Gunfire & Paper Hearts
Chapter 3: Wash the bloody hands
A/N: Homework is killing me, so I'm sorry about the late update ^^' I really want to write, but it's hard to do it when you have at least 20 pages to read every day and one huge assignment every week + I have a regular life with friends and such you know ^^' So sorry about it, and please bear with me.
I didn't intend to make the whole Orihime x Emilio relationship vague but yes, he is indeed engaged to Orihime. I initially thought of Ichigo in that role, but I somehow want the Ulquihime-goodness to be in focus – not Ichihime ^^'
Please, enjoy the new chapter if possible and please bear with me in the future – I'll update my profile and let you guys know, if I'll ever be able to do chapters more regularly.
Orihime was fast asleep when a dark presence slipped inside of her bedroom. To find 'intruders' in the young girl's bedroom wasn't an unusual occurrence… it happened from time to time and it was hard to avoid; however, this current 'intruder' was different. Instead of a burglar or a kidnapper, a melancholic looking young man watched the sleeping girl with intense green eyes.
Even though it was night, and most of the servants already slept in their underwear or pajamas', Ulquiorra was dressed; wearing his usual black pants and a white shirt on his upper body. Normally, he wouldn't have bothered to wear a shirt for such a short visit, but he figured it would be best as a precaution if she woke up…
No need to create more misunderstandings if it could be avoided.
Why was he there anyway? Why did he wake from the alluring state of sleep and was struck with the sudden need to see her?
He watched the young girl sleep for several long moments; the way she mumbled incoherent words, the way her chest rose slowly with her rhythmical breathing, and the way her eyelashes fluttered slightly as if she was having a dream.
He immediately felt relieved by seeing her in such a state… vulnerable, calm and content. Her vulnerability wasn't exactly a plus, but it made him believe that she wasn't consumed by fear or paranoia when she slept.
He would have left just like that, fed up with the need to look at her and his own weird urges, if it wasn't because she was drooling slightly… a thing that, oddly enough, made Ulquiorra's fingers itch with the need to remove the small trail of salvia.
Lifting his left hand slowly, unsure of his actions; he placed his thumb at her bottom lip and trailed it down to the corner of her mouth. Even though she moved a bit, restless at his touch, she didn't wake up. Tenderly, he removed the drool.
She was beautiful. Even when sleeping she was beautiful. The drool and the mumbling did nothing to change that fact, and the more he looked at her, the more entranced he felt in her presence; just by standing next to her bed, he felt the familiar longing in every inch of his body; a longing he wouldn't succumb to.
Realizing that the soft feeling of her skin, such a simple and yet dangerous thing, had brought such indecent thoughts to his mind, he retracted his hand from her lips; perhaps, a bit too soon? because when his cold yet rough fingertips left the young girl's mouth, and she muttered some incoherent words, her eyelids fluttered and brown eyes woke up to the endless darkness of the bedroom.
However, all she saw was darkness… and while the young girl wondered if she had been visited by a ghost, the cold presence left.
A deep sigh left Orihime's lips as her deep brown eyes lingered at the window in her room. Outside, it was heavily raining.
"Why today of all days…" She muttered softly, while her deep brown eyes turned to the stoic male who stood motionless in the corner of her bedroom. Sometimes, he was like another piece of furniture in her room; just standing there with hands buried deep in his pockets. He radiated a natural sense of cold and his green eyes, those piercing green eyes, seemed to demand her full attention no matter where he was…
Orihime smiled warmly towards her new bodyguard in an attempt to make him loosen up. "What do you usually do on rainy days, Mister Cifer?"
"The weather doesn't change my plans for a day." The answer was stoic as usual. "And to change ones plans because of a phenomenon like rain doesn't make sense to me"
Orihime's eyes widened slightly. "Really?" She slowly turned her eyes towards the window again – gazing longingly at the small droplets of water as they glided down the window one of by one. Placing her hand carefully at the glass shielding her from the world outside, brushing her fingertips almost lovingly at the cold surface, she forced another small smile upon her lips. "I actually like the rain…" She whispered. "There's something oddly soothing about it."
Ulquiorra simply watched her without commenting on her words. After all, no question had been addressed to him yet.
"The way the water seems to cleanse the earth… the air… the plants… the animals… it brings life to so many things that many people probably take for granted." Realizing that she was rambling, Orihime laughed softly while turning her deep brown eyes back to Ulquiorra. "But I guess that doesn't interest you?"
He was silent – not intending to answer her question, simply because her words actually did interest him, and he had a hard time admitting it.
"I guess not." She shook her head softly; assuming that his silence meant 'no'. "It must be boring to sit in here with me all the time, simply because it's raining outside" she sighed softly. "I hope it stops later today; for your sake as well."
Ulquiorra slowly approached the young with short determined steps while she, unfazed by the fact that the male with piercing green eyes got closer by every second, kept talking;
"But it's been continuing to rain like this since yesterday…" Her voice got lower by every word she spoke – the defeat evident in her voice. "… I guess we won't be able to go outside anytime soon."
Ulquiorra stopped right in front of her; his pale hand outstretched towards her and the tip of his fingers just a few centimeters from her eyes. She stared at him in wonder; silence suddenly befalling her pink lips.
"I'll take you outside."
Orihime was slightly taken aback by his sudden remark. "But it's still raining?"
"Rain can't possibly hurt you." His words were firm and determined as he slowly guided his hand from her face and down to her arm. He paused there. "I'll bring an umbrella" His hand traveled from her upper arm, and down to the soft skin at the back of her hand. She didn't flinch. "And you won't be able to complain about being trapped in here anymore; understood?"
Orihime bit her bottom lip slightly; trying to ignore the need to shiver by the cold ghostlike touch of his fingers. She wanted to go out; but she was unsure of how her step father was gonna react to it. After all, she rarely left the mansion because of all the fuss concerning her marriage with Emilio…
"Are you sure it's gonna be okay?" she mumbled softly. "I'm not sure if my father is gonna like it…"
Ulquiorra watched her intensely for a few seconds; his fingers still lingering at the back of her hand. Her insecurity was slightly irritating. "Your father paid me in order to keep you from harm." He turned around; ready to leave the room. "And I conclude that any young girl could need some fresh air once in a while. An open window won't be enough in your case." She shivered slightly when he completely retracted his hand from her skin; perhaps of loss? He didn't know.
The heavy sound of his footsteps resounded in the room and he lingered in the doorframe for a few second before he left - his last words forcing another wave of chills down her spine. "I'll be waiting for you outside – I won't take 'no' for an answer."
Her deep brown eyes were wide with anticipation and curiosity; every tall building more wonderful and fascinating than the previous one.
She had no idea that the city was so large. Even though the main house of the Porello family was placed near the city, it had been several years since she had walked around in the normal shopping districts… and with only one escort? Was he really that good?
Orihime slowly lifted her deep brown eyes to look at her supposed bodyguard. He was holding the umbrella over her head in a firm grip; shielding her from the heavy rain that would otherwise soak her. The funny part, however, was the fact that he! For some reason, didn't want to share the umbrella with her – which had resulted in his clothing getting completely soaked during a few seconds exposed to the rain.
It made her feel slightly upset. Did her ignorance and stubbornness really agitate him that much? So much that he wouldn't share the umbrella with her?
"You're gonna get sick…" She mumbled softly; unsure of how she should express her concern for him. If he did! Catch a cold because of her, she would feel terrible. "We can share it you know…"
Ulquiorra, on the other hand, wasn't bothered by the rain at all. Such a simple thing as water, shouldn't force them under the same umbrella if it could be avoided… It would be too close.
"I'm fine." He answered calmly, as the rain made his black hair stick to his pale cheeks, much alike what it would have done in the shower.
The weather was rather unpredictable… just a couple of days ago it had been warm, just like a regular summer day, but now! it was raining heavily and the clear sky had been replaced by dark clouds. Perhaps it was to foreshadow what to come?
"Where do you want to go?" The question must have seemed rather illogical since he had been the one to force her outside in the first place.
"Well…" Orihime mumbled thoughtfully. "All the shops are closed right now… and I don't think they would let us in because of the fact that you're completely soaked anyway… but…"
Ulquiorra gazed at her, as if he wanted to pull the remaining words right out of her throat. "But?" He was patient, yes, but he would prefer if she pushed the formalities aside and said what she wanted to say point-blank… that would make his job so much easier.
"But… I would really like to see… a playground."
"A playground?" Ulquiorra couldn't help but feel a tad confused by her unusual request.
"Y-yes." She smiled at him – almost apologetically. "I know it's raining and all that, but I'm rarely outside, and I can remember visiting a playground when I was younger. I kind of miss it."
Ulquiorra held back a deep sigh. Her wish was rather simple, but none the less illogical. It was raining heavily, and she wanted to go to a playground of all places? She really looked like a woman on the outside, but on the inside she was apparently no more than a child who still missed simple things as swings and slides.
"I'm not sure if there will be anything enjoyable about a playground when it's raining." He quickly stated – hoping that it would make her see the illogical aspect of her request.
"I know – but I just want to look."
Ulquiorra didn't feel like refusing such a pure and simple request when she persisted to ask for it, so immediately afterwards he brought her to the city's closest playground. It was placed near a kindergarten and because it was raining, no kids were currently using it.
That was, if Orihime Inoue couldn't be called a kid in some contexts.
Before Ulquiorra managed to do anything about it, the young girl ran from underneath the protection shelter of the umbrella and to one of the two swings that adorned the playground.
At first, he wanted to pull her back and keep protecting her from the rain, but he figured it would be useless. If she wanted to be wet, there was nothing he could do about it… and he had no intention of forcing her to stay dry simply because she could end up catching a cold. She could learn from her mistakes.
Orihime who seemed like a child at Christmas, smiled vividly as she quickly removed a good portion of the water at the swing, before she sat down. "Push me!" Her voice was filled to the brim with pure joy.
"You said that you would just look." Ulquiorra approached her while she moved her legs impatiently at the swing.
"I changed my mind." She threw her head back and smiled brightly at him. "Is that so bad?"
Ulquiorra couldn't help but admire her in that moment. Not because she had been 'lying' to him, or because she had been running off and was probably gonna catch a cold from the rain that drenched her body and clothing more and more with every passing second, but because of how beautiful she looked in that moment.
The rain only accentuated her female attributes and even though the sight made longing fill his fingertips; longing to feel, touch and posses, he managed to suppress it. Her long auburn hair was heavy with water and encircled her cheeks and face perfectly, while her pink lips were formed in a soft smile that erased every belief that her reasoning for being at the swing, in the heavy rain, was because of grief or loss.
She was just a young girl… but even so, he admired her more than anyone else. The proud, indifferent and cold killer, Ulquiorra Cifer, was under Orihime Inoue's spell.
With a deep sigh of defeat, Ulquiorra placed himself behind the young girl to push her on the swing. Immediately, she turned her head to look at him, and a smile of appreciation adorned her moist lips. "I'm sorry that I'm such a bother to you."
Ulquiorra shook his head. "If I couldn't handle this much, I shouldn't have taken the job in the first place." And with that, he grabbed the swing, lifted it with no effort what so ever, and gave the young girl a soft push.
It must have been an odd sight for the few cars which drove by. At the playground, just next to the kindergarten, an odd duo consisting of a young girl in a blue long dress, and a melancholic looking man in a dark trench coat, was seemingly 'playing' unaffected in the heavy rain. While the young girl was laughing happily, cutting through the invading sound of rain falling like a knife cutting through butter, the melancholic looking man was silent. And even though onlookers wouldn't know, he felt content by being in the rain with the young girl…
… Only one thing was bothering him; one tiny little detail.
Even in the rain it was shining brightly, the cold substance that was known under the name 'silver' and the small sparkling white stone known as a 'diamond' that adorned Orihime's finger; that small thing that couldn't be denied or accepted by Ulquiorra very easily… the engagement ring.
Two men residing in a black van close to the playground watched the two persons at the swings intensely.
"That's her." One of the men pointed towards the young girl at the swing. "But who's the escort? – I've never seen him before."
"Does it matter?" The second man quickly replied. "If it's only one, it won't be a problem."
The second man seemed to approve and the harsh sound of a gun loading could be heard in the black vehicle.
"Let's go."
A/N: *Phew* I actually finished this chapter in the middle of a psychology lesson ^^' *celebrates* I'm planning on heating up Ulquiorra's continuing connection to his job as a hired killer in the next chapter, so look forward to it ^^ The suspense is getting closer! R&R
