Cold moonlight lit up Orihime's face as she stole a glance at Ulquiorra. His eyes were closed as he leaned against the door with his hands resting in his pockets. To Orihime he looked like he was meditating. She wouldn't be surprised if he was.

It must have been hours ago that Ulquiorra had brought in her dinner and expected her to eat it… but she had kindly told him that she wasn't hungry. But being as stubborn as the 4th Espada was, he stated bluntly that he would sit there until she was. Orihime knew he was firm about things… but he had been sitting there without even moving the slightest for at least and hour and a half.

Orihime was actually enjoying the company, regardless if it was Ulquiorra. A presence other than her own in her cell was pleasant to say the least. She crossed her arms and sighed. The smell of the food was filling up the room too, and secretly she was hungry.

She would chose hunger over loneliness any day.

It did smell nice though. Orihime briefly wondered what it was… until she shook the thought from her mind. Orihime was not going to make her hunger worse. If she did start thinking about it… than her stomach would growl and—

A loud gurgling sound erupted from her stomach.

Ulquiorra cracked open his eyes and stared at her though his dark lashes. Orihime started laughing nervously, and rubbed her abdomen. Ulquiorra green eyes were so intense that Orihime felt her eyes dart away from his. She could feel her face burn, and at that moment she knew she was completely red.

"Hah— my stomach I guess— It just…"

"Eat, woman." He pushed himself off the door and gave her a stern glare.

"…Y— Yes." Orihime picked up the spoon and lifted up the metal dish that covered the dinner. She had no way out of this… he knew she was hungry now.

It was soup… and it smelled really good. Orihime started swirling the contents of the soup around with her spoon.

"It looks good." Orihime said in a small voice.

"Than eat it." Ulquiorra sighed.

Orihime looked up at him for a moment. "…I'll eat it if you stay here after."

Ulquiorra's sharp gaze didn't alter. "Why would you want such a thing?" He deadpanned, giving her an almost annoyed look.

Orihime sighed and looked down at her soup.

"…I hate being alone. It scares me." She said quietly.

Ulquiorra's eyes darkened. "Then don't feel. You let your emotions control you. Control them and you won't fear."

Orihime looked up at him, "Is that what you do?"

Ulquiorra answered her with an apathetic gaze.

"You make it sound easy," Orihime sighed, watching the contents of the steaming soup spin.

"Ignorant girl." His voice was low. Orihime perked up to look at him. "It's easier to throw emotions away than it is to create them."

Orihime stared into his emerald orbs in silence. He was so different from the other arrancar. But no matter, it was no use debating with him anyway. Both she and Ulquiorra knew that.

Orihime took a sip from the warm soup. It soothed her as it ran down her throat, and she smiled at the feeling. She looked up to see if her pale captor was watching.

He was. Ulquiorra was right there; so close that if she leaned forward she would fall into him. The sudden proximity of Ulquiorra made her jump and spill the soup all over her lap.

Total silence.

Orihime gulped, and slowly looked up. She prepared herself for Ulquiorra's deadpanned glare, and cold remarks.

But she realized Ulquiorra wasn't glaring at all. In fact, he was just blankly staring at the stains that sunk into the white cloth covering her chest and stomach.

Orihime stood up awkwardly and took two steps back, running her eyes over the yellow slouches of soup that marred her white dress. "Oops— hah, that's going to stain." She mumbled.

"Take it off."

"Eh?" Orihime looked up, she could have sworn he just—

"Take off the dress and give it to me." Ulquiorra sighed as he frowned. "Is that so hard to understand?"

Orihime's face burned red. "…Girls and guys aren't supposed to get changed in the same room."

Ulquiorra's eyebrow creased, and he gave an exasperated stare. "Is that some kind ridiculous of human tradition?"

"No… it's just— Not something that acquaintances do."

"If your not going to take it off, I will take it off for you."

Orihime resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Just like that silly threat of force-feeding her. He was just trying to scare her.

Well, that's what she thought… until he actually grabbed her collar, and pulled off the top cape piece in one swift motion. Her collar bone, shoulders, and upper part of her chest were suddenly exposed to the cool air.

"U—Ulquiorra-san, stop!" Orihime's mouth gaped open and she took two steps away from him. Her heel hit the wall behind her. "I didn't think you were serious."

Ulquiorra regarded her with a bored gaze. "Since when did I ever 'joke' about things?" He said as he stepped closer, ready to take another piece of clothing from her.

Her eyes widened. "Fine— Just turn around at least!" Orihime said, suddenly feeling claustrophobic in being trapped in between the wall and Ulquiorra's taller frame.

Ulquiorra crossed his arms. "Why are you so afraid of getting undressed?"

"I'm not. I just don't want you watching!"

Ulquiorra blinked, then sighed.

"…Just hurry up. That dress needs to be cleaned as soon possible." Ulquiorra said as he turned around and walked a few paces away from her.

Orihime let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding, and turned towards the wall. Her fingers grasped the top half of her dress and she attempted to pull it over her head. Orihime silently cursed her breasts for always being in the way. Rangiku flew through her mind, and Orihime just realized the woman needed to be given more props than she is given.

She shook the thoughts from her mind with a smile, and continued at the task at hand. At this point, Orihime had given up with getting the top of her dress over her head, because that already proved to be inevitable. So she decided that she would literally slip out of it.

After slipping the spaghetti straps off her shoulders, she started to wiggle it down her waist. This proved to be useless as well… there was no way to get the dress over her hips.

Orihime made a noise of frustration, and then tried again. It was useless.

The damn dress was easier to get into than out of.

"What is it now, woman?"

Orihime looked up. Ulquiorra's back was still facing her, and as usual, his hands were resting in his pockets.

"Ah— …Nothing."

"I don't believe you." His voice was curt.

"Just wait a minute, okay?" Orihime clearly sounded frustrated.

"For every minute you waste, the more difficult it will be to remove those stains."

"I'll get it off, just you wait!" Orihime huffed, and started trying to get it over her head again. If her breasts were just a little smaller, this wouldn't be such a hassle.

Now the upper part of the dress was all crumpled… Ulquiorra was probably going to be even more irritated now.

A drawn out sigh broke the silence of the room. Orihime looked up.

Ulquiorra was now facing her, and he looked more than restless.

"It looks like you can't get out of that." Ulquiorra said it as a fact.

"I can." Orihime huffed.

Ulquiorra was in front of her before she had the chance to blink. "You can't."

Orihime reflexively moved back and hit the wall behind her. "I—"

"Stop being childish, woman, and lift up your arms." He looked right into her eyes. Orihime froze, and then reluctantly complied.

Ulquiorra's eyes flickered with something Orihime couldn't identify as he grasped the front portion of the dress. With ease, he pulled the upper half of the dress over her head. The clothing that was left on her was a black sash, a white hakama, and a white bra.

Orihime fumed in both embarrassment and aggravation. Not only was she nearly half-naked in front of the last person she'd want to be in front of—

But he made her feel like she was a child that needed to be helped getting dressed. She knew her cheeks were red as she reached up to hide her breasts with her arms.

Orihime's eyes widened when she felt Ulquiorra's hand rest on her cheek. She looked up at him, startled.

"Why do your cheeks always change to this color?" Ulquiorra's tone was casual as his silted pupils surveyed hers for an answer.

His hand ran down to her throat, and his fingers feathered over her pulse. "And your pulse beats faster as well." It seemed as if he was talking to himself.

She couldn't get her body to move, and she didn't know why. A foreign feeling had coiled into the pit of her stomach. It wasn't fear… was it?

"—Ulquiorra-san?" Orihime didn't know what else to say. She was confused at the proximity of her pale captor. She could feel his warmth radiate off him, and she tried not to notice.

His green eyes rose to meet hers. "Your hakama is stained as well."

Orihime blinked twice and then looked down at herself. He was right.

Ulquiorra's fingers suddenly hooked around her sash, and before Orihime could object he pulled it loose and the hakama dropped from her waist.

Orihime reared back at the sudden action and her back smacked against the wall. Her jaw gaped open and she tried to cover herself as much as she could. Being clad in nothing but a bra and underwear in front of Ulquiorra was not something that made her comfortable.

"You couldn't have at least warned me?!" Orihime wanted to glare at him, but she was too embarrassed to even look him in his eyes.

"What are you so ashamed of?" His voice was soft, and the corner of his lip was slightly lifted. He grasped her chin made her look into his eyes.

His emerald depths entranced Orihime, and she discovered that she couldn't will herself to look away.

"—Is this what you're hiding?" Ulquiorra's voice was low, and she could almost hear a hint of amusement, as he grasped her wrists in his free hand and gently pulled them away from her chest.

When Orihime felt his fingers trace the edge of her bra, her mouth went dry. "—Ulqui."

Suddenly, Ulquiorra's horned head flew up in alertness. His eyes seemed to dim, and his mouth pressed into a thin line.

"Aizen-sama is calling for a meeting."

The words didn't seem to sink in for Orihime, and she just openly stared at him.

"…Wh— what?"

Ulquiorra's eyes focussed on hers.

"I'll be back with your cleaned dress— and a new plate of food." He said formally, as he made his way over to the door. To Orihime's confusion, he unzipped his white jacket, and tossed it over to her.

Reactively, she caught it, and sent him a questionable glance.

What she saw was Ulquiorra's unmarred, lean muscled chest with a proud '4' tattooed over his heart. Orihime couldn't help but stare.

How an Espada had such a perfect, scarless chest was beyond her. Not one single scratch. Orihime briefly wondered if anyone was ever able to touch him in battle.

"I'm lending you my jacket, until I return with your clothing."

"O…Okay." Orihime said meekly, as she ran her eyes over his jacket in her hand. When she looked up, he was gone.

Orihime she slipped her arms into the long sleeves of the jacket and smiled as she closed her eyes.

The jacket smelled like him.