Disclaimer- Ulquiorra is dead, so I must not own Bleach. Damn, and I had all those ideas... I'm also not in a band, so I don't own Here in Your Arms, by HelloGoodbye, which I recommend you listen to.
Our lips can touch
And our cheeks can brush
Our lips can touch here
Well, you are the one,
The one that lies close to me, whispers,
"Hello, I've missed you quite terribly.
I fell in love, in love with you suddenly
Now there's no place else I could be
but here in your arms."
Prologue
Tears pouring down her face, Orihime reached down and desperately gathered the dirt and ash at her feet. "No, no, no…" she moaned quietly. She didn't really know when it happened, but suddenly, Ulquiorra's death seemed the worst possible thing that could happen. Determination flooded through her. She could change fate. Isn't that what Aizen had said? That she could change something the gods themselves had decreed? Orihime pulled a small vial out of her Arrancar suit's pocket and, with trembling hands, poured in the ash she had scooped up. She could only pray that a bit of the mixture she had picked up were some of Ulquiorra's remains. That was all she needed; a speck of what was once Ulquiorra and she would be able to bring him back to life. Surely she had a speck. Just a speck…
Chapter 1
Breathing slowly, Orihime tipped over the vial on her pillow. A small pile of dust was what she was putting her faith in. Orihime placed her hands over the pillow and a familiar golden glow illuminated her room, which was dark with night. "I reject," she whispered. The glow shone brighter, and she said louder and with more conviction, "I reject!" Certain particles of ash floated together and changed color. More and more dust came together, particles coming out of the air and Orihime watched hopefully as shapes emerged. A white eyeball with an emerald iris was created, soon followed by a grey cheek with a familiar teal tear track. A straight nose, long, feathery, black hair, a white skull fragment that was all that was left of Ulquiorra's hollow mask on the top right quarter of his head all slowly gained form. A long neck with a high-necked collar came next, quickly followed by a slim chest and narrow ribs and hips.
Orihime noted that somehow she was bringing back his clothes too as his long legs finally emerged. His eyes stared blankly at the ceiling for a few minutes, and then his eyelids flickered. Ulquiorra turned his head and looked at Orihime. "Orihime?" he murmured. Shakily, he got out of her bed and stood in front of her. "What the hell? I thought I was dead." Orihime smiled, her eyes swimming. "You were. But I changed it. You're alive. I saved you." She smiled a few moments and longer, and then the drain of her spiritual pressure hit her. She swayed for a second and Ulquiorra's eyes widened a fraction and the last thing Orihime heard before her world went sideways and turned black was, "Why?"
Orihime decided not for the first time that she had the strangest dreams when she was tired, although this one was sadder than usual. She'd dreamt that she'd brought Ulquiorra back to life. It had been fascinating watching him come back, his body gaining form through strips and ribbons of flesh coming together to make him. The best part had been when he stood up and realized he was alive. Of course, Orihime had to choose that moment to faint in her dream, and Ulquiorra had asked, "Why?", and then caught her by placing his elbow pits under her armpits. She'd dreamt that after he caught her, she had looked up and smiled, saying, "You're alive." She'd dreamt she had slowly reached upwards and placed her hand on his cheek and told him, "You look as sad as usual. I don't think your face has changed other than your eyes getting big. Why is that, do you think? Did you misplace your heart again?" He'd laid her on the bed and said, "Rest now. You shouldn't have brought me back. You know that now I must go search for Kurosaki-" "Hush," she'd replied crossly. "I'm asleep." And with that, she'd gazed at his melancholy face until her dream changed.
Orihime stayed on her bed with her eyes closed, savoring her dream and dreading returning to reality. Slowly, she became aware of someone else's breathing. With a gasp, she shot upwards and she heard a booming noise next to her bedside. She looked towards the noise and gasped again. Ulquiorra was standing next to her bed. "You sounded like you woke up, but your eyes didn't open, so I was about to shake you. I suppose I scared you because you moved really quickly. I had to use Sonido to move fast enough to get out of your way," he explained tonelessly. "Wait, so I didn't have another dream that I brought you back to life?" Orihime asked, stunned. Ulquiorra blinked slowly as a cat, his slit pupils adding to the reminder of a predatory feline. "You dream of bringing me back to life?" Orihime blushed and answered, "Sometimes, I guess." Ulquiorra asked, "How long was I dead for? What happened during that time?" "One month," Orihime replied. "And a lot has happened."
Ulquiorra sat cross-legged on the floor and told her, "Tell me." "Well," Orihime began. "The Soul Reapers along with my friends and these weird half-hollow people called Vizards fought against Aizen and his army. We won the battle, but not without a lot of injuries. Almost all the captains and lieutenants were injured, and a few Soul Reapers were killed, along with the lieutenant of Squad 5. All of the Espada were killed but Captain Mayuri brought Primera Espada Starrk and Lilynette back to life, and after running a few tests on them and extracting a promise of peace, they let them return to Hueco Mundo, and we think Grimmjow is alive somewhere. Everyone is really sad, especially the captain of Squad 10, because he accidentally killed his best friend. You see, Aizen had put an illusion around her, so we all thought that she was him." Orihime's eyes moistened up thinking about it.
"Strange-Hollowified Aizen thing got away, along with Gin, although Rangiku and Toshiro claim that Gin's on our side. That surprised everyone, because Toshiro hates Gin. Tosen has come back to our side. His best friend brought him back. See? More proof of hearts existing." Orihime grinned and Ulquiorra replied, "I understand hearts now, but that doesn't mean I feel the need to show mine. I'm not exactly sure how yet. Anyway, go on." Orihime took a breath and continued. "Everyone's been training really hard, because we know that Aizen's gonna attack, and he's gonna attack hard. The Vizards are super strong, and they've been training the really brave Soul Reapers on how to become a hollow, but they don't like Soul Reapers very much, so not very many people are learning. We're having an explosion of people mastering Bankai and Chad and Uryu are getting really powerful. Oh, and last, I'm now a sophomore in high school!"
Ulquiorra blinked again, slightly puzzled by this last event, and then inquired, "What about Kurosaki? He and I have a battle we need to finish." Orihime glared at Ulquiorra. "Oh, no, you don't. You don't need to battle with him, and you don't need to know where he is. All I'll tell you is he's been training, too, and he's been kind of sort of going out with Rukia." Orihime's face lit up at this tidbit. "They're so cute together! And I brought you back to life, the least you can do is make an attempt not to die or kill one of my best friends after one night."
Without gaining an expression on his blank face, Ulquiorra grabbed her arm and jerked her upward off of the bed. He said in a detached way, "If you don't tell me where Kurosaki is, I will force the information out of you. I was willing to strap you down and force food down your throat at Hueco Mundo. Don't think I won't be just as able of such an act here and now." "And remember when you threatened to do that, I slapped you?" Orihime reminded him. "No," he argued dispassionately. "You slapped me because I was being cruel about your friends' intelligence."
Just then, Orihime heard a knock on the door and a male voice called, "Inoue? You awake? I have breakfast." "Can we come in?" A female voice added. Ulquiorra turned to Orihime and announced, "I won't have to force it out of you after all." There was a pause on the other side of the door, and then Rukia queried, "Inoue? Umm, are you- alone? W-wait! Ichigo Kurosaki, no! You can't just-" The door burst open and Rukia finished, "-charge in." Under his amazing orange hair, Ichigo's eyes widened. He stared around the room in shock. The messy bed, the dimly lit room, Ulquiorra grasping Orihime's wrist above her head, Orihime watching him in a daze, and Ulquiorra looking at Ichigo with a chill expression.
"What the hell?" Ichigo finally spluttered. Everyone was silent. Ichigo repeated incredulously, "What the hell?" Rukia's cobalt eyes moved from Ichigo's brown eyes to Orihime's grey ones, then finally to Ulquiorra's mossy eyes. "Orihime?" Rukia asked slowly. "Is there any particular reason why a supposedly dead Espada is in your room? May I remind you this is the very Espada that killed Ichigo twice, and it's only because of your healing abilities that Ichigo is still with us?" "Umm, yeah," Orihime said guiltily, scuffing her toe on the ground. "I remember. Can I have my arm back, Ulquiorra?"
Ichigo snapped, lunging forward. "You bastard!" he snarled. "Get your filthy hands off of her!" Ulquiorra's jade stare met Orihime's agonized gaze for a brief second before he used Sonido with a loud boom to dodge the enraged Ichigo's attack. Calmly, Ulquiorra held his Zanpakuto Murcielago loosely to Ichigo's undefended neck. Ichigo let out a half-strangled gasp. Impassive, Ulquiorra said, "The only reason you're still alive is because she asked me not to kill you, but if you continue to pester me, then that guarantee will not last long. Do you understand me?" Ichigo growled. "I'll understand when Inoue herself tells me." "Then stop fighting and let me explain!" Orihime cried. "Rukia, help me!"
Orihime moved forward and placed her hand on Ulquiorra's arm. "Ulquiorra; calm down. I beg of you," Orihime pleaded. Ulquiorra matched the intensity of her gaze and Orihime's heart sank. He wasn't going to back down. Suddenly, he sheathed his Zanpakuto. Rukia raced forward and dragged Ichigo to the other side of the room. "Okay, unravel the great mystery of why Ulquiorra Cifer is in your room, Orihime Inoue," Rukia commanded, holding back with no visible effort a struggling Ichigo. Orihime swallowed hard. "Well, when I was in Hueco Mundo, Ulquiorra was my caretaker. He was mean sometimes, but at other times he was really nice, and he was curious about hearts. Besides, at times I think he was just really confused."
Ichigo snorted. "Yeah, right. Dangerously Emotionless over here is just bursting with confusion and a desire to learn humanity." Ulquiorra looked at him coldly and Rukia hit the back of Ichigo's head, understanding dawning. "You befriended him, didn't you, Orihime?" Orihime nodded. "When Kurosaki-kun was fighting the last battle with Ulquiorra, I was terrified. I was terrified that Ichigo would die. I was terrified I would die. I was terrified that our side would lose. But most of all, I was terrified because I was terrified Ulquiorra would get hurt. When he died, I was… overwhelmed. I had no idea how to react. So I let instinct take over. I took a vial out of my Arrancar robes, and I scooped up some of Ulquiorra's remains. And last night, I resurrected him."
Orihime looked around for a few seconds, and then burst into tears. "I'm so sorry! I'm sorry that I became friends with Ulquiorra, Rukia, I'm sorry that I made you get mad, Kurosaki-kun, and most of all, I'm sorry that I made you get hurt, Ulquiorra!" Instantly, all three of them moved forward to comfort Orihime. Ichigo's eyes shot daggers at Ulquiorra over Orihime's sobbing head, and Ulquiorra retreated, allowing Rukia and Ichigo to help Orihime. "It's not your fault," Ichigo consoled. "Ulquiorra is probably a master at manipulating people. No one blames you."
Rukia kicked Ichigo and soothed Orihime over Ichigo's cries of pain. "Orihime, it's all right. Ichigo was right in the fact that no one is mad at you and it's not your fault. Actually, it's really good that you and Ulquiorra became friends. I mean, it already saved Ichigo's life once today, didn't it? Besides, I have thought of a lot of questions I'd like to ask Ulquiorra, if he doesn't mind. I'm sure no one will mind that you brought him back to life."
Ichigo laughed bitterly. "I mind. And I bet you I'm not the only one. How about we ask the Central 46 of the Soul Reapers? I'm sure they have an opinion." Orihime blanched. "You can't! They'll want to kill him!" "Exactly my point!" Ichigo crowed, spreading his arms triumphantly. Ulquiorra watched the proceedings and cut in, "Woman, it is fine. I can go back to Hueco Mundo. I'm sure Starrk won't mind the company." "But I will," Orihime protested timidly. "I brought you back because I missed you. Now you just want to leave?"
Ulquiorra surveyed Orihime looking at him from underneath her eyelashes, which were glittering and heavy with tears. Rukia stared at Ulquiorra in shock as she felt his stiff spiritual pressure soften suddenly. His face hadn't so much as twitched, but his aura had melted down to utter tenderness faster than a blink of an eye. Orihime was too sad to notice, and Ichigo was as thick as mud, but Rukia's mind was sent reeling with revelations and implications.
Her brain racing, Rukia wondered silently whether or not Orihime had somehow managed to get the Espada to like her. Rukia knew that Ulquiorra could never really love Orihime. He was a hollow. They had lost all human traits. They were mainly raw instinct with a few of the basic emotions; joy, sadness, anger, etc. Any 'love' that Ulquiorra had for Orihime would be more like a twisted possessiveness mixed with a bit of pride and want. He couldn't understand, let alone feel, the emotion love. What would that mean for Orihime? For all of them?
Ulquiorra broke Rukia's thoughts. "All right, then what's your idea, woman? You have one, don't you?" Orihime shrugged, a little, uneven jerk of her shoulders. "I didn't really think that far. I guess I kinda thought that I would bring him back to life, everyone would meet and laugh, and then it'd be 'and they all lived happily ever after'." While she was speaking, Orihime had been drawing, and she held up her kindergarten sketch up proudly. The four of them were standing holding hands with a rainbow over their heads. Rukia forced a smile, Ichigo stared in shock, and Ulquiorra simply stood there.
"Are you insane?" Ichigo demanded. "He killed me twice, I obliterated him, he kidnapped you, I brought you back, and we hate each other. You expect us to join hands and find a rainbow to stand under?" Orihime looked down. "Kinda, I guess." Ichigo chuckled hoarsely. "Why? You know that none of us are as pure and forgiving as you." "Well, you always listened to me before. Rukia somewhat likes him, he didn't kill you-" "For a third time," Ichigo muttered under his breath. Orihime continued on doggedly. "And we all know I like him."
"But we seem to be forgetting something," Ichigo interrupted at full volume. "Does he want to stay?" "Of course he does!" Orihime was shocked. It hadn't even crossed her mind that he might not want to stay. She looked at Ulquiorra. "You do, right?" Rukia held her breath, her eyes flickering between the unlikely pair. She knew that what Ulquiorra decided now would change everything; how hollows were viewed, how the battle with Aizen would be decided, whether it was possible for lost souls to be regained, and how Ichigo would react. It was quite possible that Ichigo would see it as a betrayal, or even as a sign that Orihime liked Ulquiorra more than him, which, Rukia realized, was quite possible.
Ulquiorra opened his mouth and spoke. "Normally, I would leave. But I am- strangely- feeling compelled to stay." Ichigo sneered, "Oh, I'm sure. You're not the first person to be ensnared by Orihime and her- figure." Rukia gasped. She was right. Ichigo was viewing this as favoritism. Rage flowed through her as she watched pain spasm across Orihime's face as she whispered, "That's not true. That's not why he's staying. Take that back." Rukia moved forward to hurt Ichigo; that was a low blow; but somebody else beat her to it. Ulquiorra shot off a Bala that hit Ichigo hard enough to send him flying out Orihime's open door and through the hallway wall. The Bala was the same forest green as Ulquiorra's eyes, and was shot off so quickly the only reason they were aware of it was the fact Ichigo was abruptly missing, there were green traces of it in the air, and Ulquiorra's hand was smoking.
"No, actually," Ulquiorra said conversationally through the hole to where Ichigo was in a bruised pile near the kitchen stove. "I'm here to antagonize you. I'm not allowed to battle you, but that doesn't mean I can't defend myself or teach you not to offend me or mine." He was quiet, and then, seeing Rukia's calculating expression, explained while retaining his freezing tone. "Mine being my pride, honor, or that of my…friend. By the way, woman, I apologize for breaking your wall. I will fix it." "That's fine," Orihime assured him weakly.
Ichigo clambered in through the hole and stood, holding his monstrous Zanpakuto loosely at his side. "Why" he asked simply. "If I had attacked him, you would have never forgiven me. Yet, he attacks me and you don't lift a finger." Orihime didn't reply. She didn't have one. He turned to Rukia. "You coming, Rukia?" Rukia hesitated, and Orihime nodded slightly. Rukia communicated with her eyes that she would be back, and then walked to where Ichigo was waiting. Ichigo said, with just a hint of a threat, "I have to tell the Soul Society but I promise, I'll try to find a reason for him to not have an immediate execution." Orihime smiled, instantly forgiving him. "Thank you." He turned to leave and she called, "I'll miss you while you're gone at Soul Society!" Ichigo tilted his head half upside-down and behind him so she could see him grin, and he then walked out, Rukia following and waving good bye, obviously pleased it had ended on a pleasant note. Ulquiorra turned and looked at Orihime, and then questioned, "What now?"
Author's Note: Okay, what do you think? I'm just playing around with this, but I already have another chapter written, so I'll post that whether people like it or not, but I'll stop there. Ciao~!