The Lost (UlquiHime)

Chapter Two

Walking beside her on the very silent walk home was Ichigo, Uryu, and for some unknown reason, Ulquiorra. He seemed to follow along without any argument, which seemed the most odd. He was going along with whatever he was told to do by Kisuke. She wasn't sure what Kisuke had told Ulquiorra to make him willing to go along with it, but she definitely wanted to know.

The entire walk, she could feel Ichigo and Uryu glaring towards Ulquiorra. But besides that, she could sense their worry, as if she couldn't take care of herself. Ulquiorra was not a threat, as far as she knew. He was... Lost, whatever that meant. Was he a soul that manifested itself so everyone could interact and talk to? Perhaps he was human and they just didn't understand how he became human. But an arrancar was is made up from all the soul's that devoured one another and the most dominant one surfaced, she thought. But she could be wrong. She didn't exactly understand the process. But she did want to understand why Ulquiorra was here and how he got here. Was this Aizen's work as well? Was this just a game he was playing from behind the scenes and no one knew about it? That seems like a likely cause, but if that was the case, did that mean the war still wasn't over? Everything seemed realistic... She didn't understand what Aizen was fully capable of, so she mentally noted that idea as something they could further investigate.

Either way, it had her befuddled that Ulquiorra was even here in the first place, walking beside them. Perhaps what Kisuke had suggested about the hyogokyu was something relevant in this situation, not that it entirely mattered.

Finally, after an eternity of walking, the young female and her escorts stepped in front of her apartment.

"Do you want me to stay with you tonight, Orihime?" Uryu voice his question, clear concern in his tone. He did not like the idea of their former enemy and her once captive staying at her apartment alone with her. Even as he spoke the words, she could sense that he didn't feel comfortable staying around Ulquiorra either. Ulquiorra had broken Uryu's arm while fighting him, just to prove Orihime had no means of escaping from Las Noches. He had toyed with Uryu. That memory was probably still lodged in the back of his mind. Ulquiorra was still seen as an enemy by the two males.

She slowly shaked her head, offering a false smile. "No, I think I'll be okay. He has his paperwork to fill out and I'm going to just work on catching up. Thank you, Uryu!"

She held the charm in her voice she always had, with an upbeat attitude despite how sullen she suddenly felt. She would be alone, once more, with her previous captor. She didn't really know what to make of it. But, she supposed, in this very situation, he would be her guest, under Kisuke's suggestion. So she'd do her best to make him comfortable and feel at home. Did he even know what home felt like?

She doubted it.

"Ulquiorra, if you do so much as to harm even a single hair on her head.. If you do anything to upset her," Ichigo began, teeth seething towards the stoic male.

Ulquiorra turned his attention towards Ichigo, a blank look holding onto his expression. The threat didn't faze him in the slightest. "You worry for no reason. The woman is of no concern to me."

"Tch." Ichigo was clearly still very irritated, and seemed like he had more to say, but before he had the chance. Orihime quickly spoke up, trying to calm them down.

"It will be okay Ichigo, really!" Orihime tried her best to calm down her friends, not wanting them to worry any more than they already were. "I'm sure everything will be resolved quickly and in no time at all. Kisuke is brilliant, after all!" Her optimistic attitude must have helped because the other two males relaxed a little. They gave each other a single glance before looking back at her, giving a smile.