bChapter 10

Collide/b

i A sudden wave of exhaustion hit the Espada. Remembering what the sandal-hate man had told him, he sat down on his Onna's couch and fell asleep for the first time in over a millennium, for the first time since he became a hollow...

/i

It was 3:00 AM and Orihime Inoue couldn't sleep. She was still too excited from the previous days' events to be able to sleep peacefully. Orihime had been able to doze off into a restless sleep some time after midnight, but woke up shortly thereafter.

Orihime sighed, iI might as well get up and start getting ready for school… Maybe Ulquiorra-san wants something to drink?/i

Groaning quietly, Orihime rolled over on her bed and turned her alarm clock off.

i3:07 AM,/i Orihime knew she should try to sleep some since she had school the next day, but knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep. Especially not knowing that the Cuatro Espada was probably sitting in her living room staring stoically at the wall.

Orihime giggled at the image her imagination conjured up of an emotionless Ulquiorra Cifer sitting on her bright yellow couch in her lively living room.

iI still can't believe he's here… alive,/i Orihime smiled at the though. She had believed that her beloved Espada was dead, killed by Kurosaki-san's hollow. Orihime shivered, remembering the cold, menacing eyes that Ichigo always possessed while in his hollow form. But as much as her instincts told her to avoid Kurosaki-san, as much as they told her that his inner hollow was only lying dormant for the time being, Orihime couldn't bring herself to avoid her friend. She couldn't bring herself to feel any ill feelings towards Kurosaki Ichigo.

Her gentle, loving heart no longer belonged to the Substitute Shinigami, she knew this; Orihime Inoue's heart now belonged to the man in her living room.

An unexpected thought ran through the girl's head, iWhat will my friends think when they find out that someone else, someone of the opposite gender, is living in my apartment!/i

Orihime blushed. Ulquiorra really was living under her roof. Where else did he have to go? Orihime's face sank.

iHe really is alone…/i

Irritated at her depressing train of thought, Orihime shook her head and got out of bed, walking to her closet to get out her uniform.

Then she remembered her arms were injured. Orihime frowned, knowing she was going to have to use her feet to open her closet and get out clothes.

Balancing on one foot, Orihime raised her other one, placing it on the closet door and slowly sliding it open. After the door was open, the orange-haired woman raised her foot a little higher to "grab" her uniform skirt and shirt that lay on a pile near the middle of the closet.

iSeveral minutes and failed attempts later…/i

Orihime Inoue was beginning to breathe harder, due to the extra effort it took to put her clothes on. She had been able to successfully shimmy into her skirt (which thankfully didn't have to be zipped or buttoned up, due to its elastic quality) and somehow slip into her shirt.

Satisfied that she had put her clothes on correctly, and didn't end up with her shirt on backwards, Orihime decided to go ask Ulquiorra-san if he'd like some coffee.

Skipping down the hallway to her living room, Orihime skidded to a halt when she saw an unexpected sight.

A very human Ulquiorra was asleep on her couch.

iUlquiorra-san must have gotten a gigai!/i Orihime mentally chimed. iToo bad he didn't keep his tear marks…/i

Orihime really like his tear marks. She didn't know why, but they brought out something in the Espada's personality.

It seemed like hours that Orihime Inoue stood there, watching the Espada sleep. She was infatuated with the fact that in his sleep, Ulquiorra looked almost peaceful. To any other person, it would seem that he still held the same stoic composure he had when he was awake, but Orihime could see the way his eyebrows were slightly less furrowed, the way his lips were slightly less a straight line.

Orihime smiled, iI guess I'll just have to make coffee for myself./i

iEverything was black. There was no sound. Nothing moved in this absolute darkness.

Suddenly there was a flash of brilliant light; the light filled up every inch of the darkness, bringing color and texture to this vast world of emptiness, of blackness. The light was beautiful to say the least; it was all the known colors, and shades of colors unheard of. The beauty of the light enveloped everything, allowing plants to grow where before there had been just darkness and a vast void of nothingness. Just as fast as it had appeared, bringing life and color to the dark vastness of this world, the light was doused, put out by an unknown, menacing force, bringing a tidal wave of sorrow with it…/i

Ulquiorra Cifer woke with a start. He was filled with an unknown fear. This fear was nothing compared to the fear he had felt before, the fear of death, the fear of loosing, the fear of not understanding. This fear consumed his entire being, causing an unknown pressure to build up in his chest.

The Cuatro Espada began to analyze the dream, knowing from books that he had read that human's dreams are often conjurations of one's subconscious, with the true meaning behind the dream buried deep within layers upon layers of symbolism. It stumped Ulquiorra that he could not find a meaning to the dream, no matter which way he look at it, no matter which perspective her chose to observe it from. It utterly frustrated the usually emotionless Espada that he was so vulnerable in dreams; it frustrated him almost as much as the fact that he knew he had finally obtained a heart, but also knew that he wasn't a single step closer to understanding it. It frustrated him just a much as the horrendous gigai he had stepped into, the cursed gigai that granted its user human emotions and weaknesses, such as the need for sleep.

"Ulquiorra-san, are you awake?" A quiet voice called from the kitchen. The Espada's ever mounting fear and frustration melted away, replaced with relief at the Onna's voice.

"Yes, I am awake, Onna," Ulquiorra Cifer was sure to speak monotonously, unwilling to show the sudden spout of weakness caused by his all too human dreaming. Recomposing his slightly widened eyes, he stood up and turned to walk into the kitchen where the Onna's voice had come from.

Orihime smiled at the Espada. She was slightly disappointed that the peaceful look that he had worn while he was sleeping had disappeared and was now replaced by Ulquiorra's stoic mask.

"Would you like some coffee, Ulquiorra-san?" She chimed as she poured herself a cup of coffee (with her feet. She was sitting on the counter and using her feet as replacement hands).

iCoffee?/i Ulquiorra had heard of this substance. Ichimaru Gin and Aizen had mentioned the human drink several times, but had never drunken it in front of the Cuatro Espada.

The Espada nodded, deciding that since he had taken a liking to the pizza from the previous night, the coffee would fit his fancy as well.

"With sugar or milk?" Orihime saw the slightly puzzled quirk of the Espada's eyebrows and giggled.

"I'll just make your coffee the same way I make mine," Ulquiorra nodded. He watched the Onna intently as she took out another cup (with her feet), added coffee to his cup (with her feet), milk and sugar to both hers and his coffee (again… with her feet), and stirred both with a spoon… with her feet.

Orihime let the Cuatro Espada grab the cup of swirling, light brown liquid off of the counter. Hopping off the counter and bending over her cup, taking a sip of her own coffee, she eyed Ulquiorra, waiting for his reaction after he took his first sip.

Ulquiorra almost gagged at the sweet concoction the woman had made him to drink, though he hid this from her and painfully downed the entire mug of coffee, not wanting to ruin the beaming smile his Onna now had on her face.

iPerhaps I should ask for no sugar next time," he had never thought something could taste so overly sweet. And he had never imagined Orihime capable of using her feet in such a manner.

Looking at the clock, Orihime gasped, "I'm going to be late for school!" How could the time fly so fast? Just a minute ago it was 5:30 AM… And now it was 7:15 AM and she had a ten minute walk to school, with her classes starting at 7:30.

Orihime flew to the door, slipped into some flats, and thanked Ulquiorra-san for handing her backpack to her.

"Arigatou, Ulquiorra-san!" and without another word, his Onna disappeared around the corner of her street at a sprint.

Ulquiorra sighed. He didn't want to have to go to the Urahara Shop so that the ex-Shinigami Captain could run tests on him. A vision of the Szayel Aporro Granz, the Octava Espada's lab ran through Ulquiorra's mind, causing him to narrow his eyes suspiciously. If Urahara Kisuke was anything like the pink-haired Espada, Ulquiorra knew he would find it exceeding difficult not to tear the shop owner's head off.

This sudden feeling of anger and suspicion caught the Cuatro Espada off guard.

iThis cursed gigai really does seem to multiply my human reactions,/i Ulquiorra thought, calming himself, trying to reassure himself that he was still the same Espada he had been several days ago.

"Thanks, Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime smiled at her friend, who had pulled out her chair for her when she saw her running into class with two bandaged arms.

"What did you do to yourself?" Tatsuki asked, incredulously staring at the sling and bandages.

"Oh, I was careless and tripped over some boxes, it's nothing," Orihime smiled embarrassedly.

"Good morning, class!" The sensei walked in. "Where is Ishida-san today?"

Orihime looked up, concerned.

iIshida-kun never misses school… Hmm… Why could he possibly be absent?/i Orihime pondered this until the sensei went on to the day's lesson.

"Today we will be looking at the relationship between…"

That was all Orihime Inoue heard before she was lost in her thoughts, staring out the window, wondering what Ulquiorra-san was doing at that moment…

"Ah! Good morning, Cuatro Espada-san!" Urahara gaily greeted his new friend (In Kisuke's eyes, anyone who bought something from his shop, was a friend.) and waved him inside.

Ulquiorra Cifer didn't even nod an acknowledging hello, and just walked into the sandal-hat man's shop.

"Would you like some coffee, Ulquiorra-san?" Ulquiorra shook his head.

"Okay! Hmm… well, follow me; I need to do a few tests before we can start for the day!"

The ex-Captain led the Espada to a room in the back off his shop.

"Please take a seat, Ulquiorra-san!" Urahara said.

As odd as it was, Ulquiorra suddenly felt a rush of an unknown emotion. He did not like the way the man called him "Ulquiorra-san". Only his Onna could call him that and not make him feel disrespected.

The Cuatro Espada watched Kisuke attentively as he got out several pieces of equipment that looked like they belonged in a nurse's office, not the Urahara Shop. As Urahara Kisuke took his blood pressure, temperature, and drew a sample of blood (which also served as a way to measure reiatsu, Urahara had explained), Ulquiorra pretended to be as nonchalant as ever, not allowing a single thing to even scratch his mask of stoicism.

"Okay, Ulquiorra-san," Ulquiorra internally flinched slightly. "If you would follow me…"

This time Urahara led him to his underground training room, opening a trapdoor like contraption to reveal and exceptionally long ladder and an enormous room below.

As Urahara took his time climbing down the ladder, Ulquiorra Sonidoed down and waited emotionlessly.

As the man finally reached the last rung of the ladder, he began to speak, "Today, we will be-"

"So there you are, Espada," a voice hissed from above, interrupting Kisuke. As a blue arrow shot down from the opening "door" to the underground room, Ulquiorra barely stepped out of the way in time to avoid getting hit by an especially strong arrow of spirit particles…