"I asked you if you were scared."

Orihime drew a shaky sigh.

"I am not scared. Everyone came to save me. My heart is with them."

Ulquiorra looked at her for a moment, hiding his surprise.

"Nonsense." His voice rang through the tower, "You are unafraid because your friends came to save you? Are you serious?"

Orihime smiled faintly, "If one of them disappeared the way I did, I know I will do the same. We treasure our friends and keep each other close to our hearts. That's what it means to have our hearts beat as one."

"Hearts? You humans always talk about hearts. My eye sees everything. What it doesn't see doesn't exist. What is a heart? Will I see it if I rip your chest or crack your skull?" He touched his hand to her chest.

He saw her eyes widen. There was a flicker of surprise there. She looked at him for a moment before speaking again.

"Are you afraid?" she asked, "of not knowing?"

Ulquiorra stared at her in puzzlement.

She took a step closer, now standing very close to him. "Do you want to find out?"

He did not answer. Her words both surprised and fascinated him. Such bravery was not anything he's ever seen.

She put her arms around his neck pressing herself against him, something that he absolutely did not anticipate.

"We might be weaker than you, but we are not weak, and we are not trash." she whispered in his ear. "We care about each other and sacrifice our freedoms and well beings in order to save the ones that we love. That is our strength and that is our heart."

Ulquiorra remained motionless, not realizing that he was holding his breath.

"Can you feel it?" she whispered.

He felt the warmth of her body entering his own. For the first time in his life he was scared. He felt a wave of something strange, that he has never felt before, invade his very being. He did not know what to make of it, but the one thing he was sure of, he did not want it to end.

"Put your arms around me." he heard her say. He mechanically took his hands out of his pockets and encircled her waist, drawing her close. Her small frame fit against his body perfectly. It's like she was made specifically for him. Then he felt something strange rise in the pit of his stomach.

Orihime drew her head back, studying him closely.

"Do you understand now?" she asked softly.

He stared back at her, not knowing what to say. He was under a spell, completely at her mercy.

Then, his thoughts were broken by a wave of a powerful riatsu. Kurosaki Ichigo. Ulquiorra was about to turn his head into its direction, but she touched his cheek drawing his attention back to her. He felt her soft breath on his lips, and the remains of his self control shattered. Ulquiorra grabbed the back of her head, hungrily putting his mouth on hers. He needed her, he wanted her, he had to have her.

Ichigo finally broke through the floor with a bang. Ulquiorra heard everything, but he did not care. He did not care that Ichigo was suddenly in front of them, yelling something inaudible. He did not care that he drew his sword and was ready to attack. All he saw was the strange creature in his arms, who made him….feel.

Reluctantly, Ulquiorra pulled his hand away from Orihime's waist, his mouth never leaving hers, and put it in front of Ichigo's face.

Talk to the hand.

Ichigo's mouth fell open. But before he could respond, he saw a flash of green.