Chapter Thirteen; Adjusting
"Did you not think this through, woman." it wasn't even a question, it was a statement.
Orihime looked at the winged figure before her, her hand on her chin in thought. She flopped her hands to the side and sighed, "No… I didn't…"
She really should've taken into picture earlier; Ulquiorra can't go walking around in public like that. Bold example being earlier.
Public panic would be sure to ensue
Ulquiorra looked at her blandly, as Tatsuki facepalmed. The purple haired teen let out a groan before turning to the coat rack. "Our best chance is to cover him up as much as we can. We gotta get him to Kisuke's as fast as possible." she said as she pulled off multiple extra raincoats.
Ulquiorra folded his wings as tightly as he could as the two teen girls put on multiple raincoats on top of the bat ex-Espada, and he had the most unamused look possible. Orihime and Tatsuki backed up; Orihime admiring their work and giggling a bit at the funny look, and Tatsuki rubbing her forehead in disappointment.
Ulquiorra in simple words; looked like a depressed stuffed turkey.
"What about his horns?" Tatsuki finally asked, as Orihime looked at the two horns that held the hoods up. She put her hand up to her chin in thought for a moment, before she smiled brightly. "I've got it!" she beamed then bolted out of the room into another.
Ulquiorra and Tatsuki shared glances, with possibly the same thought;
What the hell was she going to put on him?
Orihime emerged from the other room with a few things; Two pairs of white socks, an oversized tophat, and a pair of snow pants. Tatsuki looked at the girl, then down at the items. "What are you going to do with those socks…" Tatsuki decided not to ask why she had an oversized tophat in her house, knowing it would lead to the weirdest story.
"Well, first off, his claw feet would probably cause a ton of suspicions. These two other socks though…" she said as she leaned close to Ulquiorra on her tippy toes, as he jolted away slightly, before giving in.
She slid the two loose socks on his horns and his frown turned into a scowl as she stepped back. "Awh! It's kind of cute…" she said as she smiled brightly.
Both Tatsuki and Ulquiorra thoroughly disagreed silently.
"Well, unless you want to wear the top hat instead, Ulquiorra?" Ulquiorra looked down at the ridiculous hat, then let out a frustrated mental sigh. "These… will do for the time being." he grumbled under his breath.
Orihime smiled, "Good!" she said as she handed him the two other socks. He looked at them in his clawed hands, then looked over at Orihime. "These will be torn, woman."
Orihime's mouth formed into an 'O', and she chuckled nervously. Tatsuki facepalmed as Ulquiorra dropped the socks next to him. Orihime handed him the snow pants and he slid them on hesitantly.
How had he gotten himself into this mess?
He'd preferred not to think of it.
The snow pants were overly large, and Ulquiorra disliked everything about this. Orihime's smile said otherwise in her opinion though, "Well, just keep your hands in your sleeves, and don't look at anybody, and try to keep your face deep in the hood, oki?" she asked cheerfully, as Ulquiorra shuffled the sleeves over his hands. "Very well."
As one would expect, the walk to Kisuke's was terrible. He wished he just grabbed the two teens and flew over quickly, sparing not only his dignity, but his sanity too.
He was relieved when they finally got to Kisuke's.
"Oh, Hello Orihime. Hello Tatsuki." he said as he smiled from behind his hand. He looked at the unusually dressed average height figure behind Tatsuki. "Who's your friend?"
Ulquiorra practically ripped the ridiculous uncomfortable clothing off right after Kisuke asked, and threw it to the side. He shook his head and got the socks off. At least, he thought both of the socks off.
"Oh?" Kisuke said interested now, and he sat up in his seat. He eyed the other sock on the ex-Espada's horn.
Ulquiorra's patience was already thin as a piece of paper. "Figure out why I have been trapped into a natural version of my Segunda Etapa, Kisuke." he hissed venomously.
Orihime looked back at Ulquiorra nervously as he finished strangling the snow pants off. Ulquiorra strutted over to the shopkeeper's front counter and glared at him. "Now."
Kisuke smirked from behind his fan, "No need to be so impatient, Ulquiorra. Why don't you sit down for some tea first, and explain how this happened?"
Ulquiorra wasn't having it, hell no he wasn't. He slammed his claws down on the counter and glared harshly at the shopkeeper. "I do not have time for your games, Kisuke Urahara." he hissed again.
Kisuke's smile faded as he stood up. "Alright, alright. I need to know why this happened before I inspect you." he said as Ulquiorra finally loosened up, as Orihime carefully put her hand on his shoulder comfortingly.
Orihime looked at Kisuke, "He was having really bad chest pain at school today, and suddenly fell conscious. Sado-kun helped bring him back to my place for full concentration while I healed him, and Ulquiorra's soul bursted out of his gigai mid healing like this. He's visible to normal humans, and apparently he says he feels more… I don't know… like, full? More 'there' than he usually would in that form." she explained.
Kisuke turned to Ulquiorra, and he simply closed his eyes, the last of his anger dissipating. "I disagree with the wording, but she is correct. I have no spiritual pressure, none of my abilities I would have while in this form other than some basic strength, flight, spiritual awareness and weaker pesquisa. My hollow hole has also disappeared, along in my base form." he added onto the woman's explanation as the four made their way into the back of the shop.
"Hm, hollow hole disappearing, you say? Well, it appears you have a case of…" he paused, turning to look at the three. "...unhollowfying, one could say."
"Explain." Ulquiorra demanded, as Orihime held her hands up to her chest worryingly.
"I've only theorized how it works, as I've never seen it myself. It's nothing like being killed by a soul reaper with their zanpakuto. Rather, it's more so an overtime healing sort of thing." he started as he sat down on the cushion, and poured some convenient tea into four cups, passing it to each. Tatsuki and Orihime nodded their thanks, and Ulquiorra sat silent.
Kisuke turned to Ulquiorra, "So as you know, your hollow hole was located in the middle of your chest and lower neck, symboling heartlessness." Ulquiorra nodded slowly, as Kisuke paused to see the ex-Espada's response. "Most say that hollows gain a hole in their chest from their heart's being ripped out by the despair of a soul reaper not saving them. While many object to that, as there are many reasons why hollows have hollow-holes, but it's the basic and most common theory."
He paused for a moment, taking a sip out of his tea, then turned his attention back to Ulquiorra. "But in this case, you are a primordial hollow. You did not gain your hollow hole through a heart breaking event in your previous life, as you had none. As far as the current information goes, that is." Kisuke paused as Orihime grimaced slightly, Tatsuki sat there confused slightly, and Ulquiorra sat there, expressionless as always.
"Now, this is but a theory, so don't go out on me for this. Ulquiorra has experienced an event, whom he probably does not recall. It could've been far before our times, but we're unable to get clarification on that. Now, heartbreak is one thing, but heartbreaking during death is another. It could possibly cause many terrible things to happen to the owner's soul, but if severe enough; again this is a theory, it could have severe consequences."
Kisuke paused again, taking another sip of his tea. Orihime in a sense looked horrified and worried at that last part. Tatsuki looked a bit guilty, and Ulquiorra seemed to be deep in thought. "I theorize this is the case with you, Ulquiorra. Now, unhollowfying. How would that happen to you, you must be wondering? Heartbreak; it can be healed over time. Rather that be through reuniting with a loved one, moving on, etc. It doesn't matter, it can be healed, no matter how severe, as long as you don't give into it."
Ulquiorra opened his mouth to correct him, but quickly shut it, as the shopkeeper continued. "I theorize that you're going through the phases of overcoming heartbreak, Ulquiorra. Hence the disappearance of your hollow hole."
Ulquiorra was about to comment finally, but Orihime cut him straight through it. "So what you're saying is that something; or someone, is subconsciously healing and unhollowfying Ulquiorra?!" she yelled. She cleared her throat and sat back down on the cushion from sitting up. That had come out louder than she anticipated.
"Yes, that is the more likely assumption. He could be overcoming it through moving on, but that's unlikely, as the effects of this heartbreak were nothing to take lightly."
Orihime smiled brightly as she leaped to the side of her, and pulled Ulquiorra into a tight hug. He instantly stiffened at the sudden embrace. "I'm so proud of you, Ulquiorra!" she squealed as he tried to pry himself away from the squealing woman.
Tatsuki cleared her throat, "So, what's up with the whole uh… you know…" she said, gesturing at Ulquiorra. Orihime pulled away from the hug and sat back down on her cushion.
"Ah! Good question, Tatsuki-chan!" he beamed as he smiled brightly. "That is a part of overcoming heartbreak. In simpler terms, or as our dear Espada would put it, in human terms. He needs to either overcome his demons, or tolerate and live with them." Orihime looked at Kisuke worryingly, as Ulquiorra shot him a glance.
"You are saying that my Segunda Etapa is the equivalent to these… 'Demons' you speak of?" Ulquiorra asked skeptically, not liking that interpretation.
"Yes! Not just your Segunda Etapa, more so the Murcielago side of your being. As you've said yourself; it makes you feel empty. Brings others around you to despair, and is the darker summoning of your being."
"...Now, that's the issue. You already tolerate and live with this despair filled side of your being. Too much so. It's led to mark the heartbreak even deeper."
"And what would happen if I were to successfully overcome or tolerate said 'demons'?" he asked, as Kisuke smiled again, flipping his fan open.
"You would have successfully overcome heartbreak! As to what happens when that comes, only time will tell."
"How does one… overcome said 'demons?'" he finally asked, disliking asking for the guidance of the shinigami trash. Kisuke smirked, "Only you can find out who or what is helping you overcome them. Once again, only time will tell."
The walk back was… unpleasant. At least to our dear ex-Espada. He shuffled as quietly as he possibly could in the layers of thick clothing, as Orihime practically skipped back to the apartment.
Tatsuki stood behind Ulquiorra, as he kept losing his balance every now and then from the thickness of the clothing.
When they got back to the apartment, Ulquiorra unbuttoned the many raincoats, and shook the clothing off like a wet dog.
Tatsuki got a face full of rain coat, and Orihime spun around with a huge smile plastered across her face.
"Oh wow! I can't wait to have a demon as a roommate!" she beamed happily.
Tatsuki and Ulquiorra awkwardly eyed the sock slowly sliding down her face, and eventually it falling off.
Orihime had the most distanced dumb happy look on her face, then she suddenly snapped back to reality. She looked around her, "I should probably clean this up."
Both Ulquiorra and Orihime reached for the same jacket, and they both froze as Ulquiorra's cold clawed hand landed atop of Orihime's small warm one. The two slowly looked up at each other, and Orihime went a blush crimson red as Ulquiorra stared at her, eyes wide.
"Ugh! Just clean it up!" Tatsuki groaned, slapping her hand against her face. Orihime quickly retracted her hand from under Ulquiorra's and mumbled "Right"
Ulquiorra kept his hand on the same place as he stared at his clawed hand, then glared at it as if it were a disgusting stain on his perfectly cloudy white kimono.
He let out an inaudible sigh and picked up the raincoat, and put it back on the rack. Orihime had skipped back into the house with the snow pants and socks, as Tatsuki looked over at Ulquiorra. He kept his hands on the raincoat on the rack, looking down, in deep thought.
Tatsuki hesitated for a second, before patting him on the back. "You'll get used to it."
Ulquiorra turned to glare at the purple haired woman, and ask what she meant by that, but she was already by Orihime in the apartment.
'What… did she mean by that?'
Ulquiorra glared harshly as he turned his gaze down at the floor. He was frustrated at all these new thoughts coming through his head. After a second, he finally deciphered how he was feeling: insecure.
He scoffed at that. Him? Being insecure? It was ludicrous. He didn't care that he looked like a demon to everyone around him. Mostly to the woman.
At least, that's what he was trying to convince himself.
After a moment of thinking, he finally walked into the apartment. The tacking of his clawed feet against the floor only rubbed the fact in, as it felt like he was approaching a trembling enemy.
He walked over to the stand-up mirror and took in his appearance. He slowly circled the area his gaping hollow hole had once burrowed in, and grimaced. Heartbreak? Overcoming his 'demons'? Preposterous, it's almost laughable to think about.
Almost.
His face turned into a scowl as he tried to think of another logical explanation, but quickly found there was none.
He let out an audible sigh and walked over to the couch, and collapsed onto it. His wings spread out around him, as his tail rested on his lap. He looked curiously at the remote on the table, and stared at it.
The woman told him about this 'TV' and the 'TV remote'. He carefully reached one long clawed finger out and tapped the 'ON' button, and the black screen lit up with moving images, much like his Solita Vista.
He leaned back, entranced by this new discovery. It appeared the humans on the screen were explaining the weather conditions of the next few days. He rested his arm on the armest, and started to tap the hard part at the end of the armrest contently, as he watched the screen.
"What do you think?" Orihime suddenly asked from behind him, and he didn't even bother to look at her, and just gave a 'hn' in response.
Orihime suddenly sat next to him, clearly not noticing his spread out wing that took up the back of the couch, as she leaned against it. Ulquiorra quickly retracted his wing the second she made contact, out of instinct.
Of course, the innocent auburn haired woman next to him didn't notice.
"Awwhhh… I thought it was going to be a clear week!" she whined as the weather guy explained an upcoming thunderstorm.
"You do not approve of thunderstorms?" he asked, as he finally looked over at Orihime. She nodded embarrassingly.
He scoffed and looked forward. "I have only heard of said phenomenons. I do not have the experience to forge a proper opinion on such storms."
"They're scary…" she whispered quietly, as she put her hands up to her chest. Ulquiorra looked over at Orihime expressionlessly.
"They are very rare to cause harm. If my current knowledge is correct; there is nothing to be afraid of." he said as he leaned back on the couch, turning his attention back to the TV.
Orihime glanced over at the ex-Espada with a fascinated face. Ulquiorra tried to focus his attention on the TV, and not the adorable eyes boring into the side of his head.
He let out a frustrated sigh and looked at her, "What is it, woman?" he nearly growled out softly, as if admitting defeat to her fascinated face.
She shook her hands, "Oh no! Nothing! It's just…" she trailed off.
"It's just what? Clearly it is not nothing."
"You just tried to comfort me…" she said under her breath, as Ulquiorra's eyes narrowed slightly.
"I would do no such thing." he said simply, turning his attention back to the TV.
"Oh. Ok." she mumbled as she awkwardly turned her attention back to the TV as well. She tried to hide her comforted smile though.
"Hey! Orihime! I came in here to make sure you'll be O.K, not do laundry!" Tatsuki suddenly yelled from downstairs, as Orihime sprung up. "Coming!"
Ulquiorra watched the woman disappear downstairs to where her friend was. He turned back to the TV, and moved to the middle of the couch. He stretched his wings out, crossed his legs and relaxed.
At some point, Ulquiorra had surprisingly fallen asleep, much to Orihime's pleasure. She walked upstairs from helping her friend, and walked around to look at the couch. There laid Ulquiorra, arm draped over the couch, and another over his face.
'For such a dignified person, he sure doesn't sleep like it.' she thought as she smiled down at him.
Tatsuki walked over next to her and looked down at the unpleasant scene. She let out an amused grunt along with an amused shrug to Orihime, then walked into the kitchen to make something for the three.
Orihime bent down next to him and carefully moved his arm down to his collar bone, then sat next to the couch. Without her consent, her hand subconsciously reached up and rubbed the black splotched tear marks coming down from his carefully lidded eyes, and traced them down to his jawline.
He surprisingly wasn't that unnatural cold that he usually was. In fact, he felt sort of warm. Orihime continued to rub his cheek as she took in the slow rising and falling of his chest. His breathing was almost rhythmic to her, as he took nice steady breaths and slept quietly.
'He's cute when he's sleeping…' she thought to herself, and carefully brushed a black lock of hair out of his face.
Suddenly she retracted her hand, and back pedaled quickly on that thought. 'No! This isn't Ichigo, this is Ulquiorra!' she mentally scolded herself as she stiffly put her hands to the side and pursed her lips in an attempt to brush her smile off.
'My heart belongs to Ichigo.' she reminded herself, as she closed her eyes and let out a deep exhale, her cheeks inflating while doing so. 'I promised him five lifetimes of love.'
She kept her eyes closed for a moment, before popping one open as if Ulquiorra wouldn't be there after she opened it. She quickly tried to shut it, but couldn't get over how handsome he looked.
A few strands of hair fell over his face again, and she had to resist the strong urge to brush them out of his face. She started uncomfortably bouncing and held her breath, as she closed her eyes tightly.
Finally, she opened her eyes and looked at him. She let out the breath. 'One time won't hurt… He's reformed after all. Besides, friends do this all the time!' she thought as she scooted closer to Ulquiorra's sleeping form.
'...Right?' She nervously thought as she brushed the hair out of his face, and tucked it behind his ear. She opened her hand and contently rested it on the side of his head, and used her thumb to rub his cheek softly.
She began to lean in subconsciously. Her breath came back to her as it deflected off of his face. She hadn't even realized her lips were inches from the sleeping beauty, before his mouth opened suddenly.
"Woman, if you wish to observe my features, I'd prefer it if you did it while I was conscious." She sprung back and let out a squeal, falling on her backside. Ulquiorra hadn't even opened his eyes when he said that!
He sat up, and looked at her. She sat on the ground holding herself up with one hand, looking at him wish rosy cheeks and an expression one could describe as a 'what the fuck' face.
"W- Were you a- awake that entire time?!" she squealed as he set his two clawed feet on the ground and looked at her expressionlessly. "No. I woke up to your breathing against my face." he said bluntly.
Only then did she realize how she had her face to his. Somehow, her face went even more red at the realization.
"I- I'm sorry! I was j- just- u- uh-" she began to stutter really bad as Ulquiorra stood up and carefully walked towards her. He extended one hand out.
She took the clawed hand and got herself up, coming face to face with the beautiful beast that towered a few inches over her. She went even more red as he looked at her with an intense gaze. Faces inches apart, she carefully examined his beautiful tropical jade eyes as they contrasted into a flaxen shade, and the slit pupils that bored into her soul contently. The flaxen-jade eyes had the slightest hint of curiosity in them.
"Alright, foods ready-" Tatsuki stopped, and stared at the scene before her. The two shot their gazes towards her, and she looked back and forth between the two.
She suddenly spun around on her heel, and almost robotically walked back into the kitchen while mumbling 'that's my cue' awkwardly.
Orihime stepped back a bit and looked down, holding her hands down in front of her waist. "U- uh, we should go eat…" she mumbled as Ulquiorra blinked at the way of the kitchen, and looked at her. He nodded and the two walked over to the kitchen.
Ulquiorra had about twenty-seven thoughts running through his mind, as he looked at the woman that walked ahead of him. What had just happened? Why didn't he pull away? Why was he getting so close? Why did she suddenly look so beautiful? What was that feeling he was having? Why did his gut want to come right out of his throat? Why was the beat that followed him around deafening him the entire time? Why was it going faster every moment she leaned in closer?
So many questions, and so little answers.
Ulquiorra snapped back into reality as he accidentally bumped into the wall near the kitchen door, and the two teen girls looked at him confused. "You good, Ulquiorra?" Tatsuki asked, as Ulquiorra backed away from the wall. "I am fine," he finally said.
The food was simple microwave Shrimp Tempura, nothing too complicated or overly flavored. Ulquiorra calmly ate, appreciating the simplicity of the meal, and not having unusual ingredients in said meal.
Orihime on the other hand had bathed hers in wasabi and ketchup, along with some mayo, complaining it was 'plain'.
Although she tried to keep up her facade in front of the two (Of course, Ulquiorra and Tatsuki not being fooled by it unlike the others.) to not let them see the fact she was straight up PANICKING internally. She had almost just kissed Ulquiorra Cifer! Her previous captor, and previous enemy! Why had she almost done it? Why did she like how close they were?!
She kept scolding herself, not even realizing the pair of flaxen-jade and deep brown ones watching her concerned, as she stared off into space. "Hey, Orihime, are you alright?"
The auburn-haired girl shot back to reality like a rocket, then looked over at Tatsuki. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine." she mumbled, and quickly put another bite of the food in her mouth. Tatsuki glanced over at Ulquiorra, expecting to share a glance, but he was staring off into space now too.
"I don't like it, I really don't fuckin' like it." Ichigo grumbled as he threw a rock off the building the two teens sat on, watching as the sun set. After school, Uryu had to stop Ichigo from going to check on Orihime, because he knew that her spiritual pressure was stable, and not in havoc.
Ichigo had said sure, but of course the quincy didn't trust him. He followed him back and led them to where they are now, sitting on top of some random shop that let Ichigo walk up to the roof, staring off into the sunset. It had been mostly quiet until now.
"Don't like what?" he asked, pushing his glasses up. Ichigo leaned back a bit, looking up at the sky. The sky was a nice painted blue into orange-pink contrast.
"Him!" he quipped, letting out a groan.
"Who?"
Ichigo shot him a glare. "Don't play innocent with me, Uryu."
"I am not playing innocent, Ichigo."
Ichigo let out a frustrated sigh. "Ulquiorra! Orihime would've called or run to us if he hadn't woken up by now. And if he did wake up normally, she would've called too. Something must've happened!"
"I believe you're overthinking it."
"I'm just worried for Orihime, alright?" Ichigo grumbled, collapsing back onto the cement behind them.
"I'm sure Orihime's perfectly capable of defending herself. She managed to bring him back from Hell itself. Clearly her powers have gotten stronger. Besides, I can sense her spiritual pressure, it's perfectly stable and not in any distress right now. She actually seems pretty happy."
"Happy!? What on earth could she be happy about?" he quipped, sitting back up and looking at Uryu in anticipation.
"Don't worry. Ulquiorra must be still out, because I can't sense his spiritual pressure. Tatsuki is there with Orihime, so they're probably just playing a boardgame or cooking."
Ichigo let out a small relieved sigh and looked up, as the sun fully set. "Good. I agreed to tolerate that Arrancar, but I don't want him getting any ideas."
"Not that you can really do anything anyways…"
"Shut up!"'
Uryu pushed his glasses up again and looked in the direction of Orihime's house. "Don't get wrong, I don't trust him either. That form he had taken on the canopy of Las Noches could easily burst through that restricted gigai."
"Gee, thanks for the reassurance."
"My pleasure."
"...But on the contrary, if he were to do that, the Soul Society would notice. Not to mention he's out numbered big time. If I recall correctly; he's not that dumb. He's a pretty intelligent guy." Uryu explained, now the stars dusting the sky fully, the crescent moon coming out.
"Great, you're sucking up to him now?"
"I'm not sucking up to him!"
"You just called him smart!"
"It was a statement!"
"Whatever. I'm going to go over to Orihime's and say hi. I want to make sure this ain't some Tsukishima, Book of the Forgotten or some Aizen bullshit. With the spiritual pressure and all."
"Fair enough. And it's 'Book of the End."
"Same thing, same thing."
"Ulquiorra! It's O.K! It's not going to hurt me!" Orihime yelled as she tried to grab the wasabi from the ex-Espada.
"I tried it myself, it clearly inflicts internal harm. Are you a masochist, woman?!" he snipped at the auburn haired girl, as she crossed her arms. "No!"
"Then I shall dispose of this." he said, looking away from her. "Ulquiorrraaaa!" she whined. Ulquiorra rolled his eyes as he opened the window, and chucked the tube out. He dusted his hands together as he turned to Orihime, and stopped dead in his tracks.
He was met with two big teary puppy eyes, and a quivering bottom lip along with whimpers. "What are you doing, woman?!" he asked as he stepped back. Tatsuki peeked her head around. "Great, you upset her. Good fuckin' going, batman."
Ulquiorra glared at the purple haired woman as Orihime continued to stare at him. "That is enough of your childish displays." he said as he walked past her. Orihime crossed her arms and gave him a grumpy look. "That wasn't very nice, Ulquiorra!"
"I did not intend it to be 'nice'." he said as he rounded the corner into the living room, tail swaying behind him.
Ulquiorra stopped in the foyer, and looked out the side window. "Someone is approaching." he said as he stared intensely at the window. It was a blurry rough window, so it was hard to see who it was.
"I've got it, it'd be best if a demon didn't answer the door." Tatsuki mumbled, mouth full of bread. She walked past Ulquiorra, and he crossed his arms. She peeked through the peephole, then started to choke on her bread. She looked back at Orihime in the living room, "It's Ichigo!" she whispered yelled, as Orihime's and Ulquiorra's eyes narrowed.
The knock sounded itself, "Hello? Orihime?" he said through the door, as Tatsuki started to wave her hand silently. Orihime tackled Ulquiorra into the shoe closet, and began to put coats on him. "Just stay here, we'll talk to Ichigo!" she whispered to him, as he stared at her unamusingly.
"Very well." He sighed, and she shut the closet door.
Ulquiorra peeked through the lines on the closet, and watched the interaction play out. "Hey, Ichigo. What's up?" Tatsuki asked as Ichigo put his hand on the back of his head. "Hey, is Orihime home?" he asked nervously, as Tatsuki leaned against the door frame.
"Oh is this what this is about? Y'all got a hot date or something?" she asked, quivering her eyebrows. "Naw, I just came here to ask her some things. Is Ulquiorra still well uh, breathing?" He asked, as he put his arm down.
Tatsuki's whole demeanor changed suddenly, as she desperately tried to think of an excuse. "Erm- Well- He's not doing well. He's uh, alive, yeah."
Ichigo, of course, wasn't the best at picking up demeanor changes and reading people's emotions. He was oblivious. "Ah, alright. Mind if I talk to her?"
Tatsuki glanced back at Orihime, who leaned against the wall next to the closet. She nodded and smiled.
"Yeah, she's inside." Tatsuki said as she let Ichigo in hesitantly.
Ulquiorra couldn't help but make a small growl as Ichigo walked over to the woman. Why? He didn't know.
Nor for once did he care.
Author's Note: I know, kind of an awkward place to leave it off. It was getting a bit long though! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and the proper Ulquihime moments! Got more intense ones coming in.
What will Ichigo's reaction be to Ulquiorra? Will he even get to see him or will their hiding plan work.
Too bad, find out next chapter! (Coming soon!)