Chapter 17
El Principe Durmiente ("The Slumbering Prince")
Orihime bit her nails nervously. The action didn't calm her down one bit, but she did it to keep her hands busy. She didn't understand what happened. One moment, Ulquiorra was staring at her with his penetrating eyes, and the next moment, he was holding her hand against his cheek, a serene look glazing over his emerald eyes. Though it was her first time seeing such an expression on Ulquiorra's usually serious face, Orihime couldn't help but think that the expression was beautiful. With such a soft face, void of irritation and disdain, Ulquiorra Schiffer, a man who once transformed into a devil, appeared to be an angel.
Immediately, Orihime knew something was wrong. She couldn't grasp what was wrong, but she sensed something strange happening within Ulquiorra, and for the first time in a long time, Orihime felt fear. By reaction, she had pulled her hand away from Ulquiorra's grip, leaving the angelic man to stand awkwardly on his own.
"Ulquiorra."
Though Ulquiorra's lips never moved, Orihime was certain she heard a wispy voice from his direction. Looking around the kitchen, she wondered if they were really alone. She didn't sense a spiritual pressure in her apartment. Where did the whisper come from?
From the corner of her eye, something danced past her kitchen window. She whirled around to catch it, but whatever it was, if it had been there at all, had disappeared. Orihime shook her head, hoping to shake away the fearful thoughts growing inside of her mind. Maybe she had imagined it. What she needed to concentrate on was Ulquiorra's condition.
Before she could do anything further, Ulquiorra's eyes closed as he collapsed to the floor. Orihime nearly panicked, her body unable to respond for a moment. The man on the floor looked like a fallen angel waiting for her to do something. Shaking herself out of her stupor, Orihime quickly dropped to Ulquiorra's side, calling his name as she tried to slap him awake. When it looked like Ulquiorra would stay unconscious for a while, Orihime decided to get help.
She called the Urahara Shop, and within minutes, Tessai Tsukabishi and Ururu Tsumugiya were carrying her and Ulquiorra into her bedroom. Orihime directed Tsukabishi to the bed, asking to put Ulquiorra in a comfortable position, while Ururu deposited her onto a cushion next to the bed. As soon as Ulquiorra was on the bed, Tsukabishi began to administer first aid in the form of a blue light engulfing his hands. Orihime and Ururu watched him, but after a few minutes, Tsukabishi halted his actions.
And Orihime bit her fingers, certain that whatever Tsukabishi said next wouldn't be good news.
The mustached ex-Captain turned to Orihime, his mouth set in a frown. "He's sleeping."
Orihime's eyes widened. She couldn't contain the shock she felt. "Sleeping?" she repeated in a stunned whisper.
Tsukabishi nodded. "Yes, sleeping," he affirmed, his mustache twitching when he spoke. "A deep sleep."
"A deep sleep?" Orihime found herself repeating again. She was sure something was wrong with Ulquiorra, yet there was nothing seeming ill about the former Espada that could be found. "There's nothing wrong? I'm sure something is wrong." Her eyes lowered as she recounted the moments before Ulquiorra collapsed. "I've never seen him look like...like that before." She raised her gaze to Tsukabishi, her hands lifting to her chest while the touch of Ulquiorra brushing her hand against his cheek burned in her mind. "And his actions were strange too."
She felt a heavy hand on her shoulder, giving her an affectionate squeeze. "Don't worry," Tsukabishi encouraged calmly, the ends of his mustache lifting with his lips as he smiled at her. "He'll be fine." Though his words were kind, Orihime couldn't allow all of her worry to melt away. She forced a small smile on her face to hide her concern.
"Will you be all right?" Ururu asked Orihime, her gentle eyes settling on the orange-haired girl.
Orihime nodded. "I can manage."
Tsukabishi looked at Orihime's leg, his thick eyebrows going up in surprise. "Oh, and I see you have an injured ankle." He leaned down to get a closer look. "Would you like some Urahara Shop candies to heal that right away? They're discounted, but they work great."
Orihime felt herself sweat slightly at Tsukabishi's over-enthusiasm, and she found it difficult not to smirk. "Eh, sure…" She held out her hands, and Tsukabishi piled onto her palms enough candies to last her to the end of the year.
"We'll be leaving now," Tsukabishi announced simply once he finished his task, and before Orihime could ask anything else, they were gone. Orihime was dumbfounded. It was like they never came there. Sighing, she plucked a purple ball candy with the word "Legs" from her hand and put it into her mouth. As soon as the candy dissolved in her mouth, her ankle felt immediately better. She stood up and placed some pressure on her injured ankle, happily finding that it didn't hurt anymore. Quickly, she retrieved a bag from the kitchen and deposited the remaining candies into it.
Returning to her place next to Ulquiorra, Orihime watched him breathe easily as he slept on. His face looked so serene, she couldn't resist nearing his sleeping form. Though his tear-like markings from his Espada days were gone, there seemed to be something melancholy about him. Orihime reached out and touched his porcelain-white cheek, the skin smooth and soft. She relished the feeling of his skin beneath her finger, tracing his cheek and nose. Slowly, her finger made its way to his small lips. As his breath hit her hand, Orihime pulled her hand away, suddenly feeling guilty. He was sleeping, after all.
Her eyes traveled up to the black hair framing his head. She never wondered about his hair, but with the rare opportunity, her hand touched a free lock of hair. It was incredibly soft, like satin. Curiously, Orihime slid her hand through his hair, enjoying the silky sensation the action produced. After a moment, she pulled her hand away, guilt settling into her again. Ulquiorra was sleeping, and she shouldn't do anything that might wake him.
She was relieved, to say the least, about his condition. Staring at his face, Orihime wondered what he was dreaming about. It didn't seem like he was having a nightmare, but she still worried about him. Why she cared, she couldn't say. Some barrier within her being had softened, she realized, as they spent more time together. In a way, it was similar to her time in Las Noches, but in opposite effect. There was no war to wait for. There was no prison to escape from. There was simply just time until they figured out why he had materialized in the Living World.
Their time together—at home, at the marketplace, at school—played in front of Orihime's eyes, and she smiled to herself. The memories with Ulquiorra were becoming warmer and warmer, like the passing winter season. As she remembered his first time eating her cooking and his face handsomely tinting pink, her head settled on the edge of the bed and her eyes began to close.
"Sleepy…" Orihime murmured aloud, the drowsiness intensifying until her eyes completely closed.
"Ulquiorra Schiffer, I reject."
Ulquiorra opened his eyes, his vision adjusting to the dimness of the room. Slowly, his surroundings began to reveal itself. A darkened pillar brightened and another pillar came alive with light until two rows of pillars formed to both sides of him. Immediately, Ulquiorra understood the place.
He was standing inside of Las Noches.
Peering down at himself, he discovered that even his clothes were white and long—his old Espada uniform. Curiously, Ulquiorra raised his hand to the left side of his head only to feel something hard and smooth protruding from his head. He brought his hand down to his chest, quickly finding the telltale hole of a Hollow.
He was his former self.
The sound of footsteps resounded from a distance away, bringing Ulquiorra's attention to the darkened area in front of him. Gradually, the origin of the footsteps emerged from the blackened fog. Ulquiorra's eyes slowly widened in unconcealed shock.
"Ulquiorra," Orihime Inoue whispered in her white Arrancar uniform. Ulquiorra composed himself, watching Orihime close the distance between them. Everything felt very vivid, but something seemed skewed. Though Ulquiorra didn't believe in what humans called their "gut feelings", he was certain something peculiar was occurring outside the reach of his senses.
Curiosity kept him rooted to his position as Orihime stopped directly in front of him. With her so close in proximity, Ulquiorra could see her more clearly. The orange hair and steel-grey eyes belonged to Orihime, only something was different. The Orihime from Las Noches was more timid, with bangs that covered her eyebrows and eyes that filled with apprehension. This Orihime was the woman he lived with now, except for the unabashed and confident expression in her eyes. Though Ulquiorra knew she didn't fear him, this woman exuded poise akin to his.
Her pink lips parted, and she gave him an alluring smile, one he wasn't familiar with. "Hello, Ulquiorra," she purred, a smirk appearing on her lips when his eyes widened slightly. The differences between the woman in front of him and the Orihime he knew were revealing itself rapidly. "I called you here. Do you know why?" Before he could provide an answer, her face darkened faintly and she reached out a hand towards Ulquiorra.
Gently, her fingers brushed his chin, causing a strange sensation to rivet through his body. Even her touch was different from Orihime's touch, but Ulquiorra remained still. He contemplated if this imposter was a part of a scheme to make him lose clout, something that a few Arrancar tried to do when they were bored or wanted a death wish.
Without any hesitation, Orihime's hands cupped the sides of his face, a twisted feeling forming in his stomach. Her silver eyes, though normally gentle and warm, were clouded with lust. Ulquiorra watched as she moved forward, closing the distance. He could feel her breath on his skin, but he didn't know if the breath was cold or hot. He couldn't even smell her breath.
Her lips met his lips in a passionate kiss, all of his senses suddenly firing with a hotness he thought was surreal. The fire in his veins was real, and the heat warming his body brought a euphoric sensation to his mind. His eyes remained on the woman kissing him, her petal-soft lips slowly parting to take his bottom lip into her mouth. Something inside of his body wanted to implode, but he forced it down, trying to control himself. They were walking too close to an invisible line he knew was present in his mind, yet he couldn't pinpoint the reason why keeping the barrier intact was important.
"Ulquiorra!"
The voice belonged to Orihime, but not the woman who was kissing him.
The woman's eyes widened before she tore herself away from Ulquiorra's lips, their gazes falling on a figure in the shadowy distance.
"Stay away from Ulquiorra."
Orihime Inoue appeared before them dressed in her school uniform. Instantly, Ulquiorra noticed her grey eyes. Tears ran down her face as Orihime's eyes met Ulquiorra's green eyes. Time seemed to ease to a halt, silence filling his ears, and the earlier euphoric feeling left Ulquiorra's body. Only emptiness occupied his body as hollow as his Hollow hole.
Was he alive? Was he ever alive?
"What will you do about it?" The woman before him shifted, confidence taking over the initial shock of Orihime's sudden presence. The atmosphere abruptly shifted, changed, like a black paper folding many times, until Ulquiorra, the woman, and Orihime were standing within an arm's length from each other. He watched as Orihime's eyes widened, realizing that their surroundings suddenly changed.
The woman didn't give them a chance. She moved with a swiftness that only their eyes could follow but their responses could not catch. Her arm cut towards Orihime, stopping at a point above her chest. Orihime gasped as Ulquiorra's voice echoed off of the pillars.
"This eye of mine perceives all."
The hollow voice came from the woman. His voice came from the woman. "There is nothing that it overlooks." They were the same words he said before Kurosaki arrived at Las Noches, but the directness and honesty from his past self lacked. An unknown emotion lied beneath the surface of the words, yet he couldn't find the true meaning of the woman.
Ulquiorra wanted to do something, but unlike before, he had no control over his movements. A strong spiritual presence restrained his body, holding his limbs hostage. Even using his energy to break the invisible bonds on his body proved to be futile. He could only observe everything from his frozen position behind the woman.
Her hand moved forward until white fingers touched Orihime's chest, her voice returning to Orihime's tone. "If I tear open that chest of yours, will you see it?" Taking a step closer to Orihime, the woman's voice became more dangerous. "If I smash open that skull of yours, will you see it?"
The sound of cracking glass reached Ulquiorra's ears, filling him with intense dread. A light appeared around Orihime's body, growing brighter as her weak spiritual energy began to dissipate. Unexpectedly, the light engulfed all of Orihime's body, and like glass, her image fractured from the woman's fingers. The cracks didn't cease until the entire image of Orihime was broken, creating warped pieces of Orihime's colors. After a moment, the image shattered in a quiet explosion, leaving only the shards to rain down on them.
When the last shard hit the polished floor, the woman stooped down to stare at it. In the reflection on the floor, Ulquiorra could see her face. Although he knew the woman was an imposter, he couldn't tear his eyes away from her reflection. Sorrow filled her pretty face as she gingerly touched the shard, her eyebrows furrowed down in sadness.
"Why can't you see it?"
"Ulquiorra…"
Before Ulquiorra opened his eyes, he heard soft sobbing close to his ears. His head moved in the direction of the person, instantly earning a gasp from them as he awoke. Slowly opening his eyes, his green eyes settled on Orihime. Similar to the dream, tears stained her face, faint sobs leaving her parted pink lips. Even with her reddened cheeks and puffy eyes, something softened within Ulquiorra.
"Ulquiorra!" Orihime suddenly cried out, her sobs becoming louder and she sank her head into the bed. Her whole body shook as she cried.
For a moment, Ulquiorra didn't know what to do. He looked away from her, but he couldn't focus on anything in particular. Everything that happened—everything that was too vivid to erase—was just a dream. The two Orihimes, her destruction, the kiss, they were all real in his mind. Though it put him at ease to realize that Orihime was still intact and unperturbed, he frowned at the imagery that existed within his subconscious.
He felt hands go into his hair, sending a delicious shudder through his body. He turned his head to find Orihime peering at him anxiously, her hands in his raven hair. "Ulquiorra," she murmured, the worry not lost on Ulquiorra. "Why did she—I mean, me—do that to me?"
Ulquiorra couldn't hide his shock. His eyes opened wider, her grey eyes mirroring his. Was Orihime Inoue in his dream?
Next Chapter: La Corte Royal
Orihime and Ulquiorra realize how popular they are with the opposite sex.
A/N: Hope you liked this strange chapter. I've taken a lot of influence from surreal writers like Haruki Murakami and Banana Yoshimoto. Please review!