"I'm detecting spiritual pressure up ahead," said Renji.
Rukia and Renji, upon their discussions with Urahara, had reported back to Soul Society regarding not only Ichigo, but the arrancar threat on Orihime. It was concerning to Captain Yamamoto to hear rumors of Aizen supporters, but the head captain assured everyone that Aizen was safely imprisoned and no one could penetrate their defenses. Rukia and Renji were then sent back to monitor for danger. They were now standing on a rooftop near Urahara's shop, patrolling for any unusual signs of reiatsu.
Rukia's brow furrowed. "Ready yourself," she said, her hand on her zanpakto.
"Good thing Urahara upgraded these to detect garganta," Renji said, tapping the goggles he had on. A beeping noise erupted from it. "Here one comes!"
Just as he finished speaking, a crack formed in the sky and five arrancar spilled out of the black portal. The smallest was obviously their leader: a female with half her horned mask covering her forehead like a visor. She was tall and had long violet hair loose behind her. Her hollow hole was straight through her stomach. She grinned with a wicked expression. "Oh Soul Reapers! Good, I was looking to test out some of my new powers on somebody."
"And who the hell do you think you are?" Rukia asked. "I've been through Hueco Mundo and fought and defeated countless arrancar more fierce than you."
"Lilera Aiviche," replied the arrancar leader. "Nice to meecha, cardboard." She stuck out her tongue.
"What the hell is cardboard?" Renji growled protectively.
Lilera tapped her chest, which was clad with a revealing top, showing off her large breasts.
Rukia turned red. "OH GROW UP!" She shouted. She exhaled. I can't let her taunt me. She has to be weaker than an Espada, but I won't underestimate her.
Renji, the less level headed of the two, rushed Lilera, his sword drawn. Lilera easily blocked him with her forearm and blew him backwards.
"Laaaame," she groaned. She motioned at the arrancar with her. "Kill them. If they get through you then I'll waste my time on them."
The arrancar behind her looked less human than she did, which Rukia assumed to mean they were of lower power level. She was shocked when she deflected one of their first blows. It was full of incredible power. They must have been formidable foes, but Rukia probably could have destroyed them with ease without the seal that had been placed on her body.
"Roar, Zabimaru!" Renji's shikai activated and injured one of the beastly arrancar. He screamed in pain and appeared enraged. It swung at Renji, who dodged it's attack easily, but took a hit from a second arrancar behind him. The wind was knocked from him, but be wasn't badly injured.
Rukia took a defensive stance, holding her sword in front of her. I should end this quickly to avoid damage to the town. "Dance, Sode no Shi--"
She froze. A familiar dark and powerful reiatsu appeared behind her. Lilera, who before was rather relaxed, stiffened her entire body. Rukia turned her head behind her, and her heart dropped to her stomach in fear and disbelief.
"I thought the consequences of appearing here again would have been obvious to you," said the owner of the powerful reiatsu. Rukia began to think of ways to escape and call Urahara for backup.
Ulquiorra glanced in Rukia's direction. "Judging by your fear, I assume Urahara has not informed you which arrancar are under his jurisdiction."
Rukia swallowed. She thought the espada Ulquiorra had been killed by Ichigo! How the hell was he alive? I don't know what the hell you're thinking Urahara but I'll just have to trust you. "So you're here to help us?"
"I am not here to help soul reapers," Ulquiorra replied, drawing his sword. He pointed it towards Lilera. "But I have reasons of my own to keep these trash out of Karakura."
"Attack him!" Lilera yelled, as two of the arrancar lunged at Ulquiorra.
He sliced them across the chest and stomach with two quick blows, sending the arrancar slamming onto the rooftop. He looked disappointed and examined his blade. "I clearly am out of shape," he remarked, rolling his shoulders in an attempt to stretch them. "Normally they would have been cut clean in half."
Rukia and Renji watched this display in a bit of shock. "Damn…glad he's on our side now…" Renji muttered.
Ulquiorra vanished and appeared behind Lilera. Lilera drew her sword and blocked behind her just in the nick of time. She parried his blow and jumped backwards.
"Take out the remaining arrancar," Ulquiorra ordered.
Renji looked upset he was taking orders from an espada, but Rukia knew that this was the best option.
There was only one arrancar left to attack her and Renji. Rukia knew that it would be much easier to take this hollow on when they didn't have to worry about the others.
Wait a minute… Rukia thought. Wasn't there four arrancar other than Lilera? Where'd the fourth one go? She managed to land a blow on the arrancar's arm, and it reeled back in pain.
She looked up at Ulquiorra, who was fighting Lilera on equal footing one-handed. Rukia had never seen Ulquiorra in combat, and had only intel and stories to go by. She knew he was extremely dangerous, but why did he fight so casually? Could it be that he didn't enjoy himself in battle? Didn't all hollows relish in conflict?
Rukia was about to go on the offensive after a few dodges when a flash of light pierced through the arrancar. It wasn't defeated, but it stumbled backwards to nurse its wound.
"It's quite the party up here," said the Quincy Uryu Ishida.
"I had him!" Rukia yelled.
Renji, who had suffered a wound, was on one knee. This wound was larger, and blood was spilling on the pavement. He looked up at Uryu and grinned. "Nice timing, Uryu. I wanna get this over quickly without having to--"
"Ishida!"
Ulquiorra aggressively pushed Lilera back and kicked her in the stomach, winding her. He then used a sonido and lunged at Uryu, grabbing him by the uniform.
"Where is Orihime?" He demanded in a dark voice.
Chills ran up Rukia's spine. He may look like a person but…he is so much like a monster…
"Would you put me down?!" Uryu cried. Once Ulquiorra obliged, Uryu straightened his uniform. "What do you mean 'where's Orihime'? Am I supposed to be stalking her or something?"
"She was supposed to stay with you today," Ulquiorra's voice still monotone, but it held extremely angry undertones.
"I think I saw her at school but we didn't talk today at all," Uryu said, looking confused. "I don't know what--"
Ulquiorra's face twisted into an expression of worry. Rukia backed up a step in surprise. He can't actually be…worried about Orihime, is he?
Lilera, recovered, used a sonido and attacked Ulquiorra from behind. He dodged, her sword slamming into the ground, knocking Rukia, Uryu, and Renji back.
Rukia stood to her feet and looked up at Ulquiorra. He had take his other hand out of his pocket and placed both hands on the handle of his sword. "I had intended to let you live within an inch of your life, but now you've put me in a bad mood." Ulquiorra lunged for Lilera, but just as his attack was going to connect, he suddenly stopped and looked panicked behind him.
"Damn it!" He cried. He used sonido and rushed off in another direction, leaving behind a very confused group of people.
"URAHARA!"
Kisuke, who had been monitoring the battle with the arrancar going on above him using some kind of monitor device, spun around to see Ulquiorra standing in the doorway, holding a bleeding and unconscious Orihime.
"Quickly! In here," Kisuke ordered. Ulquiorra obeyed and followed Kisuke into his workroom where he had a hospital bed. Ulquiorra laid Orihime down, his hands shaking.
Kisuke ripped off Orihime's sweater with a pair of scissors, and cut aside as much of her shirt as he could without sacrificing her modesty. She had large, ragged gashes across her chest, going from deep in her left shoulder to her left breast. The wound was slightly purple, which alarmed Kisuke. He grabbed a towel and pressed it against the wound to help stop the bleeding.
"Ururu!" Kisuke called.
The girl was just in the other room. She opened the door. "Yes?" She asked. She then turned pale at the sight of the injured Orihime. "I'll go get Tessai!!" She exclaimed.
"His healing Kido is better than mine," Kisuke said, trying to start a conversation with Ulquiorra.
Ulquiorra was staring at Orihime's face. His face was already as pale as possible, but something in his eyes were glossed over in shock. His entire body was trembling.
"She'll be fine," Kisuke assured him.
"Fix her," Ulquiorra said in a small voice.
"We will," Kisuke said. Tessai entered the room as if on queue, and Kisuke left the job of healing Orihime to him while he dragged a shocked Ulquiorra out of the room.
Ulquiorra slumped onto the ground and tucked his knees to his chest. He stared at the floor and hugged his shins.
Kisuke sat cross-legged across from him. This poor, poor creature… he thought, his heart full of pity. Aizen…you monster…
"I will have nothing if she dies," Ulquiorra said.
"Is she that important to you?" Kisuke asked.
"She is everything to me," Ulquiorra replied. "It's…repulsive."
"That's just a normal part of being human, caring deeply about your loved ones," Kisuke said.
Ulquiorra's hand curled into a fist. "I am not human."
"No, but you possess what makes people human," Kisuke said, pointing to the middle of his chest. "You got a heart even though you have a hole right where it should be. You should be proud, achieving something others cant."
"I did not achieve it," Ulquiorra responded. "It was given to me." He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. "It was better in the darkness."
Kisuke sighed. "Would you believe me if I told you I know how you feel? Sometimes even humans don't belong among their own kind. Those of us who are considered weird or undesirable by society's standards are often cast out and abused. There are those of us who can react like Aizen did and shut off everyone from him and use people without remorse, or we can try to embrace the heart instead of casting it away." Kisuke felt a little awkward giving this kind of talk to another man, but Ulquiorra gave off an air that made him appear almost like a child.
"You have a point," Ulquiorra replied. "Aizen could never know her warmth…"
"You could try making more friends," Kisuke said.
"Orihime is more important than anyone else," Ulquiorra rejected fervently.
Kisuke laughed. "Humans can have lots of people they love. But you can love some people more than others. That's normal. Orihime is not going to feel less loved by you if you decide to be open to her friends. Quite the opposite in fact."
"Love? Is that what this is? It feels like pain," Ulquiorra clutched at his chest. "But I enjoy this pain…"
Kisuke couldn't help but laugh again. Despite this laugh, a weight from a dark secret lay heavy on his soul. If only I had the guts to tell him…
Orihime's eyes fluttered open. The last thing she remembered was being attacked by an arrancar on her way to her apartment. She was now in a strange room full of monitors, bottles, and papers. She was lying in a bed, and her left arm was bandaged in a sling. She had an IV in her other arm, and she felt woozy.
She felt something warm at the foot of her bed. Her vision began to clear, and she saw someone with dark hair hunched over he bedside, presumably asleep. Her heart skipped a beat as she realized it was Ulquiorra, who was not in his gigai.
She reached out her right hand and gently placed it in his hair. She held back a gasp. She had wanted to touch his hair for so long, and was surprised at how soft it was. It must have been the conditioner.
She stroked it with a loving care one would give a small animal. He looks so peaceful asleep like this...
Ulquiorra stirred. Orihime's reaction was delayed due to her injuries (and fever), so her hand was still on his head for a moment after he awoke. His large green eyes looked confused at the gesture.
"You're awake," he said as he grabbed Orihime's right hand and holding it with both his own. "That is…a relief."
"What happened?" Orihime asked.
"You were hurt by an Arrancar's attack, which was laced with some kind of poison," Ulquiorra explained. "You have been asleep for an entire day."
"I missed school!?" Orihime exclaimed.
"Yes, but I am sure missing only a few days of school will not matter for a student like you," Ulquiorra said.
*Is he…trying to make me feel better?* "But what about my friends and Ichigo…he must be so worried…" Orihime whimpered.
"Now that you are stable enough to be awake," Ulquiorra said, standing up and walking towards her bookbag. He unclipped her hairpins carefully, as if they were made of glass, and handed them to her. "Heal yourself…please." His voice wavered from the usual monotone with the last word.
"I can try," she replied as she took her hairpins. "Shiten Ko--"
"Don't you dare!" Came Urahara's voice.
Ulquiorra's body tensed and he snapped his head towards Urahara with a glare.
"My dear Mr. Arrancar please consider the consequences of Orihime exerting any type of energy," Urahara scolded, taking the hairpins from Orihime and sticking them back into her bag. "Her body is mortal and human. Her and Chad's powers take a toll on their physical forms. The damage they take is relative to their bodies, not their Reiatsu levels. A blow that wouldn't normally kill, say, a soul reaper could easily end a human's life due to their fragile bodies. I mean, you understand don't you? You spend an awful lot of time in a gigai."
"I see," Ulquiorra said, relaxing his posture. His eyes moved towards Orihime. "You will rest and regain your energy," he commanded.
Orihime smiled. "Sure!" Ulquiorra is so worried about me! I'm…so happy…
"Does she have the strength to return home?" Ulquiorra asked. "And to attend school?"
"Yes, if she takes this antidote every day for a few weeks," Urahara replied, handing a medicine bottle to Ulquiorra. "I had to spend all last night analyzing that poison. Is poison common amongst arrancar?"
Ulquiorra placed the antidote in Orihime's bag. "Not unless they are in their ressurección," he replied. "Those arrancar's reiatsu was unusual and unlike anything I have encountered before."
"Interesting," Urahara said as he rubbed his chin. He then clapped hos hands together. "Welp! You're good to go Orihime. I've tucked some bandages in your bag but the wounds will close in a bit due to the kido, so don't worry too much about scarring. Just rest up and take care of yourself, okay? I get worried about you sometimes."
"Oh thank you Urahara!" Orihime gave him a warm smile. "Don't worry, I'll get better really soon! I have Ulquiorra to take good care of me."
Ulquiorra looked away from Orihime and shoved his hands in his pockets.
Ulquiorra carried Orihime home, but he went at a slower pace as to not overwhelm her weakened body. He let her down once they were in proximity of her apartment, as to not alarm anyone if they saw a girl randomly flying by in midair. Once inside, he led her immediately to her bedroom and made her sit down.
"Ulquiorra, I'm fine, really!" She assured him. She reached out her right hand to pat the top of his. "I'm going to be okay," she said as she stood up. "I'm hungry, do you want something?"
"Do not hurt yourself," Ulquiorra said as he followed her into the kitchen.
"Oh, ramen isn't that hard to make," Orihime said. She paused. "Ulquiorra, can you cook?"
"If I spent my entire life not eating before how can I possibly know how to cook?" He replied.
Orihime giggled. "Oh…silly me! Of course. But also!! What if I'm not awake to make you anything? Oh no you must be hungry all the time! Here, why don't I show you how to at least make some ramen."
She reached for two packages of ramen, but was dissapointed when she realized she only had one hand to open them. She tried to use her teeth, but Ulquiorra took the packages from her and easily tore it open. She blushed and placed the ramen in two bowls with respective lids. She instructed Ulquiorra to pour a certain amount of the hot water on top of the ramen, and empty in the flavoring packets. After covering the lid, she set her kitchen timer for a few minutes.
"That was less complicated than I expected," Ulquiorra commented as he sat down with his bowl of ramen.
"Cooking is really easy once you get the hang of it," Orihime replied. She sighed when she realized she had to eat one-handed. She picked up her chopsticks and dug in, getting broth all over her face as she did so.
Once she was done, Ulquiorra wordlessly handed her a napkin.
Orihime blushed and wiped her face. "I can't believe you managed to eat so easily with one hand!"
"I am very skilled," Ulquiorra joked.
Orihime's heart jumped. Did he…just smile?!
Sure enough the faintest smile had curled on the corners of his lips as he had last spoken, but had disappeared as quickly as it had come.
There was a bit of silence as Ulquiorra cleared their dishes and placed them in the sink. He then picked up a pink and yellow sponge Orihime kept next to the sink and asked "is this what you use to clean the dishes?"
"Yes but you don't have to--" Orihime began to reject.
"You will focus on regaining your energy," Ulquiorra said sternly as he began washing the dishes. It took him only a few minutes before he returned to the living room. "And after you have regained your energy, you will train."
"Train? My powers?" Orihime asked.
Ulquiorra's brows furrowed and he kneeled down next to Orihime, who was still seated at her table. "You nearly died. You are not nearly as strong as you could be. Your heart and will may be strong but your powers are weak. I do not make empty promises like Kurosaki." He clenched the fist that he had lying on the table. "It is unrealistic to expect me to be at your side at all hours of the day. In those instances I am not there, you have to be able to protect yourself."
Orihime looked into his green eyes. They were full of sadness and worry, a deep concern for her safety. Normally she strengthened her powers out of a desire to help her friends, but Ulquiorra's pleading made her reflect on something. She didn't ever wish to use her powers for her own sake. It just felt wrong somehow to help herself, for some reason.
"If you died," Ulquiorra said quietly. "I would have nothing."
Wait a minute… Orihime thought. I thought he didn't care if I died? No…he said something about…his decision to disobey Aizen had nothing to do with my death. Did…did I misinterpret what he said this entire time??
"So you really do care?" Orihime said, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
"I…" Ulquiorra appeared to struggle for words. "…I do."
Orihime couldn't keep her tears in any longer. She began sobbing as she leaned her head on Ulquiorra's shoulder. The arrancar was a bit startled, but he awkwardly placed a hand on the top of her head. He stroked her hair gently, entangling his fingers in her silky burnt orange strands. "I'm so glad!" She said, her heart overwhelmed. "I was so scared that you…didn't. And that you only wanted to protect me because Urahara told you to."
Ulquiorra's other arm wrapped around Orihime in a slightly awkward embrace. Orihime's heartbeat quickened as he did so. She sniffled and raised her right hand cautiously to touch his chest on the left side where his heart should be.
"Urahara did not order me to protect you," Ulquiorra said quietly. "I wanted to."
Orihime took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She had so many people in her life that wanted to take care of her. She was so grateful to them for their sacrifices. But, Ulquiorra was right. She was unable to take care of herself, and worried them. She was a burden on them, and she didn't want to be that way. She thought back to Ulquiorra's unusual amount of pain and worry, and the fact he had not left her side the entire time she was asleep at Urahara's. He cared...so much about her. She began crying again at the thought that she didn't believe him.
"C-calm down," Ulquiorra said. He moved Orihime away from him. She sniffed again, but yelped when he picked her up bridal style. He brought her to her bed again and handed her a box of tissues.
"Do humans always cry this much?" Ulquiorra asked. "I'm concerned you are going to become dehydrated."
Orihime hiccupped and laughed. "I guess I'm just super emotional today! Getting attacked and injured probably made me super tired."
Ulquiorra suddenly leaned over and kissed Orihime on the cheek.
Orihime was frozen in shock.
"Good night," Ulquiorra said, leaving her room.
Orihime fell backwards onto her bed and stared at the ceiling. She touched her cheek with her hand, feeling the warmth from where he had kissed her. She was just kissed by…Ulquiorra?? This felt so wrong! Did he know what he just did? No…he must have known…he never acted without knowing what he was doing. Orihime buried her face in her pillow and kicked her legs, unable to contain her emotions.
I can't like him, I can't! She tried to not squeal into her pillow. She tried to divert her thoughts to Ichigo, to his tall body, his handsome face, and his determined brown eyes. The way he protected her from--
Ulquiorra jumping in front of her to prevent her from being attacked invaded her mind. Every time she tried to think of Ichigo, a stronger image of Ulquiorra appeared. She whimpered and clutched her pillow tightly.
If I…with Ulquiorra… she thought, her emotions in deep confusion. Then I would…be betraying Ichigo…right?
"Good morning, please take your medicine," Ulquiorra insisted the moment Orihime woke up. He didn't want her to die by the negligence that could have been prevented by her taking it.
He handed her a glass of water and one of the pills Urahara had given them. She rubbed her eyes and took the pill groggily. She then wandered to the bathroom and began to brush her teeth, but got toothpaste all over the sink due to using only one arm.
"Here," Ulquiorra said, placing toothpaste on it for her. He already was dressed and ready for school in his gigai, but he always did that way earlier than necessary. "If you hurry we have time to go and get breakfast."
Orihime responded with a "mhm!" due to her mouth full of toothpaste.
"Oh, my bandages!" Orihime exclaimed. Indeed, they needed to be changed.
"Let me help you," Ulquiorra insisted.
Orihime kneeled down on the floor of her room and began unbuttoning her purple pajamas covered in kitty faces. She blushed. "D-don't look…" she stammered.
"Oh…" Ulquiorra gulped. He realized that in order to change her bandage she would have to be shirtless. "I have to look at the injury…but you can hold your shirt up to preserve your modesty."
Normally Ulquiorra wouldn't have cared. But now, something made him incredibly fearful and nervous. Is this what Urahara meant by seeing her as a woman?
He had to take a deep breath to steady himself enough to not shake too much when changing the bandage. Her skin was smooth and appeared soft to the touch. His eyes trailed to her right hand which clutched her pajama shirt to her chest, covering her sizable breasts. He swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to focus his attention to her injury. Her wounds definitely were looking much better as Urahara had said they would. He carefully bandaged her back up with the clean ones Urahara had provided. "Put your sling back on after you have changed into your uniform," he instructed. He left her room and went outside to cool off. His body temperature was rising to concerning levels.
Orihime soon was ready for the day, but Ulquiorra had to attach her hairpins in for her, because she could only do them crookedly. He took her hand in his and walked with her to the bakery nearby.
The middle aged baker woman beamed when she saw her regular customers. "Hello! What can I get you two this morning?"
Ulquiorra was about to respond, when he noticed Orihime had become distracted. She pointed to a flyer that was posted on a corkboard on the wall above the various coffee mix-ins. "You're looking for employees?"
The baker nodded. "Oh yes. Are you looking for a job?"
Orihime nodded. "Yes my Aunt wants me to get one for after school shifts."
Ulquiorra was puzzled. He didn't really know Orihime's financial situation, nor did he know about this Aunt of hers.
"Well come by this weekend and we can work something out," the baker replied. She frowned. "Although…I don't want you to get hurt. What happened? Did you fall down the stairs again?"
Again? Ulquiorra gave a worried glance towards Orihime.
Orihime laughed nervously. "No this time I got uh…hit by a bike on my way home!"
"Oh honey you should be more careful!" The baker exclaimed. She pointed a finger at Ulquiorra. "You need to take better care of your girlfriend! Who knows what will happen next to poor Orihime."
Ulquiorra's eyes narrowed slightly, but other than that his expression still was as stoic as ever. "My mistake. Next time I will do better."
They ordered breakfast and sat down to wait. Ulquiorra paced around the bakery and stared at the help wanted poster. He didn't want to keep pestering Urahara for money. He no longer worked for Urahara due to his job of protecting Orihime, and he had spent most of his funds on his clothing and needs. Perhaps he should also get a job here to keep watch over Orihime without the "stalking" behavior, or letting his immense arrancar reiatsu bother the weaker humans around him.
They walked to school, coffee in hand. Ulquiorra had let go of Orihime's hand to allow her to hold her coffee, much to his disappointment. He voiced his desire to also be employed, and Orihime looked excited.
"Oh yes! I think it would be fun to work with you," Orihime beamed. "Although…you can't cook at all, so maybe you'd be in charge of stocking or moving heavy stuff. Actually I think she could use a strong guy to work for her! I think her son moved away to school so…" She rambled on about the bakery owner's personal life.
Ulquiorra couldn't help but have the smallest of smiles when looking at the girl walking next to him. When he looked at her, he saw something precious, like an irreplaceable treasure. There was nowhere he would rather be than be by her side. He would do everything in his power to protect her life, even if it meant the end of his own.
