Ashes

by Her Pretty Smile


Ashes: Chapter III


BECAUSE OF HER FEVER, she couldn't stay awake to occasionally replace the towel on her forehead. Fatigue was already tugging at her, forcing her to forget everything and lull herself into a slumber of darkness.

When she woke up six hours later, she blinked rapidly in confusion when she saw Ulquiorra rinsing the towel in the basin.

"U—Ulqui—"

"Do not speak, woman," he interrupted with his cold, low voice. "Aizen-sama entrusted you to my care. Therefore, it is my obligation to make sure that you are well."

She bit her lip. "I... I'm..."

"I said do not speak," he said flatly, squeezing the towel and placing it on her forehead.

Amazing, she thought absently. It hasn't even been a day and my fever's already receding a lot. Her gaze rested on him. Did he look after me when I was asleep?

"Now that you are awake," he said, taking an apple from the bowl on the tray, "Eat."

She shook her head. "I'm... not really hungry." She tried a smile to add to the implied plea, but she couldn't seem to manage it.

"You haven't eaten anything earlier," he pointed out quietly. "I suggest you do as I say, woman, before you test my patience yet again."

A bit reluctantly, she took the apple from his hand. "I'm... really sorry, Ulquiorra-san."

He looked at her, his eyes not showing even a bit of emotion. "Such weakness, Inoue Orihime. Do you not have pride?"

"Pride...?"

"Yes, pride. A feeling of self-respect and personal worth. Do you not have that?"

"I... I do," she managed to say.

"Do you treasure it?"

His words were slowly having an effect on her. "Y—Yes, I do."

"Then why are you apologizing if you have your pride?" His gaze was piercing onto her, probing into her own soul.

"I—I..." She swallowed, trying to form the right words in her mouth. "B—Because..."

He watched her, silently waiting for her answer.

She lowered her head. "Because... sometimes you have to swallow your pride in order to do the right thing."

He said nothing. She couldn't see his face since her gaze was still downwards, so she kept her eyes shut as she waited for his answer apprehensively.

However, he only took the towel from her forehead and rinsed it in the basin again. "Eat your apple," he said tonelessly.

She obeyed, a bit of fear resting in the pit of her stomach at his sudden clipped speech. Normally, he'd have some more things to say, but now, it seemed like he didn't.

When she tentatively took a bite of the apple though, he spoke.

"Interesting answer, woman," he said calmly as he placed the towel on her forehead. "It just shows how naïve you humans are."

She watched with sad, lonely eyes as he got up slowly from his chair and went out of the room without another word.


tbc