I am really sorry this didn't get out sooner….College kinda sucks this semester…But anyways, thank you everyone for the great reviews, I will try and update as soon as possible! (Also, sorry, but I didn't really edit the chapter…didn't have time, just wanted to get it online…so if it sounds really choppy and bad, please let me know and I will try and find time to rewrite/repost it) Thanks!:)

Chapter 10

Ulquiorra

Mind racing, Ulquiorra sonidoed down the hallways. Originally he had intended to go to Orihime's room, but decided that he needed to gather some things first. He needed a plan, he thought. He listed all of the solutions he could think of in his mind.

First, he could just let Aizen kill him. This would typically be his first course of action, and he would do it without hesitation. He was Aizen's servant, after all, and if he was deemed useless then it would only be natural to be extinguished. As much as he would like to choose this path, he felt some hesitation. If he was killed, the woman would be killed within the week. Frowning, he took a moment to be annoyed his emotions for making him take another path. They felt like a monster inside of him, constantly pushing and howling. These emotions forced him to do strange things, he thought. Shaking his head a little to clear it, he continued with his list.

He could leave Hueco Mundo, and take the woman with him. They would find her friends, and he would return her. A pain went through his chest, and he resisted the urge to groan. Again his emotions would intervene, it seemed. If he simply left her with her friends, he would never see her again. Another thought appeared in his mind. What if he went along as her guard? Her friends would not approve, but if he could only convince Orihime that it was necessary, he could continue being by her side. This also answered the problem of what if Aizen came after Orihime, Ulquiorra could be there to help guard her.

He needed supplies, though. He grabbed a bag from his room and went to the kitchen to gather the various food items necessary to keep Orihime alive. Mind wandering, he threw random cans into the small white bag. Emotions were controlling his actions, and he despised it. However interesting the medicine had been, Ulquiorra preferred to analyze others to amuse himself. This self-analysis was grating on his nerves, and Murcielago was even worse off. He hadn't responded to Ulquiorra at all, even in training when required by Aizen. Worry spread through Ulquiorra; as much as he didn't like to rely on his sword, he would need Murcielago's help if he was going to defend the woman. He decided not to dwell on the thought too much, and went to Orihime's room.

?

This was not good. Fuck Aizen! She angrily spat. He was going to completely ruin her plans to get Ulquiorra. If Aizen killed off Ulquiorra, she would be lost in a world without her love. That, she decided, could not happen. Shit, she cursed, she was still too weak to be able to do anything. She would have to get help from someone stronger….but who? Who would even try to help her? Something clicked in her mind, and she sprinted down the hallway. Her plan would work perfectly now, she grinned.

Orihime

The moonlight bathed everything in its soft glow. It reminded Orihime of an old poem she had learned in middle school.

Before my bed, the moon is shining bright,

Like frost spreading on the ground.

I raise my head and look at the bright moon,

I lower my head and think of home.

-Li Bai

It was an old Chinese poem their history class had studied. It seemed to fit her so perfectly right now. She missed her home, more than she could have ever imagined.

Orihime was shocked out of her thoughts by the door banging open. Turning, she noticed a particularly mean looking girl arrancar enter. A cold shiver went down her spine- this girl was no good, she thought. She backed up until she could feel the cold wall against her hands.

"That. THAT is what you want instead of ME?" The girl screamed, tilting her head towards the hallway. "This pathetic human is no more than a coward!" Laughing, the woman continued approaching Orihime, a cocky look in her eyes. Placing a finger under Orihime's chin, she tilted the human's head up to look her in the eyes. "What will you do, Princess," she spat the last word, "without your precious protector?" Shock ran through Orihime's body, making her eyes open wide. "Bring him in!" She yelled towards the hallway.

In walked Ulquiorra, looking as calm and composed as ever. It was his eyes that made Orihime enter panic mode; they looked as if he was ready to kill everyone in the room. Orihime wanted to run over to him, she didn't know why (she annoyed him, she thought, and probably wouldn't help his mood much). She was stopped however, when he stepped to the side and she saw a gun being pointed towards his back. The man holding the gun, instead of looking intense, yawned.

"How much longer do I have to do this, Lenoly? I want to nap…" He yawned again, and something even more shocking happened. His gun started yelling at him. " STARRK! Stop yawning, you lazy bastard!"

Orihime felt like maybe she was still dreaming. A gun, in Hueco Mundo? No, wait. A gun that could TALK, in Hueco Mundo, being held by someone who looked barely awake. And Ulquiorra was still not making any move against the man…. This Starrk must be powerful, she decided.

"Only a little longer, Starrk. I want to make sure he watches the woman suffer!" Lenoly began to laugh hysterically, but Ulquiorra seemed to disregard her.

"Oh, you are missing your 14th naptime of the day, am I correct Primera Espada?" Ulquiorra questioned with a polite tone. Starrk nodded. "And what, if I may ask, would motivate you so much as to miss such an important time?"

Starrk yawned again before answering. " That weird arrancar over there promised me a feather bed from the world of the living if I helped her."

Ulquiorra's eyes gained a different light. "Starrk, if you promise to help me, I will not only give you a feather bed, I will watch over Lilinette for an hour, at any time you choose, so you can have a peaceful sleep. "

"Do I have to help you right now?" Starrk complained. The gun started yelling again, but both of the men ignored it.

"I will require your help in about a week." Starrk nodded, then walked lazily out of the room.

Lenoly began screaming at Starrk, then noticed that Ulquiorra was walking towards her. "So, you've decided to pick me instead?" She said with a gloating voice. Orihime stopped breathing. Ulquiorra gave Orihime a quick glance, then looked at Lenoly with an even more murderous look than before.

"You annoy me, trash." He stated, before charging a cero and blasting it through her chest. Orihime stood shocked, then raced over to heal the poor arrancar. Before she could, though, Ulquiorra grabbed her in a bridal-style carry and sonidoed out of the room. "Foolish woman," He said softly, " we have more important things to do right now." That's when she noticed they were headed towards the main door. They were leaving Los Noches?