Closed Eyes

"Show the recording of yesterday's visit," Aizen commands, and Ulquiorra immediately does as he is told. He removes his eye and crushes it, and suddenly the air is filled with visionary particles.

They both watch as Ulquiorra enters her room, and as usual the girl greets him with a startled, "Ulquiorra-san!"

A cart of food is pushed in, the arrancar who delivered it leaves a moment later and Ulquiorra commands her to eat.

He watches her for a moment as she moves to do as he says. She no longer fights him, but she never quite finishes everything set out for her.

Minutes later, she'll set her chopsticks down and mumble that she is full and her eyes will move to look at him.

He takes a last glance around the room as the girl sadly sits upon her couch, and then he seats himself with his back against the door and closes his eyes.

This is where the broadcast ends, as nothing but darkness is shown.

"Meditating," Ulquiorra explains needlessly, for Aizen isn't really listening anymore.

"She is still broken. Good." Aizen says, his expression is confident and Ulquiorra knows he is dismissed.

Ulquiorra can never be completely sure Aizen doesn't suspect him, but he knows in the end it wouldn't matter anyways.

Aizen is Aizen, and in the end he will win, regardless of everything.

But Ulquiorra, the replaceable pawn of Aizen, knows something his master does not.

That she is not broken.

He moves fluently through the halls, his steps just as calculated as everything else. Ulquiorra is no fool; he knows he deserves better than to play babysitter for the human girl he had stolen, that it could be considered a slap in the face Aizen chose him to do it, when any lesser arrancar could do just as well. Perhaps Aizen is worried about the force coming their way to take the girl back.

The arrancar reaches her door and enters, and she greets him with a breathy, "Ulquiorra-san!" as is habit for her. Her eyes are wide with shock but he looks away before they soften into familiarity.

"Silence woman," he commands, crouching to set his back against the door as his green eyes close.

Aizen always complimented him on his gift. His recording abilities had come in handy numerous times, not only for information gathering but for making sure he stayed in line. His eyes were a point of control that Aizen had over him and with them he could see whatever he wished.

But when closed, Aizen would know nothing.

Aizen would not know only a few moments after Ulquiorra sat, the girl approached and took a seat next to him against the door.

Aizen would not feel the small body press against him or the trembling hand against his arm.

Aizen would not hear the girl's soft voice as she spoke to him.

Aizen wouldn't know of the odd warmth that spread through his body from her presence.

After spending so much time with the strange girl, Ulquiorra had come to several conclusions about her. He related Inoue Orihime to a small flame. She was a candle that had been brought to an icy place and it was met with two choices: it could either be extinguished and die or it could live and warm its surroundings.

Inoue Orihime had warmed.

What Aizen didn't know was that his palace was being destroyed from the inside out. He didn't know that anything this girl touched changed. He didn't know his soldiers were beginning to think and doubt and feel.

Arrancar are born from fear, and because of this they follow Aizen who is fearless.

But Ulquiorra saw Aizen differently now, as if a veil had been lifted from his eyes and he could only relate this change to the coming of Orihime; because before her, his only thoughts had been of Aizen and his plan. Anymore, his thoughts held wide gray eyes and bright hair.

When he looked at Aizen now, he did not see a fearless man, but instead he saw fear itself. Aizen was fear. But, Aizen was also a shinigami, the natural enemy for an arrancar. And even so, the arrancar obeyed him, as if they had forgotten who they were, what they were. Through Aizen they felt fear, and being a fearful creature put them at the level of a human, a thought Ulquoirra had not been comfortable with.

Humans were supposed to be below him, and yet he envied them. He envied them for the freedom they had that he did not.

A hand gripped his sleeve and he felt a warm breath against his neck. "Ulquiorra-san, are my friends still…"

He spoke before she could even finish, his voice silent and emotionless in the cold room.

"Yes."

He wanted to look at her, but he didn't, he couldn't. But Ulquiorra could picture her face in his mind. He could imagine the look of determination and the hope that still flickered in the depths of her eyes.

Aizen relied so much on sight. But some things you couldn't see.

Some things you only needed to feel.

A/N: I couldn't resist doing another UlquiHime..not after the recent manga chapters /squeal/ Could be thought of as a continuation of the previous UlquiHime, but can also stand alone. Came up with this after thinking about Ulquiorra's eyes and how its hard for him to really hide anything from Aizen. That could be why Aizen trusts him so much. But what if Ulquiorra really hated that? Just some food for thought..haha. Hope you enjoyed. Hm, what pairing should I try next...?

--Miss Soupy