Onna
Chapter 7
After several hours of shelving books, explaining the concept of "Star Wars" to Ulquiorra (With some help from Uryu), and climbing up and down ladders to reach said shelves, Orihime was very much ready for bed. "It looks as if you have managed to shelf all of the materials. Thank you all very much." Captain Unohana said, coming to relieve them for the evening. "Captain, will you and Captain Kurotsuchi be joining us for dinner?" Rukia asked. The female officer gave a sad smile, "No, it seems both of us will be working through the meal. We will get our own dinner later on this evening."
With that they all made their way to the meeting room.
"I'm actually not that hungry for dinner, so I think I'll just go on to bed." Orihime said when they reached the split in the corridor, one hall leading to meeting room, and the other to the hall they were staying in. "Yeah, I think I'll just do the same." Rukia agreed. "Grimmjow most likely returned to the other side of Los Noches, so I am going to find him." Ulquiorra stated.
The group's members said their "goodnight's" (Well, more of an awkward nod in Ulquiorra's case) as they parted ways.
Of course though, Grimmjow was not in the arrancar half.
Ulquiorra searched for him at the converging place, their room, even going as far as finding his way to the dome. His blue haired guardian was no where to be found. The boy backtracked to Grimmjow and his room. Sitting on the edge of the couch, he tried to think of where he could have gone to.
The Ex-Espada hadn't gone to the Soul Society's side, had he?
Out of any other ideas, the arrancar child made the long trek back to the other region of the palace in search of him.
As soon as Orihime reached her room, she fell onto the bed rubbing her temples. Her head felt like it did whenever she had to take big important test at school.
Like all of her brains had been poured out onto the floor.
"I know!" She exclaimed to herself, jumping up from the bed, "A hot shower will help!"
The redhead continued to pull out a pair of pajamas, her shampoo and such, and a towel out of her dresser drawers before happily bounding into the bathroom.
The only place Ulquiorra could think Grimmjow might be in the Soul Society's section of the hollow castle was the meeting room.
Even then he couldn't exactly come with a logical explanation for why.
His guardian usually ate his meals with Ulquiorra in the arrancar side. The only reason they ate with the onna and her friends earlier was because they would only be returning to their jobs afterwards, so it was easier to eat closer to where they would be working. Though, now that they were free from their occupations for the evening, Ulquiorra had assumed that they would have their meal on the arrancar half as usual.
As Ulquiorra approached the room, he began to hear the conversation taking place inside through the half open door.
"God, I'm sore and stuff from all the crap Captain Mayuri had us do today." Renji complained "It wasn't that bad…" Chad shrugged. Everyone rolled their eyes at him. "Yeah, but that's coming from the guy who could lift a menos one handed." Grimmjow scoffed angrily. The conversation trailed off a bit until Uryu quietly broke the pause. "Hey, uh… Grimmjow?"
"Yeah, what d' ya want, 'four eyes'?" He replied sarcastically. "I have a question… About Ulquiorra."
The raven haired boy paused at hearing his name. Ulquiorra wasn't usually one to be noisy, but he felt he had some sort of right to hear what they were going to say about him.
'And what if you hear something unpleasant?'
'Then it would be my fault for listening in on them.'
He leaned against the wall next to the door as the topic continued inside.
"What about the brat?" Grimmjow asked. "It's just…" Uryu didn't know whether he should speak aloud what he was thinking or not, "Does he ever show any signs that he may have knowledge of his past…? Or maybe does things that only the true Ulquiorra would do or say?" Grimmjow sobered up a bit at the more serious question, "What made you ask that?" The quincy sighed, "I'm asking you because I got to thinking about the fact that if Ulquiorra did change back to his former self while we're here, it probably wouldn't end well…" In some way, everyone had been thinking the same thing. "Plus," he added, "You seem to spend quiet a lot of time with him…"
Grimmjow was eerily serious. "You're afraid that if he turns back, he'll come after you guys."
"Yes"
"Actually, I don't blame ya." The Ex-Espada leaned back in his chair. "And about you're questions, the brat hasn't really shown anything that made it seem like he knows about who he actually is, in front of me at least. But," He paused, "The brat acts exactly like Green-Tears. How he presents his stuck-up ass, how he talks, everything." Grimmjow leaned his elbows on the table. "Does he show any signs of turning back though?" Ichigo asked. "Not really… I mean, I don't know?" They all sighed in frustration, "Your no help!"
"Hey, Ichigo?" Chad asked, "What happens if he does change back…?" They all went quiet.
"I dunno, Chad… but it can't be good…"
'…knowledge of his past…'
'…true Ulquiorra…'
'…Change back to his former self…'
'…come after you guys…'
'…can't be good…'
What? Ulquiorra couldn't make since of what they were saying.
It was true. He couldn't remember anything before the moment he first opened his eyes to the night sky, but… he'd never put much thought into what his past was before then. And what did they mean by "true self". They were all making it sound like Ulquiorra wasn't who he was supposed to be.
'It's because you are-'
Ulquiorra clamped his hands over his ears and went running.
The voice in his head, the appearance of the onna and her friends, everything he'd just heard, he wanted to get away from all of it. The child didn't know what he was supposed to do anymore.
The little boy just wanted to flee from everything.
All of the familiar halls suddenly began to blur and Ulquiorra no longer knew whether he was on the arrancar side or the soul reapers' side. Just wanting to escape all of the issues bombarding him, the young arrancar yearned for sleep. He'd rather deal with his nightmares rather then the problems at hand.
Since most of the rooms in the palace were unoccupied, the child didn't think twice about entering the nearest room and crawling up onto the bed. He pulled the thin covers over his head, curling into himself.
Ulquiorra suddenly found himself in one of Los Noches' porcelain corridors. He didn't exactly know why or how he'd gotten there, but something in his gut told him to continue moving.
After a few minutes of walking he passed by a doorway and began to feel a suddenly rush of Deja-vu. The same feeling that had pushed him forwards was now dragging him towards the same room. Hesitantly, the boy let his hand fall upon the knob and push the entrance open.
The room was fairly small compared to most of the others in the fortress. A plan couch sat slightly to the side in the middle of the space. A single barred window hung highly on the wall opposite the door. The ever present Hueco Mundo moon could be seen perfectly through the small opening, giving the room an eerie glow.
Ulquiorra took a small step into the room to inspect it further when the door suddenly shut behind him. The arrancar-child turned on his heels. He could slightly make out a slender figure lurking in the shadows next to the door.
"Who is there?" Ulquiorra demanded, angrier at himself for falling for the trap then afraid of the shrouded person before him.
"Why do you ask a question you already know they answer to?"
The boy recognized the voice instantly. It was the same as the one that had been haunting him through his thoughts. He faltered slightly before replying, "I don't know who you are though."
"Have you not realized yet," The other man sighed softly, stepping out into the moonlight, "You and I are the same."
No.
The boy didn't know how to reply even if he could. The man before him was the same arrancar he'd dreamt slaughtering the onna. He recognized him as the same person dissecting his thoughts.
And now that same person was telling him that he was… well.. him.
Ulquiorra straightened to hide his surprise and confusing, "That is not… possible!" He spat. The man's deadpan face revealed nothing, but his eyes showed a mixture of frustration and exhaustion.
"Actually, you are right." Ulquiorra's unwanted companion replied, "You and I are not the same. I am the original while you are simply my child doppelganger." The little boy tried to disagree again, but was cut off. "You are nothing, trash."
Ulquiorra felt like he'd been slapped in the face. That was the first time anyone had ever used his own word against him.
And it hurt.
"I am Ulquiorra Cifer. No matter how many times you call yourself that name, it will only be that. Words. Never will you truly be the person to whom they title." He continued, taking a step forward with every word until he was directly in front of the boy.
"No!" Ulquiorra cried out, "That is my name! That is my life!"
"Tell me, boy, do you know your past? Can you tell me why you have those tears upon your cheeks? Or why-"
"You're Wrong! I am not you!" The boy thought back to the previous nightmare, "I would never hurt her, Onna! I would never bring her to death!" He retorted in anger. The man before him grew silent. Ulquiorra was not usually one to throw low blows, but he was tired of the man insisting he was someone other then himself.
"Do you even know why you are so fond of her…?"
The question was unexpected. "I… Because I…" Everything suddenly came crashing down around him because Ulquiorra couldn't answer. "You cannot answer my question because everything involving her is before your existence… and because she is not yours."
The little boy stared up at the man in silence.
Not his.
He had never realized it until now. Whenever he thought about the onna, or spoken about her, it had always been in an almost possessive manner.
She had always been his onna.
When in reality, the man declaring to have his name, the 'other' Ulquiorra Cifer, had already laid claim to her.
Just as he'd said
She was his before Ulquiorra had even existed.
What frightened him the most was that everything he was being told actually matched up with everything before this. It explained all of the gaps in his past. The conversation he'd overheard.
And he couldn't handle it.
It was just too much at once.
The boy felt his own tears dampen his feet before he even realized he was crying.
"It had been a warning to you." The true Ulquiorra finally said, his monotone voice holding a softer tint to it, "When I had shown you her death, I was trying to caution you to keep her safe." The child wiped unsuccessfully at his eyes, "Why? Did you not just say she was not mine to care for?"
"Yes, but I gave you that image to push you to do something for me." The pale man replied. "I cannot protect her in my current state, thus I was forcing you to do so in my place."
"Why were you forcing me to do something I would have done anyways?" The younger Ulquiorra asked. His older self failed to reply.
"Even if the onna isn't mine, I think.. I'll still keep her safe… Ulquiorra." It sounded odd to say his own name towards someone else, but the boy-arrancar meant it.
Ulquiorra Cifer turned his head, avoiding the kid's gaze as he spoke words very foreign to his tongue,
"Thank-"
Ulquiorra's eyes snapped open to find the onna hovering above him. "U-Ulquiorra… Why are you… In my bed?"
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Finally Ulquiorra and... er... ULQUIORRA get to meet! Even if it is through a dream, it is still needed. Yay closure! (sp?)
And yes, Ulquiorra made lil Ulqui cry D:
Im so cruel aren't I :P
R&R Plz :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)