Thanks for your reviews, MarianaMa, Guest, Harbinger of Kaos, Nii-sama97, Lylith, and VeraoZao! I try to reply to each of you personally via PM, but to Guest, Aizen didn't do what you suspected in the last chapter, and you'll have to read between the lines in this one pretty hard to know why Ulquiorra was acting that way, but it will be more obvious later on. Also, Lylith, you may be my spirit sister.

Chapter 24: That Afternoon

December 29th, 12:00 p.m.

Ulquiorra walked to the supermarket beside Orihime, wearing a coat that had once belonged to her brother. They traveled in silence, as they had spent the majority of the dreary morning at her apartment. This suited Orihime fine; she needed a chance to digest what little conversation that they had had.

It had been awkward, to say the least. If she had to describe his earlier behavior in one word, it would be brooding. She had tried to draw out of him the reason for his odd reaction when she had mentioned Aizen, to no avail. Not that Ulquiorra was ever very forthcoming in the first place. She had tried asking gentle questions that might lead him to open up about what bothered him. She confessed to him that she was glad when Aizen had been sealed away, but she didn't feel any joy when she learned of his death. Ulquiorra either nodded along or acted indifferent to all her attempts to start a conversation, which eventually stopped, and she excused herself to go get cleaned up and dressed for the day.

When she rejoined him in the living room, she decided to try a different subject, asking him what it was like living at Urahara's. Surprisingly, Ulquiorra had a bit more to say, explaining that he found Yoruichi crude but easy to converse with. He also revealed that he was fond of Tessai and sometimes played chess with him. Ururu was mouse-like and tended to avoid everyone, while Jinta was similar to a mosquito; always trying to elicit a reaction from him. Ulquiorra spoke at length, for him anyway, about the ways in which Jinta tried to annoy him, and Orihime had found herself giggling. Ulquiorra glared at her in response, and she apologized, asking about Urahara.

Ulquiorra explained that besides his obvious eccentricity, Urahara was, both in theory and in practice, like a father to him, providing structure, guidance, authority, sustenance, and protection. Unprompted, Ulquiorra had shared with Orihime that he believed that even without Soul Society's orders, Urahara and himself would have fallen into this relationship due to Urahara's creation of the hogyoku.

Orihime questioned him about how important that could be now that he had been reincarnated. Ulquiorra raised a brow and appeared to contemplate an answer, when Orihime's stomach grumbled loudly. Despite her protests, Ulquiorra insisted she eat, and upon visual inspection of Orihime's nearly empty refrigerator, they decided to do her grocery shopping. This thought brought Orihime back to the present and out of her head as they approached the store entrance.

Ulquiorra stood back, observing the automatic doors as Orihime entered, and then followed after her. Orihime took a shopping basket, and Ulquiorra copied her. They meandered their way through the produce department and turned into the dry goods aisles. As they got to the noodle aisle, Orihime's basket was already rather full, and Ulquiorra offered to carry it while she took the empty one to continue her selections. She gratefully agreed and turned down the condiments aisle, nearly bumping into someone.

"Sado-kun! How are you doing?"

Chad looked at the pair in silence for a long moment, before finally nodding politely to Orihime and answering, "Alright. How have you been, Inoue-san?"

Orihime was moved by his rare articulation, and answered somberly that she was hanging in there, before Chad set his shopping basket down, pushed his bangs to the side, and turned his attention to Ulquiorra. Both Ulquiorra and Orihime's tension rose a bit, unsure what Chad was going to do. They were equally surprised when Chad bent forward into a deep bow.

When he arose a moment later, he had to admit to himself that he was rather amused by the shorter pair's confused expressions, before he explained, "Ichigo is my best friend, and I couldn't save him from himself. Thank you, Cifer-san, for doing what I couldn't. Ichigo is still alive because of you."

"Ulquiorra."

Two pairs of puzzled brown eyes focused on a pair of green.

"Please call me Ulquiorra," he clarified.

Chad grunted in response, and Orihime smiled, saying, "Well, since we are all here, why don't we finish up our shopping together?"

She was happier than Chad had seen her in weeks, and he nodded in agreement before turning back to the shelf of soy sauce.

As they made their selections, Orihime told a story about something funny she saw on television over the weekend, making Chad laugh, and earning a smirk from Ulquiorra, much to Chad's amazement. He listened to Orihime explain patiently to Ulquiorra about the use of specific items when he asked, which he did frequently. He noticed him take the heavier items in her basket and transfer them to his own without bringing attention to it. Chad was once again amazed when he witnessed Ulquiorra gently tease Orihime about her childish tendency to select items based on the cuteness of a product's mascot rather than its cost or quality.

Chad also noticed that Ulquiorra was very respectful of Orihime's friendship with him, trailing behind both of them quietly when Orihime spoke with Chad about Ichigo, and supplying them with what information he had gleaned from Urahara that might comfort them about Ichigo's well-being and progress. When Chad expressed worry about whether Ichigo would be able to defeat his hollow, it was Ulquiorra who encouraged him to believe in Ichigo, stating simply that Ichigo had one of the strongest wills he had ever encountered.

By the time Chad had said his goodbyes and left the store, he was feeling a bit conflicted. He thought to himself that apart from his often formal language and naïveté about living as a human, Ulquiorra was a pretty cool dude, and Chad was feeling a lot better about having the former Espada living in Karakura.

Despite his new appreciation of and gratitude toward Ulquiorra, Chad still held some reservations about him. For example, he was showing an awful lot of interest in his best friend's girlfriend. Granted, Ulquiorra knew her better than the other members of their group, and he was respectful and appropriate in his interactions with Orihime. On the other hand, Ichigo and Orihime's relationship status was kind of up in the air currently, and Chad had seen the way Ulquiorra's gaze followed Orihime; it made him uneasy.

He couldn't in good conscious allow them to go back to her place to be alone together with his knowledge. When he got home, he looked in the phonebook for Kurosaki Clinic.

Ring

"Good afternoon, Kurosaki Clinic. This is Karin speaking."

"Hi Karin, it's Chad."

"Oh. Hi Chad. Um, do you have a medical question?"

"Uh, no, actually, I was wondering if you had Arisawa-san's phone number."

Karin's eyebrows rose slowly. Normally not one for gossip, Karin wouldn't usually care but this was Chad. She'd known him for years and this conversation was not only mysterious, it was the longest string of words she had ever heard her brother's friend piece together in one go.

"Um, sure, just a moment, I'll go get it," she answered with a sly inflection after a long pause.

After a moment Karin came back and provided the number, and immediately after thanking her, Chad hung up and began writing.

From: Yasutora Sado

To: Tatsuki Arisawa

2:14 p.m.

Hey, this is Chad. Sorry for contacting you so suddenly, but I just saw Inoue-san at the supermarket, and I think you should check up on her today if you have a chance.

The reply was swift.

From: Tatsuki Arisawa

To: Yasutora Sado

2:14 p.m.

Hey Chad, how did you get my number? Not that I mind. XD Anyway, is Orihime OK? Do I need to be worried?

Chad thought it over. He didn't want Tatsuki charging in like a bull, as she was prone to do.

From: Yasutora Sado

To: Tatsuki Arisawa

2:18 p.m.

Sorry, I asked Karin Kurosaki for your number, I couldn't think of another way to get it on short notice. Anyway, I think Inoue-san is alright, but I think she needs some company.

Tatsuki responded immediately with a 'thumbs up' emoji, causing Chad a chuckle.

2:42 p.m.

Tatsuki had been toweling her hair when Chad texted her, but after receiving his messages she had decided slightly damp was as good as dry, pulling her hoodie up over her head before putting her jacket on and leaving the dojo. She had swung by a bakery she knew Orihime liked on the way over – she didn't want to show up unannounced and empty-handed. As she walked up to Orihime's door, she thought she heard Orihime talking to herself, much more animatedly than she would normally. 'What's Chad so worried about? She sounds happy to me.' she thought as she rapped on the door.

"Tatsuki-chan! What are you doing here?" Orihime asked in an odd voice after she opened the door, almost as if she had been caught doing something she shouldn't.

"Hi, Orihime, uh, I told you I'd talk to you today after practice, so I decided to do it in person. I brought some cake from Miki's Bakery," she said, holding the bag out toward her.

Suddenly, an unfamiliar face appeared over Orihime's shoulder. Tatsuki's face dropped in shock for a split second before tensing up, preparing to defend herself and Orihime from the unknown, until the face spoke in a deep, soft voice, "What kind of cake?"

Tatsuki's shoulders dropped as she shot a confused look toward Orihime. Orihime just smiled and stepped aside to let her in. Taking the bakery bag from Tatsuki's hands, she said, "Tatsuki, this is, um, my, er, this is Ulquiorra Cifer. He lives with Urahara-san. Ulquiorra, this is my best friend, Tatsuki Arisawa." Orihime hadn't prepared for this and wasn't sure how to introduce Ulquiorra. Was he her friend? She thought so, but she wasn't sure if he did. And she surely wasn't going to introduce him as her reincarnated abductor. She just hoped Tatsuki didn't remember his face from before. She doubted she would – He looked significantly different now and Tatsuki had only seen him briefly as an Arrancar, plus she had been badly dazed by Yammy at the time. She had also only heard his name once or twice, and it was so foreign sounding and hard to remember that Orihime wasn't overly concerned.

"How do you do?" Ulquiorra responded, more interested in the bakery bag than in Tatsuki. He bit the inside of his cheek and followed Orihime into the kitchen, leaving Tatsuki immobile and speechless in the genkan

"Tatsuki-chan! Come in and let's see what you brought!" Orihime called out cheerfully.

"Yeah, be right there, I'm taking my shoes off…" Tatsuki took a moment to think. She thought that Orihime was altogether much too chipper for Chad to be worried about her mental health, so it must be this new guy that had him worried. She decided to reserve judgment for now and joined the other two in the kitchen.

She watched Orihime and Ulquiorra interact quietly for a few minutes. They definitely seemed to have a good rapport with one another, cooperating well to get tea prepared and plates and utensils for the cake. Ulquiorra seemed to yield to her, always anticipating her movements and making sure he was not getting in her way. He didn't leer over her like a pervert; in fact, his eyes kept flickering back to the box of cake that was now out of the bag.

"So, Cifer-san, you live with Urahara-san. What are you? A ghost? A monster ?"

"Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime admonished.

"Neither," Ulquiorra answered flatly.

"Well, what are you then?" Tatsuki pressed.

Ulquiorra's eyes locked with Tatsuki's . "I will tell you whatever you wish to know, Arisawa-san, under two conditions."

Tatsuki was slightly intimidated by Ulquiorra's intensity at first, but was bolstered by a resurgence of her innate bravado. "Yeah? What are the conditions?"

"One: As her friend, you will not call me 'Cifer-san'. Please call me only, 'Ulquiorra'."

"Ok, I can manage that," Tatsuki said carefully, waiting for the second condition.

"Two: You will wait until after cake."

Tatsuki laughed. Hard. She managed to nod her consent to his conditions though, as Orihime smiled and cut each of the two pieces of cake into three, passing them out.

"Ulquiorra seems to have quite a fondness for sweets," Orihime said as they began eating.

Ulquiorra nodded silently, eating each of the small pieces slowly, savoring each bite. After he was finished, he sighed, looking forlornly at his empty plate.

"So, er, Ulquiorra, as I was asking before, what are you?"

"Right. I do not know what I am."

"Huh?"

Ulquiorra looked at Tatsuki like she was stupid for a moment.

"Well, I am not a shinigami, hollow, or a 'monster', I think. I am an unclassified spirit. Urahara-san believes I am, more or less, what you might call a human spirit, except significantly more powerful.

"Oh yeah? What can you do?"

"I can move faster than Ichigo Kurosaki could as a shinigami."

"Yeah right."

"Believe it or not, it is true."

"What else?"

"Do you recall being in the presence of Sosuke Aizen? Do you recall the pressure his spirit exerted?"

Tatsuki shivered and nodded.

"I have a similar ability. It is suppressed by the specialized gigai I wear."

"Yikes. Anything else?"

"No, for now that is the limit to what I know I can do."

Tatsuki nodded. "So what are you doing in Karakura?"

"I do not have a choice. I was born in Soul Society, and shortly thereafter I was captured and then exiled to earth."

"Wait a minute, how old are you?"

"Just over five human months."

"What?!"

"I was reborn as I am now. I also retain many of my memories from my previous life. However, this new life is fundamentally different than my life before, and much of my previous life experience is inapplicable."

Tatsuki was quiet for a moment, considering what else she wanted to know. She had a limited understanding of the politics of soul society, so she decided not to ask about his exile. She wanted to stick to things that mattered to her.

"So, how did you meet Orihime?"

Orihime's eyes widened in terror for a moment.

"I met her a couple years ago, actually, before I was reborn," he replied casually, "During the war, we spent several days in each other's company. I died shortly thereafter."

"Wait a minute – you're not - I mean, I thought your name was familiar. Orihime talked about you! You were her caretaker in that bad place!"

Ulquiorra raised his brows at being described as a 'caretaker', but didn't contradict the woman's friend, only nodding in response.

Tatsuki rose and bowed briefly, saying, "Thank you for taking care of Orihime," before rising again and adding, "she told me you protected her many times."

Ulquiorra was being assaulted with two new emotions, humility and embarrassment. He blushed slightly, shaking his head, and responding, "I was simply following orders."

"Well, whatever, she's alive and it's partially thanks to you."

Ulquiorra pursed his lips slightly and looked to the side, unsure how to respond, when he felt a sharp pain in his lower leg.

"Tatsuki-chan! What did you kick him for?" Orihime cried.

"That's for the not nice things she told me about. I don't want to hear about anything like that happening again, understand?"

Ulquiorra just grimaced, holding his afflicted shin gingerly and nodded his understanding.

"Good."

7:00 p.m.

Ulquiorra had gone home shortly after the shin-kicking incident, and Tatsuki had just left Orihime's apartment. She had wanted to talk with Orihime about Ulquiorra for an hour or so, and Orihime did her best to satiate her friend's curiosity, but there was still so much about him now that she didn't know, that they couldn't get too deep into it. Orihime was surprised to learn that her best friend found the former Espada 'pretty hot' and 'decent company'.

After a while, the conversation turned back to Ichigo. Tatsuki was still angry with him about how he treated Orihime before and especially during his intervention, but she did seem relieved to hear that he was making progress and that Uryuu had spent the day with him.

After Tatsuki left, Orihime prepared a simple supper for herself and was getting ready to run a bath when her phone rang. It was Uryuu.

"Inoue-san, I'm sorry I worried you. I just left Kurosaki; we've been training all day," he said somewhat apologetically, but more excited than anything else.

"Yes, I heard from Ulquiorra."

The line was silent for a little too long.

"Ishida-kun?"

"Oh, yes. Sorry, I got distracted."

"So, how is he?"

"He is doing really, really well. He has a lot of work to go, Inoue-san, but I think you'd be really proud of him." There was a smile and evident pride in Uryuu's voice, at least.

Something felt off to Orihime though, and she couldn't put her finger on what it was. She pushed past it.

"So, will you be helping a lot from now on?"

"Yes, I'll be spending pretty much all day everyday training with him over break. With luck, maybe I'll learn some new skills too."

"That's great, Ishida-kun." She wanted to be sincere, but she just wasn't feeling it.

"Is something wrong, Inoue-san?"

"No, it's nothing Ishida-kun. I'm just tired, I think. Tatsuki was here all afternoon and she just left," she countered, sounding slightly more convincing this time.

"Alright. Well, I'm almost home now, so call me if you need anything. I'm planning on training with Kurosaki tomorrow from about 8am, but I'll break for lunch and check my phone this time, OK?"

"Sure, don't worry about it, Ishida-kun. I know you are busy." There was a note of dejection in her voice, he thought.

There was another long pause.

"Inoue-san, I am really sorry. I'll try to be more available, it's just-"

Orihime cut in, "Please don't be bothered about it, Ishida-kun. What you are doing is important. I was just worried because I didn't know where you were. After I knew you were training I was fine."

"Alright. I'll call you again tomorrow to let you know how it's going."

"Thanks. Goodnight, Ishida-kun."

"Goodnight."

Orihime tossed her phone to the side, irritated. Irritated that she didn't know why she was irritated. As she washed her hair and scrubbed her body, she mulled over what it was about her phone call with Uryuu that bothered her so much. By the time she sunk into the tub for a soak, she was no closer to an answer. It wasn't until her fingers and toes were completely pruney that she realized it. Once again, Ichigo was moving on, without her. Making progress, without her. Growing up, without her. Was her fate with him always going to be like this? Someone else would be there for him when he needed strength? First it was Rukia, then the Vizards, now Uryuu. It seemed to her that whenever he had a difficult challenge to overcome, he turned to anyone but her. Did he really think so little of her?

She went underwater a moment to try to gather her emotions. When she came back up for breath, she realized that, at least for the present, she was being ridiculous. Of course Ichigo couldn't turn to her now; she was basically the cause of his problems this time. She got out of the tub and toweled off, and on her way to her bedroom she figured out that she was just projecting her past hurt onto the current situation, and that wasn't fair. She reminded herself that as much as she didn't like it, there was nothing she could do for Ichigo now, so she he should try to push it from her mind. She put her pajamas on and decided to turn on a comedy show and forget the world for a while.

Thank you for reading. Please review and let me know what you liked/disliked about Ulquiorra's interactions with Chad and Tatsuki.