Chapter 35: Appointment

February 5th, 4:00 p.m.

Orihime had classroom cleaning duty after school and used that as her excuse to skip out of handicrafts club. She had no intention of going in any case; she had an appointment. Rather, Ulquiorra had the appointment, but she had agreed to accompany him.

Presently, she was walking toward the school gate, and spotted the man in question. She smiled and raised her arm to wave at him, when someone grabbed it. Orihime swung her face to the right, and saw Chizuru wrapping her left arm around Orihime's right one and pulling herself closer, slinking her free arm across Orihime's belly.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry, my princess?" Chizuru purred, as her wandering hand began to trace its way north. "My parents are gone for a long weekend; you could come home with me and we could have a pillow-fight. And don't worry, you don't need to go home for pajamas. Since no one else will be there, we won't even need them!"

Orihime's face flushed and she tried to step back. Chizuru's behavior was bold, even for her. Orihime wondered if Ichigo's extended absence had encouraged her, but she didn't have to think about it long before she noticed Chizuru's expression lose its amorous glaze and morph into something a bit closer to unbridled terror. Then Orihime felt it: Ulquiorra was letting some distinctly unfriendly reiatsu leak from his gigai. She hadn't noticed it at first; he was being very precise with its intended target.

"Unhand the woman, trash," Orihime heard Ulquiorra's smooth, deceivingly calm voice from somewhere close to her left side and above her head.

"Y-you're not supposed to be here, you're not a student here!" Chizuru managed to sputter out.

"And you are not supposed to make the woman uncomfortable. Regardless, I am leaving and she will have to decline your invitation," he said the word with unmasked derision. "She is previously engaged."

Chizuru slowly dropped her hands and took a step back. As she did all traces of Ulquiorra's reiatsu vanished. She blinked rapidly and looked at Orihime, worried. "You really have a date with this weird guy?"

Orihime's eyes opened wide as she tried to think fast for a way to deny it while not being rude to Ulquiorra. Luckily, she didn't have to, as Ulquiorra chimed in, "We have an appointment at the hair salon and we will be late if we do not leave now. Come, woman," he ordered, pivoting on his heel and marching back toward the school gates.

The way he said it made it sound very pedestrian and Orihime found herself feeling slightly disappointed at his lack of enthusiasm. Still, she was grateful she wouldn't have to explain anything further to Chizuru. "That's right, Chizuru-chan, we can't be late or Hikaru-chan will be angry," she said with an apologetic grin before turning and trotting after Ulquiorra, leaving Chizuru mildly confused but placated behind the school gates.

Orihime had to exert herself to catch up to Ulquiorra, and when she did, she found his mouth set in a grim frown. He noticed her head bobbing in and out of his peripheral vision, and reduced his speed slightly until she was able to keep up with him more easily. He slid his eyes toward her and saw her observing him.

"What is it, woman?" he asked without inflection.

"I was going to ask you what was bothering you. You seem upset."

"I am upset. You allowed that impertinent piece of trash to molest you."

"Chizuru-chan? She's not trash, Ulquiorra. She's my friend. That's just how she is."

"I beg to differ," he replied, sounding suspiciously perturbed and increasing his pace again.

Orihime sighed and jogged back up. When Ulquiorra didn't slow down, she said, "Hey," with a bit of irritation in her voice. When he didn't respond or slow down, she grabbed his coat sleeve, finally getting his attention. He tilted his chin slightly in her direction and slid his eyes to meet hers without trying to disguise his displeasure. "What is the matter with you? Do you want me to just go home?" Orihime demanded, unimpressed with Ulquiorra's behavior.

At the thought of her leaving his blood ran cold. He was merely caught up in his own feelings, which he did not understand. He stopped and turned to face her. "I do not wish for you to leave. I do not know what is the matter with me, but I do not wish to offend you."

"Well, calling my friend 'trash' and accusing me of letting her molest me is rather offensive, Ulquiorra," she scolded.

Ulquiorra sighed and looked down at the sidewalk. Then he spoke in an uncharacteristically small voice, "I apologize, woman. I was unnecessarily harsh. The only explanation I can offer you is that the sight of that… person… attempting to seduce you was unpleasant, especially when you did not appear to reciprocate her interest."

At that Orihime couldn't help but smile a bit, "Why, Ulquiorra, were you trying to defend my honor?" she asked, teasingly.

Ulquiorra's cheeks grew slightly warm as he bit the inside of his cheek and nodded, before turning and beginning to walk again.

Orihime giggled and joined him, glad that their misunderstanding had been cleared up and flattered that he cared, despite his poor reaction to the situation. She had to allow him a bit of a learning curve, she reasoned. As a former Hueco Mundo resident, he hadn't had a lot of opportunity to become educated on proper human behavior. Not wanting to let him wallow in shame, she changed the subject. "So, have you decided how you want to get your hair cut?"

Ulquiorra glanced at her like she was speaking in tongues. "What do you mean? Doesn't the stylist know what to do?"

Orihime giggled again. "No, silly! The stylist knows how to cut hair, but she won't decide how to do it for you. You have to tell her what you want your hair to look like."

"Oh. I hadn't considered it," he paused for a moment in thought. "It is at an impractical and unflattering length now. I would like that to be rectified."

Orihime nodded. "Sure, but is there a particular style you would like?"

"Style?"

"Yes, like, do you want to go kind of natural and floppy like Sado-kun's hair, or scruffy like Urahara-san's hair," she paused to smile at Ulquiorra's look of distaste at that suggestion before continuing on. "Or kind of spikey like Kurosaki-kun's hair, or sleek like Ishida-kun's…"

"What is your preference, woman?" Ulquiorra interrupted.

Orihime blushed at being suddenly asked to tell him what she thought was attractive, and attempted to avoid it. "Well, it depends on the person."

"Well, we are talking about me, are we not?"

Orihime's blush deepened as she looked away from him, mumbling an inaudible answer.

"What was that?"

Orihime fell back a step so that he wouldn't be able to see her face as she said, "I always like Ulquiorra's hair!" in an embarrassed squeak.

Ulquiorra stopped walking and looked over his shoulder at her with a sly half grin, amused at her shyness and pleased that she liked his hair. He did not want to press his luck and risk making her irritated with him again, though, and simply said, "Thank you."

Orihime still avoided eye contact but nodded as she regained her place at his side and they continued walking in silence for a few minutes. Finally, with the salon in sight, Ulquiorra spoke, "Given that my vocabulary lacks the proper words to describe hair styles, I will allow you to direct the stylist. If you don't mind, that is."

Orihime nodded her agreement, and a moment later they were opening the door to the salon.

"Hiiime-TAAAAAAN!" an overly enthusiastic man who reminded Ulquiorra of Szayelaporro Granz in body type and mannerisms called out as they entered. A moment later, Ulquiorra relived the feelings he felt when Chizuru had pawed at Orihime as the man clasped her by the elbows and kissed the air next to each of her cheeks. The Szayel look-alike released Orihime and turned to face Ulquiorra, looking him up and down appraisingly before looking slyly at Orihime. "So, who is this fine specimen you have brought for me today, Hime-tan? Hmm?"

Ulquiorra was alarmed now. Specimen? The man reminded him more of Szayel with every passing second. He took a step toward Orihime and was about to take her by the arm and run for it, when Orihime spoke. "This is my friend, Ulquiorra Cifer. Ulquiorra, this is Hikaru-chan, and she is the best hair stylist in all of Karakura!" Orihime beamed at Hikaru with affection.

Ulquiorra cautiously stepped back and nodded in acknowledgement to Hikaru, who smiled back at him radiantly. It was then that Ulquiorra noticed how femininely Hikaru presented, a face full of immaculate make-up, clothing in tasteful, soft fabrics that hugged his figure, and delicate jewelry around his neck and in his earlobes. Hikaru must have been nearly thirty-five years old, but his skin was well-cared for, 'or her skin', Ulquiorra thought to himself, making a mental note to ask Orihime about it later. Nevertheless, as he observed Hikaru and Orihime interact, he was put at ease by their natural smiles and affectionate banter, and decided as long as she wasn't a threat to Orihime it didn't matter one way or another.

"So, is this handsome fella your friend, or your boyfriend, Hime-tan?" Hikaru's words pulled Ulquiorra out of his musings and fiercely into the present as he looked to Orihime for her response.

"Eh? Hikaru-chan! Isn't that a bit…" she trailed off, blushing furiously. Ulquiorra's heart flip-flopped and his delicate nostrils flared slightly when she did not immediately deny it.

"Don't worry honey, I'm just teasing. You sit there and I'll be right back. Ulquiorra-kun and I can get acquainted while I wash his hair," she said, pulling Ulquiorra by the elbow toward the shampoo chair across the salon and guiding him into it.

"So, Ulquiorra-kun, how long have you known Hime-tan?" Hikaru asked sweetly as she began to spray his scalp with water set at the ideal temperature and pressure. Ulquiorra shivered in pleasure and melted into the chair, finding himself more receptive than usual to questioning.

"I met her about a year and a half ago."

"Oh yeah? Have you been friends that whole time?"

"No, and we weren't friends at first. I met her at… work," he improvised. "I terminated my employment shortly thereafter and I did not see her again until I came back to Karakura in December."

"Oh, I see. And was it a happy reunion?"

"It was for me."

Hikaru smiled and began to shampoo Ulquiorra's scalp, the smell of essential oils and the feel of Hikaru's massaging fingertips overwhelming Ulquiorra's senses. "By the looks of things, it was happy for Hime-tan, too. Her ex-boyfriend was no good for her in the end. I haven't seen her this perky since last summer."

Ulquiorra's brow furrowed slightly. He was not pleased that Ichigo had mistreated Orihime, obviously, but the thing that stuck out to him as interesting was that Hikaru had referred to Ichigo as Orihime's ex-boyfriend. Orihime didn't really talk to Ulquiorra about Ichigo and had never expressly told him that their relationship had ended. It was welcome news, and as Hikaru rinsed off the shampoo and started to condition Ulquiorra's hair, the traces of tension in the former Espada's face melted away. He had nearly drifted off when Hikaru roused him with a warm towel being draped and dragged over his head. "Time to rise and shine, lover-boy," Hikaru drawled, raising the seatback on the shampoo chair and leading the way to the cutting chair next to Orihime.

Orihime bit her lower lip to stifle a giggle at Ulquiorra's staggering walk and blissed-out expression as his body appeared to liquefy and pour itself into the cutting chair. "How was the shampoo, Ulquiorra?" she asked with glee.

"MmHmm, good," Ulquiorra managed to say in his mellow state. He more or less ignored Orihime and Hikaru talk about how to cut his hair, and he remained nearly catatonic until he heard the sound of metal scraping. His eyes snapped open wide and his customary rigid posture returned as he regained a state of high alert. However, a glance in the mirror informed him that it was merely Hikaru's scissors opening and closing, not a sword being unsheathed, and his posture relaxed to more of a neutral state.

"Jumpy, are we? Anyway, what did you say your job was, Ulquiorra-kun?" Hikaru asked as she began to trim away the longer hair in the back.

Ulquiorra improvised again. "Security guard."

"You don't say? Aren't those guys usually kind of lazy and useless? I don't get the impression that that's the kind of security guard you are."

"Former security guard, and no, that's not the kind I was," Ulquiorra answered flatly.

"I thought so. So what are you doing in Karakura these days?"

"He's a student!" Orihime interjected, starting to get nervous.

"Really? Where? Certainly not a high school student like our Hime-tan; you appear a bit mature for that."

"I'm between schools at the moment," Ulquiorra countered, not wanting to commit to a story that would later be too difficult to maintain.

"I see," Hikaru responded dubiously, turning her attention to Orihime and chatting about nothing in particular. After about twenty more minutes of clipping, razoring, blow-drying, and product, Hikaru held up a mirror for Ulquiorra to examine her work.

Ulquiorra examined his reflections in both mirrors quietly for several minutes. By the time he spoke, both Orihime and Hikaru were rather apprehensive. However, despite his silence, Ulquiorra was pleased to see that the style Orihime had chosen as her favorite and that Hikaru had, admittedly, expertly recreated, was a slightly neater version of the shaggy, layered hair of his unreleased arrancar form, sans bone helmet, of course. His expression warmed and his eyes smiled as he turned to Orihime and asked, "This one?"

Orihime looked to the side and nodded, embarrassed. Ulquiorra smiled, pleased with her reaction, and then turned to Hikaru to thank her and compliment her on her skill. Orihime recovered from her embarrassment as Ulquiorra paid and said goodbye, and as they were leaving the salon, Hikaru pulled Orihime aside and whispered in a gruff, warning tone to her, "If he is still single in a month, he's mine."

Orihime's eyes widened in shock as Hikaru straightened up and resumed her cheerful farewells, and Orihime waved robotically until they were outside and on their way to Urahara's place for her and Ulquiorra's planned training session.

Again, life is getting in the way of my best-laid plans to write, hence the short, late chapter this week. That and this Hikaru character kind of derailed my 'plans' for this chapter. Anyway, hope you liked it, let me know.