Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Saving You ❯ 4 ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach nor do I profit from Bleach. I only do this as a fan.

 

Ulquiorra woke on the floor beside a low table in a dark kitchen. He could hear a ferocious fight between a man and a woman in the other room. He rose up and looked around when he heard the sound of a baby crying. Not to far from him was a boy and in his arms a wailing child. Ulquiorra cringed and looked to the doorway of the kitchen as did the boy at the table. The baby was going to draw the fury of the couple in the other room.

“Boy, you better shut that baby up.” Ulquiorra whispered across the table.

“You of all people know he can not hear you.” A young man said entering the kitchen.

“You would be?” Ulquiorra asked the man who injected without hesitating.

“My name is Sora and I believe that you already know my sister Orihime Inoue.”
He replied seeing a tinge of shock.

Ulquiorra tilted his head about to ask why he had been brought to this place when the fighting suddenly stopped. Rapid foot steps approached and the boy pleaded with the baby to stop crying. It was already too late as a woman with dark crimson lips, powder blue shadowed eyes and scarlet cheeks ripped the infant from his arms. An angry stubble faced man in his t shirt and beer gut stumbled in behind her slurring incoherent words. His eyes darted to the boy when the woman ignored him to shake and yell at the infant.

A harsh slap across the face sent the boy flying into the wall. “Whad ya sa boy?”

“I…I…said not to shake the baby.” The boy whimpered averting his eyes.

“Ya think yer smart? I…I'm smart….Na you.”
His father snarled gabbing him up to smack him once more.

A flash of black and the scene ended. Ulquiorra had remained silent as he had watched the happenings. Now that it was over he still was not sure what to say. He really did not know what her brother hoped to accomplish.

`Perhaps he wants me to know that the girl had the same trials?' Ulquiorra pondered.

“I was fifteen at the time. Ori had just been born. My father had lost his job and my mother started to turn tricks so that the family could eat. My dad got mad when she would refuse to give him money for booze.” Sora said with a bitter exhale as he stared into the darkness. Ulquiorra stared along with him only nodding in understanding.

A light flash and the two were back in the kitchen. It looked to be early morning with a now older teen boy cooking breakfast for a three year old Inoue. Both had fresh cuts and bruises on their faces and arms. The house was pin drop silent as the young man sat a plate of food down in front of his sister.

“For three years I shielded her, but now the abuse was growing worse and I feared that she would be killed.” The spirit said as Ulquiorra stood with his hands in pocket beside him still not uttering a word.

“Well aint this a pretty picture.” The deep smoking voice of their mother rang out.

The children shrinked into their seats knowing the peace of the morning was over.

“Where is ours?” Their father's dark and hate filled voice followed.

“I thought that you were still sleeping.”
Sore said rising from his seat to go and make them some food.

“Are you getting in my face?” His father growled pushing his night worn wife behind him.

“No sir.” Sora said backing away. Inoue had tears starting to rim her eyes.

“Stop daddy!” Inoue said running over to the side of her brother.

“Get that piss ant out of here.”
Their father said turning to the make up smudged face of their mother.

“Come on.” The woman slouched grasping the girl by her arm and dragging her away.

Ulquiorra shook his head and balled his fists wishing that he could take a swing at one of them. The Sora beside him held a dead pan look on his face as the beating dragged on. The sound of something breaking in the other room caught their attention. A shrieking scream from Inoue was the last straw for the eighteen year old.

The espada watched as when the father looked to the door the boy grabbed a pan and smacked him upside the hide. A snicker and a twinkle in the forest green eyes of Ulquiorra caught Sora's attention as he inhaled proudly. The battered boy before them wobbled into the other room leaving his father to lie bleeding and unconscious. The two souls followed along with him to find the mother straddling the tiny girl and repeatedly striking her.

“I told you not to touch it!” She screeched

“Please mommy…st.o..p.” Inoue cried trying to wiggle away from her mother.

The eighteen year old grabbed hold of his mother's hair and yanked her off. A yelp of pain and surprise jumped from her lips. The boy had decided that it was time to walk away from this hell.

“I am leaving and I am bringing Ori with me. If you try and stop me I will tell the police all about you and father.” Sora sneered lifting the weeping and bleeding girl into his arms. He walked out of the house with his head held high.

“You'll be back! You've got no one! You're nothing!”
His mother shouted as he kept on his journey down the road.

It all faded once more to darkness and Ulquiorra recalled all the times that he had tried to escape. He had always been recaptured, but if had someone that could have fought along with him then maybe. He shook his head trying not to think about `what if's'. It didn't matter and did not change the past.

“It was hard and we were lucky to find nice people who wanted to help us. I got a job and worked to support us. Inoue seemed to be unaffected by the whole ordeal. I prayed that she would have no memories of that place.”

“Why tell me this. I can do nothing, but bring your sister more problems?”
Ulquiorra asked getting no reply at first.

Sora closed his eyes. “There were things that were happening to her that I did not know of and can not show you. I had given her those hairpins that she now treasures more than anything, but at that time they had caused a terrible fight. The next day when I left for work we were not speaking. I died in an accident before we could make amends. I left her alone.”

“She is very good at smiling when troubled.”
Ulquiorra said recalling when she should cry, but fought on.

“I understand that you are reluctant to let anyone near you, but she isn't going to give up. So I suggest you fight at her side and perhaps that hole in your chest will not be so painful.” Sora said pointing to the void.

“Why would you know about the hollow hole?”
Ulquiorra asked, but the spirit was fading and light was rushing in.

Ulquiorra woke in the lap of Inoue with her arms tightly wrapped around him. Across from him was the smirking devil that had sent him to that place. The tea had been some kind of spell; the espada had figured that out. Urahara only smiled and offered him some more tea.

“I think I will pass on that.”
Ulquiorra frowned receiving a chuckle from Urahara and Inoue.

 

Back At Inoue's Apartment

It seemed that tonight it was Ulquiorra's turn to stay up and think about the odd relationship. He had taken his place by the window and stared out into the bright moonlight night. He watched as a teenage guy and girl walked down the street hand in hand laughing about some event that had occurred earlier. Ulquiorra turned to look at the sleeping girl and then up to the altar where her brother's picture stood.

When he had told Inoue about who his guide was she had smiled, but he could see she really wanted to cry. He had been sure that she would want to know all that he had seen, but she had changed the subject. He had finally asked her if she would like to know what all had happened or at least what her brother had said.

“No, that is between my brother and you. I am just glad that you had an opportunity to meet him.”

“You are a strange girl.” Ulquiorra replied letting the subject go.

He could only assume that her brother wanted him to protect the girl in his place. Ichigo had been doing such a piss poor job of it so far. She was constantly in some kind of danger while following him around. Then again maybe her brother was still feeling guilty for leaving the girl behind.

“Both siblings give me headache.”
Ulquiorra breathed out running his finger through his hair.

Inoue was pretty simple to understand. He figured that she could not really recall the events from childhood and therefore was unaffected by them. She had however been alone for a long time and perhaps wanted someone to be with her. He did not believe that she would betray him like Aizen, but she had fooled him before.

“Time will tell.' He whispered aloud to himself.

Ulquiorra turned his forest green eyes back out the window while leaning his head on the frame. He had decided that he would stay as her brother had asked. He truly had no where else that he could go in his current state.

Since he had kissed the girl he had been unable to leave the gigai. It was almost as if his soul had merged with the fake body. His emotions had come back full force and when she was near him…well he just could not calm down. In short he had been reduced to a human teenager or at least something very close to it.

This was a weakness that he did not anyone to know about, not even her.

“Ulq…uio…rra, whats …wrong? ” Inoue mumbled rubbing her eyes to wake up.

“Nothing, go back to sleep.” Ulquiorra replied moving away from the window and taking his place beside her. He had only closed his eyes for a second when he felt her body snuggle up to him. Ulquiorra frowned and lightly moved her so that she laying more on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

`I am merely cold.' He told himself.

 

Back with Ichigo and Hitsugaya

Ichigo only half wanted to hear what the reason was behind the soul society's decision. He was ready for a full on battle to get his friend back by his side. Hitsugaya sat back and waited for the steam to stop pouring out the strawberry blond's ears. He already knew the task he had been assigned was not going to be easy.

“Are you done?” The prince of ice asked getting the teens attention.

“All right, so what is their problem with me now?”
Ichigo asked taking a seat in front of the captain.

“Since she has met you Rukia has been unable to focus on her main tasks. She is constantly being swept up into your problems and has even gone as far as to disobey direct orders from her superiors. While it is true that being a shinigami puts you in danger. Being around you has been nothing, but near death experiences.” Hitsugaya replied.

Ichigo frowned recalling the past events. “She did what she felt was right.” Ichigo said.

“I understand, but we are soldiers and orders are orders no matter how we feel about it.” Shiro added

“I take it that busting in and stealing her away is not the best way, but I can't just sit here.” Ichigo huffed

“I think that `busting in' as you say is the worst idea right now. Some people `aka Byakuya' is already waiting for you to pull such a stupid stunt. No fear, I do have an idea, but it will take work on your end and a little control on that temper of yours. You will also have to befriend the Espada.” The captain smirked

“What the hell does that green eyed snake have to do with this?”
Ichigo snarled, already losing to his anger.

“I think that if you can prove to Byakuya that you are not as irrational and irresponsible as he believes then you will be allowed to be with Rukia. As it is now he only views you as a threat to be done away with. Earlier at the school you were ready to unleash your powers, disregarding all the innocents in the building. Why were you going to do this?” The captain asked leaning his chin on his palm listening for the explanation.

“He…Well that guy was doing something to Inoue.” Ichigo mumbled looking at his shoes.

“So he was beating her?” Hitsugaya asked staring with superiority at Ichigo.

“NO!” Ichigo replied grimacing of just how the Espada could hurt the delicate girl.

“Raping her?” The young captain asked rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“HELL NO!” Ichigo yelled making his sister hit on the door for him to keep it down.

“Threatened her life?” He asked hoping that Ichigo understood where this was going.

“Well no.” Ichigo answered in a tiny voice.

“Then what pray tell; was he doing that made you think it was okay to level an entire school filled with innocents?”

“He was kissing her.” Ichigo snarled causing a throbbing vein to pop on his forehead.

“Oh my god! That bastard!” Hitsugaya mocked; throwing his hands over his mouth.

“I know. That is why I went to attack.”
Ichigo replied looking to the captain for affirmation.

“I was being patronizing!” Shiro sighed slumping his shoulders in defeat.

“Oh.” Ichigo said furrowing his brow and trying to understand.

`He doesn't get it.' The platinum haired captain thought as he exhaled

`Sure.' A voice form the back of his mind replied.
He however had already drifted off before hearing.

Elsewhere in another part of town

A highly intelligent teen was entering a hot shower much like he did any other day, but today would be a little different. The water was beating and massaging his body making him feel a little more whole. A wonderful steam was filling the bathroom like a dream. He went to reach for the shampoo only to have it handed to him.

“What the…” Ishida's eyes flew open as he turned to see a very naked and wet Rangiku.

“I'll scrub your back if you scrub mine.” She purred giving the boy a once over.

In his mind the busy little soldiers that Ishida counted on to keep him one step ahead of everyone else froze.

“What is that lieutenant?” The general asked ignoring the papers before him.

“I believe that is a naked woman, sir.” The lieutenant said staring at the curves.
“Yes definitely a woman, sir.”

“I see.” The general responded hypnotized by the way the water dripped off her nipples.

“Sir, we have a problem.” A sergeant yelled running toward them.

“What's the problem sergeant?” The general asked snapping his attention over to the man.

“The privates have become excited and are on the move.” The sergeant said.

The general stood slamming down his fists. “It looks like we all need to move down to the lower level. I've not prepared for such a thing, but we can't go off half cocked.” The general said heading down the stairs.

“YES SIR!”