"Erica…" The soft murmur was muffled by sleep. Silence.
"What do you… want to give… me?" The girl sighed.
Orihime snuggled deeper into her pillow, a soft smile curling her rose lips. Her cushion was somewhat firmer than what she was used to, but it was also so abnormally comfortable. The redhead smiled. It was warm, too. Sniffing, she noticed that it even smelt good. Orihime let out a sigh, soaking up the blissful feeling and the sensation of the morning sunlight on her back. She felt like she could stay like this forever.
Suddenly, however, an unfamiliar beat broke through Orihime's comfort zone. Furrowing her brow, she tried to block it out by pressing her ear harder against her pillow, her eyes screwed shut. The slender teenager wiggled around beneath her comforter in frustration, then let out a soft groan into her pillow. She really didn't want to wake up…
"Sokoni daremo ga hohoemu hana ga saite iyotomo…" What kind of song was this? What happened to her Lil'B CD? Orihime let out another groan, mumbling "Rangiku-san" under her breath. She had known all along that the busty shinigami had her eyes on that CD…
Orihime, still forcing her eyes shut, lied still for the rest of the song, listening. It was her habit to stay in bed for the first song when her alarm went off at 7 am. She drew on the upbeat rhythms and lyrics for the energy to hit the ground running in the morning with a smile on her face. Unfortunately, nothing about this particular song could be characterized as 'upbeat.' On the contrary, it was actually freaking her out. "Destroy your absolute soul"? What a disturbing song…
Deciding she should wake up and start getting ready for school, Orihime stretched her arms out above her head. Arching her back and sticking her tummy out, the redhead's abdomen unexpectedly made contact with something that was hard, but definitely not the wall. The redhead's eyes flew open to the sight of bright green reptilian eyes staring directly at her.
"Kyaaa!" Orihime shrieked as she tried to fly from the pale man's grasp, throwing herself a full four inches onto the wall behind her. "Ul-Ulquiorra?"
"Good morning, Orihime," Ulquiorra intoned calmly, not the least bit perturbed. His right arm was beneath Orihime's head, apparently being used as a pillow, and his left hand was hung casually over Orihime's round hip, offering the occasional stroke.
"G-Good morning, Ulquiorra," Orihime greeted politely, her face flushed. "Um… What are you doing here?"
"I was sleeping, and after I awoke a moment ago, I watched as you slept," the Arrancar commented blandly, mildly confused but mostly amused by Orihime's flustered expression.
Orihime couldn't believe it. She was already having enough trouble keeping herself from thinking about him in that way, what with the dreams, the fantasies, and the very naughty, very not-Orihime desires that would tug at her in his presence. Ulquiorra was forbidden territory, and yet, here he was, already sleeping with her after one day of friendship! And the worse part was that it felt so good to be in his arms.
Sure, they were friends now, but there were still limits! Perhaps, Orihime thought, she had been too open, too casual about their relationship? How could she have let her guard drop so easily? Moreover, how could she let her guard drop before Ulquiorra, of all people, the first, and so far only, person to inspire actual lust in her?
As these thoughts tumbled over frantically in her head, the redhead's eyes took in the sight of her roommate of their own accord. His dishevelled hair and his still-sleepy green eyes were unmistakably cute, whilst Ulquiorra's toned chest, only slightly eclipsed beneath his open, button-down shirt, spread heat over Orihime's body.
"Ha-ha, how about some breakfast?" Orihime scrambled off the bed, rising unsteadily to her feet. Looking away from Ulquiorra's puzzled glare, the redhead forced herself to take deep breaths. It's alright... We were both dressed... Nothing happened... This is all a misunderstanding… Think of Kurosaki-kun…
When she finally worked up the nerve to face her new roommate, who was still sprawled casually on her small bed, she was shocked by the look in his emerald eyes. His lips didn't twitch at all, he wasn't laughing, but he might as well have been. Although someone off the street would never notice it, Orihime could tell that Ulquiorra looked thoroughly amused. She couldn't believe it.
Catching her increasingly incredulous look, Ulquiorra rose gracefully from the small bed and walked out the room, shooting the grey-eyed girl an almost teasing glance as he brushed past her. Why was he so happy? Why was he so happy to see her freaked out? After a split second of shock, Orihime followed the slender Arrancar, and found him taking left-overs out of the fridge.
It was only after she found Ulquiorra, digging through her fridge in his underwear as if he owned the place, that Orihime noticed that something was a little different about her apartment. Actually, a lot was different. All of the little knickknacks that she had hanging around had entirely vanished. Although all her furniture, while rearranged, was still there, the living room and dinning room seemed bare somehow, the familiar picture frames and paintings absent from the stark yellow walls. Everything was arranged very neatly, and not a speck of dust could be found anywhere. Overnight, Orihime's apartment had been Las Nochified.
"Ulquiorra," Orihime asked, somewhere between disbelief and irritation. "Did you do this?"
"Yes," Ulquiorra replied simply, handing a plate of custard and red bean paste onigiri to the dazed girl. "There was too much clutter. I think it is better as it is now." There was a moment of silence as Ulquiorra took a seat and began eating his breakfast.
"Are you sure you weren't the one who constructed my cell?" Orihime turned around, irritation quickly winning over, to look Ulquiorra in the eye, her brow furrowed slightly. Ulquiorra, impassive as ever, looked back undaunted. "Of course I am certain. I have no reason to lie to you."
"Then why is it that my apartment looks like a coloured version of Las Noches?" Orihime's eyes held a hint of challenge, as she firmly decided that she needed to draw the line. Ulquiorra didn't miss a beat.
"I prefer this style, and your complaining will not deter me from modifying this space as I will." The statement was followed by a thirty second stare-down. Orihime yielded first, closing her eyes with a sigh and deciding that there must be a better way to make Ulquiorra understand. Communication was essential, especially since it was impossible for anyone to beat the ever-glaring Arrancar in a blinking contest.
"The food is cold."
Orihime could have sworn that the casual yet expectant words made a vein on her forehead pop.
The redhead locked the apartment door, and took a deep breath as she faced her new roommate. She had just had a good twenty minutes to calm herself down as she had gotten ready for school. It was starting out to be a very rough morning. It had helped to see Ulquiorra hovering over the bathroom sink, looking very frustrated as he tried to get the black make-up to cover his green tear-streaks. Orihime hadn't been completely successful in stifling a giggle, and Ulquiorra's embarrassed glare had served only to further lighten the redhead's mood.
Now, said redhead was ready to teach Ulquiorra about how to live peacefully in the human world. They had just had their first argument, but Orihime decided that it was only because of a simple miscommunication.
Now, to be clear, Orihime's first real argument had been when her brother had bought her the six-pointed hair clips just before he had died. The whole experience had made the redhead afraid of conflict, rejecting all forms of argument for fear that the past would repeat itself. Over time, this had made Orihime a very non-confrontational person, to the point she was practically a doormat.
Ulquiorra had been the first in a long time to suffer from Orihime's anger. Since that moment a couple of days earlier, Orihime had grown from the adversity that she lived through, and was now ready to fight to make sure that Ulquiorra was left unharmed.
That was what had happened the day earlier with her spat with Uryuu. It was her first actual fight with a friend, and Orihime didn't feel good about it. In the end, the fight only ended when she saw that
Ulquiorra was about to fall over and, while taking care of the ailing Arrancar, had all but forgotten about Uryuu and their argument. She didn't even know if he was still angry at her…
This argument, however, was different. With Ishida, Orihime was certain that, with sufficient persuasion, she could get him to at least agree not to kill the former espada. Ulquiorra, on the other hand, was more… stubborn. Not to mention that Material World common sense wasn't exactly his forte.
For good luck, Orihime implored Fate to retract Ulquiorra's extraordinarily unique talent at making her angry. The redhead was usually a very easy-going girl; she was the kind of girl that just couldn't say no, that couldn't put her foot down. However, it seemed that whenever the emerald-eyed former espada was involved, a great many of the little things that he did irked her so much that she was actually having trouble containing her anger.
Following the willowy teenager down the steps, Orihime put on her brightest smile. "So, Ulquiorra, I was thinking that we should have a little talk on the way to school today!"
The Arrancar's emerald eyes slid to meet Orihime's. "Very well. What is it that you wish to discuss?"
"Well," Orihime started, hoping that her carefully-considered act was believable. "Why don't we discuss human manners? Courtesy." Ulquiorra just glared in response.
"You see, my Arrancar friend," the redhead explained with a delicate index finger raised. "There are certain actions that, to humans, are socially unacceptable. For example, public urination." Ulquiorra continued to glare, not liking at all where this was going.
"As someone who wants to live in the human world, you need to be aware of your place in society. You are a citizen, a student, a friend, and a guest in my home," Orihime explained gently, trying very hard to get her point across without sounding patronizing. "Ulquiorra, do you know how a guest should behave?"
"What are you trying to say, Orihime," Ulquiorra finally spoke. "Are you suggesting that my conduct is unbefitting of my status?"
"In a sense, yes," Orihime agreed, her smile dropping somewhat. "In the human world, guests are supposed to respect the property of their hosts. It isn't nice to rearrange the stuff in someone else's home."
"You are forgetting one thing. I am not a guest." The pallid teenager stopped walking.
"Well, the same thing applies to roommates, Ulquiorra…" Orihime involuntarily shrunk back against his suddenly-intense glare.
"I am not your roommate, either." Ulquiorra contradicted, moving closer to Orihime until they were standing toe to toe. As he did while the redhead was asleep, the former espada wove his skeletal hands through Orihime's hair.
Trapped not by Ulquiorra but by her own suddenly raging desires, Orihime only looked up in total awe, her breath coming in shallow intakes. Slowly, the Arrancar pulled back the orange curtain of hair and whispered seductively in the girl's ear. "I am your master."
Instead of being outraged at the statement, Orihime could feel herself melt. The girl's overactive imagination conjured images of leather bindings, chains and whips. She could see herself kneeling before him as he sat regally on an impromptu throne, him glaring down on her as she begged him to allow her to please him…
Turning beat red, even before Ulquiorra's mouth made contact with her ear, Orihime hastily pushed the Arrancar back and pointed at him accusingly. "You!"
"Hm?" Ulquiorra hummed deeply, approaching again to nuzzle Orihime's neck. He couldn't seem to hold himself back.
"You're the Eternal Ruler!" To the odd accusation, Ulquiorra just cocked an eyebrow. "Oh my goodness, this is so wrong! Why do I keep dreaming about you?" Why do I keep thinking these things about you? Why does everything revolve around you? Why do I want you so badly?
… I'm so sorry, Kurosaki-kun.
"That's it," Orihime looked up at the Arrancar, eyes full of determination despite the crushing feeling in her chest. He was tempting her, tempting her in a way that she shouldn't be tempted. She belonged to Kurosaki Ichigo. Ulquiorra had to know his place. He had to keep his distance. "You have to stop! You're not allowed to just touch me whenever you want! Who do you think you are? You can stay in my apartment with me if you swear to keep your hands off me and my stuff, and stop acting as if you own me."
Ulquiorra's eyes widened in shock. He had never seen Orihime so furious, and the sight was mesmerizing. At an unrelenting pace, the girl continued. "Because you don't own me. I belong to myself and only myself, always did and always will. So shape up or else –" The redhead was abruptly interrupted by Ulquiorra's lips on her own. His arms circled around her greedily as Orihime tried to object around his moving mouth.
Orihime's monumental will crumbled to dust when she felt his tongue licking her lips, and she couldn't help but moan as she pushed her chest up against his. She opened her mouth to deepen the kiss, and Ulquiorra promptly ravaged her humid orifice with the passion of a typhoon. Orihime's fingers twined in the willowy man's raven hair, pulling him even closer if it was at all possible.
Acting solely on his desire, guided by instinct, Ulquiorra pushed Orihime off the empty street and up against a tall wooden fence. Still kissing passionately, the Arrancar's arms slid down the redhead's curves and tightly grasped her thighs, his hands slipping beneath the grey cloth of the uniform and massaging their way up the soft flesh. His mind eclipsed of where this instinct was leading him, one of Ulquiorra's fingers unintentionally swiped the soft spot between Orihime's thighs, and he was surprised to find it wet.
Looking down quizzically, although the view was blocked by Orihime's breasts, Ulquiorra registered too late the fury in the redhead's eyes. With all her strength, Orihime pushed the Arrancar away and then slapped him right across the face. Ulquiorra looked up, surprise written on his features.
"What the hell do you think you're doing," Orihime shouted, her heart beating furiously. Her veins were coursing with desire unlike anything she had ever felt. Disgusted with Ulquiorra, and especially with herself, Orihime realized that he could have just had sex with her right then and there on the side of the street and she would have relished every moment of it. What in the world was happening to her?
"What was I just telling you? Hands off," Orihime emphasized, her pure fury forcing Ulquiorra to step back half a foot. "I can't handle you doing this to me! You can't just do whatever you want, touching me like that, making me –"
"I didn't see you putting up much of a fight," Ulquiorra commented blandly, his eyes still half-lidded and sparking with desire. "I would say that you enjoyed it as much as I did."
"That doesn't matter! It's wrong, it's totally wrong! We can't do that kind of thing! Ever!" Orihime shouted desperately, freaking out. What would her friends think? What would Tatsuki say? And what about Ichigo? Didn't she love him? Shouldn't all her loyalty be with him?
Angry and confused, Orihime straightened her cloths and walked away, missing Ulquiorra's disconsolate expression. His heart heavy for reasons he couldn't understand, the Arrancar followed Orihime at a distance.
He realized belatedly what he was trying to do to her.
During the whole walk to school, Orihime's mind was working tirelessly as she tried to figure out just what was wrong with her. She had let Ulquiorra touch her, kiss her, feel her in places that no man was supposed to touch until she was married to him (and by him, she meant Ichigo. Ichigo!).
She had just wanted to set him straight, to keep him from going over the line in his outsider's ignorance. Why did he have to kiss her? Why did he want to? Could it be that he liked her that way, that he had always liked her that way? What was Ulquiorra thinking?
Moreover, what was Orihime thinking? This wasn't the first time that Ulquiorra approached her like that. Why had she never told him to stop? Why did she welcome his touches, enjoying the sensation of his fingers on her skin and his breath in her face? Why did she not feel violated, but instead invigorated? In short, why was it that Orihime was an equal contributor to all the sexual tension in the air?
Orihime was a couple of paces into the school property when she looked back to check that Ulquiorra was still behind her. She had done this a couple of times on the walk there, each time berating herself for continuing to worry about him even after what he had done to her. Each time she shot him a look, her heart would be momentarily stabbed through with guilt as she saw how dejected he looked. The more time passed, the more Orihime felt that the whole situation was her fault. She never could stay angry at anyone for long…
This time, as the redhead turned her head to check on the Arrancar, she noticed that Ulquiorra had stopped at the school gates, soaking in the sight with unreadable eyes. His shoulders were hunched and his head was hanging slightly, almost as if in shame. For some reason, the sight disturbed Orihime to no end.
Her lingering anger abruptly replaced with concern, Orihime returned to Ulquiorra's side, her worried grey eyes whispering a thousand apologies. "Ulquiorra… what's the matter?" Ulquiorra's troubled bean green eyes refocused, then looked down at the girl before him. In a slight motion, he bowed his head penitently and took a step away from Orihime.
"I am a burden to you," the Arrancar stated simply, the notion having just occurred to him. The thought had never crossed his mind before, but for some reason it now weighed down on his heart so poignantly. Almost as poignantly as the unmistakable guilt swallowing him whole. If this was emotion, perhaps he would be better off not feeling at all…
"No, Ulquiorra, no," Orihime was gripped with sudden, irrational fear. His words and expression betrayed his inner turmoil, and everything about him was screaming with silent pain. She didn't want him to suffer, she didn't want him to leave…
"Do you have any idea what I just tried to do to you," Ulquiorra demanded, frustration and guilt making its way to his emerald eyes. The words confused Orihime; he was the one who didn't know about sex, not the other way around. "I lowered myself to the level of those trash, and nearly subjected you to that grotesque ritual."
"Ulquiorra, what are you talking about," Orihime couldn't understand what the Arrancar was saying. She knew exactly what they had been about to do, but it wasn't exactly a 'grotesque ritual.'
The pale teenager looked down at Orihime. She would think him a monster if he told her where his body had been leading him. "Never mind. Just know that it is a practice by which Hollows exert their dominance. I should never have initiated the act, not on someone I care about as deeply as you." Ulquiorra's eyes gazed forlornly at Orihime. In a second, her arms were wrapped tightly around him.
She shouldn't be doing this. It was enough temptation just being in his presence, but the guilt in his eyes was just so painful for her to see, and so undeserved. He just said he cared about her, cared about her deeply. Orihime couldn't honestly say that she didn't care about him, and she had more than once felt the desire to hold him, to kiss him, to touch him. Ulquiorra felt it, too, but he didn't know what it was, so he saw no reason not to act on it. It wasn't his fault, not at all. He just didn't know. Tentatively, Ulquiorra brought his arms to rest on Orihime's back.
"I am sorry." Orihime looked up with tear-filled eyes. Had he really just said those words?
Gently, Ulquiorra swiped away the tears with long, bony fingers. "I do not want you to cry. It hurts." Orihime smiled, and the deep blue happiness swelled up to fill her chest.
"I won't cry anymore," Orihime murmured as she wiped away the rest of her tears. She looked up at her friend, managing a warm smile. "I was too harsh on you, I'm sorry, Ulquiorra. There's still so much about this world that you don't know, and it was wrong of me to get angry at you over something like this." Especially when I wanted it just as badly as you…
"No," Ulquiorra contradicted. "You were right about everything. I have invaded and conquered your home, put you on rough terms with your nakama, and sought to dominate you in a manner only befitting the lowly Adjucas." Orihime brought her palm gently to Ulquiorra's cheek, comforting him silently.
"You didn't mean to…"
"No, I did mean to," Ulquiorra continued, unable to bear the weight of his conscious any longer. He was brimming over with both sadness and heavy joy. What was happening to him? "I wanted you to be mine, to own you in every possible way. When I had arrived on Earth, I had not ruled out marking you as my own by dominating you ritualistically, should you have become unruly. I also thought that it would be easier if your nakama had died while fighting the other espada." He paused, grasping Orihime's wrist in his larger hand and pressing her palm harder against his cheek. He deserved to be slapped again.
"I gave no thought to your feelings, Orihime. And my punishment for this is an eternity of fretting over them." Ulquiorra closed his eyes as he felt Orihime's hand slip from his grasp, moving up to wrap around his neck.
Slowly, Orihime allowed herself one last transgression. Standing on the tips of her toes and pulling Ulquiorra into her embrace, the redhead pressed her soft lips onto his left cheek, her lips lingering as if to transfer their warmth into the lifeless white skin.
Ulquiorra opened his eyes in shock. "We should not be touching, Orihime." The distance between their two bodies was too painful, for both of them, but they endured.
Ignoring his soft-spoken words, the redhead buried her face in Ulquiorra's neck. "I forgive you. I forgive you of everything."
The two just stood there silently for another moment, breathing in each other's essence. Eventually, Orihime pulled back, looking up at Ulquiorra with a loving smile. "Let's get to class, there's something I want to show you."
For the second day in a row, Orihime was the first to arrive in class, although this time she wasn't alone.
"Alright! It's ready," Orihime exclaimed brightly, holding up a sheet of loose leaf divided into three vertical columns for the former espada to see. Written in big bubble letters at the top of the page were the words "Ulquiorra and Orihime's Super Renovation Plans!" Silence.
"What is this for?" Ulquiorra's monotone was tinted with amusement.
"Isn't it obvious," Orihime teased, smiling sincerely. For some reason, she felt closer to Ulquiorra than ever. And she hadn't even found another excuse to touch him yet! "We have three main problems. One,
you don't like my apartment. Two, you and my friends don't like each other. Three, we… well… want each other in a way that we shouldn't." The redhead counted each on her fingers, and ended with a blush. Oh my goodness, I kissed Ulquiorra… Oh my goodness, Ulquiorra touched my… my…
"Yes," Ulquiorra agreed, nodding his head minutely. He didn't find it worth mentioning that Soul Society would probably pose more of an obstacle than anything else, as soon as they could be bothered to send some chump back to the human world.
"So, the obvious answer to number one would be to redecorate our home in a way that we both like," Orihime exclaimed, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. The events of the morning had convinced her that she was ready to let Ulquiorra into her life completely, because, for better or worse, she had become attached. "As for number two, it's just a matter of getting everyone to trust you. After that, you can have a relationship like Kurosaki-kun and Ishida-kun: outward dislike coupled with a deep inner bond!"
Ulquiorra raised a thin eyebrow at the suggestion, but otherwise said nothing. There were more pressing issues. "What can we do about number three?"
"Well," Orihime started, already flushed. "I'm not… emotionally available at the moment… Not that I don't want to; I want to! I really do… more than I should. I'm only sixteen…" It was such a weird thing to be saying, Orihime could only stare at her shoes as she leaned against her desk. She could feel Ulquiorra's eyes on her from his seat at the desk beside her. It was oddly pleasant.
"And therein lies the problem," Ulquiorra stated calmly, despite the frustration he felt boiling within him. Orihime giggled. This was all so ridiculous, but, she guessed, nothing brought people together more than a secret. A deep, dark secret that no one could find out about. Ever.
"For that," Orihime continued, letting out a nervous laugh. "We'll just have to try our best to keep our hands off each other." After a moment of silence, Orihime let out a sigh and Ulquiorra closed his eyes.
"Is it my imagination," Ulquiorra started resignedly, "or has the desire only become worse once we got a taste of what we want?"
Orihime watched as Ulquiorra opened his smouldering eyes. The redhead was wary of how much she enjoyed his gaze on her. His stare was so intense that it felt almost like he was undressing her with his eyes. She felt her nipples harden beneath her bra. "The desire is definitely worse…" Another very charged silence ensued. Ulquiorra tried to distract himself by staring at the trees swaying wildly in the wind outside the window. Orihime's gaze dropped back down to her shoes.
"Ulquiorra," Orihime murmured, bringing the Arrancar's attention back to her. "Please don't tell anyone about what happened this morning. If anyone found out, they'd be very angry."
Ulquiorra's eyes scrutinized Orihime's every move, and the girl leaned back unconsciously in an inviting gesture. "I understand."
"Thank you," Orihime's soft voice drifted off, and then she once again noticed the paper on Ulquiorra's desk. Suddenly, the redhead became very excited. Picking up the sheet again, Orihime explained her table while motioning to each column. "Alright, Ulquiorra, here's the plan. You write in point form what
you want the apartment to look like on the column on the right. I'll do the same for the column on the left. Then, when we get home tonight, we'll compromise on each point and put the final decision in the middle column!"
"Are you sure about this, Orihime," Ulquiorra questioned almost suspiciously as he took the paper from her delicate hands.
"Of course!" Orihime cheered, her sincere smile unwavering. "As you discovered yesterday, our home is in… less than perfect working order. Although we don't really have the time to renovate at the moment, it doesn't mean that we can't start planning, right?"
"Very well." Ulquiorra took the sheet, and in the right-hand column began listing everything he would change about Orihime's apartment. When he was just a few points down the list, a familiar face joined them in the vacant classroom.
"Ishida-kun!" Orihime rose from her seat next to Ulquiorra, and dashed over to stand directly in front of her friend, her hands clasped together behind her back. The dark-haired teenager was obviously expecting Ulquiorra and Orihime to be together, but he nevertheless couldn't suppress a stab of jealousy from seeing them so close to each other.
"Good morning, Inoue-san," Ishida greeted politely. As he tried to sidestep the enthusiastic girl to put his books on his desk, Orihime moved to once again block his path. "Is there something the matter?"
"Oh, nothing, nothing at all," Orihime asserted with blissful nonchalance, before her eyes suddenly grew wide with excitement and she pointed out the classroom door with a trembling finger. "Oh my goodness! A panda! Let's go pet it, Ishida-kun!" The redhead promptly hooked her arm around the arm of her confused friend, and dragged him backwards back out the door. Ulquiorra, still writing, cocked an eyebrow at the display.
Once Orihime and Uryuu were safely outside the boundaries of the classroom, in the still relatively empty halls, Orihime dropped her charade and looked up at Uryuu with pleading eyes.
"I'm so sorry about yesterday. Please, Ishida-kun, I know that you don't trust Ulquiorra," Orihime implored, her eyes smouldering with an emotion Uryuu couldn't decipher, "but, for me, please don't give him a hard time."
"Have you asked the same of him," the Quincy questioned firmly, although his countenance was much more easy-going than the day prior. Uryuu had learnt his lesson: Ulquiorra was a touchy subject with Orihime.
"He told me last night that he 'wouldn't instigate anything'," Orihime replied, praying her friend would believe her words. "He really doesn't want to fight. I had a long discussion with him yesterday, and I truly believe that he means no harm.
"Beneath his harshness and indifference, Ulquiorra is so unexpectedly tender," Orihime continued, despite Uryuu's dubious look. "When I look into his eyes I can really see the loneliness and pain… Ishida-kun, I really think that he just needs a friend…"
Uryuu felt like rolling his eyes. Orihime sounded like she was reading from some bad Shoujo manga, although Uryuu would never say it aloud, lest someone ask why he knew of the typical Shoujo clichés.
Nevertheless, his hands were tied when it came to confronting Ulquiorra. His visit with Urahara the night prior had confirmed that the shop owner did indeed believe that Orihime and Ulquiorra were in love. And although Uryuu hated to admit it, it was becoming more and more obvious to him that Orihime held strong feelings for Ulquiorra, although the Quincy doubted if she was even aware of it.
On top of that, Urahara had revealed that he suspected that Ulquiorra knew how to get out of his gigai, although the shop keeper claimed to have not supplied him with that information. So even if Uryuu could fight Ulquiorra without breaking Orihime's heart, he would be unable to defeat the former espada. Everyone else had decided to follow Rukia's instructions and was taking the path of non-violence, and in all honesty, if he didn't stand a chance against the Eighth, it was suicide to fight the Fourth alone.
"Fine," Uryuu finally conceded, pulling Orihime's eyes off the floor. "As long as he isn't causing any harm, I'll back off." Hearing the reassuring words, the redhead's heart-shaped face immediately lit up in a smile, relief flooding over her. The busty redhead tackled Uryuu in a choking hug, almost knocking him backwards, as she shouted out her 'thank you.'
Ignoring Ishida's flustered expression, and still glowing with relief, Orihime skipped back into the classroom. Now she just needed to talk to Kurosaki-kun, Kuchiki-san, Sado-kun… Suddenly, although years of similar incidents should have made it expected, Orihime was attacked from behind.
"Hiiiime-chaan! I missed you!" A familiar set of hands unscrupulously groped Orihime's voluptuous round breasts, as Orihime shrieked in surprise. Ulquiorra rose menacingly from his seat and stalked to the front of the classroom, emanating a release-my-woman-or-die aura.
"Get off'a her, you pervert!" Tatsuki beat Ulquiorra to the punch (literally), sending Chizuru plummeting to the ground in a small cascade of her own blood. Coming through the door was the rest of the group, the teenage girls giggling over their friends' antics.
"How many times do I have to beat you to a pulp before you get it through your thick skull?" Orihime turned around, her orange hair swirling with her, to face her best friend. Tatsuki continued to kick the writhing Chizuru in the stomach until her eyes met those of the redhead.
"Tatsuki…?" Looking at her dearest friend now, Orihime realized just how much she had truly missed her. It had been such a long five weeks, so lonely, so terrifying, and tears suddenly began to well up in the redhead's eyes. Despite herself, Tatsuki too was becoming teary-eyed. She was just so glad to see that her best friend was still alright.
The next moment, both girls wrapped their arms around the other, tears of relief flowing freely from their eyes. The other students who had begun to file into the class withheld their joking remarks, even the most loud-mouthed unable to break into the very emotional moment. When Yasutora walked in, he couldn't help but smile for his friend, especially when he noticed Ulquiorra standing at a respectful distance, not interfering.
"Oh, I see. So Arisawa's allowed to touch Hime-chan…" Chizuru muttered darkly, before being silenced by a sharp glare from Ulquiorra. Like the other students, the Arrancar felt that he shouldn't intrude on the moment, especially since he was going to be engaged in enough conflicts with Orihime's friends for the day as it was. The former espada closed his eyes in resignation and was about to return to his seat when Ochi-sensei walked through the door.
"Wow, girls, calm down!" The young teacher exclaimed, balking at the display before her. "Inoue was just on vacation for a month, it's not like she was going to be gone forever!" The girls separated, but stayed close to each other, whispering disjointed "I'm sorry"s and "I missed you"s.
Dropping her heavy bag onto her wooden chair, the teacher began to organize her papers to the sound of a chorus of students begging her for their test marks. A well-placed 'you don't want to know' effectively silenced them as Ulquiorra strode up to the sensei's cluttered desk.
"Ochi-sensei," Ulquiorra began, fixing his usual glare upon the young teacher. "I require your assistance."
"Good morning, Schiffer," the sensei looked up from the paperwork on her desk, smiling. "What can I do for you?"
"Something is wrong with my body," the Arrancar asserted, his face dead serious. "I have looked into it, but, despite having determined the symptoms, I have been unable to come to a conclusion as to what the ailment is."
Yup. She had been right. This Schiffer kid was an odd one. Not even Ishida spoke like this one did. "Well, what's wrong?"
"At instances of close physical proximity to Inoue Orihime, a pressure builds in my penis, causing it to grow stiff," Ulquiorra explained, without the decency to so much as lower his voice. "This main symptom is accompanied by an unexplained rise in body temperature and odd, sometimes hallucinogenic, urges."
The wide-eyed teacher could come to only one conclusion. "Did Asano ask you to say that?"
"No," Ulquiorra replied, narrowing his emerald eyes slightly. "I am serious." Silence ensued.
"You should know, Schiffer, that Asano isn't even popular," the teacher commented, bluntly honest. "You don't need to suck up to him to make friends."
"What are you babbling about, human?" Ulquiorra looked upon the slightly shorter woman with disdain. "If you can not help me, then do not make me waste my time here." The Arrancar turned to return to his desk, but stopped when the teacher spoke again.
"Are you seriously saying that you don't know why that's happening," the teacher questioned. Upon further reflection, the kid didn't seem like the type to do something stupid to be socially accepted.
"I have never experienced this phenomenon before," Ulquiorra stated as way of a reply, turning back to the conversation. He knew that Ochi-sensei knew what was happening, so it was only a matter of baiting her to discuss it with him.
The woman with glasses gave it a moment's thought. It was difficult imagining this guy playing a prank on her, but it was equally difficult to imagine that he wasn't aware of the reproductive process. "Didn't you have a Sex Ed. class back in Canada?"
"No," Ulquiorra answered, garnering another piece in the over-elaborate puzzle of human existence. "But I have been acquainted with the word 'sex.' Does this have to do with my condition?"
The sensei could do nothing but take in the sight before her with wide, incredulous eyes. Here was a teenage boy, in this day and age, with no inkling of the concept of sex. She opened her mouth to say something, but the appearance of a certain big-chested redhead stopped her.
"Ulquiorra!" The still-teary-eyed girl was almost bouncing with anticipation, a big smile spread across her heart-shaped face. Ulquiorra turned his head back to look at her as she looped her arm around his, ready to drag him off to certain doom. "Come meet Tatsuki!"
"In a moment, Orihime," Ulquiorra responded, turning his gaze back to the teacher. "I am inquiring about a condition of mine that has yet to subside."
"Oh," the girl remarked, her mouth making a literal 'O.' "The one with the weird pressure and the heat?" She was replied with a curt 'yes.'
"Alright, then, Ulquiorra," Orihime beamed, smiling brilliantly again. "Come join us when you're done. Everyone's very eager for you to reintroduce yourself!" With those words she walked away, back to the circle of friends that were assembled at Orihime's desk, and that had been watching the entire scene very closely.
Ochi-sensei gaped again. Not only this new kid, but also her ditzy-yet-intelligent top three? Either those people who ranted about there being too much sex in the media had been over-exaggerating, or those two lived beneath a rock. Either way, the perky teacher concluded, there was only one acceptable course of action.
"Hang tight, Schiffer," Ochi-sensei said with a sigh. It was not going to be fun keeping a class of cocky teenagers in line through this… "I'll inform the nurse and she'll pull together a Sex Ed. session. It'll answer all your questions."
Once the woman was done speaking, Ulquiorra turned around silently and walked to where Orihime was, dreading the next five minutes of his life.
"Alright, everyone," Orihime whispered conspiratorially to the friends huddled around her desk. "He'll be here soon, so everyone remember the plan." Several grunts of affirmation could be heard despite everyone's sour expressions.
Orihime had been surprised to learn that Tatsuki had already been informed of the whole Soul Society versus Aizen conspiracy, down to the last detail. And Orihime had been very surprised that she had faced little to no resistance from any of her friends with regard to Ulquiorra. They were quite obviously not ecstatic about the whole affair, but they all agreed right off the bat to give the former espada a
chance. Orihime would have to thank them later, especially Rukia and Yasutora, who had spoken up in defence of her plan.
The busty redhead realized that Ulquiorra was standing behind her when she felt heated desire once again shooting through her. Putting on her brightest smile, Orihime swung around to face her roommate. "Hello, Ulquiorra! Glad you could join us this fine day!"
"…Hello," Ulquiorra returned in monotone. He thought that this whole setup was absurd, but went along with the redhead anyway. From the faces of Orihime's friends, he could tell that they were all severely uncomfortable, and he couldn't help but take comfort.
"Ulquiorra, these are my nakama, Tatsuki-chan, Sado-kun, Kurosaki-kun, Kuchiki-san, and Ishida-kun!" Orihime chimed, her feminine hand gliding from left to right, motioning to each person in the circle. She looked up at Ulquiorra's looming figure expectantly.
"Hello." What I subject myself to for you, Orihime…
Seeking guidance when silence fell on the group, the Arrancar turned his gaze back to the redhead, who offered a discrete prompting signal insisting that Ulquiorra introduce himself properly. He looked back to the ring of friends unenthusiastically.
"My name is Ulquiorra Schiffer, the former Cuatro Espada of Aizen Sousuke's Arrancar army." Orihime supplied another encouraging gesture, her smile only growing wider. "…I am currently residing with Inoue Orihime, my newest interest." Another gentle prompt from the redhead. "…I will be attending Karakura High School with you all for as long as Orihime is here." The girl in question smiled wider, beckoning Ulquiorra to continue.
"What is it that you would have me say, Orihime," Ulquiorra demanded in the closest tone he had ever gotten to a snap. Orihime's friends looked surprised at the random outburst, but the redhead herself didn't miss a beat.
"You're leaving out the most important part," Orihime whined, crossing her arms as she pouted cutely. Her perfectly-planned scheme was falling apart. "You're supposed to say that you don't want to fight anybody and that you just want to make friends!"
"I am not going to say that, Orihime," Ulquiorra stated darkly, shooting daggers at his roommate.
Orihime, seemingly impervious to the Arrancar's death glares, gazed into his emerald eyes defiantly. "Why not? Don't you think that they have the right to at least hear it from your mouth?"
"I said that I would not purposely instigate their anger, but I never mentioned befriending them," Ulquiorra retorted coldly, managing the full looming effect while still standing perfectly erect with his shoulders back.
"Yah, but that's what you're here for, isn't it," Orihime questioned rebelliously while still maintaining her childish pout. "You want to make friends, don't you, Ulquiorra?"
"Orihime, I want you," Ulquiorra stated, longing suddenly lacing his voice and radiating from his radioactive green eyes. In an abrupt yet graceful move, Ulquiorra wrapped his arms around the shorter girl, his right hand reaching around to her right hip and his left hand woven through her bright orange hair.
He realized why he always felt like doing this when other people were around: he wanted Orihime all to himself, to force her to look at him and only him. How odd…
Despite the shock Ulquiorra sensed in her, he drew Orihime closer to him, tucking her head beneath his chin. "I want you and only you."
"Ul-Ulquiorra," Orihime stuttered. After waking up in bed with him that morning, and the dream that she had had about him the morning before, and especially the 'incident' a half an hour earlier, it was difficult to keep his proximity from once again venturing past the invisible 'friend' line. She could feel the terrible desire building up again. "Ulquiorra, what are you doing?"
The Arrancar, his desire to see Orihime's face overpowering the urge to hold her against him, drew Orihime back and relished in her flustered look. "Calm yourself. I am only embracing you."
"Yo-You can't just do that. Remember what we talked about…" Orihime tried to object, her drifting gaze noticing for the first time the look on her friends' faces. Surprisingly, she didn't see as much anger as she had the day prior, and instead more astonishment and disbelief.
"Why? We did this last night in your bed," Ulquiorra, heavily amused, responded in an almost mocking monotone. They had agreed to not mention his attempt to initiate the ritual, but Orihime had never mentioned the need for silence on the subject of their sensual interactions. In the Arrancar's defence, the two were separate, mutually-exclusive matters in his mind. "Does it truly make a difference to you whether we are doing this while we are in your bed or in your classroom?"
While the jeering and catcalls were being silenced by a certain jealous lesbian, the mortified Orihime quickly shrugged off Ulquiorra's arms.
"We did not do that," Orihime exclaimed, flushed the tips of her ears.
"Yes, we did," Ulquiorra, in all his naïve cruelty, pursued. He didn't understand why the humans found this so entertaining, but he would do what it took to rile Orihime up. Her blush pulled his heart in a way he couldn't explain. "You even used my arm as a pillow."
"That was an accident! I didn't know-" Orihime's bulletproof defence was interrupted by the bell. Class had started.
"Inoue, stop yelling," Ochi-sensei called loudly from the front of the classroom. "You can work things out with your boyfriend later." Even more embarrassed then before, Orihime turned around to face her friends.
The incredulous look on their faces indicated to the redhead that her so-called nakama had all believed Ulquiorra's side of the story. Deflated and embarrassed, Orihime sighed and said the only thing that she could.
"Alright, we'll try this again at lunch."