was squiggly lines.
"That appears to be right based on what I see. I'm going to take some pictures that you can take home and check a few things and then you can be on your way."
He smiled and turned to look at his girlfriend. "Thank you, Woman," he said as he bent down to kiss her, not caring who was in the room. He lowered his voice even more so only she could hear. "I love you."
"You're welcome?" she replied, still squinting at the monitor, trying to see what he saw. After the kiss she pulled her eyes away from it and to Ulquiorra. "I love you, too," she said, not caring if anyone heard before squeezing his hand and smiling.
Thanks for reading! How about that Riruka, huh?
