AN: Quick update again! *pats head for doing a good job* hahaha. I have been watching a lot of Vampire Diaries lately which explains my current addiction to vampires, so yeah. I personally love this chapter and I hope you like it as well :D
To MJLCoyoteStarrk: Ohhhh! You gave me a lovely idea! I'm definitely going to squeeze him in at some part of the story. *angry mob of Twilight fans knocking at my door* LOL. You are always so awesome! :))
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
"Ulquiorra…please…stop."
Orihime struggled to stay awake even in the weakened state she was in. She could feel every bit of her strength sip through her. The only thing that was keeping her going was the fact that she knew that the man in front of her was not Ulquiorra. She knew him so well even after just being with him for 3 years. She knows that Ulquiorra could never find it in his heart to lie. He spoke the truth even if it hurt her. She remembered the time when she baked her special bean paste cupcakes mixed with lemon syrup and topped with pickles for Ulquiorra's birthday. He took a small bite from the eccentric pastry and simply said to her directly that the cupcakes are inedible and she had no future that awaits her in cooking. She cried for a couple of days after that but she had eventually forgiven him when he offered to give her a piggy back ride to her next class. Sure, Ulquiorra was highly unsociable and stoic but he only gave her that sort of attention and no one else, even when she knew he hated her annoying nature.
Orihime smiled at the memory. She then stopped struggling and placed her hands on Ulquiorra's back into a gentle embrace. She looked to her side and caught a glimpse of Ulquiorra's ebony hair brushing her already pale cheeks. She moved her head closer to his ear and spoke in a weak whisper.
"I—It's alright Ulquiorra…Y-you can have…as much as you want…just come back to Urahara…come back to me…"
With that, Ulquiorra's penetrating yellow eyes reverted back to his emerald green ones. He gently moved his fangs away from Orihime's neck and moved back from her. He looked at the bloodied mess he had created. Her once creamy neck was scarred by him…by a monster. 'This is not happening' he repeatedly said to himself. His eyes contorted in pain, confusion and betrayal as he place his hands over his face to cover it. "…this is not happening." He said in a silent whisper.
"Ulquiorra…kun." Orihime smiled weakly, trying to move her limp body closer to his. She knew what was going in his mind and she didn't want it. She knew that it was not him. Ulquiorra could never hurt her like this. Surely he had reasons.
"STAND BACK!" Ulquiorra shouted commandingly. He stood up and moved away from her, only to find out that his back was to the wall.
"It's okay Ulquiorra. You're just—"
"No, please, get away from me! I'm a…" Ulquiorra stiffened slightly, remembering the times he used to kill men mercilessly. He then continued in a guilty tone. "I'm a monster."
"Ulquiorra, I'm still here, am I not? And you are still the Ulquiorra I know…"
"I am not and it's not my place to be here!"
"But you are here…You have been here for the past 3 years. Here…by my side." Orihime carefully balanced herself as she stood up. She then fell over to Ulquiorra's chest, clutching the fabric of his shirt. She continued to sob silently as the silence around them accompanied the beating of their hearts.
"It is here." She whispered in a weak tone, pointing at the place where his heart is.
He didn't move and say anything. He just simply placed his hands over her hips, steadying her.
"This is the proof that we are all in the same…that we are not as different as they say. It is because of this beating that humans are connected. It is the heart, Ulquiorra…" she continued, looking up to his green orbs.
He looked back and took in what she had said. This time he was sure. The idea suddenly struck him.
"I want to make you forget." He stated, looking deeper at her gray orbs.
"I don't want to forget because if I do, I would also forget the pain you have kept inside you for so long. I want to understand you more, Ulquiorra. I want to be here for you to tell the burden you have upon you. I want to know you for who you really are and what happened tonight made me understand…just how important you are to me."
She cried uncontrollably into Ulquiorra's shirt, grasping his shirt as if her life depended on it. Ulquiorra, in turn, hugged her back. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes until Ulquiorra moved back and held her shoulders. She looked into his eyes and smiled. He remained stiff but stared back at her in much hesitation. Then he finally decided and spoke.
"You will forget everything that happened tonight. You will wake up tomorrow and place a scarf over your neck. If anyone asked, tell them that it was an animal attack. Most importantly, you will only remember me as Ulquiorra Schiffer, one of your classmates, nothing more."
Orihime held back her tears as she slapped Ulquiorra right across the face.
"ULQUIORRA DAMN IT! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! You can't just walk right off—"
Orihime's stare suddenly went blank and she said in a robotic tone. "I will not remember what happened tonight. Tomorrow when I wake up, I will grab a scarf and put it around my neck and tell anyone who asks that I wandered out in the woods and got bitten by a hound. I will forget who you are when the sun rises and remember you only as my classmate…nothing more."
Although he knew that he commanded her to say those words, the last statement felt like a knife to him. He rubbed the sore spot on his cheek were she had slapped him. He leaned over to the still dazed Orihime and placed his mouth over her ear.
"Goodbye for good, Orihime. It was fun while it lasted."
With that, he planted a soft kiss on her forehead and in a flash he was gone.
Orihime finally snapped into her old self and looked around her. The window was open and the wind was blowing through her hair. The room was in disarray. There was blood on the floor. She was bleeding? She placed a tissue on the sore spot on her neck. She touched her forehead and felt a strange feeling. She felt…incomplete.
Suddenly she collapsed to the ground as she had finally given up to her weakness. She lay unconscious as she drifted off to a deep sleep.
Urahara sighed at the sight as he carefully tended to Orihime's wound. He knew that this was inevitable but he hoped for a good life for both of them for they were like his son and daughter. He was too ignorant to think such a thing but he couldn't just simply turn Ulquiorra away after what had happened to him. He needed people who cared for him. He needed a family.
"Be safe, Ulquiorra." He simply whispered, laying Orihime down to her bed. Tomorrow is just the start of what he had feared for so long. Tomorrow, Ulquiorra won't be around and everything's going to get more complicated than it already is.
"Urahara-sensei, is everything alright around here?" an orange-haired teenager, together with a petite black-haired woman, asked right after Urahara opened the door for them.
"Yes, all is well Ichigo and Rukia. You need not worry. You're devices might just have malfunctioned. Here, hand them over to me so I can fix it."
Ichigo and Rukia obediently handed the devices over to Urahara. They had just sensed a vampire near the vicinity and immediately jumped into action as they did so. When they arrived, their sensors suddenly stopped beeping and they were met by Kisuke Urahara.
"And Orihime?" Ichigo asked worriedly to the eccentric man who was busy looking at their devices.
"She is sleeping soundly in her room. Nothing to get all worked up about. She just had a rough day." He stated coolly, placing the vampire-sensors on the coffee table.
"Alright, but if anything's wrong please do tell us. It was a rather strong signal and that got us worried." Rukia responded, standing up and getting ready to leave. Ichigo followed right behind her.
"Hey, no worries! Besides, we're Vampire Hunters after all. I can hold up on my own." Urahara smiled, giving them an apologetic look as they said their last goodbyes and they left the place.
"MAN! That would have been some fight! I've never gotten anything that signal so strong in ages!" Ichigo exclaimed as they walked through the dark streets.
"I've got a feeling that this may only be the beginning, Ichigo." Rukia said, fearing the worst. She had been battling only low class vampires for quite a while now and she always felt exhausted after doing so. She can only imagine how hard it would be to hold up her own against the upper class ones and most especially the pure bloods.
"Well, at least Orihime's safe." Ichigo simply stated, which earned him a sudden look from the worried Rukia. It was going to be a long night.
"You have drank precious Hime's blood? Unforgivable."
"It's quite unfortunate, my lord, but I promise to keep my urge and emotions in check from here on. I give you my word that nothing of such would ever happen again."
"Very well. You may leave."
Ulquiorra nodded slightly as he spoke once more.
"I know it is not in my place to command of such a thing but may I ask my lord to keep Orihime from any harm. If I ever post a threat to her again, please do not hesitate to take my life."
Aizen simply nooded and gestured for him to go.
Ulquiorra bowed one last time as he gathered his belongings and went out of the manor. It was starting to rain but he continued on, moving forward. He had nowhere to go, nowhere to talk to, no place to lay his head at night. It was cold. His white cotton shirt was soaked and the rain that fell on his face hid the teal colored tear marks that framed his face. There was just the sound of raindrops falling and his heart that was beating. He sighed and spoke in a whisper.
"Silly woman, we are not the same. The heart is merely an organ that pumps blood and sustain life, nothing more…nothing in you…and in me."
With that, he drifted off as the world finally fell into a deep slumber.
Do you know where your heart is?
Do you think you can find it?
Or did you trade it for something, somewhere, better just to have it?
Do you know where your love is?
Do you think that you lost it?
You felt it so strong but nothing's turned out how you want it
Well bless my soul,
You're a lonely soul.
'Cause you won't let go of anything you hold.
"Well, all I need is the air I breathe and a place to rest my head
-Say (All I Need), One Republic