It was a little after six o'clock in the morning when Ulquiorra's cab sidled up to the closed gates of the Kuchiki Estate. Ulquiorra asked the driver to roll down his window, then stuck his head out to listen.
Apart from the cab's engine, the quiet swish from an old woman sweeping her front step with a reed broom across the street, and the soft cawing from a distant crow, he heard nothing.
With a sigh, Ulquiorra sat back into his seat and gave the driver directions to the airfield. It would not do to wake up the entire household only to have their attention focused on him and Orihime. He needed to speak to her privately. It would be easier to sneak into the house if it was open and bustling with activity.
Orihime was distracted with uneasy thoughts as she picked at her breakfast, which she decided to take in the kitchen after returning the tray with the sembei wrappers and empty beer cans that Rukia had left in her room the night before.
The problem with eating in the kitchen was that it was a busy place. People were constantly coming and going - Byakuya's staff were welcome to grab a quick bite there while they worked. The chatter and motion helped keep Orihime from retreating too deeply into her anxiety, though, so she didn't mind it.
"Well well well, if it isn't la princesa. Sleep well?" Grimmjow asked, slinking towards Orihime and nicking a cherry tomato off of her plate.
Orihime's brows lowered slightly at his unwelcomed familiarity before replying, "Good morning, Grimmjow. What does that mean?"
"Oh, nothing. Just worried that thoughts of me were keeping you up at night, that's all," he answered, feigning innocence with his tone of voice while, contrarily, pushing up the sleeve of his t-shirt and flexing his bicep for her.
Orihime rolled her eyes and snorted. "You wish. But that's not what I meant. I meant what did those words mean."
"Oh, la princesa? It's Spanish for "the princess". I watch a lot of Lucha libre."
"Lucha what?"
"Mexican wrestling. Here, I'll show you how they do it," he said, taking a step towards her and slipping a hand under her arm.
"Grimmjow!" Orihime rebuked, thoroughly offended by his touch and its proximity to her breast. "What are you doing?!"
"Come on, I can't throw down with you in the kitchen. Somewhere like the dojo would be much more appropriate."
Orihime dug her heels into the floor and tried to shake herself loose. "I am not going to throw down with you or anyone else. Let go of me! It's too early for horsing around!" she said, sounding decidedly whiny.
Grimmjow scoffed but let go of her, his shoulders dropping in an exaggerated gesture of defeat. "Fine. You know, you sure are cranky this morning. That time of the month? Poor Ulq. Not what Mr. OCD probably wants on his wedding night."
"Grimmjow!" Orihime whined more obviously. "It's not, not that it is any of your business!"
"Then what? Do you need your coffee, city mouse?" Grimmjow's lips curled up in a smirk after he asked the question, enjoying how Orihime's scowl melted and her brows raised. "What's that look for, Princess? Are you sick of tea all day? I tell you what, me too. These Kuchikis don't skimp on tea, but sometimes you just need a cup of the black stuff, am I right?"
Orihime's gaze drifted to the side wistfully as she nodded. "I would donate a kidney for a cafe au lait right now."
Azure eyes darted to both sides of the room before he nodded and walked over to a pad of paper that was held by a magnet to the side of the refrigerator. He grabbed the pen that hung from the pad by a piece of white cooking twine, and scribbled something before ripping off the page and plunking it on the table. He then looked at Orihime and grabbed her hand. "C'mon. We're getting coffee."
At about nine-thirty in the morning, there was a knock on the door of Byakuya's office.
"Come in," the patriarch intoned calmly.
A man with a patch of scraggly beard shuffled into the room and slid the door closed behind him, then took three steps forward and got to his knees, placing his knuckles on the tatami floor and bowing deeply.
"Speak, Starrk," Byakuya said quietly, looking back down at his stack of paperwork after glancing at the man.
"It's Grimmjow. Yammy saw him put Orihime in a car and leave the estate with her. They don't have any appointments this morning."
Byakuya sighed quietly and looked back up with a blank expression. "Did he say where he was going?"
"No, but I got a call from Ise-san that she saw them get onto Route 105, heading south for Omagari City."
Kuchiki's short black brows pinched together momentarily. "Thank you, Starrk. I want you to follow them. Contact me as soon as you have a location. That will be all," he said, standing regally as if this was nothing of consequence.
Starrk bowed again and left the way he came in. Byakuya waited about a minute and a half before padding back to his room, where his wife was getting dressed for the day. "Bad news, my rose," he said.
"He what?!" Rukia screeched, stomping down the hall. "Get Nanao on the phone! I bet she has something to do with this!" The diminutive woman presented a terrifying picture as she glared at the piece of paper in her hands, which read:
Taking the mouse back to the city for coffee. Don't wait up. - GJ
Someone handed Rukia a cell phone and scurried out of her path.
"When did you see them leave, Nanao?" Rukia demanded without so much as a greeting.
"Good morning to you, too, Abarai-san. It was about twenty minutes ago? I can't be sure. I was distracted."
"Distracted by what? And why didn't you try to stop them? And why did you see them?"
"I was out. I happened to see. And I was distracted by something else I did not expect to see on my way to the bakery."
Rukia gave an exasperated sigh and stopped stomping. "What?"
"Your brother. In his car."
"What?!"
After taking the car for a spin and calling his boss, apologizing for his absence and claiming a family emergency, Ulquiorra stopped to refuel. He sat in the car while the gas station attendants filled his tank and polished his side mirrors. He had forgotten just how inefficient his car was. As he sat, waiting for the task to complete, his phone chimed.
He pulled the message up from his sister and his relaxed expression quickly grew dark. Rukia had attached a photo of Grimmjow's note and nothing else. Approximately one minute later, the phone was ringing.
It was Nanao.
"What is it, Ise-san? I'm a bit busy," he answered, trying to sound unbothered.
"Good morning to you, too, Ulquiorra-kun. What is it with your family? Did the great Kuchiki clan forget to teach you manners?" the woman retorted.
Ulquiorra sighed. "Don't ever call me that again, Ise-san. We are not in grade school anymore. Please state the purpose of your call."
There was a harrumph on the other side of the call and then silence.
Ulquiorra sighed again, this time more drawn out. "My apologies, Ise-san. Good morning. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
The woman scoffed, then stated, "I'm calling you as a courtesy, Cifer-san. Your perfect wife is missing. I happened to see which way she was going."
Ulquiorra swallowed and restrained himself, waiting for Nanao to continue without snapping at her. When she just let her bait dangle for a half a minute, he finally bit. "And do you plan on enlightening me?"
"I could," she replied, sounding disinterested suddenly. "Depends."
Ulquiorra could feel his teeth clenching, a slight squeak of gnashing molars interrupting the silence as he tried to keep his temper. "On what?" he managed to ask in a civil tone.
"Oh, it's just that I heard from your own wife's mouth that she has absolutely zero experience. In bed, I mean," she began.
Her tone made him feel like she was leading up to something. His nostrils flared as he waited.
Nanao had paused, waiting for him to deny her words or rebuke her, and when he did not, she was emboldened. "Well, in the event you wish to continue on with your sham of a marriage after the bride played you for a fool to run away with that clown who works with your father, I would be willing… you know."
Ulquiorra silently passed a ten-thousand yen bill out the window of his car to the waiting gas station attendant, not looking at the man. No innocent bystander deserved to be subjected to the seething glare carved into his face at that moment. "I assure you," he replied slowly, "I do not know."
That was a stretch of the truth - Ulquiorra had an inkling of what she might mean.
"I can take care of your physical needs, Cifer-san. I'm sure you won't want to touch her after Grimmjow gets his dirty hands all over her. I can do what she could never do. I'm fine if you need to pretend that this marriage is legitimate for a year or two and then find some unrelated reason to break it off - you don't want Grimmjow to make you a laughing stock. I can wait."
Ulquiorra's ire ran so deep at that moment that it hit rock bottom and bounced back up. In a moment of disconnect, he replied, rather airily for him, "Counteroffer - you tell me where they are going and I will tell you how I feel about you next time I see you. Deal?"
The woman giggled. Ulquiorra felt like gagging. She told him where they were headed and he hung up and got on the road, going south towards Omagari City.
Grimmjow prattled on, mostly bragging about himself and how important and indispensable he was to the Kuchiki clan, then bad-mouthing the family in the next breath. Orihime was not really listening as they drove, regretting that she had agreed to this.
At least there was coffee on the horizon.
She sank deeper into her seat when she felt an insistent buzzing from her pocket. She pulled her phone out and looked at her notifications - there were several missed texts from Rangiku, and they were all dated from the night before.
"Huh," she said, interrupting the blue-haired man's monologue. "I must not have been getting very good service at the manor. I need to listen to this voice message. Could you hold that thought, please, Grimmjow?" she asked sweetly, giving him a sweetly pleasant smile.
The driver glanced at her and blushed despite himself as he grumbled his displeasure at her request, but looked back at the road silently regardless.
When Orihime was convinced that he was going to stay quiet, she tapped her screen and brought her phone up listening as Rangiku and Ulquiorra's voices flowed into her ear.
" I do not appreciate the insinuation that I would just marry anyone to get ahead. Obviously my wife has other assets."
"Wow. How romantic."
"I will have you know that I did, in fact, have more than merely practical considerations in mind before deciding to marry Orihime."
"Oh? What kinds of considerations? Are you trying to tell me that you are attracted to my niece?"
"Of course I am. Who wouldn't be? She is objectively beautiful."
"Oh, yes, of course. Quite right. Objectively beautiful. Just like an exotic car or a racehorse."
"Not just objectively. Come on, Matsumoto."
"No! You come on, Cifer! I am friends with Asano and Ayasegawa; we are drinking buddies! I did not know you worked together, but I overheard some of what you said last night at that whisky bar, and they filled me in on the rest. You have two minutes to convince me not to tell Orihime-chan to divorce you tomorrow!"
Well, I… I… She…"
"She what? Tick tock, Cifer,"
"She's beautiful! She is kind and caring and helpful. She is considerate and responsive and flexible and much more charming than I could ever dream to be. She is sexy and fun and I just- Argh! She is too good for me, and I fear she may be starting to realize that."
Orihime slowly lowered the phone to her lap. She was silent as her cheeks colored and her eyes pricked, but she breathed through it. This was a lot to take in. Rangiku had sent the audio file with only a message that stated that her husband was chatty that night. Orihime looked at the timestamp of the message - it had been sent at about 9:00 pm the night before.
"Are we almost there, Grimmjow?" she asked after a couple of minutes.
"Yeah, five more minutes," he replied.
Ulquiorra frowned as he drove through ripening rice paddies down Route 105. Why would Grimmjow be taking Orihime down to Omagari? Apart from the annual fireworks festival there was not much going on down there.
A sign welcomed him as he got to the city limits, announcing his arrival and informing him that there were just over 88,000 residents there. Ulquiorra's brows wrinkled as he took in this information, until he reread the sign, jogging his memory. Even though everyone in his family still referred to Omagari City, it had actually been conglomerated into a new, larger city with the surrounding towns under the name Daisen City over a decade ago.
The Kuchiki clan apparently didn't get that memo; or if they did, they disregarded it, being stuck in their ways. Daisen City did not seem to care much about the Kuchiki's opinion, though, and it showed. A strange sprawling off-white building came into view as Ulquiorra turned on to Route 13 - Aeon Mall. Omagari City could never justify building this monstrosity in the middle of a rice field, but Daisen City apparently could.
Ulquiorra decided this would be a good place to pull off the road and maybe call his sister to see if she had any other information. He had been too irritated by Nanao to try after hanging up with her at the gas station. But, as luck would have it, the mall was not very busy at nine-thirty in the morning. Ulquiorra pulled up to a row of parking stalls near the main entrance and spotted one of the unmistakable sleek black Toyota Centuries that made up the Kuchiki fleet of vehicles.
With a sigh, Ulquiorra parked his car about seven stalls down, in the hopes that no one would park next to it and ding the sides. After cutting the engine and exiting the car, he locked the doors before stretching his arms overhead and cracking his neck. He began to march towards the entrance of the building, stretching his arms laterally and limbering up his spine. He wanted to be ready for anything, and he felt up for a fight.
When Ulquiorra approached the mall entrance, he was distracted by a flash of blue hair from the exterior windows of Mister Donut. Finding Orihime was going to be much easier than he anticipated. Quickly he entered the building and came to the entrance of the shop, where he stood silently for a moment to observe what was going on between Grimmjow and his wife.
He could not see her face, though. Trying to be inconspicuous, Ulquiorra skirted tables in the middle of the space until he was on the other side of the shop and he could catch an unobstructed glimpse of Orihime.
He couldn't breathe. Even with her unmade face, in her faded jeans and boxy t-shirt, she was beautiful. Much more so than he remembered.
He watched her interact with Grimmjow - talking softly, listening politely, occasionally nodding, and smiling when it seemed appropriate. He did not miss that she vigilantly kept a proper distance between herself and the blue-haired man. Every time Grimmjow leaned into her space, she would take a step back. And although she did not appear intimidated, she seemed guarded and not especially interested in Grimmjow, keeping her arms loosely crossed over her body and keeping her body oriented away from his.
Ulquiorra's fears seemed to melt away. He recalled the words he heard her speak in the recording that Rukia sent him the night before. He made her head spin, not Grimmjow.
The man's green eyes narrowed as his confidence in that information grew, making him feel bold. He calmly approached the pair in line and placed a hand on Orihime's lower back. "I'm sorry to interrupt your outing, my dear, but we have someplace to be," he said in an almost purring voice.
Orihime froze. Her eyes had been on Grimmjow and they stayed there long enough to watch the man's brows raise and mouth fall open comically. But it wasn't until Grimmjow started stammering unintelligibly that she slowly turned towards her husband.
Her eyes were cautious, narrowing her field of vision to better focus on her husband. While Ulquiorra did not sound upset, it was suspicious that he would be out here in the middle of nowhere when he was supposed to be in Karakura. However, when she saw the small, victorious smirk on his face, she could not help but grin. She had missed him.
That grin felt like a punch to the chest, although he would gladly weather the blow again and again. Her smile was the sunrise, and he wanted to bask in its light for as long as it shone. Exhaling heavily, he used his other hand to take Orihime's. "Shall we?" he asked her, his voice small and intimate.
Orihime squeezed his hand and nodded. Ulquiorra stepped away and Orihime began to follow wordlessly when Grimmjow finally found his words. "Hey! What gives? You said you wanted coffee!" he called out, still standing in line, eyes searching in confusion.
Ulquiorra looked over his shoulder at Grimmjow and scoffed. "Get it to go," he said. "She can reheat it later." He did not stop walking, in fact, he picked up the pace a bit to escape the other man.
"Oh, and don't forget my angel french donut!" Orihime called out, turning her head over her shoulder as she trotted behind Ulquiorra. She grinned and waved at Grimmjow before exiting the shop.
By the time Ulquiorra got Orihime out the door and into the parking lot, his thoughts were a chaotic mess. It was not a bad thing, this time, though. When they arrived at his car, sunlight glinted off the sleek black surface of the Murcielago, making them both squint. He turned to face her, teeth sunk into his lower lip, and reached out for her other hand as well.
"Orihime?" he asked, somewhat short of breath.
"Yes?" she replied, also a bit winded, more from excitement than exertion.
"Are you ready to go for a ride with me?"
Orihime's grin was brighter than the glare from the car. "I've been ready and waiting!" she said cheerfully, giving both of his hands a delighted squeeze.
Ulquiorra's chest rose slowly as it filled with air. He released the breath with a smile, his muscles relaxing as his worries dissipated. "Okay then. Get in and buckle up," he said and paused as they both slid under the scissor doors. Once they were seated, he instructed, "You have to reach up and pull the doors down like this," he said, modeling the action for her.
She chuckled a bit as she heard him mutter, "Enclose," as if he were narrating the maneuver.
Usually the trip from Daisen City to the airport would have taken just shy of forty minutes, taking the toll road. Ulquiorra got Orihime there in twenty-five. By the time they arrived, Orihime was already white-knuckling the edge of her seat.
"Wow, um, you are very fast," she said as they came to a gate. Ulquiorra rolled his window down and entered a code on a keypad, waiting for the gate to lift.
"Oh that? That was nothing. I don't know why the speed limits are so low on the toll road, but because they are so expensive nobody uses them. Kind of makes it feel like a private road where I get to set my own speed limits," he said, letting his green eyes slide over towards her, taking in the sight of her for a long moment before looking back at the road.
Orihime pressed her lips together and hummed an unsure acknowledgement. Suddenly his driving didn't matter at all. That smoldering look he gave her, however, was very interesting.
With the gate out of the way, Ulquiorra's foot hovered over the accelerator and the car moved forward. "I already spoke with traffic control. We have this place to ourselves until early afternoon. Are you ready for some real speed?" Ulquiorra asked.
Orihime saw a landing strip come into view. The Lamborghini's engine snarled as it crept along the driveway, sounding like a caged animal. Her heart started thumping in her chest as she realized what he was asking her. "I don't know, am I?" she asked, her voice weak and unsteady.
He stopped and then executed a three-point turn in silence, backing up to the very end of a long runway. Then he looked at Orihime; really looked at her. He wondered what he had been thinking, leaving her alone up here in the country all this time, not calling her or letting her know that he constantly thought of her. And yet, despite his neglect, when he arrived to whisk her out of Grimmjow's company, she immediately complied with him, and appeared happy to do so. He felt like a fool.
She wondered what he could be thinking about as he appeared to study her face, and her expression began to slowly open up. Maybe he had missed her the way she had missed him. She took in the image of his face that she found so handsome and felt her throat constrict. She truly had been going through the motions the past couple of weeks. Her separation from him had been horrible and each passing day felt like he was emotionally slipping further and further away from her. She swallowed as the realization that she may have been wrong settled upon her.
Ulquiorra then reached for her, slipping a finger between her belly and her seatbelt. Orihime's lips opened in a soft gasp at the contact, but he did not look at her, afraid of the possibility of seeing her recoil at his touch. He tugged up on the webbed material and made sure it was taut. When he was satisfied, he gave a nod and faced forward. "Hold on," was all he said in a low, serious tone.
He gave her a second to brace herself before pressing down hard on the accelerator. The engine growled, pitch quickly increasing to a sustained scream.
Orihime's heart was in her throat. Her fingers gripped the legs of her jeans and she held her breath until she couldn't anymore. She gasped just as Ulquiorra shifted gears, which caused a slight lurch and sputtering, choking noises from the engine for a split second before the car began to move faster. So much faster, in fact, that she was sure they were about to take flight.
Ulquiorra didn't dare take his eyes off the road, but he could see the way his wife's hands tensed in his peripheral vision. He knew there was a chance she would exit the car angry at him, but he was willing to risk it - he wanted to show off and impress her. To that end, he shifted again and floored the accelerator.
Orihime squeaked and gasped again. Every microcrack in the pavement caused the cabin of the car to shake. She felt her organs press against her back as they went faster and faster. Her hands reached out to brace herself, one against the passenger door and the other on Ulquiorra's thigh. Just when she was sure she couldn't take anymore, the screaming engine quieted down to a dull roar as Ulquiorra let off the gas.
There was still another quarter of the runway to go, but Ulquiorra didn't want Orihime thrown forward against the seatbelt, so he allowed the car to slow down gradually, coasting as long as possible before applying very light pressure on the brake when the risk of losing control was lessened. As soon as his foot was firmly on the brake and they were back at normal road speeds, he glanced down at her hand on his leg and smirked.
By the time he stopped at the opposite end of the runway, Orihime was panting. Her death grip on her husband's leg did not let up as she brought her face towards his, her exaggerated breaths pulling in and pushing out at the reddened hollows of her cheeks as they rushed over her wet, open lips.
Ulquiorra was already partially aroused due to the speed and her hand being so close to his crotch, but the sight of her like this caused his pants to feel tight. Blowing a slow, controlled breath out of his nostrils, he drank in the sight for a moment before he asked her, "Are you scared?"
Orihime shook her head slowly. She licked her lips and cleared her throat, her husband's eyes not missing a single movement. Then she replied, "No. I'm not scared. I'm… I'm…" she paused and looked him in the eye and then gave him a shaky half-smile. "I'm exhilarated. And confused."
Ulquiorra nodded slowly. "That's exactly how I feel about our marriage," he admitted, lost in her eyes.
"Is that a good thing?" she whispered.
"Did you enjoy driving with me?"
She nodded, lost in his green depths.
"Then I think it's a good thing."
Orihime and Ulquiorra drove around the airfield for another half an hour and then made their way back to Kakunodate slowly, stopping for Ulquiorra to show her various landmarks from his youth. They caught each other up with their activities over the past weeks, although neither acknowledged the insider information they received from the other's relatives.
About halfway to Kakunodate, Ulquiorra needed to stop for gas again. As they sat, waiting for the gas station attendant to fill the tank, Ulquiorra reached over to grab Orihime's hand. "Hey," he began softly. "Could you look at me a second?"
Orihime had gotten distracted, trying to decipher some signage across the street. She startled just a bit at his touch, blinking a few times and performing a muted double-take before answering, "Of course," turning her face to his.
Ulquiorra's hand tightened around hers. "It's just, I want to apologize for being an ass. I let myself get stuck in my head with all the stress from work and being separated from you, and somehow expected you to be able to read my mind… You've always been so perceptive… It's no excuse, though. I'm sorry for how I shut down on you."
Orihime's face froze, apart from the slow blinking of wide eyes. She had experienced many sides of Ulquiorra Cifer in the short time they'd known each other, but this was her first taste of his humility. His emerald eyes were huge and earnest, and it made her chest feel tight. She twisted in her seat to reorient her body towards his and reached out to grasp the fingers of his other hand. "I'm sorry, too. I assumed the worst," she admitted before leaning forward, pulling on his hand gently to bring him towards her until she was able to kiss his cheek. When her lips left his skin, she whispered, "I'm so glad you're back."
That brief contact lit a fire in Ulquiorra's belly, and he released one of her hands, using his own to cup the side of her face and direct her lips to his. He pressed them together and held, then parted his just enough for the plushness of her lower lip to slip between them to the wet skin inside. Without a pause, the tip of his tongue ran across the soft surface of her lip, causing him to groan.
Butterflies erupted in Orihime's stomach and she could feel her heart race as she breathed in his breath and felt his tongue and lips on hers. A squirming sensation took hold deep in her belly. She did not want him to stop.
Unfortunately, they were interrupted by a tap on the car window and the gas station attendant announcing the total.
Ulquiorra pulled back from Orihime breathlessly, pulled a bill out of his wallet, and handed it off to the attendant without looking away from his wife. "Tomorrow night…" was all he said before turning his burning face to the front.
They didn't get home until late in the afternoon, and were immediately separated to do last-minute wedding preparation. Ulquiorra was reprimanded for skipping his own wedding rehearsal. Orihime got off easy, having been ostensibly kidnapped.
That night, at dinner in the courtyard, Ulquiorra watched as Grimmjow pouted. He laughed and sat beside Orihime, pointing it out to her.
"Oh! My donut!" she cried out as she remembered her missed treat. "I have to ask him where it and my coffee are."
Ulquiorra chuckled at his wife and, feeling victorious in his pursuit of Orihime's attention, gave her an unexpected half-hug. "You are a funny woman. If he bothered to fulfill his promise to buy you coffee and a donut, I'm sure he consumed it himself by now," he said with a chuckle, squeezing her briefly before letting her go. The smile on his face fell before he sat back, having made eye contact with Nanao, who stood off to the side with her clipboard looking unimpressed.
"What is it?" Orihime asked, her own smile falling a bit as she took in the suddenly tense look on Ulquiorra's face.
"Um, has Ise-san been acting strangely around you? Did you see her this afternoon?" he asked.
"Oh, no, not more than usual. She is a bit odd all the time. She asked me a lot about Grimmjow. I think she has a crush on him or something," Orihime said, the cheer returning to her expression.
Ulquoirra frowned. Just to spite the other woman, he picked up Orihime's hand and held it above the table. His eyes narrowed in satisfaction as Nanao slunk out of view.
"What's with that face?" Rukia asked, filling Ulquiorra's field of vision as his head swiveled towards the middle of the courtyard.
"Oh, it's nothing. A ghost," he said, hoping his sister would read his mind.
"How much have you had to drink?" the young woman asked skeptically.
Ulquiorra scoffed. "It was Ise-san. She was ruining the mood, standing over there by the gates like a gargoyle."
"Not very complimentary, brother," Rukia scolded, but looked over to where Ulquiorra was referencing with a mildly concerned look on her face. "No matter," she finally decided. "After tomorrow she will be out of our hair for a while."
Ulquiorra was not so sure about that.
The next morning went by in a blur; Orihime's relatives arrived as breakfast was underway and preparations were in full swing. Orihime's face was made-up and her hair was pulled back into several tight knots on the back of her head. She was dressed in the customary Shinto wedding kimono of pure white, and then her hair was covered with an oversized white hood, called a wataboshi, which shielded her face from view from anyone she was not looking directly at. She was melting as she stepped out of a dressing room into the summer sun where she was met by Ulquiorra.
"Well, wow," was all Orihime could say, taking in the sight of him in his traditional black kimono, gray and black striped hakama, and black haori tied with a fluffy white pom pom with tassels. His hair had been styled away from his face and held with what must have been half a can of hairspray.
Ulquiorra felt his breath stolen away. Although he preferred her everyday appearance, the way her face was framed by the pure white wataboshi made her look radiant, her dark eyes standing out in stark contrast against the white halo of the garment, making them appear impossibly wide and innocent.
There was no time to share impressions, however, and the pair was quickly interrupted by an irritated scoff as Grimmjow approached, holding a red umbrella and wearing a plain muted dark blue kimono cinched with a lighter blue obi. The kimono was entirely too small for him, falling too high above his ankles, showing skin between the top of his white split-toe footwear and the bottom hem, and gaping at the top, showing too much of his chest, up to and including the start of what looked like a gnarly scar in the middle of his breastbone. The entire ensemble would look comical if it wasn't so inappropriate for the occasion.
"This is it, Princesa. You still have a chance to run," the blue-haired man said, smirking at Ulquiorra as he moved the umbrella over Orihime's head.
Why Grimmjow had been selected for the duty of providing Orihime shade on their walk to the shrine was beyond Ulquiorra's understanding. The groom could not find it within himself to care, however, as the haunting shrill drone of hichiriki flutes began to play behind them, signaling to start the procession.
When they entered the shrine, only the priest, shrine maiden, musicians, the couple's close family, and Kumiko Watanabe and Junko Katayama, the omiai matchmakers, joined them. There were seats set on the center of the red felted worship hall floor for the bride and groom, and tables flanking them perpendicularly on either side where the family of each were seated. In front of each guest stood a cedar table upon which a dish and sake cup was placed.
The priest began with a shrine purification ritual, which entailed chanting while shaking a stick with some white tassels around the couple and the sanctuary entrance. Orihime found it kind of cute - it reminded her of a cat and its owner playing with a stringy toy - and although this was meant to be a solemn ceremony, she found herself smiling into her husband's face. The ritual was followed by a prayer and blessing.
Ulquiorra's heart thumped in his throat. This was it. This day was everything he never thought he wanted or needed, but now that he was here, it felt heavy in its significance. And he was sharing it with her. Orihime had somehow agreed to this, although he still did not understand why.
They were both pulled from their thoughts as the san-san-kudo ceremony began, which involved three increasingly larger cups of sake filled in three pours to represent oaths taken three times, although the specific meaning of those oaths had been lost to the passage of time. Not that it mattered; the ceremony did not involve speech, with only the melodies of the flutists filling the space. The first cup went to Ulquiorra, who drank it in three sips, then it was refilled and given to Orihime, who repeated the action. This was done with each of the three cups, with Orihime and Ulquiorra alternating who went first.
After the sake ceremony was completed, a symbolic dance was performed by shrine maidens, and then the couple stood and approached the altar for Ulquiorra to recite their vows. The vows were pre-written by a member of the shrine, although he and Orihime, in addition to the omiai agents, had added their names to the written version of the vows that morning, making them joint in nature.
He had been the one to select the script, however, choosing one of three recommended by the shrine and previously approved by Orihime. It contained a message thanking the gods for allowing the ceremony, and promising them that both Ulquiorra and Orihime would endeavor to walk the path of life together peacefully, through happiness and sorrow. It vowed that they would keep a loving and respectful relationship and provide stability to their children into perpetuity. Finally, the script asked the gods for protection for their lifelong prosperity.
As was tradition, Ulquiorra read the vows for himself and Orihime, ending with him verbalizing his signature with the words, "Husband, Cifer," and Orihime verbalizing hers, "Wife, Cifer." Both of them felt the gravity of the joint name, and as the ceremony segued into the presentation of evergreen sprigs to the altar by the couple, Orihime's hands trembled slightly. With the name came a lot of responsibility and this somber ceremony was driving that point home to her.
As the couple turned to face each other for the silent exchange of rings, Ulquiorra was about done with the entire performance, anxious to move on to the next portion of the day's festivities. He knew there was a congratulatory toast inside the shrine and the recessional left to go, and a party to get through after that, but he couldn't stop thinking about how soft Orihime's cheek looked against the white halo of her bridal hood. She looked angelic and sweet and he couldn't stop imagining how soft other parts of her body looked under the pure white kimono she wore.
It was only a matter of hours, now, until he would be able to find out.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Please leave me a review if you liked the chapter (or I'll assume you didn't!)
Also TYSM roseeyes for betaing!