Can I get a communal gasp? That's right. I updated before 11:30. Be in awe. XD Anyway, for the next couple of chapters it's going to be all request... but I'm telling you all now, I don't think we're going to have over 52 chapter. So if you want something to happen, tell me now, before it's too late. :) Thank you!
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It was hard to believe that she was in Hueco Mundo. Momo had always wanted to see the place. She had always wanted to travel, and after she had seen all the Soul Society she had thought that maybe she would like to see the world hollows live in. The world of the living was said to be much like the Serietie, though Toshiro told her that she shouldn't believe that, so… why not Hueco Mundo?
It was all a lot more… dead than she had thought it would be. It scared her a little, knowing that there was an expanse of pure nothing so far and so wide.
She clung to Hitsugia almost the whole way to the palace Los Noches. She had thought he would shake her off, like always, and tell her to be a grown up and not frighten so easily. She had been pleasantly surprised when he hadn't.
Now, they were outside of the palace again, and fighting. The arrancar went down pretty easily. She was shooting kido, taking them out one at a time. Toshiro was beside her, using his zampakto to freeze the enemy in their tracks.
Hinumori didn't like killing people, or anything really, but it had been drilled into her to do so by the academy. And because of her schooling, she had learned to appreciate a certain aspect of powers. And she did admire Toshiro's.
She was just glad that not everyone she loved in her life had abandoned her- especially Toshiro.
She was surprised when the enemy had suddenly turned back and ran. She had been really surprised, actually and had watched in slight shock as suddenly everyone turned and fled.
She hadn't been paying attention and stepped forward so see them flee. "Where are they all-" She slipped on loose gravel and slipped backwards, eyes going wide as she realized she was going to crack her head against the piece of wall behind her.
Before she could hit anything, she was suddenly enveloped in cold air, the warmth of a body pressed to her back.
"You should be more careful." Hitsugia grumped, pushing her back up to her feet. "This is a bad place to get injured."
She nodded, not noticing how red her face had gotten. "O-Okay."
"Anyway," Hitsugia slipped his arms away from here, aware she had her footing back. "We should go inside and tell Halibel that this has happened."
Momo wasn't one to get jealous. But she did have to wonder exactly when Hitsugia started referring to the woman so casually. She pretended not to notice.
They flashed back to the castle, apparently not the first one there.
Halibel was sitting at the table, Ulquiorra and Orihime both talking to her as they stood to the side of her chair. The human girl was the only one who looked excited. Tia seemed indifferent, and the espada seemed… almost anxious, but not quite.
Toshiro approached Halibel, his face cool and impassive.
"Thank you!" Orihime cheered, twirling around in a circle before latching onto Ulquiorra's arm. "Let's go!"
"You do not need to shout." He murmured to her, but none the less started toward the door, not giving any of the shinigami to have entered the room a second glance. The door closed behind the twosome with a light thud, plunging the room into silence.
Toshiro took up the deserted place besides Halibel. "We-"
"You're looking cool as usual." Halibel commented, cutting him off.
"As are you." He added, a twitch at the corner of his mouth. "I won't ask how you got out of my ice prison."
She nodded, eyes carefully assessing him.
Hinumori filled her cheeks with air were she stood in the doorway.
"The troops from the apposing side-"
"Disappeared?"
"…Yes."
"They did yesterday. You may roam the palace as you will while they are not here. If you wish to eat dinner, then be back here in an hour. It is being prepared as we speak." She took in a breath of air before continuing. "You have been granted the only other room we have been able to open up- it is in the third tower- it had belonged to the fracìons of the fourth before Ulquiorra. He did not require the room, as he had no one to occupy it. I had a team take the liberty of un-sealing it for you."
Toshiro nodded. "Understood." With that he turned on his heal, swiftly coming back over to Momo's side.
And was it just her, or was Halibel checking out her little Shiro's butt?
It had to just be her. … Right?
"Well you're certaintly friendly with Halibel-san." Momo commented offhandedly as they left the room, heading through the doors opposite to those Ulquiorra and Orihime had exited through.
Toshiro, being the brilliant prodigy that he was, picked up on her tone right away. He waited until they were a good way down the hall to speak. "Are you… jealous, Momo?"
She puffed out her cheeks again, her arms going ram-rod strait at her sides when her fists curled. "No!" She protested, coming to a complete halt.
He smirked. "You are!"
"Am not!"
"Are so!"
"I am not!"
"You are!"
She glared at him, putting her hands on her hips. "No. I only like tall boys." And with that declaration she started walking forth again.
He recovered from the blow seconds later, hurrying to catch up to her. "What do you mean you only like tall boys? Back in the Rukon you told me-"
"Well I guess I grew up then?" She rushed out, stopping again and fighting back her blush. She knew what she had told him- she had admitted that she actually liked short kids.
He blinked. "Well so have I." He coolly intoned. "I'm not 'short', Momo."
She turned to rebuke, to tell him that he was short, but then was hit with a sudden realization. He was taller. He was just barely taller than her! Sure, it was actually his hair that made him taller, but… he wasn't so short anymore.
Maybe she did like tall boys.
"Whoa…" She didn't realize she was staring until he suddenly waved his hand in front of her face.
"Momo. Snap out of it." As soon as she blinked Toshiro started walking again. "Come on." He insisted, back to being cold. "We need to find our room."
"Our… room?" She followed along behind him. "O-Okay."
As she walked along behind him, she made yet another discovery after thinking back to what had set of her small bout of jealousy- Halibel. Had the woman really been looking at his butt? Surely…
Whoa.
Since when did Toshiro have such a nice butt?
~o0o~
Orihime looked around the kitchen in awe. "Wow… this place.." She broke off into a huge smile, throwing her arms up in the air. "It's perfect!"
Ulquiorra dully looked around the kitchen, not getting what she saw in the place. It had been constructed based off of a picture of a World of the Living kitchen. It was pure stainless steel, to start off with. There were two sinks, three ovens, a giant toaster over, a high-tech toaster for bread. A giant fridge, a counter lining the wall along with an island counter, a freezer big enough for Grimmjow to hide in- long story- and anything a chef could ever want. Plus the cabinets full of…
"Food!" Orihime jumped into the giant walk in closet filled to the brim with any food one could ever want. She rubbed her hands, smiling brightly, and with a gleam in her eye declared, "Let's get cooking!"
Ulquiorra, of course, took orders from the woman whom had suddenly turned into a culinary general- he the faithful privateer. He minced, and stirred, and checked the fires. He thought it was tedious work that should be left to a servant.
He didn't mind telling her that.
"Woman, this could all be prepared in a lesser amount of time and with more expertise if you would simply let a servant attend to it. This work is not only below you, but it is tedious."
She turned from where she was stirring her soup, appalled. "Ulquiorra! How could you say that?! Farmers back in the world of the living slave away all day to get this food for us! The least we can do is make it. Besides," Now she screwed up her face. "I don't want to force someone to work to make my food if they don't want to. And it's fun, anyway!" She went back to stirring her soup with renewed vigor.
He felt the slightest bit of irritation knowing she was that passionate about food and yet hadn't seemed to give it a second thought when she was a prisoner there. If only she had wanted to eat it so badly back then… he wouldn't have suffered so many headaches, and many less people would have received his infamous scowl.
"Woman, I do not think that marshmallows should be put into a soup…" He said at one point. He watched in dread as she added onions to the mix.
"Nonsense!" She cheered. "It will be delicious."
He shook his head, but continued with helping her cook. He was currently mincing cabbage. It was to be added to the banana sauté, which would then be spread over the top of bread stuffed with beans and chocolate chips.
He wasn't going to ask.
He watched as she skipped over to the oven, opening it a crack and smiling at the rush of warm air that escaped it. She squealed in delight and yelled about how the "Super yummy ham mix" was almost done.
She ran back to the long counter then, bumping her hip against his with a laugh as she passed him. He stopped what he was doing at the island counter, looking over his shoulder in slight surprise. Was the woman challenging him? She had a very sharp hip-thrust.
He watched as she started stirring something blue in a big white bowl, and then put down the knife he had been using to chop up the cabbage.
Judging by how she had her hip popped out and ready for attack, he would definitely say she was trying to engage him in a small battle. With narrowed eyes he came over to her side, opposite of her attack hip.
"The cabbage is minced, Onna."
She turned to him. "It is?"
Bump.
The same moment she turned to look at him he quickly jerked his hip to the side, bumping her own without mercy. She stumbled a step, eyes wide and blinking, before looking back up at him in surprise. After a split second her surprise melted away to be replaced by deviousness. She came rushing back over to him. Jumping in the air with her hip thrust out.
He moved back just in time, hands going out to grasp her waist and pull her to the ground. He trapped her, her back to his front as she faced the counter.
Slowly, to strike up the fact he had her pinned, he moved his lips to her ear. "You are playing a dangerous game, woman."
In reply she scooped some of blue stuff- "frosting" she called it- out of the bowl. She happily popped her fingers into her mouth, her mood warm and happy. She licked her hand clean, going back for seconds, not seeming to mind that Ulquiorra had her trapped.
He was confused. "Onna, what are you?"
"This frosting is so yummy! Even if it could use a little bit of chili powder." She licked her second scooping away, the blue frosting disappearing into her mouth.
With her clean hand she scooped up a little more, somehow managing to turn around in Ulquiorra's arms. "Taste it." She said with a smile. "You'll like it, I just know it!"
With a raised eyebrow he gently took her wrist into his hand, raising her fingers to his lips. Her fingers didn't repulse him, even as they passed his lips, while usually if anyone tried to engage in such an act with him he would be repulsed into shooting a cero through their skull. Her fingers were… her own. He didn't mind them at all.
The blue was sweet, surprisingly so. He could tell that she had not yet added anything to it that would make it more to her liking, as it tasted good enough to be sold in stores. That, or she was just really good at making sweets.
He licked her fingers clean, still holding her wrist as she smiled up happily at him, though a light blush dusted her cheeks. "Do you like it?"
In reply, he leaned forward, catching sight of the blue in the corner of her mouth. "Exquisite." He answered.
He could taste the frosting in her kiss, the sweet flavor lingering over her mouth.
She had just begun to really apply herself to the kiss when one of the timers in the kitchen went off. She jerked back from him, suddenly all bubbly cook again.
"The super yummy ham mix!" She cried. She was out of his arms in seconds, the taste of frosting leaving with her. She hurried to the oven, throwing it open, and crying out in delight. "It's perfect!"
He sighed.
If anyone ever said "super yummy ham mix" again he was sure that he would have to restrain himself from injuring them. He suddenly was filled with strong dislike for the thing.
"The super yummy ham mix should be put with…"
Well, the onna could say it as much as she wanted. She was an exception.
He watched as she flounced about the kitchen, a ray of sunlight dancing over the interior of the palace.
She was always the exception, wasn't she?