Chapter 4

An Experimental Body

A/N: Two chapters ago, we got a taste of Ulquiorra's thought processes. In this chapter, we'll get a taste of Orihime's. I had a lot of fun writing her, and I hope you enjoy!

Brief answers to reviews (as always, thanks for those!):

Sanaa11: Regarding Hanatarō, well, they forgot about him again. (Except Ulquiorra.) Don't worry; He will reappear in two chapters.

LHisawesome4ever: No, sorry to say, Grimmjow will not be appearing in this fan fic. (I have others in the works with him, but not this one.)

Meladi: Ichigo never has a plan, other than to beat up the bad guys. :) I had fun drawing attention to that fact.

Guest (who read "What is Kindness"): I intentionally left out their emotional reactions in the last chapter. Orihime was too shocked to feel much of anything. Ulquiorra's will be discussed later, but basically he didn't feel anything at that time. There's no romance between them at this point.

Sivdre, Wimallidge, other guest, PurpleRawan, kwest7262, Sohma, & Jak Fortune: thank you all very much!

It had not taken as long for Urahara-san to accept the idea of a Hollow staying in the Land of the Living as most of them had expected. In truth, he actually seemed more enthusiastic than apprehensive, even stating that he couldn't wait to learn how close the Hollowfied Shinigami and the Arrancar actually were in physical makeup, if Ulquiorra-san was willing to let him run a few tests on him. Ulquiorra hadn't answered, but his silence didn't dissuade the original founder of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute. It was less than ten minutes after their arrival before the four high-school students, the deposed Espada, and the former Shinigami captain were sitting together around a little table in the back of the shop as Urahara explained (with a little excitement, of course) the potential difficulties with making a gigai designed for use on Hollows.

"I've never actually made one for a Hollow, but I would hope that it won't need to be that different," smiled the shop owner. "Of course, it might take a few tries to get it just right, if a normal gigai doesn't work." He rubbed his chin, considering. "Ah! Why don't we try a little experiment? I'll give you a normal, disposable gigai now that you can wear for a few days, and we'll observe how that does for you. We can then see what might need to be adjusted or changed and work from there. How does that sound?"

Ulquiorra, having already resigned himself to the idea of a gigai, simply nodded in agreement.

"Excellent!" exclaimed Kisuke. "Oh, this is so exciting, to tell the truth!"

"So, Urahara-san," said Ichigo. "How soon can you have one for him to test?" It was clear that Ichigo was more than ready to actually be able to see Ulquiorra as well as everyone else, rather than having to rely on his friends to let him know what the other was saying or doing.

"Oh, I have one here now," replied Kisuke, waving a hand dismissively. "After all, it's just for a test, so it doesn't matter what it looks like."

Without another word, Urahara drew a black orb from his pocket, blew into it, and suddenly had an exact replica of himself lying across his arms.

"Not quite your normal size, but it should do for our little experiment," he grinned, offering it to the Espada. "I keep lots of these spares, so I certainly won't miss just one."

Ulquiorra looked at him silently, observing the faux body.

"Um, Urahara-san," began Ichigo uncomfortably. "Are you sure . . . ?"

The rest of the humans in the group just sat there in almost stunned silence, not sure if they should believe what Urahara was suggesting.

"Come, I'll show you how to put it on," continued the shop-keeper, still looking only at the Hollow beside him.

Completely oblivious to the awkwardness of his audience, Urahara began demonstrating how the gigai was to be worn. Ulquiorra hesitated only a moment before reaching forward to accept the unusual offering. All other faces paled as the two finished the quick merging of body and soul. There now before them, for all visual purposes, sat two Uraharas.

"Er, Urahara-san . . ." stuttered Ichigo again, still not wanting to believe what he was seeing.

Kisuke, however, continued to ignore the others as he explained the workings of the gigai.

"You'll feel a bit, how should I put it? Heavy, I suppose is the right word. It's not that you actually weigh more, but it's harder to move in the gigai at first. With practice, you'll still be able to sonido and shoot ceros and so forth (although I hope you won't be doing that much), but it'll feel a bit different. Remember too that this body can be damaged as easily as any human body; it doesn't have your hierro. Of course, you can strengthen your reiatsu around it, such that most objects can't pierce it, but that's only if you make a conscious effort. Don't drop your guard in a dangerous situation, thinking that someone can't cut you. They can, as long as you're wearing this."

Ulqui-hara moved his hands, looking from one to the other, then swung an arm gently, all the while with his customary expressionless face, which, on Urahara's body, looked adorably melancholic.

He has such beautiful, soft, puppy-dog eyes, thought Orihime. I never noticed. I wonder if Urahara-san could make Ulquiorra's gigai with eyes like that. Quickly she shook her head, scolding herself for even thinking like that. After all, she told herself, Ulquiorra's eyes are beautiful too: so deep and green and sparkling, even if he doesn't show emotions. Instantly, she blushed, realizing what she was thinking. Fortunately, no one was looking at her at the time, being too absorbed in the oddity before them.

"Urahara-san!" exclaimed Ichigo, finally getting ahold of his shock. "What are you doing?!"

"Eh?" asked Kisuke. "I thought that I just explained it. This will be a test to see how the Hollow's physique reacts to the Shinigami gigai. They're so similar in makeup that I'd like to think it'll be no different, but, in case it is, it would be simplest to test it on a disposable gigai rather than a specialized one."

"I agree, odd as it is to have two of you," put in Ishida, pushing his glasses back. "You said that it could take a day or two to finish one specially meant for Hollows; this provides Ulquiorra-san with a convenient body in the meantime."

"But . . . two of them?" muttered Chad, his mildly strained voice betraying how uncomfortable he felt with this.

"How are we supposed to be able to tell you both apart?" demanded Ichigo. "What if he decides to impersonate you?"

"Oh, come, Kurosaki," sighed Ishida condescendingly. "Surely even your brain wouldn't be fooled if he did."

"Huh? What's that's supposed to mean?!"

"Ulquiorra wouldn't try to pretend to be someone he isn't," argued Orihime, having regained control of her complexion. "So you don't need to worry."

"Actually," interposed Urahara, "I think that what Ishida-san is trying to say is that──"

A loud snap interrupted him, and they all turned to look at Ulquiorra in surprise. The surprise turned to shock as they saw that his left arm was hanging at an unnatural angle, obviously broken completely. Ulqui-hara merely looked at it in mild curiosity.

"How is this body removed?" he asked calmly.

"What?!" exclaimed Ichigo. "Not by breaking it! Is that what you were trying to do?"

"He's right, Ulquiorra-san," answered Urahara, taking hold of the broken arm gently and examining it. "You can't 'break' it off."

"Do you still think we won't be able to tell them apart, Kurosaki?" smirked Ishida.

Ichigo glared at his friend, but he had to admit that the other was probably right. He just wasn't going to admit it aloud. It was true: there was no way that Ulquiorra would be able to pass as a normal human anytime soon.

"Well, I did warn you that this body is more easily damaged," continued Urahara. "You may want to be a bit more careful, especially with your natural strength. Inoue-san? Could you lend us a hand?"

Realizing what he wanted, Orihime came forward quickly. "Soten Kisshun, I reject." The orange shield appeared, knitting together the broken bone and restoring the arm.

"I see that my own regenerative abilities do not carry over to the gigai," mused Ulquiorra.

"That's correct," nodded Kisuke. "It is completely separate from you. Think of it as an article of clothing: something that you would put on and take off but that isn't actually a part of you."

"How is it removed?" Ulquiorra asked again.

"Well, there are a few ways. First, and most popular, are the soul candies." Urahara grinned broadly as he displayed a little container of pills. "They come in all different personality types, and I have several different flavors also. You simply──"

"No."

Urahara blinked. "No? But you haven't seen them yet."

"I have seen them. I have seen Shinigami use them. There are a limited number there, and one must always have them at hand. How can this be removed without those?"

"There are soul-removing items, like this," admitted Urahara, lifting his cane to show the painted tip. "This can forcefully drive a soul from its physical body, but . . ."

"But it hurts!" snapped Ichigo, rubbing his head in remembrance of many blows from Rukia's spirit glove.

"Can it be used by someone on themself?" asked Ulquiorra, ignoring Ichigo's interruption.

"I've never tried," replied Kisuke, lifting a hand to rub his chin. "That's a good question." Turning the tip of his cane to himself, he thrust it into his chest. "Ah!" he exclaimed, his spirit thrown backwards as his body collapsed, still holding the cane. "Yes," he said with another grin. "I suppose it can." He lifted his own gigai and re-entered it as he continued, "Of course, it would take sufficient force. You see, once the soul leaves the gigai, the gigai will stop moving, so if you were only partially out, then it could be a bit awkward. You'd have to re-enter it and try again, which could be problematic if you needed to exit the gigai quickly."

"I see."

Orihime had finished by this time and moved back to sit between Uryū and Ichigo.

"I'll tell you what," grinned Urahara again. "While I'm working on the gigai, I'll come up with something like this but meant for a spirit to use to remove itself from a gigai; something like Kurosaki-kun's substitute Shinigami pass. I can't guarantee that it won't hurt, but I've no doubt that I can create it. How would that be?"

Again, Ulquiorra simply nodded once.

"Well, that's that!" exclaimed Urahara, clapping his hands once. "Now, I'm off to work on gigai designs, and you'll just need to move about as you normally would and be sure to note anything unusual. If you have any trouble with it, be sure to come back here right away."

Ulquiorra nodded once more.

"Wait," put in Ichigo. "Won't he be staying here?"

"Eh?" asked Kisuke. "I hadn't realized that you were thinking that."

Ulquiorra had likewise turned to look at Ichigo. "I will not stay here," he said simply.

"Wait, but . . . ."

"Your well-thought-out plan didn't extend that far, eh, Kurosaki?" asked Uryū half-sarcastically.

"Well . . . ."

"Rukia always stayed at your place, didn't she?" continued Uryū. "Why don't you take Ulquiorra-san to stay there also?"

"What?! My old man would never agree to that! Especially when he looks like that!"

"Ulquiorra could stay with me. I have extra space."

The others all turned to look at Orihime as she gave this offer. Some looked shocked; some looked horrified; one alone looked indifferent.

"Inoue, I don't think that's a good idea," began Ichigo hesitantly.

"Oh, it's alright, Kurosaki-kun," grinned the boisterous young girl. "I can tell people that he's my uncle, come to stay with me. It'll just be for a few days, until his proper gigai is made. Really, after how well Ulquiorra-san took care of me, it's the least I can do. And besides, he might get hurt again while he's getting used to the gigai, and he'll need my help to fix it."

Again, the human boys around the table looked uncomfortable. It was easier for Orihime to talk about her capture than it was for them to think about it. After all, they hadn't been able to protect her. Anything might have happened to her. She had assured them that it hadn't and that she'd been fine, but it didn't change the fact that she'd been in very great danger for a significant period of time. And now she was willing to house her former guard! Ignoring their discomfort, Orihime turned to the Hollow-in-Shinigami-form.

"It'll be like us switching places for a little while, eh?" she grinned. "You'll be staying in my apartment, instead of me staying in your tower."

For a moment, Ulquiorra returned her gaze silently. At last, he said simply, "Very well."

Urahara again grinned, although this time it looked a bit forced. "I think that that's settled then!"

Orihime hadn't had a lot of time to consider what it meant that Ulquiorra was still alive, but one thing was clear to her: she wanted to be able to talk to him. Of course, she wanted to get her own thoughts straight first, and, for Orihime, that was a massive task in and of itself! It didn't help that he had appeared in Kurosaki-kun's room so suddenly behind her with no warning whatsoever! And he'd just stood there, looking at her like there was nothing out of the ordinary! Of course, as she thought about it, she realized that that's what she would have expected of him. He would always look like nothing was wrong, even if the world was falling apart around him. Really, when he woke up after being dead, she was sure that his first thought must have been a simple "Oh, okay," before he stuck his hands in his pockets and walked away like nothing had happened. He probably didn't need time to process his thoughts at all. Orihime on the other hand needed a lot of time to process hers. He was alive! Not only that, but he was here, in the Land of the Living, and he meant to stay! That thought should terrify her, she knew, given that he was a Hollow. After all, don't Hollows eat human souls? No, she reminded herself, that wasn't right. He was an Arrancar. They ate other Hollows. Didn't they? Come to think of it, she'd never seen Ulquiorra eat, except for that one day that he ate a bite of her dinner when she'd asked him to do so. That had been sweet of him. She smiled, remembering that. Did he like to eat the sort of food that she ate in Las Noches? Maybe that was the only real food he'd ever eaten, and that was why he didn't eat much. Oh! She should cook a real meal for him, so that he could taste something truly good! Would he like chocolate? Of course, everyone likes chocolate, but she remembered that Tatsuki had said that some people didn't like it in ramen, which Orihime found surprising. Maybe Ulquiorra-kun would. Yes, she would make a big pot of ramen with chocolate and shrimp and a dollop of bean paste for him to try.

Orihime shook her head as she tried to focus and stop getting so distracted. Why was she thinking about food right now? Ulquiorra was alive! How was he still alive? Or maybe he wasn't still alive, but he was alive again. That is, had he really been dead? Well, she had seen him die, but maybe she had imagined that. No, that wasn't possible. He had definitely died. But, then again, Kurosaki-kun had died too, and then he came back. And he had been a human at first, but then he came back as a Hollow, but then the Hollow-him had died, and then he came back again as a human. Had Ulquiorra-san perhaps come back as a human this time? That would be funny! Well, not to him. It would probably put him in a very bad mood. What would he look like in a bad mood? Probably no different, except that his eyebrows would come together a little more and his eyes might close a little. Orihime thought that she had seen him angry, but now she couldn't remember for sure. Surely he got angry sometimes. After all, everyone gets angry sometimes. Even Orihime had gotten angry with him and had slapped him. She blushed, remembering that. Would he be angry about that? No, he hadn't been angry at the time, so why would he be angry now? Maybe he didn't get angry after all. Maybe he was always calm like this.

Focus! she scolded herself. Stop getting distracted! Ulquiorra is alive, and he's here, and he's going to stay here. And she wanted to speak with him, but not in front of everyone else. If her friends were there, they'd all worry about her, talking to the Espada who had held her prisoner. After all, they didn't know how nice he'd been, really. Well, maybe not nice all of the time. Okay, not even most of the time, at least not the way humans were nice to each other. But for a Hollow, he had been nice. Very, very nice, as compared to the other Espada and Hollows. He hadn't ever tried to eat her. Coming from a Hollow, that was certainly nice! Oh, but he doesn't eat human souls anymore. Wait, she had already been over this, hadn't she? Focus! What was she thinking? Oh, yes, how he had been nice. Wait, that wasn't right. Was it about him still being alive? No, she'd already thought about that. It was about eating chocolate! No, it wasn't! What was it then?

It had been about this juncture that she had realized that they were discussing where Ulquiorra should stay. Without thinking (much), she had quickly volunteered to let him stay with her. That would give them a chance to talk! She could work out what she wanted to say on the way over to her apartment or perhaps while she was fixing dinner (definitely ramen with chocolate), and then she could say whatever it was she wanted to say, perhaps while they ate, if he ate. What was it she had wanted to say to him? Oh, yes, she hadn't worked that out yet. But she would.

Her friends were naturally concerned with the idea of him staying with her, but Orihime had laughed it off. Ulquiorra wouldn't hurt her. After all, she'd slapped him, and he hadn't hurt her then. Why would he hurt her if she didn't try to hurt him? He didn't eat human souls. She'd already established that (in her own mind). It did occur to her that it might look funny to have a man staying in her apartment, but right now that shouldn't be an issue anyway. He was using one of Urahara-san's gigais, and surely no one would think that Urahara-san would do anything that he shouldn't. So if Ulquiorra on the inside wouldn't hurt her and Urahara on the outside wouldn't hurt her, then she was completely safe with him. Everything made perfect sense . . . in her mind.

The walk to her apartment had given Orihime a little time to think, but not as much as she had expected. Ulquiorra was quiet, as she had supposed that he would be, staring ahead of himself and saying nothing, but it was just so distracting seeing him in Urahara's body. She kept glancing at him, expecting to see pale skin, soft black hair, and practically glowing green eyes, and instead she was met with the sight of the shaggy shop-keeper, striped hat and all, but walking erect, hands in his pockets, and the most serious expression she'd ever seen on his face. Yes, it was far too distracting to properly organize her thoughts.

"Um, Urahara-san always hunches his shoulders," she murmured at one point.

Ulqui-hara turned his head to look at her. "I am not Urahara-san," he replied simply.

"Yes, well . . . you look like him," she smiled. "Except that you walk straight. And you don't smile as much. You know," she grinned a little more, "you could smile while you're wearing his gigai, and it wouldn't look funny, because he's always smiling anyway."

Again, Ulquiorra simply looked at her, but this time he didn't answer.

"So, how do you like it? The gigai, I mean. Is it really strange?"

"I am unaccustomed to this height."

"Oh! I probably look very short to you now!"

"Yes."

Orihime giggled. "If you like being that tall, we can ask Urahara-san to make your gigai tall too."

At that, Ulquiorra abruptly stopped walking. Orihime stopped too, looking at him.

"I will not accept a faux body that does not look like me," he stated firmly, not looking at her. "If he attempts to create something that is . . . different, then I will not use it. I have accepted this form as an experiment only." With that, he started walking again, falling back into silence.

"Well, you'll have to have some things changed," argued Orihime, walking a little more quickly to keep up with his longer legs. "You can't wear a gigai that looks like a Hollow."

"Why not?"

"Well . . . ." Orihime considered. Why not? After all, his Hollow form did look a lot like a human. Of course, his skin was so pale that that part didn't look human. But aren't there some humans who look like that? Yes, Orihime remembered seeing pictures of a musician who was an Albino, and his skin was almost as white as Ulquiorra's. Okay, so maybe he could stay so pale. And he would certainly want to keep his green eyes. She had decided that they really were prettier than Urahara's grey ones, even if they weren't as sad-looking when he was serious. Wait! What about his Hollow helmet? He couldn't keep that! After all, the horned part would look like a weapon. It was so sharp! Then again, now that she thought about it, she didn't know if it was sharp. It looked sharp. She wondered whether he could use the horn like a bull and gore his enemies. But, if he did that, then the blood would spurt out all over his face, and she was sure that he wouldn't like that; he always kept himself so very clean. No, absolutely not. That was a definite reason that he couldn't have a gigai just like his Hollow form.

"Because you'd get blood all over your face," she stated firmly, sure that she'd now won the argument.

Ulqui-hara blinked, turned his head slowly to look at her, and merely stared at her in silence. Orihime smiled back at him, thrilled with her own impeccable logic. He couldn't even argue with her!

"Oh, we're home!" she exclaimed, looking forward again. "This is my apartment. Come on in! It's getting late, so I'll get started on supper right away. Have you ever had chocolate-shrimp-ramen with bean paste?"

A/N: Before you ask, no, I do NOT think that Orihime is stupid. I think that she is scatter-brained and has trouble keeping her thoughts in any sort of logical order. She also doesn't realize that other people can't keep up with what she's thinking. She's smart enough in her own right, but she just gets distracted too easily to really form a coherent argument in general.

Also, for general information: Orihime is 5' 2" (157 cm), Ulquiorra is 5' 6½" (169 cm), and Kisuke is 6' 0" (183 cm) plus clogs.

Next chapter: Ulquiorra's first taste of Orihime's cooking!