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Prize of Victory	By : NovaAlexandria Category: Bleach > Het - Male/Female Views: 87207 -:- Recommendations : 8 -:- Currently Reading : 8
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach nor make profit from this snippet

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Trail of Tears

Orihime hadn’t moved much from their bed since the night they had rescued Szayel, having only left for battles and to assist at the fourth. At first Ulquiorra didn’t mind it in the least. It meant she was safe and sound at home, and since she was safe, so too was their growing child.

The thought of his impending offspring left him feeling warm. Szayel’s detailed reports indicated all was going well and Kami-sama’s wife had simply been a confirmation of the Espada’s assurances. As far as he was concerned, all was well with his life.

Unfortunately, Ulquiorra was far too perceptive for his own good. Orihime was upset, and thus stressed. Stress was not good for a mother, and he would be damned if he would lose his offspring to something as pathetic as stress. There were times when she was back to her usual peppy self and he believed she was back to normal, but all too soon she would return to being depressed and lock herself in their bedroom.

He wanted to confront her, to demand what she could possibly be upset about. She had a strong mate, a secure den, and even friends nearby ready to assist her with their child. He had half a mind to remind her just how fortunate she was to be his. However, he also understood that such a confrontation could cause more issues than it would solve.

He decided he would have to bring the girl’s friend over. The woman had been rather negligent in her duties lately and he planned to have words with Tesra over it. If need be he would take the girl back.

His feet had followed his thoughts and before he knew it he found himself at Starrk’s home. He could sense Tatsuki, Ajuga and Starrk’s male pet. No one else seemed to be home at the moment.

He knocked on the door simply because it would be impolite to intrude upon his superior’s territory unannounced, whether he was home or not.

Ajuga was the one to answer the door, the little girl looking up at him with a smile.

“‘cora-san,” she greeted. “Why are you here?” she asked curiously.

“I wish to speak to Tatsuki,” he answered.

“Oh, this way,” Ajuga chirped, opening the door all the way to let him in before leading him through the halls.

He followed the chatting girl without making any comments. His silence didn’t seem to deter her any and soon enough they arrived at the patio Jushiro was resting on, the doors wide open to reveal what Ulquiorra guessed were his private quarters.

“Ulquiorra-san, to what do we owe the honour of your visit?” Jushiro asked politely.

“Orihime has refused to move from our bed and has locked herself in the room,” he answered honestly.

Tatsuki and Jushiro shared a look before turning their attention back to him.

“Has she said why?” Tatsuki asked alarmed.

“No,” he responded, pleased that at least she found the situation to be of concern.

“When did this start?” Jushiro inquired.

“It began shortly after the incident with Szayel.”

Tatsuki gave him a confused look, for she hadn’t been a part of that mess, but there was at least some understanding dawning in the eyes of Starrk’s pet. He cleared his throat a little and motioned to Grimmjow’s brat, getting her attention.

“Ajuga-chan, my throat is getting a little sore. Do you think you can make me a cup of tea just like Unohana-san showed you?”

“Hai,” she said quickly and darted away.

Ulquiorra was surprised to note that this time she actually walked. In fact, when he thought about it, she had walked on two legs on the way here as well. Turning his attention back to the adults, he folded his arms across his chest, getting down to business.

“I trust you have a theory,” Ulquiorra stated once Ajuga was gone.

“I might. She seemed extremely distressed when the topic about what does and does not constitute rape among Hollows came up,” Jushiro answered.

“What are you guys talking about?” Tatsuki demanded, looking back and forth between the two.

Jushiro sighed, but managed to quickly fill the human in on the events that had happened the night Ajuga had ‘gone missing.’ Once Jushiro had finished, Tatsuki shot Ulquiorra a look of anger before rising to her feet.

“Men, no matter the race,” she spat out, in a scathing tone. “Do you think you will be okay with just Ajuga-chan, Jushiro-san?” Tatsuki asked the older man, voice moderating a little when she addressed him.

Ulquiorra, irritably, wondered why Starrk’s pet seemed to be excluded from her currently wrathful definition of ‘men,’ despite being one.

“I think so,” Jushiro assured her. “She knows to get help if something happens. She is exceptionally sharp for such a young child.”

“Hollows age faster,” Ulquiorra pointed out.

“So it would seem,” Jushiro agreed.

“I got the tea,” Ajuga’s voice broke into the discussion.

“Thank you, Ajuga-chan,” he smiled warmly at her as he accepted the steaming mug.

Tatsuki bent down in front of the child, hands on her knees and smiled at the little girl.

“I have to go out for a while, think you can hold the fort and guard Jushiro-san while I am gone?”

“Of course,” Ajuga replied.

“Alright, I trust you. Be good until I get back.”

The conversation seemed to be at an end, and Ulquiorra turned on his heel and left, making for the gate. Tatsuki followed him out as they began walking back to his house. She eventually caught up to him and then moved in front of him, her stride determined. While he was glad that she’d finally realized how necessary her presence was to his mate, his annoyance with her was stoked a bit by her presuming to walk ahead of him.

“I am displeased I needed to fetch you at all,” he grumbled. “You have become negligent in your duties to her.”

“We have all been busy with this war and our duties,” Tatsuki said in her own defence, squaring her shoulders. “Aizen-kami has had us all deployed.”

“The fact remains that you were only permitted to leave the house should you keep up your duties to serve her as I directed. Should you fail in those duties, I will have no choice but to reclaim you to see…”

He never got to finish because Tatsuki had suddenly whirled and slapped him. It didn’t hurt, her meagre human strength was nothing to his Heirro, but it did take him by surprise and he actually stumbled a little.

“You will do no such thing,” Tatsuki snapped at him, outraged. “Do you know what this even means?” she snarled, holding up her left hand.

He looked at her hand, wondering what was so special about the ring adorning it. And why was it that human women seemed to have no fear of him? She obviously read his confusion because she let out a sound of utter frustration and shoved her hand under his nose as he regained his footing.

“This…”she pointed at the simple gold ring, “is what we HUMANS,” she stressed the word, “wear to denote that we have given our souls to another. In your Hollow terms, it means I have accepted Tesra as a mate, as he accepted me. So you WILL NOT even THINK about separating us!!! Understand!!?”

Ulquiorra blinked green eyes at the shining metal around her finger. “Mate!? When did that occur?”

His silence only served to infuriate her further, because he found himself looking at a very angry, very bristling Tatsuki, her face inches from his as she proceeded to shout at him.

“Do you want to know why Orihime-chan is depressed right now?” she hissed and without waiting for him to answer, continued on. “Well, I can tell you why!!!”

The angry words hung, festering in what little air there was between them as he reeled back from the unexpected verbal onslaught. Then, the woman had the audacity to stick the pointer finger of her ring hand right beneath his nose in an accusatory fashion.

Had she been a Hollow he would have taken evasive action immediately, expecting her to fire a Cero from the tip of the digit. As it was, Ulquiorra was actually surprised that a blast of energy didn’t materialize, her reiatsu was that agitated. He was so astonished at the sheer, suicidal nerve she displayed that he froze, leaving her with the opportunity to continue upbraiding him.

“It’s because you are being an insensitive idiot!!! How many times do we have to try and get it through that thick, bone-encrusted head of yours? She is a HUMAN! She is NOT a Hollow! She does not instinctively know or understand many of YOUR ways, so STOP expecting her to follow them!!”

That finger made stabbing motions in the air as she snapped out what sounded astoundingly to him like commands she actually expected him to follow.

“Stop just assuming that she knows and understands everything! Stop just trying to bully her into your way of doing things and try actually doing a few things her way! Yes, we know you are not human. Yes, we know you would sooner die than be or act like one, but would it honestly kill you to try and be a little considerate to who and what she is?!!”

He blinked again and found that the finger had thankfully been withdrawn. Instead, she’d backed off a little and grabbed a handful of her own hair, pulling it in what appeared to be a great deal of frustration as she continued to rage at him.

“She is trying, Kami knows she is trying, to do things your way and to understand your customs, but she needs a helping hand to do so. Have you even been there for her even once since she informed you she was going to have your child?” Tatsuki demanded, panting for breath.

It took him almost a full minute to realize her rant had finished and that she had asked a question she was clearly demanded that he answer. His first instinct was to immediately punish her for speaking to him so, maybe even end her fragile life for her outrageous behaviour towards a superior being. He almost moved his hand towards Murciélago before reason set in.

That was, regrettably, an action which would defeat the entire purpose behind having her try to comfort his mate and reduce the effects of stress on her pregnancy and his unborn child. Getting a grip on the anger he felt boiling up in his own gut at her seemingly illogical tirade, he forced himself to go through her words, bit by bit, trying to follow her train of logic. Setting aside the first part, he eventually settled on what he thought might be an acceptable solution based on her understanding of the situation.

“You believe getting her a ring would make her feel more accepted,” he finally said, hoping he’d made the right connection between her waving her hand around and Orihime’s obvious human attributes.

Tatsuki stared at him in disbelief, and he had the sudden feeling he’d missed something vitally important, though for the life of him he had no idea what it could be.

“You are utterly, and completely hopeless,” Tatsuki threw her hands up in despair before she changed course and started to march off.

“Onna, the house is the other way,” he commented, catching up to her easily and reaching out to try to grab her arm to point her in the right direction.

“I know, but I need to speak to someone else first,” she snapped as she made her way to what he recognized was the path to the 2^nd Division.

“This detour…” he began, and again, she made a rude cutting motion with her hand, the same one with that damned ring on it.

“Is necessary, trust me,” she interrupted in a biting tone. “I know Orihime-chan far better than you do. I need to talk to someone else before I talk to Orihime in order to fix the problem.”

He conceded that when it came to the emotional surges of his mate, Tatsuki was far better suited to handle the task of calming her down then he was. Reluctantly, he let the woman lead him to the 2^nd Division and waited outside while she clearly went to talk to Karin.

What was it, he wondered, that also made the human women who had no fear of him talk to him as if he was both blind and stupid?

When she came back out of the office about ten minutes later, she seemed pleased with herself and without a word to him, headed towards his house at a brisk pace. Whatever discussion she’d had with Karin had at least blunted the edge of her anger, but it hadn’t gotten rid of it completely. She didn’t speak to him again until they reached the front door.

“Do me a favour and wait outside until I call you or bring Orihime out,” she ordered. “I’ll deal with this.”

Ulquiorra almost denied her the request, but once again he conceded that she was better-equipped than he was to handle this sort of emotional situation. Instead, he stood, exiled on the front step, and watched as the front door closed behind Tatsuki.

As long as Orihime came out of her depression, he admitted to himself that he didn’t care what she did. He would put up with just about anything to make sure his child was successfully born, even to the point of being verbally abused by an upstart little human and ordered by the same out of his own den.

His back hit the wall of the house and he looked upwards at the blue sky of the Seireitei and the white clouds floating lazily in it. For a moment, he wished that the sky he was seeing was the vast, inky-dark firmament of Hueco Mundo, with its ever-crescent moon hanging like a lantern over the sands and stark walls of Las Noches. It was there, he thought, that everything in his life as an Espada had last made perfect sense.

He settled in to wait, until a familiar and entirely unwelcome presence made itself known to him as it approached and Ulquiorra moved one hand to pinch the bridge of his nose in utter irritation.

Could this day get any more exasperating?

　

　

Orihime jumped as the door to her room was literally kicked open. She stared at the intruder in surprise shortly before the door rebounded and slammed shut.

“Tatsuki-chan?” she gasped.

“Oh, bloody hell, that could have worked better,” an annoyed voice on the other side of the door said.

The door opened again, this time by use of the door knob and in the way most doors were intended to be opened. Tatsuki marched into the room, stopping halfway and just glared at her.

“Get up. You have thirty seconds to get into that shower,” she said firmly, pointing in the direction of the bathroom, “…before I put you in it myself.”

“Huh?” Orihime stared at her friend in confusion.

“Twenty seconds,” Tatsuki continued as she stalked the rest of the way to the bed and grasped the end of the blankets in a silent threat.

“Are you feeling okay?” Orihime asked worriedly.

“Ten seconds,”

“Okay, okay, I am going!”

Orihime crawled out from under the bedding and made her way to the bathroom. She honestly wondered what on earth had gotten into her friend as she crawled into the shower. Then she grimaced as she realized just how dirty she was. Didn’t she take a shower just the other day? Strange, she thought, as she turned on the hot water.

It did feel good to be clean again and she pulled on a loose-fitting yukata when she was done. Orihime was surprised to see a bowl of miso soup and a cup of tea waiting for her on the kitchen table when she emerged. She never even realized how hungry she was until her stomach loudly declared its interest in the food. She blushed embarrassed and stammered an apology.

“You eat, while I talk,” Tatsuki ordered firmly.

It was hard to really argue with that, Orihime decided. With a nod, she sat down and all but inhaled the bowl of soup without even tasting it.

“Ulquiorra came to me today and said you locked yourself up in the bedroom. Why?” Tatsuki demanded.

“I just don’t feel like going out,” she shrugged dismissively. “The 4^th Division is in perfect shape, so it’s not like I have been needed much. Maybe I am just nesting. Pregnant woman do that don’t they?” she offered as an explanation. “I am pretty sure I read about it in one of the books Karin-chan loaned me.”

“They do, but they generally hum and do housework at the same time, not mope in a dark room. No, something else is bothering you and I think I know what it is. I had a chat with Jushiro-san about the night Ajuga-chan went missing.”

Orihime felt a bolt of fear spike into her stomach, followed quickly by a large bout of depression as Tatsuki continued.

“He said something about how the conversation turned to rape. So in your own words, what happened that night?” Tatsuki demanded.

Orihime felt a sob coming on, but bravely fought it back as she explained what Aizen had done to Szayel. A look of shock crossed Tatsuki’s face as the story was told, followed quickly by disgust.

Orihime choked a bit when she got to the part where they had talked about rape. Why had they been so upset that Aizen had abused Szayel when no one got upset over everyone else having been raped and abused over the years?

Tatsuki didn’t say a word, just moved over and hugged her tight. She had talked to Tesra about it during one of their ‘this is me’ discussions. It was hard to wrap her brain around how being taken from behind was any different from being taken from the front, but by the end of the discussion she sort of understood.

From behind it was impersonal. You didn’t have to look at your assailant, making it easier to withdraw from the event. It was said that the eyes were the window to one’s soul, and it seemed Hollows understood the sentiment as well, oddly enough. It was the perfect case of different customs clashing, in this instance, spectacularly.

“I don’t agree with it either, Orihime-chan, but we do have to remember that, even though they look it, they are not human. Their ways are different from what we are used to. Do you like rabbits?” Tatsuki suddenly asked her.

“Of course I do. They are so adorable,” Orihime exclaimed, wondering what rabbits had to do with their conversation.

“Yes, they are cute, but do you know that a male rabbit will kill his own offspring to breed with the female again?”

“Yeah, they mentioned it in school,” she said, still not getting the point.

“But you still like rabbits, despite that fact,” Tatsuki pointed out.

“Well, it’s just their nature. They don’t know any better…”

Orihime trailed off near the end of her sentence as understanding suddenly blossomed. She stared back at Tatsuki, who gave her a sympathetic look in return before she spoke.

“Now you get it. Yes, Arrancar are smarter than rabbits, but they are still driven by their instincts. They are a relatively young civilization, if you can call it that. Can you honestly say we humans were any better thousands and thousands of years ago?”

Orihime sighed tiredly.

“When you put it that way, it does make more sense. It’s just, they are so much like us it’s hard sometimes to remember they are not…” she sighed in frustration “…human.”

“Tell me about it,” Tatsuki agreed rolling her eyes. “We will just have to educate the ones who are at least willing to learn the best we can. Who knows, maybe we will be able to show them that slavery is bad, just like we learned over time.”

Orihime nodded in agreement. She certainly felt much better and a lot less depressed. It didn’t make what was going on all around them any more right, but it certainly helped a little as far as understanding Ulquiorra’s perspective.

“If you are feeling better, might I suggest a walk?” Tatsuki suggested. “You seriously need some fresh air, and some exercise. You are also looking a little round around the waistline,” she taunted.

“Oooooo,” Orihime glared at her. “I can’t wait until it is your turn to swell up like a hot air balloon.”

“Yeah, but Tesra’s base animal is a warthog, not a bat. I will likely be only pregnant for five months, not eight like you,” Tatsuki replied teasingly.

“So you admit to liking the idea of having his kids,” Orihime shot back with a smirk.

Tatsuki shrugged and absently twirled the ring on her finger.

“I am not opposed to it, just not right now when there is so much going on.”

“I envy you, and Karin-chan,” Orihime suddenly said. “You both found love a lot easier than I did.”

“Hey, hey, none of that now… Karin-chan didn’t exactly crawl into Grimmjow’s bed because she loved him or thought he was hot, she did it to protect her sister. She would have done the same no matter who their ‘Master’ was. It was just good fortune that Grimmjow was the one who took them in.”

Then Tatsuki seemed to regard her much more seriously, the fingers of the opposite hand tightening on the gold ring as if hanging on to a badly-needed good luck charm.

“As for me, well, I’m glad Tesra came around when he did. Otherwise, I would have been raped and Claimed that night. There is honestly no telling what Ulquiorra might have done in the morning. He might have killed the assailant, or he might have let it stand based on that whole ‘Law’ thing.”

Orihime gave her a stricken look and Tatsuki held up both hands in a soothing gesture.

“It could definitely be worse, that’s for sure, and there is one thing I do know without a shadow of a doubt.”

“What’s that?” Orihime questioned.

“He has a shitty way of showing it, but I do not doubt for a second that Ulquiorra loves you, and has for a very long time. He just doesn’t know how to express it in a non-Hollow way,” Tatsuki said and smiled at her.

Orihime nodded her head in agreement. That was definitely true. She would never forget the shock she had felt when he had confessed to her. Yes, she suddenly understood why they had been upset about the whole eye thing. When it came to Ulquiorra, the window into his soul was definitely his eyes.

There was a sudden flare of reiatsu off in the distance, one Orihime could recognize in her sleep. She looked that way in worry, but Tatsuki just smirked in pleasure.

“What’s going on?” Orihime asked worried.

“Oh, it’s nothing much. I just felt that Ulquiorra needed a pep talk as well from someone who would be able to communicate in a way he would understand.”

Tatsuki’s smirk widened.

“What have you done?” Orihime gasped in surprise.

“I just asked Karin-chan if her hubby could have a little chat with yours,” Tatsuki chuckled.

Orihime looked at her in surprise and not a little horror.

“You are insane! Those two do not get along.” Orihime gasped.

“I don’t care if they are mortal enemies, just as long as someone beats some sense into that boy of yours,” Tatsuki replied and then folded her arms across her chest. “Now, about that walk…”

She stood up and stretched before looking at her pregnant friend expectantly. Pushing her empty bowl and mug away, Orihime also stood up and cracked her back.

“Fine, fine… we’ll go for a walk.”

“Good, because I left Ajuga-chan alone with Jushiro-san.”

“You did what? She is too young to take care of him all by herself!” Orihime exclaimed.

“Oh I think they are fine, but we should go and keep him company, don’t you think? And Hana-chan needs to be picked up from school soon,” Tatsuki added.

“Dear Kami, I remember when we weren’t even permitted to leave the house,” Orihime chuckled.

“Yeah,” Tatsuki replied with a soft grin. “But in all honestly, I wouldn’t give up this freedom, even though it comes with a bit of baggage. If I’d been cooped up any longer in that house, I was going to go crazy.”

“You mean crazier,” Orihime taunted, good humour seemingly restored.

“Har, har, har,” Tatsuki snarked, but matched her friend’s smile with one of her own. “You’re hilarious. Get your pregnant ass out the door already before I decide to kick it down the street.”

“Yes sir,” Orihime said and saluted smartly.

Shaking her head, Tatsuki followed Orihime out the door, only to be surprised by Tesra waiting for her instead of Ulquiorra. He seemed, at least on the outside, to be fully in control, but she could also tell from his stance that he was worried.

Belatedly, she remembered that he could feel any changes in her reiatsu, as well as any strong emotions and slapped her forehead at her own stupidity. Of course he would have felt everything across their link, including all of the anger she’d directed at Ulquiorra. Orihime gave her a puzzled look as Tatsuki took a deep breath and walked over to her mate, gently laying a reassuring hand on his arm.

She found herself enfolded in his arms and for a moment, she rested her forehead against his chest.

“What was all that about?” he murmured into her hair, fingers reaching up to brush it gently. “And is the person you were angry with still alive?”

She chuckled at the joke and took another deep breath before drawing away and looking him in the eyes. “Yes, I’m sure he is, at least for now. Sorry about that. I hope I didn’t pull you away from anything important.”

Tesra opened his mouth to say something, but his reply was lost as Karin seemingly materialized out of nowhere, a panicked look on her face. Orihime was so startled that she gave a little shriek of alarm before she registered who it was.

“Karin?!?”

The grim look on the other woman’s face wiped whatever smile Tatsuki had off of her own. Karin gave Tatsuki a rueful look before grabbing Orihime by the arm.

“I apologize, but I need your help now!”

“Wait, I…”

Orihime never had a chance to finish as Karin launched into a Shunpo, dragging the other young woman with her before Tatsuki could say anything or stop her. She and Tesra were left to stare at the empty spot where the two women had been, before turning astonished eyes to one another. Finally, Tesra gave her a small squeeze and let out the breath he was holding once it became apparent that they’d been effectively ditched.

“Perhaps you’d better start at the beginning…” he suggested and Tatsuki inwardly cursed, her shoulders slumping.

"Could this day," she thought, "get any stranger?"

Hugs to you all and huge loves for the few reviewers. Next Chapter: Ulquiorra and Grimmjow have a talk, that ends in them both getting in trouble with their woman.

PS: why is the site putting such huge spaces between each paragraph? This chapter is posted like every one before it so I have no idea why it's coming up like this.
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Prize of Victory