"Please sit down, Rukia. It's a pleasure to see you as always."
Rukia Kuchiki kneeled down in front of her 13th squad captain Jushiro Ukitake. He was dressed in his typical captain's uniform, his long white hair neatly brushed and framing his handsome face. His green eyes were soft and friendly, always putting Rukia at ease. He gestured towards some tea and snacks, telling her to help herself.
"If you don't mind me asking, Captain," Rukia said a bit hastily. "But why have you called for me?"
Ukitake smiled warmly. "Oh come now! You are my new Lieutenant, after all. Surely you realize that you would be spending more time with me."
Rukia took a sip of her tea. "It's…difficult adjusting to my new position, sir. I often feel unqualified."
"Don't sell yourself short, Rukia," Ukitake said. "You are very capable. Now, as you did rightfully did guess this wasn't just for a chat, although I wish that was the case." He sighed. "I hate to ask something so difficult of you, but I need you to do something for me."
"Anything, Captain," Rukia said eagerly. She wished to prove herself not only to Squad 13, but to her brother Byakuya, who had adamantly opposed Rukia's promotion.
"I need you to visit the world of the living," Ukitake said.
"Unusual request, sir," Rukia said. Normally seated officers didn't make a visit to the living world unless something catastrophic was happening. As far as she knew, nothing out of the ordinary had been going on since Aizen's defeat.
"It is in regards to Ichigo Kurosaki."
Rukia's heart skipped a beat. Ichigo…
"Since you were the closest to him, and have spent the longest time in the world of the living, I thought it would be best for you to check on him," Ukitake explained. "You are not to meet him face to face, but you at least could observe his state of being, to make sure nothing is out of the ordinary. And while you're there…" He added. "…please check on Kisuke Urahara. He has been involved in a rather…eccentric project, and he probably could use the assistance. Our squad suffered some of the least casualties, so I can spare you for the time being."
Rukia didn't know how to respond. She nibbled on a snack and stared blankly at the table. Can I see Ichigo again? she thought. Will I be able to be strong seeing him as a normal human? Or will I be unable to handle the pain?
"Rukia," Ukitake said gently. Rukia looked up and saw a sad, apologetic look on his face. "If you are not up to the task, you are more than welcome to decline. I can send someone else."
Rukia gathered her resolve. "No Captain. It has to be me. I'll go to him."
"Do you want to shower?" Orihime asked Ulquiorra when they had arrived back at her apartment. It was very late, as Urahara had some things to discuss with Ulquiorra, most likely involving rules or parameters regarding his guard duty of Orihime. Ulquiorra also had brought his belongings, which consisted of a very small box, containing toiletries, his wallet, and container of Soul Candy. The gigai with its artificial soul had been sitting in front of Orihime's locked apartment, obviously waiting for its owner to come back for it. She couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for it, although she knew that it wasn't a real soul like Kon's, despite being contained in a similar object. The gigai, once let inside, sat down on the floor and stared at the wall.
Ulquiorra was standing in the middle of Orihime's apartment, his eyes scanning the room. He was filthy, his yukata and skin stained with dirt, sweat, and blood. He was also barefooted, and Orihime wondered if Urahara had even offered him shoes. He could have at least tried to take care of him!
He turned his head to look at Orihime after she spoke. "Yes. A shower would be preferable."
"I-I'll show you where everything is…" Orihime said a bit nervously. She led him to the bathroom and instructed him on which towels and what soaps he could use. "I only have strawberry shampoo!" She blushed. "And girly soaps…I don't have manly soaps but we'll have to go get some later!"
"Does that matter?" Ulquiorra inquired. He inspected the strawberry shampoo bottle and opened the cap with gentle fingers. He took a cautious smell of the shampoo, then looked at Orihime confused. "This smells like food."
Orihime giggled. "Have you have had fun soap like this before?!"
"Everything in Hueco Mundo was boring," Ulquiorra explained. "Even the soap was just plain white bars. Half the arrancar hardly bathed, and it was disgusting. I've never seen soap like this. So you use different soap for different parts of your body?" He began reading the label.
Orihime blinked and instructed Ulquiorra on how to use shampoo, conditioner (His hair could totally use the conditioner! she thought) and body wash. She then showed him how to operate her shower and left, asking him if he was hungry. He responded positively, so she left to the kitchen to make something.
She heard the shower start from the other room. Her heartbeat quickened at the thought that an arrancar was naked in the other room in her apartment. Who would have thought that the former loyal Espada to Aizen would now be her friend asking her how to use shampoo! She shook her head. Ulquiorra wasn't her friend, he had said that to her. He was just here protecting her on Urahara's orders…
What about his heart?
Orihime sighed and looked in her fridge. She had some red bean buns she had leftover from a bakery run a few days prior, some leftover pork belly, and some curry. She pulled all three out and decided to top the red bean buns with it.
By the time she had finished heating it all up, the shower had stopped. She placed the food at the table and went to the kitchen to get some utensils. On her way back, she nearly ran into Ulquiorra, who was dressed in nothing but a towel around his waist.
"Ah!!" Orihime cried. Her face turned pink with embarrassment. Had Ulquiorra been taller, she would have face planted into his chest. However, he was only several inches taller than her at best, so it would have been an unfortunate headbutt. Luckily she caught herself before this had happened, but she did drop her spoon.
Ulquiorra bent down to pick up the spoon and handed it to her. Orihime took a nervous step backwards and took the spoon. Ulquiorra gave no reaction, but his eyes looked towards the table. "Is that for me?" He asked.
Orihime nodded and handed him a clean spoon. "For you!"
Ulquiorra thanked her quickly and kneeled down at the table. Orihime couldn't believe that this arrancar was now sitting nearly naked at her table. She kneeled down across from him and couldn't help but stare. It was a bit unsettling. He gave off the normal air that Komori gave off when they were in school, but his inhuman appearance made it feel uncanny. Upon observing him, she suddenly realized what was missing: the number four on his chest!
"Ulquiorra," Orihime bravely said.
"Hm?" He responded, his mouth full.
"Where did your number tattoo go?"
Ulquiorra finished chewing and then swallowed. He looked down at his left pectoral and said, "I don't know. It was gone when I woke up."
"Does it bother you?" She asked.
"I do not need it," he replied. "It was just a marker set upon me by Aizen. It wasn't just about strength. He branded us because we were his property."
Orihime's heart hurt for him and the other arrancar forced to work under Aizen. Some of them didn't even want to commit acts of violence, like Nel, and some of them just wanted a place to belong like Ulquiorra. "Well you're cute with or without it!" She blurted out without thinking.
Ulquiorra's expression changed to one of confusion.
Did I just call him cute? To his face?! Orihime started laughing nervously. "Aha I meant good for you you look great with or without it I mean you're no longer under Aizen so why should it be there I mean--"
Ulquiorra had apparently zoned out and had continued eating.
Orihime exhaled and finished her dinner.
After dinner Orihime went to do the dishes, and Ulquiorra inquired if there was a place for him to wash his yukata and uniform. Orihime told him there was a central laundry that everyone shared but it cost money to use. She told him she had laundry she had to do anyways so she would help him with it once she was done.
"You cant walk out in just a towel!" Orihime scolded him.
"No one can see me," he pointed out.
"I-I can see you!" Orihime blushed. "And what would people say if the washing machine suddenly started without anyone there? People would think there were ghosts or a demon haunting this place!"
"That wouldn't be far from the truth," Ulquiorra pointed out.
"You're not a demon," Orihime told him as she picked up her full laundry basket. She tossed his yukata and the gigai's (who now was naked and resumed its sitting in the corner) uniform on top, alongside her favorite flowery scented detergents.
"You are such a strange girl," Ulquiorra said as he opened the front door for Orihime.
"Technically I'm not supposed to be making noise this late," she explained as they arrived at the laundry room. "But if we're careful it will be fine. Plus the landlord is super nice!"
She began humming as she filled one of the washers with her clothing. She blushed when she picked up Ulquiorra's pair of black underwear. She then realized something. "Ulquiorra do you only own one pair of underwear?" She asked after she had started the washer.
"I only have the one uniform," he replied. "I wash it every day as Urahara instructed."
Orihime facepalmed. Urahara obviously did not realize how outside of human needs and behaviors the arrancar were--Ulquiorra especially. He seemed the least human or even aware out of all of them Orihime had noticed. "We need to get you some clothes tomorrow," she said firmly. "Good thing its the weekend!"
"I do not need--"
"You need clothes Ulquiorra," Orihime said as if she was scolding a small child. "You have to have at least a few outfits, especially if we are going to be together on the weekends all the time."
"Fine," he relented. He then became enamoured by the glass door of the front load washing machine. Had he gone any closer to the running machine, he would have smashed his face against the glass.
"How long will this take?" Ulquiorra asked.
"Oh about half an hour," Orihime said. She took out a kitchen timer and set it for the remaining wash time. "We can go back to my room now and do something else while we wait."
They returned, and Orihime went directly to the kitchen. "Do you want some tea?"
"If you believe it to be beneficial," Ulquiorra replied. He was looking around Orihime's living room again. He picked up the picture of her older brother Sora and looked at it closely. Orihime gulped and nearly burned herself on the hot boiling water she was pouring into mugs for them over bags of herbal tea. Ulquiorra looked strangely appealing, standing in the middle of her livingroom, his white skin exposed save for the pink towel neatly tucked around his waist.
"Who is this?" Ulquiorra finally asked when Orihime returned to the livingroom.
Orihime set down the mugs of tea and a little plastic bear full of honey. "Uhm…that's my older brother Sora," she said. "He died several years ago. I've been living by myself ever since. But uhm…" The last time I saw him he…
Ulquiorra put the picture back in its proper place. "Continue. Something troubles you."
"He was a hollow and he tried to eat me!" She grinned dismissively.
Ulquiorra's eyes widened. "Were you…afraid of him?"
Orihime shook her head. "No. He was in so much pain I couldn't bear it. He fought so hard not to bring me harm. Ichigo sent him off to the Soul Society though, and I was so glad!"
"Foolish girl, you have no sense of self preservation," Ulquiorra scolded. "You cannot keep trying to befriend hollows."
Orihime felt pain from his words. He was so mean! She thought he understood what she meant by a heart finally, but his words didn't seem to match what she thought his emotions were.
"I guess I really am dumb huh?" Orihime said, tears glistening in her eyes.
Ulquiorra's expression changed again to one of worry. He appeared unable to find a reply.
Orihime sighed, defeated, and took a sip of her tea.
Ulquiorra awoke the next morning with the sun. He barely slept, and it wasn't due to discomfort. Orihime had given him a futon to sleep on in the livingroom. His mind kept reeling, obsessing with ways on how to speak to Orihime properly. Her story about her brother shocked him. How could she forgive hollows and not fear them after what they had done to someone so important to her? How could she look at Ulquiorra and not feel anger and resentment? He himself had done terrible things to her and her friends, yet she was willing to help him without any reservation. She was either the stupidest or the bravest woman he had ever seen.
He had slept in his hollow body, now back wearing the clean white yukata. The gigai was still sitting in the corner staring at the wall. Urahara and his idiotic jokes, Ulquiorra thought angrily. Urahara had programmed the Soul Candy to mimic Ulquiorra's reaction to Orihime's initial rejection when idle, and Ulquiorra found it insulting. Grimmjow thought it was funny, and the two nearly got into a fight over it. Urahara refused to reprogram the Candy.
He wandered towards the kitchen to look for food, but stopped when he saw Orihime's bedroom door ajar. Curious, he quietly opened it.
Orihime was fast asleep in her bed, surrounded by many fluffy blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals. Ulquiorra found something quite peaceful about the sight of her. He reached out a hand towards her face, but pulled away before his fingertips barely brushed her cheek.
She began to stir, so Ulquiorra bolted out of her room before she could see him there. She didn't wake up, however. He was hungry but found nothing he recognized in the fridge (and he didn't know how to cook, nor did he know what ingredients made what), so instead he decided to find something to pass the time. He scoured her bookshelf and saw this "manga" that Kurosaki had borrowed, and he opened it up.
He was a bit taken aback by the fact that it was made from pictures. It took some adjusting to reading it, but he found it fascinating. Instead of words to describe what things looked like, the book simply showed you, and used dialogue effectively to express ideas. It was some kind of manga set in an older human time period, where technology was not as advanced. The characters used steam technology upon other magical substances to function in their daily life activities. Ulquiorra had read similar books to this before that had belonged to Aizen, but not in this Manga form. Ulquiorra flipped the volume over to look at the cover. It had a girl drawn on the front, wearing a blue dress with a butterfly wing like pattern, and it was decorated with bronze machine cogs. The title read "Machine Society", volume 3. Oh so there are ones before this… He thought. No wonder the story wasn't making much sense. He returned to the bookshelf looking for the other volumes when he was interrupted by an awake Orihime.
"Oh, good morning!" She yawned. She smiled. "Were you reading that? Tatsuki has the first few volumes of it. Maybe we can go see her today! Come to think of it you really haven't talked to her much have you?"
Ulquiorra blinked. He was slightly curious about the manga, but he was more interested in Orihime than anything else.
"Breakfast time!" Orihime announced. She went into the fridge and then frowned. "Oh…I guess I'm out of food! Guess I'll have to go grocery shopping now." Her stomach grumbled and she smiled sheepishly.
"Could we go to the bakery?" Ulquiorra requested. He was shocked that a preference or a request for anything had come out of his mouth.
Orihime seemed startled too. But she beamed anyways. "Okay! Today we will go do a bunch of shopping! Because you need clothes too. I'll call Tatsuki and see if she wants to join us."
Orihime had made sure that Ulquiorra did not wear the complete school uniform so that there was at least an attempt to hide the fact he was wearing one. She didn't let him wear the jacket or the tie, and she untucked his white shirt. Since it was now the end of fall, the weather was quite chilly, so Orihime had Ulquiorra borrow one of her oversized sweatshirts. It was a man's green sweatshirt, but she had bought it because it was so soft, and she thought wearing it would be like a blanket. It wouldn't have fit someone like Ichigo, but on Ulquiorra it fit perfectly due to his petite size. Orihime also lent him one of her warm knitted scarves, this one white and fluffy.
Ulquiorra peeked out at her from the white scarf. He looked a bit sheepish. "I did not realize you had to dress like this to ward off the cold. I thought it was something people just bore with until they could go inside. The cold only affects me in the gigai, and not my true form." He shook his head and loosened the knot Orihime had tied in his scarf around his neck. "These human bodies are quite troublesome."
Orihime had a sudden realization. "Oh no…Ulquiorra, does your regeneration not work when in the gigai??"
"It does not," Ulquiorra replied.
Orihime gasped. "Oh no I'm so sorry!! I didn't realize!! When your arm was hurt I could have healed it! I thought you were just pretending to wear it to fit in or something. I--"
"You had no reason to," Ulquiorra said as he opened the front door for Orihime.
Orihime grabbed her purse and walked out the door. "But…you were in pain."
"Pain is not my preference, no," Ulquiorra replied. "Pain is an extended sensation in this body and I am unaccustomed to it."
"You poor thing!" Orihime exclaimed, grabbing Ulquiorra's hand. "I'm really sorry! Next time for sure I'll make you feel better."
His eyes glanced towards her hand and he gripped it a bit tighter in response.
The two walked down the road for a bit wordlessly, holding hands again as they did so. Orihime only began thinking of it when an old woman passing by smiled and remarked what a lovely couple they were. Orihime immediately blushed and released Ulquiorra's hand, pulling away quickly like she had accidentally touched a hot stove.
Ulquiorra was shocked at her actions and gave her an almost pained look. He stuck his now free hand in his pocket and said nothing.
"Oh I'm sorry!!" Orihime exclaimed. "I didn't mean to--"
"You did nothing so why should you apologize?" Ulquiorra said harshly. "Foolish girl."
Orihime gripped her purse with both hands, looked at the sidewalk, and sighed.
They soon arrived at the bakery. Orihime's spirits were immediately lifted upon the smell of freshly baked morning bagels and the rich scent of brewed coffee. There were several other customers enjoying their breakfast there, making the bakery somewhat noisy. Ulquiorra didn't react much on the outside, but Orihime could begin to tell subtle changes in his eyes due to his mood. Ulquiorra definitely was excited to be there, which made Orihime feel even better.
"Two coffees and bagels please!" Orihime requested. She reached into her purse to grab her wallet, but Ulquiorra stepped up with his.
"I will purchase it," he said, putting cash down on the counter so quickly Orihime wondered if he had used a Sonido somehow in his gigai.
The cashier, who was a friendly looking middle aged woman, smiled warmly. "Ah what a good boyfriend you have Orihime!" She said. "So considerate!"
Orihime smiled, blushed, and went to sit down to wait.
"Boyfriend?" Ulquiorra asked in his usual soft and quiet voice.
Orihime's heart skipped a beat. This is so embarrassing! Everyone thinks we're a couple! This is so silly!!! "Uhm…it's what they call a guy that spends a lot of time with you and takes care of you and cares about you and thinks you're beautiful and takes you out on dates and he--"
"Does that make me your boyfriend?"
Orihime let the question settle with her for a few moments. She had to think of a way to explain it so that he could understand. He didn't understand human emotions very well, so his grasp on the idea of a special relationship outside of friendship would be limited. "No because we're not in…" she started to say, but found herself unable to finish her sentence for some reason.
"No? Then what would a proper human term be?" Ulquiorra inquired.
"We-we're friends!" She insisted. She swallowed the lump in her throat forming. This was a difficult situation. It would be easy for her to start falling for this arrancar, due to his attractive face, his composed nature, and his gentle attentive side he showed only her. But she knew, especially from that interaction at Urahara's, that Ulquiorra did not feel love towards her. He said he wouldn't care if she died! He is only here to learn about humans from you and try his best to assimilate, she had to tell herself to keep her confused feelings at bay.
"Categorizing me with Kurosaki," Ulquiorra said with some disgust. "I suppose that is fine if you lack a better term. I seem to occupy more of your time than others, however."
Orihime was saved by the distraction of their breakfast being served.
"Oh hey Orihime! I hardly see you outside of school lately," said Tatsuki. "I got your message about the manga and brought it with me."
Ulquiorra's eyes narrowed. This was Orihime's best friend Tatsuki. Apparently there were different rankings for friends. The boyfriend rank seemed so important and hard to obtain. If he could just obtain such a rank, perhaps he could be validated in her warm presence.
"Oh yeah, Komori is with you," Tatsuki continued.
"You could speak directly to me," Ulquiorra said.
Tatsuki blushed. "Oh! Yeah. Sorry…" she mumbled.
Ulquiorra took Orihime's hand in his. Holding hands seemed to give people the impression that he was Orihime's boyfriend, and he sort of liked it. And right now he felt this odd need to prove himself to Tatsuki, almost like the feeling he had when he challenged Ichigo to their battle.
Orihime blushed and looked the other way, but she didn't pull away from him.
The three had met at the mall in Karakura Town, where Orihime had hoped to go clothes shopping for Ulquiorra. Of course she hadn't told Tatsuki she was there mainly to shop for Ulquiorra, as that would have been even more awkward than the situation already was.
Orihime found a pair of jeans, a few t-shirts, a sweater, and of course underwear for Ulquiorra. He was an easy fit due to his slender body, and most anything seemed to look good on him. He didn't complain when asked to try on new things, although he preferred clothing that allowed him to move his arms freely (because he didn't want to be hindered from hand to hand combat movement if necessary in the gigai). Ulquiorra paid for everything, Orihime in wonder about how much money he actually had. Ulquiorra explained that he hardly spent any money Urahara had given him, so the amount began to stack up.
Ulquiorra also was bought his own shampoo and soaps, but he had a preference for the more girly scents over the harsher male ones. They smell like her… he thought. So why wouldn't it be preferable for him to use? Orihime seemed a bit nervous about it, but Ulquiorra insisted, and now he would smell like Cherry Blossoms and Peaches after every shower, which seemed like a good idea to him. He couldn't understand why Orihime thought this was so strange.
"Orihime is he your boyfriend?!" Tatsuki finally confronted them after they had finished their shopping trip and were walking, bags in hand, back towards Orihime's.
Orihime was as red as a tomato. "N-no Tatsuki you got it wrong we are just friends I--"
"Yeah right! You've been holding his hand since we got here," Tatsuki said.
"Is there a problem if we are?" Ulquiorra spoke up.
"Uh…no I guess," Tatsuki admitted. "It would just be kind of a shock. Orihime's been in love with Ichigo forever."
At the mention of Kurosaki's name, Ulquiorra released Orihime's hand and stuck his own back into his pocket. "I see," he said quietly. "For clarification we are not in this 'boyfriend' type of relationship."
Tatsuki's brows were furrowed but she seemed satisfied. "Okay then…" she said.
Tatsuki didn't make much small talk with Ulquiorra, which the latter didn't mind at all. He had nothing to say to her, and had a preference to simply listen to her and Orihime's conversations. Ulquiorra did feel relieved when Tatsuki finally departed, so he was able to focus his energy onto the person who was much more important.
Ulquiorra carried everything, refusing to allow Orihime to carry any of his belongings. She seemed awkward about this too, but he ignored her pleas.
When they arrived back at Orihime's apartment, it was the middle of the afternoon. Ulquiorra carefully dropped the bags in the corner of the livingroom. Orihime's stomach grumbled loudly, and she blushed again.
"O-oh no! We skipped lunch," Orihime said, flustered. "I was so focused on shopping that I totally forgot to--"
Ulquiorra looked at the watch he stole from Urahara. "The stores are still open."
Orihime sighed. "You're not mad?"
"Why would I be angry over something so trivial? I hardly noticed," Ulquiorra responded with some confusion. He shook his head. "You have spent nearly all day at my expense, and it caused inconvenience to yourself. If you should be apologizing, it should be to yourself. Come on, let's go. Your fridge is dismally empty."
This girl… Ulquiorra thought. Is in more danger than I realized.
