Thank you Guest, Nii-sama97, LylithB, Guest, himeichiulquigrimm, and MarianaMa for your reviews of Chapter 24! Glad you liked it.

Chapter 25: Cheerleader

Saturday, January 10th, 8:15 a.m.

Orihime swung her gym bag back and forth as she walked down to the street from her apartment, deep in thought. A school week had passed since the end of winter break, and she had been keen to talk to Uryuu about Ichigo's progress, but so far she had been out of luck. Uryuu had come to school each morning but left before lunch to get extra training time in with Ichigo. If anything gave her any kind of reassurance it was that Uryuu was a lot more animated than usual; she thought he and Ichigo must be having a good time at least. Finally, she had been able to nab Uryuu on his way out of school on Friday and made him promise to meet with her and Tatsuki for lunch today.

As for this morning, Orihime had planned to meet with Tatsuki at the dojo to get some long-overdue karate practice done. In the past she would often practice with Tatsuki, but since high school started it had been increasingly difficult for either of them to find the time to do it. Luckily this week worked out for both of them - Tatsuki's competition schedule was slow and Orihime was not busy with a boyfriend or in an alternate dimension - so when Tatsuki invited her to come and spar with her earlier in the week Orihime readily agreed. As the dojo came into view she smiled; she was looking forward to working up a sweat and getting out some of her growing aggression.

Once inside, Orihime realized she was early. She went to the locker room to change, thinking she'd spend a few minutes warming up while she waited for Tatsuki to get ready. However, just as she was about to leave the locker room, Tatsuki entered.

"Oh, you're here! Good. I tried to call you," Tatsuki said, pulling Orihime back into the locker room with her as she went to change.

"Oh, sorry, I must still have my phone on silent."

"No worries," Tatsuki gave a fake little laugh before continuing. "Listen, Orihime, I kinda extended the invitation beyond just us. Please don't be mad."

"Mad? Why would I be mad? I mean, I like to spend time with just you but this is a dojo, and not exactly an exclusive one, so the more the merrier, I guess!" Orihime said with a bright smile while checking her phone and seeing three missed calls from Tatsuki.

She put the phone back into her locker and looked up to Tatsuki's face. "Good," Tatsuki replied with a somewhat demure expression, before turning to lead the way back out of the locker room.

Orihime followed without suspicion, but when she saw who Tatsuki had invited, she realized why Tatsuki had acting so carefully before. She tilted her head up to greet Chad before turning and raising a sly brow at Tatsuki, who blushed slightly in response. Orihime grinned at her best friend wickedly, until she heard another voice.

"Good morning, woman."

Orihime twirled around, shocked. Her mouth hung open, and she blinked a few times before her brain started working again. "Uh, um, good morning, uh, Ulquiorra. What are you doing here? I mean, of course you can be here, but ummm, why?"

"I invited him," Chad answered quietly before turning his attention to Tatsuki. Orihime watched in awe as Tatsuki batted her eyelashes up at him. Orihime couldn't stand to wait another moment not knowing what was happening between them. She rushed to Tatsuki's side and pulled on her elbow, telling the two boys, "Be right back!" in a sweet, sing-song voice.

She didn't get far before Tatsuki pulled out of her grasp. They were out of earshot at least, and Orihime could sense Tatsuki's impatience, so she got straight to the point. "When did this happen? Since when are you flirting with Sado-kun?"

"Um, actually, he started texting me the day we met Ulquiorra. He was the one who told me to go to your place that day because he didn't like Ulquiorra being there with you alone. We've been kind of texting each other back and forth. I've wanted to ask him out but I was too embarrassed to do it, so I asked him to join us and to bring a friend to spar with. I guess he picked ol' green-eyes." Tatsuki couldn't keep the blush from her cheeks as she explained.

"Ooooh!" Orihime squealed, excited for her best friend. "Wait a minute, why would Chad be worried about Ulquiorra being at my place? He's not our enemy anymore."

Tatsuki rolled her eyes and sighed. "I can't believe I have to explain that, Orihime. Come on."

Orihime raised her shoulders and shook her head no.

"Really Hime? Get a clue," Tatsuki said affectionately before returning to the sparring room and calling over her shoulder, "If you haven't figured it out by then, I'll tell you later."

Orihime shook it off, deciding that nurturing Tatsuki's budding romance was more interesting than Chad's suspicions about Ulquiorra. Besides, Chad must have gotten over whatever was bothering him because he invited Ulquiorra along, after all. 'Alright, Operation Make Chad and Tatsuki a Couple, Begin!' she thought to herself as she followed Tatsuki, standing beside her and taking the lead.

"I think we should start with some warm-up exercises! I just recently watched a video online with some great partner stretches. Let's do a couple laps around the room, then I'll walk us through the stretches!" Orihime said, extending her arm like a cheerleader as she started the first lap around the room. Tatsuki and the boys followed after her, confused but willing.

"Alright! Now let's pair off. I'll work with Ulquiorra, you and Tatsuki can work together, alright Sado-kun?" Orihime directed after the warm-ups were finished. "First we'll do a sitting stretch. Put the soles of your feet together and then grab each other's hands and pull toward one person, then then after about 15 seconds the other partner pulls toward himself. If you are feeling extra limber, you can grab further up your partner's arms!"

Orihime was completely unobservant of Ulquiorra's reddening complexion as she grabbed him by the hand and pulled him into position, taking his other hand and pulling him toward her. Her eyes were glued to Tatsuki and Chad.

Her targets were smiling and relaxed, seeming to enjoy the pair stretches. She absently pulled Ulquiorra's arms further toward her, until she heard a quiet grunt. She whipped her head toward her own partner and released him as soon as she saw his pained expression. "Oh, Ulquiorra, I'm sorry, did I pull too far?"

"Yes, it appears this gigai requires more maintenance than my spirit body; it is quite tight. Please go more gradually," Ulquiorra pleaded.

Orihime blushed and nodded apologetically, and then allowed Ulquiorra to pull her toward him. She didn't notice how he held her hands delicately or how he never took his eyes off of her. "You can pull further, Ulquiorra. I'm quite flexible!" she said cheerfully, watching Tatsuki laugh at something Chad said. "Actually, why don't you grab my forearms?"

Ulquiorra obeyed and pulled Orihime so that her nose was nearly brushing her knees. He counted to 15 and released as Orihime sighed in satisfaction at the stretch.

"Alright! Now for the hamstring stretch! Guys, lie down and lift a leg up for us to grab, and keep it as straight as you can. Then we'll push it back gently until you feel the stretch," then as an aside to Ulquiorra, she added, "Tell me before it starts hurting this time, OK?"

Ulquiorra nodded, somewhat distracted by the feel of her soft hands on his bare ankle. Orihime grinned and looked back over at Tatsuki and Chad while leaning into Ulquiorra, totally oblivious to the fact that she was pressing her breast into his leg.

Now, Ulquiorra was aware that she was female and he was male. He was also aware that she was aesthetically pleasing. What he wasn't aware of was how his new gigai/human-ish soul would respond to her touch with or without his consent. She barely got his leg perpendicular to the ground before he whimpered, "That's enough."

"Wow, Ulquiorra, you really need to work on your flexibility," she said disapprovingly as she moved to switch to his other leg.

"No!" Ulquiorra yelped, sitting up, desperate to conceal his body's reaction to her. "I'll do hamstrings on my own."

"Suit yourself," Orihime said, unbothered. She was doing this for the others' benefit, anyway, she thought as she bent over to stretch her own legs. She didn't take her eyes off Tatsuki and Chad for very long.

Ulquiorra found himself unable to take his eyes off Orihime's backside much either as she bent over in front of him with her palms flat on the ground.

Orihime was about to announce another stretch when Tatsuki interrupted, saying that relaxing time was over; time to start drills.

Ulquiorra was quite relieved. Tatsuki acted as instructor for the group and called out different drills, so all Ulquiorra had to do was close his eyes and concentrate on his form. It felt good to train again; to submit to discipline. He let himself fall into a meditative state, and before long he began performing a series of exercises he used to do as an Arrancar. He didn't realize what he was doing until he felt a clap on his shoulder. He looked up to see Chad looking at him out of the corner of his eye. He whispered, "Careful man, Tatsuki doesn't really appreciate kendo. Stick to her drills if you know what's good for you…"

Ulquiorra looked forward and exhaled, refocusing on Tatsuki's drills, thinking perhaps he should find a place to practice kendo. He missed the feeling of a sword in his hand.

After drills, they all took turns sparring with one another. Unsurprisingly, Chad lost every bout, being too afraid of hurting the girls to really fight, and nowhere near as fast as Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra, on the other hand, did not hold back for anyone's sake, and quickly won each bout, much to Tatsuki's annoyance. It wasn't that she lost that bothered her; it was that it seemed to be over before it even started. She had been looking forward to a challenge, not an instantaneous thrashing.

Orihime was happy that she had retained most of what she had learned from practicing with Tatsuki before, with Tatsuki said something along the lines of, "Hey, not bad, Hime."

Ulquiorra, on the other hand, had much higher praise, saying, "You are much more capable than you let on, woman. I suspect you are yet capable of more than what you have shown us today," to which Orihime responded with a smile and some pink cheeks.

It was about 11:30 when they finally decided to hit the showers and get ready to meet Uryuu for lunch. While rinsing off, Orihime gushed to Tatsuki about how much attention Chad paid to her and how well they looked together. Tatsuki just blushed and brushed it off, but she was very happy to hear it nonetheless.

In the boys' locker room, Chad waited until Ulquiorra was nearly dressed before asking him a favor. "Hey man, um, could you come with us to this lunch thing?"

"What lunch thing?"

"We are meeting Ishida for lunch to hear about Ichigo's progress."

"I don't understand why you would want me to attend such a meeting."

"Well, it's just," Chad blushed before he continued, "I want to walk Tatsuki home afterward, er, alone, and I know if it's just her, Inoue, and me, she will want to walk home with Inoue."

"I see," Ulquiorra said quietly, buckling his belt. When he looked up, his green stare met Chad's obscured eyes as he asked in all seriousness, "So you want me to be your wingman?"

Chad choked, and then a bright smile spread across his face. "Well, yeah, I guess. How do you even know what that means?"

Ulquiorra sighed and shook his head before answering, "Sharing a roof with Urahara-san is a strange experience. His relationship with Yoruichi-san is… complicated. He has requested that I serve as his wingman on more than one occasion." Ulquiorra looked back at Chad's face, saying, "I will assist you today, Sado-san."

"Call me Chad, man. And thanks," he said, clapping Ulquiorra on the shoulder again before leaving the locker room.

The girls were pleased that Ulquiorra was coming along to lunch as well, both being aware that this arrangement opened up possibilities for the afternoon. They walked to the nearby café where Orihime had told Uryuu to meet them. When they arrived, Uryuu was already there. He smiled at the girls and nodded to Chad pleasantly as they filed into the café, Ulquiorra bringing up the rear. Uryuu didn't notice him behind Chad's large frame, and started exchanging friendly greetings until Chad took a seat and his view of Ulquiorra was unobstructed. Uryuu immediately stopped talking, narrowed his eyes, pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, and sneered, "And to what do I owe pleasure, Espada-san?"

Before Orihime had a chance to react to her bubbling indignation, Chad spoke up calmly. "I invited him, Ishida."

Uryuu's eyes darted to Chad, unable to believe he was being serious. He was Ichigo's best friend! His train of thought was interrupted, however, by Orihime. "Ishida-kun, I know you are short on time before you have to go back to Ichigo. Could you please tell us what's going on with him? Please?"

Uryuu sighed. He couldn't refuse her, especially when she begged. Plus, the idea that she was desperate to hear about Ichigo placated him to a degree. He began to tell the group, with Ichigo's permission, that Ichigo was a Quincy, and about the plan to stabilize his body through Blut Vene. He explained the mechanics of the technique and boasted that Blut Vene had been triggered in both himself and in Ichigo. He further explained that Ichigo's hollow hadn't made a single attempt to take over his body since Ichigo regained consciousness 'after what Ulquiorra did to him'. More than one pair of eyes rolled at that description of the events, but Uryuu continued, informing the group that just a bit more training was needed before the next phase would commence.

"What's the next phase?" Orihime asked with excitement.

"He'll go to Soul Society to train, with the end goal being to regain his shinigami powers."

Orihime deflated. It had already been nearly a month since the last time she saw Ichigo, and now he was going to go further away for longer? Her link to him now was tenuous at best. Her voice was shaky when she asked her next question. "How long will that take, do you think?"

"It depends on him, Inoue-san, but I expect he'll be ready by the beginning of the new school year.

"April?" Tatsuki asked in disbelief.

Uryuu nodded and added, "Even if he regains his shinigami abilities quickly, he'll still need to train while his hollow is active. He'll need to practice keeping it under control, for Inoue's sake and frankly, for all of ours."

Ulquiorra looked at Uryuu sharply. "It may well take longer than that, and the three of us know it." His voice was stern and heavy. Uryuu was forced to nod, remembering Ulquiorra's brutal demise at the hands of Ichigo's hollow. Orihime began to whimper. Ulquiorra shifted his focus to her for a moment. "Do not be afraid, woman. If such an event were to occur again, I would burn through this gigai if necessary to stop him from harming you. I have not tried such a thing but I am quite confident that it would require very little effort." He let his eyes slide back to Uryuu as he said the last sentence, the veiled threat in his vow unmissed.

"It's not that, Ulquiorra. It's just that I don't know where I stand with Ichigo, and I'm afraid that if too much time passes before we are able to reconcile, there won't be a relationship between us to save." Orihime put her hands over her face to hide the tears she couldn't keep from falling.

Uryuu was about to open his mouth to assure Orihime that she had nothing to worry about, but stopped himself. Not only was it not his place, but as he thought about it, her realized that Ichigo hadn't brought up Orihime at all since they began training. He thought he shouldn't be putting words into Ichigo's mouth.

Tatsuki rubbed Orihime's back. "Isn't there any way Ichigo can contact us? I mean, not even a phone call?"

"No," Uryuu responded, "The place he is being kept in is completely sealed off from the outside world. Urahara-san, Dr. Kurosaki and Ryuuken have also expressed that they think it's not a good idea for Kurosaki to have any contact with Inoue-san for the time being."

"What do you think, Ishida?" Chad asked.

"Honestly, I think they are being over-cautious. I've been training with him every day for over two weeks. I haven't seen any sign of his hollow, and believe me; I've been as annoying as I possibly can be."

Orihime giggled through her tears at Uryuu's self-deprecation. "I just wish I could talk to him. But I know what I want is second to him getting better." Orihime took a deep breath and wiped her tears away, putting on a brave face for everyone else at the table. "Sorry about that, it was a brief moment of weakness," she said with increasing false cheer, which all at the table believed too easily, except Ulquiorra. He watched in disgust as an overly-happy smile crept across her face. "I'll just have to stay busy and wait for Ichigo's triumphant return!" she added with a fist pump.

Uryuu and Tatsuki smiled in response, and Chad gave her a thumbs up. Ulquiorra crossed his arms over his chest and looked away, fighting an impulse to berate the woman's friends for their ignorance.

"Well, I'd better get back. I'll talk to Ichigo about getting a message to him in the meantime. Is there anything you'd like me to pass on from you, Inoue-san?" Uryuu asked as he stood from the table.

"Just tell him to do his best, and I'm rooting for him," Orihime replied in a bright and cheery voice.

Uryuu nodded and left with a smile. Everyone had been uplifted by Orihime's cheerful mood. The rest of the group got up to leave shortly after Uryuu, still in high spirits. Tatsuki didn't hesitate to accept Chad's invitation to walk her home, and Orihime was genuinely glad she did. She sighed and smiled happily as Tatsuki and Chad began walking in the opposite direction.

When she turned back around, she was surprised to see Ulquiorra glaring at her. "Ulquiorra, what's wrong?" she asked nervously.

"These so-called friends of yours. How can they ignore your anguish? They choose to believe your poorly-crafted façade." He turned on his heel and started marching away, but got about four steps before stopping and looking over his shoulder at her, saying, "Are you coming? I mean to walk you home."

Orihime was flustered and stood in place for a moment before catching up with him. "Ulquiorra, they mean well. I don't want to burden them with my troubles all the time anyway."

Ulquiorra huffed in response, before looking at her out of the corner of his eye. "You are not a burden, woman. Quite the opposite. You not only live independently, but you habitually disguise your own troubles while taking on a supporting role for these 'friends' of yours," he said, before looking forward and adding as an afterthought, "You support me, as well."

Orihime laughed awkwardly, "Well, I'd like to think you're my friend, too, Ulquiorra…"

He stopped at this and turned to face her, silently regarding her and what she had just said. Orihime began to feel self-conscious.

"I am honored, woman. Thank you," he began softly, his cheeks coloring slightly as he looked away from her before adding, "As your friend, then, I advise you to be more honest and lean on your friends as much as they lean on you. Otherwise it is not a reciprocal relationship." He looked back at her as she shook her head in denial.

"It's not like that, though, Ulquiorra. They always support me. They always protect me. I'm useless."

"Do not lie to me, woman, especially right after telling me I am your friend." Ulquiorra countered with a harsh edge. "Your other friends hold you back because it is more comfortable for them to deny your strength than to accept it. Your power is immense and intrudes upon that of a god."

"But it's no good if I can't even protect myself, let alone anybody else!"

Ulquiorra was suddenly very close to Orihime. She could feel his breath on her face as he nearly hissed, "You could protect them all. You allow them to eat away at your confidence. Your 'weakness' gives them a false sense of strength." Ulquiorra seemed to become aware of his proximity and took a step back and tempered his harsh tone. "The Orihime Inoue I knew in Hueco Mundo was strong. Strong enough to defy Sosuke Aizen's strongest Espada," he smirked at that, judging by her reaction that she caught on that he was admitting that he had been stronger than Stark. "Yes, in my second release I surpassed them all. And yet, you. You slapped me and lived to tell the tale. Talk about strength…"

Orihime's breath caught as he gave her a roguish grin. She couldn't believe Ulquiorra Cifer was cheering her up. And she couldn't believe that a small part of her was thinking he was looking pretty cute doing it. Regardless, she was determined to continue her denial. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up, Ulquiorra, but we both know it's only because Aizen ordered you not to hurt me that I 'lived to tell the tale'," she replied somewhat lamely.

Ulquiorra's grin dropped and he looked down at Orihime kindly. "No, Aizen had nothing to do with it. You had already captured my interest by then. You see, your strength lies not in the sting of your hand, but in the conviction in your heart. It was your steadfast belief in your friends that saved you in Hueco Mundo, and not because of some magical connection between you that pulled the strings of fate in your favor. It was your incorrigible faith that convinced Aizen's most powerful Espada that within your heart lay a power more transformative than the hogyoku."

He paused, taking a deep breath, before looking at his feet and continuing quietly, "In the end, you were also able to convince that Espada that something did exist that his eye could not see; something worth protecting. That is what saved you." He looked back up to gauge her reaction.

Orihime looked into his eyes and tears began to well in her own. "You remember…"

"Yes. I always remembered the events, but I didn't initially remember why it was so important to me. It was as I sat in your apartment that gloomy morning two weeks ago that I realized: it was because you made me, who believed in nothing, believe in you. I don't know if you know how important that is. If you can only believe in yourself, you will be unstoppable," Ulquiorra spoke tenderly, fighting an urge to wipe Orihime's tears away.

"Ulquiorra…" Orihime had no more words.

Ulquiorra's nostrils flared as he took a deep, unsteady breath. Then he released it and smiled. "Come, woman, it's not getting any warmer, and after I walk you home I have to get myself home."

"Oh! You don't have to walk me home, Ulquiorra. I don't want you to freeze!"

"And risk incurring the wrath of Tatsuki Arisawa? I think not!" he joked.

Orihime laughed, the tension between them completely dissipated, and the remainder of their walk to her apartment was punctuated with pleasant conversation.

Karakura Hospital

When Uryuu returned to the hospital training grounds, he filled Ichigo in on the conversation he had with their friends at lunch. Ichigo seemed distracted and not willing to comment on it, especially regarding Orihime. Uryuu mentioned how Orihime was upset that they may have to wait until April to meet, to which Ichigo responded with merely a grunt. When Uryuu suggested that Ichigo would probably be fine if he contacted Orihime briefly, just to ease her mind, Ichigo seemed to brush it off, and suggested they get back to sparring.

Uryuu was losing his patience. He had been instructed not to mention Ulquiorra's existence to Ichigo, since he didn't seem to have any memory of Ulquiorra being present at his intervention. But Uryuu had been watching Ulquiorra like a hawk at lunch, and he had observed that his relationship with Orihime had gone beyond just a curiosity. He was clearly fascinated with her and she was starting to care about him, in some capacity or another. Uryuu decided that Ichigo needed to know that he had a potential rival.

"Kurosaki. Do you consider yourself a fool?"

"What the hell, Ishida? No."

"Then why is it that you seem to believe that in your extended absence, no one would attempt to take your place next to Inoue-san?"

"Ishida, I swear to god, if you are contemplating making a move on her again-"

Uryuu stopped him there. "Ugh, Kurosaki! You know as well as I do that I spend every waking moment here with you when I'm not at school. Besides, I have never 'made a move on her'."

"Who is it then, Ishida?"

"Does it really matter? The important thing is that Inoue is getting lonely and unsure of your commitment to her. All it would take is a few words from you to ease her mind."

Ichigo seemed to consider it for a moment. "Do you really think it would be safe?"

"Your hollow hasn't made a peep since you've been here, has it?"

"No, but it seemed like it was especially receptive to Inoue."

'Inoue, huh?' Uryuu thought to himself. "Well, if it would make you feel better I could stand guard or something. Or you could just call her from outside the hospital if you're that worried."

"I don't know. Does she even want to see me after what happened? I remember what I said to her. I remember the look on her face when I did. She probably hates me now."

"No, I can confirm that she doesn't. She misses you."

Ichigo half-smiled at that, pondering his options.

"You're right. I mean, if we are going to Soul Society soon, I owe it to her to at least say goodbye, right?"

"That's what I've been getting at. You don't know how long you're going to be there."

"Would you help me sneak out of here?"

"Of course."

"Ok. We'll go tonight then. Still sure you don't want to tell me who this guy is who's sniffing around Inoue?"

"Yeah, I'm sure you really don't want to know."

"So I know him."

"Indeed."

"I'll figure it out, you know."

"Oh, I have no doubt."

"You're a bastard."

"Sorry. As Inoue-san's friend, I can't be personally responsible for giving her more reason to worry, and having you terrify her acquaintances isn't going to help in that regard. Besides, she is helplessly devoted to you."

Ichigo laughed lamely. "I know."

I'm going to have to end this Chapter here. Thank you so much for reading. What did you think about the relationship progressions in this chapter? Please please please PM or review!