Beside You In Time Ch. 13

Chapter 13
40 Dogs (Like Romeo and Juliet)

"He's not a vermin and has every right to be my friend! He's living in my apartment because he has nowhere else to stay and I actually pity that!" Orihime stormed off, trying to fight back the tears that had already started running down her cheeks. She didn't stop to grab her lunchbox or explain a thing to Arisawa or Chizuru, who stared after her, concerned.
Ishida Uryuu watched her walk off, shocked that the usually calm Orihime had slapped him, hard.


The rest of the school day passes excruciatingly slow. All Orihime could think of was how she had slapped Inside-kun. She felt extremely for slapping him, even though she knew he had deserved it. Every time she replayed what he had said about Ulquiorra-san, she felt a burst of anger flare inside of her.
Tatsuki-chan had brought Orihime's lunchbox to her when the bell rang announcing the end of lunch break. She had searched for several minutes, trying to find her friend. Eventually Arisawa had found Orihime hiding behind a tree in the school yard, crying. Several minutes later, Tatsuki-chan had been able to coax her to come to class, though both of them were ten minutes late. The teacher hadn't asked them why they were late after she saw Orihime's tearstained face.
As childish as it was, Orihime spent the rest of the day staring out the window imagining her running home into Ulquiorra-san's arms. Her common sense told her that the stoic Espada wouldn't like that idea, but her heart was telling her that it didn't matter, that she needed to be able to rant to him and hug him and tell him anything. Remembering the kiss that she and the Cuatro Espada had shared in Hueco Mundo sent butterflies to her stomach.
Hueco Mundo… Orihime thought. It seems like a dream now…
It had only been a couple of days since Orihime had been rescued from Las Noches by her friends, but it seemed like an eternity ago that she had been locked up in her room in Las Noches, wearing her white and black uniform, her only company her now beloved Ulquiorra-san.
As the minutes passed, the minute hand slowly moved closer to 3:00, signaling the end of school. The whole class was sitting on the edge of the chairs, ready to run out the door as soon as the bell rang. Orihime watched the second hand slowly inching its way around the clock for what seemed like the ten thousandth time.
One more minute, Orihime Inoue was unusually eager to get out of school. Usually she enjoyed class, raising her hand to answer every question.

After an unpleasant visit to the Urahara Shop, Ulquiorra Cifer had filled out every single piece of paper in the stack. He had needed Hat n' Clog's help with several things on the papers. With Urahara's help, the Cuatro Espada had decided on his birthday and forged a birth certificate. With ways unknown to Ulquiorra, Kisuke had successfully created a birth certificate that couldn't be proved fake, making sure to somehow secure the legibility of the piece of paper the secretary at Karakura High had called a "birth certificate".
Now the Cuatro Espada was making his way towards the main office of the High School for the second time that day. Entering the office, he was pleased and relieved to see that there were no other students in the room this time. Walking up to the desk, the secretary nodded and smiled, talking to a concerned parent on the phone.
"Yes, I know your son is-" the secretary was interrupted by the screaming voice of a parent on the other end of the line.
"Sir, I can understand your concerns, but-" again she was interrupted.
"Excuse me sir, but if you have a problem with that, I am not the person to talk to. I will make an appointment for you with the principal and counselor. Good day," she hung up the phone and sighed with relief.
"Oh, hello!" She remembered Ulquiorra was standing in front of the desk. "So you finished filling out the papers?"
The woman was rather surprised that the young man had already filled out all of the paperwork.
"Yes," was his simple reply as she set the huge stack of papers on the desk in front of the secretary.
She skimmed through all of the papers to make sure that everything was filled out appropriately.
"Alright, Ulquiorra-san," she read his named off of the first piece of paper and looked up at the green-eyed Espada, smiling.
"You can start school on Monday morning. Just go to this room," the secretary handed Ulquiorra a piece of paper, "I will inform the sensei that you will be there."
"Thank you, ma'am," and with that, the Cuatro Espada left the main office. He looked at the piece of paper and read the room number that was written on it. Remembering that his Onna had entered that room this morning, he made his way to his new classroom. Looking at the clock on the wall, he saw that the school day was going to end in less than a minute. Deciding to wait on his Onna, he leaned against the wall outside of the door and waited.

3… 2… 1… Orihime stood up the second before the bell rang, grabbed her things, and was out the door as soon as the bell rang, leaving a surprised sensei in her wake, who had never seen Orihime Inoue so eager to leave school.
Orihime skidded to a halt when she saw who was leaning against the wall in front of her.
"Ulquiorra-san!" Orihime threw her arms around the Cuatro Espada's neck without a second thought.
"Onna," Ulquiorra monotonously said, trying to get her off of him with sheer will power.
Ulquiorra saw Ishida Uryuu walk out of the classroom seconds after his Onna, stop for a split second, send the Espada an exceptionally menacing glare, and walked off without saying a word. The Espada noticed that the young Quincy's right cheek was slightly red and swollen. Chad, Tatsuki, and Chizuru followed the Quincy, worriedly glancing at Orihime and Ulquiorra as they went by.
"Let's go!" Orihime seemed to have forgotten her guilt for slapping her friend for the moment, overjoyed that Ulquiorra-san had been waiting for her outside her classroom. Grabbing his hand she dragged him all the way home. Ulquiorra was visibly displeased that his Onna was being so publicly physical.

What does this Onna feel the need to touch me so? Ulquiorra was irritated but couldn't find the "heart" (He internally laughed darkly.) to be angry with Orihime or to tell her to let go of his hand. He didn't admit it to anyone, let alone himself, but there was a fluttering in his stomach whenever his Onna's skin came into contact with his.
Finally, after Orihime had successfully attracted the attention of all the passersby and unlocked her apartment door, she let go of Ulquiorra's hand, only to give him a tight hug.
Ulquiorra sighed, he'd have to learn to become used to his Onna's comfort with physicality.
"Ulquiorra-san," Ulquiorra was slightly shocked to here his Onna's voice break. She was crying.
"What is it, Onna?" Ulquiorra awkwardly placed a hand on her back, trying to be reassuring.
What has my Onna done to me? Every time she is within a proximity to me, she does this to me, Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes. What was becoming of the Espada he had been for over a millennium? The same Espada that had ruthlessly killed when ordered to by Aizen Sosuke was no placing a hand on a human's back, trying to comfort the said human. The Cuatro Espada couldn't decide which emotion was more potent at the moment: disgust for becoming weak because of his heart or the longing to comfort the crying Onna hugging him.
"I… I-" a sob escaped her throat. "I slapped Ishida-kun."
Ulquiorra's mind jumped to the black-haired Quincy and he immediately tensed, protective of his Onna and angry at the annoying boy. He knew he should try and comfort Orihime, but Ulquiorra couldn't find the drive to calm down the flame of anger smoldering him from the inside; it was already hard enough for the Espada to keep from openly showing his distaste at the moment.
Orihime knew that Ulquiorra wouldn't respond, so she began trying to explain what had happened. The words began flowing out of her mouth before she realized she was speaking.
"Ishida-kun was being mean and called you a vermin and asked why you were living with me and… and then I… I slapped him," Orihime burst into a new fit of tears as she uttered the last words.
Ulquiorra sighed, frustrated. He couldn't deny the fact that his heart was driving him to want to make his Onna feel better; but he couldn't help but ponder the fact that maybe he would feel the urge to comfort Orihime even if he didn't have a heart. He had, after all, felt some of the urges he felt now before he had obtained a heart. Yes, the feelings and urges had been a tiny droplet of water compared to the ocean they were now, but at times they had been preset.
"Sorry, Ulquiorra-san," Orihime sniffed, loosening her grip on him, realizing that the Espada wasn't exactly comfortable with physical contact. Ulquiorra felt the last brick of that had made up his wall of resolve crumble as he reached out to grab his Onna, who had turned to walk into the kitchen.
Internally promising himself this was the only time he'd let himself become so weak, so vulnerable, so human, he pulled Orihime against his chest. Ulquiorra buried his head in her hair, ravishing the flowery smell of it.
Orihime was quite shocked to say the least that her Espada had been the one to initiate the physical contact this time. Wrapping her arms around him as well, she sank into his body, trying to etch the warm feeling into her brain forever.
A quick flutter entered her heart when her mind thought something she would have deemed impossible only a week ago.
What if… I love him? Orihime knew it was extremely foolish to think such a thing. But this feeling she had whenever they were alone or even just together, was beyond just ordinary happiness. It was more than she had ever felt for Kurosaki-san. It made Orihime slightly said to think that she no longer loved Kurosaki, but then again, did she ever really love him? He had never shone any feelings towards her. She sighed contently, her mind thinking of possibilities of the future, blushing slightly.
Orihime had no clue that Ulquiorra was thinking along similar lines (or what would be considered "similar", since Ulquiorra knew nothing of how to express his feelings or interpret the new emotions his heart felt).
This Onna… my Onna… does she find joy in my company, as I do in hers? But my heart is telling me that this is not ordinary "joy", Ulquiorra still felt slightly disgusted by his actions as he tried to decipher the emotions he felt deep within his heart.
Orihime pulled away slightly, stood up on her tiptoes, and leaned her forehead against the Espada's. A slight blush crept onto her cheeks as she smiled at the Espada, gazing into his beautiful green eyes. Ulquiorra Cifer's eyes reminded Orihime of a pine forest.
Ulquiorra felt his heart skip a beat and stared back at his Onna. Trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling he kept feeling creep into him, he kept his face the same shape of monotonousness he always did, but was unaware that his eyes softened a tiny bit.
Orihime sighed, and closed her eyes. She didn't ever want this feeling to end.
Ulquiorra watched as his Onna's features softened and turned melancholy. A sudden urge to confess to Orihime about what had happened between him and Ishida overtook the Cuatro Espada.
"That Quincy," Ulquiorra forced himself to call his Onna's friend a nicer name than what his mind was screaming, "attacked me two nights ago and once again when I was at the Urahara Shop starting to repay my debt to the shopkeeper yesterday."
Orihime's eyes snapped open, immediately concerned, "So that's why Ishida-kun was absent yesterday!"
Her eyes softened and looked as if she were going to cry again.
Ulquiorra sighed, slightly irritated, Why does my Onna feel the need to cry at the smallest of things?
A feeling that had been simmering in his chest for the past two days finally broke free. Surprising even himself, Ulquiorra leaned down to press his lips to Orihime's. Orihime widened her eyes a fraction of an inch before closing them slowly, and leaning into Ulquiorra's kiss.
She could treasure this moment forever, she thought. A thought ran through her mind, leaving a permanent trail behind: what if she could feel the way she did not for the rest of her life, and even in the next life? Orihime Inoue was content. She loved the feel of the Espada's lips on hers. She loved the color of his deep green eyes, the unique smell of his skin.
Ulquiorra, as expected, broke the kiss too soon, just seconds after pressing his lips to Orihime's. The Cuatro Espada was ashamed of his all too human actions, but that shame was washed away by a wave of an unknown emotion. Subconsciously, a piece of the puzzle fell into place, unknowingly opening Ulquiorra's path to something the humans referred to as "love".
Both of the two thought that even if the world were to end, if they were to drown in a sudden flood, or if a meteor were to strike, they would survive. If all else were annihilated, Orihime Inoue and Ulquiorra Cifer would go on somehow.
The sudden ringing off the doorbell interrupted the moment, making Orihime walk to the door and answered it. Outside stood a man dressed in a dry cleaner's uniform that read "We repair and clean your clothes" who handed her a zipped up dress bag and a clipboard for her to sign.
"Thank you! Have a good day!" Orihime called after the man and then shut the door. Excitedly, Orihime ran to the kitchen to open the dress bag. Less than a minute later, Orihime was squealing, pulling the content out. Ulquiorra, who had walked into the kitchen after his Onna, stood a couple of feet away and uninterestedly leaned against the wall.
Orihime danced around the kitchen, holding the piece of clothing that had been inside the box, to her. To Ulquiorra's surprise, Orihime was holding her Hueco Mundo outfit to her body. The torn fabric was whole again and dirt stains were gone; it was like new.

After Orihime had cleaned up the dress, she had set out back to the kitchen to make some ramen. It had been a while since she made ramen, but she remembered exactly how to do it.
Several minutes later, after having set out all of the ingredients, she was kneading an extremely sticky dough on the counter top.
"Shoot!" Orihime furrowed her eyebrows. "I didn't use enough flour."
Ulquiorra watched, slightly amused, from a distance as his Onna covered herself and everything within a 3 foot radius with the sticky, tan-ish dough.
"Ulquiorra-san," Orihime turned her head to pleadingly stare at the Espada. "Can you reach in the cupboard above your head and get the all purpose flour out?"

Several hours later…
"Mmhhh!!" Orihime cooed as she took a bite of the freshly made ramen. The Cuatro Espada sat across the small table from his Onna and took a bite of the noodles.
Letting the flavor spread across his tongue, he observed that he found the ramen tasted good, but not as good as the pizza (which he preferred over every other food).
After the two of them had finished the entire pot of ramen, Orihime put all of the dirty dishes in the dishwasher and turned it on.
Then it finally hit her…
"It's Friday!" Orihime squealed. Ulquiorra restrained himself from rolling his eyes at his Onna's obvious observation. Orihime glanced at the clock.
"Oh no! I'm going to miss the movie!" Grabbing the Cuatro Espada's hand for the second time that day (this time earning less disdain from said Espada), Orihime pulled him from the kitchen into her living room to the couch.
Before Ulquiorra was even sitting, Orihime had grabbed the remote and was flipping through the channels, searching for the right one.
"Here it is!" Ulquiorra stared at his woman, slightly concerned for her mental health.
When the two were both situated, Ulquiorra sitting upright on one corner of the couch and Orihime leaning against him with her legs next to her, the Espada turned his attention to the television.
After the last commercial ended, which advertised some kind of "in-style" electric candle-like contraption, the opening credits rolled across the screen.
As soon as he saw the name of the movie, he knew it was going to be a long night.

The Notebook
Based off of the novel by Nicholas Sparks

It seemed like every time that Ulquiorra was close to dozing off, Orihime would awe or giggled at something else that was happening in the movie like a three year old.
Finally, well after midnight, Orihime fell asleep. Ulquiorra watched his Onna sleep for a while, a content feeling filling up his chest, before he placed an arm around her shoulders and fell asleep as well…