I know, I know, shippers don't usually make a lot of sense with their pairing, and Ulqui-hime is no exception, but it's a pairing I very much enjoy (being the rampant Ulquiorra fanboy that I am) and I love writing romance, so this was the only logical step to make. Some of the small details may not sync up with the story of Bleach, and for that I appologize. Just try to enjoy the characters and the story from it's own perspective. I don't own the show or characters.

Also, as someone who doesn't speak japanese, I've tried to keep the script I've outlined fully in english. I may decide to add the japanese honorifics (san, sama, chan, kun) depending on reader reaction and how the finished product looks, but that'll be all.

Chapter 1: An order

Hueco mundo is a world of palid grey, one in which a sense of desperation is inescapable. Its existance holds no logic, no greater meaning, and no higher purpose; nor do its residents. A desert that stretches forever while it parches the lips and souls of all who encounter it. Could a place like this- one of violence and despair- be anything less than hell itself?

Orihime Inoue struggled with the view from her window, trying in vain to find something worthwhile to set her gaze to. If she could just find one trace of beauty here. If she could only find one bit of hope to latch onto and help her find her strength.

"I'm here for all of them." She said weekly, muttering to herself. "For Rukia, for Sado, for Ishida." She spent a few seconds saying the names of each of her friends, trying to picture each individual face as she spoke.

"And for Tatsuki, and for Chizuru. For Abarai and for…" Another pause, her voice faltered. "for him." Her knees failed her, and her balance gave way. She did little to resist as she fell onto the ground, hot tears escaping her large brown eyes as muffled sobs echoed against her room. What a contradiction she found herself in! She needed to remember that she was protecting them to find the strength to keep living, yet remembering their faces made her time here unbearable. A few minutes passed before she staggered back to her feet, abandoning her search for beauty outside and turning her attention to the tray of food that had been delivered minutes ago. She stared at it dispassionately. It looked and smelled wonderful, but no force on earth could bring her appetite back to her.

"He'll force me if I don't. And-and anyway, it sure looks good! Someone must have worked really hard to make it so it'd be a shame to let it go to waste!" These words came out sounding much more chipper than she feared she was capable of, and it helped her find the willpower to force her nauseous stomache to accept a small portion of the food. It really was very good, although it sat hard inside of her and added to the ill feeling she'd had since she arrived. The attempt at a meal finished, she moved over to a nearby couch and lay back in it. At the very least her room was lavish, not a simple prison cell as she'd originally feared. Her biggest complaint was that it was so horribly plain, everything 

everywhere was some different shade of grey or white. The lack of diversity was suffocating, and she had to close her eyes to escape the sense of vertigo it caused within her. Before long she was asleep.

"You wished to see me, Lord Aizen?" Ulquiorra Schiffer bowed prefunctorily as he entered the private quarters of his master. At a table before him a tall man with slicked brown hair sat comfortably, sipping tea with a content expression on his face. In response to his name the man turned to Ulquiorra, smiling softly.

"I did. How is Ms. Inoue?" He took another sip of tea, slurping softly. Ulquiorra locked his cold green eyes onto the visage before him, his voice composed and devoid of emotion.

"By your wish, I have taken every step to safeguard her vitality. Nourishment, accomidation, and medicine are ever at her disposal, as are the means to forcefully administer them should she refuse to take care of herself."

"My word! And why on earth shouldn't she want to do that?" Aizen asked with mock surprise.

"It defies logic, my lord, as the decision to come here was ultimately her own. However, preparation for every circumstance is vital to success."

"Yes, I guess it is. You don't know much about humans, do you Ulquiorra?"

"About humans?"

"Yes, keeping one as a pet is tricky work. Keeping the body alive just isn't enough with them. If you allow their hope to fade, they become little more than walking corpses. I wonder how our lady is doing in that regard." He set his cup down softly, the smile he always wore growing more amused at the well-masked confusion that Ulquiorra's eyes betrayed.

"I will not fail to keep her alive for as long as she is useful to you, Lord Aizen." Ulquiorra said, secretly hoping this would be enough to satisfy his orders.

"Yes, yes, but make sure she's emotionally comfortable too. Take very good care of her, Ulquiorra, I never want it said that I was anything but a hospitable host."
"Your wish is that I coddle her?"

"If need-be, certainly." Aizen started to laugh. "I order you to make her as comfortable as she can possibly be, physically and emotionally." There was a moment of silence between the two men. Finally, the young espada lowered his head respectfully.

"I understand, my lord." Aizen waved his dismissal, and Ulquiorra left. It wasn't until several minutes after he left that Aizen's laughter finally ceased.

"Now then." He said good-naturedly, returning to his tea. "This should prove to be very entertaining."

Contrary to his words, Ulquiorra didn't understand. As a strategist, a warrior, and even as a servant he had absolute confidence in his abilities, but how on earth could he be expected to emotionally support a human? He had entered her room only minutes earlier, finding the food she'd been left partially eaten and her asleep nearby, fresh tears staining her face. He saw no reason to care about them, normally, but Aizen's order was absolute. With an awkwardness that was completely against his character, he stood beside her and waited for her to awake.

What a surprise it was for Orihime to wake to the sight of a pale specter hovering over her! It must have been, since her first semi-concious action after seeing it was to rise suddenly, ramming her fist against it with all the skill and grace of a top martial artist. Her punch had almost reached it's target before she recognized the spectre as Ulquiorra. He removed his hand from his pocket simply, using the back of his hand to absorb the strike as he'd done countless times against countless opponents. She immediately recoiled, sweating and laughing nervously.

"Ohhh! I'm so sorry! I thought you might be some kind of prowler or something. You're not hurt are you?" She was genuinely worried, even though she knew it wasn't within her power to hurt someone like him.

"You needn't concern yourself." He returned his hand to it's appropriate pocket, his eyes never once leaving hers. They seemed to be searching for something, they were cold and distant, but at the same time curious and longing. Despite herself, Orihime blushed, it almost felt like he was undressing her with his eyes.

"Do you need something? You're staring." She started to avert her gaze in hopes of easing the sudden tension.

"Woman, what is it that you want?" The question came so suddenly that she was at a loss for words.

"Excuse me?"

"What do you require, what must be provided to maintain your well being?" The source of her shock wasn't the question itself, but the fact that it was he who asked it.

"You're worried about me, Ulquiorra?"

"I'm not. However, upon lord Aizen's order I am to keep 'hope' alive within you."

"Aizen's order… to keep my hope alive…" Orihime parroted him softly. Hope was something she'd lost when she agreed to come here. Her heart had all but died as she said her unheard farewell to Ichigo and abandoned everything she cared about in hopes of saving it. Could she ever be happy again? Was there anything this unfeeling man, this cold and ugly world, could do to make her feel complete?

"I just want..." She began.

"Yes?" Her composure suddenly changed from sad to hyper, a huge smile crossed her face and her voice became slightly more shrill.

"You to remember my name!" She declared merrily. "You've been calling me 'woman' since I got here, I have a name y'know! It's Orihime. I'm Orihime Inoue. It's a pleasure to meet you!" She extended her hand, which Ulquiorra promptly stared at "Let's try having a conversation, okay? We'll start with an introduction. I just told you my name, now you tell me yours."

"My name is already known to you. You spoke it just a few moments ago." His reply was cool and polite. She stuck her tongue out in response , using the hand she hadn't extended to try and jerk one of his out of its pocket.

"C'mon! Aizen ordered you!" She wasn't happy that he wasn't being kind of his own will, but the prospect of finally having a friend gave her a faint glimmer of excitement for the first time in a long time. He let his discomfort show on his face, but ultimately allowed his hand to be tugged out and pressed into hers.

"Orihime Inoue, I am Ulquiorra Schiffer." He said evenly. She was so happy at the gesture she almost wanted to hug him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. We're aquaintances now, okay? Maybe one day we can even be friends, Ulquiorra."

"If a 'friend' is what you require." He was uncertain why, but the feel of her hand caused a pulse of warmth to surge down his arm to his chest. This feeling was incomprehensible to him, and as such was almost instantly forgotten. His attempt at kindness was for the sake of his master's order, nothing more. Just as her desire for kindness was an act of desparation and little else. Regardless of its root sources, however, on that silent evening-so indistinguishable from all that had come before it- a bond had been created between the two of them.