Dedicated to Mizuki's Star, September09, UlquiorraxOrihime, hitokiri angel, fuzzibuniez, wutai flea and WesternMistress for reviewing, The Agent of Chaos, kaisen fangirl and forsaken-angel6 for favoriting, and Princess-Christina-Ark, Lilac Flames and MillieEllie for alerting. I see a lot of you have come to be fond of my OC. I'm glad! Some already wonder who she is… Well… That will be a question I'll let in your head for a good while. Bwahahaha!

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Ulquiorra got dressed with a new set of clothes, which looked exactly the same as the one he had before, and lied in his bed. Arrancar didn't need to sleep but they still could; just like they didn't need to eat human food but could eat it anyways.

He knew perfectly well what he had to do but he just couldn't muster enough will as to enter that room willingly, especially because he knew it'd be uncomfortable. That was understandable; few face situations that make them uneasy by sheer will. Motives are necessary in these cases. His motive was that he wanted to understand her. But motives are hardly enough. Willpower and determination are needed, something that will push the beings to act and that will constantly remind them of their wish. Ulquiorra lacked the will and determination required because he didn't even know why he wanted to understand Orihime Inoue in the first place.

He was developing anxiety from all his unanswered questions and because he knew it was likely the amount of them would only increase and that the answers would not be found in books, he dreaded entering the prisoner's room. However, he figured that, sooner or later, he'd have to enter. Whether Aizen asked him to or that mysterious and almost scary woman kicked him inside, he'd have to see her again. Why so much uneasiness about a hardly-threatening human girl? Was this fear? While it sounded like fear, he strongly doubted that was it. Oh, wonderful. Now he was increasing the number of questions all by himself. Regardless of everything else, there was just one way and one only to obtain answers; even hints would be helpful.

He stood up and left his dull lifeless room and headed towards Inoue Orihime's direction.

He knocked her door thrice. No answer was received. He didn't expect one anyways; that was merely an announcement of his incoming presence.

He opened the door. She was standing and facing the barred window with the moon rays falling above her as the only source of light she had access to. It was the same scene every time he entered; she was starting to look like a picture.

Her neck turned a few degrees. He could tell her left eye's corner was glancing at him.

Now what? – She wondered, both alarmed and authentically curious.

Ulquiorra had nothing remotely close to an idea of what to say or do next. He simply stared at her figure's back in silence.

With no better idea of what to do, he decided to simply observe.

He went ahead and sat at the couch against the wall. His head was looking in her direction. No words were given.

Orihime almost raised an eyebrow. She turned her entire body around to face him. He could not see her face very well because of the darkness of the room and the moon shining in the background. On the other hand, she could see his naturally pallid face fairly well.

-What are you doing? – She asked softly; her voice was neutral and struggling to remain calm.

-I am observing you. – He answered bluntly.

-Did Aizen tell you to?

-'Aizen – Sama'; that is the way you must address him, woman.

-But you don't always address him as 'Sama', either.

-We've had that talk before, woman. – His voice straightforward and, because he was not comfortable in that environment, it seemed as if he was running out of patience. – We are not in the same level; you are a prisoner and I am an Espada.

Orihime glanced in another direction and did not reply anything to his words. But when she looked at him again, her eyes shone with a completely different light.

-I will not be held prisoner here forever. My friends will come.

-I do not doubt they will, but if you think they can just take you back without getting a scratch, you're wrong, woman. Even if they reach far and even if it looks for an instant as if they will win, they will not stand a chance the moment they're before Aizen. No matter how much it is in their favor, they will not succeed to defeat him. Aizen's power is above theirs and Soul Society's.

-Kurosaki – Kun will never lose. – She defied firmly.

Ulquiorra nearly frowned. He felt a strange sensation each time she called Kurosaki Ichigo's name. He did not like it one bit.

-Why do you always address him in the same way, woman?

-What do you mean? – Orihime was taken aback with that unexpected question.

-Why do you never call him 'Ichigo'? Isn't that his name? If he is your friend, then why are you so formal when addressing him?

Orihime blushed.

-K-Kurosaki – Kun… - She stuttered flushed.

-I dare you to call him by his given name. – Ulquiorra defied out of the blue.

Orihime stared at him, both confused and in disbelief. To call him by his given name? How am I going to do that? (…) Why don't I have the courage to?

-I… I will not. – She opposed weakly.

Ulquiorra stood up and approached her with silent steps.

Orihime gazed at him astounded. For some reason, being only steps away from him did not feel scary or threatening..

-I don't understand why. – He said.

Her bluish-gray eyes were attentively staring at his forest green ones.

-I don't understand why you think you can't. It should be within your verbal capacity. Why can't you pronounce a mere name, woman?

-Then, why can't you pronounce my name, Ulquiorra Schiffer? – She defied with the same intensity with which she insisted her friends would come.

Now the Espada was taken aback.

Orihime could not tell for sure, but she could swear she saw his forest green irises contract and dilate in a split second.

Ulquiorra couldn't believe himself. Why was he so shocked? She had only pronounced his name…For the first time…

Names? – He thought. – Why? It's just my own name… Why would it be any different depending on who calls it?

-My name is not 'woman'. If it is so easy to call someone by their given name, then why can't you call me 'Orihime'? – She pressed.

Ulquiorra did the unthinkable. He gave a step back. (!) Nothing before had ever made him give a step back, not even when he received Ichigo's Getsuga Tenshou. Au contraire, he tried to push his attack back with one and then with two hands.

Even Orihime looked surprised. Even she knew that Ulquiorra was not the kind to back off easily. She was bemused about why she would know that, though. It's not like she had actually witnessed his fighting power…Right?

Ulquiorra stared into her firm eyes. There it was again, that strong-willed side that he found fascinating…Not that he'd ever admit that out loud. Indeed, this human girl was interesting, unlike other boring and simple-minded humans. She couldn't possibly be normal if a glare alone made him step back.

But regardless of how fascinating things were, he was still uneasy about her words.

-I'll repeat to you it is not my duty to please you. You are a prisoner and my job is to merely make sure you are well. I will not call a human by her name because, in the end, all humans are trash.

Orihime's eyes showed his words reached her and her lips gawked. She was speechless.

Ulquiorra's chest felt funny and he decided to end things there, refusing to look into those hurt eyes any longer.

He closed the door behind him, locking her another time in that dark room.

She knew she had used her argument as a shield. She didn't want to acknowledge it, but she was in the same position as him. Why couldn't she just say Kurosaki – Kun's name? It was just a name…Just a name and nothing more…

So he thinks I'm trash, too? – She mused without realizing she had changed the subject of her thoughts from orange and hazel to black and emerald. – What is my life in your eyes, Ulquiorra Schiffer? Trash, I suppose. Why do you ask questions as if trying to understand me if I'm just trash to you? I don't understand you either. I cannot rely on anyone here except for myself. I must destroy the Hogyoku… I want to be useful to Kurosaki…Kun and the others. (…) Why does he not deny they'll come? What is he hiding?

Before she knew it, she was again standing below the moon's light that managed to pierce through the barred window.

Ulquiorra, for the first time, gave a sigh of relief when he was outside of that asphyxiating room.

Why? She's a human. She cannot even give me a scratch? Why did I step back?

-Seems like you are discovering new things about yourself instead of Orihime – San, Ulquiorra. – A familiar sultry voice said.

Ulquiorra didn't like to hear that voice. That voice meant trouble for his sanity. He turned around, ready to show a hostile glare, but, instead, he lifted both his eyebrows in astonishment.

-Does it suit me? – The enigmatic woman asked playful. – I found it in the laundry.

She then turned around sporting the gray skirt, white blouse, red ribbon, white knee socks and brown shoes that composed Orihime's school uniform. She even had her hair in the same style as the honey blonde girl. All she lacked were the flower hair pins Orihime was still wearing.

-Is this your idea of a joke, woman? – Ulquiorra spoke harshly while turning his head in another direction; his pale cheeks looked livelier than usual.

-It's not 'woman', Ulquiorra. Isn't that what Orihime Inoue just told you?

Ulquiorra's fists closed tightly.

-By the way, you blushing proves what I already proved to you. You're a sweet guy, Ulquiorra. I think it's cute you thought I was Orihime – San for a second.

-I'm not 'cute', woman. – Ulquiorra's husky voice tried to sound upset. And names are just names. They hold no greater significance than for identification purposes.

-Is that so? – She asked with the slight grin he knew. – Well, your own name called by her voice was enough to make you back off, Ulquiorra.

-It was not a voluntary reaction. – He answered after a pause, serious.

-Of course it was not. – She replied, serious too. – But it happened. Your own body language is telling you something, Ulquiorra. You were taken aback by her words. You applied pressure on her but you were the one who was suppressed in the end. They say that what goes around comes around. Ever heard that saying?

-I have. It's got nothing to do with that. My intelligence and strength are superior to hers; she couldn't have possibly intimidated me.

-That does not necessarily mean you were intimidated, Ulquiorra; you were just surprised. More importantly, you should be happy. You are progressing more quickly at last. Finally, I can see the fruits of my hard work. – She smiled. – You were starting to worry me, Ulquiorra.

-Do you seriously believe that was progress? – He sounded angry.

-Well, for once, you mustered courage to go in there without needing me to push you inside, though I was about to. – She playfully gave showed him the thumbs up. – So, what did you learn?

-Apparently, she thinks names are sacred, just like you. – He retaliated.

-Not precisely sacred; they simply hold great importance to us. The fact that her calling your name affected you physically is a wake up call, Ulquiorra. You can no longer believe they are so insignificant.

-What she said to me, she did it to avoid doing what I told her to do. She used her words as a shield because she does not dare to call the man she supposedly loves by his name.

-Not everyone reacts objectively when it comes to the people they love. And I wonder what that 'supposedly' in your sentence means. – Her eyes shone with anticipation.

Ulquiorra paused. He wanted to escape those ocean blue eyes but he knew it was beyond his power to escape from her.

-Well, she claims she loves him. I saw her… That night before she came here, she said goodbye to him. She told him she loved him. – He sounded more upset with each sentence his mouth let out.

-But do you believe she loves Ichigo? – She asked while walking closer.

Ulquiorra looked at her, who stood beyond the limits of personal space. Her expression seemed compassionate.

-Ulquiorra, while you might be close to accepting the fact you can have emotions, I doubt it has crossed your mind what the emotion of love could be, other than a conundrum.

-Love?

-'Love' might be the hardest word to define. – She smiled. – But it's not impossible to do it. And, you know? I've seen humans love others everyday. There are different types of love. I hold no doubt Orihime – San loves her friends and her friends love her back. I have no doubt she loves Ichigo Kurosaki and Ichigo Kurosaki loves her but, as far as I've seen, they are just friends. Regardless of what she might want their relationship to be, it's currently in 'friends mode'.

Ulquiorra stared at her.

-What is your point?

She grinned.

-I think it might be wiser to let you know later. But why does it make you uneasy to know she has feelings for Kurosaki Ichigo?

-It does not make me uneasy. – He frowned.

-Of course it doesn't. – She smiled. – Anyways, what else did you learn?

Ulquiorra knew that woman was up to something with those words. Just how did her mind work?

-Nothing else. – He replied.

-Well, I know there is nothing else to add concerning Orihime - San, but what did you learn about yourself?

-Learn about myself?

-You learned something else, Ulquiorra. What else did your reaction tell you?

-Nothing else. – He insisted.

She sighed.

-Heavens, you are helpless, Ulquiorra! Look through the obvious! The mere fact that you had a reaction to her words at all tells you something!

It tells me something…? – He pondered as he tried to search in his memory everything he had read about reactions. – A reaction is an extremely rapid psychophysiological response of an organism to a sudden and unexpected stimulus, in this case, that woman's reply… What else is there? What am I missing?

His eyes widened as he got the emphasis of the key clause in her sentence.

"The mere fact that you had a reaction to her words at all tells you something!" – He quoted mentally. – The fact that I had a reaction in the first place?

-Exactly! – The woman with the ability to read minds exclaimed with exaggerated body language. – Ulquiorra, why do you insist on worrying me thus much?

-Why do you give such absurd importance to an involuntary bodily movement?

-You think anyone else would've reacted like you did, Ulquiorra? If it had been Nnoitra Jiruga, Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, Tia Harribel or Gin Ichimaru, do you think they would've reacted the same way?

Ulquiorra didn't reply; he didn't know what to.

-You reacted like you did because her words reached you, Ulquiorra. Do you know what that means?

-It simply means my sense of audition works fine.

She glared daggers at him. Few people's glares could affect him. She happened to be included in that minuscule group…

-Is that your idea of a joke, Ulquiorra? – She said with her hands on her hips.

Twice…Twice that night, his words were reflected right back at him. Is this what superstitious people call 'karma'? – He wondered.

The woman in the high school uniform sighed heavily. Even she had limits to her patience.

-OK… Let's move on. – She announced. – Now, Ulquiorra, what does you reacting mean? Answer seriously this time, please.

He stared at her blankly. He had replied seriously the previous time she asked him that question.

They had a staring contest and her frustration made her lose.

-It. Means. You. Care! – She spelled out her sentence.

Once again, that woman's words had a strong impact on him.

-I care? – He still asked.

-Yes! – She bellowed and her voice echoed throughout the hall. – Just like Orihime – San cares about Ichigo's name in a way that she finds herself unable to say it out loud, you care about her name in a way that you can't say her name in her presence!

-I care…About…Her name? – Speechlessness was catching up to him.

-Yes, you do, Ulquiorra Schiffer. – She smiled triumphantly.

He couldn't believe that; that didn't make sense to him.

-Ulquiorra, why do you insist so hard on calling her 'woman'?

-That's what she is.

-You don't call Grimmjow 'arrancar', you don't call Stark 'espada', you don't call Aizen 'shinigami'. Then why call her 'woman' when you know her true name?

Ulquiorra's answer was silence and a stare that revealed he was at the mercy of her mouth.

-Names are not insignificant. Saying one out loud is to acknowledge an existence. – She said. – While Orihime – San's reason are her feelings and yours is different, now you understand a bit more what it is like to not be able to say a name out loud. – She smiled again. – That is why I said you were making progress.

-Orihime Inoue… - He said.

Her lips curled.

-Why, are my ears tricking me? – She asked grinning.

-Her name is Orihime Inoue. – He looked at her gravely and defying, but she was still smiling.

-Ah, so you do know her name! Good. – She played. – Now all that is left is for you to address her like that within the reach of her ears.

He frowned slightly at her response. She looked at Ulquiorra gravely when she took notice of his reluctant expression.

-You do remember your time is limited, correct, Ulquiorra? – She asked him straightforward.

Ulquiorra looked away.

-I know. – He replied.

-Then make use of the tools you obtain in your learning, Ulquiorra. – She replied. – I knew her name well before you said it. Now let her hear your own voice calling her name, just like hers called yours.

-I should not. – He said. – I am her capturer and she is the prisoner. Me calling her name would have a psychological effect that would eventually make her conclude I care about her.

-Don't you? – She asked bluntly. – You are trying to understand her, after all. Not being capable of understanding her was your greatest regret at your last moment. You asked her if she feared you twice. Does that not beckon that you wanted her answer to change? Does that not imply that you cared?

He was wordless. His heart, which still existed, was beating unstably. Another staring contest was held. Her eyes were not going to back off. Her expression was serious and piercing.

-She seems different from other humans. – He answered after a pause. – But that does not mean she matters to me in the least. She's a human after all. Humans are trash in the end.

She ceded as she blinked in purpose. Her face's determination faded.

-You disappoint me, Ulquiorra. – Her whispered words felt like a dagger in the middle of his forehead.

She turned on her heel. Without facing him, she continued:

-Stubbornness does not lead anywhere, you know? – Her words sounded hurt.

Just how had he hurt her? Was that even possible? Was it within his power to hurt that woman?

She observed her walking away slowly.

-Think about what it meant for her that you called her trash. – She said without turning to look at him.

He extended his arm in her direction, but before he could ask her anything else, she turned around a corner and disappeared from sight. He felt that if he went after her, he wouldn't find her anymore.

Indeed, she used her powers to disappear at that corner. She was trying to remain recollected as she told herself she'd be during this specific mission she vowed to complete with success.

In truth, she wanted to continue her hourly session with him. She needed to cover more about what he told Orihime, calling her trash, but she just couldn't. She was too upset to look at him with the composure she had to have in order to get to him, so she just left it to him as homework.

After a few minutes, she calmed herself down and grinned sadly.

-My reaction came in anger. That means I care about you getting there, Ulquiorra. – She thought out loud. – So, you better get there.

I apologize for taking too long to update this story. It's just that I seldom get inspired for this one, how strange. So, some of you might have noticed I published a third story called "Code Geass: Snow of the Rebellion". You're welcome to read it. I want you guys to know that that story is my third priority; this one is second, simply because I started it earlier. If it seems sometimes that I update others faster it is merely because of inspiration issues. I said I'd finish this. I've been brainstorming a bit for this one as well. I have the ending planned; I just need to work in the middle a bit. ;) Thank you for being my reader.