Chapter 2

La Príncesa Llega, También ("The Princess Arrives, Too")

"Shiten Koushun!"

A triangular shield formed in front of her as the Hollow's fist connected. An explosion suddenly erupted from the center of the shield before a single blast of energy cut through the Hollow's fist and white mask. The spiritual energy of the Hollow evaporated along with the monster, the whiteness of the Hollow disappearing before her eyes.

The threat was gone. Orihime relaxed. The person behind her must had been paralyzed with fear. She knew she could comfort them if they needed it, though, she wasn't that great of a liar. Still, the guy she saved was much more adept to his surroundings. She saw him dodge the Hollow's attack on the cell phone shop's display window. Maybe she should think of a better cover story. Orihime frowned. She should've let Ishida handle this Hollow. He was a better liar.

"Woman?"

Woman?

The voice was unmistakable. His words always carried an air of superiority. But maybe this wasn't the person she thought it was. She watched him die by Kurosaki's hands in Hueco Mundo. She watched him dissolve and float away right in front of her eyes. She watched his sad, empty eyes reveal more than a million words could say. She whirled around, peering at the figure in front of her with wide eyes.

Ulquiorra Schiffer stare at her with his green eyes and an indifferent expression that said, "I don't care".

"Ulquiorra…" It seemed that his personality was the same. His emerald eyes, expressionless face, and perpetual frown were exactly as she remembered them, too. Only the color of his skin, the absence of his Hollow mask, and the flesh over his chest said that this Ulquiorra was human.

Orihime suddenly covered her eyes. "I-I'm sorry," she stammered, feeling her face grow hot with embarrassment. "I came here because I felt a Hollow's spiritual energy, and then I saw it attacking that display window, and then I just thought, 'I'll save him!' Then I was here, and I killed the Hollow, and I didn't know you didn't have any clothes on and—"

"I am wearing pants."

Lowering her hands, Orihime peered at Ulquiorra. He was indeed wearing a pair of tight black pants. "Oh, is that so?" She chuckled nervously at her own assumptions. Ulquiorra's frown seemed to deepen underneath her anxiety. She was definitely not making a good impression on him. She tried to give him a brave smile, but she remembered those type of things never worked on him. He was like a pasty robot with scary green eyes who only knew how to frown and fight. "So…"

"Do you have a home?" She still wasn't used to his dead-pan voice. It made her anxious.

"Oh, me?" She wanted to bash herself in the face for saying the obvious. Who else was he talking to? Ulquiorra's eyes seemed to glare daggers at her stupidity. Out of habit, Orihime's lips pulled to one side in an awkward smile as she tried to save herself from more humiliation. "Oh, of course! Me without a home? That's funny!"

Again, Ulquiorra's eyes silently pierced her.

Ulquiorra followed Orihime into her home, which seemed to be more of a confinement space that was smaller than her former Hueco Mundo room. How she lived in it was beyond him. She stopped in front of him and he nearly collided into her. Taking a step back, Ulquiorra watched her remove her tennis shoes in front of the raised floor of the home. Other pairs of shoes lined the edge as well. Ulquiorra gathered this was simply a dumping ground for shoes.

Before he could continue into the home, Orihime walked past him and peered outside of the doorway. When she seemed satisfied, the light-haired girl shut the door and locked it. Leaning against the door, Orihime sighed. The worry on her face had dissipated with the door closed. Ulquiorra watched her stand motionless for a moment before she opened her grey eyes. Her expression changed instantly, and she sent him one of her overly-sweet smiles.

"Are you hungry? I can make you some food." She started pulling pots from a cupboard and setting them out on the burners. "I can make you some of ramen or soup. I don't know. What do Espada eat? Do you like chocolate or mayonnaise? Do you even know what that is?"

Ulquiorra could feel another rambling session commence as Orihime's face began to flush with embarrassment. "Heal this," he announced, hoping to distract her. He pointed at his arm to indicate the open gash on the side. Orihime's expression changed again, her concerned grey eyes and hands descending onto him. Without any knowledge how, Ulquiorra was dragged from the cooking area to another room, one with more space and less pointed objects.

"Sit here!" Orihime forced him to sit down on a flat cushion. Ulquiorra had no choice but to obey the girl. As soon as he sat down, her healing shield, Souten Kisshun, came forward and enveloped his body with an orange light. The ache of the cut disappeared. He stared at Orihime, who was intent on healing him, uncertain of what to make of the new situation. A Hollow, which he could see, attacked him before the girl came and rescued him. As quickly as everything began, he found himself in the home of the same person he once imprisoned. Everything seemed to be confusing, backward even, but in some ways, Ulquiorra felt a sense of relief. If someone else had found him, he wouldn't exist again.

The orange light disappeared and Orihime looked at Ulquiorra with hopeful slate-grey eyes. "Done!"

Ulquiorra looked down at his arm to find that the cut was gone. He didn't feel any obligation to tell her any thanks. It was her responsibility in healing, whether it was the Living World or Hueco Mundo. Instead, he glanced at Orihime and pointed at his chest, his expression never changing. "Shirt."

Orihime only blinked before her entire face flushed with red. She jumped up only to slip and land on her back with her eyes covered again. "I-I'll get one." Ulquiorra could only watch the embarrassed girl clamor to her feet and hurriedly open a closet door. It seemed that anything he did, she over-reacted to everything. There was a stark difference in Orihime's demeanor in the Living World, and Ulquiorra realized he had to get used to it. "Let's see…I think Big Brother's shirts are here too." She produced a white shirt from the closet.

"'Big Brother'?"

Orihime closed the closet door and handed the shirt to Ulquiorra. "Yes, my older brother."

Ulquiorra slipped into the shirt, his eyes still on Orihime. Her face turned red again, but Ulquiorra was already tired of her ill-controlled emotions. He decided it was better to simply continue the conversation to save them from another rambling fit.

"Do the others know I am here?"

"Oh, of course not." The redness in her face slowly disappeared. She crossed her arms, her eyes rolling upwards in thought. "If I told them, they would come here and ask questions and never leave you alone." Orihime scratched her light-colored hair with a nervous smile. "It would just make my head spin. I mean, it's already confusing for me right now."

Her bashful guise shifted into a serious one, her demeanor changing without warning. Although these mood swings were rarely seen in Hueco Mundo, Ulquiorra felt that this trait was something uniquely Orihime Inoue. He wasn't surprised when she sat across from him and mimicked his straight posture and solemn expression.

"I think you should tell me exactly what happened." A familiar feeling enveloped Ulquiorra, making him stare at Orihime's serious face. With her set on a task, he knew he couldn't go against her wishes.

He opened his mouth to begin his story. A loud rumbling sound came from Orihime's direction. Orihime's face burned red again. "Uh, before that, let's eat something." She produced a triangular thing that Ulquiorra couldn't identify. Quickly, she unwrapped the plastic, revealing a white triangle. Her smile became wider, a wild look in her grey eyes. It reminded Ulquiorra of the times Arrancar swallowed up weaker Hollow like food. Maybe what she was holding was human food.

Orihime waved another triangular thing in front of his eyes. "Are you hungry? You can have this rice ball if you like," she said, handing him the wrapped food.

Ulquiorra gazed at the light package in his hand. It didn't look like food, but then again, what did he know about the Living World?

"It's OK!" Orihime took a generous bite out of her food. Between bites, she hummed an upbeat song. "I bought a ton of these rice balls at Family Mart*. Eat as much as you like!" Ulquiorra vaguely remembered Orihime holding two of these so-called rice balls, but then again, he didn't watch Orihime so closely either.

As he tentatively unwrapped the rice ball, he heard Orihime stand up from her place across from him and move towards the door. "Some chocolate sauce would be great with this!" Although Ulquiorra had no idea what was chocolate sauce, he had a feeling it wasn't wise to pair it with the rice ball.

Next chapter: La Princesa y El Principe Pensativa

Orihime tries to figure out Ulquiorra while Ulquiorra tries to figure out the Living World.

*Family Mart is one of four popular convenience stores in Japan.