The Long Sonata

Epilogue

Thunder rumbled to break the silence in the room, waking Orihime from her deep sleep. The bright flashes of lightning stung her sleepy eyes and made it hard for her to focus around her dark bedroom. Her head felt fuzzy and heavy. Instinctively, her hand reached out to search the bed for the warm, well-toned body that used to hold her tight during dark stormy nights. Finding the space next to her cold and empty, she kept her eyes closed as she moved her hand to remove the covers from her head to peek at the clock, which read 1:03 A. M.

A groan escaped her throat and she tried to clear the confusion in her mind. She couldn't remember what day it was or how she had gotten in her old bed. Yet slowly, like water being soaked up by a paper towel, her memories began to return back to her. Flashes of memories of Ulquiorra, his making love to her, her supposed betrayal, his arrest and her information which led to Aizen's capture all suddenly filled her mind.

Ulquiorra…his face now fully imprinted in her mind; his soft blue-black hair, his forest green deep-set eyes, his perfect sculpted nose and soft lips all delicately displayed against a backdrop of his pale and flawless skin; the man that she had used in order to gain information on one of the most dangerous men in the state, the man that she had been slowly struggling with herself to not get too emotionally involved with. Ulquiorra…the man that had ultimately fallen in love with.

Engulfed by the heartbreaking emotions, she began to choke back the tears that she had been shedding for the past week and a half in secret. She had been so emotionally fragile after Aizen's capture that she had stolen a bottle of Ulquiorra's valium right after the set up and thus began her process of forgetting. She had felt heartbreak before but those feelings had never been this intense. The utter desolation and betrayal that she felt within her was a great shock to her. Indeed, she had been a fool to think that by delaying her investigation; she would selfishly satiate her desire for what was Ulquiorra only for a while longer.

Everything about him had mystified her. There were moments when his green eyes seemed to be far away from her, making her feel that she could never reach him. They were dark, intense and held a passion and desire so hot that it made adrenaline surge through her body. It was hard to appease her lustful thoughts. Ulquiorra's calm demeanor and intelligent mind captivated her as well, his long thoughtful conversations about everything from philosophy to the smell of the rain kept her in a trance. There had been many times when she had sat and watched him for what seemed like hours. Her beating heart had increased in speed every time he had looked at her and she always feared that he knew who she was. And then there were those moments that he would be completely absorbed in paperwork for his next job yet from one second to the next he would be on her with an intense hunger that almost frightened her.

She often supposed that her attraction to him derived from knowing that he could never be truly hers or the fact that he occupied a space in her life often left empty due to her demanding work schedule and responsibilities. Orihime went as far to analyze that there had been something about his protective nature that reminded her of her deceased brother.

Her assignment had been to enter and be trusted and that was exactly what she had done. Once she had had the information on Aizen, she had purposely delayed her stay to be close to Ulquiorra for reasons she was still embarrassed about. None of her co-workers or her partner Renji had said anything about her delay for Aizen's capture. Yet their looks when she had finally arrived at the office had said something completely different.

Another thunderous rumbling broke across the sky, bringing the red head back to her foggy reality. She tried to remember the last few days again; award for completing her task, congratulatory party with her co-workers afterward then home…her empty home. Orihime knew that she needed to snap out of it. Never one to have so much trouble bouncing back on her feet, she found herself dragging to the bathroom to relieve her full bladder. Her once lithe body felt stiff and achy from being asleep for so long. After relieving herself she glanced at herself in the mirror and noticed that even in the darkness, her face looked sunken and the dark circles under her eyes were deep and purple. A small feline hiss slipped past her lips, she turned and went back to bed. She grabbed the bottle of valium again and tossed back another dose. Just let the time pass already, she thought as she laid back down.

Closing her eyes she let the pills take effect and her mind slowly slipped into a dreamy state. She hoped that even if she could be with him in her dreams, she would try her hardest to find him there. The surreal feeling of being held in his arms began and she didn't question it as she pulled his arms closer to her body. His body's warmth against her back brought a tranquility that she had lacked for the last couple of days and she wanted to indulge in that feeling. A moan escaped her lips as she began to caress her body with his hands. Chills ran down her spine as she felt his warm breath against her neck and she heard him groan. Another soft cry escaped her lips, the feeling was magnificent. Her body felt free, relaxed and she could feel the wetness between her legs begin to soak her panties. How she had missed him.

"Ulquiorra", she murmured, "touch me…touch me all you want."

"If you wish it," was his whispered response.

Their breaths became heavier and they quickened as they rubbed and their hands caressed each other. The heat began to increase within her loins and she began to whimper and plead for him to take her. Pushing her panties aside, he thrust his member within her and took her with long and hard strokes from behind. She felt him grope her as he had many times before and the excitement of such memories took her over the edge that she came instantly. Reeling from the spams of her soft wet folds, she felt him jerk and thrust harder a couple of times more as he too, finished.

Heavy breaths could be heard above the rain drops that pattered against the window.

"Come with me woman. Be with me. Stay with me, "said the deep masculine voice barely above a whisper. Her hand reached for his face as she turned and kissed him hard. She could feel the incoming sting of tears. Reluctantly pulling herself from him, her voice broken, "I can't baby…I…I just can't, they need me. The people of this city need someone…to-to…protect them."

The hair on the nape of her neck was gently pulled to the side and the fluttering of kisses made her want him insider her again. She never felt satisfied with just one kiss or touch from him; she had always wanted more…had wanted all of him.

"Orihime...you were always a wonder to me, you always gave but never requested for anything in return. You always brought me peace during my times of chaos. I thank you for that…here, you left these," was his final say as he slipped a set of sapphire hair clips into her hand. Glancing down into her hand she saw the clips sparkle as lightning broke across the sky once more. The woman's tears began to fall without hesitation. She cried as he gently shushed her and held her then eventually her dream became a peaceful slumber.

A knock on the door startled Orihime awake. Her head rang with the resonating echo of the disturbance. A voice called out to her as she lazily got up and headed toward the door. Stumbling several times against her furniture and groaned at the twice failed attempt of grasping the door knob, she finally succeeded in opening the door.

The sight of her tall, tattooed, red headed partner brought a small smile to Orhime's face. His long hair was kept up in a ponytail which was framed by a black and white bandana on top of his head. He did not seem bothered by the heat of the day even though he was wearing a black V-neck shirt and black, skin tight jeans and black cowboy boots with aviator glasses completing his rebellious look. Renji definitely did not fit the description of an FBI agent, yet he was one of the best. His rough demeanor made it easy to infiltrate within any community of criminals around the country. Renji had always been her contact with the outside world whenever she was on an assignment.

Walking in, Renji placed his sunglasses on his shirt; his brown eyes looked at the red head in disapproval as he scanned her from head to toe.

"You always answer the door when you are half naked?" he asked with a frown.

Orihime closed the door then headed to her bedroom where she grabbed her robe before plopping herself on the couch of her small living room. The room consisted of only two small sofas, a black TV stand that held her flat screen and a couple of frames of her and her brother hanging on the wall. Grabbing a red colored pillow she curled her body into a fetal position. Hearing a heavy plop across from her, she opened one eye and noted the concerned look on her partner's face as he tried to get comfortable.

"I am fine, I swear it. I am just tired, you know how it goes," she said, not knowing who she was trying to convince, her partner or herself.

"Look, Orihime. I know that this case was hard on you and you do look like shit. And to be honest, that's not even the reason why I came here…well, at least that's not the entire reason." He said as he found it difficult to make himself comfortable on the old sofa.

"What do you mean?" Orihime's eyes were now completely focused on her partner yet her body had not moved. Renji looked back at her with a blank look on his face.

"You might be in danger, Orihime. So it might be a good idea to not leave your apartment for a while." He said as he leaned forward.

"Danger from what, Aizen?" Orihime's head was now raised as a knot began building in her throat. Her head was still fuzzy and it began to irritate her. Renji placed his hand on his face, feeling the whiskers that were forming on his chin, looking as if he were contemplating on whether or not he should tell her the news. He released a heavy sigh.

"No, Orihime…Ulquiorra. He escaped yesterday morning."

Orihime froze. Thinking that she had not heard correctly, "Ulquiorra escaped from prison?"

"No, not from prison. He was being transported to a different facility, due to that over-crowding issue where he was being held." Orihime nodded in understanding as he continued.

"And well, he was on a van to the new location, and after an hour of not hearing from the transporting officers, we got worried. Turns out that the officers escorting him were tied up and gagged and left inside the van, it gave him enough time to escape. We haven't heard anything back yet, no sightings have been reported…nothing. Even the escorting police don't remember anything. They were drugged somehow, they're checking into it. "

"Anyway, my first instinct was to check up on you yesterday, but I got held up and you don't answer your damn phone. Damn it Orihime, you have to keep that thing turned on!"

Orihime tried to absorb everything that Renji had just said. Ulquiorra escaped? She tried to recall something but she couldn't remember exactly what it was she was trying to remember. Noting that he had been speaking for a while, Orihime merely nodded.

"So. What do you think?" he finally asked.

"Huh? About what?" she asked, as he realized that she had not been paying attention to what he had asked. "I'm sorry Renji. It's just that I took some sleeping pills last night and I am still a bit groggy, "she replied with a tone of embarrassment. "So you think that he might be after me now that he's escaped?"

"Yeah, pretty much, you know the drill," He leaned back, placing his hands behind his head as he continued to study her. "Do you think he would try to find you, Orihime?" She wasn't sure but she thought that his question almost sounded as if he were accusing her of something.

"What? I don't think he would. I would have called you immediately if I would have suspected or anything of the sort."

"Are you sure?" The tone of his voice no longer sounded friendly.

"Renji! You don't have to treat me like one of the people you interrogate, okay? Of course, I am sure!"

"Okay, okay…no need to get testy. Anyway, I have to back to the office and finish that stupid report of the whole incident," he stood and stretched for a long while. Orihime's eye brow rose at the exaggerated move, she stood up and began to walk her partner out.

"Hey, one last thing…" Renji paused and looked back at his partner, "…in this line of work, we all make sacrifices. We sacrifice part of ourselves so whatever shit we are protecting remains intact. Sometimes those very things we protect are why we cannot fully connect with those who interest us. But at the end of the day, you have to ask yourself if whatever you protect is worth of sacrificing so much of yourself." He turned and closed the door behind him and left.

Orihime was left standing near the door way, knowing full well that Renji knew her reasons. He knew that she did it to protect people who couldn't protect themselves, to salvage whatever piece of humanity she could within this world. She had sacrificed her heart for those very people.

Slowly, she turned and headed to her bedroom and stood in the door way. Minutes passed as her eyes stared at the sapphire hair clips sitting on her nightstand. What she thought had been a dream had been very real yet she had just been too drugged to notice. Slipping her robe off as she reached her bed, she slid in and made herself comfortable. Her hand reached for the clips and she held them close to her heart. Ulquiorra, you too, were worth protecting, she thought as her mind drifted off to a dreamless sleep.