The next day in school she stared out the top floor window with a face of thunder, nothing seemed to be taking the bitter taste off of the tip of her tongue.
"What's wrong this time?" the girl from yesterday enquired, wandering up to Gwen.
"Apparently he wants something that lasts forever." she sighed, rubbing sleep out of one of her eyes.
"Write him a poem, or a song." the girl suggested, heading into the classroom while Gwen frowned a little. She doubted Ulquiorra would like a poem or song written for him.
In Art class Gwen had taken a rock in from outside and had started carving a poem into it, which was harder than she imagined, as they kept breaking when she hit too hard. Going through numerous rocks the young teenager eventually found the bell to go home had rung, but she was certain she would not leave until the task was done. Working late into the evening Gwen had accidentally fallen asleep in the room, her cheek squished against the side of the rock.
Twitching and mumbling the green haired teenager sighed, her body tensing when she was stirred awake by someone gripping her shoulder.
"Five more minutes." she complained, taking their hand to pull it against her face. It was soft and furry, which only made Gwen fly out of her seat that little bit faster than usual.
"Is it midnight?!" she asked, confused and disorientated by the whole experience.
"No. You didn't come home so I came looking for you." the ebony haired demon uttered, watching her catch her breath and sort herself out.
"Oh." Gwen sighed, examining the rock she had just finished before dozing off. "Your fourth present is a poem carved into a rock." she uttered, picking up the small slab of stone.
"A poem?" he asked, taking it to examine. "In moonlight bathed, with crown atop, there sat the Elfin king. His robes of silk were spider-spun, his crown was burnished gold. His emerald eyes, so clear and young, at once so wise and old." he murmured, peering down at her.
"A poem written by a human I'm fond of." she spoke, yawning a little.
Standing up Gwen stretched and picked up her school bag.
"Since you can fly, and you've been mean to be the past few days, can't you fly me home?" she asked, peering at him.
"The humans would see you flying." he stated, but Gwen simply looked to the dark sky outside.
"At least walk me home. I can't give you presents if something happens to me." she uttered, leading him out of the school.
"You're leaving it a bit late to go home, Gwen." spoke of the teachers, but she just smiled at him.
"It's alright, I've someone walking me home." she explained, while they simply nodded and let her out.
The forest was quiet at this time, her feet being the only thing that crunched across the ground. Ulquiorra on the other hand did not make a sound, but that was perhaps because he was not mortal.
"It's really nice out here." she spoke, looking up at the sky while Ulquiorra just continued to stare at the back of her head.
Stopping at her door Gwen peered back at the prince.
"Thanks for walking me home." she uttered, smiling at him gently. "I'll see you tomorrow, I guess?" she enquired, while he simply nodded and disappeared as he did the other night. Trudging inside Gwen shut the door and locked it, her feet scraping off the floor as she headed upstairs and ran herself a bath. Taking a deep breath the green haired teen groaned and disappeared under the water, her head leaning back so that she could examine the ceiling.
Part of her had began to hope that he would bring her a gift at some point as a thank you. She was pretty sure what was not about to happen though. Finally relaxing into the bath Gwen had began to fall asleep again, but this was disrupted quickly.
"I forgot to tell you something." Ulquiorra spoke, making her jolt in the bathtub, and scream as she turned to throw her scrub brush at his face.
A few minutes later Gwen was sitting in her bathtub with her arms crossed, far angrier than ever before, while Ulquiorra stood outside with a red mark burnt into the centre of his face.
"Learn to knock!" she shouted, having nothing more to throw at him to keep him outside. "What do you want anyway?" she asked, knitting her eyebrows together as she got up to get out. She had probably soaked enough now anyway.
"I found a way in which you can come to the harvest moon festival." the prince explained.
"Why would I want to go?" Gwen enquired, drying herself off with a towel as much as she could before she picked up her bathrobe and tied her hair back using a hair towel.
"You have no decision in the matter." the prince stated, taking a step back as Gwen opened the bathroom door and came outside.
"I think I do after you walked in on me in the bath, you pervert." she hissed, just about ready to throw something else at him.
"I've no interest in you physically." he stated casually, following her around.
"And I've no interest in going to the moon harvest festival." she grumbled, flinching when he cornered her and came to stand against her.
He stared at her for a short period of time, while Gwen refused to falter against his demands. Tensing up completely when he grabbed either side of her face the woman squealed and punched him as hard as she could when he licked both of her eyes.
"Ew!" she shrieked, trying to rub the spit off of her scrunched up face. "You're disgusting!" she squeaked, hitting him in the chest yet again, which did more damage to herself than him. "Why would you lick my face?!" she demanded, trying to open her eyes.
"So you can see yokai." he explained.
"Licking my face helps me see monsters?" she asked, still rubbing her face. "I don't want to see them." she protested, looking up at him. "Seeing you is enough." she grumbled, catching the green of his eyes glint for a moment. Had that comment angered him?
"I will expect my fifth present tomorrow." he stated passively, whipping off into the shadows in such a way that she had to hold her dressing gown down so it did not fly up.
What confused Gwen the most was the fact that she could see him but not other demons, why did she need him to lick her face before she could see other yokai? Such a question churned around in her head all the way up until she fell asleep, and continued once she awoke that next morning. On the way to school nothing seemed different, but she did stop to examine a pair of strange creatures following a student along the road. When they paused to look at her she attempted to pretend she could not see them by examining the cat she had fed before.
"So you own that cat?" she enquired, kneeling to pet him for a moment.
"Oh, you've met Nyanko-sensei?" he asked, watching the strange green haired girl stand up again.
"He followed me for a little while until I fed him. He's cute." she uttered, waving goodbye to them before she carried on her way.
They were behind her for most of the trip, as it seemed they went to the same school, and occasionally she could hear the two demons speaking to the boy, who seemed to be named Natsume, though she tried not to make it obvious she was listening in. Gwen almost squealed when something ran out of the field past her feet though, and she all at once froze when she looked behind her at the four sets of eyes staring at her looking rather bewildered.
"I think a mouse ran past my feet." she uttered, laughing nervously before stilling for a moment. Their expressions did not change much, causing her to become flustered as she bowed and ran off down the road.
By the time she had finally gotten to school she was out of breath, and jumping at the slightest thing. Even the teacher putting her books down made her flinch, which was only funny for everyone else in the class.
"You're really jumpy today." the girl chuckled, turning to look at her during break. "Did you see a ghost or something? I heard you stayed here really late last night." she gossiped, while Gwen simply shook her head.
"No, I'm just tired I suppose." the green haired teen explained, laughing nervously as she rubbed the back of her head.
Later into the afternoon Gwen had come across a group of girls yelling about a horrible big rat that had come through the window, and upon further inspection she found herself confronted by, not a big rat, but a massive bat.
"Ulquiorra?" she enquired, flinching when the bat launched itself into her arms.
"Ew, ew! Why are you holding it?!" the girls protested, looking at the black and white creature.
"It's just a bat. He's not going to hurt you.. I think." she murmured, only making the girls squeal far louder than before.
Bringing him somewhere far quieter Gwen put him down on one of the unused desks in a dusty classroom and narrowed her gaze, he had better have had a good explanation for coming here.
"I want my present." he uttered, while the young woman just deepened her frown.
"You're getting earlier and earlier." she murmured, rustling about in her bag before producing a small rock.
"You hold it and it changes colour depending on how you feel. Since you seem disconnected from your own, this might come in handy." she uttered, allowing him to take it after he had turned back into his original form.
Holding it in his palm he eventually opened his hand, though it had not changed colour, making Gwen hum and take it to test on herself. Upon opening her hand it had changed for her, becoming a dark red.
"What a useless stone if it only works on humans." he grumbled, being given it back.
"Too bad." she murmured, shutting her bag again.
"Your attitude is beginning to wear thin on me." he uttered, while she simply turned to glower at him.
"My attitude?" she asked, ready to complain at him before pausing to think it over. Arguing with him was probably going to get her nowhere at this rate, causing her to contemplate a different method of action.
Lolling her body forward Gwen placed her hands on either side of the table and examined him, the edges of her lips curling a little more than usual as she leaned in. "I guess I have been a little harsh." she murmured, sliding her hand up his hand and arm. "I have a special present for you tomorrow." she uttered, leaning in closer to his face.
"Gwen, what are you doing?" came a teacher's voice.
"I was trying to get a window open. A bat flew in." she practically shouted, whisking around while pointing at the empty desk before flicking her head about to look around. "Oh, it's gone." she stated, being ushered out of the unused room before the roof or floor collapsed.
Having been told off continuously for a good fifteen minutes Gwen left the principles office black-a-fronted, her eyebrow twitching slightly as she found the nearest bathroom to sit in for a minute and calm down.
"Do all humans say such pointless things?" the demon asked, appearing to land on the toilet in front of her in the cubicle that she had locked herself within.
"Please leave me alone." Gwen murmured quietly, dabbing a bit of toilet paper against her eyes.
"Do you want me to spook them?" he then enquired, drawing a look of confusion from her saddened features.
"No, it doesn't matter. I shouldn't have been in that classroom anyway." she sighed, leaning against the bathroom stall door. "Why did you come back, you're not going to lick my face again, are you?" Gwen asked hesitantly, eyeing him up and down cautiously.
"I came to return the stone, it's of no use to me." he explained, but she did not reach to take it.
"It'll come in use to you some day, maybe you can give it to a princess." she uttered, opening the door to the cubical to leave.
Following her he peered down at the stone, finding himself increasingly curious as to what she was going to give him on the final day.
"Or did you come here expecting me to continue our discussion before?" she asked, washing her hands unnecessarily.
"It was remotely entertaining." he stated matter-of-factually, though she simply shook her head and picked up her school bag.
"You'll have to wait until tomorrow but feel free to come over earlier if you want to hang out or something. You just come and go, we don't really talk." she informed him, leaving the girls bathroom. "Don't stay in here, pervert." she murmured under her breath, feeling him dart past her in his usual hurry. A few guys cheering when the sudden wind lifted Gwen's skirt and made her yelp.
As she left the school that Friday afternoon Gwen was surprised to find Ulquiorra waiting for her, but he was stood at the gates in a form that everyone could see, and she would be damned if she did not think everyone was staring at him.
"He's so creepy." she could hear some of the younger girls whispering, while others just stared at Gwen as she came towards him and waved a little.
"What are you doing?" she asked through a bitten tongue, trying to be as friendly as possible around every watchful eye and ear surrounding her.
"I decided I'd walk you home. We can spend more time together." he stated bluntly, in his usual cold monotone that only made the numerous people, that already found him strange looking, all the more freaked out.
"Oh." Gwen spoke, trying to whisk him away from the gates as fast as possible.
Bringing him back to her house Gwen sighed and put her bag and coat away before going to make herself some tea, her eyes turning to peer down at the hole in Ulquiorra's chest curiously.
"No one saw that, did they?" she asked, while he peered down at it.
"Only you can see it." he answered, causing Gwen to sigh with relief.
"Do you want some tea?" she asked, seeing him nod after some thought. "I'm kind of surprised you know what tea is, since you dismiss anything human related." she uttered, putting water into her kettle.
"Tea leaves are not human exclusive." he stated.
"Neither are coco beans." she responded, raising her eyebrow.
"That is not a native plant." he uttered, playing with a small ornament on the dinner table.
"I guess not." she uttered, mulling it over. "I'll get you some coco seeds, then you can make your own chocolate and coffee." she uttered, while he simply raised his head to look at her.
"Coffee?" he asked, causing Gwen to blink.
"Oh, you wouldn't know what that is, would you?" she murmured, rummaging around for the jar of coffee grains she kept for late night emergencies.
Brewing him a small cup of the dark beverage she placed it before him, and was quite astonished by his pupils narrowing at just the smell alone. Taking a small sip he recoiled his head and examined the liquid as it began to settle.
"It's very strong and bitter." he spoke, drinking the rest of it without much effort. "Pour me more." he demanded, but Gwen just stared at him bluntly. "Please." he then spoke begrudgingly. Sufficed to say, the young woman regretted giving him all that coffee by the end of the evening, as he was darting about touching everything he could get his hands on and asking a million-and-one questions as he went.
"Yokai and coffee don't mix." she spoke, hearing something in the living room smash.
"I broke something, tell me what it was." he uttered, poking his head in.
"I don't want to know what you broke this time." she sighed, rubbing her eyes as she pushed her face further into her hand.
Entering to examine her he listened to her murmur a little.
"Are your eyes bothering you?" he enquired, while she nodded a little and flinched when he grabbed her face like last night. Licking her eyes like before he pulled away, while she groaned and tried to dry them again. "Does that feel better?" he asked, observing her as she slowly stopped fussing over what he had just done to think about it.
"Yeah, a little bit." she uttered, opening and shutting her eyes.
Looking up at the clock Gwen sighed, it was almost time for bed, but even as she went to get ready for bed Ulquiorra was still following her about. Using the chance to get changed when he wandered down the hall to look at some of the other empty rooms.
It was a foolish thing to do however, as he wandered in on her as she just slipped on her nightdress.
"Why do humans wear clothes under their clothes." he asked, referring to her underwear.
"Because it's hygienic, I guess." Gwen murmured, far too tired to throw more things at him that would only break.
"What is that?" he asked, examining the bed.
"It's a bed, have you never seen one before?" the woman asked, getting into it to get comfortable. She almost slapped him senseless when he got in with her though, and lay there on his back staring at the ceiling light.
Laying there Gwen began to chuckle gently, and then giggle and writhe about before she turned over and shuffled away from him.
"Why are you laughing?" he asked, observing her.
"Your fur tickles." she whispered, finding a better angle to sleep at. Feeling the bed shift Gwen opened her eyes and peered at Ulquiorra, who had taken on his bat form. Finding it far easier to get comfortable on the single bed now the young teen began to sprawl out, her nose tucked up under the demon while her hand cupped his back to hold him against her face.
"This is surprisingly soothing." she murmured, snuggling into his fur with a small blush. "Night." she spoke, while Ulquiorra's eyes remained open and watching her drift off to sleep.
Furrowing his brow Ulquiorra slowly opened his eyes and peered at the sky, a look of hidden confusion slowly coming across him as he sat up to look around the forest.
"Where am I…" he murmured, rubbing his face gently.
"Where is it, where is it?" he heard someone call, causing him to stand up so that he could see over the hill.
"A dream?" he enquired, seeing a young version of Gwen sifting through the water of a patch of rice crops. Slipping down the hill to come to the water's edge the yokai examined the small child, a look of panic covering her face as she dunked her arms back into the water.
"What are you looking for?" he asked, but she did not respond and simply turned to go through him. "I see." Ulquiorra murmured, turning to watch her quietly.
"I can't leave without it." she wept, tripping over and becoming soaked to the bone. "Shoot." she gasped, getting up quickly.
"Gwen!" someone shouted, making her flinch. "What are you doing?" a woman enquired, taking her by the wrist to drag her away from the crops.
"No wait, I lost my ring." she stated, struggling to get out of her grasp to no avail.
"You shouldn't have been in the water playing anyway." the faceless woman scolded, picking up her school shoes on the way along the path.
"No, I want to stay here. Just a little longer." the green haired child protested, fading into the distance.
Watching the world grow restless the dream soon departed, releasing the demon from its grasp so that he could open his eyes and examine the panelled ceiling of the bedroom he was in.
"Human's have such pointless dreams." he murmured, tilting his head to the side to examine the sleeping girl still resting beside him. In the morning Gwen had been going about the kitchen making breakfast, while Ulquiorra sat at the table observing her, his emerald eyes occasionally peering down at the food she had put in front of him.
"If you don't eat it it'll get cold." she spoke, pouring milk into a bowl on her side of the table.
"Is this my gift?" he asked, peering at the bacon and eggs.
"No, it's your breakfast." she responded dryly, putting the milk carton back into the fridge with a small thud.
Sitting down she pulled her seat in and put her hands together for a moment, thanking some unknown entity before she began to eat. Motioning for the bacon he picked it up and nibbled on the edge, while Gwen simply watched without specifically looking at him. A small chuff passing her lips as he practically inhaled the food, his eyes soon lolling up to look at her as she tried to hide her amusement by sticking the spoon into her mouth.
Observing the young woman Ulquiorra followed her around, his emerald eyes lolling about the town shops when they went into the city for the day. There were numerous glass windows with clothes and other manmade items on the other side, all of which the yokai took several minutes to stare at before Gwen tried to pull him away. In a few of the shops the ebony haired man came to the conclusion that he did not like clothes shops, as Gwen had stuck shirts, hats and even mittens on him and taken several pictures for her own amusement. All the while Ulquiorra annoyed her in return by asking her to buy him the most expensive looking items he could see.
At one point they went past a pet shop, where the demon paused to have a good look at a parrot perched outside in a large cage.
"Can I have this?" he asked, while Gwen gave him a simple look.
"What would you want with a parrot?" she enquired, sticking her finger through the bars to ruffle its plumage a little.
"It looks delicious." he responded in a plain voice, making Gwen laugh nervously when the shop keeper gave them a conspicuous glance over.
"That's a great joke, Ulq'." she stated, pulling him away from the front of the pet shop.
Ignoring any of his attempts to clarify that he was not joking Gwen finally shut him up with an ice lolly further down the street, where they had stopped to sit on the short wall of a water fountain.
"Ah." she sighed, stretching out her tired legs and wriggling her sore toes. "I think I'll take the train back." she murmured, massaging her knees.
"Humans get tired too easily." he uttered, perched beside her on the wall with the lolly dripping onto his fingers. He did not seem to notice however, while Gwen got out a handkerchief to wipe the red juice off of his hand and shirt gently.
Silently the prince watched her clean him and then go back to staring off into space, the teen only really raising her head now and again to look at someone she thought she recognised before she went back to daydreaming.
"We should probably be going." Gwen uttered, finally standing up to stretch and shake off the hazy expression.
"Very well." Ulquiorra uttered, standing up to follow her yet again.
For the rest of the day until the sky began to turn a soft shade of orange they had hovered around the shops, stopping at a restaurant to eat as they went before heading home on the train. Resting on the seat Gwen had began drifting off, her head lolling to the side as her body began to slump over until she was leaning onto Ulquiorra. Occasionally she would mumble to herself, while the demon stared out the window on the other side of the train to keep an eye on the passing farmland. Beginning to recognise the forests he soon woke the young woman up and waited for her to stand up before he followed her.
Back at her house Gwen seemed to be more awake, the brisk air clearing her mind as he reminded her that she had still not given him the last gift as she went into the living room.
"Wait here." she spoke, disappearing down the hallway. Waiting for her the demon glanced about, his head turning to examine her as she sat down with something hidden behind her back. "I decided to give you something a little different tonight. It was nice spending the day with you in town." the young girl uttered, a slightly shy expression crawling up her features. "Well, here you go." she stated at a hundred miles an hour, shoving a potted dandelion into his arms before leaning into kiss his cheek.
Drawing herself away from him slowly Gwen got up and darted off to go upstairs, shouting something about seeing him at the festival. Fixating his emerald eyes on the golden flower the thin yokai tilted his head up and put it down on the coffee table before heading to the steps to come after her. The green haired teenager had been hiding in her room at the time, her skin prickling when Ulquiorra came through the doorway to look at her.
"So that is all of the gifts?" he asked, examining her as she nodded and turned away from him slightly. "I can't say I'm pleased with all of them." he commented, stepping closer to her.
"You're far too picky." she responded, frowning a little as she remained slightly nervous. "The original deal was that I got you a present that you liked anyway." she mumbled, tensing when she felt him bump against her side.
"That did not allow you to neglect the gift choices." Ulquiorra stated, taking her cheeks in his hand to get her to face him.
"I didn't 'neglect them'. You just don't like anything you're given." Gwen retorted, crinkling her eyebrows together.
"Hn." he merely responded, leaning in to kiss her on the lips.
Fidgeting Gwen tried to pull away, though his hand kept her in place without much effort. Gulping she made a muffled noise into his mouth, the squirming from before ceasing as she just stood there.
"With no days left it's time I decide if I should kill you or not." he finally spoke, examining her thoroughly. "I think I'll let you live." he spoke after a long pause, letting her go so that she could distance herself from him. "As long as you give me gifts every day on the same week as the moon harvest from now on." he stated, while she slowly nodded in agreement of his proposition. "Very well, goodbye." he stated, disappearing out of the window before she could even speak to him.
Staring out the window at the forest Gwen frowned a little, somewhat expecting him to come back at any moment until it was finally midnight and he did not show up. In fact he did not show up again until that next year, on the first day of the week before the moon festival as he had promised. Each time he had showed up he had not changed in the slightest, whereas Gwen had slowly aged and changed in appearance numerous times, and by the time she was thirty Ulquiorra had found himself staring at her when he showed up at her door.
Gwen had never really seen herself having to remind him that humans aged rapidly compared to him, and as she explained it to him she seemed to almost feel minor fear in his voice.
"Humans do have a short lifespan." he reiterated, examining her closely.
"Sadly." Gwen responded, giving him a small smile in an attempt to console him while his expression grew firm. "What's with that look?" she enquired, giving him a lop-sided pout.
"Then I cannot leave it any longer." he stated, confusing her a little.
"What do you mean?" she enquired, looking at the dandelion he seemed to pull from nowhere.
"Come to the immortal realm with me. You can become a dandelion." he stated, while she simply gave him a small expression of surprise before she giggled a little.
"Don't be silly, I wouldn't make a good flower." she responded, while he just continued to give her a serious stare.
"Then come and live with me there." he tried again.
"And grow old in front of you?" she enquired, frowning softly.
"The land of the immortals stops all aging." Ulquiorra stated, while she simply sighed.
"Ulquiorra, I'm a human. I can't become immortal, that's not what I was born for." she murmured, cupping his hand between her own on her lap.
Stiffening the demon narrowed his gaze slightly, his body leaning in towards her.
"You would honestly refuse my offer?" he murmured, examining her.
"It's not that I want to refuse your offer, it just wouldn't be right." she explained. "Immortality is given to you because you've done something, or you're born into it. A frog can't become a princess." she uttered, while he just gave her a sharp stare.
"Then I will remain here and age with you." he stated firmly, gaining a soft sigh from her.
"You know you don't age, even in a place where things die of old age all the time." she gently spoke, reaching her hand up to pull his head onto her shoulder and stroke her fingers through his ebony locks.
"Then I'll take you back to the immortal realm by force." Ulquiorra uttered, wrapping his arms around her as his wings burst forth from his back and he began to lift her off of the ground.
"How is that fair?" Gwen scolded him, trying not to fall when she felt her feet lift off of the ground.
"And remaining here is?" he asked, stilling to hold her.
"Do you really want to spend an eternity with me?" she enquired, glaring up at him.
"Yes." he calmly responded, watching the glower on the face fade the longer she stared into his flickering green orbs.
Quietly she examined him, her feet finally touching the ground.
"You'll become bored of me." she murmured, escaping his grip once he seemed to have calmed down.
"I'm prepared to deal with that when the time comes." the ebony haired demon uttered, observing her expression grow weak.
"I can't go like this, my clothes would disappear." she spoke, pulling at her shirt. "My friends would wonder where I went." she added, beginning to worry about things that Ulquiorra believed to be unnecessary.
"You'll make new friends." he uttered in his usual placid tone. "As for clothes, I will bring you something that will not deteriorate." he added, drawing her towards the window.
"How are you so sure about this?" she questioned, gasping when he pulled her out and into the air.
"I've mulled it over for a while now." Ulquiorra responded, flicking his wings to gain a little more height.
"And if I told you I was scared?" Gwen asked, while he continued to watch where he was going.
"I wouldn't expect more from a human." he murmured, while she squeezed herself further against him and pouted at the insult.
Landing in a small patch of open grass Gwen glanced around, this place did not seem all that special. Her curiosity merely increased moments later when Ulquiorra shifted his hand into the air and began to twitch his fingers, her mouth opening at the sight of a blinding white light slowly cutting through the air and shadows. Squinting her eyes the woman felt his hand grip hers, causing her to look at him once she had adjusted herself to the light.
"Let's go then." he uttered, drawing her towards the light as she came to lean into him nervously.
"You'll stay close to me right?" she asked, not quite sure where they were going.
"Always." he responded calmly, feeling her hand tighten around his as they disappeared into the light.
All that was left to say they had been there after that was small orbs of light that slowly drifted towards the ground and began to fade, the breeze that was intense settling once more to gently swim through the trees.