Ulquiorra
Ulquiorra Schiffer (ウルキオラ・シファー, Urukiora Shifā?) is the Cuarta Espada, signified by the “4″ tattooed to his chest. His name stems from that of a furniture designer named Patricia Urquiola. Ulquiorra is a very cold, aloof, brooding, and callous figure, hitting his comrade Yammy in the stomach with his arm on one occasion in an effort to get his attention. He’s also rather dispassionate, rarely showing any sign of emotion, appears depressed, and is rather indifferent, willing to harm both his comrades and enemies should they ever disrupt his plans. He tends to call anyone he does not find interesting “trash” and therefore expendable. Despite this, he is not particularly violent, only actually fighting when provoked or ordered to by Aizen. As noted by Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, Ulquiorra has a habit of stabbing people in the same location as his Hollow hole whenever he’s particularly interested in a battle. Whether he is consciously aware of this habit or not is unknown. However, his speech to Orihime indicates that he is, as he speaks of never seeing the “human heart (emotions)” that living humans possess and understand, and reasons that if his eye cannot see them, then they are not real. These words, and much of Ulquorra’s overall behavior, can safely lead one to assume that he is a firm believer in the concept of materialism. It would appear that as a result of his isolated life as a hollow, Ulquiorra does not understand feelings and emotions as well as empathetic characters like Orihime tend to. His overall behavior towards his allies and enemies, as well as his apparently self-inflicted habit of stabbing people in the chest, may symbolize that fact.
Ulquiorra is perceptive, cunning, and analytical; during his and Yammy’s first visit to the human world, he makes several remarks on the humans who confront them. He theorizes that Orihime Inoue’s healing power is a temporal-spatial ability, which Aizen describes as the rejection of fate and comments on how Ichigo Kurosaki’s Bankai can easily get through Yammy’s defenses. He also notes Ichigo’s power fluctuation, which varies between very weak and stronger than his own. It would appear that Ulquiorra and Grimmjow, the 6th Espada, are not on good terms. While
Ulquiorra allows Yammy to kill anyone he deemed as “trash”, which includes Ichigo, Ulquiorra allows him to live based on his belief that Ichigo’s power is so turbulent that eventually he will destroy himself. Grimmjow’s conflicting viewpoint is that Ichigo should be destroyed outright, as he can overcome his weakness and grow even stronger. Despite Grimmjow’s argument, Aizen trusts Ulquiorra’s judgment. This disagreement leads to Grimmjow’s unauthorized assault on the real world. Though Ulquiorra is of a higher rank than Grimmjow, Grimmjow is confident that Ulquiorra is afraid to fight him for fear of them destroying one another.
Ulquiorra seems to be demanding as well, such as when he came to Orihime’s chamber and ordered her to eat a meal a servant arrancar brought in, claiming it was her “duty” to stay alive for Aizen’s benefit. When Orihime hesitated, he threatened to force the food down her throat, or strap her to a table and feed her via an IV. This also implies that, while he prefers not to dirty his hands, Ulquiorra is fully capable of committing truly abhoric and inhumane actions, stabbing Ichigo in the chest for example.
Ulquiorra first appears alongside Yammy when they arrive in Karakura Town to gain information on Ichigo Kurosaki. Ulquiorra retreats with Yammy once he finishes examining Ichigo’s abilities, also taking note of Orihime Inoue’s fate-manipulation powers. A month later, Ulquiorra sends a second group of Arrancar (not counting Grimmjow’s rogue actions) consisting of several Espada, meant to distract the Shinigami while he captures Orihime. By threatening her friends lives, he convinces her to come peacefully, allowing her to say goodbye to one person beforehand
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