AN: This is a really long chapter and everything is really, really, starting to get intense! I would like to thank those who have reviewed. I love it when people guess what might happen with the story. It's really great to hear opinionated guesses regarding the plot :D
So yeah, after one more chapter of this, I'll be updating "El Que Llora". I wanted to balance everything so there's no need to worry. Both stories are going to be continued
I own Bleach and Ulquiorra…in my dreams. Hahaha :))
Orihime gasped for air as she sat up from her bed. She was sweating buckets and her body felt numb. Ever since Friday night, she had been dreaming of blurry images that didn't make any sense. She gently ran her fingers through her sore neck. 'It's still here' she sighed in relief. The fact that she had this mark made her feel safe for some odd reason, than being trapped in that nightmare. Everything felt so real as if it actually happened to her. She shivered slightly at the images. Today was a brand new day and she just had a rough night.
"Are you quite alright, Inoue-san?"
Orihime tilted her head and saw Urahara seating beside her, smiling. She tried her best to smile back.
"I'm okay, Urahara-sensei. It was just…a bad dream."
"Very well then. You should get ready for school. I'll prepare some breakfast."
Urahara gave her one last reassuring smile and left the room. She swiftly stood up from the bed and grabbed her school uniform and a scarf to prepare for bath.
She walked along the oh-so-familiar-hallway and passed by the storage room (where Ulquiorra had once stayed). She suddenly stopped walking and looked at the wooden door. She peaked through the door and saw only piles of boxes and documents neatly filed in cabinets. 'What was I thinking? It's a storage room after all' she thought to herself. She carefully closed the door and continued heading towards the bathroom. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was odd, as if she had forgotten a huge part of her life.
"Personally, I think this whole school shit thing's just a pathetic excuse for old Mighty Aizen to shoo us away and have some fun time alone while we are gone." Grimmjow growled in irritation as he strolled along the school hallways with 4 peculiar looking people. He wore his aviator glasses. The sun was irritating him and the fact that he's going to be with weak humans angered him at such an extent.
"I bet his gonna be bangin' some chicks while we're away." Nnoitra grinned at the thought. He'd personally do that if he were in Aizen's current situation.
"OI NNOITRA-KUN! Awen't I enough fow you alweady?" Neliel pouted beside Nnoitra as he snaked her arms around her waist.
"Watch what you say, Grimmjow and Nnoitra. Aizen-sama had done nothing but give us what we seek for. Do not sully his name with such dirty thoughts." Hallibel muttered defensively as the two bickering teenagers fell silent for a minute.
"EH? Easy for you to say! While you and Starrk are both enjoying senior year, we are trapped with annoying sophomore shitheads!" Grimmjow finally exclaimed, stomping his feet even harder to the ground.
"I'd rather stay home and watch some TV with Lilynette rather than be here." Starrk yawned, raising his hands over his head and continued walking alongside Hallibel.
"Ah. But I'm gonna find me some of those hunters soon and get myself a real fight! And if fate would be so kind, hell I'd probably find Ulqui-emo and get his ass kicked!" Grimmjow grinned at the thought. He'd always wanted to battle Ulquiorra but he always declines and says he's just a waste of his time.
He cracked his knuckles and stopped behind the door of their assigned classroom.
"Let's get this damn party started!"
"So, Orihime, what's up with the scarf?" Tatsuki eyed her suspiciously. The sun was up and it was a rather fine day. She knew just how weird Orihime's taste are in things but she has been blankly staring at nothing and the fact that she showed up with such a dull looking scarf instead of her pastel colored one's made it obvious that something wasn't right.
"Uhhh…I wandered off in the woods the other day and got bitten by a hound and it is rather cold." Orihime said monotonously, almost as if she were unsure of her answer herself.
"Take it off." Tatsuki simply said commandingly
"…huh?" Orihime asked in confusion.
"I said take the scarf off and let me see how bad it is."
Just as Tatsuki was about to untie her scarf, a certain ebony-haired man walked in the classroom and she couldn't help but stare. He caught a glimpse of her as well but he immediately turned his head away and sat at the farthest seat away from her. She continued to glance at the pale man and Tatsuki followed her gaze. She looked as if she had no idea who he was and wanted to introduce herself to him.
"Who…is he?" she finally spoke, not taking her eyes from the man.
"Seriously, Orihime? He's Ulquiorra flippin' Cifer. He's been our classmate for 3 years! Snap out of it Orihime! What's going on?"
Tatsuki was now definitely worried. Of all the people in the classroom, the only person who managed to make a conversation out of the man was Orihime and now she acts as if she has never known him.
"Ul…quiorra." Orihime whispered repeatedly to herself. There was something in that name. She just can't put her finger on it…
"Good Morning, Class! We have 3 new students today! Please take your seats and let's hear from them." Their teacher spoke, capturing the attention of everyone. It has been a while since they last had a new student and everyone was curious.
The first one to enter was Grimmjow. It was pretty obvious how the girls suddenly fell quiet and began to whisper within themselves. If there was one thing vampires had in common, it would have to be that they are all sinfully good-looking.
Nnoitra and Nel followed right behind him. They stood straight up and gave the class a look. Grimmjow couldn't hold back the grin as he saw Ulquiorra stiffen slightly at the sight of them. He knew how long Ulquiorra had tried to earn Aizen's trust just to prevent the current situation from happening. He just had to provoke him so he could get that fight he had always been asking for.
"Well ain't this gonna be fun." He muttered to himself as the teacher approached them and spoke.
"Grimmjow, Neliel and Nnoitra, would you care to tell a little something about yourselves to the class?" the teacher smiled as Grimmjow suddenly made his way to her, his back turned to the class. He coolly removed his sunglasses and looked deeply into the teacher's eyes.
"I am not in the mood for this crap so you will just let us seat and do whatever the hell we want for the rest of the day." He commanded imposingly which earned gasps from the class.
"You are not in the mood and I will permit you to do whatever you want for the rest of the day." She repeated robotically as if she were hypnotized.
Ulquiorra's eyes widened in shock. 'Grimmjow you idiot!' he thought as he watched the scene before him. 'The nerve that he had to use such a trick in front of a class filled with Vampire Hunters'. Ulquiorra shook his head in dismay. He looked towards Ichigo, Rukia and Uryu, assessing if they had any idea of what was going on. Luckily, Ichigo was too enraged to analyze the situation that he practically rushed to the front and shove the teacher away from Grimmjow.
"You have no right to talk to Ochi-sensei like that you blue-haired idiot!" Ichigo exclaimed as he poked Grimmjow on his chest, earning him a dirty look from the man.
"The fuck's wrong with you, orange-haired bitch!" Grimmjow growled, pushing Ichigo rather harshly.
Before Ichigo could even fight back, Ms. Ochi got in between them and stopped Ichigo from doing any further damage.
"It's alright, Kurosaki. They are new around here and I understand that they need some time to getting used to." She responded, looking at Grimmjow and then directing her attention to Neiliel and Nnoitra. "You may all take your seats."
With that, Ichigo and Grimmjow backed off from each other and gave both an intense glare.
"We ain't done here yet." Grimmjow spat towards Ichigo as he made his way to an empty seat at the back, near Ulquiorra. Grimmjow flashed him a cocky grin and he, in turn, gave him a disinterested look and resumed reading the novel in his hands.
Nnoitra and Neliel took their seats as well. Orihime had felt awkward after gaining a glance from Nnoitra. The way he licked his lips and flashed a creepy smile gave her some chills. She sighed and directed her attention back to Ulquiorra who was staring at her as well. As soon as their eyes met, Ulquiorra immediately looked down and turned back to what he was reading. Orihime couldn't help the strange feeling she was getting. 'There's something about him.' She thought as she brought out her notebook to take notes.
The school bell just rang, signaling that classes are over and it was time for lunch break. Orihime packed up her stuff and gave Ulquiorra one last look. She had finally decided to confront him. She was not entirely sure what to ask or say but she just had a feeling that she had to. She was so deep in thought that she hadn't noticed Tatsuki asking her if she was coming with them or not.
"Orihime, you comin'?" Tatsuki asked rather impatiently.
"Oh yes. Just…go on ahead. I'll catch up with you guys." She smiled, giving her best friend a quick hug.
"Oh alright! But we have to talk later alright?"
"Hai, Tatsuki-chan." She nodded as she watched the rest of her friends head out and the worried Tatsuki following right behind them.
Ulquiorra hurriedly grabbed his stuff, not wanting to be left alone with the auburn-haired girl. He hated being too neat and organized with his things but he always ends up fixing them anyway. Alas, on his way to the door, the woman had successfully blocked his path and he had no choice but to reason out with her.
"Woman, I have no time for your foolish games." He said imposingly, staring the girl down.
"Gomenasai, Ulquiorra-san. I promise this won't take long. I just wanted to ask something."
Ulquiorra simply stood there. He was feeling a little nervous. He hadn't been consuming human blood for the last 3 years and he was afraid that the brainwashing might not have worked. After all, only the Originals and Elite Class could execute such a technique without any flaws. This might be why Orihime may have not completely forgotten him.
"Ulquiorra-san, I was wondering if…we have met before?" she asked curiously, linking her fingers at her back. She was feeling a little uncertain and the intimidating look the green-eyed man gave her definitely didn't help at all. "uhmm…like have known each other? Are we close or related in some sort of weird way?" she continued, chuckling nervously. She probably sounded like a stalker desperate for his attention but she really didn't know what to say. She just clung on to this feeling inside her that felt some sort of strange connection.
"Ridiculous. I do not waste my time with the likes of you."
Orihime's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the harsh words Ulquiorra just said. She looked at the stoic man. She was foolish to think that someone like Ulquiorra Cifer would recognize her and see her of some worth. She held back a tear before bowing before him and apologizing, "Oh…I see. I'm sorry for bothering you, Ulquiorra-san"
Ulquiorra nodded at her then proceeded to the door. He looked back at her one last time and left the room. Orihime remained stiff in her position. She suddenly felt water pouring down from her eyes. She touched her cheek only to find out that she was crying.
"Why am I…" she whispered, rubbing her tear-filled eyes. She stared at the open door, not really knowing what to do. She fell to her knees and sighed.
"I should pay Aizen-sama a visit later."
"What happened a while ago was strange."
Uryu Ishida pushed up his glasses as he took a bite from his sandwich. Chad agreed to his statement while Ichigo and Rukia were too busy debating about who gets the last piece of tuna sashimi.
"But you've got to admit, that Neliel is damn hot!" Keigo exclaimed happily, drifting off to his own world.
"HA! I GOT THE LAST PIECE! SUCK ON THAT ICHIGO!" Rukia laughed as she chewed the tuna sashimi happily. Ichigo in turn, sulked by the corner, pitying himself for losing to the petite –framed woman.
"Something is awfully odd…" Uryu silently whispered to himself, not minding what was going on around him.
He read a couple of books about vampires and their abilities. They possess superhuman agility, speed, balance and tracking people according to their scent. They also do not age after a couple of centuries. They could also turn a mere human to their own kind by letting them sip a generous amount of their blood. It was also said that they have the ability to hypnotize their victims with their mesmerizing eyes. The latter ability, however, was only rumored to be executed properly by an elite class. The ability to manipulate dreams and memories cannot be done by low-class vampires. He shook his head of the idea. Surely, the new students at Karakura Boarding School had gone through the mandatory thorough inspection from Genryusai Yamamoto and the rest of the board members.
Urahara had insisted to repair their Vampire Sensors over the weekend and he hadn't given them the devices yet. Without it, he can't be so sure of his hypothesis. He had no choice but to wait for the repairs to be done and observe from a safe distance. After all, they were no match against them if they had gone through Yamamoto without them being noticed.
Uryu looked at his friends around him. They were too carefree to even think this through. From now on, they need to be more alert. It seems that the myth that vampires can't walk in the sun might just be wrong and the possibility that they are among them can be dangerous enough.
The sun was just setting and Ulquiorra had been walking rather peacefully on his way to his apartment. He had found a place that kept a safe distance from town that offered cheap rent and simply had an old used up futon, a dusty wooden table and chair and a fluorescent lamp. It was fairly small but he didn't really care. He only needed a place to sleep and the place shall suffice.
He suddenly stopped walking when he sensed something weird. He smelled blood from a distance. He looked towards the direction. This scent…
Suddenly, it struck him. With not a moment to spare, he rushed to the speculated venue, dropping his things on the floor. This was not good. A smell of a Pureblood is too powerful that it can draw a massive amount of vampires to her. How could she be so reckless?
After a few minutes, he had arrived by the woods. He peaked through a tree trunk and saw her. It was Orihime, hissing at the pain the chunk of sharp wood had brought to her knee. She must have fallen carelessly again from the way that she scolded and slapped herself for being so clumsy. Ulquiorra's eyes started turning into a shade of yellow and his fangs started to show. The smell of that blood is so enticing…
He struggled to stop his urge within himself. He had run out of Urahara's medication and it was even more difficult this time around. Abruptly, a group of bloodthirsty vampires have appeared before the girl.
Orihime looked in horror as she struggled to stand up. 'This is not good' she thought. Unexpectedly, she felt strong hands gripping her from her waist. She suddenly hit something hard from behind her back as a calloused hand blocked her eyes from the view. A man with a low voice then spoke,
"Listen to me, woman. When I release you, stay where you are and do not even make an attempt to open your eyes or I'll strap you down and make you regret that you have defied my order."
Orihime held back her sob as she nodded obediently to the man's request. She knew that she was powerless against those men.
Gently, Ulquiorra released her from his grip and moved towards the low class vampires. They just kept coming and coming. He picked up a piece of sharp wood from beside his feet.
All Orihime could hear were screams and sounds of struggling. It kept continuing for what felt like hours and then suddenly it stopped. She tried to walk towards where she had heard the sound. She wanted to know what was going on.
Suddenly she felt someone breathing from behind her ear.
"Woman, you must leave."
She deduced that it was the man from before. She held up her hand and tried to touch him. She wanted to face him and thank him for saving her.
She was able to touch his shoulder, then his biceps. She continued on, hoping to reach for his hand when she felt something sticking through the man's palms. Was this…wood?
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" the man hissed in pain which startled Orihime. It seems that the man had taken quite a damage from what happened.
"Please…let me tend to your injuries." She pleaded, her eyes still shut.
Ulquiorra remained silent. He hated how Orihime was always so trusting. He held her hand and moved her towards a dark spot in the woods. It was already evening and you can barely make out anything from the dark.
"Open your eyes." He commanded
She hesitated no further and opened her eyes. She was only greeted by a silhouette and a pair of penetrating yellow eyes.
"Keep this. Wear it at all times." Ulquiorra handed out what looked like a locket. She opened it and saw some sort of herb inside it. "It's vervain. It will keep you away from harm. Vampires won't be able to manipulate you when you wear it. If you have any more questions, refer to Kurosaki Ichigo. He knows everything that you wish to know."
Orihime quickly wore the necklace around her neck. It was intricately designed and it looked pretty expensive.
The man suddenly started to move away. She swiftly drew her hand out and stopped him from moving away.
"Please, if there's any way that I could help you. My house is not far from here and I could easily help you recover from your wounds. It is the only way I can repay you."
Ulquiorra turned his back slightly to look at her.
"The only way you can help me is if you stay as far away from harm as possible."
With that, he shoved her hand away and left the confused girl gaping at his retreating silhouette.
Orihime clutched her hand to the locket he had given her and was left in a daze.
"INOUE-SAN! Are you alright?" Ichigo yelled as he made her way to her, tending to her injuries.
"I'm…fine." She simply said as Ichigo carried her and left.
Ulquiorra watched them from afar and also left as soon as they were out of sight. His fangs went back to normal and his eyes were emerald green once again.
"At least I know that with him, you are safe, Orihime."
Too much, too much is never enough
I had you and I gave you up
No idea where my mind was for months
I woke up, I cashed in all of my luck
Walked hand and hand with your trust
And everybody was kissing on fire
And we all got burnt
It'd be safer to hate her
Than to love her and to lose her
It'd be safer to hate her all around
And nobody knows what it's like
To live and die on the inside
Nobody knows what it's like
To be one of a kind
-Safer to Hate Her, You Me At Six