Bleach 1. Prologue

**A/N:**** Really didn't want to do this but unfortunately it wouldn't leave me alone for three days straight and it was becoming a nuisance to my other fics. This is based upon that unmasked chapter that I found concerning Ulquiorra, before he became an arrancar/espada, only I've twisted it, so this would be an AU. Oh and I don't know exactly where this would take place, but I'm assuming sometime before the whole arrancar invasion incident possibly way before that. There may be some things a bit off but its just small details not worth putting a fuss over; a story's a story, ne?**

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own Bleach.**

**Prologue**

_Not a rabbit but a void distortion of space._

Orihime hummed a catchy tune as she made her way through the streets to go back home from a day at school. Her bag was heavy with a single bulky book and a few pages worth of homework that was due sometime this week. She wasn't so enthusiastic about doing it particularly because some of it had to do with math which most people dread and others would find it intriguing. Two individuals automatically came to mind in the subject instantly making her small smile grow into a grin. Ichigo despite his intelligence in school wasn't too thrilled in math while Ishida was rather fast at it despite the two's family that would know of such subject considering they dealt with medical needs. No matter how difficult school became it served to make her feel like a second home where she would be around friends, the closest she'd ever have to a family ever since that day her brother died in an accident. Her grin never wavered as she continued to recall the events; everything that had happened in the past days of her childhood where it was just her and her brother was etched deeply in her mind so as not to ever forget what was so dear.

However, just as she was about to shut the door to her apartment and begin her homework she heard a light knock. Turning to face the entrance she found that instead of her best friend Tatsuki, it was Ichigo, her classmate whom she secretly had a crush on. Feeling slightly embarrassed that he would show up out of nowhere, she offered a kind smile. His presence, though despite his good nature seemed disturbing for but a mere moment; he almost never visited unless under certain circumstances. Brushing that aside she decided to greet him.

"Kurosaki-kun, what brings you here?" He smiled in turn at hearing her lively voice before glancing around as if there was something he had missed.

"Uh, well there's nothing wrong just that Urahara said that there was a lot of unusual hollow activity around here. You haven't felt anything around here have you?"

She thought about it for a moment, recalling recent events that may have occurred earlier and shook her head, none seemed out of the ordinary and she certainly hasn't seen any nearby hollows lurking around since the last one and that was a few weeks ago.

"No, everything has been fine around here." He sighed in relief that there was nothing but at the same time it unnerved him, Urahara wasn't one to joke about the safety of others, so there must have been something he missed which in turn worried Orihime.

"Well that's good. If you hear or see anything be sure to call me and don't head in there alone." With that the boy left with a wave and proceeded to go investigate further at the other part of town.

Well it was odd that there was suddenly an increase in hollow activity without her knowing it, but it wasn't all that surprising since she was still trying to get accustomed to her own powers that rested in the form of her precious hairpins; with time and more experience she would get better and be able to protect her friends and fight alongside them. Closing the door, Orihime continued to think about the situation or to be exact what the situation could be. If there were to be too many hollows then it would most certainly become a problem that would catch the attention of Soul Society and that was something that everyone would like to avoid.

She turned her attention back on the forgotten homework material. Since there was nothing yet occurring then there was nothing to worry about, all she could do at the moment was be alert for anything.

-X-X-X-

The afternoon soon became night and it was then that Orihime had finally finished her homework. She stretched her aching muscles that had stayed in one position for too long and had leaned forward with a content sigh. It wasn't late but it sure felt like it. She began to wonder if she should just take a nap now and eat dinner later, but all thought was quickly thrown out the window as a light pressure fell against her very soul.

Her eyes snapped wide open as she swiftly sat up and carefully assessed the weight of this burden. The reiatsu was not completely stifling but it was sure to be disturbing as it weighed upon others that were like her, others being her friends or other shinigami near the area. She stood, still in her uniform and dashed out the door to try and pinpoint where the pressure was coming from, it wasn't very difficult seeing as the cause of such commotion was a Menos Grande not too far.

Orihime gasped at its size, sure she's one before but seeing one so close to her without anyone was a bit much on her part. She didn't quite have a full grasp on her powers on offense which would leave her at a slight disadvantage; the easiest way of dealing with a hollow was to strike at its face, right where the mask was and at her height such a task was impossible and her capacity of killing intent would hardly leave a scratch on the thing.

Her best objective would be to call Ichigo, he would be able to handle this job, but the situation just went from bad to worse when another one opened up a portal to enter Karakura. Just as she was about to bolt in the direction where she was sure to find her friends there was a bright red light, a split second warning before she was able to stop in time to avoid a very painful hit to the body.

There was a cloud of dust and with a few broken segments of cement and rock from the street, there were no major injuries to her but a mere scrape of her shin from skidding to a stop in such a rush. She glanced up and found that the target of its attack was her, its circular eyes fixed upon her own with nothing but killing intent swirling within its very being. Determined to get away and minimize the threat she got back to her feet and rushed blindly to try and distract the beast.

And that was her fatal mistake. One that she would find more terrible than anything she ever thought could happen to her. By keeping her eyes fixed on the hollow she failed to keep in mind the open portal that hovered behind it and she never realized that the direction in which she followed went straight to it. The Menos itself didn't pay any attention to its surroundings trying instead to incinerate the girl with such an appealing soul; they both failed to notice one guard that was sure to get their given job done.

All Orihime could recall was the mournful cry of the Menos as its face was slashed straight across, its body looking as though it would fall backward only to have its knee collide against the ground; the wind it created was enough to knock Orihime off her feet and fall right below where the portal hovered. She gasped as she saw that it began to slowly close without a sound and it seemed like all would be well.

Ichigo had done what was expected of him, but he never counted on seeing Orihime confronting a Menos Grande head on. He jumped off the building he was standing on to reach her. All would've ended well then, had it not been for the boy's carelessness to ensure that the Menos was completely down for at that exact moment it had fired another red beam, one that it had charged beforehand, in their direction, effectively hitting close to its mark, the force of impact was enough to hurl them both off their balance.

Ichigo managed to regain his footing before landing so harshly against cold stone, Orihime on the other hand was not so fortunate as to even land on solid ground. The closing of the portal was slow with the power of the Menos sustaining its form, now that it was as good as dead the entrance was quick to close and repair the ripped space. Just as it had reached the bottom part Orihime's body had fallen inside.

"Orihime!"

Ichigo tried to go after her; however, the distorted space had closed leaving nothing in its wake.

**A/N:**** This was just meant to be an introduction so it may be boring, but sometimes intros are. Its difficult starting off a story since it involves me to think way too hard which would result in the story being a sad sight. The second one will be more interesting since that's where Ulqui comes in.**


	2. Into the Nothing

**Chapter I: Into the Nothing**

Blood dripped from the white claws as the last of the black formed creatures dissolved into nothing. Beautiful emerald eyes looked on with apathy as he wondered what was to come next. Scanning around, he found that there was nothing left that would even be considered interesting in the surrounding area. His eyes glimmered in the darkness as he made his way down an unknown path. Around him were many beings but they were not so foolish as to bother him; some cowered behind solid rocks or the towering trees or scurried to bury under the thin pale sand. They mattered not, they were the lesser beings that would remain as they were, living just by breathing the air around them only to become food for another hunger crazed hollow of higher rank. Just as all things reflected in his eyes they were nothing.

Ulquiorra continued to walk along his path with the darkness and the meaningless hollows as his company but he was always alone; if one of the hollows grew bold enough to try and fight him then they would meet their end which would explain why some would remain to see if they would be safe from the others, this mainly consisted of lizard-like hollows that would occasionally chirp or hiss at one another. Despite their considerably weak presence they proved to be quite resistant to his reiatsu, but they knew well their boundaries and would never cross that invisible line that separated them from the vasto lordes, yet they knew that he wouldn't even waste his time with them, his mask covered his mouth thus he felt no urge to devour others and no urge to communicate with them as well. Sometimes though, their tactic wouldn't work and they would be forced to scurry away. Ulquiorra still wouldn't bother with them; there was no motivation in anything but his very being still told him to continue onward, towards that unknown destination.

Time passed and he has yet to come to the exit of the darkness but he knew he was close. Then, something odd occurred while walking. There was an unknown presence nearby, making him stop momentarily and remain still. The hollow lizards stopped as well and there was a moment where the silence was filled with their loud chirps and hisses, they glanced at one another and after reaching some sort of agreement made their way in a different direction away from Ulquiorra. Their forms created a curving line, disappearing from sight from taking a turn. They were headed right where the other hollows, the cannibal ones and the menos, were to sometimes gather in groups; this was odd for ones such as them to head straight into deaths jaws. Ulquiorra wouldn't have bothered to have cared had it not been for that strange sensation flowing through him. This feeling was that of a menos' movements between dimensions, but what had appeared was certainly not to par with the likes of them.

_This presence…_

His wings twitched and his tail swayed with curiosity, his instincts told him that it was nothing just as all others were nothing but he couldn't help but see for himself if what he felt was indeed nothing and so he followed the trail of lizards. As he walked the invisible boundary seemed to vanish as his feet felt the slithering movements around him; this presence was certainly odd to have made them less fearful for their own lives at being this close to one such as him.

The path turned into a clearing where the sand flowed in through gaps, creating piles of endless sand, some light from above peered through as well in some spots. There were many other trees now as well as paths but what had caught his eyes was that form, brightly colored and not like any other he has seen, face down on the ground, her hair a bright orange spread out around her. The lizards all gathered around, sniffing and nipping at her clothing to try and gauge a reaction from her but none came. There was a short chatter of chirping among them before they all buried under the sand beneath her and remained there. Apparently, they saw her as more of a protection from the cannibals than him.

Ulquiorra looked on in curiosity.

_This is nothing more than a human. What is something like her, doing in a place such as this?_ He questioned silently.

Then there was a slight pause in his thoughts, there was something not quite right with this girl. Curious as to see what it was he approached her, his eyes scanning all around her but from where he stood he could find nothing. With his tail he glided it through her back until he felt something rather sticky and warm through the material of her clothing; bringing up his tail he found it was blood. As soon as he found the source of the problem, the lizards appeared again and hissed frantically around her. Ulquiorra continued to examine the blood until he cleaned it off with a swift flick of his tail, ignoring the loud hissing coming from the hollows.

It was just another being that held no real importance in this world where darkness reigned over all. His eyes narrowed as the insistent hisses began to annoy him. Their red glowing eyes held anger and fear all at once, yet they still had the courage to actual try and threaten him? He was considering whether to do away with them until a soft groan escaped the girl's mouth from amidst all the hissing. Everything fell into silence as the beings watched her stir from her sleep. Her eyes opened slightly and instantly the lizards buried under the sand to hide from her and the vasto lordes who continued to watch with uninterested eyes.

"Where am I?" Orihime murmured as she slowly raised herself from the ground with her elbows. She winced as a sharp pain coursed through her body, leaving a dull throb to linger on her side and part of her back. She groaned again when she tried to touch her side only to gasp at the sight of blood staining the sand. She quickly sat up and scanned her surroundings. It was then that she noticed the shadow hovering over her. Looking up she flinched as Ulquiorra looked at her eyes. There was nothing but shock and confusion that swirled through her eyes.

"Who are you?" She asked hesitantly; her voice was shaky and slightly forced as she tried to ignore the pain in her side, but her fear began to slowly dissolve into mere curiosity when she saw that the being before her made no move at all, only lingering its rather intense gaze. Her eyes looked over Ulquiorra's body until she caught sight of the hollow hole at his chest.

"A hollow?"

Ulquiorra remained as he was, his expression never changing. The girl was nothing special at all. He silently cursed at himself for allowing her sudden arrival to actually catch his interest enough to distract from his path. Soundlessly he turned to tear his gaze from her and made his way back to where he would find the exit of this deep forest.

"Ah, wait!" She called out to him; ignoring the slight pain she stood and quickly followed him. She stopped at the sudden sound of moving sand and slightly turned to see a small little colony of lizards looking up at her with curious red eyes, they all chirped at her. 'These are hollows too…but they're different.'

She giggled when she knelt down to meet them at eye level making them gather around her more closely.

"To be honest, I didn't think hollows were capable of being nice." She spoke softly; still unsure if she should be interacting so close to what could possibly hurt her. They chirped again in response and then urged her to follow the rapidly moving vasto lordes. She seemed a little reluctant but having no choice she relented and allowed the little beings to guide her out.

"Um, excuse me, but do you know what this place is?" She asked as she neared him.

Ulquiorra continued to walk, not answering and not even bothering to spare her a glance. His wings flowed behind along with his tail, he felt one brush against the leg of the girl but even though she jerked away from him at the sudden contact he remained unchanged; even though he could tell she was warm it did nothing to react in any way.

Orihime sighed as she followed the odd hollow, her mind told her not to for who knows what a hollow would do to her, but despite the red flag this one did nothing to act in any violent way which eased her mind slightly. Even the little lizards seemed friendly enough, but she had to remain careful.

They continued walking, until there was a faint light seeping through the ever winding trees and the rocks. It was a soft light which automatically meant that it was night, so unlike the beaming rays of the sun.

Orihime moved a little faster to reach the exit, she expected to see buildings, sidewalks and street lights but what greeted her was nothing but endless sand, distant dead trees and a towering crescent moon. The small expectation of hope that welled within her fell at the harsh reality, she began to hope that this would just be a dream, but even her mind wouldn't come with something as barren and depressing as this.

_What else would this human expect?_ He ignored her presence as he went past her.

"Where are you going?" She went to catch up with him along with the group of lizards. They certainly felt smart for following this odd pair, surely nothing would bother them now.

"Hey, how come you won't respond?" She asked, leaning her head forward to sneak a glance at him.

"Is it because of your mask?" She prodded but Ulquiorra insistently continued to ignore her questions. She frowned, she quickly caught the hint that there would no response coming from the hollow beside her, but what else did she have? If she went off on her own then there may be others who would most likely not treat her the way the cute little lizards would or ignore her as the silent one. She sighed as she lifted one of the lizards to speak to it.

"Do you know a way for me to get home?" She whispered, unfortunately she was not given an answer. Her stomach growled and she felt fatigue creep in her body.

She didn't realize how dire her situation was before, but now after getting a good look at her position, she found she was in quite a predicament. Her wound didn't bother her all that much but it seemed to bother the others that would occasionally bump their snouts against her leg or sniff at it when she stopped to rest a bit.

She was beginning to get quite tired but if she stopped too long then her only hope of getting home would wonder too far and she would be left with nothing.

"Please, wait…" She whispered as sweat began to form at her forehead. She reached forward to lightly pull at the tip of his wing. He immediately turned around to pull it out of her grasp and stared into her tired eyes. The lizards also came to halt and began to hiss lightly.

"I'm tired." She mumbled before slumping down to her knees and falling to lie against her shoulder, her eyes fluttered to try and stay awake in order to keep watch of her only guide that wouldn't do anything but her body could only hold out for so long.

Ulquiorra stared at her for a moment before turning and when it seemed he would go the lizards panicked. They scrambled around to try and wake her up but it was futile. A few had tried to drag her but their strength was limited.

Ulquiorra turned again to glance behind him; a few of the lizards had followed him in hopes of getting him to help.

_Why should I bother to help a mere human?_ He asked to no one.

_She is nothing to me, just as everything has no meaning. Leave her and leave me. _He turned away again but this time there was a shriek.

Another hollow had found them, but unlike the others it was attracted more to Orihime rather than something like him.

The lizards hastily buried underground while the two near him remained as they were, looking frantically back and forth. There was nothing they could do, but hiss their fear.

This hollow was thin with a mask that resembled a snakes', it also had a similar forked tongue that occasionally flickered at Orihime seeming to find something quite alluring to him.

"What an odd being!" The snake-like hollow exclaimed with a bit of excitement.

"How rare to find something as delicate as this here, I'm surprised you haven't devoured her yet." Obviously the hollow was referring to Ulquiorra who looked on with passive eyes. The lizards around Orihime hissed violently as the hollow inched closer to their only other source of protection.

"Perhaps if you are not so interested by this girl, will you not relinquish her to me?" The hollow inched once more forward, its tail curling around her yet not quite touching her.

_No._

He had no voice in which to speak but his posture made it quite clear that he would not allow this hollow to simply take her as she was. He meant not to make it seem like he was protecting her, of course not.

However this hollow just as the others have detected as well, hinted that there was something to her that evaded him. The hollow frowned but he would not risk his life for something like this, it was clear who the victor would be in no time at all.

"I see, too bad. She would've escalated my power considerably, but I am no fool to challenge you at the state that I'm currently in, perhaps some other time then." He smiled widely before continuing in a different path. For once there were those that knew well their place.

Ulquiorra looked back at the girl with new curiosity.

_What is it that makes you so special? Would it really mean something if I kept you around?_ He silently continued to ponder this girl's existence in this world. He closed his eyes as though he were tired only to open them again and move to where Orihime was. The lizards became wary but still backed away with each step he made.

_I will see for myself if you are truly something to be admired._

He lifted her into his arms and gazed at her. He could feel nothing but for some reason he felt something that could not be described as physical contact. Whatever it may be, he ignored it for the most part and continued to make foot prints in the sand that would be erased by the little slithering and crawling of the hollows that refused to leave the girl's side.

-X-X-X-

**A/N:**** Haha, I sort of like this chapter. I added the little lizards 'cause I think they're cute and all the while I kept on thinking of those lizard dragon things. Uh, I think they were called Dodongoes or something but they're from Zelda. If there was any confusion, go ahead and ask me and maybe I can clarify anything. **


	3. Observation

**Chapter II: Observation**

The thundering footsteps of a rushing shinigami was all that could be heard as he quickly made his way through the barren streets of the town. His lungs were burning with each hurried breath, there was no time to rest; not one moment was to be spared. As fast as he possibly could he ran towards a small shop where there, a young boy and a young girl switched the sign from 'open' to 'closed'. Usually he was invisible to the eyes of normal people, but this shop along with its employees were not compatible with the word normal. The orange haired fellow screeched to a short halt in order to throw open the door, completely ignoring the startled shout of the angry red head while the silent girl merely stared at his back as he went further into the shop.

From inside a comfy small room there sat a man whose eyes were hidden by the shadow of his striped hat, drinking a warm cup of tea with the company of a black feline who flicked its tail occasionally. The man held a knowing smile as the hurried steps closed in to onto his domain.

"Why hello there, Ichigo!" He greeted warmly, his voice roused the cat from its light slumber, making it turn its head slightly to look at Ichigo with a bored expression. "What brings you here so late? The shop closed two hours ago." With a flick of his wrist he opened up a fan to hide the smirk growing on his lips.

"This is no time for joking, Urahara. Inoue's in trouble."

Once those words left him, the shopkeeper lost his smirk and his eyes that were gleaming with entertainment, darkened. He continued to lightly fan himself while motioning the boy to take a sit. Once he told him all that had happened he would find a solution, but for some reason he felt he wouldn't like what he had to say, of course no one would like a troubling situation, however this one seemed to hold more than what was expected. Whatever it was, they would deal with it as best as they could after all he was once part of the squad twelve of research and development as captain.

-X-X-X-

For hours they have been walking in no real direction, passing the same rough stones and the same dead trees. The lizards were the only ones that killed the still silence with their claws scratching against the sand or with their hisses when one would upset another, creating a small round of bickering. The colony was not at all big but fairly large to be crowding around the hollow who carried the sleeping girl in his arms. His eyes never wandered from what was ahead, never looked back at the loud lesser hollows or glance down at the girl he held; they were calculating, analyzing, and observing all that was reflected in them only to be met with the same boring results of nothing; nothing but the pale sand in the distance.

There was a subtle movement within his grasp and he finally tore his gaze away from the land to look down and stopped. Orihime moved her head to the side letting out a small groan, her face twisted into a grimace while she unconsciously reached to her side where the dried blood coated her clothing. The lizards swarmed around Ulquiorra at once hissing and chirping insistently, but their language was not one he could understand. She let out another groan and began to shift her weight as if to find a more comfortable position only to fall back against him just as she was.

Confused as to what to do he lowered her onto the sand where the lizards started to crowd around her and and around him. Expressionless eyes stayed fixed upon her while the lizards pushed their snouts against her shirt, lifting it up to reveal the nasty gash she had gotten when she fell against a sharp stone back in the darkness. It was truly a gruesome sight with the blood continuing to seep through the torn flesh and dry as well as a forming purple bruise, but he's seen worse. Unlike Orihime he could easily regenerate minor wounds such as those and worse, but humans were not like him, their regenerative abilities were far slower than any hollow's. He regarded her for a moment before looking back to the empty desert.

There was nothing there, so there was no hurry to get somewhere and it wasn't like he knew where he was going anyway. He felt movement from the many hollows that slithered every which way in slight panic whereas one stayed still near her side silently contemplating what could be done about the festering wound that began to bleed again. Ulquiorra turned his eyes to stare at the silent hollow lizard with a sudden interest, ignoring all the others that hissed at it either in anger or alarm it didn't seem to matter as the little hollow looked at the girl and glanced back at the colony and Ulquiorra.

With a soft chirp it climbed over the wound and began to glow a light green. Within an instant silence fell again, movement ceased and the lizards looked on as their comrade slowly faded into nothing taking the blood and the wound with it.

Ulquiorra didn't understand why that hollow did what it did. Apparently, they weren't so useless as they seemed, but their special ability was one that he could not comprehend; it was meant to help another at the cost of its own existence. Orihime soon relaxed again as the purple became nothing as well and fell back into her sleep undisturbed unaware of what was just done. That partially explained why they were in a group, but it still made no sense to him; did she really have a meaning to be here in this place where monsters roam?

He decided to just stay where they were until the girl woke from her sleep. He wanted to see if she was really something this world needed if the lower class that made up most of the population of hollows regarded as such. He watched as they continued to nudge the spot where their friend used to be, did they feel sad, did they feel anger, regret, pain? All that he couldn't, all he had was curiosity and common knowlege. Why did they not attack her then, if she would only be sleeping? Why did they not act as a hollow should?

_What is it that makes you so precious as to keep around?_

He slently questioned; he was a hollow too, yet he did not feel any urge to harm her in any way. He remained the same only now he tolerated her presence and even the annoying beings too. Of course, there were some among his kind that yearned for company, but the number of those with any emotion were slim, barely even known at all. The only meaning in this world was power, if one didn't posses it then they were as good as dead.

Hollows didn't need to sleep so he played watch dog while the reptiles huddled around Orihime who turned on her side and curl up close to them. They were becoming too comfortable of letting their guard down in his presence that's for sure.

-X-X-X-

"Hueco Mundo?" Ichigo repeated with a look of dibelief. The meaing meant Hollow World and the only thing he knew that had a similar name were those that he was assigned to eliminate around Karakura Town, the souls that were empty, void of all but sorrow, pain, and other negative feelings that made them what they were.

"Yes, it's a place where there are nothing but hollows; that is where the Menos came from. If Orihime fell into that portal then that is where she would end up. If we are to save her we must hurry, there are hollows that are above or at the level of a captain." Urahara stood and turned to face another door.

"Her chances at staying alive, even with her powers, are close to none." He let out a sigh as he led Ichigo to another room. "Fortunately though, there are very few of them, but still...there's no telling what's going on. Come on, I'll get you there soon, best you take Yoruichi with you too."

-X-X-X-

**A/N:**** YAY! Another short one! Pfft like that's something to be proud of, unless of course if it was enjoyable but I'm not very fond of this one. Please tell me if it sucked so that I can redo it or something. **


	4. Enemy

**Chapter III: Enemy from Now to Forever**

_"Orihime..." A soft voice called, one she has not heard in such a long time. _

_"Come now Orihime, you don't want to keep your friends waiting do you?" He asked with a smirk. She could feel the warmth radiate from the hand resting at the top of her head seep through the fabric as she remained covered in her blankets, despite his words she let out a low groan of reluctance making the man above exhale a tired sigh. Slowly, she cracked open one eye to peer through her covers to glance at him; she could make out his smile, his hair and even his clothing, but his eyes evaded her. Even though that one detail was not present Orihime knew who it was, the many memories stored within her made it impossible to forget someone as loving as her dear older brother._

_"So...ra... I don't want to..." She mumbled afraid if she went anywhere he would leave, but she was met with a round of soft laughter that reassured her a little._

_She loved his laugh and his smile; the reminders of her home. A smile made its way onto her face making her eyes heavy again with an overwhelming urge to drift back to sleep with this feeling of love and security, away from the loneliness._

_"It's time to wake up, your friends don't want to play without you, ya know." His voice mixed with the light, fading as the darkness washed over everything like a flood of rushing water._

The empty air of reality soon came into play as the sound of shifting sand and quiet chirps surrounded her. Orihime's eyes slowly fluttered open, focusing the blending colors until it smoothed over to reveal hollow lizards that stared at her with bright red curious eyes. There was a moment where nothing else could be heard but the faint whispers of the wind. Realizing that she was at the center of the colony she let out a surprised squeak and tried to push herself up to stand only to fall backward, almost crushing the poor things as they scrambled to give her enough room to move.

"Ah, I'm sorry!" She exclaimed as her hand landed rather harshly against the tip of a tail. Quickly pulling it away she found that the tail she crushed did not belong to any of the many lizards, but to the one hollow that was facing a different direction, looking as though there was something somewhere within the vast desert. He didn't face her right away, not even when he felt the pressure of her hand collide against his tail; his attention was directed towards where they had came from, back in the darkness where he wandered and found her.

"Uh, Mr. Hollow?" She called softly, wondering if perhaps there was something following them besides the little lizards who didn't look at all troubled.

After another moment had passed, Ulquiorra had finally turned to face her. Orihime had forgotten that she had followed him according to the little one's urges. 'His eyes...' She noted, 'they're like emeralds.' They glimmered against the light just like the jewels, but that light did not reach the depths within. Eyes are said to be the windows of the soul, but in his there was nothing. The thin streaks resembling falling tears didn't even look as though he were sad in any way; they were just there. _He_ was just there and it made her wonder if it was a mere mask to hide what he really felt or if it was reality. She couldn't really judge him if he couldn't even speak, but his actions did not offer much words either. He blinked only once and went past her to start back on the unknown trail, his wing brushed against her hand, moving slightly to reach her wrist as if to grab it, but it only slide through.

The lizards quickly followed suit; a few patiently stayed by Orihime's side as she stood and looked back to gaze where Ulquiorra was staring at only to find that there was nothing within sight. Nonetheless, she felt that there was, but only shrugged it off as another harmless hollow. How strange, she thought in a place filled with nothing but ravenous beings she should be terrified, but so far she hasn't met anything that was even remotely dangerous. The lizards never bared their fangs at her and the tall silent one never even raised a claw at her, in fact the lizards were the whole reason she was even with them.

'Better than being alone I guess.'

Far off, near the entrance where they had emerged a gaping hole ripped through the space with a young woman jumping forth to land gracefully onto the sand. She took a few steps forward to quickly scan the area for any unwanted welcomers before slightly turning her head to find that her orange haired companion was not so lucky as to even land on his feet, instead he fell face flat against the rough ground, shouting words not meant for the young minds. The woman regarded him for but a moment, her frown never bending despite the comical entrance.

"That was hell..." He gasped as he pushed his face away from the countess grains of sand, dusting away the small particles from his clothing and hair.

"Please, such a place can't even be compared to a wormhole like that. Now come on, we have to be quick if we want to get Orihime home safely." Yoruichi walked a few more feet looking for any clues as to where their friend could be. There was nothing but a cave with multiple paths and the usual rocks and trees.

"Could she have gone through here? I can still sense some of her reiatsu, but it's really faint..."

Before he could finish his entire sentence both shinigami froze at the sudden feeling of dread filling their entire being. It was as though the gravity had intensified to increase the burden of their own weight, it flared like a wild fire for but a brief moment before completely dissipating into nothing. Ichigo silently waited to see if it would happen for another time and when it seemed it wouldn't occur he turned to face the equally startled Yoruichi.

"What the hell was that!" He shouted now overly concerned that something bad may have already happened in the time Orihime had fallen in.

"Calm down, I can still sense some of her reiatsu but it's just really far. She probably got out through here; she fell into a portal from a Menos Grande, they usually aren't out in the open. If we hurry we should be able to find her." Without any other arguments they quickly went into gear and rushed towards where they could still trace her reiastu.

"What was that for?" Orihime whined as she picked herself up from her sitting position after having collapsed at the sudden burst of raw power seeping through the hollow just a few steps away from her. She pouted at the lizards who seemed unfazerd by the overpowering pressure and merely crowded around her as though she would fall asleep again only to have her gently push them away so as to avoid hurting any more tails.

Ulquiorra glanced back again with glaring eyes that knew well of the unwanted visitors that were no doubt after the girl that was currently under his wing even if it was only to satisfy his curiosity. He had eased his reiatsu only enough so that he would not crush her while it also made it clear that no one, hollow or shinigami, was allowed near him and thus near her.

_I do not care if they have come to take her home, but I have yet to see the capabilities of this girl's power._

He knew well that she was just a mere human, he has seen what they were as a hollow in his early stages and he knew that they were incapable of even noticing his or any hollow's presence. If they did possess some kind of ability then it still wouldn't have mattered. What mattered about her though, was the fact that she even came here to a place such as this and possessing something that did not belong here, something that made even the lesser beings attracted to her like moths to a flame, beings that could only depend on their own for safety and remain underground where there was nothing but shadows in every direction. Even another more intelligent hollow took notice of her claiming she would be able to speed up his evolution. His eyes saw what she was, but just as everyone knows that certain snakes has venom he could tell there was something about her only it has yet to reveal itself.

These shinigami would only get in the way and they were completely ignoring his warning to stay away. There was already enough company with these lizards.

"Hey are you ok?" He blinked at the sudden lack of distance between the two, but paid it no mind as he once again turned away from her to start walking. Anywhere was fine as long as it was far away from those wretched beings.

"You know, I don't even know your name. Do you think it's possible to tell me?"

Ulquiorra said nothing, could say nothing and did not wish to. His name was not needed to be spoken, her name did not matter as well; girl, woman, human, that was all she was while and the lizards were just hollows.

"What about you guys? Do you have names?" She smiled as she swiftly turned from walking forward to backwards. The lizards only responded with confused hisses. "You all may resemble one another but your masks are slightly different. Like yours" She pointed to the one that was right in front of her; its mask completely covered the top of it's face and a single horn at the center. A giggle escaped her as the little being stared at her in confusion.

"If I were to give you a name it'd be...Tsuki. You remind me of my friend at home since you're always the one to take the lead and seem like one to watch out for your friends, so I'll name you after a part of her name." All the others around the supposed 'leader' chirped and hissed in sudden excitement, bumping against the tip of her foot and shin.

"Alright, I'll give each of you a name!"

Ulquiorra remained unchanged, but still thought she was rather strange to even give a personal name to each of the lizards; he was surprised they even understood her. Well, whatever the case it wasn't his buisiness to interfere with their fun unecessarily. Should they slow him down he would just force them to go away if need be, his priority at the moment was to steer clear of any shinigami and move on, if they happen to catch up, then the blame would be on them for having entered this world in the first place or they could blame the girl, it didn't matter either way.

-X-X-X-

**A/N:**** I've gotta stop typing while falling asleep! Shame on me, but I'll make the next one longer, I only have one request eh, more like an option. If you want you can give me a name for one of the lizards and describe their mask, nothing too hard right? If you're interested I'll need at the very least five and I can name the other five (there are a total of ten or twelve) simple, ne? If you choose to leave one it'll be a big help if not that's fine too; yes they play a part in this story not just as simple pets.**


	5. Wild Animals

**A/N:**** Thank you to the following that have offered a name and adopted one of the lizards! So therefore I do not take all credit for them, heh.**

**-****Gamma-Beta-Alpha:**** Glad you enjoy the story and I'm sorry for holding off the anticipated encounter, hopefully this will make up for it. (Gero)**

**-****ulquihime7980:**** I chose three of the five names you offered, very creative I must say. :3 (Mio, Asani, and Calypso)**

**-****chesaraeXfakir:****Thank you for the name as well and I'm happy to know you like it too. (Metsu)**

**-****Kyrital:**** Thank you for the compliment and hopefully I can improve on my work as well as try to keep up with it. (Bahei)**

**I'm no good with replies, but I really appreciate the names that you gave! Don't know if it was really necessary to include the names, but give credit to where credit is due, no?... Now to carry on with the story!**

**Chapter IV: Wild Animals**

Ulquiorra glanced back at the woman that was currently playing with one of the hollows, holding it to her chest and talking while all the others seemed to listen. They were paying so much attention to her that some would trip over each other only to get back in place and do it again. It was becoming annoying.

"Tatsuki-chan sometimes says that my cooking could use some improvements, but I agree with her! I bet other types of food would taste great with red bean paste, I mean there are a bunch of other dishes that I haven't even tried with it! I bet you guys would like it too! Ah-" She stopped herself as she paused to look down at the hollows who have stopped alongside her. They all looked at her in confusion. The smile she had on was quickly wiped away from her as she was reminded of her current situation.

"I wonder if I'll ever get home though..." She wondered out loud. She was beginning to feel that moving away from where she was before the hollows found her was a mistake. She looked back in concern wondering if Ichigo or any of her friends would find some way to find her and bring her home. But then her eyes fell back on the reptiles that continued to chirp up at her in slight worry. What about them?

"I wonder if Kurosaki-kun would let me keep you as pets?" She asked as she kneeled down to look at them more closely. "But can hollows eat normal food?"

"And then there's you...Ah! Wait!" Orihime jumped back to her feet to catch up with the rapidly moving hollow that had not even bothered to stop and wait for them.

Ulquiorra could hear the quick movement of feet accompanied with the claws kicking up sand as they caught up to him, but still kept a respectable distance. His eyes scanned their surrounding once more until there was something in the distance; it was big possibly bigger than him, but it didn't appear to be any type of hollow or anything really. he seemed drawn to it, but just as he could continue towards it he stopped. The lizards had suddenly kicked up a storm and crowded around his feet in a panic. He turned his head to see Orihime looking back at their trail where far away two silhouettes could be seen rushing towards them.

_Shinigami..._

"Is that Kurosaki-kun...?" Tsuki growled and hissed at the figures coming ever closer despite the large mask that covered over his eyes; the noise made it rattle slightly. Orihime held him a little closer so as to calm him as she took a small step forward to see if it was really him. Within an instant she was suddenly pulled away and in back of Ulquiorra who kept his eyes on the intruders, waiting patiently for them to come within distance knowing full well that simply moving forward wouldn't keep them even though he could sense that they were probably nothing in terms of fighting. Orihime only looked up at him in concern, desperately hoping nothing would happen; he was so lenient towards her, kind even, to an extent.

As they neared to the point where she could clearly see their faces she tried to walk up to meet them only to have one wing stretch out to stop her.

"..." She whispered with saddened eyes. Hollows and shinigami were enemies by instinct; something that was impossible to erase.

"Orihime!" The sudden shout of Ichigo's voice made her jump in surprise at how close they were, but the hollows around her hissed in anger while others simply huddled closer to her feet.

Just as Ichigo came he halted in front of Ulquiorra while Yoruichi slowly approached them. With calm eyes she examined the hollow and also took note of the lesser hollows around Orihime. "I must say, you're not really bad lookin'." She hummed in amusement.

"Oh come on! If this really is a Vasto Lorde then I'm sure you could be more serious about this!" Ichigo yelled as he withdrew his sword that was formerly strapped to his back.

"Well, I'm fairly certain that he is a genuine Vasto Lorde, Ichigo. A very powerful one at that, but look..." She pointed over to Orihime holding a hollow lizard that leaned forward slightly as if to jump on them. "Vasto Lorde are the highest stage a hollow could come to; they could easily kill a human or even a captain at their level, yet this one hasn't even scratched her or killed those lesser hollows. I think it's best that we get some answers before we commence with this 'rescue'." She stated as she approached Ulquiorra cautiously.

"Although, I don't know if we can even get a word out of this guy. Orihime, mind telling us what's going on?" She called, daringly removing her eyes away from Ulquiorra to look at her.

Before the young girl could even open her mouth to speak, Ulquiorra moved. He swiped at the space where Yoruichi was standing just a moment before, but had hit nothing. He glanced to his left to see she had moved far quicker than any hollow he had encountered before. She was one shinigami that knew exactly how to keep her guard up, the other has yet to reveal anything. He looked over at Ichigo who had kept his blade in front of him and had kept his eyes on him as well. His jaw was clenched and his posture was tense and ready to move accordingly. He showed no fear, but that did not determine his strength.

"Wait !" Orihime called, but he did not listen. Shinigami did not belong here, the girl had come, but she was no threat. They were no threat either, but his instinct told him to act as if they were; a cub would one day be a lion and then what? His speed was much faster than Ichigo's, he could land a hit and a most devastating one at that; right at his throat or perhaps the chest. Words did not reach them as Ichigo braced for the blow and Yoruichi rushed in to possibly deflect it.

His claws fell to slash at his fleash , but rather than running through tissue and blood the collided against something solid and slightly warm. His eyes widened as there before him was a yellowish barrier protecting the shinigami from him. Confusion and bewilderment washed through him as he scraped his claws against creating a sound that was piercing, but it did not seem to bother him. He turned to look back at Orihime.

_So that is what it was. But it is not everything...There is something more..._ He looked at her hairpins and could see that the metalic petals that made up a flower were gone, but they didn't appear broken, rather they had moved. He looked back and could see that the petals had went to three different sides to make up a triangular shield in front of the boy. Slowly he took a step back and could see the barrier dissipate and the small beings move to return back as the flower at the side of her head. His eyes locked with hers as he began to make his way back to her, curiosity glinting in them as he wondered what else she could do. The lizards looked at her as well with a sense of pride; protection was the key for them.

He was just an arms length away from her, but he made no other move than to gaze at her.

"Please don't hurt my friends." She said politely. "You've been really nice to me and I don't want my friends to fight each other..." She said as she glanced down at the hollows, making sure they were included as well.

"Friends? Orihime please don't tell me you consider them your friends!" Ichigo yelled in confusion as he raised his blade again.

"Well, they didn't hurt me when I met them. They just came out of nowhere and told me to follow them; they're really nice once you get to know them." She patted Tsuki's head affectionately earning a soft chirp from him.

"I'm sorry, but I fail to understand your logic of them being friendly since this one just tried to kill me." Ichigo muttered bitterly, his eyes still locked on Ulquiorra.

"But he's really nice, Kurosaki-kun!" She insisted.

"Orihime, he is a hollow, they can't be nice. He will no doubt attack you at one point. They're as predictable as a wild animal, the same goes for them as well. You can never be too careful around them." The lizards all hissed angrily at her; they remembered their fallen comrade that took away Orihime's pain in exchange for it's own life. They could not speak, but they could convey their motives in more ways than just words.

They all looked up at her and softly tugged at her socks hoping that she wouldn't leave them alone; Ulquiorra would leave them too if she went and they would have nothing; their comrade's sacrifice would have been in vain.

"Come on Orihime, we can't stay here. There are many hollows here. Let's go home." Ichigo urged as he came just a little closer, watching for Ulquiorra to make any sudden move.

She wanted to go with them, but what about the hollows who helped her? She looked at them both until she went in front of Ulquiorra, brought up Tsuki so that his head hid her chin a bit and made a face.

"Can I bring Tsuki and the others with me?" She asked adding a "Please" at the end.

Yoruichi looked at her as though she lost her mind while Ichigo let his jaw fall to the ground.

"Orihime, do you know what you're saying?" Yoruichi asked on a more serious note. "If we bring a Vasto Lorde to Karakura we could very well be putting everyone in danger and there is no way that old man would even allow a hollow of his level there in the first place!"

"But he didn't hurt me..." She mumbled as she brought the lizard closer.

Ulquiorra watched everything from behind, his eyes looking at the back of her head.

_She wants me to go with her...back in the human world. How interesting and foolish. That shinigami has it all wrong, there is no need for me to consume anything anymore. I am already at my strongest, what more could I achieve? _

Quietly, softly he brushed his fingers against her hair, picking up the strands to stare at them. Ichigo and Yoruichi could only stare in amazement at the scene before them while Orihime turned her head to look at him curiously. Her hair was soft, but that was all. He thought that there should be something more, but he couldn't really tell. His mask restrained his voice, and his sense of smell. He could touch, but all he could tell was the simple texture of hard or soft. But as this girl tried to defend him, his thoughts were starting to become confused; he was missing something, but he had yet to find it.

"Orihime, please be rational with this. Yamamoto would not approve of this at all, he would see it as a threat. He could imprison us for it." Yoruichi tried to reason, but it was becoming harder for Orihime to choose. Hollows are cannibals as well, they could get killed. Her eyes began to water slightly as she leaned forward to place Tsuki back on the ground and moved away.

"I'm sorry, Tsuki-chan..." He let out a hiss accompanied with the others as they came by him.

But Ulquiorra was not one to relent to shinigami. He stook a few steps forward and allowed his reiatsu to weigh on them heavily. The pressure of painful gravity was enough to make Orihime go a little weak on the knees and fall on her bottom while Ichigo and Yoruichi remained frozen in place to keep from falling. The lizards were still far from discomfort and as soon as the pressure fell on them it completely disappeared. They gasped in relief while he remained standing, completely hiding his reiatsu with ease as though he had none.

"How come those damn lizards aren't dead?" Ichigo gasped as he leaned against his sword in exhaustion.

"They probably developed a resistance to his reiatsu; they're unharmed at all." Yoruichi noted with impressed eyes.

"?" Ulquiorra reached down to grab her by the collar and lifted her onto her feet. She smiled in kind while he remained passive.

"Yoruichi-san, if can hide his reiatsu then would that make him harder to spot?"

"Judging by his strength I would say it's not impossible, but he is still a hollow, Orihime. Nothing can change that. He should not leave here." Orihime pouted as she made her way over to them, but when she glanced back she could see that the colony of lizards tried to follow with Ulquiorra making no move to stop them. In fact he was following them as well.

"Oh crap, now we got lost puppies." Ichigo slapped a hand to his forehead as he watched with disdain as they kept their place behind Orihime.

"But they're really nice, look" Cautiously she brought up one hand to place it directly against Ulquiorra's covered cheek, lightly carressing the bone-like material. Now, if they thought they couldn't be more surprised about a hollow interacting positively with a human, then at this point they were struck dead. "See?"

Ulquiorra could only watch with passive eyes as the girl boldly touched his cheek. He couldn't really feel it since it was a mask, but the area certainly felt warm. Having no idea on what to do he merely swayed his tail back and forth in a content way. He's heard of the word happiness before, but he wouldn't know what it was. This was not happiness, it was too complicated to fit the description that the hollow he once met said. Happiness was a simple emotion, but the empty feeling he had right now was not so simple at all; it was confusion.

"Maybe Kisuke will think of something." Yoruichi sighed as she turned to create the path to go home.

"You're not seriously going to let them come are you?" Ichigo shouted.

"Well, it's not like we can stop him at the moment; withing minutes you'd be dead. Let's just hurry up before we attract more unwanted attention." Orihime smiled brightly as they all went through the portal. It was Ichigo first followed by Orihime with her lizards. Ulquiorra was to go next, but before he went through he turned his head slightly to glance behind at the large object in the distance; he felt he should have gone there, but this feeling of following the woman was stronger. Yoruichi gave him a look before he simply went through leaving her to follow last.

Far from where they were, beyound even that vast area of what looked like a huge nest of twigs and trees; three shadows stood looking as though they were observing the visitors from afar.

"It seems he got away." One stated with a wide grin. "And they took the hollow as well." He laughed.

"It's fine. I'm sure he'll come back and if not..." One of them turned away, his brown hair lightly swaying from the passing wind. "We'll just have to find another."

-X-X-X-

**A/N:**** And it stops there! My head was killing me throughout the whole time I typed this so please forgive any mistakes. I didn't add the names of the lizards just yet but, they'll be mentioned in the next one, but again thank you to the ones that did leave one for a lizard. Reviews are also appreciated. ^w^**


	6. Hollows

**Chapter V: Hollow**

"Are you sure that was a wise decision to let them go, Aizen?" A man with a grin as wide as a fox's asked with one eye peering at him.

"The amount of Vasto Lorde here are not exactly plentiful, Aizen-sama. Should we not retrieve the one that has entered the human realm before the Head Captain tries to destroy it?" Another jumped in; his appearance was less relaxed then his comrade and his eyes were completely covered. For a moment all that could be heard were the light clacking of footsteps against stone floors.

"Perhaps, but let us see what Kisuke plans to do with it. If it does turn out to be troublesome then we will send someone to retrieve our poor friend; for now let's just enjoy the show." He smiled as they entered a large room where other shadows of company stood, turning their heads slightly to greet them.

"Yeah! Lighten up a little, Tousen! You could learn to enjoy life just a bit, ya know. Where's the harm in havin' a little fun?"

"Unlike you, Gin, I'm not as careless." He muttered bitterly, turning away to stand somewhere else.

"Aw, I'm hurt." He laughed as he turned to the image that appeared in the center of the room while the other individuals quietly looked on with disinterested eyes.

-X-X-X-

"Yoruichi... Do you mind explaining to me why there are hollows sitting with Miss Inoue?" Urahara asked as he fanned himself to quietly keep from freaking out.

Oblivious from the intense stares aimed at her, Orihime continued talking with her...hollows about the bouncy ball that Noba had kindly brought to her. Aside from Chad and Uryu, everyone else was desperately looking back and forth from Ichigo to Orihime seeking answers. It was Yoruichi who had dragged them away to sit at the table located at the other side of the room to speak without too much distractions, silently hoping with the rest of them that they would not destroy anything.

"Well, as you can see we managed to find Orihime, but we weren't counting on finding her with some friends." She said calmly as she joined them in their little circle. "According to her they had found her unconscious in the Menos Forest and have been guiding her around Hueco Mundo. The hollow lizards must have taken a liking to her, but I am not sure of the big one." She motioned with her eyes to Ulquiorra who stood right behind Orihime looking around the room with interested, but dull eyes as if he was burning everything into memory. Occasionally he would drift his gaze to the small group, but would do nothing else but stare or listen to the words that came from Orihime's mouth.

"Well he seems pretty tame, certainly unlike all the other hollows we've encountered. But I have to wonder Urahara, is it really wise to have them here? I was under the impression that every hollow was an enemy..." He adjusted his glasses all the while shooting daggers at Ulquiorra.

"Well then Uryu, why don't you get rid of him? By all means don't let us get in your way!" He smiled michieviously while gesturing to the glaring hollow that took a step in their direction.

_That boy... He is not a shinigami. He is something else; a...Quincy? No matter, he is nothing but garbage just like all the others._

Suddenly there was a high pitch sound from beside him. Instantly he jumped back to look while all the others stood in alarm, their eyes wide with fear.

"Look! They got it!" Orihime squealed as she quickly stood to point at the lizards bunping the ball into the air with their snouts, passing it from one lizard to the other resembling the seals that balance such things on their nose. A smile stretched across her face as she giggled; everyone else let out a heavy sigh.

"Orihime, would you mind telling us why you have brought these hollows with you to the human world?" Uryu asked with an annoyed edge to his voice, wanting to get straight to the point and not take it as a light matter like the shinigami around him. A Quincy's top priority was to erradicate such beings even though their weapons were far worse compared to a zanpakutou.

Orihime had kneeled back to sit on her knees now looking at her friends with a look that was a mixture of confusion and sadness even though she knew full well what he meant. Her smile disappeared as she gently touched the mask of the blind looking hollow of whom she named Tsuki. "Tsuki-chan and the others would have been lonely...They wanted to go with me." She said in a soft voice.

"Tsuki...chan? You gave them names?" Ichigo asked with a bewildered look despite the fact that everything was just completely going unside down ever since he saw her fall into the Menos' portal. Immediately at his question Orihime beamed up at them.

"Oh Yeah!" She scooped up a few of the lizards into her arms while the ones that were unable to fit clung on her clothing, sat at her shoulders or remained on the ground. "I gave each of them each a name! Tsuki-chan is the one on my head and these three here are Mio, Asani, and Calypso." The three chirped in a sort of greeting, but they were tense under their gaze. "Metsu is down there, the one with line on his mask next to Gero-chan." The one she had named Gero had a unique look of circles surrounding his eyes. The next one she introduced was named Bahei, unlike most hollows his mask stemmed from his chin with a spot upon his forehead.

The last five all resembled one another as though they were duplicates, there was almost nothing distiguishing them, but it seems Orihime knew which was which. They stood right behind Ulquiorra with unreadable expressions and their body Language did not seem to reveal whether they were playful or not. "Those guys are named Nenji, Kou, Ichiko, Natsu, and Iggy!" She finished happily.

Ichigo pinched the bridge of his nose tightly. "Ok..." He sighed, having quite a time trying to understand his friend at the moment while the others remained silent either in astonishment or they were just simply at a loss for any words. "What about that one?" He pointed straight at Ulquiorra who was busy staring at the woman with curiosity.

"Him...?" She looked over at him with wonder, her smile falling into a small frown. His tail swayed in patience waiting for her to answer them. She stared at him for a while but nothing was coming to mind, it was as though she shouldn't think of a name for him.

_Ulquiorra. That is my name._

He knew she would not know and his voice was lost under the suffocation of his mask. Finding out his name was not possible; how amusing it was and also quite frustrating that he would know this, yet could not feel to accept it. Though he would deny it -because he is a hollow and hollows don't feel- he could not stop that small feeling of wanting to hear her say it, hear her say his name.

"Umm...I think he already has a name." She wasn't certain, but it didn't actually feel right to give him a name of her own which was why she was addressing him as 'Mr. Hollow'.

"He already has a name? This is absurd. Orihime you must see that these are hollows! They must be destroyed, they could just be playing with your emotions." Uryu was terribly tempted to just finish the job himself, it certainly wouldn't take much effort for the lizards but the big one he was not so sure.

"Now hold on Ishida, I won't tolerate my poor shop being destroyed. It would help if everyone just stayed calm and-"

"What the hell is going on here!" Two voices shouted in fear and alarm right at the entrance near Orihime.

"Oh boy..." Urahara sighed as he snapped the fan shut. He forgot that Rukia and Renji were returning from their mission back in Soul Society today. Oh this was becoming such a fine mess indeed.

Out of surprise the lizards scrambled to hide behind Orihime. Calmly Ulquiorra turned his head to look over at them.

_More of these unwanted vermin._ He clenched his clawed hand into a fist. This was becoming annoying; why had he come here in the first place? Oh yes, it was because of her, but was it really so urgent as to leave the solitary world he was accustomed to? He supposed so, but this world was too bright and too loud, it was driving him close to bloodlust, it was a wonder he didn't tear their throats out. His wings moved slightly in anticipation, he did not want to be around trash. He wanted them gone, he just wanted to resume walking back on the cool surface of the sand; aimlessly, without any sense of direction, maybe he should have fought the two that had come for the woman. Perhaps that would have been best.

Rukia glanced warily at Ichigo and Urahara, they both had a bored tired expression on their faces which was saying something -at least for Urahara since he was always carefree about everything.

"Please, think nothing of it, they're guests."

"Guests? What in the world would make you call them guests? They're hollows, not guests!" Renji roared, stomping over and grabbing the man by the collar of his clothing.

"Urahara, I believe there is some explanation that must be done about this." Rukia said with a dreadful tone. The light atmosphere had dissipated into a tense as they caught on to what she was referring to. "If word gets out to the Head Captain, they will no doubt take action. Why is there a Vasto Lorde here in your shop, with other lesser hollows?"

There it was again, the same question asked over and over. It was beginning to bother her. "Please Kuchiki-san, it's no fault of theirs, I was the one that convinced them to let them come. They haven't done anything since they arrived..." She tried to explain, but her words did not seem to hold much effect. Maybe it was a mistake, but for hollows they were very well behaved, no different then a pet except of course for the bigger one but even he did nothing, touched nothing and said nothing. It was like he was just an invisible presence that would not interact with anything only feeling disturbed at the mere presence of the shinigami that occupied most of the room. Orihime was certain that in an empty room with only her and the lizards he would seem almost content; relaxed even.

If she could just prove that they meant no harm, then there was a chance that they could stay.

-X-X-X-

"Send three dozen lesser hollows and a Menos Grande into Karakura Town."

"Is that really a wise thing to do? They could find us out." Gin questioned leaning forward to take a better look at the screen projecting the group, mostly directed at Ulquiorra who kept on looking around, searching for something but finding nothing within the shop.

"Don't you worry Gin, I'm positive that he will do something to ensure that the flower will not be harmed. And I'm also fairly certain that she would not want anything to happen to him either." He chuckled lightly as Tousen left to issue out the given orders.

"Oh, so ya do plan to have him join." He whistled in amusement. "What about the little guys?"

"Who knows, they'll probably get killed in the process."

"I'm more interested in finding out how useful this new soldier will be for my plans later on."

"Tch, why not just send us to the human world? We're more then enough to keep those shinigami company." A tall figure leaned over to examine the group with a sickening grin stretching across his face with his eyes -or the only one noticeable- narrowing in a leer.

"Yeah, why not? We've been cooped up in here long enough, some exercise would do us some good." Another said, he wasn't as tall as the other but his thoughts were holding a similar shine of violence, swirling within the depths of blue.

"Hmm, if I was sure you two wouldn't kill them I would have no problems." He sighed in fake disappointment.

"Then if you would allow me to, Aizen-sama, I would accompany them and make sure to keep them in check." This time it was a woman's voice, soft but firm. Aizen smiled down at the three in amusement. Maybe sending them would make the show all the more enjoyable.

"Alright I suppose it would be fine to have your playtime, as long as you're sure to keep them all alive." With a final wave of his hand he dismissed them.

"You're still gonna have the hollows and the Menos sic 'em, right?"

-X-X-X-

"Alright, enough!" Yoruichi yelled, silencing all other troubled voices about their small hollow issue. "There's no use whining about it here, I suggest that everyone return home and we'll take care of them."

"That includes you as well Orihime, leave them here and get some rest. We won't do anything so long as they behave." She stated, leaving no room for argument. "I think it would also be best to keep this from the Head Captain as well, no telling what he might do if he finds out so no reporting this to anyyone."

"Isn't that a bit much, Yoruichi? I mean, if he finds out you guys are hiding it too won't you be punished?" Ichigo asked as he rose from his position.

"Of course! But that's nothing new." He laughed with a bit of uneasiness. Yoruichi rolled her eyes. "We'll discuss this more later on, for now just go home and rest up. I'm sure we'll come to some agreement."

'I hope so...' Orihime thought as she went to lead her small group with Yoruichi.

"We'll leave them here in the training area, only Urahara and myself will be around so that they won't get into any trouble." She said as they climbed down.

Ulquiorra chose to leap from the building, gliding down with ease thanks to the length of his wings.

He glanced around, taking in his surroundings and searching once more for that disturbing presence hidden within the group of shinigami.

_Where is it, that person? He's hiding among them. _His eyes narrowed after finding no sign of what he was looking for, his senses useless and his sight becoming no help at all either. Though he could not see this individual, he could feel his presence, it was a shinigami but at the same not. He was dangerous, evil even to someone like him; an enemy that must be erradicated, dealt away with. Suddenly the girl flashed within his mind leaving his mind in a temporary daze. There was nothing, but he felt that through all the emptiness there was something.

_What is her purpose? Why does she choose to protect us? _He looked over at the hollow lizards that mirrored his own expression, moving to crowd around his feet. Tsuki hissed. They thought the same, but then again they followed her, they wanted to be with her. He was just dragged along, sure he could have left them, he could have chose to stay and be fine, but something forced him to follow. There was something in her that reminded him of his own emptiness, behind those smiles, there was a void.

He watched as she went to leave. For some reason there was an unknown cause for alarm.

-X-X-X-


	7. Visit

**A/N:**** Small thanks to **Harlequin** for pointing out a few issues (I'll see if I can fix it as I go along). Hmm, been slacking off a bit I see (on more than one story), tsk shame on me. Well, hopefully this will make up for it. That is of course if some are still interested in it.**

**Chapter VI: Disturbing Visit**

A jagged tear opened up over the empty space of air in the quiet night. From the opening a woman with a mask resembling a goat's situated at the top of her head stepped out of the void followed by two males; one with an eye-patch and the other with a jaw-like bone resting against his cheek, both holding a deep scowl as they entered the human world. As soon as the three had passed through, the entrance closed up.

"Who in their right friggin' mind would bother coming up here in the human world? It's disgusting. Nothing but weaklings." The brute with blue hair spat while casually looking around the area.

"Hmph, you're right. Hardly a trace of anyone fit for a decent fight. Well, doesn't that just suck?"

"Silence, the both of you. Really, you were the one's wanting to come and now here you are whining." The woman spared the two a chilling glance at their childish banter. The uniform they wore were a similar white with lines of black. At their hips rested their weapons much similar to shinigami, but their presence here among the world was one not welcome. "We are here to make sure things don't get out of hand and if given the chance maybe take back the Vasto Lorde."

"Tch, I don't see why Aizen can't just go find another sad sack wandering the dunes. Nothing special 'bout this one, just a weird attatchment to a human."

"A weak female at that." The tall, lanky one scoffed with venom in his voice. "Makes me sick. Although..." A wicked grin slithered onto his face with his hand rubbing his chin in sick amusment. " I can slightly see why he'd be interested in her. I wouldn't mind bringing her back for some fun myself." The woman in front of him let out a disgusted sound while the other simply stared off at something in the distance.

"Looks like it's begun."

Around them, as well as for various other areas, the space grew distorted and writhing beings began to descend upon rooftops and hover over the night sky; their silent crys and howls filling the night in a grotesque song. The three strangers only watched as the beasts began their hunt for the souls of their target.

* * *

><p>Hidden underneath the secret training area of Urahara's shop, Ulquiorra stood near a boulder with the reptiles scattering about, sniffing the hard ground and attempting to dig under. Tsuki remained stationed by Ulquiorra like a statue; immobile. It didn't bother him in the least for he was far too occupied in trying to catch the woman's reiatsu; it was too faint for him to pursue. Moving his head and scanning the area he figured that it was this place hindering him from the outside world. His head cocked in the direction of the entrance before he turned to glance at the man standing beside the woman with a ponytail. They were talking about something that no doubt had to involve him. They were shinigami. Captains, he assumed. Watching him because he was with a human; hollows eat humans and it was odd for them because he had done nothing. He could see the man smile at him while the woman frowned. His eyes narrowed; he didn't like them. He didn't like this and neither did the lizards whose cries to each other were fruitless. He turned once more to face the entrance. If he left, he could find the girl and follow her; the void with a voice.<p>

_A hollow is a hollow._

His wings stretched out from the small of his back, pushing the dust from them caused by the scurrying of scaly claws. As if startled, the owners of such claws began to rush away from him as his foot collided silently in back of him in a stance. From their place, these wings of his were not suited for normal flight, he had never actually used them before in Hueco Mundo or in the Menos Forest, finding it better to walk on foot, nor did he plan to in the near future. Gliding was as far as he could manage with them and it was enough for him and enough to reach the entrance. With a powerful push of his legs accompanied with a large flap he leapt over and latched onto the edge.

"Hey!"

Scratching, clawing and fumbling from his place, Ulquiorra finally pulled himself up to get inside the dark shop, ignoring the loud calls from the others in the process and looked around.

"Ack! He'll ruin my merchandise!" The two quickly tried to follow him knowing that the little ones were the least of their worries.

Just as the shopkeeper thought, Ulquiorra held no restraint on his way for the exit. His wings were still outstretched and wide, clumsily bumping into various objects in his path. Glass jars full of candy and other snacks shattered, valuable stock was spilled and the walls were marred with claw indentations leaving an entire mess in his wake until the night was finally exposed to him. He stopped once his feet hit concrete and immediately began to search for the familiar woman only to stop at a few interesting sparks of hollow. Staring high into the thick darkness above him, he vaguely noted the bodies gliding or jumping by through buildings, but what intrigued him most was the faint presence further ahead and it seemed to follow the trail of the woman. He heard the loud steps of the approaching shinigami cursing at him from inside, but before they could make it outside he was gone, going the opposite direction of the flowing hollows.

_This pressure... what is it?_

It was light, he could tell that whomever was the owner was a very powerful being. The control was steady, not so suffocating, yet just enough to get the point across even to a fool. This person was not to be taken lightly. Gliding across building after building he finally caught sight of the woman darting out of a store with the two shinigami from before. The calm girl and the loud orange one wearing different clothing, but he remembered them and he knew they weren't happy with this small outbreak of lesser hollows. Standing at the edge of a building in front of them, he examined the variety of beasts crowding around the area, their fangs and teeth bared at the trio below, but it was weak and timid. He was there, a true hollow looking at them with cold empty eyes that promised their demise should they get any closer. However, these small ones were not his target; it was what had brought them that he was interested in; their superiors.

"Mr. Hollow!" Orihime met his eyes, but it was brief. His attention turned back in front of him where he could make out miniature forms in the distance. The height and form akin to a human; like him.

_Could they be Vasto Lorde?_

He couldn't think of an alternative. They were certainly not shinigami, he's never met nor seen a shinigami at his level of strength; most often got lost while entering Hueco Mundo in the Menos Forest and devoured by the numerous hollows and gillians. What's more, the hollows did not even go their way aggressively like they normally would. The more he thought of it, the more he was interested to know, if just to satisfy his curiosity. He could hear the woman call out to him in alarm, he could hear the swords of the two by her cut through the beasts that dared to go past him, but he was peoccupied by the three waiting in front of him like they knew him. His head cocked to the side as if he were confused. Looking back down he could see that Orihime was still staring up at him in concern. Quickly, he glanced at the other two and after seeing that their strength was enough to keep the woman safe he bolted on to the three dressed in white.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Orihime lunged forward as if to try and catch him only to feel a hand yank her back.

"Orihime, don't go! That hollow probably brought them here!"

"No, I'm sure he wouldn't have done that!" The small argument was interrupted by a swift slash at a large claw accompanied with a loud cry.

"Enough, you two! There's no time to talk about that, we have to get rid of all these hollows first!" Rukia shouted as the remains of the fish-headed hollow faded into dust only to be replaced with another. Ichigo let out a frustrated growl as he swiftly turned to do away with another one, leaving Orihime to fight and defend herself on the ground.

* * *

><p>Ulquiorra was soon close to his targets and what he saw slightly baffled him. The dust around his feet cleared as he came to a stop atop a lone abandoned building looking up at the woman and the two men that glared down at him.<p>

_They wear a mask...just like a hollow. But they're broken. _

He unconsciously touched the mask that covered his entire face. The woman with green hair flowing behind her did not miss it and neither did her companions. She was the first to speak.

"Your mask prevents you to speak, doesn't it?" She asked softly, but Ulquiorra did nothing. Such a small detail should not even require an answer if it was obvious. "Why not come with us? Our master could make you a better being far more powerful than you are now; higher than a Vasto Lorde." Her hand was held out to him in an offer, but he just stared at it with the same expression of indifference. Raising his head he gave her a glare of his own; one that was far more colder than the two beside her.

"Tch, let it go Nel, he ain't gonna take it." A loud ripping sound was heard behind them, but none bothered to look. "I say we show him just how powerful we are. That'll make him regret not following orders." The one with a wide grin and black hair suggested quickly, a hand touching the sword strapped to his hip. This man, these _hollows_ were nothing his eyes have ever seen. Not in the darkness of the Forest nor in the time he has walked under the night's crescent moon. They were like him, but they were not like him. Perhaps their power could actually surpass his own. The menos grande slipped it's head through the gap, its red eyes looking down at the small beings as a loud wail escaped its throat.

_Ridiculous._

He was his own master, he needed no one to tell what he should do. He was a hollow and has been all his life, he never listened to the words of his adversaries and he was certainly not going to start now. He flexed out his claws silently at his sides and waited for one of them to make a move. In the backgroud a loud thud of a foot colliding against land stirred up dust and made the ground shudder beneath it's weight. His territory was now being invaded, these were no different than a hollow that didn't know it's place, so unlike the snake-like one he met in the desolate world. These were fools.

"Nnoitra, Aizen-sama has said not to kill, he wants this one alive." The woman reminded, but her words hardly made a difference to the arrogant male now standing in front of her.

"At the very least we'll see if he is really worth all this trouble and if not, well then he's not worth becoming an arrancar!" And off he went, rushing towards Ulquiorra with his bare sword aimed at his neck. The top of the roof burst with the collision, but aside from metal and wood, there was no satisfying slice of flesh or the spray of blood, making him frown in annoyance. Nnoitra glanced back up to where Ulquiorra hovered above him, his wings wide open and his tail swaying casually behind him in what resembled boredom. Another loud thud and the menos was fully standing at it's place; the portal slowly closing up. It's eyes locked on to the designated target of the pale body standing in mid air.

_... Arrancar...?_

The calm second was soon disturbed as the shifting of air barely made itself known until it was a little too late; another blade had been aimed at him and cut right through Ulquiorra's stomach from behind. His eyes indicated no pain as his wings flapped to remain upright giving him enough strength to twist and retaliate with a stab of his perfectly aligned claws crushing past his collarbone and creating a huge gaping hole. The attack took more effort than he thought; the skin of the blue eyed man was tough like iron, but it was just skin. The blood stained his pale hand and arm as he retracted it back and pulled away from both the sword and it's weilder moving to stand at a good distance.

"Ugh, didn't think this one was that strong." He slumped down to clutch at his arm in pain. "Little bastard..."

"Haha! Serves you right Grimmy, for goin' after someone else's prey!" Nnoitra laughed. The woman called Nel only looked on with disapproving eyes.

"Shut up, at least I hit him!" The other argued with a snarl.

"Yeah and look what good that did!" He pointed sideways to Ulquiorra where irked blue eyes followed and saw the narrow hole seeping blood quickly begin to close up leaving the trail of blood as the only indication that a wound was ever there.

"Well, ain't that a fine sight." He waved his hand over to the menos in a signal and quickly moved away from the oncoming red light. Ulquiorra didn't bother to move away from the beam instead, he brought up his arms to at least brace for it.

"Grimmjow! That's enough!" Nel commanded, moving right in front of the injured man to stop anymore attempts of a fight, but the menos had already shot the cero before she could intervene it's path. It hit him directly, the force of impact sending him far off until it dissipated leaving a horrible burn searing his flesh in a bloody mess. The woman let out an annoyed huff as she went to approach him, her face dead serious and her sword raised to point at him. "I must insist that you come with us Vasto Lorde, I guarantee that it will be entirely in your favor. There is nothing here for you in the world of the living and walking endlessly in the sand is a complete waste of time. Our master plans to make a world for us hollows and he has a certain need of your power in order to make it happen."

Ulquiorra slowly lowered his healing arms to stare blankly at the female. As silent as he was he found that her words disturbed him. There was nothing in his favor in anything, what he chose to do was entirely up to him, but the girl did have him thinking about the offer; about their so called 'master'. He wouldn't deny that the two before her were indeed powerful, but they lacked any brains to put up a serious fight, even then their orders were to keep him alive. The girl, however, was the complete opposite of her companions. The pressure raised heavily in the air as if to prove the point, pressing down at him with a vengence that all he could do was lower his head in a struggle to remain standing with his wings beginning to falter under the weight.

"What is your answer?" She asked coldly.

Ulquiorra looked at her with dull green eyes, giving a clear answer that swirled within their depths without the use of words.

_No._

A loud inaudible sound broke the screaming silence between them, jagged thin cracks formed at the very center of his bony mask, connecting with the thin tear streaks that ran down where his cheeks would be.

Before Nel could make another move the giant hollow standing behind them let out a roar and began to fall.

"It's the shinigami and that human female."

"Retreat!"

"What? Why?" The two males gathered toward her in reluctance. "We could take 'em on easily!" They whined.

"You've had your fun, but it would do us no good if we kill the shinigami and risk others coming to invade Hueco Mundo at this time. We've done our mission; it's time to go back and report to Aizen-sama." They both grumbled in annoyance, but nonetheless opened up a garganta. "I do hope that later on you'll change your mind, nameless hollow." She took a final glance at Ulquiorra who stared at them, yet just as the darkness and the gap closed around their forms, a loud shout made her turn her head in time to gatch a glimpse of an orange-haired shinigami glare back at her until finally it mended itself.

"Damn, they got away... Huh?" Ichigo turned to face Ulquiorra as he soundless righted himself, testing out his wings to see if there was any lasting damage and completely dismissing the boy in front of him. "Hey!"

" Mr. Hollow!" At the sound of the woman's voice, Ulquiorra glanced down to see her waving her arms at him with the man in the hat and the other woman staring bitterly at him, probably because of the mess he had made in their 'shop'. Whatever the case, it wasn't his problem, all he was responsible for was the orange haired woman smiling at him with relief shining in her eyes. Slowly, he glided down to her and allowed his aching wings to go limp and collect dust. Orihime gasped at the sight of the blood staining his hand and stomach. "Did you get hurt?" She gently touched the clean space of hard skin above the spot where the sword had entered, but could find no trace of a wound.

"It's most likely the blood of another hollow." A sharp gasp escaped the girl as she pulled her hand away from him at Urahara's words while he merely chuckled at her reaction. "But it was strange that a bunch of hollows suddenly came out of nowhere..." He mused staring at Ulquiorra with a seemingly cold look.

"But Urahara-san, I'm sure it wasn't him!" She jumped in front of Ulquiorra as if to defend him.

"Haha! I know, Miss Inoue. I was watching him ever since you guys left for home. Which reminds me, I hope your little lizard friends aren't causing much of a fuss with little Ururu and Jinta watching them..."

"I think it's Jinta and Renji you have to worry about." Yoruichi added with a sigh. "Anyway, it is odd that all of them were focused on trying to keep you guys away from where he was." She pointed at Ulquiorra.

Ichigo came right up to Ulquiorra and Orihime with a stern look. "Yeah that was weird and so was that large spike of reiatsu suffocating us." He stared hard at Ulquiorra who was more focused on Orihime than the others.

"Now hold on Ichigo, I highly doubt that would've been this gentleman. Look." He pointed at the small crack on his mask with his closed fan and then at the spot where the blood from his wound trailed down his thigh. "Unlike the blood coating his hand, it looks like this one was an injury that was inflicted on him. And as far as I know, you can't harm yourself with your own reiatsu. It could've been another Vasto Lorde, but I can't be sure. Only he would know unless any of you saw something." He turned towards Ichigo, Rukia and Orihime curiously.

"I didn't see anything."

"I only saw Mr. Hollow."

They all turned to Ichigo who was thinking back to when he saw the portal. "Did you see something, Kurosaki?"

"Ah well, it looked like a human with a large goat's skull on it's head, a woman I think, but I only saw the mask and one visible eye and then nothing. It was just him." Urahara's eyes narrowed underneath his hat in suspicion, but didn't question it further.

"Our only guess could be that it was another Vasto Lorde if it managed to crack this one's mask, but anything's possible. Maybe we could get this one to speak to us soon and get something out of him, right Orihime?" The girl nodded while cleaning off the blood from his hand with a handkerchief that was kept in her pocket. As the others continued to talk, Ulquiorra watched quietly as the girl's fingers wiped at his hand with the pink piece of fabric. What would he gain from her; he had to wonder. The three dressed in white spoke of power and a world just for hollows, but was it really something he seeked? It was hard to tell with his conscious. A mind that knew not of what he wanted and merely followed whatever piqued more at his interest and right now it was the girl that showed no fear of him.

"Well, let's take him back with the others before any other shinigami spots him and causes trouble."

"Come on Mr. Hollow, Tsuki-chan and the others are probably lonely without us!" She grabbed his now clean hand and proceeded to lead him along with the group.

"Orihime I think it's better to leave him in Hueco Mundo." Ichigo tried, but was once again ignored by the humming tune meant to drown out his voice.

* * *

><p>"It has to die, Ururu!" The small red headed boy screeched from his place on a chair strapped down by a rope while the young girl hugged a lizard to her chest and another perched on her head. The others stood pleasantly at her feet chirping and hissing to one another.<p>

"Urahara said not to destroy Inoue-san's pets, Jinta. So if I let you and moocher free, then you guys will go against orders." She said softly.

"They're hollows! They're supposed to be killed!" They screamed in unison, but it wasn't enough to convince the girl.

"They just won't listen will they, Tsuki-chan?"

-X-X-X-

**A/N:**** Finished this stupid chapter. FINALLY! Had it in a small paragraph for a long time since it was hard wording it out, but inspiration hit, I guess. Delays are blamed on laziness and FF8(Final Fantasy VIII). That game is so much fun. :P**


	8. Breaking Point

**A/N:**** Thanks again for pointing out another error **Harlequin**. I don't mind the corrections at all, I'll just try to correct them the best I can! :3 I'll rephrase the summary sometime before the next update, might be different though. Honestly, I wouldn't think anyone would miss this story, not trying to be rude; I simply didn't think it possible. However I do intend to try to finish this story as quickly as I can. And yes I am aware that this story is in fact weird, even I acknowlege it... Is that bad?**

**Chapter VII: Breaking Point**

Hours had passed since they had returned back to that small shop with the underground room. Orihime had stayed the night over in hopes that Ulquiorra wouldn't run off again and it seems that it was enough to keep him in one place. Though that was what Urahara and Yoruichi had concluded, it was not the complete reason. Ulquiorra was lost in his mind, vaguely aware of his surroundings and the presence of others. His eyes were fixed at his pale claws, ignoring the faint worried hisses of the reptiles; they were even biting at the tips of his tail and wings trying to get a response. Nothing worked, nothing brought him out of his mind that thought heavily on the words that woman of white had spoken of. At the center of his face where there was nothing, but perfect white, there marked a horrible web if black. It was his mask and it was breaking. Such discoveries would have brought some to panic, but not he. It disturbed him, unnerved him, brought him discomfort, but it has yet to send him in a frenzy and seek vengence. A rough yank of his tail pulled him out of his mind and with a twist of his body he turned only to be looking at playful grey eyes smiling up at him.

"Mr. Hollow, how are you today?" Orihime asked as she let go of the tail and clapped her hands together in front of her chest. Deep green eyes stared at her, analyzing and observing, though it brought the lizards, aside from Tsuki, to cower behind the optimistic girl; she remained oblivious to the harshness of his glare. That was what started a whole new sensation to course through him. It was not an emotion, yet it was some sort of urge. An impulse to do something. Of what, he was not aware. He watched as the human picked up the nearest lizard and dropped onto her knees to greet the others who seemed to grow excited at her presence. He would have listened to what she was saying to them, but instinct made him think of something else.

That urge still bothered him and it only irked at him further whenever he heard a voice, whether it be a hiss or a word, it did not matter. His feet stayed planted to the ground like a statue as he tried to decipher what it was that puzzled him. What it was that he wanted.

_Those hollows... The arrancar._

The gears continued to endlessly turn within his head, trying to find a clue. His eyes continued to rake over her form as if there was something of value hidden among her; staring at him right at his face, but he was too blind to see it. He only saw her and the weaker hollows. That ball, the one she had them play with last time, was held in one hand as she spoke of another game. Near the entrance Ulquiorra could see that they were being watched by the shopkeeper with the other woman and the orange haired shinigami. Their faces were grave, a complete contrast to Orihime who continued to speak with the lesser ones as they foolishly listened like loyal dogs to her words, oblivious to their hard glares. Well, he was no fool, his guard would forever remain up no matter who was near him. Even if it was simply the girl.

"See, they're not so bad." Orihime called out to them with a smile as her hand pushed the rubber ball from one lizard to another. "Look!" She mumbled something to Gero and then with an assuring pat on the head, placed the ball in his jaws. He looked at them nervously and then quickly scurried towards Ichigo with the ball held securely in his mouth. The boy raised one questioning eyebrow at him as he squeaked up at him, urging him to take the ball. Tossing the other two a quick uncertain glance he took it, only to have it stare back in anticipation with it's mouth still wide open as though...

"You taught them how to fetch?" he asked out loud. He could hear Urahara stifle a laugh and could see Yoruichi smirking. "Orihime just because you teach them-"

"Oh, just throw it!" Without warning, the man slapped his back and forced him to throw the object back towards Orihime. With a loud cry, Gero immediately went off to try and catch the irresistable toy. His red eyes were fixed entirely on it until it fell within catching range. Right near Orihime's face.

"My Kurosaki-kun, you didn't have to aim it at Inoue's face..."

"What!? No! I-" The expected thud of hard rubber connecting with flesh was not heard nor any shout of pain for that matter. Looking back at the small group, Gero had extended his tongue to wrap around the ball, successfully keeping it from colliding against her face. Ichigo let out a sigh of relief before turning to the shopkeeper angrily. "You didn't have to hit me!" he punched him on the shoulder rather hard and went off to approach Orihime.

"Are you okay?" He mumbled as Gero lowered the ball to his face, examining it closely as if it was something he's never seen before. He made sure to ignore the lizards and keep an eye on the larger hollow standing quietly behind her as he waited for her answer.

"Mm-hm!" She smiled widely at him and he sighed.

"Orihime, I know you like them and they may be... tame, but they don't belong here with us in Karakura or anywhere." Her face immediately fell and Ulquiorra suddenly felt something sink in his gut at her expression. His hand twitched, earning a lowered, almost warning hiss from Tsuki. "They may like you, but what if things get out of hand? What if they hurt someone trying to protect you? Would they understand if it was completely accidental?" Ulquiorra caught that lowered tone. He knew he was referring to him. The biggest threat to them.

"But they at least deserve a chance. They haven't done anything so far." She tried to reason, glancing back at the two who watched silently; one frowning and the other hidden behind a fan.

"Listen, they may prove to mean no harm, but you know Yamamoto won't allow it. If Byakuya or another captain find out about a vasto lorde living with Urahara the consequences will be worse. They'll be killed." Orihime looked down at them, staring at them with sorrowful eyes and they mirrored her expression. They chirped at her, hissed at her as if to try and cheer her up and even nipped at her feet again. They sensed her unhappiness.

"Send them back to Hueco Mundo."

"But Tsuki-chan, Gero, Metsu and all of them could get killed too... By other hollows." At the mention of other hollows, the lizards fell into a hushed murmur at her words and glanced back at Ulquiorra who listened from behind.

"They have him. He could protect them." He stated simply, pointing at Ulquiorra whose eyes finally met with his. They narrowed sending a cold chill to run down his spine. He was displeased with him, did not like him and would feel better slashing at his face right about now were it not for the fact that the woman was in his way.

Orihime sent a glance his way in consideration. He was, in her eyes, very nice. He didn't hurt her or the cute little hollows either. If they had asked, she would probably even say she was comfortable around him, but they wouldn't like it and wouldn't approve of it. They blamed him for the intrusion of the lesser hollows and endangered those who were helpless. He was the target. What could she do to keep him as tame as the reptiles? What could she do to really stop him? He was hollow, he was an unpredictable animal to everyone's eyes, not a separate being that had a mind to know right from wrong. And in truth that was slightly true. For all she knew, he could _be_ an animal, he could've been a harmless beast much like a lizard or a dog; maybe even a hamster. She had to stop her self from giggling at the last thought, but he did have the wings of a bat. He was something before he became a hollow.

"What if I ask him?" She said so suddenly that Ichigo's eyes widened just a little at her voice. "What if I ask him if he'll behave and he answers?" The question was preposterous.

"Orihime..."

"Please?" She clasped her hands together as if pleading for a puppy. "Just give it a try, hollows can talk, too!" She got him there. He sighed and scratched the back of his head in slight irritation as the girl turned to approach Ulquiorra. "Mr. Hollow, can you understand what I'm saying?" She asked, feeling a little silly, like she was talking to an alien.

Ulquiorra's eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance.

_What makes you think I cannot?_

He gave her a short nod of his head and she laughed, so he most likely heard their conversation and what it was about.

"So, if I asked you, would you be good and not hurt anyone?" She smiled sweetly at him with a hopeful gaze. He tilted his head slightly to the right as if in confusion, but he was thinking. He had her follow him in Hueco Mundo, given that she had no one else to keep her company, but then he had chose to follow her. No one told him to, he was not forced, quite the opposite, yet he followed. Where was the connection? Her hidden powers? If he said yes, then he would be giving her complete control over him, honestly he wouldn't really care, but this was a human who could still be easily crushed by him. However, if he said no, he would face the possible unpleasant consequence of having to fight trash. The same one who stood a few feet in front of him and that would be a total waste of energy. He blinked at her, his eyes fixed with her own only to have them trail down to his hand held up at his chest and noting the lethal tips capable of tearing at her throat. He could kill her if he so wished and the shinigami as well, but he wouldn't. What was she to him that he was forced to obey her words? What was it that compelled him to listen?

He nodded once more, carefully and slowly as though wary something could go wrong in making this decision. Her smile widened and in her joy had jumped up at him to wrap her arms around his neck. It was so sudden that it would pass as an attack. Were it not for the fact that he recognized her as harmless, he would have quickly killed her on the spot. Instead, his wings burst out wide in shock and his arms became tense at her sides; his entire body was rigid, practically screaming **_unnatural_**. His eyes must have been wide and alarmed because he could see the shinigami boy look at them with similar surprise as one hand was outstretched as if to stop her. Silent fear welling up in him at the thought of her getting hurt.

Orihime, sensing nothing out of the norm, only squeezed at his form once before hopping back to shoot him another smile. "See, Kurosaki-kun? Nothing to worry about!" She twirled around and went over to speak with Urahara of the issue, leaving Ichigo with a partially stunned hollow. He watched as he touched his chest with one hand, it would have looked like he was trying to calm a thundering heart, but he had no heart. He was only looking at his open palm curiously. Ichigo sighed for what was the millionth time; watching over a hollow-loving friend was a lot harder than he thought.

"It was a hug. A kind gesture of gratitude and affection." He explained, wondering if this would actually serve any purpose in telling him. "She trusts you..." He glared at him.

_Trust... Gratitude... Affection? Simply abiding by her rules will result in this?_

He touched his chest again, feeling empty and for some reason, dissatisfied.

_What for?_

The boy couldn't answer him, the girl couldn't answer him and it was because of this mask. Irritated, he brought a finger to scratch at the cracks gently. A small part crumbled a little, the jagged lines grew just a bit more and there, the same urge came forth at the pit of his stomach to expand at his chest. Growing up to his throat only to dissipate into nothing, but a faint soundless rumble at the base of his neck. Ichigo raised another eyebrow at the odd hollow and then looked at five lizards that had stayed behind from the group to stare at him. He scowled at their creepy red eyes and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck before leaving to join his friends. If he had stayed he would have noticed the strange exchange between the two.

Their eyes illuminated to a faint glow as they caught sight of Ulquiorra who stared at them with an almost lazy expression, but though he couldn't feel it, his own eyes turned a faint red at the connection. Their throats vibrated into a trill at him. His eyes seemed to shine at the realization.

_Quite a skill for you lesser beings. It's useless though, there's nothing here for you to take in nourishment._

Another trill.

_If it is not a means to sustain your existence, then what is the use?_

More trills.

_To feel emotions? You make no sense. How will knowing her emotions evolve you? Happiness, sadness, madness... what is there to know of them? It is not a wonder you are as you are. A small beast in a world of bloodlust, why not feed off of those in Hueco Mundo? You may become a vasto lorde if your ability is as you say._

They quickly shook their head in the negative, almost looking insulted. Their mouths opened to reveal sharp small fangs as the sound was made louder as if to yell. Ulquiorra only listened to their reasons and barely suppressed the urge to swat at them.

_You do not wish to become one? You're fine as you are; a simple being that could be killed by a low ranking squad member of the shinigami? Your reasoning is as foolish as the girl's mind to want us. Remain as a pet and you will be quick to kill; trusting the likes of them is nothing more than idiotic. Trusting a human... _

He was stopped by a series of angry hisses. they really seemed attached to the woman.

_You love her? _

He tried to move his gaze away from them, but their power was firm and required assistance. It shocked him really, but they sensed his confusion and turned with him to allow him a look at the woman speaking with the others; holding out the three lizards that were the most nervous to them. Unfortunately, he couldn't see it; the happiness they were trying to show him. Grateful for protection is one thing, but to actually hold her as far as that was nothing more than a hopeless infatuation. Happiness... Who really knows of such a thing? To be content with where you're at in your life; power, a possession, a title... What was it? What did it feel like? Not even the reptiles' feelings were enough to show him and he just shook his head in disapproval.

_That is nothing. That, _

He pointed at them or more specifically the holes shown on their backs.

_is a means for more pain. Being human, having emotions makes you susceptible to destruction._

He glared at them fiercely that the movement of his eyebrows hidden in his mask made it crack further. White particles falling to mingle with the hard dirt.

_The hole presented in your chest, where your heart should be, states that you are hollow. Hollows are empty, from the pit of darkness stems their power. From the darkness of despair we are made, but into the light of these emotions you will fall. _

That seemed to break them into confusion as they murmured to each other in the familiar language he could not understand until they raised their heads to speak. Their sound was lowered, almost hurt. The words that transferred into his mind made him pause.

_"Why would you follow her then?"_

Why would he give in to her request? Why did he not leave her for dead in Hueco Mundo? Why did he protect her, why did he want to follow her when the situation presented itself? Why did she interest him? If it was a faint thing, then what was he searching for that she seemingly held? If one had it, then there would be no reason to think that another wouldn't? For their question he had no accurate answer. He had to find it still. The glow in their eyes flickered, as did his and soon the connection between them was lost. Their language was foreign to his ears again. Their hypnotic spell exhausted.

He lingered on them for a while until he heard Orihime call out to them. "You guys come here!" She waved at them excitedly and while the five duplicate lizards wasted no time in following, Ulquiorra stalled. He watched her intensly as she continued to call out to him. He glared at her. His mind ever working for answers he sought.

_If there is no answer, if there was nothing in her... If she is weak... I'll kill her. Happiness... Madness... She'll show me what it is that makes her so empty deep inside. Which is behind that facade of a smile? _

One foot went in front of the other as he carefully went forward. His wings dragged behind along with his tail as a new thought came to mind.

_Those lizards... I'll kill them too. The arrancar, their master... They'll all be consumed by the nothingness. _

If there were no results to satisfy the curiosity in him, then he would do away with the failures. One wrong move in battle and you're dead. One right move and you'll be rewarded with victory. The woman was the door; where it lead was for him to find out. A new path or a dead end. For them, the weaker ones, she was a path.

For him... She was a mystery.

Another crack was heard almost as loud as thunder in his mask, a slightly bigger piece fell and crumbled to the ground. From it's place a shadow of darkness appeared; a closer look and pale skin would be seen. His nose. A breath could be felt if one was close enough. The cracks of the web would grow steadily, but he didn't mind. If it broke off completely than all would know well the face of true despair.

-X-X-X-

**A/N:**** ... Dark Ulqui. A short one, but I had to have something to move things along. **


	9. Contrast

**A/N:**** So people really do care about this fic, huh? Well then, all I can say is thank you. I'll try and keep the updates at a regular pace. I'm hoping every weekend, how's that? :3**

**Chapter VIII: Contrast**

Orihime smiled as she saw her other hollow friend approach the group quietly and quickly dropped her arm. Those beautiful green eyes were fixed solely on her as he took the last few steps in front of her. She beamed up at him with a warm smile and dealt away with the remaining distance, bringing up her hands to touch his cheeks; gently tilting his head a little lower. He allowed her that much contact, but not without the warning glances of both those lizards and the shinigami. The smile she had plastered on her face soon melted into a frown as her eyes looked closely at the lines marking the center of his mask. Her expression showed slight concern as she moved her head around to look at him from different angles. Orihime took in the slight details of his person; the mask itself looked as though it blended with his body -for all she knew, it could've been, but she could see where his hair spilled over his shoulder blades sprouting from the gap at the back of his head and the ridges that went down the sides of his neck. She straightened up and focused back on the damage that was made.

"It doesn't look like it hurts..." she whispered, taking a closer look and tracing one line that led to what looked like a tear mark, noting the rough surface compared to the smoother parts of the bone material. "Does it?" she asked him deciding to test the waters and run her fingers over the part where a small part of his nose was exposed.

Ulquiorra froze momentarily, his wings visibly tensing up at the feel of her fingers brushing past exposed skin. He blinked at the feeling curiously only to dismiss it a second later. It was strange to feel anything other than the white mask. Her fingers were soft.

"No? Hm, what do you think, Urahara-san?" She turned to him, moving aside to show the broken face of the mask.

"Ahh... I really wouldn't know." He moved to stand beside her with a sheepish grin hiding behind the fan he constantly held. "Normally, we don't fix these types of things, but..." His eyes shifted between them to glance at the pale being. "Maybe your powers could do something."

Orihime's gaze flickered over to Ulquiorra, unsure whether that was the right course of action. The whole reason why she didn't do anything in the beginning was because there was no guarantee that her healing powers would actually work, a silly thought, but one could never be so sure. "I suppose..." She touched the surface once more to assess the damage one last time, however, it was starting to bother Ulquiorra the more he felt her fingertips touch surprisingly sensitive skin. His eyes would narrow each time she moved and quite frankly he wanted her to stop. Unfortunately, the woman failed to notice his discomfort. In an effort to distract himself from the sensation, he glanced down to see the lizards become preoccupied in staring at their comrade chew the rubber ball like a chew toy.

_Fool._

When at last Orihime removed her hands, Ulquiorra looked at her, silently questioning her with his eyes. He heard her say something, but his eyes were fixed at her hands once more to see them move towards the small pins located at the sides of her head. The metallic petals; was she going to make another shield? For what, there were no enemy within the vicinity. He watched as two petals separated themselves to float just above his head and begin to produce the same yellow barrier. Upon instinct he moved away with a small leap.

"No Mr. Hollow, stay put." The way she said that did not go well for him; he didn't like that light. It was too warm and too bright. The petals moved again towards his face cautiously, but each time they came a little closer they would be greeted with either a lash from his tail or a swat from his hand. Orihime let out a huff as Ayame and Shun'o floated above her head warily, awaiting their next command.

"It's just to fix your mask. Don't you want it healed?"

A very interesting question indeed; he would actually, but something told him to keep away. Something deeper than instinct. He glared at her as if angry or upset and turned slightly to stare off at the rocks farther away.

"Aww, don't ignore me!" she implored with a hurt expression.

The pair with caculating gazes only watched unimpressed at the communication between the two. While Ichigo was taking it calmly, there was no denying the tense aura circulating around him like a haze. His close friend had befriended a very dangerous being, interacting with him no different than the rest and Yoruichi could see it as clear as day. She coud barely contain the smile that twitched at the corner of her lips, but this was certainly no time for idle play and teases.

The situation, though lax, was fragile. Something had to be done about the hollows. They had to be removed peacefully or be exterminated.

The cat-like woman could see that Ulquiorra was watching Orihime and her fairies carefully, in fact he was watching all of them down to the smallest movement. It served as no surprise for her, what with him being a vasto lorde, it was not a wonder. What was of significant notice was his actions. He made not one sound from his throat, not even a grunt. One of the easiest ways of detecting a hollow was through it roars or voice, but though he made not one sound his eyes would shine with each word passing through their lips whenever they spoke to him no matter how brief the conversation may have been she was sure he understood them and was merely playing along with their rules for a little while until something conflicted with him.

It was just a matter of time before that conflict would arise.

Her hand went to rest against her hip as she watched the three of them attempt to understand the hollow. She just couldn't fathom the relationship between the band of hollows and Orihime. 'What went on in Hueco Mundo?' she thought with a frown. What's more that added to her worry was that broken mask and the sudden increase of hollows the night before.

Ulquiorra flapped the dust away from his wings and met the woman's worried gaze as the wind created by his limbs made a few strands of her hair sway gently. Her insistence on the matter of his person was grating at his skin; humans relied too much on words to realize what another wanted. He didn't want her help and he didn't want that light to touch him. His body language and eyes should have been enough. He scratched softly at the gap of the bone in irritation, a deep pressure building up at the base of his throat once again. It felt like suffocation for a moment, but that was not possible. Letting his hand fall to his side again he tilted his head to the side to look at Urahara with a cold glare.

"Well, it doesn't seem like you have any interest in hurting our Hime-chan here, hollow." he laughed taking a few steps to shorten the space between them. "While I would consider that quite pleasant, I'm afraid I cannot let down my guard around you. Of course you already know that..."

"Your mask is quite something though. Tell me, does that hole on your chest feel empty? Do you feel anything at all?" Ulquiorra only continued to stare at him, disregarding the worried look overcoming the woman in front of him. The thin black line that trailed down from the small gap at the center of his chest contrasted deeply with his pale skin. The impaled circle made from sorrow and pain was completely numb on him. It was just there to his eyes, branding him on what side he sat between the worlds. The side where beasts ruled with no laws other than to obey instinct. Live or die.

What he felt; fear sorrow happiness, all those emotions... There was none of that, there was nothing. He was just there with nothing to his name. How he even had a name was a wonder now that he thought of it.

"I would really like to avoid any unnecessary violence if it can be helped, but I can't allow you to stay here." he smiled kindly at him as he tipped his hat. "I'm sure that you are aware that shinigami roam this town and if they catch wind of you, action will be taken and it could pose quite a problem to your friends." To emphasize his point he gestured over to Orihime with the lizards.

Eyelids lowered over his eyes in a look of pure boredom.

_What does it matter? Simply because I am in your territory, under your dwelling, does not mean I will abide by your orders._

They could see the slight movement of his arms and wings moving along with a voice that could not be heard. All of them frowned at his small, subtle gestures of disagreement.

"Oh my," he smirked mischieviously at Ulquiorra behind the fan. "Don't tell me you've grown attached to our princess!" This earned him several confused stares, even the reptiles ceased their play to shoot the man a bewildered stare.

"Urahara-san, I don't think that would be it." Orihime whispered nervously.

"Seriously, how long are you going to play around before you start getting down to business?" Ichigo asked with a frustrated sigh, rubbing a hand at the top of his forehead to ease the forming headache.

"I must agree with Ichigo, he cannot stay here and the rest may just get killed by other hollows or some other squad member like Renji or even Jinta."

"Yes I'm well aware of such facts, but it's not like I can just force him. I mean look at him!" he shoved the closed fan in his direction accusingly. The vasto lorde merely stood there unbothered with his arms limp and his wings twitching at the slight annoying pokes of the lizards. It was a miracle that he hadn't killed them yet according to them.

"He's not even putting up a fight. It would really make me look bad if I picked a fight with an innocent hollow." he smiled sheepishly, staring off at a distance away from their critical eyes.

"A risk is still a risk. Fine, he hasn't done anything extreme, but it'll just be a matter of time before he does!" the orange-haired teen snarled threateningly at the shopkeeper.

"Wait a minute Kurosaki-kun, just a take a minute and look." she pointed at the mask where the gap exposed a part of his pale skin. "The mask hides the true face of a hollow right? Just like my brother. I don't know if it's because of a fight or not, but since he doesn't want me to heal it..." She looked thoughtful for a solemn moment. "I'm not too sure, but maybe he could be a good hollow. My brother wasn't a vasto lorde, but he still didn't want to hurt me even thoughhe was being consumed."

Her eyes trailed to Ulquiorra's face. "Since he is one, he may just be the same person from before."

The woman smiled warmly at her friend, reassuring him that there was nothing wrong. Ulquiorra, as usual, had silently watched from the sidelines as they discussed what to do with him. Something about the word 'brother' had made a slight change of things. His eyes stared at her with a hard gaze as if searching for something. The tone of her voice may have seemed normal to the rest of her friends, but he and even the insignificant hollows sensed something from that small word that flowed smoothly through her lips. It was dark and it was deep, like a hole as black as the one that marred their chest. From the cowering forms behind his wings, he could tell that whatever she felt they had feared, only he was the one who couldn't gauge the severity of the emotion inside.

Without warning he moved towards the talking humans, their voices drowned away to silence in his mind as he stared at her chest with an empty interest. When they had noticed him nearing them, they had become a little defensive (they being Ichigo and Yoruichi). They didn't move, their lips had stopped forming the words that were too loud; it was just their eyes that questioned him.

Orihime's eyes were wide with confusion as Ulquiorra came to stand before her, a tad bit closer than normal. His eyes never left hers in a gaze that swirled in mystery. The deep pool of green with the black slit of his eyes so similar to a snake, held her own grey ones in a grasp that was suffocating and cold, but otherwise light. It was light because of the curiosity peeking through the haze.

And then, just like that he ripped off her shirt with a smooth swipe of a single claw.

"Ahh! Hey!"

Immediately, she tried to hold up the torn fabric over her almost exposed chest. The others could only gawk at them in shock.

_Nothing._

His eyes had moved to look at the center of her chest where a usual hole would be. The void of a hollow's heart. There was nothing but flesh over bone and some sort of white cloth over her flesh. There was no hollow in her. She was still whole and having much of a heart as the rest.

He blinked once.

The laughter of the cat-like woman pierced through his brain in a shattering motion. Looking up, he saw that she had doubled over onto her back, clutching her stomach as if in pain while the two males stared at him with a mixture of shock and stupidity, unknowing whether they should do something or not. Turning to face the woman he found that she looked about ready to cry her eyes out with her hands desperately trying to hold together her ruined shirt. He was confused. What was wrong with her now?

He saw how her knuckles turned white from clutching her clothing and the pink smearing over her cheeks in embarassment. She did not appear to be so happy about this. In fact she was actually trying to glare at him.

Her eyes were switching between her attire and the two individuals whose eyes remained open and wide, blood streamed from their nose from an unseen injury. He had to wonder how this was possible. Her bare skin did not seem to hold any specific skills, yet here the shinigami were acting unusual. One was laughing uncontrollably and the other two were locked in a trance; bleeding.

In a frenzy, Tsuki and the others had appeared before him hissing angrily at him. What had he done to warrant all this nonsense?

Cautiously, he stared at the fretful woman and took care in taking in her stance. It was uncomfortable and tense, maybe it was their gaze that made her feel so unhappy. He looked back at the lizards and with his eyes locked to theirs, raised his wing to it's full length. They chirped approvingly. He raised it just enough to cover her chest, but the men had yet to pick up their eyes. At this point the other reptiles were trying in vain to pull them away, unfortunately they only succeeded in ripping a portion of their pants.

Tired of their confusing antics, he finall pushed them aside with his tail, effectively knocking them out.

"Ohhh, ok... I'm all good..." Yoruichi huffed as the pain in her stomach slowly subsided. "Oh my... Come on Orihime... I'll get you a change of clothes." she stepped over the unconscious duo and snatched the poor girl's wrist, pulling her away from Ulquiorra's wing and leading her up the ladder into the shop while calling out to the shy child for some help.

Unable to wrap his head around the meaning of humans, he turned away to walk around, leaving the other two to either get eatened by the lizards (which was a very slim chance) or get covered by their drool. Gero had at some point during the whole ordeal swallowed the rubber ball and was drooling excessively as a result.

The annoying itch of his mask had yet to fade. Something about Orihime's voice stirred something within him. He scratched at it even though he knew that it would make the gap widen, however, the insistant urge was too great even for him to handle. It disturbed him because he has always known a life of solitude and blissful silence, but now he had felt a strong need to use a voice, if just to seek the answers he sought. The void in him had grown and was searching for something; something to fill it.

Hunger.


	10. Greater Power

**A/N:**** Question: what would you do with a pet vasto lorde?**

**Chapter IX: Greater Power**

The sound of feet clacking loud against the stone marble of the palace was all that could be heard through the desolate area of the palace. They went swift and precise with purpose as the owner went through various halls to get to a fairly large door actually colored a bright pink. The lable written elegantly at it's center had been stricken with deep indentations of claw marks of a beast. Before a knock could be made on the steel door, it opened slowly. A tall figure stood at it's entrance with a white cloth covering the face and mask of the individual. According to the tight fit of the clothing the creature wore, it appeared to be male; not an inch of his skin was exposed and in it's black gloved hand was a metal box.

"Where is Szayel?" a feminine soft voice asked the man.

The concealed being only let out a low groan, almost too low to hear, and stepped to the side slightly to allow the woman entrance.

"Is he experimenting on another hollow again?" she asked with a glare. Again she was met with a low groan and a subtle shake of his head. She watched with a pitiful expression as the unknown arrancar, or hollow, went past her to go down the opposite direction of the long halls with the box still in hand. Thier elbows did not even touch when he slipped by despite his height.

"Was there something you needed, Nelliel?" a voice called from further in the room. Turning around, she could see the scientist scribbling furiously on a piece of paper resting against a clipboard. His eyes never strayed from the document, but occasionally he would prop up the glasses of his mask as if they were slipping. No one really could say if the object actually had glass to improve his vision, but then again he was an arrancar as well. The fact of his sight not working was simply unthinkable. It could simply just be of habit she assumed.

"What was that creature, I've never seen him around your smelly lab. Is he another creation of your warped experiments?"

As if to emphasize her statement, she scrunched up her nose slightly at the sight of something lying on a gurney covered with what used to be a clean white sheet standing right beside him. The slender male only smirked at her comment before focusing back on the messy words and results of his latest experiment.

"No, that's just an assistant of mine. He hasn't had much time to move about since our work started. I've decided to give him a break for today; I've got too much to record and he'll just be in the way." He quickly flipped a page to start on another. "How did the report to Aizen-sama go? Any luck recruiting that vasto lorde with the wings?"

"No. The mission was a complete failure. Something's keeping him in the human's world."

A smile appeared on the pink haired man's lips. "Really now, sure it's not his stomach? I wouldn't be surprised if a hollow of his level did go there. Might have more of a chance catching a decent meal." he chuckled.

"Of course not, his mask completely covers his face; hunting more hollows would be useless. There was nothing to him only his eyes were visible..." her voice trailed off at the memory of the hollow fighting with her and the other two. "I need you to give me a sedative for him."

The words had come out of her mouth without mind. Szayel stopped in his scanning and writing on the documents and stared at the woman in front of him with a sharp glare. "Excuse me?"

"I asked for a sedative. We could easily get him with that, no?"

He sighed flipping another page and scribbling on it soundly. "The chemicals to create the substance would be immense, not to mention a few ingrediants being very difficult to collect. Aizen-sama himself has said not to go through all that trouble just for a single dart that could miss. And if the thing could hit it's target, well then it really wouldn't be that different from a wild animal." he had to laugh at that one.

"That does not seem sufficient enough to pose a problem, you've made them before. It sounds like you're just complaining."

"Nonsense my dear," he gestured for her to follow him down a slim hall towards another brightly colored door where it opened to reveal several capsules filled with a liquid, each holding a specimen. "These two here were caught from a few testings of the darts, they are certainly not up to an arrancar's typical strength, but they do have unique abilities I have yet to test out." he pointed at two capsules housing two odd looking hollows; one with a giant colored mask and the other appeared purple and slim with his mask looking similar to an insect's. "They were surprisingly fast for such low-leveled beings, what better way to test something in an actual chase? Anyway, I have kept them asleep here just in case they'd be useful for other types of experimentation; the drug has successfully kept them unconscious, but it may be extremely sensitive after a period of time."

"Meaning...?"

"Meaning that anything could wake them up. For example, if I were to tap at the glass they'd pop open their eyes instantly."

The woman stared at the glass containers with interest, her eyes betraying not a thought of emotion to the hawk of a scientist standing in front of her. "Why would you just keep them here if they could just be added to the rest of your disfigured army?" she asked with a raise of a fine eyebrow. "Would that not be wasteful?"

"On the contrary, it would save all my work from carelessness; these idiots cannot even hold one single vial without smashing it to pieces. I've lost too much precious chemicals because of their idiocy." he rubbed his temple at the memory; they really did look like they could be useful, but then when he had brought them in his lab they had all but destroyed everything save for a few crucial items. He had to use the last of the sedative to keep them still.

"I think it would've been best to kill them..."

"I want them."

"Pardon?"

"I said I want them, now get them out and hand them to me. You have plenty of other fraccions to replace them."

He cleared his throat and flipped the several pages he had written on back to place, preparing to file them later. "Well, I see no problem with that, but you can only have one of your demands. I cannot risk my head to get the blasted ingrediants for the sedative over a single vasto lorde, even if it is for our benefit as Aizen's army."

"Surely, it cannot be that difficult." she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest, an annoyed expression playing over her gentle features.

"My dear, I am an expert on such things whereas you don't even know what the ingrediant is, why such a fuss over a single hollow? There's many more to catch; though few, I am sure a vasto lorde has made itself known somewhere we haven't looked." The pen he had was placed into his pocket and dug around the same pocket to retrieve a small remote device. With a single press of one of the many buttons the liquid in the two containers quickly drained away; the fast motion just enough to awaken the two with a start. They made an inaudible sound of fright and pulled away to press their backs into the surface of the glass, their eyes wide and fearful staring at the two espada.

"Their names are Dondochakka," he pointed at the bulky one with the big mask. "And Pesche, if memory serves correctly." he pointed at the scrawny one with only one visible eye. Though irked that the scientist refused the needed dart, Nelliel could not help, but be a little happy that she could keep the two of these unfortunate souls. The glass parted at the top with a loud hiss and slowly lowered enough for the arrancars to get out. They were just grateful that they had not tripped over themselves.

"You two," the harsh loud and firm voice was enough to make them flinch, cold nervous sweat rolled off their faces as a visible sign of their fear towards Szayel. "You will now become Nelliel's fraccion, understand?"

Both pair of eyes moved cautiously to look over at the woman looking back at them with a much more softer gaze than the other. Wordlessly, they nodded their heads and relaxed slightly.

"Now Nelliel, if you are done looking for pets, kindly leave. I have much to work with." and just like that he left towards a room that she hadn't bothered to take notice of, but could see the tray of various medical uses standing by. Without anymore need of words she turned away to head for the exit.

"Come now Dondochakka, Pesche. We must find another way to get the vasto lorde on Aizen-sama's side before the shinigami kill him." The two scrambled to keep up with her pace.

"V-vasto lorde... Nelliel-sama?"

"Ah yes, Aizen-sama has spotted a potential comrade to become an arrancar, but he has yet to follow orders and serve under him as a high rank of the espada."

"Ehhh... Do excuse me Nelliel-sama, but where do we come into the plan of things. We're not very good material for fighting as I'm sure Szayel-sama has stated beforehand." Pesche said sheepishly while creeping a little away from her in fear she would yell at him or do something along those lines.

"What are you talking about, I'll need all the help I can get. Not all hollows are terrible. The shinigami are the ones in the wrong; not being able to tell the difference between a kind soul and a horrible one. That's what makes them the bad guys." she shook her head in disapproval. "Their lack of judgement."

"Bad guys, Nelliel-sama?"

"Yes, they're bad guys."

Down the hall, walking at a fairly slow pace was the same arrancar holding the metal box in one hand. He made no mistakes in his steps despite the blind fold over his entire face. In fact he appeared to be humming a low melancholic melody as he slowly went by, servant hollows would sometimes stop and stare curiously at him, but the being would pay them no mind and resume with his walk around the vast palace of white.

* * *

><p>"You broke more of it..." Orihime whispered almost mournfully. Her fingers were tracing over the now larger gap of the crumbling mask. "So those tear marks really do reach the skin." she mused. Ulquiorra was sitting in front of the woman, his eyes watching her with the usual curiosity glimmering through them as well as the annoyance that came with each small stroke of her fingers over his skin. Days had passed since he had stayed hidden under the shop, successfully avoiding the eyes and senses of the other shinigami wandering about, yet all he had been doing was fight the orange-haired boy she had called a 'friend' and sit around doing nothing with the unwanted company of the reptiles and one or two disapproving friend of the woman.<p>

Speaking of the reptiles, they were eating an odd flesh colored fruit in the shape of cubes that the woman had given them. Every time she would leave for school or leave for home, everyone would face the difficulty of keeping the hollows inside and away from outside eyes. Eventually they would let it go only to be locked in a staring contest between hollows with glowing red eyes. It freaked them out a bit, but they let it be since there didn't seem to be any casualties resulting from it. Once they parted they would be left to their own devices, most often there would be children's toys (or pet's) to occupy most of their time save for Ulquiorra, until the woman would come by again.

He had taken into account the passing hours and would estimate when Orihime would come in either minutes or seconds beforehand and stare at the above entrance. When the hours became long, as per usual for him, his mind would fall towards the dull familiar yet strange ache at the core of where his heart would be. The hunger for souls he had faced as an adjucha and gillian was desperate and cruel, but this ache was slow and agonizing. So much like that hunger, but souls would do nothing for it; not even leave a satisfying moment. There was no evidence, but he just knew. As a result he would scratch at the mask occasionally, tearing it piece by insignificant piece until it became noticable and was to be examined... Again.

"Mr. Hollow, I can almost see your face." she noted the subtle eyelashes near the corner of his left eye. A strand of pitch black hair was even spotted near the top. Annoyed and feeling very uncomfortable he pulled his face away from her hands roughly. This had become the norm for the girl; she would come for a daily visit and then notice the growing lightning shaped lines of the mask and the hole revealing a part of his nose growing wide to reveal a large portion of his cheek. She would take a closer look searching for anything wrong and he would let her until the few short moments when she would touch his skin.

He didn't know why it annoyed him so. It could have been because of the warm touch of her hands, or the soft words she would speak; some he would be unable to understand. His mind was in a frenzy trying to understand her and the gestures of this 'kindness' she would constantly show and if it got bad enough he would scratch at the hole on his chest where black trailed down from it. Her words or her expression were enough for him to tell the difference between positive and negative. When she would smile a soft flimsy smile he could feel a mourning cry coming deep from them as opposed to the bubbly tune her whole body would radiate constantly. Even when she was upset.

Because he was a void he couldn't understand why she felt so empty. What made him all the more confused was the gnawing hunger to learn more of it, what was causing her to feel so like him? Why did he feel like there was something lying deep in him when there should be _nothing_. It infuriated him.

"Well, since you don't seem to be in pain how about we play a game?" she smiled at him. At the mention of the word 'game' the reptiles all gathered to her chirping excitedly. The word 'game' was always associated with more treats for them. How they developed a taste for food was beyond anyone's mind. Ulquiorra didn't make any move to get up and instead moved his head to stare off at nothing. He never liked the word or what it brought. He would simply watch and think. Sometimes he would think of the white sand his feet used to walk upon, the solitude he once had, the darkness he went through after dealing with the hollows in black and sometimes he would think of the hollows in white with their masks broken.

"Playing frisbee with lizards is more entertaining than a dog isn't it Kurosaki? The way they try to kill each other over the red plastic toy just to get a piece of watermelon."

"I say it disturbs me. They won't stop biting at my clothes..." he grumbled bitterly while looking at the tears and holes adorning the end part of his pants.

"Well you just had to be the one to bring the watermelon didn't ya?"

The boy only scoffed at the man. A pause separated them from the light atmosphere with a question weighing over it. "Hey Urahara, why haven't you done anything about them yet? I thought you said you wouldn't let them stay."

Silence engulfed them as they both allowed the question to sink in. Ichigo had to admit that Ulquiorra was strong and would definately be able to do some serious damage and he would honestly say that he had surprised him greatly when the battle of a sparring match grew in his favor. His pale claws would have sunk deep into his skull right between his eyes, resulting in an instant death, but he stopped just an inch away from the blow. He didn't know why; it could have been because of Orihime's influence, but the empty look his eyes had were saying something else, like an insult, as if he was not worth killing. He remembers his sword being thrown off from his grip leaving him helpless and vulnerable, the towering form of the pale body over him, black wings spread out wide menacingly and the red tinted claws aiming at the center of his skull.

It sent a shiver of fear through him for only a second.

A shadow loomed lazily over him and by reflex he looked up, recognizing the swirling disc and immediately catching it smoothly. "Nice catch Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime had shouted from the distance. Wide brown eyes stared at her waving back at him for a brief moment until he felt an insistent tug on his worn pants.

"Oh..." he let out an annoyed sigh at the three lizards pulling at his pants; Mio,Asani, and Calypso. He knelt down to their level with a scowl as he held the frisbee above his head, effectively keeping it out of their reach despite their leaping; one continuing to rip apart the fabric of his pants. "You guys sure are strange..." he mumbled more to himself than to anyone. Having had enough of their demanding bites and hisses he gave the frisbee to them, all three of them clamping their jaws at the edge and running back to Orihime with high hopes of getting a treat. Were hollows reall capable of being friendly?

Sitting against the boulder, Ulquiorra only observed silently as they played their game. Ichigo had decided to play with them, even the two children ditching work to play, claiming it was not playing, but training with hollows. A couple of times the boy had tried to actually kill them only to be whacked on the head by Ururu.

He lowered his head as if to doze off, but his eyes were wide open, the pads of his fingers barely touching his bare cheek. It didn't feel any different than his arm brushing past his side or his wings skimming over his legs. There was no discomfort, there was no feeling to instill on his mind. He began to get frustrated, exhaling a breath from within the mask and ghosting onto his hand. He didn't like this, not one bit.

_What is happening inside...?_


	11. Bit by Bit

**A/N:**** Thank you for your reviews, but do tell me if it seems like I'm rushing (or the other way around) 'cause I have no clue. It's all based on my head and what I feel like, but for this one I was kind of in a hurry. As for the summary, yeah I'm still working on that. **

**Chapter X: Bit by Bit**

Night had fallen again from outside the shelter of the shop. Ulquiorra watched silently as Orihime bid the small cluster of lizards farewell near the ladder. She was laughing and making more promises of fun play to them, her eyes were shining so brilliantly at those words, hoping that the time for the occasion would be soon rather than later. He watched as her hand patted each head covered in bone in a friendly gesture. Their noises of happiness and delight began to soften when her hand went away and she stood from her kneeling position. Behind her stood the same orange-haired friend with the same scowl marring over his features; still wary and defensive when in the presence of the hollow standing only a few feet before them. He knew she was going to say bye to him as well and he knew that her male friend would always follow close behind to be sure nothing of bitter consequence would occur. One would think that after a time, such feelings of caution would disperse, but he supposed, since he was a vasto lorde and the other a shinigami, one could never be too careful. Her light and lively steps were quick to cover the distance between the two; Ulquiorra regarded her with his ever watchful gaze until he saw her hands come up to once again hold his cheeks. One covered in bone and the other almost fully exposed.

He visibly flinched at the touch of soft fingers on the left side of his face; the instinct to mutilate still functioning in his soul and urging him to do away with all threats, but he well knew that Orihime was no known threat and so resisted with a faint twitch. As she smiled warmly at him he could see Ichigo dart his eyes back and forth all around the both of them to spot any sort of unwanted movement. Ever the protective friend.

"It's time for me to go home now, Mr. Hollow." she chirped happily, but that dull sound of sadness at the edge of her voice was not spared from his senses.

_So it seems. _

It came to baffle him that he would start to answer her words in his mind even if she herself would be unable to hear them. It was unnecessary and a complete waste of effort, if there was any, on his part. Still, her hands remained on his face and the strange sensation of touch was irking at him, tingling his skin in a matter of seconds. The feeling disturbed and intrigued him all the same; he didn't know which was the dominant.

"I would actually feel better taking you guys with me. At least there, you would be a little more comfortable resting on the couch instead of on a bunch of rocks." she made sure to whisper this, but it was very likely that the shinigami boy had heard her hushed words. "Oh, but I promise I will someday! I bet it would be so much fun!"

He was sure the whole fun part would be with the reptiles for they were the ones most amused with the activities while he was most tuned to training with the boy despite the fact he would win almost constantly. Urahara never failed to laugh at the boy's expense for every loss, but it was no lie that he was improving in his skills with each passing day he would train. It was something that steadily made Ulquiorra uneasy; everything was based on instinct for him. Every alarm in his head screamed to kill him, yet he would just as easily ignore it. Without provocation he would do no such thing; there was no need to dirty his hands without cause. But this woman, surely she was provoking him in another fashion. Her touch was nothing like the motion of tearing or piercing, her voice was not a snarl of any sort, however; her eyes were not so different than a calculating predator. Even now as she said her promises, her eyes were watching him carefully.

They were searching for something in him, something he could not see and could not comprehend. Sometimes that gaze would be searching for it elsewhere, in the shinigami boy with the scowl.

_She is searching for a weak point._

That was the only thing he could come up with. Did he think she wanted to kill him perhaps? Was she really puting up a barrier in her soul, preventing others to see her true colors? This, he would question from time to time, but her touch on his face spoke other things; uncomfortable things so unlike that of malice or death.

He jolted at the feeling of her fingers tracing the area at the bottom of his cheek right where the mask obstructed her from touching further. His eyes widened at the unknown sensation and without thought, his hand slapped to close tightly around her wrist, halting her movements.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she quickly tried to remove her hand from him, but he still held her in his grip.

She winced at the strength of his hold. At the corner of her eye she could see a swift movement from Ichigo and quickly looked back at the hollow. He looked at her, blinking slowly and abruptly let go of her wrist. His gaze locked with nothing, but air that to them it would look like he was sad or possibly regretful.

"Mr. Hollow?" Orihime whispered, her hand cradling the one he had apparently hurt. "Are you okay?"

Ulquiorra allowed his eyes to look at hers; they were genuinely concerned for him compared to the almost hateful glare her friend was shooting at him. He would say that he honestly did not mean to cause her any pain, however; he couldn't say he felt any type of guilt for having harmed her. He nodded stiffly at her absentmindedly bringing up his hand to claw lightly on the area she had touched. He could see the guilt in her eyes and the sadness glimmering in them.

_I... Should..._

Should what? He didn't know. He could feel that impulse in him telling him to do something, but it was foreign to him. He didn't know how to even initiate the supposed action. It had to do with something in her words unfortunately he could not even do something as trivial as that. It was simply beyond his mind an power.

"Orihime..." Ichigo warned, his hand coming up as if to take her own. She spared him a glance before turning her attention back to Ulquiorra who tried to understand the inner turmoil thundering about in him. "It's time to go." he said softly.

"Okay." was all she said before placing a hand to her chest in worry. "Good-bye for now, Mr. Hollow." and then they both turned away from him, heading up on the metal bars to say the same to the others and take their leave in the outside world. Ulquiorra watched lazily, barely even noticing the approaching lizards coming to sit at his feet.

Their familiar eyes managed to make contact with his and illuminated a haunting red.

_"Does it hurt?"_ it was Tsuki who asked and he said nothing, staring straight ahead, not allowing them to steal his gaze in their trance to gain his attention.

_"Your mask..."_ he pressed, poking his snout onto his shin only to jump back with a cry of surprise when his tail suddenly sweeped in front of him to rid them of his space. _"Vasto Lorde-sama?"_

_Be quiet and be gone from my sight. I wish to be in my solitude._

His voice was harsh in their minds, cold and deadly. So familiar. They were sure that he would not hesitate to deliver the death blow to their fragil lives if they continued to press him further. They hissed among themselves and scurried over to the closed entrance of the training area, wishing and wanting for the warm presence of their precious human friend. They didn't like this, Ulquiorra was not safe company, they wanted to be away from the horrors of death and power in that cold desolate land they had been forced to call their home. Looking back at the retreating white form, they began to jump one by one onto the individual bars of the ladder, taking their time in climbing towards the entrance. They felt terror in their souls and wanted so much to escape from it. Protection was not here.

Back to where Ulquiorra had moved to a stray boulder he contemplated that feeling he felt before, the bitter one. It was so close to his lips that lay shut beneath the mask. Each breath would usually ghost over his nose and chin, but now it felt more free, escaping through the gap that had formed from his scratching. When she had touched so close to them, he thought for a second that she would tear it away and grant him the use of speech, but the moment he had thought that fleeting impulse he felt a primal urge to stop her. It was cold and biting at him and he realized that if anything were to happen to this barrier, the silence would be broken and turn into something horribly wrong.

Another small piece broke from the mask and he held it in between his thumb and index finger; examining it closely as though it were a specimen for a scientist to study. Into the silence was where he belonged, into the nothing was where he resides; without other sounds of pain, sorrow and madness was where true happiness lives. No sound, no possession.

_Nothing in me, nothing in them..._

He said this constantly in his mind, trying to dispel the urge to claw at the whiteness. His clawed hands trembled in their place whenever he remembered that girl's touch on his face. So full of worry and guilt and sorrow... There was something else, too. Flashing through her grey eyes when playing with those lizards and when talking to the shinigami boy. It was bright and soft like velvet; warm and inviting. It was possibly louder than the insane cries of hollows and quieter than the still world. He wanted...to know what it was; that emotion.

A claw twitched and impulsively went to scratch continuously at the mask.

_Nothing... in her..._

Soft at first and then hard, murderous. White dust fell from his face and mingled with the dirt. Loud sounds of cracking could be heard from the lower half, on his jaw. He wanted it to stop; this uneasiness, this silent gnawing warning. They've failed in their purpose to indulge him of their meaning of existence, their happiness that was not from their sight. He couldn't see; he couldn't see the fondest emotions that swirled in their eyes or warmed in their touch and it began to claw at him in a vise grip. If it was possible, it should've been seen, his eyes should have caught it.

_This is happiness... This is what we search for. That is what we are._

* * *

><p>Quietly, small claws crawled in the darkness of the silent shop. It was completely void of sound except for an odd light that shined in another hall, a few were curious enough to creep away from the group only to be put back in place by a sharp hiss from Tsuki who continued to scout carefully for any unwanted sounds. They soon found themselves on wood flooring, they could smell the night air seep through the entrance and all but ran for it.<p>

"And where do you think you're going, vermin?" a loud voice boomed making a few jump in fright and bump into another. A series of scared hisses and scratching claws were made known in a panic. Renji could only watch with uncertain eyes at the spectacle of the lizards trying to regain their composure or earings; he couldn't really tell. "I thought Urahara kept you in the training area, how'd you get out?"

He reached out to try and pick one up, but his intimidating glare made them raise their spiny spiked backs and hiss lowly in warning. Their red eyes, minus Tsuki, illuminated once more in hopes of deterring his advancements. When it seemed that it wouldn't succeed, they switched to a more simple tactic: Running.

They scattered swiftly and went in all sorts of directions throughout the shop, twisting and turning even jumping over the red-haired male now with an equal red face, flushed with anger. If they could, they would've smiled and hissed their laughter at him were it not for the dire situation happening in the underground area where the artificial sky was a light blue.

They cried their calls to each other and went for their last resort, seeing as this shinigami would not allow them freedom, burying under the wooden floor, past the dirt and whatever concrete lay in their path was their solution.

"What the-" he let out a frustrated growl and darted down the hall to check if the vasto lorde had left as well. "Urahara those hollows have escaped!"

The man was lying comfortably on the ground with the same fan waving back and forth in front of him. "Those reptiles? Yeah, I know."

"Wha... And you're not gonna do anything?" he shouted for all the world to hear.

"Calm yourself, Renji. They're only small ones that could hardly pose any sort of threat. Yes, that may sound foolish for me to say that since it would be just as easy for them to turn tail and eat someone, but they're probably looking for their sweet Orihime. Besides, they seemed moere intersted in fruit than actual blood."

"That logic is completely irrational..." he grumbled lowly.

"Has the vasto lorde followed them?" he suddenly asked, Renji only raised an inquisitive eyebrow and calmly answered in the negative.

"No. He's still wandering around in the training area with his head lowered."

"Did ya get a glimpse of his face?"

"Nope, why?"

The shopkeeper took a few minutes to think with the created winds flowing through his fac and moving messy strands of hair away from his now hardened eyes. "I want you to keep a close eye on him, be sure he doesn't get close to the entrance.

"Uh... Okay."

Underneath the earth, Tsuki and the others had managed to bury through the concrete and emerge a little away from the building where they were kept. They chirped their satisfaction and could hardly contain the happiness brimming up in them at the mere thought of being with the kind soul they had come to know as Orihime. The highly intelligent of the group, being the replicas, took to sticking their noses on the ground and sniffed lightly not just searching for her reiatsu, but her natural scent collected from those moments when she would hold them in her arms. A simple chirp of affimation and they were off, scurrying across the streets and going through alleys; startling strays and pets alike in their quest.

After an estimated hour or so, their hints brought them to a dimmed hall of an apartment building. A few lights remained bright in a couple of rooms, but the one that caught their attention most was the sound of a very familiar voice, one humming a tune. The lively sound was all they needed to burst out in a mad dash towards the door that was unfortunately kept under tight lock. Determined beyond measure, the group threw themselves against it in an attempt to break it down while a few resorted to clawing their way through. Their frantic attempts made them blind and deaf to their senses, not even taking notice of the humming ceasing its melody and not a moment after did the door fly open and in they tumbled in a heap.

"Tsuki-chan?!" the woman exclaimed, immediately kneeling low to get to their level. Many of them let out relieved and happy trills at her voice, but their presence seemed to have disturbed her somewhat for her eyes looked scared and surprised. Nonetheless they continued to bite at her clothing playfully and seek more of her gentle affection, maybe even get to eat more of that fleshy fruit the shinigami brought.

"Why are you guys out of Urahra's shop? Did something happen to Mr. Hollow?" she asked obviously fearful for her other hollow friend's well-being. At the mention of Ulquiorra almost all of them froze and their reptalian smiles fell into uncertain frowns.

Tsuki and Gero both shared what looked to be a short murmur of communication. "Is he okay?" she asked, the fear more evident in her voice and spreading throughout the colony. They didn't want to go back. She would be in danger, he was mad and upset in his condition. They were sure he would hurt her and they would do anything to keep that from happening. Quickly they tried in vain to grab her attention again, but she had darted away down into a hall to grab a cloth-like bag.

"Here get in, we're going back."

They looked at her blankly in silent refusal.

"Kurosaki-kun is out scouting the town with Kuchiki-san, but there may be other shinigami walking about and they might hurt you or worse. I don't want to risk you guys getting hurt." she tried to reason, but she was met with what she supposed was a bit of whining. "Aw, don't be like children!" she begged. "I'll feel bad!" Without anymore use of words she ushered them in the bag while two or three chose to ride on her shoulders and Tsuki, as always, sitting on her head as if to watch for any sort of danger.

Each of them waited with anticipation as she dashed through the streets in a hurry, getting closer and closer to the shop where they were positive something bad would happen. The majority of them cowered inside the bag, trying to take in whatever shelter they could get from the danger they would no doubt face once they returned. Instinct was a powerful thing for them, it was needed to assess any given situation. For hunger and survival, but now their instinct was telling them not to save their own life, but to preserve that of the woman. For that, they would gladly give up their own to saver hers.

Closer and closer they approached, Orihime's breathing was ragged as she quickly came to a stop at the entrance. "Urahara-san?" she called with a short knock.

"Orihime..." it was Yoruichi who answered and immediately she could see the grave expression in her eyes.

"Did something happen to Mr. Hollow?" she got straight down to the point, taking the few steps inside and heading for the underground entrance. "The lizards all came to my apartment, I thought something must have happened like a fight."

"Well, you see... It's not exactly a fight..."

"So everyone's okay?" she asked with relief heavy in her tone.

"You could say that, but there seems to be a dispute between us and your friend..."

"What do you mean?"

Instead of answering her, the feline woman led her towards the entrance and simply jumped down as opposed to taking the time to climb down.

"Oh thank goodness you've come, Inoue-san!" there was no mistaking that loud over-cheerful voice. She smiled in a quick greeting and immediately started her search for the lone being.

"Where's Mr. Hollow?"

Urahara cleared his throat uneasily and slowly moved aside to show her the form hunched over in a sitting position with his hands over his face. "About your hollow..."

From what he could hear, the woman didn't even allow the man to answer as he heard the faint soft steps approach him. He could hear the annoying frightened chirps muffled in the bag all except for the single lizard perched on her head. He could feel her hand on his shoulder and jolted at the feeling, sucking in a quick breath to calm the odd senses blaring throughout his body. Her voice was not even heard in his confusion and uncertainty. He knew what she would say, he knew what she would do and if it brought unpleasant results he swore upon his own empty life he would end her. He hated this change, he didn't want it it, he wanted time to turn back; the solitude the calmness, all of it he wanted it back. The thoughts raced heatedly in his mind as he counted the small eternal seconds until finally...

"Let me see, Mr. Hollow." she said so gently that it did nothing but erase his mental voice. The thoughts went away leaving a blank slate. Her hand touched his wrist that was covered in small specks of blood possibly from his frantic clawing and tearing of the object. It was just a little, but it was certainly enough for him.

Ever so slowly he allowed her the caution of peeling away his hands and carefully, placed a finger under his chin. The feeling of her index finger touching new skin was no different than the first time she had done so to his cheek, but when he heard the almost nonexistant gasp he very nearly went to her throat only to be calmed instantly by the feeling of her palm cupping his bare cheek; her eyes watched his emerald ones closely as a smile began to sprout on her lips. A tint of pink flushing over her face as she watched him begin to ease his head upward.

"It's nice to finally see you, Mr. Hollow." she smiled so warmly at him that he could do nothing but stare at it in serene contentment. His eyes fell almost as if he would fall asleep, however such was not the case.

"Ul..." the sound made her jump at how deep and low it was. "Ulqui...orra... Is my... name."


	12. Silence Broken in a Gamble

**A/N:**** I am terribly sorry for this overdue update, but your reviews did indeed keep this chapter alive in my head, so I thoroughly hope you aren't too disappointed by this. Twice the file had been deleted, but before the second time I was smart enough to save it on a USB and didn't lose everything like the first. As for myself, I'm just about this close to ripping everything apart, but I've grown fond of this fic, so I won't give up. The chapter may be a little unorganized due to my impatience... Now that I've got that out of my chest, please carry on.**

**Chapter XI: Silence Broken in a Gamble**

Orihime gently took away her hand to look at his face carefully, her eyes slightly wide and shining at finally hearing his soft voice for the first time since they had met. Her soft gentle smile never left her lips as she sat back on her knees in front of him. His eyes were watching her carefully, critically even, as if one wrong move could mean the difference between life and death, possibly her life, but she simply guessed that he was only uncertain of this new development. His voice was certainly shaky and terribly quiet, it was almost hard to catch, so it was only natural for him to be this way. Her expression never faltered as she moved her gaze slowly about him. The entire left half of the white material was ripped away from his face almost fully exposing his nose and lips. Without even thinking, she brushed her fingertips over them noting the difference in color between the upper and bottom lip only when he flinched did she realize her actions and immediately pulled away with a whisper of apology and resumed with looking more into his features. Black inky hair draped over the side of his face where the jagged remains of the helmet lined them and long bangs hung over at the center where it disappeared into the right half underneath the familiar bone. Despite its messy sight, the strands were like silk through her fingers as she caressed the hair at the center of his face. Pure curiosity and fascination dictated her actions, but she had to admit that he was not exactly bad looking, quite the opposite, yet it was his eyes that attracted her greatly.

"That's a very nice name, Ulquiorra-kun." she whispered, brushing the pad of her thumb over a single sorrowful looking eyebrow despite the blankness of his hard stare; he didn't seem to mind her touch much as it was becoming a regular occurrence.

She could see that those streaks carved in the mask were no decoration, a thin green slightly touched with a bit of blue trail marked his pale skin from the rim of his eye to the bottom of his jaw. The male hollow blinked suddenly at her comment and silently questioned the added 'kun' to his name when before she had used a more formal tone with the title of 'Hollow', but didn't think much of it the next moment. His thoughts were more directed to the new feeling of space; his hearing at the left side of his head seemed to enhance considerably as well as his breathing. _The air is incredibly thin here..._ he thought absently. Though he was granted speech, if one would listen very carefully they would hear his voice slightly muffled by the right half of the mask's obstruction. His musings of the subtle changes to his person was broken back to reality when the girl finally took away her hand to place it on her lap.

A single pale hand cautiously moved to gingerly touch his lips where hers had been momentarily. He never had a purpose to use them nor his tongue to form words; body language, if not his reiatsu, was enough to get the main points across to those unfortunate enough to encounter him in Hueco Mundo. Some practice with his speech was definitely in order, however, for one like him such a thing would take no time to master.

"Oh, you do know my name, right?" she pointed a finger to her chest indicating herself. Ulquiorra dropped his hand to rest over folded black wings, his eyes narrowed in a look of annoyance hearing that childish question slip throgh her lips. He was no fool and he was very tempted to call her such were it not for those gleaming grey eyes staring at him with such hope. He didn't care really, but he wondered if the way her name sounded in his mind would be the same with his voice and aside from that it would help to better control his tongue. A light sigh escaped him.

"Inoue...Ori...hime..." he needed more work than he thought. His mouth was dry and uncomfortable, he may as well have no voice, but then that would defeat the purpose of destroying half his mask. She clapped her hands once together in apparent happiness that continued to baffle him, even those annoying lizards were peeking at him through freshly bit holes in the bag, chirping in a loud chatter of what sounded like awe.

"And them?" she suddenly questioned, gesturing to the reptiles that stared so intently at him. One by one she picked them up out of the bag and into her arms and then he would answer, stretching it even to the shinigami behind her.

"Well it's to be expected for him to know a thing or two about a few of us after staying here for well over a month." Urahara approached the two with his fan tucked into his sleeves. "Now I'm sure it doesn't quite feel like so, but that is quite some time to keep a hollow here in my care. It's actually quite surprising that no one's found out yet, especially for one of your level." his smile was still plastered on his face as he chuckled lightly, yet his eyes held a serious edge to them, shadowed by his unkept hair and hat as if to intimidate him. The hollow only stared at him with disinterest. "If you would be so kind, Ulquiorra-san, I would like to speak with you and Orihime more comfortably." he pointed above him towards the shop above the training ground. Out of instinct he looked to Orihime whose smile minimized to a small worried frown before shooting him an assuring smile once more before standing up to follow the man and woman. The reptiles jumped back inside the bag slung over Orihime's shoulder in a string-like fashion while Ulquiorra stalled behind.

He stared at his hands and unfurled his wings, bringing himself to stand as well and follow. He broke that last physical barrier he had and still there remained nothing of great importance. He was on his feet now, caught the swift glance shot at him from over the girl's shoulder as he began to walk without real thought of mind. The others around him; the red headed shinigami, a man standing with the two strange children and even those weird stuffed animals were watching him curiously as if this was the first time they've met. It was then that he remembered his purpose from the glares of suspicion; that sole title etched deep within his very existance that made even the greatest warriors fall into darkness. His eyes stayed fixed onto the girl's back, not even acknowleging the wary red eyes peeking from the bag. His mouth pulled a tight thin line of indifference as an image of brightly colored eyes mirrored his own.

* * *

><p>"It's quiet tonight." Ichigo said as he sat on the rooftop of a building void of light and people. Standing behind him was none other than Rukia who stared at the bright light of the crescent moon looming high with the stars. She only offered him a hum of agreement at his comment.<p>

"It's starting to become like this every night. You would think with things as they are, we should be relieved that there is not much activity..." she allowed herself a light smile, but it was weak and fake, only for show.

"No kidding, but it certainly doesn't feel like the other boring patrol times."

"Is it because of Orihime's pet?" she asked when there was really no need. The answer was as obvious as his hair color and he could only let out a seemingly tired sigh at the question. "I do not understand her reasoning with keeping him here. I suppose it's natural to express gratitude for safety," she said with a bitter look. "However, there is no reason for him to stay here."

"I agree, but all the times I've asked her she would just stop and stare at him when he was off staring at something else or being pestered by those lizards." A long silence stretched between them as the wind quietly blew through their hair.

"It will only be a matter of time before someone finds out." the male finally said softly. "I doubt they'd let him go with a warning with him being a vasto lorde and all."

"It's odd though..." Rukia mumbled. The substitute glanced an inquisitive look her way as she brought a finger to nearly touch her chin in thought. "I've seen countless hollows with various sorts of masks linked on their face, but I've never seen nor heard of a mask quite like his. There was always fangs or teeth; a mouth hungering for more souls, but his is completely covered. There's no opening at all and even those lizards can feel some sort of hunger judging from the watermelon you gave them." at that she laughed at him and he only scoffed at her.

"Hollows eat and eat to fill up the void in their chest, but he does nothing. Urahara said that that is the highest point a hollow could become; a vasto lorde, but if that's all what else is there after that?" Ichigo asked and Rukia remained silent, unable to offer even a thought to an acceptable answer.

"What purpose is there for him if there is no more hunger and reason?"

They sat and stood there on top of the abandoned building wondering and waiting for an answer that would not come. It wasn't until a very simple suggestion escaped the Kuchiki's fair lips. "We could just ask him." and Ichigo just stared dumbly at her, unable to decide whether the words she spoke were something else or completely stupid.

"And how exactly would he tell us?" he grumbled, effectively killing the short girl's small enthusiasm of figuring out the odd situation they found their friend in and it would not just be her, but everyone around her as well. "I wonder though..." he said suddenly, the tone of his voice drawing the other to stare curiously at him as he raised his head to look away from the other shops and houses. "Is there really such a thing as a good hearted hollow?" he wondered out loud, the image of Orihime's brother staring at them with so much pain and sorrow from trying with all his might to be free from the other murderous hollows that have already succumbed to their fate, if it would keep his precious little sister alive and well.

"Ichigo?" she whispered.

"I just can't think of it as that way. What do you think?" he asked her, but all she could do was answer with a simple "I don't know". She answered this because being hollow is just too painful to comprehend, an insane loneliness accompianied with only hunger for what was lost and what can never be regained. He only hummed at her as another soft gust of wind howled softly to its next destination with the night clouds. The shinigami stood and continued to dash through the town once more to check for any hollows that they knew would not be here. Neither said a word to the other, too lost in their own thoughts for what they would most likely see when they returned to the shop.

When they did come back it was well over midnight and they could not contain their surprise at seeing Orihime sitting at the small table with Ulquiorra beside her. Across from them was Urahara and Yoruichi, Renji was sitting against the wall in casual clothing with his arms crossed over his chest and a grave expression framed onto his face as he was sitting beside the bag full of lizards.

However, the fact that shocked them the most was the sight of bright green eyes staring at them with an empty expression and black draping over white like paint to a blank canvas; a stain. There was no longer so much white.

"Urahara, what happened?" Rukia asked as the teen beside her pointed weakly to Ulquiorra's half exposed face. "His face..."

The shopkeeper cleared his throat as Yoruichi beckoned them to take a seat to which they soundlessly did. "Yes I am well aware of the slight changes to his look, but hey! I think he looks better don't ya think, Orihime-chan?" he asked playfully to which the girl only laughed cheerfully at his words. He smiled approvingly as he turned towards the subject of their talk. "Now if you would be so kind, please introduce yourself to these fine guests of mine, Hollow-san." he waved a hand in their direction to the two confused shinigami, Ulquiorra followed it automatically and stared at them in silence as they awaited his words with hidden anticipation, well for the female it was hidden.

He seemed to find this odd, was his name really of much importance to these people? Could they not just say who he was? He didn't have to talk constantly like those around him, it just wasn't necessary; talking with Orihime and the two in front of them was enough. Initializing a conversation was just not in his nature unlike the girl beside him. He let out a sigh and opened his mouth to speak once more.

"My name is...Ulquiorra." he was getting better; at least he wasn't breaking the words apart and was simply getting more breath and moisture in his mouth as seen with a glass of water set in front of him. His voice came out a little smoother and was by nature low and deep. Ichigo continued to stare at him in wonder while Rukia took the opportunity to respond.

"I am glad that we at least know who you are, Ulquiorra and I take that you already know us by name, correct?" she was answered with a subtle nod of his head.

"You guys can relax about interrogating the poor soul, Yoruichi and myself have done that quite enough. Almost lost his voice from trying to answer all of them." he chuckled, waving a hand to dispel of any questions hovering over their lips. " I think I almost made him yell..." he smirked at him while Orihime laughed lightly. "Really, it was like talking to a broken record."

"What was it he kept saying?"

"'That information is none of your business' and phrases that basically meant the same thing or somewhere along those lines."

Orihime huffed a silent sigh, earning a swift glance from the dark haired woman sitting across from her with a bowl of rice in her hands. "What we were discussing was about where Ulquiorra-kun could stay." she said softly knowing that a simple weak smile would do nothing. She knew Kurosaki would not take it kindly and it was evident in the tone of his voice.

"What'a wrong with the underground training area?" he asked lowly.

"Oh there's nothing wrong with it at all. It's just we're not gaining much helpful information on our hollow friend here aside from training you. He doesn't seem to want to interact with any of us, not even Ururu, and he only seems to become more animated when Orihime comes to play. Get what I mean?"

"No, I don't."

"I hope you don't mean what I think you mean." Rukia said lowly, her expression steeling over into one akin to when engaging in an inevitable fight.

"I'm afraid it is dear Rukia. Having Ulquiorra-san stay with Orihime is as close as I can get to figuring out what he wants without resorting to a fight. If we can somehow settle this peacefully then by all means, I'll help however I can."

"Don't you realize that by saying that, you could be endangering not only Orihime, but everyone around her?" Ichigo banged his hand hard against the wooden table, disturbing the delicate glass and threatening it to tumble onto its side. Ulquiorra watched calmly with noted attention to a single drop that strayed over the rim of his cup before meeting the enraged gaze of the Kurosaki boy with his own tranquil one. "There's no guarantee that he'll be a love-sick puppy like those lizards; he could potentially kill her." he stated quietly, never breaking the hold their gazes created.

"Then do tell me, why has he not done so in Hueco Mundo, Ichigo?" Yoruichi asked, her head moving to lean on her hand.

For this he could not answer. That was one of the main question they have all wanted to hear, but the hollow in question did nothing to relieve their curiosity and suspicion. Sitting in his space, uncharacteristically quiet since the two have returned, Renji finally chose that moment to speak. "If you're so worried that he might do something we can have Chad or Uryu stay with her, hell even me or Rukia could do it."

"You have a point, moocher..."

The voices blended into the background as Orihime lowered her eyes down onto the table with dull eyes. That frown on her face was apparent and was not kept from the watchful green. She was not happy with this situation and it seemed that no one could easily see her thoughts as he did or if they had, did not wish to acknowlege them. He turned slightly to her and caught the sight of loneliness etched deep in her being as if she was trying to solve this all on her own.

"Orihime you can't be serious about allowing him in your home, can you?" Rukia asked softly, her gaze softening as she reached a hand to her shoulder.

"Well, I uh... I honestly don't think he would wish me any harm at all. He doesn't seem interested in anything like that."

"What we're worried about Orihime, is not the fact that he would or would not hurt you, but the fact that he could hurt you. Your brother didn't want to when he was under the hollow's control and yet he could not help but do so anyway."

"Hey Yoruichi that's going too far..." a weak hand reached her way, but the words were already out of her mouth and there was no missing that pang of hurt stabbing at the poor girl in front of them.

"I understand that, but..."

"You humans..." the voice startled them all to silence as all eyes darted over to Ulquiorra who touched the glass cup with soft touches on the rim. "Are not... so trusting. I was wondering why... you would not allow her space." he said this slowly and never left the cup, lifting it and taking a very small sip. After a long time it was odd to feel something slip down his throat, it was soothing.

His words had them all wide eyed and baffled at his observation, Orihime nor the shopkeeper himself could find any words to respond; all except for Ulquiorra himself.

"Perhaps, if you would care at all... you would allow a flower to bloom," he stopped to stare at them in pure wonder as if he was suggesting something to a formula. "More freely..." the words were more directed towards himself, not as a statement, but as a question in his mind. He really had no say in this, he shouldn't have had one, he didn't care and yet he just went and said words that he knew humans would hold onto. Words that were only words and held no physical value, only reassurance and fake promises or so he has seen countless times in the forest and as lower stages of a hollow. Whatever their meaning, they did in fact make the dullness in her grey eyes shine anew.

"Your concerns are empty... Hunger does not exist for me." he said finally as he scratched at the object with a single digit, a white line following its trail.

Silence reigned for a short time before Urahara coughed to break it. "Well said, Ulquiorra-san, but how is it we can trust your words?" he asked with a grin.

To this he looked at him tediously and hummed as if in thought. "Your decision in placing your trust... is entirely up to you... I have already said what can only be said for me." a tail flicked freely to the side and a wing twitched against the edge of the table. They would continue to talk of this issue well over the night and miss a day of school tomorrow, until then Ulquiorra would stay in the underground area feeling an odd feeling of disturbance leaking at his core.

Black clouded his inner vision and there could be seen only a silhouette of a form of the same height as he standing before him without a face or voice to speak of. A black coated hand pointed to his chest where there lay the small hole of his heart and touched the edge; there was no feeling. Questions floated like a mist in his head of this weird sensation of nothingness, something that called to him in a voice of silent distortion. He could not understand, the sound was becoming more distant as he tried to listen, but was soon broken out of his reverie by a light hand touching his shoulder.

"I will go home today okay, Ulquiorra-kun?" the girl said softly as the others remained seated and spoke among themselves in a whisper to his ears. "I hope we can talk more tomorrow. I won't go to school, so would that be fine with you?" she had no idea why she had to ask, but she couldn't really help it. There was just too much stress at the moment to think crystal clear.

"Yes."

She beamed him a kind smile to which he obviosly did not return, but chose to silently acknowlege it in his own reserved way. An apology was also sent his way in a whisper of her soft voice, yet it was as if it was sincere; that she wished that they wouldn't have thought so bad of him and this puzzled him. It was all understandable, they were in right of mind to think of the danger she'd be putting herself in with his presence constantly in her home. There was nothing to keep his power in check if so wished to kill on a whim, not that he'd do that, but the girl was certainly something to actually think of him at a level the same as her friends. Ridiculous. She could not be read so easily as the others, her thoughts were not always up to par with her expressions, yet at that moment when she looked so broken, with her eyes dulled and her frown deep, however small and subtle they appeared, at the memory of her brother, she was the exact image of the word that so clearly manifested into his very soul.

Despair.


	13. Emotions: Mind or Instinct

**Chapter XII: Emotions, Mind or Instinct**

Ulquiorra was led back to the underground training area by Ichigo who followed with his arms behind his head in a bored fashion looking much like Jinta who was stuck doing a tedious chore. The pale being had paid him no mind and had walked silently with the lizards crawling over his feet, some of them tripping on purpose for the fun of it whenever he lifted his foot and rushing to avoid getting stomped on. They seemed to take him as being in a good mood, but tonight was not going to be a normal quiet as he had hoped or in this case came to expect for when they came upon the entrance to the vast area, the shinigami boy did not leave immediately for home, but instead continued to follow him inside and lean against the wall while he chose to stand as if lost. The lizards all huddled together against him, their red eyes trained at the teenager behind their 'shield', their needle-like spines raising in a threatening manner.

"Why are you here?" he asked calmly, paying no mind to the small ones' hissing.

Ulquiorra slowly turned his head half-way to look at him, but there was no light in his eyes, nothing that would indicate an acknowlegement to his question. Ichigo recognized that look to be the same gaze whenever they fought in a sparring match. He scowled at that gaze, there was no purpose behind that look, nothng striving to get better; it was simply a dead empty look that didn't care what the result would be and when the battle woud go in his favor he would stop like a machine programmed to and either wait for his opponent to get up or walk back to his spot near the unbroken boulder he had silently kept for himself. In his eyes despite the bright color of green there reflected nothing, but black and white. He never killed anything which was a relief, yet he seemed highly attached to Orihime and to Ichigo, that was a bad sign as all Hollows are to target the ones they cherished most or at least something resembling them.

"Hey come on, let's just talk." he rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably and waited. "You can settle down your pets, I won't do anything." he said while waving his hand at them, but they made no move to quiet their hisses.

Preferring the silence, Ulquiorra slowly swept his tail at them making them jump back to avoid getting hit and as a routine they seemed to know, left him to crawl on the large rock, chattering amongst themselves in the process. The orange haired male couldn't help but chuckle at the act and Ulquiorra stared at him with questioning eyes.

"You're a strange group of fellows..." he commented with a slow shake of his head.

"I...could say the same... for you..." he answered. Ichigo stared at him in disbelief with his eyes slightly wide only to return to normal the next moment.

"Heh, I didn't think you'd answer. Well, that's something I guess." he mused with a smirk. "Hmm, no I don't think we're quite that normal either."

"She is not normal..." he added, turning away to sit on the ground with his wings folding over his lower half, hooking at the single claws sticking out at the top. "Humans... are strange creatures..." he said it as an after thought and it made Ichigo almost want to smile at how childish that comment sounded, but he knew he was dealing with a very intelligent hollow.

"You're no different either batman, what's got you interested in humans anyway? We're all the same aren't we? We're only food to you guys." he glanced over at the listening lizards whose eyes had widened a little at his words. "What makes her so special?"

The hollow in question looked at him as if he had struck him in the gut, his eyes were slightly wide, but there was nothing else giving a hint as to what he thought, remaining still and quiet like an unused puppet. Though he didn't answer his curious questions he thought about them as if they were his own and when too much time seemed to pass he would blink and dismiss the questions entirely by looking away to stare at nothing in the distance.

"You don't seriously mean to get close to her do you?" he asked once more. "Do you owe her? She save you or something with her powers?" he was coming up with random questions until he thought to ask something he knew was ridiculous. With a raised eyebrow he looked at the curious hollow and allowed the words to slip off his tongue. "Do you love her?"

It was an innocent question that had no real meaning other than to get something out of him and it seemed to work. The lizards chattered almost excitedly at the shinigami's words, but Ulquiorra only felt confusion at the unfamiliar word.

"Love..." he mused softly. "What is this love?"

"It's a strong emotion that you feel towards someone or something. For example," he lifted a finger to point at the lizards. "They love watermelon."

Instantly, they all scattered towards him in a frenzy at the mentioned word of watermelon. "See?"

Ulquiorra stared at the lesser hollows as they sniffed at the shinigami without a trace of fear, searching for the refreshing smell of the fruit, but Ichigo didn't seem to like their close proximity all that much judging by the look of his glare when one of them, Tsuki, clawed at his robes. It was obviously the wrong type of love he was talking about.

"A strong attraction... is love?" he thought out loud.

"Well in simple terms, yes a strong attraction. Is that how you feel towards Orihime?"

"Love... Orihime..." his eyes trailed down to stare at the ground as he took a few minutes to think about it. "She is... interesting..." he mumbled, but his words were uncertain.

"But do you love her?"

Annoyed by the repeating question he glared at him with narrowed eyes. "What is the difference?"

"The heart."

"Heart?" he touched his chest. "My heart holds nothing but blood." That was obvious, the organ was used only to pump blood throughout the body unless it worked diffrently for humans. He heard the other laugh at his words and it only confused him more.

"Yes, I would think so, but what I mean is the figurative meaning. You're a hollow which means you have lost your human qualities. The hole on your chest proves it. Emotions are what make up the term 'love'; in other words you care deeply for someone, in this case it'd be Orihime."

"Emotions..." his eyes narrowed like a poised snake ready to attack. "There is none..." he said quickly making Ichigo frown. "Sadness, happiness... there exist nothing of what you have described... Not in me." the image of something vast and white that screamed desolate and emptiness flashed through his mind and he was reminded of the desert he walked upon before he followed the girl.

"To answer your question, Kurosaki... I do not love Inoue Orihime." he stated coldly with his eyes locked onto brown ones. Ichigo sighed and ran a hand through his hair, confusion wrecking havoc to his brain.

"Then why did you choose to follow her, protect her?"

Ulquiorra remained silent, pondering his question, but feeling no immediate action to answer it. His input on the situation was not important and therefore he was not important. He didn't say anything further and Ichigo didn't go on with his interrogation either, just stayed there watching him throughout the night until Orihime came back and recieved word of Urahara's decision.

When morning came Ulquiorra was still in his place on the ground like a statue while Ichigo had dozed off on his feet allowing the lizards to quietly rip at his clothing to build a nest of cloth right by his sandled feet. Their movements were subtle and silent so as to not disturb him, their work taking the majority of his pants all the way up to the knee. From the entrance a small body climbed down with a backpack slung over a shoulder, the hollows moved only to a glance at her, but when they saw she was coming near the teen they all scurried back to the Vasto Lorde.

"Some guard you turned out to be..." she muttered angrily. "Hey! Wake up!"

One smack across the head was just enough to wake Ichigo who responded with a nice shout back at her. "You freakin' Midget, what the hell was that for!?" he yelled while touching at his throbbing head.

"I thought you said you could handle watching them!"

"And I did! they're right where I- Who ripped my pants?" looking down at his ruined attire he could see the wrinkled clothing made up in a pile beside him and instantly he looked at the lizards staring at him from behind their 'shield'. "You know what, if we're gonna kill them, I say we start with the vermin..." he said calmly earning a sigh from his friend.

"Your fault for not doing what you said you would do."

"Can you really blame me if all they do is nothing..." he grumbled, but he knew his mistake, had it been any _normal_ hollow he would have sustained serious injuries and would probably be dead if it were another Vasto Lorde.

"Orihime will be coming soon, Kurosaki so I suggest that you put on a change of clothing." another voice smirked while climbing down the ladder with a black cat perched on his shoulders. "Kon's up there with the others." he was trying to suppress a laugh, but was doing a lousy job hiding it.

"You better hurry up. We have a lot to discuss with him." Yoruichi glanced over at Ulquiorra who watched them with mild curiosity.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be quick..."

As they spoke among themselves and the lizards went to collect their hand-made bed, Ulquiorra allowed his mind to drift to the remnants of his mask. The itch he had felt was gone and he hadn't destroyed any more part of it since he ripped off the left portion. His voice had become clearer, but there were times where he would break off a sentence or two. Speaking did not strike him as much as he thought it would, however, in their eyes he was still considered quiet despite the words he would say. Well, he supposed that quiet and silence was somewhat different in a way.

He stood then when he saw two figures move at the entrance and knew without needing to look that Orihime had come and it was a dead give away when the lizards abandoned their 'bed' to crowd at the bottom of the ladder forcing Ichigo to jump off his place when they only gave enough room for the girl. He watched as she bent down to greet each one of her hollow pets and offer them a small piece of the fruit Ichigo had said they loved. He had to wonder if the boy would tell her of the words he spoke of in the dark morning hours. What would her reaction be? Oh, but it was obvious he was a hollow, it was elementary to see that there was no heart. A hand rose to touch the left side of his bare chest; of course she would know that love was impossible for him.

With that conclusion he dropped his hand.

"Ulquiorra-kun." she greeted from her place and he just stood there watching as she waved at him before turning to the others. "Good morning, Urahara-san, Yoruichi-san, Kuchiki-san." she said with a cheerful smile and they all replied with a little less enthusiasm.

"Before we begin, let's go somewhere more comfortable and have some tea and there's some breakfast made for you Kurosaki. You're welcome to have some too, Orihime." he glanced down to the lizards who seemed to cower at his shadowed gaze. "I have some watermelon if you'd like as well." he chuckled when they looked at each other with uncertainty.

"Thank you for the offer, Urahara-san, but I already ate."

They all seated themselves at the small table and waited for Urahara to speak while Noba and Kurodo brought out the tea and a plate of food for Ichigo. Ulquiorra was also given a small cup, but having no knowlege of the green liquid and the steam floating off of it, he only stared at it with a small scowl barely noticeable on his face.

"You don't like tea, Ulquiorra-kun?"

He glared at the shopkeeper at the drop of the 'san', but dismissed it to look at the cup with what they called tea. Urahara laughed at his reponse, clearly enjoying playing with him. He didn't move a finger to lift the cup to his lips and it was likely he wouldn't for quite some time.

"All right, Kisuke. It's time to get down to business, enough playing around." the feline woman said, still talking in the form of a cat's. "As we were discussing, Orihime, Ulquiorra only seems to be more active with you." an ear twitched when she spoke and her eyes narrowed with a skeptical look.

"Well, more than he is here." mumbled Urahara, earning a look from the cat. "Normally, we'd just send him back to Hueco Mundo seeing as that is the only suitable place for him than here, but I doubt you'd just listen to us, hm?"

"Correct." he answered flickering his gaze away from the cup.

"But without a valid reason, we can't just let him do what he pleases especially if he could easily hurt her." Ichigo butted in with a bit of egg in his mouth. "I understand that she can protect herself with her Rikka, but what if that isn't enough? How can we just turn a blind eye for him and not see him as what he is?" he asked without taking his eyes away from the hollow sitting across from him.

To this Ulquiorra stared at him with that same empty gaze. "Trust." he said, blinking as he seemed to process the meaning. Another rare term. "If it is honesty you seek... I have that."

"So when you say you won't hurt her, do you actually mean it?"

"There would be no point in harming the woman."

"Huh. Okay, I have another question: how am I to be sure you're not looking to take something from her?" he asked with a much more deeper meaning than what the words implied.

"Kisuke!" Yoruichi and Rukia exclaimed, the feline's ears and tail standing straight up at his implication.

"You never know, I mean he is a male." he raised an eyebrow at the two. "It's quite obvious, maybe we should've given him clothes or something; what with his wings being the only thing covering him."

At his words, Orihime as well as Rukia couldn't help, but blush a furious shade of red. The more innocent of the two moving her face away, pretending without success to be oblivious to their current discussion. In all honesty she never really looked at her hollow friend in such a way, it was always his covered face that caught her attention and everything else was just... there. She didn't even notice when they looked over his wounds from the other hollows.

"You know I can't believe no one else noticed." he sighed crossing his arms together, exaggerating the subject more than necessary. "You guys are teenagers right? They haven't taught you health or what?"

Now it was both Ichigo and Orihime feeling very embarassed and very uncomfortable on the subject of the hollow's gender. "Does that have any point to this? Why would his gender mean anything?"

"Well, man I thought teens were all about this. Ahh, it's good to know you guys are so innocent." he laughed, knowing he was not making anything better for them. "But in regards to this, hollows vary; it really depends in what they did before they become like this, but some are capable of more than just mutilation and devouring their prey. So, it isn't really strange to hear some reports akin to those of serial killers you see in those cop shows."

"Oh, I think I've watched one of those shows with Ichigo's sisters. Their technology is really something, especially when there are so few clues as to who could be the culprit!"

"You watch them, too?"

He cleared his throat and quickly turned his attention back to Ulquiorra once more when he saw the other three glare at him. "I'm sure you're more dignified than to take part in such acts, correct, Ulquiorra-kun?" he asked while nursing a few claw marks on his cheek.

"Correct." the movement of his eyebrow was the only indication he was scowling at the man; the words he spouted were definitely something only trash would speak of.

"My goodness, he's like a robot!" he whispered not so quietly into Yoruichi's ear.

"Are you quite done with your games?" she asked in annoyance.

"Oh it's no game Yoruichi, this is a very serious matter and everything must be made certain. And I believe you have me under the impression that you won't do anything for the time being Ulquiorra-kun. For now, I will place my trust in your words."

"You're not serious..." the cat and the strawberry said in unison. To them it seemed very much like a game.

"But, I have to be quite certain there will be no casualties to this. Orihime, please give me your hand for a moment." He rummaged through his sleeve and took her hand to place a black collar with a red jewel at its center in her palm. "If you'd be so kind, please put that on your friend." they all looked at him as if he'd lost his mind and stared at the object like it was something to be detested and thrown away. Sensing the odd stares and silence he lifted his head to look at them. "What?"

"This is not a pet shop, you do realize this, right?"

"Well of course I do, it's my shop. I'd have to be a fool not to know that. This is just so that others like Rangiku or another squad member won't be able to detect you; I'm not sure if it'll work on a captain, but its better than nothing. So go ahead and put that on."

"I'm sorry Ulquiorra-kun, but can you move your hair a little?" she asked quietly. He glared at the strange object and was about to refuse before the talkative shopkeeper opened his mouth once more.

"It would be best to do so, Ulquiorra-kun. Without that, there will be more troubles piling on than just hollows sleeping under my roof. I won't be able to do anything if another shinigami catches wind of you here and report to Yamamoto; really all that you'll see in the end is death. Not just you might I add." he said calmly holding the ceramic cup to his lips. "I like to do things peacefully, so if it isn't too much trouble, please put on the collar."

He did nothing as he sat there, just stared at the man as if he were a distasteful object in display of store. Orihime, though hesitant, shakily brought her hand to move away his hair and strapped on the collar. Once it was snapped into place, the jewel came to life with a glow.

"Hmm... maybe I should've made it in the form of a necklace." he said thoughtfully. "Oh well, now I know what to use in the future anyway. Here, be sure to have this in hand at all times." he reached out to give her a remote device with another smaller jewel embedded at the front of it, glowing the same as the one attached to his neck. "This is just to ensure safety for all those around you and yourself."

"Okay." she said with a slight frown. The unusually quiet lizards all hissed at the thing and inched away from it and in turn inched away from Orihime. It promised nothing but bad things. "What about them?" she asked when she reached towards the plastic box she had to give them more watermelon.

"I'm afraid, they'll have to stay here. They're smaller and in numbers, to watch over all of them is a bit much even for you. I assure you though, they'll be cared for." he smiled warmly at her. "Besides, they have Ururu and Jinta to play with so I'm sure there won't be much problems with them and you're welcome to visit anytime as well. I think that just about fixes everything, don't you?"

"I suppose."

The lizards trilled their displeasure that they couldn't follow Orihime like Ulquiorra would, but were quickly quieted by more fruit placed in front of them by the two stuffed animals.

"Oh and one last thing before we leave this be; the duration of your visit Ulquiorra-kun will not be forever or however long you wish to stay. I for one am not so keen with an execution, so I will have to limit your stay. You're not exactly easy to hide, so I will inform of how long you can stay in a week or so."

Ulquiorra said nothing and made no move to acknowlege his words, but they were heard no matter how much he'd prefer not to listen. Instead he looked down to try and see the device they had forced him to wear, but seeing as it was rather tight he reached up to touch it only to feel a cackle of electricity snap at him. Startled at the live thing, he pulled away.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. If you even try to get it off it will drain you, more than just your power. I apologize, especially of how civil you seem to be, but I can't be too careful."

Understandable, he supposed, but it was certainly a dreadful thing to wear. He had to wonder what it would do if Orihime actually pressed the button.

"Well now, I guess Ichigo can accompany the two of you home or you could stay around here if you'd like."

"Nah we have homework, so I'll hang around with Orihime to finish it. See ya." he said quickly, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the exit, shouting a thanks for the food. Ulquiorra silently followed the pair and watched how the girl's face turned a very light shade of pink.

"How odd..." he murmured and glance behind to see the two children distract the llizards from following.

* * *

><p>From one place to another, Ulquiorra was kept locked up in some cramped space; first it was the training ground underneath a small shop and now he was placed in an even smaller place known as Orihime's room. The reason why he was placed there without the other two's supervision was simply because the shinigami boy wanted to speak with her privately. He had said he didn't care what they'd speak of in front of him, but either way he just didn't care in general and followed through with his whining. There was no point, he could hear their muffled voices through these flimsy walls, so to occupy himself he decided to see what there was in the room, there was certainly more stuff here than in the shop. Stuff that weren't small and in boxes.<p>

"You're really sure you don't want anyone else to be with you while he's here?" he asked one more time, leaning against the wall by the kitchen. She nodded at him with a soft smile.

"I'm certain he won't do anything aside from talk. He said he wouldn't do anything and so far he has done exactly as he's said."

"But he hasn't been here that long for us to know his true intentions."

"That's true, but I still trust him. Besides if things do go wrong, I'll at least be able to hold my ground long enough to warn you guys and plus there's this." she held up the remote control to show him. "You don't have to worry about me Kurosaki-kun, I can take care of myself here just fine."

He sighed heavily at her words and lifted his head to look at her, offering a small smile in return to her positive gaze. "Alright, but I wasn't kidding when I said I needed help with the homework."

Evening came and went, falling into the darkness of the waking night. Orihime's annoying friend finally went home, not without the usual questions of earlier being replayed once more and it grated at the hollow's ears. He sat there on the ground with his folded wings and flicking tail moving aside fallen books as he busied himself in looking into one of the large hard-covered books. On the front it read 'Dictionary' and out of curiosity he had opened it to read whatever words it had to offer. His eyes scanned them thoroughly through each given term, some he knew of and some that were new. Reading, he found, was something he enjoyed or at least was the closest thing to pleasure he knew of.

As he continued turning and reading he notice that the room had gotten dark and in his search of something remotely interesting he had, in a way, trashed Orihime's room. He stared at the condition with bored eyes; some books with papers were lying open with their notes scattered and a bit of clothing stuck out of her drawers. Stuffed animals, that he found weren't alive and had a bit of their stuffing sticking out, were lying on the bed cover in small rips and tears as well as other small things lying out of their place were seen in an unsightly manner. Picking up a square piece of paper from one of the notebooks, he stuck it inside the dictionary to hold his place and grabbed some other large books from her shelf along with a few other small thick ones he was interested in reading and placed them inside a closet with other clothes hanging.

He moved towards the door to see what the girl was up to, but when he opened it, a new smell entered his nostrils. He couldn't quite describe the smell, but his curiosity got the best of him and he wandered into the kitchen where there was a small pot boiling a brown looking liquid and a plate of harmless rice standing beside it. The burner was off and the girl was just about to pour some of the liquid on the empty space beside the rice with a large spoon.

"Oh hello, Ulquiorra-kun."

He ignored her greeting and moved to take a closer look at whatever it was the woman had made. "What is this?"

"It's curry. It's kinda bland right now, but that's 'cause I haven't added any extra ingrediants. I usually add them while it's cooking, but I thought I'd eat it as it is. Want to try some, it's still a little hot though." without waiting for a reply she took her spoon and scooped some of it to bring it towards him. He stared at the odd food, not making any move to open his mouth. "It's not poison and the others ate watermelon and they didn't die or anything. Its just a taste test." she tried, but she only got a cold glare from him.

"There's some water right here if you don't like it." she coaxed and for a moment his eyes flickered to the glass holding cool ice and filled with water. There was no taste there.

He grunted a little at her before reluctantly opening his mouth to allow the small bit of food in. The heat burned at his tongue and he visibly stiffened, but continued to chew the vegetables and meat along with the rice. After he had swallowed, the hot flavor from the food remained and only continued to burn at him seeming to intensify with each passing moment. Wordlessly he grabbed the glass of water and slowly drank from it, cooling his mouth and washing away the taste and heat.

"Did you like it?" she asked looking down at the plate. "I think I may have added a little too much of the spices, but normally that's what everyone puts. I usually add wasabi and other stuff, but I'm saving the rest of that for later." she scooped a bigger amount onto her spoon and began to eat. "If you want, I can serve you some."

Ulquiorra stared at the food. There wasn't a whole lot, just enough, but he wasn't really interested in eating anything more.

"There is some tea, too. Would you like some of that?" she popped open the fridge to get some of the cooled tea and poured it into the empty glass. "Try it."

It must've been the same type of drink the shinigami shopkeeper had, only it wasn't warm. He wasn't too keen to drink it, but he grabbed it anyway and took a small drink. There wasn't much flavor to it, but he seemed to like it more than the tasteless water.

"So you do like it." she said as he continued to drink. "I'll be sure to have some at all times." she smiled happily at him and went to get another cup for herself. She moved to sit at the table with her guest following close behind her. They sat across from each other, neither bothered by the silence between them.

He watched her as she ate her food, hearing the small clinks of her spoon hitting the glass plate. She didn't mind the silence or the stares at all. The comfortable silence would have remained were it not for a question that sparked in her mind from a rather small detail. "Ne Ulquiorra-kun, you haven't scratched at your mask, have you?" she asked with a warm smile. He looked at her and automatically brougt up a hand to touch the right portion of his mask.

"No."

The pale marks of old attempts were still there, but there have yet to be anymore marring its surface. "I see. It doesn't annoy you?"

"No."

"Hmm..." she hummed with a small pout.

"It bothers you." he said startling her out of her thoughts.

"Well, I just want to see the rest of your face." she said nervously knowing she couldn't lie after he had said there was no point to saying false things. "I don't know why, but," she paused to set down her spoon and moved her hand to point at the covered half of his face. "when I look at you, you just seem... so sad."

"You are implying the marks of my face taking on the image of tears."

She laughed at his choice of words. "I suppose so, but it's not only that. Your eyebrows and eyes, well aside from just the outside appearance, I get the impression that you aren't happy with how you are now."

"Happy?" he blinked at her.

"Mm-hm."

"The only happiness I know of... is nothing." she frowned at him. "Emotions... I do not have them..." he touched his chest again. "This heart you and your friends speak of is not there." he took her hand and brought it close to the hole on his chest. Her fingertips touched at the very rim of the circular gap and she couldn't help, but feel an immense sadness engulf her. She sighed when she felt him release her, the tips of his claws brushing past her wrist sending a cold chill up her spine.

"You may have lost a heart, Ulquiorra-kun, but I do believe you can gain it back."

He didn't respond to her words and allowed the rest of the time to pass on quietly until she retired for sleep. She didn't make a fuss at the sight of her messy room and simply laughed it off, saying she would take care of it later. The night continued to grow and the feel of the moon's glow reflecting off his pale form was somewhat appealing to him. The faint light of the glowing jewel at his neck bothered him just as much as the thin air around him, the device was not so important to him. What did was that small voice inside him that seemed to whisper incoherent words at the back of mind. It unsettled him greatly.

* * *

><p>"Nel-sama, where are we going?" a timid voice asked.<p>

"We're going to Grimmjow's territory."

"But... why?" Pesche asked fearfully.

"We're going to need help in getting the Vasto Lorde to come with us. So I'm going to request help from Grimmjow and Nnoitra."

"Nnoitra-sama! Nel-sama, I don't think that would be a good idea, don't ya know?" Dondachakka said warily. "They're both bad company..."

"Calm yourselves, do you forget I am ranked Third among Aizen-sama's subordinants? I will be able to handle them easily and what have I told you about the honoric, I have no need of it."

The two fraccions cowered behind her as they made their way towards the self proclaimed King's Territory.

-X-X-X-

**A/N:**** Hmm, I won't say much other than trouble's coming real soon. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Umm, not sure how it turned out though (long chapters are difficult to read through for me). I was actually wondering if I should add that part about Ulquiorra's appearance because frankly, he is naked well in the manga it indeed looked like so. *Ahem* I'm still wondering if I should've added that... Well I've already typed it so, meh. Orihime will remember to fix it when she wakes up anyway, so small spoiler there.**

**Till the next update. **


	14. Grudges

**Chapter XIII: Grudges**

Grimmjow sat with one knee held up atop a lone pillar. His eyes peered back to the ever present moon casting its light in the darkened world of Hueco Mundo. He didn't need to move any part of his body to know who had just stepped out of Las Noches; her signature was too familiar for him to miss. Instead, he simply opened his mouth to laugh at them. "Well look what we have here..." he mused. "A couple of stray sheep."

The sound of his voice was enough to send Pesche and Dondachakka hiding behind Nelliel's back in fear. Though he was the most violent of the Espada, there would be no stirring the woman who stood her ground. She merely sighed to the ground and took a step forward. "Greetings to you as well, Grimmjow." she said softly before she looked over the vast area. "Should I be surprised that your subordinates are not here with you?"

"What does it matter whether they're here or not?" he sneered and stood from his place to turn around. He silently stepped off of the pale stone to face his 'superior', keeping a good distance between them. "What they do is of no business of mine." he smirked. "Speaking of business..." a feral grin tore its way through his lips as he leered at her. "You perhaps looking for some fun?" he asked with a flashy show of sharp teeth. Grimmjow's form of fun was a little less lewd compared to Nnoitra, however miniscule that was, but they weren't so far apart. He strived for a crown of bones; strength was his asset and that's precisely what she was looking for.

"I require your assistance in retrieving the Vasto Lorde." He scoffed at her.

"Why would I care about some nobody like that?" He snarled at the thought with vicious fangs. "Just let those shinigami kill him."

Her eyes narrowed at his words and the pressure of the air began to steadily grow heavy. Pesche and Dondachakka stood still with their breath caught in their throat at the slight raise of her reiatsu. They knew, without a doubt, Grimmjow could definitely feel it too. "Would you much rather stay here, then?" she asked with an even tone despite her obvious anger. "You were but a simple Adjuchas when Aizen-sama found you. Now that you are an Arrancar, I would think that handling a Vasto Lorde would be nothing to you..." her eyes fell to a close smoothly as she spoke so little of him and this infuriated the male. "Are you perhaps scared to fight one like him?" she wondered out loud. "One who is already powerful?"

"Shut the hell up!" he bellowed. "You think I'd actually be scared of _him_? A human-loving hollow?" With each word he spat her way, he continued to close the distance between them. "You're out of your damn mind!" She moved not a single inch away as he now towered over her, her eyes containing the same bored, yet stern expression that made his blood boil in a rage. The snarl on his face soon morphed into a bloodthirsty grin as he brought his head low enough to hover beside her left ear. He ignored the audible whimpers of the two trembling behind her and whispered in her ear in a low voice. "I'll kill him on sight." It was a promise.

He straightened his back and stuffed his hands into his pockets, keeping the twisted smile on his face as she kept her gaze on him. "Lead the way." he seemed to purr only to frown when she shook her head slowly.

"We will bring Nnoitra along with us."

"Tch, why waste our time?" he groaned, but he could tell by her expression that she would not relent. He growled lowly and waited until she turned to go back into the palace in search for their next comrade.

As much as Nelliel hated to be in his company, he would provide a good distraction for those that would wish to interfere.

It didn't take them long to locate where the foul man was, in fact he was talking with Szayel. Their conversation sounded like it had just come to an end when the scientist turned away with a disturbing smile. Nnoitra was about to take his leave towards the opposite end of the hall as well, until he quickly took notice of the small group. "Got yourself a couple of new pets there, Nel?" he smirked. Grimmjow gritted his teeth at his comment, but said nothing even as he laughed loudly.

"Enough of your jokes, Nnoitra. We have business to tend to. If you're not interested in helping then simply say so." He frowned at her lack of an interesting response and scoffed.

"What kind of business you talking about?" he asked.

"The Vasto Lorde."

"You still goin' on about that twerp? Why so finicky over him?"

"Are you willing to come along or not? I haven't the time to be playing with you and your petty fights." He glared at her and she knew that he was either going to pick said fight or decline right then and there. So it came as a bit of a surprise when he paused to actually consider his options, he was just as much of a hot-head as Grimmjow and wasted no time in thinking about his words, instead relying solely on his instincts. He never considered anything unless he was either in the presence of Aizen himself or the subject would fall into his favor. Despite being a fellow comrade, there was no such thing as being too careful around one like him. Even more so when he thought about it.

"Fine, I'll tag along. Beats wasting away in this place anyway." he shrugged with a growing smile.

Those words merely confirmed her suspicion. Her best course of action would be to keep her guard up. Hollows were after all, hollow.

* * *

><p>"How does that feel, Ulquiorra-kun?"<p>

Small hands quickly removed themselves from the dark blue jeans to straighten out the sides and adjust the belt. Grey eyes quickly scanned for anything out of place after tucking the black leather band through one more loop neatly. Orihime then moved a step back to take a look at how the jeans looked on her guest, one finger pushed against her lower lip as she looked him up and down. They looked just about right, but Ulquiorra didn't seem to agree with her thought. His wings, for the life of them, wouldn't relax.

"They are tight." He pulled at the edge of them as if to prove his point, but it only made Orihime giggle at him.

"They're suppose to be, just a little so they won't fall off." she tugged at them to see just how tight he meant, but it wasn't by much. "But I do suppose we should pick them up a bit, your underwear is showing a little. Are they at least comfortable? Do they bother you?" Though it was just a minor detail, it made her cheeks flush a little. At the very least he managed to put on the underwear and the pants himself, but didn't get the concept of buttons and zippers. That, she had to do herself, but fortunately for her, it lacked the awkward tension of going beyond personal space.

"They are acceptable, however, I do not understand why you humans wear so much cloth..." He stretched at the clothing a bit more before finally allowing the black claws of his wings to hook over it and fold. He inspected the position and moved a little until he deemed them acceptable.

"I'm sure you'll get used to it. Anyway, Ulquiorra-kun, I have school today, so I'm going to have to leave you alone for the majority of the day."

"School...?"

"Mm-hm. It's just for a few hours, will you be okay for that long? I wasn't planning on going today, but I've missed too many days and too much work will accumulate." She adjusted the bow on her chest as she spoke and went to grab her bag leaning against the wall. Ulquiorra didn't understand what she meant by work building up, but didn't think too much of it.

"... Yes."

Orihime looked back at him and at the collar still glowing with life around his neck. Frowning, she went over to slowly bring up one hand towards the device, but the object was fast in recognizing all as threats and cackled threateningly at her approaching hand. The small streams of blue had no effect on the hollow and he blinked in confusion as she withdrew her hand away from him. He copied her movement, but instead of his hand flinching away, his entire body went tense as the light cackled lightly at him.

"I'm really sorry, Ulquiorra-kun. I'm sure that this thing will come off soon. They'll see that not all hollows are bad." she took his hand and gently brought it down. "And if things don't go well, I'll make certain that no one will hurt you." she promised.

He said nothing to her as she turned away in a seemingly lighter mood towards the door. With a quick check of her watch she turned her head to give him one last goodbye and then left through the door; the sound of her hurried feet being the only thing reaching his ears. At the very least, it was now peaceful and quiet. There were still a few books he had yet to finish and with all the time, he could try and figure out how to get the blasted contraption off him. From what he could the draining electricity would not kill him. He sat down on the floor and calmly clamped his entire hand over the collar. The light flickered dangerously as more electricity was released. So much so that smoke began to seep through his fingers as he struggled to pull it off.

At the very least, three minutes had gone by before he let go of it. His claws had torn at his skin and left behind white lines in the surface of the black metal. At his palm, the pale flesh was searing with pain and smeared with blood. His teeth were clenched tight as he felt the skin and muscle begin to mend and close over the heat. The pain on his hand would have been tolerable, however, he had forgotten that his neck would take the full brunt of the restraint. He quietly waited for the pain to subside and allow his regeneration to kick in. Swallowing or moving any part of his head was far from comfortable, but nonetheless he tried to shake it off. The mending of the area where the collar was placed was sure to be slower than normal.

"Urahara... Kisuke..." he lowly growled as the image of the very man flashed through his head.

Finally, after the pain had subsided, he stood again and headed for the living room. The television was left on as a local news station was currently showing, but it hardly caught his attention. Instead he returned to the woman's room where it had been picked up and cleaned earlier. The books and notebooks were lined neatly on the floor beside a nightstand and the animals wearing tears on their bodies were mended. Ignoring all that, he turned towards the closet where he had stuffed his books in. Pulling it open, he peered in to see that his reading material were lined up neatly as well with his make-shift bookmark replaced with an actual plastic bookmark. Flipping to his saved place, he saw that it had only one word: _Love_. The same word he had looked up before. At the edge was a thin string attached to it with a silver heart hanging out.

Suddenly, even after he had torn a great portion off, the right side where his mask still remained began to feel irritated and uncomfortable. Taking his hands away from the book he began to scratch at it lightly and even tried to slip a finger past it from where his lips were. Nothing worked. Annoyed and growing angry, he stopped and lightly shook his head as if to rid his discomfort with will itself. At the ruined edges of his crumbling mask, only small particles gave way to his claws and it wasn't enough.

The collar strapped to his neck didn't make things any better either. Having his reading time spoiled, Ulquiorra stood, his wings widening and flapping to cause up a disturbed gust. He looked towards the door where Orihime had left and cocked his head; how long was the day again? The woman hadn't specified; only saying a few hours. It seemed constant just like the underground training area, however last he had broken free from there, it was definitely night and so was when he had come here. So, how many hours were in the day here in the human world? Perhaps she had left him here like a pet.

"No..." Humans needed to eat normal food that grew and such and all of that was in the kitchen. "School..." What was that place? Why would one like her need to go there; surely it had no food for her or any other living needs. Everything was here where she rightfully belonged. There seemed to be no reason for her to go elsewhere when she had what she needed here. Maybe she really did only want a hollow pet, but then she could have opted to have one of the lizards instead. They would absolutely love to be treated as such anyway. Curious at all these questions swirling in his head, he cocked his head again, like a puppy would to an odd sound. He could try to find her.

He folded his wings and walked towards the door clicking away the locks and opening it. The sun warmed his skin as he stepped out and he could hear more sounds that sounded strange and loud. Voices were none that he recognized and there were many humans around him. He didn't like them. He would much rather try his luck with his wings and fly where it was clear and full of space. The thought made the limbs widen again and flap uneasily at the thought. Stopping at a rather fair sized building, he stared at the top where it would be child's play to reach and flexed out his wings. His tail swayed in curiosity as his mind began to think and plan how he could possibly stay afloat with where his wings were positioned. The waist area was certainly difficult to make steady while flying at uneven winds and even more when there was no wind at all. Thankfully, the breeze seemed to be enough for a start. Straightening his back and neck he stared at his chosen spot and stretched out the black colored limbs; his tail curved for balance. Clawed feet tensed as he waited for a present opportunity until he at last pushed for the edge of the top.

Just as he had thought, his wings quickly became clumsy and flapped unevenly at the air. Instinctively, they opened wide and caught a small portion of wind to steady himself. Not exactly what he was going for, but he could practice while trying to find the woman. From rooftop to rooftop, he rode on the winds, gliding past one building after another. When there was enough of it, he would try to fly on his own without the use of his other powers. Wings were meant to fly after all and it would save alot of energy if they worked accordingly. An hour had passed as he wandered from building to building and by then he had come to a park. There were small children playing with their mothers having their own conversations on the benches nearby.

Gliding down onto the ground he looked at the children with expressionless eyes. They bore onto a particular young girl who was swinging on a swing by herself, but laughing nonetheless. Perhaps she knew where the school was.

Ulquiorra stopped the swing from going further and stared at the girl who looked up in wonder. Seeing a half naked man with nothing but pants on and wearing a strange mask would've made any normal kid scared; especially if they had wings stationed at their waist. However, the young girl only mumbled a small hello to the man.

"...School... Where is it?" he asked lowly.

The young girl seemed to have understood the question and pointed down a certain street. "Oh, if you're looking for the high school, mister, it's down that way and you take a left. The big kids playing soccor are usually out at this time; I know my big brother is anyway. Are you late?"

Ulquiorra didn't say anything as he stared at the direction with narrowed eyes. Something was wrong.

"Mister?"

"Sweetie, who are you talking to?" the young girl's mother asked.

"To the big kid." The woman looked to where Ulquiorra was standing, but there was nothing there. The child also looked and blinked when she saw that the man was no where in sight; not even to where she directed. "Hey, where'd he go?"

He sensed them; the familiar hollows from last time. A garganta was about to open; the portals much like what what the Gillians and the Menos Grande use was about to open. He had no solid evidence about it, but it was all according to instinct. He had to find it and see if his assumption was correct, but there was hardly any doubt. Without care for the proper use of his wings, he shot up towards the sky and searched. There was a chance someone from the shop could find him, but he wouldn't care for that. Right now was a matter only between hollows. He walked a couple of paces before he stopped and listened or more like felt around for where the portal would be.

"We meet again, Vasto Lorde." the woman's voice floated gently to his ears and he whipped around to face the mouth of the garganta rip open and reveal those who had come. It was the same three he had encountered before along with two others who were far below his strengths. He waited for them to emerge and he knew with the way they had announced their presence, they would be sought out by the shinigami. "Your mask... and your clothing..." she murmured. Her sharp eyes scanned the hollow over and all she could find really disturbing was the way his mask was torn and the collar strapped to his neck.

"You would allow yourself to be bound by them; the shinigami who would waste not a second to kill you?" she asked him and she was met with nothing but silence as he continued to assess them, one by one. "Look at what they have done to you..." It didn't take her long to see that the collar could potentially kill him if powered enough.

"This is getting us nowhere." the blue one growled. He was scolded with a promising glare.

"Grimmjow-"

"To hell with your words I killing him on sight." and without further thought he dashed with fists clenched tight towards him.

One fist collided painfully against another palm as blue met green in a clash of rage and indifference. There was absolutely nothing in his eyes; nothing that would indicate an interest in violence or death. His body had reacted purely out of instinct to the oncoming sight of the arrancar thirsting for blood. Another fist shot at him and managed to connect with his side, almost shattering his ribs, but it was as if he had felt nothing as well. He merely retaliated with a stab of his pointed claws landing a perfect mark on the other's shoulder.

Standing idle, the two could only watch; one with disapprovement and the other with boredom.

"What was the point in me coming again?" Nnoitra asked while picking at his ear. He smirked at her with a grin when she glared at him.

Nelliel, having grown impatient with Grimmjow's rashness, did not want this fight to continue. With a small burst of _Sonido_ she had appeared right between the two hollows who were just about to clash again and caught them both by the wrists. A fist in one hand and a claw in the other. With a sharp thrust, she pushed away the Vasto Lorde and held a firm grip with the Arrancar. "I said _stop_, Grimmjow. I will talk with this hollow and make him come back, one way or another." she growled, holding him fiercely as she quickly turned her attention to Ulquiorra who had just began to rush at her. Her hand came again to catch his, but was taken back at holding something not so thick as a wrist, but slender like a snake.

All he had needed was a moment of distraction to grab hold of the woman's neck and squeeze. His claws buried deep in her neck, ripping past the cloth of the uniform and it was just enough to finally break the last nerve. Angered at both sides, she threw them aside. A small fist hitting at the bare stomach and with a quick twist, tossed the other towards the ground by the tail. Grimmjow was faster at regaining his balance and merely coughed at how hard Nelliel had punched him in the gut. Maybe a rib or two were broken because of it, but he had definitely felt worse. Unfortunately, Ulquiorra was not given a chance to free his wings; he was thrown to the ground sharply and collided against the base of a tall building.

Glasss shattered and rained down on his form as he stood up promptly after his fall. People stood away from him or specifically where he had crashed; a jeweler's shop. Some had even suffered from it, thankfully nothing fatal. He looked in the direction of the jagged and broken entrance he had made and saw the woman still floating above him. Ignoring all the people around him, he calmly stepped out and brushed away the fallen dust and shards with a flap of his wings and a flick of his tail. Although he could hear a storm of curses from the stupid one, he said nothing as he tilted his head. The one called Nelliel was strong, much stronger than the one called Grimmjow and if he had to guess, stronger than the male who stood by. She had cracked his mask and was able to bat him away without so much as an injury.

"You are trying my patience, Vasto Lorde. Enough of this folly and come here." she beckoned.

She was obviously not an ordinary hollow and neither were the others. They weren't exactly like him; they had their masks broken in some way and their face could be seen. Yet, his was only partial and he remained unchanged. He looked at them and then at the direction he had come. He was going to find the woman, Orihime, not go off on a field trip. He looked back up at the green-haired female and for once opened his mouth.

"You are not like...normal hollows..."

She shook her head. "No. We were created; evolved only by Aizen-sama's power."

"Aizen's...power..." he murmured the thought lowly as he jumped onto the building he had crashed through.

"Yes, and with it you'll be able to be like us and have a purpose."

"Purpose?"

"If you serve under Aizen-sama, there'll be no need to remain here with the humans and the shinigami. We will have our own place in Las Noches where a shinigami will barely even be sensed. You won't be killed, not with your power and you most certainly won't be a test subject."

"Have ya forgot about Szayel already?"

"Quiet!" Nnoitra and Grimmjow merely laughed at her with Pesche and Dondachakka flinching at the sound of her displeased voice. "You must make a choice, Vasto Lorde. Now."

"Ulquiorra." the name slipped from his tongue without his notice and it threw them both off for but a moment.

"Excuse me?"

He narrowed his eyes at her and quickly said it again. "My name is Ulquiorra."

"Ulquiorra...Tell me, what is your answer?"

He was not sure of this woman or her master,Aizen, that she spoke of. By her words he could tell that he would offer him power and status in whatever it was they reigned, however, was it what he wanted? How were they sure it would be what he sought? He had no idea what it was he even desired; following only his curiosity to see where it would lead him. From this point and continuing on, it had led him to the bright haired human, Orihime. He continued to think and wonder, weighing out his options or chances really. From her words, he was offered a sort of freedom in exchange for service while on the other hand, where he stood, he would be chained by means of the collar.

He scratched at it in annoyance at the thought, causing a spark of electricity to hiss at him and burn at his claws. Frustration was evident in his face at the object and little by little, the description of Aizen was leaning on his favor.

"With your consent, I'll be glad to remove that troublesome device."

Yes, that definitely sounded nice to him. Taking a step forward, he leapt onto the roof of another building, just close enough towards her and waited. Grimmjow huffed and threw his arms over his head in boredom while Nnoitra glared daggers at the pale hollow. He minded none and merely watched as her hand brought out the sword strapped to her hip and was just about to aim at the metal device until...

A white hot light blinded his vision and coursed violently through his body. The pain paralyzed his movement and left him in a stance unsuitable for his balance and he fell stiffly over his perch. No sound could tear past his parched throat as he felt the subtle sensation of gravity taking its course on his vulnerable state. The force of it knocking out whatever breath he had within him; his body convulsed violently at the volts. A growl barely went past his lips as he tried to find the source of the horrible pain.

Sharply turning her head, Nelliel caught sight of the interference and muttered a bitter, "Shinigami..."

"Kurosaki-kun, please stop!" she heard another shout. Behind the male in black she could see a human female snatch a small remote object from his hand. Without any glance to her party, she rushed over towards Ulquiorra's side an looked him over. This was absolutely ridiculous.

"Well looky here, more company..."

"Do not engage in any combat." she instructed, turning back to look at the woman and Ulquiorra.

"Why not? It'll save us trouble later on! Besides, I'm itching for a real good bout/"

"No, I think we've just about done our part." Her voice had quieted at the last part as she observed the two, or rather the hollow with a keen and sure eye. It wasn't solid, but she had a feeling that everything would fall right into place in regards to that particular hollow in due time.

"What, we're leavin _again_ after all that belly-aching you put us through? You've just wasted our time, you little-"

"I am willing to take a chance with this one. I am sure Aizen-sama will understand the circumstances this encounter has lead to, he will be able to see how this will go. He will also be able to give us the best course of action to take next as well." Even as she spoke, Ichigo had lunged in for an attack, however the mouth of the garganta summoned had already opened up and began to close, slowly, over the three. They looked to be in no rush as he closed in, instead, the woman only stared at him with cold passive eyes.

He had missed by a mere inch as his weight fell past the space the hollows had occupied not moments ago.

The light had finally subsided from his eyes, he felt drool flow heavily past his lips as he coughed and shuddered at the lingering numbness drowning his body. His arms were shaky as they struggled to lift himself off the merciless ground only to feel a smal hand hold him still.

"Ulquiorra-kun, please don't move." He growled in response to that voice and clenched his teeth as another soft hand moved his hair. There were curls of smoke rolling from his seared flesh from underneath the placed metal and Orihime could not help but cringe at the sight. "I'm so sorry, Ulquiorra-kun..." she mourned as she watched the speed of his regeneration skill kick in. It was not only there, his forearms and wings beared signs of burns and certainly elsewhere on his body. She had wanted to use her Shun Shun Rikka to hasten the process, but the look of his piercing glare stopped her.

He was staring at the remote located beside her thigh. "Kuro-"

"What the hell were you doing outside the apartment? Didn't Urahara trust you to stay in Orihime's place?" There was no answer as the hollow once again struggled to get up. "Hey!"

"I..." he whispered without looking at her friend, locking his gaze instead with hers. "...want to...go back." His wings closed to hook at the worn pants as he managed to get on one knee.

He didn't think much of the shnigami before and regarded him as nothing more than a nuisance. He thought he would never think of him as anything else. However, the said relationship between hollows and shinigami couldn't possibly be closer to the truth. The grudge had always been there at the root of his soul, now it needed only to grow. It was just in his nature.

-X-X-X-

**A/N:**** I apologize for the lame end, but I just had to have something! You have no idea how badly I wanted to update this! Computer was out of working order for such a long time, I couldn't type anything! I apologize for any and every late update (as well as grammatical issues; pretty sure I stumbled somewhere), but I deeply appreciate your feedback. I do hope I didn't kill your interest in the story though, but sometimes you can't help that. **

**Till the next Update.**


	15. A Gap in the Structure

**Chapter XIV: A Gap in the Structure**

Silence filled the woman's home with a dreadful pressure. The lack of noise seemed to grate at him, further causing him more discomfort. His body wracked with subtle shudders as the lightning from the device continued to crawl about in his veins. His body had curled into itself, his wings and tail following to act as a shield from nothing as he silently struggled through this pain. Orihime had tried to sooth his suffering, but her powers were fruitless, only able to calm him for but mere moments before the live collar hummed louder with more electricity. Ulquiorra was unable to find any strength to form coherent words after they had made it back here and, for some reason or another, it infuriated him. A small growl slid through clenched teeth, his need to destroy this pain growing larger with each passing second. His white claws dug into pale skin as he began to question all that had transpired up to this point; his mind momentarily bringing him out of the numbing brightness.

Curiously, Ulquiorra brought one hand up to his face. The tips of his fingers were painted in red blood at his attempts to calm himself from the wretched collar. Slipping his digits underneath his mask, he managed to break apart another small fragment of bone. Examining it with critical eyes he saw that amid its surface was a perfectly thin edge. Touching again at the mask, he remembered the familiar texture of trails running down from his eyes; a perfect depiction of sorrow.

Another shock of energy ripped through and almost immediately he placed his hand back to its original place. Hours had passed since they had return and the damned thing had yet to calm itself. The hollow opened his mouth slightly, "Ori… Hime…" he mumbled. She had promised to come back soon with a solution and it has already turned late in the evening, Ulquiorra was getting tireless and more agitated, waiting for a single human. Suddenly another hollow's face came invaded his train of thought. The group of hollows who called themselves Arrancars once again piqued his interest. "A-Aizen…?"

Blood continued to seep down both his arms with equal pressure, but his eyes stared straight ahead as he drowned himself into his thoughts and questions. He didn't seem to catch the sound of the door opening and closing even as the door of the woman's room was wide open. He stared at the entrance with dead eyes as Orihime finally came into view.

She didn't say anything, but she looked tired. Whether Ulquiorra noticed or not, he did not acknowledge. Her bags were placed on the ground quickly as she hurried to check up on her company. Placing a timid finger to the collar she found completely hot to the touch. Flinching away from the object, she sighed dejectedly

"Urahara-san was right. Then that means it should come to a stop soon. I'm so sorry Ulquiorra-kun; I can't do anything to stop It." she whispered softly. Though she could do nothing about the collar she still checked his overall condition thoroughly. There were slight burns appearing in blotches all over his torso and she found his claws digging deeper into his forearms as well. "Ulquiorra-kun… Stop." She seemed to beg. She gently pried his hands away with her own and held them gently. He didn't try to resist as the device's red light began to dim with the fading of its power in use. Not only that, but his regenerative ability also began to kick in with a much faster pace. Orihime looked at the left side of his face where his face could be seen, saw the cold stare he kept to the walls behind her and it was that she could tell. She could sense that he was in conflict with whatever it was that was inside him. She must never forget that he was a hollow just like the reptiles.

"_You must listen to me, Inoue-san. Hollows are creatures much like the wildlife you see in television or in zoos. They exist to devour the souls of the living for sustenance." Urahara explained. His tone and expression were hard as he talked with her. "Take Tsuki for example," he brought out her little lizard from his lap and placed him on the table. He chirped at Orihime lovingly and went to receive a loving caress to his spine, but she could only return a weak smile. You could compare him to a dog here in the land of living, but Ulquiorra is by no means at the same level as a dog, not even a stray. He is more of a wolf, a bear, a tiger whatever large wild animal there is. They can never be tame. They can be affectionate to their tamer, they can learn to love another being, but when it gets down to it, they will always remain wild in nature. When a situation presents itself it will kill if it feels it must." He gave back the remote control. "This is what will stop him when he does lose sight of right and wrong. He'll be immobile for a while, but it will not kill him."_

"_But wouldn't it be better if we just try to understand him? Ulquiorra-kun was human too, he isn't an animal. He can talk and understand us, he knows what we are and he never hurt anyone, he didn't hurt Yoruichi-san or Kurosaki-kun either. Even though he knew they were shinigami. It doesn't seem fair that we control what he may or may not do."_

"_It may not be fair, but over all these centuries, there has never been a hollow that anyone's known to be humane. There have been many who've wanted to make amends and many who've wanted to cause no harm, as rare as it is there once were such things as kind hollows. Humans, shinigami, hollows they are all similar, but hollows cannot be paired with either one. Their existence is born from murder, greed, tragedy; all sorts of corrupt souls from everywhere in the planet. Their only hope is to fall back into their path of what was to be in the beginning and that is death."_

Maybe she did make a mistake of bringing him here with her, not just him but her lizards too. If she actually had to be honest with herself and think about, hollows really shouldn't exist. However, that was like saying sorrow and hatred don't exist when it in fact does. There must be a way to deal with it.

_Yes and that solution fell into the purification category, a job that shinigami all fulfill._

She sighed again as she sat in front of him and began to think of something. "Ne, Ulquiorra-kun, have you ever felt any need to hurt us?" she wondered out loud. Bright green eyes fluidly trailed their way to lock onto the woman, the effects of the collar completely gone. His gaze was cool and calmer than when she had initially come to see him. In response to her question he tilted his head curiously. "Did Kurosaki-kun anger you at all, Urahara-san or maybe I do something to aggravate you? In other words do you dislike us?" she simplified. He straightened himself out; his wings fully outstretched to relieve the tightened muscles and calm the remaining aches still within him. He took his hands from her and rested them onto the top of his thighs, his skin not yet used to the feeling of fabric wrapped around his legs.

His throat finally felt better to speak comfortably, so he decided to entertain the woman's questions. "I… hate them…" he still sounded hushed, almost as if he was losing his voice again. "Hollows hate shinigami." He answered as if it were no different than one saying they hate a certain vegetable or some other mundane object.

"Well that answers those two." she giggled. "But what about me or Chad and Uryu or even the mod souls like Kon and Nova?"

"Them… I do not care for them." He coughed a little from a slight itch in his throat. "But you, I don't know about you. A human like you… is very odd." he brought up one hand to comb through a portion of her hair, despite the fact that his claws were still colored with blood. "Odd, but…" he paused to look for any reaction. Her eyes were looking at his with slight anticipation and curiosity. "Not unpleasant…" he soon pulled back his hand and looked away towards the door as though he had promptly lost interest in the subject.

Orihime continued to stay in that position, sitting in front of him and thinking over his word. A smile made its way slowly across her face and she couldn't help but laugh. Her voice must've been loud, because Ulquiorra quickly snapped his head back towards her in alarm. The silence was broken so suddenly it must have actually startled him for once. She tried to quiet down a little, but it hardly made a difference. He still stared at her with an indifferent gaze, but it was no longer so cold compared to the one he had when she came home.

At least she could be reassured that Ulquiorra had no desire to kill anyone. Sure he said he hated the likes of Urahara and Ichigo, but that was a general given. He didn't show any signs of willingly wanting to hurt her or any of her friends. This was all she needed, an honest answer.

Seeing that her fit of laughter had finally subsided, Ulquiorra stood from sitting on the floor of her bedroom. He felt the need to move about for a bit, stretch his wings a little. "I wish to move a little." he told her as Orihime got up herself. She nodded her head and made to grab him a shirt and coat to wear so he could be dressed properly. She also grabbed her bag from the floor and quickly shoved the remote control into her jacket pocket. She'd very much preferred not to hold it at all, but that wouldn't be in the best interest for either of them. She turned to look at the hollow to see if he noticed. If he had noticed, Ulquiorra didn't seem to care at the moment as he adjusted to the sweaters texture. It was completely white which seemed quite all right with him, but having so much clothing made him feel suffocated. Not only was his tail already placed in a confined position with only a hole to move about, his wings now felt heavy and awkward too. He had apparently ripped a part of the sweaters collar as well with his horns.

She grinned almost sadly as she started to come up with a thought. She was just one person, a drop of water in an ocean. The drought of the sun would not spare a drop, so she knew that once a decision has been made it most likely wouldn't be in her favor. Ulquiorra waited for her at the entrance, his mind still thinking until he sensed her approaching with a key to lock the door on their way out. Before the hollow could fully turn to start walking he felt something collide softly into his chest.

"Thank you, Ulquiorra-kun."

He stared at her unperturbed by her actions. He felt the collar cackle weakly in protest to the embrace, but it did nothing to bother the both of them. He couldn't quite understand her sudden gratitude, but he decided to not delve into that sort of matter when there was nothing to be gained by doing so. Despite his reasoning, he felt a twitch in his hand to move. Confused, he tilted his head until it met with hers. His bare cheek met with the side of her head. She felt warm to the touch, somehow unlike her hands when they caressed his face or combed through what could be seen of his hair; it felt more soothing. Orihime must have felt so as well as she seemed to move her head closer to his own.

Though he identified this as affection, he could only feel the void within himself and perhaps ever her own grow a little larger. These feelings were very confusing. Aside from a kiss of warmth to his usually cold soul, what else might he gain to know? Surely, this woman will not fail to entertain a while longer.

-X-X-X-

**A/N:**** As you may have noticed, this is an unbearably short chapter now isn't it? I'm pressed for time since this is a public computer and not my own, so it may be a bit lacking. Please bear with me on the updates. Also, I'm planning to do a bit of clean up on all the chapters soon, so probably on the next update or after I may have changed a few things here and there. If I seem to have messed up somewhere don't be afraid to tell me, I get lost real easy with long stories. As always any feedback is always appreciated.**

**Till the next update~**


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