A/N- Please leave a review telling me how I can improve, or any errors I made. I will try to write characters as in character as possible, but I might have to bend them a little for the sake of the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach

Chapter 8

Dresses of White, the Truth Appears to Ulquiorra

"Abigail," Ulquiorra whispered against her lips. Both of their eyes shot open. Orihime jerked away from him, staring in horror. He, for his part, looked just as shocked as she did.

He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but closed it again. What could he say?

She backed up slowly into her room and slammed the door on the still-shocked Ulquiorra. She leaned against the door, breathing hard. Grimmjow had called her Abby, Ulquiorra had called her Abigail. Who is she? More importantly, who am I?

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Later, in Ulquiorra's room…

"Let me get this straight. You kissed her?" Grimmjow asked incredulously.

"Yes. Is it thathard to believe?" Ulquiorra asked in slight annoyance.

Grimmjow burst out laughing. "I always suspected you were a pervert under that emo clown mask."

Ulquiorra glared. "I am not a pervert. We kissed, that is all."

"Yeah," Grimmjow chuckled," but she's her. I have to say, you've got good tastes."

Ulquiorra refused to respond to that.

"Whatever," Grimmjow said," So what happened afterwards?"

"She slammed the door on me."

Grimmjow raised an eyebrow. "Why? Did you try to feel her up?"

If looks could kill, Grimmjow would have dropped dead.

"I called her Abigail," Ulquiorra explained with forced patience.

"Oh. That makes sense then," Grimmjow nodded. He placed a hand on his head. "This is so confusing."

Ulquiorra nodded in agreement.

A sharp knock to the door pulled them out of their brooding.

"Enter," Ulquiorra called impassively, masking his emotions with practiced ease.

Halibel entered the room and surveyed the scene before her.

"Why are you two together?" she asked suspiciously.

Grimmjow panicked slightly. It would be really bad if someone found out what was going on, especially since they didn't really know either.

"It seems this idiot feels the need to constantly challenge me to a fight, even though he knows there is no chance of him winning," Ulquiorra lied smoothly.

"Shut up," Grimmjow fumed, playing along.

Halibel raised an eyebrow at Grimmjow. "How immature."

"Shut up I said!" Grimmjow yelled.

"This is convenient for me, actually. I needed to fetch both of you," Halibel informed them.

"Fetch us for what?" Ulquiorra inquired.

"The girl will be trying on wedding dresses, and Lord Aizen feels her friends should be with her. That includes you two."

"That sounds like a girl thing," Grimmjow whined," Why would she want guys to watch her try on clothes?"

Halibel glared icily. "Because you are her friends too," she said curtly.

"When should we be there?" Ulquiorra asked.

"I'm going to get the dresses I got from the real world, so meet me at her room in a few minutes."

Ulquiorra nodded. Halibel disappeared in flash without as much as a goodbye.

Grimmjow smirked. "Congrats Ulquiorra. You get to watch your little girlfriend change."

"Disgusting. And for that matter, she is not my girlfriend. She is Lord Aizen's fiancée."

"Forbidden love, how adorable," Grimmjow mocked.

"Adorable doesn't exist in Hueco Mundo."

"Damn straight, brother."

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Orihime couldn't stop fretting about what had happened with Ulquiorra. Putting aside the fact that she had kissed him while she was engaged to his king; something was definitely going on with him and Grimmjow. Maybe it has something to do with why they both started acting nice to me all of the sudden. I need to confront them about this next time I see both of them. She sighed. When would she see both of them together again?

Just as she was thinking this a soft knock came to her door.

"I'm coming in," Halibel's smooth voice came through the door. Orihime smiled as her beautiful blonde friend came in her room, carrying one or two wedding dresses.

"Wow," Orihime gushed," They're gorgeous!"

Halibel rolled her eyes. "You haven't seen anything yet." Just as she said that, Ulquiorra and Grimmjow came in, each carrying at least ten dresses. Grimmjow glared at Halibel.

"You could have helped out more, you know," Grimmjow said angrily as he and Ulquiorra set down the dresses on her couch.

Halibel looked at him with disinterest. "Did you say something, Number Six?"

A low growl slipped out of his throat. A sharp jab in the ribs from Ulquiorra brought to the reality that it was a fight he couldn't win. He grunted and started seething.

Halibel turned her attention back to Orihime, who had been thoroughly distracted by the extravagant gowns that were before her, ignoring the bickering Espada completely. She ran her fingers over the silky fabric in awe. This would have cost thousands of dollars, had anybody paid for it.

Orihime was surprised to see Ulquiorra and Grimmjow together so quickly. Unfortunately, she couldn't talk to them about this while Halibel was here. While she didn't like the idea of hiding things from her friend, she had a feeling Ulquiorra might get in trouble if people found out they had kissed. Grimmjow seemed to know judging by the looks he was giving the two of them. Did Ulquiorra tell him? She couldn't ask while Halibel was here.

"How absent-minded of me," Halibel said," I forgot the veils. I'll go get them."

She flashed out of room. Orihime blinked in surprise. That worked out well. Now she was alone with the conspirators. She sent them both a suspicious glare, and she noticed they both averted their eyes to look at something else.

She started singing under her breath a song she heard a long time ago and had forgotten until just now.

"Abigail don't get me down
Keep my feet upon the ground
Keep my head out of the clouds tonight
Let the room go spinning round."

Both men flinched at the name. Bingo.

"Who is Abigail?" she demanded. "Why do you keep calling me that?"

"She is a former Espada," Ulquiorra lied smoothly," She looked a lot like you."

Orihime wasn't satisfied. Looking like a former Espada wouldn't make them be nicer to her. And from the guilty look Grimmjow was wearing, she came to the conclusion that Ulquiorra had lied. Now the questions remained, Who is she? Why are they going to such lengths to hide this from me?

"Oh. That makes sense then," she said sweetly, smiling. Three could play at the lying game. "Maybe I'll ask Halibel about her."

Ulquiorra's eyes widened slightly in a rare moment of panic. He needed to think quickly. "Abigail was out of the Espada before Halibel joined," he said calmly, forcing his face back into a carefully composed mask.

"Too bad," Orihime said in a sugary voice, still playing the girl who believed everything they told her.

At that moment Halibel flashed back in, carrying several vintage lace veils. Orihime was truly distracted by the quality and design. Curse her short intention span.

"These are so beautiful. Were they designed by Abigail Lorick?" she asked innocently.

Both men in the room winced at the name. As I thought. Something is definitely going on here.

"Maybe," Halibel said vaguely, not understanding why is would matter. Maybe it was a human thing. "Would you like to start trying them on?" she asked.

Orihime nodded. She cast a worried look towards Ulquiorra and Grimmjow. "Is there… somewhere else I can change?" she asked shyly.

"Why?" Halibel asked, genuinely confused. Orihime blushed.

"Well… Ulquiorra and Grimmjow are here… and I don't want them to see me… change," Orihime stuttered. Halibel didn't seem convinced.

"Why would it matter? I've seen these two naked before, and vise-versa. They won't do anything to you, so why does it concern you?" Halibel pressed, unaware of how flushed and uncomfortable Orihime looked.

"Halibel," Ulquiorra started bluntly," Humans consider nudity in front of the opposite sex to be embarrassing." Orihime felt like her face was on fire.

"When did you learn so much about human emotions, Ulquiorra?" Halibel asked sharply.

"When Lord Aizen assigned me to be her guardian," Ulquiorra answered uncaringly.

Orihime cleared her throat softly.

"Very well," Halibel relented," If it makes you more comfortable, Orihime, I'll get you a screen to change behind."

Orihime smiled," Thank you so much, Halibel." Halibel nodded back before sonido-ing out.

Alone with the conspirators, Orihime thought dryly.

"So," Grimmjow started awkwardly, hoping for conversation to fill the tense silence.

"How are you, Orihime?" Ulquiorra asked, testing out the human tactic of "small talk". It seemed like a waste of time to him, but apparently humans enjoyed it.

"Alright," she said, smiling cheerfully again.

"Are you excited to get married?" Ulquiorra asked uncomfortably, not use to being the on trying to instigate conversation.

"Of course," she lied slightly. While it was true that Aizen was different than she had originally thought, the fact remained that she didn't love him.

Ulquiorra's eyes narrowed. "You're lying," he accused.

Orihime looked shocked. "How would you know?" she demanded.

"My eye sees everything," he said simply," Nothing can escape it." Plus, you wouldn't have kissed me back had that been the case, he added in his mind.

"Apparently not," she shot back hotly," since you couldn't see who was hidden last night."

"You're right," he agreed calmly," I should have. Whoever it was must have an incredible ability to hide themself."

Orihime had no argument left. How where you supposed argue with someone who agreed with you?

Grimmjow watched the two with interest. If he hadn't seen it for himself, he never would've believed that Ulquiorra could actually like someone, a human no less. As strange as it was, Grimmjow couldn't deny that it felt right to see these to together, like they were two pieces of a puzzle made to fit together. Or maybe he was just excited to see Aizen get his girl stolen by his number one loyal dog. Grimmjow grinned wickedly. Maybe he would these two a helping hand.

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Unbeknownst to everyone in Orihime's room, someone was watching them. This person had been for quite a while now, waiting for an opportunity to set their plan into action. It's unfortunate that Grimmjow is with them, the spy thought sadly. Grimmjow had his own role in their plan, but he was impossible to control, making him hard to use. But the spy would find a way around that.

Time was running out. The wedding would be in a few days, and the girl's friends wouldn't be far behind. Both these things would be a problem. Her friends can always be taken out of the picture… The spy shook these thoughts off. The spy was not a murder. They would find a way to work around the human's friends.

No one had noticed the spy yet. Just as an experiment they let a sliver of their spiritual pressure out of their tight control. The spy watched Ulquiorra tense slightly from their position in the air vent. As the spy had thought, Ulquiorra had far superior detection skills. A small problem, but the spy would find a way around it. Maybe it would even be helpful.

Orihime… may have to die, the spy thought in disappointment. The spy hoped it wouldn't come to that. But the spy had a promise they had to fulfill, and they'd be damned if they failed again.

Without a sound, the spy slipped away.

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Orihime slid out of another one of the designer dresses. This was a lot harder than she had thought it would be. All the dresses were beautiful, but none felt right. The right wedding dress should feel like it was made especially for you. She sighed in frustration.

"Can I have the next one?" Orihime called from behind the changing screen. Halibel handed the next dress over to the young girl. It was made of fine white silk, with a diamond-studded sash wrapped around the waist. Its skirt was a lot less puffy than the others she had tried on. Its bodice was an embroidered, thin-strapped corset, but it has sewn-on sleeves in a sheer white. It was sexy, classy, and unbelievable beautiful.

She slid it over her shoulders and laced herself up. It clung to her in all the right places, as if tailored for her body perfectly. This was the dress, no doubt about it. She walked slowly, carefully, and waited for her friends' reaction.

Halibel's eyes widened slightly at the sight of the human girl. Her feminine instincts, which had long been ignored, where arising with a surprising amount of force. Her thoughts, which were usually filled with battle strategies and tactics, were suddenly filled with accessories for Orihime and a dress for herself. What is Stark didn't like her dress? Wait… since when did she care what Stark thought of her?

Grimmjow, on the other hand, found himself distracted by the revealing nature of the top of the dress. That's about as far as his train of thought went, indecently.

Of all their reactions, Orihime liked Ulquiorra's the best. To someone who didn't look for a change, they probably wouldn't have seen it. But Orihime could tell his breathing, normally even and rhythmic, was slightly ragged. His eyes no longer were emotionless; they were fierce and dark, not to mention focused solely on her eyes, unlike Grimmjow. She felt her own breathing hitch.

She averted her gaze quickly before her unraveling became too obvious. She turned her attention to Halibel, whose eyes seemed to shine in a different light. The Espada pulled her in the direction of the veils, where they tried different ones on Orihime to see which one would look best with the dress. The orange-haired teen reveled in the feeling of hanging out with a girl friend. It was like getting ready for a school dance, except this was much more important. This was her wedding. But she didn't think about that. Instead she enjoyed the present and didn't think about the future.

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Meanwhile, Ulquiorra couldn't take his thoughts off the future. The more time he spent with her, the more he was sure that she was more than she seemed. Seeing her in that dress had brought a burning memory to the surface, a memory of an orange-haired girl in a similar dress. An orange-haired girl named Abigail.

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Grimmjow and Ulquiorra left soon after, having quickly gone out of their comfort zone when the girl stuff got serious. Ulquiorra was grimly silent, not that that was anything new, but this one felt a bit different.

"What's up with you?" Grimmjow barked.

Ulquiorra didn't answer for a long time, but when he did his eyes were intense, and his tone fiercer," Come to my room tomorrow morning, first thing. And no matter what happens, don't let Aizen near Orihime."

He spun on his heels and sonido-ed away to his room, leaving a shocked Grimmjow in his wake. Did the 4th Espada actually address their leader with out his 'lord' title? Was Hueco Mundo going to snow tomorrow?

Ulquiorra didn't get a chance to explain. There was no time. He needed to get to sleep, and fast. Orihime was in danger, of that (and little else) he was sure, and he felt an unstoppable drive to protect her. From a harmful marriage she didn't want, to a horrible man she didn't want; the man Ulquiorra used to think of a perfect.

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June 5th, 1851

Benjamin Walker, a stoic, 13 year old black-haired kid, glanced around the small town in apprehension. The streets were filled with big, muscular men who looked meaner than angry bulls, and just as ugly. He was one of the only children in the entire area, but that suited him fine. He wasn't interested in socializing, only in surviving to the point where he could move away from this madness-filled hell. Whenever he came to town, he had the same thoughts.

"Ben! Don't space out, idiot!" This came from Benjamin's three month younger (but taller) half-brother, Matthew. The loud blonde youth was Ben's opposite in many ways, and they fought constantly. It was Matt's fault, mostly, as he seemed to enjoy picking fights with Ben.

"I wasn't spacing out," Ben informed him coldly, his impossibly green eyes harsh.

Matt snorted, rolling his sky blue eyes. "Sure you weren't. But seriously, let's hurry up. If we don't bring that bastard the stuff he wanted, he'll probably beat us with a belt."

Ben raised an eyebrow. "You refer to our father as 'that bastard'?" Not that Ben was surprised. Matt seemed to have a strong disregard for authority figures and their father was no exception. Not that Ben would deny the truth of his brother's statement.

"Less talking more action," Matt snapped dragging his brother by the wrist, towards their objective. The summer heat was radiating around them, a curse of California. You may be able to strike it rich with gold, as their father hoped to do, but you also ran the risk of baking alive in the summers.

They finally reached their destination, a general store called Golden Sun, relishing the coolness that came with the shade. They quickly approached the counter, where their sort-of friend, Elizabeth, worked during the mornings. Her father owned the store, and he made her work during the mornings, where it was quieter and business was slower. She smiled at them as they walked in, but neither returned the gesture. Ben rarely smiled anyway, and Matt considered himself too cool to smile at girls in any way that wasn't lewd.

"What do ya need?" The girl asked them.

"For you to stop talking," Matt shot back. Elizabeth stuck out her tongue.

"We need two sacks of flour and ten pounds of salted meat," Ben informed her, before their childish fight evolved into a fist fight, which had happened before.

"You got it," Elizabeth said, walking to the back room to get the food they needed. Matt walked to one of the shelves, where candy and other sweets were stored, grabbing some and shoving it in his mouth.

"You do know that's called stealing, right?" Ben asked. Matt didn't answer, mostly because his entire mouth was filled with candy. Instead, he flipped his brother off. Matt always had been an 'actions speak louder than words' type of guy.

Elizabeth walked in after Matt had swallowed, and both boys where putting forth their most innocent faces. She collected their money and, as usual, gave them a free bag full of candy. They were her only friends, given her appearance. She refused to wear dresses, and was dressed in a red flannel shirt and a pair of blue jeans. Her father had spent years trying to convince her to be more feminine, but when she had stubbornly refused, he made her start working, saying if she wanted to look like a boy, she would work like a boy. That was just fine with her, Ben thought.

They were heading for the door when Elizabeth called out," Wait!" They spun around to face her.

"What is it now, woman?" Matt asked irritably.

She looked down nervously for a second, then directed her attention toward Ben. "Could you check the alley next to the store? I think I heard someone back there coughing really bad. Sounded pretty young."

Ben sighed, then nodded. "Fine, we'll check it out." She smiled brightly in thanks.

Both boys walked out briskly, heading for the alley. There was in fact someone back there, a small girl from the look of it. Her bright orange hair whipped back and forth as her body violently shook with coughs. Ben winced. It sounded pretty bad. Ben and Matt walked back to where she was crouching in front of her. She didn't seem to notice they were there.

"Damn. That sounds bad," Matt said bluntly. Ben ignored him and lifted the girl's chin, so they were face to face. Her steel-colored eyes where bloodshot and surrounded by dark circles. Her form was deadly thin from hunger.

"What is your name?" Ben asked pulling out the bag of candy.

"Abigail," she rasped. He cradled her head, which had started to fall.

"Eat this," he instructed, holding out the candy for her. She ate slowly and carefully, even though she must be starving. Her eyelids drooped when she was done, and she leaned heavily on Ben. "We should take her with us," he told his brother, who looked worried.

"That bastard will kill us if we bring home some strange girl and ask him to feed her."

"We can't just leave her here to die," Ben said.

Matt sighed," I know. But if he pulls his shotgun on us, don't say I didn't warn you."

Ben rolled his eyes. He picked up Abigail, who was feather-light. How many days had she gone without food? As he carried her away towards his father's small house near the river, he couldn't shake the feeling that his destiny had been irreversibly changed.

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In Las Noches, as the day of Orihime's wedding approached, the spy made their move.

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A/N- We finally learned who Abigail is. The rest of the story will unfold later. As for the spy, I use the pronoun 'they' to describe them, so as to not give any hints about gender. I'm so secretive. /shifty eyes/

Please leave a review. School has started up again, so I might not have my chapters up on time. I am so sorry, I swear I will try my best.

Next chapter: The truth of the Spy, a Death in Las Noches

Coming soon.