A/N: Due to Amarratta being her digressive self, there hasn't been much progress in the plot lately. However, she is doing her best to wrap up this story at the moment. Therefore, if you're still reading until now, please accept her gratitude for your continuous support and also for your patience. Comments and criticisms are welcome as usual. Please enjoy.
XIII
Although the party that Gin was holding looked rather enjoyable and he was rather bored by himself, Aizen still opted to remain in his room, lounging comfortably in a white armchair. His long finger idly clicked on a remote control, switching the TV screen to show scenes from different cameras that were monitoring over Hueco Mundo. After having switched channels for a while, Aizen stopped his finger and stared at the screen that showed a picture of the dark, empty Hueco Mundo's desert as if it was a sight he had never seen before. He would have kept watching it had it not been for a knock on his door.
Aizen took a deep breath but didn't shift his position. He didn't need to ask the person in front of his door to identify himself but simply uttered, "You may come in, Kaname."
Soon after he uttered his permission, the door was opened and the dark-skinned Shinigami stepped in.
"You are not joining Gin's party?" Aizen asked as he spun the chair around so he could face his underling. From his tone of voice the question was meant more to be a conversation opener than an actual inquiry.
"Someone has to watch over Hueco Mundo," Tōsen replied. "After all, we are at war and the Shinigami could make their moves at any moment."
"You're always thoughtful, Kaname," Aizen praised. He would have made a gesture to the screen had he not recalled that the man he was talking to was blind. "By the way, does this mean you're here because you also detected a breach at the twenty-second underground fortress?"
Instead of replying, Tōsen asked, "Should I alert the Espadas now?"
The ruler of Las Noches shook his head even though he was quite certain that his subordinate couldn't see him doing so.
"Let them have their fun," Aizen stated. "Even if those invaders manage to get past our guards at the fortress, they wouldn't reach here soon. Besides, it doesn't look like the Espadas are in a condition to listen right now."
Tōsen nodded. "If you say so, Aizen-sama."
Aizen turned around so he could look at the screen again before he pressed another button on the remote control.
"I must say, however, that have I expected that they would come much sooner," the brown-haired lord noted. "Though, on the upside, it gives us more time for our preparation. How far along is it, by the way? The preparation, I mean."
"It should be done by tomorrow morning at the latest."
"Good. Keep up the good work, then."
"In this case, I should return to the preparation, Aizen-sama. I shall let you know as soon as the preparation is done."
"Please do," Aizen replied.
Tōsen bowed at his boss before he turned around and left. After Tōsen was gone, Aizen turned his attention back to the screen where a picture of a group of people breaking through the dimension and landing into one of his fortress was shown.
"Well, it's about time."
Inoue was having her weird-looking breakfast when the door of her room was suddenly opened from the outside. As expected, Ulquiorra walked in soon after that. After she saw the look on his face, the woman could tell that her captor was still troubled, though a woman's intuition told her that it was a different kind of trouble from the last time. However, Orihime still couldn't figure out what kind of trouble it really was.
Ulquiorra said nothing as he walked in and sat down on a giant sofa that was set in the middle of Inoue's room. Even though Ulquiorra was in charge of her, it was still very rare for the Arrancar to actually come into the room without any message to relay. If he had nothing to say, he would simply look at her from the door and then leave or just ask someone to bring the food for her and report back to him. Therefore, Inoue could only assume that there had to be something wrong with her warden.
"Is something wrong, Ulquiorra-san?" she asked.
The Espada didn't reply right away. In fact, he looked even more troubled by the question Inoue had just asked. It was as though he couldn't quite make a decision whether he would discuss whatever was on his mind with her or keep it to himself.
Inoue pouted but instead of making any unnecessary comment, she continued eating. Maybe she had been thinking too much, and Ulquiorra was only there to make sure that she finished her meal.
A long moment had passed until Ulquiorra finally spoke, and that sentence he uttered made Inoue spew out the green tea she had just sipped.
"Hypothetically speaking, woman, if Grimmjow were to tell you that he wanted you as his lover, what would be your response?"
Inoue coughed and felt tears coming on her eyes, as she struggled to regain her composure.
"Hell no," Inoue replied, and when she realized how uncharacteristically rude she had been she quickly corrected herself, "Er...I mean, I'd be really flattered, but I wouldn't accept it."
"Why?" Ulquiorra wondered.
Orihime began to feel extremely weirded out by the whole scenario, but she decided to answer it anyway.
"Well, don't think of Grimmjow-san in that way. I mean, I hardly know him," she explained. "Besides, I already have someone else that I like."
Ulquiorra had a thoughtful look on his face.
"Is that so?"
"Yes," Inoue replied. "Now please, please, please, don't tell me that you come here and ask me those questions because Grimmjow-san is really interested in me in that way and asked you to test my reaction before he comes to ask me that himself."
Once she finished her question, Orihime held her breath and bit her lower lip as she waited for an answer.
"He didn't send me."
Ulquiorra's reply made Inoue sigh in relief. She wouldn't know how to react if Grimmjow should really be interested in her in that sense. However, once the relief washed over her, another question popped up to her mind, so she furrowed her brows and looked at Ulquiorra with her head tilted slightly to the side.
"In that case, why did you suddenly ask me that question, Ulquiorra-san," she inquired. "You almost gave me a heart attack."
"Because that was what he said to me last night."
"Eh?" Inoue exclaimed, totally surprised. Although a fujoshi side of her was already squealing with glee, her more reasonable side had to wonder if it was really a topic Ulquiorra should discuss with her. Then again, Ulquiorra did look somewhat troubled earlier.
"Yes, 'eh' indeed," Ulquiorra agreed, and suddenly stood up. "In any case, I should be off. I'll tell someone to clean that up."
By saying 'that', the raven-haired male gestured to tea that Inoue had earlier spewed.
"Wait a minute, Ulquiorra-san!" the girl called before her warden could leave the room. "You didn't ask me those questions just so you could use my answer to reply to Grimmjow-san, did you?"
"Not directly, but I plan to use it as a reference."
The girl blinked. As strange as it might sound, she could clearly picture Ulquiorra going around, asking all Las Noches residents what they would say should Grimmjow ever ask them to be his lover, and then making his decision based on the answers he would get.
"Using it as a reference doesn't happen to mean you'd ask for everyone's opinions and go with the majority, does it?"
Orihime couldn't help feeling extremely sorry for Grimmjow when Ulquiorra gave her a look that implied that what she said was his plan, or at least, close enough. The Sexta Espada certainly chose the worst person to fall for.
"But this isn't something you can make decision by following other people's reasoning, Ulquiorra-san," Inoue protested. "It's something that's supposed to be decided with your heart."
"My heart? I do not have such a thing."
"Well, that may be true, but at least you should ask yourself how you feel about the matter," she pointed. "It certainly takes a lot of courage to confess your feelings to someone, Ulquiorra-san. Believe me. I know from my own experience. So the least you could do before you accept or reject the person is to give it a careful consideration. You can't just go around and ask other people what they would do if they were in the same situation because they're not the one being confessed to. It's your answer that Grimmjow-san is looking for, not theirs."
Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes. Once again, he looked hesitant before he uttered his next words.
"It cannot be helped. I have no idea which criteria to use when I consider my answer."
Inoue's jaw dropped. She would have believed that it was a joke if it wasn't for the fact that Ulquiorra looked dead serious.
"Err... well... let's see... maybe you can start by asking yourself whether you can imagine yourself doing things that lovers do with Grimmjow-san."
"Such as?"
"Holding hands for a start."
Ulquiorra furrowed his brows then he seemed to have recalled something before he asked, "Like a hand shake?"
Inoue mentally face-palmed. She couldn't be more sorry for Grimmjow at that point.
"Forget that one," she sighed. "How about kissing? And when I said kiss I mean on the mouth."
Ulquiorra's expression didn't shift when he replied, "We've already done that, so there is no need to imagine."
"You have?" the girl asked, wide-eyed. "So how did it make you feel? Did it disgust you or did you like it?"
"It was good, actually."
Orihime believed her fangirl mind had just exploded.
"Then what about sex? Can you imagine yourself doing that with Grimmjow-san?"
Ulquiorra seemed to be somewhat confused at how excited Inoue appeared to be with that conversation.
"We have already done that as well."
Inoue coughed before she blushed profusely as her mind was suddenly flooded by several mental images. Although she was the one who asked, she still didn't expect that Ulquiorra would answer it with such a straight face.
"Then what kept you thinking?" Inoue wondered. "Shouldn't you have said yes to Grimmjow-san already?"
Although the woman had implied that the issue was a no-brainer, the Espada still looked perplexed.
"If those are things that lovers do, what makes them different from friends then?" he inquired.
Inoue blinked for a couple of times before she slowly came to recall that she had given Ulquiorra an impression that those things she had previously mentioned could be done between friends as well.
"Er...passion and commitment, I think," the girl offered after having considered her answer. "For example, do you want to be his and want him to be yours exclusively? Do you get jealous if he become close or flirt with someone else? Is he your first thought when you become awake and the last when you go to sleep? Is his name the first that comes to your mind when you're happy or when you're sad? The answer would be no for a friend and yes for a lover."
Once again, the Cuarta Espada had a puzzled look on his face.
"But I think it's fine if you still can't say yes to all of those questions yet," Inoue observed. "I mean, people can't just switch from friends to lovers over a night. That's where dating comes in – so you can get to know more about each other for a romantic purpose and see if it's possible for the feeling to grow into love. If it is, you can become lovers. If it isn't, then you might want to go back to just being friends."
Although the woman had spoken a lot, the Arrancar seemed to have caught only one thing since he asked, "What is love exactly? And what's the point of it?"
While Orihime would say that she knew quite a few things about love and romance for a girl her age, she still couldn't find the right way to answer Ulquiorra's questions. After all, so many wise people had tried to define it, but they all gave different definitions. Not to mention, love itself took many different forms and was never the same for different people.
"Ah... it's a very difficult concept to explain," she noted. "but I believe it is the thing that you've always been looking for to fill the emptiness that you always felt there."
By saying "there," Inoue reached her hand out to the place where she knew for a fact that Ulquiorra's Hollow hole was but stopped before she actually touched him. Subconsciously, the Arrancar looked at his own chest for a second, and once he looked back at the woman, she already gave him a warm smile.
"And you believe I can find it with him?"
Inoue seemed somewhat hesitant before she shook her head.
"I hope so, but there's no way to tell for sure. But that's not what I said, Ulquiorra-san," she replied. "All I'm trying to do here is convincing you to think about this matter more carefully, using your own feelings."
"Is that all you have to say, woman?"
Since the woman nodded, the Cuarta Espada turned back to the door and left. Orihime watched until the door was closed behind before she returned to her desk. It was confirmed. Grimmjow had certainly chosen the worst person to fall for. However, if someone who was as emotionless as Ulquiorra could contemplate on a matter of love, then perhaps there might still be some hope for them yet.
It was a late morning when Grimmjow was found sitting by the kitchen counter, sighing as he absently put marshmallows into the hot cocoa that was set in front of him.
Some weight might have been lifted from his shoulders after he had come clean with his feelings for Ulquiorra, yet he was still caught in some kind of fearful anticipation. As much as he was confident about his own charm, he still couldn't be certain when it came to Ulquiorra. After all, the stoic Espada had no concept of emotion, much less relationship, that it was a big surprise that he had bothered to agree to consider Grimmjow's word when he would have normally just deemed it pointless and brushed it off.
"Seriously, now, why does it have to be him?"
The soft question made the chef who was working behind the counter raised an eyebrow slightly, but the chef was not foolish enough to make any kind of comment. He simply kept cooking until he heard someone coming into the kitchen.
It looked as though Grimmjow was really deep in thought, since it wasn't until the chef bowed at the newcomer and greeted, "Good morning, Ulquiorra-sama." that Grimmjow realized another Espada had entered the kitchen and even seated himself on the stool right next to the one he was taking.
Ulquiorra acknowledged the chef's greeting with a nod before he turned toward Grimmjow and commented, "I would expect you, of all people, to know that chocolate is poisonous to cats."
Grimmjow could feel the vein on his forehead popping. He might have decided to give up on trying to convince Ulquiorra that he was not a cat, but it didn't mean that the comment wouldn't get under his skin every time.
"I won't get killed by drinking a cup or two, thanks for your concern," Grimmjow replied in a sarcastic tone. "Since when have you become an expert in cats anyway?"
"Since I decided to befriend you," was Ulquiorra's reply.
"You really do take everything seriously, don't you?" the blue-haired male commented.
"Only the things that catch my interest," the Cuarta Espada corrected.
"Hmm... in this case, maybe I should start researching bats."
The light banter made Grimmjow feel a little relief that at the very least things had ceased to be awkward between them. However, the casualness of the conversation might also reflect on how very little his proposition could affect Ulquiorra.
The room fell into a long silence afterward, but Grimmjow couldn't find any other way to break the silence except for asking, "Anyway... are you here for breakfast or for lunch?"
As it was probably the question that the chef had wanted to ask as well, the chef turned his attention to the two Espadas at the counter; however, the chef quietly scooted away once Ulquiorra replied, "Neither. I'm only here to talk to you."
Grimmjow blinked before he turned to face Ulquiorra. Although it wouldn't be strange for them to have some casual conversations, the Cuarta Espada wasn't a person who would seek someone out just to chitchat. Therefore, he could only assume that the answer he had been waiting for would come much quicker than he anticipated, but he wasn't sure if he was mentally prepared for it yet.
"I've thought about what you said to me last night," Ulquiorra continued, confirming Grimmjow's assumption.
"Wait!" Grimmjow interrupted, raising his hands in a gesture for Ulquiorra not to say a word yet. "Just give me a few seconds to prepare my heart, will you? I didn't expect you to answer me this quick."
"But it would be bad to keep you waiting for too long, wouldn't it?" Ulquiorra asked. "Isn't there a saying about cats and curiosity?"
"Yeah, though I don't know if it fits with this context," Grimmjow stated. Then he sighed. "But I guess you're right. It's better to hear it sooner rather than later. I'm never good at waiting."
Ulquiorra noticed that while the Sexta Espada was saying those words, his blue eyes were focusing on the hot chocolate whereas his hands were holding the cup tightly. He watched the man for a while before he asked, "Is it fine to say it now?"
Grimmjow didn't have a chance to answer, however, because Aizen's suave voice suddenly came out of nowhere to interrupt their conversation.
"All Espadas please report at the meeting room now. I repeat, all Espadas please report at the meeting room now."
"What the hell?" Grimmjow yelped after the line was finished.
Ulquiorra furrowed his thick brows for a moment.
"It appears we have an unscheduled meeting, so perhaps we should continue this discussion later," the Cuarta Espada commented as he rose from his seat. "Let's go."
Ulquiorra didn't wait for Grimmjow's response as he suddenly headed off to the meeting room. Grimmjow blinked for a couple of times. No matter what Ulquiorra might have been, it seemed there was still no way for him to win against Aizen's order.
"Goddamn it, I should've just let him say it outright. Now curiosity is really killing me."
With a frustrated growl, Grimmjow rose from his seat and followed Ulquiorra to the meeting room.
By the time Grimmjow reached to the meeting room, other Espadas were already there. Nnoitra and Szayelaporro were mumbling something about a hangover while Starrk said something about having his sleep pattern disrupted. Yammy was complaining about having been interrupted during his mealtime. Barragan, Harribel, Zommari and Aaroneiro were discussing the reason why Aizen should call for a meeting. Ulquiorra, on the other hand, remained quiet in his seat as he waited for Aizen to come.
Grimmjow rolled his eyes and took his seat across to Ulquiorra's. It was a good thing that he didn't have to wait long for the three Shinigami to arrive to the room.
"Good morning, my dear Espadas, and thank you all for coming in such a short notice," Aizen said smoothly as he walked toward the meeting table while Ichimaru and Tōsen stopped at the end of the stairs. "It appears someone has breached into our territory."
Once again there was some muttering at the meeting table, but the muttering ended before Aizen had to say anything about it.
"Kaname, the hologram, please."
Tōsen nodded before he turned to pull a lever on the wall behind him, which caused the middle of the table to move so a hologram projector could start working.
Once the hologram was shown, Aizen continued:
"As you can see, the invaders have already brought down one of our fortresses and are heading toward Las Noches as we speak. There are totally eight invaders. Their names are Kuchiki Byakuya, Abarai Renji, Zaraki Kenpachi, Kusajishi Yachiru, Kuchiki Rukia, Sado Yasutora, Ishida Uryū, and Kurosaki Ichigo."
Barragan snorted. "So these are our enemies? All of them look weak."
"Yeah," Nnoitra agreed. "I thought they'd send someone more challenging to the front line. Can't say I'm gonna enjoy killing any of them."
"I wouldn't look down on any of them, since all of them are either at a lieutenant or a captain level," Aizen remarked.
"In that case, what do you want us to do, Aizen-sama?" Ulquiorra spoke for the first time since he entered the meeting room. "Should we intercept them before they could reach to the palace?"
"No. There is no need for anyone to do anything right now," Aizen replied calmly.
"You mean you're just gonna let them march into Las Noches?" Szayelaporro asked. "Personally, I don't have any complaints since I can fight best in my own wings, but the others might not agree with me."
Everyone expected that Grimmjow would at least make a comment, since they all knew that the Sexta Espada had some unfinished business with a certain orange-haired hybrid and would probably not be too fond of the fact that he would have to wait until he could fight Kurosaki Ichigo again.
Sensing some eyes on him, Grimmjow decided that it was his cue to say something.
"Who cares? If they're gonna get crushed, they're gonna get crushed. It doesn't matter where or when."
"Heh?" Nnoitra uttered, raising an eyebrow. "I, for one, thought you couldn't wait to get out there and fight them. Well, at least one of them anyway."
Grimmjow glanced at the projector and watched the picture of Ichigo running in the desert for a moment. Yes, he still wanted to beat that kid once and for all, but lately, there were other thoughts occupying his mind, so he was not as focused on that matter as he had been before.
"Maybe Ulquiorra's calmness is rubbing off on him," Gin commented from his post.
Much to everyone's surprise, Grimmjow shrugged and remarked, "Who knows? You could be right."
Aizen smiled at the development.
"In any case, you should all return to your quarters and prepare yourselves for the battle to come," said the lord of Las Noches. "Need not worry. As long as you follow me, the enemies cannot touch us."
With that last words, Aizen rose from his seat, signaling that the meeting was adjourned. The Espadas bowed slightly to the Shinigami then waited for all of them to leave the room before they scattered around to different directions.
Unlike other Espadas that were already on their way back to their respective wings in Las Noches, Ulquiorra stood by the door and waited for Grimmjow to join him there.
Since Grimmjow believed that Ulquiorra remained there to finish the conversation that had been interrupted earlier, he had to be surprised when the first thing Ulquiorra spoke when their eyes met was, "Regarding Kurosaki Ichigo, what do you really plan to do about him?"
The Sexta Espada furrowed his brows. He couldn't tell why Ulquiorra was interested in the subject when it shouldn't have concerned the man whatever he intended to do with that orange-haired hybrid.
"I won't go out to hunt him when he's still in the desert, but once he reaches here, it'll be a whole different story," he said truthfully.
Ulquiorra acknowledged the reply with a nod. "In other words, you still intend to fight him."
"I intend to kill him," Grimmjow corrected. "Is that a problem?"
Ulquiorra shook his head.
"No. I'm just a little curious."
With that, the man turned as if he were to walk away right after hearing Grimmjow's plan.
"Oi, Ulquiorra, didn't you forget something?" Grimmjow asked, stopping Ulquiorra from leaving.
Ulquiorra turned to look at Grimmjow with a raised eyebrow, wordlessly asking the man what he might have forgotten.
"We still have a conversation to finish," the Sexta Espada supplied.
The Cuarta Espada closed his eyes for a moment before he opened them as he replied, "I didn't forget. I just thought that there are more important things to focus on now that we could be attacked by the enemies at any moment."
Grimmjow sighed.
"Yeah, the war is important, but so what? It's not like I asked you to be my lover just to pass the time while we waited for the Shinigami to make their moves." Scratching the back of his head, the blue-haired man continued, "Well, I know we should focus more on the battle at hand, but you should already know by now that I have a one-track mind, so I can't focus on a new issue unless the old one is already solved. Since you said you already had your answer, then just tell me already."
There was a faint trace of amusement behind Ulquiorra's emerald eyes when the man commented, "You really do have no patience, Grimmjow."
"Yeah, well, sue me," Grimmjow retorted, rolling his eyes.
"This makes me wonder how long you planned to allow me to think over this matter in the first place."
"Obviously longer than one night, but you were the one who approached me and said you already thought it through, so is there any point in dragging it on?"
"I'm not trying to test your patience if that's what you think," Ulquiorra countered.
"Yeah, I know, it just looks that way," Grimmjow returned in a sarcastic tone. "Anyway, just so you won't have to ask again, I'm more than ready to hear your answer now, so just say it no matter what it is."
"In that case, I must first tell you that I haven't a clue about what lovers are supposed to be to one another," the pale wielder of Murciélago remarked.
Grimmjow pursed his lips. To be completely honest, he had expected that he would hear that kind of sentence from Ulquiorra, for the man had shown for too many times how very little knowledge he had about relationship.
"However," Ulquiorra continued, "the woman had suggested a couple of things to take to my consideration before I gave you my answer, and I have thought about them."
Grimmjow would have made some comments about Inoue's credibility and warned Ulquiorra not to put too much trust to her, but he decided to hold his tongue as his words would only keep him from hearing Ulquiorra's final answer.
"And?" The Sexta Espada prompted after he thought Ulquiorra had taken too long a pause.
"And I don't think I'm at a level where I can see you as a lover yet."
Grimmjow closed his eyes. There was no word that could quite describe the feeling he had as his heart sank. It took a lot of willpower for the blue-haired man to push back his disappointment, and it took all self-control he ever possessed for him not to do anything rash. He did, after all, told Ulquiorra that he would still like to keep their friendship should the man ever say that he couldn't consider him as a lover.
It took a moment until Grimmjow finally managed to force out a nod and a word, "Okay."
"However," Ulquiorra continued after he had studied the change in Grimmjow's expression for a moment, "I might be able reach to that level, given enough time."
Grimmjow blinked. It took a moment until Ulquiorra's word finally registered, and he couldn't help wondering if that man got off on shaking him up.
"Does this mean you haven't completely rejected me?" he asked just to confirm. While he believed there was no other way to interpret Ulquiorra's sentence into something other than that the man had given him a green light to court him, Grimmjow wasn't in a position where he could afford some false hope.
"That depends on whether or not you wish to wait for my feelings to reach there."
Since he was rather mixed-up with so many different emotions that hit him all at once, Grimmjow didn't really know how he should react to that except for saying, "Something is telling me you only said this because you were curious about a relationship between lovers and wanted to experience it yourself."
"Is that a problem?" Ulquiorra wondered.
"No," Grimmjow replied, shaking his head. Although he had hoped to get a better answer and a more sentimental reason from Ulquiorra, he considered himself lucky enough that Ulquiorra didn't simply reject him. "That will do, for now."
End of Chapter XIII