Summary: It's been over a year since his death, but somehow life finds a way, and Ulquiorra returns from the Great Beyond. Mysterious work is at play, but first, does he have what it takes to become human? Ulquiorra x Orihime. Non-canon, taken place after Aizen's capture. New timeline.
Note: This story takes place after the initial capture of Sosuke Aizen. During this time, there is relative peace and tranquility in Soul Society and the human world, but how long can that last before a new malignant force emerges? A new adventure is born centering around Ulquiorra, a former Espada, and Orihime.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters nor do I own Bleach!
Chapter 1
Welcome Back
"...Are you scared of me?"
"I'm not scared."
He knew he had died.
Counting days passed was pointless.
Infinite darkness. Deafening silence. Crippling loneliness. Those were his only companions, and he knew them all too well.
He floated on a boundless river. His destination? Who knows. He only knew this was the road to his end...whenever it would arrive.
The Arrancar could recount every moment up until the white light disappeared. Behind closed eyes, he could see her brown orbs staring back at him, coated with unshed tears as she reached a trembling hand out towards him.
"...Are you scared of me?"
It was the last thing he said to her.
If only he had a second more to spare, he thought to himself, as he watched the event play itself out once more. Brown eyes. Tears. Her hands. They tremble. Again. Again. Again. She almost touches him, but it's all for naught when his own appendage crumbled into ash, scattering into the wind. If only he had a second more to spare, then perhaps he could have given her his budding heart.
"I'm not scared."
Her voice echoed. It was the last thing he heard from her.
With his eyes still closed, he raised his right arm and his fingers stretched out as far as they could into the emptiness. He reached out towards her, but she always eluded his grasp. He stayed in this same position, frozen in time, as the scene played over and over like a broken record skipping over the same words in a song.
At some point, he had dozed off. There wasn't much for him to do but to wait before River Styx led him to the gates of Hell, or perhaps this was already his Hell. To relive, for all eternity, the moment he finally understood what it meant to be human. To yearn for more time before he was swept away into nothingness. Yes, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense.
This was his Hell.
The moment he understood what it meant to have a heart.
His Hell.
His chest tightened, but he hardly felt that when he saw her face again. Sad brown eyes staring at him. Unshed tears threatening to spill. And her lips moved: I'm not scared. But then, something changed.
Her lips moved again: Open your eyes.
Wake up.
Ulquiorra.
Wake up.
And then he blinked behind closed lids as something wet fell onto his face. His brows creased ever so slightly at the alien intrusion. Another pelted his face though with more vigor. Then, without a second to spare, an onslaught of rain came pouring down onto his entire body.
His eyes snapped opened. Wake up. Green orbs illuminated the darkness, but it wasn't all as he expected. It took but a moment for his sight to adjust, but in the distance, he could see speckles of dimming light, shining almost like stars as the raindrops briefly warped the glimmer. Wake up.
Water streaked down his matted black hair, and dripped down the tip of his nose as gravity played its part. At that moment, he realized was no longer floating. He was no longer at the mercy of some invisible entity waiting to push him under water to drown. When he glanced down, his feet planted firmly on the soaking ground. The smell of wet grass assaulted his nostrils, unaccustomed really any scent other than the stench of scorching heat emanating from the desert.
He hated the rain.
Zipping up his jacket, Ulquiorra took a tense step forward; his toes curled under the dampened ground, and he couldn't help but to bend over and ran his pale fingers over the soft turf, digging into the wet soil.
If this was a dream, it felt pretty damn real. He rubbed the fine particle between his index finger and thumb, contemplating its texture. The Arrancar concluded it was much softer than sand.
Look around.
He stood straight, his attention on high alert. Where was that voice coming from? And so he looked. The clouds above flashed and groaned momentarily, illuminating the dark field. It lasted for a second, but it was more than enough. There were no other bodies around but his own.
Nevertheless, he didn't let his guard down. His right hand flexed, slowly reaching across his body, to grasp the hilt of his sword, but all he found was empty space.
His pupils narrowed, the absence of his weapon was suddenly much too apparent. His soul cutter was quite literally a part of his being. How had he not noticed it before? Doesn't matter. He didn't need his sword to cause harm. Damn it.
The sky rumbled again, occasionally producing a bright light overhead. It wasn't until its third flash, he realized where he stood. His senses really dulled over time. But to anyone else, darkness always had a way of playing tricks on the mind, but he was sure he'd been here before. That's right. This was where he first stepped foot into the living world, into Karakura Town. This was where he first met her.
"Tch," he winced, gritting his teeth as his chest tightened, a dull pain. He glanced down, his slender hand instinctively shielding the injury, to inspect what damage had been inflicted upon him. But nothing was there, not even a scratch.
How queer.
Thunder roared and lighting cracked once more, snapping his attention back onto his new surrounding.
What was he doing here? Why was he in Karakura Town? Surely, his punishment wasn't some elaborate scheme in this mortal realm. In any case, what was he to do now?
A slight shiver tracked down his spine, reminding him of the torrent of freezing rain that continued to crash down. His white uniform was soaked, clinging onto his slender form, and it made him feel all the more uncomfortable.
He didn't know where to go, but for some reason, his feet moved like they had a mind of their own. It's time to go.
Yes, mysterious voice, perhaps he should seek shelter first.