The question she asks catches him ( an animal in netting ) and entirely by surprise. It stirs something within him at the notion, mouth pressed more firmly into a frown. Still, after all of his observing, she was able to do things he did not expect of her. He did not like it, a strange thing to be displeased. It made him feel as though all of his watching was for not, that he was back at the start once more, that he had not learned a thing. For a long moment Ulquiorra does not respond, instead considering in what way he wanted his words to come out. What tone of which he wanted her to interpret them.
“… Do not be foolish.” He stays his tongue from adding on her name, as if not doing so will discredit and dismiss what she has claimed. That is his intention at least, to push further for a gap perhaps he had not realized had been closing. The former Espada turns his eyes away, out the window of the room that they occupy, to broken dome of Las Noches. “I have always known your name, Inoue Orihime, as it was my duty to know.”
That was not what she was asking though, nor what she was accusing. It is that unspoken thing that he does not know how to comment upon. Not in a way that will be satisfactory to either one of them. He does not look at her as he intones passively. “… Shall I call you ‘woman’ again?”
“ then , yes it was your duty. but what is it NOW ulquiorra-kun, that keeps you at my side? ” the courage , to finally ask. “ you and i . . . we're not friends. not like i am friends with ichigo, uryuu or tatsuki. why is it that you let me continue to see you here ? ” she braces herself , for an answer as cold as she remembers ( his touch ). “ i guess . . . what i really want to know ulquiorra-kun, is what am i to you? when you look at me, what is it that you SEE? ”
did he see past , the orihime she had built for the sake of her friends ? the girl with a smile, who's light could nearly outshine the sun? did he see the real her? the one, still learning to ( piece together ) what remained? he had managed to take a piece of her , and in turn she allowed it so. was it SELFISH , to so desperately try and assign him anything that resembled human nature? to pretend, this was anything more than an out stretched game of cat and mouse.
“ i like that you use my name , that you've changed. even if, you don't see it. ” was it , her own foolish narrative to believe that he could change? “ do you believe in FATE ? do you believe you and i were always destined to meet? i'd like to think so. ( that maybe ) , this isn't the only life time our paths have crossed. ”
