Okay I lied! I uploaded right away! I got excited. Next chapter will actually happen in a few days haha and will be heavy on the Orihime and Ulquiorra interaction. Also in upcoming chapters we get to see things from Ulquiorra's point of view. Thank you to everyone who has read my story!

also if he haven't figured it out yet italics are inner thoughts

Chapter 3

Orihime decided to stop thinking about his words to her. She went home that night and freaked out. But after a self pep talk and 3 cups of hot chocolate she calmed down. She thought long and hard and felt she overdramatized the situation. He probably meant nothing by it. He perhaps is a little awkward socially when he isn't teaching. When Orihime had though he might have known something about her past she got very sensitive and defensive.

Will he put judgment on me? Will he not listen too? Will he be like all the others?

The week went by in an instant. Orihime almost felt like a zombie just going though the motions. She had decided she didn't like her pure white uniforms as much anymore. Lunchtime was a battlefield. Orihime had to be extra careful not to stain her blazer. Sometimes this was hard because Nel had decided to cling to her. She would take Orihime's time in-between classes and lunch up with her constant talking. It seemed Orihime has no choice in the matter. She wasn't too interested in friends but there was no reason to be rude.

Most of the time Nel did not really bother Orihime. People seemed to stay away from Nel. It seemed she didn't have any friends at this school. That work in Orihime's favor. She didn't really understand why though. Nel was friendly (albeit a little childish) and she was attractive. She was tall with beautiful light green hair and a figure similar to Orihime's. In Orihime's eyes she would think her to be popular. Whatever it was Nel didn't care about other people it seemed.

They were chatting on the way to the last class of the day….History.

Since Tuesday Ulquiorra had noticeably tried to avoid Orihime's eyes. Even when she was walking in or out of class he always made himself look busy. At one point she was convinced he faked answered a phone call to ignore her. This really annoyed Orihime. For one, it seemed really fishy. His reaction was way overboard; leading Orihime to question her judgment to drop asking about the meaning behind his words.

She was sure today would be the same. Even thought it was one day, she kind of missed his eye contact. His eyes made her feel alive. Nel broke her thoughts with her usual excited statements.

"It is finally Friday! First week done! How do you feel? Got plans over the weekend?"

"I will probably explore the city a little. I haven't really had a chance to do so other than walking to school and the supermarket. What about you Nel?"

Nel perked up almost as if she was waiting for Orihime to ask.

"Well today I have another appointmen.t. BUT tomorrow I get to see my boyfriend! I think we are going to go on a drive. Oh how romantic! He might even take me to one of his friends college parties!"

Orihime was a little shocked. Nel had a boyfriend and this was the first time she was hearing about it. Is this really the same Nel? The Nel who can and has talked nonstop for over an hour? She would have assumed she would have mentioned him by now. Besides that Orihime was very curious to why she keeps saying appointments. It was the second time this week.

" What are all these appointments you go to Nel? And boyfriend? This is the first I have heard of that,"

Nel stopped and looked a little uneasy.

"Well…umm. Promise you won't stop talking to me?"

This was unexpected. What could it possibly be? Orihime let her curiosity take over.

"If you don't feel comfortable you don't need to say anything. But there is no way I would judge you on anything,"

Nel's eye brightened. As expected she did want to talk about it.

"Well I am actually older then everyone here..haha. yea.. I'm 20 ummm I was in a motorcycle accident and had a really bad head injury. I missed so much school because of it. They worried I had some memory loss… So I had to redo 2 grades. Omg this is kinda embrassing,"

I didn't expect that.

"I go to the doctor often to make sure everything is fine! I had a chance to be home schooled but I wanted to actually be apart of a school.,"

Orihime was stunned by Nel very honest confession. She had never met anyone so open so quickly. She felt and little guilty Nel was sharing with her but it actually made Orihime feel it was maybe okay to have a friend again. Before Orihime could say anything Nel began again this time with more delight in her voice.

"But you know! I met my boyfriend at this school! He was a year older. He is so handsome. You should meet him one day! He goes to the college near here!"

She paused and looked around to see if anyone was listening, they weren't. Then she leaned in close and talked in a soft voice.

"He actually is famous at this school and city for being a delinquent. If you haven't notice no one really comes around me haha that is why they all know!"

Nel said this as if she was proud. Orihime really couldn't put her finger on her thought process. That was a lot of information to take in. their conversation lasted until they got to the classroom. Orihime's mind was thinking about Nel and had temporally forgotten about Ulquiorra. She sat down and took out her materials.

Even though she knew it was pointless she looked to the front of the class in hope of having gray met green. To her surprise he was already looking at her. She thought that at any second he would pull away from her gaze but she was wrong. He watched her with an unknown expression on his face.

It has been so long she was almost startled when her heart started to race.

Why now after ignoring me for so many days?

She wanted to be angry but he gazed melted her in her seat. Before it had even begun the bell had rung making both Orihime and Ulquiorra jump a little.

Okay something is definitely up.

The bell had rung and her classmates were rushing out faster then usual. They all must have Friday plans. Orihime moved a turtles pace with purpose. She was going to talk to him. From the looks he gave her earlier, she thought he wouldn't avoid her. She approached him. He had noticed her coming toward him and he stayed still waiting.

Finally!

"Mr. Cifer! Lets get these reports done so we both can go home!"

SON OF A B****

Mr. Stark looked abnormally fresh-faced as he walked back into the classroom with a stack of papers. Orihime didn't even try to hide her massive eye roll.

OF course he would actually want to do his job now of all times!

"Oh? Ms. Inoue, What are you still doing here? It is Friday. Your young go have some fun,"

He smiled at her waiting for her to leave. She quickly bowed and left the room. She hated that fact she had to wait all weekend. She was so CLOSE.

To cheer herself up, Orihime decided to do something she loved. Eating. It was finally the weekend and she had her sugar needs. To Orihime's delight there was a donut shop close to school. She went wild. She ordered one of everything. From the sample flavors she tried; it was going to be a good weekend full of fried dough fun. Her mouth watered as she walked home with her giant bag of donuts.

Despite her enthusiasm over her sugary treats, Orihime's mind went back to Ulquiorra. She didn't know why he filled her mind other than being curious. She pondered if she will ever talk to him. One small sentence (are you fine now) seemed to have caused such a ruckus. Way more then it should have. Orihime needed to watch it. She needed to keep a lid on emotions.

Without realizing it she had ended up in front of her apartment complex. It wasn't a large apartment building. It only had about 4 floors. The bottom two floors had 4 apartments each while the top 2 floors only had two apartments each. Orihime lived on the 2nd floor. She was envious of the top apartments mostly because they had balconies. However she liked her new place. The apartment itself was rather spacious. It had an open living room/kitchen/dinning room concept with a sizable bathroom. The bedroom was roomy with plenty of closet space. According to the landlord if she wanted, she could paint the walls. The idea of making it her own really pushed her to take the place. That and it was cheap.

Before she could start her climb up the steps she heard a faint meow.

Orihime whipped her head around. One thing she loved more then sugar; was cats.

Must find kitty.

It didn't take very long to find the source of the meow. Orihime like to think she had cat radar. The cat was near a tree that was in front of the apartment. Orihime put her bags down and slowly went toward the cat.

I will pet you even if it is the last thing I do

Surprisingly the cat was very friendly and came up to her instantly. Orihime finally got a good look at the cat as she rubbed its chin.

The cat had a beautiful coat. The fur was vibrant amber color and was short and smooth to the touch. The cat's eyes were a vivid green. (She tried to not compare it to a certain someone…) After further inspection she noticed on the cat's chest was a patch of white fur. It had a natural heart shape to it. Orihime paused.

"Have I met you before cat?"

Orihime had a pretty good memory and never forgot a lovely feline. She was convinced she had met this cat before. (This was happening to her a lot, apparently)

"There is no way you are the same cat…. How could you have gotten all the way here from Karakura Town…"

"Haku! Kohaku! Where did you go?"

The blood left Orihime's face.

Kohaku? Why that's the same name…

"KoKo?"

Orihime said out loud staring at the cat. She was too distracted to even realize whom the voice had come from or where he was positioned.

The cat left Orihime's side and ran up to the figure that was standing behind her. She quickly turned her head around.

Ulquiorra.

The cat had jumped into his arms and was now softly purring under his touch. Both Orihime and Ulquiorra shared speechless expressions.

The breath had left her. She had seen this before, only years ago. It was the same cat…. And more importantly…same man.

oooweee that was a long one!

For anyone who doesn't know Kohaku mean amber in Japanese

What will happen next? Stay tuned also can anyone guess why it is called melon candy? Hehe xoxoxoxox