Title: Red Sash
Pairings: UlquiHime
Rating: T for sensuality
Spoilers: None
Word count: 3, 667

Wow, it's been quite a while since I have posted anything, but it doesn't help when school gets in the way. Not only that Ulquiorra STILL hasn't returned from the Caja Negacion.

I was debating whether to put this with the Dangerous Dance series, but I think I will have it as a stand-alone piece, especially since there is at least a sequel planned.

Enjoy!

' Just a few more questions and I'll be done,' Orihime thought impatiently as she nodded her head to whatever Aizen was telling her. It wasn't that she wasn't paying attention per say. She comprehended the words he was telling her on a very superficial level; she could recognize the words that he was using. The implications behind those words, on the other hand, were lost to her completely. Orihime knew that she should care more about her lack of apathy, but she had never been fond of Aizen's insisted upon teatimes.

" I understand, Aizen-san. Is that all you will be requiring of me for today?" she replied mechanically.

"Yes, I think that will be all. Thank you for taking the time to come and visit with me, Orihime. We must do this again some time, " Aizen stated, his eyes glinting evilly.

' He says it so calmly, as if he really does belief that I am just some guest here, not a prisoner that was ripped away from the world and people she loved and cared about,' she noted bitterly.

The doors to the throne room opened to reveal Ulquiorra standing in the doorway, looking almost statuesque. It didn't unnerve her as much as it had when she had arrived; when had she arrived, anyway? A few days? Weeks? She wasn't so sure anymore. Walking impassively towards her, he silently beckoned her to follow him. She stood up and bowed slightly to Aizen and was about to join Ulquiorra when Aizen looked at the two.

" Oh yes, one more thing. If you happen to find a red sash, please give it to Ulquiorra so that it may be returned to me. It's been missing for a while now, and I am quite fond of it," he stated, waving his hand as if to shoo them away, " That's all."

Orihime nodded lightly and walked out the door to return to her own room, resisting the urge to giggle. She couldn't help, however, the slight smile that found its way to her lips.

" What is so amusing?" Ulquiorra asked, looking at her out of the corner of his eyes.

She tried to get rid of the smile, but to no avail. " Nothing. It's just…I never would have thought that Aizen…-san would have such an emotional attachment to a piece of cloth is all."

" What makes you believe that it is an emotional attachment that Aizen-sama has for his sash?" he inquired, " Could it not be that it is difficult to acquire a sash of that quality here in Hueco Mundo?"

Orihime thought about this for a moment. " I didn't think about it like that. I suppose that it would be rather difficult for UPS or FedEx to deliver to Hueco Mundo, and there probably aren't any department stores that he could go to and buy another one…"

Before she knew it, Ulquiorra was opening the door to her room. She walked in, still rambling.

" …he could always have another sash made…but, then…where would he get the fabric from. Actually, now that I think about it, how do any of you guys have clothing?"

He stared at her for a beat before responding. " If there is anything that you will be requiring before dinner, you know how to contact me."

Before she could even protest that he hadn't answered her question, he was gone.

On the outside, Ulquiorra looked the same as he always did: blank, white face with green tear marks trailing down his face and empty looking green eyes. Inside was much more turbulent, however. He had just exited her quarters, walking around Las Noches aimlessly. He didn't want to return to his domain. He couldn't remain idle, he decided, because if he did, he would go mad.

' That woman is starting to have an effect on me,' he contemplated, ' No. She has always had an effect on me, which is why I was rather insistent that Yami get rid of her as soon as possible. Being around her day and night is not helping. Everything she says and does is…it should be ridiculous, looked down upon as something as human, and thus, below myself, and yet…her words, at least, make sense. I find myself agree with her more, even when her ideas completely contradict Aizen-sama's goals. Even worse, I am starting to desire her in ways that are not…appropriate. I shouldn't wonder how soft her hair is, how her…mouth tastes, how it feels to be ins…' He stopped this train of thought before it could finish and closed his eyes. ' I fear that one of these days, I may do something I may regret…'

Suddenly, he found himself nearly running into a certain leery-eyed Espada. Nnoitra raised an eyebrow.

" Eh? That's not a good thing when the cuatra Espada is so distracted that he nearly runs into something," he pointed, a surprisingly serious tone in his voice.

Ulquiorra never thought there would come a day when he would ever find himself agreeing with the quinta Espada, but it seemed that Fate had a cruel sense of humor.

" Although," Nnoitra continued, his trademark grin returning, " since you have come from Pet-sama's room, I guess it's not that surprising So, did you do anything 'f…"

" That's none of your concern," Ulquiorra replied in a clipped manner, interrupting him before he had the chance to insinuate that anything had gone on between the two.

He never liked Nnoitra to begin with, to be quite honest. However, his dislike for the tall Espada had grown into loathing since Orihime had arrived in Las Noches. It was his fault, after all, what with his talk of 'teaching' and 'disciplining' her. He was haunted by her enough, but after that…the ideas that had been planted into his head… Needless to say, it took a good portion of his self-control not to kill Nnoitra right then and there.

" What are you doing here so close to her quarters, Nnoitra? You know that only Aizen-sama, the cook, and myself are allowed," he demanded, noticing from his surroundings that he had not gotten far from her room.

" Yeah, yeah, I know! I was just trying to be nice and hospitable and shit," Nnoitra replied, his grin widening.

"What?" Ulquiorra could only imagine what 'hospitable' meant, but he knew that it wasn't good, especially with him involved.

" I just left her a little present, that's all. I mean, have you seen her room lately? How is Pet-sama supposed to pass the time in a barren room like that? Anyway, I just left her a little something. Personally, I think that she'll enjoy it. You will let me know, right?" he asked.

Before Ulquiorra could respond, Nnoitra walked around him to return to his domain, tittering as he went. Wasting no time, Ulquiorra opened the door to her room, unsure of what he would find.

" Oh, hi Ulquiorra! I was just about to call for you! It seems that Aizen…-san's sash was here in my room, although I have no idea how it could have gotten in here in the first place, " Orihime said, holding the red sash up between the thumb and index finger of her right hand.

He stared at the red sash blankly. He was torn between applauding Nnoitra for the sheer guts it took to steal Aizen's sash and not get caught in the process or killing him the next time he saw him. Walking over to her, he took the sash from her grip and felt the silky fabric between his fingers.

'It's no wonder Aizen-sama is attached to this particular sash. Nothing but the best quality.'

Ulquiorra rubbed the sash between his fingers for a few seconds, contemplating. He knew he should have already left to return Aizen's precious object to him, but something inside of him, some defiant part of him that had been growing ever since he had first encountered the strange girl beside him, told him that Aizen could wait. Unbidden images of what creative uses could be done with the fabric that lay in his hands flashed before his eyes as he closed them.

Orihime watched him carefully. It had been about half a minute before he opened his eyes and turned to look at her. She felt herself blush at his stare although, for the life of her, she had no idea why. She couldn't help but look away; the intensity of this stare was much different than the one that she had grown used to.

" Um…shouldn't you go and return – " she began.

" In time. However, there is something that I must do that I have neglected," Ulquiorra stated, cutting her off.

"O-oh? And what that might be, Ulquiorra?" Orihime asked, her heart beating a bit faster than before as he began to lean in towards her.

" Trust. It was wrong to presume you would just trust us outright. After all, we have given you no reason as to why we should have your trust in the first place, correct?" he asked, handing her the red sash.

" Um…yes? I-I suppose that's true…" she responded, very confused and not at all sure where this conversation was leading.

" However, trust goes both ways. We cannot expect you to trust us if we do not trust you in return. More importantly, both of us must know, without a doubt, the one trust the other."

Orihime nodded, although now she was beginning to worry. The more Ulquiorra talked, the less sense he made, and, from her own limited experience, this was quite out of the ordinary.

" So, what is it that you want to do?" she asked.

" I'm going to show you I trust you, Inoue Orihime," Ulquiorra replied, his eyes darkening slightly. " First, you must tie my hands together and place them over my head. I assure you, I will not move them."

It had not escaped her that he had called her by her name. She felt her hands begin to shake, with fear and a bit of something else that she couldn't name at that particular moment.

Orihime didn't want to trust the Arrancar or Aizen. She realized, however, that she did want them to trust her. She battled with herself for a few seconds before letting out a strangled sigh. Walking over to the wall, she nodded and took his hands She tied the sash around his wrists tightly, but not too tight, and moved his arms so that they were above his head.

"O-okay," she replied shakily, " now what?"

"Whatever you wish," Ulquiorra said, looking at her blankly. "Whatever you decide to do to me, I will not stop you."

"But why? I don't understand."

He closed his eyes, which, she had come to learn, was about as close as he ever got to sighing. " So you will know I trust you."

Her eyes widened. It made sense, she supposed, in a very twisted sort of way. He was basically giving her himself to do what she pleased. She could, theoretically speaking, kill him, if that was what she had so desired.

Letting out a shaky breath, Orihime raised her right hand and brought it to his face, leaving her hand to hover a few centimeters above the tear marks that marred the whiteness of his face. Ulquiorra stared at her silently. Suddenly, her fingers were sliding down his face, tracing the green trails, beginning near his eye and then all the way down to his chin. He resisted the urge to sigh at the soft touch of skin on skin and settled for closing his eyes instead. He opened his eyes and looked at her curiously.

" I always wondered if they were just make-up or something," she commented, using her left hand to brush away a few strands of hair near his eye, "They really are a part of you, aren't they?"

"Yes," Ulquiorra replied mechanically, trying to keep any emotion from finding its way into his voice.

Looking up at his hands, more specifically his fingernails, Orihime asked, " So, does that mean you were bor…created with black nails?"

"Yes," he answered, a little frustrated that she had decided to stop with her ministrations and was instead playing 20 questions with him.

Pleased by his answer and also a little wary of the slightly irritated look he was giving her, she moved her hands slowly down his neck until it reached the zipper of his jacket. She hesitated for a moment and looked up at him for his approval. When he did nothing, she took the zipper and unzipped the jacket until his hollow hole was showing. She tilted her head curiously, looking at the gaping hole in his body that clearly distinguished himself as an Arrancar. Blinking, she traced the outside of the hole with her pointer finger until she heard what sounded like the smallest of gasps. She stopped.

" Does…did I hurt you?" Orihime started. " I didn't mean to, if it did. I was just – "

" No. Don't stop," Ulquiorra replied in a slightly choppy manner. 'It is quite the opposite, actually.'

Her eyebrows slightly furrowed, she continued where she left off, even going so far as to stroke the innermost areas of the hollow hole in a slow and agonizing manner. Ulquiorra let out a strangled moan, closing his eyes and hoping that there was no one passing by who would hear him.

'It's so weird seeing him show that much emotion, although I guess that's what happens when someone keeps their emotions hidden for so long. They just kind of…come out at full force, perhaps even stronger than they were intended,' she contemplated, removing her hands and instead placing them on top of his mask.

She avoided his eyes, fearful of what emotion might be in them. Instead, she rubbed her hands against the smooth material of his mask. The material felt very odd; it was like eggshells, but much harder and thicker. She moved her hands to all the up the length of his horn, tiptoeing to reach the very tip. She felt the point, noting that it was just as sharp as it looked.

After a few more moments, Orihime removed her hands from him and was about to tell him that she was finished when she looked at his face, eyes still closed and breathing slightly elevated, and focused in on his lips. She wasn't sure why they held such fascination to her now; they had never done so before. But now, those tantalizing, black lips beckoned for her attention, begged for her to touch them…to taste them. Her eyes widened at those thoughts and an odd sensation she had never felt before rushed through her from the tips of her fingers to the tip of her toes and especially at one place that she knew of but had never really given much thought to. It felt as though there was electricity running her, painful and yet, at the same time, not. She noticed that her breathing was just as erratic, if not more so, than his.

" I'm done, Ulquiorra. I-I hope that was enough to show that you trust me," she stated, struggling to keep looking at his eyes, as though she were fearful that he would see something in her own eyes that she did not want him to see.

" It is satisfactory," Ulquiorra replied, letting his arms down from over his head. She took his hands wrists again, untying the sash that bound them together. She handed him the sash wordlessly, her eyes slightly gazed over for reasons he could not fully understand.

" Now, I suppose, I must show that I trust you, huh?" she asked shakily.

" Yes. Lie down on the couch and close your eyes."

She stood in front of him, unmoving. To say that she was slightly apprehensive was an understatement. " W-what are you going to do to me?"

Ulquiorra stood there for a few seconds before responding, " It will not harm you."

She was still wary of what he would do to her, but she complied with his request. Walking slowly over to the couch, she tried to make herself as comfortable as possible. Orihime could hear her heart beating in her ears and tried to slow her breathing down. When she stopped fidgeting, he walked over to her and lifted her head just enough so that he could tie the sash around her eyes. After he finished, he waited a moment for her to ask any questions, as she was prone to doing so, but was mildly surprised when he was met mostly with silence, save for her erratic breathing.

' She's going to hyperventilate if she continues like this,' Ulquiorra noted.

He stroked her cheek ever so slightly in what he hoped would be a calming effect. She tensed the instant his hand touched her cheek but then slowly began to relax. Orihime raised her arm and blindly tried to reach out for him. Taking her hand, he took it into his own and placed his lips on the inside of her hand, his tongue tracing the lines of her palm. She let out a soft moan.

" Ulquiorra…"

Suddenly, he was on top of her, his legs on either side of her and his hands pinning her wrists down on either side of her head. Orihime shivered at the amount of control he had over her. Despite this, the thought of him having that much control didn't frighten her as much as she knew it should have. His left hand moved to her neck and his thumb lightly stroked the skin right above her voice box. His right hand wove into hair, feeling the silky strands between his fingers, softer than even the sash that was currently tied around her eyes.

Ulquiorra's hands trailed down slowly, making sure no area of her body was left unattended. When he got to her breasts, he hesitated. It was a slippery slope and he knew that one wrong move, just one step too far, and he wouldn't be able to stop himself. Instead, he moved his hands millimeters above her, causing the air around her to move and give the illusion of touch.

Orihime arched her back slightly, pushing herself against him. His arms encircled around her waist, pulling her closer to him. His hands moving up and down her back in a torturously slow manner, starting from her scapula and down to her waist. She froze when she felt something hard push against her thigh.

"I will not hurt you," he reassured her, his mouth moving against her ear. Ulquiorra was satisfied to feel her relax a bit at his words.

' This is too much, for the both of us,' he decided, pushing himself off her and pulling her into a sitting position. He reached behind her head and untied the red fabric, letting it fall into her lap. The two stared at it in silence.

" I should return this to Aizen-sama," Ulquiorra said.

" Yeah, I guess so," Orihime agreed, her tone almost sounding…disappointed.

Standing up from the couch, Ulquiorra walked over to her door, about to leave until he felt something pull on his sleeve. He turned around and saw Orhime standing behind him, looking at the floor.

" What is the matter, Inoue Orih – "

Before either could comprehend what was going on, Orihime tiptoed and pushed her lips softly against his. His eyes widened for a moment and then closed, his arms wrapping around her waist and pulling her flush against him as her hands found their way into his hair. He turned her around and pushed her against the wall, his tongue tracing the seam of her lips until her mouth parted just enough. He made sure to stroke and taste every part of her while she mirrored his actions, although in an apprehensive and demure manner. After a while, they broke apart from each other.

" If we do not stop now…" Ulquiorra started. She nodded in agreement.

" Yeah. I guess I will see you at dinner then?" Orihime asked anxiously.

He nodded slightly while exiting her room, but not before he saw a small smile make its way across her face.

"Yes, Ulquiorra, enter, " Aizen answered as the door to his throne room creaked open.

" Aizen-sama," he replied, bowing slightly with one arm in front and the other behind him, " I have located the red sash that was misplaced." Ulquiorra walked over to him and presented him the sash, no worse for the wear.

Aizen's grin widened. " This is wonderful news. Thank you for returning it to me so promptly. Where did you find it?" he asked as began to he tied the sash around his waist where it belonged.

Ulquiorra thought for a moment before responding. " In Nnoitra's room, Aizen-sama. It seems he thought it had more…interesting uses than as just a sash."

Upon hearing this, Aizen stopped in the middle of re-tying the sash, looking down at it with a faint look of something akin to disgust. He tossed the sash aside. " I…see. I wish that we could have more time to chat, but I haven't had a good conversation with Nnoitra in quite sometime…"

" I understand, Aizen-sama."

With a quick bow, Ulquiorra exited the throne room and saw Nnoitra coming in his direction. A small smirk made its way to his lips before it disappeared altogether.

"That's just damn creepy," the tall Espada noted, " What are you so happy about anyways?"

Ignoring his question, Ulquiorra made his way over to the kitchen to make sure that dinner was served on time. After all, it would be awful rude to make a guest wait.