Lilera slammed her fist against the wall, shattering the stone and splitting open the skin of her hand. She grit her teeth and looked at her self-inflicted injury and waited for it to heal. Sometimes she wished she had traded in her regenerative capabilities for power. Maybe then Lord Aizen would have even considered her for a position amongst the Espada. She refused to serve as a fracciones, considering the position in servitude to be disgusting.
Now, here she was, crawling back to Hueco Mundo after being scared off by one of her many failures due to her lack of strength. "Dammit!" She yelled. She barely was able to keep up with a weakened Ulquiorra. He still had his regeneration as well! Why the hell was he so strong!? He is as strong as he is and he abandoned his fellow arrancar and Lord Aizen for some human girl?!
"Don't break my wall you bitch!" Yelled Lilera's superior, Loly.
"The only reason you're ranked above me is because you were a personal assistant to Lord Aizen!" Lilera yelled. "I could wipe the floor with you!"
"I was way more beneficial to Aizen than you'd ever be!" Loly yelled back. "Learn your place! If you don't do as I say we'll never get Aizen back to us!"
Menoly, who was usually quiet, spoke up. "Hey we won't get Lord Aizen back if we keep fighting like this."
"She's right, you know."
Chills ran down Lilera's spine. A petite female arrancar, her mask covering both her eyes, and dressed in a mess of tattered white robes walked forwards. She had broken chains bruising her ankles and dragging behind her, and her dark green hair was matted and unkempt.
"I-I thought I told you never to come up here," Loly said with fear in her voice.
"I merely came to inform you that the newest batch has been completed," the arrancar said.
Lilera gulped and looked in Loly's direction.
"Oh? And how's their power looking?" Loly asked.
"The newest batch have reiatsu levels that could easily keep up with a lower ranked Espada," the arrancar replied. "We have yet to reach the Vasto Lordes phase, but it shall eventually be possible once enough time has elapsed."
Loly's face broke into a wicked grin. "Let's send some of these new ones to say hello to the precious Princess. And as for you!" Loly grabbed Lilera by the wrist and tossed her towards the ragged and chained arrancar. "Do something with her pathetic reiatsu, will you?"
Lilera tried to wrench herself free from the ragged arrancar, but she wasn't fast enough. Heavy chains curled around her wrists, binding her so tightly it began to hurt. "Damn you!" Lilera screamed. The arrancar began dragging her out of Loly's room, but she fell to her knees in despair. She gripped on the floor, trying to desperately prevent herself from meeting her horrendous fate. "Don't do this to me! I can serve Lord Aizen with my power!"
Loly ignored Lilera's pleas and turned the other way.
"We've been standing here for at least five minutes."
Ulquiorra glared at the soul reaper across from him. He and that shorter soul reaper boy had moved to the rooftop, staring down each other. He had evacuated his gigai, placing him on equal footing. Both had their hands in their pockets, watching for the other to draw their sword first.
"What do you want with the girl?" Ulquiorra finally spoke.
The soul reaper's brow furrowed. "I want nothing with the girl. Her powers are useful, but she is a human so any request of her would be in emergency situations only. But...I could ask you the same question, arrancar."
"You have no business knowing," Ulquiorra replied.
"Seeing as you were formerly a prisoner of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads," the soul reaper said. "I would say everything is my business."
"She is my friend," Ulquiorra stated. Using the word "friend" to refer to Orihime hurt him for some reason.
"With a hollow? Humans and hollows can't be friends," the soul reaper said. "It goes against nature."
"I am an arrancar," Ulquiorra corrected him. "I have no desire to hunt humans for prey." Did I ever eat humans when I was a hollow? I wonder what kind of human life I had before I was a hollow. Did I know anyone like Orihime? The sudden nature of Ulquiorra's thought process gave him a bit of a migraine. He winced and held his forehead tenderly.
This seemed to relax the soul reaper a bit, for he approached Ulquiorra. "My name is Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya of squad 10. You must be Ulquiorra Cifer."
"Correct," Ulquiorra replied, removing his hand from his head as the migraine vanished the instant it came. I've never had that happen before…
Hitsugaya sighed. "Your reiatsu is immense, but it's unstable and not as threatening as I expected it to be. You seem safe enough, but that zanpakto bothers me."
"I have no obligation to get rid of this," Ulquiorra stated.
"Right, as the Head Captain himself gave Urahara jurisdiction over you," Hitsugaya said, displeased. "Well, I'm going back inside. No use getting into a fight over nothing." He gracefully glided down off the roof and entered his gigai.
Ulquiorra waited a few moments before going back inside. He took the opportunity to take a deep breath and stare at the crescent moon in the sky. It reminded him of Hueco Mundo, his home, yet the twinkling stars and lack of white sands made it feel so alien. Maybe I can take Orihime back with me to Hueco Mundo forever, he thought. He sighed. No. She belongs here. She hates it in that desolate place. I will learn to exist in this world she holds dear.
"Oh, good you're back," the blonde taller soul reaper said as Ulquiorra entered the apartment. "We we just going over sleeping arrangements. I'll be in Orihime's room with her and you two boys can sleep out here."
Hitsugaya looked annoyed. "Don't call me 'boy', Rangiku. Show some respect."
Rangiku laughed. Ulquiorra took a good look at her. She probably was considered beautiful by human standards. She wore clothing that showed off more of her body than Orihime ever did, and Ulquiorra found that to be a bit crude. Upon looking at her, he realized he didn't feel the same as he did when looking at Orihime. What was so special about Orihime? Did his primal instincts only awaken with her?
"Your arrancar friend is staring at my boobs," Rangiku whined, tugging at her shirt collar.
Orihime blushed and looked a bit dissapointed.
Hitsugaya clenched his fist. "Well, why don't you try wearing something less revealing for once!?"
"Hey now it's not my fault things don't fit me!" Rangiku said. "Seriously I-"
"Are you done?" Ulquiorra said. "We have school tomorrow and Orihime needs her sleep."
"Help me get the bedding for them," Orihime said to Ulquiorra.
He obeyed, and while he was reaching for stuff for her, she said quietly, "this doesn't change anything."
"Change what?" Ulquiorra asked for clarification. Humans spoke so cryptically sometimes. It was annoying.
"How I…" Orihime seemed to search for words. "Them staying here won't make me like you any less."
Oh. That's all. "Of course not," he said. "Soul Reapers, despite being a hollow's natural enemy, are a human's ally. Any ally of yours I have no problem with." This was somewhat of a lie. He didn't like to admit it, but he was still harboring a grudge against Kurosaki.
"That's not what I…" Orihime didn't finish.
Ulquiorra was too overwhelmed by the events of that night to bother figuring out what she wanted to actually say. As soon as he helped Orihime with the sleeping arrangements (making sure Orihime was in her bed as well without her rushing around trying to make the complaining Rangiku comfortable), he escaped to the roof again where he could think.
He kissed her…on the mouth. Ulquiorra felt chills on his body, remembering the sensation. The way she had touched him was different. He could still feel her fingers on the edge of the hole that marked him as a monster. How could she approach something so horrifying? Let alone touch it?
He wanted to do it again. He was angry at the soul reapers for interrupting them. He wanted to see what would have happened had they not been stopped. Yet, he didn't want to impose his monstrous form on Orihime again. She was an idiot for even coming near him. The gigai at least made it possible for him to wrap his head around her acceptance. But she kissed him like that in his arrancar form.
"We're friends" she always says. She does not kiss Ichigo or Tatsuki or even Uryu this way. Ulquiorra was frustrated. She still called him the same as Ichigo, yet somehow in his limited knowledge he knew they were something different. At least, to him it felt different. How do I know if I don't have any other friends?
Perhaps it wasn't such a bad idea after all to make more friends. If he made more friends, then he would be able to figure out if what he felt with Orihime was different at all. He could start by befriending her friends. He wasn't sure how to do it, so perhaps he could ask Orihime in the morning.
"You better have a damn good reason for daring to contact me."
Kisuke stared at the monitor in front of him. His former subordinate, now captain of squad 12, was glaring wildly at Kisuke, eccentric makeup and all.
"I wanted some information that was stored there," Kisuke replied, unphased by Kurotsuchi's lack of respect.
"I am incredibly busy! There's been so much dissecting I've had to do! And the entire Soul Society is in shambles thanks to that idiot Aizen," Kurotsuchi said. "It better be important!"
"I want the data that's saved on the criminal…Koga Kuchiki."
Kisuke was pouring over the documents he had received from Squad 12 several months ago. Despite the looming threat of arrancar attacks, he felt comfortable enough to work on other projects now that Toshiro had been sent to help guard against them. The documents detailed the intricacies of the zanpakto, and a particular individual who possessed a rather unique one.
"Muramasa," Kisuke muttered as he read the zanpakto's name. This zanpakto had the ability to invade others internal worlds and even go as far as to control them. Koga was a major threat to the Soul Society, eventually being sealed in a location only the Head Captain Yamamoto knew about.
Oh and Kisuke, of course, but he never let that one slip around the authorities.
Muramasa had a similar composition to that of one of Kisuke's own inventions, the tenshintai. The tenshintai allowed a soul reaper to manifest their zanpakto by force, allowing for a faster mastery of the second sword release, bankai. However, Kisuke was interested in the opposing effect. Instead of bringing the zanpakto spirit here, he had a desire to enter their domain and go to them. While this was possible for Kisuke to do with his own sword, Benihime, his desire was to visit the worlds of others.
"The hell, it's so damn late," said Grimmjow, opening the door. "Do you ever sleep?!"
Kisuke quickly started shoving the incredibly classified information into a pile and back into his secret drawer. "Oh! Hello Grimmjow! I thought you'd be asleep already."
Grimmjow rubbed the back of his neck and looked to the side. He didn't wear his gigai very much, and often expressed his extreme distaste of it. He wasn't wearing it now, and it was entertaining to Kisuke to see this former espada wearing a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants looking disheveled and tired. "Couldn't sleep."
"Is this a normal occurrence or are you just a night owl like me?" Kisuke asked, taking a sip from the mug of tea on his desk.
Grimmjow sat cross legged on the floor. "Tch. Don't give me that concerned crap."
"Your comrade Ulquiorra seems to be taking a liking to forming attachments," Kisuke prodded. He mentally prepared for Grimmjow to have some sort of violent outburst. He had (finally) learned and taken precaution, setting barriers and such in his workroom to prevent any more arrancar-induced damage.
Grimmjow did no such thing. Instead he had a flash of disappointment in his eyes. "He's just gonna get hurt, the idiot."
"Isn't experiencing pain a part of it all though?" Kisuke replied, waving his hand dramatically in the air. "Ulquiorra's had quite the painful experience so far."
"What's the point in hanging around people weaker than you?" Grimmjow said. "Ulquiorra keeps being with that Princesa of his. She's weak and she'll just go and die on him!"
Kisuke detected a twinge of pain in Grimmjow. "Oh? It sounds like you're familiar with this concept." That's right. He's an espada. His fracciones were some of the first to die by the Soul Reaper officers at the beginning of the war. Oh…dear… Kisuke had a sudden realization that Toshiro was one of the Soul Reapers responsible for killing one of Grimmjow's companions. Oh well, he'd deal with that mess later.
Grimmjow crossed his arms.
"Well you seem to be getting pretty close to Nel, aren't you?" Kisuke continued. Honestly these arrancar's love lives were more entertaining than a tv drama to him and he was here for it.
"That's stupid! I just wanna fight her," Grimmjow snapped. "See how strong she really is. But if you mess up somethin' she won't get strong again and I won't be able to fight her!" His face was red, his emotions readable, and his words were obviously meant to convince himself.
"Well if you don't behave that will be an issue," Kisuke said with a grin. "Now unless you want to watch me read these boring papers I suggest you try to get some sleep. Want some tea? Its a blend that helps calm you down.
Grimmjow reluctantly accepted.
Orihime woke up earlier than usual and slid out of bed. Her arm hardly hurt anymore, and she was amazed to realize her wounds were basically healed! She removed her own bandages and stretched her arm carefully. It was a little tender, but it would be okay.
She stood up, but felt a little dizzy. She wasn't sure why, then thought that maybe it had something to do with the pills Ulquiorra forced her to take. She looked over and saw Rangiku fast asleep, her shirt pulled up and her hair an absolute wreck. Orihime giggled and grabbed her spare school uniform she had to wear since her previous one was destroyed by the arrancar attack.
She was low on funds. Her Aunt gave her enough to pay the rent and other essentials, provided Orihime keep her grades up. The last flunked quiz and her missing days of school worried her. Orihime hated asking for help and troubling people, so getting a job would at least give her some level of financial security. She still would need her Aunt's help, but at least she wouldn't have to beg for extra.
Ulquiorra and Toshiro were already awake. Ulquiorra was dressed and in the Komori gigai as usual, and Toshiro was dressed and watching him like a hawk. Ulquiorra was reading manga, appearing unaffected by Toshiro's glaring.
"Good morning Orihime," Ulquiorra said the moment she walked out of her room. "You're up earlier than usual."
Toshiro glanced between Ulquiorra and Orihime, like he was trying to piece this situation together.
"Oh, morning Ulqui! Oh and Toshiro too!" Orihime said with a nervous smile.
"That's captain Hi-" Toshiro sighed. "Never mind."
"Oh uhm, Ulqui," Orihime said. "My wounds have healed. I'll be fine so-"
"Take your medicine," Ulquiorra ordered. "The bottle is in the bathroom on the shelf where you keep the human medicines and bandages."
Orihime obeyed, but felt like his tone was rather cold. Was it Toshiro that was making him nervous?
She changed in the bathroom, brushed her teeth, and did her hair. She almost forgot to take her medicine, but soon after she did she felt a lot less sick.
"Medicine taken!" Orihime announced after she emerged from the bathroom. Ulquiorra's eyes looked her over, but they were unusually hard to read. What's with him this morning?
"Good thing we grocery shopped extra!" Orihime said. "Toshiro, are you hungry?"
"You don't have to feel obligated to feed us," Toshiro said.
"No I insist!" Orihime smiled.
Toshiro's expression twisted kind of funny. "It's...all right. I have to patrol and I don't have time for human food to digest in the gigai. I'll find something later." He took a Soul Candy, evacuating his gigai, and left the building with a quick parting greeting.
"Huh, he must have been in a hurry!" Orihime said. "And I had extra red bean paste for the eggs. Oh well maybe next time!" She fixed breakfast for her and Ulquiorra, as well as packed them lunches. Ulquiorra stood silently, watching her, with his hands in his pockets.
"Are you okay?" Orihime asked him eventually after her cooking was complete.
Ulquiorra was taken aback by the question. He had asked this of her many times, but apparently was never on the receiving end. "I am not injured and my reiatsu is more stable today."
Orihime sighed. "I didn't mean physically. I meant…"
Would Ulquiorra even know what it was like to be emotionally okay? It was complicated enough for humans to understand. She wished somehow he could figure out how to communicate with her some basic emotions, such as sadness, anger, or even happiness.
"Never mind, it's nothing," Orihime gave up.
Ulquiorra did not press the issue, and instead kept with his silent unreadable mood. He didn't even hold her hand, and instead walked with his hands in his pockets. Orihime was beginning to get frustrated. "Ulqui please say something!" She cried. She couldn't bear the silence on their walk.
Ulquiorra looked at her. "Is my entire name that much of a chore to say?"
Orihime blushed. She had given him a nickname without realizing it. Did she start calling him after they…after they… Ohhh gosh! No did that really happen? "No, but I wanted to call you something special," she blurted out. Ugh you idiot! Now everything is even more awkward! Is he mad about the kiss?
"Why?" Ulquiorra inquired.
"B-because when you're close to someone you can call them a nickname kind of like…uhm…a title to show that they're important to you!" Orihime tried to hide her nervousness, but she was doing poorly.
"Princesa," Ulquiorra said. "It is what the other arrancar started calling you. I believe it was meant to insult me and my position in caring for you, in a demeaning way. Yet…I can think of no other word to describe you."
"What's that mean?" Orihime asked.
"Princess," Ulquiorra replied.
"Oh! Like my name!" Orihime giggled.
"Well…yes," Ulquiorra said, a blush creeping onto his cheeks.
"Does your name mean anything?" Orihime pried. Any personal information she could get out of him was worth it.
"That's…an interesting question," Ulquiorra said, his eyes looking down at the sidewalk. "It does," he added quietly.
"Well? What is it?" Orihime persisted.
Ulquiorra didn't answer. He looked deep in thought for a while. Orihime wondered what made his name such a touchy subject. She would have asked Chad about it, as he spoke Spanish, but she felt like it wouldn't have been very meaningful for someone other than Ulquiorra to tell her.
"You can just…call me my name," Orihime assured him. "You don't have to nickname me you know."
"Your name is already perfect, I see no need to change it," Ulquiorra said. "On another note, did you do any of your homework?"
Orihime's heart jumped. "Oh no! I haven't done homework! My grades have been suffering oh no what am I gonna do!?"
"Calm down, you can copy mine," Ulquiorra replied. "I used to not care about the homework at first but after a while I found it to be something to pass the time. Also it can be quite interesting, and a help to you if you do not understand something." He pointed at his eyes. "Are you aware I can tear my eyes out and share my memories with others?"
Orihime blinked. "Uh…that sounds horrible! It must hurt you! I hope Aizen didn't make you use it!"
"Fooli-uhm…It does not hurt me badly. I just regenerate," he assured her. "But that is beside the point. Anything said by the instructor I can recall and share with you if you need it. Although I doubt it, I can just help you with your homework if it is too difficult."
Orihime, overwhelmed by Ulquiorra's kindness, suddenly embraced him in a hug. He staggered back a step from the shock, but then returned the gesture carefully. His touch was always like Orihime was fragile, like he was afraid he would bring harm to her by just being near her. He smelled like the fruity shampoo he used, and her detergent, but something was still masculine about it. He felt strong and gave her a sense of security, despite not being much taller than she was.
"This is…nice, but we need to go inside so you can deal with your homework."
She had not thought this through, as her hug happened near the entrance to the high school, so other students walking by were able to see them.
Orihime let go of him. "Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"
"Stop apologizing and go inside," he ordered.
Orihime managed to copy Ulquiorra's homework answers before the teacher arrived in their classroom. Most of his answers seemed correct to her, which she was glad for. He even seemed to understand harder subject matter, and he hadn't ever been to school before! He must be really, really smart… she thought in awe.
Ichigo arrived and took his seat. Orihime couldn't help but look over at him. She didn't know what it was, but he looked different somehow. It was like he was less sparkly to her. His scowl was no longer endearing or cute, instead it just inflicted a bit of pain in Orihime's heart. Looking at him began to bring her discomfort, instead of the usual warm fuzziness inside her.
Oh no! Did something happen when Ulquiorra and I…? Am I really betraying him? I…I purposefully kissed Ulquiorra last night! How could I do such a thing to Ichigo!? Orihime tried to not let tears spill over from her eyes. She was in a full classroom! Crying in front of all these people would just embarrass her, or even worse, make people feel sad for her.
She got handed back her quiz, and to her relief the grade wasn't too horrible. She would be able to make up for it if she studied hard. She was happy that Ulquiorra had let her copy his homework, but she couldn't help but feel extremely guilty about it. But she didn't want to fall behind on her rent and live in a motel again, and especially not let down Ulquiorra, Rangiku, and Toshiro.
"You look kinda out of it, Orihime," Tatsuki said that day at lunch. She was, surprisingly, eating lunch with Ichigo instead of the girls. Orihime wanted to be with Tatsuki, but she had trouble being in Ichigo's presence. Ulquiorra had disappeared, which slightly worried her, but he could be moody and if he didn't tell her where he went, it probably wasn't important.
"Oh me? No I'm fine!" Orihime said.
Ichigo crossed his arms. "Come on Orihime. You can rely on us. We're your friends."
Orihime heart beat faster. This was the first time Ichigo was giving her positive attention since he had lost his Soul Reaper powers. Yet, for some reason this attention felt wrong somehow. Ichigo's words, "we're your friends" cut her to her core. Ichigo considered her a friend…
She decided to tell them a half truth to sort of put them at ease. "School's hard and my Aunt wants me to get a job! Just a lot on my plate you know!" And I'm becoming attracted to an arrancar and Soul Reapers are living in my apartment because all of Hueco Mundo is after me! She exhaled, trying to mentally process the second unspoken part of her venting.
"Oh jeez, your Aunt can be a real pain," Tatsuki remarked. "I know she gives you money and all but you'd think she'd at least check in on you once in a while."
Orihime's distant Aunt was the least of her worries, but Tatsuki made her feel at least a little better.
"I don't know what kind of job you're lookin' for," Ichigo said. "So I can't help you with that."
"Oh! I found a job at a bakery we like so it'll be fine." Wait…did I just say "we"? Like…Ulqui is my spouse or something?! Orihime why are you so weird?!
"Well that's good," Ichigo replied, not noticing her blunder. He crossed his arms and fell silent, gazing out at the town below him.
Orihime awkwardly looked around at the other students. She was surprised to see Uryu and Ulquiorra, who were talking about something. This interaction deeply concerned her, and she went over to mediate in case something went wrong. Ulquiorra was, after all, the one who tore off Uryu's arm.
"Oh! Ul-Komori, I was wondering where you went," Orihime said, approaching them.
Ulquiorra's attention went to Orihime almost immediately. "I was speaking with Uryu."
"Your…friend is quite a good listener," Uryu said, adjusting his glasses. "So much so I forgot who I was talking to for a little while."
Orihime didn't want to pry, but she was very curious as to what they would be talking about. On the surface, the two couldn't be more different. Uryu was a Quincy, and his entire being was devoted to exterminating hollows. Ulquiorra's very existence must disgust him. Ulquiorra always seemed indifferent, and the only person he seemed to hold any semblance of a grudge against was Ichigo.
"You look like a begging puppy," Ulquiorra said, apparently reading Orihime's facial expression. "I was merely curious about whatever Quincy meant, and he told me."
"We stepped out for a bit because that's not something we can really talk about around others," Uryu explained. "We had our eyes out for you Orihime, don't you worry."
"I for one enjoy the thought of permanently eradicating my enemies," Ulquiorra said.
"W-what!?" Orihime gasped.
"It was a joke with intent to mildly upset you," Ulquiorra said with a small smile, looking over at Orihime as he did so.
Uryu's eyes opened wide. "I had no idea you was capable of smiling."
"Maybe there just isn't much to waste the effort on," Ulquiorra replied, his face falling.
Orihime giggled. She was glad Uryu seemed to be more comfortable with Ulquiorra, and didn't tell her she was wrong for being around him. Uryu seemed to be very supportive of this whole situation, even though he was the only one of her friends who knew the true identity of Komori.
The rest of the school day went better, Orihime's spirits lifted by Ulquiorra and Uryu getting along. She was able to focus a little bit better on her schoolwork, and was confident that she would do well on the next test.
Something else began to bug her. Uryu and Ulquiorra had told her "not to worry" when they had stepped out earlier to talk. They were, even though they had personal business with each other, had to think of Orihime first for her own safety. The last time the arrancar had attacked, she was nearly helpless. Even her shield broke! She had to do something about her powers. She needed to be able to take care of herself, at least a little bit, in order to not worry or inconvenience anyone.
"Ulqui," Orihime said after school. "I don't want to go home right now. I…need to go to Urahara's."
Ulquiorra complied and followed her, but he seemed a bit restless. She didn't ask him about it, because she thought he probably wouldn't have been able to express his emotions to her anyways. Neither of them held hands on this walk either. Orihime was sure that the kiss from the night previous had done something to them, and an unspoken awkwardness sprung from the idea of physical contact. The last time she had touched him it was the hug from that morning, and she felt like she was melting into him. Maybe their fear of touching was just a fear that if they do…they'll never let go.
