Chapter 3 :::::Aizen's Reprieve::::::

"It has come to my attention that you and our guest have gotten 'close' over the duration of her stay with us. This is a conflict of interest given what we are trying to achieve."

"I fail to see the conflict, Lord Aizen. I have done nothing to betray us to soul society nor have I compromised our goals."

Gin approached from behind Aizen's throne and looked down at Ulquiorra, all the while smiling like a cat that ate the canary, "Oh now, I wouldn't say that, Ulquiorra. Does our mission now include late night rendezvous' with allies of the Soul Society?"

Aizen held up his hand to Gin, "It seems you've been dealing with Orihime Inoue in a rather 'inappropriate' manner. You have been witnessed several times. When the information surfaced, I was surprised to say the least. You, of all my dear Espada. It seemed so out of character for you," Aizen finished.

"Perhaps, My lord Aizen, you should consider the source of such information..," Ulquiorra said as he eyed Gin warily.

"What makes you assume Gin told me anything? I may not have your superior gift of sight, however, I can easily recognize betrayal when I see it in front of me."

"You think I have deceived you? How so?"

"It seems the responsibilities of watching our guest have corrupted you. You, my most-trusted, have disappointed me. I thought you to be above such temptation. You've failed the test placed before you."

"So, you are saying my assignment of the girl was an experiment? And if I had passed your 'test', to what end would this game have played? Tell me, Lord Aizen, what is to become of the girl once she has finished serving your purpose?"

"Does it matter?" Gin said impishly.

"Yes. I will not deny your accusations. And as I'm sure you have already surmised, my position on matters concerning the woman have changed. You may do with me as you wish, but I wish no harm to come to her."

Gin, once more, interjected, "A captive will often try any means to achieve freedom, even trade services of the flesh-"

"-I do not believe her capable of such manipulations or exploitation. She is ignorant of these tactics. She is nothing like us. I, alone, will accept full responsibility of your judgment, Lord Aizen."

"How noble of you, Ulquiorra. Before we discuss penance, I am curious, do you know whom Orihime Inoue saw on her last day in the human world?"

"Yes, we had a tracking device placed on her body for the entire 12-hour duration we allowed her. She visited Ichigo Kurosaki's home minutes before she met me at the designated area Negacion."

"Yes, and this last person she would ever see would be the person she truly loves. And It is well-known to all arrancer that Ichigo Kurosaki leads the pursuit to rescue her, even against the wishes of the soul society. *sigh* I would hate to see you throw your advancement away on a fickle human girl who would prefer the company of a teenage substitute Soul Reaper." *Aizen chuckled to himself*

Ulquiorra remained silent and stared coldly at Aizen. Nothing which had been said was untrue. The unsaid emotional turmoil that had plagued the girl since she first came to Hueco Mundo was surfacing here in the cold palace throne room. It was all laid out for him to see as clear as day. He now believed that whatever he and Orihime had between them would wither and die the moment she saw Ichigo Kurosaki again. Ulquiorra's resolve hardened, "somehow, the boy must not reach her," he thought to himself… The only way he knew to ensure this was to destroy the Shinigami before he could take Orihime away from the palace. The deep far away look of determination on his face must have given him away slightly.

"My, Ulquiorra, how you have fallen. It saddens me to see you come to such a state," said Gin with a glee Ulquiorra had never seen in him before today.

"What am I to do with you, Ulquiorra?" Aizen said in a tone that was not unlike a father reprimanding his wayward son.

Ulquiorra closed his eyes and bowed his head slightly, "I will not fight you, Lord Aizen…it seems I have been…foolish. Tell me, do you intend to demote me from Espada rank?"

"Of course not, it would be wasteful. However, a penance must be exacted for this transgression of yours. I think permanent removal of our young guest seems the best method, don't you?"

"I do not wish to repeat myself, Lord Aizen, I will allow no harm to befall her."

Aizen smiled slightly at the warning tone of Ulquiorra, "Well, it's not as though I'm giving you a choice. Her young lover is already within the palace walls. It seems fate has interceded on your behalf and I feel that this, in itself, is true penance. I am simply allowing fate to unfold as, inevitably, it will. In the meantime, we are still at war and your service is invaluable to me. Return to your quarters and await further instruction," and with that said, Aizen and Gin left the throne room.

The 4th Espada took a moment in the empty throne room to digest the previous conversation. So Aizen wished him to allow fate to play it's hand? This was...Unacceptable. Ulquiorra, had other plans...

continue to Chapter 4 -