Hello again everyone, sorry about the delay for this chapter. My college started back up and I was only focused on classes and work. Anyways, thank you for the reviews! I hope you enjoy this chapter too.

Chapter 8

Ulquiorra

Just as he had almost reached the pink-haired Espada, he heard someone calling his name. Turning, he noticed Aizen beckoning him to come over. Obediently he immediately headed over.

"Ulquiorra, my dear loyal Espada, how are you doing?" Azien grinned at Ulquiorra, and for the first time Ulquiorra felt a shiver at that smile. It felt cold…and malicious. That little bit of hesitation made Ulquiorra think that perhaps he should start seeing Aizen in a slightly different light. Maybe, Aizen was more like a wolf in sheep's clothing, even to his most loyal subordinates. Ulquiorra immediately felt ashamed- his emotions were even making him question his lord Aizen! He was truly becoming pathetic. 'Trash' a voice in his head mocked him. Brushing off his thoughts and momentary disloyalty, he focused back to what Aizen was saying. Of course, Aizen had not waited for a response after asking how Ulquiorra felt, on any other day that was a sarcastic question. "So, because of this, I want you to tell Inoue Orihime her friends are on their way to save her. However, you must remind her that her loyalty lies with us. This is her test- if her loyalty no longer lies with us, then she is useless and will be disposed of. You may leave."

Ulquiorra quickly left the room, shocked. He had been careful to disguise if from Aizen, but hearing Aizen talk like that made him disgusted. The man showed no qualms about killing any of his subordinates. Ulquiorra had known this ever since he Aizen had recruited him, but his new emotions had made him truly acknowledge the evil of his lord. All of the Espada, all of his pawns, everyone was truly trash to Aizen. The thought sat uneasily in his gut. He was not so concerned about his own life, which was meaningless to him. He only lived to serve and obey, to analyze and kill. However, he felt something uneasy about letting Aizen carelessly dispose of Orihime. Something inside of him completely rebelled against it. He tried to squash the rebellion inside of him between his emotions and loyalty, but ultimately failed. It had stuck inside of him; he needed to save Orihime. She was too precious to be thrown away like the rest of them.

?

He looked just like a fucking lovesick puppy- or, as lovesick as she thought Ulquiorra could look. She had listened in the shadows when Aizen had told Ulquiorra his task. He had only looked stoic then, but now, as she watched him walk in the hallway towards that bitch's room, he had some sort of slight daze in his eyes. You would have had to been watching him for a long time to recognize the small change, but she had definitely been watching him for enough months to know. Ulquiorra was hers, not this worthless orange haired woman's. She barely had anything in her pitiful life, how dare this woman take Ulquiorra away from her! Everyone in this miserable place treated her like just some measly hollow and took whatever they wanted from her. God how she hated everyone. Well, everyone except Ulquiorra. He had never taken anything from her. He had never given her anything, but she was willing to work with that. After spending weeks cursing her own weakness, she had finally decided to prove to Ulquiorra that she was worthy of him. She would become an Espada one day, she thought. That would help; then she could confront him with her feelings. Someone as powerful as an Espada would deserve him, she thought, and those beautiful green eyes of his. And that soft looking black hair. She lost herself in a moment of daydreaming about what it would be like to have her hand on his skin, her lips against his. In her daydream, she would ask him why he had chosen her, and he would say something undyingly romantic like "Because you are the most beautiful, strong, and perfect. I love you." And he would protect her, not that bitch human. The human was truly worthless trash, she decided. Her healing powers were overrated, and since the human would never attack anybody, she did not even know why they had brought her here. She just had to make Ulquiorra see that she was better than some lowly human was. Which would be easier, she thought, if the human was dead. Then his eyes would be clear to see her. An evil smile creeped up on her face, and she slid into the shadows again.

Orihime

Her room was silent. She missed the hustle and bustle of the world of the living. She wondered how Rukia was doing. The small girl was a good friend of hers, even though Orihime had the slightest suspicion that Rukia was her rival when it came to Ichigo's love. Not that she truly minded; if she never got Ichigo, but instead a good friend like Rukia did, then Orihime would be happy for them. She puzzled over that thought in her mind. If she truly loved Ichigo, then would she be so willing to give him up? Slapping her cheeks lightly, Orihime reminded herself that she did not want to think about who she loved right now. She wanted to think about her friends and if they were doing okay.

A knock on the door took her away from her thoughts. Ulquiorra entered, but something looked slightly off. Nervous, Orihime stood and just watched him. Suddenly he sonidoed until he was an inch away from her. Without hesitation, he leaned forward and Orihime's eyes grew wider. Her lips tingled in anticipation, and she was going to lean forward when he changed direction, instead stopping by her ear. She felt his hand press up against the small of her back, and the butterflies in her stomach went crazy. He pulled her close to him, and the action made her shiver slightly. She heard a small choking sound, and tried to pull away to look at his face and see what was wrong, but he held her tightly. He began speaking, but the words came out hesitant.

"Are you afraid of me?"

"No." Oh dear, he must have thought that my shiver was me shaking in fear from him, Orihime thought.

"Then you must trust me. You must…assure Aizen of your loyalty. Try to remain calm through what I will say in a moment. I could only disable the cameras in here for a minute…"Cameras? In her room? Orihime blushed deeply with embarrassment. "Remember. Stay calm. Assure me of your loyalty. Your life depends on it…Understand?" She nodded slightly, and he held her close for a moment before he sonidoed back to the doorway. Orihime heard a slight buzz and assumed that the cameras were back on. Her eyebrows bunched together slightly- she had thought that buzzing was a fly for the longest time. Or a hollow fly? She was not sure, and now her previous thoughts seemed silly. She should have thoroughly investigated her room. Focusing again, she noticed Ulquiorra walk towards her and pause many steps away. His eyes seemed to scream at her for a moment to remember what he said. She wondered what could be so important that he would be acting this way. Then he began to speak.

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So…I have officially threatened, drugged, and given a stalker to my favorite character….um…I am not quite sure how he would feel about this...lol :)