"Tell me, Orihime Inoue," Lord Aizen said in his silky, calm voice, "You're not really pregnant, are you?"
His amber eyes bore neither anger nor hostility towards the woman. He could see the fear flash across the girl's face as her body quivered in disbelief. The one secret she had tried to keep hidden was out in the open. Without a baby growing in her womb, she was as useless as an empty bottle. Aizen's gaze pierced through her soul as he inaudibly demanded for the truth.
All Orihime could do was accept her fate. Aizen could have her body crushed to pieces with the flick of his wrist. She was completely at his mercy. There was no denying that she wasn't pregnant; the blood trickling down her leg was complete proof.
"No, my Lord. I'm not pregnant," Orihime admitted as she bowed her head in shame, her long, ginger hair falling over her shoulders as she did so. She sucked in her breath as she closed her silver orbs, expecting Lord Aizen to strip her of her precious life at any moment.
Aizen continued to inspect the quivering woman with his eyes, searching for any answers. "Why did you lie to me, Orihime? Do you not know what happens to those who betray me?"
The healer nodded slowly, not knowing exactly how to respond. She should have known this would have happened from the start. Why didn't Ulquiorra just do as Aizen had instructed him and impregnated her? Why did he pull out at the last second? What good had come out of that if she would end up dying either way in the end?
"I'm sorry, my Lord. I was unsuccessful in getting pregnant. I have completely failed you," she whispered, trying to keep her voice from completely cracking as she fought back the tears. She didn't feel the need to give him any more information than that. If she had told him Ulquiorra did not release his seed inside of her on purpose, he would surely be punished.
Instead of striking her as Orihime had expected him to do, Lord Aizen simply laid a gentle hand atop of the girl's head. "You certainly are a special one, Orihime. I'd hate to have to crush your beautiful skull right here and now," his voice oozed out like poisonous venom, "but you did in fact disobey me."
This was it. Her life was finally coming to an end. Aizen would kill her right here and everything would be over. She would no longer have to endure the horrors of Hueco Mundo. She would no longer have to be trapped within these pastel walls, praying for her friends' safety each and every day.
But she would no longer have Ulquiorra either.
"However, I am a kind and merciful man. I am God, after all. I am willing to give you a second chance. If you can produce me a child by the time I return, I will spare your life. If you fail me; however, I will not only put an end to your life but to your lover as well." Aizen responded flatly as he tucked a finger under the girl's chin to make her lock eyes with him.
Aizen couldn't help but smirk as he saw the incredulity form in the feeble human's eyes. For a moment, he could see a ray of hope flicker in her deep, shady eyes. Orihime opened her mouth to say something but was instantly silenced by Aizen placing a tender finger upon her lips.
"I am only giving you a second chance because you are very dear to me, my princess. I still need you to help me restore the Hogyoku. If I slaughtered you right now because of a little set back then I would have wasted the effort to bring you here and keep you alive for so long," the striking man said as he maliciously grinned at her.
Orihime's heart nearly pounded itself right out of her chest as Lord Aizen leaned in to place a sensual kiss upon her tender lips. He pulled away before standing up, a serious expression quickly replacing the broad smirk that had been across his face.
"I will return shortly after I have destroyed Karakura Town. I expect you to be completely fertile by then and in perfect condition. I will have Ulquiorra tend to you every day until my return. If you have any plans of escaping, I will kill both you and Ulquiorra. If you fail to bring me an heir, I will also kill you both. Please know that there is no room in my castle for betrayers," Aizen told the woman in a stern voice. The wind that whistled in from the window blew Aizen's coat tails lightly as he turned on his heels and walked out of the room wit out another word.
Once there was nothing left of Aizen's presence but a fragment of his reiatsu, Orihime was finally able to breathe a heavy sigh of relief. Her naked body collapsed onto the cold floor as she felt herself growing very faint. She had been moments away from death but Lord Aizen had still managed to forgive her transgressions and grant her a second chance. She almost started to believe that there was good inside of him.
Almost.
She still needed to find a way to actually get pregnant this time. If Ulquiorra was hesitant to do it the first time, what made her think that he would inject her with his fluids the second time? Their lives were on the line and they needed to come up with a plan and fast.
She could only hope that Kurosaki-kun and the others would abandon their efforts to rescue her make it to Karakura Town in time to help defend the city. Soul Society would need all the help they could get. In the meantime, she needed to focus on staying alive.
Pregnancy seemed to be the only way she would be allowed to live, even for a short amount of time.
With a heavy breath, Orihime managed to pick herself up off the floor and put back on her Arrancar uniform. There was no time for being depressed. Aizen was finally leaving Hueco Mundo and she would be seeing Ulquiorra in moments.
Although it might be small, there was still a chance that Lord Aizen would be defeated in Karakura Town and that she would return to the Human World with her friends and even Uqluiorra. And they could live happily ever after…
Maybe. Just maybe.
The Fourth Espada couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"You may return to Orihime's headquarters. I trust that you will not fail me this time, am I correct?" Lord Aizen declared as he watched the poker-faced Espada before him. He could tell that his words caught the black haired male off guard.
Ulquiorra could feel the back of his throat grow dry. This was the one thing in his entire existence that he had already been afraid of: Aizen finding out the truth.
Aizen stood calmly in his quarters as he prepared to depart with a few of his other servants including Starrk Coyote and Tia Halibel. He ran his fingers through his glossy hair as he glanced at Ulquiorra. "Did you really think I wouldn't find out? In any case, it does not matter what happened. I need for you to watch over Las Noches while I'm gone. During this time, I have a few tasks for you to complete in order for you to gain back my trust. You are too vital for me to dispose of right now."
Ulquiorra stared at Aizen with his empty green eyes, trying not to give off any forms of emotion upon his bleak exterior. How did Lord Aizen find out so soon? He was so certain that there would have been no way Aizen would have known the girl was indeed not pregnant unless she came out and said something to him. Surely Orihime wouldn't have done that, though…
"Ulquiorra, I need for you to make sure no one else from Soul Society enters into my kingdom. If they do, I trust that you'll take care of them easily. Secondly, as I previously stated, I need for you to make Orihime pregnant. I need for her offspring to be nearly ready by the time I get back. Destroying Karakura Town should not take much effort but I will need the aid of her child soon after. Do I make myself clear?" Aizen disclosed as he stared sharply at the pale Espada. Failure would not be an option this time.
Ulquiorra simply nodded in assurance as he bowed in respect towards his master, "You have my word that I will guard this place to the extent of my ability and I guarantee the pregnancy of Orihime."
"If you should fail, I will allow Starrk to take your place. If she still does not produce a child, then her fate shall be sealed in a slow and painful manner. Do you understand me, Ulquiorra?" Aizen stated calmly as he folded his arms over his chest.
Starrk Coyote, who was standing in a corner of Aizen's throne room, watched Ulquiorra carefully. His long, brown hair hung roughly off his shoulders as he furrowed his thin eye brows. Something was not right about his comrade. The usually empty and dull Espada seemed different somehow. He wasn't about to voice his opinion as he glanced at Tia Halibel. He could tell she thought the exact same thing as she skeptically stared at Ulquiorra.
"I will not disappoint you, my Lord," Ulquiorra replied flatly, continuing to bow his head. "Do you have anything else you wish of me? I desire nothing more than to serve you."
With a firm nod, Aizen replied, "Yes, in fact I do. Destroy Ichigo Kurosaki and any of his nakama. I can't have him bothering us any longer. Unleash your secret ability, if you must but I highly doubt that will be necessary. Grimmjow and the others were worthless fools to have fallen to a substitute shinigami who doesn't even possess the skills of a captain or lieutenant of Soul Society." Aizen curled his lips back into a confident smirk as he waved Ulquiorra off in dismissal. He didn't need to waste anymore time. Karakura Town was at the mercy of his fingertips and he couldn't wait to see what kind of bloody battle Soul Society would bring.
"This won't take long. Do not disappoint me, Ulquiorra," the sovereign said one last time before taking his leave. All he needed to do was destroy the city, defeat a few captains, and then he would be on his way to conquer Soul Society with an heir at his side. Not to mention the Ulquiorra's incredible unleashed power that was surely to come forth after the death of his precious Orihime. He had so much to look forward to—all of his waiting was finally about to pay off!
"Yes, master. As you wish…" Ulquiorra answered softly as he exited his master's throne room. The last thing he could hear was maniacal laughter echoing down the long hallway from Lord Aizen's headquarters.
"ULQUIORRA!" screamed out a very ecstatic Orihime as she flung her arms tightly around the Espada's neck. Up until that moment, Ulquiorra had never felt the feeling of suffocation. Orihime's grip was tighter than that of an Anaconda. But what could she say? She had missed him terribly!
For what felt like an eternity, Orihime had always hoped that every knock of her door would be Ulquiorra and not that haggard Arrancar servant. All of those times that she had felt nothing but grave disappointment seemed to be nothing more than a distant memory as she firmly embraced her lover. She wondered if it was a dream. Was Ulquiorra really standing here before her?
"Woman, I appreciate your enthusiasm but will you please release me?" Ulquiorra managed to cough out quietly as he struggled to find his breath.
With a bright blush, Orihime quickly pulled away, embarrassed from her sudden outburst. She couldn't help it, though. She had missed him so much! She stared at him with bright eyes, taking in the astonishing sight.
There he was standing before her with his usual stiff demeanor. The moonlight glistened upon his ceramic flesh, illuminating his striking features. Orihime placed a gentle hand upon his pastel cheek in reassurance that he was truly there and not just a figment of her imagination. For weeks she had gone without him and even though that was a miniscule amount of time, it had felt like an eternity. Time seemed to pass slowly in her lonely prison cell in comparison to the times when she roamed freely in the human world. Without Ulquiorra by her side, minutes felt like months while days felt like years.
Tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes as she gazed upon the Espada before her. "Ulquiorra," she whispered out quietly before wrapping her arms securely around his waist, burying her face in his muscular chest.
Ulquiorra was never good about showing his true feelings—especially during a sentimental moment such as this. He was finally reunited with his beloved flower after several long, dreaded weeks. Oh, how he missed the feeling of the tiny woman cuddling in his arms. He inhaled her scent sharply as he was overwhelmed by her endearing presence. He couldn't help but embrace her tighter as he nuzzled his nose into her shimmering hair. "I'm sorry I was away for so long. Lord Aizen had stripped me of my position of your caretaker for a little while but he granted me permission to stay with you during his leave," the male told her softly as he stroked her silky hair gently.
Orihime sighed contently as she refused to cease their comforting embrace, "I know…Lord Aizen actually visited me earlier today and told me. It seems we have some unfinished business." She closed her foggy eyes as she could feel her heart growing heavy. "I haven't seen you since the night you and I made love," she continued, blushing in self-consciousness.
Ulquiorra couldn't help but sigh as he pried the girl off of him, wanting to get a good look at her beautiful face. "I only wish I could have woken up with you that morning. I will not lie to you, onna. I have thought of that wonderful night every waking moment," the dark-haired male said calmly, continuing to run his fingers through her bountiful locks. He couldn't help but note how adorable she looked every time she blushed at the mention of that night. She was just so sweet and innocent—he wished he could take her again right then and there.
Orihime fidgeted lightly with the hem of her sleeves as she looked down nervously, "Um, Uqluiorra? Can I ask you something?" She gulped lightly, not sure of how she should properly ask the one question that had been bugging her all this time. "Um, Ulquiorra…Why did you pull out at the last second? Wasn't getting me pregnant the whole point of us having sex?"
The Espada sighed lightly, knowing this question was bound to show up one day or another. He removed his hand from the girl's hair as he shoved both hands in his pockets, his green eyes never wavering from the girl's tense form. "Orihime, the purpose of the night wasn't to get you pregnant. I had no intentions of ever fertilizing you," the male told her bluntly.
Orihime stared up at him in skepticism, startled by his words. "What do you mean? I thought you were ordered to have sex with me to get me pregnant with some weird, super Arrancar-hybrid baby that would one day take over the world with its super-human powers?" The girl waved her arms in the air in a dramatic way to emphasize her point. "You know! Like with super, awesome laser eye-beams and everything!"
He simply quirked an eyebrow at the girl's colorful imagination. "I'm not sure about the laser eye-beams but yes, Lord Aizen wanted you to produce a child who would be granted with unfathomable powers. However, the child would develop at an uncanny speed unlike a regular human infant. In the end, its strength would overpower you and you would die the moment you gave birth to it," the Espada replied, never taking his eyes off of her. He watched the girl closely as a look of concern washed over her face.
"After knowing those risks, do you honestly believe I would have still impregnated you?" Ulquiorra said softly, placing a tender finger upon the girl's lips to silence her. "That night, I decided to show you just how much you meant to me. I figured I could let Lord Aizen believe that I did indeed get you pregnant to buy us a little time. I thought that I could devise a plan in the meantime to find a way to release you from your captivity. However, I was not prepared for Lord Aizen to find out so soon that you are indeed not fertile. I was hoping to have come up with a plan by the time he returned from his voyage to Karakura Town."
Orihime's heart fluttered for a moment in hope but then instantly ceased. "I'm sorry, Ulquiorra," the girl whispered as she casted her eyes to the floor, "It's all my fault. If it wasn't for my period, Lord Aizen would have never found out…"
Ulquiorra's eyes widened ever so slightly as he heard the girl utter those words. "How did he know you were on your—"
Before Ulquiorra could finish asking his question, Orihime's cheeks began to flare up brightly in embarrassment. "He started getting all flirty with me and then he started touching me inappropriately! And I tried to get away from him but he wouldn't let me! And then he touched me inappropriately again and then I started bleeding and he found out and I couldn't stop it and things got all weird and he got all scary and—"
The girl was talking so fast to the point where Ulquiorra could barely make out what she was saying. "Nombre de Dios, Orihime," Ulquiorra grumbled in Spanish as he rubbed his temples in frustration. Why did this have to happen? It wasn't Orihime's fault but he was clearly aggravated over the fact that her menstruation cycle had to occur at the worst possible timing. And after all that effort he had put into faking her blood tests to fool Aizen into thinking she was pregnant…
"I'm sorry…" the girl sniffled softly as she fought back a few tears, "I didn't mean to mess up your plans so badly…And now Lord Aizen told me that he would kill you if I didn't have a baby on the way by the time he got back…"
Ulquiorra looked back at the healer, his emerald eyes softening. She really was hopeless. He placed a tender head atop of her head, sighing lightly. "It's not your fault, woman. And do not worry yourself over me. Lord Aizen will not dispose of me just yet," he told her in reassurance.
Orihime sniffled a few more times before wiping a few tears that trickled down to the bridge of her chin, "Why's that?"
Ulquiorra tore his eyes away from the sobbing girl as he stared out the window of her dark room, watching the solace moon above. "I have done a lot of research and observations. It seems that Starrk Coyote is not the true Primero Espada. It is I," he said blankly, masking all emotion in his empty tone.
Before Orihime could ask any questions, he continued on, "I am the only Espada capable of having two release forms. Not even Lord Aizen has seen my second form. He knows not of the power I am capable of possessing but he is determined to find out. He had been hoping that your death from having the child would trigger something within my soul, causing me to release incredible amounts of power that could destroy Soul Society easily."
Orihime gasped lightly as her eyes widened to saucers, trying to take in what all her lover was saying. Even though he was named the Fourth Espada, he was actually the first? She didn't know much about the Espada's release forms. She often sensed the fights between her nakama and the other Espadas. Every now and then, she could feel the power levels of the Espada increase by maximum amounts. She could only assume that was due to their release forms.
"Lord Aizen needs you for three important matters, Orihime. He wants you to restore the ultimate power of the Hogyoku, as I know you're familiar with. Secondly, he wants you to produce him a child with immeasurable power that will aid him in his future plans—whatever those plans may be. Thirdly, he wants you to die so that I will release my hidden power out of despair to help him with his current plans to take over Soul Society," Ulquiorra said, casting his eyes back on the red-haired beauty. He could tell his words bothered her as she trembled lightly, not knowing how to respond.
Orihime knew Ulquiorra was strong but she didn't know he was that strong. The power to destroy all of Soul Society? Did even Lord Aizen himself even possess that ability? The human stared nervously at the floor, trying to take in everything he had just told her. She knew he wasn't bluffing—Ulquiorra was never the type to bluff.
"That's…a lot of responsibility I have, I guess," she mumbled softly, forcing a smile upon her rosy lips, "I must be pretty special." She didn't know what else to say as she found herself taking a nervous step back from her lover.
Ulquiorra could tell that his words frightened her. They were stuck between a rock and a hard place. It seemed that fate was against them and that no matter what cards they played, death was inevitable for Orihime.
Unless his plan worked.
"Orihime, there's something else I have to tell you," the Espada said, taking a step towards the unnerved female. He reached out and wrapped his pale fingers around the girl's delicate hand, pulling her towards him. He leaned down and pressed his frozen, dark lips against her soft, pink ones. The feeling of his loving kiss upon her lips instantly soothed the girl, allowing her anxious beating heart to slow down to its normal pace.
She had missed his affectionate kisses the most. Orihime closed her hazy eyes as she relaxed into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck. Ulquiorra continued to kiss her tenderly until he pulled away to whisper softly in her ear, "I know something that Lord Aizen doesn't. If we play our cards very carefully, there might be a way to save your life."
Orihime was about to say something before he silenced her again with another loving kiss. He would do anything he could to save her life. No matter what the cost…
Author's Note: O HAI GUYZ! :D I'm sorry it took me SOOO long to update! Things have been really hectic on my part with school and stuff…Please stick with me til the end! I promise I will never abandon this story! I mean, wow! It's been over twenty chapters, hasn't it? I hope I haven't bored anyone! I remember when I had originally planned for this fic to be like, 5 chapters XD hahahaha! I really hope you guys are enjoying it as much as you did in the beginning. I have no idea how long it will be until I can update again but I'll do my best! As usual, your reviews are what keeps me motivated to update as quickly as I can. The more reviews I get, the more reared up I am to continue entertaining you guys :D All of your opinions are greatly appreciated and please feel free to PM me and I'll try to get back to you! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I hope I filled some plotholes…THANKS FOR READING :D