I know it's been a while, so I am sorry.

I felt too lazy to do my school work as I'm supposed to do today, so instead, I decided to update on this story.

Please thank my laziness. Hehe.

Enjoy this rather long chapter.

-O-

Chapter 6:

Unexpected

"Why have you been so busy lately?" he inquired. "I haven't had the chance to spend time with you in almost a week."

She gazed apologetically at him.

"I'm sorry. I have just been busy."

At her own words, the image of Ulquiorra tutoring her days ago flashed in her mind, effectively causing her face to redden. She did not know when or how he had learned the materials presented in her school books, but he was a genius. Sayuri was thankful for his help.

"Yes, you've been studying, I know, but it would not hurt your studies too much if you spent about thirty minutes with me at least."

"Ok," she smiled, "Since we took our last test today, I no longer have to study anyway. I am all yours! So what do you want to do?"

A large grin greeted her answer.

"Let's just walk around the meadow by the park."

"Sure, Hiro."

The brown haired man tugged thankfully at her hands.

She had been in a one sided love with this man for years. They were good friends, and so for fear of ruining that friendship, the topic of a relationship was out of the question.

But why is she no longer as excited with the idea of spending time with him?

-O-

Ulquiorra was bored. His external wounds healed quickly, but the same could not be said with his internal wounds. It still hurt to move -not that he would admit it.

He looked at the thing that humans used to tell time as he had seen Sayuri do all the time.

She was late.

He needed to shower, and he doubted he could alone. He hated relying on others, much less a girl, but he had no choice. He was injured but he did not want to be filthy. He had left that unsanitary side of him when he became strong enough to no longer be a mindless hollow.

The last time he tried to clean himself, that woman had decided to injure herself, causing him to unwillingly survive filthily for another day. Then his promise to tutor her had kept both of them busy for several more days.

Now, he absolutely detested the state of filthiness that his body was reduced to.

He hated the feeling of uncleanliness that clung to his skin. He may be a hollow, but he was civilized unlike the other imbecilic hollows roaming Hueco Mundo.

Soon enough, he decided to simply take his chance and head for the shower. If his wounds open up, it could always heal again.

The ashen and ebony colored man headed for the drawers to look for some spare clothes.

He opened the top drawer and pulled out some lacey material. He stared at the white thing in his hands.

He recognized it to be some sort under garment women wore.

The sound of footsteps and the opening and closing of the bedroom door rung in his ears.

And then, the words, "What are you doing!?" rung even louder.

A crimson faced Sayuri snatched the material from his hands.

"I was looking for clothes," he said, "I need to shower."

"W-why were you looking in my drawers?" she asked, her voice no longer docile like it usually was. He heard the sound of nervousness, anger, and possibly even embarrassment lacing her voice.

He stared blankly at her. "I would not have to look for clothes myself if you were here."

She sighed. She left the room, and within seconds, she came back with drawers, pajamas, and a shirt.

"Here, these are my brother's."

Ulquiorra took the clothes and said, "Take me to the bathroom."

"...And this time, don't hit your head," he added almost as an after-thought.

Black brows creased into a heavy frown.

"I was trying to make sure you did not hurt yourself," she stated angrily.

'How dare he say that when it was his fault for insisting to walk on his own!' she yelled inwardly.

She left the room in a heated rush. Just as she passed by him on her way out, Ulquiorra's sense of smell curled at the foreign and unpleasant smell emanating from her.

He knew she had never smelled like that before but he simply chose to ignore the odor.

Sayuri dumped herself on the sofa of the living room. She cursed at the man quietly in her head.

'How dare he say that to me!?' kept repeating in her mind.

She was patient with people who are injured, but this patience did not apply to individuals with rude tendencies.

Closing her eyes, she breathed in deeply to calm herself.

The sound of something heavy falling snapped her closed lids open.

Out of reflex, she ran up the stairs as quickly as she could. She opened her bedroom door.

She saw nothing.

'Did he leave?' she asked herself.

An undesired and unexpected feeling of sadness took its grip on her emotions.

Without even feeling her legs move, she headed for the bathroom to splash water on her suddenly warm face.

Sayuri entered the closed room, placed cold water on her cheeks, and looked at her reddening eyes in the mirror.

"You do not knock, I see," came the familiar baritone voice.

A small "eek" escaped her scarlet lips as her body twisted around towards the voice.

Pain arose in her head as a result of the quick movement. She placed her forehead on her left hand in an attempt to will in away. It was apparent that she still felt some pain after her mishap days before.

Her tightly closed lids gradually relaxed as the pain grew duller.

Ulquiorra watched silently on his place on the ground. That same repugnant odor found its way to his senses, but still, he remained silent as Sayuri finally lifted her head from her hands, signaling that her head was no longer in agony.

She stared down at him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. "I thought you had left."

A hint of sadness was latent in her voice came but went unnoticed by the both of them.

"I said I needed a shower. Since you stormed off, I had no choice but to do it alone," was the simple answer.

"Then what was that noise just now?"

There was no answer.

A smile found its way onto Sayuri's lips.

"You fell didn't you?"

Again, there was no answer.

The sweet melody of a feminine laugh filled the room. Ulquiorra glared at the shaking form of Sayuri.

When her laughter faded away, Sayuri leaned in front of Ulquiorra with her hand extended. "Come on, I'll help you."

Reluctantly, the Espada stretched his hand to receive the help of the black haired girl before him. She had been coming to her rescue too much and too recently lately, and he did not like it. He did not like being weak.

Still, he accepted her help.

"Just sit on the toilet seat, and I'll warm up the bath since I doubt you're strong enough to stand for a shower."

Sayuri made sure that the bath water was saturated with bubbles so that she would not have to see things she was not yet ready to see. She guided Ulquiorra to the front of the tub and helped him remove his shirt. She then turned around as he took off his pants.

"Is it...safe?" she asked.

"I do not know why you're not facing this way."

"Because, g-girls should not see certain things at such a young age," she stuttered.

"You humans hold concern over the most insignificant things."

She turned back around when she was sure that his body, except his upper chest and head, were completely submerged and hidden within the sea of bubbles.

"It's just how I was raised, I suppose," she smiled.

She stood watching as the black haired young man began to use soap to clean his body that had been smothered by ointments, blood, and sweat. Her eyes watching for any sign that showed that he needed help.

He managed to clean his chest, head, and legs on his own –albeit with a bit of difficulty –but his back proved to be quite troublesome.

Slightly amused, Sayuri tried to hide her smile.

Ulquiorra then felt a warm hand grab the soap in his hands, followed by the cold sensation of the soap rubbing against his back.

He did not say anything. He simply waited until the same pair of warm hands placed the soap back into his own hands.

"You really do need this bath don't you?" she commented after she looked away once more when Ulquiorra began to drain the water and rinse himself.

The young woman heard an almost inaudible snicker.

"You are the one in deep need of a bath."

Sayuri pulled a three hundred and sixty degree turn at the rude comment. "What are you talki-"

Crimson found its way onto Sayuri's already rosy cheeks.

Her hands automatically found their way to her face to cover the view of a bare Ulquiorra, water dripping from his skin and hair.

"I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed behind her hands.

Without much care, the strange man dried himself with a nearby towel and tugged on the drawers and pajamas but found it rather arduous to do it himself. After a bit of a struggle, he managed to pull the pajamas up on his own since his helper was still busy having her face in her hands.

"Is it s-safe?"

"Hn."

Sayuri took that as the signal to lift her blushing face. However, once she gazed upon Ulquiorra's almost healed body, the red coloring of her skin grew deeper. When she had seen his body last time, she was too busy treating his wounds that she never really noted the perfect muscles that decorated his toned body.

"Get my shirt woman," came the order which finally pulled Sayuri from her gawking.

She unconsciously grabbed the sweater she had gotten for him and helped him get into it.

As she buttoned the sweater, the undesirable odor grew stronger due to her close proximity.

"You smell putrid," was the blatant statement.

Sayuri looked up, mortified. She was sure she had taken a shower already.

"W-what?" she asked, thinking that she might have heard wrong.

"Your scent is like that of a rotten corpse."

In response, the embarrassed young teen pulled the collar of her shirt up to smell it. It smelled like the detergent she used to wash them in the laundry.

"I don't understand," Sayuri said, confused.

Ulquiorra stepped forward so that he was in closer proximity to his nurse. He bent his head until his nose lingered above the crook of her neck.

Sayuri stayed still. She did not know what he was doing. Her heartbeat felt as though it was running a marathon.

The former Espada inhaled deeply. He smelled her true scent –the mouthwatering smell that he had experienced before. But he also noted the disgusting smell that lingered around her own. The smell was so strong that it almost overwhelmed Sayuri's scent completely.

He did not really know where Sayuri had gotten the odor, but he became aware that the repugnant odor did not originate from her.

"Sai?" came a muffled noise from the door.

Ulquiorra took a step back at the noise. He had not sensed that someone was outside.

'Odd,' he thought.

Sayuri looked at the door awkwardly after Ulquiorra had pulled himself away.

"Y-yes, Shin?"

"Mama wants me to get a towel."

"Ok."

"Are you ok in there? You sound…I do not know…scared."

To prove that she was alright, Sayuri ran to the bathroom door, poked her head out, and smiled.

"Yes, I am fine," she laughed.

"Ok then," the younger sibling stated before pushing his way inside, "Let me get the towel before mom gets angry."

Aware that Ulquiorra cannot be seen by other people aside from herself, Sayuri allowed her brother to enter without any hesitancy.

Shin noticed his clothes on the floor.

"Why are my cloth-" he began to question before noticing something.

"Who is he?" he asked.

-O-

Chapter is now complete. I tried making it longer this time, so I hope it was worth your time to read my creation.

Consider this an early Christmas present =D