Kicking off her shoes at the door, Kairi moved out of the way to let her guest and patient in. “Here it is,” she said, watching him as he stepped in. “Home sweet home.”
And it was home to her. Eleven years of her life was spent in this house, and she was going to leave, no matter how bad things became for her. The authorities would have to drag her out of the place with wild horses if she had to leave, and even then she wouldn’t make it easy for them.
Hearing his question, Kairi looked up at him, looked back at Neffe and Reine, then smiled. "Of course." She stepped closer to Ulquiorra and picking up the bronze kitten with her free hand, she looked at it and smiled before kissing its nose.
"Here. You said you wanted to meet Neffe." Kairi turned him around and held him out to Ulquiorra. "So Ulquiorra, meet Neffe. He'll love you, I'm sure." And Neffe's reply was a cute little mewl.
Keeping Reine in her other hand, she walked forward a little before taking a left down the hallway and opening the closet on her immediate right. She pulled out a few towels and washcloths, then bumped her hip against the door to close it before walking to the bathroom. Once she was in the bathroom, Kairi waited until Ulquiorra walked past her before closing the door and draping the towels over the sink, then opening the closet in the bathroom (it was inconveniently placed behind the bathroom door, so to open it, the bathroom door would have to be closed). She placed Reine on one of the empty places on a shelf, watching the kitten carefully as she pulled out packages of gauze pads and bandage rolls, and a tube of anti-bacterial cream.
Looking over at Ulquiorra, she frowned a bit. "Do you need any help taking that off?" she asked, picking up Reine and setting her on the floor as she walked towards him.
Ulquiorra followed her, also removing his shoes. Kairi had a nice place. But he supposed any place was nicer than his ruined apartment now. He frowned. This was going to be his temporary home for as long as Kairi let him and as long as the family held off getting him a new place.
Ulquiorra took the kitten, gently. "So this is Neffe. How nice." He pet the kitten's head, and scratched underneath the kitten's chin. Ulquiorra was a natural cat person, and before they got to the bathroom, he already had the little cat purring. He followed Kairi into the bathroom, glad that he was going to get cleaned up, but unsure what Kairi planned to do. He just watched her until she addressed him again.
"Uhh..." He set the kitten down on the sink counter, and shrugged off his jacket. He didn't want Kairi touching that, considering how armed he was. He didn't want to scare her with the gun and the ammunition. He set the jacket down, fighting any of her protests to take it. It would just need to be washed. It was the shirt he had on under it that was beyond help.
"This, I think," he said, pulling on the stained fabric. It was soaked in red in some places while in others it had dried to a dull and ugly brown. The back of it was torn, and so was one side of the chest.
Kairi wrinkled her nose slightly, but she nodded anyway. She'd had firsthand experience with having to deal with something like that. Granted, when she dealt with it, they were blisters on her shoulders and back from a sunburn, and every time she would wake up, she would need help taking off the shirt she had slept in because some of the blisters would've busted overnight. The redhead could only imagine that it'd be worse for Ulquiorra.
She pursed her lips for a moment, looking at him, then around at the bathroom as she thought about how she was going to do this; he was taller than her by at least five inches, so doing it standing up was going to be difficult. If she could have him shorter...
Kairi grinned, getting an idea. "Alright, come here," she said, taking his hands and leading him to the edge of the bathtub, then put her hand gently on his uninjured shoulder. "Sit down. It'll be easier for me, trust me."
Ulquiorra could get it off with a little bit of doing. But it wouldn't be very nice. He had gotten hurt to this extent before. The only time he had needed Chase had been the time Grimmjow had almost killed him, and he had almost bled out from the wounds to his leg, shoulder, and all the scratches up and down his body. This was mild in comparison. This time he had been the one to almost kill the other. Grimmjow had no right to be upset. He was the one who had almost killed Ulquiorra before. Ulquiorra had still slept with him, still wanted him, even if he had tried to kill him at least three times. Grimmjow was going to get upset over this, was he? He was going to ignore him because of this? It made Ulquiorra angry. It also made his stomach flip that instead they could have fixed things...if Gin hadn't been involved...and now Gin was gone. Ulquiorra wished he would show up again just so he could stab him a few times.
Ulquiorra followed her and sat obediently on the edge of the tub, green eyes watching her the entire time. At least she hadn't tried to touch his jacket. He could take anything after that.
"Alright," she said in preparation--mostly for herself. This definitely wasn't something she was looking forward to doing after all. She shifted to stand between Ulquiorra's legs, and smiled softly at him, then leaned forward to grab at the hem of the shirt. "This might hurt a little," she murmured, then added with a soft laugh, "I know it'd hurt me."
Kairi shifted again, leaning forward a bit more she she could see his back as she slowly started to lift the shirt up. She could hear it sticking to his back and she cringed, glad that she was leaning forward enough so he could see her face.
But a welcomed distracting thought entered her mind as she wondered exactly how he was reacting to this. Not to any pain that he might be feeling, but to what a distraction of his own was due to her position.
And that only made her think about one of her jobs, and she frowned slightly, still slowly pulling up Ulquiorra's shirt. That wasn't something the redhead wanted him to know about. Not yet, anyway. She knew they could help each other emotionally, because though she wouldn't admit it even to herself, she had sort of fallen for her thief friend, Aloy. Sort of. Maybe that was just what happened when she spent so much time around a sweet guy like him, but they could only be friends. They had promised each other that. And Kairi knew that Ulquiorra wasn't about to be over Grimmjow so quickly.
So maybe they could help each other, in that sense. It all just depended on if Ulquiorra was willing to do that, because she knew that she would be willing to.
Smiling a bit to herself as she realized the shirt was just under the raven-haired man's arms, Kairi straightened up a little and pulled the collar over his head before sliding it off of his arms. "There," she said with a smile before holding up the shirt for a moment, then tossing it on the floor. She'd take care of that later, she reminded herself as she stepped away from Ulquiorra.
Ulquiorra just sat quitely, watching her and letting her as close as she needed to be, not really thinking anything of it until she leaned forward. He turned his head and tried to look away. He felt just a little uncomfortable with his position paired with their proximity. It wasn't that he didn't like the female form, because he did, he just didn't feel comfortable with it. Kairi was a friend. He didn't want to undermine that. The last thing he wanted was to let someone else close to him and lose them.
He still wanted Grimmjow, after all. He wanted him a lot more than he would ever say out loud or act upon. Even during his stay at Grimmjow's house, he had been afraid of being pushed away, and had not been forceful in his want for contact. He had been so afraid of Grimmjow pushing him away or kicking him out. But now he thought he should have been more forceful form the start. He had wanted Grimmjow ever since he had been pinned to his bedroom wall (or even from the time they had kissed in Grimmjow's apartment for information). He never should have pushed him away. Sometime he hated that logical part of himself that told him Grimmjow was dangerous and not part of the family, therefore dangerous. He should have refused Gin as well and told him the truth about sleeping with Grimmjow. Then this might all have been fixed.
But hindsight was so much keener.
This was all he thought about as Kairi removed his shirt. He was then sitting there, half naked, on the edge of her tub. He looked up at her again, still looking a little lost from his thoughts. "Alright..." Ulquiorra said, and stood. "I will wash up, then. You can wrap my wounds afterwards." He made a little sort of push in the direction of the door, and for good measure unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, making a move to slide them down from his hips, hoping Kairi would make herself scarce.
Kairi had bent over to pick Reine up from the floor and put her on the sink counter with Neffe. And when she turned around, she noticed him standing there with his hands at the waist of his pants like he was waiting for her to leave. Which in turn caused the redhead to raise her eyebrow at him questioningly. He actually expected her to leave, didn't he?
The redhead smiled and shook her head. It was a bit unexpected, considering she was sure anyone else wouldn't have hesitated to get undressed in front of her. It was part of her job, after all.
Though she wasn't going to leave the bathroom--simple as that. What if he needed help with something or he slipped and fell and only hurt himself worse. She wouldn't know if she wasn't there for him.
"If you think I'm leaving, you've got another thing coming," Kairi started with a soft laugh. "I'm not leaving in case you need something while you're showering." She paused to pick up Neffe and giggled when he crawled up to perch on her shoulder, and she kept her hand up by him, making sure he didn't fall. "But I'll at least give you privacy while you're undressing."
And with that, she walked back over to the closet and flashed Ulquiorra a grin before she opened the door, ultimately blocking her view from him minus a few inches between the wall and the edge of the door. And Kairi just wasn't the peeking-tom (or peeking-sally in this case) type, so he didn't need to worry about that. "C'mon, Neffe. Help me sort out a few things on this shelf while Mr. Shypants over there gets undressed," she told the kitten loud enough for Ulquiorra to hear the teasing tone in her voice as she set him on one of the shelves.
Yeah, she'd picked up a few nicknames from Rikku. No harm in that, right?
Ulquiorra stared her down. She wasn't seriously thinking of staying here with him, was she? He had enough trouble undressing in front of Grimmjow, and they had slept together. Kairi was a completely different story. Ulquiorra's brow furrowed, and annoyed look coming onto his usually emotionless face. He just kept that look on his face as she spoke and moved to shield herself with the door. It really was no use arguing with her, was it?
"Al...alright," Ulquiorra huffed after her teasing remark to the cat got him to his senses. He guessed he could trust her. She wasn't going to look, and she wasn't going to try to kill him when his guard was down (which was another reason he didn't feel completely safe the time that he had bathed with Grimmjow). He guessed that he would be fine.
He pulled his pants the rest of the way from his thin frame, and then repeated the process with his boxers. He fiddled with the shower, turned it on, adjusted it, and stepped inside. He made sure the water wasn't too hot; his back had already hurt just from the movement of his skin when he pulled down his pants. It still stung. He washed the rest of his body, paying close attention to the wound at his collar. Grimmjow had gotten him in the same place on his left where he had gotten him the time in the park. It had just finished healing, too. He might have to call Chase when it came to that one.
Once he was done, he turned his back to the water, shutting his eyes tightly. It stung. A lot. The water beneath him ran red. But he stood there until it no longer did. He would need some serious attention on his back. The scratches were rather deep. At least none of them had caught his spine, of he knew Grimmjow's claws would have snapped it in half. He hoped he wouldn't have to explain what inflicted the wounds. He knew Grimmjow's other form was quite secret. He had already given away Kairi's secret about telling Ulquiorra what Grimmjow had said; he didn't need another reason for Grimmjow to try to kill Kairi.
He turned off the water when he felt that he had cleaned the wound enough. Kairi would have to wash it the rest of the way. It would be rather gruesome, but there was no way Ulquiorra could do it himself due to the position. Ulquiorra peeked out the shower curtains, searching for a towel to at least dry his hair and wrap around his waist. Drying his back or his chest was rather out of the question. He spotted one, and reached for it.
"Is it alright if I use this towel here?" he asked, making sure only half of his body was visible from where Kairi was if she decided to look and check the towel.
Kairi hadn't really been reorganizing in the closet. In fact, the moment he stepped into the shower, she pulled Neffe off the shelf and shut the closet door, making her way to the sink. She sat Neffe down on the counter next to Reine and sighed as she glanced in the mirror, noting how drained she looked already. She smiled softly when they both mewled at her, and she reached up to slide one of the mirrors to the side. He was definitely going to need some painkillers, and luckily, she had them.
The redhead examined a few bottles that she had, and picked the one with the most strength, setting it down on the counter as she slid the mirror back. She looked at herself in the mirror again, and winced. She really did look horrible. Was fear, nausea, and worry all supposed to do that to someone? She reached for one of the washcloths she had pulled out earlier and was about to turn on the sink when she remembered that, of course, Ulquiorra was in the shower.
The teen sighed again and reached her hand out to the kittens, watching as they both rubbed against her hand and purred. Smiling, Kairi picked up both of the kittens, moved a few things out of the way on the counter and jumped high enough to sit on the counter as she waited. She really had no clue what she was going to do if something happened to Reine and Neffe. They were the things that kept her happy, she realized, and even if she lost one of them, she knew she'd be devastated.
Before she knew it, she heard Ulquiorra turning the water off. Kairi tried to hide her grin as she kept her head looking down at the kittens, when she heard his voice, she looked up with a smile. "Of course. That's why I got them, silly," she said as she tossed one of the towels that was draped over the sink counter to him. She laughed as she looked down at Reine. "Isn't that right, Reine? You watched me get those towels just for Mr. Shypants, didn't you?"
Kairi laughed again when Reine actually meowed at her and turned her head to Ulquiorra. "What did I tell you?"
Ulquiorra made a face before wiping it clean and replacing it with a steeled emotionless expression. He took the towels, muttering to himself a little. It had hurt enough when Grimmjow had later used his shyness to insult him. He didn't need to hear it again. Not from the only other person he would let close enough to hurt him. He wanted to snap at her, but he held his tongue. He just had to stay quiet.
He caught the towel and dried off the lower part of his body, and then most of his chest, and then his hair. He repeated the process once or twice before wrapping the towel around his waist. He peeked out of the curtain again.
"What now?" he asked, flatly. He pushed aside the curtains and sat on the edge of the tub like he had been before. He didn't know what Kairi wanted him to do next, or if she even knew what she was doing in the first place. He really had an urge to call Chase.
Kairi noticed the face he made, which surprised her, but she kept quiet about it for now. Did Ulquiorra really not take to friendly teasing that well? She'd have to make up for that later, then.
The redhead looked him over as he sat down on the edge of the bathtub and she jumped off the counter, kittens in hand. She set them on the floor next to Ulquiorra in case he wanted to pick one of them up, and then turned away. What to do next?
Tilting her head to the side a little as she turned back around and grabbing one of the washcloths, she pursed her lips in thought. "Were you able to get at your back any or do I have to clean that up for you?"
Ulquiorra eyed the kittens. No doubt he would need some sort of comfort soon if Kairi started on his wounds and didn't know what she was doing. She didn't exactly glow with confidence and expertise. He eyed her with such doubts in mind.
"I cannot reach back there...so whatever the shower did when I faced that way was the best I could do..." He frowned. "Can you show me what you have? I will dress this wound on my shoulder, and then you can do the same for my back..." Ulquiorra could do minor injuries himself, and he had watched Chase when it came to his shoulder wound. He made a mental note to go see the doctor when time allowed for him to trek back into Monacello territory.
"You need to finish cleaning my back, put whatever antiseptic you have on it...make sure it is dry and then wrap it." He tone bored on annoyed, but whatever tone it had quickly vanished. The last thing he wanted to do was take out his anger on Kairi. She was helping him after all. The last thing he needed was to alienate the last person in this damn city that meant anything.
Kairi nodded as she turned to run the water in the sink, reaching for the four-by-four gauze pads she'd pulled out and some medical tape and handing it to him. It wasn't that she didn't know what to do--on the contrary, she knew exactly what to do--it was just that she was nervous about hurting him.
And one thing she knew was to not put something like antiseptic directly on a wound. Especially a wound like that.
Once the water was the right temperature, she soaked the washcloth, then squeezed it out. Turning towards Ulquiorra, she leaned over him to reach for her bar of soap and lathered up the washcloth just enough to get the job done.
"All right," Kairi told him as she set the soap back down. "I'll finish cleaning your back while you take care of your shoulder." She gently turned Ulquiorra by his good shoulder so that she could sit on the edge of the bathtub and get his back. She grabbed a towel and pressed it just underneath the bottom of wound (to keep the water and anything else from dripping on the floor), then folded one of her legs underneath her and used her knee to keep the towel pressed against his back.
She started at the top, cleaning it as gently as she possibly could. After a moment, she spoke again. "I didn't upset you with my teasing earlier, did I? I mean... usually when I tease people, it's sort of my way of letting them know I care about them." Kairi let out a soft sigh against the back of his neck. "I'm sorry."
Ulquiorra did his best to look at the wound, but it was on a place on his body that wasn't the easiest to see. He had washed the wound when he was in the shower, now it was just time to dry it. He took some of the gauze and dabbed in on the wound. He really would need stitches, it seemed. But neither him nor Kairi really had the capacity to do that at the moment. Maybe he could patch it up enough that it wouldn't be a problem for at least a few days. He didn't know how he would explain to Kairi if he had to go to the Monacello compound to find Chase.
Once it was dry enough for his tastes, he started to wrap it the best he could and tape it down with the medical tape. It had to be tight. He ended up wrapping most of his left shoulder to cover the wound. At least it would be a little better off now. He could deal with the discomfort for now. It wasn't like the Monacello family doctor could take away the pain. There was only so much anyone could do. The physical and emotional pain was still suffocating.
Ulquiorra moved along with Kairi, letting her have full access to his back. He gritted his teeth through his own work and hers. "It wasn't you..." He said, through those gritted teeth. "I have failed enough these past few days. I would simply appreciate you did not make it any worse." He didn't want to explain about the day of Grimmjow's birthday. The last thing he wanted to do was relive it and tell Kairi how hungry he had been for some kind of attention, some kind of connection, or how hurt he was that he never got to express any of it how he should have.
Kairi frowned at what he said and she paused in her cleaning for a moment before she started at it again. She was silent for a few seconds before she decided to speak. "The only person you're failing is yourself by saying that," she said, her voice soft. "Besides, I don't think you have."
She paused and smiled a little, leaning to the side a little so she could see his face. "If it helps, I like you just the way you are. It doesn't matter what you've done in the past, whether it's been the past few days or the past few years." She leaned forward and, making sure not to touch his back as she did so, kissed his cheek like she did after their first meeting. Except there might've been a bit more behind it than being a friendly gesture. But that was still to be debated in her own heart.
With her smile still on her lips, Kairi leaned back and continued cleaning Ulquiorra's back. She was silent for a few more moments before she shifted slightly, feeling her leg get numb, only to end up losing her balance. Gasping, she quickly reached out her hand to catch herself on the wall of the shower, though she was slipping from it still being wet. She reached behind her with her other hand to grasp at the bit of wall that was an outward corner and managed to pull herself back into an upright position, laughing a bit at herself.
The redhead leaned her head back against the corner she had just pulled herself up by, and grinned. "Before you ask, yes, I'm fine." She lifted her head back up and leaned over to run the water in the bathtub, just warm enough so she could wet the washcloth again. She made sure she had a firm grip on the faucet as she was leaned over and running the washcloth under the water, then turning it off and wringing out the cloth. Kairi lathered it up with the soap again and went back to cleaning his back. "I'll admit it," she started, a smile still on her lips and evident in her voice. "I can be a little clumsy sometimes."
Ulquiorra scoffed. "How I have not?" In the past few days he had lost all foot holds in the family and was awaiting reassignment, or even assassination. He had lost Gin and Hei even after he had trying to kill Grimmjow to get them back. He had lost Grimmjow for good. No part of that was anything but failure. He had lost everyone he had cared about in one final swoop.
Ulquiorra frowned at her words. What did he say to that? She had no idea what all those things were. She knew that he killed people for his profession, but nothing beyond that. He was a high ranking member of the mafia because of how he made people disappear. he had even failed at his job. He had been unable to make Grimmjow disappear, even after Grimmjow had hurt him so much. He couldn't even do that job, the only thing he could do with any certainty. He needed to pull himself together. For now he would just have to distance himself and try to get everything back on track. He would go back to the family stronger than he had ever been.
He had to or there was no point in any of it.
He watched her, quite confused as she slipped. He reached out to catch her, but she had already caught herself. He gave her a look. "You should be more careful...we do not need any more injuries on our hands," he said, warningly. He had finished wrapping his shoulder and now just rested his hands on the edge of the tub. He closed his eyes, and gritted his teeth. He just wanted her to be done with cleaning. It stung a lot. But when he thought about all the damage he had done to Grimmjow, he felt as though he deserved whatever he got. he was a liar now, wasn't he? A two-timer, right? A worthless dog. It was all he had ever been....right?
And it was home to her. Eleven years of her life was spent in this house, and she was going to leave, no matter how bad things became for her. The authorities would have to drag her out of the place with wild horses if she had to leave, and even then she wouldn’t make it easy for them.
Hearing his question, Kairi looked up at him, looked back at Neffe and Reine, then smiled. "Of course." She stepped closer to Ulquiorra and picking up the bronze kitten with her free hand, she looked at it and smiled before kissing its nose.
"Here. You said you wanted to meet Neffe." Kairi turned him around and held him out to Ulquiorra. "So Ulquiorra, meet Neffe. He'll love you, I'm sure." And Neffe's reply was a cute little mewl.
Keeping Reine in her other hand, she walked forward a little before taking a left down the hallway and opening the closet on her immediate right. She pulled out a few towels and washcloths, then bumped her hip against the door to close it before walking to the bathroom. Once she was in the bathroom, Kairi waited until Ulquiorra walked past her before closing the door and draping the towels over the sink, then opening the closet in the bathroom (it was inconveniently placed behind the bathroom door, so to open it, the bathroom door would have to be closed). She placed Reine on one of the empty places on a shelf, watching the kitten carefully as she pulled out packages of gauze pads and bandage rolls, and a tube of anti-bacterial cream.
Looking over at Ulquiorra, she frowned a bit. "Do you need any help taking that off?" she asked, picking up Reine and setting her on the floor as she walked towards him.
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Ulquiorra took the kitten, gently. "So this is Neffe. How nice." He pet the kitten's head, and scratched underneath the kitten's chin. Ulquiorra was a natural cat person, and before they got to the bathroom, he already had the little cat purring. He followed Kairi into the bathroom, glad that he was going to get cleaned up, but unsure what Kairi planned to do. He just watched her until she addressed him again.
"Uhh..." He set the kitten down on the sink counter, and shrugged off his jacket. He didn't want Kairi touching that, considering how armed he was. He didn't want to scare her with the gun and the ammunition. He set the jacket down, fighting any of her protests to take it. It would just need to be washed. It was the shirt he had on under it that was beyond help.
"This, I think," he said, pulling on the stained fabric. It was soaked in red in some places while in others it had dried to a dull and ugly brown. The back of it was torn, and so was one side of the chest.
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She pursed her lips for a moment, looking at him, then around at the bathroom as she thought about how she was going to do this; he was taller than her by at least five inches, so doing it standing up was going to be difficult. If she could have him shorter...
Kairi grinned, getting an idea. "Alright, come here," she said, taking his hands and leading him to the edge of the bathtub, then put her hand gently on his uninjured shoulder. "Sit down. It'll be easier for me, trust me."
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Ulquiorra followed her and sat obediently on the edge of the tub, green eyes watching her the entire time. At least she hadn't tried to touch his jacket. He could take anything after that.
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Kairi shifted again, leaning forward a bit more she she could see his back as she slowly started to lift the shirt up. She could hear it sticking to his back and she cringed, glad that she was leaning forward enough so he could see her face.
But a welcomed distracting thought entered her mind as she wondered exactly how he was reacting to this. Not to any pain that he might be feeling, but to what a distraction of his own was due to her position.
And that only made her think about one of her jobs, and she frowned slightly, still slowly pulling up Ulquiorra's shirt. That wasn't something the redhead wanted him to know about. Not yet, anyway. She knew they could help each other emotionally, because though she wouldn't admit it even to herself, she had sort of fallen for her thief friend, Aloy. Sort of. Maybe that was just what happened when she spent so much time around a sweet guy like him, but they could only be friends. They had promised each other that. And Kairi knew that Ulquiorra wasn't about to be over Grimmjow so quickly.
So maybe they could help each other, in that sense. It all just depended on if Ulquiorra was willing to do that, because she knew that she would be willing to.
Smiling a bit to herself as she realized the shirt was just under the raven-haired man's arms, Kairi straightened up a little and pulled the collar over his head before sliding it off of his arms. "There," she said with a smile before holding up the shirt for a moment, then tossing it on the floor. She'd take care of that later, she reminded herself as she stepped away from Ulquiorra.
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He still wanted Grimmjow, after all. He wanted him a lot more than he would ever say out loud or act upon. Even during his stay at Grimmjow's house, he had been afraid of being pushed away, and had not been forceful in his want for contact. He had been so afraid of Grimmjow pushing him away or kicking him out. But now he thought he should have been more forceful form the start. He had wanted Grimmjow ever since he had been pinned to his bedroom wall (or even from the time they had kissed in Grimmjow's apartment for information). He never should have pushed him away. Sometime he hated that logical part of himself that told him Grimmjow was dangerous and not part of the family, therefore dangerous. He should have refused Gin as well and told him the truth about sleeping with Grimmjow. Then this might all have been fixed.
But hindsight was so much keener.
This was all he thought about as Kairi removed his shirt. He was then sitting there, half naked, on the edge of her tub. He looked up at her again, still looking a little lost from his thoughts. "Alright..." Ulquiorra said, and stood. "I will wash up, then. You can wrap my wounds afterwards." He made a little sort of push in the direction of the door, and for good measure unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, making a move to slide them down from his hips, hoping Kairi would make herself scarce.
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The redhead smiled and shook her head. It was a bit unexpected, considering she was sure anyone else wouldn't have hesitated to get undressed in front of her. It was part of her job, after all.
Though she wasn't going to leave the bathroom--simple as that. What if he needed help with something or he slipped and fell and only hurt himself worse. She wouldn't know if she wasn't there for him.
"If you think I'm leaving, you've got another thing coming," Kairi started with a soft laugh. "I'm not leaving in case you need something while you're showering." She paused to pick up Neffe and giggled when he crawled up to perch on her shoulder, and she kept her hand up by him, making sure he didn't fall. "But I'll at least give you privacy while you're undressing."
And with that, she walked back over to the closet and flashed Ulquiorra a grin before she opened the door, ultimately blocking her view from him minus a few inches between the wall and the edge of the door. And Kairi just wasn't the peeking-tom (or peeking-sally in this case) type, so he didn't need to worry about that. "C'mon, Neffe. Help me sort out a few things on this shelf while Mr. Shypants over there gets undressed," she told the kitten loud enough for Ulquiorra to hear the teasing tone in her voice as she set him on one of the shelves.
Yeah, she'd picked up a few nicknames from Rikku. No harm in that, right?
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"Al...alright," Ulquiorra huffed after her teasing remark to the cat got him to his senses. He guessed he could trust her. She wasn't going to look, and she wasn't going to try to kill him when his guard was down (which was another reason he didn't feel completely safe the time that he had bathed with Grimmjow). He guessed that he would be fine.
He pulled his pants the rest of the way from his thin frame, and then repeated the process with his boxers. He fiddled with the shower, turned it on, adjusted it, and stepped inside. He made sure the water wasn't too hot; his back had already hurt just from the movement of his skin when he pulled down his pants. It still stung. He washed the rest of his body, paying close attention to the wound at his collar. Grimmjow had gotten him in the same place on his left where he had gotten him the time in the park. It had just finished healing, too. He might have to call Chase when it came to that one.
Once he was done, he turned his back to the water, shutting his eyes tightly. It stung. A lot. The water beneath him ran red. But he stood there until it no longer did. He would need some serious attention on his back. The scratches were rather deep. At least none of them had caught his spine, of he knew Grimmjow's claws would have snapped it in half. He hoped he wouldn't have to explain what inflicted the wounds. He knew Grimmjow's other form was quite secret. He had already given away Kairi's secret about telling Ulquiorra what Grimmjow had said; he didn't need another reason for Grimmjow to try to kill Kairi.
He turned off the water when he felt that he had cleaned the wound enough. Kairi would have to wash it the rest of the way. It would be rather gruesome, but there was no way Ulquiorra could do it himself due to the position. Ulquiorra peeked out the shower curtains, searching for a towel to at least dry his hair and wrap around his waist. Drying his back or his chest was rather out of the question. He spotted one, and reached for it.
"Is it alright if I use this towel here?" he asked, making sure only half of his body was visible from where Kairi was if she decided to look and check the towel.
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The redhead examined a few bottles that she had, and picked the one with the most strength, setting it down on the counter as she slid the mirror back. She looked at herself in the mirror again, and winced. She really did look horrible. Was fear, nausea, and worry all supposed to do that to someone? She reached for one of the washcloths she had pulled out earlier and was about to turn on the sink when she remembered that, of course, Ulquiorra was in the shower.
The teen sighed again and reached her hand out to the kittens, watching as they both rubbed against her hand and purred. Smiling, Kairi picked up both of the kittens, moved a few things out of the way on the counter and jumped high enough to sit on the counter as she waited. She really had no clue what she was going to do if something happened to Reine and Neffe. They were the things that kept her happy, she realized, and even if she lost one of them, she knew she'd be devastated.
Before she knew it, she heard Ulquiorra turning the water off. Kairi tried to hide her grin as she kept her head looking down at the kittens, when she heard his voice, she looked up with a smile. "Of course. That's why I got them, silly," she said as she tossed one of the towels that was draped over the sink counter to him. She laughed as she looked down at Reine. "Isn't that right, Reine? You watched me get those towels just for Mr. Shypants, didn't you?"
Kairi laughed again when Reine actually meowed at her and turned her head to Ulquiorra. "What did I tell you?"
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He caught the towel and dried off the lower part of his body, and then most of his chest, and then his hair. He repeated the process once or twice before wrapping the towel around his waist. He peeked out of the curtain again.
"What now?" he asked, flatly. He pushed aside the curtains and sat on the edge of the tub like he had been before. He didn't know what Kairi wanted him to do next, or if she even knew what she was doing in the first place. He really had an urge to call Chase.
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The redhead looked him over as he sat down on the edge of the bathtub and she jumped off the counter, kittens in hand. She set them on the floor next to Ulquiorra in case he wanted to pick one of them up, and then turned away. What to do next?
Tilting her head to the side a little as she turned back around and grabbing one of the washcloths, she pursed her lips in thought. "Were you able to get at your back any or do I have to clean that up for you?"
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"I cannot reach back there...so whatever the shower did when I faced that way was the best I could do..." He frowned. "Can you show me what you have? I will dress this wound on my shoulder, and then you can do the same for my back..." Ulquiorra could do minor injuries himself, and he had watched Chase when it came to his shoulder wound. He made a mental note to go see the doctor when time allowed for him to trek back into Monacello territory.
"You need to finish cleaning my back, put whatever antiseptic you have on it...make sure it is dry and then wrap it." He tone bored on annoyed, but whatever tone it had quickly vanished. The last thing he wanted to do was take out his anger on Kairi. She was helping him after all. The last thing he needed was to alienate the last person in this damn city that meant anything.
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And one thing she knew was to not put something like antiseptic directly on a wound. Especially a wound like that.
Once the water was the right temperature, she soaked the washcloth, then squeezed it out. Turning towards Ulquiorra, she leaned over him to reach for her bar of soap and lathered up the washcloth just enough to get the job done.
"All right," Kairi told him as she set the soap back down. "I'll finish cleaning your back while you take care of your shoulder." She gently turned Ulquiorra by his good shoulder so that she could sit on the edge of the bathtub and get his back. She grabbed a towel and pressed it just underneath the bottom of wound (to keep the water and anything else from dripping on the floor), then folded one of her legs underneath her and used her knee to keep the towel pressed against his back.
She started at the top, cleaning it as gently as she possibly could. After a moment, she spoke again. "I didn't upset you with my teasing earlier, did I? I mean... usually when I tease people, it's sort of my way of letting them know I care about them." Kairi let out a soft sigh against the back of his neck. "I'm sorry."
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Once it was dry enough for his tastes, he started to wrap it the best he could and tape it down with the medical tape. It had to be tight. He ended up wrapping most of his left shoulder to cover the wound. At least it would be a little better off now. He could deal with the discomfort for now. It wasn't like the Monacello family doctor could take away the pain. There was only so much anyone could do. The physical and emotional pain was still suffocating.
Ulquiorra moved along with Kairi, letting her have full access to his back. He gritted his teeth through his own work and hers. "It wasn't you..." He said, through those gritted teeth. "I have failed enough these past few days. I would simply appreciate you did not make it any worse." He didn't want to explain about the day of Grimmjow's birthday. The last thing he wanted to do was relive it and tell Kairi how hungry he had been for some kind of attention, some kind of connection, or how hurt he was that he never got to express any of it how he should have.
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She paused and smiled a little, leaning to the side a little so she could see his face. "If it helps, I like you just the way you are. It doesn't matter what you've done in the past, whether it's been the past few days or the past few years." She leaned forward and, making sure not to touch his back as she did so, kissed his cheek like she did after their first meeting. Except there might've been a bit more behind it than being a friendly gesture. But that was still to be debated in her own heart.
With her smile still on her lips, Kairi leaned back and continued cleaning Ulquiorra's back. She was silent for a few more moments before she shifted slightly, feeling her leg get numb, only to end up losing her balance. Gasping, she quickly reached out her hand to catch herself on the wall of the shower, though she was slipping from it still being wet. She reached behind her with her other hand to grasp at the bit of wall that was an outward corner and managed to pull herself back into an upright position, laughing a bit at herself.
The redhead leaned her head back against the corner she had just pulled herself up by, and grinned. "Before you ask, yes, I'm fine." She lifted her head back up and leaned over to run the water in the bathtub, just warm enough so she could wet the washcloth again. She made sure she had a firm grip on the faucet as she was leaned over and running the washcloth under the water, then turning it off and wringing out the cloth. Kairi lathered it up with the soap again and went back to cleaning his back. "I'll admit it," she started, a smile still on her lips and evident in her voice. "I can be a little clumsy sometimes."
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Ulquiorra frowned at her words. What did he say to that? She had no idea what all those things were. She knew that he killed people for his profession, but nothing beyond that. He was a high ranking member of the mafia because of how he made people disappear. he had even failed at his job. He had been unable to make Grimmjow disappear, even after Grimmjow had hurt him so much. He couldn't even do that job, the only thing he could do with any certainty. He needed to pull himself together. For now he would just have to distance himself and try to get everything back on track. He would go back to the family stronger than he had ever been.
He had to or there was no point in any of it.
He watched her, quite confused as she slipped. He reached out to catch her, but she had already caught herself. He gave her a look. "You should be more careful...we do not need any more injuries on our hands," he said, warningly. He had finished wrapping his shoulder and now just rested his hands on the edge of the tub. He closed his eyes, and gritted his teeth. He just wanted her to be done with cleaning. It stung a lot. But when he thought about all the damage he had done to Grimmjow, he felt as though he deserved whatever he got. he was a liar now, wasn't he? A two-timer, right? A worthless dog. It was all he had ever been....right?
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