Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of the characters.

Kura and Ako Maruchia © 36-May-36

The World As We Know It

By: BananaMuffinz

Chapter 1: Humans Are Strange

Ulquiorra awoke in a daze, his dark hair in messy tangles. It was a strange thing to be in an artificial body such as a gigai, it was a restricting sort of feeling, suffocating even to some extent. Not only did it require more sleep than he would prefer but it was difficult to focus once awoken.

He rubbed his eyes wearily and looked around the room, his back sore from sleeping on the floor. What a pathetic excuse for something used to sleep if it could cause so much pain. Useless trash. He sighed under his breath and pushed back his hair from his eyes with one hand then got up, looking over at the now empty bed that was previously occupied by the girl he now knew as Kura Maruchia.

In his curiosity, he walked out of the room and downstairs to find Kura. Obviously she would not be so dull as to let a stranger be left alone in her house, she had to be somewhere. As he turned the corner into the kitchen, Ulquiorra saw her standing there infront of the counter, making a sandwich and… "what is that brown liquid?" , he thought to himself. He had never seen anything like it back in Hueco Mundo.

"Oh! Good morning!", said Kura cheerily, turning around to face the stoic man standing behind her, "Want some breakfast?"

He looked at her, confusion in his cold emerald eyes, "What is 'breakfast'?"

Kura burst out in laughter at the ridiculous question. How could he not know something as simple as that? Has he been living under a rock his whole life? Snickering as she calmed down from her laughing fit, she looked up at him as if he told the funniest joke ever created, "Breakfast is when you eat something early in the day when you wake up. It normally happens before 12pm because that time is lunch time and the three main meals of the day are breakfast, lunch, then dinner."

The pale boy regarded this for a moment then answered seriously, "Arrancars nor any hollows alike practice such a mundane ritual as this so called 'breakfast'."

At this, she laughed again. "So I take that as a 'no you don't want breakfast'," she said, smiling the entire time at what a strange yet funny person she had come to invite into her home. "Well, anyways, I'm pretty sure you'll want something to eat later." She sat at the table and ate the sandwich then took a sip from her cup.

"What is that?", he asked. "Um, a cup?", Kura said incredulously. This guy definitely lived under a rock if he didn't know what a cup was. "No, not that, foolish woman, I mean the liquid within the cup. Why are you drinking something that looks like muddy water?", he said, a bit annoyed that she would think he would be so stupid as to not know what a cup was. He was not that idiotic unlike other certain people he had come to know while an arrancar. "Oh, this? It's coffee. You've never seen coffee either? Wow…"

This woman was indeed irritating. "What is 'coffee'.", he demanded rather than asked.

"Coffee is this bitter stuff that you drink to make you have more energy and helps you stay awake. You can put chocolate and whip cream and all sorts of other things in to make it taste better. It also comes in different forms like cappuccinos. It has caffeine in it which is what helps to keep you awake." , she explained nonchalantly, finishing her sandwich then getting up and walking over to the dishwasher, putting her plate inside.

"I see..", he said quietly as he looked down at the cup of coffee she had left on the table.

Kura turned back towards him and pursed her lips as she thought, "Oh! I have an idea! We could go to this café down the street and get some coffee! Or an ice cappuccino! I'm sure someone like you would like coffee.", she said enthusiastically, smiling before walking towards the stairs.

He narrowed his eyes in annoyance. What did she mean by 'someone like him'?

"I'll be right back, I'm just going to get changed and then we can go, if you want, you can wear some of my brother's clothes, just wash them afterwards or else he'll know. His room is right here," she said as she pointed down the hall. Then she continued onwards to her room.

Ulquiorra walked casually up the stairs and down the hall to the closed door at the end of the hall which she had directed him to. He twisted the knob and opened the door, walking into the rather plain room.

The walls were a washed-out dark blue, probably due to the amount of sunlight exposure. There was a pair of bookshelves completely filled with novels and other such documentaries on infections and sicknesses. "He must be a doctor like Szayel Aporro Grantz was back in Las Noches", Ulquiorra thought. A queen sized bed was situated in one corner of the room and there was a desk against one wall with a closed laptop on it. There was also a stereo system in between the two bookshelves and on the wall across from his bed was portraits of Kura's brother, Kura herself, whom he supposed was their parents, and some other blonde female. Looking around the room, Ulquiorra spotted the white dresser by the wall beside what he guessed was either a washroom or closet door and walked over to it, taking out a gray shirt and a pair of white sweatpants. He got dressed quickly and left the room, closing the door and walking back to Kura's room where she was now brushing her long golden hair before putting it back in a ponytail.

"Ready?", she said, looking at him as he folded his clothes and put them down on the sleeping bag he had used. He nodded and she smiled, "Great, let's go."

She led the way down to the front door and stopped as she put on her shoes-Ulquiorra following suit, putting on his shoes- before proceeding to open the door and walk out into the warm, fall day that lay beyond.

He followed close behind, observing the birds and people as he and Kura walked down the sidewalk. He had only seen a blue sky such as this one in the dome on Las Noches as placed there by Sosuke Aizen. It was intriguing to see a live sky, with moving clouds and sunlight with his own eyes, though he quickly learned that the source of said light was not to be looked at too long.

"Hey, are you alright there buddy?", said Kura slightly concerned as she noticed Ulquiorra had stopped walking and was rubbing his eyes.

"I am fine, woman, keep walking…", he said coldly, rubbing his eyes. What on Earth was that red dot he kept seeing every time he opened or closed his eyes?

Kura faced the sidewalk again and continued to walk, "sheesh, don't have to be so rude about it, I was just wondering if you were okay…", she mumbled quietly.

They continued onwards for several minutes, keeping to themselves before Kura stopped in front of a small café on the corner of the block. "Come on!", she said as she pulled Ulquiorra through the doors by his hand.

He pulled his hand away and shoved his pale hands into the pockets of the sweat pants, standing behind her in the line to the counter.

She looked up at the menu, her hands on her hips, "Hmm…I'm going to get a caramel ice cappuccino, and you can have…oh! Mint chocolate! Sounds like something you would like."

Ulquiorra looked over at her disbelievingly and thought, "I highly doubt you would know what I would like, woman."

The line moved quickly and Kura proceeded nearer, ordering the cappuccinos from the woman behind the counter. The woman nodded and took the money for the order then walked off to make the cappuccinos. She returned shortly and handed Kura the drinks. Kura turned away from the counter and handed Ulquiorra his ice cappuccino before leading him over to a table and sat down. He sat across from her and looked down at the slightly green liquid before him. "This is not the same color as the drink you had earlier", he pointed out, looking down at the slushy beverage. "No, but it's still coffee. Just frozen and it tastes better.", she said matter-of-factly, sipping her drink.

Ulquiorra regarded the substance before him gravely, watching it as if the cup would suddenly burst.

Kura looked up at him and smirked, "It's not going to kill you, just try it."

Looking back down at the cup, he lifted it to his lips and took one sip through the straw. To his astonishment, it actually tasted pretty good. He drank the entire thing quickly and then looked back at the cashier.

Kura looked up at him in surprise, "You finished it that quick? You must really like it.", she laughed, "Want another?"

Ulquiorra looked back her and nodded. She got up and went to order another one, returning with another cappuccino and setting it down in front of him. "Here, you're welcome," she said as she sat back down and continued to sip her drink.

Yet again, he emptied another cup and requested another.

Kura rolled her eyes, "No, that's enough coffee for today." Ulquiorra glared at her, "I demand you to get me another." She scoffed and crossed her arms, "Who are you to boss me around?" "I am…," he started, but stopped as his hands began to shake. "What have you done to me?", he asked menacingly but Kura sat there, smirking at him. "You're hyper. You had too much caffeine, now you're going to wear yourself out then crash."

He tried to retort but found himself too distracted as he fidgeted, finding himself in the need to run around and do something. "You've poisoned me!", he accused her in a vicious tone.

"No, I just gave you what you wanted," she said coyly, smirking, watching Ulquiorra fidget and squirm in hyper anxiety as he glared at her. "No more coffee for you"

A/N: Well, so ends the first chapter and though it wasn't very long, I think it was enjoyable. Ulquiorra should avoid so much coffee, it bad for you and your teeth! And yeah, this ends kind of abruptly but I'm sure Ulquiorra would rather maintain his dignity by not having a bunch of people read about his caffeine break down,lol. That's my excuse anyways.

On a side note, HAPPY BRITHDAY ULQUIORRA!