Hello. This is chapter 2. For those who read my profile, I´m sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up. But you know, with different time zones, and the problems has had, this was the best I could do. So, anyways, enjoy! And don´t forget to review!

Disclaimer: I do in no way own Bleach, and I bow before Tite Kubo. That said, I own my own stories.

Ulquiorra knew something was wrong when the woman came home. Besides from her normal happy behavior, there was something about her that radiated. She almost ran over to where he sat on the couch reading his book, and stretched out her arms to reveal some foul smelling ball of fur.

"Ulquiorra-kun! Look what I found!"

Ulquiorra looked at the furry ball with disdain. Besides it being incredibly smelly, it was also ragged and dirty, like it had been lying in a trashbin. Ulquiorra eyed it for a bit, and then returned his gaze back at the book.

"You have found an old, dirty carpet. Congratulations."

The woman looked almost angry, like he had offended her.

"Ulquiorra-kun, you dummy! It´s not a carpet, look closer!"

Looking at the ball more closely, Ulquiorra couldn´t see anything, until the thing suddenly moved, and a head popped up from being previously buried in the crook of the woman´s arm. Ulquiorra could now see the contours of a small body. A pair of big brown eyes looked at him, mouth wide open.

"It's a canine."

"No, it's a dog, Ulquiorra-kun."

"Same thing."

The woman looked at him, unsure.

"But canine just sounds so… primitive. And just look at how cute he is!"

Ulquiorra looked at the canine in the woman´s arms again, surveying it. The animal was small and furry. The fur, though dirty, looked smooth and full, like a newborn´s. It could be no more than 4 months old, at most.

"It's dirty, smelly and probably infected with disease. I cannot see how you think that is cute."

"Ulquiorra-kun, you meanie! He can hear you, you know."

"It is animal, woman." Ulquiorra, now a little annoyed with the woman´s irrationality. "It cannot understand me."

"Don´t be so sure of that Ulquiorra-kun. He is a very smart dog. Look!" The woman sat the dirty canine down on the floor in front of her, and it looked up at her, sitting down. The woman bended over, looking down at it with a smile.

"Come on, boy! Let´s show him the trick we worked on!" Stretching out her hand towards the mutt, she said in an encouraging voice:

"Shake hands!"

The small animal lifted one of its small paws and gently put it on top of the woman´s. Then the woman looked back at Ulquiorra, a proud expression on her face, as if the canine had just succeeded at something extremely complicated, and not just a simple trick.

"See, Ulquiorra-kun! He understands me!"

Before Ulquiorra could tell her that it was far more likely that the animal had just reacted to her outstretched hand rather than her words, she continued:

"And if he can learn this just on the walk home, what could he not learn if we just trained him? Things like programming computers, or fight aliens attacking earth! "The woman looked off dreamily in the distance. "Wouldn't that be great, Ulquiorra-kun?"

"I highly doubt that a canine can learn that", Ulquiorra dryly commented.

"Dog, Ulquiorra-kun." The woman corrected him, and then turned her attention back to the small canine, alternating between petting it and cooing at it. Then, she picked it up, and stood again. She walked over to the couch, and stretched out her arms, the canine hanging in front of Ulquiorra. The mutts head at the same height as his, Ulquiorra looked at it for some time, silently contemplating. Then, he looked at the woman again, her happy expression confusing him.

"Here, Ulquiorra-kun, try to hold him for a while."

"And why would I want to do that, woman?"

The woman now looked slightly nervous, but tried to hide it with a smile.

"Just try it, Ulquiorra-kun. You just might like it!"

Ulquiorra highly doubted that. While he had no specific hatred for canines, he didn´t like them either. And, the fact that the mutt was dirty and smelly didn´t help one bit. Not wanting to annoy the woman and risk one of her very rare angry glares, he hesitatingly took the small canine from the woman´s hands. Surprised at how light it was, he held it gently as to not hurt it. The dog trashed wildly in his grip, fervently trying to get closer to him. When he complied, the dog tried to jump up and lick him in the face. Disgusted, Ulquiorra pushed it back, so that it sat on his lap.

"Come on Ulquiorra-kun, try to pet him. His fur is really soft and nice." The woman softly said. Reaching out his hand, he gently let it slide over the fur of the small animal. She was right. It really was soft, even though it was filled with dirt. The animal had gone completely still beneath its hand, its eyes half closed. It looked peaceful.

"See? I knew you two would get along." The woman had moved to sit next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. For some reason he didn´t want to dwell on, his heart sped up. Trying to get his mind away from the strange reaction, he focused his attention on the animal.

"Why would it matter if I liked the mutt or not?" Ulquiorra asked.

He could feel the woman tense beside him. Slowly, as if afraid he would get angry at her, she said:

"Because I thought that if you liked him, maybe we could, you know, keep him?"

Ulquiorra looked at her, a confused expression on his face.

"Why would you want to keep a filthy animal in your house?"

"He´s not filthy. He´s just dirty, a bath would fix that."

"It has nowhere to sleep."

"He can sleep in my room."

"It's probably ridden with disease."

"I´m going to take him to the vet to get vaccinated first thing tomorrow. That is, if you say yes, of course." looking up at him from her position at his shoulder, her eyes unsure and pleading. "Do you? We don´t have to keep him if you don't want to."

Ulquiorra knew he couldn´t say no to her. Those big, pleading eyes looking up at him had him stopped in his tracks. That weird feeling he got every time she was close to him came back at full power. Before he could say anything, however, the woman continued in a soft tone.

"Do you want to know how I found him?"

Surprised at her serious voice, Ulquiorra just nodded.

"I was on my way home from Tatsuki-Chan's house. I walked by the park, and then I saw him. He was sitting in a cardboard box, all alone. It looked like there had been others with him, but apparently someone had picked them up. He was the only one left. No parents, no family. He was all alone in the world." She laughed softly, while still petting the now asleep animal. "Somehow, he reminded me of you."

This surprised Ulquiorra. It was not every day he got compared to a member of the canine family. The woman didn´t seem to notice, however, and just continued.

"He looked like she had been there for a few days already. He was so thin. He wouldn´t have survived much longer if he was left alone."

"I see."

The woman slowly looked up at him.

"You do?"

He did. The woman wasn´t able to leave anyone who was in pain. It was in her nature to always help those who needed it, and never leave them. She had seen the exact same thing in the small mutt that she had somehow seen in him. Longing. Longing for something he didn´t know existed. And she had given it to him. But the most important thing was…

She hadn´t left him. Just like she hadn´t left the mutt.

Sighing, Ulquiorra stood up abruptly, taking the small mutt with him. It stirred in his arms, looking up at him, the movement apparently having woken it up. And even though it was dirty and smelly, Ulquiorra couldn´t help but feel with it. They were alike in but one way. They had both had their lives saved by the woman, and were now bound to her.

Whether they liked it or not.

"Where are you going, Ulquiorra-kun?" The woman looked up at him from her position on the couch. She looked anxious, as if expecting him to be angry at her.

"To the bathroom. If I have to live with a canine, I would prefer it to be clean and not smell like a trash bin."

For a moment she looked at him and the mutt, dumbstruck. Then, a smile slowly made way to her face, until she was practically beaming with happiness. Quickly walking up to him, she kissed him on the cheek once, quickly. Then she looked at him, the happiest he had ever seen her. Surprised, he just looked at her.

"Thank you, Ulquiorra-kun."

"There is no reason to thank me, woman."

The woman just ignored his last remark, and turned to the kitchen.

Ulquiorra turned around to enter the bathroom, when he heard the woman call out to him from the kitchen.

"Oh, and Ulquiorra-kun?"

"Yes, woman?"

"It's a dog." Ulquiorra sighed.

"If you say so, woman."

Then he went to give the "dog" a bath. But not before touching the place on his cheek she had kissed, still feeling it tingle.

Maybe having a dog wouldn´t be so bad after all.

Thanks for reading. And once again, don´t forget to review, ´cause it makes my day when you do!