The silence was overwhelming.
Neither the Espada nor the delicate human exchanged any words with each other as they sauntered down the hallways of Las Noches side by side.
The pitter-patter of their feet echoed throughout the empty halls, bouncing off the colorless walls. Even to this day, Orihime was still not used to the bleak air that emanated from Hueco Mundo. She missed the colorful, painted walls of her bedroom back in the human realm. The girl slightly wondered if Las Noches would feel less lonely if they hired an interior decorator. Even some lovely curtains would be enough to make this place feel more welcoming.
Frustrated with the silence, Orihime glanced at Ulquiorra as she continued to walk alongside him. "Hey, Ulquiorra?" She mumbled quietly.
There was no reply. The Espada simply stared ahead, his jade eyes unwavering as he continued to stare in front of him.
"Um…Ulquiorra?" the girl tried again as she fidgeted nervously with the strands of her apricot hair.
Once again, there was no reply. Orihime sighed lightly as she figured that Ulquiorra was probably angry with her. It wasn't exactly her fault that Ichigo Kurosaki jumped to conclusions and started attacking Ulquiorra out of nowhere but she wasn't entirely not at fault either. It was her nakama that caused the conflict, after all.
Orihime would have been lying if she said she wasn't relieved that Kurosaki-kun at least cared about her enough to storm the castle looking for the captive princess. But it still didn't change the fact that he had arrived a little too late… Her heart already belonged to the Dark Prince known as Ulquiorra Schiffer.
"I'm sorry, Ulquiorra… I know you're angry with me," Orihime said with another sigh.
The Espada didn't say anything as his green eyes glimpsed at the woman next to him before staring straight ahead once again.
"Kurosa—I mean, Ichigo, was only trying to protect me. I didn't realize he was ever so protective over me," the healer continued on as she stared down at the cement floor underneath her.
After another moment of silence, Ulquiorra callously snorted, "If he was so protective over his princess then he wouldn't have let her get kidnapped in the first place."
Orihime was taken aback by his reply as she flickered her eyes in his direction, "Hey! I came of my own free will! I wanted to protect my friends so you wouldn't hurt them!" She crossed her arms over her chest, giving him a rather condescending look.
"And if your friends were strong enough to protect themselves then your sacrifice wouldn't have been needed," Ulquiorra told her straightforwardly. He placed his hands in his pockets, quickening his pace.
Orihime let out a low, frustrated groan, "But if you hadn't have tried to kidnap me in the first place, none of this would have happened!"
"I was simply following orders. To deny Lord Aizen's orders would have meant sudden death. Back then, I was too busy trying to figure out what my purpose was. If I had died at the hands of Lord Aizen at that point, I would have never found my reason for existence," the black haired male told her blandly.
Orihime continued to pout for a moment as she stared in a huff at Ulquiorra's back. "Oh yeah? And what would that reason be, hm?"
In a swift movement, Ulquiorra turned on his heels and faced the pouting woman. His emerald orbs zeroed in on her as he snaked his arm around her waist, pulling her towards him. Leaning in close to her, the Espada placed his lips near her ear and breathed softly.
"Foolish woman," he whispered quietly as a tiny smirk appeared on his lips, "My reason for existence is you."
In seconds, Orihime's cheeks flared up in a crimson blush. Butterflies welled up in her chest as his warm breath caused goose bumps to dance along her spine.
Orihime was still getting used to hearing him say romantic things to her. Anytime tender words escaped from his lips, she couldn't help but shiver. The blossoming of their romance never ceased to ease all of her worries and bring peace to her mind.
"I…I see…I'm sorry," the bashful maiden said quietly as she watched Ulquiorra pull away from her.
There was just something special about Ulquiorra. He had something that just made her legs feel like Jell-O. Was it his voice? His eyes? His succulent body?
It was probably everything.
"Enough talking. You're probably hungry. When was the last time you ate?" Ulquiorra asked with a gentle tone as he reached for her hand. He had enough of talking about the insignificant shinigami substitute. He didn't care if he was her friend or not—the carrot-top boy still annoyed him to the very core.
Orihime had to think for a moment about his question as she tapped her chin lightly in thought. "Um…a day or two ago?"
It was true. She was completely malnourished. Earlier, she was so distressed about her menstrual cycle; however, due to her malnourishment it had completely vanished. Her body had not been receiving any proper nutrients so her body's system was going haywire. Too bad her period hadn't stopped before Lord Aizen took notice of it…
"A few…days then?" Ulquiorra turned around to look at her, eyes full of indignation.
Who had been taking care of her? Why hadn't any servants fed her properly? No wonder the girl looked thinner and sicker than usual…
"I've gotten used to such a poor diet…I can go at least three days without eating a nibble," Orihime shamefully admitted. Sometimes she preferred to skip meals entirely. The nasty gruel that the servant Arrancars had been providing her with weren't fit for humans. They sometimes made her sick to her stomach. To Orihime, being hungry was better than spending the entire duration of the night vomiting.
"We're getting you food," Ulquiorra told her harshly. He dragged her down the hallway as he made his way into the kitchen. If the servants weren't going to cook her anything decent then he was.
Surprisingly, Ulquiorra was an amazing cook. Simply amazing.
In less than five minutes, Orihime had gulped down every last bite of the soup. Ingredient wise, the two of them didn't have much to work with. If Orihime had the choice, she would have mixed a tad of mustard in with the vegetable soup. Or chocolate sauce. Either would have the soup a tad bit more delectable to her tastes. In any case, she was still grateful that Ulquiorra went through the trouble of scurrying around for ingredients in the dusty, old kitchen to make her some soup.
It wasn't necessary for Arrancar to eat but a few of the Espadas took delight in eating. Yammy, of course, was one those Espadas. Las Noches was usually packed with food to satisfy Yammy's never ending appetite. Ulquiorra told Orihime that Lord Aizen lost many servants due to Yammy's violent temper. If Yammy didn't have the top-notch dishes, he'd take out his anger on the cooks. Needless to say, Lord Aizen was never really happy with having to constantly replace servants and chefs but Yammy was only punished lightly for it.
"This is DELICIOUS!" Orihime exclaimed as she nibbled on a piece of bread.
Ulquiorra stood by Orihime's side as she guzzled down her soup and bread. Ulquiorra never quite understood the enjoyment of food but he no longer questioned it. Orihime did indeed love to eat.
"I'm glad you find the food here desirable. I'm afraid we are lacking in the dango department. I remember how much you enjoyed it…" Ulquiorra stated as he leaned against one of the kitchen walls. He had a hard time finding nutritious ingredients that hadn't already spoiled.
The kitchen was dirty and dusty. Ulquiorra silently wondered why no one had been taking care of this place and why they lacked many foods. Did Lord Aizen decide he didn't care anymore if the Espada enjoyed food?
"Its…so…yummy!" Orihime said once again with a mouthful of bread. "Too bad we don't have any hot sauce to go with this bread…"
Ulquiorra had simply thrown together some basic ingredients he found lying around the kitchen. There were a few cans of broth mix so that was at least a start… He was silently grateful he was an Arrancar and had no use for food. It would be a strenuous task to consume food every day in order to live. Humans were such complex creatures…
"So, Ulquiorra, what do we do from here?" Orihime asked in curiosity before chugging down a glass of water.
The fair skinned male simply looked down to the woman, watching as her big, gray eyes peered up at him.
What were they supposed to do, indeed? Just wait until she was with child? Once she was officially impregnated, the girl would need to focus on her healing powers each and every day to ensure the child's humanity. One wrong move and the baby would retain its monstrous genes and rip out of her womb like a demon. It would be certain to kill her…
While Orihime focused on negating the child's Arrancar DNA, Ulquiorra would need to prepare in his own ways. His only option was to find a way to defeat Lord Aizen once and for all. Of course, the chances of doing so were slim but if they could continue tricking Lord Aizen until Orihime gave birth then that might give them enough time to find Lord Aizen's weakness.
Lord Aizen thought Ulquiorra was a fool. Ulquiorra knew good and well Lord Aizen wouldn't dispose of him anytime soon. Lord Aizen believed Ulquiorra was oblivious to the knowledge of his own powers but that was simply not the case. Ulquiorra knew he had the potential to surpass even the Primera Espada if he was able to unleash his power without any restrictions.
However, Ulquiorra was aware that only one thing was holding him back. His emotions.
For better words, his lack of emotions was the reason. If he stopped suppressing all of his emotions then he would have the capacity to let his reitasu flow freely without restraints.
It was funny to him, really. Emotions and feelings were one thing Ulquiorra always found to be useless. He never had a need for them up until he met Orihime. He bore no memories of his past life and he felt nothing but emptiness since the time he became an Arrancar…
He had started to notice an increase in his strength once he began to let himself feel. Orihime opened his heart to his emotions that he was certain he had locked away for years. Once he let himself indulge in his feelings, he noticed he had become far swifter and even stronger.
He could only assume it was from Orihime's influence on his feelings. If sensations such as love and passion caused him to increase and strength, he could only imagine what pain, sorrow, and wrath could bring upon him.
Lord Aizen was indeed aware of this.
Ulquiorra sighed as he ran his fingers through his long dark hair, continuing to lose himself in his thoughts.
There was no doubt Lord Aizen would use his weakness—or strength—of emotions against him. Undoubtedly, Lord Aizen would dispose of Orihime if he found out she wasn't going to produce him a powerful heir. Not to mention, if she did somehow survive the pregnancy, he would dispose of her anyways.
Once Orihime Inoue was disposed of, Ulquiorra would indisputably succumb to his emotions of sorrow and anger. It would make him the most powerful Espada. With an all-powerful Espada and monstrous heir by his side, Lord Aizen would be invincible.
At least, that's what Ulquiorra figured Lord Aizen was thinking.
"Ulquiorrrrrrrrrra! You're ignoring me!" Orihime whined as she pawed at Ulquiorra's shirt with her hands.
Ulquiorra was instantly snapped back into reality as his eyes gazed down at the girl looking up at him. He could see a hint of concern upon the girl's features as a soft sigh escaped from her lips.
"I am sorry, Orihime. I seemed to have been lost in my own thoughts," the male told her bleakly as he reached out a tender hand to stroke the soft fibers of her hair. "What did you ask me a moment ago?"
Orihime let out another long, exasperated sigh. "It's not like you to get lost in your thoughts…but I understand." She looked down at her toes as she leaned her head into his hand, signaling that she enjoyed the gentle feeling of his fingers in her hair. "I wanted to know what we should do now. Now that I've decided I can't just leave you or Hueco Mundo, I'm kind of at a loss."
"You needn't worry about anything. We can only pray that you were successful in getting pregnant on this past try. Once we find out for sure that you are pregnant then you'll need to focus all your thought and energy into your healing powers. You can leave the rest up to me," Ulquiorra told her in a compassionate voice.
The words of her lover soothed her frazzled nerves but it still left an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Is that really all you want me to do? What about Lord Aizen?" she asked softly as she brought her knees up to her chest, cradling herself in her seat.
"You needn't worry about such things. I will handle Lord Aizen. Your main priority will be using your Shun Shun Rikka to negate the child's negative energy in order to produce a healthy, stable human child. You also must make sure to maintain your health. You cannot sustain a healthy baby if you do not take proper care of your own body," the Espada told the woman as he reached his hand down underneath her chin, making her look back up at him.
Orihime couldn't help but smile softly as she looked into Ulquiorra's deep, emerald orbs. "Jeez, Ulquiorra! You sound like a doctor… But I understand. I'll do my best!" A look of confidence replaced the look of doubt on her face.
Orihime knew there was no point in stressing about things yet. If all went well, Ulquiorra wouldn't even have to deal with Lord Aizen at all! At that very given moment, Soul Society was using all of their most powerful warriors to defend Karakura Town against Lord Aizen's army. Even Ichigo was on his way to fight! With all of their strength put together, there would be no way Lord Aizen would end up victorious! She needed to stop doubting her friends.
No one knew what the future would hold for them but Orihime decided to not let it bother her anymore. She had a job to do at the moment! She needed to make sure she produced a perfectly normal human baby just in case something else went wrong. There was no harm in at least preparing herself…
"Shall we get back to your room? Or would you prefer to come join me in my bedroom quarters?" Ulquiorra said softly as he outstretched his hand to help Orihime out of her chair.
With a nod, the girl bounced up and down. "Of course! Now that I've eaten a good meal, I'm getting rather sleepy. But…is it okay for me to go back with you to your room?"
"Why would that be a problem? No one of importance remains in Hueco Mundo. We are free to do as we please until Lord Aizen's return," Ulquiorra stated as he made his way to the door.
Orihime bit the inside of her cheek lightly at his words. She didn't like how he said 'until Lord Aizen's return' as if he was already counting of Soul Society's defeat. She decided to not let it bother her as she skipped out of the kitchen behind Ulquiorra.
Everything will be fine, Orihime, the orange haired girl told herself mentally. Everything will be just fine.
If only Orihime knew at that moment just how wrong she was then maybe she would have better prepared herself for the heartbreaks that were soon to befall them.
Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry for the short update….I just wanted to let you know that I was alive and that I most certainly have not given up on this story! The end is only about two chapters away… How does that make you guys feel? Will you stick with me to the very end? I'm sorry I've been so busy that I haven't been able to update…but I promise that I have some interesting twists up my sleeve for this story. Stick around and I know you won't be disappointed! (Or maybe you'll be shocked by the ending? Hmmm….Who knows!)
Also, once again, thank you for all the lovely reviews! I'm not kidding when I say that it inspires me to write! I check my daily to see if I have any messages or reviews but it gives me a huge motivation to write! XD Also… I started this story about two years ago and I'm really bad about rereading old chapters and finding plot holes… If you guys find any mistakes that I've made recently that don't exactly match up with the more recent chapters, I'm really sorry and I'll get around to fixing them XD I'll try to make this story as clear and understandable as possible!