Szayel listened to the echo of his heels on the marble floor as he walked the halls of Las Noches. The noise sounded off to him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on why. It wasn't until he was halfway to his destination that he figured it out.

When had he become used to hearing her footfall along with his own?

He continued deeper into the heart of Las Noches, far underground where the Privaron Espada resided. No one ever went there, not even Aizen himself. And why would he? They were nothing but canon fodder in the event Las Noches was invaded.

Unlike other Arrancar, who were engrossed with sparring, Szayel didn't train nearly as much. Not because he didn't appreciate the importance of physical strength. He simply held mental ability in a higher regard. But today he felt the need for battle. His body felt almost foreign to him, and he couldn't concentrate on anything for more than ten seconds. He hadn't been this restless since before he was assigned to be Orihime's guard.

That was why he was there. Szayel knew of only one person who'd be willing to spar with him and still have enough battle prowess to keep the fight interesting.

"Cirucci Thunderwitch!" yelled Szayel, shoving the doors to her domain open.

He sensed for her reiatsu and found it on one of the more distant pillars filling the room. She sat with her legs crossed inspecting her nails, her whip at her side. She didn't bother looking up.

"What's this?" Cirruci jumped down and sashayed over to him. "And what does the exalted Octava Espada want with a nobody like me?"

Szayel's jaw clenched. "Spar with me."

"Oh?" she asked, with a raised brow. "I thought you preferred staying cooped up in that lab of yours, hovering over some ridiculous new experiment, poking and prodding until you get the reaction you want."

"The reason's not important," said Szayel, his hand on his zanpakutou, prepared to draw it out.

Cirucci's hand covered his and shoved the sword back into its sheath. "The reason isn't important? First, you willingly come here—to fight, of all things—and now this? There must be some interesting explanation for this turn of events. Having 'women' issues?" A muscle in the corner of Szayel's eye twitched. Cirruci's grin grew wide, almost feral. "It is! How pathetic. And here I thought you'd never get over me."

Szayel smirked coldly. "Well, we all make mistakes."

"Your words wound me," she sneered, hands resting on her hips. "So, tell me, who is the fortunate—or, in this case, unfortunate—object of your so-called affections?"

Szayel sighed. Perhaps coming hadn't been such a good idea. "I'm not here to make idle chit-chat."

"You know, there have been rumors about that girl Aizen-sama brought from the human world," said Cirruci, and pulled her whip from her side. The end dragged on the floor as she circled him. "Do you want to know?"

"Stop with your games, woman." The mental image of his fingers wrapped around her neck, stopping her infernal chatter, offered Szayel more relief than it should have.

Cirruci stopped pacing. "Hmph! As if you have any right to say that. You're notorious for toying with people's minds! Or am I thinking of someone else?" Szayel remained silent. "As I was saying, rumor has it the Cuatro Espada, her usual guard, has been on more missions as of late, and that there's a new guard to take his place while he's gone. I didn't really think much about it when I heard the news. But then a certain Octava Espada shows up, looking quite the part of a lovesick puppy-dog. What a coincidence, don't you think? Perhaps the two are somehow related."

Szayel's mouth twisted into a cruel smile. "Is that all? If you won't spar with me, I have more important things to do than listen to your flawed theories." He turned on his heel.

"What do you want with that whore, Szayel?" Cirucci demanded.

In the blink of an eye she found herself pinned to one of the posts, Szayel's hand wrapped around her neck.

"As if you have the right to say that," he spat back.

Cirucci's nails clawed at his hand, her mouth opening and closing in an attempt to speak. Reluctantly Szayel lessened the pressure on her throat. She coughed a couple of times.

"Did I hit a nerve?" she asked, smirking. "Like a good little lap dog when its mistress is in distress. What possible interest you could have in this human girl? Do you want to know what I think?"

Szayel's eyes narrowed. She was baiting him, and he knew it. "What?"

"You want to taint her," said Cirruci resolutely. Unconciously Szayel lessened the pressure on her neck. "It's true, isn't it? She's like an angel, a being so pure that shouldn't even be in a place like this. That's what draws you to her, like a moth to a flame. But at the same time it disgusts you. She represents all you'll never be, all that you'd never want to be. You want to drag her through the dirt, ruin her until she's as tainted as you. Then, and only then, can she truly be yours."

Her fingers touched the tip of his zanpakutou and stoked down the length of it as far as she could reach. Szayel slapped her hand away. He turned around, and only then did Cirruci's hands reach up to massage the soreness in her neck.

"You disgust me," he muttered.

Another day, another mission. Orihime didn't mind. It allowed her to spend time with Szayel. Warmth made its way to her cheeks. He had done so much for her recently. It really wasn't fair.

Maybe she could do something in return to thank him.

"I'm leaving, Inoue," said Ulquiorra, his voice cutting into her thoughts.

Orihime's head snapped to where Ulquiorra stood a few feet away, his posture less stiff than usual. "Did—Did you call me by my name?"

First he asked her a question without any prompting, and now this. What next? The only thing Ulquiorra could do to shock her now was come into her room with a puppy and demand they call it Fluffy. The mental image of Ulquiorra holding a small white dog in his hands, its tail wagging enthusiastically, with both his and the dog's eyes shining bright, popped into her head.

Orihime could barely contain her laughter. Ulquiorra stared at her, not sure how to respond. He exited the room before she had a chance to say anything more.

Her laughter ceased the moment he shut the door. Orihime looked at the spot where he and couldn't help the smile that made its way to her lips. She never thought she would hear Ulquiorra call her by her name. It was always 'woman' this and 'woman' that.

It was a nice change of pace.

Orihime sat waiting for the door to open and for Szayel to enter. He would greet her in his usual way, and they would head over to his domain, either sit in the garden or talk with TREA, who was quite the conversationalist for a machine. She pushed up the fabric of her uniform to check the time, only to remember that she hadn't brought her watch with her to Hueco Mundo.

Worry started settling within her. This was the longest Szayel had taken to come over. Did something happen to him?

Finally the door opened and Szayel walked in. Orihime's eyebrows furrowed upon seeing him. Something felt off. The way he held himself was stiffer than usual, the smile on his face not quite right. Most importantly she could feel the waves of tension rolling off him.

"What's wrong?" she asked, and stood from the table.

Szayel shook his head. "Nothing important, Orihime."

"But there is something, important or not."

Szayel's smirked—a real smirk now. Damn her for being so perceptive. "I've been more stressed lately, that's all. I tried to relieve it earlier, but that didn't work as well as I hoped."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Orihime, her frown deepening. Suddenly her face lit up.

Szayel knew that face all too well. It meant she had an idea. He was partly concerned by this fact.

"Can Arrancar eat?" she asked, her hands clutched together.

"Our sustenance comes from reiatsu," said Szayel uncertainly, "but we can eat human food."

"And you can taste it?"

"Yes…" Szayel could practically see the wheels in her head turning.

Orihime's face had a set, almost determined look to it. "I have the perfect solution to relieve you of your stress. I'm going to make you some good-old Orihime-style cooking! Hmmm….or maybe…I could make that…"

Szayel wasn't sure he wanted to know what that was. He felt a light tugging on his hand, interrupting him from his thoughts. Was it really necessary for her to be so touchy-feely? He supposed he couldn't complain, not entirely, but having someone touching him, of their own free will, was still foreign to him.

Orihime held his hand, pulling him towards his domain. "Come on, Szayel. Off to the kitchens!" She pointed down the hall.

"Orihime," he said, shaking his head, "the kitchens are on the other side of Las No—" He stopped, noticing the grin that'd formed on her face. Szayel couldn't help mirroring her actions. "How very cunning of you, using me to tell you where the kitchens are."

"I guess that means you have no choice now but to show me the way, or I'll continue using you as my compass."

That wasn't necessarily true, but Szayel found it more interesting to humor her. "I guess you're right," he said in mock-weary. "I'll lead the way."

Orihime released his hand and started walking next to him. "Do you think the kitchen has all the ingredients I need for my recipe?"

"I doubt it."

Szayel pushed the kitchen doors open, startling the Arrancar cook, while Orihime looked around at the white speckled countertops and the different types of cooking devices. She was happy to find a stove in the back of the room.

"If Arrancar don't need to eat human food," Orihime said, "why do you have a kitchen?"

"Aizen-sama and the two Shinigami still need to eat," said Szayel, swiping his glove on the countertop. Not a speck of dirt. "What ingredients do you required?" He glanced at the Arrancar cook, who had remained silent since they arrived. "He'll obtain them for you in a quick and timely manner."

The cook nodded quickly.

"I'll need…" She listed off the ingredients in her head. "Two pounds of cacao, a pound of sugar, some cinnamon, powdered cloves, chili peppers and vanilla. Oh, and some water! I think that's it."

"You heard her," Szayel said, and noticed the other Arrancar was only too happy to leave. "It shouldn't take long."

"All right." Orihime leaned against the island in the center of the room, next to Szayel, while they waited. "Say, can Arrancar sing?"

He blinked. "Hmm?"

"Can Arrancar sing?" repeated Orihime, laughing at his expression. "I know, I know! I always ask such weird questions—"

"Indeed. But that's not a bad thing," Szayel said. "Why do you want to know?"

Orihime shrugged. "I was just curious. According to what you and Ulquiorra have told me, Arrancar don't need to eat human food and don't need to sleep. If that's the case, then what can you guys do?"

Fall in love? whispered an insidious voice that sounded suspiciously like Cirucci.

"I'm afraid I don't know. I've never heard an Arrancar sing before, but that doesn't necessarily mean we can't."

"I really hope so. Maybe you should try when you're by yourself, Szayel," Orihime said. "It would be a shame if you couldn't. Though I guess if Arrancar could there would be some who could sing and others who…"

"Couldn't?" Szayel finished, and she nodded. "Well, if not, at least we won't have to deal with any tone-deaf Arrancar who are under the impression they can sing."

Orihime laughed. "That's true."

The Arrancar cook Szayel had sent out earlier entered the room. He lugged the batch of ingredients to the countertops and left, not wishing to disturb the Octava Espada and the strange human Aizen had sent for. Szayel stared at the ingredients. He couldn't help wondering what she would make, although he would find out soon enough.

"Okay," said Orihime, looking in the counters for the supplies. "I need a sauce pan, a bowl, a spoon…" She continued naming different items as she pulled them from their spots and placed them on the counter.

Szayel moved to help, but Orihime stopped him.

"You've done so much for me already: arranging for me to have something other than plain rice, giving me things to occupy my time here, letting me go outside Las Noches, giving me a necklace"—she touched the pendant around her neck—"giving me TREA, carrying me to my room after I sprained my ankle, playing Operation, giving me a garden, and…letting me have a bit of happiness."

Orihime blushed as she remembered the rain splashing against her face, eventually soaking them both.

"You were keeping track," Szayel said, his eyes wide.

Orihime nodded and then stopped. A frown tugged at her lips. "Compared to that, what I'm doing now is nothing," she said, but she shook her head and replaced the frown with a smile. "But it's a start."

To Szayel it was quite the opposite. Her one supposedly small act of kindness contained more sincerity than everything he had done for her combined. He watched her gather the ingredients as she muttered the directions aloud. After nearly spilling the mixture on herself three times, he handed her an apron.

"Thanks. I'd hate to get my clothes dirty," she said, as she tied the apron around her waist. "Oh yeah, I never returned the clothes you lent me from before."

"That's all right," said Szayel. "I was never particularly fond of that uniform."

Orihime took a small swipe of the chocolaty mixture from the spoon and tasted it, to make sure it turned out right. "Why not?"

"Bad memories."

Orihime looked like she wanted to ask him more about it, but she remained silent. She placed a saucer on the stove and fiddled with the knobs. A flame sprung to life.

"All I need to do now is boil the water and mix the paste with the water, and then, voila! Chili-chocolate!"

Szayel raised an eyebrow. "Is this another one of your creations?"

"Surprisingly no. We had a foreign exchange student, who taught me how to make it. She heard of my infamously…unusual sense of taste and thought if anyone would like this, I would. She was right. I think it's absolutely delicious!"

That was what worried him.

The water took longer to boil than Orihime originally expected. She figured it had something to do with the reiatsu in the air. It seemed to affect everything in this world, in some way or another.

"She's like the swallow that flies so high. She's like the river that never runs dry," she started singing. "She's like the sunshine…"

Szayel watched her lips move while she sang. There was nothing special about Orihime's voice. She could carry tune—he couldn't deny that—but she was nowhere near as talented as other humans he'd heard on recordings from the human world. But, like her laughter and smiles, there was something undeniably pleasing about it.

Orihime switched from singing to humming for the last half of the song. She was nearly done she noticed Szayel staring at her. She blushed and covered her mouth. "Sorry, Szayel. I didn't mean to subject you to my singing. I don't even realize I'm doing it."

"Not at all," said Szayel. "My only complaint would be I don't know how the rest of the song goes."

"Oh." She scratched the back of her head. "To be honest, that's the reason I started humming. I never got a chance to learn those lyrics in music class before—well, you know."

Szayel nodded. Yes, he knew exactly what she was talking about. But some things were best left unsaid.

The water finally came to a boil. Orihime turned off the stove and grabbed two mugs. She took three spoonfuls of the paste, leaving the spoons in the cups, then poured in the boiling water. She stirred and stirred until until the paste had dissolved.

She handed Szayel a mug, then started blowing on her drink before taking the tiniest of sips. "Even better than usual!"

Szayel eyed the contents of the mug. It didn't look outrageous, unlike her chocolate-peanut butter-rice combination, but that didn't mean he was keen on consuming anything she made. What was he talking about? If he couldn't handle this, he didn't have the right to call himself an Espada.

To his surprise, the chili-chocolate drink was as good as she said it would be.

"Thanks for letting me cook," said Orihime, once they returned her to her room. Ulquiorra was already there, eyeing the two as she stepped in.

Szayel shook his head. "I should be the one thanking you. Until next time." He noticed her smile, a blush forming on her cheeks, and listened to her door shut as he walked back to his domain.

Lumina and Verona greeted him upon his arrival. "Szayel Aporro-sama!" Lumina called out, far less annoying than usual. Odd. "Aizen-sama has an experiment he would like completed right away."

He nodded wordlessly. Szayel walked to his laboratory to get started. He still felt tense, but there was no denying he felt much better than before.

A smirk formed on his lips. Perhaps that drink of hers really had help.

Taking a moment to get settled, Szayel unknowingly started humming the melancholic tune Orihime had been singing earlier that day.