Chapter 1: You Who Broke Me

Orihime lay motionless in her bed, staring into the dark she had grown to welcome. She could hear the faint sound of scattered cars diving by and the soft chirps of the birds letting her know that she had had a sleepless night..again. How many nights had it been since she had gotten a decent amount of sleep? The redhead didn't really know, but the insomnia was the least of her problems. The immense pain bubbling up around her heart was a different story. It was becoming unbearable as she knew she'd soon have to force herself into the cheery facade she'd created for her friends. Orihime was determined not to let them know that the death of Ulquiorra Cifer affected her in such a way.

Ichigo and the others could sense something was off about her, she knew that much, but they never questioned it. Maybe it was out of respect or maybe it was because they already knew. For one, Orihime wasn't as bubbly as she once was. The happy smile she plastered on her face was near flawless, but it could never quite reach her eyes; just as her laugh had the same high-pitched, innocent tone, yet had a hint of force behind it. Her once outrageous ideas continued to become few and when she zoned out, as she normally did, her facial expressions and body language became tense. The redhead's eating habits had also taken a hit. She just wasn't hungry anymore, but also wasn't fool enough to let her nutrition completely plummet. Just when she thought she couldn't get it down she remembered the threat Ulquiorra made about shoving food down her throat if she refused to eat. He argued it was her duty to remain healthy for the use of Lord Aizen. Orihime on the other hand liked to believe that he had actually cared for her well-being. Either way it always did the trick. The one who noticed the most change and the hardest one to hide it from was Tatsuki. She knew Orihime like the back of her hand and was the only exception to the no questions asked rule. Any uncharacteristic behavior was instantly noted in the back of Tatsuki's mind for later interrogation. However, the fact that Tatsuki had no knowledge of the spirit world made it all too easy. For the lucky girl knew nothing about the man who plagued her mind.

It had been six months since she had witnessed her captor disintegrate into utter nothingness. Even through death the Espada continued to haunt her. Every time she closed her eyes the image of his bore into her very soul.

His eyes were green and intense; like an emerald that could bewitch your senses. Yet at the same time, those eyes were cold and analytical. They were always trying to figure out what a heart really was. Why humans defend their actions based on an organ that simply supplied the body with blood. Why we think emotions and feelings come from there. Maybe he was right, Orihime thought to herself. Maybe the heart isn't what humans think it to be.. But even if he was right, why does my heart hurt so much whenever I think of him? She remembered the words he spoke regarding the way she carelessly talked about a heart. As he stretched a slim arm out over her chest he said, "if I tear open your chest, will I see it inside?" He then lazily trailed his arm up stopping between her eyes. "If I shatter your skull, will I see it in there?" Knowing the power that lurked beneath his pale skin and the severity of his threat, Orihime could still not find it in herself to be scared. Instead, the redhead could only focus on the intensity of his gaze. How all she had to do was lean forward and feel his fingers brush her forehead. Would his hand be soft? Orihime should be frightened, but instead was mesmerized by the man who held her life at the tip of his fingers. Why was that? Shouldn't she hate him?

All the memories she held about him were full of pain. Although it was on Aizen's orders, Ulquiorra had been the face of her imprisonment. He was the one who made her betray her friends by coming to Los Noches. He was the one to inflict the emotional and mental trauma that tainted her once pure spirit. She remembered finding Ichigo lying dead by the Espada's hand and then yet again not long after healing him. The hopelessness she felt as she took in his final form and felt his suffocating spiritual pressure. Surely that was to be the end, and yet, the redhead still could not hate him. Instead her heart reached out to him. She could sense the emptiness in the heart he didn't know he possessed.

For two more hours, Orihime continued to attack herself with a barrage of memories. At seven in the morning the alarm clock on the nightstand pulled her out of her trance. Rolling over, she sighed. All night she had been lying in the same position. Her body was stiff and groaning against unwanted movement. As she swung her legs from the bed attempting to stand she felt a pain tear through her body.

This pain was beyond anything she had ever felt. Like the jagged edge of a sword slicing from the tip of her toes to the very top of her head where it settled. Her vision began to blur and the world around her was spinning. Falling to her knees, Orihime shrieked as she started pulling at her hair trying to find what was digging deeper into her skull. She thrashed around as the pain swelled, threatening to encase her consciousness into a deep abyss. She could see it coming, approaching before her.

"Don't resist." The redhead froze, forcing herself to focus on her surroundings. That voice! I know that voice, but from where? Still gripping her hair, Orihime struggled to her knees trying to find who had spoken. But the voice had come out of nowhere bringing with it a shroud of emerald-black darkness. It slithered across her ceiling and down her wall, racing toward her like a snake baring its fangs. Terror paralyzed her holding her in place as she watched with wide eyes. When it reached her she felt a heavy spiritual pressure that was instantly recognizable. Ulquiorra…

"Don't resist, girl" He said again. And for the first time in six months, Orihime felt her heart flutter to life. Slowly she gave over to his command and let the darkness swallow her consciousness, a coldness sinking through her body grabbing hold of her soul. A small smile etched itself into her features. Dropping her arms and closing her eyes, Orihime felt her body give way to the floor as she embraced the abyss.

Ulquiorra was floating. Invisible to every eye for his body was in millions of pieces. However, his consciousness was still fully intact. The power he once had as an Espada was reduced to that of the lowest of hollows, and it was just enough to keep what was left of him together. For he was just a breeze that went unnoticed.

As he drifted along the still sands of Hueco Mundo, he thought of that silly human girl, as he often did. Her beliefs that a heart could harbor emotions and feelings had been absolutely ludicrous to him. For if it was something he couldn't see it simply could not exist. Yet in those last moments with her, Ulquiorra had finally understood what a heart was for it had brushed his hand before turning to ash.

She really was a brave girl, he thought to himself. At first sight, Ulquiorra regarded her as trash. Completely uninteresting and unworthy of his time. However, the information he gathered on the redhead fascinated Lord Aizen. The power to reject fate. What an odd thing to call home in the body of a mere human girl. Too weak and inexperienced to even land a single attack. Yet Ulquiorra soon discovered that the power she held was not in her attack, but in the beliefs of her heart. Preposterous and foolish yes, but strong. It's was kept her going. What made it possible to follow him into the Garganta and become a pet to Aizen's army.

Ultimately it was that girl's heart that ended up destroying his body, for she is the one who cried out for her dearly beloved soul reaper to save her from the despair of his Segunda Etapa. It was she that raised the boy to become a merciless hollow who blew half his body away with a cero. Although it was the reaper who defeated him, victory went to that silly girl.

As always, the thought of her left Ulquiorra unsettled as strange sensations began to build in his essence. In the beginning of this half existence he couldn't understand what was happening. What was this warm…feeling he got when he thought about the human? He pictured her long red hair and slender body, her unwavering eyes that held such a strong conviction, and her hand brushing his as she told him she wasn't afraid. Having just been introduced to his newly found heart, Ulquiorra had no knowledge of what these feelings meant or what emotion went with which. It was truly bothersome.

As he continued to flow along he spotted the fortress of Los Noches looming up in the distance. What once was a mighty stronghold was now an abandon ruin. Even from afar he could see the shattered towers and concave dome. Ulquiorra always tried to stay close, making a journey to his old home every couple months. Somehow revisiting the sight of his supposed death made him feel closer to the girl. However something wasn't right this time.

It was faint, like a small flame in the pitch-black of night, but it was definitely there. It couldn't be! A spiritual pressure he had long thirst to feel again was pulsing atop Los Noches. But what was it doing here? Again, Ulquiorra could feel an emotion bubbling up inside him, and he knew for a fact that it was indeed negative. Taking advantage of what little power he had, Ulquiorra scanned the fortress and could not sense any other spiritual pressure. But that meant little to him for one of Aizen's stray Arrancar could choose to visit at any moment.

Cursing his damned form, Ulquiorra mustered his power into a gust of wind and soared toward the fortress. He only hoped he could make it before something happened. A foreign presence in this dead world did not easily go unnoticed. And for the first time since his departure from her, Ulquiorra allowed himself to think of her name as he raced against fate.

Orihime!