Hello, everyone! I had trouble writing this one, for some reason. Don't feel uncomfortable telling me it sucks. On another note:
Because there has been a call for the return of fluff… Happy New Year.
Enjoy it while it lasts *evil witchy cackle*
"Yo," Tatsuki greeted as she met up with Uryuu in the hallway. He, like her, was on his way to Math, their second-to-last class of the day. He stopped, slightly startled that she chose to address him, and waited for her to catch up to him.
"Hello, Arisawa," Uryuu greeted politely.
"I need your help for something, Ishida," Tatsuki stated, taking out her cell phone. She flipped it open. "Do you have a cell? I need to be able to reach you."
Uryuu just barely blushed. "Why?" Tatsuki smiled.
"You and I, Ishida," she said conspiratorially, "have a common goal. I suggest a partnership."
Back in his office in the Tenth Division, Toushiro was organizing the endless forms and requests cluttering his desk. If he was going to be gone for three days, he would again have to delegate the administration of his division to his third and fourth seats. He wasn't exactly happy about this, because, to be quite honest, Toushiro hardly knew them. The young Captain wasn't exactly the type to be chatting with his subordinates in the cafeteria, and it didn't help that the majority of his division was afraid of him.
Rangiku was always the office's people person. She knew all of the seated officers personally, having gone drinking with them so often, and was regarded with awe by her inferiors. It was a great relationship that Rangiku had built with her division; outside of work, she was their friend, admired as much for her high alcohol tolerance as for her humour and force of personality. At work, they followed her with the utmost conviction and trust in her wisdom and abilities.
Rangiku was like family to Toushiro. He cared more deeply for Rangiku than he would ever admit. She was the kind of cheerful, annoying, kind-hearted person that you couldn't help but love. And it was deeply unfair what happened to her.
In the final battle against Aizen, Rangiku hadn't lost just one important person, she lost two. She lost in the most tragic way Gin, who she cared for more than she would ever admit aloud, and she lost Izuru, an important friend. Her grief was matched only by Momo's, who also mourned the loss of her Captain, or, at least, the illusion that was her Captain, and her long-time friend Izuru.
Toushiro's face twisted into a pained snarl. Why was it that, of all the Captains, he had to be chosen to go on this mission? How could he bring himself to leave both Rangiku and Momo, the two people he cared for more than anyone else, alone in their time of need?
Questioning the Commander's orders was a rare event for him. Toushiro was usually an excellent soldier. The Soutaichou hadn't been exaggerating in his praises. When the ryoka had invaded Soul Society, he and Unohana had been the only ones to investigate the situation critically. In the current situation, judgement and critical thinking were imperative in determining the threat level posed by the rogue Espada. These were capabilities that he had demonstrated.
So although Toushiro knew that Soul Society needed him now, he felt torn. Three days on a stealth mission was a lot of time, and it would give him a lot of time to worry. Rangiku was deep in grief and Momo was struggling out of the chains of hypnosis. Although both women were strong, Toushiro still felt the need to care for them, just as they had cared for him in so many ways over so many years.
The young Captain's feet brought him to the doorstep of Rangiku's room, which stood close to his own in the west wing of the Main Administrative building.
Rangiku, sensing her Captain's reiatsu, came to the door. She slid it open half-way, and looked upon Toushiro's blank face with wide eyes.
"What's up, Captain," she said, doing her best to act normally.
"I've been assigned a mission to the Material World," Toushiro responded. "I'll be back in three days."
"I'm coming with you," Rangiku said, surprising him.
"Why," he asked in astonishment. He immediately regretted not giving her a direct 'no'.
"If they're sending a Captain," Rangiku said logically. "It must have something to do with the Espada. I have to make sure Orihime-chan is okay."
Toushiro's eyes softened, and he broke eye contact. That was his Rangiku; still able to care so deeply even in the face of her own grief. "It's a stealth operation, I have to go alone." Rangiku visibly sunk. The young Captain heaved an internal sigh. "I hear that Inoue is already good friends with the Espada." Rangiku's eyes widened.
"Really," she asked, just a little astonished. Not just at her Captain's words, but that he was revealing confidential information.
"Yea," Toushiro said, "it seems the Espada is quite fond of her. He even went so far as to challenge Kurosaki." Rangiku stared at her Captain with wide eyes, and then, after a moment, a relieved smile bloomed across her face. She turned back into her room.
"Wait here a sec, Capt'n," she called over her shoulder. Toushiro allowed himself a private smile. True to her word, Rangiku was back in a jiffy, holding in her hands a CD. She held it out to her Captain.
"Since you're going to be in the Material World," Rangiku asked, in her most cutesy, pleading voice, "do you think you can return this to Orihime-chan for me?" Toushiro took the CD in his hands, frustration flooding him again. He would rather not have remembered the events of that night, the night after Orihime was discovered missing.
"So you're going to return this after all," Toushiro noted.
Rangiku smiled. "I promised, didn't I?"
"You are still angry at me, aren't you," Ulquiorra asked bluntly. He and Orihime, hand in hand, were on their way back to school.
"Yes, I am," Orihime replied, face still eerily blank. Realizing something, she amended. "Very." Ulquiorra continued to gaze at her a moment.
"You do not look very angry," he noted. Orihime's mouth twitched upward in response.
"I don't look angry, but you know I still must be," Orihime said with a sly smile. "Do you know why that is?" Ulquiorra looked forward, pointedly ignoring the question.
"It's because you know you did wrong, Ulquiorra," Orihime answered her own question. "You know that there was a better way."
They walked a while longer in silence. Leaves all shades of red and orange fluttered around in the autumn wind. The sky was a deep blue, crisp and far away.
Suddenly, Ulquiorra broke the silence. "I will make it up to you." Orihime looked up at him tentatively, and he gazed back at her. They watched each other for a long moment before Orihime sighed.
"I'm not as fragile as you think I am," she said solemnly. "It's been a long time coming." Ulquiorra held her hand a little more tightly, a gesture he hoped was supportive. She smiled, just a little sadness in her eyes.
"You know," Orihime started again, trying to be more cheerful. "We've still got a full twenty minutes before next class, why don't we do something fun!" Suspicion crept into Ulquiorra's eyes.
A few minutes later…
"Ah!" Orihime shouted in exhilaration, wind in her hair. "Harder, Ulquiorra!"
"I do not want you to be hurt," Ulquiorra rebuked sternly for the third time.
"C'mon," Orihime pleaded. "Push harder! Pretty please, Ulquiorra, pretty please with a cherry on top?" Ulquiorra withheld a sigh. He pushed harder. Orihime flew off the swing, landing squarely on her bottom.
"Owie," she whined cutely, rubbing her aching behind for the second time that day. "Too hard…" Ulquiorra came up behind her.
"I told you that you would be hurt," Ulquiorra lectured. "I do not understand why you insist on taking such unnecessary risks with your fragile human shell. I thought I had made it clear that you were not to participate in destr-" Ulquiorra was interrupted by a fist-full of leaves thrown to his face. Swiping away the offending leaves, Ulquiorra glowered down at the giggling Orihime.
"You talk too much," Orihime teased. "And I don't belong to you."
Ulquiorra crouched down just in front of the redhead, to be at eyelevel. "Yes, you do. I won Hide-and-Go-Seek-in-the-Dark." Orihime laughed, hands on her ankles and leaning forward.
"That's because you cheated," Orihime reminded matter-of-factly, her pointer finger rising in the air. "And because you cheated, the rules dictate that I am the true winner." Ulquiorra's brow furrowed.
"Therefore," Orihime concluded, "You belong to me." Ulquiorra just stared for a few moments.
"Ridiculous," he concluded.
"It's the truth," Orihime assured, smiling in amusement. "It's the way things work here."
Ulquiorra considered that a moment, trying his best not to be distracted by Orihime's brilliant smile. He failed. "Really?"
"Yes," she exclaimed. "I definitely wear the pants!" Ulquiorra frowned.
"You are wearing a skirt." Something he shouldn't have paid attention to, because now he felt rather preoccupied with how the grey skirt had ridden up. Such full, luscious, milky…
"It's figurative, Ulquiorra, it means that I'm the one who calls the shots in our relationship!" Orihime smiled, her tender face taking on a dreamy look. "You have to make me hot chocolate when I want some, and run the water for me, and give me foot rubs…"
Orihime paused as Ulquiorra leaned in even closer to her, his knees falling to each side of her. Slowly, with a predatory look in his eyes, he brought his hands down to the ground to each side of the girl's body. Orihime leaned back slowly to avoid contact with him. "Ulquiorra, what are you doing?"
Orihime's back made contact with the ground. Ulquiorra hovered over her. "Ulquiorra," she murmured, a blush blooming over her cheeks. Ulquiorra gently brought his lips to Orihime's. He kissed her softly again and again, on and around her lips. "Ulquiorra, what are you doing?"
"What does it look like I'm doing," he returned distractedly.
"I-I don't think that this is a good idea," Orihime stuttered.
"It's your own fault," Ulquiorra asserted, "for being so beautiful."
Ulquiorra worked his way down her neck. "Just because you think I'm pretty, doesn't mean you sho-"
"You are not just pretty," Ulquiorra intoned. "Everything about you… glows…" He grasped for words, unsure of what he was trying to explain. "When I am with you, it is as if… as if you are all that exists. Time becomes a blur… And I am overcome with the desire to… hold you…" He looked up to see that Orihime was blushing deeply.
"Ulquiorra…" Orihime murmured, fondness and sympathy coating her voice. They gazed deeply into each other's eyes for a long moment. It was incredible how the two of them, while still being so different, could communicate so fully without a word. They fell into each other's eyes, and Orihime was drawn into his world again. A world where the songbirds fluttered around them singing melodies of love and peace. The resounding voices of angels enveloped them in their warm embrace. The light of heaven shone down in a beam of celestial radiance upon the two of them, as if their unconditional love was a beauty praised even in realm of the Gods.
In the time it took for Orihime to blink, Ulquiorra's head was thrown into the ground by the force of an acorn. Orihime's dreamland dissolved before her eyes, and she swiftly found the source of the commotion. Tatsuki, in all her enraged glory, stood a few paces away, arms crossed rebelliously. The songbirds twittered away.
"I thought we said we were going to meet in Math class," Tatsuki said dryly, watching her best friend redden further.
"Well, by the time we got here, there was only ten minutes till the end of class…" Orihime defended, playing innocently with her index fingers. Meanwhile, Ulquiorra's head rose from the small crater he had found himself in and turned towards Tatsuki. His glower was on in full force.
Tatsuki rolled her eyes. "C'mon, just one class left, and then you guys can be all over each other in the privacy of your own home."
Mahana, face aglow with the joy of gossip, skipped over to where her friends sat in their last class of the day. "Yo, guys, you'll never guess what happened," she all but gushed.
"Schiffer and Kurosaki fought," Ryo answered, not even bothering to soften the blow on her friend's enthusiasm by phrasing it as a question.
Mahana visibly deflated. "How did you know? Yuki just overheard Kuchiki-san mentioning it!"
"Well, given what you guys told me happened at lunch," Ryo answered, not bothering to look up from her book. "It's pretty obvious, isn't it?" Mahana looked to Michiru for support.
"Well," the girl started diplomatically, "he did look pretty angry, and he did say he was going to find Kurosaki…"
Mahana's gaze turned to Chizuru, who just shook her head. Before the matter could be discussed further, however, the orange-haired topic of discussion strode into the room, Rukia at his side.
"Why aren't you on Ulquiorra's case about this, anyway," Ichigo shouted. "It's his fault."
"Ulquiorra isn't my responsibility, he's Inoue's," Rukia returned. "I'm the one who's supposed to make sure you aren't doing anything stupid!"
"What," Ichigo exclaimed incredulously. "Who says I gotta do what you say?"
"I do," she shot back. "Now hand me a tissue." Ichigo immediately handed Rukia a tissue from the box on the sensei's desk. Rukia took it with a smug, mocking smile, and Ichigo, realizing what he was doing, cussed loudly. Rukia just laughed and took her seat. Ichigo sat beside her, scowling openly.
"Spoilt little shinigami princess," Ichigo muttered under his breath. Rukia, seasoned soldier as she was, tactfully stuck her tongue out at the young Vizard. The gesture seemed to remind him of something, as his eyes widened in realization.
"Rukia…" The petite shinigami looked up at her comrade's beckoning, and, seeing the look in his chocolate brown eyes, understood what he was recalling. "What… was that?"
Rukia all but snorted. "It would have been a kiss, if you hadn't fainted half way through. Of course, I expected that you would be inexperienced, but I never would have imagined that you'd be quite so innocent."
Ichigo spluttered in embarrassment. "Don't flatter yourself! I fainted from blood loss! Blood loss!"
Rukia smiled at him mockingly, just a little patronizing. "That's what they all say."
Ichigo, embarrassed and frustrated, eyed his long-time friend, his nakama. As moments passed, his eyes softened. "What are we… now?" Rukia smiled.
"Isn't it obvious," she asked nonchalantly. "The same as always." It was pretty much impossible to be any closer, emotionally or spiritually, than they already were. As for the physical aspect, Rukia would have to see what she could get away with…
Soon, another happy pair entered the classroom. Orihime and Tatsuki came in, talking about everything and nothing. Ulquiorra followed sullenly behind them, still glowering intensely at Tatsuki's back. The relaxed girls approached their girlfriends.
"What's up," Tatsuki asked as way of greeting. With the exception of Ryo, who was still reading, the girls looked at Tatsuki as if she were insane, pure terror bleeding from their eyes. Chizuru rose dramatically from her seat.
"Why are you letting that lunatic anywhere near Hime-chan," the redhead demanded, pointing accusingly at the impassive Ulquiorra.
"That's not nice, Chizuru-chan," Orihime defended. "Ulquiorra isn't a lunatic!"
"He's crazy obsessive," Chizuru shouted, grabbing Orihime by the waist and pulling her into a protective embrace. "Stay away from my Hime-chan, you filthy man!"
Surprisingly, Ulquiorra only stared. For a long moment, he just stared at Chizuru, whose arms wrapped protectively and affectionately around Orihime. A deathly silence fell upon the group.
"Do you love Orihime," Ulquiorra asked, slowly, carefully.
"You're damn right I do," Chizuru fired back. "Hime-chan is my one and only!" Another silent moment slipped by.
"I see," Ulquiorra finally replied. He removed his hand from his pocket, and balled it into a fist.
At the same moment, both Tatsuki and Orihime jumped Ulquiorra in Chizuru's defence. "What the hell do you think you're doing," Tatsuki shouted, incredulous, holding his arm in place.
"You can't hit a girl," Orihime huffed, hands on her hips, a human shield between Ulquiorra and Chizuru. Her brow furrowed, however, as images of Rangiku, Yoruichi, Sui Feng, Halibel, and, with a shudder, Unohana surfaced in her mind. "Well, you can't hit human women," Orihime amended. But then she remembered Tatsuki, and herself for that matter. And that's when she got confused. "Umm… wait…"
Tatsuki rolled her eyes. "You can't hit Chizuru," the karate champ declared, before turning towards the still-confused Orihime. "How's that?"
"That's alright for now, I guess," Orihime offered distractedly, looking contemplative. Abruptly, she let out a giggle, and pulled Tatsuki back off Ulquiorra.
"Why not," Ulquiorra intoned, frowning at Orihime, who was putting on her best one-lesson-at-a-time face.
"Because, Ulquiorra," Orihime reasoned, with a voice one might use when speaking to a misbehaving child. "It isn't nice to hit people that did nothing to you."
Ulquiorra, however, was quick to rebut this. "She isn't allowed to touch you. I was only coming to your defence."
"I don't need you to defend me against Chizuru-chan, Ulquiorra," Orihime continued patiently. "She's my friend, she doesn't mean any harm."
"Unlike you, pervert," Chizuru called out from the group.
"Is it all clear now, Ulquiorra," Orihime asked, disregarding her troublemaking friend.
"I'm not a child, Orihime," the Arrancar replied sternly, and started walking away.
Orihime giggled. "You're like a child, though. Adorable and stubborn and new to this world," she said, as she tapped him kindly on the shoulder. Orihime followed Ulquiorra to their seat by the window.
The girlfriends watched them go, practically shaking their heads in disbelief. They still could not fathom the attraction. "You know, they're quite a pair," Ryo noted, still reading.
"Who," Mahana asked. "Orihime and Ulquiorra? Yea, they're something."
"No," Ryo corrected, finally looking up from her book, "Chizuru and Ulquiorra." Everyone seemed to get a brain cramp at that moment.
"What," Chizuru demanded in shock, eyes incredulous through her hot pink glasses. "Are you trying to suggest something about me and that male?"
Ryo actually lowered the book this time, and looked upon the faces of her confused classmates. "Chizuru's reaction to Orihime liking Kurosaki was to root enthusiastically for Kuchiki. Schiffer's reaction was to find and challenge Kurosaki."
"Oh," Michiru perked up in realization. "I get what Ryo's saying! While Ulquiorra got really jealous when he found out, Chizuru was never really too affected by Orihime liking Kurosaki."
"Exactly," Ryo confirmed, before returning once again to her novel. "Makes one wonder whether Chizuru really loves Orihime the way she says she does."
Chizuru's ears were red with rage. "Blasphemy! How dare you question my devotion to my Hime-chan?"
Tatsuki shrugged. "It'd make life a helluva lot easier for me if she gave up on Orihime and switched targets."
"You shouldn't say that," Mahana chimed in, "what if she comes after you next?"
"I would never go after Tatsuki, my heart belongs to Hime-chan," Chizuru proclaimed, before lowing her voice to be closer to conversation-level. "Besides, Tatsuki's not my type at all. Too masculine, too rough, too scrawny, and she's got no meat on her bones, if you know what I mean."
If Tatsuki weren't so happy that she wasn't Chizuru's type, she would have objected. Instead, she put Phase One of her plan into action, with the same level of guile as she did all else. "Anyway, I'm trying to provide some level of adult supervision for Orihime and Ulquiorra, so why don't we all go out to Karaoke after school?"
The group of friends just looked around at each other for a moment, before Mahana replied. "Sounds good to me."
At the moment, Ulquiorra was living a playboy's dream. He was alone, in a small, dim, private, sensually styled karaoke room with five beautiful young ladies. Granted, one was lesbian, but usually that kind of thing might work in a playboy's favour anyway.
But Ulquiorra was no playboy. In reality he was bored, and more than a little aggravated. Watching all of these teenage girls sing, in varying degrees of terrible, was not exactly how he liked spending his afternoons. No, he liked spending his afternoons under the bed covers with Orihime.
Unfortunately, Orihime felt otherwise. As soon as he saw her gushing about karaoke as "Japan's favourite pastime", he knew he was in trouble.
Just when he was considering ways to punish Orihime for taking away their quality time together, it was Orihime's turn to sing. She was looking through the list of songs, when her eyes widened and her lips pursed.
"This song," Orihime announced boldly, "is dedicated to Rangiku-san. You stole my CD, but I will still cook a great meal for you when we meet again! Come visit soon!"
Michiru raised an eyebrow. "Who is Rangiku-san?"
"No idea," Mahana answered. The song started playing. It was "Orange" by Lil'B.
Orihime wasn't exactly what one would call a great singer, but she had a cute voice. She danced weirdly as she sang, and she forgot the lyrics sometimes, but Ulquiorra was star-struck. Watching her body move, her eyes close as she was swept away by the rhythm, Ulquiorra couldn't peel his eyes off of her. He felt that even if he lived his life a thousand times over, he still wouldn't be able to contain the bursting emotion in his chest.
It was overwhelming. He was in a trance the whole time. Maybe it was the lighting, but there was a spotlight on her. Before Ulquiorra even registered that she had moved, Orihime was beside him again, a splash of rose on her cheeks. "Was I as bad as I thought I was?"
Stiffly, Ulquiorra turned to look at her, eyes still wide and glazed. "You were amazing," he said simply. She smiled shyly, and it was thoroughly adorable. Heart-melting, even. Or at least Ulquiorra thought so.
Yes, Ulquiorra was so far gone, that he didn't even notice when Tatsuki had unceremoniously shoved the microphone into his hand, and a couple of the girls had pushed him to his feet and to the karaoke machine.
The former Espada looked down upon the machine dumbly. They weren't precisely a technological race, the Arrancar. Orihime, slapping her forehead, realized this soon enough and came to the aid of her former captor.
"Which song do you want to sing," Orihime asked. They'd pretty much heard all of Orihime's CDs together by now. They were great motivation while getting the house cleaned up.
Ulquiorra's answer was instantaneous. "'Our World' by Namikawa Daisuke." Orihime blanched. Why such a terrible song?
"It is the only song that I know that is within my voice range," Ulquiorra explained. Well, that, and he didn't exactly want to be singing idiotic songs about nail polish and secret crushes. If he was going to be making a fool of himself, he should at least try to hold on to some dignity.
It was ridiculous that he'd feel so nervous, but Orihime's celestial radiance had made him feel outclassed. Inferior, in some way. If this was another contest, Ulquiorra knew there was no way that he could emerge victorious. Orihime had said that she owned him, and his loss here would only solidify this.
What would she do with her authority? It wasn't like she would do anything mean to him, but this was Orihime, after all. Maybe she'd make him do something stupid. Something so brain-numbingly out of the blue that Ulquiorra's rational mind could not even predict it. There was only one thing Ulquiorra knew for certain: there was no way he could outperform Orihime. But her eyes were glued to him, and there really was no escaping this battle.
All he had to do was hit the notes on the screen and get the lyrics right. At least then he'd do better than Orihime's friends. While small consolation, it might soften the blow. The music began playing. Ulquiorra, fierce former Espada that he was, crushed down the fear in his gut and took a deep breath.
Orihime was settled into her seat. Why couldn't he sing a nice song? Maybe about nail polish. Ulquiorra had black nails, he could relate to that. Why did he insist on reinforcing the notion that he was a menace?
Ulquiorra opened his mouth and began to sing, voice low, deep, and just a little raspy. Orihime felt the wind escape her lips. Her friends gazed at her smugly. Beyond the 'what a creepy song!' comments, they were none too effected by the power of Ulquiorra's voice.
The song ended, and Ulquiorra put down the microphone. He wondered what Orihime would say, because he in no way could read the expression on her face.
"Ulquiorra and I are going home," Orihime rose on boneless legs, grabbed their coats in one hand, and Ulquiorra's hand in the other. Wasting no time on explanations, she dragged the confused Arrancar out of there.
When the door had slammed shut behind them, Tatsuki allowed herself to frown. She should have expected something like this. She took out her phone and found her accomplice's number.
"Yo, Ishida?"
Out in the hall, Orihime was dragging Ulquiorra away as quickly as she could. She had planned to get home before yielding to her desires. Ulquiorra, however, didn't much like being dragged around for no apparent reason.
"Why are we leaving," he asked.
Damn that voice. She could never hear it the same way again. "What?"
"Why are we leaving," Ulquiorra repeated, planting his heels into the ground. Orihime bit her bottom lip. She rose to the tips of her toes, and planted a kiss squarely on Ulquiorra's lips. Her fingers ran through his raven black hair.
Ulquiorra wasn't stupid. And it wasn't so hard to find a closet right there on the second floor of the karaoke house.
As he had promised, Uryuu was quickly at the door of the karaoke house, where Tatsuki was waiting for him.
"Where are they," Tatsuki asked as soon as Uryuu was within hearing range.
"Inoue-san and Ulquiorra are still in the building," he replied, walking right by Tatsuki and into the establishment.
"Seriously," Tatsuki wondered. "I would have thought that they'd make a run for it."
Uryuu stopped in front of a closet, easily distinguished by the rather banal look of it compared to the other doors along the hall. Tatsuki frowned. Damn, Orihime, you only made it four doors down?
Tatsuki pushed Uryuu down the hall, attempting to hide him from view. "H-Hey, Arisawa-san," Uryuu spluttered.
"What are they going to think if they see you here," Tatsuki justified in a hushed voice. She opened the door to the Karaoke room she had rented. "Hide out in here until I come get you." She shoved him through, and, dumbstruck, he stumbled onto the plush seat. Tatsuki closed the door behind him with a smile and a thumbs-up.
He looked around and saw Orihime and Tatsuki's friends looking at him with wide eyes. "Uh… good afternoon." A devious smile crept across the faces of each of the girls. They handed him a microphone.
For the next fifteen minute, Uryuu was left at the mercy of three women who found it absolutely hilarious that the uptight Ishida was singing karaoke. All he could do was wonder why he was so easily swept away by every woman he came in contact with.
Meanwhile, Tatsuki, for no particular reason, needed a broom. She opened the door to the supply closet, to find everyone's favourite soul-eating monster from another dimension passionately making out with her best friend.
"Tatsuki-chan," Orihime exclaimed in shock, as she instinctively tried to draw back from Ulquiorra's hand on her breast. Which didn't work well, because his hand was beneath her shirt.
"Orihime," Tatsuki lectured, "what did we say about taking things slowly?" Orihime giggled nervously, scratching the back of her head. Tatsuki rolled her eyes. "Come, let's have a soda. It looks like you need to clear your head."
"Arisawa is annoying me," Ulquiorra stated tactlessly, as he and Orihime approached the huge, warehouse-like mini-country called Costco. He held Orihime's hand tightly with one hand, and in the other held empty reusable grocery bags.
Orihime mustered an embarrassed smile. "You know that she's just doing this to protect me. She doesn't want me to get hurt." Or pregnant, she added silently. Ulquiorra looked almost exasperated, clearly unsatisfied with the redhead's excuse. "Well… I did promise her that we'd take it slow…"
"Take what slow," Ulquiorra asked. Orihime looked forward, a blush on her face. In typical Ulquiorra fashion, she ignored the question. "Why will you not answer me?"
"There are some things," Orihime started diplomatically, "that you don't need to be aware of just yet."
Ulquiorra eyed the redhead suspiciously. "Why?"
Orihime thought that over. "You know, Ulquiorra," she replied cheerfully, "instead of worrying about such things, you should just enjoy your time on Earth!"
"My time on Earth," he repeated, an eyebrow raised. "I am not leaving this world until you are, therefore I still have several decades to 'enjoy my time' here. And I would like to spend that time understanding what people around me are saying."
"Good point," Orihime conceded with a smile. "What we should be taking slow is our physical relationship. I'm not telling you what that means, though, not until I'm sure about all of this."
Ulquiorra considered this. "What is it that you need to ascertain?" The only response he received as the two walked into the mega store was a wink.
Somehow, the store looked even more massive on the inside than on the outside. The stock was piled precariously high on each side of them. The grey ceiling was high above them, and powerful florescent lamps hung from it in rows. There were no windows, and, as a result, once the two got through the door, there was the sense that they had suddenly found themselves underground.
"What is this place," Ulquiorra intoned, taking in the huge interior.
Orihime smiled cheerfully. "It's a magnificent sight, isn't it, Ulquiorra?" The redhead motioned grandiosely to the vastness. "This… is Costco!" The two walked down the first aisle.
"What does it… do," Ulquiorra asked, examining the boxes towering high above him. Orihime laughed beside him, as she pulled out a grocery cart.
"This is where you go to buy food in bulk," Orihime explained. "Usually I just go to the corner store, but when Rangiku-san and Toushiro-kun were here, Rangiku-san and I came here so that we could buy enough for all three of us for almost the same price!"
"What is the price," Ulquiorra asked. After decades living in a towering, monolithic, empty fortress, and decades before that living in an endless empty desert, this place was making him feel just a little claustrophobic. As if the tightly-packaged goods might fall on his head at any minute.
"Well, that depends, Ulquiorra," Orihime replied, picking up a bag of flour from the pile. She placed it carefully into the cart, Ulquiorra's unblinking eyes watching intensely. She rose again with a slight bounce, and with a smile, motioned to the florescent yellow card above the pile of flour bags.
"See this, Ulquiorra," Orihime motioned. "This means that each bag of flour costs 500 yen." Ulquiorra nodded hesitantly, examining the card.
"What is a 'yen'," he asked, as he pushed the cart forward, following Orihime as she looked for something else to buy.
"Japan's currency is the yen," she replied, "you'll understand better when we get to the cash, but you trade money, in yen, for goods and services."
"I see," Ulquiorra commented, not too sure he understood. Things in the human world were so complicated.
"Is it really necessary," Ulquiorra asked again, "to run this world by such a complex system?"
Orihime actually laughed, trying to think of an appropriate answer to that question. "You don't know humans too well, do you Ulquiorra?"
Ulquiorra furrowed his brow, looking almost offended. "What did you say, Orihime?"
"Think about it, Ulquiorra," Orihime returned. "In Hueco Mundo, if someone wants something, they'll take it or die trying, right?"
Ulquiorra nodded. "That's the way of the world."
"Well, in the Material World," Orihime explained, "things are the same way. If society didn't stop them, some people would do whatever they want, without considering others."
"So," Ulquiorra challenged, as they made their way into the next aisle.
Orihime frowned slightly. "It would hurt people."
"People are hurt anyway," Ulquiorra returned. "All your laws accomplish is the suppression of people's true nature."
"Perhaps," Orihime crossed her arms, thinking. "But humans can't be trusted to act in a responsible way towards their community and environment, so it's not like we have much choice."
"Precisely," Ulquiorra responded, helping Orihime with a jug of cooking oil. "Even those who make and enforce the laws are mere humans. Therefore all that laws accomplish is disallowing certain humans from doing something, while increasing the power of other humans to do so. It is the same thing that Aizen did to the Hollows."
"It's totally different," Orihime gasped, just a little offended. "The people in government are elected by the people! We have watch-dog groups! Checks and balances to minimize corruption! Japan hasn't had a leader like Aizen in, like, sixty years already!" The two made their way down another aisle, unaware that two pairs of watchful eyes were observing their every move.
"Wow," Tatsuki commented, hiding behind a huge stockpile of canned corn. "Orihime's really strutting her stuff."
"I wasn't aware that she enjoyed discussing political philosophy," Uryuu commented, honestly surprised.
"Not usually," Tatsuki agreed. "I think Ulquiorra must be the exception."
Uryuu's eyes narrowed. "Why would Ulquiorra be the exception?" Tatsuki smiled, eyes still trained on the retreating figures. She took Uryuu by the sleeve and dragged him forward.
"Because he was her enemy," Tatsuki replied. "Their relationship was set on the grounds that there weren't any expectations that she had to meet. I mean, what are the expected social forms between a captor and a captive?"
Uryuu considered this. "Which is why she calls him Ulquiorra instead of Schiffer-kun. But that doesn't explain what we are seeing now."
Tatsuki shrugged. "Orihime usually isn't very good at sharing her real feelings, she's afraid people won't like her for who she is. And who really cares if the enemy thinks you're interesting," the girl's best friend offered. "Now save the analysis for later, they're turning another corner." The two sprinted silently down the aisle, pausing when they heard Ulquiorra and Orihime on the other side.
"Idealist," Ulquiorra accused.
"Nihilist," Orihime returned, before she was distracted by what was before her. "Hey Ulquiorra, have you ever eaten a strawberry?" Ulquiorra took the tiny fruit into his hands, eyeing it intensely. Orihime watched on in excitement. "It's really good, try it!"
When the Arrancar would only glare at the bright red fruit, Orihime took the strawberry from his hand. "Open your mouth, Ulquiorra," the Arrancar just shifted his gaze to her. "Come on, open wide!" Feeling just a little silly, he opened his mouth.
Orihime brought the strawberry to his lips, trying not to be distracted by that intense stare focused pointedly upon her and the humidity of his breath on her skin. He took hold of the strawberry with his teeth and bit into it, his eyes never leaving hers. He brought the fruit into his mouth, her fingers just gently grazing his lips as she pulled her hand back.
"I think I'll buy some of these for later," Orihime suddenly cheered, the spell broken. "And do you know what this means?"
"What," Ulquiorra asked dispassionately.
"We need whipped cream," Orihime gushed, before stopping in her tracks, holding her chest as if she was getting a heart-attack. "No! We'll make whipped cream." She turned towards Ulquiorra in a whirlwind. "Ulquiorra, you are about to learn the sacred art of whipped cream-making passed down through generations of the Inoue family!"
"Generations," Ulquiorra asked. So far as he knew, she didn't even have parents.
"Well," Orihime amended, "not generations, technically. My brother used to do it, and it doesn't look too hard…"
"So, in other words," Ulquiorra concluded, "you have never even done it yourself?"
Orihime pouted. "You don't need to say it like that. I know how to do it!"
The two continued shopping for a long time and quickly filled up their cart. However, the two were soon distracted from their discussion, which had returned to the root topic of freedom versus equality, when a loud crashing sound was heard. Orihime's eyes widened in realization.
"Um, Ulquiorra," Orihime said distractedly. "I'm going to go to the bathroom, ok?" Ulquiorra just offered a sullen nod, watching her retreat back the way they came, where he was absolutely sure a bathroom did not exist. Of course, he also knew that she wasn't really trying to go to the bathroom either.
"Ishida, what do you think you're doing," Tatsuki snapped in a whisper.
"You pushed me," Uryuu, also whispering, defended, trying to pile back up the fallen boxes. They both raised their eyes in horror as they saw Orihime running towards them.
"Tatsuki-chan, Ishida-kun," Orihime greeted, albeit a little awkwardly. "Um, what are you two doing here?"
"We're shopping," Uryuu lied quickly. Orihime smiled nervously.
"Once again," she noted, "neither of you have any groceries with you." There was silence, long and awkward.
"Alright, you caught us, Orihime," Tatsuki sighed. "Ishida and I are on a date."
Orihime looked kind of startled at that. She was sure Uryuu liked Rukia… "Really?"
"Yes," Tatsuki nodded, hooking her arm around Uryuu's in stereotypical 'date' fashion.
Orihime thought about that a minute, watching her best friend's confident smile and Uryuu's dumbfounded expression. "Oh." She smiled. "Have fun, then!" Orihime and Tatsuki waved goodbye to each other as Orihime returned to where Ulquiorra was apparently rather absorbed by some book. She stopped cold, however, and took a sharp right into the cereal aisle.
Finally, when the redhead was safely out of earshot, Uryuu voiced his confusion. "She couldn't believe that we are at Costco shopping, but she could believe that we are here on a date?" Tatsuki smiled.
"Yup," she answered simply.
A few moments earlier, as Orihime had dashed off to question the suspicious presence of her friends, Ulquiorra was left to find something interesting in his strange surroundings.
To his left, there was a display of books, all spread out more or less randomly upon a huge length of table. The picture on one of them caught his eye. It was of a shirtless man provocatively embracing a woman, a woman who seemed to be responding to him. Wow, what could this be?
It was called "Beautiful Stranger." The Arrancar read the back panel of the paperback, just like Orihime had showed him. "Raised in a gilded cage, she was the chubby twin sister no one noticed. Now her weight loss made Marissa Pierce the kind of woman every man desired – including Robert Martinez. If only she had the courage to return his seductive gaze…
"A proud Native American, Robert resented Marissa's privileged lifestyle. Yet this elegant stranger understood his wounded heart. Now Robert was determined to show her how truly beautiful she was – before the princess could escape to her ivory tower forever."
Fascinating. He opened the novel to the first page, and began reading. Soon, however, he sensed Orihime's reiatsu approaching him from behind. Ulquiorra looked down at the book and made a quick decision. He pocketed the small novel.
"Hey Ulquiorra," Orihime called, placing a bag full of bread-stuffs into the overflowing cart, "we're going!" She hooked her arm around his, and then pushed the heavy cart over towards the front of the store.
"Alright, now," Orihime said, smile alight, "pay close attention, Ulquiorra!" She started transferring the groceries from the cart to the rolling mat. Ulquiorra mimicked her.
"So you see," Orihime lectured, "the costumer gathers what they want to buy in a cart, and then they come to the cash, where we are now, and pay for everything that we want to buy. It's simple, you see?"
"You pay in 'money', the currency of which, in this particular country, is the yen," Ulquiorra clarified. The cashier withheld a look of confusion. She had been working at this post for a long time, and heard a lot of strange things, but this sort of conversation has never occurred. Had the pale kid been a kidnap victim, or something?
"That's right," Orihime praised.
"So then," Ulquiorra asked, "where does the money come from?"
Orihime smiled. He was questioning! The first step of learning! "You get money by working at a job. Except I get my money from the government, because I'm an orphan living alone."
"Ah, I see," Ulquiorra replied, just the smallest hint of satisfaction in his voice. "That is why you speak out in such flagrant support of the government. They are paying you."
Orihime's eyes widened, her mouth falling open as she stared at her roommate. "I-It's nothing like that!"
"Cede your pride, Orihime," Ulquiorra said, hands still moving as instructed. "You have lost."
She pouted at him. "This isn't a contest."
"You can't decide that," he said, just a little smug.
Orihime was about to retort this, as she handed her bank card to the cashier, when the cashier raised her voice.
"Would you like to make a donation to the Shibuyaki Foundation," the woman asked for the millionth time that day, and Orihime's eyes glazed over. "Costco is a proud supporter of the Shibuyaki Foundation, which provides aid to underprivileged children."
The redhead's eyes lit with awe. "Do you mean to say," she breathed, not believing her luck, "that the Shibuyaki Fair is in town today?"
"Yes," the cashier responded, "until next Tuesday."
Orihime squealed in excitement, throwing her hands over her head joyously, and then doing a little 'Shibuyaki' dance. Only Ulquiorra was frightened by the display.
It was a peaceful day in Soul Society. The Captain of the Thirteenth Division relaxed on the patio outside one of his studies, a light, steaming tea between his hands. Juushiro looked upon the opulent Division Training Grounds with a look of quiet content. Truth be told, even these fields dedicated for training were rather still, only a few odd shinigami meditating beneath a tree or atop a hill, their swords balanced beautifully upon their knees. A gentle breeze stroked the afternoon air.
"Quite different from just a week ago," a familiar voice commented from behind, as the scraping of the sliding door was heard. Juushiro turned to face his long-time friend.
"Shunsui," the white-haired man greeted. The other man smiled, removing his large straw hat as he sat beside his friend. The two watched the serenity for a long while, before Juushiro spoke.
"Komamura-taicho's funeral procession will be starting soon," Juushiro said, eyes touched by sadness still watching the fields.
"Yea," Shunsui replied. They both retreated into their thoughts again.
"I don't want Soul Society to go to war again," Juushiro commented after a long moment. His eyes narrowed in mourning as the wind blew through his long hair.
Shunsui looked down into the folded hands on his lap with guarded eyes. "Yea…"
"Beautiful Stranger" belongs to Ruth Wind and Silhouette Books.
I turned 17 on December 22. And I passed all my courses. Reward me with reviews, if you please. :D I hope you enjoyed the chapter!