literature

Libelula -17-

Deviation Actions

enidanadine's avatar
By
Published:
1.7K Views

Literature Text

BITS & PIECES I


Disgust

The turn of events left Orihime in shock. Why, after so long? Surely her friends, Soul Society, everyone had considered her an enemy by now. She stood silently as Ulquiorra coolly explained that her friends had infiltrated Hueco Mundo and were on their way to Las Noches.

Ulquiorra left Orihime's room as she stood dumbly, lost in thought.

.oOo.

The look in the woman's eyes was unmistakable; faith was a concept of which he passively acknowledged the existence, but at the mention of her friends it burst in her eyes like a firecracker, forming something almost tangible. He had not seen anything remotely close to the fervor in her eyes since the day she left Karakura Town, and the change in her was all brought on by that substitute shinigami and his friends.

Vexation rarely affected Ulquiorra, but something about the look in her eyes — perhaps it was the remembrance of her former life — it drew something out of her, beyond anything of which he could ever have scratched the surface. Having trained and studied and observed her for so many months, he thought he had completely enumerated her every response, thought and expression. Now another unexpected novelty had surfaced, baffling him once more, triggered by someone she had yet to lay eyes on. Why this bothered him, he could not understand, and the more he dwelled on it, the more vexed he became. This pathetic excuse for a death god — arriving months late, impertinently cavorting around Hueco Mundo, and now bursting through the walls of Las Noches — elicited an emotion from the woman who had been all but abandoned.

Ulquiorra continued walking, his disgust with the woman intensifying with every step. Her caprice should have been expected, he thought, almost bitter about his miscalculation. He scoured his thoughts, her training sessions fresh in his memory; though he knew she did not originally accept Aizen's offer as an ally, she had certainly become one in the process. Her loyalty to Ulquiorra, at least, was evident from the previous night, and this irritated him all the more. If the woman really did harbor affection for him, what was this reaction to seeing her friends? She has somehow deluded herself into thinking that she can be allied with both Las Noches and her friends. It was obvious which ally she preferred the most; in one second, her eyes gave everything away.

.oOo.

"Chad's not dead!" Orihime asserted, but this was more to convince herself than a statement of fact. Spending all her time frolicking around in Las Noches — this was the reality of what her world had been for the past several months. All the while she had tried convincing herself she was buying time, but she grudgingly realized that in her latter days there, she had secretly hoped to improve her strength. Orihime felt disgusted with herself for having ever having accepted any beneficence from Las Noches.

The food came in shortly, but Orihime was not in the mood for eating.

"Eat."

She had never heard Ulquiorra's voice so detached.

"He's not dead," she kept repeating.

She half-heard what the Espada tried to tell her. He threatened to force-feed her, which deeply hurt her feelings. The moment her friends arrived, acerbity replaced the apathy she had come to know so well.

He went on, taunting her, speaking against her loved ones. Admittedly, she had occasionally forgotten to remember them during her time in her cursed cell. She had sacrificed her sanity, and now he was coldly reassuming the role of the caretaker-stranger from so long ago. Did he really have no feelings? Just when she thought his words could not get any worse, he mocked the death of her dear friend Chad, who was currently losing his life for her sake.

"What is it you want me to tell you? Don't worry? He is still alive? Disgusting. I am not here to console you. You must have known all along this was part of Aizen-sama's plan."

"Stop," Orihime whispered.

Ulquiorra ignored her. "Your nakama are foolhardy clowns. Why can't you realize that? If I were you, I'd be angry with them for chasing after you like lambs to the slaughter."

Orihime remembered the last time she had heard such cruelty from the man standing before her. Much had happened since then, but she had sworn to herself he would not go unpunished if he ever made comments like that again. Remembering her promise to herself, she broke into a sprint towards the Fourth Espada.

The sound of her hand raged against his face, echoing along the walls of her cell.

She panted, seething with fury and frustration. She wanted him to react. Something, anything, to at least give her an explanation for his behavior, but all he did was leave, giving her nothing but apathy and more threats about the food.

With the door tightly shut behind Ulquiorra, Orihime backed into the wall, sinking into her pathetic tears. She grieved in guilt and confusion, regretting ever having believed him to be anything more than a cannibal ghost.

Friend

The woman's sobbing aggravated Ulquiorra. Though he knew his comments would affect her, he had not expected this level of reaction. Her slap told him everything he needed to know about her true loyalty. How fickle, he thought, but he still felt satisfaction in calculating correctly; once again, he had succeeded in extracting a response from her.

Ulquiorra headed towards the sensory room, his face still throbbing from the violence of Orihime's hand. He needed to find out immediately whether the break-in to Hueco Mundo would pose a threat to Las Noches' security. He was reluctant to approach the room — Ichimaru was notorious for sucking others into long, drawn-out conversations.

.oOo.

Gin Ichimaru's fingers furiously ghosted over the computer keys. He heard footsteps drawing near.

"Who is it?" Ulquiorra asked. "Did someone reach one of the Espada's palaces?"

Gin spun around in his chair to find Ulquiorra standing stiffly in the doorway. "Well, this is unusual," he replied with his characteristic smile.

Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes.

"You coming to talk to me, that is." Gin paused. "Don't you dislike me or somethin' like that?"

Ulquiorra closed his eyes in a tired response. "Ridiculous."

Gin relaxed a bit, pleased that Ulquiorra was not entirely opposed to his presence. He had never really spoken to the Fourth Espada and had always been very curious about what kind of person he was. There had been many rumors shooting around that there was something going on between him and the human girl. Most people laughed it off because they could not perceive someone like Ulquiorra giving himself to any kind of romance, but Gin was not so sure. The former shinigami captain was quite familiar with the heaviness that accompanied the curse of a mask, as well as the pain that accompanied secret love, so he could spot a fake a mile away.

Maybe he ain't as crazy as the others, Gin realized.

"'Zat so? Well, if that's the case, then would ya mind becoming better friends with me?"

Ulquiorra furrowed his eyebrows.

"I've been sad ever since Luppi-kun went and died on me," Gin said, a touch of melancholy in his voice. "That kid and I used to talk a lot."

Ulquiorra did not seem interested in the slightest. He turned his attention to the screen, absently verbalizing his thoughts. "…This is…"

Starting to realize his attempts at conversation were growing futile, Gin responded, "Ahh! Nice, ain't it?"

"Hallway manipulation?" Ulquiorra finished.

"No, no, no. I would never do such a cruel thing to those kids. Besides, I'm not too fond of sad stories." After a pause, Gin tried once again."So whaddya say?"

"About what?"

"About bein' my friend? Didn't you already make friends with the Inoue girl? Are you sure you don't hate me?"

"Absolutely not," said Ulquiorra, in a clear response to the former question.

Gin's teasing smile grew ever so slightly wider. "So I'm not that bad, eh? I knew you weren't a square!"

Ulquiorra huffed. "That is not what I meant."

Gin made a face and gave Ulquiorra a slight chuckle; he turned back to look at the screen.

"You're not a very good liar, Ulquiorra," Gin teased. Before Ulquiorra could protest, Gin turned his attention to sudden movements by a redhead on screen. "Ya better go check out the lower towers; looks like that substitute shinigami just decided ta crash the party."

.oOo.

Ulquiorra left the control room headed in the direction of the lower stations of Las Noches, ruminating about Gin — a higher rank — and his request for friendship.

Ulquiorra scoffed at the oddity of what the former captain had requested. What a strange character, Ulquiorra thought. His primary concern should be the security of Las Noches, but instead he requests my friendship and refrains from cruelty. Gin's tone and words were familiar. Gin was a superior, much the same way Ulquiorra was a superior to Orihime. Gin's odd request was akin to Ulquiorra extending his friendship to the likes of her. Ulquiorra briefly dwelled on Orihime's countless attempts to build a relationship with him. He could never completely understand her intentions behind it all, but in his conversation with Gin, he came to recognize that it was simply part of her nature. Gin had a similar sort of jovial personality; his lips were always curled in a smile, much like Orihime's playful expressions.

As Ulquiorra progressed towards his target, he could not help but note the irony of what had just transpired.

Stairs

"Apparently you do possess some sense after all," Ulquiorra called from the top of the stairs. Ichigo's unsightly bright hair reflected a shade of orange familiar to Ulquiorra. Though it was expected that Soul Society would attempt a rescue mission at some point, it was difficult for Ulquiorra to fully understand the bond between Orihime and her friends, particularly with the shinigami standing at the bottom of the stairs. Hadn't the months eroded the affection he witnessed on Orihime's final day in Karakura Town? Clearly, some level of mutual fondness remained. This was evident by the shinigami's presence in Hueco Mundo and the woman's countenance earlier that day. It would not be unreasonable to eliminate any connections between the woman and human world, Ulquiorra surmised, scrutinizing Kurosaki with steady eyes. It will soon be destroyed by Aizen-sama anyway. Though Aizen had never given Ulquiorra a direct order to engage the shinigami, it was clear that it was his duty not to pass up this prospect.

Ichigo did not respond to Ulquiorra's bait, however. As Ichigo turned to leave, he declared, "You're my enemy, but you have yet to hurt any of my friends."

Friends. As though the woman upstairs could not be considered a traitor. Ichigo's back was turned, his arrogance annoying Ulquiorra with every step.

"Is that so? What if I were to tell you that I was the one who brought Orihime Inoue to Hueco Mundo in the first place?"

Once again, Ulquiorra calculated perfectly. The attack came quick, but it was easy to deflect.

"So Inoue really didn't come to Hueco Mundo of her own will?" Ichigo shouted.

"Surprising. Even after coming to save her, her friends harbored a bit of doubt within themselves?" Disloyalty is such a common character trait for humans.

Ichigo muttered something to the small hollow who had come with him, then turned and released his bankai. It was much stronger than expected. A miscalculation?

"Impossible."

It seemed that the woman was not the only one who underwent significant training throughout the time period she had spent in Las Noches. The attack took Ulquiorra off guard, but it was nothing unmanageable. As he emerged from the ashes, the look of shock on the shinigami's face brought Ulquiorra intense satisfaction.

"Cero."

It was easy after that point; Ulquiorra met the shinigami's attacks with unmatchable speed and technique. He stood above Kurosaki after blasting him multiple times, but the shinigami was resilient, and Ulquiorra was not unfamiliar with that look of determination on the face of a redhead. He scoffed at the connection as he used the shinigami's sword to rip his own shirt open. This should quench his arrogance.

"Cuarto Espada, Ulquiorra Schiffer; according to the Espada's power ranking, I am the fourth strongest."

The shinigami stared at him in disbelief, but he was given little time for reflection. Ulquiorra's steady hand ripped through Kurosaki's chest, tearing through flesh and bone like melted butter.

"No matter if you stand back up a thousand times, a path of victory does not exist for you," Ulquiorra finished. He left the death god lying on the ground with a hole in his chest, irritated at having under (and then over) estimated the shinigami's strength. It had been a while since Ulquiorra had used his signature move, but the circumstances were appropriate. Getting rid of the shinigami would simply make Aizen's goals easier, and he had decided on tearing that hole the moment Ichigo defied him.

Ulquiorra suddenly realized that the woman had probably just sensed what happened. He stared in the direction of her chambers. He would see to it that she knew her place in this world as soon as he washed the bloodstains from his hands.

Monster

Orihime banged on the door so hard that it hurt her hands. "Let me out, please, let me out!" Rukia's reiatsu had all but disappeared, overwhelming Orihime with anguish and contrition. I have betrayed my friends, and now two of them have died for my sake!

She panted in frustration, her hands trembling and her knees buckling.

She continued crying as she crawled over to the massive blue sofa. For the first time in a long time, she felt like a prisoner in this room. She sobbed for a while, when suddenly there was another shift in the air. Her eyes grew wide.

No!

"It's a lie!" she gasped, bewildered. "First Kuchiki-san, and now Kurosaki-kun?!" His reiatsu had dropped to an undetectable level, which could only mean one thing.

Before she could comprehend the implications of the shift around her, the door started rattling.

"Ulqui—" Orihime started to say, but her voice choked as soon as she saw the two faces.

"O-ri-hi-me chaaaaaaan! Can you come out and play?"

The one with pigtails had eyes like a snake. They were icy, ruthless, and brimming with jealousy. She set her lips in a chilling pseudo-smile, administering not a hope of any kindness. Her intentions were made clear in seconds; with one quick leap, she lashed out at her rival with a powerful kick to the face. Ohrihime flew back, crashing into a chair and bouncing on her back. She had no time to compose herself, for in the next moment, Loly grabbed a chunk of Orihime's hair, lifting her into the air.

"Ha! Look at you! You really think a human could be an arrancar?!" she sneered.

Orihime did not retaliate. Instead, she felt compassion for the girl. Orihime knew wholeheartedly what it was to love someone who did not reciprocate. She had known this feeling more than once. Orihime was fortunate in that there was never anyone else to rival her affections, but she could feel that Loly saw her as competition, someone to be eliminated. Loly was a creature driven by fear and hunger. She did not comprehend love because she had never experienced the truth of it. She only knew false affection and favoritism. Whatever consideration Aizen had given both Loly and Menoly, it was surely a mockery of the light Orihime had come to understand through her brother and friends.

As Loly gazed into Orihime's eyes, it provoked her into a craze. "Don't look at me like that!" she screamed, thrusting her fist into Orihime's face. Menoly tried to calm down her counterpart, but she would not have it.

"I'll yank out her fingernails!" Loly viciously sang.

BOOM!

The door burst forth with incredible force. Bits and pieces of the walls blasted away, creating a cloud of concrete dust. Orihime, bloodied and weakened from her attacker, could barely make out what was going on.

"Grimmjow!" Loly screeched, sounding horrified. She stood there, paralyzed, her hands still wrapped in Orihime's hair.

"Yo!"Grimmjow barked. "You snuck in here while Ulquiorra was out, eh?"

"This isn't good," Menoly uttered under her breath, her voice quivering.

"Just what do you want?" Loly challenged defiantly.

Grimmjow would not have any of it. In a flash, he attacked Loly, giving a powerful punch to her stomach with incredible ease.

Orihime could not believe her eyes — she had not seen Grimmjow in months, perhaps. Why was he here now, defending her? And where was Ulquiorra? How could he leave me alone with them?

Suddenly, Menoly rose up in Loly's defense, but her life was instantaneously snuffed out by Grimmjow's extraordinary cero.

Oh, my God! He killed her! Orihime could not believe these were the kind of people with whom she had allied herself. She knew that they were cruel, but to witness how carelessly they could kill one another, and even her, without the slightest remorse terrified her immensely. The shocking reality was that she truly had been protected by Ulquiorra for all those months. But why is Grimmjow saving me? What reason could he have?!

"Aizen-sama is going to get you for this…" Loly cried in a pained voice.

Unfazed, Grimmjow walked over to Loly with pure malice in his eyes, stepping on one of her legs and quickly moving to break it amidst her screeching protests. She yelled in pain, pleading, begging him to stop.

Orihime reached her limit. I have to do something!

"Aizen-sama is going to KILL YOU!" Loly screamed.

"Idiot," Grimmjow whispered, "Aizen doesn't care what I do to you." He finally turned his attention to Orihime, who was sitting dumbly on the ground.

"Why?" she asked weakly, her question harboring multiple meanings.

He slowly walked over to her, the enmity in his eyes making it clear that this was no act of kindness whatsoever.

"For my left arm," he replied flatly.

"What?" replied a confused Orihime, but he lifted her into the air in a similar fashion to Loly's attack several minutes prior.

"B-but why did you…"

Grimmjow jeered, "You think I came here to help you? How stupid can you be?! My debt is repaid, so we're even." He paused. "And now you're going to do something else for me," he commanded.

Crushed, Orihime remained silent. I really am stupid for believing I ever had a part in this world.

Just as flippantly as he had lifted her, Grimmjow let go of her hair. Orihime tumbled to the ground as Grimmjow ordered her to fix her own face before she would be allowed to help him.

No! I'm not one of these demons! No matter what clothes I wear or how much I train with them, I refuse to be one of them anymore, and I am NOT going to leave someone to die when I have the power to heal them!

Before Grimmjow could do anything, she ran over to Loly and quickly repaired her leg. It took several moments before Loly realized that Orihime had invoked the powers of her Shun Shun Rikka. Confused and irate, she threw a furious slap at Orihime's face.

"Don't touch me! What are you doing?!"

Orihime, persistent in her kindness, refused to stop. Loly's leg was healed in seconds, far more quickly than Orihime could have ever imagined.

I guess all of that reiatsu training with Ulquiorra was good for something after all, Orihime thought morosely.

Before Grimmjow could object, she sprinted over to Menoly and began the more difficult chore of resurrection. The last time she had performed this task was with Hachigen Ushoda, after Tsubaki had been completely destroyed by Yammy.

Can I even do this? she thought, depressed. I have to try. Grimmjow started to protest, but he was soon silenced. Small particles amassed around Menoly while she lay in a golden hemisphere in the center of the room. Out of the corner of her eye, Orihime noticed Grimmjow's eyes hooked on her, as though he wanted to see whether she could really do it.

Menoly never got a chance to thank Orihime for resurrecting her.

Prey

Ulquiorra stood in the darkness beyond Orihime's broken door, his shadow casting an ominous silhouette along the rubble. He could feel the fear of the two arrancar in the room. He recalled his encounter with them in the hallway many weeks ago. It snuffed out any hope of an alibi for them.

Ulquiorra took several steps forward. There was no shock in his face. He did not look worried. His face was cool. Still.

"What exactly happened here?" His voice was formidably calm, but upon taking several steps into the room and appraising the massive damage, it turned ever so slightly irate.

"Who did this?" His eyes were as steel, matching the tone of his disbelieving voice.

"G-Grimmjow," Loly blurted out. Sweat oozed from her forehead and hands; Ulquiorra could see her hands trembling as his glare grew hostile.

After a pause, he narrowed his calculating eyes, quickly establishing what his ideal next move should be. Traces of Orihime's Soten Kisshun polluted the room, emanating most heavily from Menoly.

"I see," he muttered.

Ulquiorra turned and left, giving neither of the terrified girls a second glance. He was furious at the act of treason committed against Las Noches. The girl was his responsibility, and anyone infringing upon his duty must immediately be reprimanded. What would he say to Aizen if the girl was harmed? He had already faltered in this duty once; another failure was absolutely intolerable. He would deal with the fools in Orihime's room at a later time — he had bigger fish to fry at the moment. Grimmjow's imbecilic thirst for blood had obviously led him to capture the girl. Grimmjow had wanted to pick a fight with the substitute shinigami since day one, but this was the highest level of disrespect he could ever have wrought upon any comrade. Repairing the wounds of a defeated enemy was utterly unacceptable.

And the woman…

The woman…

Despite the fact that she had lent her powers to heal the two girls who had attacked her, images of Orihime hovering over the shinigami, happily healing him in traitorous devotedness flickered in his imagination. Is this how he was to be repaid after months of dedication? After all of his exceptional efforts in harvesting her tolerance of reiatsu, of having to put up with the tedium of her daily nonsense and especially after having to put up with her inane hints of affection? How could I have allowed myself to be so woefully misled? The girl is an absolute antithesis to consistency; she is no doubt utilizing her powers for the shinigami's resurrection this very moment, Ulquiorra realized, his frustration with Orihime rising. His unfortunate tolerance of her sympathies had led him to believe that she was at least loyal to him — that at the very least, he could count on her attachment to him to present results to Aizen.

She is quite the little actress, isn't she?

It was settled.

He would retrieve her immediately and seal her back in her chambers where she belonged.

And Grimmjow…

I'll teach him what happens when he messes with someone else's prey.

 

So it's been three years since I have updated this story. I would like to take this time to apologize profusely for the delay. I have good reasons and not-so-good reasons for doing this. The good reasons are that I got a full-time job, (finally) finished my master's degree, and have been spending a lot of my time growing in my community. Not-so-good reasons include laziness, disinterest (now eroded, thanks to Naruto), and quite frankly, sheer frustration at these next few chapters. It took a lot of work and research to write all this. Part of me was scared to even include these next chapters. However, I felt they were necessary, and I hope you all enjoy my interpretation. Anyway, I want to thank everyone who reviewed and hasn't given up on this fic. It kept me motivated. I made a promise that I would finish. Three years later, I am finishing that promise to myself. OMG MOAR POEMS! 

Previous: [Link]
Next: [Link]
Beginning: [Link]
© 2015 - 2024 enidanadine
Comments3
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
29thspirit's avatar
Yay! Glad you're continuing this! Left you a review on ffnet