Disclaimer: BLEACH IS MINE!!! ALL MINE! MUAHAHAHA!!!!! *is bitch-slapped into next year by Tite Kubo and his lawyers*
Ok, fine. He owns it. Happy?
Listening to: The Kooks – 'She Moves in Her Own Way'.
So yes, wisdom teeth out today, which meant that my options were –
Curl up in pain and study for Mathematics 2A
Curl up in pain and start my Linear Algebra assignment
Curl up in pain and write Chapter 7
Naturally, I have picked c), but I shall leave you with this haiku I dedicate to my wisdom teeth –
Ow. Ow, ow ow ow.
Shit, piss, fuck, pain, burn, pony.
Ow ow, ow ow ow.
Pony is in there because it is a four-letter word. Now, to find my painkillers…
R/R!
Chapter 7
The Fourth Division building was mostly shrouded in darkness by the time he arrived, slipping through the shadows and trying to get an exact reading on Orihime's reiatsu in order to find her. He did – and she was apparently not alone. The Quincy boy was there. Ulquiorra decided to wait until her visitor left. It was going to be undignified enough for him to raise this particular topic in their conversation, and he most certainly did not want an audience.
As he felt her guest's reiatsu move away, he crept forward on the rooftop, slipping down until he was outside her window. She was there, pottering about a half-filled suitcase and humming to herself, a wistful smile on her face that he usually only saw when Kurosaki was mentioned. She stopped abruptly, her head tilted to one side, before turning to the window.
"Ulquiorra-kun, is that you?"
He stepped in and she greeted him with a wide smile and a hug that, as usual, he was too stunned to respond to. "I wondered if you'd get to come see me! Do you want me to whip you up something to eat? I was making chocolate and red bean paste flavoured ice cream for Rangiku-san and I, but you can have some too."
Suppressing a shudder, he replied, "No, thank you, I ate before I arrived. You're leaving tomorrow then?"
She nodded. "Uryuu-kun and I are. Kurosaki-kun is staying here for a while, though. Lieutenant Izuru's being doing a great job with the Third, but they need a captain there, just to help them get on their feet."
He threw her a penetrating glance. "Uryuu-kun? I was not aware that you were now on first name basis."
A blush did not creep so much as explode across her face. "Well, uh…"
"That at least explains why you are now able to complete sentences in Kurosaki's presence. What brought this on?"
Her blush seemed to deepen. "Well, there really isn't much point in me chasing after someone who's so clearly in love with someone else."
Neliel and her concern for that brash idiot sprung to mind. Surely that little brat didn't… "Someone else, you say?"
"But of course!" She giggled, "Anyone can see that he and Rukia-san are obviously in love."
Ulquiorra let out a breath he hadn't even realised he'd been holding. "The little dark-haired soul reaper? The one who always seems to be beating him up?"
"Yep, that's the one! They make a cute couple."
"And you are not hurt by this?"
She paused. "I was, but the thing is, Rukia-san is my friend. If he had to be with someone else, I'm glad it was someone good and amazing the way she is. Anyway, once I stopped staring after him I could start to see other things and people I missed, and I realised that I sort of had feelings for other people too. It's weird the way you can feel something and not realise it!"
"Indeed." He was starting to feel the beginning of an uncomfortable epiphany coming on. "Well, I am glad you are content."
"Hmmm…" She sighed dreamily, before snapping back to attention. "But you're not, are you Ulquiorra?"
He flinched, and tried not to let the shock show on his face. "What makes you say that, Orihime?"
She shrugged. "You feel unsettled, sort of. Are you having troubles in your division? With your captain?"
But damn, she was good at this. "My division had a difficult time during the war, but is pulling together. I have no problem with Neliel."
She raised an eyebrow. "Neliel? On first name basis are we?"
He suppressed a flinch once more. "That is not amusing, Orihime."
"Well, that's a relief, because I'm not trying to be amusing. That's it though, isn't it? There's something going on and your captain's part of it."
He stared at her. "You are far too good at letting people underestimate you and your intelligence."
She grinned at him. "Came third in my class and everything. Now, what's going on? Are the two of you not getting along?"
"No, quite the reverse in fact."
"Really?"
"She is an enjoyable companion. But it is very difficult to concentrate on things when she is around. I also seem to be reacting strangely to her when she smiles, or when we make physical contact."
A smile had started to spread across Orihime's face. "Don't tell me, her smile makes your stomach feel strange and wherever you touch feelings tingly for ages after."
"I wouldn't use those words to describe it, but yes, essentially. Have you had this problem too? Should I see the Fourth?"
She was beaming now. "I wouldn't bother seeing the Fourth. And I have had this problem before. It used to centre on a certain Ichigo Kurosaki."
There was silence, until he realised what she was implying. "No. There is no way that is it." His eyes narrowed. "Did Grimmjow put you up to this?"
"What? Grimmjow? No." She sighed, and reached forward to touch his arm. "Look Ulquiorra, this probably wasn't what you wanted to hear, but it really does sound like you… well, like you like her. It's not the end of the world, in fact, it's really cute."
He silenced her with a glare. "Cute?"
"Uh, poor choice of words, I meant - "
"I do not wish to hear what you meant. I want no part of this abomination." He paused, closed his eyes and breathed deeply before turning to her again. "How do I get rid of it?"
"Well, you don't really. That's half the problem."
"Fine. How did you get rid of it?"
"By recognising my feelings for someone else. Somehow I don't think that's really what you want to do."
"Damn straight. Shit, now I'm even beginning to talk like her. What other ways are there?"
"Ways?"
"To get rid of this!"
"Ulquiorra, calm down."
"I am calm."
She raised an eyebrow at him.
"Mostly."
She shook her head in response to this and smiled.
"This is not amusing, woman."
"I never said it was. The thing is, feelings don't go away just because we want them to. If they did no one would ever feel sad or lonely or anything much at all. So there isn't any set way to stop yourself from having a particular feeling. You just have to live with it until it goes away."
He gritted his teeth. "Fine. Are there any ways that one can shorten the duration of a particular feeling?"
"Hmmm…" She looked thoughtful as she toyed with the hair that her clips held back. "There are sort of two schools of though about this. One is that it's best to stay away from the person you feel for so that you can use the distance to move on. The other is that if you spend a lot of time in their presence you can become desensitised and move on that way."
"Those two theories are in complete opposition."
"I know but, like I said, feelings don't just - "
"Go away. I heard." He sighed. "Very well. I shall consider this advice before deciding on a course of action." He walked toward the window. "I will see you off tomorrow. Good night." He climbed onto the ledge.
"Ulquiorra?"
He turned back to face her. "Yes, Orihime?"
"What if she likes you back?"
His face seemed to harden. "Hollows should not feel. The fact that I am doing so is unnatural and something that needs to be remedied."
She shook her head impatiently. "But you're kind of part soul reaper too, and they feel. Why shouldn't you be able to?"
He turned back to the window. "Good night, Orihime."
He was gone, but not before a thought had rushed through his head.
Why indeed?
xXx
The very next morning, Nel arrived at work to find her office bare of all paperwork and her lieutenant's office equipment, not to mention her actual lieutenant. She requested an explanation from her flustered fifth seat and discovered that Ulquiorra had moved to one of the spare offices near the barracks on the grounds that it was quieter and more suited to his paperwork duties. He had also expressed a desire not to be disturbed unless it was absolutely necessary.
"He's very commanding", the fifth seat explained, "and I didn't think it would be a problem. Captain?"
"No, it's fine", Nel replied distractedly, taking in her very empty office, before moving to her own desk and sitting down. She stared at the space where his desk had been.
How is it possible that I can miss someone who's only really been part of my life for two days?
She shook her head, and went back to work.